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More details of Zimbabwe’s domestic restructuring have emerged

Martin Williamson22-May-2009More details of Zimbabwe’s domestic restructuring have emerged, and if implemented as planned it will result in a substantial increase in the volume of cricket played as well as offering professional contracts to more of the country’s players.Speaking to Cricinfo earlier this week, Ozias Bvute, the board’s chief executive, explained that the five new franchises would be regionally based and all inclusive.In recent years, there has been considerable criticism of the internal structure, with disgruntled stakeholders claiming provincial boards had been purged of dissenters. Bvute insisted that they would be open to anyone to get involved in, although critics have already pointed out that the board has indicated it will appoint the five CEOs.Another area of concern has been the centralisation of the game on Harare. Even though there have been various different provincial sides in recent years, many of these have been filled with Harare-based cricketers bussed out to the regions to make up numbers.Bvute explained that each franchise would contract its own players and there would be residency requirements. “We’re looking to take the game back to the community, so we give them ownership, and so responsibility, to prove their ability.” Any person who did not want to commit to a professional contract could be offered a pay-as-you play deal.In a bold initiative, Bvute also revealed that ZC was looking to attract overseas players to come to Zimbabwe to improve the quality of the teams.He said each franchise would be equally funded and would be responsible for all aspects of the game in their area. “They will be fully independent,” Bvute insisted. “Zimbabwe Cricket will run the national game, they will run the domestic one.” The only things under the direct control of ZC would be scheduling and identifying venues.The other major change will be the length of the season. In recent years all major domestic competitions have been shoehorned into a short two or three-month period between February and May. The new schedule sees the Logan Cup expanded from six matches a side to 16, starting in August and ending the following February. Each four-day match will be followed by a one-day game. The Twenty20 tournament would follow at the end of February.Bvute was confident that there was sufficient funding available to underpin the professional structure and the expanded season.Asked if there were enough facilities outside Harare, he was bullish. “Grounds have fallen by the wayside, but they were never run by ZC. They were privately-run sports clubs that fell victim to the economic situation. The venues we run are in good shape.”

Sachin Tendulkar has praised India’s coach Gary Kirsten for his role in the team’s first Test series win in New Zealand for more than 41 years

Cricinfo staff10-Apr-2009Sachin Tendulkar has praised India’s coach Gary Kirsten for his role in the team’s first Test series win in New Zealand for more than 41 years. Since beating Australia late last year India have been on a roll, with their confidence right up, and Tendulkar felt Kirsten’s allowing the team to be themselves was key.”A lot of credit has to go to coach Gary Kirsten who has allowed the natural instincts of players to flourish,” he told the Mumbai-based tabloid . “A lot has got to do with what’s going on in a player’s mind and Gary has played a huge role there.”Along with Gary, the support staff Venkatesh Prasad (bowling coach), Robin Singh (fielding coach), our physio Nitin Patel and Paddy Upton (mental conditioning coach). It’s the huge effort from all of them that has created this environment.”India, not having won a Test series in New Zealand for more than 41 years, achieved their goal. This came after they beat Australia and England at home in Test series. Crucial to these wins has been the balance and belief of the side, said Tendulkar.”We’ve got some seriously talented players. The secret to this success is the players are playing their natural game. That can only happen if the atmosphere is good and the mind is free of any kind of pressure,” he said.”It would be wrong to say earlier teams did not try hard enough and they didn’t mean business,” he said. “Everyone goes out there to win. I just feel this is a nicely balanced side with a lot of talent. Without these aspects it wouldn’t have happened. The guys are scoring big and the bowlers are striking as often as they possibly can.”Tendulkar said India started getting that winning feeling outside the subcontinent after their Test success against Zimbabwe in 2001, a victory that ended one of the most dismal streaks in all of sport.”That gave us a lot of confidence that yes we can win Test matches abroad. Once you know how to win a Test match and when you do it often, it’s a fantastic feeling,” said Tendulkar. “Five days of competitive cricket and healthy competition make things exciting. Mind you, all this started in a different manner with nobody scoring a hundred or no bowler getting a five-wicket haul in 2001. It was a clear-cut indication of a team effort in that Bulawayo game. After that, there have been some good performances and we grew in confidence.”

