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Alexei Kervezee and Vikram Solanki both hit excellent half-centuries asWorcestershire beat Kent by six wickets in an entertaining Clydesdale Bank 40game at Canterbury

01-May-2011
Scorecard
Alexei Kervezee and Vikram Solanki both hit excellent half-centuries asWorcestershire beat Kent by six wickets in an entertaining Clydesdale Bank 40game at Canterbury.Solanki smashed a classy 59 from just 49 balls, striking 10 fours, and Kervezee69 from 84 balls as Worcestershire reached their victory target with three ballsto spare.They were at the heart of a superbly-paced chase after Kent, who won the toss,posted 232 for 8 from their 40 overs – a total which was less than theywould have hoped for when Martin van Jaarsveld and Darren Stevens were blazingaway in a third-wicket stand of 70 in just 12 overs.But Van Jaarsveld was caught at deep mid-wicket for a run-a-ball 81 soon afterStevens had fallen in similar fashion for a quickfire 41 which included sixfours and an effortless six launched over long on against off-spinner ShaaiqChoudhry. Van Jaarsveld hit nine fours in his innings.After that, however, no Kent batsman could increase the scoring ratesignificantly as Worcestershire’s bowling attack did well to restrict the lowermiddle order. Seamers Jack Shantry, Gareth Andrew and Damien Wright allimpressed as they shared six wickets.From 87 for 1, with Rob Key hitting 29 in a partnership worth 79 in 12 overswith Van Jaarsveld, Kent would have been aiming for a total above 250 -especially after Stevens arrived to maintain the early momentum.In reply, Worcestershire were given a perfect start by Solanki and Moeen Ali,who added 79 inside 11 overs before Moeen was trapped leg before wicket by JamesTredwell for 31 off 34 balls, with six fours.And Kent’s predominantly youthful and inexperienced attack could not containtheir opponents, even after Solanki hit 19-year-old off spinner Adam Rileystraight to Tredwell at short extra cover in the 17th over.Neil Pinner, a 20-year-old batsman, played a sensible supporting role as he andKervezee put the game almost beyond doubt with a third-wicket stand of 78 in 15overs. Pinner hit only one four in his 37 from 44 balls, but kept rotating thestrike perfectly.When Pinner was stumped by Geraint Jones, to give Riley a second wicket in apromising debut performance of two for 37 from eight overs, James Cameronarrived to help Kervezee add a further 46 in seven overs.On the verge of victory, Dutch star Kervezee holed out to mid-off whenattempting a big hit against Azhar Mahmood, but he had by then played thematch-winning innings.Riley and Ashley Shaw were making their competition debuts for Kent while18-year-old all-rounder Adam Ball had only one previous appearance, at the endof last season.They were included as Kent are currently suffering from an injury list whichincludes Robbie Joseph (leg), Dewald Nel (back), Simon Cook (finger), Matt Coles(knee) and Joe Denly (broken thumb).

With two weeks left until the January transfer window closes, Wolves still have time to make any changes to their squad that they think will put them in the best shape to end the season as strongly as possible and potentially secure a European place in the Premier League table.

However, it seems as though the club can put to bed any concerns about potentially seeing one of their key players leave Molineux this month.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from Spanish media outlet SPORT, Wolves winger Adama Traore wants to return to Barcelona with Jorge Mendes apparently working with both parties for a potential deal.

However, it’s likely that Traore will stay at the Midlands club until the summer before a final decision is made on his future.

Since joining Wolves back in the 2018 summer transfer window from Championship club Middlesbrough in a deal worth a reported fee of £18m, the Spaniard has gone on to make 153 appearances for the Old Gold across all competitions, scoring 11 goals and providing 18 assists in the process.

Lage will be relieved

Despite only managing to score one goal in the Premier League so far this season, which came in Wolves’ recent 3-1 win over Southampton at the weekend, Traore’s performances have shown what an important figure he can be for the team and why Bruno Lage will be relieved to potentially have him in the squad for the remainder of the season rather than watching him leave midway through the campaign.

For the 19 league performances he’s delivered for Wolves this season, WhoScored have given Traore an overall rating of 6.97/10, making him their fourth-highest rated player below Rayan Ait-Nouri, Romain Saiss and Max Kilman.

