Scorecard
Charl Langeveldt produced the second-best bowling figures in the history of Standard Bank Pro20 cricket as the Cobras made sure of a home semi-final with a nail-biting one-wicket victory over Diamond Eagles in their table- topping clash at Newlands on Friday.Langeveldt finished with 5 for 16 as he helped the Cobras to restrict the Eagles to 127 for 7. He was also at the non- striker’s end as the last man in as Ryan Canning smashed a four and single off the first two balls of the final over of the match from Roger Telemachus to give the Cobras a one-wicket win with four balls remaining.They would have been the competition’s best bowling figures but for the fact that Elton Chigumbura took 5 for 13 for Zimbabwe against the Titans at the same time.Langeveldt turned the game in the Cobras’ favour in the 19th over after his team had asked the Eagles to bat. Top scorers Morné van Wyk (43) and Dean Elgar (33) had blasted Vernon Philander for 20 in the previous over when Langeveldt was brought back into the attack.The pair fell in successive balls as Elgar top-edged to mid-on and Van Wyk edged to the keeper. Roger Telemachus’s attempt to restart the innings ended following a single when he lost his off-stump to the unstoppable Langeveldt who dismissed Adrian McLaren lbw with his very next ball.Dillon du Preez smashed 15 in the final over to lift the Eagles to a semi-respectable total but Langeveldt’s four wickets – to add to the wicket of Riley Rossouw at the top of the innings – prevented the Eagles soaring towards the 150 mark.A 53-run third-wicket partnership between Herschelle Gibbs (21) and the top-scorer Stiaan van Zyl (30) put the Cobras in sight of victory at 75 for 2 before the spinner Thandi Tshabalala introduced a serious mid- innings wobble. He took three wickets in the space of 11 balls to plunge the Cobras into crisis at 100 for 5, dismissing both Gibbs and van Wyk as well as the dangerous Tyron Henderson (21).Henderson fell as he went for a third six off Tshabalala over long-on but the impetus he gave the innings allowed the tail to nudge and scamper their way to the 28 they needed off the final six overs.The Cobras’ thrilling victory – their fifth in six matches with one game rained out – means they have the inside straight or the play- offs and of grabbing one of the two South African places in an international Pro20 shoot-out for a US$1 million prize.
Scorecard
Dolphins seamer Johann Louw has the look of an accountant rather than a demon bowler, but he gave the Lions nightmares in Johannesburg on Friday with figures of 4 for 28. Louw claimed all his scalps in the space of eight deliveries to send the Lions limping to a total of 104 for 9.The Dolphins might have coasted to victory with their eyes closed and their minds in neutral. Instead, they wobbled to a five-wicket win, which was achieved with 17 balls to spare. A late flurry of three wickets for two runs in six balls meant they weren’t able to claim the bonus point.Louw did his damage when he removed Alviro Petersen (2), Dumisa Makalima (0), Blake Snijman (18) and Justin Ontong (4) to reduce the Lions to 27 for 5 in the sixth over.Grant Rowley (46) and Imraan Khan (28) put the Dolphins securely on track for victory with their second-wicket stand of 57.
Scorecard
Elton Chigumbura’s medium-pace ran through the Titans as Zimbabwe registered a surprise 12-run win in Centurion. Chigumbura took 5 for 13 as the Titans, chasing 152, crashed to 5 for 10 in the first five overs. Chigumbura’s astonishing performance set a new record for the best bowling figures in Standard Bank Pro20 history. Charl Langeveldt, who took 5 for 16 for the Cobras against the Diamond Eagles, barely had his feet up in the Newlands change room for an hour when the record was snatched away from him.After such a rampant start, it should have been a cruise for Zimbabwe, but young Roelof van der Merwe nearly ruined the party for them. In a performance almost as amazing as Chigumbura’s, he refused to believe the Titans were dead and buried and smashed an unbeaten 70 off 49 balls.But van der Merwe’s performance did mask the fact that the Titans top order is in terrible shape and the MTN Domestic Championships winners are in real danger of missing out on the semi-finals of the Pro20. Their match against the Highveld Lions at SuperSport Park on Sunday is now a local derby and a knockout encounter.van der Merwe also had a good outing with the ball as he took 3 for 18 in his four overs, including two wickets in the final over of the innings, as Zimbabwe scored 151 for 6 after winning the toss. Stuart Matsikenyeri provided the showpiece innings for Zimbabwe with his 51 off 30 balls, a sparkling knock of some class. The opener Brendan Taylor played a valuable role as a foundation for the innings with his 38 off 35 balls, while Keith Dabengwa scored 25, including one knockout punch, heaving a massive six off Ethy Mbhalati over the chalets and into the practice nets.Chamu Chibhabha provided some urgency at the death with his 22 off 18 balls.Andre Nel and the more languid Albie Morkel also shone with the ball for the Titans, but with no reward. The real damage was done a little later when a far less fiery bowler got hold of the new ball, with Chigumbura writing himself into the record books.

