All posts by h716a5.icu

Ashwell Prince will join Nottinghamshire as their overseas player at the conclusion of the Test series against England

Cricinfo staff06-Aug-2008
Nottinghamshire will be hoping Ashwell Prince’s good form continues © Getty Images
Ashwell Prince will join Nottinghamshire as their overseas player at the conclusion of the Test series against England. He will replace Adam Voges, who has had an extended spell at the club after David Hussey was unable to fulfil his contract due to Australia commitments.Prince has enjoyed a successful series with centuries at Lord’s and Headingley, but isn’t part of South Africa’s one-day squad. He will make his Nottinghamshire debut on August 19, against Durham in the Pro40.”Ashwell has shown in this series that he’s a match-winner and the fact that he’s already in England with his family added to the attraction of signing him,” said Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire’s cricket manager. “He’s in form and it’s always good to sign a player who is playing with confidence. He’ll join us at a vital stage of the season and add quality to our middle order.””Nottinghamshire are in contention for silverware and I’m confident that I can add some experience to the team at an important stage of the season,” said Prince. “I know that I am joining a competitive team and I have kept my eye on the results ever since the interest was expressed.”I spoke to Stuart Broad at Headingley long before the deal was concluded and he told me that the set-up was good and that Trent Bridge is a great place to play cricket,” he added. “I’m not in the South Africa one-day squad, which frees up my time and hopefully there will be an opportunity for me to play more county cricket in the future.”

The Celtic Way writer Anthony Haggerty believes that Vasilis Barkas will win the duel over Scott Bain to become the number one at Celtic Park for the upcoming season.

Barkas started Celtic’s Champions League draw with FC Midtjylland on Tuesday night and will be hoping that a string of good performances helps him to become a regular starter for Celtic.

Barkas played 22 games for Celtic last season in all competitions, keeping 11 clean sheets, with Bain making one more appearance (23), but keeping only eight clean sheets.

Whilst both are vying for the number one jersey at Celtic Park, the Scottish Sun reported last week that the Hoops want to take Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster on loan again, which would add further competition amongst the goalkeeping ranks at the club.

On the goalkeeping competition, Haggerty told FFC: “Ange Postecoglou is going to give him [Barkas] every opportunity to make him the right fit or make sure he’s the right fit and he’s given him that confidence by saying, ‘right, you’re my number one’, and I think he wins that duel over Scott Bain.

“But I think a lot of Celtic supporters would like another goalkeeper to come in.”

After both Barkas and Bain played virtually equal number of games last season, new manager Ange Postecoglou will want to establish who his number one is pretty quickly, allowing both his defence and shot-stopper to gel, creating consistency amongst the Celtic ranks.

Tata Steel, which maintains the Keenan Stadium in Jamshedpur, has expressed its regret at the Jharkhand State Cricket Association’s decision to withdraw it rights to host the ODI between India and England on November 2

Cricinfo staff26-Sep-2008Tata Steel, which maintains the Keenan Stadium in Jamshedpur, has expressed its regret at the Jharkhand State Cricket Association’s (JSCA) decision to withdraw it rights to host the ODI between India and England on November 23.The JSCA informed the BCCI on Thursday that it could not host the November 23 fixture since Tata Steel is yet to agree to a takeover of the stadium by the association.”It is indeed a pity that the JSCA has taken this hasty step without consulting the company, as the Tata Steel has always maintained that the request from JSCA is ‘under active consideration’ and its engineers’ report on the status of the galleries was awaited,” said a statement from Tata Steel.”We are aware of the interest of the people of Jamshedpur in the ODI and as such were expediting the process of inspection. The JSCA has only been writing letters and giving media interviews but they never considered it important to discuss the details with the steel company.”The BCCI said the ODI could be shifted to Bangalore instead.

Sky Sports journalist Michael Bridge hasn’t ruled out Crystal Palace re-signing experienced defender Gary Cahill.

