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A round-up for the third day’s play of the fifth-round matches of the Ranji Trophy Plate League

Cricinfo staff14-Dec-2008
ScorecardCaptain Swapnil Asnodkar led from the front as Goa upset Group A leaders Himachal Pradesh in Dharamshala. While the hosts were already through to the semi-finals, Goa are now almost certain of finishing second in the group, unless Haryana complete a remarkable final-day turnaround against Jammu & Kashmir in Rohtak.Goa started the day needing 159 to win but lost opener Sagun Kamat with 15 runs knocked off. Aditya Angle fell five runs later, but Asnodkar got solid support from Advait Katkar. Asnodkar did the bulk of the scoring in their 86-run stand. Sarandeep Singh broke the partnership, dismissing Katkar for 14 – it took him 85 balls.Asnodkar was unable to last till the end; he was out with Goa still needing 38. Himachal Pradesh, though, were denied any further wickets, with Ajay Ratra, the former India wicketkeeper, and Robin D’Souza guiding Goa to victory.ScorecardThe pressure is on Haryana. Goa’s win means they now need to force a win on the final day to book a place in the semi-final. Haryana conceded the first-innings lead, but they stand a chance if they can bundle out Jammu & Kashmir quickly on Monday.Haryana had stumbled to 113 for 4 in reply to Jammu & Kashmir’s 314, but they put a fight to take the first-innings lead in Rohtak. The lead would have guaranteed them a semi-final place, but they eventually fell 29 short. Debutant Manav Sharma gave Haryana hope with his 98. He put on stands of 53 for the fifth wicket with Sachin Rana, and 59 for the seventh with Abir Lavasa. Sharma took Haryana to 274 for 8, but his dismissal on that score pretty much ended their chances. Medium-pacer Samiullah Beigh took 6 for 89 for the visitors.Jitender Billa, Haryana’s leading wicket-taker, struck twice in Jammu & Kashmir’s innings, but Ian Dev Singh, the top scorer in their first innings, and Ahmed Nizam played out till stumps.
Scorecard
Kerala, too, trail their opponents by 69, but with seven wickets down in Jharkhand’s innings, they could end their campaign on a winning note. Preambhastn Prem, overnight on 84, scored his fourth first-class ton to help Kerala, resuming on 249 for 4, gained a 75-run first-innings lead. Wicketkeeper Vinan Nair chipped in with 45. For Jharkhand, medium-pacer Sujit Roy took 5 for 128.Jharkhand failed to build any significant partnerships in their second innings, with Saurabh Tiwary – who made 125 in the first innings – top scoring with 36. Kerala captain Sony Cheruvathur took 3 for 36 off his ten overs, while Sreesanth had figures of 12-1-53-2.
Scorecard
Services played out 93 overs on the third day to add 204 runs to their overnight 62 for 2 at the Palam A Ground in Delhi. They lost seven more wickets, but with a lead of 332, they can declare overnight and hope to bowl out Assam for their first win of the season.Mrigen Talukdar struck twice as Services made a shaky start, but first-innings centurion Soomik Chatarjee continued his good form, scoring 71. Devendra Israni, Abhimanyu Singh and Sachin Nadkarni chipped in with 30s to extend the lead – all three were dismissed by offspinner Arnald Konwar. The final pair of Rakesh Kumar and Pankaj Kumar added an unbroken 44 runs.
Scorecard
Unlike Group A, the semi-finalists from Group B have already been decided, but the last round of matches will determine placings of the top two – Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. In Agartala, Madhya Pradesh almost enforced the follow-on against Tripura, with the hosts barely managing to go past the follow-on mark.The visitors could have well been on the way to victory had it not been for Nishit Shetty, the former Mumbai batsman. Shetty’s 118 revived Tripura after they slipped to 47 for 4 once Sanjay Pandey took two wickets in two balls. Shetty got support from the remaining batsmen: he added 97 with Rajesh Banik (30), 45 with Abhijit Dey (17), 47 with captain Tushar Saha (28) and 55 with Rana Dutta (43). But he was eight man out with the score on 291, still 13 short of preventing the follow-on. No. 9 Dutta, though, added 14 along with No. 10 Vineet Jain to make Madhya Pradesh bat again. Jain then struck off his second ball in the visitor’s second innings. They played one over, and will resume at 0 for 1.
Scorecard
The fight for first place in Group B will go on to the final day. A career-best 159 from Wriddhiman Saha ensured Bengal were in the reckoning to take the first-innings lead against Vidarbha in Nagpur. Resuming on 149 for 4, the overnight pair of Saha and Dibyendu Chakrabarty took Bengal to 227. Umesh Yadav trapped Chakrabarty leg-before, but Saha added 102 with Avik Chowdhury.Saha was finally dismissed by Shrikant Wagh; his 159 included 19 fours. An unbroken 42-run stand between Chowdhury – whose 42 came off 204 balls – and Ritam Kundu took Bengal to 371 for 6. They still need 33 to gain the first-innings lead.

