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Adelaide Strikers’ bowlers backed up a strong batting effort that combined industrious running and power-hitting, to secure a 67-run win against the Melbourne Renegades at the Adelaide Oval

The Report by Nikita Bastian18-Dec-2011
ScorecardMichael Klinger laid the perfect platform for Adelaide Renegades at the top of the order•Getty ImagesAdelaide Strikers’ bowlers backed up a strong batting effort that combined industrious running and power-hitting, to secure a 67-run win against the Melbourne Renegades at the Adelaide Oval.The decently populated Adelaide Oval sported a blue tinge, with the local Twenty20 team swapping their red jerseys for sky blue. There was a sea of blue wigs around, but those who decided to show up in the usual South Australia Redbacks colours were in for a surprise: their red and black ensemble had more in common with the visiting Renegades’ uniform. The home side, however, ensured there was no surprise in the denouement, after dominating the match from start to finish.The Renegades batsmen never looked like chasing down the imposing target of 190. A shower towards the end of the Strikers’ innings resulted in a fresh track, which all of their bowlers used well upfront, extracting movement and lift. As a result, the Renegades limped to 3 for 62 in 10 overs, and with the required-rate almost up to 13 at that point, the game was as good as over. There was no typical late Twenty20 twist this time, as the Renegades folded for 122 in 17.5 overs.After the gloomy weather that threatened to stop play all through the Strikers innings, the Renegades came out to bat in bright sunshine. Alfonso Thomas, one of the better Twenty20 bowlers going around, had Aaron Finch and Meyrick Buchanan in trouble straight up: he had Finch beaten with movement, and Buchanan struggling to prevent the ball from rolling back onto his stumps. In the next over, Kane Richardson followed up two balls down the leg side by removing slip and strengthening the off-side field. If it was a ploy to tempt the batsman, it worked. Finch tried to sweep, top-edged and was caught by Aiden Blizzard at midwicket.Glenn Maxwell came in and the tentative shot-making continued. The pressure got the Strikers a run out. Buchanan pulled and turned for a second, only to be sent back by Maxwell and fall well short of his crease. Shahid Afridi walked out with the required-rate mounting, and got his first boundary off a top edge to wide mid-on. The first convincing shot of the innings came from Maxwell, who stepped out to Aaron O’Brien and lofted him over cover for four. Maxwell, who ended up top-scoring with 46, also hit the first six of the innings – slog-sweeping a flighted ball from Nathan Lyon over midwicket – but the required momentum never came.Afridi fell to Richardson, depositing a length ball on off stump in Lyon’s hands at long-off, and the required-rate touched 12 with a little over 11 overs remaining. Captain Andrew McDonald hung around for a bit, but the rest of the lower order capsized to hand the Strikers an easy victory.Strikers’ innings was set up by a busy opening stand between Daniel Harris and Michael Klinger, in which they put on 86 in 9.5 overs. They complemented the boundaries they hit – Harris favoured the leg side, while Klinger creamed fours through cover – with some fine running between the wickets, picking up a number of twos. Both were out just short of their fifties, but by then the Strikers had a solid platform and the middle order capitalised.Aiden Blizzard kept the runs ticking through the middle overs, before Cameron Borgas and Adam Crosthwaite teed off in the death. The 18th over, bowled by Dirk Nannes, included a pair of sixes from Crosthwaite off consecutive balls. The best over of the innings was yet to come, though. In the next over, Borgas used Shaun Tait’s pace to help him over fine-leg for six before swatting a length delivery over midwicket. He followed that up with two fours, both powerful pulls through midwicket. It was around this point that the rain came down, but the umpires kept the players on, a good move in hindsight as the clouds blew over quickly.

