Category Uncategorized

Uganda will be confident of putting the seal on the latest stage of their much-publicised progress up the world rankings when they meet Argentina in the final of the World Cricket League Division Three in Darwin on Saturday.While Uganda were expected to make the final, Argentina have proved the surprise package, especially considering that they lost their opening game to outsiders Italy. They squeezed through the group stages and then beat the fancied Cayman Islands in the semi-finals.Joel Olweny, Uganda’s captain, said that, despite his side’s unbeaten record in the tournament, his team remained wary of Argentina’s capabilities. “We respect Argentina as opponents because by qualifying for the final they’ve proved that they deserve to be where they are,” he said. “And we’re aware about their progress to the final so we won’t take them lightly and will try to be as clinical as possible.”Uganda go into the game as the favourites, and they have far more experience. Six of their squad played in the 2006 Under-19 World Cup, and the team also participated in the 2005 ICC Trophy”It’s all about clicking together and producing a match-winning performance as we are neither short of experience at this level nor quality,” said Olweny. “I’m hoping that the batsmen will rise to the occasion and carry forward the good work done by the bowlers and fielders.”Argentina’s strength has been its bowling, with three of their team – Estaban MacDermott, Gary Savage and Diego Lord – in the top ten wicket takers.MacDermott said he hoped his bowlers will try to exploit any potential weaknesses in Uganda’s batting line up. “Our bowlers are in form and their batsmen are struggling. So it’s a straightforward strategy, I guess. But they have the experience of playing in big tournaments and have the ability to bounce back anytime,” he said. “We’ll give it our best shot in the final as we have nothing to lose. We have qualified for Division 2 and if we manage to win the final, it would be a perfect icing on the cake.”

The three-match one-day international series between Kenya and Bangladesh, originally set for Nairobi later this month, has been postponed by a further three weeks due to difficulty in raising funds to cover the costs of the trip.Cricket Kenya (CK) chief executive Tom Tikolo said they required about 13 million shillings (US$176,000) to host the Bangladeshi side, with half of the amount raised through television rights and the rest through sponsorship or Cricket Kenya.”We don’t have the money. But we are talking to a few sponsors,” said Tikolo. “We are still discussing with them and hopeful we will reach a deal within the next two weeks.”The series was initially scheduled for July 19, 21 and 23, but the matches will now be played on August 12, 13 and 15, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has since announced.Tikolo said CK had reached an agreement with the BCB to play the series in mid-August after Bangladesh complete their tour of Zimbabwe.However, he added Bangladesh would arrive in Kenya as scheduled on July 15 to hold their training and acclimatise for the five-match series against Zimbabwe which starts at Harare on July 29.

Will the Bangladesh side play a Test in India this season? © Getty Images

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has said that it will know in a week whether their team’s tour of India in October will take place within the next few months. Ali Asghar, the BCB chief, said that there was still hope that the series could be held at a later time after the Indian board (BCCI) had earlier postponed the tour because the schedule coincided with the ICC Super Series and two religious festivals. This was the second time that the BCCI delayed a tour that was originally scheduled to take place in April, and the decision evoked much criticism.”The Indian officials told me that they have a busy international schedule, but we have requested them to find a suitable time to accommodate the series,” said Asghar, quoted in . “SK Nair, the BCCI secretary, promised me that they will clear their position within a week.”India is the only nation that Bangladesh have not toured as yet for a Test series, and Ashgar said that this tour was important because it would mean that Bangladesh would have had the experience of touring all the Test-playing nations. “I told them to split the one-day series and the Test series if needed, like they had done for Sri Lanka who will play seven ODIs in India in October before returning again for the Tests,” he added. “We are ready to tour twice if required.”Ashgar also said that during his visit to India he attended an Afro-Asian Cricket Council meeting to discuss the three-match one-day series between Asia XI and Africa XI to be held in South Africa in August. “[In] the meeting [we] decided to form a four-member selection committee to pick the Asian side. The selector must be a person who is not part of a board’s selection panel and he must be a former Test player,” said Asghar. “I have requested them to bend the criteria a little as we do not have too many experienced options to choose from among ex-Test cricketers. We will discuss our candidate tomorrow [Monday].”Majid Khan,the former Pakistan batsman , will be Pakistan’s representative on the panel and Ravi Shastri, the former Indian allrounder, will perform the role for India. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have not yet named their selectors.

