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AB de Villiers has moved to douse speculation of a hostile homecoming for Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott

Alex Brown03-Nov-2009

South African batsman AB de Villiers has moved to douse speculation of a hostile homecoming for Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott by insisting South African crowds will not turn on their one-time countrymen. Pietersen and Trott, both of whom played their junior cricket in South Africa before taking the Kolpak route, arrived in Bloemfontein this week with the England team ahead of a two and a half month tour expected to test both mettle and skill.Pietersen was subjected to torrents of abuse from South African crowds on his maiden one-day tour with England five years ago, and Andy Flower, the England team director, has predicted Trott could face a similar grilling this summer. de Villiers, too, expected England’s South African contingent to face their share of jeering from local spectators, but did not believe a line would be crossed.”Like any other touring side they’ll obviously get some boos and the normal kind of stuff,” de Villiers told Cricinfo’s Switch-Hit podcast. “I don’t think they’ll get a bad reception. Obviously because they’re South Africans who went over there and did pretty well, the guys will react a little bit more towards KP and Jonathan Trott, but I don’t think in a bad way. The crowd obviously want us to win, but I don’t think it will be too bad.”Obviously there are a few South Africans involved (in the England squad). I would like to give credit to them – obviously they’ve made a big decision in their careers to go over there. Well done to all the South Africans who have come through there. It will be interesting to play against them now. When you walk across the boundary rope it’s England against South Africa and that’s all that matters.”de Villiers was in sublime form during his most recent Test assignment – a six-game home-and-away series against Australia, during which he scored 600 runs at an average of 75. The right-hander was one of the few South African batsmen to consistently repel the hard-charging Mitchell Johnson, and went far towards ending the fledgling career of Bryce McGain, Australia’s great wrist-spinning hope, with a brutal innings of 163 in his last outing at Newlands.Having watched the Ashes series with interest, de Villiers predicts South Africa’s batsmen will face a tough challenge from England’s youthful fast-bowling line-up. Familiar names such as Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison may not feature in England’s touring party, but de Villiers believes the likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad could thrive in the pacier conditions of South Africa.”England beating Australia is a little bit of added pressure on us, but we’ve got the team, the talent and the potential to handle that,” he said. “I think they’ve got a very talented bowling line-up. Losing a guy like Flintoff was a big loss, but they had quite a few youngsters put their hand up in the Ashes. Anderson and Broad have done extremely well.”I rate (Harmison) as a class bowler and it’s disappointing not to see him in the squad, but some of the youngsters have put their hands up and it makes sense that they are in the squad above Harmison. Anderson and Broad had amazing (Ashes) series and it will be interesting to see them over here with a bit of swing in these kind of conditions in South Africa it’s going to be a big challenge for our batters.”South Africa’s poor showing before their home fans at the Champions Trophy tournament had provided added incentive for a strong showing against England, de Villiers added. “Obviously it was very disappointing over here in South Africa to let ourselves down,” he said. “We played some very, very poor cricket. We know where we went wrong but we’ll definitely assess on Friday when we get together before our game against Zimbabwe. We’ve got a point to prove now.”

Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa finally got his man in the summer but it’s safe to say, things have not gone to plan for Daniel James at Elland Road.

The 23-year-old nearly joined the Yorkshire giants from Swansea City in January 2019, having successfully completed a medical. He was even pictured holding up the Whites shirt ahead of an official announcement.

However, the move fell through at the last minute after Swans chairman Huw Jenkins blocked it. He would have cost just £10m but 18 months later, Victor Orta and co have had to fork out triple that at a club-record £30m, meaning Manchester United doubled their money.

Truth be told, the Red Devils were probably laughing their way to the bank as the Wales international never looked like setting the ground alight at Old Trafford, nor has he made any sort of improvement at his new club.

Leeds’ season has hardly gone to plan with Bielsa’s men sat 15th in the standings, only three points above the drop zone. An early worry because they finished inside the top ten last season and chairman Andrea Radrizzani has ambitions to challenge for a place in the top-six.

