Mohammad Kaif has been recalled by the Indian selectors for the five-match one-day series in Pakistan, which starts on March 13. Ramesh Powar, the Mumbai offspinner, was called up for the first time, but surprisingly there was no place for Rohan Gavaskar, who made a reasonable start to his one-day career in the recent VB Series in Australia.After a four-hour meeting in Mumbai, the selectors eventually emerged to reveal the names of the 15-man party. The team for the Tests will be uinveiled on March 22.Powar, 25, replaces Anil Kumble, who has not fully recovered from a shoulder injury sustained in Australia. Ajit Agarkar, too, misses out after his shin injury was slow responding to treatment. But there is a return for Zaheer Khan, who missed the latter part of the Australian tour. Kulamani Parida and Sarandeep Singh were reportedly also considered for the spare spinner’s spot, but Powar’s superior batting – he has four first-class centuries under his belt – swung the issue.India one-day squad Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly (capt), Rahul Dravid (vice-capt), Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Hemang Badani, Parthiv Patel (wk), Ramesh Powar, Irfan Pathan, Murali Kartik, L Balaji, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra.
The Somerset trio, Ian Blackwell, Andy Caddick and Marcus Trescothick and the rest of their England colleagues have now moved onto the next stage of their World Cup preparations.Over the weekend Ian Blackwell told me: "We are now in Port Elizabeth having just come to the end of a well deserved three day break in Sun City which was absolutely fantastic."For `Blackie’ who is a very capable and competitive golfer, Sun City with it’s well appointed golf courses was an ideal venue for a break. The young all rounder who has been one of the success stories of the England tour this winter continued: "We had two days golfing playing both courses, the Lost City and the Gary Player, where they play the Nedbank Two Million Dollar Challenge, and what fantastic courses they are. The Gary Player is ranked the third best course in the world and boy it was in good nick."He continued: "We picked two sides and played a Ryder Cup format competition. Our side lost 7 points to 3 although I did bring in 2 of the points playing really well. I shot a 90 on the Lost City course which wasn’t too bad in the circumstances. There is a crocodile pit on the side of the green by the thirteenth hole which was a bit scary, but thankfully I didn’t lose a ball in there."`Blackie’ went on: "I then shot an 85 on the Gary Player which I was over the moon with. The best thing was meeting Darren Clarke who played with Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff on one of the days. He shot a lazy 70 apparently."He continued: " We had three cracking days and we are now in Port Elizabeth where we are going to be based for a while. We play against Eastern Province on Tuesday in our first game, and their side will include James Bryant, one of Somerset’s new signings, which will be interesting. It will be good to meet him and also gauge how good he is. I’m sure our coach Kevin Shine will be after a report."Looking ahead to the World Cup `Blackie’ said: "Things are looking in good shape for the big tournament. We regroup now and will be practicing in Port Elizabeth ahead of our first game, which is not too far away now and I’m really looking forward to it."
Australian Southern Stars all-rounder Karen Rolton was presented yesterday with the Peden-Archdale Medal as the outstanding player in this year’s England v Australia women’s cricket series.Rolton was presented with the medallion by IWCC president Christine Brierley following the conclusion of the Second Test in the CricInfo Women’s Series at Headingley, won by Australia by nine wickets.On Saturday Rolton broke the world record for the highest individual score in women’s Test cricket, scoring 209 not out in the Australian first innings. Named as Australia’s player of the series in both the Tests and one-dayers against England, Rolton scored 176 runs at 59.33 in the limited-overs matches, and 216 at 216.00 in the Tests (having also made a duck in the first game at Shenley). She also took four inexpensive wickets in the one-day games.The Peden-Archdale Medal is named after the two captains in the first England versus Australia women’s Test series in 1934-35, namely Margaret Peden (Australia) and Betty Archdale (England). Inaugurated last year, it is given to the most outstanding player in a series (Test and/or one-day) between England and Australia.Rolton is the second winner of the Peden-Archdale Medal. The first, given following the 1999-2000 English tour of Australia, was Victorian fast bowler Charmaine Mason, who yesterday announced that she is retiring from international cricket.
Everton’s financial issues could act them to move smart in the summer transfer window, and it’s quite likely that unless a number of key players are sold to raise funds, free agents and loan moves will be targeted.
While Rafa Benitez will certainly not go down in Everton history as anything more than a disastrous appointment, his successor Frank Lampard may need to follow in his footsteps from the Spaniard’s dealings in last summer’s transfer window, and control the club’s finances well.
Signings like Andros Townsend and Demerai Gray may not have been the kind of marquee, electrifying signings that fans would have been hoping for before the start of this season, but they have both got excellent re-sell values that will bring in good profit for the club, should they depart.
One free agent that the club almost secured a number of years ago was Lukas Nmecha, who at the time was contemplating whether or not to renew his contract at Manchester City.
