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Some interesting calculations await the members of the New Zealand cricket team as next season’s contracts are discussed by the national selectors.With a team also to be selected to tour Sri Lanka next month, there could be some nervous players after the disappointment that was the World Cup campaign.As they review their thoughts on what went wrong and why, the selectors will know specifically which players did what was asked of them and those who didn’t.But given the way things turned to custard in South Africa it is reasonable to assume that several players were guilty of not fulfilling their roles.That should impact on the selection for Sri Lanka, both in one-day play and in Test cricket.It would also be safe to assume that there will be some large swings in placement for those players among the list of preferred 20 players to be given contracts by New Zealand Cricket.The list of players is not made public by agreement between both parties.But from a season review standard the Wisden CricInfo New Zealand list might look something like this:Category A: Nathan Astle, Shane Bond, Stephen Fleming;Category B: Chris Cairns, Jacob Oram, Scott Styris;Category C: Brendon McCullum, Mark Richardson, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori;Category D: Andre Adams, Chris Harris, Matt Horne, Craig McMillan, Lou Vincent;Category E: Ian Butler, Robbie Hart, Michael Mason, Shayne O’Connor, Mathew Sinclair.Category A players earn an annual retainer of $120,000, with each subsequent category earning $20,000 less than the one above, with Category E players earning $40,000 per annum.That leaves as victims from the first contracted list players like: Chris Martin, Chris Nevin, Kyle Mills and Paul Hitchcock.Given that the positions are decided upon results achieved in Test and One-Day International play and then the points from each section are added to get an overall figure, with some latitude taken for potential and performance, some players may be regarded as lucky to have their spots while others could feel frustrated with their placement.Shane Bond and Stephen Fleming are entirely deserving of their places in the top bracket given their performances this year. Nathan Astle is probably hanging on by virtue of reputation and improved form overall in his World Cup efforts.Chris Cairns can hardly expect to gain a top-tier ranking having only played in the World Cup and then as only a batting option. On performance alone, it was hardly his most successful summer.With his form in the West Indies, and his form in the Test series against India and the performance in finishing the second best batsman at the World Cup, Scott Styris is deserving of second-tier ranking and is not too far from the top.Jacob Oram, based on his performances against India, his 14 wickets in the World Cup which was second only to Bond, and taken at a reasonable economy rate of 4.21, has to be given a high rating.It continues to be a concern that the country’s best spin bowler has been so inactive in Test cricket for two summers now. Daniel Vettori can expect plenty of bowling in the Sri Lankan and Indian tours but his has been a difficult time and while not incisive at the World Cup, he did have a bowling economy rate of 3.98.Daryl Tuffey had such an outstanding home season that he too, is entitled to a mid-tier ranking and the hope has to be that the development continues in his game at home and a way.Wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum should gain a mid-tier place as the result of tidy ‘keeping, apart from ‘that’ catch and it can only be a matter of time before he also adds the Test duties to his resume. But Robbie Hart made the most of his chance last year and his performances in the West Indies, and against India in the Tests were sufficient for him to probably retain the role for the Sri Lankan tour at least.Mark Richardson must have had a frustrating summer, not only because he has found runs so hard to come by in the State Championship, but because he has had so little international play.Given his hunger in the past, it can be assumed that he is looking at the calendar with a lot more relish over the next 12 months. Certainly, he is a key part of the side for that period.His likely opening partner will be Matt Horne. Not required for international duty this year, but a contracted player nonetheless, Horne still has much to offer New Zealand while future opening options are developed.He probably deserves a slot among the fourth level while Andre Adams, Lou Vincent and Craig McMillan really have it in their own hands to lift their rankings for the future. Each has wonderful assets that have been seen to effect in the past, but regaining those glories is probably going to take some hard work from them.The contract system is supposed to be a method for allowing this and these players are the first probable test cases for the benefits to be had from the system.And you have to admire the tenacious Chris Harris. Just when it seemed he might be a passenger at the World Cup, he becomes a key player, albeit on pitches that might have been transported from New Zealand in the mid-1990s. There’s life in the old dog yet.The bottom level is probably where Test specialist Hart comes in while Mathew Sinclair deserves the chance to up his ranking purely by getting some match play. Michael Mason was only a hamstring tweak away from making his Test debut during the Indian series and appears likely to get his chance in Sri Lanka, a tour which should also see the recovery of Ian Butler and Shayne O’Connor to international status.Butler appeals as the obvious foil to Bond in one-day play, and Test matches for that matter while O’Connor as the country’s foremost left-arm fast-medium bowler has pushed hard through the domestic competition for recall.

