Manoj Tiwary, who was expected to make his debut in the first one-dayer against Bangladesh, has been ruled out of the one-day series due to a shoulder injury. Tiwary is expected to take the flight back home to Kolkata shortly.Tiwary hurt himself at the training session at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium today. Towards the fag end of the session that went on for a bit more than two hours, Tiwary landed awkwardly on his right shoulder, while diving to save a boundary during one of the out-fielding drills. That it was serious showed in the way he didn’t get up to stop the ball that was trickling down towards the boundary.Tiwary didn’t take any chance and lay put until John Gloster, the team physiotherapist, arrived and took charge. He was immediately taken to the dressing room even as the practice went on for 15 more minutes. He was immediately sent for investigations of the shoulder (MRI and X-Rays). These results were reviewed by an orthopedic specialist and in view of these findings, the mechanism of injury and from clinical observation Tiwary has been advised to go back home.Dilip Vengsarkar, Chairman Senior Selection Committee, will consult team management after reaching Dhaka and will pick a replacement. The first one-dayer is on May 10th.Tiwary was Bengal’s star batsmen in the recently concluded Ranji Trophy season. He scored 796 runs in seven matches at 99.50, with only one score between 50 and 150 – and crossed 150 three times. He cracked a fine 94 in the Ranji Trophy final against a national attack of Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar and Ramesh Powar.
Ricky Ponting has renewed his demand that cricket’s administrators give their players a break, adding that the near-upset in the first Test at Fatullah was entirely down to the fatigue levels of his jet-lagged players.”We just didn’t have a break,” Ponting told The Sydney Morning Herald. “Two days between most Test matches that we’ve just played is not nearly enough. I think we just saw the effects of that day one in Dhaka. We just had guys who, if we were fair dinkum, probably shouldn’t have played. Shouldn’t have taken the field because they were just totally exhausted and fatigued.”Australia’s emphatic victory, by an innings and 80 runs, in the second Test at Chittagong, was a more apt reflection of the gulf between the sides ranked No. 1 and No. 10 in the world. But Ponting hoped that their poor showing in the first Test, where they scraped to victory by just three wickets after conceding a hefty first-innings deficit, would make the administrators sit up and notice.”For the last few years now we’ve basically been demanding more days – three days – between Test matches,” said Ponting. “One day might not sound a lot but coming here, if we had one more day before the first Test, we would have been a lot better off for it. I think we’ve played five in five weeks, in pretty extreme conditions here. That, as far as I’m concerned, is not acceptable.”Ponting’s comments will doubtless sound like sour grapes to Bangladesh’s supporters, especially after he was forced to backtrack on his earlier statement that their team should not be playing Test cricket. But the sight of Jason Gillespie helping himself to a Test double-hundred in the Chittagong fixture merely underlined the gulf that exists between the two nations.
Anand Vasu, an assistant editor of Cricinfo, has won the award for the Best Interview of the Year in the inaugural Indian Sports Journalism Awards held in Mumbai on Saturday night. The awards function, organised by the Sports Journalists’ Federation of India, was attended by Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar, Ajit Agarkar and several notable personalities from other sporting fields.Vasu, who has extensively covered both international and domestic cricket over the last six years, was nominated for the category for his Talking Cricket with Jonty Rhodes, which appeared in the February 2005 issue of Wisden Asia Cricket, and walked away with the prize ahead of Clayton Murzello from , a Mumbai-based tabloid, and G Krishnan from Deccan Herald, a Bangalore-based daily. Vasu was also nominated for the Best Cricket Writer of the Year but lost out to Kadambari Murali from Dravid, one of the guests of honour, spoke about the importance of journalism and how “good performances on the field turn into memorable ones once journalists write about it.” Michael Ferreira, the former billiards world champion who was one of the three judges, said that the standard of journalism had improved in the country and added that it was a very tough task to choose the final winners.
