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A maiden first-class double-hundred from captain Hamilton Masakadza helped Mountaineers salvage a draw against Mid West Rhinos at Kwekwe Sports Club

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Oct-2010
Scorecard
ESPNcricinfo LtdA maiden first-class double-hundred from captain Hamilton Masakadza helped Mountaineers salvage a draw against Mid West Rhinos at Kwekwe Sports Club. The visitors were bowled out for 191 in their first innings and forced to follow on, but Masakadza shared in partnerships of 77 with opener Tino Mawoyo and 130 with Mark Vermeulen to secure the result on his way to an unbeaten 208.Masakadza’s marathon effort made up for his erroneous decision to put Mid West Rhinos in to bat on a docile pitch after winning the toss. The Mountaineers attack, without Shingi Masakadza who was rested for this match after picking up a back strain, were put to the sword on the first day as Brendan Taylor and Gary Ballance put on a massive 227 for the first wicket.Taylor, who was dropped twice, was the first to his hundred just after tea but then slashed at a wide ball to be caught behind for 110. Mountaineers fought back through offspinner Prosper Utseya, who removed Ballance – for 104 – and Vusi Sibanda in the same over as the hosts slipped to 234 for 3. But the Rhinos were able to declare at a healthy 460 for 6 after half-centuries from Friday Kasteni and Malcolm Waller, and their seamers soon had Mountaineers in deep trouble.They had crashed to 45 for 5 before a late revival through Greg Smith and Utseya’s combined efforts. They put on 107 for the sixth wicket, both passing fifty, but once they were removed the tail soon folded and Mountaineers were skittled for 191, still 269 runs adrift of the Rhinos’ first-innings effort.Mountaineers’ batsmen showed much better application in the second innings, Masakadza and Mawoyo shaking off Jonathan Beukes’ second failure of the match with a counter-attacking partnership. Mawoyo was eventually removed for an 82-ball 55 that included five fours and two sixes, but Masakadza then found a willing partner in Vermeulen and they took Mountaineers to 223 for 2 at the close on the third day.Masakadza went to his hundred early the next morning and, though Vermeulen fell for 46, battling innings from the lower middle order aided his efforts to deny Rhinos victory. He surpassed his previous first-class best of 188, made against Mashonaland Eagles last season, striking 24 fours and three sixes to reach a double century shortly before the game was declared a draw.

Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif have been selected as reserves in the regional Pakistani sides for a Twenty20 tournament likely to be staged in October

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Sep-2010Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, the Pakistan players provisionally suspended by the ICC following spot-fixing allegations, have been selected as reserves by their regional sides for a domestic Twenty20 tournament likely to be staged in October. Rawalpindi picked Amir, Lahore selected Butt, and Asif was included by the defending champion Sialkot.The ICC suspended the trio following an undercover operation by the , during which Mazhar Majeed – allegedly a player agent – claimed Asif and Amir had bowled deliberate no-balls against England at Lord’s, and that Butt was also involved. The trio is currently awaiting the dates for their ICC hearing as well as a decision by the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service as to whether a criminal case will go ahead against them.It is unlikely, however, that any of them will actually take part in the tournament. According to the anti-corruption code of conduct, the trio will not be able to play unless the ICC clears them; the tournament is due to begin mid-October.”No player or player support personnel who is the subject of any provisional suspension may, during the period of any provisional suspension, play, coach or otherwise participate or be involved in any capacity in any international match or (any other kind of match, function, event or activity, other than authorised anti-corruption education or rehabilitation programs) that is authorised, organised, sanctioned, recognised or supported in any way by the ICC, a National Cricket Federation or any member of a National Cricket Federation,” the code reads.Rawalpindi chief Naeem Akhtar admitted Amir playing is unlikely. He told the , “If Amir gets cleared before the Twenty20 tournament and we do not submit his name to the PCB for it, we could not play him in the tournament,” he said.

Leeds United are considering a late move for Takumi Minamino…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Independent journalist Carl Markham, who claimed the Yorkshire outfit were interested in signing the Liverpool outcast before the January transfer window deadline on Monday evening.

“Takumi Minamino attracting interest from Leeds and Monaco but @LFC have rebuffed early approaches as they have no inclination to sell. Would take seriously really good offer to change their minds,” he tweeted.

