Former Celtic striker Charlie Nicholas has pleaded with the club to tie manager Ange Postecoglou down to a new deal, claiming the club must already be plotting or even in behind-scenes ‘negotiations’.
The Lowdown: Ange excels in first year
The Australian replaced Neil Lennon in the Parkhead hot seat last year, looking to improve fortunes on the pitch after a disappointing period.
Postecoglou has done just that, inspiring Celtic to within touching distance of regaining the Scottish Premiership title, needing just one more point to achieve that goal.
Not only that but the Hoops have already sealed Scottish League Cup glory, too, further outlining the job he is doing.
Postecoglou only signed a one-year deal at Parkhead, however, and speaking to The Scottish Daily Express, Nicholas, 60, claimed the club must surely already be engaged in or plotting behind-scenes talks:
“Forget about all the transfers because Celtic’s No. 1 priority in the coming weeks should be rewarding Ange Postecoglou with a new contract. I would be absolutely amazed if talks haven’t already started.
“Celtic would be absolutely crazy if they haven’t opened negotiations or even scheduled them for the coming weeks. Ange deserves to be rewarded for what he has done.
“Let’s get him tied up because he is at the heart of everything good that Celtic are doing and have done. They kept topping up Brendan Rodgers’ deal and look at the compensation they got for him when Leicester City came in.
“I don’t think Ange will be pushing for a new deal but it would be a reward for the remarkable job he has done at Celtic…so far. His reputation is growing and there is no doubt other big clubs will be looking at him.
“So Dermot (Desmond) show a bit of loyalty and reward Ange, please. He should be the top priority at the club.”
The Verdict: No-brainer for Celtic
It would be devastating to see Postecoglou suddenly leave at the end of the season, having not agreed terms on a contract and found a new club instead.
That seems unlikely, in truth, with the Celtic boss seemingly happy at the club, but supporters won’t rest easy until he has extended his stint with the Hoops.
Postecoglou has made an enormous difference since replacing Lennon, becoming an undoubted fan favourite already, and the club could enjoy a rich period of success under him.
In other news, an exciting Celtic financial update has emerged. Read more here.
From a nuggety get-out-of-strife type, the Australia batsman, who is set to play her 250th international match on Sunday, is now the side’s most versatile player
Adam Collins in Coffs Harbour28-Oct-2017The day after Alex Blackwell’s international debut in 2003, Belgium became the second country to legalise same-sex marriage. A fortnight after her 250th at Coffs Harbour on Sunday, Australia should finally begin the process to become the 24th.There are many ways to illustrate the longevity of a career that has spanned 5387 days, but marriage equality seems most fitting given Blackwell’s persuasive work to convince Australian voters.In both the current public campaign and women’s cricket as a whole, the terrain has changed strikingly since Blackwell made her bow at age 19. Now, she is Australia’s most-capped female player; on Sunday, the latest in a string of milestones.Professionalism has been the biggest transformation. When the national vice-captain started her journey, pay for women cricketers was not part of the conversation. Major tournament preparation would consist of a training camp squeezed into a long weekend, if they were lucky. “Everything was jammed together and you left in a world of hurt,” she had recalled earlier in the year.Then back to the university Blackwell would go, to continue her medical studies, then into a full-time career in genetics. “I never thought it would be professional for me,” she said of the game. “I always had to equally think about my academic life and the career I wanted to pursue to earn an income. You were stretched pretty thin.”It is a familiar story for women athletes worldwide. But in Blackwell’s case, full-time cricket was a welcome arrival a dozen years later. While there are many commercial indicators of a game on the rise, Blackwell’s batting embodies it better than any.From a nuggety get-out-of-strife type, she is now Australia’s most versatile player, something she attributes to recalibrating her game for T20. She excelled in the Women’s Big Bash league, leading Sydney Thunder to the inaugural title. That broader set of skills is now evident every time she sets up at the crease.”One of the best things Al’s been able to do is really adapt her game,” Australian captain Rachael Haynes said in toasting her deputy’s “outstanding” career. “You’ve always got to look to evolve. If you look at players over time who are able to do that, they’re generally the ones who have had the longer careers and the most success.”Blackwell is now equally comfortable with the straight bat as she is lapping or reversing or walloping. Her 56-ball 90 nearly saved the day in the World Cup semi-finals this July. It’s a game methodically curated for all seasons; a game that got Australia over the line in the opening match of this Ashes too, with an unbeaten 67.This narrative also applies to Haynes, previously known for compact accumulation rather than the plundering she subjected England to in the second Ashes ODI. “There were some good moments in there the other day,” she said modestly of her 56-ball 89. “And I’ve still got more to give as a player.”Alex Blackwell steers one into the off side•Getty ImagesHer task in the second Coffs Harbour contest – the last ODI of the multi-format series – is to avoid a Big Banana peel that would cede momentum to England ahead of the standalone Test Match. Haynes knows this is a crucial opportunity.”Don’t be satisfied,” was her message to her players. “This match is a really important game, we’ll be looking to really assert [ourselves]. That’s the really big thing. The moment you get comfortable and relaxed in what you’re achieving, perhaps, it leaves the door open.”Haynes will have the services of the dynamic 20-year-old all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner, who is likely to return after concussion had kept her out of Thursday’s 75-run victory. “You saw a glimpse of what she’s capable of, so it’s exciting that she’ll come back in,” the captain said. Legspinner Kristen Beams will likely make way.Thursday’s toss