The Jamaica Gleaner has claimed that Ryan Hinds has joined the growing list of players who have refused to tour Zimbabwe with West Indies A.Hinds joins two players offered the captaincy – Sylvester Joseph and Daren Ganga – who have declined to join the tour. WIPA, the players’ association, and the West Indies board remain in dispute over whether the tour should proceed. The newspaper added that Hinds has been replaced by Dale Richards, a Barbados batsman who is currently playing in England.However, despite constant assurances for much of last week that the team was about to be named, no announcement has come from the WICB even though the squad is due to leave in five days’ time.
India and West Indies may play three one-day internationals in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur in September, as it seems unlikely that the USA Cricket Association will have its grounds ready in time for the scheduled matches.”While we’re hopeful, I fear the US won’t be in a position to have two grounds ready by September,” IS Bindra, a member of the Indian board’s marketing committee, told , a Kolkata-based daily. “We’ve been looking at Florida, New York and New Jersey.”We’ve given that [Singapore/Kuala Lumpur] option to the West Indies. In fact, we’ve even suggested the matches could be played in Europe.”The ODI series is part of a deal struck between the West Indies and Indian boards before the ICC met to decide on World Cup hosts after 2007. According to Bindra, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is keen to have the matches in North America, with Toronto to host one of the matches. But the problem is that the grounds in the US will have to pass ICC inspection, even if they are ready by September.”If the WICB remains intent on North America, then the three ODIs are going to be played next year,” Bindra said. It should be clear within a fortnight where the matches will be played.
In spite of England’s defeat in the final of the Champions Trophy, Andrew Flintoff has consolidated his position as the world’s leading one-day player. According to the PwC ratings, Flintoff now lies fourth in the batting table and seventh in the bowling, and is unsurprisingly rated as the best allrounder in the game, ahead of West Indies’ Chris Gayle (eighth and 23rd respectively).Marcus Trescothick, who scored a valiant but futile 104 in the final, has climbed to fourth in the batting charts after top-scoring 261 runs in the tournament. That was almost 100 more than the next most prolific batsman, Ramnaresh Sarwan, who was named as Man of the Tournament after picking up match awards against South Africa and Pakistan. He has slipped from fourth to seventh after falling cheaply in the final.Of the bowlers, Steve Harmison makes the biggest leap up the rankings, climbing 16 places to No. 20 after another penetrative new-ball spell. The batting list is still topped by Sachin Tendulkar, however, despite the fact he missed the tournament through injury.
Simon Jones could face disciplinary action from the International Cricket Council after an excited celebration when dismissing Ramnaresh Sarwan during the afternoon session of the second Test at Port-of-Spain.The outburst occurred when Jones won a leg-before decision against Sarwan to leave West Indies teetering on 56 for 3, still 55 behind England. Jones, whose follow-through took him to within inches of Sarwan, screamed in his face and had to be firmly ushered away by team-mates. “I didn’t say anything to him,” Jones insisted. “I just shouted.”Billy Bowden, the umpire, had a word with Jones shortly afterwards, and it is now up to Mike Procter, the match referee, whether he wants to take any further action under the ICC’s Code of Conduct.Jones admitted after the close of play: “The umpires had a couple of words and I apologised for what happened. Obviously I got a little over-excited, but there was nothing malicious there. I didn’t say anything to him. There’s no hard feelings with Sarwan. I was very annoyed with myself for the first ball I bowled him, a rank half-volley, and was just excited to get his wicket.”Jones went on: “Today was the first time on tour that I have felt really good. I tried to relax and that helped a lot. I was way too tense in the first Test. I think we [the bowlers] are working really well as a unit. We are all confident, and you can see that from the way we batted tonight. It would have been nice to knock them off tonight, but we just need another 30 or so and hopefully we can celebrate tomorrow.”
JOHANNESBURG – Where are the Windies shirts?That’s the question being asked by cricket fans all around Johannesburg.They have had no luck trying to get West Indies replica shirts during the ongoing World Cup. And the reason is the West Indies designs were never submitted to the official International Cricket Council’s (ICC) shops so the items could be made and placed for sale."After South Africa, the West Indies is the most popular team around here," said a sales assistant at the ICC’s souvenir shop in the Sandton City Centre. Every day we have been getting calls and people coming in wanting West Indies kit. But we were told their designs were never submitted."The West Indies’ popularity was evident when they were mobbed by autograph seekers when they spent Friday afternoon in the Sandton Centre, adjacent to their base at the Sandton Sun.Only four teams – South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia – submitted designs and their items have been selling smoothly. Most Indian fans came with their replica shirts from previous tournaments.
