All posts by h716a5.icu

Sri Lankan vice-captain Angelo Matthews has suffered a groin injury and will have a scan to determine the severity

Firdose Moonda at SuperSport Park16-Dec-2011Sri Lankan vice-captain Angelo Mathews has suffered a groin injury and will have a scan to determine the severity. Mathews bowled five overs on the second day before leaving the field.Batting coach Marvan Atapattu confirmed that he was taken for an MRI scan but could not comment on Mathews’ participation in the rest of the match, saying that information will only be available after the scan has been conducted. Mathews has only just made his return to bowling after suffering a injury to his quadricep during the World Cup semi-final and with Sri Lanka’s casualties in that department growing, was expected to play some role with the ball in this series.Meanwhile, South Africa also have a walking wounded in their ranks. Jacques Kallis was hit on the side of the head by a Dilhara Fernando bouncer that kept low. He was attended to on the field and appeared unable to continue batting but, after a few minutes, resumed.”The grill of the helmet caused a laceration to his left ear and we had to glue stitch it together,” Mohammad Moosajee, South Africa team manager said. “He was a bit dizzy and disorientated at frst but I am happy to report that he is doing much better.””Whenever the ball doesn’t deflect and go back towards the slip cordon, you know it’s a hard hit,” said AB de Villiers on seeing Kallis get hit. “I knew it would take a few minutes for him to get going but credit to him that he kept going, It was a really important moment in the game. If Ash [Ashwell Prince] had to come in there, you never know what could have happened.”Kallis will be monitored overnight but is expected to be in good health for the rest of the match.

Garey Mathurin, a previously unknown left-arm spinner from St Lucia, produced a remarkable spell of 3 for 9 in four overs as West Indies secured a remarkable 25-run victory in the second Twenty20 at The Oval

The Report by Andrew Miller at The Oval25-Sep-2011 West Indies 113 for 5 (Samuels 35*, Patel 2-22) beat England 88 (Mathurin 3-9) by 25 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsWest Indies were superb in the field as England subsided for 88•Getty ImagesGarey Mathurin, a previously unknown left-arm spinner from St Lucia, produced a remarkable spell of 3 for 9 in four overs as West Indies secured a shock 25-run victory in the second Twenty20 at The Oval. After being asked to bat first on a slow and low turner, they struggled to a total of 113 for 5 and looked set for a second heavy defeat in three days. But instead, they rallied supremely to bowl England out for 88 with more than three overs of their allocation to spare.With England set to embark on a tour of India next week, and with the defence of their World Twenty20 crown taking place in Sri Lanka in 12 months’ time, this was a match that will have caused a few jitters in the team thinktank. On the same pitch that proved receptive to spin in Friday’s opening game, both teams stacked their side with slow bowlers, but it was England’s new-look order that ultimately dealt with the conditions the worst.England’s innings began inauspiciously, as Mathurin’s high action and appreciable turn gave Friday’s matchwinner Alex Hales a strokeless start to his innings. He had managed just two runs from his first eight balls when Krishnar Santokie, another West Indian debutant, and this time one who hasn’t played first-class cricket, bowled him with a beauty that nipped through his defences and into off stump.Four balls later, Mathurin made his first big impression, as Craig Kieswetter – with two fours to his name – was so bamboozled by a slider that he stood his ground after being bowled, in the vain hope that the keeper had been the one to whip off the bails. Ravi Bopara was then spun out by a beauty in Mathurin’s next over, and at 26 for 3 at the end of the Powerplay, the match was exquisitely in the balance.Ben Stokes did his utmost to change the dynamic of the innings, as he greeted Devendra Bishoo with the most violent assault of the night – a six and two fours in the space of a first over that went for 17, but at the other end, Mathurin twirled away without anything being allowed to break his zone. Jonny Bairstow, the hero of the Cardiff ODI, might have been tempted to block out the final four balls of his spell, but instead he dropped to his knees for a sweep, and was bowled for 4.Stokes continued to provide England with a boundary-finding option, but as had been the case in the West Indian innings, working the singles proved to be a problem, not least when the less-than-fleet-footed Samit Patel entered the fray. He was run out by a direct hit from gully as he belatedly set off for a leg bye and, one over later, Stokes responded to three dot balls in a row with a missed sweep that left him lbw for 31.The arrival of Tim Bresnan at No. 8 was arguably the most encouraging sight for England at such a stage, but even his big-match experience couldn’t rescue his side. He drove on the up to that man Mathurin at long-off to depart for 2 from 4, and instead it was the rookie alliance of Jos Buttler and Scott Borthwick who hauled England back from the depths of 60 for 7. With more pace on the ball now that the spinners’ overs were running out, they added 23 in 17 balls before a brilliant shy from Darren Sammy at mid-on left Buttler stranded short of his crease, and England deep in the mire.Another calamitous run-out followed one over later as England began to panic. Graeme Swann turned down a single to cover with Borthwick stranded at the wrong end of the pitch, and the captain hadn’t scored from either of his two deliveries by the time England’s No. 11, Jade Dernbach, was also sent on his way via a run-out. Earlier in the match, Swann had chosen not to bowl his full quota of overs to give his team-mates the practice. It was a quiet night for the noisiest man in the camp.On a bad night for England full-stop, Borthwick’s performance with the ball was undoubtedly the highlight. In a solitary over against Ireland last month, he conceded 13 runs in unfavourable conditions. Tonight he went for 15 in a full four-over quota, without conceding a single boundary. His maiden international wicket was a collector’s item as well, a perfectly pitched googly that bamboozled Johnson Charles, West Indies’ opener, and bowled him for 21.After allowing West Indies to rattle to 42 for 0 in four overs against the seamers on Friday, Swann cannily chose to open with the spin of Patel. His first ball was swept for four by Charles, the last of his quota was nailed through the covers for another boundary, and in between whiles he was clubbed for six by Charles over long-on. But the remainder of his 21 deliveries conceded a grand total of six runs, as West Indies found no way to keep the strike rotating.Even Marlon Samuels, the most renowned batsman on display, found it tough to raise his game in the circumstances. He struggled for timing initially and had made 11 from 20 balls before drilling his first boundary at the end of the 15th over, and though he lifted his game in the closing stages, a run-a-ball 35 appeared to have done little more than hoist the West Indies total into triple figures. That, however, proved to be decisive.England’s fielding, such a strong factor in their victory on Friday, was once again sharp, with Hales sliding round the deep midwicket boundary to cling onto a slog from Christopher Barnwell, before Borthwick at long-off swallowed a firm lofted drive off Sammy to give Bopara his fifth wicket of the series, and his first of the night. Dernbach was England’s other wicket-taker, with an early lbw to remove Dwayne Smith, but at the end of a memorable summer, it was West Indies who were left to cavort around the outfield. Their season is only just beginning, but what a fillip this will be as they head off towards Dubai, Bangladesh and beyond.

