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ESPNcricinfo previews the first Twenty20 between New Zealand and Pakistan in Auckland

Nitin Sundar25-Dec-2010Match FactsWith Shahid Afridi, a truly spectacular innings is always around the corner•AFPDecember 26, Auckland
Start time 14:00 (01:00 GMT)The Big PicturePakistan run into another team that is dealing with problems. Compared to the murkiness surrounding Pakistan’s cricket – spot-fixing investigations, an inefficient and politically incorrect board, a disappearing wicketkeeper – New Zealand’s winless woefulness may seem like a trifle.Yet, their recent travails in the subcontinent – where they failed to win any of their last 11 one-dayers and three Tests, spread across each of the three World Cup hosting countries – have left their tournament preparations in disarray, with very little time for new coach John Wright to turn things around.This series – on spongy, seaming tracks and small grounds – against a Pakistan team in its current state, presents New Zealand with less than ideal preparation for the big event, but it gives them a good shot at ending the slump.Pakistan don’t have the luxury of picking and choosing their venues anymore. Security concerns have prevented them from playing at home. This is Pakistan’s second visit to New Zealand in a year, a frequency rarely seen from Asian teams.They begin this tour at the Eden Park in Auckland, the venue that hosted the first ever Twenty20 international, almost six years ago. A lot has changed since that hit-and-giggle encounter, in which Australia and New Zealand sported retro costumes and outmoded facial hair. Three World Twenty20s have come and gone since, with Pakistan making the semi-finals on each occasion and winning the tournament once. This is the format they have always threatened to make their own; so despite their current four-match losing streak and all the other distractions, they come into the series with a dangerous reputation.Form guide(most recent first)
New Zealand: LWLWL
Pakistan: LLLLWWatch out for…It’s tough to leave Shahid Afridi out of this section, especially at the start of a series. There is a good chance he will succumb to a rush of blood and leave his backers infuriated, but with Afridi, truly explosive innings is always around the corner. He failed as an opener in Pakistan’s warm-up defeat, but his best innings in the format – the memorable half-centuries in the semi-final and final of the 2009 World Twenty20 – came at No. 3. Where is he going to take guard on Sunday?Daniel Vettori’s absence means Nathan McCullum will be New Zealand’s main spinner. His Twenty20 stats are impressive: a bowling average of 17.61 at an economy-rate of 6.45, to go with a batting average of 26.66. Pakistan have their share of aggressors in the middle order, and some of them – Umar Akmal in particular – are likely to target his offspin.Team newsBrendon McCullum’s absence gives Peter McGlashan another chance behind the stumps. McCullum will, however, be tougher to replace at the crease. Jesse Ryder should return to the opening spot after recovering from the injury he picked up in India, and he could have new-face Dean Brownlie for company. Adam Milne, the 18-year-old Central Districts seamer, could also get a game.New Zealand (probable): 1 Jesse Ryder, 2 Dean Brownlie, 3 Martin Guptill, 4 Ross Taylor (capt), 5 James Franklin, 6 Scott Styris, 7 Nathan McCullum, 8 Peter McGlashan (wk), 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Ian Butler / Adam Milne, 11 Tim SoutheeUmar Akmal kept wickets for Pakistan in the warm-up match, and could continue to keep his brother Adnan, the specialist keeper, on the bench. Ahmed Shehzad made a duck in that match, and could make way for Asad Shafiq.Pakistan (probable): 1 Asad Shafiq / Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Shahid Afridi (capt), 4 Younis Khan, 5 Umar Akmal (wk), 6 Fawad Alam, 7 Abdul Razzaq, 8 Umar Gul, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Shoaib AkhtarPitch and conditionsThe match will be played at a reoriented Eden Park stadium, with a newly installed pitch running from north to south, with some of the lower tier seats retracted in order to fit the new boundary. Traditionally, the average 20-over score on this ground works out to 154 for 9, but things could be different on the new track.Stats and trivia Pakistan won the first four T20s between these sides, before losing by one run in a close encounter in the 2010 World Twenty20 Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal are the top three wicket-takers in the format. Fourth in the list is a man New Zealand would have loved to have for this series – Daniel Vettori The hosts will miss another player dearly – Brendon McCullum is the only player with over 1000 Twenty20 runs (1100 in all), and is the leading six-hitter in the format. Pakistan are without their top three run-getters – Kamran Akmal, Misbah-ul-Haq and Shoaib Malik Two of the five Twenty20 games played at Eden Park have resulted in ties.Quotes”Coaching is not about telling or ordering. It’s more about helping create an environment where good players who want to learn can get on.”
John Wright explains his coaching philosophy

