Samir Inamdar, the Cricket Kenya chairman, has announced that a tournament involving Kenya A, Uganda, Tanzania and a Coast XI will be held in Mombasa in June.The week-long event, called the Atul Shah Memorial Cup is named after the former Uganda and East Africa wicketkeeper who died last November and is being sponsored by his family.The four teams will play each other on a round-robin basis and then the top two play off in a final and the third and fourth-placed sides in a plate final. All games will be played on turf at the excellent Mombasa Sports Club and Coast Gymkhana grounds.Itinerary Tue Jun 6 – Teams arrive in MombasaWed Jun 7 – First round Thu Jun 8 – Second roundSat Jun 10 – Third round Sun Jun 11 – Finals and Plate eventMon Jun 12 – Teams depart
Derbyshire completed their second Twenty20 win of the season, as they inflicted a seven-wicket defeat on Leicestershire, the current champions. Leicestershire’s batting failed to fire, with only HD Ackerman making a significant contribution with 39. Ian Hunter took three wickets in an impressive bowling display. A brief interruption meant a Duckworth-Lewis calculation was needed and Derbyshire easily reached their 103-run target as Luke Sutton made 42 from 32 balls.Nottinghamshire completely overwhelmed Lancashire, storming to a 92-run win at Trent Bridge. Stephen Fleming made the early running with 56 from 42 balls before Chris Read, Mark Ealham and Paul Franks all made quick contributions. Franks hit three sixes from just seven balls. Lancashire’s batsmen made no sort of a start, with Graeme Swann taking three middle-order scalps.
Midlands/West/Wales Group
Gloucestershire put their recent poor form behind them with a seven-wicket win against fellow strugglers Glamorgan. They cantered home with nearly three overs to spare as Phil Weston and Craig Spearman made rapid thirties. Glamorgan’s innings struggled to gain any momentum against a disciplined attack. Carl Greenidge produced the superb figures of 3 for 15 and Martyn Ball also took three.Northamptonshire continued their good form with a 38-run win against Warwickshire. The match was reduced to 14 overs per side but Northants still managed 143 through a late blitz from Ben Phillips and rapid innings from Bilal Shafayat and David Sales. Neil Carter fell first ball for Warwickshire and Phillips completed an impressive all round display by taking 4 for 18.
South Group
Hampshire’s match against Sussex at the Rose Bowl was abandoned after steady rain arrived shortly after the toss had taken place. Sussex would have fielded first after Chris Adams put Hampshire into bat. Hampshire will be without Shane Warne for the rest of their Twenty20 campaign after he was granted a rest ahead of the Ashes, following a request from Cricket Australia to Rod Bransgrove, the Hampshire chairman.
ScorecardAustralia, who surprisingly missed out on a Super League spot, took out their frustrations on a shell-shocked Scotland side, bundling them out for a measly 22 and winning well before lunch at the MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong. Six of the Scots made ducks in the procession, and the highest contribution was Mr Extras, with 10. Of the batsmen, the highest scores were 5 by the opener Ian Young – who hit the only boundary of the innings – and Sean Weeeraratna, who at least resisted for 44 balls. It was the Aussie new-ball attack that did the damage: Gary Putland grabbed 4 for 9 in nine overs, and Man of the Match Cameron Huckett 4 for 7 in eight. Stephen O’Keefe mopped up the last two wickets to finish with 2 for 1. The Australian openers needed only 3.5 overs to knock off the runs and win a match which lasted only 26.2 overs in all.Willie Morton, Scotland’s coach, was dismayed with his side’s performance. "Australia are a strong team but we can’t accept results as poor as that,” he said. “I am very disappointed with the way we played today.”Australia’s coach Bennett King, meanwhile, said that his team would be going all out to win the Plate Championship. "We came here expecting to be playing in the Super League, but we didn’t beat Zimbabwe," he said. "Now we are in the Plate Championship and it must now be our target to win that instead, and we will field the same players in our next match." ScorecardNepal defeated Papua New Guinea in today’s other Plate Competition match, at the Chittagong Divisional Stadium. PNG laboured to 168 for 9 in their 50 overs: seven of their batsmen reached double figures, but the highest score was only 35, by Vivian Kila. Chris Amini, PNG’s captain, made 34, while slow left-armer Lakpa Lama took 4 for 51 from his ten overs. Nepal’s opener Kanishka Chaugai started well, and although Basanta Regmi made only 8 and skipper Babu Gauchan a duck, Nepal already had 60 on the board by then. Chaugai added 85 with Sharad Vesawkar (36), and finished with 90 not out as Nepal completed victory with 10.4 overs to spare.Chaugai was named Man of the Match, and earned praise from his team manager TB Shah. "Chaugai batted very well today on a good pitch," said Shah. "After a hiccup at the start where we dropped a couple of catches the game went well for us. We do not have any long-term targets for the tournament, we are taking each game as it comes."
