Category Uncategorized

The Standard Bank u/13 Cricket Week started yesterday with fifteen teams from 13 provincial teams battling it out on the cricket fields.STANDARD BANK UNDER 13 USSASA CRICKET WEEK being played in the Durbanand Districts area this week. Boland vs Eastern Province played at Collegians
Eastern Province153 / 8 (K.de Villiers 37, J.Bence 38, K.Matiknca 32, D.Duvenhage 5/19, Bothma 2/15)
Boland:Result: Not available
Border vs Griquas played at Hoy Park
Griquas 158 / 9 (R.Adams 32, C.Jackson 28, N.Dick 4 / 20 )Border 109 / 7 (M.J.Le Marquand 22, Granville 4 / 7)
Result: Griquas won by 33 runs (Match rain affected, calculation done using the Don method)
Easterns vs Zimbabwe played at Kingsmead
Zimbabwe 187 / 9 (K.Meth 32, S.Torr 30, B.Hunt 20, B.Fakude 3/ 22, I.Hlengani 3/25 R.Landberg 2/16)
Easterns 126 / 8 (I.Hlengani 22n.o. R.Higgins 5 / 28, S.Torr 2 / 19)
Result: Zimbabwe won by 35 runs (Match rain affected, calculation done using the Don method)
Free State vs Gauteng played at D.P.H.S. 1
Free State 197 / 9 (B.Cachopa 60, F.Nixon 3 / 39)
Gauteng 166 / 9 (S.Engelbrecht 31, F.Nixon 26, T.Mbanjwa 22 n.o. R.Ferris 3 / 30, L.Modise 3 / 36)
Result: Tie by the Don method of calculation
Natal vs Northern Province played at The Oval
Natal 278 / 4 (J/P.Robert 68, C.Hauptfleisch 56, T.Drummond 37 n.o. D.Mbatha 29. B.Ndlovu 2/ 32)
Northern Province 118 / 7 (H.Allison 39, T.Pretorius 23, J.Logtenberg 3 / 29)
Result: KZN won by 123 runs (Match rain affected, calculation done using the Don method)
Northerns vs South Western Districts played at Crusaders
South Western Districts 141 / 9 (W.Grobler 33, K.Niewoudt 34, G.Rudolph 3 / 16, T.Thema 3 / 35)
Northerns 108 / 8 (T.Temba 32, M.Joubert 40n.o. M.Botha 3 / 32)
Result: South Western Districts won by 4 runs (Match rain affected, calculation done using the Don method)
North West vs Western Province played at Berea Rovers
Western Province 188 / 9 (J.Gierdien 33, S.Dyson 59, B.Barnes 31, A.Kritzinger 26, B.Kumedi 3 / 27, R. van Rensberg 4/32)
North West 50 (M.Jones 5 / 6, Z.Joseph 3 / 15)
Result: Western Province won by 138 runs

Hyderabad managed to restrict Baroda to a slender first innings lead of12 runs and were 4 for no loss at stumps on the second day in theirgroup B match at the Gymkhana Ground in Secunderabad on Monday.Hyderabad still have two more days to pursue their objective ofan outright win to qualify for the knockout stage of the tournament.Earlier, Baroda resumed at 2 for no loss, and soon were 70 for 5. HRJadhav (84 runs of 224 balls in 315 minutes), who came in at the fallof the first wicket, played the sheet-anchor role for Baroda withthree valuble partnerships. Jadhav was initially helped by NR Mongia(21 runs of 44 balls), in a sixth wicket partnership worth 41 runs in12.5 overs. Then Jadhav was joined by AP Bhoite (42 runs of 85 balls)and the two put on 65 runs in 25.3 overs for the seventh wicket.Later, RB Patel and Jadhav helped Baroda to their first innings leadwith a eight wicket partnership of 32 runs in 11 overs. When Jadhavwas the ninth batsman out at the score of 211, he had made sure thatBaroda gained the vital 5 points from their slender first inningslead.For Hyderabad, Z Singh and Raju were the most successful bowlers with 3for 54 and 56 respectively, while Satwalkar and Kanwaljit Singh pickedup two wickets apiece.

While the likes of David Beckham and Reece Oxford may be among the more familiar names of former academy players who have left Spurs, one man who has carved out a very successful career himself, but to very little fanfare, is Yuri Berchiche.

