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New Zealand Cricket has changed the date of its Christchurch andWellington National Bank Series ODI matches against South Africa toavoid a potential clash with a Crusaders Super 12 match in Christchurch,following a late change to the Super 12 schedule.Martin Snedden, the NZC chief executive said NZC agreed to the change ofdate of the Christchurch match to avoid a head-to-head clash with aCrusaders Super 12 match which otherwise might have been played at QueenElizabeth II Park in Christchurch on the same day as the Jade StadiumODI.The Jade Stadium ODI has been moved from Saturday February 21 to TuesdayFebruary 17 (as a day-night fixture) allowing the Crusaders Super 12match to be played at Jade Stadium on the Saturday.As a result the Wellington ODI has been transferred from WednesdayFebruary 18 to Friday February 20 (as a day-night fixture).”It is unfortunate that we have found ourselves in this position. Weworked with the New Zealand Rugby Football Union to avoid a schedulingclash before finalising our itinerary,” Snedden said.”Following a late change to the Super 12 schedule, Canterbury Rugbyapproached us with a joint marketing proposal which included asubstantial compensation package if we transferred our Jade Stadiummatch from the Saturday.”It would have hurt both cricket and rugby to play head-to-head matchesin Christchurch and would not have been good for fans of both sports tobe forced to choose between the two matches. We will continue to work with rugby in the hope that scheduling issuescan be avoided in the future,” he said.

Chris Tremlett reckons he can break the 85mph barrier in 2002 – and make his full England debut.Paceman Tremlett returns to Australia on January 12 with Hampshire teammate Derek Kenway and the rest of the Rod Marsh-led England Academy after a four-week break over the festive period.

Tremlett prepares to bowl Photo Vic Isaacs

The 20-year-old has a new-look action after the first seven weeks at the Adelaide Oval with former Australian Academy coach Marsh and his assistant John Abrahams.And he believes that nine more weeks Down Under will help crank his speed up further – and win him a place in England’s one-day side this summer.Tremlett, who models himself on Glenn McGrath, said: “Playing one-day international cricket for England this year is a realistic goal for me.”England haven’t done too well in one-day cricket this year and I played plenty of limited overs games with Hampshire last season.”It might be a bit early to think about going straight into the Test team, so I’ll be concentrating on staying in the Hampshire team. But one-day cricket is my goal.”Southampton-born Tremlett roomed with Northants spinner Graeme Swann and was given tips by Surrey ace Alex Tudor during the academy’s first two months in Adelaide.And he is confident that Hampshire fans will see a more formidable Chris Tremlett at the Rose Bowl this summer. Tremlett, who stands at 6ft 7in, has taken 26 wickets at 18.92 in his first two seasons of first-class cricket.He added: “I’m aiming to break the 85mph mark this year. I was bowling around 81mph last season but my fitness really improved in Australia.”I haven’t been clocked yet but I reckon 85mph is definitely do-able this season.”After doing a lot of fitness work in Australia, I’m a lot more powerful in the upper body and I feel like I’m bowling quicker. I’m coming over a lot higher and am attacking the crease a lot more than I used to.”Alex (Tudor) is a couple of inches shorter than me but we’re similar sorts of bowler so he’s given me some useful tips on my action.”He got five wickets against Australia last season and Graeme Swann toured South Africa with the Test squad a couple of years ago.”I want that experience as well but I need to be a bit quicker if I’m going to reach the top level.”It’s not all about pace but you need to be looking at consistent speeds in the mid 80’s to play international cricket.”Dad Tim, Hampshire’s director of cricket, said: “I’ve seen Chris’s new action in the nets and it looks good.”He’s using his height more and is much stronger as well