The Yorkshiremen have only managed to average one goal per game despite sitting inside the best six clubs for number of shots per game (14.3), so that only goes to show where their problem may lie.

Attacking players like James aren’t doing their job at all and that much is evident in the fact that he currently ranks as one of Bielsa’s three-worst performers in the squad (five or more league starts), as per WhoScored.

Only Jack Harrison (6.33) and fellow summer signing Junior Firpo (6.29) have a worse average rating than the Welshman (6.36).

His returns are pretty disastrous, too.

James has only averaged 0.8 dribbles per game, meaning he isn’t getting up and down the flanks to great success at all. Similarly, four other players are managing more shots per game (1.6) and he’s not being very creative, having recorded only 0.4 key passes per game – the lowest of any attack-minded star, as per WhoScored.

There’s certainly a case to be made that Bielsa’s summer arrival is holding them back right now and the decision to let Helder Costa leave is becoming quite questionable.

The £16.2m-rated dynamo was once lauded as “explosive” and “so fast” by former United teammate Andreas Pereira, but he has failed to show why Leeds invested heavily in his services so far this season.

All pace with little end product and a severe lack of creativity, the lightweight just isn’t good enough to start right now. He must be brutally axed after the international break.

AND in other news, 49ers could be targeting full Leeds United control, says reliable journalist…

Otago Volts coach Mike Hesson has said his team is fully capable of pulling off an upset or two in the Champions League in India next month

Cricinfo staff26-Sep-2009Otago Volts coach Mike Hesson has said his team is fully capable of pulling off a surprise win or two in the Champions League in India next month. The sole participating team from New Zealand is drawn in a tough group with Cape Cobras and IPL runners-up Royal Challengers Bangalore.”I see the Cape Cobras have been confirmed the favourites and Bangalore are third at the moment, so we have a couple of big games in our pool,” Hesson told the . “Hopefully, we do show that we have a lot more to offer than some think.”Led by Craig Cumming, Otago have seven international players, including Brendon McCullum, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Ian Butler and the captain himself. One win in the group stages is enough to qualify for the second stage, which features the top two teams from all four groups.”If we can do everyone a favour by knocking one of those teams out,” Cumming said, “then when we go through to the next round it will only get easier for us.”Greg Todd, the left-handed batsman, has said the tag of underdogs could actually work in their favour.”Everyone is pretty excited and we are expecting big things over there,” Todd said. “We’re not just going there to compete; we are going there to win. I think there is a feeling in the team that we can definitely knock over a couple of big sides.”There is some good opposition but we’ve got guys who have played for New Zealand, so we’re not the weakest side there. We’ve got a bit to prove and are probably the underdog from everyone else’s point of view. But we’ve got other ideas.”Otago begin their campaign against the Cobras on October 10 in Hyderabad before taking on Royal Challengers two days later in Bangalore. The team departed for Brisbane to play a couple of warm-up games before heading to India on October 2 to play two more practice games, against Deccan Chargers and Somerset.

MatériaMais Notícias

Os semifinalistas da Série C do Campeonato Brasileiro começam a se desenhar. Neste sábado, dois jogos das quartas de final agitaram a rodada e dois times encaminham vantagem para as semis e o acesso à Série B.

No Castelão lotado, o Fortaleza recebeu o Tupi sob pressão da torcida, que cobrava uma vitória do time. O estádio só explodiu no início do segundo tempo, quando Leandro Lima abriu o placar pro time da casa. Aos 25, Bruno Melo converteu pênalti bem marcado pela arbitragem e ampliou a vantagem pro Tricolor. Vitória do Fortaleza e primeiro passo dado rumo à Segundona.

O segundo jogo será realizado no próximo sábado, às 20h30, no Estádio Municipal de Juiz de Fora. O Fortaleza se classifica mesmo se perder por um gol de diferença. Vitória de 2 a 0 do Tupi leva o jogo para os pênaltis.

No Raulino de Oliveira, o Volta Redonda se complicou na missão de mais um acesso. Fazendo um jogo fraco contra o Sampaio Correa, as duas equipes pouco criavam e, quando conseguiam chegar na área adversária, desperdiçavam os gols. A partida se encaminhava para um sonolento empate sem gols quando Zaquel salvou os visitantes: aos 46 do segundo tempo, o atacante cabeceou no cantinho do gol e garantiu o triunfo do Sampaio Correa.

