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Confusion surrounds the announcement that Zimbabwe will not be able to host Kenya for three ODIs in December

Steven Price05-Dec-2008Confusion surrounds the announcement that Zimbabwe will not be able to host Kenya for three ODIs in December, despite bullish comments from Zimbabwe cricket officials last week that the series looked likely.The official reason given was that Zimbabwe have no time between now and January 4, when they head to Bangladesh. However, they have no cricket scheduled for the next month and have only managed to play a derisory 12 ODI matches in the whole of 2008.Cricinfo has now learned that ZC was never considering hosting the series despite comments to the contrary from its media manager at the weekend that a memorandum of understanding was being drafted.Despite attempts by Cricket Kenya to arrange the trip, at the weekend they were presented out of the blue with an offer for Zimbabwe to visit, giving them less than a fortnight to arrange a mass of things such as venues, officials and television coverage.Logistically, that was never a realistic option, and a CK official told Cricinfo the board would have loved to host the series had it been given adequate notice. As it was, December is a busy time for Kenyan tourism and many hotels are already fully booked, and players and officials have made alternative arrangements.That Kenya were not invited to Zimbabwe helped their board out of a potentially difficult decision. With water supplies cut off in Harare as well as the city being in the middle of a cholera outbreak and a state of emergency being declared, it would have been a tough call for CK.”What is shows, yet again, is that the story peddled by the [Zimbabwe] board and the reality of what goes on behind the scenes are two quite different things,” a local reporter told Cricinfo. “The deal put to the Kenyans was done so the board could say it had tried, but it knew the proposal left the Kenyans with no alternative but to decline it.”

Crystal Palace are keen on signing Liverpool forward Divock Origi before the transfer window closes, according to reports.

What’s the story?

The Telegraph’s Mike McGrath claims that the Eagles are one of three Premier League teams eager to secure the 26-year-old’s signature this summer, with Wolves and West Ham United also credited with an interest.

Previous reports have stated the Reds are set to demand between £15m and £20m for Origi and are open to letting the Belgium international depart Anfield after he struggled to make an impact last season.

Crystal Palace fans will be buzzing

Origi arrived at Anfield back in 2015 from Ligue 1 outfit Lille but has failed to establish himself in the Merseyside outfit’s starting XI during his six-year stay on English shores.

A relatively successful loan spell at Wolfsburg throughout 2017/18 saw the pacey hitman bag seven goals and provide three assists during his 12-month stay, showing enough potential for Klopp to reintroduce him into his first team plans.

And Origi wrote his name into Liverpool folklore upon his return to Anfield. A brace in their sensational 4-0 victory over Barcelona in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals earned him hero status, despite his limited time on the pitch.

He then wrapped up the club’s sixth European title with another goal in the final against Tottenham Hotspur, ensuring he’ll remain a fans favourite for many years to come.

However, Origi has struggled to replicate those heroics ever since. Over the last couple of campaigns, the former Lille ace has started just nine Premier League games, bagging only four goals during that time period.

It’s hard to argue that his performances have warranted extra game time, with the 6ft forward recording a miserly WhoScored rating of just 6.19 last season.

Nevertheless, his potential arrival at Selhurst Park will surely have a large section of the Palace supporters buzzing.

Although Origi may not have the quality to succeed at Liverpool, he’s still proven himself to be a reliable source of goals – especially in the biggest of games – throughout his career, a quality that the capital club are desperately short of.

The south London outfit only had one shot on target in their opening day encounter against Chelsea over the weekend, an issue Origi’s arrival would surely help to address.

And, in other news…Lost 15 duels: Shocking Crystal Palace lightweight badly let Vieira down vs Chelsea 

A round-up of the third day’s play of the seventh-round matches of the Ranji Trophy Super League 2008-09

