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Marlon Samuels slammed a century and then picked up two wickets to power the West Indians to a comprehensive victory over a Bangladesh Cricket Board XI

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Oct-2011
Scorecard
Marlon Samuels raised his maiden Twenty20 century•Associated PressMarlon Samuels slammed a century and then picked up two wickets to power the West Indians to a comprehensive victory over a Bangladesh Cricket Board XI in a Twenty20 match in Fatullah. This was their last practice game before the series against Bangladesh kicks off on Tuesday.After choosing to bat, the visitors lost their openers early – Adrian Barath caught at gully for 4 and Lendl Simmons was dismissed for 12. There was little joy for BCB XI after that as Samuels and Andre Russell muscled 102 runs in little more than 10 overs. Samuels got his half-century off 33 deliveries with a drive to long-off while Russell reached his off 31 with a six over long-on. Samuels was explosive in the final four overs of the innings, blasting 41 runs including successive sixes in the penultimate over to take the West Indians to a challenging 195.BCB XI rarely looked likely to chase down the tall target, especially after Darren Sammy removed both openers cheaply. Their captain Shahriar Nafees and No. 4 Raqibul Hasan then made 20s but their scoring-rate wasn’t rapid enough. The home side reached 71 for 3 in ten overs, but were further robbed of momentum after that as the West Indian spinners struck – only 16 runs came in the next five overs and the match was effectively over.

ScorecardScott Styris was star of the show as Essex crushed Gloucestershire by 122 runs in their Friends Life t20 clash at Chelmsford.He struck an unbeaten 39 from just 17 deliveries to lead his side to a formidable total of 204 for 4. Then he underlined his all-round qualities by picking up 3 for 12 as the visitors were bowled out for a miserable 82 in 13.3 overs.Styris and Ryan ten Doeschate put together an unbroken partnership of 71 in five overs at the end of the Essex innings. Styris struck four successive sixes off left-arm seamer David Payne, while ten Doeschate joined in the fun with 32 from 16 balls as he helped himself to four fours and a six.Their efforts followed a partnership of 85 for the fifth wicket in nine overs between Ravi Bopara and Owais Shah. Bopara fell one short of a half-century, his runs arriving from 36 deliveries, while Shah’s 40 came from 30 balls before both were dismissed in the same over by left-arm spinner Ed Young.It all proved too much for Gloucestershire. They seemed to be still shellshocked by the late onslaught from Styris and ten Doeschate when they embarked upon their reply. Their first three batsmen failed to trouble the scores, New Zealander Tim Southee removing Alex Gidman and Chris Taylor with successive balls in his first over.Then Graham Napier bowled Hamish Marshall to leave the visitors 4 for 3, all of those runs coming in extras. From that moment onwards, the best the visitors could hope for was some semblance of respectability.But even that was to prove beyond them as the Essex bowlers, backed up by some fine fielding, turned the screw. Two more wickets fell before the 50 was raised, in the ninth over.Kane Williamson hauled out on the midwicket boundary to Bopara to provide Chris Wright with success before left-arm spinner Tim Phillips bowled Kevin O’Brien. Phillips then breached the defence of Will Gidman immediately afterwards, and the innings went from bad to worse as Essex went on their destructive course.Styris was to pick up two wickets in an over, and fittingly, it was he who brought the match to an end when he had Richard Coughtrie caught by Matt Walker. It left Gloucestershire suffering their second heavy defeat in as many days, following on from their eight-wicket thrashing at the hands of Surrey.For Essex, it was their first victory of the campaign, after their defeat 24 hours earlier against Sussex.

MatériaMais Notícias

Pela 3ª rodada da Série B, CSA e Oeste se enfrentam no estádio Rei Pelé em busca da recuperação. As duas equipes têm campanhas idênticas. Em duas partidas, cada um ganhou e perdeu uma partida, o que só aumenta a expectativa pelo confronto.

Após estrear com o pé direito na Série B, o CSA tropeçou na última rodada e nesta sexta-feira quer reencontrar o caminho das vitórias. Para isso, o Azulão poderá contar com o atacante Walter, recém-contratado junto ao Paysandu.

Dentro do elenco, o otimismo impera e o meia Daniel Costa espera que o time coloque seu ritmo de jogo e some três pontos importantes na tabela.

