All posts by h716a5.icu

Chris Rogers, the Australian batsman, will not return to Derbyshire in 2011 after accepting an offer from Middlesex

Cricinfo staff31-Aug-2010Chris Rogers, the Australian batsman, will not return to Derbyshire in 2011 after accepting an offer from Middlesex. After a short stint with the county in 2004, Rogers came back in 2008 and became one of the club’s most prolific scorers, making more than 4,000 first-class runs – including 14 centuries – since his return.Rogers, a left-handed opener, was the side’s Player of the Year in 2009 and captained the team for more than two years after taking over the reins from Rikki Clarke midway through the 2008 season. Rogers stepped down in August, relinquishing the role to Greg Smith.”Chris has been a great player, captain and ambassador for the past three years and I would like to thank him for all he has done during his time with us,” John Morris, Derbyshire’s head of cricket, said. “He has been a great professional and a consistent scorer of big runs. He leaves the club with our very best wishes.”Rogers said he had enjoyed the past three years with Derbyshire. “I am sad to leave as I feel I have become a part of the side here and have forged some great relationships,” he said. “I wish Derbyshire all the best and I believe that under John Morris they have the squad and support to become a successful side.”

Sunderland host Doncaster Rovers on Saturday afternoon under the temporary charge of Mike Dodds following Lee Johnson’s sacking last week.

The Englishman was dismissed after the Black Cats were thumped 6-0 at Bolton Wanderers last weekend, however, they remain third in League One going into their meeting with bottom side Doncaster.

Despite the dismissal of Johnson and a heavy defeat, there was plenty of excitement surrounding The Stadium of Light this week, as former striker Jermain Defoe re-joined the North-East club for the remainder of the season.

But will the 39-year-old make his second Sunderland debut on Saturday? Here’s how Football FanCast think the Black Cats will start against Rovers.

Although it’s the same defence that shipped six goals last week, Dodds doesn’t have a plethora of defensive options at his disposal and may be tempted to keep the back-four untouched.

It could be argued that Tom Flanagan would’ve been a suitable choice to put back into the fold, but the 30-year-old joined League One rivals Shrewsbury Town on deadline day.

The changes come in midfield as Alex Pritchard slots into a central role in the place of Dan Neil whilst we expect Jack Clarke to make his full debut for Sunderland after coming off of the bench against Bolton last week.

The 21-year-old has endured a series of unfortunate events since his move from Leeds United to Tottenham Hotspur in 2019, having been a breakout star for the Whites.

After returning to Leeds on loan for half of the 2019/20 campaign, the Englishman has also had temporary spells at QPR and Stoke City and earlier this month made the move down another division to join Sunderland.

Having been labelled as “excellent” by former Leeds striker Noel Whelan after an impressive debut as a 17-year-old, the £4.5m-rated man certainly still has potential and a strong second half of the season with Sunderland could get his career back on track.

In terms of the striking department, although Sunderland fans will want to see Defoe back in a red and white shirt as soon as possible, the Black Cats do boast the third tier’s current top-scorer in Ross Stewart, who has 18 league goals, and it would be unfair to see the Scotsman replaced for nostalgic reasons.

AND in other news, Reporter drops big Sunderland manager “appointment” update which will leave fans gutted…

Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, has been summoned by the Pakistan Assembly for a hearing on October 11 to explain the reasons behind the controversy-ridden tour of England

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Oct-2010Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, has been summoned by Pakistan’s national assembly for a hearing on October 11 to explain the reasons for the controversy-ridden tour of England, as well as his allegations against Andrew Strauss’s team and their subsequent withdrawal. He will also be questioned regarding Younis Khan’s continued absence from the Pakistan side.Apart from Butt, the Assembly also summoned the board’s legal advisor Tafazzul Rizvi, former team manager Yawar Saeed, coaches Waqar Younis, Aaqib Javed and Ijaz Ahmed and chief selector Mohsin Khan to the hearing.”The hearing is being held to review the performance of the team in England, the controversies that took place in England and the way the Pakistan board has handled things so far,” Iqbal Muhammad Ali, chairman of the committee, told PTI. “The committee wants to know the reasons for the shoddy performances and also how the Pakistan team got entangled into such serious controversies. We also want to know the reason for Butt’s statement against the England board and his U-turn, and to review the selection process.”The PCB will also have to explain why Younis Khan was being ignored for selection when all the other players punished after the 2009-10 tour of Australia, with the exception of Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, had been pardoned and brought back to the team. “We want to ask the chairman to explain what crime Younis has committed that he (Butt) is not willing to give clearance to the selectors to pick Younis,” Ali said.Former Pakistan batsman Zaheer Abbas had recently urged the PCB to reappoint Younis as captain to lead the side out of its current crisis. Pakistan’s tour of England was riven by controversy, with a expose alleging that fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, and Test captain Salman Butt, had conspired to bowl no-balls on demand. The ICC provisionally suspended the trio, leaving Pakistan without a Test captain.

