West Indies have retained the majority of their Test squad for the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, with the offspinner Amit Jaggernauth the only man cut for the shorter format. The allrounder Kieron Pollard, who played his only one-dayer during last year’s World Cup, has been recalled.The 16-man squad also features two wicketkeepers with Patrick Browne, who was utilised as a specialist batsman during the ODIs against South Africa earlier this year, included alongside Denesh Ramdin. The left-arm spinner Suliemann Benn, who played his first Test at Providence last month, is the only member of the squad yet to make his ODI debut.The legspinner Rawl Lewis, the opening batsman Brenton Parchment and the fast bowler Ravi Rampaul, all of whom featured in the 5-0 loss to South Africa, have not been picked for the upcoming series. Ramnaresh Sarwan was named as vice-captain to Chris Gayle for the three games, which begin in Trinidad on Thursday following a tightly-contested Test series that ended 1-1.Squad Chris Gayle (capt), Devon Smith, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Runako Morton, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Patrick Browne (wk), Darren Sammy, Sulieman Benn, Fidel Edwards, Jerome Taylor, Daren Powell.
Ramnaresh Sarwan described West Indies’ mammoth loss at Headingley as “really sad” and said the players needed to be in a better frame of mind to challenge England at Old Trafford next week. However, he was confident the squad had enough fight in them to put up a decent contest.”It [Headingley] was really sad,” Sarwan told . “We’re making history for the wrong reasons. It was disappointing to know that I couldn’t go out there and help the guys. Having said that, I think they’ve got a lot of fight in them. I’m sure they’re going to give a better performance in the third Test match.”The team’s loss by an innings and 283 runs was their heaviest defeat in Tests and was further soured by the series-ending injury to Sarwan’s AC joint. Their three-day tour match against MCC at Durham would be vital if they were to improve at Old Trafford, Sarwan said.”Going into the next Test match, they need to be in some sort of form and a better frame of mind,” he said. “When I left everyone was pretty upbeat. They were disappointed that we lost. They had a hard training session the following day. They were in the indoor nets and did a bit of training outdoors as well.”Sarwan said he was in pain as he flew home to Guyana to begin his rehabilitation program. “It’s hurting. When I was coming on the flight, I was getting some pain,” he said after touching down at Barbados. “When I got off here, there was some more pain.”
Lancashire have put a brave face on the decision to award an Ashes Test in 2009 to Cardiff rather than Old Trafford, vowing to bounce back from the disappointment. But it is sure to reignite the debate about the future of Old Trafford and a potential move to a new ground at Wigan.Jim Cumbes, the Lancashire president, told PA that the announcement did not signal the beginning of the end. “We still have Test matches in 2007 and 2008 and it’s not the first time we have missed out on an Ashes Test. We bounced back after 2001 and we can do it again.”But he pointed out that some venues – Manchester and Southampton in particular – were operating on an uneven playing field, in that Cardiff was able to rely on backing from the Welsh Assembly and tourist board. “This is a different landscape altogether,” he explained. “It’s not down to the money the ground can generate, it’s what you can generate from the region. It has been clear the decision has been a commercial one.”It’s not that we were a few thousand quid short, apparently we were a long, long way short. The ECB told us we ticked all the right boxes except the one that returned monies to the board and, to be fair to the board, they are under pressure to get the highest amount of money possible.”We were likening it last night to football and Roman Abramovich and you can’t compete financially. We stretched ourselves to the limit to make the best possible bid we could, but Cardiff were into figures we could not possibly match.”To say we are disappointed is an understatement. It’s a massive kick in the teeth for the north west, which is a hotbed of cricket, and of course for the public of the north west.”
