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Edin Dzeko’s first half goal guaranteed Manchester City a top-three finish this season after they beat West Brom at the Etihad Stadium.

City warmed up for the FA Cup final with Wigan on Saturday by edging out the Baggies in a competitive game that saw Roberto Mancini’s men ensure they will be competing in the Champions League group stages next term.

This was a far from vintage performance from the recently dethroned Premier League champions, although with eight alterations to his starting lineup, Mancini certainly had one eye on the trip to Wembley.

Despite having nothing left to play for the Baggies started brighter and Romelu Lukaku threatened three times in the opening five minutes without dirtying Joe Hart’s gloves.

Carlos Tevez and Aleksander Kolarov then went close for the home side, before the Argentinian striker rattled the crossbar with a sweet strike from outside the penalty area.

The opening goal came 10 minutes before the break when Tevez nipped down the right flank and floated a delicious ball into the path of Dzeko, who proceeded to send a controlled volley past Boaz Myhill in the West Brom goal.

City went close to doubling their lead when Jack Rodwell had an effort cleared off the line and James Milner drove against the foot of the post before the break.

West Brom came out refreshed after the interval and Markus Rosenberg was inches away from equalising when his free kick rebounded off the bar, before James Morrison had an effort tipped wide by Hart and Shane Long drilled into the side netting as City held on.

Roberto Mancini post-match… “Edin Dzeko has scored important goals this season. I think he can do better. I think he is one of the best in Europe for me but he can do better than this year. With his goal we are in the Champions League and probably in second position.”

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Steve Clarke post-match…” The way the players applied themselves was excellent. We played well and were unlucky not to get something. In the first half we had a spell where we lost our way a little bit, we lost momentum, made a few mistakes and encouraged them into the game.” 

Good night for…Edin Dzeko: An impressive showing from the Bosnian in the lone striker role and took his goal with real aplomb. Might have played himself in to a starting role for Saturday’s FA Cup final.

Bad night for…Markus Rosenberg: After a superb showing at weekend against Wigan the Swedish forward retained his place in the Albion side but looked awfully out of his depth at the Etihad Stadium.

Harry Kane has been a dominant figure in the Premier League this season, and seemed unstoppable in front of goal for Tottenham Hotspur in the early stages of the campaign.The 24-year-old seemed to be a shoe-in for the Golden Boot, but now Liverpool star Mohamed Salah has eclipsed him as top scorer.In fact, in our recent poll, the majority of fans think that Kane will fail to earn his third success individual award as he currently sits five adrift of his opponent’s tally.The last couple of weeks have not been the best for the Tottenham hitman as he has been regularly ridiculed for claiming Christian Eriksen’s winning goal against Stoke City.https://video.footballfancast.com/video-2015/harry-kane-100.mp4Kane swore on his daughter’s life that the ball from his teammate’s free kick brushed his shoulder before it hit the back of the net.Tottenham launched an appeal and were successful, but as a result, the England international has been the butt of the jokes.Even PFA chairman Ben Purkiss got involved by making a comment during Sunday’s PFA awards in London, according to The Times journalist Henry Winter.

Tottenham fans have since given their reactions on Reddit.

Comment from discussion Comments by the PFA Chairman about Harry Kane.Comment from discussion Comments by the PFA Chairman about Harry Kane.Comment from discussion Comments by the PFA Chairman about Harry Kane.Comment from discussion Comments by the PFA Chairman about Harry Kane.Comment from discussion Comments by the PFA Chairman about Harry Kane.Comment from discussion Comments by the PFA Chairman about Harry Kane.Comment from discussion Comments by the PFA Chairman about Harry Kane.Comment from discussion Comments by the PFA Chairman about Harry Kane.

Failure and flop are both words continually being hurled at Radamel Falcao this season. He must be seriously wondering what alternate universe he is currently living in.

Just eight months ago he signed a lucrative one-year deal with Manchester United worth a ridiculous £6million for just one season’s worth of work.

He was always likely to struggle to produce enough goals to be considered value for money but few would have predicted that he’d have only found the net four times, and become the laughing stock of English football.

Falcao was once the Europa League’s top goal scorer two years in row and was praised by Lionel Messi, who admitted he’d like to get the chance to play with him. But his fall from grace has been shocking and doesn’t look like improving anytime soon. So is he just a bad player now, or is there another reason?

