All posts by h716a5.icu

Alex Blake smashed an unbeaten 59 off just 24 balls as Kent made sure of a place in the NatWest T20 Blast quarter-finals with a three-wicket win over Gloucestershire at Cheltenham

ECB/PA12-Jul-2015
ScorecardAlex Blake’s unbeaten 59 from just 24 balls took Kent home•Getty ImagesAlex Blake smashed an unbeaten 59 off just 24 balls as Kent made sure of a place in the NatWest T20 Blast quarter-finals with a three-wicket win over Gloucestershire at Cheltenham.The powerful left-hander smote four sixes and five fours to see his side to a target of 167 with two balls to spare. Sam Northeast contributed 49 and Joe Denly 31, while Craig Miles claimed 3 for 27.Gloucestershire had posted 166 for seven after losing the toss, Michael Klinger strengthening his position as the competition’s leading run-maker with 75 from 50 balls. Mitch Claydon was the most successful Kent bowler with three wickets.Klinger’s runs took his aggregate in the South Group to 653 at an average of 108.83. But, while leaders Kent can now look forward to the knock-out stages, Gloucestershire face elimination.The hosts suffered a setback in the second over of their innings when Hamish Marshall, who had already moved to 11, was forced to retire hurt with a recurrence of a calf injury. Ian Cockbain joined Klinger and the pair took the score to 36 in the fifth over when Cockbain was caught behind off Claydon for 11.Klinger and fellow Australian Peter Handscomb then added 79 in 9.1 overs, Klinger moving to his half-century off 34 balls, with five fours and a six over square leg off Calum Haggett.Handscomb fell for 28, bowled by Fabian Cowdrey attempting to sweep, but Klinger deposited the left-arm spinner over wide long-on for his second six before departing in the same over, the 17th, to a catch at backward point. From then on Gloucestershire lost momentum as Geraint Jones, Jack Taylor, Benny Howell and Tom Smith were dismissed in the closing overs, Claydon and Matt Coles sharing the wickets.The Kent reply was given a brisk start by Joe Denly, who smashed the fourth ball of the innings from Craig Miles back over his head for a straight six and registered another maximum in the third over off Liam Norwell. But Gloucestershire struck two blows in the Powerplay as Bell Drummond was caught behind driving at Miles and Denly fell lbw to James Fuller, having hit 31 off 18 balls.Sam Billings had made only 5 when attempting to reverse sweep the first ball sent down by left-arm spinner Tom Smith, the competition’s leading wicket-taker, and being brilliantly caught above his head at full stretch by Howell at backward point.Darren Stevens and Cowdrey also fell cheaply. But Northeast was still there and when big-hitting Blake came in to launch sixes off Howell and Smith the game seemed to be tilting Kent’s way.The 17th over, bowled by Miles, saw the Kent captain depart one short of his half-century, caught on the midwicket boundary with 36 still needed. But Blake responded with another six and three fours of the next over from Norwell to virtually settle the outcome and ended the game by clearing the ropes for the fourth time.

Karim Benzema missed a penalty as the Blancos were forced to settle for a draw, despite playing the final 12 minutes against ten men.

It was a night to forget for Real Madrid as they played out a 1-1 draw with Osasuna, bringing to an end their eight-match winning run across all competitions.

The Spanish champions remain unbeaten in La Liga but are now sitting in second spot behind arch-rivals Barcelona on goal difference.

They appeared to be on their way to the three points when Vinicius Junior opened the scoring, but Osasuna pulled level with a fantastic header from Kike Garcia.

Karim Benzema had the chance to seal the three points, but his penalty hit the bar in a moment that seemed to sum up his game.

Not for a lack of effort, the French striker did not impress on his return to the team and the Blancos were forced to settle for a point against an Osasuna side that saw Garcia sent off late on.

