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West Indies women extended their winning run in the lead up to the World Twenty20 tournament, putting it past Pakistan by four wickets in a close scrap in St. Kitts on Monday

Cricinfo staff27-Apr-2010
Scorecard
West Indies women extended their winning run in the lead up to the World Twenty20 tournament, putting it past Pakistan by four wickets in a close scrap in St. Kitts on Monday.The hosts struggled to chase down Pakistan’s under-par score of 84, but middle-order batsmen Deandra Dottin and Stacy-Ann King struck calm 20s to ensure that that they prevailed with two balls to spare. Their contributions came after left-arm spinner Sadia Yousuf wrecked the start of the chase with a fine spell of 3 for 10 in four overs, to leave West Indies stuttering at 35 for 3.Dottin and King then combined to add 29 runs, before the floodgates opened once again. Qanita Jalil struck twice with the score on 77, but it was too little too late for the visitors.The 19-year-old Dottin struck four fours and a six in her 28 off 23 balls while King hit two sixes in her unbeaten 25 off 19 balls.The win was set up by a stifling spell from left-arm medium-pacer Shanel Daley, who returned exemplary figures of 4-0-6-4. Cordel Jack and Tremayne Smartt chipped in with two wickets each to keep Pakistan under constant pressure, as only three batsmen went past single figures.

Former Indian cricketers have lashed out at the team, blaming their inability to handle short-pitched bowling and the and the lack of preparation for their disappointing performance in the World Twenty20

Cricinfo staff12-May-2010
According to Ravi Shastri, MS Dhoni was not at his tactical best in the World Twenty20•AFP”The IPL is a domestic tournament and the standard is much lower than a world event where you are up against quality batsmen and bowlers. You don’t expect to go to World Cup semi-finals if you play the way the team has played in the Caribbean. Yuvraj has to look at his game. If he doesn’t perform for long periods, the selectors will not play him just on the basis of his reputation. Some of the players have got a lot of opportunities, but have not delivered. They have been around for quite a while and the entire country wants performances from them.”
“India’s lack of adaptability has been a disappointment. What is baffling is that even though most batsmen showed a distinct sense of discomfort against the short ball during the World Twenty20 in England last year, they were picked again for an event on even bouncier pitches in the Caribbean. All other teams remember what happened last year and the tactics employed by them against the Indians prove this.”
“It’s hard to put a finger on the exact reason [for the defeat] but of all the tournaments MS Dhoni has led India in, this is the most disappointing. At times you can be stubborn and stick to your ideas but he might want to be a little more flexible in future. Only 73 runs were scored in the last 10 overs despite having nine wickets in hand. There is no explanation for that. Tactically Yusuf Pathan should have come up in the batting order. Selectors will have to look for Twenty20 players who can play in all kind of conditions.”
“Obviously if you stay up the whole night, it would affect you. Players should be responsible enough. The game is more important than the parties. Excuses like these cannot be given after you lose. For a player, cricket should come first and everything else is secondary.”
“I don’t think that [attending IPL parties] is a reason. Who was forcing them to attend these parties? They could have said no. I don’t think they should say all this. These are silly excuses. Fact is they had gone there to win the World Cup and they just weren’t good enough.”

Leeds United youngster Cody Drameh is closing in on a January loan move to Nottingham Forest, according to a fresh rumour which has emerged.

The Lowdown: Drameh impresses in youth team

The 20-year-old has been a regular figure in the Whites’ under-23s team in recent times, making 33 appearances for them to date. Drameh also made his senior Leeds debut back in September, playing against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup and making four appearances in total for Marcelo Bielsa’s side.

A move away makes sense for the youngster, though, in order to gain more first team experience, and a temporary Elland Road exit appears to be on the cards.

[freshpress-quiz id=“383507″]

The Latest: Nottingham Forest move beckons

According to Football Insider, a Thorp Arch source has claimed that Drameh will join Championship side Forest on a loan deal until the end of the season.

