Category Uncategorized

A half-century from Vijay Shankar and an all-round performance from R Sathish propelled Tamil Nadu to a 37-run win against Andhra at the MRF Pachayappas ground. Having chosen to bat, Tamil Nadu moved to 101 for 4 courtesy useful contributions from their top order before Shankar (69 off 49 balls) and Sathish (32 not out off 14) combined to add 76 in just 41 balls to power Tamil Nadu to a total of 179 for 5.Sathish then dismissed both Andhra openers over the course of a tight four-over quota in which he only conceded 18 runs. Hanuma Vihari (37 off 34) and Ricky Bhui (61 off 44) revived Andhra with a 75-run third-wicket stand, but the asking rate was climbing steadily, and they needed 79 off 32 balls when Vihari fell. Andhra couldn’t keep up, and eventually finished on 142 for 6, with two of their last three wickets falling to run-outs.A stifling bowling display helped Karnataka defend 148 and hand Hyderabad their first defeat of the tournament at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. A 66-run opening stand between Tanmay Agarwal (22) and Akshath Reddy (42 off 32 balls) gave Hyderabad an excellent start to their chase, but they struggled to keep up with the required rate thereafter as the left-arm seamer S Aravind (3 for 25) and left-arm spinner J Suchith (2 for 18) struck regular blows. S Badrinath remained unbeaten on 37, but wickets fell steadily around him and he himself only managed three fours in a 31-ball innings as Hyderabad finished on 134 for 6.After they chose to bat, Karnataka’s innings was built around two significant contributions. Opener Mayank Agarwal made 65 off 55 balls, while their No. 5 Pavan Deshpande scored 32 off 24. The two added 63 for the fourth wicket after Karnataka had slipped to 49 for 3, and eventually set them up for a total of 148 for 7. Left-arm spinner Mehdi Hasan was Hyderabad’s most successful bowler with figures of 3 for 16.A three-wicket haul from the medium-pacer Basil Thampi and two wickets each from Jalaj Saxena and Raiphi Gomez helped Kerala bowl Goa out for 86 and beat them by nine wickets. Choosing to bat, Goa’s innings never got going, with only Swapnil Asnodkar (23) and Keenan Vaz (22) getting past 20. Their innings lasted only 18.4 overs.Kerala’s chase was even shorter, lasting only 7.5 overs. Vishnu Vinod plundered 35 off 13 balls in a 40-run opening stand with Mohammed Azharudeen (22*), who then finished the match in the company of Rohan Prem (24*).

Western Australia will begin their campaign without the captain Marcus North after he was diagnosed with a degenerative knee problem. North, who was promoted after Justin Langer stood down in the off-season, saw a specialist in Melbourne on Wednesday and the condition is treatable, but he will miss at least two weeks.A Western Australia spokesman said North would undergo a detailed rehabilitation programme to treat the right knee tendon and his fitness would be reviewed fortnightly. Tom Moody, the new coach, hoped North would be available for the “bulk of the season”. “While the timing of this injury is unfortunate,” he said, “the main focus for Marcus and the coaching staff will be to help him get back to 100% fitness.”Adam Voges, who was in India as cover for Australia’s one-day side, will lead the Warriors for the first time when they open their season in the FR Cup against New South Wales on Friday. He will also be in charge for the Pura Cup game starting in Perth on Sunday.Western Australia squad Chris Rogers, Luke Ronchi (wk), Adam Voges (capt), Justin Langer, Shaun Marsh, Luke Pomersbach, Sean Ervine, Shawn Gillies, Aaron Heal, Brett Dorey, Ben Edmondson, Steve Magoffin.New South Wales squad Phil Jaques, Ed Cowan, Simon Katich (capt), Dominic Thornely, Peter Forrest, Daniel Smith (wk), Grant Lambert, Moises Henriques, Stephen O’Keefe, Nathan Hauritz, Doug Bollinger, Mark Cameron, Matthew Nicholson.

