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The emergence of spin as a match-turner in this IPL has surprised some of the best spinners in world cricket today but South African experts have seen it coming

Ajay S Shankar25-Apr-2009The emergence of spin as a match-turner in this IPL has surprised some of the best spinners in world cricket today but South African experts have seen it coming and say that spin will play a major role in Twenty20 cricket, and not just the Indian league.Consider this: 30 wickets have fallen to spin in 10 games so far, with Anil Kumble, Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, and Daniel Vettori all turning in impressive performances. Even a part-timer like Kevin Pietersen has taken three wickets with his offspin.Harbhajan Singh and Murali have already revised their opinion about the role of spinners in the IPL, and Mickey Arthur, the South Africa coach, says their success has only strengthened his belief that slow bowlers will be influential in Twenty20 cricket. It is a view shared by Pat Symcox, the former South Africa offspinner, who says the weather conditions this time of the year will assist spinners.”I think spin plays a major role in Twenty20 cricket, and not just the IPL,” Arthur told Cricinfo. “Looking at the World Twenty20 in June, we have already decided to cover all our options in pace and spin in our blueprint. It’s obvious to us now that it’s a good bowling unit that wins you a Twenty20 game, and not just the batsmen. You need to have a bowling unit that has the ability to take wickets and that is what will finally determine the result of a Twenty20 game.”Symcox says the pitch and weather conditions in South Africa will be a deciding factor in the tournament. “It’s basically got to do with this time of the year in South Africa with the winter setting in,” Symcox told Cricinfo. “The pitches start to wear a bit and the grass becomes a lot drier. There is much better grip for the spinners. Besides, there is always a little bit of extra bounce in South Africa, when compared to India where the IPL was held last year. Add that bounce to a little bit of turn and spinners become a very useful option.”Kumble has grabbed six wickets so far, followed by Vettori with five, Warne with four, and Murali and Ojha with three each. In fact, Kumble, who retired from international cricket last year, turned in the most economical five-wicket haul in Twenty20s against Rajasthan Royals last weekend, claiming incredible figures of 3.1-1-5-5. All these spinners have played crucial roles for their IPL teams, claiming the scalps of some of the best in the business like Pietersen, Matthew Hayden, MS Dhoni, Chris Gayle and Adam Gilchrist.”We realised this during the recent one-day series here against Australia, and that’s why we worked our bowling strategy around Paul Harris and Roelof van der Merwe (both left-arm spinners),” Arthur said. “The result was there for all to see.” South Africa won the one-dayers 3-2 at home earlier this month.Harbhajan, who turned Mumbai Indians’ opening game against Chennai Super Kings with a spell of 3-0-15-1 including the key wicket of Andrew Flintoff, says the role of spinners in Twenty20 has taken “a 360 degree turn”. Harbhajan is sure that the spin will play a “pivotal role in this new ‘avatar’ of cricket”. He points to Kumble’s five-wicket spell on the opening day and writes in his blog: “The five-wicket haul, shelling out just five runs for exchange, is no joke in any format, forget about T20.”Murali, who watched Harbhajan bowl from the Chennai dugout, wrote in his blog that the Indian offspinner’s spell “was the first sign that spin could be a factor in the tournament”. “The fact that we are playing on tired squares at the end of the season may also be having an impact,” Murali wrote. “Whatever the reason, as a spinner, I am obviously delighted.”Symcox says the trend is “fantastic” not just for this IPL but for the Twenty20 format. “Youngsters will now be encouraged to bowl the slower ones,” he said. “They will realise that Twenty20 cricket is not just about running in hard. Now I feel sorry for the medium-pacer in Twenty20 cricket, guys who bowl around the 120-kmph mark. The faster guys always have a chance and now the spinners are also doing well, it’s the medium-pacer who has to adapt now.”

It seemed the IPL had finally found its Twenty20 soul, with two batsmen combining to score – for the first time in this tournament – at a frenetic pace throughout the innings. But chasing a huge Deccan Chargers total, a limp show from Bangalore Royal Chal

