ScorecardAfter two draws and two defeats, New Zealand have finally completed their first victory of the tour, as Leicestershire were rolled over for 232 on the final day at Grace Road, to lose by 328 runs.Daniel Vettori was New Zealand’s star performer, picking up figures of 5 for 92, after Leicestershire had resumed on their overnight 68 for 2, still needing an improbable 493 for victory. But their faint hopes evaporated as soon as John Maunders was caught behind off Kyle Mills for 54 (124 for 3).It was a bit of a procession thereafter. Chris Cairns snuck in to bowl John Sadler for 18, and then it was over to Vettori, who grabbed five of the last six wickets. Only Darren Maddy offered any resistance. He played three Tests against New Zealand on their last tour in 1999, and his 87 was one of only four scores in double figures.Maddy was aided and abetted by Charlie Dagnall, who provided a bit of late resistance with a brisk 17, but Vettori swept both batsmen aside, as New Zealand gave themselves a timely shot in the arm before Thursday’s second Test at Headingley.
CENTURION, South Africa, Feb 13 AAP – Maybe Steve Waugh is wrong.Maybe Sourav Ganguly isn’t such a bad bloke.Ricky Ponting seems to think so after chatting with the Indian captain for half an hour on the eve of the World Cup.Australia’s clashes with India in 2001, the last time they met, were memorable for three things: an epic Test series, a hard-fought one-day tournament and Waugh’s intense dislike of Ganguly.Ganguly infuriated Australia’s Test skipper by refusing to take the field during a tour match, spending most of the day on his mobile phone in the dressing room.Then for five straight games he kept Waugh waiting at the toss, the Australian standing there fuming with his hands on his hips until Ganguly finally strolled over like it was no big deal.Waugh would be resplendent in his team blazer and baggy green cap and Ganguly would be wearing a sloppy joe like he was off to the movies. Waugh was livid. Where was the respect?The mere mention of Ganguly’s name made Waugh’s blood boil. It was assumed Ganguly thought likewise.But in the lead-up to Australia’s World Cup match against India at SuperSport Park on Saturday, Ganguly said he held Waugh in the highest esteem.”I am a great fan of Steve Waugh,” he said.”The bottom line is that he is a great, great cricketer and I have the deepest regard for him, honestly, probably the most regard I have for a cricketer. Things happen on the field but I thought it was blown out of proportion.”Small things happened coincidentally and they were blown up as if they were done purposely. As a cricketer he is a champion … a great man.”Ganguly’s run-ins with Waugh led to the perception in Australia that he was a right-royal pain in the neck.England captain Nasser Hussain has since formed a similarly uncomplimentary view of the man known as “Raj” because of his privileged upbringing.Ponting isn’t so sure.”I don’t really know where that started with him (Ganguly) and Stephen,” he said.”I think they had a few heated conversations out on the ground.”I actually had a very good chat with him on the day of our official World Cup photo. I probably spent 30 or 40 minutes with him just talking about cricket and about batting and I’d never really done that with him before.”He sort of stayed away from us a lot. It was nice to have that sort of chat and get to know him a little bit better.”It’s funny – when you play against a lot of people you gather different opinions of them until you get to know them really well.”Ponting said he expected Ganguly to walk with him to the toss on Saturday.”I think we get fined if we don’t these days,” he said.”We have to walk out together, but I don’t know if we’ll be holding hands.”
