All posts by h716a5.icu

Former Sri Lanka legspinner Somachandra de Silva has emerged as a strong contender for the chairman’s post on the interim committee of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC)

Sa'adi Thawfeeq11-Mar-2009The SLC interim committeeSomachandra De Silva (chairman), Nishantha Ranatunga (secretary), Sujeewa Rajapakse (treasurer), Lalith Wickremasinghe (member), Pramodya Wickramasinghe (member), Ranil Abeynayake (member) A Gunaratne Weerasinghe (member).Former Sri Lanka legspinner Somachandra De Silva was appointed chairman of the new seven-member interim committee to run Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) by sports minister Gamini Lokuge on Thursday. De Silva, 66, who held the post of schools cricket development officer at SLC was also the cricket advisor to the country’s president, Mahindra Rajapakse.De Silva, who played 12 Tests and 41 ODIs and coached the junior national team, succeeds former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga at the position, after Ranatunga was sacked by Lokuge in December last year. The interim committee was also dissolved, marking the end of a controversial 11-month tenure for Ranatunga in the hot seat.Ranatunga was replaced by Lokuge’s private secretary, S Liyanagama, who was appointed as the competent authority to administer Sri Lanka Cricket until a suitable person was found.However, Nishantha Ranatunga, Arjuna’s brother, has been appointed as the secretary of the committee. Former fast bowler and present chairman of the Sri Lanka Cricketer’s Association Pramodya Wickramasinghe, cricketer-turned-commentator Ranil Abeynayake, along with Lalith Wickremasinghe and A Gunaratne Weerasinghe will be the panel members.Treasurer Sujeewa Rajapakse is the only person to retain his post from the committee which was previously dissolved.

Alternating between dropping short and pitching too full, it was a most uncharacteristic display from Bryce McGain whose greatest strength at domestic level is his control

Brydon Coverdale in Cape Town20-Mar-2009
Bryce McGain had the worst economy rate for any bowler in a Test innings © Getty Images
Bryce McGain said last week that there are worse things than being12th man for Australia. He might have just discovered what one ofthose things is. At the end of his second day of Test cricket, McGainhad already taken an unwanted record: the 102 that his 11 overs hadcost left him with the worsteconomy rate of any bowler in a Test innings.It’s a fluid figure and he could slip down the list on the third daybut what won’t disappear is the pain of being mercilessly slappedaround the Newlands stadium by the centurions Ashwell Prince andJacques Kallis. There were a couple of overs that went for 13 each,two that cost 14 and one particularly nasty one that earned the SouthAfricans 18 runs.The South African spinner Paul Harris is famous for thrusting hishands up after nearly every ball, even if it has been defended off themiddle of the bat, seemingly trying to convince the batsman that heescaped a thunderbolt. McGain appeared unable even to persuade himselfthat he was a threat.After waiting three hours to be handed the ball on the third day,McGain was driven edgily over gully by Prince first ball. Had it flownto hand things could have been so much different. Instead, the batsmenkept attacking and McGain lost confidence, alternating betweendropping short and pitching too full.It was a most uncharacteristic display from a man whose greateststrength at domestic level is his control. Not usually an enormousturner of the ball, McGain strangles batsmen through constant pressureand, though it’s hard to believe from his figures in Cape Town, is atough and restrictive one-day bowler for Victoria.”He was under pressure that whole time,” Australia’s coach Tim Nielsensaid. “The scoreboard’s ticking over, he can see the runs up againsthis name and I think the pressure just got a bit much today, it was apretty hard initiation to Test match cricket.”He didn’t bowl anywhere near as consistently as he would like, hebowled both full and short. I think a pretty good indication was whenhe bowled a couple of overs to Kallis and all of a sudden he had adeep midwicket and he took out one of the attacking players on the offside, which to a legspinner would be normally where you would like tobe getting them to hit. He was probably trying to defend his badball.”Were it a young legspinner trying to make his mark on Tests, it couldhave been devastating. McGain clearly was not jumping for joy but at37, he has learnt to stay calm and for the most part his body languagedidn’t give away the angst that must have been running through hismind.But as the camera zoomed in on his red face following anotherexpensive over, and he deliberately avoided looking up at the bigscreen, he must have been wondering if this was it. After nearly twodecades of club cricket, was he to become a one-cap wonder? Was anAshes tour slipping from his grasp?Nothing has gone right for McGain on this trip, from missing the planeback home and arriving in South Africa after his team-mates, to beingbelted on a flat pitch in the warm-up game in Potchefstroom, to goingdown with gastro on the eve of the first Test in Johannesburg. Nielsensaid McGain would not necessarily have played in Cape Town had MarcusNorth not fallen ill on the day before the match.The challenge is for him to put the disastrous day behind him andprove on the third day that he can be a Test-class bowler. He is goodenough to do that but only if his confidence hasn’t taken a fataldive. Seven South African wickets remain and with the strongpossibility that they may not bat again during the match, it could bethe most important day of McGain’s career.”He’s got a bit of learning to do,” Nielsen said. “He’s had a toughday today. The real test will be to turn up tomorrow morning and tryand learn from today and not run away from the challenge. He needs toreally present himself and bowl those overs in the first session so wecan thump away with our quicks and hopefully get a couple of earlywickets.”

