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A magical nine-wicket haul from Simon Kerrigan, the 22-year-old left-arm spinner, inspired Lancashire to a vital 222-run victory against Hampshire

Andrew McGlashan at Liverpool10-Sep-2011
ScorecardA magical nine-wicket haul from Simon Kerrigan, the 22-year-old left-arm spinner, inspired Lancashire to a vital 222-run victory against Hampshire, with just four minutes remaining in an extraordinary final session, to move them to within three points of leaders Warwickshire heading into the final round of Championship matches which start on Monday.It looked as though Lancashire would be denied in heart-breaking fashion at Aigburth as Neil McKenzie and James Tomlinson survived 21 overs to take Hampshire to within touching distance of safety. However, in what would have been his final over of the match, Kerrigan found the edge of McKenzie’s bat and Tom Smith held the catch at second slip which prompted a mini pitch evasion and chants of “Oh Lanky, Lanky.”Glen Chapple, the Lancashire captain, said it was the worse few minutes of his career as he feared the final wicket wouldn’t fall. “They were 10 awful minutes,” he said. “I was struggling to keep calm to be honest. From 45 minutes to get the last wicket and thinking it’s going to happen reasonably easily, to becoming a little anxious it when to just praying at the end. But we did keep beliving and there was a great catch to finish it.”Kerrigan’s final figures of 9 for 51 – in just his third Championship game of the season – were the best for Lancashire since 1953 when Roy Tattersall took 9 for 40 and included seven victims after he had changed to the River End for the first time in the match shortly before tea. There had been extra bounce from that end throughout the game – for pace and spin – and Kerrigan exploited it superbly to finish with 12 in the match as alert close catchers held onto the chances that came their way.Midway through the final session Hampshire were 53 for 1 and time was ticking away for Lancashire. They had batted for most of the morning session to leave a minimum of 67 overs for Hampshire who were never interested in the run chase. In the end Lancashire delivered plenty more as Kerrigan and Gary Keedy bowled 70.2 of the overs sent down, but if that final, crucial, wicket hadn’t come their way – and with the visitors so far from the target – questions would, no doubt, have been asked. Instead, though, a quarter of an hour after the final wicket Lancashire’s players could be heard belting out their victory song.”Midway through the day I think we’d have taken [a draw] on the chin and thought we still hand a chance of the title,” Chapple said. “But with 45 minutes to go and one wicket needed it would have been gutting. It’s a damn good job we got over the line.”It was County Championship cricket at its most intense and enthralling. The domestic game gets bad press at times, but throughout the four days here the action has been engrossing and of a high class. And, yet again, the title will go down to the final week of the season with three counties in with a strong chase. Hampshire, meanwhile, need Durham to do them a huge favour against Worcestershire to have any chance to staying in Division One.Lancashire began the day 203 ahead and batted for a further 27 overs at a healthy rate. Stephen Moore’s unbeaten 169 was his highest score for Lancashire and also the team’s best individual innings for the season. Hampshire reached lunch without alarm but it soon became clear they had no intention of having a dip at the target despite being rooted to the foot of the table. As it was in the first innings spin made the inroads for Lancashire, the first coming straight after a brief 15-minute rain break when Liam Dawson charged at Kerrigan and was beaten by turn.It took 10 overs before the next breakthrough arrived when Kerrigan struck again, continuing his impressive match, to have Jimmy Adams lbw on the back foot. Then, in a crucial period leading into tea, they claimed two more top-order scalps when Michael Carberry clipped lazily to mid-on and James Vince was pinned lbw by Kerrigan with his first ball from the River End.However, the real drama started in the first hour of the final session as Kerrigan produced a spell that, if Lancashire go on to claim their first title in 77 years, will go down in the club’s folklore. Continuing from the River End he claimed three wickets in eight deliveries as he found bounce and bite. Sean Ervine was caught at slip then Michael Bates was yorked second ball and in Kerrigan’s next over Dimirti Mascarenhas gloved an unplayable delivery to Paul Horton.Eight more overs went by then Kerrigan made another one bounce to have Chris Wood caught behind as Gareth Cross juggled the catch and he soon added his eighth to remove opposite number Danny Briggs. Time, at that point, was on Lancashire’s side but, as so often is the case, the final push for victory was the hardest. Expect a few more twists before the Championship trophy is handed over.

