All posts by h716a5.icu

Essex’s last pair hung on to secure a draw after the Glamorgan spinners created late panic

Cricinfo staff13-Sep-2009Division TwoFinal pair Craig Wright and Danish Kaneria survived 2.2 overs as Essex just managed to hold on for a draw against Glamorgan at Cardiff to lift them to third in the table, 12 points behind Northamptonshire. In the penultimate round of matches, Essex play Northamptonshire and Glamorgan take on fourth-placed Gloucestershire in the tightest ever promotion race. The two teams in this contest ideally needed victory and Glamorgan came within one wicket of giving their campaign a major boost. After being set 320, Essex – who slipped to 38 for 3 – appeared to be safe at 164 for 4 with James Foster and Alastair Cook, batting at No. 6 after food poisoning kept him off the field yesterday, holding firm in the middle order. The pair added 58 in 32 overs before Cook was caught at short leg. However, it was Foster’s demise for 78 from 228 balls, lbw to Robert Croft, that sparked Essex panic, as they lost 4 for 2 in eight overs against Croft and Dean Cosker, who claimed a career-best 11 for 126 in the match. When Tim Phillips was leg before to Croft it left Glamorgan minutes to claim the final wicket, but Wright and Kaneria managed to block out time although Croft thought he had won it with a bat-pad appeal off the penultimate ball.

Kent 14 8 2 0 4 0203 Northamptonshire 14 5 30 6 0 167 Essex 14 4 3 0 7 0155 Gloucestershire 14 5 60 3 0 154 Derbyshire 14 2 2 0 10 0152 Glamorgan 14 2 20 10 0 152 Surrey 15 1 4 0 10 0138 Middlesex 15 2 70 6 0 131 Leicestershire 14 2 2 0 10 0128

Reliable Celtic reporter Kieran Devlin has answered a question on rumours linking Yokohama F. Marinos forward Daizen Maeda with a move to Parkhead.

The Lowdown: Celtic confident…

A report earlier this month from The Times suggested that the Hoops are confident of securing the 24-year-old’s services in the January transfer window.

Maeda currently plies his trade with Ange Postecoglou’s former employers and is under contract until 2024, but well-placed Japanese sources expect a move to Scotland to go through.

He netted 18 times and registered three assists in 31 J1 League appearances last season, and Devlin has now weighed in with what he knows about a potential move.

The Latest: Devlin’s response…

The journalist conducted a Q&A on The Athletic on Saturday morning ahead of Celtic’s clash with Livingston.

He was asked about the links to Maeda, to which he replied: “They are credible, yes. Unless something dramatic happens that will need addressing, Monday’s article will be a tactical profile of Maeda and how he might fit in at Celtic.”

Devlin then went on to label Maeda as a possible ‘upgrade’ on a player like Liel Abada and hailed the Japan international’s ‘very quick, great movement’, describing him as a ‘tireless worker off the ball’.

The Verdict: Over to Nicholson…

Celtic appear to be confident of bringing Maeda to Glasgow in the New Year, so it looks as if it’ll be over to interim CEO Michael Nicholson to get a deal over the line, with the club having no director of football or head of recruitment in place.

Following Saturday’s performance, with a front three of Giorgos Giakoumakis, Jota and Abada firing blanks against Livingston, a move for the 24-year-old appears to be even more important.

The Hoops can’t rely on Furuhashi in every single game, so adding Maeda – who can play centrally or out wide and has an impressive goalscoring record in the last 12 months – could be a wise move.

In other news: ‘People I speak to’ – Devlin shares ‘incredibly odd’ Celtic situation Ange now needs to resolve. 

Kieron Pollard played the innings of his short cricket life, as he stood his ground and hammered the New South Wales bowling into submission with his18-ball blitz that included five massive sixes and five thunderous fours

