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For the West Indies, the first one-day international at Chittagong was a curious dichotomy of both shabby and scintillating cricket, the division occurring not so much because of the failures of a few as because two players staggeringly outperformed

Samanth Subramanian29-Nov-2002For the West Indies, the first one-day international at Chittagong was a curious dichotomy of both shabby and scintillating cricket, the division occurring not so much because of the failures of a few as because two players staggeringly outperformed the rest.That certainly wasn’t expected when the tourists were put in to bat; with the top order in a fine vein of form, it looked like a bad decision from Khaled Mashud, even if he did look to the hard pitch and the gloomy conditions as defence. When Wavell Hinds began systematically taking the attack apart four overs into the innings, old-timers may have recalled WG Grace’s remark about batting first: “If you win the toss, choose to bat. If you’re doubtful, think about putting the other side in and then choose to bat.”But Mashud’s gamble paid off – at least initially. Hinds was caught at long-off trying to smash a Manjural Islam slower ball over the border into India. Twenty-six runs later, a frustrated Marlon Samuels lashed out at a flighted Mohammad Rafique delivery only to find sweeper cover. By now, spin was operating at both ends, and the West Indians started to struggle.Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle, both immensely successful in India, sweated to work the leg-spin of Mohammad Ashraful, the left-arm spin of Rafique and the off-spin of Naimur Rahman off the square. The singles dried up, the pressure built palpably, and when Gayle (38, 70b, 5×4) was finally run-out looking for a non-existent single, it was hardly a surprise.Flown in as a replacement for the injured Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Daren Ganga was, unlike his teammates, clearly new to the subcontinental conditions. Stroke after stroke found only the fielders, and considering that he found Ashraful in particular difficult to pick, it was perhaps an aberration that Sarwan (39, 66b, 1×4) fell to the leggie instead, uppishly driving to extra cover.The arrival of Ricardo Powell to the crease signalled the turn. Rotating the strike with deceptive ease, Powell upped the run-rate almost immediately, even inspiring enough confidence in Ganga to smite two big sixes. An intended third found long-on, but Ganga (44, 56b, 2×6) had done his share of reconstruction.Powell then came alive. Boundaries flowed regularly as the big-hitting batsman muscled the ball as many as six times over the ropes, and seven more times just short of it. Two sixes came off one Rafique over, and when he fell off the penultimate ball of the innings – trying, perhaps, to do a Youhana and get to three figures off the last ball – he had powered his way to 88 off just 50 balls. More importantly, he saw the West Indies to a total that – at 145 off 37 overs – looked near-impossible.The deep quality chasm continued into the West Indian bowling. At one end, Vasbert Drakes did everything but make the ball talk, using the pitch and the new ball to get bounce and sharp movement either way. At the other end, however, short balls, over-pitched deliveries and other run-scoring opportunities were generously sent down by Jermaine Lawson and Corey Collymore.Of the openers, Hannan Sarkar was the first to fall, caught behind as the extra bounce took the edge. Al Sahariar followed 19 runs later, a peach of a delivery nipping off the pitch between bat and pad to clip middle stump.Meanwhile, Mohammad Ashraful, Test cricket’s youngest centurion, was occupying himself at the other end by throwing the bat at virtually everything. Starting with a mighty pull to midwicket off his very first ball, he added a top-edged six to fine leg and three more pulled fours later on.He lost Habibul Bashar in the ninth over – when the batsman tried to cut too hard and presented Jacobs his second catch of the innings – but was was soon back in the pavilion himself. Drakes pitched the ball just outside off and moved it away a shade, drawing the batsman forward. The ball took the shoulder of the bat and flew rapidly to the right of Gayle at slip, who took a fine, gangly-looking, diving catch. That gave Drakes all four of the Bangladeshi wickets to fall.As Drakes was taken off – and bowlers such as Mahendra Nagamootoo and Gayle started to operate – the innings steadied. Sanwar Hossain and Alok Kapali made identical scores of 18 off 21 balls and added 38 runs for the fifth wicket when rain interrupted proceedings with Bangladesh on 90 for four. It never let up, and after the umpires waited in vain for it to clear up, they were forced to abandon the game, leaving it to the remaining two day-nighters in Dhaka to decide the series.

An update has emerged on Cenk Tosun, regarding Everton’s plans for him this summer…

What’s the talk?

According to The Athletic, Everton are prepared to listen to offers for Turkish international striker Cenk Tosun this summer as Rafa Benitez attempts to thin out his squad.

