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A round-up of the eleventh day’s games of the HRV Cup, New Zealand’s domestic Twenty20 competition

Cricinfo staff22-Jan-2010An all-round masterclass from Scott Styris gave Auckland an 18-run win against Northern Districts at the Colin Maiden Park. The visitors elected to field first, a decision that met with immediate success as Tillakaratne Dilshan ran out Lou Vincent in the first ball of the match. Soon after, Ravi Bopara was accounted for by Tim Southee to reduce the score to 21 for 2 in the fourth over. That set the stage for Scott Styris who steadied the innings with a knock of tempered aggression. Wickets fell around him as Bradley Scott and Daniel Vettori made regular dents to the line-up, but Styris held an end up and kept the score-board moving with a bustling 59 off 38 balls. Colin de Granhomme swung 24 in 9 balls to give the innings a fillip before it ended at 154 in the last over.Peter McGlashan and Tillakaratne Dilshan got the chase off to a quick start before Styris had a say for the second time in the match. He sent back both openers, while de Grandhomme got rid of Daniel Vettori to change the course of the innings from 43 for 0 to 52 for 3 in 14 balls. Things never improved from there for Northern as Roneel Hira got into the act and wickets began to tumble too frequently. Things looked over and out at 87 for 8 before Joseph Yovich and Scott delayed the end with a 42-run stand. Hira ended with four wickets, but Styris was the hero for Auckland.Table-toppers Otago were handed a surprise defeat by Canterbury in a high-scoring encounter at the University Oval in Dunedin. After winning the toss, Otago got off to a roaring start as openers Hamish Rutherford and Brendon McCullum punishing the new ball. 63 runs had come in 39 balls when Rutherford departed to Carl Frauenstein’s medium-pace. McCullum kept the intensity up, smashing five sixes and four fours in his 44-ball 64, before Andrew Ellis, who had gone for plenty early on, came back to dismiss in. There was however no respite for Canterbury as Craig Cumming carried on the blitz, hitting a 29-ball 53 to ensure a strong finish. When Nathan McCullum launched the last ball of the innings for a six, his side ended with a steep score of 185.Canterbury’s reply got into early trouble, when Rob Nicol succumbed in the third over to Yasir Arafat. Peter Fulton and Michael Papps launched a platform for the chase, adding 37 in 26 balls before Neil Wagner struck for the first out of three times in the evening. Canterbury required someone to play a hand similar to Brendon McCullum, and Shanan Stewart did just that. Coming in at four, Stewart gave the innings impetus, launching three sixes and five fours in his 56 before he was fourth out in the 17th over at 148. Criag McMillan and Johann Myburgh underlined Canterbury’s batting depth, hitting four fours and two sixes, adding 40 in 15 balls to finish the game in a hurry. Despite a result that upset the formbook, the sides maintained their places at the two ends of the table.In a day of upsets, Wellington humbled Central Districts with a dominant batting display set up by their openers at the Basin Reserve. Central Disctricts will rue their decision to field, as the home openers took their attack to the cleaners. Fifty came in the fifth over as Neal Parlane shredded the attack, scoring 67 at better than two runs per ball. Cameron Merchant contributed 44 off 36, but was totally overshadowed by Parlane who had eight boundary-hits and four of them over the ropes. Jacob Oram took maximum stick, going for 54 in his four overs. Parlane was the first to go, having added 115 for the opening wicket in ten overs. Owais Shah, James Franklin and Chris Nevin chipped in with handy contributions that kept up the run rate to finish with 205.Central’s reply was stunted at the roots, with Jamie How and Ross Taylor fell in the second and third overs respectively. Peter Ingram counterattacked with an exciting 55 that brought his side roaring back into the match. Mathew Sinclair provided able support at the other end as 100 came in the ninth over. Things changed drastically in a manic passage of play triggered by Ingram’s dismissal, Mark Houghton breaching his defences. Paul Hitchcock ran through the middle order, picking 3 for 17 as four wickets fell in the space of 18 runs. Even as the innings lost its spark, light faded at the ground, and the match was called off without resumption, with Central 19 short of a winning score.