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Pts	Net RR	For	Against
Cape Cobras	6	5	0	0	1	24	+1.381	668/92.0	588/100.0
Dolphins	6	4	2	0	0	18	+0.360	718/111.3	690/113.3
Eagles	5	2	2	1	0	12	+0.891	657/86.3	619/92.2
Titans	5	2	3	0	0	9	-0.188	653/96.0	671/96.0
Lions	5	1	2	1	1	9	+0.419	501/74.0	452/71.1
Zimbabwe	6	2	4	0	0	8	-1.849	664/116.5	821/109.0
Warriors	5	1	4	0	0	4	-0.606	615/94.0	635/88.5

	Shaun Pollock, who left international cricket in February, is heading to Chester-le-Street in June © Getty Images

Durham have signed Shaun Pollock for the Twenty20 Cup in June. He will play alongside his former South African team-mate Albie Morkel and has joined the county as a Kolpak.Pollock retired from international cricket in February following the series against West Indies and is currently involved in the Indian Premier League for the Mumbai Indians.”When I got the offer from Durham I really jumped at the chance to get on board, they are determined to do well in the Twenty20 Cup and I want to contribute to that success,” said Pollock. “They proved themselves to be a force in the four-day and one-day game last year and I’m keen to help them replicate that success in the Twenty20 Cup.”David Harker, Durham’s chief executive, added: “Shaun is one of the biggest talents in world cricket and we’re delighted that he’s decided to join us. He’s got great experience in all formats of the game and we think he’ll bring a great presence to the team, both on and off the field. We’ve got big aspirations for success in the Twenty20 Cup this season and along with Albie [Morkel] I’m sure that we have recruited players with enough Twenty20 experience to help us progress in the competition.”Pollock has previously played for Warwickshire, where he made a stunning debut back in 1996 by claiming four wickets in four balls against Leicestershire in the Benson and Hedges Cup.

Yorkshire’s domination of the County Championship continued at the Groundsman of the Year Awards in Derby, as Andy Fogarty’s pitches at Headingley earned him the main prize for four-day cricket.Pitches are under more scrutiny than ever after ECB frustration over some groundsmen producing damp green surfaces to prop up their seam attacks leading to changes to the toss in 2016 to try to combat the practice.Fogarty, a Lancastrian who had worked under Peter Marron at Old Trafford before crossing the Pennines in 1996, won the same award in 2011.He was also commended in the category for one-day pitches, which was won by Somerset’s Simon Lee – who was runner-up in the four-day category.Yorkshire’s instructions to Fogarty are simple. Prepare a good pitch – but just give me pace and carry, is the gist of the information from the director of cricket Jason Gillespie.There was yet more recognition for Yorkshire in the outgrounds category as Scarborough’s John Dodds was runner-up to Bill Clutterbuck of Guildford, the venue for Surrey’s Championship match against Glamorgan. Stuart Kerrison (Colchester) and David Summersell (Uxbridge) were also commended.Every pitch is rated at the end of the match by each of the umpires with these ratings used as the basis for making the awards.Before the awards dinner a minute’s silence was held in memory of Harry Brind and Peter Marron, former winners with Surrey and Lancashire respectively who passed away in 2015.Awards:Four-day: Winner: Andy Fogarty (Headingley). Runner-up: Simon Lee (Taunton). Commended: Neil Godrich (Derby); Simon Williamson (Canterbury).One-day: Winner: Simon Lee (Taunton). Runner-up: Nigel Gray (Ageas Bowl). Commended: Steve Birks (Trent Bridge), Andy Mackay (Hove), Andy Fogarty (Headingley).Outgrounds: Winner: Bill Clutterbuck (Guildford). Runner-up: John Dodds (Scarborough). Commended: Stuart Kerrison (Colchester), David Summersell (Uxbridge).MCC Universities. Winner: Paul Derrick (Durham Racecourse). Runner-up: John Moden (Fenner’s).