Negotiations are believed to have ‘intensified in the last 24 hours’, as a move looks set to be completed imminently.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-29/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Ideal experience for Drameh

Despite Leeds’ injury problems this season, it still makes sense for Drameh to be handed a loan move, as he looks to earn regular playing time at senior level.

The right-back has been described as ‘fantastic’ by pundit Ben Parker and he could grow further as a player, gaining invaluable experience in a challenging league.

With Luke Ayling now 30 years of age, Drameh should believe he can be the long-term replacement for the Elland Road favourite – the hope is that he returns to Yorkshire an even more rounded young footballer in the summer.

In other news, two Leeds players have been backed to start against Burnley. Find out who they are here.

Wolves haven’t ruled out the idea of allowing Bruno Jordao to leave on loan this month but would rather keep hold of him, according to journalist Tim Spiers.

The Lowdown: Jordao’s lack of action

The 23-year-old joined Wanderers back in 2019 but he is yet to become a key figure in the Black Country, spending last season on loan at Famalicao in his homeland of Portugal and accruing only four senior appearances for his current club.

Jordao has been plagued by injury for the last year and he is still yet to feature for a single minute of Wolves’ 2021/22 campaign at first team level.

It remains to be seen whether the midfielder moves on during the January transfer window, but an update has been provided on the situation.

The Latest: Spiers provides Jordao update

Taking to Twitter on Friday, Spiers admitted that Jordao’s future is up in the air but made it clear that Bruno Lage is a keen admirer of the 23-year-old.

The journalist claimed: “He’s talked Jordao up a lot recently. Hasn’t ruled out a loan for him but says at the moment he’d prefer him to stay.”

The Verdict: Loan move beneficial

Assuming that Jordao proves his fitness, it could make sense to allow him to depart on loan for the remainder of the season in order to get his rhythm back.

Realistically, it is hard to see the Portuguese getting too many minutes for Wanderers currently, considering that the likes of Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho are such key figures in the middle of the park, although Spiers has hinted that the 23-year-old could get a runout in today’s FA Cup clash against Sheffield United.

A few months out on loan could do wonders, with Jordao then returning to Molineux in the summer ready to push for a more regular starting berth.

In other news, some Wolves fans have reacted to a key fitness update. Read more here.

The Plays of the Day from the third day at Old Trafford

Andrew McGlashan at Old Trafford06-Jun-2010Decision of the dayIt was by no means a given that Andrew Strauss would enforce the follow-on when England ended Bangladesh’s first innings on the second evening. However, the damp Manchester morning that greeted the team on Sunday did Strauss a massive favour. If he was pondering extending the lead and letting the pitch wear, overcast skies meant it was a no-brainer to stick Bangladesh back in – 34.1 overs later the match was over and England had earned themselves two days off.Failure of the dayThe stuffing was knocked out of Bangladesh’s effort with just the second ball when their swashbuckling hero, Tamim Iqbal, fended at a rising delivery from James Anderson and feathered an edge to Matt Prior. The visitors have ridden on Tamim’s outstanding form during this tour, a continuation of what he showed in Bangladesh earlier this year, but he was due a failure after six fifties in seven innings. His success has clearly rattled England and Anderson’s pumped-up celebration when he claimed the scalp showed how vital they knew the wicket was. And that is the biggest compliment Tamim can be paid.Action replay of the dayWith Tamim gone early England sensed blood with Anderson hooping the ball away from the Stretford End and Steven Finn steaming in from the Brian Statham End. Finn was gaining considerable bounce off a length and had Imrul Kayes in an almighty tangle with a bouncer that the left-hander fended off his gloves. His demise didn’t feel far away and he soon top-edged his second hook of the match to find the man at deep square-leg, giving an identical entry in the scorebook to yesterday: c Shahzad b Finn. Meanwhile, England will feel their plans have worked with Kayes falling to the short ball – and Finn – in all four innings.Pain of the dayMushfiqur Rahim is a gutsy cricketer and a mighty fine batsman who, in the long term, may be better suited to shelving the keeping gloves and being in the top five. When he walked to the crease his team was in tatters at 37 for 5 but he still tried to battle it out in stronger fashion than some of his top-order team-mates. During a testing spell from Ajmal Shahzad, Rahim took a nasty blow on the bottom hand as some extra bounce caught his glove and left him in considerable discomfort.After some treatment from the physio he fought on, but grimaced more than once and the pain probably played a part in his limp chip to midwicket. Finn claimed the wicket, but Shahzad’s role was key.Sub of the dayWhen England play Test matches at home they rely on the local county to supply the substitute fielders so that squad players can return to their domestic teams. It means the opportunity for someone to grab a moment in the spotlight. Occasionally they play a vital role in victory, as when Paul Weekes took two sharp chances at short leg against West Indies, at Lord’s, in 1995. This time, the catch struck the way of Karl Brown, the Lancashire batsman, at midwicket was a simple affair but it will have given him great joy to cling on and savour helping England take a wicket.