Liverpool are reportedly interested in signing Lille midfielder Renato Sanches this summer, although they face competition from Spanish giants Barcelona to land his signature. 

Sanches has been with Lille since 2019, having previously played for the likes of Benfica and Bayern Munich earlier in his career.

Speaking on the ‘Here we go podcast’, Fabrizio Romano confirmed Liverpool’s interest in signing Sanches, but the price tag remains at €40million, whilst also revealing that Barcelona are believed to be keen on a deal to sign the 23-year-old.

“It’s Barcelona and Liverpool that are interested in Renato Sanches – but the price tag is around 40 million euros so we will see what happens in the coming days.”

Sanches made 23 league appearances last season for Lille, as they won the French Ligue 1 title in a memorable campaign for the club.

But the midfielder had an average Whoscored rating of just 6.41, which put him all the way down at 17th in their best performers of the 2020/21 season.

Transfermarkt claim that Sanches has a value of £27million, with the midfielder having two years remaining on his current contract with Lille.

Plenty of Liverpool supporters took to social media to issue their thoughts on the club’s rumoured interest, and you can take a look at the best of the reaction from the Anfield Watch Twitter account, who shared the update from Romano…

Reds fans react

“Good player but i hope Liverpool don’t sign him.”

Credit: @IamdunniLFC

“We don’t need midfielder. Sign a striker and let Origi leave please.”

Credit: @Anayo_El

“Well this is going to be an interesting battle, between a club that has no money and a club that doesn’t like to spend money.”

Credit: @o0GreG0o

“I like him but he can play 20 games in a whole season. Better move on to another target”

Credit: @andros17594210

“Say no another injury prone player.”

Credit: @shahzadalim4

“Overpriced max 25mil.”

Credit: @Hamza_020_

“Please no.”

Credit: @TGully24s

“Pass.”

Credit: @scotto48

West Ham United picked up where they left off as they kickstarted the new Premier League campaign with a win in an exhilarating six-goal thriller at St James’ Park.

The Irons went into the break behind but emerged for the second half rampant, firing three goals to defeat Newcastle United 4-2.

Hammers boss David Moyes witnessed four different goalscorers as he continued to cope with a lack of resources as left-back Aaron Cresswell, midfielder Tomas Soucek, Said Benrahma and leading talisman Michail Antonio all found the net.

The latter two even notched an assist each, putting their name in the hat for the ‘Man of the Match’ award. In the end, the Sky Sports commentary team went with the 31-year-old forward, despite his missed penalty and even missing that sitter from close range.

There was, however, another name that was arguably the unsung hero on the afternoon – Jarrod Bowen.

The 24-year-old dynamo has been subject to transfer interest from Liverpool throughout the summer but he shrugged off any distractions to deliver a masterclass on that right flank.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-west-ham-news-transfer-rumours-the-latest-gossip-and-much-more-3” title= “Read the latest West Ham news, transfer rumours, gossip and much more!”]

He was a constant thorn in Steve Bruce’s side. Bowen constantly got in behind his counterpart, wing-back Matt Ritchie and he made the most of the chances to take Ciaran Clark on one-on-one – neither of the home duo managed a better rating than 6.2 on SofaScore, in comparison to the Hammers’ star being graded at 7.3.

