All posts by h716a5.icu

Nick Kruger’s 93 delayed Tasmania’s charge but Queensland will need a significant lower-order rally to save the game

Cricinfo staff10-Feb-2010Queensland 326 & 5 for 159 (Kruger 93) lead Tasmania 427 (Bailey 115, Lockyear 85, Doolan 66, Cutting 6-90) by 58 runs
ScorecardGeorge Bailey’s 115 ensured Tasmania took first-innings points•Getty ImagesNick Kruger’s 93 delayed Tasmania’s charge but Queensland will need a significant lower-order rally to save the game after holding a 58-run lead entering the final day. The hosts earned an advantage of 101 after George Bailey’s second century of the season came in the face of some painful fast bowling from Ben Cutting, who captured 6 for 90.Queensland, who finished the day at 5 for 159, were in big trouble at 3 for 29 after Adam Maher collected Wade Townsend, the first-innings century-maker, and Lee Carseldine in three deliveries. Ryan Broad had already departed for 2 in a poor start to Queensland’s attempt to set the hosts a testing target. The opener Kruger stepped up and moved close to a century before pulling Brendan Drew to deep midwicket late in the afternoon, leaving Chris Hartley (26) with a big assignment on the final day.Bailey picked up first-innings points as his side reached 427, with Drew (35) and Adam Griffith (40) helping out towards the end. The captain spent 167 balls at the crease, hitting 17 fours and a six, before becoming one of Cutting’s caught-behind victims.Cutting continued his excellent season and the wicketkeeper Hartley helped him, taking three of his six catches off the fast bowler. Cutting roughed up Tim Paine, John Rogers and Drew with blows on the body before removing them and added five victims on the third day to take his season-best tally to 31.

Joe Root, the 18-year-old Sheffield-born opening batsman, has secured his future with Yorkshire.

Cricinfo staff20-Nov-2009Joe Root, the 18-year-old Sheffield-born opening batsman, has secured his future with Yorkshire. Root, who made his first-team debut against Essex in Yorkshire’s final Pro40 game of the 2009 season, signed a three-year contract with the club.Jonathan Bairstow (20), Oliver Hannon-Dalby (20), James Lee (20) and Gary Ballance (19) have all signed deals as well, which will extend their stay at Headingley until the end of 2011. With senior players such as Mathew Hoggard and Michael Vaughan no longer with the club, Stewart Regan, Yorkshire’s chief executive, hopes to usher in a new era.”We are heading into a new era after losing a number of senior players recently and therefore we felt it was essential to ensure that the undoubted talent that has emerged through our Academy system in recent years is retained,” he said. “These youngsters will form the future of Yorkshire cricket and we want to look after them. It is now over to them to return the compliment and perform to the best of their abilities on the pitch next season.”

Leeds United duo Luke Ayling and Jamie Shackleton could return from injury against Tottenham, according to LeedsLive.

The Lowdown: Injury issues

Marcelo Bielsa has been without a number of key players this season, with the Whites struggling through injuries in both attack and defence.

Two regulars from last season, Patrick Bamford and Luke Ayling have missed the last eight games with ankle and knee injuries respectively.

Robin Koch, Junior Firpo and Jamie Shackleton have also had their injury issues, but it seems as if two of the five have a chance of featuring in north London this Sunday.

The Latest: Ayling and Shackleton back?

LeedsLive shared a story on Tuesday afternoon, looking at the Whites’ injury list and return dates.

When it came to Ayling, labelled as ‘agile’, they said the right-back could be back for this weekend’s clash with Antonio Conte’s side going off an update Bielsa gave last month.

Meanwhile, Shackleton, described as ‘important’ by Bielsa, missed the 1-1 draw with Leicester City last time out, however, his injury isn’t thought to be serious and he could also be back as early as this weekend.

The Verdict: Good news…

Bielsa was forced to use Stuart Dallas at right-back and centre-back Pascal Struijk at left-back prior to the international break, so having one of Ayling or Shackleton returning at right-back would be a welcome boost.

Leeds tend to go with a back three when opposing sides play two strikers, so that could be the case this weekend, should Conte select his preferred 3-5-2 formation.

