Category Uncategorized

West Ham United travel to fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur later today in the Premier League with both sides well in the race for European qualification.

The Hammers sit in sixth, level on 48 points with Spurs in seventh, although Antonio Conte’s side do have a game in hand.

However, they go into the match with just 48 hours of rest having famously beaten Spanish outfit Sevilla in the Europa League on Thursday night, with the contest going to extra-time.

With nine league matches to go as well as at least two more games in Europe as David Moyes’ side take on French side Olympique Lyon in the quarter-final, the East London club are now in their season’s crunch period, and the next couple of weeks could decide whether or not they will secure European football for next season.

Today’s meeting with Tottenham is of significant magnitude given the current placings of both sides, meaning that Moyes has to get his team selection spot on. However, having had a good chunk of his squad play 120 minutes on Thursday, the Scotsman may be keen to make a few alterations.

One change that could certainly be made is the expulsion of winger Said Benrahma from the starting lineup, who has blown hot and cold of late.

On the chalkboard

The Algerian did provide two assists in the 2-1 win against Aston Villa last weekend, however, the 26-year-old hadn’t offered a goal contribution prior since New Year’s Day.

After a strong start to the season, Benrahma’s form in front of goal has certainly tailed off. Having scored three goals and registered two assists in his first five appearances of the Premier League season, the 26-year-old has since scored just twice in the top-flight, with those goals coming in back-to-back games against Southampton and Watford at the end of December.

Last season saw the former Brentford man struggle in the final third too in his first season as a Hammer, taking until mid-May to score his sole goal for Moyes’ side despite making the move from West London to East London for a significant fee of £20m.

Of course, the £22.5m-rated Algeria international has improved, however, the lack of consistency must be infuriating for Moyes and the West Ham faithful, especially given how talented the playmaker can be on his day.

This was a topic the Scotsman discussed in his column in the Evening Standard last season after a game against Burnley, saying: “Said Benrahma also did well the other night [against Burnley].

“I am looking for more consistency from him, though, in his level of training and in the step up to the Premier League.

“He demonstrated in the Championship with Brentford what he is capable of achieving and he will be able to do it in the Premier League.

“His decisions have to be something we can all understand and we can read, and I actually think he needs to hit the target more often than he has done.”

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Comfortable on either side of a three-man attacking line, Benrahma can be suitably replaced by fellow winger Andriy Yarmolenko, who is certainly within a shout of starting a game soon having come off of the bench to score in the Hammers’ last two matches.

The Ukrainian celebrated both goals emotionally amid the ongoing conflict in his home country and will surely be in contention to play from the off.

It is absolutely vital that Moyes picks the right side today given the significance of the match. Having played their biggest game of the season so far on Thursday, the trip to Spurs is certainly the Hammers’ biggest league match of the campaign thus far, with the race for Europe still in their hands.

In other news: “Magical” £100k-p/w ace starts and Areola axed in 2 changes: West Ham predicted XI

ScorecardSri Lanka Under-19 pulled off a convincing six-wicket win over Bangladesh Under-19 in the last match of the series after its opening bowlers shared nine of the ten wickets to restrict the hosts to a modest 123.Opting to bat Bangladesh lost four wickets in the first nine overs of the match as Denuwan Fernando and Chathura Peiris caused plenty of problems. Bangladesh never really recovered from that dismal start and only brief fightbacks, with three batsmen reaching the 20-run mark, enabled them to cross 100. Ashraful Aziz, batting at No. 8, top scored for Bangladesh with a patient 28 as his side was all out in the 41st over.Fernando finished with 5 for 28 while Peiris picked up four wickets. Lokuge Chandimal, Sri Lanka’s wicketkeeper, shone behind the stumps by picking up four catches.Sri Lanka never really faltered in a reply and a 68-run opening partnership between Chandimal (28) and Dilshan Munaweera (34). Although both batsmen fell in quick succession, followed by two more wickets towards the end, the target was too small for Bangladesh bowlers to pose serious problems as Sri Lanka completed a consolation win after having already lost the series.

