All posts by h716a5.icu

Many Everton fans have been reacting to a revelation which has emerged involving Salomon Rondon.

As per The Daily Mail, the former Newcastle United and West Brom striker has now thrown himself into a hard-hitting new training regime which includes boxing, spinning and extra cardio work.

The coaching staff have been left so impressed by him that they’ve had to warn him that he needs to take days off to recover.

Rondon admitted that he does not feel he is at the level that he would like to be, so he has implemented this regime in order to try and win over the Goodison Park faithful, many of whom have slated him in recent weeks.

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The Venezuela international has struggled since signing for the Merseyside club, with no goals in nine games across all competitions so far this season, and some Toffees supporters seem to think that his new regime will not change much.

Everton fans on Rondon revelation

These Everton fans gave their reactions to Rondon’s revelation as it was shared on Twitter:

“Try running on a match day please pal.”

Credit: @PG3640

“Good laugh”

Credit: @bigrobbogolf

“Just kicking the ball would be a start.”

Credit: @PaddyWeathers4

“No thanks….Dobbin please”

Credit: @Vicaz22

“Leave the club, that will make us all happy”

Credit: @MyloOnceMore

“Wow so insightful”

Credit: @paulsteenalbo

In other news, find out what injury news before today’s clash with Brentford had many Evertonians buzzing

After Virender Sehwag had bludgeoned 44 from just 28 balls, an unhurried and unbeaten 96 from Sachin Tendulkar took India to a facile victory that took them 2-1 ahead in this five-match series

The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran21-Dec-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outSachin Tendulkar’s well-paced knock guided India to an easy victory•AFPAfter Virender Sehwag had bludgeoned 44 from just 28 balls, an unhurried and unbeaten 96 from Sachin Tendulkar took India to a facile victory that gave them a 2-1 lead in this five-match series. Sri Lanka had dominated the early stages of the match, galloping to 165 for 1 from 22.2 overs but they then subsided in bizarre fashion, undone by a combination of Ravindra Jadeja’s spin, poor shot selection and two wickets in two balls from Ishant Sharma, who had gone for 46 in his first three overs. They lost the remaining nine wickets for 74 runs and slumped to 239 all out, which India eased past with 44 balls to spare.The game changed once Sehwag, captaining in placed of the banned MS Dhoni, brought the slow bowlers on, and it was he himself who dealt the vital blow, having Kumar Sangakkara stumped for 46 despite Dinesh Karthik initially fumbling the take. India built on that success soon after, with Upul Tharanga losing his off bail in Jadeja’s opening over after an attractive 73. Sri Lanka never recovered from those twin strikes.Mahela Jayawardene’s poor series continued when he slugged a long hop from Harbhajan Singh to short midwicket, where Suresh Raina timed his leap perfectly to take the catch. Thilina Kandamby and Chamara Kapugedera stopped the rot for a few overs, but then Jadeja and Ishant combined to end all hopes of a large total.First, Kapugedera played on off Jadeja, and then Kandamby too found the inner edge off Ishant. When Suraj Randiv got a thin edge to one that moved away, it was 210 for 7. Jadeja then trapped Nuwan Kulasekara plumb in front as Sri Lanka unravelled completely. When Jadeja slid one through the defence of Ajantha Mendis, he had 4 for 32 from his 10 overs.It had been so different at the start of play, with Zaheer Khan bowling three wides in an opening over where Dilshan added two fours for good measure. Ishant, playing in place of Praveen Kumar, was greeted with a crisp shot to long-on and two meaty flails through cover. With Tharanga then whacking one down the ground for six, and Dilshan slapping another ball through cover, the 50 took just 3.4 overs, the fastest-ever against India.Ashish Nehra came on to stem the tide, and Dilshan could have gone on 36 had Karthik not made a mess of a flick on to the stumps that would have run him out. It wasn’t a costly miss, however, with a top-edged heave at Nehra ending up in Karthik’s hands soon after. By then, though, the run-rate was 10 and, with Tharanga steering and cutting the ball neatly, the runs continued to mount.Sangakkara drove Ishant straight down the ground to bring up the hundred, and when Tharanga edged Harbhajan down to third man, he had his half-century from 51 balls. Sangakkara then lofted Sehwag for a straight six, and things were looking exceedingly grim for India until the spinners and Ishant had their say.Chanaka Welegedara started the Indian innings with a maiden, and Sehwag then watched Tendulkar clip and cover-drive Kulasekara for fours. When his turn came, he took Kulasekara for three fours in an over, a feat he repeated when Lasith Malinga came on without his radar in place. Welegadara was also then smashed for three fours before Dilshan held, at the third time of asking, an attempt to belt the ball over point.After Sehwag’s exit, the run-flow eased temporarily. Tendulkar was fortunate when an inside edge off Kulasekara missed leg stump on its way for four, but with some lovely strokes being played through the covers and midwicket, the innings was soon back on track.Tendulkar greeted Mendis with a paddle and a cover-drive for four, and when he then upper-cut Kulasekara for four more, Sangakkara brought on Randiv in a bid to emulate what the Indian spinners had done earlier in the day. He duly got Gambhir, a return catch off the leading edge, but with Tendulkar well set and Yuvraj Singh finding his off-side rhythm, it looked likely to be no more than a blip.It took Tendulkar 57 balls to reach yet another half-century, and when he then dabbed Mendis through vacant slip, the target was well below 100. Yuvraj went, playing a lazy drive at Welegedera, but with Karthik taking Mendis for two fours in an over and then chipping a Malinga yorker over mid-on, India hurtled towards the target.Tendulkar carried on in unhurried fashion, with deft dabs and clips off the pads, and glances so fine they just evaded the keeper. But with Karthik clouting Randiv over long-on for a six, the century that the crowd was looking for never arrived. Not that it mattered. With Sri Lanka succumbing to the Christmas spirit of giving, what might have been a challenging chase for India became instead as pleasant as a moment under the mistletoe.

