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Doug Bollinger, the Australian fast bowler, has been drafted in by Chennai Super Kings as a replacement for the injured Jacob Oram, who was ruled out of the 2010 season of the IPL. Bollinger will join the team on April 5.Sundar Raman, the IPL’s chief executive, had confirmed the news on his Twitter page: “Doug Bollinger to debut for CSK, replaces injured Jacob Oram who is out for the entire series.” Bollinger’s inclusion will bolster Chennai’s bowling attack, which sorely lacked a genuine strike bowler during a disappointing start to their campaign.Oram suffered a patella tendon tear shortly after New Zealand’s home series against Australia began and was advised rest for up to a month. His participation in the IPL was in doubt, but the franchise chose to wait before taking a final call on his replacement.Bollinger, who came in to the Australian Test side in January 2009, has emerged as one of the team’s best strike bowlers in the last year. He had an outstanding 2009-10 home season, taking 25 wickets in five Tests, against West Indies and Pakistan. He also took 15 wickets in eight ODIs against the two teams and began the Test series in New Zealand with a five-for in Wellington.

A round-up of the opening day’s action of the RBS Twenty20 Cup 2009-10

Cricinfo staff28-Feb-2010Kamran Akmal and Aizaz Cheema starred with bat and ball respectively to help Lahore Lions sink Quetta Bears in the opening fixture of the RBS Twenty20 at the National Stadium in Karachi. Kamran made 68 in Lahore’s 196 but Quetta’s response was so meek, they failed to reach 100. An opening stand of 44 was the launchpad for Kamran and his brother Umar Akmal to shape a stand of 62 for the third wicket. Kamran added 38 with Kashif Siddique and remained unbeaten, hitting eight fours and a six in his knock. Cheema, the right-arm seamer, sliced through the top order to leave Quetta reeling at 24 for 6. They never recovered from that position, limping to 91 for 9. Cheema finished with 4 for 17.The day-night fixture at the same venue was a closer affair, with Multan Tigers beating Peshawar Panthers by 22 runs. It was a commendable fightback by Multan after they were reduced to 23 for 4, recovering to 146. Jannisar Khan did the early damage for Peshawar, before the lower order led the fightback. The 58-run stand for the seventh wicket between Naved Yasin and Mohammad Hafeez was the best of the innings. Yasin top scored with 35 while Hafeez remained on 32. Peshawar began very confidently with the openers adding 48 before it all went downhill. Hafeez and Zulfiqar Babar (4 for 26) shared the bulk of the wickets to bring Multan back in the game. Israullah scored 48 but after his dismissal, in the 14th over, the match slipped further away from Peshawar and they were ultimately bowled out for 124.Sialkot Stallions held their nerve in a cliff-hanger to overcome Karachi Zebras by four runs in the final game of the day at the National Stadium. The Zebras were favourites to finish it off as the rampant association between Khurram Manzoor and Faisal Iqbal, which had realised 125 runs in 82 balls, had to knock off 14 off 1.2 overs to finish the game. That was when panic set in, as both batsmen departed to run-outs off consecutive balls to throw away the initiative. Fourteen off six, with two new batsmen at the crease, became five required off the last ball, a task that proved too steep for Akbar-ur-Rehman as the canny Rana Naved-ul-Hasan dismissed him LBW to seal the thriller. The win was earlier set up by a strong batting effort, led from the front by the captain Shoaib Malik, who was risk-free and effective at the same time, striking just three fours in a 44-ball 67. Abdul Razzaq chipped in with a quick 38 as the score swelled to 171, despite the effort of Anwar Ali whose 3 for 24 had kept things quiet at the start. Mohammad Asif did likewise for Stallions, before Manzoor and Faisal nearly spoiled the day for the visitors, but only nearly.

