Karnataka rocked Goa to bring a hurried end to their first innings on the first day of their Ranji Trophy league match at Bangalore on Tuesday.Winning the toss, Karnataka skipper J Arunkumar opted to field first, hoping that his seamers could take advantage of helpful conditions to bundle out a weak Goan batting line-up early. The bowlers did not disappoint. Venkatesh Prasad, Dodda Ganesh, and NSC Aiyappa took three wickets each, between them bowling Goa out for a miserable 80.Karnataka then rubbed salt into the wound, racking up 146/1 by the close of play on Day One. Skipper Arunkumar was unbeaten on 77 off 116 balls, striking 15 fours in his innings. Barrington Rowland gave him good support, making 36 off 73.
Sharjah, March 27: India came here with the reputation of being thefavourites. But they did nothing special to justify all the hype. Theynow face the prospects of returning home early. Only an extraordinarytwist to the Sharjah Cup script can delay their flight.On Monday, India were bowled out for 164 – exactly the same score theyhad made in the opening match against the Proteas – but the onlydifference being they didn’t lose by 10 wickets. This time the marginwas a bit better – six wickets with 7.2 overs to spare.South Africa with three clean victories from as many matches have madeit to the final with ease and they take on Pakistan in the last matchof the double-league preliminaries on Tuesday. Even if Pakistan lose,they might still qualify for the triangular series final since theyhave a much better run-rate.The only way India can date South Africa in the final if Pakistan losethe match by more than 100 runs if they bat second. If South Africabat second than they have to achieve the target before 35 overs torelegate Pakistan to the third place.”Only a miracle can save India,” as skipper Saurav Ganguly said afterthe match.On Monday, defending such a small score and that too against a teamwho are on a roll here, India did sparkle for a while when VenkateshPrasad removed Herschelle Gibbs and Lance Klusener off successiveballs in the eighth over.And when dangerman Gary Kirsten (31 off 44 balls) holed out to skipperSaurav Ganguly at slips off Anil Kumble and Neil McKenzie fell toNikhil Chopra, India looked like fighting back into the game. ButSouth Africa, four down for 50 in the 26th over, applied themselves tothe task at hand with maturity to frustrate the Indian camp.Leading the charge was Kallis and skipper Hansie Cronje himself. Thetwo prospered in a match-winning stand of 71 runs to steer their teamhome in 42.4 overs. Kallis remained not out on 53 off 93 balls withtwo fours and two sixes while Cronje, who smashed the winning four offRobin Singh, was unbeaten on 42 off 69 balls.Earlier, the Indian batsmen simply struggled to put across the naggingSouth African bowlers, who didn’t do anything extraordinary, butbowled wicket to wicket, cramming the batsmen for space to executetheir shots. At times even scoring singles was a luxury.Bowling under overcast conditions, South Africa struck the first blowin the fifth over when Hayward got rid of Saurav Ganguly for six.Coach Kapil Dev changed the batting order, sending Mohammed Azharuddinahead of Rahul Dravid. The move seemed to pay off when he andTendulkar built up a stand of 70 runs for the second wicket to takethe score to 80 by the 23rd over when Azharuddin, trying to steal asingle of a misfield, failed to beat a direct throw from Neil McKenziewas caught short of the crease.The most experienced batsman in the world with 331 one-day matchesunder his belt wasn’t at ease during his knock of 36 which came off 65balls with five fours.Tendulkar met a similar fate as that of Azhar, attempting to score asingle which wasn’t there and a direct throw from Gibbs found him wellshort of the crease.Ajay Jadeja, who came two down, looked pretty mystified when he wasruled lbw after a Steve Elworthy delivery hit his pad just above theknee roll.Dravid and Robin Singh batted painstakingly against the disciplinedSouth African bowlers who bowled according to the field which furthermade lift difficult for the two. Dravid managed to score 26 off 60balls with two fours while Robin Singh chipped in with 28 off 45 ballsto add some useful contribution to the crawling scoreboard.Blond Hayward returned with the best spell, taking four wickets for 31runs while Lance Klusener took two for 35.”In the end it was batting that let us down,” concluded Kapil Dev.
West Ham United fans will be sweating after seeing the in-form Jarrod Bowen substituted through injury at Anfield on Saturday night as the Hammers narrowly lost 1-0 to Liverpool.
What’s the latest?
The Englishman was withdrawn in the second half after being caught by the Reds’ left-back Andy Robertson and looked to be in some pain.
Speaking to the media post-match, manager David Moyes said: “It looks like something in his heel it happened in the tackle with Andy Robertson and then he ran back to the edge of the box and then went down.
