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Graeme Smith felt that South Africa’s omission from the ICC awards shortlist could act as a “motivating factor” during the Champions Trophy

Cricinfo staff17-Sep-2009Graeme Smith, South Africa’s captain, has said it was disappointing no South African player made the shortlist for the ICC awards but felt their omission could act as a “motivating factor” during the Champions Trophy.”It is not individual recognition that drives us,” Smith said. “We are driven by what we want to achieve as a team and have had an amazing couple of years.”It is a little disappointing that not a single South African made the shortlist in any category because we are the number one team in both Test and ODI cricket. But that shows the strength of the team and perhaps the lack of ICC award nominations could be a motivating factor.”The list of nominations for the various ICC awards, which will be given out in Johannesburg on October 1, include six from India, four from Australia, three from England, two each from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies and one from New Zealand. It left South Africa as the only participant in the Champions Trophy without a single nomination for an ICC award.Their exclusion drew criticism from several high-profile figures in South Africa, including Gerald Majola, the national cricket board’s chief executive. Majola questioned the credibility of the awards and said it appeared to him that the only way to get on the shortlist was to play the Ashes.South Africa have been pooled in Group B in the Champions Trophy along with Sri Lanka, New Zealand and England. They begin their campaign in the tournament opener against Sri Lanka in Centurion on September 22. They have not played international cricket since the World Twenty20 in June and Smith said the squad was “fresh and ready to go”.

As Bangladesh had been lifted out of a hole in the afternoon, so Zimbabwe were revived from a top-order collapse with an excellent partnership that gave them a 1-0 lead in the series

Cricinfo staff27-Oct-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outAfter a fine opening spell, Elton Chigumbura starred with the bat to give Zimbabwe a 1-0 lead•AFPAs Bangladesh had been lifted out of a hole in the afternoon, so Zimbabwe were revived from a top-order collapse with an excellent partnership that gave them a 1-0 lead in the series. Abdur Razzak’s comeback to the Bangladesh XI began with three wickets in his first over, as Zimbabwe squandered a steady start, but a quick and almost effortless 99-run alliance between Elton Chigumbura and Stuart Matsikenyeri steered Zimbabwe out of a mess and on to an ultimately comfortable win.The framework for this success was laid out earlier in the day when Zimbabwe restricted Bangladesh to 186 – Chigumbura’s three early wickets were crucial – and the stitching up owned plenty to that fifth-wicket alliance, to which Chigumbura contributed 60.Dew was expected to play a part once the sun down – “It’s not great to bat under lights,” Shakib Al Hasan had said at the toss – and Zimbabwe threatened to succumb in pursuit of 187. Predictably, Razzak returned to the Bangladesh team after recovering from a hamstring injury, and made his presence felt immediately.Chamu Chibhabha had begun Zimbabwe’s chase coolly, hitting some imperious shots against the new-ball bowlers, but was struck on the pads by Razzak’s second ball was on his way for 26. The very next ball Brendan Taylor suffered a similar fate when he was hit in front of middle and leg. Three balls later Tatenda Taibu, who played two hurried sweeps, attempted a third but then, while adjusting the ugly stroke, dragged the ball back onto his stumps.Suddenly, Zimbabwe were 39 for 3. That became 54 for 4 when Rubel Hossain forced Hamilton Masakadza into a loose shot outside off, and when Charles Coventry’s crucial cameo 32 was snapped by Dolar Mahmud, Bangladesh were cock-a-hoop. However, Chigumbura and Matsikenyeri got the chase back on track in sensible manner.Chigumbura had began in a hurry with a volley of fine shots and didn’t slow down despite the wobble. Neither he nor Matsikenyeri succumbed to the pressure and instead turned it back on Bangladesh with smooth batting and running. Chigumbura’s shot selection was quite efficient: against the spinners, when they erred in length, he quickly cut and pulled and against the seamers he played in the V – straight and past mid-off. Matsikenyeri comfortably slipped into the anchor role and didn’t offer Bangladesh a chance.Unfortunately, as Bangladesh’s fielders began to slack in the field, a section of the crowd turned unruly. Just after Chigumbura took Razzak for consecutive fours, an irate Mirpur crowd threw plastic bottles onto the field. It was a pitiful and utterly needless display of frustration that held up play for a few minutes, and after the debris was cleared off the pair finished their task without fuss. Chigumbura finished off in a flurry of boundaries and notched up his 12th ODI half-century.From the depths of 62 for 6, Bangladesh had been lifted to 186 by Mushfiqur Rahim and Dolar’s 54-run partnership for the ninth wicket. Prosper Utseya’s rationale on deciding to field was “to keep it tight during the first 15 overs and try and pick up a couple of wickets” and, with the hosts 41 for 3 after that period, Zimbabwe had achieved that goal. By taking three more wickets before the 20th over Zimbabwe were firmly on top, but Mushfiqur’s half-century and Dolar’s late cameo gave Bangladesh a decent target to defend.Leading the charge for Zimbabwe was Chigumbura, who accounted for Tamim Iqbal, Junaid Siddique and Mohammad Ashraful inside the fielding Powerplays. A run-out and two wickets to Chibhaba in the 20th over left Bangladesh six down and facing a crisis.Mushfiqur, who watched from the non-striker’s end as Shakib and Mahmudullah fell to Chibhaba’s military medium pace, ruthlessly punishing ordinary deliveries to start the recovery. Cutting and glancing his way and at a healthy strike rate, he added 53 with Naeem Islam but lost Razzak soon after – well caught by a tumbling Utseya who had to then be carried off the field – and Bangladesh were 124 for 8.The pursuit of big runs in the batting Powerplay, taken after 45 overs, brought about the end of a good partnership; Jarvis getting Dolar to smash his first ball – a rank full toss – to extra cover to depart after an entertaining 30-ball 41. Mushfiqur brought up his fourth ODI half-century with successive boundaries off Jarvis but was last man out for 57, attempting a cheeky paddle-scoop but picking out a diving Taibu behind the stumps to bring the innings to a close with 3.1 overs remaining.

