All posts by h716a5.icu

Kevin Pietersen has been named captain of the Bangalore Royal Challengers ending the uncertainty over who would lead the side during this season’s IPL.

Siddhartha Talya21-Mar-2009Kevin Pietersen has been named captain of the Bangalore Royal Challengers, ending the uncertainty over who would lead the side in the IPL’s second season. Jacques Kallis, the South African allrounder, will take over when Pietersen leaves for England’s home series against West Indies, which begins in the first week of May.Vijay Mallya, the franchise chairman, said the decision was taken after extensive consultations with Rahul Dravid, the captain in the first season. The team performed poorly last season, finishing second from bottom with four wins from 14 games, and Dravid, also its “icon” player, came in for some flak for the composition of the squad.However, Dravid could miss the tournament as he is expecting the birth of his second child. “It was a very practical decision, and he [Dravid] is himself very relaxed about it,” Mallya said.Pietersen was widely expected to be named the team captain after Mallya pursued, and netted, him in the auction last month for $1.55 million. The only doubt was his relatively short period of availability because of international commitments – which then raised the question of who would deputise for him.”We had six international captains to choose from,” Mallya said. “The decision on captaincy was taken keeping in mind three considerations: player’s availability, flexibility in the squad selection during the phases and the fact that Dravid may not be available for the entire tournament.”Pietersen, while agreeing to captain Bangalore, had recently told Sky Sports that he would turn down any offer to lead England in the World Twenty20 in June. When asked by former England captain Nasser Hussain: “What about the ICC World Twenty20 in England, if they say, ‘Kevin, look, we desperately need you to captain’?” Pietersen replied: “No.”Bangalore was referred to as a “Test team” last season as a result of their disappointing performance but Mallya was confident his team would perform far better. “We were not balanced last year and had a weak batting line-up,” he said. “We have Pietersen, who some reporters have referred to as the ‘world’s finest batsman’, and Jesse Ryder, who is doing well. We have a quality bowling line-up with the likes of Dale Steyn and Nathan Bracken. We are no longer a Test team but one qualified for Twenty20 cricket.”Mallya also felt his team would not be weakened by the absence of Zaheer Khan, who was traded for Robin Uthappa with the Mumbai Indians franchise.The IPL’s second season is currently in considerable doubt itself over security issues but Mallya sounded bullish about the outcome. “I don’t believe the IPL will be cancelled,” he said. “Too many stakeholders will be disappointed if it is cancelled. I think a solution will be found.”When asked how badly the current recession had affected the franchises, he said the scale of bids in the IPL auctions in Goa in February were an indication of how little an impact the economic crisis had had on the tournament.

Southampton go in search of their first victory of the 2021/22 Premier League campaign as they host West Ham at St Mary’s this afternoon.

The Saints have picked up two points from their opening three league outings, losing to Everton and drawing with Manchester United and Newcastle.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side did thrash Newport County 8-0 in the Carabao Cup in between their two Premier League draws, but they are yet to taste a top-flight win to earn them three points since the campaign started.

Will Hasenhuttl make any changes to his side against West Ham? Here is our predicted XI for the match…

We are predicting that the Austrian will make three changes to his starting XI from the draw at St James’ Park, with Romain Perraud, Jan Bednarek and Nathan Redmond coming into the team.

Starting off in the heart of the defence, we are predicting Bednarek to come into the team in place of Jack Stephens after six goals conceded in three league matches. Hasenhuttl needs to do something to address the leaky backline and starting the Poland international could help. We have published an article explaining our reasoning behind this proposed switch, with the 25-year-old’s performances last season suggesting that he could have a bigger impact than Stephens.

The second change we are predicting is Perraud for Kyle Walker-Peters. The former Spurs defender had a solid game at left-back against Newcastle, but we believe that the balance of having a left-footed player at left-back will be more effective for Southampton against West Ham. It allows the build-up play to progress faster down that side, instead of Walker-Peters needing to cut back onto his right foot when he receives the ball as he is a right-back by trade.

Our final change to the XI is Redmond in for Moussa Djenepo on the left. The Mali international endured a torrid afternoon against the Magpies as he recorded a SofaScore rating of 6.1, missing a ‘big chance’ and losing seven of his 10 duels on the pitch.

He lost possession nine times from 37 touches and was tackled in three of his five dribble attempts. This shows that he had a poor performance and deserves to drop out of the side, with the £16.2m-rated Redmond coming in to have a chance to show what he can do. The wing wizard came on for Djenepo at Newcastle and created a ‘big chance’ in just 32 minutes on the pitch, offering a glimpse of the threat he can provide.

