Peter Chingoka, Zimbabwe Cricket’s chairman, has said that the dispute with Zimbabwe’s rebel players is officially at an end and that it’s now “business as usual”.In an interview with Zimbabwe’s Independent newspaper, Chingoka said that he believed the board had “done everything in our power to resolve this issue once and for all. ZC employs over 200 people and they are treated just like the other employees. We have a system in place, and that is what we are using as a guideline.”Chingoka stressed that the side would be picked on merit and said that “the players’ return means that we have got a good blend of senior and younger players. It fits well with our target of doing well at the World Cup in 2007.”He also denied reports that Zimbabwe’s Central Intelligence Organisation were investigating ZC over its new logo, insisting that he only learnt of the story through the media. “We can’t stop such mischievous and malicious rumours,” he said. “ZC is an apolitical organisation. When the agent designed that logo, we explained what the colours and emblem mean. To us that should not even be a subject for discussion.”Cricinfo was told by a senior official inside Zimbabwe Cricket that the matter of the logo was raised at board level.
Moin Khan produced a Test-best 137 at a time when Pakistan needed it, and took his team out of the woods in the first Test against New Zealand. After Moin led his team to 463, New Zealand faced two overs and were 4 for 0 at stumps on the fourth day. Play will start half an hour early, at 10.30am, on the final day, to make up for time lost because of rain.Moin came to the wicket when Inzamam-ul-Haq fell to the new ball. And despite losing Abdul Razzaq soon after, Moin found a staunch, if unlikely, ally in Mohammad Sami to see Pakistan past the follow-on mark of 364.The day had been cut short because of overnight rain and only half an hour’s play was possible before lunch. Fourteen tentative runs were added in that time, after Inzamam survived a first-ball chance when Lou Vincent dropped a catch in the gully region off Chris Cairns’s bowling.Inzamam scored his 34th half-century but then fell to Daryl Tuffey, clearlyNew Zealand’s best bowler. Tuffey, operating with the new ball, beat Inzamamwith successive balls that slipped past the bat, and then got one inside itthat trapped him leg-before. Razzaq had demonstrated some of the touches that made him such a fearless hitter at the death in the recent one-day series against New Zealand, and was on 48 when he nicked a rare leg-side ball from Tuffey and Robbie Hart took the chance low down.Pakistan still required 79 runs to avoid the follow-on, and Moin and Sami had to contend with an improved New Zealand bowling approach. Chris Cairns and IanButler found better rhythm. Butler was especially unlucky in having goodyorker balls take the inside edge, miss the stumps and go for boundaries onseveral occasions. He hit Moin once when he ducked into a shorterone, but in a show of the type of mood he was in, Moin clouted the nextball back down the pitch for four.Moin survived a close call for a run-out when taking on Cairns’s arm fromthe outfield. It took a long look at video evidence before Tony Hill, the third umpire, was able to rule that he had just made his ground.Moin brought up his 50 off 75 balls, and then freed up once the follow-onmark had been passed, using some more innovative shots. He brought up hisfourth Test century by hitting a boundary, a six and another boundary offsuccessive balls from Daniel Vettori. He and Sami shared the only centurypartnership of Pakistan’s innings, adding 152 before Vettori finallyhad Sami caught at the wicket 25 (437 for 7). Soon after Jacob Oram trapped Moinleg-before for 137 and Pakistan were 453 for 8.
Tuffey was outstanding. He secured his sixth five-wicket bag in Tests andwas consistent in his line on or about off stump. He was tireless and hiswork was rewarded. Ian Butler polished off the last two wickets and Pakistanwere all out for 463.There was still some excitement left in the day when New Zealand batted out a small passsage of play. Mark Richardson hit a four off the first ball of the second innings, and then at the end of the over appeared to have a disagreement with Mohammad Sami, who had bowled his most fiery over of the match.