Eddie Howe does not look likely to take charge of Newcastle United this weekend.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Luke Edwards, with The Telegraph journalist revealing in a post on Twitter that, regardless of whether the 43-year-old is appointed as Steve Bruce’s successor at St. James’ Park prior to Saturday’s trip to Brighton & Hove Albion, the former AFC Bournemouth manager will not be the man in the Magpies’ dugout at the American Express Community Stadium this weekend.

In response to a fan asking whether Edwards expected Howe to be appointed before the Brighton fixture, the journalist said: “I doubt very much he will be in charge of the team against Brighton whether his appointment comes before it or not.”

Fans will be gutted

Considering just how poor Newcastle United looked against Chelsea last time out, the news that Graeme Jones appears to be set to once again take charge of the Magpies on Saturday is sure to have left fans of the club gutted.

Indeed, while few would have expected a win against Thomas Tuchel’s table-topping Blues side last weekend, the manner in which Newcastle succumbed to the visitors rightly left a number of the club’s fanbase furious – with one stating their belief that “Jones is no better than Bruce,” while another dubbed the performance as “disgusting.”

It is not difficult to see why fans felt this way, as the home side enjoyed just 21% possession of the ball against Chelsea, as well as mustering one shot on target, creating no big chances and completing a total of 123 passes over the course of the 90 minutes – only eight more than Antonio Rudiger managed by himself.

And, with Brighton looking a much-improved outfit under Graham Potter this season, picking up 16 points over their opening ten fixtures of the campaign, it would appear wise for Newcastle fans not to hold their breath for a better performance, or indeed result, come Saturday afternoon. After all, they are yet to win under their interim boss.

