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Darren Sammy, the West Indies captain, has added his support to troubled offspinner Shane Shillingford who has been reported for a suspect action following the first Test against Sri Lanka

Sa'adi Thawfeeq22-Nov-2010Darren Sammy, the West Indies captain, has added his support to troubled offspinner Shane Shillingford who has been reported for a suspect action following the first Test against Sri Lanka. Both Sammy and the coach Ottis Gibson have indicated Shillingford will be retained for the second match despite the cloud over him.”I am surprised. We have been informed by the match referee and other people who made that decision,” said Sammy. “It’s beyond our control. We are just supporting Shane and helping him along to come through the second Test. I am not in a position to talk on that subject at the moment. But what I can tell you is that Shane will be getting the full support of all the squad members and the coaching staff.”Sammy denied that Shillingford was under extra pressure going into the second Test. “We did a lot of good things in the last Test and Shane was part of the good things that we did. We are just looking to give our full support and help him along in the second Test.”Sammy, who took over the captaincy from Chris Gayle, wants his team to build on the positive performance in Galle where they had Sri Lanka under pressure throughout the match. “When we left the Caribbean we said that we are going to Sri Lanka to compete and restore pride of Caribbean cricket. We did that in the last Test. Right now it’s all about being consistent and improving on our performances.”Like in the first Test our preparations were limited. The opportunities we got indoors we made full use of. The areas we can improve are doing well in middle-order. Although the middle-order collapsed still we went onto score 580 runs. We just have to keep improving. The middle-order is one area we can improve. We came here with a winning mindset and we need to improve on a few things,” he said.The suggestion is that West Indies will employ a twin-spin attack in Colombo with Sulieman Benn, who is available again after suspension, being recalled to partner Shillingford. “When we meet at a selection committee we’ll look at the balance of the team and see what’s the best 11 to represent West Indies. Sulieman and Shane are options to consider,” said Sammy.However, despite dominating the opening encounter on the back of Gayle’s career-best 333, Sammy knows to be wary of Sri Lanka on their home soil. “Sri Lanka are one of the best teams in the world. We are expecting them to come back strong. I hope they will come hard on us. But we have prepared sufficiently.”We are looking to improve on our performances. We know what we are capable of doing. We have seen the Sri Lankan line up. Our guys will go out there and play accordingly.”

West Ham United could bolster their attacking options with a move for Union Berlin striker Taiwo Awoniyi in the summer transfer window.

What’s the Word?

That’s according to journalist Christian Falk, who revealed in a recent post on Twitter that West Ham are interested in a deal to bring Awoniyi to the London Stadium this summer, while fellow Premier League clubs Newcastle United and Southampton are also said to be tracking the forward.

The 24-year-old won’t come cheap, however, with the German side putting a release clause of €20m (£17m) in his contract in order to deter any potential suitors.

In his tweet, Falk said: “TRUE. West Ham, Newcastle and Southampton are interested in Taiwo Awoniyi. The FC Union striker has a release clause of €20m.”

Imagine him & Antonio

David Moyes has done a sensational job at West Ham since taking over from predecessor Manuel Pellegrini, leading the Hammers to an unlikely top-four charge and working wonders in the Europa League – reaching the semi-finals of the competition this season.

The lack of firepower at his disposal has made this all the more special, but relying on Michail Antonio won’t work in the long run and a move for Awoniyi should be prioritised ahead of the summer transfer window.

With 18 goals in 39 matches in all competitions, the Nigerian international certainly has all the skills required to score regularly at the highest level of the English game, with his performances having led to journalist Lolade Adewuyi describing him as Union Berlin’s “unicorn”.

Previously, Awoniyi was at Liverpool for six years without ever featuring under Jurgen Klopp, but it seems his move to the Bundesliga has ignited his career.

It really is a no-brainer in signing the player, the fee is certainly affordable considering just how well the side has done this season, while the prospect of seeing Awoniyi potentially line up alongside Antonio will certainly be an extremely exciting thought for the London Stadium faithful.

