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South Africa’s national players have said they are ‘satisfied’ with the changes to the itinerary for the end of year tour to Australia but have admitted that playing the three Test matches back-to-back in what has already been described as Test Championsh

Neil Manthorp15-Aug-2008
Mickey Arthur: “I know people will suggest this is the start of Test cricket being ‘squeezed’ by high-profile, high income-generating Twenty20 cricket but it didn’t feel that way to us” © AFP
South Africa’s national players have said they are ‘satisfied’ with the changes to the itinerary for the end of year tour to Australia. But they have admitted that playing the three Test matches back-to-back in what has already been described as a Test Championship between the two top-ranked nations is ‘not ideal’.The inaugural Champions Twenty20 League, involving two teams each from India, Australia and South Africa as well as one each from England and Pakistan, has been shoe-horned into the international calendar at the beginning of December necessitating a change to the start of the Perth Test from December 13 to 17.The change means that South Africa players involved in the tournament, including captain Graeme Smith, who will play for IPL winners, the Rajasthan Royals, will only arrive in Perth from India on December 10.”It’s not ideal but we are hoping the bulk of the squad will arrive in Perth on December 6 or 7 giving us 10 or 11 days to prepare during which time we hope to play a Western Australia XI in a two-day game,” coach Mickey Arthur said.”I know people will suggest this is the start of Test cricket being ‘squeezed’ by high-profile, high income-generating Twenty20 cricket but it didn’t feel that way to us. We were consulted all the way and there was never undue pressure placed on us.”The reality is the Champions League will be worth Rand 750 million (US$95 million) to Cricket South Africa over the next ten years,” he added. “We have to look at the big picture because that kind of money will be of huge benefit to all forms of the game, and exactly the same applies to Cricket Australia. In fact, they were prepared to compromise even further in order to fit the Champions League in to the schedule.”

Crystal Palace confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that defender Mamadou Sakho has left the club after his Selhurst Park deal expired at the beginning of the month.

The centre-back has now returned to his native country by joining Ligue 1 side Montpellier, with a number of Eagles fans reacting to Palace’s post regarding the Frenchman on Twitter.

Sakho spent four-and-a-half years with Palace after making his loan spell from Liverpool permanent in the summer of 2017 for £25.38m.

The 31-year-old made 75 appearances for the Eagles, mainly under Roy Hodgson, however, only six came last season due to injury.

Sakho was one of 11 senior Palace players out of contract at the beginning of the month and has now signed a three-year deal with Montpellier on a free transfer.

Palace fans react

Palace announced Sakho’s departure on their official Twitter page. This is what these Eagles supporters had to say in reply, with on describing the news as ‘funny’.

“Gutted, what a player. Good luck Mama.”Credit: @danny_addis”Oh no… anyways”Credit: @vines2321″Best CB since promotion”Credit: @chr1s_cpfc”Funny, he was probably the finest centre back we have ever had, but for 18 games a season and his wages, I’m completely not ***** he has gone.”Credit: @AllanDLWilliams”Our best CB gone like that”Credit: @cpfcbxn”Our best CB in the Prem era btw”Credit: @localpla6tic

In other news: Lots of Palace fans fume as exit rumours emerge. 

Newcastle United are reportedly favourites to sign Axel Tuanzebe in the summer transfer window.

The Lowdown: Centre-back wanted

The St. James’ Park faithful have recently been linked with moves for the likes of Phil Jones and Boubacar Kamara, and so it is clear that they are looking for a new central defender.

However, with the new 2021/22 Premier League season only a couple of weeks away, they need to act fast to bring new players in.

The Latest: Favourites for Tuanzebe

As per The Chronicle, the North East club are in ‘pole position’ to sign Tuanzebe on loan from Manchester United.

Steve Bruce worked with him while he was at Aston Villa, and is said to believe that he has a ‘bright future’ ahead of him.

The Tyneside club are ‘leading the race’ for his signature, and both Tuanzebe and his camp have been left feeling ‘delighted’ by their interest.

The Verdict: Sign

Given that Bruce has already worked with Tuanzebe before, he will know how to get the best out of him, and the fact that he is ‘delighted’ by the Magpies’ interest in him suggests that he would give his absolute all for the Toon Army.

