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Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura is planning to establish a cricket academy in Harare

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Apr-2011Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura is planning to establish a cricket academy in Harare. Chigumbura hopes the project, named ‘Aspired Cricket Academy’, will be up and running by August this year and will target primary school children from schools that do not currently have cricket programmes.”I have gained so much from playing the game, so I thought I should give back in a big way,” Chigumbura told . “I love cricket so much that even when I stop playing I will still be a big fan so I am contributing in my own way to make sure that the future of the sport in the country is bright.”We have the Interfin Bank Cricket Academy catering for secondary and high school students and I thought we should have something for the primary schools so that we generate interest at an earlier stage.”Chigumbura is in negotiations to secure land in Borrowdale, in Harare’s northern suburbs, for the academy. He has decided to take on a lot of the expense himself, but is also hoping to secure corporate sponsorship, particularly for the purchase of cricket equipment. He estimates that the academy needs about US$50,000 to get off the ground, which will go towards securing land, equipment, and appropriate playing and practice facilities.”It’s an expensive project which will require that I get sponsorship but the important thing is to get it running first then I am sure we can generate corporate interest once in motion.”Chigumbura plans for the academy to be operational throughout the year with permanent coaches to run it when he is committed with the national team or his domestic franchise. He’s also hoping some of his team-mates will be interested in helping out.He has already teamed up with fellow Zimbabwe cricketers Prosper Utesya, Tinashe Panyangara, Craig Ervine, Graeme Cremer and Hamilton Masakadza to conduct holiday cricket sessions at Prince Edward School in Harare from April 18 to 30. The players are hoping the sessions, which are free and open to children between seven to 12 years old, will become a yearly event and have sent out invitations to schools.

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has expressed shock at the appointment of Misbah-ul-Haq as Test captain for the upcoming series against South Africa

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Oct-2010Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has expressed shock at the appointment of Misbah-ul-Haq as Test captain for the upcoming series against South Africa.”I was surprised when I heard that Misbah has been named the Pakistan captain,” Akram told Mobile ESPN. “He has been out of the team since the beginning of the year and to bring him back as a captain was a bit shocking.”Misbah was a regular member of the Pakistan middle-order in all formats following his comeback to the side in 2007. He was dropped after a lean trot during the Test series in Australia that ended in January this year. Despite a surprise appearance for the 2010 World Twenty20 in the West Indies in May, few expected him to make another Test appearance.Pakistan’s current leadership crisis, following Shahid Afridi’s latest retirement from Tests and Salman Butt’s suspension for alleged involvement in spot-fixing, forced the board to recall Misbah and appoint him as their fourth Test captain in 2010 alone.”They did not have too many choices,” Akram reasoned. “Kamran Akmal is there but he is inexperienced. They have also tried Shoaib Malik. Mohammad Yousuf is making a comeback after a long time and he should just concentrate on his batting at the moment.”If they have named him the captain for one series, it’s okay. He is already 36 and the PCB needs to find a long-term solution to this problem. I do not know the vision of the selectors.”Pakistan have endured a torrid period following the controversial tour of England and Akram noted Misbah would have a key role as a leader in the South Africa series, both on and off the field. “Misbah will be under pressure. He will have to improve the image of Pakistan cricket. For Misbah handling the media and getting runs himself could be demanding.”The wickets in Dubai might suit Misbah’s style of batting, but you cannot take the South Africans lightly. They are a very tough opposition under any conditions. Misbah needs to work hard and make sure he earns the faith of the team. If he gets runs, everything else will take care of itself.”

Phil Hay has dropped an injury update concerning Leeds United centre-back Liam Cooper.

What’s the latest?

In a recent post on Twitter, The Athletic’s Leeds United correspondent revealed that the 30-year-old, who was ruled out of the 4-0 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday after sustaining an injury in the warm-up, now requires a scan on his knee to determine the seriousness of his knock.

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In his tweet, Hay said: “On Liam Cooper’s pre-game injury which stopped him playing, Marsch said it was a knee issue which would require a scan.”

Marsch will be devastated

Considering just how important a part of the Leeds backline Cooper is, the news that the defender could be joining the likes of Stuart Dallas and Adam Forshaw in missing out on the remainder of the current campaign is sure to have left Marsch devastated.

Indeed, after finally recovering from a five-month layoff as a result of a hamstring injury, the £6.3m-rated defender had been imperious over the Whites’ last three Premier League fixtures, earning a SofaScore match rating of 7.1 in the 1-1 draw with Southampton, a 7.6 rating in the 3-0 win over Watford and a 7.6 rating in the 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace.

