Percept D’Mark, the event and celebrity management company, have filed a suit in the Mumbai High Court against Sourav Ganguly, alleging that he did not comply with the terms of the contract that he had signed with them.Percept, whose deal with Ganguly expired on Monday, have also taken out a restraining order, preventing him from signing up with any other management company until the matter is resolved. That could queer the pitch somewhat for their rivals, with Showdiff – set up recently by Ravi Shastri and Rediff – rumoured to be favourites to snap up Ganguly.Satish Kishanchandani, counsel for Percept, said, “My client has contended that Ganguly hasn’t complied with the terms and conditions of the contract.” The hearing is on Wednesday.
The Konica Queensland Fire will welcome back Australian squad allrounderTricia Brown for their crucial round of Women’s National Cricket Leaguematches against the Southern Scorpions in Adelaide this weekend.Brown has been out of action with a sidestrain since November but shapesas a key player for the Fire, which is yet to win a game in the WNCLdespite some solid performances.Queensland must win their remaining four matches against the Scorpionsand the Western Fury this month if they are to finish ahead of SouthAustralia in third position, with NSW and Victoria already shaping asthe likely finalists.In Queensland’s favour is the fact that they have played just four gameswith the remaining teams having played six games.The Scorpions will be stiff opposition with Australian left-hander KarenRolton one of the leading batters in Australia and a shining light forthe home side.Allrounder Belinda Matheson, pace bowler Kirsten Pike and top order batJodie Purves will be fresh from representing Queensland at theAustralian Under-19 championships in Melbourne that finishes later thisweek. The trio will fly from Melbourne to link with the rest of the teamin Adelaide.The Queensland Under-19 team can confirm their spot in the semi-finalsif they win their match against South Australia today.Konica Queensland Fire v Southern Scorpions, Sat/Sun, Adelaide: JuliaPrice (c), Bronwyn Buckley (v-c), Melissa Bulow, Belinda Matheson, SallyCooper, Tricia Brown, Megan White, Jodie Purves, Leonie Shields, CindyKross, Renee Lee, Kirsten Pike.
Northamptonshire, Division Two toppers ended the first day at 282 for 5 in112 overs thereby gaining two batting points against Gloucestershire atWantage Road. David Sales (55) and Russell Warren (61) slammed halfcenturies each while Tony Penberthy remained unbeaten on 42.Openers Matthew Hayden (41) and Adrian Rollins (49) gave a solid startmaking 82 in 30 overs after choosing to bat first before Hayden got out toMartyn Ball. Then Sales and Warren put together a fourth wicket stand of 62.Northamptonshire had their first bonus point in their 83rd over. Warren andPenberthy aded 95 runs for the fifth wicket beforeWarren holed out to the bowling of Lewis just 10 minutes before the closeof play.
As per Mundo Deportivo, there has been a major update on Tottenham Hotspur’s transfer plans involving RB Leipzig sensation Josko Gvardiol and manager Antonio Conte.
The Lowdown: Conte eyeing star defenders…
Since the end of the January transfer window, it has been widely reported that Tottenham, and by extension managing director Fabio Paratici, are targeting the signing of a star defender this year.
Inter Milan colossus Stefan de Vrij is believed to be a personal target of Conte’s with Lille’s Sven Botman also firmly on the agenda (The Daily Star).
However, according to report from Spain, it appears the Italian has now personally set his sights on Gvardiol above all others.
The Latest: Gvardiol ‘chosen’ by Conte…
As per Mundo, Spurs’ head coach has ‘chosen’ the signing of Leipzig’s gem as his and the club’s ‘number one goal’ for next season.
Gvardiol apparently jumps ahead of both Botman and Villarreal star Pau Torres as Conte’s priority transfer target.
The Croatia centre-back is also capable of playing as a left-back and in front of the defence as a midfield anchor.
The Verdict: Interesting development…
Gvardiol is certainly turning heads with his form in the Bundesliga this season with German football experts having raved over the 20-year-old.
