Hello Bud put up a heroic performance to make all the running over an extended four miles in the Coral Scottish Grand National at Ayr.
The 12-1 shot, ridden by Paddy Brennan and trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies, held the late thrust of Tony McCoy on Gone To Lunch (12-1).
Out The Black (12-1) and Chiaro (10-1), both trained by Philip Hobbs, were third and fourth respectively.
King Barry kept Hello Bud for company in the early stages, while Out The Black, Coe and Brooklyn Brownie were all close up.Arteea was pulled up in the rear before the field went out on the final circuit, with That's Rhythm a faller.
Hello Bud fended off all challengers up front and though Gone To Lunch came with a late flourish, McCoy's mount was half a length down at the line.
Brennan said of Hello Bud's half-length triumph: "He loves it. I've not won on him before so David England takes a lot of credit.
"I've got the best boss in the world and he keeps on producing big winners.
"What a fantastic season and this is the icing on the cake."
Source:The times
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Sachin Tendulkar sends Andrew Flintoff to opening IPL defeat
Sachin Tendulkar hit an unbeaten half-century as he led the Mumbai Indians to a 19-run win against the Chennai Super Kings in the opening match of the Indian Premier League at Newlands on Saturday.
Tendulkar's 59 not out provided the foundation for Mumbai's 165 for seven after they were sent in on a blustery, grey day.
Former Australian opening batsman Matthew Hayden hit 44 and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni 36 for Chennai but the 2008 runners-up could only manage 146 for seven.
Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga bowled superbly to take three for 15 in four overs for Mumbai.
Mumbai's innings was anchored by Tendulkar, who largely played conventional cricket, punctuated by lofted off-drives.
Although he opened the batting he faced only 48 balls, hitting seven fours.
Tendulkar and Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya (26) put on 39 for the first wicket. He then shared a second wicket stand of 43 with Shikhar Dhawan (22).
Batting conditions were tricky under grey skies and Mumbai were struggling at 102 for four in the 15th over before the left-handed Abhishek Nayar lashed 35 off 14 balls in a fifth wicket stand of 46 with Tendulkar.
Nayar slammed three sixes in an over from Andrew Flintoff which cost 22 runs. Flintoff, who is on a 1.55-million dollar a season contract, was the most expensive Chennai bowler, conceding 44 runs in four overs.
Flintoff made 24 in Chennai's reply as he helped Hayden put on 52 for the third wicket. He hit two fours and a six off 22 balls before he heaved a ball from Harbhajan Singh high in the air for the off-spinner to take a catch off his own bowling.
Hayden hit his 44 off 35 balls before Zaheer Khan took a stinging catch in the cover off a fierce drive against Jayasuriya's left-arm spin. Dhoni hit 36 off 26 balls before being bowled by Malinga in the final over.
Source:The times
Tendulkar's 59 not out provided the foundation for Mumbai's 165 for seven after they were sent in on a blustery, grey day.
Former Australian opening batsman Matthew Hayden hit 44 and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni 36 for Chennai but the 2008 runners-up could only manage 146 for seven.
Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga bowled superbly to take three for 15 in four overs for Mumbai.
Mumbai's innings was anchored by Tendulkar, who largely played conventional cricket, punctuated by lofted off-drives.
Although he opened the batting he faced only 48 balls, hitting seven fours.
Tendulkar and Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya (26) put on 39 for the first wicket. He then shared a second wicket stand of 43 with Shikhar Dhawan (22).
Batting conditions were tricky under grey skies and Mumbai were struggling at 102 for four in the 15th over before the left-handed Abhishek Nayar lashed 35 off 14 balls in a fifth wicket stand of 46 with Tendulkar.
Nayar slammed three sixes in an over from Andrew Flintoff which cost 22 runs. Flintoff, who is on a 1.55-million dollar a season contract, was the most expensive Chennai bowler, conceding 44 runs in four overs.
Flintoff made 24 in Chennai's reply as he helped Hayden put on 52 for the third wicket. He hit two fours and a six off 22 balls before he heaved a ball from Harbhajan Singh high in the air for the off-spinner to take a catch off his own bowling.
Hayden hit his 44 off 35 balls before Zaheer Khan took a stinging catch in the cover off a fierce drive against Jayasuriya's left-arm spin. Dhoni hit 36 off 26 balls before being bowled by Malinga in the final over.
Source:The times
Sebastian Vettel takes Red Bull's first pole
Sebastian Vettel grabbed Red Bull's first pole position on Saturday when he clocked a late fastest lap to top the times in a gripping qualifying session for the Chinese Grand Prix.
The 21-year-old German, who joined the team from sister outfit Toro Rosso after earning his first career win at last year's Italian Grand Prix, went out late and nailed it in the final seconds.
"This morning we had a problem with the car," said Vettel. "The mechanics did a very good job and fixed the car. Basically it is all down to them. We have the best position for tomorrow but no points yet. There is a long way to go and we have to keep digging."
