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A round-up of the action from the sixth day of matches in the 2010-11 Vijay Hazare Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Feb-2011South ZoneTamil Nadu saw off a spirited fightback by Andhra’s lower order to complete a 24-run win at the Perintalmanna Cricket Stadium in Malappuram. S Badrinath’s 99 and R Sathish’s 76 had helped Tamil Nadu reach 300, and the seamers then took early wickets, reducing Andhra to 116 for 6. Vemu Lenin, who made 65 not out, and Andhra’s tail made a fight of it, but Tamil Nadu always looked in control. Badrinath and Sathish had taken the game away from Andhra with their sixth-wicket partnership of 129 off 90 balls. Sathish’ 76 came off just 53 balls. Seamer Sunil Sam did the early damage for Tamil Nadu, taking three wickets, before the lower order battled. Andhra were finally bowled out for 276 in the final over.Goa’s spinners were all over Hyderabad at the Fort Maidan in Palakkad, leading their team to a seven-wicket win. Amit Yadav, Shadab Jakati, Dhiraj Narvekar and Sher Yadav took eight wickets between them – the other two were run-outs – as Hyderabad were bowled out for 158. After a solid start, Hyderabad collapsed from 54 for 0, with Amit Yadav the most successful of the spinners, taking 3 for 22. Goa lost some early wickets in their chase, but Rohit Asnodkar made sure there were no further hiccups, scoring and unbeaten74 off 85 balls, as his team eased home in 39.5 overs.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has now given the green-light for yet another player to leave north London this summer, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Lilywhites exodus?

Spurs, as they aim for a major summer rebuild to appease Conte, could be set to orchestrate just as many outgoings as incomings in the next transfer window.

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Lyon loanee and club record-signing Tanguy Ndombele is likely to be offloaded with Conte not seeing a future for the 25-year-old, as backed by The Evening Standard.

Meanwhile, due to issues with their homegrown quota, transfer chief Fabio Paratici may be forced to sell one of Lucas Moura or Steven Bergwijn if he wishes to sign an overseas forward (The Telegraph).

Villarreal are also allegedly eyeing a permanent deal for Spurs midfielder Giovani Lo Celso who is currently enjoying a fine temporary stint at the Estadio de la Cerámica.

The Latest: Conte green-lights Rodon exit…

Now, according to another report by and Football Insider and a ‘Tottenham source’, the Premier League top-four chasers have also give the green-light for defender Joe Rodon to leave Spurs this summer.

The club, and by extension manager Antonio Conte, are now ‘ready to sell’ the defender and have instructed him to find a new club.

FI, relaying their previous report, add that Rodon himself ‘100%’ wants to quit Tottenham amid his lack of opportunities.

The Verdict: Time to part ways…

It is a real mystery how the 24-year-old hasn’t been utilised more since Conte’s reign going by his real promise last season.

The Wales international, called ‘special’ and ‘flawless’ by members of their national media (Ian Mitchelmore), didn’t even feature more regularly when Eric Dier was sidelined through injury – despite Spurs’ head coach claiming Rodon is his deputy.

He showed real signs of promise against the likes of Chelsea over 2020/2021 and has barely put a foot wrong when given the opportunity, with former boss Jose Mourinho even branding him a ‘perfect’ player.

Over his 12 Premier League appearances for Spurs last season, Rodon even averaged more interceptions per 90 (1.8) than any of his teammates, highlighting his real pedigree as a rising star defender (WhoScored).

It is little wonder the defender wishes to part company with the only mystery being why Conte hasn’t fancied him more.

In other news: ‘Really impressive’ – Journalist excited as Spurs edge closer to signing ‘world class’ player, find out more here.

