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Zimbabwe have included allrounders Malcolm Waller and Greg Lamb in their 15-man squad for the lone Test against Pakistan which starts on Thursday

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Aug-2011Zimbabwe have included allrounders Malcolm Waller and Greg Lamb in their 15-man squad for the lone Test against Pakistan which starts on Thursday. Injured medium-pacer Keegan Meth and allrounder Elton Chigumbura, who picked up a knee injury on match eve, are the only absentees from the squad which memorably beat Bangladesh earlier this month in Zimbabwe’s return to Tests after six years. Chamu Chibhabha was drafted into the side in place of Chigumbura.Lamb, 30, has played 14 one-dayers for Zimbabwe since his debut last year. He makes it to the Test pool after taking three wickets, including that of the experienced pair of Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan, in the tour match against the Pakistanis and following that up with a solid 40.Waller also had a decent outing against the Pakistanis, taking two tail-end wickets before making a brisk 32. He returned to the Zimbabwe set-up for the one-dayers against Bangladesh, after being sidelined for more than 20 months. He was also the fourth-highest run-getter last season in the Castle Logan Cup, Zimbabwe’s domestic first-class competition.Squad: Brendan Taylor (capt), Regis Chakabva, Chamu Chibhabha, Craig Ervine, Kyle Jarvis, Hamilton Masakadza, Tino Mawoyo, Chris Mpofu, Ray Price, Vusi Sibanda, Tatenda Taibu (wk), Prosper Utseya, Brian Vitori, Malcolm Waller, Greg Lamb

Cricket Australia will consider a proposal to allow some Sheffield Shield games to end at twilight next summer

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jun-2011Some Sheffield Shield matches may stretch into twilight next summer as Cricket Australia considers a proposal for a potential step towards discovering the viability of day-night Tests.If the proposal is adopted, play would continue until about 8 p.m. for certain designated matches. However, in what CA called a “half-measure”, the traditional red ball will be used rather than the pink version that has not been fully tested yet.The Australian board’s move comes in the wake of the ICC cricket committee’s recent request for countries to test the feasibility of playing day-night games in the longer versions of the sport at the first-class level.According to the , the topic has already been discussed by CA’s playing conditions committee, and the next step is to identify suitable grounds and dates, depending on the amount of dew and when the sun sets.”We are very conscious of the ICC Cricket Committee suggestion that they would like to see some trials at first-class level in different parts of the world and we have always been very keen on trying to play cricket at times when people want to watch it,” a CA spokesman said.CA have also handed over a bag of pink and orange balls to the ICC for further testing. While Channel Nine has argued for orange, saying it would be better for television viewers, the ICC’s cricket committee thinks the pink ball has more promise.

Australian batsman Sam Robson hit an unbeaten 94 and helped maintain Middlesex’s promotion bid with a six-wicket County Championship win over Division Two rivals Surrey in Guildford

23-Jul-2011
ScorecardAustralian batsman Sam Robson hit an unbeaten 94 and helped maintain Middlesex’s promotion bid with a six-wicket County Championship win over Division Two rivals Surrey in Guildford.The 22-year-old from Paddington, New South Wales, decided the outcome by scoring the sixth half-century of his fledgling first-class career in helping to steer the visitors to their victory target of 189 with 29 overs to spare.Having seen three of his team-mates depart in the space of nine overs, Robson maintained a cool head to lead the visiting run chase with a three-hour stay that included 11 fours and a six. Together with his captain Neil Dexter, Robson added 86 in 17.3 overs either side of tea for the fourth wicket to take their side to the brink of victory before Dexter fell leg before for 31 after an hour at the crease.It was left to Robson, a dual passport holder, to see the visitors to the win line with a back-foot force to the ropes at long-on to give Middlesex 22 points to Surrey’s three. After a circumspect start to their run chase through opening partners Robson and Scott Newman, Middlesex suffered a case of the mid-session jitters in losing three quick wickets.Newman (39) tossed away a good start with a back-foot waft against Zander de Bruyn to be caught behind, then the same bowler darted one back off the seam to pluck out the off stump of Chris Rogers (6).Dawid Malan, the third left-hander in the Middlesex top four, attempted to withdraw the bat against Tim Linley only to steer a catch low to Tom Maynard at third slip to go for four and make it 84 for 3.Robson, crab-like in his stance at the crease but with a penchant for jumping into the air when forcing through the covers, found a willing ally in his skipper Dexter who departed with only 19 needed for victory. At the start of the final day Surrey, who had been made to follow on, batted for just over an hour in adding 73 to their total of 379.Again, it was Friday’s century-maker Maynard who entertained the meagre Saturday crowd with his big hitting and fearless stroke play as he took his boundary count to 17 fours and six sixes. The young Welshman rode his luck and was dropped three times; twice by keeper John Simpson when stood up and more inexplicably by Dexter, who downed a sitter at mid-on, again off the bowling of Corey Collymore.The hosts soon lost night-watchman Linley leg before to Tim Murtagh then Maynard’s career-best knock came to an end on 141 off 101 balls when he took one risk too many and skied off a leading edge to Jamie Dalrymple at slip.Murtagh then took his match tally to 10 for 128 and his season’s championship aggregate to 50 wickets when he snared Stuart Meaker leg-before without scoring. Last man Jade Dernbach holed out to mid-on to give the luckless Collymore a deserved wicket and leave Middlesex a minimum of 80 overs in which to chase their victory target and complete their first championship double over Surrey since 1983.

