Hrishekesh Kanitkar notched up a strokeful century to give Maharshtratheir first victory of the Ranji One-Day West Zone League againstSaurashtra at the Alembic ground in Baroda. Saurashtra skipperShitanshu Kotak won the toss and decided to chase a target. Maharshtrapiled up a healthy 280 for 8 in their 50 overs.Kanitkar (133) and Abhijit Kale (56) piled up a 166 run partnershipfor the fourth wicket. Shitanshu Kotak (4/58) and Rajesh Garsondia(3/26) shared the wickets.Saurashtra in their reply lost their way early and were dismissed for182 for 9 in their 50 overs. Mukund Parmar (69 not out) put up a lonebattle. Sameer Shaikh walked back with bowling figures of (4/38).Maharashtra registered a 98 run victory and picked up their firstpoints of the tournament.
Former Leeds United loanee Alfonso Pedraza has certainly come on leaps and bounds since a disappointing loan spell at Elland Road during the 2016/17 season.
The Spanish left-back joined the Yorkshire club on a temporary basis from La Liga outfit Villareal in January 2017, scoring just one goal in 14 appearances for the Whites before returning to his homeland that June.
Five years on, and the now 25-year-old Spaniard is a regular for the Yellow Submarine who, this week, sensationally knocked out Italian giants Juventus of the Champions League with a 3-0 victory in Turin.
Although the left-back was a late substitute at the Allianz Stadium, he did play 79 minutes in the first leg at left-wing and has made a total of 28 appearances so far this term, contributing six assists in that period with his side seventh in La Liga.
This is a stark contrast to his period at Leeds which saw the then 20-year-old accumulate just 735 minutes of action for Gary Monk’s side, scoring one goal against Birmingham City with the Spaniard deployed as a left-winger. Although he was once dubbed a “threat” by Phil Hay, it never quite happened for him.
Given his unsuccessful loan spell, Pedraza left Elland Road at the end of that season and subsequently joined Alavés and Real Betis on loan for the 2017/18 and 2019/20 campaigns respectively before becoming a regular for Unai Emery’s side.
However, now seeing what the £19k-per-week Spaniard has gone on to achieve with his side winning the Europa League last term and now being Champions League quarter-finalists, it was certainly a mistake to neglect the winger/full-back.
Over the course of his career thus far, the 25-year-old has seen his market value rise and dip regularly, with Transfermarkt currently valuing Pedraza at £15.3m.
The former-Leeds player’s peak valuation came in June 2019 when worth £19.8m, which has subsequently fallen by £4.5m.
Alas, it certainly appears as though allowing the Spaniard to return to his parent club without much fuss was an error by Leeds and Victor Orta, who have struggled defensively this term.
The Whites currently have the second-worst goal difference in the Premier League at -33 whilst conceding 67 goals in their 30 league matches this term, the highest tally in the division at an average of 2.23 per game.
This has seen manager Marcelo Bielsa replaced with former RB Leipzig boss Jesse Marsch who has been entrusted to ensure the Yorkshire outfit survive relegation.
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After back-to-back wins against Norwich and Wolves, the American appears to have made an impact at Elland Road with his side 16th. However, 17th placed Everton have three games in hand and are four points behind whilst 19th placed Burnley have also played three games fewer and are eight points behind; the job is from over.
In terms of current left-back options, summer signing Junior Firpo has underwhelmed whilst Stuart Dallas has been entrusted on that side of the defence regularly, despite the Northern Irishman also being called upon at right-back and in central midfield.
It’s certainly an area that could do with strengthening, which will further frustrate fans when seeing Pedraza doing so well.
