All posts by h716a5.icu

Steve Massiah, the USA captain, has said that his side’s lack of preparation was the reason they did not reach the final for the ICC World Cricket League Division Five

Cricinfo staff13-Jun-2008Steve Massiah, the USA captain, has said that his side’s lack of preparation was the reason they did not reach the final for the ICC World Cricket League Division Five event in Jersey last month. Had they done so, then they would have gained promotion to Division Four and, theoretically, would have still been in with a chance of qualifying for the 2011 World Cup in India.”We had one weekend together in Florida where it was only net sessions, and where four players were missing,” Massiah told dreamcricket.com. “Those other teams were preparing for months and weeks and had warm-up games in Pakistan and India.” USA faced unfamiliar conditions in Jersey where the pitches were green and there was tremendous help for the bowlers.”I think if I had three months of competition under my belt, there was no way I could see ourselves failing,” he said “We would beat those teams easily.” Undoubtedly, the USA’s suspension from international cricket because of the internal squabbles which dogged USACA in recent years made the players’ task all the harder.Questions have also been asked about the national selectors who, unlike almost every other country, remain unknown. Ostensibly this is to prevent undue pressure being put on them, but it has led to accusations of unfairness and secrecy.There has also been disquiet over the appointment of former West Indies and USA batsman Clayton Lambert as the national coach, despite his having no obvious outstanding credentials for the post. “His selection came as a surprise,” one player admitted, ” and it’s hardly the message to send out when other Associates we should be competing against are getting named coaches.” It is unclear who made the appointment.

The leading First Class wicket taker (84) in the country, during season 2002, has pledged his future to Derbyshire County Cricket Club

Derbyshire CCC Media Release04-Dec-2002The leading First Class wicket taker (84) in the country, during season 2002, has pledged his future to Derbyshire County Cricket Club. Kevin Dean, 27, has extended his existing contract by a further year, thus keeping him at the County Ground until at least the end of season 2005." I am extremely happy at Derby, and hope that the success that everyone deserves is just around the corner for us. These are really exciting times both on and off the pitch, and I want to be a big part of it, " said Dean."Its always gratifying when a top quality cricketer such as Kevin wants to be at the Club, and we are very happy to have secured his medium term future," said John Smedley, Chief Executive.

After their nightmare at Wanderers and a week marred by injury concerns, SriLanka rediscovered some batting form on the opening day of the second CastleLager/MTN Test at SuperSport Park on Friday.