The 36-cap Japan international is well behind the likes of Mo Salah, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota in the pecking order at Anfield, and could yet drop even further amid reported interest in FC Porto star Luis Diaz.

It remains to be seen exactly what a ‘really good offer’ is, with the 27-year-old currently valued at £10.8m by Transfermarkt.

Aaronson alternative

Primarily a left-winger by trade, Minamino is capable of operating on both flanks and through the middle, where he can thrive the best when operating as a ‘half-winger’.

Just like fellow Whites target Brenden Aaronson, who doesn’t appear likely to be coming to Elland Road any time soon, at least in this current window.

Leeds’ two bids of £15m and £20m have been rejected but there is hope that a deal can be struck for the summer instead as RB Salzburg do not want to offload him before a crucial Champions League tie with Bayern Munich.

Instead, it appears as if Victor Orta and co are lining up a last-minute alternative in a player that also once played for the Austria champions.

Minamino’s growth has always been stunted in Merseyside due to the sheer volume of quality starting ahead of him but he’s still proven his worth in abundance whenever given the opportunity.

[snack-amp-story url = “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-lufc-transfer-rumours-gossip-bielsa-orta-radrizzani-elland-road-updates” title=”Read the latest Leeds news, transfer updates and much, much more!”]

For instance, this season he has provided six goals and one assist across 18 appearances, with those primarily coming in cup competitions as he’s yet to register a start in the Premier League, even despite Salah and Mane being at AFCON.

The Japanese attacker also impressed during a loan spell at Southampton last season.

“He’s a very special player for me – not because of his physical strength but more of his way of playing football,” claimed manager Ralph Hasenhuttl.

“He is very quick in his mind, has good decision-making, knows about our pressing style and hopefully a lot of running. He knows when you come to me you have to run a lot, but that’s not a problem for him”

Right there is why he’s an absolute dream for Marcelo Bielsa. There isn’t a side that presses the opposition as intensely as Leeds, so his presence to do that from the front would be hugely beneficial to the Argentine, who must be desperate for additions.

Also dubbed a “machine” by Reds boss Jurgen Klopp, Minamino could be an ideal alternative to Aaronson as we head into the final few days of the window.

Bielsa badly needs an option in the role and the Liverpool ace could well provide him with exactly what he needs for the remainder of the current campaign.

AND in other news, Leeds United eyeing late January bargain in £10m “phenomenon”…

Manchester United are yet to make any incoming moves in the transfer window so far, but after rumours of a dressing room fallout which resulted in 17 players reportedly wanting to leave the club, many players have been linked with moves away from Old Trafford.

However, there is one forgotten man who the Red Devils are unwilling to let go easily.

What’s the word?

According to ESPN Brazil (via Sport Witness), United have rejected an offer of €10m (£8.35m) from Flamengo to sign Andreas Pereira permanently following his loan spell in Brazil.

The report claims that the Red Devils don’t even consider that offer to be close to what they want, so negotiations are set to continue, with Flamengo already having an option to buy the 26-year-old for €20m (£16.7m) in the summer.

ESPN Brazil added that the Manchester club are making Pereira’s sale a ‘priority’ and are not interested in loaning him out any further when his loan spell with Flamengo ends in June.

Fans will be furious

Pereira has a fractured relationship with some United supporters after he engaged in a feud with fans on social media, so they may well be furious that an offer to get rid of the player has been rejected by the club.

Some fans have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts on the potential sale of Pereira and it’s safe to say that there would be no love lost, For instance, one fan tweeted: “Andreas Pereira should be sold and stop with the drawn out negotiations. This is why you have players that will leave #MUFC at end of the season for nothing because of incidents like this. Sell him for £8m and invest in Zakaria or another midfielder. No need to dance around.”

The club is reportedly in talks with defensive midfielder Denis Zakaria, and the prospective sale of the £7.2m-rated Pereira could unlock the funds to purchase and sign the 25-year-old Switzerland midfielder from Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Ralf Rangnick could be under pressure to make some changes in the squad and utilise the January transfer window to improve after another performance which saw them drop points after going 2-0 up against Aston Villa.

The rejection of Flamengo’s £8.35m offer to sign Pereira, who had never really held down a fixed place in United’s midfield, will probably do little to quell fan frustration after the team’s poor start to 2022.

