Tryphon Mirando, secretary of Sri Lanka Cricket’s interim committee died suddenly in London on Sunday. Mirando, 51 was visiting his wife and children when he suffered a massive heart attack. According to sources, he was rushed to hospital but it was too late.A Royal College alumnus, Mirando was a long standing member of Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club. He was a livewire at the club, being a former president and a past secretary. A charming personality, Mirando was also a good choir singer.At the time of his death, he was marketing director of Janashakthi Insurance Company Ltd and a director at Kotmale Company.
England have not yet arrived in Zimbabwe for the five-match one-day series that few of their players seem to have any appetite for, but David Morgan, the ECB’s chairman, yesterday said that there was every chance that England would be back there soon to play Tests.Morgan, who is accompanying the England side to Zimbabwe, made his comments as the team arrived for a short period of acclimatisation in Namibia. He told The Guardian that Zimbabwe’s impending return to the Test arena meant that England would “have to return to play two Tests at some stage, as will Australia.” He added: “We will be in discussions with Zimbabwe Cricket about when that will happen during the course of this tour.”He also denied suggestions that the board had leant on players to persuade them not to back out of the tour. “I made it absolutely clear to the coach, captain and the other players that anybody for reasons of personal conscience who did not wish to go to Zimbabwe would not be penalised,” he said. “Is that leaning on players?”
A maiden century from Neil Edwards took Somerset to within 61 runs of Hampshire’s first innings total by the end of a run-filled second day on a typically flat Taunton wicket.Hampshire added 95 more runs falling just five runs short of a rare maximum batting points with the limping Robin Smith posting an unbeaten half century (56*) from 95 balls including eight fours and a six as he and Shaun Udal (30)moved the visitors close to 400.Steffan Jones cleaned up the tail with 4-102.But as the wicket flattened out, bowling became more and more difficult although Hampshire, with Dimitri Mascarenhas and Lawrence Prittipaul the main culprits, bowling particularly poorly as Cornishman Edwards, in just his fourth first-class match and with a previous best of just 45, tucked in with glee.Edwards and James Bryant (73) added 147 before the latter became a surprise victim to Derek Kenway with his first ball of the season. It is just his fourth first-class wicket!The youngster hit 160 from just 184 balls – it showed how easy paced the wicket was and how poorly some of the bowlers had performed. Bournemouth-based Tom Webley and Ian Blackwell saw the home side to 338-4 by close of play.Neither side will want to give much away, so the draw could be the most likely result on this most placid of pitches.
England have now had over a day to rue the first innings collapse that allowed the Indian batsmen to get on with the job of slowly overtaking the inadequate total. The way those batsmen have gone about their task, there is no reason to believe that England will not have a considerable length of time yet to contemplate further the folly of losing six wickets for 14 runs.That is to take nothing away from the discipline of their bowling that, formuch of the day, kept the scoring rate hovering just above the two an over mark. To say that all they had to show for their efforts were the wickets ofa nightwatchman and a makeshift opener is not giving due credit to for a brave performance.Anil Kumble played the role of nightwatchman to perfection. The opening overs of the day are reckoned to be the time when conditions are most favourable for pace bowling. Kumble navigated his side through those dangerous times and, with every ball he faced, he was drawing fire from the bowlers and helping the ball itself to deteriorate from its pristine condition.Matthew Hoggard, James Ormond, Andrew Flintoff and even Mark Butcher had been given a go with the ball when Nasser Hussain made a double change. Craig White made an appearance in the attack at one end, debutant Richard Dawson at the other.Dawson saw no great degree of turn, but did see the ball bounce to his liking as a 6′ 4″ off-spinner. It was his twelfth ball in Test cricket that Kumble attempted to cut, got a thickish edge and James Foster, also making his first appearance in a Test match, safely did the rest. There was much jubilation in the England camp. It was as well that they could celebrate then, for the next opportunity to do so was a long way down the track.Rahul Dravid joined Deep Dasgupta, the wicket-keeper who only took the opening berth in an emergency and who continued in his slow and careful way. He had no need and possibly not the repertoire to force the pace. Dravid too was watchful, with the English bowlers displaying an admirable discipline.Hoggard got a ball to lift and come back to strike Dravid a painful blow on the elbow when he had three and, with 30 added to his personal tally, there was every reason for Dravid for leave the field for good. The batsman played at Flintoff as the ball went down the leg side, touched it through to Foster’s left glove and from there to the floor. The tariff has yet to be finalised.Dasgupta had moved to a cautious fifty from 159 balls. It was an invaluableinnings if not, perhaps a memorable one for the quality of attacking strokes. But who would question the value of a sound defence in an opener? That defence faltered when he had 75 when Flintoff was