All posts by h716a5.icu

Different day, same story

Haydn Gill10-May-2001Different day, same story. It was depressing. It was misery. It wasdemoralising.And for the fourth time in succession, West Indian spectators left thearena in disgust, disbelief and despair after the Caribbean sidetamely handed over the Cable & Wireless One-Day Trophy at KensingtonOval yesterday.In a carbon copy of preceding matches, the West Indies made a mountainin trying to set South Africa an inadequate target of 200 and theirbowlers were again taken to the sword by the rampaging HerschelleGibbs.The 27-year-old right-handed opening batsman unleashed a flurry ofimpressive strokes in an unbeaten 107 and as the afternoon progressed,the capacity crowd became disenchanted and disinterested over the onesided nature of the match.In Antigua and Grenada, South Africa completed similar targets for theloss of two wickets with 20-something balls in reserve. Yesterday,they lost an additional wicket, but they wrapped up the no-contestwith as many as 58 balls to spare.West Indies captain Carl Hooper, however, was not as down-spirited asthe majority of those who left Kensington with glum faces knowingSouth Africa had taken an unbeatable 4-1 lead in the seven-matchseries.Obviously, it is disappointing, but such is life, Hooper said.We have to move on and we’ve got to hold our heads up high, keepworking hard and we’ll come through.There was clearly a vast difference between the two sides in theshorter version of the game as South Africa effortlessly marchedtowards their target.As I have been saying since the first game, there is no need to feelembarrassed whenever we lose to a team like South Africa, Hooper said.They are a disciplined, professional bunch and we need to play goodcricket for 100 overs to beat them.We just managed to muster 200 runs which is not enough and we paid thefull price. We’ve got to learn from our mistakes and it’s going to bea slow, long and painful process.The first ten overs of the South African replay produced nineboundaries and Hooper almost exclusively relied on spin afterwards tothe extent that rookie fast bowler Kerry Jeremy was never given asingle ball.There was nothing wrong with him, Hooper said.It’s just the way that the game panned out. As it turned out, theopportunity never presented itself to bowl Jeremy.The wicket gripped and turned a little bit and as a result I thoughtI’d continue with spin.Gibbs, who was also awesome in the field, romped to his second centuryin the series and fifth of his career with the kind of daringaggression that he has displayed whenever he has been at the crease.Among his 11 fours and three sixes were breathtaking strokes,including the now trademark charge against the fast bowlers.Boeta Dippenaar, Gary Kirsten and Jacques Kallis helped him inhastening a victory that was achieved before 4:30 p.m.Cameron Cuffy and Mervyn Dillon were belted around and even though theoff-spin of Hooper and Marlon Samuels was containing at times theresult was obvious.Sent in on an ideal batting strip, the West Indies could not mount achallenging total in spite of Brian Lara’s quality 92 off 125 balls.It was spiced with nine fours, including a few fierce pulls, but at nostage could the champion left-hander move into fifth gear because ofthe regular flow of wickets.Whenever a partnership appeared to be developing, the South Africansregained the initiative.Captain Shaun Pollock set the tone as usual with a tight spell at thestart and Jacques Kallis despatched the tenth opening combination theWest Indies have turned to since last summer’s tour of England.Chris Gayle’s askew footwork was his downfall yet again, the lefthander edging an expansive flash to the keeper in a dismissal that wasalmost mirrored later by his fellow Jamaican Marlon Samuels.It led many to ask why batsmen with such big reputations continue tobe exposed by technical deficiencies.The one young batsman who is supposed to be well-organised, DarenGanga, was presumably brought into the team to ensure there was somesolidity at the top of the order.He banged the first ball of the day to the cover boundary and playedsoundly for the first ten overs.But, as has become a frustrating habit, whenever he attempts anaggressive stroke he perishes, and this time it was a miscued pullthat resulted in a skied catch to the keeper.It was refreshing to see Lara and Hooper in at No 3 and 4 for thefirst time in the series and the pair was trying to rebuild theinnings when Makhaya Ntini ended a stand of 44 in 11.3 overs with thebest ball of the match.It was a yorker that knocked back Hooper’s middle stump and the WestIndies captain was gone after another solid start.After the seventh-ball dismissal of Samuels that left the West Indies73 for four in the 24th over, Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul had toconsolidate things.They were involved in a stand of 43 in 8.5 overs before Chanderpaul’sindecision over a quick single brought his downfall after Gibbs threwdown the stumps at cover with a direct hit at the bowler’s end.With overs seemingly ticking over rapidly, the West Indies needed amajor boost and there was some hope when Lara and Jacobs were adding51 in 10.4 overs.The happy hour had just started, but it lasted only a few minutes.Jacobs hoisted Ntini over mid-wicket and onto the Greenidge and HaynesStand for the only six of the innings, but within a few balls he wasprised out by a piece of magical brilliance from Gibbs.Very few people in the stands actually realised that Gibbs hadclutched onto a right-handed effort inches off the ground with a fullstretch dive that intercepted a fierce cover-drive.When Jacobs was out in the 43rd over, Lara was already in the 80s, buthe was handicapped by the inability of the tail-enders to preservetheir wickets.In Jeremy’s case, he could not even get bat onto ball for foursuccessive deliveries in the 48th over when Lara was on 90.Jeremy was eventually bowled by Kallis from the first ball of thefinal over and it left Lara with no choice but to have a slog.