Nagraj Gollapudi in Hyderabad16-Oct-2009The buzz in the press box was unambiguous – forget Kevin Pietersen, the real KP has arrived. Kieron Pollard played the innings of his short cricket life, as he stood his ground and hammered the New South Wales bowling into submission with his18-ball blitz that included five massive sixes and five thunderous fours. To repeat the obvious: 50 of those 54 runs came in boundaries and sixes!As soon as he hit the last of those sixes over the sightscreen to carry his team past New South Wales’ formidable target, the 6’4″ Pollard wielded his bat like a sword, then bent his back to let out a roar, his monstrous frame shaking as he released all that nervous energy. He repeated that act twice, then plucked out one of the stumps and ran to square leg where his team-mates joined him in a victory dance. Almost impossible to believe that 20 minutes before, the champagne corks were poised for popping in the New South Wales camp .The evening had already seen some incredible batting, as Phil Hughes and David Warner put on a 121-run opening stand to build an imposing platform for New South Wales. They then lost their way after Warner was out with five overs to go and fell about 20 runs short, but on a night like this, could any total have been beyond Pollard?Even if Pollard had a reputation for being a big hitter, today the challenge was huge. After the 12th over, Trinidad and Tobago were struggling at 79 for 4; a couple of overs later, they lost another wicket and the equation now was 70 from 36 balls with only Denesh Ramdin left of the experienced batsmen, along with Darren Bravo and Pollard to offer him support. To his credit, Ramdin took the onus on himself while Pollard was getting his eye in .With 55 needed in the last five overs, Simon Katich was nervously changing his fields. Ramdin was then run out and Pollard assumed the responsibility of providing the desired end – something he is getting used to as the leader of the lower order, but seldom has he lived up to the potential of a finisher.”We had a chance. Ramdin is an experienced campaigner and he has brought it home sometimes and sometimes he has not,” Pollard said after the victory. “In the first two overs after I came in to bat, he really took it to them and scored 20 runs but got run-out unfortunately.” That’s when Pollard chalked out his aim: “I’m the last (specialist) batsman so I need to win it for T&T and I must play my natural game and if it comes off it would be good for the team.”Pollard was aware of the equation and knew Brett Lee still had two overs. He told his partner Sherwin Ganga that if Lee bowled the 17th over the innings, the objective was to get at least eight runs off it. It was likely that Lee would bowl the final over, and the pair had decided to score the maximum in the last six deliveries. The advantage lay in the fact that two of the remaining four overs were to be bowled either by one of the two spinners, Nathan Hauritz and Steven Smith, or Moises Henriques. To everyone’s surprise Katich opted for Henriques to bowl the 17th.Nonchalantly, standing his ground, Pollard turned the match on its head. 27 runs came from that over, as Henriques started with a short ball and then lost himself trying to bowl yorkers. “He was trying his best and bowl to a plan, to bowl short. When he tried to bowl short I hit a boundary, and then he tried to bowl yorkers and I looked to hit straight. My plan was to whack it if he bowled short again.”Lee came the next over, but Pollard deflected him past third man for another four. Katich surprised again, sticking to Henriques for the next over, and Pollard continued to punish with supreme confidence for T&T to emerge victors.”We had a couple of practise sessions and we knew we had to play the straight-batted shots,” Pollard said. “We had discussed the cross-batted shots were not the way to go. So I watched the ball and tried to hit as straight as possible.”

As per The Athletic, Crystal Palace have been informed that they will have to pay just £900,000 to West Bromwich Albion for the services of full-back Nathan Ferguson after a tribunal ruled on a fee following his transfer in the summer of 2020.

What’s the story?

The Eagles had initially bid of £4m rejected by the Baggies before agreeing on an £8m figure with the Baggies for their academy graduate in January 2020 for the then 19-year-old.

However, a knee problem was then identified in his medical, and with West Brom unprepared to renegotiate the fee, Palace waited until the summer to sign the defender as a free agent once his contract at The Hawthorns had expired.

That left the Professional Football Compensation Committee to determine a fee between the two clubs, and the conclusion of the tribunal has certainly worked out in the south Londoners’ favour.

According to The Athletic, the Baggies were set to pocket up to £11m prior to the issues raised, and could still have secured a sizeable fee had their former sporting and technical director Luke Dowling accepted Palace’s revised terms.

The report stated: “As the transfer window of January 2020 approached its final hours Albion looked set to bring in up to £11 million for Ferguson after his stellar start to life in the first team.

“Albion, and Dowling in particular, were bullish that they could reject the revised offer and be confident of bringing in between £5 million and £10 million at tribunal, so this judgement will have come as a significant blow.”

Steve Parish sealed a dream deal

Even though Ferguson is yet to make an appearance for the Eagles due to consecutive knee and Achilles injuries, the lowly fee means that Palace chairman Steve Parish has effectively banked the club £10.1m and pulled off a dream move.

