Riding on a first-innings total of 531, Habib Bank Limited (HBL) dismissed Punjab for 259 and 215 to complete a rousing innings and 57-run victory at the National Stadium.Having reduced Punjab to 185 for 6 at stumps on day two, HBL bowled them out for 259 and gladly enforced the follow-on. Irfan Fazil, the right-arm fast medium with two international appearances, picked up 3 for 50, Danish Kaneria 3 for 90, and captain Shahid Afridi backed his 54-ball 86 with 2 for 35.In their second innings, Punjab fared worse. Only Mohammad Hafeez (40) and Kamran Akmal (37) managed decent scores out of a total of 215, as Pakistan hopeful Abdur Rehman, the left-arm spinner, finished with 5 for 72. Afridi was again in form, with figures of 2 for 32 from ten overs.* * * * * * *Having taken a first-innings lead of 131 on day two, Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) extended it to 300 with a total of 521 for 7 on day three against the combined b>North West Frontier Province (NWFP)-Balochistan at the United Bank Limited (UBL) Sports Complex. Saeed Bin Nasir extended his overnight 101 to 142 and captain and former international Mohammad Wasim made an unbeaten 108. Before stumps, KRL had nipped out three wickets to leave NWFP on 133 for 3, still 167 runs adrift.Bin Nasir and Wasim added 121 for the sixth wicket to extend their side’s lead. The duo had been in form last week, with half-centuries in a hard-fought draw against Habib Bank Limited. Jannisar Khan, the fight-arm medium-pacer, had the best figures of 2 for 56 from 16 overs.Yasir Arafat, the Pakistan allrounder, dismissed NWFP opener Shoaib Khan jnr for 0, but Yasir Hameed (65) and Umar Javed (38*) added 85 for the second wicket. Hameed was dismissed by Saeed Ajmal’s right-arm offspin, before Ajmal picked up Shoaib Khan snr for 15. NWFP have plenty to do to save this match.
Scotland have ODI fixtures against New Zealand, South Africa and Kenya in 2008 according to the Future Tours Program released by the International Cricket Council.Scotland are scheduled to visit South Africa in May 2008 for a tri-series which also involves Kenya, and in June the Kenyans will travel to Scotland for a return series in which New Zealand will replace South Africa.A spokesman for Cricket Scotland said that it was likely that matches would be played at several venues. At the moment, only Edinburgh has been approved by the ICC, but it was hoped that grounds in Aberdeen, Ayr and Glasgow could be brought into play.”We have a shed-load of cricket in 2008,” said outgoing chief executive Roddy Smith. “It all harks back to the fact that we and Kenya were promised twice as many games as the other World Cup qualifiers when we won the ICC Trophy.”Smith added that while no fixture had been inked in against England, “logic dictates that England should be coming to us in 2007. It’s not a scheduled event but we hope it will happen.”
Scorecard and ball-by-ball The hosts Nepal crashed out of the ICC Intercontinental Trophy despite crushing the UAE by 172 runs in their ICC Intercontinental Cup match in Kathmandu . Binod Das continued his outstanding form, but it was not enough for Nepal, who finished 0.5 points behind UAE in their group. The UAE, who were set 249 to win after Nepal’s second declaration of the match, were reduced to 29 for 6 by Das before eventually blundering to 76 all out – and yet still qualified for the semi-finals.Das, the medium-pacer, finished with 5 for 27, to go with the 6 for 29 he took against Hong Kong last week. Only Ahmed Nadeem, who punched four fours and a six in his defiant 32, and the opener Arshad Ali, who made 18, reached double figures. Victory moved Nepal to within 0.5 points of the UAE, but it was not enough.
Khalid Latif, the opening batsman, has been named as Pakistan’s captain for next month’s Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh.Khalid has played 10 first-class matches, as well as two U-19 `Tests’ against Sri Lanka in August last year. In junior one-day cricket, he has played eight matches, and he scored 98 in his first appearance for Allied Bank in this season’s inter-departmental qualifying round.He has some captaincy experience as well. He led Pakistan on three occasions – against Malaysia U-17 in 2000, Sri Lanka in August 2003, and in the Asian U-19 tournament at Lahore and Karachi.Squad Khalid Latif (capt), Adnan Zaheer, Abid Ali, Jahangir Mirza, Mohammad Asif Iqbal, Fawad Alam, Zulqarnain Haider (wk), Tariq Mahmood, Mansoor Amjad, Usman Saeed, Salman Qadir, Wahad Riaz, Mohammad Riaz Afridi, Ali Imran Pasha.