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga22-Apr-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outIt was a true Twenty20-style half-century from Adam Gilchrist•AFPIt seemed the IPL had finally found its Twenty20 soul, with two batsmen combining to score – for the first time in this tournament – at a frenetic pace throughout the innings. But chasing a huge Deccan Chargers total, a limp show from Bangalore Royal Challengers meant another wait for the first closely-fought encounter this season.The day belonged to Adam Gilchrist and Rohit Sharma, who scored 123 between them, off 75 deliveries, with 88 of them coming in boundary hits. The target of 185, under lights at Newlands, is not an experience teams look forward to. It didn’t help that for the third time in a row, Bangalore lost a wicket without having scored a run.The difference in conditions in the two innings showed, with Deccan’s bowlers managing to swing the ball in the initial overs. The first ball of the Bangalore innings, bowled by Fidel Edwards, was a fast, swinging yorker that removed Jesse Ryder for a duck in successive IPL matches.If Edwards made an early impact, with only 31 runs coming in the Powerplay overs, Gilchrist was not far behind in Deccan’s batting Powerplay. In the first two overs, bowled by Praveen Kumar and Dale Steyn, Gilchrist’s clean hitting necessitated six fielding changes, and a change of angle to round the stumps from both bowlers. What was constant was Gilchrist’s severity on anything erring in length. He reached 26 in the first two overs and inevitably a bowling change followed.Praveen removed Herschelle Gibbs in his first over after changing ends, and despite VVS Laxman falling soon after, the Gilchrist show continued. From 26 off 11, he slowed down to reach 28 off 19, but then tucked into Jacques Kallis, taking him for 10 in two deliveries. That started the mid-innings assault with Gilchrist hitting clean – not one half-edge, not one unintended shot. He was especially harsh on short deliveries, and if the bowlers got too full, he teed off with similar ease. With one such six off a full Jesse Ryder delivery, in the 10th over, he reached his fifty in 31 balls.Rohit was just warming up when Gilchrist sizzled. Once his captain got out, Rohit switched to his effortless hitting mode, which was one of the memorable sights of the last year’s IPL. That Rohit paced himself well, showed in his scoring just 10 off the first 12 balls he faced, and 42 off the next 18. Anil Kumble’s last over, the 13th of the innings, was the springboard for Rohit, with three sixes over midwicket – one swept flat, one lofted effortlessly, and the third a pull off a flatter, shorter delivery. Two more sixes later, Rohit perhaps fell at an inopportune time, with only 12 coming off the last 10 balls of the innings. But enough damage had been done by Rohit and Gilchrist by then.A third poor start in a row by Bangalore meant they were always struggling against a Deccan attack that showed all the ingredients: hostility through Edwards, thrift through RP Singh (who took the purple cap with two wickets tonight), guile through Pragyan Ojha, and good support through Scott Styris. Once Ryder got out, Bangalore never really got going, and stumbled to 62 for 4 in the 11th over, with Kevin Pietersen back in the pavilion.Rahul Dravid surprised his critics again, playing his natural shots, opposed to trying to hit too hard as he did against Chennai Super Kings. He finished with 48 off 27 balls, taking the orange cap in the process. Virat Kohli mirrored Dravid’s effort, scoring a 32-ball 50, dominated by wristy shots and not one six. But from 62 for 4, with more than half the overs gone, they were fighting a lost cause.In isolation, the innings played by Dravid and Kohli were as good as either Gilchrist’s or Rohit’s, with the hitting just as clean. However, isolation is not the luxury cricketers are accorded.

Celtic have brought in Anton McElhone as the club’s new head of sports science, report The Glasgow Evening Times.

The Lowdown: McElhone profiled

McElhone is 40 years of age and left Championship side Morton back in March following a stint as caretaker manager.

The Scot previously worked as an assistant at Bradford City and was also a fitness coach at Tottenham and American side New England Revolution.

The 4-2-3-1 style coach appears to have become Ange Postecoglou’s first backroom staff appointment, although the Hoops have yet to confirm the news on their official website.

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The Latest: Celtic arrival

According to The Glasgow Evening Times, McElhone has made the move to Parkhead and takes over from Jack Nayler, who left the club for RB Leipzig back in the summer.

Well-known Celtic page @Celtic1967_com said ‘it is believed the appointment will help the players meet Ange’s high fitness demands.’

The Verdict: Much-needed

Frank McAvennie recently labelled it ‘a joke’ that Postecoglou was yet to bring in his own staff, so hopefully, the Hoops boss was involved in bringing McElhone to Glasgow.

Postecoglou admitted back in July that the club needed more sports science staff to help the squad through the season, and it seems as if they have bolstered that department with an under-the-radar move for McElhone.

You’d expect the pair to work closely at Lennoxtown, and the main aim could be to increase the fitness of the Celtic squad ahead of a busy campaign.

In other news: Celtic now working on ‘top’ transfer without McKay; 48 y/o says he ‘would shine’ in Glasgow. 