O jogo da volta será realizado no próximo sábado, no Castelão, e o tricolor leva a vantagem do empate para se garantir nas semis. O Voltaço precisa vencer por 2 a 0 para seguir na competição e conquistar o acesso à Série B.

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Newcastle journalist Liam Kennedy has made an interesting claim on Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard.

What’s the talk?

The Magpies reporter has name-checked the England international as a player he has heard strongly mentioned as a player the club will want to sign in the January transfer window.

His agent reportedly came to St. James’ Park in October to watch a match and keep an eye on developments at Newcastle, ahead of a potential switch.

Kennedy told GIVEMESPORT:

“The likes of Jesse Lingard and others are names that I’ve heard really strongly mentioned.”

Willock 2.0

The club are currently sat 19th in the table and without a win in their ten matches thus far. They are six points adrift of safety already and appear to be heading for relegation, which is why they need a saviour to come in and rescue them in the January window.

Joe Willock joined the Magpies in the winter market last season and helped Newcastle stay in the division by scoring an outstanding eight goals in 11 Premier League starts. He became a consistent goalscorer in the top-flight and won valuable points, which is exactly what Lingard could do for them this term.

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PIF must secure a deal for the United attacker as he could be the difference-maker for them in the second half of the campaign, much like Willock was in the 2020/21 season. Michael Carrick previously lauded the midfielder’s unique skillset and claimed that he is difficult to play against. He said:

“I think his movement is excellent. It’s something that sounds quite simple, but it’s difficult to defend against.

“He senses where the space is and how to use it. I wouldn’t necessarily say he’s a dribbler with skills and tricks but he’s dynamic. How he plays, he is unique in some ways. You don’t see so much of that now as everyone wants to get on the ball. Off the ball, he’s very effective.”

The £80k-per-week dynamo joined West Ham on loan last season and managed a similar output to Newcastle’s current attacking midfielder, bagging nine goals and four assists in 16 Premier League outings for the Hammers. This shows that he has the quality at this level to come in and make an instant impact on the side by scoring and creating goals, which is why – as Willock was earlier this year – he could be Newcastle’s hero in January.

PIF must now work hard to ensure that they can get a deal over the line for the Englishman to bolster their squad and chances of survival.

AND in other news,  Duncan Castles drops exciting NUFC manager update that should leave fans buzzing…

