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The limited-overs series between Australia and England will turn into one continuous flood-relief effort, as the situation worsens in parts of south-east Queensland

Brydon Coverdale12-Jan-2011The limited-overs series between Australia and England will turn into one continuous flood-relief effort, as the situation worsens in parts of south-east Queensland. Twelve people have died in the floods but that number is likely to rise, and up to 20,000 homes are expected to be inundated in the state capital, Brisbane.The Australia and England teams will be collecting donations in the crowd at the Adelaide Twenty20 international and it will be the first of many fundraising drives during the series. England’s players will donate part of their match fees for the first Twenty20 to the flood relief appeal, as will their Australian counterparts, while Kevin Pietersen is keen to auction a shirt and bat he used during the Ashes to assist the flood victims, and Cricket Australia has donated $100,000 to flood relief.Shane Warne and Darren Gough are also becoming involved, tweeting their interest in setting up a “legends” Twenty20 match to help raise funds. Cricket New South Wales will donate all gate receipts from their Big Bash match against Queensland on January 29, the day before the Brisbane ODI, which Queensland Cricket remains hopeful will go ahead.”It’s been really heartening to see how many people are so willing to stop and do something to help,” Cricket Australia’s spokesman Peter Young said. “Everyone is feeling the pain. It’s really heartening to get calls from clubs in the community who are having sausage sizzles, and they’re saying ‘where do we send the money?’ We have a program called Cricket Cares. What’s been demonstrated today is that cricket does care.”We decided a week or so ago that we, Commonwealth Bank and Channel Nine would run a fundraiser during the Brisbane ODI, on January 30. Given the deteriorating situation with the floods, we’ve decided to broaden that, so we’re starting the fundraising tonight at the international T20 in Adelaide and we’ll run fundraising through the matches culminating in the match at Brisbane.”The offices of Queensland Cricket in Brisbane have been sandbagged and the state’s staff were working from home on Wednesday, as the city was in the grip of a major natural disaster. The Brisbane River was expected to peak at 5.5 metres on Thursday, which would be the worst flooding in the city in more than a century.

Much to the delight of Steven Gerrard, Aston Villa’s latest Premier League match was a different affair from their 2-2 draw against Manchester United last weekend, with the Villans securing a 1-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park this afternoon.

A single goal from Emiliano Buendia earned the travelling side all three points in a cagey affair against the Toffees.

Although Gerrard can be pleased with his team securing a win and keeping a clean sheet in the process, it will be hard for him not to be disappointed with the performance of one Villa player who started today.

Coutinho let his manager down

After arriving from Barcelona on loan earlier this month, Philippe Coutinho made a big impact on his Villa debut by coming off the bench to score the equaliser which earned Villa a point against the Red Devils last weekend.

However, with Gerrard putting enough faith in the 29-year-old to start against Everton, the Brazilian failed to repay that faith from his manager and former Liverpool team-mate, letting him down as they returned to Merseyside today.

Before being replaced by Carney Chukwuemeka on 74 minutes, Coutinho had only 38 touches of the ball and completed just 15 of the 26 passes he attempted. The 29-year-old also failed to complete any of his three dribbles, showing that it just wasn’t a good day for him on the ball, losing it on 18 occasions in total, as per SofaScore.

Things weren’t great for him off the ball either, with Coutinho winning just two of his 11 duels. This performance ultimately earned the Villa loanee an overall match rating of 6.4/10, making him the lowest-rated player to start the game for the away side according to SofaScore.

Birmingham Live also highlighted the 29-year-old’s “disappointing” display by saying that he “is still struggling and looked off the pace”.

Moving forward, it’ll be interesting to see if Coutinho will now keep his place in the starting XI after this display or whether Gerrard decides to put him back on the bench.

Either way, the Villa manager will be hoping that the Brazilian doesn’t produce another performance like the one today, as will the club’s fans.

