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Dene Hills, the former Tasmania batsman, has been announced as the ECB’s head batting coach

Cricinfo staff08-Aug-2008Dene Hills, the former Tasmania batsman, has been named as the ECB’s head batting coach. Hills, who played 112 matches spanning ten years for Tasmania, had stints as Australia’s assistant coach as well as becoming the senior batting coach in Cricket Australia’s Centre of Excellence.”We are very pleased to have secured someone of Dene’s calibre to take on this new position and join the team of specialist coaches based at the National Cricket Performance Centre at Loughborough,” said David Parsons, the ECB’s performance director.”Dene will work closely with England assistant coach Andy Flower and be responsible for coaching players selected for the England Lions and England Performance Programme squads as well as implementing a development programme for our best young batsmen within age-group teams.”

Half-centuries by Imrul Kayes, Arafat Sunny and Naeem Islam helped Bangladesh Cricket Board Academy to a first-innings lead of 58 against Sri Lanka Academy XI at the Premadasa Stadium

Cricinfo staff17-Sep-2008ScorecardHalf-centuries by Imrul Kayes, Arafat Sunny and Naeem Islam helped Bangladesh Cricket Board Academy to a first-innings lead of 58 against Sri Lanka Academy XI at the Premadasa Stadium. Bangladesh were helped by a handful of partnerships in the middle order which took them past Sri Lanka’s score to end the day at 310 for 8.Resuming their overnight score of 33 for 1,, Kayes and Sunny took control in the morning, adding 83 for the second wicket within 21 overs. Kayes fell for a brisk 67 off 76 balls, dealing mostly in boundaries, before falling to the legspin of Jeewan Mendis. Sunny and Shamsur Rahman then added 44 for the third wicket before Sri Lanka brokethrough for the second time in the day. Chaminda Vidanapathirana was the successful wicket-taker, getting Rahman to edge behind the wicket for 38.The Sri Lankans couldn’t effect any quick breakthroughs in the middle order as they allowed another partnership to develop. Islam joined Sunny and the pair added a further 68, before the offspinner Thilina Masmulla dismissed Sunny lbw for 63.Marshall Ayub departed shortly after for 1, before Islam and Farhad Hossain frustrated the home side with a stand of 51 for the sixth wicket. The Sri Lankans hit back late in the day to claim three wickets for the addition of 17 runs before stumps, but Bangladesh’s captain, Islam, stood firm with an unbeaten 73. Mendis picked up two of those wickets, but was a tad expensive, leaking 61 off 11 overs.

Many Sunderland fans have been delighted on Twitter, following an official post by the club celebrating Andy Reid’s 39th birthday, whilst sharing a video of his last minute winning volley vs West Ham in 2008.

Enjoying a successful three year spell on Wearside where he was renowned for his creativity, the former Republic of Ireland international registered 24 goal contributions from 80 appearances in the North East; six goals and 18 assists [Transfermarkt].

Nowadays, the Dubliner is the Nottingham Forest Under-23’s manager, after initially serving as an academy technical coach in the same set up [Transfermarkt].

A born entertainer, 5 foot 7 Reid enjoyed a strong rapport with the Sunderland support over the years and still does to this day.

In light of his birthday celebrations, loads of Sunderland diehards took to Twitter to give him their best wishes.

Sunderland AFC fans react:

Replying to the Sunderland AFC Official Twitter account, here is what some supporters had to say upon hearing that today is Reid’s birthday:

“What a peg of a left foot. Remember him coming on against Wigan and playing that delightful ball across to Murphy, who smashed the ball home.”

Credit: @sparkymarc23″Every strike from Andy happy birthday sir”Credit: @neilemslie”Love the commentary on this. World class from @Tweed_Barnesy”Credit: @safc_simpson”WHAT A GOAL!!”Credit: @driseborough”Wand of a left peg”Credit: @rosstitute73″Miss those Keano days!”Credit: @ColArmy86In other news, Sunderland fans slam one of their players.

David Norris has exclusively told The Transfer Tavern that he doesn’t think Leeds need to sign someone like Gary Cahill.

Whilst Marcelo Bielsa currently has a squad that are short on Premier League experience, he has no less than five players that can play centre-back at his disposal.