generated scrutiny, after Heather Knight gave Australia first use of friendly batting conditions. England coach Mark Robinson later elaborated on his captain’s decision to ESPNcricinfo.”Had that rain come an hour later and we looked at a shortened target, Duckworth-Lewis can make things look very, very simple,” he said. “Had we elected to bat first and it rained and Australia had an easy target you would be criticised with everyone knowing the forecast. As it happened, the rain came at the worst time. It’s a lot more clear-cut tomorrow.”Knight recognised that bouncing back from four points down is “potentially” the biggest test of her time in charge. “But, it is still very much a contest. There is still a hell of a lot of cricket to be played. We have got to wrestle back that momentum. But it is important that we move on from what has happened and don’t feel sorry for ourselves.”Robinson, however, wasn’t prepared to declare it a must-win game. “I don’t look it like that. It puts too much emphasis and can become too big and that can actually start to suffocate you.””We’ve given the girls all the space they needed yesterday then had all the chats we needed today,” he said of the mood in the camp. “What you have got to do is keep it simple as you can. We’re not trying to build anything up too much.”With the bat, only bowler Katherine Brunt has made it to a half-century so far in the two games, while both she and her fellow opening seamer Anya Shrubsole were wicketless and expensive in their last start. Knight, however, is backing her quick bowlers, whom she assessed as bowling “brilliantly” early before Australia’s aggression took over.Sophie Ecclestone, the 18-year-old left-arm spinner endorsed by Knight and Robinson, will play again after her Ashes debut on Thursday,. There is no sign of panic yet, as both the captain and the coach hinted they would go in unchanged. World Champions at home, this is a prized opportunity for England to show what they are made of away.
As the tri-series moves on from Guyana and St Kitts to its final destination of Barbados, ESPNcricinfo looks at five things we have learnt from the series so far
Brydon Coverdale and Firdose Moonda17-Jun-2016South Africa’s attack is changing It was only last year that Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and Imran Tahir almost bowled South Africa into a World Cup final. What a difference a year makes. Steyn is in playing T20 cricket for Glamorgan, Philander is on his way back from a long injury lay-off and Morkel, though part of the ODI squad, has yet to be called on in the series. Even Kyle Abbott has been used only twice. Instead, the attack has based itself around Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Aaron Phangiso and the dangerous Tahir. And their results have been encouraging. The times, for South Africa’s bowling unit, are a-changing.Adam Zampa has poise to burn He started this year aged 23 and with no international caps to his name, but Adam Zampa has quickly shown that not only does he have the skills for international cricket, but also the poise. Bowling legspin in limited-overs cricket can be fraught, for the margin of error is so slim. But Zampa has belied his youthful looks to bring a mature outlook to the side, and is Australia’s leading wicket taker in the series with nine victims at 19.33. It follows on from similarly encouraging displays in ODIs against New Zealand in February and the World T20 in India in March. Zampa has variety, intelligence and confidence – the next step is for him to gain more traction in first-class cricket, and show he is not just a short-form player.West Indies need more from their top order Since last year’s World Cup, West Indies have done without Chris Gayle in the ODI format and have stuck with Johnson Charles and Andre Fletcher as their opening pair. Their first few stands against Sri Lanka in November were worth just 2, 1 and 4, but their numbers have lifted in this series and their last two partnerships have been worth 74 and 69. It is an encouraging rise. All the same, West Indies still need more from their top order. The No.3, Darren Bravo, is averaging 24.75 this series. Fletcher is averaging 15.75. The team’s top four partnerships are averaging 31.68 this series, compared to Australia’s 37.56 and South Africa’s 48.50. It is hard to win a series with numbers like that.Anyone can beat anyone World champions Australia entered this series ranked No.1 in the world, South Africa No.3 and West Indies No.8. And yet the teams find themselves, after the Guyana and St Kitts legs of the tournament, locked on two wins and two losses each, only a couple of bonus points separating them. Everyone has beaten everyone once. In Guyana, West Indies beat South Africa, South Africa beat Australia and Australia beat West Indies. In St Kitts, West Indies beat Australia, Australia beat South Africa and South Africa beat West Indies. For the viewer it is the best-case scenario, a genuine contest. Now what will happen in Barbados?South Africa’s percentages matter This series is South Africa’s first since the country’s sports minister, Fikile Mbalula, banned four national sporting federations, including cricket, from bidding for or hosting international tournaments as a punishment for their slow rate of transformation. Mbalula made it public that the target the federations had agreed to meet in an MOU signed with the sports ministry was 60%. Cricket was not falling too far short, having achieved 55%, but needed to include one more player of colour to meet the minister’s criteria. That meant fielding seven players of colour in an XI and in this series, they have stuck to that on average. South Africa took the field with six players of colour in their first match against West Indies but made up for that with a record eight players of colour in their second game against Australia. They have included seven players of colour in their other two matches. Sticking to this number should ensure the ban is overturned when the transformation numbers are reviewed next year which means if a World T20 is played in 2018, and there is talk South Africa would be the preferred host, they can stage the event. It has been interesting to note the impact this strategy has had on team balance. It has given South Africa’s attack variety and dynamism but has kept their batting line-up a little too short, with the tail emerging from No.7 in some cases.