Bowen’s influenced was emphasised by the fact that he attempted three dribbles and was successful each time, whilst he also won 86% of his duels, with the only battle lost being in the air.

Furthermore, the £27m-rated star put in some defensive work, registering two tackles and one block in what was a pretty impressive and industrious showing.

Plenty of the plaudits will go to the likes of Antonio, Benrahma and even Declan Rice but Bowen’s involvement cannot be understated. As perfectly described by the Evening Standard, who graded his performance a seven out of ten, the Irons machine was “always lively when in possession.”

It was that chaotic presence that helped set the tone to West Ham causing all sorts of problems in the second half and it is also why he should be lauded as Moyes unsung hero on the afternoon.

AND in other news, West Ham given massive Jesse Lingard transfer boost…

Darren Gough, the former England fast bowler, has cast doubt over his availability for Yorkshire’s final match of the county season

Cricinfo staff21-Sep-2008
Darren Gough says farewell to spectators at the end of his final first-class match in front of his home supporters © Getty Images
Darren Gough, the former England fast bowler, has cast doubt over his availability for Yorkshire’s final match of the county season, against Sussex next week. Gough, 38, had already announced this would be his final season and he has hinted that he may have played the last match of his career.Gough bowled five magnificent overs in the morning session of the final day of Yorkshire’s match against title-chasing Somerset at Scarborough to give his side hope of an improbable win, but the match was eventually drawn. “I wanted to go out in style today – and that proved to me I am ready to retire. I am absolutely shattered now,” said Gough, who captained Yorkshire for the past two seasons. “I bowled as quick as I have for a long, long time in that first spell. I had the opposition saying that is the quickest they have faced all season and when they say stuff like that, I’d like to finish on that note.”When I look back I’m glad my last wicket was Justin Langer. I’ve had some great battles against him and it’s nice to know my last wicket in Yorkshire was someone as good as him.”Gough, who has suffered a series of niggling injuries this summer, now has a couple days to decide whether he will be fit to play the crucial relegation match at Hove. “I have given everything there, three spells of putting my body to the limit,” he said. “I will see how I rock up on Monday morning and how the other bowlers are.”Yorkshire are in serious danger of being relegated to Division Two with only five points separating them from Lancashire, Kent and Sussex.Gough also criticised the nature of the pitch at Scarborough, something he has done more than once when captaining at home. “I’ve been saying it for two years. Hopefully it will finally kick in at some stage. People are starting to agree with me now. You have got to give the bowlers a chance, especially with the bowling line-up Yorkshire have got.”They need a bit of encouragement because if you turn up time after time and are bowling on wickets like that, you are soon going to get disheartened.”

Marcus Bent believes that Fabian Delph can still play in the Premier League – and suggested that West Ham would be a good fit should he leave Everton.

According to the Liverpool Echo, the midfielder, who has made 193 appearances in the English top flight, is a player that Everton are willing to sell this summer.

Since arriving at Goodison Park from Manchester City two years ago, Delph has spent plenty of time out injured, much to the frustration of the Toffees faithful.

In total, he’s been sidelined for an enormous 38 matches across all competitions, appearing just 30 times altogether following a deeply frustrating spell on Merseyside.

And with 12 months left on his contract, an Everton exit looks more than likely for the former Aston Villa and Leeds midfielder.

Asked whether remaining in the topflight despite his lack of minutes in recent weeks is a possibility, Bent exclusively told Football FanCast:

“He’s good enough, I think he’s good enough, I think he would fit in at West Ham.”

With West Ham in the Europa League this season, David Moyes needs a squad that can challenge on two fronts, at least for the first half of the campaign.

And with Delph boasting European experience, plus the ability to play in more than one position, this might prove to be a clever piece of business.

