Roar of 55,000 fans will be shock... bring it on!
RICHARD EDWARDS
BY
A RECORD defeat might suggest that England suffered from stage fright as spectators returned to see India romp the Second Test.
But after a year of playing in empty stadiums, Olly Stone (left) couldn’t get enough of the noise.
The Warwickshire fast bowler, who will be involved in the draft for this year’s Hundred competition tomorrow, took four wickets all told.
He’s hoping that will have secured his place this week, when England play in the first ever Test at the world’s biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad.
He recalled: “The first ball that Stuart Broad bowled - to hear that roar, it just cut straight through me. I didn’t think about it too much beforehand so when it happened it was unreal.
“It was great to have fans back but it was a shock for those first three or four overs.
“Every forward defence was cheered. You don’t tend to get that back home but over here it’s very different.
“There are rumours of 55,000 people in the next stadium, so that could be an eye-opener.
“But I have to say the Northants ground packs a punch when it’s full for a T20 on a Friday night.”
JOKER Danny Addy is ready to have the last laugh on the doubters this season.
The 30-year-old utility star is one of 12 new signings hoping to contribute to another year of Salford shocks. Even though the Red Devils have reached the
Grand Final and Challenge Cup final in the last two seasons, few are tipping them for glory again.
And that, says Addy, is just the motivation his teammates are using through the long slog of pre-season training.
He said: “It puts a bit of fire in your belly. In most games we will be seen as underdogs but we know what we’re capable of.
“Salford have shown that they can beat anyone.
“It is up to us to prove everyone wrong again.”
Salford have a new coach in Richard Marshall, as well as a big player turn-over, but Addy says he’s had no trouble settling in. I’ve never had a problem settling in anywhere because I’m a bit of a character so I can break the ice quite early.
“I get along with everyone and like to have a mess about when the time is right. I love to keep the lads laughing and tell a few jokes.
“A lot of the lads think I have ADHD and I guess I do have a short attention span but when it’s time to work I can switch it on.”
Addy, who spent last season at Leigh, has tipped his former club to do well too.
“They will definitely shock a few people this year,” he said.
THE only female coach of a men’s professional football team in Europe hopes her experience can open a door that others can follow her through.
Renate Blindheim was just 26 when she was handed the reigns at Sotra in Norway’s second division in July 2020.
It’s the kind of opportunity that has so far eluded top female coaches in England, despite reports linking Emma Hayes, the manager of Chelsea Women, with AFC Wimbledon.
And Blindheim says she hopes that her experience in Scandinavia will show the impact that women can have in the men’s game.
“I think we’re on our way to realising that knowledge and competence is more important than gender,” she says.
“It will probably take a while before it’s normalised to have women coaches working in men’s football – it’s going to take some successful examples to prove that competence is the most important thing.
“Do I feel like I’m leading a revolution? No I don’t. I am focusing on doing my job as best as I can at Sotra – it’s surely positive if my role as head coach can open doors for other female coaches in men’s football around the world.
“There are, of course, a lot of people watching me, and us closely, which creates some external pressure.
“But the biggest pressure I feel is the one I put on myself.”
CHARACTER Adama Traore thrilled by win
ADAMA TRAORE insisted that Wolves have rediscovered their pack mentality after battling to victory against Leeds.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side climbed to 11th in the Premier League following Friday’s 1-0 win at Molineux.
Traore’s second-half winning strike came back off the crossbar and hit luckless Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier before rolling over the line.
After a fairly bleak midwinter, it was the first time since October that Wolves have recorded back-to-back top-flight wins and they are now unbeaten in their last four Premier League games.
“This character shows how tough we work through the 90 minutes,” Traore told the club’s website.
“The strikers, the midfielders, the defenders, everybody. I think that character is important, back with that feeling we are a pack – that is the mentality. Nuno gets to the team and says, ‘This is the mentality and this is how we have to do it’.
“We know Leeds can score against any team, so a clean sheet and back-toback wins are very important to us.”
ASTON VILLA boss Dean Smith would love the Premier League’s Big Six to become a ‘Big 10’ in the future.
But, in the meantime,
Smith (right) has one focus – getting his high-fliers to gatecrash this season’s Champions League places – or, at very least, secure a Europa League spot.
Villa can take another significant step towards that immediate goal with a victory over Leicester this afternoon.
The Foxes, third in the table, are where Smith’s team wants to be in terms of overall development at their club.
The Villa boss admitted as much while discussing the race for Europe – and the Villans’ short and long-term dreams.
Ahead of the King Power showdown, Smith said: “This is a progressive club, with the owners we have here.
“They want us to be challenging in the higher echelons of this Premier League. My job is to design a team that can compete in the top six.
“It will take time, because of the head-start the big clubs have over us, with us having three years in the
Championship.” Villa would move to within a point of Brendan Rodgers’ men if they take all three today AND win their two games in hand on their Midlands rivals.
Which brings the thorny topic of a ‘European Super League’ into serious question.
Asked whether such a prospect would kill the competitive ambitions of clubs like Villa and Leicester, Smith’s response was cautious yet emphatic.
The ex-Brentford and Walsall manager (left), 49, said: “That’s what sport is about – you want teams to go and break the mould of the Big Six, so to speak.
“I believe that Leicester are there already. They’re a top-four club. We want to become one of those clubs and make it a more competitive league – make it a Big 10.
He is full of praise for the job opposite number Rodgers has done since assuming the King Power reins a little over two years ago.
Smith said: “I did my Pro Licence with Brendan. He was Chelsea B team coach at the time and has progressed extremely well.
“And as a British coach he’s been outstanding.”