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Ed Cowan’s third Sheffield Shield century this season helped Tasmania secure a draw against Victoria after the Tigers were set 376 for victory

Cricinfo staff01-Feb-2010
ScorecardEd Cowan’s third hundred of the summer was important for Tasmania on the final day•Getty ImagesEd Cowan’s third Sheffield Shield century this season helped Tasmania secure a draw against Victoria after the Tigers were set 376 for victory. Four wickets to Damien Wright meant Tasmania forgot about the chase and aimed for to avoid defeat, and Cowan’s unbeaten 108 ensured that the Bushrangers had to settle for first-innings points.Cowan is the highest run scorer in the competition with 737 runs at 73.70, nearly 100 clear of the second-placed Michael Klinger of South Australia. His 221-ball effort was the key for Tasmania as no other batsman passed 21 in their second innings of 5 for 207, before the captains agreed to call the match off early.Wright used the Bellerive Oval swing to run through the rest of the top order and finished with 4 for 42 and the Man-of-the-Match award, but he couldn’t deliver a win. The Victorians batted on in the morning and lifted their score to 340, thanks to a career-best 153 from Rob Quiney.Victoria remain on top of the Sheffield Shield table with three wins from six matches. However, Queensland closed to within two points of the Bushrangers thanks to their fourth-day triumph over New South Wales at the SCG.

Tamil Nadu captain banned for one Ranji Trophy match after being found guilty of breaching the BCCI Code of Conduct

Cricinfo staff14-Nov-2009Dinesh Karthik, Tamil Nadu’s captain, has been banned for one Ranji Trophy match after being found guilty of breaching the BCCI Code of Conduct and has been warned over his future conduct. Karthik, the wicketkeeper-batsman, was found guilty of a Level 1 and 2 offence during Tamil Nadu’s Super League match against Gujarat in Ahmedabad.Sanjay Patil, the match referee, found him guilty of breaching Level 1 and 2 of the conduct rulebook, which refers to bringing the game into disrepute by excessive appealing and charging toward the umpire. Karthik was fined 75% of his match fee.The incident took place when Jay Desai was on 68 during Gujarat’s second innings and Karthik excessively appealed for a catch off offspinner R Ashwin, who was also issued a verbal warning for arguing with the umpire. Desai went on to score 108 as the match ended in a draw.Elsewhere, in Mohali, Hyderabad captain VVS Laxman was fined 20% of his match fee for bowling five overs less during Punjab’s second innings. The rest of his team-mates were docked 10% of their match fees per the BCCI’s ruling. Punjab just escaped copping a fine after their captain Ankur Kakkar rushed through 20 overs during the last hour of play on the final day, using a bunch of spinners.At the Eden Gardens, match referee Sanjib Paul fined both Bengal and Baroda captains, Connor Williams and Laxmi Shukla, 20% of their match fees for a slow over-rate. The players were fined 10% each. Satyajit Parab, on whose classy 154 Baroda made merry against the hosts, was given an official reprimand for aggressive appealing during Bengal’s innings.

Sunderland ace Carl Winchester has been called up to Northern Ireland’s squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

And, as to be expected, a number of Sunderland supporters have been sharing their positive thoughts to the news on social media.

Winchester already has one senior cap to his name for Northern Ireland which came over a decade ago and will hopefully add to that in games against Switzerland and Bulgaria.

The 28-year-old has been a regular at right-back under Lee Johnson, starting every League One encounter so far. He’s been ranked in the top five Sunderland performers, as per WhoScored, with an average match rating of 7.11/10.

Winchester has also scored three times in the third-tier this season, and a number of supporters were quick to heap praise on him following his call up.

Sunderland fans react

The Black Cats posted on their official Twitter page regarding Winchester’s call up on Monday afternoon. This is what these Sunderland fans had to say in reply, with one labelling it as ‘fantastic’.

“I am genuinely so happy for him”

Credit: @eleanorAMC_

“GOOOOWAN”

Credit: @Kieran_Healey11

“Fantastic!!”

Credit: @GeoffGsm

“Fully deserved, he’s been class so far this season”

Credit: @SAFCGeorge6

“Fully deserved he’s been brilliant this season”

Credit: @bamgboyeolu

“Fully deserved excellent to see all those players on international duty, the club has a good feeling about it. This international break has come just at the right time for us.”

Credit: @thedozeffect

In other news: ‘Made feel a lot better’ – Lots of Sunderland fans hail ‘brilliant’ weekend post. 