In other news: Source drops huge behind-scenes Leeds update that will have supporters over the moon
Michael Di Venuto’s three-year deal with Durham has spelt the end of his time with Tasmania. Di Venuto, 34, had previously insisted that he only wanted to play six months of the year from now on, and his decision to join the English county means the end of his time with the state he has represented for 17 years.His decision to cut down the amount of cricket he plays was based on wanting to spend more time with his family, as well as business interests and he will quit the state at the end of the season. He has also recently undergone surgery for a double hernia and battling niggling injuries over recent seasons.”I first played cricket for Tasmania when I was 18 years old and playing cricket for Tasmania has been my life since then,” Di Venuto said. “I love playing cricket for Tasmania and I am certainly going to miss it, however the opportunity to finish my career at Durham is an exciting one and something my family and I are really looking forward to. It also allows us to spend summers in Hobart and continue to prepare for our life after cricket.”Di Venuto is currently Tasmania’s leading one-day run scorer and is second only to Jamie Cox on their lists of Pura Cup appearances and runs. He was a member of the Tigers’ successful ING Cup team in 2004-05 but he rates his career highlight as being part of Tasmania’s historic Pura Cup-winning team last season.It was the state’s first triumph and Di Venuto was the only player in the side to have also been part of the three Tasmania teams that lost Pura Cup/Sheffield Shield finals, in 1993-94, 1997-98 and 2001-02. Di Venuto said he had thoughts of quitting after the final success against New South Wales at Bellerive Oval last March.”It was undoubtedly the greatest feeling I’ve experienced on a cricket field,” Di Venuto told the . “This retiring could have potentially happened at the end of that game but I wanted to continue on and squeeze out another season because I thought we were a very good chance to do it again.”Although last summer was Di Venuto’s most successful domestic season in Australia – he made 961 Pura Cup runs at 53.38 – he conceded he had not got the best out of himself consistently during his home seasons. “Not in Australia, no, which has been a frustrating thing for me,” Di Venuto said.”I can go year in, year out overseas and put in some pretty good performances but never been able to nail a season back here. Not to say I’ve had poor seasons back here, I think I’ve been quite consistent but for what I can do, I probably don’t get the best out of myself in Australian summers.”Di Venuto’s former Tasmania team-mate David Boon said the state would be losing one of its most dangerous weapons. “I think he has been a great player,” Boon said. “When he is on song, there is none better.”I look at him as one of the best ball strikers that we’ve produced for a long time and not only in Tasmanian cricket but Australian cricket. He is one of those guys that every other state has had on their list as a must get out. He has shown that many a times. One that I most refer to with him is his big hundred in the Sheffield Shield final we lost in ’98. It was a magnificent innings.”To date Di Venuto has played 141 first-class matches for Tasmania scoring 9687 runs at an average of 40.36 including 18 centuries with a highest score of 189. He also has taken 150 catches, the most by a Tasmanian in first-class cricket and in 103 domestic one-day matches he scored 2891 runs with a highest score of 129 at an average of 30.76. He also represented Australia in nine one-day internationals in 1997 scoring 241 runs at an average of 26.77 with a highest score of 89.Overall, combining his Tasmanian, Australia A and English first-class careers for Sussex, Derbyshire and Durham, he has played 261 matches, totalling 19,952 runs with 44 centuries at an average of 44.63. Di Venuto has indicated his desire to continue having an involvement in Tasmanian cricket, which the board is keen to secure in some capacity.
If Hashim Amla had things his way, he wouldn’t have to bat again at Centurion Park on a pitch likely to deteriorate over the next few days. He did his best to ensure the scenario pans out that way, making a battling 71 and helping South Africa recover from a rickety start.It was Amla’s second fifty in successive Tests, following his first-innings 63 in the series-clinching Cape Town victory over India recently. Under pressure through that series, Amla’s starring role will have come as considerable relief.”The ideal is to bat once,” said Amla. “The pitch is quite good for batting but it is already starting to deteriorate and help the spinners, so batting fourth could be difficult.”Pakistan will hope that by then Danish Kaneria can play more of a role than he did on the second day. Kaneria was one of three Pakistan bowlers who failed to make any impression whatsoever as first Amla and then Ashwell Prince and Herschelle Gibbs guided South Africa into a position of some strength. Mohammad Asif, returning to international cricket after having a doping-related ban overturned, was by far the best Pakistani bowler on display, ending with all four wickets in another impressive outing.Asif twinkled out Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers in his first three overs. He sent back Jacques Kallis after lunch as well and troubled all batsmen. Amla, having stroked a delicious, one-knee cover drive in the 45th over, edged the very next ball from Asif, a leg-cutter. It was a performance, Amla said, that reminded him of one of his more illustrious team-mates. “Asif bowled excellently. He asked good questions of the batsmen and bowled in the right areas. He reminded me a bit of Shaun Pollock.”Earlier, Makhaya Ntini was responsible for Pakistan hurtling to what is looking increasingly like an inadequate total and well below the 350-plus they had initially aimed for. Ntini took five for 83, his 16th five-wicket haul in Tests, as Pakistan paid for their compulsion to hook or pull every short ball that came their way. Six batsmen succumbed to hook or pull shots but Ntini said he had to work hard for his wickets. “It wasn’t our plan to bowl bouncers and get them hooking but when we saw how they played we put our fielders in the right places.”
