All posts by h716a5.icu

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Mar-2012Lancashire, the reigning county champions, lost almost £4 million in 2011, reflecting the ongoing costs of redeveloping Old Trafford. The club’s annual report included a loss of £1.8m in “accelerated depreciation” to account for assets demolished as part of the rebuilding, and more than half a million in legal fees in challenging a judicial review.The figure of £3.96m sets a new record deficit by a first-class English county, beating by some distance the £2.1m losses recorded by Lancashire and Warwickshire last year. However, Lancashire said the The Point, the eye-catching but controversial conference centre opened in 2010, had started to drive revenue, with operating profit increasing by more than £700,000 on the forecast, after the “exceptional costs” were accounted for.The development work, which will see £40m spent on upgrades, also encompasses new grandstands, player and media facilities being grafted on to Old Trafford, as well as work on a new pavilion, scheduled to open ahead of the 2013 season, when Lancashire are due to host Test cricket again for the first time since 2009.Lee Morgan, Lancashire’s finance and operations director, said: “The nature of this result is a continuing reflection of the difficulties faced with building a new stadium on an existing site. However, despite the difficulties faced we are still very much on course to achieve our goals and ultimately return to a vibrant and profitable cricket club and start to fulfil the potential that all at the club believe we are capable of.”

Mustafa Kamal, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president, has said that weaker teams get the short end of the stick when it comes to umpiring decisions

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Dec-2011Mustafa Kamal, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president, has said that weaker teams get the short end of the stick when it comes to umpiring decisions.”I was listening to the commentators during the recently concluded Pakistan series. Everyone mentioned there that we got bad decisions,” Kamal said during the launch ceremony for the 2012 Asia Cup. “If those decisions went our way, the cricket would have been more competitive but we couldn’t do that. To err is human. I cannot talk against umpires being an ICC director, but I have seen that against weaker countries, there are more wrong decisions.”Kamal was referring to the fourth day of the second Test at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, when Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal was given out caught even though the ball appeared to have struck his helmet and lobbed to the slip fielder. It was a crucial time for the Bangladesh team who were in pursuit of saving the game. There was a loud clamour for the Decision Review System (DRS), though this wasn’t the first such instance.During the England series in March 2010 as well, there was a lot of talk surrounding the BCB’s reluctance to use technology with then captain Shakib Al Hasan being one of the advocates. In the second Test of that series, coach Jamie Siddons was seen fuming at some of the decisions in the England first innings. Umpire Asoka de Silva’s mistakes during the Pakistan tour in 2003 was the first flashpoint of Bangladesh’s angst with decisions.Kamal was recently named the joint-nominee from Pakistan and Bangladesh for the ICC vice-presidency, and is in line to take over as president in 2014. He said that during the ICC’s meeting a few months ago, the deliberations on making technology mandatory were put on hold as the system isn’t foolproof yet. However, he stated that the next Bangladesh television deal would include the use of DRS.”In the October ICC meeting, the DRS was discussed. There it was decided that since the technology hasn’t been developed to that extent and there are mistakes in the DRS system itself, it won’t be made mandatory.”In our deal with Nimbus, there was no DRS. But from next April, when we will discuss with another broadcaster, we will tell them to include DRS in all our games.”

Pakistan’s interim coach, Mohsin Khan, has said that his side is “desperate” to build on their unassailable series lead against England, and whitewash the world’s No. 1 Test side