In other news: Alex Crook gives an update on this potential Old Trafford signing

Glamorgan’s County Championship promotion charge gathered momentum as theybeat neighbours and arch-rivals Gloucestershire by 176 runs inside three days atCheltenham

01-Aug-2010
Scorecard
Glamorgan’s County Championship promotion charge gathered momentum as theybeat neighbours and arch-rivals Gloucestershire by 176 runs inside three days atCheltenham.Set a notional 345 to win, the home side were shot out for 168 in their secondinnings, undone by an inspired spell of swing bowling from England A star JamesHarris and a first-ever hat-trick from veteran spinner Robert Croft.The youngest player to be capped by the Welsh county, 20-year-old Harris rippedthrough Gloucestershire’s top order in a burst of 3 for 5 in 25 balls asGlamorgan accrued 20 points to move above Northamptonshire and into second placein Division Two behind Sussex.Gloucestershire must be sick of the sight of the Moriston-born bowler, whoclaimed 12 wickets in only his second first-class match to send the Englishneighbours tumbling to defeat in a match at Bristol in 2007. Croft erased the tail in one fell swoop, in the process becoming the first Glamorgan spinner to claim a hat-trick since Don Sheppard achieved the feat against Hampshire at Swansea in 1964. He finished with impressive figures of 4 for 20 in 6.3 overs.This defeat leaves Gloucestershire trailing behind in fourth place in the tableand still searching for their first Championship win at the Cheltenham Festivalsince Sussex were defeated at the College Ground in 2001. Upwardly-mobile Glamorgan were always in the ascendancy once wicketkeeper Mark Wallace had registered his ninth first-class century to propel the visitors to 371 in their second innings.Gloucestershire’s top-order batting has been their Achilles heel throughout theseason and so it proved on this occasion, a solid start evaporating in the spaceof 50 balls after lunch, during which time the home side lurched from 51 withoutloss to 60 for 5.Just as he did in the first innings, Will Porterfield played himself in,scoring a breezy 41, only to fall to a loose shot, the Irishman wafting outsideoff-stump and being caught at first slip via a thick edge to gift Harris abreakthrough.Having offered stubborn resistance in scratching 10 runs from 51 balls, JonBatty was put out of his misery by a Harris inswinger that clattered into hisstumps via an inside edge. Hamish Marshall departed in the next over, caught atthe wicket as Huw Waters got in on the act.Harris then trapped Gloucestershire captain Alex Gidman in his crease, whileWaters, breathing fire from the College Lawn end, swung one into James Franklin,who became the game’s 16th lbw victim. Glamorgan captain Jamie Dalrymple then turned to his spinners to press home his team’s advantage and England Under-19 left-hander Chris Dent succumbed to temptation, giving Croft the charge and being comprehensively stumped asGloucestershire slipped to 94 for 6.Waters returned after tea to have Jon Lewis held at second slip for 24 andCroft engineered a premature end to proceedings, removing Vikram Banerjee,Gemaal Hussain and Steve Kirby with consecutive deliveries from the College Lawnend.Earlier in the day Glamorgan had added a further 88 in 21 overs during themorning session to establish a lead of match-winning proportions. Having contributed an innings-reviving 72 on the first day, Wallace again proved a thorn in Gloucestershire sides, realising three figures from 116 balls, with 13 fours and a six. He eventually fell to the second new ball for 113 -to give the impressive Hussain figures of 3 for 60.

Scotland’s selectors have named a 15-man squad for the ICC World Cricket League Division 1, to be held in the Netherlands from June 30 to July 10

Cricinfo staff04-Jun-2010Scotland’s selectors have named a 15-man squad for the ICC World Cricket League Division 1, to be held in the Netherlands from June 30 to July 10. The emphasis is on youth, as the squad has nine players aged 25 or under, but Fraser Watts’s excellent recent form in the domestic leagues has also earned him a place.Gavin Hamilton and Ryan Watson are both unavailable due to work commitments, while Freddie Coleman is taking time off in the lead-up to the event to concentrate on finishing his school term. This gives opportunities to young batsmen Ewan Chalmers, Preston Mommsen and Josh Davey, who have also been included in the squad to take on the hosts in a four-day Intercontinental Cup and one-day international match prior to the tournanment.”The World Cricket League will be a highly-competitive event, and it gives our players an excellent opportunity to test themselves against the other leading Associates,” said Peter Steindl, Scotland’s head coach. “We have picked the squad with the future as well as the present in mind, so I am looking forward to seeing how the players cope with the tournament environment.”Scotland squad: Gordon Drummond (capt), Richie Berrington, Josh Davey, Ewan Chalmers, Gordon Goudie, Majid Haq, Omer Hussain, Neil Laidlaw, Dougie Lockhart, Ross Lyons, Gregor Maiden, Neil McCallum, Preston Mommsen, Matthew Parker, Fraser Watts

