All posts by h716a5.icu

The day before arguably India’s biggest Test of 2010, Ms Dhoni said India treats every Test the same, and is focused on taking care of the small things

Sidharth Monga in Durban25-Dec-2010Christmas is in the air in Durban. If you haven’t been to a Boxing Day Test – and this correspondent hadn’t – you might find it almost surreal. Test cricket brings its own vibe with it; an anticipation and intensity that appears to be missing, at least on the surface. There is Christmas, there are “The Holidays”, and then there is the New Year. It is a time to relax, a time to enjoy, a time to take stock, and a time to look forward.Make no mistake about it, though: in less than 24 hours India’s biggest Test of the year will start, and perhaps this particular unit’s biggest too. It has been a year of success where they have held on to their No.1 ranking for 360 days, but they will know how seriously that tag will be taken if they find themselves 2-0 down on seaming tracks in a country that has forever been their nemesis.It was only yesterday, on a hot, humid, sapping day that MS Dhoni said – while walking out of the nets – that he was reminded of Chennai. However, just one look at the pitch is enough to tell you that the difference in playing conditions in Chennai and Durban is as wide as the Indian Ocean that separates the two cities. The pitch here is lush green – Gary Kirsten said that from the change room it looked the same colour as the outfield, and the overhead conditions – forecast to be cloudy for the duration of this Test – are sure to help swing and seam. For a city full of people of Indian origin, Kingsmead is a foreign island. Forget the six sixes that Yuvraj Singh hit here in an over in the World Twenty20. In Test cricket, India don’t even average half as much per wicket as Yuvraj managed in one T20 over. In five all-out innings here, they have managed 862 runs.Even in isolation, the conditions are going to present a supreme challenge to the batsmen who lasted 38.4 overs on a damp pitch in Centurion; in the context of the series, the challenge becomes huge. That said, there is nothing to suggest they can’t pass this test. Everyone knows these are better batsmen than a score of 136 all out on a testing pitch suggests. Coach Kirsten has said they needed, and still need, to apply themselves better on these kinds of surfaces. Preparation might have suffered for the first Test because of the absence of a warm-up game, but they have worked hard for this one.Out has gone the policy of having light training sessions on the eve of the game. On Christmas day, the Indian team was the group of hardest-working people in Durban. Zaheer Khan, a huge addition to the side, was the only man to opt out of the session, and this team has – with good results – let Zaheer prepare on his own for big matches. However, as if a reminder was needed that they are up against it, Gautam Gambhir’s injured left hand has worsened and M Vijay might well have to pad up on short notice once again.On the surface, though, keeping in with the festive spirit, India are not making this sound like it is their time of reckoning. It is understandable, too, for they don’t want to put any undue pressure on themselves. “Every game is big for us,” Dhoni said on the eve of the game. “As I always say, being No.1 or when you are on course to becoming No.1, every game is important. Irrespective of where you are playing in a particular series. Whether you are playing in the subcontinent or outside. We don’t consider one Test match more important than the others. By doing that, you can put additional pressure on yourself. We believe in taking care of small things, so we respect every Test.”When Dhoni was asked to look back at the last year, he again chose to focus on the details – the tailenders contributing more runs than they used to; the part-time bowlers chipping in with wickets. It all points to an admirable fighting spirit that this team prides itself on. Saving matches after a poor first innings, coming back from behind to win Tests, coming back from behind to level series, managing without a few key players.It is that spirit that they will collectively be dialling for, but the rest of the world will also be questioning their skills to do well in all conditions. Not that they have proven otherwise in the past, but this – before the series started – seemed their best chance to do so. If they can’t summon up the spirit and the skills over the next five days, the last three weeks of the year will have more to say about the team than the first 49.

Kent’s Clydesdale Bank 40 game against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge was ruined by inclement weather

Cricinfo staff08-May-2010Kent’s Clydesdale Bank 40 game against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge was ruined by inclement weather, with only six overs bowled before the match was called off entirely after initially being reduced to a 10-over contest. Robert Key put the Nottinghamshire bowling attack to the sword, slamming three sixes and five fours in an 18-ball 44 to add 73 for the first wicket with Joe Denly in five overs, but after Steven Mullaney struck twice in his solitary over the rain returned to end all hopes of completing a game.

