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Firdose Moonda presents the moments of the tournament from the Champions League Twenty20 2010

Firdose Moonda28-Sep-2010

Innings of the tournament
For a large part of the tournament, he was the man leading the golden bat race. Michael Klinger scored three half centuries for South Australia, two of them while chasing. His best effort was the 78 off 48 balls he smashed against the Lions in Centurion. Klinger had not scored a half-century in 20-over cricket before that day and a combination of excellent exploitation of the short ball, perfect placement and crafty footwork saw him sail over the 50 mark. He shared in two century opening partnerships in the competition, so his sidekick, Daniel Harris gets an honorary mention.Spell of the tournament
Albie Morkel produced two gorgeous, bouncy overs for the Chennai Super Kings against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the semi-final. He had the ball swinging like the 60s and Manish Pandey didn’t quite know what to do with the away movement. At one point, there were three slips in position. Morkel picked up the wicket of Robin Uthappa with the final ball of the second over to finish the spell with figures of 1 for 13.Catch of the tournament
Plenty of great plucking in this tournament made this one a difficult pick. Jean Symes and Johan Botha get special mention but the clutch that cut it was Matthew Hayden’s spectacular steal against Central Districts in Port Elizabeth. Mathew Sinclair’s reverse sweep off Muttiah Muralitharan required an acrobatic leap to the right from Haydos at first slip which he pulled off in fine style. He had a lean run with the bat and is fast approaching 40, but Hayden’s powers of anticipation have not dimmed.Surprise package of the tournament
The Warriors had laid claim to their first two pieces of silverware since the franchise system began on their way to qualifying for the Champions League. They fancied themselves for a final four spot but to advance to the decider in such emphatic fashion was surely unexpected. Davy Jacobs became everybody’s favourite player with his no-fear brand of batting and easy-going leadership style. The home boys won the hearts of many and even though they lost in the final, they provided more than enough evidence that something very special is stirring in the Eastern Cape.Thanks-for-coming of the tournament
Guyana, Central Districts and Wayamba provided a trio of whipping boys for the other teams. Between them, they posted the five lowest totals in the competition and conceded the two highest scores. Most of the time their hearts didn’t seem in it, although they told us they were, so even when the Sri Lankans thrashed the New Zealanders by 74 runs, no-one cared.Heartwarmer of the tournament
The unfancied Highveld Lions upset the Mumbai Indians in the tournament opener, to leave audiences aghast. When Robbie Frylinck bowled the last ball, to hand the Lions victory by nine runs, the team stormed the pitch to the sound of K’Naan’s . The union that has been so troubled by internal strife and so plagued by failure were united for those few minutes by victory.Best atmosphere of the tournament
The Centurion crowd at the semi-final between Warriors and the South Australia Redbacks. A hen party was clucking away in the grandstand complete with pink mining helmets for the girls and a colourful, fake, Mohican for the bride-to-be. That bunch was not even nearly as raucous as Redbacks’ WAGS in the president’s suite, cheering on their men, even when it was obvious that they were going home. By that point, the rest of the crowd threw their weight behind the South African side and started a chant, “Bye, Bye Redbacks.” The Eastern Cape found a home in Centurion.Song of the tournament
Enrique belted out at the opening ceremony but that song in its cheesy entirety was not heard again. There was a masala mix version of it, muddled with Taio Cruz’s . Catchy, but not quite the best beat of the event. For a tune that screams “bring out your pom-poms,” a lesson in spelling and a healthy blend with something that sounds like Bhangra, the Chennai Super Kings theme song is the one that rocked.Advice of the tournament
Someone needs to tell Ravi Shastri that when he is holding a microphone, he doesn’t have to shout.Quotes of the tournament
“This is a massive achievement for the Eastern Cape. The last 18 months have been unbeliev…., unbeliev… . I don’t even know what the question was.”
“I’ll just go make a cup of coffee.”

Wolves are back in Premier League action once again tomorrow night with an away clash against Newcastle United at St. James’ Park.

Looking ahead to this latest match, it seems as though Wolves manager Bruno Lage may have been handed an early injury boost that could lift his side’s chances of securing a positive result against the Magpies.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from the Daily Mail, Newcastle midfielder Joe Willock is a doubt to play in Friday’s showdown having picked up a knee issue.

Speaking in his latest press conference ahead of tomorrow’s clash, Toon manager Eddie Howe had this to say about the situation.

He said: “Joe Willock has had a slight knee problem for a couple of weeks. He’s become a bit more aware of it in training so it’s something we need to stay on top of. We’ll make a late call on him.”

