Category Uncategorized

Sachin Tendulkar carried Mumbai’s hopes on the third day of the RanjiTrophy semifinal against Tamil Nadu at the Wankhede stadium onThursday. Moving from 34 to 213, he anchored the home team to a scoreof 470 for eight at close of play. This was in reply to Tamil Nadu’sfirst innings total of 485.Old school chums Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli batted throughout themorning as Mumbai progressed from 141 for four to 262. The partnershipthat took Mumbai towards safety ended abruptly when Kambli top edged apull shot just after lunch. Mediumpacer Mahesh surprised him with aquick bouncer. A shade late on the shot, Kambli ended up skying theball straight up in the air. Waving everyone else away, Maheshcompleted the catch himself. The left hander made 75 and the fifthwicket partnership had added 139.The Tamil Nadu seam attack was ineffective on a pitch that grewincreasingly slower. Aashish Kapoor who got the ball to a do a bityesterday was used sparingly and he too could not break through.After Kambli was dismissed, Amol Muzumdar kept Tendulkar goodcompany. Though he did not go after the bowling in the same manner asTendulkar, Muzumdar played his role to perfection. His silken drivesthrough the off side were a perfect foil to Tendulkar’s power andtiming.Tendulkar crossed landmark after landmark in his stay at thewicket. Smashing Gokulkrishna for two consecutive sixes over fine leg,Tendulkar stamped his domination over the Tamil Nadu bowlers. When hebrought up his first double hundred in Ranji Trophy cricket, theMumbai crowd was on their feet. Tendulkar has so far played 313 balls,and has hit 19 fours and four sixes.However, the loss of quick wickets at the other end dampened thespirits of the crowd. Ajit Agarkar was given a life when he wasdropped by Mahesh at cover point off the bowling off Kumaran.However, that was not the costly miss of the day. Madanagopal atsecond slip dropped a catch that certainly should have been held offthe bowling of Mahesh. Tendulkar then was only 42. Abey Kuruvilla, yetto get off the mark, was at the crease with Mumbai 16 runs short ofthat all important first innings lead mark. The first half hour ofplay tomorrow will, in all likelihood, decide who goes through to thefinal.

Leeds United correspondent Phil Hay has claimed Patrick Bamford is likely to feature against both Aston Villa and Norwich City.

The Lowdown: Bamford back on the bench

Bamford has played just 22 minutes of action since his last league start in September, missing with ankle, hamstring and foot problems.

Leeds have struggled without their main striker as a result, slipping into a real relegation battle as Bamford watches on from the sideline.

The 28-year-old did make a return to the bench against Leicester City on the weekend but didn’t feature, however, it seems as if Leeds supporters will finally get to see the forward in back-to-back home games.

The Latest: Hay’s claim

Writing in a piece for The Athletic shared on Wednesday morning, Hay claimed that Bamford ‘is far more likely to figure against Aston Villa and Norwich City this week’.

He did add that Jesse Marsch would need to be cautious when it comes to the striker, but backed Bamford to adopt a poacher role at Elland Road.

The Verdict: Huge

The next two fixtures could be do or die when it comes to Leeds’ chances of survival, so having Bamford back playing is a major boost for the Whites.

He has contributed to four Premier League goals in just 459 minutes of action this season, with those helping the club pick up four points at the beginning of the campaign.

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.

Hopefully, he can find his feet quickly in a new look formation under Marsch, where he looks set to play in a front two instead of leading the line as he did under Marcelo Bielsa.

In other news, one Leeds target has been advised to stay put. Find out who it is here.

