Gautam Gambhir’s 82-ball 67 and an unbeaten 62 from Milind Kumar took Delhi to a five-wicket win against Odisha in Delhi. Gambhir’s knock kept Delhi on track in the first half of the 226-run chase and once he was dismissed in the 27th over, Milind stepped up and took Delhi towards victory adding 72 runs for the fifth wicket with Vaibhav Rawal. Earlier, an 81-run partnership between captain Natraj Behera and Biplab Samantray anchored Odisha, who were put in to bat, but the side lost a cluster of wickets on either side of the partnership and were kept to 225 for 9. Natraj Behera top-scored with 50, while Samantray contributed 47.Kedar Jadhav’s swift 131 off 90 deliveries set up Maharashtra‘s thumping 111-run win over Tripura in Delhi. Jadhav, who walked in to bat with the score at 97 for 3 in the 24th over, struck 17 fours and three sixes, while taking the lead in a string of useful partnerships with the lower order. His century guided Maharashtra to 294, a total their bowlers defended easily. The attack combined to bring Tripura down to 91 for 7 in the 26th over. Rana Dutta and Sanjay Majumder resisted with an eighth-wicket partnership of 75, but Maharashtra wrapped up the innings for 183 soon after Dutta was dismissed. Majumder followed up his earlier three-wicket haul with an unbeaten 52 off 68 deliveries. Part-time offspinner Swapnil Gugale took 4 for 21 and also effected a run-out.Vidarbha put behind their disappointment of an earlier three-run loss to Odisha by brushing past Baroda by seven wickets to record their second win in three matches in the 2015-16 Vijay Hazare Trophy. Ravikumar Thakur, the left-arm seamer, picked up four wickets to restrict Baroda to 173. As many as eight batsmen got off to starts, with the highest score being Ambati Rayudu’s 40. Thakur was backed up well by Rajneesh Gurbani and Ravi Jangid, who picked up two wickets apiece. Vidarbha lost two wickets inside 15 overs, but Faiz Fazal steered them forward. While he fell 11 short of a century, S Badrinath, the captain, saw the team through with an unbeaten 47, Vidarbha winning with eight overs to spare.
Lasith Malinga may miss the entire ODI series against New Zealand after failing to recover from a knee injury he sustained during West Indies’ tour of Sri Lanka in October and November. Malinga has remained in Sri Lanka, while standby player Thisara Perera has joined the squad in Christchurch.Malinga will miss the first two ODIs – on December 26 and 28 – at the very least, but is doubtful for the remainder of the series as well.”He has not come for the ODIs,” team manager Jerry Woutersz said. “He’s feeling some discomfort in his knee. Whether he will come between the ODIs and T20s – no one knows.”Malinga is the third absent player from Sri Lanka’s squad. Dhammika Prasad was previously ruled out through injury, while Kusal Perera is still suspended after testing positive for banned substances.New Zealand batting coach Craig McMillan said Malinga’s absence was a “big loss” for Sri Lanka.”What a contributor Malinga has been over a number of years for Sri Lanka,” McMillan said. “He has been their key fast bowler. He’s a handful. I’m sure they’ll miss him, but it gives an opportunity to some other younger guys in the squad.”Malinga is Sri Lanka’s T20 captain. The selectors have not yet indicated who will take up the captaincy if Malinga is ruled out of that series as well.
