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Adam Gilchrist, the Deccan Chargers captain, believes that the cricket calendar is close to saturation point, and the organizers of the game need address the issue of overkill

Cricinfo staff01-Apr-2010

Adam Gilchrist, the Deccan Chargers captain, believes that the cricket calendar is close to saturation point, and the organizers of the game need to address the issue of overkill. “Perhaps, we are getting very close to that critical point [of too much cricket]. I’ve got no doubt that the administrators are aware of that and are doing their best to alter the situation,” Gilchrist told the .”We don’t want inconsequential games. We need to try and create identities. It would be great if every country had an iconic series, like the Ashes. Test cricket can survive, with Twenty20 being used to attract new people to the game.”I think there’s room for all three formats and I also believe that Twenty20 is definitely an extremely powerful tool. The key, really, is the volume of cricket. We are close to saturation point and that’s what is going to remove the interest in the game. If we can make it better, people will get the calendar and go wow,” he said.Gilchrist believes that the advent of wicketkeepers who contribute significantly with the bat, has not come at the cost of their skills behind the stumps. “When people say that [the trend is for wicketkeeper-batsmen], does it mean they do not rate other wicketkeepers who’re out there, for their keeping? Is that a statement saying that the standard of wicketkeeping has deteriorated over the years? I can’t comment on that, I don’t know.”I remember Rod Marsh and Ian Healy – they’re the guys that I grew up watching, my idols, my heroes. All we try to do, as wicket-keepers, is to do the best job we can. And, again, when we get the bat in our hands, that’s what we try to do. There’s definitely an expectation that you have to be a greater contributor with the bat in this day and age than 20 or 30 years ago,” Gilchrist said.The former Australia great was full of praise for fellow wicketkeeper Mark Boucher who tops the all-time list of wicketkeepers, with 494 Test dismissals to his name. “I’m thrilled to see him hold that record because he has been around for 13 years. We all talk about Sachin Tendulkar and his 20 years in the game, but here’s a wicketkeeper who has put in over a dozen years and done his job over and over again, almost in an unrecognised manner. All credit to Mark.”Gilchrist acknowledged that batsmen like Virender Sehwag and Matthew Hayden have changed the way Test openers approach their batting. “Virender has been phenomenal. Matthew Hayden, too, changed the mindset. That the first session of a Test didn’t have to be all about survival. That those two hours could be about total domination and setting the flow of the game your way.”I’d pick both guys. Both spent some time out of the team and came back, clear in their minds, that they wanted to play in a certain way. They may have missed out on the odd occasion, but stayed focused,” Gilchrist said.Gilchrist believed that Sachin Tendulkar has changed his batting style over the years. “Back then [in 1996 when Gilchrist first played against Tendulkar], Sachin would play in a very dominating manner, could really be deemed to have been at the height of his powers. In the years after that, he has been evolving in a different kind of role. I guess maybe not even consciously doing it. Maybe, it’s because of being who he is and the expectations on him. Rahul Dravid and the others in the core group have also contributed so well… Sachin has always had the determination and the hunger, but there appears to have been some sort of a rejuvenation over the last 12 months or so.After finishing at the bottom of the IPL table in 2008, Deccan Chargers hit back strongly to win the tournament in the second edition. Gilchrist said creating a unique culture within the side was crucial for the transformation. “There are a lot of finer details. However, generally speaking, we’d spent a lot of time in the first IPL talking about the appreciation of the different cultures in our dressing room. There were seven nationalities and [we wanted] to appreciate each other’s cultures. We spent too much time on that without realising that we had to create our own culture, a Deccan Chargers’ culture.”It’s hard to necessarily put it down in words or to describe it, but it’s there within the group. You know it, you can feel it. It is creating an atmosphere everyone wants to be a part of, everyone wants to buy into. So that’s an example of one part of the Deccan Chargers’ culture. You need total commitment. That is how you go about preparing to play decent cricket,” Gilchrist said.

