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New Zealand women’s star bowler on their Northern Hemisphere tour last winter, Rachel Pullar of Otago, has ruled herself out of consideration for the New Zealand team for the World Series of Women’s Cricket that starts at Lincoln University at the

Lynn McConnell25-Dec-2009New Zealand women’s star bowler on their Northern Hemisphere tour last winter, Rachel Pullar of Otago, has ruled herself out of consideration for the New Zealand team for the World Series of Women’s Cricket that starts at Lincoln University at the weekend.Pullar’s absence will be a significant blow for the TelstraClear White Ferns as they attempt to compete with Australia, India and England in the four-way series. It is understood she intends on travelling overseas.She was easily the most dominant bowler on New Zealand’s tour, taking 21 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 6.76.Also missing from the side is Fiona Fraser who has a back problem that has ruled her out for the remainder of the summer while Anna Corbin shattered a thumb at practice last week and is also out for the rest of the season.With Kathryn Ramel’s retirement, New Zealand will only be able to call on four players who remain from the CricInfo Women’s World Cup-winning side of 2000 – Emily Drumm, Rebecca Rolls, Haidee Tiffen and Nicola Payne.What that does, however, is provide more opportunities for the New Zealand A players who are taking part in a series of warm-up games, starting with a match against New Zealand at the High Performance Centre tomorrow.Two members of the squad of 14 will be added to the New Zealand side for the match. Other games follow against India on Wednesday, Australia on Friday and England on Saturday.The first match of the WSWC is to be played at Bert Sutcliffe Oval on Sunday between New Zealand and Australia.The New Zealand squad for tomorrow’s game is: Nicola Payne, Rebecca Rolls, Emily Drumm, Kate Pulford, Haidee Tiffen, Aimee Mason, Frances King, Nicola Browne, Louise Milliken.White Ferns coach Mike Shrimpton said there were five or six names on the selectors’ short list but the A team had everything to play for. The key thing for the selectors would be assessing which players were best equipped to make the step up.”There’s no shortage of talent, it’s just knowing who to pick,” he said.

India achieved their biggest victory against Sri Lanka and in the process clinched their 100th Test win on the fourth day of the second Test in Kanpur

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera27-Nov-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outHarbhajan Singh and Gautam Gambhir celebrate Prasanna Jayawardene’s wicket•AFPIndia achieved their biggest victory against Sri Lanka and in the process clinched their 100th Test win on the fourth day of the second Test in Kanpur. India’s previous best against their neighbors was a victory by an innings and 119 runs in 1994 and they bettered that with ease today. Thilan Samaraweera resisted the inevitable with an assured fifty but it was always just a matter of time before India wrapped up the game.The only question at the start of the day was how long Sri Lanka would delay defeat. They batted positively, adding 149 runs in the first session, but India kept taking wickets at regular intervals. Samaraweera was involved in two fighting partnerships with Prasanna Jayawardene and Ajantha Mendis, which not only proved that the pitch wasn’t bad for batting but also showed the top order in poor light.India’s only concern was Zaheer Khan’s no-ball problems (12 in this game and 21 in the series) but he started the day by dismissing Angelo Mathews in his first over. Mathews had hit three consecutive fours, which included a pull, and Zaheer placed a man at deep square-leg and tested Mathews with more bouncers. The first was fended off in an ungainly manner and the next was top-edged to backward point where Rahul Dravid took a lunging catch.Samaraweera proceeded to stitch together a 61-run partnership with Prasanna who, much like in the first innings, flattered to deceive. He was looking good with his cuts and sweeps but was cleaned up by an off break from round the stumps from Harbhajan Singh. It drifted away and broke back in but Prasanna left a big bat-pad gap and was bowled. Muttiah Muralitharan indulged himself with a typical hit-and-giggle knock filled with slog sweeps but fell, going for yet another big hit.Samaraweera, who then added 73 runs with a determined Ajantha Mendis to frustrate India, was rarely troubled during his stay, the highlight of which was a whippy on-drive to a delivery on off and middle stump from Sreesanth. He rarely looked hurried, tackled the spinners and seamers and unfurled several pleasing on drives. The series now moves to Mumbai for the third Test that starts on December 2.

