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Hampshire will try for a second time to have Shahid Afridi as an overseas player for the Friends Provident t20

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Feb-2011Hampshire will try for a second time to have Shahid Afridi as an overseas player for the Friends Provident t20 after the deal fell through last season due to him captaining Pakistan.Afridi is expected to be available for the full t20 campaign which begins on June 1 when Hampshire, the defending champions, take on Somerset. He was due to be part of the 2010 tournament but captained against Australia before resigning following the first Test at Lord’s.”I was disappointed not to join Hampshire last season. It would have been fantastic to have been a part of the team that made history by winning the t20 trophy on home soil,” Afridi said. “Having played at The Rose Bowl for Pakistan last year I know that it is fast becoming one of the best places in the country to watch cricket of all levels. I hope very much to play a big part in the club’s success in 2011.”Afridi has a Twenty20 strike-rate of 159.84 and his bowling is also a highly valuable asset in the shortest format bringing him 98 wickets at 19.03 alongside an economy rate of 6.35″Shahid is a wonderful all-round cricketer and will be a real asset to our club over what should be an incredibly exciting summer at The Rose Bowl,” Giles White, the Hampshire manager, said. “This year we’ll see Test match cricket come to the county for the first time, more improvements made to our ground and, of course, Hampshire will be hoping to defend our t20 crown.”

They lost a wicket in each session on day three and whittled their deficit to 63 by stumps

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando21-Jan-2020
Angelo Mathews and Kusal Mendis led Sri Lanka’s steady progress on day three, as the visitors finished just 63 runs adrift, with six wickets still in hand. They lost a wicket in each session on what was a still placid Harare Sports Club surface. The most likely route to a result in this Test may be for Sri Lanka to establish a big lead in the first innings, then dismiss Zimbabwe cheaply.While Mathews started slowly, making only 18 runs off his first 61 deliveries, Mendis ticked the score over through the first session. Although both batsmen were tetchy against Zimbabwe’s seam bowlers, who got more lateral movement off this surface than Sri Lanka’s quicks had, they were confident against the hosts’ spinners, who even by the end of the day had failed to seriously impose themselves on the match. Mendis was ruthless on errors of length in particular, favouring the slap-pull that is a hallmark of his game.He reached fifty off the 118th ball he faced – a slower rate of scoring than is typical for Mendis, but understandable given the nature of the surface, and the fact that this was his first half-century in four Tests. Soon after, he would surge into the 60s, by hitting three consecutive fours off Sikandar Raza’s first over, as the bowler repeatedly bowled either too short or too full. Mendis’ eventual dismissal came against the run of play, as he drove at a full, wide delivery from Victor Nyauchi, and edged the ball to wide slip. He had made 80 off 163 deliveries.By the time Mendis was dismissed, Mathews had settled a little. Although he played and missed frequently at the start of his innings, and had also been nervy between the wickets, he had applied himself admirably despite all this, and was 36 off 119 balls when he got a new partner. He continued to bat sagely, defending more-or-less impeccably, though waiting for only the most egregious bowling errors to attempt a boundary. When he got to fifty, off the 154th ball he faced, he had hit three fours and a six – every one of those off a spin bowler. In fact, he’d only hit one four off the seamers the entire day, a beautifully timed flick off his thigh off Donald Tiripano in the 96th over. He ended the day eight runs short of a well-deserved century, though his strike rate was down at 36.Zimbabwe will perhaps feel that they should have got more than three wickets for their own perseverance on this docile pitch. They beat the bat of virtually every Sri Lanka batsman, and debutant Nyauchi was particularly threatening in the morning session. He had opposition captain Dimuth Karunaratne flicking aerially to short midwicket in the first session – Ainsley Ndlovu taking an excellent low catch. He also dismissed Mendis shortly before tea, and later finished the day with 2 for 38 from 22 overs, his economy rate an outstanding 1.72.The only wicket that didn’t fall to Nyauchi in the day was that of Dinesh Chandimal, and that was a stroke of extreme luck. Chandimal had deadbatted his way through most of the 31 deliveries he had faced, when he attempted to push a Sean Williams ball down the ground, but only managed to hit it on to his boot. The ball then leapt up towards Williams, who snaffled it and appealed for the catch. Replays suggested the ball had not hit the ground thanks to Chandimal’s boot. He was out for 12.That dismissal was partly the result of Zimbabwe delaying to take the second new ball, as Chandimal was dismissed in the 82nd over. They did eventually take the new ball after 88 overs, but Dhananjaya de Silva seemed at ease at virtually everything Zimbabwe threw at him late in the day, and progressed to 42 not out off 73 balls.