Newcastle United enjoyed a brilliant January transfer window as they brought in a number of players to bolster their squad heading into the second half of the campaign.

They were struggling in the bottom three of the Premier League just after the turn of the year and PIF backed Eddie Howe by signing the likes of Chris Wood, Kieran Trippier, Bruno Guimaraes, Dan Burn and Matt Targett.

A few months on and the Magpies are now 10 points clear of the relegation zone with seven games left to play and look set to avoid the drop.

This suggests that PIF played the January window brilliantly as the new signings provided the team with a much-needed lift.

Whilst you can praise the owners for the players they did bring in, you can also appreciate the players that they opted against going for. For example, Norwich midfielder Todd Cantwell was linked with a £20m switch to St. James’ Park at the start of the month.

Newcastle were 19th at the time of the report and ultimately avoided paying that sizeable fee for the 23-year-old, with Championship outfit Bournemouth eventually snapping him up on deadline day on loan until the end of the season. The Cherries reportedly have an option to sign him for £11m in the summer, £9m cheaper than what it would have cost the Toon in January.

This means that they saved themselves from making an expensive error as they would have, seemingly, been overpaying for the midfielder. Norwich were willing to settle for £11m in the end and that means that it would have been a blunder from PIF to pay £20m at the start of that month.

His form, or lack thereof, has also shown that they were right not to bring him to the club – for any price. He has been an unused substitute in two of Bournemouth’s last four games and has zero goals and zero assists in his 10 Championship appearances since making the switch.

This comes after he endured a torrid first half of the campaign with Norwich. He was not directly involved in a single Premier League goal for the Canaries in eight outings and Yellows legend Chris Sutton claimed that he was “getting above his station”, which does not suggest that he was/is in the right frame of mind for a relegation scrap.

Therefore, PIF played a masterclass by opting against a deal for the dud in January as they saved themselves a decent chunk of change and avoided signing a player who is desperately out of form.

AND in other news, Same agency as Joelinton: NUFC scouting 6 ft 4 star, he’s a dream Botman alternative…

A couple of hundred protestors were at Lahore airport when the three Pakistan players at the centre of the spot-fixing scandal returned home

Osman Samiuddin09-Sep-2010A couple of hundred protestors were at Lahore airport when the three Pakistan players at the centre of the spot-fixing scandal returned home on Saturday morning. Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt left through a back exit away from the people carrying banners and waving shoes.There was also support for the players inside the terminal with one sign saying: “Long live Salman Butt.” As reported by ESPNcricinfo on Thursday, their return does not, however, mean they are cleared from the ongoing criminal investigation. Pakistan’s interior minister Rehman Malik said the government of Pakistan would provide a written assurance that the players be made available if needed for further investigations.”We have spoken to Scotland Yard, and the [Pakistan] high commissioner to the UK, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, has also been in talks with them and they have agreed that the players can return to Pakistan,” Malik told ESPNcricinfo.The trio were provisionally suspended by the ICC last Thursday and were quizzed by police the next day for their alleged role in bowling deliberate no-balls during the fourth Test at Lord’s between England and Pakistan; an undercover sting operation by the tabloid apparently revealed that they had done so at the behest of Mazhar Majeed, an agent to the players. Majeed was arrested but released on bail while the players had their mobile phones confiscated. No charges have been pressed against them yet.On Thursday, the PCB chief revealed that Wahab Riaz, the left-arm fast bowler, will be the fourth player to be interviewed by the police in relation to the scandal. Ijaz Butt sounded confident in his press conference at Gaddafi Stadium earlier that the three players would return to Pakistan soon and though he indicated that the criminal case against them might not be as strong, he did not say they would be cleared. The PCB’s legal advisor Taffazul Rizvi confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that investigations will continue.The players also have to respond to the suspension notices served to them by the ICC for which they have one more week left. That investigation and process is separate to whatever conclusion police officials reach.