As such, it is clear to see why Roy Keane, speaking on Sky Sports shortly after Leeds confirmed Cooper’s absence from the City fixture, claimed that losing the Scotland international was a disaster for the Whites.

Regarding the centre-back’s injury, Keane said: “That’s a massive blow because he’s been instrumental in the last few weeks in how solid Leeds have been defensively. He’s your captain and leader, so if he’s out of this game now, it could cause a lot of problems for Leeds.”

Indeed, with Everton’s 1-0 win over Chelsea seeing the 18th-placed Toffees move to within two points of Leeds – while Frank Lampard’s side also hold a game in hand on the Whites – the potential loss of Cooper so soon after Dallas’ long-term setback would undoubtedly come as a catastrophic blow to Marsch and his side – with Leeds’ chances of securing Premier League survival this season appearing to be fading by the minute at present.

AND in other news: Orta can finally axe £55k-p/w “schoolboy” as Leeds plot bid for £15.3m-rated “beast”

Michael Clarke believes Australia’s record run chase against England was the perfect preparation for the World Cup where large totals are going to dominate the tournament

Andrew McGlashan at the SCG02-Feb-2011Michael Clarke believes Australia’s record run chase against England was the perfect preparation for the World Cup where large totals are going to dominate the tournament. Clarke hit 82 off 70 balls as Australia reached 334 with four balls to spare in their penultimate match before leaving for the subcontinent.”The boys are stoked. It’s a huge win for us and again we can take a lot of confidence from that run chase going into the World Cup,” Clarke said. “I think there’s going to be some pretty big scores in the World Cup on pretty flat wickets similar to that. I think you’re going to have to get used to chasing some big totals. It’s great practice for us.”To make Clarke’s night even sweeter his decision to promote Mitchell Johnson to No. 4 paid off as he hit 57 to keep up Australia’s early momentum after a rapid opening stand. It was Johnson’s second fifty in ODI cricket although Clarke admitted he hadn’t quite followed his instructions to the letter.”He was the only left-hander in our side today and I was confident that if Mitch miss hits the ball he could still get a couple over the rope,” he said. “It was more a game situation, we were chasing a big total, we had to gamble and fortunately it paid off.”If the ball was in his zone batting from the bottom end towards the short boundary I told him to back himself. Mitch thought he’d go the other way and hit towards the long boundary but he cleared the ropes. He played a really good innings through the Powerplay then rotated the strike really well in the middle when they had five fielders out.”Clarke also hinted that it may be a tactic Australia employ in the future with Johnson’s ability to attack the spinners an eye-catching prospect on the subcontinent where slow bowlers are expected to play a key role.”It shows if you give guys an opportunity they grab it with both hands. I think Mitch, throughout the World Cup, is going to play a big part not just with the ball but also the bat, being a left-hander, hitting the ball as well as he does and playing spin pretty well.”Life is suddenly looking much rosier for Clarke after back-to-back half-centuries in Brisbane and Sydney plus Australia being 5-1 up under his leadership. He also left the field to a standing ovation today as his home crowd warmed to his efforts after a difficult season. Clarke has never wavered in his belief that hard work and commitment would eventually bring results and is starting to feel vindicated.”I’ve not changed my game, I’ve not changed my training, I feel like I’ve worked my absolute backside off the whole summer,” he said. “It’s just nice to get some runs in the last game and contribute again tonight. It’s a nice feeling.

Haroon Lorgat has said the organisation has put together a case against the three Pakistan players accused of spot-fixing that will “stand the test of scrutiny”

