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Michael Powell, the former Glamorgan batsman, is set to extend his county career after signing a two-year contract with Kent

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Nov-2011

Michael Powell, the former Glamorgan batsman, is set to extend his county career after signing a two-year contract with Kent. Powell, 34, was released at the end of the 2011 season after 14 years with his former county.Having become only the third player to make a double-century on debut against Oxford University in 1997, Powell became the seventh highest run-scorer for Glamorgan with 12,377 first-class runs. He has also scored 4,640 one-day runs and represented England A five times.”I am looking forward to making the move to Kent and I’m extremely pleased to have signed with the club,” said Powell. “I hope to make a positive impact next season and look forward to the challenges ahead at Kent.”Powell will be looking to resurrect a career that has stalled since a serious illness in 2007 when complications during rib surgery became life-threatening. He was Glamorgan’s leading run-scorer in 2002 in a side containing Steve James and Matthew Maynard and was called up for England’s Natwest Series squad in 2004.But following illness, Powell struggled to regain form and his days at Glamorgan looked numbered when he lost his place in the County Championship team to Tom Maynard after six matches in 2010. Maynard’s departure to Surrey gave Powell another opportunity but in 12 games in 2011 he scored just 675 runs at 32.Kent’s chairman of cricket, Graham Johnson, said: “We are delighted that Michael will be coming to Kent. He has had a very successful career with Glamorgan and still has much to offer county cricket.”

The BCCI has said it will remain in close contact with the IPL franchises to ensure players remain fit for national duty

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Sep-2011In the light of the injury crisis India found themselves in on the tour of England, the BCCI has said it will remain in close contact with the IPL franchises to ensure players remain fit for national duty.”During our meeting with franchises we will emphasise that they pay most attention to these problems and give instruction to the team physios on injury management to avoid injuries,” the new IPL commissioner Rajiv Shukla told . “We will be paying full attention to these problems, we will keep in touch with physios, and various franchises so that any injury should be immediately addressed.”On a disastrous tour, where they were thrashed 4-0 in Tests and 3-0 in ODIs, India lost the services of Zaheer Khan on the first day of the first Test at Lord’s. After playing in the IPL, Virender Sehwag was ruled out of the first two Tests due to an injured shoulder while Gautam Gambhir, Praveen Kumar and Yuvraj Singh sustained injuries during the course of the series.Shukla defended the IPL, saying it shouldn’t be singled out for blame for injuries caused to players, but said the board will take steps to ensure there is “perfect” co-ordination with the franchises over the players’ fitness.”In my view, for injuries I don’t think only IPL should be blamed as every team is facing such problems and lot many players got injured during the England series also, so I don’t think IPL should be solely blamed for it,” he said. “But at the same time, the management of injury problems is also on our mind and some concrete steps will be taken to minimise injury problems. There will be perfect coordination between BCCI and various franchises.”

يرى أحمد حكم لاعب فريق الكرة الأول بنادي سموحة، أن زميله الهاني سليمان حارس مرمى ذو إمكانيات كبيرة، مشيرًا إلى أن سوء التوفيق شيء يتعرض له أي لاعب.

سموحة يحسم موقفه من التعاقد مع معين الشعباني لخلافة طارق العشري

وقال حكم في تصريحات تلفزيونية بفضائية “إم بي سي مصر”: “جميع اللاعبين يشعرون بالحزن بعد الخسارة أمام الأهلي لأننا تعادلنا معه منذ اسبوعين ونحن من أهدرنا فرصًا كثيرة، ولكننا قاردر على العودة بسهولة”.

وأضاف: “يوجد بعض الأزمات في الفريق ولكن هذه هي كرة القدم، لا أريد أن أتحدث في هذا الأمر، عندما يشعر اللاعب أن هناك أزمات، عندها يشعرون بالتشتت”.

وأتم: “كان هناك مفاوضات من ناديي الزمالك والمصري البورسعيدي في الموسم الماضي لضمي عن طريق وكيل أعمالي، وإذا أراد مسؤولي القلعة البيضاء التعاقد معي فلا أزمة في ذلك”.