The former Test opener and current selector Mohammad Ilyas has been served a showcause notice by the PCB for his part in the board’s ongoing dispute with former captain Shahid Afridi

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jun-2011The former Test opener and current selector Mohammad Ilyas has been served two showcause notices by the PCB; the first for his part in the board’s ongoing dispute with former captain Shahid Afridi, and the second for his appearance on a TV show on Sunday night that also included Salman Butt.Ilyas was the target of specific and personal criticism from Afridi in the days after he announced his conditional retirement from the game and launched a blitz against the board that has now taken on a legal hue. Late last week, an incensed Ilyas felt compelled to respond with his own attacks against Afridi and was duly issued with the notice on Friday, in which the board said he had violated the code of conduct applicable to officials.Afridi and Ilyas have history: Ilyas has often opposed the selection of Afridi in the side but it has ballooned in recent months. Afridi accused Ilyas of promoting his son-in-law Imran Farhat, while Ilyas responded by saying Afridi had pushed unfairly and persistently for Ahmed Shahzad, Fawad Alam and Shahzaib Hasan.Fuelling the dispute are Afridi’s comments about a “Punjab-Lahore lobby” working against him since he became captain – Ilyas is from Lahore and Afridi, a Pathan from Karachi – remarks that have seriously irked the board and a number of prominent ex-cricketers in Lahore.At a press conference in Karachi, Afridi clarified his remarks, saying that he was talking about an individual and not a region or people. “I did say it, but I only said it so that the media would understand who I am talking about,” he said. “After that I stopped saying it and I took Ilyas’s name. the work that he is using the kind of language that he is using everyone can see. I will not talk of provinces, I play for Pakistan.”Ilyas is expected to respond today to the first notice, but comments he made on Sunday night on a show on are expected to land him in further trouble. A bizarre line-up of guests on the show included Ilyas, Salman Butt, Sarfraz Nawaz, as well as a brief telephonic appearance from Ijaz Butt, chairman PCB.Ilyas repeated most of his earlier criticisms on Afridi’s performances as player and captain – stating again that he had refused to sign off on Afridi’s selection in the squad for the West Indies ODI series – as well as explaining his response to the personal attacks. One particular remark, however, is likely to prove more incendiary than others, a derogatory proverb – not to be taken literally – involving dogs.But what is likely to concern any number of observers is the presence of a board official on a talk show with Salman, who was banned earlier this year for ten years (five suspended) after being found guilty by a tribunal of spot-fixing. Butt was also critical of Afridi’s captaincy, though he stressed that he had no personal issues with him. Afridi said only, “Everyone saw who was sitting with who on TV last night, so I don’t want to say too much.”It will not be lost on neutrals and Afridi’s supporters, that another personality critical of Afridi is said to be Mazhar Majeed, the player-agent allegedly at the centre of the spot-fixing controversy and currently under trial in the UK in the same case. On what is believed to be his twitter account, Majeed has been severely critical of Afridi thrice during the course of the last week or so.”

