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“If we do turn up and play …” Vaughan’s choice of words seem faintly extraordinary – it’s as if they imply that England might actually size up the contest and decide: “thanks, but no thanks.”© Getty Images

A lot of water has passed over the pedalo since England last faced Test-class opposition. Twenty-six matches-worth in fact, in which time India and Pakistan have been bundled out of the World Cup, Australia have muscled their way to the top of the Super Eights table, Ireland and Bangladesh have struggled to live up to the euphoria of their qualification and West Indies have veered ever closer to an early exit.So, what have England had to show for their efforts in that time? Well, since losing to New Zealand in St Lucia on March 16, they’ve creaked to embarrassingly timid wins against Canada and Ireland, thumped Kenya in a must-win match, and spent the rest of their time denying they’ve got a drinking culture in spite of lurid tabloid headlines to the contrary. On Wednesday, they take on Sri Lanka – the neutrals’ favourites and arguably the most well-rounded team in the tournament – in a match that Michael Vaughan, England’s captain, has described as “the start of our World Cup”.”We know that tomorrow is a real big game in the context of where we go in this tournament,” said Vaughan. “We’ve proved over the months that if we do turn up and play, we can be a match for any side in the world, but we’re going to have to raise our performance compared to what we have had already in this tournament.””If we do turn up and play …” Vaughan’s choice of words seem faintly extraordinary – it’s as if they imply that England might actually size up the contest and decide: “thanks, but no thanks.” On Sunday, Duncan Fletcher spoke of the complacency that had seeped into his team’s early games. After coasting thus far in the competition, England are set for a rude awakening tomorrow if this really is as far as their planning can carry them.Sri Lanka are not merely a better drilled outfit than England; they are light years ahead in terms of preparation, personnel, form, flexibility and one-day know-how. They qualified from the toughest of the pools with three handsome wins out of three; on Sunday they slapped West Indies by 113 runs; and against South Africa last week they came within a stump’s splinter of defending an indefensible total. England have no choice but to turn up and play, because there’s no doubt that their opponents are ready and waiting.Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka’s captain, is not generally a man renowned for psychological point-scoring, but having thrashed England 5-0 last summer in arguably the most pitifully one-sided one-day series of all time, it would have been rude not to reopen some old wounds. “Every game is a big game,” he said, “so if they’ve waited this long to see that this is the time to start their World Cup, I don’t know if that’s the right way to go about it.”We’ve been planning [this campaign] for about 12 months, and indirectly before then,” he continued. “We knew we had to get the combinations right, we knew we had to get the right people, we knew exactly what conditions to expect, and we had to make sure that the 15 that we bring here are going to contribute in our different combinations. For that we’ve been planning for quite some time.”England, by implication, have not been planning for quite some time. Their shock CB Series victory provided a sticking-plaster of respectability, but the chaos that has swept their ranks since last summer can no longer be disguised. Take that ludicrous defeat at Headingley for instance, when Sri Lanka chased down 322 with a whopping 12.3 overs to spare. Of the 11 who slunk from the field that afternoon, only Ian Bell seems guaranteed to slink back tomorrow. Andrew Strauss, captain for that series, has been dropped since Australia (though a comeback for this match would appear to be on the cards), while the likes of Tim Bresnan, Kabir Ali and Geraint Jones have sunk without trace.

‘In Lasith Malinga, they possess the single most extraordinary and explosive weapon in the whole competition’© AFP