Leicestershire’s former chairman Neil Davidson stepped down from his position on Tuesday with a parting shot at the county captain Matthew Hoggard, whom he accused of destabilising the club in the course of a season-long row

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Oct-2010Leicestershire’s captain, Matthew Hoggard has received the backing of the county board and players after the former chairman Neil Davidson stepped down from his position on Tuesday with a parting shot at a man whom he accused of destabilising the club in the course of a season-long row.Earlier in the summer, Hoggard and the head coach Tim Boon led a player’s revolt against Davidson, whom they accused of interfering in team affairs, as well as forcing the departure of the chief executive, David Smith, who – as a former professional – had been popular with the playing staff at Grace Road.In a statement released on Wednesday night, Davidson wrote: “I find [Hoggard’s] actions difficult to understand, and I hope Matthew fully realises that his irresponsible behaviour has led to the chaos which has engulfed the club ever since.”However, Hoggard’s Leicestershire colleague, Paul Nixon, told ESPNcricinfo that the squad remained fully supportive of their captain’s stance. “Every player is 100% behind Matthew Hoggard,” he said. “He and the players have worked with the support of the PCA throughout this ugly situation. The players and staff I have talked to are extremely positive about the news.”That stance was echoed in a statement from the club board. “Following Neil Davidson’s resignation as chairman, he has issued a personal statement to the press. The board of Leicestershire CCC wishes to distance itself from the statement he has made.”The off-field problems of the club can be traced back to the resignation of the former chief executive at the end of June and it is unfair to place any blame on the captain and players, who ended the season with some exceptional performances.”Matthew Hoggard has had an excellent first season with the club, has taken 50 Championship wickets and has grown into the captaincy as the season progressed. Matthew is highly respected within the dressing room and he and all the players have the full support of the board.”In his own statement, Davidson claimed he had set Hoggard a deadline to withdraw his name from a letter to the board that had demanded his dismissal, but was left with no option but to step down when Hoggard failed to do so.The statement continued: “Indeed, had he not put his name to those letters in the first place – which, if he had thought it through properly, I believe he would not have done – then the current crisis at the club could have been avoided. It was totally wrong of the players to become involved in these matters.”On September 20th, I informed the LCCC Board that if Hoggard did not withdraw his name within 14 days, my position as chairman would be untenable and I would resign. No withdrawal has been forthcoming, and therefore I have today further informed the Board that I cannot continue in these circumstances.”Leicestershire plan to make a further comment on the matter following a board meeting next week.

Pundit Alex McLeish has hailed the Leeds board for bringing in Jesse Marsch, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Positive start

Marcelo Bielsa left Elland Road at the end of February following a 4-0 defeat to Tottenham which left the Whites just two points above the relegation zone.

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However, after ten points from a possible 12 in recent weeks thanks to wins over Norwich, Wolves and Watford, Marsch has now guided the club to a much stronger position.

Leeds sit nine points clear of the bottom three with six games remaining and the squad are thought to be happier under the American.

The Latest: McLeish’s comments

McLeish, who contributes for Sky Sports, was talking to FI regarding the club’s decision to bring in Marsch.

He said ‘the world was gobsmacked’ after Bielsa’s departure but labelled the Leeds board as ‘phenomenal’ after hearing positive things on Marsch from the Whites squad.

“The world was gobsmacked because of the respect people have for Bielsa.

“Leeds have acted the way a lot of teams have acted when the results have not been great. But they didn’t do it after five games or so. They waited, they gave time, they gave the manager a really great opportunity.

“They deserve amazing credit. Their board has been phenomenal in the way that they’ve handled the whole thing.

“Jesse Marsch, I’ve seen him and I’ve met him before. I did a course with the national team at Hampden and Jesse was doing one of his licences.

“You’ve got to give him a lot of credit for coming in transforming the team. I’ve heard the players talking, they are very positive. Well done. It’s terrific to see a young coach come in and do that.”

The Verdict: Gamble paid off?

Sacking Bielsa was a huge risk by Andrea Radrizzani, the 49ers, Victor Orta and Angus Kinnear, however, it looks as if the gamble is starting to pay off.

