Category Uncategorized

Division 1 (Time games)Andover 152 (Simpson 32, Langdown 30, Staddon 29, Dibden 5-51, Goldstraw 3-31)
BAT Sports 153-1 (Shirazi 84, Carson 46)
BAT Sports won by 9 wicketsBournemouth 247-8 (Swarbrick 63, Wilkinson 41, Miller 39, Cassell 32)
Burridge 161-9 (Dixon 32, Jackson 28, Waite 4-48, Kidner 3-24)
Match drawnBashley (Rydal) 245-6 (Thurgood 76, Neal 57, Loader 30)
Calmore Sports 246-4 (Hibberd 82, Goode 79, Pegler 39)
Calmore Sports won by 6 wicketsSouth Wilts 233-9 (Rowe 62, Lamb 40, Caines 34, Glasson 32, Wade 28, Loat 5-67, Hindley 4-73)
Havant 195-7 (Loat 50, Greenfield 44, Hindley 42, Tomlinson 4-38)
Match drawnLiphook & Ripsley 289-5 (Jansen 80, Riley 69, Smyth 65, Ford 3-128)
Hungerford 158 (Laney 57, Jansen 3-32)
Liphook & Ripsley won by 133 runsDivision 2 (50 overs)Old Tauntonians 166 (Ord 36, K Trodd 26, Docis 5-23)
Cove 169-2 (Randall 75, Benham 56)
Cove won by 8 wicketsHambledon 174 (Field 45, le Clerq 39, Felgate 4-53)
Trojans 175-4 (Mohammed 60, Subnaik 46)
Trojans won by 6 wicketsOld Basing 106 (Thorne 25, Maru 5-12, Hayward 3-18)
Portsmouth 101-0 (Cook 59, Pike 37)
Portsmouth won by 10 wicketsLymington 279-4 (Peacock 68, Trestrail 65, Craft 61, Young 36)
Sparsholt 176-9 (Nichols 29, Peacock 4-51)
Lymington won by 103 runsUnited Services 183-9 (Hounsome 46, Geoghegan 35, McKeever 32, St Green 3-30, Stone 3-52)
Easton & Martyr Worthy 185-9 (Sh Green 105, Brooks 6-40)
Easton & Martyr Worthy won by 1 wicketDivision 3 (50 overs)Alton 268-8 (Paddy Heffernan 79, Morgan 56, Balllinger 35, Mark Heffernan 30)
Havant II 159 (Mist 47, Owen 38, Ballinger 3-17, Rotherham 3-41)
Alton won by 109 runsBashley (Rydal) II 265-6 (Hall 82, Britton 52, Dean 35, Slater 5-62)
Waterlooville 184 (Shephard 76, Spinks 32, Marsh 4-50)
Bashley (Rydal) won by 81 runsUnited Services II 90 (Collins 6-30, Edwards 3-27)
Gosport Borough 93-5 (Rees 36)
Gosport Borough won by 5 wicketsHursley Park 298-3 (Harris 124, Marks 59, Halder 49)
Hook & Newnham Basics 301-3 (Kaminski 147, Lovelock 105)
Hook & Newnham Basics won by 7 wicketsPaultons 329-8 (Richman 103, Park 51, James 42)
Lymington II 177 (Stephenson 35, Tapper 29, Lamb 5-30, Wilde 3-56)
Paultons won by 152 runsRowledge 227-5 (R Yates 74, Booton 40, Mitchell 36, Wheeler 3-53)
New Milton 183-9 (Wheeler 94, C Yates 5-53)
Rowledge won by 44 runsFlamingos 201-6 (Merkel 84, J Greer 37, Manthorpe 26, Limb 4-24)
Portsmouth II 202-8 (Mitchell 94, Rogers 42, McMurray 5-35)
Portsmouth won by 2 wicketsSt Cross Symondians 229-9 (Parker 41, Slape 35, Perry-Lewis 34, J Adams 26, Stanley 3-37)
Purbrook 227-8 (McCoy 65, Stanley 36, Lipscombe 3-52)
St Cross Symondians won by 2 runsLeckford 173 (Howard 61, M Taylor 3-30, S Marks 3-42)
Winchester KS 177-3 (P Marks 54, Parsons 43, Wheeler 25)
Winchester KS won by 7 wickets

Barcelona have reportedly offered Leeds United the chance to sign striker Martin Braithwaite in a deal that would take Raphinha to the Nou Camp.

