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David Willey’s celebration of an England call-up seemed to whisk away Leicestershire’s hopes of a first Championship win in 34 games

Press Association28-Apr-2015
ScorecardDavid Willey’s late intervention gave Leicestershire much pain•Getty ImagesAll-rounder David Willey celebrated his call-up to England’s one-day squad by smashing 88 from just 79 balls and then took a late wicket to undermine Leicestershire’s fleeting hopes of securing a first Championship win for more than two years..When the visitors lost Rob Newton for 58 shortly after lunch, bowled by a Ben Raine delivery that seamed back to knock out the batsman’s off-stump, Northants were 220 for 6 and leading by just 166 with only four wickets remaining, with Leicestershire looking to have an excellent chance of ending their drought at the 34th attempt.Leicestershire’s head coach Andrew MacDonald refused to accept the game was up. “If we’d taken a couple of opportunities the game may have been slightly different, but I still think the game is in the balance, 332 off 96 overs, if it’s a full day’s play we’re right in this.”If you look at the trend of the game the scores have risen with each innings, and I think what you’ll find is the surface is becoming better and better, so day four shouldn’t hold too many demons. If we bat deep we’ll probably be on the right side of the ledger. If we bat the day, we win. It’s a matter of applying ourselves.”Willey, initially in company with former Leicestershire batsman Josh Cobb, took the attack to the Leicestershire seamers in destructive style. Cobb, who was dropped before scoring, went on to 56 before being caught down the leg-side by wicket-keeper Niall O’Brien off Charlie Shreck, but Willey was then joined by Rory Kleinveldt in a match-changing partnership of 97 for the eighth wicket, hit off just 11.4 overs.Kleinveldt hit seven fours and two sixes in going a half-century off 32 balls before top-edging an attempted pull at Clint McKay and being caught by Tom Wells running in from the deep midwicket.Olly Stone, with a first-class career best 28, provided solid support for Willey in a partnership of 49 for the ninth wicket. Soon afterwards, Willey, having hit 15 fours and a six, skied Shreck to third man, where Ned Eckersley held the catch.Faced with the task of making what would be the fourth highest run chase in their history, Leicestershire quickly lost Dan Redfern, the left-hander steering a delivery from Willey straight into the hands of Cobb at backward point.Eckersley and Angus Robson then saw the Foxes to the close, still needing another 332 runs for their first championship win since September 2012, and Northants needing another nine wickets for their first championship win since September 2013.

A proposal may be presented to the working committee for Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) treasurer Biswarup Dey to be appointed as executive assistant to the board president Jagmohan Dalmiya

Amol Karhadkar06-Mar-2015AGM challenge delayed

The Sharad Pawar faction’s decision to challenge the AGM chairman Shivlal Yadav’s ruling that allowed Samarjit Gaekwad to represent the Baroda Cricket Association at the AGM has been delayed due to holidays for the festival of Holi.
Initially, the Mumbai Cricket Association, whose vice-president Ravi Savant lost to TC Mathew in the election for one of five vice-president’s posts, was planning to move Bombay High Court over Yadav’s ruling. However, the MCA headed by Pawar has also been considering the option of going directly to the Supreme Court, which is closed this week for Holi.
It is understood a decision on whether to file a petition in the High Court or Supreme Court will be made over the weekend and a petition will be filed early next week.
Rakesh Parikh, a BCA vice-president from the Pawar group, claimed the BCA managing committee had authorised him to represent the association at the AGM. However, Gaekwad, a Srinivasan supporter, exercised his right as the BCA president and claimed he was the legitimate representative. Yadav chose Gaekwad, which helped the Srinivasan group win four of the five posts.

