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The Sri Lanka A openers hit half-centuries on the fourth day as the first unofficial Test against South Africa A ended in a tame draw in Pallekele

Cricinfo staff13-Aug-2010
ScorecardThe Sri Lanka A openers hit half-centuries on the fourth day as the first unofficial Test against South Africa A ended in a tame draw in Pallekele.Set an improbable target of 374, Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne made the most of the opportunity to get some batting practice. Thirimanne made 67 off 129 deliveries with seven fours while Karunaratne got 52 off 85 with five fours and a six. Offspinner Thandi Tshabalala had Karunaratne caught by Jonathan Vandiar for his only wicket of the match. Vandiar later bowled Thirimanne in his only over of the match. With Sri Lanka A on 175 for 2, the match was called off after 48 overs as bad light intervened. Dinesh Chandimal remained unbeaten on 39 off 61 deliveries with three fours and two sixes.The day had started with South Africa A carrying on from their overnight score of 187 for 2. Dean Elgar got to his century, making 105 off 214 deliveries with six fours, before being caught behind by Kaushal Silva off Janaka Gunaratne. Stiaan van Zyl fell to Sachithra Senanayake for 81 off 152, and Heino Kuhn made his second half-century of the match, hitting four sixes in his unbeaten 51 off only 21 deliveries. Kuhn’s frenzied hitting enabled South Africa to get 93 runs off 73 deliveries and they declared on 280 for 5 off 78.1 overs.However, the target of 374 was too steep to interest Sri Lanka A, who made no attempt to reach it. The second and last unofficial Test begins at the SSC in Colombo from August 16.

Taking to Twitter, reliable BBC reporter Simon Stone has made a West Ham United transfer claim involving long-time target and Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard.

The Lowdown: West Ham eye top target…

It is no secret that manager David Moyes has been wanting to bring the England international back to London after his impressive 2020/21 loan spell at the Hammers.

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Reliable sources like ExWHUemployee and Jack Rosser of The Evening Standard have both stated that Lingard remains a target for West Ham as transfer chief Rob Newman aims to bolster Moyes’ options before transfer deadline day.

The 29-year-old has also attracted interest from the likes of Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur after he refused to pen a new deal at Old Trafford.

As a result, Lingard will leave as a free agent later this year, with the Hammers apparently keen to sway Man United into doing some mid-season business.

The Latest: BBC reporter makes Lingard offer claim…

Taking to Twitter, BBC journalist Stone has shared news on West Ham’s attempts at a January move whilst lifting the lid on a bid from Moyes’ side.

According to his sources, the Irons have made a ‘loan offer’ to sign Lingard from Man United, but it was swiftly turned down by the Red Devils. This is apparently due to the fact that Ralf Rangnick’s side view the east Londoners as a direct top-four challenger and are duly refusing to do business.

The Verdict: Blow for Moyes…

Tipped as one of West Ham’s top transfer targets, it remains to be seen whether the club try again to sign Lingard, with his current club reluctant to enter talks.

He certainly comes with merit, as Premier League legend Rio Ferdinand called the 29-year-old ‘amazing’ following his impact at West Ham over the second half of last season (FIVE). Even Man United believe that Lingard is a ‘£50m’ player according to Guardian correspondent Jamie Jackson (Twitter), highlighting just how much they rate the playmaker.

If they continue to rebuff attempts like this one, Newman and co have no time to waste, so then they simply must move on to other targets or even potential alternatives.

A striker and centre-half are arguably still needed at Rush Green, and Moyes has precious little time remaining to strike an agreement before the transfer deadline on Monday.

We believe that a striker should definitely be made a priority, especially considering West Ham’s potentially congested fixture calendar, their lack of options on this front and Michail Antonio’s concerning injury history.

In other news: West Ham set for talks as they chase eleventh hour agreement for ‘quality’ 25 y/o, find out more here.

West Ham have made another move for Jesse Lingard and the player has made it clear to Manchester United that he prefers a move to the Hammers, rather than to Newcastle, according to Football.London’s Tom Clark.