Alex Chaffer, a content producer for the German top flight’s official English channel, doesn’t hold back in praise of the starlet – calling him the ‘real deal’ and a ‘real star’ who ‘just keeps getting better’ (Twitter).
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Reports from the continent suggest he could also leave for an affordable fee as Sport Bild (via Sport Witness) recently claimed that Leipzig value Gvardiol at around €25 million (£21m).
Taking this into account, it’s little wonder Conte has earmarked the player as a new top target.
In other news: Conte also green-lights move for ‘world-beater’ as his price tag plummets by nearly 50%! Find out more here.
A counter-attacking 105 by Abhishek Nayar – a knock characteristic of reigning champions Mumbai – saw the visitors finish their first innings 111 runs ahead of Tamil Nadu in Chennai. At stumps on the second day, Tamil Nadu trailed by 81 runs for the loss of M Vijay’s wicket.The hosts stuck to the basics and put pressure on Mumbai’s top order with a disciplined performance but the momentum quickly shifted towards the visitors in the afternoon as Nayar propelled his side to 317. The left-hand batsman, a handy bowler as well, finally delivered, scoring his first century in the Ranji Trophy and his third first-class ton – all of which have come this year.Mumbai’s openers Sahil Kukreja and Wasim Jaffer were prepared to bide their time in the morning session, moving their feet and getting nicely behind the line of the ball and almost every solid defensive shot was greeted by chants of from the players’ enclosure. Mindful of the low bounce on the surface, the openers added 57 at a slow pace, waiting for the bad ball instead of manufacturing strokes.Captain S Badrinath’s persistence with the seamers paid off when Kukreja and Ajinkya Rahane fell in almost identical fashion, fishing outside the off stump and edging to wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik. The spirits were up in the Tamil Nadu camp, sensing they could gain the first-innings advantage over Mumbai.Jaffer then had captain Amol Muzumdar for company and the pair settled down to add 61 for the third wicket. Jaffer played fluently, getting his front foot forward, beating the infield with neat flicks past the bowler and midwicket and then showed his prowess off the back foot, punching Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh with a firm push past extra cover.With the ball keeping low, Mumbai survived a few close shouts against the spinners before lunch. The pressure on the batsmen continued after lunch, and a rush of blood and uncoordinated running saw Jaffer and Prashant Naik losing their wickets. At 155 for 5, Mumbai’s hopes of a big first-innings lead looked dim.Refusing to get bogged down, Nayar took to the offspin of R Ashwin with an imperious loft over midwicket. He then launched the same bowler over the straight boundary, causing a few heartbeats to flutter at the media and scoring enclosure. The signs were evident that Nayar wasn’t going to be content with a cameo, like his 24 against Karnataka the in previous game.With the aggressive Ajit Agarkar for company, Nayar played with freedom, peppering the onside with a lofted sweep off Ashwin and a short-arm pull off left-arm seamer R Naresh. Both Nayar and Agarkar dismantled Naresh’s miserly figures – he conceded just over a run an over in his first nine – with three boundaries in a single over. Agarkar found his groove with a hook and cover drive off Naresh, as Mumbai inched closer to Tamil Nadu’s 206.Nayar wasn’t done yet. He managed to keep the off-side fielders on their toes, rocking back to the left-arm spin of R Ramkumar and bisecting the gap between point and cover on more than one occasion. The pair had added a priceless 61 – Mumbai gaining the first-innings lead – before Agarkar played down the wrong line to P Amarnath. Ramesh Powar perished soon after, edging to slip while trying to loft Ramkumar into the trees over long-on.The chants of and didn’t stop as Tamil Nadu were further driven further into the ground by Nayar. A firm punch down the ground was followed by a screeching extra-cover drive and a Caribbean-style one-legged whip. With his exaggerated wide stance, one could be forgiven for thinking a Lance Klusener impersonator was at the crease. Nayar, now joined by Vinayak Samant, continued in the same vein, launching Ramkumar over deep midwicket for his second six.Almost every shot, including defensive pushes, came off the meat of the bat. He reached his century with a firm push to mid-on, with Mumbai’s lead over fifty. His team-mates stood up to applaud his knock and the handful of spectators across the ground acknowledged as well. He fell trying to loft Ashwin with the turn, handing K Vasudevadas a catch running backwards from cover.Tamil Nadu, in reply, lost M Vijay early to Powar although the batsman wasn’t shy in showing his displeasure at the dismissal. However, they can take heart from the fact that Dinesh Karthik was middling the ball well, pounding the opening bowlers with horizontal bat shots off the middle of the bat.