A proposal may be presented to the BCCI’s working committee for Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) treasurer Biswarup Dey to be appointed as executive assistant to the newly elected board president Jagmohan Dalmiya. The BCCI is also likely to persist with Ranjib Biswal as the chairman of the IPL governing council because a little over a month remains for the tournament’s eighth season to begin. Anil Kumble is set to continue as the technical committee chairman.Dey is considered to be a supporter of N Srinivasan, the ICC chairman whose nine-year stint as a BCCI official ended on Monday when the board elected its new set of office-bearers in Chennai. According to a CAB insider, since Dalmiya’s health is a concern, Dey may undertake the presidential work on Dalmiya’s behalf.BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur, however, said he was not aware of the proposal. “I haven’t received any request or communication in this regard,” Thakur told ESPNcricinfo.During Srinivasan’s three-year term as BCCI president, Mayank Parikh worked as his assistant from the board’s headquarters in Mumbai. While Parikh had to overlook and report on matters related to the BCCI president’s office, Dey may be awarded rights to sign documents on Dalmiya’s behalf. The proposal is likely to be presented to the working committee at its next meeting.Biswal and Kumble, also considered to be Srinivasan supporters, are likely to continue in their IPL and technical committee roles until the next BCCI AGM. On Monday, after finalising the working committee composition, the working committee authorised Dalmiya and Thakur to finalise the special and technical committees.Dalmiya is understood to have wanted that Kumble be replaced by Sourav Ganguly as the technical committee head. However, the other office-bearers made him realise the importance of keeping officials in important posts with barely seven months to go for the next AGM. It is understood that Dalmiya and Thakur will discuss the issue next week and give the committees a final touch. A working committee meeting will then be convened to ratify the composition of all the BCCI committees.

Goal takes a look at 10 Arsenal stars who never hit the same heights after leaving the Gunners.

When Kieran Gibbs left Arsenal for West Brom after spending over 11 seasons at the club, he remarked that he would learn how to improve defensively at his new team. Arsene Wenger was asked about those comments shortly after and made an apt statement which has rung true of several players after they departed north London for pastures new.

“Once someone takes the decision to leave I wish them well and focus on my squad, but just look at the performances of the players who left us and then come back to me about it,” he said in 2017.

Goal takes a look at 10 Arsenal stars who never hit the same heights after leaving the Gunners.

Getty ImagesEmmanuel Petit

Petit joined Arsenal from Monaco in 1997 after working with Wenger when the Frenchman was manager of the Ligue 1 side. The magnificent partnership between Petit and Patrick Vieira saw him make 85 appearances in three years before deciding to join Barcelona in the summer of 2000.

However, an injury-plagued spell coupled with poor performances saw him eventually return to the Premier League with Chelsea. Three seasons later, Petit retired from professional football.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesAlex Song

Arsenal's search for a defensive midfielder was eventually narrowed down to Cameroonian star Song. He initially struggled at the heart of the Gunners midfield before being sent on loan to Charlton where he honed his defensive qualities.

In the 2011/12 season he formed an exquisite partnership with Robin van Persie when he recorded 13 assists. 

At the end of the season he joined Barcelona but struggled to get past Sergio Busquets in the team. 

Following two disappointing campaigns with Barcelona he had mixed spells at West Ham and Russian side Rubin Kazan. He now plays for FC Sion in the Swiss Super League.

Getty ImagesPatrick Vieira

Vieira won three Premier League trophies and four FA Cup titles during his nine-year stay at Arsenal, captaining the club through the 49-game unbeaten season and making over 400 appearances for the Gunners.

He left for Juventus in July 2005 after Wenger accepted that he would need to let the Frenchman go in order for Cesc Fabregas to become the new mainstay of Arsenal's midfield.

Interestingly, Vieira returned to Highbury a year later when Juventus faced Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and was culpable for one of Arsenal's goals after Robert Pires tackled him and helped set up Fabregas to score.

Spells at Inter and Manchester City followed but Vieira's quality began to diminish towards the latter stages of his career.

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Getty ImagesAlexander Hleb

An exciting pass master with the ability to create something out of nothing, Hleb was part of an impressive Arsenal team which almost won the Premier League in the 2007/08 season.

When Barcelona came calling the Belarusian couldn't say no – but it was a decision that he came to regret as he failed to impress at Camp Nou.

“At some point, I realised, ‘Oh God! I’m leaving Arsenal!’ When Arsene said that it was a matter of hours, I felt devastated. It was really hard for me to accept. He even texted me as I was fishing. ‘Alex, I won’t let you go, we need you here’. I cried when I read it.”

Hleb has since admitted that he regrets ever leaving Arsenal. Three loan spells with Stuttgart, Birmingham and Wolfsburg later, he is now back in his homeland playing for BATE Borisov.

Arsenal have rejected an offer for goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale from another Premier League team, according to a report.

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Premier League team made Ramsdale offerGunners rejected bid to sign goalkeeperEngland international now second choiceWHAT HAPPENED?