Dale Steyn could still make an appearance in South Africa’s ongoing Test series against England, which he is currently sitting out of with a shoulder injury. Steyn posted a picture on Twitter of himself in a hyperbaric chamber, which he is using to speed up his recovery.”Boring, but healing,” Steyn posted, along with a collage of photographs including Scar Tissue, the autobiography of vocalist Anthony Kiedis, which he is reading during sessions.Steyn initially posted that he would spend a fortnight in the chamber, which would rule him out of the fourth Test, but then corrected himself and confirmed he would only need a week of treatment. That period ends on the eve of the Centurion game, which begins on January 22. Steyn will not have much time to get overs in the legs before the game, but he should be bowling fit by the time the ODIs start, on February 3.Should Steyn not recover in time for the SuperSport Park Test, he would have missed six of South Africa’s eight Tests this season. In the two he played, Steyn broke down both times, first with a groin injury in Mohali, which kept him out of the remaining three Tests in India, and then with a shoulder injury in Durban which forced him out of the New Year’s Test and the ongoing Wanderers Test.South Africa have had to search their reserves in Steyn’s absence and have given two debuts to two bowlers in their last two games. Chris Morris was capped at Newlands and Hardus Viljoen at the Wanderers.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsLegspinner Wanidu Hasaranga was Sri Lanka Under-19s’ best bowler with returns of 3 for 34•ICC

A fine performance by Sri Lanka’s spinners was capped by a stroke-filled 95 from opener Avishka Fernando as they brushed England aside by six wickets to move into the semi-final of the Under-19 World Cup.England had won the toss and opted to bat, a decision their captain Brad Taylor defended quite strongly at the presentation. “We didn’t think it did an awful lot early,” he said and thought 250 could have been within their reach had the middle overs gone better. As such they were all out for 184 without facing their full quota of overs.Not that the first few overs went England’s way either. Opener Dan Lawrence dragged one onto his stumps for 9, his partner Max Holden was caught at slip for 8 and the tournament’s top scorer Jack Burnham could only manage 11 at No. 3. Callum Taylor tried to resurrect the innings with 42 off 57 balls, but his wicket triggered a middle-order collapse. What would rankle England more was the ball that got Taylor lbw had pitched outside leg stump while he was playing a shot. England fell from 120 for 4 in the 35th over to 136 for 7 in the 40th as Sri Lanka strangled the innings with spin. Legbreak bowler Wanidu Hasaranga picked up 3 for 34.Out walked the Sri Lanka openers and cashed in 51 runs in eight overs before the lunch break. Avishka battered left-arm seamer Sam Curran for four successive fours in the third over and never looked back. He got to his 50 off 44 balls and looked set for a hundred until he chose to swipe at a bouncer he had originally seemed to duck under and was caught behind for 95. It was only a minor roadblock for Sri Lanka though, who coasted to victory with six wickets and 86 balls to spare.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsA four-for from pacer Rory Anders skittled Canada Under-19s out for a paltry 139, paving the way for Ireland Under-19s’ six-wicket win in their semi-final playoff for the 13th place.Anders, with help from Gary McClintock (2-26) and Fiachra Tucker (2-21), ran through the Canada side, reducing them to 73 for 8 in the 26th over, vindicating Ireland’s decision to bowl in Cox’s Bazar. The little resistance that Canada put up came through partnerships for the last two wickets, guided by batsman Arslan Khan and tail-enders Shlok Patel and Prushoth Wijayaraj. Arslan, who top-scored with 47, shared a 29-run stand for the ninth wicket which pushed Canada’s score past 100, before the side’s No. 10 and No. 11 batsmen stitched together 37 runs for the last wicket, the highest partnership of the innings.A 75-run opening stand between Jack Tector and Stephen Doheny eased Ireland in their chase and the low target meant that a brief stutter, which reduced them to 103 for 4, was easily negated. McClintock played a role with the bat, too, guiding the side home with an unbeaten 45-ball 31.