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Feb-2012Pakistan’s interim coach, Mohsin Khan, has said that his side is “desperate” to build on their unassailable series lead against England, and whitewash the world’s No. 1 Test side.”I do not need to look at the rankings table to tell me that England is a very professional team, a very balanced team with no weaknesses at all in any facet of their cricket,” Mohsin told . “They will once again be tough opposition for us and we will not be taking the opposition lightly, we will have to work very hard and approach the third Test match just in the same way as we have approached the previous two Test matches.”We are desperate to see a three-nil margin, but no Test victory comes easy and nobody has a given right to win any Test match. I have a lot of respect for Andy Flower, Andrew Strauss and all of the England players and I am sure England will come back hard at us. I’m sure it will be another tough match with hard cricket played by both sides.”The final Test will be played in Dubai, where Pakistan won the first match comfortably, by 10 wickets. They then produced a dramatic 72-run triumph in Abu Dhabi, where their spinners’ tigerish defence of a paltry target of 145 meant England were shot out for 72. Mohsin likened the Abu Dhabi victory to Pakistan’s historic triumph in the 1992 World Cup.”As for gauging what this victory means, well I received an email from a friend of mine in Karachi after the victory which stated that he had been following Pakistan cricket for more than 30 years and the series-clinching victory in Abu Dhabi over England was the second occasion where he had felt so proud to be a Pakistani cricket fan, the first being the 1992 World Cup final victory in Australia, when Imran Khan was captain.”I took this comment from my friend as a great compliment as no doubt we have achieved a lot in Pakistan cricket over the years, but to come from the low points we reached in 2010 to the performance in Abu Dhabi was just magnificent. The biggest satisfaction and the most pleasing aspect was to see the unity and happiness in this team.”One of the striking features of Pakistan’s victory run was the composure they showed while defending a modest total, and Mohsin credited the senior players in the team for maintaining focus. “It was an exciting situation and quite tense also given that we only had 144 runs to play with,” Mohsin said. “Yes some of the boys were very excited, but it was crucial for the likes of Misbah-ul-Haq, Saeed Ajmal, Younis Khan and Mohammad Hafeez to keep the rest of the boys focussed and calm. Younis plays such a vital role in the team and really helps the captain on and off the field, his input is always very important and his opinions are always valued by everyone within the squad. Hafeez is another who keeps things in perspective and has a valuable role within the squad.”It was very important that the more experienced players kept the younger players concentrating on the job at hand and for them to not get too excited. We are blessed that we have a wonderful captain, someone with an ideal personality to lead, yet it is also very important for the generals around him to support him and assist him and that is exactly what occurred in Abu Dhabi. As the opposition wickets fell and the victory seemed a possibility then it was only natural for the excitement amongst my boys to increase and I think they did a good job with their conduct.”Left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman was Pakistan’s hero in the second Test, where he emerged from Saeed Ajmal’s shadow to produce a decisive spell of 6 for 25 in the second innings. Mohsin said Rehman’s success was a vindication of the improvements in Pakistan’s cricketing framework.”There is a lot of healthy competition now in Pakistan cricket for places in the starting XI in every format. Abdur Rehman is a perfect example of this way of thinking, he knows that he has worked extremely hard to get to the level he is at now and that he has no intention of letting his form dip and his fitness levels to drop. He is such a hard-working cricketer, he has a great work ethic and is always ready to do extra training and additional bowling. There are times when he just wants to practise his bowling continually for hours and to work on his fitness.”Two of the ‘elder statesmen’ in the squad, Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq, know that age is catching up with them but you simply cannot criticise their levels of fitness, they work so hard in training and they are an asset to the team and shining examples for others to follow.”

Kumar Sangakkara has made an extraordinary, scathing attack on the “partisan cronies” at Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) who have blighted the sport in his country, and who led him to resign the captaincy after only two years in charge