Ravinder Bopara has very large boots to fill during the Commonwealth Bank Series © Getty Images

Ravinder Bopara, the Essex batsman, has been called up to the England squad for the Commonwealth Bank Series as a replacement for the injured Kevin Pietersen.Pietersen broke a rib while batting during England’s eight-wicket defeat in the first ODI of the CB series against Australia at the MCG. He was on 73 when he advanced down the wicket to a short ball from Glenn McGrath and missed his attempted pull. The ball cannoned into his ribs and after a couple of minutes of regaining his breath and attention from the physiotherapist, he batted on to reach 82. The injury was expected to sideline him for five to six weeks.Ed Joyce was tipped to take Pietersen’s spot in the XI.Bopara, who averaged 38 in first-class cricket and 42 in the 50-over C&G Trophy during 2006, was preferred ahead of Alastair Cook, Owais Shah, Vikram Solanki and Michael Yardy who have all played ODIs over the past 12 months.”Ravi has been brought in because he is a middle-order batsman who impressed in his time with the Academy in Perth earlier in the winter,” David Graveney, England’s chairman of selectors, told Reuters. “He has also been a regular with Essex during their one-day successes in recent years and we decided that he was the best option available.”We are happy with the top order of Strauss, Vaughan and Bell and we also see the injury to Kevin Pietersen, while unfortunate, as offering a great chance for Ed Joyce to stake his claim for a place in the ICC World Cup.”Joyce, meanwhile, said that he would play with his own style. “I’m not going to try to be KP,” he told the BBC. “I can’t do that – very few people can. I’m not as experienced as he is either so I’ve got to try and grow up pretty quickly and get runs for the team.”.

Forget Vision 2020. The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) are going for 2007.Roger Brathwaite, WICB chief executive officer, outlined the plans to take regional cricket back to the top rung of international competition during his address at the WICB’s Strategic Planning Workshop held at the National Cricket Centre in Balmain, Couva.He named several key objectives for the West Indies over the next few years. According to Brathwaite, top on the list of priorities for the WICB is improvement in their Test and one-day performances, getting back into the top three in the international rankings in both forms of the game, and of course, winning the 2007 World Cup at home.This, Brathwaite explained, would be virtually impossible unless the West Indies have at least four players in the top ten batting and bowling rankings, as well as eight players in the top 30. To achieve this, he suggested that consistent match-winning performances at the regional level was a must. He also expressed concern about a lack of top-level coaches to contribute to further regional development.Brathwaite advised, though, that the biggest stumbling block is the difficult financial situation the WICB now face. “If it weren’t for the grace of our creditors,” Brathwaite pronounced, “if they were to call in the debts today, we (the WICB) would have to close our doors.”He expressed optimism, though, that new initiatives that are being put in place to attract non-traditional revenue– including the upcoming lottery, as well as the WI credit card system soon to be introduced, and a proposed North American Series featuring Pakistan and India– along with the financial windfall expected from the impending World Cup next year would all contribute to erasing the deficit.Brathwaite attributed their mountainous debt, in part, to a lack of incoming revenue and sponsorship, along with television and other costs, as well as the fact that teams no longer profit directly from away tours, expressing concern about the revenue that would be lost if the free-to-air mandate by the government of India is allowed to stand, when they tour the West Indies this year.Accompanying Brathwaite on his trip to Trinidad for the last of this series of workshops with the regional territorial boards, facilitated by Jeff Sealy of Business Solutions Network, was West Indies manager Tony Howard, along with coach Bennett King. Also attending the session was Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board president Deryck Murray, first vice president Dudnath Ramkeesoon, general secretary Forbes Persaud and treasurer Richard De Souza, as well as various zonal representatives.Howard, in his address, analysed the decades of West Indies Test cricket from the 1940s to present in terms of wins and losses, the worst so far being this current decade. He said that only a viable long-term plan would be able to take the region’s cricket, from “Fish and Chips” cricket back to the successes of the 1970s and 80s.Giving a progress report on the improvements of the West Indies team since he joined them in November, 2004, Bennett King,the coach, said he has seen great progress on the recent tour to Australia, despite a 3-0 whitewash.He listed the improvements: fitness, mental toughness and tactical awareness. Giving an example, he said star batsman Brian Lara was the fittest runner on the team at the end of 2004, but that most of the team have now caught up.And although accepting that “we (WICB) will never have the kind of cash Australia and England and South Africa have,” Brathwaite expressed the belief that if they could tap into the resources that are available to them, the regional team can be a much more competitive unit in the near future.

