All posts by h716a5.icu

Former Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt was widely described as an “honest” and “hard-working” individual and ex-Pakistan leg-spinning great Abdul Qadir claimed him to be a person “with high morals”

Richard Sydenham at Southwark Crown Court20-Oct-2011Former Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt was widely described as an “honest” and “hard-working” individual and ex-Pakistan leg-spinning great Abdul Qadir claimed him to be a person “with high morals”.The comments came as Butt’s defence closed by reading to the court a series character witness accounts. Those from former Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson and from ex-Pakistan strength and conditioning coach David Dwyer were read out the previous evening.At the start of day 12 of the alleged spot-fixing trial in London, Butt’s solicitor Yasin Patel read out those from Qadir, one from his sister, his mother, from former Pakistan trainer Tauseef Razzaq and from an academy coach Azhar Zaidi. All were glowing references.”The Salman Butt that I know is honest, hardworking, truthful, fair, modest, loving, highly-respected, and with a firm commitment to the success of his team and his country,” Qadir said in his. “He supports and cares for all his family and is a young man who helps wherever he can do.”I was shocked about the allegations that were made against him and am surprised with the charges he faces,” Qadir added. “I do not believe he is capable of the acts with which he is charged,” before adding, “There have been many great players in the past and I believe this young man is destined to achieve much in the future.”After these were finished being read out, it was then the turn of Mohammad Asif to take to the witness stand.Butt and Asif are facing charges of conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments following the Lord’s Test last year when they allegedly conspired with agent Mazhar Majeed, teenager Mohammad Amir and other people unknown to bowl pre-planned no-balls. Butt and Asif deny the charges.

Ravi Bopara, named as replacement for the injured Trott, has said he thought his chances of international cricket in the summer had gone before he found himself in a role reversal from two years ago

Sharda Ugra at Edgbaston08-Aug-2011Joining an England batting line-up that has outperformed its Indian opponent and, over the last 12 months, has essentially been centered around its resolute, old-world No. 3 Jonathan Trott, is a batsman of sparkling strokeplay, cheeky personality and a careering Test record. Ravi Bopara, named as the replacement for the injured Trott, has said he thought his chances of international cricket in the summer had gone before he found himself in a role reversal from two years ago.Bopara was dropped after the 2009 Ashes Test at Headingley, after scoring 105 runs from seven innings, and replaced by Trott, who has since then cemented his place.”When Trotty came in for me in the Ashes, he got a 100, and I’m coming back in for Trotty so hopefully I can go in and get a 100 and do the same what he did a couple of years ago,” Bopara said at Edgbaston on his return to the England dressing room for what he knows could well be a short stint. “At some stage Trotty will come straight back in. He is a class player and he’s proved himself for England many times. But this little window of opportunity for me is to go out and score some runs.”When Eoin Morgan was picked for the series against Sri Lanka and then India, Bopara said he thought, “my chances might have gone for the summer…” and so turned his attention to scoring heavily in first-class cricket and think of England’s winter tours in Asia, with ODIs in India, Tests in Sri Lanka and an ‘offshore’ series versus Pakistan in the UAE. “I still knew that I still had to perform very well if I want to travel with the team during the winter as a spare batsman… I still knew I need to be scoring runs to get the nod ahead of anybody else,” he said.Bopara believed his second-innings century against Leicestershire at Southend proved crucial in convincing the England selectors that he was ready for a return to Test cricket. He considered the 178 one of his best four-day knocks, which put him in good nick. “I certainly enjoyed that innings… I got into a zone I felt where I honestly felt I couldn’t get out… Eventually I had to come out of that bubble, when we had to set a score to put them in… Leicestershire bowled to sort of different tactics and it worked in my favour as well. I’m very glad that that innings happened, I learnt a lot from that innings alone.”Bopara’s fitful first-class season with Essex before that knock – with two centuries and two fifties in eight games – was not, he says, the result of being ignored by England even though it had had left him “frustrated”. The time he chose to spend in county cricket, as opposed to playing in the lucrative IPL, he said, had been a very useful investment as the summer has worn on. His early form in the season came from the typical demands of the first half of the English season. “Maybe I didn’t I prepare as well for those conditions, I didn’t think it was going to be as tough as the conditions really were… I didn’t certainly expect those conditions early season and I’m glad I did invest that time into my game. Not going to the IPL, it sort of gave me an insight into how tough conditions can be early season in England. I certainly learnt my lesson.”Forgetful Ravi finds a solution?

