All posts by h716a5.icu

Consistent top-order batting has put Surrey in yet another dominating position on the second day of their championship match against Hampshire at The AMP Oval

Farid Bakri & Stephen Lamb23-Aug-2002Consistent top-order batting has put Surrey in yet another dominating position on the second day of their championship match against Hampshire at The AMP Oval. Ian Ward (87), Scott Newman (99) and Ali Brown (103*) were the stars as the Championship leaders reached stumps on 410 for five, a lead of 220. With Brown unbeaten overnight and Jonathan Batty in a position to add to his 36, the work isn’t over yet for the Hampshire attack.An injury scare for Steve Waugh didn’t prevent second-placed Kent from making a respectable reply to Leicestershire at Canterbury. Waugh had a precautionary x-ray after being hit on the hand by a delivery from Devon Malcolm, but returned to complete his innings after no serious damage was revealed. Ed Smith (87) and Paul Nixon (74) were the main architects of the hosts’ 217 for four. At the close they were just 42 runs behind Leicestershire’s first-innings total. Javagal Srinath took three for 40 for the visitors.An innings of 147 from Stuart Law has enabled Lancashire to take command against Sussex at Hove. The Australian hit 15 boundaries and added 130 with David Byas (71). Robin Martin-Jenkins (three for 67) was the hosts’ most successful bowler. After reaching 425, Lancashire compounded Sussex’s misery as Glen Chapple trapped Murray Goodwin lbw for one just before the close. At 12 for one, Sussex are 173 runs behind.Somerset are the more strongly placed going into the final day of their match against Warwickshire at Taunton. Another blistering knock from Ian Blackwell, who made 81 off 93 balls, combined with Matthew Wood (68), Jamie Cox (44) and Michael Burns (80) to propel the hosts to 394 in their second innings, leaving Warwickshire 499 to win. They lost their captain, caught by Blackwell off Bulbeck for seven, and at stumps were 42 for one, needing another 456 for victory.Spinner Stuart MacGill was in awesome form as Nottinghamshire inflicted an innings and 84 run defeat over Gloucestershire at Trent Bridge. Resuming on 91 for five, Greg Smith had Matt Windows trapped leg before for 40 and after that MacGill span his way to four crucial wickets. Jack Russell (45*) remained defiant as his fellow team-mates were tormented by the Australian. Gloucestershire, 219 all out, were outplayed by a greatly improved home side who took maximum points to go third in the table.Glamorgan’s spirited fightback was too little, too late as they lost to Northamptonshire by eight wickets at Northampton. Despite tail-end resistance, mainly from Michael Kasprowicz, who remained unbeaten on 72, and Dean Cosker (32 off 25 balls), they were eventually out for 312. Carl Greenidge, Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann were all among the wickets. The home side raced to the 81 needed for victory in just over 17 overs, thanks to a brisk 60 from Robert White. They lost Mal Loye and David Sales, but that proved to be merely a blip. Northamptonshire leapfrog Gloucestershire, and are now third from bottom.Michael Di Venuto seems certain to claim the man-of-the-match accolade after he powered his way to another hundred for Derbyshire against Middlesex at Lord’s. He scored 113 before he fell to Phil Tufnell, who has five wickets so far. Earlier Ed Joyce (129) and Ed Joyce (36) added just a few runs to their overnight scores as the home side stumbled to 304 all out. Kevin Dean and Graeme Welch took four wickets each. At the close Derbyshire were 259 for six, 369 runs ahead.Essex could move up to second if they can finish off bottom-placed Durham at Colchester tomorrow. Half-centuries from Australia-born Ashley Thorpe and the brothers Pratt rescued the visitors after they were reduced to 141 for five. Graham Napier claimed three wickets, but then came Nick Phillips’ tail-end slogging. He reached his 50 (40 balls) with the last ball of the day. The visitors, on 323 for eight, lead by 311 runs.