The World Anti-Doping Agency has said the ICC has made significant progress in implementing anti-doping measures in the last two years, with the BCCI’s stance against the whereabouts clause the only “hiccup”

Cricinfo staff17-Nov-2009The World Anti-Doping Agency’s director-general David Howman has said the ICC has made significant progress in implementing anti-doping measures in the last two years, with the BCCI’s stance against the whereabouts clause the only “hiccup”. Howman is scheduled to meet officials from the ICC and BCCI in Dubai on Wednesday to discuss the impasse over cricket’s anti-doping policy.”In the last 18 months they’ve [ICC] got rules, they’ve done testing, they’re doing out-of-competition testing so in that brief period of time they have done a heck of a lot,” Howman told “The only hiccup they have had is the Indian board (BCCI) has said they are not comfortable with this ‘whereabouts’ requirement.”That clause – which the Indian board rejected three months ago, thereby stalling implementation of the anti-doping code – is expected to be focus of the Dubai meeting, where the BCCI will be represented by its president Shashank Manohar and secretary N Srinivasan.”They [BCCI] have given a number of reasons and I am going to talk about those with them on Wednesday. Some of their concerns include an allegation that it [Wada’s code] is unconstitutional in India,” Howman said. “Well India signed on to the code as one of the first countries. The Indian Government is compliant so if there is part of India that is not compliant that is embarrassing for the government, particularly with things like the Commonwealth Games coming up.”The BCCI’s primary concern with the whereabouts clause is that it could pose a security threat to its players. Howman, however, said that the WADA’s system was so secure that even he did not have access to the location details and the ones who did had had thorough background checks. “I don’t have access to that [athlete] information, so that shows how strong we are about it,” Howman said. “We have four people in our organisation who have access. They have all been through full security, police checks and the like. So from my point of view there is nothing more that we can do.””The whole system is good, the individuals receiving the information are secure and when the player puts this information in, the access to the information is restricted to those who need it, which would be us and the ICC. Nobody in India.”Howman had spent six months in 2009 speaking to athlete groups and showing them that the system was, in fact, a simple one. He acknowledged the need for WADA to spell out the requirements clearly, in order to avoid misinterpretation, before putting such systems in place.

