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A round-up of the fifth round of games in South Africa’s domestic SuperSport Series, with wins for the Titans and the Cobras, a double-ton by JP Duminy, and a century by Albie Morkel

Firdose Moonda19-Dec-2010Rain didn’t only have a say in the Test match between South Africa and India at SuperSport Park in Centurion, but in the SuperSport series too. The first day of the matches between the Knights and the Warriors in East London, and the Cobras and the Dolphins in Paarl were washed out. The Lions and the Titans were the only teams that played on all four days. All three fixtures saw players on the fringes of the South Africa side record good performances.The Cobras slotted into second place with an innings-and-166-run victory over the Dolphins in Paarl. Play got underway on day two after a wet first day and the Dolphins chose to field, hoping to get some assistance from the overcast conditions. The going was tough for the Cobras openers. Alistair Gray took 199 balls to make his 57 runs but he and Andrew Puttick laid a solid platform for the middle order to launch from.Owais Shah made just 20 but Justin Ontong and JP Duminy cashed in. Ontong has been having a quietly successful season and scored 127. Duminy made his claim for national selection as loudly as he could. He became the second batsman to score an unbeaten double-century this weekend (Jacques Kallis being the other) in the country. Duminy’s 200 not out came off just 201 balls as the Cobras declared on 515 for 5. None of the Dolphins bowlers stood out. Imran Tahir, the highest wicket-taker this season, missed the match because of a back injury. Fellow legspinner Keshav Maharaj was the most successful bowler with 4 for 214.The Dolphins had a shocker in reply and were bowled out for 99. Vaughn van Jaarsveld was their highest scoring batsman and scored just 23. Cobras seamer Vernon Philander finished with figures of 4 for 33. With a 416-run deficit, the Dolphins were made to follow on and fared only a little better in their second outing. Van Jaarsveld scored 57 and Ravi Bopara made 74, but the Dolphins line-up left a lot to be desired. Philander’s three second-innings wickets left him with seven for the match.The Titans stamped their authority on the top of the table with a four-wicket win over the Lions in Potchefstroom. The Titans batted first and found themselves in trouble early on, at 57 for 3, but were rescued in magnificent fashion. Titans wicketkeeper Heino Kuhn scored 92 and Albie Morkel made an impressive return to form with 182 runs. Opener Pieter Malan, legspinner Shaun von Berg and seamer Gerhardus Viljoen also made half centuries and the Titans were bowled out for 513. The Lions spinners were the only ones who enjoyed success with Werner Coetsee and Dale Deeb sharing six wickets between them.Coetsee also starred with the bat in the Lions first innings. He put on 166 runs for the fifth wicket with Zander de Bruyn, who scored 109. The Lions were bowled out for 352, giving the Titans a 161-run lead, which allowed them to enforce the follow-on. The Lions were bowled out in their second innings for two more runs than they were in the first. Neil McKenzie’s 130 was the only century of their second innings with Jean Symes’ 43 the next highest score. Von Berg’s 4 for 130 and Viljoen’s 3 for 50 were the best figures for the Titans as they were set a target of 194 to win.Fast bowler Friedel de Wet was the biggest threat to the Titans getting there. He took the first three Titans wickets to reduce them to 72 for 3. Jacques Rudolph’s 60 had a calming effect on a line-up that was losing wickets quickly. Coetsee, Deeb and seamer Craig Alexander took a wicket apiece and even though the Titans were being pegged back, Morkel and von Berg took them to victory. The Lions have dropped from second to third in the table after the result.In East London, the Knights and the Warriors drew after two high-scoring first innings. Warriors fast bowler Wayne Parnell ripped through the Knights top three and reduced them to 65 for 3 in the ninth over. Centuries from Ryan Bailey and Morne van Wyk, who shared a 236-run fifth wicket partnership, took the Knights to a respectable 430 for 8 declared. van Wyk carried over his superb form from the MTN40 tournament and ended on 150 not out.The Warriors had few problems in their innings, with the top five all making healthy contributions. Wicketkeeper Arno Jacobs was one of two centurions after scoring 110. Kelly Smuts was unbeaten on 100 at the end of the match. The captains shook hands on a draw after he reached his century. The Warriors were on 499 for 5 and were ahead by 69 runs.Batsman of the week: For making the national selectors sit up and take notice of his desire to get back into the Test arena, JP Duminy’s 200 not out earns him the award.Bowler of the week: Vernon Philander’s match-haul of 7 for 73 against the Dolphins lifts him to third in the bowling charts with 23 wickets. He has the best average out of the top ten bowlers.