Matthew Maynard was this afternoon presented with the Glamorgan C.C.C

Andrew Hignell26-Sep-2002Matthew Maynard was this afternoon presented with the Glamorgan C.C.C.Player of the Year Award for 2002, sponsored by S.A.Brain and Co. Ltd.It is the first time in his illustrious career that Matthewhas been the club`s Player of the Year, and it follows a fine summer when the36 year old batsman scored over 1000 first-class runs, and played a number ofvital innings, especially in the one-day competitions.At today`s award luncheon in Cardiff,Maynard was also given a special presentation in recognition of scoring over 20,000runs in first-class cricket – a landmark he passed during his record-breakinginnings at Cheltenham in mid-July.Mark Wallace is the Glamorgan C.C.C. Young Player of the Year. The 20 year old wicket-keepertook 58 catches and scored over 550 runs in first-class matches in2002, and for the second consecutive winter, Wallace will be attendingthe E.C.B. Academy in Australia.The Glamorgan team of 2002 have also won again the Professional Cricketer`s Association`Spirit of Cricket` Award. Atthe Player of the Year Award luncheon, Steve James briefly spoke about thehonour of the Glamorgan side receiving the `Spirit of Cricket` award for the secondsuccessive year. “Everyone can look back with a lot of pride and satisfaction onwhat has been a fine year for the club. I feel very honoured to havecaptained the first ever Glamorgan team to have retained a trophy!”

According to The Sunday Post (via The Scotsman), Southampton are interested in signing Ryan Christie from Celtic this summer.

The Lowdown: Saints prepare for new campaign

The Saints experienced a mixed 2020/21 season – they reached an F.A Cup semi-final but also finished a lowly 15th in the Premier League table.

As such, Ralph Hasenhuttl and co have plenty of work to do this summer, and that is likely to include a number of new arrivals.

The Latest: Saints eye Christie

It has now been suggested the Saints have an interest in Christie, along with Burnley.

They could sign him for a fee of little more than £1m, but potential interest from other clubs could drive that price up. (The Sunday Post via The Scotsman)

The Verdict: Bargain deal

This would no doubt be a bargain deal for the Saints. Christie may have spent all his career in Scotland, but he has been an important player for Celtic down the years, with 40 goals and 41 assists in 142 matches (Transfermarkt). Last season alone, he picked up 15 assists in all competitions during what was a disappointing campaign for the Bhoys.

The fee is the most eye-catching part of any potential deal, though. Valued at £6.3m by Transfermarkt, signing for a sum of around £1m would be an absolute steal, especially considering he is still only 26 years of age and has played at Euro 2020 this summer. Hasenhuttl will be hoping that Southampton can get a deal over the line for Christie.

In other news, many Southampton fans are desperate for this man to return to the club.

Nuno Santo is thought to be one of the front-runners for Tottenham Hotspur’s vacant managerial role as their search rumbles on into a third month.

According to talkSPORT, the 47-year-old is now being targeted by their new director of football Fabio Paratici following collapsed moves for Paulo Fonseca and Gennaro Gattuso last week and he could be the man who Daniel Levy decides to hire.

The Portuguese left Wolves by mutual consent at the end of the 2020/21 season, having earned them promotion to the Premier League and then qualification to the Europa League in their first season back in the big time.

A three-man defence was Nuno’s go-to system at Molineux, something that Paratici is thought to also prefer and it is a formation that could quite easily be replicated in North London due to the personnel he’d inherit.

So how exactly could Spurs line up on the opening day against Manchester City under Nuno following a summer of transfer business? Football FanCast takes a look…

We’ll begin with players already at the club and there’s one the Portuguese will know more than anyone else – Matt Doherty.

The £15m signing emerged as a star under Nuno at Molineux, managing 19 goals and 20 assists under him but during his debut campaign for Spurs, he was restricted to just 13 league starts.

His future was thought to be under threat if Mourinho remained this summer but he could be one player to hugely benefit from this appointment. And in Sergio Reguilon, Nuno would be getting two solid options for the wing-back role.

One big dilemma would be in midfield, where there’s just two places up for grabs. It’s likely that Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who started every league game last term, and Tanguy Ndombele get the nod, especially as the futures of Harry Winks, Dele Alli and Moussa Sissoko are in doubt. It would not be surprising to see one or all moved on.

It’s believed that Heung-min Son is close to signing a new long-term deal at the club in what will be a major boost for any new manager, whilst reports suggest that Harry Kane, despite his desire to leave, is going nowhere this summer.

