Tag Futebol

Canterbury’s clubs had their say and threw out a call for a review of the process by which the Christchurch senior club cricket would be reduced from nine teams to six for the 2004-05 season. The decision was the most contentious aspect of today’s Canterbury Cricket Association (CCA) annual general meeting.Several speakers said they would be voting against the recommendation, whichwas put as a notice of motion to the meeting. The Sydenham club led the wayby saying they were opposed to the criteria put forward for what representeda “senior” club. They didn’t agree that it should be based on performance ofthe senior side in the current year, and a weighted contribution from thetwo previous years.Sydenham felt that a total package needed to be considered, not just the playing performance of one team. They believed that the “health check” process, which is being undertaken as part of New Zealand Cricket’s drive to attend to the problems of clubcricket, should be one factor, and the strength of junior cricket in clubs another.Colin Blackman, for the Burnside West University club, referred to previousreports known as the Adams and Hartland Reports, that outlined whatconstituted a senior club. Performance fluctuated from year to year, but allthe other elements of what made a club had been overlooked in the CCA’sprocess.The Hartland Report had dealt with the problem of the bye in the competition,and it had been suggested the 1999-2000 tournament should be played byeight teams, but that had not been proceeded with. Had it been acted upon,Blackman believed, Christchurch club cricket would not be in the position itwas now. The geography and demographics of the city were anotherconsideration.Clubs that were vulnerable under the proposed scheme were in important areaswith strong catchment areas for players. Blackman believed a six-team competitionwas questionable, and he didn’t believe it was sustainable. However, he didbelieve a city the size of Christchurch was capable of sustaining eightstrong clubs and in a competitive environment.Brian Hastings, the CCA’s immediate past president, commented that he didn’tbelieve a six-team competition would improve the first-class performances ofthe Canterbury side. It went much deeper than that, he said. The right coaching structure neededto be put in place and he added that he was pleased to see that was beingaddressed. He didn’t think enough work had been done on the plan and he feltdenying three teams senior status could be the demise of those clubs.Tim Murdoch, for the Riccarton club, said they believed there should be areview of the criteria behind the decision. Club cricket was a fragilething, not only in Christchurch, but all over New Zealand. Any reductionwould not be good for the game itself and the infrastructure would take somepunishment.John Durning of Marist said his club had been disappointed over thelack of process. Sydenham club member Ivan Thomson believed therecommendation was illogical and lacked strength, and it made no sense to putat risk clubs that were doing a lot of work in primary and secondaryschools.Richard Reid, the chief executive of the CCA, said he disagreed with thecomments made that the various arguments had not been considered. The boardknew all the arguments – they just disagreed with part of them.There were different viewpoints for every point that was raised. He alsosaid the club competition was not the only reason why Canterbury wasperforming poorly at first-class level, there were others.He also said that from his own experience, team members of demoted clubswere not so selfish as to leave just because their team was relegated.It was a case of doing things for cricket’s sake rather than the CCA’s.When put in a secret ballot the recommendation was lost.Earlier in the meeting the CCA chairman David Shackleton announced thatsigns were already being seen of an improved financial performance, afterlast season’s loss of $NZ96,937, and added that in the last two days asponsorship agreement had been reached with the Pub Charities’ Trust. Thissponsorship will be used to assist under-age cricket, club cricket (especially in the provision of scoreboards and boundary flags for all clubs),umpiring costs and in prizemoney for the senior club one-day competition.The senior competition would also bear the sponsor’s name.