Australia coach Tim Nielsen has suggested that batsman Callum Ferguson has a “big chance” of playing in the first Ashes Test at Brisbane on November 25 after an impressive start to the domestic season

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Oct-2010Australia coach Tim Nielsen has suggested that batsman Callum Ferguson has a “big chance” of playing in the first Ashes Test at Brisbane on November 25 after an impressive start to the domestic season.Ferguson cracked 129 off 143 balls in a Sheffield Shield match against Western Australia at Adelaide on Saturday, an innings watched by national selector Greg Chappell. His knock increased the pressure on Test incumbents Mike Hussey and Marcus North, both of whom failed in WA’s first innings of that match.”I think he’s a big chance, runs do the talking, don’t they?” said Nielsen. “I think he’s done a tremendous job. He’s gone from strength to strength over the last couple of years. He had a real breakthrough season two years ago then unfortunately hurt his knee. He’s come back from injury and made runs whenever he’s been given the opportunity.”All he can keep doing is making sure that whenever the opportunity comes he puts his best foot forward and gets runs. There’s plenty of pressure on spots and plenty for the selectors to think about.”Both Hussey and North fell to offspinner Aaron O’Brien, who picked up four wickets as Western Australia were bowled out for 295 in their first innings and forced to follow-on. Hussey, who has scored two Test centuries in almost two years, drove his first ball straight to cover while North, who was dropped before scoring, was bowled for 10 not long afterwards.”It would be nice for him to get some runs, but we can’t panic too much,” Nielsen said of Hussey. “That [a golden duck] is going to happen in the game of cricket. The thing for ‘Huss’ would be to get a couple of really big scores to confirm in his mind that he’s back in form.”Nielsen said North, who has made five centuries from 19 Tests but averages under 38, needed to demonstrate consistency at Test level. “There’s been a lot of talk about Marcus North, for example. He’s made five Test match hundreds now – there is a lot of blokes that play 50 Test matches and don’t make five Test match hundreds.”Every chance these players get is another chance for them to push their own cause for being in that [Test] side. Marcus is coming off a Test match hundred, he played really well in the one-day game against Victoria. That’s one of the things in his favour, when he goes back to the domestic level he plays well and shows that he plays well. The challenge for us and for him is to show he can be consistent at that top level.”

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara admitted that poor batting yesterday cost his team the third and final Test against India at the P Sara Oval

Sa'adi Thawfeeq at the P Sara Oval07-Aug-2010Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara has admitted that poor batting on the fourth day cost his team the third and final Test against India at the P Sara Oval.”On the fourth morning I thought in the first session if we had just tried to bat till lunch the ball would have got softer and we could have scored a lot more runs. But unfortunately, we played some poor strokes,” Sangakkara said. “We were a bit too tentative at times and the batting in the second innings by the seven batsmen, except for Thilan (Samaraweera) was probably the main cause for us getting only 267. Otherwise we could have batted out the day and put the heavy roller on today and declared.”We had a couple of chances today with Sachin (Tendulkar) and Suresh Raina. That would have made the match a lot more interesting. But the way they batted was excellent. They played positively and kept scoring runs. Unfortunately, apart from Suraj (Randiv) and Lasith (Malinga) we weren’t able to exert pressure from the other end, either to take wickets or cut down the runs.”Sangakkara stated he would have liked to have got close to 300 but added that, “given the situation we were in, it was a great effort by Ajantha (Mendis) and Thilan to get us to 267. Again you know a few chances went begging, which would have allowed us to get another 50 runs lead in the first innings.”Unfortunately, it’s been like that in the last two Tests. A few chances here and there and they ended up crucial.”Sangakkara pointed out the dropped catch by Tillakaratne Dilshan off Sachin Tendulkar as one of those key chances.”It would have been nice to get Sachin out with something like 110 runs to play with, 120 runs at that time. Those things happen in cricket, no one wants to miss a catch at this level when you are playing with so much at stake. The chances we put down in this Test and the last one, proved to be crucial and costly. We have to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he said.As far the bowlers were concerned, he praised the bowling effort of Randiv who took five wickets in the Indian second innings and nine in the match.”Suraj’s greatest asset has been his confidence and self belief. He’s got great bounce and he will have to improve on his control a bit more to ensure he keeps building the pressure with dot balls and wicket-taking balls. Once he gets that done, I think he will be even better than what we see him now as.”Sangakkara denied that the defeat had given India a moral victory. “Not really, one all is one all. It’s neither here nor there. I thought right throughout the Test we took more wickets and scored more runs. We created a lot more opportunities as well. But converting those opportunities in these two Tests wasn’t there. It was the only window India had to come back into this series.”

