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Craig Kieswetter produced a timely return to form as Somerset crushed Northamptonshire by seven wickets at Taunton to reach the Friends Provident t20 Finals Day

27-Jul-2010
ScorecardCraig Kieswetter produced a timely return to form as Somerset crushed Northamptonshire by seven wickets at Taunton to reach the Friends Provident t20 Finals Day. The England one-day wicketkeeper hit 33 off 28 balls, with a six and four fours to help his side chase down a simple target of 113 with three overs to spare. Peter Trego (30) and James Hildreth (25 not out) were the other main contributors.Northamptonshire aided their own demise with three run-outs after winning the toss. Only Stephen Peters (40 not out) and Rob White (26) could make any impression on a turning pitch as left-arm spinners Murali Kartik (1 for 15) and Arul Suppiah (1 for 14) tied them in knots.After Kieswetter’s bright start, Trego ensured an early finish with two big sixes off James Middlebrook, who eventually dismissed him, but could not match the economy of the Somerset spinners or of team-mate Jack Brooks, who bowled four overs for 11.The Steelbacks had not helped themselves with some wretched calling at the start of the match. Chaminda Vaas was dismissed without facing a ball, responding to White’s bid for a third run off only the second delivery of the game.Alex Wakely then drove Ben Phillips to mid-off where Mark Turner spilled a low catch. But when White failed to respond to the call for a single, both batsmen ended up at the bowler’s end and Turner’s throw to the wicketkeeper saw Wakely run out for eight.It was 31 for 2 at the end of the six power play overs and 32 for 3 when David Sales pulled Turner straight to Kartik at mid-wicket. The introduction of Kartik to the bowling attack immediately paid dividends on the dry, used pitch as he clean-bowled White with an arm ball. That made it 42 for 4 in the eighth over.Marcus Trescothick reacted to the sight of the ball turning by bringing on Suppiah at the other end and his first delivery saw Elton Chigumbura stumped by Kieswetter. Northamptonshire were in disarray as they found it almost impossible to get the spinners away for boundaries. They had struggled to 81 for 5 in the 18th over when Andrew Hall was run out by Hildreth.Trego went for 18 off the penultimate over as Peters at last cleared the rope, Turner picking up an ankle injury as he jumped to try and take the catch at deep midwicket. But it was much too little too late to set Somerset any sort of challenge.

RB Salzburg midfielder Brenden Aaronson remains Leeds United’s ‘number one target’ this month, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

The Lowdown: Leeds push to sign Aaronson

The Whites are in need of signing a new midfielder in the January transfer window, as Marcelo Bielsa looks to fill the sizeable void left by the injured Kalvin Phillips.

Aaronson has been strongly linked with a move to Elland Road in recent days, with a number of bids made for the 15-time capped USA international.

Salzburg continue to hold firm, as they look to keep hold of the 21-year-old, but Leeds are pushing hard to get a transfer over the line.

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The Latest: Journalist makes fresh claim

Speaking to Give Me Sport, O’Rourke confirmed that Aaronson is the man the Whites most want to sign in the coming days:

“Leeds have bid for Brenden Aaronson and it does appear that he is the number one target.”

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The Verdict: Deal looks likely

With each passing day, the more it looks as though Leeds will get their man, with reliable journalists such as Phil Hay reporting the news in the last 24 hours or so.

Aaronson could be a superb signing for the Whites, not only coming in as a long-term option but also someone who can immediately become an influential figure.

The American has been hailed as ‘special’ by former coach Jim Curtin and already has 51 appearances to his name for Salzburg, scoring 10 times and registering 12 assists.

While more attack-minded than Phillips, he can still make up for the loss of him currently, averaging two tackles per game in the Champions League this season.

In other news, Leeds have reportedly been boosted in their pursuit of one player. Find out who it is here.

Taking to social media, 90min reporter Graeme Bailey has shared a West Ham United transfer update as their offer for Leeds United star Raphinha gets rejected.

The Lowdown: West Ham table marquee bid…

Over the past two days, big reports emerged of West Ham’s offer to sign the Brazil international in what was a surprise late January window move.

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Insider Claret & Hugh had broken news that big bids were lodged by the Hammers, all of which were turned down, though mystery surrounded who exactly they were made for.

90min now believe one of them was a sky high £50m for Raphinha – but it has been swiftly rejected as Leeds aim to keep hold of their South American star.