Shane Watson is the favourite among his team-mates for the Allan Border Medal after a spectacular home summer

Peter English14-Feb-2010

Shane Watson is the favourite among his team-mates for the Allan Border Medal after a spectacular home summer. Watson didn’t join the Test side until the middle of the Ashes series, but it hasn’t stopped Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey from tipping him for Australia’s prestigious prize at tonight’s ceremony in Melbourne.Michael Clarke and Mitchell Johnson, who would become the third bowler to win in the 11 years of the award, are the other major contenders. “If you read the paper Watto can’t be beaten and is a $1.30 favourite,” Ponting, who shared the honour with Clarke last year, said. “I thought it would be Watto, Pup or Mitch.”Watson has been strong since his return to the Test team in Edgbaston and has also contributed heavily in the one-day team, while Clarke has been consistent and Johnson has had patches of brilliance sprinkled with deep troughs. “For me, Shane Watson is the favourite,” Hussey said. “He’s only played half the games, but I think in those games he’s probably polled very well.”Mitchell Johnson has been outstanding really, I think he’ll vote consistently through the whole course of the year, but having said that there’s only been two fast bowlers [Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath] that have won the award, I don’t know whether that’s a trend. Michael Clarke, his Test form over the course of the year has been fantastic and will probably poll well, and I’m sure he’ll pick up votes in the one-dayers as well. So he might be the one to come in and sweep past both them.”

Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira has ruled Joachim Andersen out of Tuesday night’s clash with Leeds United. 

The Eagles boss told reporters that the 25-year-old ‘is not going to travel’ to Elland Road because he’s not ‘100%’ following a recent hamstring injury.

Andersen injury a real blow for Palace

The Dane, a £20m summer signing from Lyon, had featured in all of Palace’s Premier League games this season prior to last weekend’s 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa.

James Tomkins was called upon to replace him in the heart of defence, slotting in alongside Marc Guehi, but the 32-year-old was partly culpable for Villa’s opener as he failed to deal with Ashley Young’s corner before it fell to eventual scorer Matt Targett.

An attacking weapon

Andersen’s importance to the Eagles extends beyond his defensive contribution.

He frequently launches attacks through his passing, averaging a squad-high 6.3 accurate long balls per 90 (via WhoScored). In the Premier League as a whole, only one outfielder – Wolves’ Ruben Neves – can better that figure.

Fan feed CPFC Transfers HQ relayed Vieira’s update, and here’s how these Palace supporters reacted.

Palace fans flock to Andersen injury update

“Announce Leeds win”

Credit: @cpfcadam_

“Pain”

Credit: @callum_cpfc_

“Tomkins vs Leeds it is”

Credit: @cpfc_sean

“Inshallah he is not out for five months”

Credit: @cpfctristan

“Not surprised and it sucks but hopefully this means it’s not too serious and he can be back for the weekend”

Credit: @phillyconcarne

“We struggled without him last week, I honestly think we should play Riedewald at the back to advance the play forward even though defensively he may not be as safe as Tonks”

Credit: @nikolimorgan

In other news, lots of Palace fans reacted to this contract news. 

Graeme Smith has admitted the decision over Makhaya Ntini’s is a “sensitive” issue, but he didn’t give the struggling fast bowler his unqualified support