AND in other news: West Ham plot bid to sign £25.2m-rated “great talent”, he’s a big Ogbonna upgrade

The judge hearing the arbitration case between Rajasthan Royals and the BCCI has issued a six-week stay on the franchise’s expulsion from the IPL

Nagraj Gollapudi and Tariq Engineer30-Nov-2010The judge hearing the arbitration case between Rajasthan Royals and the BCCI has issued a stay on the franchise’s expulsion from the IPL that will continue up to six weeks after his final order is passed, effectively allowing the team to continue to function as a part of the league for that period of time, ESPNcricinfo has learnt. The team will now take part in the players’ auction, which is scheduled for January 8 and 9 next year, casting a potentially devastating cloud over the IPL’s fourth season.While the stay order is in place, the BCCI is also prevented from doing anything that might prejudice Rajasthan, for example changing any of the league’s rules. “There will be no interference with them [Rajasthan] exercising rights under the franchise agreement,” Justice BN Srikrishna, the designated arbitrator, told ESPNcricinfo. “They will be allowed to participate in the auction.”The BCCI, however, will contest the decision by moving court – possibly as early as Wednesday – as a cautionary step. A top board official told spoke of how the BCCI already feared the worst. “This is a major and significant development,” the official said. “This could go anywhere now.”The arbitrator’s order is an interim relief order, which is often granted to allow the party claiming it has been wronged – in this case Rajasthan – the opportunity to keep doing business while the case is heard. There is also a provision for such an order to be challenged in the High Court, and Justice Srikrishna said the BCCI would probably appeal to the High Court and the matter could even reach the Supreme Court based on appeals and judgements. These appeals are independent of the arbitration hearings, which will continue under the judge.Rajasthan welcomed the latest development. “We have received the interim order passed by Justice BN Srikrishna, the learned arbitrator who has been appointed by the both parties. We are extremely grateful for the speed and urgency shown by him, and we are reviewing the order and assessing it’s full implications,” Raghu Iyer, the franchise’s spokesperson, said.The BCCI decided, on October 10, to end the franchise’s IPL affiliation on charges of transgression of shareholding and ownership norms that threatened to “shake the very foundation of the tender process”, as the notice put it. The two sides then decided to settle their dispute over the termination through arbitration on November 15 after Rajasthan had filed a case in the High Court challenging the board’s decision to take the step unilaterally.Both parties argued their case before Srikrishna, the agreed-upon arbitrator for the case, for three-and-a-half days.The arbitration hearing of the Kings XI Punjab franchise, the second team in the IPL to be summarily terminated along with Rajasthan, will begin tomorrow, also being presided by Justice Srikrishna. A Punjab spokesman said the Rajasthan development could benefit their hearing. “This is a good piece of news for us,” he said. “It is probably what may be the outcome of our abritration hearing as well.”The Rajasthan hearing began on November 24 and given that Srikrishna announced his stay within a week, Punjab were expecting a result “within three-four working days”. This, the official said, meant that the BCCI could have nine, if not all ten teams participating in the player auction on January 8-9. “What will happen to the players if teams that sign them up are suddenly out of the IPL? Then they could well go to court and the IPL could just sink into court battles.”This had happened he said, due to the BCCI’s “mismanagement” of the IPL’s internal difficulties.

Everton will travel the short distance across Stanley Park to visit their fierce rivals in the Merseyside Derby this afternoon, and Frank Lampard has revealed a huge setback in his squad ahead of the game.

What’s the latest?

The Toffees boss took to his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon to deliver an update on Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s availability with speculated doubt about his inclusion in the side in the remaining Premier League games, following a quad injury.

When asked if the striker would return to action next week against Chelsea, Lampard told the press (via Liverpool Echo):

“We’ll see.”

“No one is a machine, this is a tough industry. There is an element of bad luck. Dominic has had a bad run.”

Lampard will be gutted

Despite only winning one of their last 22 Premier League fixtures against Liverpool, Everton have had a talisman in Calvert-Lewin when it comes to the derby so Lampard will surely be absolutely gutted to lose him for the occasion.

The 25-year-old goal machine has played in ten league games against their Merseyside rivals with a pretty decent record of results against them, losing four, drawing five and winning one in his time at Everton, delivering two assists and one goal.

With that being said, his presence on the pitch at Anfield this afternoon will be a huge miss and owing to the Toffee’s vulnerable position in their relegation fight right now Calvert-Lewin’s injury could not have come at a worse time.