In an update, however, reporter Bailey has made an intriguing claim.

The Latest: Raphinha ‘would be keen’ to join West Ham…

According to the reporter, Leeds’ attacker actually ‘would be keen’ on a move to West Ham as the club’s £50m approach is knocked back.

However, he has also ‘loved his time’ at Elland Road and would only green-light a move with their ‘blessing’.

The Verdict: Come back in the summer?

Given this news, it isn’t impossible to think that West Ham could come back in for Raphinha in the summer when there is more time to orchestrate an agreement.

There is little doubting, from our perspective, that the 25-year-old is certainly worth breaking West Ham’s transfer record to sign.

Racking up a career-total of 59 goals, Brazilian international teammates Emerson Royal and Gabriel Magalhaes both believe he is a ‘phenomenon’ – as they stated on Instagram (via Subhankar Mondal).

However, after their £50m bid was rejected, a West Ham move for Raphinha could be a very difficult to pull off and it will be interesting to see just how far they could go to back manager David Moyes.

In other news: Sky Sports: West Ham eye 11th hour move for 82-goal striker as ‘another name’ emerges, find out more here.

Dominic Cork has expressed his disappointment at not being able to take Hampshire to the Champions League in South Africa after leading them to the Friends Provident t20 title

Andrew McGlashan16-Aug-2010Dominic Cork has expressed his disappointment at not being able to take Hampshire to the Champions League in South Africa after leading them to the Friends Provident t20 title. They clinched the trophy by losing fewer wickets as scores finished level against Somerset but, unlike last year when Somerset and Sussex headed to India in October this season, there are no places for English counties due to a fixture clash.The Champions League runs from September 10-26 which coincides with the closing two weeks of the domestic season, including the conclusion of the County Championship and CB40, and also England’s one-day series against Pakistan. The ECB had brought the end of the season forward by a week under the belief the tournament would be held in late September but it was shifted so that India could play Australia.It left the ECB with no choice but to say to counties couldn’t take part because of the extensive changes that would have been required to the domestic fixtures. There is a certain irony, then, that Hampshire with their strong IPL links to Rajasthan Royals are one of the teams that would have qualified for the Champions League and Cork said it was a major loss for the club as well as English cricket.”It’s a disappointment for me as a player because I’d have loved to have gone but also for the guys who have performed so well, the younger players who would have benefited from playing against top international cricketers,” he told Cricinfo Switch Hit podcast. “It’s just a shame we won’t be able to go and I hope the ECB are looking at that to make sure counties are represented in the biggest competitions in the future.”We’ve seen how when the England players were first refused a chance to go to the IPL England’s Twenty20 campaign was disastrous and when they were allowed to go all of a sudden we win a World Cup in West Indies,” he added. “That’s no coincidence, that’s the fact that players are able to perform in the biggest competitions. Hopefully now the ECB can look at the Champions League, put all these rows to bed with India and sort it out because English cricket will suffer if we don’t have clubs represented.”It is hoped that from next year there will be a clear window after the English season which will allow counties to rejoin the tournament although there remains a feeling that the ECB have been left behind in the global development of Twenty20 despite inventing the format back in 2003. Discussions remain ongoing about the structure for domestic cricket from next season with serious movements being made towards a franchise-style structure based around the Test grounds.Cork believes the biggest change that needs to be made is a reduction in the number of matches after an explosion in fixtures meant 151 games in this year’s Friends Provident t20. But he thinks that county teams would be able to hold their own against IPL franchises.”The English Twenty20 is a very strong tournament,” he said. “It was too long with 16 qualifying games and the ECB need to look at that because we don’t want to reach overkill, but the fact we can attract some very good Twenty20 players, and the fact there are some good domestic players, means we can be very proud in having a strong competition. Hopefully we can keep it as strong as possible and I’m sure if we were able to play IPL teams all counties would put up a good performance.”