Cricinfo staff20-Dec-2008
Scorecard
Aakash Chopra scored a double-century, but the Delhi captain would be disappointed that his team have not made it to the quarter-finals © AFP
Delhi dominated proceedings at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, but the defending champions will perhaps regret losing four wickets after going past the 400-mark with one batsman out. Even if Delhi win this game by an innings or ten wickets – gaining six points to catch up with Saurashtra and equalling them on three wins – they do not stand a chance to match them on the quotient – the runs per wicket scored by a team divided by the runs per wicket conceded.Resuming on 117 for 0, Delhi’s openers were only separated after they had piled on 280. Shikhar Dhawan fell for 118, but Virat Kohli continued the run-fest along with Aakash Chopra, who went on to score a double-century. The two took the score past 400, but Kohli failed to go on to a hundred. His dismissal triggered a collapse – given the run-scoring before it – with four wickets falling in the space of 49 runs. Rajat Bhatia and Yogesh Nagar took Delhi past 500 before stumps.Chopra, despite the double ton, was disappointed with missing out on a quarter-final berth. “We are disappointed as we could not make the quarterfinals. Matches against Mumbai, Gujarat and Hyderabad hurt us,” he told the .Vijay Dahiya, the Delhi coach, however, backed his players and wanted them to maintain the focus for this match. “It’s difficult to remain motivated after knowing that we are not reaching the quarters,” he said. “Still we would try for a win.”Saurashtra 133 (Jogiyani 38, Ashwin Yadav 3-19, Shanker 3-28) and 183 (Pathak 33, RA Jadeja 31, Shinde 4-13, Teja 3-33) beat Hyderabad 140 (Teja 35, Quadri 32, BN Jadeja 6-29, RA Jadeja 3-57 and 71 (RA Jadeja 7-31, Dhurv 3-20) by 105 runs
ScorecardSaurashtra have booked their place in the quarter-finals after beating Hyderabad by 105 runs at the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground in Rajkot. Chasing 177, Hyderabad folded for 71. Ravindra Jadeja and Rakesh Dhurv, who shared the two wickets on the third evening, wrapped up the game before lunch. Jadeja took 7 for 31, his career-best figures, and also completed his first ten-wicket haul in first-class matches. Dhurv ended the innings with 3 for 20 off his nine overs. Saurashtra, who began the round with a one-point lead over Delhi, have a mathematical chance of being upstaged; however, it is virtually impossible the mathematical will become a realistic chance.Gujarat 382 for 8 (PA Patel 206, Panchal 59, TK Patel 38*) lead Orissa 162 by 220 runs
Scorecard
Saurashtra’s win sees them level with Gujarat on 23 points in Group A, but Gujarat are a safe bet to gain three first-innings points from their match against Orissa in Bhubaneshwar and finish second in the standings. The visitors batted out a second successive day, and only a miraculous turnaround will see them lose this game, and the three points in hand. If the improbable does indeed happen, the calculators might be out again if Delhi take six points against Rajasthan.Parthiv Patel converted his overnight century to a double on a day that saw Gujarat crawl at a run-rate of 1.91 in their 90 overs – the innings rate was 2.09. They closed the day at 382 for 8, a lead of 230 on Orissa’s first-innings 162. While Parthiv went at just less than a run every second ball, Timil Patel made an unbeaten 38 off 148 balls.Parthiv was pleased with his own performance but also singled out Orissa bowler B Panda for praise. “He was the most impressive of Orissa’s bowlers today,” Parthiv told the .Tamil Nadu 475 for 6 dec and 33 for 0 (AB Karthik 27*) lead Railways 314 (Goud 97, Cheluvaraj 65, Mahesh 4-90) by 194 runs
ScorecardTamil Nadu opted not to make Railways to follow on after they gained a 161-run first-innings lead in Chennai. Yere Goud, overnight on 12, led the fight for the visitors with his 97, but no other batsman went past 50 on the day as Railways were dismissed for 314. Yo Mahesh, playing in place of L Balaji, took 4 for 90, including the wicket of V Cheluvaraj, who could only manage to add 15 to his maiden first-class half-century.Yo Mahesh sent down an astounding 21 no-balls in his 27.5 overs, and the 39 extras were the best contributor for Railways after Goud and Cheluvaraj. Three other batsmen made it to the 30s, but failed to go on to make substantial contributions. Tamil Nadu’s openers scored briskly in the six overs till stumps.Baroda 400 (Parab 130, Bilakhia 73, Shah 72, Solanki 64, TA Rao 5-66, Suresh 3-98) beat Andhra 77 (IK Pathan 7-35) and 263 ( Kiran 65*, Suresh 54, YK Pathan 4-72) by an innings and 60 runs
ScorecardAndhra put up a much better effort in their second innings – they were shot out for 77 in the first – but it still was not enough to make Baroda bat a second time in Vadodara. The six points, though, won’t help Baroda make it to the quarter-finals.Andhra’s top order progressed slowly on the third day. M Suresh, batting at No. 3, and B Sumanth put on 73 for the third wicket. Suresh reached his fifth first-class half-century, but fell with Andhra’s score on 123. Hopes of wiping out the first-innings deficit were almost over when they slipped from 160 for 3 to 171 for 6, but D Prabhu Kiran and debutant TA Rao provided stiff resistance. Rao made 28 off 54 balls, but Yusuf Pathan, who took four in the innings, ended the 68-run stand. He took a wicket next ball, and Kiran put on 24 in 2.2 overs for the ninth wicket – effectively the last as AG Pradeep was injured – along with DP Vijaykumar. Kiran, playing his second game, hit five fours and three sixes in a run-a-ball 65, his maiden half-century.
ScorecardKarnataka, led by Sunil Joshi, breezed into the quarter-finals, overwhelming Maharashtra by 155 runs on a spinners’ paradise at the RSI Ground in Bangalore. Joshi marked his 100th Ranji Trophy game with his fifth ten-wicket haul to bowl out Maharashtra for 116 in their second innings. (Read the full report.)
ScorecardUday Kaul’s vigilant century helped Punjab bounce back and frustrated Mumbai, who probably expected a favourable result at the start of the penultimate day at the Brabourne Stadium. When bad light stopped play four overs before stumps, Kaul was unbeaten on a chanceless 117. His 107-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Ankur Kakkar had helped the visitors take a 129-run lead. (Read the full report.)