In other news: Luke Edwards drops two-word Newcastle United manager update, fans will be fuming

England’s two-and-a-half-month tour of South Africa begins in earnest on Friday with the first of two Twenty20 internationals at the Wanderers as both sides look to score some early points

Preview by Andrew McGlashan12-Nov-2009Match factsFriday, November 13, 2009
Start time 18.00 (16.00GMT)England’s Twenty20 warm-up match didn’t quite go to plan…89 all out•Getty ImagesBig pictureEngland’s two-and-a-half-month tour of South Africa begins in earnest on Friday with the first of two Twenty20 internationals at the Wanderers as both sides look to make an opening statement. Having the one-day leg of the tour first means it won’t be buried after the main event of the Tests and should retain importance.The winners will say Twenty20 allows them to build momentum, while the losers will quickly brush off the significance of the matches ahead of the one-day series next week. However, there is still a sense, outside of the World Twenty20, that internationally this format is still the third priority.England’s preparations were going well until their defeat against South Africa A when the batting subsided for 89 all out, while injuries haven’t helped the planning. Paul Collingwood takes the reins for the Twenty20s before Andrew Strauss returns for the one-dayers which also creates a slightly disjointed feeling about the tourists’ line-up.South Africa, on the other hand, were hitting their stride against Zimbabwe with a crushing 212-run victory in the second ODI at Centurion. The home side will use the Twenty20s as a chance to give all the players in the squad a run, with the exception of the injured Wayne Parnell, but there is also the need to prepare for next year’s ICC World Twenty20. For both teams the next two matches could be the only Twenty20 games they play before that global event in West Indies.Form guide (last five completed matches, most recent first)
South Africa – LWWWW
England – LWLWLTeam newsLoots Bosman returns at the top order to partner Graeme Smith with Jacques Kallis rested. Dale Steyn is also back after missing the second one-dayer against Zimbabwe, while both frontline spinners are selected. Albie Morkel will provide the power in the middle order.South Africa 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Loots Bosman, 3 AB de Villiers, 4 JP Duminy, 5 Albie Morkel, 6 Mark Boucher (wk), 7 Ryan McLaren, 8 Roelof van der Merwe, 9 Johan Botha, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Charl Langeveldt.England’s fast-bowling department has been stretched so far and Stuart Broad will miss this match and probably the second one as well. However, James Anderson is available after resting a sore knee, but the lack of action for Graham Onions could count against his selection despite his back problem clearing up. Alastair Cook is an unconvincing option as opener, but with Kevin Pietersen not yet quite ready to return and Strauss opting out of Twenty20 he is there by default, although a throat infection could keep him out.England (possible) 1 Joe Denly, 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Paul Collingwood (capt), 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Matt Prior (wk), 7 Luke Wright, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Sajid Mahmood, 11 James AndersonWatch out forAB de Villiers has been given extra responsibility with a move up the order to No. 3 and will be aiming to build on a Twenty20 average of 22.62. His strike-rate of 127 shows he can push the score along, but de Villiers can also be a match-winner in the field where he is one of the best backward points in the world. The time may come soon when he has to take the wicketkeeping gloves, but for now England must beware his prowling presence around the infield.Welcome home Jonathan Trott. So far his return to South Africa has been a fairly comfortable journey, but a packed house at the Bullring is unlikely to be so forgiving. Four years ago they gave Pietersen a heated reception and anything less for Trott would be a surprise. However, Trott has shown he can handle himself and his main job is to block out any distractions and give England’s batting line-up some much-needed impetus in Twenty20.Stats and triviaThis will the third Twenty20 between these two sides, but the first outside of ICC World Twenty20 events (the scheduled match at Chester-le-Street in 2008 was called off a day early due to rain). South Africa have won both previous meetings, most recently a convincing seven-wicket victory at Trent Bridge in June.South Africa had gone seven Twenty20 internationals unbeaten before their defeat in the ICC World Twenty20 semi-final against Pakistan at Trent BridgeEngland’s most recent Twenty20 action was a damp affair, with the two-match series against Australia in August ending nil-nil after the first match was rained off mid-way through and the second completely abandoned at Old Trafford.Graeme Smith has scored 276 runs at 55.20 in seven Twenty20 internationals at the Wanderers.Quotes”We’ve trained well. We see it as the start of the summer – it’s an 11-game summer against England and we want to start well.”
“He’s made the decision a while back. He’s always said that he doesn’t enjoy Twenty20 cricket, probably because of the fact that he’s never done that well in Twenty20 cricket.”

West Brom confirmed on Wednesday that midfielder Jayson Molumby has had to withdraw from the Republic of Ireland squad through injury.

As to be expected, a number of Baggies supporters have been reacting to the news on social media.