Do outro lado a expectativa do Oeste é gigantesca. Assim como o rival, o time paulista também foi superado na rodada passada e quer conquistar pontos importantes para não perder contato com a parte de cima da tabela.

RelacionadasFutebol NacionalDe virada, São Bento bate CSA e conquista a primeira vitória na Série BFutebol Nacional20/04/2018Futebol NacionalJuventude abre vantagem, mas cede empate ao OesteFutebol Nacional20/04/2018

CSA e Oeste se enfrentam nesta sexta-feira, a partir das 20h30 (horário de Brasília).

United States of America got their Division Three campaign off to a winning start, a dominant batting performance sealing a seven-wicket win over hosts Hong Kong at Kowloon Cricket Club.USA captain Steve Massiah was the chief architect of their win, contributing to his team’s efforts at crucial times. His first success was to call correctly at the toss on a cold, grey morning. Seamer Kevin Darlington struck twice in his opening spell, removing Courtney Kruger and Hussain Butt inside the first 10 overs.After a brief rally, 16-year-old Mark Chapman and Irfan Ahmed departed to leave Hong Kong tottering at 59 for 4 before opener Roy Lamsam and Nizakat Khan repaired the damage with a 99-run stand. Enter Massiah, swooping to run Lamsam out for 83. Despite a flurry of wickets, Hong Kong captain Najeeb Amar defied the Americans with a no-holds-barred 63 that included six sixes and carried his side to a competitive 256 for 9.Massiah and wicketkeeper Carl Wright weathered the loss of Orlando Baker early in USA’s chase to put together a decisive 109-run partnership in quick time. Massiah was content to play the anchor role in their stand, with Wright thrashing seven fours and six sixes in his 82 before offering legspinner Khan a caught-and-bowled chance in the 32nd over.Massiah then stepped up the tempo significantly with Sushil Nadkarni his partner at the crease. With Nadkarni adding 38 at better than a-run-a-ball before he was dismissed, Massiah’s well-paced innings couldn’t quite reach three figures as he finished on 97 not out when victory was reached with an over and a half to spare.”It’s fantastic to start the tournament off with a victory and we had some solid batting performances today with Carl Wright and myself contributing to our victory,” said Massiah, who was named Man of the Match. “However good it feels to start with a win we definitely cannot rest on our laurels. Tomorrow we’re playing Denmark and they’ll be looking for a win after losing to Italy today, we can’t afford to lose focus.”Italy’s batting performance against Denmark was similarly impressive, Peter Petricola putting in a match-winning all-round performance to set up a seven-wicket win for the Italians at Hong Kong Cricket Club.Alessandro Bonora’s side limited Denmark to 227, Petricola effecting a run out and picking up two wickets with his medium pace. Rizwan Mahmood’s half-century formed the backbone of Denmark’s innings, and although four of the top seven batsmen got starts none were able to really push on as Dilan Fernando’s seamers also resulted in three wickets.With the sun slowly beginning to break through a heavy bank of cloud as Italy began their chase, openers Andy Northcote and Damien Fernando combined to make 87 runs at a steady pace before Fernando was trapped in front of his stumps for 45. Denmark chipped away to reduce Italy to 130 for 3 but Petricola and Damien Crowley fought back in impressive style, both reaching unbeaten half-centuries to seal the result in the 45th over.”It’s obviously great to win on the opening day of the event and carry on the good form I had in Italy last summer,” said Petricola. “We were a little bit scratchy to begin with but we stepped up to the plate with a few good performances to get us over the line but today was by no means a complete performance by us.”The Danes are a solid side and are very competitive while also playing with good spirit. They definitely challenged us as a side. They were good but at the end of the day we gave a good enough performance to walk away with the important winning points on day one.”In the third game of the day, at Mission Road, Rarva Dikana’s Papua New Guinea opened their tournament with a 39-run win over Oman despite a hard-fought century from Omani captain Hemal Mehta. His innings was not enough to help his side recover after Hitolo Areni knocked the stuffing out of their top order with an early hat-trick.PNG had Chris Kent and Kila Pala to thank after their half-centuries prompted a recovery after a top-order collapse had reduced the side to 27 for 4, Hemin Desai’s seamers doing the bulk of the damage as he ripped out three of the top four and eventually finished with figures of 4 for 50. Kent struck 68 before being caught and bowled by Mehta while Pala struck a run-a-ball 77 as PNG reached 248 for 9.With a competitive total set, PNG set about dismissing the Omanis in style with Areni leading the way with a stellar performance. The 30-year-old fast bowler started by dismissing Deep Trivedi, with wicketkeeper Jack Vare snaffling a catch behind the stumps, while the second two wickets of Adnan Ilyas and Sultan Ahmed came from some nifty fielding at first slip by Dikana.Mehta made a valiant effort in an attempt to save his side from defeat, striking the first century of the tournament, but his hard work was in vain as the side fell short of the target by 39 runs and PNG’s bowlers cleaned up the tail.”I’m really pleased to have taken a hat-trick today and to help my side to our first win of the tournament,” said Areni. I’ve recently broken back into the national side and it feels good to see my hard work paying off today but it was very much a team effort today.”We’ve another game tomorrow and we can’t rest on today’s win, we need make sure we carry this through and hopefully I can continue to contribute to help us win.””We had a great start against PNG and then we dropped two catches in a span of three overs which made the difference in the first innings where they managed to get a long partnership in place,” explained Mehta”I have to say our bowlers did work hard today to try and limit the runs, with Desai and Ranpura our seamers taking four wickets to dismiss most of the top order. But we let things slip to allow them to set up their major partnership and wickets only began to fall again after our spinner Khalid Rashid stepped in.”The partnership myself and Vaibhav Wategaonkar built was decent and if we’d had another two players contribute 30-odd runs each alongside myself things may have turned out differently. Areni put us on the back foot when he took three key wickets and unfortunately I couldn’t steady the ship on my own.”The tournament continues on Sunday, with Oman playing Hong Kong at KCC, Italy facing PNG at HKCC and USA taking on Denmark at Mission Road.

