According to Sky Sports, Southampton are interested in signing Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge this month after a previous report in The Telegraph on December 28 suggested they were keen to bring the England international to St Mary’s on loan.
What’s the word, then?
Well, Sky Sports says that while Saints are tracking Arsenal forward Theo Walcott, they understand that The Telegraph story that said they are keen on a loan move for Sturridge is wide of the mark.
The Telegraph had previously reported that the south coast outfit would be keen to bring the 28-year-old proven goalscorer in this month if he was available on loan, as they look to boost a team that is struggling for goals and only outside of the relegation zone on goal difference.
How has Sturridge done this season?
He has struggled to play regularly.
The form of the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino have often meant that he has started matches on the substitutes’ bench, although he has scored three goals and provided a further three assists in 14 appearances in all competitions this term.
Injury issues have often overshadowed the 28-year-old’s time at Anfield, and after recovering from a hamstring problem at the beginning of the campaign he has now missed Liverpool’s last seven Premier League matches with a niggle and then through illness.
Should Southampton be in for him this month?
If he is available, they absolutely should be.
The fact is that unless Liverpool are to bring in a new striker this month then Jurgen Klopp will likely want to keep the centre-forward as cover, but if he is sent out on loan or sold permanently then Saints have to be interested.
They have struggled for goals since the start of last season and while his injury record would mean that signing him is a risk, the fact that 75 goals in 194 Premier League appearances and 64 in 133 outings for the Merseyside outfit show the ability he has to find the net.
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That quality in front of goal could be the difference between Southampton going down or staying up this term.
We hate diving in this country. It’s all those foreigners, allegedly, who have brought the evils of going to ground too easily to the Premier League. The same is true for tapping up; it’s a foreign thing that’s widely accepted abroad and we in England haven’t quite caught onto it yet. That doesn’t mean the rest of Europe has to apologise for it.
It was interesting that Pete Jenson of the Independent spoke about his conversation with Sandro Rosell and that the Barcelona president wasn’t too concerned with Manchester United’s persistent and very public pursuit of Cesc Fabregas. And what exactly is he supposed to say? There are absolutely no grounds for him to be angered or perturbed over the English club’s actions. The fact that he batted the question away as being just another part of the game suggests how far England are behind other nations.
And here’s the thing: this whole tapping up tactic is an underhand and mischievous act, but it’s pretty much accepted as the norm. What are UEFA supposed to do? What can they really do? Marca are supporters of Real Madrid, and Sport of Barcelona. Those papers are always going to write favourably of their clubs, and if UEFA steps in on that, it opens up a whole mess of a situation that is better left alone. Of course, the newspapers have direct links into each club and amplify the whispers that originate inside the walls of the Bernabeu and Camp Nou, but there is no way UEFA or any governing body can properly regulate the matter.
[cat_link cat=”premiership” type=”list”]
We in England have rightly had enough of the media’s role in luring away the Premier League’s top talents; Cesc Fabregas, Gareth Bale, even Cristiano Ronaldo. So instead of complaining about an issue that will never be resolved, why not play a hand in these tactics ourselves? Where is the English press and its campaigns to keep hold of Arsenal or Tottenham’s best? Gareth Bale had his feathers ruffled at some stage this summer by the press in Madrid, but where is the counter offensive.
A point to be made: tapping up is slightly different to clubs directly and illegally talking to their transfer targets.
It’s a part of the game, as much as we hate it. Italy and Spain have newspapers solely for the purpose of football, with radio also supplementing the myriad of blogs already in existence. In England, we’re a bit short on the offensive. We don’t have papers who are directly in support of certain clubs – at least not to the extent of Rome, Barcelona and Madrid. But then whose fault is that? Should other nations hold their hands up and say sorry for us not being totally prepared for the nuts and bolts that make up the modern day transfer machine? We’re playing the victim in all this.
No, I don’t believe UEFA need to step in and take out that unethical mob – and that’s said tongue in cheek. Maybe clubs need to evolve or find ways to circumvent the tactics used in concert by foreign clubs and their media. Release clauses serve a purpose well enough. Napoli wouldn’t budge until they got what they wanted for Edinson Cavani. Take a firm stand on contracts and give back a little credence to what was agreed between the player and his current club.
