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Desert Vipers from Namibia, who had begun the series quite weakly, showed how much they had learned and improved with a convincing victory over Matabeleland Tuskers by 31 runs

John Ward20-Feb-2010
Scorecard
Raymond van Schoor starred in an all-round display•Getty ImagesAppropriately, the two teams that played in the only abandoned match of the tournament met in a third-place play-off. Desert Vipers from Namibia, who had begun the series quite weakly, showed how much they had learned and improved with a convincing victory over Matabeleland Tuskers by 31 runs.Vipers decided to bat, as they had in the previous match. Tuskers opened their bowling with the occasional medium-pacers of Dion Ebrahim, as they had done once before in the tournament, presumably to take the pace off the ball; he conceded five singles but no boundaries, and was not used again. In fact Tuskers juggled their bowlers a great deal, often bowling them in single-over spells. The opening pair put on 30 in five overs before Keegan Meth trapped Gerrit Rudolph, younger brother of Jacques, lbw for 11.Accurate bowling with a full length, supported by tight fielding, never allowed the Vipers batsmen to take control. For a while, and as usual, Dwaine Pretorius gave the bowlers a hard time, running up 36 off 22 balls, but was then caught and bowled by Sean Williams. Raymond van Schuur, the aggressive opener who has taken heavy toll of the fast men during the tournament, was kept under restraint; he responded with a disciplined innings that eventually brought him 47 runs off 53 balls before he sent a high catch to deep midwicket in the final over; the fact that he hit only one six and one four showed how well the Tuskers handled him. Three wickets fell in that final over, bowled by Chris Mpofu, keeping the total down to a mediocre 126 for 7. Keith Dabengwa bowled with the greatest economy, conceding only 16 runs off his four overs.Tuskers also struggled for runs and soon lost both openers for 12; when Greg Strydom quickly followed they were 14 for 3 in the fifth over. They took the justifiable gamble of sending in Andy Blignaut at this point to join Williams, who departed to a catch at the wicket on 21. Blignaut, as usual, played himself in, but the situation worsened when Dabengwa holed out at long leg with the score on 32 in the ninth over. After 10 overs, the Tuskers were 38 for 5, needing 89 off 60 balls. All depended on Blignaut.Ebrahim and soon Meth departed, and then came the vital blow. Blignaut, still not anywhere near full throttle, turned a ball uppishly backward of square leg and was well held low down by Tiaan Louw off Craig Williams; the score was 47 for 8. It started raining moments later, but play went on, with the Tuskers not far from leaving their humiliation incomplete. But the tail displayed more spirit than the top order. Dylon Higgins briefly showed some defiance, scoring 11, and Tafadzwa Mupariwa hammered the bowling for 31 off 15 balls, including two sixes and as many fours. The end finally came at 91, with Vipers reaping the reward for their improvement during the tournament. They had bowled and fielded particularly well, Williams taking three wickets, and there were economical two-wicket analyses for Louis Klazinga, Christi Viljoen and van Schoor, who put down the wicketkeeping gloves in this match to bowl offspin.

At this point in the season, Liverpool are comfortably in the race for the Premier League title with 25 points on the board from 12 games played as well as winning all of their Champions League and Carabao Cup matches.

One player that has played a big part in the Merseyside club’s latest campaign is defender Virgil van Dijk, who has 15 appearances under his belt with 12 coming in the Premier League and three in the Champions League.

The Dutchman’s previous performance in the Premier League for the Reds in their 4-0 victory over Arsenal saw him rack up a strong overall match rating of 7.2/10 from SofaScore.

In addition to this, Van Dijk has managed to make a total of 11 interceptions in the league with 40 clearances and nine blocks, showing how important he is at the back for the Reds.

Even though he signed a new four-year deal at the club over the summer, the fact that he is currently at the age of 30, Liverpool may need to think about securing a potential replacement for Van Dijk by the time his contract runs out.

With this in mind, the club could already have their ideal long-term heir for Van Dijk with 19-year-old centre-back Billy Koumetio.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/check-out-the-latest-liverpool-news” title=”Check out the latest Liverpool news!”]

