The Eagles beat the Lions by 59 runs at Goodyear Park in Bloemfontein, and in so doing extended their Standard Bank Cup lead to 10 points.After being put in, the Eagles started off in a rush. Morne van Wyk and Jonathan Beukus brought up the 100 up in 17 overs with the Lions pace attack struggling with their length. Far too many short balls were bowled giving the two plenty of opportunity to hook and cut.David Terbrugge broke through with the wicket of Beukus for 45 and then Benjamin Hector was needlessly run out for 4. Adam Bacher and Derek Crookes slowed the run rate but innings’ foundation had been laid. Van Wyk had laboured to 78 when Bacher trapped him in front, leaving it to Davey Jacobs to score 50 off 53 balls before he too was run out helping the Eagles to 247 for 5.The Lions batting just never looked the part while the bowlers, with home ground advantage, found their length early on. Stephen Cook struggled to 58 as the middle order failed dismally, collapsing to 116 for 7. Throwing caution to the wind, Enoch Nkwe showed some attacking spirit to register a career-best 49 not out while Adam Bacher (27) and Garnett Kruger (10 not out) were the only other batsmen to get into double figures. At the end of the 45 overs the Lions were 188 for 9, 10 runs short of saving the bonus point. Scorecard
An exciting match at Willowmoore Park in Benoni ended in victory for the Titans as they chased down the 219 set by the Dolphins.Batting first after being sent in, the Dolphins recovered well with Doug Watson and Wade Wingfield putting on 51 after the early loss of Imraan Khan. Dale Benkenstein, the in-form ex-Dolphins captain, scored 59 as he upped the tempo. Lance Klusener, again batting at No. 8, swung the bat for a quick 30 but was again left not out after only facing 30 balls. With one of the most lethal strikers of a cricket ball batting so low down the order, one wonders about the Dolphins tactics. In they end they could only muster 219 for 7 in their 45 overs.The Titans made heavy work at the start. Alviro Petersen was out in the third over and then AB de Villiers and Goolam Bodi put on a subdued 69 before Bodi was caught for 30. de Villiers followed, caught behind for 50 while Daryll Cullinan hardly troubled the scorers. Needing eight an over – and rising – things looked all over the Titans. Justin Kemp and Gerald Dros then turned the game around with some lusty blows, and by the time Kemp was caught for 54 only 20 runs were required off 21 balls. The partnership had been worth 96 runs in 14 overs. In the end the Titans won with an over to spare and Dros undefeated on 59.
CloseAfter pounding England into submission with a masterly century, Graeme Smith took the battle off the field, firing thinly veiled salvos at Nasser Hussain in a press conference. Smith’s unbeaten 178, along with Herschelle Gibbs’s 179, put South Africa in a commanding position at the end of the first day’s play, brushing aside Hussain’s earlier comments that the South Africans were “ripe for the taking.”Graeme Smith On Hussain’s comments: That definitely played a role in motivating us. Wefobbed them off because we knew the comments were a load of rubbish. It gave us a bit more heart and it puts pressure on you when you make comments like that.On the record-breaking partnership: To be part of any pair that’s done that is a great feeling. We were a bit nervous up front. They bowled well. It was a difficultfirst hour but then we knuckled down.On Gibbs’s knock: After lunch Herschelle raced away to a hundred. It was a fantastic knock and it allowed me to settle down. With a player of his class, flair and talent we knew it wouldn’t be long.On Kallis’s bereavement: In some ways it was an emotional day. We wanted Jacques to know he was in our hearts. We’re playing for him.Duncan Fletcher On the toss It was probably a good toss to win. You have to give the batsmen credit. Good batsmen are allowed to score hundreds.On England’s bowling effort: You have to remember our bowlers are very inexperienced. James Anderson’s not played in many Tests, Andrew Flintoff’s not bowled in many and Stephen Harmison’s inexperienced against batsmen at this level. They are all pretty attacking bowlers and maybe should have gone into a more defensive mode.