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jul-2011Kumar Sangakkara has made an extraordinary, scathing attack on the “partisan cronies” at Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) who have blighted the sport in his country and who led him to resign the captaincy after only two years in charge, following the World Cup final in April. Sangakkara was delivering the MCC Spirit of Cricket Lecture at Lord’s on Monday.In an hour-long speech that earned him a standing ovation, Sangakkara charted the unique history of cricket in his country, and called on SLC to root out its corrupt practices and recognise the huge role the sport now needs to play in promoting reconciliation at the end of a 30-year civil war.Sangakkara pinpointed the country’s most powerful moment of national unity – the World Cup final victory over Australia in 1996 – as the moment the sport’s administration changed “from a volunteer-led organisation run by well-meaning men of integrity into a multimillion-dollar organisation that has been in turmoil ever since”.His speech could fetch him serious repercussions but the board’s only response so far has been to state that it is unable to comment given that the team is currently on tour in England.Sri Lanka’s ongoing tour of England has been dogged by controversy ever since Sanath Jayasuriya, now an MP with the ruling UPFA party, was recalled at the age of 41 to play in the one-off Twenty20 and the first ODI at The Oval, despite having been out of the side for nearly two years. Without mentioning names, Sangakkara voiced his concern at the direction the sport in his country is now heading.”Players from within the team itself became involved in power games within the board,” he said. “Officials elected to power in this way in turn manipulated player loyalty to achieve their own ends. At times board politics would spill over into the team causing rift, ill feeling and distrust.”Accountability and transparency in administration and credibility of conduct were lost in a mad power struggle that would leave Sri Lankan cricket with no consistent and clear administration. Presidents and elected executive committees would come and go; government-picked interim committees would be appointed and dissolved.”Last week, Sri Lanka’s sports ministry dissolved SLC’s interim committee, following allegations of financial mismanagement that left the co-hosts of the recent World Cup with a US$ 69 million bill. That announcement followed the ICC meeting in Hong Kong, at which a directive was issued, stating that cricket boards had to be free of political interference by June 2013, or face the prospect of sanctions.”After 1996 the cricket board has been controlled and administered by a handful of well-meaning individuals either personally or by proxy, rotated in and out, depending on appointment or election,” Sangakkara said. “Unfortunately to consolidate and perpetuate their power, they opened the door of the administration to partisan cronies that would lead to corruption and wanton waste of cricket board finances and resources.”It was and still is confusing. Accusations of vote buying and rigging, player interference due to lobbying from each side and even violence at the AGMs, including the brandishing of weapons and ugly fist fights, have characterised cricket board elections for as long as I can remember.”We have to aspire to better administration. The administration needs to adopt the same values enshrined by the team over the years: integrity, transparency, commitment and discipline.”Unless the administration is capable of becoming more professional, forward-thinking and transparent then we risk alienating the common man. Indeed, this is already happening. Loyal fans are becoming increasingly disillusioned. This is very dangerous because it is not the administrators or players that sustain the game – it is the cricket-loving public. It is their passion that powers cricket and if they turn their backs on cricket then the whole system will come crashing down.”Crucially for the future of Sri Lanka, that public consists of supporters from both sides of the bloody civil war that was finally concluded last year. However, as has been seen by the numerous Tamil protestors who have made their presence known during the current Test and ODI series, there is a danger that the current state of the sport will breed disenchantment rather than foster unity.”Cricket played a crucial role during the dark days of Sri Lanka’s civil war, a period of enormous suffering for all communities,” Sangakkara said. “But the conduct and performance of the team will have even greater importance as we enter a crucial period of reconciliation and recovery, an exciting period where all Sri Lankans aspire to peace and unity.”It is also an exciting period for cricket where the reintegration of isolated communities in the north and east opens up new talent pools. The Spirit of Cricket can and should remain a guiding force for good within society, providing entertain and fun, but also a shining example to all of how we all should approach our lives.”Listen to the full address at www.lords.org

Iain O’Brien wants to return to international cricket and could start his comeback by playing for Wellington in the 2011-12 domestic season