“I was hoping it would not be too bad but what I did not like was he came off unable to bear weight so we will get him scanned and see what it is. For me, look I am not a physio but it is not an obvious looking injury to me at the moment, it looks as if he has been caught near the Achilles.”
Moyes will be livid
After regular captain, Declan Rice was deemed unavailable through illness, the blow of potentially losing Bowen too will be a major concern for the Hammers manager and fanbase.
The winger has been in sensational form since the turn of the year, scoring seven goals in his last 11 appearances across the Premier League and FA Cup and is by far the east London side’s most potent goal threat currently.
With Bowen’s 12 goals and nine assists across all competitions this campaign, the 25-year-old is the Irons’ top scorer, with striker Michail Antonio second with ten goals and nine assists.
Moyes’ side are still targeting a top-six finish in the Premier League and have European commitments to deal with, starting on Thursday as the Scotsman returns to Spain to take on La Liga high flyers Sevilla in the Europa League round of 16, having had a stint managing Real Sociedad.
However, the potential absence of Bowen will provide a major dent in the Hammers’ hopes of ensuring their campaign is a success and doesn’t fizzle out with a significant decrease in offensive threat.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Striker Michail Antonio hasn’t scored in the top-flight since 1 January whilst attacking midfielders Said Benrahma and Nikola Vlasic are yet to find the back of the net in 2022.
Although it is still unknown how long the 25-year-old will be absent, Moyes will have a major headache trying to find goals from alternative sources whilst Bowen is on the sidelines.
In other news: West Ham handed huge injury boost as exciting Rush Green image emerges
As a young bowler Brett Lee did not understand why it was necessary to pace himself, but over the past two years he has worked on picking the moments to go flat-out. Since taking over from Glenn McGrath as Australia’s bowling leader he has collected some crucial breakthroughs to swing the momentum back to his team and on the opening day he did it on three occasions.Having chosen the wrong end in an effort to run with the breeze, he switched after four overs and quickly picked up Wasim Jaffer. Later in the day he stepped up to capture the crucial wicket of an on-song Sachin Tendulkar, although the lbw dismissal was unfair, and VVS Laxman was forced into an ugly pull shot with the second new ball.”I now know when to go up and down a gear,” Lee, who finished with 3 for 64, said. “There are times when you’re bowling at 95% and trying to get the right line and length, but there are times when you have to go full tilt, like when you need a wicket. You’ve just got to work out when to do it and when to pull back.”Lee’s first spell went for 25, but as soon as he sprinted in from the Lillee-Marsh End his day changed. “I wanted to take the wind first up, but the ball didn’t swing for the first couple of overs because it was coming over my left shoulder instead of my right,” he said. “I asked to go to the other end after four overs and it started swinging immediately and I took the wicket of Jaffer. If the wind is coming over your right shoulder it’s always happy days.”Temperatures hovered in the mid-30s and the Australians were drained by the heat, which contributed to them managing only 84 overs. Lee was not concerned by the slow over-rate – “When four quicks are steaming in off 30-odd metres on hot days it’s tough” – but the weather was more of an issue.”When you see seagulls walking around with their mouths open you know it’s a pretty hot day and a few of our guys were doing it as well,” he said. “It was tough out there and you’ve just got to hang in.”India finished at 6 for 297 and Lee was hoping for a quick clean-up on day two before putting his feet up in conditions expected to reach 39C. “If we had them four-down for 300 it might have been a different story, but with those two late wickets, making it six-down, Australia are in a pretty good position.”Rahul Dravid, who top scored with 93, thought Lee was at the top of his game. “Over the last year and a half he has had pace, but he has also bowled in the right areas and been thinking about his dismissals,” he said. “He has been improving all the time since I first came here in 1999.” Lee will probably never be as thoughtful as McGrath, but he has done an outstanding job of covering for him.
Stuart Clark, the most high profile omission from Australia’s World Cup squad, could return to county cricket during the off season if a deal with Hampshire can be arranged. It would mean an enticing partnership with Shane Warne, who he shared 49 wickets with during the Ashes series.Discussions about a move to the Rose Bowl began during the Ashes series, but it had been widely expected that Clark would line-up for the World Cup and be part of Australia’s long-term one-day plans. Now, though, he is eager to play more cricket in an aim to show confirm his standing among Australia’s best all-round pacemen”The chance to play with Warney again would be fantastic,” Clark told the . “I have really enjoyed the few opportunities I have had to bowl with him in the past, and to get the chance to do that again would be great.”My immediate focus is on this Pura Cup season with NSW, but beyond that, there are certainly a few opportunities out there. I have played for Middlesex quite recently, and there was talk earlier this season about an opportunity at Hampshire. We might look to reopen those talks. It’s in my manager’s hands.”Clark’s stint with Middlesex came in 2004 and 2005. During his time at Lord’s be bagged 25 wickets at 25 apiece and was called up to Australia’s Ashes squad in 2005 as cover for Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee, but didn’t make his debut until the tour of South Africa in March 2006.