Charlie Austin15-Nov-2002After their nightmare at Wanderers and a week marred by injury concerns, SriLanka rediscovered some batting form on the opening day of the second CastleLager/MTN Test at SuperSport Park on Friday.The game is evenly poised with Sri Lanka on 263 for six after being asked to bat first by South Africa captain Shaun Pollock under overcast skies.Pollock’s brave decision on a pitch that lacked the thick grass cover seenat Wanderers was influenced by the policy of fielding five fast bowlers as the home side resisted the temptation to play left-arm spinner Claude Henderson. Whether that will prove to be an error of judgment depends on how the South African bowlers perform tomorrow morning. They need to mop up the tail quickly.Their most pressing concern will be removal of the obdurate HashanTillakaratne, who reacted to the disappointment of being left out from theone-day squad with a fine unbeaten 82. The 35-year-old left-hander was dropped once on 35, but otherwise played impeccably in a four-hour vigil that has so far produced 15 boundaries.Had Sri Lanka won the toss they would have batted, according to coach DavWhatmore, who was pleased to see his top order fight-back after their woefuldisplay in the opening Test. Nevertheless, he was disappointed by the fact that his top four all failed to capitalise on good starts.”I was pleased with the amount of runs that we scored in the day but wasdisappointed by those who got starts and didn’t go on,” Whatmore said.”The game is fairly evenly poised now and we have to carry on and get as many runs as possible tomorrow – this could be a very interesting game.”South Africa admitted afterwards that they would have preferred to have bowled out Sri Lanka in a day. They may now be ruing their decision to bowl first.However, if their bowlers had shown the discipline that they displayed atWanderers then the plan could have worked again. As it was they bowled too many loose deliveries, a fact illustrated by the 42 boundaries scored in the day.Having inserted the opposition they needed to make early inroads, however, Sri Lankan openers Marvan Atapattu and Jehan Mubarak weathered the first hour of the morning, playing and missing on occasion but looking increasingly comfortable as the session progressed.However, soon after the drinks break the in-form Atapattu – captaining the side for the first time in a Test – was caught off his glove for 17 as he tried to pull a short ball from Jacques Kallis.Jehan Mubarak, drafted into the side after Sanath Jayasuriya damaged his right ankle during a game of football on Tuesday, and number three batsman Kumar Sangakkara reacted positively to the dismissal, adding 56 in 73 balls.Mubarak, playing in his first game of the tour and only his second Test, wasparticularly impressive. The 21-year-old has a poor first class record,averaging just 28.01 after 29 games, and was a surprise choice for this tour, but he showed sufficient class during his innings to suggest he does have a Test future.Born in Washington and the son of a highly regarded scientist, he lookedcomposed and comfortable at the crease. The feature of his innings was themanner in which he left the ball expertly, but he was also quick to seize onany opportunity to score, especially when the South African bowlers erred on to his pads or dropped short.Sangakkara was the more aggressive of the pair and especially strong off theback foot as he raced to 35 from just 38 balls with five fours. However, just when Sri Lanka looked like they would survive the first session with the loss of just one wicket, Sangakkara was caught at first slip trying to force a short delivery from Andrew hall through the off-side.After the interval, Mubarak moved to within two runs of a deserved maiden fifty, but perished when Pollock – the pick of the South African bowlers -produced a well-directed outswinger that caught the edge of the left-handersbat.With Sri Lanka on 108 for three another middle-order collapse appeared possible, but Mahela Jayawardene (44) and Hashan Tillakaratne (82*) played themselves in watchfully and gradually built a crucial 81 partnership.As the pair raised the tempo during the second hour before tea the SouthAfricans slipped back onto the defensive, testing the batsmen’s patience bybowling a large percentage of deliveries wide of the off-stump.After tea Pollock made the breakthrough, dismissing Jayawardene with a goodlength delivery that the right-hander dragged on to his stumps to leave the Sri Lankans on 189 for four.Russel Arnold, moved back down into the middle order after bagging a pair atWanderers, once again looked out of form before being caught at the wicket after 28 unconvincing minutes at the crease.With Sri Lanka’s fragile lower order now exposed, Tillakaratne correctlyjudged that the time had come to take the initiative – too often in his second coming he has failed to take responsibility when batting with the tail.Hitting three boundaries in an over off Kallis and keeping the scoreboard moving he took the pressure off a nervous Hasantha Fernando (24) who had started his Test career with a pair at the Wanderers. The pair added 54 valuable runs before Pollock took the second new ball and Fernando was caught off the shoulder of his bat.

Leeds must pounce on a deal for Rodrigo de Paul after comments from former midfielder David Norris.

What’s the talk?

Former Leeds midfielder David Norris believes that Udinese midfielder Rodrigo de Paul is interested in a move to Elland Road this summer.

The Athletic’s Phil Hay reported in September 2020 that Leeds’ interest in de Paul was serious and that the club had the finances to do a deal for him. Although, nothing ever materialised in the summer window or the January window earlier this year.

And now, Norris has claimed that the rumours surrounding de Paul and Leeds would have been instantly shut down if the Argentine did not want the transfer. He told Football FanCast:

“Yeah I think so. As players, you normally know the club’s interest way before it comes out into the press so there’s definitely going to have been some contact made and the fact that it’s still got legs to it means both parties are showing an interest.

“If Leeds have touched base with someone in that way and it wasn’t something he was interested in, we wouldn’t be hearing about it until now. It’d be no, the player doesn’t want it, move on.

“So the fact that has happened and it’s still got legs to it definitely means there’s still an interest from the player and there’s clearly massive interest from the club so he would have known of Leeds’ interest before it came out to all of us.”