Flocking to Twitter, many Liverpool fans have erupted over news involving Real Madrid forward Marco Asensio, with FSG already preparing a January bid.

By way of transfers, incomings were among the quietest in the Premier League at Anfield this summer, with only Ibrahima Konate arriving on a permanent deal from RB Leipzig.

Aside from that addition along with some exits, Jurgen Klopp’s side are unchanged from last season, with most of the focus having been on tying down their first team. Indeed, Liverpool wrapped up new deals for Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, Virgil van Dijk, Andrew Robertson, Nat Phillips, Adrian and Jordan Henderson in recent months.

Now that many players’ futures are secure, perhaps the Reds can turn more of their attention to potential new signings in the winter transfer window, with Spanish outlet Fichajes sharing news.

They claimed that FSG and Liverpool are already preparing a €35m (£30m) bid to sign Asensio in January, and it’s safe to say there has been no shortage of Reds fans with opinions on the link with a forward who has scored 37 goals for Real Madrid and won two Champions League crowns.

Check out some of the best replies in response to Anfield Edition below, with one fan believing that the fee quoted would be a “steal” for the 25-year-old.

Liverpool fans erupt as FSG prepare bid…

“Ooo”

Credit: @RedArmy42904059

“steal at 30 million”

Credit: @Maltby77

“please”

Credit: @lfcdanny21

“I’d love him ngl”

Credit: @kloppboy23

“No way”

Credit: @___nurzhan

“What”

Credit: @LiverpoolDan654

“Quality player if possible would be a fantastic addition”

Credit: @ian76274972

In other news: ‘Praying’, ‘We are serious?’…Liverpool fans flock to £85.9m claim, find out more here.

With West Ham in Europe this season, we could see plenty of fringe and youth talent get an opportunity at the London Stadium, particularly in competitions like the Carabao Cup which gets underway next week.

And since David Moyes has returned to the club for a second stint, he has put his faith in several of the club’s promising youngsters – perhaps a sign of a new approach this time around.

For example, back in January, the 58-year-old boss handed first-team debuts to several academy starlets, including Jamal Baptiste, in their FA Cup fourth-round victory over Doncaster Rovers.

That day made it eight graduates to have been given a senior bow by the Scotsman since he was appointed for a second time.

Baptiste is a player that many in east London are eager to see more of – he impressed during pre-season, has been capped at youth level for England and can play right across the backline, making him a very interesting option for the long term.

‘Tall, strong and comfortable in possession’ is how the club’s official website describes the 17-year-old sensation, whilst he cites both Virgil van Dijk and West Ham’s former defender and his academy mentor Matthew Upson as players he bases his game on.

This summer, Baptiste scored the opening goal of the Hammers’ pre-season with a nicely-timed side-footed volley against Dundee and whilst it’s not a competitive encounter, it is certainly a promising sign that being around the first-team does not phase him one bit.

Back in November, the emerging teen sensation signed his first professional contract with his boyhood club and football.london’s Sam Inkersole went onto describe him as “very highly-rated.”

Meanwhile, the Hammers’ former academy director Terry Westley told Claret & Hugh that Baptiste is “one of the finest young prospects at the club without a doubt.”

He then added: “Believe me [he] is going to be a monster player in the Issa Diop mould. I see him as exactly that – the new Issa Diop. He’s got everything, height, power, pace and is already, at such a young age, making a serious impact on the under 23s.”

If Baptiste is looking up to the former Irons star, then Moyes could well unearth their next Upson in the 17-year-old gem. As there are plenty of fixtures on the horizon, the West Ham boss must look to hand valuable minutes to players like Baptiste.