The wristspinner complained of shoulder pain on the eve of the Ranchi Test

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Oct-2019Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem has been added to India’s squad on the eve of the third Test against South Africa in Ranchi, with Kuldeep Yadav having complained of shoulder pain on Friday.Nadeem has been a consistent performer in domestic cricket for several years, and has the distinction of having taken more than 50 wickets in a Ranji season in consecutive seasons, in 2015-16 and 2016-17. He has been a regular part of India A squads, and had good returns in each of his last three series in the longer format, all with India A. He took seven wickets in two matches against England Lions in February, at an average of 24.57. When India A travelled to West Indies in July-August, he played in two of the three first-class fixtures, taking 15 wickets at an average of 16. He did well against South Africa A at home too last month, with eight wickets in two matches at 16.75.He has also done well in other formats, and notably holds the world record for the best-ever List A figures, which he achieved last year.Nadeem had just returned home to Kolkata, where he resides, after having played for Jharkhand in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019-20, when he received news of his call up. Jharkhand were part of Group A in the tournament, but didn’t qualify for the knockouts.Nadeem received his maiden India call-up for the T20I squad during West Indies’ tour of the subcontinent last year but did not feature in any game. Incidentally, the JSCA Stadium in Ranchi is Nadeem’s home ground.His call-up provides India with an option in case they need to use the new concussion substitute rule for a spinner. While R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have been India’s first-choice spinners in the first two Tests, the addition of Nadeem gives the team an option in case one of them needs a back-up midway through the Test, which India might not have had otherwise considering Kuldeep’s injury.

Sydney Thunder coach is currently working with New Zealand, but is wary of international ‘grind’

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Nov-2019Shane Bond has registered his interest in becoming England bowling coach, with the role currently vacant following Chris Silverwood’s promotion to head coach.Bond, who is currently filling in for Shane Jurgensen as New Zealand’s bowling coach for the final games of the ongoing T20I series, already has several coaching positions around the world. He is Sydney Thunder’s head coach, bowling coach at Mumbai Indians, and will be an assistant coach at Southern Brave.He was previously a bowling consultant for England ahead of the first two Tests of the 2017-18 Ashes series, and said the role would “definitely” be of interest.”I think you look at everything that’s put in front of you, wherever the opportunities come up,” Bond said. “There was a massive clearing of the decks after the World Cup and coaches moved not only in the franchise world but in the international world as well.”I know all the English guys. I caught up with them in Christchurch when they down for their pre-season tournament [T20 warm-up fixtures]. I really enjoyed being with the team and liked the guys.”Whatever you’re doing as a coach, you want something that’s going to excite you, hopefully make you better, present a different opportunity – I think you look at everything that comes across your door.”But Bond may prefer to avoid the “grind” of an international role, and instead continue in his various positions on the global T20 circuit.”The biggest challenge of the international game is the grind of a coach,” he said. “Look at England in particular: 300 days a year on the road, it’s challenging on family life. Whether it’s coaches or players, good management of people is paramount.”Bond, who was capable of bowling at speeds well over 90mph during his own playing career, also backed Jofra Archer to star in the upcoming Test series.”I think you can see the impact he and someone like Lockie Ferguson had at the World Cup – the two teams who made the final arguably had the two fastest bowlers.”When you’ve got bowlers who operate over 150kph [93mph] and can bowl like those two can, then it’s never comfortable, particularly when you get down to [the tail]. There’s no doubt Jofra’s going to have an impact in the Test series coming up.”Meanwhile, the 11 players in England’s Test squad who are not playing in the T20 series have arrived in Auckland, where they will train before linking up with the rest of the touring party next week.The Test specialists will train with Darren Gough, who has been brought in for two weeks as a bowling consultant, and batting coach Graham Thorpe. They begin the tour with a two-day warm-up match in Whangarei on November 12.Joe Denly was back in the nets after his ankle injury•Getty Images

Joe Denly continued his recovery at England’s T20 nets session in Napier, after being ruled out for the series after straining ligaments in his right ankle. While still not fully fit, Denly had a bat and did some running and fielding in training, and it looks likely that he will be available for selection in the first Test at Mount Maunganui, which starts on November 21.Denly is likely to bat at No. 3, with Dominic Sibley expected to open the batting alongside Rory Burns in the series, and his return represents a blow to Jonny Bairstow. Bairstow, who is set to return for the final two T20Is after England’s defeats in Wellington and Nelson, had been placed on standby as a potential replacement if Denly was not fit in time for the first Test following his own omission from the Test squad, but instead looks likely to miss out.