Lampard will have to hope that Richarlison can fill his teammate’s boots in the centre-forward position today, the Brazilian has played in one less league derby than his strike partner, but has scored one more goal against the Kopites and delivered one assist, so he should be able to offer a similar force in the forward line this afternoon.

Everton could find themselves dropped into the bottom three in the Premier League table this afternoon before they even kick off if their relegation competitors Burnley beat Wolverhampton Wanderers this afternoon, and Lampard will need to make sure his team are motivated and focused despite the result.

AND in other news: Everton dealt fresh injury setback ahead of Liverpool, Lamps will be gutted

Tottenham Hotspur correspondent and reliable reporter Alasdair Gold has shared a transfer update for supporters involving Southampton star James Ward-Prowse.

The Lowdown: Saints star shining…

Ward-Prowse, who has been having the season of his life at St. Mary’s Stadium, may well be a wanted man this summer as his stock continues to rise.

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The 27-year-old has been backed for more opportunities under Gareth Southgate at international level with England and the numbers suggest this would be more than deserved.

According to WhoScored, at least before today’s Premier League action, Ward-Prowse ranks in as Ralph Hasenhuttl’s best player in the Premier League – averaging their highest match-rating whilst clinching the most Man of the Match awards.

Sharing news on possible interest from the Lilywhites as a result, Gold now has an update.

The Latest: Paratici casts eye…

Tottenham, and by extension transfer chief Fabio Paratici, have ‘long’ been keeping tabs on the midfielder – according to the journalist.

Calling Ward-Prowse a would-be ‘excellent addition’, Gold goes on to hint it could be difficult to finalise the transfer despite Paratici and co eyeing a move.

He explained (via football.london):

“Spurs have long been keeping an eye on James Ward-Prowse but I wonder just how expensive he’ll be this summer with four years left on his contract and plenty of interested parties. He’d be an excellent addition though for Tottenham with his leadership abilities, dynamic play and of course those set pieces.”

The Verdict: Get it done?

Ex-Spurs midfielder Jamie O’Hara has also called the Saints’ star man a ‘massive’ player to have in your team, and not just for dead balls.

The fact he is homegrown and could help to balance that real issue at Tottenham is another major incentive to advance with reports suggesting he is valued at around the £40 million mark.

Amid his brilliant run of form, that could price could well rise, but Ward-Prowse may be worth the significant investment as manager Antonio Conte reportedly targets two midfield signings.

In other news: Tottenham ready to make major bid for ‘world-beater’ who told friends he was keen to join! Find out more here.

A round-up of matches from the first day of the One Day National Cup Division Two 2010-11

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jan-2011Group A
Left-arm spinner Kashif Bhatti and opener Sharjeel Khan starred in Hyderabad Hawks’ resounding win over Quetta Bears at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad. Put in to bat, Quetta’s batsmen went about laying a solid platform for a challenging score but failed to consolidate on starts. Each of the top seven batsmen reached double-figures, including Taimur Ali who top-scored with 34, but a steady fall of wickets amid some tight bowling restricted Quetta. Bhatti bagged three wickets as Quetta were bowled out for 188. In response, Sharjeel made mince meat out of Quetta’s score, smashing three sixes and 16 fours in his unbeaten 129 to seal victory with almost 14 overs to spare.Three half-centuries set up State Bank of Pakistan’s successful chase of 256 against Karachi Zebras at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex in Karachi. Shoaib Khan jnr, the opener, set the ball rolling with a half-century before he retired hurt, and Adnan Raees and Naved Yasin took on the mantle in in a 114-run third-wicket stand. Yasin was aggressive while Raees scored steadily to help scale what seemed like a challenging total with 28 balls to spare. The fourth-wicket pair of Wajihuddin and Rameez Aziz had struck fifties in helping the Zebras reach 255, but their efforts were in vain as SBP won the battle of the bats.Group B
Lahore Eagles edged a low-scoring contest against Peshawar Panthers at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. Offspinner Waqas Aslam combined with seamer Emmad Ali to skittle out Peshawar for 135 as the pair shared seven wickets; only Nawaz Ahmed was able to offer any significant resistance with 34. In response, seamer Taj Ali bagged four wickets to put the Eagles under pressure but captain Intikhab Alam led the reply with 39 and Aamer Hayat guided the team home by two wickets in the 36th over with an unbeaten 20.Khan Research Laboratories, thanks to a 118-run stand between opener SaeedAnwar jnr and Ali Naqvi, had reached 166 for 3 in 36 overs against Abbottabad Falcons at the Gohati Cricket Stadium in Swabi before rain intervened and washed out the remainder of the game.

