After being dismissed for 206, Uttar Pradesh hit back to takefour Saurashtra wickets for 89 runs by close of play on theopening day of their Ranji Trophy Super League group C matchin Rajkot on Saturday.UP lost four wickets for 58 runs but Pervendra Singh (59)and S Shukla (26) added 49 runs for the fifth wicket. Pervendrawho faced 112 balls, hit four boundaries. Then Md Saif, at No 7,hit a valuable 31. Niraj Odedra (4 for 56) and Hitesh Parsana(3 for 36) were the main wicket takers.Saurashtra in their reply lost wickets at regular intervalswith Gyanendra Pandey picking up two of the four that fellfor 24 runs.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul credits a little bit of divine intervention and some brute force for his last-ball six which won West Indies the first ODI at Queen’s Park Oval.”I’m happy, I’m very, very happy. I prayed and prayed and asked God to give me the strength to hit that ball out of the ground,” he said after the nail-biter. “The plan was to fire as hard as I could.”West Indies, chasing 236, needed ten from the last two deliveries of the game. Chaminda Vaas had done extremely well for the first four balls of the 50th over but Chanderpaul drilled the fifth for a straight four and walked down the track to loft the last over midwicket.”I watched the ball until it went over, then I was able to jump up,” said Chanderpaul, who was recently named one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year. “When it dropped over the rope then I was happy to celebrate. I was looking for anything. I was looking for a slower ball, a wide ball, I was looking for whatever Vaas had up his sleeve. I didn’t have to do all that. He sent down a full toss and I just had to fire and fire hard.”The second last ball I knew I just had to hit. I was looking to get under it but I then had to hit it straight and hard. I timed that one very well.”Chanderpaul’s unbeaten 86 helped West Indies level the two-match Test series with a six-wicket win at the same venue earlier this week. He went into the first ODI with a bit of flu but was thrilled to have sealed another win.”I am still suffering a bit, but I knew with God’s help it could happen for us today. I have not recovered from the flu properly,” he said. “I was shaking out there all day and I was feeling weak. When I went to bat I was trembling and I was still struggling, but it worked out for me.”The second ODI is also at Port of Spain on April 12.
A big Rangers injury update has emerged from Giovanni van Bronckhorst on Ibrox attacker Ryan Kent and his fitness after the club’s win over the weekend.
What’s the latest?
Van Bronckhorst has confirmed that the Gers forward has not suffered any long-lasting damage after he was left worse for wear from a challenge on Sunday.
The attacker went in for a 50/50 tackle and ended up hobbling off the pitch before receiving treatment, in the form of an ice pack, on the bench after being substituted. However, the head coach has allayed any fears that he will be out for a significant length of time.
He told the Glasgow Times: “He is fine. He just had a bruise, I don’t think it was anything special.
“I wanted to take him off just before it happened but he is ok.”
Connor Goldson, James Tavernier and Fashion Sakala scored the goals for the Gers as they booked their place in the semi-final by breezing past Dundee FC.
Rocking
The Ibrox faithful will surely be left rocking with this news as they would not want to see Kent out injured for any spell of games. He is a massive player for the club and having him available will be crucial heading into the final months of the campaign.
Kent has racked up two goals and 15 assists in all competitions for the Gers this term. This includes an impressive four assists in seven Europa League outings and this shows that he has the quality to be a constant creative threat down the flank.
One negative you can throw his way is his lack of goals. He has averaged 2.8 shots per game across 21 appearances in the Premiership and has two goals to show for it, but his creativity goes a long way to making up for that as he is setting up his teammates on a regular basis.
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The ex-Liverpool man has created a whopping nine ‘big chances’ in the league, along with three in Europe, and this shows that he is delivering quality end product. A key pass can be as little as him passing the ball four yards for Ryan Jack to take a shot from 30 yards but his ‘big chance’ creation numbers prove that he is supplying high-quality openings.
This is why the supporters will be rocking to learn that he has not suffered a big injury blow, with Ibrox buzzing when his name is read off the teamsheet in anticipation of another great performance. Having him available will be crucial and a major boost because of the threat he provides and van Bronckhorst will surely be hoping that he will be fine to face Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday.
