All posts by h716a5.icu

Rashid Latif, the Afghanistan coach, hopes a tournament arranged in Pakistan’s border city of Peshawar will unearth new talent for his side

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Apr-2011Rashid Latif, the Afghanistan coach, hopes a tournament arranged in Pakistan’s border city of Peshawar will unearth new talent for his side. The tournament will feature six teams named after provinces in Afghanistan, with each team featuring three players from the national side.Afghanistan have become the fastest-rising Associate team after refugees escaping years of war fled to Pakistan and discovered a love for cricket. “We are playing a tournament of three-day matches in Peshawar followed by a Twenty20 and then a one-day tournament, and I hope these events will help us find more players,” Latif told .Latif, the former Pakistan wicketkeeper, took over as Afghanistan coach last year and helped them win the four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup, before guiding them to a shock win over Pakistan in the Asian Games Twenty20 semi-finals.In recent years Afghanistan has leapt up to Division One in the World Cricket League, which gave them one-day status, and they have since qualified for the World Twenty20 held in the West Indies last year. Latif hopes that the new tournament will help secure the progress the country has made.”We have also included the Afghanistan Under-19 team so that they can prepare for the qualifying round of the junior World Cup,” Latif said.Afghanistan’s Under-19 team won an Asian qualifying event in the UAE earlier this year and stands a good chance of qualifying for the Under-19 World Cup in Australia next year.Ahmed Taqseem, who is on the Afghanistan Cricket Board’s technical committee, felt the facilities available in Pakistan will help the Afghanistan side develop.”The facilities provided in Peshawar are world-class so playing here will give our players a chance to improve and this is a great help from Pakistan,” he said. “We realise that in order to improve at an international level we need to strengthen our domestic setup and we are endeavouring to do that.”Cricketing relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan are strong, with a six-member delegation from the Afghanistan Cricket Board meeting PCB chairman Ijaz Butt on Friday. Butt pledged that Pakistan would provide any support needed to develop Afghanistan cricket and appointed Amir Nawab as a coordinator for Afghanistan.

The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) has sought an explanation from fast bowler Sreesanth, who represents the state, after he had reportedly criticised it

Cricinfo staff25-Jul-2010The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) has sought an explanation from fast bowler Sreesanth, who represents the state, after he had reportedly criticised it. Sreesanth has been warned of disciplinary action in the event of a repetition.”If Sreesanth repeats such things in future, the body has authorised the office bearers to take an appropriate action immediately,” KCA secretary TC Mathew told reporters.The uncertainty over Sreesanth’s availability had prompted the KCA to replace him as captain of the state side for the Ranji Trophy, though he was named in the 25-man list of probables for the Indian domestic season. Sreesanth had then suggested that he was considering playing for a different state side, but confirmed this month that he would stick with Kerala.

West Ham United are reportedly interested in a deal for Monaco defender Benoit Badiashile, according to the latest reports…

What’s the word?

As per Calciomercatio, the Hammers are believed to be one of the clubs keeping an eye on the 21-year-old, with Serie A giants Juventus and Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund also credited with an interest in the Frenchman.

Previous reports have suggested the 6 foot 4 colossus could be available for a fee in the region of £33m, with two years still to run on his existing deal at Stade Louis II, making him an attractive option in the upcoming window.

The France U21 international had seemingly come close to a Premier League switch in January, with Newcastle United heavily linked with securing his services, albeit with the St James’ park outfit eventually settling on a move for Brighton’s Dan Burn.

Ogbonna Upgrade

With a top-four place still potentially within their grasp and with a Europa League semi-final clash on the horizon, things are currently going swimmingly for David Moyes’ side, with the Scotsman having worked wonders since the start of his second stint in charge.

Much of the former Manchester United manager’s success has been in recruitment, with the 58-year-old continually making astute moves in the market after a scattergun approach under his predecessor Manuel Pellegrini.

In Badiashile, the Hammers boss could well have found his next perfect acquisition, with the youngster having previously been dubbed a “great talent” by Monaco vice president Oleg Petrov, following his eye-catching displays for the Ligue 1 outfit.

