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A lot can happen in 12 months.This time last year, the national team’s form was a thing of wonder. It had just completed an undefeated run through an entire Australian summer; had extended an amazing streak of consecutive Test wins to 15; and a Test series win in India loomed as a likelihood on the impending tour of the subcontinent.And Mark Waugh stood out as a clear favourite for the Allan Border Medal.That Waugh’s potential slice in history actually went his brother’s way instead; that the India series turned expectation on its head; and that the national side now finds itself under challenge from the media rather than the subject of its admiration, adequately paints the tale that nothing is a certainty in Australian cricket.Which is why – even though he’s a standout choice to win the Allan Border Medal in its 2002 incarnation – Queenslander Matthew Hayden’s chances of winning the award shouldn’t ever ascend to unbackable odds.By any measure, Hayden’s last year has been outstanding.He was not only Australia’s leading Test run scorer of 2001, but no player in the world accumulated runs so prolifically. Across the 14 Tests that his nation played between March 2001 and January 2002, the left handed batsman collected an eye-opening 1509 runs in total at the average of 71.86.It was a remarkable assertion of his qualities as a Test cricketer after an unstinting campaign to confirm his abilities in the top flight.Before losing his spot late in the Australian season, the powerful opener also began to make important inroads in the one-day international arena over the last year, complementing his ravenous haul of Test runs with an authoritative limited-overs series in India.Yet, all this being as it is, the presence within national ranks of a range of consistently high-performing players makes Hayden no outright certainty to claim Australian cricket’s highest individual accolade in Melbourne tonight.Representing a particular challenge will be the form of Western Australia’s Damien Martyn. Like Hayden, Martyn used 2001 as the year in which he crowned his re-emergence as an accomplished international player after previous efforts at cementing a permanent Test berth had proved unsuccessful.Martyn was not a part of the eleven that played out the fateful series in India, but gained the nod for the First Test on Australia’s tour of England; marked his return with a century; and never looked back.At a mark of 70.45 over the course of his 11 Tests during the voting period, his average represented only a fractionally less successful return than for Hayden.Adam Gilchrist, whose Test centuries at Mumbai and Edgbaston represented arguably the two most distinguished innings played by an Australian at international level in 2001, should also poll well.The potential of Ricky Ponting, Justin Langer, Michael Bevan, Mark Waugh and Steve Waugh to claim maximum votes from a number of games clouds the issue further.And, if it had not been for a suspension incurred during the recently-completed VB Series of one-day internationals against South Africa and New Zealand, then inaugural winner Glenn McGrath may have been another to challenge.Under the complex system of counting in operation for the award, votes have been cast by players, umpires and members of the media after each of the 14 Tests and 19 one-day internationals played by Australia over the period between 12 February 2001 and 4 February 2002.The individual votes of the players have been combined after each match and a collective 3-2-1 vote has been calculated. The votes of the umpires and the media have also been combined with a collective 3-2-1 vote cast for the group. Under this system, a player can receive a maximum of six votes from any one match.The votes have also been weighted to reflect the notion that fewer Tests have been played over the voting period than one-day internationals. The effect of this provision is to afford both Test and one-day international players equal opportunity to win the medal.When the counting begins – at a glittering black-tie ceremony – Hayden should establish a significant early lead on the back of his remarkable individual Test and one-day series in India.But Martyn and Gilchrist can each be expected to head a charge that will see significant inroads made into that advantage as the votes for the country’s twin one-day and Test tours of England are counted.If any of those three players wins, then they will carve another slice of history for themselves too. Having been awarded to McGrath and Steve Waugh in its two previous years of existence, this may be the year in which the medal heads outside New South Wales for the first time.