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2010Haroon Lorgat, the ICC’s chief executive, has said he is confident the organisation has put together a solid case against the three Pakistan players accused of spot-fixing that will “stand the test of scrutiny”. The players, former Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt and new-ball bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, will face an independant tribunal that will decide their fate from January 6 to January 11 next year”We’ve worked hard at collecting all the evidence that we would require to make the charges stand,” Lorgat told the .Michael Beloff QC, who chairs the ICC’s code of conduct commission, will head the tribunal that will hear the case, along with fellow code of conduct commissioners Justice Albie Sachs of South Africa and Kenya’s Sharad Rao. If the players are found guilty, Lorgat said they will be dealt with firmly. “We would want to be proportional but at the same time we do not want to show any leniency. These are severe issues and integrity of the game is absolutely fundamental and we would not want to tolerate any of that in the sport.”The players, however, will be free to challenge the ruling in the Court for Arbitration for Sport. “My understanding is that any matter that we decide on in a disciplinary process is always open to contest in the Court of Arbitration for Sport,” Lorgat said.The , the tabloid that broke the spot-fixing story in August, is also set to be part of the tribunal hearings. The story first appeared in the publication on the third evening of the fourth Test at Lord’s between Pakistan and England.NOTW alleged that the three players were involved in bowling deliberate, planned no-balls in England’s first innings. Much of the published story centred around a video sting operation in which Mazhar Majeed, an agent to the players, was filmed talking about the no-balls and allegedly taking payment for them from undercover reporters posing as a betting syndicate.The evidence gathered by the publication was passed on to Scotland Yard and the ICC’s anti-corruption unit (ACSU), who subsequently launched their own investigations and gathered more evidence. The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service is currently considering whether the evidence passed on to them by police is enough to warrant criminal prosecution against the players.The ICC’s response was swifter. They provisionally suspended the three, soon after the story emerged, based on the ACSU’s investigations. Since then, Butt and Amir have had their appeals against suspensions dismissed by Beloff in a hearing in Dubai. Asif chose not to appeal.

Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell both enjoyed some valuable time in the middle, but the rest of England’s batsmen failed to make use of a good batting pitch in their second warm-up game

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Nov-2010
Scorecard
Paul Collingwood enjoyed returning to the venue of his highest Test score•Getty ImagesPaul Collingwood and Ian Bell both enjoyed some valuable time in the middle, but the rest of England’s batsmen failed to make use of a good batting pitch in their second warm-up game. Adelaide Oval would have seemed the ideal venue for key men to get runs under their belts, but Australia’s newest Test bowler, Peter George, made life difficult for the top order.Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott are the two men England would like to see fire in the second innings; they are the only specialist batsmen who have not yet recorded a half-century on the tour. As they had in Perth, the visitors again played their best XI, a strong indication of how seriously they are taking the practice matches still a fortnight from the first Test.Collingwood’s 94 was a positive sign, as he enjoyed returning to the venue of his highest Test score, but he missed the chance for a century when he edged to gully off the fast bowler Jake Haberfield. He scored his runs quickly – he took only 116 deliveries – and his partnership with Bell helped England recover from a shaky 4 for 95.The early wickets came mostly through George, who played the Bangalore Test in October but is likely to have been overtaken by Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris, who have come back from long injury lay-offs, in the queue for a place in the Gabba Test. George began by removing Andrew Strauss, who was caught down leg side for 4, before he added Trott, who on 12 miscued a pull and gave George a return catch.George had all three wickets when he came back after lunch to have Cook caught behind for 32, and England were in a hole at 3 for 63. Kevin Pietersen and Collingwood began the rebuilding process but Pietersen departed for 33, the victim of a clever take at deep square leg, where his hook was caught on the boundary by Aiden Blizzard, who tossed the ball back in the air while he fell out of play, and snaffled it again after stepping back in.If that was a sign that it was not England’s day, it was ignored by Collingwood and Bell, who combined for a brisk 131-run partnership. Bell was bowled by Ben Edmondson for 61 before the left-arm spinner Aaron O’Brien picked up a couple of lower-order wickets that encouraged a declaration from Strauss at 8 for 288 late in the day.However, England’s bowlers didn’t have any success in nine overs before stumps. South Australia closed the day at 0 for 26, with James Smith on 16 and Daniel Harris on 10, and the fast men will need to find whatever help George (3 for 65) located in the surface if they are to enjoy their day in the field on Friday.

Despite two flop shows in the tournament, the Indian team’s morale ahead of the crunch match against New Zealand seems to be pretty high

