Adrian Barath and Darren Bravo, two West Indies Under-19 players, have been drafted into Trinidad and Tobago’s squad for their Carib Beer Series sixth-round match against the Combined Campuses and Colleges in Barbados this weekend.The young pair replace another Bravo, senior international Dwayne, who is ruled out with a back injury, and the out-of-form Jason Mohammed. Both Barath and Bravo were part of the West Indies U-19 side that placed ninth in the recently-concluded junior World Cup.Kelvin Williams, the former T&T allrounder, has been appointed coach in place of David Williams. David, the former T&T and West Indies wicketkeeper, has been requested by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to join the West Indies team’s coaching staff. Williams was recently named as an assistant coach to John Dyson, the former Australian player who took over as West Indies coach last year.T&T beat Windward Islands by three wickets to stat alive in the tournament and are third in the standings with 31 points, behind Jamaica on 46 and Barbados 42.Leewards Islands have made three changes to their squad to face Guyana in St Thomas. Adam Sanford, the former West Indies fast bowler, opener Javier Liburd and teenage wicketkeeper Jamal Hamilton make way for uncapped fast bowler Brent Defreitas, experienced left-hander Shane Jeffers, back from injury, and West Indies U-19 wicketkeeper Devon Thomas.Sanford has been struggling to take wickets consistently and Liburd has been favoured for a batsman who would have been a certainty had he been fit.In other news, young lespinner Davendra Bishoo has been ruled out of Guyana’s game this weekend because of visa trouble. After taking seven wickets on debut for Guyana against CCC last weekend, Bishoo was expected to play a crucial role against the Leeward Islands; however, he was denied a United States visa which is required to enter St Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) and his place in the team has been taken by 20-year-old Gajanand Singh.Bishoo, 22, was the only member of the touring squad denied a visa by the USEmbassy in Guyana. Chetram Singh, president of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), said that Bishoo was denied a visa because of discrepancies on visa application form. “I believe the letter from the St Thomas government went a long way in enabling the players to get their visa. Bishoo’s Visa was not granted due to discrepancies on his application form,” Singh said, adding that he intends to pursue this concern at the WICB level.
England wicketkeeper Paul Nixon has said that Michael Vaughan will be fit to lead the team in their vital World Cup match against Kenya on Saturday. Vaughan tripped in a pot-hole on Tuesday and required treatment on his right knee, but concerns over another injury were quickly allayed.And Nixon, who was one of the six players fined after their late night before the Canada match, said: “Michael had a little trip on a sprinkler but he’s fine, he’s 100 percent.” Vaughan has twice looked in decent form with scores of 26 and 45 against New Zealand and Canada before throwing his wicket away on both occasions.Nixon, who has also been in strong batting form early in the tournament, is keen to put the issues of the past week behind him and move forward. “I think anything like this brings guys together,” he said. “There’s a lot of honesty and openness in the dressing room and that’s important going forward.”He also gave his version of events on that Friday night in St Lucia. “Obviously I’ve apologised to Duncan Fletcher for being out too late after a game and we’ve moved on as a team and Duncan’s accepted that. I had a reasonably quiet night but stayed out too long in the public domain. I’ve learnt my lesson, held my hands up, apologised and we’ll take it from there.”Cricket is a game that can kick you in the backside at any stage if you don’t stay focused and it’s important we stay focused and move forward from what’s happened. We’ve got to take every game as a huge event and try to win this World Cup.”England are now involved in a shoot-out with Kenya, who they play on Saturday, for the second qualifying spot alongside New Zealand that would see them into the second phase, Super Eight stage. Nixon said England could take heart from the way in which the Black Caps thrashed Kenya by 148 runs on Tuesday. “Every game is a tricky game. New Zealand and ourselves are very closely matched and we’ll be doing our homework.”