The 29-year-old featured for United in their last league match against Everton, where they were beaten 3-0. Falcao was given all of the second half after ex-Toffee Marouane Fellaini was taken off and like always things didn’t go to plan. In the 82nd minute Falcao got on the end of a Daley Blind ball and pulled back a consolation. Or at least that’s what would have happened if his goal hadn’t been ruled out for offside.

Even when Falcao gets the ball in the back of the net the fates convene to take the goal away from him.

Now the Colombian has only four games left to convince manager Louis van Gaal that he is worth a permanent contract with the Red Devils, though you’d think his time has been up for a while even if it has been luck rather than a talent which has been holding him back.

I guess it is inaccurate to say that it has only been a lack of chances which has stopped Falcao from making a decent impact for United as he has missed the sharpness in front of goal that most would associate with him, but he has been playing for a new club in a new country for only one season and maybe he just needs more time to settle.

Also, Falcao suffered a serious knee injury last year which put him out of action for around six months, and some have questioned whether he has fully recovered physically and mentally from the incident. Similarly, teammate Fellaini picked up a wrist injury soon after he joined United, which led to some hesitancy in matches and made his first season at the club quite dismal. He was rumoured to be moving on last summer but Van Gaal kept faith in him and his contributions have helped United reach the top four.

Maybe Radamel Falcao has been unlucky. Unlucky to have damaged his knee, unlucky to not have fully healed before signing with a major club and unlucky that his contract fee is so expensive that it almost sets him up to fail. If his parent club AS Monaco were willing to sell him for a reduced rate then there could be a chance for a permanent transfer, but I’m sure all they care about is getting as much money for him as possible.

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Perhaps Falcao can have a better season next time around but the likelihood of him staying at Old Trafford is low. With interest coming from rivals Liverpool let’s hope that the Red Devils don’t regret being too trigger happy with the Colombian.

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Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has revealed that new boss Paolo Di Canio is engineering team spirit and mirroring the Belgium side.

The new Black Cats boss has only been in situ for a couple of weeks but he is already changing a few things behind the scenes in an effort to stop the free fall down the table.

One of the things he has changed is that he makes the whole squad do everything together – even when it comes down to eating in the canteen.

Mignolet told the Sun: “The gaffer wants us all to be together and to go out as a team onto the training pitch.

“He wants us to do everything together, just the same as his tactical work he does on the pitch.

“He wants us to eat in the canteen together as a group – if we eat, he wants us to eat all together.”

“It’s similar to what I know with the Belgian national team, how we do it in Europe. He brought that over from Italy, probably,” he added.

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“He wants us to win games not by individuals, but as a whole team.”

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Chris Jordan, who has endured an injury-hit season, claimed 5 for 57 to boost Sussex’s chances of avoiding relegation against fellow strugglers Worcestershire

David Hopps at New Road01-Sep-2015
ScorecardChris Jordan impressed in front of the England national selector James Whitaker•Getty Images