But then how about the media in England spend a little less time driving out its own star players and focus more on the playing side of the game. Luis Suarez can write his own headlines for as long as he sees fit, but what’s been done is done. Report on it, fill the column inches and then move on. The same can be said for Arsenal and Fabregas; instead of driving out a big-name player because you’ve got a personal agenda against his club, write about him and the game in England favourably. How easy must the media in Spain find this whole game?
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Should UEFA step in and take action against underhand tactics in the transfer market?
The most recent barometer of Tottenham’s readiness for the Premier League season, was last Thursday’s marquee friendly against Valencia. And whilst it was by no means a complete disaster, it spelt out emphatically the issues that Spurs have yet to address during the summer transfer period.
The way in which Andre Villas-Boas’ side went to the Mestalla and enjoyed such large spells of possession, offered real room for encouragement. Valencia are one of the more technically accomplished teams on the continent and their impressive third placed finish under ex-coach Unai Emery is testament to that. Considering the starting holding pair of Jake Livermore and Jermaine Jenas may not even make the XI on Saturday, it made the feat all the more impressive.
But there was a stark difference between the two sides last week and it wasn’t difficult to distinguish which side carried the greater threat. Valencia looked dangerous whenever they went forward, and although Spurs went down to a couple of fantastic goals, it’s difficult to argue with the final result. Tottenham looked toothless up front and it’s no surprise that Mauricio Pellegrino’s team were happy to let Tottenham see so much of the ball. They didn’t do an awful lot with it.
And the frustrating thing for supporters is that nothing that happened last week was of any real surprise. The situation that Spurs find themselves with up front, has been well publicised all summer. Jermain Defoe is the only recognised striker at the club and as great a goalscorer he may be, he simply does not suit AVB’s new set-up. Some fans may feel bored of the continuous assumption that the well-liked Defoe has no future in the starting line up, but those who watched events at the Mestalla cannot be under any doubts; that was only a sampler.
Tottenham need at least one more frontman and they’ve known that for what feels like a very long time. And it doesn’t matter how you want to frame it, if Spurs go to Newcastle without that striker, they have in some respects, failed themselves in the transfer window.
No one is under any doubts that Daniel Levy will pull a frontman out of the bag before the transfer window slams shut, but there is something macabre in the way in which it appears to be left to the last minute. Some have suggested that what the Spurs supremo is doing is a masterstroke and that there is no ‘value’ in the transfer market before August. However right that might be, the concept of it is deeply flawed.
If that was true, in essence, Daniel Levy is saying to Andre Villas-Boas that he won’t have his first choice XI for the first or arguably the second fixture of the season. Depending on how many changes hinge on the sale of Luka Modric, that could even be perceived as writing the first game off. Regardless of whether you think Spurs already have enough in the tank to get past Alan Pardew’s side on Saturday, it simply isn’t good enough. Nobody needs reminding of how many points Tottenham missed out on guaranteed Champions League football last season. You must be prepared for every game in this league. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail, is an apt little adage.
Levy cannot be panned for his running of the football club and the fact Tottenham Hotspur are looking to push on for another shot at Champions League football this season, is in no small part to the stance Levy has adopted since he became chairman. But that doesn’t mean he’s bulletproof. The Essex-born businessman has invested highly in disposing of Harry Redknapp and acquiring his favoured coaching set-up in Andre Villas-Boas and his team. The Portuguese needs the best possible start; leaving the team woefully short up front for the first game of the season seems a little bit counter-productive to say the least.
It is the responsibility of Levy and his team to acquire the transfer targets, not Andre Villas-Boas. And up front, the excuses are running out for why no one’s been brought in. Emmanuel Adebayor may be flailing around with wage demands but that isn’t an excuse. Spurs should have set a deadline and they should have enforced ultimatums to the Togolese international. Putting all their eggs in the bag of someone like Adebayor is a huge gamble and at the moment, it’s blowing up in their faces. If the ex-Arsenal man couldn’t agree terms with all parties earlier, it should have been a case of thank you and goodbye.
