All posts by h716a5.icu

Yasir Hameed, the Pakistan batsman, has lodged a formal complaint with the UK Press Complaint Commission against the tabloid , which had done a video sting operation on him last year

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Feb-2011Yasir Hameed, the Pakistan batsman, has lodged a formal complaint with the UK Press Complaint Commission against the tabloid . Hameed, who last played for Pakistan on the 2010 tour to England, was the subject of a video sting operation by the tabloid, in which he was seen discussing the fall-out of the Lord’s spot-fixing controversy and, among other things, an approach by a bookie during the 2004 Champions Trophy in England.Hameed says he was duped by the investigative reporter who came to him in a hotel in Nottingham claiming to be a representative of a global airline who wanted to talk about possible sponsorship deals, days after the end of the four-Test series, and is now seeking a formal apology and retraction from the tabloid.The complaint centres on four points, of inaccurate reporting, a breach of privacy, misrepresentation of character and harassment. Hameed opted to wait till the end of the spot-fixing hearings and a definitive verdict before he filed the complaint.Soon after the video came to light, Hameed was called to the Pakistan High Commission in London to explain his utterances in the video. He issued a statement later that day saying that the man, an Abid Khan, sent him intimidating SMSs after the meeting when Hameed denied what had been attributed to him.Hameed was also asked to explain the incident to the PCB’s integrity committee earlier this year, and he apologised to the board about the conversation. “I was trapped into it but I should not have said all that before a stranger and I apologise to all the players who were hurt because of that,” Hameed had told . It is believed the board has held back on his payments from the tour, though it isn’t clear whether it is because of this incident.

Rory Kleinveldt is banking on his performance in the second innings in Adelaide to win a place in the XI for the Perth Test

Firdose Moonda27-Nov-2012Rory Kleinveldt made his Test debut with two of his best friends at his side: Vernon Philander, with whom he has spent seasons bowling with at the Cobras, and JP Duminy, who had been a team-mate since childhood where they both played at Victoria Cricket Club. But, nothing else about the match was too memorable for him. He went wicketless in 21 overs and conceded 97 runs. Disappointingly, he overstepped 12 times to make him the worst no-ball offender of the match. At the end of the Test, Kleinveldt, and almost everyone else, thought it unlikely he would play again on the tour. He may even have considered what he would need to do at the first-class level to be selected again in the future.Kleinveldt accepted his fate with maturity. His lack of exaggeration suggested he would cherish a second chance but understood if he didn’t get one immediately.On the morning of the Adelaide Test – a match he was told he would be sitting out for – Kleinveldt found out Philander would not be able to play. Instead of soaking up his own good fortune, he immediately thought of his friend. “It just wasn’t nice to replace him,” he said. Half an hour later, he had to take the field and did not have any more time to think. It showed. Kleinveldt was more controlled from the get-go, even though Australia were on the attack. “I was very nervous before my debut but I was a lore more relaxed this time. I had nothing to lose.”In fact, there was much to gain. It was only in the 99th over of the match, by which time Australia had already scored 500 runs, that Kleinveldt took his first Test wicket. Peter Siddle edged one to slip and there was a lengthy check for the no-ball before the dismissal was confirmed. For someone who had problems with his front foot throughout, there was reason to be anxious again. “I was very relieved after I saw my foot landed just behind the line. To get the first one under the belt was pretty good,” he said.It’s his performance in the second innings that Kleinveldt will be banking to put him in contention for Perth. He dismissed the Australian top three in a spell during which his ability to use seam movement was on display. “There was a bit more pace in this wicket than in the Brisbane, and more carry. I enjoyed bowling on it,” he said.With talk growing that both sides will think of all-pace attacks for the third Test, Kleinveldt has reason to be hopeful that he will get the nod again, even though Philander is expected to recover in time. If he does, he will fulfill a boyhood goal. “It’s always been a dream of mine because what I’ve heard from past players is that the pitch is a quick one. It would be nice for me get on there and have a go.”Already Kleinveldt has turned some hopes into realities. His father and uncle were both cricketers and the latter an exceptional bowler who was denied any chance of playing for South Africa because of Apartheid. For both those men, Kleinveldt is doing what they were never allowed to and he is aware of the magnitude of his success. “They didn’t have these opportunities,” he said. “They’re very proud of my achievements and support me all the way. It’s nice for me just to go out there and represent them.” To see him play a part in a decider would be another massive moment for them.Kleinveldt thinks South Africa will go in with the upper hand after their resilience with the bat in Adelaide, both from a mental and physical point of view. While Australia will be beaten down by their inability to take 20 wickets, their attack is also physically drained, evident in Peter Siddle’s obvious exhaustion. “If it was our dressing room we’d be disappointed not to have won the Test,” Kleinveldt said, before adding some special words for his first Test victim. “It will be nice for Graeme Smith to win the toss and bat first. I’m not sure Peter Siddle will enjoy that too much.”

Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal were sent notices by the ICC this year after the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean, PCB chairman Ijaz Butt has said

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Sep-2010Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal were sent notices by the ICC this year after the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean, PCB chairman Ijaz Butt has said. However, the notices were sent directly to the players and without the ICC informing the PCB they were being sent.”That is confidential for now and we don’t know the details of that,” Ijaz Butt said in Lahore, where he was addressing a press conference on Thursday.ESPNcricinfo had on Monday reported that two Pakistan cricketers – part of the squad in England – were issued notices by the ICC seeking information nearly a month before the spot-fixing scandal broke during the Lord’s Test last month. It is not immediately clear whether this is the same case Butt referred to.

Manchester United have been linked with a move for Ajax winger Antony after Erik ten Hag was confirmed as the club’s new manager on Thursday.

The Lowdown: Antony profiled

Antony is just 22 years of age and was signed by Ten Hag for Ajax back in 2020 from Sao Paulo.

Since then, the Brazil international has made 79 appearances for the Dutch giants, scoring 22 goals and registering 20 assists, taking his senior tallies to 26 for both.

Valued at £31.5m by Transfermarkt, Antony helped Ajax win the double last season and it looks as if he could now follow Ten Hag to Manchester.

The Latest: Meeting held

Marca relayed a report from The Times regarding Ten Hag and United after he signed a deal at Old Trafford through to 2025.

They claimed that the 52-year-old has already held meetings with United’s recruitment team, with Antony a possible target. The Red Devils are thought to be keeping tabs on the Ajax star, who could be available for £55m this summer.

The Verdict: Shrewd move?

Ten Hag will know just what Antony would bring to Old Trafford, so a summer swoop could be a smart call, especially as United don’t currently have a senior available right-winger on the books.

It looks set to be an extremely busy first summer with Ten Hag in charge, with up to 12 players possibly heading out the exit door.

Therefore, a number of signings will be needed ahead of his first game in charge, so looking to wrap up a move for the winger who gives defenders ‘sleepless nights’ may well be a good decision.

In other news: ‘Revolution begins’: Fabrizio Romano now shares key Man Utd exit news emerging from Old Trafford. 

Left-arm spinner David Wainwright has signed for Derbyshire after being allowed to leave Yorkshire in search of regular first-team action

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-2011Left-arm spinner David Wainwright has signed for Derbyshire after being allowed to leave Yorkshire in search of regular first-team action.Wainwright, 26, spent a month on loan with the club during the 2011 season and will now try to revive his career having drifted down the pecking order at Yorkshire. In early 2010 Wainwright was an outside chance of making the England Twenty20 squad having been named in a Lions team to tour UAE but then suffered a loss of form before struggling to retain his place in four-day or one-day county cricket.For Wainwright previous experience of working with Karl Krikken, the Derbyshire head coach, helped make up his mind about where his future lies. “There was a little bit of interest from other counties but I’d worked with Karl before in India and got on really well with him, so he was a big influence,” he said.”I can see the club is going in the right direction and we have a good core of young players to take us forward over the next few years. The signs look good and it made the decision a lot easier.”Krikken, meanwhile, is looking forward to working with Wainwright. “First-team opportunities have sometimes been limited for him at Yorkshire,” he told the Derbyshire website. “But the move to Derbyshire will increase his chances of playing more regular cricket and I expect David to become an important player for us in all forms of the game.”In 35 first-class matches Wainwright has taken 82 wickets at 36.62 with a best of 6 for 40 while he has a batting average of 34.54 with two hundreds. In one-day cricket he has 43 wickets at 35.67 while in Twenty20 has 21 from 26 matches plus an economy rate of 7.26.

