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If Sri Lanka dismiss Misbah-ul-Haq early on the fourth day, they could go on to win the Sharjah Test, their bowling coach Champaka Ramanayake has said

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Nov-2011If Sri Lanka dismiss Misbah-ul-Haq early on the fourth day, they could go on to win the Sharjah Test, their bowling coach Champaka Ramanayake has said. He also picked medium-pacer Chanaka Welegedara as the key bowler for Sri Lanka on the fourth day.”Misbah is a very good player and if we can get him early, we will have a chance,” Ramanayake said. “The last session of the day was better for us compared to the earlier two sessions. We bowled very accurately in the earlier sessions, though we did not get many wickets.”We built up the pressure and in the end it was nice to get some quick wickets. Tomorrow, we have to get Pakistan out as quickly as possible.”Pakistan finished day three on 282 for 6, still trailing Sri Lanka by 131 runs. At one stage Pakistan were 233 for 3, with centurion Younis Khan and Misbah at the crease, but Sri Lanka picked up three wickets for 44 runs to edge ahead. Misbah, after a typically dogged innings, went to stumps unbeaten on 50, and is Pakistan’s last recognised batsmen.Welegedara had accounted for Younis with his first delivery with the second new ball: he got the ball to bend in sharply, beat Younis and hit off. He also had Asad Shafiq feathering an edge behind on 16 late in the day.”He [Welegedara] bowled brilliantly, giving 60 odd runs in his 25 overs on a flat wicket,” Ramanayake said. “He has done a great job for us and probably he will pick five wickets tomorrow [he has taken three so far]. The way he bowled he deserves five wickets.”Sri Lanka were without their other new-ball bowler Dhammika Prasad – who had strained his thigh muscle on Friday after just four overs – and he isn’t expected to be fit enough to bowl on Sunday. “He [Prasad] will be out of action for a while due to a thigh injury,” Ramanayake said. “It’s a flat wicket and so it is a tough task [being a bowler short].”Mohsin Khan, Pakistan’s interim coach, said Misbah had adopted the right approach in this innings, batting with caution. “It is a pity that we lost two wickets in the last 45 minutes,” he said. “Like Misbah, who is showing full responsibility, Test cricket is all about patience. He is taking the safety route first, and then we will go for a positive result.”Mohsin also praised Younis, saying he had demonstrated once again how important he is to the side. “Younis batted wonderfully well. He is proving himself to be a reliable senior player and today again he has done a great job for Pakistan.”I wish I had seen him not out at the end of the day, that would have been very good. Not to take anything away from him, though, as he has batted very well for the team.”

Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor believes his team could spring a few surprises on Bangladesh in the one-off Test which starts on Thursday

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Aug-2011Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor believes his team could spring a few surprises on Bangladesh in the one-off Test which starts on Thursday, and also suggested that conditions in Harare would suit the Zimbabweans.”It is great that we are coming back to play Tests and as we go into our first match the good thing is that our opponents don’t quite know what to expect from us and we have a few surprises for them,” said Taylor.Zimbabwe have played 33 ODIs against Bangladesh since their Test suspension – including 14 in 2009 alone – with Bangladesh having dominated those games, winning 24 of them. Mohammad Ashraful is the only member of Bangladesh’s squad to have played a Test against Zimbabwe, however, a situation Taylor is hoping work out in his team’s favour.”They have been playing over the years and they have always been improving, so have we behind the scenes,” he said. “They know an awful lot about us in the one-day format of the game but they may not have the information they would have wanted as far as Test cricket is concerned, and we are looking to make good use of that.”Despite Bangladesh’s supremacy over Zimbabwe in recent times, Taylor insisted there was little to separate the teams going into the Test, saying: “We will take each session as it comes and play positively with a winning mindset. We know they will be up for it and so will we and we are confident that if we play our best cricket this is a winnable match.”They are a strong side especially when they are playing at home, but we are at home where we will make sure we put our conditions to good use. We should just make sure they are not as comfortable as they would want to be. We have a plan and if we stick to it we should win.”Zimbabwe will also be bolstered by the return of wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu, one of their most experienced players and one of only two current Zimbabwe cricketers to have recorded a Test century. Taibu has not quite fully recovered from the thumb injury that kept him out of cricket since the World Cup earlier this year, but said he was fit enough to play in both the Test and the limited-overs series that follows.”It’s not fully healed but it is comfortable enough for me to play in the Test match and the ODIs as well,” said Taibu. “It is a very important match and we will need all the resources we can get.”

