All posts by h716a5.icu

In a ruling that could have widespread repercussions for cricket administration in India, the Kerala High Court has said the officials of the Kerala Cricket Association can be considered public servants

Tariq Engineer26-Oct-2010In a ruling that could have widespread repercussions for cricket administration in India, the Kerala High Court has said the officials of the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) can be considered public servants, and directed a lower court to continue hearing a complaint alleging misappropriation of funds by the association. The complaint was filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, which applies only to public servants.The KCA had argued that it was a private body similar to a club, and therefore did not come under the purview of the act. In its order, the High Court observed that the KCA had a monopoly on cricket in the state and performed a public duty and a public service, and so was liable to be investigated by the vigilance department.The complainant, Balaji Iyengar, a chartered accountant and former Kerala junior cricketer, had filed the original complaint against the KCA in the Vigilance Court two years ago. The court ruled in favour of the KCA, saying its officials were not public servants, but Iyengar challenged the ruling in the High Court. In quashing the lower court’s order, Justice M Shashidharan Nambiar held that the officials do fall under the definition of public servant as laid out in the act.TC Matthew, the KCA secretary, told ESPNcricinfo it would challenge the ruling in the Supreme Court, adding that the decision, if allowed to stand, could result in a number of cases being filed against the BCCI and other sports associations.Indian cricket’s governing body has consistently held it is a private organisation and not accountable to the public but the Kerala ruling could open the door for anyone to challenge the functioning of the BCCI and cricket associations around the country.”It will be a landmark judgement of sorts if upheld by the Supreme Court,” the activist lawyer Rahul Mehra said. “In effect, what you are saying is that these officials are akin to government officials.” Mehra famously pursued public interest litigation against the BCCI in 2000 in an attempt to extract more accountability from the board.The Delhi High Court ruled in Mehra’s favour in 2004, saying that the BCCI was accountable to the public as it performs important public functions. That ruling was subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court in a case involving television rights between Zee Telefilms, an Indian television company, and the BCCI. This decision takes things another step further, Mehra said. “It has opened a door which I have been trying to open for about five years.”

Lancashire limped to an overall lead of 120 runs with seven second inningswickets intact in Canterbury after another cut and thrust day that saw 10wickets fall on the second day of the County Championship Division One matchagainst Kent

19-Aug-2010
ScorecardLancashire limped to an overall lead of 120 runs with seven second inningswickets intact in Canterbury after another cut and thrust day that saw 10wickets fall on the second day of the County Championship Division One matchagainst Kent.The visitors dismissed the hosts for 249 for a slender first innings lead of17, before slumping to 52 for 3 second time around. However, they were rescued by a fourth-wicket stand of 51 between Shivnarine Chanderpaul (23 not out) and Steven Croft (38no).The visitors reached the game’s midway mark on 103 for 3 having againsuffered at the hands of their first innings nemesis, Darren Stevens – who tooktwo wickets for 38 runs – and Simon Cook (1 for 26).Stevens, who took three Red Rose wickets for no runs in the first innings,snared both openers Tom Smith (five) and Paul Horton (29) leg before wicket. Cook then joined the party by pinning Mark Chilton lbw for seven, but only after a thoughtful period of reflection by umpire Tim Robinson.Chanderpaul, fresh from a first innings golden duck, dug in thereafter withCroft to extend the Lancashire lead into three figures as Kent, having turned tospin in the shape of James Tredwell and Martin van Jaarsveld, struggled to beatthe bat.The second day started with Kent making steady headway in the first sessionwith a third wicket stand of 76 in 28 overs between Joe Denly and van Jaarsveldbefore the Lancashire seamers finally discovered a dangerous line and lengtheither side of the lunch break.Van Jaarsveld (34), cutting off the back foot against Kyle Hogg, picked out thefielder at backward point then, soon after the resumption, Geraint Jones (10)dragged the ball onto his stumps off the bowling of Glen Chapple.Chapple, the pick of Lancashire’s attack with 4 for 45, then nipped one backoff the seam as Denly shouldered arms and pegged back the right-hander’s offstump – his 69 was his second best score of a disappointing championshipseason.Although the Kent tail all made starts, the innings unravelled thereafter asleft-arm spinner Gary Keedy held sway. Alex Blake was pinned leg before on the back foot, Simon Cook miscued to cover when aiming to leg and Matt Coles mistimed to short midwicket as Keedy bagged 4 for 49 and Kent gave up a 17-run deficit.