“That was a funny series with a lot of players missing,” said Vaughan, although few people could recall much English laughter at the time. “I believe these are better bowlers, better players and stronger mentally than they were in that series. I believe we can raise our performance and the lads are focused to know that and I believe we can do it.”Unfortunately for Vaughan and for England, the bar has already been raised by the Sri Lankans themselves. “That tour kicked us off, but it was just a start,” said Jayawardene. “Our youngsters learnt a lot, especially Lasith [Malinga] and Upul [Tharanga], but a lot of the guys have improved since England. We’re now used to playing in different situations and different tournaments, and with different personnel. It was a brilliant tour for us, but we’ve come a long way from that.”Without putting too fine a point on it, all the signs point to the sort of drubbing that the previous worst-prepared England World Cup team, Mike Atherton’s 1996 rabble, were subjected to by none other than the Sri Lankans at Faisalabad – when a certain Sanath Jayasuriya redefined the role of pinch-hitting with his 82 from 44 balls.With two centuries in the tournament already and six in the last 12 months, Jayasuriya is currently enjoying the most prolific run of form of his career – and all this after reversing his decision to retire from Test cricket last summer. ” He’s been amazing,” said Jayawardene. “We felt that when you come into a World Cup year, it’s important to play all cricket. Test cricket might not directly contribute to one-day cricket, but when you’re playing all the time it keeps you going.”England, who in effect gave up one-day cricket en masse to concentrate on the Ashes, might have found themselves nodding sagely at this assessment. But Sri Lanka’s threat doesn’t just come from their in-form batsmen. In Lasith Malinga, they possess the single most extraordinary and explosive weapon in the whole competition, the perfect counterpart to the enduring genius of Muttiah Muralitharan and the probing certainties of Chaminda Vaas.”This is the best bowling attack that I’ve ever played with,” said Jayawardene, “We have so many attacking options.” England, meanwhile, are so ill-prepared that partnerships and percentage-play represent the limits of their strategic vision. Forget Ireland and Bangladesh. If they manage to get it together tomorrow, it really will be the shock of the tournament.England (probable) 1 Michael Vaughan (capt), 2 Andrew Strauss, 3 Ian Bell, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Andrew Flintoff, 6 Paul Collingwood, 7 Ravi Bopara, 8 Paul Nixon (wk), 9 Liam Plunkett, 10 Jimmy Anderson, 11 Monty Panesar.Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 4 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 5 Chamara Silva, 6 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Russel Arnold, 8 Chaminda Vaas, 9 Dilhara Fernando, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Lasith Malinga.

Lendl Simmons stood tall even though Barbados took day-one honours © Getty Images