When umpires agree with more than two or three lbw appeals per innings there may be dark mutterings about what might be the partiality, pin-pricking or faulty eyesight of the adjudicators.Today Brent Bowden, the Test umpire, and Tony Hill, who should soon become one, were the central figures as Central Districts and Auckland showed jittery early-season batting form on a frisky patch on the Eden Park Outer Oval.Central Districts scored 126 in 59 overs and Auckland replied with 90 for five wickets – 216 runs from 100 overs on a reasonably summery day.In contrast, Messrs Bowden and Hill set a cracking pace. After being forced to bat first on a greenish pitch Central lost their first, third, fourth, sixth, seventh and eight wickets to successful lbw appeals.Auckland lost their third and fifth wickets leg before, and if the pitch might have been losing some of its mischief the Central Districts fieldsmen and bowlers still reached a higher decibel rate than the Aucklanders achieved.Yet by stumps there was none of the ill-favoured comment which sometimes follows over-involvement by the umpires. No-one was complaining of being dimissed through a bad umpiring decision.And to the un-aligned observer among the 100 or so spectators, Messrs Bowden and Hill might have been justified in agreeing with several more appeals.It was one of those giddy pitches which the Eden Park Outer Oval occasionally throws up. Last year on the same ground Northern Districts lost their first five second innings wickets to lbw appeals.Today the grass on the pitch kept the ball smooth, so it retained shine and swing. The seam stayed hard, and so sharp was the sideways seam movement from the pitch that some of the faster bowlers seemed to be delivering 130kph off breaks which thudded into the pads and raised choruses of appeals.The most dedicated batting came from Bevan Griggs, the 23-year-old Central Districts wicket-keeper whose 31 was the only offering above 29 from the 18 batsmen on view.Griggs came in at 65 for five, and he and Jamie How simply tried to survive, scoring runs was a luxury. Griggs was still stoically there at the end, 31 not out from 72 balls in 109 minutes while Central crawled along from 65 to 126.It said as much for the fallibility of the other Central batsmen as it did for the big-spending of the Auckland medium-fast men that the biggest contribution to the Central Districts cause was not Griggs, but the Auckland extras which amounted to 34.All four Auckland seamers, Tama Canning, Andre Adams (three wickets each) and Kyle Mills and Richard Morgan (two apiece) had a profitable time, exaggerated by the help from the pitch for their length and accuracy varied too much.In the Auckland innings Matt Horne survived an appealing opening chorus from Brent Hefford, then played several rousing strokes for fours, but then was badly tucked up by a sharp lifter from Michael Mason and was caught close in.One Auckland newcomer Nick Horsley had a slow start, played some good-looking left-handed shots and then was caught in the lbw web. Rob Nicol, the other debutant, struggled to get going, but defended sensibly and at the end was still there, 10 not out after 80 minutes, in league with his captain Brooke Walker, nine not out after a mere 56 minutes.So the game is nicely in the balance. Either side has a winning chance – the only certainty seems to be that, given good weather, that decision will be known long before the appointed end on Thursday evening.
Leeds United starlet Ian Poveda is currently back at Thorp Arch as he continues his comeback from injury.
What’s the story?
During a Q&A for Leeds Live, Beren Cross revealed: “He’s back at Thorp Arch at the moment going through his rehab programme because it’s more convenient with where he lives rather than traipsing over to Blackburn every other day. He seems to be making good progress based on his Instagram profile. The expectation this season, if he gets back in time, would be for him to play for Blackburn again.
“When he was first sent out on loan the noises we heard suggested this was very temporary and there was a long-term home for Poveda at Leeds. Much depends on how his pre-season goes under Marsch, you would think. As we know, wingers are not readily used by the American in his system.”
Could be exciting under Marsch
While Poveda’s loan spell at Championship side Blackburn came to a shuddering halt back in November following injury, there’s no questioning that he has the kind of exciting talent and ability that could thrive under Marsch.
In fact, after seeing what Poveda produced after coming on as a substitute for Helder Costa against Liverpool last season, former Leeds striker Noel Whelan made it clear that the young winger was a refreshing change to the Portuguese man.
He told Football Insider: “There is something there that is not right because Poveda came on and did more in that short time than Costa did in the 60 minutes he was on the field.
“He is fourth in the pecking order in terms of wingers for me. Poveda has to come before him now. He is direct, exciting and wants to take people on. He wants to do his job as a winger and Costa does not. He plays it safe and he’s negative. At least Poveda runs at people. He is positive and that is what a winger should do.”
Paul Robinson added to the £10k-a-week forward’s admirers, saying last year: “I think we’re going to see Poveda come through next season. Leeds have signed him for a reason, Bielsa knows he’s a top, top player.”
While there has been a change in manager, Poveda coming back from injury and returning to Leeds this summer could give the Whites an intriguing option heading into next season.