Scorecard

	Kaif’s 160 wasn’t enough to get Central the first-innings lead © Cricinfo Ltd

West Zone won a close battle for the first-innings lead despite a career-best 160 by Central Zone captain Mohammad Kaif, before their openers proceeded to press home the advantage with an unbeaten 99-run stand.Resuming at 237 for 5, in response to West Zone’s 411, it was always going to be a battle between Kaif and the bowlers. Kaif added 64 to his overnight score, but ran out of partners pretty soon. He was the ninth man to get out, with Central still 49 short. He had partnerships going with lower-order batsmen: 134 with overnight partner Mahesh Rawat, 51 with Sanjib Sanyal and 38 with Murali Kartik, but they lost wickets at crucial junctures, falling short by 27 runs.Left-arm spinner Rakesh Dhurv took two of the wickets that fell today to finish with figures of 4 for 84. Munaf Patel added Sudeep Tyagi’s wicket to his overnight haul of two wickets.Ajinkya Rahane and Sahil Kukreja, the Mumbai openers, repeated their solid first-innings performance to frustrate the Central bowlers and virtually bat them out of the contest. Rahane scored his second half-century of the match, while Kukreja closed in on his second.
Scorecard
North Zone turned in another solid bowling performance to dismiss South Zone for 211 in the second innings, before knocking off the required 70 runs to get off to a great start in the Duleep Trophy.South resumed on the third day at 95 for 2, having fallen behind by 142 in the first innings, and Amit Mishra, with 4 for 51, made sure North wouldn’t have to chase a steep target. The South Zone batsmen got starts, but nobody went on to compile a meaningful score, with M Vijay top scoring with 39. D Kalyankrishna stayed unbeaten on 31, to add to his first-innings resistance that also yielded 31 runs. Vikramjeet Malik and Rajat Bhatia chipped in with two wickets each.North missed out on the bonus point, as they lost Aakash Chopra and Sachin Rana before they could reach the target.

Floyd Reifer: one half of a victorious Barbadian centurion duo © The Nation

Scorecard
Powered to 284 – their highest total of the tournament – thanks to hundreds from Wayne Blackman and Floyd Reifer, Barbados recorded an exciting four-run win over Jamaica at Kensington Park. Jermaine Lawson picked up five wickets and Brenton Parchment, the opener, stroked a quick 68, but there were few other positives for Jamaica as the visitors did their semi-final chances no harm.Asked to bat, Barbados lost two quick wickets to Lawson but Blackman and Parchment successfully staved off further threat with a 217-run partnership against an attack comprising mainly spinners. In just his second regional limited-overs game, Blackman hit nine fours and five sixes, and was severe on Odean Brown, the legspinner, whose three overs disappeared for 35. Reifer, in his 16th year of cricket, offered a stable hand at the other end. Cautious to begin with, he too opened up with four sixes en route to a 129-ball 112, his second at this level.Lawson, coming back from injury, was impressive at the start but copped some stick at the death. Offspinner Bevan Brown, who opened the bowling, gave away 58 from ten overs. It was carnage all around, with only Nikita Miller, the left-arm spinner, emerging unscathed with excellent figures of 10-2-19-0 in the middle overs.Jamaica got off to a flier, with Parchment and Lorenzo Ingram (36) adding 118 in 20.1 overs. Parchment slugged 11 fours and a six, but his dismissal – stumped off Ryan Hinds’s left-arm spin – sparked a collapse. Sharmarh Brooks, the rookie legspinner, removed Ingram and debutant Shane Powell and two run-outs accounted for Tamar Lambert and Dave Bernard. Wavell Hinds, the captain, hit 46 off 61 balls and ‘keeper Carlton Baugh an 18-ball 23, but the equation going into the last two overs was 35. The last two batsmen, the spinning Browns, clubbed 17 from the penultimate over, bowled by Fidel Edwards, and but having hit a six and a four from Kevin Stoute’s first five deliveries, Odean Brown was bowled off the final.It was Barbados’ second win of the tournament, pushing them into second place on nine points, one ahead of joint third-placed Jamaica after the penultimate round of matches.
Scorecard
Narsingh Deonarine’s unbeaten 65 took Guyana to a six-wicket win at Albion and eliminated Leeward Islands from the KFC Cup. Chasing 234 after Shane Jeffers hit 100, Guyana had little trouble getting home, as Travis Dowlin (49) and Royston Crandon (40) added 75 for the second-wicket before Deonarine and Assad Fudadin (35*) added 100 to seal it in the 47th over.Guyana’s chase was marshaled by Deonarine, who was joined by Fudadin on 134 for 4. Deonarine, playing before his home crowd, hit six fours in his 77-ball effort. Their efforts masked the failures of Sewnarine Chattergoon (9) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (17).Batting first, Leewards owed their total of 233 to Jeffers’s 139-ball century, with nine fours. He added 82 for the third wicket with Sylvester Joseph, the captain, (36) as Leewards recovered from 24 for 2. Down the order, only Justin Athanaze (43) and Omari Banks (23) offered much fight. Mahendra Nagamootoo, the former West Indies legspinner, was the pick of the attack with 3 for 31.Their fourth consecutive loss ensured Leewards have no chance of reaching the semi-finals.
Scorecard
Trinidad & Tobago maintained their unbeaten run in the KFC Cup with a two-wicket win over Windward Islands at the Wilson Road Recreation Ground. Chasing 235, the hosts were helped home by Ravi Rampaul’s unbeaten 40 and decent knocks from Jason Mohammed (39), Daren Ganga (36) and Gibran Mohammed (35).T&T got off well, thanks to a 55-run stand between Gibran Mohammed (35) and William Perkins (21). After they fell, Ganga and Jason Mohammed added 61 but five wickets fell for 68. At 194 for 8, matters were hot but Rampaul added 42 with Sanjiv Gooljar (5) to finish victory in the 44th over. His 39-ball innings, with one four and a pair of sixes, earned him the Man-of-the-Match award.Choosing to field first, T&T were boosted by fast bowler Richard Kelly’s dismissal of the openers, Andre Fletcher (0) and Miles Bascombe (2). Hyron Shallow (36) and rookie Ezekiel Francis (36) added 76 off 121 balls before Kelly returned to pick up top-scorer Liam Sebastien (41) and Rawl Lewis, the captain (24).It was T&T’s fourth straight victory in the competition.

