Lord MacLaurin, the former chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, has called for a major review of the ICC in the wake of the murder of Bob Woolmer last Sunday.”When you have a terrible situation like we are now facing, one’s got to look at the whole of the operation: the directorship; the way it’s run; the calibre of people that are doing it,” he said. “We’ve got to have the very best people running world cricket, otherwise we will continue to have problems.”Although police do not, as yet, have any proof that corruption and match-fixing are the heartbeat of the whole investigation, the smoke signals are there. Rumours abound that Woolmer’s forthcoming book was to reveal the true extent of the game’s rotten core and have invited reactions from across cricket’s community, with Michael Vaughan, the England captain, conceding corruption is, in his “gut instinct,” still part of the game.”When you’ve got something like this happening, which has really besmirched this World Cup, we’ve got to look at absolutely everything in cricket and make sure no stone is left unturned to make sure we do the very, very best for cricket around the world,” MacLaurin said.It was during MacLaurin’s tenure as ECB chairman, in 2000, that the first thorough investigation into cricket’s match-fixing was undertaken. MacLaurin employed Sir Paul Condon, the former Metropolitan Police Commissioner who, although now retired, is on standby to assist. In his 2001 report Condon recommended a permanent Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) be installed which, since 2003, has been in West Indies preparing for the World Cup and identifying suspect gangs and syndicates.”The only way I can suggest you stop it – or try to stop it – is to make sure you have the finest people running world cricket that you can possibly have,” MacLaurin said. “But you will always have a problem, whether it be cricket or soccer or even in business.”
Australia put themselves in a strong position after two days of the one-off Adelaide Test, forcing India to follow on and then reducing them to 3 for 51 in their second innings. Dismissed for 93 in their first innings in reply to Australia’s 250, India lost the key wickets of Mithali Raj and Anjum Chopra in the final session to Lisa Sthalekar’s offbreaks.India were in trouble as soon as their innings started and were unable to cope with some aggressive bowling. Sarah Andrews, on debut, prised out Monica Sumra – caught by the captain Karen Rolton – in the fourth over before triggering a dramatic collapse.From 1 for 41, India fell to 6 for 51 at lunch with Andrews trapping Karu Jain – India’s highest scorer with 21 – and Cathryn Fitzpatrick removing Raj (16) and Rumeli Dhar (4). Nooshin Al Khader stuck around for 41 minutes for 16, but Julie Hayes removed her as India were bowled out in 61.4 overs. Fitzpatrick was the most successful bowler with 3 for 24.Rolton had little hesitation in enforcing the follow on and gave her side the breakthrough with Jain’s wicket. If India enjoyed a reasonably good day with the ball yesterday, then today it was Australia’s turn to show their abilities.Resuming on 8 for 230, Australia lost Hayes and Andrews early and were bowled out for 250, with Jodie Purves remaining unbeaten on 43. Jhulan Goswami was the pick for India with 4 for 43 off 24 overs.
CloseSouth Africa 130 for 6 need another 214 runs to avoid the follow-on against West Indies 543 for 5 dec Scorecard and ball-by-ball details How they were out
West Indies’ bowlers carried on where their batsmen left off, in glorious critic-defying mood, reducing a quivering South Africa to 130 for 6 and in big trouble in the first Test in Guyana. Fewer than 37 overs were possible on the third day after heavy rains delayed the start and bad light brought an early finish, but West Indies more than made good use of what they had: after an impressive cleaning-up operation from the groundstaff came an even more outstanding mopping-up display as their pace bowlers applied the cosh.Pedro Collins and Daren Powell started the rot, each striking twice to set South Africa reeling at 30 for 4 in the hour that was possible before tea. Powell accounted for both Jacques, Rudolph and Kallis, and both departed without scoring as South Africa were rocked by an explosive display of devastating swing bowling. But it was the early departure of Kallis, the ultimate flat-track bully, that provided the biggest boost to a frustrated West Indies team who had been waiting patiently for play to commence.Kallis sought to exploit the bowling from the off on a docile pitch that should have favoured his accumulative style. Instead he hooked his second ball – a short one outside off stump – straight onto his stumps. It was an injudicious shot so early in his innings, particularly with his team in so much trouble. Their situation worsened when Collins trapped Herschelle Gibbs just before tea, and a buoyant West Indies further turned the screw in the final session.AB de Villiers and Mark Boucher stabilised the innings for a time, aware that the follow-on was looming, but de Villiers mixed edges with class shots and finally went too far, as the wayward Reon King strayed close enough to induce the edge.Boucher held firm and he was joined by Nicky Boje; they were unbeaten at the end of the day. But South Africa are still way short of safety: they need 214 runs to avoid the follow-on, with just four wickets remaining. The forecast for tomorrow is for more rain. It may be South Africa’s only hope of saving this game.How they were outSouth AfricaSmith c Browne b Collins 2 (15 for 1) Prodded regulation edge at one swinging away.Rudolph c R Hinds b Powell 0 (16 for 2) Thick-edged first ball to third slip for good, low catch.Kallis b Powell 0 (16 for 3) Looked to pick up short one on off-side, but slashed hook straight onto his stumps.Gibbs lbw Collins 0 (30 for 4) Trapped plumb in front.de Villiers c Browne b King 41 (71 for 5) Inside-edged through to keeper.Hall c Collins b King (95 for 6) Poor stroke to innocuous delivery – but an impressive tumbling forward catch at wide mid-on.
