England are “very likely” to take up an offer from Allen Stanford to play a multi-million dollar Twenty20 match during the tour of West Indies next year according to Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman.Clarke met with Stanford at Lord’s on Tuesday to discuss possible joint ventures which could include Stanford having a role in any future English Premier League plus the match next year, which could be worth as much as $20million, against an All-stars West Indies XI.”We did see Sir Allen – a date has not been fixed for when anything will be played, or what format it will take this year or going forward into the future,” Clarke told BBC Radio Four’s Today programme. “I think that match is very likely to take place. Sir Allen is doing a huge amount for cricket in the West Indies and we are keen to help things develop there.”With no window in the current international schedule to allow England’s centrally contracted players to compete in the Indian Premier League (IPL) the ECB is eager to appease players who are keen to cash in on lucrative Twenty20 tournaments.Clarke added: “Of course we are also keen to give our players the chance to make a significant amount of money and these types of games can be tremendously dramatic. We are extremely interested in his ideas but there is a long way to go.”We need to confirm a lot of things with our friends in the West Indies. There is not a specific date at this moment of time and no specific structure at this time.”Clarke also admitted that the ECB are still formulating plans for an English Premier League. “I think what the IPL will achieve is remarkable given the time and speed with which it has been put together. We are spending a lot of time looking at creating a robust, sustainable and economically viable league that still protects our core revenues of Test cricket.”Stanford has previously tried to invite South Africa for a winner-takes-all match but it fell through after a clash with the West Indies board. Last year Stanford also offered to bring the World Twenty20 winners, India, to the Caribbean but the BCCI wasn’t keen on taking part in an unofficial event.
Brad Hodge, the Australian batsman, will miss the next five weeks of the county season with Lancashire after signing for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. It is a move that has come out of the blue and the player only learnt of the approach within the last 48 hours.Hodge is the leading scorer in Twenty20 cricket worldwide with 1649 runs at 42 and a strike-rate of 139 from 47 matches. “I was approached only 24-48 hours ago and I’m still in shock at the opportunity that has been presented,” he said.”Twenty20 is a format that I really enjoy and have a good record in, and to be part of the inaugural IPL tournament is something most cricketers would find hard to turn down. It’s been an extremely difficult decision to make, but Lancashire have been very understanding of my situation and I hope to repay them on the field when I return.””Brad is arguably one of the best Twenty20 players in the world,” said Jim Cumbes, the Lancashire chief executive. “Although it’s disappointing to be losing a player of his calibre for part of our season, we are very lucky at Lancashire to have depth in our squad and this is a great opportunity for someone else to step up to the plate.”Hodge will join his Victoria team-mate David Hussey at Kolkata, who will lose Brendon McCullum to New Zealand’s tour of England at the end of the month and Ricky Ponting to a training camp. He will leave after Lancashire’s current Championship game against Somerset and the first match he misses is the Friends Provident Trophy clash against Scotland. Lancashire have no current plans to bring in another overseas player for the period Hodge is away.
Scotland have called up 19-year-old fast bowler Bradley Wheal for their upcoming tour to Hong Kong in January 2016. Scotland will play an Intercontinental Cup match, two ODIs as part of the World Cricket League Championship, and two Twenty20 internationals between January 21 and 31.South Africa-born Wheal, whose mother is Scottish, took seven wickets in a match for a Scotland XI against MCC in August this year. He played his first season for Hampshire in 2015, taking eight wickets in four matches in Division One of the County Championship, including a four-for against Middlesex.The squad does not include Hamish Gardiner and Gavin Main from the team that played the Intercontinental Cup and WCL Championship matches against Netherlands in September. Main was unavailable for selection, after opting to play in New Zealand in early January and February. Ruaidhri Smith, the 21-year-old allrounder, cited unavailability for the tour due to exams in January. Both Main and Smith are available for World T20 selection, a release from Cricket Scotland said.Matt Machan scored 0 and 3 in the Intercontinental Cup match against Netherlands but enjoyed a strong county season with Sussex, finishing with 955 from 14 matches at an average of 39.79. Machan returns after missing the World T20 Qualifier earlier in the year.Scotland’s Intercontinental Cup match against Hong Kong will be played between January 21 and 24. The two ODIs will be played on January 26 and 28, while the T20 matches are scheduled for January 30 and 31.Scotland are currently fourth on the WCL Championship table with two wins from four matches, and two no-results after their Netherlands fixtures were washed out. They are yet to register a win in the Intercontinental Cup after two games – they drew their opening match against Afghanistan and lost to Netherlands by 44 runs – and are placed seventh on the points table.Scotland squad: Preston Mommsen (Captain), Alasdair Evans, Bradley Wheal, Calum MacLeod, Con de Lange, George Munsey, Josh Davey, Kyle Coetzer, Mark Watt, Matt Machan, Matthew Cross, Michael Leask, Richie Berrington, Rob Taylor, Safyaan Sharif.