Newcastle United are now reportedly willing to listen to offers for four of their first-team players before the summer transfer window ends.

The Lowdown: Spending not over

After the signing of Joe Willock on a permanent deal from Arsenal, the St. James’ Park faithful have been linked with a number of other players that they could potentially bring to the North East before the window shuts.

Among those names are the likes of Hamza Choudhury, Ethan Ampadu and Malang Sarr.

The Latest: Players up for sale

As per The Daily Mail, the Tyneside club are now willing to listen to offers for Sean Longstaff, Jeff Hendrick, Fabian Schar and Ciaran Clark as they look to raise some funds to bring some more players in.

All four players featured in a fair amount of games in the first team under Steve Bruce during the 2020/21 season, with Longstaff playing in 27, Clark 26, Hendrick 23 and Schar 19 (Transfermarkt).

The Verdict: Sell for the right price

If the Magpies can get the right price for all four players, then they should sell them all in order to raise some much-needed funds and bring in one or two more players of quality to help improve their starting eleven.

Longstaff is currently rated at £13.5m by Transfermarkt, Hendrick £8.1m, Schar £8.1m and Clark £2.7m, so their sales could raise over £30m altogether, which would be a handy number to have left in the transfer kitty.

While depth may be an issue, using those funds to purchase a quality centre-back and holding midfielder would be an excellent way to round off the window after the capture of Willock.

In other news, find out who is still pursuing this ‘excellent’ NUFC ace here!

David Norris has exclusively told The Transfer Tavern he thinks Leeds’ chances of signing Lewis O’Brien are slim.

Marcelo Bielsa has been quiet up to now in the transfer window, making just two significant additions in Jack Harrison, following three loan spells, and left-back Junior Firpo from Barcelona.

Exciting youngster Lewis Bate also joined from Chelsea, and the Leeds boss has been trying his luck with another young player in O’Brien, who’s been chased by several Premier League clubs after his impressive form for Huddersfield in the Championship.

Despite the speculation surrounding his future, O’Brien started Huddersfield’s win over Sheffield United on Saturday, and scored three times and assisted as many more in 42 Championship appearances last season.

But whilst the Telegraph believe that Leeds are closing in on a £7m deal for the 22-year-old, Norris believes that the deal has gone on too long for the two Yorkshire rivals to reach an agreement.

He told The Transfer Tavern:

“I think once it goes too far, there’s obviously an issue, so I can’t see that one happening now. I can’t see them paying £8m-£10m.

“Some teams attract players for a long period of time and eventually get a deal done, but this one seems like it’s not going to happen, it’s gone on too long.”

