Inzamam-ul-Haq, the former Pakistan captain, has expressed his interest in playing county cricket in a bid to regain his Test place.”I have offers from league clubs in England but I want to play for a county to ascertain my form and fitness for a place in the Test team,” Inzamam said. “I am training hard and am fit. I played a one-day match at the weekend and will continue my efforts to get into the Test side.”Pakistan selectors have said Inzamam will have to prove his fitness to get a place in the home series against South Africa in late September this year. However, there are no further domestic matches in Pakistan, meaning Inzamam is looking to England to gain match practice.”I have been in touch with people,” he said, “and if there is a place vacant in the county I would definitely like to go and play.”Inzamam, who retired from ODIs after Pakistan’s disastrous World Cup and resigned from the Test captaincy, has never played for a county in a long and illustrious career. Although the Pakistan Cricket Board left him out from their list of centrally-contracted players, the country’s chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed said “the doors of Test cricket are open for him”.Pakistan’s one-day team are in Scotland for two one-dayers, against the hosts on Sunday at Edinburgh before facing India in Glasgow next Tuesday.
According to John Buchanan, Australia’s coach, the national selectors want Shane Watson to prove he can hold down the No. 6 slot in Tests. After Watson smashed an unbeaten 161 against Pakistan A in Darwin during the ongoing Top End Series, Buchanan said the time was ripe for the young allrounder.”Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson … they really need to be able to give the selectors confidence that they can hold the No. 6 batting spot down, if they are to be considered as allrounders,” Buchanan told reporters. “They need to provide the selectors with confidence that they can bat in that No. 6 position and that will be their first priority from a selection point of view.”In the three Tests he has played, Watson’s average is 20.25. His nearest rival for the place in the Ashes is Symonds, who averages just 19.06 in ten Tests. Buchanan felt that batting aside, the ability to bowl spells in Tests was also a priority for the selectors. “To be able to bowl a certain number of reasonably tidy overs to either rest the fast bowlers or provide back-up to a spinner or a spin duo, is really what the selectors are looking for.” Both Watson and Symonds have enjoyed strong bowling performances in one-day cricket, but neither has stepped up in the five-day format.Buchanan hinted that Brad Haddin, the New South Wales wicketkeeper and Australia A captain, had done enough to keep the selectors interested in his capabilities. “Everybody who is up there is under the selectors’ eyes. [Selectors] Andrew Hilditch and David Boon are up there in Darwin,” Buchanan said. “Brad [Haddin] is obviously is the man next in line at this stage to succeed Gilly [Adam Gilchrist], so it’s the same sort of thing. Really every opportunity he gets he puts his name forward.”
Essex have confirmed the signing of the South African fast bowler Andre Nel, as their temporary overseas player, subject to gaining a work permit. Nel replaces the New Zealand all-rounder Andre Adams, who is due to play for his country on their proposed tour of Zimbabwe.
Nel, who turns 28 on Friday, will be available for Essex’s Championship match against Derbyshire on August 16, until the match against Australia on September 3-4.The Essex chief executive, David East, is delighted to have secured the services of a bowler of international class. Speaking to Essexcricket.org.uk, he said: “Andre will offer us an extra injection of pace into our attack at what will be a crucial stage in our season.”Nel represented Northamptonshire in 2003. His attacking style of bowling will be welcomed by Essex who, a few weeks ago, lost Alex Tudor for the rest of the season due to injury. Nel has taken 62 wickets for South Africa, and was instrumental in their Test series victory against the West Indies, taking 17 wickets at 17.29 apiece.
