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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.

Phase one of David Hussey’s plan to regain his one-day place has been achieved with his first ODI hundred, but he knows more will be needed before he wins another promotion. Hussey spent most of the 2007-08 season as a fixture in the side without demanding a regular spot and was omitted for the England and Champions Trophy 50-over campaigns.What he still has is a Twenty20 position and because Australia were using the one-dayer against Scotland as preparation for Sunday’s match against England, he was given a go. After 87 balls he had 111, having boomed five sixes and 10 fours in the type of innings which got him noticed originally with Victoria.”I haven’t really set any targets, I’m just taking every opportunity I can now,” Hussey said. “I missed a little bit with one-day international cricket, I haven’t grabbed it with both hands. For me any opportunity I get the aim is to take full toll.”In 22 ODIs before the game in Edinburgh he had four half-centuries but no certainty and was unsure of the reasons for his troubles. “I kept getting out, unfortunately,” he said. “Hopefully I get another chance and will be a bit better prepared and the results will be a lot different. The first [hundred] against Scotland, great wicket, great ground, one I’ll remember.”Hussey, who was wearing four layers to counter the cold, took out his frustration on the offspinner Majid Haq, launching him for four sixes in three overs. The next goal is to back up at Old Trafford on Sunday, when England hope to build on their Ashes success in the shortest form of the game.”We put a good statement on how we want to play, so far so good,” Hussey said. “We’ve won one, hopefully we can win one on Sunday.”Hussey will be in England for only 10 days before going back to Victoria and gearing up for the Champions League Twenty20 tournament in India. “It’s not ideal,” he said of the schedule, “but you’ve got to adapt to different situations”.While Australia won by 189 runs, Scotland were not disappointed in their display. As Hussey was accelerating the tourists were heading for a lot more than their 345 all out. Gordon Goudie helped stop a late burst by taking four wickets in his final two overs to finish with 5 for 73.”I’m very happy with the way we handled ourselves in the last 10 overs of their innings because they could have gone on to get 400,” the captain Gavin Hamilton said. “For Gordon to pick up five wickets against Australia is second to none. We came hard at them with the bat because that’s the way we want to play, and we found out a lot about the character of a few personnel.”

Leeds United are now facing a stern transfer battle to sign Basel striker Arthur Cabral amid a recent update.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent weeks had suggested that Marcelo Bielsa’s side were one of several Premier League clubs interested in signing the £13.5m-rated star, and there was a significant development surrounding his future at Basel.

Italian publication Corriere dello Sport claimed that Cabral has called off talks with Basel over a potential new contract, with his existing deal with the Swiss club coming to an end in less than two years time.

And now, UOL claim that a number of other sides have been alerted to the striker’s performances, and that Leeds now face competition from the likes of Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica, Porto, Southampton and Fiorentina.

Fans would love him

One of the big concerns for Leeds fans this season has of course surrounded their worrying lack of depth up front, especially with Patrick Bamford being out injured for a number of weeks now.

The England international was their chief goal-scorer last term with 17 in the Premier League alone, and his injury this season has seen the Whites’ offensive threat take a real hit – they’ve scored just 11 goals in 11 top-flight games thus far.

In Cabral, those striking worries would be eased considerably.

FocusonLeeds said of the 6 foot 1 centre-forward: “His ability to find space and shoot with power and accuracy is really impressive. He really comes alive in the box and a calmness about him when in goal scoring positions. At 6ft 1 he also provides an aerial threat with 6 off his 18 goals coming from headers.

“Arthur isn’t overly quick in terms of his speed however, he also isn’t slow. Due to his movement in and around the box, he still finds himself in shooting positions a lot. If you combine this with his dribbling ability and quick feet, this helps him work room to gets shots off at goal.”

Indeed, earlier this season, the “relentless” Cabral made a piece of history, becoming the first player in the history of the Swiss Super League to score nine goals in the first seven games, surpassing the record of Christian Gimenez back in 2003/2004.

The man with 72 goals over his entire club career thus far would provide exceptional cover to Bamford while he’s out, and provide genuine competition for him when he’s back too.

