Irfan Pathan has been reprimanded by the ICC for a breach of the Code of Conduct. Pathan, who took 2 for 75 in India’s crushing loss in the second final of the VB Series, made an exuberant gesture, clapping and beaming Damien Martyn off when he dismissed him. Watching television replays, it was difficult to say if words were exchanged.Clive Lloyd, the match referee, found Pathan guilty of a Level 1 offense, unfair play. Pathan was reported to the match referee by Rudi Koertzen and Daryl Harper, the on-field umpires, and also by Simon Taufel, the third umpire. The reprimand was made in a hearing shortly after play, an ICC media release informs. Lloyd said, “It’s important that players and team officials at all times conduct themselves within the spirit of the game.”
India have won the second and final Test of their two-Test series against Zimbabwe by four wickets. At Feroz Shah Kotla on Monday, it was Harbhajan Singh’s turn to become the unlikely hero with the bat by hitting a boundary over cover and a big six straight down the ground to take India past the modest target. India finished on 126/6 with Harbhajan Singh (14*) and Sanjay Bangar (3*) the two men at the crease at the end.Resuming on 36/3, India got off to a flying start. Sachin Tendulkar picked up 12 runs off the first over of the day bowled by Grant Flower. A glorious cover drive and a powerful square cut thudded into the signboards.In the following over bowled by Flower, the little master struck another four through mid-wicket, forcing Carlisle to make a bowling change. The idea was quite simple, Tendulkar scoring runs at one end while Das would deal with the guiles of Ray Price.Price has bowled exceptionally well on this tour and he was distinctly unlucky as umpire Jayaprakash turned down a couple of shouts of lbw against Shiv Sunder Das.Tendulkar played a delicate leg glance and then a superb flick through mid-wicket off Streak for fours, forcing Carlisle to bring back Grant Flower into the attack. Tendulkar, however, was in a hurry and he was in no mood to allow Flower to settle into a rhythm. A slightly short delivery was pulled high in the air over square leg for a massive six.Finally, Price got an opportunity to have a go at Tendulkar and immediately had his man lbw, trying to sweep. The little master made a valuable contribution of 42 off 52 balls with the help of seven fours and a six.Rahul Dravid came out to bat and found himself in trouble against Price. The scoring suffered substantially as Streak and Price tightened the screws. This had its effect too; Das (31) was given out lbw to Streak, umpire de Silva giving it in the favour of the bowler when the ball appeared to be going down the leg. India were 103/5 at that stage.Rahul Dravid (6) was the next man to be `Price’d out, caught by Andy Flower at gully after pushing forward to the left-arm spinner. India were under tremendous pressure (105/6) at that stage. Umpire Asoka de Silva was not done yet. An appalling decision from him gave four leg byes to India, after Streak had struck Harbhajan Singh plumb in front of the wicket. If that ball was going to hit anything, it was the middle stump.Soon it was the turn of umpire Jayaprakash to negate another very close shout for lbw by Price; Bangar being the lucky batsman. Harbhajan Singh pinched four over-throws to ease the pressure a bit. And, then came Harbhajan Singh’s two big hits off Streak to finish the match. Harbhajan was deservedly named that Man of the Match while Anil Kumble picked up the Man of the Series award.