Ludogorets’ Kiril Despodov is on Rangers’ list of targets, according to a report from Tema Sport. 

The lowdown

Despovodov, 25, is predominantly a right-winger, but he’s capable of playing across the frontline.

He only joined Ludogorets permanently last summer, having impressed the Bulgarian club during his loan spell from Cagliari.

Despodov has two and a half years left on his contract and is valued at £2.88million by Transfermarkt.

Rangers have only made one addition so far in January, loaning James Sands from New York City FC.

They have, though, recalled two attacking players in the form of Cedric Itten and Jake Hastie.

The latest

The report states that Despodov has attracted the interest of Rangers, as well as Super Lig outfit Istanbul Basaksehir.

But he apparently ranks only fourth in their list of priorities behind fellow right wingers Akinkunmi Amoo (Hammarby in Sweden), Brian Ocampo (Nacional Montevideo in Uruguay) and Robert Muric (Rijeka in Croatia).

The verdict

Despodov boasts an impressive record this season with nine goals and 12 assists in 29 appearances across all competitions.

Two of those goal contributions have come in the Europa League, though he wasn’t able to prevent Ludogorets propping up Group F.

How does he compare to the other names under consideration?

Well all of the players appear to be in a similar price bracket – Muric and Ocampo are valued at £2.7million, with Amoo a marginally more expensive £3.6million.

It’s Despovodov who leads the way for goal contributions in the most recent season though, with Amoo next on 18 overall (13 goals, five assists), followed by Muric (eight, seven) on 15 and Ocampo on 12 (four, eight).

It feels a little harsh, then, that he’s only regarded as plan D.

In other news, this ‘powerhouse’ could soon leave Ibrox.

West Ham United remain in talks regarding a deal to bring Hugo Ekitike to the London Stadium prior to transfer deadline day.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Dharmesh Sheth, with the Sky Sports journalist revealing in a post on Twitter that David Moyes’ side are in continued negotiations with Stade Reims regarding a deal for the centre-forward.

Previous reports revealed that Newcastle United are also interested in a move for the 19-year-old this month, however, after the Magpies submitted an offer totalling €35m (£29m) for the France U21 international – which is believed to have included a bonus for winning the Champions League – the Reims president, Jean-Pierre Caillot, stated that the French side would require a more concrete offer for him to accept a bid.

Speaking about the interest in Ekitike, Caillot said: “[Newcastle] offered us €35m (£29m) in total but with many bonuses, some of which were almost impossible to achieve – like, for example, winning the Champions League. We want €30m (£25m) fixed plus €10m (£8.5m) in realisable bonuses.”

Finally what West Ham need

With West Ham having been operating with Michail Antonio as their only option at centre-forward since the sale of Sebastien Haller a year ago this month, the addition of a second striker to Moyes’ first-team squad has been something of a priority for the 58-year-old manager this January.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/check-out-the-latest-west-ham-news” title=”Check out the latest West Ham News”]

However, with around 36 hours remaining of the winter market, the Hammers are yet to welcome any fresh faces to the London Stadium this month, be that up front or elsewhere.

As such, considering the club’s desperate need for attacking reinforcements, in addition to the abundance of potential Ekitike is quite clearly in possession of, it would appear an extremely wise move for the Irons to launch a late offer for the 19-year-old sensation.

Indeed, over his 18 Ligue 1 appearances so far this season, the £5.4m-rated striker has been in remarkable form for Reims, having already bagged eight goals, provided three assists and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.3 shots and making 0.7 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the player who has been compared to Kylian Mbappe average an impressive SofaScore match rating of 6.88, ranking him as his club’s 11th-best player in the top flight of French football.

So, with an extremely limited amount of time remaining in the January transfer window, Moyes and the West Ham board simply must stump up the £33.5m required to get a deal over the line for Ekitike prior to Monday’s deadline – as the 19-year-old would appear to be exactly what the Hammers need.

