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For Paul Collingwood, one word – “Adelaide” – is all that will be required to ensure that his competitive juices are fully flowing come Wednesday morning

Andrew Miller in Cardiff06-Jul-2009On the eve of an Ashes series, extra motivation is not something that either side will lack, but for Paul Collingwood, one word – “Adelaide” – is all that will be required to ensure that his competitive juices are fully flowing come Wednesday morning.For Collingwood, the second Test of England’s disastrous campaign in 2006-07 truly was the best of times, and the worst of times. On the second day of the match he completed the double-century that seemed destined to lead England’s fightback from their 277-run drubbing in the first Test at Brisbane; by the final afternoon, however, he was clinging to the wreckage of England’s second innings, 22 not out from 119 balls, as Shane Warne led the charge towards Australia’s incredible six-wicket victory.After that astonishing turnaround, of which there had been no prospect until Andrew Strauss’s dismissal midway through the morning session of the final day, there was no holding Australia back. They swarmed to victory in the remaining three Tests to complete their first Ashes whitewash since 1920-21, and claim absolute vengeance for their thrilling defeat in England in 2005. For better or worse, Collingwood has been clinging to the events of that Test ever since.”I’ll be honest with you, it still hurts me and hurts the team talking about Adelaide,” he told Cricinfo. “We got ourselves into a great position to win or draw the game, and the whole Ashes series could have turned out a lot differently if that had happened. Looking back, it really took the guts out of us as a team – and certainly as an individual, it took the guts out of me – because we had been in such a great position.”It’s amazing how high you can get in terms of your emotions, scoring a double hundred as an individual, and then how quickly a game can turn, and how low you can actually get within such a short space of time,” he said. “As a cricketer, I went from as high as I’ve ever been, to as low as I’ve ever been, in the space of a day. That’s the amazing thing about cricket. You’ve got to be so mentally strong as a cricketer to go through the emotional range in the space of days.”No player is better placed than Collingwood to pass on the lessons that England were taught that day, not even Kevin Pietersen, who also scored a century in that Test, but whose success against all opponents and in all forms of the game somehow set him apart from his colleagues. As Collingwood himself put it: “For most of my career, I’ve always learned from adversity rather than success.”Nearly three years on, however, and there is plenty that is different about the two line-ups, particularly Australia’s, which has been stripped of many of the men who made that Adelaide turnaround possible – most notably Warne, but also Glenn McGrath and now Brett Lee as well.”They were a team who pounced on an opportunity, and that hurt a lot,” Collingwood said. “Last time they had a lot of experience and skill, and they knew about taking opportunities, which we were slow in doing ourselves. They gradually wore us down, but if you give it a good go from ball one, and if you have that aggressive attitude against Australia, you’ll do pretty well.”I guess it’s about going out there and believing in yourself,” he said. “They are a very good side so you’ve got to get your technique in place, but the mental side of playing against Australia is the crucial thing, and that’s going to be new for a lot of the players in both sides. You’ve got to adapt your game and strategies to overcome everything that goes with the Ashes – the media hype, the atmosphere in the grounds. It’s completely different.”Collingwood happens to believe that the attitude within the England team is completely different as well, and attributes that to the lessons learned in the midst of humiliation. “Coming off the pitch last time in Australia, I had conversations with the boys, and we talked about what we were going to do to make sure that [experience] doesn’t happen again. It’s amazing how it hits you hard as sportsmen.”There were certainly a few nerves going into that [series] but there were also a few grey areas in the team,” he said. “This time we are more confident in what we are about, and what we’re doing, and that’s crucial. Mentally it’s a belief thing. It’s not about being overconfident or arrogant, but about going at them – not in a verbal sense, but in body language.”

“For most of my career, I’ve always learned from adversity rather than success.”