Jim Troughton ended his two-year century drought and Rikki Clarke flayed a toiling Nottinghamshire attack as Warwickshire dominated the second day of their County Championship match at Edgbaston

08-Sep-2011
ScorecardRikki Clarke blazed 126 from 101 deliveries as Warwickshire declared on 574 for 7•Getty ImagesJim Troughton ended his two-year century drought and Rikki Clarke flayed a toiling Nottinghamshire attack as Warwickshire dominated the second day of their County Championship match at Edgbaston.Troughton made a superb 151, Clarke 126 from only 101 balls and Ian Westwood took his overnight 144 to 171 to help Warwickshire to 574 for seven declared, their highest ever total against Nottinghamshire. It was also the highest total conceded by Nottinghamshire this season but Warwickshire collected only three batting points as they pottered to 338 for five, 12 runs short of the fourth point, in 110 overs.But Troughton and Clarke cut loose in a destructive sixth-wicket stand of 203 in 30 overs which demoralised Nottinghamshire’s weary attack. Troughton, who had managed only three fifties in his previous 54 championship innings, played with composure to reach his first century since August 2009 with 13 fours from 199 balls. His second 50 came from just 69 balls.Clarke, who recently rejected a move to Sussex, was given licence to play his shots to set up the declaration and he turned a 44-ball 50 into a 90-ball century which included two straight sixes off Graeme White. The slow left-armer absorbed more heavy punishment when Clarke off drove then pulled him for further sixes but gained a measure of revenge when the former England all-rounder picked out deep midwicket.White also eventually snared Troughton, who was bowled trying to force him through the off side, but not before the former England one-day international left-hander had stroked 19 fours in his 259-ball innings. Westwood had earlier perished in the pursuit of quick runs when he hooked Luke Fletcher into the hands of Paul Franks at long leg. Westwood batted six and a quarter hours for his 171 and he shared a fourth-wicket stand of 177 in 49 overs with Troughton.Tim Ambrose was taken at first slip driving at Franks but Nottinghamshire’s hopes of restricting Warwickshire to under 400 disappeared during the onslaught from Troughton and Clarke. Nottinghamshire might have expected Warwickshire to declare when Clarke and Troughton were dismissed in successive overs from White but Troughton increased their frustration by allowing Chris Woakes and Chris Metters to bat on for a further three overs before he called them in.Nottinghamshire had to make 425 just to avoid the follow on but they started well with Alex Hales and Karl Turner putting on 54 before Turner was taken by Varun Chopra at first slip driving at Woakes. The pitch still appeared to be full of runs and Hales completed a fluent half century from 71 balls to steer Nottinghamshire to 86 for 1.

Australia’s chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch is hanging onto his job as stubbornly as he once did the batting crease.

Daniel Brettig07-Jun-2011″Digger” by nickname and by nature. Midway through the independent review that will determine his future, Australia’s chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch is hanging onto his job as stubbornly as he once did the batting crease.The Don Argus review is now deep into the process of interviewing some 60 persons of interest relating to Australian cricket, as Argus and panel members including Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Mark Taylor assess what must be rectified in order to avoid a repeat of last summer’s disastrous Ashes series.Hilditch has been interviewed, and said he was yet to worry about what conclusions might be drawn about his leadership of a selection panel that has stumbled and bumbled as much as the team itself over the past three years.”I’ll just keep doing it until someone wants me to stop,” Hilditch said of his future. “It’s one of the greatest periods in the sense that it’s just so demanding, but at the same time it’s exciting for the players because they have great challenges, and we have great challenges as a selection panel to get it right.”I’ve been very lucky; I didn’t have much of a contribution to Australian cricket as a player, but I’m really enjoying this role, doing the best I possibly can. If someone decides there’s a better way to go then I’ll be fully supportive of that as well.”Hilditch’s contract expired at the end of the World Cup, but he was granted a stay of execution by Argus’ desire to leave things as unchanged as possible while the review is in progress.”That’s a really exciting process; I’ve been part of it and I think it’ll come up with some strong recommendations for all parts of Australian cricket,” said Hilditch. “It may well lead to a review of the selection panel, but that’s not something I have to worry about; I’m just doing the best job I can.”James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive and an ex-officio, non-voting member of the review panel, said the integrity of the process was of great importance.”It is well and truly underway. I understand people will want to know how things are proceeding there and I’m certainly not going to give a ball-by-ball commentary,” he said. “But the integrity of the process in working through that review is very important to the panel chairman and the panel members, and one of the things as part of that process, is it’s very important for us to spend time with key stakeholders in an interview sense. It’s an in-depth process.”We’ll be interviewing in the vicinity of 60 people, but until we’ve gone through that interview process stage and distilled all the other submissions from other parties, we’re not going to be able to look at outcomes.”Such outcomes will include whether or not Hilditch can be permitted to continue chairing the selection panel in a part-time capacity. Having taken Australia through a period of transition that is almost a generation old but has shown little sign of blooming into sustained success, Hilditch said much depended on the next group of young players developing into “champions”.”We’re still playing pretty good one-day and Twenty20 cricket,” he said. “Test cricket is our big concern, and we’ve injected players into that, young batsmen, and two very exciting young quicks. We really need to find two or three champions in the next two years and in some of those young players we think we’ve got two or three champions.”