Barbados won the patience game and first day honours of the Carib Beer Challenge Final against Trinidad and Tobago at Guaracara Park. Not the favorites to win against a T&T team playing at home and already the new holders of the regional four-day Carib Beer Cup, the Bajans nevertheless created a good position for themselves by diligently going about their work.So well did they stick to their plan, that T&T, to the disappointment of a large Saturday crowd, had lost eight wickets for 223 runs by the end of play. Rayad Emrit’s bold, unbeaten 37, made in the last hour of play, improved what had threatened to be an even more humble score. His 33-run eight-wicket partnership with Mervyn Dillon – bowled with the second new ball – and an unbroken ninth-wicket stand of 19 with Dave Mohammed (11*), held up the Bajans late in the afternoon on a day on which events took time to unfold. It also gave his team-mates hope that opener Lendl Simmons’ fine 84 would not have been in vain.Having won the toss for the second straight match, Daren Ganga again opted to take first strike. Unlike last weekend, there was not the consideration of extra grass or added moisture to think about. And in the opening spells of new ball bowlers Pedro Collins and Ian Bradshaw, there was nothing to suggest Ganga had erred.Ganga, opening the innings with Simmons instead of Dwayne Bravo and Ganga’s omitted brother Sherwin, would have been pleased with his team’s start up until the first change, when Corey Collymore was introduced with the total on 37 for 0. Colleymore, playing his first competitive match since knee surgery last December, may have appeared to be a fitness risk in a final. But his opening spell was superb: in those five overs, he did not concede a single run. His control was spot-on and on a surface that offered him little real help, he still managed to worry the batsmen with movement both ways.Eventually, Ganga himself was fatally confused, falling lbw offering no stroke to a delivery which moved back into him, and not away as he had anticipated. The score then was 41, but the Bajans had successfully curtailed the runs given away by the opening bowlers. By lunch, T&T had reached just 55. Only one wicket was down, but Simmons and new partner Bravo had been unable to dictate terms to the visitors.Bravo, never at his most fluent facing left-arm spinners, looked uncomfortable against Hinds. Like a cat pawing at some mysterious object, he gingerly felt his way through his innings against the Bajan skipper, especially after lunch. Twice, Dwayne Smith, under the bat at forward short-leg, put him down as he tried to turn Hinds away. But eventually, when he reached 25 and had added 59 with Simmons, Bravo fell to Collins, back at the northern end, who induced him to snick a drive at a ball angled across him, to Floyd Reifer at first slip.Brian Lara, warmly greeted as always by the crowd, now arrived at the crease in the last hour before tea. But the score was only 100 for 2. The T&T batsmen spent time at the wicket but had been unable to take control. And before tea was actually taken, Barbados had edged in front with the capture of Lara’s prized scalp. Looking like a man short of time in the middle, Lara became Collins’ second wicket of the session when he was lbw to an in-swinging full toss which he walked across and missed.T&T went to tea on 112 for 3, with Simmons still there on 55, patient, resolute but highly fortuitous from four hours at the crease. He could – and from the television evidence probably should – have been either lbw to Collymore in his second spell on 43; run out when he was 44; or dismissed by a return catch to off-spinner Ryan Austin at 48. But on each occasion, umpire Norman Malcolm, TV umpire Khemraj Barrasingha and Malcolm’s counterpart Billy Doctrove ruled in his favour.Like a ghetto youth, dodging bullets in some on-going gang war, in some so-called hot spot, Simmo lived very dangerously at times. But it was shaping like a day on which he would survive and go on to his second century against Barbados this season. A confident lofted off-drive off Hinds, which took him to 84, seemed to signal the coming of that landmark. Simmons had used his feet well to the spinners when going over the top. But, next ball, he perished by the sweep, a too cute attempt, which he top-edged into the grateful Smith’s hands. That was overdue reward for the Hinds-Smith combination.Even more, Simmons’ departure marked the critical decline of the T&T innings. From 161 for 4 when he went, the home side plunged to 170 for 7. Jason Mohammed caught by first slip Reifer, and Richard Kelly, bowled playing on, were both Bradshaw victims in a belated second spell. And Hinds accounted even more critically for wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin, bowled playing down the wrong line of a ball which spun across him. All the apparent rescuers were gone. But in Emrit, the Cup champs seemed to be finding another one.

Marcus Trescothick prepares for his 100th one-day international © Getty Images

England’s summer is shaping up to be one hell of a rollercoaster ride, if their phenomenal onslaught in Monday night’s Twenty20 match is anything to go by. Unfortunately, as with all such fairground attractions, the peaks must be countered by the troughs, and so it will prove tomorrow, when Bangladesh shuffle back onto centre stage for the opening encounter of the NatWest Series.It is all incredibly unfair on the Bangladeshis. They should not even be here anymore. From the moment Australia transferred their words into deeds and Brett Lee banged in his first bouncer to Marcus Trescothick, the point of the Bangladeshi presence was utterly undermined. By all means offer them three token one-day games ahead of the Aussie arrival, but to mix their matches in with the most eagerly awaited Ashes tussle in a generation is like spiking your vintage Louis Roederer with Babycham.Bangladesh do at least have some form to fall back on, after a hard-earned victory against Worcestershire on Sunday, in which Mohammad Ashraful tamed one raging beast, Shoaib Akhtar, who was making his county debut. But try stopping England in their tracks now. A mist as crimson as Darren Gough’s mood has descended since Monday evening. As Somerset have demonstrated so emphatically down at Taunton, the Australians bring out the beast in everyone.Even so, Dav Whatmore, Bangladesh’s coach, was refusing to let the circumstances of this fixture get him down, and predicted a better showing in the one-dayers than was demonstrated during the Tests. “We have a bit of confidence in what we can do,” he told reporters. “The shorter version of the game swings around a little bit, it is a lot quicker and you can have a greater influence over a shorter time. One of our objectives is to get a game to swing our way.”That might be easier said than done. In 106 matches, Bangladesh have achieved just two victories against sides other than Zimbabwe and the Associate nations, and never before have they wandered into the midst of a gunfight of this intensity. England are not going to let their intensity slip for anyone so discretion, one fears, would be the better part of valour – if only the Bangladeshis had that option.At least they are no longer in possession of the most humiliating collapse of the summer. Australia, with their seven for eight in 20 balls at The Rose Bowl, have claimed that title hands down, and you can bet your life that the moment Bangladesh surpass Australia’s eventual total of 79, the arcing roof of the new OCS Stand, which will be packed out for the first time this summer, will be blown clean off.For Marcus Trescothick, the day will hold some extra significance, as he becomes the tenth England player to reach 100 one-day caps. But he admitted that the match was not the ideal follow-up to the events of Monday night. “That’s the test of our team,” he conceded. “It’s up to us to remain disciplined and focused on the job. The main focus is the end of this NatWest series, making sure we’re in the final and making sure we’re doing well.”Everybody’s been a little bit in awe of the Australian team,” he added, “but over the last 18 months we’ve gained the confidence to stand up and compete with the best team in the world. The most important thing is not that we’ve beaten them in two one-day games – how we’ve done over the last 18 months is the most important thing for us.”All in all, it doesn’t augur well for the Bangladeshis. But given the mood in the Australian camp this evening, one fears that the worst could yet be to come on the most arduous tour of their lives.