With reports linking Aston Villa with a summer swoop for Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham, Dean Smith might be more advised to unleash a player who he already has at his disposal: Louie Barry.

The 17-year-old was the talk of the town earlier this season when he scored in Villa’s FA Cup defeat to Liverpool, but that break-out moment has yet to result in any more action for first-team, with the striker yet to make the match-day squad in the Premier League.

The lack of senior action has seen Lee Hendrie raise his concerns about the way Smith has failed to use him, and urged the Villa boss to reconsider.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, he said: “I’m really disappointed that he hasn’t featured, not even really on the bench since that Liverpool game with the fabulous goal that he scored. He reminds me of a young Michael Owen in the fact that he’s very slight, small, but he’s very quick, and I’m surprised that he hasn’t been given a bit more of a chance since that game.

“I just feel that he should now be getting into the first-team squad, being on the bench and getting thrown on for the last 20 minutes, relieving a bit of pressure, just because he’s got that pace that he can burn off.”

Barry appears to have all the ability to become a real star for Villa for now and the future, with club’s academy manager, Mark Harrison, saying: “He is still a very young man but as he’s developed, he’s always been one player that you always recognise as having outstanding attributes. He’s got a fantastic mentality, he’s desperate to do well for this football club.

“As a player, his real strength is his work rate, he’s constantly pressurising the opposition when they are on the ball, looking to create opportunities for himself to nick the ball high up the pitch. He is quick, and looks to play off the shoulders of the defenders, always looking for space behind them to be able to run into.”

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Rather than spending a massive amount of money on someone like Abraham, surely Smith could give that opportunity to Barry and see if he rises to the occasion.

Young players just need that one chance to impress, and Barry has already shown in that FA Cup match against Liverpool that he’s got an enormous amount of potential.

It’s time Smith recognises that.

Meanwhile, Dean Smith is making a major mistake over this talent…

Surrey’s batsmen rarely looked like settling in for a substantial innings against an attack which looked disciplined enough for most of the time to stick mainly to the basics of line and length

