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.
Suriname provided a major upset on the final day of the ICC Americas Division 2 Championship, not only beating odds-on favourites Bahamas, but doing so so convincingly that they leapfrogged them to the title and promotion to Division One.On the eve of the match, we wrote that “Suriname will need an extraordinarily comprehensive win to have any chance of overtaking the Bahamas”, and that’s just what happened. Needing only 83 to avoid being pipped to the title on net run rate even had they lost, Bahamas were utterly woeful as they crashed to 57 all out and a thumping 146-run defeat.Suriname did well to post 205, but on a good batting track it looked a below-par total. Shazam Ramjohn made 48 off 48 balls, but nobody else really dominated the attack. Bahamas’ reply was bemusing in its incompetence, with no batsman managing to reach double figures. Troy Dudnauth (5 for 21) and Carlton Baker (3 for 27) bowled unchanged for 20 overs, and by the time they finished their quota of overs the same was done and dusted.In the other game, Panama, who also finished level on points with Suriname and Bahamas, eased past Turks & Caicos Islands by 95 runs. In reply to Panama’s 188 all out, Turks & Caicos only managed 93. Panama’s Munaf Kachalia took the Man-of-the-Match award with 4 for 19, while Irfan Tarajia chipped in with 3 for 33 and 31 off 42 balls.
Friday, April 11, 2008Start time 09:30 am local time (04:00 GMT)
Big picture
Kanpur’s Green Park is known to produce more draws than results – 12 in 19 Tests to be precise – but after India’s embarrassing submission on a green first-day Ahmedabad pitch, the groundstaff have reportedly prepared a turner to try and suit what has traditionally been India’s strength – spin. Trailing 0-1 going into the final Test, India are up against it and may rely on a three-pronged spin attack to level the series.The pitch looks extremely dry and has no grass cover. Anil Kumble and the curator felt it would break as early as the third day and assist spin from there on. Gary Kirsten, India’s coach, is reported to have been taken aback by the track on first inspection. If all predictions hold true, neither side will want to bat last. The toss will be extremely crucial.The bounce is expected to be on the lower side which, given Dale Steyn’s raw pace, could also work in South Africa’s favour. If they win then Graeme Smith will become his country’s most successful captain after equalling Hansie Cronje’s record of 27 victories in Ahmedabad. South Africa will also be the first side to win in India since Australia in 2004.
Form guide – India
Last five matches: LWDDLPlayer to watch: Given the nature of the pitch and the slight doubt surrounding Kumble’s fitness, Harbhajan Singh could be the biggest threat to South Africa. After his captain he is the only bowler with some degree of success at this ground, with eight wickets at 28.62 here.
Form guide – South Africa
Last five matches: WWWDWPlayer to watch: Steyn has been hot all series and could again be a pain in India’s neck. If the pitch does stay low, it’s not improbable to envision Steyn causing trouble with the ball darting around the batsmen’s ankles at extreme pace. He has ran through the tail with ease but it’s the bigger, better batsmen that could be in for a spot of bother.
Team news
Injury concerns mean India might end up re-jigging their bowling line-up again. Kumble will play permitting a fitness test on the morning, and if he doesn’t make the cut Ramesh Powar could come in as the third spinner to go with Harbhajan Singh and Piyush Chawla. Ishant Sharma’s fitness is being monitored and he is the likely candidate to partner Sreesanth with the new ball. Irfan Pathan applied himself excellently with the bat in Ahmedabad but his bowling was pedestrian and could face the axe.Smith is most certain to maintain the winning combination from Ahmedabad. Even though the pitch is expected to assist spin, and they have Robin Pietersen as another left-arm option, South Africa are tipped to play just the one spinner in Paul Harris.India (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Wasim Jaffer, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 VVS Laxman, 5 Sourav Ganguly, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 7 Anil Kumble (capt), 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Sreesanth, 11 Ishant Sharma.South Africa (probable): 1 Neil McKenzie, 2 Graeme Smith (capt), 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 Ashwell Prince, 6 AB de Villiers, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Morne Morkel, 9 Paul Harris, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Makhaya Ntini.Umpires: Billy Doctrove and Asad Rauf.Weather: The weather in Kanpur is very hot, with clear skies and a chance of a few clouds as the game progresses. The temperatures are expected to hover around the 37 degrees centigrade mark, warmer than it was during the second Test.