“I am very forgetful, I won’t lie. I’ve invested into an iPad which has been helping me a lot and I’m jotting little things in that. That helped me. I receive my emails straight away now, just the touch of a button and Ive got my emails. Whereas before I had to find a computer and log on, find some wifi and all that rubbish, but now I’ve got 3G and everything. My life is certainly more organised now than it has ever been. I didn’t think it was a big issue, but it has crept up on me. Sometimes being late here and there, forgetting the odd bit of kit and forgetting your passport and stuff, it’s one of those things that happens but it can’t keep happening and that’s why I’ve made efforts to make myself more organised as a person. It sounds silly, but the iPad is really helping me.” Bopara was then asked if he’d remembered to charge his iPad. “Yeah, it’s dead right now in my car,” he joked.

Part of that learning has come from handling the Tiflex ball used in the second division of the county championship. Bopara first found himself in the news not for scoring runs off it, as much as for critical tweets. On April 15, he had tweeted, “no heavy rollers and tiflex balls is a recipe for low scores. Crap cricket!”When asked why his international appearances had been so sporadic for a cricketer once considered the next big thing for English cricket, Bopara said, “It might have been that I wasn’t a well-rounded enough player to have survived at Test cricket in that time but you never will know until you go out and have another opportunity… and eventually when you do crack it, that’s the only time you will know.”Even as Trott’s replacement in the England batting, Bopara is not a prime candidate for the No.3 spot with there being a possibility of Ian Bell moving ahead and Bopara being slotted in at No. 6. When asked where he would like to bat Bopara said, “Anywhere. I don’t care. I’m not saying I can’t bat at No.3 because I’ve done so for the county many times. I’ve got two Test hundreds batting at No.3, it’s not like I can’t do it. It just didn’t happen for me against Australia. Anyway, I’d be happy to bat anywhere and as long as I go and get runs, I’m not too fussed.”Bopara said he wanted to ensure that he did enough with whatever opportunities he was given in the series against India to get his spot back in the England dressing room. “I have to put pressure on other people for me to get in and there’s only one way to get in and that is to knock somebody out. Regardless, I have to go out and score runs, whether it be county cricket, Test cricket… any cricket. This little opportunity here is a great little opportunity for me to get some runs and to prove to the selectors and the coaches that hopefully that I am the next man.”

Middlesex took a massive step closer to promotion by claiming maximum batting bonus points against Leicestershire at Grace Road

13-Sep-2011
Scorecard
Middlesex took a massive step closer to promotion by claiming maximum batting bonus points on the second day of their County Championship Division Two game against Leicestershire at Grace Road. Top-of-the-table Middlesex reached stumps on 401 for 8 and now needed just to avoid defeat to book their place in Division One next season.A fine knock of 97 from Dawid Malan and half-centuries for John Simpson and Gareth Berg were the bedrock of the total that put Middlesex on the brink of promotion with Northamptonshire managing only three batting points against Gloucestershire.There were times, however, when the nerves kicked in for Middlesex and at 320 for 8 in the 85th over they were by no means certain of reaching the 350 total required to collect a fourth batting point. But Berg, joined by Tim Murtagh, safely saw them pass that mark and then the pair cut loose, adding another 50 runs in the next five overs to leave Middlesex in a powerful position with a lead of 82 at the close of play.Berg finished on 70 not out from 81 balls having hit three sixes and five fours as the Leicestershire attack toiled in the evening session. Only off-spinner Jigar Naik, who picked up three wickets, really troubled the Middlesex batsmen who were in control for much of the day.Andrew Strauss and Sam Robson gave them a solid start with an opening stand of 75. Strauss, who survived a confident lbw appeal from Nathan Buck before he had scored, looked in good touch and the partnership produced 50 in nine overs. A 30-minute rain interruption stopped the flow of runs and Strauss was out on the resumption, caught behind by Ned Eckersley for 32 off the bowling of Alex Wyatt.Robson then edged the same bowler to wicketkeeper Eckersley for 46 but Chris Rogers and Malan shared a third-wicket stand of 71 in 22 overs to give Middlesex command again. But, when Rogers and Jamie Dalrymple were both dismissed by successive deliveries from Naik, Middlesex looked in some trouble again.Malan, however, continued to play some fine shots against some loose bowling from the Leicestershire seamers, reaching his 50 off just 59 balls. The 200 total came up via the 31st boundary of the innings with Malan clipping Rob Taylor away to the ropes.But, with a century looking certain Malan was out for 97 off 142 balls, caught behind as he chased a wide delivery from Wayne White. Simpson steadied things again, scoring a half-century off 86 balls before top-edging a catch off Taylor and, when Ollie Rayner and Steven Crook both fell cheaply, Middlesex looked to be stumbling in their bid for the prize.But Berg and Murtagh regained the initiative and by the close the visitors were in a commanding position with every chance of achieving the double over the bottom-of-the-table hosts.

