Roland Holder’s first-class cricket career isn’t over yet. Theexperienced middle-order batsman, who has been discarded by theBarbados selectors, was yesterday appointed captain of the West Indies’B’ team for the forthcoming Busta Series.I was surprised at the offer. It was very late in coming,Holder saidon Voice of Barbados’ Tell It Like It Is Programme minutes last nightafter his appointment was announced by West Indies Cricket Board(WICB) chief cricket operations officer Michael Hall.Perhaps I was caught a little bit off-guard. I had to give it someconsideration, Holder added. They actually approached me yesterday, soit took a while for me to make up my mind and decide on it.The West Indies ‘B’ team, participating in the championship for thesecond successive year, are a development side for Under-23 playersaround the region who are unable to make their national sides. But theWICB has once more opted for a seasoned player as captain. Former WestIndies captain Richie Richardson led the team last year.In this capacity, I’d be more there to advise granted that I’m goingto have to field, bat and do whatever else, Holder said.I wouldn’t want to play the leading role. The tournament is more forthe Under-23 people. I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to guide them,hopefully along the same sort of lines that I’ve tried to do forEmpire and the youth we have there.Against the background that he has not been in serious training inrecent weeks, his fitness may be tested. But at least he comes intothe competition with the benefit of the full Division 1 season behindhim in which he snared the most dismissals as a wicket-keeper.I don’t think I’ve been doing too much work, Holder admitted.Initially, it may be a bit of a problem. I’ll just have to pacemyself.Holder, who made his first-class debut in 1986 while still a schoolboyat Combermere, was a seasoned Barbados player and national captainbetween 1992 and 1994 and again in 1999.His appointment as West Indies ‘B’ captain presents him with thechance to achieve the landmark of playing 100 first-class matches. Hegoes into the tournament with 98 matches in which he has scored 5 550runs (average 38.27), including 16 centuries and 23 half-centuries.The Busta Series opens next week Friday, but the selection of the WestIndies ‘B’ team has been delayed for various reasons. Their firstmatch is against Bangladesh ‘A’, who arrive in Antigua on January 20.

The sign of the cross, a gesture of praise and gratitude forall Christians, has taken on a diametrically opposite meaning for WestIndian cricketers over the past week.As the only one of his faith in the team representing the IslamicRepublic of Pakistan, Yousuf Youhana celebrates every landmark in aninnings with a religious acclamation more familiar in the Caribbeanthan in his homeland.It was evident twice on his way to 115 on the first day of the secondTest at Kensington Oval last Thursday that guided Pakistan throughearly troubles to a respectable total.Youhana was able to repeat it in similar circumatances on the firstday of the third, final and decisive Test here yesterday by scoring102 runs not out. For five-and-a-half hours and 228 balls ofunwavering concentration and flawless stroke selection, he kept theWest Indies at bay after they had justifiably chosen to bowl onwinning the toss and had once more undermined the early Pakistanbatting.The closest the West Indies came to removing him was when he snickedWalsh a couple of feet short of Shivnarine Chanderpaul at second slipwhen 27 and when his one hook stroke, off Walsh, just clearedAmbrose’s elongated stretch at fine leg and went for six to carry himinto the 90s.In a repetition of the previous two Tests, Pakistan battled their wayout of a tight spot to a satisfactory, if not commanding, position bythe end of the day’s 90 overs.Youhana and Inzamam-ul-Haq, who had been at the heart of the earlierrecoveries, shared a partnership of 97 with Youhana either side oflunch that steadied the innings.In yet another of the wholehearted spells that have characterised hislengthy career, Courtney Walsh removed the threatening Inzamam to acatch at point for 55, that included six meaty fours and a pulled outof-the-ground six off Ambrose, and the troublesome Abdur Razzaq fortwo just before tea.But the West Indies had neither the penetration nor the variety tosustain their advantage in conditions that always offered them someencouragement, especially in the opening exchanges.They could not budge Youhana, who received useful support insuccessive stands of 41 with his captain, Moin Khan, and 33 with WasimAkram before both fell to edged catches just when they threatened todisrupt West Indian plans even further.Moin edged low to ‘keeper Ridley Jacobs during a spell of eight oversfrom Franklyn Rose, as spirited as that from Walsh, whom he replaced.Akram was neatly taken by Sherwin Campbell, low down at first slip,off Reon King, who had an otherwise lacklustre day.West Indian frustration was compounded by Saqlain Mushtaq, who heldfirm for one hour before the tireless Walsh despatched him to anotherCampbell slip catch off his second delivery with the second new ballas the shadows lengthened.West Indian problems were typified by 16 no-balls, five more than intheir previous three innings in the series put together and shoddyground fielding that conceded two boundaries from overthrows.It was an unusual off-day for Ambrose, who bowled only five oversafter lunch and none at all after tea.There was the rare gamble of a couple of overs of unpractised leg-spinfrom Ramnaresh Sarwan. The youngster had previously sent down eight,wicketless overs all season and now went for 16 as Akram lashed a fourto midwicket and a huge six over the Richie Richardson Stand at longon.Yet the West Indies made their usual encouraging start.As if they didn’t have enough to concern them, Pakistan lost the tossand had to cope with a pitch spiced by preparation moisture.

