New Zealand team manager Jeff Crowe has given the all clear for his team’s safety in Sri Lanka after a team practice was cut short due to anti-Government rioting in Colombo yesterday.If anyone knows about the problems of touring Sri Lanka, it is Crowe, who was captain of the 1987 side which abandoned its tour of the island nation after a bomb blast in a Colombo railway station at the end of the first Test of that series.Ironically, it was his younger brother Martin who was captain of the 1993 team on tour when a suicide bomber completed an assassination outside the New Zealand team’s hotel.Several members of that side opted to return home despite the emergency dash made to Sri Lanka by then NZC chairman Peter McDermott. Crowe however, as a contracted player to NZC, stayed with the tour.He is also in Colombo at the moment as a television commentator.NZC general manager Tim Murdoch said Jeff Crowe had assured him that he had no fears for the team’s safety today.Crowe had reassured Murdoch that the CLEAR Black Caps were “very relaxed and entirely focused” on tonight’s match against India in the Coca-Cola Cup tri-series.Crowe was happy with the security arrangements for the team and had not asked for them to be increased after yesterday’s trouble.The reason the team had to call short its practice session yesterday was to ensure the team in order to meet the requirement of the dusk-to-dawn curfew that was in place.Crowe has asked that owing to New Zealand’s four-day break after tonight’s game the team be transferred to the less humid air of Kandy in order to take advantage of the better practice facilities. The change was not due to any security concerns.Murdoch said he would be keeping in touch with the New Zealand team on the latest developments.
According to Il Tempo (via talkSPORT), West Ham are on the verge of sealing a deal for Lazio attacker Felipe Anderson. The 25-year-old has been repeatedly linked with a move to the London Stadium in the last few weeks, and with a deal seemingly close for the Brazilian ace, manager Manuel Pellegrini must seek to complete his summer business by luring Alassane Plea to East London.
The Breakdown
Ultimately, the new Hammers chief has been busy moulding his squad since taking over back in May, with goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, right back Ryan Fredericks, and centre back Issa Diop all joining the club, thus strengthening three positions on the pitch that desperately needed attention ahead of the 2018/19 season.
And with 25-year-old Anderson, a likely replacement for the injured Manuel Lanzini, seemingly on his way to the London Stadium, Pellegrini must now turn his attentions towards a striker, as the Hammers somewhat struggled in the final third last term.
Marko Arnautovic was the only West Ham star to reach double figures last season, and with Andre Ayew, who left the club for Swansea City in January, ending up as their third highest goal-scorer last time round, it’s clear that work needs doing in the striking ranks.
And with the futures of Andy Carroll and Javier Hernandez uncertain, Pellegrini must seek to seal a deal for reported target Plea, who has been in outstanding goal-scoring form for Nice in the last few years.
The 25-year-old made the move to the Ligue 1 outfit back in 2014, and he has since proven his credentials with 44 goals in just 134 games for the French side, 21 of which coming last term to help the club finish eighth in the top-flight.
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Add in the 14 he bagged in Nice’s run to third place in Ligue 1 the season before, and the former France youth international has been one of the most prolific stars in European football in the last few years, and could well provide the missing piece of the West Ham jigsaw.
The addition of Fabianski, Fredericks, and Diop have gone some way to solve their defensive frailties, while Anderson will provide more flair and creativity to the Hammers attacking ranks which already consists of the hugely influential duo of Arnautovic and Lanzini – they now just need someone to put the ball in the net on a regular basis.
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And that is why, with Anderson seemingly on the verge of moving to the London Stadium, Pellegrini must seek to complete West Ham’s summer business by luring £16.2 million-rated Plea (as per Transfermarkt) to East London.
ScorecardChris Tremain claimed his second five-wicket haul in first-class cricket (file photo)•Cricket Australia/Getty Images
South Australia will aim to knock over Victoria’s lower order and set up a smallish chase on the third day at the MCG after they reduced the hosts to 6 for 123 at stumps on a rain-affected second day. Victoria’s lead was 104 at stumps in the low-scoring contest, with John Hastings at the crease on 15 alongside Dan Christian on 11.Daniel Worrall had continued his excellent match and had 3 for 34 in the second innings to add to his five-wicket haul in the first, enjoying the assistance provided by a pitch still boasting some grass. Joe Mennie had claimed two wickets and Chadd Sayers had one in the second innings, with opener Travis Dean’s 33 so far the best score for Victoria.The Redbacks had started the day at 6 for 156 in their first innings and they added 43 for the loss of their last four wickets. Chris Tremain was the most effective of Victoria’s bowlers and finished with a career-best 5 for 52, which was his second five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.
