CSA is hoping for Test status for the Boxing Day game against Zimbabwe, as the much-anticipated Test series against India has been reduced to three matches

Firdose Moonda20-Sep-20174:16

Four-day Tests on the cards

India’s tour to South Africa has been cut to three Tests from the original four, but will include an additional ODI, taking the total number of 50-over matches to six along with three T20s. As reported by ESPNcricinfo earlier in the week, India’s tour will begin with a late New Year’s Test which starts from January 5 at Newlands – three days later than the usual start for the festive fixture.Although South Africa have lost out on a Boxing Day Test against India, they host Zimbabwe for a four-day day-night match in Port Elizabeth, starting from December 26. Cricket South Africa is awaiting ICC approval before labelling the Zimbabwe fixture a Test.The confirmation of the India’s tour comes after months of speculation about when the tour would be finalised and whether South Africa would be able to host a 10-Test summer. That will only be possible if the Zimbabwe match is allowed to go ahead as a Test; CSA is confident the ICC will give them the green light at their October meeting in Auckland.For over a decade, the ICC has been hearing the case for four-day Tests and the discussion was taken up in earnest again this year. One of the key reasons for shortening Tests is to be able to save time on a tour and allow for more matches.An insider told ESPNcricinfo that CSA understands if four-day Tests are approved, they will only be played when decided by an MoU between member countries and they are more likely to be played between the so-called younger teams in Test cricket or when a top-tier team plays a lower-ranked opponent. South Africa hope to be pioneers in the format.After that match, they will turn their attention to India, who will arrive in South Africa on December 28, four days after their home series against Sri Lanka ends. India will have a two-day practice match in Paarl on December 30 and 31. India were understood to have wanted two warm-up matches, but there isn’t enough time.”The time constraints faced by India have forced us to reduce the Test matches to three, while increasing white-ball cricket to six ODIs and three T20I matches,” Haroon Lorgat, the CSA CEO, said.Cape Town will host the first Test while venues are yet to be confirmed for the following two. Given the large Indian support base in Durban, Kingsmead is highly likely to host one of the matches which will leave the Wanderers in Johannesburg or SuperSport Park in Centurion to host the remaining Test. While the Wanderers is regarded as South Africa’s home of cricket, SuperSport Park may edge it out because it is the only one of the big five grounds that does not host Australia for a Test in March.

Joey Barton was spotted in the Marseille away end at Brighton a week after he caused controversy with online sexist rants.

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Barton spotted in Marseille away end41-year-old saw OM lose 1-0 to BrightonBarton's sexist rants have caused outrageWHAT HAPPENED?

On Thursday evening Barton was spotted in the away end at Brighton's American Express Stadium, where he watched his former club Marseille lose 1-0 to the Seagulls in the Europa League. Last week, Barton caused controversy when he argued that women should not work in men's football as commentators and pundits.

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Last week Barton appeared on Talk TV's Piers Morgan Uncensored, and since then has doubled down on his stance with more inflammatory tweets. On Thursday he took a break from fighting his new cause to attend the match, where he posed for photos with fans of his former club.

DID YOU KNOW?

Barton only spent the 2012/13 season on loan at Marseille, but he has attended away fixtures on several occasions since. Last year he was photographed giving Tottenham fans the middle finger during Marseille's 0-2 Champions League group stage defeat.

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(C)Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR BARTON?

Barton's sexist rants have coincided with him teasing the launch of his new podcast in the new year. Whether the two are linked remains to be seen. On the pitch, Marseille advanced to the Europa League knockout stages as group runners-up, while Brighton went through as group winners.