Just as one Ashes series victory did not make England the best side in the world, neither did one poor tour of Pakistan signal a crisis. However, as the final ticks and crosses are put to the squad to tour India, to be announced at 11.30 on Friday morning, there are some familiar questions for the selectors to answer.The news that Michael Vaughan and Ashley Giles are making promising progress with their rehabilitation, following knee and hip surgery respectively, will ease some of the concerns, although David Graveney remains wary. “The players themselves are making some positive statements but you’ve always got to be cautious,” he told . “Let’s remember we were pretty positive about Simon Jones playing in the last [Ashes] Test and that didn’t work out.”Jones is on course to be fit for this tour after missing the whole of Pakistan. His comeback means that England are set to return to their tried and tested formula of four quicks and one spinner, when the Test series begins at Nagpur on March 1. But with Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh pencilled in for India they may be forced to consider two spinners if they encounter a raging turner.Shaun Udal was treated with brutal disdain during the final Test against Pakistan, at Lahore, but had done a fair job in the first two matches. With the second spinner needing to be ready for action at short notice, Udal’s experience and level head is a better bet than one of England’s youngsters. Monty Panesar, the left-armer from Northamptonshire, who has received support from all corners in the last week, is the most attacking option if the selectors want to consider a long-term bet.However, there are just two warm-up matches before the first Test. So for the development of Panesar it would be better for him to be part of the A tour in West Indies than kicking his heels in India. Alex Loudon, who now has the experience of a full England trip behind him, can get back to actually playing on the A tour as he continues to work on his doosra.The same policy can be taken with England’s back-up quick bowlers. If there is full confidence in Jones’s ability to handle three Tests in three weeks, then one reserve fast bowler is sufficient. Liam Plunkett showed ample promise in Pakistan to edge out James Anderson, who can continue to re-groove his outswinger in West Indies with an eye to him taking the new ball there in the World Cup.Despite the batting imploding twice in Pakistan – in the second innings at Multan and Lahore – there will be no changes to the top-order personnel. When the final cut is made for the Tests, Paul Collingwood will again be the fall-guy as Vaughan returns to No. 3. One headache for England will be the likely loss of Andrew Flintoff, for the final Test at Mumbai, when he returns home for the birth of his second child. There is certainly no like-for-like replacement so Robert Key, Owais Shah and Alastair Cook can join the A tour with the incentive of a possible call-up to act as a reinforcement.With the one-day series consisting of seven matches, and the need to cover for Flintoff, that squad could be heavier as England continue to try and work out what their best side is ahead of the World Cup.England Test squad (probable) Michael Vaughan (capt), Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, Paul Collingwood, Geraint Jones, Matt Prior, Ashley Giles, Shaun Udal, Liam Plunkett, Matthew Hoggard, Simon Jones, Steve Harmison.One-day squad (probable) Michael Vaughan (capt), Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Vikram Solanki, Geraint Jones, Matt Prior, Ashley Giles, Ian Blackwell, Liam Plunkett, Simon Jones, Steve Harmison, James Anderson.
Electrifying batting by Shikhar Dhawan and Mahendra Dhoni rendered the second game of the Challenger Series a no-contest, as India Seniors made short work of the target of 276 set by India B with eight wickets and more than three overs to spare. The bowlers received an absolute hiding as Dhawan and Dhoni put together an opening partnership of 187 in 26 overs, which was only broken when Dhoni retired hurt on 87. India B were left to regret the profligacy of their batsmen, most of whom threw their wickets away after they had got a start on a lovely true pitch that was perfect for strokeplay.Since yesterday’s game featured a run-chase of similar proportions which went down to the wire, it was assumed that India B’s score of 275 – although 30 fewer than they should have made – would test the Seniors. Dhawan and Dhoni began cautiously against the Delhi pair of Amit Bhandari and Ashish Nehra, both of whom were sharp and on the spot; for a few overs singles were the only scoring strokes. But then Dhoni broke the shackles with a pull for four off Bhandari in the fifth over, and a gorgeous back-foot cover-drive in the next over off Nehra showed that he was beginning to hit his stride.Dhawan was soon matching him shot for shot, at one point taking fourboundaries off a Nehra over, and the two batsmen went neck-and-neck tohalf-centuries. What was praiseworthy was how they combined booming strokes with astute tip-and-run cricket, ensuring that the strike was rotating constantly and the bowlers were continuously making adjustments of line for the rightand left-handed batsman.Dhawan revealed a marked preference for the off side reminiscent of SouravGanguly in his early days. Indeed, of the 14 fours he had struck by the time he reached his hundred, all but one came from strokes to the off. Dhoni batted with a shade more dash and flair, and his style