After the Steve Harmison-led battering in the Test series and a spirited England fightback in the one-dayers, West Indies have to prepare for a new opponent. Bangladesh have arrived, on their first-ever visit to the Caribbean, and go into the double-header at St Vincent in high spirits.The Bangladeshis posted a morale-boosting three-wicket win in a low-scoring opener against the West Indies Cricket Board XI, a team which contained Wavell Hinds, Pedro Collins and Jermaine Lawson. Habibul Bashar, the Bangladesh captain, found form with a steady 47, while Manjural Islam Rana, the slow left-armer, and Khaled Mahmud snared seven wickets between them.Dav Whatmore, the Bangladesh coach, was realistic about his team’s chances and said, “Every opposition is formidable to Bangladesh at the moment.” However, Whatmore believed that Bangladesh had shown clear signs of improvement in the series against Zimbabwe, and insisted that the victory in the third one-dayer couldn’t be entirely attributed to Zimbabwe’s complacency.”I’d like to think that when Bangladesh win it’s not because the opposition is being complacent. I think there is enough evidence to suggest that the Bangladesh team is on the right track and can push the opposition in every match of this one-day series.”Yet, anything short of a West Indies clean-sweep will be seen as an upset. They will be without Brian Lara for the first two matches. Ramnaresh Sarwan, who will lead the team in Lara’s absence, warned against complacency and rubbished the thought of Bangladesh being pushovers. “Myself and the coach and the manager have been speaking to the players after the end of the England series so that we don’t under-rate anybody. The biggest concern would be getting complacent against Bangladesh.” They recalled Sylvester Joseph to the side, while Tino Best is set to make his one-day debut.Bangladesh have played 50 one-dayers after that glorious day in Northampton when they upset Pakistan in the World Cup. It has been a forgettable half-century, with the lone sparkle being the recent win against Zimbabwe. But this Caribbean summer has been about defying history – England winning a Test series here after 36 years, Lara’s epochal innings. Dare we suggest it, but it’s probably the ideal time for Bangladesh to pull the cat out of the bag.West Indies 1 Ramnaresh Sarwan (capt), 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 4 Ricardo Powell, 5 Sylvester Joseph, 6 Dwayne Smith, 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Ridley Jacobs (wk), 9 Ian Bradshaw, 10 Tino Best, 11 Fidel Edwards.Bangladesh (from) Shahriar Hossain, Manjural Islam Rana, Habibul Bashar (capt), Rajin Saleh, Mohammad Ashraful, Alok Kapali, Mushfiqur Rahman,Khaled Mashud (wk), Khaled Mahmud, Mohammad Rafique, Tapash Baisya,Faisal Hossain, Hannan Sarkar, Tareq Aziz, Abdur Razzaq.
Geoffrey Boycott has revealed that he is close to returning to work following his successful battle to overcome throat cancer.Boycott, 63, was diagnosed last autumn with cancer and immediately started a course of intensive chemotherapy which led to him losing over 35lbs (16 kgs). At one point, Boycott was having five chemo sessions a day, and he was so weak that he had to be fed by having nutrients pumped into his stomach.In January he was told that the primary cancer, and two secondary growths which were subsequently discovered, had responded to treatment, and in April he married Rachael Swinglehurst, the mother of his daughter, Emma. “I don’t know what I would have done without her,” Boycott told the Daily Telegraph. “She has been a tower of strength.”Robin Smith, the Yorkshire president, told the newspaper that he had been in regular touch with Boycott. “Geoffrey’s very much back to his old self and, when I last spoke to him, the only difference I could notice is that his voice is a little gruffer, which is hardly surprising given what he has been through,” said Smith. “He has to continue seeing his oncologist on a regular basis but the signs are that he may be able to return to work in a couple of months or so.”