The report claims that Moise Kean could be given a chance to compete for a place in the side following his loan spell with PSG, sending Tosun further down the pecking order ahead of next season.

Time’s up

The time is up for Tosun at Everton. Marcel Brands must now ruthlessly axe the flop and cash in on him as quickly as possible. Everton need to move him on swiftly and not worry too much about how much they get for him, in order to get his wages off the bill.

Even if that means sending him out on loan again with the club taking him paying the majority – if not all – of his salary as he has been rinsing Farhad Moshiri dry.

Tosun has been on £60k-per-week throughout his time on Merseyside and has done little to repay the club, scoring just 11 goals in 58 matches. He has earned roughly £10.9m in wages in his three-and-a-half seasons at the club to date and that figure will jump up to £14m by the end of the 2021/22 campaign unless they can find a new home for him in the transfer window.

He reportedly cost £27m upon his arrival from Besiktas in 2018 and it seems incredibly unlikely that they will be able to recoup much of that figure, with Transfermarkt valuing him at £4.5m. Former Premier League striker Darren Bent recently said that Tosun has not worked out at Goodison Park and believes that the club will need to take a loss on him this summer.

He told Football Insider:

“Cenk Tosun just hasn’t worked out for Everton, he’s shown flashes and moments where he can score goals and to be fair to him, he’s never really been given a real run of games.

“I know when he first arrived he played a little bit but as far as a real good run, I don’t think he’s got that so, unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out and they probably are going to have to take a loss.”

Therefore, Everton must take the hit on Tosun and move him on to any club willing to take him. He has been bleeding Moshiri dry with his huge wages without contributing much to the team, with nine Premier League goals to his name for the club in almost four years.

This is why he must be ruthlessly axed by Brands.

AND in other news, Benitez can axe Everton “liability” by signing 6 ft 4 giant who’s “performed miracles”…

A round-up of the third day of the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 in Jersey

Cricinfo staff25-May-2008
Khawaja Shuja after taking 5 for 15 for USA against Norway © Cricket Europe/ICC
While there was frustration that yesterday’s rain caused all but one of the second round matches to be carried into what should have been a rest day, Nepal’s Mahaboob Alam was not complaining after taking 10 for 12 in 7.5 overs against Mozambique. Chasing Nepal’s 238 for 7, Mozambique managed a paltry 19 to slump to a 219-run victory. Click here for more.It was again a day for the favourites as, in addition to Nepal, there were wins for Afghanistan, USA and Jersey.Former West Indies batsman Clayton Lambert, coach of the USA team, hailed his side as they comprehensively beat Norway by 10 wickets but said that the players were not going to become over confident despite two comfortable wins. “We’re not going to underestimate anybody. We’re the ones who have played a higher level of cricket so everyone expects us to win so there is a lot of pressure on,” said Lambert.The USA bowling attack looked extremely threatening with the wickets shared around its pace attack. Khawaja Shuja, the 19-year-old right-arm fast medium bowler, was the pick with figures of 5 for 15, although Steve Pitter (2 for 24) and Imran Awan (2 for 36) were also looking dangerous with some aggressive short-pitched bowling.”Some of the short balls were the right length for the wicket and the guys did a great job of putting the balls on a correct length,” said Lambert. “Some balls bounced and Norway didn’t seem to have played against the bouncing balls a whole lot so it worked in our favour.” In reply, the USA coasted to their target in just 14.5 overs with Sushil Nadkarni (41*) and Orlando Baker (32*) looking in fine form.
Jersey’s Peter Gough on his way to an unbeaten 59 against Japan © Cricket Europe/ICC
Eighteen-year-old Gulbudeen Naib was the hero for Afghanistan as he took 5 for 7, including a hat-trick to close the innings, as Bahamas managed just 46 all out. And although they too suffered a batting collapse, Afghanistan secured victory by five wickets after 6.3 overs as they attempted to score quick runs to improve their run-rate, with Mario Ford claiming 3 for 5.”I was very happy to receive my Man-of-the-Match award for Afghanistan and I would like to pay tribute to my captain, team and coach who have helped me achieve this,” said Naib. “It was the first ever hat-trick for Afghanistan so I am very happy,” he added. “I am sure my friends and family back at home will be very proud.”Matt Hague produced a captain’s performance for Jersey in their eight-wicket win over Japan taking 4 for 26 with the ball and scoring 27 not out with the bat. He played his part in reducing Japan to 124 for 8 in 50 overs before helping Peter Gough, who made 59 not out, reach Jersey’s target with 15.5 overs to spare. “It was a really good performance. After yesterday when we got off to such a good start batting we wanted to get in a game today and get a win on the board,” said Hague.In the other game of the day, Singapore registered their first victory of the event with an exciting win by three wickets over Botswana. Buddhika Oshanka made 79 as Singapore reached a target of 184 with 2.3 overs to spare.