Molumby made the switch to The Hawthorns over the summer, joining on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion. He has had to be patient for a chance under Valerien Ismael but has now featured in seven of West Brom’s last eight Championship fixtures.

The 22-year-old was called up by Ireland for World Cup qualifiers against Portugal and Luxembourg, but he suffered a hamstring issue in training and has now returned to the Midlands for further assessment.

Molumby now joins a long list of injured Baggies players, with West Brom sweating over the extent of the midfielder’s muscle issue.

WBA fans react

Here is what these Baggies fans had to say in reply to the club’s official post on Molumby’s injury.

“Can’t we just sack this season off at this rate?”

Credit: @LukeRowland015

“are you kidding me”

Credit: @Lottie1546

“Squad getting thinner and thinner by the day”

Credit: @JakeWBA97

“OH NO”

Credit: @WbaOllie

“NO DEPTH LIKE WE SAID WHO WOULD’VE THOUGHT IT”

Credit: @Adam_WBAFC

“IRELAND MAN, I SWEAR IF YOU INJURE ROBBO”

Credit: @Jayden_WBA

With the return of Premier League action now in sight, Southampton have an away clash against Norwich City next up as they look to continue the good run of form they were on prior to the current international break having won three of their previous four league games.

On the chalkboard

In terms of who Ralph Hasenhuttl could pick in his starting XI to take on the Canaries, who are currently sitting at the bottom of the Premier League table with just five points on the board, one player that should definitely be in the running for a place in the team at the weekend is Adam Armstrong, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £53k-per-week according to Salary Sport.

Armstrong’s previous appearance for Southampton saw him score the winning goal in their 1-0 win over Aston Villa just before the current international break after which the striker said that he is “confident with both feet” when it comes to striking the ball the way he did for the goal against Villa.

As well as the goal, Armstrong managed to put in a solid display across the pitch for the Saints in an attacking and defensive sense with three dribbles completed, 13 passes made, seven duels won, two tackles made and one interception, ultimately earning him an impressive overall match rating of 7.3/10 according to SofaScore, which would make him a real nuisance for Norwich’s defenders if he puts in a similar sort of performance this weekend.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/check-out-the-latest-southampton-news” title=”Check out the latest Southampton news!”]

In addition to this, the 24-year-old, who is currently valued at £16.2m according to Transfermarkt, has provided two assists and scored one other goal in the nine league games he appeared in for Southampton this season prior to the Villa match.

It’s safe to say Armstrong has not proven himself to be a consistent goalscoring threat for Southampton yet in the same way former Saints striker Danny Ings had after scoring 46 goals in 100 games for the club before moving to Villa in the summer.

However, the forward has still shown in the few months he’s been at St. Mary’s that he is still a useful attacking option for Hasenhuttl with the potential to grow and develop his game after joining from Blackburn Rovers back in August.

Taking all of this into account, Hasenhuttl should definitely keep Armstrong in the team to face Norwich at the weekend to see if he can continue his goalscoring run and give newly appointed Canaries manager Dean Smith nightmares after ending his reign at Villa with a defeat.

In other news: Lost the ball 81x: Ralph must brutally axe “unbelievable” Saints dud, he’s a liability – opinion