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jun-2011Iain O’Brien, the former New Zealand fast bowler, wants to return to international cricket and could start his comeback by playing for Wellington in the 2011-12 domestic season.”I’m not done yet,” O’Brien told the . “I know what the goal is, it’s not just coming back to play for Wellington, but also I want to do it properly and play for New Zealand.”O’Brien had retired unexpectedly in December 2009 and moved to England to be with his wife, hoping to qualify as a domestic player for Middlesex. His contract with the county had a clause stipulating he would be retained only if he was classified as a local player, but the ECB refused to recognise him as one in November 2010.Amid increasing uncertainty over his county future, O’Brien’s season was also hampered by a hamstring injury. He has since had surgery and contemplated a return to New Zealand from his base in Derbyshire.”It hasn’t quite worked out for him over there and Iain floated the idea of coming back to me,” Robbie Kerr, Wellington’s high-performance manager, said. “I’d be delighted to see him back. He has been a fantastic servant for Wellington cricket and you never get less than 100% from Obber.”He believes he can get some county play in before the end of the season, so it sounds pretty promising. If he is coming back with international cricket on his mind then he must be pretty confident about his level of fitness.”O’Brien, who turns 35 next month, is working on his rehab but admitted it would be difficult to revive a career in which he took 73 wickets in 22 Tests, especially after not playing since July 2010. “That’s the scary bit for me. I finished on a real high; I walked away and people said `why are you going?’ I don’t want to walk back and people to say `you’re not that good’. I want to do everything I can to get back to the level I was at in that Pakistan series.”I’m a better player now, mentally, than I ever was. It’s going to take quite a few overs to find it again but I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t think I could succeed.””I really wanted to play at home. It might not all come together but I’m pretty sure I’ll be back at the Basin. I know Grant Elliott (the Wellington captain) wants me running into the wind again. He’s pretty keen to have me back.”

Shane Warne has revealed he threatened to walk out of the Rajasthan Royals side during the first season over interference from “certain people” with regard to team selection

ESPNcricinfo staff12-May-2011Shane Warne has revealed he threatened to walk out of the Rajasthan Royals side during the first season over interference in team selection by “certain people”. In an interview on , Warne said he had had to make some tough decisions in his tenure as Rajasthan captain, and having his say over selection was one of them.Warne, the Rajasthan captain, is playing his last IPL season, having announced his decision to retire from the league few days earlier on Twitter.”There was one particular decision in which I really set the tone for the rest of the series,” Warne – speaking to Harsha Bhogle – said about the first season, when Rajasthan took the title. “It is really tough to make a squad, to make the final squad and there is always disappointment from players on missing the squad. And we were getting a little bit of pressure from certain people about playing certain players and I said to the owners, whom I had only known for ten days, ‘Look, that’s fine if you want X player in the squad but book me on QF 9 [a Qantas flight] because I’m going home.'”They said, ‘What do you mean?’ I said, ‘Well, I have worked hard to get this squad together and these guys are all here on merit. You can make your call, either me or this guy in the squad, or these two guys in the squad – you put them in and I’m out. Simple.’ They said, ‘Are you serious?’ I said, ‘Well, I am, yeah.’For everyone in the squad to know they had been picked on merit helped each other get along very well, Warne added. “We are all here on merit and that made them feel good straightaway, they way they were treated at training, the environment we created [was] about having fun, enjoyment.”Warne won praise for his leadership during the IPL, leaving many to wonder how he would have led Australia had he been given the opportunity for an extended period of time. Controversy followed Warne during his international career, though, and his captaincy of the national team was limited to 12 ODIs between 1998 and 1999. He never led Australia in a Test.Warne, though, said he did not regret missing out on that opportunity. “If I didn’t get the opportunities then so be it,” he said. “I think the suits and ties and all, they were probably fair because I have been through a few things. I made poor calls and some poor choices. So they were probably right in the way they were thinking, saying ‘It’s too much of a risk, anything could happen in that stage of my life.’His leadership of Rajasthan was marked out by a knack for spotting talent and, asked to name the Indian cricketers to watch, he named Rohit Sharma, who’s been in and out of the Indian team in his career thus far. “To me Sharma is one,” Warne said. “He has got all the talent in the world, if he could just get his mind right and get his attitude right, if his one thought was ‘I want to become the best cricketer I possibly can’.”Every morning he wakes up and tries to talk to Sachin…[If I were him] I’d be hanging out of his pocket, ‘How do you think about batting? How do you approach it in these conditions?’ Every minute of the day until Sachin says, ‘Mate can I have five minutes break?’ Keep pestering him.”He should do that every morning he gets up, ‘How am I going to become the best I can possibly be?’ He could be a match-winner, a world beater and one of the best Indian cricketers ever, he has got that much talent.”Rajasthan have had a tough campaign this year with five wins from 12 games, and face a stiff task in order to qualify for the play-offs.