Despite dominating for the first two days, Sri Lanka ultimately capitulated rather meekly. Here is what Hashan Tillakaratne, their captain, had to say after the disappointing defeat:
His take on the match: We dominated the first two days and I thought they fought very hard and played very good cricket from the third day onwards. We shouldn’t get rattled; we must get together and pull up our socks in the next two games. The batsmen are experienced enough to come back and make a big contribution.On where the match turned around: We could have got more runs on the first session of the third day. I thought we played a little negative cricket [during that period]. The one-and-a-half hours [in the morning session] we just relaxed a bit as we knew we had 130 on the board before we started the third day.Our bowling in the second innings was not all that good. The support bowling for Murali wasn’t all that good, and we gave them too many boundary balls. The Australians adapted very well to the turning track.On Sri Lanka’s capitulation on the fifth day: On the fifth day the wicket was bad, there was so many rough patches on that track. The first session was very vital. We lost five wickets for 90. From there it was very difficult to save a Test match.However, I think we made the pitch look difficult to bat on. We needed one of our top three batsmen to play a big innings so that the others could bat around him but that didn’t happen. I totally blame the batting for not saving the Test. You can survive on this track, [it’s] just that we were so casual in our approach and gave it to them on a platter.On his unusually aggressive approach with the bat: I thought of playing positively because we had lost six wickets already. If I had defended it would not have made a difference. So I thought I should try and take Warne on.
THE CONTINUED ZCOYou may remember I emailed you when there was talk of the ZCO no longer existing. Well, I just wanted to say thank you very much for continuing to do such a sterling job. If I may just bother you with three quick questions.Firstly, I really cannot believe the selectors have been so quick to drop Carlisle. He has really improved these past few years and is certainly a more viable option than Matsikenyeri/Vermeulen/Campbell/ Ebrahim, etc. Are there any personality issues and do you think he will return soon?Secondly, I have been very impressed with what have heard of Strydom; what news of him?Thirdly, I am always keen to hear of young cricketers and two were mentioned in the past year or so Andrew Durham I think he was called and a chap called Lamb who has returned to Zimbabwe and was said to have lots of potential, so what has happened to them?Thanks for all your work.Rodney Juice (England)Reply: Carlisle did not score many runs until just before Christmas, but there may well be things behind the scenes that we don’t know about. Strydom has been accepted into the CFX Academy for this year. Durham does not have a Zimbabwean passport the last I heard, which rules out international opportunities, while Lamb is here only on holiday; he is currently taking up British citizenship.
Orissa qualified for the Wills Trophy after 16 years, defeating Bengal by eightwickets in their final East Zone Ranji Trophy one day league match at the EdenGardens today. As a result, Orissa finished with eight points, sufficient forthem to make it to the Wills Trophy.It was a wrong decision by the Bengal think-tank that proved disastrous for thehosts. After winning the toss, Bengal decided to bat on a pitch that had a lotof life in the initial period, an advantage that was used to the hilt byDebashis Mohanty and Ajoy Barik. Bengal lost their first seven wickets within 20runs and the match was as good as over during the first hour of the game. Thedecision to bat was all the more surprising because only on Saturday, Bengalskipper Devang Gandhi had said they would like to chase. It was the grave errorin reading the pitch that prevented the finalists of 1998 from qualifying thisseason.Bengal managed to reach three figures only because of a doughty knock fromWrichik Mazumdar. He scored 37 in 80 balls and with Shiv Sagar Singh added 42runs for the ninth wicket. Before that, it was simply a tale of going and comingback. The slide started when the Orissa wicket-keeper Gautam Gopal took anexcellent catch on the leg side to dismiss makeshift opener Lakshmi Ratan Shuklaoff the bowling of Barik. Then Mohanty got into the act. With his outswingerworking nicely, Mohanty cartwheeled Nikhil Haldipur and Rohan Gavaskar. Barik onthe other hand had Gandhi hooking, only to find the fielder at square leg.Bengal had then been reduced to only nine runs for four wickets. Mohanty thenonce more produced a lovely break back to bowl Deep Dasgupta in his third over.Then in his fifth over he had Utpal Chatterjee playing on and with the fifthdelivery of the same over, had Sanjiv Sanyal edging to keeper Gopal. Bengal atthis stage, were 20 for seven. Srikkant Kalyani, Mazumdar and Singh managed totake the total to over 100. However, that would not have been possible had notthe Orissa team given away 25 extras, 20 of which came from wides and no balls.When Orissa batted, BBCC Mahapatra was bowled by Shukla trying to pull a ballthat kept low. Immediately after lunch, Shukla had Gopal caught at point with aball that bounced a bit more. However, Sanjay Raul batting with elan on a pitchthat had dried up, quietly guided Orissa to victory without a fuss. His drivingwithin the `V’ was a treat to watch. He remained unbeaten on 42 with five fours.With Pradip Das, the other opener, Raul added 78 runs to take Orissa to aconvincing win.