PERTH, Jan 5 AAP – Evergreen West Australian seamer Jo Angel’s career-best figures and a Marcus North half century were not enough to stop Queensland snatching control of their Pura Cup cricket match today.WA was 7-170 in its second innings at stumps on day two at the WACA Ground, leading by just 126 runs with Jo Angel (10no) and Beau Casson (2no) at the crease.After resuming at 6-118, the Bulls lost 4-33 thanks to Angel’s 6-35 off 19.1 overs including his 400th domestic first class wicket.But the WA batsmen failed to seize control on another day in which the ball dominated the bat with 11 wickets falling.Underperforming batsman Marcus North (50) posted the first half century of the match to hand the home team some hope but ended his 200-minute knock by dragging a ball onto his stumps two balls later.He went to the crease after lunch with WA at 2-25, still trailing by 19 runs, and with just two runs from his past five Pura Cup digs after playing for Australia A in November in Hobart.North survived a confident caught behind appeal off acting captain Michael Kasprowicz on zero and Bulls wicketkeeper Wade Seccombe had words with him directly after the incident.However, the dogged left-hander managed to dig in and helped drag the match into a third day with both teams fielding below strength units due to national duties.But the Queensland pace attack of bustling Joe Dawes (3-64), recalled swing bowler Adam Dale (2-16 off 18 overs) and Kasprowicz (1-58) had the last laugh as they plotted WA’s demise.Queensland should collect the maximum six points from the outing and leapfrog Victoria into top spot on the Pura Cup table for the first time this summer.The Warriors’ slim chances of making March’s final look virtually impossible if they suffer an outright defeat.Angel earlier ripped through the Queensland lower order to dismiss the visitors for 151, a lead of just 44 runs.He collected his 400th Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup wicket by having Kasprowicz (one) caught by Marcus North in slips.It was an apt reward for Angel, who wasn’t selected in two four-day matches this season.Angel ran through the Queensland tail after ending wicketkeeper Wade Seccombe’s handy innings of 32 to have the visitors at 7-148.He soon had Dale (17) caught behind by stand-in wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi before the young gloveman took a terrific diving catch to remove Dawes (0).The 21-year-old sprinted 20 yards towards square leg to catch a top-edge as the Bulls lost their last four wickets for three runs.
England’s selectors have added two additional players to the squad for the CricInfo Series Tests and One-Day Internationals against Australia which begin at Shenley on Sunday.All-rounder Nicki Shaw, who last played for England in the CricInfo Women’s World Cup, is recalled after impressing with the ball in the warm-up games, and Hannah Lloyd, who has previously represented England Under-23s, has the chance to make her senior debut against the Australians.The England squad for the First Test will be announced on Saturday.CricInfo Series: England SquadClare Connor, Caroline Atkins, Jane Cassar, Sarah Collyer, Laura Harper, Jackie Hawker, Dawn Holden, Hannah Lloyd, Kate Lowe, Lucy Pearson, Nicki Shaw, Claire Taylor, Clare Taylor, Arran Thompson.
It is not difficult to understand why Leeds United were heavily linked with a move for 19-year-old sensation Fabio Carvalho in the January transfer window.
Indeed, the £3.15m-rated attacking midfielder has been in breathtaking form over his 27 Championship appearances for Fulham this season, scoring seven goals, registering six assists and creating ten big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of two shots and making 1.9 key passes per game.