The Lowdown: Braithwaite profiled

Braithwaite, formerly of Middlesbrough, where Tony Pulis described him as ‘exceptional’, has been with Barcelona since 2020.

The Denmark international joined from Leganes and reportedly has a frankly ridiculous £251m release clause in his contract.

The 30-year-old has scored ten times in 58 appearances for the Catalan giants but has missed the majority of the current campaign with a knee injury.

The Latest: Talks held

Mundo Deportivo shared an update regarding Raphinha and Barcelona on Saturday morning.

They revealed that conversations have been held between the two clubs, where Barcelona have offered Braithwaite in a deal for the Leeds winger as they look to bring down the cost. Defenders Oscar Mingueza, Sergino Dest and Clement Lenglet were also name-checked in a potential transfer.

The Verdict: Avoid?

Although Leeds could do with adding to their attacking ranks following Patrick Bamford’s injury issues this season, Braithwaite doesn’t appear to be the answer.

He has also had his injury issues of his own this season and is on a whopping £98,000-a-week – only Rodrigo earns more at Elland Road.

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The Barcelona man may well be past his prime and he’ll be 31 in the summer, so it could make sense for Victor Orta and Jesse Marsch to go after a younger attacking target, one with more durability and less wage demands.

In other news: Leeds may now lose another star alongside Raphinha and Phillips; he stunned a club employee. 

	Stuart MacGill: “The reason I’m happiest is that it didn’t go completely to plan” © Getty Images

Stuart MacGill’s dream first-class return from injury has ended a dark patch that threatened to close his international career. However, after taking 5 for 49 for New South Wales on the opening day of the Pura Cup match against South Australia he is back at the front of the queue and the country’s spin stocks are suddenly much healthier.During MacGill’s absence Brad Hogg was the leading slow man, but when he retired Bryce McGain and Dan Cullen were the main options if MacGill did not recover from the wrist surgery he had late last year. The operation was required after MacGill felt numbness in his bowling arm and he performed poorly in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Hobart. There was doubt about whether he could regain fitness – he was also struggling with a knee injury – but he has overcome the initial hurdle.MacGill started with a wicket first ball and was satisfied with his return during 17.4 overs. “The reason I’m happiest is that it didn’t go completely to plan,” he said in the Australian. “For a long period I wasn’t exactly as I wanted to be playing. Probably at the end when I was going for the most runs was when I thought I could put the most work on the ball.”On an SCG surface sympathetic to the spinners – Cullen picked up 3 for 9 on day one – MacGill captured Daniel Harris with his opening delivery. “There was definitely luck, there was no question of luck being with me,” he said. “You know, first ball, half-tracker, straight to point, that’s probably as lucky as you are going to get. Mind you, I’ve been lucky a number of times in my career if that’s the criteria, but maybe it was straight back into form first ball, I don’t know.”MacGill is 37 but Andrew Hilditch, the national chairman of selectors, is not bothered by age and wants a high-class spinner with the Test squad. “The reality is that we envisage, as we did at the start of the season, that we were really looking to get from Stuart, or perhaps Hoggy, a couple of years of cricket where we get a period of time for the younger spinners around the country to develop and take that next step,” Hilditch told the paper. “Obviously with Stuart’s injuries and now Brad Hogg’s retirement, that plan’s pretty much on hold at the moment.”We’re obviously interested in how Stuart goes in his comeback. I haven’t seen him for a little while. I’m told he’s looking extremely fit and has made a lot of progress over the last couple of months so it will be interesting to see how he goes.” He has started well and will have another opportunity as New South Wales chase hosting rights for the final.

