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Nottinghamshire secured top spot in the North Group of the Friends Life t20 with a 25-run victory over Worcestershire, denying the visitors a place in the quarter-finals

15-Jul-2011
Scorecard
Nottinghamshire secured top spot in the North Group of the Friends Life t20 with a 25-run victory over Worcestershire, denying the visitors a place in the quarter-finals.Overseas batsman Adam Voges hit 55 from 40 balls as the hosts posted 167 for 6, and quick bowlers Darren Pattinson (3 for 20) and Luke Fletcher (3 for 34) did the damage as Worcestershire were bowled out for 142.Voges held the Nottinghamshire batting together after the hosts stumbled to 35 for 3, putting on 63 with Riki Wessels (33), while Steven Mullaney made a sprightly 35 from 20 balls as the Outlaws hit 38 off the last four overs.Nottinghamshire were always in the box seat as Pattinson and Fletcher ripped out the top order in the opening powerplay and, despite 45 from skipper Daryl Mitchell, the Royals’ reply fell away in the final overs.Nottinghamshire’ record of 11 wins from their 16 group matches has been based on a formidable batting line-up, but Adam Shantry struck in each of his first three overs as Tamim Iqbal, Alex Hales and Samit Patel were all sent back to the pavilion to put the hosts on the back foot.Voges kept his cool and consecutive boundaries off Shakib Al Hasan saw the Australian bring up his third 50 in this year’s competition off 30 balls as he and Wessels consolidated through the middle overs.Mitchell’s medium pace brought the breakthrough as Voges got a leading edge to point, and Wessels followed in the next over as he holed out to deep midwicket off Shakib. Mullaney then thumped three fours and a six, with 17 coming off Shantry’s last over, as Nottinghamshire finished on a high, and Pattinson and Fletcher kept up the momentum with two wickets apiece inside the first five overs.Moeen Ali briefly threatened as the left-hander hit four fours and a six, but Pattinson was brought back to bowl his final over and duly removed Ali with a leading edge to point. That snuffed out Worcestershire’s hopes, with the last five wickets falling in the final four overs as the tail collapsed under the pressure.Nottinghamshire will now play their home quarter-final against Somerset, who finished fourth in the South Group, with the match to take place on August 6, 7 or 8.

Fast bowler was limited to just two overs on final afternoon of second-Test victory

George Dobell08-Jan-2020James Anderson has been ruled out of the remainder of the tour of South Africa due to a left rib injury.Anderson, the leading wicket-taker among fast bowlers in Test history, sustained the injury on the final day of the Cape Town Test. With
England pressing for victory, he continued to bowl despite the pain and despite the knowledge that, by doing so, he risked exacerbating
the problem.He underwent a scan in Cape Town on Wednesday which confirmed the issue was bone-related rather than a soft-tissue injury. Such setbacks typically take between six to eight weeks to heal.Anderson will return to England in the next few days for rest and rehab, with Craig Overton, the Somerset seamer, staying on with the squad as cover. The new injury is a cruel setback for Anderson. The Cape Town Test was just his second since returning from a calf injury that limited him to
only four overs in the entire Ashes campaign. The prospect of several more weeks of rehab may well prove disheartening, although he signalled his desire to battle back in an upbeat tweet shortly after the news was confirmed.”Frustrating to be missing the rest of this series with a broken rib but hopefully will be healed in a few weeks!” Anderson wrote. “Will be supporting the boys from home.”Anderson bowled immaculately in Cape Town, even though he was limited to eight overs on the final day after reporting tightness and discomfort at the end of the morning session. He became the oldest England seamer to claim a five-wicket haul in Test cricket since
Freddie Brown in 1951 in the first innings while his overall match figures were seven for 63 from 37 overs.ALSO READ: Dobell: Seven things we learnt from Cape Town victorySuch figures may convince him that, once recovered, he can still play a role at Test level. He had previously suggested he may like to sit
out England’s tour of Sri Lanka in March – he argued the pitches will render him largely redundant in any case – with a view to returning to
the side for the home season. England’s first Test of the home summer, against West Indies, starts on June 4.The news sustains England’s tricky start to the tour. After contending with a virulent sickness bug that affected 11 players ahead or during
the first Test, England lost their first-choice opening batsman, Rory Burns, to an ankle ligament injury while he was playing football in
warm-up the day before the second Test. At the time Ben Stokes suggested, tongue only partly in cheek, that the tour was “cursed.”Anderson requires 16 more wickets to become the fourth man to claim 600 Test victims.