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will seek legal opinion before initiating an inquiry into fast bowler Mohammad Asif’s detention in Dubai last year

Cricinfo staff15-Jan-2009The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will seek legal opinion before initiating an inquiry into fast bowler Mohammad Asif’s detention in Dubai last year, as signs emerge that the ICC might be taking an interest in the case.”We have asked our legal advisers to look into the report of the Dubai authorities and only then could we further investigate the matter,” PCB’s chief operating officer Salim Altaf told AP. Asif was detained at Dubai airport for 19 days in June last year on his way back to Pakistan from the IPL. Dubai authorities found 0.24 grams of opium in his wallet but decided, despite deporting him, the case was not worth pursuing. Asif admitted during an interrogation that he had used the substance earlier in 2008.It has now emerged that the ICC is taking an interest in the case as well, having recently announced a revamped and stringent anti-doping policy. Altaf said the board had received a copy of the Dubai authorities’ investigations – leaked to the public earlier this week from the ICC. “Yes, the ICC has inquired about Asif’s incident and have sent us the copy of the Dubai investigation. We will provide them with more information once we receive legal advice from our lawyers.”Earlier this week, Pakistani senators had also demanded that the board conducts a probe into Asif’s detention; the previous administration, under whom the incident took place, claims it carried out an internal inquiry and produced a report, which has not yet seen the light of day.The board has now accepted the need for an inquiry, where previously they had been apparently unwilling to act on the case, preferring instead to await the results of Asif’s other doping case with the IPL. “We will do whatever is necessary in this case, but we have to wait for advice from our legal experts,” Altaf said.Asif was due to leave for Delhi on Thursday to pursue money he claims he is owed by the Delhi Daredevils team in the IPL. He is currently suspended by the board, after he tested positive in the IPL last year. He will appear before the IPL drug tribunal on January 24 in Mumbai.

Many Manchester United fans have been left slamming the display of Fred in the first half of their game away at Wolves on Sunday afternoon.

The Brazilian encountered a truly torrid opening few minutes as he struggled to defend against the pace and dribbling ability of Adama Traore in particular.

He constantly lost the ball in the middle of the park and could not recover, gifting chances to Bruno Lage’s team, including a very good one early on for Francisco Trincao, who waltzed past the Brazilian as if he wasn’t even there.

It was always going to be a risk by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer only starting with one natural defensive midfield player, and it really told as Fred struggled to stop attacks coming towards his goal.

Manchester United fans on Fred display

These members of the Old Trafford faithful slammed Fred on Twitter, with one Red Devils supporter even going as far as to claim that he is a ‘disgrace’:

“Take Fred off. Absolutely awful”

Credit: @ZombieJester

“Fred is getting bullied by Traore”

Credit: @_Vigneshhhh_

“CR7 may file a transfer request today after seeing Fred’s masterclass.”

Credit: @Usama7

“Fred is just being himself what a disgrace to this team. Speechless”

Credit: @puppypawerr

“Fred should never play football again. Horrific. I’d give some of our academy players a chance ahead of him”

Credit: @Lord_You07

“Get the Brazilian fraud Fred off of the pitch immediately.”

Credit: @iganeshmgr

In other news, find out whose performance against Southampton was slammed here!

Cricinfo takes a look at the action from the first day of the third round of matches in the 2008-09 Regional Four Day Competition

Cricinfo staff24-Jan-2009
Ryan Hinds’ maiden double century put Barbados in control but medium pacer Tonito Willett hit back with a five-wicket haul © DigicelCricket.com
Ryan Hinds’ personal first-class best, a rambunctious 218-ball 240, rallied Barbados to a mammoth 483 for 9 against Leeward Islands in St Maarten. Barbados chose to bat and Hinds, the leading run-scorer in the competition with 382 at 95.50, hit his maiden double century. The medium-pacer Tonito Willett hit back with a five-wicket haul to help Leewards limit the damage.Hinds entered at the fall of his captain Jason Haynes for 10 with the score 67 for 1 and proceeded to dominate the attack. He collected 35 fours and four sixes in an innings that needed 218 balls, surviving two chances along the way. Hinds brought up his eighth first-class century before tea and shared valuable partnerships of 51 for the second wicket with Dale Richards, who celebrated his call up to the West Indies team with a run-a-ball 68, 64 with Jonathan Carter (15), 95 for the fourth wicket with Dwayne Smith (21), and 146 with Rohan Nurse (59).Willett struck after tea, cutting Hinds off on 250, following which Barbados ost five wickets for60 runs.Nikita Miller’s left-arm spin helped holders and current leaders Jamaica take control of the first day’s play against Combined Campuses & Colleges in Barbados. Having been put into bat, Jamaica were skittled out for a lowly 162, but Miller’s spell of 4 for 14 from 11 overs titled the balance back their way by the close at the Three Ws Oval.Jamaica’s was a poor innings – they were bowled out five minutes before tea. The top score came from Xavier Marshall (74), and there were helpful contributions from Dave Bernard (31) and Donovan Pagon (28), but Jamaica lost their last four wickets for 22 runs from 47 balls. The offspinner Ryan Austin took 3 for 37 from 16 overs and Khismar Catlin supported with 3 for 42 from 12 overs.But when they took the field, Miller struck with his third ball, bowling the opener Romel Currency for 5, and a slide was in process. When CCC slipped to 22 for 2, Jamaica captain Tamar Lambert soon turned to an all-spin attack when he introduced Odean Brown. Miller and Brown, a legspinner, made scoring difficult and Miller prospered. In consecutive overs he sent back Omar Phillips and Floyd Reifer, making it 37 for 4, before removing Nekoli Parris for 18 in the penultimate over of the day.In Trinidad, hosts Trinidad & Tobago made slow progress on the opening day against Windward Islands. Electing to bat first, T&T batted to 189 for 4 in 74 overs, with Kieron Pollard the only man to cross 50. The openers, Lendl Simmons and Adrian Barath, added 47 before Deighton Butler and Darren Sammy, international players both, struck. Each of the two medium-pacers took a couple wickets and Pollard (57) fell shortly before stumps.

