A round-up of East Zone matches in the Inter State T20 tournament played on February 1, 2017
ESPNcricinfo staff01-Feb-2017
File photo – Shahbaz Nadeem conceded 22 off his four overs but it wasn’t enough to restrict Tripura•AFP
Jharkhand slumped to their third straight defeat in the Inter-State T20 tournament, falling short by 24 runs against Tripura at the Eden Gardens. They had raced to 106 for 2 by the 13th over in pursuit of 193, but lost three wickets in three overs from that point. Opener Shasheem Rathour scored an unbeaten 70 off 53 balls, but they managed only 168. Earlier, they had put Tripura in and conceded 32 extras; this was the second-highest contribution to Tripura’s score, behind Udiyan Bose’s 74 off 38. Their eventual total of 192 was achieved thanks to a late surge – they scored 23 off four balls before losing wickets of consecutive deliveries to be bowled out in 19.5 overs.File photo – Wriddhiman Saha hit an unbeaten 74 off 45 balls as Bengal won by ten wickets against Assam•BCCI
Shreevats Goswami scored 71, Wriddhiman Saha scored 74, and the pair put on an unbroken 150 for the opening wicket as Bengal defeated Assam by ten wickets in the day’s second game. Bengal had restricted Assam to 146 after losing the toss. Assam captain KB Arun Karthik was among the three batsmen in the entire match to go past 20 – incidentally, he also remained unbeaten in the seventies, scoring a career-best 76 off 47 balls. The rest of Assam’s line-up couldn’t get going, restricted in particular by medium-pacer Sayan Ghosh who took 3 for 30. In response, Bengal’s openers chased the score down in 16 overs.
Newcastle United are believed to be chasing Juventus winger Federico Chiesa after qualifying for the Champions League and now boasting an allure to rival any on the European stage.
What's the latest on Federico Chiesa to Newcastle?
That's according to Italian newspaper Tuttosport (via Sport Witness), revealing that Aston Villa have now joined the race for the Italy international, who has spent the 22/23 campaign reintegrating into competitive action following a long-term injury.
The report continues to state that the interest of Magpies' sporting director Dan Ashworth for the winger dates prior to that of AC Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali, who is expected to join the ranks at St. James's Park on a €70m (£60m) deal, as per Fabrizio Romano.
While a variety of valuations have entered circulation for the touted star, the Old Lady are believed to have transfer-listed the 25-year-old for €60m (£51m) after financial difficulties resulting in a detrimental ten-point deduction have left the Serie A side scrambling to recuperate what they can.
How good is Federico Chiesa?
Before suffering a horrendous ACL injury in January 2022, Chiesa was riding the crest of a wave and had been instrumental in his nation's triumph in the European Championships the previous summer, earning an average Sofascore rating of 7.05 after scoring two goals, completing 80% of his passes and averaging 2.4 shots per match.
An "exciting" footballer, as per Dean Jones, he has also scored 18 goals and supplied 14 assists across the season-and-a-half before the bitter setback, and while the 41-cap gem has impressed in the closing weeks of the recently-concluded term – registering four direct contributions from his final five league matches – he will be desperate to rekindle his former free-flowing form.
And he could do just that on Tyneside, slotting into a thriving outfit that can offer the Champions League football that has been taken from chastened Juve, and perhaps offer a clean slate from which he can return to prominence on the right flank of Eddie Howe's system.
Juventus forward Federico Chiesa.
A veritable "wizard", as the £153k-per-week ace has been called by Liverpool insider DaveOCKOP, Chiesa could be Howe's answer to Bukayo Saka, with the Arsenal prodigy's performances over the duration of the 22/23 Premier League season a defining factor behind Arsenal's – ultimately unsuccessful, albeit impressive – title challenge against Manchester City.
Saka, who has been dubbed "the best right winger in the world" by GOAL correspondent Charles Watts, scored 14 goals and laid off 11 assists in the Premier League last season, having also scored seven goals for England since last summer.
The discussed pair are listed as comparable players via FBref. Chiesa ranks among the top 4% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for assists, the top 15% for progressive carries, the top 16% for successful take-ons and the top 13% for tackles per 90.