ScorecardThe second Test between Sri Lanka A and Pakistan A at Dambulla ended in a draw, despite a late burst of wickets from Malinga Bandara and Jehan Mubarak. An aggressive century from Bazid Khan had given Pakistan a chance of reaching their target of 395.Pakistan were given a solid start to their second innings with an opening stand of 69 between Ashar Zaidi and Bazid, before Mohamed Suraj broke the partnership having Ashar caught by Michael Vandort. Suraj also removed Faisal Athar and at 89 for 2 any thoughts of making an impression on the target looked a long way off.But Bazid was joined by Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, and they added 166 for the third wicket. Misbah played the attacking role, smashing three sixes in his 119-ball 80, until be was caught off Bandara (255 for 3). The fall of Bazid on the same score halted the run chase and the spinners continued to cause problems.Jehan Mubarak removed Faisal Iqbal and Mohammed Asif in quick succession, so it was left to Hasan Raza to guide Pakistan to the draw with an unbeaten 47. The two-match series ended 0-0 following the rain affected first game in Kandy.
James Anderson has been given three days to prove his fitness to England, otherwise he will make an early return home from Sri Lanka.Anderson twisted his right ankle playing squash against James Kirtley ten days ago, and despite early signs of encouragement, he has not recovered as quickly as expected. If he is not able to bowl in the nets by next Tuesday, the day the first Test begins, England will send for a replacement.”We have got to monitor him over three days and if he makes no more progress we will need someone else out here quickly,” said Duncan Fletcher, England’s coach. If Anderson does fail to recover, then Fletcher is likely to call for Martin Saggers, who played in the second Test against Bangladesh, even though James Kirtley was kept on as cover from the one-day squad after Anderson was hurt and Stephen Harmison was ruled out with a bad back.Kirtley boosted his chances of making the side for the first Test after he took five wickets in England’s warm-up match against a board XI. “Kirtley has definitely come into the equation and we will have to think long and hard as to what we are going to go with,” Fletcher pondered. “We have to throw all kind of things into the boiling pot and take a long look at the wicket before we decide.”Fletcher is keen to make sure the squad has plenty of bowling options due to the high risk of injuries playing three back-to-back Tests. Indeed, England have used 11 different opening combinations in Test cricket in the last 12 months.”If we had one injury after this Test match we would need an out-and-out quick bowler on standby,” Fletcher added. “We just can’t seem to have the same unit going into every Test match. It is disruptive because each bowler has an individual role they are trying to develop. At the moment there is no way individuals can learn to develop their game; playing one Test match and then being out for three or four, back in for two.”
Hard work and perseverance pays in any field. And cricket has been nodifferent. Sanjay Bangar finally saw it pay off at the VidarbhaCricket Association stadium at Nagpur on Sunday.Talking to newsmen after the end of the day’s play, the Railways’ allrounder appeared more than satisfied on reaching his first Testcentury against the visiting Zimbabweans. “It was a wonderful feeling.I dedicate this to my mother who is no more and my family members,”said the 29-year-old cricketer from Beed, Maharashtra.Having rung home after the delightful knock, Bangar poignantlyrecollected all the years of hard work, and the support from coachJohn Wright and skipper Sourav Ganguly that helped his cause. “I wouldlike to thank the team management and my captain who have helped mereached my first Test hundred. I was in the nineties when the call fora declaration had arrived. Yet I was given the chance of going in forthe much needed runs before the innings concluded.”It had been quite a struggle for Bangar after having failed to performto his fullest potential in his first Test against the Englishmen atMohali. Having finally made a return to the national side at the costof the latest sensation Virendra Sehwag, Bangar did prove his worth tothe five wise men who make up the BCCI Selection Committee.A prolific run-getter that he has been in the domestic circuit inrecent times, Bangar asserted that “the double century against TamilNadu (in the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals) did boost my confidence.”Bangar also said that he was not under any kind of pressure whileplaying with Sachin Tendulkar. Scoring at a faster clip than themaster batsman, Bangar smashed 12 boundaries and two sixes on his wayto his first Test hundred in just his second Test.”Sachin helped me a lot with minute instructions – where to go forruns, how to be comfortable while at the crease, which bowler to goafter and a few more,” the modest cricketer said.On whether he became nervous at any point of time in the nineties, hestated, “I just went for my shots, it was my day. There wereinstructions to collect as many runs as possible in the next twentyovers and that is exactly what I tried to do.”He accepted that he tried to protect his wicket on Saturday to startafresh on Sunday. “We were already five down and still needed to getsome runs on the board,” he explained.As for the ground, Bangar felt that the VCA had always been lucky forhim.Asked if Sourav Ganguly had under-bowled him in the first innings, heshrugged away the suggestion, saying, “I cannot comment. It was theteam management’s decision.”
