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On a pitch that offered bounce and sharp turn Delhi Daredevils lost three wickets for a song, before Gautam Gambhir and Mithun Manhas batted with determination to secure a valuable victory

The Bulletin by George Binoy15-Apr-201020 overs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsGautam Gambhir and Mithun Manhas revived Delhi after a top-order collapse•Indian Premier LeagueChennai Super Kings were restricted to their lowest total of the season at the MA Chidambaran stadium, and yet they threatened to defend it. On a pitch that offered bounce and sharp turn Delhi Daredevils lost three wickets for a song before Gautam Gambhir and Mithun Manhas batted with determination, fighting dehydration, to secure a valuable victory. It wasn’t until 17.1 overs that Delhi’s run-rate touched six for the first time in the chase and they overhauled 112 with eight balls to spare.Delhi had lost to Punjab on a similar surface at home, although the Kotla surface was slower, and they had to contend with the humidity of Chennai as well after MS Dhoni chose to bat. However, their fast bowlers Ashish Nehra and Dirk Nannes, back after a finger injury, made vital incisions into the Chennai line-up, an advantage their spinners capitalised on. Chennai were 39 for 3 after the Powerplay, 55 for 6 after ten overs, and only an eleventh-hour boost propped them past three figures. Doug Bollinger hit the only six of the innings – in the 18th over – and it turned out to be the only one of the match.The chase was anything but straightforward. David Warner slapped his second ball, from offspinner R Ashwin, to cover and Bollinger dismissed Virender Sehwag – Hayden leaping at slip to take the catch overhead – and Tillakaratne Dilshan in the second over. Chants of “Bollinger, Bollinger” resonated around the ground and he left Delhi reeling at 7 for 3.The first boundary came in the third over when, after four consecutive dot balls, Gambhir charged Ashwin and edged past slip. The next came in the fifth, when a ripping offbreak snuck through Dinesh Karthik’s bat-pad gap and past Dhoni for four byes. The third in the sixth over, when Karthik flicked Bollinger through midwicket – the first commanding shot of the innings. Karthik fell soon after, though, miscuing a pull in Shadab Jakati’s first over to midwicket, leaving Delhi on 38 for 4.Delhi held Paul Collingwood back and sent in Manhas, who provided his captain sensible support. Gambhir, run out thrice in his last four innings, was steely: there were no ambitious shots and he played the ball late, cutting and glancing for ones and twos. The humidity was getting to him, running between the wickets became increasingly hard, but Gambhir ensured the asking-rate never touched six until late in the innings.Slowly but surely Gambhir and Manhas steered Delhi to safety. Manhas released pressure by cutting L Balaji and pulling Ashwin for fours before Gambhir hit a brace of boundaries off Raina to end Chennai’s challenge. He pulled Bollinger for four in the 18th over to bring up 50 off 51 balls, and victory came soon after. Gambhir and Manhas’ match-winning stand of 75 had taken 11.4 overs.Delhi’s spinners, however, had provided their batsmen a sign of what was to come. They came on after the Powerplay and Dilshan, Sehwag and Amit Mishra strangled the scoring-rate with frequent wickets. Chennai slid from 52 for 3 to 55 for 6 in the space of two overs: Suresh Raina lofted Dilshan to deep cover, where Yadav ran in to judge the catch, Michael Hussey lobbed Sehwag tamely to cover, and Albie Morkel was caught at slip. Sehwag got him with a terrific delivery: it drifted into the left-hander from round the wicket, dipped, pitched on leg and middle, and spun across the face of the bat. Morkel pushed forward and the outside edge went to Collingwood at slip, who dived forward to take a low catch.Chennai were reeling at 55 for 6 by the half-way stage, with only S Badrinath left of the specialist batsmen. The hosts managed to take 12 off the final over – 33 off the last three – to reach a total their bowlers attempted valiantly to defend, but in vain.

Celtic will look to move on left-back Boli Bolingoli in the New Year, according to The Athletic’s Kieran Devlin.