GettyThe Winners

Vinicius Junior:

The Brazilian winger was behind Real Madrid's most dangerous moments in the first half and gave the home side the lead out of nowhere when he sent the ball bouncing beyond the Osasuna goalkeeper shortly before the interval.

Kike Garcia:

The attacker's fabulous header left Andriy Lunin with no chance as he pulled his team level early in the second half. Might also have scored a second and caused the Madrid defence all kinds of problems with his physical presence.

Barcelona:

The Blaugrana moved into first with a narrow win at Mallorca on Sunday, and will now remain at the summit for at least a week after seeing the Blancos suffer a surprise setback on home soil.

AdvertisementGettyThe Losers

Dani Ceballos:

Was given a start in midfield alongside Toni Kroos and Aurelien Tchouameni but did not look up to scratch. He did little to influence the game and was taken off just eight minutes into the second half. It was just his second start of the season and it is hard to imagine he will get many more chances to convince Carlo Ancelotti to keep calling on him.

Karim Benzema:

Missed the penalty that would have won the game in the second half and hit the woodwork another time. It was just not his night as although he was involved in the build-up, he was off the pace and could not make the difference upon his return to the starting XI.

David Garcia:

Left his team in serious danger of going 2-1 down in the second half for a silly shove on Benzema in the box, resulting in him being shown a red card, though he was ultimately redeemed as the striker fluffed his lines.

GettyReal Madrid Ratings: Defence

Andriy Lunin (6/10):

The goalkeeper was called on to step in for the injured Thibaut Courtois and did a fine job for the first half but he was caught out when Kike Garcia headed in the equaliser.

Dani Carvajal (6/10):

Had a tough time on the right as Osasuna attacked down the wings and looked to get in behind him. He was eventually substituted and replaced by attacker Mariano Diaz.

Antonio Rudiger (7/10):

Got the job done and looked strong at the heart of the defence alongside David Alaba.

David Alaba (7/10):

Some good passing to help his team build attacks and he got forward a lot. Eventually moved to left-back after Ferland Mendy went off.

Ferland Mendy (6/10):

He does a lot of positive things and puts in the effort but was caught out once or twice when Osasuna cut inside and charged towards goal. Moved forward to help build attacks as Madrid preferred to target the left side.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

(C)Getty imagesMidfield

Toni Kroos (7/10):

Comfortable in possession as always and a calming presence in midfield but his set pieces were not up to par this time and one particularly bad one resulted in a dangerous counter attack for Osasuna.

Aurelien Tchouameni (6/10):

Was helpful defensively as his side had to deal with some dangerous attacks from the visitors but was taken off early in the second half.

Dani Ceballos (5/10):

Had little impact on the game before he was taken off eight minutes after the restart.

Alisha Lehmann is enjoying time away with the Swiss national team and has been showing off her skills in an impressive ball-juggling act.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Forward away on international dutyLooking to reach half-century of capsBig games to come back in EnglandWHAT HAPPENED?

The Aston Villa forward is taking a break from WSL duty as she prepares for an international friendly double-header with Poland. The 25-year-old has earned 48 caps for her country, meaning that she could hit a notable landmark over the course of the next week.

AdvertisementTHE BIGGER PICTURE

If Lehmann were to figure in both meetings with Poland, then she would reach a half-century of appearances for Switzerland. She is doing her best to catch the eye of national team coach Pia Sundhage during pre-match training sessions.

DID YOU KNOW?

While being focused on ensuring that the Swiss squad are in the best possible shape as a collective for the immediate challenges to come, Lehmann has been displaying her personal skill set during a showboating routine that saw her keep the ball off the ground using her heel, neck and feet.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

WHAT NEXT FOR LEHMANN?

Lehmann, who has rekindled her relationship with fellow Villa star Douglas Luiz, will be hoping to impress for her country before returning to England for crucial outings for Villa at the start of March that will see them face Liverpool in the WSL and Arsenal in the League Cup semi-finals.