Emerson Royal, Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura all struggled for Tottenham against West Ham United on Sunday as the Irons prevailed 1-0.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side were facing a London rival and early on they showed signs of promise. However, in the second half they failed to even register a single shot and ultimately succumbed to a Michail Antonio strike.

Here, we take a look at Spurs’ three worst players statistically on the day, according to SofaScore rankings.

Emerson Royal

The right-back featured for the full game at the London Stadium but he lost seven of his 15 duels and lost possession of the ball 13 times throughout his time on the pitch. He was also dribbled past four times by opponents on Sunday, a damning indictment of his defensive performance.

Son Heung-min

The South Korea international is usually one of Spurs’ best players but he did not enjoy himself at the London Stadium. He failed to win any of his six duels, lost possession of the ball 13 times and failed to land a single one of his six crosses. When the former Bayer Leverkusen man does not perform, Spurs are a weaker team, and that was the case against the Irons.

Lucas Moura

Moura was also disappointing against David Moyes’ side. He won eight of his 16 duels but lost possession more often (25 times) than any of his teammates, while he completed an underwhelming 71% of his attempted passes. He must do better if he is to convince Nuno that he is worthy of a place in the starting XI.

In other news, this man wants to leave Tottenham

Following the arrival of Valerien Ismael at West Bromwich Albion this summer, a manager who has something of a reputation for developing younger talents, Albion fans would have undoubtedly been expecting to see a number of the club’s academy prospects breaking into the Frenchman’s first-team squad.

And, while youngsters such as Taylor Gardner-Hickman, Ethan Ingram, Caleb Taylor, Tom Fellows, Toby King, Quevin, Rico Richards, Mo Faal and Rayhaan Tulloch have all featured for the senior side already this season, West Brom have also sanctioned the departures of a couple of highly-rated talents, including Rekeem Harper and Finley Thorndike – the latter of whom recently joined Aston Villa.

Indeed, the decision to release Thorndike could well be a call that the club and Ismael come to regret, as the attacking midfielder would very much appear to be a player who boasts a significant amount of potential.

Big mistake

While Thorndike failed to make a first-team appearance for the Baggies, the 19-year-old nevertheless impressed during his time while playing for the various West Brom youth sides.

Indeed, over his 29 appearances for the U18s, the attacking midfielder scored 11 goals and registered one assist, as well as scoring three goals and providing one assist over his 16 fixtures with the U23 team – which the youngster was promoted to at the beginning of last season.

Furthermore, the man Aston Villa academy manager Mark Harrison dubbed a “creative” player has already demonstrated his ability for Villa’s U23 side, scoring one goal and registering one assist over his three Premier League 2 appearances for his new side.

As such, considering Ismael’s reputation of helping young players establish themselves in his first team, it would certainly appear as if Thorndike would have been a player the Frenchman could have worked wonders with.

And, should the 19-year-old be able to maintain his fine form for Villa’s U23 side over the course of the season, it would not be surprising to see the midfielder in and around the club’s senior squad towards the end of the current campaign – something that would certainly cause a great deal of regret for everyone involved with West Brom, as well as confirming that letting the teenager go was a big mistake.

In other news: West Brom dealt crushing blow on “brilliant” £4.4k-p/w ace, Ismael will be devastated

Kent captain Rob Key and vice captain Martin van Jaarsveld led their side’s rearguard action from the front with unbeaten centuries at the Old Racecourse Ground

The Bulletin by Mark Pennell at Derby05-Sep-2009
ScorecardKent captain Rob Key and vice captain Martin van Jaarsveld led their side’s rearguard action from the front with unbeaten centuries at the Old Racecourse Ground where the visitors lost only one wicket on the final day to secure a hard-earned draw with Derbyshire.A game of six century stands petered out at 4pm when the sides shook hands on a draw and went off for bad light with Kent sitting pretty on 333 for 2 in their second innings for a slender overall match lead of 31. Division Two leaders Kent banked only seven points for the draw while Derbyshire took 12, but crucially Kent remain 26 points clear at the top and 27 ahead of third-placed Gloucestershire with a game in hand.Key finished unbeaten on 141 and featured in two hundred partnerships on the final day. He added 133 in 39 overs with Geraint Jones (60) then a further, unbroken 194 in 46 overs with van Jaarsveld (101*) to see Kent to parity after conceding a first-innings deficit of 302.The visitors, resuming on their overnight total of 44 for 1, suffered only one casualty throughout the three sessions when Jones fell 28 overs into the day for a stylish 60.He scored 42 of his first 50 runs in boundaries, the rest were singles, as he and Key suffered few scares despite overcast conditions. Occasional spinner Greg Smith made thebreakthrough, getting one to bounce and take the splice of Jones’s bat to give Wayne Madsen the catch at short leg.Other than that it was plain sailing for Kent as they successfully avoided their third defeat of the season while severely damaging Derbyshire’s late tilt for promotion. Key gave one half chance when on 77, Chris Rogers getting fingertips to a low chance at slip against Smith’s off-spin, but then cantered through to his second ton against Derbyshire in a month and his fourth of the season overall from 169 balls and with 10 fours. Van Jaarsveld joined him on three figures from 152 balls with nine fours and a six. It was his sixth hundred of another hugely successful summer for Kent.The game ended somewhat farcically with home wicketkeeper Jamie Pipe sharing the second new ball in tandem with top-order batsman Garry Park. Unsurprisingly, neither troubled Key or van Jaarsveld.