Australia have been set the distant target of 632 to win the third Test and the series after South Africa were bowled out for 569 in a rollicking final session

The Report by Daniel Brettig02-Dec-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAB de Villiers’ was in prime touch during his 169•AFPTwo days remain in this match, and two possibilities. The first, by far the most likely, is a convincing South African victory, set-up by the sparkling innings of Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers and finished off by Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel.The second, still too outlandish to contemplate, is Australia finding a way to bat for long enough to reach a winning target of 632. David Warner and Ed Cowan made a sound enough start on the third evening to reach 0 for 40 by the close, but in terms of the task ahead they have barely reached base camp at the foot of Everest.Amla and de Villiers provided a rich day’s batting entertainment at the WACA ground, both falling short of double centuries but delighting spectators with their marriage of aggression and invention. De Villiers’ century was particularly notable as his first while also carrying the wicketkeeper’s gloves, opening the path to an extended stint in the dual role.Australia’s bowling was made to look ordinary in the extreme at times before Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson found some heat in the early evening to polish off the South African tail. In all the visitors’ innings lasted just 111.5 overs, the runs arriving at more than five per six balls, and its speed has left plenty of time for Australia’s batsmen to negotiate. The pitch is still playing very well and the outfield extremely fast, but the visiting bowlers are refreshed and focused on the goal of wrapping up the match, the series and the ICC’s No. 1 ranking.Smart stats

The highest fourth-innings total in Test cricket is 654 for 5, by England against South Africa in Durban in 1939. England played 218.2 eight-ball overs in that innings.

South Africa’s 111.5 overs is the second most any team has faced in an innings in which their run-rate is more than five. Australia faced 146.3 and achieved a rate of 5.01 at the same ground against Zimbabwe in 2003.

This is only the fourth recorded instance of a team scoring at more than five per over in an innings lasting more than 100 overs. Two of them have happened in successive Tests.

AB de Villiers’ 169 is more than three times his previous-highest score as wicketkeeper (52* v England in Durban in 2004). In his last 11 Tests against Australia, he averages 63.81.

De Villiers has 422 runs in three Tests in Perth, at an average of 84.40. Among overseas batsmen, only David Gower has scored more Test runs at this ground.

Among all batsmen who’ve scored at least 300 Test runs in Perth, de Villiers’ average is the highest.

This is the third time two South African batsmen have scored 150 or more in an innings against Australia. On the previous occasion too de Villiers was one of the batsmen (he scored 163 and Ashwell Prince 150 in Cape Town in 2009).

The last South African to bag a pair on debut was Allan Donald. The last time a batsman in the top seven bagged a pair on debut for South Africa was in 1913.