Many Everton fans have been left raging as some transfer news emerged on Nicolas Pepe.

As per Jeunes Footeux, the Goodison Park faithful, as well as both Newcastle United and Crystal Palace, are now interested in signing the Arsenal winger in the January transfer window, who are ready to cut their losses.

The deal with the Gunners would be a loan with an option to buy in the summer, which is one that they would likely accept.

For a player that cost a club record transfer fee of £72m, Pepe has flattered to deceive so far in a red and white shirt, with no goals and just one assist in seven games in the Premier League this season, and a total of 43 goal contributions in 98 matches over all competitions (Transfermarkt).

With the arrivals of Demarai Gray and Andros Townsend in the summer, one should question whether the Merseyside club should be looking to bring Pepe in as well, when any money that they have available should perhaps be spent on strengthening other areas of the squad, such as right-back.

Everton fans on Pepe transfer news

These Toffees supporters raged as the transfer news was shared on Twitter, with one claiming that he is ‘another Iwobi’, who arrived from Arsenal and has not scored for the Blues yet this season, and one EFC supporter even went as far as to call it ‘dreadful’:

“Dreadful”

Credit: @Feedtheyak22

“Just got rid of Bernard. We don’t want another show pony”

Credit: @BlueFozzie45

“Good god no”

Credit: @CJS24876674

“Just what we need, another inconsistent player”

Credit: @Jord_Thom00

“We need to stop bailing out clubs with their flops. He’s just another Iwobi, only a very expensive version”

Credit: @paulwithe

“Think I’d rather have Rondon and Barkley in my team tbh”

Credit: @CeeJay_EFC

In other news, find out what contract news has Evertonians buzzing here!

Chairman of selector Clyde Butts has said Chris Gayle was unanimous choice to lead West Indies on the tour of Australia

Cricinfo staff03-Nov-2009Chairman of selectors Clyde Butts has said that Chris Gayle was the unanimous choice to captain the side to Australia despite being part of the long-drawn contractual dispute between the West Indies’ leading players and the region’s board.Butts said the other players considered for the top job included were Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwayne Bravo (both former captains) and vice-captain Denesh Ramdin. “Those four names were considered for the captaincy of the West Indies team,” Butts told . “At the end we thought that Chris Gayle was at this time and at this moment the most suitable person to captain West Indies and take them to Australia.”Daren Ganga was spoken of as a potential leader of the team, especially after impressing with his captaincy skills in Trinidad & Tobago’s unexpected run to the final of the Champions League Twenty20 last month. However Ganga’s modest international record – he averages 25.71 after 48 Tests – meant he didn’t even find a place in the squad.”His name actually came up but I don’t think we thought that Daren Ganga at this time would have got into a West Indies team,” Butts said. “Looking at the history of his batting and looking at how he has batted over the past year or so in the regional tournament, I don’t think he’s actually made a lot of runs in the tournament.”Gayle, 30, has not played international cricket since the home series against India in July due to the ugly contractual dispute between WICB and the players’ union. In his absence, the selectors fielded depleted teams led by Floyd Reifer against Bangladesh and in the Champions Trophy.West Indies play three Tests against Australia in December, before returning in February for the limited-overs leg of the tour.

While things at Celtic appear to be increasingly on the up under the management of Ange Postecoglou, with the Bhoys currently on a run of six games without defeat in all competitions, there are nevertheless a number of positions in the 56-year-old’s first-team squad that are lacking a considerable amount of depth.

Indeed, in a recent article for The Athletic, Kieran Devlin highlighted Celtic’s need for an adequate replacement for Callum McGregor in the number six role, as, during the four-game period in which the central midfielder was sidelined back in September, the Hoops clearly lacked a player who could replicate the 28-year-old’s “passing range, speed of thought and execution to accelerate attacks.”

However, before Postecoglou enters the January transfer market in search of a backup for the Scotland international, perhaps it would be wise to take a closer look at one of the club’s summer signings first – in the shape of Liam Shaw.

