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The way this game started, I thought we might well see 10 + goals- kinda like the football manager games where thrashing teams by a margin by greater than 5 goals is quite routine.

I wasn’t prepared for what I saw in the first 6 minutes- to tell you frankly- you don’t put on the idiot box and expect to see goals being scored every two minute in a 5th round FA cup clash.

Heinze was the unlikely scorer of the first goal, Saha the second and Solskjaer the third… and to tell ya, Reading’s defence would not like to look at the replays of the first three goals. Kitson pulled one back for Reading in the 23rd minute, and after that United were subject to constant bombardment from Reading.

Some poor finishing and inability to find the back of the net would have frustrated many Reading fans, but England U-21 international Leroy Lita scored in the 84th minute to reduce the margin to 1. The game could have very well gone into ET for all its worth, but United hung on- and their reward- a 6th round clash vs Middlesbrough

Take this quiz to test how much you actually remember about the 2006 World Cup.

1.) Eventual World Cup winners Italy conceded 2 goals in the entire tournament- one was the penalty Zidane scored in the final. Give me the name of the player who scored the other goal ??

2.) Who was the only English player to figure in FIFA’s all star team of the World Cup.

3.) What was unique about the first and last goals scored in the tournament ??

4.) Which player, who made his world cup debut for his country by coming on for a Liverpool player, wore his first name on the back of his shirt instead of his surname? The player also became his country’s youngest player at a world cup in that game.

5.)Horacio Elizondo, who was the referee in the final between the Italians and the French, showed a total of 3 straight red cards in the tournament. One was of course Zinedine Zidane- name the other two players.

I’ll add some more questions. In the unlikely event that I messed up my facts, please do not hesitate to leave a comment so that I’ll rectify the error.

The People
are reporting that Reading medio Steve Sidwell is on the wishlist of Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.

Sidwell’s contract runs out at the end of the 2006-2007 season and Mourinho is reportedly considering bringing the player to the Bridge. Now for the list of Chelsea’s midfielders-people who can play in midfield-

Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard, Claude Makelele, John Obi Mikel, Joe Cole, Shaun Wright Philips, Michael Essien. Add Arjen Robben and Lassana Diarra to that list .

Sidwell has age on his side- he is just 24, and he has been a key figure for the Royals after joining them in 2003. Alan Pardew, who currently manages Charlton, brought him in as a 20 year old  for an estimated initial fee of 75, 000 pounds. Sidwell impressed Pardew during his loan spell at Brighton, where he found the net 5 times in 12 games. He has since gone on to play 162 games for Reading.

It is unlikely that Sidwell will get as much time on the pitch at the Bridge as he currently gets at the Madjeski. Yet, I think having an home born midfielder will do Chelsea a world of good- for Sidwell knows the English game very well. Acclamatising won’t be a problem for him.

Reading have performed above expectations this season after winning promotion to the Big Boys’ league by winning the Championship last season. They are currently sixth in the table, and have a 5th round replay against leaders Manchester United to come.

Qualifying for Europe might keep Sidwell at the club where he has been such a pivotal influence over the last few years. Joining Chelsea would mean a return to London for Sidwell, who is a product of Arsenal’s youth system. Celtic are also reportedly interested in securing his signature.

After suffering a 5 wicket defeat against the Black Caps at Eden Park, which also happened to be their 4th consecutive one, the Aussies will lose their top spot in the ICC ODI Rankings for the first time since October 2002. The rankings were first instituted in October 2002- for your information

South Africa have trounced both India and Pakistan at home recently and will move to the top with 128. The Aussies will drop to second with 126.

I still believe that the Aussies are an overall much better team than the Proteas though :p

Yuvraj Singh showed why he is such an integral part of the Indian one day outfit with a 83 ball 85 as India won the fourth ODI at Vizag with seven wickets to spare.

Due credit must also be given to Robin Uthappa, who blew away the Sri Lankan bowlers at the start of the Indian run chase with a ballistic 52.  Dilhara Fernando, whom the Karnataka batsman greeted with 4 fours in his opening over, will certainly not forget his innings.

However the focus of this post, is, as you might have guessed from the title- Virender Sehwag.

He made 19 in the second ODI, and 12 at Rajkot, and critics were baying for his head when it was announced that despite his indifferent form over the recent months, he was on the plane to the Carribean.