Boeta Dippenaar will lead a 14-man South Africa A squad on a short tour of Zimbabwe that includes two four-day matches in Harare and Bulawayo.It is a strong squad, with Andre Nel, Charl Langeveldt and Andrew Hall among 10 players with international experience.Ashwell Prince will join the squad after the funeral of his grandmother. He misses the first match in Harare and will meet up with the team for the second four-day match in Bulawayo.The first four-day game will be played from August 9-12 and the second from August 15-18.Squad Boeta Dippenaar (capt), Yusuf Abdullah, Hashim Amla, Friedel de Wet, Andrew Hall, Paul Harris, Imran Khan, Charl Langeveldt, Andre Nel, Justin Ontong, Alviro Petersen, Ashwell Prince, Thami Tsolekile (wk), Morne van Wyk
Former Zimbabwe captain Tatenda Taibu is currently back in Zimbabwe on a brief stopover before proceeding to South Africa where he is set to sign up for a franchise side in the next few weeks.Taibu confirmed to Cricinfo on Friday that he has set his sights on a longer career in South Africa, and may only return to the United Kingdom, where he was playing for Pyford in Surrey, if he feels that it’s good for his career. Taibu said he was hopeful to seal a deal with either the Fidentia Warriors or the Nashua Cape Cobras if they agree to terms.Taibu once again poured cold water on a possible immediate resumption of his international career, saying forthrightly that his chances of playing for Zimbabwe in the near future are “zero percent”.Taibu’s resignation was precipitated by a clash with ZC over several policy issues at the height of a player dispute which saw some senior players leave the team in frustration.
Scorecard Ben Harmison topscored with 57 as England Under 19s made 298 all out on the first day against Sri Lanka Under 19s at Headingley. There were fifties, too, for the captain Varun Chopra and Moeen Ali, while Joe Denly just missed out on his half-century, with 48.He and Chopra gave England a strong platform with an opening stand of 68, before Shalika Karunanayake trapped Chopra lbw for 50, the first of his three wickets. Chathupama Gunasinghe also claimed three wickets to help drag Sri Lanka back into things, removing Denly and Christopher Thompson in quick succession and later adding Adam Harrison.England had been well set at 207 for 3, but slid to 209 for 6 with Kevin Latouf’s run out on 30 precipitating the mini-collapse. Ali marshalled a healthy response with Tom Smith, but when Smith fell on 21, a second collapse ended with England losing their last four wickets for 38 runs.
Heath Streak has fired a parting shot at the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, calling in today’s Daily Telegraph for Zimbabwe to be banned from all international cricket pending an investigation by the ICC.Streak, who arrived in England yesterday to take up his position as one of Warwickshire’s overseas players, claimed that the Zimbabwe board discriminated against players on race grounds.”I don’t think that other countries should be playing Test or one-day cricket against Zimbabwe, home or away, until the current crisis has been resolved,” Streak told the newspaper. He went on to say that it was the responsibility of the ICC to try and come up with a solution.”I hope that things are redeemable and that the damage can be repaired. But there is increasing polarisation between the two parties, and the longer the dispute goes on, the more difficult it’s going to be to get an agreement.”Players are being discriminated against because they are white, which is the main problem. But it isn’t purely a black and white thing. There’s also regional discrimination as well.”Streak added that he still harboured hopes of playing for Zimbabwe again, but admitted that without intervention from the ICC, the chances were slim. “The more players that leave, the more difficult it is going to be for Zimbabwe to be competitive again. I have to think about my family and my future. If I wait for the problems in Zimbabwe to be resolved and nothing has happened in six months’ time, then I may have missed the opportunity.”Streak also mentioned that he had received offers from New South Wales and Tasmania.