Kenya left for the Caribbean today to start a ten-week tour during which time they will participate in the domestic Carib Beer Series. They start their campaign against the West Indies ‘A’ team at St. Kitts on January 9.”It’s going to be a great tour for us since we will play in all the Carribean islands during the eight weeks,” said Andy Moles, Kenya’s new coach. “It is a long tour and there are opportunities for both the younger players and the established ones to show what they can do at a different level of the game, in a different environment.”The team, which includes three junior players, will be without the country’s leading bowler Thomas Odoyo, who underwent a successful knee operation in December. “I’m sad to have to miss the tour but I have to save my future career,” said Odoyo. “I hope Alfred Luseno who takes my place in the team will be a good replacement and will learn a lot during the tour.”Kenya squad Steve Tikolo (capt), Martin Suji, Peter Ongondo, Maurice Odumbe, Hitesh Modi, Brijal Patel, Lameck Onyango, Alfred Luseno, Kennedy Obuya, Maurice Ouma, Francis Otieno, Collins Obuya, Ravindu Shah, Rageb Aga.
Western Province continued to dominate on the third day without being ableto turn the knife as Eastern Province came within 100 runs of the hometeam’s score before declaring with one wicket standing. By the close, thehosts had stretched their lead to 150 with nine wickets in hand.Resuming at 197 for 3, debutant Homani continued to impress beforeeventually falling to Harris’s arm ball. Callaghan scored an attracttive 72before being well caught by Duminy, and after some dogged lower orderbatting, Kemp hit an aggressive half-century before Bradfield declared.Munnik, the breakthrough bowler the previous evening, went for 25 in a twoover burst, but it was the spinners who eventually came to the party. Harrisfinished with 3 for 131 in 49 overs, and Adams produced some more controlledbowling to take 2 for 77.Left 15 overs before close of play, Gibbs played some attractive shotsbefore being run out attempting a risky single. After that, Kirsten andTrott saw out time with no further loss.
Islamabad, Nov 25: Rawalpindi skipper Naseer Ahmed scored aswashbuckling 126 off 135 balls to help his side muster 274 for 4 inthe second innings against Gujranwala as the Quaid-i-Azam TrophyGrade-I fixture ended in a draw at Pindi Cricket Stadium on Saturday.Naseer’s 140-minute innings contained 21 fours and a six. He shared a135-run third wicket stand with opener Asif Mahmood who fell six shortof the hundred mark.The two came together at the double dismissal by right-arm mediumpacer Basit Murtaza who removed opener Naveed Qureshi (17 off 48) andthen trapped Test batsman Mohammad Wasim lbw for duck when the totalwas 70.Asif and Naseer raised the total 205. Asif ran himself out for for 94after facing 155 balls and smashing 13 boundaries during 190 minutesstay.Asim Munir grabbed the prized scalp of Naseer. Debutant Noman Aman(21) and allrounder Yasir Arafat (4) remained not out. Basit took 2for 45.Earlier, Gujranwala’s first innings was wrapped up at 303 as YasirArafat collected the remaining two wickets to provide Rawalpindi withthe first innings lead points.Basit Murtaza who resumed at 53 could add just three runs to hisovernight score before being clean bowled, while tenth batsmandebutant Adnan Farooq (38 off 82) added 20 runs coming back.Yasir ended with 4 for 97 while debutant left-arm spinner IftikharMahmood snatched 3 for 49.
Wolves have had a fairly solid season so far in Bruno Lage’s debut campaign in charge of the Midlands club, having won 12 of their 26 league games, drawing four and losing 12.
One aspect of their season that could be addressed when the next summer transfer window opens is their lack of goals scored (24) compared to the other teams around them in the top half of the table, with a significant number of clubs in the bottom half of the division also finding the back of the net more times than the Old Gold have.
Specifically, having played in 24 league games, striker Raul Jimenez has only managed to score five goals.
With that in mind, one thing the Molineux outfit could do if their goalscoring fortunes don’t improve by the end of the campaign is look to bring in some extra attacking reinforcements when the transfer window opens for business.
One figure that could spark a bit of life into Lage’s attacking force is Benfica winger Rafa Silva, who has been mentioned with a move to the Midlands club recently.