AND in other news, Forget Tavernier: “Surging” Rangers gem whose “quality is evident” stole the show…
As the Melbourne turf is frequently more suitable to fast howling than other Australian wickets, England’s eleven for the second Test was framed on the policy of ramming home the fast attack with four pace bowlers, so Bowes replaced Verity. This was a bold policy, as it meant that Jardine entered the field with Hammond as the only spin bowler of class. If the move had succeeded it would have been acclaimed, but, although England’s attack did well on a dead wicket, the pitch proved more suitable for Australia’s spin bowlers. Although 46, Ironmonger, the left-hand bowler, forced his way into Australia’s eleven. It seemed a mistake that Nagel should be the bowler omitted, and the dropping of Ponsford was a serious blunder. Bradman was fit enough to resume his place in the team. Lamentable batting displays were given by both sides. Notable work was done by the bowlers, but they profited because most of the batsmen were stodgy and neglected to employ the great influence of the drive. Winning the toss again, Australia scored a laborious 194 for 7 before stumps were drawn. Although none of the early wickets fell to Larwood, his influence was telling. Because of trouble with his boots, he left the field four times, and was off for an hour in all. Opening the innings, Fingleton hung on doggedly for four hours for 83. With Woodfull and O’Brien (who each defended for an hour) Fingleton took some of the sting from the attack, but there were not enough stroke players in the eleven for Australia to benefit. Bradman went first ball, when he tried to hook a short one from Bowes, and touched it on to his wicket. McCabe was not at his best, and made a weak stroke for a slip catch. Clutching twice, Hammond held a brilliant catch when Richardson turned Voce to leg. The day’s play was watched by 63,993 spectators, and the gate receipts amounted to £5,577.2nd day England’s reply of 161 for 9 was all the batsmen deserved for their display. Again Sutcliffe headed the list, but his 52 was the most scratchy innings he has ever played in Australia. The only one of the first seven to play real cricket was Hammond, even if his stay was short. Attempting a cover stroke, Hammond found a ball from Wall faster than he estimated. In five overs after tea, Wall dismissed Sutcliffe, Jardine and Ames. He bowled a good pace, with his usual determination, but the outstanding bowler was O’Reilly, who mingled leg-breaks,wrong-uns and over-spinners. Varying his pace and making the ball come off at different heights, O’Reilly earned his wickets. In a batsmanlike contribution, Allen provided a contrast to the rest. Apart from him and Hammond, all the batsmen played almost entirely on the back foot. Those who had doubted whether Allen was quite up to Test standard were satisfied by his all-round cricket in this game in which he was the best of England’s fast bowlers.3rd day The England bowlers fought back splendidly, and at the close of play appeared to have put their side in a favourable position. Australia’s only consolation in a second innings of 191 was an impressive comeback by Bradman, who scored 103 not out, in three hours, while eight wickets fell at the other end. This was a different Bradman not the dasher with audacious strokes, but a batsman fighting grimly to save his side from collapse, and to regain his own confidence and certainty. Viewed from every angle of batsmanship, this innings must be ranked for merit as probably the greatest Bradman has played. The only other things that counted in Australia’s innings were Woodfull’s safe opening and a bright three-quarter-hour by Richardson. Frequently the best bowler does not have the best figures, but Hammond’s ability to spin the ball made him the most difficult of the English attack. Set 251 to win, England made a good start when Leyland helped Sutcliffe to put up 43 before the end of the day. Sutcliffe batted in excellent form, being 33 not out, and Leyland 10 not out. The attendance was 68,188.4th day England’s sudden collapse came as a shock. Sending the ball into a good breeze, O’Reilly gained in flight and turn by slackening his pace. The legbreak which beat Sutcliffe early broke almost the width of the stumps. The spin of some of Ironmonger’s deliveries was aided whenever the ball pitched on a part of the surface worn by fast bowlers’ feet. Apart from this wear, the bowlers were able to turn the ball a good deal. Whatever Jardine’s motive, changing the batting order did not help. Hammond, who came in at No. 4, went down fighting. Five leading batsmen had tumbled in less than an hour for 34 runs, so the Gloucestershire allrounder then staked all on desperate measures for a desperate situation. Hammond lifted several strokes, and when a mishit and a well-placed fieldsman brought his downfall, the match was lost, although Allen and Wyatt made a plucky stand of 50 for the seventh wicket. Although not much in the picture, because of the success of the other bowlers, Grimmett’s bowling was his best for two years, as he tossed the ball and turned it better. The tenseness of the struggle throughout was a gruelling test of the captaincy of the two leaders, who at one time had runs to play with. Their leadership pleased the critics, Woodfull revealing an unsuspected amount of strategy..The match was an enormous financial success, the attendance being 200,586 and the receipts £16,076.