In other news: “Talks will continue..”: ExWHUemployee drops teasing update on late deal, GSB must act

تلقى الفرنسي هيرفي رينارد مدرب المنتخب السعودي نبأ سارًا قبل مباراة السبت أمام مقدونيا الشمالية في إطار معسكر أبوظبي ضمن المرحلة التحضيرية الثالثة للمشاركة في كأس العالم 2022 في قطر.

المنتخب السعودي اختتم مساء اليوم الجمعة تدريباته التحضيرية للقاء مقدونيا الشمالية ودياً، مساء غدٍ السبت على استاد مدينة زايد الرياضية بالإمارات.

وشهدت التدريبات الجماعية مشاركة سامي النجعي لاعب وسط النصر وذلك عقب تعافيه من الإصابة وبات جاهزا للمشاركة في المباريات.

اقرأ أيضا..منتخب السعودية يعلن تفاصيل إصابة فواز القرني

وبدأ تدريب الأخضر مساء الجمعة بالإحماء ثم تمرين المربعات بعدها تمرين الكرات الثابتة، قبل أن يجري تقسيمة من مجموعتين على نصف الملعب واختتمت التدريبات بتمارين الإطالة.

ويخوض الأخضر السعودي في معسكر أبوظبي 5 مباريات ودية تحضيرية أمام منتخبات مقدونيا وألبانيا وهندوراس وآيسلندا وبنما بهدف التحضير للمشاركة في كأس العالم 2022.

ويتواجد منتخب السعودي في المجموعة الثالثة في كأس العالم 2022 بجانب منتخبات الأرجنتين والمكسيك وبولندا.

MatériaMais Notícias

Após não fazer mais parte da comissão técnica do Santos, Elano se despediu dos santistas por meio de suas redes sociais. Em seu discurso, o ex-meia fez mistério e disse que “ainda não termina” sua passagem pelo clube.

– Mais um ciclo que se encerra no Santos, mas não termina! Foi uma honra e um orgulho defender o clube que amo e agradeço a nação santista por todo o apoio incondicional e carinho que sempre tiveram comigo! – escreveu.

A diretoria teve uma reunião com o ex-auxiliar técnico do Peixe nesta quarta-feira para informar o desligamento. Além de Elano, Marcelo Fernandes também foi dispensado.

RelacionadasSantosSantos se reapresenta com emprestados de volta: Cleber em altaSantos03/01/2018BotafogoBotafogo e Jair Ventura acertam rescisão; caminho aberto ao SantosBotafogo02/01/2018

Mais um ciclo que se encerra no Santos FC, mas não termina! Foi uma honra e um orgulho defender o clube que amo e agradeço a nação santista por todo o apoio incondicional e carinho que sempre tiveram comigo!#Gratidão #Obrigado pic.twitter.com/bMhE7adBX1

— Elano Blumer (@elanoblumer) January 3, 2018

The BCCI has agreed to grant the five-day extension of the deadline requested by Lalit Modi, the suspended IPL chairman, to file his replies to the board’s chargesheet