A round-up of the semi-finals of the Faysal Bank One Day National Cup Division One

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2011Habib Bank Limited eased past Water and Power Development Authority at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore to seal their place in the tournament final. A collective bowling effort, four bowlers including Danish Kaneria, bagged two wickets each, while Imran Farhat and Taufeeq Umar, the openers, struck half-centuries to ensure a seven-wicket win. Sohaib Maqsood top-scored for WAPDA with 87 but was short of support from the other end; only one other batsman went past 20 as WAPDA were bowled out for 204. A 143-run opening stand between two players who’ve represented Pakistan shut out WAPDA from the game and HBL completed their win – their fourth in five games – with 34 balls to spare.A lower-order revival led by Sarmad Bhatti and an all-round effort from Mohammad Talha handed National Bank of Pakistan a 32-run win over Pakistan International Airlines at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. Bhatti rescued his team from a precarious situation at 79 for 5 and then 114 for 6, adding 70 with Talha followed by 64 with Uzair-ul-Haq to set the opponents a challenging target of 249. Bhatti top-scored for his team with 73, while Talha chipped in with a quickfire 49 that included three sixes. Uzair rattled PIA in their reply, picking up four wickets to reduce them to 95 for 6 at one stage. Shoaib Khan snr and Sarfraz Ahmed, though, helped the team recover with a 108-run stand but it proved unsustainable. Talha returned to bag two wickets as the innings closed on 216, sealing NBP’s place in the final.

Sunderland could have striker Nathan Broadhead available for tomorrow’s crunch League One play-off semi-final second leg away at Sheffield Wednesday.

What’s the latest?

The Black Cats ran out 1-0 victors against Darren Moore’s men on Friday evening, although they will feel as though their aggregate lead should be more going into their trip to Hillsborough after a dominant display.

Following the match, Sunderland boss Alex Neil claimed, as quoted by the Sunderland Echo: “He [Broadhead] will have a chance for Monday. Unfortunately, tonight was too soon.

“We will assess him over the next few days and make a call.

“Tonight he wasn’t ready. It’s tough as he is a good player but we have other good players.”

Supporters will be hopeful

Although Broadhead’s availability isn’t 100% confirmed, the Sunderland faithful will be hopeful that the 24-year-old will at least make the squad that travels to south Yorkshire tomorrow.

The Everton-loanee has had an excellent campaign for the Wearside outfit, scoring 13 goals in 25 appearances although injuries have prevented the Welshman from making a serious impact at the Stadium of Light.

With this season being their fourth consecutive campaign in the third tier, Neil’s side arguably have their best chance of finally escaping League One since suffering back-to-back relegations in 2017 and 2018.

The Black Cats did manage to reach the play-off final in their first season in League One back in 2019, although victorious Charlton Athletic were deserved winners on the day.

Despite having the lead on aggregate, their advantage is small and will certainly be tested by a Sheffield Wednesday side who boast the best home form in League One this term.

Moreover, Sunderland lost 3-0 on their previous visit to Hillsborough earlier this season, although that was under their previous manager Lee Johnson.

Therefore, having extra firepower available in Broadhead will be a major boost for Neil’s side’s chances of making it to Wembley where they will face either Wycombe Wanderers or MK Dons for a place in the Championship on 21 May.

