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Salman Butt, the ex-Pakistan Test captain accused of being involved in spot-fixing, said on the tenth day of the trial in London that he “misjudged” his former agent Mazhar Majeed

Richard Sydenham at Southwark Crown Court18-Oct-2011Salman Butt, the ex-Pakistan Test captain accused of being involved in spot-fixing, said on the tenth day of the trial in London that he “misjudged” his former agent Mazhar Majeed, labelled corruption in cricket “terrible” and admitted to “suspicions” about Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif after the no-ball scandal was revealed.”I didn’t realise what kind of man he was,” Butt told the court on his current feelings towards Majeed, as his lawyer Ali Bajwa QC neared the close of his opening defence.”But now with the things that have come out I think I have misjudged somebody completely. I just took his word and trusted him. I knew him for a long time and never thought there would be another side to him that would be this bad.”Butt and fast bowler Mohammad Asif are facing charges of conspiracy to cheat, and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, following the Lord’s Test in August last year when they allegedly conspired with Majeed, teenage fast bowler Mohammad Amir and other people unknown to bowl pre-planned no-balls. Butt and Asif deny the charges.Butt admitted he was suspicious of his former team-mates honesty in the Lord’s Test when the published their expose. “The suspicion was there but I never wanted to believe it,” was as much as Butt would say.When Bajwa inquired as to Butt’s feelings on what he was accused of, he said: “I would never do that. Cricket is my passion. Look at what I am getting accused of (£2,500 of money found in his room). I’m earning every match nearly four times that. It’s a very bizarre thing.”I have always played my cricket with passion and I try to do well, to win. Players in the sub-continent know what the difference is when we do well and when we don’t do well. If we do well it’s really good and we have all the luxuries available. But if we don’t do well the reaction is not like people in the west know about. “When Bajwa prompted Butt for his thoughts about corruption in cricket generally, he replied: “It’s a terrible thing to do. It’s not very good for the game or for the country. And it speaks of the man’s character himself.”The case continues.

Pakistan’s chairman of selectors, Mohsin Khan has denied that the Pakistan board has an agenda against senior players

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Aug-2011Pakistan’s chairman of selectors, Mohsin Khan has denied that the Pakistan board has an agenda against senior players. Mohsin was responding to Pakistan allrounder Abdul Razzaq’s comments, in an earlier interview, in which he had accused the Pakistan Cricket Board of indulging in conspiracy to keep senior players out of the national team.It’s the job of the selection committee to finalise the team,” Mohsin told . “I don’t know about any lobby and I don’t feel there is any agenda against the senior players.”While senior players like Razzaq and Shahid Afridi were not included in Pakistan’s squad for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe, the selectors also chose to rest fast bowlers Umar Gul, Tanvir Ahmed and Wahab Riaz, with fringe seamers Sohail Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Aizaz Cheema and Junaid Khan making up the pace attack. There was also a change in the spin department with Abdur Rehman being rested and Yasir Shah being given an opportunity to make his international debut.Reacting to the team selection, Razzaq had told the Urdu newspaper , that “axing of senior players is not in the interest of Pakistan cricket”. Razzaq alleged there was a lobby within the PCB that was misguiding the board chairman Ijaz Butt. “It’s a conspiracy against the senior players,” Razzaq said. “There’s a lobby which is misguiding the chairman who is working sincerely for the promotion of the game. They just want to secure their position in the board and their agenda is against the interest of Pakistan cricket.Razzaq, who last played for Pakistan when they were beaten by India in the World Cup semi-final earlier this year, said that he had “fallen victim to the conspiracies of this lobby”.”This lobby is active in slowly ousting all senior players from the team and there is one main person who is calling the shots from behind the curtain,” he said.However Mohsin dismissed the allegations and said the senior players “should not be disheartened and should work on winning their place by proving their worth in the domestic tournaments”.”The selection committee is working on a simple policy that any player who is doing well should get a chance,” Mohsin said. “We just want to give a chance to the youngsters who are our future. If there was an agenda then we wouldn’t have a 35-year old captain [Misbah-ul-Haq] who is also a very senior player.”The squad for Zimbabwe includes three uncapped players – top-order batsman Rameez Raja, legspinner Shah and seamer Cheema. Mohsin had earlier explained that the fresh look to the squad was an effort to blood youngsters. “We have to bring in young players along with seniors so that they could be groomed,” he said.