Since joining Liverpool’s U18 side back in January 2019 from Orleans’ U19s on a free transfer, the teenager, who is currently valued at £450k according to Transfermarkt, has made 21 appearances for the U18s side and 24 for the U23s.

Labelled as “unbelievable” in the past by Pep Lijnders, Koumetio has also made one appearance for Jurgen Klopp’s senior side, which came in their 1-1 draw against FC Midtjylland in the Champions League back in December 2020.

With Lijnders also describing Koumetio’s development at the club as being “massive,” it’s not surprising that the Frenchman has played in all 12 of the Liverpool U23 side’s league games so far this season.

Looking ahead to the future, while Liverpool have a total of five centre-backs in their senior squad at the moment, it seems unlikely that Koumetio will get many minutes senior minutes this season.

However, if he can build on the development he’s already made since arriving at the club, he definitely has what it takes to force his way into the first team in the future and potentially save Klopp from having to spend millions of pounds in transfer fees for a potential Van Dijk replacement.

In other news: Fewer touches than Alisson: Liverpool dud who won just 35% duels wasted his big chance – opinion

Rahul Dravid’s 27th century – and 10th 150-plus score – carried more intent than probably any of his Test innings, and led India’s remarkable comeback from 32 for 4

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga16-Nov-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outRahul Dravid scored more runs than he has ever done in a day’s play•Associated PressRahul Dravid’s 27th century – and tenth 150-plus score – carried more intent than probably any of his Test innings, and helped by MS Dhoni’s second century and Yuvraj Singh’s seventh half-century, led India’s remarkable comeback from 32 for 4 in the first half hour. Along the way, he took part in his 77th and 78th 100-run partnerships (both world records), scored more runs than he ever has in a day’s play, crossed Steve Waugh to become the fifth-highest run-getter in Tests, reached 11,000 career runs, and most importantly undid the superb start that two rookies gave Sri Lanka. Chanaka Welegedara and Dammika Prasad were last-minute replacements for Nuwan Kulasekara and Thilan Thushara, but they combined to give India flashbacks of their previous Test in Ahmedabad, when they were shot out for 76 by South Africa.Test cricket it might be, but it rattled along at breathtaking pace and refused to slow down even with wickets falling. At the heart of it was Dravid. He was outscored by Yuvraj during their 125-run fifth-wicket partnership, the main feature of which was majestic driving by both batsmen. He then kept up with Dhoni, who made him run frantically between the wickets during their 224-run stand. Dravid, perhaps tired of the running, kept finding the boundary throughout his innings, reaching his fifty in 79 balls, hundred in 158, and 150 in 216. Dravid’s pace – 110 of his unbeaten 177 coming in boundaries – allowed India’s run-rate to stay over four almost throughout the day.Acceleration wouldn’t have been the first thing on his mind when he came in to bat in the third over of the innings, and saw three more wickets fall around him in the next five. Especially when he saw the ball swing from left-arm bowler Welegedara, who created doubts by mixing it up with deliveries that went straight on. The straighter ones got Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar, the swinging one Sehwag. His 3 for 12 was complemented by Dammika Prasad, who removed VVS Laxman.All four wickets for Sri Lanka had come attacking the stumps, and they continued doing just that. Dravid and Yuvraj, having realised this wasn’t a beast to bat on, counterattacked. Dravid got going through late clips off his pads, Yuvraj through a thick edge past gully. Immediately, though, Yuvraj corrected it with a picture-perfect cover-drive. Sangakkara perhaps missed a trick by introducing Angelo Mathews before Muttiah Muralitharan, and both Yuvraj and Dravid enjoyed the gentle pace and length balls. A couple of classy shots from Dravid later, the two had added 34 in 32 deliveries even before Murali was introduced.Yuvraj faced the first over from Murali, and showed good judgement of the topspinner and regular offbreak. Driving through the line looked easy while the two were at it. Rangana Herath – playing ahead of Ajantha Mendis – was never allowed to settle, and was restricted to bowling flat deliveries, that too only minutes before the first two session breaks.Dravid saw off Welegedara’s swing with three boundaries in one over just after lunch, which summed up how well he played. One of the them was clipped late, to the right of midwicket, the next was cover-driven all along the ground, and the third flicked to the left of midwicket – all despite the swing.Yuvraj’s innings wasn’t as spotless, despite three high-elbow off-drives for the photo album. Prasad, in his later spells either side of lunch, found his body with bouncers. Yuvraj bottom-edged a pull for four, upper-cut over slips for another, but then made his first outright mistake in Murali’s next over, the bowler’s seventh. He stepped out, saw he was beaten in the flight, but as opposed to thrusting his pad forward, he presented it both bat and pad.There was little joy for Murali apart from that, as Dravid played two of his best drives off him just before tea: one against the spin through extra cover, the other straight down the ground. The second one carried him to 98, and Dhoni by that time had slyly reached 29 off 49 balls. His rate was only to go up, hitting Murali for a four and a straight six. Between those shots, Dravid took a single to reach his hundred, and even before he finished the 100th run he exulted, as demonstrative a celebration for a century as Dravid has ever got into.For Dhoni the accumulation continued. He would walk out to spinners, and place them either side of midwicket, and run. That rattled Sri Lanka’s plans, and with single-saving fields Dravid kept finding boundaries. Dhoni was 38 when Dravid reached 100; by the time Dravid reached 150, Dhoni had 85. In that period, Dravid hit eight boundaries, and Dhoni three. Such was Dhoni’s efficiency.Dhoni reached his century with a typical, step-out-and-push, but fell just before stumps, which gave Sri Lanka a glimpse but it seemed to get Dravid – closing in on a double – they would need more than just the glimpse.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has announced their 15-man squad for the ICC Under-19 World Cup, which takes place in New Zealand from January 15-30, 2010

