Sri Lanka will have no practice game ahead of the second Test in Port of Spain from April 3 after the cancellation of their scheduled fixture against West Indies A in Tobago. The match was to be a three-day affair, starting on March 29, but the West Indies board said “flight problems” had led to it being scrapped. The visitors will instead practice in the nets at Tobago’s Shaw Park.Sri Lanka lead the two-match series 1-0 after securing their first Test win in the West Indies at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Wednesday. It has been a disrupted trip for Sri Lanka after heavy rain led to the tourists’ opening practice game, against a Guyana President’s Select XI, being shifted from Bourda to the Providence Stadium.
As the group stages of the Under-15 Challenge got underway, West Indies, who had been beaten in the knockout final on Thursday, beat Bangladesh by 37 runs in Trinidad. In overcast conditions where the ball moved considerably, West Indies recovered from a shaky start to make 237, John Campbell anchoring the innings with 112. Bangladesh struggled despite a battling 80 from Ahamedul Kabir.Ireland had no problems in beating a poor Kenya side by seven wickets as once again the Kenyan batting proved feeble. A score of 110 was never remotely challenging.
Pakistan enjoyed easy pickings when they batted against Netherlands, running up 332 for 5 with Muhammad Naeem making 90 and Mohammad Babar, Ahsan Ali and Zafar Gohar chipping in with fifties. Netherlands were blown away for 102 to give Pakistan a massive 230-run win.The two outsiders produced the closest game as Malaysia edged out ICC Americas by two wickets. Abhijit Joshi led the way for ICC Americas with 64 but there were no other significant contributions as they made 156. Malaysia squeezed home with 20 balls in hand.
The BCCI has appointed former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar as the director of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. Shashank Manohar, the BCCI president, confirmed that Vengsarkar would hold his position in an honorary capacity.Vengsarkar, who is the vice-president of the Mumbai Cricket Association, said he accepted the offer readily, but conceded the job posed a challenging task. He said his priority was to revitalise the NCA, which he felt had become “defunct” and needed to be put back on the tracks.”Over the years it [NCA] has been the supply line for Indian international cricket,” Vengsarkar said. “It is challenging to spot and groom talent from all over India. There is a huge amount of talent in India, but it has to be groomed and nurtured and the NCA can play an important role in that process.”Vengsarkar was of the view that the NCA had become stale over the last few years. “For the last four to five years, it is as good as defunct. And it had no direction. So I will have to focus on the restructuring and make sure that Indian cricket can get good cricketers and we can have a good bench strength.”Vengsarkar will take over from Brijesh Patel, who reportedly had to step down from his position owing to the conflict-of-interest guidelines introduced by Manohar. Patel started his second stint as NCA director last year after the conclusion of the IPL, having served in the same position between 2001 and 2004. Patel is the secretary of the Karnataka State Cricket Association as well as being the director of cricket operations at the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise, positions he has stressed as being honorary.Immediately upon taking over as the BCCI president, Manohar had mentioned that revamping the NCA was part of his immediate goals. “The board would also look into the starting of National Cricket Academy (NCA) again, whose activities are not up to the mark as of date,” Manohar had said. “And we would see to it that the NCA functions round the year so that cricketing talent is developed in this country. Today we are short of the second line. There are no spinners in this country. So it is also our duty to see to it that we have an available lot as a replacement for the current players.”Scouting and grooming talent has been part of Vengsarkar’s strengths in the past. He was the head of the BCCI’s talent and research development wing a decade ago, and then served as the chairman of the national selection committee, positions he believes will help him in his new job. Vengsarkar said he was yet to chalk out a plan, but would present his vision to the NCA board during the first week of December.The NCA board, a BCCI sub-committee, is headed by veteran administrator Niranjan Shan along with Vengsarkar and former India Test opener Chetan Chauhans. The other members on the board are Amitabh Choudhary (BCCI joint secretary), Subir Ganguly (East zone), Prashant Vaidya (Central), Sanjay Desai (South) and Vishal Marwah (North).
