Essex star overseas player Andy Flower has confirmed that he will beavailable to play for the County for all of the 2003 season. The Zimbabweanwicketkeeper batsman will join the Essex team for part of their pre-seasontour to Cape Town, and be available for the opening first class match of theseason against Cambridge University on 12th April.Essex Chief Executive David East commented:
LONDON – England today recalled batsman Mark Ramprakash as an injurycover for left-hander Graham Thorpe in a 14-man squad named for thefirst Ashes cricket Test against Australia starting at Edgbaston onThursday.Thorpe, England’s most successful batsman during the winter in Pakistanand Sri Lanka and in the two Tests against Pakistan, is very doubtfulfor the game because of a lingering calf muscle injury.England will be strengthened by the availability of skipper NasserHussain, who has recovered from a broken thumb, allrounder Craig White,left-arm spinner Ashley Giles and maybe Thorpe, who missed theTri-Nations one-day series.While Hussain missed the second Test defeat against Pakistan at OldTrafford and then the one-dayers, White and Giles both missed thetwo-Test series and the one-dayers due to long-suffering injuries.Giles, England’s series-winning bowler in Pakistan last year, has beenhampered by a sore Achilles tendon.Also causing a headache for the selectors is Michael Vaughan’s knee cystwhich ruled him out of the last one-dayer against Australia at The Oval.”We currently have injury concerns about three players, Michael Vaughan,Ashley Giles and Graham Thorpe,” said chairman of selectors DavidGraveney.”Graham is the most serious concern at present and we will need to checkthe fitness of all three players at Edgbaston.”While the selectors did consider the worst case scenario in relation toinjuries, we have decided to call up only one extra player as cover atthis stage. We will review the situation, however, once the players areat Edgbaston and their injuries have been assessed by (physiotherapist)Dean Conway.”Mark Ramprakash is an experienced test player with a good recordagainst Australia and he has been in excellent form for his county thisseason. We feel he represents the best option as a cover player giventhe doubts about Graham’s fitness.”Ramprakash, 31, played the last of his 42 Tests against the West Indiesat Lord’s last year before losing his place with scores of 18, 0, 0 and2 in the first two Tests when he opened the batting.But in eight Tests against Australia, the right-hander, who moved thisseason from Middlesex to Surrey, has scored 615 runs at an average of43.93 inclusive of six half centuries.In all he has scored 1,796 runs at an average of 26.41 with a solitarycentury against the West Indies at Barbados in 1998 when he score 154runs.England has failed to beat Australia in the last seven Ashes seriessince winning it under Mike Gatting’s captaincy in the 1986-87 series inAustralia. Despite winning four series in a row, it was held 1-1 byPakistan and confidence going into the Ashes tests is low after a poorperformance in the one-dayers when the team lost all six games againstAustralia and Pakistan.England squad: Nasser Hussain (captain), Michael Atherton, MarcusTrescothick, Michael Vaughan, Graham Thorpe, Alec Stewart, Ian Ward,Craig White, Mark Ramprakash, Dominic Cork, Ashley Giles, Andy Caddick,Darren Gough and Matthew Hoggard.
Newcastle United saw many players come and go from the club during Mike Ashley’s tumultuous reign in charge of the Magpies.
However, one player who was mentioned with a move to St James’ Park but didn’t end up joining the Tyneside club that many fans may now be wishing had signed on the dotted line is Mohamed Salah.
Back in 2011, the then-19-year-old Egyptian apparently expected to see himself make the move to Newcastle on loan after impressing in the Under-20 World Cup.
On the potential move to Tyneside, Salah said: “Newcastle will soon make an official offer to sign me for one season. I don’t think Contractors will refuse to let me play in the English Premier League. It’s a dream for any player to play in one of the strongest league competitions in the world.”
As many Toon fans will be aware, the winger didn’t end up joining the club and instead made the move to Basel in the 2012 summer transfer window.
In 2017, after having spells with Chelsea, Fiorentina and Roma once his stint in Switzerland came to an end, the attacker joined his current club Liverpool in a deal worth a reported £34m.
Since joining the Merseyside club, the 29-year-old has gone on to become a certified superstar by racking up 153 goals and 57 assists in 239 appearances across all competitions, prior to the Reds’ Premier League match against Watford this afternoon.
Labelled a “ridiculous” player in terms of his attacking output by Rio Ferdinand, and a “physical monster” by Jurgen Klopp, the £90m-rated winger has won the Premier League, Champions League and an assortment of individual awards throughout his career.
To further highlight how much of a standout player the Egypt international has become in England, he is currently listed as the highest-rated player in the Premier League based on his performances this season according to WhoScored, with an overall rating of 7.71/10.
