All posts by h716a5.icu

Flintoff hopes to assess match fitness by playing a few games for Lancashire

Cricinfo staff08-Jun-2009Andrew Flintoff took the first step in his return to full match fitness on Sunday, bowling two sessions off a full run-up though not in match conditions. Flintoff first bowled two overs before play started in the game between Lancashire and Somerset, then returned to bowl four overs during the lunch interval.Flintoff hopes to play all five Ashes Tests and he went through his bowling routine supervised by his physio, Dave Roberts. The second session included bowling to Lancashire coach Peter Moores, with the ball zipping through to the former England coach.”He was bowling within himself, but it was coming through nicely,” Peter Moores said. “The key now is to see if there is any reaction. You take it day by day, but he’s done quite a bit of physical work.”Flintoff said he was happy with his progress thus far. “I’ve had a lot of injuries over the past two, three years and the incentive to come back is to be involved in a series like the Ashes – so I’ll be all right. I’m on schedule with where I should be at the moment.”Flintoff has been out of action for about six weeks following a knee injury, and felt that a few games for Lancashire would help assess his match fitness. “The key thing for me is form. Hopefully I’ll have enough games for Lancashire – there’s an England warm-up game as well – to show that. But the way England have been playing lately you can’t just walk into a team and I’ve got to show my merit, which I’m confident of doing. I just need a chance to.”

Mohammad Yousuf’s comeback has become sweeter still as he becomes the world’s leading Test batsman

Cricinfo staff08-Jul-2009Mohammad Yousuf made a seamless return to international cricket this week with a polished century in Galle, and his comeback has become sweeter still by reaching the top of the ICC Test rankings. This is the first time he has been officially ranked the leading Test batsman.Yousuf, who hadn’t represented Pakistan for nearly a year after signing up with the unsanctioned ICL, pushes his captain, Younis Khan, to second spot. Another player sliding in the rankings is Sri Lankan captain, Kumar Sangakkara, who slips two places to fifth. Mahela Jayawardene, at No.6, is the only other batsman from either side to feature in the top 20.In the bowling charts, injured Sri Lankan offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan’s lead over Dale Steyn at the top of the ranking was cut to two points.And in the women’s one-day bowling rankings, England left-arm spinner Holly Colvin jumps into the lead after taking seven wickets in the 4-0 rout of Australia. She takes over as No. 1 from India’s fast bowler Jhulan Goswami. England, the world champions, now have five bowlers in the top ten.

Kevin Phillips says Everton may look to offload midfielder Jean-Philippe Gbamin in the January transfer window. 

The former Sunderland striker was discussing the Ivorian’s future with Football Insider.

The lowdown

Everton paid £22.5million to sign Gbamin from Bundesliga outfit FSV Mainz in 2019, ranking him in their top 15 biggest transfers (via Transfermarkt).

But he’s endured a torrid time at Goodison Park, making just four appearances across more than two seasons.

He’s suffered three serious injuries, including an MCL injury just over a week after he’d returned from an Achilles tendon rupture.

Off the field, meanwhile, Gbamin was hit with a £25,000 fine and a 14-month driving ban after an incident in August (via Liverpool Echo).

The latest

Phillips, a regular on Sky Sports, says Everton may now have lost patience with Gbamin and thinks that they may look to ‘get him off the payroll’ as they did with £200,000-per-week star James Rodriguez, who left for Qatari side Al Rayyan last month.

“From a football point of view, he has had injuries, he has not been playing and then this,” Phillips said. “Come January they may look to move him on.

“Like Rodriguez, they might try to get him off the payroll and use the money to strengthen somewhere else.

“I imagine it’s been difficult for him since moving to Everton and this incident has just topped it off. It is not good to see.”

The verdict

Gbamin’s wages, it should be said, are a considerably smaller burden than those of Rodriguez. He’s said to earn £25,000 per week.

It is, however, increasingly difficult to see him making a success of his Everton career, and maybe it’s best to move on.

If he was to leave in January, then he’d surely have to go down as one of the least impactful big-money signings in Premier League history.

In other news, what about a potential incoming at Goodison Park?

Adama Traore could leave Wolves in January and is keen on the idea of a move to Liverpool, according to elnacional.cat. 

The lowdown

The Spain winger’s contract at Molineux is due to expire in June 2023, but The Athletic’s Tim Spiers reported in September that talks over a new deal had resumed and that all parties were ‘optimistic’ that it would come to fruition. At the very least, that could protect the value of a player who is currently estimated to be worth £27m.