Brathwaite and Kyle Hope’s unbroken 63-run second-wicket stand leave Zimbabwe chasing the game on a 11-wicket day

The Report by Liam Brickhill in Bulawayo22-Oct-2017Stumps
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDevendra Bishoo’s fourth five-for gave West Indies a handy lead•WICB Media/Brooks LaTouche Photography Ltd

In a Test match being played in fast-forward mode, 11 wickets fell on the second day at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo as West Indies surged into the ascendancy. Legspinner Devendra Bishoo was the catalyst for the turnaround, scything through Zimbabwe’s top order to finish with 5 for 79.His first ball of the morning was hit for six, but Bishoo soon found his rhythm. In an unbroken 23-over spell on either side of lunch, he undid all of the hard work done by Zimbabwe’s bowlers, with spin, bounce and accuracy. The hosts were bowled out for 159 during the extended post-lunch session, and by the close West Indies had stretched their lead to 148, with Kraigg Brathwaite and Kyle Hope adding an unbeaten 63 for the second wicket.For a while, it appeared that Zimbabwe might continue to chug along gamely despite the early loss of Solomon Mire. But once Bishoo settled, West Indies made regular inroads as Zimbabwe lost 9 for 68 from a comfortable 91 for 1.Hamilton Masakadza, who had muscled Bishoo’s opening delivery over long on for six, could not smother the turn of a fizzing legbreak and feathered an edge through to wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich for 42 – the highest score of Zimbabwe’s innings. Brendan Taylor’s second coming then lasted all of seven deliveries before he reverse swept Bishoo into Jermaine Blackwood’s hands at slip, the fielder having moved in anticipation of the stroke.With his dismissal Zimbabwe slipped to 93 for 3, and Sean Williams endured a working-over against the pace of Shannon Gabriel as the hosts went into the lunch interval without further loss. At that point, the innings – and the match – was still in the balance, but the afternoon belonged entirely to West Indies.Bishoo’s effort was well backed up by the pace attack, who utilized the dryness of the surface to extract significant reverse swing. Kemar Roach had a flat-footed Sean Williams caught behind wafting lazily at one that left him off the track, while Jason Holder, hiding the shiny side of the ball in his hands during his run-up, castled Malcolm Waller with one that hooped in from outside off to beat a loose defensive poke. Between times, Bishoo bowled unchanged and found regular success against an increasingly jittery middle order.Sikandar Raza looked a little ungainly against the quicks, and positively frenetic against spin. He might have been stumped very early on, had the ball not deviated off his elbow and away from Dowrich, but kept using his feet and eventually swiped underneath a flighted delivery to top-edge a catch to Gabriel at long off.That gave Bishoo his third, with Zimbabwe still 96 in arrears. Straight after the afternoon drinks break, he had his fourth, finally getting the better of Craig Ervine with one that went straight on with the arm to beat the left-hander’s sweep and strike him right in front of middle stump. With Bishoo ragging it square from one end and the pace attack reversing the ball from the other end, full capitulation from Zimbabwe seemed only a matter of time.Regis Chakabva flapped a half-hearted cut tamely to backward point to give Bishoo his fourth five-wicket haul in Test cricket – and his third away from home. When Graeme Cremer inside-edged a drive off Holder Zimbabwe were 147 for 9. The last pair of Chris Mpofu and Kyle Jarvis added just 12 more before Mpofu nicked off to a length delivery from Gabriel.Brathwaite and Powell strode out to open the batting a second time inside two days with the opportunity to bat Zimbabwe out of a match. They weathered steady new-ball spells from Kyle Jarvis and Christopher Mpofu, but when spin was introduced Powell fell almost immediately, playing inside a delivery from Cremer to see his off stump disturbed.West Indies were 25 for 1 then, and with both Cremer and Williams gaining alarming turn and bounce, Zimbabwe were not yet out of the match. Hope was offered an early reprieve when a tough chance went down at short leg, but soon got his feet moving and repeatedly shovelled the spinners into the leg side. Brathwaite, similarly legside in his technique, was also unafraid to loft the ball and cracked Cremer over long on for six early in his innings.Neither he nor Hope gave Zimbabwe much of a sniff thereafter, and though there was still turn on offer in the afternoon it seemed some of the bite had gone out of the track. But there is still an awful lot of time left in a match during which 21 wickets have already fallen – and all but seven of those to spin. With a little more hard work, West Indies are one or two sessions from closing out the first Test.