West Ham United goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski looks set to sign a new contract at the London Stadium.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Sun, who claim that the 34-year-old goalkeeper is set to be rewarded for his fine form over the past four seasons with a new one-year deal in East London, which will see the shot-stopper remain with West Ham until the summer of 2023.

The report goes on to mention the fact that the former Poland international’s current contract is set to expire at the end of the current campaign, however, an agreement between David Moyes’ side and the player regarding an extension is expected to be reached in the coming days.

Moyes will be delighted

Considering just how important a part of the West Ham side Fabianski has become since his £7m move from Swansea City back in 2018, the news that the goalkeeper looks set to remain a fixture of Moyes’ first-team squad beyond the end of the current campaign is sure to have left the 58-year-old manager delighted.

Indeed, the £900k-rated man has continually been a rock between the West Ham sticks over his three and a half years in East London, earning seasonal SofaScore ratings of 6.94, 6.76 and 6.84 in 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 respectively, as well as averaging a SofaScore match rating of 6.90 over his 21 Premier League appearances in the current campaign.

The £65k-per-week ‘keeper has also kept 31 clean sheets over his 123 appearances in all competitions for the Hammers, a rather impressive feat considering the club’s turbulent period prior to Moyes’ return to the London Stadium in December of 2020.

As such, the news that the shot-stopper is set to put pen to paper on a new deal with the Irons is undoubtedly positive for everyone involved with the club, as, despite his advancing years, Fabianski has demonstrated this season that he still has much to offer at the very top level of the English game.

In other news: Big twist emerges on £42k-p/w ace after ExWHUemployee claim, WHU fans will be fuming

Makhaya Ntini feels he is uncertain of his standing in South Africa’s plans, having not heard from the selectors since he was dropped from the national side for the last two Tests of the England series over the winter

Cricinfo staff01-Jun-2010Makhaya Ntini feels he is uncertain of his standing in South Africa’s plans, having not heard from the selectors since he was dropped from the national side for the last two Tests of the England series in January.After being dropped he bounced back immediately, helping the Warriors win the MTN40 and the Standard Bank Pro20 and recently starring for Kent in the first division of the County Championship with 24 wickets in five games at 19.75.Ntini was hoping that a good outing in county cricket could prod the South Africa selectors into rethinking their decision but he told the Kent website that he is unclear of his position.”My main reason for coming was to show that I am still capable of doing a good job and was not going downhill,” he said.”I’m slightly disappointed because I’ve never been told by Cricket South Africa that they don’t need me – yet they didn’t come to watch me with Kent. I would like them to tell me what I should be working on and to help me get back in.”Ntini, 32, is a giant of South African cricket, having taken 390 Test wickets in 101 games, but there was a feeling that his best days were behind him after he was unable to finish the England tail off in the drawn first Test at Centurion in December and he performed badly the game after, which South Africa lost by an innings and 98 runs. Over the last two years Ntini has played 14 Tests and taken just 46 wickets at 36.02, which compares unfavourably with his overall average of 28.82.Yet Ntini insists the decision was harsh, saying “it is unfair to drop someone for failing in one Test match.” It was thought, at the time he was left out, that he would retire and join Middlesex but he instead vowed to earn back a place in the national side. He did not feature, however, in South Africa’s following series, against India, and was not included in their squad to tour West Indies.Instead South Africa opted for three inexperienced pacemen – Ryan McLaren, Wayne Parnell and Lonwabo Tsotsobe – to back up the two new-ball bowlers Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel in the Test squad.