Michelle Goszko broke one world record and equalled another when she scored 204 for Australia against England in the First Test of the CricInfo Women’s Series at Shenley on June 25, 2001.When she passed 131, Goszko set a new record for the highest score on debut in the 112-match history of women’s Tests, beating the previous mark set by compatriot Mel Jones on the last tour of England three years ago.At 204 she equalled the mark for the highest individual score by any batsman since women’s Tests began in 1934. Her lbw dismissal at the hands of Clare Taylor stopped her from gaining an outright claim on the record.Players who have scored 150 or more in women’s Test cricket:204 Kirsty Flavell, New Zealand v England at Scarborough, 1996 204 Michelle Goszko, Australia v England at Shenley, 2001 200 Jo Broadbent, Australia v England at Guildford, 1998 193 Denise Annetts, Australia v England at Collingham, 1987 190 Sandhya Agarwal, India v England at Worcester, 1986 189 Betty Snowball, England v New Zealand at Christchurch, 1935 179 Rachael Heyhoe-Flint, England v Australia at The Oval, 1976 176* Karen Rolton, Australia v England at Worcester, 1998 167 Jan Brittin, England v Australia at Harrogate, 1998 161* Emily Drumm, New Zealand v Australia at Christchurch, 1995 160 Barbara Daniels, England v New Zealand at Scarborough, 1996 158* Carol Hodges, England v New Zealand at Canterbury, 1984 155* Trish McKelvey, New Zealand v England at Wellington, 1969It should be noted that the world record score in a women’s one-dayinternational is in fact higher than this – 229 by Belinda Clark forAustralia against Denmark in the 1997 World Cup in India.Centuries on debut in women’s Tests:108 Una Paisley, Australia v New Zealand at Wellington, 1948 113 Enid Bakewell, England v Australia at Adelaide, 1968 118 Lorraine Hill, Australia v New Zealand at Wellington, 1975 117 Julie Stockton, Australia v New Zealand at Sydney University, 1979 117 Leslie Cooke, England v India at Collingham, 1986 126 Belinda Haggett, Australia v England at Worcester, 1987 104 Belinda Clark, Australia v India at North Sydney, 1991 105 Chamani Senevirathne, Sri Lanka v Pakistan at Colombo, 1998 131 Melanie Jones, Australia v England at Guildford, 1998 204 Michelle Goszko, Australia v England at Shenley, 2001(Note: the records showed for many years that Shanta Rangaswamy scored a century on debut for India against New Zealand in Dunedin in 1977. It was later decided that India’s six-match series against the West Indies in 1975-76, in which Rangaswamy played, should have Test status, thus depriving her of this rare honour.)
According to Italian news outlet Messaggero Veneto, Udinese forward Gerard Deulofeu is being targeted by West Ham ahead of a potential €20m (£16.6m) summer transfer.
The former Watford winger has had an exceptional season in Serie A, scoring nine goals in 25 appearances and setting up two more, as he has transitioned effectively into becoming a striker.
His versatility could be a key reason behind the east London club’s interest, due to Michail Antonio being the only natural striker at the club and the Spaniard’s ability to also operate as a left winger.
While Deulofeu’s career has seemingly been revived in Italy, this would be his fourth stint in England – and if his previous spells are anything to go by, could it be an unsuccessful signing from a West Ham perspective? Our writers give their verdicts below….
Vijievan Jeevathayalan
“With just 20 goals in 127 games in his time in the Premier League, Deulofeu would be hugely underwhelming as a potential summer signing. The former Everton and Watford man showed flashes of his brilliance in England, but really struggled to deliver anywhere near the kind of consistent form that would suggest a third spell in the top flight would see him finally bring the goods.
“West Ham have taken several steps forward under David Moyes, and with a place in the Europa League quarter-finals already secured, and being well-placed in the Premier League for another impressive finish, the Hammers should be looking at real statement signings this summer. Deulofeu simply doesn’t fit the bill, and Moyes would be making a major howler to push through a move for the Spaniard. It’d quite frankly be a complete waste from GSB.”
James Thompson
“If West Ham were to make a move to bring Gerard Deulofeu back to the Premier League after his stints with Watford and Everton, this would be a really uninspiring move from GSB.
“Having scored just four goals in his previous season in England with Watford, it’s hard to see the Spaniard winning a battle against the likes of Said Benrahma, Jarrod Bowen, Pablo Fornals or Manuel Lanzini to become a regular first-team figure for David Moyes.
“With the summer transfer window in mind, if the Hammers are going to be in the market for another attacking player, Deulofeu should be nowhere near the top of their transfer target list.”
Daniel Emery
“It would be a surprising move from the Hammers given their wealth of options in the attacking midfield areas. Bowen, Vlasic, Benrahma, Fornals, Yarmolenko and Lanzini can all play in the positions behind the striker and I struggle to see where Deulofeu would fit in.
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“He predominantly plays off the right and his 10 goals and four assists since the start of last season do not suggest that he has the quality to displace Bowen, who has 16 goals and 15 assists in the same time, from that role.