At Centurion on Wednesday, an African icon will reach a very special milestone

Andrew McGlashan in Potchefstroom13-Dec-2009At Centurion on Wednesday, an African icon will reach a very special milestone. When, back in March 1998, Makhaya Ntini became the first black South African to represent his country, few could have predicted that he would still be going strong more than a decade later. And yet, he now stands on the cusp of 100 Test caps, an achievement matched by only six out-and-out fast bowlers.”It’s something you can only dream about,” Ntini told Cricinfo during South Africa’s training camp in Potchefstroom. “You look at most fast bowlers and they never pass 100 caps. For me, being a fast bowler, it’s something that you start thinking about once you reach 70-odd games. Every player wants to achieve it.”For me, playing 100 times for my country – from a time when you thought, as a black cricketer, it wouldn’t be possible to penetrate and be successful among a white-dominated sport, it gives a lot of inspiration to younger people. If I can do it, so can they.”These days, Ntini is among the most prominent role-models in his country. Only last week, he was in Cape Town, taking part in the draw for the 2010 Football World Cup. But a decade ago, when he launched his career, he himself had role-models to look up to – and in most cases, to play alongside.”Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock, Lance Klusener, Brian McMillan. Those were the main players, then I became the fifth one,” said Ntini. “I took all the advice and practised it. When one retired, my chances came along, and I knew injuries would come along. That kept me going. And to have a captain like Hansie Cronje, the person who told me I was on a learning curve. He said: ‘Stay fit, stay focused and the chance will come’.”Ntini was just 20 years old when he took the field at Newlands for his first Test against Sri Lanka, and to this day, the moment he was presented with his cap remains his proudest moment. “When you are stood out there on the field before play, the captain pulls out the cap and says: ‘Here’s your first one. Hopefully the first of many.'”In terms of onfield action, however, few memories can contend with his stunning performance at Lord’s in 2003, when he became the first South African to claim ten wickets on the most famous ground in the world, in a performance that propelled his country to a memorable innings victory.”Lord’s, obviously, was special because it was a long wait,” said Ntini. “Four years previously I spoke to Corrie van Zyl [the assistant coach] and said if I get my chance I want to leave my name on the board. Then, when I played in 2003, he reminded me of that and told me it was my chance. After the first five-wicket haul he tapped me on the shoulder and said: ‘There are only nine players who have done a ten-for.’Ntini was made to wait for his tenth of the match, as Andrew Flintoff clubbed a memorable but futile century, but eventually, with two wickets remaining Steve Harmison holed out to Andrew Hall, and Ntini had made his notch in history. “When the moment arrived I couldn’t even feel myself because everywhere I looked the crowd were standing and clapping,” he said. “I had to kiss the ground of Lord’s. It was moment I had been waiting for.”

Kenya gained some revenge for back-to-back Twenty20 defeats earlier in the week with a comprehensive nine-wicket win over Uganda

Cricinfo staff18-Dec-2009Kenya 105 for 1 (Patel 57*) beat Uganda 104 (Obado 3-10, Oluoch 3-23) by nine wicketsKenya gained some revenge for back-to-back Twenty20 defeats earlier in the week with a comprehensive nine-wicket win over Uganda in the first ODI at Nairobi Gymkhana. The result also buys a little relief for Kenya’s under-fire selectors after recent poor results.In the two Twenty20 matches it was Kenya’s batsmen who let them down – this time it was the Ugandans whose inexperience was plain to see. None of them was able to play an innings of any substance or to take the attack to the bowlers, so much so that there were only eight boundaries in their innings.There was the briefest worry when David Obuya fell to the fourth ball of Kenya’s reply, but then Rakep Patel (57*) and Maurice Ouma (44*) chased down the target in 17.2 overs with no further alarms. Patel played with increasing confidence, cracking five fours and two sixes in his 59-ball innings.

West Brom are on the right track to being promoted to the Premier League this season, however right now, the side is struggling to get into the automatic promotion places in the Championship.

Fulham and Bournemouth have gone out with quite a stretch with West Brom nine points off the top of the table right now, and eight points off the runner up position. Both spots offer promotion to the Premier League next season and Valerien Ismael will be doing everything he can to close the gap between the clubs and challenge for automatic positions for top-flight football to avoid playoffs.

One way that West Bromwich Albion have been exploring is the potential of making signings in the January transfer window, that could take the team over the finish line if they were to buy the right players in the right areas.

There has been a certain player that has been heavily linked with a move to the Hawthorns.

Tom Lawrence currently plays for Derby County and has been touted with a move away in January due to ongoing financial issues at the club who are currently battling administration and have been served multiple point deductions in the Championship this season after staying up on the last day.

Manager Wayne Rooney is committed to damage limitation at the club and working with the players available to salvage anything he can for the club, in the hope that, by some miracle, they may be able to stay up this season.

It has been widely reported that Derby will continue to offload players from the wage bill in the January transfer window, and Tom Lawrence was tipped to be one of their most valuable assets to sell, but Rooney has come out to dismiss those claims, which will be a disappointment to Albion.

