All posts by h716a5.icu

Glamorgan are aiming to stage a Twenty20 between England and Pakistan next year after putting Cardiff forward as a hosting venue

Cricinfo staff22-Jul-2009Glamorgan are aiming to stage a Twenty20 between England and Pakistan next year after putting Cardiff forward as a hosting venue. Sophia Gardens has already been granted a 50-over game between England and Australia in 2010, but the county is eying further international action with Pakistan and Australia scheduled for two Twenty20s in England next July.”There are two England-Pakistan Twenty20 games up for grabs and we will be having a chunky attempt at gaining one of those games to supplement our England-Australia one-day international,” said Glamorgan chairman Paul Russell.Russell said Glamorgan will not bid for one of the Tests due to security concerns. “We don’t think we would stand a chance against grounds like Edgbaston and Headingley,” said Russell. “Those grounds are basically guaranteed sell-outs because of the ethnic populations present in Birmingham and Leeds.”Sophia Gardens held its first Test in July, the opening match of the Ashes series, despite it only having a capacity of 15,600. Russell confirmed that Glamorgan would bid for a 2013 Ashes repeat in October.

Some Glasgow Rangers fans have been left reacting to a post from the club’s official Twitter page.

As many as 12 Light Blues are playing for their respective national teams over the course of the next few days during the international break.

They are: Jon McLaughlin, Nathan Patterson, Steven Davis, Glen Kamara, Fashion Jr, Ianis Hagi, Kemar Roofe, Juninho Bacuna, Calvin Bassey, Leon Balogun, Joe Aribo and Borna Barisic.

Of course, it is always an honour for any player to represent their country, but some Bears supporters are understandably worried that they may pick up an injury or have to go into self-isolation upon their return, and thus would not be able to return back to club football.

Nonetheless, Steven Gerrard will no doubt be hoping that his squad comes back to Ibrox unscathed.

Rangers fans on international news

These Gers gave their reactions as the news was shared in a club post on Twitter:

“No Morelos to Colombia is encouraging”

Credit: @auldco

“Good luck to each and everyone of you. Take care and come back injury free.”

Credit: @ElsieMcCready5

“Hopefully all return back Covid free.”

Credit: @chunkylover25

“Bring them home”

Credit: @Coplandbear1872

“Come back unscathed please team”

Credit: @lennyrfc

“Will they need to isolate on return?”

Credit: @R55Loyal

In other news, find out what Gerrard claim has Gers raging here!

Graeme Smith’s new book has caused controversy after a former board president claimed there were defamatory remarks about him in the book

Cricinfo staff26-Jul-2009Graeme Smith’s new book, has caused controversy after a former board president claimed there were defamatory remarks about him in it. Norman Arendse, who resigned as president last year, has threatened legal action unless statements in the book criticising him were deleted.Arendse’s legal counsel, Dines Gihwala, said he would write to the publisher Jonathan Ball demanding the removal of those statements. Jeremy Boraine, the publishing director of Jonathan Ball, said he would discuss it with Smith. “The book has been published and is in the market,” Boraine told the Johannesburg-based . “I will have to look at it and discuss it with Graeme and our lawyers.”Smith criticised Arendse’s role in picking a controversial squad for the team’s tour to India last year when Andre Nel was replaced by Charl Langeveldt in keeping with South Africa’s transformation policy which requires at least six players of colour in a 14-man squad.”The CSA president was becoming more and more involved in every facet of the game,” Smith wrote. “I think, at various times, he [Arendse] wanted to be captain, coach, CEO, president and convener of selectors, which became very frustrating.”The team was in Bangladesh when the squad to India was announced and Smith said there was a lot of tension within the team.”When I told Langers, ‘you’re going to India,’ there was no smile, no celebration — he just looked at me and said, ‘but why?’ He was very taken aback by his selection and he took the fax and put a red line through his name. The next day on the bus there was a lot of tension in the air and it was very quiet; everybody kept their heads down and nobody spoke. It was a terrible environment.”Langeveldt eventually withdrew from the tour, saying the controversy over the selection of the squad upset him and he felt wouldn’t be in the right frame of mind for the matches. Arendse denied interfering with the team selection, maintaining that Langeveldt’s name had been in the original squad that was presented to him.The South Africa Cricketers’ Association chief Tony Irish, who had then feared the national side would lose both Nel and Langeveldt because of political interference, supported Smith in the latest controversy. “I’ve read what Graeme has to say about the Langeveldt-Nel issue and as far as I know it’s pretty accurate,” Irish said.

Leeds United have sold some terrific players in the modern era as the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Jonathan Woodgate, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Robbie Keane have sealed big-money moves away from Elland Road.

In and amongst their most expensive departures, however, is a player they sold whilst competing in the Championship – Chris Wood.