Now onto where there could be new names. It’s been widely reported that Spurs are eyeing defensive reinforcements in this window, with ideally two new central defenders coming through the door.

And there are two candidates that could slot right in.

Fulham loan star Joachim Andersen is one that Spurs are thought to be very keen on, he’ll cost around £25m after an impressive season in the Premier League, whilst Paratici could use his Italian links to lure Nikola Milenkovic away from Fiorentina, who has also been linked to Spurs in recent months.

Described as a “beast” and likened to Nemanja Vidic, the 23-year-old Serbian international – who is valued at €30m (£27m) – may join the experienced Toby Alderweireld in the backline, with club captain Hugo Lloris remaining between the sticks.

There’s no place for either Eric Dier or Davinson Sanchez.

One final addition could be seen at right-wing.

The futures of Erik Lamela and Lucas Moura in N17 are also under threat, so there could be a spot available and after his dazzling displays at Euro 2020, Spurs would be crazy to not give Nuno another Pedro Neto-like talent in Mikkel Damsgaard, who is only expected to cost around €20m (£18m).

AND in other news, Fabrizio Romano delivers exciting claim in Spurs’ manager search, fans surely buzzing…

South Africa took the Castle/MTN second Test against Bangladesh by the scruff of the neck with three hundreds in a total of 414/2 at the end of day two in Potchefstroom

Keith Lane26-Oct-2002South Africa took the Castle/MTN second Test against Bangladesh by the scruff of the neck with three hundreds in a total of 414/2 at the end of day two in Potchefstroom.Starting the day at 61/1, Herschelle Gibbs and Gary Kirsten attacked from the first over with first Kirsten finding the boundary cutting wicket taker Sanwar Hossain past backward point and then Hossain faced further aggression from Gibbs, twice lofting the leg spinner over the mid wicket fence, thesecond to go to his 11th Test fifty.The hundred partnership came up with two glorious drives from Kirsten. Kirsten so effective with a straight bat, as to the bat coming through at a 45 degree angle, stroked seven boundaries and a six in going to his 28th fifty.Gibbs, however, grabbed the attention, scoring his seventh Test hundred off the final ball of the morning session. Uncharacteristically showing a bit of the nervous nineties, he went to his hundred in 161 balls with 16 boundaries and two sixes.Tapash Baisya, with the help of Gibbs, engineered the break through for Bangladesh. A direct hit from the fielder ran out a lazy Gibbs who, had he grounded his bat, might still be batting. A surprised Gibbs left the field after a magnificent 114 and a partnership of a 141 with Kirsten. South Africa two down for 202.Kallis was very lucky and hopefully embarrassed that he was still at the wicket. Attempting a very late cut off Sanwar Hossain, he almost bladed the ball into the keeper’s gloves. Thunderous appeals brought no reaction from umpire Russell Tiffen, and even less of a reaction from Kallis, who at that stage had 36 to his name. Some stern words were exchanged between some of the disappointed fielders and Kallis. The less said about players who do not walk in situations like this, the better.Gary Kirsten went to his 16th Test hundred and second of the series in 256 minutes, including 12 boundaries and a six. A chanceless innings that will make his critics sit up and take notice plus showing that he still has a lot to offer South African cricket. By stumps he had taken his score to 154.Kallis scored his 10th Test hundred, becoming the third leading centurion in South African Test cricket.For the Bangladesh bowlers there was no mercy. Bowling on a pitch that was flatter than the Ben Schoeman highway they tried very hard and succeeded, in a manner of speaking, by restricting the South Africans to under four runs an over.With some cracks starting to appear in the pitch tomorrow might be slightly different, but whatever happens, Bangladesh are going to have a huge total to chase when called on to bat again.

Following disclosures in the media that the a provident fund set up for the benefit of West Indian players had lost considerable sums of money, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), is moving to stem the tide.

