Russia striker Artem Dzyuba scored from the penalty spot in his country’s brilliant win against Spain that saw them reach the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Cup, and a large chunk of Newcastle United fans have urged their club to sign the 29-year-old, rated at £6.3m by Transfermarkt.

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The Zenit Saint Petersburg started the tournament on the substitutes’ bench, but a fine performance from there in the 5-0 win against Saudi Arabia has seen him become a regular starter, and he kept his cool to score from the spot to make it 1-1 on Sunday, before the penalty shootout success.

With the future of Aleksandar Mitrovic in doubt and Joselu still yet to make his mark, Magpies manager Rafa Benitez may well be in the market for a new centre-forward or two this summer as he looks to help his team beat their tally of 39 goals in their 38 Premier League fixtures last term.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”258359″ player=”12034″ title=”The World Cup Twitter Report”]

Some Newcastle supporters, who don’t want to see a deal for a £10.8m-rated star go through, were quick to have their say on Dzyuba’s latest display via social media, and while one said “that Dzyuba is miles better than Mitrovic”, another said they “would have Dzyuba at SJP”.

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Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

There was late drama at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, as Naeem Islam defied all odds to steer Bangladesh to a narrow one-wicket win

Cricinfo staff05-Nov-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Naeem Islam’s heroics overshadowed what had been a virtuoso batting effort in the morning from Brendan Taylor•Associated Press

The dead rubber provided what this series has sorely lacked – a close finish. Naeem Islam was the hero for Bangladesh, conjuring a one-wicket victory with an unbeaten 73 in which he exploited the Powerplays perfectly. Naeem’s heroics overshadowed what had been a virtuoso batting effort in the morning from Brendan Taylor, whose unbeaten 118, with very little support form the rest, was the difference between a familiar Zimbabwean batting failure and a defendable total.Naeem had last man and uber-rabbit Nazmul Hossain for company, with Bangladesh still needing 35 for victory. The many singles that he turned down to remain on strike had the crowd getting restive, but Naeem had them chanting his name in joy with three consecutive sixes off Chamu Chibhabha in the 48th over to give the final twist to a topsy-turvy match. Those three deliveries turned Chibhabha from hero to zero, after he had put Zimbabwe in charge with a double-wicket maiden in the 43rd over.Bangladesh had lost wickets at key junctures of their chase. The openers failed (Tamim Iqbal retired hurt early with a hand injury, and only returned at No. 10) and Mohammad
Ashraful was run out by a brilliant bit of fielding from Stuart Matsikenyeri, who latched onto the ball quickly at short midwicket and threw down the stumps. Raqibul Hasan was extremely scratchy, and lucky to survive after plenty of swings and misses against Chris Mpofu, who was getting the ball to swing away from the right-hander. Matsikenyeri also did his bit with the ball, taking two key wickets – of Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim.The coach Jamie Siddons had talked about how the past few victorious months have taught Bangladesh how to win, and they showed that by refusing to give up in the face of several setbacks. One example of that was when their most dependable batsman, Shakib, was dismissed leaving Bangladesh stuttering at 105 for 5. The home team fought back though with a mature partnership between Naeem and Mahmudullah, the pair adding 69 patient runs with both batsmen abandoning the flashy shots that has cost Bangladesh dear on so many occasions.There would have been no need for the nail-biting and tensions had Taylor been dismissed cheaply in the morning. His maiden international century had bailed Zimbabwe’s fragile batting from yet another embarrassing display, but it all amounted to nothing. Bangladesh’s spinners proved too crafty for most of the visitors’ batsmen again, and Zimbabwe were reduced to 113 for 7 in the 29th over. However, Zimbabwe’s lower order showed more spine than most of their specialist batsmen, and supported Taylor well to lift the total beyond 200.Bangladesh again stuck to their policy of filling the side with spinners, and it again paid off as the slow bowlers took all nine wickets to fall. Abdur Razzak has regularly picked up wickets with the new ball, and today was no different as he left Zimbabwe at 18 for 2 in the eighth over.Elton Chigumbura dominated a stabilising 62-run stand with Taylor, smashing six fours in a run-a-ball 38 before being foxed by a quicker one from offspinner Mahmudullah. Things got worse for Zimbabwe two deliveries later when another quicker one fooled Malcolm Waller.
Taylor could only watch in frustration as three more wickets went down quickly. Later, Shakib bagged two wickets in three balls, of Forster Mutizwa and Chamu Chibhabha, in the 29th over.Taylor had quietly moved along to 65, with only 22 runs in boundaries, but steadily pushed Zimbabwe to 181 for 8 by the end of 45 overs with the help of Ray Price. He launched an assault in the final over, ransacking 19 runs to dent Mahmudullah’s figures.