We are predicting that the rest of the team will remain the same from the draw with Steve Bruce’s side a fortnight ago.

AND in other news, “Now close”: Ralph makes claim on 21y/o maestro that’ll leave Southampton fans buzzing…

The IPL’s new ‘tactical timeout’ is “hampering the momentum of a team” in a Twenty20 match, according to Sachin Tendulkar, the Mumbai Indians captain

Cricinfo staff20-Apr-2009The IPL’s new ‘tactical timeout’ is hampering the momentum of a team in a Twenty20 match, Mumbai Indians captain Sachin Tendulkar has said. The seven-and-a-half-minute break in the middle of an innings has also been criticised by Mumbai offspinner Harbhajan Singh, who told NDTV he did not like it because it “breaks the rhythm”.”Yes, we have done well in our last match but I think the strategy breaks are hampering the momentum of a team,” Tendulkar said. “The seven and a half minute breaks are a bit too long.”Mumbai began their IPL campaign by beating Chennai Super Kings by 19 runs in Cape Town on Saturday and Chennai’s head of cricket operations, VB Chandrasekhar, was also not pleased by the scheduled break.”The seven and a half minute break after 10 overs is quite a distraction and comes in the way of valuable momentum, but that is something all teams will have to live with this year,” Chandrasekhar wrote in his blog on the team’s website. “Further, we had an unscheduled break of seven to eight minutes with a magnificent black canine holding centre stage amid hilarious scenes never before witnessed.”Chandrasekhar, a former India batsman and ex-national selector, is not the only credible face in the IPL to have voiced concerns about the timeout that was introduced to show more commericials on Indian television. Tom Moody, the Kings XI Punjab coach, admitted on Sunday that the timeout had affected his team’s momentum, leading to a loss against Delhi Daredevils.”We had the momentum and we had seven and a half minutes to lose it,” Moody said. “It was the perfect time for Daniel Vettori to come on and secure the momentum back in favour of Delhi. But there are going to be days in this tournament when it works in our favour too.”Meanwhile, Chandrasekhar wrote Morkel’s omission was a key reason for Chennai’s 19-run loss to Mumbai. “A last minute change to the side was to prove costly for us as Albie landed here sans his gear. The airline had lost it in transit from Johannesburg where he had played the last ODI game against the touring Aussies,” he wrote. “Albie was very disappointed and stressed at the sad turn of events. We missed him for his all-round skills, although Thushara did bowl well in his opening spell.”The other disappointments for Chennai was the catch dropped by Mathew Hayden at slip to let off Sachin Tendulkar off Andrew Flintoff and the three sixes hit by Abhishek Nayar in another Flintoff over. “Tendulkar was dropped early and later, Abhishek Nayar got stuck into Freddie,” Chandrasekhar wrote. “A little more planning was necessary for local players and that is an area to be addressed with greater care. Nayar’s cameo gave them a competitive score. These factors, combined with a bad start to our chase when we lost a couple of early wickets, put us quickly in a catch up mode especially as Haydos [Hayden] couldn’t dictate terms to Bhajji.”

Fulham have been dealt a major blow regarding the fitness of Fabio Carvalho ahead of their upcoming Championship clash.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by the Fulham website, Marco Silva revealed that the 18-year-old is set to miss the club’s Championship fixture against Birmingham City on Wednesday evening due to injury.

However, the 44-year-old went on to claim that Harry Wilson could be in line for a return to the side following his own recovery from a knock.

In his comments, Silva said: “Harry Wilson is good, he’s okay. He’s making steps to play tomorrow.

“We have some more doubts about Fabio. He got a knock to his foot, on his toe. Against Stoke, he played with some pain in his foot, and after that it got a little bit worse.

“It’s not something really, really serious, but we are trying to reduce the pain so he can train in a high intensity and can be ready to play as well.”

Silva will be gutted

Considering just how impressive Carvalho has been for Fulham so far this season, and how poor the Cottagers looked without the attacking midfielder in their loss to Blackpool last weekend, the fact that the teenager looks set to miss what is sure to be yet another challenging test against Birmingham will undoubtedly have left Silva gutted.

Indeed, over his five Championship appearances this term, the £225k-rated youngster has scored three goals, provided one assist and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.4 shots and making 2.2 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the player Silva himself dubbed a “fantastic” talent average a SofaScore match rating of 7.30, ranking him as Fulham’s fifth-best performer in the second tier.