“The Spaniard is not an upgrade on what they have and, at 28, is not an up-and-coming prospect who they can look to bed in over time. This deal is a must-avoid.”
In other news – Imagine him and Antonio: West Ham must land £18m-rated “weapon” likened to Beckham
Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, has warned his team-mates to be on their guard against Sri Lanka when the two-Test and five-match ODI tour starts later this month. Both sides are coming off a run of indifferent form – West Indies struggled on tour in South Africa and Sri Lanka won just two matches in the CB Series – and Gayle says the visitors boast a strong core of senior players.He picked out the batting of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara and the bowling of Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas as major challenges for West Indies to overcome. Although Sri Lanka have struggled of late in ODIs, they won their most recent Test series – against England in December – and played some impressive cricket.”Those two guys [Muralitharan and Vaas] have been their [main] wicket-takers in Test cricket,” Gayle told . “You have the likes of [Lasith] Malinga, those guys are playing international cricket now and getting a feel and getting more experienced and so forth playing overseas.”The batting line-up as well, Jayawardene and Sangakkara are in terrific form,” he said. “You have to work really hard to score runs and actually get wickets against them. We are looking forward to the challenge and hopefully the preparation can be good going in against Sri Lanka as well.”Gayle was reappointed as captain after impressing as a stand-in for Ramnaresh Sarwan on the tour of South Africa and previously in England last year. However, he was also injured in South Africa and was forced to miss the final Test plus the one-day series.”The build-up was very good in South Africa but unfortunately a lot of injuries came into play and then guys had to sit out for whatever reason as well including myself, I sat out a number of games overseas.”It’s a new series now so hopefully we’ll be strong and ready to go againstSri Lanka. We’ll see what the selectors can come up with, [hopefully] the best possible 13 and see how well we can have the right combination going in.”The first Test starts on March 22 in Guyana and the second match is in Trinidad from April 3.
.Today I informed the President of the BCCI that I would not seek an extension to my contract to coach the Indian cricket team for family and personal reasons.Firstly, I would like to extend my thanks to the BCCI for allowing me the honour of coaching the Indian cricket team over the past 22 months. It is, and it remains, one of the most challenging coaching positions in world cricket.I am grateful to the players with whom I have worked in this time for the challenges that they presented me with and which I tried to meet in a professional, methodical and interesting way in the interests of the team and the individual.To the media, my thanks also for constantly forcing me to question myself, my thinking and the way I went about my job of guiding the team through the many tests that we faced.I would like to make special mention of my support staff without whom I would not have survived the rigours of the past 22 months. Ian Frazer and Greg King deserve special mention for their efforts as do John Gloster, S Ramakrishnan and Ramesh Mane. I am particularly grateful for the wonderful support of my family, especially my wife Judy, who has enjoyed the experience as much as I.The people of India deserve a special mention as they are the ones whose attention, enthusiasm and love and support drive the great game, and business, of cricket in this country, and around the world. I thank them all, especially those who have written to me and the thousands who have gone out of their way to come up to me with well wishes.I am also grateful for the opportunity to extend my knowledge and awareness of this region and for the wonderful friends that I have made here. I look forward to continuing my contact with India in the coming years and I wish Indian cricket and all those involved with it much joy and success in the future.
As exclusively reported by Cricinfo last week, Matabeleland’s major club sides have confirmed that they have pulled out of the provincial association in a direct protest against the way that Zimbabwe Cricket is being run by Peter Chingoka, the chairman, and Ozias Bvute, the managing director.Matabeleland is the major province in Zimbabwe and has been responsible for producing many of their major players, including Heath Streak, their former captain who quit international cricket last autumn.”This is in response to the continual mismanagement of cricket administered in Zimbabwe by Chingoka and Bvute and the present interim SRC committee,” read the statement signed by Collin Williams, a former Matabeleland player and father of Sean, the Under-19 captain.It was also reported that the clubs were holding discussions with a number of clubs sides in Harare who last year split from their own association, Mashonaland. They withdrew their support for ZC some time ago.The next step will be for the Matabeleland clubs to write to their players and inform them of the decision. Those individuals under contract to ZC will probably have to move to clubs affiliated to the board, but the standard of cricket in those is likely to be poor as ZImbabwe’s player base is so eroded.