The 21-year-old was described as “quality” by his former manager Slaven Bilic, and although it’s impossible to tell how much his fitness woes have affected the youngster, his potential will surely have Eagles fans excited.

Ferguson has been capped eight times by England at various youth levels, highlighting the ability of the £29k-per-week right-back, and it’s hoped that he will challenge Joel Ward for a place in the starting XI over the coming months.

With Patrick Vieira’s new-look Palace side impressing in the opening weeks of 2021/22, this is another piece of positive news for the Selhurst Park club, and Parish must be pleased with the outcome.

In other news… Palace receive potential injury boost ahead of Wolves clash, Vieira will be delighted 

Karnataka-based Forensic Science Laboratory has submitted a report to the local Bangalore police which said “there were no residues of explosive substances found (in Rasool’s bag) which is inclusive of RDX”

Cricinfo staff05-Nov-2009Indian forensic officials have given a clean chit to Parvez Rasool, the Jammu and Kashmir cricketer, who was detained for questioning before a Champions League Twenty20 match in Bangalore last month after a private security agency claimed to have detected traces of explosive material in his kitbag.Karnataka-based Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) has submitted a report on the matter to the local Bangalore police which said “there were no residues of explosive substances found (in Rasool’s bag) which is inclusive of RDX”, a commonly used material in terrorist operations.Cricinfo has obtained a copy of the forensic report, and its contents have been confirmed by a senior local police officer. “We have received the report from FSL and the result is negative (for explosive material),” MR Pujar, additional commissioner of Bangalore police, told Cricinfo. “We are closing the case.”The FSL reports states that tests have revealed traces of DIOP inside and in the plastic pouch of Rasool’s bag. “DIOP is a widely used plasticiser, primarily to make soft and flexible PVC for various applications,” the report states. The report also suggests that the detection equipment used by the private security agency may have given a faulty reading.Rasool was delighted to be cleared of the charges. “I always knew that I would get a clean chit,” he told . “I have done no wrong. Initially, I was upset but I knew that the truth would come out. You can never bury the truth; and today everyone knows I am clean.”Today, I have been proven innocent, but I request the police not to let such things happen to anyone else, be it a cricketer or a common man. A small mistake can destroy someone’s life.”I will visit Bangalore again. As I said, I always wanted to visit Bangalore and whatever happened is a thing of the past. The National Cricket Academy is situated in Bangalore and every Indian cricketer wants to play there.”On October 17, the Champions League match between Victoria and Cape Cobras got off to a delayed start after police detained Rasool, an Under-22 cricketer, staying at the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) complex in the Chinnaswamy Stadium following an alert from the private agency.Rasool was subsequently allowed to play in a domestic tournament at the stadium after the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association vouched for the cricketer and doubts were raised by local police about the accuracy of the private agency’s findings.However, the incident had no effect on his game, as he found his redemption in compiling runs. “Since I had done no wrong, I wanted to focus on my cricket,” Rasool said. “I even scored a half-century in Bangalore immediately after the incident. In the next match against Mumbai, I scored half centuries in both innings, and also picked up a few wickets.”

Leeds United failed to pick up their third Premier League win of the season as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Leicester on Sunday.

Harvey Barnes’ quick reply after Raphinha’s opener secured a point for the Foxes as Leeds were unable to record back-to-back wins after their 2-1 victory over Norwich last weekend.

The point does mean that Leeds now sit 15th in the Premier League table heading into the final international break of 2021, with 11 points from 11 games.

Axe him

One worrying trend, however, that continued against Leicester was the poor form of left winger Jack Harrison, as he put in a disappointing display.

Per SofaScore, he lost a whopping 12 of his 18 duels on the pitch throughout the game as he also surrendered possession of the ball 24 times. The winger failed with six of his ten attempted dribbles and missed a big chance in front of goal as he continues to wait for his first Premier League goal of the season.

Harrison has not contributed with a single strike or assist in the top-flight this term, despite starting eight matches for the Whites. He has averaged a dismal SofaScore rating of 6.48 and lost 68% of his duels over the course of the campaign, highlighting how much he is currently struggling.

At the end of last month, Bielsa admitted that he cannot praise Harrison for his performances this season, but did explain why it is difficult for the ex-Manchester City man. He told Leeds Live:

“You ask me a question where you know that I can’t praise his performances up until now. But what’s happening to Harrison is happening to all our players in the squad where they have better or worse moments and nobody is able to maintain a regular consistency in their performances especially when they are playing in attack.”