As evidenced by his soaring market valuation – the £14k-per-week star having seen his value rise from £135k to £25.2m in the space of just three years – the starlet is only seemingly going to keep progressing in the coming years.

At just 21, he also represents an ideal and timely replacement for current first-team favourite Angelo Ogbonna, with the Italian central defender set to turn 34 at the end of May and with possible doubts over what his level will be once he returns from his long-term absence.

Both left-footed and of similar build – with the more senior man marginally shorter at 6 foot 3 – the two have very similar playing styles, making the younger man a potentially ideal replacement for the long-serving veteran.

Equally, there is also evidence to suggest that the potential new arrival is already outperforming the one-time Torino man.

In the 11 games the current West Ham man has played in the top-flight this season, he has averaged just one interception and 0.6 tackles per game, as per SofaScore, while by contrast, Badiashile has registered 1.1 interceptions and 1.4 tackles per 90, in his 19 league outings.

Even in his youth, the Limoges-born star already offers a wealth of experience, having already made 114 appearances for his current side – chipping in with three goals and three assists in that time – since making his senior debut back in 2018.

With just three clean sheets to his name this season and a fairly meagre 6.93 match rating, as per SofaScore, in the French top-flight, there is obvious room for improvement, although Moyes has already shown he can coax the best out of those at his disposal.

AND in other news, Time to go: Moyes must ruthlessly axe WHU’s £61k-p/w “monster” as big claim emerges…

Steve Harmison demolished the Warwickshire batting this morning, taking six ofthe seven remaining wickets as Durham wrapped up their third win of the seasonin 10.2 overs

01-Jul-2010
ScorecardSteve Harmison demolished the Warwickshire batting this morning, taking six ofthe seven remaining wickets as Durham wrapped up their third win of the seasonin 10.2 overs.No Durham bowler had previously taken five wickets in a championship inningsthis season, but Harmison finished with 7 for 29, his best county figures,as Warwickshire crumbled from their overnight 111 for 3 to 134 all out in 50minutes.The visitors’ sixth defeat heightened their relegation worries, while Durhamclimbed two places to fifth. Having been 55 points behind Nottinghamshire whenthey lost at Trent Bridge in May they now have the gap down to 19, although theleaders have a game in hand.Harmison’s haul took him past 700 first-class wickets, of which 423 have beenfor Durham. Having missed four of their previous seven games this season withback and ankle injuries, he had only nine championship wickets going into thismatch.Jim Troughton turned the first ball of the day comfortably through mid-wicketfor three, then six wickets went down for six runs. In the day’s third over Harmison had 18-year-old Ateeq Javid lbw for 30, then in the next over Mitch Claydon moved one off the pitch to take out Troughton’soff stump and remove him for 43.Harmison did the rest, all the victims being caught at the wicket or in theslips apart from Boyd Rankin, who was well held by Mark Stoneman at short leg. Andrew Miller batted with a runner because of his foot injury and helped the unbeaten Rikki Clarke put on 14 for the last wicket.

Anil Kumble, the former Indian legspinner, will be travelling to South Africa next week to take part in a coaching clinic with some of South Africa’s up-and-coming spin bowlers in Johannesburg on Thursday

Cricinfo staff13-Aug-2010Anil Kumble, the former Indian legspinner, will be travelling to South Africa next week to take part in a coaching clinic with some of South Africa’s up-and-coming spin bowlers in Johannesburg on Thursday. Kumble will be joined by fellow slow bowlers Paul Harris and Johan Botha as a host of young spinners receive first-hand coaching from one of Test cricket’s leading wicket-takers.The spin-bowling clinic, which will also be attended by Cricket South Africa’s High Performance spinning coaches, Shafiek Abrahams, Harry Shapiro and Paul Adams, will run alongside the second CSA Annual Conference, which will take place from August 18 in Sandton.”Anil Kumble is a living legend, and CSA is honoured that he has accepted our invitation to come out to South Africa and work with tomorrow’s stars,” said CSA chief executive Gerald Majola. “We will also invite some of our women cricketers, young batsmen and wicketkeepers who we believe will benefit from the experience.”CSA is encouraged by the progress made by our High Performance team, and we are confident that this visit is going to boost the good work being done in the spinning department.”

