Andre Onana is reportedly set to start for Cameroon against Senegal following his 5,000-mile AFCON dash to the Ivory Coast from Manchester United.
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Finding suitable purches on a slow pitch in Colombo was only possible while the shine remained on the ball, said Sri Lanka’s left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan
Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo17-Mar-2017The new ball remained key to the spinners’ menace on this P Sara deck, said Lakshan Sandakan, after he took 4 for 140 in the Colombo Test.Sri Lanka were not particularly effective with either the first or second new ball, taking most of their wickets after the shine had worn off. But they did raise some close lbw shouts, and drew several mistakes from the batsmen, both early in Bangladesh’s innings and soon after taking the second new ball. Rangana Herath emerged with the innings’ best figures, wiping out the tail to finish with 4 for 82 while seam bowler Suranga Lakmal took 2 for 90, and though Dilruwan Perera did not make a breakthrough, he bowled his 33 overs with good control.”The wicket became a bit slow, and when the newness of the ball goes, there’s nothing much from the pitch,” Sandakan said. “You have to toil a bit here and work hard. Rangana and Dilruwan [Perera] bowled in good spots and put good pressure on them, and that’s why we were able to get them out. Suranga [Lakmal] also bowled really well, because it’s not a pitch that favours quicks and he did his job really well. If you keep the ball as new as possible, I think the spinners have a good chance here.”It was Sandakan who dismissed Bangladesh’s top-scorer Shakib Al Hasan in the afternoon session, but he could have had him out for 11 had a catch at deep square leg been held. A couple of chances had gone down off Sandakan’s bowling in the first Test in Galle as well, but he was philosophical about the misses. “Having a catch dropped [is] not a new thing for a bowler. Whether you play club cricket or school cricket, catches can be missed. Maybe the catch goes up because it’s a very good ball so I try to look at it as a positive and keep trying to bowl good balls.”In addition to the dropped catch off Sandakan, Sri Lanka also spilled a chance off Lakmal, missed a straightforward run-out, and were uncharacteristically sloppy on the field.Adding to Sandakan’s problems was a difficulty bowling to a right-left batting combination. He conceded 4.24 per over as Shakib, the left-hander, forged partnerships of 92 and 131 with right-handers Mushfiqur Rahim and Mosaddek Hossain.”Changing according to whether the batsman is a left-hander or right-hander is a bit difficult for me, with the way my action is. But we need to be focused on where to bowl to batsmen. I think if you can bowl straight, you’ll be able to do something. Whether I bowl the googly or the chinaman or whatever, if I pitch it in the right place, I think I have a good chance – it doesn’t really matter whether he’s right or left handed.”
Eldine Baptiste and West Indies U-19 coach Graeme West are set to join Mike Young as the lead talent evaluators at US scouting combines, which are scheduled to begin this weekend in Los Angeles
Peter Della Penna07-Apr-2016West Indies national selector Eldine Baptiste and West Indies U-19 coach Graeme West are set to join Mike Young as the lead talent evaluators at US scouting combines, which is being held in eight cities around the USA over the next two months, beginning this weekend in Los Angeles. Baptiste and West’s appointment was announced on Wednesday by the ICC Americas office, which is coordinating each scouting combine.”I am thoroughly looking forward to working with Mike Young as well as the ICC Americas and local cricket community on this project” Baptiste said. “It is a great opportunity for the players across the USA and extremely exciting for the development of the game.”Baptiste has prior experience working in an Associate cricket setup. Baptiste coached Kenya from September 2009 to April 2011, but stepped down shortly after Kenya’s win-less performance at the 2011 World Cup in India.The candidates at each city-based combine will also be put through a series of skills, fitness and agility tests conducted by BAM (Basic Athletic Measurement) Testing. BAM conducts skills and agility tests at the annual NBA Draft Rookie Combine. Headquartered in Seattle, BAM was founded in 2008 by former Dallas Mavericks head strength and conditioning coach Brett Brungardt.”I’m intrigued to see how these cricketers stack up against some of the best athletes I’ve seen in basketball and other major US sports,” Brungardt said ahead of the first regional combine in Los Angeles.Young and ICC Americas high performance consultant Tom Evans are the two main holdovers from the trial held last September in Indianapolis, which also featured players from Argentina, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Canada and Suriname. Venkatapathy Raju and Courtney Walsh were utilized as the lead talent evaluators at that combine along with Young.This weekend’s trial in Los Angeles is the first of eight city-based trials conducted by the ICC to establish a national-team talent pool at men’s, women’s and U-17 levels. At the end of the eight trials, concluding in New York, the ICC is expected to name a group of 20-30 players in each category for a second round of auditions to be held later in the summer.More than 100 applications were received for the men’s trial in Los Angeles, with 55 players making the final list of invitees. They include eight current or former USA senior team players and six former USA U-19 players. The first trial for women’s and U-17 players will take place in San Francisco from April 14.