Saka, comparatively, ranks among the top 21% for goals, the top 23% for assists, the top 10% for progressive carries, the top 5% for touches in the attacking box and the top 28% for tackles per 90.
It paints the picture that while both are supremely creative and expert ball carriers, they aren't afraid of the dirty work either, tracking back to help out their defensive colleagues.
With Chiesa still not back at the peak of his powers, it's a daunting prospect for opposition to imagine just how "potent" – as stated by Rio Ferdinand – he could yet become, and at Newcastle, he could rise to the fore and rival any positional peer on English shores with the calibre of his performances.
Alastair Cook was left ruing missed chances in the field as England succumbed to an innings defeat in Mumbai.While Cook admitted England had erred in selection – picking four seamers on a pitch where India’s spinners claimed 19 wickets – he felt the defining moments of the game came when England failed to take chances to dismiss all three of India’s centurions in the relatively early stages of their innings.Jonny Bairstow missed a stumping opportunity off M Vijay when he had 45, Virat Kohli was put down by Adil Rashid – a difficult caught and bowled chance – on 68, and Joe Root put down Jayant Yadav at slip when he had eight. Vijay went on to score 136, Kohli made 235 and Yadav 104.The frustration for Cook is that these things keep happening. The series against Pakistan was littered with missed opportunities – and Rashid also put down a tough chance off Kohli in Visakhapatnam when he had scored 56. He went on to make 167.”I keep going back to the chances we missed,” Cook told . “That’s why we lost this game.”Yes, we would have liked another spinner. But with the side we had, we had opportunities to bowl India out for 400 and we just didn’t take them.”Obviously Virat played an extraordinary innings, but we had a chance to get rid of him on 60-odd. Yadav got a 100 and we had a couple of chances to get rid of him. And those are the things the game is changing on. This team, at the moment, we’re not taking those chances. It’s those opportunities that have cost us.”Cook also admitted England “didn’t need that extra seamer” in Mumbai. Going into the match with six bowlers – two spinners and four quicks – Cook was obliged to ask Rashid and Moeen Ali to deliver more than 50 overs, while none of the seamers bowled more than 20.”That was a mistake,” he said. “It’s kind of the problem when you don’t have any games between Test Matches. We really wanted to see what four seamers looked like, because they are the bowlers so far on this tour who have given us the most control and our two best spinners have been Mo and Rash.”Maybe if we’d bowled first we’d have more control with the four seamers. But clearly when you bat first, you didn’t need that extra seamer.”Whether it would have changed the game… we were in this game with the balance of that side. We had an opportunity when they were 307 for 6 to restrict India’s lead. Historically, 180 is a good score here in the third innings and it’s very hard to score much in the fourth innings. So we would have been in the game.”But would have, could have isn’t really good enough and that’s the bottom line: we haven’t been good enough to get over the line.”Cook had praise for Kohli, though: “He’s in incredible form. He’s having one of those series you dream of as a player and a captain. You lead from the front and you score a hell of a lot of runs and that’s a huge amount of credit to him. He’s clearly one of the great batsmen of our generation. And certainly in these conditions, he’s very hard to bowl at when he’s in this form.”
كشف نادي الزمالك حقيقة وجود اتفاق بين مسؤولي القلعة البيضاء، ومحمود عبد المنعم كهربا لاعب الأهلي حول تقسيط الغرامة.
وقال حسام المندوه أمين صندوق نادي الزمالك في تصريحات للصحفيين إن قيمة غرامة محمود عبد المنعم كهربا لاعب فريق الأهلي دخلت بالكامل في حساب النادي في البنك.
جوزيه جوميز: الحمد لله أننا أحرزنا هدفًا في الداخلية.. ومستعدون لـ الأهلي
وأوضح أمين صندوق النادي أنه لا أساس من الصحة لما تردد عن جدولة اللاعب لمستحقات الزمالك على الإطلاق.
وأضاف المندوه: “لا يوجد اتفاق على سداد نصف المبلغ والحصول على شيك بباقي المبلغ بعد عام كما ردد البعض خلال الساعات الماضية”.
وشدد أمين صندوق نادي الزمالك على أن النادي حصل على جميع مستحقاته لدى محمود عبد المنعم كهربا ليتم إسدال الستار على هذه الأزمة بصورة نهائية.