Middlesex suffered a double blow with the news that both their overseas targets for next season, Anil Kumble and Ashley Noffke, have told the county they won’t be available to play.Kumble, who played a leading role in India’s recently drawn Test series against Australia, did not receive clearance from the Indian board to play. To make matters worse, Noffke, the Australian pace-bowler, decided that his ongoing back injuries would stop him from being able to get through a full season.”We had sorted things out with Anil before Christmas, but didn’t announce his signing because we were awaiting clearance from the Board of Control for Cricket in India,” Vinny Codrington, Middlesex’s chief executive said. “It was disappointing that it became public knowledge before any permission was given. It is doubly disappointing because Anil would have been a major contributor to the squad, but we perfectly understand the BCCI’s and Anil’s decision.”

Considering that Orissa had already conceded a slender two-run first-innings lead to Punjab, the final day’s play in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final at Mohali was merely academic, an exercise to determine a result rather than chalk in the name of the semi-finalist.Chasing 463 was always a remote proposition, and Punjab’s Navdeep Singh merely expedited the Orissa collapse. Taking 5-36 off 12.1 overs, Navdeep broke the back of the lower middle order, and Orissa’s last five wickets fell for the addition of just 17 runs.There were some knocks of note in Orissa’s innings, though. Opener Biswa Mohapatra struck 44 off just 29 balls, with eight boundaries, while Rashmi Ranjan Parida made 40 off 58 balls. As in the first innings, the highest scorer was Pravanjan Mullick, who made 72 off 115 balls before falling as the final wicket of the innings.Notching up a win by 243 runs, Punjab thus advanced through to the semi-final of the Ranji Trophy. Orissa, however, can only rue their toothless bowling in Punjab’s second innings, when the team scored 460 without any of the batsmen reaching three figures.

After piling up a huge total, Orissa dismissed Bengal cheaply and took the first innings lead in their Vijay Merchant East Zone League clash at Cuttack. As the match was drawn, Orissa collected 5 points, Bengal 3, and the first innings lead proved crucial.Earlier, Orissa won the toss and elected to bat first at the Barabati Stadium. Skipper SP Priyadarshan took a liking to the Bengal bowling and slammed 167 fine runs. Although he took 325 balls in his essay, the fact that he struck 19 boundaries must have entertained any spectators present at the ground. Not far behind the skipper was R Mohanty, who managed to help himself to 156. A shade quicker than Priyadarshan, Mohanty took 291 balls and struck 17 boundaries in his innings. The two put on 231 runs for the third wicket and took the game away from Bengal. After batting out 165 overs, Orissa decided that enough was enough. At 454/6 they declared their innings closed.Bengal were in trouble immediately when they attempted to chase the Orissa total. Losing quick wickets, Orissa were reduced to 51/4 at the end of the second day. SK Jahangir returned the figures of 4-2-6-2 and there was little hope for Bengal. On the third and final day, the Orissa bowlers completed the rout, skittling out the Bengal side for 174 in 95.5 overs. The Bengal side were asked to follow on, and were 46 for no loss when the match ended in a draw.