SYDNEY – NSW will wait until the morning of the ING Cup cricket final onSunday to make a call on the fitness of Brad Haddin and spearhead SteveWaugh.An MRI scan today revealed Waugh’s hamstring injury, suffered whilebatting in yesterday’s crucial win over South Australia, was low gradewith an expected recovery time of seven to 10 days.Similarly, Haddin was expected to take a similar amount of time torecover after straining his right hip flexor muscle while fieldingagainst the Redbacks.Both will travel to Perth with their team on Friday but a decision won’tbe made until Sunday morning on whether they can play.NSW takes on Western Australia in the final at the WACA Ground.
It’s all a numbers game, really. Following four years of preparation, it comes down to just 100 overs between two teams for one World Cup berth – the fourteenth, and last, on offer for entry into the 2003 version of the event in South Africa.Scotland and Canada have each played in a World Cup before but barely will there have been more important matches of cricket in their respective histories than the one they will contest tomorrow at the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club. So high are the stakes in the World Cup Qualifying Final of this 2001 ICC Trophy tournament that the difference between the impact of a win and a loss is almost beyond even so much as contemplation.For the winner, it’s not only that berth in world cricket’s ultimate tournament that awaits but also the chance to harness all of the benefits that participation at the elite level delivers. For the loser, it’s precisely the same opportunity gone begging; the chance to accelerate the sport’s growth within its borders during the next two years and beyond seriously diminished.All associated with Scottish cricket well know the rigours, the emotions and the pressures of this day. They were in the same position four years ago in Kuala Lumpur when they dodged teeming rain and stifling tension to prevail over near-neighbour Ireland by 51 runs in what still ranks as their country’s greatest ever cricketing victory.This time, they come to the TCSCC with the adornment of seven players with experience from the last World Cup and a record that includes just two losses in Toronto. They also bring to the match a reputation as a side that has learned much in the way of professionalism and preparation during the last four years. A reputation that they will hope will be worth its weight in gold out on the field now.Wicketkeeper-batsman Colin Smith has clearly been one of the stars of the tournament; fast bowler James Brinkley and spinners Keith Sheridan and Gregor Maiden have led a consistent attack; and youngster Drew Parsons has given many indications that he is an exciting player on the rise. Where the side has not done so well is in providing batting support for Smith and in fully taking its opportunities in its biggest games.In Canada, they will find a team that will quickly expose any such weaknesses. This is the first time in six attempts that they have reached the last four of an ICC Trophy competition but the Canadians have tangible crowd support; a well-balanced team, the batting of Joe Harris; and the spin bowling talents of John Davison and Barry Seebaran to bolster them on this occasion.By necessity, the hosts’ game plan will hinge around resisting the Scottish bowlers and crashing through their opponents’ batting. Against arguably the most evenly balanced attack in the tournament, the Canadian batsmen might well face their sternest examination of the competition and any exercise in leaving the bulk of the scoring responsibilities to Harris, as has been done more than once already over the last three weeks, would be fraught with risk. The makeup of their upper order batting has undergone several changes of face already in this tournament; there is no better time than now to have it click.How much of a factor the crowd will play in the match is anyone’s guess. The game will be contested on a work day in Toronto but it’s likely that more than just the odd alteration will be made to employment schedules around the city. Support for the Canadians has been strong throughout the event and the momentum created by the side’s Super League successes has only added to the numbers of wellwishers uniting forces behind them.Conversely, there will be no Tartan Army here to support the Scots; moreover, the players will be lucky if they see any Tartan soldier at all straying so far from home. Instead, it will need to be eleven men banding together to produce a collective, committed performance. Albeit that they are light on for numbers, they simply have to win this one.
With the demise of Rangers, Celtic have quietly gone about their business dominating Scotland’s top flight.
They failed to return to the ‘big time’ last season, which means Celtic are favourites once again for a domestic clean sweep of silverware this season.
Most football fans would like to see Rangers back in the top flight, contrary to the feelings of most Celtic fans. The Old Firm derby has always been the highlight of Scottish football, so the quicker they return to the Premiership, the better.
But while Rangers continue to struggle to get out of Scotland’s second tier, what do the Celtic faithful expect to see under Ronny Deila this season?
We asked the experts for their season predictions and stuck them all in one place for you to enjoy.
Here’s what Celtic fans expect from their club this season…
The Celtic Blog – James Forrest
What the fans expect: Goals. Guts. Passion. And trophies. Last season, once the team started to motor, most of us thought the treble dream might be alive. But domestic trebles are incredibly tough to win, even in Scotland, and it takes an exceptional side, having an exceptional season, to actually scale that particular height. Whilst we dreamed about it, I don’t know that many Celtic fans actually expected to see us triumph and win it.