Punjab scored a comprehensive 162 run victory over unfancied Jammu andKashmir in the Ranji One-Day clash at the Model Sports Complex inDelhi today. On winning the toss, Punjab skipper Vikram Rathourelected to bat first. This turned out to be the perfect decision. Inthe company of promoted mediumpacer Sandeep Sharma (31), Rathour madea useful 84 (112 balls, 11 fours) at the top of the order.However, it was not the opening stand of 52 that made life difficultfor J&K. Coming in number three, Dinesh Mongia clattered the bowlingto all parts of the ground. The southpaw played one of his finestinnings thus far, making a mammoth 158 off just 116 balls. In thecourse of his assault, he sent the ball skidding across the turf tothe boundary sixteen times and even cleared the ropes on fouroccasions. Adding 145 for the second wicket, the Rathour-Mongiacombine put the match past J&K. Even after Rathour was bowled by VijaySharma, Mongia was unstoppable.The rest of the Punjab team batted around Mongia and reached amatchwinning 320 in fifty overs. Faced with the Herculean task ofchasing 320, J&K collapsed for a meagre 158. Lasting just 41 overs,J&K were never in the hunt. Stumper R Bali at the top of the ordermade 57 opening the batting, but he found no support. Recent IndiaTest cap Sharandeep Singh picked up 3/27 as Punjab crushed J&K.
Aston Villa have been one of the most proactive clubs in the Premier League when it comes to signing new players over the past few years.
However, not every transfer deal which gets mentioned with the Villans ends up coming to fruition.
One example of this which will now be seen as a lucky escape for the club is when they were linked with a move for Milot Rashica before he joined Norwich City from Werder Bremen in a deal worth a reported £9.4m last summer.
Since joining the Norfolk club, the Kosovan – who was praised for taking a “massive leap” in terms of his progression on the pitch by his former boss Florian Kohfeldt – has made 23 appearances for the Canaries in the league but has only scored one goal and provided two assists along the way.
In addition to his lack of consistent goal contributions, the attacker – who is currently picking up £34k-p/w according to Salary Sport, has earned himself an overall performance rating of just 6.48/10, making him the ninth-highest rated player in Norwich’s squad according to WhoScored.
Back in December 2019, Transfermarkt had the winger’s market value listed at £31.5m, the highest it has been throughout his career so far. It now stands at just £7.2m, showing a massive decrease of 77% in little over two years.
With reports suggesting that the Norwich dud actually rejected a move to Villa due to concerns about their ability to remain in the Premier League, it seems this may have come back to bite him as the Canaries are currently rock bottom of the table with just 17 points from 29 league games.
Taking all this into account, it’s safe to say that the Villans and Johan Lange had a lucky escape by not fully pursuing Rashica’s signature when they were linked with him. Based on what he’s done for Norwich this season, it’s hard to see what the 25-year-old would have had to offer at Villa Park if he had made the move there instead.
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Also, with January recruit Philippe Coutinho scoring four goals and providing three assists in just nine league games since his arrival, it’s hard to think that anyone at the Midlands club will since have had too many thoughts about the former Werder Bremen ace, who could well be spending the next campaign in the Championship.