ESPNcricinfo looks at the controversies of the 2015 World Cup
Alagappan Muthu30-Mar-2015The (un)dead ball
A confusing end to a confusing innings and, as in most passages of baffling cricket, one of the victims was a man who had played with assurance. James Taylor was two runs away from a maiden ODI century against Australia at the MCG – the second match of the World Cup – when he was adjudged leg-before by umpire Aleem Dar. The batsman reviewed, the decision was reversed, and that should have been that. Except England had attempted a run, and DRS rolled on to catch Glenn Maxwell running the last man James Anderson out, and the dismissal was upheld. The only problem – the run-out had taken place after the lbw appeal was upheld, meaning the ball was dead. The ICC conceded as much. “The Playing Control Team spoke to the England team management and acknowledges that the game ended incorrectly and that an error was made.”A jaunt gone wrong
You could excuse Al-Amin Hossain for wanting to explore Brisbane. It was his first time playing in Australia and he was part of a World Cup squad a year after his ODI debut. In his excitement though, he broke the team’s 10 pm curfew and was written up by the ACSU (Anti-Corruption and Security Unit). It was only a misdemeanor, and there were no corruption charges, but Al-Amin was withdrawn from the squad and sent home. “We don’t even know where he went,” Nazmul Hassan, the BCB president said. “That’s the biggest question. He is telling us different versions. It is not a very serious issue but still.” Two days later, Pakistan’s chief selector Moin Khan had to fly home to cooperate with a PCB investigation into why he had visited a Christchurch casino.Sean Williams walked off the park while the umpires were still deliberating over John Mooney’s catch near the boundary.•AFPShadows of doubt
It was the 47th over and Zimbabwe were chasing 332 against Ireland in Hobart. Sean Williams, on 96, cleared his front leg and clubbed one hoping to clear deep midwicket but John Mooney tracked it down perilously close to the rope. Cue the third umpire. And a slew of replays. Some hinted at contact between boot and boundary.Others didn’t. Experts stressed it was just an illusion cast by Mooney’s shadow. The TV official Joel Wilson was still musing but the next man was already taking guard. Brendan Taylor, who made a century in the match, said, “You generally take the fielder’s opinion and you go with it.” Which was what Williams did: after a near-flawless innings, he made the error of walking off the park while the umpires were still deliberating. Zimbabwe could have needed only 26 off 19, but it became 32 off 19 and their best hope had gone.A slow bowler’s swift suspension
Majid Haq, Scotland’s most-capped player and leading wicket-taker, was benched against Sri Lanka after which, according to the BBC, he reportedly tweeted: “Always tougher when your in the minority!! #colour #race.” The tweet was subsequently deleted. The team’s statement said he had breached “an internal code of conduct” but did not elaborate on the specifics. It also said Haq would be sent back home and coach Grant Bradburn said that the decision to drop him was taken for cricketing reasons. Until then Haq’s incredibly slow offspinners had brought him three wickets in four matches, an economy of 4.88 and a rather popular hashtag #things2dobetweenmajidreleasingballanditreachingbatsman.High drama over height
In the glare of the World Cup quarter-finals – with a Bangladesh-India match that was not lacking in eyeballs – the umpires were left red-faced again. Rohit Sharma, who had been the spine of the innings until then and the source of the acceleration later on, lobbed a full toss to deep square leg in the 40th over and Bangladesh erupted. But the square leg umpire Aleem Dar immediately indicated the ball was the above waist and Ian Gould made the no-ball official. Except it wasn’t one, and Bangladesh erupted again – this time in outrage. Nazmul Hassan, the BCB president, wanted to lodge an appeal. ICC president Mustafa Kamal said: “There was no quality in the umpiring. It seemed as if they had gone into the match with something in mind.” Kamal was given a soft rap by ICC chief executive David Richardson who said, “The no-ball decision was a 50-50 call. The spirit of the game dictates that the umpire’s decision is final and must be respected.”