Pakistan lost a referral after an lbw appeal against Grant Elliott was turned down due to Mohammad Asif overstepping, something which the on-field umpire overlooked

Cricinfo staff27-Nov-2009The fourth day’s play between New Zealand and Pakistan in Dunedin revealed a minor loophole in the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS), making its official debut in this Test. When Mohammad Asif challenged Billy Doctrove’s decision – in favour of Grant Elliott – the replays showed that while the batsman was plumb lbw, Asif had marginally overstepped. It would have been a successful challenge but for the no-ball that was originally missed by Doctrove. Yet it ended up costing Pakistan a run and, more importantly, it counted as an unsuccessful challenge.It raised the question of whether the bowling side should be expected to keep an eye on no-balls, or actually be penalised for having missed one. The ICC’s regulations remain silent on the issue. A guide to the system circulated several days ago by the ICC offered this: “If the original decision of ‘out’ is upheld but for a different method of dismissal than the on-field umpire originally intended, then the review will still be regarded as being unsuccessful.” But it doesn’t advise on cases when the original decision of “not-out” is upheld for reasons other than originally intended by the on-field umpire.The ICC’s Umpires and Referees Manager Doug Cowie admitted a solution for the blip had yet to be found. “We’ll look into that one,” Cowie was quoted as saying in the “It might be one of the things we fine tune when we look into the whole business later on.”We did explore that idea about what happens in a no-ball situation. It’s an interesting one, but I don’t know how you get around it.”When contacted after Friday’s incident, Dave Richardson, the ICC’s cricket operations manager, said it was not a loophole but an issue that needs sorting before every series. “It was something that was not covered specifically in the playing conditions. But I know that in the Australia series it was decided beforehand if that happens [a no-ball which is initially overlooked], the fielding team would not lose out on a review. Obviously in the New Zealand series they haven’t decided, and now they can’t introduce it in the middle of the play.”The umpires followed the book in New Zealand, and Doug Cowie, the ICC’s umpires manager, said that the final decision remained not-out so it is counted as unsuccessful.

Sheffield United are interested in a deal to bring Michael Cooper to Bramall Lane this winter.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football League World, who claimed that the Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper is attracting the interest of numerous clubs ahead of the January transfer window, including the likes of the Blades, Aston Villa, Southampton, Brentford and a host of Championship sides.

While there is no mention of whether or not the League One outfit would be willing to sanction the sale of the 21-year-old this winter, it is claimed that a number of the interested parties, including Sheffield United, appear very keen on the shot-stopper and have sent scouts to watch the youngster in action.

Ramsdale 2.0

Considering just how impressive Cooper has been for Plymouth so far this season, in addition to Sheffield United recently selling their first-choice goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale to Arsenal, it is not difficult to see why Slavisa Jokanovic is reported to be interested in the 21-year-old.

Indeed, over his eight League One appearances this term, the £900-per-week man has kept four clean sheets, saved one penalty and made an average of 2.6 stops per game.

These returns have seen the goalkeeper earn a remarkable average SofaScore match rating of 7.20, ranking him as Argyle’s fourth-best performer in the third tier of English football and helping them to get their 2021/22 campaign off to a fantastic start, with the Pilgrims currently sitting fourth in League One.

As such, considering his tender age and obvious potential, it would seem advisable for Jokanovic to do all he can to land the man who Argyle boss Ryan Lowe dubbed a “monster” in January. While AS Roma loanee Robin Olsen is a fine short-term option for the Blades this season, the 21-year-old could well prove to be Sheffield United’s next Ramsdale in the long-term.

In other news: Signed for £20m, now worth £9m: Sheffield United had a nightmare on £24k-p/w flop

Rangers are looking to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to five matches as they host Aberdeen at Ibrox in the Scottish Premiership.

The Gers are have not lost a competitive match in October, with their last defeat coming at the end of September against Sparta Prague in the Europa League.

Their last game was a 2-1 win over St Mirren away from home on Sunday, with Steven Gerrard’s side coming from 1-0 down to secure the three points.

One change Gerrard should make to the team ahead of the clash with Aberdeen is bringing Glen Kamara into the side ahead of John Lundstram. The Finland international watched on from the bench on Sunday and must now be unleashed at Ibrox to take on the Dons.

Lundstram struggled against St. Mirren at the weekend and was partly to blame for the opening goal. He was caught out in the midfield and too easily shrugged off, with Connor Ronan then firing the ball into the top corner from distance.

As per SofaScore, he failed to make a single tackle in the match as he made one interception and lost two of his three ground duels.

This suggests that he was not strong enough to compete in the middle of the park and that is why Gerrard should forget about starting him and, instead, unleash Kamara.

Neil McCann, his former manager at Dundee United, once hailed him as being “made of iron”. He said of Kamara: “He isn’t a big, physical lad but he’s made of iron and really strong. I knew immediately that he could handle the ball under pressure and not give it away, so he was perfect.

McCann added: “He’s a special talent. He’s lightning-quick but he doesn’t show it. He’s a player who takes instruction well.”