Duncan Fletcher believes captaincy may have affected Suresh Raina’s batting but that Raina has the makings of a good leader in the future

Sriram Veera at Sabina Park17-Jun-2011The thought hovered in the air for a while at the press conference. Finally someone raised it to Suresh Raina, India’s stand-in captain. “India won the games played in slow and low tracks in Trinidad but at the first sign of some bounce and pace, you lost two games.””It wasn’t about bounce,” Suresh Raina said. “If you see Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had a good partnership. They bowled really well at the right areas. We couldn’t get a partnership after 35 overs and that hit us. It would have made a difference if we had 30-35 runs more.”But that was exactly the point. Kohli and Rohit tackled the conditions well – it was by no means a real bouncy track of course- but the rest didn’t. Raina the captain was very involved but Raina the batsman let himself and the team down. And he knew it. He also knew exactly why he failed in this match and in the series. “I didn’t bat well in three games. I was in bit of rush. I was not spending much time in the middle. If I had spent more time it would have been probably been different. My game is very positive. I was thinking if the ball was full I can go over covers but it didn’t work out. I will learn from this mistake and hopefully won’t [make] them anymore.”Did the captaincy affect his batting? Raina didn’t think so but the coach Duncan Fletcher, while lavishing praise on Raina’s captaincy skills, offered a different take on the issue. “It does have some sort of an effect. As a young player you are trying to develop your game and trying to establish your game but at the same time you are looking after ten to 14 other youngsters. You can’t move away from the fact that captaincy is a very very difficult job. Sometimes your mind can wander. It happens at times. The mind wanders from your game to game of team. During that period you need to be careful. Sometimes it comes in your advantage and helps your game. You just have to accept sometimes you just go through a bad patch. Other times your shots come off and your performance can be match winning.”However, Fletcher felt that Raina handled himself very well as a captain. “For someone who is 24 years of age, to lead a country like India, and a young team like this, he has done a tremendous job. He is the man who puts his head on block; he has to take the criticism and he has held his head high. He has looked positive, his body language has been positive and that is good. He can develop into a good captain in the future.”India won four of the six games during the limited-overs leg of the tour and Fletcher said he will take lots of positives from the team’s performances. “As a young side we came with a 4-2 result. You have to include the T20 game as well and it’s a very good result. You can talk about that last two which didn’t go our way but sometimes it’s very very difficult for players to concentrate after taking the series.” It’s a slightly tricky reasoning. A young side, ideally, should be fired up to play their best not matter what the circumstances. Perhaps it was just Fletcher’s way of trying to back up his players.Suresh Raina struggled with the bat in the West indies•Associated PressThe likes of S Badrinath, Shikhar Dhawan and Manoj Tiwary were given opportunities in this series but they failed to produce. No player was named but Fletcher was asked whether the failure of some who have done well in domestic cricket but haven’t done well in this series was a fair indication of their talent. Fletcher said he didn’t see it that way and that he believes they can’t be judged on these performances.”If you see these young guys haven’t got really a fair chance. Five games are not enough to judge a player’s ability. First of all playing for India there is a lot of pressure. Because of so much talent around, you are going to get very few chances. Hopefully, they will get more chances in the future. They put a lot of pressure on themselves and as a result you don’t see their true potential. When you put pressure your technique changes a litte bit and it can alter your performance.”I have always used a figure of 30 games, especially for batters. You got to look at 30 games to learn to understand one-day cricket. I don’t know how many games these youngsters have played. I don’t have the stats with me right now. I have heard some great batsmen who say that it took them 50 ODIs to understand the game. The important thing is they learn from this experience.”

