All posts by h716a5.icu

John Lyon, the former Lancashire wicket keeper, died in South Africa over the Christmas holidays.

Cricinfo staff04-Jan-2010John Lyon, the former Lancashire wicket keeper, died in South Africa over the Christmas holidays. He was 58.Lyon played 84 matches for Lancashire between 1973 and 1979, initially as a replacement for Farokh Engineer before becoming the first choice for his last three seasons, taking 159 catches and making 12 stumpings. Although he was a limited lower-order batsman, he did score a first-class hundred against Warwickshire in 1979 along with Bob Ratcliffe, who also made his only first-class century.Lyon then had a marked impact on Irish cricket, initially with Bangor and then Clontarf where he proved highly successful as a coach.He subsequently emigrated to South Africa where he ran a sports bar while continuing to coach.

Dean Smith’s time as Aston Villa manager was severely under pressure heading into this weekend’s Premier League action but sadly, it ended up being his last in the dugout.

As the Villans slipped to a 1-0 defeat against Southampton, Smith left the stadium and was then handed his marching orders less than 24 hours later.

What’s the word?

Villa are now without a point in their last five matches but the club’s hierarchy have used the upcoming international break to make a much-needed change.

With the club in no danger of improving their form, they told the 50-year-old to pack his bags and head out of the exit door.

Consequently, NSWE are now looking for a new manager.

The Sun revealed on Saturday evening that they may consider Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand but fresh reports dictate there are other irons in the fire.

John Percy of The Telegraph shared on Sunday afternoon that Steven Gerrard was on Villa’s shortlist.

Fans buzzing

This is a piece of news that should leave the Villa supporters buzzing.

Gerrard might not have very much experience under his belt but the fact of the matter is, he could improve them in multiple facets.

He has installed a gritty and never-say-die attitude within his players at Rangers, a mentality that helped them end Celtic’s nine-year stronghold over Scottish football as the Gers won the Premiership last season.

The Liverpudlian ensured that happened by combining a swashbuckling offensive approach with a sturdy backline.

His team scored 78 goals and conceded just ten times in 33 outings, suggesting he could improve Villa’s leaky backline.

So far this term, the Midlands outfit have shipped 20 goals, the highest volume outside of the relegation zone.

First and foremost, the new manager must make Villa harder to beat and in Gerrard, a manager who already knows how to win things, they’d definitely discover that.

Of course, the Premier League is a completely different beast to the SPFL but if he comes in and manages to revive Villa, as he did Rangers, the supporters at the club would undoubtedly be delighted to see him in the hot seat.

AND in other news, Forget Buendia: Villa must sign £18m-rated star who “every coach would love to have”…

The innings that won Virender Sehwag the Cricinfo Award for the best Test innings of 2008 has earned the highest endorsement from the man himself

Cricinfo staff17-Jan-2009
The one to cherish: Virender Sehwag celebrates his 15th Test century in Galle last year© AFP
The innings that won Virender Sehwag the Cricinfo Award for the best Test innings of 2008 has earned the highest endorsement from the man himself. Talking to Sanjay Manjrekar, a member of Cricinfo’s jury at the awards function yesterday, Sehwag termed his 201 not out against Sri Lanka at Galle as his best-ever Test innings, ahead of both his triple hundreds.”Both my triple centuries in Pakistan and Chennai came on good tracks and I could feel on both occasions that the opposition simply didn¹t have it in them to get me out,” Sehwag said, “but here wickets were falling regularly at the other end and I batted throughout the innings.”Sehwag¹s 201 came in a team score of 329 in an innings where only two other batsmen, Gautam Gambhir and VVS Laxman, got to double digits. Sehwag added 167 with Gambhir at nearly six runs an over and then watched four wickets go down for 11 runs. Sehwag said in jest that he was thankful to his team-mates for getting out so that he could become thesecond Indian opener to carry his bat through an innings. “After all, I am not Sunil Gavaskar, who could stay at the wicket for long periods.”Sehwag’s knock came in the backdrop of a carnage in the first Test in Colombo where India lost by and innings and 239 runs, surrendering wickets to the two spinners – debutant Ajantha Mendis and the old master Muttiah Muralitharan. At Galle, Sehwag scored 128 off the spinners, including 70 in 77 balls off Mendis.”I could pick the ball from Mendis’ hand,” Sehwag said. “I attacked him and created a little doubt in his mind. I hit the good balls for fours through covers and point. I was able to read his googly and top-spin.”I was never worried about Mendis. In the seven or eight innings I played against Sri Lanka, I got out to him only once.”Sehwag rated Murali, along with Glenn McGrath, as the most difficult bowler he had encountered. Watching him bat at Galle one could have hardly known though, as Sehwag kept on hitting against the turn through the off side. Sehwag had a delightfully candid answer about the way played he him. “I was not able to pick his doosra, so I treated every ball as a doosra and tried to hit it. But I found them to be off-spinners. It did not matter much as I was getting boundaries,” he said.”No matter who is the bowler, I always like to attack,” Sehwag said, “I don’t like to defend and hate to leave deliveries. That is nothing but waste of time.”Sehwag went on to score an aggressive 50 in the second innings and India won the Test by 170 runs.