In the end, only two players, Sahara India Pariwar and Bharti Airtel, submitted bids for the right to sponsor the Indian team.

Nagraj Gollapudi and Tariq Engineer29-May-2010In the end, only two players, Sahara Group and Bharti Airtel, submitted bids for the right to sponsor the Indian team. Both Sahara, the existing sponsors, and Airtel bought the tender document at the last possible minute before the submission deadline, and Cricinfo has learnt both companies have submitted the mandatory Rs 50 crore (US$10.7 million) deposit required by the BCCI.The Indian board issued the tender on Monday inviting companies to bid for the rights, whose tenure is three-and-a-half years beginning July 1, 2010. Other companies in the fray included the ADA Group (ADAG), consumer electronics major Videocon, Delhi-based Monnet-Ispat, sports broadcaster Nimbus, which owns the rights to matches played in India, and advertising firm Percept.A source close to Nimbus said the broadcaster was approached by ADAG on Saturday morning, as its top brass was reluctant to commit as much as Rs 400 crore (US$ 85.6m) on its own. Nimbus, meanwhile, was trying to put together a consortium to bid for the rights, but was unable to pull it off due to the short time-span – less than a week – between the date the tender was released and the date the bids were submitted. “They released the tender on Monday and all the bids need to go in by Saturday, which is just about four working days by the time the tender was in hand. That is not very easy to work out when you are trying to get people to commit to Rs 400 crore.”It was reported widely that the BCCI was against consortiums bidding for the rights, but one of the interested players, who was among the first to pick the document, said that the board never had any issues there. “They had sent a clarification stating they did not want any marketing agencies to be part [of the consortium].”The BCCI has set a base price of Rs 2.5 crore per match for a three-and-a-half year period, during which India will be playing between 144 and 167 matches, depending on how far the team progresses in the ICC tournaments.The current price represents a 16% discount from the tender the board issued late last year, which had a base price of Rs 3 crore per match, and failed to attract a single bid. As a stop gap measure, the Sahara Group agreed to extend its sponsorship of the Indian team for a further six months, a period that ends on June 30.The lack of interest in the tender six months ago and the subsequent lowering of the base price represents “the impact of the IPL,” according to Hiren Pandit, Managing Partner-Entertainment, Sports and Partnerships at Group M, a prominent media buying agency. Pandit believes the IPL gives firms an alternative avenue to get involved with cricket, thereby reducing the exclusiveness of the Indian team.After winning the bid for the Pune IPL franchise, Sahara chairman Subrata Roy had said the company would re-evaluate its sponsorship of the Indian team. Subsequently, when contacted by Cricinfo, the company declined to comment to on whether it would be bidding this time around. The Sahara Group had paid roughly Rs 400 crore in 2005 for the right to sponsor the Indian team for four years.At least one prospective bidder, who bought the bid document, thought the current base price was still too high. “Anyone who bags the rights will have to spend on an average 125 crore annually only on this. That is a huge amount of money.”Shailendra Singh, joint managing director, Percept Limited, which had reportedly purchased the bid document for a client, says the Indian team is still the best cricket brand around. “From a value perspective, the sport of cricket stands unparalleled as a property for sponsors today,” he said. “For any fan, especially in India, the national team is the ultimate. People follow IPL because you have the cricketers from the Indian team playing, they are the main attraction. Hence this in no way reduces the importance or following of Team India. Team India will be one of the best cricket properties always.”The BCCI will announce the winning bid after holding its marketing committee meeting in Mumbai on Monday.