A round-up from the latest action in the County Championship

Cricinfo staff28-Aug-2009Division Two3rd dayDanish Kaneria took a county-best 8 for 116 for Essex at Chelmsford, forcing Leicestershire to follow on, despite an unbeaten century from James Taylor. Leicestershire made 344 in reply to Essex’s 517 for 9 declared, as Kaneria’s dismantled the line-up. He was at it again in the evening, removing Matthew Boyce for 14 in Leicestershire’s second-innings, as they ended the day struggling on 42 for 2. Taylor, the impressive 19-year-old, recorded his third century of the season after hitting Ryan ten Doeschate for four boundaries in an over. The visitors might have avoided the follow-on had James Benning not been forced to retire hurt. He had scored 36 before he was struck by a delivery from David Masters which left him with a badly-swollen cheekbone, requiring a trip to hospital.It will need collusion or a final-day collapse at Wantage Road after Glamorgan battled to a narrow lead against Northamptonshire. The visitors were aided by an aggressive half-century from Jim Allenby as he hit 55 off 50 including ten boundaries and a contrasting 171-ball 55 from Mike Powell. Allenby took 28 off two overs with David Lucas and added 87 with Mark Wallace to put Glamorgan on top. However, Northamptonshire hit back with three wickets in 10 overs and Monty Panesar to a season’s best 3 for 55. Northamptonshire lost an early second-innings wicket in Rob White, who was trapped in front for nine off James Harris. The day’s play ended when bad light stopped play at 19 for 1, with the home side trailing by 14 runs.2nd dayThe Middlesex attack produce an incisive display to leave Gloucestershire in real trouble on 196 for 9 at Lord’s. The visitors made a poor start in reply to Middlesex’s 342 and were limping on 28 for 3 when Tim Murtagh removed Hamish Marshall and Alex Gidman with consecutive balls. Rob Woodman blocked his way to 9 from 84 balls in nearly two hours before falling to Steven Finn who also removed James Franklin. Chris Taylor was the only batsman to score relatively freely as he chalked up 65 with 52 of those coming in boundaries. But after seam did the early damage, it was Murali Kartik’s spin that caused the later problems as he claimed Stephen Adshead then ended Taylor’s resistance and then added Ian Saxelby. At that stage the follow-on loomed, but that was avoided by Jon Lewis and Steve Kirby. Middlesex had only managed to add 35 to their overnight total as Shaun Udal was left unbeaten on 45, but any disappointment at not making a larger total will have dissipated by the close.1st dayJonathan Batty and Michael Brown got Surrey off to a solid, if sluggish, start in their clash with division-leaders Kent at Canterbury, as the visitors ended on 261 for 4 at stumps. The pair put on 171 for the first wicket in four-and-half hours, before Brown edged to Geraint Jones off Amjad Khan for 88. Khan then promptly removed Stewart Walters third-ball without scoring with a catch at gully. But Mark Ramprakash brought stability to the crease to support Batty, as they added 60 for the third wicket. Batty was finally caught behind by Jones off Philip Edwards four short of his century. Edwards removed Usman Afzaal, who edged to Jones for 3, leaving Ramprakash and Matthew Spriegel at the crease at stumps, unbeaten on 41 and 9 respectively.Division OneImran Tahir starred for Hampshire against Somerset at The Rose Bowl, smashing an unbeaten career-best 77 off as many balls and taking 3 for 52, as the visitors were left trailing by 450 at stumps. Hampshire rattled up an impressive first-innings total of 548 and most of the damage came from Jimmy Adams on Thursday, who added 34 to his over-night score, ending on 147 as he was dismissed leg-before by Charl Willoughby. Dominic Cork’s quickfire 52 helped also, before he fell to young legspinner Max Waller but the total was swelled further as Tahir added 80 for the last wicket with 18-year-old Danny Briggs. Somerset got off to a solid reply, until the ball was thrown to Tahir. He broke the first-wicket partnership of 76 between Marcus Trescothick and Suppiah, as the latter was caught and bowled for 35 from a leading edge. Tahir then claimed two more; Langer was removed by a smart catch from Cork although the Somerset captain departed angrily, sure the ball hadn’t carried, and Hildreth managed four before becoming Tahir’s third3rd dayClick here for John Ward’s report from Scarborough.4th dayClick here for George Dobell’s report from Worcester.

A double-century from Shivnarine Chanderpaul ensured Durham will end the season as the only unbeaten side in the English first-class season