Andrew McGlashan in Cape Town02-Jan-2010Graeme Smith has admitted the decision over Makhaya Ntini’s place in South Africa’s line-up is a “sensitive” issue, but unlike during the build-up to the previous Test at Durban he didn’t give the struggling fast bowler his unqualified support.Two days on from the Kingsmead Test, Smith confirmed that Ntini would retain his place in the starting line-up at the expense of Friedel de Wet, but after a performance where he went wicketless through 29 overs the captain was no longer able to offer that backing. The decision over Ntini’s fate was being taken on Saturday afternoon and the news is unlikely to be good for one of South Africa’s most famous sportsmen.”It’s a sensitive issue in South Africa, and that’s being honest,” Smith said. “Makhaya is an ‘icon’, through the country, not only the most iconic player of colour that we have, but also one of our most iconic cricketers in terms of performance over the last decade.”When senior players are at the point where there are a lot of questions being asked about them it’s always a terrible, tough time for any leadership group to manage. We’ve really tried to support Makhaya and give him as much as we can behind the scenes.”He’s been working hard at his game. Let’s hope there’s confidence left in him for the future. It’s always tough when a guy hasn’t taken a wicket in a game to say you’ve seen improvements.”Such has been the focus on Ntini throughout this series – from the build-up to his 100th cap at Centurion to his decline in form – that Smith showed his exasperation at endlessly having to defend his strike bowler when asked again about his chances. But Ntini is more than just another cricketer in South Africa which is why the issue is so significant.”England have played him well. They’ve had good tactics against him, and Makhaya probably hasn’t been at his best,” Smith said. “We’ve worked on a few things with him this week. Let’s see what happens.”Makhaya will fall into the same place as everyone else. We want to pick the best team for tomorrow. Obviously it is a sensitive issue. We want to make the right decision, so we can win a Test match over the next five days.”In the set-up of South Africa cricket the final decision on the team rests with coach Mickey Arthur once he is given a squad by the selectors, headed by Mike Procter. The triangle of Arthur, Procter and Smith has had few issues over the last year and this major selection call will test the cohesiveness of the home side.”Mickey is meeting with the selection panel this afternoon. We’ll have the team by tonight and announce it [in the] morning,” Smith said. “As far as I know, the selection process is that Mickey will have the final call.”I’ll have an input. But since I’ve been captain, I can’t remember having a vote in the selection. I’m not passing the buck … it’s always been that way.”Either decision will come with significant consequences. If Ntini somehow survives the axe it will create an inescapable feeling that more than purely cricket reasons are behind the decision, but if he is omitted, as looks likely, it will be a tough road back for a player who means so much to this country.There is no black cricketer making a huge push for selection in the near future. Only Lonwabo Tsotsobe, the left-arm paceman who has played three ODIs, is close to the national set-up and he isn’t considered a realistic Test option at the moment. The coming weeks and months will show how free of outside influences South African cricket has become.

Newcastle United were beaten comfortably by Manchester City on Sunday as Eddie Howe’s team lost 4-0 to the league leaders.

Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo, Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling scored the goals for the away side as the Magpies struggled to keep the Cityzens at bay.

The Magpies had a penalty shout in the first half after Ederson swept Ryan Fraser off his feet after Cancelo walked away with the ball, but the referee and VAR did not deem it worthy of a spot-kick.

Forget Clark

Ciaran Clark may receive flak for his mistake in letting the ball go over him for Dias’ header, but another player in the back four was shocking on Sunday – Matt Ritchie.

The Scottish full-back came in for the injured Jamal Lewis and did not do enough to make the Northern Ireland international worry about winning his place back. Ritchie was handed the opportunity to show that he deserves to be the first-choice left-back in the side moving forward and failed to grasp his chance.

Defensively, he was shocking. As per SofaScore, he lost three of his four duels on the pitch as he made just one tackle in his 90 minutes on the pitch. He was also dribbled past a whopping three times, compared to Jacob Murphy’s zero at right-back, which shows that he was far too easily beaten by City players when they had the ball at their feet.

Ritchie also failed to switch on at the back post for the fourth goal as Sterling snuck ahead of him to tap the ball into an empty net from Gabriel Jesus’ low cross. He did not anticipate the danger and proactively look to stop the forward from getting into the six-yard box and this led to him being caught on his heels as the England international found himself with a tap-in.

On the ball, he did very little. As per SofaScore, he lost possession 13 times from 44 touches, whilst he also failed with all five of his attempted crosses. He did not create a single chance from full-back or attempt a dribble, showing that he did not make up for his weak defending with attacking quality.

Therefore, the £44k-per-week liability was shocking as he was poor at both ends of the pitch. Howe will surely be disappointed with his display and may potentially be praying that Lewis is back sooner rather than later in that position.