At Willowmoore Park in Benoni, the Titans were stretched to the lastthree balls by the Warriors in their effort to pass a small target of 113 to win by four wickets. Having been asked to bat first on a two-pacedpitch the Warriors collapsed to 112, with Justin Kreusch scoring73. The next highest was 16 from Robin Peterson as first Brendon Reddypicked up 3 for 31 and then Pierre de Bruyn mixed it up to take 4for 11. Some poor batting from the Titans top order saw them collapse to39 for 5 after 10 overs. It was left to Goolam Bodi and Albie Morkel tosensibly bat the Titans back into a winning position. Their 73-runpartnership was ended with the scores level and Bodi failing to clearmid-off for 43. It was, however, the 46 off 30 balls from Morkel thatsaved the Titans some embarrassment.Rain in Bloemfontein saw the Lions beat the Eagles by 28 runs according to the Duckworth-Lewis method when rain ended all chances of play afterthe Eagles had faced 7.4 overs. The Lions had earlier totalled 174 intheir 20 overs with Neil McKenzie striking a brilliant 85 off 49 balls.Andy Blignaut, making his debut for the Lions, waded in with 32 off 16as the Lions set a reasonable target. Rain however spoilt any chance ofexcitement with the Eagles scoring 40 for 4 as they tried to reach theadjusted target. With the rain increasing the umpires had no alternativebut to leave the field of play after only 7.4 overs.
Ehsan Mani, the ICC’s president, has dismissed claims that they had discouraged Sharjah as an international venue. Sharjah last hosted an international event in April 2003, when Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Kenya squared off in the Sharjah Cup, but Mani felt it was up to the individual boards to take the initiative to play there.”As far as the ICC is concerned, Sharjah is a recognised venue,” Mani told The Indian Express. “We have held two ICC tournaments in the recent past, and it’s really up to every individual country’s board to decide on playing there. It’s for the Cricketers Benefit Fund Series [CBFS] and other cricket boards to decide when they can work out a timetable to play at Sharjah. We have no problems.”Sharjah also came into the spotlight when the match-fixing scandal broke out in 2001, and speculation has been rife about the reasons for the lack of recent international matches there. However, CBFS officials mentioned that one of the reasons for no tournaments being held for the last two years was the non-availability of teams owing to the hectic international schedule.Mani also met P Chidambaram, India’s finance minister, to discuss the tax exemptions for the ICC Champions Trophy, which is scheduled to be held in India in 2006. The ICC had earlier indicated that if the tax wasn’t exempted, the tournament would have to be held elsewhere. Chidambaram, though, assured Mani that the government would look into the matter.
Glamorgan will enter the final day of their Championship matchagainst Northants at Cardiff needing a further 215 runs with6 wickets in hand to win their final home game of the seasonand maintain their bid for promotion into Division One.The visitors set the Welsh county a target of 382 after havingbeen dismissed for 265 in their second innings, with Robert Crofttaking 5/93 to record a ten wicket haul in the contest, and a matchanalysis of 10/147 – his best return for 11 years.Resuming on 80/2, Northamptonshire lost David Sales and Mark Powellin the first half hour as Glamorgan`s seamers struck in their openingspell. As in their first innings, Mike Hussey remained defiant atthe other end, but shortly after, he had reached his half-century, theintroduction of Robert Croft accounted for the visiting captain ashe was caught by Matthew Maynard for 50.This brought an abrupt end to Hussey`s productive sequence that had seenhim record five successive first-class hundreds – only Don Bradman, C.B. Fryand Mike Procter have scored six in a row.Despite some resistance from Jeff Cook and Graeme Swann, Croft proceeded towork his way through the middle and lower order, reducing Northants to 207/9,before a merry tenth wicket stand between Andre Nel and Jason Brownthwarted Glamorgan`s aspirations.The pair had added 58 before Nel was caught by Michael Kasprowiczto give Croft his fifth victim, but their lusty blows meant thatGlamorgan required a formidable target of 382 on a wicket giving some help to thespinners, and more than they had ever scored in the fourth innings ofa Championship match to win the game (367-4 v Essex at Chemsford in 2001).However, Jimmy Maher and Mark Wallace made a positive start, adding 63 runsin even time, until in the final over before tea, Maher went down the wicketto Brown and was stumped. Wallace was run out soon afterwards, and then AdrianDale was dismissed by Graeme Swann to leave Glamorgan 91/3.Matthew Maynard, drawing on all of his experience, stoutly defended againstthe Northants spinners, but in the final half-hour he lost Mike Powell asGlamorgan ended the day on 167/4, with Maynard unbeaten on 46.