Ireland may have passed their biggest test in the first round in the form of Full Member Zimbabwe, but captain William Porterfield feels another “big hurdle” lies in wait when they face their next opponents, UAE.

Abhishek Purohit18-Mar-2014Ireland may have passed their biggest test in the first round in the form of Full Member Zimbabwe, but captain William Porterfield feels another “big hurdle” lies in wait when they face their next opponents, UAE.Ireland have beaten UAE all four times they have played them in the shortest format, but in one of those meetings, during the World T20 Qualifier in Abu Dhabi last November, the hosts fell short by just five runs.Porterfield pointed to that game as proof of why Ireland could not rest on the fact that they had downed Zimbabwe.”It is a great start for us,” Porterfield said. “Obviously there are three games in the group and we know how dangerous UAE can be, especially in subcontinent conditions. We have played two games against them in the qualifiers and they were very good games. That is our next test; that is a big hurdle.”While UAE faced Netherlands under lights in their opener, Ireland met Zimbabwe in an afternoon start. Even in the latter match, the ball swung for Zimbabwe as the lights took effect and Porterfield said that was something Ireland would have to take into account, along with keeping an eye on how conditions shaped up in the UAE-Netherlands match.”We have got a night game next so this is going to be crucial for us. The Zimbabwe match was the first game in the stadium, the next game will be under lights on Wednesday. It did change coming into the 14th-15th over when the lights started to take effect. That is something we will have to monitor. The ball started to do a bit and something we have to factor in.”UAE have claimed the subcontinent suits them more than other sides in their group and they have also had a feel of the way the Sylhet surface behaved in the night against Netherlands.But they will have to put in a much better fielding and bowling effort than the one on display on Monday, when they put down at least four catches and repeatedly bowled short despite not having much pace in their arsenal. Khurram Khan, their captain, said that while fielding was a concern, UAE were capable of putting up a better show.”It is not that you have lost everything and you don’t know how to field,” Khurram said. “Yes, we dropped too many catches and it just happened. You have to go and think what you have done wrong and improve. But we are not as bad it looks. We are a better team and hopefully we will perform better in the next game.”Khurram said there was no point in being daunted by Ireland’s reputation as it was the last opportunity for UAE to stay in contention for making it to the Super 10. “I don’t think you can come all the way here and then start thinking they are the better team. They are playing well and yes, they are a good team, they have been playing very good cricket but in the end it is a do-or-die effort for us. You have to give it everything you have. So it is going to be a good game and we will try our best.”

Sunil Gavaskar has written to the Supreme Court, asking it to clarify what the status of his position in the BCCI is at present

Nagraj Gollapudi11-Jul-2014Sunil Gavaskar has written to the Supreme Court, asking it to clarify the status of his position in the BCCI at present.* The court had put Gavaskar in charge of the IPL this March, after asking BCCI president N Srinivasan to step down till the investigation into the IPL spot-fixing case was completed.It had also directed that Gavaskar should be released from his contractual obligations with the BCCI as a commentator but said he should be compensated for his new role. Reports on Friday had suggested that Gavaskar had written to the court regarding this compensation, but he denied this, telling ESPNcricinfo that it was an “utterly false and mischievous story”.”I have not written to the Supreme Court complaining about the BCCI or anything as the story suggests. All I have written to the Superme Court is asking for the clarification regarding my current situation,” Gavaskar said. “The first order, given at the end of March, was pretty clear that I would be the BCCI interim president, IPL, till the end of the tournament. In the middle of May the court said Shivlal [Yadav, who was named interim BCCI president for non-IPL affairs by the court] and I would continue till further orders. So it is just that little bit of confusion and that is all that I had asked for.”This business of asking for any compensation from BCCI is utter rubbish. I wanted an update from the court on whether I am still the temporary BCCI president, IPL, because the Champions League T20 starts soon. I did not mention not one word about compensation. It is an utterly mischievous story. Whoever has put this out owes me an apology.”The issue dates back to June 2013 when the Cricket Association of Bihar secretary Aditya Verma raised charges of a conflict of interest in the formation of BCCI’s two-member inquiry panel into the IPL corruption issue, which led to the suspension of Sreesanth and several other players. A Bombay High Court ruling later termed the probe panel “illegal”. The BCCI and the CAB filed petitions in the Supreme Court against this order, with the CAB contending that the Bombay High Court could have suggested a fresh mechanism to look into the corruption allegations.The Supreme Court then appointed a three-member committee, headed by former High Court judge Mukul Mudgal and comprising additional solicitor general L Nageswara Rao and Assam Cricket Association member Nilay Dutta, in October 2013, to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations of corruption against Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, India Cements, and Rajasthan Royals team owner Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Ltd, as well as with the larger mandate of allegations around betting and spot-fixing in IPL matches and the involvement of players. The committee had submitted its findings to the court on February 10, including a sealed envelop with allegations against 13 persons. In April, the court asked the committee to continue its investigations into the matter, probing the allegations against those 13 persons, and the inquiry is ongoing.*11.00GMT, July 11: This article has been updated after Sunil Gavaskar spoke to ESPNcricinfo