At least three Full Member boards have written to the ICC expressing concern over their current players asking for no objection certificates to participate in the Masters Champions League (MCL), which was approved as a Twenty20 event meant strictly for retired players. The ICC has warned that “actions of those involved with the MCL in seeking current player participation” is “unacceptable”.It is understood that the three aggrieved members are the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Cricket South Africa (CSA), and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).In an e-mail sent to all the member boards, ICC senior operations manager Clive Hitchcock asked them to contact him immediately if they received a request from a current or non-retired player for an NOC to play in the MCL. According to Hitchcock, the ICC had granted an approval to the MCL last November, and notified all the board members.”Our decision not to issue a Disapproved Notice was based on the application from MCL which clearly stated that it was an event for retired players only,” Hitchcock wrote in the e-mail, which is in possession of ESPNcricinfo. “Emirates Cricket Board, who sanctioned the event, did so on the basis of their negotiations with MCL for a retired players event. Consequently, the actions of those involved with the MCL in seeking current player participation in the event is unacceptable to us.”Hitchcock pointed out that affected boards have highlighted to the ICC that the MCL has been signing up players who are yet to retire, thereby weakening their domestic cricket. “Within the past week we have received notification from two Full Members that its current players have just been approached to play in the event, by requesting those players to seek NOCs from their respective Board,” Hitchcock said.Haroon Lorgat, the CSA chief executive, said he had to take notice once his board received a “couple of queries” for NOCs from current South African domestic players. “I am concerned because on the back of what was meant to be [a tournament] for retired players they are now inviting or approaching who are currently playing in our domestic set-up,” Lorgat said.Lorgat did not disclose the names of the players, but said CSA had approached the ICC asking for intervention.”You can’t have domestic competitions affected,” Lorgat said. “This is the prime part of our season. And they are not retired players. They are contracted to our domestic franchises.”The MCL’s squads feature a number of South African players who haven’t yet announced their retirement, including a few who have featured in the current domestic season, such as Ryan McLaren, Richard Levi and Robin Peterson.WICB chief executive Michael Muirhead said his board had written to the ICC seeking clarity, although he added no West Indies player had yet asked for an NOC. West Indian players in the MCL roster include Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Fidel Edwards, who are yet to announce their retirements.For the PCB, the challenge is of a different kind. Last week the PCB had made it clear that the Pakistan players who wanted to play in the MCL would need to submit in writing that they had “announced and confirmed their irrevocable resignation and retirement from international cricket on behalf of Pakistan”.The main issue for the PCB is the ten-day clash between the Pakistan Super League and the MCL, both of which are being staged in the UAE. The MCL is scheduled be held from January 28 to February 13, while the PSL is to be held from February 4 to 23. “MCL was earlier meant to end a few days before we started our league [PSL] in the UAE, but later the MCL and ECB made a some changes in their fixtures,” Najam Sethi, the PCB’s executive committee head, said. “Later we got a three-way agreement with MCL, PCB and ECB, but still it’s overlapping, which isn’t ideal, but we have agreed to it and we didn’t have any other choice.”According to Sethi the PCB, despite the clash with the MCL, had stayed quiet when the ICC board was deliberating over whether to grant an approval to the MCL. “Had we opposed it, they could have been in trouble earlier,” Sethi said.According to an official privy to the negotiations, the MCL is signing up players who are not being selected for their national teams but are still playing domestic cricket, and forcing them to retire by asking them to get the NOCs. That, he says, is against the spirit of the original agreement. “It was about players who had stopped playing all cricket,” the official said. “How does it matter if a player has not played for the country for a decade, he is still available for selection. But by signing up for MCL that option is being ruled out.”Hitchcock said the ICC was in touch with the MCL to resolve the issue. “In the meantime,” he wrote in his email, “if you receive a request from one of your current/non-retired players to participate in the event would you please let me know immediately.”Zafar Shah, the head of the MCL, acknowledged that the ICC was in touch, and said the league was not forcing players to retire. “This is the perfect time for players who have never announced their retirement to do it now,” Zafar told . “For example, Mohammad Yousuf never retired, he just found himself out and then not picked, he’s not even playing domestically.”The board [member] is saying they have to come out and say they have retired and I agree with them. Our format is very clear – retirement is a must. Otherwise we will not entertain anybody. But we don’t have influence with players to tell them to go and retire.”It’s a teething issue because clarity is not there between players and their boards. It has never been done before. We are now setting this platform. Everybody will understand what to do from now.”
A sparkling double century by Younis Khan (221) put Peshawar in the driving seat against Lahore Whites on the second day of the Quaid-i-Azam Cricket Trophy match at the LCCA Ground on Tuesday.Younis Khan’s magnificent display enabled Peshawar pile a massive 598 in their first innings after resuming on 352 for four. By close of play, Lahore Whites were 95 for two in 27 overs with skipper Test discarded Aamir Sohail batting at 52.Younis began his innings with overnight total of 146 with Taimur Khan who resumed at 50. But Taimur fell without any addition. However, Younis continued his career-best innings and reached his 200 with 29 boundaries and one six. He was finally caught at long-on by Zahoor Ellahi off leg-spinner Kashif Siddique for a fine 221 with 32 fours and three sixes. He negotiated 290 balls and batted for 377 minutes.Skipper Arshad Khan contributed a quickfire 57, adorned with five boundaries and two mighty sixes. He faced 84 balls. Zulifqar Jan (37) and Sajid Shah (36 not out) were the other contributors in Peshawar’s big total.