Given the history of Anglo-Australian relations, verbal jousting will undoubtedly play a major part in the series, although Collingwood – who toughened up his game in Aussie grade cricket in the mid-1990s, and was at the forefront of England’s aggressive approach in 2005, particularly in an incident involving Simon Jones and Matthew Hayden at Edgbaston – questioned whether any banter that takes place on the field can really be bracketed as “sledging”.”It’s a bit of a silly word, an overused term” he said. “If it’s a chat, or a joke, is that sledging? Sometimes situations come around when you need to back each other up as a team, like with Hayden last time around, but we’re not going to go looking for it. With the Aussies, they sometimes sniff a moment to get right on top, but sometimes – like at Adelaide – they were like any other team that you are on top of, and went very quiet.”They are very good at it though,” he said. “I played a lot of cricket out there in 1996 as a youngster, and it’s in their culture. They come hard at you, with people coming up to you who don’t like Pommies, simple as that. But people react in different ways. Mentally some people take it personally and let it affect their techniques, some people don’t even listen to it. We have strong characters who can stand up to it.”Whatever transpires in the coming months, Collingwood could hardly be more primed for the challenge. “I’ve got no need for extra motivation,” he said. “From a very early age, all I wanted to do is win the Ashes, and what happened last time fuels me even more to win, no matter who is in the team.”It can only happen against Australia, because it’s the ultimate. Without putting down the likes of South Africa and West Indies, you just don’t get all the emotion against any other side. When you do well against Australia, it’s such a buzz because you know you’re playing against the best in the world.”

It’s first a clash of ethos, of philosophies and even of time, more than a semi-final

The Preview by Osman Samiuddin17-Jun-2009Match factsThursday June 18
Start time 1730 local (1630 GMT)The batting needs the likes of Shoaib Malik to really get his show going•Getty ImagesBig PictureIt’s first a clash of ethos, of philosophies and even of time, more than a semi-final. Here is truly man against machine, the art of cricket against the science of it, cricket’s future and cricket’s past. South Africa’s progress to this point has been smooth, well-planned, calculated and inevitable, as if their players were born to do this. Pakistan have got here in shambles – losing games, winning some, treating it all as a bit of fun – and the players not so much born to do this are struggling to discover why they are doing it at all.South Africa lack nowhere and nothing. If Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith are the efficient drones at the top, there is heart in the middle, with the ever-frail skills of Herschelle Gibbs and the creativity of AB de Villiers. Even Albie Morkel, in whom there are glimpses of Zulu, thankfully smiles more. They’ve always had pace, but now they even have spinners, who are not batsmen forced to bowl. Sure, they are a little one-dimensional (watching videos of Umar Gul’s yorkers?), but they are spinners – South African and successful; how often have we said that in the past?The whole machinery is intimidating, determined to iron out all kinks, the mission pre-programmed; with seven consecutive wins in this format, they have apparently also taken the inherent unpredictability of this format out of the equation. They are well-trained, well-oiled, and their psychologist talks about 120 contests and of processes over outcomes and how choking is not really an issue anymore. They win even warm-up matches and the dead games because every game counts. They are cricket’s future.Pakistan are the past. They are wholly dysfunctional, but just about getting along, though unsure where they are going. They don’t control their extras, they don’t run the singles hard and they field as if it were still the 60s. They are least bothered about erasing the flaws because any win will be in spite of them. They did hire a psychologist though, and you can only imagine what those sessions were like and how much they actually talked about sport and cricket. There are permanent mutterings of serious rifts. They may not bat, bowl or field well all the time, but sometimes, they do what can only be described as a ‘Pakistan’: that is, they bowl, bat or field spectacularly, briefly, to change the outcome of matches. You cannot plan or account for this as an opponent because Pakistan themselves don’t plan or account for it.It can come from any person, any discipline, but on evidence, it is likelier to come from the bowling. The batting needs Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq to really get their show going. A piece of fielding brilliance cannot be discounted, but generally both Pakistan and West Indies have happily disproved the dictum that in T20 cricket you have to be Jonty Rhodes to get anywhere. Heroes will likely be found among the Umar Guls, the spinners and maybe even Mohammad Aamer, who is a throwback to the late 80s and early 90s, when Pakistani fast bowlers were born ready to play international cricket.The pressure on South Africa however, will be greater. They are expected to win this and anyway they will always have the whole ‘chokers’ tag to deal with until the day they actually lift a big trophy. It doesn’t help that they look as good as they did during the 1999 World Cup, though they are easier on the eye. Pakistan, as Younis Khan said before leaving for England, won’t much mind a semi-final spot; Kamran Abbasi rightly noted that they may have had an easier ride to the semis than most but no country has had a rougher two years. Clearly they’d love to win it, but they have already achieved more than many thought and a loss wouldn’t be the end of the world. But importantly, as the only side to make it to the last four in 2007 and 2009, they have underscored their significance in this brave new, T20 world, a world in which they absolutely cannot be ignored.Form guide (last five matches, most recent first)
Pakistan WWLWL
South Africa WWWWW
Watch out for…The whole South African machinery is intimidating – determined to iron out all kinks, the mission pre-programmed•Associated PressAlbie Morkel has been a quiet, steady ever-present through South Africa’s tournament. But he is capable of bigger, more explosive things especially with the bat and this match – and potentially the next – are the best platforms for it.Shahid Afridi’s moment turned the tournament for Pakistan, an outstanding catch hastening New Zealand’s collapse, and possibly himself – at least with the bat. Since then he has batted with rare sense, as everyone has wished him to, and at little expense to his strike rate. He will be a factor with the ball anyway, but if he gets going with the bat, then South Africa will panic.Team newsPakistan have finally settled upon what they feel is their best line-up, more by chance than design. Barring injury, there are unlikely to be any changes.Pakistan: (probable) 1 Shahzaib Hassan, 2 Kamran Akmal (wk), 3 Shoaib Malik, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq, 5 Younis Khan (capt), 6 Abdul Razzaq, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Fawad Alam, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Mohammad Aamer, 11 Saeed AjmalJacques Kallis will come back in for Morne Morkel after being rested for the dead game against India.South Africa: (probable) 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Jacques Kallis, 3 Herschelle Gibbs, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 JP Duminy, 6 A Morkel, 7 M Boucher, 8 Johan Botha, 9 Roelof van der Merwe, 10 Wayne Parnell, 11 Dale SteynPitch and conditionsThe surface for this match is two along from the one that turned square for the South Africa-India match and is expected to be harder and offer less help for the spinners. However, the slow bowlers have had an impact throughout so are still likely to be key. Steady rain arrived in Nottingham on the practice day, but is due to clear overnight and the forecast for Thursday is fine.Stats and TriviaPakistan and South Africa have six bowlers in the top 10 wicket-takers of the tournament, though Pakistanis occupy the top two spots.Three of the top 10 run-scorers of the tournament are from South Africa and Pakistan, with AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis at numbers two and three.Quotes”Our bowling has been great and all of them are now bowling in rhythm. The batsmen have to support the bowlers if we are to win this cup.”