However, it once again looks as if the Portuguese manager will have to make do without the starlet on Wednesday evening, something which is sure to put a huge dent in the club’s chances of leaving St. Andrew’s with a positive result.

In other news: £5.4m-rated Fulham flop who lost 80% duels failed Marco Silva’s trust vs Blackpool

Celtic supporters have been waiting for an absolute age to see some of their new signings in action for the first time.

The Hoops are yet to field Giorgos Giakoumakis and they may have to be a little more patient with the Greek striker after he sustained an injury in the warm-up on Thursday.

They are also yet to see the likes of Liam Shaw and Osaze Urhoghide play for the senior side after arriving from Sheffield Wednesday.

Some fans haven’t been too impressed by their first glimpses of James McCarthy but one player who did become a talking point after their 3-0 win over Raith Rovers was Liam Scales.

On the chalkboard

The Irishman arrived with little fanfare in the final weeks of the window but he could become one of Ange Postecoglou’s most underrated acquisitions.

Capable of playing at full-back, wing-back and in the middle of defence, he is blessed with great versatility which should be an enormous help considering the sheer number of injury problems that Celtic have.

Carl Starfelt missed the defeat to Livingston with an illness while Greg Taylor’s absence of around 12 matches could open up a door for Scales to feature on the left.

However, there is a sense that the 6 foot 2 Irish defender’s qualities outweigh merely playing second fiddle. Instead, he could eventually prove to be Celtic’s long-term heir to Kristoffer Ajer at Parkhead.

The Norwegian departed Glasgow this summer as he joined newly-promoted Premier League side Brentford in a £17.5m move.

His departure had been a long time coming, and judging by the Bees’ defensive record this term, he has been a big miss for Postecoglou’s men.

Ajer has never been the best defender but he leads by example and stands up when it really matters. John Hartson said last season: “He’s grabbing the bull by the horns and he’s almost dragging the team through, even to these draws.”

What makes the Norway international so like Scales? Well, they’re both versatile defensively, good in possession and they have long levers which help them gallop forward from the backline.

Hartson added: “You see him [Ajer] making these lung-bursting runs forward, he’s marauding with that big stride, he’s challenging, on his backside, making blocks, in the opposition’s penalty area.”

If you compare those words to quotes collected about Scales, you can see why we’re making such a strong comparison.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/check-out-the-latest-celtic-news-duffy-mccarthy-brady-knockaert” title= “Read the latest Celtic news!”]

Collie O’Neill, his former manager at UCD, once remarked: “Liam likes to get forward. It’s not often you have guys on the wing who are tall and attacking, but when he gets going into his stride, he’s quick and strong. He can just whip past people.”

Fitting into a similar physical profile, it would be eye-catching if Scales did become like Celtic’s much-hailed Norwegian.

That said, he will be striving to make his own name in Glasgow in the coming years.

AND in other news, Celtic have just been rocked by another big blow, Hoops fans are surely gutted…

Chennai can still afford one more mistake, but with their negative net run-rate Punjab have made their last mistake if they are to error if they are to enter the final four