Queensland cricket captain Jimmy Maher conjured a memorable outright victory over South Australia today as the Bulls extended their lead on the Pura Cup table.Maher arrived at Adelaide Oval for the final day today perhaps the only person believing maximum points were possible to gain.After all, SA’s reply to the visitors’ first innings had not been completed.But in an astonishing turn of events, Maher today claimed first innings points, smashed a half-century from 38 balls and boldly declared before his bowlers routed the Redbacks in the afternoon.Maher set SA an enticing 239 from 60 overs to win and then watched paceman Ashley Noffke destroy the Redbacks by taking 5-31 as the home side was bundledout for 132.Queensland won by 106 runs and now enjoy an eight-point buffer from the chasing pack on the cup table.Today’s fluctuating fortunes began when Noffke completed a four-wicket haul in SA’s first innings of 392 – a total 111 behind the Bulls’ first innings of 5(dec)-503.Maher then led a brazen Bulls assault with the bat, blasting a half-century from 38 balls which included seven fours and a six – a timely reminder to national selectors of his strokeplay as speculation of Mark Waugh’s one-day demise continues.The acting Bulls skipper fell for 52 – the first victim in a stunning slump of 7-27 during a reckless quest for quick runs.During the chaotic collapse, Redbacks spinner Brad Young and medium pacer Greg Blewett were both on hat-tricks – and both were denied the feat.With Queensland’s overall lead of 238 and his side’s second innings at 7-127, Maher bravely declared with a minimum 60 overs remaining.He then unveiled an unexpected trick – he wanted to again use the ball which Queensland used for 144.2 overs in SA’s first innings.But Maher failed to ask his Redbacks counterpart Blewett and under cricket’s laws, both captains must permit the old ball to be used again.On this occasion Blewett refused, preferring a hard new ball for his batsmen on a wearing pitch.It mattered little.After reaching 2-98, SA lost 8-34 and was all out with two overs remaining.
Haryana were bowled out for 463 in 154.2 overs, shortly before the teainterval on the second day of the Cooch Behar Trophy final againstMadhya Pradesh at the Deccan Gymkhana grounds, Pune on Thursday. Inreply, MP weathered the fall of two early wickets to end the day at 86for two.Haryana resumed on a healthy overnight score of 316 for three. Themiddle order batsmen failed to capitalise on it and the remainingseven wickets fell for the addition of 147 runs. Skipper Ajay Ratrawas the first to be dismissed. He was adjudged leg before wicketgiving Omprakash Yadav his first wicket of the day. Ratra could addonly one run to his overnight score and fell to the last ball of thefirst over.Sumeet Sharma (71) soon followed and was in the pavilion, adding sevenruns to his overnight score. The fall of both the overnight batsmentriggered a collapse in the middle order. Haryana lost five wickets inthe first session of the day and went to lunch on 387 for eight off125 overs. The post lunch session saw a revival in the batting thanksto Amit Mishra and Gaurav Vasishta. Mishra and Vasishta added 49 runsfor the ninth wicket off 22 overs. Their stay at the wicket ensuredthat Haryana passed the 400-run mark. The partnership ended one shortof the fifty mark when Mishra edged an outswinger from OP Yadav tostumper Naman Ojha. Amit Mishra scored 31 off 87 balls with four hitsto the fence.Nitin Agarwal joined Vasishta at the fall of this wicket and the duoadded 50 runs for the last wicket off 16.4 overs. Gaurav Vasishtaplayed a fighting knock scoring 56 off 113 balls, hitting six of themto the fence. He was dismissed shortly before the tea interval. NitinAgarwal was unbeaten on 15 off 52 deliveries. OP Yadav picked up threewickets for 127 runs, Maninder Singh and Jitendar Likhar each baggedtwo wickets each for 93 and 74 runs respectively.MP were happy to have restricted Haryana to less than 500 runs buttheir joy was short lived. They lost Sachin Dholpure in the secondover. Dholpure flicked a delivery off his pads and called for thesecond run but was caught short of his ground by an excellent throwfrom the fine leg boundary by Joginder Sharma. The sad tale for MPcontinued when Nitin Agarwal penetrated the defences of Naman Ojhacastling him on 15. The tenth over saw both openers in the pavilionwith 35 runs on the board. One drop Mohnish Mishra (31 batting) andJatin Saxena (20 batting) prevented any further damage. They added 50runs for the unbroken third wicket off 16.2 overs.