If so, that would allow the likes of Dallas and Ayling or Shackleton to play at wing-back, giving Bielsa the option to use Struijk in his favoured centre-back position once more.

In other news: ‘Someone Bielsa quietly admires’ – Phil Hay hints at Leeds move for ‘fantastic’ player. 

Speaking live on El Chiringuito TV, reporter Eduardo Inda has dropped a big Tottenham Hotspur transfer claim involving Antonio Conte and club favourite Gareth Bale.

The Lowdown: Conte requests Spurs flurry…

Since the former Chelsea manager’s recent return to London, there have been no shortage of reports detailing his personal transfer requests to the Spurs board and managing director Fabio Paratici.

Indeed, multiple sources have tipped Conte to raid Italy for talent over the last week, with Football Insider explaining that he has personally told Tottenham to sign Inter defender Stefan de Vrij.

Meanwhile, another report from La Gazzetta dello Sport explained that the 52-year-old has earmarked both AC Milan’s Franck Kessie and Fiorentina’s Dusan Vlahovic as his personal top targets.

In a bizarre twist, it appears that Conte doesn’t just have his sights set on Serie A, but also on some of Tottenham’s most cherished names of past seasons.

The Latest: Conte asks Spurs to re-sign Bale…

As per Inda’s information, speaking on El Chiringuito, Tottenham’s new manager has now asked the Lilywhites to re-sign Bale for a third time.

The Wales star returned to Spurs last season on a loan spell from Real Madrid but chairman Daniel Levy seemingly opted against taking him back permanently.

Resultingly, the Galacticos are still stuck with him and his £500,000-a-week wages, but it appears that Conte is now keen for Bale to return to the English capital for another Lilywhites spell.

The Verdict: Avoid…

Bale’s return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last year yielded mixed results overall and we would avoid bringing him back again, even taking into account his 183-goal career tally and how adored he is by some fans.

Whilst finishing last season as Spurs’ third-best player in the Premier League in terms of goals and assists combined (WhoScored) enjoying a mid-season spike in form, the 32-year-old also spent a fair portion of time unable to fully compete.

Former Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho even slammed Bale for giving a ‘totally wrong’ impression about his improving fitness levels on Instagram at one point, with ex-Lilywhites striker Dimitar Berbatov also criticising the player’s attitude.

Bringing him back to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would also be a gamble at big financial cost to Spurs considering his lofty salary.

As Conte keeps one eye on his first January transfer window, we believe that he is far better placed prioritising swoops for the likes of Dusan Vlahovic, especially considering that the Fiorentina ace can either partner or replace Harry Kane and comes with a lot of potential.

In other news: Conte blown away by another Spurs player in coach’s dream who smashes training, says Alasdair Gold…find out more here.

The World Anti-Doping Agency has said the ICC has made significant progress in implementing anti-doping measures in the last two years, with the BCCI’s stance against the whereabouts clause the only “hiccup”

Cricinfo staff17-Nov-2009The World Anti-Doping Agency’s director-general David Howman has said the ICC has made significant progress in implementing anti-doping measures in the last two years, with the BCCI’s stance against the whereabouts clause the only “hiccup”. Howman is scheduled to meet officials from the ICC and BCCI in Dubai on Wednesday to discuss the impasse over cricket’s anti-doping policy.”In the last 18 months they’ve [ICC] got rules, they’ve done testing, they’re doing out-of-competition testing so in that brief period of time they have done a heck of a lot,” Howman told “The only hiccup they have had is the Indian board (BCCI) has said they are not comfortable with this ‘whereabouts’ requirement.”That clause – which the Indian board rejected three months ago, thereby stalling implementation of the anti-doping code – is expected to be focus of the Dubai meeting, where the BCCI will be represented by its president Shashank Manohar and secretary N Srinivasan.”They [BCCI] have given a number of reasons and I am going to talk about those with them on Wednesday. Some of their concerns include an allegation that it [Wada’s code] is unconstitutional in India,” Howman said. “Well India signed on to the code as one of the first countries. The Indian Government is compliant so if there is part of India that is not compliant that is embarrassing for the government, particularly with things like the Commonwealth Games coming up.”The BCCI’s primary concern with the whereabouts clause is that it could pose a security threat to its players. Howman, however, said that the WADA’s system was so secure that even he did not have access to the location details and the ones who did had had thorough background checks. “I don’t have access to that [athlete] information, so that shows how strong we are about it,” Howman said. “We have four people in our organisation who have access. They have all been through full security, police checks and the like. So from my point of view there is nothing more that we can do.””The whole system is good, the individuals receiving the information are secure and when the player puts this information in, the access to the information is restricted to those who need it, which would be us and the ICC. Nobody in India.”Howman had spent six months in 2009 speaking to athlete groups and showing them that the system was, in fact, a simple one. He acknowledged the need for WADA to spell out the requirements clearly, in order to avoid misinterpretation, before putting such systems in place.