A round-up of action from the World Cricket League Division Three tournament in Hong Kong

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jan-2011Papua New Guinea rolled United States of America over by seven wickets, with 44 overs to spare, in one of the most one-sided games in the tournament at the Hong Kong Cricket Club. PNG won the toss and had USA on the mat immediately, with Hitolo Areni sending Lennox Cush back for a duck. Steve Massiah seemed to be at ease with the conditions, stroking four boundaries in his 18, but things were about to fall apart spectacularly. Carl Wright succumbed against opening bowler Loa Nou, before Areni sent messiah back to reduce USA to 25 for 3. Six of the remaining eight batsmen failed to open their accounts as USA crumbled from a precarious 37 for 4 in bizarre fashion, to be bowled out for 44 in the 21st over. Seamer Rarva Dikana was the main tormentor, finishing with dream figures of 4 for 1 from 4.2 overs. PNG were in a rush to end the game, lashing boundaries and losing wickets, before Christopher Kent hit two sixes to seal PNG’s third win in three games.”We didn’t expect to bowl the USA out so cheaply this morning and all credit has to go to our bowlers and the way they performed today,” captain Dikana said after the game. “I don’t think the USA batsmen played badly, I just think they didn’t know how to read our bowlers and our fielding was particularly strong.”A win is a win for us, but I would have liked it if we hadn’t lost those three wickets to make it to the target. However, by losing those three wickets it means those batsmen have something to focus on in our next game – by improving their performances for us. We can’t rest on our laurels though, we’ve another match tomorrow and we’ve got to focus on our own game and be ready for the next challenge.”Oman authored a major recovery from 63 for 6 to overhaul the target of 241 set by Italy with seven balls to spare at Kowloon Cricket Club. Italy’s effort after electing to bat was guided by captain Alessandro Bonora’s unbeaten 124, that included ten fours and four sixes. After the early loss of Andy Northcote, Bonora laid the platform in a 84-run second-wicket stand with Damian Fernando, off 22.1 overs. The middle order faltered after Fernando’s exit for 46, but Bonora kept firing from one end to lift his side to a strong score.Oman’s chase was initially crippled by Italy’s opening bowlers, Vince Pennazza and Gayashan Munasinghe, who ripped open the top order. Oman looked down and out when No. 8 Awal Khan joined Sultan Ahmed in the middle. The pair kick-started a resurgence with a 59-run stand in 11.3 overs. Sultan’s exit did not allow Italy to run through the tail, as Amir Ali batted with rare composure for a No. 9 batsman. He added 99 with Awal and took Oman to the brink before Peter Petricola ended Awal’s resistance for 81, at 221 for 8. Rajesh Kumar held his nerve to help Amir tie the scores before perishing, in what was the final twist in the riveting match. Amir, however, hit a boundary off the next ball to seal a memorable win for Oman.”We’ve lost two games now, both of which were games that we could have won if we had applied ourselves better,” a disappointed Bonora said. “We simply did not complete the basics – bowling, fielding and even batting. I may have scored 124 runs for our 240 but it was still not enough on this pitch. We need to regroup ahead of tomorrow’s game against Hong Kong. We both have one win each and tomorrow’s game is almost like a semi-final as whoever loses falls into the relegation battle.”On the other hand, Oman captain Hemal Mehta was thrilled with the result. “We were definitely the most challenged in this game – Italy didn’t let us take wickets easily and credit has to go to Bonora for his knock,” he said. “It was outstanding and if we’d got him out early then we would have seen a much lower score on the board.””Sultan Ahmed and Awal Khan had a great partnership and after Sultan departed and Amir Ali and Awal paired up, their run partnerships really made the difference for us. We can’t be complacent though, tomorrow we’ve got USA who we know will be wanting to bounce back after being bundled out for 44 so we need refocus to face them at HKCC.”Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s bowlers sparked a dramatic collapse to set up a comfortable seven-wicket victory against Denmark at the Mission Road Ground.Having worked their way to a respectable 71 for 2, Denmark lost eight wickets for 31 runs in 15.4 overs. Najeeb Amar made the key breakthrough removing Denmark captain Michael Pedersen for 34 and struck again four overs later to snare his brother Carsten for 6.
Amar broke the back of the top order when he dismissed Rizwan Mahmood for 24 and by that point the floodgates were open. No other batsman reached double figures as new-ball pair Irfan Ahmed and Aizaz Ahmed shared five more wickets – each bowled – to speed through the lower order.The modest chase was never going to be too much of a bother and despite losing Roy Lamsam for 19, Hong Kong barely broke sweat. Coutney Kruger struck six boundaries in an unbeaten 40 and Mark Chapman hit a breezy 29 from 33 balls – with a six and two fours – to take the home side to the victory line. Chapman fell on the brink but with over half the innings left, it was never going to be costly.”It’s obviously great to finally get a win in the tournament and hopefully we can carry this momentum through to the next game against Italy,” Irfan said. “I just seemed to be able to get things right for us when it came about to claiming the wickets with the ball moving easily in the conditions at Mission Road. We kept things tight and it paid off for us today and we showed what we are capable of doing as a side.”