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Taking all this into account, as if the Newcastle fans needed any more excuses to dislike Ashley, not securing a deal which would have seen Salah join the Magpies has turned out to be a major howler from the club, and one over which they will now be having nightmares.
In other news: NUFC can finally replace Cabaye with “phenomenal” £34m gem, he has “magical powers”…
The Indian Board has identified bowlers in the domestic circuit with suspect bowling actions, and is compiling a list of the same, and is likely to send them to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) to rectify their actions.According to a report in the , 13 bowlers were deemed to have suspect actions during the 2007-08 Ranji Trophy season, when they were seen on video cameras installed to aid the umpires’ coaches.”While going through the video footage for assessing the umpires’ performance, S Venkataraghavan [the BCCI’s director of umpires and former India captain] has noticed some bowlers with suspect actions,” Ratnakar Shetty, the board’s chief administrative officer, told the newspaper.”The list is being compiled and if it is felt that these bowlers require assistance, they will be sent for correcting their action to the NCA,” he said.Surprisingly, some of the bowlers identified are representing their zonal teams in the ongoing Duleep Trophy, but Shetty said: “The main problem is that they haven’t yet been formally reported by the umpires, so we cannot stop them from playing. But after the final assessment of the footage of all the matches, if it is felt that their actions need to corrected, they will have to go through the procedure.”The last bowler to be identified with a suspect action was Rajesh Sharma, the Punjab offspinner, whose career was temporarily put on hold in the 2006-07 season. Sharma eventually joined the Indian Cricket League last year and took three wickets in two games for the Chandigarh Lions.
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The appointment of the new Pakistan captain and coach will be announced soon, Nasim Ashraf, the PCB chairman, told a parliamentary committee in Islamabad on Monday. Ashraf had been summoned to the National Assembly to explain Pakistan’s poor results.The replacements for Bob Woolmer and Inzamam-ul-Haq will be discussed on Tuesday when the board’s ad-hoc committee meets in Lahore to discuss the future appointments.Inzamam was also called to the National Assembly to discuss the World Cup. Inzamam says he was “hurt” by the match-fixing allegations that arose after his team’s early exit from the World Cup. He said Pakistan had played badly, but added that defeats were part of cricket.”I told them of the hurt I have felt since these match-fixing allegations were made,” Inzamam told Reuters. “I told them not to expect the younger players to perform under such pressure. But coming up with such allegations, which basically questions our patriotism, is not on and not good for our cricket.”Ashraf was also grilled on the decision to appoint Mushtaq Ahmed as assistant coach for the World Cup. Mushtaq was fined and named in the match-fixing inquiry in Pakistan between 1998 and 2000. Ashraf explained that Bob Woolmer and Inzamam had recommended Mushtaq. In turn, Inzamam said that he would not have made the recommendation had he been aware of the Justice Qayyum inquiry report which said Mushtaq should not be appointed to any senior position.Looking to the future, Ashraf explained the board would set up a special commission of former Test players that would aim to improve Pakistan cricket and make it more consistent. The team’s balance will also be re-examined.Inzamam told , a local sports channel, that he backed Younis Khan as the next captain and that a swift decision was necessary in the matter. “A delay will be harmful. I am surprised that the same people who were in my time pushing Younis Khan to replace me as captain are now discussing other names,” he said. Inzamam said he was clear in his mind that Younis was the automatic choice to replace him as captain.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
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The SuperSport Series trophy has been shared after a soporific stalemate in the final at Durban. Needing 378 to win, the Titans never realistically attempted the run-chase, while the Dolphins managed to take just two of their ten required wickets.The light at Kingsmead once again had the final say, with more than five hours of play lost over the five days of the final. Not even the early start times could help the situation.Starting the day at 11 for 0, the Titans did not take up the chase as they ambled along to 170 for 2 just 15 minutes after the tea break, when the light was once again offered and accepted. With no real chance of either team winning the players shook hands as they left the field to share the trophy.Martin van Jaarsveld did manage to put together a very good 72 not out but that was not enough for the Man-of-the-Match award which went to Dale Benkenstein for his magnificent 151.With the teams sharing the trophy there is, however, still no indication from the United Cricket Board as to who will represent South Africa in the first-class competition in India later this year.