Andrew Miller presents the plays of the second day of the third Test at Edgbaston

Andrew Miller at Edgbaston31-Jul-2008
Andrew Flintoff was on roaring form © Getty Images
Contest of the day
Out of the puddles of a wet and winding final session roared Andrew Flintoff in a titanic 10-ball duel that evoked memories of Allan Donald’s assault on Michael Atherton at Trent Bridge ten years earlier. The man in Flintoff’s sights was the lynchpin of South Africa’s innings, Jacques Kallis, and then as now, the bowler was fuelled by the raw anger of injustice. Alternating yorkers and bouncers with a skill and aggression that is the preserve of few, Flintoff’s Donald moment arrived with the fifth ball of his onslaught, when he struck Kallis flush on the toe with a ball that could only have demolished middle stump. Aleem Dar saw differently, and a livid Flintoff spent the whole of the next over telling the umpire what he thought while ticking like a timebomb at square leg. Kallis summoned all of his skill to survive Flintoff’s next four balls, but the fifth was too good. An outswinging yorker that clipped the outside of the off stump, to spark delirium in Birmingham.Replay of the day
The seeds of Flintoff’s fury were sown during a luckless morning session. In the seventh over of the day Neil McKenzie, on 29, was given the first of two vital reprieves. Flintoff found the perfect line on off stump, with a shade of away movement, and McKenzie’s angled defensive skidded low off the edge and into Andrew Strauss’s hands at first slip. Immediately, however, there was doubt in Strauss’s eyes, unquestionably as a result of the Vaughan/de Villiers controversy in the Headingley Test. Replays suggested that the ball might have bounced up off Strauss’s fingertips and into the palms of his hands, but in the current climate, he wasn’t about to risk accusations of gamesmanship. The decision was sent upstairs to the third umpire, Ian Gould, who had no option but to call the batsman back.Drop of the day
McKenzie’s second let-off was a much more clear-cut affair, and no prizes for guessing the culprit. Poor Paul Collingwood is enduring a shocking match, and the further he dwells on his misfortunes, the more he manages to compound them. He would normally have guzzled the low edge that flew to his right at second slip, as Flintoff pounded in in search of his 200th Test wicket. Instead – and unsurprisingly – his mind had drifted to other weightier matters and the chance went down. McKenzie had made 57 by this stage, and England’s hopes of clawing their way back into contention had taken another battering.Catch of the day
If the fielders can’t do the job for you, then sometimes a bowler has no option but to do it all himself. That’s precisely the route that James Anderson took, in a moment of commitment that hinted at the dramas to come. A sharp inducker grazed the inside edge of Hashim Amla’s bat, rebounded off the pad-flap, and ballooned out towards the vacant silly point. Anderson sized up the situation in an instant, veered sideways in his follow-through, and hurtled across the pitch to launch himself one-handed towards the turf. He scooped the ball inches from the ground, but this time, the catch was clear-cut enough to prevent the South Africans from marching out of the pavilion to instruct their man to stay put.Milestone of the day
Flintoff may have struck with his second ball of the match last night, but with McKenzie leading a charmed life, he needed another 13 overs to double his tally today. It looked for a while as though McKenzie was going to escape his clutches for good, as he whipped and drove two fours for consecutive balls move into the 70s, but with his very next ball, Flintoff roared back in to pin him lbw with a perfectly pitched inswinger. The wicket was his 200th in Test cricket, although the pedants will point out that only 193 of those have been taken for England (seven came for the Rest of the World against the Aussies in 2005). Still, his efforts ensured he became the tenth man to do the double of 3000 runs and 200 wickets. Curiously, his tally of two five-wicket hauls was the fewest by any bowler with that many wickets to their name.Batsman of the day
It’s been a quiet tour for Kallis – with the bat, at any rate. He’s cut a slightly forlorn figure out in the middle in the first two Tests, mustering scores of 7, 13 and 4 while each of his top-order colleagues has racked up at least one century. But Kallis’s commitment in this innings was a replay of his glory years. A pair of unbeaten half-centuries against Bangladesh A got him back into the groove last week, and after a few quiet jibes about his weight in the early part of this trip, his extra commitment in training has been notable. The upshot was a wholehearted 64, a performance that lifted South Africa from a dicey 135 for 4 to a potentially vital first-innings lead. His stay was ended only by a performance that is already sure to go down in folklore.

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been left fuming at a referee decision in their 0-0 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion in a friendly on Saturday evening.