Andy Jalil13-May-2001Surrey’s batsmen rarely looked like settling in for a substantial innings against an attack which looked disciplined enough for most of the time to stick mainly to the basics of line and length.At no stage did the Surrey Lions, who eventually went down by 17 runs, give the impression of being well on the way to their target of 234 for victory in this clash between the two promoted teams to the first division of the Norwich Union League.Ben Hollioake, with some magnificent hitting in the latter part of his innings, did provide some hope and much entertainment for the supporters. But had this aggression come from him earlier or, indeed, from the top order batsmen, Surrey might have snatched victory.Nadeem Shahid made good use of his opportunity in the Surrey side in the absence of Alec Stewart, Graham Thorpe and Ian Ward, in scoring a chanceless 43 and Mark Ramprakash chipped in with 30. But it was left to Ben Hollioake to play the major innings.His unbeaten 70 off just 67 balls, contained a six and eight fours, four of which came in the penultimate over which, bowled by Paul Franks, went for 21. It was a great effort by the younger Hollioake brother, but there was little support for him with his side losing wickets with such regularity. Gareth Smith was the pick of the bowlers, his eight overs gave him three for 32.Earlier, in the Nottinghamshire innings, Darren Bicknell enjoyed his time at the crease against his old county. Having hit a century the last time they met in the league, in September at Trent Bridge, Bicknell, this time notched a half-century on a visit to the Oval, his home for twelve years until 1999.Having decided to make first use of a true pitch on a day which had the distinct look of summer with several shirtless spectators, the Outlaws got off to a fine start with two half-century stands. Along with Guy Welton, Bicknell put on 52 and then took the score to 110 in partnership with Greg Blewett for the second wicket.It was a fluent innings from the tall left-hander who had made his intentions clear from the first over when he picked up two boundaries. He continued to play beautiful off side strokes which brought him six boundaries in his 80-ball innings.Blewett’s highly entertaining knock of 69 from 82 balls, ended with Adam Hollioake bowling him with the next ball after being hooked for six. But by then a valuable stand, of 71 for the third-wicket, had taken Nottinghamshire to 181.The visitors went on to produce another hard-hitting innings, it came from Usman Afzaal who missed a fifty by one run having faced only 51 balls. He was caught at short cover off Adam Hollioake who went on to claim Kevin Pietersen’s wicket in the same over. It was a marvellous 19-ball spell from the Surrey captain who eventually finished with three for 56.

Norwich City star Emi Buendia could be tempted by a move away from Carrow Road this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to Chris Sutton, who, in a recent interview with the Eastern Daily Press, urged Daniel Farke to do everything he can to keep the 24-year-old at Norwich ahead of next season, although suggested there is the possibility that the Argentine could have his head turned, as well as the Canaries receiving an offer they simply cannot refuse for the winger.

He said: “Norwich have to try and pull out all the stops to keep him. You need your creative players and the ones that are going to nick a goal and he is that player.

“Let’s not kid ourselves – there will be clubs out there who will have been watching him this season. He works hard out of possession as well – there’s not a lot wrong with him!

“There will be clubs in for him and maybe he will have his head turned again. Maybe Norwich will have an offer that they just cannot refuse.”

Farke will be gutted

With the Norwich manager recently stating on the record that he is confident of retaining the services of Buendia after the club secured promotion back to the Premier League, should Sutton prove to be right with his prediction, and Stuart Webber accepts an offer that is too good to turn down, Farke will be – rather understandably – gutted.

Indeed, losing the £20k-per-week star who was in such breathtaking form last season – with the £19.8m-rated winger scoring 15 goals, providing 16 assists and creating 18 big chances over his 39 Championship appearances, as well as averaging an incredible SofaScore match rating of 7.68 – prior to the club’s Premier League campaign would very much put a dent in the club’s chances of staying up next season.

However, with Webber reportedly informing Norwich players that they will be sold if the right offer is placed for them this summer, the possibility of Buendia – whom Max Aarons dubbed as “tenacious” – leaving the club remains a very real one – an outcome that is likely to give both the 44-year-old manager, as well as a great deal of the Canaries fanbase, nightmares.

In other news: Webber must seal NCFC deal for “unbelievable” £4.3k-p/w gem after major update emerges – opinion

Jamie Cox, Piran Holloway, Mike Burns, Peter Bowler, Mark Lathwell, Rob Turner, Peter Trego,Keith Dutch, Richard Johnson, Matthew Bulbeck, Steffan Jones and Ian Blackwell

Richard Walsh05-Jun-2001Somerset coach Kevin Shine named the following squad of 12 for the CricInfo Championship match against Surrey at The Oval starting on Wednesday:Jamie Cox, Piran Holloway, Mike Burns, Peter Bowler, Mark Lathwell, Rob Turner, Peter Trego,Keith Dutch, Richard Johnson, Matthew Bulbeck, Steffan Jones and Ian Blackwell.”Richard Johnson has come through two days of intensive tests without any problems and is 90% certain of playing. However as cover we are taking fast bowler Joe Tucker, who had such a super game for the seconds last week with us,” said the coach.