Ravi Bopara scored his first half-century of the summer as Essex were made to battle for runs on the second day of their Championship match against Glamorgan at Chelmsford

27-Apr-2011
ScorecardRavi Bopara scored his first half-century of the summer as Essex were made to battle for runs on the second day of their Championship match against Glamorgan at Chelmsford. But despite his 61 and 53 from Mark Pettini, the home side still finished 24 short of Glamorgan’s first innings total after being bowled out for 258.By the close the Welsh county had moved to 50 for 1 in their second innings to establish an overall lead of 74. Before the game Bopara, who is desperate to win back his England Test place after gaining the last of his 10 caps in 2009, had scored only 92 runs from six trips to the middle.But after a scratchy start, he reached his 50 from 77 balls with the help of nine boundaries and added one more before he was beaten in the flight by left-arm spinner Dean Cosker and offered a simple return catch. Following Bopara’s departure, it was left to Pettini to add some much-needed steel to the Essex reply.Recently restored to the side, the former captain followed up his unbeaten 67 against Northamptonshire with another half century that consumed 125 deliveries and contained six boundaries.Pettini’s resistance was finally brought to an end when he was caught behind by Mark Wallace to provide Cosker with a further success. Tim Phillips ensured Essex collected their second batting point with a fighting 30 before he became the fourth victim of paceman James Harris, with those wickets coming at a cost of 68 from 22.3 overs.The impressive Cosker finished with 4 for 35 from 21 overs while the other two were claimed by Huw Waters. He removed Billy Godleman and night watchman Davis Masters in the morning during a six-over spell that cost 16. But then a back problem sidelined the medium pacer for the remainder of the innings.When Glamorgan went in again, Gareth Rees and Alviro Petersen moved to 36 without too much trouble before the latter was guilty of a gross error of judgement. He failed to offer a stroke to a Bopara delivery that nipped back and was trapped leg before.Rees should have followed two runs later, but Matt Walker failed to hold on at second slip after Lonwabo Tsotsobe found the edge. That let-off left Rees going into the third day on 25 and with Glamorgan holding the upper hand.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has launched a programme aimed at educating its cricketers and officials on staying clear of corruption in the game and maintaining appropriate standards of conduct

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Apr-2011The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has launched a programme aimed at educating its cricketers and officials to stay clear of corruption in the game and maintaining appropriate standards of conduct on and off the field.”We have held lectures for all the regional teams including coaches who are part of the domestic structure and also for the national under-19 and A team players and support staff,” former wicketkeeper Wasim Bari, who heads the programme, told The participants were given lectures on the ICC’s anti-corruption code and the PCB code of conduct. “We are also telling them how to behave in a dressing room, how to interact with strangers and outsiders and how to avoid getting lured into corrupt practices,” Bari said. “We are preparing them for international cricket.”Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, who are currently serving minimum five-year bans from the ICC’s anti-corruption tribunal for their role in a spot-fixing scandal during last year’s tour to England, were not allowed to take part in the programme. One of the steps for their rehabilitation in the verdicts was their involvement in such programmes.”Since they have appealed against their bans the matter is technically sub-judice,” said Bari. “So we can’t involve them at the moment.”Lectures were delivered in Urdu and a manual based on the ICC anti-corruption code and the PCB’s own code of conduct in Urdu was also distributed. The PCB also plans to hire foreign experts to give future lectures.On Wednesday the PCB also introduced stricter regulations for agents wishing to represent their players commercially, a consequence of the alleged misdeeds of player-agent Mazhar Majeed in the scandal that saw Asif, Amir and Butt punished.The developments are part of initiatives recommended to the board by the ICC’s task force on Pakistan. Last October, in the immediate aftermath of the spot-fixing scandal, a concerned ICC had recommended a series of remedial measures for the PCB to implement in an effort to clean up the game in Pakistan.The task force, headed by ECB chairman Giles Clarke, was deputed to work with the PCB in the implementation.

