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David Warner, the New South Wales batsman, has signed a two-year deal with IPL franchise Delhi Daredevils

Cricinfo staff17-Dec-2008
David Warner, 22, is rated as one of New South Wales’ best young talents © Getty Images
David Warner, the New South Wales batsman, has signed a two-year deal with IPL franchise Delhi Daredevils. Warner is the second New South Wales player to be signed by the league’s franchises this month, after allrounder Moises Henriques was snapped up by the Kolkata Knight Riders for the 2009 season.Warner’s explosive batting this season caught the attention of IPL franchises. Though yet to make his first-class debut, he hit an unbeaten 165 in an FR Cup match against Tasmania late last month. He has an average of 64 and strike-rate of 117 in eight one-day matches for his state and, against Tasmania recently, narrowly fell short of recording the fastest one-day hundred in Australian domestic history with 97 off 54 balls in a tied game.”I have watched David Warner in action at both the Emerging Players tournament and Ford Ranger Cup and I have no doubt in my mind that he has great talent and an exciting player,” TA Sekhar, a member of the Delhi team-management, was quoted as saying by .As per the rules set forth by the IPL, any uncapped player – one yet to play an international match or be centrally contracted by a national board – can be signed up outside the player auction scheduled for February 6.Warner, 22, was spotted by John Buchanan, the former Australian coach currently with the Knight Riders, at the Centre of Excellence nets and sounded out for the franchise. Instead of the Knight Riders, he will join a Daredevils line-up which includes Glenn McGrath, AB de Villiers, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir.

Kevin Pietersen looked to play down the significance of his side’s loss in their second and final warm-up match in Mumbai

Cricinfo staff11-Nov-2008
Kevin Pietersen can’t watch as bad goes to worse © Getty Images
Kevin Pietersen looked to play down the significance of his side’s loss in their second and final warm-up match in Mumbai, insisting his players were “all right” after the 124-run defeat.”I think the guys are all right, we just need to turn our heads on now and make sure we start on Friday,” he said. “Today and what happened the other day doesn’t really count in the grand scheme of things. What counts is the internationals.”This really doesn’t matter, but it has taught us a few quick lessons.”England, chasing 233, lost five wickets inside 12 overs, a performance in marked contrast to their impressive display in the first warm-up match on Sunday. Graeme Swann top-scored with 24 in today’s 124-run defeat, while James Anderson cracked 20, but none of their top-order reached double figures.”The opposition wasn’t spectacular the other day and it was better today so we’ve just got to turn our games on and get our heads right,” Pietersen said. “The boys had a long journey to India and we’ve settled in nicely now so it’s just a case of getting our heads on.”I’m not sure if we were fully focused but this is a really good lesson, I don’t see this is a bad thing at all.”It’s just a case of learning from today and at the end of the tour no one really remembers what happened today or the other day, what counts is what happens on Friday.”England travel to Rajkot tomorrow evening and have a day of practice before the series-opener on Friday. A set of mixed results in the two games so far has left them with more room for improvement. There are already some injury concerns especially to their fast bowlers, with Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad both unavailable for today’s game.”We will come back hard on Friday,” Pietersen said. “There is no doubt about that.”

Ricky Ponting has a big decision to make regarding his bowling line-up as Australia seek to collect 20 wickets for the first time in the series