They say artists have to be dead before they receive the public recognition they deserve. Sportsmen usually have to retire before they attract the universal adulation denied them during their playing days. However, every once in a while, there is a character who manages to transcend local partiality to become something of a national icon.Philip Clive Roderick Tufnell is one such player. The Middlesex slow left-armer has just reached a notable milestone in what might be termed a colourful career, in that he has just taken his 1,000th first-class wicket. Only 202 men had achieved that feat before in the entire history of the game. The significant wicket was, in his own words, “a bit of a grubber” but it did bowl the Australian contracted player Martin Love, Durham’s overseas player.The start of this long wicket-taking trail was back in 1986, but not until his third match. After wicket-less appearances against Worcestershire and Lancashire, he finally struck when Roland Butcher caught Surrey wicket-keeper Jack Richards at Uxbridge. It was much the same story in Test cricket. His debut came at Melbourne in the Second Test of the 1990/91 tour, during which he bowled 21 overs in the first innings and 24 in the second. The figures were respectable but the wickets column remained blank.A few days later, however, he played in the Fourth Test in Sydney and in the Australian first innings, with the score on 512 for 8, Greg Matthews’ knock of 128 came to an end with the help of a catch from Eddie Hemmings. The bowler was none other than P.C.R. Tufnell. In the second innings, he had figures of 37-18-61-5 and, as well as Terry Alderman, he claimed the scalps of David Boon, Allan Border, Dean Jones and Ian Healy. Not a bad bag.That should have been the start of a long and distinguished Test career, but if a relationship with the authorities can be described as both chequered and colourful at the same time, Phil Tufnell’s has been. You can understand the fact that he has not made as many appearances as he might have when you add his “attitude” to the type of player he is. He might be coming close to 2,000 first-class runs, and did once get a fifty to take his career average almost up to double figures, but there is not a decent team in the land where he would shorten the tail. His fielding does not really push back the boundaries of athleticism either. But as an English spin bowler he has few peers.So, in the decade he played for England, he made 41 appearances. There were times when inferior bowlers would be chosen on the basis that they would score a few more runs or slide about in the outfield, and there were times when, quite simply, his face did not fit. Apart, that is, until England needed to win the last match of a series at The Oval. Then the call for The Cat would go out and he invariably came up with the goods.It is this combination of being a match-winning bowler and something of a rebellious figure as far as the establishment is concerned that means he has found a way into the hearts of cricket fans across the country. As England’s fortunes have dipped in this series against Australia, the call for his return to a Test side for which he last appeared in Cape Town on the 1999/00 tour, has become almost deafening.Four years ago he came into the team at The Oval for the last Test against Australia. Match figures of 11 for 93 earned him the man of the match award and only served to add to the folklore of his exploits. He had done it earlier at The Oval, in 1991, taking 6 for 25 to bowl England to victory against the West Indies.England have looked at every conceivable way of beating the Australians this summer – except one. He is bowling as well as ever this season – possibly better than ever – and has 55 wickets at just over 22 apiece. Perhaps, even without many runs or much sliding, the time has come to give Tufnell his turn.
Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch would be foolish to not turn to Crysencio Summerville over the closing stages of the Premier League season as he continues to impress for the U23s.
On Monday evening, the Dutch U21 international bagged a hat-trick in their rout over Crystal Palace, taking his total for the campaign to six goals from ten starts in the Premier League 2 Division One, a feat only bettered by first-team duo Sam Greenwood and Joe Gelhardt, as per FBRef.
The Whites’ academy boss Andrew Taylor waxed lyrical about the 5 foot 5 winger following the display, he told LUTV:
“For me, Cry is a pleasure to work with. He works hard defensively and then, his ability going forward is sensational. He just needs to keep doing that, keep performing.
[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-leeds-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-marsch-raphinha-dest-philhay” title=”Read the latest Leeds news!”]
“He’ll get his opportunities in our first team I’m sure. As you’ve seen tonight, he’s such a danger, such a threat, an outlet for us. But he doesn’t stop there. He gets back, he gets into position. He took on board a lot.”
Marsch’s current options in the senior squad all have question marks for differing reasons – both Raphinha and Jack Harrison have been linked with moves away ahead of the summer transfer window, for example, whilst the form of £30m club-record signing Daniel James has been poor, to say the least.
Now valued at just £16.2m by Transfermarkt, the Wales international has delivered only four goals across 32 appearances, and he is currently in a nine-game run without a goal.
The Yorkshiremen are among the lowest scorers in the Premier League and that is in part to Patrick Bamford’s continued injury problems, but with Summerville in such fine form, it surely wouldn’t hurt to give him a go?