Sheffield Wednesday need to be open to the idea of selling key midfielder Barry Bannan this summer, according to journalist Dom Howson.

The Lowdown: Superb servant for the Owls

The Scotland international has been one of the Owls’ best players in their recent history, making 258 appearances and also scoring 13 goals and registering 39 assists for good measure, gaining a reputation as a fans’ favourite at Hillsborough.

Wednesday’s relegation to League One could make it tough for the club to keep hold of the 31-year-old, however, with some Championship sides surely considering a move for him.

The Latest: Howson says Bannan should move on

Speaking in a Q&A for Yorkshire Live, Howson claimed that it was time for Bannan to end his stay at Hillsborough, assuming a bid comes in for him, with Josh Windass in the same boat. The journalist said:

“If offers come in for Barry Bannan, Josh Windass or anybody else this summer, it would be foolish in Wednesday’s financial position not to consider cashing in.

“Part of the reason the club have got themselves in this situation is because they haven’t sold players and then reinvested that money back into the team. They stockpiled players and knocked back a number of bids.”

The Verdict: Beneficial for all partiesIn an ideal world, Wednesday would be in a healthy financial situation and Bannan would be happy to stay put, but sadly that isn’t the case.The Scot is one of the club’s most prized assets, and as Howson alluded to, it would be reckless for the Owls not to accept a bid for him, especially given his age.It will be sad to see Bannan leaving Hillsborough, considering the contributions he has provided in the middle of the park for the last six years, but a fresh challenge makes sense for everyone concerned, and Howson is right to advocate taking the money for him this summer if an adequate offer is made.In other news, Sheff Wed have received a positive piece of news regarding the future of one player. Find out who it is here.

Bowlers wanting to bowl into the teeth of Wellington’s wind

Lynn McConnell19-Mar-2002Bowlers wanting to bowl into the teeth of Wellington’s wind?Now that’s a new one. As observers caught watching firstly England, then New Zealand, practise on the wind swept Basin Reserve today, two days out from the second National Bank Series match, will tell you, there are winds, and there are Wellington winds.But England captain Nasser Hussain believes there may be no shortage of volunteers for the into-the-wind duties.”We will need an into-the-wind bowler possibly, although that might be the end to bowl with the prevailing wind. If it comes from there it might swing away.”It’s funny with the wind, at the beginning of the last Test match everyone wanted to bowl at one particular end and then people swing it into the wind a little bit more and everyone wants to bowl at that end,” he said.”A Test match varies, from day to day and which end people want to bowl.”Just what the make-up of England’s side would be on this occasion would depend on how the wicket looked closer to the match start time.”The wicket has got a lot of time before it will be ready.”It looks a bit more traditional soil where it might do a little bit to start with and it might turn a little bit at the end, that’s normal cricket,” he said.England would be looking to lift its game from its success in the first Test.They now had to do what they did in Christchurch, which was getting the greater amount of runs on the board in the first innings, pitching the ball up and swinging it, and then, when it gets a little flatter hitting the deck in the manner of Andy Caddick while also having the middle-order score more runs later on.”They’re the same basics from every Test match really.”It’s just a case now of adapting to conditions and that is what my team talk will be based around, and never taking the game for granted.”It looks like a typical New Zealand wicket. There will be times when it is flat and there will be times when it is doing a bit and you have to adapt your game accordingly.I think that was the same in the last Test and will be the same in the next Test,” he said.

Leeds United are eyeing a summer move for Colombian starlet Santiago Moreno in the transfer window.

What’s the story?

With the Premier League season winding to a conclusion this weekend, all eyes will be on how Marcelo Bielsa’s side look to strengthen over the course of the summer transfer window.