A strokeful and chanceless century by Imran Javed put Karachi Whites in the drivers seat against Faisalabad at stumps on the second day of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy match at the National Stadium Wednesday.The fast-improving 21-year-old Imran finished unbeaten at 112 as the home team recovered from a precarious 135 for five to 311 for six. They lead Faisalabad by 88 runs with two days and four wickets to spare.Imran added 134 runs for the fifth wicket in as many minutes with Shadab Kabir who battled flu to contributed 48 at No 6 before being declared caught behind. Shadab’s walk to the dressing room suggested he might have been a bit unlucky.Faisalabad paceman Moazzam Ali caused the maximum damage when he finished with four wickets for 95 runs from 23 overs, including three wickets in 38 balls in a post-lunch spell. But the hero of the day was Imran Javed who is rapidly blossoming into a fine stroke-maker.The youngster has fully capitalized from his excellent form as he has amassed runs 456 (67*, 78*, 125*, 0, 41, 18, 15, 112*) in the ongoing tournament. He averages 114.Imran’s commitment and concentration can be judged from the fact that he has faced 160 balls during his 205 minutes innings while 82 of his runs have come from 19 boundaries and a six.Experienced Ghulam Ali was the other notable Karachi batsman while scoring a typical attractive 54 that included nine punishing boundaries. Fortunate to have been caught off a no-ball and then dropped when 24, Ghulam Ali added 82 for the second wicket with Saeed bin Nasir (38) who also benefited from a dropped catch by Aqeel Khan off his own bowling.If three Karachi players were down with flu, three Faisalabad boys were injured. But the injury to Aqeel while attempting to catch Saeed proved costly as he failed to take the field after bowling 28 deliveries.
Top of the table Hampshire will select the same side that defeated Derbyshire this week, for the CricInfo Championship second division clash with neighbours Sussex on Wednesday at West End.The Eleven: Giles White, Derek Kenway, Will Kendall, Robin Smith (captain), Neil Johnson, Lawrence Prittipaul, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Adi Aymes (wicket-keeper), Shaun Udal, Alex Morris, Alan Mullally.Sussex also have no injury problems and chose from 12:Richard Montgomerie, Murray Goodwin, Michael Yardy, Bastiaan Zuiderent, Chris Adams (captain), Umer Rashid, Robin Martin-Jenkins, Matthew Prior (wicket-keeper), Mark Davis, Robert Kirtley, Jason Lewry, C Hopkinson.Umpires: Tony Clarkson and Bob White
Aston Villa are reportedly in the hunt to sign Inter Milan defender Stefan de Vrij this summer with manager Steven Gerrard keen to improve his defensive options.
What’s the story?
According to Football Insider, Villa are keeping tabs on the Dutch defender with Gerrard looking to sign an A-list centre-back this summer.
The report also states that the defender was valued at around £40m in January with the 30-year-old’s current deal at the San Siro expiring in 2023.
The West Midland club’s Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur are also reportedly interested in bringing de Vrij to England this summer with manager Antonio Conte in charge when Inter won the Serie A title last season, with the Dutchman a key contributor to their success.
In fact, the Italian coach once exclaimed that the defender was “like Bonucci.”
Aston Villa must swoop for de Vrij
Valued at £31.5m by Transfermarkt despite having just over a year left on his contract, de Vrij certainly won’t come cheap for whoever lands the defender’s signature.
However, it’s no secret that Aston Villa have ambitious plans for the upcoming transfer window, particularly after being able to lure a player of Philippe Coutinho’s pedigree to Villa Park in January, albeit on loan.
The Villans are on course for their first top-half finish in the top-flight for 11 years which will lay decent foundations for Gerrard after the Englishman’s first season in charge of the West Midlands side, having joined from Rangers in November.
Naturally, the next step will be to consolidate that place and push for European qualification. The signing of de Vrij would undoubtedly be a serious statement of intent.
The 30-year-old defender has spent almost eight years in Italy having joined Lazio from Feyenoord in 2014, where he was dubbed a “monster” by teammate Mauricio, before making the move to Inter Milan in 2018 on a free transfer.
Although, this isn’t the first time a Premier League club has been linked with a swoop for the 55-cap Netherlands international.
As well as his impressive international experience, de Vrij boasts impressive experience at club level too, winning the Scudetto last season whilst racking up 46 appearances in European competition as well as 347 in top-flight league football across the Eredivisie and Serie A.
Compared to Aston Villa’s current centre-backs, the 30-year-old is a major step up in quality and calibre.
Although Tyrone Mings has established himself as a regular in England manager Gareth Southgate’s squads, the 29-year-old has only found regular game time in the Premier League whilst being at Villa during the past three seasons.
As for the likes of Ezri Konsa, Calum Chambers and Kourtney Hause, none are current internationals whilst Chambers’ experience of playing in Europe and winning the FA Cup and Community Shield is as experienced as any of Villa’s current defenders get.
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Moreover, according to SofaScore, De Vrij wins the majority of both his aerial and ground duels, has a 92% pass completion rate, only loses the ball 4.8 times per match whilst having 62.5 touches on average per Serie A game, also making at least one tackle and interception per game.
Contrastingly, Aston Villa’s best defender statistically, Tyrone Mings, averages 58.5 touches per league game whilst completing 80% of his passes, losing possession 10.4 times per game on average.