Pakistan have picked four uncapped players in the T20I format – batsmen Khurram Manzoor and Babar Azam, fast bowler Rumman Raees, and allrounder Mohammad Nawaz – in their squad for the World T20 in India in March and April. Fast bowler Mohammad Irfan also returned to the squad after missing the recent T20 internationals in New Zealand.They left out opener Ahmed Shehzad from the squad that toured New Zealand in January, along with batsmen Shoaib Maqsood and Saad Nasim, wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan, allrounder Aamer Yamin and fast bowler Umar Gul.Pakistan was supposed to announce their squad by February 8 but delayed doing so because the selectors were unsure about the opening slot. Shehzad’s poor recent form meant his exclusion was inevitable, but the main debate centered around Manzoor. ESPNcricinfo understands that the head coach Waqar Younis has serious concerns over Manzoor’s selection, and that the PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan has been unhappy with the chief selector Haroon Rasheed and has sounded out at least one former cricketer to take his place.The other contenders for the opening slot were Sharjeel Khan and Kamran Akmal but the selectors, after the input of captain Shahid Afridi, preferred Manzoor.Manzoor, who has played 16 Test matches and seven ODIs, has not played for Pakistan in any format since August 2014. His last selection to Pakistan’s limited-overs teams came more than six years ago, in 2009 against Sri Lanka. He scored 309 runs at 28.09 in the domestic T20 competition last year and was not selected by any of the five teams in the ongoing Pakistan Super League. His selection remains the most contentious among the 15-man World T20 squad. The same squad will play in the Asia Cup as well.”While picking the squad, the team management and skipper were consulted by the selectors, and all concerned gave their consent in this regard,” chief selector Rasheed said in a statement. “The T20 team has been selected keeping in mind the conditions during Asia Cup and World T20 and the recent performances of some players in domestic and A team tours. The team is a fine blend of experience and youth and the selectors believe that team will do well in both tournaments.”Pakistan’s bowling unit includes Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz and Anwar Ali while Gul, who failed to impress the selectors on his latest comeback from injury, has been dropped. The selectors, however, brought back Mohammad Irfan, whose inclusion gives the attack a more threatening look. Backing them up is the 24-year-old Raees, who has been among the most economical bowlers in the PSL so far.Pakistan didn’t name a specialist spinner but banked on allrounders Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim and new face Mohammad Nawaz – a left-arm spinner and a full-time batsman.Nawaz, who picked up 10 wickets in the Under-19 World Cup in 2012 in Australia, has been a standout player with both bat and ball in the PSL, where he is currently the top wicket-taker.Squad Shahid Afridi (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed, Babar Azam, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Anwar Ali, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Khurram Manzoor, Rumman Raees
Griqualand West opening batsman Pieter Koortzen walked away with theman-of-the-match prize after scoring an undefeated 107 in his team’s 66-runwin over the Highveld Strikers.It was Koortzen’s second century in as many innings in this competition,following on his 123 against North West seven days previously, and it cameoff 113 balls and included 12 fours.Koortzen and Loots Bosman set the tone with an opening stand of 169 thattormented the Strikers until the 24th over, when Bosman was bowled by CliveEksteen, the only visiting bowler to leave in one piece with figures of twofor 33 off his nine overs.Bosman crashed his imperious 89 off 78 balls with 10 fours and two sixes -one driven straight off Ottis Gibson, the other cut square off DavidTerbrugge.Both strokes were nothing short of breathtaking in their sheer audacity, andit will not help the restoration of the Gautengers’ sense of humour thatBosman hit them after he had been dropped on four by Andrew Hall in theslips off Gibson.If much of this sounds familiar, it could be because a similar whirlwindtore through Kimberley when North West came, saw and were conquered. BesidesKoortzen’s effort, Bosman scored 86 and Griquas totalled 318 for six.So no records were set against the Strikers, except that the 306 for fourwas Griquas’ highest total against the not so mellow yellows.The home side couldn’t get much wrong after the start given them by Koortzenand Bosman, but they suffered a significant wobble when, with Eksteenbowling immaculately, Bosman, Grant Elliott and Brett Tucker were sentpacking in the space of 18 balls.Only for Martin Gidley to join Koortzen at the crease and graft 69 runs off59 balls, hitting six fours and two sixes along the way, in a fourth-wicketstand of 111 that ended in the 43rd over when Gidley was bowled byTerbrugge.The Strikers’ reply had a tired look about it from the start, and their onlybatting of consequence was delivered by Nic Pothas and Zander de Bruyn, whoscored 71 and 72 respectively and shared a partnership of 88 for the fifthwicket.By then, however, the writing was on the wall in two-metre-high neonletters.