تعثر برشلونة بهدف لمثله في المباراة التي جمعته بـ إسبانيول ضمن الجولة 16 من الدوري الإسباني للدرجة الأولى على ملعب كامب نو.

برشلونة تقدم مبكرًا في الدقيقة 7 من الشوط الأول عن طريق ماركوس ألونسو، قبل أن يهدر الهدف الثاني بعد دقائق قليلة.

شوط أول كانت السيطرة للبلوجرانا في ديربي كتالونيا، وأهدر نجوم برشلونة العديد من الفرص أمام مرمى الحارس ألفارو فرنانديز.

طالع أيضًا.. لجنة المنافسات ترفض طلب إسبانيول قبل مواجهة برشلونة

في الشوط الثاني، خرج جافي بسبب الإصابة ودخل بدلًا منه سيرجيو بوسكيتس، واصل برشلونة بعد ذلك محاولة تعزيز النتيجة لكن دفاع إسبانيول كان بالمرصاد.

وفي الدقيقة 73، حصل جوسيلو على ركلة جزاء بعد عرقلة ماركوس ألونسو، حولها لهدف التعادل بنفسه في مرمى الحارس تير شتيجن، وتحديدًا في نصف المرمى.

بعد الهدف، تلقى جوردي ألبا بطاقة حمراء بعد 4 دقائق من البطاقة الصفراء الأولى، ليغادر المباراة بأمر من الحكم ماتيو لاهوز.

لم يتوقف لاهوز عند هذا الحد، وطرد فينيسيوس سوزا بعد 6 دقائق من حصوله على البطاقة الأولى، وذلك بعد التدخل على روبرت ليفاندوفسكي.

حاول برشلونة الوصول لمرمى إسبانيول، وسط توزيع الكروت الصفراء من ماتيو لاهوز حيث وصلت إلى 5 كروت لـ برشلونة بجانب إنذار تشافي وكارت أحمر لـ جوردي ألبا.

وفي إسبانيول، أشهر لاهوز 5 بطاقات أيضًا، بجانب طرد سوزا.

9 دقائق احتسبها لاهوز وقت محتسب بدلًا من الضائع، ولكن تألق فرنانديز ودفاع إسبانيول، منع الفوز المعتاد للبلوجرانا بالديربي في الكامب نو، خلال الـ 14 عامًا الماضية.

ليُطلق لاهوز صافرة النهاية ويعلن التعادل الإيجابي، ليحصل برشلونة على نقطة ويتساوى مع ريال مدريد لكنه يتصدر بفارق الأهداف، بينما إسبانيول في المركز الـ16 برصيد 13 نقطة. أهداف مباراة برشلونة وإسبانيول

Pune have a raft of youngsters in the squad but will the lack of experience in the squad hurt them?

