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Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie has been ruled out of the Orange Boxing Day Test match against South Africa at the MCG with an injury to his right shoulder.He will be replaced in the squad by the uncapped Western Australian fast bowler Brad Williams.Gillespie experienced soreness in his shoulder while bowling during the second innings of the first Orange Test match in Adelaide.He responded well to initial treatment, but further examination and bowling after Jason arrived in Melbourne indicated there was still a problem and the decision was taken to pull him out of the match.Jason Gillespie said: “I’m shattered.”I feel I could bowl my first spell okay but I wasn’t completely sure if I could come back after that.”This is such an important Test match and I was keen not to let any of the guys down so it was the sensible decision to step down,” he added.Gillespie underwent scans on Monday afternoon that cleared the South Australian fast bowler of any significant injury.He will remain in Melbourne during the Orange Boxing Day Test match, receiving treatment from Australian team physiotherapist Errol Alcott.A decision on Gillespie’s availability for the Orange Test match in Sydney, starting on 2 January 2002 will be taken in due course.27 year-old Williams took 65 wickets in 23 matches for Victoria before moving to WA for the 1999-2000 season. He captured 50 first-class wickets at 23.02 in his first summer in Perth before injury limited him to three matches in 2000-01, with a return of nine victims at 24.44.This season, in four matches, Williams has taken 17 first-class wickets at 27.24.Brad Williams said: “I found out I’d been called up when my WA team-mate Ryan Campbell came to see me.”He only lives up the street and no-one could get hold of me so he called by to give me the news, the best Christmas present I could ever have.”No words can really describe this. It’s just a dream come true and I almost broke into tears when I heard the news.”I’ve had a few injuries but this just makes all the hard work worthwhile.”I’m really happy with my rhythm at the moment and felt as good as I have for a long while in the ING Cup match against the Bushrangers at the MCG yesterday.”I’ve spoken to Trevor Hohns and he’s told me they’ll decide on the final eleven once I get to Melbourne, but at the moment just being in the twelve is fantastic.”

Ireland today completed a 3-0 ‘greenwash’ in their one-day series with Pakistan. Sometimes the scoreboard doesn’t tell the full story, but today at Sydney Parade on Dublin’s south-side it certainly did.After being sent in by Pakistan captain Shaiza Khan, the Irish women setabout re-writing the record books. After the loss of opener O’Leary for 5,Karen Young and Catriona Beggs assisted by some sloppy Pakistani fieldingposted an Irish women’s record second wicket partnership of 182. Beggs wasfinally dismissed for a hard earned 60, while Young, in only her thirdinternational went on to score a national record of 120 runs from only 157balls.After Grealey chipped in with a fine cameo innings of 32 not out Irelandfinished with an impressive 4 for 269 from their 50 overs. This, judgingby Pakistan’s form in the sides’ two previous encounters at Rush (in northCounty Dublin), was going to be a difficult task indeed.Saibh Young made the task more difficult by having Sharmeen Khan caughtbehind by Beggs with the score on 7. Nazia Nazeer and Kiran Baluch thenhad a steadying 45 run stand which gave one the impression that thePakistan team were now using this game as much needed practice for therest of their tour of Ireland and England. The resistance was short-livedhowever, and with Nazeer and Baluch both falling in their 20s the middleorder failed to make any impact. 2/52 quickly became 3/61, 4/72, 5/89 and6/103. Twelve year old Sajjida Shah hit a couple of bright boundariesbefore falling for 10.The final nails in Pakistan’s coffin were nailed in by Barbara McDonald,whose accurate medium pace, which had been economical against the toporder proved un-playable by the tail. Only a whisker away from claiming ahat-trick, McDonald cleaned bowled the last four Pakistani batters inquick succession to finish with impressive figures of 4 wickets for eightruns off 6.4 overs.Ireland won the game by 150 runs.The Pakistan women have a lot of work ahead of them if they are to becompetitive in the four day ‘test’ at College Park in Dublin’s citycentre, starting Sunday.