Looking ahead to the summer, with the 25-year-old’s contract set to expire in 2023, it could be worth Wolves working out a deal with Barcelona to sell Traore on a permanent deal after previous reports have highlighted his unhappiness and unwillingness to sign a new deal at Molineux.

This way, the Molineux outfit would get a transfer fee for him that could be used to find a replacement and Traore gets the move he wants, leaving all parties happy.

Moving forward, if Traore can end the season on a high with some goals and assists under his belt, this could help Wolves be able to get more money for him if they do end up negotiating a deal in the summer with Barcelona.

In other news: Deal agreed: Fabrizio Romano drops big Wolves transfer update, Lage surely buzzing – opinion 

Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie has dropped a major update on Newcastle United’s plans for the rest of the January transfer window.

What’s the story?

Speaking live on Sky Sports News at 16:05pm on Thursday afternoon, he said: “Hugo Ekitike is a player that Newcastle like, and is a player that Eddie Howe likes. Is he the sort of player that could go straight into the Newcastle first-team? There’s question marks over that.

“Ekitike is still a deal that could potentially happen between now and the closure of the window, but the necessity of getting the Frenchman in has been slightly subsided by the fact Chris Wood has arrived.

“It feels very much that the priority right now is, with Wood and Trippier through the door, is to bring in a central defender. Newcastle had been left to the bare bones in the FA Cup on Saturday, they had just the two centre-backs to choose from. I think at the start of the week we felt they would try and get a defender in by the weekend, they certainly have been pushing behind the scenes. They’ll push for that centre-back over the weekend and into next week.”

Fans will be excited

How quickly things can change in the space of a week.

After falling to a shock defeat in the FA Cup against lower league Cambridge United, Newcastle moved swiftly to address their striking concerns by snapping up Chris Wood from relegation rivals Burnley.

Now, Downie’s update that the Magpies have firmly turned their attentions towards signing a new central defender in the very near future should surely be music to the ears of supporters.

While landing Ekitike would certainly add to Eddie Howe’s attacking options even more following Wood’s arrival, it certainly makes sense for the Tyneside club to put all their eggs into the central defensive basket.

With the second-worst defensive record in the division, bringing in a top-quality centre-back could go a long way to solidifying Newcastle’s spine for the second-half of the Premier League campaign.

The club’s fans will surely be excited at not only seeing their club move fast in addressing their priorities, but also at how soon they could bring someone in too.

Meanwhile, Newcastle have made a fresh bid for this star…

Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson played a part in helping the Gers to win the Premiership title in the 2020/21 campaign.

The Ibrox chief helped to form the squad that ended up securing the trophy and has built a team that is currently in the semi-finals of the Europa League, final of the Scottish Cup and second in the league table.

This has been, in part, down to some shrewd work in the transfer market as he has been able to snap up the likes of Fashion Sakala, John Lundstram and Joe Aribo – among others – throughout his time in Glasgow.

However, not every transfer window can go perfectly and Rangers have suffered as a result of that in the past as they have failed to sign their top targets.

One player the Gers missed out on back in the day was legendary centre-forward Alan Shearer. Walter Smith reportedly wanted to bring him to Ibrox whilst he was playing for Southampton and was unable to convince him to make the switch to Scotland as he ended up signing for Blackburn Rovers in 1992.

It is fair to say that the late, great, Smith will have looked back on that with regret for the Gers as the Englishman went on to achieve incredible things over the years.

He received many plaudits throughout his career and Liverpool legend Kenny Daglish was one of the people who handed them out as he said: “Alan is a player in a class of his own. He lifts the whole team and turns draws into victories. In a word: priceless.”

Former Manchester United man Paul Ince also showered praise on the attacker, saying:

“When I think about a complete striker and what I’d want as a manager as my striker is Alan Shearer. It’s not just the goals he scored, he was a handful, he could run the channels, his retention of the ball was fantastic and he was a leader of men. I don’t think we’ll have a striker in that mould again.”

He ended his career on 353 goals as he scored 206 for Newcastle, 123 for Blackburn and 24 for Southampton before calling it a day. His 260 goals in the Premier League remain the highest of any player in the competition’s history and this illustrates just how big of a blow it was for Rangers to miss out on him at the start of his career.