Having made a £17m move to Aston Villa in the summer of 2020, Emiliano Martinez wasted no time installing himself as a fan favourite at Villa Park, with the goalkeeper starring between the Villa sticks in the club’s 2020/21 campaign.

Indeed, over his 38 Premier League appearances last season, the 29-year-old kept a whopping 15 clean sheets and made an average of 3.7 saves per game – statistics which ranked him third and fourth respectively out of all the shot-stoppers in the top flight.

These returns also saw the £47k-per-week ‘keeper earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.18, ranking him as Dean Smith’s third-best performer in the league last term.

As a result, it is hardly surprising that Smith has praised the Argentina international’s impact within his first-team squad, with the 50-year-old stating back in February: “I think Emi has probably exceeded what I thought he would bring to the team, certainly in terms of his calmness and personality.”

And, the goalkeeper has continued his impressive form last time out into the current campaign, so far keeping three clean sheets and making an average of three saves over his eight top-flight appearances.

This has seen the player who Birmingham Live journalist Dan Rolinson dubbed an “unreal” talent average a SofaScore match rating of 7.01, ranking him as Villa’s fifth-best performer in the Premier League.

As such, the £17m fee Aston Villa’s director of football Johan Lange coughed up for the 29-year-old now appears to have been something of a bargain, particularly considering Martinez’s Transfermarkt valuation is sitting at a very healthy £31.5m.

However, in a recent interview with GIVEMESPORT, Express & Star journalist Luke Hatfield stated his belief that the Argentine is actually worth a great deal more than this Tranfsermarkt figure, suggesting a potential buyer would need nearly £70m to land the shot-stopper.

On Martinez’s value, Hatfield said: “In terms of a fee, Villa are in a very good position. He only joined the club less than two years ago, and the fee they paid, almost £20m for him. He’s worth triple that, maybe even quadruple now, just because of the performances he’s been putting in.”

So, while it would appear a highly unlikely scenario in which Aston Villa decide to cash in on the ‘keeper any time soon, it would nevertheless seem as if Lange struck oil when signing the 29-year-old.

In other news: Lange must ruthlessly axe “inconsistent” £38k-p/w AVFC dud, he’s stealing a living

A Tottenham Hotspur insider has shed some light on rumours of Gareth Bale potentially returning to Spurs in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Conte wants Bale

According to journalist Eduardo Inda, Antonio Conte has asked for the North London club to sign Bale once more in the winter.

Of course, he was with the Lilywhites on loan last season, and managed to score 16 goals and make a further three assists in 34 games in total over all competitions (Transfermarkt).

Bale ended up as their third-highest scorer behind only Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min, and so it is not a surprise that Conte would like him to return once more, given that THFC are currently the Premier League’s second-lowest scorers with just nine goals in 11 games so far.

The Latest: Insider sheds light

Speaking to Football Insider, Tottenham insider John Wenham, who regularly breaks news about Spurs on his Lilywhite Rose social media channels, has shed some light on the rumours of Bale’s potential return, and thinks that he would be a ‘brilliant’ signing in January:

“The stats speak for themselves.

“I have seen some ridiculous statements that joked Bale was using Tottenham as a gym ahead of the Euros.

“Actually, he scored 11 league goals in very minimal playing time. He scored the same amount of league goals as Aubameyang and Mane.

“He scored more than Antonio and Firmino and he barely played.

“People were asking what he did in the cups, he didn’t play. Mourinho, for whatever reason, did not play him.

“He then had a real purple patch under Mason and scored a brace on the last day of the season, a result that earned us European football over Arsenal.

“I had hopes we were going to extend his loan after last season because I think we have missed his goals.

“Would I welcome him back? Absolutely, he’s a Tottenham legend. He ticks a lot of boxes. It would be brilliant.

“I hope we look at that. However, Alasdair Gold said there was basically nothing in it, so at the moment I think it’s just a rumour.”