A bit of grass on the wicket, and Shoaib Akhtar is fit to play © Getty Images

Pakistan’s strike bowler, Shoaib Akhtar, has passed himself fit for the third Test against India at Karachi on Sunday, after overcoming an ankle problem he sustained during the two drawn matches at Lahore and Faisalabad.”I’m fit, it’s all good,” he told Cricinfo, as Pakistan prepared for their first Test in the city for 15 months.Shoaib was the bowler of the series in the Tests against England last month, picking up 17 wickets in three matches. But he has struggled to make any impact on the current series, with just one wicket in 41.2 overs.Earlier in the week, Pakistan’s captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq, had been cagey about Shoaib’s prospects of playing. “Yes his ankle is bothering him and right now we are not sure if he will be completely fit for the Test,” said Inzamam. “But he is very keen to play and take some wickets which is good news.”In spite of his poor returns at Lahore and Faisalabad, Shoaib’s absence would have been a huge blow to Pakistan’s prospects of victory, especially as Karachi is widely expected to offer more assistance for the bowlers on both sides.”Hopefully things will be different in the final Test,” said Inzamam. “I do feel sorry for Shoaib and the other bowlers because in my entire career I have not really seen Tests turning out this way and the batsmen dominating the way they have done so far in this series.””We are keen to get a result from this series because the last two series have been very well contested and it would be a pity if we didn’t have a clear winner.”

