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Warwickshire stretched their winning run against Worcestershire by wrapping up a 181-run County Championship victory before tea on the final day as Jeetan Patel picked up four second innings wickets

Press Association12-May-2015
ScorecardJeetan Patel took four wickets as Warwickshire picked up their first wicket of the season•Getty ImagesWarwickshire stretched their winning run against Worcestershire by wrapping up a 181-run County Championship victory before tea on the final day as Jeetan Patel picked up four second innings wicketsSet a victory target of 437 at Edgbaston, the visitors were bowled out for 255 to suffer their sixth successive defeat to their old rivals in four-day cricket. The reverse came as a jolt for Daryl Mitchell’s side after their eye-catching victory over Somerset at New Road last week.But Warwickshire’s first win of the season gets them up and running after two draws and sends them into next week’s intriguing home clash with Durham with some momentum behind them.After resuming on the final morning on 88 for 2, Worcestershire needed at least two batsmen to last a long time and they scrapped hard throughout the morning only for two wickets on the brink of lunch to pitch them into trouble.They got to within 10 minutes of the interval having lost only one wicket in the session, nightwatchman Charlie Morris caught by Rikki Clarke at second slip off Keith Barker. Mitchell and Tom Fell then added 47 in 20 overs with the former dropping the deepest of anchors. The captain formed the backbone of his team’s resistance with a diligent 38 in almost four hours only to perish with lunch beckoning when, undone by extra bounce, he edged Boyd Rankin to Clarke in the cordon.In the next over, Fell was trapped lbw by spinner Patel for 33 and, having been a promising 147 for 3, Worcestershire went into lunch wobbling at 148 for 5.The momentum stayed with the home side in the afternoon. Patel soon picked up his second wicket of the day, and his 500th in first-class cricket, with another lbw decision when Alex Gidman played across the line. Alexei Kervezee chopped Clarke to Laurie Evans at gully and Ben Cox’s engaging counter-attack, 44 from 47 balls with eight fours, concluded with a bottom-edged cut to wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose.Jack Shantry edged Rankin to Ambrose to leave last pair Joe Leach and Sachithra Senanayake needing to find 214 to bring their team victory. Nick Knight and Alan Richardson famously added that many for Warwickshire’s 10th wicket against Hampshire at Edgbaston in 2002 but there was no repeat, Senanayake soon sending a catch to Varun Chopra at slip off Barker to bring Warwickshire victory with 44 overs to spare.”In the first two matches we played quite well in patches without getting over the line and that was a bit annoying,” Patel said. “In this game, again we still did not quite hit our straps, but we showed more prolonged glimpses of the way we like to play cricket and we got the result we wanted. We are getting closer to where we need to be.”We sustained pressure on the opposition for longer periods in this game. The two wickets just before lunch were important but, to be fair, there was always something brewing. Daryl Mitchell batted very well but in the end we got the wickets we deserved.”I was pleased to get to 500 wickets. Before I came to England this year I knew I was pretty close and the main thing was to do the job for Warwickshire and then the wickets would come with that. It is nice to tick the 500 off and now I can get on with the rest of the season.”Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes rued the two wickets before lunch: “There is never a good time to lose a wicket but just before a session ends is even more important. We were put under pressure by the way we batted in the first innings when we were rolled in 42 overs. That puts you in a very delicate position and it’s the real reason why we ended up losing.”You can’t afford to have a bad session in four-day cricket as we have had in the three games we have lost. The nature of the game is to wait for the opportunity to get in front and ram it home and that’s what Warwickshire did ever so well.”Our bowlers did well. They worked tirelessly and wholeheartedly and by the time it got to the stand between Boyd Rankin and Chris Wright, who played ever so well, our bowlers had just run out of juice. That’s because we hadn’t given them enough recovery time while we were batting.”

Glamorgan will go into Thursday’s final day of their LV= County Championship match against Essex in a strong position as they seek their first Division Two win of the season.