AND in other news, Fewer touches than Dubravka: NUFC lightweight who lost 80% duels let Howe down badly…

Manchester United have approached former Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde as they look to appoint an interim manager following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s dismissal. 

What’s the story?

The Red Devils have been linked with several star names as they search for Solskjaer’s successor gathers pace, but a first-choice candidate appears to have been chosen.

According to news relayed by well-known journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, United chiefs have made contact with Valverde as they look for a short-term solution to their managerial vacancy.

He tweeted: “Manchester United board had a direct contact with former Barça manager Ernesto Valverde today, as per @JamieJackson___#MUFC. No decision made yet – he’s one of the five candidates in the list in case Mauricio Pochettino won’t be allowed to leave Paris Saint-Germain.”

Man Utd fans should be pleased

Although the prospect of another interim manager is not something that will get too many United fans off their seats, the idea that such a well-respected and proven tactician is being lined up as his alternative should at least provide some form of comfort.

In fact, after hearing of the big twist that Pochettino might be more difficult to lure away from PSG, seeing Valverde linked with the club should have supporters rather pleased.

Considering Valverde’s success, he certainly seems like a very good option if the Red Devils cannot lure the Argentine back to England as feared. After claiming three league titles and two Greek Cups across two spells with Olympiacos and taking charge of over 300 games in the Athletic Bilbao dugout over two separate stints, Valverde got his big break as Barca boss back in 2017.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/check-out-the-latest-manchester-united-news-manager-solskjaer-pochettino-enrique-rodgers-psg” title=”Check out the latest Man United manager news!”]

During his time in Catalonia, the 57-year-old guided the Blaugrana to consecutive La Liga titles and a Copa del Rey crown before being sacked in January 2020, but he’s been out of work ever since.

In Jamie Jackson’s original report, it’s claimed that Valverde has already held talks with football director John Murtough and that the Spaniard has begun identifying transfer targets ahead of the January window.

“It is understood Valverde has discussed with John Murtough, United’s football director, taking over on a temporary basis, with the club conscious that having worked with Lionel Messi at Barcelona he would be at ease managing Cristiano Ronaldo,” wrote Jackson.

“Valverde has started sounding out potential players he could add to strengthen the squad should he be appointed.”

Only time will tell if United and Valverde can agree terms on his temporary appointment, but supporters should view his arrival as the best of a bad situation.

And, in other news…Fabrizio Romano drops big Man Utd manager update that’ll surely leave fans gutted

With an impressive 43 goals scored across all competitions so far this season, it’s safe to say Liverpool have not had any issues in front of goal in recent weeks.

Especially given how they have the likes of Mohamed Salah in their squad at the moment who has managed to rack up 15 goals in 12 games so far in his latest campaign with the Merseyside club.

Having said that, it seems as though the Reds could already have their next version of Salah in the youth squad with 20-year-old right-winger Jack Bearne.

Bearne signed to Liverpool’s youth side back in April 2017 from Notts County for a fee of £153k according to Transfermarkt.

Since then, Bearne has gone on to make 25 appearances for Liverpool’s U18 side, scoring four goals and providing one assist as well as making 29 appearances for their U23 side, scoring four goals and providing three assists along the way, proving himself to be a real attacking threat with a lot of potential.

Bearne, who has been previously described as a “hero” by Reds journalist James Pearce after the winger scored a late winner in a youth match against Everton back in 2018, has only made one senior appearance for the Reds which came during their 5-0 defeat against Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup back in December 2019.

Back in 2019, the club’s official website revealed that Bearne had put pen to paper on his first professional contract with the Reds.

So far this season, Bearne has made ten appearances for Liverpool’s U23 side in which he has managed to score one goal and provide one assist, whilst trying his hand at playing in the central-midfield and attacking-midfield positions as well as right-wing, showing his versatility at such a young age.

Moving forward, we feel that if Bearne can keep playing regularly for Liverpool’s U23 side and add some more goals and assists under his belt on a consistent basis, we think that he has what it takes to break into Jurgen Klopp’s side and become a star in the future based on the talent and attacking prowess he’s already shown in their youth teams.