Traore has started five of Bruno Lage’s first seven Premier League matches, coming off the bench in the other two. He has averaged seven dribbles (comfortably the highest in the Premier League), two shots and 1.7 key passes per game (second only to Raul Jimenez in the Wolves ranks).

The latest

The report claimed that joining Liverpool could be the next step in Traore’s career, and that Anfield boss Jurgen Klopp is waiting ‘with open arms’. The Wolves winger would not turn down an offer from the Reds, in part because he likes their ‘offensive football and counterattack’.

There’s also interest from reigning Premier League champions Manchester City and Nuno Espirito Santo’s new club Tottenham Hotspur ahead of the mid-season transfer window.

The verdict

Liverpool aren’t really a club who entertain expensive risks given their relatively frugal spending since 2019, and that’s exactly what Traore would be. With just 28 direct goal involvements in 140 Wolves appearances (10 goals, 18 assists), there are major concerns about his end product.

While Klopp might back himself to take the winger up a level, it’s hard to see the Reds agreeing to part with the kind of money Wolves will demand for the 25-year-old.

In other news, Many Wolves fans made their feelings clear on Morgan Gibbs-White

The fast bowler refuses to blame his mother for his off-the-rails Ashes campaign

Peter English28-Jul-2009Shane Warne pointed the finger at his mum for giving him a banned drug, but Mitchell Johnson refuses to blame his mother for his off-the-rails Ashes campaign. At the start of the series, Vikki Harber said her son had been stolen by his girlfriend Jessica Bratich and since then Johnson has failed to regain the form that made him one of the world’s most frightening bowlers.”The message I want to say is hopefully things can work out and be resolved,” Johnson told the Australian magazine Women’s Day. “It probably might seem, at this time, like things have been distracting me. I was a bit disappointed with what has been going on, but I don’t let things like that distract me. Otherwise, you are thinking about what’s going on when you are in the field and you can’t focus.”Johnson, who moved from Queensland to Western Australia last year to be closer to Bratich, has not been in contact with his mother since the start of the year, but told the magazine he hoped she would be at his wedding next May. While Harber has also rejected claims she was responsible for her son’s poor Ashes form, which has contributed to Australia being 1-0 down, Johnson’s interview continues to drag out the episode.Despite his comments, Johnson has been terribly distracted and disjointed in the opening two Tests and those around the team believe the public nature of the issue has contributed to his slumping shoulders. He has also been desperate to fix an ailing action, with his low arm position causing severe uncertainty over his direction.While he has eight wickets in the series, the victims have come at 41.37 apiece and he is giving away four runs an over. After a horrible performance at Lord’s, where he struggled with the slope and delivered a host of short and wide offerings, there were few signs of recovery in his match return of 1 for 107 from 18.1 overs in the tour match against Northamptonshire.Allan Border, the former Australia captain, believes Johnson should stand down for a week after he “totally lost his radar”, and has prescribed 15 overs a day in the nets to re-find his form. “He won’t have to worry about going at six an over like he did in the last Test,” Border said in the Australian. “There won’t be any of the pressure and scrutiny that comes with being in the middle of a Test match.”Despite their attack leader’s awful slump, the Australians are determined to remember Johnson as the tormentor of South Africa and are likely to give him a final chance to re-find his power at Edgbaston from Thursday. “He got some pretty good pace [at Northampton] and was difficult to face in the nets today,” Michael Clarke said. “He’s on the way back, feeling more positive about how things are going, and looking forward to hopefully getting another opportunity on Thursday.”Clarke hasn’t spoken to Johnson about his confidence levels but has talked to him about his on-field work. “He’s still bowling at a good pace and in the practice game the other day, especially that last spell, he was back to really good pace,” Clarke said. “I don’t think results always indicate how well you bowl, he had a lot of runs go through slip and backward point.”With Brett Lee out after being limited to operating off a couple of steps in the nets, Stuart Clark is the biggest threat to Johnson or, possibly, Peter Siddle. However, the allrounders Shane Watson and Andrew McDonald may also come into contention depending on the weather.The pitch is expected to be excellent for batting but rain is forecast for the early stages of the match, forcing the Australian selectors into what they believe is their toughest choice in three years as a panel. They plan another phone hook-up on the eve of the game.Clark is fit and in reasonable form following elbow surgery and if he is left out it will continue a frustrating tour for a man who has 90 Test wickets at 22.96. “It’s easy for anyone to get down when you’re not getting an opportunity,” Clarke said. “He’s bowling well in the nets and he bowled really well in the practice game. He’s looking forward to getting a chance, hopefully.”

