Inter have turned their interest to Lyon's Malick Fofana after failing to land Ademola Lookman this summer despite their personal agreement.
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The Barcelona defender has hit back after it was claimed he visited the rapper's performance at a nightclub.
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Poland captain and Barcelona forward Robert Lewandowski has drawn the ire of a former Polish international for pulling out of the nation's squad.
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Manchester United outcast Alejandro Garnacho is reportedly keen on signing for a Champions League team rather than joining Aston Villa.
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Allrounder takes over at Taunton from Tom Abell, who stepped down last summer
ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jan-2024Lewis Gregory will lead Somerset in the County Championship this season after captaining them to the T20 Blast title in 2023. Gregory takes over as club captain from Tom Abell, who stepped down in November after seven seasons in the role.Gregory has captained Somerset’s T20 side since 2018, though handed over to Abell in 2022. He led Trent Rockets to the Hundred title that year, and has captained a handful of games in first-class cricket, including one for England Lions against the touring Australians in 2019.Abell said that he felt stepping down was “in the best interests of the team and the club” when he resigned the captaincy last year, following a quiet year with the bat in red-ball cricket. Somerset have never won the Championship and finished sixth in Division One last season.Dean Elgar, who had spells with the club in 2013 and 2017, was linked with a return to Somerset as club captain in the South African media but has instead signed for Essex as a replacement for Alastair Cook. His deal was also confirmed on Friday.”I’m lucky enough to have been here for a while now and played under a number of great captains,” Gregory said. “To be able to lead the boys in the four-day format is a massive honour and it’s something that I’m very proud to be able to do.”Captaincy makes you feel more responsible for what goes on in the game and I think that the added responsibility brings out the best in me. We’ve got a lot of leaders in the dressing room and out on the field and it’s exciting to think about what this group can achieve.”Andy Hurry, Somerset’s director of cricket, said: “Lewis has thrived under the captaincy in T20 cricket. He is a natural leader and is held in the highest regard by his teammates and the staff at the club. He is highly regarded across the whole changing room, has extensive experience, has a natural ability to gain the followership of others and is the natural choice to take on the prestigious role.”Craig Overton, who will not play overseas this winter after an operation on his back, has been named vice-captain. “Like Lewis, Craig has a wealth of experience and is a genuine match-winner,” Hurry said. “He has really developed his leadership attributes over recent years, has led the side on a number of occasions and plays a big part in shaping how we operate off the field.”
Yesterday’s co-ordinated explosions in the British capital will have alarm bells ringing everywhere major events or meetings of any kind are to be staged
Fazeer Mohammed08-Jul-2005
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What a wake-up call, and not just for Londoners. Yesterday’s co-ordinated explosions in the British capital will have alarm bells ringing everywhere major events or meetings of any kind are to be staged.Not that they need to be reminded of the potential dangers, of course, but the organisers of the 2007 Cricket World Cup must see these incidents, apart from all the other more immediate considerations, in the context of their security arrangements for the biggest event of any kind ever to be staged in the Caribbean.Early expert opinion suggested that the bomb blasts were targeted to coincide with the opening day of the G-8 summit further up north in the Scottish town of Gleneagles.Yet that should be little consolation to organisers of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, who have barely had time to celebrate the announcement in Singapore less than 24 hours earlier that London had edged out Paris in one of the closest contests ever for the right to host the Games.Here, in these sun-drenched territories where every nation has its own version of Trinidad time, a general indifference to safety and security issues on a large scale persists.It may therefore be a bit of a culture shock when the World Cup comes around in less than two years’ time for fans accustomed to parking halfway up the pavement or dragging in coolers as large as small cars into the ground.Rising crime and the increasing threat of kidnapping may have many people much more aware of their personal safety and that of their families, but it is another matter to get people to accept repeated searches at various points approaching the Queen’s Park Oval and