Marsch deserves huge credit for the way he has turned things around at Thorp Arch, but he’ll know the job isn’t done yet with a tricky run-in to navigate over the coming weeks.

You’d expect he’ll be looking closely at how, Burnley, Watford and Norwich get on this weekend, with Leeds possibly needing a few more points to all but guarantee a third season in the Premier League.

In other news: ‘Big’ – Journalist excited by who Orta and Marsch may now ‘bring’ to Leeds this summer. 

On a day when Bangladesh went one better than the series victory, completing a memorable whitewash against top opposition, it was Rubel Hossain’s abilities with new ball and old that made the difference

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2010Shakib Al Hasan’s all-round brilliance and the dominance of Bangladesh’s spinners may be the lasting memories from this series, but today both those factors were reduced to secondary roles. On a day when Bangladesh went one better than the series victory, completing a memorable whitewash against a top opposition, it was Rubel Hossain’s abilities with new ball and old that made the difference.Defending a decidedly under-par 174, Rubel had more than played his part in his opening spell, nipping out New Zealand’s top three batsmen in his first three overs. New Zealand’s resilience had, however, brought them back into the game and Rubel was called on for the final over against a rampant Kyle Mills, with seven runs to defend.Rubel would have had a sense of déjà vu as he ran in for that last over. When Mills slammed the first ball for four, Rubel would have remembered the fateful tri-series final against Sri Lanka last year, in the same ground, when Muttiah Muralitharan’s targeted onslaught against him in the batting Powerplay stopped Bangladesh inches short of their most memorable cricketing moment.Things were about to turn out differently today, though. Two inch-perfect yorkers on leg stump followed, the second one cleaning up Mills and sending Mirpur into a frenzy. Rubel later revealed that he never felt the pressure, even after that boundary ball.”I thought it was only a matter of one good delivery and it never really crossed my mind that we could lose,” he said. “The captain also told me that they need four runs and we needed one wicket and that it was my day and he believed I could win the match for Bangladesh.”Shakib would have had a sense of déjà vu of his own; this was not the first time he was taking over the reins from an injured Mashrafe Mortaza to lead his side to a whitewash. The same template had been followed when Bangladesh beat West Indies 3-0 last year. “Maybe you should ask him to get injured in a series again and then we’ll try to find out if this formula works every time”, Shakib said light-heartedly. “When I bat I don’t think of myself as a captain with specific or special responsibilities. I just play my own game. Similarly, when bowling I try to pick the best bowler to bowl in a particular situation and if that bowler happens to be me then I come in.”With four wins this series, Bangladesh have emphatically addressed their previous inability to build on hitherto sporadic victories against top sides. Shakib said it was the winning habit, developed on the back of three authoritative performances, that stood his side in good stead despite a poor total today.”We didn’t have a defendable total and yet the moment the first wicket fell there was a buzz in the field and we believed we could pull this game back our way,” Shakib said. “This was a result of the three victories in a row. Often in the past with a similar score I have seen shoulders dropping and the belief disappearing but today we saw what winning teams are made of.”Shakib was also careful enough not to get too caught up in the euphoria of the victory and ignore the areas for improvement. “I still think our top-order batting was not up to the mark as we lost wickets at the wrong times. We want atleast one of the top four batsmen to get to a good score and try to hold the innings together. Apart from the second game where we chased that did not happen in this series.”The bowling and fielding was satisfactory but you can always improve on that. We also did not execute the Powerplays very well and often we found ourselves with too many wickets down when the last Powerplay arrived. Ideally you should have five or six wickets in hand when the final Powerplay starts.”The 4-0 scoreline brought Bangladesh within a few decimal points of toppling West Indies from the eighth spot in the ODI ratings. The upcoming series against Zimbabwe will give them a chance to push ahead and Shakib knew the importance of that tour.”We should definitely continue working hard and prepare for the next series against Zimbabwe in December,” he said. “They are a much improved side and although we have had a stranglehold over them in the last few years the matches often have been quite competitive. They are also playing pretty well in South Africa although the results haven’t gone their way.”

Speaking to Football Insider, former Scotland coach and BBC pundit Alex McLeish has made a claim involving Tottenham defender Ryan Sessegnon and his manager Antonio Conte.

The Lowdown: Sessegnon comes with promise…

In 2019, Spurs fan favourite and former manager Mauricio Pochettino signed a highly promising English talent in Sessegnon to the tune of £25m.

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Having impressed at Fulham, with ex-Cottagers boss Slavisa Jokanovic calling him ‘special’ and ‘fantastic’ back in 2018, Sessegnon has endured a mixed time at Spurs over-all.

