All posts by h716a5.icu

Essex kept alive their hopes of gaining a place in the Friends Life t20 quarter-finals by beating Middlesex by two wickets in their South Group clash

05-Jul-2012
ScorecardEssex kept alive their hopes of gaining a place in the Friends Life t20 quarter-finals by beating Middlesex by two wickets in their South Group clash.Replying to a disappointing total of 109 all out, Essex got home with 14 balls to spare on the back of a superb innings from Mark Pettini. The opener never looked in any trouble as he raced to his 50 in 38 balls, a milestone he reached with a straight driven six, his third of his innings, against Gareth Berg.He was caught behind two deliveries later in the same over in which Tom Smith, the slow left-arm spinner, bowled Greg Smith for 27. That dismissal brought to an end a stand of 74 in 10 overs with Pettini, the pair coming together after James Franklin was run out without receiving a ball.Following the removal of Pettini, Essex made life difficult for themselves before the winning post was reached. Graham Napier became Smith’s third victim when he was caught on the square-leg boundary by debutant Ollie Wilkin, who then made a dramatic impact with the ball.The medium-pace man got rid of Owais Shah, Ryan ten Doeschate and JamesFoster in the space of 10 balls. And with the scores level, the 20-year-old Wilkin took the catch to get rid of Adam Wheater before a wide from Ollie Rayner brought Essex victory.Wilkin finished with 3 for 12 from three overs and Smith 3 for 24 from four overs as Middlesex made a great fight of it.Middlesex were soon left regretting their decision to bat first as they struggled to make any real progress against accurate bowling backed up by keen fielding. So laboured was their batting that only four boundaries arrived from their first 15 overs, by which time they had lost half their side for 75.Their innings was held together by opener Joe Denly but his 53 consumed 56 balls before he was eighth out, caught on the long-on boundary by ten Doeschate off left-arm seamer Reece Topley.Of the other batsmen, only Berg managed to reach double figures, scoring 12 before his defences were breached by left-arm spinner Tim Phillips. The bowler was to concede a mere 12 runs in his permitted four overs while ten Doeschate and Topley each picked up two wickets.Topley’s successes come at a cost of 34 in four overs while ten Doeschate collected his at a cost of only seven in a couple of overs during an innings that featured just eight boundaries including one six.

Bangladesh’s players are concerned about the security situation in Pakistan ahead of their scheduled tour to the country in April

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jan-2012Bangladesh’s players are concerned about the security situation in Pakistan ahead of their scheduled tour to the country in April, the Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) president, Naimur Rahman, has said.The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had requested the government to send a team to Pakistan to evaluate the security arrangements, but it is believed the players think the board should talk to them first before making a decision.”We [CWAB] don’t have a stance as such, but we know that the players are worried,” Rahman, who was Bangladesh’s first Test captain, said. “The situation is not normal there and no other team is going to Pakistan. They themselves play their home games in places like Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The BCB are going to send the investigation team and we hope to be a part of it. If not, we will wait for the report.”I personally believe it is not safe. The worried players haven’t approached us formally, but when they do, we will take the matter to the cricket board.”The PCB chairman, Zaka Ashraf, had met with Pakistan’s interior ministry to discuss security arrangements for the Bangladesh team. The Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that ‘box security’, which includes bullet and bomb proof vehicles, would be provided for the series.”Since we have a scheduled tour on the Future Tours Programme, that’s why we promised to send a security team before making any decision,” BCB’s media committee chairman Jalal Yunus told the . “We are more concerned than the players about their security and safety. I think it’s too early to say anything because we are yet to decide anything.”Pakistan have not hosted an international series since the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in 2009. Since then they have hosted their home series at offshore venues like England and the UAE.

The president of the Guyana Cricket Board, Ramsay Ali, has resigned after police and court officials raided his home, and the homes of other board officials