This was back in 2017, former Everton director of football Steve Walsh planning to complete the deal according to reports, via Sports Illustrated – and should he have succeeded in persuading the German striker to make the move across the North West to Goodison Park, the Toffees would have reaped the rewards – evident by his recent form with current club Wolfsburg.
After signing a new deal in 2018 with City, the striker joined the Bundesliga outfit at the start of this season for £7.2m, and his performances have led to his valuation increasing to £16.2m according to Transfermarkt.
Described as a “baller” by German journalist Jasmina Schweimler, the 23-year-old has featured in 18 German top-flight games this season, starting 11 of them, and has netted six goals so far while operating more as a wide-man, earning his first four caps with his country.
He has also netted two Champions League goals with Wolfsburg – proving that he can perform on the big stage, having already proved his ability at international level, having scored 12 goals for Germany’s U21s, also winning the U21 Top Scorer award at last summer’s UEFA European U21 Championship – helping his country to win the trophy.
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Among attacking midfielders and wingers in Europe’s top five leagues and continental competitions, Nmecha ranks in the top 5% for goals per 90 (0.51), top 4% for aerials won per 90 (2.21) and top 18% for pressures in the attacking third per 90 (7.01) – proving that he is becoming a more “complete” forward as he has been previously described by former teammate and City captain Vincent Kompany.
In other news: “They’re looking at..” – Transfer insider drops big Everton claim, Lamps surely gutted
Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard will have the opportunity to fight for their England places from the start of the domestic season after being released to their counties for all the matches ahead of the first Test against New Zealand on May 15.Most of the players who have been involved throughout the winter are given some extra time off, although Ian Bell is available for Warwickshire’s first Championship match against Worcestershire on April 16.Kevin Pietersen won’t appear for Hampshire until the Friends Provident Trophy match against Somerset on May 2 while Paul Collingwood is also rested until that Bank Holiday weekend. Michael Vaughan has been made available for all Yorkshire’s first-class matches ahead of the first Test.Given that it is England’s one-day cricket that needs developing it is interesting that Bell and Alastair Cook have only been released for County Championship matches and not FP Trophy games. Tim Ambrose, Monty Panesar, James Anderson, Stuart Broad and James Anderson are all rested from the first round of Championship matches.Owais Shah, Andrew Strauss, Phil Mustard and Graeme Swann are also available to their counties from the start of the season.
The ECB has offered a solution to Derbyshire’s ongoing problem with the sun – or more exactly the fact that it sets behind the bowlers’ arm at the County Ground.At least two matches in the past two years have been shortened because play has been suspended while the sun sets. But the ECB has agreed to an amendment to playing regulations in the Twenty20 Cup and the Pro40.The change means that provision will be made for a maximum of one hour of extra time to make up for time lost in respect of low, bright sunlight. This means that no overs will be lost if play has to be suspended because of the sun unless more than one hour of time is lost.”Due to the problems we have experienced with the low sunlight we have looked at a number of possible solutions to the problem and after lengthy consultation with the ECB we have come up with what we believe is the best immediate solution,” Tom Sears, Derbyshire’s chief executive, said. “The new regulation ensures that the thousands of spectators who enjoy Twenty20 and Pro40 cricket at the County Ground will be able to watch a full match in the event of the sun affecting play.”This provision is made in respect of low, bright sunlight only. The provision does not apply in respect of time lost for any other reason.
The ICC has responded to Martin Crowe’s comments in his recent Spirit of Cricket Lecture at Lord’s by saying that it is dealing with the issue of suspect bowling actions more effectively than ever. In his address, Crowe criticised the new 15-degree law and said that all bent arms should be banned.However, the ICC says the current regulations, in place since March 2005, provide a scientific basis for judging a player’s action while at the same time recognising the reality that almost all bowlers are likely to straighten their arm to some extent during delivery.”The regulations are based on the views of an expert panel of former players including Angus Fraser, Michael Holding and Tony Lewis – the current Chairman of the MCC’s Cricket Committee,” said David Richardson, the ICC’s General Manager – Cricket. “This group studied the research of prominent bio-mechanists Professor Bruce Elliot, Dr Paul Hurrion and Mr Marc Portus and the scientific evidence they were presented with was overwhelming.”The facts are that some bowlers, even those never suspected of having flawed actions, were found likely to be straightening their arms by 11 or 12 degrees. And at the same time, some bowlers that may appear to be throwing may be hyper-extending or bowl with permanently bent elbows.”Under a strict interpretation of the Law they were breaking the rules but if we ruled out every bowler that did that then there would be no bowlers left. The game needed to deal with that reality and the current regulations do just that.Richardson added that the new laws have made the umpires’ job easier and provide a scientific base for testing actons. “What they do is take the pressure off umpires because it is now no longer one person’s view of whether or not a bowler has an illegal action. It is something that can be proved scientifically and the assessment is independent and not partisan.”At the same time the umpire retains the right to call a bowler for throwing and the first judgment he makes is still based on his instincts after viewing an action with the naked eye,” he added.The regulations include a 15 degree level of tolerance in elbow extension for all bowlers during delivery, which was identified by the panel of experts as the point after which the bend is likely to become visible to the naked eye.Five senior international bowlers have been reported under the new process – Harbhajan Singh of India, Pakistan’s Shabbir Ahmed and Shoaib Malik, Jermaine Lawson of the West Indies and Johan Botha of South Africa.Richardson also responded to Crowe’s comments about the value of Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in Test cricket. “Bangladesh has taken time to adjust to the demands of Test cricket but that mirrors the experience of every side that has stepped up to the top level.”Bangladesh is a cricket-crazy country and has shown encouraging signs of development and, given time, we fully expect it to become more and more competitive at Test level. Zimbabwe has already stepped back from its Test commitments to allow itself time to regroup and we are keen to help it in that process in any way we can.”
