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The BCCI has cranked up the pressure on English counties who have employed players linked with the unauthorized Indian Cricket League (ICL) by “advising” its own players to not sign up with such teams

Cricinfo staff17-Jul-2008
Piyush Chawla has been denied permission to sign up for Hampshire © Cricinfo Ltd
The BCCI has cranked up the pressure on English counties that have employed players linked with the unauthorised Indian Cricket League (ICL) by “advising” its own players to not sign up with such teams.Niranjan Shah, BCCI secretary, told Cricinfo that its contracted players – including VVS Laxman, Piyush Chawla and Ajit Agarkar – who have signed or are in the process of signing with English counties this season are being “advised” to pull out if the county has ICL players on its rolls.”We don’t want our players in teams that have other players playing in unauthorised tournaments,” Shah said.Shah, however, clarified that “non-ICL” players from these county teams will be allowed to take part in the Indian Premier League (IPL) – Hampshire’s Dimitri Mascarenhas had played for Rajasthan Royals in the tournament’s first season. The decision does, though, put into doubt the participation of Indian players in the English Premier League, which was unveiled on Wednesday and will start in 2010.Chawla was expected to sign up for Hampshire, Laxman was set to join Nottinghamshire in August, while Ajit Agarkar has followed the BCCI directive and called off talks with Worcestershire.A report on cricketnirvana.com said the BCCI first granted permission to Chawla to join Hampshire and then decided against it.The ECB has allowed around 25 cricketers associated with ICL to represent 15 of its 18 counties after it faced legal action from the unauthorized league, which was backed by the country’s strong trade laws that protects the rights of individuals. Only Middlesex, Somerset and Essex have teams without any ICL players.

The National cricket selectors have named the following South African squadfor the first Castle Lager/MTN Test match against Sri Lanka at the Wanderersfrom the 8th to the 12th of November.Shaun Pollock – Captain, Mark Boucher – Vice-captain, Steve Elworthy, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Mornantau Hayward, Claude Henderson, Jacques Kallis, Gary Kirsten, Neil McKenzie, Makhaya Ntini, Ashwell Prince, Graeme Smith.Coach: Eric Simons
Assistant Coach: Corrie van Zyl
Physiotherapist: Shane Jabbar
Fitness Trainer: Andrew Gray
Manager: Goolam Rajah
National selection convener Omar Henry said the final eleven will be namedon the morning of the Test. He added: “Neil McKenzie has shown good formlately, and his century in Kimberley for the A side last weekend wasimpressive”.McKenzie’s Titans teammate, fast bowler Steve Elworthy, is recalled, havingalso impressed the selectors for the A side. His last of two Test matcheswas at the Basin Reserve in Wellington, New Zealand in 1999.In form Easterns all rounder Andrew Hall, who like Elworthy was named one ofSouth Africa’s Mutual and Federal Five Cricketers of the year last month,has been rewarded for his consistent performances with both bat and ballthis season.

Darren Gough could be included in the England line-up to meet Queensland in their last warm-up match before the first Test of the Ashes series. The Yorkshire fast bowler’s recovery from injury has gone more quickly than expected since England’s arrival in Australia, and he has bowled several sessions in spikes in the nets without any reaction from his troublesome knee.Gough fielded for part of the final day of the drawn match against Western Australia in Perth and will have another workout tomorrow before England decide whether he will face Queensland.”He’s improving every day,” said the England coach, Duncan Fletcher. “We put him on the field in the last match for a bit of fielding just to get some mileage into his legs, but we’ll make a decision on Friday after he’s had another good bowl.”Gough’s Yorkshire teammate Michael Vaughan is also expected to make his comeback from recent knee surgery against Queensland, so there are several dilemmas over the exact composition of the side.”The selection of this next three-day game is going to be very difficult,”Fletcher admitted. “Nasser (Hussain) and I have got quite a difficult job trying to get the balance right.”Who do we give a game to and get mileage into their legs, or do we pick theTest side? There are a lot of questions that need to be asked and we have to come up with some answers over the next few days.”People say (Andrew) Caddick likes to bowl overs, but he bowled a lot in Perth and you have to be careful because he’s our senior bowler at the moment. Those are the sort of decisions we have to make and we have to come up with an answer which hopefully will be the right answer, but we’ll be hoping to play as close to the Test side as we can.”Meanwhile Andrew Flintoff, who joined up with the Academy in Adelaide to speed up his recovery from a double hernia operation, will also face a fitness test before a decision is made about whether he is fit enough for a three-day match.Fast bowler Simon Jones is keen to play against Queensland after impressing with a five-wicket second innings haul against Western Australia.”He’s slowly building up his confidence within himself, he looks more confident,” said Fletcher. “He’s been concerned about his line and length, but he’s bowled with a lot of control since he’s been here which is very encouraging.”He’s slowly built up his pace, but we don’t want to rush these guys intothings. We could have come out here and told him to bowl flat out and lost hisline and length and it’s very hard to get that back again.”We’ve just tried to control him and just gradually build him up a little bit. He might get a game next week and hopefully he will be able to bowl a little bit quicker for longer spells which is important.”