With several of the leading contenders having ruled themselves out, Darren Gough has offered to captain England in the Second npower Test at Lord’s in the absence of the injured Nasser Hussain.Alec Stewart and Mark Butcher have both exclusively revealed to CricInfo that they would prefer not to lead the side.Alec Stewart told CricInfo that: “There’s been some speculation that I might become captain again, but I wouldn’t take the job back if it was offered. I think it’s time to move on. I only did the Old Trafford Test and the one-day series to help the side out in an emergency. I’ve been captain and done everything that’s been asked of me, and I think it’s better to look to the future now, so I won’t be putting my hand up for the job.”Mark Butcher expressed similar sentiments in his CricInfo diary. “I know some people have suggested that I might be the man to take over… To be honest, I wouldn’t be very happy about that. I might have been a little bit naïve the last time I took it, not realising what I was letting myself in for… Being England captain does not hold too many good memories for me.”The current favourites to stand in for Hussain are Mike Atherton and Marcus Trescothick. Graham Thorpe, having performed the job when Hussain was injured in Sri Lanka, is another possibility if he is fit.Atherton has previously been reluctant to return to the captaincy after his long stint in the job, specifically in 1999 when Hussain missed a Test against New Zealand. That leaves Marcus Trescothick as the favourite for the job.But Gough, whose web site www.darrengough.com is hosted by CricInfo, told Sky Sports that he may be the ideal man to lead England in one-off game. Gough has reasoned that the extra burden of captaincy might adversely affect the young Trescothick.”When you look at the candidates, Marcus Trescothick is the obvious one, but for a one-off Test there is a lot of pressure on him,” Gough said.”They could go that way or they could give it someone who would play with a smile and not worry about any pressure at all and just get on with the job,” Gough suggests.Gough does not have any captaincy experience and insists that he would not want to take the position permanently.”It is not something I would want to do full time, but for a one-off game while Hussain comes back, it would be a pleasure.”The way I look at it is that if you give it to a young lad in a one-off Test against Australia, there would be so much pressure on him. But I don’t think it would affect my thinking or anything.”I would just get on with it and think it an honour. But after that one game I would probably think it was only for one game. There are plenty of candidates and whoever it is I’m sure they will do a good job.”But I doubt that will happen” Gough concludes.While Trescothick, who skippered his country at youth level, believes he is capable of captaining his country, he won’t waste any time considering it, unless asked.”I am pretty sure I could handle the pressure but until such time as someonewants to talk about the situation with me, I’ll just concentrate on mybatting,” he said.”Captaining England in an Ashes Test at Lord’s is probably the biggest thingyou can do in the game. It’s certainly a bit different for skippering a juniorside,” he told the BBC.Other options for the England selectors are thought to include leading county captains Mark Alleyne, John Crawley and Adam Hollioake.However, David Graveney, speaking before the news about Butcher and Stewart became public stated that: “I don’t think we would bring anyone else in from the outside.”
A defiant century by Satyajit Medappa and stout resistance from RohitRane helped Goa stave off an outright defeat in their South Zone RanjiTrophy clash against Kerala at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochion Saturday. The match was called off in the 10th mandatory over afterthe visitors, following on, were bowled out for 321 in their secondinnings, just 131 ahead of Kerala.Resuming on the final day at 111/1, Goa needed a further 79 to maketheir opponents bat again. Disaster struck with the seventh ball ofthe day when skipper V Kolambkar was snared at first slip off left armspinner Sreekumar Nair without adding to his overnight score of 32.Medappa was joined by his former Tamil Nadu teammate Tanveer Jabbarwho did not last long at the crease, falling to Kerala skipperAnanthapadmanabhan just after entering double figures.Soon afterwards Medappa reached his century, featuring nine hits tothe fence, off 215 balls. Leg spinner Ananthapadmanabhan struck twicemore in successive overs before lunch to take care of Medappa andDinesh Rao. The twenty six year old Medappa’s five and a quarter hourknock had netted 116 runs. Goa went into lunch at 188/5, still tworuns behind and in grave danger of an outright defeat.It was Rohit Rane who was instrumental in frustrating Kerala’s designsin the remaining two sessions. He marshalled the tail withresourcefulness, adding 72 for the seventh wicket with Syed Khalid.Rane was last out, caught by Girilal at deep midwicket for 75(164balls, 6 fours) as Goa settled on 321 in 137.1 overs. SpinnersAnanthapadmanabhan and Ramprakash bagged seven wickets between them.
It’s Saturday evening; you’ve secured the prime sofa position for optimum television viewing and struggled through an entire episode of Casualty. Now all that’s left is to ‘look away now’ at the end of the news and you can saviour the delights of another set of Premier League fixtures.
Now, Saturdays can be somewhat demanding, with a long list of activities on offer and the exciting prospect of consuming alcohol without the fear of having to get up in the morning. This will inevitably mean you’re not as attentive as you should be and it’s at this moment when certain players convince you of their bogus talent in their 5-minute airing on the BBC. You might witness a fantastic mazy run or a blinding solo effort but just like when meeting your idols, watching them in the flesh is always a disappointment.
