Bats should be 'clean': Hot Spot man

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Hot Spot inventor John Brennan has spoken out about the accusations that were made earlier this week. Source:Supplied

HOT Spot inventor Warren Brennan claims that protective coating on the edge of cricket bats diminishes the ability of the technology to pick up nicks from batsmen.

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Brennan wants this coating removed from the edges of bats so Hot Spot can have the greatest chance of working properly.

"During the current Ashes series, the DRS (decision review system) has been highly controversial, with Hot Spot in the eye of the storm", Brennan said.

"Our technology has been criticized for fine edges that have gone undetected. More than anyone else, BBG Sports wanted to know why.

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"Following the Manchester Test match earlier this week, BBG Sports analysed contentious Hot Spot decisions from the Ashes series and decided to purchase several of the latest generation of cricket bats to undertake thorough testing.

"BBG Sports observed that the majority of bats had some form of protective coating that would wrap around onto the edges of the bat. Strangely enough, this protective coating would cover only half of the edge of the bat and not the entire edge of the bat.

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"BBG Sports believed this could cause the front-edge of the bat to have a different thermal signature than the back-¬edge of the bat."

Testing over the past three days has, in the opinion of BBG Sports, provided conclusive findings.

"The type and thickness of the protective coating unquestionably affects the thermal signature of the Hot Spot system," Brennan said.
 
The International Cricket Council was advised earlier this week on these initial findings and has committed to further testing over the coming weeks.
 
"BBG Sports believes that in order to achieve optimum Hot Spot results then the removal of protective coating from bat edges needs to occur.
 
"This will allow for the best thermal signatures between cricket balls and natural timber cricket bats."
 
Umpires appeared to lose confidence in Hot Spot during this series, giving or upholding in some cases contentious decisions even though there was no evidence from the technology that the player had hit the ball.
 
There was no suggestion that any player was using the coating to deliberately try and beat Hot Spot.
 
Almost all players use coatings to protect modern soft pressed bats that can easily break up.

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Courts may settle Milford saga

Canberra Raiders star Anthony Milford alone on the field. Source: Ray Strange / News Limited

THE Anthony Milford contract saga took a dramatic twist on Saturday with the teenage star's agent revealing he will take legal action against the Raiders if they refuse to release him the final year of his contract.

The Sunday Telegraph can lift the lid on the mysterious release clause penned into the live wire fullback's contract with Milford's agent Sam Ayoub opening up on the fight to reunite his client with his sick father.

Milford, 19, has formally requested a release to return to Brisbane to be closer to his father who underwent a triple by-pass last year.

The Raiders have denied the release, claiming Milford is bound to serve out the final year of his deal.

"The clause says the Raiders will look favourably on any request for a release should his father's health deteriorate," Ayoub said.

"And so far they haven't looked on it favourably at all simply because he has turned into a better player than they expected. The clause is there and they should not have put it in if they had no intention of honouring it."

Ayoub said his client was desperate to return to Brisbane and accused the Raiders of "bullying" his client.

Ayoub said he would consider taking on the Raiders in court should they not grant Milford a release and allow him to strike a deal with Broncos.

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A twist in Broncos stand-off

Peter Wallace of the Broncos runs with the ball. Source: Tony Feder / Getty Images

PETER Wallace is seeking compensation from the Broncos to resurrect his NRL career as the fallout between the halfback and the club's hierarchy intensifies.

Ahead of Brisbane's clash against the Dragons on Sunday at Suncorp Stadium, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal Wallace's manager wants financial aid to help the shunned playmaker secure a future in the NRL.

Relations between the two parties have soured in the past three weeks after the former NSW Origin halfback was advised he would not be an integral part of Brisbane's plans for 2014.

Wallace is privately fuming, believing he was denied a release by the Broncos in May after his manager Allan Gainey fielded a $1.5 million offer from his former club the Panthers.

But the Broncos have hit back at the Wallace camp, claiming the halfback was asked if he wanted out of Red Hill - an offer the 27-year-old is alleged to have rejected.

Amid the claims and counterclaims, the certainty is Wallace will not be Brisbane's halfback next year, leaving Gainey scrambling to find his client a new home.

Wallace is prepared to honour his Broncos deal, which expires at the end of next year, but Gainey believes Brisbane should provide a subsidy to enable him to play regular first grade elsewhere in 2014.

"No one has any money left for next year, so what do you do?" Gainey said.

"I just want to know if another opportunity comes up, what are the Broncos prepared to contribute? It would be nice to know what the Broncos are prepared to pay because it might make it easier for Pete to find a new club. 