Zulqarnain Haider, the former Pakistan wicketkeeper, has been fined 500,000 rupees ($5,800) by the PCB for violating their code of conduct when he flew to London last November, mid-way through a series in the UAE, without informing the team management. Haider appeared before the PCB disciplinary committee, comprising Sultan Rana, Wasim Ahmed and Mohammad Awais, on Friday in Lahore.After the two-hour hearing Rana, the committee’s head, said Haider will also be put under probation. “Zulqarnain will also be under a one-year probation period, during which his conduct will be observed.”The PCB said Haider had no proof of any wrongdoing against any player or official of the board, and withdrew all his allegations.Haider had gone missing from the Pakistan team’s hotel in Dubai on the morning of the fifth ODI against South Africa on November 8, and later said he had received death threats from unidentified people seeking to draw him into match-fixing.Haider said his decision to flee was a mistake. “I did what I thought was right at that time. With the passage of time I realised that I committed a mistake. I should have informed the PCB, I should have informed my seniors.”He said he is looking forward to resume his career. “I just want to play cricket. [But] It all depends on the selection committee, whether they pick me for the national team or not.”In the aftermath of his flight, Haider had filed an application for asylum in the UK, which hinged on the nature of the information he was able to divulge, as the extraordinary nature of his case appeared to fall outside the usual conditions required of a person seeking refugee status. He had also announced his retirement from international cricket. However, he withdrew his application for asylum and returned to Pakistan in April this year, after receiving safety assurances from the country’s interior minister Rehman Malik.

Former Sri Lanka captain Marvan Atapattu has been appointed as the team’s batting coach

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Apr-2011

Former Sri Lanka captain Marvan Atapattu has been appointed as the team’s batting coach. He will join a training contingent that includes interim coach Stuart Law, Champaka Ramanayaka and Ruwan Kalpage for the tour of England that gets underway next month.Sri Lanka will name the full-time successor for Trevor Bayliss, whose tenure as coach ended with the World Cup, only after the England tour.Atapattu’s appointment comes a day after Tillakaratne Dilshan was named as the team’s captain, following Kumar Sangakkara’s resignation. Atapattu played the last of his 90 Tests in November 2007, and also also featured in 268 one-dayers. He played the rebel Indian Cricket League towards the end of his career, before taking over coaching assignments. He was the national coach of the Singapore team for year 2010.

Hasan Raza, captain of HBL, winners of this year’s QEA Division One Trophy, has said that he decision to play the final under lights should be preserved with for the next season