Bangladesh and Shakib Al Hasan turned in their best performance of the tour, but is was still not enough to prevent New Zealand from sweeping the series

The Bulletin by Andrew Fernando11-Feb-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Imrul Kayes made his first ODI century to boost Bangladesh to their first 200-plus total of the series•Getty Images

A determined maiden century from Imrul Kayes and a wonderful spell of slow bowling by Shakib Al Hasan was not enough to deny New Zealand a 3-0 clean sweep after the hosts clinched the final ODI in Christchurch by three wickets. Man of the Match Martin Guptill powered New Zealand towards Bangladesh’s modest 241 and, despite a mini collapse towards the end, they reached the target comfortably in the 45th over.Earlier, Kayes batted for the majority of Bangladesh’s innings, building productive partnerships with the middle order to guide his team to 198 for 4 after 40 overs. Mohammed Ashraful and Shakib both posted 30s after a disappointing showing in each of the previous ODIs, but were unable to kick on to put the New Zealand attack under pressure in the final overs.Kayes, however, paced his innings intelligently, driving aerially through covers early in the innings before settling in for a long knock during the middle overs. Playing second fiddle to the likes of Ashraful and Aftab Ahmed, Kayes rotated strike effectively and hit the occasional boundary to keep the scoreboard ticking over at a healthy rate, even as wickets fell at regular intervals around him. He was slightly fortuitous at times, repeatedly beating McCullum with edges to the third-man boundary, but was the glue that held the Bangladesh innings together. He was eventually dismissed for 101, looking for quick runs in the 48th over.Despite runs coming from the top order, Bangladesh were once again unable to put in a complete batting performance, and failed to accelerate effectively in the batting Powerplay and the death overs. While the visitors did well to reach 198 for 4 after the 40th, the final ten overs yielded only 43 runs for the loss of five wickets and left the score at 241 for 9, when at one stage at total in excess of 260 looked likely.The visitors’ failure at the end was also largely due to an excellent spell from Daniel Vettori, who was wicketless until the 44th over before picking up three scalps in consecutive overs to end with 3 for 42 from his ten. Tim Southee also picked up three wickets, and was the pick of the New Zealand attack, conceding just 37 runs from his full quota.Brendon McCullum began the New Zealand run chase in belligerent fashion, pulling Shafiul Islam over square leg for six in consecutive overs, but fell attempting an ugly slog, dragging a fuller Rubel Hossain delivery onto his off stump. Martin Guptill came to the crease and was in supreme touch from ball one, timing it superbly to the straight boundary, both along the ground and over the infield. The running between the wickets was especially impressive while Guptill was in the middle, stealing lightning-fast singles to men in the infield.Shakib then came into the attack dismiss Peter Ingram in his first over, playing inside the line of a well-pitched drifter that hit off stump. Ross Taylor too was stumped off Shakib after a flighted delivery beat the bat and left him well short of his crease.Guptill, however, batted beautifully to string the New Zealand innings together, punishing the bad deliveries down the ground and through point, while rotating the strike with incredible efficiency to keep the run-rate well above what was required. When he holed out to long off for a run-a-ball 91, New Zealand were well placed to win the match, requiring 47 from 15 overs with five wickets in hand.The departure of Neil Broom and Jacob Oram in quick succession, however, put some pressure back on the hosts, but Ian Butler and James Franklin had plenty of overs to play with. Despite the tension, they negotiated the remainder of the run chase without much drama. Franklin hit the winning runs in the 45th over, leaving Bangladesh to rue the missed opportunity to score 25-30 more runs, which might have made for a much tighter finish.

Borussia Dortmund are ‘expecting’ a £109m offer from Manchester United for Jadon Sancho – on one condition.

Sancho is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s top priority this summer as he looks to rebuild the Red Devils.

According to Bild, as per @utdreport, Dortmund believe they will receive a huge €120m bid from Man United, but only if they qualify for the Champions League.

Solskjaer’s side are still some way away from qualifying for the European competition.

