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Intikhab Alam, the Pakistan coach, has backed legspinner Danish Kaneria to bounce back during India’s forthcoming visit early next year

Cricinfo staff20-Nov-2008
Intikhab Alam: “[Danish] Kaneria is still a very good legspinner. We should give him confidence and help him regain self-belief ” © AFP
Intikhab Alam, the Pakistan coach, has backed legspinner Danish Kaneria to bounce back during India’s forthcoming visit early next year. Kaneria has not played a first-class game since he broke a finger while representing Essex, and in his past has been reprimanded by the PCB after making comments on his demotion to category C among Pakistan’s centrally-contracted players.”Kaneria is still a very good legspinner,” Alam told the . “We should give him confidence and help him regain self-belief and once he [Kaneria] does that I’m sure he will do wonders for us.”Kaneria has been a regular in Pakistan’s Test team since his debut in 2000, and with 220 wickets in 51 Tests, he’s only 16 behind Abdul Qadir’s tally of 216 scalps. But Kaneria hasn’t cemented a place in the limited-overs side, last playing during the 2007 World Cup. His last appearance for Pakistan was against India in Bangalore; he had a poor run during the three Tests, and since then Pakistan have not played five-day cricket.”You cannot just label a player by saying that he is only good enough for Tests or one-dayers,” he said. “As far as Kaneria is concerned I’m sure we can get the best out of him in any form of cricket. He can once again be a true match-winner.”Kaneria has recovered from his finger injury – he had a wire inserted to aid mend the fracture – and is expected to return for India’s visit, which has recently been under doubt due to security concerns. The coach expects a fully-prepared team to take on the traditional rivals. “I want my team to be the best possible and best prepared for the series against India,” he said. “We need our fast bowlers and the spinners to be fully ready while the batsmen should also be prepared.”

Bengal put in a big-hearted performance in the field in the first session to secure a crucial first-innings lead in their quarter-final against Tamil Nadu

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga at the Chinnaswamy Stadium28-Dec-2008Bengal 345 and 134 for 4 (Shukla 43*, Tiwary 42) lead Tamil Nadu 306 (SS Kumar 75, Balaji 47, Mukund 47, Karthik 46) by 173 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Manoj Tiwary starred with both ball and bat to firm Bengal’s grip on the match © Cricinfo Ltd
Bengal put in a big-hearted performance in the field in the first session to secure a crucial first-innings lead in their quarter-final against Tamil Nadu at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Tamil Nadu came back strongly with quick, early wickets, but Bengal – with their openers absent ill – batted long enough to make sure they didn’t squander the advantage completely.Manoj Tiwary provided the inspirational breakthrough with the ball and the Tamil Nadu batsmen also obliged the fielders by playing foolishly. They were left with half an hour less than five sessions to try and reverse the result, but Tiwary and Laxmi Shukla kept their bowlers at bay. Tiwary fell to a sweep off R Ashwin, but Shukla stayed unbeaten at stumps.All the crucial action, though, was concentrated in the first session, which started with a foolish run-out of Ashwin. Tamil Nadu started the day 157 short, with five wickets in hand, and Ashwin hit a boundary to midwicket to kickstart their pursuit. In the same over though, he flicked one towards midwicket and chose to run the third on the throw. The return came in accurately, first-bounce and right over the stumps, Ashwin proving he was not the fastest runner going around.A streaky partnership between Suresh Kumar, 40 overnight, and C Ganapathy followed. Unlike the previous batsmen, they didn’t let the scoring stagnate for long periods. The partnership did feature a few edged boundaries: three went either wide of slip or past gully. Interspersed with well-timed shots, the stand started taking Tamil Nadu close. The pace bowlers had tired by then, and the new ball was seven overs away.That was a crucial period of play when Tiwary and Ritam Kundu, the off-break bowler, bowled together. Tiwary produced the magic delivery to break the partnership, sneaking in a topspinner after having ripped a couple of legbreaks. Suresh got a faint inside edge onto the pad, which flew to slip. He scored 75, yet again missing the elusive maiden century and after a 64-run partnership, Tamil Nadu were still 87 short.The next eight minutes featured extreme panic. Ganapathy stepped out to defend a delivery from Kundu and missed the straighter one, to be stumped by miles. In the next over, L Balaji hit one delivery towards mid-on and Tiwary – trying to field it – ran into non-striker C Suresh, appearing to push him. Tthe batsmen still went for the single, Ashok Dinda hit the middle stump at the striker’s end, and Tamil Nadu had lost three wickets at the same score. It felt as if Tamil Nadu allowed Bengal’s hustle in the field to push them around.Balaji proceeded to deal a few hefty blows, which – incredibly – spread the field, and batted throughout with boundary riders. He got good support from P Amarnath, who blocked one end, getting his first run off the 32nd ball he faced. Balaji had scored 41 by then. But whatever Balaji did score came from high-risk shots, and he finally perished, holing out to Shukla, who took a good catch running backwards. Of Tamil Nadu’s 306, 210 runs came in boundaries and sixes; in physically running 86 they sacrificed three batsmen. The running, or the lack of it, might yet hurt them badly.Balaji’s extended resistance had some hidden benefit as well: Rohan Bannerjee, Bengal’s opener, fell ill during the extra time spent on the field and during lunch threw up and was unavailable to open. The other opener, Arindam Das, already had a bad stomach, and Bengal had to promote Wriddhiman Saha and Avik Chowdhury. Therein lay Tamil Nadu’s only chance. Ganapathy got Chowdhury with a bouncer even before Bengal had scored a run, which brought in a determined Tiwary.Balaji produced a good over to Saha, beating him twice, before finally getting an edge. Tiwary and Shukla batted aggressively, rather than play for time. Tiwary’s pace was pushing the lead out of reach when he played one sweep too many, and top-edged Ashwin to short fine leg. Dibyendu Chakrabarty too fell to the sweep, although replays showed the ball had struck him just outside off.Tamil Nadu got one more chance half an hour before stumps, when Kundu pulled Ashwin straight to Amarnath at fine leg, but the fielder failed to sight the ball because of the sun. Kundu had scored four then, and Bengal were only 153 ahead. Shukla took the responsibility, not getting bogged down either, ending the day at 43 and buying some time for the openers to recover.When they got Balaji’s wicket half an hour after lunch, Bengal fielders celebrated mildly. But by stumps they had by no means put it across Tamil Nadu. Either which way the match goes tomorrow big celebrations are expected.