James Anderson has been one of the most skilful bowlers of the modern age, but when George Bailey thrashed 28 off one over it was a reminder that Australia has not always been kind to him
Jarrod Kimber16-Dec-2013At the top of his mark at Trent Bridge, there was a broken man. Jimmy Anderson had bowled and bowled and bowled, and somehow Australia still hadn’t lost. There seemed to be a limp, but maybe you just expected one. Australia failed to pass 300, but he bowled more than 50 overs in the match. As Haddin and Pattinson inched Australia to victory, he was brought back.His physical demeanor was more like a man who had just completed 10 straight Tests, not someone in the first of ten. He took the wicket of Haddin, and won the game. It was his tenth wicket of the game. He beat Australia on his own.Since then, he’s taken 19 wickets at 47. Since then, across both series, England are 3-2 down.
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Jimmy Anderson is no Dale Steyn. Dale Steyn fans will tell you about this for hours on end. As if Anderson should be ashamed of any good press he gets that isn’t lavished on Steyn. Dale Steyn is a god, a myth, created from a tree struck by lightning and found in a crater in small town America. Anderson is a skilful, smart bowler. There have few men ever in the entire history of our planet as good as Dale Steyn; Anderson is not one of them.Anderson is, however, a supreme mover of the cricket ball.Pictures of his wrist position should be X-rated. When he gets the ball to swing, it moves as if operated by a remote control. And he can bowl a ball so good that only the off stump can stop it.The ball goes where he wants it, and when he is at his absolute best, he can move the batsmen around the crease as well. When Robin Peterson was sent out at No 3 for South Africa in the Champions Trophy semi-final, Jimmy Anderson put on a clinic of swing bowling.Coming around the wicket to the left-handed Peterson, he bowled four straight outswingers to him. A fair skill in itself. But each was gloriously out of reach. All within a few inches of each other. The length and movement meant Peterson could only leave them. Peterson edged towards each ball, so while he started batting on leg stump, he ended up on off stump. The moment he was in front of the stumps, from around the wicket the wicket Anderson swung the ball the other way, Peterson was out lbw.That’s not good swing bowling, that’s a supervillain.
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Anderson had to fight his way in. He’s not built like a fast bowler. He’s built like a greyhound. He’s not massively tall, he doesn’t have the fast bowler’s big behind, and his shoulders are like that of any mortal.His action is also unconventional. He doesn’t actually watch the ball. His head almost disappears. He’s partly front on, not fully front on or fully side on. His front foot goes off on a random angle like it is ignoring the delivery. He shouldn’t really work.But he was fast, and had an outswinger. So he made it to the top level. That is enough to take some wickets, but pace isn’t always enough unless you’re scarily quick. And top batsmen can handle consistent outswing, and sometimes the ball doesn’t swing.It was Troy Cooley who tried to fix Jimmy Anderson. The man who helped turn the ’05 bowling attack into a machine. But Cooley’s ways go in both directions. Mitchell Johnson produced his best deliveries under Cooley, but also lost his way. Kabir Ali never made it under Cooley despite blatantly obvious natural talent. And for Jimmy Anderson, his time with Cooley went very wrong.With Anderson, any bowling coach could see the flaws. Some will try and fix them, some will suggest he’s doing well even with them. Cooley tried to fix them. They were afraid Anderson would end up with stress fractures in his back. They changed his action – and Anderson ended with stress fractures in his back.It’s not that surprising that the scientific method didn’t work for him. Even now, Anderson’s run up is not done with a tape measure. It’s the same run up he has had since he was a 15 year old back in Burnley. When marking it, he starts midway between the crease and then leaps his first step, walks his next 13, and then leaps his last one. It’s about as unscientific as anything in Team England, it’s the opposite of eating kale or psychological tests.
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At home, Anderson can monster teams. Swing bowlers from other countries drool when they think about England; Anderson had the good fortune to be born there. Whatever it is about the climate that makes the ball swing, it’s certainly helped him.He was pretty good when he had an outswinger, but a few years in he had a killer inswinger as well. Around this time he also mastered the art of hitting the seam when he needed too. That makes you a pretty good bowler on bowler-friendly wickets.But in recent years he’s been as good in the UAE and India. A series England lost, and one they won from behind. For a swing bowler to succeed in India or the UAE, that’s not about seam up and get it in the right areas, that’s bowling intelligence. The ability to learn new tricks, and things that will work on unresponsive pitches, is how Anderson helped England get to number one.
When he was called the most skilful fast bowler on earth, the Steyn fans took great fun in comparing the records of him and Anderson. But Steyn is the best fast bowler on earth, by a distance. Anderson is the most skilful.