Anil Kumble the former India captain, is at the centre of a controversy over possible conflict-of-interest issues relating to his various roles in cricket administration

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Oct-2011Anil Kumble, the former India captain, is at the centre of a controversy over possible conflict-of-interest issues relating to his various roles in cricket administration.Kumble is currently president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association, head of the National Cricket Academy and is also mentor of the Royal Challengers Bangalore; he also co-owns a talent management firm called Tenvic that has on its books several young players including R Vinay Kumar and S Aravind, both part of the India squad for the forthcoming series against England.It is the last role that has raised eyebrows. Tenvic – named after Kumble’s ten-wicket haul against Pakistan in 1999 – looks after the commercial interests of the players, his partner Vasanth Bharadwaj told the magazine. “It doesn’t make any sense for someone to do the mentoring and someone else to do the commercial handling,” he is quoted as saying. That is being seen as an area of conflicted interests, given the potential for Kumble to influence selection in both Karnataka and Royal Challengers sides, and given his role at the NCA, the nursery of Indian cricket.Kumble did not respond when contacted by ESPNcricinfo but explained his position to , who first ran the story. “I do not see any conflict of interest here. I am very clear in my mind about this. The important thing is to focus on what you are trying to achieve, and I am trying to do that.”Asked whether it was important to be seen to be above board, he said: “I focus on what has to be done, not on what people might be thinking. The positions with the KSCA and NCA are honorary jobs, and I have to look after myself. At this stage of my career, I have to do that. Otherwise, you would have to become like Gandhi and give up everything.”However, his explanations have not washed with several of his peers. Bishan Singh Bedi, another former spinner and India captain, told Outlook: “I can’t believe it, I don’t want to believe it. I don’t want to sully the image I have of him.”A similar controversy broke out earlier this year, during India’s tour of England, when Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri, who were part of the ESPN-Star Sports commentary team, were seen in public perception as compromised given that they are also BCCI employees.A more serious case of conflict of interest is currently being heard by the Supreme Court: it is former president AC Muthiah’s petition that the current incumbent, N Srinivasan, cannot both be a BCCI official and the owner of an IPL franchise (his company owns Chennai Super Kings). The Supreme Court had allowed Srinivasan’s elevation to the president’s position to go ahead last month but said its decision was subject to the outcome of the larger petition.In September 2008, shortly after the first IPL season, the BCCI had amended clause 6.2.4 of the regulations for players, team officials, umpires and administrators. Before the amendment the clause read: “No administrator shall have, directly or indirectly, any commercial interest in the matches and events conducted by the board.” After the change, it read: “No administrator shall have directly or indirectly any commercial interest in any of the events of the BCCI, excluding IPL, Champions League and Twenty20.”

Virender Sehwag, the India opener, has said the only way to prevent fast bowlers from picking up injuries is by giving them regular breaks

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Oct-2011Virender Sehwag, the India opener, has said the only way to prevent fast bowlers from picking up injuries is by giving them regular breaks. India are currently without their leading fast bowler, Zaheer Khan, who is still recovering from ankle surgery. They have included 24-year-old Umesh Yadav and 22-year-old Varun Aaron in the Test squad to play West Indies, after the pair impressed with their pace in the recent one-day series against England.”It’s important that the team management ensures they don’t play too many matches,” Sehwag told television channel . “Fast bowlers are prone to injuries and when they get injured their pace goes. Besides, when you are injured, your comeback becomes very difficult.”Sehwag was picked in the squad for the first Test squad against West Indies after recovering from a shoulder injury for which he had surgery towards the end of the IPL. He was rushed back to play the last two Tests of India’s disastrous series in England earlier this year, but admitted his return was a mistake. “I knew I was needed. I tried my best but I realised I hurried my comeback in England. It was a difficult time in England for the whole team… so many injuries.”India’s selectors have rested players for various series and have had distinct teams for Test and limited-overs games in the recent past. Sehwag said a player could therefore ask to be rested if they needed a break. “A cricketer’s passion is to play for the country. If somebody says he’s tired, he can talk to the team management. [MS] Dhoni was not given rest on his request, because there were too many injuries in the team.”He also rejected the notion that players now prefer the IPL to Test cricket and said the whole club versus country debate was a silly one. “Tell me one cricketer who has said that? It’s a perception that the media and ex-cricketers have. Every youngster dreams of playing Tests. There is not a single Indian or for that matter international cricketer who has taken retirement from Tests and ODIs to play IPL.”I played the World Cup with injuries, Sachin played when he had a fractured toe or other injuries. People are not aware of this.”Sehwag also felt the future of Indian cricket looks bright given the number of young players who are breaking into the side such as Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma. “When the seniors retire, I have full faith in these talented youngsters taking their place. There may be a problem for a year or two, but Indian cricket is in safe hands.”