Fertile, but poor, Bangladesh straddles the estuary of the River Ganges. It is a country of almost 150 million crowded into an area not much larger than the British Isles with a rich cricket history. Although it only gained independence in 1971, it was originally part of Bengal and after partition became East Pakistan. The ground at Dhaka, which hosted Pakistan Tests, fell into disrepair after the wars which led to independence but cricket emerged as a unifying force and in 1976-77 an MCC side played games in front of massive crowds at Dhaka. Official tours by various countries playing unofficial Tests followed, and in 1976 Bangladesh became an Associate member of the ICC and took part in the inaugural ICC Trophy in 1979, reaching the semi-finals in 1982 and 1990. With huge enthusiasm among the population, Bangladesh’s claims for Test status were greatly boosted when they won the ICC Trophy in 1997 (they had been playing ODIs for a decade) and that dream came true in 2001.

Bangladesh only began an official national first-class tournament in 1999-2000 as they prepared to become Test cricket’s 10th Full Member. In the first year games were not first-class, but from 2000-01 all matches were and the competition is league based with six sides playing each other home and away.

As with the first-class competition, six teams playing each other home and away once in a league.

An open split has emerged among the three-member committee that was established by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to review the sponsorship negotiations with Digicel. Against a background of media leaks on aspects of the report submitted by the committee, Avondale Thomas and Gregory Georges have disassociated themselves from a dissenting “declaration” by Justice Anthony Lucky that was not part of the main report, but which he has made available, along with signed copies of the report, to Ken Gordon, the new WICB president.According to Georges and Thomas the declaration by Lucky, which is quite critical of the board’s negotiating process with Digicel and, among other factors, suggests the need for renegotiation, does not form part of the committee’s report that makes no “reference to the contract being null and void …”.Contrary to the position adopted by Georges and Thomas, Justice Lucky said that, as both have admitted, they were privy to his personal “declaration” before it was presented, along with the committee’s full report, to Gordon on August 15.Lucky said his declaration, that also raised serious doubts about the legal status of the WICB and Digicel contract, was given as “an appendix” to the report which leaves serious doubts about how the negotiations of the sponsorship contract took place. On reflection, Lucky said, “perhaps it is a good thing that some things have come out in the media because the WICB has been running the show as if it was a secret society or private club.”While his committee colleagues, Georges and Thomas, have the right to reject his declaration, equally he has the right to present his dissenting position to the board “because I am part of an independent committee, and as one not receiving calls from any board member telling me who to interview and who not to interview …”Officially, the review committee’s report remains a document yet to be considered by the executive board of the WICB. This is scheduled to be done on September 4. What is certainly not in either the main body of the report or among the appendices, is the actual sponsorship contract between Digicel and the WICB, negotiated and signed in secret, as various board members themselves have claimed but are still not ready to say on record.

Cricket has grown in popularity in Zimbabwe and is now the second most popular sport in this soccer-crazy country. A lot of children in the high-density areas, who used to play football with home-made balls fashioned out of tightly rolled plastic bags, now play cricket with equally improvised equipment – tennis balls in place of proper cricket balls, dry maize stalks supported by bricks for the stumps.The massive upsurge in the popularity of cricket with the younger generation in Zimbabwe started after England’s (in)famous tour in 1996, when they were thrashed 3-0 in the one-day series. Many of these young people have grouped together and formed clubs, but their efforts have been hampered by lack of equipment and money. Many do not even have proper cricket grounds to play on, and instead play on fields which were once used for rugby and soccer.According to a Zimbabwean cricket follower who, unsurprisingly, wishes to remain anonymous, the Zimbabwe Cricket Union has done little to assist most of the disadvantaged communities who have so much passion for the game. He says that the ZCU has imported equipment earmarked for development over the years, but this equipment doesn’t seem to have reached its intended beneficiaries. There have been complaints from several parts of the country that most of the equipment has been allocated to Takashinga, an all-black club from Highfield, a high-density suburb in Harare.The exorbitant cost of cricket equipment in Zimbabwe means that almost none of the newly formed clubs can afford to buy their own equipment – a quality cricket bat costs about US$100, and most of the newcomers to cricket come from the less-privileged societies in Zimbabwe and cannot afford such a luxury.Only two new stadiums with the facilities necessary to host first-class matches have been built by the ZCU since Zimbabwe gained Test status in 1992. These are Takashinga in Harare and Emakhandeni in Bulawayo, the construction of which is still underway.The ZCU recently announced that it had “frozen” all the assistance it had been giving to clubs through the provincial associations. Ozais Bvute, a controversial member of the board who was involved in the row between the ZCU and the 14 rebel players, told the Matabeleland Cricket Association that the ZCU was not a “bottomless pit”, and that clubs should source their own funding.As our correspondent points out, this latest move by the ZCU means that aspiring cricketers from disadvantaged communities will have to continue using improvised equipment. They will continue to play their matches on football pitches, use tennis balls for practice, and risk life and limb when facing real cricket balls without the necessary protective equipment.