Anderson has even learnt from other bowlers who aren’t as good as Dale Steyn. From Stuart Clark and Mohammad Asif, he learnt the wobble ball. A ball that misbehaves because even the bowler is not sure what it is going to do. Perfect for flat pitches and boring interludes. The sort of ball that bad bowlers deliver by mistake.From Zaheer Khan, he has learnt that sometimes on flat pitches you need to bowl faster, not slower. The modern wisdom is to bowl within yourself, with the occasional quicker ball. But Zaheer was the master of sometimes bowling as fast as his body would allow just to make something happen. For both of them, it often does.Zaheer also bowled reverse swing. Anderson spent time watching him doing that as well. Then he learned the art himself, even adding the hide-the-ball style that Zaheer and many sub-continental masters had used before. It means that the outswing bowler can wobble one off a flat pitch, or reverse one to cause damage. He has come a long way from the young kid who just swing it away for a few overs.When he was called the most skilful fast bowler on earth, the Steyn fans took great fun in comparing the records of him and Anderson. But Steyn is the best fast bowler on earth, by a distance. Anderson is the most skilful. One is superman, and is enhanced by the earth’s yellow sun. The other is Batman, flawed but really clever with endless resources that he uses to shield himself from the fact he’s not an alien with endless power.
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There is a theory that in Anderson can’t bowl in Australia. Reputations are hard to change. And the Ashes of 2006-7 left lasting impressions for many Australians. That was a series where Anderson found five wickets at over 80 apiece. Somehow it seemed worse than those figures suggest. They next time he stepped on a plane headed for Australia he must have paused a bit himself.In 2010-11, he took 24 wickets at 26. There were no five-wicket hauls, although with Australian wickets falling so fast, it was hard for him to collect them all. He just spearheaded an attack, that was mostly without Broad, into completely and utterly smashing Australia consistently.The series was 0-0 on that morning of Adelaide. The run out of Simon Katich was annoying, but it shouldn’t have meant the end of all happiness for Australia. Jimmy Anderson did. He dragged Ponting into playing the wrong shot at the wrong ball. He tempted Clarke into playing a stupid shot at a beautiful swinging ball. And he allowed Watson to find gully with a normal Watson drive. He only took one more wicket that innings, and two more in the second innings, but that start to the game was something Australia could not recover from.In Melbourne, after England’s shock loss in Perth, he took four wickets in Australia’s series-losing 98 on Boxing Day. The wickets of Clarke, Hussey, Smith and Johnson: not a tail-ender between them. Any chance of a comeback, or even a less than embarrassing total, was gone with one Anderson spell.But that was by far Anderson’s best against Australia, home or away. During 2009 his bowling was mute, only 12 wickets. His last Ashes had the glorious start at Trent Bridge, but England won the series with him contributing only an occasional really good spell. And this one, well, it’s been better than 2006-7, but that’s about it.The Australians and Anderson don’t like each other. Anderson has enjoyed the good times over the Aussies, and his hand-over-mouth sledging technique gets to them. The ‘broken f*cken arm’ comment shouldn’t be looked at as a one-time thing. There is almost no time when Anderson is out on the ground when he isn’t having words with someone.The Australians probably enjoy it; they just enjoy it more when they’re winning. As Anderson does.
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If Anderson were to retire now, which is unlikely given his age of 31, he would retire with a bowling average of 30. It seems very high for a bowler who at times has beheaded Michael Clarke’s off stumps with balls that were as deadly as anything ever bowled.Like his team, he is a player with a decent record which does not really convey how good he could be at his best. Like his team, he’s a bit flawed, but gets through it through bloody-mindedness and determination. Like his team, he was skilful and smart.Like his team, he looks tired.It would be stupid to write off England and Anderson right now. With South Africa having a great team, and India a team of greats, England still rose to the top of the world. hey did it with a spearhead with an average average, a splayed front foot and a head that yanks the wrong way. They did it when no one really expected England to be as good as they were, and no one really expected Anderson to do as much as he has.James Anderson has more Test wickets than every English cricketer other than Ian Botham. From the same amount of Tests, he has more than Willis. That skinny frame and dodgy action has got him there. There is something special about him. Even if he did have the misfortune to be more mortal than Botham or Steyn.Anderson, and England, can come back. If not now, then one day.
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Anderson bowled a quality delivery to Chris Rogers that went off the edge towards Prior and Cook. Prior never moved. Cook jumped violently but couldn’t hold on. Anderson went back to his mark as the catch was trickling slowly behind them. Australia already had a big lead for no wickets, Broad was off the ground, the birds were gathering above England’s heads waiting for them to fall over.Anderson should have just kept walking past his mark and into the member’s bar.Instead he kept bowling, 19 overs in all. His first 18 went for 77. His 19th conceded 28.
