Andhra completely dominated the opening day’s play in the South ZoneCooch Behar Trophy (under-19) tournament match against Kerala at theUkku stadium in Vishakapatnam on Monday. After skittling out Keralafor 56 runs, Andhra replied with 164 for one wicket at stumps.Opting to bat after winning the toss, Kerala struggled for 37 overs tocompile their meagre total. Only NJ John (18) reached double digits.Three batsmen failed to score. Md Faiq was quite unplayable andfinished with the excellent figures of 13-5-15-5. He was wellsupported by Appala Raju (two for 10) and Gnaneswara Rao (two for 9).Kerala had the comfort of an early wicket when D Vinod was out fornine when the total was 27. But for the rest of the day, the otheropener Tahir Hussain (79) and Gnaneswara Rao (61) batted confidentlyto register 137 runs for the unbroken second wicket partnership off38.1 overs. While Hussain faced 175 balls and hit eight of them to theropes, Rao faced 94 balls and hit six fours and a six. Andhraoverhauled the Kerala total in 26.2 overs.
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.
Sharad Ghai, the ousted chairman of the Kenyan Cricket Association, continued to protest his board’s innocence in the light of comments from Ochilo Ayacko, the sports minister, that senior members of the KCA could be charged in relation to their running of the association.Opposition to the board claim to have unearthed evidence of misappropriated funds, but Ghai denied any wrongdoing, accusing the minister of accepting the word of the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association, a bitter opponent of the KCA, as the “gospel truth”. He asked for an opportunity “to meet the minister so that if there are unclear issues, we answer them to the satisfaction of all Kenyans.”Ghai also denied that the KCA had been blocking elections – none have been held by the board since 1997. “The KCA have always called for elections only to be blocked by court orders issued either to Coast Cricket Association (CCA) or NPCA,” he insisted. This is true, but opponents point out that the elections were blocked as the KCA were trying to use a new and unauthorised constitution which weighted the votes in their favour.”As the public is aware,” Ghai concluded, “we have no option under the rules of civilised society to defy judicial authority.”Meanwhile, the government-appointed Normalisation Committee will not take charge of Kenyan cricket until the court order suspending its powers for 21 days has been heard of overturned. The KCA obtained a stay last Tuesday following Ayacko’s decision to oust the existing KCA executive and replace it with a committee embracing many of Kenyan cricket’s stakeholders.
Percy Sonn, who has today taken over as ICC president from Ehsan Mani, has accepted an invitation from Zimbabwe Cricket to visit the country and see for himself the state the game is in there.”What I want is some degree of understanding of the issues that surround the administration of cricket within Zimbabwe,” Sonn told the ICC’s Business Forum at Lord’s on Friday. “I am delighted to say I will get that [understanding] following an invitation to visit the country from Zimbabwe Cricket.”I will hear first hand of the challenges that confront the sport there, how those challenges will be dealt with and, at the same time, we will discuss how the ICC can assist the game in Zimbabwe. Once I have done that I will then report back to the ICC’s Executive Board so that we, as an organisation, are better informed about what is happening there.”Sonn will make the trip with Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive.”Zimbabwe has seen many of its leading players walk away from representing the national side over the past few years and that has led to an inevitable weakening of cricket there,” Sonn added. “We are now at a stage where Zimbabwe has voluntarily stepped back from its Test commitments and, moving forward, they will only return to that arena when they are ready to do so.”By travelling there, talking and listening, I believe we will be in a better position to support cricket in Zimbabwe at a time when such support is clearly needed.”
Nottinghamshire will be without the services of Stephen Fleming during August as he will be captaining New Zealand in Zimbabwe. However, he will be back towards the end of the summer for the conclusion of the Championship and National League.Fleming said: “It’s unfortunate that I will be away from Nottingham at a crucial stage but I have my commitments with New Zealand. The Notts players have shown their qualities in the first half of the season and I have every confidence they will maintain and improve on those standards while I am away. We are in a group of five or six teams who have a chance of the title and I sincerely hope that I can help us finish top of the pile come September.”Fleming is currently sixth in the first-class averages with 727 runs at 72.7, including four hundreds, with a top score of 238.Mick Newell, the director of cricket, said: “We expect Stephen will be missing for five weeks, through August and early September, but he will still have an important part to play in our end of season run-in. We are looking to sign a replacement for the period he is missing and ideally he will be a high calibre batsman who can slot straight into Stephen’s place in the batting order.””We will need to give a lot of thought to the captaincy, but hopefully his influence over the side will still be felt as we aim for the Championship and fight tooth and nail to steer clear of relegation from the National League.”