Cricket Australia today announced that wicket-keeper/batsman Adam Gilchrist will not take part in Australia’s VB Series matches in Adelaide (26 January)and Melbourne (29 January) later this month.Gilchrist will instead remain in Perth throughout that time, before rejoining the squad in the lead-up to Australia’s match against India at Perth’s WACA Ground on 1 February.Twenty-six-year-old New South Welshman, Brad Haddin will be added to the squad for the two matches.The decision to leave Gilchrist out of the Adelaide and Melbourne matches was made by National Selection Panel Chairman Trevor Hohns in conjunction with Australian Team Management and Cricket Australia General Manager of Cricket Operations, Michael Brown.Trevor Hohns said: “As selectors we believe this break will benefit Adam as he sets himself for the rest of the VB Series and the challenging period that lies ahead.”Given the sheer intensity of his position, this break should present him with the chance to freshen-up and take stock from the stresses and strains that are part and parcel with a wicket-keeper’s job,” he said.Haddin, who is currently playing for New South Wales’ Speed Blitz Blues in Perth, has made just the one appearance for Australia at one-day international level, replacing Gilchrist for the Carlton Series match against Zimbabwe at Hobart in January 2001.He also toured with the Australian Test side in India in 2001, playing a first-class match against the Board President’s XI at Delhi as a replacement for Gilchrist who had suffered a hip injury.Upon Haddin’s selection, Hohns said: Jimmy Maher has performed well as a fill-in for Adam Gilchrist on recent Australian tours, but on this occasion we have decided to go with a recognised wicket-keeper.Brad Haddin’s all-round game has improved immensely over the past 12 months and we felt that he deserved this chance.

Last season Wellington recorded their lowest score of 78 against Northern Districts at WestpacTrust Park, Hamilton. They are not yet sure of passing that dubious landmark in this year’s corresponding fixture, having finished day two at 76/8, 151 short of ND’s first-innings 227.It is a match full of notable statistical achievements, the most striking of which is that ND’s Michael Parlane scored 146, while the second-highest individual total has been 22. That was by Wellington pace bowler Andrew Penn, who registered career-best bowling figures of seven for 71.The pitch has been the main talking point. It began the day retaining the bright green colour of yesterday, turning a more conventional brown as the day went on. It remained challenging for the batsmen of both teams – Parlane gloriously excepted – all day, but how many demons does it really contain?Few were apparent in the hour or so after play began two hours late following heavy overnight rain. The only wicket to fall in that time was that of Hamish Marshall, run out for eight when James Franklin deflected a ball onto the stumps at the bowler’s end.Things changed as soon as Penn joined the attack after the drinks break. He struck twice in two overs. First, Grant Bradburn (15) was caught at third slip by Grant Donaldson a ball after edging just wide of the same, diving, fielder.Robbie Hart was Penn’s second victim, lbw for a duck. It should have been three wickets in two overs, but David Sales dropped Joseph Yovich at second slip before the left-hander had scored.Yovich was out off the last ball before lunch, edging a lifter from Penn into the gloves of wicket-keeper Glynn Howell for eight.When Simon Doull – as intent on aggression in the four-day version of the game as in the one-day – holed out to his second ball for a duck, ND were 167/8.Parlane had reached his hundred before the interval. It was his seventh first-class century, made on his first appearance of the season. He faced 200 balls and hit 15 fours. He displayed the familiar Parlane power and timing, but added exemplary shot selection.He added six more fours and a six, straight back against the sightscreen off Brooke Walker, while putting on 60 for the ninth wicket with Bruce Martin.They were helped by the absence of Penn from the attack for most of their partnership. It was a different game when he and Franklin were resting.Penn’s returned to wrap up the ND innings, having Parlane and Graeme Aldridge caught behind off successive deliveries.The Wellington reply fell into disarray almost as soon as it had begun. At tea they were 14 for two, having lost skipper Matthew Bell lbw to Yovich for five and Selwyn Blackmore caught by Martin at short leg of Aldridge for the first of four Wellington ducks.After the interval there was a procession of batsmen as the visitors subsided to 29/6.Richard Jones went to a fine diving catch by James Marshall at third slip off Yovich. Jones had scored 17 of the 21 that Wellington had on the board when he was out.Sales was caught at second slip by Scott Styris off Yovich. The ball was a beauty that straightened and squared Sales up.Matthew Walker was bowled first ball. He pushed tentatively down the wrong line.Franklin survived the hat-trick ball, only for Aldridge to surprise Donaldson with another lifter on off stump. It flew off the top edge to be well taken by Matthew Hart in the gully.Penn, who might have hoped to have had his feet up for the rest of the day, restored a fig leaf of modesty to the Wellington performance with 22 in a partnership of 40 for the seventh wicket.Significantly, the partnership prospered when the strike bowlers were rested. Eleven of the 15 wickets to fall today went to Penn or Yovich, two bowlers of good pace who were capable of making the ball lift off just short of a good length. Aldridge, who maintained a brisk pace and nagging line and length, claimed two.But Walker, Mark Gillespie, Doull and Styris have bowled 46 overs between them in the match for one wicket, that off a leg-side delivery from Doull that Penn chased and glanced to the wicket-keeper.So it is quality fast bowling making use of bounce and pace more than lateral movement, that is responsible for the sorry time experienced by the batsmen of both teams, not a poor quality pitch. If there were more surfaces like this in New Zealand, batsmen would be better equipped to deal with the challenges that they present.Yovich finished the day by dismissing Franklin, caught by Bradburn at first slip for a dogged 16. He may have been overtaken by Daryl Tuffey, and now Ian Butler, in the fast-bowling pecking order, but Yovich is capable of sustained spells of intelligent and genuinely quick bowling, as he demonstrated again today. He has five for 31.Wellington resume tomorrow needing two to avoid the follow-on with two wickets remaining. ND should win the game from here, whether or not those two runs are scored.