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, the former India captain, has asked serious questions of the BCCI’s standing in world cricket

Akhila Ranganna in Delhi15-Dec-2010

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, the former India captain, has said the BCCI – which in his words is “in a mess” over the IPL – no longer enjoys the goodwill it once did in the global cricket community and the time had come for it to back its financial clout with moral leadership.”The ICC may well be the voice of cricket; the BCCI is an invoice,” Pataudi said in New Delhi at an event commemorating the 75th birth anniversary of former board chief Raj Singh Dungarpur. “We would like to see a more proactive, more eloquent and a more constructive BCCI in world matters. It is of course a democratically elected body and we are fine with that. But it keeps its doors very closed so that none of us actually know what is happening behind closed doors.”The BCCI’s financial growth in the last two decades has however, he indicated, not been matched by the goodwill it had enjoyed in the world during the Packer crisis. “When Kerry Packer arrived on the scene, going back a few years, there was a huge shake-up in world-cricket administration. But at that time India and Indian cricket earned a huge amount of goodwill and gratitude.”He said “not a single Indian cricketer” had signed with Packer even as “the English captain was surreptitiously recruiting for Kerry. Not only that, but India was host to a number of, what I would call, second-rate teams, but to full houses. A lot of money was made and shared between the countries and cricket survived. Whether that goodwill still continues with the BCCI I am not quite sure.”The board’s handling of the IPL’s current controversies and legal disputes would be closely observed, Pataudi said. “Today the BCCI is facing a crisis. It has got involved in the complexity and the complications of the IPL and the debris left behind by Lalit Modi. The world is watching how well it can climb out of this mess.”Pataudi had refused to be part of the IPL governing council this October after it was reconstituted by the BCCI, which made memberships honorary as opposed to paid roles, as was the case earlier.One of the key areas where Pataudi felt the BCCI needed to show leadership was in the development of more stringent laws pertaining to illegal betting in India. “Everybody said the money [in the spot-fixing allegations] emanated from India. That is an accusation that hurts but it rings true, especially for those of us who live in this country and have been reading about the scams that have been taking place in the last few days and weeks; it is quite possible to believe the kind of money that is generated illegally in this country,” he said.Mazhar Majeed, a player agent who is at the centre of the spot-fixing allegations involving Pakistani cricketers, claimed to have links with Indian bookies. Hansie Cronje, the former South African captain, had told the King Commission in 2000 that he had received money from Indian bookmakers for information on team selection and daily forecasts in the mid-1990s.There have been calls to legalise betting in India. Most recently, a Delhi court, in October, said, “It is high time that our legislature seriously considers legalising the entire system of betting online or otherwise so that enough revenues can be generated to fund various infrastructural requirements for the common man and thus check the lucrative business in organised crime.”Pataudi called on politicians within the BCCI to work towards tightening laws concerning illegal betting. Rajiv Shukla and Arun Jaitley, currently vice-presidents in the BCCI, are also key figures in the Indian Parliament. Jyotiraditya Scindia, a Minister of State, is the president of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, and along with Jaitley, is part of the three-member disciplinary committee looking into the ongoing investigations into the IPL. “The BCCI itself has several central cabinet ministers, it has leaders in the opposition; it can certainly lobby for more stringent laws. Lobbying continues in this country as indeed it does everywhere in the world,” Pataudi said.

Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh maintained their sang froid to get India close before the adventurous Suresh Raina sealed the win in style

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera20-Oct-2010India 292 for 5 (Kohli 118, Raina 71*, Yuvraj 58) beat Australia 289 for 3 (Clarke 111*, White 89*, Hussey 69) by five wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsVirat Kohli’s calm century shepherded the chase•AFP

The target of 290 appeared to be stiff, especially when India were wobbling at 35 for 2 in the ninth over, but Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh maintained their sangfroid to get India close before the adventurous Suresh Raina sealed the win in style. Kohli, in particular, impressed. He not only lost Yuvraj in the 34th over with India still 118 runs adrift of the target but also, by then, was suffering from severe cramps and was forced to bat with a runner. If those hurdles fazed him, he didn’t show it and went on to clinch the game in the company of Raina.The chase mirrored Australia’s innings to an extent. Australia had also started slowly before they consolidated, courtesy of a fine 144-run partnership between Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey, to 205 for 3 from 45 overs, before exploding in the end. Australia looted 84 runs in the final five overs with Cameron White whacking 70 in his last 24 deliveries. Australia might have felt they had enough in the bank but Kohli pulled off a cool heist.Kohli’s personal big moment came in the 42nd over when he brought up his century with a crisp square-drive and screamed with glee. And the game was all but over in the 43rd over when Kohli swung Clint Mckay for two fours and a massive heaved six over long-on. After that shot, even his limp towards square leg seemed to acquire a swagger. It was indeed a special night for Kohli who has now moved ahead of Rohit Sharma in the pecking order.Kohli’s nerves, if he had any, must have eased after Raina collected 17 from the 38th over of the innings, bowled by James Hopes. He struck three fours -a glanced boundary preceded two mows to the wide midwicket boundary – to reduce the target to 81 from 12 overs. And when Raina picked up two more fours in the 40th over, India required 66 runs from the final 10 and they did it without much fuss. Though India soon lost Kohli, who holed out to long-on, and MS Dhoni, Raina guided them home.The chase stood out for India’s calm approach. They initially chose to conserve wickets and reserved their assault for the second half of the chase. At the half-way mark they had reached 117 for the loss of the openers and required another 173 runs.Smart Stats

The unbeaten 129-run stand between Michael Clarke and Cameron White was the highest fourth-wicket partnership for Australia against India.

This was Michael Clarke’s fifth century in ODIs and second against India. He has remained unbeaten on four of these occasions

Cameron White hit six sixes during his knock of 89 which was the third highest by an Australian batsman against India. He scored his last 70 runs off just 24 balls.

The 84 runs scored off the final five overs by Australia is the third-highest last five-over aggregate since 2000.

This was Australia’s 20th score of over 250 in the first innings in India. They have won on 17 of the previous 19 occasions.

The 137-run partnership for the third wicket between Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh was the second-highest for India against Australia.

This win was MS Dhoni’s 50th as captain putting him third on the list of Indian captains with most ODI wins.