Reports have linked the Magpies with a move for the Club Brugge star, suggesting that they were in the picture for a potential €40m (£33.3m) deal at the end of the season.
De Ketelaere has been in fine form in recent months, contributing to 26 goals in 41 games in all competitions in 2021/22, with Pep Guardiola impressed by the Belgian’s display against Manchester City in the Champions League during the autumn.
The Latest: Mignolet’s comments
Sport Witness relayed comments from De Ketelaere in a story on Saturday.
The 6 foot 3 midfielder was told by former Sunderland goalkeeper Mignolet that ‘there’s not much to do in Newcastle’, with the 34-year-old possibly trying to put him off a move to England.
The Verdict: Shrewd target
De Ketelaere appears to be a star of the future and has impressed in the Jupiler Pro League with plenty of goals and assists.
The Magpies will have the funds for a big-money transfer following their takeover, so it could be a realistic deal to pursue, so long as the player isn’t put off by a move to Tyneside after Mignolet’s comments.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Newcastle have just two attacking midfielders on the books at this moment in time, so bringing in a third could be a shrewd move in the long run.
In other news – Deal agreed: Lee Ryder drops big Newcastle update during international break on ‘hard-working’ gem
North Zone Unbeaten centuries from Aakash Chopra and Shikhar Dhawan gave Delhi a massive ten-wicket win over Punjab at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi. Ravi Inder, Uday Kaul and Ankur Kakkar scored half-centuries to take Punjab to a competitive 274. But Chopra and Dhawan scored at more than six an over to chase the total with 39 balls to spare. Punjab used six bowlers and none of them conceded less than five an over, with Manpreet Gony and Kakkar going for more than seven each.Vishal Bhatia took 4 for 32 with his left-arm spin as Himachal bowled out Haryana for 193 and chased the target with six overs to spare at the Harbax Singh Stadium in Delhi.Jammu & Kashmir collapsed to a 96-run defeat against Services in Delhi’s Palam A Ground. After Jasvir Singh (73) and Soomik Chatarjee (71*) steered Services to 281 for 6 in 50 overs, Rakesh Kumar removed the openers in the first over. Ian Dev Singh and Huwaid Ronga led a brief recovery of 59 runs but after Ronga was run out for 21, J&K kept losing wickets at regular intervals. A Kush, playing in only his second List A match, took 3 for 37.East Zone Bengal needed only 29 overs to wrap up a nine-wicket win against Assam at the North-East Frontier Railway Stadium in Guwahati. S Sharath scored an unbeaten 80 from 148 balls but with absolutely no support from the rest of the batsmen – the next highest score being 14 – he could only push Assam’s total to 147. Arindam Das and Anustup Majumdar added 89 runs in 19 overs but after Majumdar’s dismissal, Das and Wriddhiman Saha knocked off the remaining 59 required from 60 balls to gain a bonus point for Bengal.Sourav Dubey’s 106-ball 93 wasn’t enough for Tripura to get their second win in a row as Orissa chased Tripura’s 260 with four wickets spare at the Nehru Stadium in Guwahati. Pinninti Jayachandra and Preetamjit Das took three wickets each as no other Tripura batsman scored more than 39. Three half-centuries from top-order batsmen – Bikas Pati, Payas Ranjan Sinha and Halhadar Das – gave Orissa their second win of the tournament.West Zone After chasing 358 against Baroda at the same venue just a day before, Mumbai fell 46 runs short of Gujarat’s 307 at the Deccan Gymkhana Ground in Pune. Mumbai bowlers Ajit Agarkar, Rohan Raje and Murtuza Hussain went for more than six and a half an over as four Gujarat batsmen helped themselves to half-centuries. Medium-pace bowler Abhishek Nayar was taken for 19 runs in his two overs. Mumbai were in trouble when they lost four wickets for 94 runs. Anup Revendkar and Aditya Tare got fifties but having lost those early wickets Mumbai couldn’t pick themselves up for a fightback.Kedar Jadhav ensured Maharashtra successfully chased Saurashtra’s 327 by hammering a 97-ball 124 at the PYC Gymkhana Ground in Pune. Cheteshwar Pujara added 68 with Sagar Jogiyani and 107 with Shitanshu Kotak to take Saurashtra to a big total in their opening game of the tournament. Maharashtra scored at 6.8 runs an over and lost only five wickets in getting to the target.
