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Pakistan have brought in fast bowler Javeria Rauf and axed Masooma Junaid and Rabiya Shah for the World T20 in September

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Aug-2012Pakistan has made two changes in the squad of 14 for the Women’s World T20 in September, from the one that won tri-nation women’s one-day series in Ireland last week – rookie fast bowler Javeria Rauf has been brought in, while Masooma Junaid has been left out.Rabiya Shah, who was part of the Ireland tour, has also been axed while allrounder Sana Mir will continue to lead the side.Pakistan have been placed in Group A along with England, Australia and India and they open their campaign against England in Galle on September 27.Asian champions Pakistan were knocked out in the group stages in the 2010 World T20 in the West Indies. The team would look to capitalise on their recent successes, as they won the tri-series besides a one-off one-dayer against Bangladesh.Team: Sana Mir (captain), Bismah Maroof, Syeda Nain Fatima Abidi, Javeria Wadood, Nida Dar, Marina Iqbal, Syeda Batool Fatima Naqvi (wk), Qanita Jalil, Asmavia Iqbal Khokar, Sumaiya Siddiqi, Elizabath Barkat, Sadia Yusaf, Nahida Bibi, Javeria Rauf.

Kent have been loaned £1.5 million from Canterbury City Council to help fund their ground development. The second phase of the project at the St Lawrence Ground is currently underway.The county have already enhanced the player areas, conferencing facilities and installed floodlights at Canterbury, funded by the sale of land around the ground and through an initial loan from the council. The additional loan will help fund the building of new club offices, three flats and a Sainsbury’s store attached to the ground.Kent chief executive, Jamie Clifford praised the council for their support. “The support from the Council is helping us in our desire to create a long term, financially stable future in Canterbury,” said Clifford. “This news, coupled with the recent signing of a long term deal with Sainsbury’s leaves the project in very good shape. The final piece of the jigsaw is the development of a 130-bedroom hotel, and discussions on this are progressing well too.”The club have also been given permission to develop the county ground at Beckenham which has recently been established as Kent’s second home. Cricket at Beckenham was under threat unless the facilities could be developed.A new all-weather hockey pitch, an indoor multi-use training centre, a health and fitness centre, improved permanent spectator seating and a small conference facility will be built at Beckenham to secure its long term future as a venue for Kent.”We have been determined to secure a long term base in the Greater London area for the county,” said Clifford. “The cricketing county of Kent covers a very big area and we have always been keen to take cricket to all parts of the county.

تزايدت حدة معاناة فريق نيوكاسل يونايتد في مباراته الجارية حاليًا أمام ليفربول، في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، بطرد حارس مرماه نيك بوب.

ويستضيف ملعب “سانت جيمس بارك” مباراة الفريقين، في إطار منافسات الجولة الرابعة والعشرين من الدوري الإنجليزي.

وحصل حارس مرمى نيوكسل، نيك بوب، على بطاقة حمراء في الدقيقة 22 من عمر الشوط الأول.

الطرد جاء بعد تمريرة طويلة من أليسون بيكر تجاه محمد صلاح، حيث كان يسابق عليها الأخير، قبل خروج نيك بوب من منطقته محاولًا أن يبعدها، ولكنه أخطأ وأمسك بها بيده خارج المنطقة المسموح بها.

ونتيجة لذلك، حصل نيك بوب على بطاقة حمراء، ليضطر نيوكاسل لللعب بـ10 لاعبين فقط، وقرر المدرب الدفع بالحارس مارتن دوبرافكا بدلًا من اللاعب إليوت أندرسون. طرد حارس نيوكاسل بسبب محمد صلاح

هذا الطرد يعني غياب نيك بوب عن حراسة مرمى نيوكاسل في نهائي كأس رابطة الأندية الإنجليزية ضد مانشستر يونايتد، يوم الأحد 26 فبراير.