The buzz around the series is slowly building up in Chandigarh. The Indian team, sans the Champions League and Board President’s XI players, have been training hard for two days at the PCA Stadium in Mohali, and the Australians have had a fruitful three days of cricket at the Sector 16 Stadium. The common theme has been niggles and minor discomforts that have made both the sides take precautionary measures.Gautam Gambhir, Sreesanth, Simon Katich and Marcus North have all experienced some sort of discomfort over the last three days. Sreesanth cramped up while bowling and took some time off before coming back to bowl. Gambhir was hit on the right hand by a rising delivery from Ben Hilfenhaus on the second day of the match. He played no part in the remainder of the game, sitting out while the BP XI team fielded on day three and choosing to not bat in the second innings. It has been learnt that this was just to ensure he did not aggravate the problem ahead of the series.North, who made a much-needed good start to his tour with a fluent century, experienced some back trouble too, and took the Gambhir route, staying out of action on day three. Katich had a bruised thumb, and he didn’t bat in the Australians’ second innings. He however came on the field after the Australians’ declaration, which is a good sign for the visitors.Meanwhile, over at the PCA Stadium in the outskirts of the city, key members of the Indian team got through a full practice session. Wearing the new team practice kit, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman had a nice hit in the nets. Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra were the bowlers present. There had been reports that Sehwag was hit on the right knee by an Ishant delivery yesterday, but he seemed in no discomfort while batting in the nets.Apart from the team’s bowling coach Eric Simons, Harbhajan had his childhood coach, Devender Arora, work with him during the session.

Liverpool midfielder Fabinho is available for his side’s huge Premier League clash with Manchester City, journalist David Lynch has confirmed.

The Lowdown: Biggest game of the season

The Reds take part in one of the biggest games in Premier League history on Sunday afternoon, heading to the Etihad for a top-of-the-table clash.

Just one point separates City and Liverpool currently and Jurgen Klopp’s side know that victory will put them in pole position to win a second title in three seasons.

Fabinho picked up a head injury in Tuesday’s 3-1 win at Benfica in the Champions League, leading to concern over his involvement in the weekend action.

The Latest: Fabinho passed fit

Lynch has allayed those fears, however, confirming in an article for Anfield Watch that the Brazilian is fit for selection:

“It was still feared that Fabinho might fall foul of concussion protocols subject to further examination. However, it is understood that the Brazilian ultimately did not require further treatment, other than to the minor cut he sustained.

“And, with the club’s medical staff confident a concussion was avoided, he has been given the all clear to train ahead of this weekend’s trip to the Etihad Stadium.”

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The Verdict: Vital news for Liverpool

This is an enormous boost for Liverpool, with Fabinho arguably the world’s best defensive midfielder currently, averaging 1.6 tackles and 1.7 interceptions per game in the league this season and being hailed as ‘world-class’ by Thiago.

His presence in front of the defence is absolutely vital, with his influence in the spine of the team almost as big as Alisson’s in goal or Virgil van Dijk’s at centre-back – Klopp doesn’t have another natural number six to call on.

Fabinho is a shoo-in to start on Sunday and he will have a massive job on his hands extinguishing the threat of the many creative players City boast in central areas, from Bernardo Silva to Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden.

In other news, Liverpool are eyeing up a move for a defender this summer. Find out who it is here.

Pakistani cricket may have taken a beating over the last few years but their ability to put out a genuinely world-class pace attack in any circumstance remains unaffected