New Zealand began day five at Basin Reserve needing to bowl Pakistan out to square the series but their attack lacked the penetration to dislodge the opposition batsmen

Andrew Fernando at Basin Reserve19-Jan-2011New Zealand began day five at Basin Reserve needing to bowl Pakistan out to square the series, but barring an early burst from the seamers, their attack lacked the penetration to dislodge the opposition batsmen, especially after they began to play defensively. Daniel Vettori, however, singled out the second-innings collapse in Hamilton as the reason for New Zealand’s 1-0 series loss against Pakistan.”The reason we lost the series was because of our third innings with the bat in Hamilton,” Vettori said. “I thought we played really well yesterday to give ourselves a chance. We wanted to get a 270 score because we knew that would always be difficult out here, so to set that to win was a good effort.”Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan effectively sealed the series with their second century stand of the game, batting out almost a session and a half to take Pakistan out of danger. Both men made valuable half-centuries: Younis opted to play his strokes for 81 with one eye on a win, and Misbah’s unbeaten 226-ball vigil ensured his side would not surrender the series lead on the last day.”Misbah and Younis was the key partnership,” Vettori said. “They’re obviously very experienced players and they know their game pretty well. The wicket was good and we just couldn’t get that breakthrough early enough. I think even when we got Younis before tea there was a sniff there, but we just needed to keep getting those breakthroughs and into their inexperienced middle and lower order, but we didn’t get them.”Vettori was expected to provide the impetus for New Zealand as they pushed for wickets in the fourth innings, but his inability to turn the ball significantly on a worn fifth-day pitch blunted New Zealand’s ambitions of a Test win. Vettori troubled Younis early with changes of pace and a hint of extra bounce, but the batsman had little trouble negotiating the spinner once he was settled at the crease.”The wicket was very good. It still had enough in it [for the bowlers], but if you didn’t want to play any shots it was certainly something you could defend on. Younis played really well – it was a great way to play in a fourth innings on a fifth day. He put a little bit of pressure back on us, but mainly he was content to defend and Misbah was very content to defend. When you’re 1-0 up you can play that way and they did exceptionally well, and did what their team needed.”Waqar Younis also praised the efforts of the experienced Pakistan batsmen. “They’ve been batting well since South Africa, which was another tough series,” Waqar said. “Full credit to Younis, he’s an experienced campaigner and he knows what to do and he did exactly what we needed.”Misbah-ul-Haq embellished his record as captain, adding 70 to take his series tally to 231 in three innings, and picked up the Man-of-the-Match and Man-of-the-Series awards. His average since taking over the leadership is 112.75 in four Tests. “For some [becoming Test captain] goes wrong and for some it brings a lot of luck,” Waqar said. “He’s been playing good, defensive but positive cricket.”Waqar said the plan had been to chase down the 274 set by New Zealand for victory, but early wickets caused his side to change tack. “270 odd is a par score nowadays in Test match cricket. But on the fifth day it sometimes gets a little tricky. We wanted to win this match but losing three early wickets didn’t really help the cause and it took a bit too long to recover from that and that’s why we didn’t manage it.”Hafeez was our trump card. If he had carried on for bit longer it might have been a different story, but it was tough after that. We always knew Vettori could be [dangerous] on this fifth day pitch, so we’re happy with the result.”Both sides now look forward to the six-match one-day series, which begins on Saturday. The series will be crucial as the teams look to settle their final combinations and build some momentum ahead of the World Cup. New Zealand, in particular, will attempt to turn their one-day form around, having lost an unprecedented 11 games on the trot since June last year.”Obviously we’re on a bad run of losses,” Vettori said. “We’re comfortable playing in New Zealand. It won’t mean much in terms of performance because the grounds and the pitches will be so different [in the World Cup]. But if the guys can walk away from this series with a series win and some form, they’ll go to the World Cup in a better space.”Pakistan, too, will aim to leave New Zealand with another victory. “A win always gives you a boost,” Waqar said. “We’ll go into the one-dayers with a lot more aggression and positivity. We’ve got a few players coming and a few going back. We know that New Zealand are always a tough team in their home conditions, so we’re not going to take it easy.”