Sri Lanka will not tour Pakistan unless they get security clearance, Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Nishantha Ranatunga has said

ESPNcricinfo staff23-May-2011Sri Lanka will not tour Pakistan unless they get security clearance, according to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) secretary Nishantha Ranatunga. The PCB had asked SLC for their views on playing the scheduled series between the two sides in Pakistan – at the insistence of the Pakistan government – but Sri Lanka’s concerns indicate the tour is very unlikely to happen.”We have received requests from Pakistan over the past three or four months,” Ranatunga said. “The PCB told us that they would like to host our team as scheduled in the FTP [Future Tours Programme]. We told them our stance that we need security clearance first before sending a team there again.”On Sunday night, a major terrorist attack in Karachi at a naval base – which was eventually held under siege overnight – near the National Stadium further diminished the possibility of Sri Lanka visiting. A PCB official privately conceded the chances of a visit after such an attack were now significantly reduced.On Sri Lanka’s last tour of Pakistan, the tourists’ team bus was attacked on its way to the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore, cutting the tour short. There has not been any international cricket in Pakistan since. Afghanistan will become the first international team to play in Pakistan next week when they take on Pakistan ‘A’ in three 50-over games, but the PCB were aiming at a higher profile home series.”We have sent them a fresh invite to play the series of three Tests, five one-day internationals and one Twenty20 match in Pakistan in October-November,” PCB spokesman Nadeem Sarwar said on Sunday. “We are waiting for their response but we have given them full security assurances.” His comments came before the reports of the attack in Karachi.SLC interim committee chairman Somachandra de Silva said Sri Lanka responded to the Pakistani invitation saying that they are not going to play the series in Pakistan.”We have replied to the PCB and await their confirmation. We are not going to play in Pakistan at this stage and have offered to host the series in our country,” de Silva told the . “If they agree to play in Sri Lanka they will have to bear the entire hosting costs. We have also expressed our willingness to play at a neutral venue in Dubai or Abu Dhabi.”de Silva had earlier told that security clearance from a Pakistan Task Team, formed by the ICC in 2009, is essential before considering any tour of Pakistan. Ranatunga confirmed that there were several issues that need to be worked out before any series in Pakistan can take place.”Pakistan cricket is going through a difficult period, and we are keen to help them out as they are one of our best friends. But we have to consider the safety of our players,” Ranatunga said. “First we have to get the security clearance. Then only will we discuss it with the cricketers. You have to remember that most of them were victims of the previous attack.”The difficulties in Sri Lanka committing to a tour of Pakistan were put into sharp perspective on Tuesday by Mahela Jayawardene, who was on the bus during the attack and said he still suffers flashbacks. “We were very, very lucky to be alive at the end of it … We were angry that, as innocent people, we had been placed at such risk,” Jayawardene told the . “We know it’s difficult to prevent terrorism but we asked for security and didn’t get it. People died needlessly – and our wives back home were going crazy.”Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan was even more categorical and clearly stated that he won’t be going to Pakistan. “It was a bad experience for me as a cricketer in Pakistan. As a player, I don’t want to go through the same experience in the future,” Dilshan said on Wednesday. “My personal view, I don’t want to go back to play cricket there.”

West Ham have had a wonderful season despite their defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League semi-finals.

A seventh-place Premier League finish would see David Moyes’ men secure another shot at European glory next year, albeit in the Conference League, and this could be crucial in their pursuit of players who want to showcase their skills on the continent.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-this-weeks-latest-west-ham-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-and-more” title= “Read the latest West Ham news!”]

Howeve, the Scot already has some excellent youngsters at the club and could save a fortune by developing and unleashing them next season to see if they are up to the demands of Premier League football.

One such player is left-back Emmanuel Longelo who has been performing well for the under-23s in Premier League 2 this season, contributing one goal and four assists in 17 appearances.

Roshane Thomas declared the 21-year-old as a player to ‘watch out for’ in 2019, and his stellar performances this year have led many to believe that a stable first-team berth might not be far away.

In fact, he even made his full first-team debut against Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League group stage, with his performance being lauded as “very impressive” by Jack Rosser, and this led to interest from Nottingham Forest during the January transfer window.

Nothing materialised on that front, though, and this could well please Moyes, who will surely be on the lookout for a long-term replacement for Aaron Cresswell, who will turn 33 before the year is out.

The manager won’t have far to look in Longelo, who appears to have the necessary skills and attributes which are required for success at the top level. With a European appearance in his back pocket already, a full pre-season amongst the first team would be a massive boost to his confidence, and he could be a capable and financially sensible solution to the post-Cresswell dilemma.