Lancashire’s match against Warwickshire at Liverpool ended in a draw, but only after a late flurry of wickets just failed to secure a dramatic victory for the home side

Jon Culley at Aigburth04-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Gary Keedy had Will Porterfield caught and bowled and picked up two more wickets, but Warwickshire survived the final day in Liverpool•PA PhotosLancashire had not drawn at Liverpool in nine matches since 2004 and only once previously this season, the latter fact a consequence of increasing the value of a win to 16 points and flat pitches becoming a rare commodity.Glen Chapple, the Lancashire captain and a cricketer reassuringly respectful of traditional values, mused recently that in his view there was merit still in a hard-earned draw, so it was a little ironic that he should find himself on the wrong end of one here as Warwickshire ultimately achieved their objective in a gripping finale.Warwickshire were aided by the weather, which restricted play to 31 balls before 1.15pm and cost another half-hour in the afternoon. But they still wound up facing 68 overs on a turning pitch and against arguably the best exponent of such conditions on the circuit in Gary Keedy, Lancashire’s veteran left-arm spinner.In the end it was captivatingly close as Warwickshire, who had seemed home and dry at 217 for 6 entering what they thought was the last over, lost two wickets in the space of five balls to part-time offspinner Steven Croft, then breathed deep sighs of relief only to be told there was time within the limits of the mandatory last hour for another over.These six balls offered a picture of Tim Ambrose, who was Warwickshire’s hero, in the end, with an unbeaten 66, surrounded by a cluster of eight close fielders as well as wicketkeeper Gareth Cross as Keedy wheeled in. Ambrose cannot have had many similar experiences but after two blocks, a sweep, a rejected lbw appeal, a leg-side leave and another soft-handed dead bat, it was all over and after two hours and 17 minutes the former England wicketkeeper had survived.It was a draw deserved, moreover, because Warwickshire had been in no way negative, at least until it was reasonable to be so. Presented at the start with potentially 75 overs to chase 280 and win the match themselves, they sent in Neil Carter, their one-day opener, to take on the new ball, and he and Varun Chopra could not have been more purposeful.They rattled along at almost five an over without giving Lancashire any encouragement, but their ambitions were necessarily scaled down after they lost four wickets for 20 runs in seven overs.Carter edged Saj Mahmood to Tom Smith at second slip and then Keedy, with his fourth ball, took a diving return catch to dismiss Will Porterfield. Chopra perished caught behind to an ugly slash at Kyle Hogg out of keeping with the rest of his innings and then Keedy claimed a second scalp when Jim Troughton flicked one round the corner to leg slip.Now Warwickshire needed to dig in and tough it out and that it took Lancashire another 27 overs to make more inroads was down to Ambrose and Laurie Evans, who does not have the benefit of his colleague’s experience yet who showed exceptional application and concentration for almost two hours before edging Hogg to second slip.When Rikki Clarke – thwarted earlier in his bid to take the world record for catches in an innings when Troughton got under Hogg’s skier off Boyd Rankin – fell for 12 at 210 for 6, caught at slip as Keedy took his third wicket, six overs remained.Time looked to be on Warwickshire’s side and ultimately was, although not until Croft had bowled both Chris Woakes and Jeetan Patel and caused some serious apprehension on the visiting balcony.With Somerset securing a third straight win, the race for the title is splendidly poised, with Warwickshire in a potentially strong position still by virtue of their game in hand, even though the result pushes them back into fourth place. Any one of the top four could be champions, which Lancashire coach Peter Moores acknowledged afterwards.”It is set well for a good run-in,” he said. “It depends on who holds their nerve and who has players in form at the right time. This was a great game of cricket. Both sides got stuck in and had opportunities to win it and it is a shame we didn’t have another session.”Somerset are coming up on the blind side, which we always thought they would. I like playing against sides who are in the title race with us and I’m pleased we have got Somerset in the last game of the season because we can control that fixture.”We have been up there all the way through, we have shown a lot of fight and character and found ways to win games. I don’t think we need to win all four of our remaining games. If we won two we would be in with a shout, three and we would be in with a very big chance and if we do win all four we will definitely win it.”Normally if you win 10 in a season that would be enough and often it would be less than that. This year it is unique because there are so many teams involved.”