Great news for Wolves

Having appeared in all but five of Newcastle’s 30 league games so far in this campaign, the midfielder is certainly an important figure for his side.

In those appearances, Willock has found the back of the net on two occasions, both coming in February against West Ham United and Brentford.

To highlight how significant the Englishman is from an attacking point of view, he has managed to rack up an average of 1.3 shots per game, the fifth-highest of any Toon player.

Also, only Allan Saint-Maximin (4.3) has a higher average of dribbles per game than Willock (1.4), showing how tricky he can be on the ball.

In addition to this, the 22-year-old has made a total of 43 shot-creating actions this season, the fourth-highest of any player at the club.

Taking all of this into account, if the former Arsenal youngster were to miss the match against Wolves, this would surely give the home side’s attacking force a blow, which would only benefit the Old Gold.

Having won their previous league game against Aston Villa, increasing the points gap between their Midlands rivals to 13 points, a victory over the Toon could put Lage’s side into sixth place before Manchester United and West Ham play over the weekend.

In other news: Lage can axe “toothless” Wolves flop with swoop for “breathtaking” £28.8m-rated star

Wolves could be set to say goodbye to one of their key players before the end of the January transfer window after a late twist has recently emerged.

What’s the latest?

According to a recent Twitter post from journalist David Ornstein, Barcelona are now working on a deal and in talks with Wolves to bring Adama Traore back to his former club on loan with an option to buy the winger in the summer for a fee of €35m (£29.1m).

Ornstein also revealed that a potential deal with Tottenham Hotspur, who Traore has been heavily linked with over the past few days and weeks is “all-but over” despite talks between the two clubs going positively but with Traore not too keen on playing as a right wing-back.

Traore joined Wolves from Championship club Middlesbrough back in the 2018 summer transfer window in a deal worth a reported fee of £18m.

Since then, the Spaniard has gone on to make 154 appearances for the Midlands club across all competitions, racking up 11 goals and 18 assists in the process.

Fans will be buzzing

Given how the 26-year-old has only managed to score one goal in 23 appearances for Wolves so far this season across all competitions, it’s safe to say that some Old Gold supporters may not see Traore’s potential exit as a big miss for the team and might be rather pleased to see him leave.

However, there is a key point to be made, something that will ultimately leave supporters rather pleased. It would be better for the club to keep him away from a Premier League team such as Tottenham given how close the two sides are in the league table, even despite his lack of goal contributions this term.

With Wolves apparently rejecting a £15m bid for Traore from Spurs earlier in the month, this apparent deal to see the winger go back to Barcelona, where he worked his way through the youth ranks before moving to Aston Villa in 2015, would also be a considerably better deal for Wolves in a financial regard as well.

Moving forward, allowing Traore to leave on loan this month and then pick up a hefty transfer fee for him in the summer which they can then use on strengthening their squad, would be a good piece of business for Wolves, putting to bed any further speculation about his future at Molineux.

In other news: Wolves now eyeing late swoop for “special” £23.4m-rated beast, Lage would love him – opinion

Some Liverpool supporters are delighted after Jurgen Klopp provided a positive injury update on the progress of youngster Harvey Elliott.

The 18-year-old is one of the most exciting young players in the country, having arrived at Anfield from Fulham back in 2019.

Elliott was a key player for the Reds at the beginning of the season, starting three Premier League matches and performing well every time, registering seven shots and creating five chances across those starts.

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Unfortunately, the teenager suffered a broken ankle in the 3-0 win at Leeds United back in September and he has been recovering ever since.

It now looks as though Elliott’s return could be close, however, with Klopp confirming in his pre-Crystal Palace press conference [via James Pearce on Twitter] that he ‘should be ready’ after the upcoming international break.

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Liverpool fans love Elliott injury update

These Liverpool fans were over the moon with the update, taking to Twitter to react to Pearce’s update.

“O.M.G.”

Credit: @AyandaLFC

“I’m not ready for this”

Credit: @unimpedance

“I’ve never seen him this excited about a player, he wasn’t even this excited about Trent”

Credit: @notcoolbruh_

“YESSS”

Credit: @louuuuuu_lfc

“Like a new signing FC. Good to hear he’s back”

Credit: @Badgameuh

“Good to hear!”

Credit: @MyFavoriteAlpha

In other news, some Liverpool fans have bemoaned a Reds exit rumour. Read more here.

MatériaMais Notícias

MatériaMais Notícias

Na tarde desta quinta-feira, o Flamengo conseguiu reduzir as penas do atacante Felipe Vizeu e também do zagueiro Rhodolfo, por conta da briga entre os dois na partida contra o Corinthians, na Ilha do Urubu, pelo Campeoanato Brasileiro.