The PCB has set up a disciplinary committee to look into Zulqarnain Haider’s response to a letter the board sent the wicketkeeper on December 6, 2010

ESPNcricinfo staff17-May-2011The PCB has set up a disciplinary committee to look into Zulqarnain Haider’s response to a letter the board sent the wicketkeeper on December 6, 2010 asking him to explain why he fled the team in UAE and sought asylum in England.The committee comprising Sultan Rana, Wasim Ahmed and Mohammad Awais, will be assisted by the board’s legal advisor Taffazul Rizvi. It will begin to function after the Pakistan team and officials return from the tour of Ireland later this month.Haider had gone missing from the Pakistan team’s hotel in Dubai on the morning of the fifth and final ODI against South Africa on November 8, and later said he had received death threats from unidentified people seeking to draw him into match-fixing. He fled to the UK to seek protection and filed an application for asylum that hinged on the nature of the information he was able to divulge, as the extraordinary nature of his case appeared to fall outside the usual conditions required of a person seeking refugee status.In the aftermath of his flight, Haider announced his international retirement and his contract with the PCB was suspended. A fact-finding committee subsequently set-up by the board to look into the affair failed to find any clear motives behind his actions.In April 2011, five and a half months after fleeing to London, Haider returned to Pakistan, having secured security assurances from the government about his safety and that of his family.

Australia put themselves within touching distance of taking the one-day series with a four-wicket victory at the SCG. David Hussey guided them home in an uncertain run chase with an unbeaten 68 alongside Victoria team-mate John Hastings after Brad Haddin’

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan at the SCG23-Jan-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBrett Lee was Man of the Match for his 3 for 27•AFPAustralia put themselves within touching distance of taking the one-day series with a four-wicket victory at the SCG. David Hussey guided them home in an uncertain run chase with an unbeaten 68 alongside Victoria team-mate John Hastings after Brad Haddin’s aggressive 54 set the early pace. England were kept interested by early wickets and a double for Paul Collingwood but there were always too few runs on the board for a depleted bowling attack.It was an important innings for Hussey, who reached his fifty with a six, after he was named in the World Cup despite not playing ODI cricket for 18 months and he showed the finishing skills that have so often been evident for his domestic teams. He had important support from Steve Smith (26) after Australia wobbled on 5 for 114 then, after Smith departed to a horrid swipe, Hastings showed why he’s off to the World Cup with a composed 18.It was a match low on batting quality as England limped to 214 only thanks to Jonathan Trott’s determined 84. Continuing their pattern of the series they handed wickets to Australia, this time including the run-out of Andrew Strauss, but the home side weren’t blameless when it came to their dismissals. That at least kept the contest interesting until Hussey rattled down the target with consecutive boundaries off Ajmal Shahzad and Australia had four overs in hand.When Collingwood, recalled to the side to replace the injured Kevin Pietersen who has a groin strain, claimed two wickets in the first two overs England suddenly sniffed a victory to haul themselves back into the series. Collingwood failed again with the bat when he missed a straight ball from Xavier Doherty, but trapped Cameron White lbw with his second delivery and then had Haddin, who was earlier dropped on 37, caught at long-on for 54 from a needless shot.Haddin put Australia well ahead of the rate but kept losing partners. Shane Watson missed a drive at Chris Tremlett in the second over and Shaun Marsh, promoted to No.3, was brought back down to earth after his 110 at Hobart when he was lbw to Shahzad. Michael Clarke’s form showed no signs of improving as he chipped Chris Woakes’ sixth ball in one-day international cricket to midwicket, where Michael Yardy juggled the catch.It should have been 4 for 68 when Haddin drove to mid-off but Tremlett couldn’t take the chance low to his left and Haddin brought up his fifty with a fine cover-drive only to put pressure on his team-mates with poor shot selection. The difference at the moment, though, is Australia’s belief is on the rise and England’s is taking a hit, which is especially evident in the battingWith the exception of Trott, whose innings is also likely to spark debate, no one covered themselves in any glory against an Australia attack lacking two first-choice options in Nathan Hauritz and Shaun Tait. Injuries are a problem for both sides – Tim Bresnan has been ruled out of the series – but the hosts are covering their casualty list with much more aplomb. On this occasion, Doherty was impressive with 2 for 37 and Hastings showed his all-round value.Brett Lee was the overall pick, though, and began England’s problems in the first over when he removed Matt Prior lbw for his second consecutive duck since his recall. A wicket to the new ball is forgivable, but the mix-up between Strauss and Trott was shambolic as they were left standing at the same end. The only reason the third umpire was needed was to decide Strauss was the man to go.Ian Bell got a leading edge back to Watson who took it with a dive in his follow through before Trott and Eoin Morgan began a recovery with a stand of 50. Morgan, though, had struggled to settle with two near-misses in his innings before pulling a long hop from Hussey to midwicket. He’s just lost his knack of finding the gaps.There was help on offer for the spinners but England made it look even harder. Collingwood opened his account with an edge past leg stump then missed a delivery which took off stump. Yardy continued to struggle when he chipped a limp return catch to the bowler and it left Trott needing to bat out the innings.He and Luke Wright added 49 but it was slow progress as Trott dealt in singles for 40 consecutive scoring shots, then Wright gave it away with a loose drive at Hastings. Lee hustled through the lower order and Tremlett’s run-out when he failed to ground his bat summed up how England, so outstanding during the Ashes, are starting to make costly basic errors. It’s a long way back from here.