These returns have seen the teenager who Sky Sports analyst Nick Wright dubbed an “extraordinary talent” average an incredibly impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.01, ranking him as Marco Silva’s ninth-best performer in the second tier of English football – playing a key role in the Cottagers’ all but confirmed return to the Premier League.
And, although Victor Orta did spend £26m on support striker Rodrigo back in August 2020, in truth, between Tyler Roberts and the Spain international, Leeds have lacked a truly creative attacking midfielder ever since the departure of Pablo Hernandez.
While it is true that the 36-year-old was probably past his best in 2020/21, being used sparingly by Marcelo Bielsa, the playmaker was influential for the Whites over his 36 appearances in the club’s Championship-winning campaign back in 2019/20.
Indeed, this season, the £270k-rated Spaniard scored nine goals, provided nine assists and created 13 big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 2.1 shots and making 2.3 passes per fixture.
These metrics saw the £19k-per-week midfielder who Phil Hay dubbed both a “demon” and “unreal” earn a quite remarkable seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.35, not only ranking him as Leeds’ best performer in the second tier but also as the third-best player in the division as a whole.
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As such, while a deal for Carvalho – who looks set to become available on a free transfer this summer – may be a difficult move for Orta to pull off, with Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund all being linked with the 19-year-old, it would nevertheless appear essential for the sporting director to do all he can to land the Fulham sensation at the end of the season – as the Portugal U21 international could well prove to become the next Hernandez at Elland Road.
AND in other news: Huge blow: Phil Hay drops 7-word behind the scenes Leeds update, Marsch will be gutted
Jaw-dropping shot of the dayBrendon McCullum briefly threatened to reprise his smash-a-thon. The shot that would have caused the most jaws to drop was the six in the third over, when he pulled Jacob Oram off the front foot, a shot so ferociously struck that it sailed over midwicket for a big six. It was just slightly short but more than enough for McCullum. He had already reclaimed the orange cap from Kumar Sangakkara, an honour bestowed on the highest scorer in the tournament.Double bluffOram got his revenge with the next ball: a fuller one that slightly left the batsman. McCullum’s flick didn’t work and the leading edge ballooned straight up for extra cover. The next ball produced another wicket. It was full and in the slot for the drive but the slightly slower pace undid Ricky Ponting, who drove straight to cover, and fell for his second successive duck of the tournament.Saha runs out of luckWriddhiman Saha paddled, top-edged and tried innovative sweeps to break the shackles. Up against an accurate Manpreet Gony, the medium-pacer, he top-edged a four over the keeper before replicating a similar shot for six, way over the ropes. Gony, visibly frustrated, followed up with a full, quick, in-ducker and was duly rewarded: Saha castled by one that ripped through the yawning gap between bat and pad.Shukla goofs upIt was an unusual way to be run-out but credit must go to the Chennai fielders for thinking on their feet. With two balls to go in the innings, Laxmi Ratan Shukla couldn’t put away a yorker but Ishant strangely seemed intent to get the strike. Dhoni immediately threw the ball back to the bowler (Joginder Sharma) and Ishant had run too far. The bowler, though, didn’t take the bails off immediately and waited for Ishant to start his walk to the pavilion. Once Ishant got into the striker’s end, Dhoni spotted Shukla out of the crease and signalled to Joginder to take the bails off. It prompted Parthiv Patel to rush the bowler and urge him to break the stumps. One batsmen misjudged the run but the other had to go.King Khan missingAfter cheering his side for the first two matches, Shah Rukh Khan was nowhere to be seen today. He and his Bollywood retinue egged on the Kolkata side in their previous match but here they had to make do with Juhi Chawla, the actress, trying her best to cheer them on in the stands.Power one, caress the nextMahendra Singh Dhoni has shown to be a versatile batsman and nothing exemplified it more than his two shots off Shukla towards the end of the run-chase. The first, a wide ball, was slashed away furiously through third man for four before the second, a full one on off, was paddled deliciously past short fine leg. First the grenade, then the flower.