Speaking to the media before West Ham United’s clash with Liverpool, manager David Moyes has now sent a message to Irons supporters detailing ‘good news’.

The Lowdown: West Ham men out…

Moyes, for the majority of this campaign, has to cope without colossal centre-half Angelo Ogbonna following the Italian’s steady rehabilitation from knee surgery.

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The Hammers have also been without various options at full-back as of late with Vladimir Coufal, Aaron Cresswell, Ryan Fredericks and Arthur Masuaku all missing action recently.

However, sharing news on the latter duo, Moyes has now sent a positive message to supporters before West Ham’s clash with Liverpool this afternoon.

The Latest: Moyes sends message…

Speaking to the press (via whufc.com), the Scotsman claimed that Fredericks and Masuaku are recovering well from their respective injuries.

“Like everybody, we’ve got a few injuries and a few players out, but we’ve also got some coming back as well hopefully. 

“Ryan Fredericks is doing a bit better and so is Arthur [Masuaku]. We’ve got some good news on that side.

“We’ve got a concern about [Tomáš] Souček because of his stitches in his head, so that’s something we’re concerned about, but we’re probably no different from any other Club in the Premier League – we’ve got some injuries.”

The Verdict: Good news…

News of both full-backs ‘doing a bit better’ certainly comes as positive with West Ham now gearing up for the final stretch 2021/2022.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

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This run of matches will make or break Moyes’ season as the Irons maintain their Europa League push as well as continue to fight for Champions League qualification.

Moyes will need every option available, especially with the potential for mounting fixtures.

In other news: West Ham now believe they’re in pole position for ‘massive signing’! Find out more here.

	Shoaib Malik is still nursing the ankle injury he suffered during the tour of India © AFP

Shoaib Malik’s ongoing battle with a troublesome ankle means he is still not a certain starter for Pakistan’s first ODI against Zimbabwe in Karachi.Malik, Pakistan’s captain, injured his ankle during a post-match football session after the Delhi Test against India in November. He subsequently sat out the remaining two Tests of the tour and though undergoing rehabilitation since then, he has still not fully recovered. He is currently taking part in a three-day training camp in Lahore as Pakistan prepare for the five-ODI series and he told reporters after the first day that he was feeling better.”My ankle is improving. I have started running and the ankle will get better over the next few days,” he said. “But if I am not 100% fit by the time the first ODI comes round, I will tell the board management.”Observers at the Pakistan camp suggest that the first ODI, on January 21, might be too soon for him. If that is the case then Pakistan will be looking for a temporary captain. Younis Khan, vice-captain in India, stood in when Malik first injured himself, but has in the past been reluctant to take on the role. Other possible options include Mohammad Yousuf and even Misbah-ul-Haq.Pakistan will be without a number of first-choice players during the series, the selectors keen instead to test new faces, particularly in the bowling department. Umar Gul and Shoaib Akhtar are out of the series due to injury – though the latter did make himself available. Mohammad Asif has yet to recover fully from surgery on a long-standing elbow problem.

Scorecard

Shane Watson, who returned for Queensland on Thursday, showed some encouraging signs with bat and ball at the Gabba © Getty Images

Shane Watson completed an encouraging day in his push to return to international duty at the World Cup, but Queensland will need more from him after another disappointing effort against Western Australia. Watson, who is appearing in a first-class game for the first time since a long-running hamstring injury, gained figures of 3 for 60 in 12 overs, including the wickets of Aaron Heal and Luke Pomersbach, as Western Australia were dismissed for 317.Queensland started their reply 178 runs behind and lost three wickets before Watson stabilised the situation with an unbeaten 23. He will resume with Craig Philipson, who is 12, on day three as the Bulls try to avoid their third outright defeat in a row at the Gabba.Ashley Noffke was the best of the Queensland bowlers with 3 for 76, but the home side was frustrated by the nightwatchman Heal, who reached 54, while Pomersbach (46) and the tail-enders also caused problems. Noffke struck twice with the second new ball to take care of Luke Ronchi and David Bandy, and James Hopes picked up two wickets. The gains were lost when Jimmy Maher, Lachlan Stevens and Clint Perren departed before stumps.