Faf du Plessis expressed his frustration after rain wiped out most of the second day’s play in Port Elizabeth, believing that the weather had handed West Indies a way back into the game

Firdose Moonda in Port Elizabeth27-Dec-2014The 84 overs lost to the weather on the second day may have done more for West Indies than any of their players have managed in the series so far. It just might have given the visitors the time and opportunity they needed to force this match into a contest, just when it seemed to be pushing on to the predictable again.”What the rain does is that it just brings the opposition back into the game,” Faf du Plessis said. “It’s very frustrating for us as a team especially after you have had a really good day one with solid batting and we were in a commanding position.”South Africa were only able to add 19 runs to their overnight total of 270 but were eyeing much more in an attempt to close out the series before the New Year’s Test. Now, they have to rethink those plans on a track that will not offer as much pace and bounce as is traditionally expected in this country, and an outfield which started off speedy but will now be weighed down with water.”We know that in Port Elizabeth things take a little bit longer and it’s a slower process but now we will have to speed it up. We have to stick to our plans but to do it all quicker.”South Africa will now approach the Test like they would a first-class four-day match, which could mean settling on a lower first-innings total and being willing to bat a second time. “In a four-day match, if you get 450 or close to that, you’re in a good position so that will be the difference now. We were looking at a bigger score but we will have to bring that down to make sure we win the game,” du Plessis said.He expects Hashim Amla to bat on on the third morning because “280 is not enough”, but also to up the run-rate. “If we bat until lunch time, in a perfect world, we would bowl them out for 200 or 250 and then set them another score in the vicinity of 400 and bowl them out again.”Of course, West Indies have their own script which involves batting in a far more discerning fashion than they did at Centurion. “Patience will be key. Its not coming on as it did in the first Test,” Kraigg Brathwaite, the West Indies opener said.Du Plessis knows that St George’s surface rewards batsmen who are willing to show patience, because he experienced it first-hand and through the eyes of his partner, Dean Elgar, for most of the first day. “I struggled for most of my innings, and I never felt like I was hitting the ball in the middle. I told myself it did not have to be pretty; it just had to effective,” du Plessis said. “Dean is suited to grinding it out. Conditions like this are perfect for him. He is a gutsy cricketer and I enjoy batting with him.”Despite knowing that a conservative approach could work on this pitch, du Plessis still backed the South African attack to take 20 wickets in less than two days if they had to, even if they could not find the expected reverse swing. “That’s the beauty of our attack – we’ve got the variety.”Morne can extract bounce, Vernon will be in play if there is any movement off the pitch and Dale can do it with pace. Our armory is very strong. Even if there is not much turn for Imran [Tahir], in those four days, they are good enough to bowl any team out. Our bowlers pride themselves on not bowling any bad balls and we know we have to grind when we come here.”That was the case even when there was no cricket to be played. With only six overs bowled between 10am and 5pm when stumps were called, there was a lot of idle time, which left both teams searching for ways to keep themselves entertained.”I wish there was something better to do than just sit around. But we played a bit of change-room cricket and got Russell Domingo to bat a bit. His batting technique needs some help,” du Plessis joked. “You really can’t do that much and on a day like today, you end up a eating a lot more. So our trainer probably isn’t very happy with us.”That much was evident when South Africa’s trainer Greg King kept a careful eye on the post-play soccer match. “You guys are getting stuck in, I’m worried about an injury,” he said as the players jostled for the ball in the damp.If they manage to beat both the weather and West Indies, King will likely forgive them.