In a piece done by Football.London’s Alasdair Gold back in the summer of 2020, he wrote: “The Spaniard Berchiche is technically a product of Real Sociedad’s academy before moving at 16 to Athletic Bilbao. Spurs then snapped him up a year later and brought him into their academy.

“He impressed in the youth sides, but never made the breakthrough into the senior set-up. A loan to Cheltenham Town in League One, where he made just seven appearances, did nothing to convince Harry Redknapp to give him a shot.”

In July 2009, Berchiche returned to his native Spain, and hasn’t looked back since, becoming a regular at the likes of Bilbao and Real Socidedad, and even enjoying a brief stint with French giants PSG.

Indeed, his time with the Parisiens saw him lift the league title, the French Cup, and the French League Cup too, completing a domestic treble during the 2017/2018 campaign.

After leaving Paris, he returned home to Bilbao in 2018, and the now 32-year-old has been a permanent fixture for the Basque side.

The left-back has struggled for fitness this season, restricting him to just ten appearances in all competitions, but he has amassed well over 100 games for the club in total.

His contract at Bilbao contains a massive €100m (£90m) release clause, and while it’s highly unlikely any team would pay anywhere near that kind of figure to sign him now, he has been the kind of steady performer that a team like Spurs would surely have benefitted from over the years.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Given Spurs’ struggles to fill that left-back spot in recent seasons – this campaign has seen Antonio Conte switch between Sergio Reguilon and Ryan Sessegnon – the reliable Berchiche could have been a major help.

Meanwhile, Leeds are eyeing this attacker…

Mark Ramprakash: “It’s not my burning ambition to play for England again” © Getty Images

Mark Ramprakash has turned down an offer to be on standby for England’s upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, reports the .Ramprakash was told he would be called up for the tour in case a senior batsman was injured. “I really don’t understand that,” Ramprakash said at a Surrey educational open day at The Oval. “I said ‘No’ given that wording because there’s so much ambiguity about it. I don’t understand the logic of saying I would only go if a senior batsman was injured. What constitutes a senior batsman? It’s not as if England have an ageing side. I felt it was an unfair offer.”The 38-year-old Ramprakash was overlooked for the tour despite being the leading run-scorer in the Championship in the last two seasons at an average of over 100.However, Ramprakash indicated that he was still eager to play for England. “I hope my opinion is understood, reported back to whoever needs to hear it and is treated fairly,” he said. “If England want to pick me for the New Zealand tour in the New Year or next summer I am available, motivated, committed and ready, but it would not be the be-all and end-all for me.

I don’t touch alcohol, my fitness tests are as good as ever and I’ve lost no hunger for playing as I approach my testimonial year

“I can’t see why we can’t just pick our best seven batsmen and get on with trying to win matches because with that comes momentum, but if in the opinion of the selectors I am not one of the best seven batsmen I can accept that.”Ramprakash said he wasn’t perturbed by not earning an England call-up. “I thought my chances of going would be improved when they decided not to take Andrew Strauss. But it’s fine, it’s not my burning ambition to play for England again.”I am totally committed to Surrey, have two years left on my contract and will continue to enjoy playing for them. I don’t touch alcohol, my fitness tests are as good as ever and I’ve lost no hunger for playing as I approach my testimonial year.”

New Zealand will expect Michael Mason to concede less than the ten runs an over he did in the first ODI against Sri Lanka © AFP