Nick Knight – his hundred took Warwicks into NatWest Trophy semi-final Photo © CricInfo

Nick Knight gained some consolation for his omission from the England squadfor the next Test Match against West Indies by hitting a match-winning century for Warwickshire against Glamorgan in their NatWest Trophy quarter-final match at Birmingham.The left-hander, who in spite of being recognised as a limited-overs specialist had missed the recent NatWest Series triangular tournament through injury, struck 118 runs in the victory by 81 runs. His 123 runs third-wicket partnership with Dominic Ostler (63) was the foundation of the 273-7 total.Glamorgan’s hopes were dashed by a break-down of the middle-order against host captain Neil Smith who took 3-37 from his 10 overs. With the loss of Matthew Maynard (36) at 130-6 Glamorgan collapsed to the extent that at one point five wickets fell for 53 runs in 12 overs.Adrian Shaw (32) and Robert Croft (30 n.o.) hit out at the end but the visitors were dismissed for 192 with 32 balls remaining. Allan Donald (3-29) cut through the lower order. David Hemp did not have a happy game against his former county in that having been dismissed to the first ball he failed to catch Keith Newell in the slips off Ed Giddins with the opening delivery of Glamorgan’s reply.That early break-through was achieved, however, when Matthew Elliott steered a ball from Dougie Brown to Michael Powell. From 9-1 then Newell (35) and Steve James (27) took the score to 68. Then two swift blows reduced them to 77-3: James was run out as he hesitated and shortly afterwards Newell missed his stroke at a sharply-turning off-break which bowled him.Maynard started by hitting three fours from his first five deliveries but his partner, Adrian Dale, was stumped smartly by Keith Piper off Smith at 99. The run-rate was almost seven-an-hour but wickets were starting to fall including that of Maynard who was bowled while cutting.Earlier with Warwickshire put in to bat two wickets fell for 25-2 as Alex Wharf took 2-9 in six overs – then Knight hit his century with 11 fours from 143 balls in his innings overall. Ostler provided firm support in hitting seven boundaries and Trevor Penney scored his 42 runs at more than one-a-ball.Knight had just hit 16 in an over from Darren Thomas when he lobbed a catch to Maynard from Owen Parkin’s slower ball. Nevertheless his innings had not been without blemish as he was missed at both square-leg and, more blatantly, at the wicket.

Wolves had no issue putting their disappointing run of form in the Premier League behind them after comfortably beating relegation battlers Watford 4-0 at Molineux on Thursday night.

Raul Jimenez opened the scoring for the Old Gold after 13 minutes before two goals in the space of five minutes put the hosts 3-0 up with just 21 minutes on the clock.

As the final whistle was approaching, Neves added even more misery on Roy Hodgson’s side by getting his name on the scoresheet with a beautiful chipped goal to wrap up what was a very pleasing night for the home supporters.

While Jimenez may have scored his sixth league goal of the season, and his first since their 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur last month, it was the Portuguese midfielder who stole the show for Bruno Lage’s team last night.

With 110 touches of the ball, Neves – who has been praised in the past by Tim Spiers for his “sensational” eye for goal – racked up an impressive pass accuracy percentage of 96%, with 94 passes completed out of 98 attempted. He also completed 19 accurate long balls, one cross and one key pass, as per SofaScore.

Despite the hefty scoreline, Wolves only had one more shot at goal than the Hornets (9) throughout the game, but thankfully their Portuguese midfield maestro did his bit to help the Old Gold keep another clean sheet. with three tackles and one interception made, also winning five out of his eight duels.

This display ultimately earned the 24-year-old an impressive overall match rating of 8.4/10, making him the highest-rated player on the pitch last night according to SofaScore.

Birmingham Live also picked up on Neves’ solid performance by labelling him as the “best player on the pitch,” along with being “absolutely everywhere in midfield” and “a million miles too good for his Watford counterparts”.

Taking all this into account, it’s safe to say that the £36m-rated star stole the show on this occasion and played a massive part in his team’s victory.

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If every Wolves player can deliver a similar level of performance like the one Neves gave against Watford, they would certainly give themselves a great chance of climbing up the table and securing European football for 2022/23.

In other news: Lage must now unleash “threatening” 19 y/o Wolves prodigy who’s “growing all the time”

The coroner’s inquest into the death of former Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer has been extended by another week, with coroner Patrick Murphy to continue his summation of the evidence on Monday.The inquest in Kingston, Jamaica, heard evidence from 57 witnesses and statements from seven other persons. The 11-member jury is expected to deliver its verdict within a week.Woolmer died hours after he was found unconscious in his Jamaica hotel room on March 18, a day after Pakistan suffered a humiliating defeat to Ireland at the World Cup. Dr Ere Seshaiah, the government pathologist who conducted the post mortem, declared that Woolmer was murdered but three independent pathologists all concluded later that Woolmer died due to natural causes.