Sehwag seemed to be in good touch in the Vizag ODI and we saw glimpses of the old Sehwag in his knock of 46. Just as he was looking set for a big one- Sehwag chose the most bizarre way to get out. Lasith Malinga opened the bowling in the seventeenth over, and Sehwag cut the ball to third man. He ambled away to the non strikers end and started walking towards the end of the run. The ball had by then reached Kumar Sangakarra, the wicket keeper, who removed one glove and then hit the stumps at the non strikers end with a perfect throw. Sehwag was caught totally unawares, and TV replays showed that he was short of his ground.  He paid the price for being so lazy though !!!!

Sehwag is a treat to watch when he is in full flow, and one hopes that he doesn’t repeat this again in the Carribean.

1992 World Cup winners Pakistan have announced their 15 member squad to go to the Carribean this March.

1.) Inzamam Ul Haq ( c)

2.)Younis Khan ( Vc)

3.) Shoaib Malik

4.) Mohammad Hafeez

5.) Imran Nazir

6.) Abdul Razzaq

7.) Mohammad Yousuf

8.) Kamran Akmal

9.) Shahid Afridi

10.) Shoaib Akhtar

11.) Umar Gul

12.) Mohammad Asif

13.) Rana Naved Ul Hasan

14.) Danish Kaneria

15.) Iftikhar Rao 

Inzamam, his deputy, Mohammad Yousuf , Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq and Shoaib Akhtar are the only survivors from the disastrous 2003 campaign in Africa, where they were knocked out in the first round, only managing to beat minnows Namibia and Holland.

Imran Nazir and Danish Kaneria are surprise inclusions. Nazir’s recent form at the top of the order in the tour of South Africa might have landed him a spot. Kaneria, who hasn’t played too much ODI cricket over the years for Pakistan is a surprise inclusion.

Yasir Hameed has been overlooked. And one could say that the selectors have been a little harsh on him. So has Imran Farhat. Azhar Mahmood, who made a return to the squad in SA, won’t extend his stay.

Doping tests are to be conducted on Akhtar and Asif, the results of which are expected in the first week of March. Asif has been Pakistan’s best bowler in South Africa, and there are questions whether he is physically exhausted ,given the workload that he has been shouldering.

Kamran Akmal retains his spot despite a horrific recent run, and Moin Khan gets the cold shoulder. Rana Naved has also had a similar dip in form, and Umar Gul’s inclusion is subject to his recovery from the ankle injury that made him miss the tour of South Africa.

Afridi is banned for the first two games too, and that means that this injury ravaged, low on confidence Pakistan side have an uphill task ahead of them if they are to make it to the final. They have a relatively easy group- the hosts, Zimbabwe and debutants Ireland are the other teams in Group D.

Pakistan’s problem has been their inconsistency- one day they can be superb like the 350 odd they made at Durban and the other day they can barely muster a challenging total- like yesterday’s game at the Wanderers where Pollock destroyed them with 5 wickets in his opening spell.

Much will depend on how Inzy, Younis and Youhana bat. If Gul, Asif and Akhtar are fully fit, few teams would like to face them.

At about 1 PM IST ( Indian Standard Time), the Indian selectors announced their 15 member squad for the quadrennial extravaganza in the Carribean.

Batsmen :

1.) Rahul Dravid ( Captain)

2.) Sachin Tendulkar ( Vice Captain)

3.) Saurav Ganguly

4.) Virender Sehwag

5.) Robin Uthappa

6.) Yuvraj Singh

Wicket keepers :

1.) Mahendra Singh Dhoni

2.) Dinesh Karthik

Bowlers:

1.) Zaheer Khan

2.) Munaf Patel

3.) Irfan Pathan

4.)Ajit Agarkar

5.) Anil Kumble

6.) Harbhajan Singh

7.)S. Sreesanth

So, it is the same 15 member squad for the second ODI against Sri Lanka that the wise men have picked for the World Cup.

VVS Laxman, Mohammad Kaif, Ramesh Powar and Gautam Gambhir do not see their name in. Suresh Raina, Chappell’s blue eyed boy, hasn’t been picked too.

The bowling is nothing of a surprise.

The line up looks quite good on paper, but it is a team which isn’t the greatest fielding outfit.