As you would expect with such an asking run-rate, Kohli and Yuvraj did play a few big shots to ease the pressure. Kohli pulled the 20-year old debutant Mitchell Starc for a four before flicking and square-driving John Hastings, another debutant, for successive boundaries. Yuvraj whiplashed Hastings over midwicket, lifted Starc to the straight boundary and swept Nathan Hauritz for another four.Australia tried to keep it tight, with the seamers hitting the back of length and bowling as straight as possible. However, the errors in line and length started to creep in as the pressure increased, and with the spinners proving to be ineffective, Kohli and Yuvraj cruised along. The pitch had quickened up as the evening wore on and the ball started to come on nicely to the bat which also helped India’s cause.This change in nature of the wicket had helped Australia too at the end of their innings. It was ruthless violence in the end, but the Australian innings had three distinct phases. They crawled to 16 for 2 in eight overs; they then consolidated to 205 for 3 from 45, before finishing off in style.White swung Praveen Kumar for two sixes to the straight boundary in the 48th over before he bossed Vinay Kumar in some style. There were four massive sixes against the hapless bowler spread over two overs. He cleared the front foot and walloped a full-pitched delivery to the straight boundary for the first six. The second fell into the second tier over long-on and the third was swiped over the midwicket boundary. The fourth, off the final ball of the innings, showcased his skill: It was yet another full toss and he swat-flicked it over the wide midwicket boundary.It would be tempting to focus solely on the surge in the last five overs but it was all set up by a superb stand between Hussey and Clarke. It was Hussey who increased the run-flow with three crisp boundaries by the 10th over. An inspired Clarke soon produced the shot of the afternoon: a classy on-the-up punchy drive past Praveen that defied the slow pitch.It was a mature show from Clarke; there might have been a temptation to try taking risks and worrying about the ideal target to set but he seemed very clear in his head about the way ahead. You felt all along the afternoon that Clarke was waiting for the batting Powerplay and he cashed in style. He crashed Vinay to the cover boundary before nearly decapitating the umpire Billy Bowden with a powerful straight drive. It was around this time that he handed the baton to White. Their efforts didn’t prove enough, though.

Following the latest match-fixing allegations to emerge on Sunday Yasir Hameed attended the Pakistan High Commission in London to explain his comments. He spent four hours with officials before issuing this statement

Cricinfo staff05-Sep-2010I would like to respond to comments attributed to me by the News of the World today. I wish to stress I have never been approached by the NOTW and neither did I approach anyone connected with the to disclose any allegations concerning the Pakistan cricket team or any other players.The incident which was largely inaccurately reported in the News of the World today was when I was having dinner with a friend at the Holiday Inn Nottingham on the evening of Monday 30th August 2010. I was then approached by a man who introduced himself as Abid Khan and offered that he would arrange a sponsorship deal for me with ETIHAD Airways. I have now seen a photograph of the so called Abid Khan and have discovered that he is Mazhar Mahmood.Naturally I was interested in what he had to say and we began conversation. He offered me at least £50,000 for the deal, which was for 6″x3″ ETIHAD sticker at the back of the cricket bat plus TV and billboard advertisements in the UAE. He also asked me for names of 4 more players who may be interested in a similar deal I thought of Umar Gul, Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal and Fawad Alam.I also called Umar Gul during this conversation to tell him about this potential contract deal and he agreed that I should continue with the negotiations. Then Abid Khan started asking about the current match fixing allegations and as I saw him as a friend and a potential agent I naively started to answer his questions. He asked me about the match fixing allegations against the current 3 Pakistani players and if I had any further knowledge. As far as I can recall I only told him whatever I had already read in the newspapers about this matter.It seems that Abid had a hidden camera which I was totally unaware of. I then left the hotel with my friend and came back to where I was staying. Two days later Abid then called me and offered me £25,000 to give a statement against the 3 current players under investigation, which I immediately refused and put the phone down. I neither called nor answered any calls from Abid after this conversation. When News of the World released my conversation, which Abid Khan recorded without me knowing about it, I was contacted by the media in Pakistan to confirm if I gave the statement to the NOTW, I denied categorically as explained above that this was not the case. Subsequently, I received a text message from Abid Khan from his number 0** **** ***6, which I found to be intimidating as reflected in his message reproduced below:However, I decided not to respond or react. I brought the matter to the attention of PCB.