The Verdict: Bring him back

Bale’s impact in North London during his loan spell last term is nothing to be sniffed at, and there is no doubt that he can make the same impact again.

Of course, he is 32 years of age now, but is still playing at the highest level with Real Madrid.

Nonetheless, as Wenham puts it, he is simply a legend at the Lilywhites, being part of the team that won the League Cup in 2008 and winning Player of the Year in the 2012/13 campaign (Transfermarkt), and would thus be a signing that would help get the fans onside during what could be a potentially tricky next few months.

In other news, find out what transfer boost Conte has been gifted here!

Chaminda Vaas has denied claims that he told Ashantha de Mel, Sri Lanka’s chief selector, that he had decided to retire from Tests

Cricinfo staff04-Jul-2009Chaminda Vaas has denied claims from Asantha de Mel, Sri Lanka’s chief selector, that he had retired from Test cricket. “I have not made any such decision yet,” Vaas told Cricinfo. He also denied having spoken to de Mel or any other selector regarding his plans.Earlier today AFP reported de Mel as saying: “Chaminda has told me he does not want to play Test cricket anymore, but he will continue in the shorter formats.”The news comes a day after Sri Lanka’s new captain, Kumar Sangakkara, strongly suggested that Vaas – overlooked for the two Tests against Pakistan – would give up at least one form of the game. “I had a very good one-on-one chat with him [Vaas] before we went for the Twenty20 world Cup. There is no doubt about the quality of Vaas what he has done for Sri Lankan cricket,” Sangakkara had said in Galle.”He has still got a role to play in our side. We just have to decide which format of the game he is going to make the most most contribution in, and with his fitness and age how best can he divide his time if he decides to play more than one form of the game. But definitely, going forward, there is a World Cup. He is going to be a big part of our side.”Vaas, 35, has picked up 354 wickets in 110 Tests. He had previously said he had his sights set on the 2011 World Cup.

West Ham United will be looking to maintain their strong start to the 2021/22 campaign when they host their first-ever Europa League group stage game at the London Stadium this evening.

David Moyes and his side welcome Austrian outfit Rapid Wien to east London, where they’ll be looking to build on their opening 2-0 victory over Dinamo Zagreb two weeks ago.

In Croatia, the Irons boss named a mixed starting XI – it was largely full-strength barring a couple of fringe players and debutants.

With Everton in the Premier League at the weekend, the Scot could be tempted into rotating the side that clinched a last-gasp victory 2-1 over Leeds United on Saturday.

One dilemma facing Moyes is surely the form of his industrious box-to-box machine, Tomas Soucek.

He was named the club’s ‘Player of the Season’ last term but he’s struggled to repeat such exploits so far this campaign, though that’s not entirely any fault of his own.

The Czech Republic international featured regularly at Euro 2020 in the summer and that combined with a lack of pre-season – after putting in 100% to see the Hammers into Europe last season – could be one big reason behind his slump in form.

You could, therefore, forgive him for looking a little jaded.

It is something that even Moyes himself has noted, going as far as suggesting that the 6 foot 4 titan’s role has somewhat changed thanks to Declan Rice.

“[Rice is] not a Frank Lampard, for example, or someone who is expected to score goals,” the 58-year-old told reporters (via football.london).

“Tomas Soucek is in a role to try and get us goals, and Tomas didn’t disappoint with the goals he scored last year. We can’t allow them both to make runs into the box, so we need to have a bit of understanding that one stays deeper than the other. But Declan has looked more likely to get further up the pitch and we think he’ll score a few goals this season.”

The 26-year-old, who is valued at £36m, has played every minute of every game apart from one Carabao Cup outing so far this campaign, via Transfermarkt.

Against United in the Premier League, plenty of supporters noticed him struggling with fitness, so in a game that a weaker-than-usual Hammers side should win, Moyes must look to be bold and axe Soucek.

He also looked underwhelming up at Elland Road, too, as highlighted by Football FanCast here.

It’ll help his form in the long run as he desperately needs a proper rest – something he will not get during the international break as the 43-cap beast will play a crucial role for the Czech Republic.

Last season, he ended the Premier League season as their joint-top goalscorer on ten goals but so far this term, he hasn’t found the net since West Ham’s opening day win over Newcastle United.

Once dubbed “unplayable” by former Everton and Crystal Palace star Yannick Bolasie, the £45k-per-week must not feature against Rapid Wien, so Moyes has to be brutal in his team selection tonight.

AND in other news, Moyes could find West Ham’s ideal Rice successor in £22.5m-rated “outstanding talent”…