Transfer insider Dean Jones has made a claim regarding the futures of Aston Villa defenders Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings, GiveMeSport report.

The Lowdown: Summer shake-up?

Steven Gerrard is preparing for a first full season in charge at Villa Park and looks set to be backed by owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens in the transfer window.

Reports last month suggested that Gerrard will be backed financially ahead of a ‘huge’ overhaul.

Villa are apparently likely to spend more than £150m over the coming months and are happy to break their transfer record once again, 12 months on from a £34.56m move for Emiliano Buendia.

The Latest: Jones’ claim

Talking to GMS about Konsa and Mings, Jones believes the pair could both depart the Midlands this summer, adding that ‘it’s not impossible’ Gerrard could bring in decent value replacements.

“They both could leave. I think that that’s plausible. And it’s not impossible that they could find two replacements at a decent value.”

“Mings and Konsa, for where Steven Gerrard is heading with this side, I think it’s plausible that they would be open to offers for both players.”

The Verdict: Interesting…

Konsa and Mings have been regulars under both Dean Smith and Gerrard this season, so it would be a shock if both moved on over the coming months.

If they do depart, Gerrard would be left with just Calum Chambers and Kortney Hause as senior options, so you could argue that three could be required.

Stefan de Vrij, Filip Helander, Victor Nelsson, Joe Gomez and Duje Caleta-Car are just some of the centre-backs who have been linked with a move to Villa, so it could prove to be a busy summer when it comes to defensive incomings and outgoings.

In other news: Villa now edging closer to summer move for ‘clinical’ ace as Gerrard gets his way. 

Aston Villa may well swoop for Marseille’s Boubacar Kamara in this summer’s transfer window.

What’s the word?

That’s according to transfer insider Dean Jones, who told GIVEMESPORT that the 22-year-old is “on their radar” –  and despite being rated at £22.5m – will be available on a free transfer in the summer.

Kamara refused to commit to Marseille on a long-term basis, meaning he is now in the final few weeks of his career at the Ligue 1 outfit, with his contract running down quickly.

The No.4 wearing midfielder has reportedly attracted the interest of Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan, Barcelona, Roma, Arsenal, Juventus and Newcastle United, though it is Aston Villa who have allegedly offered the France U21 starlet a “big contract” as they attempt to bring the young midfielder to the Premier League.

Imagine Kamara & Coutinho

Kamara, who has been dubbed a “phenomenon” by former teammate Rolando has had an unbelievable campaign in what is now his fourth full Ligue 1 season, having burst onto the scene in the 2017/18 season.

At just 22-years-old, the starlet possesses a wealth of experience in France’s top division and has achieved stats that indicate he is ready for Premier League football.

The link-up between Kamara and Coutinho, if Villa can convince the Brazilian to stay, could be a fruitful partnership but not directly through attacking returns.

In a more subtle sense, the balance in midfield that the Marseille star offers would allow Villa to achieve central dominance in both attacking and defensive phases.

Effectively, Kamara’s ability enables him to act as the metronome in a holding midfield role, which in this Villa side, would allow the young Frenchman to dictate the pace of the game whilst offering stability for forward options like Coutinho who can concentrate more on the attacking side of the game.

His match average of 88.75 touches, with 57 of these coming in the midfield third, demonstrates his composure in building possession-orientated attacks. Whilst his average of 71.59 passes completed underlines his maturity and authority in the central areas of the pitch even further.

Tidy and composed, the engine room operator could generate quite the partnership alongside Coutinho if he also arrives on a permanent basis.

In other news: Fabrizio Romano drops major Aston Villa update that will leave Gerrard raging…