Missing 20 games in total for Tottenham through injury this season, Sessegnon has nonetheless been tipped to become an important player under Conte due to his potential to thrive in a back-three system.

The Latest: ‘Game changer’ for Sessegnon…

Speaking to Football Insider, the former Scotland boss said that Conte’s ‘stroke of genius’ tactics could be a ‘gamechanger’ for the 21-year-old ace.

McLeish stated: “Conte’s had great success with the three-at-the-back system. You go back to days at Chelsea, he started off with a doing against Arsenal, their big rivals. Then he completely changed it and they went on to win the league.

“It was a phenomenal achievement and certainly to change it in those early days was a stroke of genius. He knows how to play that system inside out.

“Sessegnon coming in there, he’s almost a converted winger. We’ve seen a lot of this over the years, I think France started to do it before anyone else.

“They started converting wingers into attacking full-backs or attacking wing-backs. Conte does that absolutely brilliantly.

“This could be a real gamechanger for this young man.”

The Verdict: McLeish could be right

Sessegnon has already proven at times this season that he has the potential to thrive under the Italian, even despite Conte controversially substituting him after just 28 minutes against Wolves.

For example, the ex-Inter Milan boss raved over the ‘fantastic’ left-wing back following his performance in Tottenham’s shock 3-2 victory away to Manchester City last weekend.

If the former England under-21 starlet can put in shifts like that on a regular basis, Conte could certainly be on to a winner with the ex-Fulham youngster, as McLeish has suggested.

In other news: ‘Wow’, ‘One to watch’…Media blown away by ‘stunning’ development at Tottenham, find out more here

West Ham United are seemingly eyeing a move Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope as manager David Moyes also sets his sights on three other major signings this summer.

The Lowdown: Moyes set for busy window?

As recently shared by Claret & Hugh, the Hammers boss will apparently have a ‘£150 million’ transfer kitty to play with this summer with Moyes set for major summer backing.

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This comes after a lack-lustre January window, where despite lodging marquee record-breaking bids, West Ham were unable to finalise any mid-season signings for Moyes.

Their intent, as per reports, is to make up for it in the summer as news emerges on just how many major signings Moyes personally wants to make – including the potential addition of a keeper who Sean Dyche branded a ‘monster’.

The Latest: The Time share interesting transfer update…

As per The Times, West Ham ‘could try to sign’ Clarets keeper Pope if they go down, as they now contemplate whether or not to make Alphonse Areola’s loan move from Paris-Saint Germain permanent.

Alongside sealing a reserve goalkeeper for next season in either Areola or Pope, it is believed Moyes also personally wants three more additions in a left-sided centre-back, central midfielder and forward.

The Verdict: Promising claim…

Moyes’ show of ambition for the next market could come as a promising bit of news for Irons supporters.

The aim from a West Ham perspective is to stay among the Premier League’s elite and continue their remarkable ascendancy against all odds.

To do that, however, new signings will need to come through the door at Rush Green for 2022/2023 – especially going by their current defensive crisis and serious lack of depth behind striker Michail Antonio.

In other news: £25.2m-rated forward could now be open to joining West Ham after failed Pellegrini bid, find out more here.

With a big lead in the bag, and the pitch offering turn and bounce, the Indian bowlers were all over the New Zealand batsmen

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga23-Nov-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outPragyan Ojha began India’s march towards victory•Associated PressFinally the actors returned to the original script. The groundsman was the first person to get the revised lines: the ball turned and bounced, kicked and spat angrily, not from day one but the third evening onwards. With a big lead in the bag, the Indian bowlers got into character without wasting time. They were all over the New Zealand batsmen, who were surrounded by all kinds of close-in fieldsmen. The arm balls arrived too to trap the unsure, who crumbled under pressure, as almost everybody thought they were supposed to right through the series. The umpires felt the heat too, which is expected with the ball dancing and a gang of fielders around the bat.As the three spinners shared the wickets – Suresh Raina being the third – and Ishant cleared up the tail, the Test win that India had to wait for for longer than expected arrived remarkably quickly, half an hour after lunch on the fourth day. It was also India’s third-biggest win.Pragyan Ojha has spent most of his young career bowling on slow and low tracks, and has come across as restrictive and robotic. It might still be too early to call – given the buffer of runs and the assistance from the pitch – but Ojha showed today he can attack too. He started by outsmarting Brendon McCullum, who tried the old bullying tactic of hitting early boundaries and trying to get the fielders out of his face. Ojha kept pitching the ball up, flighting it, giving it the best chance to turn and bounce. McCullum played back, and Ojha did the thing to do on a turner, slip in the straighter one. Dead plumb.Smart Stats

India’s win was their third biggest in Tests and their second in home Tests, behind the innings-and-219-run win over Australia in Kolkata in 1998.