Ricky Ponting has played down any concerns over his own form as the most important stage of the World Cup approaches, after he again fell cheaply against Canada on Wednesday

Brydon Coverdale17-Mar-2011Ricky Ponting has played down any concerns over his own form as the most important stage of the World Cup approaches, after he again fell cheaply against Canada on Wednesday. Australia face Pakistan in Colombo on Saturday and then move into the knockout part of the tournament, and in five matches so far, Ponting hasn’t made a contribution of note.Against Canada, he came in with 19 runs required for victory and fell to the hook shot once again. He was hurried by Henry Osinde and lobbed a catch to the on-side. So far in the tournament Ponting has made 28 against Zimbabwe, 12 versus New Zealand, 36 against Kenya and 7 in the win over Canada, and he hasn’t made a century for Australia in any format since February 2010.”It would have been good to be not out but there wasn’t much for me to gain going in with 20-odd to get,” Ponting said. “I could have been 10 or 12 not out and probably have a slightly better taste in my mouth than I have at the moment.”I must admit I looked up at the scoreboard and knew that we only needed six to win. I was hoping I was going to get something short and try and pull it for six and I hit it straight up in the air. Hopefully, I’m saving them for the big matches.”The seven-wicket win over Kenya also meant that Australia’s hopes of getting Cameron White and Steven Smith plenty of time in the middle didn’t eventuate. White has made only 50 runs from 73 balls in the tournament so far, while Smith has faced only 19 deliveries, as Australia’s depth hasn’t been seriously tested yet.At least they can be confident that their openers are in fine touch. Brad Haddin and Shane Watson started shakily against Canada but soon found their form. As the chase hurtled towards its conclusion, they were launching the bowlers to all parts of the Chinnaswamy Stadium in a 183-run opening stand, breaking a 35-year-old Australian World Cup record set by Rick McCosker and Alan Turner in 1975.Haddin was urged by the captain earlier in the tournament to go on with his starts, having fallen in the 20s or 30s on a number of occasions leading in to the World Cup. Since then, his numbers have kept improving, and the Australians have been encouraged by his past three innings of 55 against New Zealand, 65 in the win over Kenya and 88 against Canada.”I think the way he batted against New Zealand was brilliant,” his opening partner Watson said after Wednesday’s game. “It definitely took pressure off me to score because he took their bowlers down so very well. I think he’s finding a really good formula, a really good plan, for how he’s going to play at the top of the order. How he played against New Zealand was excellent, and tonight again.”I think we are building a very good partnership at the top of the order now. The more we bat together the more we know each other’s game and how to keep each other [focused] on our game-plans and what we’re doing. It seems to be working really nicely at the moment.”Australia fly to Colombo on Thursday to prepare for the match against Pakistan, but they remain uncertain where their next stop will be. Depending on the result of that match and other games culminating in Sunday’s India-West Indies clash, Ponting’s men could have to fly to Dhaka, Ahmedabad or stay in Sri Lanka for their quarter-final.