Indeed, after joining the club on a free transfer back in July, the 20-year-old said of his style: “I describe myself as a box-to-box midfielder, a lot of energy running up and down, I can score a goal, and be aggressive in that I like a tackle and I like to press people.”

This is something that was evident in his 19 Championship appearances for Sheffield Wednesday last season, over which the £315k-rated man scored one goal and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as making an average of 0.3 key passes, 0.7 tackles and taking 0.5 shots per game.

While these statistics are not exactly mind-blowing, it must be remembered that his returns came while the midfielder was enjoying his breakthrough season in professional football within a side who were fighting at the wrong end of the Championship table – before ultimately suffering relegation.

Indeed, it is clear to see that the foundations are undoubtedly there for Shaw to blossom into a fine number six, something that will be developed further with more experience of first-team football.

However, with the 20-year-old being yet to make an appearance in the Scottish Premiership under the management of Postecoglou, it would appear a very wise move for the Bhoys boss to finally unleash the rarely-seen Shaw in the coming weeks and months, as the midfielder could prove to solve one of the 56-year-old’s biggest issues at Parkhead.

In other news: Ange must ruthlessly axe “incredible” £14k-p/w Celtic ace, there’s a better option

According to Calciomercato, Tottenham have entered the race to sign Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger next summer.

The Lowdown: Rudiger out of contract

Under Thomas Tuchel, the 28-year-old has developed into one of the Premier League’s best defenders – he has featured in eight of the Blues’ nine Premier League outings this term (Transfermarkt) as they have conceded just three times in the league (Sky Sports), while Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann labelled his progress as “fantastic” (The Sun)

However, his contract is set to run out at the end of the season, and as it stands, Chelsea and the Germany international are at an impasse with regards to a new deal (ESPN).

The Latest: Spurs want Rudiger

As per this latest report from Calciomercato, Spurs are one of the many clubs interested in signing the former AS Roma centre-back.

They are joined by Juventus, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain in their admiration for the Champions League-winning defender.

The Verdict: Beyond them

While it is ambitious from Spurs to enter the race for Rudiger, it would be a surprise to see him move to north London. For a start, that would represent a significant step down – after all, Chelsea are European champions and currently top the Premier League, while Spurs are sixth and competing in the Europa Conference League, the third-tier continental tournament, this season.

Not only that, the other four clubs in pursuit are more attractive propositions, and not just because of their Champions League presence. The £31.5m-valued defender (Transfermarkt) is said to be looking for £200,000 per week (ESPN) if he is to sign a new deal at Stamford Bridge, which would immediately make him the joint-highest earner at Tottenham – even Harry Kane does not take home more (Spotrac).

Quite frankly, it seems a pipe dream that Rudiger would end up at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

In other news, this man wants to leave Tottenham

With Valerien Ismael’s West Bromwich Albion side heading into Wednesday evening’s Championship clash on the back of a resounding 3-0 defeat last weekend, the 46-year-old Baggies boss will undoubtedly be hoping for a much better result when Hull City visit The Hawthorns.

And, considering the fact that the Tigers have picked up just two wins all season and currently occupy one of the spots in the Championship relegation zone, the Frenchman will know that his side have a fantastic opportunity to get back to winning ways against Grant McCann’s men.

So, will Ismael make any changes to the team which started the 3-0 loss against Fulham on Saturday? Here’s how we think West Brom could line up against Hull, along with the latest team and injury news…

With Ismael recently confirming that Alex Mowatt will once again miss out due to injury, while Darnell Furlong is unavailable as a result of his red card against Fulham, we predict that the Frenchman will make four changes to the side which lined up against the Cottagers.

The first of these alterations is a forced one in the West Brom back five, with the aforementioned Furlong watching from the sidelines, highly-rated 19-year-old Taylor Gardner-Hickman is handed his league debut for the Baggies at right wing-back.

In the middle of the park, the £24k-per-week Robert Snodgrass drops out of the XI after a disappointing showing against Fulham, being replaced by Brighton & Hove Albion loanee Jayson Molumby.