Click on David Luiz below to reveal my top 15 players who only look good on MOTD
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Join on me Twitter @theunusedsub where I think the greatest incentive for a club to achieve promotion is so they no longer have to endure Steve Claridge analysing their games on The Fooball League Show.
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Craig Bellamy has stated that it is an honour to be signed by Anfield legend Kenny Dalglish, and that he is looking forward to starting with Liverpool for the second time.
The 32-year-old played for the Merseyside club in 2006/07, and resigned for The Reds on transfer deadline day after being frozen out at big spending Manchester City.
Reports indicate that Tottenham were keen to bring the 32-year-old to White Hart Lane, but Bellamy had only one side in mind.
“I’ve grown up with Kenny Dalglish, now to be signed by him is a massive honour,” he told Liverpoolfc.tv.
“This is an exciting time. When Kenny took over, watching as a fan last season I got the buzz as well and it was great to see Liverpool end the season well.
“For me, the players they’ve signed this summer, there has been a lot of British which takes me back to when I started watching Liverpool. It looks so familiar to me and to be part of it is such a huge honour,” the Wales international continued.
Dalglish played for Liverpool for 13 years, winning six league titles and three European Cups, and Bellamy is full of praise for the Scottish coach.
“To every Liverpool fan, Kenny is probably the best player ever to pull on the red shirt so that speaks for itself. He was the first player-manager to do the double and just the way he conducted himself really.
“I know we’ve had bits of success since then but the club hasn’t been the same since he left, so to come back in and be a part of this with the players who are here – it’s a good time,” he concluded.
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Bellamy could be in line to make his debut against Stoke at the Britannia Stadium on September 10th.
It is a refreshing change to see a pretty full Premier League calendar this Saturday. Manchester United and Arsenal appear to have home bankers in which both can strengthen their position at the top of the Premier League table. Elsewhere Manchester City and Tottenham both face tough away trips to test their title credentials; while West Ham won’t welcome the tough trip to Goodison Park as they look to drag themselves away from the bottom of the table.
In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that include Arsene Wenger eyes the quadruple; Liverpool continue to attract top players, while Gerard Houllier hits back at Sunderland critics.
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Spurs and West Ham make final bids for Olympic Stadium – Guardian
Uefa considers calendar overhaul – Daily Telegraph
Liverpool attract top players – Comolli- Independent
Arsene tells stars: Go and win the lot – Sun
Houllier hits back at Bent criticisms – Guardian
Giggs: I’ll play on next season – Sun
Spurs target Rossi is available for £16.5m – Independent
Grant ready to take Joe Cole ‘home’ on loan – Mirror
Brady: Grant chaos made us stronger – Guardian
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Giggs plans to extend Manchester United contract – Independent
As Martin O’Neill prepares to get stuck into his Sunderland squad, the Stadium of Light rumour mill is in full swing with a host of names being linked with a move to the North East.
It’s an exciting time for Black Cats supporters as they debate the merits of potential new recruits and attempt to predict O’Neill’s targets, despite the Northern Irishman keeping his cards typically close to his chest. While a number of fresh faces could well be lining up in Red and White next season, their places in the side must be vacated by members of the current squad and as such many of O’Neill’s troops could find themselves surplus to requirements this summer.
With the club reportedly chasing at least two new strikers, defensive reinforcements and some speedy wingers, they must free up space in a side brimming with talented squad players. As well as finding the room to accommodate any new signings, the club must also consider the financial implications of their recruitment drive and freeing up wages while recouping as much of their outlay as possible is of paramount importance if they’re to maintain their sustainability.
It’s time to take a look at the 10 players who could be surplus to O’Neill’s requirements this summer as he looks to stamp his authority and mould his team into European challengers.
Click on Connor Wickham to unveil the 10
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With Man United finally giving up in their pursuit to sign Wesley Sneijder it is clear that Fergie believes this current squad is certainly good enough to retain their title this coming season. The fringe players have certainly stepped up in pre-season and given the United boss some genuine food for thought.