For close to 35 overs, India Red held the momentum with a score of 300-plus on the cards

Cricinfo staff08-Oct-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outAshok Dinda proved to be the hero for India Blue, and not just with the ball•ESPNcricinfo LtdSuresh Kumar’s 87 proved decisive, as India Blue held on for a thrilling one-wicket win against India Red at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur. Suresh was the lynchpin even as wickets kept falling around him, playing a big hand in ensuring victory. Ashok Dinda, though, had the final word. Having picked three wickets earlier, he hit the boundary which sealed the match in Blues’ favour after they needed seven off the last over with just the one wicket in hand.The chase was well-planned, as Suresh played the anchor’s role to perfection, even as Ishant Sharma struck at either ends of the innings. Harbhajan Singh, promoted to No.3 after a good day with the ball, lent good support with a run-a-ball 36. When captain MS Dhoni departed for 37 with the score 161 for 5, the match was tantalisingly poised.Suresh continued to graft away and soon brought up his fifty in style, clubbing Sudeep Tyagi over long-on for a six. With Jalaj Saxena and Yusuf Pathan departing soon, he was running fast out of partners, though the equation was firmly in Blues’ favour. Two fours in Ishant’s ninth over had them in sight of the finish line, yet a final sting in the tale remained. Looking for a quick finish, Suresh mishit a slower one from Ishant and Ravindra Jadeja made no mistake running in from mid-on. That was the end of the 47th over.The task could not have looked more imposing, with 12 required off 18 and Dinda and Siddharth Trivedi to come. Munaf Patel, who otherwise had a day to forget, struck in his penultimate over, rearranging Sreesanth’s stumps with the second ball. Ishant followed the act, giving away four in the 49th over.The Red captain S Badrinath was a nervous man, as Munaf ran in for his final over. A full delivery first up was hit in the air over cover by Dinda, and the batsmen sneaked a couple. A short ball followed, which was pulled along the ground through midwicket for another two. Another terrible delivery from Munaf wa unpardonable, and Dinda pulled it in the air behind square leg to the fence to seal the win.For close to 35 overs, Red held the reins and looked good to reach 300-plus. However, the Blue bowlers pulled things back to bowl them out for a sub-par 248 inside 45 overs on a good batting track. Harshad Khadiwale and Ishank Jaggi made brisk half-centuries but the lower order failed to build on that platform.Red were powered by a solid start from their openers M Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan. Vijay scored at over a run a ball but fell when giving Harbhajan the charge, Naman Ojha snapping up the inside edge. Dhawan’s dismissal was very similar, and it was a smart move by Ojha to stand up for the seamer Trivedi, who cut back on his pace to keep the batsmen in check. Red stumbled further when Badrinath was run out after a terrible mix-up and some repair work was needed. Khadiwale and Jaggi stepped up with a stand of 49 for the fourth wicket. Khadiwale fell shortly after getting to his fifty, tamely mistiming a pull off Dinda.Jaggi, the right-hander from Jharkhand, maintained the momentum with a brisk innings that included five fours and a six. However, he failed to push on after reaching his fifty, edging Yusuf Pathan to Ojha while attempting a cut. Blue continued to chip away at the wickets – even Dhoni rolled his arm over and picked up a wicket – and Red looked in danger of not lasting their full quota of overs. By the time they took the batting Powerplay in the 45th over, they had already lost nine wickets. Harbhajan was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 for 40. But the real drama would pan out in the next 50 overs.

Celtic journalist Kieran Devlin has expressed uncertainty about the return date of centre-back Christopher Jullien. 