Osman Samiuddin20-Jul-2010

Pakistani cricket may have taken a beating over the last few years but their ability to put out a genuinely world-class pace attack in any circumstance remains unaffected. They’ve lost their last four Tests and have won only one of their last 18; their last series win came back in November 2006 but much of the blame can be put on a fragile batting line-up and poor catching.But since last year, with the emergence of Mohammad Aamer and the return of Mohammad Asif combined with Umar Gul at first change, they have regularly been able to create openings in most Tests they have played. Though they’ve played only five Tests together so far, the trio has picked up 59 of the 83 wickets to have fallen in those games; at Lord’s last week they took 15 of the 20 wickets.Now they head to Headingley to try and prevent a 14th successive Test loss to Australia, a bilateral dominance unmatched in modern Test cricket. Though the ground is no longer the swing haven it was in the 80s, it still offers help to pace bowlers and much of Pakistan’s hopes of avoiding a whitewash lie with the three.Michael Holding, the former fast bowling great, was commentating during the first Test and was impressed by what he saw, in particular of the youngest of the three, Aamer. “The impressive thing about Aamer is the fact that at 18, he has the ability to move the ball in both directions without any noticeable change in action or delivery, yet has the control to adjust so easily to left- and right-handed batsmen,” Holding told Cricinfo.Aamer picked up four wickets in the first innings, but was more erratic in the second, when he went wicketless. “The pace that he generates is good and consistent,” said Holding. “He is still a bit inexperienced as evidenced by his performance in the second innings when he started to experiment too much when he didn’t pick up early wickets but time will cure that.”Time is something Asif has served. Since his comeback to international cricket, following a virtual two-year absence on disciplinary grounds, Asif has picked up from almost precisely where he left off: he had 51 wickets in 11 Test at 23.13 until October 2007 and since then he has picked up 38 in 7 at 23.31. The strike-rates are marginally higher now, but the form has seen him shoot up to second place in the ICC rankings.Holding is impressed though he says the regular comparisons between Asif’s style and Glenn McGrath are misplaced. “Asif has done well and in this Test [Lord’s] and has been more consistent over both innings because he has been around a bit longer and has more experience,” Holding said. “He has enough pace when he puts it in to be disconcerting and has very good control.”I wouldn’t compare him with McGrath as I think there have been too many comparisons being made just because a bowler bowls medium pace and has good control. McGrath was taller and so able to get more bounce than most from closer to the batsman which makes a huge difference.”Gul’s second-innings performance of 4-61 was arguably the most significant of the three for he has struggled to realign his strategy to Tests since becoming the game’s leading Twenty20 fast bowler. Coach Waqar Younis highlighted a chink in the run-up during the Tests in Australia and Gul struggled at times with it during Lord’s, bowling 12 no-balls in all. But he periodically relocated the lengths that made him such a Test prospect in his early years and the bounce and seam movement he generated from that troubled Australia, never more than in a fine second evening spell.Holding warned, however, of the continuing impact the shortest form of the game will have on fast bowlers, a warning seconded by Imran Khan at the MCC’s Cowdrey lecture. “I’ve always thought Gul was a good prospect. I don’t watch that [Twenty20] format but it is obvious these days that fast bowlers will not last very long because of the amount of cricket they’re being asked to play.”They become medium-pacers at an early age, long before fast bowlers of the past because they just can’t physically manage the workload. There is no way of managing the fast bowlers these days. It’s just a fact that the amount of cricket they are being asked to play, they cannot last. Very soon, no one will bowl fast, they will all bowl at 80 odd miles an hour and try and last for a decade if possible.”

Sussex strengthened their grip at the top of the table as they beat nearest rivals Essex by 17 runs in their Friends Provident Twenty20 battle at Chelmsford

29-Jun-2010
ScorecardGrant Flower is bowled during Essex’s collapse as their run chase fell apart•Getty Images

Sussex strengthened their grip at the top of the table as they beat nearest rivals Essex by 17 runs in their Friends Provident Twenty20 battle at Chelmsford.After posting a total of 174 for 5 on the back of a superb half-century from Matt Prior, Sussex restricted their opponents to 157 for 9. Prior dominated an opening partnership with Ed Joyce to such an extent that he scored 50 out of 65 runs before he drove David Masters to extra cover where Mark Pettini took a fine catch.Those runs came from only 27 balls and contained four sixes and four boundaries. Joyce, Murray Goodwin, Dwayne Smith and Andrew Hodd all reached the 20s to ensure Sussex set their opponents a testing target.Left-arm spinner Tim Phillips was the pick of the bowlers, conceding 22 runs in his four overs during which he claimed the wicket of Joyce. It looked as though Prior’s efforts would go unrewarded when Essex replied.With Pettini, who was restored to the side after a loss of form lead to him being dropped a fortnight ago, finding his touch without the burden of captaincy, Essex reached the halfway stage on 82 without loss.It was not until two overs and eight runs later that Pettini’s innings came to an end after he contributed 59 from 38 deliveries with the help of five fours and three sixes. But Essex’s hopes of recording a sixth successive win quickly evaporated as they lost their way.Pettini’s departure signalled a collapse that saw nine wickets go down in as many overs for 49 runs. Among them was young opener Jaik Mickleburgh who was run out for 32, but he struggled so much that he needed 42 balls to gather those runs while striking just two boundaries.A late flourish from John Maunders, who struck two sixes in an unbeaten 25 from 16 balls, gave the Essex reply an air of respectability but never threatened to prevent Sussex getting back on the winning trail.Their win came after two defeats and was backed up by some disciplined bowling and fine work in the field. Chad Keegan bowled with commendable accuracy while conceding just 19 in four overs, during which he gathered the wicket of Pettini, while Smith was also a model of accuracy while picking up one for 23.