In other news: Gerrard eyeing swoop for £17k-p/w “goalscoring machine” who could be Villa’s next Tammy Abraham

Nottinghamshire are back on top of the First Division but felt robbed nonetheless after wet weather came to Yorkshire’s aid and denied them the chance to put clear daylight between themselves and the rest as the race for the County Championship enters its

Jon Culley at Headingley06-Aug-2010
ScorecardNottinghamshire are back on top of the First Division but felt robbed nonetheless after wet weather came to Yorkshire’s aid and denied them the chance to put clear daylight between themselves and the rest as the race for the County Championship enters its decisive phase.Yorkshire were eight down and only 39 runs ahead at tea on the last day, with 34 overs still left in the day’s schedule. But heavy rain meant no further play was possible. With five matches left against Yorkshire’s four, the Trent Bridge side’s five-point advantage makes them favourites, although Somerset – only eight points behind Yorkshire – remain contenders and they might yet pose the greater threat.But Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket, did not pretend the comfort of a bigger cushion would have been preferable, particularly with Somerset at home next week while his side sits out a round.Nottinghamshire do have one advantage in that three of their remaining matches are at home, where they have tended to play their best cricket. Bottom of the table Warwickshire are due at Trent Bridge on August 16.By then, Nottinghamshire will hope to have clarified the future of their England fast bowler, Ryan Sidebottom, who has yet to sign a new contract offer. The left-armer’s current deal expires at the end of this season and Sussex are believed to be in the hunt should he leave Nottingham, where he is holding out for a longer deal.Sidebottom indicated this week that he would like “to see out my career with Nottinghamshire” and Newell said that the parties hoped to reach an agreement after Twenty20 finals day.”You could see by the way Ryan bowled in this match that there is no doubt about his commitment when he wears a Nottinghamshire shirt. This will probably be the final contract of Ryan’s career and we feel we have made him a good offer, although there is sticking point over the length of the deal.”Newell said the result at Headingley left the race for the title in the balance. “It is frustrating because we had a chance to open up a 20-point lead, although everyone has at least one game a season in which they feel they were robbed. A lead of five points at this stage is neither here nor there and we need to start winning games.”Yorkshire’s plan had been to bat through the day but it was a risky strategy, given that they did not have the cushion of runs in the bank were Nottinghamshire’s bowling to prove more effective than it had been on day three.They resumed still 95 in arrears and, while eight wickets in hand gave them a degree of security, under cloud cover and with rain in the air there was always the danger that a couple of good balls early on could give fresh impetus to the visitors.Yet Yorkshire showed no inclination to hurry, mindful perhaps that the weather might come to their aid in accounting at least for a few overs. Steve Patterson, the nightwatchman, had a job to do and applied himself diligently, but Anthony McGrath lasted only five overs before playing back to a ball from Darren Pattinson that deviated late enough to catch the edge of his defensive bat and fly into the gloves of Chris Read behind the stumps. It left McGrath still 20 short of joining Adam Lyth and Jacques Rudolph in completing 1,000 first-class runs for the season.Incoming batsman Andrew Gale continued Yorkshire’s defensive plan. An hour and 35 minutes passed before there was a four scored off the bat – the one previous boundary was in leg-byes -and it was Patterson who claimed it, steering a ball from Ryan Sidebottom through the gully area.But the possibility of the plan backfiring began to gather strength just before lunch as Gale, seeking to meet a delivery from Sidebottom with a firm push, somehow hit himself on the foot with his bat and the ball ended up in the hands of the bowler. Sidebottom appealed and the umpire’s raised finger confirmed that the ball had come off Gale’s bat and the Yorkshire captain departed, limping.The morning session had produced only 53 runs in 30 overs, with just that one boundary, but the statistic of more concern was that Yorkshire, while only four down, were still 42 short of requiring Nottinghamshire to bat again, let alone have something of substance to chase.It had been a good effort by Patterson, but his vigilance was exhausted 10 minutes after lunch when Mark Wagh snapped up a bat-pad catch at silly mid-off as the nightwatchman tried to work left-arm spinner Samit Patel into the leg side, and when Jonathan Bairstow drove down the wrong line to Sidebottom, alarm bells began to ring for the home side.Six down and still 31 behind, the potential for embarrassment was now very real and it was perverse, in a way, after what had gone before, that Bairstow’s departure prefaced a stand between Adil Rashid and Gerard Brophy that, by comparison, was positively expansive.Rashid’s instincts are clearly curbed less easily. The stroke-playing leg-spinner picked up five boundaries – off Andre Adams, Patel and Paul Franks – from some meaty drives through the off side, which at least put Yorkshire in front.But when Sidebottom had Brophy caught behind after tempting the wicketkeeper to drive a ball just short of a length, and then had Shahzad caught by Adams at gully, Yorkshire were 406 for 8 and facing the prospect of trying to survive a minimum of 34 overs in the final session – probably more – with a lead of only 39.Happily for them – frustratingly for Nottinghamshire – rain was already falling as they left the field and continued long enough to make mopping up time to resume impossible.