Graeme Smith was more than happy after this nine-wicket thumping ofIndia at SuperSport Park. Not only did his side wrap up the series 4-0,but he managed to put his personal travails behind him with a punishing85-ball 79. Most of the credit though went to the bowling attack led byShaun Pollock, who got Man-of-the-Series honours after picking up 10wickets at 8.3 and walloping 86 runs in even time.”Our bowlers were fantastic,” said Smith after the game. “Throughout theseries, they have been magnificent. The fielding backed it up. I thoughtit was a pretty good wicket. We just bowled well, and applied thepressure. We had game-plans for each batter, and we gave them nothing.Maybe they felt the pressure of the last three games on their shoulders.”His opening partnership with Loots Bosman never ignited, but paired withAB de Villiers at Centurion, it was a different story, with 173 runsclattered from 172 balls. “AB has shots all around the wicket, and he’sgained a lot of experience in one-day cricket,” said Smith. “He was superbin the field, and we pushed him higher up the order and he performed. Wegelled well with each other. Our games match each other.”After one run in three previous one-day outings, Smith had been under apretty dark cloud himself, and he admitted as much. “Obviously there was alot of pressure, there was a lot of stress. I needed to get a start, and Igot that today. And I’m still in the top three in the one-day rankings, so thatmeans I can play.”Newspaper reports had been doing the rounds suggesting that Smith’s placein the side was in jeopardy, and after this riposte, he took aim at themedia. “A lot of it [the talk] comes from you guys,” he said, with arueful smile. “The support staff, the convenor [of the selection panel],the [Cricket South Africa] CEO and my team-mates have all been behind me.It was nice to come through, and I want to thank all my team-mates.”Having succumbed to Zaheer Khan four times in succession, including Friday’sPro20 game, he managed to avoid him in the initial stages, with AB deVilliers hogging the strike from Zaheer’s end. By the end, Smith hadredressed the balance a little, clouting Zaheer for a six over long-on asthe game entered its climactic stages.”He’s bowled very well and you’ve got to give credit to him,” said Smith.”He said he’s worked hard on his bowling and it’s paid off for him. Whenhe came back today, we were in a commanding position. We wanted to finishit the way we wanted to.”As for Pollock, who bowled 48 dot-balls in a stupendously accurate spell,he claimed that there was no big secret behind his renaissance as abowler. “I try and keep it as simple as possible,” he said. “Sometimes youget the edges and the wickets, and sometimes Makhaya [Ntini] is going toget the wickets. We work well as partnership. It’s not about the figures,but how it all ends up.”He slammed a few big shots of his own to accelerate South Africa’s surgeto victory, and in the process denied de Villiers the chance of a maidenone-day century. Pollock merely laughed when asked if that was theintention. “AB played superbly and at the end of the day, it was as goodas a hundred,” he said. “From his perspective, he needed a big score whichhe got. It was good to see him go all the way through.”He wouldn’t commit himself when asked whether India had the bowling topick up 20 South African wickets in the Test matches. “We’ll have to waitand see,” he said. “They have a lot of experience. [Anil] Kumble has gotloads and loads of wickets, and Harbhajan [Singh] has done a good job. Itdepends on who they pick. We hope not [bowl us out twice]. Our aim will beto score a lot of runs and bowl them out twice.”Pollock heads into that Test series with 395 Test wickets to his name, andSmith said that the team would take great heart from the emphatic natureof their one-day triumph. “Our confidence is high and we are going to carrythat confidence into the Test matches,” he said. And when asked whetherthe inclusion of VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly would firm up an alarmingbrittle batting line-up, he chose to focus on the tension that is said toprevail in the Indian dressing room. “How the experienced guys fit intothe environment of the team is going to be interesting to see,” he said,poker-faced. For the moment, he’s the man holding all the aces.