Tariq Engineer09-Apr-2011The Big PictureRobin Uthappa has the challenge of living up to the $2.1m invested in him by the franchise•AFPPune Warriors are the most expensive franchise in the league, costing the Sahara group a whopping $370 million, but they have been flying under the radar since the team auction last year. While fellow newcomers Kochi have been in the news for all the wrong reasons, including allegedly trying to move the team from Kochi to Ahmedabad, Pune have quietly gone about the business of building their fan base. Given that 40,000 people turned up just for the unveiling of the team’s name, their efforts appear to be paying off. Sadly for those same fans, the stadium in Pune is not ready, and so the team will play its home games in the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai, though the franchise is making arrangements to ferry their supporters to and from matches.On the field, Pune have the largest squad of any of the franchises, having signed 30 players, but it is also one of the youngest, and it will take a steady hand on the rudder from captain Yuvraj Singh to steer them through their debut season. Despite the team’s relative inexperience, there is an abundance of talent. Manish Pandey, Robin Uthappa, Graeme Smith, Jesse Ryder and Yuvraj make up a formidable batting line-up, while Ashish Nehra, Jerome Taylor, Wayne Parnell, Murali Kartik and Nathan McCullum provide variety and depth in the bowling department. The injury to Sri Lanka allrounder Angelo Mathews is a setback but with such a large squad, it is not a mortal wound. Pandey is also banned for the first four games.Key PlayersAfter suffering through the self-proclaimed worst year of his life, Yuvraj Singh had an absolute fairytale World Cup and was rightfully named the Man of the Tournament. In the process, he showed a strength of character and depth of desire that have not always been in evidence. If he can carry the same form and, more importantly, the same attitude into the IPL, Pune will be in good hands.Murali Kartik should probably have played more games for India. He had a stellar county season for Somerset in 2010, taking 45 wickets at an average of 19.60, and at 34 shows no signs of slowing down. As one of the senior players in the side, and its leading spinner, he will need to be the wise head among the tyros.Jesse Ryder has all the talent in the world but like his captain, the returns on that talent have not always matched the investment. He appears to have put his off-field troubles behind him though, and if can find the application (he scored 56 runs in five games for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2009), Ryder and Yuvraj batting together could give opposing bowlers plenty of nightmares.Big name inIn a squad that is thin on international experience, Graeme Smith stands out like a beacon on a hill. Smith had a difficult World Cup but the IPL could provide the perfect relief. Freed from the burdens of captaincy and the caprices of the South African batting line-up, Smith can go out and play his natural game at the top of the order, knowing he isn’t going to be asked about the C-word anytime soon. His long tenure as South Africa captain also makes him a useful resource for Yuvraj.Below the radarIn the absence of Angelo Mathews, 20-year-old Australia allrounder Mitchell Marsh could find himself pitched into the action. Marsh, the son of former Australia opener, and Pune coach, Geoff, is a powerful right-hand batsman and captained the Australia Under-19s to victory in the 2010 U-19 World Cup in New Zealand. He then announced himself at state level with a blistering 60 from 29 balls against New South Wales in an FR Cup match at the WACA.

Everton should still move to sign Portuguese midfielder Matheus Nunes this summer, despite suffering a setback amid interest from Manchester City and Newcastle United.

According to Portuguese newspaper Record (via Sport Witness) Everton are all but out of the race to sign the player as he wants an ‘ambitious’ project. However, if the Toffees are successful in their battle for survival they could convince Nunes that he should sign for them.

Reports state that Man City and Newcastle are the two clubs leading the race for the £50m talent, but they will also have their attention on other targets which could leave room for Everton to hijack any agreement.

With the construction of a brand new stadium, the club are also in a position to prove to the player that there is an exciting project on Merseyside.

Time to get rid of Allan

Midfield is an area that Everton do need to improve on in the summer. There are question marks over the future of Brazilian Allan, with his contract running out next year, and the club might decide now is the right time to cut their losses and get him off their wage bill.

He is currently the joint highest-paid player at Goodison Park with a weekly wage of £120k. Signing Nunes, who is 23-years old, would be a better investment for the future.

When you compare the two players this season, the Portuguese international has performed better in many areas. His passing accuracy percentage per game betters Allan’s at 86% compared to 80%.

That area of his game has been rather suspect of late with the former Napoli man completing a remarkably alarming tally of just three passes in his last two outings.

He has also created five big chances this season as opposed to the Everton star who hasn’t created any. Even when it comes to defensive stats Allan has made one error that has led to a goal this season compared to Nunes’ 0.

The 23-year old has been labelled “one of the best players in the world” by Man City manager Pep Guardiola as an “animal” by Paulo Futre, so it’s easy to see why so may are interested in signing him.

It’s highly unlikely that Everton will be able to outbid either Man City or Newcastle, but they can offer the midfielder something different. He would be an extremely key player in the team and would likely get more game time than at the other two clubs.

He would also get to work under Premier League legend Frank Lampard who would be a perfect mentor for how to adapt. If the Toffees have the money to make this move happen, they should give it everything they can.

IN other news: Lampard can unearth a new £50m talent in Everton’s “fantastic” 19 y/o who’s “class”…

عبر فينسنت أبو بكر لاعب منتخب الكاميرون، عن سعادته بالفوز على البرازيل، مشيرًا إلى أن أداء فريقه كان مثلجًا للصدر.