Given the kind of prolific striker that he is, Leeds fans would surely love him at Elland Road.

Meanwhile, Leeds must finally sell this first-team star…

West Ham have been dealt a devastating injury blow right as the international break gets underway…

What’s the latest?

As revealed by The Athletic, Irons defender Angelo Ogbonna has sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury after he was withdrawn just 22 minutes into their impressive 3-2 win over Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.

The 33-year-old colossus had a scan on Monday that confirmed the bad news that he had suffered an ACL injury in his right knee. He is now set to see a specialist later this week.

No timeframe has been put on his recovery process but according to football.london reporter Tom Clark, the best-case scenario would be only three months out, though it could end up being longer than 9 months – a disappointing prospect with his contract due to expire in the summer.

Major setback

Ogbonna has started all 11 of the Hammers’ top-flight outings this campaign, which only goes to show his importance to David Moyes and his side.

He has been an absolute rock in the heart of the defence, managing 3.63 clearances, 1.27 tackles and 1.18 interceptions per 90, on top of an 87% passing accuracy and 7.84 recoveries per game, as per Matchday365.

The Scotsman does have alternative options available in Issa Diop and Craig Dawson, the latter of which came in and deputised efficiently, so he may not need to worry too much. But he isn’t one to alter his Premier League starting XI too much and this blow hands him a dilemma over who to select instead.

Ogbonna is one of eight players to have started every single top-flight game this campaign and that goes to show how Moyes relies on the same players each and every week, only further emphasising how big a setback this really is.

“Such a huge blow that Angelo Ogbonna sustained an ACL injury in [the] win against Liverpool. He formed a solid defensive partnership with Zouma,” claimed The Athletic’s Roshane Thomas shortly after the news.

All in all, everyone around the London Stadium will be gutted to hear this development and it puts a dampener on their promising season thus far.

AND in other news, Forget Zouma: “Incredible” £42k-p/w WHU beast who won 100% duels stole the show vs Liverpool…

Cricket Kenya has expressed its disappointment as losing out of hosting the ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2010

Cricinfo staff24-Jul-2009Cricket Kenya has expressed its disappointment at losing out on hosting the ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2010, calling the decision “wholly premature and unjustified”. This is Kenya’s first official response to the decision, taken at the ICC’s conference in end-June.The World Cup was moved after an ICC report concluded that with only eight months to go before the event, it was “unrealistic” to expect Kenya to be ready to host the tournament. Cricket Kenya said it spent more than US$150,000 on ground improvements for the tournament.”This is not the first time Kenya has hosted such an important fixture and Cricket Kenya has maintained throughout its dealings with ICC that it would be ready by the time the tournament was to take place,” a board statement said. “It is also difficult, with the benefit of hindsight, to resist the conclusion that such a move was premeditated given the manner in which an alternate host was procured.”It said the decision to shift the tournament was endorsed despite the “very strong support” Kenya received from India and South Africa and had been criticised at an informal meeting of ICC’s Associates and Affiliates, attended by all 94 non-Test playing countries, where the ICC’s commitment to development was questioned.”Having learned of the difficulties that Kenya had undergone and the financial responsibilities involved, Cricket Canada expressed grave reservations as to whether it is capable of hosting the 2012 event [Kenya was named as an alternate venue for the event]. It has agreed to report to the ICC on this once it had considered the matter further with its board.”

Having had an easy first round, India will begin the Super Eights in confident mood against much stiffer opposition