The 35-year-old joined two years ago and has made 47 appearances in all competitions since arriving from London neighbours Chelsea.

The odd few muscle and knee injuries aside, Cahill has generally been a regular starter during his two seasons at Selhurst Park and often wore the captains armband in Luka Milivojevic’s absence.

However, Cahill’s contract expired at the end of last season, meaning he was on course to become a free agent for the second time in three years.

According to The Sun, though, the south London outfit have offered him a contract extension despite already bringing in two centre-backs in Joachim Andersen and Marc Guehi from Chelsea.

But Cahill rejected the offer, with his current wages reportedly too expensive for the club.

However Bridge told The Transfer Tavern that a deal to bring the defender back to Selhurst Park remains a possibility:

“I don’t think it’s out of the question. From what I’ve heard, the club are surprised that it’s not actually been signed.

“They’ve bought in the two defenders which is great, but someone like a Cahill, being a leader, maybe not starting all the time, but being a leader from the bench or the training pitch they would love.

“They would like to get him in, but his demands have taken him back a little bit, so it’s a wait and see.”

Sheffield Wednesday have confirmed the arrival of George Byers at Hillsborough.

What’s the latest?

In a short statement posted on the Sheffield Wednesday website, the club announced that they have completed the signing of Swansea City central midfielder for an undisclosed fee.

The club went on to state that the 25-year-old will bolster Darren Moore’s options in the middle of the park ahead of the new League One season, while also announcing that he will wear the number 14 shirt for the Owls, before officially welcoming the former Scotland U17 international to the club.

Chansiri masterclass

While many Sheffield Wednesday fans would most likely argue that Dejphon Chansiri is one of the major reasons the club now find themselves in the third tier of English football, it is hard to argue against the owner’s signing of Byers being anything but a masterclass by the Owls owner.

Indeed, over his 35 Championship appearances for Swansea in 2019/20, the £1.08m-rated man scored two goals and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.3 shots and making 0.9 key passes per game.

The 25-year-old also impressed in a defensive capacity, making an average of 0.9 interceptions, 1.3 tackles, 0.5 clearances and winning 3.5 duels per match.

These returns saw the £11k-per-week Scot earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.84, ranking him as Steve Cooper’s ninth-best performer in the second tier of English football that season.

As such, if Byers can refind this form for Wednesday in League One next season, not only would the midfielder significantly boost the club’s chances of going on to secure an immediate return to the Championship, but he could well be up with as one of the most influential midfielders in the division come next summer.

This would be an eventuality that would further cement the idea that the signing of the former Watford player is a brilliant capture by Chansiri and his Sheffield Wednesday transfer team, as well as one that will have fans of the club buzzing.

In other news: Sheffield Wednesday confirm major transfer news that will leave fans gutted

Dinesh Karthik, the Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper, has been named captain of his state team for its first three matches of the Ranji Trophy in November

Cricinfo staff26-Oct-2008Dinesh Karthik, the Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper, has been named captain of his state team for its first three matches of the Ranji Trophy in November. S Badrinath, who was the Tamil Nadu captain last season, is part of the Test squad for the ongoing series against Australia.The state selection committee picked a 15-man squad which will be coached by former Indian batsman WV Raman who will be assisted by DJ Gokulakrishnan.Tamil Nadu are part of Group B in the Super League and their first three games are all away matches: against Maharashtra on November 3, Karnataka on November 10 and Uttar Pradesh on November 16. Last season Tamil Nadu won only one of their seven games while drawing four.Squad: Dinesh Karthik (capt), Abhinav Mukund, Arun Karthik, M Vijay, R Srinivasan, R Prasanna, S Vidyut, S Suresh Kumar, R Ashwin, C Suresh, L Balaji, V Yo Mahesh, P Amarnath, C Ganapathy, H Gopinath.

An update has emerged on Aston Villa target Andre-Frank Anguissa, following Fulham’s opening Championship match.