A superb spell of fast bowling from Ian Bradshaw shocked the Leewards Islands’ middle order while handing Barbados the first-innings honours on day two of the Carib Beer Series match at the Addelita Cancryn Ground at St. Thomas. Swinging the ball admirably, Bradshaw’s incisive four-wicket haul after tea was responsible for Leewards being dismissed for 258 in response to Barbados’ 360. Barbados proceeded to extend that lead to 147 while progressing to 45 for 1 at stumps.Earlier in the day, Austin Richards and Sylvester Joseph, the Barbados captain, combined to add 104 for the fourth wicket after the start of play was delayed for two hours owing to rain. Richards, unbeaten on 27 overnight, scored 64 before driving one back to Ryan Hinds, while Joseph contributed a fine 63. Bradshaw, who did not bowl in the first two hours of the day, then triggered a slide after the interval and the Leewards lost their last six wickets for 55.In a similar display of quality fast bowling, Reon King ripped through Jamaica’s batting line-up to give Guyana the upper hand at stumps at Chedwin Park in Jamaica. King’s figures of 4 for 19 from 15 probing overs of medium pace left Guyana reeling at 79 for 6 in reply to Guyana’s first-inning 314. King, 30, dismissed Chris Gayle (0), Donovan Pagon (24), David Bernard (1) and Carlton Baugh (2) in an opening spell of 12 overs.Wickets fell regularly thereafter, with Esaun Crandon gettind rid of the dangerous Marlon Samuels (9) as Jamaica were left at 48 for 6. Wavell Hinds, Jamaica’s captain, was unbeaten on 16 from 137 minutes while Gareth Breese has so far scored 12 in 101 minutes at the crease. Still 235 in arrears, Jamaica will need to get past 164 to avoid the follow-on.In the morning session, Guyana collapsed from 282 for 5 to be bowled out an hour after lunch. Shivnarine Chanderpaul hit a dogged 75 before being dismissed by Daren Powell, also a national campaigner. For Jamaica, Powell (3 for 45), Breese (3 for 66) and Jermaine Lawson (2 for 69), were the most successful bowlers.

Michael Vaughan: a break from cricket after a tough winter© Getty Images

Michael Vaughan will miss the first month of the domestic season, the England & Wales Cricket Board has announced. The ECB awarded Vaughan the break following England’s intensive winter tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa.This means he will play just two matches for his county, Yorkshire, before his England duties resume at the end of May, in the first Test against Bangladesh at Lord’s. But most other counties will be delighted by the amount of cricket their centrally contracted players will be able to play. James Anderson, who was a lost soul for much of England’s campaign, has been freed up to play in all matches for Lancashire, where he will attempt to rediscover his form and fortune.Vaughan, meanwhile, will compete for Yorkshire in the County Championship against Northamptonshire at Headingley on May 6, and will be available for their clash against Leicestershire from May 11. But then he will join his England side once more to play against Bangladesh and to compete in the Ashes series which starts in July.Some of the other centrally contracted players will also be allowed some time off. The left-arm spinner, Ashley Giles, will sit out of Warwickshire’s opener against the MCC. Steve Harmison, Andrew Strauss, Marcus Trescothick and Graham Thorpe will all concentrate on the County Championship, although they will be permitted to play in the C&G one-day tournament.It is likely that Mark Butcher will miss the start of the season after a wrist operation, but will then be available for Surrey. Andrew Flintoff, who is expected to sit out the Bangladesh Tests, can play for Lancashire once he has made a full recovery from his ankle surgery. The pace bowlers Anderson, Simon Jones and Matthew Hoggard will be available for all of their counties’ games.Availability of centrally contracted players
James Anderson
Fully available for all county cricketMark Butcher
Available once fully fitAndrew Flintoff
Available once fully fitAshley Giles
Championship matches from April 13 and C&G Trophy on May 17Steve Harmison
Championship matches and C&G Trophy on May 17Matthew Hoggard
Fully available for all county cricket from April 13Geraint Jones
Available for all county cricket from April 17Simon Jones
Fully available for all county cricketAndrew Strauss
Championship matches from April 20 and C&G Trophy on May 17Marcus Trescothick
Championship matches and C&G Trophy on May 4 and May 17Graham Thorpe
Championship matches and C&G Trophy on May 17Michael Vaughan
County championship matches on May 6, May 11 and C&G Trophy on May 17