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Feb-2012The president of the Guyana Cricket Board, Ramsay Ali, has resigned after police and court officials raided his home, and the homes of other board officials. The raids were the latest development in an ongoing impasse between the GCB and the Guyana government.Ali said the court officials seized financial documents and other papers from his office and home, and from the homes of board secretary Anand Senasie, former president Chetram Singh, and another trustee, Lionel Jaikarran.Guyana’s assistant police commissioner Seelall Persaud confirmed the raids had occurred on Monday, February 27. “Police were there only to ensure peace was kept,” he told .The conflict between the GCB and the Guyana government began when the Guyanese government dissolved the GCB due to a dispute over its July 2011 elections. The elections, in which Ali became president, were boycotted by some of the board’s constituent members, one of which, the Berbice Cricket Board, took the GCB to court, claiming the new administration was not properly established. The Chief Justice recommended that “there may be immediate need for the minister responsible for sports to impose his executive will in the national interest.”Following that ruling, Guyanese sports minister Dr Frank Anthony appointed an Interim Management Committee, headed by ex-West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, to run cricket in Guyana. The WICB, however, refused to acknowledge the IMC, in keeping with the ICC’s stance against government intervention in cricket administration, and said the only authority it would recognise was the GCB. The impasse has led to several problems, including Guyana nearly missing the Caribbean T20, the shifting of a West Indies-Australia Test from Providence to Dominica and the resignation of Lloyd as a non-member director of the WICB.The officials of the GCB have had to endure being locked out of their offices, in January this year, and having now had their homes invaded, the president has decided to resign.Edited by Dustin Silgardo

WIPA pays bail; to provide legal assistance to the two players

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Mar-2011Runako Morton, the West Indies and Trinidad batsman, and Tonito Willett, the Leeward Islands allrounder, have been released on bail after being arrested in Port of Spain on Saturday for possession of marijuana. The bail amount was paid by the West Indies Players’ Association, the representative body for cricketers in the Caribbean, which will also provide the players legal assistance.”WIPA has been in close contact with their families and both men have expressed deep regret for the unfortunate incident and the embarrassment and hurt it has caused their teammates, their country, their families and cricket fans throughout the world and they hope that their remorse would not prejudice them in the determination of this matter,” Dinanath Ramnarine, the president and CEO of WIPA, said on Tuesday.”WIPA is committed to ensuring that the players are provided with the necessary support throughout this process. In this instance, WIPA has today, taken the responsibility of ensuring that both players are afforded the necessary legal representation required in this matter.”Morton had been expelled from West Indies’ Elite Athletes Assistance Programme last Wednesday but the reason given was not the charge based on which he was arrested, but that he broke a team curfew. The matter will come up for hearing on Thursday morning at the Port of Spain Magistrates’ Court.

Centuries from Chris Nash and Lou Vincent set Sussex up for a comfortable Clydesdale Bank 40 Group A win over Holland at Amstelveen

30-Jul-2011
Scorecard
Centuries from Chris Nash and Lou Vincent set Sussex up for a comfortable Clydesdale Bank 40 Group A win over Holland at Amstelveen. Nash hit an unbeaten 116 and Vincent scored 102 out of the visitors’ 271 for 2 and then Chris Liddle claimed an impressive five wickets for just 18 runs as the home side were bowled out for 123. Only four of the Holland batsmen reached double figures as they were defeated by 148 runs with nearly five overs remaining.Nash and Ed Joyce put on 41 before the latter fell for 21 but then Nash and Vincent got to work, both reaching half-centuries in pretty much even time. Both went on to reach their centuries before Vincent fell with the score on 235 with three overs to go.Nash was then joined by Rana Naved (19 not out) and together they took the total to 271 without further loss. Nash’s knock came from 135 balls and included five fours and two sixes, Vincent making his 102 from 91 balls with five fours and a six.Liddle quickly got to work with the home side’s batsmen and wickets fell at regular intervals, opener Wesley Barresi the first to go with the total on 5 when he was caught by wicketkeeper Ben Brown off Liddle. The left-arm medium pacer went on to claim four more victims as the home side struggled to make runs, finding themselves at 32 for 5 when Tim Gruijters (23) was joined by Tom de Grooth.They put on 47 for the sixth wicket but when De Grooth, the top scorer with 30, was trapped leg before by Luke Wells the fight was taken out of the home side’s reply. Wells claimed 3 for 19 from his eight overs as the visitors claimed an easy win which leaves them in top spot in Group A with their opponents in fourth.