again upon entering the ground.To tell some hardened soul accustomed to being dropped off almost at the front gate that no vehicular traffic is allowed within a mile of the match venue is to invite strident vocal resistance, if nothing else.All of this has obviously become necessary within the past four years, and given the proximity to the United States, there is the fear that those bent on sending some sort of message to our minders up north will use the opportunity of the Cricket World Cup to make their mark. It was therefore not all that surprising when the proposed venue in Florida was turned down by World Cup organisers a year ago.The prospect of thousands of cricket fans from countries whose citizens are viewed with suspicion trying to get through US customs is a logistical nightmare in itself.My understanding is that an even greater, and more costly, challenge was adapting the American satellite television format to work with the general format to be used for World Cup coverage.There is little doubt, though, especially given America’s increasingly interventionist policy across the globe, that World Cup organisers are grateful they at least don’t have that particular headache to deal with.There is the danger, however, of making security so much of an overriding concern that cricket matches in such idyllic settings with so many visitors from so many parts of the world would actually become a suffocating exercise of shuttling from airport to hotel to ground to sanitised tourist spots.Much of the effort and expense by most Caribbean governments for World Cup 2007 is intended not just to make the guests happy, but so satisfied with everything that they would like to come back again and again.Freedom of movement-within each territory and from island to island-will be an essential aspect of the ideal experience, hence the much-talked about Sunset Legislation that Caribbean leaders are supposed to ensure is passed into law and ready for implementation in the weeks before the first ball is bowled at the redeveloped Sabina Park in 18 months’ time.For anyone who has to endure the long lines, perennial delays and lost luggage every season when there is just one visiting team in the Caribbean, the consequences of thousands of fun-loving but impatient fans travelling through the region are almost frightening.But given our innate tendency to do our very best to please our guests, even at the expense of the natives, I expect that everything would be put in place. You wouldn’t want to stop these cheery folks from spending their wads of foreign currency, now would you?Actually this year, in covering the series first with South Africa and then Pakistan, I often opted for the “Visitors” line rather than the “Nationals and other Caricom Citizens” queue.Mr Smith from Newark and Miss Jones from Cardiff always seemed to have to endure fewer questions than Tantie Doris from Vieux Fort or Akbar Mamoo from Rosignol.As usual with our part of the world, much of the physical infrastructure in preparation for the World Cup is behind schedule, although, as the Greeks did in pulling off a superb Athens Olympics last year despite similar challenges, there is too much at stake not to get it done right and just in the nick of time.In preparing for the event, information is just as important as steel and concrete, and the World Cup Organising Committee must see it as a priority that, while security can never ever be completely guaranteed, no effort is spared to make everyone aware of the need to abide by the rules, regulations and restrictions in the hope of avoiding anything remotely like what happened in London yesterday.
Autumn brings many things: vibrant colours; falling leaves; conkers. All these are “traditional autumn delights”. C&G Cricket Year is not among them, to judge by the 2006 edition
Will Luke07-Jan-2007C&G Cricket Year edited by Jonathan Agnew (A&C Black, hb, 319pp, £24.99)
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Autumn brings many things: vibrant colours; falling leaves; conkers. All these are “traditional
autumn delights”. C&G Cricket Year is not among them, to judge by the 2006 edition, despite what Ian Whittaker, head of marketing at Cheltenham & Gloucester, asserts.Whittaker is afforded a generous two pages to express his opinions on the game. This annual compendium has always been a sponsored publication and a corporate message
from the benefactor is a depressing trend as well as a dull introduction.Things could only get better after that and the depth and breadth of the coverage are
impressive, chronicling every Championship match of the summer, plus C&G Trophy, Pro40
League and Twenty20 Cup, and every England international of the year. Potted scorelines and a
generous sprinkling of photographs relieve the density.Aside from writing all the Test reports Jonathan Agnew, the editor, profiles Monty Panesar, the
fourth recipient of the C&G Man of the Year Award. Disappointingly Agnew’s profile offers little that is not already known, wasting too many words lamenting his fielding and justifying his selection.