The Lowdown: Lingard’s transfer saga

Hammers fans have suffered through a tumultuous transfer saga involving Lingard since the end of his loan spell last season. The attacking midfielder scored an incredible nine goals and produced five assists in just 16 appearances with the east London side.

The Irons have hit a number of barriers in their pursuit of Lingard. Over the summer, the 29-year-old rejected a return to West Ham, as he wanted to fight for his place in Man United’s squad.

However, since changing his mind and seeking a move elsewhere, the Hammers have seen previous efforts to sign the player rebuffed by Ralf Rangnick’s side, as the club were reluctant to let him join a top-four rival.

Instead, the Red Devils have favoured a transfer to relegation-threatened Newcastle United.

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The Latest: Lingard’s preference is West Ham

According to Football.London’s Tom Clark, ‘West Ham have made another move’ for Lingard. Taking to Twitter, Clark said:

‘As I understand it, he’s made his preference of West Ham over Newcastle clear to Man United, but final decision rests with Man U, who have knocked back both West Ham & Spurs already this month.’

The Verdict: Get it done

Hammers fans will be screaming for the club to get the deal over the line, after an agonising wait throughout the January window saw the transfer slipping through their fingers on several occasions.

The attacking-midfielder could provide the clinical threat that the side have so desperately needed for the past few months, exemplified by Lingard’s stunning solo goal against Wolves whilst at the Irons, which saw Darren Gough make comparisons to Diego Maradona’s sublime effort against England at the 1986 World Cup.

If Moyes is able to reprise this fantastic form, Lingard could prove to be one of the signings of the window.

In other news: Irons join the race for Aaron Ramsey

Elton Chigumbura guided his side to a second successive victory and condemned Ireland to a series loss in a fluctuating tussle at the Harare Sports Club

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Sep-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKevin O’Brien’s gutsy 73 was not enough to prevent Zimbabwe taking the series with a three-wicket victory•AFPElton Chigumbura guided his side to a three-wicket victory and condemned Ireland to a series loss in a fluctuating tussle at the Harare Sports Club. His unbeaten 32 ensured Brendan Taylor’s classy 71 did not go unrewarded as Zimbabwe survived a flurry of late wickets to sneak over the winning line.Though hardly overawing, the target Ireland set could have been more straightforward for Zimbabwe had Kevin O’Brien not rescued the innings from 107 for 6 with a patient 73 not out that carried the score to 238.Hard as Ireland scrapped, first with the bat and then again later with the ball, they could not withstand the a Zimbabwe side comfortable in home conditions. Chigumbura again asked Ireland to bat first and was rewarded in the second over when Ireland captain William Porterfield fell to Ed Rainsford for 9.Paul Stirling responded by taking 18 – including a six and three fours – off Rainsford’s next over on his way to a fluent half-century and while he and Andre Botha were together Ireland looked to be building a meaningful total. Instead, they lost four wickets for 15 runs as Botha, Stirling, Gary Wilson and Andrew White fell in quick succession.Kevin O’Brien could only watch helplessly at the procession until he found support first from John Mooney (16) and then in a 55-run stand with Trent Johnston (30). Having picked off singles diligently O’Brien finished the innings with a bang, smiting 29 off his final eight deliveries, including 24 off Rainsford’s last over to take the total to 238.O’Brien then rode the momentum to remove Hamilton Masakadza early in Zimbabwe’s chase before Taylor and Sean Williams steadied the innings. Much was expected of George Dockrell, who is already turning into the linchpin of the attack, but his first contribution was in the field, running out Williams to revive Ireland’s hopes.Taylor found a fluent partner in Tatenda Taibu and the pair laid the platform for the successful run chase with an 80-run stand in 16.2 overs before Dockrell broke through by rattling Taibu’s stumps. At 137 for 3 it looked too late for Ireland to come back and Taylor passed his fifty from 72 balls. Having worked his way to 71 he was trapped in front by Johnson to give keep Ireland interested before Craig Ervine and Charles Coventry then fell in quick succession to set up a tense finish.Zimbabwe needed 64 from 70 balls with four wickets in hand but Chigumbura held his nerve to guide towards the target. Prosper Utseya was run out with 47 still needed but Chigumbura, together with Graeme Cremer, sealed the result with seven balls to spare.