“”I think we’ve come past that. This team has come a long way and I think we’ve proven that. Hopefully we can show that on Thursday, that’s what is exciting about it. “
“It’s great to be in a position where you can rock up to a ground, look at the wicket and know you have all the bases covered. We aren’t really worried what the wicket will be.”

West Indies beat Scotland and Ireland lost to a PCA Masters XI, in the latest round of World Twenty20 warm-ups

Cricinfo staff28-May-2009West Indies recorded their first victory of a depressing tour as they saw off the challenge of Scotland by 14 runs at Wormsley. Their impetus, once again, was provided by Dwayne Bravo, who continued his fine form from the IPL with an aggressive 51 not out from 30 balls in a total of 143 for 6. He came to the crease at 60 for 2 in the 11th over after the demise of Andre Fletcher, who made 42 from 34 balls, and then it was over to Darren Sammy with the ball, who took 3 for 25 in three overs to derail Scotland’s prospects in the run-chase. Two early run-outs had already set them back, and though Colin Smith made a run-a-ball 40, when he and Neil McCallum fell in consecutive deliveries, the latter to yet another run-out, there was no way back, despite two sixes in six balls for Jan Stander.At Canterbury, Bangladesh bounced back from their loss to New Zealand on Wednesday to beat Netherlands by 64 runs in Canterbury. After winning the toss, Mohammad Ashraful’s 69 and the in-form Mahmudullah’s 54 helped Bangladesh to an impressive 206 for 6, and Netherlands were bowled out for 142 in 16.2 overs.Ireland’s preparations for the World Twenty20 suffered a setback when they were beaten by six wickets by a PCA Masters XI comprised of an array of former England cricketers and bolstered by the current West Indian allrounder Kieron Pollard, who had faced a solitary delivery in the earlier game against Scotland. Ireland won the toss and batted, and were faced with a line-up straight from the mid-1990s, as Phil DeFreitas and Darren Gough both struck in their first overs with the new ball, before Peter Such twirled through the lower-order with 3 for 17 in four overs. The one Irishman to stand out was John Mooney, who cracked 57 from 43 balls in a total of 139 for 9. That wasn’t enough to restrict the PCA Masters, however, as Pollard followed up his two wickets with a brusque innings of 43 not out from 26 balls.