Paul John Dykes has dropped a worrying claim on the future of Celtic winger Karamoko Dembele.
What’s been said?
In comments made on a recent episode of the A Celtic State of Mind podcast, Dykes stated his belief that – with the 19-year-old’s current contract at Parkhead set to expire at the end of the season, and, as yet, the winger being yet to agree a new deal with Ange Postecoglou’s side – the former England U18 international looks as if he will be on his way out of the club this summer.
Speaking about Dembele’s contractual situation, the podcaster said: “I think that Dembele – I feel as though he’s run his race at Celtic. I hope I’m wrong. I hope Ange Postecoglou can convince him to stay another two or three years.”
Disaster for Celtic
Considering how much expectation there has been regarding Dembele’s future ever since his debut for Celtic’s U20 side as a 13-year-old back in 2016, should the winger go on to leave on a free transfer at the end of the season, it would undoubtedly be a disaster for Postecoglou and his side.
Indeed, the £225k-rated sensation was named on the shortlist for the European Golden Boy award as recently as 2020, while, shortly after his arrival at Parkhead, the 56-year-old Bhoys boss also stated his excitement at the potential the £2k-per-week forward possessed, saying:
“He is obviously a hugely talented boy. He has been here for a while and I guess he gets an opportunity now. I think the way we play will suit him.”
However, despite recovering from an ankle injury that had kept him sidelined for the first half of the season towards the beginning of February, Dembele has since played just six minutes of Premiership football, as well as being completely left out of Postecoglou’s matchday squad for Celtic’s last two league fixtures – something that does not exactly appear to be the opportunity the Greek-Australian manager suggested the 19-year-old would receive.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
And, following the news that fellow Celtic prospect Ben Doak also appears extremely close to sealing a move to Liverpool, should Dembele indeed join the 16-year-old in moving onto pastures new this summer, it would certainly come as a huge blow to everyone involved with the club – with the Parkhead faithful surely being devastated at the thought of losing a talent as promising as the forward for free.
AND in other news: Ange can axe “infectious” ace as Celtic become “serious contenders” for “massive” deal
Really, you have to applaud Arsene Wenger’s obstinate outlook on life. First he proclaims that changing his philosophy of developing the Gunners’ young players and scouting for bargain signings (despite spending spending over £20 million on Lukas Podolski and Oliver Giroud) is unthinkable despite seven years without a major trophy. Now he’s hoping that Robin Van Persie will do a Rooney type U-turn and remain at the Emirates Stadium as they prepare for make-or-break talks over his future. The Holland forwards very public disagreement with the clubs direction gave the impression that his bridges were burnt in North London and he’d be sold before the new Premier League season starts. But Wenger is still hopeful of persuading Van Persie to stay with the Gunners through the prime years. They always say the third time is a charm and after failing to use his powers of persuasion to hang on to Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri last year perhaps Van Persie will be his ace in the hole.
This week on FFC does Wenger need to address his ideologies to take the Gunners forward and is the club in a more stable position than the media like to admit?
[divider]
Best of FFC
North London giants are in a far better place than the media will have you believe
Wenger’s Philosophies Must Evolve and Adapt
Why Arsenal must make an example of him
Could the Arsenal board learn a trick from Levy?
Is this really Wenger’s preference or has his hand been forced?
Would Arsenal benefit from their presence at the club?
Does buying these transfer gambles ever work in favour of Arsenal?
The prices Arsenal set gives fans every right…doesn’t it?