The Derby County manager has made it clear that Lawrence will not leave the club mid-season, dealing a massive blow to Ismael and co at the Hawthorns.

“No player will leave this club without me giving it the go-ahead. With Tom Lawrence, he will be here until the end of the season.”

This will be a seismic blow to Ismael’s transfer plans, one that will surely leave him gutted. After all, Lawrence was a viable and obtainable target who could’ve added much-needed goals to a side where their forwards have not scored more than three each this season so far. Furthermore, he is a proven second-tier player with 43 goals in the Championship.

Ismael will have to look elsewhere for his goal machine that can help the team climb the table this season, and will be hoping his current crop of attacking players can perform to the levels expected to gain more goals in not only the lead up to the January transfer window but the second half of the season too.

In other news: West Brom could soar to promotion by signing MLS star

About ten minutes into the morning’s play, the theme for the day had become visible and about six hours later, you were left a bit surprised that Karnataka didn’t have to veer away from Plan A

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera in Mysore24-Dec-2009
Scorecard
Vishwas Bhalla provided some spirited resistance lower down the order for Punjab•ESPNcricinfo LtdAbout ten minutes into the morning’s play, the theme for the day had become visible and about six hours later, you were left a bit surprised that Karnataka didn’t have to veer away from Plan A. They set out to test the batsmen with short deliveries on a pitch that had bounce and barring some spirited resistance from Uday Kaul in the middle order and Vishwas Bhalla lower down, Punjab surrendered without much fight. The only moments that Karnataka were forced to rethink came when Bhalla was batting with the tail. However, they persisted with short deliveries and Bhalla pushed Punjab towards 300 with the help of some brave swings to the on side.However, for the main part, the simple plan to bowl short proved very effective and it left you wondering about the quality of batting in the domestic circuit. The pitch was hard and bouncy but there was no alarming movement – but it was enough to trouble Punjab, who should be, in actuality, used to playing on a bouncy track back home.The first session saw several pointers to the day’s play. The Punjab physio came out twice to treat bruised fingers and sore thighs, the ball was hardly driven past the bowler, the slip cordon was always crowded, the short leg was ever present and Karnataka, it seemed, were never far away from taking a wicket.Abhimanyu Mithun deployed what is known as a ‘heavy ball’ in cricketing terminology and Vinay Kumar extracted bounce from short of length as the Punjab top order did not seem to learn from their mistakes. They hung out the bat away from the body, fended ungainly and didn’t attack or defend with confidence. Weak-hearted attempts at the pull and uncertain leaves were the feature of the day and though the runs kept coming at a handy rate, the wickets too were always around the corner.Sunny Sohal was troubled by bounce, Ravi Inder Singh and Mayank Sidhana collected a few boundaries with slashes and punchy drives but never looked in, and all three fell in the opening session without much fight. Sohal and Inder Singh fended away bouncers from Mithun to gully and short leg respectively and Mayank, after pushed back with short deliveries, flicked Vinay Kumar straight to square leg.The second session too wasn’t too different. The bounce wasn’t as much as with the new ball in the morning but it was enough to extract more mistakes. Taruwar Kohli and Pankaj Dharmani stabbed short-of-length deliveries to an alert Manish Pandey at second slip and Uday Kaul fell, edging an intended off drive against Sunil Joshi at the stroke of tea.Until then, Kaul had stood out as a complete contrast to his team-mates. He was resolute in defense, the feet didn’t back away from the stumps in anticipation of short deliveries, and the judgment of his offstump was impeccable. He cut and flicked Joshi for boundaries, on drove the seamers when they rarely bowled a full length and dealt mainly in singles with his nudges and pushes.Karnataka continued to make inroads after tea, courtesy Joshi, who was heading towards a cheap five-wicket haul. However, Punjab showed some spine at the end of the day. They were helped by the seamers, who seemed have fallen in love with the idea of bowling short, even though they were tired and unable to get the ball to lift to uncomfortable heights. The short balls, devoid of pace and potency, kept coming and Bhalla, who was dropped on zero by Robin Uthappa off Vinay Kumar and later on 25 by S Aravind who spilled a sharp return catch, looted some quick runs with pull shots to move past his fifty.