K Gowtham picked up his third five-wicket haul in first-class cricket•PTI

India Green, steamrolled by the spin combination of Karn Sharma and K Gowtham, lost their last eight wickets for 34 runs as India Red took a first-innings lead of 166 in the opening fixture of the pink-ball tournament in Lucknow. By stumps on day two, India Red had stretched their lead to 185 for the loss of one wicket.Gowtham’s offbreaks fetched him his third five-wicket haul in first-class cricket, while the legspinner Karn collected four wickets to derail an India Green team that had looked on course to get close to India Red’s first-innings total of 323. India Green were 123 for 2, following a 113-run stand for the third wicket between Prashant Chopra (65) and Karun Nair (37), before the two spinners caused havoc. The only other India Green batsman to reach double-figures was the captain Parthiv Patel, and when he reached 5, he completed 10,000 first-class runs. Gowtham, however, removed all three players before they could cause too much damage, and then cleaned up the tail to finish with 5 for 46.In the afternoon, India Red added 101 to their overnight total of 232 for 5 before being bowled out. Dinesh Karthik, their captain, completed his half-century before he was eighth out with his team approaching 300. Part-time offspinner M Vijay turned out to be India Green’s most successful bowler: he finished with career-best first-class figures of 3 for 46.After 15 wickets were lost on the second day, India Red began their second innings with 13 overs still remaining. They finished the day on 19 for 1, with Vijay trapping opener Sudip Chatterjee lbw.

Over two weeks of heavy rain in the city meant that the deciding T20I between the two teams was abandoned without even a toss

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2017The deciding T20I between Australia and India in Hyderabad was abandoned as a result of a wet outfield. Over two weeks of heavy rain leading up to the match meant the ground had taken in a lot of water. And even though there was at least two hours of clear weather before the first ball was due, the groundstaff were unable to make good enough progress for the game to begin.In fact, when the umpires went out for their inspection they found that some patches of turf were so soggy that large divots were created when they dug their heels in. It was reported that the pitch, the square and even the bowler’s run-ups were relatively fine but certain areas beyond the 30-yard circle were unsafe. As a result, play was called off at approximately 8.30 pm and the series ended with a 1-1 scoreline.”We are all very upset,” a member of the groundstaff said. “It has been raining for 21 days in a row now. There is no way we can fight against nature or God.” According to sources, pedestal fans had been used on the eve of the match to dry the outfield.While the official did not want to comment on the drainage facilities in the ground, there are murmurs about the fact that there are only enough covers to protect the square and that the majority of the ground ends up unguarded in the event of rain.

Everton reportedly remain interested in signing Salernitana forward Boulaye Dia in the summer transfer window, and could use Neal Maupay as part of any deal.

Are Everton signing a new striker?

The Blues have been on the lookout for attacking reinforcements since the end of last season, with more quality in the final third something that has to be addressed ahead of the new Premier League campaign after scoring just 34 top-flight goals last season.

El Bilal Toure is one player who has been linked with a move for Goodison Park, but he has instead opted to join Atalanta, acting as a blow for Everton.

Another target who has also been seen as a primary target is Dia, though, who caught the eye for Salernitana last season, scoring 16 goals and chipping in with six assists in Serie A. It was a highly impressive first season there, having initially joined on loan from Villarreal, but his temporary move has now become permanent.

Despite this, a move away this summer doesn't look out of the question, with a new update suggesting that there is one Everton player who could help a move to Merseyside come to fruition.

Do Everton still want to sign Boulaye Dia?

According to Tutto Salernitana [via Sport Witness], Everton aren't willing to pay the player’s €25m release clause but have "asked" to hold a meeting with Salernitana sporting director Morgan De Sanctis to discuss a potential deal.

Maupay is seen as someone who could become a key part of any move, with the Frenchman someone who the Italian outfit "like a lot", having been "one step away" from heading there last summer. The report also states that Salernitana want any potential transfer to be done and dusted in the next 10 days, rather than negotiations going on for too long.

This is certainly a positive update from an Everton perspective, not only giving them hope that they could sign Dia this summer, but also getting Maupay off their wage bill at the same time. He has been a big disappointment since arriving from Brighton last year, producing a poor return of just one goal and assist apiece in 29 appearances for the Blues.