Crystal Palace will be aiming to extend their unbeaten run to three games when they take on Arsenal in the Premier League this evening.

The Eagles have secured consecutive draws in recent weeks after showing some promising signs under new manager Patrick Vieira, and the French tactician will be hoping to maintain their good form at the Emirates Stadium.

Vieira confirmed that all of his players had returned from the latest international break fully fit, with key midfielder Eberechi Eze also closing in on a return to first-team action following a lengthy layoff.

Despite the positive start to the season, though, Palace have still only won one of their opening seven games, and the need to get some extra points on the board is growing with every passing week.

With that in mind, here’s how Football FanCast expects the 45-year-old to line up against the Gunners, with only one change from the side that earned a point against Leicester City last time out…

The virtually ever-present Vicente Guaita will keep his place between the sticks for the short trip from south to north London, keeping former English international Jack Butland on the bench as a result.

Ahead of the Spanish shot-stopper is set to be a back four that has started to show signs of becoming a cohesive unit in recent weeks.

Full-backs Tyrick Mitchell and Joel Ward will line up either side of summer signings Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen, and the Danish international will be looking to put a disappointing display against the Foxes behind him.

In midfield, a hard-working trio of Luka Mililvojevic, Conor Gallagher and James McArthur are expected to provide the drive and energy Palace will need to get a result against their more affluent rivals, with all three in good form of late.

Vieira’s toughest decisions over the starting XI will come in attack. While talisman Wilfried Zaha is guaranteed to feature from the off, there’s some doubt over the striker’s position and right-wing role.

Former Celtic ace Odsonne Edouard will be hoping to retain his place up front ahead of Christian Benteke, while Michael Olise will hoping his first goal of the season last time out is enough to relegate the £7.2m-rated Jordan Ayew to the Palace bench.

And, in other news…Vieira must unleash “fearless” £13.5m-rated Palace wizard, he could have a huge impact 

Steve Davies, the wicketkeeper batsman, has decided not to renew his contract with Worcestershire at the end of this season

Cricinfo staff19-Aug-2009Steve Davies, the wicketkeeper batsman, has decided not to renew his contract with Worcestershire at the end of this season.Davies, 23, informed the club of his decision to leave New Road earlier this week, after several months of speculation.”Having been involved with Steve’s development since the age of 11, I am quite naturally disappointed he won’t be part of the club’s plans in the immediate future,” said Steve Rhodes, Worcestershire’s director of cricket.”We respect his decision and hope that he has a very successful cricketing career with his new county and with England. He will always be welcome at New Road and will remain an integral part of our plans for the remainder of the season.”Davies has 26 dismissals so far this season, and averages 38.37 with the bat. He had a brief taste of international cricket during England’s tour of West Indies earlier this year when he played a Twenty20 international, but has been overlooked this season.He is likely to be followed out of New Road by a number of other senior players with Stephen Moore and Gareth Batty also expected to leave at the end of the summer. Moore is attracting plenty of interest from other counties after his consistent form of recent seasons, while Batty has become unhappy with the director of the club and is being tipped to head to Surrey, who are also interested in Davies.

West Ham United welcome defending champions Manchester City to the London Stadium for a Carabao Cup Round of 16 clash tonight.

David Moyes will be looking for his side to make a statement of intent, having defeated local rivals Tottenham Hotspur to move into the top four in the Premier League on Sunday.

However, the Scotsman will be facing several dilemmas as he knows that the Irons are back in top-flight action this weekend, when they’ll head to Aston Villa before another away trip, this time travelling to Belgium to face Genk in the Europa League.

Therefore, he could look to rotate several members of his starting XI. One man who could be axed is Said Benrahma, who endured quite a quiet afternoon against the Lilywhites.

The Algerian winger has been an influential player under Moyes this term. He started the season with a goal and assist in both their opening matches against Newcastle United and Leicester City respectively and he has since added one further goal, scoring against Manchester United, via Transfermarkt.

However, Benrahma is now without a direct goal contribution in four straight games, with his performance on Sunday a little concerning. Perhaps he could do with a recharge of the batteries before featuring in their next two fixtures.