If anyone has a doubt about what is going wrong with cricket in India, all you have to do is to take a look at the last day’s play between South Zone and England Under-19s played at Guru Nanak College Ground, Chennai, on Wednesday. Let alone positive thinking, one wonders whether there was any thinking at all in the South Zone camp.Having bowled out English colts for 183 on Tuesday and going into the last day with a lead of 135 runs, one hoped that South would really go after the English bowling and set a target. TS Suman and Arjun Yadav started the day for South Zone on 43/1.Suman as always was in an attacking mood, playing shots with gay abandon. Make no mistake; he is not a slogger by any means. He just hits the ball so hard and is blessed with a good timing too. He raced to reach his fifty without much ado. He was on 53 when the tall English bowler Tremlett got one ball to move a little away from the batsman and take a faint edge. Wicket keeper Mark Wallace was too happy to dive to his right and take a good catch. Monty Panesar who had removed Shashank Nag the previous evening was brought into the attack and produced a good spell.Panesar with his orthodox left arm bowling, tied up the batsmen. He later bowled ASK Varma who had scratched around for just nine runs. 90/3 in the 31st over brought in the first innings batting hero, Deepak Chougule. He too got bogged down a little and was eventually dismissed lbw to Panesar for just four runs.106/4 in the 35th over was not too bad at all. The batsmen were in a negative frame of mind, pushing and prodding at the ball. The new batsmen ASK Varma and captain Arjun Yadav were no exceptions either, never looking for quick runs. At lunch South Zone was 155/4 with Yadav unbeaten on 67 made off 149 balls in 150 minutes. A declaration was on the cards as South lead by 247 runs.Giving themselves the option of bowling for two sessions would have been ideal. Moreover the visiting boys would have had an opportunity to get some valuable batting practice ahead of the ‘Test’ that starts on Saturday. Defying all logic and positive thinking, Yadav continued batting for some more time and declared the innings closed at 201/4 as soon as he got to his personal hundred. The Visitors were clearly irked by this attitude, considering this to be a warm up match.England was set a ridiculous target of 294 in a minimum of 35 overs. Opening batsman Nicky Peng struck three consecutive boundaries off the left arm seamer, Steve Lazarus. Peng lost his concentration and was trapped LBW by L Balaji for 13 by a ball that kept very low. Lazarus had a nervous looking Kadeer Ali caught behind for just two runs. The other Opener John Sadler and the new batsman Gordon Muchall put on a 63 runs third wicket partnership.Sadler who looked compact and in fine touch was well caught and bowled by the left arm spinner, Shankara Rao. Ian Pattison who came in next did not survive long enough either, caught by the substitute fielder Ahmed Quadri off Rao for 5. In the meantime more farce was to follow. The South Zone management wanted to finish the match a bit early that some of their players could catch the train back home. English team declined and played on till the end of the match. At close English colts were 110/4 in 41 overs. Gordon Muchall played a patient and valuable innings of an unbeaten 48, which included five strokes past the boundary ropes.The Visitors had some positive things to take from this match. Ferley as a bowler looked in very good touch. Panesar picked up 3/40 in the second innings, the batting of Tremlett in the first and Muchall in the second were heartening indeed. Things might have been so different if South Zone had declared earlier and made a match of it. Mr. Yadav, there is no shine to your hundred!