Stats & trivia
The Green Park has been a happy hunting ground for Kumble, who sits at second in the wicket-takers’ list with 25 scalps in seven Tests.
The highest individual score by an Indian at the venue is Mohammad Azharuddin’s 199 against Sri Lanka in 1986-87. The highest score is the 250 scored by West Indies’ Faoud Bacchus in1978-79. The best innings bowling effort was 9 for 69 by Jasu Patel against Australia in 1959-60.
India’s previous Test in Kanpur was against South Africa and it was a draw. Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir put on 218 for the first wicket in India’s only innings.
South Africa have played two Tests in Kanpur. They lost by 280 runs in 1996 and drew in 2004.
Quotes
“We expected such a wicket for this match after what happened in Ahmedabad. The wicket will go through the top very early but we are prepared for it. We are quiet confident of doing well in this match also.” Mickey Arthur, South Africa’s coach”It is an ideal wicket for a Test match. But it will not be like the one we had for the last Test match here. This wicket will produce a result.” Shiv Kumar, the Green Park curator
You hit, I york Karan Goel had already smashed Munaf Patel forsixes over midwicket and long-off when the forgotten man of Indian fast bowling produced a magnificent yorker at 139.5 kph. It uprooted the off stump before Goel’s bat was halfway down, and a pumped-up Munaf celebrated with a few expletives that won’t win him a Spirit of Cricket award.Daddy Cool? Shane Warne is more than just captain and coach, he’s the elder statesman of this Rajasthan Royals team. Bringing himself on with Kumar Sangakkara going berserk, Warne landed his third delivery well wide of off stump. Sangakkara swung with the turn, but didn’t connect cleanly, and the return catch was nonchalance itself. Genius doesn’t burn out, or fade away.All fall down Another Warne topspinner, and an ill-judged sweep from Yuvraj Singh. The ball takes the edge and goes high into the night sky. Darren Lehmann has enough time to eat a pie, sip on a pint and light a fag, but when the ball comes down, he drops it. Warne, his old mate, looks away.O brother, where art thou? Five balls into his spell, and after being slammed for two sixes by Yuvraj, Yusuf Pathan comes face to face with his younger brother. It may have been the 16th over of the innings, but Irfan just quietly played out two balls. No sibling rivalry headlines then.Half a bat is better than none When James Hopes, his Queenslandteam-mate dropped one a little short, Shane Watson decided on thekitchen-sink approach. The ball sailed over long-on for six, but half ofthe broken bat nearly cleared the inner circle as well. Lalit Modi, theIPL commissioner, was seen holding on to the pieces later.Young gun smokes away Ravindra Jadeja was one of the stars ofIndia’s Under-19 World Cup win, and after Warne had raved about histalent, he demonstrated it with some dazzling strokes as Rajasthancruised home. Watson was content to let the young man be the mainaggressor and he did that to telling effect, thumping Piyush Chawla overlong-on for six before two deft deflections off Brett Lee had the crowddancing in the stands. The cameras searched in vain for Ms Zinta’s missingsmile.