George Dobell at New Road25-Sep-2009
ScorecardA double-century from Shivnarine Chanderpaul ensured Durham will end the season as the only unbeaten side in the English first-class season.Chanderpaul, who compiled the sixth double-century of his first-class career, provided the foundations for an enormous total of 634 for 8. It was the third highest score in Durham’s first-class history and the fourth highest total ever conceded by Worcestershire.Chanderpaul advanced on his double with the sedate certainty of a glacier. Resuming on 100 overnight, the next century took him 81 overs and included just nine boundaries. There were times during the day when the nearby Malvern hills appeared to be moving faster.It was a worthy innings, however. With conditions overcast and the bowlers performing substantially better than the previous day, batting was far from straightforward. Chanderpaul, therefore, contented himself with leaving almost everything outside off-stump, watchful defence against anything straight and a series of singles nudged off the hip. It was not the most thrilling innings.But it was effective. Durham, wearied by their travails this season, were hoping not to put their bowlers through another work-out on the third-day and were content to simply occupy the crease. Whatever happens on the final day of the first-class season, they will set a record for the largest winning margin in the County Championship since the advent of two-division cricket.Watching Chanderpaul – or Chandercrawl as one press-box wag labelled him – in such mood is a little like watching erosion in action. You know there is a powerful force in operation, but it moves so slowly it’s hard to appreciate. Certainly he is desperately difficult to dislodge when established: he’s now passed 150 11 times in first-class cricket and only three of those innings have ended in his dismissal.The hosts bowled far better than the previous day, however. Durham were made to work much harder for their runs and limited Chanderpaul to just 28 runs in the first session.Worcestershire picked up a couple of wickets, too. Shortly after Dale Benkenstein cut the boundary to bring up his century – his fifth of another profitable season – he was caught behind prodding at a good delivery on off stump, before Ian Blackwell was trapped in front as he played across a beauty that pitched on off and would have hit leg. Phil Mustard’s attempt to increase the pace with some lavish drives soon resulted in an edge to the keeper.Still, there wasn’t much bite in the bowling. On a pitch where Gareth Andrew rated 300 as a good score, Worcestershire conceded 500 for the fifth time this season and came within an ace of seeing five bowlers concede 100 each for just the second time in the club’s history. For poor Richard Jones it was the fifth time in six completed innings that he has recorded such an unwelcome milestone.Liam Plunkett produced Durham’s most fluent batting of the day. After a sketchy start, he drove fairly well and dealt with the short ball without discomfort. This was his third Championship half-century of the season and it took an outstanding diving catch at mid-wicket to dismiss him.Resuming 278 behind on first innings, Worcestershire’s hopes of saving the game were boosted by the news that Steve Harmison may not bowl in the rest of the match as he has a swollen knee. He did take the field, however, and Durham will make a decision in the morning.Daryl Mitchell continued his good form, crunching five fours in the 12 overs before stumps. Stephen Moore’s unhappy season ended with a whimper, however, after he missed a straight delivery from Blackwell. For a man with so much ability, and a man mentioned in England selection meetings only weeks ago, Moore’s Championship average of just 27 this season is hard to fathom and bitterly disappointing.

Joe Root, the 18-year-old Sheffield-born opening batsman, has secured his future with Yorkshire.

Cricinfo staff20-Nov-2009Joe Root, the 18-year-old Sheffield-born opening batsman, has secured his future with Yorkshire. Root, who made his first-team debut against Essex in Yorkshire’s final Pro40 game of the 2009 season, signed a three-year contract with the club.Jonathan Bairstow (20), Oliver Hannon-Dalby (20), James Lee (20) and Gary Ballance (19) have all signed deals as well, which will extend their stay at Headingley until the end of 2011. With senior players such as Mathew Hoggard and Michael Vaughan no longer with the club, Stewart Regan, Yorkshire’s chief executive, hopes to usher in a new era.”We are heading into a new era after losing a number of senior players recently and therefore we felt it was essential to ensure that the undoubted talent that has emerged through our Academy system in recent years is retained,” he said. “These youngsters will form the future of Yorkshire cricket and we want to look after them. It is now over to them to return the compliment and perform to the best of their abilities on the pitch next season.”

Dwayne Bravo’s surgically-repaired ankle has been deemed too fragile for West Indies’ Test series in England, but strong enough to withstand the rigours of Twenty20 cricket