Leeds United are still eyeing up ‘three to four midfielders’ in the January transfer window, according to journalist David Anderson.

The Lowdown: Leeds desperate for a midfielder

The Whites have been plagued by injuries throughout this season and they currently look light in the middle of the park, in terms of options.

Kalvin Phillips’ hamstring injury has left a gaping void in that area of the pitch, while Adam Forshaw has to be managed carefully after a long absence of his own.

Leeds have been linked with signing a number of midfielders this month, including Cagliari’s Nahitan Nandez and Huddersfield Town’s Lewis O’Brien.

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The Latest: Journalist makes fresh claim

Speaking to Give Me Sport, Anderson claimed Victor Orta and co are looking at a move for a midfielder, even though money is hard to come by at present:

“What I’m being told is that they’re looking at three to four midfielders.

“They want to sign at least one. It’s a delicate one because they don’t have pots of cash because they don’t really plan to spend money in January. Normally they like to spend in summer.”

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The Verdict: At least one needed

It would be a huge surprise if January ticked by and no midfielder came in, with Phillips’ absence making it essential that more depth is added.

In fact, one signing should be the bare minimum, with a relegation battle potentially on the cards and another possible injury setback for Forshaw giving Marcelo Bielsa even fewer options.

The hope is that someone of Nandez or O’Brien’s ilk arrives in the coming weeks, in what would be a much-needed boost, with an injection of fresh blood required.

Both of those aforementioned players would add tenacity and quality, averaging two and 2.8 tackles per game in their respective leagues this season.

In other news, Leeds are reportedly ‘pressing’ to complete one piece of transfer business. Read more here.

Wolves have revealed the latest information in forward Hee-Chan Hwang’s recovery from a thigh injury, and it certainly looks positive.

What’s the latest?

The RB Leipzig loanee has been out of action since mid-December with a thigh injury and had started life at Molineux impressively, scoring four goals in his first six league appearances.

Although the goals had dried up slightly prior to suffering his injury, the South Korean was a regular fixture in Bruno Lage’s side and his return will be very welcome.ÂThat return, in fact, could come in the coming weeks.

On their official Twitter page, Wolves shared a video of Hwang addressing fans and providing an update on his fitness.

The 25-year-old said: “After the injury, I am recovering well and have started jogging and training.

“I will try my best to show my best performance to the fans. Thank you for your support.”

According to Premier Injuries, 10 Februrary is currently the estimated date for the South Korean’s return to action.

Wolves fans will be buzzing

Although the West Midlands outfit are sat comfortably in eighth place with hopes of a push towards the top-six, goals have been at a shortage for the entirety of their campaign.

Having scored just 17 goals in 20 league games, Lage’s side are the Premier League’s third-lowest scorers, therefore the return of Hwang will be welcome indeed.

When fit, the 25-year-old was mainly operating on the left-hand side of a front-three, a position that has seen various personnel fill in over the course of the campaign.

The likes of Daniel Podence, Franciso Trincão and Adama Traore have all started on the left-hand side on occasion this season, despite their preference being the right. However, the trio have just one league goal between them.

Who to play either side of striker Raúl Jiménez has been a headache for the Portuguese manager at times this term, particularly during the absence of the South Korean, meaning that his return can’t come soon enough.

Moreover, prior to his injury there was talk of the Black Country club swooping to turn the Leipzig-loanee’s loan deal permanent, given the fact that the winger hadn’t been getting much of a look in at the Bundesliga outfit.

Hee-Chan Hwang’s return from injury will be a major boost as Wolves look to close the gap between them and the top-six.