As relayed by The Mirror, an interesting update has come to light involving Tottenham Hotspur target and West Brom keeper Sam Johnstone.

The Lowdown: Spurs enter pole position…

As previously reported, it seems Spurs and manager Antonio Conte are in pole position to sign the Englishman this summer, who is set to leave upon the expiry of his contract.

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Lilywhites correspondent and in-the-know Alasdair Gold recently claimed that they are indeed leading the race for Johnstone as Man United also eye a move.

Meanwhile, Football League World and The Sun have both shared that those within the club feel they’re in pole position to seal the 29-year-old’s Bosman signing for Conte.

Amid these plethora of reports, an interesting update has emerged.

The Latest: Johnstone axed…

As relayed by The Mirror, Baggies boss Steve Bruce has now axed Johnstone from his squad for their remaining fixtures of the Championship campaign.

Indeed, it appears the Three Lions ace has now played his final game at The Hawthorns as Bruce confirms that his keeper has decided to run down his deal.

The Verdict: Certain to move…

As Johnstone is set to leave on a free, we believe he could be a snip for Tottenham as they look for an understudy and possible eventual heir to number one Hugo Lloris.

Lauded as a ‘world class’ shot stopper by Wolves legend Steve Bull, the English second tier star mightily impressed in the top flight last year and comes as a more-than adequate alternative to loanee Spurs number two Pierluigi Gollini.

The latter man looks set to return to parent club Atalanta with Johnstone coming as an arguable upgrade given his quality and homegrown status.

In other news: Tottenham official dispatched as Conte identifies ’emerging superstar’ signing, find out more here.

The ECB has threatened to take legal action against Pakistan board chairman, Ijaz Butt, unless he makes a public apology for alleging that England’s players accepted a bribe to lose the third ODI at The Oval

Cricinfo staff22-Sep-2010The ECB has threatened to take legal action against Pakistan board chairman, Ijaz Butt, unless he makes a public apology for alleging that England’s players accepted a bribe to lose the third ODI at The Oval.”We are looking for an apology. If it does not come we’ll look at other options,” ECB chief executive David Collier told the . “You can’t impugn someone’s integrity without having proper evidence.”To date I can say that we have received zero evidence of anything having influenced any England player. Clearly we will seek advice but there are quite strong laws of defamation.”In an extraordinary statement, which he read out to ESPNcricinfo, Butt had said, “There is loud and clear talk in bookie circles that some English players have taken enormous amounts of money to lose the match [the third ODI]. No wonder there was such a collapse.” He had also accused certain “august cricket bodies” of conspiring to defraud Pakistan and Pakistan cricket.Butt’s allegations were of such gravity that the ECB waited almost 24 hours before formulating an official response, and their statement was issued after a meeting between the board and the team. Present at the discussions were Collier, ECB chairman Giles Clarke, the managing director of England Cricket, Hugh Morris, and the England captain and coach, Andrew Strauss and Andrew Flower, who went on to have a subsequent meeting with all of the England team.The ECB and the team issued a strong statement rejecting Butt’s allegations and Collier said that they had decided to proceed playing the final two ODIs “in the best interests of world cricket, England cricket, the ICC and the world game.”Pakistan went on to win the fourth ODI at Lord’s and level the series 2-2 ahead of Wednesday’s decider at the Rose Bowl.

As Manchester City reportedly set their sights on an heir to club legend Fernandinho, some major news has come to light involving candidate and Real Sociedad star Mikel Merino.

The Lowdown: End of an era…

The Brazilian has already confirmed his intention to leave Eastlands nearly 10 years after signing for the club from Shakhtar Donestk in 2013.