Preview for the second ODI between India and Sri Lanka in Nagpur

The Preview by Jamie Alter17-Dec-2009

Match facts

Friday, December 18
Start time 14:30 (09:00 GMT)Virender Sehwag works on his bat ahead of the second ODI in Nagpur•Associated Press

Big Picture

The bowlers will head into Nagpur with the Rajkot run fest on their minds, but they won’t get much relief from another hard track at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium. India have the momentum and victory in Nagpur will give them a formidable 2-0 lead in the five-match series. Making it worse for Sri Lanka is the fact that they are down two bowlers. Muttiah Muralitharan and Dilhara Fernando have been ruled out for the series, meaning the visitors have two fresh faces, both potential debutants, which will not help a side aiming to level the series. It will take a huge effort for them to turn the tide their way on this surface.The most alarming feature of the limited-overs leg of this tour has been the fielding of both sides; on what is believed to be another belter of a track, bowling straight and full and, most importantly, taking every chance will be paramount. The fast bowlers on either side were carted around for the first half of both innings in Rajkot, and the epidemic of spilling catches continued from the Tests and Twenty20s. Three catches and one half chance to Zaheer Khan went down, taking India’s drop tally from three limited-overs games this past week to an even dozen.For one side aiming to tighten their grasp on the series, and the other attempting to clutch a piece of it, wrapping their fingers around the key moments will be decisive.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
India – WLLLW

Sri Lanka – LLLWL

Watch out for…

Mahela Jayawardene: Sri Lanka’s former captain has experienced an unusual run of form in 2009 where he either gets a start and can’t convert or falls early. In 23 innings this year, he has a century and three half-centuries; his next-highest score is 33 and three times he’s been dismissed without scoring. The law of averages says it’s about time for a century, but it will be against a side off which he has only one hundred in 55 innings. To do so, Jayawardene will need to get over his struggles against India’s spinners, who have now dismissed him five times – six if you count the run out in Rajkot during a Ravindra Jadeja over – from his seven ODI innings against them in 2009.Gautam Gambhir: He’s been India’s most consistent Test batsman this year but his figures aren’t so hot in ODIs. His only century came against Sri Lanka in the first week of February and since then Gambhir has managed four half-centuries. For a determined player, who has made a superb effort to convert fifties into centuries in Tests, changing a habit that hampered him for some time, doing the same in ODIs must be a goal. Given the nature of the Nagpur track – India eased past 350 runs when they played Australia here in October – it is tough to visualise one of the top three not getting a big score. Gambhir has been able to bat at the top in only ten of 20 innings in 2009; if he gets the chance to bat at No. 3 tomorrow, count on a significant innings.The batting Powerplay: This five-over block turned out to be a bit of a worry for both sides. In Rajkot, India seemed on course for 450 before they lost Sehwag, MS Dhoni and Gambhir while scoring just 33 runs during their batting Powerplay, taken after 34 overs. Sri Lanka opted for theirs at 291 for 1 after 35 overs and scored 21 runs off the first over, but managed 32 for 3 from the next four. And that was where the match turned.

Team news

Yuvraj Singh is almost ruled out – he has the flu, in addition to his finger injury and missed practice on Thursday – but Sehwag has been cleared to play after picking up a knee injury in Nagpur. The batting will remain the same as the first ODI, though Sudeep Tyagi may just fancy a debut ahead of Praveen Kumar.India: 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 5 Suresh Raina, 6 Virat Kohli, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Praveen Kumar/Sudeep Tyagi, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Ashish Nehra.Apart from the injuries to Murali and Fernando, Sri Lanka also had to sweat on Lasith Malinga’s fitness. He missed the first match and the management will be hopeful of his return to replace Fernando. If not, it could mean a debut for rookie fast bowler Suranga Lakmal, who teamed up with the squad today, or a spinner coming in. If it is the latter, Ajantha Mendis remains the safe bet but one of Muthumudalige Pushpakumara or Suraj Randiv could debut.Sri Lanka: (probable) 1 Upul Tharanga, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Sanath Jayasuriya, 6 Thilan Samaraweera, 7 Thilina Kandamby, 8 Angelo Mathews, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Chanaka Welegedara/Ajantha Mendis/ Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, 11 Lasith Malinga/Suranga Lakmal.