A team from the bottom half of the Premier League have made an approach for the England international, according to , but the Gunners have turned it down. The London team have no intention of letting Ramsdale go despite his status as second choice behind David Raya.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Arsenal have no intention of letting Ramsdale leave in the January transfer window, according to the report, while the 25-year-old wants his next move to be one that takes his career forward. He has, however, admitted that he is "suffering and hurting" since losing his place in the first-team to Raya, suggesting he may want to leave north London soon if there is no route back to being Mikel Artea's first choice.

DID YOU KNOW?

Ramsdale was back in the Arsenal starting XI for their 1-0 win against Brentford on Saturday – his first start in a Premier League match since early-September. The shot stopper made a blunder that gave Brentford an opportunity, though they failed to score from it. He was given the nod to play against the Bees because Raya was ineligible given he is on loan at Arsenal from Thomas Frank's team.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR RAMSDALE?

Ramsdale may be back on the bench on Wednesday when Arteta's side face Sevilla in the Champions League, with Raya available again. The Englishman may push for a move away from the Emirates Stadium before long to ensure he gets more playing time.

Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney was thrilled to see the club's new Kop stand at the Racecourse after securing a partnership with his whiskey brand.

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Wrexham open new temporary Kop standNamed the 'Fourth Wall' at the RacecourseMcElhenney shows stand with new sponsorGettyWHAT HAPPENED?

After the Always Sunny in Philadelphia star announced the temporary Kop stand at STōK Cae Ras would be named the 'Fourth Wall' this week, McElhenney has posted another update. He showed a fresh image of the stand with the new name and his sponsor emblazoned at the top of it.

AdvertisementWHAT MCELHENNEY POSTED

The Hollywood actor posted a photo of the new-look stand and tweeted: "Looking good, Wrexham," followed by a smiling face with heart eyes emoji.

GettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

The temporary stand opened last December and has allowed the club to rake in the extra revenue an additional 2,289 fans provide. This is another example of how owners McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds havecompletely transformed the Welsh club – taking them out of the National League and into a League One promotion push.

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WHAT NEXT?

The Red Dragons, who sit third in League Two, are working to open a new, fully fledged Kop stand at the start of the 2024/25 season – which will hold approximately 5,500 fans. This will take the Racecourse's capacity to around 16,000.

South Australia made an improper approach to recruit the young Victoria legspinner James Muirhead during the 2012-13 season, a Cricket Australia grievance tribunal has ruled

Daniel Brettig03-Apr-2013South Australia made an improper approach to recruit the young Victoria legspinner James Muirhead during the 2012-13 season, a Cricket Australia grievance tribunal has ruled. However the matter has been adjourned for further proceedings at a later date after SA contested the verdict.Muirhead, who played for the Adelaide Strikers in the inaugural BBL tournament in 2011-12, is contracted to the Bushrangers but it was alleged by the Bushrangers that he was approached by SA towards the end of this season’s competition, despite his current deal, and without their permission.”The Tribunal found a breach of Rule 4 of the Rules for Interstate Competitions by the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA),” a CA spokesman said. “A further hearing of the matter has been adjourned to the 24th April 2013.”The relevant rule states: “State Association must not (and must ensure that its constituent clubs do not) hold discussions with a CA Contracted Player or a State Contracted Player who is bound to another State Association concerning the possible transfer of that player without first informing the player’s home State Association.”SA have indicated their determination to dispute the outcome. “SACA maintains that it did not breach Rule 4 of the Rules for Interstate Competitions and is currently working with its legal team to consider its options,” the SACA chief executive Keith Bradshaw said. “Given the matter is still under consideration no further comments will be made at this time.”The official recruiting period for states began on Wednesday after CA announced their list of centrally-contracted players for the coming year.

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.