AND in other news, Forget Rice: Moyes now set for West Ham disaster on “remarkable” £125k-p/w giant

On paper, this is a match between two lowly ranked sides in the ODI hierarchy, but it will have huge implications in terms of progress to the next round

The Preview by Sidharth Monga24-Feb-2011Match FactsFebruary 25, Mirpur
Start time 14:30 local time (08:30 GMT)
Ed Joyce is back in the Ireland set-up after playing the 2007 World Cup for England•Associated Press Big PictureFor the last week, it has been somewhat quiet in Dhaka, but come Friday it won’t be so. On paper, this is a match between two lowly ranked sides in the ODI hierarchy, but it will have huge implications in terms of progress to the next round. Bangladesh know it will be near impossible to make the quarter-finals, something the passionate fans and the team want desperately, if they fail to beat Ireland. Ireland also harbour ambitions of making the next round, and they know this is their best chance of beating a Test side. They also know they will need to beat at least two of them if they are to extend their stay in the event.The implications of this game, however, are deeper than that. On one side is a team many believe got Test status too early and too easily, and is still struggling to justify it 11 years on. On the other side is a team many believe has done enough to at least merit a full-time ODI status: Ireland have beaten Bangladesh in the two major events the teams have played each other in. With Ireland also rests the flag of the beleaguered Associate nations, because they have been the best Associate side over the last four years or so.Bangladesh might have lost to Ireland in the world events, but they will take heart from having beaten them 3-0 the only time they have met each other in Bangladesh. A similar trap – a low and slow pitch – is likely to be laid. Given the conditions will obviously suit the Bangladesh spin army, and the kind of crowd that this match will attract – something Ireland will never have encountered before – the hosts will start favourites. That said, it will be tough to keep a spirited side down, a side that gets one chance in four years to show the world what it is capable of. That is motivation enough.Form guide (Most recent first)
Bangladesh: LWWWL
Ireland: WLLWLPitch and conditionsExpect a surface that will assist the Bangladesh spinners. It might be difficult to prepare a square turner in Mirpur, but it is likely to stay low. The expected dew played a role in Shakib Al Hasan’s decision to put India in last week – a tactic that backfired – and Shakib says he isn’t expecting much dew now. He said there hasn’t been much dew around. William Porterfield, the Ireland captain, though, said there was a little bit of dew when the team practised under lights two nights before the match.Watch out for…Tamim Iqbal struggled against India while the other two left-hand batsmen in the top order got off to good starts. Tamim decided to fight, and didn’t hit out. One school of thought suggests that is just the kind of defeatist mentality Bangladesh need to get rid of – the tendency of batsmen going for batting practice when the target is big. The other school of thought, Bangladesh’s, suggests Tamim started hitting the ball well by the end of the innings. Tamim said he was feeling better about his form after that scratchy knock, and we can expect the real Tamim in the next game.Ed Joyce is back in green. After playing a crucial role in Ireland’s qualification for the 2007 World Cup, Joyce chose to play for England and pursue a Test career, which is not possible with Ireland. He didn’t savour the journey his home team embarked on in the Caribbean, nor has he managed to represent England in Tests. Now he is back, and is welcomed with open arms. “If I can bring something in terms of calmness in the middle of the innings where, perhaps, it wasn’t there before, that would be nice to offer,” he told last week.Team newsBangladesh have had injury scares coming into the match, but Imrul Kayes is fit despite getting hit in the forearm in the nets on Wednesday. He batted in the nets on match eve, and will open with Tamim. However, Shafiul Islam, who took a bad fall during fielding practice on Wednesday, is not a sure starter. That could prompt Bangladesh to think more of their traditional strength, and perhaps go with four spinners. There has also been talk that Mohammad Ashraful might be back, but at No. 7, as a Powerplay specialist.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Junaid Siddique, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 6 Raqibul Hasan, 7 Mohammad Ashraful, 8 Mahmudullah, 9 Naeem Islam/Suhrawadi Shuvo, 10 Abdur Razzak, 11 Rubel Hossain.Ireland will be happy to welcome back Boyd Rankin (coming back from injury) and Joyce (coming back from England). That gives them real decisions to make when they sit to pick the XI, but expect two spinners in it.Ireland (probable): 1 William Porterfield (capt), 2 Paul Stirling, 3 Andre Botha, 4 Ed Joyce, 5 Niall O’Brien (wk), 6 Kevin O’Brien, 7 Andrew White, 8 John Mooney, 9 Trent Johnston, 10 Boyd Rankin, 11 George Dockrell/Albert van der Merwe..Stats and triviaBangladesh lead the head-to-head against Ireland 4-2.In the 2007 World Cup, Ireland had only two professional cricketers; this time they have only two who don’t play cricket full time.Since August 2009, Tamim has averaged 37 as opposed to a career average of 30, and has gone at a strike-rate of 94, which is also a huge improvement over his career strike-rate of 79. Two of his three centuries have come in this period.Quotes”[Ireland might have beaten us at world events], but when they played at Mirpur in 2008, we beat them three games in a row. So we have the home advantage. I don’t think they like to play in these conditions.”
.”Obviously 2007 was quite a while ago. We won on that occasion, but it’s going to be different in these conditions as opposed to what it was in the West Indies. Bangladesh are playing at home, they have got the home support, they have got the home conditions, so it is a completely different occasion.”