Pitch and conditions

This will be only the second one-day international played at this venue – the first was a run fest. India racked up 354 against Australia and then won by 99 runs. The pitch is expected to be conducive for run-making, as it was during the Twenty20 when Sri Lanka made 216 in 20 overs. Scattered showers are forecast by the weather bureau, with temperatures of 27C predicted.

Stats and trivia

• Virender Sehwag, during the course of his 102-ball 146, was most severe on Angelo Mathews, plundering 27 runs off 10 balls.
• Harbhajan Singh was India’s best bowler in the face of an onslaught from Sri Lanka’s top order. It showed in his figures against centurion Tillakaratne Dilshan: in 26 balls bowled to Dilshan, the batsman only managed 17 runs.

Quotes

“I expect scores of over 300 for sure. But the fast bowlers will definitely get some help early on with the new ball, and fielding first may not be a bad option.”

New Zealand women’s star bowler on their Northern Hemisphere tour last winter, Rachel Pullar of Otago, has ruled herself out of consideration for the New Zealand team for the World Series of Women’s Cricket that starts at Lincoln University at the

Lynn McConnell25-Dec-2009New Zealand women’s star bowler on their Northern Hemisphere tour last winter, Rachel Pullar of Otago, has ruled herself out of consideration for the New Zealand team for the World Series of Women’s Cricket that starts at Lincoln University at the weekend.Pullar’s absence will be a significant blow for the TelstraClear White Ferns as they attempt to compete with Australia, India and England in the four-way series. It is understood she intends on travelling overseas.She was easily the most dominant bowler on New Zealand’s tour, taking 21 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 6.76.Also missing from the side is Fiona Fraser who has a back problem that has ruled her out for the remainder of the summer while Anna Corbin shattered a thumb at practice last week and is also out for the rest of the season.With Kathryn Ramel’s retirement, New Zealand will only be able to call on four players who remain from the CricInfo Women’s World Cup-winning side of 2000 – Emily Drumm, Rebecca Rolls, Haidee Tiffen and Nicola Payne.What that does, however, is provide more opportunities for the New Zealand A players who are taking part in a series of warm-up games, starting with a match against New Zealand at the High Performance Centre tomorrow.Two members of the squad of 14 will be added to the New Zealand side for the match. Other games follow against India on Wednesday, Australia on Friday and England on Saturday.The first match of the WSWC is to be played at Bert Sutcliffe Oval on Sunday between New Zealand and Australia.The New Zealand squad for tomorrow’s game is: Nicola Payne, Rebecca Rolls, Emily Drumm, Kate Pulford, Haidee Tiffen, Aimee Mason, Frances King, Nicola Browne, Louise Milliken.White Ferns coach Mike Shrimpton said there were five or six names on the selectors’ short list but the A team had everything to play for. The key thing for the selectors would be assessing which players were best equipped to make the step up.”There’s no shortage of talent, it’s just knowing who to pick,” he said.

After the verbal jousts that spiced up the contest in Chittagong, the teams arrived in Dhaka having proved their points in different ways

The Preview by Dileep Premachandran23-Jan-2010

Match facts

January 24-28, 2010
Start time 0930 (0330 GMT)

The big picture

Bangladesh need Shakib Al Hasan the batsman to do something in Dhaka•AFP

After the verbal jousts that spiced up the contest in Chittagong, the teams arrived in Dhaka having proved their points in different ways. Virender Sehwag had called Bangladesh “ordinary”, but for the first half of the match they were more than a match for the Indians. Sehwag himself would have felt vindicated by the fact that India won by 113 runs, though Bangladesh did come close to taking the 20 wickets that he thought them incapable of.But for a magnificent century from Sachin Tendulkar, Bangladesh could have embarrassed India even further in helpful conditions on the opening day, but that inability to close out games brought back memories of Fatullah (2006) and Multan (2003), when both Australia and Pakistan were allowed to escape from losing positions. What is clear though is that the new generation of Bangladeshi cricketers, exemplified by Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim, isn’t cowed down by the opposition’s reputation. Having tasted victory over some of the big boys at the Under-19 level, they certainly aren’t intimidated.The next logical step is to take that confidence and translate it into runs. It was poor batting that cost them the opening game, with Mushfiqur’s dashing century coming far too late in the piece to be of anything more than nuisance value. When you bowl a team out for 243, you need to do far better than respond with 242.India, for their part, are unlikely to be as sloppy as they were in Chittagong, and they will certainly be boosted by the return of MS Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh. However, VVS Laxman’s absence through injury – he has been ruled out – means the batting is a bit weaker. With Sreesanth having gone home with a hamstring strain, it wouldn’t be surprising if Amit Mishra was retained after a decent showing in the first Test. It’s been years since India won four Tests on the bounce, and success in Dhaka will set them up nicely for a two-match series against South Africa that will almost certainly decide which team is ranked No.1 in the world.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Bangladesh LWWLL
India WWWDD