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been slamming the performance of James Tavernier despite their 2-0 win at home to Sparta Prague on Thursday night.

Two goals from Alfredo Morelos were enough to give Giovanni van Bronckhorst his first win as manager at Ibrox, a result which means that they will definitely finish second in the group and go into the next knockout round due to their superior head-to-head record against the Czech side.

However, while there were some good performances for the hosts, captain Tavernier would not have been hugely pleased with his efforts.

The right-back failed to record a single dribble, blocked shot, key pass or accurate cross in the match, while he was also guilty of losing possession of the ball on 27 separate occasions, the most by far out of any player on the pitch (SofaScore).

Rangers fans slam Tavernier

These Rangers fans slammed his performance on Twitter, with one supporter even going as far as to claim that Tavernier was ‘hopeless’ against Sparta:

“Tavernier trying to score an own goal?”

Credit: @douglaspark92

“Honestly though, how bad is Tavernier?”

Credit: @scottelderr

“Get Tavernier substituted. He’s playing like he’s never kicked a ball in his life”

Credit: @Smell_TheGlove

“Tavernier distribution been ropey in defence a few times. Barisic been OK, but not hugely involved either.”

Credit: @adamski152

“Sorry but surely Tavernier has been sussed out at this point.”

Credit: @lfin72

“Tavernier out of position so many times it’s unreal”

Credit: @ianmunr89127700

In other news, find out what Academy news has left these Gers fans gushing

A round-up of the fifth round of matches in Tiers A and B of Sri Lanka’s Premier League Tournament