AND in other news: Neil can blow SAFC supporters away with £3.4k-p/w gem who was made “in a laboratory”

A round-up of the action from the first day of matches in the 2010-11 Vijay Hazare Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Feb-2011East Zone
Bengal snuck past Orissa by one run with two balls remaining in a thrilling finish at the Maharaja Bir Bikram College Stadium in Agartal. Orissa looked to have things under contorl at 196 for 5, needing just another 22 runs for victory with more than five overs to go. But RR Das’ dismisal set the cat among the pigeons, and they lost four wickets for 10 runs. The last-wicket pair then inched towards their target, but Laxmi Shukla bowled No.10 Alok Mangaraj with the fourth ball of the last over to give Bengal an unlikely win. Bengal’s total of 217 had been built around Manoj Tiwary’s patient 88, while opener Natraj Behera topscored for Orissa with 81.Amit Sinha’s unbeaten 97 trumped Yogesh Takawale’s century as Assam beat Tripura by three wickets at the Polytechnic Institute Ground in Agartala. Tripura had slumped to 48 for 4 after being put in to bat, but Takawale counterattacked to make 108, and together Kaushal Acharjee, who made 41, carried the side to 221. Assam got a good start from their top three, including Sinha, but the middle order collapsed, with five wickets tumbling for 54 runs. But Sinha found an able ally in Sujay Tarafdar, who made 16, to take Assam to their target with 10 balls to spare.West Zone
India allrounder Irfan Pathan made a golden duck on his return to competitive cricket after recovering from a back injury, as Mumbai posted a comfortable seven-wicket win over Baroda at the Moti Bagh Stadium in Vadodara. Pathan came into bat with Baroda in a little trouble at 85 for 4, but his long awaited return was short lived, as he was bowled by left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla, who finished with 5 for 38. Pathan was more successful with the ball, striking in his first over, but Abhishek Nayar blasted 45 from 26 balls, with four fours and four sixes, and Mumbai romped home with 24.2 overs to spare.Gujarat failed to capitalise on a strong start by their openers, but their total of 244 was good enough to defeat Mahrashtra by 25 runs at the Alembic Ground in Vadodara. Parthiv Patel and Avi Barot both made half-centuries, adding 126 in 25.5 overs, but only two other Gujarat batsman made more than 20 as the spinners ran through the middle and lower orders. Mahrashtra lost both openers with 26 on the board, and though Nikhil Paradkar (58) and Ankit Bawane (41) added 70 for the fourth wicket, three run-outs doomed the side and were bowled out in 46.3 overs.South Zone
Kerala eased to a 69-run win over Andhra at the Fort Maidan in Palakkad, marking an impressive start to their Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign. Opting to bat, Kerala posted 243 for 9 in their 50 overs, with Rohan Prem top-scoring with 77. Opener Abhishek Hegde chipped in with 41 and Padmanabhan Prashanth, down the order, scored a quickfire 45 to help set up a competitive score. In their reply, Andhra were dealt some early blows and seamer Prasanth Parameswaran rattled them with four wickets. Bodapati Sumanth’s half-century and some useful contributions from the lower-order batsmen were in vain as Andhra were skittled out for 174.Karnataka inflicted a six-wicket defeat on Goa at the Perintalmanna Cricket Stadium in Mallapuram. Captain R Vinay Kumar starred with four wickets to help bowl out Goa for 180. Reagan Pinto, Rahul Keni and Shadab Jakati each got starts but were unable to go past 50, and had to eventually settle for a below-par score. It failed to measure up to Karnataka’s response as opener Ganesh Satish and Manish Pandey struck half-centuries to seal victory with more than 16 overs to spare.North Zone
Delhi’s consistent batting and Ishant Sharma’s four-wicket haul handed them a 81-run win over Jammu and Kashmir at the Dhruve Pandove Stadium in Patiala. Delhi opted to bat and openers Shikhar Dhawan and Unmukt Chand delivered an attacking start. J&K tried to pull things back, reducing the opposition to 176 for 5 at one stage, but Rajat Bhatia’s 62 and Sumit Narwal’s quickfire 42 propelled Delhi to 296. Ishant put J&K under pressure, having them 55 for 4 at one stage, and despite Parvez Rassol’s 70 amid support from the middle order, Delhi were comfortable victors.Haryana upstaged neighbours Punjab by 52 runs at the PCA Stadium in Mohali. It was a collective batting effort from Haryana who, boosted by wicketkeeper Nitin Saini’s 85-ball 87, and steady contributions from the rest, posted 286. The openers, Mukul Dagar and Rahul Dewan, added 67 while Pardeep Sahu and Hemang Badani chipped in with valuable cameos. Ravi Inder Singh and Mayank Sidhana struck half-centuries in the chase but lacked the back-up Haryana’s batsmen had been able to provide Saini, resulting in defeat.Manvinder Bisla’s century set up a four-wicket win for Himachal Pradesh against Services at the Sector 16 Stadium in Chandigarh. Bisla struck six fours in a well-paced innings, receiving support from VA Indulkar and Mukesh Sharma, as Himachal chased down 235 with four overs to spare. Earlier, an economical bowling display had helped overcome an aggressive century from Services captain Yashpal Singh, who smashed 16 fours and a six in his 85-ball 105. But the other batsmen struggled to force the pace and had to eventually settle for a gettable total.Central Zone
Vidarbha crushed Madhya Pradesh by eight wickets at the Kamla Club Sports Ground in Kanpur. In a dramatic collapse, MP lost eight wickets for 26 to be bowled out for 157. Spinners Akshay Wakhare and Himanshu Joshi shared seven wickets as MP lost their way after looking good at 131 for 2. Vidarbha’s openers, Amit Paunikar and Akshay Kolhar, struck half-centuries and added 108 to shut out MP.Railways managed to overcome newly crowned Ranji Trophy champions Rajasthan by three wickets at the Green Park in Kanpur. Rajasthan chose to bat, and the top three all got starts, with Ashok Menaria topscoring with 63, but none of the other batsmen made more than 11, and the side folded for 171 in 44.5 overs. Railways were in early trouble, as Deepak Chahar and and Pankaj Singh reduced them to 26 for 3, and when legspinner Vivek Yadav picked up three quick wickets, they were tottering at 119 for 7. But Jai Yadav and Musavir Khote came together to add 56 and see their side to victory.