Andrew Strauss believes Michael Clarke has the tactical acumen to cope with the challenge of captaining Australia in Sydney, but warns that he’ll find it hard to lead in the long term unless he regains his batting form

Andrew Miller02-Jan-2011Andrew Strauss believes that his new opposite number, Michael Clarke, has the tactical acumen to cope with the challenge of captaining Australia in the fifth Test in Sydney, but warns that he’ll find it hard to lead from the front in the long term unless he regains the batting form that has deserted him since the tour of New Zealand in March.Strauss knows from personal experience how invigorating the captaincy can be for a batsman – his average when leading the side in 31 Tests rises to 46.60, compared to an overall mark of 43.02. But Clarke has inherited the role with his form in the doldrums. He has made 148 runs at 21.14 in the series to date, and has made just one hundred in his last 35 innings in all international cricket – although that unbeaten 111 at Visakhapatnam did come while captaining the one-day side in Ricky Ponting’s absence in India back in October.”It’s a lot tougher,” admitted Strauss. “You have the double whammy of the side not playing well and if you’re not playing well either, there’s almost not enough time of the day to think about why you’re not playing well and pick yourself up. But it’s always temporary. If you’re a good player, personal form is not going to desert you for too long. And you usually come out of the other side.”With Ponting ruled out of the Test with a broken finger, Clarke is set to become Australia’s 43rd Test captain, despite having never previously led a team in first-class cricket. Strauss, however, who cut his teeth as Middlesex’s skipper long before he was handed the England job, said it was not a necessary pre-requisite.”Captaining in a Test is very different to captaining a first-class game,” he said. “Clarke has long been earmarked as a captain, and by all accounts, tactically he is pretty good. As I found though, you have to learn on the job and you have to learn reasonably quickly. People sink or swim. It is like your Test debut. People either stand up and deliver or it becomes difficult. Clarke has delivered plenty of times with the bat so he is in a position to do well.”From Strauss’s point of view, it makes no difference who lines up alongside him for the toss on Monday morning. “It is a big day for Clarke coming in and captaining a Test match but from our point of view we know the formula that has worked for us and it is important to adopt that again, and maybe, make any slight changes that we need to for the Sydney wicket. We won’t worry too much about what is happening in their camp. There is an opportunity for them to play with a bit more freedom, so we have to be on our game.”There are sure to be nerves aplenty in the Australian dressing-room, with two Test debutants lining up for Clarke’s first match in charge. But despite the confidence in the England camp at present, Strauss insisted that they would play their opponents on merit – particularly the left-arm spinner, Michael Beer, who is set to become Australia’s 10th slow bowler in Test cricket since Shane Warne’s retirement on this ground in January 2007.”We will play the situation and if there is an opportunity to be positive I would like our batsmen to take that,” said Strauss. “If he is bowling well and there is turn for him we have to be respectful. Generally it is important that you don’t play the man but play the ball coming down at you. It will be just the same for Beer and any of their seamers.”

Yorkshire have lost their opening two Friends Provident t20 matches after going down by 21 runs against Worcestershire at New Road