Alex Brown07-Apr-2009Dwayne Bravo’s surgically-repaired ankle has been deemed too fragile for West Indies’ Test series in England, but strong enough to withstand the rigours of Twenty20 cricket. Bravo, speaking prior to boarding a Durban-bound flight on Tuesday, confirmed he will represent the Mumbai Indians in the IPL while his West Indian team-mates play two Tests against England.”This is a situation forced on me,” Bravo told Cricinfo. “It is not a decision I made. It was made by the [West Indies] team medical staff and the selectors. The situation is that I have been advised by doctors to get my ankle stronger before I can play five-day cricket. The plan is to join the [West Indian] team in England when the one-day series begins.”Bravo, who played all five one-day internationals against England in the recently-completed series in the Caribbean, insists his appearance in the IPL is not related to the simmering feud between the West Indies board and its players. “I think everyone knows that Test cricket is the most important,” he said. “Everyone wants to play it.”That, though, contrasts with the views expressed by the all-rounder in an interview published last week, during which he spoke of the conflict experienced by West Indian players in deciding whether to tour England or play in the IPL. Speaking a day after his captain, Chris Gayle, hinted at a possible player boycott of the fifth one-day international in St Lucia, Bravo expressed dissatisfaction with the WICB for organising the tour of England, which overlaps with the IPL, without consulting players. The tour was arranged at short notice after the withdrawal of Sri Lanka – whose hand was forced when 13 players demanded they be allowed to play in the IPL – and falls outside the Future Tours Programme.”[The] England tour came up, where the WICB went on and signed that tour without letting WIPA know anything about the tour,” Bravo told Caribbeancricket.com. “We signed our contract to go and represent our IPL team, now we are in a position where we have to choose whether to go and play IPL for the first six weeks or go to England.”It is a tricky situation. If we choose to go and play IPL, they will say why the players, they want their money. We will be going to play in England so I don’t know where it came about from, but it is something we need to look at in the near future and see how the board do things. They have to understand that the Sri Lanka players pull out [of the England tour] because their board are aware that the key players have IPL contracts and therefore they allow the players to get income another way.”In the same interview, Bravo revealed he had not been paid by the WICB during his enforced eight-month lay-off after undergoing surgery to his damaged left ankle. “It is just upsetting,” he said. “The little bit that I’ve made representing the West Indies for the last four years, I have to live off it.”Bravo was in a more conciliatory mood this week when discussing the circumstances under which he will be allowed to play for the Mumbai Indians while his West Indian teammates are engaged in a Test series in England.”The tour is going on and the West Indies will take part in that series [in England],” he said. “I am excluded because of my situation with the injury. I have played five one-day games for the West Indies but I am yet to play in any longer forms of the game. I still am experiencing side effects [with the ankle]. I am trying to monitor it as best I can and work with the physio and the team doctor to get myself 100 percent fit. I will look to play in the Test series against Bangladesh later in the year and the one-day series in England before that.”Bravo, rated one of international cricket’s premier all-rounders, was reported last year to have signed a contract worth between $200,000 and $250,000 with the Mukesh Ambani-owned Mumbai franchise, and rewarded them with 11 wickets at 21.09 and 178 runs at 29.66. So desperate were they for him to play a ninth and final game in 2008 – against Deccan Chargers on May 18 – the Indians agreed to fly Bravo to Jamaica via private jet to allow him to play the first Test against Australia beginning at Sabina Park four days later.Mumbai might opt for a similar course of action in 2009, should Bravo prove similarly valuable in South Africa. The first match of the one-day series between the West Indies and England will be played at Headingley on May 21; the same day the Indians are due to play Delhi in their final home-and-away match of the IPL season.Meanwhile, Kolkata coach John Buchanan has been informed Gayle, the West Indies captain, will be available for the first seven games of this year’s IPL. Should that eventuate, Gayle will remain in South Africa until May 1, and join the West Indies ahead of the first Test at Lord’s, which begins on May 6.”As far as we know we’ve got him for about the first seven games here,” Buchanan said. “We expect him at this stage to be leaving us in the first couple of days of May, so that under the current schedule means he should play about seven games for us this time.”

The Bangladesh captain said the team had been playing good cricket in the past seven to eight months