Wasim Akram was showered with praise by former colleagues following his decision to end his 19-year international career, but Pakistan’s selectors also came in for criticism over their handling of him.Former captain Imran Khan, who mentored Wasim as an 18-year-old, hailed him as one of last century’s greatest fast bowlers. “I reckon Wasim and West Indian Michael Holding are two of the best and most natural fast bowlers of the century,” Imran told AFP.Taking Wasim under his wing in 1984, Imran nurtured him until he became one of international cricket’s most productive fast bowlers. “Grooming Wasim was the easiest thing because he was naturally gifted. All I ingrained in him was the ability to take wickets,” said Imran, adding that the retirement decision was “the right thing.”But Imran accused the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) of ending Wasim’s career in an undignified manner. “I do think the PCB should not have dumped him in such an unceremonious manner.”Another former captain, Zaheer Abbas, described Wasim as the “pride of Pakistani cricket.” He continued: “Losing a player like Wasim is the most depressing thing. It will be hard to replace him.”But Aamer Sohail, Pakistan’s chief selector, denied Wasim’s decision was prompted by his expulsion. “We did not close the doors on any senior player. Wasim could have staged a comeback,” he said. “Wasim was a great servant of Pakistani cricket and I pay him the richest of tributes.”

There are those who can express their pain. And then there are thosewho cannot. Debu Mitra falls into the second category. And just whomight Debu Mitra be? Well, he is the coach who trained the Gangulybrothers, Snehasish and the Indian captain Sourav when they wereyoung. In fact at one point of time, Mitra concentrated only on Souravso that he could make a comeback to the Indian team after hisdisastrous tour to Australia in 1991-92.Whenever Sachin Tendulkar has a problem with his batting, he stillcalls up Ramakant Achrekar, the man who had taught him the basics. Therelation between a student and his first coach always goes a long wayin solving problems that may creep into one’s technique. Mitra, whohas seen Ganguly from his early days, is however not in a position tohelp the Indian captain. He does not want to talk about a cricketer,who was once his student. He suffers in agony as he sees Gangulyfailing time after time. He has the answers to Ganguly’s battingproblems. However, he refuses to talk about them. “Why should I tellyou,” he asks. “Will it help Sourav to score runs.” In fact, hedoes not even want to talk about his famous student. However, one canfeel the pain that comes out with every word. “No, I do not want totalk about his cricket. He is the Indian captain now and he maymisunderstand me if I go out of my way to tell him anything,” hesays.All through the 25-minute discussion, Mitra was adamant on one issue.”I cannot impose myself on him. Unless he asks me, I cannot talk tohim,” he says. “There are quite a few people who will cry foul if Iapproach him with suggestions. I do not want that to happen. There aretimes he talks to me. But it is rarely on his batting.”During the course of the discussion, Mitra made it clear that thefailures may continue to torment the Indian captain. “Certain minordefects have to be corrected,” he states. “But then as I saidbefore, I cannot go to him.” He disagrees that as Ganguly’s firstcoach, it is his responsibility to point out the faults he hasnoticed. When persisted on this point, he maintains silence.There are times when a person has to return to his roots to rediscover his own identity. Who knows, Ganguly may need just that. Heis already under pressure regarding his form over the last few months.A couple of more failures will have the critics baying for his head.Perhaps the time has come for Ganguly to return to his roots, even ifit is for a short time. Maybe in the long run, he will benefit. Mitrais waiting but is Ganguly listening?

Everton have now reportedly joined the race to sign a Premier League ace, who is looking to leave his current club when the January transfer window swings open.

Everton join race to land Jack Grealish repeat

Everton finally got things right on the transfer front in the summer window. After years of transfer flops, the likes of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Jack Grealish have ended the curse by thriving ever since joining up with David Moyes’ side.

