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Was it the finest one-day win by New Zealand? Was it the finest individual innings by a New Zealander in a One-Day International? Was it a sign of greater consistency to come in the one-day game?All are questions that could rightfully be asked after New Zealand’s nine-wicket win over South Africa at the World Cup at the Wanderers’ Stadium in Johannesburg yesterday.Was it the finest one-day win?It was certainly an outstanding win, achieved under some pressure with the refusal to go to Kenya the main reason.But the finest?It was an early game in the competition. It was a rain-affected result, and yes, New Zealand were right up and over the Duckworth/Lewis requirement. But the fact remains that scoring 307 to win would have been the real icing on the cake.So far, the victory in the ICC KnockOut at Nairobi in 2000 still ranks above it. That too, was achieved under pressure from the first time New Zealand had been in a major international tournament final.Yesterday is up there, but is one of a cluster of matches of impact: the 1992 World Cup opener against Australia, the victory over South Africa in Brisbane last summer, Jeff Wilson’s victory over Australia at Hamilton in 1992/93, the win over England at Adelaide in 1982/83 when scoring 297 to win, the victory over Australia at the 1999 World Cup and so on.As for the finest individual innings?Again, it is a matter of situations. Certainly, it was a vital innings for New Zealand, a World Cup-saver. History may judge it more significantly in the context of the tournament.But there is still the feeling that Chris Cairns’ effort in Nairobi still edges it out.It was great to see Stephen Fleming finally realise his potential, and it may be the forerunner of things to come. However, it too must rest among a clutch of innings in more recent times at least that include Cairns’ effort against South Africa in the afore-mentioned match at Brisbane, Nathan Astle at Carisbrook in the last two summers against Pakistan and England respectively where his centuries won both series.Whatever the call on great innings, it is to be hoped that with this team now playing as a side that could almost last through until the next World Cup, that some consistency can develop in the New Zealand game.That has been sadly lacking in recent times, to the eternal frustration of supporters.But knowing they can compete, away from home, against the best in the game, has to be a big boost to New Zealand.They did it at the 1999 World Cup, but didn’t kick on, largely as the result of injuries.This time they have a great opportunity. Even if injuries should occur over the next season or two, there is a core of players developed and more waiting in the wings to at last allow New Zealand supporters to believe that they might reasonably expect their side to win more often than they lose.

Gloucestershire County Cricket Club are pleased to announce that Sanderson Recruitment plc are the Sponsors of the Gloucestershire Gladiators v Somerset Sabres Floodlit Match on Tuesday 17th July.This match is the highlight of the domestic season and takes place at Bristol on Tuesday 17th July. As defending champions Gloucestershire will be anxious to defeat local rivals Somerset in this clash of the one-day giants. The match will attract the biggest domestic crowd of the season with up to 8,000 Gloucestershire and Somerset fans expected in Bristol.”Sanderson has a well-established history in sports sponsorship, including rugby and football as well as cricket.” says company Chairman Mike Beesley. “Our clients and thousands of the IT professionals we place in permanent and contract positions every year take a great deal of pleasure from sport and we are very happy to support that.”This particular event between the Gloucestershire Gladiators and the Somerset Sabres promises to be an important and exciting match and we look forward to being involved in one of the highlights of the cricketing calendar.”Gloucestershire Commercial Manager Mark Kirton said “It is important that floodlit cricket continues to lead the way in English Cricket, and with support from Sanderson Recruitment plc, Gloucestershire can continue to deliver the most exciting form of one-day cricket to the Bristol public.”Sanderson Recruitment plc is one of the leading IT recruitment agencies in the UK, providing permanent and contract IT staff for clients across the UK including leading national companies such as Axa Sun Life, Zurich Financial Services, Hewlett Packard and Nationwide Building Society. It has in excess of l,100 working contractors on client’s sites and a database of more than 35,000 registered contract and permanent IT professionals. Parent company Resource Solutions Group was recently identified as the eighth fastest growing middle market company in the whole of the UK.

Glasgow Rangers head coach Danny Rohl still may not know who his first-choice number nine is at Ibrox, despite being nine matches into his reign in the Scottish Premiership.

Bojan Miovski looked nailed on to be that player after he scored three goals in two matches against Kilmarnock and Ferencvaros, including a spectacular overhead kick in the latter.

