India will play a tri-series against Australia and the West Indies in Singapore and Malaysia in September, ending weeks of speculation over the venue for the event.Originally, India had agreed to meet West Indies in USA and Canada, and then that was switched to Canada, and even that was subsequently scrapped when venues could not be cleared in time.The three teams will play each other twice before the top two meet in a final. The first three matches will take place in Singapore with the remaining four in Kuala Lumpur.While there are not likely to be any issues with the Australian and Indian boards, the West Indies Cricket Board has some outstanding matters to resolve with its players. They claim that they were not consulted before the WICB agreed to the matches, which is against the arrangement between the board and the West Indies Players’ Association.
Michael Vaughan, the England captain, has said that the elation of beatingAustralia at Headingley had been short lived in the aftermath of theLondon bomb blasts that left at least 70 dead and over 700 injured. Withthe sporting fraternity obsessed with the Ashes, Vaughan underplayed theimportance of the series in the light of Thursday’s terrorist attacks. Hesaid, “Cricket is not that important when you see those things. Normallywe wouldn’t have had the televisions on in the dressing-room, but we hadto keep them on because there were people that were in London that we allknow.AFP also quoted Vaughan as saying: “We haven’t tried to get too involvedin it, but we are trying to put things in perspective and we played a gameof cricket and there are far more important things in life than cricket.”The attacks occurred a day after London was awarded the 2012 OlympicGames, curtailing much of the celebrations. Vaughan shared the nation’sexcitement at the prospect of being host to the Olympics, and said, “Wewere thrilled for London getting the Olympics just the day before and Ithink it’s one of the best things to happen to English sport for manyyears. Then we arrived at the ground to see those scenes in London and itput sport and life in general really into perspective.”He hoped that his team’s success against Australia would alleviate some ofthe sorrow caused by the attacks. He said: “There’s obviously a lot ofunhappiness in London and around the country after what happened, but ifour victory over Australia has made a few people happy then that’s great.”As the NatWest Challenge moves to London for the last two games,authorities at Lord’s and The Oval said that both matches would take placeas scheduled, amid heightened security.
According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, the Zimbabwean rebel cricketers have indicated that they would be available to play in one-day internationals against the Australians, whose touring party is currently in Harare wondering whether the tour will proceed as planned.But, according to Chloe Saltau’s report, the players don’t think they are ready for Test cricket yet: “The rebels met Zimbabwe’s provincial stakeholders on Wednesday and, having gained an undertaking that their issues would be addressed at a grass-roots level, declared they wanted to play again. But they said they were not physically or mentally ready for Test cricket and did not wish to be considered for the Australian Tests. Awaiting a response from the ZCU, they trained privately on Wednesday.”One suggestion mooted has been to cancel the two Tests against Australia and play a series of one-day matches instead. This would pose logistical problems for Australia, who would need to bring in their one-day specialists earlier than expected (a three-match ODI series was supposed to start on June 6).It still seems more likely that, should the ICC vote to strip Test status from the two matches at their emergency meeting on Friday, the Australians will return home.
New Zealand’s Super Six campaign at the World Cup swings into action on Saturday with its first game in the next phase of the competition.The side which qualified today after South Africa could only tie their match with Sri Lanka, using the Duckworth/Lewis method, will play either Zimbabwe, Pakistan or England at Bloemfontein.Their opponent will be decided after the Pakistan-Zimbabwe match to be played today.Next Tuesday will feature a big game for the side as they meet transtasman rivals Australia at Port Elizabeth.The last of the Super Six matches will be a re-match, in neutral conditions, with the Indian side New Zealand vanquished during their summer series in New Zealand this year.It will be played at Centurion on Friday, March 14.