Plays of the day for day two two of the second Test between New Zealand and India in Napier

Sidharth Monga in Napier27-Mar-2009Out you go, Yuvi
After his misadventure in the slips yesterday, Yuvraj Singh was shown through to more conventional field placings. Sachin Tendulkar was still unavailable, so another new man had to come into the slips: Gautam Gambhir, at first slip. VVS Laxman stayed at second, and Rahul Dravid took the third. Yuvraj did effect a run-out from cover.201 and gone
Jesse Ryder brought up his maiden double-century with a stylish swivel pull to fine leg, but the release next ball wasn’t quite favourable for New Zealand. He went for a big booming cover-drive, played the ball on, and was so frustrated he kept hitting the ground with his bat on the way back.Run Munaf run
Late into the day, 153rd over on, and Munaf Patel wasn’t really keen on running around. He found himself a place in the shade, deep and square on Brendon McCullum’s off side. But that cruel Harbhajan Singh kept bowling short, making poor Munaf run to third man, then to point, and then to third man again, in successive deliveries. McCullum perhaps enjoyed the fun, and he tried to cut the fourth ball too, which was much fuller than the cutting length. In the end he pushed it to short third for a single, and Munaf could pant easy.Tired? What tired?
India spent 154.4 overs in the sun, and one would have expected a tired Virender Sehwag to be more watchful than usual. You gotta be kidding. Three of the first four balls he faced, he hit for boundaries. That would have been good way to tell New Zealand they could be in for a good long haul themselves if he hadn’t got out with 15 overs to go before stumps.The home advantage
It was seen when India bowled that they spent time in getting the helmets out and then sending them back depending on whether they needed close-in fielders or no. But New Zealand know their grounds. Jeetan Patel came out with a helmet, and lifted a square lid at around short midwicket, opening up an underground compartment for the helmets, and left it there. Smooth.Twilight watchman
For some reason India continue with their practice of using a nightwatchman, in perfect light, and perfect batting conditions. And that too a fast bowler who has just finished bowling 27 overs. Ishant Sharma couldn’t survive the last six overs. At least India are consistent there: they sent in Ishant against Australia too, in Delhi last year, with the same consequence. Gary Kirsten said then: “Certainly, in all the cricket I have played in my time, and it’s no different here, we always ask the No. 3 or 4 batsman if they want a nightwatchman. And it was requested that a nightwatchman be used. This is what happens every single time, in every situation, and there are very few batsmen who don’t want a nightwatchman.”

Aston Villa have been dealt a double injury blow ahead of their upcoming Premier League clash.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to a report by Birmingham Live, who revealed that both Keinan Davis and Trezeguet have been ruled out for the visit of Everton this Saturday.

The report claims that the Egypt international has undergone surgery on a knee injury which he picked up back in April and he is not expected to return to first team action any time soon, although the 26-year-old is believed to be back in training at Bodymoor Heath.

Meanwhile, while the nature of Davis’ injury is unknown, the report claims that the centre-forward could be due to make a return at the start of October.

Smith will be gutted

While neither Trezeguet nor Davis are exactly first team shoo-ins at Villa Park, the continued absence of the pair will undoubtedly leave Dean Smith feeling gutted.

Indeed, Trezeguet proved over his 21 Premier League appearances last season that he is a very useful player to have in the Villa squad, scoring two goals, registering one assist and creating five big chances for his team-mates. These returns saw the 26-year-old average a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.79.

Meanwhile, over Davis’ 15 top-flight fixtures last term, the 23-year-old scored one goal, registered one assist and created one big chance for his team-mates, seeing the centre-forward average a SofaScore match rating of 6.82.

As such, while neither of the duo would have likely been in line for a start against Everton, their absence on the bench will more than likely come as something of a blow for Smith as the high-flying Toffees come to Villa Park on Saturday.

In other news: Insider drops claim on “outstanding” £50k-p/w beast, it’ll be music to AVFC fans’ ears

Nottinghamshire have recorded a pre-tax profit of £148,426 for the year ending September 30, 2008, during the county’s AGM last night

Cricinfo staff24-Feb-2009Nottinghamshire have recorded a pre-tax profit of £148,426 for the year ending September 30, 2008, during the county’s AGM last night.”We saw the benefits of significant investments in the venue and the team in 2008 and it is pleasing to have recorded a pre-tax surplus,” said Ray Dawson, chairman of the commercial and financial subcommittee. “Like any business, we won’t be immune from the economic downturn but I firmly believe that we have laid sufficient foundations to emerge strongly when recovery comes.”Mick Newell, the club’s director of cricket, said that his team’s second-place finish in Division One of the Championship was a ‘fair reflection’ on the team’s performance and paid tribute to the bowling attack for their consistency.”The bowlers were superb throughout the season and we’ll be looking for our top order batsmen to show an improvement to help the middle order,” he said. “Planning for 2009 has been challenging because of the uncertainty surrounding the availability of our England players. We should treat any appearance by Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad as a bonus and we also expect Samit Patel and Graeme Swann to be away for long periods.”