Ramnaresh Sarwan has been excluded due to his association with Cable & Wireless© Getty Images

The West Indian selectors have followed their board’s line by not including Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle and four others in the list of 22 probables for the forthcoming series against South Africa and Pakistan. This is the upshot of a bitter dispute between the board and the players over sponsorship contracts.The 22 “invited players” have been sent individual tour contracts along with their invitation for selection and were asked to respond by March 11. Apart from the big three, the others in the negative list are Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith, Fidel Edwards and Ravi Rampaul. These seven, who have personal endorsement contracts with Cable & Wireless (C&W), have been sidelined because the WICB believes that their contract with C&W jeopardises the board’s sponsorship deal with Digicel, a rival communications company.Late last year, the Board asked the players concerned for details – excluding the financial details – of their contracts to ensure that no problems arose for either the board or the players. The players refused. The board alleged that even after a negotiation overseen by the Prime Minister of Grenada, Keith Mitchell, in which he had been assured by C&W that they would not display advertisements relating it in any way with the West Indian team, C&W had indeed made references to West Indian cricket.Teddy Griffith, the Board president – who made the initial announcement on a live broadcast on television and radio across the region – said that this had put the board in an awkward position with its sponsor, because it had compromised the board’s “ability to deliver on its commitments to Digicel”. He said, “It should be noted that the Digicel sponsorship not only benefits those players who are fortunate enough to gain selection to the West Indies team, but in fact contributes to every level of West Indies cricket.” He concluded that the board had to take action for the betterment of West Indies cricket, as opposed to individual contracts that would favour a few players.Invited players Devon Smith, Wavell Hinds, Ryan Ramdass, Daren Ganga, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ryan Hinds, Narsingh Deonarine, Darren Sammy, Donavon Pagon, Carlton Baugh, Courtney Browne, Xavier Marshall, Denesh Ramdin, Ian Bradshaw, Dave Mohammed, Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore, Dwight Washington, Reon King, Darren Powell, Jerome Taylor, Tino Best.

Craig Spearman, the former international opening batsman, has made himself available for the State Central Stags in their State Championship campaign. It was originally thought he would only be available for the State Shield limited overs season.His availability is a vital boost for the side as it contemplates building on its efforts in recent seasons. The only newcomer to the side announced today for the opening game of the season against Wellington at the Basin Reserve, starting on Monday, is Nelson fast-medium bowler Richard Sherlock.Sherlock, a member of the New Zealand Under-19 team at the Under-19 World Cup held in Christchurch in the summer of 2002, has been a member of the New Zealand Academy this year. He will take his place in the attack alongside two recalled players, Ewen Thompson, who is back after a one season absence, and Regan West, who returns to the side after five seasons.Unavailable for selection due to injury was Andrew Schwass while Mathew Sinclair, Jacob Oram and Michael Mason are with the Black Caps in Pakistan. The side announced by Mark Greatbatch (convener), Scott Briasco and David Hadfield is:Glen Sulzberger (capt), Bevan Griggs, Lance Hamilton, Brent Hefford, Jamie How, Peter Ingram, Jesse Ryder, Richard Sherlock, Craig Spearman, Ross Taylor, Ewen Thompson, Regan West.

A century from opener Amit Pagnis saw Railways run up a healthy 291for five at the end of the first day of their match against Delhi atthe Karnail Singh Stadium, Delhi on Wednesday.Raliways lost opener JP Yadav early after their skipper had opted tobat in the morning. But Pagnis and TP Singh then got together, puttingon 143 runs for the second wicket. The departure of Singh, who made anaggressive 84, proved a temporary setback. Yere Goud though proved anable replacement. Pagnis duly completed his hundred making 132 off 213balls with 21 fours and a six before falling to part-timer MithunManhas. Goud followed soon after being dismissed after a patient 34.When stumps were drawn, skipperAbhay Sharma and Murali Kartik wereholding fort.