Adam Montgomery will be the latest Celtic player sent out on loan this month, The Daily Record’s Scott Burns reports. 

The lowdown

Celtic have already granted temporary moves for two of their youngsters in January, with Ewan Henderson and Liam Shaw heading for Hibernian and Motherwell respectively.

As Burns notes in his report, Osaze Urhoghide is likely to follow suit as he holds talks with Dundee FC.

Montgomery has made 18 appearances for The Hoops in all competitions, eight of which have come in European competition.

The latest

Ange Postecoglou has ‘high hopes’ for Montgomery but he feels it would now be in his best interests to head elsewhere for ‘a regular run of first-team games’, reports Burns.

It’s seen as the next step for the Scotsman, who will then return to Lennoxtown in the summer in search of a greater squad role.

The verdict

The beauty of Celtic’s nine-point cushion to the teams third and below is that they can send their young players to some of the stronger Scottish Premiership clubs without fearing repercussions. Motherwell and Hibs, for instance, rank fourth and fifth in the table.

£405,000-rated Montgomery certainly looked to be an important squad player in the first half of the campaign, but the signing of Reo Hatate gives Postecoglou another option at left back.

Long-term, the hope may be that the 19-year-old can be the next Kieran Tierney, living up to Mark Guidi’s billing.

Tierney’s £24.3million sale was the most lucrative in Celtic’s history, and so that would be some going.

In other news, Celtic have made another approach for an Asian-based target.

James Franklin fell one run short of becoming the first Gloucestershire player this season to hit a County Championship century

29-Jun-2010
ScorecardJames Franklin fell one run short of becoming the first Gloucestershire player this season to hit a County Championship century as his side took control of the game against Middlesex at Bristol. The New Zealand allrounder was caught off a top-edged pull shot for 99, his third score in the 90s this summer. But it set up a first-innings total of 404 for 8 and a lead of 168 going into the third day. Hamish Marshall contributed 68, Alex Gidman 61 and Chris Dent 53.It was a tough day in the field for Middlesex, who were without Owais Shah for much of it because of a back problem. Pedro Collins also suffered a back injury when diving for a ball, but was able to take the second new ball after treatment. Gloucestershire began on 81 for 2 and progressed sedately as overnight batsmen Marshall and Dent consolidated with half-centuries. Marshall was first to his fifty off 75 balls, with seven fours and a six.England Under-19 player Dent has played some valuable innings in his first season of championship cricket and the left-hander again showed good temperament in facing 112 deliveries for his half-century, which featured six fours and a six. The partnership of 126 was broken when Dent fended a chest-high ball from Toby Roland-Jones to Scott Newman at short square-leg.That brought in skipper Gidman, who helped take the total to 193 for 3 at lunch. Marshall then fell to the second ball of the afternoon session, bowled pushing forward to Neil Dexter without addition to the score. When Chris Taylor was also bowled, shouldering arms in Dexter’s next over it was 199 for 5 and Gloucestershire were still 37 behind.But Gidman was well set and reached his fifty off 86 balls, with eight fours as he and Franklin produced a partnership of 76 to put their side 39 runs ahead. It ended when the captain played across a topspinner from Dawid Malan and departed lbw. Middlesex immediately took the second new ball, but neither Collins nor Tim Murtagh could force another breakthrough.At tea it was 319 for 6, with Franklin on 45. Jon Lewis made a valuable 30 and by the time he was run out by bowler Tom Smith attempting a suicidal single Gloucestershire’s lead was 88.Franklin hit five fours in a composed 87-ball fifty and then added two sixes. He looked sure to reach three figures when miscuing a short ball from Dexter and watching in horror as Smith claimed a good catch at deep square. Gloucestershire still went on to maximum batting points and look well placed to boost their promotion challenge.