Siddarth Ravindran in Dambulla24-Aug-2010Despite two flop shows in the tournament, the Indian team’s morale ahead of the crunch match against New Zealand seems to be pretty high. MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina were involved in a brief, fun game of tennis-ball cricket with some of the local net bowlers ahead of practice. There was plenty of banter between the Indian batsmen and the bowlers during the nets, mostly debating whether a particular shot would have cleared an imaginary fielder or not.There was serious training as well. Gary Kirsten had one-on-one chats with several of the young batsmen after giving them throw-downs in the nets, pointing out chinks in technique. For Monday’s optional session, 12 members of the side turned up, instead of the usual half a dozen or so.”I think the preparation has been very good,” Dhoni, the India captain, said. “Hopefully execution will also be good tomorrow.”With Dambulla’s pitches different in character to the usual subcontinental tracks, Dhoni stressed the need to be watchful at the start of the innings. “It’s more about the mindset because in one-day cricket you’re so used to going after and hitting the bowlers right from the first delivery,” he said. “[Usually if you] give respect to the bowlers for the first 10 overs, the next 40 overs are yours. This is one of those venues where you have to prolong the respect for bowlers by another 10 overs.”India folded for 88 and 103 in two matches, sandwiching a victory crafted by a Virender Sehwag special, but Dhoni wasn’t overly worried about the batting. “I won’t be bothered too much,” he said. “But if it’s said that this is the batting strength of our side, I won’t agree with that. One thing we can’t deny is that we have had two batting failures and we have to rectify the problem, get on the wicket and try to score some runs.”In both defeats, the loss of wickets led to a near halt in the scoring: after losing the third wicket against Sri Lanka, India made 13 runs in seven overs, while the corresponding number in the opening game against New Zealand was six runs in five overs. Dhoni called for a more enterprising approach. “Most of the batsmen are trying to battle through and there are times when you can’t do that. If you get eight or 10 runs off five overs, it doesn’t really help you. You have to be brave enough to play your big shots or challenge the bowler. You have to keep speculating and you have to try and make a way through the opposition.”Rohit Sharma is one batsmen having a horrid time, rarely looking comfortable at the crease all tournament, but he got a vote of confidence from his captain. “It’s a tricky situation for him,” Dhoni said. “There’s pressure when you are always in and out of the side. Especially on these wickets. Unfortunate to get out once when he didn’t get the umpire’s decision in his favour. He is working hard and his fitness has improved a lot.”Wasim Akram reportedly called some of the Indian youngsters ‘softies’, a charge Dhoni denied. “They have done really well in adverse and difficult conditions. Whether it’s in Australia or the T20 World Cup or some of the other tournaments where we were not at our best,” Dhoni said. “I think the guys are courageous enough to go through any conditions or situations thrown at them. We are just on the back foot right now, with the conditions maybe. But these are the boys who will ultimately be part of the Indian cricket team now or sometime later.”

West Ham United have failed in their attempts to bring Duje Caleta-Car to the London Stadium in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a recent claim made by Claret & Hugh, with the West Ham insider revealing in a recent post that, despite David Moyes’ side’s continued attempts to find an agreement with Olympique de Marseille regarding a deal for the centre-back, sources on both sides of the transfer have stated that a compromise between the two clubs does not look likely to be reached.

It is reported that the Hammers are looking to take the 25-year-old on a loan to buy deal, while Marseille are only willing to part with the Croatia international for an up front fee of £15m.

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In their post, Claret & Hugh said: “West Ham are believed to have finally missed out on signing Croatian central defender Duje Caleta-Car. The Hammers have been chasing the player for several weeks and are likely to continue doing so up until the end of the window.

“But Claret & Hugh’s information from both sides of the deal is that Marseille are unwilling to do a loan to buy option and continue to insist on a £15 million permanent deal. The Hammers have made it clear they have no interest in such a deal at this point and want to take a look at the player over the remainder of the season.

“We are planning to pursue things until the end of the window but Marseille sources insist no deal other than a permanent switch is considered suitable.”

Moyes can kiss top four goodbye

With West Ham’s absolute priority targets in the January transfer window having been a new centre-forward and a new centre-back – neither of which Moyes has managed to land – the news that the Premier League side are set to miss out on a defender they have been pursuing for a large portion of the current market is sure to have left Hammers fans livid with their club’s strategy this winter.

Indeed, with a little under 36 hours until the transfer window closes on Monday evening, each hour that passes from now on looks to reduce the club’s likelihood of bringing a new centre-back to the London Stadium this winter – meaning the stalemate with Marseille regarding a deal for Caleta-Car appears to have been extremely important time wasted.

And, with the Hammers pushing for a top-four finish in the league this season, should Moyes indeed fail to bring in both a new centre-back and centre-forward this month, the Scot may as well kiss goodbye to the prospect of Champions League football next season now – as the 58-year-old’s squad simply does not have enough strength in depth to maintain a top-four push in its current state.

In other news: “I can confirm…”: ExWHUemployee drops huge transfer update, WHU fans will be buzzing

Brendon McCullum termed New Zealand’s series victory against South Africa “phenomenal” after their 27-run win in Kimberley and hoped it would send “a bit of love” to the supporters.