ScorecardPeter Handscomb put on 154 runs for the fifth wicket with Marcus Stoinis•BCCI
Temporarily ditching his fast-mediums to try his hand at offspin, Gurinder Sandhu picked up two late wickets to stall India A after a positive beginning to their second innings. Having secured a 33-run first-innings lead thanks to a five-wicket haul from Pragyan Ojha, India A’s top three had extended it to 143 before Sandhu struck to remove Abhinav Mukund. He then removed Cheteshwar Pujara in his next over for the addition of seven more runs. Both wickets came through extraordinary bits of fielding.The first was almost entirely unintentional. Rocking back to a short ball from Sandhu, Mukund slapped it hard but straight towards Cameron Bancroft at silly point. The fielder crouched to evade the ball and ended up holding it aloft after discovering it had lodged itself between his stomach and forearm. In Sandhu’s next over, Pujara whipped him firmly into the leg side, only for Peter Handscomb to throw himself to his left and pluck the ball out two-handed, at full stretch. Pujara stood motionless for a couple of seconds, stunned, before trudging off to the dressing room. Karun Nair and Shreyas Iyer saw India A through to stumps, their lead 154 with seven wickets in hand.Until Sandhu’s reintroduction in unexpected guise, India A were having little difficulty in their second innings. The two teams’ first-innings run rates – India A scored their runs at 2.62 an over, and Australia A at 2.69 – had indicated the difficulty of run-scoring on this slow Chepauk pitch, but with a small lead and a day and a half left, India A began cautiously – going to tea at 20 for 0 after 10 overs – and batted with urgency thereafter.KL Rahul came down the track and launched Steve O’Keefe over long-off in the third over of the final session, before getting out to another aggressive shot, pulling Travis Head hard and flat but too close to deep square leg. The dismissal didn’t dissuade the new man Pujara from playing the pull at every opportunity, as he jumped deep in his crease whenever the spinners dropped marginally short and looked for opportunities to attack them off the back foot.Pujara’s strike rate was in the 70s at one point, but Australia A took Head out of the attack and rotated the seamers from one end, with O’Keefe extracting turn and bounce from the other – he produced an edge from Pujara, on 23, that went quickly to Usman Khawaja and eluded his grasp at first slip – to bring India’s scoring rate back to the mean. With the result of the match perhaps less of a priority than competitive match practice, India A will probably try and push on for quick runs before having two sessions to bowl at Australia A. Sandhu’s late strikes may even have given the visitors a sniff of bowling India A out.In the morning session, Peter Handscomb became the second batsman out in the 90s in this match, after he had extended his fifth-wicket stand with Marcus Stoinis from 110 to 154. Stoinis was the more aggressive of the two early on, drilling Pragyan Ojha to the right of mid-off in the second over of the morning and lifting him over mid-off for another boundary to bring up his fifty two overs later.Umesh Yadav, who was bowling to a 5-4 leg-side field at the other end, gave Stoinis a bit of width to chop him away to the backward point boundary, but tightened his line thereafter and sent down successive maidens. Soon after, Amit Mishra came back into the attack to replace Ojha.All nine wickets credited to India A’s bowlers came from balls bowled from the Pattabiraman Gate End. From that end, the spinners had more of rough to bowl at, outside the left-handers’ off stump, and Ojha had dismissed three of them on the second day. Mishra had looked less effective then, bowling from the Pavilion End and finding minimal purchase. The change of ends, allied to a loopier trajectory, brought him success in only his second over.Flight enticed Handscomb out of his crease, but unlike all his previous forays down the track, this one didn’t end in a pleasing flick or drive. This time Mishra achieved dip and turn to beat Handscomb’s edge as he jabbed uncertainly at the ball, and Naman Ojha completed an easy stumping. Mishra struck again four overs later, dropping a legbreak on a perfect length to bring Matthew Wade halfway forward and spinning it out of the rough to produce a a bat-pad catch to short leg.Stoinis saw Australia A through to lunch in Sean Abbott’s company, but fell soon after the interval, going after Ojha but failing to clear long-off, stationed a fair distance in front of the boundary. Ojha then slipped one past a hoick from Sandhu before Mishra got the last man Andrew Fekete, who was caught at slip while trying to cut one that hurried off the pitch.