The final two changes come in Ismael’s front three, with Jordan Hugill – who has scored just one goal over 11 Championship appearances for the Baggies – making way for Callum Robinson, while Matt Phillips – who has not contributed towards a goal over his last five league fixtures – is left out in order for Grady Diangana to make his first Championship start since September.

In other news: Journo drops fresh West Brom January transfer claim that will devastate Albion fans

A double hundred from Chris Rogers coupled with a century from Garry Park eased Derbyshire to their highest score of the summer

The Bulletin by Mark Pennell at Derby04-Sep-2009
ScorecardA double hundred from the captain Chris Rogers coupled with a maiden century for the club by former Durham right-hander Garry Park eased Derbyshire to their highest score of the summer and their best-ever total against Kent at a blustery Old Racecourse Ground.Without five potential first-choice seamers Kent, the Division Two leaders, suffered an abysmal time in the field for the second successive day as the hosts rattled along at 4.40 runs an over to post 583 for 4 declared for a first-innings lead of 302. Rogers top-scored with an impressive 208 from 274 balls in a shade over five-and-a-half hours with more than half his runs coming in boundaries as Kent’s threadbare attack served up a series of long-hops and half-volleys.Rogers’ fun finally ended in the middle-session when Amjad Khan snagged him leg-before with the first ball of a new spell from the Old Grandstand End; a full-length off-cutter caught Rogers pushing from the crease to end a second-wicket stand with Park that added 125 in 28 overs. Rogers also featured in an opening stand worth 216 in 62 overs with Wayne Madsen (75), taking the pair into the top 10 for all-time openingstands in championship cricket for the county.Madsen’s contribution to the cause ended 10 overs into the day when he edged a leg-cutter to wicketkeeper Geraint Jones from Khan’s third ball of the day. In the absence of Wayne Parnell, Azhar Mahmood, Martin Saggers, Robbie Joseph and Ryan McLaren, Kent captain Rob Key found it nigh on impossible to create pressure or contain the run-rate as his attack managed a paltry 15 maidens in Derbyshire’s entire 132-over innings.After tea Khan bagged another couple of wickets, having Greg Smith (59) caught off a skier at point after a 78-ball 50, then Wavell Hinds (18) toe-ended his pull off a Khan bouncer to pick out Justin Kemp at mid-on to give Khan, Kent’s sole wicket-taker, figures of 4 for 110.Park went to his maiden century for Derbyshire from 170 balls with 12 fours and then moved through the gears to race to 150 from only 209 balls. He and John Sadler (24*) added exactly 100 for the fifth wicket in 10 overs before Rogers declared just before 5pm with Park unbeaten on a career-best 178.In the 14 overs remaining in the day Kent lost Sam Northeast (6) when he cut a wide one from Tom Lumley straight to Greg Smith at gully but Rob Key (17*) and Geraint Jones (15*) survived to see their side safely through to stumps on 44 for 1 – they require a further 258 to make Derbyshire bat again.

An insider from Tottenham Hotspur has sung the praises of Maksim Paskotsi, and thinks that he may get a chance to play Burnley in the Carabao Cup.

The Lowdown: Estonia recognition

Remarkably, Paskotsi already has nine senior caps for Estonia despite being just 18 years of age, and has already played in some of his country’s biggest games in FIFA World Cup qualifying (Transfermarkt).

In the two matches against Wales, up against his Spurs teammates Joe Rodon and Ben Davies and former Lilywhites star Gareth Bale, the central defender only conceded one goal, as he helped Estonia get a credible 0-0 draw away from home (Transfermarkt).

The Latest: Paskotsi excitng

Speaking to Football Insider, THFC insider John Wenham, who regularly breaks news about the North London club on his Lilywhite Rose social media channels, has admitted his excitement over Paskotsi, and even thinks that Nuno Espirito Santo may play him against Burnley in their upcoming Carabao Cup fixture:

“He came in and instantly made an impression for the Under 18s.