Tamim Iqbal ambushed India during their World Cup encounter © AFP

Tamim Iqbal v Zaheer Khan
Thirty-four runs off 25 balls, and a six that rang around the World Cup. Five more boundaries to boot and there’s every reason a fast bowler with a typically elephantine memory would be looking for revenge. Tamim reacted to being hit by Zaheer by stepping out the next ball and smashing him for a huge six over wide long-on. A similar dance first ball tomorrow won’t be a bad start at all.Virender Sehwag v Mashrafe Mortaza
Sehwag was bowled for two by Mortaza at the World Cup. The two times out of six that Sehwag failed to get into double figures, India ended up losing to Bangladesh. And both those times he was clean bowled by Mortaza. That could be inspiration enough for Mortaza to brave his back pain and have another go at Sehwag.Habibul Bashar v Rahul Dravid
Their tales couldn’t be any more different. Bashar struggled with the bat and the results initially but he’s started winning more frequently in recent times. Dravid the captain had a superb start, steamrolling Sri Lanka at home, but had a poor World Cup. During their loss to Bangladesh at the World Cup, Dravid’s decision to bat first came under scrutiny and, on a pitch that took turn, Bashar employed his trio of left-arm spinners extremely effectively. Both captains are under pressure at the start of this series. It could be a matter of who handles it better.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul has tried his best but the demands have become such a burden they have undermined his confidence and severely affected his batting © Getty Images

Bennett King has a familiar story to tell when he reports on his latest assignment to Ken Gordon, West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president, Joey Carew, convenor of selectors, and Clive Lloyd, recently-appointed head of the cricket committee, in Antigua today, less than 24 hours after his return.The tour of New Zealand that ended with the rain-ruined third Test in Napier on Wednesday was the head coach’s fourth overseas, following two to Australia and one to Sri Lanka last year. Like the others, it ended in defeat and disappointment.The main reasons would have been obvious to Gordon and his colleagues from what they saw through the television coverage and read from comments on tour by King himself, captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul and some of the other players, not least the most experienced, Brian Lara.The failure of the middle-order batting, notably the key men, Chanderpaul and Lara, inappropriate shot selection and missed catches at critical moments led to the narrow defeat in the first Test and contributed to the comprehensive loss in the second. The injuries that reduced Dwayne Bravo’s allround capacity to batting and fielding alone and confined Jerome Taylor to nine overs in his only Test were also significant setbacks.Above all, as Lara observed at the end, the continuing lack of mental toughness undermined the effort against efficient, but hardly overwhelming, opponents in both Tests and one-day internationals. The outcome in New Zealand also ensures that the issue of leadership is high on the agenda, not only at today’s meeting but at selectorial and board level in the coming weeks.Decisions have to be taken on the captaincy and, following the review by the committee headed by Jackie Hendriks, the coaching. Chanderpaul is not the first captain to endure such a prolonged period of failure but none has been so unsuited to the role or so uncomfortable in it.Until thrust into the position by the contentious circumstances of last year, his cricket was focused exclusively on batting, on accumulating runs, however, they came, on substance rather than style. His record attests to his success.Quiet to the point of introversion, he did not have to concern himself with determining tactics or mastering the skills necessary to communicate with his players and the media. It was too much to expect him to suddenly grasp such complexities, especially at such a turbulent time in West Indies cricket.

Dwayne Bravo could not bowl in New Zealand because of a side strain © Getty Images

He has tried his best, as he always does, but the demands have become such a burden they have undermined his confidence and severely affected his batting, his one, abiding passion. Since the Sri Lanka series last July, when the leading players deserted him, his stance has become more awkwardly front-on as he has gone 14 Test innings without a half-century.They are statistics that undermine his authority and enough for him to be relieved of the weight and worry of leadership so that he can get back to doing what he does best, score runs. The sooner the decision is made to elevate vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan to the position, the better to end negative speculation.The seven successive ODIs against a weakened Zimbabwe are next on the West Indies’ schedule, an ideal introduction for a new, younger skipper. Throughout New Zealand, King and his all-Australian staff remained under the cloud of the Hendriks committee’s report and the inevitable rumours that followed the release of its findings.The head coach’s presentation today will be inevitably made against this background of uncertainty, even given the committee’s conclusion that “there was not sufficient evidence to work with in determining whether the investment in the coaching staff had paid dividends” and its subsequent recommendation that they be given “more opportunity before a further evaluation is made”.In his debriefing, King will find difficulty in explaining how, in two of the ODIs and, more frustratingly, in the first Test, probable victory slipped rapidly from the grasp of a team consumed by the powerful insecurity of years of failure.In the second ODI, New Zealand were 49 for the loss of the top five yet they breezed past the 201 needed to win with three wickets and eight overs to spare. In the third, the West Indies were 127 for two after 20 overs going after 277. Two wickets in the 21st over transformed that position into eventual defeat by 21 runs.The mental meltdown was most pronounced and momentous in the first Test. At 150 for seven in their second innings, New Zealand were 168 ahead and down to the keeper and the bowlers. They rallied to add 122 after Daniel Vettori was dropped at four.It meant the West Indies were left 291 to win but an opening partnership of 148 between Chris Gayle and Daren Ganga set the foundations for a result that would have been an enormous boost to the team’s confidence. It came to nothing as Nos.3 to 7 contributed 36 between them. The margin of defeat was 27.