Cricinfo staff24-Jul-2009Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has said his side’s Test series win in the West Indies will lead to more consistency in their performance. The team, he said, had been knocking on the doors of a big win for some time and were confident it was round the corner.Mortaza was speaking on his return to Bangladesh, his tour cut short by a knee injury that ruled him out of the second Test and the ODI series.”We did something which never happened to Bangladesh cricket,” he said. “I thoroughly enjoyed it even though I was not playing for the most part. Our cricket can only go forward from here. We are not going to win every game from now on but I believe you will see more consistency because the boys have confidence and belief in their abilities.”He said the team put the loss to Ireland in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup behind them. “We have been playing good cricket for seven-eight months. We pushed teams like New Zealand and Sri Lanka really close and the players were confident that a result was just around the corner. One Twenty20 loss to Ireland doesn’t wipe out the good cricket we played before that.”Bangladesh’s win came against a severely weakened West Indies side, the hosts ravaged by an internal contracts dispute, but Mortaza wasn’t about to let it take the gloss off the result. “We had planned for Gayle and the rest but then their line-up changed. We couldn’t do anything about that and decided to stick to the same plan against players we didn’t know much about. We executed our plan really well and it worked.”Mortaza praised the effort of the top-order batsmen in the series, an area of worry for Bangladesh recently. “That had been one of our areas of concern in the past but Tamim (Iqbal) was excellent in the opening slot. Imrul (Kayes), Zunaed and some others may not have made big runs to show but balanced that by staying at the crease for long periods. Spending time at the wicket is decisive in Test cricket.”Mortaza was unsure about the details of his injury, and said he would travel to Australia to receive treatment. “I’m still not sure about the extent of the damage. I’ve heard that there could be a bit of internal bleeding probably. I will have to travel abroad and get it checked and we’ll see whether a surgery is required or not. But I’m confident that I would return to cricket pretty soon.”Fast bowler Shahadat Hossain, who also returned to Bangladesh after being omitted from the ODI team, admitted it was not a memorable Test series for him. “I am disappointed with my bowling. We played on wickets where you had to bowl long spells to get wickets. I didn’t do that and that’s probably the reason why I wasn’t successful. The pitches are slow in the Caribbean and we have Shakib who is super and then (Abdur) Razzak, Riyad (Mahmud Ullah) and Naeem (Islam). I expect the spinners to do well in the ODIs.”Newcomer Sahgir Hossain did not get to play in any of the Tests, but was happy to be part of the winning national team. “Obviously I would have been happier if I had played but the feeling of winning a Test series on my first trip with the National team is still a most memorable experience,” he said.

John Ward reports from the first day between Nottinghamshire and Durham at Trent Bridge

John Ward at Trent Bridge15-Jul-2009
ScorecardDale Benkenstein drives during his fine hundred•Getty ImagesAt present, Nottinghamshire look like the only team capable of challenging Durham, the reigning champions and current leaders in the county table. Twenty five points adrift, but with two matches in hand, this is a crucial match for Nottinghamshire that could play a major part in deciding the Championship. Both teams have ample reserves, especially in pace bowling: Durham are without Steve Harmison and Graham Onions, Nottinghamshire without Stuart Broad, and they could still afford to leave out Darren Pattinson and the promising Luke Fletcher.Despite their rich bowling resources, though, the home side had to bow to the Durham batting pair of Will Smith and Dale Benkenstein. They pulled their side out of a degree of early trouble with a fine, if at times dogged, partnership of 193 for the fourth wicket; if they did not score quickly enough, on a pitch not really conducive to fast scoring, they laid what should have been a good foundation for a potential victory. However, their position was spoiled by the events of the last five minutes of play when both fell to Mark Ealham to leave honours even after the first day.Presumably expecting the ball to swing – which it did to some extent – the home side put Durham in to bat on winning the toss. The early swing was not so excessive as to trouble the batsmen unduly, and for a while Mark Di Venuto and Mark Stoneman played confidently, keeping the score moving by pushing for singles and dispatching loose balls for four, mainly to leg and through the covers. Di Venuto did survive one fortuitous edge between second and third slip to the boundary, off Charlie Shreck.Ryan Sidebottom bowled well in his opening spell of eight overs for 11 runs, although he does have a habit of bowling just wide enough of a left-hander’s off stump for the batsman to shoulder arms. He struck a significant blow by removing Di Venuto, however, who was trapped lbw on his crease for 22. This slowed the scoring rate and the Durham innings lost momentum. Stoneman fell for 24, driving half-heartedly against the steady medium-pace of Andre Adams, who took a smart return catch. Gordon Muchall produced two superb cover drives for four, but he did not last long; at 10 he badly misjudged a drive and was caught at the wicket off the inside edge.Durham were now struggling at 63 for 3, and with the accurate seam and swing of Adams and Ealham in tandem, runs were hard to come by, especially on a pitch where the ball did not come too readily on to the bat. The batsmen were showing signs of frustration at times, but Smith and Benkenstein, present and past captains, survived until lunch – when the score was 69 for 3 – and after the break the latter at least found the going rather easier. He had started slowly, but now played some impressive strokes, most notably an effortless pull for six off Adams. Ealham, however, continued to bowl with great economy. Benkenstein reached his 50 off 93 balls, while Smith was still struggling in the twenties. Their 100 partnership took them 227 balls.Not a wicket fell during the afternoon session, and in the first over after tea Smith pulled the off-spinner Samit Patel for four to reach a 50 that took him 159 balls. But he was now catching up Benkenstein, who was rather becalmed and when on 73 almost fell to a brilliant diving attempt at midwicket, the fielder being just unable to hold on to the ball. After leaving the seventies, he was untroubled by the second new ball and progressed steadily to his century, which came with a cover-drive for four off Ealham, from 223 balls. Soon afterwards, though, he played over a ball from Ealham that kept slightly low and was bowled for 105, just before the close of play.Durham would have been well placed had this pair been able to survive the day, but in the final over the gallant Smith, who rarely looked in his best form, groped outside the off stump to a ball from Ealham that moved away, edging a simple catch to the keeper. So the home side walked off the field in unexpected relief and encouragement, and, as far as can be judged, the first day’s play of this significant match ended with honours about even.

