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Chris Lynn’s run of injury misfortune continued during the tri-series final at Auckland, after he suffered a dislocated right shoulder while diving in the field

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Feb-2018Chris Lynn looks set to be ruled out of the Pakistan Super League, and will return to Brisbane for further assessment, after suffering a dislocated right shoulder while diving in the field during Australia’s T20 Tri-Series final victory over New Zealand.It was another cruel stroke of injury misfortune for Lynn, who left the field midway through the ninth over of New Zealand’s innings after attempting to intercept a clip through midwicket from Ross Taylor. Sprinting to his left, he reached for the ball with his right arm, in an apparent attempt to protect his troublesome left shoulder, on which he has undergone three bouts of surgery in recent seasons.However, he appeared to jar his right arm on the turf, and it was later confirmed that he had popped the shoulder out of its socket. Although the team medical staff were able to put the joint back into place, he took no further part in the match after being sent for a scan.”Chris dislocated his right shoulder after landing awkwardly on it when fielding the ball,” said Australia’s physio, Alex Kountouris. “His shoulder was able to be put back into place at the ground and he was consequently sent for X-Rays which revealed no major bone injury.”At this stage Chris will not travel to the Pakistan Super League in Dubai. He will return to Brisbane to undergo further scans and assessment and from there we will have a better understanding of the ongoing management, along with the return-to-play timeframes.”Lynn had previously said he would avoid diving in the field in a bid to prevent any further shoulder problems.”It’s something that’s played on my mind for about four years,” he said. “Let’s go one step at a time – I want to dive, there’s no doubt about that, I want to do well and contribute. But at the moment, I don’t want to have another setback because I feel like I’m making good ground.”Lynn had been due to travel to Dubai imminently to take part in Lahore Qalandars’ first match of the Pakistan Super League, on Friday, against Multan Sultans. The Qalandars will be hoping Lynn’s injury is not serious, considering the explosive Australian was their first pick at the PSL draft.Another franchise that will be anxiously hoping for a swift recovery for Lynn is Kolkata Knight Riders. Lynn was the Knight Riders’ most expensive buy at the IPL auction last month, fetching $1.5m. The team is yet to announce its captain and Lynn was one of the names on the shortlist.

Graham McKenzie was a constant in the Australian team when other bowlers struggled to hold their place