Birmingham City forward James McFadden has played down rumours suggesting that he is pushing for a new contract at St Andrew's.
The 27-year-old Scotland international's current deal runs until the end of next season and McFadden is calm about the prospects of a future agreement.
He told the Birmingham Mail:"I was asked the question and, yes, I would like to get it sorted, but I am in no rush.
"My contract runs out at the end of next season and the club have got a two-year option.
"But if I play a certain amount of games I get one for myself, so it is not a big drama.
"There are other players speaking at the moment about contracts. There is not a lot of progress, but I am not worried.
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"I would like to get it sorted but I'm not going to complain. I'll wait and see what happens."
McFadden joined City in January 2008 from Everton and has since scored 13 goals in 83 appearances in all competitions.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
As the dust began to settle in Johannesburg last night after a stupendously dramatic quarter final encounter between Ghana and Uruguay, a vitriolic opinion began to emerge from betwixt the cloud of genuine sympathy and endearment and cringingly embarrassing bias (I’m looking at you iTV) for a welcoming and deserving continent – Africa was robbed.
Apparently, the one feeling all true warm-hearted non-reptilian individuals were supposed to feel was indignation. Luis Suarez diabolically cheated the plucky Ghanaian heroes out of a semi final place they had righteously earned. By punching away a clearly goal bound headed effort from a free kick in the last minute, Suarez unfairly altered the inevitable course of the game through a sheer, brazen act of gamesmanship. The resulting penalty and sending off wasn’t acceptable recompense for a goal clearing punch. A penalty doesn’t (and didn’t) substitute adequately for a certain goal. Already last night people were calling for penalty goals to be given in such circumstances a la Rugby, to prevent such injustices ever happening again. It just wasn’t fair. They was robbed. Suarez should pay the filthy swine.
Except this is all rubbish really. Yes Suarez prevented Uruguay definitely going out by illegally preventing the goal, but his action was penalized, and he was punished. There was no unnoticed action here. There was no deceiving the officials. Everything that happened was dealt with how it should have been, and always has. In fact if we’re talking about injustices, the free kick that lead to the goal bound header in the first place was never a just one to begin with AND there were two Ghanaian players offside from the flick on anyway. How far back should we be going to damn injustices? One minute or two? And how selective should we be? Should it only apply to the teams we’re rooting for? Give over. Uruguay weren’t given the chance to amend these bad calls as Ghana were. So who actually got the rawer deal here? In truth you could quite easily claim it was just as fair in the scheme of things for the penalty to have been missed.
The shamefully partisan commentators on iTV had even announced quite ironically that it would be hugely controversial should Ghana score from the free kick they were awarded when one of their players tripped over himself. But low and behold, a full minute later, all that was forgotten in haze of even greater controversy.
The world is understandably getting carried away with it’s newfound love and good will for Africa, but getting carried away it never the less is. I’d been in South Africa from the beginning of the tournament until last Friday, and I’d been staying – as chance would have it – in the same bizarre casino hotel thingy-ma-gig as the Ghanaian team. No non-African wanted Ghana to prevail last night more than me, I can assure you, but what Luis Suarez did was not a heinous unjustifiable act that needs new rules to stamp out. It’s merely what many players would’ve done in such desperate circumstances and what many have. And he was caught. The fault for defeat – unfortunately, and tragically for all his bravery – lies with Asamoah Gyan for failing to convert the resulting awarded penalty. Gyan shouldn’t be blamed of course – the man has done more than almost any other player in getting Ghana where they were – but neither, particularly, should Suarez.
Imagine if Suarez had been English, or even Ghanaian. His “sacrifice” would most likely have been lauded, as it was by Manchester United fans when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scythed down Robert Lee in the penultimate game of the 1997/98 season. In that instance, United needed to avoid defeat and Lee was clear through on goal. Solskjaer was applauded off the pitch – as he likely would have been at any home ground – and relayed simply to his teammates; “I had to do it”. Was it the most noble of actions? No, of course not, but he was simply doing all he felt he could for his team to keep them in it. As every goalkeeper whose ever brought down a player who’s rounded him for an empty net has done. It’s called a professional foul. Are they vilified? Are there automatic penalty goals proposed in that almost weekly scenario? No. Put your handbags and pitchforks away people, there’s nothing to see here but brilliant drama.