Darren Gough has been named as Essex’s new vice-captain, as part of a pre-season shake-up at Chelmsford that has already resulted in Graham Gooch, the former head coach, handing over several of his day-to-day duties to the captain, Ronnie Irani, in order to take up a broader role within the club.It is just the latest step in the renaissance of Gough, who signed from Yorkshire in a high-profile move last summer. He had been widely written off at the end of last season, but bounced back with a vengeance on England’s one-day tour of South Africa last month, and is determined to play a major role in the forthcoming NatWest clashes with Australia.”I am very much looking forward to my new position of vice-captain at Essex," Gough told essexcricket.org.uk. "I had the opportunity to be captain of Yorkshire before I left, but this is a big opportunity for me now at Essex.”Coming to Essex has been a good move for me and being made vice-captain is a huge honour," he added. "I hope that my 15 years of experience in county cricket – including 10 years in international cricket – will have an influence on the rest of the squad. I have been on England’s management committee for five years and this is another big achievement in my career.”Gough takes over the role from the previous incumbent, Paul Grayson, who will instead captain the second eleven, and according to the club captain, Irani, his promotion was essential for the balance of the team.”In my new wider captaincy role it was of the utmost importance to bring in someone such as Darren Gough as vice-captain," explained Irani. "Darren is a natural leader and a top performer who is well suited to such a position at this stage in his career. He is one of the best players in the world I could have as my right-hand man.”Darren is always among the first to offer advice and possesses one of the best cricketing brains in the country.”
At the conclusion of the 2003 Coca-Cola Khaya Majola U/19 Week a group of twenty-four players was named by the U/19 Selection panel to represent South African Schools and South African School Colts.The following twelve players will represent South African Schools in a match against a KwaZulu-Natal Invitation XI at Chatsworth Oval.
Colin Ingram (cp) Woodridge HS Eastern ProvinceKeegan Africa Hilton College KwaZulu-NatalCraig Alexander Bellville Tech Western ProvinceAndrew Birch St Andrews Eastern ProvinceClint Bowyer Maritzburg College KwaZulu-NatalDarren Govender Durban HS KwaZulu-NatalVernon Philander Ravenshead SS Western ProvinceWaylin September New Orleans SS BolandMpumelelo Slwana (wk) Grey High Eastern ProvinceBlake Snijman King Edward VII GautengVaughn van Jaarsveld King Edward VII GautengDivan van Wyk Grey College Free State
KwaZulu-Natal Invitation XI will feature South Africa and Western Province left-arm wrist spinner Paul Adams who is recovering from a hand injury.The following twelve players will represent South African Colts in a match against Premier League Delta Club at Tills. The Colts team is made up of players who may still be eligible to return to the Coca-Cola Khaya Majola Week in 2004.
Andrew Russell (cp) St Stithians GautengDean Elgar St Dominics Free StateRemano Esau Newton Tech Eastern ProvinceQuintin Kruger Volkskool Potch North WestSithembile Makongolo Dale College BorderLwando Manase Forbes Grant BorderKobus Pienaar Waterkloof HS NorthernsChristo Ritter Paarl Gimnasium BolandAshley Schultz Br Block Free StateMafinky Serame Milner HS North WestGodfrey Stevens New Orleans SS BolandWilhelmus v d Schyff Grey College Free State
Shaun Udal’s 2002 benefit season winds down with lunch at the Cafe Royal in London on Tuesday, where some 550 guests will be entertained by impressionist and Hampshire supporter Rory Bremner.”The benefit season has been a real success.” said Shaun. “I am so grateful to all those that have helped over the year.”With the benefit, and playing some of the best cricket of his career culminating in him winning both the Hampshire and the Hampshire Cricket Societies award, Shaun added: “It has been quite a year, and one I will never forget”.Take a look at some of the highlights of the year in the functions page on his web site:shaunudal-benefit.cricket.org