The chief executive of Cricket Australia, James Sutherland, has gone out of his way to distance his organisation from the increasingly scandal-prone Shane Warne.Warne, who is currently serving a 12-month ban for drug misuse, has still been hogging the Australian headlines in recent weeks. He is currently embroiled in a series of murky allegations of sexual harassment, involving 16-year-old girls, exotic dancers and South African “hairy-backed sheilas” (in the immortal words of David Hookes). It is clear that Cricket Australia consider him to be a liability.”Any association [Warne] has with the Australian team at present is something I’m not comfortable with,” admitted Sutherland to the Sydney Morning Herald. “The Australian team is not going to train in Australia until the lead-in to the Perth Test [against Zimbabwe] in October, and our worlds are going to collide when they next train in Melbourne, in the lead-up to the Boxing Day Test match.”Sutherland added: “We’re clear we can’t fly him to training sessions or provide him with support in the form of direct assistance in order for him to train. We would be in breach of the sanctions in our own anti-doping policy.”Nevertheless, Warne has resumed training with his state side, Victoria, and it is only a matter of time before he is invited back into the Australian fold. “We believe it may be appropriate in certain circumstances for Shane Warne to train with the Australian team,” said Sutherland. “It’s a pretty open-ended matter. But I’m not sure what those circumstances would be, to be frank.”Warne’s 12-month ban expires in Feb 2004, and he is sure to feature heavily in the selectors’ thoughts in the coming months. But Sutherland did not envisage a swift reunion. “It needs to be something the team, coach and selectors are comfortable with. But we don’t anticipate we will invite him to train in the short run.”