Just as Punjab were putting up a gallant fightback in their secondinnings, Tamil Nadu grabbed two wickets late in the day to placethemselves in a commanding position at stumps on the third day oftheir Ranji Trophy quarter-final at the MA Chidambaram stadium inChennai on Saturday.In arrears by 203 runs on the first innings, Punjab’s openers VikramRathour and Reetinder Singh Sodhi put on 126 runs off 40.5 overs. Justwhen it looked like the two would come in unbeaten at stumps, Sodhiwas caught behind by Reuben Paul off Mahesh for 89. Sodhi, the moreaggressive of the two, faced 146 balls and hit ten fours. WicketkeeperH Jagnu, sent in as a night watchman, was run out in the followingover for zero. By that time however the light was bad and play wascalled off with 11.4 overs still to be bowled. Punjab, at 127 for two,still have a lot of work ahead.Early morning showers meant that play started 75 minutes late. Thenfurther rain saw to it that 12 minutes play was lost shortly beforelunch. Tamil Nadu, 346 for five overnight, were all out about an hourafter the break. Sridharan Sriram was finally out for 165, caught byMongia off Harbhajan Singh. He batted 509 minutes, faced 278 balls andhit 12 fours. The off spinner then dismissed Sadagopan Mahesh firstball. But the Tamil Nadu tail wagged. First Rajath Bhatia (24) andReuben Paul (32) added 27 runs for the ninth wicket. This was followedby a last wicket partnership of 47 runs off 13 overs between Paul andJ Gokulakrishnan (21 not out). Harbhajan Singh who bowled very wellwas rewarded with five wickets for 106 runs.Rathour and RS Sodhi brought Punjab back into the game with theircentury first wicket partnership. But the fall of two quick wicketslate in the day saw Tamil Nadu regain the whiphand. Rathour by closehowever was unbeaten with a defiant 37 off 101 balls with four hits tothe ropes. Play was extended by more than a hour and a half to make upthe loss due to the rain. But bad light ultimately halted play at 6.10pm.

Wolves have had solid defensive foundations to work with for the majority of their time in the Premier League, with club captain Conor Coady leading by example at the back so often.

This season, the West Midlands club have conceded just 21 goals – the fourth lowest in the entire division, with just Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City leaking less.

One man who has had a significant contribution this campaign, particularly in helping the defence become a rock-solid unit is homegrown centre-back Max Kilman, who has become one of the first names on the teamsheet.

Former Leeds striker Noel Whelan labelled him as “incredible” and “sensational” in an interview with Football Insider, while Sky Sports described him as a “revelation”, displaying how far he’s come in a short period of time.

Still without having made a single error leading to a goal in the Premier League this year, the Wolves star has made 2.31 interceptions per 90, as well as an impressive 1.35 defensive tackles per game within his own half.

However, it is his ability when in possession that is arguably the most impressive, ranking in the top 16% for dribbles completed per 90 (0.43) among central defenders in Europe’s top five leagues, the top 24% for progressive carries per game (3.60) and also the top 20% for carries into the final third per game (0.85).

For a 24-year-old defender without an England cap who has played just 48 Premier League games, keeping 14 clean sheets in that time, the statistics show just how rapidly Kilman has developed – and he is continuing to progress.

This season, he is ranked joint fourth by SofaScore in terms of average match rating, alongside versatile Moroccan Romain Saiss, who has also had an excellent campaign.

What separates the two though in how important they are to Wolves, isn’t just statistics though, it is the fact that Kilman is a left-footer playing in a three-man defence.

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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Nowadays, it is becoming more and more common for clubs to use left-footed central defenders next to a right-footer, but for balance in particular, it is crucial when setting up with three defenders and wing-backs.

Despite being valued at just £8.1m by Transfermarkt, his price tag would likely be far higher than that, as Wolves have truly found themselves a gem of a homegrown left-footed wide centre back.

In other news: Forget Neto: Lage can fix big Wolves issue with rarely-seen 19yo who “catches the eye”