Pep Guardiola revealed that Jack Grealish's family was inside during the burglary at Cheshire home but nobody was harmed.
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Manchester United will not make a bid to sign Karim Benzema from Al-Ittihad in the January transfer window, according to a report.
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Mark Richardson talks to Herschelle Gibbs about betting scandals, the Test series against Australia and dropping the 1999 World Cup
17-Dec-2005
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Herschelle Gibbs knows he won’t be able to slip under the radar this summer. Australian fans never let him forget his role in a betting scandal which brought down his captain Hansie Cronje, or the moment of madness when he dropped Steve Waugh at the 1999 World Cup.On his third tour of Australia, Gibbs is intent on making his name through his deeds with the bat rather than as the target of a Waugh sledge which, he believes, probably never happened. Despite the pressure he will face from fans and foes, Gibbs knows he has the natural resilience and ability to succeed on the toughest tour of all. But he believes he has yet to show his true abilities, starting with a first tour in 1998.”I wasn’t really an established player but I played in a couple of Tests and four or five one-dayers,” he tells . “We actually probably had our best and most established side at this time. Allan Donald was really quick, Polly [Shaun Pollock] was still firing at around the 140kph mark and we still had Hansie [Cronje], but for me it was very much a learning experience.”And what did he learn? “It is the toughest tour from a mental point of view,” he says. “It is just so mentally tough and draining – on and off the field. It is not just the players you play against; the media and public are very much in your face too.”In 2001, South Africa returned to Australian shores being touted as the second best team in the world. It was a series so keenly awaited that in a moment of frustration against New Zealand, who were the summer’s entrée, Glenn McGrath enquired of a batsman: “When are you lot going to bugger off so we can play a real team?”The Kiwis eventually “buggered off” and in stepped the South Africans. “We didn’t just lose; we got hammered in all three Tests,” Gibbs says. “It was such a disappointment. There was so much tension going into the first Test at Adelaide. Justin Langer described it as being like two heavyweight title fighters apprehensively waiting for the first big punch to be thrown, which I reckon was a pretty accurate description.”The first telling blow was landed and it came in the form of the tag-team duo of Langer and Matthew Hayden. “We simply got outplayed,” he says. “Langer and Hayden made merry all throughout the series and set Australia up for scores of 500 to 600 in all three Tests. We simply couldn’t get in the fight.”And his disappointment doesn’t start and end with the team’s results. “I’d come off a Man-of-the-Series performance against India so I can’t say I was short on confidence and in fact I got off to a good start with 80-odd, but after that I guess the nerves just got the better of me,” he says. “I got too up for the challenge and in the second Test when McGrath chirped me about the Hansie thing I reacted badly. It was a mistake on my part. I’ll admit to being intimidated, but that is quite a common thing for many players in Australia.”