Australian captain Steve Waugh today survived his first game of the season and looked forward to a competitive opening Test against New Zealand starting later this week.Back in action after a torn calf and a bout of deep vein thrombosis, Waugh had good batting and fielding work-outs playing for Bankstown against Fairfield-Liverpool in a two-day Sydney grade game.He scored 84 in 163 minutes yesterday and spent most of today fielding in the gully after being checked out this morning by Australian team physiotherapist Errol Alcott.Waugh stretched at regular intervals and dropped one hot chance in the gully.While Bankstown batted a second time after getting first innings points, the match ended before Waugh could get a second hit.He pronounced himself happy with his fitness though he experienced some stiffness and soreness after yesterday’s endeavours.”I saw Errol (Alcott) this morning and he came down and we had a bit of a work-over and it feels good,” Waugh said.”I was a little bit stiff and sore but that was to be expected, so I’m happy with the way it (the calf) went through the game.”The one thing Waugh didn’t do during the game was bowl and he said he thought it would be “a while” before Alcott would allow him to do that.”But I will be back at the crease at some stage,” Waugh said.Waugh said it was good to get a game on an excellent Bankstown Oval wicket and he was now looking forward to a summer featuring home Tests and one-daymatches against New Zealand and South Africa.”They are going to be good competition, it’s going to be a good Test match,” Waugh said of the Kiwis.Before rejoining the international treadmill tomorrow when he will meet up with his Australian team-mates, Waugh was looking forward to celebrating his son’ssecond birthday tonight.Paceman Brett Lee, the other Australian player having a Sydney grade hit-out this weekend, bowled seven overs today as his Mosman team completed an outrightvictory over Hawkesbury.Lee, who only recently returned from injury, finished with 1-23 today and with match figures of 3-68 off 19 overs.Yesterday, Waugh said the wicket was very flat and good for batting and gave himself an “eight or nine” out of 10 as he felt he didn’t do a lot wrong.”The first hour or so, I was just trying to get a bit of match practice. I’ve been in the nets but obviously haven’t played for a while, so it was nice to spend some time in the middle,” Waugh said.”After that, I thought I hit the ball pretty well, so I couldn’t really be much happier.””You’re always a bit apprehensive when you come back after a long layoff but it felt really good. There was no sign of anything untoward and I was very happy with the way it went.”I’ve done a fair bit of running in the past two weeks so I felt confident it would be okay, but you never really know until you get out there.”

ScorecardFile Photo – Arup Das and Krishna Das shared all 10 wickets from the Odisha innings•PTI

Seamer Krishna Das took 7 for 21 to bowl Odisha out for 88 and give Assam, who had made only 92 yesterday, an almost inconceivable first-innings lead. Assam then managed to cobble a total in triple-figures, finishing on 137 for 8 at stumps. The Cuttack pitch afforded 15 wickets on Thursday and 13 today, so any advantage seems vital and the visitors are 141 runs ahead.Krishna and Arup Das, who took 3 for 45, took care of all the Odisha batsmen. Only Natraj Behera and Anurag Sarangi managed to get double-figure scores and Odisha’s best partnership – 22 runs – was put on by the ninth wicket.But the help that was available to the fast bowlers meant the hosts were able to reel in some of the ground they lost. Suryakant Pradhan struck twice in the second over of Assam’s second innings to dismiss Kunal Saikia and Gokul Sharma for ducks. At the other end, Basant Mohanty removed Amit Verma, also for a duck, to leave the visitors on 13 for 3.By the 45th over Assam were 86 for 6. But coming in at No. 7 Syed Mohammad struck 42 off 158 balls with four fours to record the highest score of the match so far and perhaps tempt his team into contemplating an away victory.
ScorecardOvernight rain followed by intermittent showers on the second day resulted in only 16.2 overs being bowled in the Group A game between Bengal and Rajasthan at the Eden Gardens.The start of the match was delayed by an over hour. Resuming from 104 for 3, Rajasthan lost two wickets while putting on 38 runs. Pragyan Ojha got the first when he went through the defences of Ashok Menaria in the 43rd over while Ashok Dinda had Puneet Yadav caught for 14 in the 50th.Ojha came back to dismiss Arjit Gupta for 5 in the 59th over but then the weather intervened. Only 59.4 overs have been possible after two days. Karnatka v Vidarbha in Bangalore – Satish 81* leads VidarbhaDelhi v Haryana in Delhi – Sehwag threat looms

Celtic had to settle for a 0-0 draw at Easter Road against Hibernian, with Ange Postecoglou’s side failing to stretch their lead at the top of the Premiership to six points. 