According to England’s cricketing professionals, there are few things more exhausting than a county cricket season – although the pursuit of perfection deserves to be in there somewhere. Approaching the end of a season which a PCA survey has condemned as excessive, it is a fortunate county who can point to a fast bowler awash with vigour.Perhaps Sussex are that county. Chris Jordan’s return from a prolonged absence with a side injury could not take them to Finals Day in the NatWest Blast – a century from David Willey saw to that – but it could work wonders in their attempts to sidestep relegation from Division One of the Championship.Jordan returned 5 for 57 in three spells, the last of them – Ben Cox shouldering arms to a delivery which came back to bowl him – greeted with a swivel and punch of the air in triumph. Steve Magoffin carried over a tray of drinks and handed him one. When Magoffin, who labours as long and hard as any seamer in the country, carries your drinks, you are having a good day.James Whitaker, the national selector, was in situ to watch it, although the dry, moribund pitches of the UAE do not make Jordan a natural pick for the forthcoming Test series against Pakistan: Chris Woakes, if he removes his own fitness concerns, is one fast-bowling allrounder who is probably ahead of him.That Sussex are concerned by relegation at all owes much to injuries that have bedevilled their pace attack all season, but the table insists they are. Hampshire, bottom, are stirring and have a game in hand over Worcestershire, who began four points behind Sussex and a further nine behind Somerset. This match could have a major bearing – and when Sussex’s captain Ed Joyce pulled out an hour before the start with a back injury it would have been easy to become distracted.Instead, Sussex pushed all that aside. “We are not looking at external factors, just how we can study the opposition and impose ourselves on the opposition,” Jordan said. “That was a focus from ball one. I thought we start the tone from the start.”It would not do for Sussex to be too optimistic just yet. They have to bat last on a New Road pitch which has been used twice before and was described by one player as resembling carpet tiles. Worcestershire batted on it in the belief that it can only get worse, although if we keep getting sudden downpours of the one that ended play soon after tea it might bind the surface together and ensure it remains a slow, low seamer.Jordan’s languid approach does not immediately communicate menace, but he was on the money from the start. Daryl Mitchell perished in the slips – a knock-up from Mike Yardy to Chris Nash. When Tom Fell bisected Yardy and Luke Wright at slip Jordan was aggravated enough to rasp his next delivery through Fell’s defences.Worcestershire’s only main resistance came in a third-wicket stand of 80 in 32 overs between Joe Clarke, already tipped by the former England captain Michael Vaughan as a future England player, and Brett D’Oliveira, installed as opener for the closing stages of the season in preference to Richard Oliver. Their departure – Clarke bowled by Jordan on the drive, D’Oliveira gloving a pull against Magoffin – began to a sequence of five wickets for 24 in 43 balls.Remove Jordan from the attack and it became a different game. Worcestershire recovered somewhat against the support bowlers, but lost Jack Shantry at slip and Saeed Ajmal to a lavish slog sweep to leave the majority of a decent crowd nervous about their team’s safety.

Best buys, possible picks and other things to expect at the IPL 2013 auction

Vishal Dikshit02-Feb-2013What: 2013 IPL auction
When: February 3, Sunday, 1100 IST
Where: ChennaiMichael Clarke, who had a prolific 2012, is expected to be chased by franchises who need a big player and captain•AFP

What to expect

The IPL auction rules could undergo an overhaul from the 2014 edition and the existing contracts for all players will end after the current season. Franchises would therefore view this auction only in terms of filling certain pressing gaps to meet their requirements for this season.Quite a few teams have more than $5 million left of their $12.5 million purse coming into Sunday’s auction, and can be expected to be involved in a tug of war for at least a couple of players. “Some teams are sitting with $6-7 million,” a franchise official said. “So expect franchises to get into a crazy bidding for a player if they think it is fine, as it is just a one-year contract.” This auction, however, may not see as many millions being thrown around as the previous ones.

Hot buys

Only two players, Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting, have the maximum reserve price this year, of $400,000. While Ponting retired from internationals last year, Clarke, who had a prolific 2012, is expected to be chased by franchises who need a big player and captain. If teams like SunRisers Hyderabad or Pune Warriors need a new captain and are not able to buy Clarke, they will have to go for Ponting who scored 236 runs in the Big Bash League at an average of 39.33 and strike rate of 121, including two half-centuries.Among the seven Indian players is Abhishek Nayar, with a reserve price of $100,000, who scored 966 runs in the Ranji Trophy this season. He would be on the list of several buyers who do not want to spend much on a player for a single season. Nayar, an in-form domestic allrounder, would give RP Singh, who had a poor outing in IPL 2012, a run for his money.

T20 specialist

Dirk Nannes has 37 wickets in domestic T20 tournaments in the last 12 months, at an average of 24.43. Priced at $200,000, he could be the main pick for a franchise looking for an overseas fast bowler with enough money in the bag.

Dark horse

Rilee Rossouw, a 23-year-old uncapped South Africa batsman, priced at only $20,000. With the experience of 36 domestic T20s and 781 runs behind him, Rossouw could offer a franchise what nobody else can for that amount of money.

Veteran pick

The oldest player, aged 38 is Herschelle Gibbs. Released by Mumbai Indians recently, Gibbs isn’t the batsman he used to be even though he has played in T20 leagues in South Africa, England, Bangladesh, India and Australia in the last one year.

Unlikely buys

Two names that catch the eye in the auction list are Ricardo Powell and Wasim Jaffer. Powell, 34, played two T20s for the International World XI against Pakistan All Star XI in October, scoring 3 and 5. Jaffer has been concentrating on first-class matches, being a part of Mumbai’s victorious Ranji side recently.