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat has said the organisation might send a hand-picked side to Pakistan late next year

Cricinfo staff17-Jul-2010ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat has said the organisation might send a hand-picked side to Pakistan late next year to give fans an opportunity to watch international cricket as he is worried the lack of top-level cricket will affect the popularity of the game in the country.”It will always be dependent on the expert advice of the security experts, but we think that perhaps towards the end of next year we must start looking at what the horizon looks like and if it is at all possible [to send a team to Pakistan],” he told .Lorgat said the ICC could not let the status quo continue indefinitely and that he would accompany any team that did go to Pakistan.”We will assess the situation very, very carefully. We know that we can’t leave things as they are if it is at all possible to play in Pakistan,” he said. “I’m not just suggesting a bi-lateral series; it may be an ICC XI. Whether it’s a youth team, an older team, or whatever… I would go with that team as well.”We need to look at it. We shouldn’t just sit back and do nothing. But we certainly would not do something that is not properly calculated.”In another attempt to bolster cricket in Pakistan, the ICC has appointed Mike Brearley and Greg Chappell as ambassadors to support the PCB. The two former Test captains have been tasked with getting the global cricket community to support the PCB and its players at a time when Pakistan is unable to host matches at home.Teams have refused to play in Pakistan since March 2009, when seven Sri Lanka players were injured after gunmen attacked the team bus on its way to Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.

The Wanderers stadium in Johannesburg, St. Georges Park in Port Elizabeth, Kingsmead in Durban and Centurion Park in Centurion will host Champions League Twenty20 2010

Cricinfo staff17-Jun-2010The Champions League Twenty20 governing council has named the venues for the second edition of the tournament to be held this year in South Africa. The Wanderers stadium in Johannesburg, St. Georges Park in Port Elizabeth, Kingsmead in Durban and Centurion Park in Centurion will host the competition that will feature ten of the top domestic Twenty20 teams, from September 10 to 26.”South Africa is widely regarded as a top international host nation, having successfully hosted most major international cricket events in recent years,” said Shashank Manohar, the league chairman. “The Governing Council is satisfied with the four venues that Cricket South Africa have recommended. We are excited about the future of CLT20, and call on the South African public to come out and support the second edition of this tournament, which features the best of the best.”Gerald Majola, the CEO of CSA, was pleased with South Africa getting the opportunity to host another major sporting event. “CSA is proud to be hosting CLT20 in what is an iconic year for South Africa with the soccer World Cup currently being hosted here. We are encouraged by the eagerness of the four host venues to make this tournament a success.”CLT20 has already picked the interest of South African fans, especially with the Lions and Warriors (South African teams participating in the tournament) having qualified for this prestigious event. We are confident of hosting a successful CLT20.”Following the the 2003 one-day World Cup, South Africa have been one of the favourite destinations for multi-team cricketing tournaments, including the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007, the second edition of the Indian Premier League and the Champions Trophy in 2009.The inaugural Champions League was held in India last year, with New South Wales beating Trinidad & Tobago to win the event that was contested by 12 teams. This year’s event will feature ten teams, nine of which have already qualified. The tenth spot will be taken by a representative from the West Indies following the Caribbean Twenty20 tournament in end July. The CLT20 2010 will feature 23 matches, with the tournament format and match schedule to be decided at the next governing council meeting on June 28 in Singapore.Teams contesting Champions League T20 2010:
From India – Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore
From Australia – Victorian Bushrangers and South Australian Redbacks
From South Africa – Warriors and Highveld Lions
From New Zealand – Central Stags
From Sri Lanka – Wayamba Elevens
From the West Indies – TBC

Cracking half-centuries by Steven Davies and Andrew Symonds helped Surrey maintain their hopes of qualifying for the Friends Provident t20 knock-out stages