ScorecardDarren Bravo helped stabilise the innings after early strife•Cricket Australia
Darren Bravo’s unbeaten 46 helped West Indians reach 6 for 154 after Cricket Australia XI had reduced them to 5 for 83 on the first day of the tour game in Brisbane. Only 60 overs were possible, however, due to rain interruptions.West Indians opted to bat and their openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Rajendra Chandrika were cautious at the start, adding 32 by the 16th over. The good work was undone, however when both men fell within six overs to seamer James Bazley.Bravo and Marlon Samuels shared a 31-run partnership for the third wicket, but Samuels’ dismissal was followed by two more quick wickets. Jermaine Blackwood was caught off fast bowler Ryan Lees for 1 and Denesh Ramdin bagged a duck, courtesy medium-pacer Simon Milenko.Bravo kept steady at one end and inched his way to 46 off 135 deliveries with six fours and a six. He shared a sixth-wicket partnership of 32 with Jason Holder and then added an unbeaten 39 runs with Carlos Brathwaite – the highest stand of the innings so far.Apart from Milenko and Bazley, who took two wickets each, Lees and legspinner Cameron Boyce were also among the wickets.
Melbourne Renegades batsman Chris Gayle has come in for strong criticism for his comments towards a television presenter in an interview during his side’s victory over Hobart Hurricanes at Bellerive Oval, with Anthony Everard, the head of the BBL, promising action against the batsman., the broadcaster, also confirmed that Gayle would not be involved in their coverage for the rest of the tournament as a result of comments he made to their reporter Mel McLaughlin shortly after he had been dismissed.”I wanted to come and have an interview with you as well,” Gayle said to McLaughlin, when asked about how aggressively he had batted. “That’s the reason why I’m here, just to see your eyes for the first time. It’s nice so. Hopefully we can win this game and have a drink after. Don’t blush, baby.”Everard, who was at the game, was quick to sharply rebuke Gayle’s comments. “I heard Chris’ comments and they’re disrespectful and simply inappropriate,” he said in a statement.”We’ll certainly be talking to him and the Renegades about it. This league is all about its appeal to kids, families and females. There’s just no place in the BBL – or, for that matter, cricket anywhere – for that sort of behaviour.”Melbourne Renegades’ chief executive Stuart Coventry echoed Everard’s comments, saying “there is just no place for that sort of behaviour”.Channel Ten commentator Mark Howard, joined in the commentary box by former internationals Damien Fleming and Mark Waugh, quickly apologised for Gayle’s comments, but only after Ten’s official twitter account @TenSport had tweeted what Gayle had said, with the hashtag #smooth. That tweet has since been deleted.”We will be seeking an apology,” David Barham, Channel Ten’s head of sport, told , adding that he was “deeply offended” by Gayle’s comments. “We won’t be using him in the game anymore. Unless things change in the next few days, it’s not happening. It was totally inappropriate behaviour. Mel’s a working journalist doing a job.”Gayle has form in this department. In July 2014, when asked by a female reporter during the Caribbean Premier League about the surface the Jamaica Tallawahs, who he was captaining, would be playing on in their next game, Gayle responded: “Well, I haven’t touched yours yet so I don’t know how it feels.”On that occasion, a CPL spokesperson defended Gayle’s comments but he can expect shorter shrift this time, with Cricket Australia expected to make an official statement on the matter imminently.