According to The Sun, Southampton are interested in signing Isaac Hayden from Newcastle United this summer.

The Lowdown: Saints need to move

The Saints went through a mixed 2020/21 season as they finished 15th in the Premier League but also reached an FA Cup semi-final. As such, Ralph Hasenhuttl will be demanding improvement and will likely want to add to his squad.

However, Southampton have secured just one new arrival so far in the transfer window in Romain Perraud (southamptonfc.com).

The Latest: Saints eye Hayden

According to this latest report, Hasenhuttl and co are interested in taking Hayden to the south coast.

Newcastle would be willing to let him make the move to St Mary’s for a fee of £10m.

The Verdict: Experience

Hayden may only be 26, but he has plenty of experience in the top flight, managing 104 appearances for the Magpies in the Premier League (Transfermarkt). He came through Arsenal’s academy and impressed against Southampton last February, with Alan Shearer calling him “superb” following that display in a 3-2 win for the Geordies (premierleague.com).

A fee of £10m for a player with several years in the Premier League under his belt could well be a bargain for the Saints. As we edge ever closer towards the start of the 2021/22 campaign, the Saints must start making moves in the transfer market, and Hayden could be the next piece in the jigsaw.

In other news, many Southampton fans would be happy to see this man leave the club in the summer.

Dwayne Smith, the West Indies allrounder, has turned his back on the Caribbean after signing a Kolpak deal with Sussex and is aiming to qualify for England

Cricinfo staff27-Jun-2008
Dwayne Smith hopes to swap the maroon of West Indies to blue and red of England © Getty Images
Dwayne Smith, the West Indies allrounder, has turned his back on the Caribbean after signing a two-and-a-half year Kolpak deal with Sussex and is aiming to qualify for England.Smith, 25, initially joined Sussex on a short-term deal for the Twenty20 Cup but has impressed during his stint at Hove. His stand-out performance was 72 off 27 balls against Hampshire.”We are delighted to have Dwayne on board as he has fitted into the dressing room really well over the last couple of weeks,” said Mark Robinson, the Sussex cricket manager. “Dwayne is the type of cricketer you would pay to come and see as he hits a long ball and bowls well. He is also one of the best fielders in the world. I’m sure the Sussex public will have a lot of pleasure watching his exploits in the next couple of years.”Smith, who struck a century on his Test debut against South Africa, has played 10 Tests and 71 ODIs for West Indies, but his ODI batting overage of 14 shows he has never fulfilled his ability. His last international appearance came against Ireland, in Dublin, last July at the end of West Indies’ tour.He was a late signing in the Indian Premier League when he joined Mumbai Indians having been overlooked for the series against Sri Lanka. Smith will primarily play one-day cricket for Sussex this year but will play a bigger role in both formats next summer.Unlike the volume of Kolpak players from South Africa giving up their international careers, there was been a more limited flow from West Indies. Smith follows Wavell Hinds (Derbyshire), Pedro Collins (Surrey), Omari Banks (Somerset) and Jermaine Lawson (Leicestershire).

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson is on the verge of signing a new long-term deal at Anfield, according to reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Alisson stars for Liverpool

The Brazilian has been sensational for the Reds over the past three years, standing out as one of the best ‘keepers in the world. Indeed, he was named The Best FIFA Goalkeeper at the organisation’s awards ceremony in 2019 for his performances between the sticks at club and international level.

Alisson has made 130 appearances for Liverpool to date, playing a pivotal role in Jurgen Klopp’s side clinching Champions League and Premier League glory. He even popped up with a memorable winning goal of his own in stoppage time against West Brom two months ago when the Reds’ top-four hopes were in peril.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

The Latest: Brazilian set to sign new deal

The 28-year-old’s current deal expires in 2024, but according to Romano on Twitter, he will extend his stay on Merseyside until 2026 imminently. The journalist tweeted:

“Liverpool are set to complete the agreement with Alisson to extend his contract until June 2026. The agreement is at final stages. Final details and clauses expected to be fixed in the next weeks, then Alisson will sign his contract extension with LFC.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/the-latest-liverpool-transfer-news-7/” title=”The latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=“none”]

The Verdict: Huge news for Reds

This is a major boost for Liverpool, with Alisson surely one of the first names on Klopp’s team sheet given his vast influence.