New Zealand offspinner Jeetan Patel has signed with Warwickshire for his maiden county stint in the 2009 English domestic season

Cricinfo staff29-Mar-2009New Zealand offspinner Jeetan Patel has signed with Warwickshire for his maiden county stint in the 2009 English domestic season. Patel will fill in for legspinner Ian Salisbury, who took up a coaching position at Surrey, his former county.Patel, who is currently playing the Napier Test against India, was originally due to play for Leicestershire’s second XI and train with the first team whose overseas signings include New Zealand fast bowler Iain O’Brien.New Zealand coach Andy Moles, who also played for Warwickshire between 1986 and 1998, supported Patel’s move. “I’m sure the Warwickshire members will take to Jeetan because he’s a lovely guy,” Moles told the . “They will see that he is an honest cricketer who gives his best every day. He’s committed in everything he does, bowling, fielding and batting, and he’s a great team man.”[He’s] someone who will make an important contribution in the dressing room as well as on the pitch and who will try to make the most of his ability.”

Rumours of four Aston Villa FIFA 22 ratings emerged on Tuesday evening from The AVFC Faithful.

And, as to be expected, a number of Villa fans have been reacting to the post on social media.

Official ratings are slowly being revealed ahead of the new game, with Paris Saint-Germain’s Lionel Messi the highest-rated player in the game.

When it comes to Villa, The AVFC Faithful believe new signings Leon Bailey and Danny Ings will be 82 and 81 rated respectively, while Ollie Watkins will recieve a 78 card.

Emiliano Martinez is expected to be the club’s highest-rated player at 84, however, it is Watkins’ rating that has had a number of supporters talking.

The 25-year-old’s card was 76 in FIFA 21, meaning he has been given just a plus two upgrade despite being involved in 19 Premier League goals last season.

Villa fans react

Plenty of Villa fans responded to The AVFC Faithful’s FIFA 22 post, with one labelling Watkins’ rating as ‘disrespectful’.

“Watkins robbed, shouldn’t be the same rating as Bamford”

Credit: @xjakex05

“Watkins score is a joke”

Credit: @hj_at6

“That Ollie Watkins is 78 on average seems disrespectful to me”

Credit: @Cronicasdeunvi1

“Watkins at least 80, Ings could be higher as well”

Credit: @avjazza

“Watkins is so better than 78”

Credit: @ReissKeating

“Watkins scores 14 goals in the PL and gets an upgrade of 2? If that was Firmino his rating would be going up by 4 or 5 easily”

Credit: @AlexAvfc11

In other news: ‘Bad attitude’ – Aston Villa ace’s comments have got loads of fans talking. 

Lots of Wolves fans have been left raging as some comments emerged from Bruno Lage.

Speaking in his pre-game press conference ahead of his team’s match away at Watford in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon, the Portuguese manager said (via Liam Keen) that the Midlands club need to find the best ‘solutions’ when it comes to their squad size.

‘Solutions’ is was a word that former boss Nuno Espirito Santo, now at Tottenham Hotspur, used to say a lot when speaking to the media, and so obvious comparisons have now been drawn from sections of the fan base.

Nuno’s last season at Molineux was a disappointing one to say the least, as his side ended up finishing in 13th place in top-flight table, and so WWFC supporters do not want to see a repeat of that with their new coach.

Wolves fans on Lage comments

These Wanderers were left fuming as the comments made by Lage were shared by Keen on Twitter:

“Oh dear… “solutions””

Credit: @WolvesFirst

“Don’t say it, don’t say it, don’t say it…..”

Credit: @DannyRosamond

“Solutions are back, not a good sign”

Credit: @SamJGollings

“Someone should have told him to never use the word solutions”

Credit: @jckwebster

“Oh no”

Credit: @cal_wolvesfc

“Oh god he said “SOLUTIONS”……”

Credit: @Wolvethroughan1

In other news, find out what transfer news has Wanderers fuming here!

The ICC has dismissed claims by disgraced former Kenya captain Maurice Odumbe that he has been forced into hiding to avoid debt collectors sent to Nairobi by it to track him down

Cricinfo staff05-Mar-2009The ICC has dismissed claims by disgraced former Kenya captain Maurice Odumbe that he has been forced into hiding to avoid debt collectors sent to Nairobi by it to track him down.”The ICC has issued an arrest warrant through a Nairobi law firm demanding about Sh575,000 (US$7200) from me. I don’t have that kind money and I can’t understand why ICC can persecute its subjects,” Odumbe told FeverPitch.Odumbe, who was banned for five years for match-fixing in 2004, has previous statements in the local media which have often stretched credulity,An ICC spokesman told Cricinfo that there was no truth in the allegations. He explained none of the ICC’s in-house legal team had been in contact with Odumbe or his representatives. It is not even certain that Odumbe owes any money as his punishment was the ban and not any fine.”]The ICC has] informed me that no one is chasing you for any money at all and that no one from there has made any call to you demanding any monies,” Tim May, chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers Association, told Odumbe. “They have also informed me that there was no judgement against you to repay any monies by way of a fine or for legal costs incurred by either ICC or KCA.””I have suffered enough and I should be left alone to lead a normal life,” Odumbe, who has not exactly shunned publicity since the ban, said. “It’s outrageous that a banned player who lived off the game is expected to raise that kind of money when he had been out of employment for five years.”