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2013Brendon McCullum termed New Zealand’s series victory against South Africa “phenomenal” after their 27-run win in Kimberley and hoped it would send “a bit of love” to the supporters.After two Test matches that produced a combined total of seven days play and two innings defeats there were low expectations of New Zealand coming into the one-day games, but they clinched a one-wicket win in Paarl and caused South Africa to implode during their run chase in the second match with five run-outs. The hosts had raced to 167 for 1 in the 31st over when Graeme Smith’s run-out ended a century partnership with Colin Ingram and proved to be the turning point of the game. McCullum admitted New Zealand had been under pressure till that point, but hadn’t given up hope.”There was a period there when we were definitely behind the game,” McCullum said after the match. “What we kept saying to each other out there was that we had a good score on the board, courtesy Kane’s [Williamson] innings and Grant [Elliott] and Kane’s partnership. We just looked to hang in there, show the characteristics we want to be known for as a team and just keep fighting as hard as we possibly could.”If we got one or two wickets, then we could try and exert some pressure on them. As it happened we got a couple through run outs, managed to get some momentum and I thought after that we just kept applying the pressure and in the end it came pretty good for us.”It also clinched New Zealand’s first series win in any format in South Africa. “It’s a phenomenal win, the ninth-ranked team in the world against the top team,” McCullum said at the post-match presentation. “It’ll go down as one of our biggest wins in the limited-overs games.”Coming after the severe defeats in the two Tests, McCullum spoke of how proud he was with the way his side had fought back, in the absence of several key players. “The enormity of the task had sunk in before we undertook the series. We knew how big this series was. They beat us very comfortably in the Tests. We knew we had to play out of our skins to get the victories. I think the characteristics we showed in the first game really flowed on to this game as well. Very proud at the moment of each individual within our group, support staff and players alike. Also pleased to be able to show some love for the fans back home who have stuck by us through a pretty tough time.”It is important to acknowledge that we have missed Ross Taylor, Jesse Ryder, Dan Vettori, Tim Southee, Adam Milne. What that has done is it has given other guys an opportunity to stand up. To see guys stand up from domestic cricket to international cricket and also some of the newish guys stand up and take a more leading role in the group was fantastic. It will only make us stronger when those other guys come back into the mix.”The victory was set up by a magnificent innings from Williamson who struck an unbeaten 145 to lead New Zealand to a competitive, but far from overwhelming, 279 for 8. It had been a difficult tour for Williamson, who struggled against pace in the Tests, but he controlled his innings superbly especially through a middle-order wobble.”Williamson’s innings was as good as we’ve seen from a New Zealander,” McCullum said, before giving a mention to his brother. “Nathan McCullum was phenomenal in that spell of bowling and the fielding was probably as good as we have shown. I’m very pleased.”Williamson, who suffered cramp in the later stages of his innings which had started in the third over, said: “It was nice to contribute like that in such an important game. It’s been tough playing the No. 1 team in the world. I cramped up a little bit but the guys at the other end helped us get a good total… I got regular drinks, took a few tablets and it seemed to ease off a little bit. During the break, it was a key time to hydrate and get back on the park.”[This win] would be right up there. The one against South Africa at the World Cup would be right up there as well. Every win we get has been hard to come by of late, especially against such quality opposition. It is great to take the series.”

West Ham are still interested in completing the signing of Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

The Lowdown: Lingard excels at West Ham

The 29-year-old spent half of last season on loan at the London Stadium, becoming a hero in no time and spearheading the Hammers’ European challenge.

Lingard scored nine goals and registered four assists in just 16 Premier League appearances for West Ham, prior to returning to the northwest.

He has again struggled for playing time at Old Trafford this season, however, and the Hammers have been tipped to re-sign him in the near future.

The Latest: Hammers still in the fight

Speaking to Give Me Sport, O’Rourke claimed Lingard remains on David Moyes’ radar, with their interest never going away:

“He has been on West Ham’s list since last summer when he had that great loan spell at the London Stadium last season. He doesn’t figure in Manchester United’s plans going forward.”

Newcastle are now strongly linked with the 32-cap England international, so it appears Rob Newman could have a fight on his hands for his signature in the next ten days.

The Verdict: Newcastle favourites

While it would be great to see Lingard back in east London, it does look increasingly as though he could be part of the Tyneside revolution, following their recent big-money takeover.

The Magpies have made a second loan bid for the England international and their newfound financial power could give them the edge over West Ham, in terms of wages.

Should the player opt for London living and a club currently thriving instead of fighting relegation however, Lingard would be a fantastic addition to Moyes’ squad this month. He has been hailed as ‘exceptional’ by the Hammers boss in the past and showed in his temporary stint last term just how much he can inject into the Irons’ attack.

In other news, some West Ham fans are excited after an update on one target. Find out who it is here.