Matthew Hoggard says his Leicestershire side are underdogs for the Champions League Twenty20 2011 because they do not have star players

Abhishek Purohit in Hyderabad17-Sep-2011The contrast could not have been more obvious. Six Leicestershire players swaggered in for the media briefing behind their captain Matthew Hoggard, who was grinning from ear to ear, trying his best to appear excited and interested. After seeing that the reporters were sitting about 20 feet from his table, he even implored them to “shout” out the questions, before realising that there were microphones in place.A couple of hours later, a pale-looking Mahela Udawatte trudged in, his only accompaniments being Ruhuna coach Sumithra Warnakulasuriya and a weak promise of a possible late appearance by Sanath Jayasuriya.Given the gregarious mood Hoggard was in, it did not take him long to move beyond the standard phrases which press conferences are routinely littered with. “We are the underdogs. Everyone expects us to go home,” Hoggard said. Why should a side that has just won a gruelling domestic Twenty20 tournament – after 16 league matches and a tied semi-final decided by an eliminator – be treated as the underdog? Hoggard had an answer. “We do not have too many star players,” he said.”But we have got some good solid match-winners. We have Andrew McDonald, Abdul Razzaq. It’s going to be an interesting tournament. India is a tough place to come and get results. Two games [per side for the qualifiers] is a bit of a lottery but it also takes only two good games to take it away from the opposition. We have come with high hopes.”Leicestershire have sufficient reason to hold sky-high expectations. They had a loss of £400,000 last year and Mike Siddall, their chief executive, admitted earlier that it has been a financial struggle for the club. They stand to gain substantially if they can make it through to the main draw of the Champions League Twenty20.Money was the last thing on Hoggard’s mind though. “You don’t play for money. It is a challenge for us to come here and test ourselves at this level against competitive and top sides from around the world. The money looks after itself.”Testing themselves against top T20 opposition is something that Sri Lankan sides haven’t found too easy in the previous editions of the Champions League but Udawatte was hopeful of a turnaround this time. “We’ve got a good side of youngsters as well as experienced players like Sanath,” Udawatte said. “Batting is our strength but we have also got some decent spinners and fast bowlers.”It is the bowlers that are absent though that are a cause of worry for coach Warnakulasuriya. “We are missing out on Chanaka Welegedara, Suraj Randiv and Shaminda Eranga who are all doing national duty against Australia. The bowling department is a bit weak.”Not having heard such an honest admission throughout the day, all the reporters suddenly went very quiet. Udawatte tried looking at some positives. “We are really lucky to have Sanath. He is always giving good ideas in the dressing room.”The mood wasn’t getting uplifted so easily though. And when it was finally announced that Jayasuriya was not going to make an appearance after all, the briefing ended in disappointed groans.

One of the chief contributors to Australian cricket’s sharply declining fortunes over the past few summers, the Futures League, will be drastically overhauled.

Daniel Brettig11-Jun-2011One of the most widely cited contributors to Australian cricket’s sharply declining fortunes over the past few summers, the Futures League, will be drastically overhauled for next season.At the same time Simon Katich was raging against the compromises and inconsistencies he saw in Cricket Australia’s management and selection structures, the board signed off on a plan to tear up most of the measures introduced to the Futures League – formerly the second XI competition – in 2009.Age restrictions limiting the number of players over the age of 23 to three per team will be relaxed to allow six players over 23, while matches will be returned to four days’ length rather than three. Restrictions on the number of overs in each innings – 96 in the first innings, 48 in the second – have also been thrown out.The changes were recommended to the CA board by the playing conditions sub-committee, which included Mark Taylor, Matthew Hayden, Greg Chappell, Shane Warne, players’ union chief executive Paul Marsh and CA chairman Jack Clarke.Marsh said the Futures League, a gambit largely introduced by Chappell when he was head of the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane, had severely weakened domestic cricket by thinning out the number of experienced players available to state sides.”The Futures League with the restriction of only having three players over the age of 23 has made it a very weak competition,” Marsh told ESPNcricinfo. “The players would say almost universally that the gap between grade and first-class cricket has never been larger than what it is now.”Therefore the Futures League or second XI competition, which sits in between those competitions, is even more important than ever. Yet it’s being made artificially weak by these age restrictions. One of the outcomes of the playing conditions committee meeting was that they would lift that restriction to allow six players over the age of 23, which is a step in the right direction.”From our perspective I’d prefer to see no age restrictions in there; you only need to have a few good young players coming through your system but you want to make sure that they are getting the best possible development opportunities.”You want them to have the best possible development through that pathway and I think we’ve gone away from what’s made us strong through our grade system and through our first-class system.”The views of Marsh have been echoed by numerous players and coaches, including Tasmania captain George Bailey, who led them to the Sheffield Shield title last summer.”It’s become really difficult to have guys who aren’t in your best XI, consistently playing good, hard cricket against other teams, with that under-23 rule,” Bailey said. “I’ve got no doubt that cricket and the way the bodies are, you play your best cricket after you’re 23, and it’s much the same as the Australian team. I think the best Australian players are better for having a really strong first-class system and we’re much the same.”Domestic cricket is only as good as the depth in squads, and the guys who, when they do enter first-class cricket, are ready to play. So that’s been a real challenge: to keep the guys who aren’t in your immediate XI or XII playing at the level that you expect of them at first-class level.”