At FFC this week we have seen a mixed bag of Manchester United blogs that includes no respite for United’s punch bag; Fergie set to save millions, while Hernandez provides a welcome throwback from the past.
We also look at the best Manchester United articles around the web this week.
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A burgeoning talent set to save Fergie millions?
A welcome headache for Sir Alex Ferguson
No respite for Manchester United’s punching bag
Are Manchester United really better off?
Win or lose, this time it matters for Manchester United
Have United’s rivals got what it takes to knock them off their perch?
Javier Hernandez – a throwback from the past
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Best of WEB
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United’s New Signing Could Hold The Key To Champions League Success – Red Flag Flying High
Reds’ vibrancy points to a flexible future – United Rant
Friendly competition for positions foretells a bright future – The Busby Way
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Fans Should Know That They Know As Much As The Players Do – United Religion
Manchester United ‘Pull Plug On Wesley Sneijder Deal’ – Red Flag Flying High
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Click on Miss Blasi below to see her in all her glory
Having already played more than half of the Premier League season, Football FanCast wants to know who YOU think should win the PFA award.
Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney won the award last year due to a stunning season of football, scoring an astonishing 26 goals and assisting 6 times in the Premier League alone – allowing the former Everton striker to scoop both the PFA and Football Writers’ awards last term.
However, this year it is Rooney’s counter-part Dimitar Berbatov who has been in a fine run of form with 19 goals so far this season, scoring 3 hat-tricks and five goals alone in their 7-1 drubbing of Allardyce’s Blackburn Rovers. A hat-trick against biggest rivals Liverpool back in September showed the world of his undistinguishable class, knocking in a strong contender for the goal of the season.
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Tottenham’s Gareth Bale has been outstanding since emerging into Redknapp’s starting XI in 2009, and has shown his true ability, adapting fantastically to his newly assigned left wing – scoring 7 goals and providing 3 assists in the domestic league. Bale has emerged into a strong footballer over a short period of time, and has been essential to Tottenham’s success in both the Premier and Champions League – making a fool of Inter’s world class Maicon all at the same time of course. A hat-trick against Inter Milan when losing 4-0 really does show the Welshman’s talent.
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Continue to the NEXT PAGE for more contenders…
Bale’s team-mate Rafael van der Vaart has also largely impressed, and has been a pivotal factor alongside Bale in pushing Tottenham to properly challenge for the domestic title in over 53 years. Since joining from Real Madrid for a reduced fee of £8million in the summer, VDV has been a revelation to the club, leading the attack with 9 goals and six assists and could prove to be one of Tottenham’s most impactful signings of all time. The Dutchman has already gained both heart and support from the Spurs fans, but will eye to finish high on what has already been a fantastic season for the 27-year-old. A two-goal tally against Aston Villa in both October and December are probably his best displays.
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Arsenal’s Samir Nasri has been on prolific form all season, with 9 goals and a single assist. However it is not only the figures which count for the Gunners, as he has provided the creative spark that Arsenal have so desperately needed in Cesc Fabregas’s absence. Nasri continued his form on nicely for his country, playing a central role in France’s 2-1 victory over England at Wembley last year.
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Continue to the NEXT PAGE for more contenders…
Blackpool’s Charlie Adam has recently been of intense media speculation since the winter transfer window opened, with the Seasiders receiving bids from both Liverpool and Aston Villa. Adam has been without a doubt Blackpool’s player of the season so far, providing sensational performances and acting as Holloway’s Xabi Alonso – central to set-pieces and the general assister of the side. The former Rangers midfielder helped the Blackpool to promotion last season and remains the club’s best asset, but may have set his sights on Anfield after handing a transfer request this week.
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Manchester City’s controversial captain Carlos Tevez has been nominated for the award, due to his prolific goal-scoring form all season. With 14 goals and 5 assists in the Premier League, Tevez has notoriously lead City into seriously challenging for the title and bringing silverware to Eastlands. Despite a mid-season wobble, declaring that he wanted to leave Manchester because he missed his family and was homesick – Tevez answered his critics the way every footballer should: with a leading performance on the pitch. Despite not scoring a hat-trick yet this season, the Argentine has scored twice on five separate occasions.
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Vote in the poll below for the player YOU think should take home the Player of the Year award.
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