Wally Langdon, an early giant of West Australian cricket and one of the unluckiest batsmen never to play for Australia, has died in Perth at the age of 81.A classy left-hander, Langdon was judged by the legendary Test opener Arthur Morris to possess "an ideal temperament for big cricket". He hailed from the gold-mining town of Boulder, and stockpiled his runs most effectively in the summer of 1952-53, when centuries against Queensland and the touring South Africans were not enough to win him Test selection.WA fans, suspecting yet another eastern-states conspiracy, were miffed. Their sense of injustice rankled further when Langdon missed out on Lindsay Hassett’s 1953 Ashes squad behind Graeme Hole, from South Australia, and the New South Welshman Jimmy de Courcy – "and Wally Langdon," his old team-mate Ken Meuleman noted last night, "was a long way better than Jimmy de Courcy."Meuleman told The West Australian newspaper: "There is no question that had he played for Victoria or New South Wales he would have played Test cricket. If he had played today he would be the equal of Justin Langer or Damien Martyn."Langdon’s lack of baggy-green recognition did little to diminish his legend in WA. He was an integral member of their inaugural Sheffield Shield-winning side of 1947-48 when WA, to widespread bewilderment, pilfered the prize at their first attempt. Twenty years went by before they repeated the feat, in 1967-68 – and Langdon was again at the forefront, this time as coach.A schoolteacher by profession, Langdon went to war in 1944, flying over Germany in a Lancaster Bomber. Returning home, he was 25 and considered an automatic selection when WA were at last granted Shield status. He starred against Don Bradman’s 1948 Invincibles when they detoured to the WACA en route to England, hitting 112 – and so impressing The Don that he was invited to play in Bradman’s testimonial match the following season.Batting in front of around 60,000 people, hordes undreamed of by a young man from the WA bush, Langdon distinguished himself with 60 and 42. He went to India in 1949-50 as part of the Commonwealth team led by Jock Livingston, playing in two of the five unofficial Tests. In 1952-53 he was put in charge of the WA side, despite never having captained even his club team. Alan Edwards, another Langdon contemporary, described him last night as "a helluva fighter".Despite his latish entry to first-class cricket, Langdon scored five hundreds for WA and averaged in the mid-thirties. A useful left-arm medium-pacer, he also played two seasons in England for Burnley in the Lancashire League. For more than a decade he commentated for ABC Radio, cementing his household status among Sandgropers. He cut a dapper and familiar figure around the WACA right up to his death.It was Langdon who brought a young Barry Shepherd to the big smoke, luring him from the small country town of Donnybrook to play grade cricket in Perth. Shepherd eventually went on to become the first WA-born batsman to represent Australia. Of his own failure to achieve that mantle, Langdon did not like to grumble. But Anthony Barker, in his book The WACA: An Australian Cricket Success Story, wrote: "He was devoid enough of false modesty to believe that he was at least as good as one or two of the batsmen who toured in Hassett’s Ashes-surrendering team of 1953."Langdon had suffered from kidney problems in recent times, and passed away on Sunday night. He is survived by five members of WA’s shock all-conquerors of ’47-48.Christian Ryan is the Australasian editor of Wisden Cricinfo.
With the new cricket season just around the corner invitations have been sent out recently by Andrew Moulding the Somerset Cricket Development Officer to all cricket clubs in the county asking them to send a representative along to attend a Cricket Groundsmanship course later this month.The course, that is entitled `Spring Preparation and Summer Maintenance’ has been arranged jointly by the Institute of Groundsmanship and the E.C.B., will take place at the new home of Taunton Cricket Club which is situated in Gypsy Lane, Staplegrove on the outskirts of Taunton and will take place on Saturday 22nd March.The letter that has been sent to all clubs states that the course is suitable for everybody who has an interest in ground maintenance whether as a club groundsman, volunteer, school groundsman or contractor.Tuition at the course will be from a fully qualified instructor and those who attend will be supplied with a set of resource material containing all elements of the course and an attendance certificate.The cost of the course is £50 but to affiliated clubs this is subsidised by the Somerset Cricket Board to the tune of £35 meaning that they only pay £15 to send along their representative.Mr Moulding told me: "The invitations have gone out to all clubs and already several clubs have responded. Any club or individual who wants to find out more about this opportunity or who has not yet received their invitation should to make contact with me at the Centre of Excellence at the County Ground on 01823 352266."