Jacques Kallis was immense, for the second time in this deciding Test, and his strength of will and mastery of technique dragged South Africa out of danger

The Bulletin by George Binoy05-Jan-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Jacques Kallis was in pain, but that did not prevent him from playing a priceless innings for South Africa•AFPJacques Kallis was immense, for the second time in this deciding Test, using his strength of will and mastery of technique to drag South Africa out of danger and then give them the strongest advantage enjoyed by either team in this gripping contest. Kallis battled the challenges posed by India’s bowlers on a wearing pitch, and the constraints and pain of a side strain, to become the only South African to score two centuries in a Test at home. His partnerships of 103 with Mark Boucher, who was also under pressure to perform, and 54 with Dale Steyn came after India were rampant, and they put South Africa in pole position to win the series. The stand of 46 with Morne Morkel simply poured acid into India’s gaping wounds.India’s performance during the first session of this pivotal day was aggressive, but they couldn’t have been more listless in the second and third. On a pitch with cracks that were widening, rough areas that were worsening and bounce that was becoming increasingly variable, India took three wickets and conceded only 69 runs before lunch. They even picked up the sixth wicket soon after the break, when South Africa’s lead was only 128. And then they went to pot, largely due to Kallis’ skill and Boucher’s grit, but also because Harbhajan Singh ran out of ideas, Zaheer Khan’s pace and fitness levels plummeted, and Ishant Sharma’s lines and lengths were atrocious. South Africa added 91 for 1 in the second session, and 129 for 3 in the last. Harbhajan finished with 7 for 120 but only after South Africa’s tailenders, Lonwabo Tsotsobe included, hit him around.Kallis began his masterpiece in the second over of the morning, after Harbhajan had spun an offbreak viciously to trap Alviro Petersen lbw on the back foot. He watched Hashim Amla deflect another offbreak off his arm onto the stumps while sweeping. South Africa had lost 4 for 14.The leg-side field was packed for Harbhajan, with fielders at short leg, leg gully, midwicket, square leg and a man on the boundary. Kallis saw empty expanses on the off side and sent the ball to the point and third-man boundaries by reverse-sweeping Harbhajan. He was playing against the turn, against the bounce, but used the stroke effectively and forced Dhoni to change his field. Kallis then countered Harbhajan by staying back, moving across, playing extremely late and taking the bottom hand off the bat while fending the ball down on the leg side.AB de Villiers struggled to score against Sreesanth, who operated on a tight length outside off stump. Zaheer too kept him quiet, with balls that angled in from round the wicket before seaming away off the pitch. It was the one that came back in that got the wicket, the ball uprooting off and middle stump as de Villiers was late in pulling out of the shot.Kallis continued to battle, the bowling and his injured side. When he pressed forward to one delivery from Harbhajan that spat up at him, he had to jerk to fend it down. He survived it, but was clutching his ribs in pain and lay down on the ground. It was a sight that his cheering fans at Newlands saw several times today.Smart Stats

It’s the second time Jacques Kallis – with knocks of 161 and 109* – has scored a century in both innings of a Test. It is also the first time a South African batsman has scored a century in both innings in home Tests.

Kallis’ century was his 40th in Tests, taking him past Ricky Ponting’s tally of 39. Only Sachin Tendulkar, with 51 centuries is ahead of Kallis.

Kallis’ average of 60.51 is the highest among all batsmen who have scored over 3000 runs in the team second innings in Tests.