Grealish has particularly impressed, getting back to his best following a much-needed loan move away from Manchester City. The golden rule is never fall in love with a loan player, but the England international seems to adore those in Merseyside just as much as they adore him.

Related Haaland loves him: Everton join race to sign UCL goalscorer who wants PL move

He’s enjoying an impressive season.

Posts ByTom Cunningham

He recently told reporters: “I always have a connection with fans at every club. I’ve got an unbelievable one with the Everton fans.

“I spoke to the manager a lot on FaceTime over the summer and it felt right. He’s helped me to get back to my level. I’m playing and training with enjoyment. It’s been the perfect fit.”

It’s only right, then, that The Friedkin Group are already looking to repeat their genius by signing more stars who are struggling at the top of the Premier League.

Ahead of the January transfer window, the Toffees have already been linked with Chelsea’s Tyrique George. The young forward has fallen down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge this season and Everton could take full advantage.

But he’s not the only young star on their shortlist. According to Il Mattino, as relayed by CN24 and Sport Witness, Everton have now joined the race to sign Kobbie Mainoo on loan from Manchester United next month. The Carrington graduate is keen to secure a loan move away from Old Trafford and the Merseyside club could offer him exactly that.

Everton should go all out to sign Mainoo

It’s been a tumultuous time for the Mainoo since the arrival of Rubem Amorim. A player who was so highly rated by Erik ten Hag and someone who had an FA Cup final goal to his name against rivals Manchester City has become nothing more than a frustrated substitute under the former Sporting CP boss.

Amorim denied Mainoo the chance to leave on loan in the summer, telling the 20-year-old to simply fight for his place, but is yet to hand his academy graduate the chance to land a knockout blow.

Amorim’s trash could quickly become David Moyes’ treasure, however, especially if Mainoo gets back to his best. It was only in 2024 that Paul Scholes compared the Man United man to the great Zinedine Zidane and that Rasmus Hojlund described him as “generational”. Now, Everton could land an incredible January coup for a player once valued at £79m last September.

Richarlison repeat: Everton set sights on signing "impeccable" Brazilian

Highlights of the day

Cheteshwar Pujara blasted his highest score in Twenty20 cricket, as Saurashtra thrashed Jammu & Kashmir by 73 runs in Kochi. Pujara slammed five fours and sixes each during a 55-ball 81, and shared a 70-run partnership with Chirag Jani, who stroked 38 off 19 balls. Their efforts lifted Sauarashtra to 157 for 7. J&K failed to string together a single meaningful stand in their chase, and folded for 84 inside 18 overs, with only two batsmen managing double-digit scores. Dharmendrasinh Jadeja was the pick of the bowlers, ending with figures of 3.1-0-19-3.Gujarat nearly made a mess of a small chase against Hyderabad in Nagpur, but Parthiv Patel’s 70-run blitz ensured the team had enough gas in the tank to register a three-wicket win. Set 132 for victory, Parthiv drilled eight fours and three sixes during a 40-ball 70, and added 99 for the opening wicket with Priyank Kirit Panchal. Parthiv’s dismissal in the 12th over triggered a slide, as Gujarat lost seven wickets for just 30 runs, but held on to complete the chase with three balls to spare.Domestic heavyweights Karnataka suffered their second defeat of the season, going down to Uttar Pradesh by five wickets in Cuttack. Karnataka, opting to bat, compiled a total of 160 for 6, thanks to a 40-ball 45 from Mohammed Talha, and handy lower-order knocks from CM Gautam and Aniruddha Joshi. UP, though, gunned that total down with relative ease, as their top and middle order all got in among the runs. The opener Prashant Gupta top-scored with 48, while Suresh Raina carried forward the momentum by smoking a 15-ball 28 with three sixes.Biplab Samantray’s maiden T20 ton went in vain, as Odisha failed to defend 183 against Maharashtra. Samantray thumped a 59-ball 102, and put up 155 for the third wicket with Govinda Poddar, but important knocks of 44 and 49 from Prayag Bhati and Ankit Bawne respectively helped Maharashtra to a last-ball win.