Solskjaer – and the endless plethora of rounded goalkeepers and last men – had far more time to think about their actions than Suarez, whose instinctive volleyball snap must have occurred to him a mere millisecond before he did it. He would also have known he’d face a red card, and probably not play in the tournament again, but while letting the ball float past him would’ve caused the same outcome for he, it allowed his teammates to progress. He took one for the team, and if it had’ve been John “Lion Heart” Terry performing such “bravery” he’d likely be praised by the rag tops – rightly or wrongly (probably wrongly) – for his epic sacrifice.
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It’s football, it happens, and it’ll happen again, and what happened after it is exactly what should always happen in such circumstances. The sending off of the player and the chance for the offended team to re-dress the balance. The fact that the offended team in this instance didn’t re-dress the balance is no fault of Suarez. They were given a free swing at him, and they punched air.
So the free kick was unfair. The offside call was unfair. The handball was unfair. The penalty was fair. Ghana were plucky but unlucky, and did themselves and their homeland proud, but are out because they can’t score penalties. End of. Now pick up your girly tissues and lipstick and get on with it people. There’s two more quarter finals to watch, time to man up.
Referee Howard Webb claims he has no regrets about the way he handled Sunday's World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands.
Webb booked 13 players and sent off Dutch defender John Heitinga as Spain won an ill-tempered game 1-0 in extra-time.
The Premier League official was heavily criticised by Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk after the game, while Spaniards have been quick to come out in support of Webb after slamming the heavy-handed approach of their opponents.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has also lent his support to Webb, who has released a statement through the Premier League explaining the difficult situation he tried to manage.
"Whatever the match, you always hope that the officials won't need to be heavily involved. However, we had to raise our profile in order to keep control," Webb said.
"We don't feel that we had much choice except to manage the game in the way we did.
"From early on in the match we had to make decisions that were clear yellow cards.
"We tried to apply some common sense officiating given the magnitude of the occasion for both sides – advising players early on for some of their tackling, sending players away when they were surrounding the officials and speaking to their senior colleagues to try to calm them down.
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"It is one of the toughest games we will ever be involved in and we feel that we worked hard to keep the focus on the football as much as possible."
Webb, who was assisted by Darren Cann and Michael Mullarkey, was the first Englishman since Jack Taylor in 1974 to referee the World Cup final.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
In most industries, when someone leaves their position there is usually an overlap of time whereby they work in unison with their replacement, to usher them into their new role. The ‘handover’ is seen as sensible process to ensure the efficiency of the company and for 85 minutes at Villa Park on Saturday we were witness to a handover in the Villa midfield, as James Milner passed his baton on to Marc Albrighton.
Clearly, replacing Milner will be tough for anyone and it will take time, but making only his eighth competitive appearance for the club, the 20-year-oldAlbrighton was a catalyst in a liberated team. As good a manager as Martin O’Neill is, and as bad as West Ham were on Saturday, Villa looked at ease with a freer flowing game under caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald. The reserve team coach had no qualms about drafting in Albrighton from the reserves, where he has been a regular for MacDonald, as well as the defender Ciaran Clark who admirably stepped in for the injured James Collins, as both slotted in to the side seamlessly. Where O’Neill’s Villa were a potent counter-attacking side with the pace they have at their disposal, MacDonald ensured his team went out and suffocated a poor Hammers side with wave after wave of attacks – it should have been so much more than three, and maybe if John Carew hadn’t been still on holiday, it might have been.
Albrighton gave the likes of Herita Ilunga and new boy Winston Reid a brutal introduction to the new season as he ran them ragged all afternoon. Creator of Villa’s first and third goals, the winger played fearlessly in what has been a heady week for the club and its fans. The step up from reserve level has done little in the way of fazing Albrighton, and he looks more than ready to contribute regularly to the first-team’s midfield. While Kevin MacDonald rudders the ship on a temporary basis, it is more than likely that Albrighton will be given more chances to portray what he is capable of. Whoever is to take over the managerial position for the long term will surely be unable to ignore the talents of the young man.
Although Milner was booed with his early touches of Saturday’s games by some sections of the crowd, Villa fans put any grievances aside as they remembered how much they actually love Milner and what he has given to the club during his time there. When he was withdrawn five minutes from time, Villa Park was up on its feet with its impeding goodbye. Along with Ashley Young and Agbonlahor, Milner epitomises a type of player that has become synonymous with the club; full of pace and relentless energy. Albrighton looks as though he is of a similar ilk, hence his apparent effortless transition into their starting line-up.