Fidel Edwards is developing into a genuine strike bowler © Getty Images

Yet what King will have to report today is not all gloom and doom. There was the continuing development and strengthening of Fidel Edwards as a genuine strike bowler.Against widespread scepticism that the task of taking 20 wickets in a match is beyond the limited bowling attack, it did so in the first Test, as it had done in the two at home against Pakistan last season, and would have been more effective with better support in the field.At last, Gayle and Ganga provided more solid starts than other pairs had managed for some time (47, 148, 43, 54 and 37 against 20, 11, 12, 4, 16 and 2 in the previous series in Australia). And, not to be underestimated, the coach can rightly point out that there were definite advances in moulding a team ethic among the players, many of whom were on opposite sides in the bitter standoff between the WICB and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) only a few months earlier.There was an unmistakeable camaraderie off the field, especially among the many younger members, that is an encouraging sign for the future. The problem, of course, is that it hasn’t reflected in the results.

Mike Smith: told umpires what can go on in the field © Getty Images

The ECB is aiming to clamp down on cheating after it was revealed that the players condone some types of ball-tampering. Mike Smith, the former Gloucestershire left-arm seamer who played once for England, told a panel of first-class umpires about the use of lip salve, hair gel and sweets in the field, and also more extreme measures such as concealing part of an emery board in a finger plaster.Alan Fordham, the chief operations manager at the ECB, asked Smith to represent the Professional Cricketers’ Association at the meeting, and says that this issue needs addressing, although he doesn’t believe there has been a sudden increase in these incidents.Ball-tampering is covered under Law 42, sub-section three of which states: “It is unfair for anyone to rub the ball in the ground for any reason, interfere with the seams or the surface of the ball, use any implement, or take any further action whatsoever which is likely to alter the condition of the ball.”Fordham believes it is up to the players to show more restraint, but that the umpires also need to told what to look for: “We want to let the umpires know as much as possible so it gives them a better chance of spotting what’s going on,” Fordham told BBC Sport. “There is a big element of players needing to exercise self-restraint. The PCA told us the types of things that are going on, and it didn’t come as a big surprise, but we need to ensure that players play by the laws.”Mike Denness, the former ICC match referee, told that the onus must fall on the players: “The game should be played within the Laws and then within the [ICC] Code of Conduct, but primarily it should be up to captains and coaches to observe the spirit of the game.”If an umpire believes a team is guilty of tampering with the ball they can fine them five runs, and individual players can be reported and banned if they continue. Last season Mohammad Akram, who was then playing for Sussex, was reprimanded and received three penalty points for ball-tampering during the match against Warwickshire at Horsham.