The New Zealand international left Leeds to join Burnley for roughly £14.7m in the summer of 2017, as Leeds missed out on the play-offs in the second tier. This remains the club’s third-most expensive sale in history, with Hasselbaink (£15.03m) and Ferdinand (£41.4m) the only players ahead of him in that regard.

He was sold for more than the likes of Keane, Robbie Fowler, Alan Smith, Harry Kewell and Fabian Delph. How did Wood get to that point, though?

The current £50k-per-week colossus was snapped up from Leicester by Leeds in the summer of 2015 for a reported fee of £3.2m. This was a gamble by the club as he was coming off the back of scoring one goal in seven Premier League games for the Foxes. He also failed to beat the goalkeeper in the Championship during eight matches on loan at Ipswich.

That risk paid off for Leeds, however, who ended up playing a blinder in the transfer market. He enjoyed a solid first campaign at Elland Road as he found the back of the net 17 times in all competitions, including 13 in the Championship, showing signs of promise as a young centre-forward.

Wood then exploded onto the scene in the 2016/17 season as he set the second-tier alight for the Whites. He averaged a WhoScored rating of 7.0 as he scored a phenomenal 27 goals, whilst also providing four assists, in 41 starts.

His sensational form in the Championship led to Burnley paying £14.7m for him at the end of that campaign, which meant that Leeds made a cool £11.5m profit in two years on the striker. Whilst this is a masterstroke from the club in its own right, what followed on from it proves that they played a blinder.

12 months on from the sale of Wood, Leeds signed Patrick Bamford from Middlesbrough for £7.11m. The ex-Chelsea man scored 16 goals in the club’s 2019/20 promotion campaign before firing in 17 top-flight goals for Marcelo Bielsa last term, proving himself to be a consistent scorer at the top level. Since then, he’s also earned his first cap for England too.

In four full seasons for Burnley in the Premier League, Wood, who was hailed as “first-class” by Peter Crouch, scored 10, 10, 14 and 12 goals in his four seasons at the Clarets. This suggests, purely based on goalscoring, that Leeds ended up being better off by making a huge profit on Wood and then replacing him with Bamford.

Since becoming one of Bielsa’s biggest projects, he has topped the Kiwi’s top-scoring Premier League season.

AND in other news, Leeds gem with 66.6% dribble rate stole the show on Sunday, he eclipsed £54m-rated ace…

Sri Lankan opener Tharanga Paranavitana has been fined 50% of his match fees for violating ICC’s Code of Conduct during the second Test against New Zealand in Colombo

Cricinfo staff31-Aug-2009Sri Lankan opener Tharanga Paranavitana has been fined 50% of his match fees for violating ICC’s Code of Conduct during the second Test against New Zealand in Colombo.Paranavitana was found guilty of breaching Level 2 of the code that states players must at all times “conduct play within the spirit of the game as well as within the Laws of Cricket”, when he claimed and celebrated a catch to dismiss Iain O’Brien in the 105th over of New Zealand’s second innings. Though replays suggested the ball had bounced before Paranavitana caught it, he continued to appeal vigorously even as the umpires conferred.However, match referee Andy Pycroft reduced the charge to a Level 1 offence – which cannot be appealed against – after taking into account Paranavitana’s previous clean track record and his apology at the hearing. “Although replays showed that the ball hit the ground before it reached Tharanga, I am satisfied that he did not know this at the time and was not attempting to deceive the umpires in that regard,” Pycroft said. “But the fact of the matter is you can’t celebrate by throwing the ball in the air and cross the pitch while continuing to appeal as the umpires are conferring with each other.”It is not the sort of example that players should be setting at any time, especially given the message his action sends out to the millions of people watching at the ground and on television. Therefore his behaviour merited some form of action.”The Sri Lanka team manager Brendon Kuruppu, on-field umpires Daryl Harper and Nigel Llong, and third umpire Kumar Dharmasena also attended the hearing.

Many Everton fans have been blasting the display of Salomon Rondon in their game at home to West Ham United in the Premier League this afternoon.

The Venezuela international really struggled to make any real impact on the match and often found himself isolated up top up against the central defenders of the Hammers, failing to hold the ball up on the rare occasions that he was able to get on it or make the most of the second half chances which fell his way.

With both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison still out injured, the onus is now, and has been, on Rondon to perform, but he failed to score in his first five appearances for the Toffees before this afternoon. On that form, he will surely find himself out of the team when the other duo return.

As per SofaScore, his passing completion rate left a lot to be desired this afternoon, while he was also culpable of losing the ball far too often and failed to trouble Irons goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.

Everton fans on Rondon display

These Everton supporters on Twitter blasted Rondon’s performance, with one Toffees fan even going as far as to claim that he is ‘just another Denis Stracqualursi’, who only managed to score three goals in 28 games for the Blues in all competitions (Transfermarkt):

“What does Rondon do for the team?”