For that reason, he may not be any real loss, and instead, they could be acquiring the signature of a more prolific player in Dia, having scored six goals in 25 appearances for Senegal at international level, netting once at the 2022 World Cup. Back in 2020, Senegal and former Liverpool forward Sadio Mane spoke highly of the forward, saying:

"I didn't know him before. But since the start of the season I started to follow him, and I'm really impressed by his qualities. I think he won't stay at Reims forever, believe me!"

Meanwhile, journalist Josh Bunting highlighted a key asset of Dia's, saying:

"Boulaye Dia the key man for Salernitana a goal and two assists so far since joining, a handful to deal with due to his hold up."

To be praised for such a big figure in his country's history speaks volumes about what Dia could be capable of in an Everton shirt, and his aforementioned assist tally last season shows that he is more than just a goalscorer. There still looks to be plenty to do, in order for the transfer to happen, but the Maupay factor is an added bonus, and it would be exciting to see Dia lining up for the Blues when they host Fulham in their Premier League opener next month.

Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly identified a leading candidate to replace Bayern Munich target Harry Kane this summer, with reports in Italy indicating that Ange Postecoglou and co are interested in Lille striker, Jonathan David.

How much would Jonathan David cost?

According to Gazzetta dello Sport – via Sport Witness – the Canadian international is said to be being 'followed' by those at N17, with the 23-year-old seemingly at the 'top of their list' with regard to potential centre-forward replacements for Kane.

The report suggests, however, that while the former Gent hitman is valued at around €50m (£43m) at present, the impending switch of Rasmus Hojlund to Manchester United for a fee of around £72m could inflate the striker market.

Read the latest Tottenham transfer news HERE…

The piece does though add that David's price tag could drop to as low as €40m (£34m) this month, with the Ligue 1 outfit potentially inclined to cash on the Brooklyn-born menace with just two years left on his current deal.

Who is Jonathan David similar to?

There have perhaps been doubts regarding the 5 foot 9 marksman's ability to make an impact in the Premier League, with journalist Dean Jones previously suggesting that David had failed to impress watching Man United scouts last season.

That being said, however, it is perhaps hard to argue with the striker's impressive goal return in Ligue 1 in recent times, with the £28k-per-week asset having notably scored 24 league goals during the 2022/23 campaign – a record only bettered by Alexandre Lacazette and Kylian Mbappe in the division.

Lauded as a "phenom" and "one of the best strikers in the world" by podcaster Tony Marinaro, the emerging gem now boasts a haul of 58 goals in 136 games in all competitions for his current side, after previously bagging 37 goals in 83 games during his time in Belgium.

While the jury is out on whether he could be the man to fill Kane's shoes in north London – with the Englishman netting 30 league goals last season alone – it is interesting to note that David is said to share a number of stylistic and statistical similarities with Arsenal youngster, Folarin Balogun, according to Opta's Player Radars.

That comparison between the latter man – who scored 21 Ligue 1 goals last season while on loan at Reims – and his Lille counterpart can be seen by just how clinical they are in the final third, with David ranking in the top 6% among his European peers for goals, while Balogun ranks in the top 10% in that regard.

The pair are also alike with regard to their poaching prowess and desire to impact the game where it matters most, with the reported Spurs target ranking in the top 9% for touches in the opposition box, while Balogun ranks in the top 10% in that regard.

The Gunners gem is a worthy player to be compared to have been touted for a £50m move away from the Emirates of late, with the 22-year-old having proven himself to be an "unbelievable" talent during his latest stint in France, according to Reims boss Will Still.

With their north London rivals having an exciting striking talent on the books in the form of Balogun, perhaps Spurs could find Postecoglou's answer to the United States international with the signing of David.

BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury said that it was “a principled, policy decision” of the board to limit the players’ participation to two overseas leagues per year

Mohammad Isam14-Nov-2017

The Bangladesh Cricket Board will allow the country’s contracted players only two No Objection Certificates (NOC) per year to play in overseas leagues, according to board CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury.Bangladesh’s contracted players were informed of the decision – which is effective immediately – through a letter that detailed the new restrictions. The leagues included in the restrictions are of all formats, and the board made it mandatory for players to participate in Bangladesh’s first-class tournaments.”It is a principled, policy decision of the board,” Chowdhury said. “We will allow two NOCs per year. It will be on a case-by-case basis and it is with immediate effect. We want to give them enough rest and manage their injuries. We want to ensure all our players are available for international matches.”Debbabrata Paul, the secretary of the Cricketers Welfare Association of Bangladesh, disagreed with the BCB’s decision. “This cannot happen and this doesn’t happen anywhere in the world. It is being forced on the players. They are simply being deprived,” Paul said. “We were not informed about it. We will definitely have to talk about it with the players.”Chowdhury did not specify what triggered this decision, but ESPNcricinfo understood it had to do with Bangladesh’s disastrous tour of South Africa. The move would mostly affect Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh’s busiest cricketer, who has been playing the IPL, BBL, PSL and CPL for several years. The likes of Tamim Iqbal, Mustafizur Rahman and Mahmudullah had also started to feature in T20 leagues other than the IPL. Tamim, Shakib and Mustafizur were picked to play in a T10 competition next month.Limiting the number of NOCs is an unprecedented move from the BCB. The board has refused NOCs in the past, especially in the case of Shakib, when he was banned for six months in 2014. But Shakib’s punishment was soon lifted, after a string of strong performances from the allrounder for the national side.The contacted Bangladesh players, however, did not wish to comment. It was learned that the BCB had recently restricted national players from talking to the media about certain issues.

USMNT captain Tyler Adams recalled the "hostile" press conference before their match against Iran at the 2022 World Cup in a new Netflix documentary.

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Adams reflects on "hostile" press conferenceUSMNT captain mispronounced Iran as "eye-ran"Featured on new Netflix documentaryWHAT HAPPENED?

In the recent Netflix documentary Adams reflected on the incident where he incorrectly pronounced the country's name as "eye-ran", causing a controversy prior to the match. Reports even surfaced labeling it as "discrimination".

AdvertisementGettyWHAT ADAMS SAID

Recalling the incident, Adams said: “As soon as I walked into that press conference, you could just tell immediately how hostile it was about to be.” However, the 24-year-old recognized the situation and understood where the journalist was coming from, mentioning how "super important" it was for him to be educated on the manner prior.

"When he asked me that, it wasn’t him attacking me, me attacking him, or going at him in any sense. We knew we were going to deal with a lot of things that had nothing to do with our performance.”

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The USA went on to win the match in the group stage against the Middle-Eastern side, with Christian Pulisic netting the winner in the 38th minute in a 1-0 victory. Although no true incidents followed or even proceeded the match, the two nation's history in politics caused a stir in the buildup. Adams did go on to apologize for his mispronunciation, however.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR ADAMS AND USMNT

The USMNT captain is still sidelined due to injury, but is on his way back, with a return to action on the cards in the coming months. He has yet to play a Premier League match for Bournemouth since signing there in the summer.

Gregg Berhalter and co. are back on January 20 when they host Slovenia in an international friendly.

Ryan Reynolds has been sent a “Wales forever Mr Lively” message by fellow movie star Sir Anthony Hopkins following Welcome to Wrexham’s Emmy win.

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• Documentary series lands prestigious prize
• Recognition for efforts in North Wales
• Movie stars accept & acknowledge top award

• Getty/FX
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  The popular FX-produced television series has landed another prestigious prize on the back of season two airing in 2023 – which showcased the Red Dragons’ stunning National League title triumph, while also covering promotion for the club’s women’s team and several local community stories.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Reynolds accepted Wrexham’s Emmy award while dressed up as his Deadpool on-screen alter ego – while holding a broken trophy loaned to him by Wolverine star Hugh Jackman – and made a point of including a “Cymru am byth, b*tches” message within his speech.

• WHAT HOPKINS SAID TO EYNOLDS

  That nod was well received by Port Talbot native Hopkins – the Oscar-winning star of ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ and ‘The Father’ – with the legendary actor posting his own “Wales forever” message to “Mr Lively” after seeing efforts in North Wales recognised.

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• WHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

  It has been confirmed that ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ will be back for a third series in 2024, with it possible that another successful promotion bid will be covered there – with Phil Parkinson’s side currently riding high in the League Two table.