Brydon Coverdale06-Feb-2012In the backyard of his Perth house, Graham McKenzie can tend the barbeque with one hand and catch a six with the other. There is no boundary fence between his property and the ground where the Claremont-Nedlands club plays grade cricket each weekend. He can watch a match from behind long-on without leaving his garden.At 70, McKenzie is still surrounded by the game. A hundred metres up the road is the ground where the elite Scotch College plays its cricket. Walking there might have taken him twice as long a couple of years ago. But after a pair of knee replacements last year McKenzie is sprightly again. Making his way around a golf course holds no obstacles now.That his knees caused him problems is hardly surprising. He finished his career with 1219 first-class wickets, a tally that is almost unheard of among Australians, especially fast bowlers. As one of the first non-resident overseas professionals in county cricket in the 1960s, McKenzie piled up the wickets. He didn’t have too much competition for victims during his Test career, either.McKenzie occupies a curious place in Australia’s cricket history. When most people think of the great Australian fast bowlers, the names that come to mind are Dennis Lillee, Glenn McGrath, Ray Lindwall, Jeff Thomson, Alan Davidson. Even Fred Spofforth, whose last Test was 125 years ago, would rate a mention.McKenzie did win some recognition in 2010, when he was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame. His former captain Bill Lawry was given the honour on the same night. It was fitting, for these days unless Lawry is commentating, McKenzie’s name is rarely heard in cricket discussions.Yet he carried the Australian attack throughout the 1960s, a decade when they lost only two series. When he played his last match in the baggy green, he was fourth on the all-time Test wicket list, with 246, behind Fred Trueman, Brian Statham and Richie Benaud. The start of McKenzie’s career overlapped with the end of Davidson’s, and he narrowly missed out on playing Test cricket with Lillee.The bulk of the support for McKenzie through most of his Test career came from men like Neil Hawke and Alan Connolly. They were solid performers, but a great deal was expected of McKenzie. Other bowlers, fast and slow, rotated through the attack – the likes of Dave Renneberg, Laurie Mayne, Eric Freeman, Tom Veivers, David Sincock, Graeme Watson, Froggy Thomson – without really holding down a spot.At times, like during the 1965-66 Ashes, McKenzie and Hawke shared the new ball and Veivers bowled offspin, and then it was all part-timers: Doug Walters, Bob Simpson, Keith Stackpole, Ian Chappell. At other times, like on the 1964 trip to England, his workload was such that modern fast men would struggle to bowl as much over the space of two or three years.”We used to bowl a lot of overs,” McKenzie says. “Nowadays every match they play is virtually an international match. I bowled about 900 overs on a tour in 1964. It’s a lot of work. Plus we had a few other two-day matches and one-day matches as well [not included in that tally]. But it was probably not as intense as now.”Being a pace bowler is not easy. It’s great if you can get good support. You can be lucky and have a couple of other good bowlers with you. If you can’t get them out, the others will. A couple of times in my career it was a bit hard. I didn’t have a great deal of support.”I would have loved to have played with McGrath and Warne. To have Shane Warne playing in your team – you’d get a couple and if you couldn’t get the others out, he’d come back on – it would just keep the pressure on at both ends.”That is as close as McKenzie comes to talking himself up. He is softly spoken and humble to a fault, and was said by some to have been too nice to be a great fast bowler. Sledging was not in his repertoire. He bowled when he was asked to by his captains, and he was asked to too often. Generally with McKenzie, being over-bowled didn’t lead to injuries. But his Test career ended sooner than it should have.”In 1964 I bowled a hell of a lot but I don’t think I needed any treatment on the whole trip,” he says. “It must have been the best fitness I was ever at. Later on I had niggles with my back. At the end of your career there’s always something. But you always had to play through it. Nowadays I think they take more precautions, especially if they’re younger. We probably played a lot of Tests that they wouldn’t let you play now.”I played my last Test when I was 29. I could have played on if I’d been looked after. I could have played another two or three years at least.”Not that McKenzie is bitter. Far from it. He is proud of his achievements for Australia and remembers fondly his many tours. Unusually for a fast bowler, he was particularly successful in India, where he took 34 wickets at 19.26. He took ten wickets in his first Test in India, in Madras in 1964. The lack of pace in the pitches there didn’t seem to faze him.

“I liked it in England. It was a good lifestyle. I was single and had no ties, but it probably didn’t help having to bowl all winter and then come back”