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jan-2011

Hasan Raza, captain of Habib Bank Limited who won the QEA Trophy, has backed the use of floodlights and the orange ball for first-class games in Pakistan in the future. The QEA Trophy final between HBL and Pakistan International Airlines was played under lights at the National Stadium in Karachi, an unprecedented event for the first-class game in the country.”It was a really good experience, all the boys really enjoyed themselves and I hope that this is not a one-off,” Raza told . “I really do hope that this idea is continued for next season and further into the future.”We started practicing with the orange ball and pink ball two days ahead of the match, so it gave us all an opportunity to adjust to the light and the colour of the ball. The PIA captain Kamran Sajid and I in discussion with our teams decided that the orange ball would be better and I really do hope that future matches in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy are played under lights with the orange cricket ball.”Raza said that the experience was enjoyable, not just for the players but for the spectators as well. “The fans seemed to be having a good time watching the game and got behind the teams. I think if you asked the supporters they would definitely say they prefer day/night cricket compared with day cricket.”HBL regained the QEA trophy after 33 years and Raza, who scored an unbeaten 54 on the final day, attributed the result to the hard work put in by his team right through the season. “It’s been a painstaking wait for all the guys involved with Habib Bank and we are all delighted and very proud of our achievements this season. We’ve played consistently well throughout the season and have beaten some very good teams during the course of the season.”The QEA tournament is currently played with two divisions and departmental sides and regional teams are spread across both divisions. Raza, however, felt that the format needed to be changed for the next season. “Departments should play against departments and the regional sides should play among one another. The departmental sides play the most competitive cricket and generally produce the best players. I think it would benefit the national side also if the format was altered where department teams and regional teams are kept apart, as the most talented players but be visible in the first division and playing for the departmental sides.”The final was marred by controversy as four players were fined a total of nearly $2,000 for ball tampering, slow over-rates and use of abusive language during the game. The trigger was believed to be poor umpiring but Raza chose to downplay the incidents. “Both umpires are experienced guys and decisions went for and against both teams,” Raza said. “We got some poor decisions and also some in our favour. And you just have to accept them and get on with the game. There was a lot of sledging but it is all part of the game and shouldn’t be taken personally. It was an intense match with a lot at stake and both sets of players were striving to win.”Raza, who made his Test debut for Pakistan at the age of 14, has played seven Tests and 16 ODIs. He last played for Pakistan in 2005, but has been a consistent performer on the domestic circuit, having recently gone past 12,000 first-class runs. Raza said he was hopeful of making a comeback to the national side, along the lines of Pakistan’s current Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq. “I’m a much more responsible individual now and have had the responsibility of captaincy with me for the past few years.”I’ve been a consistent performer in domestic cricket and I look at Misbah ul Haq’s example as someone who can make a strong comeback into test cricket. I have faith in my ability and know for sure that I can do a job for Pakistan.”

Barcelona have no intention of executing the option to buy clause in Adama Traore’s contract loan contract from Wolves.

What’s the word?

That is according to the latest report from the ever-reliable Fabrizio Romano, who has claimed that the Catalan-based side do not intend to pay the €30m (£25.5m) fee that was negotiated when the player signed on loan from Wolves.

Taking to Twitter, Romano stated: “The only way to keep him [at Barcelona] has always been a swap deal, with no money included in the negotiation with Wolves.

“As of today, there are chances for Adama to come back at Wolves and then leave again.”

Wolves fans left confused

The latest update from Romano will leave the Old Gold faithful confused as to how they should be feeling.

On one hand, his return to the Molineux could serve as a major boost for both the club and the player, with the Spaniard-of-Malian-descent surely out to prove Xavi wrong.

On the other hand, Lage’s side have drastically struggled to create chances this season, having created just 35 chances this season – the third worst in the league –  and Adama’s direct approach can shake up the Old Gold’s frontline once more.

Traore played around half of the season for Wolves before leaving to join Barcelona on-loan and registered an average of seven successful dribbles per 90, which to this day is still the highest metric amongst the entirety of the Premier League – with Newcastle United’s Allan Saint-Maximin’s average of 4.9 dribbles per game the nearest threat.

Raul Jimenez has certainly looked like a shadow of his former self without his partner Adama pinging crosses into the box. So if Adama was to stay, you could certainly expect a boost in creative numbers at the Molineux next season.

Though as Romano stated in his latest update, “there are chances for Adama to come back at Wolves and then leave again.”

After suffering for game time for the Blaugrana recently, Adama has been affected, with a report from Spanish outlet, Sport, claiming that the 26-year-old was “very upset after not even warming up against Mallorca.”

With Wolves’ reported desire to sign Ez Abde from Barcelona and Ousmane Dembele out of contract at the end of the season, La Masia youth product may just get a second opportunity to show Xavi exactly what he is made of in what would be a second consecutive loan spell for the forward.

In other news: Agent links: Wolves eyeing move for sensational “discovery”, Imagine him and Jimenez 

MatériaMais Notícias

Em meio à crise, só vencer não é suficiente, muito menos se é em jogo de ida da terceira fase da Copa do Brasil. Esse é o raciocínio de Reinaldo, lateral-esquerdo que já ressalta a importância de, nesta quarta-feira, contra o CRB, no Morumbi, o São Paulo abrir vantagem, de olho na partida de volta, no dia 14. em Alagoas.