As this is a special 25th anniversary edition, the contributors look back at the last
quarter-century of each county – and country. Although each
review is short, there is enough to gain a reasonable idea of the sides’
fortunes in that period.However, the overwhelming sense is of a book so keen to please everyone that it may fall short of thrilling anyone. And critically, unlike the unmatched grandfather of annuals, Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, it lacks authority.At best it may be an enjoyable book to flick through or dip into
– one to trigger memories of the summer’s games and fill in the
details that scorecards cannot manage alone. To that extent, it may
just be a delight.
Four batsmen scored fifties in the fifth ODI at Trinidad, and the factor that won the game for West Indies was that they had three of them, whereas India had only Virender Sehwag
George Binoy28-May-2006Four batsmen scored fifties in the fifth ODI in Trinidad and what won West Indies the match was that they had three of them, whereas India had only Virender Sehwag. Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo scored contrasting half-centuries: Gayle provided a blistering start with a flurry of boundaries, Sarwan tided over the middle overs patiently before Bravo accelerated during the slog.For India, however, Sehwag played the roles of both Gayle and Sarwan. He got the run-chase off to a rapid enough start after India lost two early wickets, and held fort in the middle overs. His inability to stay until the finish, like Bravo did, was what swung the game for West Indies. The graphic below shows the percentage of dot balls, singles, doubles and boundaries in the four fifties.As you can see, Gayle and Bravo played very different innings. Gayle’s first seven scoring shots were fours as he took advantage of the hard new ball. He hardly ran any singles and kept trying to find the fence even though Rahul Dravid chose to delay the Powerplays. Bravo, however, entered when boundaries were hard to come by. He made up for this by dabbing the ball into gaps and running like wildfire. Bravo’s first 37 runs took just 31 balls but included just one four. The most telling stat as to how effectively Bravo adapted to the conditions is his dot-ball count. Bravo played just six dots in his 44-ball innings while Gayle had 44 in his 61-ball innings. Bravo’s tendency to take a run off every ball and convert ones into twos at the slightest fumble put immense pressure on the Indians, and they cracked. Throws were wide, tight run-outs were missed, and crucially, Bravo was dropped when he had made just 24.Sarwan’s solid innings ensured that West Indies had wickets intact for Bravo to up the tempo at the death. Though Sarwan’s 52 off 97 balls could be regarded as slow, he did what the Indian batsmen couldn’t – bat patiently on a slow pitch without losing regular wickets. Sehwag’s riposte was fitting: he scored 11 boundaries, one more than Gayle, and comfortably outpaced Sarwan. But for a single person to accomplish what three batsmen had done was asking too much.
From a plumber to a fast bowler, the story of Mitchell Johnson
Dileep Premachandran02-Oct-2007
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A couple of months ago Mitchell Johnson packed his bags and got on a flight to Chennai. It was Australia’s off season, but after having spent the World Cup in the Caribbean sitting in the dressing room while his mates went through another undefeated campaign, Johnson was anxious to ensure that he started the new season fully prepared. After all, with Glenn McGrath having traded the 22 yards for the Hall of Fame, there was a new-ball place up for grabs.For Johnson, who can nudge the speedometer up to 150kph when his rhythm’s right, sharing the new ball with Brett Lee would be the culmination of a dream that almost had its requiem three years ago when he was axed from the Queensland squad. For a young man who battled so hard to come back from near-crippling back injuries, it was the most bitter of blows, and one that nearly forced him to turn his back on the game.For a while he drove a plumbing van for a mate but his heart and mind were elsewhere. “When I lost the [Queensland] contract, it was a very tough time for me,” he says. “I did think about what I was going to do with myself. I wasn’t sure if cricket was the answer. But I spoke to friends and family about it and they put me on the right path. I’m glad []. I wouldn’t be here otherwise.”Within a year he had