Derrick Nicholas12-Nov-2002Following disclosures in the media that the a provident fund set up for the benefit of West Indian players had lost considerable sums of money, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), is moving to stem the tide.The WICB president told a news conference that they “have put mechanisms in place to ensure that no member of its Provident Fund suffers any loss as a result of the switch to a Blue Chip Fund (BCF).”The measures that were approved by the directors and communicated to all affected members are as follows:i. The creation of a notional fund effective July 2000 (in relation to each member) which would operate as if no switch of funds had taken place;ii. The monitoring of the balance between the notional fund and the BCF until the value of the notional fund is equal to or just exceeds the value in the member’s BCF at which point the notional fund is terminated; andiii. Prior to the crossover point, any retirement from the Provident Fund will be funded from the notional fund to ensure that no member suffers any loss.The major issue with the Provident Fund was the switching of funds in July 2000 from the Guaranteed Accumulation Fund (GAF), a secure fund providing an annual return of 4-5% to the BCF, the least risky of the risky funds that was aimed at achieving higher returns to members.Due to market conditions, the price per unit in the BCF declined in the two years since the switch with the consequent loss to members who had since retired and who were on the verge of retirement.A presentation by the Fund Administrator, Zurich International Life, is also planned to take place for the benefit of the players and staff of the WICB Secretariat.

Arsenal have yet to receive a formal bid for Newcastle United target Joe Willock, according to The Athletic. 

The lowdown

The 21-year-old spent the second half of the 2020/21 season on loan at St James’ Park and plundered in eight goals in just 14 appearances. His goal in the 2-0 victory against Fulham on the final day of the season took his scoring streak to seven consecutive matches, matching the club record set by Alan Shearer (via BBC Sport).

The £14.4m-rated midfielder has now returned to north London and still has two years to run on his contract at the Emirates Stadium (via Transfermarkt).

Willock had been limited to just two Premier League starts under Mikel Arteta in the first half of the 2020/21 campaign.

The latest

The report from James McNicholas and David Ornstein in The Athletic states that Arsenal plan to sit down with Willock when he returns from his holiday to discuss his prospects.

It’s expected that the Gunners will consider any ‘suitable offers’ which arrive for the 21-year-old, but at this point Newcastle’s ‘interest’ has yet to progress to the bidding stage.

The verdict

It will feel like a step backwards if Newcastle fail to secure Willock given how integral he was to the run of form which lifted them from the brink of the relegation zone to a 12th-place finish.

He was the engine of the team in the middle of the park, and Newcastle don’t really have another player who can replicate his role of providing a regular scoring threat from midfield.

If Arsenal’s price tag proves to be unrealistic for the Magpies, perhaps they could look to arrange a second loan and instead pursue a permanent deal next summer, when you’d hope the uncertainty around the club’s ownership will have been resolved.

In other news, Newcastle are the favourites to sign this Euro 2020 star. 

An update has emerged on Southampton forward Danny Ings, regarding Tottenham’s interest in his services.

What’s the talk?

According to The Athletic, Tottenham are one of three Premier League clubs showing an interest in Southampton centre-forward Danny Ings. The attacker has opted against signing a new contract at the south coast club in hope that a big club will make a move for him, with Aston Villa, West Ham and Spurs all said to be in the running.

The report, however, claims that Ings is eyeing up a Champions League club, with Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea all qualified for Europe’s premier competition next season.

Robbie Keane 2.0

Daniel Levy could land a dream deal by bringing Ings to the club this summer following this latest update. He is out of contract next summer and is seemingly keen on a move from St. Mary’s and although it remains to be seen if he sees Tottenham as a viable option, Levy could use that to his advantage.

Whilst Southampton would not allow him to leave on the cheap, it could be a far less expensive deal than if he had a few years left on his contract.

The England international could be a much-needed addition to Nuno Santo’s squad. After Gareth Bale’s departure, Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane are the only players in Santo’s roster who scored more than three times in the Premier League last season. This suggests that the Portuguese boss is in dire need of players who know how to find the back of the net.

Clinton Morrison once compared Ings to former Tottenham striker Robbie Keane and said that the Saints star has the same “first-class” movement as the ex-Spurs man, making him capable of playing for a top-four club.

He said:

“Yes, I would say Danny Ings is top-four quality, most definitely. The season he’s had at Southampton, if you put him in one of the teams at the top four, he’d easily score goals like that.”