He has shown off these qualities for the Gers in the Premiership. Last season, the £6.2k-per-week beast averaged an excellent SofaScore rating of 6.99 in 33 appearances, winning 59% of his duels over the course of the campaign and making 2.0 tackles and interceptions combined per game.

Therefore, he could provide the midfield stability Rangers need to control the game.

He is able to win the ball back off the opposition and come out on top in the majority of his individual battles, which is why he should start ahead of Lundstram tonight.

AND in other news, Gerrard must ruthlessly axe £18k-p/w Rangers dud v Aberdeen, he was shocking on Sunday…

A Rangers manager claim has been made regarding the potential announcement of Steven Gerrard’s successor…

What’s the talk?

Gers insider David Edgar has played down suggestions that the club’s new manager will be announced on Tuesday (16/11/21). Heart & Hand are an official media partner of the club and presenter Edgar has denied speculation that a press conference has been scheduled.

He told the Heart & Hand Patreon podcast, via Ibrox News:

“You may have seen Whatsapp’s saying Rangers have a press conference booked, they don’t.

“Not to say that an announcement won’t happen, but I’d be surprised if an announcement came tomorrow [Tuesday].”

Frustration

The Gers have reportedly held talks with Gio van Bronckhorst over a deal to take over from Gerrard following the ex-Liverpool man’s move to Aston Villa last week. However, Ross Wilson is also said to be eyeing other, yet to be named, coaches for the role, which could be exciting news for Rangers fans to read.

Irrespective of any excitement that could come with the prospect of an unknown emerging as a serious contender for the role, Rangers fans will surely be starting to get frustrated at the pace of negotiations. After seemingly starting quickly with the talks with van Bronckhorst over the weekend, Wilson now appears to be considering his options and time is ticking down ahead of their semi-final clash with Hibernian on Sunday.

Rangers have the opportunity to seal a place in the final of the cup on Sunday and are currently without a permanent manager in charge. Supporters will surely want to see a head coach in place in advance of the game in order to give the players added motivation to perform, along with a game plan befitting of the style the manager wants to deploy moving forward.

With an announcement on Tuesday unlikely, according to Edgar, it does make one wonder when it will come. Wilson has less than a week to get it wrapped up if he wants someone in the dugout for the Hibs match and that could make these next few days crucial in terms of the short-term success at Ibrox.

Having a clear plan in place could provide clarity ahead of the game, rather than having players play in an important match whilst they remain clueless as to who will be their boss the following week. This is why fans should be getting frustrated as the situation continues to drag out.

AND in other news,  Time’s up: GVB could become an instant hit at Rangers by axing £1.8m-rated dud…

Fabio Paratici has seemingly been given a green light to secure one of Tottenham Hotspur’s mooted transfer targets.

Earlier in the summer transfer window, the north London outfit were linked with a move for Lille midfielder Renato Sanches, with French publication le10sport reporting their ‘strong interest’ in his signature.

At the time, he was thought to be available for around €30m (£26m) due to the Ligue 1 club’s financial problems.

His form at Lille last season carried into Euro 2020, where he delivered a number of eye-catching performances, so it’s no wonder Spurs were one of several clubs who were keen on him.

And now, comments from Les Dogues president Olivier Letang have opened up the door for a team like Tottenham to strike.

“I have already discussed this with him. If an offer from a big club arrives, Renato will be able to leave. We will see what will happen,” he told BFM Lille ahead of the January transfer window (via FourFourTwo).

One of Nuno’s bigger problems since arriving in N17 has been finding the right balance in midfield. They are amongst the Premier League’s least creative teams, having averaged the fourth-lowest number of shots per game (10.9) and fifth-lowest expected goals (8.80 xG).

Furthermore, who knows if Tanguy Ndombele will kick up a fuss again, whilst the form of Dele Alli has been concerning and it’s widely believed that Harry Winks will seek a temporary exit in January, so there could certainly be a place up for grabs.

In fact, a swoop for Sanches could be one of the club’s very best moves in recent times, perhaps since the arrival of Heung-min Son.

The 24-year-old, valued at £27m by Transfermarkt, has been likened to Clarence Seedorf due to his box-to-box qualities, whilst he is said to have the ‘strength of a WWE heavyweight and the nimble feet of a ballet dancer,’ as per Bundesliga.com.

Sanches won the Golden Boy award in 2016 and has also been lauded as a “machine” by the press and as a “complete athlete” by the aforementioned Lille chief.

A two-time winner of the Bundesliga and last season’s Ligue 1 champion, the young Portugal international would have to be considered quite the coup given his trophy-laden record, praise and touted potential alone.