Cowan and Warner began the pursuit with unhappy first innings memories; Cowan’s of a golden duck, Warner’s an unwise waft at Steyn that pinpointed the start of Australia’s sharp second day slide from a promising position to a dire one. They fought out the closing overs in characteristic fashion, Warner hitting boundaries both certain and uncertain, Cowan watching the ball intently and surviving an exquisitely probing first spell by Philander.There was some tension evident on South Africa’s side when Cowan twice pulled away from the bowler, citing flies around his helmet. He exchanged words with the visiting captain Graeme Smith before a can of Aeroguard was called for. So far the Australian openers’ stand has been merely a nuisance, but their survival placed a slightly different slant on a day that had been a South African waltz for most of its duration.Resuming with a lead of 292, South Africa rose to salute Amla when he flicked Johnson to fine leg for his 18th Test century, a stroke representative of his legside mastery. Amla’s movement across outside off stump to play to leg was exaggerated at times, but apart from the sliced drive from Johnsons’ wide ball that just eluded Michael Hussey’s reach he was seldom troubled.Kallis rumbled along comfortably enough himself until Michael Clarke swung Starc around to the Prindiville Stand end, teasing out a top-edged hook shot that Johnson held well at fine leg, the ball dying into the breeze late in its path. De Villiers took his time to get established but accompanied Amla to the interval with an enormous amount of time left to stretch Australia’s eventual target.There was acceleration on resumption, de Villiers advancing to ping Nathan Lyon down the ground for a straight six, while Amla took advantage of Hussey’s introduction with a pair of boundaries. Clarke responded to the calls of the WACA crowd by handing Ricky Ponting a bowl for the final over before the second new ball became due.Given how Starc and John Hastings started with it Clarke might have been better off keeping Ponting on, as de Viliers and Amla attacked with impunity. It took Johnson’s introduction to draw a few false strokes, and ultimately a wicket when Amla blocked a drive back to see the chance snaffled by Johnson’s outstretched right hand.Dean Elgar wore a sharp blow on the elbow before playing inside a fuller delivery to be pinned LBW – though this did not stop him from seeking an imprudent review in the manner of Ponting the day before. Two wickets in an over did little to unsettle de Villiers though, and the three reverse-swept boundaries to go to three figures summed up the marriage of skill and invention he has used so well as a batsman and now a wicketkeeper also.After tea the runs arrived in a torrent, de Villiers taking progressively more liberties and Faf du Plessis showing the penchant for shots as well as forward defensives. Their concentration was broken when Clarke called for a highly speculative LBW referral against de Villiers, the break in rhythm proving more helpful than the video evidence. Johnson broke the stand next ball with a swift delivery going across du Plessis, and the final five wickets melted away for 31 runs. Whether that is of any consequence for South Africa will not be known until tomorrow.

The series is only two Tests long but it could still have a meaningful impact on Watson’s future role in the team

Brydon Coverdale in Potchefstroom04-Nov-2011There are three nations Shane Watson hasn’t faced in Test cricket: Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and South Africa. It’s easy to guess which clash he’s been looking forward to the most.Last time the Australians visited South Africa, Watson was neither fit nor an opening batsman. He was 27, had played only eight Tests for no lasting impact, and was still battling the injury curse that had plagued him throughout his career. On that tour in early 2009, Simon Katich was the established man at the top of the order and Phillip Hughes ducked and weaved and slashed his way to two centuries in his first series.Later that year, Watson was catapulted to the top of the order when Hughes was axed during the Ashes tour of England. Now it’s Katich who has gone, with Watson and Hughes the incumbents as Australia’s batsmen again prepare to face two of the world’s best new-ball bowlers.”It’s going to be a great challenge,” Watson said. “Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel are some of the best bowlers in the world at the moment, in all forms of the game. It’s something that I’ve really been looking forward to, being able to play Test cricket over here in South Africa. It’s something that I haven’t done. It’s going to be a huge challenge of my game and what I’m made of.”I’ve seen a lot of the South African bowlers, [although] I haven’t played that much against them. I played with Morne Morkel in the IPL, so I’ve been able to see a bit of him. Twenty20 is different to Test matches, but it’s a great challenge and I’ve been looking forward to this series for a while.”The series is only two Tests long but it could still have a meaningful impact on Watson’s future role in the team. He hasn’t made scored a Test century in more than a year, and in his past nine Tests he has averaged 38.18.In partnership with Katich, Watson was unquestionably the aggressor, muscling the new ball over midwicket or the bowler’s head while Katich crawled. Now, with Hughes and Watson, Australia have two attacking openers, which can be a blessing or a curse.Michael Clarke has spoken of Watson’s position at the top of the order being best for the team “right now”, but things can change. Shaun Marsh is hovering at No.3, a natural opener with a blend of solid defence and run-scoring strokes, and a man who made a century on his Test debut in Australia’s previous series.Marsh’s runs tend to come through exquisite placement rather than power, and a pair of half-centuries on a difficult, fast and bouncy pitch in the tour match in Potchefstroom highlighted his temperament.”I haven’t been surprised at all,” Watson said of Marsh. “I’ve seen him since he was a young guy, really, but especially the last three or four years I’ve seen him play at certain stages and seen the quality of player that he is.”It’s great that he’s in a place where he feels really comfortable within our team. To see the way he batted [in Potchefstroom], continuing on his form, he’s a very impressive player with both his defence and his attacking game. I’m sure he’s definitely going to play a big role in our success throughout this tour.”Like Marsh, Watson found runs during the tour match, with his 77 from 73 balls in the second innings a key factor in Australia’s victory. And while he described the Potchefstroom pitch as “dangerous”, he said a barrage of short balls had prepared him well for the Steyn-Morkel threat.”It was a big challenge out there throughout these three days, not knowing where the ball was going to bounce,” he said. “Also with the young fella [Marchant de Lange] bowling at very good pace as well, and testing out what our techniques are like on the short ball, I think it’s as good a practice as you can get going in. I think that’s what we’re going to see from the South African bowlers as well.”The Australians were due to fly to Cape Town on Friday and take Saturday off before resuming training on Sunday. The first Test begins at Newlands on Wednesday.

