Michael Vaughan fears that Alastair Cook’s Test retirement could trigger an exodus of England’s senior players

Andrew Miller17-Sep-20182:03

Cook’s farewell showed the true Anderson – Vaughan

Michael Vaughan fears that Alastair Cook’s Test retirement could trigger an exodus of England’s remaining senior players, in the wake of James Anderson’s emotional farewell to his “best mate” at The Oval last week.Anderson had seemed on the brink of tears in the immediate aftermath of England’s victory in the fifth Test against India, as he acknowledged the end of Cook’s 12-year England career – a stint that included 130 shared appearances in the same Test team.And while Vaughan believes that even this England team will one day be saying “Alastair Who?” as they find new men to replace Cook at the top of the order, he added that Anderson’s emotions reflected the fact that life for him personally in that dressing-room will never be the same again.”I thought Jimmy was more emotional than Alastair,” Vaughan told ESPNcricinfo at a Laureus event at The Oval. “[Cook] was as cool as ice. How he coped with the week, and just watched the ball and reacted, is how he coped throughout his career. Many cricketers get affected by the external messages, he just controlled what he can control.”But you could see the true light of Jimmy Anderson,” Vaughan added. “On the pitch you see him as a grumpy bugger, he doesn’t smile a great deal, he gets into the odd confrontation – which I like – but off the field he’s a normal human being which came across at The Oval.”His eyes were blubbing up and he was about to burst into tears. And that is what sport brings you to, when you’ve been with someone for so long and been through so much, in terms of great series wins and some negative times as well. When you see your pal leaving and know it’s the last time you’re going to spend a few hours in the dressing room with him.”Vaughan himself knows all too well the emotions that sport can generate, after his own tearful resignation as Test captain in the summer of 2008. Vaughan never played for England again after that announcement and recognises how quickly former team-mates can become strangers when their days in the dressing-room are over.”As much as they say they’ll go back in and invite Alastair in for a drink, it’s never the same when you’re not a part of the team,” he said. “You might go in and say hello, you might go in and make a speech, but it’s never the same place again and I think Jimmy knows that.”Alastair Cook, James Anderson and Jonny Bairstow walk on to the field•Getty Images

Anderson himself has set no definitive date for his retirement and, with another stellar haul of 42 wickets at 20.54 in 2018, he is still at the peak of his powers at the age of 36. However, he also admitted last week that the end could come at any time, much as happened in 2006-07 to Glenn McGrath, the man whose tally of 563 Test wickets he overtook last week.”I hope Jimmy goes on, because his body and his bowling, from what I’ve seen, gets better and better,” Vaughan added. “But he knows it will have to come to an end soon, and I hope what Alastair did doesn’t trigger one or two into thinking they should do the same because Jimmy and Stuart Broad still have a lot to give.”Next week, England will name their Test squad for the Sri Lanka tour – their first for more than 12 years without Cook at the top of the order – and Vaughan expects Surrey’s Rory Burns to be given the first chance to fill the opening vacancy for the first Test in Galle, alongside the under-pressure incumbent, Keaton Jennings.”In terms of numbers over the past 12 years, you can’t replace Alastair Cook, but in terms of what he’s delivered over the past couple of years, you probably can get close because he’d be the first to admit he hasn’t been at his best,” said Vaughan. “Players are always replaced, you always talk about how impossible it will be, but there will be someone who plays in a year or two’s time and then, I dread to say it, it will be ‘Alastair Who’?”Cook will always be remembered by us in cricket for being great, but you move on, you have to. That’s what Joe Root has to do with a new opening partnership. He has to give faith to whoever he’s selected to go out there and face the new ball, and get better starts. That’s been the problem. Sort that area out at 1,2 and 3, and they’ll be a fantastic team.”Rory Burns, I’ve seen his numbers,” Vaughan added. “He must be able to play the moving ball because you can’t succeed in county cricket without it.”But Keaton Jennings has now had a number of opportunities to know exactly what Test match cricket is, and as much as it’s been doing a bit in a tough couple of summers, let’s not make excuses. He had five Tests against India and one against Pakistan, and he should have got a substantial score.”He’ll go to Sri Lanka knowing he’s got three games to keep his Test career.”