Cricinfo staff10-May-2010

The BCCI has agreed to grant the five-day extension of the deadline requested by Lalit Modi, the suspended IPL chairman, to file his replies to the board’s chargesheet. Modi was previously expected to appear at the BCCI headquarters on Monday to respond in person to the charges. The 15-day deadline that was initially agreed upon expires on Tuesday.Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI’s chief administrative officer, confirmed Modi’s request: “Lalit Modi has requested the board president Shashank Manohar and secretary N Srinivasan to extend time. He was supposed to reply to the show-cause notice today. The board has taken a decision to extend time up to the May 15.”According to Shetty, Modi sought the extension because he wanted some more documents from the board that would help in preparing his defence. Modi was suspended by BCCI on April 26, soon after the conclusion of the IPL, which sent him a show-cause notice asking him to reply to a slew of charges relating to the conduct of the high-profile Twenty20 league. Modi was alleged to have indulged in financial deals without the knowledge of the IPL Governing Council, bid-rigging and of behavioural pattern which was not acceptable.On Saturday, Mehmood Abdi, one of Modi’s lawyers, submitted the first set of the documents to the board. Abdi was back in the board office today with the remaining papers including minutes of IPL Governing Council meetings, bid documents, franchisee agreements and all contracts starting from 2008 onwards. “This is the final phase of handing over of papers to the board from our side. We had earlier submitted a bigger bulk of papers on May 8,” Abdi said.The first set of documents, both original as well as notarised copies, included all franchisee agreements, global media rights agreements, global media rights packages, all bid documents, media rights licensee agreements, eligibility letters of bidders with details and sponsorship agreements entered into by IPL.Modi has retained a copy of all the documents, which according to Abdi ran into thousand pages. “These have been endorsed by Shetty,” Abdi pointed out.BCCI sources said Modi’s reply, once it comes in, will be taken up by the board’s three-man disciplinary committee, comprising Manohar and two vice-presidents – Arun Jaitley and Chirayu Amin, who was appointed the interim IPL chairman after Modi’s suspension. “The disciplinary committee is likely to meet in mid-June,” a BCCI official said.

أبدى برونو سافيو لاعب الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالنادي الأهلي، سعادته بعد حصد لقب السوبر المصري أمام الزمالك، مشيرًا إلى أن هدفه اليوم من أفضل أهدافه في سجله التاريخي.

ونجح الأهلي في الفوز على الزمالك بهدفين دون رد بتوقع برونو سافيو وكريم فؤاد في المباراة التي أقيمت على ملعب هزاع بن زايد بالإمارات.

وقال برونو سافيو في تصريحات تلفزيونية عبر فضائية “أبو ظبي”: ” سعيد جدًا بهذه التجربة والتواجد مع الأهلي، هدفي اليوم واحد من أفضل اهدافي في سجلي وتاريخي وخصوصًا أنه أعطى الأهلي هذا اللقب الغالي”.

طالع أيضًا.. حازم إمام ينتقد فيريرا: يهدر مجهود لاعب الزمالك.. وارتكب أخطاء كثيرة أمام الأهلي

وتابع: “لم أر ابني منذ 3 أشهر وكان كل تركيزي مع هذه التجربة الجديدة مع الأهلي”.

هل الفوز بمباراة الديربي أمام الزمالك له طعم خاص؟: “كيف لا وأنا طرف في هذا الفوز في الهدف، وتمكنا من حصد اللقب”.

ماذا عن التجربة الجديدة مع الأهلي؟: “نادي كبير، فريق كبير، وسجل كبير، وتجربة فريدة من نوعها وأتمنى أن تكون ناجحة”.

For the third Test in a row, a comfortable margin of victory masked a match in which Bangladesh forced England to graft for their rewards, but the events of the final day were typical of the gulf that still exists in the mindsets of the two nations

