Ronaldo double lifts United into second

Cristiano Ronaldo made up for missing out on the European Footballer of the Year award by scoring both goals as Manchester United moved to within three points of leaders Arsenal with a 2-0 win against Fulham at Old Trafford on Monday.

Ronaldo, who was overlooked in favour of AC Milan’s Brazilian forward Kaka for the Ballon d’Or award that was announced on Sunday, proved too good for Fulham, who saw their woeful Premiership away record stretch to 24 games without victory as Sir Alex Ferguson’s team cruised to the win.

United had allowed themselves to fall off the Premiership pace by losing 1-0 at Bolton in their last league outing and nothing but three points against Fulham would do for the champions with Arsenal stretching their lead to six points with a weekend victory at Aston Villa.

Manager Ferguson had made the point in his match programme notes that further slip-ups would not be tolerated and the message appeared to have hit home loud and clear as United tore at Fulham inside the opening ten minutes.

Argentinian striker Carlos Tevez should have hit a hat-trick during that period as three golden chances fell into his path, but the former West Ham forward failed to take any of them.

Tevez first let Fulham off the hook when he headed Anderson’s cross wide from three yards after beating the offside trap to take his chance at the far post.

Moments later, he was then denied by a brilliant save from goalkeeper Antti Niemi, who dived low to block Tevez’s snapshot from 12 yards.

His luck clearly wasn’t in and Tevez had another near miss on eight minutes when his right foot strike from the edge of the penalty area was deflected over the crossbar by Fulham captain Aaron Hughes.

Murali magic downs valiant England

Muttiah Muralitharan bowled two magical deliveries when it mattered most to hand Sri Lanka an 88-run win over a fighting England in the first Test in Kandy on Wednesday.

The off-spinner, who became Test cricket’s most successful bowler in the first innings, got out Matt Prior and Ian Bell in the space of three deliveries with the second new ball to end England’s spirited challenge.

The tourists, needing to bat out the final day for a draw after being set an improbable victory target of 350, were bowled out for 261 in the last 30 minutes of the match at the Asgiriya stadium.

Sri Lanka took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series going into the second Test, which opens at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo on Sunday.

England, who resumed the final day at 9-1 in their second knock, slumped to 90-5 in the morning session before Bell (74) launched a heroic rescue attempt in the company of the lower order batsmen.

He put on 49 for the sixth wicket with debutant Ravi Bopara (34) and a defiant 109 for the seventh with wicket-keeper Prior (63) that threatened to frustrate Sri Lanka’s victory bid. Muralitharan, kept wicketless for 31 overs, struck in his second over with the new ball when he floated a straight one to Prior, who missed the line and was bowled.

Two balls later in a new over, Muralitharan bowled Bell to effectively seal his side’s victory. Bell’s knock followed his 83 in the first innings.

Muralitharan claimed a third wicket when he earned a lucky leg-before decision against Ryan Sidebottom from Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf with television replays showing a clear edge from the bat.

Fast bowler Lasith Malinga yorked Matthew Hoggard to signal Sri Lanka’s thrilling victory in front of 7,000 spectators, including at least 3,000 travelling English supporters. Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene hailed the win as a “great effort” after the hosts had conceded a first innings lead of 93 runs.

“For us to come back and win this Test match was a great effort,” he said.

“It was a very good lead for England. We had to really dig deep and show a lot of character to come back.” Jayawardene praised man of the match Kumar Sangakkara for his 152 in the second innings and Muralitharan’s efforts through the game.

Clarke named Aussies Twenty20 Captain

Michael Clarke has been named captain of Australia for the Twenty20 international against New Zealand at the WACA on Tuesday.

 Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden have been rested as part of Australia’s rotation system allowing for Clarke to take the reigns, notably ahead of vice-captain Adam Gilchrist.

Chairman of Selectors Andrew Hilditch suggested the move to give the 26-year old the captaincy was to enhance the leadership skills of Clarke.

“It’s very important that we have forward planning, this is a long term initiative to make sure that we have strong leadership whenever Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist and for that matter Mike Hussey are no longer in Australian cricket,” Hilditch said.

The other notable selection decision was the inclusion of Queenslander Ashley Noffke, Hilditch sung the praises of the all-rounder.

“He’s had an outstanding season to date, (we) couldn’t be more pleased with the way he’s going, he’s bowling beautifully, (and) obviously the Twenty20 is probably a reward for his all-round skills,” he said.

Noffke was suitably chuffed with his selection.

“I was pretty happy with how I’d been going and I was hoping that I was creating some sort of interest in my name,” he said.

“Getting selected is a pat on the back for myself and everyone that has helped me on that journey, yeah I’m pretty happy, but it’s by no means the end.”

The 30-year old who gained a Cricket Australia contract in 2001 and has been part of Test squads that toured England and the West Indies was coy about talk of Test selection.

“Hopefully I’ll be seen as a good option…going on the West Indies tour and just seeing what Test cricket is about was brilliant and I’d love to be a part of that,” he said.

Shaun Tait and Adam Voges were the other notable inclusions, Tait returned to first-class cricket last week in thumping fashion with career best figures of 7-29.

Hilditch was keen to hold his cards close to his chest when it came to the make up of the Boxing Day Test team and the possibility of a four-pronged pace attack, but he did suggest Tait would be in the reckoning.

Brad Hogg was surprisingly left out of the side but Hilditch was quick to point out that the make-up of the one-day side will differ to the Twenty20 squad.

‘I was one of the biggest underachievers’ : Mervyn Dillon

Mervyn Dillon is one of the few good fast bowlers who have emerged from the West Indies in recent years.