Today was one of Chennai’s less cruel summer days. Although the humidity levels remained high enough to drain the moisture out of you, the sun played hide and seek behind cloudy skies. That said, playing cricket in such weather is tough. Fast bowling in such conditions is tougher and if you’re a big and burly quick with a long run-up and heavy landing, you’re really in for a tough time. But Dilhara Fernando shrugged it all off saying: “It was really hot and was sweaty but we are used to such conditions back home in Sri Lanka.”Fernando hadn’t played the first game at Bangalore because Mashrafe Mortaza was preferred as the third seamer. Brought in for that role today, his responsibility was magnified when Zaheer Khan picked up a niggle after bowling just 2.4 overs. At the 2007 World Cup, Fernando wasn’t picked for Sri Lanka’s first two games against Bermuda and Bangladesh but when he got his chance against India, he delivered a knock-out punch by bowling Sachin Tendulkar for a duck. Today, he used the bouncer, the slower ball that he disguises so cleverly, and the yorker to lethal effect while bagging 4 for 36.Fernando has had trouble controlling the white new ball and perhaps that was why Mahela Jayawardene bowled a couple of overs when Zaheer went off the field, bringing Fernando on only as second change. Fernando kept the ball full in his first over, and tested Vusi Sibanda with a yorker. He produced another boot-crusher to Boeta Dippenaar early in the 13th over, which was dug out for a single. When Sibanda took strike for the next ball, he probably expected another one aimed at the toe, only to be caught unawares by a deadly bouncer.Pitched short on leg stump, it wasn’t short enough to allow the batsman to evade it calmly. Sibanda had backed away towards leg stump but saw the ball rise sharply towards his helmet. With a sharp jolt, he arched out of the way and as he did so, lost balance and fell to the ground. Visibly shaken, he prepared to face Fernando again.Instead of being predictable and following up with a yorker, Fernando bowled another short ball. Sibanda was late on the pull and top-edged it to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Two balls later, a 140 km/hr in-cutter burst through Justin Kemp’s defence and pegged back the off stump.Throughout his spell, Fernando used the heavy ball to gain the extra bit of bounce that unsettled batsmen on a placid pitch. To ensure that he didn’t get too predictable, he varied pace and length regularly. He disguises his slower ball cleverly by spreading his fingers wide on either side of a vertical seam, while delivering it with no perceptible change in action. He set up Mark Boucher with a slow yorker, and followed it up with another slower ball that wasn’t as full. Boucher gotunder it, was too early on the lofted drive and hit it straight to long-on.Fernando then bowled Johan Botha to finish with 4 for 36 off ten overs. Given the heat, an unhelpful pitch and the fact that both teams scored over 300, it was an exemplary performance.
Martin Suji, the Kenya all-rounder, has undergone knee surgery as he fights to regain fitness for the World Cup in the West Indies in 2007.Suji, 35, has played in the last three World Cups but has spent four months on the sidelines after tearing ligaments in his knee. He missed Kenya’s tour of Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in February and March but, after rehabilitation, is expected to resume training with the Kenya squad in a month’s time”I expect to be make a quick recovery,” said Suji. “I will know my exact position whether to resume full training in the next four weeks.”
Ashley Giles returns to competitive action on Tuesday, as he continues his fitness bid ahead of the Ashes, by playing for Warwickshire’s second XI in the Second Eleven Trophy against Glamorgan at Neath.Giles has been battling to recover from a hip problem since Warwickshire’s Championship match against Sussex, at Hove on May 10, and was ruled out of the two-Test series against BangladeshA cortisone injection failed to help Giles but now he will hope to show he is making good progress towards being fit for the five Tests against Australia. If he comes through the Trophy game Giles is targeting another appearance for Warwickshire in the National League meeting with Leicestershire at Edgbaston, on Sunday.Giles told the Press Association: “The plan is to play for Warwickshire seconds at Neath and we’ll then look and see how things are.If it goes well the plan is for me to play in the one-day game against Leicestershire on Sunday.”Giles has been a key part of England’s success during the last 18 months, not only with his left-arm spin but also his punchy lower-order batting. Since the start of last summer Giles has averaged 30 with the ball and 29 with the bat. He also started this summer in fine style, taking 24 Championship wickets before suffering his injury.His comeback comes only days after the former Australia paceman Terry Alderman launched a stinging attack on Giles and described him as the weak link in England’s attack.