Ali Cook05-Nov-2008
Stuart Clark has picked up only two wickets in the series © Getty Images
The toss has been so important in this series that in the lead-up to the deciding fourth Test the Australians practised their calling. It was a short, light-hearted exercise, like a game of two-up on Anzac Day, and at the end it was revealed that the coin was two-headed. After three guesses Ricky Ponting was one of two guys with a perfect record. He always calls heads, and is desperate for a change in luck on Thursday morning at the Vidarbha Cricket Association’s new stadium.Ponting has lost the past two tosses and quickly watched his team fall behind, and he does not need the bat-first-and-dominate theory to occur as they push to level the series and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. “I went down and had a look at the wicket yesterday, it’s rock hard like concrete and there’s no grass on it,” Ponting said.”With no history to the wicket, we don’t know if it’s going to bounce, or stay low, or what it’s going to do. One thing I know is that it is going to spin, it’s so bare. Hopefully we win the toss.”While Ponting has no control over the fall of the coin, he is also uncertain as to what will happen in the morning when he walks out to the toss. Gautam Gambhir’s appeal against a one-match suspension for elbowing Shane Watson in the third Test in Delhi was turned down by the ICC on Tuesday, but the Indian board has “rejected” the ruling.”It’s going to be an awkward situation for me to be put in tomorrow if I get out there for the toss and the guy that’s been rubbed out has his name on the team sheet,” Ponting said. “I need to be clear, and Cricket Australia needs to be clear, on that.”India, who lead the series 1-0, also have a new captain in Mahendra Singh Dhoni after the exit of the legspinner Anil Kumble on Sunday, while VVS Laxman is playing his 100th Test and Sourav Ganguly will join Kumble in retirement after the game. Ponting hoped all the off-field issues of his opponents would help his side.”One thing it [the Gambhir decision] does do is create a bit of confusion around their team,” Ponting said. “They’ll obviously have a lot of distractions going on. For us, it’s pretty plain sailing, we’ve just got to work out the best way to play in these conditions.”The decision over the final XI will be difficult, but it appears the offspinner Jason Krejza will make his debut. Australia have taken 14, 13 and 12 wickets over the first three games and it is the main reason they are in such an unfamiliar position.”We’ve got to look at our overall balance,” Ponting said. “If we’re going to get Krejza into the side does he come in for White or one of our quicks? It’s the big decision we’ve got to make.We didn’t overdo sledging – PontingSkipper Ricky Ponting said he did not feel the Australians had over-stepped the mark in New Delhi.”If that was the case then I’m sure we would have heard about that from the umpires as the day went on,” he said. “The umpires are out there adjudicating on what they see and as we saw as the game went on, if anything happened between bowler and batsman they were pretty quick to get on to the captains. As far as I’m concerned, Chris Broad, the match referee, has made it very clear to the players there is an acceptable level of banter on the field and he’s happy for that to be the case. I’m always happy for that to be the case because I think that’s part and parcel of international sport.” “Mitchell Johnson is our leading wicket-taker and Brett Lee got better and better in the last game. Stuart Clark did an excellent job for us, bowling his 30 overs for 50 or 60 in the first innings, and that is a pretty important role to play in a team over here if you’ve got guys that are striking at the other end.”Lee, Michael Clarke and Doug Bollinger were struggling with upset stomachs on Tuesday but are expected to be available for selection. Ponting has been impressed with Krejza, who he said had got better after going wicket-less and giving up 199 runs in a warm-up game before the first Test.Whatever Australia decide, it will be a risk. If Krejza and White are used in tandem, or if Peter Siddle comes in for his second game, it will steal experience from the fast bowling unit, which has regularly faltered. It is an unenviable choice for such an important contest.To add to Australia’s problems, they know very little about the ground, which is being used for the first time. The squad went to the stadium outside of Nagpur on Wednesday afternoon for a short look at the conditions that will help determine whether they leave India with a prize.”This is probably as big a Test match as a lot of us have played,” Ponting said. “Being 1-0 down with a match to play is a position that a lot of us haven’t been in before. We pride ourselves on playing well in big games and this is certainly a big game for us. There is a great opportunity for us to stand up and play better cricket than we’ve played in the first three Test matches.”

Shields Gazette reporter Liam Kennedy fears the atmosphere could turn toxic if Newcastle United fail to bring in new recruits before the transfer window closes.

The Magpies are yet to bolster their squad with acquisitions despite the start of the Premier League season being less than a week away.

Arsenal midfielder Joe Willock has been boss Steve Bruce’s top transfer target all summer, having scored eight goals in 14 appearances during his loan spell at St James’ Park last season.

While Newcastle initially hoped to make Willock’s move permanent, they have since explored the possibility of another temporary deal being struck.

However, the Magpies’ hopes of landing the former England under-21 international, who became the first player to find the back of the net in seven consecutive Premier League fixtures since Alan Shearer during his loan spell, suffered a blow when Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta insisted the 21-year-old is part of his plans.

Newcastle have yet to turn their attentions elsewhere and Kennedy admits Magpies fans could become disgruntled.

He told Football FanCast: “If they get off to a bad start this season, no signings come in or there are any more delays with the takeover, I think it could erupt.

“Newcastle United can become very toxic. The year when Newcastle got relegated the first time under Mike Ashley, I remember how toxic it got and that really pushed onto the pitch.

“The big fear is whether it will become toxic this time. Looking at social media, which isn’t always the best judge, it does have the feel that it could turn toxic very quickly.”

Bruno Lage’s Wolverhampton Wanderers tenure begins on Saturday afternoon with a trip to Leicester City. 

It’s something of a baptism of fire for the Portuguese tactician given that the Foxes finished fifth last season and won the FA Cup.