ScorecardThe name Compton has a long history with Lord’s and today it was back up in lights as Nick Compton, Denis’s grandson, struck his maiden Championship century to haul Middlesex out of trouble on the third day against Kent. He arrived after three early wickets during the morning session and, after initially playing second fiddle to Jamie Dalrymple, pushed Middlesex towards their eventual lead of 353.Last week Compton notched his first first-class century but, without trying to take anything away from Oxford UCCE, the bowling attack would not have been as testing as that on offer at Lord’s. His previous best in the Championship had been 40, on debut, against Worcestershire in 2004 and conditions weren’t easy when he arrived. The ball was still swinging considerably, but he quickly began to rotate the strike with Dalrymple, the senior partner, who steadied the Middlesex innings after it had slumped to 45 for 4.When Dalrymple departed, falling across the crease against the impressive Robbie Joseph, Compton took the innings under his young wings. Boundaries were limited but he sprinted hard between the wickets and when he connected with a big shot, he did so in style. A handsome straight drive into the pavilion loosened the shackles and he immediately appeared calmer at the crease.Understandably the tension mounted as three figures approached and he nearly edged Simon Cook twice while on 96. However, in the next over, from Min Patel, he danced out of his crease and smashed the ball over mid-off and into the Warner Stand to break through the 100-mark off 184 balls. A jig of delight followed as his team-mates and the crowd rose for a standing ovation. The giant electronic scorecard – a feature that certainly wasn’t around in the days of his grandfather, when he scored the last of his Lord’s hundreds on August 28, 1957 – flashed up the figures and he led the players off at tea.The significance of this innings goes beyond just the personal and historical factors as it put Middlesex in an increasingly strong position. The top order stuttered as they attempted to build on their 25-run first-innings lead with Kent’s seamers, especially Joseph and Amjad Khan, maintaining the pressureAlready one down overnight, following the late loss of Ed Smith yesterday evening, Middlesex quickly lost their other opener, Ben Hutton, when he miscued a pull for the second time in the match. There was useful movement for the pacemen as the sun struggled to pierce the morning could cover, but Owais Shah middled a couple of sumptuous cover-drives and was more compact than his rather skittish affair in the first innings. However, he could build on the promising start as he was beaten for pace by Khan – a slight lack of bounce – to be pinned in front, leaving Middlesex 45 for 3.The score hadn’t moved when Kent struck another major blow by removing Ed Joyce. Fresh from his 130 on Wednesday, Joyce was left needing to produce another sizeable innings but drove loosely at Joesph and Martin van Jaarsveld continued his excellent catching form with a sharp take at second slip.However, Dalrymple showed the composure and correctness that gained him A team recognition in the winter. He was quick onto anything off line, particularly through the offside, and brought up his fifty from 64 balls. His innings, though, was quickly overshadowed by Compton who, with valuable support from the busy Craig Wright, pushed the lead over 300.A determined start by David Fulton and Robert Key has left Kent needed 311 more runs and set up a fascinating final day, in what has been a superb advertisement for hard-fought county cricket. Today, though, was all about one of the most famous names in cricket making a 21st century appearance in the middle of the most famous ground in the world.
Scorecard Kenya progressed to the next stage of the Intercontinental Cup after claiming enough bonus points on the final day at Windhoek to edge out Namibia. Five second innings wickets for Kenya gave them an extra 2.5 points, the eventual margin between them and Namibia.Kenya declared on 282 for 9 in their second innings, setting Namibia a notional target of 248. However, they managed to grab five wickets in the closing stages of the match, and following their productive second knock, that was enough to see them through.The Kenyan’s second innings was built around a solid 72 from Martin Suji, to follow up a half-century from Kennedy Otieno. Those contributions allowed Kenya to recover from the early loss of Steve Tikolo, who was dismissed without adding to his overnight score.Suji received impressive support from Peter Ongondo, who contributed 26 to a ninth-wicket stand of 62. All the Namibia attack chipped in, with Deon Kotze, the captain, taking 2 for 46.There was just enough time remaining for Kenya to take five wickets, taking their bonus point total for the game to 17, against Namibia’s 15.