Australia’s newly manufactured Twenty20 teams will make extensive raids on West Indies cricket.

Daniel Brettig18-May-2011Australia’s newly manufactured Twenty20 teams will make extensive raids on West Indies cricket as the only readily available source of international talent for next summer’s expanded Big Bash League.Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo, all unavailable from their national side’s current Test series against Pakistan due to the Indian Premier League, will be the most sought-after players, but others like the stylish young batsman Darren Bravo, speedster Kemar Roach and the captain Darren Sammy will all be wooed by the eight franchises.Such a vast raid on Caribbean playing stocks is sure to add to problems of disunity and disconnection between the players, their union and the West Indies board, who have fought out a long series of public arguments over a myriad of issues.While Gayle (Western Australia), Pollard (South Australia) and Dwayne Bravo (Victoria) all have previous relationships with certain states, they are likely to field plenty of additional offers for their services as administrators come to terms with the fact that marquee names will be in short supply at the time of the competition.During the tournament’s December/January timeslot, West Indies are the only international team not heavily committed to bilateral tours. India has quickly ruled out allowing its touring players to take part in between matches against Australia, while South Africa, Sri Lanka, England, Pakistan, New Zealand, Bangladesh and even Zimbabwe have international commitments.England limited-overs players may be available pending the release of the schedule for matches against Pakistan, while the likes of Shahid Afridi and Lasith Malinga should also be accessible. Muttiah Muralitharan has elected to play in New Zealand’s T20 competition rather than returning to Australia.A desire for marketable players has been made all the more intense by the creeping realisation that Australian cricket audiences seem unlikely to warm instantly to the concept of fabricated teams, having been initially drawn to domestic T20 cricket by the combination of a bright new format, cheap ticket prices and the pre-existing traditions of state versus state.Negotiations between Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers Association over the MOU governing player payments are close to compromise if not complete resolution, and the broad terms of player recruitment have become clear. Free agency will allow players to pick the team of their choice, while a $1 million salary cap will be put in place without a maximum contract stipulation, allowing sides to offer a particularly lucrative deal to players of Gayle’s ilk. Two overseas players will be allowed per team, although it will be possible, as in the IPL, to recruit more imports and rotate them through the XI.The relationship between BBL and state contracts is complex, with one-team states seemingly in a better position to offer two contracts to their most valued players while New South Wales and Victoria will have less to offer their best players due to the presence of two sides. State administrators believe it would be most equitable to open up the BBL recruitment window only after state contracts have been finalised, though the practicalities of such a move are becoming increasingly cramped by a lack of time.

Sri Lanka and West Indies will play each of their three ODIs, in the series scheduled to start on January 31, at the SSC in the Colombo and not at the country’s venues for next month’s World Cup, as was planned earlier

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2011Sri Lanka and West Indies will play three ODIs, in the series scheduled to start on January 31, at the SSC in Colombo and not at the country’s venues for the 2011 World Cup, as was planned earlier. ICC rules, according to Sri Lanka Cricket’s media manager Brian Thomas, only allow teams to practice but not play international matches at World Cup venues just prior to the tournament.”The World Cup venues for matches have been officially handed over to the ICC this month and ICC rules allow us to practice but not play until the World Cup starts,” Thomas told . The three ODIs will all be day games, though Hambantota and the renovated Premadasa Stadium in Colombo were earlier scheduled to host day-night matches during the series.The ODIs were postponed to the end of January after rain had marred West Indies’ Test series in Sri Lanka last year.January 31: First ODI, SSC
Feb 3: Second ODI, SSC
Feb 6: Third ODI, SSC

Leeds United have been handed a transfer blow with Rangers star Ryan Kent keen to stay at Ibrox for at least another 12 months.

That’s according to sources provided to Football Insider, who claim that Kent wants a crack at the Champions League under Steven Gerrard next season.

The report claims that Victor Orta and co ‘will move on to other targets’ as a result, six words that appear to end the club’s interest in Kent for good.