According to reports out of Spain, there has been an update on Tottenham Hotspur’s transfer plans as manager Antonio Conte eyes another one of his former stars in Milan Skriniar.

The Lowdown: Conte plotting Serie A raid?

The Italian has been linked with a plethora of his ex-big names in the last few months, not excluding marquee attacking stars Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-latest-news-copy/” title=”Tottenham latest developments!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Stefan de Vrij and Marcelo Brozovic, who were also key players for his Serie A title-winning side last year, are another San Siro pair recently linked.

Tottenham chief Fabio Paratici and chairman Daniel Levy are said to be under pressure to deliver for Conte, coming after the 52-year-old dropped another hint he could leave this week.

The Latest: Source makes Skriniar claim…

As per Spanish sources, it is now believed that Skriniar is one of ‘five signings that Conte has asked’ for at Tottenham.

The Slovakian has continued to thrive at Inter in Conte’s absence, going on to become an untouchable in Simone Inzaghi’s starting eleven, playing the second-most Serie A minutes out of any Nerazzurri player (WhoScored).

The Verdict: Get it d0ne…

The signing of Skriniar to upgrade Conte’s back-three options would undoubtedly be a statement of intent.

A composed and colossal figure at the San Siro, the 27-year-old has averaged a greater pass accuracy out from the back (93%) than any Tottenham regular and stands out as an elite, ball-playing centre-half (WhoScored).

Serie A critics have had no shortage of praise for Skriniar this season with European football expert Carlo Garganese even calling him a ‘monster’.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

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ESPN and The Athletic columnist David Amoyal has also raved over the international’s ‘sensational’ performances since Spurs failed to sign him (Twitter).

Valued at around £59 million by Transfermarkt, it will cost Levy and co significant investment, but we certainly can’t imagine a better partner for Cristian Romero.

In other news: Tottenham ‘monster’ now eyes summer exit as club chiefs already take steps to sign him…find out more here.

	Andrew Symonds is obliged to visit Pakistan if Cricket Australia deem it safe, according to Ricky Ponting © Getty Images

Ricky Ponting says most of Australia’s players have concerns about touring Pakistan next month but he believes any individual who pulls out of the series will be in breach of their Cricket Australia contract. Andrew Symonds said on Wednesday he was unlikely to make the trip even if Cricket Australia deemed it safe, but Ponting said in that situation the players would be contractually obliged to tour.”The rest of us, we’ve all got our concerns,” Ponting said. “Cricket Australia have obviously got their concerns as well or we wouldn’t be here talking about it now. Some of the players have got some concerns and Andrew has been a bit more public with his.”It would actually be some sort of breach of a Cricket Australia contract, I would imagine. I think that’s how it is set out at the moment, that you are to make yourself available for any international games that are scheduled to be played. I think that’s how the Cricket Australia contract reads now. Whether it’s unfair or not, we’ve all signed off on it.”The tour might still be cancelled, if Cricket Australia’s security delegation decides the team’s safety cannot be guaranteed, however Ponting said it would not be up to individual players to make those decisions. He said it was a completely different situation to when Stuart MacGill boycotted the tour of Zimbabwe in 2004 due to moral concerns.”That’s where the grey area will come out of this. There will be lots of safety and security measures put in place and there’ll be all sorts of security checks done throughout Pakistan over the next few weeks to let us know as a player group whether it’s actually safe to tour or not. If it is seen to be safe and you don’t go, I think that’s where the breach of your contract would be.”Symonds has voiced his concerns over the situation in Pakistan since November and his latest comments left little room for doubt about his reluctance to visit the country. Just hours after he said he was unlikely to go, Symonds was sold to Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League auction for US$1.35 million, which was the highest price paid for an Australian player.Ponting said the timing of Symonds’ statement was regrettable, as it would lead to speculation he was angling for more money due to his potential availability while the rest of the Australians might be in Pakistan. “I don’t think it was planned for him to come out and make those statements yesterday,” Ponting said.”I just think it was a bit unfortunate that he was probably out doing a promotion appearance just before the events took place yesterday, otherwise we wouldn’t have heard of it until today or the next opportunity he had to front the media. It’s not the first time he’s said it, he said it earlier in the year as well. So I think we all understand his feelings on touring Pakistan.”