Worcestershire’s hopes of achieving promotion were left hanging by athread after rain and a stubborn eighth-wicket stand frustrated themat New RoadSussex to191 for 7 at New Road

George Dobell at New Road14-Sep-2010
ScorecardWorcestershire’s hopes of achieving promotion were left hanging by athread after rain and a stubborn eighth-wicket stand frustrated themat New Road.Only 14 overs were possible on the second day of their championshipmatch with Sussex, during which time the visitors’ extended theirfirst innings by 34 runs without any further loss. Both Andrew Hoddand Will Beer drove pleasingly in taking their unbeaten partnership to77. Beer has already achieved his highest first-class score, whileHodd passed 50 for just the second time in the championship season.Realistically the hosts require a win from this match if they are togain promotion. They went into the game nine points behindsecond-placed Glamorgan and, though Worcestershire picked up anothercouple of points on the first day, the lack of play at Cardiff and NewRoad has done them few favours.If Worcestershire and Glamorgan finishlevel on points, it is Glamorgan who will be promoted. Not only havethey currently won more games, they also won both matches between thetwo sides.Worcestershire retain some hope, however. Sussex, who are alreadyassured of promotion as Division Two champions, have expressed somewillingness to ‘make a game of it’ over the last couple of days. Theyhave nothing to lose and will be prepared to gamble in pursuit ofanother victory.They are not at full strength, either. Missing Ed Joyce, MichaelYardy, Michael Thornely, Corey Collymore and Matt Prior, theirbatting, in particular, appears brittle. If the weather relents,Worcestershire may yet have a chance of snatching promotion.Meanwhile, off the pitch, Sussex confirmed the signing of Amjad Khanon a three-year deal. The 29-year-old fast bowler, who representedEngland in a Test only 18-months ago, was unable to agree terms withhis previous club, the cash-strapped Kent. Sussex have also submitteda 28-day approach for Worcestershire’s 26-year-old all-rounder GarethAndrew.Worcestershire also hope to announce plans for the next stage of theirground development imminently. It is understood that the club havereached agreement with various partners to ensure that the £10 millionhotel development will begin at the New Road end of the ground withinweeks. The club, who will not be borrowing any money to finance thescheme, hope that revenue generated from the development willsafeguard their financial future for years to come.On a less positive note, it is understood that contract talks betweenthe club and Moeen Ali, the 23-year-old England Lions all-rounder,have not gone well. Moeen is contracted until the end of 2011, butWorcestershire had hoped to secure his services on a longer-term deal.

Tottenham are thought to be preparing a summer swoop for Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, according to Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Osimhen profiled

Osimhen is 23 years of age and has been a Napoli player for 18 months following a £67.5m move from Lille.

The Nigerian has scored 19 times in 46 appearances for his current employers and is under contract until 2025.

Also capable of playing on either wing, Osimhen is currently rated at £54m by Transfermarkt, the highest of his career, and it seems as if Tottenham are big admirers.

The Latest: Approach already made

According to Football Insider, who were informed by recruitment sources, Spurs made an approach for Osimhen last month but were knocked back by the Serie A side.

However, the report adds that Spurs chief Fabio Paratici is planning to swoop for the forward once again in the summer with an A-list striker on Spurs’ wishlist.

Antonio Conte wants competition for Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min, with Osimhen valued by his club at a whopping £70m.

The Verdict: A gamble…

Spurs have seen in the past that big-money moves for players abroad don’t always work out, with Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso examples after sealing late loan exits last month.

On that basis, paying a club-record fee for Osimhen could be a gamble, especially with Napoli requesting more than his current market value.

He has no experience of English football and has played just five games in the Champions League.

Conte wants a centre-forward, but perhaps it would make sense to look at cheaper alternatives, especially if Kane remains a Spurs player beyond the summer window.

In other news: ‘Understand…’ – Alasdair Gold drops fresh claim with ‘more’ Tottenham exit news. 

West Ham United are interested in a deal to bring Cameron Carter-Vickers to the London Stadium in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by TEAMtalk, who claim that West Ham, as well as Leicester City, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Burnley, Watford, West Bromwich Albion and AFC Bournemouth, are keeping a very close eye on the situation of the Tottenham Hotspur centre-back ahead of a potential swoop this summer.

However, the report goes on to state that Celtic, where the 24-year-old is currently on loan, do hold an option to purchase the defender on a permanent basis, with the figure for this deal believed to be around £10m.

Moyes can axe Diop with Carter-Vickers

With the heart of the West Ham defence having been something of a problem position for David Moyes so far this season, as Angelo Ogbonna has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with an ACL injury, Kurt Zouma being caught up in well documented off-field issues and Issa Diop generally failing to impress when filling in at the back, it is easy to see why the 58-year-old would be interested in a deal for Carter-Vickers.