made his one-day debut in the Chappell-Hadlee series against New Zealand, and though he has yet to lay his hands on the cherished baggy green, there’s a feeling that the moment is nigh for a 26-year-old that Dennis Lillee referred to as a “once in a generation” bowler nearly a decade ago.With the pacy but erratic Shaun Tait out through injury, Johnson’s main rival for the new ball is Stuart Clark, and the two couldn’t be more dissimilar. In everyday life Clark wouldn’t be out of place in a pinstripe suit, whereas Johnson would blend in perfectly with the surfer boys who congregate on Australia’s Sunshine coast.”I’d love to bowl with the new ball,” he says with a grin. “That’s what I do for Queensland. If I get the opportunity, I’m going to take it. But if I don’t, there are a few things I can still work on with the old ball, like cutters and changes of pace.”Those old-ball tricks have been handed down by one of the masters of a generation past. Lillee and Troy Cooley, Australia’s bowling coach, accompanied Johnson to the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai earlier this summer, and the work they did was mostly geared towards success on the placid pitches of the subcontinent.”The cutters were something I’d never really tried before,” says Johnson, looking back at his initial stints with Lillee at MRF. “I think that’s going to be important here. The pitches are flat, there’s not much bounce. There’s not a hell of a lot for the bowlers here, but if you have those tools, it helps.”His last trip to India, for the Champions Trophy in 2006, highlighted his potential. Against England at Jaipur, he had 3 for 40, and the dismissal of Kevin Pietersen was the perfect fast bowler’s set-up. A wicked lifter jolted Pietersen, and the next ball angled away to take the outside edge.
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For a while, he drove a plumbing van for a mate, but his heart and mind were elsewhere. “When I lost the contract, it was a very tough time for me. I did think about what I was going to do with myself. I wasn’t sure if cricket was the answer |
Those were not typical Indian pitches, with some grass and plenty of bounce, but Johnson insists that the short ball still has a role to play in these conditions. “I think it’s very important because you’re testing the pitch to see what it can do,” he says. “The one in Jaipur where I got Pietersen … that might not have bounced on another pitch. It can be a surprise for the batsmen if you bang it into the pitch hard and you get the odd one to bounce a bit more.” At Bangalore in the first game of the current series he got Sachin Tendulkar with a lightning-quick delivery that swung in.Johnson has given a lot of thought to how he’ll bowl in conditions that are vastly different from his stomping ground at the Gabba. “It’s harder to bowl on a flatter pitch, but it brings in your offcutters and your legcutters and your changes of pace,” he says. “But I’m also not going to forget about hitting the pitch hard and getting as much bounce as I can.”Lee is back after missing the World Cup, while Clark has slipped seamlessly into the void left by McGrath. Johnson himself managed a few games alongside McGrath, including in Malaysia last year where he rocked India with a stunning burst of 4 for 11 at the Kinrara Oval. What did he learn from the legend, and from the likes of Lee?”You’ve just got to be yourself,” he says earnestly. “You’re picked in the team for what you do. So just go out there and bowl like you do. Don’t change anything. It’s a different level to your state cricket but you needn’t change anything because you’ve got to this mark for a reason.”State cricket may be a notch below, but the early days at Queensland provided an invaluable education. Among his seniors were Michael Kasprowicz and Andy Bichel, and Johnson is well aware of the success that Kasprowicz had on subcontinental pitches [he won Australia the Bangalore Test in 1997-98 with a spell of 5 for 28].”I’ve spoken to Kasprowicz and Bichel about bowling when I started out with Queensland,” he says. “We’ve talked about India and they basically told me about reverse swing and cutting the ball and all that stuff.”Johnson is rarely without a smile these days, and says he’s “honoured and proud” to be here. And why wouldn’t he be? Instead of possibly installing jacuzzis and fixing leaky faucets, he has resurrected the dreams he had as a teenager. And in the days to come, it’s the batsmen who’ll get that sinking feeling.