United are currently in a three-way battle to qualify for the Champions League via the Premier League, with Leicester City and Chelsea also firmly in contention.

Ed Woodward is well aware reaching the Champions League could play a key part in persuading Solksjaer’s transfer targets to move to Old Trafford.

However, everything seems to hinge on whether or not the Red Devils will reach the top four at the end of the season.

Naturally, many United fans slammed the latest transfer “nonsense” on social media, with a supporter insisting the board should fix the “shambolic” defence instead. Solskjaer’s side have conceded four goals in the past three games. Another fan bizarrely suggested Sancho is “over hyped,” despite the fact he is Dortmund’s top scorer this season.

Scroll through some of the scathing reactions so far…

United fans, do you think Jadon Sancho will move to Old Trafford in the summer? Let us know down below!

Key information about PTS Academy Stadium

The PTS Academy Stadium was built in 1994 and is now the home of League Two side Northampton Town. The ground is located in the Sixfields area on the west side of the town and has been housing its current tenants since the construction had finished.

Its current capacity stands at 7,700 and has a pitch that measures 106m by 66m. The surface of the field is covered with grass and there is no running track surrounding it.

The record attendance at the PTS Academy Stadium was set on 21 September 2016 when 7,798 fans watched Northampton Town’s game against Manchester United.

A history of PTS Academy Stadium

Between the club’s formation in 1897 and 1994 when the PTS Academy Stadium was erected, Northampton Town played their games at the County Ground, a stadium they also shared with their local cricket team, Northamptonshire County Cricket Club. But that was far from ideal for them as the cricket pitch was too big, resulting in Northampton only having three stands for their own part of the stadium.

For that reason, the first ideas of moving into a new stadium were conceived in the mid-1990s and by 1994, a purpose built ground was erected in the Sixfields area of the town that would house the team henceforth.

Even though the original idea was to have it open by the time the 1994/95 season rolled in, some complications meant Northampton would start the campaign at the old ground. Still, by October 1994, everything was ready and the first game to be played at the PTS Academy Ground, then known as the Sixfields Stadium, was against Barnet in Division Three, a clash that ended in a 1-1 draw.

At the end of 2003, the club managed to secure a 150-year lease on the ground and started plans for huge redevelopments that would see the stadium modernised and its capacity doubled. However, the plans simply did not go through at the time. In fact, it wouldn’t be until 2013 that the PTS Academy Stadium would finally start getting refurbished.

Back then, the club proposed the redevelopment of the East Stand with the construction starting in summer 2014. Unfortunately, due to some financial difficulties, the expansion was halved and the club is yet to fully finalise the works. Still, it was opened for supporters in 2016, following a catastrophic period of debt, collapse and administration.

The situation improved with the arrival of the new owners but the redevelopment of the ground is yet to be carried out in full. In 2018, the club signed a five-year deal with PTS Training Academy, renaming the ground to PTS Academy Stadium.

Tickets to watch Northampton Town at PTS Academy Stadium

All tickets to watch Northampton Town play at PTS Academy Stadium can be found on the club’s official website. The prices range from £10 to £22 depending on the age group but all stands in the stadium cost the same.

Northampton Town also offer a season ticket scheme and more information can be found on the aforementioned website.

Related links

https://www.ntfc.co.uk/ – Official website of Northampton Town

https://www.ntfc.co.uk/pts_academy-stadium/pts_academy-stadium/ – The history of PTS Academy Stadium

كشف محمد عوض تاج الدين، مستشار رئيس الجمهورية للصحة والوقاية، عن جهود الدولة لعودة الجماهير للمدرجات مرة أخرى، وفق اشترطات معينة وضوابط بسبب انتشار فيروس كورونا.

ويستعد منتخب مصر لمواجهتي ليبيا بالجولتين الثالثة والرابعة في تصفيات إفريقيا المؤهلة لكأس العالم، يومي 6 و10 من شهر أكتوبر المقبل.

اقرأ ايضًا.. صور.. أحمد مجاهد يصطحب كيروش في جولة تفقدية بمركز المنتخبات

أضاف محمد عوض تاج الدين خلال مداخلة هاتفية عبر برنامج “حضرة المواطن”: “الدولة المصرية تفكر جديا في عودة الجماهير للمدرجات، ولكن هناك شروط وضوابط لابد التماشي عليها، خاصة أن أعداد فيروس كورونا في زيادة حاليا”.