If the first Test match played at Cardiff is now remembered for some over-my-dead-body batting on the final day, the second will be remembered for an extraordinary collapse

ESPNcricinfo staff30-May-2011If the first Test match played at Cardiff is now remembered for some over-my-dead-body batting on the final day, the second will be remembered for an extraordinary collapse. Tillakaratne Dilshan was at a loss to explain how Sri Lanka slumped to defeat on a day which began with the odds of an England win twice as long as it was in the famous Headingley Test of 1981.”I can’t believe we got out in just 25 overs with such a good batting line-up like we have,” he said after the morale-sapping innings-and-14-run defeat. “We lost the match because we batted really badly today.”Dilshan called for better performances from his senior batsmen, who have been the constant in a season of change for Sri Lankan cricket. “We knew looking forward in the morning that they would declare, everyone knew that after Bell’s hundred they would declare but I cannot explain what happened,” he said.”Our batting line-up has guys like Mahela [Jayawardene] Kumar [Sangakkara], Thilan [Samaraweera] and myself. We are experienced players and we need to regroup as soon as possible and come back for the next Test on Friday.”His two best batsmen had arrived in England a week after the rest of the squad due to IPL commitments, but Dilshan insisted that wasn’t a factor in the defeat. “Mahela and Sanga came here late but they can adjust quickly to this format of the game, but unfortunately things went wrong.”He also said that the pitch had remained good for batting on the final day. “It was a very good wicket with a little bit of turn and a bit of bounce, it was a very good track. In the last two days it was good for batting, but we didn’t bat well, that was the main issue, but it was really good for Test cricket.”Though he was distraught with the defeat, Dilshan said the immediate focus was on preparing the team for the Lord’s Test starting Friday. “I am really calm, I can’t be angry. We have to regroup and talk about it and try and get the maximum out of the young players and learn from the experience.”He admitted restoring the spirit won’t be easy after the completely unexpected defeat. “It will be difficult to forget this Test match but we have to stick together as a team, do whatever we can outside of cricket to get together and forget about everything.”We have experienced players. We can regroup and come back for the Lord’s Test in a positive mind and then we can play some good cricket there.”

A round-up of the fourth day of the first round of the Regional Four Day Competition

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Feb-2011Jamaica joined the England Lions and Combined Campuses and Colleges at the top of the points table after they comfortably beat Guyana at the Alpart Sports Club in St Elizabeth. Legspinner Odean Brown spearheaded Jamaica’s 165-run win as he ran through Guyana’s middle and lower order picking up five wickets.Guyana, who were set a target of 359, had started solidly with the openers Rajindra Chandrika and Shemroy Barrington putting on 58 runs on the third day before stumps. They added another 17 runs on the fourth day before Jerome Taylor struck to dismiss Chandrika. The dismissal opened the floodgates as Guyana kept losing wickets at regular intervals and failed to string together any substantial partnerships. After the opening stand of 77, the next-highest partnership was 29 for the third wicket between Leon Johnson and Assad Fudadin. Both batsmen were dismissed on 117 as Guyana lost eight wickets for 76 runs to slump to 193 all out.The match between Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados at Guaracara Park ended in a high-scoring draw. T&T, who were 390 for 9 overnight, were bowled out for 413 with Rayad Emrit unbeaten on 97. Barbados reached 234 for 3 before play ended. The star of Barbados’ second innings was Kraigg Brathwaite who made an unbeaten 102. He was the first centurion in a game that had six half-centuries scored, which included three scores in the nineties. The second round of games starts on February 11.