The new Edgbaston drainage system helped Durham as they headed towards their fourth County Championship win of the season

George Dobell at Edgbaston26-May-2011
ScorecardSometimes progress comes at a cost. For the second time in a couple of weeks, Warwickshire were made to rue their new, fast-draining outfield, as Durham took advantage of brief opportunities between the showers to tighten their grip on this game.The new outfield at Edgbaston has already cost Warwickshire eight points after it contributed to the dry pitch – deemed poor by an ECB pitch panel – that was utilised for the game against Worcestershire.On this occasion it allowed Durham enough time to move significantly closer to their fourth victory of the championship campaign. Under normal circumstances, enough rain had fallen at Edgbaston to prevent any play at all on the third day.In truth, it is not the outfield that has put Warwickshire on the back foot in this game. It is their poor bowling and their quite wretched batting.There was no improvement for them on the third day. Even though just 15.2 overs were possible amid the storms, it was enough time for Durham to claim four wickets. Ben Stokes, bowling with excellent pace to defy the sluggish pitch, continued to impress, but Warwickshire’s batting was remarkably feeble. It speaks volumes that, of the 13 dismissals of Warwickshire batsmen so far, six of them have failed to score a run.After Stokes ended Warwickshire’s first innings just eight balls into the day – Michael Di Venuto at second slip taking his first of three catches in the day as Phil Mustard parried the ball in his direction off substitute player Andy Miller – the hosts were obliged to follow-on 416 runs behind.Varun Chopra, prodding away from his body as if providing catching practise, fell in the second over of Warwickshire’s second innings, before a leaden-footed Ian Westwood edged his lavish attempt at a drive and Mohammad Yousuf suffered the first king pair of his 15-year career when he shuffled in front of a full delivery. It was only the second pair of Yousuf’s career and means that his last three first-class innings against Durham have lasted just six balls combined and not resulted in a single run.Jim Troughton and Darren Maddy saw Warwickshire to the close without further mishap but, with much better weather forecast on the last day, Warwickshire are facing the prospect of one of the biggest defeats in their history. Not since 2002 have they taken just one point from a Championship game.The only metaphorical cloud on the horizon for Durham was the absence of Steve Harmison in the final session. Harmison reported a back strain and it is unclear whether he’ll be able to participate on the fourth day.

Newcastle United are reportedly set to reignite their interest in Manchester United forward Jesse Lingard, according to recent reports.

What’s the word?

As per the NorthernEcho, the Magpies are said to have ‘initiated talks’ regarding a potential deal to bring the Englishman to St James’ Park, although are set to face ‘intense competition’ from clubs across the continent in the race for the 29-year-old’s signature.

The report suggests that there have been ‘preliminary talks’ between the player’s representatives and the northeast side, with the £18m-rated gem set to be available on a free transfer once his current deal expires, albeit with that fact sparking interest from the likes of AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain.

The 32-cap international had come close to linking up with Eddie Howe’s side in January, although the deal collapsed late in the window due to the Red Devils’ demands, including a reported £12.5m bonus to be paid should he help the club stave off relegation.

Howe delighted

It would appear then that PIF are keen to rekindle that interest in the upcoming window, with the versatile star almost certain to end his 22-year association with the Old Trafford outfit this summer, despite suggestions that incoming boss Erik ten Hag may offer him a lifeline.

In truth, the £80k-per-week man has endured a dismal season at the Theatre of Dreams, making just two league starts in total thus far, while he was also seemingly ‘saddened’ at having been denied an emotional send-off from his current side during the win over Brentford on Monday evening – United’s last home game of the season.