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has asked the Bangladeshi players and those associated with the team to not write columns in newspapers during the World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2011The Bangladesh Cricket Board has asked the Bangladeshi players and those associated with the team to not write columns in newspapers during the World Cup. This directive comes after Shakib Al Hasan wrote a column expressing his displeasure at criticism from former players after his side was bowled out for 58 against West Indies. The reported that all the team members have been sent a letter asking them to stop writing columns and also “observe protocol when speaking to the media”. Coach Jamie Siddons, too, was pretty harsh in his assessment of former players’ views when he spoke at a press conference two days ago.However, the newspaper also reported that the national contracts do not have a clause that can bar them from writing in newspapers. The BCB chief Manzur Ahmed told the paper that the board will make sure the renewed contract has such a clause.In his column Shakib had suggested the former players had faced much more humiliation than the current side has encountered. Siddons said that the said former players don’t “have the balls” to say things to his face, calling them “not courageous”. Khaled Mahmud and Aminul Islam, former captains, have been vocal in their criticism of the current team, in particular the lack of fight shown.

Waqar Younis, the Pakistan coach, has said he is “disappointed” with Shahid Afridi’s conditional retirement from international cricket, while denying there is a rift between him and Afridi

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jun-2011Waqar Younis, the Pakistan coach, has said he is “disappointed” with Shahid Afridi’s conditional retirement from international cricket, while denying there was a rift between him and Afridi. Waqar is due to meet PCB officials to discuss team manager Intikhab Alam’s report on Pakistan’s tour of the West Indies, and was reluctant to comment on the situation with Afridi before that.”I am disappointed at his decision to retire,” Waqar said. “I don’t want to make too many comments before meeting PCB officials. There are no personal differences; we all play for Pakistan and I have only come to know about my differences with Afridi through the media and will not comment on them until I know what Afridi has said.”Waqar’s reported rift with Afridi was followed by the latter being removed as Pakistan’s one-day captain, a move that led to Afridi retiring in protest of what he saw as a humiliation by the PCB. Waqar, however, insisted he had nothing to do with Afridi’s removal from the captaincy.”It’s not in my hand to appoint captain of the team,” he told reporters, on returning from the tour of Ireland. “The PCB chairman [Ijaz Butt] appoints the captain so you better ask him why the change was made.”Afridi’s retirement has prompted the PBC to suspend his central contact and revoke the No-Objection Certificate that allowed him to play for Hampshire in England’s domestic Twenty20 tournament. While Afridi replied to a showcause noticed from the board by accepting he had violated their code of conduct, he also appealed to the president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, to step in and stop the board from denying him the right to play cricket where he chose to.The situation has taken on a further political tinge with Pakistan’s interior minister Rehman Malik vowing to persuade the hugely popular Afridi to reconsider his decision. “I will do whatever I can to resolve this issue, as I am equally a fan of Afridi,” Malik tweeted on Thursday.Malik has gotten involved in cricketing affairs before: recently, he coaxed Zulqarnain Haider to return to Pakistan from England where he had fled to on the eve of a one-day match to escape from what Zulqarnain claims were death threats made to him by bookmakers. In the previous administration of Nasim Ashraf, he also played a mediating role between Ashraf and Shoaib Akhtar, in another dispute between board head and star player that got out of hand.