AND in other news, “I have been told”: Journalist drops major West Ham claim, fans will surely be buzzing…

Tatenda Taibu has been acquitted of charges of assault on Zimbabwe Cricket’s general finance manager by the Harare Magistrates’ Courts

Cricinfo staff25-Apr-2009Former Zimbabwe captain Tatenda Taibu has been acquitted of assaulting Esther Lupepe, Zimbabwe Cricket’s general finance manager, after Harare Magistrates’ Court found “glaring inconsistencies” in the prosecution’s evidence, describing it as discredited and unreliable.Taibu had been charged with assaulting Lupepe in an incident at a travel agents in Harare after he claimed that he was owed money by the board. He strenuously denied the accusations. But Tapiwa Godzi, the magistrate, said the court was still in doubt as to how the assault was alleged to have been perpetrated.”It’s either this case was fabricated or the testimony of the witnesses is grossly exaggerated to the extent of making it unbelievable,” Godzi said. “In the premises, the application for discharge at the close of the state’s case is hereby granted. The accused is accordingly found not guilty and acquitted. It would be futile to put the accused person to his defence.”The collapse of the case will be yet another embarrassment for Zimbabwe Cricket. Taibu had always maintained that Lupepe’s actions were part of a wider conspiracy by the board aimed at preventing him going public over its finances and treatment of players.Only last week an ICC report, referring to the poor relationship between board and players, mentioned the ongoing case.While the board has sought to distance itself from the trial, several sources close to it have told Cricinfo that there were glaring inconsistencies in the allegations and rumours have continued to do the rounds that Taibu’s counter-claims had merit.Taibu has had a fractious relationship with senior board officials since he walked out in 2005 after claims that senior officials had made open threats against his family. He subsequently returned, but following the accusations by Lupepe he has been openly at odds with ZC. He was only persuaded at the last minute to join the national squad when it headed to Canada for a quadrangular Twenty20 tournament last October, and missed recent matches after his kit was mislaid.

Jack Simpson looked ‘out of his depth’ in Rangers’ Premiership draw with Motherwell on Sunday, according to The Athletic’s Jordan Campbell. 

The lowdown

Simpson made his first league start of the season for the Gers at Ibrox on Sunday, replacing Leon Balogun in the line-up after the team’s Europa League exertions.

The 24-year-old, who joined from English Championship side Bournemouth midway through last season, was partly at fault for Motherwell’s equaliser. Mark O’Hara was able to dribble past him on the edge of the area and bear down on goal, with the ball subsequently breaking to scorer Kaiyne Woolery.

Simpson’s SofaScore rating of 6.4 was the joint-lowest in the Rangers side (along with ‘keeper Allan McGregor). He won just two of his seven ground duels over the course of the game.

The latest

Addressing fans in The Athletic’s matchday discussion, Campbell argued that Simpson ‘has not impressed at all since coming in’ and looked ‘out of his depth’ against Motherwell.

He said that the Gers signing the 24-year-old was ‘surprising’ in the first place given his ‘lack of appearances’ at that age and noted that he looks ‘very shaky’, with long balls a particular weakness.

The verdict

Rangers fans ought to be concerned with Campbell’s verdict on Simpson. Filip Helander is out until December, and Leon Balogun and Connor Goldson can’t play every game until then.

If the ex-Bournemouth centre-back, who earns £3,100 per week, continues to produce more performances like this, then it could seriously hamper the Gers’ title defence.

The hope will be that he is motivated by the criticism he’s facing and sets out to prove that Rangers’ investment in him was no mistake.

In other news, read this BBC reporter’s reaction to an ‘extraordinary’ development at Ibrox.

Ricky Ponting is confident that Australia’s series-ending victory in Johannesburg will give the team momentum heading into next week’s one-day contest against Pakistan