Kenya coach Eldine Baptiste has said that Kenya need to go back to the basics after they suffered a huge 205-run defeat against Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Feb-2011Kenya coach Eldine Baptiste has said that Kenya need to go back to the basics after they suffered a huge 205-run defeat against Pakistan in their opening World Cup game in Hambantota on Monday.”We were not up to the mark in all three departments and in cricket whatever you do you have to stick to the basics, and when you play a team like Pakistan or any international side you don’t spurn your good starts.”It’s about being persistent and at the moment we are just not doing that.”Kenya started strongly after Pakistan chose to bat, picking up two wickets within the first seven overs but lost the initiative after that. Kamran Akmal and Younis Khan added 98 runs for the third wicket to steady Pakistan and Misbah-ul Haq and Umar Akmal put on 118 runs at almost nine runs an over to take the game away from Kenya. Kenya also conceded a whopping 46 extras, including 37 wides.”We did show some improvement from the last game against New Zealand as we started well bowling-wise in the first 25 overs, but again we slipped in the middle and were very poor in the end.”Faced with a daunting target of 318, Kenya’s batsmen wilted with only Collins Obuya offering some resistance with 47. None of the other batsmen made more than 20, and five batsmen failed to get off the mark as Kenya were bowled out for 112 in just over 33 overs. However, Baptiste, who took over as the coach in September 2009, was confident Kenya would be able to lift themselves up for their next game against co-hosts Sri Lanka.”On the big stage I know these boys can do that, and I have to drive the confidence in them for the remaining four matches. When I took the job I knew the enormity of it and I know that I have to go and get the 15 guys to revive their self-belief, because you cannot play cricket like that.”Baptiste said Kenya’s poor showing was not a justification of the ICC’s decision to trim the number of teams in the next World Cup in 2015 to 10 from the existing 14.”What is the reality? The reality is that we have played two bad games and that’s easy to say that, but you have to look at the way Holland played.”The Netherlands pushed England hard in their clash in the Nagpur after a hundred from Ryan ten Doeschate powered them to an impressive 292 for 6. England squeezed home by six wickets with just eight balls remaining.”So when we play bad games, it’s no credit, but when we play well they must give credit. Cricket is a funny game and we can stage a comeback, provided we stick to basics,” said Baptiste.Kenya play Sri Lanka in Colombo on March 1.