Credit: @addiiceland

“Get Rondon off, he’s so bad.”

Credit: @AreVeeEss

“Me and my dog would bring more to the party than Rondon and Iwobi”

Credit: @trottersltd

“Not his fault but you might as well be playing with 10 men with Rondon”

Credit: @garyefc1982

“Rondon and Iwobi stinker”

Credit: @NotWack_

“Rondon is just another Denis Stracqualursi isn’t he.”

Credit: @jg1878

In other news, find out whose first half display against the Irons was slammed by some Everton fans

West Ham right-back Vladimir Coufal could face an extended spell on the sidelines through injury, according to expert Ben Dinnery.

The Lowdown: Coufal out injured

The Hammers are enjoying a superb start to the season, not only shining in the Premier League but also catching the eye in the Europa League and reaching the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.

One negative at the moment is that Coufal has been struggling with a groin injury, even though he featured in Wednesday’s cup win over Manchester City.

The Czech Republic international has been an influential figure for David Moyes’ side, making 45 appearances to date and registering eight assists in that time – he averages the third-most tackles and third-most crosses of any Irons player this term, showing his effectiveness on both sides of the ball.

The Latest: Expert provides worrying update

Speaking to Football Insider, Dinnery admits Coufal’s injury recovery may not be going well after Moyes admitted the defender was having injections to ease the pain:

“This may be a little more complex than we thought.

“It may be that things aren’t progressing as well as they hoped after he picked up the injury in the League Cup against Man United a while back.

“The injury was being managed conservatively. We saw that he wasn’t training a lot and was then rolled out for matchday. The injection is used when a player is in a lot of pain. It will limit the pain and reduce the inflammation around that area.

“We expected to see him back in and around the squad in game week eight or nine but that hasn’t come to fruition. It could be that he isn’t responding and that might mean they need to make a decision with regards to treatment.

“But West Ham are winning games, so is there a need to rush? They have the luxury to be able to continue in his absence.”

The Verdict: Big blow if Dinnery is right…

Coufal has been such a steady, reliable performer for West Ham that it is vital he doesn’t face a prolonged spell on the sidelines this season.

The 29-year-old is a model of consistency in his defensive work, averaging 2.1 tackles and clearance apiece per game in the league this season.

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher is a massive fan of the defender, admitting he ‘loves’ the Czech Republic international and placing him in his team of the season for 2020/21, which shows the sort of level the defender has been at since arriving in London.

The hope is that Coufal is managed sensibly and ends up proving his fitness, not missing too much action in the process.

In other news, some West Ham fans have gone wild over an official club announcement. Read more here.

Gilani indicated that he had met Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse during a recent visit to Libya, and it was Rajapakse who linked elements in Sri Lanka to the terror act

Cricinfo staff07-Sep-2009Pakistan prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani says he has been told by Sri Lanka’s president that the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore on March 3 earlier this year may have been masterminded by terrorists from the island. Gilani said he was informed about this by president Mahinda Rajapakse during a recent visit to Libya.”The Sri Lankan president told me that they have clues that the attack on the team was funded from Sri Lanka and that some finances had been made from Sri Lanka to Pakistan,” Gilani said. “We are sending interior ministry officials to Sri Lanka to get the clues that could help us to get to the attack on the cricket team.”While making their way to the Gaddafi Stadium, five cricketers, including Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, were injured in the attack that also killed six security men and two civilians. Sri Lanka were in Pakistan for a two-Test tour which, as a result of the attack, was terminated abruptly. The attack had immediate repercussions for cricket in Pakistan, as its status as an international sporting venue came under doubt. The ICC subsequently decided to strip the country of its right to host the 2011 World Cup.

Wolverhampton Wanderers are interested in a deal to bring Vitinha back to Molineux.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Portuguese publication Record (via Birmingham Live), who claimed that Bruno Lage’s side have sent scouts to watch the 21-year-old in action for FC Porto ahead of a potential swoop for the midfielder in January.

The report added that a number of other clubs are also interested in the Portugal under-21 international, with Valencia, Celta Vigo and Real Sociedad all believed to have sent scouts to watch Vitinha this season.

However, Wolves’ previous relationship with the player, in addition to him being a client of Jorge Mendes, is viewed as giving the Premier League side an advantage in the race for his signature.

Shi must move

While Vitinha was only handed five Premier League starts during his loan spell at Wolves last season, with the midfielder going on to make a further 14 appearances from the bench, it is undeniable that the 21-year-old seems a player who boasts a tremendous amount of potential.