Cricinfo staff18-Apr-2009Ricky Ponting is confident that Australia’s series-ending victory in Johannesburg will give the team some spark heading into next week’s one-day contest against Pakistan. Australia lost to South Africa 3-2 but the visitors claimed a comfortable 47-run win in the final game at the Wanderers, where their batsmen posted 303 for 7.It left Australia with three wins from the ten ODIs they played against South Africa over the past three months, during which time Australia slipped from first on the ICC one-day rankings to third. The Johannesburg victory took them back up to second ahead of the series in the UAE, which will not feature Ponting, Mitchell Johnson or Michael Hussey, all of whom are being rested.”It’s a good way to finish,” Ponting told AFP. “We were pretty disappointed with the way we played over the last few games so to bounce back today is a good thing for the group. It’s been a really tough few months of cricket. It’s just a bit of a shame that it has taken until the last game for some of our better cricket to come out.”We definitely batted with a lot more freedom tonight than we probably had in the last few games. It’s pleasing to finish the series the way we have. Yes it’s disappointing to have lost the series but we wanted to take whatever we could out of this last game.”Certainly for the guys going to Dubai, they can take a bit of confidence out of that now and winning this game here. It’s good to have that winning feeling back around the group again.”The leading scorers for Australia were Brad Haddin and Michael Clarke, who as vice-captain and captain respectively will be in charge of the side for the five-match ODI series against Pakistan, which starts on Wednesday. Nathan Hauritz also put in a strong performance and was named Man of the Match for his 2 for 34 and 24 not out, which was a good comeback after he was belted for 51 runs from seven overs in the previous game.”It definitely wasn’t a good day,” Hauritz said of the Port Elizabeth match. “The most important thing is to learn from that. Tonight, I definitely made sure I put in everything that I needed to. It just happen to be my night where the plan came off. The wicket helped a little bit, too. Some spun and some skidded on, sort of like the Gabba bowling at night there.”Although the finale didn’t go South Africa’s way, there was still plenty for them to celebrate. They collected the series trophy and enjoyed their No. 1 status having beaten Australia convincingly in the 50-over format throughout the summer. Their captain Graeme Smith said it had been “a terrific summer for South African cricket”.

Former Kerala captain S Rajesh has died, aged 49, at his residence in Thiruvananthapuram

Cricinfo staff08-May-2009Former Kerala captain S Rajesh has died, aged 49, at his residence in Thiruvananthapuram.Rajesh was a right-hand batsman and medium-pace bowler who played 27 first-class matches between 1981-1989 and captained Kerala in two, during the 1988-89 season. Injury forced to him to an early retirement. He scored 1103 runs at 22.97 with seven half-centuries. His brothers S Ramesh and S Santhosh also represented Kerala.Rajesh also served as the chairman of the state senior and junior selection committees and manager of Kerala’s Under-19 and Under- 22 teams.

Steven Gerrard has provided an injury update on Rangers winger Ryan Kent…

What’s the latest?

The Light Blues manager has confirmed that the 24-year-old will be out for three to four weeks with his hamstring injury, although that could change depending on how his rehabilitation goes.

Kent hobbled off in the 2-0 defeat to Lyon in the Europa League the week before last and Gerrard has revealed that the winger could now be out for up to a month.

He told Rangers’ official Twitter channel: “Ryan Kent’s return will be roughly 3-4 weeks but that will depend a lot on the rehab process.”

Fans will be gutted

Rangers fans will surely be gutted with this news as Kent is a crucial player for the club and could now miss a number of matches.

If he is out for exactly one month from today, he will be watching on from the sidelines for four Premiership matches and two Europa League games, having already missed one league match and the League Cup win over Livingston since sustaining the knock.

This means that he could be absent for eight games in total by the team he returns to action, which is a decent chunk of the campaign, and that is why fans will be gutted by this news. Losing a key figure for this long could have an impact on results, unless Kent’s team-mates are able to fill the void left by his convalescence.

Ex-Rangers marksman Kris Boyd once lauded the 24-year-old as “phenomenal” and praised the way he controls the ball.

He said: “There’s Ryan Kent who is phenomenal – he gets you off your seat. His numbers have increased season after season. Even if the team are not at the level we saw at the start of the campaign, he is still a threat. He is so comfortable with the ball – it is like has superglue in his boots!”

Last season, Kent produced 10 goals and nine assists in 36 Premiership starts for Rangers. This shows that he has the quality to make an impact in the final third at this level on a consistent basis, which is why Gerrard will miss him badly in the coming weeks.

He is a player who can get fans off their seats with his direct style of play, as he works hard to create chances for himself and others. Therefore, Gers fans must be gutted that the wing wizard could be out for another six matches.