New Zealand’s coach Mike Hesson has expressed his disappointment that the Basin Reserve pitch offered little seam movement for the fast men after the first session of the match. In the lead-up to the Test it was at times hard to determine which strip on the pitch square was to be used, such was the consistent grass cover, but Hesson said he would have liked it “much greener than it was” on match morning.The toss proved significant as Steven Smith called correctly, sent New Zealand in and Australia rolled them for 183 before tea. Although New Zealand picked up a couple of early wickets in Australia’s first innings the pitch flattened out much quicker than many of the players expected, and the Australians were able to go on and post 562 in their only innings.”I would’ve liked this to be much greener than it was,” Hesson said on Tuesday. “It certainly only seamed for two hours and I think that meant that both sides weren’t able to be exposed in those conditions. It’s a bit different when it seams for two hours, it makes the toss a little bit more important.””Ideally you want both sides to have a bit of a crack at it if it does seam. You look at the wickets we lost in the first session they were all from good length deliveries and they were able to get the ball to move off the straight and expose some of our techniques. That’s something we’d like to think if we were in a similar situation we’d be able to do something similar.”We had four guys out defending in the first hour. I don’t think that’s mental error; there are times that you have to accept that they put the ball in good areas, the ball seams you’re going to nick it. When the ball seams you do end up playing a little bit wider than you’d like to. We certainly did that in the first hour or so.”However, Hesson acknowledged that it was up to the batsmen to work out a way of coping in the seaming conditions, given the likelihood of a similar pitch in Christchurch on Saturday for the second Test. Although the New Zealand top order performed better in the second innings in Wellington, including with an 81-run opening stand, by then Australia were too far ahead in the match.”We faced different conditions throughout the match,” Hesson said. “We were challenged in the first session and if we were able to get through three down instead of five, possibly things could have been a little bit different. That’s something we’re going to have to get right in the next Test because likely we’ll face conditions that will seam as well.”The other notable factor in the second innings was the reverse swing that Australia’s fast bowlers managed to master early in the innings. The uncertainty that it created in the minds of the New Zealand batsmen contributed to the downfall of Kane Williamson, who was so productive in the recent Test series in Australia but made only 16 and 22 in the Wellington Test.”When you’re getting it to swing both ways that’s a challenge,” Hesson said. “Batsmen were talking about it a lot yesterday afternoon in terms of different ways to combat it. Kane’s better than most in terms of being able to adjust his game but when the ball reverses both ways it’s challenging and you need to think about what is the most challenging delivery – the ball that’s attacking your stumps or the one going away.”Every player has a slightly different technique on that. To be fair in New Zealand you don’t get a lot of reverse swing 18 overs into a game on day three. It’s something we face a heck of a lot more on the subcontinent than something we do here.”

Every summer there is plenty of transfer rumours banding around and lately there have been links between Chelsea and two high profile strikers. Allegedly Zlatan Ibrahimovic has spoken to Carlo Ancelotti as the pair are both in Miami on holiday and other reports have suggested that the Blues will table a huge offer for Liverpool’s Fernando Torres. Hypothetically speaking, which of the two would provide the better investment?

The obvious answer is Torres as he’s two years younger than Ibrahimovic at 26 year of age and he’s proven in the Premier League, with a good goal scoring record at Anfield. However, the Barcelona forward has come under some harsh criticism from the Spanish press during his time at the Nou Camp and the 28-year-old Swede’s services could be attained at a considerably cheaper price.

Many think that Ibra (also a target for Manchester City) is somewhat misunderstood and he’s body language gives of negative connotations, much like Dimitar Berbatov or Didier Drogba at times. But he has a great goal scoring record and was once described by his former manager Jose Mourinho as the ‘best player in the world’ (probably for motivational reasons, but he still rated him). The claims of him having a poor season in La Liga are overstated in my opinions as he has scored 21 goals in 41 games and has laid on 10 assists for his team mates, not bad for a debut season in Spain.