The Englishman does manage to make at least one interception per game but is currently averaging 0.6 tackles.
It’s clearly evident that the signing of de Vrij would seriously improve Gerrard’s squad, the main issue will be convincing the Dutchman to swap the San Siro for Villa Park.
In other news: Imagine him & Coutinho: Gerrard must now unleash Villa maestro who “can do anything”
After ringing the changes for the second Test in Wellington and winning the game to square the series, England are a reinvigorated outfit and bubbling with confidence. With James Anderson (match figures of 7-130) and Stuart Broad both demonstrating the benefits of youth in Wellington, it is New Zealand who are on the back foot approaching the decider in Napier. However, unlike the Basin Reserve’s fast-and-springy pitch, Napier’s McLean Park is expected to be flat and lifeless and New Zealand will miss the relative experience of Kyle Mills, ruled out with a knee injury. Will his replacement, the Under-19 fast bowler Tim Southee, inspire New Zealand as much as Broad and Anderson roused England last week? Stephen Fleming, playing in his 111th and final Test, will dearly hope so.
Form guide – England
Last five matches: LDDLWPlayer to watch: Kevin Pietersen’s form dip has quickly become a troublesome trough. Not since his 101 against India last summer has he hit so much as a fifty. He continues to in good form but judging by the exasperated grin which spread across his face after being run out in Wellington, he is all too aware of his plight. Napier’s lifeless track and an inexperienced New Zealand attack might be the trigger he needs.
Form guide – New Zealand
Last five matches: LWWWLPlayer to watch: Stephen Fleming has, by his own admission and strictly statistically speaking, underperformed with the bat in a career that has spanned 14 years. Approaching his 111th and final Test, he still needs 113 runs to secure his long-sought goal of averaging 40 and, timing the ball as well as he ever has, don’t discount one last hurrah.
Team news
Mills has failed to recover from his injured knee, prompting a call-up for Southee, the 19-year-old swing bowler. Mills’s absence might be a blessing in disguise; Southee was named Player of the Tournament in last month’s Under-19 World Cup for his 17 wickets at 6.64 and John Bracewell, the New Zealand coach, has already highlighted his ability to swing. England, on the other hand, are expected to remained unchanged following their 126-run win in Wellington.New Zealand Jamie How, Matthew Bell, Stephen Fleming, Mathew Sinclair, Ross Taylor, Grant Elliott, Brendon McCullum (wk), Daniel Vettori (capt), Jeetan Patel, Tim Southee, Chris Martin.England (probable) Alastair Cook, Michael Vaughan (capt), Andrew Strauss, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Tim Ambrose (wk), Stuart Broad, Ryan Sidebottom, Monty Panesar, James Anderson.UmpiresDaryl Harper and Rudi Koertzen
Pitch & conditions
The last time these sides met in Napier was for that thrilling tied ODI when New Zealand couldn’t overhaul England’s 340, and the Test pitch is widely expected to play much the same. Phil Stoyanoff, the head curator, confirmed it will offer plenty of pace and bounce to allow batsmen to play their shots, but the margin of error for bowlers is likely to be miniscule. A pitch for both batting sides to fill their boots.Weather: A few showers and light east to south-east winds (The New Zealand Metservice)
Stats & trivia
Four out of the five Tests staged in Napier have ended in a draw. Sri Lanka claimed the one win, beating New Zealand in 1995
New Zealand haven’t beaten England at home since 1984. England’s last series win in New Zealand was under Mike Atherton in 1996-97
Quotes
“I’m trying to be deadpan about my retirement. The emotions will creep in from the people around me, but I’m trying to be very statistically motivated in the goals that I’ve set. I’m not always that good at following them, but I’ve tried to really get into them. One of them was 7000 runs, another was ten hundreds. It’s a focus to get away from the emotions of Test cricket.” “He’s a class bowler and the selectors have been watching him for some time. They believe he’s ready for the job.” “The hardest part of watching was when the team were gathering on the outfield for their huddle. I could not help wondering what was being said and it felt a little strange that I was not out there.”