Similarly with another massively rumoured target, Leandro Damiao, Spurs seem to have postured for an eternity with the Brazilian. For near on 18 months now, Tottenham have tracked the Internacional starlet. They knew what the goalposts were going to be. If they are that keen on him, why was it decided to leave it till after the Olympics to table an offer? The odds on him having a good tournament were always high and consequently, his transfer fee would have risen. If efforts are being made to negotiate a lower fee, than they only have themselves to look at in the mirror.
You can never second-guess what has been going on behind the scenes and it would be foolish to suggest Levy hasn’t been working hard. One or two deals have been thought to have been brokered, only to fall apart and who knows who the board were working to acquire. But all of their rivals have done the bulk of their transfer work early and they head into the season more or less there. Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jan Vertonghen were excellent deals that were sorted out weeks ago. The problem is, that could only be the tip of the iceberg.
Tottenham need at least one striker, if not two. Arguably their most talented player has no future at the club and a replacement must be sought out. To top things off, the new manager supposedly craves a new goalkeeper to bring to the fore. The new season starts in a matter of days.
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Levy will sort the problems out at Spurs and things will start moving quicker when, with all fingers crossed, the Modric deal goes through. No one is criticising the chairman for refusing to be bent over by Real Madrid. But if the team struggle to make an impression upon the Newcastle United defence on Saturday, don’t look at Adebyaor, Damiao or Villas-Boas for criticism.
How do you feel about Spurs transfer brinkmanship this summer? The right thing to do or a gamble too far? Let me know how you feel about how the summer’s gone on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus and get involved with the Spurs talk.
Leeds the scene for Jofra Archer, Haris Rauf comebacks – so long as the weather plays ball
Danyal Rasool21-May-20241:29
Can Kirsten get the best out of Babar?
Big picture
The last time England played Pakistan in this format, nearly 90,000 people turned up to watch, with a global audience potentially in the hundreds of millions. It came at the MCG in the 2022 T20 World Cup final, and as the Pakistani tears and wild English celebrations demonstrated, what was on the line mattered.That won’t quite be the case at Headingley on Wednesday, and not only because the Yorkshire weather might put paid to the possibility of a game altogether. A lot has happened in the following year and a half, and little of it has served to bolster these sides’ credentials as World Cup champions and runners-up. The two have won a combined two T20I series out of a possible nine, each boasting sizeable losing records since they played at the MCG. They were both eliminated from the following ODI World Cup at the first hurdle. England’s match-winner from that warm Melbourne night isn’t currently a part of the T20I setup, while Pakistan’s captain was briefly dethroned before inexplicably having the crown handed back to him a few months later.It’s risky to judge a team solely on T20I results in bilateral games; even this series, after all, serves almost entirely as a warm-up to the T20 World Cup less than a fortnight away. But given their struggles in T20I cricket, both teams would benefit from a series win and are duly taking the series extremely seriously.Related
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England haven’t played a T20I all year, though they did take on upcoming World Cup co-hosts West Indies in a five-match T20I series in December. What Jos Buttler’s side want to avoid is a repeat of their calamitous ODI World Cup with a similarly disjointed T20 World Cup defence. England were so keen to get their full squad together they risked the ire of the IPL by recalling them well in time, and Jofra Archer has been managed in a way to allow him to return for his first T20 game in over a year just in time for the lead-up to the World Cup.Pakistan’s frenetic administrative setup and impassioned fanbase mean they never quite have the luxury of not taking any international seriously, but with the World Cup around the corner, a bilateral T20I series could scarcely matter more. Pakistan, after all, remain the only one of 20 teams not to have announced their World Cup squad yet; they will wait as long as possible – until after the first game of this series – to make it official, ensuring they make decisions based on maximum information.And that World Cup, ultimately, is the direction every aspect of this series will be slanted towards. That night at the MCG assures both teams they have what it takes to stand atop the mountain, and though Leeds isn’t close to that peak, it may well be an important stepping stone.Jos Buttler is set to take the gloves against Pakistan•Getty Images
Form guide
England LWWLL (last five completed matches, most recent first) Pakistan WWLWL
In the spotlight
A year since his last T20, and four since his last international game on English soil. Jofra Archer will be the unquestionable star attraction at Leeds after captain Jos Buttler confirmed he would make a much-anticipated return in the first game. After a prolonged injury nightmare, it appears England have finally managed to nurse Archer back to full fitness, and the way his team-mates talk about him, he’s as formidable a prospect as he ever was. Sam Curran mentioned the value of the “fear factor” his extra pace instills in the opposition, and an overcast Headingley may well be the ideal occasion to ease him in.Pakistan, too, have an express pace bowler returning from injury who is expected to start in this game after an extended layoff. Haris Rauf has had a tumultuous last six months, beginning with a board dispute that saw him lose his central contract, followed by a shoulder injury during the PSL, and ultimately the reinstatement of aforementioned central contract. He was part of the group that travelled to Ireland but wasn’t fit enough to get a game. By all accounts, his injury has healed faster than the initial prognosis, and a pace-off between two of cricket’s most fear-inducing bowlers is worth tuning in for.