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Given he’s only played 20 times for the first-team at Elland Road, Whites fans should be excited at the fact he’s still considered a long-term prospect from those behind-the-scenes.
AND in other news: Phil Hay drops exciting Leeds United transfer update that’ll delight supporters
Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Stephen Fleming have made themselves available for the Indian Premier League (IPL), an officially-sanctioned domestic Twenty20 competition to be held in India in April 2008.”Warne, McGrath and Fleming have signed contracts to play in the IPL,” Lalit Modi, the BCCI vice-president, told . “The trio will be a part of our centralised pool of players and available for signing by the franchises.”The said Warne had accepted the IPL’s offer of “significantly less” than the US$700,000 a season that the Indian Cricket League (ICL) was reportedly prepared to pay him. The ICL pursued Warne for more than four months but he was reluctant to commit as that group was not approved by the ICC.The IPL is modelled on the system of franchises used by the American NFL and NBA. Each franchise will pay a fee to the BCCI, which will give it access to shared revenues and the right to exploit exclusive revenue. There will also be a draft, similar to the one used in the US, which will allow the buying and selling of players.McGrath and Fleming were present at the launch of the Champions League – the proposed international tournament featuring top teams from four countries – in New Delhi on September 13. According to the report, Fleming, who was on the verge of signing with the ICL, made himself available to the IPL for a lower fee. McGrath, who retired from all forms of cricket at the end of the World Cup, had said he was tempted by the ICL offer but now he could be playing for an Indian domestic team by April next year.The ICL, backed by the Essel group in India, is also a Twenty20 league – though not recognised by the ICC or any of the national boards – that has signed at least seven international players including Brian Lara, Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam-ul-Haq, as well as more than 50 Indian domestic players. In its first year the ICL will feature six teams with two Indian internationals, four overseas players and eight juniors in each side. They play their first tournament next month.The newspaper reported that Warne would play for Hampshire until the end of the English season and then go to India and join one of the IPL teams. If his team qualified for the league final he would play in the Champions League, where he could possibly be traded to the highest bidder.
The PCB has clarified the confusion surrounding the sample testing of Mohammad Asif and Shoaib Akhtar who, it was revealed today, were tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid nandrolone.”Normal procedures for such testing require each player to submit two urine samples, A and B. Sample A is tested initially and the results sent back to the concerned party,” Salim Altaf, PCB director of operations, told Cricinfo. “If the player in question protests against the findings, only then is the second sample, B, tested and the results sent back. Until then, sample B remains with the testing laboratory.”The confusion arose this morning when the PCB stated they were waiting for the samples to be re-tested and confirmation of the results sent back. Dr Nasim Ashraf, the new chairman of the PCB, told reporters in Rawalpindi in the afternoon, ambiguously, that results of the second sample had also been completed and confirmed the existence of nandrolone.As Altaf explained though, “we simply asked for a reconfirmation of sample A’s results from the laboratory. Sample B is still with them and will only be called upon if the players protest the findings of the first sample.”
Simon Jones’ chances of playing against Pakistan are only 50-50, says the England physiotherapist Kirk Russell. Jones missed the final Ashes Test at The Oval after developing a bone spur on his right ankle, and had been a key component in England’s bowling attack all summer. With his ability to swing the new and old ball, conventionally and with reverse swing, the dry and dusty pitches of Pakistan ought to suit his style of bowling.But he continues to be troubled with his ankle injury, and is due to go for a scan on Friday. Speaking to , Russell conceded the Welshman is struggling: “It is very much 50-50 with him,” he said. “We have an England camp on October 17 and 18 at Loughborough; he needs to be bowling then for him to be declared fit to tour Pakistan.”If things continue to progress well, we will look to increase the amount of weight the ankle is bearing before Simon starts running again.”