Resurgent two-times world champion Fernando Alonso of Spain took second for Renault in a car fitted overnight with new floor parts and a new diffuser, his team having worked until 5am to complete the job.
Australian Mark Webber was third in the second Red Bull ahead of Brazilian Rubens Barrichello in the leading Brawn, with his teammate Briton Jenson Button fifth after taking pole in Australia and Malaysia.
Italian Jarno Trulli took sixth place for Toyota with German Nico Rosberg seventh for Williams and Finn Kimi Raikkonen eighth for Ferrari.
Defending world champion Briton Lewis Hamilton was ninth for McLaren Mercedes while Switzerland's Sebastien Buemi took 10th for Toro Rosso.
On a bright day with sunshine, qualifying began with a familiar 2009 story as the two Brawn cars roared to the top of the timesheets.
But Q1 was a less happy mini-session for the BMW Sauber team and the luckless Robert Kubica of Poland who failed to make the cut.
He was 18th fastest and a weekend of experiments with KERS continued disappointingly.
Also out went the two Force Indias of German Adrian Sutil and Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, along with Brazilian Nelson Piquet of Renault and Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais of Toro Rosso.
In Q2, there was more confirmation that the field was tightening up and some improvements at Ferrari and Renault as the two Red Bulls topped the times.
Vettel was quickest with team-mate Webber second ahead of Barrichello and Button, third and fourth. All of the cars were running with the lightest possible fuel loads.
This session saw Kubica's BMW teammate German Nick Heidfeld fail to make the cut as he qualified 11th ahead of Finn Heikki Kovalainen in his McLaren Mercedes.
Brazilian Felipe Massa of Ferrari will start 13th, German Timo Glock in a Toyota was 14th and Japan's Kazuki Nakajima in a Williams was 15th quickest.
Source:The times
The 21-year-old German, who joined the team from sister outfit Toro Rosso after earning his first career win at last year's Italian Grand Prix, went out late and nailed it in the final seconds.
"This morning we had a problem with the car," said Vettel. "The mechanics did a very good job and fixed the car. Basically it is all down to them. We have the best position for tomorrow but no points yet. There is a long way to go and we have to keep digging."
Resurgent two-times world champion Fernando Alonso of Spain took second for Renault in a car fitted overnight with new floor parts and a new diffuser, his team having worked until 5am to complete the job.
Australian Mark Webber was third in the second Red Bull ahead of Brazilian Rubens Barrichello in the leading Brawn, with his teammate Briton Jenson Button fifth after taking pole in Australia and Malaysia.
Italian Jarno Trulli took sixth place for Toyota with German Nico Rosberg seventh for Williams and Finn Kimi Raikkonen eighth for Ferrari.
Defending world champion Briton Lewis Hamilton was ninth for McLaren Mercedes while Switzerland's Sebastien Buemi took 10th for Toro Rosso.
On a bright day with sunshine, qualifying began with a familiar 2009 story as the two Brawn cars roared to the top of the timesheets.
But Q1 was a less happy mini-session for the BMW Sauber team and the luckless Robert Kubica of Poland who failed to make the cut.
He was 18th fastest and a weekend of experiments with KERS continued disappointingly.
Also out went the two Force Indias of German Adrian Sutil and Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, along with Brazilian Nelson Piquet of Renault and Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais of Toro Rosso.
In Q2, there was more confirmation that the field was tightening up and some improvements at Ferrari and Renault as the two Red Bulls topped the times.
Vettel was quickest with team-mate Webber second ahead of Barrichello and Button, third and fourth. All of the cars were running with the lightest possible fuel loads.
This session saw Kubica's BMW teammate German Nick Heidfeld fail to make the cut as he qualified 11th ahead of Finn Heikki Kovalainen in his McLaren Mercedes.
Brazilian Felipe Massa of Ferrari will start 13th, German Timo Glock in a Toyota was 14th and Japan's Kazuki Nakajima in a Williams was 15th quickest.
Source:The times
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Wisden: birth of the Twenty20 revolution
It was a son et lumière worthy of the Sphinx or Grand Canyon. The opening ceremony of the Indian Premier League, on a shirtsleeve evening in mid-April in Bangalore, was the most spectacular that cricket has seen. I sensed the same ingredients of success at the first official day/night international, between Australia and West Indies, at Sydney in 1979: people hurrying to a ground to see the cricket they wanted, of the duration they wanted, at the time they wanted.
Brendon McCullum lit up the night sky as brilliantly as the fireworks by hitting 158 from 73 balls, and most of the major talents in world cricket joined in over the next six weeks. While there were initial doubts about whether Indian crowds and television audiences would identify with an Australian or South African, and a sizeable proportion of each crowd was admitted free, city-based cricket soon became as popular in India as soap operas. In spite of the poor television camerawork, and advertisements that shaved many overs to five balls, tens of millions - perhaps hundreds of millions - watched, for evening after evening, live cricket.