Paul Collingwood had no qualms about spelling out where the balance of power now lay after England took a 2-0 lead against Australia

Cricinfo staff25-Jun-2010Confidence is surging through the veins of England’s cricketers both on and off the field as they sit with a 2-0 series lead over Australia. Paul Collingwood, who became his country’s leading one-day runscorer during the victory at Cardiff, called for the team to “go hard” before this series started and had no qualms about spelling out where the balance of power now lay.”We’re confident every time we go out and play Australia. It’s not arrogance. We are now confident we can beat anyone in one-day cricket on any given day,” he said. “If you look at Australia’s record over the last year or so they still have that air of invincibility, because they haven’t lost many games. But we are the better side at the moment.”The side that Collingwood debuted in during the 2001 season lost all six matches in the NatWest Series against Australia and Pakistan – just one many limited-overs debacles – but this current unit are a far cry from the callow one-day teams that England have often fielded. They have now stitched together a seven-game winning streak which is their longest since 1997-98 and are on the verge of gaining revenge for last summer’s 6-1 hammering against Australia which followed the Ashes.Collingwood’s new-found aggression with the bat matches England’s ‘no fear’ approach to the one-day game which began at last year’s Champions Trophy, continued through South Africa and culminated in winning the World Twenty20 in West Indies last month.”After they hammered us last year we all thought we had to do something about it. We are a much better team now,” said Collingwood. “But we want to be the best one-day side in the world and we want to win the World Cup next year – and as we stand, we are a long way down in the rankings.”Collingwood’s ascent to become England’s leading one-day runscorer after surpassing Alec Stewart during his 48 on Thursday is yet to fully sink in for him. He now holds England’s runs and caps record having overtaken Stewart’s appearance mark last year, something few would have imagined when he barely made an impression during his debut series.”It was a huge surprise to me when they announced it on the tannoy – and I think there were quite a few Australians out there who were even more surprised than me,” said Collingwood. “It put a smile on my face. To know you have scored more runs in one-day cricket than any other Englishman is a lovely feeling.”Collingwood’s innings, which formed an important stand alongside Eoin Morgan as England chased down 240, was his first significant score of the season after he sat out the Bangladesh Test series as part of the squad rotation policy following the World Twenty20. He made a scratchy 11 in the opening game at The Rose Bowl and was beginning to fret over the need to make a contribution.”I’ve felt a bit rusty so far this summer,” he said. “I went into the match at Cardiff thinking ‘I need to start playing well again, I need a bit of confidence’.”Then they announced I’d broken Stewie’s record and I thought to myself ‘why do you worry so much?’ Alec Stewart was a great player, and sometimes you have to pinch yourself to believe that you’re playing for England – let alone overtaking someone like him.”It’s all a bit surreal at times. I was thinking ‘surely not me?’ I knew I had overtaken Stewie’s number of appearances – but his runs? Are you kidding me?”

Alviro Petersen was driving confidently in the morning session and looked set to continue in that vein. If he had, it would have gone a long way in cementing an opening slot