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However, Gibbs bounced back from some pretty nasty episodes to fashion a very impressive Test and ODI record. Without a doubt the nastiest episode was his six-month ban in 2000 for his part in the match-fixing scandal. “Perhaps Hansie was as much to blame for my downfall as his own, but I accept I made a mistake,” he says. “Everyone makes mistakes in their lives and their chosen careers and yes I made a big one, but I’m just glad I only got six months off and have been allowed to move on.”Boy it was hard coming back and first-up against Sri Lanka I was so nervous. I think I got a couple of ducks straight up and then in Australia in 2001 I copped a heap from the crowds. But time heals most things and even though I expect to get a little ribbing this time round, I accept it is in my past.”Also in the past is the famous dropped catch off Waugh, who reportedly told him he had just dropped the World Cup. Gibbs believes that story is more myth than legend. “If he did say it I didn’t hear it,” he says. “Maybe he made comment of it in the press conference, but I definitely didn’t hear anything on the field.”That was in limited-overs cricket and Gibbs has pretty strong views as to where that rates. “You never hail the one-day heroes,” he says. “You never really hear about one-day runs. No, it is all about Tests. The greats are measured on their tally of Test runs and averages. I’m not really bothered about my ODI average, strike-rate is perhaps more important.”When it comes to Tests there is no doubt Gibbs is aiming for a tally that will place him among the world’s greats. “I aim to score 1000 Test runs per calendar year,” he says. “If I play another five years I then should have 10,000 Test runs.”Five years is quite conservative for one of the game’s better athletes and a man who has taken over the fielding mantle of Jonty Rhodes. He takes his fitness seriously and prides himself on being in the top three when the South Africans are assessed. It is an understatement when he says: “I’m blessed with natural speed.”This summer Gibbs will have more faith in his natural ability than on the past two tours. It probably helps that his last Test innings against Australia was a century made in the final match of the home series in 2002. “It started to fall into place because I got a little more comfortable against them,” he says. “In the past they knew they could rattle me and I’d lose concentration, but I’ve played a lot more games now and this time I’m where I want to be and it is comforting to know what I’m up for as not much has changed with them.”For many Tests he had been the more flamboyant half of two successful opening partnerships; firstly with the retired Gary Kirsten and later with Graeme Smith as they began to build a record to rival the Langer-Hayden combination. Gibbs is now walking in to bat at No. 5 and while it may not be his favoured position, he has accepted the challenge. He even reckons Australia may not be the worst place to find success in the middle order.
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“I got frustrated in the West Indies,” he says. “I’d come in with 300-odd on the board, the ball would be soft, no pace to work with and I just couldn’t play my natural game. In Oz, at least the wickets are quicker, which might help with my natural game.”So how does a natural born ball striker and opener with a terrific record find himself in the middle order? “We didn’t know what to do with AB de Villiers – he has done so well, however no one has really filled their boots at No. 5 or 6 so I’ll do it and see if can provide some solidity. I mean at the end of the day I could have said stuff the team and de Villiers would have had to bide his time, but putting the team first is more important.”It is an attitude that shows Gibbs is far from the naive kid once influenced and manipulated by Cronje. He is now a leader and along with Jacques Kallis carries the experience in the batting lineup. “This is possibly the best top six we have had for a while: inexperienced but talented,” he says. “Obviously myself and Kallis must lead by example but looking at the others they are all quite attacking. We all must play our natural games. We will definitely have a few discussions about going out and being natural.”
Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo can be “challenging” to work with, admits former Juventus CEO Beppe Marotta.
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The Portugal international arrived to much fanfare over the summer, but has only found the net in one game thus far and fallen out of the line-up
After just about surviving his first season at Paris Saint-Germain, all eyes were on how Luis Campos would rebuild at one of Europe's most demanding clubs. The French champions' lead football advisor relieved manager Christophe Galtier of his duties and sold Neymar, while he did not stand in the way of Lionel Messi departing either.