Jimmy Maher scored his second consecutive CricInfo Championshipcentury as Glamorgan’s top order put Northamptonshire’s bowling to thesword at Cardiff today.The Welsh county finished the first day on 370-3 in their first inningsthanks to 150 for Maher – his highest score for Glamorgan – and usefulcontributions from the rest of the top order.After winning an important toss Maher laid a solid foundation with SteveJames of 114 in 32 overs before the captain mis-timed a pull to mid-onfrom the last ball of the morning session.It was the pair’s second opening partnership of more than three figuresafter recording an unbroken stand of 203 against Kent at Maidstone whenMaher scored 123.After lunch the Australian opener and Matthew Maynard added 151 in 30overs for the second wicket during which Maher went to his century off152 balls with 14 fours.Just before tea Maynard, who was looking well set for his first 100 ofthe summer, drove straight at point to leave Glamorgan 265-2. Maher wenton to complete his 150 from 218 balls with a six and 21 fours.But five balls after tea Maher offered a catch to mid-off off Tony Penberthyto end an entertaining innings that came off 223 balls and included onesix and 18 fours.From 290-3 Mike Powell and Adrian Dale did a useful job in building onan excellent start, adding 80 in taking their side to a fourth battingpoint by the close.
Crystal Palace must do all they can to keep Wilfried Zaha at Selhurst Park in the summer with the £36m rated gem a potential target for top clubs.
What’s the story?
Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson has urged his former club to sign Zaha insisting he is ‘a better player now’ than when they tried to previously sign him back in 2019.
The 29-year old winger who was dubbed “electric” by GOAL was a target for the Gunners during Unai Emery’s reign, but Arsenal’s £40m bid was not enough to persuade the South London club to sell.
He even handed in a transfer request at the time to try and force a move through but he ended up staying at Selhurst Park.
With his contract expiring next summer, now could be the time for Arsenal to get him at a reduced price.
Zaha is vital for Vieira
As a result of standing their ground, Palace have reaped the rewards with Zaha proving to be a star player since.
The Ivory Coast international is the Eagles’ top scorer this season with ten goals and has been key to manager Vieira’s positive start at the club.
However, it’s not just goal scoring that Palace rely on – Zaha ranks in the 90th percentile for passes into the penalty area when compared to other wingers in Europe’s big five leagues this season.
He also ranks the highest in the Palace squad when it comes to passes that lead to a shot attempt at 51 so far this campaign, proving his distribution and playmaking is simply crucial.
Despite these contributions, his manager still believes he has “potential to fulfil” and called on him to show more consistency.
There’s no doubting that’s a challenge that Zaha will relish with him saying that he feels like he “performs better” when he’s under the added pressure.
Seeing him attract interest from several big clubs isn’t a new thing. During his first stint with the Eagles, he was targeted by then Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
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He made the move to Old Trafford in 2013 for £10.5m just after the Scottish manager retired, but it didn’t quite work out for him during a period where United declined.
Zaha made only 14 Premier League appearances for the Red Devils and didn’t score once before he eventually moved back to Palace in 2015 for a fraction of the price (£3.4m)
His value has once again soared, but if Palace are to continue thriving under Vieira they may need him to stick around for longer. Anything less would be seen as a disaster for Steve Parish and co.
IN other news: Sold for £25m, now worth just £608k: CPFC struck gold on dazzling 32 y/0 – opinion.
The steady descent of Shoaib Akhtar’s career continued after the Indian Premier League (IPL) decided that he won’t be allowed to feature in its tournament till the end of his five-year ban or until his ban is lifted by the Pakistan board.”Shoaib has been banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board, and even though they have cleared him to play for IPL, we felt that international discipline needs to be respected,” IS Bindra, a member of the IPL governing council, told Cricinfo. “If he can’t play for Pakistan, how can we play him? There will be no discipline left in the game, if we play him. It will set an unwanted precedent.”We [the IPL] want to be part of the international system, not operate outside it. If somebody is banned on disciplinary grounds, that is a serious offense, and we felt it would be very odd if he was to play in IPL.”Shoaib, however, plans to appeal the ban and if he wins, he could yet turn out for his team. “If he is able to clear the ban and wins the appeal process, he will be allowed to play”, Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, clarified to a private television channel.A spokesman for the Kolkata Knight Riders confirmed to Cricinfo that they have been informed by the IPL that Shoaib will not be available to play for them. “In this situation, we will abide by the IPL directive as the final availability of a player depends on a clearance from the league.”However, Shahrukh Khan, the owner of the Kolkata franchise, said he will take the matter up with the IPL. “I will talk to Lalit Modi to reconsider the decision,” he said. “I hope things get sorted out in our favour.”I know I am allowed to take another player but I want Shoaib back.”Cricinfo has learnt that the Kolkata franchise is now free to look for Shoaib’s replacement, though nobody has been identified as yet. Besides, the money that was bid on Shoaib [US$ 450,000] will not be counted in the team’s spending cap of $5 million, and the franchise will be free to use that money to buy the services of a new player.Only yesterday, Shoaib had claimed that the willingness of the Knight Riders to play him confirmed there were no disciplinary issues. “If I had been so indisciplined and had an attitude problem as the Pakistan board claims do you think that Shahrukh Khan or [Sourav] Ganguly would want me to play for their team in the IPL,” Shoaib said.Until he can clear his name, it seems they don’t.