But it was at Inter Milan that the Sweden international made his name scoring 66 goals for the club in 116 appearances over three seasons racking up 28 assists. In the 2008/09 season his 25 Serie A goals made him the Capocannoniere (Italian top goal scorer) and earned him a lucrative cash + player (Samuel Eto’o) to Barcelona. After being marginalised at the L’equip blaugrana it looks as though they may want to sell the player.

His agent Mino Raiola caused a stir when he said: “If you don’t play a footballer after spending €65 million, then you should be sent to a mental hospital. English football may be an option for him [Ibrahimovic], it would be a good test.

“Everything depends on Barcelona. At the moment his future lies here.”

…apparently he doesn’t like the English rain though.

As for Torres, he would be welcome at Stamford Bridge according to Drogba and Ancelotti. Reports suggest that Roman Abramovich may capitalise on the turmoil at Liverpool following the departure of Rafael Benitez and step up their attempts to sign Torres for a would be British record £50 million, but other reports suggest he could cost up to £75 million. Manchester City are also in for the player and he is said to be uninterested in their money as unlike Chelsea they do not play in the Champions League, a competition that Abramovich wants to win desperately.

A player of the Spaniard’s quality could take Chelsea on to the next step and become champions of Europe and he has a great record in England scoring 72 goals in 116 at Liverpool.

The Chelsea fans would definitely prefer to have Torres over Ibra, but some do not fancy giving Liverpool £50-75m to rebuild their struggling squad. Speaking to other fans on 606 they seem to be dead against a move for the Barcelona man (being labelled a flop hasn’t helped his cause) as they consider him to be incompatible with Drogba. Should Chelsea sign another striker it would be a pretty big indication that Ancelotti will revert to his preferred 442 diamond formation, or a version of it. But in my opinion they would also desperately need to sign a playmaker (Kaka? Rafael van der Vaart?) for such a formation to work and perhaps a right-sided midfielder to balance out what Florent Malouda offers down the left flank.

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…but these are but rumours and as yet have no truth in them. Who would the fans like to see in the blue of Chelsea for the 2010/11 season? Who could be the man to take them the next step off the back of an impressive Premier League and FA Cup double winning campaign?

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New West Ham United signing Thomas Hitzlsperger cannot wait to make his debut against former club Aston Villa on the first day of the new Premier League season.

The 28-year-old Germany international is new Hammers boss Avram Grant's first signing since taking over at Upton Park.

Hitzlsperger penned a three-year deal with the east London club at the beginning of June and the fixture computer has handed him an immediate return to his former club on the opening day of the 2010-11 campaign.

The midfielder left Villa to join Stuttgart back in 2005.

"It's funny – you know sometimes these things don't surprise you, because you think it might happen!" he told the club's official website.

"I am looking forward to it, be good to go back there. I made over 100 appearances for them in the time I was there and it was great, but I am looking forward to going there as a West Ham player and helping my new club to hopefully get a good result.

"It is still a little way off yet I know but I am getting a little impatient now for it to all start.

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"I am looking forward to meeting the manager and my new team-mates and for pre-season to begin and then for the season to start.

"I signed and when it is this time of the year there is then a wait for everything to start, but now the fixtures are out, it is exciting, I can't wait to get started as a West Ham player."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Brazilian club Santos have rejected an offer, believed to be in the region of £20million, from Chelsea for teenage striker Neymar.

A brief statement on the club's official website suggested the bid had been made on Tuesday morning but they were unwilling to sell the 18-year-old this summer at any price.

Neymar has played for Brazil's Under-16 and Under-17 teams but has not played for the senior side. There was a clamour from fans for him to be included in the World Cup squad in South Africa but Dunga refused to bow to the pressure and excluded the teenager from his 23-man squad.

Earlier in the summer, West Ham United failed with a £12million bid for Neymar while Manchester United, Real Madrid and AC Milan have also been linked with him in recent months.

At the time of the Hammers' bid, Santos' director of football Pedro Luiz Nunes said:"We received an offer from West Ham for Neymar, worth 15million euros.

"Our position is clear, we do not open negotiations. These athletes only leave the club by paying the release clause."

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Neymar scored 27 goals in 29 appearances for Santos last season.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email