تابع: “لا نريد أن نقرر عودة الحياة لطبيعتها ثم العودة للإغلاق من جديد، فنحن نريد الحفاظ على صحة المواطنين”.

وواصل: “نريد أن نصل إلى بر الأمان قدر المستطاع، وهناك تأثيرات كبيرة على ما حدث في الفترة الأخيرة، وصحة الإنسان هي الأهم حاليا”.

اختتم: “نرغب في تواجد الجماهير المصرية في لقاء مصر وليبيا ولكن هناك ضوابط لابد من العمل عليها حاليًا حتى تتم العودة بشكل طبيعي للجماهير”.

وكان البرتغالي كارلوس كيروش، قد تولى مسؤولية منتخب مصر خلفًا لحسام البدري، ويتكون جهازه المعاون من ضياء السيد مدربًا عامًا، ومحمد شوقي مساعدًا، وعصام الحضري مدربًا لحراس المرمى، ووائل جمعة مديرًا للفريق.

Liverpool were all but Premier League champions before the current pandemic reared its ugly head.

The Reds were a huge 25 points clear at the top of the table, with Manchester City behind in a very distant second. They were actually just two wins and six points from confirming the title, but that has since been at the very least delayed as it remains unclear when football will be able to return in the United Kingdom.

There had been rumours the season could be null and voided, but the Anfield outfit may have just been handed some fantastic news. UEFA have said that next season’s Champions League spots should be awarded on sporting merit, which would effectively mean that league seasons across the continent could not cancelled before they are completed.

This could very well guarantee that the Reds are crowned champions of England, and it has delighted the club’s supporters. They have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts, and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

Let us know what you think!

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

John McGinn has hailed Dean Smith for moving him further forward, citing the impact it has had on his game, as reported by The Daily Record.

What did he say?

McGinn has been a revelation since moving from Hibernian to Aston Villa in the summer of 2018, playing an integral part in the team’s success during that time.

During his maiden campaign at Villa Park, the Scotland international scored eight goals for the club, adding another ten assists to that tally from 44 games in the Championship and play-offs, helping to earn promotion.

He has already followed that up with three goals and two assists in 15 top-flight matches, indicating just how useful he can be in the final third.

The midfielder has opened up about the impact Smith’s alteration to his position has had, while speaking to The Daily Record:

“The move further forward in midfield has taken my game to the next level.

“It was Dean Smith that taught me that role and after that I’ve got more used to it and it’s definitely brought my game on.

“I use my energy to get the team further up the park and have been getting a lot more goals and assists. Hopefully I can carry on doing that for Scotland as well.”

No one-off

This is just one example of how Smith has been able to tweak somebody’s position within the team to help the balance and quality of their play.

He has also done that this season with Jack Grealish, who has been moved to the left-wing, after predominantly playing a central role before that decision.

No clues: Can you name all of these Premier League icons? Test your knowledge below…

FFC has already written about how this move has brought the best out of Conor Hourihane, while not jeopardising Grealish’s influence on proceedings.

Though it can now perhaps be argued that it has even enhanced it, as the talismanic figure has managed to get three goals and two assists from seven games since making the move, having managed two assists from six games in midfield.

The manager is beginning to show that he has a knack for spotting how changing someone’s position can benefit the team.

In other news, Smith has been standing up for one of his players amid criticism after the Chelsea loss.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Gary Lineker has said that he would like to see Trent Alexander-Arnold play in a similar role to Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne.

What did he say?

Alexander-Arnold is one of Liverpool’s most creative players – last season, he picked up 16 assists in all competitions as the Reds won the Champions League title despite being a right-back, a position more associated with defending.

Former England striker Lineker, though, has insinuated that he would like to see the 21-year-old take up a more central position in midfield like the Belgium international.

On his Twitter page, he said: “Would love to see @trentaa98 play a similar role to @DeBruyneKev.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it

This is not the first time Alexander-Arnold has been compared to de Bruyne.

Jamie Carragher told talkSPORT last month: “On the ball, he is probably better than what Liverpool have in those players. Those players have different strengths, but you could imagine him in that De Bruyne position – just tucked in on the right. You see the assists De Bruyne has from a different position than Trent, he’s obviously wider and he’s crossing it, De Bruyne is more passing it really. Maybe that’s something we could see in the future.”