"At no stage have the Broncos said this is what we are prepared to put in if you can find something for him."

Broncos coach Anthony Griffin and operations chief Andrew Gee declined to comment yesterday.

But it is understood Brisbane hierarchy are satisfied with their handling of the Wallace affair after revelations of Penrith's big-money offer first surfaced in May.

On May 20, Wallace was summoned to a meeting with Griffin at his Red Hill office.

The coach reportedly asked Wallace if he wanted a release to join the Panthers. The halfback is understood to have pledged his faith to the club, claiming he was settled in Brisbane, with his partner having just given birth to their first child.

Asked about the meeting, Gainey said: "I don't know what Pete said. I'm not privy to conversations he had directly with the coach. I wasn't there."

The Panthers subsequently withdrew their offer. That was in round 11. Eight weeks later, after a loss to Cronulla on July 12, Wallace was relegated to the bench, with Ben Hunt handed his No. 7 jumper for the clash with the Cowboys.

It was at that time Griffin informed Wallace and halves partner Scott Prince they were unlikely to play at NRL level for the club next season.

Gainey finds it hard to comprehend how Brisbane's appraisal of Wallace, who has played 134 games for the club, could have shifted so dramatically in eight weeks.

He claims the club's interest in excitement machines Ben Barba and Anthony Milford, who are both tipped to join the Broncos in 2014, was the catalyst for Wallace's demise.

"What upset Pete was that he was told to his face by Anthony Griffin, 'If you stay here, you will only be playing Queensland Cup'," Gainey says. 

"No-one deserves that sort of treatment ... surely you can handle men better than that." 

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Dally M bombshell: Carney fave

Todd Carney holds up his medal after being named Dally M Medal winner as Player of the Year. Source: Mark Evans / News Limited

A MONTH ago, Todd Carney was ruing his omission from the NSW State of Origin team.

Now the Cronulla Sharks playmaker has surged into shock favouritism to snare his second Dally M player of the year award.

The combination of injuries to early favourites, Souths pair Greg Inglis and John Sutton, and a renewed enthusiasm following his Origin disappointment, has catapulted Carney to the top of the betting board for the prestigious medal.

Carney has been installed as the $2.75 favourite to win the award by Tabcorp's corporate betting arm, Luxbet, while surprisingly the odds on Inglis, the player many expected would break the Rabbitohs' 33-year Dally M drought this year, have blown out to $34.

Sutton is rated a $29 chance while North Queensland skipper Johnathan Thurston is second favourite at $4.

Carney was on 12 points, four points behind leader, Melbourne's Cooper Cronk, when voting went behind closed doors after Round 16.

Inglis was equal-second on 15, with Newcastle's Jarrod Mullen and Sutton.

But three, possibly four, man of the match performances from Carney in his past six matches has many believing the Sharks five-eighth has recaptured the form that saw him claim the gong in 2010 when he inspired the Roosters to the grand final.

They include former premiership winning halfback Brett Kimmorley.

"Given his form, you'd have to think Carney would be leading comfortably," Kimmorley said."He's been outstanding. The biggest strength of his game when he won the Dally M previously was his running game.

"He's running a lot straighter and on the back of the momentum that the Sharkies create, you find him posing a lot of questions.

"He looks fresh and happy, too, which at this time last year, he was probably the worst he ever felt in his career. He's not coming out of Origin deflated.

"He would've sat back and watched the series without any pressure and then he goes out and picks up points while the guys that did play Origin have come back a little flat.

"Cooper Cronk and Cam Smith weren't great in the month after Origin and now Inglis is injured."

Repaying the faith shown by Sharks coach Shane Flanagan, Carney has also stepped up in the absence of club captain Paul Gallen, who missed six weeks through injury.

"He's taken a leadership role with Gal missing and he's realised that he's a senior member there," State of Origin coach Laurie Daley said. "Like all the good players in the competition, he knows that if he can play well he can have a say in the result of the match. He's certainly done that, which has left the race wide open."

Manly's Daly Cherry-Evans and Canterbury pivot Josh Reynolds also have the potential to make a late charge for the Dally M Medal, which will be awarded in grand final week for the first time this year.

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Lie detectors can stop fixing: Waugh

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Steve Waugh wants to rid cricket from the scourge of match-fixing. Source:AAP

FORMER Australian captain Steve Waugh wants lie detector tests introduced to help solve international cricket's integrity crisis.

Waugh, who retired from Test cricket in 2004, wants polygraphs used to eradicate gambling and match-fixing, which he said were the greatest issues facing the sport.

