All posts by h716a5.icu

Monty Panesar, the England left-arm spinner, has joined South African domestic side Highveld Lions as their overseas player this season

Cricinfo staff02-Oct-2009Monty Panesar, the England left-arm spinner, has joined South African domestic side Highveld Lions as their overseas player this season.Panesar was dropped from the England Test team after the first Ashes Test at Cardiff, despite his match-saving effort with the bat on a tense final evening, and has now lost his central contract. His spot as England’s No.1 spinner has gone to Graeme Swann and in 13 County Championship matches this season Panesar took just 18 wickets at an expensive 59.44.”Having practised with [head coach] Dave Nosworthy and the Lions players last January for 10 days prior to going to West Indies with England, I know what superb facilities and friendly people await me in Johannesburg,” Panesar said. “[Chief executive] Alan Kourie was very helpful to me on my last trip, and I look forward to picking his and other people’s brains further as I seek to develop my bowling and all-round game in the challenging environment of South African cricket.”England are yet to announce their touring party for the winter tour of South Africa, but Panesar’s name is not expected to feature with Adil Rashid set to travel as the second spinner. However, Panesar will be in the right place should injuries strike the main squad.Two years ago the Lions had Steve Harmison in their ranks as he tried to prove his form and fitness before the tour 2007-08 tour of Sri Lanka.

Rangers face Brondby away from home in the Europa League tonight as they look to replicate their 2-0 win against them at Ibrox earlier this season.

The win against the Danish outfit is their only one in the group stage so far this term, following losses to both Lyon and Sparta Prague.

Steven Gerrard’s side are heading into this clash full of confidence after a superb 6-1 drubbing of Motherwell on Sunday in the Premiership.

How many changes will Gerrard make from that game? Here is our predicted XI for the match…

We are predicting that he will make three alterations to the side, with Jon McLaughlin, John Lundstram and Kemar Roofe coming into the team.

Starting off between the sticks, McLaughlin could return to replace Allan McGregor after the veteran’s clanger at the weekend against Motherwell. He attempted to gather the ball from a low shot and inadvertently spilt it straight to Bevis Mugabi, who scored the opening goal in the game.

Not only did he make a mess of the initial shot to create the rebound, but he also allowed Mugabi to sneak the ball past him at the near post on the follow-up despite being back up and ready to make a save. This could cause Gerrard to axe him from the XI in favour of McLaughlin, in an attempt to avoid any major errors against Brondby.

In midfield, Steven Davis and Glen Kamara may keep their spots in the side, despite a slight injury doubt for the latter. Next to them, however, summer signing Lundstram could replace Scott Arfield, who struggled in spite of Rangers’ impressive display against Motherwell. Per SofaScore, he lost seven of his eight individual duels on the pitch and failed to create a single chance, showing that he was not at his best defensively or offensively for the Gers.

Finally, Roofe could come in for Joe Aribo on the right of the front three. We published an article explaining why the Nigerian international needs to be dropped to the bench for this match, as he has played too much football this season and could be suffering from burnout. Therefore, Roofe – who scored off the bench against Motherwell – could replace the £14k-per-week gem.

AND in other news, Kent 2.0: Gerrard could unearth new wing wizard in “exciting” 18 y/o Rangers flyer…

In a match they must win to qualify for the next stage of the Champions League, the Deccan Chargers bowlers shook off a horribly wayward start to restrict Trinidad & Tobago to a par score on an excellent batting pitch in Hyderabad