Morne Morkel will not be able to bowl anymore in the ongoing Test against India, after suffering an ankle ligament injury just on the third day at the Wanderers

Firdose Moonda in Johannesburg20-Dec-20130:00

‘High-heel shoes not a good idea’

South Africa fast bowler Morne Morkel will not be able to bowl anymore in the ongoing Test against India, after suffering an ankle ligament injury just before lunch on the third day at the Wanderers. His participation in the second Test is also in doubt, with team manager Mohammad Moosajee saying a grade one ligament injury usually takes seven to ten days to heal.Morkel’s unavailability left South Africa in a dire position in the first Test: India’s lead was 67 when he hobbled off before lunch and they had extended it beyond 250 with eight wickets in hand by the time the severity of the injury was confirmed. He will bat in South Africa’s second innings only if absolutely necessary.”Losing Morne is probably worse pain than my toothache,” Vernon Philander, who bowled 18 overs in Morkel’s absence, said after the day’s play.Morkel fell while fielding in the over before lunch and appeared to have twisted his right ankle when his foot got stuck in the turf as he ran around from fine leg to collect a ball. He managed to throw the ball back to the wicketkeeper but then went down, clutching his ankle. South Africa’s captain, Graeme Smith, was at his side immediately and one of the fielders called for a stretcher, but after the physiotherapist Brandon Jackson arrived on the field, Morkel was able to walk off, helped by bowling coach Allan Donald.Morkel had bowled only two overs in the second innings before he was injured. He had been South Africa’s most impressive bowler in India’s first innings, taking three wickets and generating steep bounce. By the end of the first session on the third day, India had reached 31 for 1, extending their lead to 67 runs.The second Test in Durban begins on December 26.

Crystal Palace will be hoping to steer well clear of being dragged into any sort of relegation battle in the second half of the season.

The Eagles sit just three points above third bottom Cardiff City at the moment, and despite the odd big result going their way, they have in the main struggled for consistency.

Roy Hodgson is keen to address the big issues in his squad before the January window slams shut in the coming week, and he is being linked with a move for Everton striker Cenk Tosun, who only joined the Toffees in a big money move last season.

Signing a striker was always going to be a priority for Hodgson and Palace, as the club have limped to a very average 23 goals this season, with most of those coming from the likes of wingers like Wilf Zaha and Andros Townsend.

Down the middle has yielded little success for the club, with Christian Benteke woefully out of form.

The signing of Tosun the makes sense for Palace, and the Turkish star is clearly a man capable of getting in and amongst the goals on his day.

Tosun hasn’t necessarily done anything too wrong at Goodison Park, but new manager Marco Silva clearly doesn’t fancy him as his main number nine, and so a January move for some first team football might be the perfect chance for Tosun to show what he is made of.

Palace need goals, put simply, and Tosun would slot in nicely between their exciting wide-men while taking some of the responsibility off the out of form Benteke.

Palace fans, do you agree? Would you like to see Tosun signed? Let us know!

Middlesex needed just 80 minutes to wrap up a ten-wicket win and condemn Sussex to their first defeat of the season in the County Championship.