The 26-year old bowled only 10 balls on the morning of his Test debut and will not take the field for the rest of the day

Alagappan Muthu in Hyderabad12-Oct-20181:18

‘Shardul’s injury was a big setback for us’ – Umesh

India’s newest Test cricketer Shardul Thakur will not take the field for the rest of the day, after having walked off in the morning due to a pain in the groin region. Thakur, who could bowl only 1.4 overs on debut against West Indies in Hyderabad, has gone for scans and an update on his participation for the rest of the Test will be taken after being assessed by the team management.When Thakur’s front foot landed on the bowling crease as he delivered his 10th ball in Test cricket, it seemed to buckle and the pain was immediate. There was no followthrough, and even as he started hobbling on the spot, the physio Patrick Farhart ran out to assess the situation. It didn’t seem like any immediate treatment was done, though. For the most part, both men just spoke to each other before the captain Virat Kohli joined in, but soon Thakur began walking towards the dressing room.It was only half an hour ago that Thakur, 26, was being presented his first Test cap – the 294th Test cricketer for India – by coach Ravi Shastri and he was kissing the India crest, celebrating his rise to five-day cricket after a first-class career that began in November 2012. He had been brought in to the XI for Mohammed Shami, who according to Kohli was rested after playing six consecutive Tests.Thakur had to bail out midway through the Asia Cup in September as well, complaining of a right hip-groin soreness. Although he was back playing cricket 10 days later, in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, it seems that now he has aggravated the issue.

ScorecardWhen the best climbers reach the top of a mountain they look about them for the next summit. Surrey won the County Championship a fortnight ago; their challenge now is to go through a season unbeaten. The achievement of that goal was greatly imperilled on Monday morning when they were dismissed for 67 and it was placed in greater danger 24 hours later as Essex amassed a lead of 410 before declaring. This day’s cricket, however, reminded us all why Surrey are champions, albeit their efforts may not be sufficient to save them from defeatBy the close Surrey had wiped out their mighty deficit and two of their batsmen had contributed hundreds to a total which may yet set a few records. Jason Roy made the more galvanic of these centuries but Ollie Pope played the more cultivated innings and actually reached three figures in 97 balls, just five more than Roy had needed.However, Pope’s dismissal for 114 when he played across a ball from Matt Coles and was unluckily adjudged leg before wicket left Surrey with a lead of only 8. Will Jacks and Ryan Patel had extended that advantage to 67 by the end of play but there are only the bowlers to come. We could be in for a tense session or two at the Kia Oval before this great stage is curtained for winter.For the Essex attack patience was the essential virtue. On Monday they had disposed of ten batsmen in 27 overs; now they laboured for a full day, conceding 389 runs and taking but four wickets, none of which fell in the morning. Instead, Roy and Mark Stoneman levied 20 runs off the opening two overs and 40 in the first half hour of play. Whenever Coles or James Porter employed width or over-pitched they were punished by batsmen who knew they could trust the pitch.”My centre is giving way, my right is retreating, situation excellent, I am attacking,” Marshal Foch messaged Marshal Joffre during the First Battle of the Marne in September 1914, and the same spirit seemed to inspire Surrey’s overnight pair. Roy reached his 50 off 47 balls and his second Championship century of the season, in only his third match, with a back foot force off Simon Harmer, the only Essex bowler capable of calming the run rate.Ollie Pope cuts during his century•Getty Images