Mushtaq Ahmed, Pakistan’s assistant coach, appeared before a three-member performance evaluation committee constituted by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to explain his team’s disastrous performance in the World Cup.Mushtaq, who is due to leave for England in a few days, was the first member to appear before the committee, which will also question Inzamam-ul-Haq and a few other members of the squad. Mushtaq was questioned on several matters pertaining to the team’s disappointing show in the hour-long session with former Test cricketers Ijaz Butt, Saleem Altaf and Salahuddin Ahmed.”There is no excuse for the poor performance which has really disappointed the nation and I can only apologise to public for that,” Mushtaq said while speaking to Karachi-based daily .He shrugged aside claims that the team’s preparation for the mega event was not up to the mark and played an imperative part in Pakistan not progressing to the Super Eights. He added that the team failed to deliver on the field in successive losses to West Indies and Ireland.Talking about the Bob Woolmer murder, Mushtaq criticised the lack of security measures taken for his team in the Caribbean.”The security arrangements for the foreign teams in Pakistan are a lot better than what I saw in the West Indies,” he said.He also denied rumours that Shahid Afridi was questioned for longer by the Jamaican police over the death.The performance evaluation committee, constituted last week, is expected to submit its final report on Pakistan’s campaign within a month.
Stuart Clark hopes he can be the man to fix Australia’s end-of-innings bowling problems. The Australians have struggled to close out opposition batsmen in the final overs since the Chappell-Hadlee Series and the continued absence of Glenn McGrath means Ricky Ponting is still searching for a reliable replacement.”I’d like to be the death bowler, I am getting better at that,” Clark told AAP ahead of Friday’s Twenty20 International at Johannesburg. “If they want to give me the new ball, I’m happy to do that, or bowl first change. If they want me to bowl at the death, I’m happy to do that as well.”Clark made his debut during the Super Series last October and has played 11 ODIs and taken 19 wickets. He has become a regular fringe member of the side since he was picked as a squad replacement for McGrath in England and he will enter the five-match one-day series as part of the first-choice bowling line-up including Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken. “You only get limited opportunities and you have to make the most of them while you’re out there,” Clark said.The Australians have talked about dealing with the hostile crowds predicted for the series, but Clark said the reaction was not a concern. “It doesn’t matter where you go,” he said. “When we went to New Zealand, the crowd was parochial towards New Zealanders. When South Africa come to Australia, the Australian crowd climbs on board for us.”It’s part of being an international cricketer. It’s the same in domestic cricket. Queensland don’t like NSW and Western Australia don’t like anyone.”
Shaun Pollock is unlikely to participate in the second Test against Zimbabwe due to an ankle problem he sustained during the series against England. His discomfort was visible in Zimbabwe’s second innings of the first Test, where he bowled only five overs.Shane Jabaar, the South African team physiotherapist, believed the Shaun’s ankle would not recover in time for the Test, which begins on March 11. Supersport quoted him as saying, “Shaun will consult a specialist about his sore ankle on Wednesday, but I do not think he will play in the second Test.”Jabaar also spoke about the injuries afflicting Graeme Smith, Charl Langeveldt and AB de Villiers. “His ankle remains problematic and we are treating it,” Jabaar said of Smith. “However, we need time, that is something we do not have.”But he had some good news. He confirmed that AB de Villiers did not have a broken finger and that Langeveldt’s hamstring problem was recovering well. “Charl is responding well to treatment and will remain in the squad,” said Jabaar. “I cannot see his injury preventing him from playing in the second Test.”
Tamil Nadu 110 for 2 and 188 (Paul 7-44) trail Bengal 400 (Haldipur 100, Sanyal 89) by 102 runs Scorecard Shib Sankar Paul, the Bengal medium pacer, forced Tamil Nadu to follow-on on the third day of the Elite B match at Tirunelveli. Paul, who has been Bengal’s bowling hero this season, took seven wickets as Tamil Nadu caved in for a mere 188. Without three of their main batsmen, Tamil Nadu struggled, with only S Badrinath (86) averting a complete disaster. However, they put up a better show while following on by losing only two wickets for 110, with Badrinath still unbeaten at stumps.Rajasthan 53 for 4 and 168 trail Karnataka 350 (Rowland 81, Arunkumar 58, Bharadwaj 50) and 145 by 275 runs Scorecard Karnataka wrested the initiative with a good batting display on