Match facts

September 12, 2010, Headingley
Start time 10.15am (9.15am GMT)Despite a disappointing summer with the bat, Umar Akmal has the ability to inject life into the one-day series•Getty Images

Big picture

While it seems that nothing could rid the backdrop of spot-fixing allegations from this series, the lingering hope is that a keen contest between these two sides might at least provide a moment of relief. The abject nature of Pakistan’s pair of defeats in the Twenty20 series, played in front of half-empty stands at Cardiff, left a fear that the one-day series could descend into a more unappetising farce than even the seven-match trudge against Australia at the end of last summer. Thankfully, without really threatening England, Pakistan still demonstrated enough spirit and backbone in the first game to keep their fans hoping.The much-hyped introduction of enormous paceman Mohammad Irfan may have failed to match the billing but the veteran Shoaib Akthar sweated through an impressive opening spell and provided enough of a test to keep England’s batsmen hopping. Saeed Ajmal continued to weave the confusion that has hounded England all summer and most significantly, Pakistan’s fielding was smart and at times – such as Umar Akmal’s direct-hit from the outfield to dismiss Tim Bresnan – positively sharp.The batting too was much improved. Kamran Akmal managed his first decent performance of a chastening summer, while his brother Umar flickered with his abundant talent once again and there were spirited contributions throughout the order. It was enough for Andrew Strauss to unleash that most trite of clichés by declaring after the match that “cricket was the winner”. Though It speaks volumes for how low Pakistan had sunk that a comfortable England win was seen as progress, another improvement at Edgbaston could put the teams on more equal footing.England, for their part, are quietly piecing together a team to challenge for the World Cup in February. Their limited-overs cricket has improved beyond recognition since the 6-1 drubbing at the hands of Australia last summer, and the World Twenty20 champions have now won four ODI series in a row and show no signs of stopping.The demand for continual improvement saw Craig Kieswetter dumped out of the team for Steve Davies as the England management set a clear challenge – perform now and book your place for the World Cup. Davies’ response was perfect, striking the ball sweetly to race to 87 from 67 deliveries and both earn the Man-of-the-Match award and high praise from his captain. Alongside him Ravi Bopara’s international rehabilitation continued with a breezy unbeaten 37 to finish the innings. Both still have plenty to prove and that context alone gives England supporters something to follow.

Form guide (last five completed matches)

England WWLWL
Pakistan LWLLLL

Watch out for…

Such is his style, Paul Collingwood’s contributions in England’s middle-order can often be overshadowed by his more flamboyant team-mates. But since England’s triumph against Australia earlier this summer, his returns have dipped noticeably and he is due a score in one-day cricket. Positive starts in the second Twenty20 and first ODI against Pakistan – including a dismissive flick over the square leg boundary after charging Shoaib Akhtar in Cardiff – gave a hint of his enduring ability in limited-overs cricket.Before his inexplicable brainwrong at Chester-le-Street, Umar Akmal had threatened to take the game away from England singlehandedly with an array of attacking cricket shots. There is no doubt that the younger Akmal oozes talent, but if Pakistan are to reverse their slide this summer they will need more than attractive cameos from him. Though he is only 20 years old, the sooner Akmal finds the level-head to take responsibility for the middle order, the better.

Team news

England rung the changes for this series and after starting on a winning note they are likely to stick with the chosen XI to deliver the goods again.England (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Steve Davies (wk), 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Ravi Bopara, 7 Tim Bresnan, 8 Michael Yardy, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James AndersonPakistan’s improvement was palpable but Umar Gul’s below-par showing at Chester-le-Street could tempt them to recall Abdul Razzaq to bolster the batting as well.Pakistan (possible) 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Kamran Akmal (wk), 3 Mohammad Yousuf, 4 Umar Akmal, 5 Shahid Afridi (capt), 6 Fawad Alam, 7 Asad Shafiq, 8 Umar Gul, 9 Mohammad Irfan, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Shoaib Akhtar.

Pitch and conditions

The Headingley wicket is variable, and – particularly when there is cloud cover – aids seam bowling. Recent matches at the ground have shown that there are runs to be had when the sun shines, however, and Alastair Cook cracked an aggressive unbeaten hundred in a seven-wicket win over Yorkshire in the CB 40 last weekend. With a reasonably sunny day expected tomorrow, this could be a game for the batsmen.