Phil Tufnell shrugged off any disappointment he might have felt and not gaining a place in the England squad for the Third Test to capture his 1,000th first-class wicket today at Lord’s.He brought up the milestone with the scalp of Martin Love, bowling him for 19 as Durham followed on against Middlesex. Tufnell finished with 5-46 and match figures of 8-87.Phil DeFreitas, Wasim Akram and Allan Donald are the only other currentplayers to have taken 1,000 first-class wickets, though Devon Malcolm is notfar away.The left-arm spinner made his first-class debut in 1986 as deputy to Phil Edmonds and John Emburey and soon became a regular on the county scene.1991 is his best season to date, when he took 88 first-class wickets, butwith 52 so far this season, 2001 could yet be a year to remember. Hehasn’t given up hope of adding to his 120 Test victims either.”I would love to get back into the England team,” he confided in his latestCricInfo diary.And there could be another milestone on the horizon. Although never notedfor his batting prowess, Tufnell is approaching the 2,000th first-class run ofhis career too. As he joked in his CricInfo diary: “I should easily reachthe magic 2,000 mark before the end of the 2003 season!”

According to a report from ESPN, Tottenham Hotspur ace Ryan Sessegnon is set to miss the Premier League meeting with Newcastle United. 

The lowdown: Yet another issue

The 21-year-old wing-back has endured a difficult season with injuries since returning from a loan spell at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, missing 24 fixtures so far.

Having arrived at the Lilywhites with a hamstring problem in 2019 in a £25million switch from Fulham (BBC), the England youth international has regularly been sidelined through various fitness problems.

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Overall, Sessegnon has missed 31 matches for Spurs and Hoffenheim in the past two campaigns and the latest hamstring injury threatens to keep the starlet out for a prolonged period.

The latest: Mid-April comeback

According to sources at ESPN, Sessegnon will miss the upcoming clashes with Newcastle and Aston Villa as Tottenham look to make ground on the top four.

Prior to the international break, Spurs boss Antonio Conte told reporters that the situation with the 18-cap England Under 21 star was a ‘repeating’ issue and that the medical department would have to find a ‘solution’ in the future (football.london).

Now, the fresh report claims that the London-born ace is ‘stepping up his rehabilitation’ but there is no ‘rush’ due to a long line of similar muscular injuries in the past.

The verdict: Not so ‘perfect’

Tipped to play a huge part in Spurs’ season by Noel Whelan, the versatile left sider was billed as the ‘perfect’ fit for the system in north London – one would indeed think his versatility down the left flank makes him ideal for Conte’s wing-back role.

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However, despite starting four consecutive league matches prior to the latest setback, Sessegnon has still only managed 15 first-team appearances this season (Transfermarkt).

With the youngster absent for at least a fortnight yet, Conte will no doubt be delighted to have Spanish full-back Sergio Reguilon fit and available as every point becomes crucial in the hunt for Champions League football.

In other news: Report claims Tottenham target is on the move this summer! Find out more here.