Mumbai defeated arch-rivals Baroda by seven wickets in an Under-14 WestZone league tie at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai on Monday. Chasing178 for victory on the final day, the hosts were buoyed by an unbeatencentury from opener Sagar Pawar, en route to collecting eight points forthe outright win.Baroda won the toss and choosing to bat, were skittled out for 142 on theopening day with Mumbai new ball bowler Pratik Kar, who ripped out the toporder, finishing with 4/29. In reply, Mumbai limped to 131/6 on the firstevening but managed to eke out a lead of 42 before they folded up. KamranShaikh senior did most of the damage, collecting a haul of 6/34. Mumbai’swicketkeeper cum opening bat, Pawar top scored with a breezy 40 off 42 balls.The visitors marched to 199/6 at the end of the day with R Rana (59) and PShah (69) doing the bulk of the scoring. On the third morning however, theylost their last four wickets for the addition of just 20 runs. Mumbai’sShoaib Shaikh and Dinar Gaonkar took four wickets apiece. The home team’sbatsmen made light of the target, which they knocked off in just 41 overs.Pawar’s 121 (131 balls, 18 fours) and his 111-run second wicket stand withGaurang Shah (35) were the key elements of the runchase.

Farhad Moshiri is onto the sixth permanent manager in six years with Frank Lampard at Everton after sacking Rafa Benitez back in January, and depending on how the season ends for the club, the search for seventh could commence this summer.

What’s the word?

Speaking to Football FanCast, transfer insider Dean Jones, has revealed that there will be a “big decision” made at Goodison Park over the next few months on Lampard’s future.

“It’s a big decision for them to make, and they’re not going to rush into anything right now,” he began.

“But with the way things are going, you wonder how this is going to pan out.”

Supporters will be livid

Everton fans have been on a rollercoaster ride ever since Moshiri took over the club in 2016, with huge investments on transfer signings and a constant cycle of managers being brought in and spat out over and over again, so supporters will be livid that this constant unsettle at the club could potentially continue into next season.

Of course being relegated from the Premier League for the first time ever would be every Evertonian’s worst nightmare, but it is clear the supporters are not happy with the owners management of the club following a number of protests this season against the powers at Goodison, and sacking Lampard at the end of the campaign could cause further disaster for the club.

The 43-year-old manager was appointed on Deadline Day, so hasn’t been given the opportunity to build the squad with a transfer window, inheriting a team in absolute disarray from his Spanish predecessor, lacking confidence, form and quality, with a number of injuries hindering the team. Thus, it would surely not be a fair assessment to judge Lampard on the outcome of Everton’s season considering the hand he has been dealt.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

The Toffees are three points clear of the relegation zone after winning their game in hand that they had over their relegation rivals in the bottom three and are currently 17th in the Premier League table, but there is still work to do to secure safety for the club, if Lampard can keep the side up after such a tumultuous season, it would be an achievement.