Shane Warne’s visit to Sri Lanka ended up being the catalyst for a controversy involving the Sri Lankan board© AFP

Shane Warne’s recent visit to Sri Lanka, a trip designed to raise awareness of the plight of tsunami victims and raise much-needed funds for rehabilitation, has sparked a controversy that has erupted into the public arena this week after Arjuna Ranatunga, the former World Cup-winning captain, accused Thilanga Sumithipala, the chairman of the cricket board’s Cricket Aid programme, of “bullying” Sri Lanka’s national players into boycotting a special fundraising dinner.The 500-wicket dinner was organised in Colombo at the end of Warne’s brief visit to raise tsunami-relief funds for two local charities, the Muralidaran-Vaas-Gunasekera Foundation and Sahanaya. Funds were raised through the sale of Rs10,000 tickets, and several Sri Lanka cricketers had apparently been keen to show their support by purchasing tickets and attending. However, Muttiah Muralitharan was the only contracted player who eventually turned up.When the board held a press conference on Wednesday to review the progress of Cricket Aid, board officials explained their absence by claiming that players and officials were unaware of the dinner. Sumathipala cast doubt on the charitable credentials of the organisers, and claimed that Muralitharan had told him that he was unaware of the details of the fundraising dinner. “The question is who organised this dinner and where has the money gone to?” he asked. “Do they belong to an organisation with a constitution? When I asked [Chaminda] Vaas about it he said he knew nothing and Murali told me he was out of the country and did not know who organised it.”However Muralitharan, who had personally invited Warne to Sri Lanka and was involved in organising the fundraising dinner, categorically denied this in an article in the newspaper on Friday. “I never told anything like that to Thilanga,” Muralitharan was quoted as saying. “I was highly involved in the project and aware of the function.” Cricinfo has also learnt that Vaas, a new partner in the Muralidaran-Vaas-Gunasekera Foundation, was also aware of the dinner.Ranatunga, a deputy cabinet minister and a long-time foe of Sumathipala’s, claimed that the players were being bullied. “I know that the players are scared to come out and say what they have to say,” said Ranatunga in the . “Several players wanted to attend the dinner, but were warned not to and they were scared to speak up. If the players speak up some of the board officials will not be able to show their faces in public.”Ranatunga continued his scathing attack on the administration. “It’s a dictator who’s running the show now, and not just with one puppet but a whole brace of puppets on board,” he said. “The whole thing hurts the present Sri Lanka Cricket set-up, as Warne refused to do the board’s bidding. During times like this, people are trying to promote their hidden agendas. These petty politics need to stop.”Meanwhile, Kushil Gunasekera, Muralitharan’s manager and the driving force behind the Muralidaran-Vaas-Gunasekera Foundation, a charity which focuses on small community-level projects, reacted angrily to Sumathipala’s apparent slur on their credentials.”We were established two years ago and the charity was incorporated under the Trust Ordinance Act in Sri Lanka,” said Gunasekera. “We are a registered trust with a constitution of which is handled by Sudath Perera Associates. Both Murali and Vaas are signatories. What’s more, we do not have any administration expenses because we all give our time voluntarily. Serving humanity through compassion and serving humanity through compulsion are two different things. The people who are making these allegations do not understand the difference.”Sumathipala was appointed chairman of Cricket Aid soon after the tsunami. The job thrust him back into the public limelight after the immigration scandal last year that led to his being held in police custody, a controversy that had threatened to derail his ambitions to become president of the International Cricket Council. After being granted bail, Sumathipala also took up the post of Sri Lanka Cricket’s “international envoy”, and is now their chief negotiator on ICC issues.