“I used to play with a striker who used to play like Danny Ings – Robbie Keane.

“I look at the way Ings plays at the moment, his movement is first class and I used to say to Robbie Keane, ‘how do you get in behind defenders when you’re not rapid?’ His movement was first-class and Danny Ings is like that.”

This is some comparison by Morrison given what Keane achieved at White Hart Lane. The Irish centre-forward scored an incredible 122 goals in 305 games for Spurs, whilst also providing 25 assists for his teammates. Keane managed double figures for goals in six separate Premier League campaigns for the club, highlighting his quality as a goalscorer during his time in North London.

Ings, meanwhile, has hit double figures in three of his four full seasons in the top-flight. He plundered 12 in the season just gone for the Saints, having been a goal machine the previous year with 22 Premier League goals to his name in the 2019/20 campaign.

This suggests that he could have the goalscoring knack Keane had at Spurs and, therefore, he could be Robbie Keane 2.0 if Levy brings him to the club. Spurs need another forward to ease the burden on Kane, or perhaps even to replace him. Ings is the ideal man fo them.

AND in other news, Levy must sanction Spurs swoop for “wonderful” £19.8m-rated gem, fans would love it…

Music has become part of the “atmosphere” at big cricket events nowadays in New Zealand and with that in mind there could be only one song as the theme for the second National Bank Test between New Zealand and India

Lynn McConnell18-Dec-2002Music has become part of the “atmosphere” at big cricket events nowadays in New Zealand and with that in mind there could be only one song as the theme for the second National Bank Test between New Zealand and India.Tom Jones’ standard, “Green Green Grass of Home” would win hands down.It could be said that a little piece of the Emerald Isle of Ireland best represents the strip that has been prepared for the match. New Zealanders would say it is the colour of West Coast jade.Groundsman Doug Strachan was hoping for a day of sunshine to allow him to get his final preparation onto the pitch today, but Hamilton’s skies could not oblige and there have been passing showers all day.So the sideways movement is likely to be a factor yet again and it is little wonder that Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has been hoping he can get his coin-calling right at the toss.He, like his rival captain Stephen Fleming, would bowl first, and there was enough poor batting from the New Zealand middle-order to encourage him in the view that putting New Zealand in would go a long way towards having his bowlers secure the 20 wickets they need to win the match.You could tell though, that when he attended his pre-Test conference with the media today, Ganguly was long tired of talking about green pitches with lots of bounce and sideways movement.India knew they had to get their heads around the challenge that such conditions set. He wasn’t blaming the pitch in Wellington for his side’s 10-wicket loss last weekend.”The wicket wasn’t responsible. It did a bit, but it was not unplayable,” he said.Ganguly recalled that when India played at Hamilton last in the summer of 1998/99, the wicket was a good one and all he asked of a pitch was that there was something in it for the bowlers on the first morning, good conditions for batsmen on days two, three and four, and then a chance for the spinners to get involved on the last day.There had been a lot of rain about in New Zealand this summer and there wasn’t a lot that anyone could do about it, it was just a case of getting on with the cricket.”If it is green it is green. If it is bouncy it is bouncy. We just have to adapt. Let’s not worry about the wicket. Let’s play Test match cricket on it and we’ll see how it goes,” he said.India are going to name their side at the last possible moment but there is every sign that Tinu Yohannan will come into the side for his third Test match, probably in place of Ajit Agarkar.Fleming wants to use his own bowling armoury to put the pressure on India but knows that another crucial requirement is, especially if he loses the toss and New Zealand are put in to bat, that runs will be vital.And while he does want a better batting performance, what he most wants is to have enough runs in the middle-order for his bowlers to have the comfort to bowl India out twice.New Zealand would not be tempted to bolster their attack by dropping left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori for a fast-medium bowler which probably meant Michael Mason would carry the drinks again.”We have a quality spinner which gives us an option towards the end of the Test. If it is won in two or three days then so be it. I still think we have to have bases covered,” he said.Had the first Test gone the distance, it would have been very interesting to see what influence off-spinner Harbhajan Singh had on the outcome, Fleming added.The New Zealand captain made no apologies for promoting bounce in this country’s wickets.A few groundsmen in New Zealand had done a fantastic job in getting bounce into wickets and it was unfortunate that the weather over the last month had affected the pitches to the point where there was more sideways movement than preferred.”I like the way our wickets are heading. I don’t, as a batsman, particularly like the seam movement, but I’m loving the bounce and I think it is exciting cricket,” he said.Fleming explained that having the bounce allowed batsmen an opportunity to score square of the wicket but, more importantly, it gave the bowlers an opportunity throughout the game to get something from the pitch.”Sometime, in a lot of Test matches in a lot of places around the world it is pretty dominated by the bat and we’re used to that to a point. But, I think, if both parties apply themselves you get a wicket that is conducive and you get a much better package and the entertainment value is going to improve,” he said.The teams are:New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (captain), Mark Richardson, Lou Vincent, Craig McMillan, Nathan Astle, Scott Styris, Jacob Oram, Robbie Hart, Daniel Vettori, Daryl Tuffey, Shane Bond, Michael Mason.India (from): Sourav Ganguly (captain), Virender Sehwag, Sanjay Bangar, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V V S Laxman, Parthiv Patel, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Tinu Yohannan, Ashish Nehra.