A round-up of matches from the second day of the RBS Twenty20 Cup

Cricinfo staff26-May-2009Group AA blistering century from captain Abdul Razzaq gave Lahore Lions their second win as they beat Quetta Bears by 74 runs at the Gaddafi Stadium. Razzaq, who came in at No.3, took a couple of overs to settle in and then opened up, smashing eight fours and as many sixes in his innings of 109. The blitz included 28 runs off an Irfan Ismail over that helped propel Lahore to 214 for 6. Razzaq received excellent support from Salman Butt (31), and Nasir Jamshed (58), with whom he added 162 for the third wicket, as Lahore batted Quetta out of the match.Quetta, in response, were never in a position to scale down such a massive target, struggling to 24 for 3 at one stage. Their captain Taimur Ali resisted with 42, and wicketkeeper Bismillah Khan chipped in with 26 to help them recover somewhat, but a good bowling display saw them finish on a disappointing 140 for 9. As a result, Quetta find themselves at the bottom of the Group A table with two successive defeats.Mohammad Hafeez was the star for Faisalabad Wolves yet again as they beat Rawalpindi Rams by 27 runs at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. Hafeez boosted Faisalabad to a challenging score of 170, stroking an unbeaten 79 off 56 balls including 11 fours. Not that Rawalpindi were without a chance. They had restricted the opposition to 21 for 3, but Hafeez was supported ably by Khurram Shehzad, who made a 51-ball 65 to help his team recover. Sohail Tanvir was impressive, taking 3 for 24 but his efforts were in vain.In their reply, Rawalpindi faltered from the outset, losing wickets at frequent intervals. Opener Naved Malik threatened with a quickfire 50, smashing seven fours and two sixes, but was short of support from the other end. Hafeez did the damage once again, taking 3 for 14 to take his team to the top of the Group A table.Group BA 118-run opening stand between Babar Ali (58) and Sohaib Maqsood (59) laid the foundation for Multan Tigers’ successful run-chase against Karachi Zebras at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground.Karachi had posted a competitive score of 158, thanks to half-centuries from Shahzaib Hasan and Fahad Iqbal. They were comfortably placed at 140 for 2, but lost their way a little, losing four wickets for 18 runs. Kashif Naved, the left-arm fast bowler, took 3 for 20, and played an important role in stemming the flow of runs.Babar and Maqsood led the reply with the latter being the more aggressive. Multan’s job was made easier by an 18-ball 30 from Rizwan Haider who struck two sixes and a four to complete the job, and hand Multan their first win. Karachi, on the other hand, have lost two in two.Group CHyderabad Hawks opened their account in the RBS Twenty20 Cup at the Gaddafi Stadium with a comfortable eight-wicket win against Peshawar Panthers, who suffered their second consecutive defeat in as many days. Peshawar fell away after a good start, to post 148, and the target was easily overhauled thanks to Faisal Athar’s unbeaten 55 and Azeem Ghumman’s steady 40.Peshawar were in a good position to post a bigger score when they were at 86 for 1 in the 12th over. The top three, including captain Younis Khan, made starts but couldn’t push on. Hyderabad too got off to a good start, with their openers adding 61 in eight overs. Faisal, walking in at No.3, hit three sixes and six fours in his 37-ball knock. Rizwan Ahmed joined him in an unbeaten stand of 74 to help Hyderabad finish the formalities.Group DHalf-centuries from captain Khalid Latif and Fawad Alam boosted Karachi Dolphins to a formidable score, one that they were able to defend comfortably against Abbottabad Rhinos – who lost their second consecutive game – at the Gaddafi Stadium. Karachi piled on 209 as Latif blasted a 50-ball 81, and added 106 with Fawad, who was equally ruthless, smashing 11 fours in his knock of 70.Abbottabad were dented early in their innings, Mohammad Sami striking twice in the third over to remove the openers, though captain Adnan Raees and Fawad Khan did stage a recovery with a 61-run stand. However, it proved inadequate as Fawad chipped in with two wickets to remove both of them, and produced a run-out to seal a convincing 52-run win.

England 2 for 82 (Edwards 32*) beat Pakistan 78 (Abidi 27, Marsh 5-15) by 8 wickets
Scorecard

The unbeaten England sealed their place on top of Group B after Laura Marsh’s heroics with the ball led them to an eight-wicket thrashing of Pakistan at North Sydney Oval. It was another strong performance from one of the tournament favourites, whose next engagement is in the Super Sixes, and they overcame a slow start with the help of Marsh’s offspin.Pakistan had moved to 1 for 51 when Marsh intervened and they managed only 27 more as they were dismissed for 78 in 39.5 overs. England almost got the runs before the lunch break, but returned briefly to reach 2 for 82, with Charlotte Edwards unbeaten on 32. Their only casualties were Ebony Rainford-Brent on 18 and Sarah Taylor for 11 as the chase lasted 23.1 overs.Marsh collected 5 for 15 from her 10 overs, starting with the wicket of Sukhan Faiz when she was caught sharply at first slip by Claire Taylor. Nain Abidi, the top scorer with 27, drove to cover and Marsh was on a hat-trick after bowling Sajjida Shah (5) and having Sana Mir taken one-handed by Lydia Greenway at short leg. Marsh’s haul was completed with the lbw of the captain Urooj Mumtaz, who missed trying a legside slog with her side at 6 for 64.”I am pleased with my performance as it’s always nice for the spinners to take wickets in ODIs,” Marsh said. “The ball wasn’t turning much so I concentrated to bowl as straight as possible and tried to bring the slip fielder into play. I wasn’t aware that it was the fifth best bowling performance in a World Cup until someone told me after the presentation. I am definitely pleased with this, also because it came in a match that we won.”Holly Colvin was responsible for building a lot of pressure during an extremely tight spell of 1 for 8 off ten overs, which included seven maidens. Katherine Brunt, the opening bowler, picked up 2 for 25 while Edwards chipped in at the end with 2 for 2.

