Nazmul Hassan, the BCB president, has said that Bangladesh’s two-Test series against Zimbabwe, scheduled originally for January 2016, will be shelved to keep the team’s focus on T20Is. Hassan did not mention when the series will be now be held, but said the period after the World T20 was in discussion.”It is necessary for us to prepare for the Asia Cup T20 and the World T20 which are two important tournaments,” he said. “Many of our T20 players aren’t in the T20 squad so if we play Test cricket at that time, they won’t be able to prepare.” The BCB, however, is yet to announce any international or domestic T20 tournament between the end of the BPL and the start of the Asia Cup, which they will host.The two-Test series was part of Zimbabwe’s full tour to Bangladesh, but after Australia postponed their Test series in October, the BCB forwarded the limited-overs matches from the Zimbabwe series to November. Bangladesh won the ODI series 3-0, and the two teams shared the two-match T20I series 1-1.Back in August, the BCB had already cut one Test from this series to prepare for the World T20. In October, the two Tests scheduled for January were forwarded to November, but a week later, the BCB changed the format of the series to include just ODIs and T20Is.
Gauteng 145 for 4 beat Zimbabwe Provinces 144 (das Neves 4-24) by six wickets ScorecardGauteng punished Zimbabwe Provinces for a shambolic batting display with a six-wicket victory at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. Zimbabwe did not bat their full allotment of overs and were bundled out for 144 with more than 12 overs remaining and Gauteng cruised home with plenty of time in hand.Zimbabwe lost their first wicket in the second over, the under-the spotlight Tino Mawoyo top edging Brian Mathebula to fine leg. A second-wicket stand of 50 runs between wicketkeeper Regis Chakabva and Alester Maregwede gave Zimbabwe some hope but Johnson Mafa took two wickets in his first over and Zimbabwe slid from there on in.Maregwede who was caught behind by wicketkeeper Dale Vilas for 29 and three balls later Steven Nyamuzinga was taken at first slip by Dumisa Makalima for a three-ball duck. Zimbabwe lost another three wickets without adding a run with the score on 103 and only a last-wicket partnership of 31 between Graeme Cremer and Tafadzwa Kamungozi boosted to the score to anything remotely defendable.Gauteng romped to a comfortable victory with runs coming from Warren Swan, who top scored with 44, while opener Williams Motaung chipped in with 32.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details Powered by some lusty hitting by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina, Rajasthan Cricket Association President’s XI chased down the 297-run target in the last over. All the Indian batsmen, except Mohammad Kaif, had a useful outing. As for the bowlers, however, only Munaf Patel and Harbhajan Singh came away with their honours intact. Interestingly, none of the Rajasthan batsmen were given a chance to bat.In a game where the focus was clearly to get some practice – Dhoni and Kaif batted for both teams, Raina batted and bowled in the same innings, and India XI only had one regular bowler in RP Singh – the three chief disappointments were Irfan Pathan, Kaif and RP Singh. While Pathan bled 83 runs, Kaif, despite getting two chances to bat, totalled all of eight runs and RP Singh was carted for 83 in 8.5 overs.If Pathan went into the match hoping to salvage his reputation as a strike bowler, he was to be disappointed. Maybe, even shattered, as he was destroyed by Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar. He bled in fours and sixes as the duo went after him with gusto. Pathan, as he has been doing in recent times, sought relief with his bat.Given the onslaught at the other end, Munaf’s was a creditable performance.While the openers were indulging themselves on Pathan’s offerings, they were forced to deal in singles and twos against the economical Patel. He picked up the wicket of Tendulkar before coming back for a second spell to curtail a promising knock from Yuvraj Singh. Ajit Agarkar, although not as expensive as Pathan, leaked 62 runs in his 10 overs.Sehwag made merry with a 91-ball 107 that was studded with 13 fours and two sixes before retiring hurt to make way for the other batsmen. Tendulkar gave him good company with a 45-ball 39. After Kaif was run out, Yuvraj and Rahul Dravid stitched together a fine partnership to push the score along. Dhoni retired hurt after making 17 – he was to return to wallop the India XI bowlers – and Dinesh Mongia did not get much time in the middle.The RCA XI were given a rollicking start by Dhoni and Raina who tore apart RP Singh. Interestingly, the Rajasthani bowlers, Mathur and Gehlot, were not that profligate. Both the openers retired but Kaif could not make use of his second opportunity with the bat, falling to Yuvraj. Pathan, however, made a well-compiled 42. He shared useful partnerships with Agarkar and Harbhajan to steer his side close to the victory. Though Pathan fell in the last over, with still five runs needed in four balls, Harbhajan and Ramesh Powar took RCA XI home.