Most of this week has been taken up with the First Test match between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at Harare Sports Club

John Ward16-Nov-2002Most of this week has been taken up with the First Test match between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at Harare Sports Club. Pakistan were not at their best, but were clearly the better team, with Zimbabwe badly let down by their bowlers. This match is covered elsewhere.CONTENTSZimbabwe v Pakistan, First Test: Scorecard | ReportsZimbabwe v Pakistan, Second Test: PreviewClub cricket: ScoresFirst-class career record: Alistair Campbell StatisticsTen Years On: how Zimbabwe attained Test status ReportNational League AveragesLettersThis week we publish the first part of our series celebrating Zimbabwe’s ten years of Test cricket. This part concentrates on how Zimbabwe achieved Test status, and future installments will review the Tests and one-day internationals played during that season of 1992/93 – when certain aspects of play were definitely superior to what our national side is producing today. We have conducted many interviews with the players and others involved in these matches, and the series has been constructed around their comments and memories. Most players have now retired, but still gave their views, as do those still playing, the Flower brothers and Alistair Campbell.Will readers please note that, for the duration of the Second Test in Bulawayo beginning on Saturday, I will be offline due to continued problems with my laptop. The latest breakdown occurred during the Harare Test, and several e-mails sent to me on Sunday or Monday are trapped inside it and I am unable to answer them; my apologies for that. Please write again if you didn’t receive a reply.

Otago Cricket are determined to make the most of their One-Day International in Queenstown this year when New Zealand will play India.Coming at peak holiday time on January 4, with TelstraClear Black Cap players like Chris Cairns, Shane Bond, Nathan Astle, Andre Adams, Craig McMillan and Indian players like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, the game should be a huge attraction.Otago Cricket’s chief executive Graeme Elliott said the news was exciting for the region and he anticipates the Queenstown Events Centre will be capable of holding around 8000 people and he said the ideal situation would be to pre-sell the ground.However, whether that happens is still to be decided.In the meantime, Otago Cricket, New Zealand Cricket and the Queenstown Lakes District Council are working together to have the playing surface upgraded from that which caused some problems during the Otago-England three-day match this year.”There is quite a lot to do,” Elliott said. “There is drainage work, new practice pitches to go in and the wicket block has to be raised slightly.”Providing media facilities off the ground and one or two other crowd facilities would also need to be completed.Elliott said one of the problems during the England game had been that because the ground was level, there was a concern with rain on the outfield flowing under the covers. This caused delays on two of the days of play.He said there would be no problem raising the block and there were to be drains cleared that had prevented thorough drainage last year.”We are confident we can have all of the work done by the end of September. And that will allow the grass to come away during the early months of summer,” he said.”This is a one-off situation because of the World Cup but we want to do it really well,” he said.It was important for Otago cricket that at least one international cricket fixture was played in the region each summer and with the earlier tours that are now taking place, Queenstown was an ideal venue to promote.The traditional Central Otago venue at Molyneux Park in Alexandra would not miss out as two State Shield games are to be played there between Christmas and New Year.”There is no doubt it is a stunning venue. And when you walk through the airport after arriving, [the airport is at the southern end of the ground] there is no doubt that you are at an international resort,” he said.Local government authorities in Queenstown were very keen to be involved in the event, and Elliott said some thorough research would be done to determine just how many the ground could hold.

Porto are reportedly interested in signing Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos and if he were to leave Ibrox this summer it would be a huge blow to Steven Gerrard and his hopes of retaining the Scottish Premiership title next season.

What’s the word?

According to Portuguese news outlet A Bola, the Liga NOS side are keen on signing the Colombia international this summer as he would be a dream addition for manager Sergio Conceição, however Rangers’ asking price is likely to be a problem for the Portuguese giants.

The report suggests that Rangers would likely demand €20m (£17.2m) for Morelos this summer, which is no surprise after another impressive season at Ibrox helped Gerrard’s side win the league title unbeaten.

A huge potential blow for Rangers?

If Morelos were to leave Ibrox this summer it would undoubtedly be a huge blow to the Gers’ hopes of winning their 56th league title next season, as he has proven himself to be one of the best players in the league since joining from HJK Helsinki in 2017.