Phil Hay has provided a mixed update on three Leeds United players’ hopes of facing Arsenal in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday evening, with praise for Joe Gelhardt but bad news on Raphinha’s chances.

The Lowdown: Leeds aims for quarter-finals

The Whites are looking to make it into the quarter-finals on Tuesday, making the trip to north London to face an unpredictable Gunners side.

Leeds haven’t won the League Cup since way back in 1968 and now would be a great time to change that, further adding to Marcelo Bielsa’s legacy.

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The Latest: Hay gives update on trio

Speaking in a Q&A for The Athletic ahead of the game, Hay gave an update on Kalvin Phillips, Raphinha and Joe Gelhardt’s chances of featuring at the Emirates:

“Kalvin Phillips made the bench on Saturday so might have a good chance of playing. Raphinha’s ankle injury doesn’t sound like a bad one but it would make sense to be cautious with him this evening.

“I guess the big question is whether Joe Gelhardt starts. And if not, he will surely feature in some capacity after his performance on Saturday.”

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The Verdict: Exciting to see Gelhardt again

It would be great to see Phillips back in action after a recent layoff, although there is a nagging feeling that says he shouldn’t be risked before Leeds’ return to Premier League action away to Norwich City on Sunday.

The same applies to Raphinha in that respect, but Gelhardt will surely earn a start, following an exciting cameo on Saturday which saw him win a last-gasp penalty.

The 19-year-old should be brimming with confidence and this would be another great opportunity to see him in action.

In other news, Hay has revealed that another Leeds player is struggling with injury. Find out who it is here.

Leeds United were forced to hand a Premier League debut to 19-year-old Cody Drameh on Sunday against Norwich as Jamie Shackleton was forced off with an injury.

First-choice right-back Luke Ayling has been out of action since 17 September and Marcelo Bielsa has refused to reveal when the 30-year-old will be fit to play again. Ahead of the trip to Carrow Road, the manager said: “There is no precise return date for the injuries of Ayling, Bamford and Koch.”

His absence has been a blow for the Whites as he has established himself as a key player for the club, with Bielsa playing a blinder with the full-back in recent seasons.

Ayling joined Leeds from Bristol City in 2016 and by the time Bielsa came in 2018, he was valued by Transfermarkt at £1.35m. He then started 75 of the club’s Championship matches in the Argentine’s first two campaigns, averaging WhoScored ratings of 7.02 and 7.26 respectively.

In the 2019/20 title-winning season, he produced four goals and four assists from right-back as he averaged 3.4 tackles and interceptions per game. This led to him being named the PFA Fans’ Player of the Year in the Championship.

Bielsa was able to turn up at Elland Road and immediately get a tune out of Ayling, coaching him into becoming a player the fans deemed to be the best in the division throughout the 2019/20 campaign. However, the step up to the Premier League is a big one – was he able to cope with that?

Of course he was. Ayling, who was described as a “great technician” by former Arsenal academy team-mate Cedric Evina, started all 38 of Leeds’ games in the top flight last term as they finished ninth in the table and comfortably avoided relegation.

He averaged an impressive WhoScored rating of 6.94 as he made 3.7 tackles and interceptions per game. This shows that he turned in consistently strong displays at the top level whilst winning the ball back on a regular basis from right-back.

At the end of last season, Transfermarkt valued him at £4.5m, which remains his current value (01/11/21). This is a 233% increase from his valuation at the time of Bielsa’s arrival and shows how the Argentine has been able to get the best out of him. The manager has enabled Ayling to thrive and his performances on the pitch, coupled with his soaring value, show that he has pulled off a masterclass with the right-back.