It will be ‘very difficult’ for Everton to send James Rodriguez the other way as they try to sign Luis Diaz from FC Porto, according to Carlos Aleman.

The lowdown

A right-back and a winger are on Everton’s shopping list ahead of Tuesday night’s transfer deadline, but the Blues are said to be reliant on James leaving in order to free up the funds (via The Athletic).

With Porto right-winger Diaz a target, one possible solution could be a part-exchange deal with the two-time European champions involving James.

The Colombian, of course, only moved to Goodison Park from Real Madrid last summer.

The latest

In a tweet, Aleman wrote that the proposed move is ‘very complicated’ but urged ‘patience’.

Everton are ‘trying to make something concrete’ with Diaz, but the stumbling block ‘has always been’ James’ salary.

The verdict

This kind of scenario was always a risk when Everton signed James, particularly in the midst of a pandemic.

According to Marca, his salary is around £7million per year, which equates to a shade under £135,000 per week.

If, for whatever reason, Everton needed to offload him, those wages were always likely to throw a spanner in the works.

In fairness, James performed well last season and there has been an unforeseen change of management, so they shouldn’t be criticised too harshly, but it feels best for all parties if they can figure out an exit now.

In other news, this Everton target is set for crunch talks with his manager.

Rajasthan Royals, the reigning IPL champions, have sold a 11.7% stake in their franchise for approximately US$15.4 million

Cricinfo staff02-Feb-2009
Shilpa Shetty becomes the fourth Bollywood personality to be associated with the IPL © AFP
Rajasthan Royals, the reigning IPL champions, have sold a 11.7% stake in their franchise for approximately US$15.4 million to Shilpa Shetty, the Bollywood actress, and her partner Raj Kundra, a UK-based businessman. That puts the valuation of the franchise at around $140 million, more than double the $67 million the owners, Emerging Media, paid for it a little over a year ago.Shetty, winner of the UK TV show in 2006, is the fourth Bollywood personality to be associated with the IPL, after Preity Zinta (Kings XI Punjab), Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla (Kolkata Knight Riders).Manoj Badale, representing Emerging Media, described the new deal – the first known instance of a franchise selling part of its stake – as “a strategic alliance”.The focus last year, he said, was to make Rajasthan Royals a well-known brand in India; this year the strategy is to globalise it.”We want to make Rajasthan Royals into more than a cricket franchise, want to make it into a global brand. It was the second-most popular team in all of India last year,” he said.Coming as it does in the middle of a global economic recession, the news will further hearten the game’s administrators. On Monday, the IPL released the base prices for Friday’s auction, with two players – Kevin Pietersen and Michael Clarke – valued at a million dollars or more and Andrew Flintoff at $950,000.Rajasthan – the franchise with the lowest value when the rights were sold before the inaugural season – had bucked the trend in the first player auction too, opting for a unit of low-profile players in sharp contrast to other franchises who spent millions on cricketers with heavyweight reputations. The strategy paid off under the astute leadership of Shane Warne, who later said that winning the inaugural IPL title was one of the proudest moments of his life.