Thilina Kandamby and Rangana Herath have been recalled into the Sri Lankan side for the upcoming Paktel Cup in Pakistan. Lasith Malinga was the only player to be dropped from the squad that was chosen for the Champions Trophy. The 15-man squad is scheduled to take part in the tri-series tournament along with Pakistan and Zimbabwe, which starts on September 30.Dilhara Fernando, who has been nursed carefully back to full fitness after a string of back injuries, retains his place in the squad. However, Malinga is likely to be included for the two-Test series that follows the tournament.Sri Lanka will once again miss Muttiah Muralitharan, who is recovering well from shoulder surgery. Herath, the left-arm spinner, is among three specialist spinners in the squad – Upul Chandana and Kaushal Lokuarachchi, both legspinners, are the other two.Kandamby will provide an extra middle-order batting option but is unlikely to play unless there are injuries to one of the regular members. Nevertheless, his inclusion ahead of Russel Arnold, who appears to have been ostracised by the new selection panel, was the most controversial choice.Sri Lanka resumed training on Monday after returning from the Champions Trophy, and are due to leave for Pakistan on Sunday. Their first match of the tournament will be against Pakistan at Karachi on October 6.Sri Lanka squad 1 Marvan Atapattu (capt), 2 Sanath Jayasuriya, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 6 Saman Jayantha, 7 Avishka Gunawardene, 8 Farveez Maharoof, 9 Chaminda Vaas, 10 Upul Chandana, 11 Nuwan Zoysa, 12 Dilhara Fernando, 13 Thilina Kandamby, 14 Rangana Herath, 15 Kaushal Lokuarachchi.
The Indian team is in line to reap the financial rewards for their splendid performance in Australia. According to a report in the Times of India, each member of the squad is expected to receive a bonus in the range of Rs 2,00,000 to Rs 5,00,000 (approx US$ 4255 to US$ 10,640) from the Indian board.Confirming the news, a senior board official told the daily: “They have exceeded all our expectations. As a recognition to that, the idea to reward the team with performance bonus was mooted at a meeting in Kolkata after they won the Adelaide Test. Had they won the final Test in Sydney and thereby the series, we would have announced the bonus then itself. Now, we do not want to jump the gun and are waiting for the triangular series to get over. Even if they lose the finals [of the VB Series], performance bonus will still be given.”The players aren’t the only ones who will benefit – the support staff of John Wright, the coach, Andrew Leipus, the physiotherapist, and Gregory Allen King, the trainer, will also be rewarded. However, the board official added that Bruce Reid, who assisted the team for much of the tour as the bowling coach, will not share the booty. The official also clarified that the bonus would be paid by the board, and not the team sponsor.This would be the second time in less than 12 months that the Indian team has won a bonus from the board – each player got Rs 25,00,000 after India reached the final of the 2003 World Cup in South Africa.
South Melbourne SwansO6:00am Monday morning Graham Yallop told me, it had been a long flight.11:30am Tuesday morning marking my run in my first game for the South Melbourne Swans seemed as if I would have to run a mile, we lost but only just, I took 3/48.Going in the clubrooms afterwards I soon learnt what a great and proud club I had joined, no more than the only female president in the history of the game Joan Holdsworth. In her 80’s and after 30 years as a follower and 18 as president whenever I see her I ask how she is, the reply batting on dear, batting on. On the wall are photographs of 7 Australian captains from 1880’s to the present day and over 50 Australian test players have represented the club including Keith Miller some would say the worlds best ever all rounder, and Damien Fleming the clubs most recent test player. Former state player Grant Gardiner is the current first team captain and past overseas players include Clive Lloyd, Gus Logie and Mark Butcher. I knew then that the cricket and the club was just what I was looking for.We train Tuesday and Thursday nights with the help of ex test captain Graham Yallop and play Saturday – Saturday 2 day games on what can only be described as the Hume Highway versus some of the best players in the state when not on Victorian duty such as J Moss, B Hodge and our own I Harvey.I am very lucky to be playing at this remarkable club with wonderful people and a huge history; I can honestly say I am proud to be a swan.