AND in other news, Orta masterclass: Leeds landed dream deal for gem who “could have been anything”…

Craig Dawson may have lost his place in West Ham’s starting XI following the arrival of Champions League winner Kurt Zouma this summer but he has arguably been one of the most underrated players since David Moyes’ return.

The 31-year-old veteran originally joined the Irons on loan from Watford in October 2020 and soon kept four clean sheets in as many appearances for the club.

By the end of the season, the east Londoners made the move permanent for a bargain £2m.

Dawson has since featured 32 times in all competitions, in which he has won 20 of those matches and lost only six times. That is a win percentage of 62.5% and has coincided with the Hammers’ impressive rise into the Europa League.

In fact, Moyes’ men have not lost with Dawson featuring since May this year, a 1-0 defeat to Everton.

His impact at the London Stadium has been something previously noted by former Arsenal defender and BT Sport commentator Martin Keown.

“I think Dawson is a great bit of business. [James] Tarkowski was meant to be coming in for £35m and Moyes has said no, I don’t pay that sort of money. He came in as fourth choice and now he’s key,” he said to talkSPORT.

It isn’t the first time that the 6 foot 2 colossus, who earns around £42.5k-per-week, has been praised for his ability.

Irons assistant manager Stuart Pearce dubbed him an “incredible kid”  who is a “pleasure to work with” to talkSPORT (Wednesday 20 January, 8:30am), whilst former Hammers defender Anton Ferdinand has described him as a “leader” too.

Dawson may well have lost his place in Moyes’ starting XI in the league but evidently, he’s a more than reliable backup to have. His record since joining is pretty outstanding. His four starts have even earned a better rating than Angelo Ogbonna, as per WhoScored, so perhaps that is something the Scotsman should be considering – a Dawson and Zouma partnership.

Whilst the likes of Declan Rice and Michail Antonio often take the plaudits for West Ham’s fine form under Moyes, the 31-year-old beast has been an underrated unsung hero since the manager took the dugout for the second time.

AND in other news, Newman could seal West Ham’s best signing since Soucek in £19.8m-rated “goal machine”…

Plays of the day from the first day of the Edgbaston Test between England and Australia

Andrew Miller at Edgbaston30-Jul-2009Ashes debutant of the day
Shane Watson has waited an awfully long time to make his mark in an Ashes campaign. In 2005, his only memorable contribution to the summer came when he was on the receiving end of one of the most comical sledges of all time, when Darren Gough spooked him shortly after his infamous ghost-sighting in Lumley Castle in Durham. And then in 2006-07, he was all set to play a pivotal role in the series, but limped out of contention before the first Test in Brisbane, and was not seen again all season. Today, in glorious late-evening sunshine, he expunged those unhappy memories with a free-flowing 62. So much for his Test average of 19.76 – the selectors, it seems, were spot on.Call of the day
Ricky Ponting hasn’t been able to go very far this week without someone reminding him of his fateful decision to bowl first in the last Edgbaston Test in 2005. The groundsman, Steve Rouse, told Cricinfo this week that he thought it had been the correct decision in the circumstances, but not many other people in the game shared that opinion. Ponting was on a bit of a hiding to nothing with the toss this evening as well – after a day-long rain delay and with not much more than a two-hour burst to launch the match, the temptation was there to bowl once again. But this time he resisted, and when his openers raced to 62 for 0 in the first hour, he was vindicated.Bowling change of the day
Graeme Swann has a happy knack of striking in his first over of a Test match – he even claimed two in his first six deliveries on debut against India in Chennai last December. Simon Katich obviously wasn’t fazed by this habit, and opted against a sighter when he faced up to the first ball Swann bowled at him. He launched into an over-ambitious pull to a ball of good length, and Aleem Dar raised his finger after the ball crashed into his pads. It had been a good and aggressive 46 from Katich, but in the end the change of pace did for him.Celebrity of the day
With little to occupy their time for the majority of the day, the Edgbaston faithful were no doubt grateful for the opportunity to engage in a touch of star-spotting. David Cameron and Ernie Els were among the glitterati spotted around the terraces on Thursday, but the greatest stir was created by none other than Kevin Pietersen, who was mobbed by autograph hunters and general well-wishers when he emerged behind the pavilion around 4pm.Tweet of the day
Cameron, as it happens, expressed a fairly fruity opinion of the social networking site, Twitter, during a radio interview earlier this week, and after today’s developments, one wonders what the Australian selectors make of it as well. Speculation was already rife that Phillip Hughes had been dropped to make way for Watson, but the matter was put beyond all doubt when Hughes himself tweeted the news to his friends and followers several hours before the toss. “Disappointed not to be on the field with the lads today,” he wrote. “Will be supporting the guys, it’s a BIG test match 4 us. Thanks 4 all the support!”Drama of the day
An Edgbaston Ashes Test is not complete without a last-minute team-changing development. In 2005, Glenn McGrath trod on a cricket ball and ricked his ankle during the pre-match warm-ups. Four years later, it was the wicketkeeper, Brad Haddin – ironically the man responsible for leaving McGrath’s fateful ball on the outfield – who had to be belatedly withdrawn. He broke his left ring finger after the toss, but before the players came out for the start of play, and after a consultation with Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss, was replaced by Graham Manou, who became the fifth Australian wicketkeeper to play a Test since the debut of Ian Healy in 1988.Let-off of the day
England’s seamers did not bowl especially well in their brief foray – the pitch was slow, the outfield was fast, and the slightest error in line and length (and there were several of both) was punished. But James Anderson did have one squeakingly close appeal for lbw against Simon Katich, who had made 5 at the time. A full-length delivery zipped off the pitch to crash into his back pad, but Aleem Dar judged that the ball would have slipped past the off stump. It looked closer than that, but it was the pacemen’s fault that they didn’t force any further chances.