ECB/PA20-May-2015
ScorecardGraham Wagg played a key role with bat and ball on an action-packed day•Getty ImagesGlamorgan will go into Thursday’s final day of their LV= County Championship match against Essex in a strong position as they seek their first Division Two win of the season.After batting with positive intent in Wednesday’s afternoon session, they were able to set Essex the formidable target of 364 to win, and then reduce the visitors to 51 for 2 by the close.If Glamorgan do win the game, they will be indebted to some outstanding performances, notably from Graham Wagg, who took four for seven with 15 balls to bring Essex’s first innings to an end, finishing with figures of 5 for 54. Having resumed on 183 for 4, Essex were all out for 221 as they suffered something of a collapse.Glamorgan did not look like they would be able to capitalise as they slumped to 78 for 5 themselves, with David Masters and Jamie Porter able to exploit a pitch of variable bounce, but Wagg and Mark Wallace counter-attacked effectively and took the game away from Essex with a rapid partnership of 98 in just 15.4 overs. It ended when Wagg was out for 43, bowled by Graham Napier.Wallace pulled Napier into the member’s enclosure for six and struck nine other boundaries before he was out for an entertaining 79 off 87 balls. Glamorgan batted so positively throughout the afternoon session that they scored 200 from 35.3 overs – a run rate of five and a half an over.Nick Browne and Jaik Mickleburgh began cautiously in pursuit of the victory target, and it was again Wagg who made the initial breakthrough when he trapped Browne leg before. Mickleburgh should have also departed in the next over but a straightforward chance to first slip was put down.However, he did not last long. With five overs remaining, Mickleburgh slightly overbalanced pushing forward to Andrew Salter’s offspin and was smartly stumped down the leg side by Wallace.Eighteen wickets fell in an entertaining day’s play, putting Glamorgan in charge, and Wallace is confident they can finish the job.”The pitch is a bit up and down,” he said. “We found that when we were batting, and although there were periods when the ball did nothing you knew there was a chance of a lifter at any time. Graham Wagg and I decided to be positive in our partnership and it paid off.”

Brendon McCullum will skip the limited-overs tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa in August because he’s had an “intense period of cricket dating back to the World Cup”

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jun-20155:04

O’Brien: Kane Williamson is McCullum’s natural successor

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum will skip the limited-overs tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa in August because he’s had an “intense period of cricket dating back to the World Cup,” according to an NZC release. McCullum, however, has committed to leading New Zealand in the home and away series against Australia at the end of 2015 and the 2016 World T20 in March, putting to rest recent speculation that he may give up ODI cricket.McCullum has also signed a three-year contract to play for the BBL franchise Brisbane Heat, which is coached by his former New Zealand team-mate Daniel Vettori.NZC said its annual contracting process will be completed next week and the list of players being offered contracts will be announced on July 1.”It’s a critical time for the team,” McCullum said. “We’ve had a very good past 18 months but we’ve got some real challenges ahead of us and we need to keep making progress. This is a young, emerging side with some very big series on the horizon and it’s a really exciting time to be involved.”McCullum, 33, was at the forefront of New Zealand’s exhilarating 2015 World Cup campaign that ended with a defeat in the final, after which he led them in all formats during the tour of England, drawing the Test series, and losing a hard-fought ODI contest 2-3 and the solitary T20 international.Brendon McCullum will get a break ahead of New Zealand’s fixtures at the end of the year•PA PhotosAt the end of the tour, McCullum was non-committal while answering a question about his ODI future, and said: “I don’t know. We’ll wait and see. We’ll let the dust settle on this. It’s been a great year, an incredible summer for us. We’ve scaled some heights that hadn’t been done before from our country … I’ve enjoyed the last two years. The body’s a bit sore at the moment but we’ll see what happens.”Having secured McCullum’s services for another year, NZC chief executive David White said it was “enormous news” for New Zealand. “Under Brendon, the Blackcaps have enjoyed unprecedented success over the past 18 months and to have him remaining at the helm for another year is extremely good news. Brendon has proved himself to be an exceptional player and leader and the side will be much stronger for his presence.”