Having secured a 1-0 victory in their previous SPFL match against Livingston, Rangers are back in action this afternoon with an away clash against Ross County next up for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side in their latest attempt at moving a step closer to securing the league title.

On the chalkboard

In terms of which players Van Bronckhorst could select to be in his starting XI to take on County this afternoon, one figure that didn’t start against Livingston but ended playing a big part in the win that we feel should be in the team from the beginning on this occasion is Scott Arfield. 

After replacing James Sands in the 59th minute in midweek, Arfield managed to get his name on the scoresheet and score the vital goal that earned Rangers the three points on the day. 

With that in mind, it would be a good option to give Arfield, who is currently picking up a weekly wage of £16k-per-week according to Salary Sport, the chance to potentially add another goal to his tally for the season from the start rather than the substitutes bench again. 

Also, with Van Bronckhorst recently sharing his wishes at seeing the Canadian stay at the club for the foreseeable future after his current contract at Ibrox expires at the end of the season, starting him this afternoon would be a good way of proving just how important he is for the team.

Labelled as a “reliable” player for Rangers by Kenny Miller, Arfield has racked up 165 appearances for the Scottish champions across all competitions with 32 goals and 18 assists under his belt, showing not only how experienced he is but also how capable he is in front of goal.

Taking into account how the 33-year-old has already scored against County this season back in August during Rangers’ 4-2 win, he now has the chance to haunt them again this time around and terrify them with his goalscoring ability.

Moving forward, while the midfielder proved in the game against Livingston how much of a useful impact player he can be for Rangers off the substitutes bench, it could be worth starting him this time to see if he can help his side have a more comfortable game this time around.

In other news: “Monitoring”: Journalist delivers key Rangers transfer update which Van Bronckhorst will love…

A century partnership between Ian Westwood and Rikki Clarke restored Warwickshire’s resolve at Edgbaston after they had registered their lowest total in 11 years

31-May-2010
ScorecardA century partnership between Ian Westwood and Rikki Clarke restored Warwickshire’s resolve at Edgbaston after they had registered their lowest total in 11 years. Dismissed for 100 by Durham, they were in danger of a rapid slide to a third successive defeat in the County Championship when forced to follow on 279 behind.Deep in trouble at 62 for 3 when legspinner Scott Borthwick took two wickets in his first seven balls, they managed to halt Durham’s charge by reaching 229 for 4 at the end of the third day. The fourth-wicket stand of 114 helped to trim the deficit to 50 and, although Durham are still favourites to chalk up a third win in defence of last season’s title, Westwood and Clarke gave their team a much-needed shot of confidence.The durable Westwood was ideally suited to the captain’s role, batting through 72 overs for an unbeaten 86 and Clarke found some form for his first half-century of the season. He hit a dozen fours before he was lbw to Ian Blackwell for 66.The morning session had been a nightmare for Warwickshire. With nine wickets falling for just 82 runs, it became their least productive batting performance since they collapsed for 86 against Essex at Chelmsford in April 1999.The absence of England duo Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott was only a partial excuse for their failure to reach 150 in the first innings for the third match in succession. The pitch was neither spiteful nor an absolute turner and there was only a hint of swing to assist a Durham attack missing four front-line seamers in Steve Harmison, Graham Onions, Mark Davies and Callum Thorp.It was an indictment of the top order that Andrew Miller, the nightwatchman, was the highest scorer with 35 from 81 balls. The former Lancashire paceman came into this match with a career record of 19 runs from 10 first-class innings and yet he was able to outshine everyone in terms of application and good sense.Having defended quite comfortably for 90 minutes, he only lost his wicket in a sudden rush of blood. Not content with a six and four from successive balls, he was bowled by Blackwell when lining up another big hit.New-ball pair Mitchell Claydon and Chris Rushworth shared Warwickshire’s first five wickets. With Darren Maddy dismissed overnight, Claydon had figures of 3 for 5 when late movement accounted for left-handers Westwood and Jim Troughton.When Durham switched to Blackwell’s spin, the allrounder had Richard Johnson caught at slip from his second delivery and, at the other end, Liam Plunkett cleaned up the tail with 3 for 16.