On a surface atoning for modern cricket’s batting sins, a compelling Test again went this way and that, before nestling, at the end of the third day at Providence, loosely in the hands of the West Indies

The Bulletin by Osman Samiuddin15-May-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Saeed Ajmal finished with 11 wickets in the match•AFPOn a surface atoning for modern cricket’s batting sins, a compelling Test again went this way and that, before nestling, at the end of the third day at Providence, loosely in the hands of the West Indies. Saeed Ajmal took centrestage to keep Pakistan in the contest initially, but Shivnarine Chanderpaul prised open that grip, before West Indian pacemen tore it off in an adrenaline-pumped afternoon spell. At the end of another slow run-scoring but fast-moving day, Pakistan had recovered to 80 for 3, chasing 219.Commentators have sniped at this pitch’s uneven bounce and excessive turn but really, this is a miniscule righting of the massive wrongs of the modern-day batathons of Antigua, Lahore and countless others, where even if bowlers hurled hand grenades they might struggle to dislodge batsmen. Few batsmen here have looked set though admittedly these are two of the poorer batting sides going. But frankly it’s made a battle out of a contest that could easily have slipped into yawning obscurity.And no bowler will care much, not Kemar Roach and Ravi Rampaul, who reduced Pakistan to 2 for 3 in their chase, the wickets falling in eight balls across the second and third overs. The pair have bowled with greater purpose and energy than their Pakistan counterparts; at pace, both moved the ball in and away in a high-tempo burst that decapitated Pakistan. Rampaul sent back Taufeeq Umar and Azhar Ali before Roach dismissed Hafeez.That Pakistan weren’t swept away entirely was down to Misbah-ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq, battling hard in a 78-stand – the highest of the Test incidentally – to close without further damage. The pair were unruffled, running well and taking advantage of anything loose. Both clipped through the legside well, Shafiq adding a pretty drive or two and cuts along the way.There were scares – Shafiq was dropped on zero and then ‘bowled’ by Darren Sammy only for the bails to not fall – but they remained unharmed.Ajmal will not care a jot either, after picking up a career-best six wickets and ending with match figures of 11-111, his first ten-wicket haul and the third-best by a Pakistani against West Indies. To his credit – there is more than a little of (Pakistani singer) Rahat Fateh Ali Khan in him – he has exploited the surface better than anyone.He began early, trapping nightwatchman Roach in the day’s first full over. Lendl Simmons fell soon after off Wahab Riaz and the real game began: Ajmal against Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan. Neither looked confident, Ajmal turning it this way and that, up and down, all over. But Sarwan was just beginning to figure something out when undone by one that spat up at him. Ajmal then got involved in the field, his throw completing a run-out of Brendan Nash which Chanderpaul began by selling him a dummy.Carlton Baugh didn’t hang around in giving Ajmal his fourth, by when runs had long become a lottery. Ajmal continued after lunch, tired, still smiling, a threat. Even though Abdur Rehman struck first after the break, three overs later as Rampaul fell, Ajmal became the fifth Pakistani to take ten in a Test against the West Indies.But all the while, Chanderpaul had quietly hung around, not doing much but surviving. It took 15 balls to get off the mark and he was missed in the slips early, but he played unequivocally, everything Ajmal came with. He got lucky again, almost run out after smart work by Umar Akmal. It looked out on replay, but after strangely sending back Sarwan on the first day, it is fair to assume Asoka de Silva is unable to umpire even with the aid of video replays.After tea came Chanderpaul the world knows and loves (WICB officials excluded), chiseling out a boundary-less little masterclass over nearly four hours. There wasn’t a single memorable stroke yet it was, in context, a memorable hand. He didn’t bother with farming strike, taking runs where he could, nudged, nurdled or dabbed.In Bishoo he found perfect, sensible support, the 48-run stand the highest of the innings and potentially the game-changing moment, for it came when West Indies were only 170 ahead. Bishoo’s composure, as much as anything, stands him out and it shone through again. He first set up his base, not attacking anything. Soon, he began to look increasingly solid, against spin and pace alike, so much so that it took Pakistan nearly 22 overs to end it, and fittingly it was Ajmal who got him.Not fittingly, he was held at slip; Pakistan missed at least another three chances today, including Bishoo and they hadn’t managed to stop a single ball at slip let alone catch any until then. How much it costs them will become apparent tomorrow.