A round-up of the matches from the third day of the Faysal Bank T20, 2011

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Sep-2011Rameez Aziz and Hasan Raza pulled off a heist as Karachi Zebras beat Abbottabad Falcons off the last ball of the game and claim a six-wicket victory. Karachi had slumped to 28 for 4 in the fifth over and looked unlikely to threaten Abbottabad’s total of 158 that was built around Yasir Hameed’s 73. But Aziz and Raza first steadied the innings and then launched a counter-attack over the closing overs to stun their opponents. Raza was the more aggressive of the two; his 74 came from 50 balls and included 11 fours. Aziz ended the day on 67 from 53 balls, with 10 fours. Their 132-run partnership was memorably capped by Raza as he struck left-arm spinner Khalid Usman for the winning runs.Imran Farhat and Taufeeq Umar powered Lahore Eagles to their third win in a row at the National Stadium in Karachi. Farhat and Umar both made half-centuries as Lahore cruised past Quetta Bears by nine wickets with 23 balls to spare. Quetta struggled after choosing to bat, as Lahore’s bowlers proved difficult to get away. Umar was in the thick of the action in the field, running out Bismillah Khan and Abid Ali, the latter’s wicket setting off a Quetta collapse. It took a quickfire 26 from Saeed Khan just to push his side to 125. Lahore’s openers made short work of their target. Farhat was the dominant partner, striking six fours and a six in his 50, which came from 33 balls. Umar was a little more circumspect, his 50 taking 49 balls and containing five fours. The win consolidated Lahore’s position at the top of Group A.A collective bowling effort helped Sialkot Stallions win by five balls to spare against Lahore Lions at the National Stadium in Karachi. Seamer Naved-ul-Hasan bagged three wickets and was supported by Sarfraz Ahmed, Raza Hasan and left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman, each of whom took three. Lahore captain Abdul Razzaq made a quickfire 42 but the lower order crumbled and folded for 121. Sialkot lost their openers in quick time in the chase but wicketkeeper Shakeel Ansar (42) and Shahid Yousuf (47) got their team back on track. The pair added 72 and captain Shoaib Malik stayed through to the end with an unbeaten 15.

Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga has turned down offers to play Twenty20 cricket in South Africa and Australia – including the Big Bash League – in order to focus on his upcoming national limited-overs assignments.”It would have been great fun to play in the new Big Bash,” Malinga said, “but representing Sri Lanka remains my priority in the year ahead and I want to make sure I am as fit as possible.” Malinga recently retired from Test cricket because of a long-standing knee problem. Four Australian and two South African franchises had reportedly expressed interest in signing on Malinga, who plays for Mumbai Indians in the IPL.Australia tour Sri Lanka in August-September this year, where they will play two T20s and five ODIs ahead of the Test series. Sri Lanka then travel to South Africa where they play five ODIs in January next year before heading to Australia for the Commonwealth Bank series. The BBL is scheduled to begin in the middle of December.”Lasith’s had several expressions of interest to play T20 cricket for franchises in Australia and South Africa,” Charlie Austin, Malinga’s manager said, “but he wants to manage his workload carefully ahead of a busy winter for Sri Lanka including tours to South Africa and Australia.”If he played in Australia he would be playing non-stop from mid-December to mid-March and that would be a risk given his degenerative knee condition.Sri Lanka are currently touring England, where, after the completion of the ongoing Test series, they are scheduled to play five ODIs and one Twenty20 game. They then head to Scotland to play two ODIs againsts the hosts and Ireland

Eoin Morgan has been unexpectedly named in England’s squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka at Cardiff