Alberto Zaccheroni, former Milan and Inter boss, has launched an unexpected attack on Jose Mourinho, claiming the Portuguese man is ‘worth little’ tactically:
“Tactically, Jose Mourinho is worth little. I asked some coaches to study him in Riscone, during the pre-season, and they would call me every night saying they wanted to leave because they had little to learn there.”
Zaccheroni’s words have come on the back of a season where Mourinho has won three titles whilst the Italian took temporary charge of Juventus and could not finish higher than seventh in Serie A. Zaccheroni went on to claim, incredibly, that Inter Milan would have won those trophies without Mourinho at the helm:
“Mourinho chose to leave because he realised Inter would have triumphed even without him. He is one that always needs an enemy, then he offends and that is something I do not like.”
It seems the Italian is airing a personal disdain for Mourinho rather than a legitimate tactical observation. The truth is that a manager amends his team’s strategy based primarily on the players at his disposal. And it was Mourinho who decided to bring in six of the starting eleven this year in Inter’s Champions League passage.
To say he is limited tactically is unfair because, though his teams’ styles are never breathtaking, they function and react to differing factors at each time of asking. Mourinho has shown an ability to nullify threats from different top flight teams – a reactive process that relies on the manager’s preparation and instructions to his players. To say Mourinho is limited tactically is to say that every manager who has played – and lost – against him, is also tactically limited.
On the subject of a uniformly defensive approach to the game, Mourinho was as loquacious as ever:
“I have played in a UEFA Cup final and two Champions League finals. We won all three and scored eight goals in the finals. When one repeats a lie, for intelligent people it remains a lie. For the rest, it becomes a truth. It’s one thing how one organizes a team, and a defensive scheme is another thing altogether. When a team is organised it defends well – all players are involved in attack and defence.”
As usual, Mourinho attempts to refute quite an obvious claim by paradigm shifting. His teams aren’t ‘defensive’ he says; they’re ‘functional’. Rather than being limited (after all, it is a winning strategy with all of his teams) he is tactically conditioned to a certain style. There are variations, evident instructions in play and more responsibility on show from the attackers, yet it is all contributing to the same overall conservative approach.
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Eight goals in three finals proves little in dispelling the truth that his teams are more concerned with not conceding, with being compact and difficult to break through, than they are with scoring. Ironically it is Mourinho repeating the lie in the hope that it becomes a truth. But we’ll see how long Madrid can afford to let their pride be stung by claims of conservatism throughout the season, and if the tactical conditioning of Mourinho will need redressing.
Romania international Adrian Mutu has lost his appeal and been ordered to pay former club Chelsea over £14million.
The Swiss Federal Court have upheld the decision made by FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport in a legal battle which has lasted over five years.
Thirty-one-year striker Mutu, currently with Fiorentina, was sacked by Chelsea in September 2004 after testing positive for cocaine.
Mutu was handed a seven-month ban from football, prompting Chelsea to sue him as they aimed to recover the money they paid to sign him.
In a statement, the Swiss Federal Court said:"In a ruling on June 10, 2010, the Swiss Federal Court rejected the appeal formed by Adrian Mutu against the decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
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"The CAS ordered the Romanian professional footballer to pay a sum superior to 17million euros to his former employer, Chelsea Football Club Limited (Chelsea)."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
David N’Gog has often been a subject of ridicule from some fans who see the French striker as simply not good enough for Liverpool and pretty much a waste of space. However what many people fail to remember is that he is a young striker that still has plenty of time to improve. A loan move to newly promoted West Brom could finally allow him to grow as a footballer without the weight of expectation around him.