again the bowler and, this time, Butcher the culprit in the slips.By now, after tea, the batsmen were beginning to lift the tempo. Dravid moved to his fifty from 126 balls with a glorious straight drive off Hoggard. Dasgupta’s response was to slice the same bowler to the third man boundary to bring up his hundred. Playing in only his third Test and his first on home soil, the 24 year-old had taken 82 overs to get there but he was the hero of the hour as the scoreboard showed him on exactly 100.The concentration might have slipped for a moment at this point, entirelyunderstandably it should be said, for that scoreboard had no reason to change before White found a straight one that might have come back just a little to bowl Dasgupta. Makeshift opener or not, he had done a wonderful job for his side and deserved the generous applause from a crowd that could have been thanking him for his efforts and for getting out when he did.The fall of his wicket allowed Sachin Tendulkar to come to the middle. Hussain had not taken the new ball, delaying it until there were nine overs of the day remaining. Flintoff had the thrill of seeing the outside edge of the little master passed twice, and with consecutive balls, no less.However, as the natural light faded and the floodlights were brought on, they only served to illuminate India’s firm grasp on the game. Although the bowlers kept going valiantly to produce a set of highly commendable figures in terms of economy, the thought of Dravid resuming on 78 and Tendulkar on 31 on a fine surface for batting should give them food for thought.An inexperienced attack might well be in position to learn an awful lot on the third day unless it strikes quickly and consistently. India lead by 24 with seven wickets in hand, Dravid and Tendulkar at the crease and power to add.
Ian Harvey is determined to shed his reputation as a specialist one-dayplayer and become highly regarded in all forms of cricket.The Gloucestershire all-rounder is particularly renowned for his ability tobowl tightly at the death in limited overs games, a skill which has helpedhis county win three successive Lord’s final.But when he puts his mind to it Harvey can be pretty economical in four-daycricket too, as Warwickshire found to their cost after winning the toss inexcellent batting conditions at Cheltenham.The visitors must have been rubbing their hands, bearing in mind Northants’500-plus total at the same venue last week and the fact that Gloucestershirehad lost their last three Championship games at the College Ground.But the home bowlers had been given a gee-up by coach John Bracewell andWarwickshire had to fight for virtually every run before being bowled outfor a disappointing 260 with the last ball of the day.Harvey returned Championship-best figures of 5-29 from 23 overs and receivedparticularly good support from Ben Gannon (3-62) and Martyn Ball (2-53).Gloucs bowlers – credit and good controlBut all the Gloucestershire bowlers performed with credit from the startwhen Gannon and Jon Lewis saw to it that only 14 runs came from the first 11overs by showing good control with the new ball.The home side had surprisingly chosen to leave out Mike Smith and play anextra batsman in Imran Mohammed. Soon Harvey was ensuring the decision wouldbe vindicated.Coming on as first change, he first succeeded in tying down the batsmen,sending down nine overs before lunch at a cost of just three runs andremoving opener Michael Powell for 25.The second session brought the Australian more reward with 3-14 from eightovers as Warwickshire tumbled from 107-1 to 164-5.Harvey made liberal use of the short ball to deter batsmen from playingforward and looked quite sharp at times on a true pitch. He was backed up bygood fielding and scoring never looked easy.Mark Wagh (59) and David Hemp (58) both had to graft for their runs. ForHemp it was his first Championship half century since the second week in Mayand the innings occupied more than three hours.Warwicks batting faltersOpener Wagh took 115 balls to reach his fifty, showing commendableapplication to try and lay the foundation for a big total. Sadly forWarwickshire, his concentration was not matched by the later batsmen.After Hemp and a confident Ashley Giles, whose 37 included a six and 5fours, had helped take the score to 223-5 the innings folded for just 37more runs.Skipper Neil Smith was among those to sacrifice his wicket to a rash shot,skying off-spinner Ball to Chris Taylor, while Hemp’s effort ended with acatch by the same fielder at long-leg when he top-edged a hook off Gannon.Allan Donald looked none too pleased to be adjudged caught off bat and padto give Ball his second wicket and the smiles were on Gloucestershire faceswhen the players left the field.
Ange Postecoglou has dropped an exciting injury update on Celtic centre-forward Kyogo Furuhashi.
What’s the latest?
In comments made to BBC Sportsound (via 67hailhail) following Celtic’s 2-1 victory over Rangers on Sunday afternoon, the 56-year-old Bhoys boss revealed that, despite pre-match reports suggesting that the 27-year-old would be available for selection in the Old Firm meeting, the Japan international was left out of the Hoops’ matchday squad as a precaution.
However, the Greek-Australian head coach went on to state that the striker will be back in the team for the visit of St. Johnstone this weekend.
Speaking about Kyogo’s return, Postecoglou said: “He’ll be fine [for St. Johnstone]. He was desperate to play today but when I looked at our run-in we’ve got some massive games. He’s such an important player for us and I thought today we could handle it without him.