Indeed, since making a season-long switch to Celtic last summer, the £2.7m-rated centre-back has been in astonishing form over his 22 Premiership appearances, helping his side keep 11 clean sheets, scoring two goals and providing one assist, in addition to making an average of 1.3 interceptions, 0.9 tackles, 79.1 passes, 4.7 clearances and winning six duels – at a success rate of 71% – per game.

These metrics have seen the £20k-per-week USA international who Graeme Jones dubbed “incredible” and Jan Vertonghen labelled a “beast” average a remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.36, ranking the Spurs loanee as the sixth-best player in the league.

As such, when taking into account the £12.5m-rated Diop – who is reportedly earning £67k-per-week at the London Stadium – has averaged a rather less impressive SofaScore match rating of 6.68 over his nine Premier League appearances this season, it would appear highly advisable for Moyes to finally cut his losses on the player Toby Cudworth dubbed “frightening” this summer, before reinvesting the funds received from his sale into a move for Carter-Vickers.

In other news: £1m per appearance: £42k-per-week West Ham dud has been rinsing Moyes for 110 weeks

England’s cricketers will depart for Australia later this month with no contractual issues hanging over the squad, after the ECB agreed a three-year framework with the Professional Cricketers’ Association that will cover all negotiations up until Septembe

Andrew Miller04-Oct-2010England’s cricketers will depart for Australia later this month with no contractual issues hanging over the squad, after the ECB agreed a three-year framework with the Professional Cricketers’ Association that will cover all negotiations up until September 30, 2013.England contracts have been a bone of contention for the elite players in recent seasons, with the advent of the Indian Premier League heralding a new era of financial opportunity beyond international cricket, and the contracts that were offered for the 2009-10 season remained unsigned throughout the international year.Although the ECB’s individual Central Contracts will continue to be offered for 12-month periods, the agreed framework will cover all remuneration matters for the next three years, and includes a comprehensive set of agreements on playing and management matters, including involvement in the IPL, and the compensation due to the ECB and counties if the players are released to play.”It’s been a long process, but ultimately a very constructive one,” Angus Porter, the PCA chief executive, told ESPNcricinfo. “You could say that we’ve signed this year’s contracts spot on time, or that we are 12 months’ late with last year’s, but either way, I think all parties accepted that an annual bunfight is not in the best interests of England cricket. It has made much more sense to agree a long-term deal going forward.””We are delighted to have concluded a three-year deal and to have all contractual issues resolved well in advance of the Ashes tour,” said Hugh Morris, Managing Director England Cricket. “The terms and conditions are well structured, will encompass two Ashes series and an ICC Cricket World Cup, and will continue to offer additional rewards to players for successful team performances.”Our player contracts are a really important part of what England Cricket is all about, and although it has taken a long time, it was worth taking the time,” added Morris. “Over the last six or seven years our negotiations have become ever more complicated and wide-reaching, so we needed to consider a lot of issues, tackle them all one by one, and then put them all down in one document.””This agreement is good for the players, and good for cricket in England and Wales,” added Porter. “We are delighted that the England players will be able to focus on cricket for the next three years without the risk of being distracted by contract negotiations.”Porter added that the three-year timescale had been chosen because it ties in with the ECB’s existing commercial deals, most significantly the current broadcasting deal with BSkyB, which also expires in 2013. “By aligning the rewards with the ECB’s ability to pay, they’ll be in a better position to forecast what they can offer,” he said.The fact that an Ashes tour is looming helped to concentrate the minds of all parties in the negotiations, conceded Porter. “I’d like to think that we’d have got to this point regardless,” he said, “but it’s always helpful to have dates to aim for. I don’t think any of us would pretend we weren’t all convinced that a resolution before the tour began was desirable.”

Since their promotion to the Premier League back in 2018, Wolves have reasserted themselves as a solid Premier League side.

They finished seventh in their first two seasons back in the top flight, and after sustaining something of a blip finishing in a 13th place the season in 2020/21, now look as though they will add to their consistency of finishing in the top half of the table with what looks to be, but not guaranteed, an eighth-place finish.

However, while their position in the table looks positive, they have struggled to score goals this season, averaging just one goal per match, a stat that places them 16th, just ahead of the likes of Watford, Brighton & Hove Albion, Burnley and Norwich City.

As such, it is clear to see they need some more creativity in attack, so the latest reports will surely be welcomed by Old Gold supporters.

What’s the word?