Orta already has a list of potential wide forward targets drawn up, and it seems as if he’ll be looking at that over the coming months following the update on Kent.

Transfer Tavern take

Although Kent could have proved to have been a solid signing by the Whites, we have total confidence in Orta pulling off another shrewd attacking acquisition.

Orta sealed arguably one of the signings of the season last year in Raphinha’s £17m move on deadline day, with the Brazilian Leeds’ best-rated performer in the club’s first campaign back in the top flight, as per WhoScored.

It doesn’t look as if Kent will be heading to Elland Road, but that allows Orta to explore other attacking options to bolster Marcelo Bielsa’s squad as they look to build on an impressive campaign, and if his scoop for Raphinha is anything to go by, he certainly knows how to find a bargain in the crowded market for quality attacking players.

In other news: Phil Hay drops major hint on Leeds’ summer transfer plans involving Kalvin Phillips, find out more here. 

Back in February, Chinese New Year was celebrated by welcoming in the year of the Ox; a stern animal with horns so fierce they could pierce a hole through your skin.

Coincidentally, the year of the ox is turning out to be fiercely similar for Sunderland. They have been a rampaging animal, a team who aren’t letting anybody stand in their way of promotion.

They are third in League One at the moment, five points off top spot with a game in hand. A place in the Championship, therefore, is well and truly in their hands.

If they do go up, then it looks as though a spending spree could take place. It’s already been revealed that Kyril Louis-Dreyfus is sitting on a mere £60m to invest in the club – hopefully on transfers.

Of course, they won’t spend all of it one go but a player who could help them start life in a new division with a bang is Jordan Jones.

Like an Ox, the Rangers loanee has been bullish in his approach since arriving, penetrating holes in the opposition defence with unrelenting energy and force.

Charlie Wyke may have stolen the show in the early stages of the campaign, but it’s Jones who has helped to take Lee Johnson’s side to a new level during the run-in.

He recently missed four games, including the EFL Trophy final with a muscle injury, but he was back to his breathtaking best against Oxford United on Good Friday.

With an ingenious moment of trickery, the winger beat Jamie Hanson with absolute ease, leading him a merry dance like some sort of matador before pushing the ball past him following two step-overs.

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It was a flash of brilliance that was worth his weekly salary 10x over as he skipped past the defender and then laid the ball on a plate for Lynden Gooch to fire home.

Such has been his brilliant start to life south of the border, he now wants to stay. Football Insider reported this week that Jones was keen on sealing a permanent switch to the Stadium of Light.

With the likes of Stoke and Middlesbrough also in the race to sign him, a Championship berth will surely be crucial to Sunderland’s chances of luring him back from Glasgow.

It would be an excellent piece of business, one that helps the Mackems’ new owner to lift the club from the doldrums of League One to a club in with a chance of reaching the Premier League again.

The nine cap Northern Irishman is a cut above the third tier and in the words of Kevin Phillips, the forward has “real class”.

Jones took a while to settle in the north-east but the 26-year-old has been nothing short of exceptional in recent months. In his last four outings, the Rangers man has three assists and one goal to his name.

A player with pace, trickery and energy, he typifies Sunderland under Johnson. He’d be an exquisite capture if they go up.

AND in other news, Sunderland must swoop for 25 y/o “great character”, he’s already terrorised McFadzean…

Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that Everton will be without their top-scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Friday night, a match you can bet here on.

The Toffees boss had hoped to see Calvert-Lewin return from an abductor muscle problem to lead his side’s charge, after missing Monday’s goalless draw with Brighton & Hove Albion despite travelling to the Amex Stadium.

The Seagulls affair was only the fourth Premier League fixture that the 14-goal frontman had sat out this term, following spells on the sidelines with separate hamstring injuries in January and February.

Ancelotti fielded Richarlison and James Rodriguez at striker but failed to see either deliver the needed impact to beat Graham Potter’s south coast side, as the Brazilian struggled for service and the Colombian found himself marked out of the game.

Ancelotti will now need to see his forwards step up if Everton are to beat Tottenham on Friday night and move above the north Londoners into seventh place, after confirming that Calvert-Lewin will be absent once again.

“Available for the game are Jordan Pickford, Allan, Joshua King and Andre Gomes. In the next week, we are going to have Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Yerry Mina, Fabian Delph and Bernard [back],” the Blues boss said on Thursday.