Shane Watson is due to make his domestic return against South Australia on Friday after a series of injury setbacks. After being hopeful of taking part in the Ashes, Watson was ruled out of each of the first three Tests with a hamstring injury suffered in the lead-up to Brisbane last month.However, Watson has travelled with Queensland for their one-day and four-day games in Adelaide and has been named in the Pura Cup squad. While Watson’s international prospects have improved with his recovery, Greg Blewett, the South Australia batsman, has dropped further in the minds of his state’s selectors after he was cut from the limited-overs squad for the clash on Wednesday.”It was very disappointing to leave Greg out,” Paul Nobes, the chairman of selectors, said. “Unfortunately, Greg’s performances in the first three matches of the one-day competition have not been enough to warrant his selection.” Daniel Harris is Blewett’s replacement in the 13-man squad while Gary Putland has retained his spot.Queensland have called Scott Brant back into their outfit alongside Nathan Rimmington and Craig Philipson as they replace Mitchell Johnson, Andrew Symonds and Matthew Hayden. Either Johnson or Symonds could be squeezed back in if they are not chosen in the Test side at Perth.Jimmy Maher, the captain, has been picked in both squads despite a minor groin strain that prevented him from fielding in the win over Victoria on Friday. Rimmington is in line to make the Pura Cup XI after the Queensland selectors decided not to push for Michael Kasprowicz, who picked up three wickets for his grade club at the weekend as he regains fitness following back and groin problems. South Australia have made no changes to their Pura Cup outfit.Queensland FR Cup squad Jimmy Maher (capt), James Hopes, Clinton Perren, Craig Philipson, Lachlan Stevens, Chris Simpson, Michael Buchanan, Chris Hartley (wk), Andrew Bichel, Scott Brant, Ashley Noffke, Nathan Rimmington.South Australia FR Cup squad Matthew Elliott, Daniel Harris, Mark Cosgrove, Callum Ferguson, Cameron Borgas, Darren Lehmann (capt), Graham Manou (wk), Ryan Harris, Jason Gillespie, Mark Cleary, Dan Cullen, Shaun Tait, Gary Putland.Queensland Pura Cup squad Jimmy Maher (capt), Lachlan Stevens, Martin Love, Shane Watson, Clinton Perren, Craig Philipson, James Hopes, Chris Hartley (wk), Andrew Bichel, Daniel Doran, Ashley Noffke, Nathan Rimmington.South Australia Pura Cup squad Matthew Elliott, Daniel Harris, Mark Cosgrove, Callum Ferguson, Cameron Borgas, Darren Lehmann (capt), Shane Deitz (wk), Jason Gillespie, Dan Cullen, Cullen Bailey, Paul Rofe, Shaun Tait.
Marvan AtapattuOn the likely playing XIWe have a few options. But we’ll have a look at the conditions tomorrow morning before we finalise the team.On how much Jayasuriya would be missedHe’s been a great cricketer for Sri Lanka. But it’s a decision that the selectors have made. We have a couple of great young prospects, and time will tell how effective they can be at this level.On whether they might go with five bowlersI heard that this pitch was prepared for the one-day game against South Africa. It looks quite dry, and will certainly be a factor when it comes to choosing our final eleven.On so many in the squad having little or no experience of Indian conditionsIt’s been so long since we played a Test here, but we know that playing India in India is a big test. It won’t be an easy task.Tom MoodyOn how different the stadium and the conditions seemed after having played here during the Reliance World Cup in 1987Well, 1987 was a long time ago. It’s a great ground to play cricket, and I have some fond memories of the place. The wicket looks good, and we should have a great game.On bouncing back from the 6-1 drubbing in the ODIsIt’s Test-match cricket now. We’ve had a nice break, a period of time away from the game. The players were given a [fitness] programme to work on, and we then got together to prepare for the Tests. We put the white balls away and got the red ones in. We’re more familiar with the Kookaburra balls used back home, so we had to adapt to the one used here.