“To be fair he tried everything. Everywhere I turned he popped up in front of me to make sure I knew he was ready to go. I couldn’t walk around Lennoxtown without seeing him! But we’ll keep him on ice. He’s ready to go, he’ll be fine and he’ll be involved next week.”
Brilliant news for Celtic
Considering how important a part of the Celtic side Kyogo has become since his move to Parkhead last summer, Postecoglou’s claim that the centre-forward will make a return to first-team football on Saturday is undoubtedly brilliant news for the club.
Indeed, over his 14 Premiership appearances in the current campaign, the £4.95m-rated goal-getter has been in devastating form, bagging eight goals, providing two assists and creating four big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.1 shots and making 1.1 key passes per game – with these returns seeing the Japanese sensation average a highly impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.03.
The £52.5k-per-week striker also impressed over his five Europa League outings this season, scoring two goals, providing two assists and creating two big chances for his teammates, with these metrics seeing the 27-year-old average an even more remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.10.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
As such, with Celtic knowing that four more wins from their last six league fixtures will all but seal the Premiership title, it is clear for all to see that the news a player as deadly as Kyogo will be available for selection for these games is a huge boost to the Bhoys’ chances of being crowned the champions of Scotland once again.
AND in other news: £3m wasted: Celtic had a shocker on £7.9k-p/w “loner” who rinsed Desmond for 129 weeks
Chris Morris gave South Africa one of their most memorable ODI victories in Johannesburg on Friday night but not even the man himself thinks it has secured him a place in a side packed with allrounders but still searching for middle-order muscle.”I’m trying my hardest to cement a spot in the team,” Morris said. “I wouldn’t say I’ve leapfrogged over anybody. There are still a couple of guys who should be given an opportunity if they put in the performances but I’ve put in a lot of work on my batting. Eventually it has to pay off and tonight it was my turn to show off that I am pushing for that allrounder spot.”As a seam-bowling allrounder, Morris’ direct competitor is David Wiese, who also played in the Wanderers match but had far less eye-catching returns. Wiese scored just 21 runs off 32 balls before reaching for a wide ball and spooning a catch to short cover after a similar bowling effort to Morris’. Wiese conceded 58 runs in his 10 overs while Morris cost South Africa 52 runs in nine overs and picked up an important wicket – that of Joe Root – at the death.Ultimately Morris believes they are not competing with the bat because his “main role is to bowl.” In that department, Morris thought he was “slightly under par” but admitted that “being a hitter at the end is a bit of an advantage”.In South Africa, it is more than a bit of a positive. The team have long looked for reliable finishers and have yet to find someone who can consistently deliver, although AB de Villiers mentioned someone else who he can now put faith in at the end.”Fudgie, look he’s a big match player, he always has been, especially at domestic level, he’s proved it time and time again,” de Villiers said, referring to Farhaan Behardien, who hit 38 off 42 and shared in a sixth-wicket stand of 48 with Wiese that ensured South Africa did not implode after JP Duminy’s dismissal. “He’s started to prove that now at international level over the last year or so, playing big knocks under pressure. Unfortunately he got out but he played his game to perfection and set it up nicely for guys like Chris to finish it off.”Behardien will welcome the support, especially after his bowling was not required and he received heaps of criticism on social media for not seeing the chase through.De Villiers’ backing of Behardien can also only mean that Duminy, who ran the captain out and was then dismissed by an Adil Rashid legbreak that smacked him on the pad, is under pressure for his place, especially as his contributions dwindle.Duminy’s bowling was cast aside two matches ago, when South Africa first called on an allrounder in the XI, but that has not helped his batting. He last scored an ODI fifty seven matches ago, in Bangladesh last June, and questions over how much longer South Africa can accommodate Duminy while keeping David Miller and Rilee Rossouw on the sidelines are starting to sprout.Unlike some of his team-mates, Duminy does not seem to embrace the do-or-die moment in the same way Morris did. “As a cricketer you live for those pressure situations,” Morris said. “I kind of enjoy being put under pressure because that’s where you get tested as a character and a cricketer.”Those are exactly the kind of words a captain like de Villiers wants to hear. “Knocks like that shape a player,” de Villiers said. “It’s massive for Chris what happened. The game and sport is about confidence and now he can find a way to get a bit of confidence and self-belief.”Not that Morris needed any more of an ego boost. Last Saturday, he sold for a million dollars in the IPL – over R16 million at the current exchange rate – but it seems he still has not realised what that says about his worth.Just as Morris did not think his match-winning efforts at the Wanderers will guarantee him a place in the national side, he does not think that his price tag says too much about his ability. “I don’t think anyone can justify going for that amount of money in the IPL,” Morris said. But after his performance on Friday, the Delhi Daredevils will be able to justify spending that amount.