A round-up of the third day of the tenth round in Division One of the Quaid-E-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Dec-2010Babar Naeem led Rawalpindi to what was ultimately a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Faisalabad with an attacking half-century at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Naeem made an unbeaten, run-a-ball 83, the highest score of the game, as the hosts made light of what could have been a tough chase in a low-scoring game. After 31 wickets had fallen on the first two days, only two fell on the third day as Naeem and Shoaib Nasir added 74 for the second wicket to effectively seal the win and take them to second place in the points table.National Bank of Pakistan moved up to fourth in the table after completing a seven-wicket win over table-toppers Habib Bank Ltd at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal continued to put pressure on Pakistan’s selectors to recall him to the national side; his 70 off 62 ensured NBP raced to their 153-run target. HBL gave themselves a sniff of a chance of getting back into the match with three early wickets, but Kamran and Naumanullah put together an unbeaten 108-run fourth-wicket stand to see NBP home. HBL seamer Sarmad Anwar took two early wickets as NBP were tottering at 45 for 3, before Akmal came in and took the game away from HBL.Islamabad needed only 17.3 overs on the third day to complete a comprehensive win against Sialkot at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad. The margin in the end was an innings and 50 runs, as Sialkot collapsed to 138 all out in their second innings. It was only a slight improvement from their first innings, when they were bowled out for 131 and it was the Islamabad seamers once again who took all the wickets. Nasrullah Khan finished with nine wickets in the match, Fakhar Hussain added two scalps to his first-innings tally of six, and Rauf Akbar, who missed out in the first innings, too three in the second. Sialkot started the day at 51 for 4, and lost wickets at regular intervals on the third morning. Captain Mansoor Ajmad managed 59, but he was one of only four Sialkot batsmen to reach double figures.Multan sunk to their tenth straight defeat, as Karachi Blues beat them by eight wickets at the National Stadium in Karachi. Karachi’s win had been a foregone conclusion since they bowled Multan out for 65 on the first day. The visitors started the third day at 205 for 8 in their second innings, just five runs ahead of Karachi. Mazhar Bashir got a few quick runs on the third morning, getting to 55 not out of 66, and Multan set Karachi an easy 50 runs to win. Seamer Tabish Khan took Multan’s two remaining wickets to finish with 6 for 79 in the second innings and 11 wickets in the match. Karachi lost two early wickets, but didn’t waste too much time, knocking off the required runs in 10 overs.Asad Ali bowled Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited back into their game against Water and Power Development Authority at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground, taking seven wickets in WAPDA’s second innings to restrict them to 257 after they had reached 154 for 3. Asad first removed Nawaz Sardar for 69 before Ali Azmat was run out for 3. Ammer Sajjad and Ahmer Said added 43 before Asad struck again, having Sajad caught behind for 57. The lower order then capitulated, as Asad finished with 7 for 105 to give him match figures of 11 for 174. Chasing 344 to win, SNGPL lost Yasir Arafat without scoring but Naeemuddin, who is not out on 74, added 83 with and Jahanzeb Abdullah and 40 with Khurram Shehzad to take his team to 123 for 2, leaving them requiring 221 for victory on the last day.Pakistan batsman Shoib Malik’s half-century helped Pakistan International Airlines extend their lead over Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited to 249 with two second-innings wickets remaining at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. Malik made a determined 55 after PIA had slumped to 88 for 5 and then 108 for 6, finding enough support in Tahir Khan, who made 24, to add 62 for the seventh wicket. Seamer Rehan Riaz did the damage for ZTBL, taking 6 for 48 from 20 overs.

Injury expert Ben Dinnery has ruled Leeds United captain Liam Cooper out of this weekend’s meeting with Arsenal.

The Lowdown: Cooper’s late withdrawal

Cooper made a long-awaited return to action last month and helped the Whites concede just once in three games, with Jesse Marsch’s side picking up five points against Southampton, Watford and Crystal Palace.

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The 30-year-old was due to start against Manchester City last weekend but pulled out during the warm-up with a knee problem that required a scan.

Midfielder Mateusz Klich replaced Cooper at Elland Road, and it looks as if the centre-back may well miss the trip to the Emirates on Sunday too.

The Latest: Dinnery’s claim

Dinnery, a sports injuries expert and analyst who contributes for Sky Sports, has six injury concerns for Leeds on his Premier Injuries website.