However, the Macedonia international then lost 11 of his 13 duels, per Sofascore, against Hearts and journalist Joshua Barrie noted that Rohl was “frustrated” with his hold-up play in the game.

Who Rangers' first-choice striker should be

Youssef Chermiti came off the bench to score a consolation goal late on against Hearts in the 2-1 defeat at Tynecastle, his second goal in all competitions this season.

The Portugal U21 international has put himself in contention to return to the starting line-up against Motherwell with that strike, especially with how poor Miovski’s hold-up play was.

Despite that goal off the bench against Hearts, though, it still seems like the former Aberdeen centre-forward is the best option for Rohl to go with as his first-choice number nine in the here and now.

25/26 Premiership

Miovski

Chermiti

Appearances

22

19

Goals

5

2

Big chances missed

7

5

Big chances created

1

0

Assists

1

1

Successful dribbles

7

5

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, Miovski has been far more impressive in front of goal on the whole this season, with more than twice as many goals, but both strikers have failed to deliver consistent quality.

Whilst Chermiti and Miovski are yet to prove themselves to be amazing signings due to their lack of goals, there is a Rangers duo signed in the summer who make them look good by comparison.

The £7m Rangers flops who make Chermiti and Miovski look good

Former sporting director Kevin Thelwell was given the resources to complete a squad overhaul for Russell Martin in the summer transfer window, and £7m was spent on a pair who have flopped badly so far.

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The Light Blues signed right winger Oliver Antman for a fee of at least £3.5m from Go Ahead Eagles and attacking midfielder Thelo Aasgaard for a fee of £3.5m from Luton Town.

For a combined outlay of £7m, Rangers surely expected an immediate impact, with goals and assists, from the two attacking midfielders this season, but that has not been how it has played out.

Per Sofascore, Aasgaard has produced one goal and two assists in 25 appearances in all competitions for Rangers. That is made even less impressive by the fact that his assists were a pass to Djeidi Gassama on the halfway line before his long-range strike against Kilmarnock and a long clearance up the pitch that Chermiti scored from against Hearts.

Antman, meanwhile, has produced no goals and two assists in 20 appearances in all competitions for the Light Blues. His only goal contribution in the Premiership so far was his cross for James Tavernier’s goal in the clip above.

This means that the £7m pairing have combined for just one goal and four assists in 45 games between them, which is a dismal return from two attacking players, particularly given the nature of Aasgaard’s aforementioned assists.

All competitions

Player

Goals

Assists

Bojan Miovski

5

1

Youssef Chermiti

2

1

Thelo Aasgaard

1

2

Oliver Antman

0

2

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, Chermiti and Miovski have at least combined for seven goals and two assists in their time on the pitch this season for the Gers, seven times as many goals as Antman and Aasgaard have produced.

Subscribe to the newsletter for deeper Rangers transfer analysis Get concise, stat-led insight on Rangers’ striker choices, underperforming signings and transfer value—subscribe to the newsletter for clear analyses, comparative stats and coaching implications that cut through the noise. Subscribe Subscribe to the newsletter for deeper Rangers transfer analysis Get concise, stat-led insight on Rangers’ striker choices, underperforming signings and transfer value—subscribe to the newsletter for clear analyses, comparative stats and coaching implications that cut through the noise.

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Whilst the two strikers have not been amazing performers, given that neither have provided consistently in front of goal, their combined output looks good by comparison to the other signings made by Thelwell.

Antman was ruled out for eight weeks with a muscle injury at the start of this month, which means that it will be a while before he is able to get back on the pitch to prove people wrong and show that he was worth the £3.5m that was spent on him.

Aasgaard, meanwhile, needs to start showing an improvement in his performance level immediately, because the Norway international has not offered anywhere near enough quality as an attacking midfielder.

Related Worse than Diomande: Rohl must drop Rangers flop after "unforgivable" error

Glasgow Rangers manager Danny Rohl should finally drop this flop who was worse than Mohamed Diomande.