The IPL is a clever mixture of ingredients because its administrators have understood their market - their mass market. Although it is impossible to be sure from such a recent perspective, it looks as though the supranational IPL is the single biggest change in cricket not merely since the advent of the limited-overs game in the 1960s but of fixtures between countries in the 19th century: that is, since the invention of international or Test cricket.
Above all, until the time of writing, the IPL has had luck on its side. As the world went into economic crisis, the IPL gave every appearance of bucking the trend. The two auctions of players which it staged, the second on February 6 this year, must have appealed to anyone who has played Monopoly: they gave the franchise-owners the feeling they had power over the world's finest cricketers, and everyone else the illusion. At a time of the most serious recession since the 1930s, Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen were signed for two years at $1.55million per six-week tournament (or pro rata for the number of games they played). The IPL radiated wealth, wellbeing, exuberance, and prospects for future growth: in a word, hope.
It was during the third IPL match, in Delhi, that the principal defect of 20-over cricket became apparent. Shane Warne led the Rajasthan Royals against the Delhi Daredevils - and was anonymous. It was not simply that his bowling was ineffective on a flat pitch, or his innings brief, or his captaincy unable to avert a large defeat. The defect was that he had no time to manifest his personality.
Warne's strength of character soon made itself felt, as he turned what had seemed in Delhi to be a bunch of Indian club cricketers into the first IPL champions. But on the field, such is the bustling pace of the 20-over game, Warne had no time to transmit his personality to spectators or television viewers; and the interplay of personalities is the essence of drama.
A 50-over game can sometimes allow the necessary scope: remember how Warne, gradually but inexorably, bent the 1999 World Cup semi-final at Edgbaston to his will. But although a Twenty20 game offers plenty of action over three hours, and an exciting finish almost as often as not, it lacks the drama that a full day of intense cricket provides. As the novelty of 20-over cricket wears off, it will be seen that cricket's characters can only be formed in longer versions of the game.
Administrators could not cash in quickly enough. The ECB announced the English Premier League, with 20 teams, to start in 2010 (when the recession bit, the two overseas teams were quietly dropped, along with other modifications). An alternative business plan of a nine-franchise league, based at England's international venues, was proposed by Keith Bradshaw, chief executive of MCC, and David Stewart, Surrey's chairman; but it was seen as the thin end of a wedge which would have driven half of the 18 counties out of existence.
I am in favour of 18 first-class counties, provided - and it is a provision far from being fulfilled - they devote much more of their resources to promoting cricket within their own communities, instead of relying for recruitment on public schools and the southern hemisphere. These two breeding grounds each supplied about one third of England's county cricketers last season, while Britain's inner cities remained mostly untrawled waters.
The Pro-Active South London Schools Survey 2008 should ring like a fire alarm at the ECB's offices. More than 26,000 children at secondary schools were asked which three sports they would like more access to: football was first, badminton eighth, cricket 21st. Even among boys alone, it ranked no higher than twelfth. A major factor is the virtual disappearance of Afro-Caribbean cricketers. Such findings show that the hold on the public imagination which cricket had in 2005 has been lost completely.
As well as the midsummer English Premier League, which was a good idea, the ECB announced a late- summer 20-over competition, which was not. Filling up the domestic season with four competitions is the surest way to prevent an improvement in standards. It is only right that the counties should want to do more to stand on their own financial feet, to be less dependent on the £1.5million that the ECB distributes to each one, but two 20-over competitions cannot be right - especially as August is the time to stage 50-over cricket, not May when the ball seams around and powerplays are irrelevant.
The only point in favour of the second 20-over competition was that the 40-over league had to be abolished to make space. Launched in 1969 as a fun afternoon to follow the Sunday roast, it had long since outlasted its purpose and become the ball and chain around the legs of English cricket, choking the calendar, preventing the pursuit of excellence, draining intensity out of the system - and the single biggest reason why England, alone among the major Test-playing countries, have never won a global one-day tournament.
Source: The times
Brendon McCullum lit up the night sky as brilliantly as the fireworks by hitting 158 from 73 balls, and most of the major talents in world cricket joined in over the next six weeks. While there were initial doubts about whether Indian crowds and television audiences would identify with an Australian or South African, and a sizeable proportion of each crowd was admitted free, city-based cricket soon became as popular in India as soap operas. In spite of the poor television camerawork, and advertisements that shaved many overs to five balls, tens of millions - perhaps hundreds of millions - watched, for evening after evening, live cricket.
The IPL is a clever mixture of ingredients because its administrators have understood their market - their mass market. Although it is impossible to be sure from such a recent perspective, it looks as though the supranational IPL is the single biggest change in cricket not merely since the advent of the limited-overs game in the 1960s but of fixtures between countries in the 19th century: that is, since the invention of international or Test cricket.