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Since joining the Sky Blues, Fernandinho has gone on to become a mainstay and pivotal figure – both on the pitch and behind-the-scenes under two different managers.

Previously, the 36-year-old signed one-year contract extensions in both 2020 and 2021, but it seems the defensive midfield colossus is now finally drawing the curtain on his City career.

In some sad news for supporters, watching the last of the old guard depart Manchester will be a tough one to take.

Club chiefs, following the announcement from Fernandinho, have allegedly got to work on a list of possible replacements.

The Latest: Spanish source shares Merino update…

As per Spanish sources, City and sporting director Txiki Begiristain have Real Sociedad star Merino as a candidate, alongside previously reported Toni Kroos.

Allegedly, ‘in recent days’, it is believed that the Premier League champions are now ‘willing to pay the €60 million (£50m) clause’ in order to avoid negotiations with the La Liga side.

Guardiola, as per this report, also likes Merino ‘a lot’.

The Verdict: Make a move?

While truly succeeding Fernandinho is a near-impossible task given his contribution over the last decade, the Sky Blues and Guardiola could do far worse than Merino.

According to WhoScored, the former Newcastle United star has stood out as a crucial man for Sociedad boss Imanol Alguacil, making more tackles per 90 than any regular in the side with over one league start.

He’s also their best performing player domestically going by average match rating over 2021/2022, perhaps backing why Guardiola loves the player who can break up play and spread the ball around with equal aplomb.

In other news: Guardiola may now convince ‘spectacular’ £307k-per-week star to join City! Find out more here.

Nathan Hauritz has admitted he had lost the right to bowl in the second session of the fifth day, after an unthreatening spell before the break when he tried to experiment with his lines

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Oct-2010Australia offspinner Nathan Hauritz has said he was disappointed at being ignored by Ricky Ponting in the eventful post-lunch session on the fifth day of the Mohali Test, but admitted he had lost the “right” for a bowl after an unthreatening spell before the break when he tried to experiment with his lines.”I have been working on a few different things, to try to attack the stumps a little bit more from a wider angle,” Hauritz told . “Generally I’ve been a little bit tighter towards the stumps throughout my career, and we just spoke about trying to get the ball at a wider angle, sort of like what Harbhajan [Singh] does, trying to get the ball to drift in, instead of drifting away. That stuffed me around a little bit with my body and my rhythm.”Ponting began the day with Hauritz, and the offspinner made the first breakthrough when he had Zaheer Khan edging a delivery landed well outside the off stump into the slips. In his next over, however, the new man VVS Laxman picked easy boundaries through the off side to kickstart what proved to be a match-winning innings. This after Sachin Tendulkar had driven the first ball of the over for four down the ground.”A couple of balls there were steady, not outstanding, and Sachin drove straight past me or through midwicket for four, and it’s tough to bowl at, no word of a lie,” Hauritz said. “I guess that’s what was so disappointing in the second innings, and I think that came about because I was trying different things which, in hindsight, I should never have tried. Cricket is supposed to be a very simple game and I tried to make it more complicated.”Hauritz was immediately taken off the attack and bowled only three more overs in the game, with Ponting turning to part-timer Marcus North as Australia desperately looked for the last two wickets. “Punter [Ponting] needed to get wickets and he obviously didn’t think I was the right guy. That’s what it came down to and I can’t change that.”What I learned was to consistently work on what works well, and once you don’t work on those things you put more pressure on yourself, and in the end it created problems,” said Hauritz, adding that he would return to more familiar lines during the second Test.Australia came within a wicket of winning in Mohali, with Pragyan Ojha surviving a close lbw call when India needed six runs. Even as Australia appealed, Steven Smith missed the stumps with Ojha out of the crease and conceded four overthrows. “It was such a weird feeling being out there because we were all just willing and willing and willing to get that wicket,” Hauritz said as he relived the finish. “I was at backward square-leg when that last appeal went up, and young Stevie threw at the stumps.”There was only me and someone at mid-on on the leg side, and I was appealing, running in because it was almost like Billy [umpire Billy Bowden] didn’t shake his head or anything, it seriously felt like he was going to give it out. And then when he didn’t the next thing I saw the ball go that way and I was like ‘oh’.”