The Lowdown: Bolingoli under Postecoglou

Bolingoli was linked with a move to Turkish side Altay SK over the summer, however, as we know, a move never materialised.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/celtic-updates-20/” title=”Celtic updates!!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The 26-year-old hasn’t featured heavily under Ange Postecoglou, even though first-choice left-back Greg Taylor missed 17 games due to a shoulder problem. Bolingoli has made just two appearances in all competitions, the last of which came back in October.

Pundit Alex McLeish believes Postecoglou ‘doesn’t like’ something in the Ivorian’s game, while the club even labelled the full-back as ‘stupid’ following his health protocol breach last year. And it now seems as if he could leave Parkhead over the coming weeks.

The Latest: Devlin’s claim

Devlin shared a transfer mailbag on The Athletic on Wednesday, providing numerous Parkhead updates.

One fan said to the reliable reporter that Vasilis Barkas and Albian Ajeti should go in January.

Devlin responded by saying that Barkas is ‘definitely one the club are looking to move on’, before adding that ‘one source’ has suggested it is the same for Bolingoli.

The Verdict: Correct call

Celtic made 12 signings over the summer, and even though it may not feel like it due to injuries, the Hoops have a fairly big squad.

They are also looking at signing three Japanese players in January, so moving on the likes of Bolingoli and Barkas, who have hardly featured under Postecoglou, appears to be the right decision, trimming the fringes of the squad and cutting down the wage bill.

The pair have been expensive mistakes with Bolingoli costing £3m and Barkas £4.5m, so the Hoops should do all they can to get as much as possible for the pair in 2022.

In other news: Celtic now reach another January agreement on ‘tireless worker’; Nicholson isn’t hanging around. 

Jesse Ryder is flying home to New Zealand after an elbow injury forced him out of the two Twenty20s against Sri Lanka in the United States next weekend

Cricinfo staff16-May-2010Jesse Ryder is flying home to New Zealand after an elbow injury forced him out of the two Twenty20s against Sri Lanka in the United States next weekend. Ryder, who has just returned from a long-term stomach problem, left the squad to get a thorough assessment of the complaint, which hampered him throughout the World Twenty20.”The focus for him now is the Sri Lanka tour [in August],” the team manager Dave Currie said. “So he has returned to assess the extent of the injury and to get ready for that tour.”While Ryder exits the team, Andy McKay is re-entering it to replace Shane Bond, who retired on Friday. The coach Mark Greatbatch said McKay’s selection was a good opportunity for him to join the squad and prepare for the trip to Sri Lanka.”We brought Andy into the frame during the summer series against Bangladesh and he showed us some things we haven’t had before, with a left-armer swinging it at good pace,” Greatbatch said. “It is a good opportunity for him to play against a subcontinent side [Sri Lanka] before we tour there.”New Zealand were originally scheduled to play three Twenty20 matches against Sri Lanka in Florida, but that has been reduced to two due to the quality of the lights at the Broward County Regional Park stadium. Those games will occur next Saturday and Sunday.

The New Zealand selectors have retained the same 14-member squad that made the finals of the Women’s World Twenty20, for the tour of England

Cricinfo staff27-May-2010The New Zealand selectors have retained the same 14-member squad that made the finals of the Women’s World Twenty20, for the tour of England. Suzie Bates takes over vice-captaincy from Amy Satterthwaite who was captain Aimee Watkins’ deputy in the West Indies.”We have kept faith in the same 14 players who recently reached the final of the ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies,” said team coach and selector Gary Stead. “The squad features a nice blend of youth and experience and this tour will be used to look at developing some of the new players into important roles. This group is versatile and provides plenty of cover for the different conditions we are likely to encounter in England.”As part of the selection succession planning in leadership positions Suzie Bates will replace Amy Satterthwaite as vice-captain,” Stead said.The series kicks off with the first of three Twenty20 matches against England on June 29. This is followed by a single one-dayer against Ireland, a 50-over match against the England Academy, finishing with a five match ODI series against England.Squad: Aimee Watkins (capt), Suzie Bates (vice-capt), Erin Bermingham, Kate Broadmore, Nicola Browne, Sophie Devine, Natalie Dodd, Lucy Doolan, Maria Fahey, Sara McGlashan (wk), Liz Perry, Rachel Priest (wk), Sian Ruck and Amy Satterthwaite