LeedsLive reporter Beren Cross claimed the 20-year-old gem was “unplayable at times” in the U23’s rout of Palace on Monday night, with Marsch in attendance.
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With Summerville only playing 225 minutes for the first team and barely any in the Premier League, he could well emerge as something of a secret weapon for the American in the final months of the season.
He’s well worth a look heading into an important summer off the pitch for Leeds.
AND in other news, Marsch could unearth Leeds’ next Dallas in 18 y/o prodigy who’s “a dream to coach”…
Chris Nash struck a fine 82 to put Sussex into the lead and in control of the match on the second day at Lord’s, as MCC’s bowlers laboured on a pitch that, in spite of the 14 wickets which fell yesterday, has begun to flatten. More to the point, it was the absence of Steve Kirby which most hurt MCC, after he was sent to hospital being hit on the head by a Luke Wright bouncer. He passed out twice – once in the middle and again in the dressing room – before being taken away for tests.More than any other batsman in the match, with the exception of Owais Shah, Nash has looked at ease on this surface, counterattacking with a wide array of strokes all around the wicket. At tea today, he had raced to 45 from almost as many balls, treating all MCC’s bowlers with disdain. Admittedly, this brand of attacking batsmanship – on a surface which has been so kind to bowlers – is fraught with risk. But fortune favours such decisiveness, and it was a relief to at last see the Champions playing with authority.Graham Onions and Charlie Shreck struggled with their length and Nash set the tone with the day’s most sweetly timed boundary, clipping through midwicket. He followed it up with two punchily driven forcing strokes off the back foot off Onions, whose length was still too short, and his 50 partnership with Hopkinson was brought up in just the tenth over. Hopkinson looked far more settled than yesterday, driving the wayward Shreck through extra cover for a boundary which would have had a larger crowd swooning with approval.After tea, Nash was tied down by the two spinners, Adil Rashid and James Tredwell. James Whitaker, one of the England selectors, was spotted around Lord’s this afternoon just as Rashid was tossed the ball for his first spell in the match. He ought to have had Nash caught first ball when he edged a teasing legbreak straight to first slip, but he was caught snoozing on his ankles. Rashid rarely threatened thereafter in his 12 overs, but neither did he let Sussex get away like a train. For a 20-year-old legspinner, his control was subcontinentally impressive.Michael Yardy joined Nash and was threatening to dominate, creaming three boundaries in eight balls. One biffed straight down the ground; the other pulled over midwicket; a third, off Ravi Bopara, elegantly creamed through extra cover. But like Nash, Yardy’s exuberance was hauled in by MCC’s spinners, and he was out-thought by Shreck who bowled him with a vicious incutter for 43.Sussex’s bold strokeplay before tea was in response to a slender but not ignorable lead of 34 which MCC plodded towards in a gruelling morning session. That the hosts even managed to scrape ahead was almost entirely thanks to Arun Harinath, the young Surrey left-hander. His battling 34 may not have swelled the interest of the hardy fans, but its value was without question – particularly following the early dismissal of Shah. Having grafted his way to 72 Shah fell in the second over of the day to Wright when he top-edged to Ryan Harris at mid-on.Wright was hugely impressive from the Pavilion End. There were glowing reports of his pace when Sussex played in Abu Dhabi recently, and here he generated plenty of zip and prodigious lift off a length from a relatively short run-up. Kirby bears a painful testament to Wright’s venom after he took his blow to the side of the head ducking into a sharp bouncer, and will remain in hospital overnight with suspected concussion.Robin Martin-Jenkins was less vicious, but improved upon his inconsistent display yesterday evening with an economical spell from the Nursery End. Harinath was content to leave anything wide of the off stump, and the statistics of his innings bear testament to his ability to do just that. However, when Martin-Jenkins did find his natural back-of-the-length line he caused problems. James Foster hung around for half-an-hour without ever looking comfortable and was smartly held by Carl Hopkinson at third slip to hand Martin-Jenkins his 300th first-class wicket.Harinath showed exemplary concentration, if lacking the range of strokes which he will no doubt develop. Only 21 and playing in his fourth first-class match, he coped well with Wright’s pace and swing while nudging and nurdling singles, in particular through midwicket. A languid cover drive off Martin-Jenkins also hinted at a certain class itching to escape. His 138-ball vigil finally came to an end shortly before lunch when he padded up to Will Beer, the young legspinner, to hand him his maiden first-class wicket on debut.For all Harinath’s promise, however, MCC should not have relied so heavily on him to scratch such a lead, and Sussex go into day three with the match in control.