Jatinder Singh’s unbeaten 65 guided Oman to a shock, six-wicket win over Netherlands, after a four-wicket haul from fast bowler Munis Ansari and Netherlands’ spectacular batting collapse had left them with a target of 136

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jul-2015
ScorecardFile photo – Jatinder Singh hit five fours in his 65•ICCJatinder Singh’s unbeaten 65 guided Oman to a shock, six-wicket win over Netherlands, after a four-wicket haul from fast bowler Munis Ansari and Netherlands’ spectacular batting collapse had left them with a target of 136.Netherlands’ innings crumbled in the last two overs of their innings when they lost five wickets in 10 balls for the addition of only one run, folding from 134 for 5 to 135 all out. Ansari struck three times in the 19th over, getting the wickets of Mudassar Bukhari, Pieter Seelar and Michael Rippon. The three wickets added to Ansari’s earlier dismissal of Roelof van der Merwe, helping him finish with 4 for 15 in his third T20 match. Fast bowler Rajeshkumar Ranpura picked up the final two wickets within four balls of the last over to dismiss Netherlands for 135 and finish with career-best returns of 3 for 30.Netherlands would have rued the collapse given the start they had. Their openers – Stephan Myburgh and Wesley Barresi – put on a 51-run stand in 46 balls, striking six fours and a six between them. However, Barresi’s dismissal in the eighth over stalled Netherland’s progress. Wickets fell at regular intervals as partnerships and boundaries were hard to come by. Max O’ Dowd played a fine cameo – 32 off 21, and Netherlands were soon looking at a 150-plus score, but he could only watch the collapse from the other end.Oman lost Zeeshan Ahmed in the third over in the chase, but a 38-run second-wicket stand between Zeeshan Maqsood and Jatinder Singh got Oman back on track. Although Netherlands did bounce back with three relatively quick wickets, Jatinder steered the chase with an unbeaten 56-ball 65 as Oman reached the target with an over to spare.

Brendon McCullum has blasted the fastest century in Test history, a 54-ball effort that broke the record jointly held by Viv Richards and Misbah-ul-Haq

Brydon Coverdale at Hagley Oval20-Feb-2016Brendon McCullum has blasted the fastest century in Test history, a 54-ball effort that broke the record jointly held by Viv Richards and Misbah-ul-Haq. In his 101st and final Test match, McCullum attacked Australia’s bowlers relentlessly and brought up his milestone by crashing a four over cover off Josh Hazlewood.McCullum celebrated to a standing ovation from the crowd at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, raising his bat to all parts of the venue in his adopted home-town. His effort was two balls faster than the previous record 56-ball century scored by Richards against England in Antigua in 1985-86, which was equalled by Misbah-ul-Haq against Australia in Abu Dhabi in 2014-15.It was all the more extraordinary an innings given that McCullum came in with the score at 32 for 3 in the 20th over, as New Zealand’s top order played watchfully against a seaming ball having been sent in by Steven Smith. Kane Williamson scored 7 and took more balls – 69 – than McCullum needed to get to his hundred.McCullum had been given a major let-off on 39 when he sliced to gully and was brilliantly caught by a diving Mitchell Marsh. However, umpire Richard Kettleborough asked for the third official to check the front foot of bowler James Pattinson and a no-ball was confirmed.

It was on the back of “one or two mistakes” against England and West Indies that South Africa’s campaign turned sour, said captain Faf du Plessis

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Delhi28-Mar-20163:07

‘Bittersweet win for us’ – du Plessis

It was on the back of “one or two mistakes” against England and West Indies that South Africa’s campaign turned sour, said Faf du Plessis after his team had secured victory over Sri Lanka. South Africa failed to defend 229 against England, then scored only 122 for 8 against West Indies, despite having come to the World T20 as one of the favourites.They were comfortable victors against Sri Lanka, however, restricting the opposition to 120 for 8, before running down that total with eight wickets and 14 balls to spare. As a result, South Africa finished third in Group 1, ahead of Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.”We played good cricket leading up to the tournament and we were consistent in the subcontinent, but a World T20 is a do-or-die tournament,” du Plessis said. “If you make mistakes, it’s not like a series where you can come back into the series. We made one or two mistakes against England and they punished us for it. Against West Indies, we made one or two mistakes as well. The teams in a T20 world cup are so close to each other, if you’re not on top of your game, teams will punish you. Tonight was a good example. Sri Lanka made one or two mistakes in their batting, and we capitalised.”Sri Lanka had moved to 45 for no loss in the fifth over, before Aaron Phangiso claimed two quick wickets to slow them. South Africa continued to strike after the ninth over, taking the last eight Sri Lanka wickets for 45 runs. Hashim Amla then led the chase with an unbeaten 56 from 52 balls. Du Plessis said it was disappointing that his team only put on their most complete performance after they had already been knocked out.”We’ve had signs of playing really good cricket through this tournament,” he said. “The England game was as good a batting performance as you will see, but obviously not a great bowling performance. Same thing with West Indies – we didn’t bat as well as we wanted to, although, on that wicket, 10 more runs would have been par. In both games we did one half of the game really well.”Tonight, bowling first – as a team that’s our strength – the bowlers did really well, and we chased down a small total, which is never easy on these wickets. It was really important for us to have a really good partnership to start off with. That was the only way the team will be in trouble – if they get wickets up front. So after the run-out, it was nice that we could make it a bit stable. It is very bittersweet to be going back to South Africa after the World T20. It was not where we wanted to be. We’ve only got ourselves to blame.”There is the possibility now that several of their older players may already have played their last World T20 match. Dale Steyn, AB de Villiers and Amla are all 32, and the next World T20 is scheduled for 2020.”The sad thing is that it’s now four years to the next World Cup – it’s not just two,” du Plessis said. “A few players here won’t be there then. That’s going to be the challenge now for the squad: to try and rest some of the senior players, to see if they want to go to the next World T20. With that you can breed some young players. There’s not a lot of T20 cricket coming up this year, so it will probably take a backseat.”