June 30
News – Shoaib files petition against ban
June 15
News – Shoaib free to appeal
June 14
News – Shoaib’s five-year ban reduced to 18 months
June 8
News – Shoaib’s appeal proceedings delayed
May 5
Osman Samiuddin – PCB softens stance on Shoaib
May 4
News – Shoaib cleared to play in IPL
May 3
News – Shoaib can play IPL only if ban is lifted – Modi
News – Shoaib pushes for suspension of ban
May 2
News – Ashraf files defamation suit against Shoaib
May 1
News – IPL yet to decide on Shoaib ban
April 30
News – Shoaib’s five-year ban upheld
April 29
News – Shoaib apologises to PCB chairman
April 18
News – Shoaib to file fresh appeal by Monday
April 14
News – Senate committee says Shoaib appeal process to continue
April 8
News – Anti-Corruption Unit probes Shoaib’s match-fixing claims
April 7
News – Three-man tribunal to look into Shoaib’s appeal
News – Shoaib’s comments anger Inzamam and Moin
April 4
News – ICC wants anti-corruption unit to talk to Shoaib
News – Shoaib launches appeal against banApril 3
News – Shoaib cannot play in IPL
News – Ashraf files legal notice against Shoaib
April 2
News – Shoaib claims he got offers to underperform
Quotes – ‘I have been victimised’ – Shoaib
News – Lawson regrets Shoaib’s downfall
April 1
News – Shoaib banned for five years
Osman Samiuddin – The final episode in the Shoaib soap opera?

Graeme Smith was among those who attended the funeral © AFP

Percy Sonn’s funeral took place in Cape Town on Saturday, six days after the ICC president died from complications following colon surgery.Leading members of world cricket, including South African captain Graeme Smith, government figures and judiciary attended the service at St George’s Cathedral.”It is amazing that Percy, the boy from Bellville Cricket Club, became the boss of world cricket,” said ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed.Pall bearers into the cathedral included Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Peter Chingoka and Gerald Majola, Cricket South Africa’s CEO.

There was one thing that distinguished Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid from Indian captains before them: the absence of parochialism © Getty Images

Download MP3 (right click and select “save target as”)
Streaming Audio: Real :: WMAIndian cricket has changed fundamentally in the last five years, and there is no one who can place these changes in a historical perspective better than Ramachandra Guha, the cricket historian and author of A Corner of a Foreign Field. In this interview with Cricinfo Audio, Guha tells Amit Varma about how “the absence of parochialism” was the seminal shift that set Sourav Ganguly’s side apart. Among the many reasons for this shift: the appointment of a foreign coach, and crowded international cricket itineraries.Guha also speaks of the decentralisation of cricket in these years – the rise of the small towns – and the role that television played in this process. He also talks about the last few months, and why Indian cricket needs Rahul Dravid now just as it needed Ganguly once. He holds that the gains to Indian cricket are irreversible, but there is, nevertheless, something that worries him.Listen in!Download MP3 (right click and select “save target as”)
Streaming Audio: Real :: WMA

Vince Hogg: ‘It wouldn’t have bothered me who was listening’© Getty Images

Vincent Hogg, who resigned as managing director of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union in August, has until now kept his silence over the whole rebel-player crisis. But AFP are reporting that he was ready to tell all to the ICC hearing into allegations of racism levelled against the Zimbabwe board.As the hearing was cancelled, Hogg will instead write to the ICC outlining several incidents involving black ZCU directors, explaining that these led to his decision to stand down at the board’s AGM.”I am going to write to the adjudicators describing some of the things that were done and said to me during the dispute with the players,” he told the agency. “For instance one director told me that whites have no right to be in the country at all … and that was during a formal meeting.”Some of the directors were totally out of order in this regard and it was extremely upsetting to have to listen to that sort of racist language,” he continued. “I was hoping to give this evidence orally to the two adjudicators when they were here last week, but I did not get the chance.”The news that Hogg is willing to speak out will be a blow to the Zimbabwe board. Whereas it believed that it could counter the players’ evidence, the testimony of Hogg, who was privy to most board meetings, will be harder to dismiss. Hogg was embroiled in several incidents towards the end of his tenure, and whereas those would have been recounted to the hearing third hand, his testimony could be far more damning. He added: “Some of the things said to me at that time were just terrible.”But Hogg said that he did not agree with the rebels that the national selectors acted improperly or favoured coloured players over whites.