Andrew McGlashan22-May-2011

Eoin Morgan has been unexpectedly named in England’s squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka at Cardiff. The strong tip had been for Ravi Bopara to earn a recall to fill the No. 6 spot vacated by Paul Collingwood but Morgan, who hit 193 for the Lions this week, has stepped up after being the spare batsman in Australia. Steven Finn has also pipped Ajmal Shahzad to the reserve pace-bowler’s slot, but is unlikely to play with Stuart Broad fit again after missing three Ashes Tests and part of the World Cup.For the last few weeks the momentum has grown behind Bopara’s potential recall, so Morgan’s selection is a surprise. It had been thought that Bopara’s decision to opt for Championship cricket ahead of the IPL – while Morgan played for Kolkata Knight Riders – earned him plenty of credit and coupled with two first-class hundreds for Essex would see him add to his 10 Test caps.However, in terms of consistency the selectors have followed the next-cab-off-the-rank policy they favour and Morgan was one injury away from playing at any stage during the Ashes. The fact that the 10 balls he faced against Victoria on that tour made up his only first-class innings for nine months made his 193 against the Sri Lankans on Thursday and Friday even more impressive.He had only flown back from the IPL last Saturday and had three days preparation with Middlesex and England Lions before walking to the middle with the score 162 for 4 on a green pitch at Derby. He responded with a superb innings and looked set for the second double ton of his first-class career until falling lbw. Bopara, meanwhile, had struggled to 17 while the ball was nipping around in helpful conditions.”Ravi has been getting a lot of runs for Essex, but the controlled innings that Eoin played just gave him the nod,” Geoff Miller, the national selector, said. “That innings really just showed us what he is capable of doing. It shows his strength of character.”Morgan has six Test caps under his belt having played throughout last summer, firstly as a replacement for the resting Collingwood against Bangladesh then for the injured Ian Bell against Pakistan. At Trent Bridge, against Pakistan, he struck his maiden Test hundred having come to the crease with England wobbling on 118 for 4.His century came up with a straight six and he looked right at home. However, as the ball moved away during the rest of the series he didn’t make another significant contribution and questions were asked as to whether his technique – drilled heavily in the one-day game – could stand up Test cricket. Now he’s got an extended chance to silence any doubters because the place is his to lose.With the big decision made there will be some small alterations to England’s batting order. Bell, who enjoyed a superb Ashes series and crowned it with a hundred at Sydney, is expected to move up to No. 5 to take Collingwood’s spot while Morgan will slot in at No. 6 where he has played all his Test matches. The preference of Morgan over Bopara means that Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen can expect to do some bowling.The other significant decision in the squad was who replaced the injured Tim Bresnan. Given Bresnan’s role of providing a pitch-up, swing option Shahzad had been favoured but the selectors have returned to Steven Finn who played the first three Ashes Tests.”He was in the Ashes and again it’s consistent,” Miller said. “He’s bowled well this year, he bowled well here against the Sri Lankans, and he’s part of our squad. We are in a very nice position where we have a lot of quality seamers and it’s hard to make that choice.Finn hasn’t taken huge hauls of wickets, but after the third day of the Lions game said he was feeling as good as ever about his game. “The figures don’t suggest that I bowled particularly well, but this is probably the best I’ve felt this season,” Finn said. “This season I’ve felt a lot better than before, and a marked improvement on where I was in Australia.”Finn is unlikely to make the starting eleven, however, with Broad set to resume his position having been injured in the second Ashes Test at Adelaide. Broad is a favourite of the England set-up – although his Test bowling average of 35 needs to start coming down – and it would be harsh to drop Chris Tremlett after his performances in Australia. And as the selectors have shown by naming Morgan, once someone in this England set-up they don’t cast them aside quickly.England squad Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior (wk), Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Chris Tremlett, James Anderson, Steven Finn.

John Wright has hinted at splitting the one-day opening combination of Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder for the series against Pakistan as his side desperately seeks to end a 11-match losing streak