Cricinfo staff05-Jun-2010
Scorecard
Yorkshire have lost their opening two Friends Provident t20 matches after going down by 21 runs against Worcestershire at New Road. Facing a victory target of 209 as they sought to bounce back from their disappointing 65-run defeat at home to Derbyshire, the visitors were restricted to 187 for 7.Worcestershire, in front of a crowd of around 4,500, launched their campaign by making 208 for 7, James Cameron top scoring with an unbeaten 51 off 31 balls. After winning the toss, they got off to a speedy start by smacking 18 off the game’s opening over, bowled by spinner Azeem Rafiq.Skipper Vikram Solanki was quickly in full flow until he holed out to Anthony McGrath at mid-on off Steven Patterson for 30, made off 13 balls with two sixes and three fours. His opening partner Phil Jaques also fell for 30, bowled while going for a big hit during Rich Pyrah’s first over.McGrath then held a one-handed catch on the boundary to dismiss Alexei Kervezee off Adil Rashid while Moeen Ali had his middle stump knocked back by Rafiq, and at the halfway stage in their innings Worcestershire were 101 for 4.Rashid also accounted for Daryl Mitchell and Australian rising star Steve Smith, who made 34 on his debut, to finish with figures of 3 for 30. Ben Scott fell to Patterson in the final over, leaving Cameron unbeaten with three sixes and four fours.Yorkshire, without Herschelle Gibbs who was suffering from a stiff neck, lost Andrew Gale in the third over when he departed to an excellent running catch by Jack Shantry off Gareth Andrew. Adam Lyth was removed for a duck by Imran Arif before Andrew struck again thanks to a great diving catch by wicketkeeper Scott which saw off Jaques Rudolph.Smith collected his first wicket for Worcestershire by ousting Gerard Brophy and after ten overs Yorkshire were finding the going tough on 75 for 4. Their difficulties increased when Mitchell dismissed Jonathan Bairstow, although McGrath and Rashid did their best to boost the visitors’ fortunes.They put on 65 in 6.2 overs before the partnership was broken by Shantry, who removed Rashid for 34. McGrath followed in the next over to signal the beginning of the end for Yorkshire.

According to Daily Mail reporter Sami Mokbel, Antonio Conte believed he could turn Tanguy Ndombele’s Tottenham career around, but that is now no longer the case.

The Lowdown: Ndombele booed off…

The club record signing has been at the centre of reports linking him with a move away from Spurs after he was booed off during the Lilywhites’ 3-1 FA Cup third round win over Morecambe.

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Ndombele slowly walked off the pitch and headed straight down the tunnel, drawing the wrath of Tottenham’s home supporters as he refused to vacate the pitch with any real haste.

The Frenchman, among other players who could potentially leave, has his future up in the air under manager Antonio Conte with the Spurs head coach now making a major decision behind-the-scenes.

The Latest: Conte performs Ndombele U-turn…

According to Mail reporter Mokbel, the former Chelsea manager is ‘no longer convinced’ by Tottenham’s midfield man despite originally thinking he could ‘get a tune’ out of the player.

In his report, the journalist explains that Conte ‘had originally planned for Ndombele to stay at the club’ but is now ‘ready to cut his losses’ this month – greenlighting his January exit.

The Verdict: For the best?

Averaging more completed dribbles per 90 than any Spurs player in the Premier League last season (WhoScored) whilst proving his undoubted ability in flashes, doubts have mostly surrounded his application and attitude.

On a reported £200,000-per-week, one of the club’s highest earners, chairman Daniel Levy and managing director Fabio Paratici could be looking for ways to cut the club’s expenses and fund much-needed new additions by offloading Ndombele this month.

If a willing buyer comes in, it would arguably be foolish of Tottenham not to entertain selling before January 31 and indeed cut their losses on a player who has already been given time to prove his worth.

In other news: Spurs agree £33.4m option for sensational player after loan spell with EPL rivals! Find out more here.

Australia are pleased with how Doug Bollinger and Michael Hussey fared in the training session, but the fast bowler is not a sure starter for the first Test