Left-arm spinner Ajay Mandal’s second four-wicket haul helped Chhattisgarh bowl Haryana out for 178 in Guwahati. After Haryana elected to bat, the early damage was caused by seamer Pankaj Rao – who removed opener Nitin Saini and Himanshu Rana – and Mandal, who left them struggling on 63 for 6. Rohit Sharma, who top-scored with 45, and Harshal Patel (34) mended things slightly with a 64-run partnership, before Patel fell to the part-time medium-pace of Abhimanyu Chauhan. There were a few minor contributions from the lower order before Haryana folded up in the 55th over. Seamer Abhishek Tamrakar chipped in with two wickets.Chhattisgarh were solid in their reply, ending the day on 68 for 1.Opener Bishal Ghosh’s century and Smit Patel’s second successive ton were instrumental in Tripura racking up 305 for 2 against Himachal Pradesh in Kalyani. Sent in to bat, Tripura had a solid start courtesy a 65-run opening stand between Ghosh and Udiyan Bose. After Bose was bowled by Pankaj Jaiswal, Ghosh and Patel raised 230 runs for the second wicket. Ghosh, 20, however, fell four short of his 150 in the penultimate over of the day.Centuries from captain Sagun Kamat and debutant opener Sumiran Amonkar powered Goa to 333 for 2 at stumps against Services in Cuttack. Services’ decision to bowl was vindicated almost immediately as Diwesh Pathania had opener Swapnil Asnodkar caught behind in the first over. But, Kamat and Amonkar scored at a brisk pace while add 237 runs, before Amonkar was trapped lbw by Pathania for 101 off 195 balls. Kamat, however, put on an unbroken partnership of 91 runs with Snehal Kauthankar (35*), and remained unbeaten on 177 off 267 balls. That Services had a hard day was further illustrated by the fact that seven of the eight bowlers used had no success.Half-centuries from Sachin Baby and Jalaj Saxena steered Kerala to 223 for 4 after they elected to bat against Hyderabad in Bhubaneswar. After opener VA Jagadeesh was removed by left-arm seamer Chama Milind in the fourth over of the day, Bhavin Thakkar (38) and Rohan Prem (41) put on 75 runs for the second wicket. Hyderabad’s bowlers hit back with three quicket wickets; Sanju Samson and Prem were dismissed for the addition of merely two runs in the space of 6.5 overs. Baby and Saxena, however, arrested the slide and put on an unbroken stand of 114 runs.Opener Shubham Khajuria’s 90 held Jammu & Kashmir‘s innings together as Andhra‘s seamers reduced them to 205 for 6 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Electing to bowl, Andhra prised out three of J&K’s top-four batsmen for 51 runs. Khajuria and Parvez Rasool (45) then added 99 runs, but once D Siva Kumar had Rasool caught behind, J&K lost two more wickets for 36 runs. Seamers Siva Kumar and DP Vijayakumar, and left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt picked up two wickets each.
Umpire Richard Illingworth was “distraught” when he discovered that he had incorrectly called a no-ball that reprieved Adam Voges on the first day in Wellington, according to match referee Chris Broad.Voges went on to score 239 in a match-defining innings; he was on 7 at the time when he left a delivery and was bowled off the Doug Bracewell no-ball, despite a significant part of the bowler’s heel being behind the crease. Under the ICC playing conditions, a no-ball can be retrospectively called but not rescinded, so there was nothing that could be done about the call after Illingworth had made it.”Unfortunately Richard was distraught afterwards when he realised that it wasn’t a no ball,” Broad told the . “… I think when anyone is proved wrong in any decision that they make it’s clearly embarrassing at the time. But umpires, particularly on the elite panel have a great ability to be able to overcome that feeling and get on with the game.”There can be nothing done about it. The problem is that when an umpire calls a no-ball, you can’t change that decision because under the laws a batsman may change his shot when the no-ball is called. It was called – that’s the end of the matter. Richard is a Yorkshireman, he shrugs his shoulders and gets on with it. I’m constantly amazed at how the umpires, when they do make their occasional errors, are able to recover from it.”The mistake has led to debate about whether the on-field umpire is the best person to call no-balls, and whether the job would be better placed in the hands of the TV umpire. Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann, who sits on the ICC Cricket Committee which has discussed the matter in the past, said he would like to see the square-leg umpire take control of no-balls.”It’s a part of the game but I know it’s not right,” Lehmann said of Illingworth’s error. “We all make mistakes, I make plenty as a coach, umpires are going to make some. It’s heightened because he was on 7 and made 239 isn’t it? The no-ball situation is getting tough for umpires. I’d have the square-leg umpire do the no balls, but that’s me, that’s my cricket hat on.”Where do you go? How far do you go? How many no-balls are there in a game. How long will the day go, how many overs will we miss out on? All those questions have to be asked.””It’s something we’ve got to talk about at the ICC Cricket Committee. I sit on that so I have my views but there’s a lot of views and a lot of good players who have played a lot of cricket on that. We’ve got to get the solution right for umpires as well, there’s umpires on that commitee.”The incident occurred in the last over of the first day and was not replayed on the big screen at the Basin Reserve, so the New Zealand players did not realise the no-ball call was incorrect until they left the field at stumps. New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said he had spoken to Broad about the no-ball but the New Zealanders had moved on and tried to refocus on the match.”I just discussed it with Chris Broad after the game, as you do, but it became fairly clear pretty quickly that there’s not a lot that can be done about it, so you move on,” Hesson said on Tuesday morning. The spirit [among the players] was fine, there’s no doubt at the time we were disappointed, there’s no doubt about that. We moved on pretty quickly.”After New Zealand’s loss, captain Brendon McCullum indicated he would have no problem with taking no-ball calls out of the hands of the on-field umpires, and Hesson was also open to the possibility.”The more decisions right the better,” Hesson said. “If we can use more technology to do that then decisions like that become less influential. It’s something the ICC are aware of and will discuss … The game’s about swings and roundabouts, sometimes you get a bit of fortune sometimes you don’t. In this situation many batsmen get a reprieve but some are good enough to make the most of it and Adam Voges certainly made the most of it.”
For several years now David Villa has been one of the top strikers in Europe but hasn’t got the recognition that he deserves. Now having sealed a big money move to Barcelona in the summer and currently leading the World Cup scoring charts with five goals, it seems that finally the 28-year-old is finally getting his rewards.
His exploits in the World Cup have now made him revered as Spain’s number one striker instead of Fernando Torres who many people would have given that label to previously. It’s amazing that with his scoring record he remained at Valencia for so long where he has scored 107 goals in 166 league games for Los Che in the last five years, which is just phenomenal. His scoring record for Spain is also first class as he now has 43 goals in 63 games and he is without a doubt one of the best strikers in the world at the moment, if not the best. If he continues to perform for Spain in the World Cup and hits the ground running with Barcelona then he could be a real contender to win the inaugural FIFA Ballon D’Or in January.
It’s very intriguing that David Villa hasn’t come to prominence at an earlier age, he could to some extent be considered a late bloomer although he made the move to Valencia when he was 23-years-old. He spent five years at the club and always seemed reluctant to leave as he was a favourite at the club and seemed to enjoy an excellent relationship with the fans, but perhaps he will look back one day and think that he did spend too long there.
Without a doubt the main reason for Spain’s success in the World Cup so far has been David Villa and were it not for his goals, they may not have been fortunate to have beaten both Portugal and Paraguay. His manager Vincente Del Bosque has claimed that he would rather have Villa over Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, and based on all their World Cup exploits he has a very good point. Whereas a lot of big name players often go missing for their team when it matters, Villa is somebody who never has and can always be relied on to give his all for the team. Perhaps the fact that he has never been mentioned in the same breath as those kinds of players has been the secret to his success as there doesn’t seem to be as much pressure on him to deliver.
Before this World Cup even started it was clear that David Villa was a world class player and now his is simply proving it on the biggest stage of them all. He has fully deserved his move to Barcelona and he is worth every penny of the £34.2m transfer fee that they paid for him. But considering they paid around that amount plus Samuel Eto’o for Zlatan Ibrahimovic is laughable, as the Swede is nowhere near as good as Villa and will probably lose his first team place to the Spaniard.
Despite the fact that he probably should have moved on from Valencia a year or two earlier, David Villa still has a big future ahead of him and there is no limit how far he could go. He has all the attributes to win all the top accolades, not just at club level but on a personal one as well. Villa has worked very hard to get to where he is now and it’s hard to think of someone who is more deserving of success than he is.