Having been spanked to most parts of McLean Park in Napier during the first ODI against Sri Lanka, New Zealand’s bowling attack are looking to improve on a bowling performance that saw them give up a hefty target 285 with ten overs to spare.With Sanath Jayasuriya leading the way with 111, from just 82 balls, Sri Lanka coasted to a comfortable seven-wicket win. It led Daniel Vettori, captain in place of Stephen Fleming for the first two ODIs and by some distance the most economical Kiwi bowler (only 36 runs from eight overs), to ask his bowlers to get the basics right, a fair demand given that his bowlers gave away 16 wides and no-balls.”The bowling plan is exactly the same, it’s just about the implementation, which we let slip in Napier,” he said. “Sri Lanka bat down to seven and eight, so you’ve got to take wickets at the top and try not to buy those wickets, which we tended to do in the first game.”John Bracewell, the Kiwi coach, also backed his inexperienced attack to come good for the second ODI, to be played at Queenstown tomorrow. “They were pretty positive by the time we left the dressing room [at Napier] in terms of what they were going to do about the next game,” he was quoted as saying in the . “The proof will be in the pudding – to see if they improve or go backwards.” New Zealand will be without Shane Bond again, who is sitting out the first two games, like Fleming, as part of a rotation policy.Bracewell said the performance was mainly down to younger bowlers getting carried away by the speed gun, especially after the second Twenty20 international, where some of the bowlers touched speeds of 140km/h and above.”The inexperience showed. A couple of young bowlers who can bowl reasonably fast got a bit red-eye with the radar. They were trying to run in a little too hard and bowl a little too fast in an effort to get wickets, rather than trying to control the game through good accurate, back-of-the-length bowling.”But Bracewell was adamant that the exuberance wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially if New Zealand were serious about developing a genuine pace attack. “If we want a pace attack, then we have to be prepared to give them some sort of leeway. I don’t want to knock their confidence. If you can find quick bowlers who can hit the back-of-a-length, then they’re going to be handy for you in the long run; much more useful rather than medium pacers we normally produce.”The other concern for the hosts is the condition of Nathan Astle’s bruised thigh, making him an uncertain starter for the Queenstown match. His experience, as Vettori admitted, is invaluable: he guided his side home chasing a mediocre total in the Twenty20 game on Boxing Day and in the first ODI, made an accomplished 83, passing in the process, 7000 ODI runs.New Zealand have called up Astle’s brother-in-law Craig McMillan as cover, though if he does play, it would be his first international action in over a year. “If we lose that experience and we lose that form it’s going to mean someone is going to have to step up to cover it,” Vettori said. James Marshall, who was out first ball in Napier, is likely to step into Astle’s opening position if he is ruled unfit though the final teams will only be announced on the morning of the match.Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene has few such concerns and is not expecting significant changes in the side. “We have to keep a combination, we need to keep confidence in the guys and have the senior group — the matchwinners — intact and in form as we build up to the World Cup,” Jayawardene said.

Matthew Elliott must play for his club side on Saturday © Getty Images

Matthew Elliott, who a week ago was diagnosed with a broken right wrist, has been chosen in South Australia’s squad for the ING Cup match against New South Wales at Adelaide Oval on Sunday. Elliott was cleared of a fracture and sustained only ligament damage while fielding against Tasmania last weekend, and he will test his fitness while playing for the club side West Torrens on Saturday.Greg Blewett, who is suffering from back soreness, is the other concern and he will be given until the morning of the game to recover. South Australia named a 13-man squad to cover their options and they will again be captained by Darren Lehmann in the top-of-the-table contest. A win would push the Redbacks to first for the Christmas break while a New South Wales victory would maintain their lofty position.Stuart Clark will be part of the Blues squad after Nathan Bracken was preferred by Australia for the first Test against South Africa in Perth. Clark was named 12th man and New South Wales expected him to be released for Sunday’s match.South Australia squad Matthew Elliott, Greg Blewett, Mark Cosgrove, Cameron Borgas, Darren Lehmann (capt), Callum Ferguson, Graham Manou (wk), Jason Gillespie, Daniel Cullen, Gary Putland, Mark Cleary, Trent Kelly, Paul Rofe.New South Wales Simon Katich (capt), Phil Jaques, Corey Richards, Michael Clarke, Dominic Thornely, Aaron O’Brien, Brad Haddin (wk), Matthew Nicholson, Aaron Bird, Doug Bollinger, Stuart MacGill, Stuart Clark.