The work that Rafa Benitez completed in the summer transfer market was hardly going to get many Everton fans excited.

They signed five players throughout the window with an accumulative spend of just £1.7m. Finances were evidently restricted but what hasn’t helped is some diabolical expenditure over the last five or six years at Goodison Park.

During the course of the 2017/18 campaign, the Toffees spent a jaw-dropping sum of £182.88m. They followed that up in 2018/19 by thrashing out £89.82m on new players, and then in 2019/20, they took their spending to just shy of £110m.

2020/21 was a little more reserved at £67.38m but it was still a sizeable outlay, especially when you consider how little they had in their reserves over the last few months.

They had to look towards free transfers for the most part, but fortunately the only player on whom they spent any money has hit the ground running.

Demarai Gray has two goals in his first three outings and has looked in fine form with some exciting performances, but the same can’t be said for a lot of their more expensive signings.

Take Alex Iwobi, for instance, a man who cost the club around £34m when he signed from Arsenal in the summer of 2019.

The Nigerian was an inconsistent player for the Gunners but had plenty of potential and was an experienced Premier League player despite his tender age.

However, the winger has been a costly mistake for the Merseyside club. Iwobi isn’t even a regular starter at Goodison Park, and due to his shoddy performances, his value has fallen by £14.2m in two years. As per Transfermarkt, he’s now rated at just £19.8m.

Marcel Brands is a keen negotiator but he will have every right to be fuming with the attacker for being such an expensive error.

Since signing for the club, the £100k-per-week earner has provided just five goals and five assists in 69 outings. That means that Iwobi has cost the club £6.8m per goal.

On that evidence, it’s hardly a surprise to see that he was described as “embarrassing” by the Liverpool Echo’s David Prentice last season.

The winger has looked a little more promising in the early weeks of 2021/22, registering an assist against Southampton, but he has still done little to prove that he deserves a regular berth in the team.

Brands should be particularly concerned with how this investment has played out over the last few years.

AND in other news, Benitez must axe £15k-p/w “horror show”, he should never play for Everton again…

Crystal Palace fans have expressed their frustration with Cheikhou Kouyate’s performance in the first half of their clash with Tottenham Hotspur. 

Palace came into the game with two points from their first three matches of the new season, having followed up an opening day defeat at Chelsea with draws against Brentford and West Ham United.

Visitors Spurs travelled to Selhurst Park with the only remaining perfect record in the division.

Patrick Vieira selected Kouyate at the centre of a midfield three, with captain James McArthur and Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher either side of him.

It was the same trio he fielded in the 2-2 draw at the London Stadium at the end of last month.

The Senegal international earned a SofaScore rating of 6.7 for his first-half display, the third-lowest outfield player in the Palace side. Only Tyrick Mitchell and James McArthur were rated lower.

Kouyate contested six ground duels in the first period and only managed to win three of them.

Here’s what Eagles fans had to say about his first-half display.

Palace fans slam Kouyate

“Kouyate and Ayew off please. I’ve seen enough.”

Credit: @palacecarlton

“Never seen a football player as bad as Kouyate”

Credit: @Hunchodini

“Kouyate just shouldn’t be playing”

Credit: @J_CPFC565

“Kouyate is NOT and I repeat NOT a ball playing midfielder”

Credit: @callum90CPFC

“STOP PLAYING KOUYATE”

Credit: @hollaatmefelix

“Kouyate can you just play good for once”

Credit: @SakyiSZN

In other news, fans loved this development.

Many Everton fans have been left raging at the latest transfer news involving James Rodriguez.

As per the official website of the Goodison Park faithful, the Colombia international has now left the Merseyside club to sign for Al Rayyan for an undisclosed fee.

He scored a total of six goals and supplied a further nine assists in 26 games across all competitions last season, but never featured under Rafa Benitez this campaign (Transfermarkt).