Team news
England will not rush Liam Livingstone back as he recovers from a minor knee issue. Mark Wood has not played since March and will be managed through the series due to a knee niggle of his own, which is not considered serious. Buttler has confirmed that he will keep wicket.England: 1 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 2 Phil Salt, 3 Will Jacks, 4 Jonny Bairstow, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Reece TopleyHaving eschewed the opportunity to include Mohammad Haris in the squad, Saim Ayub’s return to form cannot come soon enough with this game the last Pakistan play before the official squad announcement. Rauf is expected to return, making this potentially the first time since the Asia Cup that he has featured alongside Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah.Pakistan: 1 Mohammad Rizwan, 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Babar Azam (capt), 4 Fakhar Zaman, 5 Azam Khan (wk), 6 Iftikhar Ahmed/Shadab Khan, 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Shaheen Afridi, 9 Haris Rauf, 10 Mohammad Amir, 11 Naseem Shah
Pitch and conditions
The biggest question mark concerns the weather. It was overcast in Leeds on Tuesday, and the forecast suggests rain through much of Wednesday.
Stats and trivia
England won more T20I games at the 2022 World Cup (5) than they have in the 18 months since (4).
Babar Azam has 46 wins as T20I captain, more than any other international captain.
Both captains are close to approaching personal batting milestones. Babar is 45 runs away from becoming the second player to 4000 T20I runs, while 73 more would see Buttler become the first Englishman to 3000.
Quotes
“That pride was obviously dented and it was a really disappointing competition. But life moves on: it’s a chapter in the book and there’s lessons you learn but we’re presented with a new opportunity, a different format. We go to the West Indies and want to give a better account of ourselves.” “We’re looking forward to facing him. He’s coming back after about a year. As a team we are excited to play against him. We’ve played well against him in the past and I’m sure it’ll be a good contest in the coming games. We have that pace of bowlers in Haris Rauf and Shaheen, so I wouldn’t say we’re fearful, but we are excited.”