West Indies 299 for 1 (Gayle 184*, Sarwan 103*) trail South Africa 588 for 6 dec (Kallis 147, Prince 131, Smith 126, de Villiers 114) by 289 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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In two years’ time, Test cricket at the Antigua Recreation Ground will be a thing of the past. A new all-seater stadium has been promised for the 2007 World Cup, and for bowlers the world over, its development cannot come quickly enough. Today was another day of unrelenting run-scoring, which once again featured two centurions and a record-breaking unbeaten double-hundred stand. The only difference this time was that, for the first time since the first Test in Guyana four long weeks ago, it was West Indies who made all the running.Until today, Chris Gayle’s return to West Indian colours had not been a happy one. After missing that first Test because of the contracts dispute, Gayle had amassed a sorry tally of 12 runs in four innings, and had been looking more out of sorts than at any time in his career. His response today, however, was just typical. After South Africa had declared on a modest 588 for 6, Gayle slammed 26 fours and three massive sixes from 257 balls, as he rampaged to a magnificent 184 not out, his seventh Test century in his 50th match.Gayle has long been capable of such feats of scoring. At The Oval last summer he cracked Matthew Hoggard for six fours in an over, en route to a stunning 79-ball hundred, and from the moment West Indies began their innings, he was in the mood for a confrontation. Shaun Pollock, who has missed South Africa’s last five Tests through injury, was clobbered for 14 runs in his comeback over, and Monde Zondeki’s first three-over spell went for 33, including a vast back-foot wallop for six over wide long-off. He brought his first fifty from 34 balls, his hundred from 96, and his 150 from 149. Had he not slowed significantly towards the close, he would have been on course for one of the fastest double-centuries of all time.Gayle’s partner throughout this frenzy was Ramnaresh Sarwan, who ticked along to a more conventional hundred, which he brought up in 222 balls, with 10 fours and two unexpected sixes from consecutive balls, as Graeme Smith’s part-time offspin was beaten out of the attack. South Africa did make one notable breakthrough, when Wavell Hinds fell to Makhaya Ntini’s first ball of the innings, but it was a false dawn, for no more wickets fell in the next 473 balls of the day.
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By lunch, West Indies (aka Gayle) had clobbered their way to 90 for 1 from 13 overs, and when Ntini’s fourth ball after the resumption was also crashed for six, it looked like more of the same would ensue. But Ntini and Pollock tightened their line admirably and while Gayle was forced to rein himself in a fraction, Sarwan was pinned on the shoulder by a sizzling bouncer from Ntini. Seven runs later he hooked and was dropped by Boeta Dippenaar at square leg.It was the introduction of Kallis that reignited Gayle’s run-spree. His very first delivery was dropped by Smith at slip, and went for four to boot, and Gayle followed up by slamming his third ball through mid-on for four. A scorching cover-drive off Zondeki carried him to 99, and the very next ball – his 96th – was tucked off his hips for the all-important single. It was the 50th century in 20 Tests in Antigua, a tally which tells its own story.South Africa’s only hope of stemming the tide was to turn to spin, and Boje embarked on an excellent restrictive spell that was only broken when Pollock allowed another four – from Gayle naturally – to pass through his legs. In Boje’s next over, he was driven and flicked for two more fours as Gayle brought up his 150 and the West Indian 200. Five overs and 25 runs later, Sarwan flicked Pollock off his pads to reach the first fifty of his innings, although by the end of the day, like the tortoise to Gayle’s hare, he was making up good ground.Gayle’s onslaught made South Africa’s efforts on the first two days seem utterly pedestrian, and even their greater urgency on the third morning paled in comparison. Both Jacques Kallis and Ashwell Prince fell in pursuit of quick runs – to end an all-time South African fifth-wicket record of 267 – as 63 more runs were added in 18 overs. By the declaration, Mark Boucher had scored the four runs he needed to become the third wicketkeeper – after Rod Marsh and Ian Healy – to reach the double of 3000 runs and 300 dismissals.There is absolutely no prospect of a result in this match, although with two days remaining, and licence to bat and bat and bat, the sky is the limit for the incumbent batsmen, if they can put their heads down tomorrow morning and start their innings afresh. As Brian Lara, looking on impatiently from the dressing-room, would testify, there are records to be had at this ground.
How they were out
South AfricaJacques Kallis c Washington b Powell 147 (562 for 5)Scott Styris, the New Zealand allrounder, has insisted his team are not getting the praise they deserve as they sit one win away from clinching the one-day series against South Africa.After celebrating their six-wicket win at Dunedin to put them 3-1 up in the six-match series, the squad are now targeting Saturday’s day-nighter at Eden Park as the biggest game of the summer.However, Styris, who scored 69 off 62 balls at Dunedin, said it was taking time for the team to get the credit they deserved from commentators and the public. “We know we’re a good team, we’ve got a lot of good players and with so many guys standing up to be counted we should have this confidence,” Styris said. “The typical New Zealand way of praising the opposition and not us, we don’t buy into that. We feel it’s always "they didn’t play well" or "the wicket doesn’t suit them". It’s not "we played well", and that’s been disappointing.”Styris added: “The attitude’s changing a little bit with the clinical performance last night, and hopefully it will continue to change and people will now say this is a good New Zealand side rather than saying South Africa played poorly.”New Zealand had an optional training session at Eden Park today, and there was excitement building already about Saturday’s match, not only because Chris Harris, the popular allrounder, will be joining the squad, but also that South Africa are the only side New Zealand have never won a Test or one-day series against.”We’re hugely excited. We’re trying to tick off everything we haven’t achieved in New Zealand cricket history and we’re really set on achieving this goal,” Styris said.”This is another one, if we can do that then we move on to the Test series and tick one more off.”