Heath Streak: made the right decision at the toss

The second Test between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh at Bulawayo could well be over and done with after only three hours’ play on the third day, the first two having been washed out. Heroic work by the ground staff enabled play finally to start an hour before lunch, but then a heavy and prolonged afternoon downpour undid all their good work, perhaps permanently.The play that did take place came in several clear segments. Zimbabwe were either taking clusters of wickets or none at all, while Bangladesh were either scoring runs freely or not at all. Phase one had few runs or wickets; the second chapter belonged to the free-scoring Bangladeshi batsmen; while the third and final phase of the day belonged to Zimbabwe.The pre-lunch hour involved few runs and no wickets, but it was absorbing cricket as Zimbabwe’s seamers, Heath Streak and Douglas Hondo, took advantage of the conditions and made the Bangladeshi openers fight for their lives. This they did with great determination, although the first run off the bat did not come for 37 minutes, and in the ninth over.The tide began to turn just before lunch, when a couple of overs by Blessing Mahwire and Sean Ervine offered some easy runs and several no-balls. For half an hour afterwards, the batsmen enjoyed themselves and appeared to be reaping the rewards of their hard work in sowing the seed early on.But again, in a matter of minutes the game underwent a complete metamorphosis. Ervine pulled himself together, bowled with more accuracy and quickly broke the opening partnership at 64. The next, and final, 90 minutes went all Zimbabwe’s way as they mowed down five wickets and the batsmen retreated into their shells, managing only 24 more runs.Streak’s decision to field certainly gave his team the best chance of victory in what had become a three-day match. He and his support bowlers, aided by fine catching, gave his team a strong advantage, only to be thwarted by typical February weather. Barring remarkable happenings, Bangladesh will secure the second draw of their brief career as a Test-playing nation – thanks to the weather … again.

Wellington showed great composure under pressure to deny Otago a long overdue win in a nail-biting finish to their State Shield match at Alexandra today.Otago has suffered some close losses to Wellington in recent times but it seemed that this time they would come out on top.Wellington had different ideas, and the advantage of knowing how to handle a tight situation.Earlier, Otago had asked Wellington to bat first, and the northerners made a sound start courtesy of some attacking play from Chris Nevin. He scored 42 off 57 balls as Wellington reached 79 in the 21st over before Nevin was out to Warren McSkimming’s bowling.But the experienced Wellington top order kept the pressure on with Matthew Bell scoring 57, albeit off 116 balls which was not the sort of pace he would have been wanting to score at. When Bell was out in the 40th over, there was a chance for Wellington to really kick on from their position of 163 for three wickets.And while Wellington did reach 233, scoring at nearly seven an over through the last 10, they would have been disappointed not to have scored more. As it was, it took a timely piece of batting from Matthew Walker who scored 37 not out off 22 balls to get the total to its final position.James McMillan and Shayne O’Connor came in for some treatment from the batsmen. O’Connor finishing with one for 54 and McMillan two for 51 from their 10 overs while McSkimming took two for 45 from his 10. The most economical of the Otago bowlers proved to be Jeff Wilson who took one for 32 from his 10.Andrew Hore provided a blast to Otago’s chase when scoring 15 off 11 balls but it needed a more sustained assault to give the side the perfect start. But the side were well placed with Craig Cumming in good touch in scoring 33 off 53 balls and seeing the score to 105 when he was the second wicket to fall in the 21st over.By the 30th over, Mohammad Wasim had played a steadying hand scoring 70 off 94 balls before he was trapped leg before wicket by James Franklin.With four overs to play, Otago, with wickets in hand should have got home with time to spare. They were 209/4, needing another 25 needed to win.But some tight bowling from the Wellingtonians pegged back the difference between the sides.Four runs came off the 46th over bowled by left-arm slow bowler Mark Jefferson. Then five came off the 47th over bowled by Walker. Jefferson only conceded four off the 48th and amazingly only two runs came off the 49th bowled by Walker. He completed his 10 overs and finished with one for 45.Ash Turner was especially troublesome for the batsmen and he was entrusted with the last over.Ten runs were needed but Marcel McKenzie and McSkimming could do no better than a leg bye and two singles off the first three balls. When the fourth ball was not scored off, Otago needed a miracle and Wellington were not about to concede them one.Turner showed good composure and ended his nine overs with two for 35, and Wellington had come through again, to claim the win by two runs.