Cricinfo staff15-Dec-2009The Pakistan Cricket Board has announced their 15-man squad for the ICC Under-19 World Cup, which takes place in New Zealand from January 15-30, 2010. Talented batsman Azeem Ghumman, who lead the side to the final of a tri-series in Sri Lanka involving the hosts and Bangladesh recently, will continue to captain.The bi-annual tournament involves 16 teams with Pakistan facing West Indies, Papua New Guinea and Bangladesh in the group stages. Pakistan’s first match in the group stages will be against West Indies on January 15, followed by Papua New Guinea on January 18 and Bangladesh on January 20. The top two teams in each group will progress to the quarter-finals.The squad will leave for New Zealand on December 30. Prior to that it will assemble for a training camp at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore from December 16-27 under the supervision of coach Ijaz Ahmed.Pakistan’s best result at the U-19 World Cup was in 2003 when they defeated West Indies to win the tournament and then in 2006 when they trumped India in a thrilling final.Squad: Azeem Ghumman (capt), Babar Azam, Ahsan Ali, Ahmed Shahzad, Rameez Aziz, Mohammad Naeem, Mohammad Waqas, Hammad Azam, Sarmad Bhatti, Anop Ravi, Raza Hassan, Usman Qadir, Shahzaib Ahmed, Kaleem Sana, Fayyaz Butt.

Coach Andy Flower hailed Paul Collingwood’s “bulldog spirit” after his role in England’s latest great escape at Newlands