The legspinner, Stuart MacGill, has emerged as a contender for Australia’s make-or-break fifth Test at The Oval next week, as their coach, John Buchanan, sized up the options available to his team. Australia need a victory to secure a 2-2 share of the series and retain the Ashes for the ninth series in a row.MacGill, 34, has taken 160 wickets in 33 Tests since making his debut in 1998, but the pre-eminence of Shane Warne has restricted him to a walk-on role in the Australian squad. Nevertheless, against England, MacGill has a remarkable tally of 39 wickets in just six Tests, and he could be called upon to replace the ineffectual Michael Kasprowicz, and shore up an attack that has relied too heavily on Shane Warne and Brett Lee.”The Oval historically provides bounce and it provides turn,” Buchanan told AFP. “That aids both pace bowlers who hit the deck and spin bowlers because they actually get bounce with some turn. Therefore, I am sure [chairman of selectors] Trevor Hohns would say, Stuart MacGill is very much in the equation.”Buchanan would not be drawn on any other possible changes, which might include the replacing of Matthew Hayden at the top of the order. Until recently, Hayden was ranked as the No. 1 batsman in the world with an average in excess of 58, but he has failed to pass 70 in his last 30 innings, and has been badly found out by England’s pace attack this summer.Buchanan himself is under some pressure as well. His contract as national coach comes up for renewal in October, and though he wishes to carry on in a role he has held since 1999, the prospect of Ashes defeat will not please his employers, Cricket Australia, who might want to consider a change of direction.”I’m not even thinking about that, it’s not a factor,” Buchanan told AFP, as Australia prepared for their two-day warm-up match against Essex, which starts on Saturday. “My consideration is to simply try and make sure we go into this game in the best possible shape and give ourselves the best possible chance to win it.”The match against Essex is Australia’s last chance for practice ahead of next week’s climatic fifth Test, and Buchanan could not help but acknowledge the possibility of the unthinkable. “If we don’t win it well then obviously there are other decisions to be made after that,” he conceded. “But that’s not an issue for me at the moment. We’ll finish this, and then we’ll sit down with Cricket Australia (CA) and work through that process.”
Despite the presence of Dinesh Karthik, a specialist wicketkeeper-batsman in the squad, Rahul Dravid will continue with his role behind the stumps as India take on England in the NatWest Challenge. Sourav Ganguly comfirmed as much on the eve of the three-match series, as he defended his team’s tactic of playing with seven batsmen.”I think we need a good wicketkeeper-batsman,” said Ganguly, in a tete-a-tete with the media. “Good teams have good wicketkeeper-batsmen and if you look at the one-day games we have played, we have won with seven batsmen. We don’t have a genuine all-rounder as other sides have and so we cannot afford that liberty. It has worked for us.”He made it clear that the specialist wicketkeeper had been included as a fall-back option just in case Dravid suffered some sort of injury. “Rahul is doing a good job behind the stumps and we do not need to change something that is not creating a problem,” said Ganguly. “It gives us an opportunity to include an extra batsman and increase the batting depth of the team. We travel with a specialist keeper in case Rahul gets injured but to start with we go with Rahul Dravid as our keeper.”India will face a selection dilemma or two in the run-up to the Trent Bridge game. With Sachin Tendulkar ruled out by tennis elbow, Rohan Gavaskar appears certain to be given a run in the middle order, and that leaves Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh to fight for the lone spin slot, assuming that the team stick to the seven-batsmen philosophy.Irfan Pathan and Lakshmipathy Balaji – who bowled his way back into form in Amstelveen – are near certainties to play, and Ashish Nehra, who destroyed England with his swing bowling at the last World Cup, should edge out Ajit Agarkar for the final spot.Ganguly suggested as much. “Pathan and Balaji have been bowling well. They are both good swingers of the cricket ball. It is a first trip here for both of them and I hope they do well. Ashish Nehra has been bowling well. The guys who will swing the ball in these conditions will do well.”While it’s Pathan first tour with the senior side, he has been to England three times previously with various representative sides, including the U-19s last year.India’s last one-day assignment here resulted in a memorable triumph in the NatWest Series final, but Ganguly suggested that England – who have won 16 of their last 23 Tests – would pose a far sterner test this time round. “I think we have played well over the last two years but that does not guarantee we will play well in this tournament,” said Ganguly.”We will have to be at our best. That is the past and we will have to raise our game. Winning 10 out of 11 Test matches is an outstanding achievement. England are a good side and we will have to play well to beat them.”