Harbhajan Singh has said he would be willing to take up the role of captain or vice-captain if offered

Cricinfo staff02-Jul-2010Harbhajan Singh, one of the senior members of the Indian team with more than 11 years experience at international level, has said he would be willing to take up the role of captain or vice-captain if offered. Harbhajan led Mumbai Indians in the inaugural IPL, but has not been a candidate for national captaincy despite having won several games for India.”When my time comes, I will get captaincy or vice-captaincy,” Harbhajan, who turns 30 on Saturday, told Indian news channel . “I have said many times that I am available and obviously if something like this comes then I would definitely be really honoured to receive such kind of responsibility.”As you said, I have not got my dues, so probably I will when that time comes. I have seen Anil Kumble retiring. He was the captain of India for two years. For me it will be the same thing. Let’s see, who knows.”Harbhajan acknowledged the responsibility on his shoulders and said his role was to guide India’s upcoming spinners in the way Kumble had guided him. “I am the kind of person who actually believes that I have to win this game and I have got young bowlers like Pragyan Ojha, Piyush Chawla, Ashwin and I need to show them the way,” he said.”Even now, when he [Kumble] is retired, I ask him whenever there is something wrong with my bowling. After the Nagpur Test, I called him and asked him whether anything is wrong. He just told me that there is nothing wrong with my bowling, just keep things very simple, you’ve won games on previous occasions, just go and give your best shot and be relaxed as much as you can.” Harbhajan bagged eight wickets in the next Test in Kolkata to level the series and propel India to the No.1 ranking in Tests.Harbhajan also dismissed talk of him being an allrounder, following his match-winning cameo against Pakistan in the Asia Cup. “I am not an allrounder. There was only one allrounder that India produced and that is Kapil Dev,” Harbhajan said. “I don’t think after Kapil Dev any allrounder came. But I am definitely someone who can work with the bat. I have worked really hard on it thanks to Gary Kirsten and other team-mates.”Harbhajan, who continues to represent India in all three formats, admitted India’s early exit from the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean was a setback but the kind of criticism that followed, he claimed, was unwarranted. “Of course, it hurt when people were taking our case,” he said. “Everyone was saying we are running after money. We are playing cricket and nothing else and for God’s sake please leave us alone for some time. You know we have got our own life as well. We are mature people and know what to do.”Playing for the country is my first thing and what I am today is because I am playing for my country. If I was playing just IPL, or for any other club, then nobody would have given me the respect I have got. Whatever I have achieved today [is because I play for India].”Such criticism, Harbhajan added, was difficult for the youngsters in the squad. “If someone does not do well you criticise him, but do not take his case for any other reason. It definitely affects the youngsters.”