Ex-Everton star Michael Ball has urged Everton to receive a huge fee for Moise Kean this summer amid links with Inter Milan.

The Serie A club have been linked with an interest in the striker in this transfer window after selling Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea.

The striker has moved to the Blues for a fee worth £97.5m, and Inter are now on the lookout for striking reinforcements.

Kean has been mentioned as a target and Ball believes that the Toffees need to take advantage of the fact that Inter are now flush with the cash from the Lukaku deal.

Kean spent last season on loan at PSG and scored 17 goals in 41 games for the French giants.

They have since signed Lionel Messi from Barcelona, however, scotching any prospect of Kean returning to Paris, and potentially leaving Inter as the only realistic destination prior to the transfer deadline.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Ball said: “Can Everton be quite clever and quite cute with Inter Milan, knowing that they’re going to get a big chunk of money for Lukaku?

“Everton could get in there and demand a big fee, maybe with a sell-on as well, to get that transfer fee over the line.”

According to Give Me Sport, Glen Kamara is weighing up his future at Ibrox in the final few days of the transfer window amidst interest from Aston Villa.

The Lowdown: Rangers want new Kamara deal

Finland international Kamara, who made the move to the Gers in January 2019, has two years left on his contract at Ibrox (Transfermarkt).

The Gers, and manager Steven Gerrard in particular, are eager to get 25-year-old to sign a new deal at the club (via FourFourTwo), but there has not yet been enough progress.

The Latest: Kamara considers future

Now, as per this latest report, Kamara is considering his future with the 55-time Scottish champions as the transfer window approaches its end.

Aston Villa are said to be interested in the former Dundee man.

The Verdict: Worrying for Gerrard

This news is no doubt worrying for the Gers. Kamara is a crucial player for the club, making 110 appearances for the side since he made the move to Ibrox (Transfermarkt). Soon after he made the switch, Steven Gerrard called the midfielder a “class act” (Sky Sports) and he has continued to prove that since then.