Maharashtra’s Ankit Bawne has been named captain of the India Under-19 squad for the quadrangular series to be played between September 27 and October 9 in Visakhapatnam

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Sep-2011Delhi’s Unmukt Chand has been named captain of the India Under-19 squad for the quadrangular series in Visakhapatnam replacing Maharashtra’s Ankit Bawne, who was named captain at the time of the announcement of the squad on September 18. A release from the BCCI stated there was a discrepancy between Bawne’s date of birth as mentioned in the BCCI’s database and his passport, following which he was omitted from the squad.Chand made his Ranji Trophy debut last season, and scored a century against Railways in his fourth match. An aggressive opener, he was signed by Delhi Daredevils for the IPL but played only two games. Karnataka’s Shreyas Gopal was included in the squad in place of Bawne.Jharkhand’s Kumar Deobrat is the vice-captain while Sandeep Sharma from Punjab and Mumbai’s Harmeet Singh are the only two players in the squad who were at the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand last year, when India finished sixth.Harmeet, a left-arm spinner, impressed in his first two Ranji Trophy matches in 2009-10, taking 12 wickets, and then bagged his first five-for in the 2010-11 season. Also in the squad is Delhi left-arm spinner Vikas Mishra, who took 18 wickets in the 2010-11 Ranji season. Deobrat score 191 runs at an average of 63.66 and strike-rate of 84.51 during Jharkhand’s successful campaign in the 2010-11 Vijay Hazare Trophy.The tournament will also feature Under-19 teams from Australia, West Indies and Sri Lankato and will be be played between September 27 and October 9.Squad: Unmukt Chand (captain), Kumar Deobrat (vice-captain), Akhil Herwadkar, Baba Apparajith, Hanuma Vihari, Smit Patel, Akshdeep Nath, Vikas Mishra, Harmeet Singh, Kamal Passi, Rush Kalaria, Mohsin Sayyad, Sandeep Sharma, Manan Vohra, Shreyas Gopal

Australia’s cricketers must be mature enough to accept changes to the team for reasons of balance or rotation will become more frequent under the new team performance regime

Daniel Brettig06-Dec-2011Be they bowlers or batsmen, Australia’s cricketers must become mature enough to accept that changes to the team for reasons of balance or rotation will become more frequent under the new team performance regime, the head coach Mickey Arthur has said.As the national selectors, Arthur among them, deliberate over whether to bolster Michael Clarke’s bowling resources with the allrounder Daniel Christian for the Hobart Test against New Zealand, the possibility of wider and more frequent rotation is dawning on the team.The senior batsman Michael Hussey has expressed reservations about shuffling batsmen in and out for fear that it would flirt with form and confidence, but Arthur said all players had to be prepared to accept the possibility, irrespective of their role. His words echoed those of the Argus review about “adult conversations” surrounding selection.”That’s a maturity that we want to try to get into the group getting down the line,” Arthur told ESPNcricinfo. “Players need to be mature enough to realise that it is a balance shift or something like that, and we’ll communicate that all very well to the guys and they’ll understand exactly where they’re at.”Christian remains a chance to become Australia’s 427th Test cricketer, pending assessments of how the bowling quartet has backed up from a comprehensive defeat of New Zealand in the first Test in Brisbane. Also a factor in discussions is the tendency of the Hobart pitch to flatten out into a strip less reminiscent of the Gabba than Allan Border Field, where the visitors batted far more comfortably against Australia A.”You always want that extra bowling option, an allrounder in the team is like gold,” Arthur said. “So with Shane [Watson] not playing there is a position there for an allrounder within our squad and the selectors have felt that he’s the next best.”We’ll just have to see when we get down to Hobart how all the different permutations work out. We need to keep rotating guys through the summer because there is just so much cricket, guys are going to break down and we need others ready to come in at any given time.”Phillip Hughes’ present troubles are less physical than technical, and Arthur stressed a balance needed to be struck between advising the 23-year-old on how to straighten his bat and granting him the freedom to indulge the appetite for runs that has already reaped 17 first-class centuries.”I think we need to see him tighten up his technique just a little bit, because he’s getting out in the same ways and that’s, not the alarming thing, but that’s an area of concern that he keeps getting out in exactly the same way,” Arthur said.”But he is an incredibly talented player with a very big future, so we just want to tighten up his technique but give him the wings to fly with the bat, because he’s still got a major role to play down the line for Australian cricket.”In planning ahead for the series against India, Arthur is aware that the problems posed for Hughes by Chris Martin are most liley going to be magnified through the lens of Ishant Sharma, who delivers with a similar trajectory and a knack for shaping the ball across left-handers.”One hundred per cent [we’re aware of Ishant coming up],” Arthur said. “Chris Martin has troubled a lot of left-handers because of his angle, and he is going to continue to do that, but it’s not going away, that is always going to be a challenge for the left-handed batters, and Hughesy in particular, so that is something we’ve got to make sure we get right.”