Andrew McGlashan08-Jan-2010Coach Andy Flower hailed Paul Collingwood’s “bulldog spirit” after his role in England’s latest great escape at Newlands, saying that it typified the fight of the team. Collingwood added 112 in 57 overs with Ian Bell for the sixth wicket, but England still needed Graham Onions to block out the final over – in a repeat of his heroics from Centurion – to secure the thrilling draw.For Bell, his five-hour 78 was a breakthrough innings after he responded to a pressure-cooker situation with a composure not previously seen at the highest level, but Collingwood’s innings was his third match-saving contribution in the last seven months following his efforts at Cardiff and Centurion. He was given a serious working-over from Dale Steyn in a gripping hour after lunch, but resisted everything the paceman could throw at him during an electric spell.”He’s a typical British bulldog,” Flower said. “He’s a great fighter, great to have in the changing room, lots of energy and what we have seen is he’s been using some of the experience gained over the years to help him through these situations.”When you talk about consistency of selection, that is one result of it – you get hardened cricketers from this exposure to playing the best sides in the world. We want to go on to greater things with this England side, so we’re happy to have fight as a characteristic in our dressing room. But it’s also something I think English cricketers will inherently have, because they’re playing for their country.”Flower was also impressed by Bell’s contribution, which followed his 140 in the second Test at Durban, and his career appears to have turned a corner. “His big hundred in Durban, that contributed to getting us into a winning position, and then a match-saving innings yesterday certainly will make him feel personally more confident,” he said. “It was good for us to see that he can perform like that under pressure again.”However, as the team began a few days off in Cape Town, Flower remained a realist and knows England avoided defeat despite other periods of sloppy batting. In the first innings, the top six all contributed to their own downfall while Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss also played weak shots second-time around. With a series to win in Johannesburg next week, he knows those mistakes can’t be repeated.”One of the most obvious areas where we can improve is losing some of those soft dismissals that we had in the first innings,” Flower said. “If we’d got a proper first-innings score, we would have been able to put them under more pressure in their second innings.”Of England’s batsmen it is Kevin Pietersen who is struggling the most after a barren Test at Newlands in which he followed his second-ball duck in the first innings with a sketchy 6 on the fourth day. Despite his81 at Centurion, which played a key role in that draw, there is still something missing from Pietersen’s game and his footwork appears out of sync. It is a sign of England’s collective resolve that his shortcomings haven’t proved costly, but Pietersen’s form is now a cause for concern.”All players have dips occasionally, and he’s no different,” Flower said. “He’s got a superb record. He’s had a dip just very recently and this last Test wasn’t a good one for him personally.”What we’re looking for is for him to get back into his normal, confident form and I’m pretty confident he’ll do that. We always tweak things in our techniques, all through your career. Even the real greats like Tendulkar will be doing that. But I’m pretty sure he’ll be back at his confident best very soon.”Flower also backed his bowlers after the ball-tampering row that emerged on the third day following TV pictures of Stuart Broad standing on the ball. “If they wanted to raise it, they should have done it formally,” he said of South Africa’s approach. “But relations are fine. They are two competitive units battling it out, so you expect a little bit of toing and froing.””Our bowlers have shown a lot of skill with reverse-swing. The abrasive pitches here have helped get the ball into condition to do it. We’ll be going about things in exactly the same way.”

A round-up of the 13th day’s action at the KPL Cup

Cricinfo staff21-Sep-2009Bangalore Provident (Rural) cemented their place in the KPL Cup semi-finals with a ten-run win over Mysore Maharaajas. Mysore needed to win this game to entertain hopes to making it to the knockout stage, but a target of 156 proved beyond their reach. Bangalore Brigadiers (Urban), who lead the points table, take on Belagavi Panthers in the first semi-final tomorrow while Bangalore Provident battle with Bijapur Bulls in the second.Asked to bat, Bangalore Provident were dented early, the first wicket falling in the second over. But Thilak Naidu (43 in 42 balls) and Amit Verma (41) led the recovery with a 75-run stand, and Balachandra Akhil then blasted 41, including four sixes, in just 20 balls to help steer Bangalore Provident to a competitive score in a crunch game.Mysore Maharaajas were under pressure from the outset, for they had to chase down the target in under 16 overs to get their net run-rate to a level which would ensure their qualification into the final four. But they were in the hunt at 85 for 1 in the 10th over before left-arm spinner Sarfaraz Ashraf (4 for 16) and Akhil (2 for 27) combined to cause a collapse, where Mysore lost six wickets for 16 runs to be shut out of contention. A 27-run tenth-wicket stand gave Mysore a glimmer of hope of winning the game, if not progressing to the next stage, but a last-over run-out sealed their fate.Bangalore Brigadiers (Urban) continued their successful run in the KPL Cup, and rounded off their league phase with an emphatic eight-wicket win over Shamanoor Davangere Diamonds at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The game was effectively a dead rubber, for Davangere, now at the bottom of the points table, had failed to qualify for the semi-finals. Bangalore had already sealed a place in the final four, and are table-toppers with six wins in seven games.Bangalore’s performance today centered around a disciplined bowling display which helped restrict Davangere to 118 for 5. Mohanram Nidesh made 54, rescuing his team from 40 for 4 but his effort was in vain. David Mathias (2 for 12) and Narayanan Prasad (1 for 12 in four overs) ensured the scoring was kept in check and the target, well within reach.Robin Uthappa was the star with the bat, striking six fours and four sixes in his 32-ball 69, and was supported by opener Nishant Shekawat (28 in 26). Uthappa’s blazing innings meant Bangalore reached their target with close to seven overs to spare.