“It will be longer for [Jean-Philippe] Gbamin and [Abdoulaye] Doucoure. Gbamin doesn’t need surgery, but he will be out for at least eight weeks. The plan for him is to be back for the start of the new season.”

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Calvert-Lewin returning next week could see the striker be made available for Everton’s trip to Arsenal on Friday 23rd, who currently trail the Merseyside outfit by three points and having played a game more.

But Ancelotti will be gutted to be facing Tottenham without his top-scorer, who has 19 goals and four assists over 32 games in all competitions this season, knowing his side struggles to play to the same rhythm without the 24-year-old on the field.

Calvert-Lewin gives Everton a focal point in attack and a teammate for Richarlison to bounce off, while offering an aerial presence in the opposition’s penalty area.

No Toffees player contests (8.7) or wins (4.4) as many aerial duels per Premier League game than Calvert-Lewin has this season, with left-back Lucas Digne contesting the second-most (4.5) and Mina winning the second-most (3), per WhoScored.

Richarlison led the game for aerial duels contested against Brighton on Monday with six, but only two of those challenges came in an offensive situation – one less than Digne (3).

Calvert-Lewin’s ability to occupy defender’s thoughts is just one reason why Rio Ferdinand has lauded the England international and claimed that players would fear coming up against him.

“I’ve watched a lot of Everton this year and he’s one that unnerves defenders,” Ferdinand said on his FIVE YouTube channel. “He’s not one you want to play against week in, week out. He’s aggressive, he attacks the ball.”

It will be a huge blow for Everton’s hopes of beating Tottenham to be without Calvert-Lewin, in what is almost a must-win match if Ancelotti is to see the Goodison Park natives qualify for a European competition this season.

AND in other news, an “outstanding” talent is keen to join Everton this summer, but there’s a hitch…

David Moyes is right to try and sell Andriy Yarmolenko this summer amid claims that West Ham United are in talks with Dynamo Kyiv over such a move.

What’s the word?

According to Pedro Almeida, Dynamo Kyiv are keen to be reunited with the 31-year-old and want to welcome the forward back to the Ukrainian Premier League at the end of the season.

Yarmolenko played 340 games for the Ukrainian club between 2007 and 2017, before joining Borussia Dortmund, where he only lasted one year. West Ham bought him one season after his arrival at Signal Iduna Park for £17.5m and awarded the winger a four-year contract, which is set to enter its final 12 months this June.

The 31-year-old could now make a return to the club where he made a name for himself, with West Ham claimed to be in active negotiations with Dynamo Kyiv over a potential deal. Yarmolenko has seen his future in claret and blue be cast into doubt over recent months, with reports earlier in the year suggesting that bids of between £5m and £6m would be considered.

The Hammers are thought to have accepted that a sizable hit on the fee paid to Borussia Dortmund will need to be taken in order to move Yarmolenko on at the end of the season.

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Should West Ham sell Yarmolenko?

It remains to be seen what terms Dynamo Kyiv are able to offer West Ham for Yarmolenko’s services, but Moyes is absolutely right to make the winger available for a transfer ahead of the Ukraine international entering the final year of his Irons contract.

Yarmolenko has been a consistent injury risk for the Hammers since his arrival in 2018, having missed 57 games and counting across all competitions due to various issues including Achilles, back, abductor and knee ligament damage.

The forward returned to training prior to the March international break but is yet to feature in one of Moyes’ matchday squads since, and he has only started eight first team fixtures – one in the Premier League – over 21 appearances thus far this term.

Those eight starts still account for more than a third of Yarmolenko’s career opening calls in claret and blue, having started just 23 matches in all competitions across his 53 appearances over the past three seasons.

West Ham are paying out a lot of money for Yarmolenko to frequently occupy a seat on the bench when not in the treatment room, with the forward – who Moyes lauds as “a very talented player” – the Irons’ top earner on a £115,000-a-week contract, per Spotrac.

That salary has seen West Ham hand over £16.4m in wages over Yarmolenko’s 143 weeks at the London Stadium thus far, which – added with the £17.5m paid to Dortmund – equates to £1.5m for each start or £640,000 per appearance.

Yarmolenko has simply been stealing a living at West Ham, who need to call time on his spell at the club this summer. It just remains to be seen how much they can recoup from Dynamo Kyiv, or whether another suitor may be willing to show an interest.

AND in other news, David Moyes eyes a summer reunion with £75k-p/w enforcer who looked “like he’s on roller-skates” in 2020…