Shaun Tait has left the door open for a return to Test cricket after producing one of the fastest spells ever seen at Lord’s as he was clocked at 100mph

Andrew McGlashan at Lord's03-Jul-2010Shaun Tait has left the door open for a return to Test cricket after producing one of the fastest spells ever seen at Lord’s as he was clocked at 100mph. His 4 for 48 helped Australia to a 42-run victory as they reduced the series margin to 3-2, but it was the first three overs of his stint that really set pulses racing as he terrorised England’s toporder with a succession of hostile deliveries.His opening over averaged 96mph and the fifth ball, to Craig Kieswetter, hit the three-figure mark . However, it was his third over that really damaged England as a searing delivery swung back to uproot Andrew Strauss’s off stump before, two balls later, Michael Yardyshouldered arms at another lethal offering. In a sign that Tait’s injury-prone body was being pushed to see how much it could handle, he sent down four overs before his first rest and while it is highly unlikely he can withstand the five-day game, it provides a tantalising prospect.”I’ve never come out and said I’ve retired from the longer form,” Tait said. “I haven’t thought about it. I was pretty excited to be called up to the one-day side as I haven’t been in it for over 12 months. I haven’t played a four-day game for a long time now. I’m in a prettygood place right now. It’s the first time for a long time I’ve stayed on the park as well. In the last eight or nine years I’ve been injured in each one, apart from this season.”After the fourth match of the series Ricky Ponting had been asked about persuading Tait back to Test cricket. Although the Australia captain has yet to speak to Tait about such a prospect, the idea of being able to unleash that raw pace in the five-day arena was clearly exciting even though the paceman hasn’t played a first-class game since late 2008.”I was asked the other day if I’d consider it and I certainly would,” Ponting said, “but I was waiting to see how he came through these games. There are very few blokes in the world who can do what Shaun can and I think he showed today, even at very good top-order batsmen like Strauss, that he can bowl a ball that can get anyone out. And hehas the ability to do that with the red ball as well.”Ultimately it’s up to him, but I know he wants to play a lot more cricket for Australia and if he has that desire and bowls like he has done here he’ll be difficult to leave out. If it’s another one or two-Test series I’ll take any game he can play for us.”A more realistic prospect is that Tait can reprise the strike-bowler role he performed with great success at the 2007 World Cup in next year’s tournament, as Australia aim for four titles in a row. Tait’s performances in this series, where he finished with eight wickets at 12.37 from the three matches, enabled Australia to make up some lost ground on England after they had launched the series with two poor displays marked by a distinct lack of firepower at the Rose Bowl and Cardiff.”I think he’s made an impression on all their batters he’s bowled at in this series,” Ponting said. “I think Straussy will be pretty happy he’s not playing in the next couple of games after that ball today.””He was pretty quick today and he got the ball swinging a bit as well, which makes it harder,” Strauss admitted. “It would certainly be up there with spells I’ve faced from Shoaib Akhtar and [Brett] Lee. He had a big impact on the result of the game, taking early wickets and putting us on the back foot early on.”Tait had woken in the morning feeling “stiff and sore” and was unaware he’d broken the hundred barrier until team-mates mentioned it but he knew he was in good rhythm from the Pavilion End. “That’s the quickest I’ve bowled, recorded at least,” he said.”I’ve bowled 160 three times in my career so it’s not the easiestthing to do. There are those days you come out and are at the top ofyour mark that you know your body is in decent shape. I was actuallystiff and sore this morning but once I’d done the warm-ups I was fineand that first over I knew it was around that mark.”