Sa'adi Thawfeeq04-Nov-2009Tier AWith bad weather curtailing play for most of the final day, Saracens Sports Club was the only club to pull off a victory, beating Army Sports Club by 43 runs to record their first win of the season. Despite the loss, Army gathered enough batting and bowling points to lift themselves off the bottom of the table, at the expense of former champions Colombo Cricket Club. Saracens victory in a low-scoring game in Panagoda was fashioned by offspinner Dilshan Wimaladarma, who took a career-best 8 for 68 in the first innings and a match haul of 10 for 148, to bowl out Army for 161 and 153 in either innings. He had the support of left-arm orthodox spinner Geeth Alwis who took 6 for 36 in the second innings. On a pitch described by Saracens coach Dinesh Kumarasinghe as “not fit for a Division I club match”, the spinners held the upper hand throughout. Spinner Ajantha Mendis also bowled splendidly, capturing 6 for 64 in the Saracens second innings, along with legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna, who finished the match with 7 for 98. However, their efforts were not matched by the batsmen who failed to chase down a moderate 197 in the fourth innings.While the majority of matches turned out to be low-scoring affairs, pace-setters Nondescripts Cricket Club went on a run spree against Colombo Cricket Club (CCC) at Maitland Place, piling up the highest total so far this season, at 551 at 9. Upul Tharanga celebrated his recall to the Sri Lankan one-day side as Tillakaratne Dilshan’s opening partner for the tour of India when he blazed away to a stroke-filled 155 off 210 balls. CCC skipper Tharindu Mendis’ decision to field first turned out to be a nightmare for his team as Tharanga and his opening partner Yohan de Silva (88) gave Nondescripts a flying start with a double-century partnership. They built on that platform with rising star Dinesh Chandimal scoring his second century of the season, a career best 164 off 168 balls, as the CCC bowlers were put to the sword. CCC were pegged back further as the young Angelo Perera stroked an unbeaten half-century before captain Tharanga finally closed the innings. Riding on the experience of Bathiya Perera’s tenth first-class hundred CCC at one time looked set to challenge the NCC total at 345 for 4. However, they lost their last six wickets for 53, falling to the slow left-arm spin of Chanaka Komasaru who ended with five wickets. Although the game ended in a draw, Nondescripts gained enough batting and bowling points to consolidate their position at the top of the table.CCC coach Vipula Sittamige was optimistic that his team could turn things around in the next six weeks before the tournament ends. “We have been scoring runs and getting wickets but we have been unable to play our best eleven in any of the matches because some of our key players are not available for various reasons,” Sittamage said. “At the same time, we have been constantly unlucky not to be able to earn first-innings points from most of our games. Things will definitely change in our favour in the coming weeks.”Sri Lanka Test wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene, who is under pressure to perform with the bat ahead of the tour to India, struck timely form with a pleasing century to carry Bloomfield Cricket & Athletic Club to a challenging 336, but bad weather prevented Ragama Cricket Club from making any progress towards overhauling that total, allowing only 22 overs to be bowled in their reply at the Thurstan College Ground.Bloomfield’s inability to gain first-innings points allowed third-placed Badureliya Sports Club to narrow the gap between them to less than a point, taking first-innings honours against Moors Sports Club at Braybrooke Place. Spinner Rangana Herath failed narrowly to give Moors first-innings points, when he came up with a heroic bowling performance. He took four of the first six Badureliya wickets to leave them struggling at 158 for 6, chasing Moors’ first-innings total of 178. But Sahan Wijeratne stuck in for a 144-ball 39, to edge Badureliya ahead by 24 runs, before becoming Herath’s fifth victim of the innings. Herath had not finished as he returned in the second innings to capture three more wickets as the visitors slipped to 61 for 6 before bad light and rain came to their aid.Allrounder Angelo Mathews’ 97 off 173 balls went in vain as Colts Cricket Club fell 37 runs short of grabbing first-innings points against Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club at the P Sara Oval. Chasing Tamil Union’s total of 320, Colts were very much in the hunt at 232 for 4, but Mathews’ dismissal with the score on 244 sparked off a collapse and Colts lost their remaining wickets for 39 runs. Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, another promising allrounder knocking on the selectors’ doors, was Tamil Union’s trump card. He top scored with a cultured 79 and followed it up with four wickets, including that of Mathews.Last season’s runners-up Sinhalese Sports Club’s (SSC’s) chances of winning the title this year suffered a major setback when they conceded vital first-innings points to Chilaw Marians Cricket Club at Maitland Place. Marians performed exceptionally well to bowl out a full-strength SSC team for 171. On a seaming pitch, which was under covers for almost 15 hours due to bad weather, SSC’s batsmen, with the exception of Tharanga Paranavitana, floundered. Paranavitana managed an exceptional 103 off 189 balls, scoring 60% of his team’s total. Despite the regular fall of wickets, Marians scraped out a narrow 39-run lead, thanks to a composed 76 off 129 balls from Milinda Siriwardene. SSC offspinner Sachitra Sennanayake continued to impress with his second five-wicket haul for the season.