The Bulletin by George Binoy14-Oct-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Dwayne Bravo bowled a superb final over and finished with 3 for 24•Global Cricket Ventures-BCCIThey’ve tried nine times but Deccan Chargers have not won in Hyderabad yet. This latest defeat, by a three-run margin to Trinidad & Tobago, had serious consequences – it made the 2009 champions the only IPL team to crash out in the first round of the Champions League after losing both Group A matches. T&T, on the other hand, are unexpected toppers and will carry forward two points to the second round from beating fellow qualifiers Somerset.Neither team took decisive control of the game at any stage: both outfits were haphazard but T&T lifted at pivotal moments to prevail in a tense finish. Their batsmen entertained, playing a shot a minute, but didn’t stay long enough to cause significant damage – scoring only 149 on a terrific batting surface. Their bowlers took early wickets but wilted under Adam Gilchrist’s flashing bat and, when they fought back, Venugopal Rao threatened to snatch victory from them. With only eight runs to defend in the final over, Daren Ganga gave Dwayne Bravo the responsibility and T&T’s most experienced player delivered.The whole match had a feeling of unpredictability to it; performances were neither clinical nor efficient. Deccan aided T&T’s start by bowling poor lines and conceding an inexcusable number of extras. The batsmen attacked, disregarding the quality of deliveries. Edges flew for fours, balls were scooped into helmets, overthrows went to the boundary and dropped catches resulted in wickets. There was a freaky lbw, a fluke stumping and a batsman was struck on the neck by a bouncer. In the midst of the chaos, William Perkins top-scored with 38, Keiron Pollard blasted 31 off 14 balls, and fiery Fidel Edwards finished with 3 for 32.Edwards was charged up for this contest and not merely because he was a Barbadian playing against local rivals; he had been barred against Somerset for bowling two beamers. He had words for T&T’s openers and then sent down a fast, if not always well-directed, first over. Perkins tried to flick one of those speedy deliveries but the leading edge bounced just once before going over the point boundary. The first delivery Edwards aimed at middle stump brought him a wicket – Lendl Simmons played across and was lbw.RP Singh then bowled a shocker. He had drifted down leg often in his first over and bowled a hat-trick of front-foot no-balls in his second. Darren Bravo missed the first two free-hits but pulled the third over midwicket for four. RP then delivered a wide outside off stump but the worst was yet to come. An overthrow off the last ball cost Deccan five leg byes and Gilchrist’s disgust was plain to see.T&T raced to 49 for 1 after five overs and Gilchrist brought a fourth bowler into the attack. Darren Bravo welcomed T Suman with a leg-glanced boundary but then smacked one straight back to him. A ball later Andrew Symonds’ direct hit caught Daren Ganga short at the bowler’s end. Perkins, though, batted without restraint, pulling Pragyan Ojha to the midwicket fence, lofting Symonds over cover, and playing a scoop on to the grill of his helmet, before moving across his stumps and falling lbw to Edwards.They were 92 for 4 after 13 – the run-rate was alright but the wickets weren’t – when Dwayne Bravo cut hard to Suman at point. The catch was spilled but Suman recovered and ran out Bravo. The dismissal brought Pollard into play and he tore into the spinners. Ojha disappeared to the long-off and midwicket boundaries and Suman watched two full balls sail over his head. Edwards suffered too – Pollard pulling him for a flat six – before recovering to uproot the leg stump.T&T’s innings lost steam thereafter. Ramdin had fallen to a lucky stumping off Symonds, when Gilchrist failed to collect, but the ball bounced off his gloves on to the stumps. The tailenders could not cope with the death bowling – Dave Mohammed took an RP Singh bouncer on his neck – and they settled for 149.Determined to end the home-ground jinx, Gilchrist kick-started the chase with an uppercut for six and an edge for four to take 11 off the first over. T&T fought back by striking regularly and at 30 for 3, with Symonds run out, Deccan’s chase was coming apart. Their captain, however, continued to charge – driving, hooking and playing his devastating pick-up shot over midwicket with success. Gilchrist raced to 50 off 31 balls and Ganga, realising his spinners were having little effect on this pitch, turned to Lendl Simmons. He struck immediately when Gilchrist pulled to deep midwicket and Pollard ran to his left to intercept the speeding ball.Gilchrist’s dismissal was followed by Rohit Sharma’s and, with 64 needed off 47, T&T were back on top. Rao redressed the balance by clearing the straight boundary twice and hitting fours whenever the pressure started to mount. Deccan needed only 13 off 13 balls when Rao edged Rampaul to Denesh Ramdin. The match once again swung T&T’s way, for the final time, and Bravo’s final over ended Deccan’s run in the tournament.

Celtic are interested in a move to bring attacking midfielder Joe White to Parkhead.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Scottish Sun, who claimed that Ange Postecoglou’s side are among a host of clubs from the Scottish Premiership, Premier League, Eredivisie and Bundesliga keeping a very close eye on the situation of the Newcastle United playmaker ahead of the January transfer window.

The report added that, with the 19-year-old’s deal at St. James’ Park expiring at the end of the current campaign, any interested parties outside of England will be able to submit pre-contract offers for the midfielder at the turn of the year, before paying Magpies a small compensation development fee upon his potential arrival.

Dream deal

Considering the sheer volume of interest that White is generating, and that attacking midfield is an area of the park in which Postecoglou lacks considerable depth, it is not difficult to argue that the signing of the teenager would be a dream deal for the 56-year-old Celtic manager, especially on what would practically be a free transfer,

Indeed, while White is yet to make a first team appearance for Newcastle, the 19-year-old has impressed in the club’s youth teams, scoring eight goals and providing nine assists over 33 appearances for the under-18s, as well as bagging one goal and registering four assists over 27 fixtures for the under-23s.