Major Indian-based portal sify.com is reporting that a solution to the current ICC-BCCI crisis is close. They report that J Dalmiya and the BCCI are willing to stand Sehwag down for the first Test against England, thus fulfiling the ICC imposed ban. In return they are requesting that the ICC soften their stance on the penalty handed out to Tendulkar, and address other concerns raised by the BCCI. Negotations are still continuing, however, but it appears that the position of both sides is softening.The first Test between England and India is due to start in Mohali on Monday. Earlier today, the ICC offered to extend the previous deadline of 6:30 am Friday.
The West Indies made up with their bowling and fielding on the 2nd day what they lost by their batting on the 1st. After dismissing New Zealand “A” for 193, giving them a nice lead of 39, after making 232 in their 1st innings, the West Indies are 50-0, after 24 overs, in their 2nd innings, an overall lead of 89. Adrian Griffith is 23 not out, including four fours, while Chris Gayle is 26 not out, also including four boundaries.The rains came with about half an hour and six more overs to be completed for the 2nd day.Earlier, New Zealand “A” started the 2nd day on 90-2, with Mark Richardson on 38 not out and Bruce Martin, the night-watchman, yet to score. The partnership did not last, but, surprisingly, it was the better batsman, Richardson, who went first.He had added only 01 run to his overnight score when he played, half-cocked, to a good Reon King delivery, the 5th of the morning, the resulting edge speeding to Brian Lara, who took a very sharp catch at 1st slip. Richardson out for 39, including five 4’s; New Zealand “A” 92-3.Bruce Martin too was soon out. Similarly, he too had only added 01 when he drove full-bloodedly at Nixon McLean, the resulting scorcher ending up at cover point for the substitute fieldsman, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, on for Franklyn Rose, to take a straightforward catch. Rose was off with a strained hamstring muscle. Bruce Martin out for 01; New Zealand “A” 92-4.Glen Sulzberger, in at No. 5, was promptly dropped, twice, from the first two deliveries he faced. He tried to pull leg-spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo through the leg side, the resulting under edge just eluding wicket-keeper Wayne Phillip’s gloves. The very next delivery, Nagamootoo again found the edge, but this time Chris Gayle, at slip, spilled the catch to get the batsman off the mark.Soon, though, Sulzberger was very responsible for the run out of Jacob Oram, who batted at No. 6. Sulzberger played a delivery to short cover and started immediately for a single, putting great pressure on Oram at the non-striker’s end to react. Adrian Griffith at cover reacted quicker than Oram, and his return to Ramnaresh Sarwan at the striker’s end beat Oram by a long way. Oram run out for 00; New Zealand “A” 95-5.Sulzberger and Jerrod Englefield then put on the best partnership of New Zealand “A”s innings with some encouraging strokes. They carried the score from 95-5 to 158-6, a partnership of 63, before Sulzberger became the 1st wicket after lunch. He pushed tentatively at a Jimmy Adams leg-break, the resulting edge lodging in wicket-keeper Wayne Phillip’s glove this time. Sulzberger out for 37, made in 123 deliveries, and including six fours; New Zealand “A” 158-6.The last four wickets then added only 35 runs as the West Indian bowlers, especially fast bowler Nixon McLean, thwarted the very blustery conditions to bring the innings to a quick end. 158-6 became 176-7 when Englefield tried to back-cut to Mahendra Nagamootoo’s top-spinner, the resulting under-edge cannoning onto the stumps. Englefield bowled for 30 made from 143 deliveries and containing four boundaries.At 192, Scott Styris was comprehensively beaten and bowled by a very fast Nixon McLean leg-cutter. Styris out for 22 which included four fours and lasted 42 deliveries. Darryl Tuffey was promptly out, caught at the wicket from McLean’s bowling for 00; New Zealand “A” 192-9 and then Chris Martin was run out going for an impossible run, Nagamootoo at cover point hitting the stumps directly.New Zealand “A” were all out for 193 from 92.2 overs, leaving the West Indies with a lead of 39. Nixon McLean was the West Indies best bowler with 3-37 from 21.2 overs, while Mahendra Nagamootoo had 2-68 from 34 overs and Reon King had 2-28 from 19 overs. Overall, 33 minutes were lost in the New Zealand “A” innings due to rain.So, the West Indies will start the 3rd day at 50-0, an overall lead of 89. They could well use the 3rd day to get some good batting practice in.