“I don’t think the Indians were that used to playing against good pace bowlers,” he says. “So if you bowled really well in India, even though the wickets didn’t help much, it gave you a chance. But it was frustrating. You’d get an edge and the ball wouldn’t carry to slip at times.”On his second trip to India in 1969, he was on the field in the Brabourne Test when the fans rioted. Remarkably, play kept going while smoke filled the stadium.”That was quite amazing,” he says. “In the middle of the field we couldn’t see the people in one of the grandstands. The scorers couldn’t see the match. But because of the problem of security, they said the best thing was to keep the game going. I think the radio scorers became the official scorers.”If you were any further out than about square leg, a few rocks were being thrown in. They didn’t have too many outfielders for that period. I don’t know how long it went. We kept playing for a while there. When we came off, the dangerous time was when we went off into the change rooms. There were a few things thrown at us, but we made it.”India struggled to handle McKenzie in Australia as well. After he took ten wickets against them at the MCG in 1967-68, he was dropped for no apparent reason. It was speculated that he was too good for the Indians and that his dominance would lead to Tests that were too one-sided. As was his way, McKenzie took the demotion in his stride. He went back to Western Australia and helped them win the Sheffield Shield, a rare achievement for the state in those days.Said to have one of the most pure actions among fast bowlers, comparable with Lindwall, McKenzie gained impressive speed from a short run-up of only 16 metres. Speed guns didn’t exist, but he estimates he bowled in the high 140kph region, sometimes into the 150s. It might be a physical impossibility for a ball to gain pace off the pitch, but that’s how McKenzie’s bowling was described by batsmen.He was an attractive proposition for the counties when the rules were relaxed in the 1960s and international professionals could play without living in England. Leicestershire snapped him up and after several years on their books he helped them win the County Championship for the first time, in 1975. County cricket was a valuable source of income in the pre-World Series Cricket days.”You didn’t earn any money in Australia,” he says. “I liked it in England. It was a good lifestyle. I was single and had no ties, but it probably didn’t help having to bowl all winter and then come back. It wasn’t like now, there wasn’t a lot of money if you played in Tests.”McKenzie started as a phys-ed teacher but was rarely able to spend enough time in a school to hold down a job, due to the demands of the touring lifestyle. He entered the financial world in the mid-1960s and worked in that industry after his playing days ended.” I played my last Test when I was 29. I could have played on if I’d been looked after”•Getty Images”It was quite hard when I finished,” he says. “Your friends are in their mid-30s and they’re pretty established in their jobs, and all of a sudden you don’t have any job – you had to start afresh and you didn’t have a lot behind you.”But I don’t regret it. There are some things you can’t buy.”Like the privilege of wearing a baggy green for Australia in 60 Tests. These days the game plays a secondary role in McKenzie’s life, but he should not be forgotten to Australian cricket.”I’m on one of the smaller committees at the WACA, dealing with memorabilia and history and honours, new life members, that type of thing,” he says. “I follow cricket with interest these days but I’m not too involved.”Unless a six lands in his backyard on a Saturday.

The conditions at The Oval represent the best opportunity for Pakistan’s beleaguered batsmen to regain their form and confidence

S Rajesh17-Aug-2010The conditions at The Oval represent the best opportunity for Pakistan’s beleaguered batsmen to get their form and confidence back after what’s been a wretched series so far. In the two Tests so far, Pakistan have averaged 15.75 runs per dismissal (compared to England’s 32.83), while their top six have collectively averaged 10.20, with a top score of 38 in 24 innings.All that could change, though, at a venue which has traditionally been the best one for batting in England. In the ten Tests played here since 2000, teams have averaged almost 38, with 21 centuries – an average of more than two hundreds per game.

Pakistan’s batsmen have historically feasted on the conditions here: in five Tests played by the team here since 1970, they have averaged more than 57, which is a 72% improvement over their average at the second-best venue in England. In these five matches, they’ve scored more than 500 in their first innings on four occasions. Seven hundreds have been scored in these games, which is more than the number they’ve managed in any other venue in England.

Javed Miandad leads the averages table for Pakistan’s batsmen at The Oval, with scores of 260 and 59 in his two innings there, for an average of 159.50. In 22 innings in other grounds in England, he managed only one century and averaged less than 35. Mohammad Yousuf, Zaheer Abbas and Saleem Malik all hundreds here, though they also performed well at other grounds in England.The same can’t be said of Pakistan’s current opener, Imran Farhat. In his only innings at The Oval, in 2006, Farhat scored 91; in 12 innings in other venues in England, he has scored more than 50 exactly once. Inzamam-ul-Haq is one of the few batsmen to average more at other England grounds than The Oval.