England’s players are “trying their hardest”, according to Duncan Fletcher © Getty Images

The Ashes have gone and the Melbourne Test went in three days, but the England coach Duncan Fletcher does not believe it was the worst performance of his coaching reign. Fletcher rated Michael Vaughan’s first Test in charge as a lower point than the innings-and-99-run defeat at the MCG on Thursday, which gave Australia a 4-0 advantage.England won the toss and batted but could cobble together only 159 and managed another 161 in the second innings. “I wouldn’t say that’s the worst we’ve played,” Fletcher said as his team should have been starting the fourth day. “We haven’t played as well as in previous Tests and series, but from our point of view we just didn’t make enough runs on that first day. It was crucial to put in a better performance.”England have been speaking about improving since the first Test and they have only one more opportunity to avoid being the second side to lose an Ashes series 5-0. Despite the predicament Fletcher had no problems saying he was happy with the team. “They are trying their hardest,” he said. “I’ve seen how disappointed they are.”Fletcher said England’s innings-and-92-run loss to South Africa when Vaughan replaced Nasser Hussain in 2003 was his worst result as coach. “We really felt down after that,” he said. “I can remember that very clearly.”

Anil Kumble returns to the scene of his epic 10/74 against Pakistan © Getty Images

Anil Kumble, India’s leading Test wicket-taker, will soon face a rare milestone – his 100th Test. He is set to don the Indian cap for the 99th time when the second Test against Sri Lanka begins at Delhi on Saturday.A smile, a rare expression of happiness, broke through the usually stony facade of Kumble at the mention of the milestone. “It is a great feeling. To think back, I started in 1990 and to have got this far,” he said. “It definitely helps your confidence. It shows your sustained kind of performance at international level. It acts as a motivational factor.”Of current Indian cricketers, only Sachin Tendulkar with 124 Tests has played more matches than Kumble. Tendulkar himself will be equalling Sunil Gavaskar’s tally of 125 matches. Kapil Dev, the former allrounder, has the most matches for an Indian, 131.When he steps on to the Feroze Shah Kotla ground this weekend, Kumble will be on par with Mohammad Azharuddin, his former captain, who played in 99 Tests. “The team knows what I am capable of,” he added during a team practice at the Palam ground on Thursday. “I have the respect of the team and the opponents as well, and the adulation I have received has been tremendous. So I have no qualms.”Kumble typically played down any suggestion of disappointment at having remained backstage throughout his long career. “I think it has got to do with the media. As a cricketer I have to perform, I have a job to do,” said Kumble, 35. “I look at it as a profession and try to do best what I can. People writing and speaking about it is not in my control.”Kumble will have happy memories of this ground. The Kotla is the venue where he became only the second bowler in the history of the game to claim all 10 wickets in an innings, against Pakistan in 1999. However, Kumble politely dismissed any talk about attempting a repeat of the feat over the next five days. “It is the people who have been talking about the 10 wickets. Not myself or the team. As a cricketer we know it happens once in a lifetime,” he said. “I don’t think I have gone with that in my mind into any match. It is a good feeling, I don’t deny that. And I know that the expectations are high and hopefully I will live upto that.”Kumble also said that a combination of factors have made things difficult for the slow bowler in modern cricket. “No matter what you do, there is lot of pressure at the international level. Even before you bowl the first ball, a debutant knows what you are going to do. He has studied your leg spinner, top spinner, what angle you are going to bowl. There is so much one gets to know from the media. The challenge is to adapt.”He added that it was not correct to say the present lot were better than those of the past merely because they have pushed the benchmark higher. “I don’t think you can judge different eras. There have been better performers before. What you have to look at is the standards in that scenario, we have to judge them on the standards of that era.” Kumble felt that whatever change that Indian cricket has gone through in recent times was for the good.”You need different ideas and different people if you need to change. Change has been good. Having been there for 15 years, whatever happens, I have learnt to take it positively and focus on improving my game and better my performance.”Commenting on the rain-marred first Test at Chennai that lasted less than a day and a half, Kumble said Sri Lanka deserved credit for the way they played on the last day. He did add, however, that it was not a true indicator of the strengths of the two teams. “You should not read too much into what happened in Chennai. The groundsmen did a great job to get the match started. The whole city was under water, and to have a match in that situation takes a lot of hard work.”