Rahul DravidOn the outcomeWell, it was pretty obvious that we needed to bat better initially. We didn’t play the first 15 to 20 overs well. Once you’re 35 for 5, you can’t really make a maximum score. I think Yuvraj and Irfan Pathan, and Ajit [Agarkar] and Harbhajan Singh batted really well. It was a really special knock from Yuvraj, and great that we got 249.On what he thought would have been a par scoreOn this pitch, I think we needed 280. It stayed very good right through and didn’t spin as much as we thought it might in the afternoon. Having said that, we took the game to the 99th over and bowled well in patches. We probably needed one more wicket, with Kemp and Kallis going well.On the positives to take from the gameQuite a few. Yuvraj’s batting, the contributions of our lower order, and just the fact that we were able to bat the 50 overs and then take them to 49. Harbhajan Singh bowled well, and Ajit and RP Singh did as well. From 35 for 5, we made a match of it and that’s something to take heart from.On whether Murali Kartik was missed after being subbedWould have been nice to have him as a fifth bowler, but we had to make that call after losing four early wickets. We did have other spin options in Sachin [Tendulkar], Yuvi and Veeru [Sehwag], but it didn’t work today for us. But that’s up to the batting. If we’d played better, we wouldn’t have had to use the batsman.On whether he had expected the South Africans to come at India so hardWe always knew that they would. We knew that they were a very good side. They played some good cricket, but it was a close game.On why RP Singh wasn’t bowled after his first seven overs cost just 18 runsOh, I just felt that it wasn’t easy to hit the spinners. I felt that Yuvraj was doing a good job for us and creating a bit of pressure. As we saw when we batted, when the seamers came on with the old ball, it tended to disappear to all parts. It wasn’t swinging or reversing much and I just thought that the spinners taking the pace off could control the runs and take a wicket. If Yuvraj or Sachin had got a wicket, things might have been different, but credit to Kallis and Kemp.On whether this was a dampener after the euphoria of the 6-1 rout of Sri LankaI don’t think it takes away anything from the spirit. We look at each game on its own, and don’t worry about what’s happened in the past. We can take several positives from this game.On whether he was surprised at being sent in to batNo, I would have done the same thing. There was something in the pitch initially and the first 10 or 12 overs would be tough. With the 9am starts in India, that tends to happen. Their bowlers did quite well, but to be honest, our batsmen have to put their hands up and say that we didn’t bat really well in that period. As Yuvraj and the later batsmen showed, it was a pretty good pitch.On whether an allrounder like JP Yadav could have been chosen as Supersub instead of GambhirIt’s a tricky one. You look for the specialist sometimes. I think if you have that good an allrounder, then you might as well play him in the world. I look around the world and see all the matches being played and people try different combinations. Unfortunately, we didn’t bat well up front and that forced us to play the card. It didn’t work today. I also thought Gautam deserved a chance up front. The ball was still seaming around and he’s an opener who’s also been in very good form for us. It’s not easy either being a Supersub. He was probably sitting down there, not sure if he’s going to play. He’s suddenly asked to pad up and go out, that’s a tricky one and my sympathies are with him.Yuvraj SinghOn all three centuries this season coming in pressure situations, and whether that was a sign of new-found maturity. Batting under pressure, I concentrate more. I play a bit more attentively and try to stay till the end.On how disappointed he was at the lossWhen we got to 249, I thought it was a competitive total, but 25 runs extra would have really put us in the game. I’m disappointed but we’ve got four more games.