Ahead of the first round of fixtures, the league has announced the list of refereeing appointments. Craig Pawson will take charge of the clash at the King Power Stadium, with Michael Oliver the lead VAR.

Craig Pawson’s previous Wolves encounters

Pawson was the man in the middle for three Wolves matches last season. He oversaw two defeats against Liverpool – 4-0 at Anfield in December and 1-0 at Molineux in March – and also an incident-packed 2-1 victory over Arsenal.

The game featured two red cards for the Gunners, with David Luiz and Bernd Leno dismissed, and a penalty that Ruben Neves tucked away.

Overall, Pawson brandished 80 yellow cards over the course of the season, the fifth-highest total among the division’s officials.

Fan feed Talking Wolves relayed the news once it was confirmed, and here’s what supporters made of it.

These Wolves fans pessimistic after Pawson news

“We could do with some of those officials in the euros, they knew how to ref”

Credit: @WolfSomerset

“Leicester to win via dodgy VAR decision”

Credit: @richydafish

“Doesn’t matter who refs, they’re all as bad as each other”

Credit: @mark_spruce

“Deffo Leicester get a penalty”

Credit: @salopwolf

“May as well give Leicester the win now”

Credit: @jckwebster

“There’s no point”

Credit: @BVitler

In other news, how much can Wolves expect from the sale of Rafa Mir?

Plays of the day for Sri Lanka v India, 4th ODI, Colombo, August 27, 2008

Jamie Alter in Colombo27-Aug-2008
Finally: Chaminda Vaas becomes the fourth bowler to reach 400 ODI wickets © AFP
Flavours of throttle
Different positions, same effort. With Kumar Sangakkara standing up to the stumps Gautam Gambhir didn’t walk down to the fast bowlers but shuffled around to try and create room. Off In successive balls he succeeded in cutting Chaminda Vaas but the bowler was backed up by brilliant fielding. First Gambhir walked across to outside off stump and chopped one to the left of gully, where Mahela Jayawardene dived and saved four. Next ball he cut the ball hard further away from Jayawardene but Tillakaratne Dilshan, at backward point, pulled off an acrobatic aerial fling to prevent runs. Soon after a frustrated Gambhir cut a short ball to Dilshan at backward point and was out.At long last …
Vaas’ search for his 400th one-day wicket had been put on hold by a left hamstring injury, a wicketless yet economic spell in game three, and Tuesday’s washout. Today he finally got there, and the noise at the Premadasa could have been heard round the island. With the first ball of his seventh over Vaas got Yuvraj Singh to edge one that went straight to short midwicket. As the stadium erupted into a tumultuous din, Vaas spread his arms, shut his eyes, and roared before his team-mates swamped him. Then he was lifted into the air. It was an endearing moment and a landmark thoroughly deserved by a Sri Lankan legend. Fittingly, Suresh Raina couldn’t score off the remaining five balls, and Vaas, that most economical of bowlers, finished with a maiden over. He became only the fourth bowler to reach the landmark.Third time’s a charm
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has altered his game to suit the needs of his team, especially since becoming captain, but in one over today, early into his innings, he tried to have a real crack at Thilan Thushara. He attempted to cut and drive the ball, once even sashaying forward, but could not time or place the ball where he wanted. Then he connected, and how. Thushara dropped fractionally short and Dhoni pressed back to slap the ball past short-cover before anyone could blink. That was it for pace, and Sri Lanka opted for spin from both ends.Fetch that
Raina welcomed the mandatory change of ball after 34 overs with a sweetly timed bended-knee six off Muttiah Muralitharan, no less. He cleared his front leg and slog-swept Murali over deep midwicket. It was a shot executed much the way Raina has been seen thumping his UP team-mate Piyush Chawla in the nets. After admiring his shot Raina walked halfway down the track, towards a fatigued Dhoni, and executed it again.A sweeping success
Plenty of Dhoni’s 71 runs came through paddle sweeps, some pulled off well and others scrambling off the edge of his bat as he cramped up in humid conditions. His fifty came up with a cute paddle for two, after which he hobbled off towards square leg. Watching Raina succeed with reverse-sweeping the spinners hard for singles, Dhoni took a cue and played it to perfection off Sanath Jayasuriya in the 39th over. It wasn’t ferociously done, like Raina, but rather placed effortlessly. The ball went straight to the boundary and Dhoni forced a gentle smile Raina’s way.Stuck in a moment
The way Dhoni was going, it needed something special to cut him off and Jayasuriya did just that. Dhoni made room and drilled a full and wide delivery towards cover, where at 39 years and 58 days, the wily old fox pulled off a spectacular diving catch to his left. It was a superb example of precision, reflexes and athleticism. That beauty sparked a stunning Indian collapse of six wickets for 26 runs.