Mohammad Yousuf has arrived in Birmingham but not in time to take part in Pakistan’s training session at Edgbaston this afternoon and he remains a doubtful starter for the second Test against England

Nagraj Gollapudi and Andrew Miller04-Aug-2010Mohammad Yousuf has ruled himself out of contention for the second Test against England at Edgbaston, after arriving in the country less than 24 hours before the start of the match on Friday. Yousuf missed Pakistan’s final practice on Thursday afternoon as he rested up in the team hotel following a flight from Lahore, and always looked like a doubtful starter despite Pakistan’s desperation to get back into the series following their 354-run hammering at Trent Bridge.”I have just arrived after a long flight. I will not be training. I will wait for the management to tell me what their plan is,” Yousuf had told Cricinfo immediately after arriving in Birmingham.Later in the evening he had a short and informal meeting over a cup of tea with the tour selection committee comprising Salman Butt (captain), Waqar Younis (coach) and Yawar Saeed (team manager) at the team hotel. “Considering the heavy monsoon across Pakistan Yousuf told us that he could not practice outdoors for the last 10-15 days,” Butt told Cricinfo. “So obviously we felt that was not enough match preparation.”Butt added that Yousuf can now set his sights on the third Test at The Oval beginning on August 18. “He can relax for now and steadily get back into the groove in the next week and also during the two-day practice game against Worcester,” Butt said. Asked if he was a certainty for the final two Tests, Butt said a player with Yousuf’s pedigree would walk into any team if he was fit.After the heavy defeat in Nottingham, Butt came out in support of his young batsmen – Azhar Ali and Umar Amin – only to be told moments later that Yousuf had agreed to come out of retirement following an SOS call to join the squad. During his press conference prior to the meeting, Butt said he was comfortable having Yousuf back, but had needed to be convinced of his mental state as much as his form before the Test started.”I am sure he would’ve picked up the bat at some point because even he knows he is coming to play a Test match,” Butt said. “He has to tell me what kind of physical state he is in because it has been a quite a lot of travel for him.””I would love to have the guy with the most runs in Pakistan and the most hundreds by any Pakistani batsmen,” he added. “I would definitely like to use his experience. But it will depend on what kind of state he is in because I don’t want to be unfair to anyone. It is a professional outfit, you’ve got to get people going when they say they are 100 percent ready for it.”Butt admitted it was a far from ideal situation for the team to have to complete their final training with such a key position still up in the air, especially at a time when they are trying to level the series.”Everybody knows that this is the type of show that has been coming out of Pakistan previously as well as recently,” he said. “This is something that can change. It should be more pre-planned and people should know beforehand who is going to come, who is going to play, but players really don’t have a choice. [But] it happens with other teams as well. Yes, it happens to Pakistan more often.”Though Yousuf brings with him a wealth of experience and class there remains the danger of rekindling the destructive atmosphere that developed during the tour of Australia where Yousuf was captain and Pakistan lost every match. Butt, though, wants to start afresh rather than think about the past.”If he can do us something good that will be good for the team,” he said. “And there is also a chance for the youngsters to go to him, speak to him and get something from his experience and benefit from that. I hope that his presence has a good effect on the rest of the guys especially the young batsmen.”