Other brief scores

England 213 for 7 (Bopara 43*, Broad 45*) beat India 212 (Yuvraj 71, Tendulkar 55, Broad 4-51, Anderson 3-38) by 3 wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Ravi Bopara and Stuart Broad, two England players with bright futures, shone under the Old Trafford floodlights to lift their team from the brink of defeat to a three-wicket victory and a 3-1 lead in the series. Coming together with 99 still needed to overhaul India’s 212, they formed a record eighth-wicket stand for England and Broad registered career-best performances with bat and ball as the target was achieved with two overs to spare.The pair showed a maturity that had escaped the top order except for Paul Collingwood. Leaving behind the patient approach which served them so well while batting first in the previous games, they played as though warming up for next month’s Twenty20 World Championship. The partnership between Bopara and Broad went to the other extreme, as the run-chase began to resemble Test cricket. It was compelling viewing.Slowly but surely they knocked off the runs with calm, correct batting. Broad survived a close lbw shout, against Piyush Chawla, on 25, but as the target slipped below 50, India began to fret and mistakes crept into their game. The fielding, which had held relatively firm, creaked again with overthrows and fumbles and the pressure got to the bowlers.When Zaheer Khan was recalled for a second spell, Broad drove him off the back foot with such class that his father would have been proud. He repeated the shot off Sachin Tendulkar, between which Chawla sent down five wides to aid England’s cause, and Ajit Agarkar’s final over also included two wides to spoil his earlier four-wicket burst.Broad was looking like the Test No. 7 that everyone hopes he will eventually become, driving Chawla through the covers off the front foot and it was he who hit the winning runs. Bopara, however, was equally impressive. At the World Cup, he took England to within two runs of a remarkable run-chase against Sri Lanka and this time he was able to see the job through. By the end England had the run of play, as airy shots fell into gaps but they deserved the good fortune for the earlier hard work.It will be a huge fillip for this England team to know they can pull themselves round from the trouble they were in at 114 for 7, however, they will realise they shouldn’t have left it to two players with a combined age of 43. Alastair Cook and Matt Prior were gone within the first four overs, while Ian Bell played in an unusually expansive manner, forgetting how successful he had been with accumulating in the early overs.England were playing in a different manner now they had a target to chase, even though it was considerably smaller than the totals they had reached batting first. After using more edge than middle, Bell didn’t offer any bat at all to Agarkar and watched the ball nip back off the seam and take off stump.It has been a feisty second half to the summer since India arrived and Kevin Pietersen’s arrival at the crease rarely suggests a period of calm. He and Collingwood counter-attacked as England stayed well ahead of the asking-rate. However, with the match heading England’s way Agarkar, back for a second spell, banged one in at Pietersen who lofted it to Chawla at square leg. Andrew Flintoff played a stiff-legged drive and Owais Shah was undone by a beautifully flighted delivery from Ramesh Powar.All the while Collingwood was playing a captain’s innings, but when he was run-out by RP Singh, from backward point, England had virtually thrown away their chances. Then their new-found one-day resilience made another appearance.

The Man-of-the-Match award was an easy decision after Broad also bagged 4 for 51 as India struggled to 212. Even when they weren’t losing wickets, progress was slow, the main stand of 71 between Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh taking nearly 18 overs.It ended in the most unlikely fashion when Tendulkar pulled a Pietersen long-hop down Flintoff’s throat at deep square-leg. Pietersen, never one to miss such a moment, celebrated with Brett Lee-style fist pumping. Tendulkar’s half-century was a painstaking affair but he only played as he was allowed to by the outstanding efforts of England’s three frontline fast bowlers.However, the cheers for the early wickets paled in comparison with the roar that greeted Flintoff’s introduction in the 12th over. This was his first international appearance on his home ground since the Ashes Test in 2005 and his first ODI here since 2003. It took him just six balls to get on the scoreboard when Rahul Dravid nibbled outside the off stump after facing a hostile opening over.Monty Panesar, back on a happy hunting ground, produced one of his more effective one-day spells and his dismissal of Mahendra Singh Dhoni was classic. A flighted delivery on middle gripped and spun past Dhoni’s forward lunge and hit off stump. Yuvraj briefly broke free; taking 16 off Broad’s eighth over in his 104-ball 71, but the young fast bowler had his revenge when a leg-stump yorker breached Yuvraj’s defences. Powar followed two balls later as Broad took a four-wicket haul for the first time in one-day internationals, but his day in the spotlight was far from finished.