Therefore, the club made a mistake over the former England international and fans may now look back and wonder what could have been if Shearer had lined up for the Gers in the 90’s.

AND in other news, Gvb can axe one of Wilson’s Rangers “let downs” with “unbelievable” 27 G/A phenomenon – opinion

Namibia captain Craig Williams hit his second century of the match to claim the Intercontinental Shield with a six-wicket victory against UAE

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Dec-2010Namibia 320 and 187 for 4 (Williams 113*, Javed 3-54) beat UAE 79 and 427 (Ali 160*, Patel 94, S Burger 5-80) by six wickets
ScorecardCraig Williams was Namibia’s hero with two hundreds in the final•International Cricket CouncilNamibia captain Craig Williams hit his second century of the match to help his team claim the Intercontinental Shield with a six-wicket victory against UAE. Williams ended unbeaten on 113 as Namibia knocked off the 187 needed despite a few early alarms and a determined hundred from Saqib Ali who ended undefeated on 160.Ali began the day on 139 and the last two wickets added a further 24 runs before Louis Klazinga ended the innings to finish with 3 for 98. It left Namibia plenty of time to hunt down the runs, but they didn’t make an easy start as Amjad Javed gave them some scares with the new ball.He bowled both Raymond van Schoor and Sarel Burger to leave Namibia 27 for 2. However, a brisk stand of 52 between Williams and Ewald Steenkamp (35) settled their nerves before Javed struck again to have Steenkamp lbw. That, though, was the last time UAE were in the contest as Williams took charge with a commanding display as he scored at more than a run-a-ball and collected 15 fours alongside two sixes.It was an easy decision to award him the Man of the Match after Williams struck 116 in the first innings and contributed 2 for 88 in 41 overs. “It has gone off really well. I am a bit emotional; I don’t know what to say really,” he said. “I am just happy for the team. We have worked really hard, it’s just a bonus that I happened to pull it off for the side in this game. It feels nice to score for a team like this.”Despite UAE’s fightback on the third day, Williams was always confident in securing victory. “I don’t think we were worried because we had a game plan,” he said. “I thought they needed to get a lot more runs to get ahead of us. The pitch was playing really well.”If we had to chase 300-350 then it would have been very difficult with their spin attack. But we just backed our game plan. You saw this morning we had ten guys on the boundary because we knew the game was in our hands. They had to come out and score runs. It’s nice that it all went our way.”

In the early days of the 2022 January transfer window, Wolves have recalled Dion Sanderson and Ryan Giles from their loan deals, as well as securing a deal for midfielder Hayao Kawabe.

However, despite there still being a considerable amount of time left in the window, it appears that Wolves fans shouldn’t be holding their breath for many more incoming signings this month.

What’s the news?

In a recent article by Tim Spiers for The Athletic, comments from the club’s technical director Scott Sellars were shared about what their plans will be for the current transfer window which may not please a lot of fans at Molineux.

Sellars said: “It’s hard to predict what happens in any transfer window, but it’s certain that we won’t bring in a large number of new signings, and firstly we will focus on providing Bruno Lage with immediate back up at a time when all clubs are suffering with injuries and [virus] issues, and at the same time give opportunities to our young players who have been doing so well out on loan.

“We’d rather use the young players out on loan, and wait for our injured players to come back, than spend money on players who aren’t going to improve the squad we already have.

“If there’s someone who is going to enhance the squad and team, then of course we will explore the option and see if we can make it work.”

Fans may be furious

Taking this into account, it seems as though Sellars is trying to cover all aspects of what business Wolves could look to do in terms of transfer deals this month without trying to raise expectations or excitement among the fan base, but supporters may still be left furious over the prospect of a quiet month on the market.

Eighth in the Premier League table with 28 points on the board from 19 games, it has been a solid campaign so far for the Old Gold, especially with just 14 goals conceded in that time – only runaway leaders Manchester City have a better defensive record.

However, on the flip side, Wolves have only managed to score 13 league goals so far this season, fewer than the likes of Burnley, Newcastle United and Watford, who comprise three of the bottom four in the top flight.

With this in mind, if Wolves are to make any other new signings this month, it would be worth bringing in a player who could inject a bit of life to the attack, find the net on a regular basis and, as Sellars put it, “enhance the squad”.