Given the restrictions with supporters going to grounds last term, it means that Rodriguez leaves without the full Toffees crowd being able to see him play in the flesh, and so the decision to let him go has left a lot of them filled with anger.

Nonetheless, with the summer window shut, it now leaves a big hole in the squad which needs to be addressed in January, as Benitez will surely need an additional creative spark behind his forwards.

Everton fans on Rodriguez transfer news

These Blues raged as the transfer news was shared on Twitter, with one EFC supporter claiming that they were ‘fuming’, while another says that it is ‘terrible’:

“I’m fuming”

Credit: @EvertonHel

“Liquidate”

Credit: @megxefc

“Terrible business”

Credit: @_SB67_

“Sack Brands”

Credit: @efcIucas

“Shambles what a waste”

Credit: @Willboy7William

“Your board’s a joke lads”

Credit: @DaraThePapa

In other news, find out how close Everton were to signing this £25.8m-rated ace here!

Former Premier League striker Nigel Jemson insists that Bruno Fernandes’ goalscoring record last season was inflated by the amount of penalties he scored.

The Portugal international emerged as a key player for United throughout the campaign.

Fernandes scored a total of 18 goals in the Premier League last term, and also laid on 11 assists in 37 games as United finished second in the table, 12 points behind champions Manchester City.

Of those goals, half were penalties, while he also scored four penalties in European competition, two in the Champions League and two in the Europa League.

Fernandes did score a hat-trick from open play on the opening weekend of the season against Leeds United but Jemson believes that he has had his record artificially inflated by the spot-kicks he took last season.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Jemson said: “Fernandes has got off to a great start, scoring a hat-trick, but he scored a lot of penalties last year. Take those out and his goalscoring record wasn’t as good.”

Fernandes will be out to add to his tally this season on Sunday, when United take on Wolves at Molineux before the international break.

Andrew Strauss expects Kevin Pietersen to bounce back on the tour of the West Indies after the batsman’s resignation as the team’s leader

Cricinfo staff19-Jan-2009
Andrew Strauss: “It is easy to use the word legend, but I think Kevin Pietersen will become a legend of the game” © AFP
Andrew Strauss expects Kevin Pietersen, who he succeeded as the England captain, to bounce back on the tour of the West Indies after the batsman’s resignation as the team’s leader. Pietersen stood down on the same day the coach Peter Moores was sacked and Strauss is in the process of remoulding the squad ahead of their departure for the Caribbean on Wednesday.”I’ve spoken to Kevin a few times and I’ve been very pleasantly surprised by his attitude,” Strauss told BBC Sportsweek. “I have no doubt that he will go to the West Indies and get millions of runs.”It is easy to use the word legend, but I think he will become a legend of the game. People like that, when their backs are against the wall, they invariably go out and perform. Kevin is clearly passionate about playing cricket for England for a long period of time.”Strauss felt the team was not divided following the upheaval. “I’ve been very reassured by the chaps that we have not been badly affected as a group and any divisions the press made out were in the side are not evident,” he said. “The players are excited about going to West Indies, which is a great tour. No-one likes reading these things in the press and a tour is a great way to bring people closer together.”Strauss’ job has been made tougher by the fact that the team does not have a head coach. “It’s been very busy,” he said. “Everything is being thrust firmly at my door to get everything ready for the tour, but at the same time it’s a fantastic position to be in as I’ve got a blank canvas to work with and it gives me an opportunity to put things in place.”Strauss, who previously served in the top job when Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff were out injured, said he was looking forward to leading England in this year’s Ashes, a job he was overlooked for in 2006-07 when Flintoff returned. “I’ve been given the opportunity to captain England and I’m fairly hopeful it is going to be a long-term appointment,” he said. “That’s certainly the indication I’ve been given from the ECB and that’s the way I’m looking at it. At the moment I think the England team could do with a bit of stability at the top.”Strauss also sees himself playing some role in the selection of the new coach. “I’d be very surprised if I don’t have an input into which the next coach is going to be,” he said. “I don’t think the captain should choose the coach, but he should have some say.”