Two days after announcing that they had signed Shahid Afridi, South Australia have scored another coup by adding the West Indies allrounder Kieron Pollard to their Twenty20 line-up for this summer

Cricinfo staff29-Oct-2009Two days after announcing that they had signed Shahid Afridi, South Australia have scored another coup by adding the West Indies allrounder Kieron Pollard to their Twenty20 line-up for this summer. Pollard and Afridi will add significant power to South Australia’s batting order as they aim to qualify for next year’s Champions League Twenty20.The recruitment of Pollard is a win for South Australia after New South Wales expressed their interest in signing him. The Blues were alerted to Pollard’s devastating potential when he brutalised them midway through the Champions League with to drive Trinidad and Tobago to victory.Jamie Cox, South Australia’s high performance manager, said the Redbacks had been keen on Pollard for some time. “We have been talking with Pollard for a while, even before his match-winning efforts in the Champions League and we were thrilled to secure his signature on Tuesday night,” Cox said.”The addition of both Shahid Afridi and Kieron Pollard will add an explosive dimension to the Redbacks KFC Twenty20 Big Bash campaign this summer. Pollard’s addition to the Redbacks squad will provide fans with a fantastic opportunity to watch one of the most exciting ball-strikers in the game today.”NSW coach Matthew Mott said Pollard’s decision had to be respected.”We spoke to him couple of times. And there was a good feeling about it,” Mott told Cricinfo. “But I guess it’s never sealed unless you get the signature on paper. Whenever managers get involved, it’s not easy and straightforward. I have no hard feelings. You can’t blame the player.”He and his managers must have weighed up their options. It would obviously have been good had we got him as we were very impressed with how he played in the Champions League, especially in both matches against us. Even in the final, his temperament stood out but that’s that; we have to move on.”Pollard, 22, struck the most sixes in the recent Champions League and adds another valuable medium-pace bowling option for the Redbacks. The states are allowed to sign up to two international players for the Big Bash and have until December 24 to confirm their recruits.

Flocking to social media, many Liverpool fans have erupted as reliable reporter Fabrizio Romano shares a message surrounding target Jude Bellingham (Twitter).

Jurgen Klopp’s side have started the 2021/2022 season in fine form and are well in contention to grab the Premier League title back off current champions Manchester City.

The Reds suffered their fair share of injury woes combined with poor form last year but they have begun their road to redemption in electric fashion this time round.

Scoring 37 goals in all competitions already this season, their last Premier League outing, in which they thrashed bitter rivals Man United 5-0 at Old Trafford, only sums up their current run of form.

However, as the Reds set one eye on the future, reliable reporter Romano has shared a message on Twitter from Borussia Dortmund head of first team Sebastian Kehl.

It concerns Bellingham, who has reportedly been at the centre of interest from FSG, with it looking like Kehl has now confirmed those reports.

He explained to Sport 1 (via Romano): “There’s lot of interest around Jude Bellingham, not only Liverpool. But there is no bottom line and no exit clause. He is loved, he enjoys that. There are no signs he could leave BVB soon.”

Flocking to what one fan has called ‘interesting’ news, many Reds supporters have erupted on Twitter.

Find all of their best verdicts down below.

Liverpool fans flock to Bellingham news…

“He’s ours”

Credit: @tylfc1

“Named us directly, hmm interesting.”