• It was the 1719th One-Day International match in cricket history.
• It was England’s 326th and Pakistan’s 495th ODI match.
• It was the 47th match between these two sides. The record now reads :Pakistan 18, England 28, abandoned one.
• It was the 21st match between these two sides in England. The recordnow reads : Pakistan 6,England 15.
• Umpires Barry Dudleston and John Hampshire were officiating in theirfourth and 19th match respectively.
• Paul Collingwood (a 25 years old right handed batsman and right armoff break/ medium fast bowler) became 162nd player to representEngland in ODIs.
• Rashid Latif was making a comeback into Pakistan side after aboutthree years. He had last played for Pakistan against South Africa atCape Town on 23-04-1998.Latif thus missed 92 matches in between twoconsecutive appearances. Only Sajid Ali (154), Sikander Bakht (117),Aamer Malik (93) and Manzoor Elahi (93) have missed more matches inbetween two appearances for Pakistan.
• Inzamam-ul-Haq (79),when on 74,completed his 8000 runs in One-DayInternationals. He was playing his 244th match and 231st innings.Inzamam became second Pakistani and seventh batsman overall to achievethis landmark. Inzamam joined the august company of two Indians SachinTendulkar (10179 runs in 268 matches) and Mohammad Azharuddin (9378 in334), one West Indian Desmond Haynes (8648 in 238),one Sri LankanAravinda de Silva (8432 in 275), one Australian Mark Waugh (8245 in232) and fellow teammate Saeed Anwar (8162 in 224).
• Inzamam has now aggregated 2623 runs in 80 matches on opponents’ soils(excluding matches at neutral venues). He has now surpassed JavedMiandad’s Pakistani record of most runs in such matches. Miandad had atally of 2573 runs from 76 matches on opponents’ soils. IncidentallyWest Indian Viv Richards with 3921 runs from 88 matches holds theworld record in this category of statistics.
• The third wicket partnership of 150 runs between Anwar and Inzamam isPakistan’s best for this wicket against England. This obliterated theprevious highest of 145 between Ijaz Ahmed and Inzamam at Sharjah on07-04-1999.
• The wicket of Younis Khan was 56th for Darren Gough on English soil.With this he has equalled Ian Botham’s tally of most wickets at homesoil. However Gough needed only 33 matches as against Botham’s 47.
• The catch of Alec Stewart was seventh for Shoaib Malik as asubstitute. He has now equalled New Zealander John Bracewell andcountryman Shoaib Mohammad’s tally of catches. Only Sri Lankan UpulChandana (8) has taken more catches as a substitute.
• The victory margin of 108 runs was largest for Pakistan againstEngland in all matches. The previous biggest win for Pakistan overEngland was by 90 runs at Sharjah on 07-04-1999.
• The defeat was England’s second worst for England at home soil. SouthAfrica had registered a 122 run victory at The Oval on 22-05-1999 in aWorld Cup game which still remains England’s worst ever defeat at homesoil.
• Saeed Anwar was winning his 27th Man of the Match award. He has nowequalled Sri Lanka’s Aravinda de Silva’s tally of MoM awards. Now onlyIndia’s Sachin Tendulkar (38) and West Indian Viv Richards (31) havewon more awards than Anwar.

Leeds United are expected to bring in a new centre forward this summer, with a meeting between Jesse Marsch and Victor Orta scheduled in the next seven days, according to journalist Phil Hay.

The Lowdown: Bamford’s injury woes

The Whites have been troubled by injury problems throughout this season, with key players missing important chunks of action.

That particularly applies to Patrick Bamford, who shone last term but has only started seven Premier League matches in 2021/22, with his season now over with a foot problem.

Leeds have felt short in central attacking areas, with too much onus on youngsters such as Joe Gelhardt and Sam Greenwood, and it is an area that needs to be addressed.

[freshpress-quiz id=“383507″]

The Latest: New centre forward incoming?

According to Hay on Twitter, that is exactly what is going to happen, with Marsch and Orta expected to agree on bringing in a striker in the summer transfer window:

“Marsch and Orta are due to have a scouting meeting next week to plan ahead. On whether Leeds need more resources at centre forward, Marsch says it’s possible that they’ll look for more attackers and an extra number nine.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-40/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Makes complete sense

A lack of depth has been Leeds’ problem this season, especially up front, so it makes perfect sense to spend time looking at potential striking options.

Bamford also turns 29 later this year and will eventually need replacing, too, not to mention a healthy competition for playing time should also bring out the best in him.

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Someone like Blackburn Rovers striker Ben Brereton-Diaz, who is apparently a target, could be an ideal signing, having scored 20 goals in 28 Championship starts in 2021/22 to date, as well as netting four times in 11 caps for Chile.

In other news, a transfer expert has made a key Leeds claim. Read more here.