Teams Mat Won Lost Tied Draw Aban Pts

Nondescripts Cricket Club 5 3 0 02 0 61.735 Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club 52 0 0 3 0 48.16 Badureliya Sports Club 5 2 2 01 0 47.605 Chilaw Marians Cricket Club 51 0 0 4 0 45.16 Sinhalese Sports Club 5 1 0 04 0 44.97 Ragama Cricket Club 50 1 0 4 0 39.905 Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club 5 1 1 03 0 35.835 Saracens Sports Club 51 1 0 3 0 35.11 Colts Cricket Club 5 1 1 03 0 28.52 Moors Sports Club 50 1 0 4 0 23.79 Sri Lanka Army Sports Club 5 0 4 01 0 14.15 Colombo Cricket Club 50 1 0 4 0 13.575 Tier BHigh-flying Lankan Cricket Club (LCC) stretched their lead at the top of Premier League Tier B to more than 20 points when they took vital points in their drawn match against Burgher Recreation Club at FTZ Sports Complex. Burgher were humbled for 216 by the right-arm medium-pace of Sudeepa Perera who took five wickets. LCC were led by half centuries from Rasika Priyadarshana (95) and Upul Fernando (89) as they gained a healthy first-innings lead of 150. They had Burgher on the ropes at 123 for 6 in the second innings when bad light and rain robbed them of a possible win.Panadura Sports Club continued to put pressure on the table-toppers by grabbing first-innings points against Police Sports Club at the Panadura Esplanade. Amila Perera’s slow left-arm spin accounted for five Police wickets as they were dismissed for 210. Panadura ran up 313 with all-round contributions.Umesh Karunaratne gave Seeduwa Raddoluwa Cricket Club their first win of the season with a grand all-round performance at Riffle Green. He scored twin fifties and took nine wickets in the match against Sri Lanka Air Force Sports Club.Sri Lanka Navy Sports Club came within two wickets of recording their first win of the season when they reduced Sebastianites Cricket and Athletic Club to 145 for 8 after setting them a target of 303 at the De Zoysa Stadium. Former Sri Lanka Under-19 cricketer and Ananda College left-handed opener Udara Jayasundera scored a century on his first-class debut (102 in the Navy second innings).

Teams Mat Won Lost Tied Draw Aban Pts

Lankan Cricket Club 5 3 0 02 0 72.31 Panadura Sports Club 51 0 0 4 0 50.835 Sri Lanka Navy Sports Club 4 1 0 03 0 43.36 Seeduwa Raddoluwa Cricket Club 41 0 0 3 0 41.565 Burgher Recreation Club 5 1 0 04 0 36.72 Sebastianites Cricket and Athletic Club 40 2 0 2 0 21.395 Singha Sports Club 2 1 1 00 0 19.775 Moratuwa Sports Club 40 1 0 3 0 18.995 Sri Lanka Air Force Sports Club 5 0 3 02 0 15.92 Police Sports Club 40 1 0 3 0 11.265 Player of the Week – Dilshan Wimaladarma
After finishing with Ananda College, offspinner Dilshan Wimaladarma had been searching for the ideal club where he could display his bowling skills. He had short stints with Burgher Recreation Club, Air Force Sports Club and Bloomfield, before joining Saracens for the current season. Under the guidance of coach Dinesh Kumarasinghe, Wimaladarma is turning out to be a matchwinner for Saracens.Last week, he took a career-best of eight wickets in an innings against Sri Lanka Army Sports Club to hand Saracens their first win of the season. “It is not an easy task taking eight wickets in an innings,” said Kumarasinghe. “If he is looked after properly Dilshan has all the makings of a bowler who can reach the top of the ladder. Dilshan has variety: he bowls offspin, top spin and the one that goes straight through. He is not just an ordinary bowler but one who will matches for us.”.At 24, Wimaladarma has time on his hands to develop into a top-class spinner and in Saracens he may have found the right club to pursue that goal.

With the latest international break now out of the way, West Brom’s next Championship test sees them take on Huddersfield Town away from home on Saturday afternoon.