After being overtaken in the Premier League table by West Ham United, who handed Liverpool their first defeat of the season prior to the international break with a 3-2 defeat at the London Stadium, Jurgen Klopp’s side will want to ensure that doesn’t happen again when Arsenal visit Anfield this evening, with Mikel Arteta’s side one place and two points behind the Reds.

In terms of which players Jurgen Klopp could include in his starting XI to take on the Gunners, the Merseysiders are suffering something of an injury crisis at the moment. That is particularly the case in midfield, with the likes of Harvey Elliott, Naby Keita, James Milner, Curtis Jones and potentially club captain Jordan Henderson all out injured for this match.

With this in mind, one midfielder who should be available for the clash and should be in the starting XI is Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Ox could make the difference

Since joining the Merseyside club back in the 2017 summer transfer window from Arsenal in a deal worth a reported fee of £35m, the 28-year-old – who has been described as “brilliant” by Klopp – has made 116 appearances for the Reds across all competitions. He has scored 14 goals and provided 13 assists along the way, showing that he has what it takes to pop up in the right place at the right time to set up or score a goal for the team.

This could well make him a dangerous and potentially terrifying opponent for Arsenal if Klopp does start him against his former club this evening.

As well as his attacking prowess, Oxlade-Chamberlain – who is currently earning a wage of £120k-per-week according to Spotrac – also showed his defensive capabilities in the game against West Ham.

Despite the overall disappointing result, the 28-year-old made two tackles and one clearance and won six of his 10 duels against the Irons that evening.

Taking all this into account, even though Klopp may have little option other than to play Oxlade-Chamberlain against Arsenal due to the spate of injuries, the England midfielder could well end up being the difference between Liverpool picking up a positive result and being handed another disappointing one.

In other news: “Incredible” Liverpool ace with 2.2 shots per game has been Klopp’s unsung hero this season

Fabrizio Romano shared an update on Everton’s James Rodriguez in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

And the transfer expert’s Twitter post had plenty of Toffees fans talking on social media.

Rodriguez was free to leave in the summer but failed to find a new club, including a return to FC Porto which would’ve seen Luis Diaz make the move to Merseyside.

Reports on Monday suggested that the 30-year-old flew out to Qatar to hold talks with an unnamed club, which now appears to be Al Rayyan.

Romano claimed that discussions are ongoing between Al Rayyan and Rodriguez’s representatives, with a loan deal possibly on the cards.

Everton are still waiting to hear the Colombian’s final decision, with the Toffees prepared to accept any destination for the attacking midfielder.

Everton fans react

Romano’s update on Rodriguez received plenty of interaction on Twitter, with a number of Everton supporters weighing in with their views. This is what they had to say, with one labelling it as ‘pathetic’.

“If he would rather go on loan to Qatar than play in the Premiership with the fans back then we better not pay a single penny towards his wages. The fact we are entertaining another loan is a shambles.”

Credit: @RyanFortune91

“Just awful business for both club and player.”

Credit: @Shakeitupbaine1

“What a waste of ability”

Credit: @John_McGrath_

“PATHETIC”

Credit: @Jonefc007

“why James, why”

Credit: @Yaboiholo

“@ryanwilsonefc we was right lad”

Credit: @EFCJOHN2

In other news: ‘Not having this’, ‘Don’t believe a word’ – Many Everton fans fume as update emerges.