The Brazil international possesses an aura between the sticks, proving to be a daunting proposition for opposing players and making his teammates feel more at ease.

Part of Alisson’s brilliance is that he makes everything look so simple, when in fact the job he is doing is a very difficult one. You only have to look at his 2018/19 Premier League record, when he conceded only one more goal (22) than kept clean sheets (21), to see how reliable a presence he is as the Reds’ last line of defence.

The hope is that he finishes his career at Liverpool, with many years still left in him and hopefully many more trophies and appearances to come.

In other news, some Liverpool fans love some training footage that has emerged involving one player. Find out who it is here.

Anil Kumble on dealing with Ajantha Mendis, the need for two specialist wicketkeepers, and on becoming captain late in his career

Cricinfo staff11-Jul-2008
Anil Kumble thinks playing down the line, instead of across it, is one way to deal with Ajantha Mendis © AFP
Ahead of the tour to Sri Lanka, Anil Kumble, India’s Test captain, has played down the threat posed by spinner Ajantha Mendis, who scythed through India’s batting in the Asia Cup final earlier this week.”He must be a tricky bowler. But I cannot see how he can remain a surprise element for very long,” he told the . “To be honest I cannot see how someone like Rahul [Dravid] would not have sorted him out. Rahul would have played straight and not heaved across the line.”Kumble insisted he had nothing to say on Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s decision to withdraw from the Test series as “it was his (Dhoni’s) personal decision. He knows his mind and body”.However, he stated he had asked the selectors to pick two specialist wicketkeepers for the tour. “As captain I am aware that there could be problems if the specialist were to pull a muscle or have a runny stomach on the morning of a Test. There was a suggestion Rahul be the second wicketkeeper, but I persuaded the [selection] committee to view things from Indian cricket’s point of view and advantage.”I contended there was nothing wrong in taking the additional specialist wicketkeeper. I know Rahul would not like to be saddled with such a responsibility.”When asked whether he rued not getting the captaincy earlier in his career, he said: “After the Australian tour that was riddled with controversies, I told myself that I had handled the most provocative of situations well.”And maybe in that state of mind, I did think I could have served Indian cricket better had I been offered the captaincy earlier. Apart from Sachin [Tendulkar], I was senior in the team to others. But then these things happen and one has to learn to take these in one’s stride.” He said being made captain on a series-to-series basis did not provide him “much scope to plan”.India kick off the tour with a three-day warm-up match on July 18.

Sam Inkersole believes Chelsea could pull off the signing of the summer by welcoming Erling Haaland to the club.

Inkersole covers the Champions League winners for football.london and knows Thomas Tuchel, who replaced club legend Frank Lampard in the hotseat in January, is keen to strengthen his squad with some exciting additions before the transfer window slams shut at the end of next month.

The Blues have been among those targeting Haaland for some time, but they face competition for the 20-year-old striker.

Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool are also keen to do business with the Norway international’s current employers, Borussia Dortmund.

Since joining the German giants from Red Bull Salzburg in 2019, Haaland has gone on to score 57 goals in 59 appearances.

His goalscoring pedigree at such a young age has led to a queue of clubs wanting to prise the frontman away from Dortmund and Inkersole feels Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich could play a telling role if the Blues are to win the race for Haaland’s services.

Speaking to Football FanCast, Inkersole said: “Haaland is the one that everyone wants. If Abramovich wants them, Abramovich normally gets them.

“It would be a blockbuster move and it would absolutely smash Chelsea’s wage structure, which is another thing to consider.

“My head says no, I don’t think the move will go through. But my heart says yes and I’d love to see Haaland at Chelsea. He’s a generational talent and would absolutely tear it up.”

An update has emerged on PSG midfielder Rafinha, regarding Aston Villa’s interest in his services.

What’s the talk?

According to Fichajes, Aston Villa are targeting PSG central midfielder Rafinha this summer as Dean Smith continues to plot additions to his side following the arrivals of Ashley Young and Emi Buendia.

The report claims that PSG are eager to move the Brazilian on following business of their own, bringing in the likes of Gini Wijnaldum, Achraf Hakimi, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Sergio Ramos. Villa could Rafinha for a fee in the region of £8.5m (€10m), with AC Milan and Lazio also interested.

Upgrade on McGinn

Johan Lange must ensure that he can get a deal over the line for Rafinha as he could be a significant addition to the squad. He could prove to be an upgrade on John McGinn in the middle of the park and help Dean Smith’s side push on to compete for European football next season, with his heaps of experience at the top level for Barcelona and PSG.