Leicestershire 178 for 7 beat Lancashire 156 for 8 by 22 runs at Leicester Scorecard Leicestershire won their third Twenty20 Cup match out of three, beating Lancashire by 22 runs at Grace Road. Realistically it was all over when Lancs slumped to 97 for 8, although Glen Chapple (55*) and Peter Martin (10*) then added 59 without being separated to make the margin look closer. Virender Sehwag gave Leicester a quick start, with 26 out of the first 31, then the in-form Darren Maddy hit 46 to set up a winning total of 178 for 7.Northamptonshire 166 for 6 beat Somerset 151 by 15 runs at Northampton Scorecard Another fine innings from Mike Hussey, who cracked 88, set up Northants for a winning total at Wantage Road. Keith Dutch, Somerset’s offspinner, applied the brakes with 2 for 14 in his three overs, but a score of 166 for 6 proved just beyond Somerset, for whom Carl Gazzard top-scored with a rapid 39. Jason Brown, another offspinner, took 5 for 27 as Somerset collapsed in the search for quick runs.Warwickshire 181 for 9 beat Glamorgan 113 by 68 runs at Edgbaston Scorecard In front of a big crowd of more than 10,000, Warwickshire maintained their 100% record with their third win out of three – and consigned Glamorgan to their fourth straight defeat. Neil Carter (47) and Nick Knight (54) set Warwickshire rolling with an opening stand of 85. Then Collins Obuya, the Kenyan World Cup legspinner, had Glamorgan rolling with 5 for 24. Only Matthew Maynard, whose 50 included a six off the first ball of the innings, from Waqar Younis, held Warwickshire up for long.Yorkshire 198 for 4 beat Durham 143 for 8 by 55 runs at Headingley Scorecard Yorkshire’s total of 198 for 4, of which Stephen Fleming clattered 58 and Michael Lumb 50, always looked too much for neighbours Durham – and so it proved. Durham managed only 143, with Martin Love top-scoring with 51. Yuvraj Singh, Yorkshire’s Indian import, returned to form with 22 and 3 for 20, identical figures to Ryan Sidebottom.Kent 120 for 7 beat Essex 116 by 3 wickets at Chelmsford Scorecard Kent made heavy weather of overhauling Essex’s modest total of 116, but made it in the end with three wickets and 3.5 overs to spare. Andrew Symonds (32) and James Tredwell (31) put on 58 for Kent’s second wicket, and looked to be taking them home in style – but then Graham Napier nipped in with three wickets. Earlier Andy Flower top-scored for Essex with 33, but then Kent’s new South African-born medium-pacer Matthew Dennington collected 4 for 28 in his four overs.