AND in other news, Gerrard must unleash £18k-p/w Rangers “role model” vs Dundee, he’s a game-changer…

The ICC will consider allowing Pakistan to “outsource” its allocation of 2011 World Cup matches to Abu Dhabi and Dubai

Alex Brown15-Jun-2009The ICC will consider allowing Pakistan to “outsource” its allocation of 2011 World Cup matches to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, according to David Morgan, the ICC chairman. Delegates from the ICC and the four host nations held a four-hour meeting at Lord’s on Monday to discuss Pakistan’s position as World Cup co-hosts in the wake of the March 3 terror attacks outside the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore.Pakistan, as per the previous decision of ICC Development International (the council’s commercial arm), will not host matches at the 2011 tournament, but the PCB will still be recognised as hosts and retain fees from its original allocation of 14 matches. Just where those games will be played remains the chief point of contention, however, with co-hosts India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh keen to share the 14 games between them, and the PCB proposing an outsourcing arrangement with the United Arab Emirates.”The options are that the games could be reallocated amongst the three other host nations, but we have not ruled out the prospect of some of Pakistan’s games perhaps being played in what might be termed a fifth country,” Morgan said. “We have our plans in place for the majority of the matches, if not all of them, to be staged in the Indian subcontinent.”It is the commercial board of ICC that has to make the decision in terms of the location of those 14 matches. Ideally it would be very good if the four host nations could come up with a recommendation. Whether that will occur or not is uncertain at the moment.”Morgan said a final decision could be made in the next fortnight and the PCB had agreed to defer legal proceedings against the ICC while negotiations are taking place.The ‘compromise meeting’ on Monday was organised after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) mounted a strong legal challenge against the ICC and the other co-hosts after the ICC board decided in April to take away all its World Cup matches due to the worsening security situation in the country. The PCB, however, have alleged that several “procedural lapses” occurred in arriving at the decision and claimed that it was not given a fair hearing on the issue. It’s understood that senior officials associated with the tournament are keen that the event is not caught in a legal tangle, which would cause significant delays in preparation.There could possibly be another round of discussions this week but it appears that Pakistan has already made significant gains. Significantly, Monday’s meeting agreed that the PCB will get US$ 10.5 million as hosting fee (US$ 750,000 per match) for the 14 matches it was originally slated to host, irrespective of whether they actually host one or not.”The four hosts confirmed their understanding of the ICC Board’s previous decision, that Pakistan remains a co-host and retains its host fees for the 14 matches originally scheduled to take place there, before the Board’s decision to remove the country as a host location for the tournament,” the ICC said in a statement. “Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka all accepted that if any of those 14 matches were to take place in their countries then they would not be due any fee for hosting them.”The tournament’s central organising committee will also decide upon a location and management structure for the 2011 World Cup secretariat, the ICC said. It is understood that Pakistan will be given adequate represention in the secretariat, which is the operations hub of the tournament. The secretariat was originally to be based in Lahore before it was shifted to Mumbai after the ICC board’s decision. Apparently, the PCB wants the secretariat to be based in Dubai.Then again, India appears to have diluted its hardline stance on the entire issue after having taken the lead in shifting the World Cup secretariat to Mumbai and forming a new organising committee without Pakistani representation. However, the BCCI is still expected to strongly oppose any move to hold Pakistan’s matches at a neutral venue, particularly in the UAE. Indian officials have said that such a move would “dilute the concept” of hosting the event in the sub-continent. As of now, it appears that Pakistan will agree to host “only some of its 14 matches” in the UAE, possibly Abu Dhabi, and leave the rest to be shared among other the other co-hosts.Morgan, meanwhile, added that a proposal to shift the 2011 World Cup to Australia and New Zealand “was not an option.””Although behind the clock, the plans in the India subcontinent are still far more advanced than anything we could put together in Australasia,” Morgan said. “The option of playing the 2015 World Cup in the subcontinent and the 2011 World Cup in Australasia is not one that I am prepared to contemplate.”Both Morgan and Haroon Lorgat, chief executive of the ICC, defended the move to relocate matches from Pakistan, arguing that the council’s other member nations had voted not to play there for the forseeable future.”First choice is to have Pakistan playing cricket at home, but we have got to accept that something has occured that changed the cricketing landscape,” Lorgat said. “Bi-laterally members are not willing to go to Pakistan. If we have the World Cup and try to schedule it in Pakistan it will not happen. Those member teams will not participate in Pakistan. We have to delivery the World Cup and we want Pakistan to be part of that delivery.”The priority is to ensure that cricket is played. We have to deliver a World Cup for all of the members. It is not a commercial decision … it’s to ensure that we get the World Cup played and that we are able to deliver it successfully. We’ve had the experience of the Champions Trophy and you saw how that transpired. We cannot make the same mistake.”