Pakistan will surely be encouraged by these numbers, but England will fancy their chances of sealing the series at a venue where they haven’t lost any of their last eight Tests, and have won five of them. A win against Pakistan will give them a hattrick of wins here, following the defeats of South Africa and Australia in the last two seasons. The last team to beat England at this venue was Australia, way back in 2001. Pakistan’s most recent memory, on the other hand, was much more unpleasant, with the forfeiture in 2006 handing England victory after they trailed by 331 in the first innings.England’s current batsmen, though, don’t have such a great record at The Oval. Kevin Pietersen has scored three hundreds, and has topped 90 in each Test that he has played here, but Paul Collingwood only averages 32.62, with no century in ten innings.

In the last five Tests here, fast bowlers and spinners have achieved similar numbers: pace has accounted for 111 wickets at an average of 36.02, while spinners average 37.48 for their 43 wickets.

سجل كودي جاكبو لاعب فريق كرة القدم الأول بنادي ليفربول، هدف التعادل للريدز في المباراة التي تجمعه بـ مانشستر يونايتد في كلاسيكو الكرة الإنجليزية.

المباراة تجمع بين الفريقين ضمن الجولة 20، ويستضيف فيها ليفربول على ملعبه أنفيلد رود، نظيره مانشستر يونايتد الذي لم يفز خلال المباريات الخمس الأخيرة.

تقدم ليساندرو مارتينيز هدف التقدم بعد أقل من دقائق على بداية الشوط الثاني، ولكن الرد لم يتأخر.

الهدف جاء في الدقيقة 59، برد سريع من أصحاب الأرض، بعد تمريرة من ماك أليستر لـ كودي جاكبو الذي تمكن من مراوغة ماتياس دي ليخت بطريقة رائعة ووضع الكرة بشكل أروع في شباك الحارس أندريه أونانا. هدف كودي جاكبو في مباراة ليفربول ومانشستر يونايتد

It might sound like it, but it wouldn’t be hyperbolic to state that this summer has been one of Chelsea’s best in a very long time.

Enzo Maresca’s men came into it as Conference League champions and with Champions League football secured, only to then go and demolish Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final.

On top of the successes on the pitch, the West Londoners have been incredibly busy off it, welcoming in a host of brilliant players, including striker duo Liam Delap and Joao Pedro.

Yet, the Pensioners are not done there, as reports have now linked them with a goalscoring monster who is so dangerous he could be bad news for the two forwards.

Chelsea's summer business

To ensure Maresca’s side can kick on next season, the board have gone out of their way to back the manager over the last month or so.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

On top of the £60m for Pedro and the £30m for Delap, the West Londoners splashed £48m on the dynamic Jamie Gittens, who racked up 17 goal involvements in 49 games for Borussia Dortmund last season.

However, the Blues may have saved their most audacious transfer for last, as they’re now being linked to an incredibly in-demand forward who would possibly be bad news for Pedro and Delap: Hugo Ekitiké.

Yes, according to a recent report from journalist Ben Jacobs, Chelsea are one of a number of clubs who admire the Eintracht Frankfurt star.

Newcastle United are currently leading the race for his signature and have seen a £70m offer rejected, but Liverpool and Manchester United are also keen on the player, alongside the Blues, per Jacobs.

In terms of how much he’d ultimately cost, reports from earlier this summer claimed that an offer of around £85m should be enough to tempt the German side into selling.

It would be a costly and complicated transfer to get over the line, but one well worth fighting for, even if it would potentially be bad news for Pedro and Delap.

Why Ekitike could be bad news for Pedro and Delap

The first thing to say is that both Delap and Pedro are incredibly talented forwards, with the former already racking up a goal and an assist in six games for the Blues and the latter doing even better, scoring three goals in three games.

However, when it comes to pure output, the pair pale in comparison to what Ekitike was able to produce last season, and that ultimately is why his arrival could be bad news for their future game time.

For example, in 48 appearances this season, totalling 3644 minutes, the former Paris Saint-Germain ace scored a mammoth 22 goals and provided 12 assists for good measure.

In other words, the 23-year-old machine was able to maintain an average of a goal involvement every 1.41 games, or every 107.17 minutes.