Chris Cairns needed to recover after rolling an ankle in the first ODI at Auckland© Getty Images

Nine members of the New Zealand squad will turn out for their respective state sides in the domestic State Shield on Thursday, following the postponement of the one-dayer against Sri Lanka at Napier. The game has been rescheduled for January 11 as a mark of respect for the victims.Chris Cairns, Brendon McCullum and Kyle Mills will not participate in the domestic games because of injury concerns. Cairns rolled an ankle during the first ODI at Auckland, Mills suffered some stiffness in his back in the same game while McCullum will use the time for do rehab work on his injured knee.The New Zealand cricketers expressed their full support of the decision to postpone the second ODI. Ross Dykes, the acting team manager, said that the players’ thoughts were with the Sri Lankan team in their time of sorrow and grief. “The delay of a cricket match is inconsequential compared to what the people of Sri Lanka are going through,” he said. “So we will just fit in with what is required. Our sympathies are with the Sri Lankan team and their family and friends at this tragic time for them.”The New Zealand squad were scheduled to train when they reassembled in Queenstown on Friday afternoon. The selectors will still reselect the squad after the third match of the series, which will now be after the game at Jade Stadium on January 4, instead of Queenstown.

Close Bangladesh 278 for 9 (Bashar 71, Kapali 46, Sarkar 41)
Scorecard

Habibul Bashar acknowledges his half-century, which came off just 49 balls

Bangladesh rode on a run-a-ball 71 from Habibul Bashar, and useful contributions from most of the top order, to reach 278 for 9 at the end of the first day’s play at the National Stadium in Karachi. Bashar’s 114-run second-wicket stand with Hannan Sarkar (41) put Bangladesh in control, but Pakistan chipped away with wickets in the last two sessions to pull things back.It was a fair effort by Bangladesh’s batsmen, especially considering the fact that they were asked to make first use of a pitch which had a fair smattering of grass, but it could have been much better had their batsmen not thrown away starts. Four of the top six passed 25, but only Bashar managed a half-century.Bashar’s knock was a chancy one – there were plenty of airy drives as he flailed at deliveries with minimal footwork – but his onslaught ensured that Bangladesh snatched the initiative after the early loss of Javed Omar, yorked by Umar Gul for 1 (9 for 1). It was Gul’s first Test wicket, but he marred his debut performance with plenty of loose balls later in the day.Even as Bashar tonked the ball around, Hannan Sarkar made an assured 41. Fresh from two fifties in the second Test against Australia, he was compact in defence and showed excellent judgment around the off stump. Bangladesh went into the lunch interval at a healthy 97 for 1, but spoilt all the good work with some reckless shots in the next two sessions.Sarkar gloved a leg-side lifter from Shabbir Ahmed to Rashid Latif (123 for 2), and four balls later, Bashar played a shockingly irresponsible stroke. A cross-batted swipe off Shoaib Akhtar presented Mohammad Hafeez with a simple catch at extra-cover.Shoaib then trapped Sanwar Hossain in front for 15 (146 for 4), and when debutant Rajin Saleh threw away a promising debut innings of 26 with a rash lofted shot off Danish Kaneria, Pakistan were on top (176 for 5).Alok Kapali put on a stubborn partnership of 55 with Khaled Mashud, and then decided that he was done with grafting. Another reckless lofted shot off Kaneria found Shabbir Ahmed at mid-off (231 for 6), and Kapali trudged back for 46.The lower order offered brief resistance, but with conditions getting increasingly murky – and Pakistan armed with the second new ball – the umpires called off play with seven overs still left in the day.Meanwhile, there was good news for the Pakistan camp when Latif’s finger injury, sustained while keeping wicket, turned out to be nothing more than a bruise. Latif had left the field after hurting a finger in his right hand, but x-rays revealed that he could return to his wicketkeeping duties tomorrow.

The ICC Photo CricInfo

The International Cricket Council will not overrule match referee MikeDenness’ decision to fine and impose a suspended ban on Sachin Tendulkar for ball-tampering in the second Test against South Africa in Port Elizabeth.TV evidence showed Tendulkar using a fingernail on the seam of the ball, andDenness, a former England captain, made his decision after a meeting with the Indian player.There has been outrage at the penalty in India, but the ICC’s communications manager Mark Harrison said today: “On the match referee’s judgement there is no right of appeal.”The Indian cricket board have demanded Denness’ replacement as match referee for the final Test in Centurion, but the ICC are playing the situationcautiously.”We’ll certainly be looking at the appeal,” Harrison said. “The Indian board have been requested to outline their position in writing to the ICC. As and when that arrives we’ll deal with it.”There’s no appealing against the penalties by the players or by the homeboard. The judgement is that the match referee has found Tendulkar guilty ofthat offence.”Tendulkar was fined 75% of his match fee and handed a one-match ban, suspended until the end of this year, while five of his team-mates were also punished.The most severe penalty was handed to Virender Sehwag, who was banned for the next Test and fined 75% of his match fee for excessive appealing. Shiv Sunder Das, Harbhajan Singh and Deep Dasgupta were fined the same amount and given suspended single-match bans for the same offence.India captain Sourav Ganguly was given a suspended ban for one Test and two one-day international games for failing to exercise control over his team-mates.