A round-up of the fourth day’s play of the fifth-round matches in the Regional Four Day Competition

Cricinfo staff10-Feb-2009Trinidad & Tobago’s hopes of closing in on leaders Jamaica were thwarted by persistent rain on the final day at St Augustine against Combined Campuses and Colleges. Having secured first-innings points, T&T were pushing for a win to gain the maximum 12 points from the game.However, only 14.4 overs were possible, with no play after the first hour. CCC, who conceded a 47-run first-innings lead, extended their overnight score of 43 for 2 to 71 without losing any more wickets. Simon Jackson, the CCC captain, got to his first half-century of the season, while at the other end nightwatchman Ryan Austin contributed four, in an unbroken stand of 71.Sherwin Ganga was named Man of the Match for a career-best 90 in T&T’s first innings. T&T, who are 15 points adrift of Jamaica, host Leeward Islands in the next round, while CCC face Barbados.

Jamaica 43 0 0 1 0 42 Barbados 5 3 1 01 0 39 Windward Islands 53 2 0 0 0 36 Trinidad & T 4 1 0 03 0 27 Leeward Islands 41 3 0 0 0 16 Comb CC 4 1 2 01 0 15 Guyana 40 4 0 0 0 4

Pakistan has barred its players from participating in the IPL after its foreign ministry deemed it was unsafe for the cricketers to travel to India in the wake of the November terrorist attacks in Mumbai.”We have been informed by the foreign ministry today that the situation is not conducive for Pakistan cricketers to travel to India,” sports minister Aftab Jilani told the . The sports ministry had last week given clearance to the players to participate in the Indian Twenty20 league, while informing them that their security would be their own and their IPL franchise’s responsibility.”We [the sports ministry] had given the NOC, but the final decision was up to the government,” Jilani said. “Ever since these attacks [in Mumbai] the situation has got tense and even Pakistani artists are facing problems in India.”Pakistan’s top players, including Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir and Umar Gul, are contracted to various franchises in the league. “All the players who are already signed up with the IPL teams or those who were due to take part in the players auction have been declined permission,” Saleem Altaf, the PCB chief executive, told PTI. Altaf said an email had been sent to the IPL about the ministry’s decision.With bilateral relations between the neighbours at a low, franchises had indicated they might trade their Pakistan players during the IPL’s one-month-long trading window, which closed last month. No Pakistan players, though, were sold during the window. However, if they are unable to participate in this year’s tournament due to government restrictions, they will have to forego their salaries for this season.Five players – Yasir Hameed, Yasir Arafat, Asim Kamal, Danish Kaneria and Mohammad Hafeez – had also been included in the IPL’s list for the auction before the second season, scheduled for February 6. Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, said their names will be withdrawn. “The Pakistan government has decided to inform us, through the Pakistan Cricket Board, no Pakistan player will be allowed to play in this year’s IPL,” Modi said. “There were five players on the [auction] list but we have removed them.”The two franchises most affected by the absence of Pakistan players will be Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals – both have three on their rosters. Joy Bhattacharya, Kolkata’s team director, said they will seek more options from the IPL to counter the development. Bhattacharya said they had already accounted the limited availiability of Pakistan players due to the scheduled ODI series against Australia between April 20 and May 10.”It impacts very [us] much as we will not have Umar Gul, a fine cricketer,” he said. “Even then our strategy for the auction has already been thought of keeping in mind any development like this. While this was not a reality a few days ago it is out in the open now. So the IPL will have to offer options.”The IPL, though, has already provided a possible alternative for the franchises. Teams will be allowed to sign players unsold at the upcoming auction as replacements for those who won’t be available for the entire season this year. Also, the amount spent on them will not count towards the franchise’s US$2 million cap on player purchases at the auction.