In contrast, the former Brighton & Hove Albion star scored ten goals and provided seven assists in 30 appearances, totalling 2136 minutes, which comes out to a less impressive average of a goal involvement every 1.76 games, or every 125.64 minutes.

Likewise, the former Ipswich Town gem did well, scoring 12 goals and providing two assists in 40 appearances, totalling 2670 minutes, but that still comes out to a far less impressive average of a goal involvement every 2.85 games, or every 190.71 minutes.

Then, on top of his vastly superior output, the Frankfurt star, whom journalist Graeme Bailey once dubbed the “next Mbappé,” also has the advantage of more top-level experience.

He has made four appearances in the Champions League and 12 in the Europa League, compared to six for the Brazilian and none for the Englishman.

Ultimately, there are enough games in a season for all three to get game time, but should Chelsea sign Ekitike this summer, his outrageous ability in front of goal would surely see Pedro and Delap relegated to second and third choice, respectively.

PL rivals eyeing £100m Chelsea star; his exit could make room for Ekitike

It would be wise of Chelsea to cash in and upgrade.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Jul 16, 2025

Following their defeat against Bournemouth before the international break, things were beginning to look rather bleak for Newcastle United's European aspirations, as injuries continued to pile up. Two games later, however, and it's clear that Eddie Howe's squad are capable of weathering the storm, having smashed Chelsea 4-1 at St James' Park, before earning a point at Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League in a game they really deserved to win.

With any panic over just how they'll cope amid growing injury concerns, reports suggest that Newcastle chiefs are now against the idea of signing a long-term target in the January transfer window.

Newcastle transfer news

Newcastle haven't exactly been shy when it comes to spending money since the takeover by PIF, which has seen them rise up the ranks in the Premier League to finally regain their place in Europe's elite competition – in which they could still advance to the knockout stage. When the January transfer window swings open, however, it seems as though the Magpies will remain wise in their spending instead of splashing the cash on reinforcements for Howe. And that has reportedly seen those at St James' Park pull the plug on the idea of signing one specific forward.

According to TeamTalk, Newcastle chiefs are now against the idea of signing Hugo Ekitike in January and will pursue other targets. Newcastle's interest in Ekitike dates back to the summer of 2022 when he opted to join PSG over a move to the Premier League side. Struggling for game time ever since, the young forward now needs a fresh start in order to get his career back on track. But that fresh start doesn't look set to come in the form of a move to Newcastle in the winter window.

Newcastle's reported decision comes as a surprise, given the injury problems that they've encountered so far this season, though their attention seems to be focused on elsewhere when it comes to boosting Howe's squad.

"Excellent" Ekitike must get career back on track

Choosing to join a side who have Kylian Mbappe playing in your position was never going to result in consistent minutes for the young forward and Ekitike's stats in Paris don't make for pretty reading. The former Reims man has featured just once all season, which came in an eight-minute cameo against FC Lorient on the opening day of the Ligue 1 season. At 21-years-old, Ekitike desperately needs game time to get things back on track towards his potential.

Former Reims reserve team coach Franck Chalencon certainly believes that Ekitike is full of talent, previously telling TNT Sport: "Very young, we saw a huge potential, something natural, with a feeling for scoring a goal. He's a very clever player which has seen him to adapt and understand the expectations of professional football. His main quality? His instinct for goal. It's very rare that Hugo plays a game without creating a chance himself at any occasion.

"In front of the goal, his ratio is excellent. But he's not only a striker, he can play on the wing, too. Very technical. He knows what to do with the ball, when to keep it, when to give it. He is very confident about his qualities."

Everton boss Sean Dyche and potential new owners 777 Partners could be about to get some much needed relief on the Toffees' wage bill, according to a fresh report.

Everton updates: 777 Partners, Branthwaite & Garner latest

Toffees chairman Bill Kenwright has shared a positive update on his health in recent days following communication from Everton that the 78-year-old has returned home from hospital after having a cancerous tumour removed from his liver. Cited via BBC Sport, one club spokesperson said: "He has returned home to continue his recovery, which is expected to be lengthy but complete."