Plays of the Day from the first day of the second Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka in Durban
Firdose Moonda at Kingsmead26-Dec-2011Debut of the day
Fifteen minutes before the toss, the South African squad got into a huddle. At the centre was a face that has not been seen in national colours since the last time South Africa won a Test at Kingsmead in 2008, Shaun Pollock. The much-loved Pollock was not making a surprise comeback but was tasked with handing over a debut cap to the latest quick to be named in the starting XI – 21-year old Marchant de Lange.Pollock gave a small speech, which every member of the squad listened to with intent and when he handed the cap over, the players did a collective jump and clapped hands for de Lange. Then, they stood for a while in what looked like a prayer before getting ready to take the field. This year has been particularly kind to bowlers playing Test cricket for the first time and de Lange was the latest to benefit from that, taking two wickets in his first spell.Needlessness of the day
Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene shared the highest stand of the morning – 37 runs – and looked to be settling well on a flattening pitch. Dilshan had taken a liking to Imran Tahir, who was brought on after just 70 minutes of play and in the legspinner’s third over dispatched a full toss for four. The next over, Tahir presented him with another full toss down the leg side that Dilshan could have hit anywhere behind square. He chose to send straight to Morne Morkel at fine leg. It was almost as careless as the hoick he played to be dismissed for six in the first innings of the first Test in Centurion. This time, he added 41 more runs before doing it.Dinesh Chandimal’s careless reach to be dismissed in the dying minutes of the day comes a close second.Milestone of the day
Sri Lanka’s batsmen set the bar pretty low in Centurion after being bundled out for 180 and 150 in their two innings. On a much flatter deck, with few demons, they made better starts at Kingsmead. Although they still gave away their wickets on occasion, they appeared a slightly more composed unit. Thilan Samaraweera and Chandimal guided them through most of the post-lunch session and it was up to the rookie to take them into unchartered territory. His pull through the square leg, off a rare Jacques Kallis boundary ball, took the score to 184 for 5, and brought up Sri Lanka’s highest total of the series so far.Non-wicket of the day
Tahir bowled better from the Umgeni End, the breeze helping him with drift. He should have got Samaraweera out, shortly after he became the first Sri Lankan to score a half-century on this tour. Samaraweera lobbed the ball back to Tahir who took the catch one-handed and in deflated fashion – because the delivery was called a no-ball by Umpire Steve Davis. Replays showed that Tahir did have some part of his back foot behind the line and should have had another scalp to his name.Decision of the day
With calls to end play early causing annoyance around the world, most recently Australia, umpires Davis and Richard Kettleborough can be lauded for their decision to keep going in a venue notorious for bad light, as should the teams. At the press conference, Sri Lanka coach Geoff Marsh said the teams agreed to “try to play for as long as possible” under lights.Even as the new ball came, Dale Steyn bowled short and five o’clock arrived, the umpires made no gestures to indicate they were considering calling play off before the full 90 overs had been bowled. Thisara Perera ended the day with three balls to go after he was dismissed by de Lange.
Nothing illustrates more aptly the emptiness of whatever method and merit there is to Pakistan’s current thinking than the continued selection of Kamran Akmal as a first-choice wicketkeeper
Nothing illustrates more aptly the emptiness of whatever method and merit there is to Pakistan’s current thinking than the continued selection of Kamran Akmal as a first-choice wicketkeeper.For about three years now, without exaggeration, Akmal has missed nearly a chance per match – an ODI – on average, sometimes more. This series has not bucked any trends. He missed a stumping today and dropped a catch in Karachi’s second ODI. His glovework to spinners in particular is, to be blunt, appalling, as if the ball and gloves both carry negative charges. Clean takes are seen as often as dry eyes in an Obama speech.Shahid Afridi in ODIs has now joined Danish Kaneria in Tests as a repeat victim of Akmal’s ineptitude; catches, stumpings, byes given away like every day is . Geoffrey Boycott’s great grandmother was an even bet to complete today’s stumping off Shoaib Malik (Stevie Wonder, according to bookies, was the odds-on favourite).So complacent to his failings have we become that the issue is no longer a debating point. Sarfraz Ahmed was tried half-heartedly last year. He did little wrong but was dropped as soon as a new selection committee came in and nobody peeped. Akmal returned, as if to the manor born, amid cautious assessment that he had improved. It was tosh, swiftly evidenced in three missed chances against West Indies in Abu Dhabi.If the issue is brought up, with selectors, team-mates, the captain even, it is said his batting makes up for it, as it did admittedly in Abu Dhabi. It is the curse Adam Gilchrist has left the game that poor wicketkeepers around the world are excused if only they know which side of the bat to hold. Akmal can bat, but that is not the same thing as making up for his follies. And anyway a player’s value to a side is not a balance book that you even out at the end.By scoring a fifty, you do not automatically make up for two catches missed earlier. A dropped chance is not just calculated in the runs made thereafter. The very mood, circumstances, and momentum of a game changes; if a wicketkeeper is the touchstone from whom fielders take their cue, then at least one reason why Pakistan are so inconsistent in the field is clear. At the risk of stating the obvious – and it obviously needs stating – a player’s value is to be judged only by what he , not a total sum of his failings from his positives.But if his batting is to be used as a persistent defence, if we are to go down that road, then there isn’t much there either. In his last 49 matches, he averages 21 with a single hundred against Bangladesh and two fifties. Charitably, there are perhaps four match-changing ODI knocks in three years. So no, let’s not go down that road.Akmal had something when he first cemented his place in the side. In Australia, India, the West Indies and at home against England over 2004 and 2005, he was a good wicketkeeper as well as batsman. To spin, he was safe, often spectacular. But he hasn’t had it for a long, long time. This may have been a poor patch sometime ago, but it is now turning into a horrid half-life. In this form, he might not catch a cold in an epidemic.Yet as sure as day follows night, there will be no calls for replacing or resting Akmal for a while. For Shoaib Akhtar there will be screams, for Afridi there are perennial daggers. But Akmal will go on, Pakistan’s Mr Teflon, on whom no criticism (or catch) sticks. It is said that he is particularly close to Malik. This much is true that Malik has repeatedly insisted Akmal be retained through this period. He even called him, a little while back, the second-best wicketkeeper-batsman in the world, after Gilchrist, which should invite defamation lawsuits from Kumar Sangakkara and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, to say nothing of Brendon McCullum.Predictably, Malik defended his performance again today. “This is the same Akmal who has won Pakistan matches from difficult situations. Catches are dropped by all wicketkeepers and one or two in recent matches doesn’t make a difference. We have to keep the future in mind and not put pressure on him,” he said.Sadly the thinking is emblematic not just of a cricket culture where merit is often wholly forsaken and mediocrity repeatedly rewarded for the sake of a personal connection, but of an entire nation.