Tall and endowed with a powerful physique, like many of his fearsome predecessors, he appeared capable of scaling dizzy heights, especially when young and at the peak of his prowess, but did not.

Nevertheless, considering his chequered international career, his record in both Tests and ODIs is more impressive than many members of his tribe across the cricketing globe, not just on the Caribbean.

Dillon granted Haresh Pandya an exclusive interview on the eve of the Indian Cricket League tournament at Panchkula near Chandigarh.

You haven’t been around, nor in the thick of action, for quite some time now. Have you decided to stop playing international cricket?

Well, I haven’t called it a day! Not yet. It’s a bit touchy. I’ve still a lot of cricket in me. I’m still available for the West Indies. It’s all but over. Events like the ICL here and Stanford competition back home have given me an opportunity to continue playing and there is no reason why I shouldn’t enjoy that. 

Is it due to frustration, or at not been considered for the West Indies any longer, that you have joined the ICL?

Not really. I’m a very realistic person. I tend to accept life as it comes. You’ve your ups and downs. Life is like that. It’s the understanding that the people in charge of West Indian cricket pick the best possible team. And they’ve been doing that. So even if I’m not involved with the West Indies team, it’s all right. Life goes on. I’m still very fit in body and mind and the ICL and Stanford tournaments are ideal for me. 

You bowled many good spells for the West Indies. But taking into account your genius, one is inclined to believe that your best has never been seen on the international stage. What is your personal assessment?

 I agree with you. I’ll always be the first to admit that my best has never been seen in international cricket. I remember talking to Steve Waugh and he said that I was one of he biggest underachievers in terms of cricketing talents and resultant performances. Of course, I’ve always played true to my potential during my career. But I don’t want to offer any excuses as to why I didn’t do full justice to my talents. Of course, there’re a lot of things happening in and around West Indian cricket and that’s how it ended up. But I think my best cricket is yet to come. Though I’m 33, I don’t think I was fitter than today in my life.

But why hasn’t your best come out yet?

I think I should have tried harder at times. There is no question about that. But again this isn’t an excuse. I’ve myself to hold fully responsible for what I’ve achieved and what I haven’t. I always tried to give my best regardless of the events off the field.

How was it playing under different captains?

It isn’t so important for me to have played under different captains. It’s not a big issue. My job is to go out there and perform, and take as many wickets as I could, irrespective of who leads the team.

Unfortunately, the system in the West Indies isn’t the best in terms of infrastructure. The things aren’t being done ideally. There is no professionalism in our players.

And it shows up in our cricket there. We’ve abundance of talent but for some reasons we aren’t as consistent as we should be. And consistency comes only when you’ve a proper system that encourages the players. Also, there is no substitute for hard work and ruthless professionalism in contemporary cricket today.

As a fast bowler, did you miss someone at the other end to complement you? Did you have good support from other fast bowlers?

Well, when you look back, one of the players I did very well with was actually a spinner, Dinanath Ramnarain, who was also from my country. But if you look at that particular history, almost every time I was opening the bowling with someone else. Was it a good thing? I don’t think so. I think we looked for too many quick fixes as the years went by.

And too much chopping and changing meant that the guys never got a chance to really settle down. You came in the team and started wondering whether you would be there in the next match or the next series. It put a lot of pressure on them.

There was a time when the West Indies used to produce a plethora of express fast bowlers with frightening regularity. Why is it that not many quality pace bowlers are emerging from the Caribbean?

There are a number of issues. There is so much cricket being played in the world and, like I said, the West Indies has been sort of left behind in terms of modern era of the game and how things are done at the international level. There is a whole science behind the game in the modern era and everybody is moving forward. But we are one of the teams that is lacking in all these things.

Look at Australian cricket and the Australian team. Look at their domestic cricket and their structure. They put just professional players. We’ve a lot of talent but how professional these guys are is a question. If we nurture that talent with a totally professional attitude, I think we’ll get more consistent performances from the players.

Aren’t more and more youngsters in the West Indies preferring basketball and other professional sports to cricket, and going to the USA?

No, no. I totally disagree with that. Cricket is still the biggest sport in the Caribbean. There is no question about that. Yes, we aren’t what we used to be, a lot is lacking in the West Indies, but still more and more youngsters are coming forward to play and take up cricket. This is an encouraging sign.

But people are discouraged by the domestic structure and the way cricket is being run in the West Indies. A lot could be done to improve the standard of cricket, not just in the West Indies, but in many other countries.

You have played with some of the greatest cricketers of the modern era, including Brian Lara. Did you ever imagine, when you started playing cricket, that you would be rubbing shoulders with them?

It’s a dream come true for me. I said it very early in my career that I never thought it was possible for me to play cricket for the West Indies. But it happened. And I played with some of the best players in the world, including Brian Lara, Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose and Ian Bishop — to name only a few. And I’ve also played against some of the best players in the world. So it’s really a dream come true for me. My only regret is that I didn’t justify my own talent the way I should have.

Could you name some of the finest batsmen you came across as a fast bowler?

Talking about the best batsmen, you had Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden. All of them top players. It was always a pleasure playing against them.

If given an opportunity, would you like to serve West Indian cricket in some capacity?

Definitely. In fact, it’s one of the things why I’m in the ICL. Cricket has given me a lot. It has given me everything. And I want to pass on my knowledge to the youngsters. I’m thankful to the game for whatever I’m today. Who will be thankful to the game?  

Will the West Indies ever regain past glory in cricket?

I think so. I think we are going to get people who understand the game. Cricket is no longer a sport; it’s a business. It has to be run that way. I think the Stanford competition is a brilliant idea. I think it’s something the West Indies Cricket Board should look forward to. It’s well-planned, organised and thoroughly professionalised.