The see-sawing battle at Mutare Sports Club continued into the second day, an imperious century from Hamilton Masakadza matching Keegan Meth’s six-wicket haul

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Apr-2011Stumps
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Hamilton Masakadza brought Mountaineers back into the game with a dominant century•ESPNcricinfo LtdThe see-sawing battle at Mutare Sports Club continued into the second day, an imperious century from Hamilton Masakadza matching Keegan Meth’s six-wicket haul as Mountaineers secured a 44-run first-innings lead over Matabeleland Tuskers. Masakadza, the man the selectors rejected for the World Cup, dominated the day and fought a lone battle against the hungry Matabele attack, led by Meth who had already shattered Mountaineers’ top order. By the close, however, Tuskers had fought back with the bat to leave the match well balanced and were 72 runs ahead in their second innings with eight wickets in hand.Mountaineers started the day at 56 for 4 wickets, with all four dismissals having been effected by Meth. With Timycen Maruma as his partner, Masakadza held firm against the seam and swing of Meth, who bowled a further eight overs in the morning, conceding very few runs but failing to break through. Amid a tense atmosphere, with both sides vying for supremacy at a crucial stage of the match, the batsmen cautiously added 20 runs in 40 minutes before Maruma unwisely padded up to a ball from Njabulo Ncube and was adjudged lbw for 7.Then came the largest partnership of the innings, as Prosper Utseya proved a positive and reliable partner for Masakadza, who was now opening up with some impressive pulls and drives. By lunch the score was a much more healthy 149 for 6, but after the interval Utseya paid the price for his aggression when, after hiting a six over long-on off John Nyumbu, he tried to sweep a straight ball from the same bowler and was clean bowled for 39. The pair had added 84 in exactly 20 overs.Benjamin Katsande made 11 before skying a hook to deep fine leg, and then Shingi Masakadza joined his brother. Mountaineers took the lead on first innings with seven wickets down. With Hamilton now into the nineties, Meth came on again, but he had to be satisfied with the wicket of the younger brother, who edged to the keeper for 15. At the other end Hamilton reached three figures in grand fashion, hitting Chris Mpofu, one of Zimbabwe’s fastest bowlers, right over the scoreboard at long-on for a huge six.When Meth did get to bowl at Masakadza, he seemed to concede defeat immediately, putting his field back, dispensing with slips and bowling well outside off stump. The ploy did him little good, as Masakadza hammered him for two fours and a six over long-on from successive deliveries. But at the other end Tendai Chatara gave his wicket away very weakly, and with the last man in Masakadza went for broke in Keegan’s next over. He drove at a full-length delivery and was bowled for 119, one of his greatest first-class innings, given the circumstances. He faced 206 deliveries and hit 16 fours and 4 sixes. His score was almost half of the total of 239, which gave his team a lead of 44.Tuskers began their second innings quietly, but then Brad Staddon began to score freely off Chatara. The arrears were cleared off in the 15th over without the loss of a wicket, and it appeared Mountaineers had lost their advantage. Staddon reached an enterprising 50 off 56 balls, but then tried to swung across the line at Utseya and was out lbw to break an opening partnership with the dogged Mbekezeli Mabuza that had reached 65. Charles Coventry came in and made a confident start, but Shingi Masakadza was then brought back on and yorked Mabuza for 17 off 94 balls to reduce Tuskers to 81 for 2. After that Coventry and Steve Trenchard played safely for the close, leaving the match intriguingly poised.”I think it was a pretty good one,” Masakadza told after his century. “Especially as the wicket wasn’t playing so well, especially in the morning, and also because we were a little bit on the back foot, because we kept losing wickets throughout the whole innings.”The pitch looks a little bit soft on the surface, it’s crumbling a bit, and it’s worse in the morning just after they’ve cut it, so some balls were gripping and doing a bit more than they were supposed to, and it was leaving a few dents when the ball bounced, that you could actually see on the pitch. That was the main thing.”My game plan was just to see off the rest of the day, because there were 20 overs to bat and I went in in the second over, so my plan was just to make sure I played out the day and came back the next morning to continue. This morning I was always in to bat for as long as possible, to try to build partnerships with the guys and just get as close to the target as we could, because at one stage it looked as if we wouldn’t reach it. So being 44 ahead was a major plus.”I thought they bowled very well, especially Keegan Meth, not only because of the fact that he got six wickets, but he hit very good areas and swung the ball both ways. I think he was the most difficult to face, and obviously very well supported by the other seamers, like Christopher Mpofu and Tawanda Mupariwa. The spinner John Nyumbu didn’t bowl too much, but he got a little from the wicket as well. But Keegan was definitely the best. I had one or two half-chances, but not really – I think it was pretty much a chanceless innings today.”Masakadza reached the landmark with his third six in the 65th over of the innings. “We had eight down at that stage, so I was really looking to push it on a little bit, batting with the tail, so I was looking to play a few more shots. It was a slower ball from Chris Mpofu, right in the arc. Now I’m just looking forward to coming back tomorrow and putting some pressure on them, and hopefully we can bowl them out and chase 50 or 60 in the fourth innings.”