“He scored five goals in a very short space of time as a centre back, three of which were volleys.

“We are talking about a very technical player and he got a call up to the Estonia national side last season due to a COVID outbreak.

“Remarkably, he has kept his place in that setup and he is on six caps as an 18-year-old.

“People may not think much of Estonia but they have had some decent results. They beat Finland and Belarus and they came away from Wales with a very creditable draw.

“He was up against Bale on the night and did really well. Credit to our scouting department for going and there and finding him.

“He’s one I’m really excited about. He looks a real future prospect. He’s made his first-team debut in the Conference League qualifying games.

“The progress is looking really promising and I think he could be given a chance to impress against Burnley in the Carabao Cup.”

The Verdict: Start him

Paskotsi will only get better if he starts more games for Tottenham, and the match against the Clarets would present the perfect opportunity to do just that.

Having already made his senior Spurs five goals from centre-back for the U18 Premier League last term, he offers a threat in both boxes.

Nonetheless, a physical side like Burnley will work wonders for his future development as a centre-half.

In other news, find out which ‘quality’ colossus THFC are eyeing here!

It’s that sense of unity that has helped Sri Lanka’s cricketers cope with terrorism, at home, or in Lahore

Nagraj Gollapudi18-Jun-2009They are both called island teams but the similarity ends with the terminology. While the West Indies as we know it is a collection of disparate countries coming together largely for cricketing purposes, Sri Lanka is one nation. A collection of diverse ethnicities and faiths, yes – Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Muslim – but one unit with allegiance to one flag. It’s that sense of unity that has helped Sri Lanka’s cricketers cope with terrorism – whether at home, in the 25-year civil war, or latterly in Lahore when the cricketers themselves came under attack.”Our side has, from the very inception, been one unit,” Kumar Sangakkara, the captain, said at The Oval, after an elaborate training session ahead of Friday’s semi-final. The main reason his team was able to bond in the aftermath of Lahore, he said, was because the players had been a virtual family from their boyhood days. That close proximity helped ease the pain and recover easily. “We’ve played cricket with and against each other since we were 12 or 13 years old. Everyone lives in and around Colombo and we see each other almost every single day so it is easy for us to travel and bond.”Sangakkara said the advantage was that they backed each other and trusted every single player to do the job on the given day. “The greatest plus for us in the dressing room is we don’t have egos.”It’s easy to believe him. Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan, Mahela Jayawardene and Sangakkara himself – the most experienced players – have been able to transform their game and compete well along the youngsters in the side.”We have amazing players who are absolutely lovely guys, keen on playing good cricket. That has helped the team grow,” Sangakkara said. According to him, the newcomers didn’t find it hard to find their feet due to the cordial atmosphere in the dressing room. “When new players come in, they like the environment. There is no added pressure on them, just an acceptance and a great deal of respect for the fact that they are good enough.”Despite having two bowlers in the top five of the wicket-takers’ list in the tournament – Lasith Malinga (at No. 3 with 11 wickets) and Ajantha Mendis (No. 4 with 10) – Sri Lanka will be wary of Chris Gayle and his band, who have already played three games including one warm-up at their favourite hunting ground – the venue of their 2004 Champions Trophy victory.In contrast, this would be Sri Lanka’s first game in the tournament at The Oval but Sangakkara was not worried. “We should try and make sure we play to our strengths and pick our best side,” he said. “We have played one-day cricket before and it is a pretty even track with good bounce and will stay consistent throughout.”Sri Lanka will bank on their lethal spin combination of Muralitharan and Mendis along with the swinging skills of Malinga to give them the upper hand. “If our spinners can get some bounce out of the track, that will be more effective and the batsmen may find it difficult to hit hard as the extra bounce,” Sangakkara said.West Indies will no doubt rely on the depth in the batting order packed with power hitters, but Sangakkara said the presence of a matchwinner like Mendis makes the contest even. The unpredictability of Mendis’ finger spin has bamboozled some of the world’s best batsmen and Sangakkara said it would be a dangerous weapon,. “He would be. Right? He would be on the top of my bowling list always.”