Earlier this year, Udinese technical director Pierpaolo Marino labelled de Paul as a “world-class” player. He told Radio Crc, as transcribed by FC Inter News:

“We’re talking about a world-class player, a true ‘tuttocampista’.

“De Paul is a tireless worker and I would put him among the best captains I’ve ever had in my teams for the seriousness he always demonstrates.”

Bielsa needs him

Victor Orta must sanction a swoop for de Paul as Leeds head coach Marcelo Bielsa needs the midfielder at the club next season. De Paul enjoyed a sensational season on a personal note in the Serie A for Udinese and his quality could elevate Leeds’ midfield and help them push on further. Whilst Mateusz Klich had a solid campaign in the Premier League for Leeds, with four goals and five assists, de Paul could prove to be an update on the Poland international.

Klich averaged a WhoScored rating of 6.51 in the Premier League, ranking him 16th in the Leeds squad. De Paul, meanwhile, averaged a sublime WhoScored rating of 7.41 in 36 Serie A starts. The Argentine also provided nine goals and nine assists from central midfield, which puts him behind only Patrick Bamford for goals and level with Raphinha for assists.

The £31k-per-week dynamo could, therefore, be a terrific addition to Bielsa’s squad and improve the quality of his options in midfield. De Paul has proven that he can consistently perform at the top level, as shown by his displays in the Serie A, and he still has a few years ahead of him to improve under Bielsa’s coaching at the age of 26. Therefore, Orta must get a deal for de Paul over the line for Bielsa to enjoy his talents in the Premier League next season for Leeds.

AND in other news, Bielsa must land “graceful” £19.8m-rated magician, teammate has backed Leeds’ interest…

Congratulations to Sharon and Keith Parsons on the birth of their son Joseph Luke who weighed in at 8 lbs 4 ozs on October 17th

SOMERSET28-Oct-2002Congratulations to Sharon and Keith Parsons on the birth of their son Joseph Luke who weighed in at 8 lbs 4 ozs on October 17th.I am happy to be able to report that all parties are making good progress and young Joseph made his first appearance in the sunshine at the County Ground in Taunton this morning.After being introduced to everybody in the main office, Joseph made his way round to the Centre of Excellence where he caught a glimpse of Richard Johnson bowling in the nets, and met several of the coaching staff.After meeting Joseph the Somerset boss Peter Anderson commented that he had large hands and predicted that he would become an all rounder, just like his dad!Well done to Sharon and Keith from all Somerset supporters.

The Transco Lancashire League is proving to be a very successful one for the South Africans playing in England during what must be described as one of the wettest summers for a few years

Keith Lane09-Jul-2002The Transco Lancashire League is proving to be a very successful one for the South Africans playing in England during what must be described as one of the wettest summers for a few years. Games have been washed out or interrupted at regular intervals but the runs keep on flowing and the wickets keep on falling.As at the end of June Pierre Joubert was in the third spot in the batting averages but innings of five and 32 since then may move him down a bit. Martin van Jaarsveld with innings of 38, 94 and 46 could see him pass Joubert by the end of July.The men on the move are Jacques Rudolph and Andre Seymore. After a slow start Rudolph has recorded innings of 52 not out, 78 and 149 not out and sure to climb up the log from his 19 th position. Seymore who held the 13 th spot should also go up after a 101 not out and a 72.Andrew Hall sitting in 10 th place has been very consistent all season averaging 49.6 with the bat and should hold his position with the addition of a 41 and a 44.Con de Lange with a duck, two and nine seems to have gone off the boil with the bat as well as the ball while Paul Adams has scores of four, 17 and 20 to his name.In the bowling department we still have Charl Langeveldt, even though he is in South Africa for an operation, in the 3 rd spot with a 27 wicket haul for the season.Van Jaarsveld in addition to his batting is starting to become a very useful allrounder. In ninth position in the averages he will move up the ladder with two spells of 4/32 and 3/23 taking his haul of wickets to 29 for the season.Adams should also see himself getting into the top ten with spells of 3/62 and 4/56. He has now taken 17 wickets in his last four matches, increasing his total to 33, and seems to be getting back to his best.The rest of the bowlers have of late struggled to get wickets. Hall has returned figures of 0/41, 1/41 and 1/53 while Joubert reads 0/23, 2/24 and 1/27, Rudolph one spell of 1/19 and De Lange 0/22. Seymore has not bowled in his last few matches.