Had the DeLorean from been available to Australia’s pace bowlers in Brisbane, they’d have been about as disoriented by the sight of Ross Taylor’s double century as Marty McFly was by news the Chicago Cubs had supposedly won the 2015 World Series.Taylor’s monumental innings, described as “immense” by New Zealand’s batting coach Craig McMillan and “one of the best innings I have seen” by his batting partner Kane Williamson, was an achievement made all the more admirable by the fact he had started this tour in truly grim touch.In Brisbane, Taylor had battled through a truly tortured first innings, and looked only marginally more sure of himself in the second. A duck and 16 in his two warm-up innings were likewise scant indicators that Taylor had it in him to construct the highest ever score by a New Zealand batsman against Australia, and the only double hundred ever made by a visiting Test batsman at the WACA Ground.There is no doubt Williamson played a key role in showing Taylor the way forward, playing so fluently and assuredly both at the Gabba and here that others were shown how Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon could be successfully tackled on their home turf. But Taylor also showed his own development by scoring in zones his previously dominant bottom hand might once have cancelled out.Unbeaten on 235 at day’s end, Taylor will hope to take New Zealand into the lead and a position to pressure Australia – certainly Williamson and McMillan are hoping he can.”I think it would be one of the best innings that I have seen,” Williamson said. “The tempo that he batted and the length of time that he has been at the crease has been outstanding and moving our team’s position forward. I know it is a tough ask but hopefully he can keep going a little bit tomorrow, build a couple of partnerships would certainly help us a lot, but certainly an absolutely fantastic innings so far.”I thought he was really calm out there. He just went about his work in a reasonably aggressive way and that’s when he bats at his best I think. To get that momentum in his innings from pretty much the word go – there were certainly some tough periods but he was playing so well. It was such a nice thing.”McMillan was part of the New Zealand side that so nearly forced a match and series win over Steve Waugh’s powerful team at this ground in 2001, a performance built largely on a record stand between Nathan Astle and Adam Parore. Taylor’s union with Williamson eclipsed their record, before the former went on to heights McMillan said he had always been capable of reaching.”I think it was an immense innings and it had been brewing for some time,” McMillan said. “He’d been a little bit short of time in the middle and runs, but what do they say? Form’s temporary and class is permanent. That got shown today. His concentration in the first two or three overs of the day really set the tone for the way he was going to bat.”His tempo was superb, hitting straight down the ground was something he’s worked really hard on in recent times just to open up that area that probably hasn’t always been a strength of his, but some of those straight cover drives were some of the best you’ll see from any player in the world.”You’d have to rank it right up there as one of New Zealand’s best Test knocks, with the conditions, with the match situation, you throw all that into the mix and it’s one of the best. There’s still a lot more batting to be done. He can go as long as the concentration stays strong. We want more partnerships from that lower order, guys to hang in with him, bat as long as possible and see what happens from there.”Williamson and Taylor were both highly successful in picking off more or less every bad ball the Australians bowled, an efficiency that allowed them to dictate terms all day and prevent the hosts from gaining momentum. McMillan said he had encouraged his men to stay positive throughout, ensuring that the bowlers knew they would be hurt if they strayed from all but the most disciplined of lines.”They’re attacking bowlers who come after you, but the upside of that is there’s scoring opportunities,” he said. “One of the impressive things from our guys over the last two days is how efficient they’ve been when they’ve been offered a scoring opportunity. They’ve hit gaps well and they’ve really put anything loose away, which has put that pressure back on the Australian bowling attack.”That’s a key when you’re facing a good attack that’s got extra pace is that when they miss, you’ve got to make sure you hurt them, you’re not looking just to defend and survive, you’re actually looking to score, and obviously Kane and Ross in that partnership did that beautifully today but it flowed right through the partnerships in the order throughout the day, and that’s something we’ll continue to be looking for.”