Indeed, upon his arrival at the club in September 2020, Jeff Shi stated his belief that: “Vitinha is a crucial signing and an integral component in our recruitment plan for this summer. He is an exciting and special young talent, with an abundance of technique and creativity.”

While Wolves ultimately did not exercise their €20m (£17m) option to purchase the midfielder at the end of last season, Vitinha has already started to prove that this decision was a big mistake on the part of Shi.

Indeed, over his five league appearances this term, the £6.3m-rated man has taken 2.4 shots, made 2.2 key passes, 1.8 interceptions and 1.2 tackles and won 5.6 duels per game.

These returns have seen the 21-year-old, who has drawn strong comparisons to Joao Moutinho, average a SofaScore match rating of 7.78, ranking him not only as Sergio Conceicao’s top performer in the league but also as the best player in the entire Portuguese top flight.

Wolves have been rather lacking in creativity from midfield so far this season, with Ruben Neves’ 1.4 key passes being the most of Lage’s midfielders. With the 45-year-old only having four options to call upon in the middle of the park, a move for the €40k-per-week (£34k-per-week) Vitinha this January would appear to be a very wise move for Shi indeed.

In other news: Lage could save Fosun millions with “outstanding” 23 y/o, he’s just what Wolves need

They may be rank outsiders, and a team ravaged by injury, but don’t write off these New Zealanders just yet

Dileep Premachandran in Johannesburg02-Oct-2009Having already lost three key players to injury, New Zealand could be without Grant Elliott, Man of the Match against England, for the semi-final against Pakistan. Daniel Vettori, the captain, was confident though that New Zealand could overcome their semi-final jinx [only one final after eight appearances in the last four of global 50-over events] against Pakistan at the Wanderers on Saturday.”The momentum is with us, I think,” he said. “It’s a much more preferable to go into the semi-finals, knowing that we’ve won two big games and qualified top, whereas in the past we have scraped through. We go into the game with confidence. Their [Pakistan’s] spin bowling over the last year is very impressive. [Saeed] Ajmal and [Shahid] Afridi combine well, and coupled with a very good seam attack, and no obvious weakness in their batting, we know they can be a very good side. But they can be a little inconsistent like us, I suppose, and I’m hoping we can catch them on an off day.”Having already lost Jesse Ryder, Jacob Oram and Daryl Tuffey to injury, New Zealand are keeping their fingers crossed over Elliott. “Grant took part in training this morning and had an injection,” Vettori said. “It works when he bats but not when he bowls. We’ll leave it till the last possible minute before making a decision. It’s frustrating but we’re used to it. We’ve been through it before with New Zealand, even in the Twenty20 World Cup. It brought the group a little tighter and there was the realisation that the senior players have to step up more.”Having struggled to come to terms with slow pitches on a six-week-long tour of Sri Lanka, New Zealand have found the conditions in South Africa much more to their liking, especially in Johannesburg, where they beat both Sri Lanka and England. “There’s not really any secret to playing well here,” Vettori said. “We’ve come across very different wickets, and you have to have ability to adapt. This looks like a Sri Lankan wicket, with lots of runs in it. If so, we’re going to have to step up with the bat. We wanted to qualify top. That was a real incentive. Once we got in front, we wanted to finish it off. Wanderers has been good for us and we wanted to stay here, and have an extra day especially with our injuries.”On Thursday night, New Zealand won the Spirit of Cricket award at the ICC’s annual ceremony. Vettori, though, wants to leave South Africa with more than one bauble. “That will be the ultimate, if we can couple that with a major tournament. It means we are playing the game in the right spirit and winning games as well. There’s a perception that the spirit of cricket [award] goes to teams that are a little bit inconsistent and that’s probably fair for us at the moment. If we can turn it round and win a major tournament, it’ll be a great achievement for us.”Having lost in the semi-finals of the 2006 Champions Trophy [to Australia] and the 2007 World Cup [to Sri Lanka], Vettori also felt that the time was ripe to create some history. “We’ve always made the semi-finals and lost them,” he said. “We want to go past that, we want to change the script a little bit. Personally, it will be one of the most satisfying things I could achieve in my career if I lead New Zealand in a final. You never know what can happen after that.”There’s a lot of pressure on us to go past the semi-final, but they [Pakistan] are higher ranked and performing better than us of late. I always felt confident of making the last four, and this is a real test for us now.”Australia or England await if Pakistan can be overcome. “It doesn’t matter who we face in the final, we just want to get there,” Vettori said. “Any team will be tough. I suppose Australia have been playing the better cricket of late.”Nearly a decade ago, the brilliance of Chris Cairns inspired New Zealand to the only trophy win in their history. Vettori, who has carried forward the allrounder’s flame, has the opportunity to emulate his one-time team-mate. They may be rank outsiders, and a team ravaged by injury, but don’t write off these New Zealanders just yet.