Kallis’ aggregate of 498 runs in the series was the 13th occasion that a player has scored 400 or more runs in a three-match series against India.

Harbhajan Singh’s haul of 7 for 120 is his best ever figures in an away Test, surpassing his previous best of 6 for 63 against New Zealand in Hamilton.

After lunch, Kallis continued performing with uninterrupted resolve. India didn’t. Ishant was lucky to dismiss Prince with a short and wide delivery that was slashed to point, but it was his lines against Boucher that marked the beginning of India’s slide. Boucher glanced two deliveries down leg side to the boundary and slapped a wide ball through cover. Ishant’s lines and lengths were so erratic that MS Dhoni had no choice but to take him off.Harbhajan continued to turn the ball, and the odd one jumped, but his attack became predictable and Boucher soon got used to it. Kallis had got used to it long ago. India’s biggest concern, though, was Zaheer, who returned for a two-over spell an hour after lunch and bowled at speeds between 115 and 120 kph. He moved the ball at harmless speeds.South Africa’s lead passed 150, Kallis became his country’s highest run-scorer for a three-Test series, and when he straight drove Ishant to the boundary to reach his half-century, the Newlands crowd loved it. In the first over after tea, Kallis repeated that shot against Sreesanth.Boucher had taken tea on 46, having scored most of his runs on the leg side through sweeps and glances. A back-foot push off Harbhajan on the off, though, brought up his 50 off 74 balls and its briskness was instrumental in blunting India. It took a shooter from Sachin Tendulkar, bowling the 80th over, to trap him lbw.India took the new ball immediately and Steyn mowed a short one from Sreesanth over deep midwicket for six. The lead swelled past 250. Steyn then welcomed Harbhajan’s new spell with a monstrous hit over wide long-on. Harbhajan eventually picked up his fifth wicket – Steyn – 28 overs after his fourth.Kallis watched his partners clout and go but he remained steady and unbeaten. A non-descript single to square leg off Harbhajan brought up his 40th century, moving clear of Ricky Ponting’s tally of 39. Graeme Smith led the cheers in the dressing room, the Indians applauded and Newlands celebrated its superhero. Kallis took of his helmet and beamed, betraying not a trace of the discomfort he was in. It was his finest moment in his finest Test.

Celtic sent scouts to watch Hammarby IF defender Mohanad Jeahze this week, according to Swedish newspaper SportExpressen and Fotboll Direkt (translated by Sport Witness). 

The lowdown: Hoops’ interest

This comes after an original report from the same source claimed that the Hoops were eying a £1.6million move for the Iraq international left-back this summer.

Formerly of Mjallby AIF, Jeahze has amassed 124 senior appearances during a professional career spent exclusively in Sweden.

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Now, a move to Glasgow could be on the cards as Ange Postecoglou steps up the transfer plans…

The latest: Scouting mission

As per the Swedish outlet, translated by SW, Celtic sent a representative to observe Hammarby vs Malmo on Monday night in the Allsvenskan.

The match ended goalless with Jeahze replaced on 68 minutes following a 7.10 rated Sofascore display containing 3/4 successful duels, one key pass and 79 touches.

Meanwhile, Hammarby sporting director Jesper Jansson has admitted that there is ‘certainly an interest’ in the 25-year-old when quizzed about the links to Celtic Park.

The verdict: Bargain move

The suggested fee for the four-cap Iraq ace makes this move a no-brainer as Postecoglou looks to add senior competition for places to the squad.

So far this season Jeahze – who was hailed as ‘class’ by Darijan Bojanic – has scored once and provided five assists in 14 appearances across all competitions, eclipsing the four direct goal contributions for Bhoys left-back Greg Taylor this term.

Overall, the Sweden-born star has earned an impressive 7.63 average Sofascore rating this season, making 2.7 tackles and 2.3 interceptions per game on average, showing he does his defensive duties with aplomb too.

Despite being untested amongst Europe’s elite, Postecoglou has already proven to be a savvy operator in the market and should be backed to sign whoever he sees fit, whether they’re a household name or not.

In other news… a Celtic ace has been backed to make a permanent move away from Parkhead this summer.