Michael Kasprowicz and Brad Haddin have won spots in the Australian one-day team that will tour Sri Lanka beginning on February 20. Michael Bevan, who missed out on the two finals of the VB Series with a fractured rib, is also fit and returns to the 15-man squad.Trevor Hohns, the chairman of the selection panel, said “Playing in the sub-continent and taking on Sri Lanka presents a real challenge to this group, but we feel that 15 players will give us adequate depth and the necessary firepower to do the job.” He also welcomed Bevan’s return to the squad. “Michael Bevan’s return to the squad following injury is welcomed, and we feel that a back-up wicket-keeper to support Adam Gilchrist is also necessary.Hohns also justified the selections of Kasprowicz and Haddin. “Brad Haddin performed well when called into the squad during the VB Series and this touring experience should help in his overall development as a senior cricketer. In the pace-bowling department, we have included Michael Kasprowicz, who despite not playing during the two VB Series finals, is a proven performer on sub-continental wickets. His performance over a long period of time has been first-rate.”The Test team for the Sri Lankan tour will be selected on February 20.Squad 1 Ricky Ponting (capt), 2 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 3 Michael Bevan, 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Jason Gillespie, 6 Brad Haddin, 7 Ian Harvey, 8 Matthew Hayden, 9 Brad Hogg, 10 Michael Kasprowicz, 11 Simon Katich, 12 Brett Lee, 13 Damien Martyn, 14 Andrew Symonds, 15 Brad Williams
Former West Indies captain Courtney Walsh is optimistic the regional team can make a big impact at the forthcoming World Cup.Test cricket’s highest wicket-taker feels Carl Hooper’s men will surprise those who have not given West Indies much of a chance.”I expect them to go all the way and I would love to see West Indies in the final,” Walsh told NATIONSPORT yesterday.”Once we get to the final, the better team will come up trumps. We have to play some good cricket and I am backing the boys to make it to the final.”West Indies, champions in 1975 and 1979, have not qualified for a final since 1983.They have been placed in Pool B alongside South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Kenya, Bangladesh and Canada, and some reckon they will have a tough time to emerge among the top three in the group to advance to the Super Six stage.”I like the position they’re in – where nobody is paying them much attention,” Walsh said.”We will go in as the underdogs or outsiders, which is good for the team. They have a nice, balanced squad. If everybody play as well as they played on the last tour and we bowl just a little bit better, I think we have a very good chance.”A veteran of three World Cups, Walsh is in Barbados to play in a match organised by the Variety Club of Barbados to raise funds for the construction of an autism centre.The match was scheduled for Carlton Club last night.The former West Indies pacer, who captured 519 wickets in 132 Tests between 1984 and 2001, said the major challengers to West Indies at the World Cup would be defending champions Australia and hosts South Africa.”If you are playing in South Africa, you cannot write off the home team. Australia and New Zealand are playing good cricket and Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan have a way of turning it on and off.”All the teams are good, but the top three everybody is going to be watching are Australia and South Africa as the top two, and New Zealand, one of the strong contenders,” Walsh said.”Those are the top three everybody is going to be watching, but I personally think West Indies can surprise all of them.”
Australia chalked up an emphatic first win in the Vodafone Challenge series by overpowering Worcestershire on the final day at New Road.The tourists added 124 in 90 minutes before declaring at 360-8 and then dismissed the county for 188 to romp home by 360 runs with more than ten overs to spare.Damien Fleming instigated Worcestershire’s struggle with two wickets in successive overs on either side of lunch. Anurag Singh edged to second slip and Graeme Hick’s unhappy match closed with a first-ball nick to first slip.Philip Weston pulled successive fours off Nathan Bracken before he was lbw to the left-arm paceman for 22 and Glenn McGrath landed the decisive blows on his team-mates from last year when he was Worcestershire’s overseas player.The Aussies’ No 1 fast bowler accounted for Vikram Solanki and Kadeer Ali in his afternoon spell and came back after tea to post a final return of four for 31 in 12.3 overs.McGrath trapped Kabir Ali lbw for 39 after the young all-rounder had hit eight fours in the one notable stand of 66 in 20 overs with top scorer David Leatherdale.Matt Rawnsley went in McGrath’s next over and Leatherdale was ninth out for 72, a quality innings of 11 fours ended by a yorker from Bracken after the Yorkshireman had faced 113 balls.The Australians’ morning workout with the bat included a rousing 41 from 23 balls by Shane Warne, who then held two slip catches and took the wicket of Jamie Pipe, but the man of the match award went to Damien Martyn for his 108 on the first day.
Newcastle United have added FC Porto’s Otavio to their transfer shortlist, Portuguese publication A Bola (via Sport Witness) report.
The lowdown
Otavio’s primary position is right midfield but he’s showcased some impressive versatility in his career.
He’s played 81 games as an attacking midfielder and 67 as either a left midfielder or a left winger.