AND in other news, Forget Son: “Phenomenal” £36m-rated Spurs dynamo has been Nuno’s big saving grace…

Gary Kirsten, India’s coach, has credited India’s innings not being affected as much as by inclement weather as crucial to taking a series lead

Cricinfo staff04-Jul-2009Gary Kirsten, India’s coach, has credited India’s innings not being affected as much as by inclement weather as crucial to taking a series lead. West Indies innings began two hours late and was interrupted thrice due to rain, and further intervals initially readjusted India’s target to 195 in 27 overs before a further shower reduced it to 159 in 22 overs. In the end, thanks to MS Dhoni’s unbeaten hand, India won in the final over with six wickets in hand.”It definitely helps a team batting second in this type of set up,” said Kirsten. “It did suit us to be batting second because you can dictate the game a little better when the overs are shortening in terms of what you need.”India went into the final over needing 11 and Dhoni hit the second ball from Jerome Taylor over midwicket to leave India on course for victory. “Someone like MS Dhoni can hit the ball out the ground at any time so it was comforting knowing that we had him at the crease controlling the game,” said Kirsten. “He’s had a magnificent series and he’s played some really good one-day cricket for us. When it comes down to the wire it can go either way, the most important thing is that you have game breakers and match-winners in at that situation.”It became a Twenty20 game and you know that when you are chasing more than a run a ball and [the required run rate] is up at eight and nine and you have one bad over, you’re behind a little bit. [Dwayne] Bravo bowled a magnificent second to last over when he went for five. But we had quality batsmen in so we always felt that one good over [would make the difference’,” Kirsten said.The electronic scorecard at the ground blanked out toward the end of the game, forcing Kirsten to relay required scores to the batsmen at the crease. “It was mind-blowing to be honest, but the umpires were giving them notice every over so they knew what was going on,” he said. “They were fully aware from us what the Duckworth-Lewis totals were so we were pretty much in control of that.”India lead 2-1 with one to play on Sunday.

A round-up from the third day of the latest round of County Championship fixtures

Cricinfo staff08-Jun-2009Marcus Trescothick missed out on his second Championship century of the season when he was stumped for 95 off Gary Keedy, but his efforts – combined with solid displays from Arul Suppiah, Craig Kieswetter and James Hildreth, allowed Somerset to neutralise Lancashire’s first-innings total of 286, and push their contest at Old Trafford towards a draw. Having claimed Lancashire’s final wicket in the second over of the day, Somerset responded with an opening stand of 131 between Trescothick and Suppiah to settle any early nerves. Oliver Newby claimed two quick scalps including Justin Langer for 2, but this match is unlikely to recover from the loss of the first day to rain.Ed Joyce completed a fine day for the Irish with a gutsy century to drag Sussex to first-innings parity against Yorkshire at Headingley. Joyce resumed on 38 not out overnight, but was made to work for his runs as Yorkshire grabbed three early wickets to reduce Sussex to 94 for 6 in reply to 225. But he added 56 for the seventh wicket with Robin Martin-Jenkins to revive the innings, before bringing up his hundred with the final ball he faced in the innings, having added 25 anxious runs for the tenth wicket with Jason Lewry, who immediately fell to Naved-ul-Hasan. Yorkshire began their second innings with an irrelevant lead of 8, with the pigeon-slayer Jacques Rudolph finishing on 86 not out. There was more disappointment for Michael Vaughan, who looked good for 39, before falling to Dwayne Smith shortly before the close.For a full report on Durham’s thumping victory over Hampshire at Chester-le-Street, click here for John Ward’s bulletin.Play finally got underway on the third day between Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire at Edgbaston. George Dobell was there.Another day, another hundred for the imperious Mark Ramprakash. His 138 for Surrey against Glamorgan on the third day at Cardiff was his second in three first-class innings this summer, and the 105th of his 22-year first-class career. It’s unlikely to prove sufficient to force victory, after the loss of the first day to rain, but having posted a decent 368 in their innings, Surrey did claim four Glamorgan wickets before the close. The day, however, belonged to Ramprakash, who had resumed on 50 not out, and eased a total of 14 fours from 271 balls in nearly eight hours of inevitability.Alastair Cook was unbeaten on 43 at the close of the third day at Chelmsford, as Essex were left needing a further 336 on the final day against Middlesex, with eight wickets remaining. Their overall target of 415 is a tall order, especially after their collapse to 157 in the first innings, but as Cook’s fellow England opener, Andrew Strauss, proved earlier in the day, there are still good runs to be had in this track. He made 97 before being bowled by Maurice Chambers, as Middlesex declared their second innings on 297 for 7. Danish Kaneria was the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 85 in 28 overs.Hamish Marshall and Alex Gidman each made centuries in a 233-run stand for Gloucestershire’s third wicket at Chesterfield, as Derbyshire were made to toil on the penultimate day of a rain-wrecked contest. Only 16.3 overs had been possible on the first two days, so batting practice was the only realistic aim, and neither man missed out. Marshall made 158, Gidman 135, and Gloucestershire declared on 403 for 5 three overs before the close.Boeta Dippenaar’s 89 was the pick of the scores as Leicestershire’s match against Kent finally got underway on the third day at Grace Road. By the close, they had reached 351 for 6, with Tom New unbeaten on 55.