The Hoops appeared to lack quality in the final third days on from a Europa Conference League defeat to Bodo/Glimt, with rivals Rangers now having the chance to cut the lead at the top of the table to one point this afternoon.

There were some pretty underwhelming Celtic performances, and The Transfer Tavern have used statistical experts SofaScore to analyse who the Hoops’ three worst outfield starters were. In total, these players lost the ball a whopping times, were second best in % of their aerial and ground duels and

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/celtic-updates-22/” title=”Celtic updates!!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Daizen Maeda – 6.3/10

Maeda finished with an on-the-whistle rating of 6.3/10. The forward played in a central role with Giorgos Giakoumakis missing and didn’t win any of his four duels.

He also gave up possession seven times and failed to complete a dribble or cross or register a single shot.

Liel Abada – 6.4/10

Abada struggled on the right-wing, losing possession on 19 occasions. He lost five of his 11 duels and also completed just one of his six attempted crosses.

The summer signing also missed two big chances and didn’t register a key pass, ending with a 6.4/10 rating.

Tom Rogic – 6.5/10

Rogic once again lined up in a three-man midfield but looked off the pace at Easter Road, with Postecglou replacing the playmaker before the hour mark.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

He lost the ball on 10 occasions, was second-best in five of his nine duels and failed to complete a cross or a long ball. The 29-year-old was also booked and didn’t attempt a shot all afternoon.

In other news: Journalist drops ‘insane’ Celtic transfer claim regarding Ange moving for Real Madrid winger.

	‘It’s a unique situation here and it appears for the moment that I would be mostly bowling against the winds’ – Kumble © AFP

Ever since he took over as captain, Anil Kumble has insisted on ‘taking the pitch and conditions out of the equation’ and urged his side not to get too worked up about the WACA pitch too. Of the current batch only Sachin Tendulkar has played a Test on this ground but Kumble hoped the rest would draw on their experience to counter the challenge.”Sure there is bounce and pace for the bowlers but we have the quality and experience,” he said. “It does take some time to get used to this sort of pitch but it’s more mental than in the middle. It’s important we make a good beginning in the first innings. It’s about getting the runs, we have the quality and it’s important we come back and keep the series alive by getting the (remaining) two Tests under the belt.”Three of India’s batsmen have more than 100 Tests under their belt, with VVS Laxman likely to reach the milestone soon, and Kumble thought they had the ability to adjust to a variety of conditions. “It’s about getting into a right mindset and we have done that,” he said. The team has decided to swap its batting line-up around, with Virender Sehwag likely to open and VVS Laxman back to No.6. “Sehwag would come in. It would be a regular batting order, the quality of Rahul Dravid at number three again. It would mean shifting the batting order a bit but that’s been for a long time.”Gary Kirsten, the coach-in-waiting, spent a couple of days with the batsmen and Kumble felt he had passed on some valuable advice. “He was a great opening batsman, has played here before and has been useful in passing on his tips. It’s good to have him around.” There was a doubt hanging over Sourav Ganguly, who was down with high fever, but Kumble was confident that he would be fine. “He is at practice today and he should be fine.”It’s not just the batsmen, but bowlers too who would need to adjust to the windy conditions. “It’s a unique situation here and it appears for the moment that I would be mostly bowling against the winds,” Kumble said. “But I believe the first two days are hot and not much breeze around. Still, it is up to the bowlers to lift their game.”

Himachal Pradesh 477 and 58 for 1 beat Orissa 317 and 216 by 9 wickets
Scorecard
Himachal Pradesh cruised to the Plate Group title by trouncing Orissa by nine wickets at Cuttack. Set a miniscule 57 to win, HP rattled it off in 9.4 overs to romp home to a comprehensive win.Halhadar Das fell after reaching his fifty and Orissa were shot out after adding 14 runs to their overnight score. Vikramjeet Malik, who was promoted to open, hit a brisk 19-ball 30 with four fours and a six and hastened the inevitable.Sritam Das, Orissa’s coach, blamed the batting in the first innings and the fielding during HP’s massive reply. “It was the batting,” Das told Cricinfo. “We won the toss and it was atleast a 450 wicket. The batsmen threw the wickets away.”But Orissa still had HP reeling at 161 for 5 and then at 200 for 6 when Ajay Mannu and Mukesh Sharma stitched together 114 runs to lift them out of trouble. The tail too wagged valiantly with Sarandeep Singh and Ashok Thakur adding 114 runs as HP ran away with the game. Orissa dropped a few catches and that hurt them. “The bowlers bowled well but from 161 for 5 we allowed to them get away. We dropped some vital catches, it was our worst fielding display of the season and they capitalised.”In the second innings, we went for quick runs, but we ended up gifting the wickets away.We reserved the worst for the final.”