Speaking ahead of the match in his latest press conference, Baggies manager Valerien Ismael revealed that only Dara O’Shea, Kean Bryan and Kenneth Zohore will be unavailable for the match against the Terriers through injury.

With this in mind, here’s how we feel West Brom will line up for the match and what changes Ismael could make from their 1-1 draw against Middlesbrough before the break. We expect three alterations from that line-up.

In goal, it would be hard to see Sam Johnstone not start for the Baggies after playing in all but one of their league games so far this season.

For the back three, we think Ismael will put Clarke back into the side after recovering from the head injury which forced him off the pitch in the early stages of the clash against Middlesbrough. He starts alongside Kyle Bartley, who replaced him in that game, and Cedric Kipre.

We can see Conor Townsend and Darnell Furlong occupying the wing-back positions, with Adam Reach dropping out after he had a mixed display in a left-wing back role against Middlesbrough.

In midfield, now that both Alex Mowatt and club captain Jake Livermore are back fit again, we imagine that Ismael would want to get them both back on the pitch ahead of Jayson Molumby and Robert Snodgrass, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £24k-per-week according to Salary Sport, dropping down to the substitutes’ bench.

At the top of the pitch, we think Ismael will stick with the same front three which started against Middlesbrough. with Karlan Grant and Grady Diangana, who scored in the 1-1 draw, on either side of Callum Robinson in the middle, who netted in Ireland’s recent 3-0 win over Luxembourg.

In other news: Lai could deliver WBA’s first January signing with “intelligent” £27k-p/w machine

Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to instantly bounce back from Sunday’s disappointing defeat when they head to the northwest for a Carabao Cup Round of 16 tie at Turf Moor.

The north London outfit were beaten by local rivals West Ham United in the Premier League, so Nuno Santo will be looking to see a reaction as they look to reach the quarter-finals of the cup competition with a win over Sean Dyche’s Burnley.

With Manchester United on the horizon, though, the Portuguese may be tempted into making some changes to his starting XI, if the poor result last weekend hadn’t already given him some food for thought.

With that in mind, here’s the lineup we’re predicting tonight…

There could be as many as nine changes from the side which was defeated at the London Stadium.

Between the sticks, cup ‘keeper Pierluigi Gollini is likely to take the reins from captain and first-choice Hugo Lloris, as he often has done away from the Premier League.

He’ll be marshalled by a completely different back four to Sunday, with Ben Davies and Japhet Tanganga replacing Sergio Reguilon and Emerson Royal out wide, whilst Joe Rodon and Davinson Sanchez could allow rests to both Eric Dier and Cristian Romero.

Oliver Skipp could be one of two players to keep his place, though this time he’ll be partnered by Harry Winks at the base of the engine room, with Giovani Lo Celso going into the no.10 role.

Out wide, Heung-min Son is granted a rest, so 20-year-old Bryan Gil is handed another opportunity to impress from the off. The Spanish winger, dubbed a “big talent” by scout Jacek Kulig, has been restricted to just 57 minutes in the league since joining Spurs in the summer.

On the other flank, Steven Bergwijn starts over Lucas Moura, as the Dutch winger needs to get up to speed after injury.

Elsewhere, Harry Kane is the only other player to remain from Sunday, and that’s largely because of the lack of options available to Nuno. It may not be wise to play 17-year-old Dane Scarlett against a physically brutal side like the Clarets.

AND in other news, Spurs handed frustrating Dusan Vlahovic update…

The BCCI has named Sandeep Patil as the head of the National Cricket Academy following Dav Whatmore’s appointment as Kolkata Knight Riders coach for the third season of the IPL

Cricinfo staff14-Oct-2009Sandeep Patil has been named director of cricket operations at the National Cricket Academy, replacing Dav Whatmore, who will be the Kolkata Knight Riders coach for the third season of the IPL. Patil starts work on November 1, the day after Whatmore’s two-year stint in Bangalore ends.Patil, 53, has significant coaching experience. He first served as India A coach, then coached the Indian team before taking charge of Kenya. He resigned after taking them to the semi-final of the 2003 World Cup and returned to India for the next 18 months. A stint with India A was followed by his move to Oman, whom he helped qualify for the ICC Trophy after some strong performances in the ACC Trophy.He went on to serve as the coach of the Mumbai Champs in the ICL but returned to the mainstream when he cut ties with the unofficial league ahead of the second season.Whatmore replaces former Australian coach John Buchanan as the Knight Riders coach.