Ianis Hagi thought that he had scored late on in the second half, only for the referee to bring the play back for an alleged foul on Yves Bissouma.

Steven Gerrard’s men more than held their own against the Premier League outfit, as new signing John Lundstram hit the crossbar as the Gers threatened to go ahead on more than one occasion in the first half (The Daily Mail).

Even though it was just a pre-season friendly, it would have been a very good result if the Ibrox faithful managed to beat the Seagulls, but in the end, they had to settle for a draw.

Nonetheless, a lot of RFC supporters were not happy at all with the decision to chalk Hagi’s goal off.

Rangers fans on disallowed goal

These Rangers fans slammed the decision to disallow Hagi’s goal on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that it was a ‘terrible decision’:

“That’s the worst dive I’ve ever seen”

Credit: @666lucifxr

“Terrible decision by the ref! Goal all day”

Credit: @mjh1977

“Never a foul, we got robbed”

Credit: @Justin83517287

“That’s poor”Credit: @JamieGirdwood”Scottish officials are embarrassing”Credit: @EverySaturdayWe”No way is that a foul”Credit: @RangersCentral3In other news, find out what big claim has been dropped on this ‘top-quality’ Ger here!

A maiden century by Steven Outerbridge proved to be in vain as Scotland, led by a four-wicket haul from the left-arm spinner Ross Lyons, claimed a comfortable 120-run over Bermuda in their Intercontinental Cup match in Hamilton

Cricinfo staff14-Jul-2008
Scorecard

OJ Pitcher goes on the offensive during Bermuda’s defeat © Bermuda Sun
A maiden century by Steven Outerbridge proved to be in vain as Scotland, led by a four-wicket haul from the left-arm spinner Ross Lyons, claimed a comfortable 107-run over Bermuda in their Intercontinental Cup match in Hamilton.Bermuda began the fourth and final day on 123 for 4 in pursuit of the target of 373, but they were rocked early on when Rodney Trott was dismissed by Majid Haq for 28, ending his fighting 83-run stand with Outerbridge. They were in further trouble when Chris Foggo, resuming his innings after having retired hurt yesterday, was caught by Neil McCallum off Lyons for 4.With the match slowly slipping away from Bermuda, Outerbridge and his captain, Irvine Romaine, briefly kept the Scots at bay with a 51-run seventh-wicket stand. Romaine, was in an aggressive mood, hitting four fours and a six in his 44-ball 27. In the mean time, Outerbridge brought up his century, soon after which he was caught behind off seamer Dewald Nel.The No. 11 batsman, George O’Brien, brought out the fireworks with a 33-ball 32, including five fours and six, but his knock was of little significance to the eventual result, which was brought about when he was dismissed by Lyons.Scotland’s next Intercontinental match starts on Wednesday against Canada in King City, Ontario, while Bermuda will wait till September for their next game.

Bangladesh, who are yet to win a match against significant opposition since last year’s World Cup, now have the unenviable task of beating an in-form India to avoid elimination

Siddarth Ravindran11-Jun-2008Match factsThursday, June 12, 2008
Start time 15.00 (local), 9.00 (GMT)
Will Bangladesh be celebrating at the end of the match … © AFP
The Big PictureAny doubts about how an Indian batting line-up would perform without their senior players were put to rest by the clinical victory over Pakistan. Bangladesh, who are yet to win a match against significant opposition since last year’s World Cup, now have the unenviable task of beating an in-form India to avoid elimination. India’s massive win on Tuesday means that only an unlikely defeat by more than 218 runs will stop them from making the title clash. Form guide – India Last five matches: WWWWL (most recent first)
Players to watch: Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir have been in sensational form in recent months. Their opening partnerships in the IPL formed the bedrock of the Delhi Daredevils’ IPL campaign and the ease with which they piled on 155 at more than seven an over against Pakistan would worry any opposition.Form guide – Bangladesh Last five matches: LLLLL (most recent first)
Player to watch: For a batsman of Mohammad Ashraful’s undoubted class, an ODI average of 22.71 is unacceptable. Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons was heartened by the manner in which Ashraful ground out an unbeaten 56 against Pakistan, shunning the impetuousness that has brought an abrupt halt to many of his innings. It will be interesting to observe what sort of approach Ashraful adopts against India.Team newsWith Farhad Reza having had a horror run in the recent series against Pakistan, Bangladesh are likely to retain the XI they went in with for the previous game.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Shahriar Nafees, 3 Mohammad Ashraful (capt), 4 Raqibul Hasan, 5 Alok Kapali, 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Mashrafe Mortaza, 9 Dolar Mahmud, 10 Abdur Razzak, 11 Shahadat Hossain.