Andrew Miller at Lord's31-May-2010

For the third Test in a row, a comfortable margin of victory masked a match in which Bangladesh forced England to graft for their rewards, but the events of the final day were typical of the gulf that still exists in the mindsets of the two nations. While England believed that they’d come good in the end, and ultimately galloped to their goal at a rate of five an over, Bangladesh knew deep down that another disappointment awaited, and the final margin spoke of a familiarly demoralised surrender.”The facts will be that we won by eight wickets, but we had to work very hard for our win,” said England’s captain, Andrew Strauss, who sealed the result with a final-day 82. “In some ways we’ve got to give credit to the way the Bangladeshi batsmen played – in the first innings and the second they held us up with some stubborn resistance and some pretty good strokeplay. We’ll be better for this game and the five days we’ve had, but we’re obviously looking to set our standards higher than we achieved in this game.”At times in the game, Bangladesh had the measure of their opponents, and more. When conditions were at their best for batting, in bright sunshine on the second afternoon and again on the fourth day when Tamim Iqbal was blazing through the follow-on, they spanked along to 493 runs in 135 overs, for the loss of five wickets. However, when the sun disappeared – into the clouds on the third and fifth days, and over the horizon when the new ball was taken on the fourth evening – they mustered figures of 15 for 171 in 68.2.”They are definitely getting closer because more of their batsmen have the belief they can get decent scores,” said Strauss. “But, like most sides, if you keep chipping away and pressurising them, eventually you will see a collapse of some sort, and on both day three and five when the conditions suited us, we were able to take wickets quite frequently.””It’s a bit frustrating but we know that we are improving,” said Bangladesh’s captain, Shakib Al Hasan. “When it was overcast the ball was doing a bit, but we didn’t apply ourselves for long periods of time, and that cost us the game. We thought we’d have a good chance to draw if we batted more than 50 overs, but then I got out, and our tailenders couldn’t get enough runs. It’s always frustrating when you lose, but we can take so many positives out of this game. There are so many negative things as well, and we need to learn from them and improve.”After lighting up Lord’s with a thrilling hundred on Sunday, Tamim claimed to have been inspired by some scathing remarks from Geoffrey Boycott, who had argued on Test Match Special that Bangladesh’s attack was not worthy of Minor Counties cricket. It was a charge he repeated, with some justification, as England amassed 160 runs in a single session to wrap up the result, and afterwards Shakib admitted that his bowlers were struggling to compete on equal terms.”We know we will win some games if we win sessions, day by day, but we need to improve our bowling, especially in these conditions,” he said. “At home we can depend on our spinners, but here we have to depend on our fast bowlers, so they need to learn quickly. As far as our batting is concerned, that was our best game against England, but we didn’t bowl in the right areas, and that was the main problem. Any team that scores 700-plus in a match makes it difficult for us to win.”The extent to which the conditions dictated terms doesn’t exactly bode well for Bangladesh’s prospects ahead of the Old Trafford Test, where the weather tends towards the damper side of mild, and where the pitch promises to be hard and fast. But England themselves should be equally concerned by the ramifications. They can’t expect such prodigious assistance from the heavens in Perth and Adelaide this winter, and the question of whether to go in with four bowlers or five is one that will remain a hot topic for the remainder of this summer.”It was hard work for our bowlers,” admitted Strauss. “We probably didn’t hit our straps in the first innings, though we got better as the game went on and the pitch got flatter, and that was encouraging. We’ve always said we’ll judge whether we need four bowlers or five depending on the conditions we’re likely to encounter. We probably felt on this wicket there’d be more in it than there was, early season, but we’ll keep looking on a case-by-case basis.”One factor that should not be overlooked was the unusually subdued performance from Graeme Swann, England’s Player of the Year and the No. 2-ranked bowler in the world. He went wicketless for the first time since the Headingley Test during last summer’s Ashes, and has never before returned a barren analysis in a Test in which England have claimed 20 wickets.”You’ve always got to judge your attack that on the conditions you’re likely to encounter,” Strauss said. “Sometimes you want four extra bowlers when a partnership develops but you can’t have them. But I think what the bowlers did well was that they stuck at their task very well. At times they had to change their plans and dig it in short, while Graeme Swann didn’t have a huge role to play because there was no turn at all. On most wickets he’s going to be more threatening than on this one.”On the subject of Tamim, who has now helped himself to 395 runs in three Tests against England, at a remarkable strike-rate of 83.33, Strauss was cautiously appreciative. “He’s a dangerous player because he hits length balls straight and very hard, and he goes after the short balls as well,” he said. “Some of the orthodox fields you might employ are rendered slightly redundant at times, but there’s no secret to bowling well at any player. If you’re hitting the top of off as often as possible he’s going to struggle, especially with the ball nipping around.”With that in mind, Strauss was grateful for the influence of Steven Finn, who marked his home Test debut with Man of the Match figures of 9 for 187, and had all of the Bangladesh batsmen flinching at the accuracy he generated from his 6’7” frame. “There wasn’t a lot there for our bowlers, and the lines and lengths he hit were encouraging,” said Strauss. “He’s obviously got some great attributes, his height and a pretty clean action, and early in your career it’s fantastic to get wickets and show you belong at this level, which he has done.”