Everton flop Cenk Tosun is now unlikely to rejoin his former club Besiktas this summer.

What’s the story?

That’s according to a report from Turkish outlet Sabah, via Liverpool Echo, which revealed that the Istanbul club have ‘cut off contact’ with the forward ahead of a potential move given his fitness issues.

Sabah reported in March (via One Football)  that Besiktas had offered the striker a three-year contract worth £1.3m a season ahead of the expiration of his Everton contract in June.

However, the 30-year-old is not set to return to full fitness until August at the earliest ahead of the expiry of his contract at the end of June.

Everton must part ways with Tosun

It is imperative that the Toffees don’t offer Tosun a new contract and instead allow him to depart next month.

Having made the move to Goodison Park in 2018 for £27m, the £69k-per-week Turkish striker has cost the Merseyside outfit a whopping £42,594,000 in the 226 weeks since signing for the Toffees.

In that period, Tosun has made just 61 appearances for Everton, scoring 11 goals. To put that into perspective, each goal has cost the relegation-threatened side £3,872,182, making him a colossal waste of money.

Claimed to have been “desperate” to play for the Merseyside club according to former Everton manager Sam Allardyce, the forward has only made three appearances this season, with a combination of just 11 minutes played across the FA Cup and Premier League.

The 30-year-old has also endured two brief loan spells whilst struggling for game time at Goodison Park, making five appearances for Premier League rival Crystal Palace whilst also experiencing a return to his former club Besiktas.

These costs have already been damaging for Everton, but relegation to the Championship would make them detrimental.

Frank Lampard’s side still have a decent chance to survive the drop but are in a precarious position in the relegation zone, two points from safety. However, they do boast a game in hand on 17th-placed Leeds, which could prove to be vital.

If they are to suffer a first-ever relegation from the Premier League, the colossal expenditure of keeping Tosun at the club would act as a major dent to their budget for life in the Championship, so they must see through with the Turkish liability’s expulsion from Goodison Park this summer.

AND in other news: Disaster: Lampard set for 1st big mistake as Everton boss, supporters would be fuming