Liam Cooper and Pascal Struijk were Bielsa’s preferred pairing for much of last season, but mainly because big money signings Diego Llorente and Robin Kock spent big spells on the sidelines through injury.

Leeds could add another central defender to their ranks in 6 ft 4 Cahill, who’s now available on a free transfer having recently announced that he won’t be returning to Crystal Palace despite recent talks.

Cahill was out of contract this summer and turned down Palace’s new offer meaning the 35-year-old defender, who’s racked up almost 400 Premier League appearances in his career, is now unattached.

Asked whether the former Chelsea and England defender is someone that Bielsa might consider, Norris told The Transfer Tavern:

“I’d say that he’s on the way down. I think he could still do a job, but it wouldn’t inspire me at this stage to bring a Gary Cahill in, they’ve got Liam Cooper, who’s got bags of experience, so I would be looking elsewhere.”

Makhaya Ntini has expressed disappointment at not being informed of his exclusion from South Africa’s limited-overs squads to face Kenya and Bangladesh

Cricinfo staff08-Oct-2008
Out in the cold: Makhaya Ntini finds himself out of the ODI and Twenty20 squads © Getty Images
Shortly after being left out of South Africa’s limited-overs squads to face Kenya and Bangladesh at home, Makhaya Ntini has expressed disappointment at not being informed of his exclusion. Mickey Arthur, the South African coach, however said attempts were made at contacting Ntini, but to no avail.”It’s all new to me. No one called me,” Ntini told . “I am very disappointed that Mickey or the captain [Graeme Smith] did not talk to me about it. I still saw Mickey at the airport in Johannesburg on Monday.”Arthur confirmed he was on the same flight with Ntini but was before the team was picked. “We managed to get in touch with all of them, with the exception of Makhaya,” Arthur said. “We left four messages for him.”Ntini was unimpressive in the one-day series on the tour of England, picking up two wickets in three games and leaking more than five-and-a-half an over. Since the 2007 World Cup, he has taken 26 wickets in 24 ODIs at 38.73, far less impressive than his career average of 24.54.He was, however, included in the Test squad for the two-match series against Bangladesh. With the first Test to begin on November 19, Ntini will be available for his franchise, the Warriors, for the SuperSport series, starting with their match against the Eagles in Port Elizabeth on Thursday.”I can’t sit around doing nothing during those weeks,” he said. “I am terribly excited. And it’s a home match, too.”

The West Indies women’s tour of Pakistan has been called off because of security concerns

Cricinfo staff06-Oct-2008The West Indies women’s tour of Pakistan has been called off because of security concerns. The series had been scheduled from October 14 to 31 with the teams slated to play five one-dayers and three Twenty20s. The Sri Lanka leg of the tour, however, will go ahead as scheduled.”The West Indies board has sent us official intimation that their women’s team is not coming to Pakistan because they have reservations over their players’ safety in view the existing security situation in Pakistan,” a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said.”The decision of cancellation would be the mutual, however, the PCB have got nothing official from the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) over calling off their tour,” said PCB spokesman, Mansoor Suhail.Pakistan women’s captain Urooj Mumtaz said the postponement was “very sad” for all the team members. “We are to play two world events next year — the Women’s World Cup in Australia in March and the Twenty20 World Championship in England in June — and we desperately needed some good foreign team exposure before that. The West Indies visit was an answer to the problem and we are really very disappointed that the WICB changed its mind about sending the team here.”Team coach Umer Rashid echoed a similar sentiment: “The girls are disappointed, naturally. They have been working hard in preparation for next year’s mega events and were keen to play against the West Indies. The series was part of our five-month preparation programme which would help overcome the weaknesses encountered by the team during the Asia Cup in May. Anyway, the situation has to be tackled somehow if we remain consistent.”WICB chief executive Donald Peters had earlier expressed his concerns over the women’s team’s safety in Pakistan.The PCB had also invited the West Indies men’s team to Pakistan for a two-Test series, immediately after the countries play a one-day series in Abu Dhabi in November. However, the WICB is yet to make a final decision. Senior players were Pakistan, and Peters had said a young squad might be sent.Nine months ago, the ICC had switched the women’s World Cup qualifiers from Pakistan to South Africa. Pakistan haven’t hosted a women’s ODI since the Asia Cup in 2005-06.