First-season finalists Gulf Giants and Desert Vipers, as well as MI Emirates have retained bulk of their players
ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jul-2023
Gulf Giants are the defending champions at the ILT20•ILT20
Gulf Giants, the champions in the inaugural edition of the ILT20 in 2023, and Desert Vipers, the runners-up, have retained the bulk of their players for the second season, starting January 13, 2024. MI Emirates have done the same, while the bottom three from the first season – Dubai Capitals, Sharjah Warriors and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders – have opened up a lot of space in their line-ups.Among the big names to be absent from the list of retained players are Moeen Ali (Warriors last year) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (Capitals last year), who have both moved to the SA20, which will run concurrently with the ILT20, with the BBL and Bangladesh Premier League also on at the same time.”We have decided to retain 11 players, while keeping our backend team intact. We firmly believe in the power of continuity and stability, allowing our players to build upon their previous success,” Andy Flower, the Giants head coach, said in a statement. “However, we also recognize the need for evolution and improvement.”To maintain our winning mentality, we will carefully evaluate the performance and fitness of the retained players, ensuring they are still the best fit for our team. Simultaneously, we will actively scout for new talent, seeking individuals who can bring fresh skills and perspectives to the squad. This healthy competition will drive the retained players to continually raise their game.”Tom Moody, the Vipers director of cricket, said, “One of the main objectives in the retention process for 2024 was to retain a strong core of players that helped us reach the final in 2023 in the inaugural year of the ILT20.ESPNcricinfo Ltd
“It is always difficult during retention time because ideally you would like to keep all our players from the previous year, but we thought it was important to make sure we had flexibility post the retention deadline for new signings, to continue to grow the squad and develop the squad for bigger and better things moving forward.”There is no change in the maximum total salary cap for the second season, which remains at US$ 2.5 million, with a minimum spend of US$ 1.5 million.The teams – which can have a maximum of 22 and minimum of 18 players in their rosters – can start signing new players right away with the window for overseas players closing on July 31. “There was no restriction on the number of retentions for international players while the franchises could only retain a maximum of two UAE players,” a press statement from the league said.Moeen and Rajapaksa aside, most of the prominent names who were part of the action in the first season have been retained. This list includes Alex Hales, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Sikandar Raza, Rovman Powell, Chris Jordan, James Vince, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Nicholas Pooran, Trent Boult and Chris Woakes.ICC to discuss cap on overseas players at T20 leaguesThe ILT20, played under the Emirates Cricket Board, allows the most number of overseas players – nine – in the playing XIs alongside two local (UAE) players. A total of 12 overseas players are allowed in the squads, and they are signed directly by the six franchises.The norm at T20 leagues has been to allow four overseas players in playing XIs. Apart from the ILT20, there are two other leagues that allow more: the CPL (five) and Major League Cricket (six), which will start in the USA on July 13.However, some of the Full Member nations have objected to this player drain caused by the exponential growth of T20 leagues, some of them running parallelly. Examples of players opting out of central contracts with their national cricket boards to be part of these lucrative leagues are many.In response, an ICC working group has recommended no more than four overseas players, including retired internationals, in a playing XI in T20 leagues. That recommendation is a key item at the ICC’s annual general meeting, which began on Monday in Durban. The recommendation will be debated at the ICC’s chief executives’ committee initially before it is taken up by the ICC Board, which will meet on Thursday.Full list of retained and released playersAbu Dhabi Knight RidersRetained: Ali Khan, Andre Russell, Charith Asalanka, Joe Clarke, Sabir Ali, Sunil Narine, Marchant de Lange, Matiullah Khan Released: Brandon King, Colin Ingram, Connor Esterhuizen, Kennar Lewis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Fahad Nawaz, Raymon Reifer, Paul Stirling, Brandon Glover, Akeal Hosein, Lahiru Kumara, Ravi