Yuvraj Singh hasn’t played for quite a while. Pathan has struggled with form and injury too. Sehwag sees himself selected. It was probably the fact that he is a genuine match winner on his day that tilted the balance in his favour.

Powar , IMO is unlucky. Kumble isn’t the Kumble of old, and Harbhajan doesn’t take too many wickets these days. Powar has proven in recent times that he is capable of doing the job- wickets as well as containing. It is probably his lack of experience which went against him.

I think India will play the 7 batsmen -4 bowler combination as they have so often done in recent games.

England embarked on their tour of Australia in November 2006, hoping for another Ashes encore. This is sadly, how the test matches went. The test matches were anything but competitive.

Test 1- Australia won by 277 runs

Test 2- Australia won by 6 wickets

Test 3- Australia won by 206 runs

Test 4- Australia won by an innings and 99 runs

Test 5- Australia won by 10 wickets  

Australia thrashed England 5-0 and Ricky Ponting became the first Aussie skipper to inflict a whitewash upon their bitter rivals since Warwick Armstrong in 1921. The English side was the subject of jeers from the crowd and the media. Somebody went on to say that the Ashes were lost the moment England stepped out of Heathrow.

England lost the 20-20 by 77 runs and had a disastrous start to the Commonwealth Bank Series, which also involved Australia and New Zealand.

1.) Lost to Australia by  8 wickets

2.) Beat New Zealand by 3 wickets—

Nailbiting win at Hobart chasing 205 and Freddie was the hero with an unbeaten 72.

3.) Lost to Australia by 4 wickets

4.) New Zealand won by 90 runs.

5.) Lost to Australia by 9 wickets

6.) New Zealand won by 58 runs 

That was 6 ODI’s with one win. New Zealand were almost certain to meet the men from Down Under in the finals.

Then at Sydney, the same place where the whitewash was completed, began England’s new innings. They beat Australia for the first time in the tour, by 92 runs.  Ed Joyce made a brilliant 107 as England made 292 batting first. Ravi Bopara, a replacement for Kevin Pietersen, made his ODI debut in the same game.

England required Australia to beat NewZealand to have any hopes of reaching the finals. The Kiwis made 290 in the first innings, propelled by opener Lou Vincent’s well crafted 90  and Peter Fulton’s 60. The Aussies needed 127 off 16 overs, and the Kiwis were favourites. However Brad Hodge had other ideas in mind, and his unbeaten 99 saw the Aussies home. Ricky Ponting had earlier led from the front with a 104.

We went to the Gabba, and the Kiwis knew that a tie would do for them. Paul Collingwood rescued England with a workmanlike 106. New Zealand needed 271 to win and started off well.  Things started to fall apart for the Kiwis when Taylow was run out with the score at 169, and despite Fleming’s century and a late effort from James Franklin, England sneaked through by 14 runs.

Having defied all odds to make it to the final, Duncan Fletcher’s boys knew that winning the series would help erase memories of the disaster that the tour had been till then.

Chasing 253, England were reduced to 15 for 3 before that man came to their rescue yet again…yes Paul Collingwood…the Durham all rounder smashed 120 to guide England home with 4 wickets to spare.

That victory was totally unexpected and the Aussies were keen to set the record straight at Sydney.

England made a mess in their last 10 overs and could only muster 246 in their allotted quota. Glenn McGrath took the wicket of Paul Nixon off his last ball  for his 50th wicket at the SCG.  It was Collingwood who again top scored with 70 off 90 deliveries.

The Aussies lost a few early wickets and the Duckworth Lewis method didn’t help their cause at all. The Target first went to 227 off 41 and then to 211 off 33, and without wickets in hand, the home side had their backs against the wall. Hodge and Watson’s knocks weren’t enough and England won by 34 runs on the D/L method.

The win is a good sign going into the World Cup and it has sent a message to the cricketing fraternity that Australia are not unbeatable. The World Cup will make for some interesting viewing , although the Aussies are still overwhelming favourites to win the trophy for the third successive time.

Arsenal’s Francesc Fabregas has won the Barclays player of the month for January.

Liverpool’s manager Rafael Benitez has won the Barclays manager of the month for January. The Reds won all their games in the opening month of 2007 under the former Valencia head.