brings to mind Virender Sehwag: he loves to carve the quick bowlers extravagantly over point, and displays the same disdain for spin bowling.When Sehwag, India B’s captain, introduced spin in the 11th over in the form of Sridharan Sriram, Dhoni struck the first ball so fiercely back at the bowler that he had to leave the field wringing his hand, and did not appear again. Another spinner, Ramesh Powar, was summoned to finish Sriram’s over, and found his first ball swept for four and his second sent sailing over long-on for six, where it came within two feet of taking out one of the watching selectors and of smashing one of the windows of the press box just above him.Dhoni hit three more sixes – two of them thrilling hook shots off Nehra and Joginder Sharma – until he got cramp and had to leave the field (187 for 0). There was a temporary lull in the game as Sourav Ganguly replaced him and was tied down by Sehwag’s accurate offspin, but the game was as good was won; shortly afterwards Dhawan brought up his hundred off 90 balls. When Ganguly fell at 246, Dhoni re-emerged to see India Seniors home, bringing up his hundred and the winning runs with the same shot.India B’s total was made to look woefully inadequate, something which musthave been all the more galling for the losers considering how comfortablethey seemed for most part of the innings. After Sehwag won the toss, batting for the most part was absurdly easy against an attack of modest quality, and India B kept up a run rate of over five an over for all of the innings.But VVS Laxman and Sriram gave up their wickets wastefully within three overs of each other in mid-innings when set and, from there, wickets fell so regularly that India B had only two wickets left with eight overs still remaining. Powar, at No. 9 far low too for a man of his skill, saw Nehrathrough a few quiet overs before pulling off some flamboyant strokes totake India B to a respectable score.That India Seniors took so many wickets reflected more the profligacy of the batsmen than the penetration of the bowling. Lakshmipathy Balaji, who finished with four wickets, was especially culpable, bowling far too many short ones and at no stage looking like he could land three successive balls in the same spot. Nor did the quality of the bowling improve after the break, and Sehwag was left helpless by the toothlessness of his attack. Joginder Sharma, in particular, took some heavy stick from the two openers and went for 63 from his six overs.It said much for the poverty of the bowling resources on view that the twomost disciplined bowlers of the game were the rival captains, Ganguly andSehwag. Of course, the pitch was a batting beauty, and gave very littlehelp to the spinners, but even so it is a worrying sign that so little ofthe bowling seen over two days has been of above-average quality. Thestrokeplay for most part of the evening session was spectacular, however, and it seems that the future of Indian batting is in good hands.
Dulip Liyanage, a fast bowler who last played for Sri Lanka in 2001, has been appointed captain-cum-manager of an eight-man Sri Lanka squad for the forthcoming Hong Kong Cricket Sixes.The squad includes three players with international experience – Liyanage, Indika de Saram, now 30, who played the last of his 15 ODIs at Sharjah in 2000-01, and Ravindra Pushpakumara, a 28-year-old fast bowler who has played 23 Tests.The other members include a selection of experienced domestic cluball-rounders: Ruchira Palliyguru, Gayan Wijekoon, Saman Jayantha, Chamila Gamage and Chinthaka Jayasinghe.The annual tournament, which was won last year by Pakistan, will take place at the Kowloon Cricket Club on November 1 and 2.Squad Dulip Liyanage (Capt), Ruchira Palliyguru, Gayan Wijekoon, Saman Jayantha, Indika de Saram, Chamila Gamage, Chinthaka Jayasinghe, Ravindra Pushpakumara.
When play finally began at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in Hyderabad, the delay due to the wet conditions allowed enough time for only a 23-over-a-side game. But whether it was 50 overs or less than half as many, the story was much the same, with England struggling to come to terms batting on Indian conditions. Asked to bat first, they managed just 70/7 in 23 overs, a total the Indians overhauled with two overs to spare and for the loss of just one wicket. With this win, India go 2-0 up in the five-match series.Things began badly for the English, with the new opening pair of debutante Laura Spragg and Kate Lowe being separated before they could get the scoreboard moving. Spragg’s mighty heave over the on-side only resulted in her losing her middle stump. Lowe (1) and Newton (10) followed in quick time, giving seamer Jhulan Goswami three wickets in her quota of five overs. Jhulan’s lively spell earned her 3/8.After the fall of the third wicket, England’s innings fell apart in dramatic fashion. A series of batsmen attempting to heave the ball around the park resulted in little more than confusion. Instead of playing genuine cricketing shots and keeping the scoreboard ticking over, the English batsmen panicked and succumbed to steady if unspectacular bowling from the Indians.Slowing things right down, Anjum Chopra employed three spinners, with Neetu David (1/14), Deepa Kulkarni (0/22) and Nooshin al Khader (1/13) sending down 15 overs between them.Changing things around, skipper Chopra came out to open the innings with Anju Jain. The pair began slowly in the knowledge that the target was eminently attainable. Lucy Pearson, bowling a