John Ward reports on the first day of the rain-affected match between Hampshire and Somerset in Southampton where Hampshire ended 113 for 4

John Ward at The Rose Bowl19-Aug-2008
ScorecardBarely half a day’s play was possible at the Rose Bowl in a day of fluctuating weather, and on the whole Somerset had perhaps the better of it, taking four wickets while Hampshire battled their way to 113. The Somerset bowlers did a good job, with two wickets apiece to Charl Willoughby and Peter Trego, while the highlight for Hampshire was a sound innings from the left-handed Michael Lumb.Due to morning rain, play was not possible before lunch, and the day itself ran virtually the whole gamut of unpredictable English weather, barring thunderstorms and snow. Hampshire won the delayed toss and batted, after a ceremony to award James Tomlinson his county cap.There was a little movement in the pitch, and Andy Caddick and Willoughby made the Hampshire openers fight for runs. Willoughby beat Michael Carberry outside the off stump three times in his opening over, but his general line was perhaps a little too far outside off for best effect. Carberry and the dogged Jimmy Adams concentrated mainly on singles, and there were only two boundaries in the first hour, an off-drive and a cover-drive by Carberry off Caddick, who has naturally lost some pace but still looks a quality bowler.Trego changed the situation with an impressive seven-over spell, as he moved the ball off the pitch and varied his pace well. First he moved a ball into Carberry and trapped him lbw for 18, and then completely deceived Adams with a slower ball, the batsman playing too early and lobbing the ball back up the pitch, for the bowler to race forward and take a good diving catch.Lumb made a confident start, quickly hitting three fours, and he played a good innings, which the rain at 5.15pm sadistically cut short at 49. With the total on 93, though, he lost two partners in one over from Willoughby.First Chris Benham, attempting to drive, dragged the ball on to his stumps via the inside edge, and then Nic Pothas, lashing at a ball well outside the off stump, was caught overhead in the covers. Not long afterwards, the weather intervened. In the prevailing conditions, though, perhaps it was fortunate to get as many as 50 overs in the day.

Leicester City are reportedly close to completing the signing of Schalke 04 defender Ozan Kabak.

What’s the story?

According to journalist and Bundesliga expert Chris Williams, the 21-year-old is set to join the Foxes following a relatively successful loan spell at Liverpool last season.

Williams tweeted [via Leicester Mercury]: “Schalke have given Ozan Kabak extra time off to sort out his future, they expect a deal to be finalised in the next week. Leicester City seems the final destination. Schalke have allowed the player to find a club, agree a deal in principle, then for that club to make an approach.

“Leicester have contacted the player’s management agency, if a deal can be agreed between them, #LCFC will make a formal approach, #S04 want €15m (£12.8m).”

Fans will be buzzing

Williams’ claims were backed up by The Daily Star newspaper in Turkey (via Leicester Mercury) after it revealed that Kabak is heading for the King Power Stadium.

They reported: “National football player Ozan Kabak is on his way to Leicester City. It was stated that Ozan Kabak, who was put on the sales list due to the German team’s relegation to a lower league, received offers from many teams, especially English clubs.”

News that Brendan Rodgers is set to add another young, highly-rated centre-back to his ranks for a very reasonable fee will surely have the club’s supporters buzzing.

Kabak played nine Premier League games for Jurgen Klopp’s side in 2020/21, helping the Anfield outfit to a third-place finish following an injury crisis in the heart of defence, and he earned plenty of plaudits for his efforts on Merseyside.

Liverpool passed up the opportunity to make the youngster’s stay permanent for £18m, opting to sign Ibrahima Konate instead, although Schalke’s relegation to the second tier of German football has seen their asking price plummet.

Bringing in Kabak will significantly strengthen Leicester’s defensive options ahead of the upcoming campaign, allowing Rodgers the freedom to flip between a back four and a back five on a regular basis given the wealth of central defensive options at his disposal.

The departures of experienced duo Christian Fuchs and Wes Morgan left the Foxes looking threadbare at the back, but the arrival of Ryan Bertrand and the potential acquisition of Kabak will have quickly transformed their situation. It’s a situation which will surely leave Leicester fans buzzing at the defensive talent within their squad as the Foxes again try to break into the Premier League’s top four in 2021/22.