Rahul Dravid, the India batsman, has called the ICC’s move to hand out first-ever suspensions to three Pakistan cricketers for irregular behaviour under the Anti-Corruption Code a “positive step”

Sharda Ugra03-Sep-2010Rahul Dravid, the India batsman, has called the ICC’s move to hand out first-ever suspensions to three Pakistan cricketers for “irregular behaviour” under the Anti-Corruption Code a positive step but wanted the inquiry against the trio to be taken to its “logical conclusion”. The spot fixing controversy, Dravid told ESPNcricinfo, “is cricket’s biggest chance to clean itself”.”The last thing we need is for the events of this week to be swept under the carpet. No guilt must be attached until the investigations are complete, and everyone deserves a fair chance to defend themselves. But the process must be thorough and comprehensive.”Dravid said that he wanted the investigation of the anti-corruption unit to be completed before the matter moved on to, “a proper inquiry carried out by investigators with the law of the land behind them.” He said the most necessary outcome of the entire episode, “which has been a horrible scar on cricket, cricketers and fans,” would be “swift and strong punishment to anyone found guilty.”In the past, Dravid said, “people once judged guilty turned up after a few months just because time had passed. It was as if everyone had forgotten what days like these feel like for the majority of honest players in the game”.Dravid recommended a complete inquiry with adequate penalties, since it would send out the right message – “that the consequences of getting in contact with the businesses of illegal betting and fraud are extremely severe, whether it is life bans or extended bans on any future livelihood in cricket.”Dravid said he was not fond of the security measures currently in place but every player had to accept it. “No one wants to be under watch all the time – I hate that there are cops and security on our floor in every hotel the team lives in, but that is what the game requires, that is what we must live with.”The ICC’s anti-corruption code is not, he said, merely about “the right rules being laid down but also ensuring that people who break those rules pay the penalties and face the consequences”.

Tom Smith and Gareth Cross both hit centuries as Lancashire preserved their status as the only side not to have lost a match in the County Championship when their match with Hampshire petered out into a draw at the Rose Bowl

01-Aug-2010
ScorecardTom Smith acknowledges applause for his match-saving hundred•PA PhotosTom Smith and Gareth Cross both hit centuries as Lancashire preserved their status as the only side not to have lost a match in the County Championship when their match with Hampshire petered out into a draw at the Rose Bowl.Each recorded their personal-best scores along the way as an easy-paced wicket undid Hampshire’s valiant attempts to force a victory. Lancashire began the final day in a precarious position, only 20 runs ahead at 106 for 1 in their second innings.The Rose Bowl wicket that had posed so many problems on the first day, when Lancashire chose to bat, had flattened out and Lancashire made the best of it to earn their draw. When Glen Chapple declared, Lancashire had batted through the day to reach 351 for 6 from 127 overs, and with a lead of 265, which Hampshire had no chance of chasing.Smith made 128, and Cross was 100 not out when the declaration came. Opening batsman Smith, whose previous best was 108 not out, was the mainstay of the Lancashire resistance, batting for six hours and 41 minutes to blunt the Hampshire attack.His mammoth innings occupied 306 balls and included 14 fours and two sixes. Smith and Mark Chilton, the overnight batsmen, made their second-wicket stand worth 134 by the time Chilton edged pace bowler David Balcombe to wicket-keeper Michael Bates for 47.First-innings centurion Shivnarine Chanderpaul made only 11 this time before spinner Danny Briggs induced him to edge a catch to Michael Lumb in the slips, and the same combination accounted for Steven Croft at 212. But by then Hampshire were running out of time and wickets, and Smith made sure his team escaped from a difficult position with his century.Smith departed in the 105th over, lifting Briggs to the deep, where Jimmy Adams held the catch.Hampshire captain Dominic Cork, a former Lancashire player, called part-time bowler Michael Carberry into the attack in a desperate attempt to claim a few wickets, and the England batsman responded by dismissing Luke Sutton at 312, but it was all far too late. Cross was an aggressive contrast to Smith, and reached his century off 134 balls, and hit 16 fours along the way.Cross, normally a wicket-keeper but in the side as a specialist batsman, had a previous best of 70, and was quickly past that landmark as the Hampshire attack wilted. Briggs was the pick of the Hampshire bowlers, getting through 47 overs to finish with figures of 3 for 142, but the rest of the attack was blunted by the conditions and the determined Lancashire batting.