While he has seemingly wasted another season back at Carrington, that’s not to downplay the potential impact he could have for the Magpies were he to sign this summer, having previously shown his quality during a remarkable loan stint at West Ham United last term.

In that brief, six-month spell at the London Stadium, Lingard – who has been dubbed “unique” by former teammate Michael Carrick – looked a rejuvenated figure, chipping in with 14 goal contributions in just 16 appearances for David Moyes’ side.

Equally, when handed the chance back in Manchester he has previously proven his worth, notably recording eight goals and six assists in the Premier League during the 2017/18 season under Jose Mourinho.

It is also easy to forget that this is a player who has netted at a World Cup, as well as in three Wembley triumphs for the Red Devils, doing so in the 2016 FA Cup final, the 2017 Carabao Cup final and the 2017 Community Shield.

Pundit Rio Ferdinand has previously suggested that the Warrington-born playmaker “could play in any top team” such is his quality, although those of a Newcastle persuasion – particularly Howe – will be hoping that it is in the famous black and white stripes that he is lining up in next term.

In other news, Newcastle plot bid to sign player with 191 PL apps, he’d be a big upgrade on Lascelles

Junaid Siddique has made plenty of starts in one-day cricket but now needs to convert that into a major score

Sidharth Monga in Chittagong09-Mar-2011The last time Junaid Siddique played England at home was more than a year ago, in February 2010. He scored a duck then. Since then, Junaid has played 19 ODIs, and has been dismissed in single figures only twice. Even those two instances have occurred only recently, after an unbroken run of double figures in 14 games. That’s a record any No. 3 in the world would trade, but then again this coin has the other side too. Twelve of those promising starts have ended for scores less than 40, which is Junaid’s average for the same period is 35.Of late, though, Junaid seems to have shown a bit of confusion as to what his role in the side is. He has become more free flowing, but that seems to have cost him his wicket too often. And in a side that has shown it needs somebody to put a heavy price on his wicket, someone who puts his head down and faces the heat, Junaid’s recent adventures haven’t quite helped.Two days ago, the coach Jamie Siddons identified Junaid as one of the men capable of playing long innings. “Imrul [Kayes] and Imrose [Junaid] are the two players that are expected to do that,” Siddons said. “Imrose was playing a lot of shots, I have spoken to him about that. That’s not his role in the team.”Junaid still believed that it was important to be positive, but acknowledged he needed to convert the starts more often. “I have been playing a few shots because I think playing positive cricket will count in the end,” he said. “I have been playing well getting starts, but have not been able to carry on. I am scoring the first 30-40 runs very confidently, but getting out. My coach has also told me, and everyone is also helping me prepare. I don’t want to get out in the next match, and that is what I have been trying at the nets.”His last sentence is important. Bangladesh nets sessions are usually a place where the batsmen don’t spend a lot of time defending or fine-tuning defensive shots. Perhaps it is just because this is one-day cricket, perhaps the recent defeat makes it more conspicuous, but the Bangladesh nets sessions seem to feature much more merry hitting than other teams’. Over the last two or three days, though, Junaid and Mushfiqur Rahim have been more focused on playing the correct shots first before the adventurous one.”Yes, we have not been able to put up big partnerships in any of the three matches so far, and that is the main reason why our batting could not perform,” Junaid said. “We have to try that and ensure a big score from our top order. That is the target of our top order. We have always played shots at the nets, and now we are sincerely trying to stay there.”On a personal level I have been trying for some time now to get a big score, play a long innings. I am going to try and do that against England. If I get a start, I will definitely try and play a big knock on Friday.”

Leeds United are interested in a move for Derby County teenager Malcolm Ebiowei, according to The Sun.

The Lowdown: Ebiowei profiled

Ebiowei is 18 years of age and can play anywhere across the front three. He has represented both England and Holland at youth international level and made the move to Derby from Scottish giants Rangers last year.

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Ebiowei has made 15 first-team appearances for the Rams during the current campaign, contributing to three goals.

Derby will be playing in League One next season, and it looks as if the Whites are eyeing up a move for the versatile attacker, who coach Justin Walker said ‘has got that little bit of X-factor’.

The Latest: Leeds interest

The Sun shared a story on Sunday lunchtime regarding Ebiowei’s future. They claimed that it is unlikely the teenager will stay at Derby, with Leeds, Fulham and Tottenham all weighing up a summer move.