Andrew Miller at Stormont27-Aug-2009Paul Collingwood was a relieved man at the end of a fraught day in Belfast, as England’s cricketers survived a huge scare to see off the challenge of Ireland in a rain-affected contest at Stormont. Collingwood, who also led England to defeat against the Netherlands in the ICC World Twenty20 in June, had been braced for his second embarrassing defeat of an otherwise momentous summer, but in the end, England’s greater knowhow had the final say as Ireland fell three runs short in pursuit of 116 in 20 overs.After the match, however, any pleasure that Collingwood might have taken from a gutsy performance in inhospitably cold and damp conditions was overshadowed by his barely concealed frustration at an absurd piece of scheduling from the ECB. Had last week’s Oval Test match gone the full distance, England would have had less than 24 hours to get their heads together after such an intensely emotional experience, and begin their journey from London to Belfast. The fact that that match finished a day early did not excuse the lack of thought that had gone into the planning.”I’m just glad it’s out of the way, to be honest with you,” he said. “It was a very quick turnaround after the Ashes, and potentially a banana skin, but we stuck to our task, and we can take some positives out of this performance. The reason we’ve come over here is to give Irish cricket a good game. They got a lot of spectators, and I’m sure that’s done them a world of good. But we have to be sensible about it. I’m just thankful we’ve managed to get the win at the end there.”Compared to the intensity on display at The Oval, the Stormont fixture was more of a glorified club game in which humiliation was the only real prize available to England. Despite the tight finish, it was not a contest with much artistic merit – the damp conditions changed the dynamics of the game, as did an unsympathetically adjusted Duckworth-Lewis target, which made England’s seamers a liability with their extra pace, and left Collingwood gambling on Owais Shah’s rarely used offspin to deliver him from disaster.”The rain made it very difficult for our bowlers, and Shah was a gamble, simple as that,” said Collingwood. “He doesn’t bowl that often in one-day internationals but we know he’s an offspinner and he did a fantastic job. The ball was gripping a lot, and he bowled into the pitch, which was the important thing to do.”A few things went against us – the rain, and having 20 overs to bowl and eight overs of Powerplays made it difficult to defend, because it was very soggy out there – but we made it very difficult for them to knock the runs off, and we put them under a lot of pressure in the last ten overs. The good thing is the Irish spectators have seen a good game, but I’d have been very, very angry if we’d come off there with an injury.”Collingwood had special praise for Joe Denly, England’s debutant opening batsman, who put himself firmly into the frame for a winter tour place with an impressive 67 from 111 balls that formed the backbone of England’s hard-fought innings of 203 for 9. “It was a great debut, just for the way he kept a calm head,” said Collingwood. “We batted first believing that was going to be a pretty flat pitch, but we misread the conditions. It was doing a fair bit, and it was a very mature innings to get us up to 200, which we thought was a decent score on this pitch.”That innings, however, would have been in vain had it not been for the pivotal moment of the match – the leap at long-on with which Eoin Morgan proved that his allegiance has firmly shifted from the land of his upbringing to the land of his professional career. Morgan’s interception, from the penultimate ball of the match, saved five runs which would have left Johnston needing three more from Shah’s final ball of the match to seal the contest for Ireland.”That was unbelievable, it was a very modern piece of fielding,” said Collingwood, who added that such manoeuvres were now a regular part of England’s pre-match drills. “He threw his body up, caught it, and had the brains to throw it straight back down before it touched the floor. Things like that, particularly in Twenty20 cricket, can win you games, and today it’s gone a long way to winning the game. We do a lot of specific practice on that, because it does creep up now and again.”For Ireland’s captain, William Porterfield, there was no escaping the regret at a massive missed opportunity. His side had at one stage been 64 for 2 in the ninth over, and with a few more cool heads, they could have won at a canter. “It is obviously very, very disappointing,” he said. “We should have won from that position – you should always win from that kind of position and that is what hurts.”