The Telegraph have claimed that Leeds have their eye on 21-year-old Moreno, but the Whites are set to face significant transfer competition for him from the likes of Rangers and fellow Premier League side Southampton.

The report added that the versatile forward, who can play on either flank and through the middle, has shades of Liverpool superstar Sadio Mane to him, with some journalists already noting comparisons between the two.

Leeds’ own Sadio Mane

With six goals and four assists in 23 games in all competitions, Moreno is enjoying somewhat of a breakthrough season in his native Colombia with CD America.

The 21-year-old has already earned rave reviews for his performances, with South American football journalist Simon Edwards saying: “Excellent player. Can operate as a traditional winger with pace, skill and direct dribbling but also has the ability to drift inside and create. Really athletic and agile but also smart with good technique. A top player, would be a great buy with potential to sell at a profit.”

Just like Mane, Moreno appears to have the kind of speed, power and explosiveness which could see him light up the Premier League, with South American talent ID Twitter account Somos Cantera insisting that he has great potential.

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They said: “Raised, trained and developed in the ‘Escarlata’ stable, he is a very powerful striker, of good biotype and very easy to detect spaces between defenders; he has to improve his finishing, but he still has a very high ceiling.”

Dubbed as someone who’s “full of quality and promise, pace and skill”, Moreno could be the kind of inspired signing for Leeds which Mane has proven to be in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Leeds must land this “explosive” Premier League star…

West Ham United could land themselves an ideal heir to Mark Noble for nothing this summer…

What’s the word?

According to Sport1, the Irons are interested in signing Maccabi Tel Aviv midfielder Dor Peretz, who is out of contract at the end of the current season.

However, it is claimed that the Premier League side face stiff competition from Russian giants CSKA Moscow and that they are leading the race to secure his signature, having offered him a €1m-per-year (£865k) deal.

The Israeli outfit still have a few matches to play in their season, so no decision on his future is expected anytime soon.

Noble heir?

The Hammers’ club captain is due to play one final season next term after he confirmed back in March that he would be bringing the curtain down on an 18-year career in East London.

Whilst the 33-year-old has been restricted to a lack of game time on the pitch, featuring in only 704 minutes this league campaign, his presence off it is still of huge importance.

‘He is still one of the leaders in the dressing room and is a helpful conduit between the owners and the squad,’ wrote The Athletic’s Roshane Thomas earlier in the year.

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This sort of void is really irreplaceable but David Moyes could help himself and the club by finding a viable replacement, and perhaps he has done exactly that with the Maccabi vice-captain.

The 26-year-old is primarily a defensive midfielder but has chipped in with plenty of goals, finding the net ten times in all competitions this term. On top of providing nine assists, as per Transfermarkt.

Peretz has also played a whopping 50 matches, both domestically and in Europe, proving to be the sort of player that you can trust to not get injured and always be fit and firing – something that Noble has been for a long part of his career.

Furthermore, the 6 foot 1 powerhouse has picked up 20 caps for Israel, which makes him an even more attractive prospect as he’s available for nothing.

His former national team boss Andi Herzog has tipped him for big things in the past, too – speaking to Walla! he claimed the Maccabi star “belongs at the top” as he can play either the no.6 or no.8 role.

He also suggested that had Peretz been playing in the Bundesliga, then he’d be “worth €20m (£18m).”

The Hammers have had success with Israeli players before; Yossi Benayoun and Eyal Berkovic, to name just two.

Whilst it’ll take an impressive character to take the place of Noble, it would be a low-risk move to take a punt on the 26-year-old this summer.