List of centrally contracted players

Category A
Umar Gul, Salman Butt, Danish Kaneria, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Asif, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal
Category B
Umar Akmal, Mohammad Aamer, Saeed Ajmal, Faisal Iqbal, Misbah-ul-Haq, Imran Farhat
Category C
Fawad Alam, Yasir Arafat, Mohammad Hafeez, Wahab Riaz, Abdul Rehman
Stipend
Asad Shafiq, Junaid Khan, Aamer Sajjad, Naveed Yasin, Azhar Ali, Khalid Latif, Khurram Manzoor, Tanveer Ahmad, Sarfraz Ahmad, Zulqarnain Haider, Umair Khan, Mohammad Talha, Shahzaib Hasan, Azeem Ghumman, Hammad Azam, Babar Azam, Raza Hasan, Sarmad Bhatti, Usman Qadir

Three former Pakistan captains – Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik – along with fast bowlers Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Shoaib Akhtar have been excluded from the list of those handed central contracts by the Pakistan Cricket Board.Younis, Yousuf, Malik and Rana were not considered after the PCB banned them – two indefinitely and two for a year – last week in the aftermath of the Australia tour. Shoaib has not played for Pakistan in any format since May last year.”Naturally we did not consider the names of Yousuf and Younus because of their bans and there can be a review if their bans are lifted,” PCB chief operating officer Wasim Bari told “PCB has awarded central contracts to the players after consultation with chairman selection committee Mohsin Khan and these contracts will be effective for one year starting from January 1, 2010,” Bari said.No such penalty has been handed out to the three other players who were punished, Shahid Afridi, Kamran and Umar Akmal. Afridi was handed a Rs3 million fine for the ball-biting incident by the board but has retained a category A contract. The Akmal brothers also paid hefty fines but Kamran remains a category A player, while Umar comes straight into category B.Fast bowler Mohammad Asif, who was ignored last year due to a ban imposed for a failed drug test in the IPL, and former ICL player Abdul Razzaq have also been given Grade A contracts. There was a Grade B contract as well for another former ICL player Imran Farhat. Mohammad Aamer, one of Pakistan’s most impressive debutants last year, has also been rewarded with a category B contract.In its list of 37 players announced today, the board also introduced a special stipend category for the top performers in the domestic season and budding Under-19 and other players. A PCB media release said the contracts would be effective for one year starting from January 1, 2010.Asad Shafiq, Junaid Khan, Aamir Sajjad, Naveed Yasin, Azhar Ali and Tanvir Ahmad were handed stipends for being the top performers domestically, while Azeem Ghumman, Hammad Azam, Babar Azam, Raza Hasan, Sarmad Bhatti and Usman Qadir were rewarded similarly after helping the Pakistan U-19 team reach the final of the World Cup held in New Zealand in January.The pay scales remain unchanged from last year. Players in the top category will earn Rs250,000 per month, while ‘B’ and ‘C’ category players earn Rs175,000 and Rs100,000 per month. The stipend payment is Rs50,000.The PCB had earlier delayed awarding annual central contracts to its players until the inquiry report into the team’s dismal performance on their tour of Australia was released. A six-man evaluation committee was set up by the board after Pakistan were thrashed 3-0 in the Test series, 5-0 in the ODIs and beaten in the only Twenty20 match.

أشاد محمد بركات عضو مجلس إدارة الاتحاد المصري بالسويسري مارسيل كولر المدير الفني للأهلي بعد الفوز أمام الاتحاد المنستيري.

الأهلي كان قد فاز على الاتحاد المنستيري، في مواجهة الذهاب لدور الـ32 لدوري أبطال إفريقيا، وذلك في المباراة الرسمية الأولي لكولر مع المارد الأحمر.