If England’s selectors are still wondering who should understudywicketkeeper Matt Prior during this winter’s Test and ODI programme inSouth Africa, then Kent’s Geraint Jones can do little more topromote his own claims this summer, as he reached an unb

Mark Pennell at Derby02-Sep-2009
ScorecardGeraint Jones was unbeaten on 107 before the rain fell•Getty ImagesIf England’s selectors are still wondering who should understudywicketkeeper Matt Prior during this winter’s Test and ODI programme inSouth Africa, then Kent’s Geraint Jones can do little more topromote his own claims this summer than he has so far this summer.Jones has let his bat and gloves do the talking for him this year and the impressive results led to a fifth century for the summer on the opening day of Kent’s promotion dogfight with Derbyshire. When rain arrived at tea, Kent had reached 232 for 5 after 64 overs with Jones unbeaten on 107, with Alex Blake, the rookie allrounder, chipping in with an unbeaten 30.Jones, who is clearly enjoying his new batting role at No. 3, saw threeof his team mates go before lunch under leaden skies at the OldRacecourse Ground after Kent had been invited to bat. Ironically, it was ‘Jones the ball’ – Derbyshire’s on-loan seamer Steffan – who did much of the damage in two spells either side of the lunch break, picking up figures of 3 for 29.After teenage opener Sam Northeast (seven) spliced an attempted hookto square-leg from a Tom Lungley bouncer, Jones duly bamboozled Rob Key (30) with an off-cutter that nipped back sharply to trap him leg-before as he worked around his front pad. With his score on 4, Martin van Jaarsveld fell right into Jones’s trap by pulling a slow bouncer straight into the hands of deep square-leg to make it 68 for 3.While his team-mates looked hell-bent on self destruction, Geraint Jones set out his stall for a longer stay in his second hundred of the summer against Derbyshire and his fifth of the Championship campaign in all. Driving fluently and pulling with great power, Jones reached an 87-ball 50 with a straight six, after Graham Wagg had decided to switch mid-over from left-arm seamers to bowling spin.Kent’s slump continued after lunch when Darren Stevens, having already been dropped behind by a tumbling James Pipe when on 14, flat-batted a Lungley long-hop to John Sadler on the ropes at deep cover to go for 16. Then, after a cameo of 19 including a six over midwicket, Justin Kemp followed a leg-cutter from Steffan Jones to Pipe, who this time took the regulation catch to make it 158 for 5.In tandem with left-handed Blake, Jones moved up a gear as the pair went for their shots in an attractive and unbroken sixth-wicket stand worth 74 in 28 overs through to tea. In the process Jones also posted his 1000th Championship run of the season – the first time he has reached the milestone in his career.Wagg was again the bowler when Jones glanced to the fine-leg boundaryto reach his 167-ball century with 12 fours and the six. At the other end Blake, playing only his second Championship match, batted calmly and with poise in driving five fours in an eye-catching 72-ball stay that was only curtailed by tea and then rain,which arrived during the interval to wipe out the final session of the day.

The Indian board has granted amnesty to 79 ICL players, 11 former players and 11 officials