Robert Christiani: 99 on debut© The Cricketer

Robert Christiani, the former West Indian batsman, has died a couple of days after the passing of Charlie Stayers, the former West Indian allrounder, according to the CaribbeanCricket.com website. Christiani, who was 85, died in Toronto recently.Christiani, who was a right-handed opening batsman, scored 896 runs at an average of 26.35 from 22 Tests. Known as “Sugarfoot”, he was famous for being unlucky enough to be dismissed for 99 on his Test debut, against England in 1947-48 – he is one of three players to share that unwanted distinction. He later did make a Test century, 107 against India in 1948-49. He averaged 40.50 in 88 first-class matches, scoring 5103 runs with a highest score of 181.Christiani came from a well-known cricketing family in Guyana, and began his career as a lower-order batsman. His older brother, Cyril, played four Tests for West Indies in the 1930s, while Harry and Ernest, two other brothers, played first-class cricket for British Guiana.The news of Christiani’s death comes on the back of the passing of Stayers, who died recently in Britain at the age of 67. Stayers played four Tests for West Indies, all against India in 1961-62. He played 17 first-class matches, for Bombay in India as well as British Guiana, before his career ended prematurely when he was only 26.

Queensland all-rounder Chris Simpson crashed Victorian captain Cameron White’s party on the opening day of the Pura Cup cricket match between the Bulls and Bushrangers at the Gabba today.Up until the last hour of play, everything White touched turned to gold but a superb 83 from 21-year-old Simpson in only his second match for the Bulls stole Victoria’s thunder.At stumps, the Bushrangers were one for 31 in reply to Queensland’s total of 277 but the Victorians could have been in a far more dominant position if not for Simpson’s lower order heroics.Simpson – who made his first-class debut last season against a star-studded NSW at the SCG – was called into the Queensland side as a replacement for offspinner Nathan Hauritz who suffered a hamstring injury in Friday night’s ING Cup loss to Victoria.He smashed nine fours and five sixes in his innings which started slowly as he and left-arm paceman Mitchell Johnson came together with the Bulls in dire straits at 7-154.Their slow and steady 52-run stand gave Queensland some respectability but Simpson continued the salvage operation in spectacular style when he and Joe Dawes put on 65 runs for the tenth wicket.Their entertaining partnership equalled a 70-year-old record for Queensland against Victoria and featured some lusty hitting to all parts of the Gabba outfield.The late Bulls charge was no fault of the Victorian skipper who led by example all day in his first appearance as Bushrangers captain in the first-class arena.The 20-year-old leg-spinner won the toss and sent Queensland in on a typically lively Gabba strip.The Victorian attack made the most of the conditions and the Bulls were struggling at three for 51 with White taking a superb diving catch at first slip off the bowling of Allan Wise to remove Bulls captain Martin Love for 11.Debutant Steve Farrell joined forces with veteran Bull Stuart Law for a 78-run partnership but when White took another screamer at first slip off the bowling of Mathew Inness to send Law back to the pavillion, the rot set in for Queensland.The Bulls lost four wickets for 25 runs with White trapping Farrell then dangerman Wade Seccombe in front of their stumps as the Queensland middle order crumbled.He also claimed the wickets of Johnson and Shane Jurgensen to finish with the impressive figures of 4-27 off 17 overs.But he could not stop Simpson who said he was not overloaded with instructions before his innings and had a simple game plan when he was in the middle.”Watch the ball and hit it,” Simpson revealed.”Absolutely nothing was said to me which I think is a sign of the trust that these guys have in us and that probably made me feel better than anything because I knew there was no dramas.Simpson was a specialist batsman and only started his offspin bowling 15 months ago at the direction of AIS coach and former Bulls boss Bennett King.