AND in other news, Soucek 2.0: Moyes can deliver West Ham another bargain in £14m gem who “can do it all”…

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming came into the National Bank Test Series wanting his side to be respected for its achievements, past, present and future, and today’s 78-run win to draw the series with England 1-1 went a long way towards ensuring

Lynn McConnell03-Apr-2002New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming came into the National Bank Test Series wanting his side to be respected for its achievements, past, present and future, and today’s 78-run win to draw the series with England 1-1 went a long way towards ensuring that respect.It took some bold decisions, and some innovation, especially under the lights last night, but the stability provided by the impact players selected for the match, Chris Harris who scored an invaluable 71 in the first innings, Daryl Tuffey who took nine wickets and Andre Adams who took six, allowed Fleming to dictate on his own terms.Fleming was required to throw some caution to the wind to achieve that and at 19/4 on the first day of the Test his gamble was under question.The win was New Zealand’s first over England at home since 1984, Fleming’s 16th as captain, and while his batting contribution throughout the series was minimal he had the personal satisfaction of leading New Zealand to its 50th victory in Tests and also becoming the first New Zealander to take 100 catches.Nasser Hussain, the England captain, might not be concerned about the ICC Test Championship ladder, but Fleming had the satisfaction of taking New Zealand to fourth on the ladder, forcing England back to fifth.But reflecting on what amounted to a victory achieved in the equivalent of eight sessions of normal playing time, Fleming said that even when 19/4 he felt New Zealand were in the best position to make the most out of what the wicket had to offer.So it proved when he declared overnight and left England with 312 as a target in a minimum of 105 overs today.England went for broke and at lunch had scored a staggering 154/5, but the momentum was always with New Zealand, even after Fleming dropped Hussain off the fourth ball after the break.At one stage Hussain threatened to hold up the victory, but he ran out of partners as Nathan Astle slowed what had been a frenetic run rate, and then picked up a key wicket in Mark Butcher from a ball that exploded off the pitch and lobbed from Butcher’s bat to be caught at point by reserve fielder Brooke Walker.It was then Tuffey, the player of the match, Adams and Chris Drum, who had 11 Tests between them who undid England by taking three wickets each. Their bowling throughout the match, might not have been as tight as Fleming would have liked when he claimed too many boundaries were conceded, but they were better than England’s bowlers in the conditions and that made the difference.”They went for a lot of boundaries, but they took wickets throughout. I would have liked them to be a lot tighter,” Fleming said.The key wickets were Graham Thorpe, who got a faint edge to a ball from Tuffey to be caught by Adam Parore to become his 200th wicket-keeping dismissal, and Hussain who was squared up by Adams and offered him a caught and bowled chance which he pounced on.Getting runs in the third innings had been vital to New Zealand’s ultimate success because throughout the series England had denied them opportunities at vital times. England had been very professional and New Zealand had been up against it in the match and they needed to take risks.Hussain said afterwards that even when New Zealand were 19/4 he thought his bowlers had not bowled well. He said a gusty wind at the northern end of the ground had been a problem when New Zealand forced a draw here four years ago and it was a concern again in those circumstances.”We bowled poorly on that sort of wicket to let them get up to 200. The wicket was doing plenty all the way through,” he said.Batting on the third evening when the shadows were coming across the pitch had been difficult and New Zealand had used them well to have England 11/3.Hussain explained his concerns about having to field while New Zealand were batting under the lights last night.”They had set a base of 200 ahead and they were going to tee off as the ball got older. That’s how Astle wants to play, it suits his game and it suits Adams’ game. By that time the damage had been done, even if they had batted on a little bit this morning the game was always going to be a result on a wicket like that,” Hussain said.”I thought we bowled fine last night, when sides come at you like that you have to vary your pace.”The thing about last night was that some of our boys were struggling to see the ball.”I mentioned that to Venkat [umpire Srinivas Venkataraghavan] and Venkat fully agreed with me and said, ‘Yeah it is difficult, but in no time in the history of the game has any side been taken off fielding and as far as Test cricket goes and ICC regulations say you can’t take a side off fielding, speak to the ICC about it’, and I’ve got no problem with that,” he said.Hussain didn’t want to be labelled “a whinging English captain”.There had been some fascinating cricket played in the series, the cricket had been excellent but the lighting issue had to be looked at by people off the field.”The New Zealand side are very resilient, we’ve always known that. They’re a similar side to us, they’re hard to break down. I’ve always said in a three match series we have to be at our best all the time to beat sides and we were just off by one or two hours in this game and we got nailed,” he said.That is respect, just as Fleming wanted it.