Scorecard
Chasing a mammoth target of 517 Bangladesh A collapsed to 233 handing Sri Lanka A a 283-run victory on the final day of their first test at the Colts Cricket Club Ground in Colombo.Bangladesh A were in trouble from the start of day four as captain Tushar Imran and Nazmul Hossain came out to bat with the score at 110 for 3. They added 50 runs before Hossain was caught for 11 off Malinda Warnapura who had earlier set up Sri Lanka’s victory with a maiden double-century in their declared first-innings score of 547.With another 10 runs on the board Imran, the top-scorer of the innings at 54, was run out. Sujeewa de Silva, a left-arm medium-fast bowler, dismissed the next two batsmen for a run. Khaled Mashud, the former Bangladesh wicketkeeper, and Mahmudullah then put up an 82-ball resistance before de Silva dismissed Mahmudullah for 38. Mashud remained not out on 11 as Sri Lanka A wrapped up the match with nearly two sessions to spare. de Silva ended with a match haul of 7 for 107.Chandika Hathurusinghe, the Sri Lanka A coach, said that the target had been to give maximum exposure to the players and allow them to play under different conditions. “We did not enforce the follow-on although we had a big first innings lead because we thought we should give the openers another chance to prove themselves,” Hathurusinghe told , a Colombo-based newspaper. Sri Lanka lead the two-match series 1-0 with the second test starting on March 25 in Colombo.

Owais Shah and his controversial blade © Getty Images

The Marylebone Cricket Club, the guardian of the game’s laws, is seeking clarification from the ICC over the controversial issue of graphite-backed bats, after a week in which England’s debutant, Owais Shah, scored 126 runs with a similar make of bat that Ricky Ponting, Australia’s captain, was recently asked to change.The Kookaburra “Kahuna”, which Ponting has stopped using, and “The Beast”, which Shah waved in India, have a thin strip of graphite running down the spine, an accessory which contravenes Law 6.1 – “the blade of the bat shall be made solely of wood”.During last week’s first Test at Cape Town, Ponting had reverted to a conventional bat, and expressed surprise that Shah had been allowed to play with the graphite-enhanced version.”He can’t use it, he’ll be suspended,” said Ponting. “It was supposed to be banned as of the 12th of this month, which was the last one-day game the other day. That was all the feedback I received from Kookaburra and everybody else, but guess what I’m using in Durban then!”Roger Knight, the secretary and chief executive of MCC, felt that without clear guidance from the ICC, umpires were being put in an awkward position. “[The graphite backing] does not strengthen [the bat] but does stiffen it,” he told listeners to BBC’s Test Match Special, “which probably means it exerts more power.””The patent application refers to the back of the blade being carbon graphite and, as it says in the laws, the blade must be made solely of wood. We have no authority to tell umpires how to umpire the game but there is quite a lot of questioning of us as to what umpires should do.”At international level it’s very much the ICC which has to implement the law. If they want to put in place a playing condition they are of course entitled to do. We have made our ruling on whether it complies or not – we are waiting for the ICC and other bodies to implement it.”

South African-born Kevin Pietersen hits out during his rapid 97 in the warm-up match© Getty Images

There’s not much respite in a modern cricket tour. Less than a week after South Africa and England finished their breathless Test series at Centurion, they lock horns again in a seven-match one-day series. The first match is an all-day game on Sunday at the Wanderers in Johannesburg – the scene of England’s series-clinching Test victory – and is followed by floodlit matches at Bloemfontein on Wednesday and Port Elizabeth two days later. (Click here for all the dates.)South Africa’s squad for the opening games is – like their Test side – stuffed with allrounders. Apart from Jacques Kallis, who will be looking to ram those accusations of selfishness back down a few English throats, Andrew Hall, Nicky Boje, Shaun Pollock and the recalled Justin Kemp will all be jostling for a chance up the batting order. Kemp, 27, played the last of his 14 ODIs at Perth three years ago, but returns to favour after a good domestic season with the Titans.Up the order it’s much the same as in the Tests, with AB de Villiers given a first taste of the one-day arena. Back, though, comes the 31-year-old Adam Bacher, who last pulled on the green pyjamas in November 1999 (and his last Test was all of seven years ago). Bacher, the nephew of the former SA board chief Ali, wins a recall after a prolific one-day season for the Lions – he has scored 502 runs at 62 this season, including a massive 158 not out against the Warriors at Potchefstroom.England’s team, meanwhile, is very different from the one that did battle in the Tests, and has been bolstered by a strong showing in Thursday’s warm-up match against South Africa A under the lights at Kimberley, when Kevin Pietersen (97) and Ian Bell (87 not out) piled on 169 to set up an ultimately comfortable victory. Among the batsmen Graham Thorpe and Robert Key have joined Mark Butcher at home, to be replaced by Pietersen and Vikram Solanki, plus two of the fringe Test squad, Bell and Paul Collingwood.In the bowling department Darren Gough and Alex Wharf return, alongside Matthew Hoggard and Simon Jones, who earned late reprieves after Andrew Flintoff’s foot injury ruled him out and Steve Harmison picked up a calf strain. Harmison is unlikely to play in the first couple of matches, but the management is keeping its fingers crossed that he will be able to recapture his elusive form later on.With Graeme Smith smarting from a rare home defeat in the Tests, a cracking one-day series looms.South Africa squad
Herschelle Gibbs, Graeme Smith (capt), AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Adam Bacher, Jacques Rudolph, Ashwell Prince, Mark Boucher (wk), Andrew Hall, Justin Kemp, Nicky Boje, Shaun Pollock, Charl Langeveldt, Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel.England squad
Marcus Trescothick, Vikram Solanki, Andrew Strauss, Michael Vaughan (capt), Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Geraint Jones (wk), Ashley Giles, Kabir Ali, Gareth Batty, Alex Wharf, Darren Gough, Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Simon Jones, James Anderson.