OUR DEEPEST SYMPATHYTo Calvin Clarke, General Secretary of the Canadian Cricket Association and of the ICC Trophy 2001 ’01 sub-Committee on the loss of his wife, Cynthia. Cynthia was a graceful , charming and loving wife, mother and grandmother. Even in the last days of her long illness and struggle, Cynthia was still more concerned about others. She was a wonderful and refreshing change from the everyday bustle and hustle. She will be sorely missed by her husband and Richard, Hyacinth, Rosalie and Ingrid as well as by her grandchildren, Omari, Maia, Bryre and Breanna.Visiting hours are on Tuesday September 4th from 2-4 and from 7-9 at Highland Funeral Home at 3280 Sheppard East in Toronto.Funeral services for Cynthia Clarke, wife of CCA Gen. Sect’y Calvin Clarke,will be held on Wednesday 5th September 2001 at 11:00h EST, at the Epiphanyof Our Lord Church, 3200 Pharmacy Avenue, Toronto and then interment followsat Holy Cross Cemetery, Thornhill,( Yonge and Highway 7).Cynthia will be missed. Quoting from her Obit: Beloved wife of Calvin, Lovingmother of Ingrid (Michael), Hyacinth, Richard (Theonna) and Rosalie. Dearlyloved grandmother of Omari, Kaia, Breanna, and Bryre. Dear sister ofCuthbert, (Sylvia) and the late Anthony, Leonard and Thelma. sister in lawof Jocelyn (Von), Murray, Joy, Lyris, Ann-Marie, Lystra(Stan) and Denise.Loving aunt of Leslie-Ann, Sheldon, and Vera, Cynthia will be lovinglyremembered by Pauline and many dear friends and family.Expressions of Sympathy to either (a) the CNIB’s Donation Donor Services canbe forwarded to 1929 Bayview Avenue or via phone at 1 800 563 2642, or (b) inaid of Cancer Research to the Sunnybrook Hospital Foundations Office at 2075Bayview Avenue at 416 480 – 4483.To Calvin and family we offer the following quote:I’M FREE Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free. I am following the path God laid for me. I took His hand when I heard Him call, I turned my back and left it all. I could not stay another day, to laugh, to love, to work or play… Tasks left undone must stay that way, I found that peace at the close of the day. If my parting has left a void, Then fill it with remembered joy. a friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss, Ah, these things I too will miss. Be not burdened with time of sorrow. I wish to you the sunshine of tomorrow. My life’s been full, I savored much, Good friends, good times, a loved one touched. Perhaps my time seemed all too brief, Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief. Lift up your heart and share with me, God wanted me now, He set me free!!! Courtesy of the CCA.
Rangers boss Gio van Bronckhorst must brutally axe Steven Davis from his squad at Ibrox during the upcoming summer transfer window.
The central midfielder is out of contract at the start of June and Ross Wilson should allow him to move on instead of offering him fresh terms to extend his stay in Glasgow.
Ally McCoist previously dubbed him as “out of this world” but his time at Ibrox may now be coming to an end as others players have stepped ahead of him.
He has been a fine servant to the Gers and was crucial in the title success last season under Steven Gerrard. Davis averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.06 across 35 appearances, making 3.0 tackles and interceptions per game and completing 89% of his attempted passes.
The Northern Ireland international has found game time hard to come by under van Bronckhorst and has only started nine games in the Premiership so far – one of those coming since the Dutchman joined in November.
This suggests that the ex-Feyenoord coach does not believe he is better than the other options in his side, which could make it a waste of money to extend the player’s contract.
Aaron Ramsey and James Sands have both been brought in to compete in the central areas, but another player has already replaced the £13k-per-week dud in the squad – John Lundstram.
The summer 2021 signing on a free transfer from Sheffield United has hit a rich vein of form this month and is establishing himself as a big player for the Gers. He scored a superb goal against Borussia Dortmund and has formed a solid partnership with Ryan Jack in midfield, with his emergence showing that van Bronckhorst has faith in him to perform.
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When you then throw in Joe Aribo, Scott Arfield and Glen Kamara, along with Ramsey and Sands, into the mix it starts to get a bit crowded in the middle of the park for Rangers. All of the aforementioned players appear to be ahead of Davis in the head coach’s plans and that is why he should be moved on at the end of the season.
The 37-year-old can either retire or head out elsewhere to play regular football before the end of his career. It would be a shame to see him waste his final years as a player sitting on the sidelines watching on as a last-reserve for the Gers, which is why he should be released this summer.
AND in other news, £5.6k-p/w wasted: Rangers liability has been ransacking Wilson’s pockets for 56 weeks…
Brendan Drew led Tasmania’s destructive bowling effort as they opened the FR Cup with an 89-run thrashing of the reigning champions Queensland on the Duckworth/Lewis method. Tim Paine’s unbeaten 73 guided the Tigers to 7 for 226 and when heavy rain ended play in the 24th over of the chase the visitors had deflated the Bulls to 6 for 63.Queensland’s top order was expertly tied down by Brett Geeves and Adam Griffith, who restricted the Bulls to 2 for 33 after 15 overs. Clinton Perren had struggled to 16 from 47 balls when he succumbed to the mounting pressure, trying to cut a Drew delivery close to his body and edging to slip.The next ball the Bulls were 4 for 42 when Aaron Nye slashed Drew to third man and Tasmania’s debutant Mark Divin took a terrific catch sliding on his knees. Divin continued his impressive all-round entrance by enticing Craig Philipson to edge behind in his first over of medium pace shortly before the rain set in.Divin had already justified his selection with 41 from 39 balls – including three powerful sixes slogged over midwicket – as he and Paine resurrected Tasmania after a wobbly start. The pair scored the bulk of the 83 that the Tigers added in the final ten overs.They took advantage of a rule change this season that allows the batting side to nominate one of the two Powerplays; Tasmania started theirs in the 41st over and began the late push. The Bulls had opened their title defence well by sending Tasmania in and had them at 4 for 84 when Paine, normally a one-day opener, became a steadying influence at No. 6.Tasmania earned a double bonus point from the victory and Daniel Marsh, the captain, was thrilled. “We were a little bit disappointed with our score but we knew we had to attack to defend that and the bowlers were fantastic,” he said. “Six points at the start of the year is a real bonus.”