The Pakistan Cricket Board has increased the number of women’s central contracts from 21 to 22, and retained Sana Mir, Bismah Maroof, Javeria Khan and Asmavia Iqbal in the top category

Umar Farooq04-May-2016The PCB has increased the number of women’s central contracts from 21 to 22, and retained Sana Mir, Bismah Maroof, Javeria Khan and Asmavia Iqbal in the top category. Fast bowler Kainat Imtiaz was moved from category C to D while opener Marina Iqbal has been dropped from B to C.The contract list

Category A (PKR 1,00,500, USD 960)
Sana Mir, Bismah Maroof, Javeria Khan, Asmavia Iqbal
Category B (PKR 85,000, USD 810)
Nida Dar, Anam Amin, Nain Abidi
Category C (PKR 65,000, USD 620)
Sadia Yousuf, Sidra Nawaz, Rabiya Shah, Sidra Ameen, Nahida Khan, Aliya Riaz, Iram Javed, Marina Iqbal, Sania Khan
Category D (PKR 30,000, USD 285)
Muneeba Ali, Almas Akram, Aiman Anwer, Diana Baig, Ayesha Zafar, Kainat Imtiaz

Muneeba Ali, Almas Akram, Aiman Anwer, Diana Baig, Ayesha Zafar are the new inclusions in the contract list. Uncapped players Fareeha Mehmood and Maham Tariq, along with fast bowler Sumaiya Siddiqi, who played nine limited-overs games in 2015, were not awarded a contract.Left-arm spinner Anam Amin, who took 33 wickets in 17 limited-overs matches in 2015, has been promoted to category B from C. Sania Khan, who last played for Pakistan in November 2015, has been demoted from from B to C.”These contracts have been given to women cricketers for their outstanding performance and progress they have shown in domestic and international events throughout the year 2015,” the PCB said in a release. “The one-year contract is effective from January 1, 2016, and is divided into four categories (A, B, C and D).”Despite lacking an organised international calendar, Pakistan Women have put in impressive performances at global events. They beat India and Bangladesh in the group stage of the recently-concluded World T20 in India, but failed to make the semi-final after losing to West Indies and England.

The Blues have a host of talent out on loan that they could look to offload to help raise cash for a summer spending splurge

Getty£12 million – Baba Rahman

Chelsea would likely lose money on the sale of Baba Rahman after signing him from Augsberg in 2015 in an initial £14 million deal; with add-ons meaning the fee could rise to £21.7m. 

However, he has the chance to rebuild his career again after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament while at the Africa Cup of Nations last season with Ghana. 

The defender has since joined Schalke on loan but he has yet to make an appearance for the club. The Bundesliga side agreed an 18-month loan deal at the end of January although they'll be wanting to see a lot more of him out on the pitch if they are to make the move permanent. 

AdvertisementGetty£10m – Marco van Ginkel

Van Ginkel was once hailed as the new Frank Lampard and is proving to be a key player for Eredivisie table-toppers PSV Eindhoven, in his third loan move to the club. 

Such is the 25-year-old's importance to the Dutch club, he is their captain despite not formally being owned by them, and his 12 goals in 25 games have seen him make a healthy contribution to their push for the title. 