وفي السياق ذاته شدد أحمد سالم المتحدث الرسمي باسم مجلس إدارة نادي الزمالك على أن القلعة البيضاء استقبلت في حسابها ببنك مصر كامل قيمة غرامة محمود كهربا بالفوائد.
واستكمل سالم: “لم يتم التنازل عن سنت واحد، ولم يتم تقسيط الغرامة، وهذه كانت آخر التعهدات السابقة لمجلس الإدارة، خلال 120 يومًا تحقق ما كان البعض يعتبره معجزة”.
وأتم: “النادي الأهلي ليس له علاقة بغرامة كهربا، وليس طرفًا من الأساس، والغرامة تخص اللاعب بصفة شخصية، وأغلقنا الملف، ونفكر في شيء آخر”.
علق أحمد مجاهد رئيس اتحاد الكرة الأسبق، على فترة توليه المسؤولية خلال اللجنة المؤقتة لإدارة الجبلاية، موضحًا موقفه من الترشح في الانتخابات المقبلة.
وقال أحمد مجاهد في تصريحات تلفزيونية عبر قناة اون تايم سبورتس: “توليت رئاسة اتحاد الكرة سنة وشهر، عندما كنت جالسا مع المهندس هاني أبو ريدة مع مسؤولي فيفا من أجل اختيار لجنة لإدارة الاتحاد لحين إجراء الانتخابات”.
وتابع: “فجأة قالوا طالما أحمد مجاهد لن يترشح إذًا يتولى رئاسة اللجنة ويحل الأزمة، وأنا قلت إذا كنت سأتولى المسؤولية سأختار اثنين معي، الشواربي وأحمد حسام عوض، ولا يوجد ملف داخل الاتحاد إلا وكانا يعرفان عنه كل شيء”.
طالع | أحمد مجاهد يعلق على تعيينه مراقباً لنهائي كأس أمم إفريقيا.. ويصرح: العلاقة بين كاف والمغرب ليست تنافسية
وأكمل: “المجموعة الكبيرة في الاتحاد كانت تجتمع جتمع أكثر من ساعتين يوميا لمناقشة كل الملفات، والكل كان يقول رأيه، وجميعهم من أصحاب الخبرات، والأمر الثاني أنا جئت وأنا تحت القصف، الإعلام لم يكن يساندني، ولم أكن مدعوما، وهذا كان دافعا أن أعمل وأنا في كامل تركيزي حتى لا أخطئ”.
وبسؤاله هل ستدخل الانتخابات المُقبلة؟، أوضح: “أنا أخذت التدرج في الخبرة، لكن هناك أقدميات إذا أراد أحد من أصحاب الخبرة القدامى أن يترشح سأكون داعما له، ولن أترشح أمام جمال علام أو أي من القدامى، أنا أرى أن التدرج الطبيعي إذا لم يترشح أحد من القدامى سأترشح”.