According to a report from Spanish outlet Super Deporte, two Premier League teams have enquired about signing Sevilla’s versatile winger; Lucas Ocampos.

The two Premier League teams in question are West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Whilst West Ham have asked Sevilla about the situation of the Argentine attacker, Wolves are tipped to pip them to the signing due to their positive relationship with the Andalusian club, after Rafa Mir joined Sevilla last summer.

It is said that the Spanish outfit want Ocampos to renew his contract for another year, giving them the opportunity to add a release clause of between €70m-€90m (£58m-£75m), with Sevilla not prepared to sell the Argentine attacker for less than that.

A source of creativity

It is no secret that Trincao’s loan spell from Barcelona has not exactly gone to plan from a Wolves perspective – with the £131k-per-week winger having so far scored just one goal and provided one assist over his 24 Premier League outings.

And whilst there have been glimpses of quality from the young Portuguese winger, they need consistency in their attacking line.

Ocampos can offer just that.

In three of the last four seasons, the £27m-rated attacker who journalist Fede Prami dubbed “electric” has notched up 10 or more goal contributions and has demonstrated his ability to hit the back of the net, having scored an impressive 14 league goals during the 2019/20 season in La Liga.

Wolves’ efforts to boost their offensive threat could well lie in the form of the £26k-per-week Lucas Ocampos, who would undoubtedly offer Bruno Lage a great deal more than Trincao.

AND in other news: Lage could unearth Wolves’ next Neves as Shi plots £25m bid for 17 y/o sensation

The only winning ticket Xavier Doherty is interested in is one to the World Cup

Brydon Coverdale26-Oct-2010Xavier Doherty will make his ODI debut at the MCG next Wednesday, while Victorians recover from Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup festivities, but the only winning ticket he’s interested in is one to the World Cup. Doherty is the latest spinner to be called into Australia’s side and the chairman of selectors, Andrew Hilditch, believes he is the frontrunner to partner Nathan Hauritz at the World Cup.Doherty celebrated his call-up with 5 for 83 in Tasmania’s Sheffield Shield match against Victoria at the MCG. The stands were all but empty and it will be a vastly different experience in front of up to 40,000 people next week against a Sri Lankan side adept at handling spin bowling, but Doherty’s success was a good sign all the same.”It’s been one of the better days in my cricketing life,” Doherty said. “I was on a high after getting the news last night. Coming here today I had a bit to live up to and luckily things went my way today, so it was pretty pleasing.”A little confidence boost like that never goes astray. It’s good news to get going into a Shield game. I was pretty nervous going into this Shield game. I hadn’t bowled in a four-day game for six months, so I was quite nervous, which is a bit unusual for me, so it definitely helped.”He hasn’t played a lot of first-class cricket in recent seasons, but it’s hard to believe Doherty has been overlooked for so long in the shorter formats. Last summer he was the leading wicket taker in the FR Cup with 20 victims and it was merely the latest in a string of strong one-day campaigns. He will arrive on the international scene at the age of 27, and believes it is the perfect time to make his international mark.”Spin bowlers are very different,” Doherty said. “You get batsmen who are 21 and fast bowlers that are 18 or 19 can come in to this system, but for spin bowlers it’s always going to take a bit of time. Some guys will pop up at 20 and go missing and then come back in to it. I think it’s pretty perfect timing for me, because it’s allowed me to play 80 games for Tasmania and be in a lot of different situations and gain a lot of experience.”A left-arm orthodox bowler, Doherty is not a vicious turner of the ball but has thrived in the shorter formats, where he troubles batsmen with his clever changes of pace. Tasmania have enjoyed one-day success by using Doherty in tandem with Jason Krejza, and he said the arrival of Krejza in Hobart four seasons ago had given him a serious jolt.”It was a bit of a kick up the bum when he came down to Tasmania, because I was the main spinner and all of a sudden I was straight out of there,” Doherty said. “Having that competition for the spot has definitely made me a better cricketer.”It must have been good for both men, as they have each received approval from the national selectors since Krejza’s move. Doherty could get a few more calls judging by the words of Hilditch, who said Australia would aim to take two spinners to the World Cup and a left-armer would be ideal.”That would be pretty exciting to hear but there’s a lot of water to go under the bridge between now and then,” Doherty said. “That’s late February, so there’s quite a bit of cricket going on now. If that opportunity pops up that would be great, but it’s a long way away.”