A round-up of the ninth day’s action from the Emerging Players tournament in Brisbane

Cricinfo staff30-Jul-2009
ScorecardIndia sealed a place in the finals of the Emerging Players Tournament after a five-wicket victory over New Zealand in Brisbane. Amit Mishra starred with the ball, while Virat Kohli continued his fine batting form to help India post a comfortable win.After New Zealand chose to bat first, both their openers were dismissed in succession by fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, with the score on 47. The New Zealand batting was held together by BJ Watling, who scored an unbeaten 94. However, the middle order failed, as they found themselves in a spot of bother at 6 for 105 at one stage after losing four wickets for 36 runs.Watling forged an 87-run partnership with Tarun Nethula to help revive their team to a respectable score of 246. Legspinner Amit Mishra picked up four of the last five wickets to finish with 4 for 44 from his ten overs.India lost in-form opener Ajinkya Rahane for 24 and Naman Ojha fell almost immediately for a duck to leave them at 2 for 49. The captain S Badrinath then joined Kohli and the duo added 106 to put India in the driving seat. Kohli was dismissed for an aggressive 92 off 86 balls, but Badrinath ensured victory with a 52-run partnership with Manoj Tiwary for the fifth wicket. Badrinath was unbeaten on 81 and India won with more than five overs to spare.
ScorecardSouth Africa Emerging Players will meet India in the final after they demolished the Australian Institute of Sports by 183 to secure their eighth win in a row. A massive batting collapse from the Australians left them all out for an embarrassing 44 in 13.2 overs, with Cornelius de Villiers taking 5 for 15 to destroy the top order.Chasing 228 for victory, Australia were never in the hunt, losing seven wickets in the first seven overs, with de Villiers taking five, including three in his third over. Only two batsmen – Rob Quiney and Jon Holland – managed to reach double figures as Craig Alexander and Basheeru-Deen Walters offered excellent support to de Villiers.South Africa’s total was built around a 97-run third-wicket partnership between captain Vaughn van Jaarsveld and Rilee Rossouw. Both batsmen fell off successive balls in the 23rd over, though, and the innings fell away thereafter, as South Africa lost their last eight wickets for only 92. Jason Floros and Steven Smith bowled tidy spells for Australia to finish with three wickets each.South Africa now face India in the final on Saturday. Australia are out of the tournament and will play New Zealand in the third-place playoff.

Celtic duo Kyogo Furuhashi and Callum McGregor are close to making a Hoops return, The Scottish Sun report.

The Lowdown: Hoops’ struggles without the pair

Celtic have struggled in recent weeks, with Furuhashi missing the last five games with a knee injury and McGregor the last four due to a hamstring problem.

The Hoops have managed just two wins from their last five, with defeats to Real Betis and Livingston without the duo.

However, it appears as if they could both be edging closer to full Parkhead returns.

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The Latest: Postecoglou’s comments

Postecoglou was talking to the media, relayed by The Scottish Sun, following Celtic’s 1-1 draw with Dundee United on Sunday.

He provided a positive update on summer signing Giorgos Giakoumakis, revealing a scan on an injured calf came back positive and he could make his debut against Aberdeen on the weekend.

Postecoglou also addressed Furuhashi and McGregor’s injuries, saying:

“Kyogo isn’t too far away and so is Cal.”

The Verdict: Big news

Furuhashi has been brilliant since he arrived in Glasgow, scoring seven times in nine appearances, while captain McGregor was an ever-present prior to his knock.

Having the pair back, you’d expect, would be a huge boost going forward, and they could help the Hoops get back on track in all competitions.

Hopefully, they could be involved in some capacity before the next international break, but if they aren’t, then they should be ready to go for the first game after the international break.

In other news: ‘I have never heard’ – McLeish baffled by something happening behind the scenes at Celtic.