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2011

New Zealand coach John Wright has hinted at splitting the one-day opening combination of Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder for the series against Pakistan, as his side seeks to end a 11-match losing streak in the format. Wright hopes to use the six games against Pakistan to zero in on the right line-up for the World Cup, which begins on February 19.”They [McCullum and Ryder] may not be at the top of the order,” Wright told . “There may be only one of them at the top of the order. We really need to look at the way we have been playing and to consider where we have our firepower, particularly our impact batsmen. There is the opportunity to start with the Powerplay, and then who plays where when we get to the next Powerplay. We will have a look at that and make the decisions.”It’s something we just have to consider carefully. Dan [Daniel Vettori] will have some strong views on it and you look at the batting line-up, and if we can get players in form, and get our order right, then we should be able to do the job.”McCullum and Ryder formed one of New Zealand’s most successful opening pairs, and Wright said the decision to move one of them lower down would be to beef up a misfiring middle order. “The one thing about New Zealand one-day sides is that they always appear to be at their strongest when you had great batting depth around Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8,” Wright said. “When you played against New Zealand they were just a hard side to break down. We will be looking to bat as deep and with as much quality as we can around those areas.”Martin Guptill, who opened in the second Test in Wellington when Tim McIntosh was dropped, is likely to take the role in the one-dayers, if New Zealand decide to make the change. “Obviously the development of Martin Guptill has been a huge plus for us,” Wright said. “He has played incredibly well in the Twenty20 series and he worked ever so hard in the Test series, and he looks ever so promising.”Despite the 1-0 defeat in the Test series, Wright was encouraged by New Zealand’s show in the second Test when they stretched Pakistan for a hard-fought draw. “I was pleased with the improvement and quality of our play in Wellington. It was disappointing not to get a win, if we had broken that partnership [between Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan] we probably would have. I suppose we have got to learn to play sessions and we had a terrible session in Hamilton that cost us the series.”

It was a day that crawled along, and then plodded on, but in between, the freak run-out of Rajasthan opener Vineet Saxena provided some drama amid the dullness. Saxena mistimed a drive off the first delivery after lunch, and the ball rolled away to the leg side. Bhargav Bhatt from midwicket ran in to field the ball. Meanwhile, Saxena, who was outside his ground, took two steps back in to the crease, and then strode out to do some gardening on the pitch. When he was about two feet outside the crease, he gestured in the direction of square-leg umpire K Hariharan, asking for his permission to step out of his ground.An alert Pinal Shah, the Baroda wicketkeeper-captain, sensed an opportunity and gestured frantically to Bhatt. Bhatt, who was standing beside the ball, suddenly swung into action and threw down the striker’s stumps with a direct hit, with Saxena miles down the track. Even as Baroda went up in appeal, Saxena looked confused, and Hariharan walked up to umpire Shavir Tarapore. After some discussion, the matter was referred to third umpire SS Shamsuddin, who ruled Saxena out.Now the rule says that a batsman is run-out if he is found out of his ground while the ball is still in play, whether or not a run is being attempted. A ball is in play till it settles in the hands of the wicketkeeper or the bowler. In this case, the umpires felt that the ball was in play, and the referral was made to check at what point the batsman sought permission to step outside his ground. Replays clearly showed that Saxena was well outside when he gestured to Hariharan, and was adjudged out.There were conflicting opinions among the teams and former players about the entire incident. Pinal felt he was within his rights to claim the run-out. “It was not a planned move. The ball was in play. He just walked out, and did not ask for permission before doing so. Generally if you are walking out, you just inform the umpire or the keeper or the slip fielder.”Hrishikesh Kanitkar, the Rajasthan captain, was understandably unimpressed. “I have heard it was within the rules, but I wouldn’t have claimed that wicket; that is for sure.” Pinal felt that Kanitkar’s reaction was to be expected. “If I was in the opposition, and my batsman would have got out, even I would have said the same thing. But I thought he (Saxena) made a mistake by walking out.”

Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte will be looking to see a reaction from his squad following his damning remarks in midweek.

The Italian suggested that the north London outfit had a decision to make on his future after their 1-0 loss at struggling Burnley meant they had suffered four defeats in their last five outings.

“The performance can be good and the commitment was good but we lost. For me the situation is unacceptable. To lose four of five [games] for Tottenham has to be a disaster.

“I came in to try to improve the situation. Maybe in this moment, I am not so good to improve the situation. I am too honest to close my eyes and continue in this way.

“For sure we are to speak and have a conversation with the club to try and find the best solution to help the team not have this type of situation,” he said to reporters (via the BBC).

Spurs now face another under-pressure manager in Marcelo Bielsa, who witnessed his side thumped 6-0 by Liverpool, one of many thrashings by one of the Premier League’s top dogs in recent months.

A top-four finish is still within the Lilywhites’ grasp by results like Wednesday night and against Wolves and Southampton will need to be quickly eradicated.