A round-up from the opening day of action in the ICC World Cricket League Division 8 tournament in Kuwait

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-2010The ICC World Cricket League Division 8 tournament began in Kuwait on Saturday and here is a round-up of the action from the first set of matches.And another: Bhutan collapsed for 55 after Vanuatu posted a massive total•International Cricket CouncilVanuatu inflicted an embarrassing 282-run defeat on Bhutan who crumbled for 55 in the face of Vanuatu’s huge 337 for 9. Captain Andrew Mansale led the with 87 off 81 balls, adding 154 alongside Jonathon Dunn (75), but it was the closing stages of the innings that provided the real fireworks. Patrick Matautaava swung his way to 79 from 43 deliveries including seven fours and four sixes and he wasn’t finished there as he then claimed 4 for 11 in Bhutan’s reply. None of the batsmen could muster double figures in an innings that lasted 23.1 overs.”It feels great to have been able to help the team to our first win of the tournament and to get my Man of the Match award from Tony Hill was pretty cool,” said Matautaava. “But this is only the first game of a long tournament.”In another clash that was the definition of one-sided, hosts Kuwait hammered Suriname by nine wickets and the entire contest lasted 36 overs. Kuwait were only chasing a paltry 77 and knocked off their target in 7.1 overs. The trouncing was set up by their opening bowlers, Mohammad Murad and Saad Khalid, who shared eight wickets. At 27 for 7 Suriname were also threatening not to have anyone reach double figures, but Terbhawan Ranjit (19) and Anthony Seeraj (12 not out) managed to edge the total to 76 which was boosted by 19 wides.”It was a dream start for us to begin the tournament with a victory but we can’t be complacent,” said captain Hisham Mirza. “Vanuatu are in our group and after their big win today, we need to make sure we’re prepared to face them tomorrow in Hubara. I couldn’t have hoped for a better start for us today and it was good to finish so early so we had time to relax ahead of tomorrow’s game where we hope we can also do well.”Germany produced an impressive comeback to beat Zambia by 11 runs after only posting 128. In reply, Zambia were well placed on 58 for 2 but Shakeel Hassan turned the match on its with an incisive spell where he took out the middle order and revived Germany’s hopes. Ehsan Latif then returned for a second burst, and carried on where Hassan left off with three scalps, to wrap up the innings as Zambia’s lower order couldn’t absorb the pressure despite the required rate never being an issue. Germany had struggled to form any sort of platform with the bat as they fell to 20 for 3, but Rishi Pillai made a vital 39 before Hassan contributed 20. Hassan’s key role was still to come.Bahamas put in an efficient display to ease past Gibraltar by seven wickets. Their captain Gregory Taylor led the chase with 74 and received solid support from the rest of the top order. Gibraltar had also put in a solid attempt with the bat but couldn’t take advantage of having wickets in hand at the death. Kieron Ferrary top-scored with 52 however, the strike-rates of the middle order were low.