22-Jun-2010
Scorecard
Andrew Symonds top-scored for Surrey with a 33-ball 63 to help set up an 11-run win•Getty ImagesCracking half-centuries by Steven Davies and Andrew Symonds helped Surrey maintain their hopes of qualifying for the Friends Provident t20 knock-out stages after edging out Hampshire Royals by 11 runs in a high-scoring clash at The Oval.Chasing the Lions’ excellent 200 for 8, Hampshire ran out of steam against the Surrey spinners with 1 for 28 for Gareth Batty and two wickets for Rory Hamilton-Brown that gave his side their fourth qualifying win.Batting first, the Lions got off to a flying start through openers Hamilton-Brown and Davies who posted the home 50 inside four overs of the powerplay. Hamilton-Brown contributed 10 to the run-fest until he clipped a length ball from Sean Ervine into the hands of Liam Dawson at deep square leg. Left-hander Davies showed no compassion for his ex-Worcestershire team-mate, Simon Jones, who, two years after his last Twenty20 appearance prior to knee problems, disappeared for 25 in his first over.Davies sprinted to an 18-ball 50 with nine fours and a brace of sixes and drove another sublime six over extra cover off Ervine, only to fall two balls later when he clipped to Jimmy Adams at deep square-leg to make it 74 for 2.Teenager Jason Roy, preferred to veteran Mark Ramprakash, hit an audacious six off left-arm spinner Danny Briggs into the top tier of the pavilion but the right-hander from Reigate soon top-edged a sweep to deep-square.Stewart Walters attempted to accelerate with a slog-sweep against Briggs’ arm ball only to be bowled and Jones bravely switched ends to concede only seven from his second over from the Vauxhall End.Symonds, in tandem with Younis Khan, added 71 in seven overs with Symonds posting the second 50 of the evening in 11 minutes with five fours and two sixes but Khan sliced a drive to long off to give Ervine figures of 3 for 28. Ervine’s direct hit from long-off to the striker’s end stumps ran out Symonds for a stunning 63 from 33 balls as he chanced a second run.Entrusted with the last over, Jones showed his character to run out Chris Schofield in his follow through then bowl Batty with a slower ball, but he was powerless to prevent Andre Nel’s last ball six that raised the Lions’ 200.Initially, the Royals run-chase ticked along at the asking rate of 10 an over as Michael Lumb (11) and Jimmy Adams added 33 before Lumb miscued to midwicket to bring teenager James Vince to the crease for only his second t20 appearance.The youngster showed his style with 43 from 17 balls before needlessly attempting a slog-sweep to lose his leg stump to Hamilton-Brown. Ervine (3) checked a drive into the hands of the Surrey skipper at cover then Adams, having hit 46 off 37 balls, attempted to cut Schofield only to be caught behind off a looping bat-pad chance.The 14th over proved a turning point as Batty conceded only five, forcing the asking rate beyond 12 an over for the first time and Nic Pothas (18) soon cracked under the pressure by holing out to deep cover.Dawson soon followed to another catch in the deep and though Neil McKenzie (52 not out) improvised cleverly Hampshire were unable to find the 29 they needed from Nel’s final over of the night.

Cricinfo previews the Semi-Final match between England and Sri Lanka in St Lucia

Sahil Dutta12-May-2010Match FactsThursday, May 13, St Lucia
Start time 1130 (1530 GMT)Angelo Matthews was Sri Lanka’s man of the match against India and his allround threat could unsettle England•AFPThe Big PictureWhile England have not made the final of a ICC global tournament since 2004 Sri Lanka have been beaten finalists in both last year’s World Twenty20 and the 2007 World Cup.Yet ahead of the match it’s England who are the more bullish having topped their Super Eights group with three comfortable wins. They are on the verge of fulfilling their transformation that began after losing 5-1 to Australia last summer. Gone is the stuttering top order hoping to ‘keep wickets in hand’ and in its place is a fearless line-up led by two dashing hitters at the top and followed by the classiest middle-order pair of the tournament, Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan.Sri Lanka, on the other hand, looked unsteady to begin with but have found increasingly assurance as the tournament went on. Mahela Jayewardene’s graceful striking has completely carried Sri Lanka’s batting – his 292 runs are more than anyone else in the tournament and over double the next highest Sri Lankan tally of 123 from Kumar Sangakkara – but they showed they could perform without him when they beat India. Nevertheless how England’s nagging fast-medium attack fare against Jayewardene could well determine the outcome of the game.Form guide (most recent first)Sri Lanka WLWWL
England WWWNLWatch out for…Craig Kieswetter has fizzed without quite exploding yet in this tournament. But on the slow pitch his Michael Clarke-like twinkle-toed approach could see England off to a lightning start.Suraj Randiv has stepped into the place vacated by Murali’s injury and, with Ajantha Mendis’ mysteries all but revealed, he has become Sri Lanka’s leading spin weapon. They may be tempted to open the bowling with him after seeing Michael Lumb’s dismissal to Johan Botha when South Africa adopted the same tactic.Team newsKevin Pietersen returns just in time after seeing the birth of his first child and will replace Ravi Bopara. Throughout the tournament Ryan Sidebottom has looked set to miss out for England’s supposed attack-leader, James Anderson, but the selectors have refused to change.England (probable) 1 Michael Lumb, 2 Craig Kieswetter, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Luke Wright, 7 Tim Bresnan, 8 Graeme Swann, 9 Michael Yardy, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 Ryan Sidebottom.Sri Lanka have been far less settled through the tournament so far. Mendis missed out against India but could return for an England side less used to him.Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Mahela Jayawardene, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt, wk), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Sanath Jayasuriya, 7 Chamara Kapugedera, 8 Suraj Randiv, 9 Ajantha Mendis, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Chanaka Welegedera.Pitch and conditionsEngland may have adapted well to the conditions against New Zealand in their last game, but the slow and low surface in St Lucia will suit Sri Lanka. Their batsmen proved a touch shy of the pace and bounce in Barbados but will be much more comfortable here.Stats and trivia Sri Lanka won the only T20 encounter these two sides have played before. Way back in 2006 at Southampton, in a game where Tim Bresnan, England’s best bowler this tournament, made his T20 debut.Quotes”Life is not exactly a hardship at the minute, you know?”
Tim Bresnan keeps things in perspective.”We would love him to play. He’s a top quality spinner, and England have probably played him once.”
Kumar Sangakkara would love to play his mystery spinner, but won’t quite confirm he will.

With Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur side heading into Saturday’s Premier League clash with Watford off the back of a disappointing 1-1 draw against 10-man Southampton last time out, the 52-year-old would have been hoping for a much-improved display at Vicarage Road this afternoon.

While the Italian would have certainly enjoyed the match a great deal more if his side had managed to seal all three points slightly earlier, Spurs nevertheless came away with maximum points thanks to Davinson Sanchez’s dramatic 96th-minute winner, with the game ending 1-0.

However, despite the victory, there were still a number of performances within the team which will have given Conte cause from concern, with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Sergio Reguilon and Emerson Royal all enduring something of an afternoon to forget against Watford.

It will undoubtedly be the latter of this trio who would have been most disappointed with his own display on the bus home from Vicarage Road on Saturday evening.

Lost the ball every 5.4 touches

While Emerson’s metrics over his 90 minutes on the pitch were not overly disastrous, the wing-back’s wastefulness in the final third was undeniably the 22-year-old’s downfall against Watford.

Indeed, the £22.5m-rated man had a whopping 113 touches of the ball, but he found his intended target with just four of his 13 attempted crosses and lost possession a whopping 21 times, meaning that he ceded possession with every 5.4 touches.

This is something which was also picked up by the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick, who awarded the defender a five in his player ratings, as well as stating of the £62k-per-week right-back’s performance: “No-one was allowed more space and time in the final third but the Brazilian put in a succession of poor crosses. You couldn’t escape the feeling that Watford knew he wasn’t much of a threat.”

As such, it is unavoidable that Emerson’s poor decision making in the final third of the pitch badly let his side down on Saturday despite Tottenham’s ultimate victory, and is an area of his game that the Brazil international must improve if he is to finally disprove Kieron Dyer’s claim that he is “miles off it” for Spurs.

In other news: Spurs begin talks for £116k-p/w gem dubbed “the best”, he’s “more stable” than De Ligt

The ICC president believes that the umpiring controversies that marred the third day of the Mirpur Test will help to encourage all cricket boards to embrace the use of the Umpire Decision Review System

Andrew Miller in Dhaka23-Mar-2010David Morgan, the ICC president, believes that the umpiring controversies that marred the third day of the Mirpur Test will help to encourage all cricket boards to embrace the use of the Umpire Decision Review System, but added that the business of footing the bill must still be shared by the host broadcaster for each series.”I think that UDRS makes for wonderful television,” Morgan said. “It adds a dimension to the package that a viewer receives, and I do believe that the broadcasters have a responsibility to fund part of it. Cricket is not afloat with dollars and pounds and euros. It is not a rich sport and we believe there has to be a contribution.”But next time Bangladesh host international cricket, against New Zealand in October, I am sure that the BCB will have the equipment available,” he added. “They clearly regret not having it in this series.”Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh’s captain, was critical of the BCB following the third day’s play, saying that had they chosen to pay for the referral technology, his team could have claimed a first-innings lead over England and made a push for their fourth Test victory.”We would have been in a very good position if [UDRS] was in use here,” he said. “I think we would have asked for a referral four times with full confidence, and three of them would have come to our way for sure. It’s really bad for us that we did not use the referral system, which we could have done.””Umpires can make mistakes, but a series of mistakes have gone against us, and it’s very unfortunate,” said Mostafa Kamal, the BCB president. “We have been talking about [UDRS] issue, but we found that other countries have not been using it extensively, so we thought that, first of all, we must know about the system itself. It is very delicate and if we misused it, it might go against us.”Speaking during an official visit to Bangladesh ahead of next year’s World Cup, Morgan also defended the integrity of the ICC’s elite umpires following Andy Flower’s pre-series comments that more influential teams tend to get the rub of the green in marginal decisions, a suggestion that was backed up by Bangladesh’s coach, Jamie Siddons, at the close of the third day’s play.”I have a great deal of time for Andy Flower. I have not chatted with him on this matter, but I’d like to,” said Morgan. “I cannot accept that any of our international or elite umpires are biased. This game will be monitored in Dubai, and the match referee is here monitoring umpire performance as well. We will also listen to the captain of Bangladesh and the coach, but their views will not necessarily be regarded as value judgements at the end of the day.”The UDRS system is being rolled out and is being used significantly more than in situations such as this when it is not in use,” said Morgan. “Boards and broadcasters are being pressed to ensure it is available, and I think it will not be too long before we have the system operating with the optimum equipment available at each Test match, wherever it is played in the world.”