One of those is Cooper, whose current status is listed ‘ruled out’ with a knee problem – the site doesn’t even name a hopeful return date.

Meanwhile, according to Dinnery, striker Patrick Bamford has a May 15 return date following his foot problem.

The Verdict: Wait and see…

Marsch will more than likely provide an injury update to start his pre-match press conference at Thorp Arch later today, with Cooper’s condition obviously a concern.

He helped the Whites stop the rot at the back following his return from a hamstring injury and has been the club’s best-rated defender this season, as per WhoScored.

Therefore, it would be a boost for Marsch and Leeds if Cooper were able to travel to London, so fingers crossed Marsch shares different news to Dinnery.

In other news: Leeds officials sent abroad as Radz plots move for 56-goal attacker. 

Windward Islands beat Jamaica by 17 runs, but both teams went through to the semi-finals since Jamaica still had a better net run-rate than Guyana and Somerset

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jan-2011Windward Islands beat Jamaica by 17 runs at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, but both teams went through to the semi-finals since Jamaica still had a better net run-rate than Guyana and Somerset. Windwards completed their third win after electing to bat and scoring 165, a total that proved a few too many to chase for Jamaica. Windwards’ openers got them off to a brisk start, and then Devon Smith and Keddy Lesporis got half-centuries in quick time. Smith remained unbeaten on 58 off 39 balls. Seamer Krishmar Santokie took three wickets for Jamaica while David Bernard was their most economical bowler, giving away just 20 runs in his four overs.Jamaica lost a couple of early wickets in their chase, and left-arm spinner Gary Mathurin, who was used as an opening bowler by Windwards, stifled their innings, as he bowled a miserly spell of four overs for just nine runs with one wicket. Marlon Samuels and Wavell Hinds resurrected Jamaica’s innings, both getting half-centuries, but they couldn’t score fast enough and ended up falling well short of the target.

In the first match, Somerset had comfortably beaten Combined Campuses and Colleges. Somerest chose to bat, reached 165 and then restricted CCC to 123 in a dominant performance. Nick Compton and James Hildreth did the bulk of the scoring for Somerset, putting together a 90-run partnership for the second wicket. Hildreth stayed unbeaten on 69, and Craig Meschede played a cameo at the end, hammering 26 off 11 balls.CCC were never in the chase, as they lost wickets at regular intervals. Seamer Steve Kirby did the early damage for Somerset, and finished with figures of 3 for 26, and then left-arm spinner George Dockrell put the choke on in the middle overs, taking 2 for 15 in his four overs.

Manchester United have made an offer to sign Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele, according to El Chiringuito journalist Darío Montero (via Sport Witness). 

The lowdown: Big-money player

Signed from Borussia Dortmund in 2017 for what was then second-biggest transfer fee in world football (£135.5m, as per BBC), Dembele has struggled to recapture his best form in Catalunya.

Despite directly contributing to 64 goals in 147 outings for the Spanish giants, the 24-year-old has also missed 96 matches through a variety of injury issues since arriving at Camp Nou.

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With Dembele set to become a free agent at the end of the season (Transfermarkt), a fresh update has emerged from Spain…

The latest: Offer made for Dembele

As per Montero, as translated by Sport Witness, the Red Devils and Paris Saint-Germain are both keen on signing the 2018 World Cup winner.

It is claimed that United are ‘offering’ Dembele a salary between €10m and €15m (£8.4m-£12.6m) per year.

Hailed as an ‘exceptional player’ by team-mate Dani Alves upon the Brazilian right-back’s return to the La Liga club, the 27-cap forward could yet remain at Barcelona should Xavi and the club act quickly.

The verdict: Worth the risk

It is an undoubted gamble to pay such high wages to a player who is so prone to injury, but without the expenditure of a transfer fee, the signing of Dembele has the potential to be a masterstroke for United if they can pull it off.

So far this season, the versatile forward has scored twice and provided 11 assists in 29 appearances across all competitions, highlighting his wizardry with a league-high 2.8 successful dribbles completed per match whilst earning the second-highest overall rating in La Liga with 7.61 (Sofascore).

Considering that the Spanish top flight is Europe’s second-highest ranked league in UEFA’s association club coefficient, it is no mean feat to be a performance leader at that level of football.

Incoming United manager Erik ten Hag will have to choose between Jadon Sancho, Anthony Elanga and Marcus Rashford for the wide attacking berths at present, leaving ample room for a player of Dembele’s proven quality.