Manchester City are reportedly interested in a move for Inter Milan defender Stefan de Vrij, according to reports in Italy.

What’s the word?

As per CMIT TV (via Sports Witness), the reigning Premier League champions are ‘willing to spend’ an ‘important figure’ to prize the Dutchman from the San Siro, with a bid in the region of €40m (£33.5m) potentially on the cards.

The 30-year-old – who joined the Serie A outfit from Lazio in 2018 – has just a year remaining on his existing deal, with the ‘right offer’ potentially set to tempt both him and Simone Inzaghi’s side into a sale this summer.

As the report also alludes to, however, there has been speculation in recent weeks linking the £31.5m-rated man to Tottenham Hotspur in the upcoming transfer window, with the player having previously worked under Spurs boss Antonio Conte in Milan for two seasons – notably winning the Scudetto last term for the first time in 11 years.

Stones in trouble

Despite being currently well-stocked in their centre-back ranks – with Aymeric Laporte, John Stones, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake all at the club – this latest news suggests that Pep Guardiola’s side appear keen to further bolster their backline, with one of their current stars potentially set to be a notable casualty.

The man that could well give way to any new defensive addition is England international, Stones, with the 27-year-old having lost his place to teammate Laporte as the first-choice partner to last season’s Premier League player of the year’, Dias.

Having been a £40m arrival from Bournemouth just two seasons ago, it would also appear unlikely that the club would cash in on Ake just yet, particularly with the former Chelsea man offering that much-needed balance as a left-footed option.

For Stones, it has proven to be a fairly frustrating campaign thus far, with the £250k-per-week star having made just 11 top-flight starts to date, while he was also recently forced off with an injury in the recent thrilling 4-3 victory over Real Madrid on Tuesday night.

That enthralling clash had seen the former Everton man line up in an unconventional right-back position in the absence of compatriot Kyle Walker – a role he has utilised on five occasions this season – a fact that further emphasises his diminishing status at the heart of the backline.

The £25.2m-rated man has also registered some fairly meagre statistics so far this term, averaging o.4 tackles and 0.8 interceptions in the Premier League, while he also ranks in just the top 97% for blocks made per 90 and the top 77% for clearances made, compared to players in his position across Europe’s top five leagues.

While that partly has something to do with City’s usual dominance in possession and limited need to defend, such a record also points to lingering concerns over his defensive ability, having once been criticised by Alan Shearer for making “mistake after mistake” in his early days at the Etihad.

By contrast, potential new arrival de Vrij has been in stunning form for the Serie A title challengers, with former Lazio defender Mauricio dubbing him a “monster” with “excellent technique” following his eye-catching displays for the Nerazzurri.

The 55-cap international has performed favourably in comparison to the aforementioned City man so far this season, registering 1.2 tackles, 1.8 clearances and one interception per game in the league thus far in his 26 outings.

There would no doubt need to be a period of adjustment as he has frequently lined up at the centre of a back three for Inzaghi’s charges, although his arrival in England could help to strengthen an already stubborn and seemingly impenetrable backline.

Stones – who has been linked with a move to Newcastle United of late – would be wise to be at least a little concerned for his future.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Rice: West Ham could have signed “magic” £45m-rated star for just £5m…