Just as a wave of positivity was starting to engulf Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side again, the Hoops suffered a worrying knockback on Thursday night.

The Bhoys still secured their pathway into the next round of Europe but it didn’t come without defensive mistakes and injuries.

On the chalkboard

Considering Celtic had kept four clean sheets in their last five matches, the performance they put in against AZ Alkmaar this week was extremely out of sorts.

Joe Hart made a howler when he failed to clear a long ball that led to a goal before Carl Starfelt turned the ball into his own net.

Postecoglou’s men were able to hold on but that wasn’t before injuries to Japanese sensation Kyogo Furuhashi and left-back Greg Taylor.

In this instance, it’s probably Taylor’s injury blow that will come as the biggest concern.

Celtic are already light on full-back options and not even the acquisition of defender Liam Scales will sufficiently solve those woes.

Boli Bolingoli hasn’t played a single minute of football under Postecoglou while the young Adam Montgomery is surely too inexperienced to be thrown in at the deep end.

He did catch the eye in the second half in the Netherlands but it would be a risk to trust him on a regular basis.

The solution

With Taylor attracting widespread criticism throughout the early stages of the season and during the course of the summer, a left-back was already required.

However, after a fitness blow on Thursday, they simply have to go and sign another full-back in the market.

The man they should pursue is Derby County’s Lee Buchanan. The Hoops were linked with a move for the 20-year-old a few months ago and they must now take the opportunity to pounce on the Championship side’s awful financial situation.

Adept in offensive situations, the £2.2m-rated Buchanan might actually be an upgrade on Taylor. He’s very highly rated by Rams boss Wayne Rooney who has tipped him to play for England and described him as “incredible.”

The young defender registered three assists in 2020/21 but was phenomenal in the air for a player in his role.

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He won a mightily impressive 2.9 aerial battles per match last term which was comfortably better than Taylor who was only successful in 1.1 aerial duels a game.

In terms of the overall Celtic squad last season, only Shane Duffy and Christopher Jullien were more efficient when the ball was off the ground.

As a result of that and the club’s lack of cover at left-back, the Bhoys simply have to make an attempt to bring Buchanan to Parkhead.

Montgomery is a talented individual himself but he is not in a position to become a regular just yet.

AND in other news, Forget Hjelde: Postecoglou has Celtic’s next big star in “fantastic” rarely-seen 18y/o…

Leicester City have enjoyed a fabulous summer so far, securing the signatures of several exciting acquisitions, but it could be about to get even better for the Foxes.

What’s the story?

According to Leicester Mercury reporter Jordan Blackwell, the Midlands outfit have entered negotiations with key midfielder Youri Tielemans over a new contract.

Blackwell’s report states that: “Tielemans is the priority, and talks have been ongoing for a while with him,” indicating that the technically gifted 24-year-old could be set to commit his future to the Midlands outfit.

Leicester City fans will be delighted

News that Tielemans is currently in talks to extend his stay at the King Power Stadium will certainly leave the club’s supporters absolutely delighted.

The Belgium international has established himself as one of the Premier League’s most promising young talents since making his initial six-month loan move from Monaco permanent back in July 2019.

In 110 appearances for Brendan Rodgers’ charges, Tielemans has scored 17 goals and laid on a further 19 assists, and played a pivotal part in Leicester’s maiden FA Cup success last season, scoring the winning goal against Chelsea at Wembley Stadium.

His impressive performances over the last couple of campaigns have caught the eye of some of English football’s giants, though, with Liverpool heavily linked with a move for the £49.5m-rated ace in the current window.

However, a formal offer for Tielemans never materialised, and Rodgers will be delighted to have his midfield maestro around for the foreseeable future.

The Anderlecht academy graduate’s current deal expires in the summer of 2023, meaning Leicester could be forced to part ways with their prized asset in 12 months’ time or risk losing him on a free transfer.

Therefore, getting him to put pen to paper on fresh terms would be a significant coup for the club.