Craig Hope has revealed that Newcastle United have now emerged as contenders to sign Anthony Martial in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Out of favour

While Martial has been injured for some parts of the season, he has not always been picked when he has been fit, making just ten appearances in total over all competitions, scoring one goal (Transfermarkt).

Thus, he seems to have fallen out of favour at Manchester United, and so a move could well be on the cards for him this month, so long as the Red Devils give it the green light and potentially bring in a replacement.

Various reports have claimed he will indeed be offloaded, leading to delight from some sections of the Old Trafford support.

The Latest: Now a Newcastle target

As per Hope, even though United are ‘reluctant’ to let players go for now due to the situation with COVID-19 cases, the St. James’ Park faithful are ‘monitoring’ Martial’s situation at Old Trafford ahead of a potential move:

“I’m told Newcastle are monitoring situation. Martial perhaps wasn’t high on list pre January, but Wilson injury has changed thinking & increased urgency. One to watch.”

The Verdict: Loan would be perfect

Given Callum Wilson’s injury, the North East club need to bring in cover up top until he comes back.

Thus, signing Martial on loan would be the perfect option for them, as if it does not work out, then he could just return back to the Red Devils.

Even though he has had his fair share of problems this season, he can still be an asset, as shown by his record in the Premier League, bagging 56 times in the competition.

Described as being ‘unplayable’ on his day by former French top-flight striker Louis Saha, Martial will be hungry to prove himself, and with the experience and know-how that he has of the division, moving to Tyneside could be a smart move for all parties involved.

In other news, find out what big transfer claim Hope has also dropped on NUFC here!

Aravinda de Silva, Sri Lanka’s former captain and newly-appointed chairman of selectors, has singled out winning the World Cup in 2011 as his “primary responsibility” in his latest role

Sa'adi Thawfeeq31-May-2010Aravinda de Silva, Sri Lanka’s former captain and newly-appointed chairman of selectors, has singled out winning the World Cup in 2011 as his “primary responsibility” in his latest role. de Silva, who scored an unbeaten century to take Sri Lanka to their only World Cup win, in 1996 against Australia in Lahore, said the national team had to win some major tournaments in its preparation for the ultimate prize, admitted it needed improvement at the top of the order and defended the 40-year-old Sanath Jayasuriya, who had a forgettable World Twenty20.”My primary aim is to help Sri Lanka win another World Cup,” de Silva told reporters in Colombo. “I’ve wanted another team to win a World Cup so that the people of Sri Lanka have something to talk about.”The other members of the committee are Ranjit Fernando, Amal Silva and Shabbir Asgerally. All four members have served in the capacity as selectors in previous committees.While acknowledging the need for the selectors to get the right combination ready for the World Cup, de Silva said a significant share of the responsibility had to come from the players. “A player must have the experience of having played in at least a minimum of 50 ODIs to be able to handle difficult situations when it comes to a World Cup,” he said. “We’ve got only nine months and to give a new player that amount of exposure is not adequate. We need to have some players with a mixture of experience and youth who can handle difficult situations. That’s our plan going forward to build up that combination.”For me this bunch of cricketers has talent and ability, we just need to put a few things right and win some major tournaments. To do that, a big part of the commitment and responsibility must come from the players.”While spelling out the areas Sri Lanka need to improve ahead of the World Cup, de Silva said: “The top of the batting order is a matter of concern. What we’ve realized is if the two openers fail we need someone to come and consolidate the innings. In a situation like that when we are looking around for options and if you can’t find suitable replacements then we are not prepared.”There has been plenty of criticism surrounding Jayasuriya’s performances in the recent past, with many calling on him to quit. de Silva, however, said Sri Lanka had to consider all options for the World Cup. “We know what Jayasuriya is capable of. We must have a proper replacement for every position. We have nine months to prepare for the World Cup and we have not discarded anyone so far and decided on the positions they should play.”You have to be fair to Sanath. He’s shown what he is capable of and he has performed over the years and done so much for the country. We should respect that. It’s fair that we look at every player the same way whether it is the youngest player or the most senior player. Anyone who gets out of hand which will affect the team, that is where when we will step in.”de Silva added the sports minister had given the selection committee an assurance that there won’t be any interference. “If he has any queries and if the people are questioning I am quite willing to listen to that and give them an opportunity and explain for what reasons we have taken certain decisions,” de Silva said.