Adam Gilchrist, the Australia vice-captain, says the Indian Cricket League (ICL) could be good for the game in the long run and hopes it will strengthen the relationship between players and their boards. “I don’t see it as a particularly bad news story,” Gilchrist told the media at the Sunshine Coast town of Coolum.”Competition in the marketplace is always healthy. And it’s great if that helps establish a better bond between players and the respective boards in the other countries.”Asked about Cricket Australia’s link to the ICL, Gilchrist said he wasn’t aware of any potential signings and emphasised that the relationship between the board and the players was strong. “I can’t comment on the other countries,” he said. “It may be a very different landscape there, but we are very well supported by Cricket Australia. There’s no doubt about that. Primarily they seem to be targeting retired players so I don’t know of any poaching attempts of current Australian contracted players.”Shaun Tait, the Australia fast bowler, also agreed with Gilchrist that the ICL was better suited to retired men trying to earn a living. “These guys who have retired, they can make up their own minds,” Tait said. “Young guys like myself, we don’t think about it too much, because we are striving to play consistent cricket for Australia. But that’s their decision and there’s obviously money to be made.”So far, the ICL has attracted interest from retired players such as Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne and others from around the world who have little hope of making comebacks. The league has signed up nearly 50 domestic players in India and the future of those players is still in question after the Indian board refused to embrace the league. The ICC today said they would not recognise the league if the Indian board did not.
Australia are using the latest fitness techniques to get an edge over England in next month’s Ashes series. Most of Australia’s cricketers are over 30 and face a tough season, including five Tests against England in seven weeks, and the side have implemented GPS satellite tracking systems and accelerometers to measure their physical activity.Justin Cordy, Australia’s strength and conditioning coach, has devised fitness programs for each player and they have returned in excellent shape from a four-month winter break. “Skinfolds is what we are focused on … overall as a team there’s been a 15 percent change in all players,” Cordy told Brisbane’s . “Over the last four or five months, I’ve really seen these guys knuckle down with the Ashes and World Cup on the table. It’s about making them more athletic and getting excess weight off, so we can really focus on power and speed of movement. From my perspective, it was a matter of building on their [fitness] base and taking them to another level.”GPS devices are regularly fitted to players – Nathan Bracken agreed to wear one on his wrist during a one-day international final in Brisbane last season – as Australia seeks an advantage over England.”The GPS satellite tracking devices give you an idea of what distance the players cover and at what speeds,” Cordy said. “For instance, it showed that Bracken covered 15 kilometres [nine miles] out in the field in Brisbane. One of the things that came out of the technology was that there was a significant difference in training heart-rates versus playing heart-rates. It has highlighted the need at training to work harder because of the intensity of matches.”
Nashua Titans, the current South African Standard Bank Pro20 Cup winners, have named their 15-man squad for the six-team inaugural International 20:20 Club Championship to be held in Leicester from September 15 to17.The squad will be led by Gerard Dros, the Titans middle-order batsman. The team includes Alviro Petersen, an explosive opener who has ripped apart the bowling in domestic competition, while the bowling line-up includes Pierre de Bruyn and Ethy Mbhalati, and the young Albie Morkel, the South Africa one-day player is also selected in the team.Delighted after having qualified for the first-ever Twenty20 club championship, Alex Balfour, director of strategy for investors in cricket, said: “The fact that five of the six teams participating in the inaugural International 20:20 Championship are current or recent domestic 20:20 champions gives this tournament real credibility. We will find out who really is the best team in the world at the 20:20 format.”Richard Pybus, the newly appointed coach of the Nashua Titans, said, “Although we miss some of our national players who are on duty with South Africa and South Africa `A’, we are looking forward to bringing a young and dynamic side. It will be a wonderful opportunity for the younger players in our squad to put down a marker for the rest of the season.”Other teams include Pakistan’s Faisalabad Wolves, Chilaw Marians, English Twenty20 Cup champions Somerset Sabres. Hosts Leicestershire Foxes, and the PCA Masters XI, which will feature a number of current and past England players, will also participate in the tournament.In the first round, teams will be awarded two points for a win and one for a tie with the top two teams in each group going through to the semi-finals. Winners of these will contest the final that evening.Titans squad 1 Maurice Aronstam, 2 Gulam Bodi, 3 Pierre de Bruyn, 4 Gerald Dros (capt), 5 Francois du Plessis, 6 Paul Harris, 7 Ethy Mbhalati, 8 Morné Morkel, 9 Johann Myburgh, 10 Alviro Petersen, 11 Aaron Phangiso, 12 Brendon Reddy, 13 André Seymore, 14 Kruger van Wyk (wk), 15 Albie Morkel