India have not lost a single series since the 2-1 result in Sri Lanka in 2008.

New Zealand lost seven wickets for 86 runs in the first session, collapsing from 38 for 1 to 124 for 8.

The defeat was New Zealand’s fifth heaviest in Tests and their worst against India. Their previous defeat by an innings to India was in 1956 in Chennai.

Harbhajan Singh went past Malcolm Marshall’s tally of 376 wickets and is now 13th on the all-time list of Test wicket-takers. He has 258 wickets in home Tests, which puts him fifth on the list of bowlers with most wickets in home Tests.

The 51-run stand between Andy McKay and Tim Southee was New Zealand’s seventh half-century stand for the ninth wicket against India.

However, because the pitch was offering so much turn, the decision to give Martin Guptill lbw was ordinary. Being Ojha’s regulation offbreak, it could either have pitched within the stumps or hit the stumps. As the replays showed, it was hitting the stumps all right, but after having pitched outside leg.Harbhajan, who set the template of mixing in the straighter ones yesterday, came to get nightwatchman Gareth Hopkins with a flighted, dipping offbreak. Gautam Gambhir, who showed signs of return to form with the bat during this match, made the lunging bat-pad catch to his right, two balls after he was hit a by a full-blooded sweep from Ross Taylor.Taylor, who was troubled by the outswing from Sreesanth in the morning, decided there was no point in hanging around and waiting for the one that jumps at him and takes the edge. So he started moving across and throwing his bat around, along the way surviving one plumb lbw when he missed a sweep right in front of the stumps. As it turned out, he didn’t have to wait for the one that jumps and takes the edge: he was given caught bat-pad off the pad.Taylor was so bemused he laughed all the way back to the pavilion, and Guptill, Jesse Ryder’s runner, was so stunned he found it tough to close his gaping mouth. Ryder was the only batsman who looked at ease against the turning ball, but he got out trying to dominate the part-time spin of Raina, the second time he has fallen to the bowler.Raina was not done yet. In his second over, he bowled the straighter one too, trapping Daniel Vettori in front, the third time he has taken the New Zealand captain.Tim Southee swung the bat a little bit, hitting three sixes, but he only delayed the inevitable. This game will also be remembered for Chris Martin’s first duck against India in six Tests.With the breaking of New Zealand’s resistance complete, India have not lost any of their last nine series. However, given the big difference in the two teams’ rankings, the 1-0 result earned India a two-point penalty in the ICC Test rankings.

Aston Villa are targeting a summer move for RC Lens midfielder Seko Fofana but face competition from other Premier League clubs who are also chasing his signature.

That’s according to reports in France this week who claim Villa are admirers of the Ivory Coast international who is rated at £18m.

With Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United also interested there are no guarantees he will choose Villa Park. More demand is also likely to drive the asking price up, and if they’re not careful the club could find themselves in a bidding war.

He’s the new Yaya Toure

The 26-year old is no stranger to England having spent three years playing for Manchester City’s U21 side before moving to Italy where he made 112 Serie A appearances for Udinese. He’s been described as a “phenom” by journalist Zach Lowry such are his extraordinary talents.

Since joining Lens for £7.6m in 2020 he has been a key player for them and so far this season has featured in all of their Ligue 1 games scoring seven goals.

He has been dubbed the “New Yaya Toure” and explained in an interview how they ‘hoped he would succeed Toure’. Despite this not working out, whilst at the club he received a lot of good advice from first team players and was coached by Patrick Vieira.

It also seems like he’s not the only player in France that the Villans have their eye on, with manager Steven Gerrard recently spotted watching a Marseille game reportedly there to scout Boubacar Kamara.

When you compare Fofana to Villa’s Douglas Luiz the man he would likely be competing with, he performs better in many areas.

Fofana excels in possession compared to Luiz with 131 more progressive carries this season. He also has a higher percentage of successful dribbles at 59% compared to 43%. With that in mind, it’s evident to see why he’s been compared to Yaya with strength and ball-carrying both major strengths.

He would be a perfect addition to the Villa team and could link up well in a midfield three alongside Jacob Ramsey and John McGinn.

However, with the money that both Spurs and Newcastle could offer, as well as the prospect of competing in Europe and for silverware, Fofana may decide to go elsewhere.

IN other news: Forget McGinn: Aston Villa dud who lost 100% duels was a liability against Leicester – opinion