Watch out for…

Rahul Dravid missed out in the first Test, but has been in tremendous form over the past year, scoring two centuries against Sri Lanka and leading Karnataka into the Ranji Trophy final. In sunny conditions at the Shere Bangla Stadium, he could well book in for the sort of marathon innings that has epitomised his career.Shakib Al Hasan shone with the ball in the opening Test, but will feel that he could have done so much more with the bat. His temperament under pressure was a huge factor in Bangladesh’s triumph in the Caribbean, and he’ll need to be on top of his batting game if India are to be upset in Dhaka.

Team news

Bangladesh have included the off-spinner allrounder Naeem Islam in their squad but are unlikely to tinker much after having given India a scare in Chittagong. Shahriar Nafees won’t be dumped after just one failure, and an absence of quality replacements means that even the hit-and-miss Mohammad Ashraful is safe for now.Bangladesh: (probable) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Shahriar Nafees, 4 Mohammad Ashraful, 5 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 6 Raqibul Hasan, 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 9 Shafiul Islam, 10 Shahadat Hossain, 11 Rubel Hossain.Dhoni will return in place of Dinesh Karthik. M Vijay has been the first-choice replacement for India of late but there is only a middle-order spot available now that Laxman will not play. Plenty of eyes will be on Yuvraj Singh who looked completely out of sorts in Chittagong. With Harbhajan returning and Sreesanth dropping out, Mishra will keep his place.India: (probable) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 M Vijay, 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Amit Mishra, 11 Ishant Sharma.

Pitch and conditions

After India piled up 610 for 3 in the first Test to be played here, the venue has seen only two totals in excess of 400. There were plenty of runs on offer during the recent tri-series and with sunshine predicted over the next five days, it should certainly be a win-toss-bat-first pitch. The seamers are unlikely to enjoy the conditions as much as they did in Chittagong.

Stats and trivia

• Gautam Gambhir has now scored centuries in each of his last five Tests. Only Sir Donald Bradman has scored six on the trot.
• India have won all three of their previous Tests in Dhaka, two of them by an innings.
• Since Aminul Islam’s century took them to 400 in their inaugural Test in November 2000, Bangladesh have not managed more than 333 in an innings against India.

Quotes

“We made some mistakes at Chittagong and we’ll try not to repeat those again. We are not there just to take part. We are here to compete and fight.”
“Our openers complement each other. Gautam waits for the ball to come in his areas, Sehwag goes right from the start. Both rotate the strike really well and understand each other. In fact they can be compared with the great opening pairs.”

Paul Collingwood has been named England’s vice-captain for the tour of Bangladesh