The lowdown

The Frenchman hasn’t played for the Hoops since their 3-0 win over Dundee United at the end of December 2020. He was forced off in that game after injuring his knee when colliding with the post (via BBC Sport).

Former Scotland boss Alex McLeish has said it will be a ‘massive’ boost for Celtic whenever Jullien, a treble winner in 2019/20, eventually makes his comeback.

Ange Postecoglou said in late October that the 28-year-old would be back after the November international break, but there’s no sign of him as yet.

The latest

In The Athletic’s matchday discussion surrounding Thursday night’s Europa League clash with Bayer Leverkusen, a supporter asked Devlin if there was ‘any indication when/if’ the defender would be back.

The fan ‘thought by now we would have seen something of Jullien in training’ or in a youth team game.

Devlin replied: “It just keeps being pushed back. Briefed multiple times this season that he’d be back within a few weeks and it just hasn’t happened. Not sure what the new estimated date is.”

The verdict

Celtic initially expected to be without Jullien for a period of four months, but we’re now approaching a full calendar year of him being sidelined.

Devlin’s latest claim is worrying because it suggests that there may have been a setback, with the 28-year-old not able to meet the club’s revised timeline.

They were knocked out of the Europa League this week after a 3-2 defeat by Bayer Leverkusen, with Chris Sutton acknowledging that ‘defensively, Celtic have come up well short in Europe’.

It’s tempting to wonder whether they would have had enough to progress from their group with a fully fit Jullien, who was included in their squad for the competition – a sure sign that the Hoops had banked on him returning to action by now.

In other news, this defender is open to signing for Celtic

Crystal Palace will be aiming to convert their recent run of four consecutive draws into a victory when they take on Manchester City in the Premier League this afternoon.

The Eagles have made a promising start to life under Patrick Vieira, although the Frenchman will be keen for his side to get some more points on the board in the coming weeks.

Wilfried Zaha’s absence from the starting XI in Palace’s last two fixtures haven’t helped the Eagles’ cause, but the 28-year-old is expected to feature from the off at the Etihad Stadium after making a full recovery from illness.

In Friday’s press conference, Vieira confirmed that he has no fresh fitness concerns ahead of the tricky encounter against the Premier League champions, providing the 45-year-old with a significant selection boost.

However, he did confirm that Eberechi Eze is still unavailable following his Achilles injury from the end of last season.

With that in mind, here’s how Football FanCast expects Vieira to line up against Pep Guardiola’s Cityzens, with just one change from the team which started against Newcastle United last time out…

The ever-dependable Vicente Guaita will keep his place between the sticks for the south London outfit after a string of impressive performances.

Ahead of the Spanish shot-stopper is set to be the same back four which has started the last seven games for Palace. Tyrick Mitchell, Marc Guehi, Joachim Andersen and Joel Ward are beginning to gel as a unit, providing a solid defensive foundation for the rest of the team.

It’s a similar situation in the midfield engine room. The addition of Conor Gallagher has been a revelation for the Eagles, and the experience of Luke Milivojevic and James McArthur alongside the 21-year-old makes for an effective trio.

It is in attack where Vieira has some big decisions to make as he looks to cause an upset against the reigning Premier League champions. Zaha is likely to feature from the off, so the £8.1m-rated Christian Benteke could drop to the bench despite scoring two goals in his last two games.

Summer signings Odsonne Edouard and Michael Olise are likely to partner the Ivory Coast international in the final third, providing a potentially deadly forward line for Palace as both summer signings have made an impact in recent games.

In other news… Vieira could unearth CPFC gem in “quality” 19 y/o who has “so many strings to his bow”

Wellington coach Anthony Stuart has expressed satisfaction at three new acquisitions for the upcoming domestic season