Umar Bhatti blew United Arab Emirates away with 5 for 43 in the final session to reduce them to 194 for 9 after they had been set a very tempting 337 in five hours on the last day of the Intercontinental Cup semi-final at Sharjah.UAE failed to mount a realistic challenge after Syed Maqsood, who scored a hundred yesterday, was caught behind off Bhatti’s left-arm medium-pace. They needed over 200 in the final session to win, or, if the match was drawn, to total at least more than 250 with fewer than three wickets down and 25 more for every further wicket lost.Although 200 in a session is a challenging task on any third-day pitch, that’s exactly what happened in the morning and was what gave UAE hope. Kashif Khan, one of their openers, was out shortly after lunch for 56, and he had carried the quick-scoring torch from two of his opponents. While Ian Billcliff held up one end for Canada with a tidy 63, first Sunil Dhaniram then Austin Codrington went after the UAE bowling. The declaration came with two wickets remaining, which deprived UAE of a bowling bonus point that helped make the subsequent run-chase more difficult. Scorecard With no chance of winning, or even progressing to the final, Kenya batted out to a draw after being set an impossible 607 to win by Scotland on the last day of their semi-final in the ICC Intercontinental Cup.Amit Bhudia took up over three hours for his 79 to help avoid defeat after John Blain, who has played for Northants, dismissed Malhar Patel from the second ball of the Kenyan innings. Near the end of the day and with no prospect of any result, Kalpesh Patel enlivened proceedings when he decided to hit out and entertain the crowd with a cameo 23, made off 20 balls.Kenya had begun the day well, dismissing Colin Smith who had added only six to his overnight 87, but that was their only success in a difficult morning. Kyle Coetzer continued where he left off yesterday, and reached his hundred off 200 balls with 13 fours and a six. He put on 122 for the seventh wicket with Craig Wright, Scotland’s captain, who made a half-century, and declared after his side had reached 400, with the lead gigantic.
Ray Mali, the newly elected president of United Cricket Board, has promisedSouth Africans improved administration of their game, a determined effort to breathe life into club cricket, and a more sophisticated approach to racialtransformation.Mali, 66, was elected unopposed at the UCB annual meeting in Pretoria onSaturday. He succeeded Percy Sonn, who had been president since 2000.Sonn did not stand for re-election and will attempt to further his career incricket administration at international level.Rob Kurz was re-elected unopposed as vice-president and John Blair foughtoff a challenge from Haroon Lorgat to be re-elected as treasurer.”I am very conscious of the fact that I come from a cricket culture that stretches back more than 100 years, but that was marginalised by apartheidfor nearly five decades,” Mali said. “You will excuse me if my cricketing ancestors share this moment with us all, because I would not be here had they not given me a heritage as rich in cricket as you will find anywhere in the world.”Mali committed the UCB to “giving equal opportunities to everyone who wants to play cricket,” and to the development of South Africa’s ailing clubcricket structures. “The key to equal opportunity lies in capacity building, which is the cornerstone of our transformation policy,” Mali said. “We do not believe any more in throwing people into the deep end in order tomake transformation statistics look impressive.”Club cricket is a microcosm of the UCB, and yet over the past few years wehave tended to neglect its development in favour of schools and first-classcricket. We have seen a widening gap between the two, which club cricket can fill. There is also a dearth of good administrators coming out of club cricket, particularly in the townships and we are going to address this.”Reflecting on his time at the helm, Sonn said “the Hansie Cronje saga …questioned the values of the game that we love so much”. Cronje, who died in a plane crash on June 1 2002, was banned for life by the UCB after his involvement in match-fixing was exposed.”I believe that it was the transparent and swift reaction of the UCB thatset an example to world cricket on how to deal with this crisis, and how toprevent it happening again,” said Sonn.Sonn added that South Africa’s successful hosting of the 2003 World Cup was a highlight of his career. “The International Cricket Council described this as the biggest and best World Cup ever held,” said Sonn, "and this is due to the enormous amount of work that was put in by all the UCB structures."