This shows that Bielsa is fully aware of the £15k-per-week lightweight’s poor form, but is seemingly hoping that he is able to turn it around in the coming weeks. However, the signs are not getting any better for Harrison, with his showing against Leicester lacking in strength and quality.

Therefore, Bielsa should drop Harrison from the XI after the international break and give others a chance to stake their claim. A spell on the bench could allow the forward to recharge and prepare himself to come back fighting for his place.

AND in other news, Forget Raphinha: Leeds dynamo with 79 touches ran the game for Bielsa vs Leicester…

The West Indies captain wants West Indies’ tour of Australia to be the new beginning the region desperately needs after another round of strikes and disputes

Peter English13-Nov-2009Chris Gayle wants West Indies’ tour of Australia to be the new beginning the region desperately needs after another round of strikes and disputes. While Gayle was a key figure in the four-month boycott as the side’s captain, he is now charged with leading the reunification process that starts with the three-Test series of Australia.It won’t be easy as the old players mix with the new but one benefit of their marathon trip from the Caribbean to Brisbane, extended by half a day due to a delay in London, was that the 15-man squad has had plenty of bonding time. Before they departed the players spoke about leaving the distractions at home. While they were in the air Viv Richards was saying Gayle would have to change his attitude to show he wanted to be in charge.Gayle is one of the most targeted men in the game, mostly for his love of lucrative one-day leagues over Test cricket. Now he is hoping to focus on peace and unity. “That’s life,” he said of Richards’ comments. “I am trying to move on, it doesn’t make sense to fight with each other. That’s not the real cause to be here [in Australia].”While Gayle is so laidback – even when severely jet-lagged – that he makes hippies seem stressed, he could snap if the criticism continues from the big names back home. “Our main focus is to represent West Indies well,” he said after the side finally arrived in Brisbane on Friday afternoon. “The negativity, I won’t take it on too much unless something might trigger out a line, and then I’ll have to take it on, but that’s the situation. If that situation occurs we’ll deal with it at that point in time.”Since Gayle’s last Test in England in May, West Indies have lost at home to Bangladesh while the main players were on strike over the pay and contractual disputes. He arrived in England a couple of days before the opening match, preferring to boost his bank balance with more games in the IPL, and was soon back-tracking after saying he wouldn’t be so sad if Test cricket died.When asked on Friday what the series in the Caribbean last year – which Australia won 2-0 – meant, Gayle said he couldn’t remember much about it. The critics would say it showed his lack of interest in the game’s traditional format but he did miss two games of that campaign with a groin injury and his head has been in the clouds for most of the week.He does regret the damage caused by the strike that fractured an already split cricket region. “That’s the last thing we wanted to do, bring the game into disrepute,” he said. “Having said all that, it’s after. This is a new beginning and hopefully things can be better from here on in.”As captain Gayle is now working with David Williams, the coach, and Joel Garner, the manager, in moulding the group into a unified unit. However, he knows they are starting from behind following the Bangladesh defeat and their early exit at the Champions Trophy.”It set us back, to be honest,” Gayle said. “But at the same time we have to move forward, trying to forget about what happened in the past. We’re back to square one, it’s a rebuilding process right now. Even though we’re rebuilding we have a good chance of winning.”West Indies squad: Chris Gayle (capt), Adrian Barath, Sulieman Benn, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Travis Dowlin, Brendan Nash, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor, Gavin Tonge

Flocking to Twitter, many Manchester United fans have been left excited as an update emerges on managerial target Zinedine Zidane’s desire to move to Old Trafford.

The three-time Champions League-winning boss, currently out of work after leaving Real Madrid in the summer, has been heavily courted by United recently amid Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s precarious situation at Old Trafford.

Indeed, the Norwegian is reportedly holding on to this job by a thread as unrest grows (The Sun), and Zidane is now at the centre of intense interest from United among other candidates.

The Times recently claimed that they are ‘stepping up’ their bid to appoint the Frenchman, and while he is hesitant over taking the Old Trafford hot seat, club officials are ‘hopeful’ that the 49-year-old can be swayed by his closeness to Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Varane.

In another update on United’s pursuit of Zidane however, journalist Duncan Castles has just dropped a promising claim that one supporter called the ‘best news ever’.