RB Leipzig and Crystal Palace are also name-checked with an interest, with Ebiowei’s contract set to expire next month.

The Verdict: Shrewd move?

Leeds have previous when it comes to picking up a talented attacker from a side struggling off the pitch financially when they signed Joe Gelhardt from Wigan, so it looks as if Ebiowei could follow suit with a move to Elland Road.

The Derby talent already has first-team experience in the second tier and is a man in demand, making a possible deal a smart one.

Should a transfer to Yorkshire go through, you’d expect the winger will go into the club’s Under-23 ranks to start with, aiming to break into Jesse Marsch’s first-team squad over time, regardless of what division they are in.

In other news: Expert issues worrying update regarding Leeds star…

Mitchell Johnson has rated his devastating return of 6 for 38 as better than his career-best haul against South Africa here two summers ago

Peter English at the WACA17-Dec-2010Mitchell Johnson has rated his devastating return of 6 for 38 as better than his career-best haul against South Africa here two summers ago. But despite swinging the ball further than he ever has, he said he wasn’t even trying to curl it into the pads of England’s right-handers.”I think it’s a bonus,” he said of the shape that helped him pick up the lbws of Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood before lunch on the second day. The dismissals were part of a damaging burst of 4 for 7 in 27 balls that started England’s fall for 187, and he finished off the tail to gain his second-best Test figures.The performance surged Australia back into the series – they had a lead of 200 at stumps – but Johnson isn’t expecting to swing the ball in every innings and was thankful for a helpful breeze. “I like to run in and try to hit the wicket hard,” he said. “When the ball does swing, it definitely puts doubts in the mind of the batsmen.”I haven’t got all my wickets bowling inswingers to the right-handers. I do get the ball to go across right-handers and get nicks. When I swing it back in, it definitely helps me pick up more wickets.”Johnson spent the week before the Test with Troy Cooley, the bowling coach, and the conditioner Stuart Karppinen to rectify a string of technical and physical faults. It was a controversial decision at the time because it kept him out of Western Australia’s Sheffield Shield game, but the plan turned out to be perfect.”One thing I was working on in the nets with Troy and Stuart was getting my momentum going forward, instead of just dropping off to square leg,” he said. “I think that’s definitely helped me and got my arm higher and wrist behind the ball a bit better. I also worked on getting my lower-half body strength back to where I needed to be.”Johnson now has 27 wickets at 18.51 in four matches at the WACA, his home ground, and his best Test figures of 8 for 61 came here against South Africa in 2008-09. “I think I bowled better today than then,” he said. “But it’s only one innings. We need to go out there in the second innings and do it again. There’s a long way to go.”The outstanding display also showed England how much of a menace Johnson can be and helped him to move on from his troubled times during the 2009 tour. “To be a big part of this Ashes series is exciting for me,” he said.

Liverpool are planning to strike a £50million-a-year shirt deal in a big financial upgrade on their current situation, according to a fresh rumour that has now emerged.

The Lowdown: Liverpool excelling in all areas

The Reds are enjoying a season to remember, as they lie on the cusp of potentially sealing a historic quadruple under Jurgen Klopp.

Liverpool are not only excelling on the pitch, however, with the club being run in a sensible fashion, allowing them to be in an extremely strong financial situation.

Their current kit deal with Standard Chartered brings in approximately £40million per year, but with that deal expiring in 2023, a new sponsor is now expected to come in with even bigger rewards.

The Latest: Big shirt deal incoming?

James Pearce revealed earlier this week the club are in ‘talks’ with suitors, and now according to Football Insider, Liverpool are plotting to strike a £50million-per-year deal.

A source claims the club are ‘testing the market’ as they search for potential sponsors and look for a ‘big uplift’ in earnings.

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The Verdict: Magical time at the club

The fact that Liverpool are in such a strong bargaining position further highlights the incredible growth of the club during the Klopp era, with everyone seemingly pulling in the same direction.

The Reds are now one of the world’s most prominent and desirable sporting teams, and for that reason, a world-renowned sponsor will surely be keen on replacing Standard Chartered, bringing in more money in the process.

These are truly special times to be a Liverpool fan, and even if the quadruple chase is unsuccessful, there haven’t been many more fruitful periods in the club’s history.

In other news, a journalist has dropped a key Liverpool contract update. Read more here.