Sidharth Monga in Chandigarh29-Sep-2010The Australian team management is largely pleased with how Doug Bollinger and Michael Hussey fared in the training session, but the fast bowler is not a sure starter for the first Test that begins on Friday. Bollinger and Hussey joined the team just two days before the Test, after returning from their successful Champions League Twenty20 campaign with Chennai Super Kings in South Africa.”We just talked about it from the start that Michael and Doug wouldn’t be here till a certain stage,” Tim Nielsen, Australia’s coach, said. “When that changed, we pushed it back. Everybody is understanding [of that]. We just let them [Bollinger and Hussey] know upfront that if they are fit, they are more than likely to take their place in the team. We have to make the right decision, not only on their getting a spot, but [make sure] they are physically and mentally and technically right to play.”So we will have another look at them tomorrow, and make sure they are ready to go.”Nielsen said the uncertainty centered more on Bollinger than Hussey. He was pleased with how the fast bowler had got through his short bowling stint today, but how he performed tomorrow would be the big test. “It’s not as if he was sitting on a beach on his bum, he has been playing cricket. He has got some miles in his legs. [However], he certainly hasn’t had six-seven-over spells two or three times a day.”Bollinger bowled in the nets for about 20 minutes, and was seen working with the physio. “They are a little bit behind time wise,” Nielsen said. “They are in pretty good place today, we will probably know more tomorrow morning. But at this moment, they have had a bat and a bowl today, and at this stage we are pretty positive about them.”Peter George, who played in the tour game against the Board President’s XI, could make his Test debut if Bollinger is not picked. Nielsen had positive things to say about the tall fast bowler. “Peter George did a good job in the practice match, especially in the first innings. Admittedly he came on to bowl when we had already taken two or three wickets. So it was a little bit easier for him, and things didn’t work out that well from results’ point of view in the second innings when they batted nicely.”The thing we know him about him is that he runs in, he is consistent with his pace, and we like to think he is a bit like McGrath in his action and in the bounce he extracts. He is not an express fast bowler, but he has got enough pace to make the ball bounce off a length. Most importantly he runs in all day to try the right thing for the captain. Given the opportunity he will do a very good job at Test level.”Last year, too, when Australia toured India for a seven-ODI series, they had a similar situation. Brett Lee, Bollinger and Nathan Hauritz joined the team on the eve of an early-morning start. Lee lasted just one match then. “We talked about it right from the start,” Nielsen said. “There is no running away from these things. It could have been the captain if he was playing for a Champions League team.”It’s harder and throws a little bit more chaos in the system when somebody has a late injury or somebody is ill late in the last couple of days leading up to the Test. Your plans are set, you have a kind of idea in your head what players are going to play, then somebody gets hurt late… We understand what we had with Doug and Huss [ Hussey]. Yes, this is not ideal preparation, but this is the modern world of cricket.”They play for different franchises, for different teams, and their countries. That’s what we have to deal with. I suppose this is where we’ve got to earn our money. We have got to make sure that they are as close to their best as possible, come Friday.”

Tottenham Hotspur remain interested in a deal to bring Lautaro Martinez to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a recent Gary Jacob report for The Times, with the journalist claiming that, after seeing a €90m (£75.5m) bid rejected for the Inter Milan centre-forward last summer, Antonio Conte’s side are once again interested in a move for the 24-year-old at the end of the current campaign.

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Jacob goes on to state that the Serie A side would be willing to part with the Argentina international this summer for a figure between £60m-£70m, however, it is claimed that Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are also keeping tabs on the striker ahead of a potential move of their own.

The final piece of Conte’s puzzle

Considering just how impressive Martinez has been for Inter in recent years, in addition to the fact that Conte already has a relationship with the 24-year-old, it is unsurprising to learn that Tottenham remain interested in a move for the centre-forward this summer.

Indeed, over his 32 Serie A appearances this season, the £101m-rated forward has been in electric form for the Nerazzurri, bagging 17 goals, registering three assists and creating five big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of three shots and making 0.8 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the £177k-per-week Argentine average a highly impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.01, ranking him as Simone Inzaghi’s 11th-best player in the Italian top flight.

Furthermore, over the 97 fixtures in which Martinez featured for Inter during Conte’s own two-year spell at the San Siro, the centre-forward scored a quite remarkable 40 goals, in addition to providing his teammates with a further 19 assists – averaging a direct involvement in a goal every 116 minutes of football played under the 52-year-old manager.

As such, with Tottenham in rather desperate need of a forward who can provide both competition and backup for Harry Kane this summer, the 24-year-old sensation would very much appear to be a signing the Spurs boss would love to get over the line ahead of Spurs’ 2022/23 campaign – as Martinez could well be one of the final pieces in Conte’s puzzle at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

AND in other news: Conte can now axe “average” £43m dud as Spurs plot £16.75m bid for “young Gareth Bale”