Having racked up a total of 392 senior appearances for Benfica, Brage and Feirense, the 28-year-old has managed to score 93 goals and provide 66 assists, showing how much of a threat he can be going forward when it comes to scoring and creating goals.
With seven strikes and 15 assists under his belt for his current club so far in this campaign, the Portuguese international has more goal contributions than Jimenez, Hwang Hee-chan and Daniel Podence have managed to deliver in the Premier League combined.
The £25.2m-rated gem has also managed to earn himself an overall performance rating of 7.5/10 from WhoScored, which would also make him the highest-rated player in Lage’s squad by the same metric.
Known as “the Portuguese Eden Hazard,” the Benfica star could be a sensational addition to Wolves’ team if they manage to secure his signature in the coming months.
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Looking ahead to the summer transfer window, if the Old Gold receive a suitable transfer fee from Barcelona for Adama Traore and don’t end up signing Francisco Trincao permanently, they could potentially use the money to launch a move for Silva to see if he can replicate the same sort of attacking form that he’s shown in Portugal in the Premier League.
If this were to happen, he could be just what Wolves need to bring a bit of life to their attack and potentially help the likes of Jimenez to get back to scoring goals on a regular basis, creating a deadly forward duo at the same time.
In other news: “I’m told…”: Journalist drops exciting Wolves transfer claim, Lage would love him – opinion
Cricket South Africa (CSA) has delayed announcing the national squad for the tour to Bangladesh, amid reports of a row over quotas between board president Norman Arendse and the five-man selection committee.The squad was to be finalised on Tuesday and Arendse attributed the delay to the fitness of Neil McKenzie and Andre Nel, who have injuries to the calf muscle and neck respectively and are to be assessed on Monday. “If two of the players [Neil McKenzie and Andre Nel] selected for Bangladesh are not fit and will undergo fitness tests on Monday, why don’t we wait until Monday before we announce the squad,” Arendse was quoted by .Arendse denied reports that he wanted Herschelle Gibbs and Monde Zondeki, both of whom are coloured, to be included in the squad. “At no stage did I say I’m insisting on Gibbs and Zondeki,” Arendse said. “I did not mention their names.”The reported a heated discussion between Arendse and the selectors after the squad chosen by them contained four coloured players against the seven required by CSA policy, after which Arendse refused to approve the squad.While not directly touching on that issue, Arendse said: “My role is not to rubber-stamp the squad. My role is to ensure that the CSA transformation policy is complied with. That may seem controversial to some people but it remains the policy of CSA.”However, South Africa coach Mickey Arthur, who is on the selection panel, said he wanted his strongest team on the field in Bangladesh given that it is followed by a three-Test tour of India. “As a coach and a selector I share Norman’s determination to push the transformation agenda,” Arthur told Reuters. “At the same time, I want to be able to look every player in the eye and tell him: ‘I believe you’re the best player for this position’.”
Darrell Hair’s claim that the ICC’s decision to bar him from officiating in major international matches was racially-motivated will be heard by an employment tribunal in London starting on October 1. The hearing is expected to last around a fortnight.Hair has recently returned to Sydney after living for three years in England. He told the Australian media that it was “unsure but unlikely” he would umpire again, although James Sutherland, Cricket Australia’s CEO, hinted that Hair might be offered a contract to umpire first-class cricket there.”We had three good years living in England,” Hair said, “but I am sure we will enjoy living here as well.”Hair is believed to be writing his memoirs which are expected to be published at Christmas.
Western Province suffered a first-day collapse on a lively pitch at Newlands to be bowled out for 114 in their first innings against KwaZulu-Natal. Ryan Canning made 30, and was the only Province batsmen to show the Durban pace attack any resistance. Career bests from Nicolas Hewer (4 for 31) and Saidi Mhlongo (3 for 27), together with 3 for 43 from Ugasen Govender, was enough to race through the Province batting in 48.2 overs. The Natal innings almost suffered the same destruction but 45 from Wade Wingfield saw them recover from 52 for 4 to 103 for 5 when bad light stopped play early. Two concerns for Natal is are the injuries suffered to Govender, who limped off during the Province innings, and Mark Sanders, who was forced to retire hurt.The derby grudge match at Goodyear Park in Bloemfontein between neighbours Free State and Griqualand West did not quite start off as planned for Griquas. Winning the toss and batting first, they were soon in trouble at 55 for 4 but a couple of twenties, a 46 not out from Jandre Coetzee and 25, which included three sixes, from the No. 10, Revelation Plaatjie, enabled them to limp to 195 all out with Jacob Malao taking 3 for 54. The Free State top order did not suffer the same fate as they finished the day, an early stop due to bad light, on 114 for 2 with Benjamin Hector scoring 43 and Lefa Mosena not out on 46.