ICC chief executive David Richardson has said the world body will ensure pitches in the World Twenty20 next year in India are not loaded in favour of any side, while emphasising that “good batting wickets” will be the standard fare in the tournament.”Normally for an ICC event, we have our own pitch consultant who will oversee pitch preparations at all the venues,” Richardson told ESPNcricinfo on the sidelines of an event in Mumbai to announce the fixtures for the World T20.”Obviously for an ICC event we want to make sure no one particular team is favored, and essentially when it comes to T20 cricket that we have good batting wickets that will be the same for both the team batting first or second. And that will be the goal.”Richardson’s remarks come in the wake of intense debate over the pitches prepared for the recently-concluded Test series between India and South Africa. The pitch in Nagpur for the third Test was rated ‘poor’ by the match referee, Jeff Crowe, who has submitted the report to the ICC.Richardson did not explicitly refer to Nagpur, which will host the first round of matches in the World T20, including India’s opening game against New Zealand, but said the priorities and parameters in ICC events were markedly different to those in bilateral fixtures. “Obviously when bilateral tours take place there are different objectives I suppose, but for an ICC event, we don’t favour one team against the other,” he said.”Obviously in this part of the world, the tracks will be a little bit slower than you might find in Australia and South Africa, but as long as it’s a good batting wicket, good even bounce and as long as it doesn’t deteriorate from one innings to the next, that’s what we’re looking for.”One of the ICC’s bigger priorities, according to Richardson, was the security arrangement. The ICC has been grappling with security concerns in different geographies recently. While Australia refused to tour Bangladesh in October due to security concerns, Zimbabwe toured Pakistan in May against the advice of their Sports and Recreation Commission, and completed the series despite a suicide attack in Lahore. The ICC had refused to send its officials to Pakistan following a report from its security team.”Security is becoming an issue all around the world now for us, whether it’s the U-19 World Cup in Bangladesh or the World T20 in India,” Richardson admitted. “Security is one of our priorities and we will be engaging with the security agencies, police authorities in all the venues to make sure that security is, as far as humanly possible, guaranteed not only for the players but the media attendees and the spectators at the stadiums.”
Having come off defeats in spin-friendly conditions, both South Africa and England will feel more comfortable in surroundings where their quick bowlers should prosper. The head-to-head between the two pace attacks will be one of the fascinating contests of the next month but, unsurprisingly, Allan Donald, South Africa’s former bowling coach, is clear which pack he is backing.For Donald, it is the support that South Africa have available to Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel which gives them the upper hand. They are missing Vernon Philander due to injury, but England are also likely to have their depth tested early in the series with James Anderson unlikely to be fit for Durban and Donald believes South Africa have greater firepower below the new-ball pair.”In their own conditions and when they are firing as a unit, the South African attack is the best out there,” Donald told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s not just about what we know, that Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel and James Anderson and Stuart Broad are world-class bowlers, it also about the rest of the attack. Steven Finn, Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes have not played Test cricket in South Africa and so it will be up to them to show what they are capable of in these conditions.”Contrastingly, South Africa’s supporting seamers, Kyle Abbott and Kagiso Rabada have enjoyed significant success in their own conditions. Abbott racked up figures only his franchise coach Lance Klusener has bettered on Test debut when he took 7 for 29 in his first match against Pakistan while Rabada broke the first-class record last season for the best match figures when he took 14 for 105 for Lions against Dolphins.Although Rabada and Abbott have just eight Test caps between them, Donald believes South Africa’s depth will help them dominate. “They will definitely miss Vernon because in home conditions, when there is something in the wicket, he will find it and exploit it but Kyle Abbott has been consistent and applied pressure every time he has played and Rabada looks better every time we see him.”Even outside of the current squad, there are guys putting their hands up. Chris Morris has been good and we should not forget about Hardus Viljoen. He has pace and he a is a big, aggressive boy. There’s a lot of talent in the tank.”But Donald is under no illusions that the bowlers are not the only ones responsible for South Africa’s ability to compete in the series. After the way they were defeated in India, Donald knows that the onus will be on the batsmen to start the redemption. “Whatever England brings, South Africa must respond with the bat,” he said. “We’ve got to score big runs and make England work for every wicket.”That sounds similar to what South Africa did in 2012, when Donald was part of the coaching staff that oversaw the team’s rise to No.1. He revealed that then the idea was to target England’s premier pacemen. “We said we want Anderson and Broad to bowl a lot of overs,” Donald explained. “We want to wear the rest down so that they have to keep bringing their main bowlers back.”England would be wise to adopt a similar mindset in this series, trying to make sure that Hashim Amla has to keep returning to Steyn – who may still have to shake off rush post-injury – and Morkel. Steyn has not bowled competitively since the first week of November, when he sustained groin injury in the Mohali Test. That was the eighth injury Steyn has suffered since June 2013 and the second groin strain and there are fears he may be in decline but Donald does not think so.”I’ve heard some things about how it could be the start of the end and I don’t think that’s true. I think you will write him off at your peril. He will bounce back hard,” Donald said. “As much as South Africa missed him in India, I think it was a blessing in disguise because he is really fresh and hungry now I spoke to him a few days ago and he wants to make this series a big one.”Donald admitted Steyn’s inactivity over the last few weeks is not ideal but said quality would trump quantity of balls bowled. “It is a concern that he has not bowled in a while because you want overs under the belt and miles in the leg but a champion is always a champion.”And that is exactly why Donald thinks the South African team will be formidable foes for England over the next six weeks. “It’s not nice getting thumped 3-nil and they will be carrying scars,” Donald said “That makes it very important how they start because if they start badly it could be a long series but this team is too good not to stand up.”