True to the newly-found unpredictability of Zimbabwe domestic cricket, Southerns have clinched the country’s first-ever inter-provincial Twenty20 series after beating host province Easterns by five runs in the final in Mutare at the weekend.Southerns comprise largely of the old Masvingo, a province which in the old set-up, had no first-class status. It only contested the “B” Division of the Logan Cup, the country’s premier first-class tournament. Their victims in the final, Easterns, are the new champions of the Faithwear one-day series which ended in Harare last week.The historic Twenty20 tournament took place in the border town of Mutare over three days on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The final was a rain-affected match reduced to eight overs a-side, and Southerns were 73 for 7 in their 8 overs with Man of the Match Norman Mukondiwa smashing 20 off nine balls. Young spin bowler Timycen Maruma, who played in Zimbabwe’s first and only Twenty20 match against South Africa last year, took 2 for 21.Easterns were 68 for 7, managing only 12 of the 17 they needed from the last over, with Blessing Mahwire doing the damage with 3 for 18.Southerns won through to the final after topping the group stage. Easterns finished level on points with Westerns, but secured their place thanks to a superior run rate. Northerns came fourth while Centrals, who lost all four of their matches, came bottom.
The Pakistani internationals, Shahid Afridi and Saqlain Mushtaq, will make their debuts for Ireland in Dublin at the end of the month, after being named in a 12-man squad for the C&G Trophy match against Hampshire at Clontarf on April 23.David Langford-Smith from the Phoenix club in Dublin also features in the squad, and is in line to win his first cap, following his impressive bowling display in the non-capped friendly match against Loughborough UCCE on Saturday.Also included is Dominick Joyce, the brother of the Middlesex batsman, Ed, and Eion Morgan, who starred in the recent Under-19 World Cup. Clontarf’s Trent Johnston will captain the side.Hampshire are the current holders of the title. They are expected to include Shane Warne and Kevin Pietersen in their ranks, for a match that will be televised live on Sky Sports.Ireland’s selectors have also named a 14-man squad for the EurAsia Series challenge in Abu Dhabi, which runs from April 22 until May 5. The tournament features the A teams of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Holland and Ireland, with the full UAE side completing the line-up.The Ireland A team contains seven players who have played for the senior side, including the former captain, Jason Molins. Paul Mooney was ruled out of contention due to injury, while Ralph Coetzee and Greg Thompson weren’t available. The side will be led by 21-year-old William Porterfield.C&G Trophy squad Trent Johnston (Clontarf, capt), Shahid Afridi (Pakistan), Andre Botha (North County), Jeremy Bray (Eglinton), Peter Gillespie (Strabane), Dominick Joyce (Merrion), David Langford-Smith (Phoenix), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Kyle McCallan (Waringstown), Adrian McCoubrey (Saffron Walden), Saqlain Mushtaq (Pakistan), Andrew White (Northamptonshire).EurAsia Series squad William Porterfield (Rush, capt), Conor Armstrong (North County), Trevor Britton (Bready), Kenneth Carroll (Railway Union), Martinus Fourie (Phoenix), Mark Hutchinson (Bangor), Gary Kidd (Waringstown), Jason Molins (Phoenix), John Mooney (North County), Kevin O’Brien (Railway Union and MCC Young Cricketers), Boyd Rankin (Bready and Derbyshire), David Simpson (Lisburn), Roger Whelan (Railway Union).