Hampshire left-arm spinner Charlie van der Gucht is set to play his first match in 13 months tomorrow (SAT), after suffering career-threatening injuries in a road traffic accident in west London last July

Mike Vimpany (as published in Daily Echo)15-Aug-2002Hampshire left-arm spinner Charlie van der Gucht is set to play his first match in 13 months tomorrow (SAT), after suffering career-threatening injuries in a road traffic accident in west London last July.He has earmarked the Hampshire Academy’s Southern Electric Premier League match against Old Tauntonians & Romsey at the Romsey Sports Centre, 1pm for his comeback.The 22-year old was left fighting for his life after being run over by a taxi last summer.He suffered two badly broken legs and developed two blood clots on his lungs.But has courageously fought his way back, completing his History degree at Durham University at the same time as working long hours in the gym and gradually attaining near match fitness."Sine he came back from university, Charlie’s been doing a lot of bowling in the nets and is now working on his mobility in the field," said Hampshire 2nd XI coach Tony Middleton."It’s been a hard graft for him, but it’s been a real inspiration for the other lads to watch him come back from such horrific injuries and now be on the verge of playing again."He badly wants to play tomorrow and everyone will be willing him on."The table-topping Academy field a powerful side against OT’s, who are without all-rounder Ian Tulk.Second-placed Easton & Martyr Worthy expect to find themselves up against a strengthened Winchester KS side at Cockets Mead.Sussex pace bowler Billy Taylor has been pencilled in for Winchester as the Sharks do not play again until Tuesday’s Norwich Union League game under the Hove floodlights.It’s a huge day for the three clubs battling to avoid relegation, none more so than Rowledge, who visit third-placed Lymington tomorrow and then play Shipton-under-Wychwood in the National Village Championship semi-finals on Sunday.Rowledge boosted their prospects of avoiding the drop last weekend, when an undefeated Chris Yates century set up an eight-wicket win and nailed Trojans firmly to the bottom."Lymington and Easton, our next two opponents, will be very difficult indeed," says vice-chairman Chris Yates senior."And it could come down to our final match with Hungerford, which happens to be the day before the Lord’s village final."Rowledge send a full-strength team to Lymington, but go into Sunday’s village tie minus Australian all-rounder Jeff Anning and 21-year old all-rounder Yates.Hungerford, in deep trouble following last week’s ten-wicket hiding by the Academy, entertain Sparsholt, while Trojans must beat US Portsmouth if they are to stand any slender chance of avoiding the drop.St Cross Symondians welcome back youngsters Ben Adams and Marc Rees against Ventnor at the Royal Green Jackets Ground.Pace bowler Brian Lipscombe has returned from his Australasia trip, but plays in the 2nd XI to get match fit.St Cross have some catching up to do on leaders Purbrook, who will have won hand on the title if they beat New Milton at The Heath.It’s "last chance saloon" day for New Milton, whose eight-run defeat by Leckford last week cost vital ground in the promotion stakes.Third-placed Hursley Park visit Leckford, with ever-improving Havant II favourites to beat Hambledon, even though discarded Hampshire opener Derek Kenway will probably be in the Dons line up.Gosport Borough haven’t altogether given up hope of squeezing into the promotion frame and inflicting a fifth successive defeat on Alton will enhance their outside chances.