Pakistan have risen to No. 1 in the Test rankings for the first time. They have taken over the top position from India, following India’s washout against West Indies in Trinidad
ESPNcricinfo staff22-Aug-20161:27
Pakistan’s journey to the top
Pakistan have risen to No. 1 in the ICC’s Test rankings for the first time. They took the top position from India, following India’s washed out Test against West Indies in Trinidad.The ICC Test table
1 Pakistan (111 rating points) 2 India (110) 3 Australia (108) 4 England (108) 5 New Zealand (99) 6 Sri Lanka (95) 7 South Africa (92) 8 West Indies (67) 9 Bangladesh (57) 10 Zimbabwe (8)
Pakistan had moved to No. 2 on the table last week, after drawing the Test series in England 2-2 and after Australia were whitewashed 3-0 in Sri Lanka. At the same time, India had moved to No. 1 after beating West Indies in the St Lucia Test to go 2-0 up in their four-match series; they needed to win the final Test, in Trinidad, to hold on to No. 1, but the match was drawn after weather and outfield issues forced play to be abandoned over four days.Last week was the second time in less than a year that Pakistan had moved to No. 2 on the rankings – the highest they had previously been since the current rankings system was put in place in 2003. They had featured at No. 2 for the first time in November 2015, after beating England 2-0 in the UAE.Their rise to No. 1 was built on the back of a run of unbeaten Test series since August 2014, when they were down at No. 6. Apart from the successes against England, they had also beaten Sri Lanka 2-1 in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh 1-0 in Bangladesh, and whitewashed Australia 2-0 in the UAE. Against New Zealand in the UAE in November 2014, the series during which Phillip Hughes died in Sydney, they had drawn 1-1.Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq said he was “proud” to have his team at the top, but his focus remained on delivering consistently good performances going forward. “There is no greater feeling than to achieve the No. 1 ranking in the most traditional and purest format of the sport,” Misbah said. “This is what cricketers play for and want to achieve in their careers. It is a reward for something we had planned as a group a few years ago and have worked extremely hard to achieve it.”I want to compliment everyone who has been involved in the process, including all the players, the support personnel, the management, as well as our loyal fans and followers who remained committed to us and continued to back and support the side through the good and not-so-good days.”For us, the No. 1 ranking is not a destination but part of a journey. Our long-term objective and strategy is to remain competitive, continue to challenge the top sides with good cricket and once again become the most followed side like the Pakistan teams of yesteryears.”PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan, much like former coach Waqar Younis, said credit for Pakistan’s achievement should go to Misbah. “The ascension to the top of the ICC Test rankings culminates an incredible journey for Pakistan,” Khan said. “This is a historic moment in our rich Test cricket history and the credit for this great achievement goes not only to this team but to all… coaches and support staff members who have represented Pakistan in recent years. Misbah-ul-Haq deserves special credit for his leadership through six crucial years.”The No. 1 rank has changed hands several times in 2016. In January, India took over from South Africa after South Africa were defeated 0-2 by England at home. In February, Australia climbed to No. 1 following their 2-0 win in New Zealand. They gave No. 1 back to India following their recent 0-3 loss in Sri Lanka, and then came India’s handover to Pakistan.The ICC’s ranking system takes into account matches played over the previous four years, with the oldest matches in the cycle being dropped every May. For the current cycle, matches played from May 2013 to April 2015 carry 50% weightage, while matches played since then carry 100% weightage. In May 2017, matches played between May 2013 and April 2014 will be dropped from the calculations, and those between May 2015 and April 2016 will have their weightage reduced to 50%.
An update has emerged on Glasgow Rangers and their plans to improve their squad in the upcoming summer transfer window…
What's the latest on Karlan Grant to Rangers?
Mirror journalist Darren Witcoop has revealed that the Light Blues are keen on West Bromwich Albion attacker, who is set to be available in the coming weeks.
He tweeted:
"West Brom will listen to offers for striker Karlan Grant this summer. Grant has Championship admirers while Scottish side Rangers have registered an interest. Grant signed a six year deal when he joined the Baggies for £15m in 2020 but he can now leave Albion."
However, it remains to be seen how much the Championship side are set to demand for his services as the attacker still has three years left to run on his contract.
Who could replace Antonio Colak at Rangers?
The Sun recently reported that the Gers are willing to listen to offers for Antonio Colak this summer and Michael Beale could ruthlessly ditch the Croatian international by signing Grant as his replacement.
Rangers forward Antonio Colak.
Three goals in his last 15 Scottish Premiership appearances have left the forward out of favour under the Light Blues head coach and his struggles since Beale's arrival make a parting of the ways seem like the right decision.
Colak has only scored three of his 17 goals this season since Giovanni van Bronckhorst was relieved of his duties during the break for the World Cup and bringing the West Brom attacker in would open the door for the ex-PAOK man to move on.
Grant has struggled for goals this season in the Championship, with three strikes in 18 starts, but has showcased his ability at that level in previous campaigns.
The centre-forward racked up 18 goals and 12 'big chances' created in 41 starts for the Baggies in the second tier of English football last term and managed 19 goals and six 'big chances' provided in 42 starts for Huddersfield in the division in 2020/21.
These statistics suggest that his woes this term are a flash in the pan and do not reflect the 25-year-old's true quality, which could result in Rangers getting a bargain deal for a talented player if West Brom value him based on his present form.