If the Randy Learner and Martin O’Neill fall-out was based on financial headbutting, with the American owner trying to reign in the spending at the club, then the majority of the money recouped from the potential Milner transfer to Man City will have to be saved rather than spent. Going out and spending £15m on a replacement for Milner may not be on the cards for O’Neill’s replacement, we will have to wait and see. If this is the case, then it may not be the worst thing for the club, and based on what Albrighton showed this week, it appears they have a cut-price, ready-made, younger model, itching to be given the chance to prove his worth.
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Amidst an initial flurry of activity on the takeover front, all seems rather quiet on Anfield as the Liverpool takeover rumours have appeared to have died down. This is because managing director Christian Purslow has taken time to consider the club’s options as any potential deal could be a pivotal one in the future of Liverpool Football Club.
Christian Purslow has been given the task of finding a buyer for Liverpool for want away owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett who have amassed a sizeable £273 million debt during their hugely unpopular tenure at the helm of the Merseyside club. In addition to these debts, the club also has interest payments totalling £40 million. Despite substantial profits from TV rights, merchandising and sponsorship money from Liverpool’s lucrative £80 million shirt deal with Standard Chartered, the income generated by the club is being used to pay off the interest rather than investing in the club.
With debt threatening to envelop the club, it is essential that Liverpool find a potential owner who is able to finance the deal without borrowing money and is genuinely passionate about the club; two things that current owners Hicks and Gillett were sadly unable to fulfil.
In recent weeks, there have been a number of candidates put forward by the media as being interested in buying Liverpool but the only one to have publicly confirmed his interest is Chinese businessman Kenny Huang.
Huang has reportedly tabled an offer in the region of £400 million for the club but there have been question marks surrounding his financial backing for the deal. Little is known about Huang’s fellow investors after Chinese Investment Corp (CIC), which is the Chinese government’s global investment arm categorically denied being part of Huang’s bid. Furthermore, there are uncertainties over Huang’s business credentials.
According to the FT, Huang’s CV isn’t as extensive as he claims to it be. His total investments so far amount to a minor league Chinese basketball team, a basketball magazine and two sports marketing companies and not the vast sports business empire that his PR people would lead you to believe. These uncertainties surrounding Huang’s business dealings are exactly the reason why Purslow and the Liverpool board are exercising their due diligence over any potential takeover bid.
Key factors in any bid would be to guarantee the clearing of all of the club’s debts, the building of a new stadium, along with assurances that resources would be put into improving the team. Liverpool were on the brink of losing star players Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard after Hicks and Gillett’s broken promises of further investment in players that didn’t materialise. Current manager Roy Hodgson has shown his willingness to allay Torres’ fears in strengthening the team by signing Joe Cole and Christian Poulsen during the transfer window.
However, all of Hodgson’s improvements to the team would mean nothing if Liverpool found themselves in administration, a scenario made all the more possible due to Hicks and Gillett’s unrealistic asking price for the club. Hicks has put an estimated value on the club at £800 million; double what Huang is proposing and this disparity is threatening the progress of any deal.
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Hicks and Gillett have been attempting to refinance their existing debt repayment with RBS to free themselves from the October 6th deadline to pay back their £272 million debt before the club falls into the hands of the taxpayer. Refinancing the debt would allow the pair to stay on past the October 6th deadline and possibly get more money for the club.
With so much at stake for Liverpool, it is vitally important that any deal that does go through is in the best interest of the football club.
Blackpool boss Ian Holloway is eager to learn the lessons of his side's 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
The Seasiders started life in the top-flight with a 4-0 win at Wigan Athletic, but crashed back down to earth in north London, being torn apart after Ian Evatt was sent off with the visitors just one goal behind.
Holloway told the club's official website:"It's a harsh lesson, isn't it? I thought some of their football was scintillating. That's how it should be played, on the grass. It hardly came off the grass.
"There's plenty of evidence for me to work on and plenty more things to do. We've got to pick ourselves up and get back to the training ground. I just think we were a little bit overawed by how quick they were.
"What I will say is that there were a lot of things that were wrong with the unit today. I don't expect us to be a unit yet. I haven't had near enough of a chance to work with the lads that I've got in a defensive structure.
"Last year we weren't that good defensively, but we outscored people.
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"We've got to get enough points to stay up, that's all that matters. Did I expect to beat these? It would have been nice if we could, but not really. Let's get on with it.
"We'll go back to work and see if we can emulate what they're trying to do, because it's beautiful to watch."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email