West Indies preparations for the tour of Australia have suffered yet another blow with a side strain rendering Corey Collymore’s participation doubtful. The team’s physiotherapist said that he was the fifth West Indian fast bowler to be afflicted by injury in recent times.Stephen Partridge, the team physio, said that Collymore’s situation was a touch-and-go scenario, because though he would be ready to play, he wouldn’t necessarily be match fit. West Indies open their VB Series campaign against Australia on January 14.”I need to speak with the coach, but my impression is that he is probably not going to have enough bowling,” quoted Partridge. “Around the time the VB Series in Australia starts, I expect Corey to be pretty much close to full steam.”The problem he’ll have is that he would have had very little competitive bowling before that. He will be building his bowling up through the latter half of December and the first week of January when he will be pretty much close to full throttle, but the question then would be that he would not have had match-type conditions. That may prove a barrier for him for the Australia tour.” Collymore had suffered injuries frequently in the past, but Partridge said that the previous ones were multiple-level stress fractures.Tino Best, Fidel Edwards, Jermaine Lawson and Ravi Rampaul were bothered by back injuries and were left out of the 25-man training camp before Collymore joined the casualties list. The injuries added to the team’s dilemmas, which include the contentious issue of signing a playing contract that could affect the players’ image rights.
Steve Waugh has been appointed an Australian tourism ambassador to India by the Australian Minister for small business and tourism, Joe Hockey. Apart from his obvious cricket connection with India, Waugh has distinguished himself with his support for the children’s hostel in Kolkata that assists the children of leprosy victims. He said yesterday that he is looking to raise more money for another centre in Kolkata which will cost A$500,000, and then doing projects in other centres.While the unpaid ambassadorship is seen as a way of tempting the burgeoning Indian middle classes to look at Australia as a tourism destination, it is also recognition of Waugh’s stature in India for his social support for the hostel. Other ambassadors employed in similar roles by the Australians are Olympic champion swimmer Ian Thorpe, surfer Layne Beachley and model Megan Gale.Waugh said his profile as a sportsman made it possible for him to attempt to make a difference in a situation where many would look at the size of the population and think they couldn’t make an impact. He admitted that while there were business opportunities for him in India, where he has some of his biggest sponsorships, his experiences in India had helped him and had changed his life.His initial experiences as a young cricketer had forced him to think about what he had seen and he told ABC Television in a special programme yesterday that the more he went back to India the more he understood. He said he thought the ambassadorial role was a great opportunity because of his affection for India and its people.Waugh also said that while he might seem to adopt an unemotional frame of mind on the cricket field, it was not true away from the game. “As a captain you’ve almost got to put up a brick wall in front of you and not show too much emotion, because you can’t afford to give too much of yourself out there, because in some ways you can be taken advantage of,” he said. “So I generally keep a lot to myself, and share with my family.”I’m a pretty emotional person. I’m basically the opposite of what I’m perceived as on the cricket field . . . When you drop a player as captain, you become emotional. You don’t cry, but you feel like crying. It’s hard to hold back . . . it’s hard to get out what you’re trying to say to a player when you’re dropping someone like Michael Slater or Justin Langer or those sort of guys, because they’re good friends.”Waugh also commented in the programme about his feeling for Shane Warne and his conflicts with controversy. “I think he would’ve learnt from the experience and this may be a turning point in his life and his career. No one’s perfect, we all make mistakes and we all have skeletons in the closet, I’m sure. Shane’s have just been exposed more than others.”There’s no way I’m going to go and criticise him or say, ‘I think he’s an idiot’. It’s his life. I see him as a human being and a friend . . . he may have done the wrong thing, but you’ve got to see the bigger picture. He is a person, he does have feelings and let’s try and help him out . . . rather than throw another knife in his back.”Waugh added that he may have made himself unpopular to some in the media for not wanting to talk cricket over several drinks but that was part of his approach to the captaincy role.With the Australian team to be named for the first Test against Zimbabwe this week, Waugh was able start the pre-Test jousting by warning the Zimbabweans of what they can expect on the bouncy WACA pitch in Perth.As the tourists shape up to a world-class attack of Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie, Waugh told The Daily Telegraph (Sydney): “Perth is a bouncy wicket, it’s unique in world cricket and there is always a chance somebody is going to get hurt over there. You have got to be courageous to score runs in Perth, that’s the nature of the pitch, that’s why it’s a great place to play because it tests you out over there.”