The PCB will support the recommendation to implement the Decision Review System (DRS) in international matches at the ICC annual conference in Hong Kong, its chairman Ijaz Butt has said

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jun-2011The PCB will support the recommendation to implement the Decision Review System (DRS) in international matches at the ICC’s annual conference in Hong Kong, its chairman Ijaz Butt has said. However, the board will oppose the proposal to end the rotational system for ICC presidents and the planned amendment to the ICC’s constitution which will allow the governing body to suspend a member in the event of governmental interference in the running of a national cricket board.Those two issues, along with the Associate participation in the 2015 World Cup, form the crux of the conference but they were not debated on the opening day. The meetings began on June 26 with discussions on playing conditions and the rankings system. The headline issues were kept for the upcoming days.One board that has vehemently opposed the DRS is the BCCI, but the PCB was satisfied with the system. “We really don’t know why India is opposing the DRS,” Butt had said prior to his departure for Hong Kong. “They must have their reasons but as far as we are concerned, we are satisfied with the impact it has had so far in Test and ODI cricket, and we felt the World Cup was a good example of this system working and getting better in future.”We support India where we agree with their viewpoint. But generally we have our own independent views on decisions. I think the fact that we are not in favor of ending the rotation system of electing the ICC chairman, or having amendments in the ICC constitution to prevent complete government interference in member board affairs, is testimony to this.”With regards to the proposed amendment to prevent government interference, the PCB issued a legal notice to the ICC. It is among the boards that could, in the event of any interference from the government, be directly affected by the amendment, since the patron-in-chief of the PCB is the president of Pakistan.Pakistan and Bangladesh are next in line to nominate the ICC president and vice-president as per the rotational system. The Bangladesh Cricket Board said it is not against the proposed change in the process for the nomination and election of the ICC president, but wants the amendment to come into effect only after the completion of a full cycle of the current rotational system.”The board, in principle, agrees on the proposed amendment of ICC Article of Association regarding abolishing the present rotation system for the post of president of the ICC,” the Bangladesh board said. “However, the BCB feels that an equal and fair opportunity should be given to all existing Full Member countries to avail the privileges of the current rotation system.”The ICC annual conference begins with a meeting of the chief executives committee on June 26 and 27, followed by the executive board meeting – June 28 and 29 – and the full council meeting on June 30.

Five English cricketers were named in the ICC’s Test team of the year, reflecting England’s rise to the No. 1 spot

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Aug-2011Five English cricketers were named in the ICC’s Test team of the year, reflecting England’s rise to the No. 1 spot, achieved during their 4-0 whitewash of India earlier this month. Two batsmen, Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott, and three bowlers, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann and James Anderson, made the XI, but there was no place for Ian Bell despite his averaging 89.50 and making four hundreds during the qualifying period from August 11, 2010 to August 3, 2011.Dale Steyn, the South Africa fast bowler, made the team for the fourth straight year, while Sachin Tendulkar was named to the team for the third consecutive year. Three South Africa batsmen, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis, plus Kumar Sangakkara, the former Sri Lanka captain, made up the rest of the XI, while India fast bowler Zaheer Khan was named 12th man. Sangakkara was named captain and wicketkeeper, though he no longer performs either role for Sri Lanka in Tests.”While selecting the squad, the selectors didn’t rely only on statistics only, but took into account all other factors like the opposition, pitch conditions, match situation etc,” Clive Lloyd, the former West Indies captain and chairman of the ICC Awards selection panel, said in a release. “But when you have only 12 places to fill from a big group of world-class players, there will always be a few who will miss out. In the panel’s expert opinion, it has selected the best team based on performances over the past 12 months.”The ICC also released the short-list for its annual awards and Tendulkar will have a chance to repeat as Cricketer of the Year award but will have to fend off challenges from Amla, and the England pair of Cook and Trott to do so. Tendulkar wasn’t quite as prolific as last year, but still managed to score 973 runs in 10 Tests at an average of 64.86 and 513 runs from 11 ODIs at an average of 46.63.Cook and Trott were also short-listed for the Test Player of the Year award alongside their team-mate Anderson, with Kallis the other nominee. Cook was in particularly inspired form in Tests, making 1302 runs from 12 games at an average of 76.58 with six centuries and four half-centuries. Trott was almost as good, accumulating 1042 runs from 12 Tests at an average of 65.12 with four centuries and three half-centuries. Anderson meanwhile was a handful with the ball, picking up 50 wickets in 11 Tests at an average of 25.48 and a strike-rate of 54.00.Amla was nominated for the ODI Player of the Year award as well, along with Kumar Sangakkara, Australia allrounder Shane Watson and India opener Gautam Gambhir. Watson continued to excel in the 50-over game, making 955 runs in 19 matches at an average of 59.68 and a strike-rate of 111.17, while also chipping in with 15 wickets.New Zealand’s Tim Southee’s five-wicket haul against Pakistan was up for the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year, alongside England’s Tim Bresnan, Watson and South Africa batsman JP Duminy.Test team of the year: (in batting order) Alastair Cook, Hashim Amla, Jonathan Trott, Sachin Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara (capt/wk), AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Dale Steyn, James Anderson, Zaheer Khan (12th man)The short-listsCricketer of the Year: Hashim Amla, Alastair Cook, Sachin Tendulkar, Jonathan Trott
Test Player of the Year: James Anderson, Alastair Cook, Jacques Kallis, Jonathan Trott
ODI Player of the Year: Hashim Amla, Gautam Gambhir, Kumar Sangakkara, Shane Watson
Emerging Player of the Year: Azhar Ali, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Wahab Riaz
Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year: Ryan ten Doeschate, Hamid Hassan, Kevin O’Brien, Paul StirlingTwenty20 International Performance of the Year: Tim Bresnan 3-10 v Pakistan, JP Duminy 96* v Zimbabwe, Tim Southee 5-18 v Pakistan, Shane Watson 59 v EnglandWomen’s Cricketer of the Year: Charlotte Edwards (England), Lydia Greenway (England), Shelley Nitschke (Australia), Stafanie Taylor (West Indies)Umpire of the Year: Aleem Dar, Steve Davis, Ian Gould, Simon TaufelSpirit of Cricket: MS Dhoni for his recall of Ian Bell during the second Test match between England and India at Trent Bridge, July/August 2011, and Jacques Kallis for walking twice during the World Cup 2011 after clarifying with the opposition fielder if they had caught the ball cleanly
People’s Choice Award: Hashim Amla, MS Dhoni, Chris Gayle, Kumar Sangakkara, Jonathan Trott
Members of the voting academyFormer players: Andy Bichel, Naimur Rahman, Aamir Sohail, Pat Symcox, Nasser Hussein, Russel Arnold, Robin Singh, Shane Bond, Grant Flower, Desmond Haynes, and John Davison (Associate Representative Cricketer)Media: Greg Buckle (Australia), Abdul Majid Bhatti (Pakistan), Azad Majumdar (Bangladesh), Kevin McCallum (South Africa), Stephen Brenkley (England), Chris Dhambarage (Sri Lanka), Ayaz Memon (India), Tony Becca (West Indies), Bryan Waddle (New Zealand), John Ward (Zimbabwe) and KR Nayer (Associate Representative) Elite panel of ICC referees representative: Chris BroadElite panel of ICC umpires representative: Aleem DarChairman of ICC cricket committee: Clive Lloyd