Ron Archer, the allrounder who played 19 Tests for Australia during the 1950s, has died of lung cancer at the age of 73. Archer’s death on Sunday came just two days after the passing of his Australia team-mate and fast-bowling colleague Bill Johnston.Archer was a talented all-round sportsman when he was plucked from the Queensland side to make his Test debut at just 19, against South Africa in 1952-53. However, a knee injury ended his international career when he was only 22, leaving him with 713 runs at 24.58 and 48 wickets at 27.45.He was one of Australia’s record five centurions in the first innings against West Indies at Kingston in 1954-55. Archer made 128 – his only Test hundred – at No. 6 and joined Colin McDonald, Neil Harvey, Keith Miller and Richie Benaud in reaching triple-figures.Archer had already made 84 and 98 on the tour, which undoubtedly marked his high-point as a Test batsman. However, he cemented his place in the side largely as a new-ball or first-change fast bowler.Like his older team-mate Johnston, Archer held his own in a quality attack that often featured Miller, Ray Lindwall and Alan Davidson. His best bowling in an innings was the 5 for 53 he claimed at The Oval in 1956, in what would be his second last Test.On the way home, Australia played a one-off Test match against Pakistan at Karachi and it was there that Archer sustained the knee injury that ended his career. He returned as a specialist batsman for Queensland in 1958-59 and averaged over 40, but his body would no longer stand up to the rigours of first-class cricket.He had made his debut for Queensland in 1951-52, at the age of 18, having played first-grade cricket in Brisbane since he was 15. Joining his brother Ken in the state side, Archer made an immediate impact, taking eight wickets on debut against South Australia. He was also a highly-skilled rugby union player, Australian Rules footballer and baseballer, but he focused on cricket after he was chosen in the Test team barely a year after joining the Queensland side.Archer finished with 255 wickets at 23.36 from his 98 first-class matches and also scored 3768 runs at 31.93. Like Ken, who also played for Australia, he became a TV executive, rising through the ranks to become general manager of Channel 0. He also retained his links with cricket as Cricket Australia’s Code of Behaviour Commissioner and once acted as an ICC match referee.Creagh O’Connor, Cricket Australia’s chairman, said Archer gave tirelessly to the game after his playing days prematurely ended. “Ron Archer had a brief and very successful Test career which was tragically cut short by an injury of the type that modern sports medicine would today probably have overcome,” O’Connor said.”But while his international playing career was too short, he still devoted an energetic and cheerful lifetime of support to the game that he loved, contributing right up until his final summer”.Damien Mullins, the chairman of Queensland Cricket, said Archer would be remembered as one of the state’s greats. “Ron was not only an outstanding cricketer, he was a wonderful cricket person and everyone who knew him will miss him enormously,” Mullins said.
Bangladesh’s tour of Zimbabwe will take place in late July after Zimbabwe Cricket finally confirmed dates with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). The five-ODI series will start with a match at Bulawayo on July 29 and conclude eight days later at Harare.Confirmation of the series had been delayed after the Zimbabwe board had asked for the matches to take place in September, but the BCB was adamant that the original timeline as specified by the ICC in its Future Tours Program should be adhered to.Local reports indicate that the BCB is unhappy with the packed itinerary which sees five matches take place in eight days. It is thought that the BCB will continue to press for more rest time to be included between games.What is also unclear is the situation regarding the Zimbabwe players who are contracted to play club cricket in England. At least eight of the side which toured the Caribbean are believed to be in that position, and given that they arrived a month into the English season anyway, the clubs may be loathed to release them.That could account for Zimbabwe’s eagerness to play the series in September, as by then all those players will have finished in England.Draft itinerary July 29 1st ODI Bulawayo July 30 2nd ODI Bulawayo August 2 3rd ODI Harare August 4 4th ODI Harare August 5 5th ODI Harare