Hampshire field an almost full strength side to meet the Australians in a 3 day match starting at the Hampshire Rose Bowl on Saturday, 28th July.There are three genuine ommissions from the squad. Wicket-keeper Adi Aymes has a swollen cartiledge and has been advised by the club physician to rest. His place is taken by Iain Brunnschweiler playing only his second first-class match for the county. Alex Morris is still troubled by shin splints and is ommitted. Chris Tremlett is away on England Under 19s duties. The side play three one day internationals against their West Indian counterparts over the weekend.The twelfth player will be chosen between James Hamblin who has already shown great promise with the NUL team this season, and second eleven leading wicket taker James Schofield, the Blackpool born 22 year old, who learnt much of his cricket in Perth, Australia. Schofield on a summer contract with the club, is yet to make his first class debut for Hampshire.Tim Tremlett, Hampshire Cricket manager said, “The ECB would like to see counties putting out their best available sides, and this is what we have done. It is only fair to our members and supporters that we try and compete with the best team in the world, and some say the best Australian side of all time”.A large crowd is expected to see the return of Shane Warne and Matthew Hayden to the Rose Bowl, two Australians who graced the colours of Hampshire in recent years.Hampshire twelve: Derek kenway, Giles White, Will Kendall, Robin Smith (captain), Neil Johnson, Laurence Prittipaul, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Shaun Udal, Iain Brunschweiler (wicket keeper), Alan Mullally, James Hamblin and James Schofield.
Newcastle United have now entered talks to offload a player who Eddie Howe praised earlier this season, with a string of transfer activity expected in Januaru.
Newcastle urged to make several new signings
Former Newcastle man Chris Waddle believes Howe needs much greater squad depth, if the manager is going to be competitive in all competitions, saying: “He probably needs another six or seven top-quality players, and that’s not easy. It takes time and it takes money. Until that happens, Newcastle will continue to find it difficult to compete consistently on all fronts.”
So far this season, the Magpies have struggled to get into a rhythm, currently sitting 11th in the Premier League table, having dropped points against Chelsea, Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur in December.
The fixtures are now starting to come thick and fast, with 11 more games penciled in before the end of January, so Howe will certainly need to rotate, but it has now been revealed that a forward could be offloaded in the January transfer window…
Indeed, according to an update from Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg on X, Newcastle are now in negotiations to sell William Osula to Eintracht Frankfurt, with the striker potentially set to join on loan initially, with the deal including a purchase to option.
Osula is keen on a move to the German club, and he is waiting for an agreement to be struck, which suggests there may be a decent chance the deal goes through.
That is despite the fact Howe lauded the forward earlier this season, describing him as the “complete package”.
Newcastle shouldn't stand in Osula's way
In some ways, it would be a shame to lose the Dane, given that Howe clearly rates him highly, and he has impressed at times this season, scoring against Liverpool, while also finding the back of the net against Union Saint-Gilloise in the Champions League.
Newcastle eyeing "fantastic" £70m Bayern player with both clubs involved open to deal
PIF have already had past contact over the forward.
ByTom Cunningham
However, the centre-forward has otherwise been unable to make much of an impact, with his only other goals coming against Bradford City in the EFL Cup, having found it difficult to displace Nick Woltemade in the starting XI.
Not only has the 22-year-old been unable to get the nod over Woltemade, but he may find game time even more difficult to come by going forward, given that summer signing Yoane Wissa has now returned from a long injury lay-off.
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Consequently, while Newcastle will need strength in depth heading into a busy period, they can probably afford to offload the £25k-a-week striker in January, and a move to Frankfurt could be the best outcome for all parties.
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.