We came mighty close. The semi-final against Inverness, which ultimately ended the run, was one of those games we ought to have put out of sight before the wheels came off and things started to go wrong. We were also denied a stonewall penalty, in a travesty of a decision which haunted Scottish football for weeks and ought to have seen heads roll.
(I blogged extensively on the bizarre aftermath of that decision, and the ensuing mess the governing bodies got into in relation to it.)
Since then the team has really clicked under Ronny and the fans will be expecting us to go one better this year and seal the deal, making everyone involved part of something special.
In European terms the troops will be expecting qualification to the Group stages of the Champions League. It might be a big ask to go much further than that though.
What they’ll actually get: I’m going to be brazen and say that we’ll do the clean sweep in Scotland this year. The team is hungry for this, and with Gary Mackay Steven, Nadir Cifcti and Stuart Armstrong complimenting what was already a damned good side (GMS and Stuart were ineligible for the latter stages of the cup competitions last year and Nadir is a new signing) we’re in good shape domestically.
Europe is a tougher call. I think we’ll make the Groups but doing anything major in them is going to be a Herculian task. At best we can hope for a third place finish, giving us a Europa League berth, which in itself would be nice. Qualifying outright? Man oh man … if wishing made it so … I just don’t see it this time around. A year too early maybe, and we still lack that one qualify finisher who can take chances at that level and propel you onward.
One to Watch: Oh that’s easy. We have some extremely strong players in the midfield, guys who could go and play anywhere. (No joke, I really think they’re special.) Aside from our captain, Scott Brown, the others are really coming into their own. Nir Biton has blossomed into the kind of guy who was attracting Man City a few years ago, and he will be hugely important. Stefan Johansen is one of my favourite players at Celtic Park, a consummate passer of the ball, who gets forward but can do a defensive job as well. He is going to be a huge star.
But it’s Stuart Armstrong who excites me the most. He’s 23, he’s got a tremendous work ethic and he is classy. He can pass a ball, shoot from distance, he moves across the pitch almost effortlessly. His signing, late last year, was the one a lot of the bloggers had lobbied for on and off for a few years and we were delighted that the club made its move.
He is well worth keeping an eye on.
Predictions: A domestic treble, the Group stages of the Champions League … ending up in the Europa League quarter finals. That’ll be a success story beyond what most Celtic fans hope for … but I think it’s achievable, especially depending on what happens in January. If we get to the Groups and find a way to stay in Europe with the current squad there’s no excuse for not breaking out the cheque book.
Visit: The Celtic Blog
Video Celts – @VideoCelts
What the fans expect: Winning the treble and reaching the group stage of the Champions League
What they’ll actually get: Win the Premiership and Scottish Cup, reach group stage of Champions League
One to Watch: On loan Luke Donnelly
Predictions: Donnelly will be Championship Player of the Year
Visit VideoCelts.com
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On Fields Of Green – @LaytonBhoy
What the fans expect: Last season the club’s supporters had no great expectations; we were watching a team in transition and we knew that. As the season wore on we started to dream about a domestic treble though and that, I think, is what the supporters will be expecting this year.
We also failed to progress in the Champions League, suffering those two calamitous knockouts, one after being reinstated in the competition. The supporters expect progress on that front too, provided we get through tomorrow night in Azerbaijan.
What will they actually get?: Odd as it may seem, this season they actually stand a chance of hitting those targets. It’s no longer a team in transition for one, and the manager appears to have learned from the mistakes me made last season. In spite of all the changes at the club in the 2014-15 campaign, we actually did come exceedingly close to doing the clean sweep in Scotland; losing in the cup semi-final to Inverness prevented us going all the way.
Europe will be the tougher campaign, but even there I see signs of progress.
One to Watch: Easy one. Stuart Armstrong. A fantastic signing, with all the talent in the world. He compliments what was already a very strong Celtic midfield. I’m really excited about this guy and can’t wait to see him when he’s fully up to speed with the demands of the club.
Predictions: The treble will be wrapped up nicely. We’ll still be in Europe by Xmas… and we’ll still be waiting on the club spending more than £3 million on a player when this season is over. Forgive me for that cynicism, but I’ve been here too often before to doubt it.