Everton are in interested in signing versatile Hoffenheim ace Florian Grillitsch according to The Daily Mail’s Simon Jones.

The lowdown: Plenty of suitors

The 26-year-old is set to become a free agent at the end of the season when a contract in Germany expires and there would appear to be a host of clubs keen on acquiring the Austrian’s services.

Formerly of Werder Bremen, Grillitsch has plied his trade in the Bundesliga since 2015, racking up 178 German top-flight appearances to date.

Following an initial report from The Telegraph citing major interest from Leeds United and Arsenal, it would now appear that the Toffees are also in the mix…

The latest: Everton interest emerges

As per the report, Jones writes that there is interest from Everton in signing the 33-cap Austria international.

It’s claimed that there is also admiration from West Ham United and Newcastle United, whilst both Leeds are Arsenal are once again mentioned.

The report states that the man once dubbed as ‘extraordinary’ by Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann, ‘appeals’ to Everton as Frank Lampard prepares to oversee a squad overhaul at Goodison Park.

The verdict: No-brainer

As a potential free agent capture, this truly is a no-brainer for the Merseyside club, particularly with the future of Allan uncertain beyond the upcoming summer window.

Still holding a market value of £14.4m despite the dwindling contract (Transfermarkt), adding Grillitsch – who can play as a central defender or in a variety of midfield positions – to the Blues’ ranks would be a shrewd move.

As a defensive midfielder, the Austrian’s numbers suggest that he is in the same mould as Liverpool star Fabinho and Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets, according to FBRef, making the potential capture ahead of other Premier League suitors all the more impressive.

In other news, financial expert makes exciting Bramley Moore claim!

Ryan Harris continued to impress ahead of the Ashes by claiming nine wickets for the match, but Ricky Ponting fell for 5

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Nov-2010
Scorecard
Ryan Harris is in contention for the Ashes after grabbing nine wickets in Hobart•Getty ImagesRyan Harris continued to impress ahead of the Ashes by claiming nine wickets for the match, but Ricky Ponting fell for 5 as Queensland held the upper hand in Hobart. Ponting was an early casualty, playing on to Scott Walter, before Harris added 4 for 68 to his first-innings 5 for 72 in a stunning return.It was Harris’ first Sheffield Shield game back following a disrupted recovery from knee surgery, but he put himself in the frame for the first Test squad, which is named in Sydney on Monday. In a strange move, Cricket Australia has said Harris will be in Sydney on Tuesday for an Ashes function alongside Doug Bollinger, another strong contender for the XI.However, instead of an indication of the Ashes line-up, it might just be a stop-off for Harris on the way to Hobart. At the very least he will be a huge chance to replace Mitchell Starc in Australia A’s side to face England from Wednesday.Starc broke down with a side strain playing for New South Wales on Thursday. Harris has out-bowled all the major contenders for the national outfits but has had the advantage of operating on a Bellerive Oval pitch that has assisted the fast men.Harris’ haul helped knock over Tasmania for 271, leaving Queensland chasing 214 for their opening victory of the competition. After the Bulls’ first innings finished at 254 early in the day, Harris stepped up to have Jon Wells lbw without scoring. Ponting, who scored 32 in the first innings, walked out wanting a long bat, but he was undone on his 17th ball and will have one more Shield game to fine tune before the opening Test.Harris forced an edge from George Bailey (43) and bowled Mark Cosgrove (35), finishing his collection by knocking over Ben Hilfenhaus. Tim Paine followed the opener Ed Cowan’s patient 65 and ensured Tasmania would have something to defend. Paine collected a classy 74 before miscuing to mid-on off the legspinner Cameron Boyce, who finished with 2 for 52 off 21 overs.Queensland’s batting has been a concern this season, but they were helped by rain which meant they only had to face two overs. Wade Townsend and Ryan Broad will resume at 0 for 2 on the final morning.