Nasser Hussain: ‘I think they let us down, and they let cricket down’ © Getty Images

In a pre-recorded interview to be shown during the BBC’s annual Sports Personality of the Year awards programme on December 14, Nasser Hussain will launch a scathing broadside aimed at cricket’s administrators over the boycott of Zimbabwe during the 2003 World Cup.Hussain lays the blame at the feet of the ICC for not taking a firmer stand early on. “Looking back on the World Cup, I have no fond memories at all,” Hussain said. “It was a poorly run tournament and the ICC must have known early on that Zimbabwe was going to be an issue for us. I think they let us down, and they let cricket down. It took something away from the tournament for me when it should have been an event I enjoyed.”He went on to say that he had been keen to resign as captain as soon as a replacement was found, and that Michael Vaughan’s performances in 2002 convinced him that he was the man to step into his boots. “Mentally, I was at the end of my tether when I stood down,” Hussain admitted. “You can’t captain a side when you are so drained.”But he added that he was confident about the future for the England side. “My era of players has now come to an end and a new era is coming through. There are some exciting new players and things are looking OK right now.”

THE INTERNATIONAL CRICKET COUNCIL
is seeking to employ a suitable person to become its

GeneralManager – Communications

The international cricket council is the world governing body for international Test and One Day cricket. As part of a dynamic restructuring and expansion program a General Manager – Communications is required to join the senior management team, based at Lord’s Cricket Ground, LondonCommunications has been identified as a priority area for the ICC, as cricket continues to attract enormous public and media interest across the world. Working to the Chief Executive Officer, the successful candidate will be responsible for a challenging brief, including:

• Building and leading a small team of communications professionals
• Developing and maintaining an effective ICC communications strategy
• Implementing an issues and crisis management program
• Establishing a strong internal communication network between the ICC and its international membership
• Maximizing the communications potential of the internet and a family of publications
• Meeting the insatiable demands of the world’s cricket and sports media
• Managing the communications budget
• Contributing as part of the ICC senior management team.

Suitable candidates for this rare opportunity to work in the front line of a major sporting organization. Your background will be in national or international media or the professional communications industry. Clear decision making under pressure and the ability to predict and react to the unexpected will be important qualities. A detailed knowledge of international cricket would be a considerable advantage.The role will involve some travel and close liaison with International cricket boards around the world.

Applications should be marked General Manager – Communications and sent to:

The Chief Executive
ICC
The Clock Tower
Lord’s Cricket Ground
London NW8 8QN
Email: [email protected]
Fax: +44 20 7266 1771
Phone: +44 20 7266 1818

Applications close on 31st January 2002

Central Zone scored an easy four wicket victory over North Zone in theVijay Hazare (under-16) Trophy tournament atthe SJ Public School in Jaipur on Tuesday. Itwas Central Zone’s second victory in three matches inthe tournament.Chasing a modest total of 161 set by North Zone, Central Zonewere home in the 42nd over. Central Zone were in troubleinitially against the North Zone opening bowler N Agarwal, whofinished with three for 36.Agarwal in fact rocked Central Zone by dismissing the first twobatsmen with only 21 runs scored. But Ashraf Ali (33 runs of60 balls) put on 41 runs off 6.5 overs with AS Naidu (21 runs of19 balls) for the third wicket. Then S Dixit (30 runs of 56balls) put on 54 runs in 12 overs for the fifth wicket withR Elahi (22 runs of 48 balls). Finally Afroz Khan with an unbeaten32 off 48 balls with five fours made sure of Central Zone’s victorywith eight overs to spareEarlier, North Zone were all out in 48.3 overs. Bhuvnesh Sharma,who came in at 36 for one in the eighth over, made the onlysignificant contribution. He scored 50 off 111 balls withone boundary before he was eighth out at 148 in the 46thover. North Zone were dismissed in the 49th over withonly three other batsmen reaching double figures.