In 182 appearances for the Teddy Bears, El Bufalo has contributed an extremely impressive 94 goals and 43 assists in all competitions, and he also broke Ally McCoist’s record to become their record goalscorer in Europe, so to lose him ahead of their return to the Champions League next season would be far from ideal.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-rangers-transfer-rumours-and-news” title=”Read the latest Rangers transfer rumours and news!”]

After he broke the record, Gerrard was full of praise for Morelos, saying:

“It’s fantastic for him from a personal point of view. Alfredo’s a top-class player, a top-class goalscorer, and it’s fantastic that he’s still here.”

Last season saw the 24-year-old forward contribute 15 goals and 12 assists in all competitions for the Gers and his performances in the Premiership before the season split saw him average an impressive 7.20 rating from WhoScored for his performances, which ranked him as the sixth-best performer in Gerrard’s side.

[freshpress-quiz id=“593776″]

Therefore, it is certainly a blow that a side such as Porto who impressed in the Champions League last season are interested in Morelos ahead of the summer, and it would be a huge shame for Rangers to lose him.

And, in other news… Rangers facing major blow with 25 y/o “Rolls Royce”, Gerrard would be gutted

Fulham manager Scott Parker looks increasingly likely to leave Craven Cottage this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Telegraph, who claim that the 40-year-old looks on course to leave the Cottagers later this week, with fellow Championship side Bournemouth thought to be lining up a move to appoint him as Jonathan Woodgate’s replacement at the Vitality Stadium.

It is reported that Parker has been in talks with Shahid and Tony Khan regarding his position as the Fulham manager, with negotiations regarding his departure set to accelerate over the coming days before his exit is confirmed, which will potentially be by mutual consent.

According to The Telegraph, there has been friction between the former Fulham midfielder and the club’s hierarchy, with this being a primary factor as to why Shahid and Tony Khan are prepared to allow the 40-year-old to leave.

Big mistake

While it is true that Parker ultimately failed to keep his side in the Premier League last season, the former England international’s record in the Championship should be more than enough incentive for the Fulham bosses to do all they can to ensure the 40-year-old remains at the club this summer, rather than facilitating his departure.

Indeed, in the club’s 2019/20 promotion-winning campaign, Parker led his team to 23 wins, 12 draws and 11 losses, narrowly missing out on automatic promotion by just two points.

However, the Cottagers then went on to secure a return to the top-flight regardless of their fourth-place finish in the second tier, defeating Brentford 2-1 AET in the play-off final.

Furthermore, despite Fulham’s aforementioned relegation last season, the former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder earned a considerable amount of praise from some of the biggest names in the game for the style of football Fulham were playing in the top flight, with the likes of Marcelo Bielsa, Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp all complimenting the Cottagers boss, with Klopp stating his belief that the 40-year-old had his team playing “exceptional” football.

As such, the argument can be made that Shahid and Tony Khan’s decision to allow the 40-year-old to leave the club this summer will be a catastrophic mistake, as they will not only be waving goodbye to a manager with a track record of securing an immediate return to the Premier League, but they look likely to be strengthening a direct rival for promotion in the shape of Bournemouth – both factors that will undoubtedly leave Fulham fans devastated.

In other news: Parker heading for grave Fulham transfer error over “relentless” £14.4m-rated machine

Having outplayed the Kenyans in the longer version of the game – thefour-day unofficial tests, Sri Lanka ‘A’ are gearing up to face Kenya in aseries of three unofficial one-day internationals beginning at theWelagedera Stadium here tomorrow