This week, Everton signed Anwar El Ghazi from Aston Villa on loan until the end of the season, with Toffees manager Rafael Benitez surely delighted that he has signed up another attacking threat for his side to create more chances after a poor first half of the season.

Fabrizio Romano has now added a further detail on the move which will be of interest to Everton fans.

What’s the word?

The journalist has taken to Twitter to add details of a €10 (£8.35m) purchase option on the loan signing of El Ghazi.

The transfer insider tweeted: “Official and confirmed. Anwar El Ghazi joins Everton on loan from Aston Villa, deal sealed and now announced. #EFC

“Buy option will be regularly included as reported yesterday – not mandatory, around €10m.”

The Netherlands international joined the squad at Goodison Park from Aston Villa on Thursday, the same day that Lucas Digne left the Merseyside club to join Steven Gerrard’s side in a £25m move.

Benitez will be delighted

Benitez’s first season at the Everton helm has been a tough one thus far, and the Spaniard is hoping to improve matters by making signings in January to cover key positions and adding new players to resolve clear issues in the side. One of those is scoring and creating goals, with only five wins in the league and 1.28 goals scored per game compared to the 1.78 per game they are conceding.

El Ghazi joins a number of attacking players in the squad, such as the likes of Richarlison, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Demarai Gray and Andros Townsend, with the first two missing large chunks of the season through injury. That has duly hindered the goal threat that Everton has posed so far this season, with the duo netting 34 times between them last term.

The 26-year-old Dutch winger has not had too many opportunities this season to make an impact at Villa Park, with just 12 appearances in all competitions. However, during his time at the club over the last three-and-a-half years, El Ghazi has either scored or set up a goal every 180 minutes (once every two games, effectively), with 26 goals and 16 assists in just 119 appearances for the club, proving that he can be a consistent threat in front of goal.

Benitez will be delighted to add a player with such consistency, something the Toffees have been completely lacking all season, winning just one of their last 12 games in the Premier League. For the bargain price of £8.35m, El Ghazi fits the club’s tight budget, and the loan move gives the Goodison Park hierarchy the chance to weigh up whether or not he would be worth the financial commitment of a permanent deal.

In other news: Benitez must make a move for this defender

A victory here will put daylight between Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire and anything less will be regarded as an opportunity missed