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Sir Alex Ferguson claims England will continue to under-perform in major tournaments as long as the Premier League refuses to have a winter break.
The Manchester United boss claims that England travelled to the recent World Cup in South Africa "handicapped" by the players being fatigued from a relentless domestic season.
England crashed out at the last 16 stage following a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Germany and the finger of blame has been pointed at everyone from head coach Fabio Capello to a generation of under-performing players.
However, Ferguson believes the major issue is a more obvious one to do with player fatigue.
The Red Devils played 57 games in all competitions during a hectic 2009/10 season.
"The FA has to give the country the best possible chance of doing well in the World Cup," he stated.
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"Because of the nature of our game and because of the demands from television to have a programme every week, I have been talking about a winter break but nothing has happened.
"They must realise that, going into the World Cup, they have handicapped their team."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Arsene Wenger’s use of a fluid attacking 4-4-3 formation at Arsenal has certainly produced some exciting football for the fans at the Emirates to salivate over. However, its success has been tempered by a defensive fragility that has cost the Gunners dear in crucial matches.
Wenger’s 4-3-3 formation is designed to create more passing angles in attack and more options for the player in possession. Wenger has set his midfield up with one defensive midfielder, alongside one centre midfielder and one playmaker. Arsenal’s creativity is a result of the free roles given to Fabregas in the playmaker role and the two wide players who play off the main striker. The tendency of the Arsenal wide players to drift infield puts extra onus on the full-backs to provide width on the flanks.
Arsenal’s game, particularly at home is reliant on playing high up the pitch putting pressure on their deep-lying opponents to surrender possession. However, with the full-backs high up the pitch, Arsenal are susceptible to a swift counter attack as a result of the space left behind by the full-backs. With the full-backs operating mainly in the opposition half, it leaves only the two centre backs and Alex Song, the defensive midfielder as protection against a potential counter attack.
Another main weakness in Arsenal’s formation is the effectiveness of their pressing and the over reliance on Robin van Persie as the central striker. At the beginning of the season, Arsenal’s pressing was good, with van Persie pressing the opposition defenders high up the pitch, limiting their time on the ball. Following an injury to van Persie, the intensity of Arsenal’s pressing dropped off dramatically as Arsenal struggled to replace van Persie’s industry as the season wore on.
Unlike Barcelona who manage to stifle the opposition by pressing collectively as a team, Arsenal usually press in isolation leaving the opposition player on the ball enough time to spring a decisive pass to exploit the space left by the Arsenal players up the field.
As a result of their formation, Arsenal are often vulnerable to conceding from moments of transition when they lose the ball high up the pitch and are subjected to a quick counter attack from the opposition without the opportunity to re-organise the defence. The fragility of Arsenal’s defence to a transitional attack is best seen during last season’s defeat to Manchester United at the Emirates. With Arsenal 1-0 down and chasing an equaliser, Manchester United sprung a deadly counter attack to score their second goal and end Arsenal’s hopes of gaining a result.
[youtube G4ft1dN2b-c]
Rooney’s goal (beginning at 0:33 in the video) required only three passes to carve Arsenal wide open and expose their defensive frailties. Park collected the ball and played it into Rooney. Rooney saw the flying Nani to his left and duly fed the Portuguese winger the ball. Rooney then darted off in front of Nani with Park in support. Arsenal players, stunned from conceding possession failed to track both Park and Rooney’s runs, with Denilson particularly at fault for allowing Rooney to gallop onto Nani’s through ball and fire past Almunia.
United’s third and final goal (1:19 on the video) is another example of Arsenal’s defensive problems when facing a quick transitional counter attack. Carrick played a one-two with Rooney and with defensive midfielder Alex Song and centre-back Thomas Vermaelen attracted to Rooney in an attempt to intercept the ball, Park is afforded the freedom of the Emirates to run on to Carrick’s through ball and slot the ball home.
While Arsenal’s defensive problems can be attributed to the formation, lapses in concentration and individual errors have also cost the club dear. The key for Arsenal in the upcoming season is to eliminate those errors if they have aspirations of challenging for the Premier League.
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With the PL season nearly upon us, let’s see the WAGS that will be keeping the players on their toes. Click on image to VIEW gallery