N’Gog moved to Liverpool from Paris Saint-Germain as a 19-year-old and has shown a few glimpses of quality at times, but has yet to look anywhere near the finished article. Unfortunately for N’Gog as soon as Fernando Torres was injured he was immediately thrown into the deep end by starting games, and was instantly expected to be the main man upfront and score the goals for the side. It is a lot of pressure to put a senior pro under, let alone a 19-year-old who has spent barely a year in the country.
Last season proved to be much the same for N’Gog, except Torres was injured a lot more than in the Frenchman’s first year so he played more often and as a result was under even more pressure to perform. However his scoring rate did improve as he scored eight goals in 37 games, and his overall record for Liverpool is 11 goals in 56 games. Although on paper it doesn’t look very good, you have to take into account that the majority of those appearances have been as a substitute and the fact that N’Gog is only 21.
Putting on the red shirt of Liverpool brings a lot of demand and responsibility and it’s hard for a young player to live up to it sometimes. Therefore a temporary switch to West Brom could just be what he needs to further his career.
Manager Roberto Di Matteo has admitted that he wants to bring the young striker to the Hawthorns saying:
“Yes, he is a player we are interested in, but most clubs wait until the end of July and the beginning of August before deciding on which players they might loan out.”
He will be under a lot less pressure if he joins them as the Baggies will almost certainly be considered favourites for relegation, so N’Gog will have nothing to lose as the weight of expectation will not be so strong. Hopefully he would do well for the side and it could be a real kick-start to his career, people are too quick to judge in today’s society and N’Gog needs to be at a club where can be forgiven for making mistakes. West Brom could turn out to be the perfect move for the Frenchman and in turn could see N’Gog return to Anfield with a renewed confidence next summer.
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Click on image to see a gallery of the BEST BABES at the World Cup this summer
Mario Balotelli looks like he could be heading towards an exit from Inter Milan this summer with Manchester City looking like they are in pole position to sign the striker. The temperamental 19-year-old has had his share of well-publicised fallings out with the club and because of his indiscipline, should Premiership managers steer clear of him?
After all do managers really want a player at a club who will try on the shirt of their local rivals, not always give his all in training, will throw his shirt to the ground after a big match and one that will readily criticise and argue back against his manager? Balotelli needs a serious attitude adjustment otherwise he is going to end up as another Antonio Cassano, a player who was full of promise but let his attitude prevent him from becoming a great. Roberto Mancini may feel as though he can get the best out of the Italian and can have a good working relationship with him as he is the man who handed Balotelli his Inter Milan debut in 2007. However should Balotelli decide to throw a strop whilst at Man City it remains to be seen whether or not Mancini could handle him in a way that benefits the club and the player.
Interestingly City’s main rivals for the promising youngster’s signature are said to be Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side may already have a wealth of young strikers at their disposal, but the chance of adding a player of real quality like Balotelli may prove too good to turn down. Despite Mancini having already worked with the striker you can’t help but feel that Sir Alex would be far better at managing him as he wouldn’t stand for any of Balotelli’s antics, and a disciplined manager might just be what he needs. If United do want to sign the troubled striker then they will not be able to compete with City in terms of wages but they will have the pull over City in terms of being a bigger club, so it will be up to the Italian to decide who he wants to join.
Balotelli is extremely talented and if he wasn’t carrying a large chip on his shoulder then clubs would be looking to sign him in a heartbeat. But until he sorts himself out there will be a risk attached to buying him. Perhaps he does need a strong manager like Sir Alex Ferguson to mentor him or he needs someone that he has come to trust like Roberto Mancini. Whatever the case one thing is clear and that is his attitude needs to change immediately, he would be a great signing for the Premiership and a huge loss to Serie A. There is no telling just how good he could turn out to be if he sorts out his indiscipline but he needs to realise this himself before any change can occur.
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Click on image below to see the Argentinean babes at the World Cup
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