وسجل أبو بكر هدف فوز الكاميرون التاريخي على البرازيل في اللقاء الذي أقيم مساء اليوم الجمعة في كأس العالم قطر 2022.

وقال أبو بكر في تصريحات تلفزيونية عبر فضائية “بي إن سبورتس”: “لقد لعبنا مباراة جيدة جدًا ضد منتخب عريق اسمه البرازيل، ولكن أعتقد أن الأداء الذي لعبنا به كان مثلجًا للصدر”.

طالع أيضًا.. طريق الأرجنتين والبرازيل والبرتغال حتى نهائي كأس العالم قطر 2022

وتابع: “أعتقد أننا فشلنا في المباراة الأولى بدور المجموعات لأننا لم نكن مركزين، وعوقبنا بسبب هذا الأداء، ومرت الكثير من السنوات العجاف التي لم نجن فيها 3 نقاط بكأس العالم”.

ماذا عن تأهل المغرب؟: “أتمنى الحظ الأوفر لكل المنتخبات الإفريقية وخاصة المغرب التي تأهلت إلى دور الـ16”.

James Anderson showed no discomfort and said he felt “really good” after delivering 22 overs and picking up the wicket of Luke Pomersbach on the first day of England’s tour match

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Nov-2010James Anderson showed he was fully recovered from his fractured rib as he delivered 22 impressive overs on the opening day against Western Australia in Perth and claimed the wicket of Luke Pomersbach.It was his first full day of competitive cricket after suffering the injury during England’s pre-Ashes camp in Germany, but Anderson insisted it was no longer a worry. “To be honest, I haven’t really been thinking about the ribs for a while now, since I got back into training,” he said. “It’s just as though it never happened.”To break a bone in your body is a bit of a worry and I was a bit worried the first week after it happened – it was quite sore – but once I got training again and running again I didn’t feel it so I was pretty confident that I’d be fine.”While Stuart Broad led a dramatic start with two wickets in his first over, Anderson delivered a miserly opening spell, giving away just eight runs from his first nine overs before lunch. He finished with figures of 1 for 49, while Broad picked up 3 for 47. With Steven Finn, Paul Collingwood and Graeme Swann also chipping in with a wicket apiece before Western Australia declared at 8 for 242, Anderson lauded a patient performance from England’s attack.”It went pretty well, it was a pretty tough pitch to bowl on because there’s not a great deal there after the ball gets softer,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a patience game over here when the ball gets old. The first 10 or 15 overs are going to be crucial with that new ball. Reverse-swing might play a part somewhere down the line. On a lush outfield like this we’ve just got to be patient. I think we showed pretty good patience today.”I think, in general, we’re pretty happy. I think Swanny got better as the day went on, Broady bowled brilliantly up front, I was pretty happy with the way I bowled and Finny showed glimpses of some form. It was a great start and I think it showed the intent we’ve got on this tour.”The one worry for England was Finn’s inconsistency as he struggled to find the right length, but Anderson suggested that the young bowler would quickly learn. “I’m not sure how much he’s bowled in Australia before,” he said. “He might take a couple of spells, a couple of good spells, to get used to the length he’s got to bowl out here, which might be slightly different to the one he bowls in England. It might take him a couple of games, but we’re confident he’ll be fine. He showed enough form today to be right in the Test squad.”After Alastair Cook’s early dismissal to Steve Magoffin, Anderson was back on the field as nightwatchman and gave the England camp a minor scare when he was struck on the body while batting. But he dismissed any worries that his rib injury had been aggravated. “It was the wrong side, it hit me in the armpit,” he said.

Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been the subject of interest from Arsenal for ‘years’ and the Gunners will ‘push’ to sign him this summer. 

That’s according to Daily Star journalist Paul Brown, who was speaking to GiveMeSport.

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The lowdown

The Athletic revealed in January that Calvert-Lewin is one of Arsenal’s primary targets in the striker position.

The club’s coaching staff are apparently strong admirers and they see his personality ‘as a good fit for Arsenal’s current squad’.

The player himself would reportedly be open to moving to The Emirates as he looks to fulfil his career ambitions, which include featuring for England at the Qatar World Cup.