Tottenham Hotspur may have just edged closer to the signing of West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper and soon-to-be free agent Sam Johnstone, according to a Football Insider ‘source’.

The Lowdown: Spurs in pole position…

The Lilywhites, as per reliable reports, are the current favourites to snap up Johnstone on a Bosman transfer when his current deal expires at the end of 2021/2022.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-newest-updates/” title=”Tottenham newest updates…” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Times and reliable football.london correspondent Alasdair Gold both suggest that Tottenham are in pole position for the 29-year-old who has also attracted interest from the likes of West Ham and Southampton in past months.

Antonio Conte is reportedly chasing the possible signing of a reserve goalkeeper who can provide sufficient back-up to number one Hugo Lloris, with Johnstone a real target (The Telegraph).

Now, as per FI, a major update has come to light this week.

The Latest: Johnstone wants to join…

According to a ‘source’, speaking to the outlet, Johnstone has now told friends he wants to join Tottenham – informing his inner circle that he desires a north London move.

This is despite the fact he would initially be an understudy to Lloris, a fact he’s comfortable with, mainly due to the belief he could eventually succeed Tottenham’s long-standing number one.

FI go on to add that Johnstone’s availability appeals to both Conte and Paratici.

The Verdict: Conte edges closer…

It appears, going by this latest update, Tottenham’s head coach has just edged closer to sealing one of his summer transfer demands.

Able to negotiate freely with clubs upon the expiry of his West Brom contract, the player’s green-light is seemingly the only obstacle to move past to seal a move.

As the 29-year-old becomes keen to join Conte and Spurs, it appears the Lilywhites have been given an almighty boost in pursuit of a player who pundit Paddy Kenny described as a would-be ‘top signing’ for them.

In other news: ‘That’s for sure’ – Sky Sports reporter backs big  transfer news out of Tottenham, find out more here.