وقال بركات خلال تصريحات عبر برنامج “الريمونتادا” على قناة “المحور”: “كولر قدم بداية مميزة ليس فقط بسبب تحقيق الفوز ولكن لعدة أمور تكتيكية ظهرت في مباراة الاتحاد المنسيتري بتطور واضح في الضغط والالتحامات والاستحواذ”.

طالع | محمد بركات يشيد بـ مرتضى منصور.. ويوجه رسالة للحكام قبل بدء الدوري

وأضاف: “أكرم توفيق كان أحد نجوم لقاء الذهاب بعودته المميزة إلى تشكيلة الفريق، والأهلي استفاد به مرة أخرى من خلال الأداء القوي والمميز في مركز الظهير الأيمن”.

وتابع: “الصفقات الجديدة ظهرت بصورة طيبة في مباراة الذهاب سواء شادي حسين الذي قدم بداية جيدة على مستوى التحركات والمرونة التكتيكية”.

وواصل: “سافيو لاعب موهوب بالفعل ويملك قدرات في المراوغة ظهرت بوضوح خلال لقاء الذهاب، أتمنى أن يعتمد سافيو على مهاراته الفردية في تسجيل الأهداف والدخول إلى منطقة الجزاء لأنه لاعب موهوب بالفعل وسيصنع الفارق في الفترة المقبلة مع الأهلي، وعودة بيرسي تاو من الإصابة لخط هجوم الأهلي ستجعل الفريق يمتلك هجوماً مرعباً يلعب بإيقاع سريع”.

وأكمل: “إدارة الأهلي تتجه لسداد غرامة كهربا، هو لاعب مميز وعودته ستكون مهمة للأهلي، البعض يحاول الحديث باستمرار عنه وعدم التزامه وهو أمر غريب”.

وأتم: “محمد محمود حظه قليل بسبب الإصابة التي أثرت عليه بدنياً بشكل كبير، اللاعب سيعاني في الحصول على فرصة لدخول التشكيل الأساسي مع كولر بسبب التحفظ على أدائه البدني”.

Newcastle’s abysmal Premier League campaign continued as they lost 4-0 to Manchester City at St James’ Park on Sunday.

The game got off to the worst possible start as miscommunication between Martin Dubravka and Ciaran Clark allowed Ruben Dias to nod in from close range. Joao Cancelo then scored a thunderbolt from distance to double the lead, before goals from Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling rounded off the scoring.

Lightweight

One player who let Eddie Howe down badly in the game was Joe Willock. He was left out of the starting XI against Liverpool in midweek and was brought back into the limelight by the ex-Bournemouth manager, but the 22-year-old was unable to repay his boss’ faith as he put in a poor display against Pep Guardiola’s side.

The summer signing from Arsenal was hooked at half-time with the score at 2-0, with Howe seemingly not happy with the midfielder’s performance.

Defensively, he offered next to nothing. As per SofaScore, he lost 80% of his individual duels in midfield. He was also dribbled past twice, whilst failing to complete a single tackle, block or clearance and making just one interception.

This shows how lightweight he was in the middle of the park, as he was too easily beaten by Manchester City players off the ball. He did not get his foot in to make a successful challenge and was taken out of the game by the opposition dribbling past him with ease.

On the ball, Willock also struggled. As per SofaScore, he had far fewer touches (13) than Magpies goalkeeper Martin Dubravka (42). He also completed just seven passes and failed in his one attempted dribble. This shows that he did not do enough to make himself available in possession to get Newcastle up the pitch whenever they got the ball back off the visitors.

The 22-year-old let his manager down with a disappointing display as he failed to make a positive impact either on or off the ball, leading to his withdrawal at the start of the second half. He will need to drastically improve his performances if he wants to be a regular starter throughout the rest of the campaign, as this was a dreadful outing for the Arsenal academy graduate.

AND in other news, Journalist drops transfer news which will leave NUFC fans buzzing, he can be the next Shearer…