[divider]
Best of WEB
[divider]
One Of Us Speaks – Another Green World – A Cultured Left Foot
Should we fork out £23M for this Fiorentina ace? – Gunnersphere
Arsenal – a team with no core or backbone – Online Gooner
Why Gunners should go for Moses – Gunnersphere
Is our chrilden learning? – Arseblog
Time for decisive action from Wenger before these two get away. – Le Grove
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Intent! Potential signing that will make the big guns quiver in their boots – not!!- Highbury House
[divider]
Quote of the Week
[divider]
“I could have left 10 times to join another club but I didn’t because I have worked with the same vision and philosophy at Arsenal for the last 16 years, and that won’t change. Besides, money was never a motivation for me.” Arsene Wenger vows to stick by his Arsenal policies of investing in youth
The start of another League One season is only days away and whilst it seems only weeks ago that we were screaming at poor refereeing decisions or moaning about the horrible weather on a cold Tuesday evening, fans of football league clubs can finally look forward to a new campaign full of optimism and hope. One club doing just that is League One side Leyton Orient.
Last season was one of surprising highs. The O’s earned a seventh-placed finish and enjoyed an FA Cup run that included wins against two newly promoted Premier League teams and an amazing draw against Arsenal. Equally impressive was that Orient did all this playing attractive passing football rather than the long ball ugly game that often weighs down the lower leagues. There is a strange feeling of expectation around Brisbane Road. As many fans know this is of course a very dangerous feeling and needs to be balanced with a dose of realism due to the unpredictably of the lower leagues.
But in the euphoria of football returning after the summer break, I am going to preview the O’s season with a new sense of expectation. Pre-season has gone well for Russell Slade’s side. We remained unbeaten until a visit from Premier League Tottenham and Slade has brought in a number of new faces that add depth and experience to a relatively small squad.
Most crucial though is that we have kept last season’s stars together. Finding a lower league gem is hard enough but one good season often sees your best players snapped up by bigger teams. Jamie Jones and Jimmy Smith in particular were out of contract and look destined to move on but yet somehow both stayed and signed long-term deals with the club. Key men like Charlie Daniels and Dean Cox faced the inevitable whispers of them looking to move on yet both remain in East London for the new season. Keeping a set of players that are driven by a good spirit and great understanding of each other’s play is a great advantage for Slade.
And then we come to the manager himself. Not often do Orient bosses get head hunted by higher league sides but this summer the O’s looked on the verge of losing their most important asset to Championship side Barnsley. But Russell stayed and whilst it seemed like a case of chairman Barry Hearn slamming the door shut on any potential move, all parties seem happy and ready for the new season.
[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’right’]
Orient kick off the new campaign against Walsall this Saturday before facing local rivals Southend in the cup. With a slightly bigger squad at our disposal I believe we have the team to challenge in both competitions and early wins would set up the season well. But what about our other competitors? Who is going to be the danger team next season?
Despite experiencing a disastrous campaign last season I expect Charlton to do well. They have added to the squad wisely this summer and if they can make a good start, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them make their long-awaited jump back up the leagues. Under the leadership of new boss Uwe Rosler and in the wake of some impressive signings, Brentford would be an outside bet for a play-off push next term. The clubs that were relegated from the Championship last season (Preston, Scunthorpe and Sheffield Utd) also have a good chance of making an impact in the third tier of English football.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Whilst on paper the league looks weaker after the departures of Peterborough, Brighton and Southampton (and the long-term losses in previous years of ‘big teams’ like Norwich and Leeds that used to improve the league), League One promises to be another exciting campaign. The unpredictability of the lower leagues means its hard to say whether Orient can go one step better than last season but to be honest, come next May, I would be happy with another top ten finish.
How do you think Orient will do next season? If you want to read more of my bite size, 140 character views and thoughts follow me on Twitter @jennyk5
The pressure is starting to grow on Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier. After last night’s 1-0 defeat to Sunderland at Villa Park, a match in which striker Emile Heskey was sent off, Villa now find themselves in the bottom three. The result last night was even more disappointing given the encouraging performance put in by the players in the 3-3 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge at the weekend. Villa are just one point off the foot of the Premier League table and definitely find themselves in a relegation scrap.
Many Aston Villa fans and journalists from the print media have already called time on Gerard Houllier’s tenure at Villa Park, but if he were to be sacked by Randy Lerner, who should replace him? The early favourite for the job is Sam Allardyce, who himself has only recently been fired by Blackburn, but other contenders include Aston Villa favourite Kevin MacDonald and maybe even former manager Martin O’Neill. Who would you like to be installed as the next Aston Villa manager?