How the franchises could play it

SunRisers Hyderabad have $7 million left to spend on the 2013 squad and can buy eight more Indian and five overseas players. They are expected to go all out for Michael Clarke to ease some pressure off their captain and lead batsman Kumar Sangakkara, who is currently injured. Also on their injured list is JP Duminy, increasing their need for a strong top-order batsman-cum-mentor. Hello Ricky Ponting. They may also need a spinner to assist Amit Mishra and have the options of Rangana Herath ($100,000), Johan Botha ($300,000) and Ajantha Mendis ($50,000) since they have the money.Abhishek Nayar, the in-form domestic allrounder, could be on many shopping lists•Fotocorp

Since Sachin Tendulkar is Mumbai Indians‘ new captain, they can now spend $2.3 million on specialist players instead of a new captain. They would look to beef up their top order, which failed to impress last season. Phillip Hughes, at $100,000, may suit their needs after scoring two ODI hundreds against Sri Lanka but Jesse Ryder has been scoring heavily in New Zealand’s domestic season too. The new Anil Kumble-John Wright combination could throw up some new strategies.Stephen Fleming, the Chennai Super Kings coach, said on Friday they would not be targeting overseas players and instead focus on the “seam bowling department, especially local bowlers”. They possess Ben Hilfenhaus, Albie Morkel, Nuwan Kulasekara and Dwayne Bravo – all overseas bowlers. Their local options lie in RP Singh (released by Mumbai Indians), Sudeep Tyagi, Manpreet Gony, Pankaj Singh and Jaydev Unadkat.Delhi Daredevils have the shallowest pockets with only $1.4 million left of their purse. To add to that, their pacers Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron and Irfan Pathan are all injured. So expect some cheaply priced local bowlers, such as Jaydev Unadkat, going their way. Allrounder Abhishek Nayar could be on their radar as they will lose Kevin Pietersen in the second half of the tournament and will not be able to accommodate Mahela Jayawardene, David Warner and Ross Taylor together.Kolkata Knight Riders, the defending champions, are expected to be less aggressive in their bidding compared to last two years, when they were the fastest off the blocks as soon as the auction bell rang. “We might end up being a spectator,” a Knight Riders official said. They do not have much to improve on from last year, except maybe an allrounder in the form of Abhishek Nayar or Thisara Perera.Rajasthan Royals have $7.7 million to spend and seven Indian and four overseas slots to fill. They have never splurged and having included Samuel Badree after releasing Johan Botha, won’t be too unhappy with their current line-up. Unless Paddy Upton suggests otherwise.Kings XI Punjab may opt for a handy seam bowler to suit the conditions in Mohali. $6.9 million may allow them to opt for Vernon Philander or an RP Singh. A reserve wicketkeeper in Quinton de Kock ($20,000) might be a good try for one season.Pune Warriors will go in for a new captain after releasing Sourav Ganguly, as Yuvraj Singh is unlikely to lead the side. Ricky Ponting would be a similar batsman-cum-mentor, who could revive the fortunes of the franchise.Royal Challengers Bangalore retained their core attack but left out as many as 12 players in November. Uncertainty over Zaheer Khan’s fitness may make them buy a fast bowler to accompany Vinay Kumar.

Vusi Sibanda has not been selected for the upcoming tour to New Zealand because he chose to play grade cricket in Australia and declined a Zimbabwe Cricket contract

