Brad Hodge will use Victoria’s one-day game against Western Australia on Wednesday to try and end his batting slump after he made 2 and 0 in the Pura Cup on the weekend. Hodge and Clinton McKay have been included in Victoria’s 12-man squad while the Warriors welcome their international trio of Adam Gilchrist, Michael Hussey and Brad Hogg.Hodge said the Bushrangers would need to put their comprehensive 288-run Pura Cup loss to Western Australia behind them. “It’s been a tough few days but we’ve all got to pick ourselves up and bounce back as best we can,” he said.”Naturally I’d like to get back amongst the runs, but it’s also important to stay focused on the game and helping the Bushrangers get the points. Tomorrow’s match is another opportunity for me and all the guys to play the sort of cricket we know we’re capable of.”Victoria have left out Andrew McDonald, who will miss two to three weeks as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery, and Mick Lewis. The Warriors have dropped Aaron Heal, Shawn Gillies and Matt Johnston, and have also included two wicketkeepers with Luke Ronchi likely to open and Gilchrist to bat in the middle order.Victoria squad Michael Klinger, Aiden Blizzard, Brad Hodge, Rob Quiney, David Hussey, Cameron White (capt), Aaron Finch, Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Shane Harwood, Clinton McKay, Bryce McGain, Peter Siddle.Western Australia squad Justin Langer, Luke Ronchi, Michael Hussey, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Adam Voges (capt), Luke Pomersbach, Shaun Marsh, Sean Ervine, Darren Wates, Brad Hogg, Steve Magoffin, Danny McLauchlan.
ScorecardKenya dominated the first day of their ICC Intercontinental Cup tie against Bermuda, bowling them out for 133, and then finishing on 119 for 3. Thomas Odoyo got his third five-wicket haul in first-class cricket as he ripped through the Bermuda batting line-up.In the first seven overs Bermuda lost three wickets, all courtesy Odoyo, with just 16 runs on the board. A 32-run partnership between Clay Smith and Saleem Mukkudem seemed to steady things a bit but two more wickets fell by the time the score reached 50. Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals and another brief attempt to revive the innings was thwarted by Odoyo when he got Dean Minors, the top-scorer for Bermuda, trapped leg before for 28. Nehemiah Odhiambo and Hiren Varaiya, a slow-left arm bowler, chipped in with a couple of wickets each, and though the last two wickets hung on to add 39, Bermuda were bowled out in just 59 overs.Kenya slumped 61 for 3, with Mukkudem taking all three wickets, but Steve Tikolo scored an unbeaten 45 and added 63 for the fourth wicket withTanmay Mishra to steady the innings as Kenya ended the day just 14 short of Bermuda’s total.
Ravi Rampaul, the 20-year-old fast bowler, is expected to make a return to action for Trinidad and Tobago in next month’s West Indies Cricket Board President’s Trophy limited-overs series.”It has been a lot of hard work trying to get myself back in shape,” Rampaul told TV6 Sports in an interview. “I could not run or use my legs excessively for about one year, but I am now back in the gym. It’s been tough because the hardest thing to do is to get back to fitness, when you are not fit.”Rampaul has not played cricket since he returned from the West Indies’ tour of England last year with shin splints. He said he never thought about throwing in the towel during the long period he spent away from the game.Rampaul said he kept focused by looking at tapes and keeping himself informed about what was happening in the world of cricket. “After the President’s Trophy, hopefully I see how I feel,” he said. “I know it’s still a long road back, and I still have some way to go to get back to full fitness, but I will have to see how things go in the regional one-day competition and move from there.”Rampaul also said that he was as anxious as ever to make a return to the West Indies line-up. “This is my ultimate goal,” he said. “I want to get back into the team and I am looking forward to giving a good performance in the President’s Trophy, and use it as a stepping stone to get back into the West Indies team.”Rampaul has played 17 one-day internationals for West Indies.
The first attendance figures are coming in for American ProCricket, and so far they look fairly promising.According to figures compiled by stadium managers, the first match attracted 475 people, the second drew 800 people, the third attracted 1,200 people, and the fourth had 2,100 people.The figures were compiled after days of controversy between supporters and detractors of ProCricket. The numbers include all attendees, including officials and non-paying guests.The steadily rising trend suggests that ProCricket may be catching on. It could eventually be operating on a self-sustaining basis by the end of the season, but that remains to be seen.