Cricinfo staff11-Jun-2009

Having had an easy first round, India will begin the Super Eights in confident mood against much tougher opposition. They will be up against West Indies on Friday at Lord’s, followed by England and South Africa, and captain MS Dhoni has said the only difference now will be how his players cope with the high-pressure moments, which he thinks will be the norm as the tournament progresses.”There is no easy game now. And in a crucial game, the only difference is how you cope with pressure,” Dhoni said after the team’s optional practice session that lasted about two hours and was attended by only five members. The rest of the squad decided to take it easy after the journey from Nottingham where India easily defeated Ireland in their last game on Wednesday.West Indies may have lost their last match against Sri Lanka at Trent Bridge but Dhoni said the opposition had a lot of big hitters in their ranks who could demoralise the bowlers. “[Chris] Gayle, [Dwayne] Bravo, [Shivnarine] Chanderpaul, [Ramnaresh] Sarwan can all hit big. But our bowlers are experienced too and will need to bowl tight,” Dhoni said.Gayle, who sat out of the Sri Lanka game recovering from a leg injury, is likely to be back in action at Lord’s tomorrow and would be the prime target of the Indian bowlers. “You don’t need to plan too much for him [Gayle] as you can’t have a field positioned outside the ropes,” Dhoni pointed out, whne asked what was the best way to keep Gayle quiet. “He will always fancy taking risks, so we should not give him the space.”West Indies had one win and a loss in the previous round with Gayle masterminding the thrashing of Australia in the opening game, with 4.1 overs to spare. But yesterday, their bowlers were punished heavily by the Sri Lankan opening pair of Sanath Jayasuriya and Tillakaratne Dilshan as West Indies fell short by 15 runs despite a spirited display from Dwayne Bravo.Dhoni, though, is still wary of the dangerous West Indies. “They have bowlers who clock 140kph and at the same time use the slower ball effectively. Potentially they are a good side, so we can expect a good game,” he said.Dhoni agreed that India would miss the services of the injured Virender Sehwag, who was forced out of the event by a nagging shoulder injury which he picked in the IPL and aggravated in the last week. “But Rohit Sharma has picked up well and we are happy with his form,” he said.The Indian captain is likely to stick with two spinners, a move which he felt was proving effective in the Twenty20 format where the slow bowlers can restrict the run-flow as well as take wickets with their variety.West Indies opted out of a training session today as they arrived late in the afternoon from Nottingham, deciding instead to have a gym and pool session at the team hotel. The team’s media spokesperson said Gayle’s recovery is on track and he is expected to return to the field tomorrow.

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.”

Following Ireland’s successful World Cup qualifying campaign in South Africa coach Phil Simmons has extended his deal until 2011

Cricinfo staff25-Apr-2009Following Ireland’s successful World Cup qualifying campaign in South Africa coach Phil Simmons has extended his deal until 2011.Simmons, 46, took over following the 2007 World Cup and has helped guide Ireland to four trophies in nine months.”I’m delighted to continue in the post, and am happy to commit myself to Irish cricket to the end of 2011,” Simmons said. “I’ve really enjoyed my time with Ireland, and believe that there are more trophies and further success to come. I’m ambitious and so are the team – we’ve got a lot of important fixtures coming up, and I’m confident we’ll continue to impress on the world stage.”Warren Deutrom, the chief executive, added: “We believe that continuity in our senior coaching ranks is essential to maintain the high professional standards that Ireland has set for the Associate world in the last few months.”Many felt that our World Cup exploits of two years ago were the summit of our potential, but Phil has managed to raise the bar still further as we have completed the ‘Associate treble’ in 20-over, four-day and 50-over cricket in the space of nine months.”With Phil at the helm, we are confident that this team can achieve even greater things on the international stage, and strengthen our argument for ICC to outline a clear road map for strong Associate countries like Ireland to progress to elite status.”There is little time for Ireland’s players to rest as they start their Friends Provident Trophy campaign against Worcestershire, at Stormont, on Sunday.

A round-up of the fourth of the first-round matches in the 2008-09 Royal Bank of Scotland Cup