Anthony Haggerty from the Daily Record believes that Celtic fans have already fallen in love with Joe Hart.

Following their horrendous goalkeeping difficulties last season, the former Manchester City and England shot-stopper arrived hoping to become Ange Postecoglou’s number one.

And whilst it remains early days in Hart’s Parkhead career, he’s already made a huge impact during his three weeks in Paradise.

Prior to the 34-year-old’s arrival, Celtic had made a winless start to their season and had already crashed out of the Champions League in the qualifying round.

However, some three weeks later and the Hoops have won all six matches with Hart in between the sticks – recording consecutive 6-0 wins in the league, progressing in the Scottish League Cup, whilst his impressive first-leg performance against AZ Alkmaar has put the Glasgow giants 90 minutes away from securing their place in the Europa League groups.

When asked what he’s made of Hart’s time in Scotland, Haggerty told Football FanCast:

“I think the Celtic fans love Joe Hart; they just took him to their hearts. Joe Hart gets what it means to play for a big club, this is a former England number one goalkeeper.

“When goalkeepers hit a dip in form, there’s no hiding place, but Joe Hart has been up there, seen it and done it.”

A round-up of the fourth day’s play of the fifth-round matches in the Regional Four Day Competition

Cricinfo staff10-Feb-2009Trinidad & Tobago’s hopes of closing in on leaders Jamaica were thwarted by persistent rain on the final day at St Augustine against Combined Campuses and Colleges. Having secured first-innings points, T&T were pushing for a win to gain the maximum 12 points from the game.However, only 14.4 overs were possible, with no play after the first hour. CCC, who conceded a 47-run first-innings lead, extended their overnight score of 43 for 2 to 71 without losing any more wickets. Simon Jackson, the CCC captain, got to his first half-century of the season, while at the other end nightwatchman Ryan Austin contributed four, in an unbroken stand of 71.Sherwin Ganga was named Man of the Match for a career-best 90 in T&T’s first innings. T&T, who are 15 points adrift of Jamaica, host Leeward Islands in the next round, while CCC face Barbados.

Jamaica 43 0 0 1 0 42 Barbados 5 3 1 01 0 39 Windward Islands 53 2 0 0 0 36 Trinidad & T 4 1 0 03 0 27 Leeward Islands 41 3 0 0 0 16 Comb CC 4 1 2 01 0 15 Guyana 40 4 0 0 0 4

Celtic target, Legia Warsaw’s Josip Juranovic, could be a Hoops player by the weekend, according to STV News.

The Lowdown: Fee agreed

A move for the Croatia international, who can play as a right-back, right-midfielder or a centre-back, started to gather real pace on Tuesday.

Sky Sports reporter Lyall Thomas revealed that Celtic and Warsaw have agreed on a £2.5m deal for the 26-year-old, with talks regarding finer details ongoing.

Juranovic is on £6,100-a-week in Poland (£317,200-a-year) and will now discuss personal terms with the Hoops.

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The Latest: Signing by the weekend

STV News shared a story on Tuesday evening regarding Celtic and Juranovic.

Within their report, they claimed that Juranovic could make the switch to Celtic Park by the weekend – that would mean crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s in the next 48 hours.

Should a move officially go through at the price reported by Thomas, Juranovic would become the club’s eighth addition of the window and fourth over £2m, taking Celtic’s summer spending to £17m.

The Verdict: McKay giving Postecoglou what he wants

Postecoglou wanted a right-back and a winger before the end of the window, and it appears Dominic McKay will be supplying a player capable of playing in both positions in Juranovic.

He’s primarily a right-back but all six of his starts this season have come as a right-midfielder, so he could potentially challenge for a spot further forward in Postecoglou’s 4-2-3-1 system.

Hopefully STV News’ claim is correct and Juranovic is a Celtic player by the weekend, as he may then make his Scottish Premiership debut the following weekend in the first Glasgow derby of the campaign.

In other news: Ange’s phone call: Celtic set sights on 6ft ‘phenomenon’; he likes the sound of a Parkhead move.