By lunch Roy and Stoneman had put on 122 runs off 29 overs and had appeared in little trouble. Yet within an hour of the resumption both had been dismissed, Roy in circumstances that might irritate his coaches. Having posted two men on the leg-side boundary, Matt Quinn bowled short of a length, plainly inviting the hook. Roy obliged and the substitute fielder Aron Nijjar took the catch. The ruse could not have been more obvious had the fielder worn a sandwich board with the words, “I am part of a trap” scrawled in large letters upon it. On the same afternoon he was named in the England Lions squad the immensely talented Roy was offered a reason why he has not yet made his debut in long-form representative cricket. There are batsmen for whom 128 would have represented no more than a start.Three overs later Stoneman was dismissed for 86 when he played inside a fairly straight ball from the tireless Harmer but by then Pope had begun to take possession of the afternoon’s cricket. Displaying composure beyond his age, the 20-year-old calmly demolished the Essex attack, repeatedly cover-driving Harmer’s offspin and cutting most of the pace bowlers to the crowd seated in front of the Tenison Terrace. Ravi Bopara was wristed to the fence four times in the six balls he was allowed. Having reached his fourth hundred of the season, Pope looked set to dominate the evening session in company with Ben Foakes, but the pair’s 115-run stand for the fourth wicket was ended when Foakes moved across his stumps and was leg before to Quinn for 32. Less than an hour later Pope needed only 14 runs to reach a thousand in the Championship when he fell to Coles, who was determined to grab the opportunity to deputize for the concussion-victim, Simon Cook.Other sides might have crumbled at this point but Jacks and Patel shepherded the innings safely into the penultimate evening of the season. And as the shadows advanced upon the ground 19-year-old Jacks brought up his maiden first-class fifty. Thus in the season’s end is a young cricketer’s beginning; and the autumn offers a portent of what next summer may bring.

The hosts knocked defending champions Western Australia out and progress to take on Tasmania in the final on Wednesday

The Report by Alex Malcolm07-Oct-2018Peter Handscomb works one on the leg side•Getty Images

Some rollicking batting from Peter Handscomb and Marcus Harris and an allround effort from Nic Maddinson completely outplayed defending champions Western Australia and sent Victoria into the JLT Cup final in the semi-final in Melbourne.Harris pounded 73 from just 49 balls at the top of the order while captain Handscomb made a composed 80 from 73 balls to help the hosts set up an imposing total of 332 at the Junction Oval.WA looked to have the chase under control but Josh Inglis (64) and D’Arcy Short (44) failed to capitalise on excellent starts and the Warriors middle order collapsed for the first time in the tournament.Victoria looked in early trouble after the winning the toss and electing to bat as Nathan Coulter-Nile removed both Cameron White and Travis Dean with late swing, pace and extra bounce to reduce the home side to 2 for 10.Harris then cut loose taking 20 from Coulter-Nile’s third over, with five boundaries. He enjoyed some good fortune when he was missed at slip and continued to push hard until he fell trying to hit Usman Qadir out of the ground in the 15th over.Handscomb batted beautifully and found a good ally in Maddinson, who also passed 50. But both fell with plenty of time remaining in the innings. The tail wagged with Matthew Short, Chris Tremain, Fawad Ahmed and Andrew Fekete providing some excellent late hitting to push the total beyond 300. Coulter-Nile was the pick of the bowlers finishing with 3 for 50.WA were flying early in the chase with Josh Philippe climbing into the spin of Glenn Maxwell and Short, who were used upfront to try and quell his influence. He made 28 from 15 balls before Fekete trapped him in front.Inglis and D’Arcy Short put together an 81-run stand as WA cruised to 1 for 121 in the 18th over. But Short top-edged a Jackson Coleman slower ball. Ashton Turner ran himself out six overs later and Inglis sliced a catch to backward point to leave WA in a hole.Marcus Stoinis and Hilton Cartwright could not salvage the innings. Victoria were able to squeeze the lower order as the pitch slowed up. Maddinson claimed career-best figures of 4 for 28 with his part-time left-arm orthodox.The Warriors would have made the final automatically in any other year having finished two games clear on top of the table, but head home empty-handed after the competition was restructured this year to allow all six sides to play finals.This is Victoria’s third win in seven matches, having finished fourth on the table and then progressing past New South Wales in the qualifying final via a wash-out. They will host Wednesday’s final at the Junction Oval against Tasmania.