Pakistan’s experienced left-handed opener Saeed Anwar is likely to miss the all-important World Cup Group ‘A’ clash against Australia on Tuesday.Saeed, hit on the elbow by a Shoaib Akhtar thunderbolt in the nets, has not recovered fully from the injury and the team management is unlikely to gamble with him.Pakistan contingent arrived from Cape Town on Sunday afternoon after attending the opening ceremony at Newlands and had a practice session at the Wanderers later in the afternoon.Apart from Saeed, all players seemed fit and eager to take on everybody’s favourites Australia, in a match that could be a forerunner to the final result of the World Cup.Saeed’s absence could be a big blow for Pakistan as he is no doubt a class act in his own, especially when considering the openers have not done too well in recent outings.Saeed’s likely replacement is Saleem Elahi. The right-hander is expected to open the innings with the flamboyant Shahid Afridi with utility all-rounder Abdul Razzaq once again filling the vital number three slot.On the contrary, the Australians who too turned up for practice appeared confident and have no injury problems. Spin magician Shane Warne is certain to play as he has recovered from injury and raring to go at the Pakistani batsmen in his last World Cup.Although both camps are confident of winning, the bookmakers here have installed Australia as firm favourites to beat Pakistan.
An unbeaten 101 put paid to Herefordshire’s chances of causing another upset but could not snaffle the man of the match award from the Minor Counties team’s hero, Ravi Nagra.The 22-year-old pharmacy student, who plays for Old Hill in the Birmingham League, hit 12 fours and two sixes in a brilliant 105 from 107 balls out of a total of 210.Nagra put on 55 in 11 overs with Old Hill clubmate Nathan Round (41) and dominated another rapid partnership of 54 in only nine overs with Andy Edwards (16).What threatened to be a day of embarrassment for Worcestershire eventually turned into a tidal wave in their favour as Herefordshire collapsed when Nagra was caught low down at short extra cover by David Leatherdale.Stuart Lampitt, Kabir Ali and Andy Bichel mopped up the tail and the county side were barely stretched in strolling to 214 for 3 to win by seven wickets with 12.5 overs to spare.There was just one glimmer of hope for Herefordshire when Round ran out Philip Weston from cover in the fifth over, but Hick collected 16 fours in a 92-ball cruise to a century on an easy-paced pitch.Anurag Singh (42) helped put on 90 until bowled by former Notts veteran Kevin Cooper and Vikram Solanki chipped Aamir Farooque to mid-wicket after a 33-ball dash to 41 out of 89 in 12 overs.
Newcastle fans in the Transfer Tavern are loving the 2018 World Cup in Russia and are delighted to see some new faces arrive at St. James Park.
Mikel Merino and Martin Dubravka both completed permanent moves to Tyneside earlier in the window after impressing on loan last season. Rafael Benitez also completed a free transfer for Ki Sung-Yueng after he left Swansea following their relegation. While these moves are smart, the Magpies need a marquee signing to fire them to Europe.
Benitez guided his side to 10th last season, and our punters are confident on improving next year with a few key signings. The Spaniard would be wise to raid his former club Liverpool where there is set to be a considerable squad overhaul. One man who could fall victim to Jurgen Klopp’s changes is Adam Lallana.
Valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt, the England international was plagued with injuries last season, restricting him to just one start in the Premier League. With the arrivals of Naby Keita and Fabinho adding competition in the Liverpool midfield, it’s hard to see Lallana guaranteeing himself as a place in the first-team, especially if the Reds revive their interest in Nabil Fekir. This could mean Lallana finds himself heading through the exit door.
The former Southampton playmaker would be an excellent signing for Newcastle. The 30-year-old is ridiculously skilful and confident using either foot making him a nightmare for defenders. Lallana would fit right into the Newcastle side as the number 10 they have been crying out for but can also play out wide or deep in the midfield. With a high work-rate, he would be a massive hit with the Newcastle faithful.
Offering first-team football and the chance to work with Benitez could prove vital in winning the race for his signature.
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ExWHUemployee has dropped a promising injury update concerning West Ham United right-back, Ben Johnson.
What’s the latest?