… or will Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir put the Bangladesh attack to the sword? © AFP
India’s coach Gary Kirsten spoke about adopting a rotation policy, and with a place in the final almost assured, they are likely to experiment with the line-up. Ishant Sharma has recovered from a niggle he picked up in the game against Pakistan but could be rested to give Manpreet Gony a debut.India (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Yuvraj Singh, 4 Rohit Sharma, 5 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Suresh Raina/ Robin Uthappa, 7 Yusuf Pathan, 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Praveen Kumar, 11 Manpreet GonyPitch and conditionsWith pitches offering considerable assistance to spin, and getting slower as the ball gets older, the batsmen may want to make the most of the hard, new ball. And with the tracks being composed of black soil, it has also been tougher for the batsmen to sight the ball as the innings progresses. Although heavy showers are forecast for the rest of the week, the excellent drainage facilities – and the reserve day – should ensure a completed match.Stats and trivia Praveen Kumar’s ODI career has got off to a fantastic start – he now has three four-wicket hauls in six games India are among Mashrafe Mortaza’s favourite opponents. His four wickets knocked the wind out of India’s World Cup campaign in 2007, and he averages 56 with the bat at a strike-rate of 138.27 While Tamim Iqbal averages only 22.91 in away ODIs, he manages a healthy 39.88 while playing at home Two of Dhoni’s four ODI ducks have come against BangladeshQuotes”We have strategies for each and every player, not only their in-form openers.”
Ashraful says Bangladesh have done their homework
“They have enough depth in both batting and bowling and they should not be rated by one innings when they lost to Pakistan.”
Dhoni isn’t underestimating Bangladesh

West Bromwich Albion legend Ally Robertson says it ‘would be wrong’ to sell Matheus Pereira for any less than £25million.

The lowdown

One of Pereira’s advisers, Jolden Vergette, told the Daily Express this week that a chance for Pereira to remain in the Premier League following West Brom’s relegation ‘will present itself’.

Pereira was a shining light for the Baggies last season in an otherwise disappointing campaign.

The Brazilian scored twice as many goals (12) and provided twice as many assists (six) as any of his team-mates (via BBC Sport).

He directly contributed to 49% of West Brom’s Premier League goals last season.

Pereira only joined on a four-year permanent deal last summer after West Brom agreed a £9million fee with Sporting Lisbon (via BBC Sport).

The latest

Robertson, who played for the club between 1969 and 1986, says West Brom must extract a high enough fee to significantly improve their squad.

Their most expensive departure is currently Salomon Rondon, who joined Chinese Super League outfit Dalian Yifang for £16.44million.

“If we are going to sell Pereira, we have to then go out and buy three or four players to make the squad better,” he told the Express and Star.

“If we do that then I won’t have a problem.

“If an offer in the region of £25million or £30million comes in then I can understand us accepting that if it’s to give the manager funds to strengthen,” he continued.

“And we have to sell him for that amount, selling him for £20million or £15million would be wrong.”

The verdict

There’s no doubt Pereira deserves to be playing at Premier League level. The extent of West Brom’s reliance on him last season is pretty staggering.

West Brom must now be torn between the player’s evident quality and the investment opportunities that would arise from his sale – Valerien Ismael would have the chance to truly leave his imprint on the team through well-suited acquisitions.

If Aston Villa were to lose £100million-rated Jack Grealish to Manchester City, perhaps they would formalise their reported interest in Pereira.

And they’d certainly have the means to meet a lofty asking price if he was heading there to replace their current skipper.

In other news, Kevin Campbell issued a glowing verdict on this potential Baggies target.