Kent posted a modest first innings lead of 43 after a hard-fought, cut-and-thrust second day of this CricInfo Championship clash with Surrey in Canterbury.Resuming on 43 without loss and in response to Surrey’s first day total of 258 all out, Kent edged to their third batting bonus point at 301 all out, but only after a stoic three-and-a-half hour unbeaten innings of 66 from home wicket-keeper Paul Nixon who remained unbeaten as Kent lost their final wicket in the penultimate over of the day.Surrey bowled with purpose throughout the day, firstly through new ball pairing Martin Bicknell and Ed Giddins, and then later in the day through spinners Ian Salisbury, Saqlain Mushtaq and seamer Ben Hollioake, who each claimed two wickets, while Bicknell finished with four for 47.The entire Kent batting order struggled to score fluently as Surrey bowled good line and length and fielded athletically, particularly in the outfield where Michael Carberry stood out.Kent were given a decent start through Rob Key and David Fulton, who posted 58 for the first wicket before Fulton became the first of Bicknell’s quartet of victims.Key went on to top score with 79 from 182-balls and feature in a second-wicket stand of 95 with Ed Smith who passed 1,000 runs for the summer in reaching 37.Key also went leg before to Bicknell just after lunch, sparking a battle of wills between bat and ball that Surrey did well to win as Mushtaq sent back Matthew Fleming and Martin McCague as the Kent middle order struggled for runs.It was left to Ben Hollioake to finish it, bowling Min Patel for a cameo 38 and then having last man Ben Trott well held off a leg-side gloved catch by ‘keeper Jonathan Batty.
There have been a lot of bumps in the road for Liverpool this season, but there has been some festive cheer as of late at Anfield.
Indeed, Arne Slot’s men haven’t tasted defeat since a sobering 4-1 Champions League humiliation at the hands of PSV Eindhoven, with the Reds showing plenty of fight and quality to turn around their once sticky situation.
Hugo Ekitike, in particular, has shone in recent Premier League wins over Brighton and Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur, with three goals collected, seeing Match of the Day pundit Shay Given hail him as the “real deal” in attack.
Liverpool won’t be content, though, with the personnel making up their forward positions, as Alexander Isak now looks set for a lengthy absence on the sidelines, resulting in a new striker target appearing on the Reds’ shopping list…
Liverpool eye up move for £70m striker
It has now been revealed that Isak will be out for several months with a serious injury he sustained against Spurs, as his nightmare start on Merseyside only gets worse.
Losing the £125m attacker for a significant period of time means Liverpool will surely have to go out in January to recruit a fresh body up top, with the top-flight’s second top scorer in Brentford’s Igor Thiago reportedly catching their eye.
A report from Caught Offside has revealed that Slot’s reigning champions are monitoring Thiago as they go about chasing after attacking reinforcements, with Antoine Semenyo also still on their radar despite the likelihood being he signs for Manchester City.
Brentford are noted as being hesitant to part ways with one of their main stars mid-way through a season, though, with an audacious £70m price tag now above the former Club Brugge man’s head.
Still, this could be the price Liverpool have to fork out if they want to sign one of the division’s most in-form forwards, with the Reds not regretting their pursuit of Sadio Mane one bit back in 2016, having poached the now Al-Nassr forward from lower down the division in Southampton, only to mould him into a modern-day legend.
How Thiago can be Slot's own Mane
Mane cost a high £36m to obtain in the summer of 2016, having stood out as a lively attacker for the Saints, much like Thiago is now showing off at the G-Tech Community Stadium.
With hindsight on side, Mane was only just getting started in the Premier League at St. Mary’s, with 25 goals and ten assists from 75 appearances on the South Coast, enough to catch Liverpool’s eye.
He would then go on to blow these numbers out of the water at Anfield, with the Senegal attacker reaching a stunning 120 goals and 46 assists for Liverpool, before his sensational journey ran out on Merseyside in 2022.
Still, his former Reds manager Jurgen Klopp would be right in his assessment that the winger is one of “Liverpool’s greatest ever players”, having fired home some crucial goals to lift the FA Cup, Champions League, and Premier League during his glittering stay.