The world’s most prolific run-scorer in women’s cricket joins the Ahmedabad-based franchise for the inaugural season of WPL
ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jan-2023Former India captain Mithali Raj has been roped in as mentor and advisor at Gujarat Giants, one of the five franchises set to take part in the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL). Raj – the most prolific run-scorer in the history of women’s cricket – has been one of the strongest advocates of an IPL-style women’s franchise league in India, and as mentor and advisor at Giants, will also promote women’s cricket at the grassroots level in their home state of Gujarat.”Women’s cricket is growing steadily, and this kind of impetus will undoubtedly encourage young women to consider taking up cricket
professionally,” Raj said in a media release. “I believe that the high-impact participation of corporates will help hasten the process of eventually bringing more glory to India. This level of influence can help strengthen the sporting ecosystem, and enhance opportunities for women athletes.”Related
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Pranav Adani, Director of Adani Enterprises, which manages Giants’ owners Adani Sportsline, said on hiring Mithali: “Mithali Raj is a role model for the young generation, and we are delighted to have such an inspirational athlete on board to mentor our women’s cricket team.”We believe that the presence of international sporting heroes like Mithali will attract new talent not just into cricket but also into every other sport.”On January 25, Adani Sportsline – the sports development wing of the Adani Group – purchased the rights to own an Ahmedabad-based team for INR 1289 crore (USD 158 million approx.), the most expensive team that will take part in the competition. In all, INR 4669.99 crore (USD 572.78 million approx.) was spent by Adani Group, Capri Global – who bought the Lucknow team – and the owners of Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore to acquire the rights for the five WPL franchises.The WPL is likely to be played between March 4 and March 24, a tight window squeezed out between the Women’s T20 World Cup that ends in late February and the men’s IPL that is set to start one week after the women’s competition. The WPL auction, set for early February, will have auction purses of INR 12 crore (USD 1.46 million approx) per team.Each team can buy a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 18 players, including seven overseas ones, of which one must be from an Associate country. Unlike in the men’s IPL, WPL teams will have the option of fielding up to five overseas players in the XI, provided, again that one is from an Associate team.A total of 22 matches will be played in WPL 2023, with each team playing the other twice to make it a total of eight games per team. The top-ranked team will enter the final directly, while the second and third-placed teams will face off in a Qualifier to determine the second finalist.
Kolpak-returnee quick opens up on his time away from the national team and the thrill of potentially making the XI against India
Firdose Moonda23-Dec-2021Duanne Olivier was so confident he would not play for South Africa again that when he signed a Kolpak deal in 2019, he framed his Test cap. So, what happens if baggy green No. 94 is needed later this week?”I am going to have to ask if I can get a new one. Otherwise I need to break the frame,” Olivier said, from South Africa’s bio-bubble in Centurion three days before the Boxing Day Test against India, which should mark Olivier’s comeback.Although he is still bashful about his chances of being in the starting XI, with Anrich Nortje out through injury and Olivier leading the first-class wicket-charts, he is all but certain to play.When, and it is when and not if, he does, Olivier is going to be battling butterflies, just like he always does. “I am a nervous person when it comes to playing. Wherever I play I am always nervous. If it’s my first over, I am very nervous,” he said. “I’ll have different feeling this time. will be different feelings. Maybe it might be similar to a debut because I haven’t played for three years. It will be interesting to see what the nerves will be like but I’m sure, if I am selected to play, I think my nerves will be shot through the roof.”Related
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Olivier will partly be worried about performance in a big series against a team that is “not No. 1 for no reason,” he reminded. “It’s massive series. They (India) haven’t won here, so they want to come and win here and for us, we don’t want that to happen.”And he will partly be concerned about what South Africans still bitter from his decision to leave think. “I know people will have mixed feelings about it, but at the end of the day, it’s okay. You handle that and you deal with those pressures or the criticism that comes with that.”But the one thing he does not have to worry about are the feeling of his team-mates, some old, many new, who are more than happy to have him.Earlier in the week, South Africa Test captain Dean Elgar said he’s be happy to have anyone who is in form, in the squad. “I want our best opportunity to win matches and win series, and in order for that, you need to make tough calls on bringing people back, for instance. I was very keen to have him back,” Elgar said. “There’s no bad feelings about what’s happened in the past. I want to win cricket matches for South Africa, I want to win series for South Africa, and I’m pretty sure I’ve got 100% backing when it comes to that in our change