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	Aravinda de Silva will work with U-19 players on their batting © Reuters

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has sought the services of Aravinda de Silva, the former Sri Lanka batsman, to help Under-19 players prepare for next year’s World Cup in Malaysia.de Silva, 42, said he was prepared to help any cricketer who needed his help. “When Sri Lanka Cricket sought my services I was glad to oblige them.” He will meet the squad on January 2 and assist them till February 9, before they depart for Malaysia. He will not accompany them on the tour due to some private commitments.Roger Wijesuriya, the Sri Lanka U-19 coach, was delighted to have de Silva as his team’s batting coach. “Our main worry has been the batting,”Wijesuriya said. “With Aravinda’s knowledge and experience I am sure the boys will benefit immensely. It is not so much from the technical side that they need guidance but on how to tackle match situations and playing under pressure.”Aravinda is a hero and the boys will be excited by his presence at practices. It is good for our cricket to have a person like him helping out at any level,” he said.Wijesuriya said that de Silva will be present for the two practice matches his squad was due to play against Colombo Cricket Club on January 2 and against Tamil Union on January 3. After the two games, the squad will be pruned from 30 to 20 players.Wijesuriya said he was happy with the fitness levels of the team and added that the fielding had improved tremendously as had the bowling. Apart from de Silva, Wijesuriya also plans to ask Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara to speak to the players before they leave for Malaysia.Just before they head for Malaysia, the U-19 team will play a triangular one-day tournament from January 23 to February 8. U-19 sides from England and Pakistan will join Sri Lanka in the competition which will be played in Dambulla.Under-19 triangular tournament fixtures:
Jan. 23: Sri Lanka v Pakistan
Jan. 24: England v Pakistan
Jan. 25: Sri Lanka v England
Jan. 27: Sri Lanka v Pakistan
Jan. 28: Sri Lanka v England
Jan. 30: England v Pakistan
Feb. 1: Final

Andrew Flintoff said Collingwood’s innings was one of the best he’d seen © Getty Images

Paul Collingwood’s match-winning century at Melbourne was not your typical one-day starring role. He struck at less than a run-a-ball and managed only seven fours and one six but his mastery of a difficult situation earned him lavish praise from his captain Andrew Flintoff.Collingwood’s unbeaten 120 has put Australia on the back foot, needing to win the next two games to win a CB Series they never looked like losing. Flintoff said that, combined with the tough circumstances Collingwood found himself in – he came to the crease at 3 for 15 in the sixth over chasing 253 – made it a near-perfect innings.”In all my time playing one-day cricket for England, wearing the blue shirt, I think that’s the best innings I’ve seen,” Flintoff said. “The way he paced it, his stamina, his concentration was a lesson for everyone watching.” Flintoff, smiling occasionally but missing the slightly bewildered grin he wore permanently after leading England to their previous win over Australia, said it had also been Collingwood who rescued his team in the field.At 1 for 170 in the 31st over, Australia looked set for a mammoth total when a sensational diving catch by Collingwood at cover removed Ricky Ponting for 75. “That sparked us, that catch,” Flintoff said. “At that time Australia were on top of us, the bit of magic seemed to turn it around for us.”New Zealand might be out of the competition but Jacob Oram was still haunting the Australians. Collingwood credited Oram’s dropped caught and bowled on Tuesday with helping him find form again after a lacklustre opening to the series. Collingwood went on to make 106 against New Zealand and turned it into consecutive centuries at the MCG.”It’s amazing once you have a bit of luck out in the middle,” Collingwood said. “Jacob Oram dropped us on 18 the other day and just managed to get up to 30 and 40 and felt really comfortable in the middle again.”Luck was something that deserted Australia but they had nobody to blame but themselves for their below-average fielding and bowling performance. Ponting said it could have been game over had Glenn McGrath held a simple chance when Ian Bell was 18 and the score was 3 for 33. “He’s usually pretty safe under those high balls,” Ponting said.Ponting said the last 70 overs of the match were disappointing after Australia’s excellent start and he and Matthew Hayden, who made 75 and 82, “need a rap over the knuckles” for failing to convert their half-centuries into triple-figures.”You want to play your best cricket in finals,” Ponting said. “We probably played our worst game for a long time in a final tonight.” But Ponting would not concede the series was lost, pointing to last year’s come-from-behind 2-1 tri-series win over Sri Lanka as proof his team could yet claim a prize they considered rightfully theirs.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has the same swagger which epitomised Kapil Dev © Getty Images