– A meta é jogar bem e sair com a vitória. Temos de fazer uma excelente partida e fazer gols porque, quanto mais gols, melhor. Esse é o nosso objetivo – indicou o jogador, à SPFCTV, que é alagoano e ressalta a dificuldade que o Tricolor deve encontrar em Maceió, daqui duas semanas.

– O jogo em Alagoas será muito difícil, é uma viagem cansativa. Mas nós, como São Paulo, time grande, temos de nos impor dentro de casa e lá também para sairmos com o resultado positivo e a classificação – completou.

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Reinaldo cumpriu suspensão no 0 a 0 diante da Ferroviária, nesse domingo, no Morumbi, e foi substituído por Edimar, mas deve retomar a vaga contra o CRB, às 19h30 desta quarta-feira, contra o CRB. A escalação será definida em treino fechado para a imprensa, na tarde desta terça-feira.

O São Paulo está há três partidas sem vencer – antes de empatar diante da Ferroviária, perdeu para o Santos, no Morumbi, e para o Ituano, fora de casa. Ainda assim, a equipe lidera o Grupo B do Campeonato Paulista, passou com duas vitórias nas duas primeiras fases da Copa do Brasil e a diretoria deu mais um voto de confiança para o técnico Dorival Júnior.

Andrew Strauss is ready to deal with the pressure of expectation as England prepare to depart for Australia with their best chance of winning down under in more than 20 years