The Preview by Sidharth Monga19-May-2009Match factsMay 20, 2009
Start time 16.30 local, (14:30 GMT)Big PictureThere was a clear winner in the contest between Sreesanth and Matthew Hayden when the two teams last played•Associated PressTwo days ago Kings XI Punjab resisted what would have been a miraculous chase by Rohit Sharma. Yesterday Chennai Super Kings let Brendon McCullum and Brad Hodge pull off another reply. The result: Punjab are still alive and Chennai are not entirely safe. Chennai, with 15 points and a very good net run-rate, can still afford one more mistake, but with their negative net run-rate Punjab (14 points) have made their last error if they are to enter the final four.If Chennai…
win, they will seal their place in the semi-finals.
lose, they still are most likely to make it because of a superior net run-rate.
share points, they ensure their passage to the final four.If Punjab…
win, they finish ahead of Chennai and cement their semis spot
lose, they will have to hope Kolkata defeat Rajasthan and Bangalore lose theirs by a huge margin (their net run-rate is behind Bangalore’s by 0.17).
share points, hope Rajasthan don’t win their match, and there is an outright result in the match between Deccan Chargers and Bangalore.
The last two conditions, though, will have become clearer by the time Punjab start because Rajasthan would have finished their game by then.Form guide (completed matches, most recent first)Chennai Super Kings: LWLWW
When Kolkata chased 189 successfully against his side, MS Dhoni termed it as some of the worst bowling in the IPL. It might not quite be the worst (Kolkata’s effort against Bangalore takes the cake), but Chennai’s death bowling is definitely a concern. Remember how Suresh Raina bailed them out against in their previous game against Punjab?Kings XI Punjab: WWLWL
Their opening combination is the problem. Karan Goel has averaged 15.5 with a top-score of 38, Sunny Sohal 16 with a top-score of 43, and Simon Katich 17.12 with a top-score of 50.Watch out forRamesh Powar v Matthew Hayden: Adam Gilchrist, for long Hayden’s opening partner, learnt in the last match not to fall for Powar’s flight. Because the ball dips, drifts, and breaks. Hayden, though, is fresh off countering Shane Warne in what has been Chennai’s most crucial win so far.Team newsThe time for experiments is over. Expect Hayden to be back. Jacob Oram should face competition from George Bailey. One out of M Vijay and Parthiv Patel should make the XI.Chennai: (probable) 1 M Vijay/Parthiv Patel, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 MS Dhoni (capt./wk), 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Albie Morkel, 6 Jacob Oram/George Bailey, 7 S Badrinath, 8 Sudeep Tyagi, 9 Shadab Jakati, 10 L Balaji, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.How Punjab will be hoping Mahela Jayawardene regains his fitness, because Luke Pomersbach has not been able to reprise any of his form from the previous year. They have to make the call between Karan and Sohal too. If only they could find a local batsman to replace Pomersbach, they could play both Brett Lee and Yusuf Abdulla.Punjab: (probable) 1 Sunny Sohal/Karan Goel, 2 Simon Katich, 3 Yuvraj Singh (capt.), 4 Luke Pomersbach/Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 6 Irfan Pathan, 7 Wilkin Mota, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 Sreesanth, 10 Ramesh Powar, 11 Brett Lee/Yusuf Abdulla.Stats and triviaYuvraj Singh has taken six wickets in the tournament, all in hat-tricks.Yusuf Abdulla has taken 14 wickets in nine games, and his replacement, Brett Lee, has given away runs at 5.93 an over.Head-to-head recordPunjab have yet to beat Chennai in any of their games over the last two seasons. The closest Punjab came was in their match this season, only to be denied by Raina’s bowling at the death.Punjab tried unsuccessfully thrice last season. The first of those games was a high-scoring one, with both teams surpassing 200, but it was a merciless 116 from Michael Hussey that helped Chennai home by 33 runs. The second game was more competitive, but an inspired spell by L Balaji, who took 5 for 24, shut Punjab out by 18 runs.The semi-final between the two teams was one-sided, with Raina and Parthiv Patel striking half-centuries to hand Chennai a nine-wicket win.

Newcastle United were offered Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey during the summer transfer window, The Chronicle’s Lee Ryder writes. 

The lowdown

The former Arsenal midfielder started 13 Serie A games for the Italian giants last season and has only been selected for one of the first six this term.

The persistent injury problems that dogged him at The Emirates Stadium have followed him to Turin (via Transfermarkt).

Ramsey did provide a reminder of his class at the summer’s European Championships as he helped Wales reach the Round of 16. Team-mate Joe Allen said he delivered an ‘incredible’ performance in a crucial victory against Turkey, silencing the critics ‘in special fashion’ with the opening goal.

The latest

Ryder says that the opportunity to land Ramsey on a free transfer presented itself early in the transfer window, but ‘the conversation was a non-starter’.

That wasn’t because they didn’t rate the player, but simply because of his almighty £400,000-per-week salary.

Juventus are now said to be inviting January offers for the 30-year-old midfielder.

The verdict

If Ramsey is to return to the Premier League at some stage, then you’d think he’ll have to accept a huge pay cut. Indeed, Ryder says clubs like Newcastle ‘can’t even contemplate’ his current salary, and it’s hard to imagine him making his way back in with a ‘big six’ side if Arsenal were happy to let him leave.

The free transfer market could prove important for the Toon. Mike Ashley is injecting very little money, and loan deals have proven difficult because of ‘expensive fees’, so this may be one to keep an eye on if the goalscoring midfielder decides to cut his demands and seek more playing time.