KwaZulu-Natal’s hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals of theStandard Bank Cup are hanging by the slenderest of threads afteryesterday’s 17-run defeat against Border.The Dolphins will almost certainly have to win both theirremaining matches – no easy task – against Gauteng at home onFriday, and Eastern Province away on Sunday, if they are to sneakinto the semis.The home form of the Dolphins in this competition has beendisappointing, to say the least, with Dale Benkenstein’s menlosing their last two matches against Easterns and Border whenthey should have won both encounters. If the bowling let theDolphins down against Easterns, it was their much-vaunted battingthat failed them at Kingsmead yesterday. Having restricted Borderto a very gettable 221-7 on the flattest of tracks, the hometeam’s top order got themselves into all sorts of bother as theyquickly plunged to 50-4 in their reply. Admittedly, the Borderbowlers bowled well, particularly up front, with the excellentVasbert Drakes and Makhaya Ntini keeping a tight line and length.However too many batsmen got themselves out with Doug Watson,holing out to deep midwicket, and skipper Dale Benkenstein,rashly trying to drive his second ball over the top, particularlyguilty of giving it away. It was left to young Jon Kent to savethe Dolphins’s blushes with an excellent 71 in 86 balls (sixfours). He received useful help from Errol Stewart, EldineBaptiste and Ross Veenstra as the home team just about managed tomaintain the required run rate. Unfortunately, they lost wicketsfar too regularly in the process. Nevertheless, the fact thatthey got as close as they did, emphasised how comfortably victorycould have been achieved with a more sensible, measured approachearlier on.In that sense, the Border opening pair of Man of the Match PietBotha (55) and Justin Kreusch (59) showed how it should have beendone. The two, who were rarely troubled, put on 125 for the firstwicket, giving the visitors the perfect platform for a reasonabletotal . As it turned out, Border lost the plot a little afterthat start with only a half-century partnership between StevenPope and Tyrone Henderson enabling them to get past the 200-mark.One dispiriting note was struck by the decision of Jonty Rhodesto not make himself available for yesterday’s match. In the lightof his wife Kate giving birth to their first child last week, itwas understandable that he decided not to tour India, or, forthat matter, not to play in the Dolphins’s away matches againstNortherns and North West last week. But surely playing in a oneday match in Durban yesterday would not have upset his domesticarrangements? The Dolphins surely needed his experience andexpertise, and morale in the dressing-room could not have beenboosted by his absence.With Benkenstein – on national duty in India – unavailable forFriday’s must-win match against Gauteng and Sunday’s equallyvital away clash against Eastern Province, Rhodes needs to raisehis hand for his province this week.

Aston Villa were rather busy during the previous January and summer transfer windows in terms of bringing new players to the club after Jack Grealish made his record-breaking £100m move to the reigning Premier League champions and current leaders Manchester City back in August.

Looking ahead to the next summer window, it seems as though one of Villa’s recent recruits could be set to call time on his time at the club.

What’s the news?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist and transfer insider Dean Jones had this to say about the summer transfer window and the future of Villa winger Leon Bailey.

He said: “Bailey I’m not so sure about. I think that he really could be moved on in the summer in the right circumstances.”

Fans would be gutted

Since arriving at the Midlands club back in the previous summer transfer window from German club Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth a reported fee of £25m, the winger has made just 12 appearances for the Villans in the Premier League, starting four of them with just one goal and two assists to his name.

In fairness to the £85k-per-week Bailey, injuries have hampered the Jamaican’s time with Steven Gerrard’s side and have kept him out of action for periods of the campaign which have led to his lack of starts in the league, the latest of which being a thigh issue that sidelined him from early-December to February.

Even though the 24-year-old has struggled in getting some consistent run of form under his belt so far this season, it would be a shame to see the club cut their losses on the attacker after just one year as a Villa player.

Given his fairly young age and the attacking option that he can provide for Gerrard as well as the hefty £25m fee the Villans shelled out for him, it’s safe to assume that a lot of supporters would also not want to see him leave prematurely if they don’t feel he’s had a substantial chance of being successful at the club.

After all, this is a player labelled as someone that “can do anything” by former Leverkusen coach Heiko Herrlich, and judging by his potential, it would be a howler to lose him after getting very minimal returns for their expenditure.

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.

Bailey will undoubtedly be hoping that he can force himself back into the team, which he hasn’t been able to do since he recovered from his latest injury, and keep his fitness up for the remainder of the campaign to show Gerrard what he can do and why he deserves to have a future at Villa Park.

In other news: Gregg Evans drops behind-the-scenes AVFC claim that’ll leave Villa Park buzzing – opinion