Over 90, 000 people had gathered at the Eden Gardens to see their favourite son in action for the national team on his home ground. The last time India played a one day in Kolkata was in November 2005, when a Graeme Smith century helped the Proteas record a 10 wicket win over the hosts. They were denied the opportunity to see Ganguly though, and rain was the culprit this time around.

Dravid won the toss and opted to send the Lankans in, with the dew factor at the back of his mind. The first ball from Zaheer Khan went for a boundary, and the Lankans collected 13 from the first over. The pitch was flat, the ball was coming on to the bat, there was little assistance from the pitch for the bowlers–all signs that there was a run feast in the offing

After initially being tonked around, Munaf and Zaheer settled down a bit ,and the pressure which resulted saw Upul Tharanga chop the ball back on to his stumps. Skipper Mahela Jayawardene fell for a golden blob with a nothing shot to mid on, handing Munaf Patel his second of the game.

Jayasuriya held fort at the other end and the Matara Marauder showed that he still deserved a spot in the Lankan side in the World Cup with a swashbuckling 63. He was exceptionally brilliant square off the wicket, and the control he exhibited over his shots made the Indian bowlers scratch their heads in confusion.

Just as Kumar Sangakarra was showing signs of getting into his stride, he edged one to Dhoni, giving Sreesanth some much needed respite. Marvan Atapattu walked in, and exactly 10 balls later, the rain Gods decided that it was time for them to step in.

The match was interrupted with Sri Lanka at 102/3 off 18.2 overs, and after waiting for 5 hours, the umpires finally came to the conclusion that the match had to be abandoned.

So, off to Rajkot in Gujarat for the second ODI

The board of Liverpool FC has accepted an offer from US businessmen George Gilett and Tom Hicks for a takeover of the club.

The board has called for a press conference at 2 PM UK time to announce details of the buyout.

The Americans are reported to have offered 5000 pounds for each Liverpool share, putting the issued share capital of the club at 1.74 million pounds.

“Together with the £44.8million of net debt in the club as at December 31 2006, this represents an enterprise value for Liverpool of £218.9 million.”

Current Liverpool chairman David Moores is expected to become honorary life president at Anfield after the takeover. The money is expected to be used to construct a new stadium at Stanley Park. The takeover will also give Liverpool more teeth in the transfer market where they haven’t been able to compete with the likes of Chelsea, Real Madrid and even West Ham in recent times.

The 5 time European champions will  join Manchester United, Chelsea, West Ham, Aston Villa and Portsmouth  in the list of English clubs in foreign hands.

I do hope that this brings in some big name signings to Anfield. We haven’t made any major signings in the last three to 4 years, and getting some quality players might help us achieve the level of consistency we have so badly been seeking in the league.

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard will  wear the captain’s armband for his country’s international friendly against Spain today at Old Trafford. Gerrard deputises for John Terry, who hasn’t still fully recovered from a back injury  to play the full  90 minutes.

Meanwhile the game could see Joey Barton capped for the first time at international level. Chris Kirkland, Wayne Bridge and Andy Johnson have injuries, while Jenas and Hargreaves will not play. Tuesday’s game could also see Jonathan Woodgate and Gareth Barry in action for the three Lions.

For Spain, Raul hasn’t been included in the squad. Xabi Alonso will relish the challenge of facing his Liverpool colleague in midfield. The game is Spain’s first in England since February 2001.

Italian football has been no stranger to violence and  controversy . Recently we had the match fixing scandal which reduced the Old Lady of Turin to the plebian fare of playing in Italy’s second division.  The World Cup victory did its best to erase the memories of the scandal though, and the public has resigned to seeing Juventus in the second division. Now, the death of a police officer in a Serie A game has resulted in stopping of all further Italian league games till further notice.

The national friendly against Romania has been cancelled with immediate effect. Clashes between supporters and the police are not uncommon in soccer crazy Italy, and unfortunately, officer Filippo Ricati lost his life in a Serie A game between Palermo and Catania, 3rd and 5th in the league when the match kicked off. The match got suspended after an hour of play when the teargas which the police had to use outside the ground,extended upto the field as well. The Palermo fans reportedly could not make their way into the stadium until the second half, and this is what provoked the violence.

Palermo won the game, but their coach Francesco Guidiloin said that the Catalonia fans were responsible for all the violence and mess.

Incidents like these make the beautiful game less beautiful to watch