During the title-winning season of 2019/20 alone, Mane would chip in with a weighty 18 league strikes, as he was further noted as being a “world-class” finisher by the German, and deserving of being in the “same bracket” as the division’s best-ever strikers when reaching a century of Anfield goals, by ex-Liverpool teammate Georginio Wijnaldum.
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Of course, Thiago, right now, is some way off being this revered in the Premier League but like Mane did lower down the top-flight, he’s made one hell of an impact.
Thiago’s PL numbers for Brentford (25/26)
Stat
Thiago
Games played
17
Goals scored
11
Assists
0
Scoring frequency
128 mins
Goal conversion %
31%
Big chances missed
8
Stats by Sofascore
But with a devastating 11 league goals picked up this season already for Keith Andrew’s Bees, the “phenomenal” marksman – as he has been rightly praised by his manager – is showing why he is deserving of such a bumper £70m move, to try and replicate Mane’s jaw-dropping feats.
He even scooped up November’s Player of the Month accolade for the entire league, with his consistent “magnificent” performances for the West London outfit – as Andrews has also waxed lyrical – surely making him hungry for a step-up, with Mane not looking back whatsoever when deserting Southampton all those years ago.
Stepping up to the mark for Brentford this season, after both Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa left the building in quick succession, also shows off a striker who can thrive under pressure, as Thiago perhaps gets a Mane-style big break in January if Liverpool come in for his services.
Semenyo alternative: Liverpool hold talks to sign their best LW since Mane
Liverpool have earmarked alternatives as the race for Antoine Semenyo ramps up.
ScorecardNew Zealand were given a boost ahead of their match against England Lions this Thursday with a 92-run win over Essex at Chelmsford. Set 293 to win, Essex faltered to 200 all out, with Alastair Cook top-scoring with 57, while Iain O’Brien and Michael Mason shared six wickets.It was a tall ask for Essex, and much rested on Cook’s shoulders at the top of the order. After Ross Taylor dropped him on nought yesterday, Cook was threatening to make New Zealand pay with a solid 57 from 126 balls. He and Tom Westley pottered along without great intent, though they weren’t helped by the often wide bowling from New Zealand’s opening attack. But their patience paid off; Westley was caught at cover, and Ravi Bopara and Mark Pettini fell within an over of eachother to leave Essex struggling on 87 for 4.Once Cook fell – followed two balls later by James Foster for a duck – Essex still required a further 193 to win. And though Ryan ten Doeschate spent nearly two hours compiling 38, wickets continued to fall at the other end and O’Brien wrapped up a convincing win by bowling Alex Tudor in the 71st over.New Zealand will be encouraged that they coped without the services of their captain, Daniel Vettori, whose split finger will rule him out of his side’s final warm-up before the first Test, a four-day match at The Rose Bowl.
Steve Harmison has told the Mail on Sunday that his recovery from hernia surgery earlier this month is going so well that he hopes to be bowling again within a fortnight.Harmison admitted he has no chance of being fit in time for the Oval Test but he has a target of returning to action in time for Durham’s first one-day final at Lord’s on August 18. To give himself a chance of playing there he needs to be ready to face Surrey in a Championship match starting on August 13.He started running last week and was given the all-clear to resume more strenuous exercise after visiting a specialist last Thursday.”Things have gone well and I’ve been running at about 70% capacity,” he told the paper. “The next step is to build up to some ‘walk-throughs’ of my action. A final for my club against Warney and KP would be some way to make my comeback.”