There won’t be a better time to kickstart a run of form than against a team looking as hopeless as Leeds in both defence and attack.

It leaves the 52-year-old head coach with important decisions to make over team selection because as he says, whilst the fight and desire was there at Turf Moor, the quality just wasn’t.

They didn’t do enough to create clear-cut chances for Harry Kane and one issue could be out wide, where Conte’s wing-backs play a crucial role.

Ryan Sessegnon is potentially one player facing the axe, he just doesn’t offer the same threat as first-choice Sergio Reguilon, who made the bench in midweek after his recovery from the virus.

 Conte waxed lyrical about the young 21-year-old as he started his third successive game.

“Sess in my vision has all the possibility to become an important player,” he said to reporters (via football london). “First of all he is young and has in front of him a lot of years. He is strong physically and fast, has a good engine, a resilience.

“He has good quality. Sometimes I think he feels a bit of pressure. But with me he played important games, against Liverpool, against Chelsea, against City. It means I trust him.”

He may well trust him but he struggled to have much of an impact against a Burnley side who had won only two games all season prior to Wednesday.

The England U21 international was hooked after 79 minutes having delivered only one accurate cross from five attempts (25%), on top of providing just the one key pass, whilst he also committed two fouls, via SofaScore.

Reguilon, on the other hand, is a huge creative influence, having managed the third-most assists (three), also averaging 1.2 key passes per game – far exceeding Sessegnon’s average of 0.3 chances created per game, via WhoScored.

The former Fulham dynamo may be earmarked for a big future under Conte, if he sticks around, of course. But for the time being, he just isn’t good enough to start week-in, week-out.

Once dubbed a “big talent” by former Cottagers teammate Stefan Johansen, the £13.5m-rated wing-back still has a long way to go before he’s close to being in the frame as a regular starter in the Premier League.

As such, Conte must be ruthless and axe him this afternoon now that his Spanish counterpart is back in the squad.

AND in other news, Spurs handed promising Oliver Skipp update ahead of trip to Leeds…

Ryan Fraser has been a positive influence and mainstay under Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe, which is why the hamstring injury he sustained against Wolves last week will come as a major blow to the Magpies faithful.

On the Scotsman’s injury, Howe said: “It looks like a hamstring issue. I don’t know how serious it is, but it was obviously enough to bring him off the pitch today, which is a huge blow with the form that he’s been in.”

Opportunity knocks for Almiron

Fortunately for the Magpies boss, he can now count upon Miguel Almiron, who came on in place of the injured Fraser and put in an impressive performance last Friday, having created the only key chance of the game in his 77 minutes on the pitch.

The 28-year-old – who has been described as “unbelievable” by sports writer Charlie Bennett – received even higher praise from his manager, who was encouraged by his efforts against the Old Gold.

On the Paraguayan’s performance, Howe said: “I thought Miggy did really well. Miggy has been away on international duty, then he was ill, so we haven’t seen a great deal of him. But never doubt him physically. Despite the fact that he hasn’t trained with us a great deal, I backed him physically to play that time, and the energy and pressing that Miggy gives you is a real weapon.”

High praise from the boss, but in fairness everything that Howe said is the truth. In terms of a pressing asset, Almiron has proven himself to be one of the best amongst positionally similar players in Europe’s top 5 leagues across the last 365 days. His average of 5.3 pressures in the attacking third per 90 place him in the 94th percentile, according to FBRef.

Perhaps even more impressively given his position on the pitch, his average of eight pressures in the defensive third places him in the 84th percentile, as he occupies an attacking position and tracks back tremendously. It demonstrates his versatility and ability to act as a team player, which is of course a welcome attribute for any coach.

The £74k-p/w Paraguayan’s 2.5 touches per game in the opponents’ penalty box once again sets him apart and further demonstrates his ability to fill the void left by Fraser.

The injury to the Scotland international is of course unfortunate, but Newcastle’s depth in that area of the pitch with the likes of Almiron to call upon has softened the blow. It’s now time for Howe to place his trust in the industrious 28-year-old.

In other news – Howe could land NUFC’s new Waddle as PIF plot bid for “unbelievable” 115-goal machine