Ishant Sharma, Shane Watson, Kevin Pietersen, Yuvraj Singh, Dale Steyn, Aaron Finch, Martin Guptill and Dwayne Smith have been listed as the eight marquee players in the IPL 2016 player auction which will be held on February 6 in Bangalore. A total of 351 players, including 230 Indian and 121 foreign cricketers, will go into the auction.The shortlist of 351 players was trimmed down from a pool of 714 cricketers. Of the 351 players, 130 are capped, 219 are uncapped and two are Associate players. A maximum of 116 players can be chosen at the auction.Ishant, Watson, Pietersen and Yuvraj are among 12 players with a base price of INR 2 crore (approx $296,000). Ashish Nehra, Dhawal Kulkarni, Sanju Samson, Dinesh Karthik and Stuart Binny are the other Indians with the same base price. Among overseas players, Michael Hussey, Kane Richardson and Mitchell Marsh have attracted the top reserve price.Delhi Daredevils have the maximum funds remaining, INR 37.15 crore (approx. $5.47 million), having released 13 of their players from last year’s squad including Yuvraj and Angelo Mathews. In 2015, Yuvraj was the most expensive buy for the second consecutive auction after the Daredevils raised the bid price to INR 16 crore ($2.3 million). Daredevils also paid INR 7.5 crore ($1.1 million) for Mathews.Following is the purse remaining with the each of the other seven franchises:Kings XI Punjab (INR 23 crore), Kolkata Knight Riders (INR 17.95 crore), Mumbai Indians (INR 14.405 crore), Royal Challengers Bangalore (INR 21.625 crore), Sunrisers Hyderabad (INR 30.15 crore), Rising Pune Super Giants (INR 27 crore), Rajkot (INR 27 crore)
Top-order batter Joshua Dorne will lead West Indies at the Men’s Under-19 World Cup in Zimbabwe and Namibia in January-February 2026. Allrounder Jonathan Van Lange will be Dorne’s deputy.West Indies’ 15-member squad also includes 19-year-old batter Jewel Andrew, who has already played three ODIs and five T20Is for the senior national team.West Indies enter the Under-19 World Cup after back-to-back seven-match Youth ODI series at home against Sri Lanka and England. Dorne was the highest run-getter in both series, with van Lange the next-best from West Indies. Several others who featured in both those series, including Zachary Carter, Matthew Miller, Jakeem Pollard, Shaquan Belle and Vitel Lawes, have also been named in the World Cup squad.In ten matches spread across the Sri Lanka and England series, Pollard bagged 18 wickets at an average of 16.27. Belle picked up 15 wickets in nine games, while Lawes, who managed just a solitary wicket in three matches against England, hit back with 14 wickets at 14.92 in six games against Sri Lanka.”In assembling this group, we have aligned their development with the style of play we expect at the senior level, ensured exposure to high-quality match opportunities, and placed a strong focus on leadership, tactical awareness and individual support within their territories,” Dwain Gill, CWI’s High Performance Manager, said.At the Under-19 World Cup, West Indies have been drawn in Group D, alongside South Africa, Afghanistan and Tanzania. They start their campaign against Tanzania in Windhoek on January 15.
West Indies squad for Men’s Under-19 World Cup 2026
Joshua Dorne (capt), Jewel Andrew, Shamar Apple, Shaquan Belle, Zachary Carter, Tanez Francis, R’jai Gittens, Vitel Lawes, Micah McKenzie, Matthew Miller, Israel Morton, Jakeem Pollard, Aiden Racha, Kunal Tilokani, Jonathan Van Lange (vice-capt)
Leeds United are among the teams lining up a move for Timo Hubers this summer…
What’s the word?