Carl Hooper, the former West Indies batsman, has been appointed batting coach at the Sagicor High Performance Center in Barbados

ESPNcricinfo staff12-May-2011Carl Hooper, the former West Indies batsman, has been appointed batting coach at the Sagicor High Performance Center in Barbados. Hooper, who scored 11,523 international runs in 102 Tests and 227 one-day internationals for West Indies will move to Barbados from Australia, where he has lived since retiring in 2004.He has been appointed for the ongoing semester and will work with the centre’s head coach Andre Coley, the former Jamaica wicketkeeper. Hooper’s appointment comes after another former West Indies batsman, Desmond Haynes, agreed to be batting consultant to the national side for the ongoing series against Pakistan, as the WICB makes efforts to involved more ex-players in the development of cricket in the Caribbean.

Injuries combined with the pressures of captaincy may have inhibited his batting previously in the ODI-format, says Smith, and it’s something he hopes to set right in the upcoming season

Firdose Moonda19-Aug-2011Graeme Smith, South Africa’s Test captain, has decided what he wants to be when he grows up. A good friend (especially to AB de Villiers), a loving husband and a batsman. More specifically, a one-day batsman.”If I look at the record I have built up over the years, I am proud of it, but there is still a lot more to do,” Smith told ESPNcricinfo in Johannesburg, where he was attending a CSA sponsorship announcement. “The injuries that I’ve had have mostly affected the ODI format so I am focussing on that.”Since 2008, Smith has had six hand-related injuries, battling tennis elbow and an array of broken bones. Those ailments have kept him out of a significant number of one-day matches in recent times. In the first six years of his career, Smith played an average of 20.8 ODIs a year. That number has reduced to 11.75 over the last four years, including this one.In some ways, the most remarkable thing about that statistic is that Smith has been playing international cricket for a decade, eight years of which he has spent as captain. It’s a length of time that justifies thoughts of reinvention, something that Smith has been working on. He stepped down as Twenty20 captain in August last year and relinquished the one-day leadership after the 2011 World Cup, to give him more time to focus on batting.”Injuries, combined with the pressures of captaincy, may have inhibited my batting,” he said. “At the moment I am just concentrating on getting some confidence back. I know that I’ve never been the most elegant batter, but I’ve always had self-belief. I need to build up some confidence.”With his place in the ODI side no longer secure, Smith’s form in the shorter version of the game is under scrutiny and recent performances are not in his favour. His average of 28.25 in 2011 is a big step-down from his career average of 39.25, and is at its lowest since 2006. He has not scored an ODI century since 2009, when he made 141 in a losing cause against England during the Champions Trophy. He was also not able to clock up a half-century at the World Cup and his failure to return home with the rest of the squad at the end of March saw him heavily criticised by the South African public. He has since had a knee operation and has only been able to train for the past three weeks.”The World Cup was one of the darkest places I have been in my career,” he said. “I’ve had some time to press the reset button and I’m looking forward to the new season.” It will be a season of change, and freedom, for Smith, who will no longer feel the weight of the captain’s armband. “After being captain in all three formats, I can now focus on myself. It’s going to be a big season for me.”With expectation of a different sort hanging over him, Smith believes that in former opening batting partner, Gary Kirsten he will have an ideal mentor and challenger. “When we played together Gary and I had a deal that whoever scored more runs in the season would take the other one out for dinner. I always ended up paying for dinner,” he said jokingly. Kirsten can’t make deals like that anymore but he will “bring a lot of common sense to the side and will bring the best out of players”.Having basically grown up being the captain gave Smith the space to mature and develop while leading, an opportunity not a lot of people get. “When I started in the job, I was 22, and I didn’t have the experience in terms of relationships. I learnt how to allow each guy the space to grow and feel comfortable, and it helped having good guys around.”Now, Smith has to be that good guy, the one who will provide de Villiers with advice when needed and then back off at the right time. “I will always been an ally for him, but it’s important that he forges his own way,” Smith said. He believes that zoning in on his own game will allow de Villiers to have the space he needs to build a team that will have this ethos and that Smith will be able to fit into that as someone who will “score lots of runs,” for de Villiers.Smith remains South Africa’s Test captain and the coming series against Australia and Sri Lanka are foremost in his mind, as South Africa aim to challenge England for the No.1 ranking. “I see it as a season filled with prospects, in some ways similar to the 2008-09 season.” South Africa beat Australia in Australia for the first time then, getting one over the No.1 team in the world, although their ranking did not change. The over-riding image of that tour was Smith walking out to bat with a broken hand. Smith the batsman, the same one he wants to become now.