Firdose Moonda at SuperSport Park17-Dec-2010Alviro Petersen’s strongest statement of the day was made in the 20th over. He went down on a bent knee and slog-swept Harbhajan Singh over deep square leg for six. He had previously pulled Ishant Sharma to square-leg, driven Jaidev Unadkat through mid-off and Sreesanth through the covers, but this was that shot that expressed his intentions.”We didn’t want Harbhajan to settle,” Petersen said later. “We felt that if the ball was in our scoring areas and we could hit it, we would.”Graeme Smith went on to play a confident cut, a classy on-drive and a powerful pull and Harbhajan went for 19 in his first couple of overs. After Smith’s exit, Harbhajan got away with three boundary-less overs and if not for a drop from MS Dhoni, would have dismissed Hashim Amla. Petersen receded into his shell a little and came out only to drive a full Sreesanth delivery on the on-side.”We needed to have a lot of patience on this wicket.” Petersen said. He admitted that both he and Smith were tentative early on and “weren’t worried about the runs on the board,” as much as about seeing off the new ball and any early movement. “The longer you stay in, the easier it gets to bat,” he said – an observation that implied he was disappointed that he didn’t push on to reach three figures. He was driving confidently in the morning session and looked set to continue in that vein. If he had, it would have gone a long way in cementing an opening slot.Petersen took over the role at a time when South Africa was going through a mini-crisis. Ashwell Prince had made clear his desire to return to the middle order, Herschelle Gibbs had fallen out of favour and into rehab. Two strong seasons at the first-class level made Petersen the automatic choice. In 2008-09 season he finished third highest domestic scorer with 798 runs in nine matches at an average of 49.87. In the 2009-10 season, he made 557 runs in seven matches at an average of 55.7.With JP Duminy suffering a loss of form after the heroics that in Australia and Prince desperate to return to the middle order, it made sense to bring Petersen in. In February, after the first Test against India in Nagpur, the time was right. Prince had made a duck opening and Duminy nine runs at No. 6. Duminy was dropped, Prince moved down and there was room for Petersen.His debut – a crunch match against India at Eden Gardens – was going to be more mentally taxing than anything else. When Smith fell in the third over with the score on nine, it looked like Petersen was in for a rough ride. It would have been a topsy-turvy experience had he not been joined by the supremely confident and in-form Hashim Amla. Both went on record centuries and Petersen’s talent had announced itself on a grand stage.Apart from that, Petersen has not had a situation tough enough to test his mettle as an opener. He is playing in just his seventh match and has had a fairly gentle introduction to the big time. Ideally, after Kolkata, he should have gone on to stake a claim by scoring a century or two in the June tour of the Caribbean. Instead, he returned from three Tests with only one half-century to his name. His return in the two Tests against Pakistan was better and he looked likely to score a century in the first Test in Dubai before falling for 67.A second Test century is probably due for Petersen now, but he will have to wait for a while, possibly until the next match. Petersen didn’t appear too concerned with not reaching the milestone in the first innings and said South Africa wanted to “bat India out of the match.” He said the dressing room was “not satisfied with where we are now in the match” and had not yet thought about a declaration. Only a massive lead will satisfy South Africa and they only want to bat once.”The wicket is getting quicker and it’s changing quite a lot. A quick wicket suits our strengths so that’s what we want,” Petersen said, a warning to India that another blitz can be expected from Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel in the second innings.

The agent of Ruben Neves has provided an update regarding the future of the Wolves midfielder.

What’s the word?

That is according to Sport, via Sport Witness, who claim that the 25-year-old’s name has “been on the table at Barcelona for months now.”

With the Blaugrana reportedly “willing to study carefully” the potential signing of Neves, Jorge Mendes is “working to make it a reality in June.”

According to the outlet, Barcelona have “reactivated” their interest in Neves, after initially discarding him as an option, as they look to secure a long-term successor for Sergio Busquets.

According to Sport Witness, super-agent Mendes has been “convincing Barca’s sports management and Xavi for months.” With Neves said to be “crazy to join” the Catalan giants – even if it’s through a loan deal.

The new Busquets

Mendes clearly wants to afford his client the opportunity to step into the shoes of the legendary Sergio Busquets, who has been the metronome in that Barcelona side for 14 seasons.

Sport Witness claim that “Barca’s sporting leaders have given their approval for his arrival”, though the economic aspect of the deal is yet to be discussed.

In truth Neves offers a more well-rounded service in midfield, with both Nuno Espirito Santo and Bruno Lage’s three at the back systems the cause of this development.

Though Neves’ previous and now current manager opting to use a 3-4-3 formation, Neves has not been afforded the chance to slot into the role of a defensive midfielder.

As such, his numbers reflect this, with his defending stats slightly overshadowed by the Barcelona captain.

And although he shares similar passing numbers on the whole to Busquets, the Spaniard is slightly better when it comes to passes completed, boasting an average of 70 passes per 90 minutes. Neves completes an average of 56 passes per 90.

They are evidently quite similar, both positionally and stylistically, but Barcelona’s gain would clearly be Wolves’ loss.

After all, this is a player who has played 207 times for the Old Gold, helping them achieve promotion, cement themselves in the top-flight, and reach promotion.

He is a vital player to the cause and seeing that Mendes, someone who has been so beneficial in bringing players to Molineux, tout his services to other clubs is likely to leave supporters aghast.

In other news: John Percy: Wolves now eye swoop for the “next Mbappe“, he’s better than Jimenez…