Speaking about White’s potential, his grandfather Peter Hampton – who made 206 top-flight appearances over spells with Stoke City and Don Revie’s Leeds United – said: “He’s very talented technically. For me, he’s got a range of passing that I’ve not seen and that many people don’t have.

“Many don’t have the ability to play the passes which he plays, and, with a bit of luck, he might have a decent future. He’s fortunate that he’s got some great attributes; a left foot which is second to none, a good physique and in a couple of years I think he will develop into a really strong player – he’s about 6ft 1… nothing seems to faze him.”

As such, despite his tender age, it is clear that White is already a very physically mature player, as well as boasting the passing ability which The Athletic journalist Kieran Devlin suggested that Celtic should be seeking in an attacking midfield addition this January.

Considering his sheer amount of potential, his availability on a free transfer and that the Hoops are currently lacking a player in his mould, White would indeed appear to be something of a dream transfer for the Bhoys to get over the line this winter.

In other news – Huge blow: Celtic dealt double injury setback ahead of semi-final, fans will be gutted

There was late drama at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, as Naeem Islam defied all odds to steer Bangladesh to a narrow one-wicket win

Cricinfo staff05-Nov-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Naeem Islam’s heroics overshadowed what had been a virtuoso batting effort in the morning from Brendan Taylor•Associated PressThe dead rubber provided what this series has sorely lacked – a close finish. Naeem Islam was the hero for Bangladesh, conjuring a one-wicket victory with an unbeaten 73 in which he exploited the Powerplays perfectly. Naeem’s heroics overshadowed what had been a virtuoso batting effort in the morning from Brendan Taylor, whose unbeaten 118, with very little support form the rest, was the difference between a familiar Zimbabwean batting failure and a defendable total.Naeem had last man and uber-rabbit Nazmul Hossain for company, with Bangladesh still needing 35 for victory. The many singles that he turned down to remain on strike had the crowd getting restive, but Naeem had them chanting his name in joy with three consecutive sixes off Chamu Chibhabha in the 48th over to give the final twist to a topsy-turvy match. Those three deliveries turned Chibhabha from hero to zero, after he had put Zimbabwe in charge with a double-wicket maiden in the 43rd over.Bangladesh had lost wickets at key junctures of their chase. The openers failed (Tamim Iqbal retired hurt early with a hand injury, and only returned at No. 10) and MohammadAshraful was run out by a brilliant bit of fielding from Stuart Matsikenyeri, who latched onto the ball quickly at short midwicket and threw down the stumps. Raqibul Hasan was extremely scratchy, and lucky to survive after plenty of swings and misses against Chris Mpofu, who was getting the ball to swing away from the right-hander. Matsikenyeri also did his bit with the ball, taking two key wickets – of Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim.The coach Jamie Siddons had talked about how the past few victorious months have taught Bangladesh how to win, and they showed that by refusing to give up in the face of several setbacks. One example of that was when their most dependable batsman, Shakib, was dismissed leaving Bangladesh stuttering at 105 for 5. The home team fought back though with a mature partnership between Naeem and Mahmudullah, the pair adding 69 patient runs with both batsmen abandoning the flashy shots that has cost Bangladesh dear on so many occasions.There would have been no need for the nail-biting and tensions had Taylor been dismissed cheaply in the morning. His maiden international century had bailed Zimbabwe’s fragile batting from yet another embarrassing display, but it all amounted to nothing. Bangladesh’s spinners proved too crafty for most of the visitors’ batsmen again, and Zimbabwe were reduced to 113 for 7 in the 29th over. However, Zimbabwe’s lower order showed more spine than most of their specialist batsmen, and supported Taylor well to lift the total beyond 200.Bangladesh again stuck to their policy of filling the side with spinners, and it again paid off as the slow bowlers took all nine wickets to fall. Abdur Razzak has regularly picked up wickets with the new ball, and today was no different as he left Zimbabwe at 18 for 2 in the eighth over.Elton Chigumbura dominated a stabilising 62-run stand with Taylor, smashing six fours in a run-a-ball 38 before being foxed by a quicker one from offspinner Mahmudullah. Things got worse for Zimbabwe two deliveries later when another quicker one fooled Malcolm Waller. Taylor could only watch in frustration as three more wickets went down quickly. Later, Shakib bagged two wickets in three balls, of Forster Mutizwa and Chamu Chibhabha, in the 29th over.Taylor had quietly moved along to 65, with only 22 runs in boundaries, but steadily pushed Zimbabwe to 181 for 8 by the end of 45 overs with the help of Ray Price. He launched an assault in the final over, ransacking 19 runs to dent Mahmudullah’s figures.