In other news: Sky Sports journalist drops Wolves transfer update live on air, Lage will be delighted

Accurate bowling from both sides, combined with ordinary batting and an awkward fourth-day pitch ensured that the final day’s play of the Ranji Trophy semi-final between Saurashtra and Punjab will be interesting

The Report by Amol Karhadkar in Rajkot19-Jan-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo: Punjab captain Harbhajan Singh led his side’s comeback, taking four wickets for 60 runs•FotocorpAccurate bowling from both sides, combined with ordinary batting and an awkward fourth-day pitch ensured that the final day’s play of the Ranji Trophy semi-final between Saurashtra and Punjab will be interesting; both teams have a chance of qualifying for the final.Although Punjab conceded a huge 178-run lead in the first innings, they made a comeback with impressive spells from captain Harbhajan Singh and new-ball bowler Siddarth Kaul, in the post-lunch session, to restrict the home team to 170 in their second innings.Saurashtra left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat then took two key wickets, including that of the season’s highest run-getter Jiwanjot Singh, to give his team a slender advantage going into the final day at the Khandheri stadium. Saurashtra almost bagged a third wicket but Shitanshu Kotak at first slip failed to hold on to a catch offered by Mandeep Singh off left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja’s bowling in the last over.The dropped catch aside, Kotak had a good day, scoring a fifty that took Saurashtra closer to what could be their maiden Ranji final. With two decades of experience on the domestic circuit, the southpaw has earned a reputation based more on the time he has spent at the crease, rather than the runs he has scored. But once Sagar Jogiyani was dismissed, with Saurashtra leading by 228 runs, Kotak launched. He stepped out frequently to Harbhajan and legspinner Sarabjit Ladda in order to negate the turn and bounce. This gave confidence to rookie Rahul Dave, who also started rotating the strike freely.As a result, when Saurashtra went into lunch at 90 for 1, with a lead of 268, all they had to do was bat out the next session without much damage. Punjab, on the other hand, had to effect a batting collapse to bring themselves back into the game. And they did just that.Despite dropping a regulation catch in the slips of Kotak off Kaul’s bowling, it was Harbhajan who triggered Saurashtra’s collapse, albeit with a slice of luck: Dave was stuck on the pads by a flat ball from the offspinner and umpire Rob Bailey raised his finger, but replays suggested that the ball was sliding down the legside. Jaydev Shah was dismissed soon after, slashing a ball off Kaul’s bowling to Amitoze Singh in the slips.Harbhajan is a dangerous bowler whenever he picks up a wicket early on in his spell. Having succeeded in the third over of his third spell after going wicketless for his first 12 overs, he quickly took three wickets in nine balls. He first dismissed Kotak, who offered a simple return-catch. At the start of the 48th over, Aarpit Vasavada nicked a ball to the wicketkeeper. Five balls later, Kamlesh Makvana was caught by Mandeep at first slip. In his third spell, Harbhajan bowled 14 overs unchanged from one end, beginning in the second session and extending into the final session of play.Kaul, too, pitched in and for the second time in four overs, Punjab managed to claim two wickets in an over: in the 51st over, he dismissed Vishal Joshi (caught at second slip) and Jaydev Unadkat, who was bowled.Having taken seven wickets for just 29 runs, Punjab were right back in the game. However, with a total lead of 308 and two wickets in hand, Saurashtra just needed one of their tailenders to hang around with Sheldon Jackson. And Jadeja proved to be a trustworthy ally for Jackson, batting for 45 minutes as the duo put on 39 runs for the tenth wicket. Although Bipul Sharma dismissed Siddharth Trivedi in the next over, Saurashtra had, by then, already amassed a lead of 349.Punjab didn’t get off to the best of starts in their chase. Despite the pitch assisting spinners, Unadkat impressed with the new ball yet again. He first angled one away from Jiwanjot to force an edge to the slip cordon. After being hit for two boundaries by Taruwar Kohli on the on-side in his fifth over, Unadkat changed the angle and came around the wicket. Kohli went for an extravagant drive only to edge it to Kotak in the slips.Opener Ravi Inder Singh then curbed his instincts to see the day off along with Mandeep, who was fortunate to have been dropped in the last over. Still 304 runs adrift of their target, Punjab have their backs to the wall. Can they do the unthinkable and live up to the tag of the ‘team of the year’ of this domestic season? Or will they join the ranks of Uttar Pradesh, who topped Group B but were surprised by Services in the quarters?