What’s the talk?

Aston Villa transfer target Andre-Frank Anguissa fueled speculation over the weekend as he was left out of Fulham’s squad to face Middlesbrough in their Championship opener.

The Villans and Arsenal are both reportedly interested in the central midfielder, who Fulham are said to value at around £20m, and there has been no reason given for his absence as of yet.

Smith would adore him

Johan Lange must react to this news by swooping for Anguissa and acting on Villa’s interest in him. It is impossible to say for sure, but his absence could be because he is not 100% motivated to play for Fulham with the prospect of a transfer on the horizon.

The season starting before the end of the window causes complications in that sense and Villa could take advantage by swooping for Anguissa in the coming weeks whilst his head is potentially turned.

Lange must bring him in as he could be a player Dean Smith would love to work with.

The Fulham beast averaged a solid WhoScored rating of 6.99 in the Premier League last term despite their relegation. He made 3.8 tackles and interceptions per game, whilst also completing an 2.7 dribbles and 0.8 key passes per match. This suggests that he has the quality to compete as a box-to-box midfielder, rather than specialising either defensively or offensively.

Joachim Andersen, who recently joined Crystal Palace, lauded Anguissa as a machine. He said of the Cameroonian: “He’s a top player. He’s a machine in the midfield. He’s winning so many balls and driving forward with it.”

The enforcer’s national team coach, Toni Conceicao, said of him: “He’s a quality player. In football, the collective is the most important, so you have to have players that work for the team. And although Anguissa is not a Messi or Ronaldo, he’s a player that has a lot of capacity to influence the match. He brings a lot of tactical culture and rigour to the team.

“He has got a really good passing ability, long and short, and is one of those players that makes the team tick without necessarily being the standout. As a coach and with all due respect to Fulham, which I know is a great club, Anguissa can reach an even higher level.”

This suggests that Smith would adore the £70k-per-week machine, as he is capable of making an impact at both ends of the pitch and has quality on the ball in transition.

He would also come in as a known quantity, given that he played in the Premier League for Fulham last season. This means that he may not need the adaptation period players coming in from abroad sometimes need.

AND in other news, NSWE must splash the cash on “outstanding” £75k-p/w dynamo, Smith needs him at Villa…

The Indian women won their second tour game in two days when they beat the Australia Under-21 by 82 runs in Bowral

Cricinfo staff26-Oct-2008
Scorecard
The Indian women won their second tour game in two days when they beat the Australia Under-21 by 82 runs in Bowral. Offspinner Seema Pujare took her wickets tally for the tour to seven after picking up 3 for 30, including that of top scorer Jessica Cameron.But it was India’s opening bowlers, Jhulan Goswami and Rumeli Dhar, who turned the Indians’ modest total in to a defendable one by dismissing the Australian top five for 20. Dhar struck in her first over, trapping Alyssa Healy for a duck and then again in her third to reduce them to 3 for 7. Cameron sought to revive the chase with a 74-run stand with Corrine Hall but the partnership was too slow – consuming 114 balls – to take them home.India made three changes to the XI that beat New South Wales women by 48 runs on Saturday. They replaced their top-order batsmen, Jaya Sharma, Sulakshana Naik and Anjum Chopra, with bowlers Snehal Pradhan, Gouher Sultana and wicketkeeper Anagha Deshpande, who had a busy day behind the stumps, taking two catches and effecting two stumpings. She also opened the batting with allrounder Thirush Kamini, whose 90-ball 66 anchored the Indians’ innings. Goswami chipped in with a quick 41 in the slog overs to take the Indians past 200.India will hope to take their winning momentum to Sydney where they play a Twenty20 against Australia on Tuesday.

While Valerien Ismael’s West Bromwich Albion side have far from struggled to find the back of the net in their opening two Championship fixtures, the Frenchman nevertheless appears to believe that his Albion side are lacking a classic number nine.