Serie A expert Conor Clancy believes that Dusan Vlahovic may not be ready to replace Harry Kane at Tottenham Hotspur, should the England captain leave the club.

Kane continues to be linked with a move away from Spurs, with Manchester City trying to do a deal to bring him into the club, having already signed Jack Grealish from Aston Villa.

He would be a very difficult player for Spurs to replace but they have been linked with a number of strikers throughout the transfer window.

One such name is Vlahovic, who impressed at Fiorentina last season, although Sky Sports report that Spurs are interested in a deal regardless of Kane’s future.

The 21-year-old is already a Serbia international and he enjoyed a breakthrough season last term, scoring 21 Serie A goals in 37 games, while also laying on two assists.

Clancy, who is the editor in chief at Forza Italian Football, has his doubts over whether the striker is ready to step into Kane’s shoes, although he thinks he will end up having a superb career regardless of his next transfer move.

He said: “It might be a case of if he goes and replaces someone like Kane now, it might be a little bit too much off the back of one good season at Fiorentina, but he’s definitely got the raw talent there to have a huge career, and playing with Son might be amazing for him.”

Memories of the controversial Sydney Test that threatened to derail India’s tour of Australia earlier this year have been revived with Adam Gilchrist questioning Sachin Tendulkar’s evidence in the Harbhajan Singh racism case in his soon-to-be-published au

Cricinfo staff24-Oct-2008
Adam Gilchrist has questioned Sachin Tendulkar’s evidence in the Harbhajan Singh racism case in Sydney earlier this year © Getty Images
Memories of the controversial Sydney Test that threatened to derail India’s tour of Australia earlier this year have been revived with Adam Gilchrist questioning Sachin Tendulkar’s evidence in the Harbhajan Singh racism case in his soon-to-be-published autobiography.Gilchrist called his evidence a “joke” and said when Tendulkar told the first hearing that he could not hear what Harbhajan said to Andrew Symonds, he was “certain he was telling the truth” because he was “a fair way away”. But, Gilchrist added, during the appeal, Tendulkar said Harbhajan had used a Hindi word that sounded like monkey.Harbhajan’s three-Test ban for racial abuse of Andrew Symonds during the Sydney Test was overturned on appeal on the basis of oral evidence from Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Matthew Hayden and Tendulkar. Harbhajan had been earlier found guilty of the charge levelled by Ponting, who complained to the umpires that Harbhajan called Symonds a monkey. India threatened to boycott the tour if Harbhajan was found guilty of the racism charge but the tour went on after the appeal went in his favour.”The Indians got him off the hook when they, of all people, should have been treating the matter of racial vilification with the utmost seriousness.” Gilchrist said India’s threat to boycott the tour was “a disgraceful act, holding the game to ransom unless they got their way”.Gilchrist also raised questions over Tendulkar’s sportsmanship and said he was “hard to find for a changing-room handshake after we have beaten India”. “Harbhajan can also be hard to find,” he said. “I guess it’s a case of different strokes for different folks.”Gilchrist said the Australians played hard and were quick to shake hands and leave it all on the field. Niranjan Shah, who was the BCCI secretary during the Sydney Test, said Gilchrist was looking for “cheap publicity” for his book.”First of all, the matter is over now,” Shah told , a Mumbai-based tabloid. “Since I was actively involved in the whole matter as the BCCI secretary, I have seen how neutrally the ICC has conducted the hearing. Despite all this, if Gilchrist feels otherwise, then rather than him questioning someone else’s credentials, we should examine his credentials. By doing all this, he is doing nothing but getting his image tarnished.”

Everton need to offload a midfielder before they can sign Matheus Nunes from Sporting, according to Portuguese newspaper O Jogo (via Sport Witness).

The lowdown

According to football finance expert Kieran Maguire, Everton are ‘very much constrained’ by Financial Fair Play rules in this summer’s transfer window after years of ‘significant losses’.

They’ve been left with ‘next to no wiggle room’ in terms of their net spend.

The Blues have spent a mere £1.8million so far, meeting Bayer Leverkusen’s demands for Demarai Gray. They have also recruited Andros Townsend and Asmir Begovic on free transfers.