Considering the youngster’s attacking threat, it is not a comparison without logic. Last term, no Liverpool player managed as many assists as him as he picked up those 16 in all competitions, whilst he also created 1.7 chances per game in the Premier League compared to De Bruyne’s 1.9. This term, the Manchester City midfielder leads the way again, but this time with four in the top tier compared to 3.6.

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In the middle of the park, there is of course the possibility that he would be more of an attacking threat. However, the system Liverpool use requires the full-backs to contribute heavily going forward. It is interesting to note that, whilst Alexander-Arnold had the most assists last season, left-back Andrew Robertson was second with 13. The Merseyside native also made two crosses per game, compared to the Citizens star’s 1.1.

Liverpool picked up 97 points in the top flight last term and won the Champions League, and so far, they top both the English first division and their group in Europe’s premier club competition. Why is there any need to change things? Alexander-Arnold contributes more than enough already and, as the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Playing in the middle of the park, he would likely need to work on other parts of his game, especially if it were to be in a similar role to the former Chelsea man. For example, £117m-rated De Bruyne has 1.7 dribbles per match this term, whilst the seven-time England international has 0.6. At right-back in Jurgen Klopp’s set-up, he does not need to beat his man as much. Instead, he often crosses the ball from deep, to great effect.

Central midfield is more glamorous, but there is nothing wrong with being a creative full-back. Dani Alves, for example, regularly notched over 10 assists a campaign during his best years at Barcelona, and there weren’t any calls for him to move into the middle. Liverpool’s system works almost perfectly at the moment. There is no need to change it so dramatically.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Loan Watch series, which takes a closer look at those players who are aiming to galvanise their careers away from the spotlight of their parent club.

For some reason, Southampton decided to make Guido Carrillo their club-record signing in 2018.

The Saints genuinely decided to spend a huge £19m on the striker who had scored just five times in 22 games before his January move to St Mary’s.

Following his exit from Monaco, Carrillo could boast just 21 goals in 95 appearances in total for the French side, which equates to the Argentine finding the back of the net once every 4.5 games on average.

Still, £19m was spent on him.

Since he became a Southampton player almost two years ago, the 28-year-old hadn’t scored for the south coast side in ten appearances before he was shipped out to be reunited with the man who signed him for the Saints at Leganes – Mauricio Pellegrino.

It has previously been reported by The Daily Echo that Southampton want to offload their record signing permanently, something that might prove difficult for two reasons.

Firstly, having decided to sign Carrillo twice for whatever reason, you might assume that any chances of offloading the former Estudiantes striker rest on Pellegrino remaining with the Spanish side, given his strange fixation with the misfiring forward – he has since been sacked by Leganes.

To make matters worse, Carrillo’s goalscoring form for the side from La Liga is largely atrocious.

Having spent last season and the current campaign so far with Leganes, Carrillo has only been able to muster six goals in 42 appearances – all of them came last term, as the striker has zero goals in nine league appearances this year.

So, with Pellegrino out of the picture and Carrillo goalless after roughly a third of the campaign, what hopes do the Saints still have of offloading the massive flop?

Things are looking very bleak in their attempts to get rid of the Argentine, and unless the £19m man goes on a phenomenal scoring run to fire bottom-place Leganes up the Spanish top-flight, Southampton may be stuck with Carrillo for even longer.

Although Queens Park Rangers are currently flying high in the Championship, sitting fourth after 12 games, the club’s most recent result against Reading brought with it a controversial refereeing decision that will see one of the club’s star performers suspended for their next league fixture.

West Ham loanee Jordan Hugill, 27, has formed a deadly partnership with fellow striker Nahki Wells, with the duo having scored 14 goals so far in the 2019/20 campaign.

Both strikers were on the scoresheet on Tuesday night against Mark Bowen’s side, but a yellow card for Hugill, the forward’s fifth of the season, will see him miss the club’s London derby with fellow Championship side Brentford.

The booking has drawn criticism from some QPR fans, with many speaking out over the poor refereeing decision that will see their in-form striker miss the clash against Thomas Frank’s side. Here are some of the best reactions following a tweet from the club confirming Hugill’s suspension.