Above all, until the time of writing, the IPL has had luck on its side. As the world went into economic crisis, the IPL gave every appearance of bucking the trend. The two auctions of players which it staged, the second on February 6 this year, must have appealed to anyone who has played Monopoly: they gave the franchise-owners the feeling they had power over the world's finest cricketers, and everyone else the illusion. At a time of the most serious recession since the 1930s, Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen were signed for two years at $1.55million per six-week tournament (or pro rata for the number of games they played). The IPL radiated wealth, wellbeing, exuberance, and prospects for future growth: in a word, hope.
It was during the third IPL match, in Delhi, that the principal defect of 20-over cricket became apparent. Shane Warne led the Rajasthan Royals against the Delhi Daredevils - and was anonymous. It was not simply that his bowling was ineffective on a flat pitch, or his innings brief, or his captaincy unable to avert a large defeat. The defect was that he had no time to manifest his personality.
Warne's strength of character soon made itself felt, as he turned what had seemed in Delhi to be a bunch of Indian club cricketers into the first IPL champions. But on the field, such is the bustling pace of the 20-over game, Warne had no time to transmit his personality to spectators or television viewers; and the interplay of personalities is the essence of drama.
A 50-over game can sometimes allow the necessary scope: remember how Warne, gradually but inexorably, bent the 1999 World Cup semi-final at Edgbaston to his will. But although a Twenty20 game offers plenty of action over three hours, and an exciting finish almost as often as not, it lacks the drama that a full day of intense cricket provides. As the novelty of 20-over cricket wears off, it will be seen that cricket's characters can only be formed in longer versions of the game.
Administrators could not cash in quickly enough. The ECB announced the English Premier League, with 20 teams, to start in 2010 (when the recession bit, the two overseas teams were quietly dropped, along with other modifications). An alternative business plan of a nine-franchise league, based at England's international venues, was proposed by Keith Bradshaw, chief executive of MCC, and David Stewart, Surrey's chairman; but it was seen as the thin end of a wedge which would have driven half of the 18 counties out of existence.
I am in favour of 18 first-class counties, provided - and it is a provision far from being fulfilled - they devote much more of their resources to promoting cricket within their own communities, instead of relying for recruitment on public schools and the southern hemisphere. These two breeding grounds each supplied about one third of England's county cricketers last season, while Britain's inner cities remained mostly untrawled waters.
The Pro-Active South London Schools Survey 2008 should ring like a fire alarm at the ECB's offices. More than 26,000 children at secondary schools were asked which three sports they would like more access to: football was first, badminton eighth, cricket 21st. Even among boys alone, it ranked no higher than twelfth. A major factor is the virtual disappearance of Afro-Caribbean cricketers. Such findings show that the hold on the public imagination which cricket had in 2005 has been lost completely.
As well as the midsummer English Premier League, which was a good idea, the ECB announced a late- summer 20-over competition, which was not. Filling up the domestic season with four competitions is the surest way to prevent an improvement in standards. It is only right that the counties should want to do more to stand on their own financial feet, to be less dependent on the £1.5million that the ECB distributes to each one, but two 20-over competitions cannot be right - especially as August is the time to stage 50-over cricket, not May when the ball seams around and powerplays are irrelevant.
The only point in favour of the second 20-over competition was that the 40-over league had to be abolished to make space. Launched in 1969 as a fun afternoon to follow the Sunday roast, it had long since outlasted its purpose and become the ball and chain around the legs of English cricket, choking the calendar, preventing the pursuit of excellence, draining intensity out of the system - and the single biggest reason why England, alone among the major Test-playing countries, have never won a global one-day tournament.
Source: The times
Liverpool left on the ropes after Branislav Ivanovic lands one-two combination
The resident disc jockey opted for a Beatles classic at the final whistle. We Can Work It Out sounded like wishful thinking on Liverpool’s part at the end of an evening when the fortress of Anfield was not just stormed but ransacked, but, to put it in another context, who can possibly work out the remarkable transformation that Guus Hiddink has managed in only two months in charge of Chelsea?
It cannot be rocket science, just a case of restoring some much-needed confidence and tactical discipline to a team who had lost their way under Luiz Felipe Scolari. Given the way that Chelsea capitulated at the same venue just before his arrival, though, the Hiddink effect is looking like something close to alchemy. Only not alchemy, since Chelsea, after crowning a superb performance with two goals from Branislav Ivanovic and one from Didier Drogba, are dreaming not of gold but of silver and, specifically, the European Cup that has proved elusive during the Roman Abramovich era.
Hiddink called Chelsea’s performance “perfect”, at least after they had recovered from the blow of conceding a sixth-minute goal to Fernando Torres. At that point it seemed as though Liverpool’s momentum was propelling them towards yet another Champions League semi-final, but as Michael Essien began to relish his man-marking assignment against Steven Gerrard and, as Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack, Drogba and the rest warmed to their task, it became a quite outstanding Chelsea display on an evening when they finally cast aside the caution of the José Mourinho era.