Close to 20 millimeters of rain fell on the fourth morning prior to the start of play which left a large chunk of the MCG outfield under water

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-2018

Torrential rain in Melbourne has ruined hopes of an entertaining finish between the Victoria and South Australia at the MCG.Close to 20 millimeters of rain fell in Melbourne on the fourth morning prior to the start of play which left a large chunk of the MCG outfield under water.The ground staff did an outstanding job in the middle of the day to dry the outfield and prepare the ground for a start at 4pm with Victoria needing just 102 runs from a potential 40 overs with eight wickets in hand for a third-straight victory to start the season.But another downpour just before the restart soaked the outfield again forcing the match to be called off.

Manchester City's impending trial over their 115 Financial Fair Play (FFP) charges may be affected by new information involving the club's sponsors.

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City face 115 FFP chargesEtihad Airways to be floated on stock exchangeFull access to accounts suggests no wrongdoing WHAT HAPPENED?

The 2023 Treble-winners face allegations over breaching FFP in multiple instances, with Etihad Airways thought to play a huge role in said breaches. German outlet (via ) has claimed that the Emirati airline paid just £8 million ($10.1m) of their £67.5m ($85.3m) obligation to City, with the rest made up by disguised equity funding from the club's owners. However, the recent decision to float Etihad Airways on the stock exchange, per , may suggest these claims are not true.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

According to reports in the Middle East cited in 's report, the airline's decision to be floated on the stock exchange would require an Initial Public Offering. This would involve Etihad allowing full disclosure of their accounts, including all financial affairs and corporate practices. Stock market insiders believe that this unrestricted access would not be provided if Etihad – and by extension, City's owners – had anything to hide. In other words, if fraud had been committed, as has been suggested.

WHAT WAS SAID

A senior figure in the banking industry is quoted in 's article as saying: "If it came to light that Etihad executives were indeed involved in manipulating the sponsorship deal with City, it could cause serious damage to the company’s reputation in the eyes of potential investors. Etihad would also have an obligation to disclose any ongoing investigation into the company’s accounts or conduct before the IPO was launched.

"What the Premier League are alleging is extremely serious, not just in terms of football’s rules and regulations. The accusation is that City executives have colluded with officials from Etihad and have lied not only to the club’s independent auditors but to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

“By extension, that also calls into question what information was disclosed by City’s owners to Silverlake before the American private equity firm bought a significant stake in the club in 2019. That’s why the Premier League’s allegations go way beyond accusing City of failing to meet Profit and Sustainability Rules.”

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR CITY?

The Premier League champions continue to maintain their innocence and they will feel this evidence will have major implications in them beating the 115 charges to their name. An approximate hearing date for the trial into City's alleged wrongdoings was set for late autumn of this year, at the earliest.

Pujara returns with half-century after ‘stiff neck’
Fresh and well rested after a stiff neck forced him to retire hurt on 30, Cheteshwar Pujara returned to bat on the second day in Rajkot to make a half-century in Saurashtra’s first-innings total of 475 against Chhattisgarh. Pujara returned to bat after the fall of the fifth wicket and added a 65-run partnership with Sheldon Jackson who top scored with 147. Chhattisgarh were solid: 88 without loss in response with two days remaining.R Ashwin with a bagful of wickets
After toiling hard to pick up just one wicket in 21 overs on the first day in Dindigul, R Ashwin was rewarded for his persistence. He picked up three wickets on the second day to finish with figures of 4 for 85 as Madhya Pradesh were bowled out for 393 after being handily placed at 359 for 4 at one stage. In all, Ashwin sent down 38.4 overs, with five maidens. Ashwin was complemented by fast bowler M Mohammed, who picked up a hat-trick to trigger MP’s collapse. At stumps, M Vijay had faced six deliveries and was yet to get off the mark.

A clinical Cristiano Ronaldo netted a brilliant second half hat-trick to fire Al-Nassr to a dominant 5-1 win over Al-Tai in the Saudi Pro League.