Rangers’ failure to qualify for the Champions League group stages means they are in a vulnerable position in regards to holding on to their key players. As such, the Premier League is a far more attraction proposition than it already was.

The Gers must hold firm if an official bid comes in from Villa, or at least look to get the best fee they possibly can – after all, the Midlands outfit have already spent £95.04m this summer and appear to have plenty of money to spend after the sale of Jack Grealish.

In other news, Rangers fans praise this man against Ross County.

Matthew Hayden’s international retirement makes him available for the entire second edition of the IPL

Cricinfo staff13-Jan-2009
Matthew Hayden’s availability for the entire second season will be a handy boost for Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team © AFP
Matthew Hayden’s international retirement makes him available for the entire second edition of the IPL. Hayden’s IPL franchise, the Chennai Super Kings, said they were pleased to have the Australian opener for the full season.Hayden was available for only four of Chennai’s 14 league games in the first season due to his commitments with Australia. “It’s sad that his international cricket had to end the way it did but he was a great player for Australia and I am glad that he would continue playing for us,” VB Chandrasekhar, Chennai’s director of cricket operations, said. “His [Achilles tendon] injury [last year] put him out of action for a while and that affected him.”As for us, it would be great that he would be available for entire tournament. If only we had him in the end stages last year, we could have won the trophy. He leads by example and is a great motivator for the youngsters in the side.”Chennai, captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, finished second in the tournament, losing in the final to the Shane Warne-led Rajasthan Royals. Hayden, who was purchased for US$375,000 at last year’s auction, scored 189 runs at an average of 63 and strike-rate of 144.27.Chandrasekhar said the franchise did not know that Hayden was going to retire from international cricket. “His future with IPL was never in doubt as he had already made it clear before that he will play for Chennai.”S Badrinath, one of Hayden’s team-mates at Chennai, spoke recently about how he had learnt from Hayden. “He is such a positive player, just the way he speaks during meetings and his preparation methods are so perfect.”

Andrew McGlashan presents the plays of the day

Andrew McGlashan in Jamaica05-Feb-2009
Ian Bell takes a breather after an awkward moment in the field © Getty Images
That’s how to play it
Andrew Flintoff failed to add to his overnight score when he couldn’t get over the top of a cut shot and offered a simple catch to backward point. Three balls later, Matt Prior showed how the shot should be played – albeit to a slightly wider ball – as he connected with a rasping cut that raced to the boundary. It highlighted the narrow margins there are for batsmen between success or failure, but Flintoff probably hadn’t finished slamming the dressing-room furniture to be able to watch Prior’s effort.Shiv’s eye-patches no help
Shivnarine Chanderpaul has become an unexpected style icon for the black patches he wears under both eyes. “One day in Miami I was struggling to open my eyes and Faoud Bacchus [the former West Indies batsman] came and stuck two under my eyes,” he told the series programme. “It actually worked then so I kept it.” Well, they didn’t help him much when he failed to steady himself under a steepling top-edge offered by Ryan Sidebottom. As the ball fell agonisingly out of his reach, Chanderpaul signalled as though he’d lost it in the sun.Rudi’s right again
After Paul Collingwood was the first England batsman to be on the receiving end of a referral yesterday, Steve Harmison today became the first to ask for a decision to be checked. After Jerome Taylor struck him with a full, inswinging delivery, he immediately asked for the second opinion. It wasn’t the plumbest of lbws you will ever see, but there wasn’t enough doubt to allow Daryl Harper to reverse his decision. When Hawk-eye was eventually used the ball was shown to be clipping leg stump and Rudi Koertzen had been proved right for a second time.Tone setting
Andrew Flintoff has been involved in some barnstorming overs in Tests – Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis were two memorable victims – and his first to Chris Gayle was right up there. His second ball was planted straight back over mid-on for six and all Flintoff could do was shrug his shoulders. However, he soon responded with a searing bouncer that whistled past Gayle’s nose. It is easy to drift off occasionally in the Caribbean sun, but that over woke everyone up.Replay crazy After one referral in 121 overs, five were then called for in the next 12 split across the end of England’s innings and start of West Indies’. The most hopelessly optimistic came when Andrew Strauss lost the plot early in Ramnaresh Sarwan’s innings, to a delivery that would have missed a second set of stumps. But Sarwan was soon the beneficiary after he’d been given out lbw to Harmison by Tony Hill. The third umpire said there was an issue with height and Hill reversed his decision. One of the main talking points through all of this was the time it took to make the decision with some waits approaching three or four minutes. This is the trial phase, but the delay will be something ICC will need to look at.Bell gets clanged
One man probably wishing Sarwan had been given out was Ian Bell. A couple of balls after the lbw was overturned, Sarwan clipped the ball strongly off his pads. It went straight at Bell – although even his harshest critics, of which there are plenty, would be hard pressed to call it a chance. What really hurt, though, was where it hit him. On first look it appeared to strike his knee, but in fact it crunched him a touch higher up where everyone, except the person hit, finds it very funny.