Flocking to Twitter, many West Ham United fans have erupted over a transfer update from The Daily Mail as reporter Simon Jones shares manager David Moyes’ plans for January.

The Hammers and recruitment chief Rob Newman are set for an interesting winter window as they aim to back Moyes in his quest to guide West Ham to a top four finish.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-latest-updates/” title=”West Ham latest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The club also find themselves still competing in Europe after finishing top of their group but it is arguable that West Ham need some fresh faces this month if they are to stay at this level.

According to Jones of The Mail, the Irons and Moyes are eyeing a centre-back, left-back and forward this month as both Newman and Moyes work their way through targets.

It is believed that the West Ham chiefs could now target Lille star Jonathan David, Bournemouth defender Lloyd Kelly, Everton’s Lucas Digne and Sparta Prague attacker Adam Hlozek.

West Ham fans erupt…

Flocking to Twitter, many West Ham fans have been left overjoyed by the four names allegedly on Moyes’ and Newman’s agenda this month – with one supporter calling this transfer claim ‘sensational’.

Another claimed landing all four men would be the Irons’ ‘best ever window’.

It’s not hard to understand their excitement either, with Digne racking up an impressive seven assists in his last full top flight campaign, while David has bagged 15 times this season and Hlozek six.

“ALL 4 PLEASE, DAVID”

Credit: @JamesGunn23

“Would be our best ever window. They should have all been signed and training by now if we were serious.”

Credit: @Onlywestham

“I think there might be some legs in us going all out for David possibly.”

Credit: @EthanP48445025

“Sensational stuff”

Credit: @_ghzst

“PLS

@WestHam”

Credit: @Icevain7

“yes, yes, yes and yes”

Credit: @WHUInfo

“Lucas Digne & Adam Hlozek would cost us around 25m for both of them. So i can see that happening and it would be a huge improvement over the squad.”

Credit: @DKouzas

In other news: West Ham set for imminent move to sign ‘phenomenal’ powerhouse as reporter drops Twitter message, find out more here.

Mohammad Asif, the Pakistan fast bowler is confident that his side will successfully defend their World Twenty20 title

Cricinfo staff17-Apr-2010Mohammad Asif, the Pakistan fast bowler, is confident that his side will successfully defend their title during the ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies.”I only know that Pakistan are favourites and we will win the World Cup” Asif told PakPassion.net. “The training camp has been very good preparation for all of the boys. Yes it’s been hard work, but I believe it will definitely help ahead of the World Cup in the West Indies. The preparation for such an important tournament has to be spot on.”The fast bowler was full of praise for Waqar Younis, the side’s bowling coach. “Waqar has been very helpful with his thoughts on my bowling. He analyses the art of bowling very well and has constantly provided me with feedback, advice and support. We have worked together on some new things, a few variations here and there, and they have worked out very well.”The camp has provided me with an opportunity to once again work with one of Pakistan’s greatest ever cricketers. We had already worked together on the tours of New Zealand and Australia and we have continued in Lahore the work that we put in on those tours. Waqar hasn’t spotted any major technical flaws in my bowling, but as I said, we have worked on some minor adjustments and new ideas here and there,” Asif said.The bowler revealed his game-plan in the shortest format involved being one step ahead of the batsman. “Twenty20 cricket is totally different from the other versions of the game and as a bowler I believe you have to try and out-think the batsman. My objective is to outsmart the batsman, try and be one step ahead of your opponent. This form of the game is mentally very tough as a bowler and I always try to dodge the batsman,” he said.Asif said he was ready to take on different responsibilities with the ball, depending on the requirement. “I am prepared to bowl whenever the captain or the team needs me to. In twenty-over cricket you know the batting side is looking to attack you continuously. If the team needs me to bowl four overs at the start, I am happy to do that, if they want me to bowl some of my spell at the start and then come back later in the innings, I am more than happy to do that for my team and skipper.”What I do look to do is to try and get an early breakthrough for my team, as I feel that if you get early wickets you put the opposition onto the back foot. They have to reassess their strategy and the new batsmen will have to come in and will realise that they have already lost one or two top order batsmen,” he said.