In other news, this came under fire against Watford. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore boosted their chances of winning a place in the semi-finals, winning a crucial game against Delhi Daredevils fairly comfortably at the Wanderers

The Bulletin by Siddhartha Talya19-May-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Jacques Kallis put in an excellent all-round performance to boost Bangalore’s chances of making the semis•Associated PressRoyal Challengers Bangalore boosted their chances of securing a place in the semi-finals, winning a crucial game against Delhi Daredevils fairly comfortably at the Wanderers. Jacques Kallis starred in an excellent all-round performance, playing an important role in restricting Delhi to a chaseable score, and shepherding the chase with an assured half-century to take his team to fourth place.Bangalore were dented early with the wicket of Robin Uthappa, but Rahul Dravid and Kallis timed the chase well, intent on preserving their wickets in early phase before opening up. They did get themselves into a bit of a hole after the early setback, struggling to get singles, and relying instead on the bad balls to score off. They inched to 27 in the Powerplay, with boundaries – including a six over midwicket by Kallis – accounting for 18 of those runs. But with the field spread, and the batsmen set, the rest of the innings panned out according to plan.Virender Sehwag may have missed a trick by opting to bring the spinner in as late as the ninth over. Though the opening bowlers Ashish Nehra and Avishkar Salvi had proved tidy, neither Dravid nor Kallis had offered any chances. They then approached the chase as one would in an ODI, piercing the field with little difficulty and scoring the odd boundary to knock off 27 in the four overs before the timeout. The only scare was an incredibly difficult attempt at a catch by AB de Villiers at cover, who failed to latch onto a ball hammered by Kallis.Amid the spate of singles and twos, Dravid and Kallis ensured there were no wasted opportunities. Andrew McDonald’s first ball, a juicy half-volley was duly dispatched for a boundary by Dravid and a rank long hop from Vettori received the same treatment. But just when a predictable outcome seemed on the cards, Dravid lobbed a catch back to offspinner Yogesh Nagar.With 65 needed off 48, Delhi still had an outside chance, but Ross Taylor quashed it with a blistering cameo, displaying shades of the monstrous assault against Kolkata which put Bangalore back in contention for a place in the top four. He wasted little time to settle into his groove, leading the charge in the 14th over, punishing freebies from Salvi for a four over extra cover and a massive six over midwicket. Nagar then erred in length the next over to watch the ball sail over deep midwicket and deep square leg for two more sixes, before Taylor – a victim of complacency – holed out to long-on. But the damage had been done, though a tight over from Vettori next up gave Delhi the only sign of hope.The game was effectively sealed in the 18th over, with Kallis launching Vettori for six and a four over cover to narrow it down to 9 off 12. Mark Boucher flicked Nehra for a boundary, and the pair knocked off the rest in singles to complete a comprehensive win against the table-toppers.Prime Numbers33The number of wickets falling in the first over in the tournament1The number of Royal Challengers Bangalore batsmen crossing 300 runs in the tournament. Jacques Kallis became the 13th batsman this season to achieve the feat during this match5.89Anil Kumble’s economy rate in the tournament12The number of sixes hit by Ross Taylor this season2The number of players who played their first match in the tournament for Delhi. Andrew McDonald and Yogesh Nagar were handed debuts in this gameBangalore’s win was set up by a professional bowling effort, as Kallis and Praveen Kumar struck early to dent a strong Delhi line-up on a slow pitch. The spinners, led by Anil Kumble, then took over, restraining the middle order before Dinesh Karthik staged an inadequate recovery.The tone was set in the first over with the wicket of a struggling Virender Sehwag, who failed to curb his instinct, clipping Praveen straight to square leg. When Mithun Manhas, promoted to No.3, top-edged an attempted hook to slip two balls later, the responsibility, yet again, was palmed off to the middle order.Kallis had struggled as a bowler this tournament, capturing just four wickets and proving ridiculously expensive. But his spell today marked a stark contrast, as he used his variations well, consistently probed the batsmen by maintaining a tight line outside offstump and dried up the runs at one end. Though Delhi had been provided some release by an undeterred Gautam Gambhir, Kallis was rewarded for his persistence when the left hander mistimed an attempt to clear point.Spin has played a decisive influence in the tournament, often introduced before the Powerplay, but Kallis’ frugality meant that Roelof van der Merwe didn’t come on until the eighth over. Delhi did their best to keep up the run-rate, de Villiers scoring a run-a-ball 28, but when he, their best batsman, failed to pick an arm ball by van der Merwe, Bangalore were firmly in control. Pace ceded the floor to spin, and the newbie Andrew McDonald, replacing Tillakaratne Dilshan, was yorked by Anil Kumble to continue the slide.Karthik and Nagar cobbled up a fighting stand of 39, but both fell trying to accelerate. Delhi did post a competitive score, and a slow track, holding up and taking spin, gave them reason for encouragement. But they were undone by a brilliantly executed run-chase, that has intensified the race for the knockout stage.