good line, was unlucky to have a close shout for lbw turned down when Chopra walked into a delivery that appeared to be headed straight for off-stump.A needless run-out saw Jain (10) depart, replaced by Mithali Raj. After the fall of the first wicket, Chopra accelerated the scoring rate, opening the face of the bat and playing the ball into the gaps on the off-side. Taking a few chances, the Indian skipper flashed hard at anything that was even slightly wide and consistently got away with it.Mithali’s (11) calming influence in the middle helped Chopra (37, 57 balls, three fours) steer India to a nine-wicket win. For her match figures of 5-1-8-3 earlier in the day, Jhulan was named the Hero Honda Woman of the Match.At the end of the match, Indian skipper Chopra said, “It was an important win for us. We were not too happy when we learned that the game would be truncated, but it turned out well in the end. I am glad we are 2-0 up in the series.” Her opposite number Clare Connor was visibly crestfallen. “It was a disappointing toss to lose, but we do not really want to make too much of that. There is no excuse really. We were outplayed once more,” she said.Connor went on to add, “I know we needed to put more runs on the board and take early wickets, but again today, that did not happen. Maybe we were a bit too frantic early on.” Putting up a brave face, the Sussex left-arm spinner ended, “There are things we did better today than in the first game at Chennai, so there are a few positives to take away from this game.”For the sake of the England team and the series, one hopes that the visitors can make the necessary changes to their game in a hurry and give India a better run for their money.
Ryan Sidebottom (5-40) – the fifth time he has taken five wickets or more inrecent weeks – put runners-up Yorkshire in a strong position against Division One championship leaders Surrey at The Oval.England recruit Matthew Hoggard (4-70) supported him in bowling out the host county for just 226. The situation would have been even worse if Martin Bicknell and Ian Salisbury had not put on 73 runs for the eighth wicket.Opener Ian Ward did not score until the tenth over, by which time his partner, Mark Butcher, had been caught at the wicket off Hoggard. Nadeem Shahid (36), quite new to the first team, batted with confidence until Sidebottom’s yorker uprooted his off-stump.At lunch Surrey were quite comfortable at 77-2. Ward was out soon after the interval, as was Ally Brown, caught by David Byas from a Chris Silverwood delivery which bounced higher than expected, who had no opportunity to repeat his high scoring against Leicestershire earlier in the week. Surrey’s position was precarious at 148-7 but captain Adam Hollioake made 48 and then Bicknell, whose allround championship form has been more than just useful, dominated his stand with Salisbury.Batting in uncertain light Yorkshire almost lost Michael Vaughan to a slip chance to Brown from Bicknell. Then the openers settled down and seemed to have played through to the close when Byas steered the penultimate ball of the day from Salisbury to Adam Hollioake at silly point.
West Brom have enjoyed picking up points in their last two games in the Championship after a season of poor and inconsistent form that has seen the side drift from potential automatic promotion to now struggling to pick up a play-off spot in the league, currently 14th in the table.
The addition of Andy Carroll in the January transfer window on a free transfer after his contract with Reading expired in the turn of the year, and his impact on the side is something new manager, Steve Bruce, has been vocal about following the draw with Huddersfield on Friday.
The Baggies manager was happy to answer questions about the ex-Liverpool striker’s future, and when asked he responded:
“We’ll address all that,” Bruce told BirminghamLive.
“When the end of the season comes, there are a lot of decisions to be made on a lot of people. It’s good to see him fit, keeping well and keeping healthy.”
There is no doubt that West Brom have been lacking leadership on the pitch, with the West Bromwich Albion journalist for The Athletic, Steve Madeley, criticising the squads “inbalance” writing:
“It is light on durability and toughness and sorely lacking in any clear signs of leadership and players ready to demand high standards from their teammates.”
With that being said, the arrival and integration of Carroll is clearly beginning to pay off when you look at his effectiveness. The 6 foot 3 colossus is currently top of the Championship for aerial duels won and is joint top for headed clearances since he joined Albion a few months ago.
The £23k-per-week brute rated himself as “unplayable” and he is clearly on a mission to prove his point for his current club, by becoming a presence on and off the pitch with The Athletic reporting that he has become a vocal figure in the West Brom camp.
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Bruce will surely be relieved to have this kind of presence in his team as he endeavours to pick up the pieces at the club after a disappointing season for the Baggies, it’s clear that a leader is needed going forward for the team to gain as many points as possible in the remaining games that are left.
With that in mind, he’d surely be a useful cog next term too and with Albion likely to remain in the second tier, securing an extended deal for Carroll makes all the sense.
In other news: Jay Rodriguez’s market value has plummeted since Hawthorns exit