Cricinfo staff02-Jun-2009
Hemang Badani is one of 79 Indian players back in the official fold after severing ties with the ICL © Cricinfo Ltd
The BCCI has granted amnesty to 79 ICL players, 11 former players and 11 officials, dealing a potentially crippling blow to the unofficial league. The players include Hemang Badani, Dinesh Mongia and Deep Dasgupta while the former players include Sandeep Patil, EAS Prasanna, Madan Lal and Ajit Wadekar.The players (click here for the full list) have been declared eligible for domestic cricket in India, which will be good news for the teams that suffered most from the ban – Bengal, Punjab and Hyderabad – but their participation in the IPL has not yet been formalised.The ICL is now left with five Indian players from its original pool of 84 but there has been no official confirmation on the status of the league’s 53 remaining foreign signings. ICL officials said “some of the foreign players” have left, and there have been individual confirmations from players such as Pakistan’s Mohammad Yousuf and Abdul Razzaq and, on Tuesday, South Africa’s Justin Kemp.However, India’s former captain Kapil Dev, who is the chariman of the ICL’s Executive Board, has not terminated his contract, nor has former wicketkeeper Kiran More.Himanshu Mody, the ICL’s business head, dismissed suggestions that the league was winding up. “The world has been saying this about the ICL time and again, and every time we come out stronger,” he told Cricinfo.ICL officials maintain that the league will survive and will soon conduct camps in India to create a talent pool. They also say they are “on track” with their international tournament planned for October; the March edition of the league had been called off due to the deepening recession and non-availability of Pakistan players given the cross-border tensions in the wake of the Mumbai attacks last November.Daryll Cullinan, coach of the Royal Bengal Tigers, appeared less optimistic. “This is a big blow because it is the bulk of the Indian players continuing their careers outside of the ICL,” he said. “My guess [on whether the league would wind up] is as good as anyone else’s. I don’t really know what the long-term plans or intentions are of the ICL.”Countdown to amnestyDec 23, 2008 – ICC officials meet with ICL in Delhi but there’s no solutionFeb 2, 2009 – ICC gives member countries power to decide on competitions on home soil.Feb 2, 2009 – Pakistan court allows Pak ICL players to play in domestic tournaments.Feb 2, 2009 – The ICC says it will push for a settlement and organises a meeting between the BCCI and the ICL in JohannesburgFeb 23 – Johannesburg talks between ICC, ICL and the BCCI failApril 18, 2009 – ICC rejects official ICL recognition requestApril 29, 2009 – BCCI offers amnesty to ICL players if they end their contractsApril 29, 2009 – New Zealand Cricket considers waiving the ‘cool off’ period for its playersApril 29, 2009 – PCB says it will consider amnesty on case-wise basisMay 9, 2009 – Bangladesh board offers amnesty to its players involved with the ICL, pending the termination of their contractsMay 15, 2009 – Sri Lanka Cricket offers a three-month ‘cooling period’ to its players if they end their ties with the ICLMay 20, 2009 – ICL releases 50 players before amnesty deadlineMay 22, 2009 – Cricket South Africa announces amnesty for its players if they end their contractsHowever, the players who have quit are looking at the benefits of life with the BCCI. “It’s heartening to be back in the main fold,” Hemang Badani, the former India batsman, told Cricinfo. “I am looking forward to playing again for my state [Tamil Nadu] and also for Chennai Super Kings in the next IPL. I would like to use my experience to make Tamil Nadu win a Ranji Trophy.”The decision to quit the league did, however, leave him with mixed emotions. “It was obviously tough because we had left the BCCI, joined ICL and have come back again now. There were worries whether they [BCCI] would treat us right or victimise us but so far things have gone on well. Look, there was not enough cricket being played in the ICL now. Not even practice. We were all hoping that the so-called war between the ICL and the BCCI would end but it hasn’t. We couldn’t enter grounds or play for our companies. There was also a cash crunch at the ICL. But, I would like to thank the ICL for the opportunity given in the last two years and I wish them luck for the future.”A major attraction for the returning players will be the opportunity to play in the big-money IPL but the BCCI said it was yet to decide on the issue, although the IPL has been classified as an Indian domestic event.The BCCI statement announcing the amnesty was ambiguous on the point: “Guidelines with respect to participation in Indian Premier League will be intimated in due course,” it said. However Rajiv Shukla, a BCCI vice-president and member of the IPL governing council, said the board might apply the one-year cooling period prescribed by the ICC.Shukla also said the return of ICL players would be beneficial for Indian cricket. “This issue has been going on for some time and that’s why the BCCI decided that players who are playing for other leagues should be given an opportunity to return,” Shukla said.The Indian board announced on April 29 an amnesty for all Indian players associated with the ICL, with a May 31 deadline to cut their ties with the league. Players who did so would be eligible to play international cricket after a one-year ‘cooling period’ and domestic cricket from June 1, when the ICC’s new rules on official and unofficial cricket came into force.Following the decision, other cricket governing bodies, including the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and Cricket South Africa (CSA) offered amnesty to their players involved with the league.