In the past, Leicester have made a habit of selling one of their star players each year, with the likes of N’Golo Kante, Riyad Mahrez and Harry Maguire all departing for astronomical fees.

But now it appears that faze in their development has passed. Under Rodgers, the Foxes have achieved consecutive fifth-place finishes and have claimed two pieces of silverware, outperforming the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in the process.

Convincing their top talent that their ambitions can be achieved at the King Power Stadium was always going to be the next step in their progression, and it seems as though they’re making solid steps in that regard.

And, in other news…LCFC could finally replace Mahrez with “explosive” £20m gem, Rodgers would love him 

Chief selector Abdul Qadir has suggested the leader of the Pakistan team should be selected on a series-by-series basis

Cricinfo staff03-Jan-2009
Shoaib Malik has tasted success as a captain on the domestic circuit in the current season © AFP
While the PCB mulls an extension of Shoaib Malik’s captaincy tenure, chief selector Abdul Qadir has suggested the leader of the Pakistan team should be selected on a series-by-series basis.”Although it is up to the PCB chairman to appoint the captain, a series-to-series appointment automatically keeps the leader under check and balance,” Qadir said. Another suggestion Qadir has put forward is to have separate captains for Tests and ODIs. “The Test and ODI captains will search for talents and will not feel the burden.”PCB chairman Ijaz Butt has already hinted Malik will be given an extension. “Shoaib Malik will remain as the Pakistan captain till the time he continues to deliver,” Butt had said. “I believe that he has done a good job in recent times.”Malik, who was handed the reins following Pakistan’s early exit in the 2007 World Cup, said a captain should be given ‘adequate time’ to prove himself and obtain results. Pakistan have had mixed success under Malik . They reached the finals of the ICC World Twenty20 in 2007, and last year they beat India in the Kitply Cup final in Bangladesh, followed by a 3-0 sweep in the ODI series against West Indies in Abu Dhabi in November. Malik led Pakistan to a country record 12 successive ODI wins in 2008, though the bulk of them came against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.However, Malik also lost both the home Test and ODI series to South Africa in 2007, as well as the Test and ODI series in India that followed. The team also failed to make it the final of the Asia Cup held in Pakistan in June-July 2008.”During the last 18 months I have learnt a lot about life and cricket,” Malik said. “Recently, Punjab won the Pentangular Cup and Sialkot Stallions lifted the Twenty20 cup for the third time under my captaincy.”Malik also came under criticism from former team-mate Mohammad Yousuf, who blamed the ‘lack of respect’ from the captain for his signing up with the ICL. There have also been reports of rifts between him and other senior players. However, Malik has found support from his coach Intikhab Alam, who believed he should be retained for another year. A final decision on his tenure is expected soon.

Flocking to Twitter, many Tottenham Hotspur fans have had their say following Sky Sports’ latest news on defender Serge Aurier.

The Ivorian, signing for Spurs in 2017 as a direct replacement for Kyle Walker, has gone on to make 110 appearances for the club in all competitions – scoring eight goals and assisting 17 others as an attack-minded full-back (Transfermarkt).

However, with the Lilywhites adopting a sell-to-buy policy this summer, Aurier has been one of the most widely tipped Spurs players to leave before August 31.

The 28-year-old admitted himself that he has reached ‘the end of a cycle’ at Tottenham but hasn’t yet been able to secure a move away from N17.

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Sky Sports, bringing an update on Aurier’s future, now claim that exit talks for the defender broke down recently over disagreements about his involvement in the Africa Cup of Nations next January.

It’s safe to say supporters have held mixed reactions to this news on social media, with many appearing eager for the player to finally move on.

Find all of their verdicts, in reply to The Spurs Express, down below.

Spurs fans flock to Aurier news

“Well terminate his contract”

Credit: @Anas18776178

“I’m actually surprised this doesn’t scupper more transfers; it can be a huge problem.”

Credit: @AlanWindham

“Go now please”

Credit: @1josemansilla

“I beg u leave bro”

Credit: @ThfcRock

“oh god another season of doherty aurier….”

Credit: @TheOnlyKailahh

“Awful player but even he is better than Donkey Doherty”

Credit: @AdanOsmand

“Me. I’m breaking down. We need to sell these players. No disrespect, its just a performance business”

Credit: @ffiladeys

“Someone please buy this excuse for a defender.”

Credit: @Archie_Tashjian

In over news: Agreement reached: Tottenham confirm another N17 exit in social media announcement, find out more here.