One of the players in dispute with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union has claimed that a leading official threatened to dig up the pitch for a recent international match if more black players were not selected for the series against Sri Lanka. Another local player told Wisden Cricinfo that the official had also said that he would orchestrate a pitch invasion if his demands were not met.Australia’s newspaper reported that the player, who chose to remain anonymous, explained to Ross Barrat – the chief executive of Albion, who make helmets and other cricket clothing – that the rebels had made it a legal matter. He claimed that the official has a track record of erratic behaviour, and last season allegedly assaulted an opposing player during a match.”Things have gone mad here,” wrote the player. “We’ve had non-stop meetings … for the last three weeks. We’re forcing them into arbitration, which they don’t like because they’re so guilty. It’s a dangerous move, but we’re doing it to try to save Zimbabwe cricket.”The report added that the letter (written before the latest round of negotiations) claimed that a number of individuals were considering joining the player exodus, with Australia the favourite destination.The signs that a settlement might be on the way, which came when four rebels were picked for the A-team match against the Sri Lankans, soon disappeared when it emerged that the other 11 rebel players were not being considered for selection in the squad for this week’s first Test. The Zimbabwean board – via the government-controlled Herald newspaper – said that the 11 were all “unfit”.This claim was met with a shrug of the shoulders by one senior player: “We all passed our fitness tests,” he said. He added that the ZCU again appeared to be trying to find a way out of the mess with a combination of half-truths and slyness. Whether this will work depends on the attitude of the four – Streak, Trevor Gripper, Sean Ervine and Ray Price – and whether the board meets the Tuesday deadline imposed by the rebels.One interesting aside was that Streak was given the biggest ovation of anybody by the all-black crowd at Takashinga when he went out to bat against the Sri Lankan tourists on Saturday. This is an indication of the respect he is held in by all sections of the community. The local press’s decision to label him as a racist clearly left the crowd unimpressed.

© CricInfo

The placid contours that had marked the first two World Cupcompetitions were disturbed quite markedly in the third editionin 1983. The competition, held in England for the thirdsuccessive time, started with a couple of upset results and endedin the biggest shock of all. At the end of it, West Indies hadbeen dethroned from their pedestal and surprisingly, the newchampions were not Australia or England but India who had beenranked 66 to one outsiders on the eve of the tournament.The format was once again the same as the eight teams were placedin two groups. While group A comprised England, Pakistan, NewZealand and Sri Lanka, group B comprised West Indies, Australia,India and Zimbabwe. By now Sri Lanka had joined the ranks of Testnations and Zimbabwe were the only associate member to make thegrade. But one important change in the format was that each teamwould be playing each other at the preliminary stage twice. Thismade each group quite competitive and had an impact on thesurprising results.The opening round itself was marked by two surprising resultswith Zimbabwe defeating Australia and India upsetting the WestIndies.Zimbabwe’s defeat of Australia was easily the biggest upsetresult in the history of the World Cup. The African nation hadbeen listed as 1000 to one outsiders to win the competition butwith a highly professional performance they won by 13 runs. Thebatsmen played Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson, Rodney Hogg and GeoffLawson with more than a degree of confidence while the bowlerswere able to restrict Kepler Wessels, Graeme Wood, Kim Hughes,Allan Border, Graham Yallop, David Hookes and Rodney Marsh.India’s victory over the West Indies was almost as big a shock.For starters, India had won just one of six matches in the twoprevious competitions. Secondly, West Indies had never previouslybeen defeated in 1975 and 1979.India had served notice that they might be coming to termsfinally with the intricacies of the limited overs game bydefeating West Indies at Berbice dur ing their tour to theCaribbean a few months earlier. But few expected a similar resultin the World Cup where West Indies had reigned as undisputedchampions.The two matches set the tone for some more surprising results tofollow and a few days later, Sri Lanka surprised hotly fanciedNew Zealand in a group match. But the tournament was not allabout surprise results.West Indies won their next five matches totop the group. England likewise won five and lost only one intopping their pool comfortably. But there was a keen tussle forthe second semifinalist spot from each group. Finally, India gotthe better of Australia in group A while New Zealand, underpressure because of their upset loss to Sri Lanka, were edged outby Pakistan in group B.The semifinals pitted India against England and West Indiesagainst Pakistan. Not unexpectedly, a second successive finalbetween England and West Indies was freely predicted. But Indiaupset the calculations even if Pakistan could not. It was anunexpected bonus for the sub-continent to produce two of thesemifinalists and Kapil’s Devils as they were now christenedproceeded to make the pundits scratch their heads in disbelief.The captain himself had played one of the great one-day knocks inthe return game against Zimbabwe. Entering when the scoreboardread nine runs for the four wickets, Kapil first extricated histeam from the dicey situation and then went on to launch into afurious counter attack that ultimately saw him get an unbeaten175, the highest score in a one-day international with the helpof 16 fours and six sixes. Inspired by their captain, the teammembers put up a splendid show.India’s advantage was that they had a number of utility players,so very essential in the limited overs game. Still it waspredicted that a confident England side playing at home would getthe better of India. England did start well with the 100 comingup for the loss of only two wickets but they then flounderedagainst Mohinder Amarnath and Kirti Azad who bowled 24 oversbetween them for just 55 runs and three wickets. India neversurrendered the initiative that they obtained with England beingbowled out for 213. Sensible batting by every one of their mainbatsmen Sunil Gavaskar, K Srikkanth, Amarnath, Yashpal Sharma andSandip Patil saw India home with six wickets and 5.2 overs tospare.