What can be said after a week during which Zimbabwe suffered the greatest humiliation in their international history? 38 all out against Sri Lanka! In certain countries the players would be liable to stonings on their return or public effigy-hanging – or enquiries into match-fixing. Zimbabwean cricket-followers merely content themselves with sarcasm and verbal contempt.Lowest ever ODI team total; fastest ever ODI defeat; best-ever ODI bowling figures. Since we do not have a reporter on the spot and no easy method of communication with the team, we know no more about the situation than any other reader who has read the match reports. But there seems to be no excuse adequate to cover this situation. The pitch does not seem to be a minefield; however well Chaminda Vaas bowled, it is totally unacceptable for the national side to be dismissed for just 38 runs.At least the team redeemed themselves, in the eyes of many cricket-followers, by defeating West Indies in the following match. It is perhaps a comfort to know there is another international team capable of playing as appallingly as Zimbabwe. Match reports, however, spoke more of how badly West Indies played in that match rather than how well Zimbabwe played, so that 38 was evidently not quite the kick up the backside the team needed, as some thought. They played better than West Indies, but apparently still not particularly well.Another predictable defeat to Sri Lanka followed, though this one was at least somewhat less humiliating. Nobody who knows the talents of the team can believe that this is the best they can do, even in the absence of several top players who are either injured or out of form. Why, then, do they so often under-perform, and so badly?There are several possible factors. Ongoing hostilities between players, selectors and administrators; too much cricket in too many different countries without a break; a degree of inferiority complex against senior Test teams; lack of mental toughness (with the honourable exception of Andy Flower); low morale among Zimbabweans, especially the whites, in the current political situation in Zimbabwe, which includes fear for the future. These may all contribute, but if Andy Flower can overcome these distractions, why cannot the others?ZIMBABWE A IN KENYACongratulations to Kenya for gaining their initial first-class victory, over Zimbabwe A, and then going on to win all three matches of the one-day series. Again, though, one suspects that this is not just to the credit of the opposition, but also to the detriment of the Zimbabwean team.Zimbabwe A regularly play several Test and ODI players, yet they fail to overwhelm the B teams of South African provinces as they should in the UCBSA Bowl competition. They do win more often than not, but a team with that sort of talent and experience should be able to hammer South African provincial B teams out of sight – in fact, the opposing provincial teams are often without the 15 to 20 best players of their province, with 11 in their A team and in some cases several more on international duty. We should be seeing innings victories from our Board XI in that competition.So perhaps it was not unexpected that they should struggle in Kenya, who are used to their home conditions. It would be a mistake to assume that Kenya are rapidly approaching Test quality on the basis of their victories, although that will be nice if it is the case. Undoubtedly they are progressing, and their wins over Zimbabwe A will give them extra confidence. But they will need to keep on winning against teams with more power than a disappointing Zimbabwe A.Also in the past week, CricInfo has carried reports of Zimbabwe Under-19’s convincing defeat at the hands of Natal Under-19 in a three-day match in Bulawayo. South African provincial teams at age-group level are generally able to pick up more experience of top-class cricket than their Zimbabwean counterparts, but it just adds to the depressed air that lies over Zimbabwe cricket at the moment.THE MANCHESTER OF ZIMBABWEI read an article on CricInfo by the controversial English writer Michael Henderson, who wrote about his visits to cities whose industrial prowess laid claim to titles of `the Manchester of India’ and `the Manchester of Pakistan’.I immediately wondered what centre could be labelled `the Manchester of Zimbabwe’. Mutare! Not because of industrial prowess, but because whenever a cricket match is staged for that beautiful little Eastern highlands city, it seems to rain. Remarkable to learn, then, that last Sunday only one national league club match was possible in the entire country – and that was in Mutare! One for the record books!