Pakistan’s 184 all out off 48.3 overs was enough to give them a five-run victory in their first ICC Under-19 World Cup game, against Sri Lanka, at Lincoln No 3 today.Sri Lanka’s reply never gained any momentum after the openers were dismissed within the first three overs of the reply. When Jeewan Mendis lost patience when on 39, scored off 84 balls, Sri Lanka were 97/7, and any chance of victory seemed gone.However, Gamini Chandra Kumara (45) and Dhammika Prasad (24) put on a brave 50 for the ninth wicket to keep the Sri Lankan supporters’ drums, and hearts, beating into the final three overs.A six from Kumara in the penultimate over made the equation six from nine balls, but two deliveries later he tried the same leg side swing and was caught by Asim Butt off the bowling of off spinner Irfan-ud-Din near the rope.Pakistan coach Haroon Rashid told CricInfo: “They had a tough game, but they didn’t lose their nerve. But, I must commend the efforts of the Sri Lankans. They were 118/8 and they fought gallantly which showed they are a good cricketing side.”Mohammad Fayyaz, a 17-year-old all-rounder from Peshawar, who lofted the ball regularly, was alone in reaching 50 in the match, which he scored off 66 balls. In his first innings of the tournament, he hit four fours as well as a six over mid-wicket. He was named man of the match by referee Barry Jarman.Fayaaz’s innings, and some zealous fielding, allied to an outstanding analysis of one for 14 off 10 overs by slow left-armer Kamran Younis were the reasons Pakistan came through, after a hard fought and noisily supported match.He went when attempting a second from a glide to third man. A direct hit from Ferveez Maharoof beat his dive. It was the second unfortunate run out after Kamran Sajid’s (31) hesitancy was his down fall earlier in the innings.Sri Lanka suffered too from run outs, with a slip accounting for Eashan Abeysinghe, who had not faced a ball, and poor calling for Prasad, who had helped Mendis add 39 for Sri Lanka’s fifth wicket.Their wicket-keeper, Charith Sylvester, had earlier taken four catches, to go with his record four catches and four stumpings in a group game against Zimbabwe.Sri Lanka’s right-arm fast bowlers Prasad (four for 30) and Dhammika Niroshan (three for 44) did the damage in Pakistan’s innings.Pakistan coach Rashid’s main concern was with his batsmen, who “are giving us a bit of a problem not giving us a good total on the board.”The former international continued, “this is the only time we are getting good weather, and we have not been able to practice outdoors.”His other worry was that “at this level nobody knows each other and the problem you have is to pick a strategy for each team because the players have never played each other.””Overall it was a good battle,” Rashid concluded. “The future of cricket as a whole is good.”Regarding the forthcoming game with India, Rashid bemoans the fact the teams are not playing at full Test level. “It’s not good for cricket,” he said, adding, “there will be a special feeling for both sides,” when they meet on Thursday.

The semi final played at the National Stadium was more exciting than expected.Hopeful of a victory they succumbed to Sri Lanka’s pressure and lost by 43 runs.Invited by Bangladesh to bat first Sri Lanka got a terrific start losing the 1st wicket at 71. Harish Ratnayke (32) and Ehsan Mutalip (36) provided the team a solid foundation hoisting 50 of the innings in 15 overs. To continue with the run spree Ehsan Abeysinghe (25) in partnership with other batsmen, raised the score to 100 for 3 in 29 overs. The batsmen who followed kept the score board moving. In 40 overs Sri Lanka was thus able to pile up 173 runs for the loss of 5 wickets.With only 5 overs remaining, slogging was need of the hour. In the process 2 more wicket were lost. Jeevan Mendis was out after playing a valiant innings of 30 while Ranawaka played an equally valuable innings of 28. The batsmen having been out on the consecutive balls, Shariful Islam was on hat-trick but the next ball that he bowled was wide off the mark. Sri Lanka was now 185 for 7.The batsmen at the crease Niroshan (18) and Wijesiriwarkdena (6) raised Sri Lanka to 214 for 7 in the full quota of 45 overs. It was however, delightful to see Niroshan closing the innings with a mighty six.Facing a challenging target of 215 runs Bangladesh started poorly losing 2 wickets for only 20 runs on the board. Naseer ud Din Farukh and Ashraful holding the crease, however, raised the score to 73 in 20 overs. Ashraful who was the back bone of the innings was out after playing a splendid innings of 49. His partner Farrukh was out for an invaluable 30.In 32 overs, Bangladesh was 125 needing 90 runs in 13 overs, which looked a difficult task. Unfortunate for Bangladesh, their mad race to the target did not work.They lost wickets in quick succession losing 8 batsmen for 149. The tail-enders not able to sustain the pressure, the whole team was out for 171 runs. With a 43 runs victory over Bangladesh, Sri Lanka jumps into the final.