All matches in the upcoming tri-series featuring hosts Sri Lanka, South Africa and India will be played in Colombo, the BCCI confirmed today. The first two matches will be day/night fixtures at the R Premadasa Stadium while the next two will be played at the Sinhalese Sports Club.Dambulla was originally scheduled to host the first four games, but in-fighting among the opposing parties in the upcoming Sri Lanka Cricket elections called for a change in venue. Mohan de Silva, the opposition candidate, said on Tuesday that Dambulla will be reinstated as a venue if he becomes president, but further changes in the itinerary have now been ruled out.Meanwhile, it was announced that the Indian team for the tri-series in Sri Lanka in August will be selected on July 20 in Mumbai. According to Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, captain Rahul Dravid will join the five selectors in picking the side and added that coach Greg Chappell will not be able to attend the meeting.Regarding Sachin Tendulkar’s availability, Shah said that the BCCI is awaiting a report from team physio John Gloster. “Gloster would be in Mumbai on Thursday and I will ask him to give a report,” Shah told . Tendulkar is currently in England playing for club side Lashings and hasn’t shown any discomfort after undergoing a shoulder surgery, scoring three hundreds.It was also announced that the BCCI working committee would meet in New Delhi on July 16.
Zimbabwe lived to take the fight into a fifth day in the first Test against Australia at Perth, albeit assisted by two rain breaks, the second of which resulted in stumps being drawn with Australia needing only one wicket for victory.Australia had suffered from the absence through injury of Stuart MacGill and Jason Gillespie, and the rain just compounded that. In an effort to keep his players on the field in the final session, Steve Waugh took Brett Lee and Andy Bichel off, and used his slow bowlers in the quest for the last wicket. But Heath Streak and Raymond Price stood firm while adding 25 runs for the last wicket.Showers had been forecast, and during the middle session the cloud cover became dark enough for Peter Willey and Srinivas Venkataraghavan, the umpires, to ask for the ground lights to be turned on. At one point, the Australians were so keen to finish off the innings before the rain came that Brett Lee was running back to the start of his bowling mark.Zimbabwe had extended Australia’s agony by fighting back from the loss of five wickets for 16 runs during the morning session. Sean Ervine, who had already made an impact in his third Test by taking four Australian wickets in their first innings, showed he was a dab hand with the bat during an 83-run eighth wicket stand with Streak. Ervine made the most of the lighter weight of the Australian attack, which featured irregular bowlers like Darren Lehmann, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting, before the second new ball was introduced. When it came, Bichel broke through with a beautifully-pitched inswinger that bowled him for 53.Andy Blignaut, who survived a pair, continued the attack and when tea was taken, he and Streak had added 38 runs with Blignaut hitting 22 off 26 balls. But three balls after the resumption, he missed a delivery from Lehmann, and was stumped by Adam Gilchrist.No sooner had Price arrived at the wicket than the rain that had been drizzly became heavier and the umpires, after a consultation, offered the batsmen the chance to leave the field. Seventy-four minutes were lost, before the players re-emerged for 41 more minutes of action. Then, the rain returned to provide a full stop to the day’s play.It had always been improbable that the Zimbabweans could survive for two days, even against the depleted attack, but the loss of a batsman as well set as Mark Vermeulen had been, caused a domino effect. He was entitled to feel some grief over his dismissal, as television replays showed that the ball from Brett Lee had not taken his bat but clipped his shirt instead on its way to Gilchrist. However the later batting damage was more due to poor shot selection than anything special from the bowlers. Stuart Carlisle, who had helped Vermeulen to add 99 for the third wicket, was unable to maintain his concentration. In the act of attempting a sweep shot to Darren Lehmann’s part-time left-arm spin, he top-edged the ball to first slip where Matthew Hayden took the catch.Bichel was then brought back by Steve Waugh to instant effect, his third ball trapping Craig Wishart leg before wicket when he had scored only eight. He soon added Tatenda Taibu, getting him to prod forward diffidently and edge one through to Gilchrist. With the score still on 126, Craig Evans played all around a straight ball from Lehmann to be bowled.At that stage, and then again after tea, the champagne corks were ready to be popped. But frustratingly for Australia, the rain proved to be Zimbabwe’s staunchest ally. All eyes will be on the weather forecasts tonight. Were Zimbabwe to escape from Perth with an undeserved draw tomorrow, Hayden’s world-record celebrations would be muted indeed.