Nunes is a 22-year-old central midfielder who made 12 starts and 19 substitute appearances for last season’s Primeira Liga champions. He scored three goals and provided two assists (via WhoScored).

The Brazilian has been described as ‘impossible to catch’ and ‘unbelievable’ with the ball at his feet (via Liverpool Echo).

The latest

The report says that Everton retain an interest in Nunes but are still awaiting the green light to proceed with the signing.

They have placed James Rodriguez, Andre Gomes and Fabian Delph ‘on the market’ in an attempt to facilitate the deal.

The verdict

If you scanned Everton’s squad for deadwood that could still fetch a reasonable fee, Gomes and Delph are probably two of the players you’d pick out.

The team would suffer far more from the loss of Rodriguez, but the player’s recent comments have raised serious questions over his commitment to the cause too.

Everton need quality additions like Nunes in the next three weeks if they’re to be a factor in the race for Europe, and it looks like difficult decisions will have to be made with regards to outgoings first.

In other news, Rafael Benitez is eyeing this defensive reinforcement.

Left-arm swing bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe has been included in South Africa’s squad for the three-Test series in Australia starting in December

Cricinfo staff22-Nov-2008
Robin Peterson gets a call-up, but an injury has kept Andre Nel out of South Africa’s squad to tour Australia © AFP
Left-arm swing bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe has been included in South Africa’s squad for the three-Test series in Australia starting in December. Left-arm spinner Robin Peterson is the other addition to the 13-man squad named for the home Test series against Bangladesh, and would provide cover for first-choice spinner Paul Harris, who fractured his left thumb during the first Test in Bloemfontein.Andre Nel, who had been omitted from South Africa’s Test and limited-overs teams for the recent home series against Bangladesh and Kenya, was not considered for selection after he underwent surgery to repair knee ligament damage. There is also no place for Herschelle Gibbs, who has not been part of the Test side since he was dropped for the tour of Bangladesh earlier this year, with Neil McKenzie firming a spot at the top of the order.Tsotsobe, who plays for the Eastern Province and Border franchise Warriors, has been picked after an impressive showing in the domestic season. In four first-class matches, he has taken 16 wickets at 18.12. Tsotsobe, 24, was also the leading wicket-taker for South Africa A in the recent two-Test series against Sri Lanka A, held in August-September.”We have felt for some time that we need to explore the left-arm swing variety to add an extra dimension to our attack and Lonwabo Tsotsobe made a good impression at the recent national camp we held in Kimberley,” Craig Matthews, acting convenor of selectors, said. “With an injury worry over Paul Harris, we have Robin Peterson ready to step up if needed. He took a five-wicket haul in his last Test against Bangladesh.”However, Tsotsobe and Monde Zondeki will find it tough to break into a Test attack led by Dale Steyn on the tour, with Makhaya Ntini and Morne Morkel the likely first-XI candidates. “We have maintained the policy of consistency that has served us well over the last couple of years,” Matthews said. “The starting line-up chooses itself and we feel we have good cover for all eventualities.”South Africa will be led by Graeme Smith, who has forged a formidable opening pair with McKenzie this year. Middle-order batsman Ashwell Prince will be Smith’s deputy on the tour, with Mark Boucher as wicketkeeper. The form of Jacques Kallis, though, will be worrying for coach Mickey Arthur, who is one of the many voices to state this is South Africa’s best chance of beating them in a Test series. South Africa have never won a Test series in Australia, and not one against them since readmission. Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and JP Duminy are the other batsmen included to tour.After their tour of Australia in December-January, South Africa will host Australia for three in February-March. The South African Test side has had a successful stint heading into the tour, with away series wins against Pakistan, Bangladesh and England, home successes over New Zealand and West Indies and a drawn series in India.”The team has earned the right to be confident with the results they have had,” Smith said. “I have a lot of confidence in the players I have around me. We go there with a mature, settled environment. Everyone knows their roles. We will arrive with a clear goal in mind.”We’re going to be challenged on an Australian tour but like the England tour I am confident we can meet them. We’ve got the players to do well there.”South Africa squad: Neil McKenzie, Graeme Smith (capt), Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, AB de Villiers, Mark Boucher (wk), JP Duminy, Paul Harris, Morne Morkel, Makhaya Ntini, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Monde Zondeki.