But Calvert-Lewin isn’t the only Everton attacker Arsenal are monitoring. Transfer insider Dean Jones has heard that they could make a move for Richarlison too.

The latest

Brown is confident that Calvert-Lewin will be a bigger priority than his team-mate given that Arsenal have tracked him for such a lengthy period.

“I know for a fact that Arsenal like and have liked Calvert-Lewin for quite a few years, even before he was scoring regularly in the Premier League,” he said.

“So, if I was to guess, I’m pretty sure they’ll make a bigger push for Calvert-Lewin than they will Richarlison in the summer.”

The verdict

How much could Everton get for the £72,000-per-week forward?

Well, the figure mooted by The Athletic in January was £60million, which would be the second largest sale in Everton’s history (behind Romelu Lukaku’s £76.2million switch to Manchester United in 2017).

Could The Toffees still command that in the summer off the back of a lean season for Calvert-Lewin, who’s scored one non-penalty goal in 13 appearances? Perhaps, given that the 25-year-old is still under contract for another three years and has shown he’s capable of far better.

Indeed, he hit a combined 29 goals across the 2019/20 and 2020/21 Premier League seasons.

Everton supporters had ‘got it in for’ the striker against Manchester United last time out after he lost a couple of aerial battles in the first half, but some may still be sad to go in light of his previous goalscoring feats.

Indeed, in the words of former Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti, he’s a striker with ‘outstanding’ gifts, while the Royal Blue podcast have labelled him a ‘monster’.

In other news, Kevin Phillips has been disappointed by one Everton star in particular.

Celtic have come back fighting this season after a campaign in 2020/21 that was plagued with issues at Parkhead.

The Hoops relinquished their control of Scottish football to their arch enemy but Ange Postecoglou has arrived at Celtic Park and reinvigorated a club that looked rather lost.

He has brought in a number of new signings, completely revamping the playing squad and changing the way they play.

The quadrant of Jota, Kyogo, Liel Abada and Giorgos Giakoumakis have contributed to 79 goals between them while Cameron Carter-Vickers, Josip Juranovic and Carl Starfelt have all made themselves at home in the heart of the defence.

Matt O’Riley, Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate also made an instant impact after arriving in January, all scoring already in the famous green and white.

However, there are a couple of purchases that have to be questioned. Yosuke Ideguchi has spent plenty of time on the treatment table since penning terms over the winter but the biggest concern has to be James McCarthy.

Indeed, RTÉ analyst Eamon Dunphy dubbed him a “terrible flop” earlier this season and it’s rather hard to argue with that assessment.

The Irishman arrived on big wages, £14k-per-week in fact, and he’s not done a lot to justify that salary. Hailing from Ireland, he appears to be cut from the same cloth as his international colleague, Shane Duffy.

He arrived from Brighton on a season-long loan deal last term and picked up a sizeable wage. However, like McCarthy, he had a torrid time in Glasgow despite previously thriving in the Premier League.

It’s difficult to grasp why the duo have both struggled so much, but one theory puts it down to the intensity of Postecoglou’s training sessions.

The Athletic reported last year that the former Crystal Palace midfielder had been finding life difficult in training as the pace of the manager’s sessions and the demands he placed on his players were simply too much for him to cope with.

As a result, it’s hardly a surprise that McCarthy has barely featured this campaign. The central midfielder has played 20 times in total, of which only eight appearances have come in the Premiership.

Consequently, there have been hints for him to be axed from the squad this summer. Alan Hutton told Football Insider: “You look at the ground Hatate covers, even McGregor. They’re workhorses. They get up and down the pitch, they make things happen and that question mark is over James McCarthy.

“Is he capable of doing that for 90 minutes? At the moment, I’m not so sure.”

He has only been at Celtic for just under a year but when you consider the sheer number of options Postecoglou boasts in his engine room, it’s tough to see McCarthy ever making it at Celtic.

It might just be time to cut ties with the Irishman.

AND in other news, Sources: Deal now agreed for potential “£20m-plus” talent, it’s bad news for Celtic…