PSV tried to include a clause for a permanent move, but they couldn't agree a price with Chelsea, who want to make a profit on the £8 million they paid in 2013 to sign him from Vitesse.

Getty Images£10m – Mario Pasalic

Mario Pasalic has proved himself to be a useful player on his loan spells at Elche, Monaco, AC Milan and now at Spartak Moscow, but he has still yet to play for Chelsea after joining for £3m in 2014. 

He has racked up 22 appearances for Spartak, which have included both Champions League and Europa League games, and his appearances for the Russian club have put him in contention for Croatia's World Cup squad.

There is, however, a feeling that at 23 years old, he would have surely made it at Chelsea by now if he was considered a part of their long-term plans.

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Getty Images£10m – Tomas Kalas

Tomas Kalas has become well known in English football after several seasons in the country, having spent the last two campaigns at Fulham.  

He also helped Middlesbrough gain promotion to the Premier League during his spell with the club and had spells abroad with three other clubs including Vitesse Arnhem. 

The 24-year-old may eventually be sold after only making two appearances for Chelsea, despite being one of the longest-serving players under contract at Stamford Bridge. And the Blues are in a stronger bargaining position, with the player being under contract until 2021. 

With the Russia 2018 semi-finals now set, Goal's editors have put together the best XI performers from the quarter-final round

1Romelu Lukaku | FW | BelgiumThe forward was a force to be reckoned with against Brazil, unsettling the Selecao's back line with his powerful runs and his dominant presence in and around the box. Lukaku assisted De Bruyne's winner with a darting run forward and inch-perfect pass to put Belgium two goals ahead.AdvertisementGetty Images2Kevin De Bruyne | FW | BelgiumThe Manchester City star was clearly up for the match against Brazil and it was his strike from just outside the penalty area that gave Belgium a two-goal lead in what proved to be a 2-1 quarter-final win. 3Antoine Griezmann | FW | FranceA goal and an assist for France earned Griezmann a spot on the team of the quarter-final, with his free kick setting up Varane's strike before a swerving shot, and a bit of good fortune, put Les Bleus two goals up in their 2-0 victory. ENJOYED THIS STORY?

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Getty4Denis Cheryshev | LM | RussiaThe 27-year-old came up with the strike of the round, netting a stunner to put the host nation 1-0 to the good against Croatia in their quarter-final tie, but it wouldn't be enough as the hosts fell in shootout.

As domestic seasons take a break to allow for international action, Goal takes a look at some lesser-known star performers of the campaign so far…

Getty ImagesAgustin Alvarez (Penarol)

WIth Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani entering the twilight of their careers, Uruguay are crying out for a new generation of attacking players to emerge and take on leadership of the national side.

Agustin Alvarez looks to be just that, with the 20-year-old striker having scored on his international debut against Bolivia in September.

That call-up came off the back of a superb year leading the line for Penarol, with reported Real Madrid target Alvarez having netted 20 times in 32 games for the Montevideo outfit since the start of 2021.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesJulian Alvarez (River Plate)

Hype has been building around Julian Alvarez ever since he made his River Plate debut as a teenager back in 2018, but the forward is now beginning to live up to the expectation.

With seven goals and four assists in 11 league games this season – including a double to beat Boca Juniors in the Superclasico – Alvarez has forced himself into the Argentina squad and is now being linked with a host of European clubs as he prepares to enter the final year of his contract.

Getty ImagesAntony (Ajax)

Having helped Brazil claim gold at the Olympics, Antony has returned to club action at Ajax and hit the ground running in 2021-22.

The 21-year-old winger has been toying with defenders week in, week out for the Eredivisie giants, and though his goal and assist numbers might not be eye-catching, his performances certainly are.

So eye-catching, in fact, that Manchester City, Barcelona and Bayern Munich are all purported to be interested in signing the ex-Sao Paulo star.

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Getty ImagesAnastasios Bakasetas (Trabzonspor)

Trabzonspor are one of just two unbeaten teams left in the Turkish Super Lig this season, and a lot of that is down to the form of their star striker Anastasios Bakasetas.

The Greece captain has been in inspired form since arriving from Alanyaspor in January, and so far has five goals and six assists to his name in just 12 appearances this season.

Though no spring chicken at the age of 28, Bakasetas certainly deserves more hype than he currently gets outside of eastern Europe.