Stats highlights of India’s six-wicket win against England in Chennai

Cricinfo staff15-Dec-2008
Sachin Tendulkar’s century was his first in a successful run-chase in Tests © Getty Images
India’s successful run-chase is now the fourth-highest in Tests, and the highest in India – the record was previously held by West Indies, who chased down 276 in Delhi in 1987. West Indies still hold the record for the highest successful run-chase overall – they scored 418 to beat Australia in Antigua in 2003.Sachin Tendulkar’s 41st Test century, his seventh against England, is only his third in the fourth innings of a Test, and the first among them to feature in an Indian win. Tendulkar’s 136, also in Chennai, in India’s agonizing 12-run defeat to Pakistan in 1999, was his previous fourth-innings century.Only Sunil Gavaskar, who made 102 in India’s highest successful run-chase of 406 against West Indies in Port of Spain in 1976, and Ricky Ponting have more centuries in the fourth-innings of a Test – four each – than Tendulkar, who became the tenth player to score three or more centuries in the fourth innings.Tendulkar has scored more runs in Chennai – 876 in nine Tests at an average of 87.60 – than any other venue. Gavaskar, who’s scored 1018 runs in 12 Tests at 59.88 at the M.A Chidambaram Stadium, is the highest run-getter at the ground, but Tendulkar has scored more centuries there- five against three.Tendulkar became the sixth player, and the third Indian, after Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman, to go past 1000 runs in 2008. It’s the fifth time he’s gone past that figure for a calendar year.The unbeaten 163-run partnership between Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh is the fifth-highest for India in the fourth innings, and the highest in a successful run-chase. This was the pair’s second century partnership – they average 54 in seven innings – and the first since Yuvraj’s debut Test in Mohali against New Zealand in 2003.Both batsmen showed few signs of getting bogged down – the maximum dot-ball streak during their partnership was just 9, between the 88th and the 90th over. They kept the scoreboard ticking constantly, scoring 54% of their runs – 88 out of 163 – in singles and twos.It’s the fourth time – and the first time in an Indian win – that four Indian batsmen have scored fifty and above in the fourth innings of a Test.It’s only the tenth occasion – and the fourth since 1980 – that England have lost despite having two centurions in a single innings of a Test.Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who’s led his team to four wins in as many Tests as captain, became the sixth player to win four or more matches at the start of his captaincy. Percy Chapman, the former England captain, holds the record for most consecutive wins since taking over as captain with nine, from August 1926 to June 1930.Monty Panesar disappointed in the fourth innings, going wicketless for 105 runs in 27 overs. His fourth-innings bowling average of 35.13 is higher than his overall average of 32.58, which is surprising given spinners are usually at their most effective in the last innings. Since 2000 spinners overall average 31.64 in the fourth innings and 35.34 in all innings.

A round-up of the remaining Group B matches in the second round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

Cricinfo staff06-Jan-2009Multan completed an eight-wicket win over Quetta in their Group B encounter at the Multan Cricket Stadium. Set a target of 155, a challenging one given the first-innings total – the highest of the game – was 210, Multan eased to victory with an unbroken stand of 64 between Usman Tariq and Rameez Alam. Usman top scored with 68, and steadied the chase along with his elder brother, Hammad Tariq, after they lost a wicket with the score on ten. The two put on 81 runs. Hammad was dismissed for 47, but Rameez continued from his unbeaten first-innings 82, scoring 25 more runs to see Multan home. The team moves to fifth place in Group B with six points from the win.It was a third consecutive day without play in the other match which began a day later in the second round, at the Marghzar Cricket Ground. Islamabad had closed the first day at 47 for 2 against Peshwar, and the game ended in a pointless draw at the same score.