Chelsea’s performance contained certain parallels with Liverpool’s tactical masterclass in winning 4-1 away to Manchester United last month, a result that stripped the losers of their aura of invincibility. It remains to be seen whether this result will have such a demoralising effect on Liverpool in their bid for the Barclays Premier League title, but, as Drogba tormented Martin Skrtel and Jamie Carragher much as Torres had given the runaround to Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, it was easy to see why Sir Alex Ferguson had suggested that the winners of this tie would pose a far greater threat to United on the domestic front than the losers.
With three away goals to his team’s name, Hiddink was even asked afterwards whether John Terry’s suspension for the second leg, after he was booked for an overzealous challenge on José Manuel Reina, might now be regarded as a blessing in that it would free him up for a semi-final against, one presumes, Barcelona. Hiddink was not too keen to follow that particular line of inquiry, but, given the manner in which Terry exchanged barbs with Gerrard, his England team-mate, in the heat of the battle, the Chelsea captain might just be able to see the logic behind that argument.
It was a glorious night for Terry and his team-mates. They have suffered at Liverpool’s hands in the Champions League in recent years, as well as tasting two defeats in the Premier League this season, but they dealt with everything that Rafael Benítez’s team could throw at them. By the end, Gerrard and Torres looked frustrated and the fervour of the home crowd had been reduced to a whimper — a far cry from the opening minutes, when Torres seemed to have lit the fuse for another of those Anfield glory nights.
Hiddink had identified Gerrard as the main threat to Chelsea, but the Liverpool captain had only a fleeting involvement in the goal that gave his team the lead. It was his lung-busting run into the penalty area that forced Alex into a wild clearance, but then came a surprisingly deft piece of control from Dirk Kuyt and an even better reverse pass into the path of Álvaro Arbeloa on the overlap. Arbeloa surged into the penalty area and picked out Torres, who, neglected by Alex, had the time and the space to steer a cool shot past Petr Cech.
For Chelsea, it was the nightmare start, but their recovery was almost immediate. Within 60 seconds Salomon Kalou harried Fábio Aurélio into a mistake and set up Drogba, who should have scored but shot straight at the advancing Reina.
Drogba then squandered an even better chance on the half-hour, shooting high into the Kop after a perfect first touch, from Ballack’s cross, had taken him away from Jamie Carragher in the penalty area. Drogba’s moment would arrive, but first came not one but two goals from a player who could not get close to the Chelsea teamsheet 12 months ago, let alone the scoresheet.
For the first eight months of his Chelsea career, after his arrival from Lokomotiv Moscow in January 2008, Ivanovic looked destined to go down as the new Winston Bogarde, but his contribution last night will not be forgotten. Five minutes before half-time Florent Malouda swung in a corner from the right and the Serbia defender escaped the attentions of Xabi Alonso and then rose between Skrtel and Albert Riera to beat Reina with a firm header. In the 62nd minute he repeated the act, this time getting between Gerrard and Arbeloa to score again.
Questions will be asked about Liverpool’s zonal marking from set-pieces, as they are on every occasion that they concede from such situations, but Benítez will be more concerned by the way that Chelsea outmuscled and outplayed his team. The third goal was a classic, Ballack releasing Malouda, who hit a superb cross into the six-yard box, where Drogba, attacking the ball ahead of Carragher and Sktel, slammed the ball past Reina.
The closing stages were played out to near-silence until the home supporters responded to questions about the atmosphere by asking “where’s your European Cups?” — note the plural. The Chelsea fans had no answer, but more of this and their players may soon be able to provide the perfect riposte, Barcelona notwithstanding.
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): J M Reina — Á Arbeloa, M Skrtel, J Carragher, F Aurélio (sub: A Dossena, 75min) — X Alonso, Lucas Leiva (sub: R Babel, 80) — D Kuyt, S Gerrard, A Riera (sub: Y Benayoun, 68) — F Torres. Substitutes not used: D Cavalieri, S Hyypia, D Agger, D Ngog. Booked: Aurélio.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): P Cech — B Ivanovic, Alex, J Terry, A Cole — M Ballack, M Essien, — S Kalou, F Lampard, F Malouda — D Drogba (sub: N Anelka, 80). Substitutes not used: Hilário, R Carvalho, M Mancienne, J Belletti, J O Mikel, Deco. Booked: Kalou, Terry.
Referee: C B Larsen (Denmark)
Source: The times
It cannot be rocket science, just a case of restoring some much-needed confidence and tactical discipline to a team who had lost their way under Luiz Felipe Scolari. Given the way that Chelsea capitulated at the same venue just before his arrival, though, the Hiddink effect is looking like something close to alchemy. Only not alchemy, since Chelsea, after crowning a superb performance with two goals from Branislav Ivanovic and one from Didier Drogba, are dreaming not of gold but of silver and, specifically, the European Cup that has proved elusive during the Roman Abramovich era.