© CricInfo

India were now one steep step away from the summit. But theystill had to get the better of the West Indies who in the othersemifinal coasted to an eight-wicket victory over Pakistan.Despite the impressive showing by the Indians, the West Indiesremained firm favourites on the eve of the title clash at Lord’son June 25. And a hat-trick of title triumphs was taken forgranted when India were all out for 183. The feeling gainedmomentum when West Indies were 50 for one with the incomparableVivian Richards in commanding form.Then followed an amazing turn about. Within a few overs, WestIndies had slumped to 76 for six and suddenly India were headingfor an astonishing title triumph. Kapil took a fine catch todismiss Richards, Madan Lal took three quick wickets and it wasleft to Jeff Dujon and the long tail to try and retrieve thesituation. The wicket-keeper and Malcolm Marshall did give therampaging Indians some anxious moments in putting together a 43-run seventh wicket partnership. But now Amarnath did the starturn. He broke the partnership by getting rid of Marshall andthen took the last wicket to herald Indian cricket’s greatestmoment. West Indies were all out for 140 and the whole of Indiaerupted in a riotous celebration. It was a well-deserved triumph,for after all India had beaten the West Indies not just once buttwice and had also added England’s scalp for good measure.The Indians got six man of the match awards and these includedtwo for Mohinder Amarnath for his all-round display in thesemifinal and final, while Roger Binny, with 18 victims, emergedas the leading wicket-taker.

India’s batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar suffered a foot injury duringthe final of the tri-nation series against the West Indies on Saturdaywhen his right foot spiked his left foot while fielding, forcing himto withdraw from the first part of the coming Sri Lankan tour.”Though an X-ray has ruled out any fracture, the injury is extremelypainful and the foot has to be rested for at least two to three weeksas there is an aggravation of muscles”, the Indian Cricket Board(BCCI) sources said in Mumbai today.His right foot, with spikes, landed between toe and heel of the leftfoot, resulting in a sesamoid bruise, sources added.However, the BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele or any of the selectors whomet here yesterday to finalise the team for Sri Lankan tour were notable to describe the nature of injury to Tendulkar’s foot butannounced that the Mumbai star would be joining the team for the lastleague tie against New Zealand on 2 August.