room. It’s nice to have him back.”Except that it’s not exactly the same Olivier who has returned. “You can see that he’s a different cricketer to what he was the first time he played for us,” Elgar said. And that’s a good thing. “Obviously with his trip away from South Africa, he’s learnt a lot, he’s played a lot of cricket in the UK, so he’s bringing a lot of knowledge and experience back into the change room, which is something that we need at the moment.”Olivier himself feels like someone else, as a person and a cricketer. “Firstly, I am more mature and a bit more grown up,” he said. “And from a cricketing point of view, I do genuinely believe I am different. The UK helped me a lot in perfecting that fuller length that every bowler wants to bowl. For me, it was quite difficult because it can come across floaty and I wasn’t that consistent. I am still working on it and I am not going to get it right every single time but the three years I spend in the UK helped me immensely, just the way I approach my game. I can still go short if I want to, but at the end of the day, the games dictates that. People thought I only bowl short and fair enough, I did that but now I feel like I have a different element to my game.”Duanne Olivier celebrates a wicket during his stint with the English county Yorkshire•Getty Images
A fuller length has long been talked about as the key to success on the Highveld, where two of the three Tests will be played, and especially at the Wanderers, Olivier’s new home ground, albeit that the temptation is to bowl short. But Olivier has seen for himself that fuller is better. In adjusting his lengths, he has been rewarded and taken 24 of his 28 wickets this summer at the Wanderers, including both five-fors. He hasn’t yet played at SuperSport Park, the venue of the first Tests, but it will be similarly seamer-friendly, with the promise that someone will take the series lead.”It looked like there was a bit of grass, green grass on it and I assume they will probably take a little bit off. I reckon probably a touch slow on day one but it’s always a wicket that speeds up and the game moves forward,” Olivier said. “And there has always been a result. I don’t know when last a Test match, even a four-day game, there was a draw.”The last drawn Test in Centurion was in 2009, against England, and there have only been three drawn Tests at the venue in 26 matches, all against the same opposition. South Africa have beaten India both times they played them at this venue and will hope history repeats itself as they seek to rebuild as a Test outfit, gain points on the World Test Championship table and begin to turn the page over two years of upheaval – two years Olivier missed.But he did not entirely escape the goings-on in this cricketing landscape and he is well aware of the importance of this contest in the broader context of South African cricket. “If we come out on top, it will mean a lot for South Africa in general, for Cricket South Africa and for players, because it’s like a make-or-break series for players,” he said. “If you do well against a top team in the world, it says something.”For me, it’s probably the biggest series I will play so, if selected, there will be those pressures. We’re playing against world class players but at the same time, it’s an exciting challenge. Like, I’ll need to bowl to (Virat) Kohli. It will be tough, but it’s exciting. We’ll be bowling to probably the top four batters in the world. It’s like making a statement to them. We are here to compete. We are not just going to roll over. For me, that’s very important: throwing the first punch, to know that you are here, you are present.”Perhaps as long as that punch doesn’t have to be through the glass frame to retrieve his Test cap.
Some of the players from these two countries will arrive in the UAE after playing a limited-overs bilateral series
Nagraj Gollapudi13-Aug-20200:53
‘Learn the guitar’ – Brett Lee’s tip on how to maintain biosecure bubble during IPL
Key players from England and Australia including Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Steven Smith, David Warner and Pat Cummins could be in danger of missing their teams’ respective first matches in the IPL, with the BCCI unlikely to relax the mandatory seven-day quarantine period, which involves team members clearing three tests before they can start training.England are scheduled to host a limited-overs series against Australia comprising three T20Is and three ODIs. The series will end by September 16, which is four days before the IPL takes off in the UAE.A total of 29 players from England and Australia are part of the eight IPL squads, some of whom, like the Australian pair of Cummins and Glenn Maxwell, were signed at the 2020 IPL auction for record sums of money.Other players who are likely to be part of the series, and could be among the first picks in the IPL, will be Australia white-ball captain Aaron Finch, his England counterpart Eoin Morgan, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Marcus Stoinis.A total of 29 Australian and English players are set to feature in IPL 2020•ESPNcricinfo Ltd