Andrew Miller22-Feb-2010England’s newest recruit, Craig Kieswetter, will play his first match for his adopted nation on Tuesday, exactly a week after completing his residency qualification, when he takes on a BCB XI at Fatullah in England’s first warm-up match of their tour of Bangladesh.Kieswetter, 22, was not originally selected for the Bangladesh tour, but earned a late call-up to the one-day party after impressing for the England Lions during their recent series in the UAE, not least with a hardhitting 81 that secured a five-wicket win over the senior side in Abu Dhabi.”The call-up definitely came out of the blue for me, I wasn’t expecting it at all,” Kieswetter told reporters at the team hotel in Dhaka. “I found out on the bus on the way back from training and felt really ecstatic about it, and chuffed, but there are butterflies and nerves going around. But I’ll be trying to do the best that I can in training and hopefully in the matches too.”Andy Flower, England’s head coach, confirmed that Kieswetter had been chosen with a view to playing in the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean at the end of April, and he is likely to open the batting in the first warm-up, alongside the new captain, Alastair Cook, with Matt Prior retaining his role behind the stumps.”It’s obviously a nice challenge opening with only two men out and a new pill,” said Kieswetter. “On these wickets it’s probably the best time to bat, so I’m chuffed about that. I’ll maybe bring a new dynamic to opening up, a hard-hitting, aggressive role, and hopefully be able to adapt in the middle period and manipulate the ball about. It’s been a bit meteoric, but for me it’s really exciting.”Although Kieswetter’s inclusion is a concern for the current wicketkeeper Prior, who has yet to cement a role in one-day cricket in the same way that he has done in Tests, the new man claims he is not looking to undermine his team-mate’s position in the side.”I think Matt Prior is doing a great job at the moment, he’s really taking England keeping up a level,” said Kieswetter.”But we’re just trying to raise the intensity and raise the bar to a new level so that other international teams don’t know what has hit them. Competition can be seen as a positive thing for English cricket. Maybe it’s a good thing for a younger player to be coming through and putting pressure on the guys. That helps English cricket.”Kieswetter’s primary talent, however, is as a hard-hitting batsman, a trait that has been honed with guidance from his Somerset opening partner, Marcus Trescothick, who is arguably England’s finest one-day batsman of the past decade. He has yet to be adequately replaced since his last appearance in 2006, but if his elevation goes to plan, Kieswetter could yet prove to be a natural fit at the top of the order.”Tres hits the ball pretty hard, I can tell you that,” said Kieswetter. “He’s pretty keen on keeping things simple, by always backing your ability and taking the attack to the bowler, and keeping the pressure on them. He had his era when he was a ferocious batsmen and I see this as an opportunity, of course.”I will be in contact with him to find out some bits and bobs,” he added. “He’s always helpful. He loves the game of cricket, and loves to see youngsters coming through and performing. He’s been a massive influence and a massive help, and I’ve been in contact regularly while I’ve been out here. He’s saying to enjoy it, to have fun and he’s looking forward to seeing me back at Taunton.”Trescothick will be one source of invaluable guidance, but another will be Kevin Pietersen, whose own elevation to the England team followed a remarkably similar path. Having completed his qualification in the summer of 2004, Pietersen was belatedly added to the one-day party for the tour of South Africa in January 2005, and went on to score three centuries in five innings. He can offer plenty first-hand experience of coping with the brickbats that come with being a South African “import”.”I had a nice chat with KP over breakfast, about what he did, what I’ve done,” said Kieswetter. “It was quite a nice chilled-out chat. But [the South African connection] is something I’ll have to be prepared for, for probably my whole career. Everyone’s entitled to their opinions, rightly so, and I’ll take them on board, but I’m proud to be an English person and here as part of the England side.”With a Scottish mother and an Edinburgh childhood providing him with a stronger British link than either Pietersen or Jonathan Trott could lay claim to, Kieswetter is unfazed about the step-up he’s about to take. “Being born with both passports put me in a fortunate position,” he said. “I lived a couple of months every year in Britain with my mother’s side of the family, and I’ve always loved the country, the culture, the people.”It also, he added, turned South Africa’s half-hearted attempts to lure him back during the recent England series into a bit of a non-starter. “They didn’t get very far at all,” he said. “It’s never been a concern for me at all. I moved over four years ago and it’s never been a concern of mine to move back.”It’s never been a political thing or a quota thing for me. It’s about the fact that I lived for a couple of months in the UK every year, I loved the place growing up and when I became 18 – a legal adult in the world – I decided this is where I want to live, to make my career. I wanted to make my future in the country, and I have.”Kieswetter’s first opponents in full England colours will include the allrounder Naeem Islam and the batsman Roqibul Hassan, after the BCB XI’s Alok Kopali pulled himself out from the match due to medical reasons. The match starts at 9am Bangladesh Standard Time.”Touring anywhere is a challenge and I think it would be silly for us to take Bangladesh as an easy game or an easy series,” he said. “They are preparing well and they’re coming back from a pretty good tour of New Zealand. At the end of the day it’s a cricket ball, and we’ve got to hit it no matter who is bowling it.”BCB XI Shahriar Nafees (capt), Imtiaz Hossain, Nasir Uddin Faruque, Roqibul Hassan, Shahin Hossain (Wicketkeeper), Naeem Islam, Mahmudul Hasan, Shafaq Al Zabir, Tanvir Haider, Ariful Hoque, Alauddin Babu, Tapash Baishya, Shamsur Rahman, Md. Sharifullah.