Cricinfo staff18-Jul-2009Wellington coach Anthony Stuart has expressed satisfaction at three new acquisitions for the upcoming domestic season. The side drafted in left-arm fast bowler Andy McKay from Auckland, opener Cameron Merchant from Northern Districts and Central Districts legspinner Robbie Schaw.Though none of the three have excellent first-class records, Stuart said they brought certain qualities to the side, which released spinner Mark Houghton and fast bowlers Michael Burns and Kevin Forde.McKay, 29, has 54 wickets from 19 matches and little limited-overs experience but Stuart said he was a value addition. “We need some penetration in our attack and Andy will hopefully give us that,” he told the . “He bowls at a lively pace, hits the bat hard and bowls with a nice upright action.”The 25-year-old Merchant, who has represented New South Wales second XI and Queensland Under-17, has made 394 runs in eight matches at 28.14. “Cameron is a good player with an average record. I’ve known him for three or four years and a lot of guys in Sydney speak highly of him so there is no doubt if he can get his head down he can do well,” said Stuart, the former bowler who played three one-day internationals for Australia. “He is a pretty positive batsman.”Schaw was preferred to Houghton as Auckland’s third spinner behind Jeetan Patel and Luke Woodcock. In 14 first-class games he has taken 26 wickets at 56.42 and Stuart was hopeful he would fit right in to the line-up. “Robbie gives us some variation and I think he will thrive on the concentrated training environment we have,”he said. “He’s bowled well against us in the past, he’s a young guy and being a wrist spinner his best years are ahead of him.”Houghton, despite a good outing in the State Twenty20, was dropped as the side looked for a bowler more suited to the four-day game. “I’ve had a couple of chats with Mark and he is disappointed with our decision but he has vowed to bounce back,” said Stuart. “Michael Burns bowled some good spells last year and can count himself unlucky as well but at the end of the day you can only pick 12.”Last season, Wellington finished third in the four-day and one-day competitions and failed to make the finals of the Twenty20 competition.

Jason Gallian has announced his retirement after losing his place in the Essex first team. It brings to an end a 19-year career split between Lancashire, Nottinghamshire and Essex with a brief England spell in 1995

Cricinfo staff11-Aug-2009Jason Gallian has announced his retirement after losing his place in the Essex first team. It brings to an end a 19-year career split between Lancashire, Nottinghamshire and Essex with a brief England spell in 1995.Gallian, 38, was born and raised in Sydney and played youth cricket for Australia before throwing his lot in with England when he signed for Lancashire. He moved to Nottinghamshire in 1998 where he had a spell as captain, but it wasn’t always a smooth time for him and he had a falling out with Kevin Pietersen.In 2008 he joined Essex where he recaptured some solid form and helped them win two trophies, but in 2009 has managed just five Championship matches with an average 13.33″I have spent 19 years playing professional cricket which I have thoroughly enjoyed and had a great experience and several challenges along the way,” he told the Essex website. “My last challenge has been at Essex, and the highlight in 2008 was being involved in the winning of two trophies.”However, all good things come to an end. Essex has a lot of young players coming through and it is their time now to perform. I am pleased to have finished my playing career at a club as good as Essex”.Paul Grayson, the Essex first eleven coach, said: “Jason has done well for us for the past two years. He played some really good one-day cricket in 2008. Unfortunately Jason has struggled for runs in the County Championship this season. He is good to have around the dressing room with his knowledge and experience of the game. All of us wish him well in the future.”Gallian scored 15,266 runs in first-class cricket at an average of 37.50 including a career best 312 for Lancashire against Derbyshire. He earned England selection in 1995 against West Indies, but broke his finger on debut at Edgbaston. He played another Test at the end of that series and one in South Africa but was a victim of the inconsistent selection policy of the era.Essex have also released offspinner James Middlebrook and quick bowler Jahid Ahmed.

Australia’s spin cycle has washed up another surprise with Nathan Hauritz almost certain to play his first Test in four years despite being considered not good enough for New South Wales last week