Described as ‘outstanding’ by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after an impressive UEFA Europa League performance against Granada back in April, he has the capabilities to reach the very top.

The six-foot-one colossus already has the experience of playing in the top flight, and can play in a wide range of different positions (Transfermarkt), the kind of versatility that would be very useful to Bruce’s squad.

Nonetheless, at just 23 years of age, Tuanzebe certainly has a lot of potential, and can really develop as a player at the Toon, should they be able to sign him.

In other news, find out what ‘bitter blow’ NUFC have suffered involving their takeover case here!

Doug Walters says Andrew Symonds has become a “bit of a liability”

Cricinfo staff03-Sep-2008
A Harbhajan-Symonds re-match is becoming more unlikely © Getty Images
Doug Walters says Andrew Symonds has become a “bit of a liability” but Dean Jones, another former Australia Test batsman, believes the treatment of the allrounder has been “disgraceful”. Symonds was sent home from Darwin for going fishing instead of attending a team meeting and is unlikely to be part of next month’s Test tour to India.While Symonds decides on his future, he has been given more to think about following the responses from former players and coaches. Walters, who is famously laidback and the subject of numerous off-field adventures, has told Symonds to “pull his head in”.”I certainly think he must start toeing the line more than he is doing at the moment,” Walters said in the Courier-Mail. “Whether he likes it or lumps it, he is a public figure and he should start acting like one. I certainly hope he does start toeing the line because we need a player like Andrew Symonds in the side.”Jones, speaking on Radio 2GB, wanted to know what the big deal was about Symonds’ behaviour. “Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee did some awful things in their time,” Jones said. “And it’s not as if he’s hit anyone or racially abused anyone.”All he has done is miss a team meeting. For God’s sake. We send him home and then throw him to the dogs. I think it’s disgraceful.”Greg Chappell, the former Australia captain and now Centre of Excellence coach, said Symonds needed a break from the game to work out what was important. “There are a lot of stresses away from the field,” Chappell told AAP. “The constant focus of attention on everything that you do, anything that goes wrong will be highlighted.”Learning to deal with all of that and understanding how it fits into a successful career and a successful team is a very important part of the mentoring role. Hopefully he decides playing for Australia is very important because he is a terrific cricketer and we all want to see him playing for Australia as long as possible.”Symonds will be given all the time he needs by Cricket Australia to make a decision on his future. “He has our absolute support and we’ve already gone to great lengths to ensure appropriate processes are in place for him,” James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said. “The feedback I have got from inside the team is that they have dealt with it as a welfare issue. There’s some discipline issues related to it, but ultimately it’s a welfare issue. We all want Andrew Symonds up and going, playing cricket for Australia.”Currently the only person who does not mind if Symonds returns is Harbhajan Singh. Symonds and Harbhajan were at the centre of the SCG row in January, but a repeat of the match-up is unlikely. “It doesn’t bother me whether he is coming or not,” Harbhajan said in the Courier-Mail. “We are playing against a team. If he features in it, fine, if he doesn’t, things don’t change much for me. We may have had our squabbles, but that’s all part of the game.”

Harry Kane is ‘planning to return to training with Tottenham later this week’, according to Fabrizio Romano. 

The lowdown

Kane was due to report back on Monday after his post-European Championships break, but he was absent.

It’s seemingly a strategy the player has adopted in an attempt to force a move to reigning Premier League champions Manchester City.

City made a player-plus-cash bid for Kane earlier in the summer worth around £100million, but Spurs are holding out for £150million.

That would make the Englishman the second-most expensive signing of all time behind Neymar.

The latest

Kane will report back to Hotspur Way in the coming days and hold discussions about his future with the club, Romano revealed.

He assured Spurs fans that ‘Harry will be back soon’ but also warned of the player’s desire to take on ‘a new challenge’ and indeed play Champions League football.

The verdict

Should Spurs fans be encouraged? Perhaps the fear was that Kane would refuse to engage in any sort of dialogue with his club, feeling aggrieved that the ‘gentleman’s agreement’ he supposedly had with Daniel Levy had not been honoured.

You’d imagine that the talks will see both sides reaffirm their intentions. Spurs may simply tell Kane that he can leave if the £150million offer arrives – they’re certainly within their rights to adopt that stance given his choice to sign an extended contract.