Keeping in mind the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic, the IPL has laid down strict guidelines in its draft standard operating procedures (SOPs), which were shared with the teams recently. The SOPs include a rigorous testing process that mandates multiple tests within the first week upon landing in the UAE.Once the squads land in the UAE, all members will undergo a test at the airport before heading to the team hotel. From this point, the IPL testing protocol will kick in.As per the protocol, every squad will undergo a mandatory seven-day quarantine in the team hotel. During this week every squad member will be tested three times – on days 1, 3 and 6. Once all three results come back negative, the squad can start training. After that, all squad members will be tested on the fifth day of every week throughout the tournament.Although franchises have agreed with the SOPs, it is understood that several asked the IPL if the week-long quarantine could be relaxed for the group of players that will feature in the England-Australia series. In a call with the IPL, franchises reasoned that, considering the players would be exiting one bubble to enter another in IPL while likely traveling on a charter flight, the testing and quarantine process for this group should be different in order for them to be ready to play matches quickly.The franchises have said that as long as this group fulfills the rules laid out by the UAE government, they should be allowed to play in the tournament straightway. Currently, anyone travelling into the UAE needs to carry a negative result from a test carried out in the previous 96 hours. They would then need to undergo another test at the airport.However, ESPNcricinfo understands the IPL has remained stoic in its stance as it prepares a final set of SOPs which also need to be approved by the UAE government.Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler are among the high-profile English players in the IPL•PTI
Strict quarantine protocols also in place for CPL 2020 Similar questions have been raised by franchises in the 2020 Caribbean Premier League, which will be played in Trinidad & Tobago from August 18.Some of the West Indies players who had participated in a Test series in England, where they had been in a biosecure bubble, questioned why it was necessary for them to undergo the 14-day CPL-mandated quarantine in their hotel room.In a letter to franchises last week, Dr Akshay Mansingh, the CPL’s chief medical officer, explained why moving between bubbles was not enough and how any person coming into the country was a “potential threat”.”For those of you coming from the English tour, I just want to point out the difference between the two bubbles,” Mansingh said in an e-mail sent on August 8. “When we went to England, we were coming from countries with few cases of Covid-19 into a country where it was rampant. As a result, all that was done was to keep us safe from what was happening outside, and hence people were allowed to move in clusters and meet in rooms etc.”In Trinidad there remain relatively low number of cases and they see anyone coming in from outside as a potential threat. Hence the bubble here is to keep their citizens safe from people coming from outside; even if you are corning from a country with low numbers of Covid-19 cases. Irrespective of where you are coming from (including Trinidadian citizens coming from overseas) the law of the land is that all have to quarantine for two weeks, either in a Government facility or in designated hotels. They have not restricted movements of their citizens as they have not had large community spread.”The IPL testing process and quarantine protocol would also apply to the players and coaching staff travelling to the UAE from the CPL, which is scheduled to end on November 10. Prominent West Indian players in the CPL who are first picks for IPL teams include Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo. There is also a healthy set of coaching and support staff including Brendon McCullum, who will make his debut as an IPL head coach at Kolkata Knight Riders, and Andy Flower, who is the assistant coach with Kings XI Punjab.
South Africa batsman to miss remainder of CSA T20 Challenge for Cape Cobras
ESPNcricinfo staff27-Apr-2019Hashim Amla has pulled out of the Cape Cobras squad for the remainder of the CSA T20 Challenge.”I have opted not to make myself available for selection for the Cape Cobras for the remainder of the CSA T20 Challenge,” read a statement released by Amla. “I express my sincere gratitude to the Cobras coaching staff and team for the game time over the last three weeks, given the circumstances.”Cobras have one remaining round-robin game against Dolphins at Kingsmead on Sunday. They are currently placed second after having lead the pack for much of the competition, with a home semi-final at stake in their final game.Amla opted to play in the competition instead of seeking a short-term opportunity with a county side, as Aiden Markram has, in order to be closer to his father, who has been seriously ill for some time, while also securing vital game time as he works through a spell of poor form.Amla briefly left the Cobras squad to return to Durban to be at his father’s side last week. The game he missed – against Knights in Bloemfontein – was in any case abandoned without a ball bowled due to inclement weather. Amla subsequently returned to the team for their matches against Titans and Lions, scoring 3 and 10.While Cobras have enjoyed significant success – winning five matches – Amla’s own returns from the eight games he has played in have been modest. He has scored 92 runs at a strike rate of 83.63 with a top score of 32, showing only brief flashes of the sort of batting that has built his formidable reputation over the years.Despite his struggle for form over the last year, Amla was named in South Africa’s World Cup squad. In just over two weeks, the South African squad will assemble for a pre-tournament team camp before departing for the World Cup, and Amla wants to “use the remaining time before the World Cup to fine-tune my batting.”