Firdose Moonda14-Jan-2012Vusi Sibanda, the Zimbabwe opener, has not been selected for the upcoming tour to New Zealand because he chose to play grade cricket in Australia and declined a Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) contract. The omission of Sibanda is in keeping with ZC’s policies of regarding players who are not part of its domestic structure as ineligible for national selection.Zimbabwe play a one-off Test, three ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals in New Zealand, and named a 15-man squad led by Brendan Taylor.Sibanda did not accept an offer from his franchise, the Mid West Rhinos, where he was captain, at the start of the domestic season in September 2011, but continued to play for the national team. He did not play the Stanbic T20 competition in December and travelled to Sydney to play for Eastern Suburbs.At the time, Alistair Campbell, chairman of Zimbabwe’s cricket committee, told Sibanda that he would not be considered for the national team if he chose to go to Australia. Head coach Alan Butcher was asked if Sibanda would definitely be ruled out; he said, “Not as far as he or I are concerned,” leaving room for uncertainty over Sibanda’s future.Sibanda returned to Zimbabwe earlier than expected in an attempt to be considered for the New Zealand tour. Sources close to the player said his arrangement in Australia was no longer working out after he hoped to be contracted for the Big Bash League but was not.Sibanda was named in Zimbabwe’s 20-man training squad last week. The reported that he was not included in any of the team’s drills when they trained, while members of Zimbabwe’s selection and cricket committees debated whether they should include Sibanda in the final squad. Campbell said the selectors decided to stick with their original decision.”He knew when he decided to go that he would not be considered for selection for Zimbabwe,” Alistair Campbell, chairman of the cricket committee, told ESPNcricinfo. “When he returned, we debated it, and decided that we cannot set precedents for players to go and play in other country’s domestic competitions and not at home, and then be considered for the national team.”Taylor, however, is currently playing in New Zealand’s HRV Cup, where he represented Wellington in seven matches. He missed three first-class matches and two List A matches in Zimbabwe, but Campbell justified Taylor’s actions.”With Brendan Taylor, it was different. The board has always been in favour of players going to play in other country’s 20-over leagues to learn a bit about the conditions as long as it does not conflict with our cricket,” Campbell said. “We can’t have players substituting domestic cricket with club cricket in another country.” Taylor is still contracted to ZC. He will meet up with the squad once they reach New Zealand.The tour will be a litmus test for Taylor, who will lead Zimbabwe for the first time away from home since taking over the captaincy after the World Cup last year. It will also include the first away Test Zimbabwe will play in six years, after they made a return to the five-day format in August 2011.Sibanda was an integral part of Zimbabwe’s Test comeback. He scored 78 against Bangladesh in their first Test of the new era, which Zimbabwe won by 130 runs. He also contributed an important and 93 in the 34-run loss to New Zealand in Bulawayo two months later. As one of their most senior players in the Zimbabwe squad, Sibanda was also part of the leadership team.Despite the snub, Sibanda’s chances of representing Zimbabwe are not over. He is currently playing for the Rhinos on a pay-as-you-play basis and will renegotiate a contract at the start of the next season. “If he plays in Zimbabwe and shows his commitment to our cricket, he will be considered again,” Campbell said.

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.

Pretoria Capitals have a revamped squad and support staff for the upcoming SA20 season

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Dec-2025Keshav Maharaj has been appointed Pretoria Capitals (PC) captain for the upcoming season of the SA20 league, replacing Rilee Rossouw. He was captain of Durban Super Giants until last season,”Maharaj brings a wealth of international pedigree across formats, along with a proven track record of guiding teams with composure, clarity and intent,” Capitals said in a statement on Friday. “Having captained South Africa in white-ball cricket and served as a senior figure within the national setup for several years, Maharaj’s leadership experience, tactical understanding and consistency make him an invaluable addition in this role. His presence strengthens the balance and direction of the Pretoria Capitals squad as the team heads into the new season.”Capitals have a revamped set-up this season, with Sourav Ganguly, the former India captain, taking over as head coach. Ganguly replaced Jonathan Trott and will be assisted by former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock.Related

• How the SA20 squads stack up after the auction

The franchise went into the auction in September with the biggest purse – 32.5 million Rand (US$1.85 million approx.) – and also the most slots to fill: 16. They splurged on Dewald Brevis, breaking the SA20 pay record by bidding 16.5 million Rand (US$945,000 approx.) on the batter.Maharaj was one of their big buys at the auction, where they also acquired Lungi Ngidi, Lizaad Williams, Craig Overton, Saqib Mahmood and Codi Yusuf, among others. Andre Russell, who recently retired as a player from the IPL before signing on as Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) power coach, was acquired as a wild card, while Will Jacks and Sherfane Rutherford were their pre-auction signings.Capitals have had an up and down time in the SA20 so far: they finished the first season at the top of the table in the group stage, before losing to Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the final. In the two seasons since then – in 2023-24 and 2024-25 – they have had more middling results, finishing fifth both times and failing to qualify for the playoffs.The 2025-26 season of the SA20 begins on December 26 with a contest between MI Cape Town and Durban’s Super Giants. Capitals begin their season the following day with a fixture against Joburg Super Kings. The final will be played on January 25, 2026.