A belligerent century knock by Yashpal Singh enabled Services to score238/8 in reply to Punjab first innings total of 300 runs in the NorthZone Ranji match played at Gandhi Ground, Amitsar.Punjab’s overnight score of 300/9 did not advance any further, and theinnings folded with the third ball of the day from Sayed Javed, whichbowled Babloo Kumar and increased Javed’s wicket tally to four.Services began their reply on a sad note as Gagandeep Singh’simpressive display of swing bowling sent back three batsmen back tothe pavilion with only 27 on the board. Gagandeep struck in the veryfirst over as PM Reddy (0) was compelled to play at an out-goingdelivery and edged it to gully fielder Sandeep Sanwal. Jasvir Singh (1)became the second victim of Gagandeep as he nicked an out-swinger forYuvraj Singh to hold at third slip. Harish Bhaskar (7) was thensurprised by a sharp in-cutter which shattered his stumps.Yashpal Singh & Sanjay Verma showed some resistance and cautiouslyadded 40 runs for fourth wicket. Skipper Verma (11) fell, trapped infront by Reetinder Singh Sodhi with the score on 67.Sarabjit Singh stepped in at the departure of the skipper to joinYashpal Singh, who was shaping well. The pair took the total to 77/4by lunch.Yashpal Singh was in good touch and was stroking the ball well throughthe gaps. In this essay, he completed his half-century in 66 balls.Sarabjit too was facing the challenge with courage, and the pairwrested away the early initiative taken by Punjab. Both scoredfluently and added 93 runs in the session without separated.At tea, Services had scored 170 runs with Yashpal on 83 & Sarabjit on49. The latter, however, was sent back by an accurate direct hit frommid-off by Yuvraj Singh while trying to steal a single to complete hishalf-century, ending a 106-run fifth wicket partnership.Yashpal Singh gave the Punjab bowlers more nightmares as he stood likea rock at one end to keep the scoreboard ticking. He showed his classand temperament during this knock, going to his maiden ton in style ashe lofted a flighted ball from Sawal for a six over long-off. Hiscentury came in 202 balls with 11 boundaries and a six.Yashpal and CD Thomson were stabilising the innings when left-armspinner Babloo Kumar gave a his team a double break as he bowledThomson and trapped Javed in front. The Punjab skipper Vikram Rathoretook the second new ball after 83 overs, with Services on 229/7.Yashpal was retired hurt, being struck on his left forearm by alifting delivery.Gagandeep took his fourth wicket as he got Sudhakar Ghag (0) caught atmid-off by Yuvraj. The end of the day’s play was called at the fall ofthe eighth wicket, with Services still trailing by 62 runs with onlytwo wickets remaining.
Crystal Palace has managed to score 37 goals with 27 Premier League games played so far this season, which is eight more than they had managed by the same point in their previous campaign, showing a significant improvement in the Eagles’ attacking ability in front of goal.
Despite this, one player that hasn’t contributed much to the south London club’s goalscoring record this year is winger Jordan Ayew, who has only found the back of the net on one occasion, which came during their 2-2 draw against Southampton back in December.
The 30-year-old has also managed to rack up a lower average of shots per game (1.2) than Odsonne Edouard (1.6), who has played fewer minutes in the league than the Ghanaian, as well as Conor Gallagher (1.7), who plays in midfield.
With this in mind and the fact that his current contract at Selhurst Park is set to expire in the summer, there’s every possibility that Patrick Vieira may be thinking of getting rid of the former Swansea City attacker at the end of the season if he doesn’t think he offers enough for the team going forward.
If this were to be the case, the 45-year-old may already have an ideal replacement for Ayew, whose performances on the international stage have been described as “worrying” in the past by former Hearts of Oak star Dan Quaye, already in his ranks at the south London club.
Since joining Palace back in the 2020 January transfer window from Scottish side Dundee United, 20-year-old winger Scott Banks has gone on to make 25 appearances for the club’s U23 side, racking up an impressive number of 12 goals and six assists along the way, showing that he certainly knows how to score and set up goals.
In the 12 league appearances he’s made for the U23s this season, there have only been four games where he hasn’t managed to make a goal contribution, showing not only how important he is for them, but how devastating he can be in the final third.
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Labelled as a “smart” player by Vieira, the winger should definitely be in the Frenchman’s mind for a potential senior call up next season. If Ayew ends up leaving, it would give the youngster a clearer path to the first team if he can end this season with more goals and assists to his name.
In other news: Sold for £10m, now worth 82% less: CPFC pulled a blinder over £37k-p/w “disaster” – opinion