Jon Culley at Headingley07-Jul-2010
ScorecardYorkshire cannot count themselves as clear favourites to win the Championship just yet, given that likeliest rivals Nottinghamshire have played two fewer matches. A victory here, however, will put daylight between them and the Trent Bridge side and anything less will be regarded as an opportunity missed.They do not lack for motivation these days, captain Andrew Gale having seemingly inspired in them a powerful self-belief, but news of defeat for Nottinghamshire at Chelmsford can only have spurred them on and they will be anxious to press home their advantage as they begin to visualise only a second title in 43 years.A win here will put Yorkshire 21 points clear and they must still play Nottinghamshire twice, at Headingley in August and at Trent Bridge – in the penultimate round – in September, which will be a fixture for the diary if the prize is still up for grabs.They should not squander their chance in this match, although Warwickshire are not out of it yet. Following on, they have an advantage of 21 runs but are only three wickets down. Shows of resilience have not characterised their batting on many occasions this season but they have found some here.Much of it has come from Rikki Clarke, whose unbeaten 46 batting at number seven in the first innings gained his side a rare second batting point, seeing them to 253, which was only 22 short of avoiding the follow-on.Given that he was dropped twice earlier in the day, he has done a better job still. Promoted to four, he has not offered a chance so far and he and Ateeq Javid, the England under-19 batsman, have put on 64 since Jim Troughton retired hurt at 129 for 3.Javid, who looked a questionable selection in the light of Warwickshire’s plight and his lack of experience, revealed some character himself, standing up well in particular to Tino Best, who appeared intent on intimidating the youngster verbally as well as physically but succeeded on neither count.On the other hand, Best left Troughton literally battered and bruised. The Warwickshire batsman took a blow on the helmet from a short ball from the West Indian that brought up a sizeable bump above his left eye. He will bat again, although the swelling must subside enough first to allow him to pull on his headgear again.Warwickshire had resumed their first innings at 221 for 7 in reply to Yorkshire’s 425. Steve Patterson, increasingly the steady and reliable member of Yorkshire’s seam attack, took their last three wickets, although Adil Rashid should have had a couple of them. Having failed to hold a sharp, low return catch offered by Neil Carter on 13, the leg spinner saw the same batsman missed at short leg two balls later.Then Clarke, when he had reached 36, hit him straight to mid-wicket, where Jonathan Bairstow’s usually reliable hands let him down.Patterson cashed in. He had Neil Carter caught by Best at mid-off and Imran Tahir one-handed, by Richard Pyrah at backward point, a spectacular effort by a fine fielder. A full delivery into the pads of Boyd Rankin finished the innings, giving him figures of 4 for 57.Rashid, who ended the first innings with 4 for 71, has taken all three so far in the second innings, lifting his tally for the season in first-class matches to 40, six behind Warwickshire’s leg spinner, Tahir.Darren Maddy played all around a googly, then Ant Botha was caught behind by a diving Gerard Brophy. Ian Westwood, the Warwickshire captain, who had put on 56 with Botha for the second wicket in a stand that set the tone for what was required from his struggling team, was dismayed to be given out leg before in Rashid’s next over. The impression from the boundary was that the ball was missing leg stump but umpire Jeremy Lloyds, in a better place to judge, saw it differently.Troughton, who gave a half-chance to short leg off Rashid on 10, had treatment on the field for several minutes after taking a swing and a miss at a ball that reared up. Best offered apologies but soothing words were not enough to stop the swelling.Warwickshire might have lost heart. Instead, Javid and Clarke, who loosened his arms with a six off Rashid and another off Azeem Rafiq, the off-spinner, stood firm and no more wickets were lost between tea and a rain shower that ended proceedings with 10 overs lost.

Aston Villa look set to pip the likes of Chelsea and Everton by winning the race for Dundee United defender Kerr Smith.

That’s according to The Daily Record’s Scott Burns, with a number of Villa fans reacting to the news on social media.

Villa have lost a centre-back this month with Axel Tuanzebe cutting his season-long loan short in order to join Napoli but appear to be closing in on Everton left-back Lucas Digne.

That leaves Steven Gerrard with Kortney Hause, Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings as senior options, but it appears as if they will bolster their academy ranks with the acquisition of Smith.

Burns has revealed that Johan Lange has struck an agreement with Dundee United for the 17-year-old centre-back in a deal that could rise to £2m.

Smith is now set to travel to the Midlands to undergo a medical and finalise a ‘dream move’, with Villa pipping the likes of Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Everton and Southampton.

The youngster will initially integrate with Villa’s Under-23 side, despite making 12 senior appearances for Dundee United.

Villa fans react

@villareport shared the update regarding Smith on Twitter. This is what these fans had to say in reply, with one labelling the defender as a ‘beast’.

“£2m? Scottish club? Tasty”

Credit: @Jannetts_

“He’s a beast on football manager, so I’m more than ok with this”

Credit: @DaleAC93

“BOOM! Love this.”