According to the Daily Mail, the Whites are one of several Premier League sides eyeing up the FC Koln defender, with the likes of Newcastle United, West Ham and Crystal Palace their likely competition.
He will enter the final 12 months of his current contract at the Bundesliga outfit, so could be available on the cheap with the report suggesting that he’s valued in the region of £6m.
Leeds have leaked more goals than any other English top-flight team this season (68), so it’s hardly a surprise to see them linked with the ball-playing 6 foot 2 colossus.
Leeds’ cheap fix?
Something of an aerial threat with 14 goals from 161 career appearances across the senior and youth teams of Cologne and Hannover, Hubers could be a cheap fix to their defensive issues.
From 15 appearances in the Bundesliga this campaign, the 25-year-old rates out as Steffen Baumgart’s highest-rated player, even ahead of fellow Premier League-linked target Ellyes Skhiri and veteran Jonas Hector.
Also per WhoScored, he’s won 2.8 headers per game, which is more than every player at Elland Road bar skipper Liam Cooper (four), whilst he also averages a whopping 2.7 interceptions and 2.1 tackles per league outing too.
Those interception numbers exceed manager Jesse Marsch’s current options, including defensive midfield animal Kalvin Phillips.
Hubers has been described as an “exemplary” professional by Hannover 96’s sporting director Gerhard Zuber in the past, so he should have little trouble in transitioning from the German game to the Premier League and fellow countryman and centre-back Robin Koch could help him settle in quickly.
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The American head coach has an array of options in the central defensive department, so it’s hard to imagine everyone keeping their place heading into next season and if the Yorkshire outfit believe Hubers is the answer, then the could be a bargain quick fix to their issues.
His aforementioned numbers stand out amongst the current squad, it’s just whether he can correlate that into a new environment.
AND in other news, Marsch suffers another potential Leeds injury blow ahead of Watford, he’ll be sweating…
Everton starlet Jack Rodwell has decided to commit his future to the club by signing a new five-year contract at the club, and the teenager has done well to resist the lure of the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea.
According to speculation, Sir Alex Ferguson had targeted the 19-year-old as his main summer signing and was set to offer a fee believed to be £15m for the Everton youngster. However Everton manager, David Moyes was quick to offer Rodwell a new deal so that he didn’t risk losing his exciting prospect.
Rodwell has been quick to praise Moyes for his management skills saying, “He’s been brilliant with me, and not just me but with the other youngsters as well. His track record has been brilliant and it’s been no different with me and I’m very happy to work under him.”
Moyes had previously warned Rodwell that he could regret leaving Everton too soon, he said: “Some of the players who have left Everton might say it was the right place for them after all. At the end of their careers, they might look back and say Everton was the best time, they enjoy it here. Even Gravesen, who went to Madrid, would say the same thing. There are lots of players who are going to look back at Everton and say they had a really good time, without winning anything obviously.”
Although by moving on to United, Rodwell would have undoubtedly been much more likely to win things with them than if he stayed at Everton. He could of risked becoming another player that has left them and not progressed like Thomas Gravesen, Joleon Lescott and Francis Jeffers. Of course Wayne Rooney made an almost identical move from Everton to United and has become a great player in doing so but the fact is, it doesn’t work out for everyone. Far too many players are tempted by big teams but often find themselves on the fringes of the first-team and either sold or loaned out within a year or two.
There is also no guarantee that Rodwell would have been able to break into the United side either, but at Everton he will have a greater opportunity of regular first-team football and this will only help his development as a player. Whereas at United he would have to work a lot harder to gain a first-team spot as the competition there will be much more intense.
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Rodwell’s show of loyalty should serve as an example to Steven Pienaar. The South African midfielder has been linked with a move to Spurs but he needs to think if he really wants to give up first-team football to be at best rotated in and out of the side. As the form of Tottenham’s midfield this season has been fantastic and Pienaar will struggle immensely to get into the team next year, so he would be better off staying put.
Although Moyes had admitted that they might need to sell a few players so that they can strengthen the squad to compete for the European places in the Premiership. He clearly sees Rodwell as an integral part of his team and someone that can be at the club for many years to come.