Indeed, the 45-year-old recently revealed that he is still actively pursuing targets in the summer transfer window, with it being reported that both Orlando City centre-forward Daryl Dike and Manchester City starlet Liam Delap are two players the manager is keeping a very close eye on ahead of a potential move.

However, while the 18-year-old Delap is undeniably a player who boasts the potential to go on and have a fantastic career in the game, it is perhaps Dike who would appear to be a better fit for Ismael this season.

Get it done

The 21-year-old is a player Ismael is extremely familiar with, having signed the USA international on a fourth-month loan deal for Barnsley back in February, during which Dike highly impressed for the Tykes.

Indeed, over his 19 Championship appearances for the Frenchman’s former side last season, the £9m-rated striker scored a whopping nine goals – at a rate of 0.5 per game – as well as taking an average of 1.7 shots and making 0.7 key passes per fixture.

These returns saw the man Ismael himself dubbed an “unbelievable” player earn an average SofaScore match rating of 7.02, ranking him as Barnsley’s third-best player in the second tier of English football.

Furthermore, while Dike failed to provide an assist or create a big chance for his teammates during his stint at Oakwell last term, this could actually be viewed as something of a positive for Ismael, as the likes of Callum Robinson, Karlan Grant, Grady Diangana and Matt Phillips are all more than capable of creating opportunities, it is a greedy out-and-out goalscorer that the Frenchman is after.

And, with only Kenneth Zohore in his West Brom squad who could really be described as a classic number nine – a player who was loaned out to Millwall last season, where he scored just two goals over 17 Championship appearances – it is fairly obvious that, if Albion are indeed to go on and secure an immediate return to the top flight this season, they will need a more clinical option up top.

As such, it would appear highly advisable for Ismael to do all he can to seal a deal for Dike before the summer transfer window closes at the end of the month, as the American could well make all the difference in the club’s promotion push come next May.

In other news: “For sure”: Ismael issues exciting West Brom transfer claim, fans surely buzzing

Slavisa Jokanovic is still waiting for his first Championship win with Sheffield United, as the Blades were held to a goalless draw with Swansea City on Saturday evening.

Having suffered defeat at the hands of Birmingham City last weekend, United would have undoubtedly been hoping to kick start their 2021/22 campaign with an impressive performance and result at the Liberty Stadium this time around.

However, it could easily be argued that neither of these hopes came into fruition, with the Serbian’s side managing just two shots on target over the course of the 90 minutes, as well as having just 37% of the ball and managing almost 250 fewer passes than Russell Martin’s Swansea side – with the game ultimately finishing 0-0.

Perhaps unsurprisingly considering their obvious lack of attacking edge, one of the worst performances in the fixture was given by a Sheffield United forward – in the shape of Oli Burke.

Indeed, over his 59 minutes on the pitch, the 24-year-old was extremely ineffectual, mustering no shots – either on or off target – failing with all three of his attempted dribbles, completing a mere six passes and touching the ball just 15 times – less than half of the 37 Aaron Ramsalde managed between the Blades’ sticks.

The £5.4m-rated man also lost all four of his duels (100%), made no key passes, failed with his one attempted cross and gave away possession of the ball on seven occasions.

His weak attempts on the right-flank were a large reason to why Jokanovic’s side struggled to create much in the attack against this much-changed Swansea side, who still dominated possession at 63%.

These returns saw the £19k-per-week forward earn an extremely disappointing SofaScore match rating of 6.2, the lowest rating of any player to feature in the game at the Liberty Stadium.

As such, should Sheffield United have any hope of going on to secure an immediate return to the Premier League this season, considering the distinct lack of wide attacking options Jokanovic currently has in his first-team squad, they will undoubtedly need Burke to up his game considerably in the coming weeks and months, as his performance against Swansea was simply not good enough.

In other news: Sheffield United dealt blow over “superb” £26k-p/w gem, Jokanovic will be fuming