Andrew Miller28-Oct-2010In September 2006, when Andrew Strauss was overlooked as England captain for what turned out to be the ultimate Ashes Tour from Hell, his then-coach Duncan Fletcher consoled him with the words: “One day, you might thank me for this.” Four years down the line, and with a wealth of experiences good, bad and downright ugly to fall back on, Fletcher’s assertion is starting to look prophetic.It’s not simply that Strauss avoided the ignominy of leading England to a 5-0 whitewash last time around – that fate instead befell Andrew Flintoff, and such was the single-minded resolve of champion cricketers such as Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist, it’s hard to believe that a change of England leader could have significantly altered the result. More importantly from Strauss’s point of view, by missing out four years ago, his time as captain was postponed until he as a player was ready, and on the eve of the 2010-11 campaign – with a starring role in last year’s triumph to fall back on – it was hard to imagine anyone else in the hot seat.”There’s a relaxed excitement about the troops at the moment,” Strauss told reporters at Lord’s. “They feel ready and up for it, and determined to take the opportunities ahead of us. It’s a tough tour, no doubt about it, but if you’re prepared, there’s nothing to be overawed about. We’re out there to win, simple, and that’s our goal. Every decision we’ve made is about us winning the Ashes, and none of us want any regrets at the end of it. We’ll do everything in our capabilities to achieve that goal.”Regardless of the captain’s brave words, the scale of the challenge that awaits England this winter is vast. Since their last series win in Australia in 1986-87, they have played 26 Tests in the country and emerged victorious in a paltry three, none of which have occurred with the Ashes still up for grabs. For the second time in as many tours, they travel Down Under as holders, but such was the provocation that that fact caused last time around, one might hesitate to claim it as an advantage.In fact, in the entire 133-year history of Anglo-Australian rivalry, only two England captains have emerged victorious in consecutive home and away series – Len Hutton in 1953 and 1954-55, and Mike Brearley in 1977 and 1978-79. Michael Vaughan, the most successful Test captain in English history, had just one indelible series at the helm in 2005 before injury struck him down, while Mike Gatting – the last man to win the urn Down Under 24 years ago – had been sacked by the board before the Aussies returned to seek vengeance in 1989.Five England squads have travelled to Australia in the past 20 years – led respectively by Graham Gooch, Mike Atherton, Alec Stewart, Nasser Hussain and ultimately Flintoff – and each and every one has buckled beneath such a weight of history. But as he prepared to embark on the latest campaign, Strauss was visibly eager to shelve the pessimism of the past, and embrace the opportunities that await for him and his team in the coming months.”Potentially this could be one of the greatest winters ever for English cricket, with not just the Ashes but the World Cup as well,” he said. “For us to waltz over there, strut around, and think we are going to dominate would be wrong. But at the same time there is a great, deep, fundamental belief that we can go out there and win, and if we can turn over those previous statistics, then that will highlight the scale of the achievement.”The war of words began in earnest this week, with Kevin Pietersen dismissing the former Australia coach, John Buchanan, as a “nobody” following criticism of his team ethic, while the Aussies landed a PR blow in the small hours of Thursday morning by projecting the faces of Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke onto the Houses of Parliament, along with the message, “Don’t forget to pack the urn”.Strauss, however, refused to be drawn into any sort of slanging match, much as he and Andy Flower had successfully ducked the barbs of Graeme Smith and Mickey Arthur prior to last winter’s successful tour of South Africa. “If you come out with big comments about the opposition, they tend to come back to haunt you,” he explained. “You can spend hours thinking of witty retorts, or you can spend hours thinking how to beat them. And ultimately actions speak louder than words.”That said, Strauss is fully expecting to come in for his fair share of flak from the Australian crowd, whom one journalist suggested might see in his posh, public-school demeanour shades of the legendary Douglas Jardine – not least if he actually sets out to win. “I’m not going to try and hide it,” he responded. “You’ve just got to roll with it. Ponting was the pantomime villain in England last summer, and that may be the same for me over there. The Ashes is a healthy and serious rivalry, but generally it doesn’t spill over.”With three first-class warm-up games leading into the Brisbane Test on November 25, Strauss conceded that there would be “no excuses” for any lack of preparation, not least because he and Flower have settled on the hard-nosed (but hard-to-argue-with) decision to exclude wives and families from the critical early stages of the tour. Without harking back unduly to the bitter experiences of four years ago, Strauss conceded that lessons had been learned from that ignominious campaign, not least the need for total focus on the task at hand.”A lot of the players weren’t involved back then, but the ones who were know how tough it is out there, and [they know] the type of cricket you need to play if you want to win out there,” he said. “There were some lessons learnt about preparation, and how best to hit the ground running out there, and hopefully we’ll acquit ourselves better.”Until the end of the fifth Test we are two sides at war with each other,” he added, a statement that implied there would be no repetition of the scenes at Adelaide four years ago, when Flintoff and Steve Harmison joined in with Australia’s post-match celebrations following their incredible victory in the second Test. “At the end of the series, 11 guys will be feted as heroes and 11 will have failed in their task, so until the final Test is over, there’s no point in being too hunky dory and friendly with the opposition. Our task is to go out there and beat them.””I still maintain, if I’d been captain last time, the result wouldn’t have been any different,” he added. “It was a gradual erosion of confidence over the course of the tour for all of us. They were by far the better side, they had the bit between their teeth, and they outplayed us. But we head over there this time in a very good frame of mind and with realistic chances of winning the series. I’m very honoured and proud to be leading the side in those circumstances.”

أكد خوان لابورتا رئيس نادي برشلونة الإسباني، اهتمامهم السابق بالتعاقد مع أحد مهاجمي فريق ليفربول الإنجليزي.

وسعى برشلونة لتعزيز صفوفه بفترة الانتقالات رغم أزمته المالية التي يمر بها، وتفعيله للروافع الاقتصادية لاحقًا.

في 29 يناير 2022، أصبح لويس دياز لاعبًا جديدًا في ليفربول، الجناح الكولومبي الذي كان نجمًا في بورتو انتهى به الأمر بالتوقيع مع الفريق الإنجليزي.

ومع ذلك، في هذا الوقت، كانت هناك العديد من الفرق التي كانت تتبعه، كان برشلونة أيضًا مرشحًا للتعاقد مع لاعب كرة القدم، لكن لم يكن لديه الموارد المالية في ذلك الوقت.

لابورتا أكد اهتمام برشلونة بـ لويس دياز مهاجم ليفربول، وسلط الضوء على ظروف اللاعب، وأكد أنه حتى أجرى محادثات مع الممثل.