Newcastle United’s academy has produced some fine players for the first-team over the years, including current midfielder Sean Longstaff.

In addition, the likes of Steven Taylor, Andy Carroll and Shola Ameobi all played for the Magpies after coming through the youth ranks.

However, not every player who has had a successful career after playing in the academy in Tyneside managed to make it whilst they were at Newcastle.

Big blunder

One player with whom the club had a shocker was right-back James Tavernier, who has exploded since leaving the club as a youngster.

Transfermarkt claim that he joined Wigan for a meagre fee of £90k in the summer of 2014. He spent one year with the Latics before signing for Scottish giants Rangers, where he was valued at £315k during his first season at Ibrox.

Over the subsequent six-and-a-half years, the 6 foot machine has racked up 330 competitive appearances for the Light Blues in all competitions. He has scored a whopping 75 goals and provided 104 assists for the club, all whilst playing at right-back.

This shows that he has come on leaps and bounds since he was initially valued at £90k by the Newcastle board. He has been consistently superb for the Scottish champions over the course of a number of years, as shown by his statistics, and he has earned plenty of acclaim along the way.

Former Gers head coach and Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard previously heaped praise on the defender, saying: “I think Tav is someone who, when he goes through the gears, is unstoppable, and we have seen that, or flashes of that so far this season. I think he is really close to being at his best.”

“Tav is a huge player. He doesn’t get the credit he deserves I don’t think from our own supporters or the credit he deserves from outside.

“I think he needs to go and win something as a captain and a leader to really get the credit he deserves, but to see him on a daily basis, I am certainly someone who really appreciates him for us.”

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At the time of writing (09/03/2022), Transfermarkt value Tavernier at £6.3m. This is a sensational 6,900% increase on the £90k for which he reportedly departed the Magpies back in 2014.

Therefore, the Toon missed out on a major payday in comparison to what they got for selling him to Wigan, whilst also missing out on his talents at right-back. His ability to score and set up goals on a regular basis could have been useful for Newcastle over the years.

Instead, they got a mere £90k and Rangers ended up with a brilliant player further down the line, which is why the Tyneside club had a shocker with this particular academy product.

AND in other news, Forget Trippier: Ashworth can seal instant NUFC masterclass with “promising” £17m gem…

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

	Matthew Hayden proved how important he is to the Australia top order with 103 © Getty Images