On-loan Leeds United goalkeeper Kiko Casilla has played his final match for the Whites, according to a claim made by a club source.

The Lowdown: Casilla sent out on loan

The Spaniard has played his part in Leeds’ success under Marcelo Bielsa, making 62 appearances and helping them return to the Premier League.

Casilla is currently playing for La Liga side Elche, however, having joined them on loan in the summer after being deemed surplus to requirements at Elland Road.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359346″]

The Latest: Source makes key claim

According to Football Insider, a Thorp Arch source has informed them that the 34-year-old won’t play for Leeds again, even though he still has two years remaining on his current deal.

Club chiefs expect the ‘keeper to move on permanently when he returns to the Whites next summer, having now fallen below both Illan Meslier and summer signing Kristoffer Klaesson in the pecking order.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-17/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Time to move on permanently

Casilla has been a strong servant for Leeds – Victor Orta once claimed he was ‘very proud’ of him – but it is hard to justify him having a future at the club.

There are two younger alternatives to him between the sticks now, so it makes little sense keeping hold of him and giving him appearances moving forward, blocking the development of those with serious long-term promise.

In other news, Graham Smyth was disappointed by one Leeds player’s performance against West Ham. Read more here.

A round-up from the first day of the latest County Championship matches as Andrew Flintoff makes his Lancashire comeback and Andre Nel takes six wickets for Surrey

Cricinfo staff11-Jun-2009Division OneAndrew Flintoff was back in action after his knee injury•PA PhotosAll eyes were on Andrew Flintoff as he made his latest comeback from injury for Lancashire as they took on Durham Chester-le-Street, but his team-mates helped shoulder the burden as the visitors took the honours. Flintoff, of course, had to make his mark and had Michael Di Venuto caught behind second ball then took a sharp catch at second slip to remove Mark Stoneman. That gave Sajid Mahmood his first wicket and he added another when Gordon Muchall managed to slap a long hop to cover when Francois du Plessis took a good catch. Glen Chapple moved the ball both ways to trouble the middle order as he wiped out three, but it seemed inevitable that Flintoff would have the final say and he shifted a stubborn Mitchell Claydon shortly before the close on a day where 34 overs were lost to rain.Ben Smith and Ashley Noffke rescued Worcestershire after early batting problems against Sussex at New Road. They fell to 118 for 5 as the quicks did the early damage before Piyush Chawla made a mark on his county debut when he had Steven Davies taken at slip. Smith and Noffke then added 58 for the sixth wicket in 12 overs until Smith was run-out from mid-on for 80. Noffke, though, found useful support from the lower order as hauled the total upwards, striking two sixes in his 137-ball innings, before he was last-man out coming down the pitch at Chawla. The Sussex openers survived four overs before the close to reach 17 without loss.For a report from the first day at The Rose Bowl between Nottinghamshire and Hampshire, click here.Click here for John Ward’s report on the first day at Headingley, where Yorkshire took on Somerset.Division TwoGarry Park stroked a battling 76 for Derbyshire on a seesawing first day against Glamorgan, who held the honours by taking nine wickets at Derby. Derbyshire held the honours in the first session, as Chris Rogers (27) and Steve Stubbings (43) put on 56 for the opening wicket. Rogers fell to Mark Cosgrove, but Park and Stubbings then stood firm in a second-wicket stand of 73. Glamorgan didn’t lose heart, however, and chipped away in the afternoon session – Robert Croft and Cosgrove each bagged three apiece – as Park fell to another spinner, Dean Cosker, for Derbyshire’s top-score of 76. Tim Groenewald dug deep at No.10, spending nearly an hour compiling 10, as Derbyshire closed on 261 for 9.David Wigley bowled Mark Ramprakash for 17 as Northamptonshire’s bowlers fought back after being dismissed for 209 on the first day against Surrey at Northampton. Surrey lost their openers cheaply, shortly followed by Ramprakash, before Mark Butcher steadied their reply (32) but, at stumps, Surrey had lost four wickets with 117 on the board, still trailing by 92. It was a former Northamptonshire bowler who hurt the hosts earlier in the day, however, as Andre Nel stormed haunted their lineup with 6 for 36. Stephen Peters top-scored with 59, and the only other innings of substance came from the most unlikely of figures at No.10: Monty Panesar, who scorched 38 from 48 balls.