In conversation with the Price of Football podcast meanwhile, football finance expert Kieran Maguire has indicated that there is a lot of 'red flags' within 777 Partners' proposed Everton takeover, as he stated: "The work of some other Everton fans who have looked into the background of 777, there are lots of red flags."

In-form Everton central defender Jarrad Branthwaite has been in action for England's Under-21 side during the international break and featured in the young Three Lions' 9-1 obliteration of Serbia at the City Ground in midweek alongside James Garner. The duo are now scheduled to take part in Lee Carsley's side's upcoming tussle against Ukraine on Monday 16th October at 5.30 pm in UEFA Euro qualifying.

Everton face a powderkeg clash at Anfield against Liverpool on October 21st in the Premier League once they return from the international break. and Dyche's men will be desperate to build on their 3-0 triumph against Bournemouth at Goodison Park last weekend to move further away from the relegation zone.

Everton's next five fixtures – all competitions

Competition

Opponent

Venue

Premier League

Liverpool (A)

Anfield

Premier League

West Ham United (A)

London Stadium

EFL Cup

Burnley (H)

Goodison Park

Premier League

Brighton & Hove Albion (H)

Goodison Park

Premier League

Crystal Palace (A)

Selhurst Park

Everton transfer update – Andre Gomes

According to an Everton transfer update from Calciomercato, Toffees outcast Andre Gomes is being lined up as a potential replacement for Paul Pogba at Juventus after the France international tested positive for a banned substance and now could be set for a ban of up to four years from football.

Gomes, whose £112k-a-week contract is set to expire next June, has been identified as a financially feasible option for the Italian giants to help fill the void that Pogba could leave, though much will depend on whether Everton are okay with losing the Portuguese midfielder's services six months early.

If they did agree to a deal with Juventus in the New Year, Everton could actually save around £2.9 million on Gomes' salary, as they wouldn't have to pay the remaining 26 weeks on his contract from January to June.

In light of potential new ownership at Goodison Park, shifting Gomes, who has netted two goals and seven assists in 100 appearances for Everton but not played a single minute this season and is clearly not in Dyche's plans, may be a cost-effective solution for all parties involved (Gomes statistics – Transfermarkt).

ScorecardGlamorgan were denied their second win of the season by the Derbyshire tailenders at Swansea, where Tony Palladino – who faced 108 balls for his unbeaten 30 – and Duanne Olivier batted out the final 14.3 overs to earn the visitors a draw.When Derbyshire lost their eighth wicket, Glamorgan were favourites to win but, with stubborn resistance and some good fortune, the visitors held out.Glamorgan had resumed at their overnight score of 201 for 3, making rapid progress in the opening session as 107 runs were scored in the first hour at the rate of six runs an over. Kiran Carlson and Usman Khawaja shared a record partnership of 289 for the fourth wicket, the highest for any wicket for Glamorgan against Derbyshire, surpassing the previous record set by Mark Cosgrove and Michael Powell.Khawaja was to the first to reach his century, and he also became the first Glamorgan batsman to score successive hundreds in his fist two games for the club. Carlson reached his landmark shortly afterwards before racing to his next fifty from only 20 deliveries.Both batsmen surrendered their wickets in the quest for quick runs, and after David Lloyd had struck a brisk undefeated 43, Glamorgan declared to leave Derbyshire a target of 325 from a minimum of 63 overs.The visitors were soon in trouble as Harvey Hosein had his middle stump uprooted in Michael Hogan’s first over, then Ben Slater was lbw to Andrew Salter – also in his first over – with Derbyshire struggling at 18 for 2.Much depended on Derbyshire’s best batsmen Wayne Madsen, and he responded with some aggressive shots, notably against Salter, whom he struck for three fours in one over. However, Alex Hughes was the next to go when he edged Hogan, who had changed ends, to second slip.Derbyshire resumed after tea on 77 for 3, with 40 overs remaining, but there then followed a flurry of wickets. Ben Godleman was the first to go when he chipped Prem Sisodiya to midwicket, before the 19-year-old debutant took the vital wicket of Madsen, who was caught at backward point.When Matt Critchley became Hogan’s third victim, Derbyshire had slumped to 93 for 6, but Gary Wilson and Palladino provided stubborn resistance for 15.2 overs. Wilson faced 72 balls before he was lbw to Lukas Carey for 26, a decision he clearly didn’t agree with, as he stalked back to the pavilion.Hamidullah Qadri quickly followed for a pair in the game to give Hogan his fourth wicket – but there was further frustration for Glamorgan as Olivier joined Palladino to defend on a fourth-day pitch that offered little to the bowlers.