Hiddink called Chelsea’s performance “perfect”, at least after they had recovered from the blow of conceding a sixth-minute goal to Fernando Torres. At that point it seemed as though Liverpool’s momentum was propelling them towards yet another Champions League semi-final, but as Michael Essien began to relish his man-marking assignment against Steven Gerrard and, as Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack, Drogba and the rest warmed to their task, it became a quite outstanding Chelsea display on an evening when they finally cast aside the caution of the José Mourinho era.
Chelsea’s performance contained certain parallels with Liverpool’s tactical masterclass in winning 4-1 away to Manchester United last month, a result that stripped the losers of their aura of invincibility. It remains to be seen whether this result will have such a demoralising effect on Liverpool in their bid for the Barclays Premier League title, but, as Drogba tormented Martin Skrtel and Jamie Carragher much as Torres had given the runaround to Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, it was easy to see why Sir Alex Ferguson had suggested that the winners of this tie would pose a far greater threat to United on the domestic front than the losers.
With three away goals to his team’s name, Hiddink was even asked afterwards whether John Terry’s suspension for the second leg, after he was booked for an overzealous challenge on José Manuel Reina, might now be regarded as a blessing in that it would free him up for a semi-final against, one presumes, Barcelona. Hiddink was not too keen to follow that particular line of inquiry, but, given the manner in which Terry exchanged barbs with Gerrard, his England team-mate, in the heat of the battle, the Chelsea captain might just be able to see the logic behind that argument.
It was a glorious night for Terry and his team-mates. They have suffered at Liverpool’s hands in the Champions League in recent years, as well as tasting two defeats in the Premier League this season, but they dealt with everything that Rafael Benítez’s team could throw at them. By the end, Gerrard and Torres looked frustrated and the fervour of the home crowd had been reduced to a whimper — a far cry from the opening minutes, when Torres seemed to have lit the fuse for another of those Anfield glory nights.
Hiddink had identified Gerrard as the main threat to Chelsea, but the Liverpool captain had only a fleeting involvement in the goal that gave his team the lead. It was his lung-busting run into the penalty area that forced Alex into a wild clearance, but then came a surprisingly deft piece of control from Dirk Kuyt and an even better reverse pass into the path of Álvaro Arbeloa on the overlap. Arbeloa surged into the penalty area and picked out Torres, who, neglected by Alex, had the time and the space to steer a cool shot past Petr Cech.
For Chelsea, it was the nightmare start, but their recovery was almost immediate. Within 60 seconds Salomon Kalou harried Fábio Aurélio into a mistake and set up Drogba, who should have scored but shot straight at the advancing Reina.
Drogba then squandered an even better chance on the half-hour, shooting high into the Kop after a perfect first touch, from Ballack’s cross, had taken him away from Jamie Carragher in the penalty area. Drogba’s moment would arrive, but first came not one but two goals from a player who could not get close to the Chelsea teamsheet 12 months ago, let alone the scoresheet.
For the first eight months of his Chelsea career, after his arrival from Lokomotiv Moscow in January 2008, Ivanovic looked destined to go down as the new Winston Bogarde, but his contribution last night will not be forgotten. Five minutes before half-time Florent Malouda swung in a corner from the right and the Serbia defender escaped the attentions of Xabi Alonso and then rose between Skrtel and Albert Riera to beat Reina with a firm header. In the 62nd minute he repeated the act, this time getting between Gerrard and Arbeloa to score again.
Questions will be asked about Liverpool’s zonal marking from set-pieces, as they are on every occasion that they concede from such situations, but Benítez will be more concerned by the way that Chelsea outmuscled and outplayed his team. The third goal was a classic, Ballack releasing Malouda, who hit a superb cross into the six-yard box, where Drogba, attacking the ball ahead of Carragher and Sktel, slammed the ball past Reina.
The closing stages were played out to near-silence until the home supporters responded to questions about the atmosphere by asking “where’s your European Cups?” — note the plural. The Chelsea fans had no answer, but more of this and their players may soon be able to provide the perfect riposte, Barcelona notwithstanding.
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): J M Reina — Á Arbeloa, M Skrtel, J Carragher, F Aurélio (sub: A Dossena, 75min) — X Alonso, Lucas Leiva (sub: R Babel, 80) — D Kuyt, S Gerrard, A Riera (sub: Y Benayoun, 68) — F Torres. Substitutes not used: D Cavalieri, S Hyypia, D Agger, D Ngog. Booked: Aurélio.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): P Cech — B Ivanovic, Alex, J Terry, A Cole — M Ballack, M Essien, — S Kalou, F Lampard, F Malouda — D Drogba (sub: N Anelka, 80). Substitutes not used: Hilário, R Carvalho, M Mancienne, J Belletti, J O Mikel, Deco. Booked: Kalou, Terry.