MatériaMais Notícias

O Campeonato Baiano de 2018 tem início apenas no dia 21 de janeiro, mas a Federação Bahiana de Futebol (FBF) já começa a aproximar cada vez mais os torcedores da competição. A entidade tem programado diversas ações de marketing para o torneio antes mesmo de a bola rolar nos gramados.

A primeira grande ação está marcada para este sábado, dia 13. Em parceria com os clubes participantes do campeonato e a TV Bahia (afiliada da TV Globo), a FBF programou um evento para o Ginásio Poliesportivo de Cajazeiras, em Salvador (BA). Além de conhecer toda a história da competição e das agremiações, o público vai poder interagir com algumas gincanas, sorteio de brindes. Existe a possibilidade da participação de alguns jogadores das equipes.

– Queremos interagir com o torcedor e envolvê-lo na competição. Vamos fazer isso em bairros de Salvador e no interior do estado. É primeira vez que a gente faz isso no campeonato. Nossa intenção é fortalecer ainda mais o torneio – explicou o presidente da FBF, Ednaldo Rodrigues.

O Campeonato Baiano tem se firmado cada vez mais como o principal estadual das regiões Nordeste e Norte do Brasil. Na temporada passada, a competição teve a sexta melhor média de público do país entre os estaduais, atrás apenas dos torneios disputados em grandes centros, como o Paulista, Carioca e Mineiro.

Além de aproximar o Baianão cada vez mais dos torcedores, a FBF busca novos patrocinadores para o campeonato. A ideia é poder anunciar as novas parcerias nos próximos dias. Na temporada passada, a Caixa e a Nova Schin foram parceiras do torneio. A Penalty vai produzir as bolas desta temporada.

O Campeonato Baiano tem previsão para terminar no dia 8 de abril. Dez equipes participam da disputa: Vitória (atual campeão), Bahia, Juazeirense, Fluminense de Feira, Jacobina, Jacuipense, Vitória da Conquista, Bahia de Feira, Atlântico e Jequié.

A worrying claim has emerged on the future of Antonio Conte at Tottenham Hotspur…

What’s the word?

The Italian head coach was said to be pretty happy with their business during the January transfer window, where Spurs brought in two players from Juventus in Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski, whilst letting go of no fewer than four first-team players.

However, according to Eurosport transfer insider Dean Jones, it “wouldn’t be a surprise” to see him walk before the end of his contract, which expires in the summer of 2023.

He told GIVEMESPORT:

“It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Conte does think about walking away, but it won’t be right now.”

Worrying news

This would suggest that for the time being, the Italian head coach is prepared to wait and see if he can truly transform the fortunes of the north London outfit.

It’s going to take several windows to achieve but Conte will need to be backed financially if he’s to turn Spurs into contenders once again. If he’s not going to get that support, then it’s quite easy to see why he would just give up on the club.

After all, he asked for four signings – he got two. He wanted a right wing-back, a left-sided centre-back, a central midfielder and a striker. He got one.

There’s clearly a whole lot more that Conte would like to do to this squad, you’d imagine and the summer will be a great time to see whether or not Daniel Levy and the ownership will back him.

Spurs failed to land one of their top targets in the winter window. Their long pursuit of Adama Traore, who was also linked in the off-season, ended up with the player rejecting the club due to concerns over the right wing-back role and instead joining his former side, Barcelona.

They also missed out on Luis Diaz, who went to top-flight rivals, Liverpool.

The 52-year-old spent around £234.5m in his second season at Chelsea and around £172m in his first campaign at Inter Milan on new signings, as per the Express, but it clearly paid off as he won the Premier League and Serie A title.

It is therefore plausible to see him walk should he not get the backing he needs to have Spurs contending at the top of the table and back in the Champions League.

This latest claim from Jones should leave many fans worried about the summer and beyond.

AND in other news, Bentancur in, Skipp and Moura out: Is this Spurs’ strongest XI after January?…