The Australian board has expressed its reservations over the state of the new stadium in Hyderabad, where Australia are scheduled to play their only warm-up game of the Indian tour. The local association, though, is confident of getting the stadium in top shape in a week’s time.The game is due to be played in a new stadium in Uppal, on the outskirts of Hyderabad, and a few photographs sent from India this week left the Australian officials tentative. The Australians are scheduled to play the Board President’s XI in a three-day game starting on September 30., a daily based in Melbourne, quoted a Cricket Australia spokesman as saying, “There clearly was a lot of work that still needed to be done and there’s been a close monitoring process and continuing discussion.”Our continuing concern is that it is an important match because we are coming off the back of two one-day tournaments, and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is one of those iconic trophies so we need to have comfort that the venue, including the practice wickets and the wicket, are going to be appropriate for the running of a practice match.”Michael Brown, the operations manager, and Tim May, the chief executive of the Australian Cricketers’ Association, had made a routine pre-tour visit six weeks ago. The facilities at the new stadium were far from complete then with the outfield bereft of grass and raised concerns about whether the match would need a change of venue or not.It is learnt that Hyderabad was originally supposed to host the tour game against South Africa, in November. The board later interchanged the tour games and Hyderabad was awarded them the game against Australia, leaving them racing against the clock.However, Shivlal Yadav, the secretary of the Hyderabad Cricket Associaion, was confident of overcoming the obstacles. He told Wisden Cricinfo that they had found a sponsor for the naming of the stadium and added, “The preperation is going on at a very brisk pace and we had a practice match today between two local teams.”Yadav also confirmed that Brown and May were due to visit the stadium on September 18 and watch a two-day practcie game. “The wicket on which they are going to play is also being prepared. We still have 14 days more, so we are confident of getting it ready.”
Jagmohan Dalmiya reckons that the contracts row, which hogged so much attention in the build-up to the World Cup, is certain to be resolved now that Ehsan Mani has taken over from Malcolm Gray as the president of the International Cricket Council (ICC). In a thinly-veiled attack on the previous incumbent, Dalmiya said that the issue had not been “handled the right way”.In a television interview, Dalmiya went on to add, “Everybody wants to serve the game well, but the methods are different. I have no problem with Gray. No jealousy or anything. Somewhere down the line, it might have appeared that we were not going in the right direction. That’s why we are not great buddies.”The ICC have withheld India’s share of the World Cup revenue, which comes to almost US$9 million, until an agreement can be reached with the Global Cricket Corporation (GCC), which marketed the event. The GCC had filed for compensation of $50m, claiming breach of player contracts.Dalmiya and Mani worked closely together during the Dalmiya’s tenure as ICC chief, and he’s convinced that Mani will sort things out at the earliest. “He (Mani) has now put the matter on the right track. It could have been sorted out earlier. I know him personally and I’m sure he’ll do what is in the best interest of the game.”Dalmiya launched a scathing attack on the GCC last month, claiming that they had not marketed the tournament properly. But a full-scale confrontation was avoided when Mani intervened. “We have accepted Mani’s request to avoid confrontation and also do not want the matter settled through arbitration,” said Dalmiya. “There is a lot of behind-the-scenes activity going on which I do not want to disclose now, but I am confident the matter will be settled amicably.”
Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya provided the perfect answer to criticswho 24 hours earlier had lambasted the team for their go-slow tactics on thefourth day.The home team chiseled out a 142 run lead on Friday after batted throughoutthe day at a miserly run rate. Critics argued that the Sri Lankan’s failureto push the pace had cost the side valuable time and runs.In the end, Sri Lanka had plenty of time as the West Indies collapsed forthe second time in the match and were bowled out for just 144 in 78.3 overs.”Different individuals have different opinions, but we knew that batting onthe fifth day was not going to be easy and we had 96 overs to bowl at theWest Indies,” he said.”The key was getting 590 in our second innings. The wicket was good forbatting and all the batsmen capitalised on that to give us a 142 run lead.”Our only worry was Lara and Hooper because they had the experience andknow-how to handle Murali.””We stuck to the basics against both players. We didn’t want to try anythingsilly, as the wicket was turning more. The bowlers just needed to be patientand concentrate on their line and length.”Sri Lanka chopped and changed the bowlers throughout the day.”The wicket was not turning as much as we have seen in the past at Galle andwe didn’t want the batsmen to settle against one bowler for a long time,”explained Jayasuriya. “We even wanted Murali to change ends regularly.”When Lara was eventually dismissed, caught at mid-wicket for 40 off ThilanSamaraweera in his first over of the innings. The wicket precipitated thefinal collapse, as the West Indies lost their final five wickets for just 13runs”Samaraweera is a good all-rounder and we wanted to try someone else, so wegave him a chance and that was the turning point today.”Sri Lanka have now won their last four consecutive Tests in Galle, but havealso lost their last three matches in Kandy.”Kandy is a problem for us,” he admitted. “It’s a different mood there. Onceagain I have to say that we will try our best. The players have to lifttheir game for the match.”