In other news: Shi heading for huge Wolves howler over “talented” £58k-p/w star, Lage would be fuming

Ricky Ponting believes Steven Smith could be thrown into Test cricket in India later this year, if he is not given a chance even sooner in the games against Pakistan in England

Cricinfo staff03-Jun-2010Ricky Ponting believes Steven Smith could be thrown into Test cricket in India later this year, if he is not given a chance even sooner in the games against Pakistan in England. Cricket Australia is considering a BCCI proposal to change the scheduled seven ODI series in October to two Tests and three one-dayers.If that happens, the selectors will consider playing two spinners in the Tests, and Smith is next in line behind Nathan Hauritz having been called into the squad over the summer. Last time Australia visited India, Cameron White and Jason Krejza combined in one match and Ponting said such an option would put Smith in the mix.”You’d look at that for sure, playing two spinners,” Ponting told the . “Most teams that go there look at a couple of spin options when they play Test cricket in India. If he happens to get named in the Test squad for the games against Pakistan in England, I think that would be very valuable experience for him as well.”Maybe the opportunity may come up for him in England. He’s done everything right, he’s a terrific young bloke, he’s impressed everybody with what he’s done and his attitude is outstanding. He’s a work in progress as far as his bowling’s concerned, there’s no doubt about that, as all young spinners are around Australia. The more exposure he can get to better players the better off he’ll be and it should speed up his learning processes.”Smith’s batting ability – he has a first-class average of 56 – could mean three fast men remained in the side along with Smith and Hauritz. However, such a scenario would be less likely on the quicker pitches at home for the Ashes and Hauritz knows there will be added pressure on him to perform now that Smith is on the scene.”I have been picked and that to me is important, whether I play or not that’s out of my control,” Hauritz said. “There’s always going to be talk about Steve Smith no matter what he does now.”He played well in the Twenty20s and the Australian public and media love Shane Warne and they are looking for a leg-spinner to replace him and I have had that all of my career. I can’t do anything about that. I have got to make sure that I am bowling well, giving myself the best opportunity every time I do, so that’s all I can do.”The squad for the two Tests against Pakistan in July won’t be named until after Australia A play a four-day game against Sri Lanka A later this month. Smith is not in that squad, as he will already be in the British Isles with the ODI group for a five-match series against England.

Pakistan’s high commissioner to the United Kingdom has said that the ICC was “playing to the public gallery” when it provisionally suspended the three players linked to the spot-fixing scandal

Nagraj Gollapudi and Osman Samiuddin03-Sep-2010The provisional suspension of three Pakistani players under the ACSU code of conduct on Thursday has sparked off a war of words between the ICC and Pakistan’s top diplomat in the UK. Reacting to the suspensions, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan’s high commissioner to the UK, claimed that the ICC had made a mistake and that the governing body was “playing to the public gallery.”Speaking to the BBC, Hasan said that the ICC had “no business taking this action.” Instead, he claimed that cricket’s governing body had, “made an assurance to us when it said it would wait until Scotland Yard’s investigations were over.”Haroon Lorgat, the ICC’s chief executive, rejected the claim on Friday morning, telling Cricinfo that he had informed Hasan and the PCB that notices would be served to Pakistan captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir.”I went yesterday [Thursday] later in the afternoon as a matter of courtesy and met with the High Commissioner and Ijaz [Butt, PCB chairman] and explained to them we will be serving the notice by the end of the evening if we are completed with our work, which we did,” Lorgat said.”I obviously couldn’t give all of the details due to matters of confidentiality, but they were aware we were busy with our investigations and we were close to conclusion, and that were likely to serve notice by the end of last night.”Lorgat said that the ICC had not suspended the players without the PCB’s knowledge. “I didn’t do it without his [Ijaz Butt’s] permission. I spoke to Mr Butt on the telephone before going public. He said he is fine. In fact, I asked him to join us when we served the notice. He said he was fine and he would send the Pakistan security manager.”The ICC’s move to suspend the three players came on the same day Pakistan announced that the players had opted to voluntarily withdraw from the forthcoming limited-overs series in England. Hasan’s remarks about the suspension, which reiterated his earlier belief that the players had been “set up”, are at the centre of what appears to be the Pakistan camp’s discontent with the suspension. Though Ijaz Butt remained silent on the matter – despite attempts to contact him – another official close to the investigation also questioned the development.The official said that no evidence had yet been shared with the PCB. “We’re very surprised the ICC has done this because to my knowledge there had been no indication of this,” the official said on Thursday night, after the suspensions were announced.”This is a bit inappropriate doing it now because the Scotland Yard investigations are ongoing and they could have waited till the end of that,” the official said. “What if they clear the players of any wrongdoing now?”Pakistan are thought to be unhappy at the number of investigations currently being carried out in the case. “The ICC and ACSU are doing their investigation and helping the police, Scotland Yard are carrying out their criminal investigation and the board is also doing its own internal inquiry,” the official said. “This can cause overlapping and confusion and it would’ve been better to let things happen one at a time.”