Taking to Twitter whilst also sharing his piece in The Daily Record, he says that Zidane is actually ‘attracted to the opportunity’ of United whilst the Red Devils make ‘progress’ in potentially hiring him.

Man United fans excited…

Flocking to this claim, it’s little wonder many Red Devils supporters have been left excited as Zidane’s personal temptation for the role allegedly grows.

Given United have also made ‘progress’ in their bid to appoint the serial winner with 11 major trophies, fans have plenty to say.

Find all of their verdicts down below.

“WHAT? HOLD UP, WE’RE COMING!”

Credit: @100Nuno_

“Best news ever”

Credit: @TheNotoriousFU

“Siuuuu”

Credit: @UTDMarcel

“Wow”

Credit: @United_Rules

“@ManUtd

sign Zidane #OleOut

#OleOutNow

#ZidaneIn”

Credit: @Left_Winger07

“don’t get me hyped please”

Credit: @_ShowtimeG

“I pray this could be true”

Credit: @Hormilekan07

Mark Lane, the England women’s coach, was named UK coach of the year and high performance coach of the year at the UK coaching awards ceremony in London on Tuesday.

Cricinfo staff09-Dec-2009Mark Lane, the England women’s coach, was named UK coach of the year and high performance coach of the year at the UK coaching awards ceremony in London on Tuesday.Lane, 44, has overseen a memorable year for England, guiding them to the World Cup, the World Twenty20, a 4-0 triumph over Australia in the Natwest Series and a draw in a one-off Test to retain the Ashes.Hugh Morris, the ECB managing director, said the dedication Lane has shown since taking up the position alongside the money put into Women’s cricket has been behind England’s success.”Mark has been working with the England women’s team since April 2008 and his passion for the game and the hard work of all involved have helped the team achieve a huge amount in the last 18 months.”This, coupled with the increased investment into women’s cricket particularly in the last four years, has helped England become the dominant force in the game.”Clare Connor, ECB’s head of England women’s cricket, said that the team were looking forward to building on this year’s success next season.”I know that Mark, the rest of the management and the entire team are already focussed on 2010 and beyond and ensuring that the team maintains its position as the best in the world and continues to inspire girls to play the game.”Cricket received a third accolade at the ceremony, winning the coaching intervention of the year award.This was for ‘cricket’s education offer’ in the form of eight members of the England women’s team working as coaching ambassadors for the ECB’s Chance to shine programme.

A worrying update has emerged for Newcastle ahead of the upcoming January transfer window…

What’s the talk?

Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge has claimed that there are talks of Premier League teams being ready to refuse offers from the Magpies for their players in the January transfer window.

He told GIVEMESPORT:

“There’s a lot of talk going around with the Premier League board that they’re not going to entertain anything from Newcastle this January because they’re so against the Saudi takeover.

“We’ll have to wait and see on that. Let’s wait and see if that actually happens.”

Worry

This claim from Bridge will surely leave Newcastle fans worried about what it is to come in the next few months.

It is an early indication that they are going to face a significant pushback from fellow top-flight teams because of their takeover and that could cause tension between fanbases and clubs, which may impact transfer negotiations and potentially also the atmospheres at matches.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/check-out-the-latest-newcastle-howe-ter-stegen” title= “Read the latest Newcastle news!”]

Supporters may also be worried by this as it could mean the Magpies have to go out into the foreign market to pick up players instead. Consequently, they’d have to acquire players without Premier League experience and know-how, which is important as they attempt to stave off relegation back down to the Championship.

As Bridge says, though, it remains to be seen whether or not the clubs will stick to their plans when push comes to shove. In reality, will they reject big-money offers from Newcastle for a player they don’t want to keep if there are no other, similar, bids on the table? In a time when the pandemic is hitting clubs financially, it could be difficult for teams to turn down the big money that PIF has brought to the northeast.

With the January window roughly six weeks away, it could now be an anxious wait for Newcastle fans to find out whether or not the other 19 teams are willing to stick by their guns.

Until the situation is resolved, supporters can be excused for being concerned about what is to come as this claim could see them miss out on talented players For example, Manchester United’s Donny van de Beek is an example of someone who has been linked with a switch to St. James’ Park.

AND in other news, “My future…”: NUFC transfer target makes big statement that’ll leave fans gutted…