PERTH, Dec 20 AAP – Paul Collingwood’s maiden one-day international century guided England to 9-258 off 50 overs in its day-night cricket match against Sri Lanka at the WACA Ground.

Tom Wald20-Dec-2002PERTH, Dec 20 AAP – Paul Collingwood’s maiden one-day international century guided England to 9-258 off 50 overs in its day-night cricket match against Sri Lanka at the WACA Ground.But the Sri Lankans only had themselves to blame for not restricting England to a minuscule total after missing five regulation chances in the field including Collingwood on 11.The 26-year-old Durham batsman’s timely knock of 100 off 127 balls featured four fours and two sixes on a day which topped 40 degrees celsius.Collingwood rode his luck early in his innings as his side’s batting lineup lost its way with some reckless shots.He brought up his 100 by pulling a sharp short ball from Dilhara Fernando (4-48) for a single in the last over before being dismissed with the final delivery of the innings.He was well assisted in resurrecting the England innings in his 27th one-day international by Craig White (48) and they put on 110 for the seventh wicket after England had slumped to 6-122.Outstanding Sri Lankan paceman Chaminda Vaas (3-36) earlier cashed in on some ambitious England shots ripping through the top order on a typically bouncy WACA pitch.The 28-year-old left-armer claimed the scalps of openers Marcus Trescothick (15) and Nick Knight (11), and also Ronnie Irani for four.But he should also have dismissed Collingwood after Thilan Samaraweera dropped a straightforward opportunity at first slip.Poor fielding has been a sad theme of Sri Lanka’s opening two tri-series matches after putting down three catches at the Gabba.Knight and Trescothick opened the innings in aggressive fashion smashing opening bowler Pulsasthi Gunaratne out of the attack before Vaas struck.The classy paceman sent both players back to the pavilion in the fifth over after they attempted to pull him over the infield.Beleaguered No.3 batsman Irani entered and exited early again but not before almost running captain Nasser Hussain out and more than tripling his series average.Irani survived second slip Russel Arnold dropping a sitter off Fernando’s bowling but was unable to add to his score as Vaas trapped him in front.Hussain was also given a chance edging the second delivery he faced between the wicketkeeper and first slip at waist height off Fernando as well.But it didn’t stop England’s reckless array of shots with Collingwood top-edging a six off the unlucky Fernando before Samaraweera’s costly miss.Hussain (25) and Collingwood put on a half-century partnership before he was caught behind to the recalled Prabath Nissanka.Veteran Alec Stewart only lasted three balls before he guided a Nissanka delivery to Mahela Jayawardene at second slip to be 5-93.Fernando claimed his first scalp picking up the wicket of Ian Blackwell (19) just moments after Jehan Mubarak spilt a tough chance in gully off the same batsman in the same over.However Collingwood and Craig White guided the score towards a respectable total with their sensible century seventh wicket stand.Fernando finally received the rightful rewards for his fine bowling efforts picking up the last three wickets to fall.