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• Al-Nassr beat Al-Tai 5-1
• Ronaldo scored three times after a lacklustre first-half
• Otavio & Ghareeb netted the other two

• Getty Images
  

  TELL ME MORE

  Stats are deceptive! Al Nassr had 312 passes, 76 per cent possession, eight shots and two goals at the end of the first half. And yet, for all their big names Al Nassr were mostly underwhelming against a relegation-threatened Al-Tai in the opening 45 minutes.

  Otavio couldn't believe his luck after he scored the opening goal. His attempted cross bounced into the net unhindered as the goalkeeper was engrossed in watching Marcelo Brozovic being pulled down by his central defender. It should have been a routine take for Moataz Al-Baqaawi and yet he made a mess of it. Within a minute, the visitors got back on level terms as Virgil Misidjan found the right top corner after his silky skills left Brozovic reeling on the ground. But his game was quickly over after the referee handing him his marching orders with a second yellow for hitting David Ospina on the face while vying for the ball. Al Nassr were once again on the front foot against a 10-man Al-Tai and deservedly took the lead through Abdulrahman Ghareeb after the winger headed home from a Sadio Mane cross.

  Ronaldo finally joined the party after the hour mark. He looked ordinary in the opening hour but two moments of individual brilliance saw him get on the scoresheet twice within a span of three minutes. The first one was a typical Roanldo-esque one-touch finish after being set up by Mane, while the second stemmed from his knack for being at the right place at the right time after Al-Tai defenders failed to clear their lines. The two goals shattered Al-Tai's resolve to stage a comeback and in the final quarter they were playing mostly for scraps. The final nail in the coffin was hit in the 87th minute when Ronaldo completed his hat trick with a thumping header at the far post.

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• THE MVP

  Ronaldo stole the spotlight with his two goals within three minutes. However, the Portuguese talisman was an anonymous figure for the entire first half and barring the two goals he hardly made any significant contribution. But those two moments of sheer individual brilliance tilted the tie completely in Al-Nassr's favour as Al-Tai looked crestfallen in the final 20 minutes.

• Getty Images
  

  THE BIG LOSER

  Al-Tai's defence including goalkeeper Bagawi had a dismal outing. The shot-stopper was at fault for the opener, right-back Al Nakhil lost Gharreb during the second goal, while Ronaldo's second and third were almost gifted to the striker. An evening to forget for Laurențiu Reghecampf's backline.

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• WHAT COMES NEXT?

  Despite the thumping win, Al Nassr trail Al HIlal by 12 points and with just nine matchdays to go their title ambitions are waning rapidly. Nonetheless, the will continue to fight till they are mathematically in the race and are back in action on the pitch against Abha on Tuesday evening.

Monir and Enamul’s hat-tricks, a stunning fourth-innings chase, Saleh’s sign-off and more in the NCL round-up