Kent cruised to their first win of the season by claiming a nine-wicket win over Scotland in their Clydesdale Bank 40 Group C clash at the Grange in Edinburgh

Cricinfo staff22-May-2010
Scorecard
Richie Berrington top-scored for Scotland with 68, but it wasn’t enough to deny Kent•PA PhotosKent cruised to their first win of the season by claiming a nine-wicket win over Scotland in their Clydesdale Bank 40 Group C clash at the Grange in Edinburgh. Batting first after winning the toss, the Saltires scored 180 for 6 from their 40 overs, their total built largely around an 87-run fifth-wicket stand between Richie Berrington (68) and Neil McCallum (41).Kent romped to victory though as skipper Rob Key (67 not out) and vice-captain Martin van Jaarsveld (72 not out) shared in a century partnership after Joe Denly’s 38. Kent had not won a match in any competition all season, losing their last Clydesdale Bank 40 game at Warwickshire before falling to defeat against Durham in the County Championship earlier this week.Scotland, for their part, went into the match apparently in good shape after sending Leicestershire crashing to a four-wicket defeat last week.The wheels looked to have come off early on for the Saltires, however, whenthey fell to 50 for 3. Ryan Watson (24) was bowled by Makhaya Ntini, captain Gavin Hamilton was out for eight, caught by Key off the bowling of Simon Cook and Tasmanian batsman George Bailey, who scored a half-century against the Foxes, was stumped by Geraint Jones for 16.However, after the dismissal of Omer Hussain left Scotland on 71 for 4, they mounted something of a comeback helped by two players who had played such an important part in the rare away victory against Leicestershire.Berrington racked up his 68 from 84 balls before he was caught by Amjad Khan and McCallum scored 41 from 52 balls before he was bowled by the same bowler. It left the hosts with a below-par target to defend and Kent quickly set about seeking their first victory of the season.Denly hit 38 from 45 balls before he was bowled by Majid Haq, but the partnership of Key and Van Jaarsveld followed and simply proved far too powerful for Scotland to break. The win, with more than nine overs to spare, lifted Kent up to fourth in the Group C table.

Former Celtic player Frank McAvennie says he wouldn’t be surprised if Kyogo Furuhashi made a ‘shock appearance’ in Sunday’s Scottish League Cup final. 

The lowdown

Furuhashi has missed Celtic’s last two games through an injury he sustained in his side’s final Europa League group stage game against Real Betis.

Ange Postecogolou brought on the Japan international when Albian Ajeti was forced off with a hamstring injury, only for Furuhashi to suffer the same problem.

Celtic already knew they would be finishing third in the group and entering the Europa Conference League playoff round, so the game was something of a dead-rubber.

And now Furuhashi faces a late fitness test at Lennoxtown ahead of the Hampden Park clash with Hibernian.

The latest

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie suggested that Furuhashi’s fitness may be better than Postecoglou is letting on.

He thinks there’s a possibility that the 26-year-old will play a part in Sunday’s showpiece.

“There have been a few times where Ange has said players won’t make it or they will only make the bench,” he said.

“Then they are in from the start in the next game. So well will see what happens.

“I’m not getting my hopes up but it wouldn’t surprise me if Kyogo did make some sort of shock appearance.”

The verdict

It would be a huge boost for Celtic if Furuhashi made it. He’s the Hoops’ top scorer with 11 goals in all competitions and, crucially, his nearest challenger – Jota, who has eight goals – is already confirmed out.

There’s a possibility, then, that they find themselves short of firepower against Shaun Maloney’s Hibs.

But as well as enhancing Celtic’s goalscoring threat, Furuhashi’s return would also surely improve morale in the camp. He’s a player team-mates can look to for decisive moments of quality in games like this.

Indeed, Jota has marvelled at his ‘unbelievable’ movements, and having at least one of the pair back would be a massive boost.

In other news, this journalist has offered the latest on Reo Hatate.