Matthew Hayden made history by getting to 30 Test centuries faster than anyone else, but the overall theme on the third day was slowness, with a usually dominant Australian batting line-up stymied by some disciplined and committed bowling from the Indians. Ishant Sharma epitomised that with a magnificent spell of 9-2-10-1 after lunch, and Hayden’s wicket was rich reward.But a dogged innings from Ricky Ponting and his unbeaten 81-run partnership with Michael Clarke ensured that there would be no danger of India enforcing the follow on. They ended the day still 204 adrift of India’s 526, with the run-machine having been reduced to a relative crawl.The foundation had been set by a 160-run opening partnership between Hayden and Phil Jaques, but that ended just after lunch when Jaques had an ugly mow at Anil Kumble bowling round the wicket. The ball barely bounced, and sneaked under the bat to bowl him for 60. Ponting’s arrival also meant that Kumble took himself out of the attack to bring on Harbhajan Singh.But unlike on five previous occasions, Ponting survived his first-ball rendezvous with Harbhajan, and all eyes turned to Hayden as he sought to make his third century of the series. Cutting and sweeping with typical power, it took him 181 balls and it was wholly appropriate that the 100th run was reached with a sweep to midwicket. An Australia Day crowd – it was also India’s Republic Day – of 26,720 gave him a standing ovation.He couldn’t bask in the acclaim too long though, upstaged by the young man whose spell to Ponting in Perth announced the arrival of a special talent. Ishant was impeccable with his line, and got enough reverse swing and movement off the pitch to have the batsmen constantly guessing.Ponting survived some nervy moments, but Hayden didn’t, comprehensively beaten by one that swung in and nipped back off the seam. By the time Kumble took Ishant off, he had brought the innings to a standstill. The other bowlers weren’t as effective though, and Ponting finally shed the shackles when he pulled Irfan Pathan for a four off the 53rd ball that he faced.Hussey swept and drove Kumble with great confidence, and with Harbhajan unable to work his magic on Ponting, it was India that were looking a little bereft of ideas. But as often happens, an interval changed the complexion of the game. Hussey edged Kumble’s first ball after tea low to the right of first slip where Rahul Dravid couldn’t hold on to a difficult chance. Soon after, a vociferous leg-before shout from Pathan was turned down.It turned out to have no bearing on the proceedings, as Pathan then summoned up an absolute peach that swung in to rattle the top of off stump. Hussey was gone for 22, and Australia were suddenly looking a lot less secure. Ponting played one gorgeous cover-drive off Kumble, but was otherwise nowhere near his fluent best. It was left to Clarke to inject some momentum, and he did so with a lofted on-drive and a cut past point in a Kumble over.By the time Ponting eased past 50, it had taken him 114 balls and 197 minutes, the slowest of his career. With Kumble then favouring Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan in tandem for a short while, there was almost a long lull, and the crowd’s reverie was shattered only by Ponting cutting a wide one from Harbhajan for four. There was some drama in the climactic stages, with Sehwag having a huge appeal turned down for a catch at slip. Replays suggested that the ball had gone off the forearm, and that Billy Bowden had made the right decision.

	Ishant Sharma bowled superbly but there were not too many chances for India to celebrate on the third day © Getty Images

It was only after 107.2 overs that India chose to take the new ball, and Ponting quickly pounced with two fours off an Ishant over. But the late flourish couldn’t obscure the fact that he and his side had been made to work incredibly hard for their runs. Having gotten used to rattling along at four an over, they had to settle for a day when runs came at an old-world pace.There had been much more intent in the morning, with Hayden to the fore. In his absence, there had been stutters at the start in Perth, but normal service was resumed at the Adelaide Oval on another bright and stiflingly hot morning. Indian hopes of bowling Australia out cheaply were badly dented before play commenced, with the news that RP Singh would play no part in the day’s proceedings, and perhaps the rest of the match, as a result of a hamstring strain.Kumble opened with Ishant at one end, and Harbhajan at the other, but though there was fairly sharp turn and variable bounce, Australia weathered the early challenge. A 21-gun salute down on the River Torrens caused a brief interruption, but with the mind once again focussed, Hayden raced to 50 with two screeching cuts off Harbhajan. Soon after, Kumble opted to try another pace-spin combination, with Pathan complementing his legspin. But by then, Hayden was in the mood, with an emphatic cut and delicate glide off Pathan highlighting that power could also be allied to finesse.India went into a huddle at the second drinks break, but chances continued to be at a premium on a surface where there were still plenty of runs to be scored. After a good leg-before appeal was turned down, Pathan and Hayden briefly had words before Bowden stepped in to calm things down. And Hayden showed that it hadn’t disrupted his concentration in any way with a huge six over long-on off Kumble.Jaques then swung one past the fielder at midwicket, eliciting anguished gasps from the fielders, and a firm push past mid-off took him to a half-century, ending a relatively fallow run in the second and third Tests. But after 97 runs in that session, the match became a battle of attrition, with both sides having something to smile about. The big picture too slowly took shape, with a draw appearing the most likely result.