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

	Daniel Vettori became New Zealand’s highest ODI wicket-taker © Getty Images

The last day of the year was a memorable one for Daniel Vettori, who won another toss, grabbed five easy wickets to become New Zealand’s highest limited-overs wicket-taker, and basked in his first series victory since taking over the captaincy after the World Cup. For Bangladesh, it was an utterly forgettable day, as they slumped to their worst defeat ever in one-day internationals, by ten wickets with to spare. In the history of ODIs, only three times has a team won with more deliveries remaining.Rain was expected but the weather held up in sunny Queenstown, New Zealand’s “Vegas by the Lake”, and Vettori played all his cards right to spin Bangladesh out for just 93, a total overhauled by Brendon McCullum’s murderous 29-ball 80 before the local caterers burned lunch. Against the backdrop of the scenic Remarkables hill range, Bangladesh were simply annihilated, a 3-0 sweep was completed, and the hosts went into the New Year in a festive mood ahead of a busy season.Before this game Mohammad Ashraful, Bangladesh’s captain, demanded his side improve from an “unacceptable” performance in the second match, but it appeared no one was listening. Vettori’s good luck at the toss continued and he had little hesitation in giving his bowlers a crack at a struggling Bangladeshi top order, whose penchant for driving on the up had them in knots. They got away with it in Napier, to an extent, but struggled in seam-friendly conditions where the ball didn’t come onto the ball all that easily.Kyle Mills’ good series continued as he bowled Junaid Siddique in the third over, going for an expansive drive and inside-edging back onto his stumps. Mills and every seamer included bowled accurately and asked plenty of questions of the batsmen. Michael Mason, sporting a bit of hair dye in his first game since the World Cup, picked up an out-of-sorts Tamim Iqbal in his second over, the 16th. Struggling to time the ball off the square, Tamim saw some width and poked at it, but was smartly snapped at slip by Scott Styris, diving to his left. His laborious 13 from 56 deliveries summed up Bangladesh’s predicament.Ashraful began to take some risks, giving himself room to carve boundaries through and over point but trying to pull Mason into Lake Wakatipu was neatly picked up by Jacob Oram just inside the ropes at deep backward square. Oram was soon into action with the ball as well, picking up Tushar Imran. An extra bit of bounce did it for Tushar, pushing forward and getting a thick outside edge to McCullum; that made it 46 for 4 after 19 overs.Vettori held himself back until after the 25-over mark but didn’t waste any time leveling himself with Chris Harris on 203 one-day wickets for his country. Aftab Ahmed failed to curb his enthusiasm and a tame sweep went nowhere but into square leg’s waiting palms. But the one to cherish came three deliveries later, as Shakib al Hasan went to cut but dragged onto his stumps, taking Vettori to the top of the list.The field required batsmen to play the ball late, with soft hands, but the Bangladeshis were eager to flash hard. There were no demons in the track but the batsmen, struggling to get the timing they wanted, were unsuccessful in working the ball square of the pitch. Vettori varied his flight, stuck in two slips and bowled as if it was a Test match. The lack of confidence from the batsmen was evident from the start but this was a whole new low as some reckless shot selection continued. Vettori took the pace off the ball, got it to bounce and spit, and Bangladesh folded for a paltry total in 37.5 overs. Vettori’s five-wicket bag also made him the highest one-day wicket-taker of the year, with 42.

	Brendon McCullum thumped 80 from just 29 balls to seal a sweep © Getty Images

New Zealand’s openers found themselves padding up well before the scheduled interval and McCullum gave the Monday morning crowd the perfect entertainment after Bangladesh flopped with the bat. Setting about like he had a pre-New Years lunch to attend, he plundered 21 runs in the second over, survived a drop at third man in the next, and celebrated by sending the ball out of the park for the first of his six sixes. It was sheer carnage, McCullum thumping Shahadat for 38 in two overs and Shakib for a couple more dingers in the fifth over; anyone tuning in at that stage could be forgiven for thinking it was a Twenty20 highlights reel.Cover, point, midwicket, long-off, long-on were all pinged with alarming fluency by McCullum. Either giving himself room or sauntering down the track, he was unstoppable, and his short-arm jabs were packed with power. Ashraful and his bowlers – he turned to spin after four overs – had no answer to such hitting. With a grin on his face, McCullum raised his fifty from just 19 balls, a New Zealand record and the third-fastest ever, before finishing a terribly one-sided affair in six overs. Jamie How, at the other end, scored just 7 in a thumping 95-run stand, such was McCullum’s brilliance. Seldom has a batsman so dominated the initial stages of a one-day match.Exactly a year ago New Zealand clinched a one-wicket thriller against Sri Lanka at this very venue and it was, once again, a great way to end the year.