In October 1978 on this very ground Indian cricket began a new chapter as a certain Kapil Dev Nikhanj played the first of his 131 Tests. Apart from spearheading the bowling attack for over a decade, Kapil captured the imagination with his spontaneity and brought to the crease a certain audacity, the likes of which hadn’t been seen before. So when Kapil calls someone his hero, you know that that someone needs to be taken seriously.Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who orchestrated a quite astonishing 148 under pressure, received that accolade and he admitted that it was the “best message” he had got till now. Kapil would have probably identified with his swagger and daring. Several Indian batting masters would have probably brought off those juddering pull shots off bowlers in the Shoaib Akhtar class, but few might have achieved it with such ferocity. The pressure was immense, the opponent brutal.Dhoni talked about the most engrossing passage of the series: “He was bowling very fast. It was actually the fastest deliveries I have played till now, both in the one-dayers and Tests. It was quite fiery. I believe he was bowling consistently over 148kph. It was really fast. It was a challenge for me and I accepted it. I just wanted to hang in there for a while and get used to the pace and bounce of the wicket but soon decided to take a calculated risk. I had to play my strokes at some point of time and I decided it was the right time to go for it.”It was no doubt his toughest test to date, one where he was up against electrifying pace against a team on the rise. He looked out of place in the first few deliveries and even got hit when he missed a short snorter. “It’s my best innings in Test cricket,” he added. “It was a good batting track but I don’t think it was very easy to score with Shoaib bowling at his best with the new ball. It was quite tough for me and I got hit.”Dhoni nearly got hit again this morning when Shoaib let rip a chest-high beamer, but was fortunate that it was not spot on, running away for four runs. “I would like to believe that the ball just slipped out of his hand,” he said, yet confirming that Shoaib hadn’t apologised for his action. “A beamer always surprises you, so I was a bit surprised. I don’t think anybody bowls a beamer intentionally.”Dhoni also acknowledged Irfan Pathan’s contribution and spoke about what he liked about their partnership. “Both of us have one thing in common,” he said, “we always look for runs. I was getting runs quite fast and he was playing the sheet-anchor’s role. That was the perfect thing in our partnership.”

Harbhajan Singh: cleared of suspect action© Getty Images

India’s offspinner, Harbhajan Singh, has been cleared by the International Cricket Council of a suspect bowling action. Harbhajan was reported during the second Test against Bangladesh at Chittagong in December, when his doosra came under scrutiny from the match umpires, Aleem Dar and Mark Benson, and the ICC match referee, Chris Broad.According to Reuters, the ICC said they had received confirmation from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that the bowling action for both his offspinner and "doosra" fell within the tolerance threshold of 15 degrees, as prescribed in their new regulations. Unofficial sources at the time of the incident had suggested that the elbow-flexion was nearer 22 degrees.It was the second time that Harbhajan’s action had come under scrutiny. In 1998, he flew to Lord’s to work with the former England offspinner, Fred Titmus, but was cleared in just two days of remedial work. Accordingly, he had been less nervous about the investigation this time around, and back in December, he had even joked with reporters in Chittagong, saying that it would be "fun".This time, he worked with a biomechanics expert from the University of Western Australia, and has since been named in India’s squad for the Test series against Pakistan, which starts on March 8.

Victoria 1 for 312 (Elliott 162*, Hodge 115*) against Tasmania
Scorecard

Another century for the in-form Elliott

Matthew Elliott and Brad Hodge passed 1000 runs for the domestic season as Victoria piled up 1 for 312 on the opening day of their Pura Cup game against Tasmania at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. They added 241 for the second wicket, with Elliott ending the day on 162 to Hodge’s 115.On a perfect batting pitch, Matthew Mott was the only batsman to be dismissed, caught by Shane Watson at mid-off from the bowling of Xavier Doherty for 32. For Elliott, it was the fifth Australian season in which he had tallied more than 1000 runs.Hodge batted with extreme circumspection between lunch and tea, but raced from 29 to 115 by the close with an array of attacking shots in a final session that produced 135 runs.Jamie Cox missed out for Tasmania with a back injury – Rhett Lockyear had to be flown in today – while Shane Warne, the cynosure of most eyes in his first four-day game on returning from suspension, will have to wait until tomorrow at the very least to make an impact.