Tim Bresnan is confident of being ready for England’s opening World Cup match against Netherlands on February 22

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Feb-2011Tim Bresnan is confident of being ready for England’s opening World Cup match against Netherlands on February 22 as he continues his recovery from the calf injury that forced him home early from Australia. There had been concerns that the problem could scupper Bresnan’s hopes altogether but the allrounder is making positive progress.However, he won’t be taking any risks that could hinder his participation later in the tournament and is unlikely to feature in the warm-up matches against Canada and Pakistan in Fatullah. Bresnan’s last match was the second one-day international at Hobart when he injured his calf and flew back to the UK a couple of days later for treatment.Andy Flower, the England team director, called Bresnan’s injury the biggest concern towards the end of the tour, before Eoin Morgan suffered his broken finger, but those worries appear to have eased now that the squad has begun training in Dhaka.”There were doubts whether it was a grade two, grade one [tear]. I think the fact that it bled so much probably led to the grey area,” Bresnan told reporters in Dhaka. “But I think we are slightly ahead of schedule now.””It’s feeling pretty good. I hope I can get a warm-up game, but will definitely be targeting the start of the tournament,” he added “I’ve not bowled 100% since I did it. But I’m definitely back bowling 80 to 85%, and then will probably go to 100 on Tuesday. I want to get in a few sessions at 100% before I take the field for a competitive game.”Bresnan is a key part of England’s one-day team because he can find swing with the new ball then return later in the innings with reverse and is accurate at the death with his yorkers. His batting also provides important balance lower down the order with his ability to clear the boundaries.Although England’s injury situation is slowly improving ahead of the tournament the squad isn’t without its issues leading into the warm-up games and the management have applied to the ICC for special dispensation to play Chris Tremlett, a travelling reserve, against Canada on Wednesday.Tremlett flew out with the squad in case any of the injured players needing replacing but strictly isn’t allowed to take part. However, with Graeme Swann still at home on paternity leave, Ajmal Shahzad nursing his hamstring, Stuart Broad suffering from illness and Bresnan being cautious the squad is currently stretched.

In his second bid for the post, the former India captain won comfortably, polling 147 of the 223 votes cast

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Sep-2019Mohammad Azharuddin has been elected president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association. The former India captain took 147 of the 223 votes cast, with his nearest opponent Prakash Jain polling 73 votes and a third contestant, Dilip Kumar, just three.The development adds another chapter to the life of Azharuddin, who has never been far from the news since scoring hundreds in his first three Test matches back in 1984-85. Azharuddin played 99 Tests and 334 ODIs before his career was brought to an abrupt end in 2000 with the BCCI banning him for life after the Central Bureau of Investigation found him guilty of match-fixing.In its report, the CBI said: “The evidence against Azharuddin … clearly establishes the fact that he took money from bookies/punters to fix cricket matches and also the fact that the ‘underworld’ had approached him to fix matches for them.”Azharuddin, in his statement to the CBI, had admitted to receiving money from the bookie Mukesh Gupta to fix some matches, but has stated that he “did” only two matches for him – an admission the CBI called “a dilution of the actual facts”.Yet Azharuddin, who led India in 47 Tests and 174 ODIs, never stopped pleading his innocence until the Andhra Pradesh High Court finally struck down the life ban in 2012, declaring it illegal.Along the way, Azharuddin has enjoyed a gradual reintegration with Indian cricket and public life, but the ride hasn’t always been smooth.In 2009, he joined the Congress party, and served as a Member of Parliament from 2009 to 2014. In 2011, he had to endure the untimely death of one of his two sons, Ayazuddin, who succumbed to injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident in his hometown Hyderabad.Mohammad Azharuddin at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai•Getty Images