Credit: @AllezAllezAllez

“So we are actually interested then till they tell us the price tag no doubt”

Credit: @DylanR777

“Liverpool in January”

Credit: @BigLad1080

“Yes finally fabrizio confirmed”

Credit: @Ata95436042

“Bellingham will play for Liverpool either this year or next year”

Credit: @JordanDelurey

“If we win the title or champs league again and we want him I think he comes to Liverpool”

Credit: @1969_lfc

“Mad so we actually are interested”

Credit: @lfcrobbie

Two Zimbabwe first class cricketers – Simba Kusano and Mbekezeli Mabuza – were seriously injured when they were involved in a car crash near Bulawayo on Sunday evening

Cricinfo staff18-Aug-2009Two Zimbabwe first class cricketers – Simba Kusano and Mbekezeli Mabuza – were seriously injured when they were involved in a car crash near Bulawayo on Sunday evening.The pair are recovering at a public hospital after the accident which involved a minibus being used to transport some of the Zimbabwe and Bangladesh players to the ODIs in Bulawayo. The driver is believed to have swerved off the road to avoid an oncoming car and the minibus hit a tree, rammed into a bridge and caught fire.Reliable sources have said that Kusano, a medium pace bowler, broke his leg while Mabuza, a top-order batsman and part-time offspinner, suffered a back injury. It is thought he might be able to resume playing soon, but the prospects for Kusano are not nearly as promising. The pair had just signed contracts to play for the Bulawayo-based Matabeleland Tuskers franchise.Mabuza had returned to Bulawayo after being dropped from the Zimbabwe A side playing against Afghanistan in an ICC Intercontinental Cup match in Mutare. Last May he produced a stunning bowling display, picking up five wickets to lead Westerns to a sensational four-run victory over Northerns in the domestic Twenty20 final at Queens Sports Club. He was also a member of the Zimbabwe A side that toured Namibia.

Mashrafe Mortaza is confident of fulfilling the responsibility he has been given and is focused on improving Bangladesh’s standing in Test cricket

Judhajit Basu23-Jun-2009Mashrafe Mortaza, Bangladesh’s new captain, is confident of fulfilling the responsibility he has been given and is focused on improving his team’s standing in Test cricket during the upcoming tour of the West Indies.”Our performance in Tests has been nothing to write home about and, keeping in mind that we begin with Tests in the West Indies, I want to begin practice in a way that will help us put our best foot forward,” Mortaza told Cricinfo. “I hope the tour will be a great launchpad and that all the players contribute.”The man whom Mortaza expects to play a key role in achieving that objective is Mohammad Ashraful, whom the Bangladesh board relieved from captaincy so that he could concentrate on his batting. “I don’t think there will be any problems working with Ashraful,” Mortaza said. “The kind of player Ashraful is, he will be playing his best game as always.”He will not be playing for me, but for the country. He’s not immature and, being a professional player, he knows very well what is expected from him. I believe he will shine.”Mortaza’s appointment as captain was fast-tracked after Bangladesh’s first-round exit from the World Twenty20 in England, where they lost both group matches against India and Ireland. “We did play well against the big teams, especially India,” Mortaza said. “We may have been lacking a little in stability but I don’t think we played too badly and the criticism has been a little over the top. We hope to sort out these shortcomings and next time we’ll make sure such matches don’t slip from our grasp.”Mortaza was not worried about a possible dip in his own form owing to the pressure of leading and resurrecting the team, having had captaincy experience with Khulna Division and Abahani Limited in domestic cricket. “There’s no need to think about it too much,” he said. “It all depends on how well you can overcome the burden. Captaincy definitely brings pressure but if you can enjoy it, it’s worth it.”His task could become easier with the readmission of former ICL players into the Bangladesh fold. While Ashraful’s team was depleted with the exodus of 13 players to the unofficial league, they could be available for selection during Mortaza’s term after the Bangladesh board offered them amnesty in May.”They haven’t returned to the national fold yet and I wouldn’t take too huge a stride forward, thinking about the future,” he said. “Hopefully they will get permission to play in the Dhaka League and the National Cricket League and, if they perform well, I don’t see why they can’t make it to the Bangladesh team. Once they are back in the squad, they will be like the others, who have come through on merit, and won’t need to be handled separately.”