The Champions League Twenty20 has not ruled out the participation of teams from England but will stick to its schedule of September 10-26, Lalit Modi, the tournament commissioner has said

Nagraj Gollapudi and Osman Samiuddin20-Feb-2010The Champions League Twenty20 has not ruled out the participation of teams from England but will stick to its schedule of September 10-26, Lalit Modi, the tournament commissioner has said. Modi told Cricinfo that English teams were still in the fray and that N Srinivasan, a member of the league’s governing council and BCCI secretary, was in talks with the ECB on the issue.The participation of teams from England had been put in doubt after it emerged that the schedule, announced last week, would clash with crucial fixtures at the end of the English season. England will be playing Pakistan in an ODI series at the time, the final two rounds of the County Championship will be on as well as the semi-finals and final of the ECB40 competition.Sussex and Somerset took part in the inaugural tournament last year in India, but further English participation this season was already in doubt after Lalit Modi, the league commissioner, said only days ago on his Twitter feed that two invites had been sent to the ECB, though the board maintained the offer wasn’t official. Cricinfo now understands that the ECB has failed to accept the invitation within the stipulated deadline, though Modi’s statement implies this will not be an issue. The final decision could be taken at the body’s governing council meeting in March.The ECB has so far declined to comment on this.Though the dates for this season’s edition have been announced the number and identity of participating teams has yet to be finalised, despite press releases from Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the Champions League itself stating that, like last season, 12 teams will take part from seven full member countries, including England; CSA also announced that they would be hosting the tournament this year, a statement immediately refuted by Modi.Modi and other league officials insist that the final number of teams and their identity has yet to be confirmed. There might be more than 12 teams – one Champions League official told Cricinfo “at least 12 teams will play.” There could also be a slight change to the schedule, depending on the teams and the shape of the tournament, though this will be announced in March.The uncertainty over English participation keeps the door open for a Pakistani team to feature in the lucrative league, an issue that might become less complicated should the tournament be held outside India. Pakistan and Bangladesh are the only two Test-playing countries with no presence in the tournament. The PCB had a representative – the Sialkot Stallions – in the very first edition of the tournament, which was cancelled in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008.As ties worsened between India and Pakistan and their cricket boards in the aftermath, the PCB wasn’t eventually extended an invitation to the first tournament.

New Zealand have gone back to a familiar but inconsistent batsman in Mathew Sinclair as they attempt to challenge Australia

Peter English14-Mar-2010New Zealand have gone back to a familiar but inconsistent batsman in Mathew Sinclair as they attempt to challenge Australia in Friday’s opening Test in Wellington. Sinclair, 34, is a chance for his sixth return to the XI after coming into the 13-man squad for Neil Broom on the back of a strong domestic season for Central Districts.Sinclair has been elevated to cover for the top order and is a strange choice given the assignment is against the world’s No. 3-ranked side. Sinclair scored two double-hundreds at the start of his career, but he played the last of his 32 Tests in March 2008. In eight matches against Australia he has managed only one half-century and an average of 14.13.”We felt we needed a cover top-order batter, rather than cover for our middle order, so Neil is a little unlucky in that respect,” the coach Mark Greatbatch said. “[Neil’s] form is not quite as good as it was in February.”Sinclair’s best chance is if the selectors lose faith in his Central Districts team-mate Peter Ingram, the No.3, who was dropped during the one-day series after limited-overs returns of 2, 0, 40, 14 and 5. Sinclair, who has 638 Plunket Shield runs at 58.00 this season, appears more likely to come into serious consideration for the second game if there are problems at the top at the Basin Reserve.The doubts over New Zealand’s limited batting options mean Daniel Vettori will enter at six after doing the job in the past two Tests. Vettori, who is usually a No.8, posted 134, his fifth century, against Pakistan in Napier and added 10 and 13 against Bangladesh.”It gives a very good balance to our side,” Greatbatch said of Vettori’s promotion. “It enables us to play the five bowlers we are looking for, whether that is four seamers and one spinner, or three seamers and two spinners. We have the ability to be flexible.”New Zealand have a developing side and Greatbatch’s initial aim for both Tests is to take them into a fifth day. “It’s a great challenge for some of them to go up against the best side in the world,” he said. “We need to compete every day and fight hard, and smart. If we can take Australia to five days we are a chance.”Both Greatbatch and Vettori are hoping the side can build on its dead-rubber one-day win on Saturday during the Test series. “Anytime you beat Australia it’s a great feeling,” Vettori said. “It gives us a bit of confidence going into the Tests and proceeding towards a World Cup.”New Zealand squad Tim McIntosh, B.J. Watling, Peter Ingram, Ross Taylor, Martin Guptill, Daniel Vettori (capt), Mathew Sinclair, Brendon McCullum (wk), Daryl Tuffey, Jeetan Patel, Tim Southee, Chris Martin, Brent Arnel.