Liverpool were recently linked with a move for Bayern Munich winger Kingsley Coman and the player could be available for a transfer at the end of the season if the opinion of a former Bayern official is correct.

What’s the story?

The Reds were one of several sides believed to be keen on securing the highly-rated 25-year-old’s services over the summer, but he ended up staying put due to his £86 million price tag despite the extensive speculation.

Now though, in an interview with German outlet BILD TV (as relayed by The Mirror), Bayern’s ex-sporting director Christian Nerlinger was asked about Coman’s future as he continues to be linked with a move away from Bavaria.

“I don’t think he will stay in Munich. Bayern had a recent tendency to lose players for free,” Nerlinger stated.

“But you can’t do that in the long run; you have to sell players from time to time if the offer is right. Coman is an excellent player, but given the situation, I think Bayern will consider selling him.”

Coman’s current contract expires in the summer of 2023, meaning Die Roten may only have the next two transfer windows to secure a substantial fee for the forward’s services.

Fans would be buzzing

The France international is set to be out until October, after making just four appearances this season, due to discovering a minor cardiac arrhythmia, which had seen him struggle with shortness of breath.

“‘King’ had an operation yesterday, he had a minor heart rhythm disturbance. I’ll explain that with my little medical expertise,” Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann revealed at a press conference on Saturday:

“There are two strands that activate the sinus node. One of them was cut off so that there would be no additional blow. Sometimes he had less air for a short time and was less productive.

“That’s why we did a long-term ECG (electrocardiogram) and found something that could be fixed quickly,” the young tactician explained.

It’s a potentially concerning setback for Coman, but the skilful forward has already achieved so much in his career. Despite being just 25, he has already won 24 major trophies in his career, including the Champions League, and was lauded by his youth coaches from an early age.

“His reading of the game and his technique stand out and make him formidable,” claimed France’s Under-17 coach Patrick Gonfalone back in 2012, when Coman was just 16.

Liverpool supporters would likely be buzzing if their club could secure a deal for Coman.

The Reds do seem a bit short of attacking options following the departure of Xherdan Shaqiri, and Klopp’s charges lack the strength in depth of their domestic rivals.

Coman’s arrival at Anfield would change that, though, and he could provide the necessary spark for Liverpool to return to the Premier League summit.

And, in other news…Signed for £34m, now worth £90m: Edwards struck gold with “exceptional” Liverpool gem