A frustrated Michael Vaughan looks round the soggy Premadasa Stadium © Getty Images

The heavy rain which left the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo awash on Thursday continued throughout this morning and put pay to the second ODI between Sri Lanka and England, which was called off at 6.05pm local time without a ball being bowled.The umpires made three inspections throughout the day, but play never looked likely due to the sodden outfield and boggy wicket. Even though the rain stayed away in the afternoon, Daryl Hair described the pitch as “not up to scratch” and after consulting both captains, called the game off.Marvan Atapattu was the happier of the two captains, as it now means Sri Lanka can’t lose the three-match series. Michael Vaughan, on the other hand, expressed his frustration, but insisted England would be well prepared for the final match on Sunday – assuming it’s not washed out.”It would have been wrong to have played in these conditions, and they weren’t going to improve,” Vaughan said. “It’s like a bog out there, the covering obviously hasn’t worked, but I just hope the rain stays off and we can get a game on Sunday.”It’s very frustrating, but you can only control what’s put in front of you. We’ll practise tomorrow and make sure we’re fully prepared for the last game.” However, those who have experienced the late monsoon before warn that Sunday’s game is also under threat.

The Asian Test Championship (ATC), which has lain quietly dormant for fivemonths, is set to spring back into action in March when Sri Lanka andPakistan contest the final.The final, tentatively scheduled for March 6-10, will also mark the returnof international cricket to Pakistan, as Sri Lanka’s cricket board haveagreed to become the first major international side to tour there after theSeptember 11 terrorist attacks in America.The second Asian Cricket Council (ACC) managed Test championship was dealt acruel blow before its commencement when India withdrew at the last momentciting political reasons.Without the prospect of a high profile clash between India and Pakistan, theACC was unable to find a title sponsor and international broadcaster,undermining its revenue raising objectives.Pakistan and Sri Lanka romped to thumping innings victories againstBangladesh in the opening two games played in September.With Pakistan and Sri Lanka’s place in the final already guaranteed, thefinal group game, originally penciled in for January 30 at Colombo, wasabandoned.Wasim Akram’s Pakistan won the inaugural ATC crown in March 1999 when theycrushed Sri Lanka by an innings and 175 runs in the final at Dhaka.

Karachi, Oct 22: England geared up for the three-match one-dayinternational series with a 10-wicket victory over Pakistan A in aone-day match here on Sunday in front of empty enclosures.England raced to the victory target of 170 in just 29.4 overs byruthlessly destroying the second Pakistan string bowling. Theirfielding added to their miseries when they dropped Marcus Trescothickand Alec Stewart who eventually ended their agony by retiring hurt.The sufferer on both the occasions was paceman Mohammad Sami whodespite conceding 35 runs from his six overs, left a big impact. Hisfigures might have been different had Shiraz Haider picked up astraight forward catch at square-leg of Trescothick when he was 36 andHumayun Farhat held on to a regulation catch of Stewart when he was 8.Trecothick followed up his Friday’s 102 with 59 while Stewart hit 50.Trecothick, who capitalized from some very short of length bowling bycutting and pulling at will, struck five fours and three sixes in his55-ball innings. Stewart hit five boundaries in a 68-ball knock.The openers retirement provided some more batting practice to skipperNasser Hussain who finished with 31 off 44 balls.Earlier, Hussain deciding to field to get a taste of the Pakistansummer, did an exellent job in the field by making life difficult forthe Pakistan A batsmen. There was nothing unusual in their bowlingexcept they kept the ball in three sticks.It was disappointing to see the future Pakistan batsmen bat so poorly.Batsmen like Hasan Raza was bowled when he danced down the track,Salman Butt was caught behind while fishing around, Bazid Khan givingStewart his second catch while cutting. Experienced Ijaz Ahmad Junior,who last played a Test in 1995, was run-out with a direct throw fromHussain.Pakistan A headed for an embarrassing end to their innings when theyreached 92 for six before Naumanullah and Fahad Khan came to theirrescue by adding 66 runs for the seventh wicket from 81 balls. Naumanbatted with great courage and concentration to score a fluent 64 off88 balls. His innings included four boundaries and sixes off DarrenGough and Ashley Giles.Fahad remained unbeaten on a 50-ball 28.For England, the most encouraging news was the form and fitness shownby Warwickshire’s left-arm spinner Ashley Giles. Giles, who missed theICC knockout tournament because of calf injury, bagged three for 34from nine overs. Andrew Caddick was economical, successful andimpressive when he picked up three wickets for 15 runs from his quotaof 10 overs.England take on Pakistan on Tuesday in first of the three back-to-backone-day internationals.