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Waugh, 48, has used his place on the Marylebone Cricket Club's World Cricket Committee to push anti-corruption measures.

And he's even gone to the point of sitting a test to prove its validity.

"This is the most serious issue facing the game. We can't dismiss it this lightly," Waugh writes in his new book, The Meaning of Luck.

"If a player hasn't done anything wrong, he won't be afraid.

"If he's been accused, he will have an avenue to help clear his name."

Waugh met polygraph expert and behavioural specialist Steve van Aperen to sit the test.

"Maybe it could break open cases, if the lie detector itself or the mere threat of its use led to dishonest players confessing because they sensed a net was closing in on them," Waugh said.

"At the very least, it might stop people saying to me, 'How many games did you play in that were fixed or you thought weren't 100 per cent authentic?'."

Waugh said he was sick of "cynics second-guessing every dropped catch, poor shot, wide delivery".

He said cricket must act to avoid the confidence crises engulfing other sports, such as cycling.

Waugh highlighted the susceptibility of developing Twenty20 tournaments as a potential weak spot.

He said there were "opportunities" for corrupt bookmakers, "especially in second-tier tournaments such as domestic T20 competitions and other events away from the prying eyes of global media and more stringent match officials".

But he said it was imperative that cricket acts.

"I believe we must explore every avenue available that might help diminish and then end the scourge," Waugh said.

"A solution will be very costly. It will require courageous people to oversee its implementation, (but) it must be done."

THE Meaning Of Luck is available at all Big W stores and selected Woolworths stores from August 14. RRP $22. Log on to stevewaughbooks.com.au for more information.

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Live: fourth Ashes Test, day two

Chris Rogers was lucky to survive this chance, which was put down by Graeme Swann. Source: AP

AFTER a brilliant day in the field, can Australia's batsmen keep the momentum going as the fourth Ashes Test heads into day two?

Find out, and get all the best reaction, analysis and social media chat in our live and interactive blog.

Join the conversation by leaving a comment in the blog below, or let us know what you think by getting in touch on Twitter, @FoxCricketLive.

If using the comment box in the blog, you can just enter a name where it says 'Display Name', or you can log in using one of your social media accounts. Get involved now!

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Rogers stays strong as Aussies battle

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Chris Rogers saved Australia from a complete collapse on day two at Chester-le-Street. Source:Getty Images

VETERAN Chris Rogers and his former opening partner Shane Watson were attempting to resurrect the Australian innings after Stuart Broad cut a swathe through top order on the second day of the fourth Ashes Test.

Australia was 4-148 at tea in reply to England's 238, with Rogers 71 and Watson 38, the pair having come together just after lunch with the tourists in deep trouble at 4-76.

Both Rogers and Watson survived chances. Rogers was dropped at second slip by Graeme Swann when on 49, and Tim Bresnan grassed a sharp caught and bowled from Watson when he was 5.

In difficult batting conditions, Rogers had also been lucky some anxious moments early in his innings.

The first reprieve came when Broad's LBW referral was overturned, the second when Rogers was given out caught behind, but Hot Spot showed the ball had hit his pad. However, to Broad's annoyance, the replay also showed Rogers would have been LBW if the umpire had given him out for that.

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Otherwise, against some devilish swing bowling under a cloudy sky, Rogers and Watson had repaired some of the early damage done by Broad who took Australia's first three wickets in a brilliant pre-lunch spell.

Broad bowled David Warner for three when the Australian opener attempted a cramped, defensive shot with an angled bat. Then, in his next over, Usman Khawaja was caught behind for a duck.

It was a particularly disappointing return from Warner, who had been elevated to his preferred position at the top of the order after batting at No.6 in the third Test.

Captain Michael Clarke, so often the saviour, was also caught by Prior, his swat at Broad's ball well outside off stump and uncharacteristic mistake by the Australian captain.
 
Rogers and Steve Smith took Australia to lunch. But, immediately, after the resumption, Smith was caught behind sparring at a ball from Bresnan he should have left alone.

Earlier, Australia had taken little time to complete the day's housekeeping, wrapping up the England innings without allowing them to add to their overnight score.

Jackson Bird got justified reward for his tight and probing bowling on the first day, when he bowled James Anderson for 16. Although not before hitting the England No.11 with a bouncer, and breaking his helmet.

Nathan Lyon finished with 4-42, having taken the top order wickets of Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell and Jonny Bairstow.

The off-spinner bowled well, but was also the beneficiary of some excellent work by the Australian seamers. Bird (2-58), Ryan Harris (2-70), Peter Siddle (1-41) and Shane Watson (1-21) all kept the England batsmen under constant pressure.

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