Darrell Hair offered to resign as a member of the ICC’s Elite Umpires Panel in return for a payment of $500,000, Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, told a press conference near Lord’s.Speed said Hair’s resignation offer was forwarded to Doug Cowie, the ICC’s umpire manager. A copy of that letter was also made available to the Pakistan Cricket Board.In the letter, Hair asked for “a one-off payment to compensate for the loss of future earnings and retainer payments over the next four years, which I believe would have been the best years I have to offer ICC and world umpiring.”Speed said that he was shocked and “thought it was a silly letter.” He continued: “This issue has been marked by a series of unfortunate and entirely avoidable overreactions,” adding that he believed that Hair did not have any malicious intent.”I am confident, as is David Richardson (the ICC’s general manager – cricket), who has been intimately involved in these matters, that Darrell had no dishonest, underhand or malicious intent. He was seeking to find a solution that was in the interests of the game.”Despite the revelations, Speed said that Hair had not been suspended and no action had so far been taken against him. But he did not rule out action.”I have said to him that he is not sacked, he is not suspended, and he has not been charged,” Speed said. “I also said to him that I didn’t guarantee that each of those three positions would be maintained indefinitely.”In a statement released later, Speed added: “We realise the disclosure of this correspondence makes Darrell’s situation extremely sensitive. We have made available to him a range of support services including security advice, counselling and media management to assist him at this time.”Speed admitted that he was surprised by Hair’s letter and consulted three lawyers independently before making the contents of the letter public. “When I received the letters I was extremely surprised by the content, as was David. I was concerned as to how I should deal with it and in part whether I was required to disclose the contents.”We received three separate and independent legal opinions. They offered the unanimous view that the ICC was required to disclose the correspondence as it was material or relevant to matters that might be raised in the Code of Conduct hearing of Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq.”Although we are certain they are not the product of dishonest, underhand or malicious intent and believe the contents played no part in Darrell’s decision-making during the fourth Test, they could be read as such and may well be interpreted that way if they had emerged in the future.Speed said he was distressed that the issue had created lot of speculation and misinformation in the media as well as allegations of racial bias. “This issue has created unprecedented media and public issue… There is a huge amount of misinformation, speculation and conjecture in different parts of the world. There have been accusations of racism.”It involves two separate issues. Did the Pakistan team change the ball in an illegal manner? Secondly, when Pakistan refused to take the field, did that bring the game into disrepute? They are cricket issues. The ICC Code of Conduct provides a mechanism to dispense justice on cricket issues and that’s the process we are trying to achieve here.”The letter, a copy of which was released to the media, quoted Hair as saying that he was willing to relinquish the umpire’s job from August 31. “I am prepared to retire/stand down/relinquish my position on the elite panel to take effect from August 31, 2006. This payment is to be the sum of $500,000, details of which must be kept confidential by both parties.”ICC may announce the retirement in anyway they wish but I would prefer a simple “lifestyle choice” as this was the very reason I moved from Australia to settle in the UK three years ago.”Percy Sonn, the ICC president, hoped the disclosure of the correspondence represented a point in time after which everyone could once again go forward and focus on playing matters rather than intrigue.”Ever since last Sunday this ongoing situation has been marked by a succession of unfortunate and entirely avoidable over-reactions,” he said.”What we need now is for everyone to try and switch their attention to on-field matters once more.The ICC executive board will meet in Dubai next week to discuss the situation and also to fix a date for the Code of Conduct hearing.