The £20k-per-week gem, who journalist Ben McKenna once hailed as "lethal", could rediscover his best form in Scotland in the same way that Todd Cantwell, who made a similar move from Norwich in January, has.
Since arriving from Carrow Road, the 25-year-old has scored three goals and provided four assists in 12 Premiership matches after failing to register a goal or assist in 18 Championship outings in the first half of the campaign.
This shows that Beale can get the best out of underperforming players coming from that level of football and the head coach could now ditch Colak by doing the same with Grant next season.
West Ham came from behind to secure a hard-fought victory over AZ Alkmaar in their Europa Conference League semi-final first leg.
The Irons produced an extremely drab and inspiring opening 45 minutes, which allowed the visitors to take the lead thanks to Tijjani Reijinders’ rasping long-range effort.
The second half continued in the same vein before former Brighton goalkeeper Matt Ryan recklessly collided with Jarrod Bowen to concede a penalty.
Said Benrahma gleefully dispatched the resulting spot-kick and the comeback was completed when Michail Antonio stabbed in the second from a corner.
Unsurprisingly, one player who kept in his head throughout the evening was Declan Rice, who was a pillar of solidity, calmness, and technique in the centre of the park.
How did Declan Rice perform against AZ Alkmaar?
Earlier in the week, it was reported that the hierarchy will only entertain offers over £100m for their club captain, who delivered a splendid performance.
The 24-year-old – who was once hailed as a "machine" by BBC contributor Raj Choban – managed 70 touches with 93% pass completion, which included two key passes, and four accurate long balls.
This contributes to a wider perspective of his precise passing, which is showcased by the fact that he ranks in the top 26% in Europe’s top five leagues among his positional peers for progressive passes, averaging 6.28 per 90, according to FBref.
The pivot also provided huge help to the defensive effort, which meant that the Dutch outfit barely threatened in the latter stages of the match. He recorded a mammoth four tackles, the most in the Hammers starting line-up, and won five ground duels, as per Sofascore.
Across the campaign, the 41-cap international has averaged 2.3 tackles per game, the second-highest in the squad.
Declan-Rice
Attributes such as this have led pundits, including Sky Sports’ Danny Cowley, to describe the skipper as “world-class”, who is set to be the subject of a fiercely competitive transfer saga.
After his formidable showing against Manchester United, the £60k-per-week star is the only player in Europe’s top five leagues with over 30 interceptions, clearances, take-ons competed, aerial duels won, shots, as well as winning back possession more times than anyone else (322).
The Englishman’s physicality and leadership, coupled with the stunning dribbling and chance-creation ability of Benrahma, make for a potent combination for David Moyes.
The Algerian was also in imperious form and deeply troubled his opponents, reflected by his four successful dribbles.
Both these players will be absolutely imperative as the east Londoners bid for their first European trophy since 1965.
Manchester United right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka is free to leave the club this summer, according to a key new update regarding his future.
Is Wan-Bissaka impressing this season?
The Englishman has found himself in and out of United's team this season, admittedly playing more recently, but rarely feeling like a key man. In total, he has made just 12 Premier League appearances in total, nine of which have been starts, and Diogo Dalot has been seen as the stronger option, when fit.
In fairness to Wan-Bissaka, his performances recently have been solid on the whole, with the 25-year-old playing his part in his side's top-four push, averaging 1.9 tackles per game in the league overall. With his current United expiring at the end of next season, however, the club have a big decision to make this summer, knowing that this will be the last chance for them to earn good money for him.
For that reason, an Old Trafford exit feels increasingly likely, especially after a new update that has emerged.
Manchester United defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Is right-back off in the summer?
According to Football Insider, Erik ten Hag has informed Wan-Bissaka that he is "free to leave this summer", not seeing him as part of United's future. It is claimed that he "came close to leaving Old Trafford in January", but instead stayed put, in order to alleviate injury problems within the squad.
Ten Hag sees Dalot as the superior option moving forward, though, and he is happy to see the former Crystal Palace man move on to pastures new. The Reds have been linked with a move for Bayer Leverkusen right-back Jeremie Frimpong and he could be viewed as a sizeable upgrade on Wan-Bissaka.