اقرأ أيضًا | لابورتا: لن نضم أي لاعب لـ برشلونة في يناير بسبب اللعب المالي النظيف

وقال في تصريحاته التي نشرتها صحيفة “آس” الإسبانية: “في ذلك الوقت كنا قد أجرينا محادثات وكنا نفكر في ضمه، لكننا كنا في وضع اقتصادي علينا حله والعكس”.

مضيفًا: “كان ليفربول متقدمًا علينا، لكن لويس دياز لاعب رائع ومن هذا المنطلق ينتمي إلى ليفربول ولا يمكنني التحدث أكثر عن هذا الأمر”.

وأشار رئيس برشلونة: “لكنني أدرك أنه في الماضي عندما انتقل لويس دياز من بورتو إلى ليفربول أجرينا أيضًا محادثة مع الممثل، لكن ليفربول كان يمضي قدمًا بالفعل”.

خلال سوق الانتقالات الشتوية هذا، انتهى الأمر ببرشلونة بالتعاقد مع فيران توريس وداني ألفيس وأداما تراوري وبيير إيمريك أوباميانج، في حين كان لويس دياز أغلى صفقة في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

Crystal Palace have been enjoying a comfortable season, with Patrick Vieira bringing in a number of young new players this season to improve the squad, and all of his signings so far have made a great impact on the team.

Michael Olise, Conor Gallagher, Odsonne Edouard and Marc Guehi were all brought in last summer in the French manager’s pursuit to inject more youth into the team, as last season Palace had the oldest squad in the Premier League.

They have been doing an incredible job of integrating into the team so far, with Guehi and Gallagher in particular getting senior England call-ups this season as a result.

Despite building a team for the future, Vieira will have a dilemma hanging over his squad this summer as Gallagher is set to return to his parent club Chelsea when his season long loan deal ends, and Palace will be set to lose one of their most impactful players this season.

Gallagher has been having a season that all young footballers dream of having, with the 22 year old netting eight goals and assisting his teammates five times across all competitions so far this season from his midfield position and was named Young Player of the Year at the London Football Awards earlier this month.

Chelsea are in a vulnerable position with financial sanctioning taking hold of the club recently, as they await new owners to take over the club they are not able to make signings or offer new contracts to players currently, so bringing back Gallagher to play for the Chelsea team could be one of their only options moving forward, which means Crystal Palace’s chances of signing the player permanently are put into jeopardy.

It is clear that losing the £17k-per-week star who was hailed as “Kante with goals” by Tony Cascarino, would leave a huge hole for Vieira to fill if he did depart from the squad this summer, especially when you consider that the Eagles lost three out of the four games he didn’t play this season.

The Palace boss will need to work hard to find a way to tempt Gallagher into a permanent move to the club as he has been a key component to their successes this season, and will be important in the final push for a top half finish for the club in the remaining games of the season.

In other news: Vieira must unleash CPFC’s £79k-p/w “special talent”, he’s being wasted at Selhurst

MatériaMais Notícias

Após ser emprestado para Ponte Preta, Dínamo Zagreb, da Croácia, e para o Coritiba, o volante Jonas está de volta ao Flamengo. Na estreia do time no Estadual, o volante foi o capitão da equipe repleta de garotos e destacou a mudança no seu temperamento para agarrar chance com Carpegiani.

– Volto mais maduro, mais tranquilo. Vou trabalhar cada dia com tranquilidade e personalidade para buscar meu espaço para corresponder à altura o que o professor pedir.

A primeira passagem de Jonas pelo Flamengo em 2015 ficou marcada por muitos lances violentos e cartões. Agora, o volante fez questão de ressaltar o aprendizado no tempo que passou longe do Ninho.

– Aprendi com meus erros, evoluí muito. Meus números no brasileiro mudaram, não sou mais aquele jogador violento. Vou esquecer o que já passou e quero ajudar o Flamengo a conquistar títulos

A briga na posição é forte e Jonas fez questão de elogiar os outros volantes da equipe, mas projeta um ano bom para tentar beliscar uma vaga no time titular de Paulo César Carpegiani.

– Sabemos que o Flamengo é grande, com grandes jogadores e vamos buscar nosso espaço, mostrando trabalho para o professor.

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