the third day of the match against Rajasthan. Barrington Rowland and Vijay Bharadwaj hit fine half-centuries as Karnataka set a victory target of 328. Rowland, carrying on his rich vein of form, hit seven boundaries in his 81. Rajasthan had their backs to the wall at the end of the day when Dodda Ganesh and Venkatesh Prasad reduced them to 53 for 4 and set Karnataka up for their first victory of the season.Uttar Pradesh 22 for 1 and 205 trail Mumbai 332 (Morris 93*, Thakkar 71) by 105 runs Scorecard At one point Mumbai were 258 for 8 and UP had done a good job in restricting their lead. But Robin Morris hit a breezy 93, and ensured that Mumbai finished with lead of 127 runs. Morris’s 120-ball innings included five sixes and six fours, and he put on 74 runs for the last two wickets. Earlier, Bhavin Thakkar also chipped in with 71 to prop up the total. Praveen Gupta, the left-arm spinner, was the most successful bowler for UP with 4 for 79. In their second innings, UP lost the wicket of S Shukla early and will have to battle all day tomorrow if they are to deny Mumbai an outright victory.Delhi 198 for 6 (Dahiya 61) and 195 lead Railways 234 by 159 runs Scorecard In a low scoring game, Railways gained a small lead, but Vijay Dahiya and Pradeep Chawla played valuable innings for Delhi and set up a fascinating final day at the Karnail Singh Stadium. Dahiya struck 61 and Chawla remained unbeaten on 48 as Delhi went ahead by 159 runs for the loss of six wickets. Harvinder Singh picked up three wickets and finished as the most successful bowler for Railways.Hyderabad 199 for 4 (Anirudh 68, Vinay 53) trail Assam 537 (Sathish 133*, Sukhvinder 112) by 338 runs Scorecard After being battered on the first two days by the Assam batsmen, Hyderabad made a sedate start to their innings, compiling 199 runs on the third day. Anirudh Singh and Vinay Kumar hit fifties, but Hyderabad lost four wickets and were still 338 runs adrift at stumps. Assam may have batted for too long to force an outright win, but first-innings points are almost assured.Punjab 323 for 8 (Dharmani 98, Sodhi 66, Mongia 60) trail Baroda 369 (Martin 149, R Parab 54) by 46 runs Scorecard Both teams jostled for the first-innings lead as Punjab finished the third day still 46 runs behind with only two wickets standing. Pankaj Dharmani marginally missed out on a hundred and Reetinder Singh Sodhi hit 66 as Punjab inched towards the Baroda total. Earlier Dinesh Mongia had also hit a fine 60. Rakesh Patel picked up four wickets and Baroda will look to polish off the tail and pick up first-innings honours.Plate Championship First Round Vidarbha 52 for 2 and 287 (Gawande 60) lead Tripura 337 (Sachdev 110, Jaiswal 76, Acharya 6-65) by 2 runs Scorecard 198 runs were scored on the third day as both teams lost wickets at regular intervals. Tripura gained a vital 49 runs first-innings lead, with Chetan Sachdev scoring a stroke-filled 110. But by the end of the day, Vidarbha erased the deficit, losing two top-order batsmen in the process. Madhusudan Acharya, the offspinner, enhanced his burgeoning reputation by adding three wickets, including Sachdev, to end with career-best figures of 6 for 65. Tripura gained the first-innings bonus points and will look to their spinners to get them an outright win tomorrow.Goa 41 for 1 and 235 (Swapnil 126, Mohanty 5-44) trail Orissa 466 (Mullick 134, Mohapatra 83, Behara 87, Jakati 5-99) by 190 runs Scorecard Pravanjan Mullick blasted 134 off just 163 balls and Orissa stamped their authority over Goa on the third day. Biswa Mohapatra and S Behera, the openers, hit eighties and Orissa finished their first innings at 466. Shadab Jakati was the most successful bowler ending with a five-wicket haul. Goa suffered a setback in their second innings as AA Swapnil, the first-innings centurion, was forced to retire hurt – something that may prove vital in the ultimate outcome.Jammu and Kashmir 226 for 5 and 96 (Vashisht 6-32) trail Haryana 304 (Shafiq 71, Snny 66, Ganda 57) by 21 runs Scorecard Jammu and Kashmir 229 for 5 and 96 (Vashisht 6-32) lead Haryana 304 by 21 runs.After dominating Jammu & Kashmir for the better part of three days, Haryana would have expected a quick finish today. But J&K improved on their first-innings total of 96 to reach 229 for 5. J&K were tottering at 159 for 5, but Dhruv Mahajan, the captain, and Manzoor Dar steadied the innings with an unbeaten 70-run partnership and were on 42 and 30 respectively at stumps. Services 79 for 2 and 233 lead Himachal Pradesh 291 (Virender Sharma 134, Fazil 5-73) by 22 runs Scorecard Virender Sharma led the way on the third day, as Himachal Pradesh gained a first-innings lead of 58 over Services. It took a run-out to end Sharma’s impressive 134, and with it, the Himachal innings for 291. Fazil Mohammed and Arun Sharma claimed the bowling honours to finish with 5 for 73 and 4 for 90 respectively. Services began their second innings cautiously, reaching 79 for 2 at close, with an overall lead of 22.