A One-Day International championship table appears to be set to emerge from the International Cricket Council meeting in London next week

Lynn McConnell18-Jun-2002A One-Day International championship table appears to be set to emerge from the International Cricket Council meeting in London next week.A committee of the ICC has been working on the table and a report is expected to be put before the meeting that could see the table in place before this year’s ICC Champions Trophy tournament in Sri Lanka.Because of the rapidly-changing nature of teams involved in one-day matches the system is likely to be based on the results of the last two years, and not reaching as far back as the Test table does.Another important issue to be discussed is how the future tours programme can cater for cancelled tours, especially those where reasons for withdrawal are not as clear cut as those which have faced New Zealand in Pakistan recently, and Australia in Zimbabwe before that.It is understood the ICC will be looking to try and set in place rules which do not allow countries to pull out of tours that they shouldn’t.Some guidelines for use of independent and neutral venues, such as that recently completed in Tangiers in Morocco, will also be discussed.Code of conduct issues relating from the Condon Report on Corruption are expected to be implemented by the meeting.A video to educate players on corruption is being prepared while issues relating to regional security managers, the minimum requirements for access to players’ areas and contractual clauses in player contracts will also be discussed.Security issues which have long been sought by the players are also expected to be implemented with minimum standards applying to all countries. As part of this there will also be discussion of the use of video screens at grounds and their ability to upset spectators and put players at risk from spectator over-reaction.A discussion paper on the procedures relating to the reporting of players with unfair bowling actions is also likely to produce some debate as the result of dissatisfaction having been expressed about the process as it stands at the moment.The after-effects of what are described as quite revolutionary technology changes being implemented for the ICC Champions Trophy tournament will be discussed along with what might happen after the tournament where the changes are successful or otherwise.Bonus points as they apply in One-Day International series will also be on the agenda.

At the start of the third day, England were favourites to win, the draw could not be discounted and there was just an outside chance that India could get back into the match

Ralph Dellor27-Jul-2002At the start of the third day, England were favourites to win, the draw could not be discounted and there was just an outside chance that India could get back into the match. At the end of the day, Indian hopes have been effectively extinguished. For that, they need look no further than an inept batting display. To be bowled out for 221 on this pitch indicates a serious lack of resolve that is likely to be punished in the course of the next two days.With Simon Jones claiming his first Test scalps, and generally causing the batsmen to hop around a bit, and with wickets falling at regular intervals, India found themselves in rapid decline. Without taking anything away from the England bowlers, the Indian batsmen will have asked some searching questions of themselves for allowing so many wickets to fall on this pitch. At least, they should have been asking themselves those questions.A full house gathered at Lord’s in anticipation of a Sachin Tendulkar run-feast came perilously close to disappointment when he had just ten to his name. Jones, working up a fair head of steam from the pavilion end, found a great delivery from around the wicket that opened up Tendulkar. An outside edge went low down to first slip where Graham Thorpe failed to cling on to a chance that just about carried and should have been held.After the drop, Tendulkar gave mere glimpses of his class, as did Dravid at the other end. Dravid had been watchful throughout his innings. At one point yesterday he went for 50 minutes without adding to his score. When he found the boundary off the 144th ball he faced, it was his first since the 33rd.The England bowlers kept the scoring rate in check with some controlled aggression. Jones in particular looked understandably more relaxed than the previous day and found sufficient rhythm to cause moments of anxiety as the batsmen hurried their strokes.England got the breakthrough for which they were probing when Matthew Hoggard found the first ball to misbehave on this otherwise perfect pitch. From just short of a length, he got one to lift appreciably as Dravid tried to withdraw his bottom hand, but the ball looped to backward point where Michael Vaughan held a simple catch.As ever, the major wicket was Tendulkar’s. White had been bowling well but as so often happens, it was not the best ball he has ever bowled that got one of his most valuable victims. It was short and outside the off stump, causing Tendulkar to have a wild slash that only succeeded in finding the edge and Alec Stewart made no mistake.As is always the case when a batsman of Tendulkar’s class and reputation is out, there was an extra bounce to the steps of the fielding side while those in the pavilion find their heads dropping. Sourav Ganguly gave a tame catch to Vaughan in the gully off Andrew Flintoff, before Jones managed to take his first wicket at this level when Ajay Ratra flashed at a short ball to edge to the keeper.Having waited 16 overs for that success, his lbw appeal was turned down next ball but in his next over had Ajit Agarkar caught at slip. White came back to bowl Anil Kumble with the score on 209 – still 79 short of avoiding the follow-on.By farming the strike, VVS Laxman managed to add another 12 runs and prolong the end, which came when Zaheer Khan was caught by Thorpe off Hoggard, leaving Laxman undefeated on 43. India were 266 behind, but Nasser Hussain opted against enforcing the follow-on and chose to bat again on a pitch that was showing little sign of wear.The openers were settling into their task without either Zaheer or Nehra getting the same movement as in the first innings. However, Kumble was introduced to bowl the ninth over and with his fifth ball claimed a wicket. Mark Butcher went to sweep and, although he protested otherwise, made no contact and was out lbw.Psychologists might have the answer to why Hussain has not gone beyond twenty in the second innings after scoring a Test hundred in the first, but whatever the reason, he maintained the pattern here. Agarkar got a lot of lift from just short of a length, for Hussain to have a wild flash and touch it to the wicket-keeper.Thorpe has not had a happy return to the international scene. One catch held, one dropped, four from one shot in the first innings, and now just a single in the second. He cut Kumble uppishly into the covers for Ganguly to dive forward to take the catch. Thorpe dwelt in the middle as his fate sunk in before leaving for the sanctuary of the pavilion.At that point, further wickets could have just opened a chink for India. Vaughan and John Crawley effectively closed even that small opening with some sensible batting that illustrated to their opponents what could be achieved in these conditions with the right application. That was reflected in the statistics for Vaughan’s fifty – 78 balls with just four boundaries – although he was dropped by the wicket-keeper immediately after getting there. That, and the earlier spurned chance by Wasim Jaffer at point that gave Crawley a life, will undoubtedly be a source of regret before long – if it is not already.Crawley completed a second fifty in the match as the pair started to increase the range of their strokeplay so that by the close of play, the only question left unanswered was at what point Hussain will declare. Time, along with everything else, is certainly on his side.