This is the second time Azharuddin has put his hat in the HCA ring. In January 2017, Azharuddin made his first bid to contest the elections, but his nomination for the president’s post was rejected due to uncertainty over whether or not the BCCI had lifted his life ban.Last year, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), helmed by Sourav Ganguly – who took over India’s captaincy soon after the 2000 fixing scandal – invited Azharuddin to ring the ceremonial bell at Eden Gardens at the start of a T20I between India and West Indies. The CAB’s decision drew flak from numerous voices including former India batsmen Gautam Gambhir – who called it “shocking” – and Sanjay Manjrekar – who responded by tweeting a link to the CBI report from its match-fixing investigation.Azharuddin didn’t give up his desire to enter cricket administration, however, and re-entered the fray for the top post at the HCA. The elections took place at the HCA headquarters in Hyderabad on Friday, supervised by electoral officer VS Sampath, a former election commissioner of India.The elections marked the first time that former international cricketers participated in the voting process. This was one of the key recommendations of the RM Lodha Committee that led to the structural overhaul of cricket administration at the BCCI and its state associations. Eleven international players from Hyderabad cast their votes, including Azharuddin, VVS Laxman and Venkatapathy Raju.R Vijayanand will be the new HCA secretary. He won 137 votes, more than twice as many as the favourite S Venkateshwaran, who polled 62 votes.

Eddie Howe is refusing to commit to Celtic, and there has been a further update regarding Crystal Palace’s pursuit of the former Bournemouth manager.

The 43-year-old spoke with Palace earlier this month and is on a three-man shortlist alongside Sean Dyche and Frank Lampard to take over from Roy Hodgson at Selhurst Park.

A fresh report from Give Me Sport has claimed that Howe’s representatives have convinced him he can still get a job in the Premier League this summer, with agents now involved. He reached a verbal agreement with Celtic but has since had second thoughts on a move to Glasgow.

Brighton are also thought to be keeping tabs on the former Cherries boss, who has been out of work since August.

Transfer Tavern take

Hodgson’s deal is up at the end of the season, and to us, it feels as if his days at Palace are numbered.

Out of the three linked, we feel that Howe is one of the more exciting options. Steve Parish thinks Howe has a lot to offer and wants to change the mindset of the dressing room and play more a more expansive style, something he feels Howe can achieve.

With up to 12 first team players also out of contract in the summer, a Palace overhaul appears to be on the cards.

Howe successfully rebuilt Bournemouth by taking them from League Two to the Premier League in the space of six seasons, and he could well leave a similarly strong dynasty if he takes over in Croydon.

In other news: Many CPFC fans react to key update in Palace’s pursuit of Championship ace, find out more here. 

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Liverpool made the decision to allow Nathaniel Clyne to leave Anfield on loan last month, but that dubious call has already come back to bite them.

With Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold both sidelined through injury, Jurgen Klopp has been forced to play Jordan Henderson and James Milner at right-back in recent weeks.

Milner has been found wanting on a couple of occasions since deputising at full-back, with his lack of pace proving problematic against electric wingers Wilfried Zaha and Felipe Anderson, and his unfamiliarity with the role has forced fans to question why Clyne was allowed to depart in January.

The former Southampton man showed promise against Manchester United on a rare start in December, but his impact wasn’t enough to convince the Liverpool boss to keep him for the remainder of the season.

On paper, Clyne is the club’s third choice right-back so his departure was understandable under the circumstances.

But the mini injury crisis which has emerged in light of his loan move to the south coast has put Liverpool in a difficult situation, forcing supporters to point accusative fingers at Klopp over the questionable decision.

Here’s what a handful of Liverpool fans on Reddit have had to say about Clyne’s departure:

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