Andrew Flintoff linked up with England’s one-day squad in Adelaide in the hope and belief that his recent fitness problems are behind him.Flintoff has been undergoing extensive rehabilitation in England since before Christmas, when he was sent home after making a slower-than-expected recovery from a double hernia operation in September.”I have just been on an intense four-week programme under the guidance of (ECB medical officer) Dr Peter Gregory and I spent anything from three to six hours a day training,” Flintoff said.”A range of building up the groin area, a lot of leg weights, a lot of running, rowing, cycling, cross training and running around hills in Bolton. It’s been a hard few weeks but I am probably as fit as I have ever been.””The time-spans we were talking about meant I should have been fit, it was just unfortunate that I took a bit longer to heal. I did all the rehab that was asked of me before I came out and I have done rehab since then. I just needed time to get fully fit.”I have worked hard since I had the operation and looking forward now, everything else is behind me. I am probably as fit now as I have been for 12 months.””My weight is the same I have just lost body fat. I have not put a pound on since the tour of New Zealand last year. A lot of it was to do with the series in India and New Zealand, bowling long spells.”Before that I had never bowled those type of overs before. Also my diet is probably better and I have spent a lot more time down the gym. There was a spell when I was younger, between the age of 14 and 22 where my back was playing up so I didn’t do a great deal of running because of that.”Now I am on the treadmill, running outside and the back has been good for two years, touch wood.”Flintoff confessed to extreme frustration at missing the Ashes series, but now feels fit to challenge for a position in England’s World Cup team after securing a place in England’s 15-man squad.”Before it was a case of being in pain and there wasn’t a lot of confidence in my groin because of it, it was nowhere near the level it is now. I feel fully fit, have every confidence the groin is going to hold up and I am pain free.”Bowling is such an unnatural action; if you talk to bowlers a lot of them have had hernias and I think with the amount of cricket played that it’s inevitable from time to time that you are going to pick up injuries and hernia is quite a common one.”I was obviously disappointed and frustrated not to be involved in the Ashes. But there was not a great deal I could do, I had to look forward and look at the World Cup and get fit for that.”I have not played international cricket now since the Headingley Test match so that’s four months gone and I am definitely fresh and raring to go.”

Hemang Badani, the stylish left-hander from Tamil Nadu has come a longway since he started off as a medium pacer in the under-12competitions a decade ago. During his teens, one would have been hardpressed to call him a batsman since he hardly contributed with thebat. There was a stage at the junior level where he suffered from anidentity crisis in the sense that he belonged to no particularcategory. It was not until he came into the under-19 level did hediscover his potential as a batsman. Incidentally Anil Kumble startedas a medium pacer and Dravid began as a keeper but later on in theircareers they have reached their pinnacle in different departmentsaltogether.Badani made a scintillating hundred for Rest of India under-19 andthis earned him a slot in the India under-19 side. He scored twocenturies against the South African under-19 team which wasspearheaded by Hayward and Ntini. It was in this series that hedisplayed the rare ability of playing the faster bowlers with a lot oftime to spare. Madan Lal the then junior coach was vociferous thatBadani should be picked in the senior team. But still Badani had toprove himself at the senior level in order to convince the fraternity.In my opinion the transformation from junior level to senior level isthe most important phase in a cricketer’s career. Quite oftencricketers tend to lose their way and Badani also lost his way a bit.In his first two seasons in the Ranji Trophy, he hardly did anythingof note and doubts started creeping into the minds of Badani and alsohis mentors. It was during this phase of his career that he startedplaying for the same club that I did and this gave me an opportunityto help him with his game. One of the significant mistakes he wascommitting then was that he did not watch the ball right from the timethe ball was released and until he made contact. He watched the ballonly either in flight or after it pitched. As a result, his judgementof line and length was faulty and this resulted in poor shotselection. His willingness to learn came to the fore and he rectifiedthis flaw in a jiffy.The biggest turning point in his career came when he got a big hundredagainst Mumbai in the semi-final in the 1999-2000 season. That knockalone was responsible for bringing him into the Indian team. If I waspleasantly surprised about one thing in the case of Badani, it was thematurity that he showed when he played in the one-dayers. It wasreally astonishing to see Badani change temperamentally for the betterin a short span of time. Today he has made a mark for himself but hewould do better if he stops walking into the line of the ball, whichmakes him play across the line off fuller length deliveries. Thismovement is more pronounced early on in his innings which makes him anideal candidate to be trapped in front of the wicket. It will berelevant to mention here that his rightful place is in the middleorder and one hopes the team management will stop considering him forthe opener’s job.