In other news: Fresh injury news emerges from Finch Farm, Lampard will be delighted

	Marcus Trescothick intends to continue playing for Somerset © Getty Images

1993
Makes his first-class debut for Somerset aged 17.1994
Cracks his first fifty (81) against Hampshire and follows that up with his maiden first-class hundred against Surrey (121).1996, 1997
Denis Compton Award for “most promising young player”.1998
Duncan Fletcher, the Glamorgan coach and soon-to-be England’s,watches Trescothick smack 167 on a slippery Taunton pitch. The next highest score in the match was 50.July 8, 2000
Makes his ODI debut against Zimbabwe, stroking 79 in a losing cause.August 3, 2000
His Test debut against West Indies at Old Trafford. Like a duck to water, he scores 66 and an unbeaten 38.February 24, 2001
Hits his maiden Test hundred against Sri Lanka in Galle, a fine innings of immense concentration in sapping heat, though England still lost.June 12, 2001
Launches 137 from just 142 balls against Pakistan in the NatWest Series, again in vain.May 2002
Hits 161 in the second Test against Sri Lanka at Edgbaston. England win by an innings and 111 runs.June 20, 2003
Gained revenge against Pakistan, battering 86 from 55 to lead England to a win.2005
Spearheaded a no-holds-barred approach against Australia with 431 runs and a top score of 90, as he – and England – finally reclaim the Ashes.Later that year Trescothick scores 193 in a lost cause against Pakistan in Multan.February 2006
The beginning of the end. Word is out that Trescothick will fly home before England’s Test series against India for ‘personal’ reasons.April 2006
Makes himself available to play for Somerset throughout the first weeks of the season, as he seeks to put his winter problems behind him and regain his England place ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka in May. Marches into form with a breathtaking assault on Kent.May 2006
Signals his return to international cricket with a robust first-day century against Sri Lanka at Lord’s, his 14th in all.September 2006
England’s Champions Trophy preparations, already weakened by injuries, receive another blow with news that Trescothick will miss the tournament after receiving specialist medical advice.November 2006
A troubled Trescothick flies home from Australia with a reoccurrence of his “stress-related illness” and plays no part in the Ashes.March 2007
Already ruled out of the World Cup in the World Cup in the Caribbean, Trescothick undergoes a double hernia operation to be fit for the start of the domestic season with Somerset.July 2007
Despite an encouraging county season he declares himself unavailable for September’s ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa as well as England’s winter tours of Sri Lanka and New Zealand.September 2007
Speaks out for the first time about the depressive illness which blighs his career and threatens to curtail it prematurely.March 2008
Announces his retirement from international cricket.

Dean Jones: “We’re not trying to be a competitor to the BCCI” © Getty Images

Dean Jones, the Indian Cricket League’s operations manager, said the organisers of the new Twenty20 competition had drawn up a “hit list” of current and former players they hoped to sign up. Jones would not rule out trying to attract stars like Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, but said: “We haven’t got as much money as some people think”.He said the tournament would be another option for international players who could not get an English county contract. “It will fill a bit of a void for some of the international players around the world,” Jones told .”There are always concerns about Australians playing county cricket because they play so much, but there will be openings for them to play in our matches. A) they can earn some extra money and, b) it won’t be as taxing on their bodies. There are a few lining up.”The ICL, which was set up by Zee Sports, is set to hold its first matches in early November. Jones said the group was not out to compete with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). “We won’t be playing matches at the same time they will be,” Jones said. “We’ll carefully schedule our matches and the times we are playing.”We’re not trying to be a competitor to the BCCI – far from it. If India saw a couple of young lads playing really well in our tournament and they needed them for an Indian A tour or even the India team, we’d welcome the BCCI with open arms and say ‘you can have him’. That’s what it’s all about.”

Western Australia are keen to rope in Josh Mangan, a legspinner from Victoria, as a replacement for Beau Casson, the left-arm wristspinner who has signed up with New South Wales for the next season.Mangan, 20, has already played for the Australian under-19 side and is rated highly, but Victoria’s legspin department is already overcrowded with Shane Warne and Cameron White, the captain, playing for the state. Wayne Clark, the Western Australian coach, reckoned that a possible lack of opportunities with Victoria might help Mangan make up his mind to switch to Perth.”He has been in the system in Victoria, but with White and Warne back and forth playing it’s been difficult for him to play at the next level,” Clark was quoted as saying by The Age, an Australian daily. “Maybe a couple of years here might help him out.”The discussions have been positive so far,” said Clark. “It’s worked for a number of young players around Australia at different times where guys have seen an opportunity and grabbed it. That’s really up to Josh from now on.” Western Australia have already protested against Casson’s move and have appealed to a grievance tribunal, who will hear the case on May 29.Meanwhile, Victoria failed to get Chris Rogers, the Western Australian opener, to shift to Melbourne for the next season. Ken Jacobs, Cricket Victoria’s chief executive, admitted that they had approached Rogers unsuccessfully. “It just eventuated that Victoria wasn’t on his radar.”