In other news: Lange could seal his next Coutinho as Villa eye up “relentless” £22.5m-rated “machine”
Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan have been left out of Sri Lanka’s 15-man squad for the upcoming ODI series in the West Indies.The 37-year-old Jayasuriya retired from Tests last December, and wished to concentrate on his ODI career. However, he hasn’t had a great run since the World Cup, with only 305 runs in 20 innings, and there was speculation that he would be dropped from the side, especially after his poor performance in the CB Series, where Sri Lanka finished third behind India and Australia.Murali, the leading Test wicket-taker, also didn’t have a great time in Australia, but it is believed that he will be feature only in key ODI tournaments from now on. Murali will play in the two Tests preceding the ODI series in which he will be replaced by offspinner Ajantha Mendis, who with 54 wickets, is the leading wicket-taker in the Premier League Tournament, Sri Lanka’s domestic first-class competition. Mahela Udawatte, the 23-year-old hard-hitting opener, replaces Jayasuriya. Udawatte has been touted as a successor to Jayasuriya.”He [Jayasuriya] did not perform well in Australia,” Ashantha de Mel, Sri Lanka’s chief selector, told . “We have three years to groom a team for the 2011 World Cup and younger players must be given a chance.”Sri Lanka will also be without Lasith Malinga, out with a knee injury, for both the Tests and ODIs in West Indies. Allrounder Kaushalya Weeraratne makes a comeback to the Sri Lankan side. His last ODI was in 2003. Uncapped left-arm fast bowler Thilan Thushara, who was picked for the Tests, also finds a place in the ODI squad.Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Kulasekara and Ishara Amerasinghe are the other fast bowlers in the squad, while Malinga Bandara is the other spinner alongside Mendis. Besides Weeraratne, Chamara Kapugedera and Tillakaratne Dilshan are the other all-round options available to captain Mahela Jayawardene.Sri Lanka ODI squad: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chaminda Vaas, Chamara Silva, Upul Tharanga, Chamara Kapugedera, Malinga Bandara, Kaushalya Weeraratne, Nuwan Kulasekara, Ajantha Mendis, Jehan Mubarak, Ishara Amerasinghe, Mahela Udawatte, Thilan Thushara.
Mickey Arthur and Graeme Smith, the South Africa coach and captain, have had their contracts renewed by the South Africa board today for a further two years.Since returning from the World Cup in the Caribbean, following their disappointing semi-final against Australia, the criticism aimed at the coach has been unrelenting, but the board have put their faith in him.”The board wants to keep building morale so that we can get the Proteas where we want them to be – the best in the world,” Gerald Majola, Cricket South Africa’s chief executive, said. “We believe that Graeme and Mickey can do the job at hand. Mickey presented his World Cup report to the board today, and we all agreed that the reasons behind the inconsistent performances of the Proteas needed to be addressed.”But Majola has stirred up the debate surrounding South Africa’s apparent mental weaknesses, an argument which many feel is the underlying problem of the team’s inability to beat Australia consistently. Especially in World Cups. To that end, the new role of team manager has been created.”Among these reasons are a lack of maturity among some senior players,” Majola said, “and a lack of the consistent mental toughness that is needed to take the Proteas successfully through an arduous World Cup. The board decided that among the measures to be taken will be the appointment of a team manager, in addition to the logistics manager.”We are going to draw up a profile and job description and then make the appointment as soon as possible,” he said. “The team manager must provide leadership qualities that will enhance the team and assist the captain and coach on matters such as mental toughness, discipline and public affairs.”A Cricket South Africa spokesman told Cricinfo that Smith’s role as captain “was more than just a job” and that his responsibilities off the field created an added burden. The role of team manager is aimed at alleviating some of those pressuresMajola said South Africa would now starting building for the future. “We will begin work immediately on planning for the next two seasons which includes the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa in September and the series next year against England and Australia.”We will also be continuing our efforts to build maturity in our emerging players, so that they fully understand both the rigours and the ethos of the international game.”