Group A
Texas 309 for 6 (50 overs; Nadkarni 171*, Nanjee 79) beat Washington 155 (36.2 overs; Shah 3-18, K.Patel 3-37) by 154 runs
A match dominated by the batting of Sushil Nadkarni, whose unbeaten 171 proved to be the difference between the two sides. In the pursuit of a large total, he found an able ally in Amir Nanjee, whose 79 proved key in turning a useful score of 200 into an extremely challenging 300 plus. Faced with such a tall order, Washington battled bravely to keep up with the asking rate of a run-a-ball, but had no answers to the spin of Shah and Patel, who each finished with three wickets. A win against Florida tomorrow will guarantee Texas a place in Saturday’s final.Group B
Pennsylvania 131 (25.1 overs, Mahesh 47*, Ameeq 3-16) lost to Virginia 134 for 5 (31.5 overs, Vicky 51*) by 5 wickets
A low-scoring, but nonetheless competitive match, ended in a five-wicket win for Virginia. Pennsylvania made a confident start to their innings, reaching 63 for 2 from their first 10 overs, but an alarming batting collapse – in which they lost four wickets in as many overs dented their aspirations of a high score. From 87 for 7 in the 17th over, it was left to Mahesh and the tail to reach a competitive total. However, a final score of 131 would be tough to defend. Virginia started badly in pursuit of 132, reeling at 12 for 2 in the 5th over, but the middle-order held firm and, helped by a lusty unbeaten 51 by Vicky, they reached their target with almost 20 overs to spare. Pennsylvania must beat North Carolina tomorrow to have any chance of playing on into Saturday’s competition.Remaining MatchesDec 2 – Group A: Texas v Florida – Group B: Pennsylvania v North Carolina
Dec 3 – Group A: Washington v Florida – Group B: Virginia v North Carolina
Dec 4 – Final: Winner of Group A vs Winner of Group B – 3rd-Place Play-off: 2nd in Group A v 2nd in Group B
Dec 5 – MLC 20/20 Festival: MLC`A v MLC B – West Indies Players’ Association v England Players’ Association. The final starts at 2pm