Shahid Afridi believes his Pakistan team can emerge from their scandal-hit tour of England with respect

Andrew McGlashan in Leeds11-Sep-2010Shahid Afridi believes his Pakistan team can emerge from their scandal-hit tour of England with respect. He has backed the side to build on their improved display in the first one-day international at Chester-le-Street and give the hosts a serious challenge in the remaining four matches.Although Pakistan lost by 24 runs in Durham – a considerable margin in a game reduced to 41 overs – they didn’t roll over as had been the case during the two Twenty20 internationals in Cardiff when the batting, especially, was awful to add to the woes of the spot-fixing controversy.On Friday Kamran Akmal managed his first half-century of the tour, Umar Akmal hit 43 off 33 balls and Asad Shafiq, who had only arrived 48 hours previously from the A-team tour of Sri Lanka, took Tim Bresnan for four boundaries to threaten a tighter finish.These are all aspects Afridi is clinging to in the hope that Pakistan can return home with their heads held high despite all the allegations that have been thrown their way since the spot-fixing story broke two weeks ago during the Lord’s Test.”We all want to go home with respect,” he said. “We want to play some good cricket and getsome victories. I know it’s very important for the team. Yesterday the performance was muchbetter, not 100% but I was quite happy with the efforts from the boys and that’s what I’m expecting in the next game as well.”We all know we are playing in a very tough situation but we are trying to forget everything that is going on. The players should focus on the games and as captain I’m trying to keep the morale high. We all know how important this series is for our team and our country.”Even though the three players at the centre of the spot-fixing storm – Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir – are now back in Pakistan, that doesn’t mean the issue has moved away from the tour. Wahab Riaz, the left-arm quick who took five wickets on his Test debut at The Oval, will be questioned by police in London next week although Afridi insists he is coping with the pressure and available to play.”At the moment he is feeling fine,” he said. “Let’s see what happens when the police investigate him. I really don’t know what is going on. I just heard the police want him. But he’s feeling okay.”Afridi also asked for the supporters back home to remember that no-one has yet been found guilty of any offences. “The guys are still not guilty and we are waiting for the results. We are good cricketers and want to maintain our respect and that is gained by playing good cricket. The PCB and ICC will take some action if things happened.”

Half-centuries from openers Neil Broom and Hamish Rutherford set up Otago’s tight five-wicket win off the final over, against Auckland

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jan-2013
ScorecardHalf-centuries from openers Neil Broom and Hamish Rutherford set up Otago’s tight five-wicket win off the final over, against Auckland. The openers put on 104 in 9.2 overs, with Rutherford being the dominant partner, to keep their team in hunt of their target of 191. The middle-order batsmen didn’t hit many boundaries, but kept the scoreboard ticking, and despite a few wickets falling towards the end, the win was achieved comfortably.Auckland also played a dominant first innings to give themselves a strong chance to lift themselves from the lower half of the points table. The innings centred around middle-order batsman Anaru Kitchen’s 39-ball 66. After losing their first wicket off the second ball of the match, opener Lou Vincent and Gareth Hopkins put on 68 in 6.1 overs. The other productive stand, which built the strong total, was that of 89 between Kitchen and Colin de Grandhomme.However, Rutherord’s aggressive knock in Otago’s chase, of 50 off 26 deliveries, shifted the momentum their way. His opening partner, Broom, scored 60 off 40 deliveries, as Otago, with their fifth win this season, regained their position at the top of the points table.