Credit: @PhilHRoberts

“Him, Digne and a DM and I’m absolutely buzzing, 10/10”

Credit: @TomC2312_AVFC

“Good deal, very good deal”

Credit: @_VillaJack

“my football manager CB hero coming home, there’s a tear in my eye”

Credit: @tiwari0216

In other news: ‘This is a shock’ – Many Villa fans ‘buzzing’ as club confirm ‘big’ news. 

Inserted beneath cloudy skies, Glamorgan suffered a spectacular collapse to 104 for 7 and were indebted to Mark Wallace and Robert Croft, who raised 105 for the eighth wicket to save their side from further embarrassment

30-Jul-2010
Scorecard
England and Wales Cricket Board pitch inspector David Hughes will take no action despite 15 wickets falling on the opening day of the County Championship tussle between Second Division promotion hopefuls Gloucestershire and Glamorgan at Cheltenham. Inserted beneath cloudy skies, Glamorgan suffered a spectacular collapse to 104 for 7 and were indebted to Mark Wallace and Robert Croft, who raised 105 for the eighth wicket to save their side from further embarrassment.Gloucestershire’s much-vaunted seam attack reasserted their authority to dismiss their Welsh neighbours for 216, a total considered to be around 50 below par on a green-tinged pitch. But when they came to bat, the home side fared little better, reaching the close on 145 for 5 to leave the contest evenly balanced. Overseas star James Franklin is unbeaten on 22 and much will depend on him when Gloucestershire resume their first innings 71 behind.Alex Gidman’s decision to insert Glamorgan on a green-tinged College Ground pitch was fully justified as Gloucestershire bowled the Welsh side out inside 53 overs. Convinced that the Tiflex ball would swing beneath low cloud cover, Gloucestershire’s captain saw his seam bowlers rip through the Welsh top order during the morning session.Openers Gareth Rees and Mark Cosgrove added 35 in eight overs, only for New Zealand Test allrounder Franklin to make in-roads, claiming two victims in as many overs from the College Lawn end. Rees aimed a loose drive at a ball which pitched outside off stump and was heldby Gidman at first slip, while Tom Maynard was pinned lbw, hit on the back pad by an in-swinging delivery.Typically forthright in his approach, Australian Cosgrove advanced to 41 with no apparent problems before surrendering his wicket cheaply, driving Gemaal Hussain straight to Jon Lewis at mid-off. His demise sparked a spectacular collapse, four batsmen succumbing inside ninecalamitous overs as the visitors lurched from 74 for 2 to 89 for 6 in the face of a swinging ball.Experienced campaigner Lewis got in on the act, trapping Ben Wright on the front foot for 17, while England A paceman Steve Kirby took two wickets in as many overs shortly before lunch to further undermine Welsh ambition.Jim Allenby played on, having scored just three, skipper Jamie Dalrymple walked in front of a delivery which came back into him and, when James Harris edged Hussain to slip in the first over after lunch, the visitors were 104 for 7 and deep in trouble.That was the cue for Wallace and Croft to launch a spirited recovery, the eighth wicket pair adding 105 in 19 overs to save face. Wallace, in particular, carried the fight to Gloucestershire’s bowlers, twice hoisting Kirby over square leg for six on his way to an enterprising 72 from 83 balls. He struck eight fours and four maximums in all before edging a delivery of full length fromHussain to second slip, having successfully doubled his team’s score.Croft made 44 from 63 balls and departed soon afterwards, held at first slip to give the impressive Hussain figures of 4 for 57. Jon Batty and Will Porterfield lent the reply solid foundations in an opening stand of 55 in 14 overs, but both departed in quick succession, the former trapped lbw by Allenby and the other caught at the wicket off Harris.Allenby then accounted for Gidman, pinned on the front foot and Gloucestershire’s earlier authority was in doubt when Hamish Marshall, having scored 34, pulled a Dean Cosker long-hop to deep midwicket and Chris Taylor lost his off stump to a Huw Waters leg cutter.