Leeds United were subjected to another heavy defeat on Saturday evening as they lost 4-1 at home to Arsenal, just four days after being thrashed 7-0 by Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

The Whites are in the midst of an injury crisis, particularly with key players Kalvin Phillips, Patrick Bamford and Liam Cooper all sidelined, which hasn’t helped their fortunes of late.

However, that doesn’t excuse some of the defending on display against the Gunners, with Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville labelling it as “like an under-9s team defending.”

All four of Marcelo Bielsa’s side’s defenders could be subject to criticism, with Luke Ayling being told by 90min’s Tom Gott that he needs to make sure he “knows the offside rule.” However, centre-back Robin Koch was particularly woeful, with the German being handed a 5.9/10 rating by SofaScore for his display, the lowest of anyone on the night.

Despite being a defender, the 25-year-old only made one tackle and three clearances throughout the 90 minutes, as well as winning just 43% of his duels. He also lost the ball 11 times whilst making 52 touches, which amounts to a loss of possession once every 4.7 touches.

The £15.3m-rated centre-back hadn’t played in the Premier League since the opening day of the season, in what was also a humbling defeat as Leeds lost 5-1 to Manchester United.

According to Transfermarkt, illness and a pubis bone contusion have kept the German out of action for three months, which may partly explain why Koch struggled against Arsenal.

Gary Neville highlighted the centre-back and Bielsa’s management of him after the match, stating: “That’s what happens when your centre-back is not there. Koch is out of position on this side.

“I just don’t see the benefit of Koch going, leaving his space and chasing Lacazette all over the pitch. Then leaving so much for the defenders to do.

“It’s not for me to talk about how Marcelo Bielsa plays the game but I am not having that, not against Lacazette. If that was a great player up front, who maybe could turn, get on the ball and run at you. Messi or someone like that. then you would want to go in and man-mark. But Lacazette is pulling the Leeds centre-backs, who are leaving enormous gaps and they aren’t good enough to fill them.”

On a night to forget for Leeds, and in particular their defence, it was Koch who was perhaps the biggest villain.

In other news – Forget Raphinha: Leeds’ £3.6m gem with 3 key passes was Bielsa’s shining light v Arsenal

Reported Celtic target Patrick Berg is now set to join Lens instead, according to reliable reporter Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Celtic links

The Hoops have been working away ahead of the January transfer window, with up to four possible permanent signings in the New Year.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/celtic-updates-19/” title=”Celtic updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Reo Hatate, Yosuke Ideguchi and Daizen Maeda could make the move to Parkhead, whereas on-loan winger Jota could end up completing a full-time switch.

Celtic were after Berg in the summer and were once again linked with the Bodo/Glimt man in recent weeks, but it seems as if they won’t be securing the 24-year-old’s services.

The Latest: Lens move

Romano took to Twitter on Friday morning to provide an update on Berg’s future.

The transfer expert said that Berg will sign his contract with Lens ‘in the next few hours’, before name-checking the Hoops as a linked party in a second post.

The Verdict: Big news…

Not only is this big news in regards to Celtic’s transfer plans, but it may also have a major impact on Ange Postecoglou’s Europa League Conference opponents.

Berg, labelled as ‘great’ by The Celtic Analysis in the summer, has been a regular for the Norwegian side in recent years, so they could now lose a key man in their captain ahead of the two-legged tie with Celtic in 2022.

You could say the update is bittersweet for Postecoglou, but it looks as if he will bring midfield additions to the club in Hatate and Ideguchi.

In other news: ‘Could be a long time’ – Devlin shares worrying injury update on Celtic ace after bone ‘break’.