The ex-Barca ace has spent his entire career in La Liga, the Serie A and Ligue 1, whilst also experiencing Champions League football for Barcelona and PSG. He has shown over the course of his career that he is a reliable performer at the elite level of the game, which is why he has been able to play for the aforementioned clubs alongside Celta Vigo and Inter.

Spanish centre-back Andreu Fontas once hailed him as a superb player and praised his physical attributes. He said: “Rafinha is a great player. Physically, he is a beast and, technically, he is superb.”

The £72k-per-week maestro averaged an excellent WhoScored rating of 7.02 for PSG in Ligue 1 last season, having managed a score of 7.13 in La Liga for Celta Vigo the previous campaign. McGinn, meanwhile, averaged a score of 7.00 in his debut Premier League campaign before regressing to a 6.88 in the 2020/21 season for Villa, playing in 37 of their 38 matches.

This shows that, whilst the Scot is still a good performer, Rafinha would come in and improve Villa’s midfield options. He could create competition for places and potentially even play alongside McGinn, if not Douglas Luiz, whilst upping the quality threshold in that area of the pitch. Therefore, Lange must work hard to make sure he can get a deal over the line for the 28-year-old before the end of the transfer window.

AND in other news, Time to go: Lange must ruthlessly axe £34k-p/w flop, Villa fans would be relieved…

Umpire Mark Benson has suggested HotSpot be used for the review system

Cricinfo staff10-Aug-2008
Mark Benson feels the review system could be improved with the use of HotSpot © AFP
The review of umpiring decisions, being trialled in the series, has already generated a lot of attention and did so again on Saturday, when a confident appeal by India for an lbw against Thilan Samaraweera was turned down initially by the on-field umpire and then on review.Samaraweera was struck on the pad by a ball from Anil Kumble but it appeared as if he might have got an inside edge. However, replays showed ball hitting pad before bat, and it appeared as though the ball would have gone on to hit the middle stump three-fourths of the way up. The decision, though, was upheld and Samaraweera, then on 5, went on to score 35.Mark Benson was the on-field umpire involved in that decision, and he admitted it had been a hard day at work. “It has been a tough day for the umpires; there have been three decisions overturned but in the end of the day the correct decision has been made and we have to live with it,” he told broadcaster Ten Sports after the day’s play. “It’s not easy with all these bat-pads and these mystery spinners (read Ajantha Mendis). It’s a trial and the review system has got to be for the obvious mistakes. It can only be for good if we get rid of the obvious mistake”There were seven review calls made by both teams on Saturday. Benson and Rudi Koertzen were the two on-field umpires, with Billy Doctrove standing as the third umpire. Benson had a few suggestions for improving the system.”The review system needs to get the HotSpot in,” he said. Benson also said perhaps the review should check if the entire ball pitched outside the line of leg stump in case of leg-before decisions, instead of looking at percentages. Currently, the rule states that more than 50% of the ball must pitch in line with the leg stump, whereas for the impact of the ball on pad, as long as a part of the ball is in line with the stumps the batsman can be given out.The present review system uses the Virtual Eye technology, which maps where the ball pitched and the point where it hit the pad, and predicts where the ball will hit the stumps (though this is not available to the third umpire due to doubts over its accuracy). However, the system produced a gaffe when it failed to detect a deflection from Virender Sehwag’s front pad onto the back pad in India’s second innings at the SSC, and showed the impact of the ball in line with where it hit the back pad, but at a distance from the stumps where his front pad was. Third umpire Rudi Koertzen too failed to point out the glaring error to the on-field umpire.Sri Lanka have had the better of the review system so far in the series, with captain Mahela Jayawardene particularly making some superb calls in the field on the first day of the Test, with lbw shouts against Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir, initially given not-out by the on-field umpire, were upheld on review. Trevor Bayliss, the Sri Lanka coach, was for the system. “We’ve had a number decisions turned around in our favour. The other way of looking at it is sitting here and complaining about seven or eight wrong ones,” he said on Saturday. “In fact we had those turned around. I think it’s doing its job. There are one or two areas that have to be cleaned up a little bit. But from our point of view we are reasonably happy the way it has gone.”Bayliss felt the review system would balance the contest between bat and ball. “Everyone says the game is a batsman’s game. I think the review system might be a little bit of a comeback for the bowlers. There will be more outs than not outs. All the bowlers should be pretty happy that the review system is in place.”