It will be interesting to see if India will become more aggressive in the third Test, for attacking consistently will go against what has worked for them in recent times

The Preview by Sidharth Monga19-Nov-2010Match factsSaturday, November 20
Start time 9.30 (0400 GMT)India will be wary of Brendon McCullum with the bat and in the field•AFPBig PictureIn the late 90s and early 2000s, Australia was the country where teams went to get clean-swept. Pakistan, India and West Indies had managed the distinction in sequence, and the same was expected of New Zealand in 2001-02. Not least because of the form they carried across the ditch, having fought to draw a home Test series against Pakistan and having lost home ODI series to Zimbabwe and Pakistan, along with unsuccessful forays into tri-series in the subcontinent. Yet the top team in the world had to bowl wide outside off to draw the first Test, and then save the final through batting contributions from Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist. Series result: 0-0.Not too different, in a way, from New Zealand getting Bangla-washed on their way to India, a team looking to extend its reign at the top, its broadcasters selling the series as “Mission Domination”. Score line going into the final match: 0-0, with India being made to save one of those Tests.Still there are differences, outside the obvious reiteration that New Zealand should never be taken lightly. New Zealand then had a much stronger side through the presence of Chris Cairns, Stephen Fleming, Craig McMillan, Nathan Astle and Dion Nash, along with two promising youngsters in Daniel Vettori and Shane Bond. Also, the conditions in Australia aren’t as alien as the ones in India are. Which is what makes the performance in India so far every bit as sweet for New Zealand, if not sweeter.The way the top team played then and the way the top team is playing now cannot be more different. Australia made bold declarations, setting targets such as 284 runs in 56 overs. India are so used to playing on flat tracks that they send a deep point out the moment the leading wicket-taker still playing the game is hit for one boundary. With the exception of Virender Sehwag, India have shown no inclination to set the pace.It will be interesting to see if India will become more aggressive in the decider, for attacking consistently will go against what has worked for them in recent times: damage-control to stay in the game until the wickets arrive. Failing to win a home series against the No. 8 team in the world, though, might require much more damage-control than deep point and deep midwicket can provide.Form guide(Most recent first)
India DDWWW
New Zealand DDLLWWatch out for…Gautam Gambhir scratched through in Hyderabad for his first half-century in 10 months. Those 10 months have featured an evil concoction of injury and poor form, the latter possibly a result of the former. There were signs, though, that he might be getting back to his free-flowing self. Still, being a man who is often too hard on himself, Gambhir can do with a century before he goes to South Africa.

Brendon McCullum invited pressure when he gave up the wicketkeeping gloves to concentrate on his batting. Two Tests into the exercise McCullum already seems to have made a change, albeit in a country that doesn’t test openers as much as some of the others do. Twice in three innings, his impetus at the top has put India on the defensive. India will be wary of his batting, and also keep an eye out for that flying object in the covers.Pitch and conditions The tracks in this series so far have received a lot of negative attention from the home team, who will be hoping for a better pitch in Nagpur. Both the captains have found this pitch to be drier than the ones in Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, but neither of them expects a raging turner designed to give the home team the best possible chance of a win.
More than the pitch now, weather has become the centre of attention, with unseasonal rains washing out both of India’s practice sessions ahead of the match. The main pitch and the bowlers’ run-ups have stayed covered, but puddles have formed in the outfield. A delayed start won’t come as a surprise.Team newsZaheer Khan, India’s best bowler at the moment, has been ruled out with a groin strain, and Ishant Sharma is likely to take his place in the XI. Despite two draws, India are not going to make any other dramatic changes to their combination.
India 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 Suresh Raina, 7 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Ishant Sharma, 10 Pragyan Ojha, 11 SreesanthNew Zealand are likely to bring in the left-arm pace of Andy McKay ahead of Brent Arnel’s steady seamers.New Zealand 1 Tim McIntosh, 2 Brendon McCullum, 3 Martin Guptill, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Jesse Ryder, 6 Kane Williamson, 7 Daniel Vettori (capt), 8 Gareth Hopkins (wk), 9 Tim Southee, 10 Andy McKay, 11 Chris MartinStats and trivia India are sure to lose rating points irrespective of the result of this match. Even if they win the match, they will lose one point; a loss and a draw will cost them six and four points respectively. Six out of India’s top seven batsmen, Virender Sehwag being the exception, have scored at less than 50 runs per 100 balls. New Zealand last won an away Test, not counting Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, in 2002 in the West Indies, which was also the last time they won an away series.Quotes”If you look at the schedule players like myself and Suresh Raina have been playing non-stop cricket since the Sri Lanka tour … So there has not been enough time to switch on and switch off.”

“We are not satisfied because once we are satisfied, it will be the start of our downfall.”