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Nov-2018

Rajshahi Division were crowned National Cricket League champions following their six-wicket win over Barisal Division in the last round fixture. Dhaka Division, meanwhile, earned a promotion to the top tier. Here’s a round-up of the last four matches of the first-class competition:Tale of the title
Rajshahi last won the NCL in 2011-12. It was their fourth title on the trot, and their fifth overall. Khulna won the last three seasons to take their titles tally to six. Now, they’re no longer the side with most wins, with Rajshahi having joined them with this win. Khulna, meanwhile, avoided relegation this year.Best match
It was a fitting finale in Rajshahi, where the hosts chased down 284 to win, with Junaid Siddique making an unbeaten 120. His fourth-wicket stand of 149 with Jahurul Islam, who made 64, made victory possible.The match was mostly dominated by the bowlers though. After Mohor Sheikh’s five-wicket haul sunk Barisal to 97 all out in the first innings, Monir Hossain took 5 for 14 including a hat-trick on the second day, as Rajshahi were bowled out for 160. The lead notwithstanding, Barisal made a sterling comeback with Al Amin making 97 in their second-innings 346. A target of 284 ought to have been a challenge, but Rajshahi chased down the runs in style.Best batsmen
Rajin Saleh signed off from first-class cricket two gritty half-centuries. He made 67 and 87 for Sylhet Division, who finished last in Tier-2. Saleh’s second-innings effort was made worthwhile by similarly resolute efforts from Jakir Ali and Shahanur Rahman who were unbeaten on 77 and 70 respectively.Best bowlers
The last round saw veteran left-arm spinners Monir Hossain and Enamul take hat-tricks. Monir took his during the five-for against Rajshahi while Enamul removed Dhaka Division’s Taibur Rahman, Mazid and Nazmul Hossain Milon, during his 5 for 87. Young pace bowlers Abu Hider, Robiul Haque and Mohor Sheikh were effective during this round while Nayeem Hasan, the young offspinner, took five wickets against Dhaka Metropolis to finish the season with 28 wickets.Top performers
Shadman Islam, who made 27 and 14 in the last round for Dhaka Metro, was the tournament’s highest run-getter with 648 runs at 64.80 average. He struck two centuries and three fifties. Tushar Imran was behind him on runs, 518 at 57.55, but he had three centuries. Soumya Sarkar (471), Naeem Islam (444) and Rony Talukdar (426) round off the top five.Offspinner Nayeem led the bowling charts with 28 wickets at 25.03, followed by the veteran left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny who took 23 wickets at 24.65. Farhad Reza was the leading wicket-taker among the pace bowlers with 22 scalps at 26.59.

The northeast monsoon is in operation, more rain is on the way, and with further interruptions likely, spinners may again be asked to rush through the overs so that enough have been completed to constitute a game. This was what transpired in the second ODI in Dambulla. England’s quicks had reduced Sri Lanka to 35 for 4 at the end of nine overs, and in doing so had got their team miles in front of the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern par score.With clouds gathering to the south, Eoin Morgan threw the ball to his spinners. Their mandate: to get through 11 overs as quickly as possible, so the minimum 20 could be completed. But in rushing through, England did give Sri Lanka a faint glimmer of hope, Dhananjaya de Silva forging recoveries with Kusal Perera initially, and then Thisara Perera. Having been allowed to ease themselves in through a period in which England’s priority was not on maintaining optimal pressure on the opposition, Dhananjaya and Thisara were approaching half-centuries when the rain did eventually come, and wash out the remainder of the match.England were still comfortable winners, but they have nevertheless taken stock of the fact that they were not as clinical through those 11 overs as they would have liked to be.”You’ve got to rush through the overs but not rush through your bowling,” said Moeen Ali, who delivered five of those 11 overs. “You’re rushing through field placings, and your thinking’s not as clear. I think once we got the 20 overs out of the way we took our time a little bit as usual. We’ve spoken about that and we’ve got to counter that and take that into the equation. There may be a time when the situation gets like that again, and we’ve got to be a bit smarter.”Batsmen have often spoken of being frustrated by rain interruptions, which serve sometimes to break concentration and sap their innings of momentum. Bowlers also have to adjust to shortened games, Moeen said, though with the rise of T20, defending a total over a fewer number of overs is perhaps not the challenge it once was.”With so much T20 around now it does help a little bit to adjust, because you know about the shorter game. Field restrictions are different. I think it’s more about staying in the moment. Each over that you bowl is very, very important.”Though England played no fewer than three frontline spinners on Saturday, with left-arm spinner Liam Dawson joining the more-established pairing of Moeen and Adil Rashid, England will be without Dawson for the rest of the series, after he suffered a side strain during that second ODI. As a result, England’s XI is likely to look more like the team they field at home, with a third seamer likely to enter the side in Dawson’s place.”We’ll just probably go back to the balance of the team we’ve had over the last few years,” Moeen said. “It’s a shame for Daws. It would have been a great opportunity to play regularly. I think that’s something he’s been wanting for a while. Unfortunately it hasn’t happened for him.”