ScorecardA career-best performance by England fast bowler Mark Wood was not enough to give Durham victory as Derbyshire held out for a draw in the Division Two match at Derby.Wood, who left the IPL only a week ago, showed he is ready for next week’s First Test against Pakistan by taking 6 for 46 in 23 overs but determined batting from Derbyshire’s lower order kept Durham at bay.After wicketkeeper Daryn Smit batted 80 minutes for 34, Tony Palladino and Ravi Rampaul dug in for nine overs to take Derbyshire to 279 for 9, a lead of 186 when the players shook hands at 5.05pm.England selector Mick Newell watched Wood for a second time in the match and he would have been impressed by his rhythm and pace during two pre-lunch spells.Paul Collingwood, Durham’s captain, said of Wood;s comeback: “We needed something special and Woody provides that with his international class. We got the ball reversing and as soon as it starts reversing, he wants that ball in his hand and he was exceptional.”Wood was always likely to be the biggest threat to Derbyshire’s chances of batting out for a draw and he made the first breakthrough when Luis Reece chopped onto his stumps in the 12th over of the day.Ben Slater and Wayne Madsen added 55 but Wood switched to the Racecourse End to remove them both in consecutive overs.Madsen was unable to avoid a lifting delivery and was caught behind for 32 and Slater was smartly snared at short leg for 42 with Derbyshire only four runs in front.A good morning for Durham got even better in the last over before lunch when Alex Hughes tried to leave a ball from Cameron Steel and was caught behind to leave Derbyshire only 21 ahead at the interval.Durham were frustrated after lunch as Billy Godleman and Matt Critchley added 63 in 17 overs until Steel had Critchley caught behind for 40 and James Weighell moved one away in the next over to have Godleman taken at first slip.Hardus Viljoen dispatched Steel over wide long on for six but when Wood was recalled, he edged a drive to second slip and the fast bowler celebrated his fifth wicket after tea when Smit pushed at one and was well caught by Stuart Poynter.Duanne Olivier was caught behind for his fourth duck in five innings but with Wood visibly tiring, Palladino and Rampaul added 37 runs to dash Durham’s hopes.