In other news: Red Devils in pole position to sign Premier League star…find out more here

In pushing India hard in the drawn first Test, New Zealand restored some pride after their hammering by Bangladesh

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Nov-2010There’s a reason why series between India and New Zealand on the subcontinent have seldom set pulses racing. There was an excellent series in 1969, when only rain thwarted the tourists in their quest for victory, and the contest nearly two decades later saw results in each of the three Tests. Since then though, a combination of placid pitches and ordinary attacks has conspired to produce seven draws in the last nine Tests.As at Mohali in 1999 [Dion Nash] and 2003 [Daryl Tuffey], a New Zealand pace bowler gave India an almighty scare but there simply wasn’t enough support to complete the task. It didn’t help that the pitch was another lifeless Motera special. Between them, Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel bowled 61 overs in the second innings, and the two wickets that they had to show for it came from two obvious umpiring mistakes.”We want to reflect on the positives and where we’ve been in terms of the tour of Bangladesh,” said Vettori after the game. “We’re happy with that, and content, but not satisfied that we couldn’t finish the job. There were a lot of factors for that – the wicket, bowlers not being able to penetrate on the last day and the fact that we had very limited resources.Hopefully, people will take out of it the improvement that we’ve shown. The key for us is to now take the same performance to Hyderabad.”Chris Martin reduced India to a weak-kneed 15 for 5 on the fourth afternoon, but was a far less threatening proposition on the final day. “He said he couldn’t feel his legs in the second session,” said Vettori. “He was hanging in there. He still bowled pretty well. On that fifth day, you want a couple of guys to have short, sharp spells and just keep attacking. Unfortunately, the nature of that wicket and our limited resources didn’t allow us to.”I’d have loved to see us with five bowlers. Hamish Bennett in short sharp spells, and Jesse Ryder would have been a bit of a handful. It would have meant that Jeetan and I could have attacked more as opposed to just bowling and bowling. Whenever you come to India, your concern is taking 20 wickets. We’ve done it once and we’ve got to improve on that.”The biggest gains for New Zealand though were in the batting department. After being embarrassed by Bangladesh’s spinners in a one-day series last month, they defied scoreboard pressure to get within a whisker of India’s first-innings 487. “We knew we needed to show some improvement,” said Vettori. “This wicket was a good one for us to start on. The fact that it was so slow allowed our batsmen to settle in. They got a good understanding of what they need to do to succeed over here. It is everyone’s first Test in India, apart from mine, so it’s a big learning curve. Hopefully, the amount of time the guys batted means they’ll be better for it come Hyderabad.”Having lost two early wickets and then slipped to 137 for 4, New Zealand counter-attacked brilliantly to ensure that India couldn’t just throw the bats around in search of a declaration. For Vettori, that was the most heartening aspect of the performance. “The way the guys stood up, starting with Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor’s partnership,” he said. “Obviously, Ryder and Kane Williamson scoring hundreds. In India, you need to score hundreds. It’s the way you put teams under pressure.”The way those two batted for such an extended period of time and understood the conditions was probably the most satisfying thing. It gave Martin a rest. We’ve said a few times: look what he can do when we give him some rest. He doesn’t get it that often. It showed what you can do over here if you build big partnerships and big totals.”Ryder and Williamson defied India for 281 minutes on the third day and the game was taken away from New Zealand by a similar partnership between Harbhajan Singh and VVS Laxman. “I think that’s where tail-end batting has got to these days,” said Vettori ruefully when asked about Harbhajan’s first hundred. “There’s not too many easy wickets any more. He played exceptionally well. He’s a good attacking batsman and he knows his areas. Some of the shots he played were outstanding and put us back under pressure.”The key in those situations for batsmen like Harbhajan is not to become defensive. He played his natural game and that put pressure back on us. If he’d blocked it, we could have attacked more. But he played so well and so aggressive that he took the game away from us.”As for Laxman, he’s been a familiar tormentor. At Mohali in 2003 and again in Napier last year, he scored hundreds with India precariously placed and though he missed out on three figures this time, Vettori’s admiration was apparent. “Laxman just did what he always does,” he said. “He scores runs. The good players play the same way no matter what the situation. That’s half the battle when you walk out under pressure. He knows his game. He puts the bad balls away and defends good balls. Anyone with that sort of experience and talent, when they come to the middle, you know it’s going to be difficult.”This may go down in the annals of New Zealand cricket as one that got away, but after coming into the series as underdogs, Vettori’s team went a long way towards restoring the plucky reputation that the country’s cricketers have always had. They now need to keep it going at Hyderabad, though for the sake of the game and his bowling arm, Vettori might hope to find a pitch that isn’t such a cadaver.