Cricinfo looks back at some of the best county performances from August
Andrew McGlashan01-Sep-2008
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Team of the month – Hampshire
There’s nothing like a crisis to inspire a team. First it happened with Middlesex, who called a special general meeting to discuss the team’s lack of success – then they went on a winning streak which cumulated in the Twenty20 Cup. Now it’s Hampshire’s turn. In the same month as it was announced that Paul Terry was leaving the club they have registered two Championship victories (and have remained unbeaten through August) to ease relegation concerns and put themselves in touch with the top. At times they have been down to the bare bones of a team, but have benefited from Dimitri Mascarenhas being overlooked by England and the superb form of Imran Tahir. Sean Ervine, too, has found a new lease of life. An outstanding Pro40 century against Middlesex (they are still in with a chance there as well) was followed by a crucial, match-winning 94 against Durham.Batsman of the month – Marcus Trescothick
Thanks to the release of his autobiography – one that should actually be worth reading – Marcus Trescothick is making plenty of headlines. He is revealing all about his struggles over the last few years that forced an early international retirement (and Kevin Pietersen won’t be able to change his mind) and England’s use of Murray Mints. Most importantly, though, he is happy again. Which is a triumph in itself. It is showing in his cricket as he has churned out runs galore after a slow start to the season. Bowlers have been put to the sword in Championship cricket, but the most destructive displays have come in the Pro40 – particularly his 183 against Gloucestershire (which still ended in defeat). It’s time to let him move on.Bowler of the month – Robbie Joseph
At the beginning of the season Robbie Joseph was probably playing for his county future. He was under pressure after failing to make the most of his talent, but over the last few weeks he has spearheaded Kent’s attack. It began with nine wickets at Chester-le-Street in a match that lasted little more than two days and the top score was 53. Then came the Friends Provident Final where his three scalps kept Kent in with a fighting chance. Finally his success helped complete a victory when he ran through Lancashire at Canterbury and to wrap up August he took six more against Yorkshire. His three in the second innings was almost enough to force an unlikely win.Innings of the month – Sean Ervine 94 not out
It wasn’t a thrilling one-day century by Trescothick, or Championship double ton by Mark Ramprakash, but Sean Ervine’s 94 against Durham – his best score of the season – was worth more than either of them. The game at May’s Bounty in Basingstoke had been dominated by the ball, with Hampshire all out for 96 in their first innings. Chasing 240 few gave Hampshire a chance, especially at 77 for 5. But Ervine has found some strong form and held the innings together. On the final morning he chipped away at the target while wickets fell at the other end. It was nailbiting stuff. The ninth wicket fell with 21 still needed, but Imran Tahir held firm as he and Ervine gave Hampshire the points.Bowling spell of the month – Mark Davies, 8 for 24
It’s been a strange old career for Mark Davies. When you look at his statistics, 220 wickets at 20.83, you wonder how he hasn’t been talked about as an England bowler. But, as is often the case, the numbers only tell half the story. He has suffered a horrendous run of injuries and illness including a lung infection and a stress fracture of the back. This season, though, he has been able to string matches together with impressive results, none more so than his eight-wicket haul at Basingstoke. Already in 2008 he’d demolished Lancashire back in May with 7 for 33 (albeit in another defeat) and was at it again on a bowler-friendly strip. An England Lions tour isn’t out of the question this winter.Youngster of the month – Liam Dawson
From having one of the most potent spin attacks in the country with Shane Warne and Shaun Udal, Hampshire were suddenly left with a bare cupboard after both departed over the winter. But during the second half of the season a talent has emerged in the shape of Liam Dawson, a left-arm spinner who is also turning himself into a fine batsman. It is, in fact, the runs that have often caught the eye, scored at vital times in one-day games, but he has put in some important spells with the ball, including 4 for 45 against Middlesex at Lord’s. He had a successful spell with England Under-19s, but now it’s the time to give him his head at first-class level. It’s vital, too, that he concentrates on his spin. The county game isn’t overflowing with young English talent in that department.