Referee: C B Larsen (Denmark)
Source: The times
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Andrew Strauss admits that power trip of Twenty20 is not for him
Andrew Strauss is relaxed about losing the England captaincy for the ICC World Twenty20 but hopes to lead the team to victory over West Indies and Australia this summer in both Test and one-day cricket.
Speaking at the launch of the county season at Lord’s, Strauss said that he has “no problem handing over the reins to someone else” for the 16-day tournament in June. “They asked my opinion on it and I felt that it was not my strongest form of the game by any means,” he said. “Whoever captains any team should be worth their place. I didn’t feel that I was one of the strongest 11 Twenty20 players in the country.”
There was expectation that Strauss, whose highest Twenty20 score since 2003 is 33, would be named in the 30-man provisional squad announced on Monday after he made 79 off 61 balls as England won the fourth one-day international against West Indies last month, but Strauss demurred.
“That innings proves there’s more to my game than being a stodgy Test opener,” he said. “I hope I can continue doing a job in 50-over cricket, but in Twenty20 you need the team to be scoring 170 to 180, and to do that you need power players, which is not necessarily a strength of mine.” While he was named as captain in all forms of the game for the tour to the Caribbean, the fact that he played the only Twenty20 match in a shirt borrowed from Matt Prior, with Prior’s name taped over, suggested that Strauss was not wholly part of England’s Twenty20 plans.
Strauss said that missing the World Twenty20 would give him time to prepare for the Ashes series. “If there is an opportunity to play some championship matches I’d jump at it,” he said. Middlesex play two four-day games during the tournament, away to Essex and Gloucestershire.
A stand-in captain will be named on May 1, when the squad is whittled down to 15 names. Strauss gave a boost to Rob Key’s hopes by praising the job he had done with Kent. “Key is a good operator and definitely one of the names on the list,” he said.
“The fact that some of the county players have played more Twenty20 helps them. It is a very different format and you need to plan for that. Whoever captains has to definitely be worth their place in the XI.” He questioned whether Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood, his regular team-mates, had the hunger for the role. “If someone is going to be good at the job, they have got to want the job,” he said.
Dwayne Bravo has been ruled out of West Indies’ two Tests against England next month after failing to recover from ankle surgery. Daren Powell, the fast bowler, and Ryan Hinds, the middle-order batsman, were left out of a 17-man tour party that includes three uncapped players in Nelon Pascal, a fast bowler, Andrew Richardson, a medium-pace bowler, and Dale Richards, a batsman.
Source:the times
Speaking at the launch of the county season at Lord’s, Strauss said that he has “no problem handing over the reins to someone else” for the 16-day tournament in June. “They asked my opinion on it and I felt that it was not my strongest form of the game by any means,” he said. “Whoever captains any team should be worth their place. I didn’t feel that I was one of the strongest 11 Twenty20 players in the country.”
There was expectation that Strauss, whose highest Twenty20 score since 2003 is 33, would be named in the 30-man provisional squad announced on Monday after he made 79 off 61 balls as England won the fourth one-day international against West Indies last month, but Strauss demurred.
“That innings proves there’s more to my game than being a stodgy Test opener,” he said. “I hope I can continue doing a job in 50-over cricket, but in Twenty20 you need the team to be scoring 170 to 180, and to do that you need power players, which is not necessarily a strength of mine.” While he was named as captain in all forms of the game for the tour to the Caribbean, the fact that he played the only Twenty20 match in a shirt borrowed from Matt Prior, with Prior’s name taped over, suggested that Strauss was not wholly part of England’s Twenty20 plans.
Strauss said that missing the World Twenty20 would give him time to prepare for the Ashes series. “If there is an opportunity to play some championship matches I’d jump at it,” he said. Middlesex play two four-day games during the tournament, away to Essex and Gloucestershire.
A stand-in captain will be named on May 1, when the squad is whittled down to 15 names. Strauss gave a boost to Rob Key’s hopes by praising the job he had done with Kent. “Key is a good operator and definitely one of the names on the list,” he said.
“The fact that some of the county players have played more Twenty20 helps them. It is a very different format and you need to plan for that. Whoever captains has to definitely be worth their place in the XI.” He questioned whether Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood, his regular team-mates, had the hunger for the role. “If someone is going to be good at the job, they have got to want the job,” he said.
Dwayne Bravo has been ruled out of West Indies’ two Tests against England next month after failing to recover from ankle surgery. Daren Powell, the fast bowler, and Ryan Hinds, the middle-order batsman, were left out of a 17-man tour party that includes three uncapped players in Nelon Pascal, a fast bowler, Andrew Richardson, a medium-pace bowler, and Dale Richards, a batsman.