In fairness to the United defender, he is someone whose attitude is never called into equation and he always gives his all, but he isn't at the required level to be a long-term success at Old Trafford. The defensive side of his game is often strong – he has averaged two clearances per match in the league in 2022/23 – but he lacks the attacking quality needed in the modern full-back, not scoring or assisting once in the division this season.
Moving him on this summer and receiving a fee for him is the most logical option, rather than losing him for free next year, and he could still carve a good career for himself at a lower-ranked team, having once been hailed as "the best one-on-one defender for a full-back in the world" by Jamie Carragher.
أثار لاعب فريق سيريس السويدي، وسام أبو علي، التكهنات حول مستقبله مع ناديه، في ظل ارتباطه بإمكانية الانتقال إلى صفوف الأهلي المصري مطلع العام الجديد.
ويبحث النادي الأهلي عن تعزيز مركز الهجوم في موسم الانتقالات الشتوي، مطلع عام 2024.
وذكرت تقارير مختلفة أن الأهلي لديه رغبة في الحصول على خدمات المهاجم وسام أبو علي، الدنماركي، ذو الأصول الفلسطينية.
ويدرك وسام أبو علي اهتمام الأهلي بضمه، إلى جانب أندية أخرى، وهو ما أوضحه في تصريحاته التي نشرتها شبكة “nordjyske” الدنماركية.
وقال وسام أبو علي: “لقد تحدثنا بالطبع مع سيريس حول الوضع، ليس سرًا أنني أريد الرحيل إذا جاء العرض المناسب، إذا لم يظهر العرض المناسب، أود أيضًا الاستمرار في اللعب مع فريقي، لأنني ممتن جدًا للطريقة التي عاملني بها النادي منذ انتقالي من فيندسيسيل هذا الصيف”.
وأضاف اللاعب صاحب الـ24 عامًا: “لقد كان أفضل قرار اتخذته على الإطلاق هو انتقالي إلى نادي سيريس”.
وواصل: “في البداية، أنظر فيما إذا كان العرض هو الخطوة الرياضية المناسبة لي، هل هناك تحد مثير وفرصة بالنسبة لي للتطور؟ لن أكذب وأقول إن الجانب المالي لا يلعب دورًا، إنه عامل كذلك”.
وأردف: “قد أكون قادرًا على اللعب حتى عمر 34-35 عامًا، وإذا تمكنت من إحداث تغيير يؤمن لي ولعائلتي من الناحية المادية، فبالطبع هذا أيضًا شيء يلعب دورًا”.
اقرأ أيضًا.. سيريس السويدي يوضح لـ”بطولات” شروطه لرحيل وسام أبو علي إلى الأهلي
واستمر: “إنه تناقض صارخ تمامًا مع حقيقة أنني كنت مستعدًا منذ عام ونصف لإيقاف مسيرتي أو العثور على نادٍ في مستوى أدنى، يجب أن أشكر مسؤولي فيندسيسيل كثيرًا، لم أكن لأقف هنا اليوم لولا وجود أشخاص مثل هنريك بيدرسن (مدرب فيندسيسيل)”.
وتابع: “أوافق على أنه كلاعب كرة قدم يجب علي أولاً وقبل كل شيء الخروج والأداء على أرض الملعب، لكن وكيلي كروجر كان شخصًا مهمًا جدًا بالنسبة لي منذ أن حصلت عليه”.
وتابع: “لا أعتقد أن أيًا منا توقع أن نكون في هذا الموقف في هذا الوقت عندما دخلنا في موقف الشراكة، لكنه لعب أيضًا دورًا كبيرًا في وصولي إلى هذه النقطة، هو يجيد إرشادي ثم يجعلني أمضي قدمًا”.
وأوضح مجددًا: “ليس من الضروري أن أكون ذكيًا في هذا الأمر، لكني مستعد (للرحيل) إذا سنحت الفرصة، الآن أنا أستمتع بقضاء بعض الوقت مع عائلتي في المنزل في ألبورج”.
واختتم: “ثم علينا أن نرى ما إذا كان العرض المناسب سيظهر، أشعر بأنني مستعد لخوض مغامرة جديدة إذا سنحت لي الفرصة”.