Zimbabwe’s hopes of resuming playing Test cricket have been dealt a hammer blow by the ICC Cricket Committee which met in Dubai this week.The newly-constituted committee, chaired by Sunil Gavaskar, has recommended that the ICC does not allow Zimbabwe to return to the Test arena “until such time as the team demonstrates its ability to perform at a standard that does not risk undermining the integrity of Test cricket”. It continued: “In order to be able to judge when Zimbabwe’s performance merits a return to Test cricket, the committee felt the team first needed to continue in its current practice of playing a number of representative four-day matches. The committee encouraged the scheduling of such matches against ICC Full Member A teams and Associates with, for example, the inclusion of Zimbabwe in the next ICC Intercontinental Cup.”Although the recommendations still have to be discussed by the ICC executive when it meets in London at the end of June, they will make it much harder for Peter Chingoka, the ZC chairman, to persuade other members that Zimbabwe are ready to resume playing Tests.It has always been stressed that Zimbabwe’s suspension was at their own behest, but there have been increasing concerns that the standard of their side is now so poor as to threaten the ethos of Tests.Zimbabwe first voluntarily suspended themselves in 2004. They returned to Tests in January 2005 but of eight matches between then and their second withdrawal in January 2006 they lost all but one by massive margins, with the one drawn match being severely disrupted by rain. They have also won only one of their last 19 ODIs.If the committee’s recommendations are accepted then Zimbabwe could be added to the eights countries in the 2007-08 Intercontinental Cup which gets underway next month and runs until late 2008. That would enable them to play four-day matches against the leading Associates as well as other series against A teams.There is unrest, especially among the Associates, that Zimbabwe continue to be heavily funded by the ICC – they are about to receive US$11.5 million from the World Cup – and yet they do little more – less in some instances – than Associates such as Ireland, Scotland and Kenya who receive a fraction of that money.
The debate over the selection of the Zimbabwe A side to play Bangladesh rumbles on with reports of rows within Zimbabwe Cricket over some of those named. The squad is made up of mostly inexperienced players from the substandard National League.”Anyone can score run in that league,” said a leading cricket personality in Zimbabwe. “It can’t be used as basis for selection into international cricket.”He cited the inclusion of Bradley Staddon, the son of ZC interim committee member Stan Staddon, as an example of the issues. The younger Staddon has not played in Zimbabwe for a lengthy spell, and many are far from happy at his selection when there appears to be little to justify it. Some sources within Zimbabwe cricket have also claimed that the team’s racial composition was deliberately unrepresentative of the pool of players in the country.Andy Pycroft, who is coaching the side, was said by sources to have flagged his disapproval with selectors over the make-up of the team.”We have to stop this politics and chose the best team,” a ZC insider said. “Clearly this team has been picked to represent the so-called new set-up in Zimbabwe cricket following the disbandment of old provinces and setting up of new ones. With a team like this, Bangladesh A are going to hammer us. ZC might have won the political battle for cricket in Zimbabwe, but they are not concentrating on the broader picture. That broader picture includes winning games and restoring confidence in Zimbabwe cricket. That is not happening.”At least ZC has managed to hire back two former critics. Givemore Makoni, the former Mashonaland Cricket Association general manager, has been appointed Zimbabwe A manager, while Steven Mangongo, who was a few months back sacked as the A-side assistant coach, was this week named as the new general manager of the National Academy.