Cricinfo staff15-Mar-2009Group AKarachi Dolphins captain Khalid Latif led his team by example, scoring a blazing, unbeaten 204 – the sixth-highest in List A matches – laced with 19 fours and seven sixes as his team pinned Quetta Bears into submission with a 137-run win at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex. Latif received excellent support from Asad Shafiq, who made a 98-ball 105, as the pair punished the Quetta bowlers in a 239-run second-wicket stand, helping their team compile a mammoth 364.Quetta, in their reply, struggled from the outset, collapsing to 99 for 6 – medium pacers Tariq Haroon and Afsar Nawaz took three wickets each – before an 80-run eighth-wicket stand between wicketkeeper Bismillah Khan and Imran Khan lent the team’s score some respectability. Quetta, who started poorly in their reply, were always behind the eight-ball after Latif’s double-century had dealt a massive blow to any hope of a win.A collective bowling effort by Hyderabad Hawks handed them a convincing 63-run win against Abbottabad Rhinos at the Niaz Stadium. Each of the Hyderabad bowlers bagged at least one wicket – Kashif Bhatti, the left-arm spinner, took 3 for 32 – as Abbottabad, despite an opening stand of 64 between half-centurion Fawad Khan and Mir Azam, faltered in pursuit of a challenging 267. After the openers were separated, none of the subsequent stands exceeded 38 as fast bowler Lal Kumar and offspinner Sajjad Laghari supported Bhatti well in keeping the Abbottabad batsmen in check.The Hyderabad bowlers were given the cushion of a testing score of 266 by opener Aqeel Anjum who anchored the innings with 93. The middle and lower-order batsmen chipped in with useful contributions, particularly Mohammad Urs and captain Pir Zulfiqar who were involved in a breezy 67-run stand for the seventh wicket with both scoring at a strike-rate of well over 100. As it turned out, their efforts paid off as the eventual score proved more than adequate.On a day dominated by the side batting first, Multan Tigers inflicted a 102-run defeat on Rawalpindi Rams at the National Stadium. Multan, after being asked to bat, started off poorly with fast bowlers Rizwan Akbar and Mohammad Rameez making frequent inroads to leave the opposition reeling at 81 for 5. However, Kashif Naved led the recovery with an aggressive 107-ball 134 and the lower order batsmen, especially Rameez Alam, with whom he added 134 for the sixth wicket, rallied around him to take their team to a formidable score of 309 from a seemingly hopeless position.Fast bowler Abdur Rauf, who has represented Pakistan in four ODIs, took 4 for 47 to shut Rawalpindi out of the match. They faltered in their response, losing their first three wickets for just 22 and though wicketkeeper Jamal Anwar and captain Babar Naeem added 110, the batsmen who followed offered little resistance. The Rawalpindi innings was wrapped up in the 37th over after Multan bagged the last seven wickets for 75.

Multan Tigers 3 3 0 00 12 +1.640 822/128.5 711/150.0Karachi Dolphins 3 3 0 0 012 +1.205 954/148.1 785/150.0 Rawalpindi Rams 3 1 2 0 0 4+0.442 782/150.0 707/148.1 Rhinos 31 2 0 0 4 +0.240787/150.0 751/150.0 Hyderabad Hawks 3 12 0 0 4 -1.095 648/150.0769/142.0 Quetta Bears 3 0 30 0 0 -2.385 642/150.0 912/136.5

Kieran Devlin has revealed that Celtic summer signing James McCarthy has been struggling with the intensity of Ange Postecoglou’s Lennoxtown training sessions.

The Lowdown: McCarthy pens four-year deal

McCarthy was one of 12 arrivals at Parkhead over the summer, penning a four-year deal at the beginning of August.

Since then, the 30-year-old has made just one Scottish Premiership appearance, coming on as a substitute in the 3-0 win over Ross County last weekend.

He’s also featured in the Europa League and the League Cup for Celtic, but it seems as if he isn’t settling into life under Postecoglou as many would’ve hoped.

The Latest: Devlin’s claim

Devlin was running a Q&A on The Athletic before the Hoops’ Europa League opener against Real Betis.

He was asked who he thought would replace captain Callum McGregor out of McCarthy and Ismaila Soro, to which he said:

“Think Soro most likely but could be McCarthy. Been told McCarthy has struggled slightly with the pace and intensity of the training sessions as well, but hopefully that is just down to fitness/rustiness rather than a permanent issue.

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The Verdict: Next few months key

As Devlin mentions, McCarthy’s struggles are hopefully due to a fitness issue rather than a long-term problem.

The Irishman started just four of Crystal Palace’s final 17 Premier League games last season and also went a few months as a free agent.

The next few months should give a better indication of where McCarthy fits in Postecoglou’s squad, but at this moment in time, he’s not making positive progress at Parkhead.

In other news: CEO at Europa League side tipped as possible McKay replacement at Celtic.