Sheldon Cottrell suffered the injury during West Indies’ first group game, against UAE, in which he bowled only 4.4 overs
ESPNcricinfo staff09-Mar-2018A hamstring injury has ruled West Indies fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell out of the remainder of the ongoing ICC World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe. Cottrell suffered the injury during West Indies’ first group game, against UAE, in which he bowled only 4.4 overs; he has been replaced by uncapped Guyana right-arm quick Keemo Paul.Paul, 20, shot into the limelight during West Indies’ Under-19 World Cup victory in 2016, but their run to the title was controversial because of the fast bowler’s actions. In their final group match against Zimbabwe – a game West Indies had to win to make the quarter-finals – Paul effected a mankad to dismiss the last wicket. In the final, against India, Paul hit the winning runs.Paul has 82 wickets across first-class and List A cricket, with a bowling average of 17.35 and 21.32 in the two formats respectively.With two wins in two games – the second against Papua New Guinea – West Indies are currently second position in Group A, trailing Ireland by virtue of an inferior net run rate. The two sides will face each other on March 10 in Harare.
New Zealand have named big-hitter Tom Bruce and allrounder Ben Wheeler in their 14-player squad for the upcoming T20s against Bangladesh
ESPNcricinfo staff26-Dec-2016
New Zealand squad
Kane Williamson (capt), Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Tom Bruce, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Colin Munro, James Neesham, Luke Ronchi (wk), Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Ben Wheeler In:* Tom Bruce, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, James Neesham, Ben Wheeler Out: Grant Elliott, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Adam Milne, Henry Nicholls, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor *
New Zealand have named Central Districts batsman Tom Bruce and allrounder Ben Wheeler in their 14-man squad for the upcoming T20Is against Bangladesh. Allrounder Corey Anderson, who has been plagued by a back injury for the major part of 2016, has been picked as a batsman.Fast bowler Trent Boult was selected but will be rested for the first of the three T20Is. Fellow quick Tim Southee was rested for the entire series in preparation for the two Tests that follow.Batsman Ross Taylor, who had had surgery to remove a benign growth in his left eye after the Hamilton Test against Pakistan in late November, was not picked for this series, but will return to domestic T20 cricket “within the next few days”, according to selector Gavin Larsen.Anderson had played in the World T20 in March, before the back injury ruled him out of the tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa. He then returned for the five-ODI series in India in October, where he was also picked as just a batsman. Anderson scored only 31 runs in four games and tried his hand at bowling in the final match – four overs, 27 runs, no wicket. Subsequently he was left out of the Chappell-Hadlee ODIs in Australia, which Taylor had also missed due to his surgery.Larsen said the uncapped batsman Bruce would boost the squad’s hitting power. “Tom has been one of the leading players in the Super Smash [the domestic T20 competition] the past two years and is one of the cleanest strikers of a cricket ball in the country. He has averaged 76 at a strike-rate of 174 so far this season, so Tom has proven himself to be a very dangerous player,” Larsen said. “Power is a critical element to Twenty20 cricket, so to have him alongside the likes of Martin [Guptill], Corey and the two Colins [Munro and de Grandhomme] is an exciting prospect.”Left arm pace-bowling allrounder Wheeler, also from Central Districts, had played six ODIs between June and August 2015, but is yet to play a T20 international. He has not contributed much with the bat in the Super Smash so far this season, but has six wickets from five games at 27.16.”Ben has put in a lot of hard work to get to this point again, so we’re looking forward to having him back in the mix,” Larsen said. “His ability to swing the ball at a decent clip can trouble any batsman, as he has shown in domestic cricket this season.”We’ve got some really exciting players coming through and it’s important to give them opportunities and introduce them to the international stage. There are a number of players who just missed out – the likes of Mark Chapman, Neil Wagner, George Worker and Seth Rance were all seriously considered.”The three T20s against Bangladesh will be played from January 3 in Napier. This series is New Zealand’s first T20I assignment since the World T20.