Stats and Trivia

• Shahid Afridi hasn’t looked in particularly good nick since returning to Pakistan’s squad for the limited-overs leg of their tour, which may be an indication of how much of an effect outside events have had on team morale. Afridi has scratched together just 37 runs in three international innings since his return without clearing the ropes once, but he’s still international cricket’s leading six-hitter in ODIs this year, and also still tops the lists for highest strike-rate in an innings. After his hundreds against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Dambulla just over two months ago, much more is expected of Pakistan’s captain.
• Jonathan Trott’s fantastic run of form this summer has brought him 942 runs in home internationals in 2010 at the inflated average of 85.63. He has registered two Test hundreds, one in ODIs, and in matches in which England have won he averages a round 100.

Quotes

The two games I played previously, one was when Matty [Prior] was out and the other was just a one-off Twenty20. But I feel this is now my time. It’s a great chance for me.”

“We all want to go home with respect. We are good cricketers and want to maintain our respect and that is gained by playing good cricket. After a victory the respect will come again.”

The Athletic’s Celtic correspondent Kieran Devlin has refused to rule out the possibility of Johnny Kenny breaking into the first team before the end of the campaign.

The Lowdown: Kenny arrival

The Hoops pipped Hibernian to Kenny’s services earlier this month, with the 18-year-old joining from Sligo Rovers in a deal worth £135,000.

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Hailed as ‘really important’ by Sligo manager Liam Buckley, Kenny scored 12 times in 34 senior appearances for his former club before penning a five-year deal at Celtic Park.

Celtic didn’t specify where Kenny would initially feature when announcing the transfer, although he is yet to make a matchday squad under Ange Postecoglou.

The Latest: Devlin’s claim

Devlin ran a Q&A on The Athletic for Celtic’s Scottish Cup game with Alloa on Saturday and was asked by one supporter before the match if Kenny could break into Postecoglou’s first-team plans or if he was mainly for the club’s B team.

The journalist didn’t rule out a possible breakthrough for the teenager before the end of the season, saying: “I understand he was signed first and foremost for the Bs, but who knows what the season holds further down the line. Depends how well he trains.”

The Verdict: Interesting…

Kenny already has a proven goalscoring record at senior level, albeit in the League of Ireland, so it wouldn’t come as a surprise if he were making the matchday squad before the season comes to an end.

Should Albian Ajeti leave the club before the month is out, as is expected, Kenny would be one of just two out-and-out centre-forwards at the club alongside Georgios Giakoumakis.

The Hoops have also had terrible luck with injuries this season, with star forward Kyogo Furuhashi currently out, so if Kenny stays fit and firing for the B team, then he may well get his chance under Postecoglou in the next few months.

In other news: ‘Absolute travesty’ – Journalist reacts as Celtic swoop for Jota now in ‘doubt’

Leeds United have been boosted in their attempts to sign Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia this summer, according to a new transfer report.

The Lowdown: Winger’s complex situation

The 21-year-old has been plying his trade at Russian side Rubin Kazan since 2019, scoring nine goals and registering 18 assists for the club, drawing praise as a ‘very interesting’ transfer target by Sky Germany reporter Max Bielefeld.

Due to the ongoing situation regarding Russia, Kvaratskhelia was granted a move out of the country earlier this month, joining Georgian side Dinamo Batumi.

It looks as though Leeds are now eyeing up a summer move for the youngster, however, following an update regarding his future.

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The Latest: Leeds boosted in fresh update

According to Il Mattino [via Sport Witness], it is ‘Leeds above all’ when it comes to who could potentially sign Kvaratskhelia in the summer, ahead of Tottenham and Napoli.

With the player cutting all ties with Rubin Kazan, the situation could be made easier for the Whites, in terms of getting their man.

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The Verdict: One for the present and future

At 21, Kvaratskhelia is a player who is still clearly developing but he has already become a key player for Georgia, scoring five goals in just 12 caps for his country.

Predominantly a left-sided attacking player, he could be considered an upgrade on Jack Harrison and Dan James, adding an extra spark in the final third.

The £14.4million-rated Kvaratskhelia’s aforementioned end product certainly speaks for itself and that is hopefully something that would become even more prolific as he matures as a footballer, potentially blossoming under Jesse Marsch.

In other news, Phil Hay has dropped a concerning claim regarding one Leeds player. Read more here.