Trinidad and Tobago and Hampshire shared two points apiece after their game at Kensington Oval in Barbados was rained out with just 9.5 overs of play possible

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2011Trinidad and Tobago and Hampshire shared two points apiece after their game at Kensington Oval in Barbados was rained out with just 9.5 overs of play possible.T&T, who chose to bat, got off to a shaky start losing three wickets with just 16 runs on the board. Fast bowler Hamza Riazuddin picked up two wickets while Lendl Simmons was dismissed by Simon Jones. Darren Bravo, however, hit some big shots to rescue his team. He was on 28 along with Jason Mohammad, who was on 15 off just 4 balls, when rain intervened. T&T were on 70 for 4 at that stage, but no further play was possible and the match was abandoned.Barbados, who needed a win to remain in contention for the semi-finals, beat Canada by 33 runs, as per the D/L method in the second game which was also affected by rain. Dwayne Smith got Barbados off to a terrific start, plundering half a dozen sixes and three fours, in a blistering 40-ball 66. He was dismissed with the score on 100 in the 13th over, but the other Barbados batsmen failed to capitalise on the start. They managed just 39 runs in the seven remaining overs as Barbados reached 139 for 7.However, that total proved to be more than enough for the Canadians. Fast bowler Javon Searles bowled a scintillating second over of the innings, in which he dismissed three Canada batsmen – Hiral Patel, Ravindu Gunasekara and Nitish Kumar – all for ducks. Canada were reeling at 3 for 3 and things only got worse when Tino Best bowled captain Ashish Bagai, also for a duck in the third over. Searles struck again in his second over to dismiss Tyson Gordon, again for a duck. Zubin Surkari and Jimmy Hansra were the only batsmen to score runs and were on 11 and 8 respectively, when the rain came down.Canada were at 29 for 5 at that stage, off six overs, but no further play was possible. They were well short of the D/L par score of 63 at that stage and Barbados earned four crucial points. Barbados are currently on eight points in Group B behind T&T and Hampshire who have nine points apiece.

Liverpool reportedly have a first agreement to sign Benfica’s Uruguayan striker, Darwin Nunez.

What’s the word?

According to the latest report from Journalist Brahian Kuchman: “There would be a first agreement for Darwin Nunez to be a new English Liverpool player.”

Taking to his Twitter page, Kuchman also stated: “Jurgen Klopp has grown tired of praising the Uruguayan to such an extent that he will end up hiring him.”

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-liverpool-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-salah-gnabry-isak-romano” title= “Read the latest Liverpool news!”]

Klopp’s final straw

If the latest reports are anything to go by, Klopp will most certainly have the 22-year-old goal machine at his disposal next season.

Described as a “proper talent” by freelance football writer Amos Murphy on Twitter and as a “diamond” by Steve McManaman, Nunez is having the season of his life in Liga Portugal this year.

His both legs of their Champions League showdown earlier this month.

Of course, Klopp will have subtle confidence about picking up players from Liga Portugal, with his recent coup of former Porto star Luis Diaz demonstrating the amount of value that is scattered all over Portugal.

25-year-old Diaz has transitioned seamlessly into English football, with his five goal returns from nine appearances serving as great evidence of that.

The 54-year-old Liverpool boss Klopp will also be aware of the potential partnership that could blossom between Diaz and Nunez. With the trio of Mane, Salah and Firmino all in the final year of their contracts, Liverpool may be thinking about the future.

Those at Anfield will be urging the club to sign the out-and-out striker who possesses limitless potential at just 22-years-old, though it will not be cheap.

Whilst the Anfield side may reportedly have a “first agreement” to sign the 6 foot 2 goal-machine, he is valued at a mighty £83m by some sources.

In other news: “I get the sense”: Exciting behind-scenes Liverpool claim will leave fans buzzing…

Robbie Hart, the former Test wicketkeeper, has been appointed to the board of New Zealand Cricket (NZC) to replace the former chairman Alan Isaac, who is now the vice-president of the ICC

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-2010Robbie Hart, the former Test wicketkeeper, has been appointed to the board of New Zealand Cricket (NZC) to replace the former chairman Alan Isaac, who is now the vice-president of the ICC.Hart, 35, was elected at NZC’s annual general meeting in Wellington, where he joined the former spin bowler Stephen Boock as the only ex-Test cricketers on the eight-member board.A gloveman who represented New Zealand in 11 Tests and two one-day internationals, Hart also spent 12 years playing for Northern Districts before his retirement in August 2004.Hart also has a background in law and corporate affairs, and until recently served on the board of the New Zealand Cricket Players Association.