Supporters will be holding out hope that City fail to stump up such a sum, instead prioritising Jack Grealish, and that Kane would be able to refocus if an exit didn’t materialise.

In other news, Alasdair Gold provides some ‘good news’ on a key defensive target.

As the ICL gears up for its second season, Subhash Chandra, chairman of the Essel group, which owns the league, has said he is confident of the conflict with the sport’s global administrators being sorted out “within two years”

Sriram Veera in Hyderabad10-Oct-2008As the ICL gears up for its second season, Subhash Chandra, chairman of the Essel group, which owns the league, has said he is confident of the conflict with the sport’s global administrators being sorted out “within two years.””I met David Morgan, the ICC president, on October 7,” Chandra said on Thursday. “I don’t promise you anything, please don’t have any hopes … It took Kerry Packer two years to resolve the resolution [with the Australian board]. I am confident our issue will be resolved within two years.”The meeting, which took place in London, was in response to a request from ICL officials who are seeking official sanction from the ICC. Morgan is expected to report on the meeting to the ICC Board, which meets in Dubai on October 14 and 15.I don’t promise you anything, please don’t have any hopes … It took Kerry Packer two years to resolve the resolution [with the Australian board]. I am confident our issue will be resolved within two yearsSubhash Chandra, chairman, Essel groupChandra also had cause to cheer closer home, revealing that three sponsorships contracts out of four worth $8 million that had been cancelled were revived after a meeting with Sharad Pawar, the former Indian board president. Chandra met Pawar, currently the ICC’s president-elect. “I spoke to Pawar, my friend of the last 25 years, last Friday. I was very categorical that such attacks had to stop henceforth. Out of the four [sponsorship] contracts three have been revived after the meeting.”He said he had conveyed to Pawar his disappointment over what he called the “unethical” tactics used against the ICL and those associated with it. “I asked him, ‘Is it good for you? Is it ethical? Does it befit you that a 21-year old boy from a college in Mumbai is picked up physically by the joint secretary of the Mumbai Cricket Association and pulled out of the ground?'”Asked whether this was the last chance for a reconciliation, given that Pawar takes over the ICC presidency in 2010, Himanshu Mody, the ICL’s operational head, told Cricinfo they would explore alternate options if it didn’t work out. “Such things cannot take one year,” Mody said. “If it doesn’t happen now, it will happen soon. I don’t think it will take one year to get the sanction, if the sanction comes. If that (ICC reconciliation) comes through, perfect. Life changes, business plans change. There are a lot of players willing to join and there are lots of grounds that are still available. We can get them.”Chandra and Tony Greig, a member of the ICL executive board, also had cautionary words for the league’s players on the “possibilities of corruption” during the second season. “You have seen lots of press that Twenty20 cricket has possibilities for corruption,” Greig said at a pre-tournament meeting with players and officials on Thursday. “So please be very careful. There will be people who will approach you. It happened last time; it will happen again. We will dig ourselves into a hole if it happens.””People who didn’t want the ICL to succeed ICL would say, ‘What ICL? It’s not going to succeed,'” Chandra said. “They said, ‘Match fixing happens there’.”

As the pressure on England’s Test venues to develop or risk losing their status grows, Edgbaston is the latest of the established venues to announce a multi-million pound rebuilding scheme

Cricinfo staff27-Oct-2008As the pressure on England’s Test venues to develop or risk losing their status grows, Edgbaston is the latest of the established venues to announce a multi-million pound rebuilding scheme. The news comes in the light of similar ventures by Lord’s, The Oval and Old Trafford, although the timing of the announcement, given the current economic climate, might raise a few eyebrows.The £30 million plan will increase the capacity of Edgbaston to 25,000 – it is currently just over 20,000 – with the building of a new stand which includes state-of-the-art player facilities as well as the additional ubiquitous corporate hospitality areas and a banqueting suite.”We have worked hard with our partners to produce a truly innovative design that will reaffirm Edgbaston’s place as a world class venue,” Phil Macdonald, operations and development director at Warwickshire, told the Birmingham Mail. “The redevelopment of the ground and wider masterplan will benefit the city by creating new jobs and giving Birmingham a stadium to be proud of. This project is a key part of our future plans for the club and our ability to remain competitive when bidding for international matches.”As much as £10 million will be borrowed to fund the project, a move that was approved by the county’s membership earlier this year, before the current credit squeeze.