Brydon Coverdale at the Adelaide Oval27-Nov-2008
Nathan Hauritz’s up and down career could hit another peak in Adelaide on Friday © Getty Images
Australia’s spin cycle has washed up another surprise with Nathan Hauritz almost certain to play his first Test in four years despite being considered not good enough for New South Wales last week. Jason Krejza will be given until the morning of Friday’s second match against New Zealand to prove his fitness after hurting his ankle on Wednesday, but the captain Ricky Ponting is preparing for an attack featuring Hauritz.”Jason is still going to remain our No. 1 choice of spinner with 12 wickets on debut and obviously I understand how shattered he is at the moment,” Ponting said. “We’ll keep our fingers crossed and hope he comes up, but at the moment we think that it’s likely that Hauritz will play ahead of him.”It is fair to say Hauritz was surprised by the late call-up. He was left out of New South Wales’ Sheffield Shield side last week and had already been told he was the likely twelfth man for their four-day game against Tasmania starting next Tuesday.But the conveyor-belt carrying Australian spinners has been moving so rapidly that no first-class slow bowler, even those on the fringes of their state sides, can write off the possibility of an international outing. If he plays, Hauritz will be the sixth specialist used by Australia in Tests this year.Ponting conceded that Hauritz’s figures – he has six Sheffield Shield wickets at 40.66 this season – “don’t look that flash” but said he was the best option available. His only previous Test appearance came in Mumbai in 2004 and he has found it hard to find regular state action, let alone international call-ups, since then.But in a match where New Zealand are considering two specialist spinners, Australia were adamant they needed at least one. After batsmen from both sides had trouble applying themselves on the green-tinged Gabba pitch last week, where Australia wrapped up a comfortable win, the bowlers know their task will be infinitely tougher on the flat Adelaide surface.Aside from Jamie How’s 170 in the tour match in Sydney, the New Zealand top order has struggled significantly. However, the captain Daniel Vettori said they would not be aiming to belt their way back into form by focusing on Hauritz, even though he failed to pick up a wicket for New South Wales in the warm-up game.”I don’t think you target him. We know that he’s going to have a big role to play because it’s the Adelaide Oval so spin bowlers do have a lot of work,” Vettori said. “We’ve just got to pretty much do what we did in our first game in New South Wales … sit on him, get a feel for him, because a lot of our guys have only faced him once before.”Vettori said his own workload would “increase exponentially” on an Adelaide pitch not expected to offer the seamers much assistance. The offspinner Jeetan Patel is a chance to play and Vettori is also keen to make use of the opening batsman Aaron Redmond, whose legspin has brought him 96 first-class wickets.To squeeze Patel into the line-up New Zealand would need to make a tough call to drop one of their fast men: Iain O’Brien, Tim Southee or Chris Martin. The bowlers face a nervous wait until the morning of the match, unlike Australia’s Stuart Clark, who has been assured he will play ahead of Peter Siddle.Earlier this year Clark was one of the first selected in Australia’s side but he has been under increased pressure and struggled on the tour of India, where he collected two wickets and was dropped for the fourth Test. Clark bounced back to be one of Australia’s best at the Gabba with six wickets, but his record at Adelaide is not so strong: in his two Tests here he has four victims at 56.50.”If Stuart Clark is bowling at his best it doesn’t really matter what the surface is,” Ponting said. “I’m sure he’d like to bowl at the Gabba every week, most bowlers would.”He’s not going to be the guy that’s going to run in and blast guys out. He’s going to be the guy that’s going to have to work hard and chip away and bowl lots of good overs and try and put pressure on guys in different ways. He’s certainly got a role to play in our team and with the confidence behind him from last week I’m sure he can do that role on any surface.”

According to The Sun, Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Harry Winks now wants a loan move away for the second half of this season – with the Lilywhites already making a decision.

The Lowdown: Winks outcasted…

Under former manager Jose Mourinho, the England international cut a bit-part figure when compared to his days under Mauricio Pochettino – starting just nine Premier League games over 2020/2021.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/spurs-updates/” title=”Spurs updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

That lead to links with a Spurs exit until reports suggested new boss Nuno Espirito Santo had been impressed with the 25-year-old at the very start of his N17 reign.

However, with Winks starting just one league match so far this season, it appears he is once again on the fringes of this Tottenham team as he eyes a possible move away.

The Latest: Winks decision made by Spurs…

As per The Sun, he wants to go out on loan for the second half of 2021/2022 for some much-needed game time – with the club already making a decision.

According to the outlet’s sources, Tottenham are ‘ready to block’ any attempt by Winks to leave mid-season despite his desire for first team football.

It is believed by Spurs that the homegrown academy product is still a ‘key back up member’ of the Nuno’s squad and believe he could play an important role over the congested New Year fixture schedule.

The Verdict: Wise move?

Amid the consistent international breaks and concerns over squad depth, this could be a wise move by Spurs as they delay entertaining a Winks exit until next summer.

Lauded as ‘amazing’ by Pochettino, the former Spurs boss even compared Winks to Barcelona legends Andreas Iniesta and Xavi (via talkSPORT).

The player has averaged a cool 90% pass accuracy in midfield since making his senior debut for Tottenham in 2014/2015 (WhoScored).

This highlights just how much he could be an asset to Nuno at a time where he will need the numbers in his squad.

In other news: Talks ongoing: Journalist hints at Spurs ‘agreement’ as he drops live TV transfer claim, find out more here.