In recent comments made on The West Ham Way podcast, the club insider revealed that, despite missing out on the Hammers’ recent 2-1 win over Everton due to a tight hamstring, the 21-year-old could be in line for a return to David Moyes’ matchday squad for the visit of Olympique Lyon in the Europa League on Thursday evening.
Regarding the current condition of the England U21 international, Ex said: “Ben Johnson felt his hamstring a little when he was playing for England’s U21s and he trained on Friday and Saturday. But, at the end of training, he spoke to Moyes and said it felt a little bit tight. Hopefully, he’ll be available to start the Lyon game.”
Moyes will be buzzing
Considering how impressive Johnson has been for West Ham in the current campaign, the news that the right-back’s injury is nothing too serious, as well as Ex’s claim that the 21-year-old could make a return to first-team action in what is undoubtedly the Hammers’ biggest game of the season this Thursday, is sure to have left Moyes buzzing.
Indeed, over his 16 Premier League appearances this term, the £8.1m-rated defender has excelled on the right of the Irons’ backline, scoring one goal, creating one big chance and helping his side keep three clean sheets, as well as making an average of 1.3 interceptions, 1.8 tackles, 2.5 clearances and winning 3.2 duels – at a success rate of 53% – per game.
These returns have seen the £19k-per-week dynamo average a highly impressive SofaScore match rating of 6.90, ranking him as West Ham’s best performing right-back – ahead of both Vladimir Coufal and Ryan Fredericks – as well as the club’s 11th-best player overall.
However, it was over the 2-1 aggregate victory over Sevilla in which Johnson really caught the eye, with the 21-year-old making a total of seven clearances, six tackles and two key passes, as well as blocking three shots, winning nine duels and completing 66 passes over the two legs – with these metrics seeing the right-back earn a quite remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.4 in each fixture.
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As such, should the England youth international indeed be fit to face Lyon on Thursday night, it is clear for all to see that this would come as a huge boost to West Ham’s chances of taking a lead to Parc Olympique Lyonnais on April 14 – a result that would represent a massive step in the Hammers’ hopes of securing a spot in the semi-finals of the competition.
AND in other news: Moyes can finally axe “shocking” WHU flop with £120k-p/w ace who’s “out of this world”
Cricket Kenya has secured a sponsorship deal worth Sh7 million (US$105,000) with East African Breweries Limited.The four-year deal, which runs to 2011, will mean the national side wearing shirts with the Tusker branding. In anticipation of this tie-up, Kenya’s players have been using Tusker-logos on kit since before the ICC World Twenty20.Although the official launch of the contract is not expected until next month, Tom Tikolo, the board’s CEO, told The Standard that some of the income from the deal would be used to pay players and the remainder for development, including an ambitious schools’ programme.Kenyan cricket has been without a major sponsor since before the 2003 World Cup.
India Blue rode on a batting masterclass by Sachin Tendulkar to thrash the Greens by a massive 266 runs and assure themselves of a place in the final of the Challenger Trophy. Tendulkar set the Blues up for a massive total, blazing his way to a 100-ball 139, while Irfan Pathan, Rahul Dravid and Mahendra Singh Dhoni all chipped in with half-centuries in quick time. Chasing an improbable 382, the Greens were never in the hunt and crumbled to a measly 115 in less than 27 overs, in the process handing India Blue victory with the all-important bonus point.The story of the day was Tendulkar. He has already notched up four Test hundreds at this ground, and today he continued his love affair with the MA Chidambaram Stadium, toying with the bowling and charming the crowd with a quite dazzling display of strokes all round the park, creaming 20 fours and four sixes, almost all of them struck with a precision, timing and authority that had the holiday crowd in raptures. In fact, the Blues got 236 runs in boundaries alone (35 fours and 16 sixes), far more than the opposition managed in all.The fall of an early wicket – Tanmay Srivastava, a 16-year-old left-hander drafted in from the Green squad, fell third ball – prompted Tendulkar to exercise caution up