20-Jul-2013
ScorecardIt was fitting that Sam Robson was not out as Middlesex claimed victory•Getty ImagesMiddlesex needed just 80 minutes to wrap up a ten-wicket win and condemn Sussex to their first defeat of the season in the County Championship. Luke Wright was last out for 161 as Sussex were dismissed for 310 in their second innings and the Middlesex openers knocked off their target of 44 in nine overs at Hove.Sussex led by just 21 runs overnight with Wright on 151 but Middlesex made inroads as soon as they took the second new ball. Tim Murtagh’s first delivery with it made the breakthrough when Chris Jordan edged a lifter to wicketkeeper John Simpson.Sussex lost their eighth wicket in the next over when Steve Magoffin wafted outside off stump on nought and Simpson again did the honours to reward Corey Collymore’s excellent line.James Anyon briefly gave Wright some support as the ninth wicket pair added a further 15 but Murtagh struck again with the score on 308 when Anyon was caught behind off another ball which lifted sharply off a length to give Simpson his eighth catch of the game.With only last man Monty Panesar for company, Wright tried to hit out but only succeeded in finding Neil Dexter on the long off boundary, having added ten runs to his overnight score. Wright’s 161 came off 185 balls with 24 boundaries and a six.Murtagh and Collymore both picked up three wickets while Steve Finn, deemed surplus to requirements by England at Lord’s, was not required to bowl today.Middlesex needed 44 to seal their fourth win of the season and Dawid Malan finished unbeaten on 19 and Sam Robson, whose first-innings 166 had done so much to set up their victory, was 18 not out.

Mumbai Indians have retained Rohit Sharma, Lasith Malinga, Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh and Ambati Rayudu ahead of IPL 2014. This means that the franchise will have one right-to-match card at their disposal at the auction in February

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jan-2014Mumbai Indians have retained Rohit Sharma, Lasith Malinga, Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh and Ambati Rayudu ahead of IPL 2014. This means that the franchise will have one right-to-match card, and Rs 210 million, at their disposal at the auction in February.Rohit had been appointed captain by Mumbai midway through the previous IPL, taking over from Ricky Ponting, and led them to wins in both the IPL and the Champions League T20. Rohit has been one of the most consistent batsmen in the IPL with 2513 runs at 32.63 and a strike rate of 129.66 – second only to Chennai Super Kings’ Suresh Raina on the runs chart.Sri Lanka’s Malinga signed with Mumbai in 2009, and has been with them since. He is the only bowler with more than 100 wickets IPL to his name – his 103 scalps have come at 17.95, and he has conceded just over a run-a-ball (6.54 per over).Kieron Pollard, the big-hitting West Indies allrounder, was retained despite doubts over a knee injury that has kept him out of action since October.Harbhajan, who has been with the franchise since the inaugural IPL, has often filled in as captain and in 2011, standing in for the injured Sachin Tendulkar, he led Mumbai to the Champions League T20 title. “I am very happy because I have been with Mumbai Indians since the first day, for the last seven years,” Harbhajan said. “I’m hoping [the now-retired] Sachin Tendulkar will be with us in the dugout. Without Tendulkar it will be very strange.”India batsman Rayudu completes the list but missing out were wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik and Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, who was in red-hot form during the recent Ashes.The retention rules allow for a franchise to keep on a maximum of five players, of which a maximum of four can be capped India players. Since Mumbai have retained only three capped India players, they can use their right-to-match card at the auction to buy another India player.A fixed amount will be deducted from Mumbai Indians’ auction purse of Rs 600 million (approx. US$ 9.6 million, at the current exchange rate) for each player retained: Rs 125 million for player one, Rs 95 million for player two, Rs 75 million for player three, Rs 55 million for player four and Rs 40 million for player five. That will leave the franchise with Rs 210 million to spend at the auction. This season, each squad must include no less than 16 and no more than 27 players, with a maximum of nine overseas players.The amount deducted from the auction purse is not necessarily the IPL fee agreed to between the franchise and the retained player.