BAT Sports all-rounder Damian Shirazi, recently named Southern Electric ECB Premier League Young Cricketer of the Year, is honing his skills “down under” in Sydney under the watchful eye of established Australian Test stars Geoff Lawson and Michael Slater.The Test pair are colleagues of Shirazi’s at the University of New South Wales Sydney Grade club, where the promising BAT all-rounder is spending the winter.Shirazi, who has hit a century and two half-centuries since linking up with Sydney-based BAT team-mate Dave Carson, has already picked up some bowling tips from Lawson, who spearheaded Australia’s attack in 46 Test matches in the 1980s.”Geoff is in charge of coaching at the club and has helped me quite a lot with my bowling,” explained Shirazi, who took 3-29 with his medium-pacers in a recent Sydney Second Grade match.”We don’t see that much of Michael Slater, because he’s away playing for the New South Wales State side most of the time.”But, when he comes back to play at the University some weekends, he invariably opens the batting with Dave Carson, who helped BAT win the Premier League this summer.”It’s amazing to see guys like these in your club.”Shirazi, whose ambition is to make the grade as a professional cricketer, won the prestigious Premier League Young Player award after a splendid all-round season with BAT.An ultra-competitive all-rounder, he notched 626 runs last summer, including six half-centuries, at an average of 44.71 and also picked up 15 wickets.”Damian matured a lot as a player during the summer,” praised BAT vice-captain Richard Dibden.”He works very hard at his game and is very keen to learn, which is why he’s spending the winter in a pretty demanding arena in Sydney.”I think he has the fundamentals to do very well and, because he wants to listen and develop his game, he has the chance to go further.”Shirazi, who captained England Schools in the past, has led various Hampshire YC teams, but seems to have missed out on a Hampshire contract next season.”He’ll come back in March an improved and even more determined young player,” Dibden forecast.Bournemouth left-hander Tom Webley is spending the winter on the opposite side of Australia and recently made his WACA First Grade debut for South Perth.”A totally different ball game,”Webley described his debut in the delightful Richardson Park ground alongside the Swan River.”I faced the fastest bowling of my life – I think they put in an few extra paces because I was a Pom,” added Webley, who has also done a day’s 12th man duties forWestern Australia.”I did the 12th man’s job in the Pura Cup game against Queensland at the WACA. It was an amazing experience. The place was humming with big name players, whom I’d previously only seen out here on television.”Hampshire Under-19 hopeful Steven Snell, from Ventnor, who is to join the MCC Young Cricketers staff at Lord’s next summer, is among the runs in South Africa.Although he is currently only playing in the Boland Superjuice Second Grade competition, Snell, 18, has produced a string of high scores for Hermanus.The Island teenager, who could be joining Havant next summer, chalked up 334 runs in his first six knocks, including one score of 159.Former BAT player Steve Rudkin is playing in the same Hermanus side – and been successful with his medium-pace bowling.”I’ve done a good deal of bowling since I came here from Durban, and have had two pretty useful returns – one of 7-81 and another of 6-67.”Unfortunately, my batting hasn’t been quite so successful, but I’m working hard on my technique,” Rudkin confirmed.The other local youngster playing in the Cape, Calmore’s Paul Cass, is finding it hard going in the Hermanus first team, managing only 69 runs so far.

Holders Railways sent last year’s runners-up Air India on a leatherhunt on the opening day of their three day CricInfo Trophy Nationalwomen’s cricket championship final at the Jorhat stadium in Jorhat onSaturday. After winning the toss, Railways rattled up 353 runs off89.5 overs before being all out shortly before close.Air India had the initial comfort of taking three wickets quickly.The batswomen to be dismissed were Balvir Kaur (11), Rajani Venugopal(13) and Reshma Gandhi (2) with only 65 runs scored. But then openerRajini Sharma and Hemlata Kale (32) added 54 runs for the fourthwicket off 14 overs to initiate the recovery process. Hemlata faced 57balls and hit five of them the ropes. Rajini Sharma, who anchored theinnings very well despite the early loss of wickets, finally fell inthe 42nd over. She was fifth out at 146 having scored 75 off 129 ballsinclusive of 12 fours. Deepa Kulkarni and Renu Margaret then gottogether to add 46 runs for the sixth wicket off ten overs. Renudominated the partnership scoring 34 off 38 balls with six hits to thefence. This was followed by a seventh wicket association of 47 runsoff 15 overs between Deepa and Rupanjali Shastri (23). Deepa, who wasgoing well, was now joined by Poornima Choudhury and the two increasedthe score by 54 runs during an eighth wicket partnership that lasted11.3 overs. Deepa, who had come in at 119 for four in the 36th over,was finally out with the total 293 in the 79th over. She scored 69off 127 balls with six fours.The tail now wagged to make Air India’s misery complete. Poornima andSunija Kanojia (24 off 22 balls with three fours) added 36 runs off6.3 overs. And finally Poornima and skipper and veteran Diana Edulji(11) put on 24 runs for the last wicket off five overs. Poornimaremained unbeaten with 48 off 72 balls with three fours.It was a tiring day in the field for the Air India bowlers. UshaBogade sent down 28 overs to pick up three wickets for 113. SmitaHarikrishna, skipper Poornima Rau and Seema Pujare picked up twowickets each for 41, 90 and 58 runs respectively.