Journalist Pete O’Rourke believes the continued injury absence of Celtic forward Kyogo Furuhashi is a ‘big loss’ in the title race, GiveMeSport report.

The Lowdown: Rangers return?

Furuhashi has played just 15 minutes of action in Celtic’s last 14 Scottish Premiership fixtures, with Ange Postecoglou admitting last month he was ‘nowhere near’ a return.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/celtic-updates-copy-2/” title=”Celtic updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

However, Mark Guidi recently stated that the forward could return to the bench at the beginning of April in time for the trip to Ibrox. Postecoglou is yet to put a real timeframe regarding the summer signing, and O’Rourke feels his absence may have dented the club’s title hopes.

The Latest: O’Rourke’s comments

Talking to GiveMeSport, O’Rourke had this to say on Furuhashi, with the race for the Premiership title heating up in the crunch period of the campaign.

“To be without his goals, movement and his intelligence, has been a big loss for Celtic. If he was fully fit and firing, Celtic would be big favourites to go on and win the league, instead of the position they find themselves in right now.”

The Verdict: Furuhashi key?

If Furuhashi fails to return to full fitness before the season is out, you’d expect Postecoglou will have to rely on Daizen Maeda and Giorgos Giakoumakis in a central role. Combined, the pair have played 32 games in green and white, scoring 12 goals and failing to register an assist between them.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Meanwhile, Furuhashi has contributed to 21 goals in 26 games, showing his availability could be key as Celtic look to get over the line and take back the Premiership title from their rivals.

In other news: ‘Seems that’ – Journo now drops more Parkhead exit news on ‘horrendous’ Celtic ‘waste of money’. 

KC Ibrahim: 709 runs between dismissals in 1947-48 © Cricinfo

KC Ibrahim, who played four Tests for India against West Indies in 1948-49, has died at his home in Karachi. He was 88 and at the time of his death was India’s oldest living Test player.He made his Test debut in the first match of the 1948-49 series at home to West Indies, his sheer weight of runs the previous summer making him an automatic pick. Opening with Vinoo Mankad, he scored 85 and 44, but in his next six innings he made only 40 runs and he had retired by the time England toured in 1951-52.Ibrahim’s Mumbai team-mate, Madhav Mantri, said he was “a solid player and one who believed in staying at the wicket for as long as possible.” He captained the Mumbai side that won the Ranji Trophy in 1947-48 and Mantri described him as “a fine captain, someone who believed in backing his players.”A top-order batsman who sometimes opened, Ibrahim made his first-class debut in 1938-39 and from 1941-42 onwards scored heavily in domestic cricket. He began that season with an unbeaten 230 and ended with 117 in Bombay’s innings win in the Ranji Trophy final.He reached his peak in 1947-48 when he scored 1171 runs at 167.29, including four hundreds, a record that won him the Indian Cricketer of the Year award for the season. He started the season with scores of 218*, 36*, 234*, 77* and 144, a total of 709 runs without being dismissed. In the last three innings of the previous season his scores had been 2, 2 and 4. He moved to Karachi in 1950 and that marked the end of his first-class career.He was in poor health for the last few years of his life. During India’s 2006 tour to Pakistan, a couple of journalists went to visit him. One of them, Jasvinder Sidhu, from the Hindi daily , remembers: “He didn’t want us to photograph him. He said, ‘I don’t want my friends in Bombay and Delhi to see my current state. Tell them I’m fine.'”