CricInfo19-Feb-2002Having outplayed the Kenyans in the longer version of the game – thefour-day unofficial tests, Sri Lanka ‘A’ are gearing up to face Kenya in aseries of three unofficial one-day internationals beginning at theWelagedera Stadium here tomorrow.Sri Lanka ‘A’ coach and manager Roshan Mahanama is keen to strike firstblood and main Sri Lanka’s dominance over the tourists.”The first game of any series is important and we won’t be taking theKenyans lightly,” said Mahanama. “It is important that we continue toperform well as a team.”The overs game is something which the Kenyans are quite familiar with andthey are quite capable of giving Sri Lanka ‘A’ a good run, provided they canovercome the disappointment of their 3-0 whitewash in the ‘Test’ series andtheir batting, their strongest department, clicks.”The one-day version suits the boys more, it is just that they should gettheir disappointment out and start afresh. We have played a lot more one-daycricket and we are going to regroup ourselves, get the disappointment of thestring of defeats and rethink for a start of a new series,” said Kenyan teammanager Harilal Shah.One player whom the Kenyans will miss a lot is Thomas Odoyo who was forcedto return home due to a hamstring injury on his right leg.”We will miss him very much because he is a very powerful hitter of the balland he is a good bowler.quite quick. Odoyo recently went to South Africa forthe triangular between Kenya, India and South Africa and he ranked among thevery higher echelons of cricketers with ICC’s high performance manager BobWoolmer (the former England player and SouthAfrican coach),” said Shah.”We’ll miss Odoyo, but some players will have to play better thanthemselves, to compensate for his loss,” he said.>From the Sri Lanka ‘A’ squad of 14, batsman Anushka Polonowita and fastbowler Kaushalya Weeraratne are unlikely to play leaving the only change inthe side to be decided between left-arm spinners Rangana Herath and SajeewaWeerakoon. Herath with his experience will probably get the nod.Fast bowler Dulip Liyanage and all-rounder Gayan Wijekoon are likely to gettheir first game against the tourists. The rest of the squad figured in therecently concluded ‘Test’ series.Kenya will be hoping their captain Maurice Odumbe will strike form in thisseries. He managed only 72 runs in six innings in the ‘Test’ series gettingout on the last four occasions to his vis-à-vis Upul Chandana.They have a complement of 15 players to select their final 11.The pitch at Welagedera Stadium is generally slow and tends to keep low,which may not be the ideal one for a one-day game.The second game is scheduled for Saturday at De Soysa Stadium, Moratuwa andthe final one on Monday at the NCC grounds.SRI LANKA ‘A’ (from):Upul Chandana (captain), Avishka Gunawardana, Upekha Fernando, TillekeratneDilshan, Chamara Silva, Prasanna Jayawardene, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara,Rangana Herath, Pulasthi Gunaratne, Dulip Liyanage, Gayan Wijekoon, SajeewaWeerakoon, Kaushalya Weeraratne, Anushka Polonowita.KENYA (from):Maurice Odumbe (captain), Kennedy Otieno, Ravindu Shah, Steve Tikolo, HiteshModi, Otieno Suji, Collins Obuya, Lamech Onyango, Martin Suji, Brijal Patel,Joseph Angara, Josphat Sorengo, David Obuya, Thomas Odoyo, Mohammad Sheikh.UMPIRES: Gamini Silva and Jagath Nandakumara, Match Referee: Ashley deSilva.

International off-spinner Shoaib Malik’s bowling action looks suspectonly for one particular delivery otherwise his action has no fault noragainst the ICC rules.This is the finding of two-man PCB Group of Bowling Advisors formerTest off-spinner Ijaz Fakih and fast bowler Mohsin Kamal.Malik wasreported for suspect bowling action during last Sharjah Cup.The Bowling Advisors, examined the video footage of Malik on Thursdayat the Gaddafi Stadium and gave their ruling on Friday. The footagewas received from the ICC. The advisors observed that Shoaib Malik’sarm for one particular delivery which goes the other way for the offspinner, apparently seems to deviate from the ICC rules otherwise hisaction was faultlessIt was decided by the PCB that Malik would be trained by the formerTest off-spinner and now an umpire, Mohammad Nazir Junior, in thePakistan National Academy which would start at the Gaddafi Stadiumfrom May 14, to remove technical flaws with his action. Earlier,Malik’s bowling action was physically examined by the Advisors onApril 26.The third member of Advisors Iqbal Sikandar could not attend themeeting as he is presently in England and attending coaching course.

The Punjab-Delhi Under-22 encounter at the Palam Ground in New Delhi sawvisitors Punjab take home 5 points after the match was drawn today, on the thirdand final day

Anand Vasu17-Dec-2000The Punjab-Delhi Under-22 encounter at the Palam Ground in New Delhi sawvisitors Punjab take home 5 points after the match was drawn today, on the thirdand final day. Despite letting Delhi get 336 in their first essay, Punjab battedout the rest of the match to make 591/8. Having let Punjab get such a huge lead,Delhi had to be content with 3 points.On winning the toss on Friday, Delhi skipper S Rauf elected to bat first.Stumper Varun Kumar did his skipper proud by slamming 147 (295 balls, 22 fours)at the top of the order. However, Varun Kumar had very little support from histeammates. Only S Vaid with 58 managed to stick around at the crease for awhile, but that too was not enough. After 123.2 overs of batting, Delhi couldmanage only 336.Punjab with their strong batting line up brushed aside the Delhi score withease. Opting not to make a match of it, Punjab batted out the remaining time toreach 591/8 when the match ended. For Punjab all batsmen were among the runs,but Under-19 star Ravneet Ricky was by far the best, with 146 (253 balls, 23fours). Apart from Ricky, Amit Behl (85), Ankur Kakkar (98) and HarikrishnanKali (90) were among the runs. As it turned out, Punjab were happy with the 5points they got from securing the first innings lead and the match ended in thetamest of draws.