Arsenal will not be signing Houssem Aouar before tonight’s 11pm deadline…

What’s the word?

That’s according to renowned Italian transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, who delivered a fresh claim on the Gunners’ imminent plans to Twitter.

“Arsenal are not interested in signing Houssem Aouar in these final hours. There are currently no talks with OL for Aouar,” he said.

“Arsenal are only focused on Tomiyasu deal to be announced [medical today] & outgoings, as Bellerin to Real Betis still to be resolved.”

The 23-year-old Lyon midfielder nearly signed for the Gunners on deadline day last summer but both teams failed to come to an agreement over his fee.

Interest in his services were reignited back in early July after ESPN reported that the north London giants were mulling over a potential offer. They also claimed that Aouar’s value had decreased from €65m (£55m) to just €25m (£21.5m).

Fans will be gutted

And despite the return of the playmaking Martin Odegaard this month, it certainly seems that many supporters around the Emirates Stadium are truly gutted by Romano’s latest update.

In response to his tweet, plenty of fans vented their anger. “That’s ruined my day,” said one. “Not getting in another midfielder is criminal,” claimed another, whilst a further member of the Gunners faithful described it as “absolutely baffling” – as relayed by HITC.

Indeed, Mikel Arteta could probably do with another midfielder in his engine room, particularly someone of Aouar’s profile as he’s the sort of box-to-box no.8 that would fit the Spaniard’s system.

The Frenchman is a threat in midfield, having provided 18 goals and 14 assists across the previous two seasons, on top of an average of two key passes and a 86.8% passing accuracy in 2020/21 alone, via WhoScored.

His ability to play the role is bolstered by a lofty comparison to Andres Iniesta, which goes to show exactly the sort of player the Gunners would be getting.

None of Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka or Odegaard are in this mould, and the former is currently out injured, leading to a baffling and unbalanced selection at the weekend. Arteta paired the other two with Emile Smith Rowe against defending champions Manchester City, and were thumped 5-0.

“I’m a big fan of Aouar. I’ve often likened him to Andres Iniesta, which is obviously a big shout because, for me, he is one of the greatest players of all-time,” claimed Ligue 1 expert Adam White to Football FanCast.

“I don’t necessarily mean in quality but in style. He has silky movement and drifts in midfield to pick passes. At his best, he is absolutely brilliant to watch and he can play anywhere in midfield. He’s great on the ball and technically outstanding. His vision is brilliant. He’s a huge talent.”

It’s no wonder there are many fuming that Arsenal will not make a move for Aouar before tonight’s deadline.

AND in other news, Arsenal on verge of deadline day defensive signing…

Fulham have completed deals to bring both Nathaniel Chalobah and Domingos Quina to Craven Cottage.

What’s the latest?

In a statement posted on the Fulham website in the early hours of Wednesday morning, the club confirmed that Quina had signed for the Cottagers, with the Watford forward joining on a season-long loan deal and the west London side holding an option to make the move permanent at the end of the season.

Shortly after this announcement, the club revealed in a second statement on their website that Chalobah would be following Quina from Watford to Fulham, with the defensive midfielder joining Marco Silva’s side on a permanent deal for an undisclosed fee.

Silva will be buzzing

With Andre-Frank Anguissa joining Napoli on a season-long loan deal on Tuesday, and the Serie A side having an option to purchase the midfielder for €15m (£12.9m) at the end of the current campaign, it appeared clear that Fulham were in need of a replacement for the Cameroon international.