Despite gathering a rather mixed bag of results in the Championship so far this season with nine wins, five draws and three defeats, West Brom are still very much in the race for a promotion place back to the Premier League next season with Valerien Ismael’s side currently sitting in third place in the league table with 32 points on the board.

One player that has played a significant part in their campaign is full-back Conor Townsend, who has played more minutes than any other Baggies player so far this season, whilst playing as a left-back, left-midfielder and centre-back at times this season, highlighting just how critical he is for the team.

Since joining the Midlands club from Scunthorpe United back in the 2018 summer transfer window in a deal worth a reported fee of around £750k, the 28-year-old, who is currently valued at £1.8m according to Transfermarkt, has made 92 appearances for the Baggies across all competitions, scoring one goal and providing seven assists in the process.

Taking into account Townsend’s importance to the team right now and the fact that his current contract isn’t set to expire until 2024, it’s safe to say his place in the team may not be in danger at this moment in time, although, looking ahead to the future, the Midlands club could already have their ideal long-term replacement for the Englishman with 19-year-old left-back Zac Ashworth.

As a product of West Brom’s youth academy, Ashworth has made 29 appearances for their U18 side, bagging three goals and providing two assists in the process, as well as making 12 appearances for their U23 side.

So far this season, Ashworth has been used in numerous positions across the pitch for the U23 side such as left-back, centre-back, left-midfield and defensive-midfield, showing how versatile he is at such a young age and why U18 manager Peter Gilbert previously praised the teenager for having “excellent” knowledge and understanding of the game.

That suggests that he has the right mindset and ability to become a useful figure in the senior team in the future if afforded the chance and also demonstrates why he’d be Townsend’s natural heir, given he is also adept in more offensive roles too.

While the defender may not be close to replacing West Brom’s current left-back in the senior side at the moment, the fact that defenders Dara O’Shea and Kean Bryan are both out with serious injuries means there’s every possibility that Ismael could well give Ashworth his first shot to impress in the first team before too long.

In other news: 60% duels won: WBA’s “dangerous” £18k-p/w beast proved he can be Ismael’s main man – opinion

The Pakistan Cricket Board is expected to name a replacement for Younis Khan on the Test tour of New Zealand next week

Cricinfo staff17-Nov-2009The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is expected to name a replacement for Younis Khan on the Test tour of New Zealand next week. Media reports have suggested the PCB has already selected Misbah-ul-Haq, who stand-in captain Mohammad Yousuf called for, but the board has denied any such decision.Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, is away in London and will return to Pakistan on 21. “Once the chairman returns home we will discuss the matter with him before deciding on naming a replacement for Younis,” Iqbal Qasim, the chief selector, was quoted as saying by .Qasim also said that Yousuf had not approached the PCB about a possible replacement for Younis.Younis walked away from the captaincy recently, wanting to take a rest and skip the New Zealand series after saying he had “lost command” over his team. In his place Yousuf was named as captain for the three-Test series, which begins November 24.

Given how Mohamed Elyounoussi is the only Southampton winger to have scored a goal in the Premier League this season, it’s safe to say that Ralph Hasenhuttl has not been able to rely on his wide players to find the net for his team at this point in the campaign.

With this in mind and the team as a whole scoring just 10 goals in the league, it seems as though the Saints could do with some extra firepower in their line-up to push them further up the table.

In his recent press conference ahead of Southampton’s Premier League clash against Norwich City at Carrow Road on Saturday, Hasenhuttl claimed that a number of fringe players will get their chance to prove their worth in the team to help Southampton get through the busy winter schedule.

One such player is Nathan Tella, who coincidentally made his senior debut for the Saints in June 2020 in their 3-0 win at Norwich after joining the club’s youth ranks from Arsenal in April 2017.

During his time at Southampton, the 22-year-old winger, who is currently valued at £1.8m by Transfermarkt, has made 45 appearances for their B team, scoring 12 goals and providing seven assists.

Tella, who pundit Owen Hargreaves has previously said “fancies himself” in terms of the pace he has to get past defenders, has not had many chances to shine in the first team so far this season – particularly in the Premier League, with just one start and two very short substitute appearances under his belt.

Now that Hasenhuttl has said that fringe players like Tella will get some decent minutes under their belts in the coming weeks and months, this could be exactly what the winger needs to really kick on with his career in the first team and prove to the manager that he has what it takes to be a regular figure for the Saints in the future.