Inicialmente, Rhodolfo havia pego de cinco jogos e Vizeu quatro. Após a redução da pena, o camisa 44 terá de cumprir duas partidas, mesma pena do centroavante.

Rhodolfo já cumpriu um jogo contra o Vitória, na última rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro, enquanto Vizeu jogou por ter conseguido efeito suspensivo. A punição vale apenas para o Brasileirão e Copa do Brasil do ano que vem.

O Procurador Geral Felipe Bevilacqua explicou a mudança na pena imposta nos dois atletas do Flamengo.

– Fatos que são de maior gravidade e polêmica, assim devem ser tratados de acordo com a proporcionalidade. Se esse adiamento fosse mantido traria prejuízo por ser a última rodada. A Procuradoria queria que o caso fosse julgado antes do fim do campeonato pelos princípios da celeridade e equilíbrio da competição.

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David Moyes’ West Ham United side got 2022 off to a perfect start against Crystal Palace on Saturday evening, with the Hammers running out 3-2 victors at Selhurst Park.

The fixture looked to be done and dusted at halftime, with Michail Antonio’s 22nd-minute opener and Manuel Lanzini’s brace giving West Ham a 3-0 lead at the interval.

However, Palace did come extremely close to levelling the scores right at the death, as Jean-Philippe Mateta’s spectacular bicycle kick flew just wide after Odsonne Edouard and Michael Olise had pulled two goals back for the hosts.

Nevertheless, the Hammers hung on to all three points, a result which – coupled with Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat against Manchester City – sees Moyes’ men well and truly back in contention for a top-four spot.

Aside from the result, the displays of a number of his starting XI will have been extremely encouraging for the 58-year-old manager – particularly that of Declan Rice, who ran the show after returning to the side following his suspension.

12 defensive actions

Indeed, over his 90 minutes on the pitch on Saturday evening, the defensive midfielder enjoyed 60 touches of the ball – the joint second-most of any West Ham player – completed 41 of his 46 attempted passes – one of which was key – found his man with two of his four attempted long balls and ended the fixture with an assist to his name – setting up Lanzini’s stunning first goal.

The £67.5m-rated man also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making three tackles, three interceptions, two clearances and winning four duels, totalling 12 defensive actions.

These returns saw the £62k-per-week 22-year-old earn a SofaScore match rating of 7.2 – ranking him as West Ham’s third-best performer on the day.

Football.London journalist Tom Clarke also appeared to be impressed with the performance of the England international, awarding Rice a seven in his own player ratings, as well as stating of the midfielder’s display: “Back in the team and back to running games. Drove forward well and got West Ham on the front foot after a sloppy start.”

Indeed, it is clear for all to see that the academy graduate did run the game for Moyes’ side against Crystal Palace, something which Rice will have to maintain going forwards should his team have any chance of securing a Champions League finish in the top flight this season.

In other news: Forget Dawson: £61k-p/w flop who lost 66% duels may have played his last game for WHU

As Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting sat together after the first day in Hobart, contemplating their 231-run stand, they looked happier than they have for some time. There was banter, they interrupted each other with witty quips, and they both sat back in their chairs with the satisfied air of men who can look back on their work and be proud of their accomplishments.Australia’s captain and vice-captain have guided the developing side through a successful summer but for each of them, there have been individual hurdles that weren’t overcome until today. Ponting has struggled against the short ball and his 137 not out ended an uncharacteristically long period without a century, which stretched back to early in the Ashes tour.Clarke’s problems have included more personal issues – a scathing tabloid newspaper article at the start of the summer called him a tosser and criticised the way he was perceived, and he was unfairly branded as over-rated. On the field, runs didn’t flow as freely as they had during his productive Ashes series. For the man who will be Australia’s next captain, two fifties early in the season weren’t enough of a return to satisfy him and he conceded he had been lazy on several occasions this summer.”I’ve played some undisciplined shots, I guess, over the last few games,” Clarke said after his unbeaten 111. “I thought I batted pretty well against West Indies. I was a little bit lazy a couple of times there as well. I don’t really know. I would say I’ve been a little bit lazy, but I’ve been working hard, I’ve been training hard throughout the summer, so it’s good to finally get threefigures.”There was no doubt about his work-rate at Bellerive Oval, where overcast conditions, a slowish surface and quality bowling from Pakistan made the first session hard going. Clarke was beaten outside off stump several times and took a little while to get moving but unlike Ponting, who was dropped from his fourth ball, Clarke didn’t offer a chance and helped Australia recover from 3 for 71 to 3 for 302 at stumps.”That’s your job when you bat No. 5,” Clarke said. “The guys in front of you generally do the hard work and you come in when the ball is pretty old and pretty flat, and cash in. But on days like today there was a little bit in the wicket and I had to work hard early. Any time you make a hundred for your country it’s very satisfying.”Although Clarke insists he isn’t fazed about staying down the order, he is clearly enjoying the seniority involved with the vice-captaincy. His innings featured typical Clarke footwork against the spinners and his Test average ticked over 50 during the day.When he reached his hundred he kissed the crest of his helmet, and he later joked that Ponting, who did the same for the first time in his career, “copied me – good boy!” Ponting took the jibe good-naturedly. By stumps, nothing could bother either of them.

Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard will be without one of his standout performers since the 41-year-old’s arrival last month on Sunday as they host Midlands rivals Leicester City.

What’s the latest? 

Speaking in his press conference, Gerrard confirmed that left-back Matt Targett will face a late fitness test before the Villa boss makes a decision on whether or not to include the 26-year-old against Leicester.

The 41-year-old said: “Matty Targett will probably struggle for this game, but we’ll make a late decision on him.”

The defender was taken off in the 67th minute during the Midlanders’ clash with Manchester City on Wednesday night due to a head injury and therefore faces a race against time to be available to face the Foxes.

Leon Bailey is a confirmed absentee for the game, with Gerrard also sweating on the fitness of Danny Ings (Birmingham Live) as Villa face the prospect of being without several valuable players this weekend.

Gerrard will be gutted

Villa have been excellent during Gerrard’s short time at the helm, winning twice and losing narrowly to Manchester City. One of the key factors to the former Liverpool captain’s instant success has been the performances of Targett at left-back, who has been a standout performer in the last couple of games.

The 26-year-old was rated 8.1 by SofaScore in Gerrard’s first game, a 2-0 win over Brighton, and then scored the opener in their 2-1 triumph at Crystal Palace last week.

This is a stark contrast to his start to the campaign under former manager Dean Smith, where the defender’s performances were under par, particularly against Watford on the opening day as he was withdrawn at half-time after a tricky test against Ismalia Sarr.

Villa do have a natural replacement in Ashley Young, but the 36-year-old has started just one Premier League game at left-back this term, also being deployed as a winger and central midfielder on occasion.

However, the £900k-rated veteran has also vastly improved under Gerrard, recording his two assists to date this season against Brighton and Crystal Palace.

It appears that Targett won’t beat the race against time to be fit for the Leicester clash, which is a significant blow to Gerrard, who will be gutted if he has to do without the 26-year-old. Villa fans shouldn’t panic though, as in Young they have a vastly experienced replacement to fill in at left-back.

In other news – Forget McGinn: Gerrard must stick with £52k-p/w Villa beast dubbed “better than Pogba”

Celtic have reached a ‘general agreement’ with Kawasaki Frontale for Reo Hatate, according to Japanese outlet Hochi.

The Lowdown: Hatate profiled

Hatate has recently just helped Kawasaki Frontale win a second consecutive J1 League title, making 38 appearances in 2020/21.

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He turned out in a number of positions, mainly in midfield and at left-back, with Celtic reportedly seeing Hatate as a midfield addition, with his current contract set to expire at the end of January.

The 24-year-old is on €38,000-a-year (around £625-a-week) with his current employers, but it seems as if a move to Glasgow to join countryman Kyogo Furuhashi is on the cards.

The Latest: Agreement reached

Japanese outlet Hochi posted on Twitter on Sunday evening, shortly after Celtic’s 1-0 win over Motherwell, claiming Hatate is set to ‘move’ to Scotland.

A ‘general agreement’ has been reached between the two clubs, so it seems as if the Hoops will pay a small fee to the J1 League side for Hatate’s services.

The Verdict: More good news

The Hoops have also agreed on a fee with Gamba Osaka for midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi, so Celtic are now closing in on two January signings already.

That can only be good news, especially with the number of injuries Ange Postecoglou has had to deal with in recent weeks, while the fact everything is in place so soon shows impressive planning from a club who have often been lacking in the boardroom in recent years.

Postecoglou will know just what Hatate and Ideguchi will bring to Scotland following his time as a manager in Japan, and the quicker Celtic can complete their January business, the better, with Japanese forward Daizen Maeda another on the club’s winter window wishlist.

In other news: Devlin claims ‘special’ Celtic ace may have broken bone amid ‘conflicting’ info.