According to a report by Spanish news outlet El Periódico Mediterráneo, as translated by Sport Witness, Villarreal negotiations are underway to sign Tottenham Hotspur starlet Juan Foyth on a permanent deal.

The Lowdown: Foyth impresses in Spain…

Over the course of 2020/2021, it’s safe to say Foyth enjoyed a very fruitful spell overall whilst on loan at the La Liga giants.

Despite coming in and out of the team with three different injury problems over the season, he still managed to make 32 appearances in all competitions for El Submarino Amarillo (Transfermarkt).

According to WhoScored, over his 16 La Liga appearances, he made more successful tackles per 90 than any player in the side (2.5) – perhaps highlighting his colossal presence at times for the eventual Europa League winners.

The Latest: Villarreal negotiations underway…

Now, as per El Periódico Mediterráneo, the Spanish club have been so impressed with Foyth they have already commenced negotiations over bringing him to the Estadio de la Cerámica on a permanent deal.

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They have a €15 million (£12.9m) buy option inserted into the loan agreement from 2020 but wish to reduce that fee amid financial uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

It is also claimed that landing Foyth is now a ‘priority’ for Villarreal and they hope Spurs will lower their demands for the 23-year-old.

While talks are already underway, if they are to come to an agreement, the negotiations will need to ‘intensify’.

One aspect which may boost them is Foyth’s alleged desire to exit Spurs, with this report claiming he now ‘wants to continue’ with them and ‘leave England’.

The Verdict: Possible big loss…

Depending on developments and whether or not Spurs chairman Daniel Levy agrees to the new terms, Foyth’s exit may be a big loss to the Lilywhites’ next manager.

It is clear by his numbers this term that he has a bright future and that was encapsulated by his brave performance in the Europa League final against Manchester United.

Journalist Charlie Eccleshare, of the Athletic, told Spurs supporters in a Q&A last year how Foyth is a ‘really exciting player’ and the Argentine has only gone on to back that claim.

Letting him depart for a fee lower than £12.9m would be disastrous by Levy, especially in this financial climate when every penny could be useful in putting towards a summer transfer kitty.

In other news: Spurs now want to sign this ‘nearly unplayable’ star, find out more here.