Also, with Theo Walcott having very little attacking impact this season and his current contract at St Mary’s set to expire in the summer of 2023, this period now could be Tella’s chance to prove to the club that he can be their long-term replacement for the 32-year-old and save them millions in potential transfer fees for when Walcott eventually leaves. However, the youngster will need to make sure he adds some goals and assists to his tally before then – he has scored just twice in 29 senior appearances up to now.

In other news – Forget Bednarek: Ralph must unleash Southampton’s rarely-seen “fantastic character”

Martin Saggers, the former Kent and England seamer, is one of two new umpires added to the ECB’s list of reserve first-class umpires for next season

Cricinfo staff14-Dec-2009Martin Saggers, the former Kent and England seamer, is one of two new umpires added to the ECB’s list of reserve first-class umpires for next season. Paul Baldwin is the other while there are no additions to main list, despite the retirements of John Holder and Mike Harris during 2009.Saggers retired from first-class cricket at the end of the 2009 season having already acquired his umpiring qualifications in 2004-05. Since gaining the qualification he found time to umpire between playing but is now presented with further umpiring opportunities.Baldwin, meanwhile, has been a member of the ICC Associate and Affiliates Panel since its inception in 2005. He developed his umpiring in Germany under the guidance of the ICC-Europe region before moving back to England for the 2009 season where his impressive performances throughout the season earned him a place on the reserve list.Chris Kelly, the ECB umpires’ manager, said: “We are pleased to welcome Martin and Paul onto the reserve list, which increases the number of umpires available at this level. There are now plenty of opportunities for them to demonstrate their officiating skills within our domestic game and to aspire to being at the forefront of officiating the sport.”Richard Holdsworth, regional development manager ICC-Europe, said: “Paul has been involved in the ICC Development Programme since 2002, and during that time has excelled with his knowledge and skills in umpiring, not only continuing his own education but also choosing to educate others. He has stood in a significant number of ICC European and global matches and tournaments, and his experience was duly acknowledged when he was selected on the ICC Associate and Affiliate International panel in 2005. It is great credit to Paul’s commitment to the programme that he has been selected on the ECB first-class reserve list.”Umpires Full List for 2010Rob Bailey, Neil Bainton, Martin Bodenham, Nick Cook, Nigel Cowley, Barry Dudleston, Jeff Evans, Steve Garratt, Michael Gough, Ian Gould, Peter Hartley, Vanburn Holder, Richard Illingworth, Trevor Jesty, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Jeremy Lloyds, Neil Mallender, David Millns, Tim Robinson, George Sharp, John Steele, Peter Willey.Umpires Reserve List for 2010Paul Baldwin, Keith Coburn, Ismail Dawood, Mark Eggleston, Steve Gale, Andy Hicks, Graham Lloyd, Steve Malone, Steve O’Shaughnessy, Martin Saggers.

After securing a 1-0 win over West Ham United last weekend, Wolves are back in action today with an away clash against Norwich City. 

Speaking ahead of the match in his latest press conference, Wolves manager Bruno Lage revealed that the club have been dealt some negative injury news as Willy Boly will be absent today after suffering a muscular injury.

With this in mind, here’s how we feel Wolves could line up to take on the Canaries this afternoon, with two changes from last Saturday. 

In goal, considering that he’s played in all of their league games so far this season, it seems likely that Lage will stick with Jose Sa to see if he can keep another clean sheet this time out. 

For the back three, we can see the 45-year-old sticking with the same trio which managed to keep a clean sheet against West Ham, with Max Kilman and Romain Saiss on either side of Conor Coady. 

Then for the wing-back positions, we think Nelson Semedo and Rayan Ait Nouri will keep their places in the team, with the same pairing of Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho in central midfield. 

Although we reckon Raul Jimenez will keep his place in the side to see if he can add to his goal tally for the season after scoring the winner against David Moyes’ Irons last weekend, we think Lage will make a couple of attacking changes to freshen up his team slightly. 

The first of those sees Adama Traore come back in on the left wing instead of Hwang Hee-chan, who didn’t have a shot at goal against West Ham. Also, Francisco Trincao comes in for Daniel Podence, who is currently earning a wage of £60k-per-week according to Spotrac, to see if he can help Jimenez in the attack. Despite Podence setting up the winner seven days ago, Trincao has had a higher WhoScored rating overall for the season and could be restored today.

With Norwich having struggled in the league so far this season, this is a great opportunity for Wolves to secure another win and push themselves higher up the table. 

In other news: One man is edging closer to a significant deal with the club