The demon bowler …© Getty Images

We arrive at the Wankhede Stadium just in time to see Sachin Tendulkar bowl a huge outswinger to Rahul Dravid in the nets. There is a collective gasp in the crowd as he misses it. Tendulkar adjusts his silver bracelet, turns on his heel and prepares to bowl again. He beats Dravid with a similar delivery. The crowd’s gasp is less muted, and someone yells, “C’mon Sachin!” The third time it happens, there is an uneasy silence.The sky is a light grey, and the early cool breeze has made way for a hot and sticky late morning. But nothing causes more discomfort than the sight of a part-timer beating the edge of India’s most reliable bat … repeatedly. Dravid is more assured against the others, and middled strokes against Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra probably calm him somewhat. In the next net, VVS Laxman is in the middle of an extended session against Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble, who seem faster on television. Both batsmen practise blocking and leaving. Young local bowlers mill around, awaiting their chance to bowl.A look around the stadium reveals that the most vibrant colours – the neon yellows, the burning reds – come from the hoardings. Behind them, the stands are faded. Only the deep-blue wooden seating of the Sachin Tendulkar Stand seems newly painted. Iron fences surround the perimeter, and these too, have seen better days. The Wankhede is not a structure that lives on its own. It’s too grey for that. It needs people breathing, screaming, running around to bring it to life, to bring it colour. Tomorrow will be very different.Nets are quickly set up on the other side of the ground, and Travelex posters are stuck up. There is a tremble in the crowd, and they hesitate briefly before leap-frogging over partitions from one stand to another, until they reach the one closest to the Australian nets. Nathan Hauritz gets his eye in against Cameron White and an assortment of eager local bowlers. He hits the ball hard, prompting the grass-pickers to scatter frequently. On one occasion he hits it so high that no-one knows where it’s going to come down, and a cry of “Watch out!” spreads so rapidly that everyone on one quarter of the ground crouches, shielding themselves from the ball.”Some people think he’s lucky to be here,” says an Australian beside me. Hauritz hits another one cleanly. “Cameron White is Shane Warne’s successor. He’ll come back to India when he’s 26. At the moment his batting is better than his bowling.” The man turns out to be a scorer coming out of retirement. It’s his first tour here. We talk a while, but stop to watch the photographer Hamish Blair take some pictures of Bob Merriman and a little kid.Everywhere you look, someone is preparing for something or other. The police discuss strategies, shaking their walkie-talkies at different parts of the ground. Men gabble into headsets and adjust enormous cameras. Polly Umrigar, who’s in charge of the pitch itself, is on his precious track, pointing and talking animatedly – and the officials nod so vigorously that you can see it from the stands. The pitch is the main pre-match talking point, but the curator, Mr Roy, insists he doesn’t know what all the fuss is about. “It’ll last five days.” That’s all you need to know, he says. “It has got sufficient grass to last for five days.”What about the talk of including three spinners and all that? The curator stands by his earlier prediction. “After reading the wicket in their own way, it is their headache, not the curator’s headache.”As the sun sets on Mumbai, the painters apply the finishing touches to the white pitch lines and the big corporate logos on the outfield. The floodlights are switched on, and a weird white haze lights up the sky. Long red cushions are placed on wooden benches on the F and G blocks, where former cricketers and umpires and other distinguished guests will watch the action from behind the bowler’s arm over the next five days.Groundsmen dressed in khaki drag out tarpaulins and place them over the pitch, as well as alongside it. But there’s plenty of finishing up to do, and the mower has a long night ahead. The writers have left, and the fans are long gone. But the men and women who make it happen are still here. Even before the action begins tomorrow morning, it’s an active green.

Glen Chapple has been awarded a benefit year by Lancashire in 2004. Chapple made his first-class debut in 1992, and received his county cap in 1994. His consistent contributions for Lancashire have earned him a batting average of 25.23, including a highest first-class score of 155, and a bowling average of 29.39 with a total of 424 wickets in 146 matches.Speaking from Old Trafford, Chapple said, "I’m looking forward to a busy season in 2004, it should be fun and I’m delighted that the Committee has decided to award me a benefit."Jack Simmons, the club chairman, added: "Glen’s become a solid member of the team and a dependable bowler. With the addition of his selection to the England squad on Saturday, it’s made for an eventful month for him. He’s thoroughly deserving of this and I hope that all our members will get behind him and give their total support in what is going to be an exciting time."For further information please contact Fiona Ossoway on 0161 282 4038/07768 558175

Overnight on 123/1, Vidarbha piled on the runs on Day Three of their Central Zone Ranji tie against Madhya Pradesh, taking maximum advantage of a toothless bowling attack and a placid home pitch.Amit Deshpande (75) and P Vivek, unbeaten overnight, put on 92 runs for the second wicket, but fell to Narendra Hirwani’s leg-spin in relatively quick succession. Paresh Sutane and Alind Naidu, however, were not easy to dislodge; 184 runs resulted from their stand, firmly entrenching Madhya Pradesh in the mire.Naidu was dismissed for 82, but Sutane went on to make his hundred. When the innings was declared at a score of 400/5, Sutane was unbeaten on 108.Chasing a nigh-unreachable total of 504, Madhya Pradesh lost a wicket before the close of play, with Sachin Dholpure falling for 13. Naman Ojha and nightwatchman Devendra Parmar were at the crease at stumps, with their side on 52/1.