After hiring Luis Enrique, his reported fourth choice to replace Galtier, Campos went about assembling a new-look squad. One of his first moves was to sign Goncalo Ramos on a loan deal from Benfica with an obligation to buy. Although they didn't send the Portuguese side a cent this summer, Ramos will someday cost the Parisians up to €80m.
On the surface, it made some sense. PSG were rife with uncertainty in regards to Kylian Mbappe's future, but knew they were moving on from Messi and Neymar. A forward — of any description — was necessary. However, Ramos wasn't the only attacker to walk through the entrance door at Parc des Princes during the transfer window.
Of the 11 signings Campos sanctioned in a that three-month period, six were attacking players who would be made available to Luis Enrique in 2023-24. That doesn't include Xavi Simons, who was immediately loaned out to RB Leipzig but is expected back at some stage. Factor in that Mbappe eventually opted to stay, and suddenly the cupboard was far from bare.
Someone was bound to become a spare part, and right now that looks to be Ramos. The obligation to pay an initial €65m (£57m/$70m) already feels like an unnecessary financial burden that will need to be dealt with in the coming months, and is a sign that despite claiming to be more sensible spenders, PSG remain prone to the odd reckless investment as they search for a winning formula that will work outside of France.
Neymar hints at a rift with former PSG team-mate Kylian Mbappe after 'liking' an Instagram post criticising the Frenchman for his decision to leave.
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Sri Lanka’s stand-in captain was pleased to take points from the game, but felt his side could have taken the bonus point too if only his batsmen did not waste the starts they got
Andrew Fidel Fernando21-Jan-2018Sri Lanka’s bowlers dismissed Zimbabwe for what both captains agreed was a sub-par score, but Dinesh Chandimal felt Sri Lanka’s batsmen could have executed the chase better.His grouse is perhaps with Sri Lanka’s middle-overs stutter, which delayed victory and probably cost Sri Lanka a bonus point. Having been 103 for 1 in the 22nd over, they lost four wickets for 42 runs, and the rate of scoring consequently slowed. There were 52 boundary-less deliveries at one stage in the innings, and a 10-over stretch in which only 31 runs were scored.Chandimal suggested all this could have been avoided, if only set batsmen capitalised on their starts. Kusal Perera and Kusal Mendis – whose 70-run stand was the foundation of Sri Lanka’s chase – were out in quick succession for 49 and 36, sparking that mini-collapse.”We are pleased with the win, but we should have played better,” Chandimal said. “The bowlers did their job very well. When batsmen get us a good start, they need to do a slightly better job of finishing the game.”Before we went in to bat, we had a plan to get bonus point before 40th over. But after the 25th over, we changed our minds since it was a tough wicket to bat on. The first aim was to win the game.” A finish before the 40-over mark would have earned Sri Lanka a bonus point.Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer too was critical of his batsmen. Only Brendan Taylor made a fifty following quick top-order wickets, and the tail offered little resistance. Cremer had won the toss and batted first expecting there to be runs in the surface, but his side could not muster a competitive score.”I thought we were 30 runs short with the bat,” Cremer said. “The wicket played a lot different to the last game. I thought we adjusted well when Brendan was in. We thought it was 230 that was par instead of 270. We just lost too many wickets in the middle overs. It didn’t help when Sikander Raza got out. I thought it was a crucial point in the game. If we got 230, we would have a really good chance of winning.”Although at the toss Cremer had expected batting conditions to become worse as the match wore on, he suggested the opposite was true, after the game had ended. Sri Lanka used the bouncer to good effect, with Thisara Perera taking three top-order wickets with short deliveries. Zimbabwe’s quicks had less success with short balls.”With the wicket being a little bit two-paced, I think Sri Lanka saw that quite early, and used [short balls] to their advantage. I think, in the evening, there was a little bit of dew, and it came on to the bat better – not like in the afternoon when it got stuck. We will keep that in mind when we bowl in the next game.”