The Portuguese has made 40 appearances for Porto so far this season, starting 25 out of a possible 27 Primeira Liga matches for the unbeaten leaders.
The latest
The report states that Newcastle United have taken a liking to Otavio, who’s now very much ‘on their radar’.
Newcastle officials have been spotted at Porto matches ‘multiple times’ to run the rule over the talent in Sergio Conceicao’s side.
His profile apparently matches the criteria established by The Magpies’ recruitment team.
Otavio’s contract includes a release clause of €60million, which equates to about £51million.
The verdict
Would Otavio be a good signing for The Magpies? Well, he may only have scored five goals this season, but his tally of 12 assists is more impressive.
Indeed, only two players in the squad – Mehdi Taremi (16) and Fabio Vieira (13) – can better that tally.
What’s more, he’s only shown an eagerness to contribute out of possession, leading the way in the Porto ranks for tackles per 90 minutes with 3.3.
His aforementioned versatility means he’d be able to compete with Allan Saint-Maximin, Ryan Fraser and even midfielders like Joe Willock and Joelinton for places.
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And if Newcastle chiefs were watching him in action for Portugal last week, they were surely impressed.
Otavio scored the opening goal as Fernando Santos’ men beat Turkey 3-1 to move within one win of qualifying for the World Cup, eclipsing the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Diogo Jota with his SofaScore rating of 8.0/10.
In other news, Steve Nickson is eyeing this Serie A gem.
Glamorgan are in talks to sign Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan allrounder, for their Twenty20 campaign this summer.”We want a top-class player who will win us matches and also drag people through the gate and Afridi is someone who fits the bill,” Matthew Maynard, Glamorgan’s cricket manager, said. “It’s up to the Pakistan board to agree to release him for that period of his contract.”There were rumours last week that Glamorgan were trying to sign Brian Lara, but the club denied the suggestion vehemently. Whether they sign Afridi or another big name from overseas, Glamorgan desperately need to improve on a poor performance last year in which they finished bottom of their division, with just one win in eight matches.”Afridi is one of only half a dozen players in the world who would help the team progress in the competition but also benefit us commercially by filling our magnificent new stadium. That’s the purpose,” said Maynard. “I’m keen to sign a big name player for the Twenty 20 window and there are only a small pool of big names still available.”Virander Sehwag and Yurvaj Singh are also possibilities. Sachin Tendulkar was another option. But he’s not been a great Twenty 20 player. We need a player who contributes in all aspects.”The PCB, however, have yet to release Afridi or Danish Kaneria who is due to play for Essex. A executive board meeting will be held on March 8, when more strict guidelines on the use of Pakistan players in country cricket are expected to be unveiled.
The Sri Lankan cricket authorities are confident that the Galle InternationalStadium, one of the world’s most picturesque cricket venues, will be readyto host thousands of English cricket supporters later this year.Flanked by the 400-year-old Dutch fort, the stadium was severely damaged during the Asian tsunami and, although the match has since hosted a first-class match, renovations have been held up by planning problems. However, the direct intervention of Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse solved disputes helped address the concerns of the Department of Archaeology, who were keen to protect Galle Fort, a UNESCO-protected World Heritage Site.”Galle will be ready in time to stage the first test against England,” K. Mathivanan, the secretary of Sri Lanka, told the media last week. “Weexperienced some delays on the construction of spectator stands on theFort side due to the concerns of the Department of Archaeology, but withthe help of the President of Sri Lanka we finally managed to get thenecessary approval to go ahead with work on that side of the ground.”The entire outfield has already been dug up and re-sowed, the practicenets are finished and an indoor training centre is back in operation. Theredevelopment, estimated to now cost £1.25 million, will also include anew pavilion with extra seating and corporate boxes, new dressing roomsand a modern media centre.Tourism authorities are hopeful that up to 5000 English cricket fans willtravel to Sri Lanka to celebrate the venue’s reopening and watch the firstTest starting on December 1, the start of the main holiday season. “The BarmyArmy and England’s fun-loving cricket fans are always welcome in Sri Lankaand we are expecting record numbers to come this year,” a tourist boardofficial said. “Interest is already high and rooms are selling fast.”The tour has been spilt into two legs with a five-match ODI series inOctober followed by a six-week break and then the Test series in December.In between the two tours, Sri Lanka will travel to Australia.