Source:the times
Andy Murray confines high living to his world ranking
As far as the eye could see - and from Andy Murray's vantage point on the 25th floor the vista was pretty stunning - the sky was a radiant shade of blue. One sentence from him summed it up. “I've got a good thing going,” he said. And so he has.
The eleventh title of his career - as many as Tim Henman collected and he did not get off the mark in ATP World Tour terms until he was 22, an age that Murray reaches next month - sparked yet more intrigue and debate about how far the Scot can go in a sport grateful that he chose to excel at it.
In this purple period for men's tennis, where heroic matches and high achievement are commonplace, Murray is excelling to the extent that his 6-2, 7-5 victory over Novak Djokovic in the Sony Ericsson Open final on Sunday was his 57th success in 64 singles matches since Wimbledon 2008. No one, not even Rafael Nadal, the world No1, can beat that across the same time frame.
When Murray said at the breakfast table yesterday that he was feeling a bit rough, it was nothing to do with partying the night away, for he lives a famously abstemious lifestyle. After 12 high-intensity matches (plus three doubles) in 26 days, reaching successive Masters finals and landing the crown here, it was natural for the body to take some picking up. There was no alcoholic intake - he has not had a drink for four years.
I just hate the taste of the stuff. I did have a sip of my girlfriend Kim's strawberry cocktail last night but it was horrible,” he said. He recalls his days at the Barcelona training camp as a teenager where, after five days of solid toil, he would have a bit of a shakedown at the weekend.
“Then I'd feel terrible on the Monday and into the Tuesday and that was a complete waste. I didn't enjoy going out, the music was too loud, you couldn't hear yourself speak and you'd wake up with a terrible sore throat.”
He is not a puritan, far from it, but the enormous amount of dedication to making himself the best player that he can be is shown in his present form and how much he is hopeful that it can be maintained and improved upon. At another time, he says, all of the present top three - Murray is No 4 but closing fast on Djokovic - would have accumulated enough ranking points to be the No 1 player. How about himself? “I don't know, but I suppose I wouldn't be far off,” he said.
The clay-court season is advancing and he flies to Monte Carlo on Friday to prepare for an unremitting seven weeks of tournament play and heavy-duty practice. There is much to work on, much to take in, much to achieve. Keeping one step ahead tactically is everyone's aim.
“It is about understanding how to use my game best,” he said. “My serve is improving, I'm more comfortable with many things but I still think I need to move forward more. It's getting to the stage where everyone is so good from the baseline that it is essential to be able to end the points more quickly. That needs to become a bigger part of my game.”
Source:the times
The eleventh title of his career - as many as Tim Henman collected and he did not get off the mark in ATP World Tour terms until he was 22, an age that Murray reaches next month - sparked yet more intrigue and debate about how far the Scot can go in a sport grateful that he chose to excel at it.
In this purple period for men's tennis, where heroic matches and high achievement are commonplace, Murray is excelling to the extent that his 6-2, 7-5 victory over Novak Djokovic in the Sony Ericsson Open final on Sunday was his 57th success in 64 singles matches since Wimbledon 2008. No one, not even Rafael Nadal, the world No1, can beat that across the same time frame.
When Murray said at the breakfast table yesterday that he was feeling a bit rough, it was nothing to do with partying the night away, for he lives a famously abstemious lifestyle. After 12 high-intensity matches (plus three doubles) in 26 days, reaching successive Masters finals and landing the crown here, it was natural for the body to take some picking up. There was no alcoholic intake - he has not had a drink for four years.
I just hate the taste of the stuff. I did have a sip of my girlfriend Kim's strawberry cocktail last night but it was horrible,” he said. He recalls his days at the Barcelona training camp as a teenager where, after five days of solid toil, he would have a bit of a shakedown at the weekend.
“Then I'd feel terrible on the Monday and into the Tuesday and that was a complete waste. I didn't enjoy going out, the music was too loud, you couldn't hear yourself speak and you'd wake up with a terrible sore throat.”
He is not a puritan, far from it, but the enormous amount of dedication to making himself the best player that he can be is shown in his present form and how much he is hopeful that it can be maintained and improved upon. At another time, he says, all of the present top three - Murray is No 4 but closing fast on Djokovic - would have accumulated enough ranking points to be the No 1 player. How about himself? “I don't know, but I suppose I wouldn't be far off,” he said.
The clay-court season is advancing and he flies to Monte Carlo on Friday to prepare for an unremitting seven weeks of tournament play and heavy-duty practice. There is much to work on, much to take in, much to achieve. Keeping one step ahead tactically is everyone's aim.
“It is about understanding how to use my game best,” he said. “My serve is improving, I'm more comfortable with many things but I still think I need to move forward more. It's getting to the stage where everyone is so good from the baseline that it is essential to be able to end the points more quickly. That needs to become a bigger part of my game.”
Source:the times
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