In other news… Leicester dealt possible blow in hunt for “wonderful” £30m gem, Rodgers will be gutted 

Paul Collingwood’s time as England one-day captain has come to end on the same day as Michael Vaughan’s Test reign when he said he’d stepped down to give himself the best chance of performing

Cricinfo staff03-Aug-2008
Paul Collingwood’s time as one-day has not always been easy and without controversy © Getty Images
Paul Collingwood’s time as England one-day captain has come to end on the same day as Michael Vaughan’s Test reign. He said he’d stepped down after feeling the captaincy was affecting his performances.It means England will have new leaders in both forms of the game when the selectors make their announcement at Lord’s on Monday. Collingwood took on the role last year against West Indies, after Vaughan resigned the one-day job, and his initial results were promising with series victories against India at home and Sri Lanka away.However, England had a poor World Twenty20 and have suffered back-to-back series defeats against New Zealand. Collingwood also became embroiled in controversy against New Zealand when he insisted on appealing for Grant Elliott’s run out at The Oval after he’d been knocked to the ground by Ryan Sidebottom. He later admitted his error, but following the match picked up a four-game suspension for a slow over-rate. Kevin Pietersen took over for the final ODI against New Zealand and is now favourite to become the new full-time captain, as well as lead in Tests.”I’ve made the decision to step down as England’s one-day captain as I want to give myself the best chance to perform for England and enjoy my cricket,” Collingwood said. “Whilst I am humbled to have been given the opportunity to captain England’s one-day side, I feel the captaincy diminished my ability to perform for England across all forms of the game. I feel the England captaincy impacted on my ability to enjoy my cricket and contribute to the team.”Collingwood returned to form in the Test arena with his 135 in the second innings at Edgbaston after being on the brink of losing his place. “I’ve always enjoyed representing my country at the highest level,” he said, “and it has always been my ambition to play cricket, across all forms of the game, but I’ve found the extra workload of the captaincy to be very difficult.”The last thing I want is for the captaincy to impact my performance and that of the team’s which is why I’ve arrived at this decision after a huge amount of consideration. I will continue to make myself available to England for all forms of cricket and look forward to playing a significant role in England’s future success.”Hugh Morris, managing director of England cricket, said: “Paul feels this is the best decision in terms of benefiting the England team and his contribution to the team, across all forms of the game.”We are extremely grateful for the way in which Paul has led the England one-day side since his appointment last year. The team has made real progress under his leadership and he will continue to be a valuable member of the England set-up.”

Tim Southee made a strong case for a recall ahead of the final Test with 5 for 42 on the second day against Northamptonshire, but it didn’t all go the New Zealanders’ way at Wantage Road

Cricinfo staff31-May-2008
ScorecardTim Southee made a strong case for a recall ahead of the final Test with 5 for 42 on the second day against Northamptonshire, but it didn’t all go the New Zealanders’ way at Wantage Road. The home side declared having squeaked past the follow-on, then David Wigley took three late wickets to set up an interesting final day.Peter Fulton and Aaron Redmond both spent time in the middle in the first innings, but James Marshall fell to the final ball of the day and will now face a nervous wait to see if he keeps hold of his No. 3 spot for Trent Bridge. For Southee, the challenge is all about getting back into the side and he did his chances no harm by taking out the Northamptonshire top order. He retuned later in the day to claim his five-wicket haul after Johann Louw offered some thumping resistance with 82.Southee was left out at Old Trafford – partly due to a stomach bug – in favour of Iain O’Brien, who was the pick of New Zealand’s seamers in the second Test, but Trent Bridge is a venue associated with swing so Southee will come back into the reckoning. His early spell was too much for Northamptonshire, as Stephen Peters edged one which followed him and Alex Wakely, another recent Under-19 international, left one that clipped off stump.Kyle Mills also picked a good moment to collect a useful three wickets because the feeling is that one of him, Southee or O’Brien is likely to miss out next week. Mills’ first wicket was Niall O’Brien, who had weathered the early Southee storm to register a half-century. Louw showed his all-round credentials, following his 3 for 42 with a boundary-filled 90-ball 82, launching a succession of sixes against Redmond and Jeetan Patel.Richard Logan became Southee’s fifth wicket and when Jason Brown hit a boundary off his second delivery Peters, the Northamptonshire captain, called his team in to open up the game for a final-day run chase. However, after their top-order wobble New Zealand’s first concern will to avoid being bowled out cheaply on the final morning.They added a further 34 runs to their overnight total in the morning session, mainly through Southee and Patel, before Wigley claimed the final wicket to finish with 5 for 78, narrowly missing out on a career-best. It was an impressive recovery after his wayward early bursts on the opening day and his productive match continued in the final session.