Group A Team Mat Won Lost Tied Draw Aban Pts Net RR For Against

National Bnk 2 2 0 00 0 15 874/0.0 591/0.0 Habib Bank 2 1 1 00 0 9 482/0.0 555/0.0 PIA 2 1 1 00 0 9 842/0.0 761/0.0 Sui Sthn Gas 2 0 0 02 0 6 0/0.0 0/0.0 Zarai TBL 2 0 0 02 0 3 0/0.0 0/0.0 Karachi Whites 2 0 1 01 0 0 226/0.0 419/0.0 Khan RL 2 0 0 02 0 0 0/0.0 0/0.0 Lahore Shalimar 1 0 0 01 0 0 0/0.0 0/0.0 Pakistan Customs 2 0 1 01 0 0 216/0.0 314/0.0 Sui Gas 1 0 0 01 0 0 0/0.0 0/0.0 WAPDA 2 0 0 02 0 0 0/0.0 0/0.0

Group B Team Mat Won Lost Tied Draw Aban Pts Net RR For Against

Karachi Blues 2 11 0 0 0 9 +66.011833/10.1 836/52.3 Abbottabad 2 10 0 1 0 9 314/4.3 313/0.0 Faisalabad 2 10 0 1 0 9 354/87.0 285/0.0 Sialkot 1 10 0 0 0 9 449/52.3 445/0.0 Multan 2 10 0 1 0 6 348/37.2 347/0.0 Rawalpindi 2 10 0 1 0 6 377/32.3 376/0.0 Lahore Ravi 1 00 0 1 0 3 0/0.0 0/0.0 Hyd (Pakstn) 2 01 0 1 0 0 285/0.0 354/87.0 Islamabad 2 01 0 1 0 0 376/0.0 377/32.3 Peshawar 2 01 0 1 0 0 313/0.0 314/4.3 Quetta 2 02 0 0 0 0 734/0.0 736/47.3

After watching Ruben Amorim lose for the first time as Manchester United manager, INEOS are now reportedly ready to offer a blank cheque in the race to sign a target that the former Sporting boss loves.

Man Utd transfer news

It was the goals show under Amorim until his side faced the trip to title contenders Arsenal in the new manager’s first big test. His side had drawn at Ipswich Town, defeated Bodo/Glimt 3-2 and put four past Everton to reach eight goals in three games.

Any goalscoring problem that the Red Devils had during Erik ten Hag’s tenure at least looks likely to be solved under Amorim, but the Arsenal game was always going to be a step too far for Manchester United this early into his tenure.

Whilst Amorim’s tenure is as young as it is, it’s quickly become clear that those at Old Trafford must turn their attention back towards the transfer market in 2025 if their new manager is to finally end the trend of false dawns in Manchester.

With that said, according to Nacional, INEOS are now ready to offer a blank cheque to sign Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting in 2025. Valued at a reported £65m by the Portuguese club, the Manchester United target would be a transformative striker to end the Red Devils’ woes going forward once and for all.

Man Utd preparing bid for £20m goalkeeper as INEOS eye January reshuffle

He’s one of two targets from the same club.

ByBrett Worthington Dec 5, 2024

A player who’s already enjoyed such impressive success under Amorim too, the deal would make perfect sense for all involved. As one of the only strikers capable of matching Erling Haaland’s goalscoring numbers, there’s no limit to the heights that Gyokeres could drag Manchester United back to.

"Strong" Gyokeres would transform Man Utd

Although Rasmus Hojlund is a player with plenty of potential and Joshua Zirkzee has shown glimpses of what he is capable of in recent weeks, if Manchester United want to make their way back to the top of English football then Gyokeres is the answer. The former Coventry City forward is one of Europe’s best – as 24 goals in 21 games so far this season highlights.

The Swede has received the praise to match his form too, including the iconic Marco Van Basten, who told Ziggo Sport as relayed by Footboom: “He is a true footballer. A forward who can also play football. He is strong, scores easily and remains calm in front of goal. He can also dribble past the goalkeeper; he is a very good forward.”

Some at Old Trafford will have plenty of caution when it comes to big-money signings after seeing a few too many big names reach flop status, but all signs are pointing towards Gyokeres becoming a star wherever he ends up. It feels a fairly safe bet that Amorim – of all managers – would instantly get the best out of the forward once again.