However, taking into account the inspiring form Salah is in at the moment, it seems as though Bearne, or any other right winger across the Merseyside club, would have a hard time overtaking the Egyptian.

In other news: FSG could land LFC’s next Henderson in 18 y/o “huge talent”, fans should be excited – opinion

MatériaMais Notícias

O técnico Zé Ricardo aproveitou a primeira semana à frente do Vasco para avaliar o elenco, e começou na última segunda-feira a definir a equipe que entra em campo na partida contra o Grêmio, no próximo sábado, em São Januário. No entanto, o treinador já disse que não vai fazer muitas alterações em relação ao time que derrotou o Fluminense por 1 a 0, pela 23ª rodada do Brasileirão.

– Disse aos atletas que na primeira semana ia fazer uma avaliação geral, oportunizar todos nos trabalhos que temos feito. A partir disso, vamos fazer nossas escolhas. Não vejo muitas mudanças que serão feitas em relação ao jogo passado. Até porque não seria inteligente da minha parte fazer mudanças, gerando desequilíbrio na equipe – disse Zé Ricardo, em sua última coletiva, na sexta.

O Cruz-Maltino terá duas mudanças automáticas para o jogo contra o Tricolor gaúcho. Gilberto e Jean estão suspensos por terem recebido o terceiro cartão amarelo. De acordo com os treinos já realizados, Madson e Bruno Paulista vão ficar com as vagas.

Na semana passada, um dos testes feitos por Zé foi a entrada de Yago Pikachu atuando no meio-campo, porque Wagner estava sendo poupado por desgaste. Porém, já no sábado o meio-campista estava treinando novamente entre os 11 iniciais. Já na atividade da última segunda, a experiência foi Escudero atuando como volante, no lugar de Bruno Paulista.

No ataque, Andrés Rios é o favorito para assumir a vaga como referência, já que Luis Fabiano está se recuperando de cirurgia para reparar uma lesão no menisco do joelho direito. O atacante argentino atuou nesta função contra o Flu, foi bem e leva vantagem sobre Thalles, que voltou a perder espaço no elenco.

Outra coisa que Zé Ricardo vai buscar durante esta semana é dar equilíbrio ao time. Segundo o treinador, é preciso trabalhar de forma integral que a equipe evolua defensivamente e ofensivamente.

RelacionadasVascoVasco consegue Certificado de Clube Formador de AtletasVasco04/09/2017VascoBreno revela foco de Zé Ricardo com a defesa e pedido de ‘erro zero’ atrásVasco04/09/2017VascoJogadores não veem prejuízos ao Vasco em pausa de 15 dias sem jogosVasco03/09/2017

CSA president Mtutuzeli Nyoka said the GCB had rejected the mediation agreement and wanted the impasse to be resolved through an arbitrator

Cricinfo staff28-Jul-2009Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) board of directors will meet on Thursday regarding the dispute with the Gauteng Cricket Board (GCB) over the stripping of the Wanderers’ international status.Last Friday, CSA had agreed to Gauteng’s request for mediation and had asked the sports ministry to intervene. However, CSA president Mtutuzeli Nyoka said the GCB had now rejected the mediation agreement, and wanted the impasse to be resolved through an arbitrator.”CSA received a letter from GCB’s CEO which in essence rejected our acceptance of an offer for mediation, as well as the Ministerial intervention,” Nyoka said. “Further, GCB went ahead with its own unilateral deadline of July 24, 2009 and sent an arbitration application the day before this. GCB’s intentions to resolve this matter are doubtful.”The tussle started when the GCB accused the CSA chief executive Gerald Majola, the BCCI and IPL organisers of mismanaging the 2009 event soon after the league ended. In response, the CSA members forum warned that the South African board would not allot any international matches to Wanderers unless GCB apologised.If the issue is not resolved, Wanderers could lose out on three matches during England’s tour to South Africa in November-December.