front, with his first 14 coming off 24 balls. Pathan did most of the damage at that stage, but once Tendulkar wassatisfied that he had got his eye in, there was no doubt who held centrestage. On an excellent batting strip which offered no seam or spin, there was little that India Green’s modest attack could do.The fun started in the 11th over of the day, when Lakshmipathy Balaji, attempting a comeback into the national team and buoyed by his first-over success here, bowled one perfectly in the corridor on a good length, only to see Tendulkar caress the ball on the up through cover. That over produced a couple more fours, and thereafter it was mayhem, as Tendulkar unfurled his entire range. Nehra was driven on the up with minimum effort, and then gently caressed past point, while Praveen Kumar’s modest pace gave Tendulkar plenty of time to either shuffle across his stumps and flick to leg, or make room and drive through off. The one bowler who felt it the most, though, was Piyush Chawla.In the last edition of the tournament, Chawla had nailed Tendulkar with a googly. But here it was revenge time. Chawla wasn’t helped by some reckless captaincy by Mohammad Kaif, who brought him into the attack at the start of the third Powerplay. Tendulkar deposited a six over long-on to get to his fifty, and then got 14 more in the next three balls, including a glorious inside-out cover-drive and another down-the-pitch hoick over long-on. As if that wasn’t enough, Chawla was then slog-swept and reverse-swept off consecutive deliveries as Tendulkar went into overdrive. Kaif was soon forced to turn to his part-timers, which for Tendulkar meant more opportunities to find the boundaries, by conventional and unconventional means. He finally fell to Saurasish Lahiri, the Bengal offspinner, but by then India Blue were going at more than seven an over.
While Tendulkar played the key knock, the rest of the batting all chipped in. Pathan played a crucial role at the start, tonking a couple of huge sixes over long-on and third man and playing the No.3 role to perfection; Rahul Dravid settled in while Tendulkar blazed, and then spanked Lahiri for three sixes en route to a run-a-ball 62, while Dhoni applied the finishing touches to perfection, being chiefly instrumental in ensuring that 109 came off the last ten. Praveen, the birthday boy, and Balaji were carted for boundaries almost at will as India Blue finished with the third-highest total ever made in a one-day match in India.The only hope for India Green was a blazing start, but both Sourav Ganguly and Wasim Jaffer fell before they got into their stride. Ganguly, in need of a big knock to stake his claim for a national berth, began with three glorious silken drives through the off side, while Jaffer played a coupleof pleasing drives, but the runs still only came at around five an over. With the asking-rate mounting, the batsmen attempted more strokes, and fell in the process.Jaffer led the procession, falling in a manner that has been his undoing in international cricket too, square-driving a delivery which bounced more than he anticipated. Ganguly, who had been cheered enthusiastically throughout in the field earlier this afternoon, perished next for a 30-ball 24, cutting tamely to backward point. Suresh Raina and Mohammad Kaif, who both fell for ducks, played strokes they wouldn’t want to see the replays of. In fact it was the forgettable day for the five Uttar Pradesh batsmen, who combined a total of four runs. Parthiv Patel battled it out with a fluent 43, driving and cutting with panache before tamely tickling one to the keeper. The rest of the batting was a complete shambles, allowing Harbhajan Singh to help himself to flattering figures of 4 for 10.
India Blue Tanmay Srivastava c Jaffer b Balaji 0 (2 for 1) Irfan Pathan c Lahiri b Chawla 54 (132 for 2) Sachin Tendulkar c Kaif b Lahiri 139 (226 for 3) Rahul Dravid c Ganguly b Nehra 62 (286 for 4) Yuvraj Singh c Chawla b Kumar 19 (326 for 5) Dinesh Mongia c Kaif b Balaji 1 (328 for 6) India Green Wasim Jaffer c sub (Jadeja) b Munaf 12 (31 for 1) Sourav Ganguly c sub (Jadeja) b Munaf 24 (48 for 2) Suresh Raina c Harbhajan b Pathan 0 (52 for 3) Mohammad Kaif c Mongia b Pathan 0 (55 for 4) Parthiv Patel c Dhoni b Harbhajan 43 (88 for 5) Praveen Kumar st Dhoni b Harbhajan 0 (88 for 6) Saurasish Lahiri run out (Pathan/ Dhoni) 2 (91 for 7) Piyush Chawla c Patel b Harbhajan 2 (100 for 8) Hemang Badani c Agarkar b Mongia 16 (109 for 9) Ashish Nehra c Yuvraj b Harbhajan 0 (113 all out)