Pakistan registered its first victory in the World Cup 2003, by crushing Namibia, and finally made their presence felt on the points table. The margin of victory was also quite impressive and that will do the net run rate a great deal of good. Even though the victory may not be regarded as a major accomplishment, since Pakistan was always expected to stroll through the encounter, it was satisfying to see that the team spirit had not been totally damaged by the loss against the Aussies. While the team needs a certain degree of praise for their performance, the true tests for Pakistan lie ahead in the encounters against England and India. Thus, it would be premature to say that Pakistan are right back on track, at this moment.The best thing to come out of this match for the team is that they finally managed to get the team combination right. This set of eleven players should be the side that Pakistan must play in all their main matches, barring any injuries. Even though some may still be concerned that Pakistan are going in with only five regular bowlers, the inclusion of an all-rounder in either Afridi or Azhar Mahmood would upset the team balance. The current team consists of five specialist batsmen and five specialist bowlers, and that seems to be a better bet than going in with bits and pieces who cannot stamp their authority in either department.The first thing to analyse though is the batting performance, which was not quite upto par. The total of 255 was not very impressive considering it was against an exceptionally weak bowling attack. The second major concern was that once again most top order batsmen got starts but failed to convert them into big scores. The batsmen looked tentative, and the knocks lacked fluency. Saleem Elahi scratched is way to an unimpressive 63 while Youhana looked off colour in his innings as well. Saeed Anwar finally got an outing in the international arena, and looked to be in reasonably good touch before playing a characteristically loose shot. Inzamam though continues to remain a worry, and Pakistan desperately needs him to get out of his current slump in form.The batting order though, in my opinion, has not been properly established. Sending Younis Khan in at number three is not the right way to go, in my opinion, as Youhana gets demoted and doesn’t get a chance to play a proper innings. Youhana on current form is the best batsman in the side and deserves to come in at number three, which is unarguably the most crucial position in the batting order.The bowling on the other hand was brilliant. The Namibians were completely overawed by exceptional pace of Shoaib and the guile of the experienced Wasim Akram. The efforts of Akram in the tournament so far deserve special praise. He had single handedly put Pakistan in a winning position against Australia, which was unfortunately not capitalized on, and he showed his class against Namibia as well. His efforts with the bat also clearly indicate that he is desperate to make a mark on the international scene before he retires.However it would be inappropriate to start praising the Pakistan side excessively on the basis of their performance against Namibia, very much the minnows of international cricket. This match was only a workout meant to get back on track for the real challenges ahead.With England having forfeited their match against Zimbabwe, the fight for second and third place after Australia is very much on. Zimbabwe have a realistic hope of making it through to the Super Six, which means that Pakistan might have to win both their encounters against England and India to secure a place in the next round. The team combination is perfect and it is just a question of the players delivering at the right time in the crucial matches. The team spirit looks to be good, a huge relief for the fans after much speculation in the media regarding rifts in the side after their first loss.Ed: If readers wish to correspond with the author, please email Taha Noor
Pacemen Melvyn Betts and Tim Bloomfield shared the first day honours on an intriguing opening day of the clash between the Second Division’s top two clubs at Edgbaston.Betts sparked a Middlesex collapse with four wickets in eight overs after tea on his way to his second five-wicket haul for Warwickshire.But Bloomfield then struck three times in his first four overs as Warwickshire limped to 33 for three in 12 overs before the close.There was a little something in the pitch for everyone but both sides also made life difficult for themselves with some sloppy batting.The only innings of substance was played by Middlesex’s New Zealand batsman Stephen Fleming who stroked eight fours in a majestic 131-ball 67. But when he was unable to dig out a perfect yorker from Dougie Brown, Middlesex lost their way.Ben Hutton, who helped Fleming add 69 in 24 overs for the fourth wicket, carved to point as soon as Betts returned at the Pavilion End and the former Durham bowler then ran through the middle and lower orders.Middlesex needed a stubborn last wicket stand of 26 between Chad Keegan and Bloomfield to secure a second batting bonus point with Keegan making a valuable unbeaten 30 on only his second Championship appearance.Bloomfield took off his pads and immediately had Warwickshire in trouble when he had Ian Bell taken by wicketkeeper David Nash in his opening over.Warwickshire skipper Michael Powell turned Bloomfield to short leg and Warwickshire lurched further into trouble when nightwatchman Mohammad Sheikh nibbled Bloomfield to Paul Weekes to second slip at the end of an eventful day.