Rampaul, Zawar FaridDesert VipersRetained: Alex Hales, Ali Naseer, Colin Munro, Dinesh Chandimal, Gus Atkinson, Luke Wood, Matheesha Pathirana, Rohan Mustafa, Sheldon Cottrell, Sherfane Rutherford, Tom Curran, Wanindu Hasaranga Released: Sam Billings, Adam Lyth, Benny Howell, Ronak Panoly, Jake Lintott, Tymal Mills, Shiraz Ahmed, Ruben Trumpelmann, Mark WattDubai CapitalsRetained: Dushmantha Chameera, Joe Root, Akif Raja, Rovman Powell, Sikandar Raza Released: Chirag Suri, Niroshan Dickwella, Hazratullah Zazai, Dan Lawrence, George Munsey, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Robin Uthappa, Fabian Allen, Ravi Bopara, Chamika Karunaratne, Yusuf Pathan, Dasun Shanaka, Isuru Udana, Hazrat Luqman, Fred Klaassen, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Jash Giyanani, Ollie WhiteGulf GiantsRetained: Aayan Afzal Khan, Carlos Brathwaite, Chris Jordan, Chris Lynn, Gerhard Erasmus, James Vince, Jamie Overton, Rehan Ahmed, Richard Gleeson, Sanchit Sharma, Shimron Hetmyer Released: Tom Banton, Ollie Pope, C Rizwan, Ashwanth Valthapa, Liam Dawson, Dominic Drakes, David Wiese, Qais Ahmad, Tom HelmMI EmiratesRetained: Andre Fletcher, Daniel Mousley, Dwayne Bravo, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Jordan Thompson, Kieron Pollard, McKenny Clarke, Muhammad Waseem, Nicholas Pooran, Trent Boult, Will Smeed, Zahoor Khan Released: Vriitya Aravind, Basil Hameed, Najibullah Zadran, Lorcan Tucker, Bas de Leede, Tom Lammonby, Craig Overton, Samit Patel, Imran Tahir, Brad Wheal, Zahir KhanSharjah WarriorsRetained: Chris Woakes, Joe Denly, Junaid Siddique, Mark Deyal, Muhammad Jawadullah, Tom Kohler-Cadmore Released: Chris Benjamin, Evin Lewis, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Dawid Malan, Alishan Sharafu, Moeen Ali, Marcus Stoinis, Mohammab Nabi, Paul Walter, Karthik Meiyappan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Noor Ahmad, Bilal Khan, Jamal Todd
A defesa do Corinthians ainda não se acertou na temporada, mas Gil é um dos pontos positivos da equipe. O zagueiro não só vem se destacando em quesitos defensivos, como também ajudando o time no ataque.
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+ Renato Augusto é novamente o destaque do Corinthians; Giovane destoa contra o Santos
Contra o Santos, ele deu as assistências para os gols de Yuri Alberto e Róger Guedes. Somando com o gol marcado diante do Palmeiras, são três participações em gols do Timão com apenas nove jogos no ano.
+ Veja as movimentações do mercado da bola no LANCE!
Assim, só na fase de grupos do Paulistão, o veterano de 35 anos já igualou sua marca de participações em gols dos últimos dois anos. Em 2021, ele marcou um gol e deu uma assistência. Já no ano passado foram dois gols e uma assistência.
Vale lembrar que o gol no Dérbi o colocou como o sétimo jogador da sua posição que mais marcou pelo Time do Povo.
+ Veja tabela e simule os jogos do Campeonato Paulista
Na atual temporada, Gil é o zagueiro com mais minutos disputados entre todos do elenco, 810. Segundo o SofaScore, ele tem 91% de acerto nos passes e só cometeu quatro faltas em todo o Paulistão.
Yoane Wissa has rejoined Brentford's pre-season training amid strong transfer interest from Newcastle United. The Magpies have been linked with a move for Wissa, but the Bees had made it clear that they won't sell the forward for less than £40 million. Brentford have already sold Bryan Mbeumo to Manchester United are thus reluctant to let another first-team star leave.
Wissa back in Brentford trainingNewcastle dealt another transfer blowMagpies remain interested in SeskoFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Brentford shared photographs from a pre-season session, where Wissa can be seen training hard with his team-mates. At one point, the striker had threatened to go on a strike as he was desperate to leave the club in search of Champions League football.
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Newcastle, who are looking to strengthen their attack after returning to the Champions League this year, were strongly interested in signing Wissa, although Brentford made it clear that they were reluctant to part ways with another first-team star after Mbeumo's transfer to Manchester United. The Bees were eyeing a move for Celtic's Daizen Maeda as a possible replacement for Wissa.
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With the 28-year-old attacker unlikely to leave Brentford, Newcastle are still pursuing a move for Benjamin Sesko, although they face stiff competition from Manchester United for the RB Leipzig striker.
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Brentford will be next seen in action on August 8 as they host Borussia Monchengladbach in their final pre-season friendly before the new Premier League campaign.