Ange Postecoglou’s early reign at Celtic has thrown up its fair share of surprises.

The Hoops have had a mixed start to the season but in doing so, the likes of Anthony Ralston and Ryan Christie have become genuine stars.

If you told supporters that would be the case when Postecoglou initially walked through the door, they’d have laughed.

What’s the word?

The future of Christie has been a puzzling one. The Bhoys attacker has been linked with the exit door on several occasions with his contract expiring in January.

He looked destined to take his leave but it would appear that fresh contract talks have occurred between him and the club.

With all that said, interest in the 26-year-old looks as though it’s dwindling. That’s according to Alan Nixon who delivered the following ten-word update this week.

He was responding to whether Burnley would sign the player: “I keep being told no … but he’s a total steal.”

Amazing news

If this genuinely is the case then Celtic supporters should be absolutely enthralled. After all, the Premier League has tempted many a Bhoy in the past with the most recent departure being Kristoffer Ajer to Brentford.

Christie was in diabolical form last term and would have been one of the first names through the exit door before Postecoglou arrived.

The Scot only found the net twice in his last 24 Premiership games during the 2020/21 campaign, a run that stretched back to November.

He may have only scored once this season but his overall performances have been superb. The 26-year-old put in a promising performance against Midtjylland in the Champions League and since then, he’s become an important part of the furniture again.

Christie found the net with an excellent header when Celtic beat Jablonec last week and then put in a creative masterclass against Dundee.

This was one of his best performances in the green and white to date, supplying three goals all with genius moments of individual play.

He struck up a wonderful relationship with the club’s new star striker, Kyogo Furuhashi, and fans will surely be lusting for more of that as the campaign goes on.

Bizarrely enough, Christie has suddenly become irreplaceable.

AND in other news, Celtic lead race to sign £3.4m gem who was too “strong” for Messi, Ange needs him…

Newcastle United journalist Liam Kennedy insists that the club simply must not make a move to sign Phil Jones from Manchester United this summer.

The club have been linked with a potential swoop to sign the central defender in a deal that may not cost them a single penny, per 90min.

The report stated that United are willing to let Jones go for nothing should they receive an adequate proposal from an interested club.

Newcastle, of course, have already signed Joe Willock from Arsenal this summer but manager Steve Bruce is said to be a fan of Jones, believing that he has plenty to offer at the highest level still.

He is surplus to requirements at United and did not play for the club at all in the 2020/21 campaign.

Jones only played twice in 2019/20 too, and Kennedy has doubts over the central defender’s suitability to the Magpies in this transfer window.

Asked if he would avoid a move for Jones, Kennedy replied: “Personally, yes. I just think there’s too many question marks about Phil Jones.”

George Bailey set up a big total for Tasmania and Brett Geeves helped them defend it so effectively that they picked up a bonus point against a struggling South Australia

Cricinfo staff01-Nov-2008
ScorecardGeorge Bailey set up a big total for Tasmania and Brett Geeves helped them defend it so effectively that they picked up a bonus point against a struggling South Australia. In Bellerive Oval’s first match of the summer the home side managed an imposing 8 for 286 and it was enough to ensure the second win of the season for the defending champions.Bailey’s 79 was the top score in what was a strong team display from Tasmania. Daniel Marsh and Travis Birt also managed half-centuries as Shaun Tait was unable to trouble the top order as much as in his previous one-day outing. Tait did pick up three wickets but they came at the end, when their only real effect was to stop the Tigers getting 300.Chasing such a big total a strong start was required and the slow pace from South Australia’s top order was a problem. Callum Ferguson and Younis Khan both laboured for their runs – Ferguson made 10 from 26 balls and Younis 3 off 15 – as Tasmania’s seamers kept things admirably tight.Michael Klinger lifted the pace with 59 from 49 deliveries but Geeves kept things in check with a terrific 3 for 25 from his ten overs. In the dying stages the only matter of interest was the bonus point and despite a late 42 from Daniel Christian, the Redbacks could not manage to save it.