And, following the last-minute swoop for Chalobah, it would appear as if Silva has his man, with the 26-year-old looking to be a very solid replacement for the departed defensive midfielder.

Indeed, over his 38 Championship appearances for Watford last season, the £4.5m-rated man made an average of 1.4 interceptions, 1.6 tackles, 1.4 clearances and won 5.2 duels per game.

He also chipped in for his side in an attacking capacity, scoring three goals, registering one assist and creating one big chance for his teammates, in addition to making an average of 0.3 key passes per game.

These returns saw the England international earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.85, with the midfielder playing a key role in the club securing automatic promotion to the Premier League.

Meanwhile, the signing of Quina brings further depth in both the central and attacking midfield positions within Silva’s squad, with his addition appearing to be a sensible signing when taking into account the fact that Tom Cairney does not look likely to recover from his knee injury any time soon.

As such, the last-minute signings are sure to have left the Portuguese manager buzzing, as both Chalobah and Quina look to be players who strengthen what seems to already be a very strong Fulham side, who will undoubtedly be one of the favourites for the league title following their summer transfer business and impressive start to the campaign.

In other news: Journo drops Fulham transfer claim on “excellent” £6.3m-rated ace, fans surely buzzing

South Australia held the upper hand against an ailing Queensland as the visitors finished the second day 337 behind

Cricinfo staff14-Feb-2009Queensland 3 for 152 trail South Australia 6 for 489 dec (Cosgrove 133, Harris 117, Manou 108) by 337 runs
Scorecard
Points table
Graham Manou’s 109 added to Queensland’s pain in Adelaide © Getty Images
South Australia held the upper hand against an ailing Queensland as the visitors finished the second day 337 behind. The Redbacks batted into the second session of the second day, hurting the under-manned attack until Graham Manou decided his team had enough and declared at 6 for 489.Manou had already collected 108 after Mark Cosgrove added 30 in the morning before falling for 133. Aaron O’Brien (38) and Cullen Bailey (26) had combined for 43 when Manou called them in. Chris Simpson, the offspinner, delivered 45 overs and returned 2 for 145 but Daniel Doran was entrusted with only 13 overs.Queensland were missing Ryan Harris (foot) and Andrew Symonds (knee) and their problems became even more severe when the opener Nick Kruger chipped to mid-off and the legspinner Cullen Bailey, in his first game of the season, had Martin Love lbw. Half-centuries to Ryan Broad and Lee Carseldine lifted them from 2 for 44, but Carseldine became Peter George’s second wicket and they were 3 for 152 at stumps.Symonds did not spend any time in the field during South Australia’s innings and will bat at No. 7. After the game he will go to Melbourne where his right knee will be reassessed by his surgeon and Australia’s team doctor.

Aston Villa centre-back Dominic Revan sealed a deadline day loan move to League Two side Northampton Town.

And a number of Villa supporters have been reacting to the confirmation on social media.

The 20-year-old, who’s only senior appearance for Villa came in the FA Cup against Liverpool last season, has joined The Cobblers on a temporary basis until January.

Fellow Villa youngster Mungo Bridge also departed Bodymoor Heath on loan in the final hours of the window, taking the number of Under-23’s leaving the club on loan to gain first-team experience to 11.

Revan spent the second half of the 2020/21 campaign with National League side Weymouth, so will be making a step up in quality as he looks to continue his development.

Villa fans react

Villa shared the news of Revan’s exit on their official Twitter page on deadline day. This is what these Villa fans had to say in reply, with one describing a move as ‘solid’.

“Soooo good, good luck dom!”

Credit: @KingLandranger3

“Another one! Dom Revan is another Villa youngster to ply his trade in League 2, this time with Northampton. Great move for him to step up from his non-league stint last season. Add him to the list!”

Credit: @AVFCLOAN

“Solid move for him”

Credit: @VillaVisionBen

“I’m gonna be rooting for half of the teams in the EFL at this rate”

Credit: @rad_nauseam

“Great move for him!”

Credit: @hafizstar

“Loan fc”

Credit: @ajbyrne_avfc

In other news: ‘A sad day’ – Lots of AVFC fans react to another late exit.