Pataudi brought to Indian cricket a dash of hauteur and a touch of heroism

Mukul Kesavan21-Aug-2010When I was growing up in the sixties, the Nawab of Pataudi Jr was more than my favourite cricketer; he was my hero. He was the captain of India in 1963-64, when MCC toured with a second-rate team led by MJK Smith. That was the first cricket series that I actively followed with the help of running commentary on All India Radio and pictures published in . Pataudi did nothing noteworthy either as captain or player. All five Tests were drawn, and the Nawab’s contribution as a batsman was one double-century and not much more.But it didn’t matter. I knew about Pataudi before I began to follow Test cricket, in the way that I knew of Dara Singh and Milkha Singh. India was a brand-new country in 1957, the year I was born, and in its enthusiasm for mascots it fashioned heroes out of some pretty eccentric material. I knew, for example, that Dara Singh was India’s first world champion and that he had got there by wrestling King Kong to the ground. This was a fact; the older boys I played gully cricket with had told me. Just as they had told me that Pataudi had only one eye.Looking back, it’s hard to believe the hours we spent debating the state of Pataudi’s eye. There was a colour picture of him in the souvenir album that Esso published in 1964 to mark the MCC tour. It was a spiral-bound album and each player had a page to himself, with space for a picture and a short biography on the right. You bought the album from the petrol pump and each time your parents filled up, you collected some photos and stuck them in the marked spaces. As a marketing ploy, it was brilliant: no Burmah Shell pump sold my parents a drop of petrol till I had filled in the whole album.As a result, I knew more about Jim Parks and Phil Sharpe than anyone needed to know, but Pataudi’s bio was frustrating because it didn’t settle the matter of his eye. Was it a glass eye, or a normal one that didn’t work? It was hard to tell from the photo. Still, it was a dashing picture, with Pataudi looking vaguely rakish, as a Nawab should. The bio let you know that he had captained Oxford and played for Sussex, which didn’t hurt the image. Forty years ago these things mattered.

Pataudi was the best expert commentator I’ve ever heard: sharp, sardonic and rude, but I’m glad he didn’t make it a living because it left my memories of him intact. I didn’t have to watch him age into a professional hack

A part of his mystique was the romance of him being a Nawab, multiplied by the improbable fact that he was the son of another Nawab of Pataudi, who had also captained India. To complete the fairy tale for seven-year-old fans like me, just about two years before the MCC tour, he had become, at 21, the youngest captain in the world, when he was given the job in the West Indies after Charlie Griffith broke Nari Contractor’s head. And there was more: he wasn’t just the Nawab of Pataudi – he was Tiger. For us it wasn’t just a name, it was an attitude. I remember him fielding in the covers against the New Zealanders at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in Delhi, chasing balls down, well, tigerishly. I think the reason we worshipped him was that at a time when Indian Test teams ranged from mediocre to terrible, he still managed to lead them boldly, with panache and without deference. It didn’t hurt that he was born and raised in privilege; ironically, the citizens of republican India were delighted to be led by a debonair prince.So did his batting matter? Of course it did. There were the two fifties he made against Bob Simpson’s Australians that helped us win the Bombay Test in the three-Test series played immediately after the MCC tour. There was the fifty and the hundred in a losing cause at Headingley in 1967. India lost every Test in that series, but listening to on the BBC’s World Service I was content that my hero had top-scored in India’s first innings and then hit a wonderful 148 out of a total of 510 to avoid a follow-on (India lost respectably, by six wickets).Listening to John Arlott and Brian Johnston speculate about the batting heights Pataudi might have scaled with two good eyes, I forgave him all the innings when he scored nothing and hadn’t seemed to care. Best of all, there were the two fifties he hit against the Australians in the Melbourne Test of 1967-68, where, literally hamstrung, he hit 75 and 85, “with one good eye and on one good leg… ” (Mihir Bose, ). We still lost by an innings, but I was used to finding individual consolation in collective failure and the thought of Pataudi, hobbled but heroic, hooking and pulling his way to gallant defeat, was enough.I didn’t actually see him play that many innings. There was his top score of 203 not out in Delhi in that dull dead rubber against Smith’s MCC, and the hundred, also in Delhi, against the New Zealanders the following year, which, for once, was in a winning cause. But I can’t really remember his strokeplay in the way I can for Gavaskar or Azhar or Laxman, or any batsman made familiar by live telecasts. I saw more of Pataudi after he retired and turned up on television as an expert than I did when he was a player. He was the best expert commentator I’ve ever heard: sharp, sardonic and rude, but I’m glad he didn’t make it a living because it left my memories of him intact. I didn’t have to watch him age into a professional hack. Listening at Richie Benaud on Channel Nine, it’s impossible to believe he ever played cricket. Pataudi was my hero from a time before television, through a childhood where I followed cricket by hearing it described; in a golden age where I didn’t have to see to believe.