While there is yet to be any official word from Zimbabwe Cricket, it would appear that there might be a few surprises in Zimbabwe’s squad for the World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jan-2011While there is yet to be any official word from Zimbabwe Cricket, it would appear that there might be a few surprises in Zimbabwe’s squad for the World Cup. Opening batsman Hamilton Masakadza has paid a heavy price for his poor form in 2010 and is apparently not included in a preliminary 20-man squad, while Sean Ervine may well be in line for an international comeback after his name was included in press reports about the potential team.Masakadza, 27, is one of the country’s most experienced batsmen and has been a dominant force in domestic cricket for the last few years. After a prolific run in 2009, when he scored 1,087 runs in ODIs – the fourth best returns in world cricket that year – Masakadza’s form slumped alarmingly in 2010 and he averaged just 19.00 in ODIs for the national side.After making his debut as a 17-year-old in 2001, Masakadza missed out on selection for the tournament in both 2003 and 2007 – the first time because he was at university in South Africa and the second because of a dip in form and a perceived lack of fluency in limited-overs cricket. He struggled in Zimbabwe’s three most recent series, against Ireland, South Africa and Bangladesh, managing just 52 runs in seven innings.Uncertainty still reigns over Ervine’s inclusion. His younger brother, Craig, is a certainty after a productive first year with the national side, but the older Ervine is still under contract with Hampshire as a local player until the end of the 2011 season. He would have to revert to overseas status if he wanted to resume his international career with Zimbabwe, but Hampshire already have legspinner Imran Tahir on their books in that role.”I’ll speak with Sean and get to the bottom of this but I expect him to be with us next year,” Hampshire manager Giles White told in December. “We’ve offered him a new deal and he’s said he’d like to take that up. I will be interested to find out more about it because he is under contract with Hampshire. I will try to contact Sean but it’s difficult as he’s on a farm in Zimbabwe, but we will get him on the phone and sort things out so we can move things forward and hopefully get some clarity.”Ervine played the last of 42 ODIs for Zimbabwe against Bangladesh at Harare Sports Club in March 2004 before becoming embroiled in the ‘rebel’ crisis and falling out with the board. He has since forged a successful career in County cricket with Hampshire, and remains part of their squad for the Caribbean Twenty20 tournament, which starts on Monday.Zimbabwe’s poor batting was the biggest let-down of their recent Bangladesh tour, and Ervine’s form and experience would certainly be a valuable asset to the national side. Zimbabwe’s batsmen will also be undergoing an intensive training programme ahead of the World Cup, with enhanced solidity at the beginning of the innings and an ability to play spin in the middle overs being the main objectives.”We have come up with an intensive training structure so that we can try and help the guys improve their technique going into the World Cup,” assistant coach Steven Mangongo told in Zimbabwe. “The Bangladesh series served as an eye-opener because we observed some worrying frailties in our batting department.”We want them to improve so that there is a bit more stability especially during the first 15 overs of an innings. We are currently working with the batsmen together with batting coach Grant Flower and we will be joined by the national coach Alan Butcher and we also expect to get some help from Brian Lara at some point later.”Zimbabwe open their World Cup campaign against Australia in Ahmedabad on February 21 before they face Canada in Nagpur on February 28.20-man squad: Elton Chigumbura (capt), Regis Chakabva, Chamu Chibhabha, Charles Coventry, Graeme Cremer, Terry Duffin, Craig Ervine, Sean Ervine, Greg Lamb, Tino Mawoyo, Shingirai Masakadza, Chris Mpofu, Tinashe Panyangara, Ray Price, Ed Rainsford, Vusi Sibanda, Tatenda Taibu, Brendan Taylor, Prosper Utseya, Sean Williams.

La Gazzetta dello Sport, via Football Italia, have made a behind-the-scenes fall out claim involving Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola and a big name player.

The Lowdown: City race heats up…

The Sky Blues and Guardiola are set for an electric and heated end to the 2021/2022 season with City battling for both the Premier League title and their first ever Champions League.

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Fierce contenders Liverpool, after their victory at home to Man United on Tuesday, have leap-frogged the English champions into first place.

City can re-gain top spot with a victory at home to Brighton this evening as the race continues, but even amid this season-defining last run of games, Eastlands chiefs are preparing for the summer window.

Indeed, major reports have surfaced in the last few days as sporting director Txiki Begiristain edges closer and closer to the signing of Norway sensation Erling Braut Haaland.

These exciting updates have been followed up by possible Etihad Stadium exit reports as La Gazzetta (via FI) make a major claim involving Guardiola and big-name Man City star Raheem Sterling.

The Latest: Pep and Sterling fall out?

According to the newspaper, Sterling is ‘no longer on good terms’ with Guardiola and his representatives seem set to offer the England international out to AC Milan.

The Rossoneri, who are currently in talks over a possible takeover from Bahraini investment fund Investcorp, could be granted a €300 million (£249m) transfer kitty in the summer – making their purchase of City’s winger realistic.

The Verdict: Interesting summer ahead…

Sterling’s future will be one of the interesting stories of City’s 2022 summer given he is out-of-contract in 2023 as things stand.

That gives Begiristain and co just two windows to either finally agree terms on an extension or decide to sell the 27-year-old, who has scored a brilliant 128 goals and assisted 93 others since joining from Liverpool in 2015.

Sterling has recently re-discovered his best form in parts after a slow start to the 21/22 campaign and the forward’s quality is also best exemplified by his phenomenal Euro 2020.

Everton boss Frank Lampard, who undertook a punditry role with the BBC last summer during the tournament, labelled Sterling an ‘excellent’ and ‘world class player’ for his performances under Gareth Southgate (BBC via football.london).

The international star clearly possesses bags of ability, as evident by his numbers with both City and England, and losing him this summer would be a big setback for Guardiola – even with his wealth of midfield talent and the possible arrival of Haaland.

In other news: £67m ‘big name’ is now dreaming of a move to Man City, but it’s not Haaland…find out more here.