Harbhajan Singh has been fined $15,000 for his outburst directed at batsman T Suman after dismissing him

Cricinfo staff29-Mar-2010Harbhajan Singh, who starred with bat and ball in Mumbai Indians’ victory over Deccan Chargers in the IPL fixture in Mumbai, has been fined $15,000 by match referee Gundappa Viswanath for his outburst directed at batsman T Suman after dismissing him.The sanction was confirmed by IPL chief executive Sundar Raman, through his twitter update shortly after the match. “Harbhajan fined USD 15K by the referee. Found guilty – level one offence. During Suman’s dismissal,” Raman’s twitter-feed read.Harbhajan was in his element in the match, smashing an 18-ball 49 to lift Mumbai to a good score, and then snaring three wickets to help them defend 172. Suman was dismissed caught and bowled by Harbhajan, after which the bowler gave him an invective-ridden send-off.Harbhajan later pleaded guilty to a Level 1 offence (Article 2.1.4), which relates to “excessively audible or repetitious swearing”, and Viswanath imposed the fine on him. For Level 1 breaches of the IPL Code of Conduct, the IPL match referee’s decision is final and binding.Harbhajan’s fine is the first disciplinary action taken on a player during this IPL. During the course of the tournament, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Kumar Sangakkara have been slapped with fines for the failure of their sides to complete their overs on time. Kings XI Punjab emerged as a repeat offender, as a result of which their captain Sangakkara was handed a one-match ban.

Shane Warne has said that total transparency and no favouritism to any franchises is the best way to take the IPL into a fourth season

Cricinfo staff30-Apr-2010Shane Warne, the Rajasthan Royals captain, has put forward his suggestions to take the IPL into its fourth season and beyond, with total transparency and the absence of any favouritism to any franchises the main principles. Two radical ideas – expressed in an article on his website – are a mid-tournament player transfer window and franchises being allowed three ‘super rounds’, where they can field an extra international player.The current three-year player contracts will expire before the 2011 season, in which two new franchises will be included, and Warne’s own participation is in doubt.There is much speculation, and concern on the part of some players such as Sachin Tendulkar, over whether franchises will retain the core of their current teams. If this happened, Warne felt, it would be a disadvantage to the new franchises; instead, he suggested all players be put up for auction and the original franchises be allowed to buy them back for a premium.”No retention of players is a must for to achieve total transparency in regards to the salary cap. It will increase the creditability of the IPL as the players’ final price will be established at the auction, whatever that may be,” wrote Warne on his website. “However, the player can then be offered back to his original franchise for an extra $50,000.”If the player is important to the franchise, the extra $50,000 will be paid to the player to keep him at the franchise; if not, he plays for his new franchise. All players bought at the auction should continue to receive three-year contract for the auction value per year.”He called for a raise in the salary cap from the proposed $7million to $9 million; he explained that around $5 million would be spent on half a dozen key players alone.He also stressed that all franchises appoint their captains well before the auction and not include them in the salary cap.”If a franchise wants a particular captain, either their existing captain or a new one, they need to negotiate and agree to a deal,” wrote Warne. “If current captains cannot agree to a deal, he can potentially move to a new franchise as their captain or enter the auction. This will allow for owners, coaches and the captain to make their plans and strategies well before auction time.”As for the way the tournament panned out, Warne said franchises should be allowed three ‘super rounds’, to be used at their discretion, where they could play five overseas players instead of four.Warne also advocated a trade period be put into place during the mid-point of the tournament to allow franchises swap one player if they felt the need. This would not be compulsory, he said. “If they did choose to trade a player, it would be on a loan basis for a set amount of games, perhaps three This could be a great option to recruit an international player who is not being used by another franchise.”