As per SofaScore, the £26m-rated dynamo was graded as the Hammers’ lowest-rated starter (6.2) by quite some margin. He failed to offer any sort of creativity, registering no key passes, only 23 accurate passes and no successful crosses.

He was also weak in possession, having lost eight of 10 duels (80%), both on the ground and aerially, and that was on top of losing the ball 12 times from 43 touches.

With City expected to dominate possession, it could be wise for Moyes to opt for someone else in the role who could provide the tireless work-rate needed to keep up with Pep Guardiola’s wide threats.

It would be a ruthless and big call, but one which could benefit the Irons for his match alone. Moyes must look to axe Benrahma from his starting XI tonight.

AND in other news, 10 duels won, 8 tackles: West Ham’s “unbelievable” £60k-p/w beast ran the show vs Spurs…

A round-up of the other matches on the opening day of the Corporate Cup

Cricinfo staff01-Sep-2009Tata Sports Club got off to a winning start in the Corporate Cup thanks to an ICL-returnee, Rohan Gavaskar, who struck 93 against All India Public Sector Sports Promotion Board (AIPSSPB) in Dharamsala. Rain had reduced the game to 36 overs a side and Tata, after being sent in, managed 241 for 8. Gavaskar took control after the loss of two early wickets, smashing seven fours and three sixes in his knock, which came at less than a run a ball. Ajit Agarkar’s breezy cameo of 43 off 34 balls towards the end pushed the score towards a match-winning one. Agarkar, the captain, was back in business early with the ball when he clean bowled Nilesh Patwardhan and Rajinder Bisht in successive overs. Paras Dogra was the next to go, excellently caught at third man by Tushar Garat, who covered a lot of ground to get underneath the ball. The early loss of wickets didn’t help the run rate, as AIPSSPB managed only two an over after ten. Pankaj Thakur delayed the inevitable by helping himself to a half-century, as his team ended on 168.In another rain-interrupted game, in Visakhapatnam, Madras Rubber Factory (MRF) beat Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) by 12 runs. MRF opted to bat but were bowled out within 50 overs for 191. Gnaneswara Rao top scored with 53 off 74 balls with four fours but the rest couldn’t carry on after making starts. The BPCL batsmen also struggled to get going, and were in trouble at one stage at 58 for 5. PK Dharma, the right-arm seamer, did the damage when he was introduced first change, picking up three wickets. Rain intervened with the score at 86 for 5 and the target was then revised to 185 in 46 overs by the VJD Method. There was another rain intervention when BPCL proceeded to 120 for 6 in 28.3 overs. However, no further play was possible and BPCL found themselves 12 short of the required score at that stage. Dharma was named the Man of the Match for his 3 for 22.The match between Air India Blue and Indian Tobacco Company (ITC) was abandoned without a ball being bowled because of heavy overnight rain in Mohali. Despite the sun coming out in the afternoon, the groundstaff were unable to get the outfield ready, and the captains called off the game at 6pm. The match was originally supposed to be rescheduled to Friday but the organising committee of the tournament withdrew the decision to replay since no provision for reserve day had been made for any of the matches.

Sachin Tendulkar has pulled out of the forthcoming NKP Salve Challenger Trophy, seeking rest, said Ratnakar Shetty, BCCI’s chief administrative officer

Cricinfo staff06-Oct-2009Sachin Tendulkar has pulled out of the forthcoming NKP Salve Challenger Trophy seeking rest, the BCCI has said. He will join Yuvraj Singh and Irfan Pathan as the first-choice players who won’t be featuring in the tournament; the latter two have been forced out because of injuries.Tendulkar missed India’s last Group A match in the Champions Trophy in South Africa because of food poisoning. His replacement in the India Blue side is Tamil Nadu’s Abhinav Mukund, who followed an impressive Ranji season with a century in the Irani Cup last week.Among the other changes, S Badrinath, originally picked for India Green, will now captain India Red in Yuvraj’s absence. Yuvraj’s direct replacement in the side is Maharashtra’s Ameya Shrikhande. Irfan’s replacement in the India Green side is Vikramjeet Malik from Himachal Pradesh. Manoj Tiwary, who was originally picked in the India Red side, has been called up to represent Delhi Daredevils in the Champions League Twenty20, with Saurabh Tiwary taking his place.The Challenger Trophy will be played from October 8 to 11 in Nagpur, and will serve as India’s last preparations before Australia arrive for a seven-match ODI series later this month.