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Jesse Marsch could go back to his roots in a bid to bolster Leeds United’s playing squad this summer…

What’s the word?

According to Transfermarkt, the Whites are interested in signing Philadelphia Union left-back Kai Wagner, who has emerged as one of the best in his position in the MLS

It remains to be seen how much the 25-year-old German would command, though the Yorkshire giants are also facing competition from relegation rivals Burnley, as well as Championship outfit Middlesbrough.

Transfermarkt value him at £2.7m.

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Firpo flop

Part of the MLS All-Star team in 2021, the 6-foot dynamo could be quite an upgrade for the American head coach at Elland Road.

Across 104 appearances in Delaware, Wagner has delivered four goals and 13 assists, averaging a direct contribution once every six games, which is a pretty respectable return for a full-back.

Meanwhile, the former Wurzburger Kickers ace ranks favourably compared to his peers in the division. He is amongst the top 3% for key passes (1.88 per 90), top 4% for passes into the final third (4.35 per 90) and top 4% for goal-creating actions, so whilst he may not always get an assist, he’s evidently a threat in attack.

Also via FBRef, Wagner is pretty solid defensively, having averaged 2.43 blocks and 9.61 ball recoveries per 90, too.

His arrival in west Yorkshire could finally allow Marsch to axe struggling first-choice Junior Firpo, who has often looked lost down that left flank for the Premier League strugglers this campaign.

The former FC Barcelona man ranks outside the top 11 of Leeds’ best performers and has often been criticised for his inconsistent performances.

During a thrashing by Manchester City, Firpo’s defending was described as “schoolboy” by ex-goalkeeper Paul Robinson, whilst the Mirror’s David Anderson dubbed the £10.8m-rated flop a “liability” to GIVEMESPORT recently.

Instead, Wagner – who has been described as a “fighter” by ex-Union defender and mentor Aurelien Collin – could be an instant upgrade on the 25-year-old.

Victor Orta and co must look to make this move.

AND in other news, Radz set for Leeds disaster on £18m-rated “machine”, it’d be an unforgivable decision…

The way the World Cup final ended highlighted the deep sense of New Zealand’s loss and the cruelty of it all

Osman Samiuddin at Lord's 14-Jul-2019Kane Williamson is a beautiful man, we are all agreed on this. He is also, possibly, not human. Who knows how long it was after the end of a World Cup final that he and his side didn’t lose, twice, that he turned up to try and make sense of a game that may never make sense to anybody, not those who played it, not those who witnessed it, and not those tasked to document it? But he tried, which is what makes him not human.Because if he was like you and I, he may not have turned up for a start. Why would you when you have not lost a World Cup final and are still not the world champions? Forget the boundary rule that deemed England to be world champions because that came long after all the things that happened meant New Zealand didn’t win the match outright. No, he turned up, smiling, and refused once to use the word most responsible for New Zealand not being world champions. He played all around the word, like he almost never does a ball with bat in hand. He went this way, by calling it “the uncontrollable”. He went that way with “thin margins”.”Just one of those things.””One of those days.””Reeling from those thin margins.””It’s a fickle game, parts where as hard as you try, cards don’t fall your way.””You have small margins like that, other human decisions that can go one way or another. Number of other parts in that match that could’ve snuck our way.”One of those things, Kane? One of those things? The word he didn’t use was ‘luck’ and luck is really the only reason Williamson and New Zealand are not world champions right now. Because, if it isn’t luck that a little white leather globe no more than nine inches in circumference thrown from the deep midwicket boundary 60 to 70 metres away hits a moving piece of willow that may be no more than 38 inches in length and no more than 4.25 inches wide held by a human being diving to the ground and deflects off it, with enough speed, to an area of the field that is not patrolled by one of 11 men and goes for four, then what really is luck? And if it turns out that it should’ve been five runs instead of six because one umpire interpreted a rule concerning precisely such acts incorrectly? What is it?

You can plan, analyse, mine crazy data that helps you understand so much more but you can’t do jack about luck. Luck happens to you, you don’t happen to it. The harder I practice the luckier I get? Tell that to New Zealand tonight and see how much weight it holds

That doesn’t happen, and England need seven off two to win and not three off two. This is a massive planet, and there’s a hell of a lot of sports played out there and a hell of a lot more moments of luck that go into deciding contests within those sports. But if there has occurred a single bigger slice of luck to decisively change the fortune of such a massive game, in a global tournament, so late in the game, then it didn’t occur on this planet. Or this universe. Or this galaxy.If ever there was a day to believe in the randomness of life, that things just happen and they don’t necessarily happen for a reason, this was that day. S*** happens and, at the end of it, it’s lucky for someone and unlucky for someone else, and sometimes it’s nothing for nobody and passes by unnoticed.We make sense of it – we simplify it as much as we can actually – by doing the only thing we can, which is to articulate it in words and call it luck. And luck is not discerning. It is random. We strive most of our lives to eliminate luck from it. Professional sport is actually a collective and organised pursuit basically of eliminating luck and this pursuit is carried out knowing it is impossible, ultimately, to eliminate it totally.Athletes prepare their entire lives to be elite. Those hours in the gym, those hours away from family, those broken bones and pulled muscles and those hours – all of this is to eliminate luck as much as possible.So near yet so far for Kane Williamson and New Zealand•Getty ImagesYou can analyse events down to their minutest detail. This happened because he did this and he did that and next time he did this and he did that and something else happened. You can plan, analyse, mine crazy data that helps you understand so much more but you can’t do jack about luck. Luck happens to you, you don’t happen to it. The harder I practice the luckier I get? Tell that to New Zealand tonight and see how much weight it holds.Tell that to New Zealand about the umpires call from Marius Erasmus that didn’t go their way off the very first ball of the innings they bowled. Or about the incorrect call by the same umpire that saw the back of Ross Taylor.Tell that to Matt Henry for those magnificent opening overs of his, in which he beat the bat repeatedly but only found an edge that carried to the wicketkeeper once because it is luck that separates an edge found from an edge missed. Another day, Shaheen Shah Afridi beat the bat nearly as often against New Zealand and found the edge thrice. Another day, semi-final day in fact, Henry beat the bat as often and found the edge multiple times.Tell that to Jimmy Neesham and Lockie Ferguson, whose slower balls lobbed up in the air off the bats of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, without control, but landed in areas between two fielders. Tell that to the entire New Zealand attack who found the inside edge or inside half of English bats at least six times but found that inside edge to hit the stumps just once.You know who did use that word? Eoin Morgan, in his very first response. It meant everything to his team and everybody who had been planned to win the tournament, the planning, the hard work, the dedication, the commitment. “and the little bit of luck today really did get us over the line”.After the win, Adil Rashid told Morgan that Allah was with them. Morgan said it was the rub of the green, which, primarily, underlines the happy diversity in that dressing room. And it takes nothing away from England’s triumph, but only underscores the deep sense of New Zealand’s loss and the cruelty of it all. That and also that the beneficiaries of luck have the luxury of calling it whatever they want.

The recent recalls for Tim Paine and Cameron White – based on a combination of pragmatism and mysticism – have blindsided plenty in Australian cricket

Daniel Brettig11-Jan-2018Were Australia’s national selection panel a spin bowler, they would be lauded for well-disguised variation.Tim Paine as Ashes wicketkeeper, despite not taking the gloves for his state, was equivalent to the big wrong’un that Mushtaq Ahmed fizzed past Graeme Hick in the 1992 World Cup final, fooling everyone. Now Cameron White’s recall, three years after his last international appearance and with a World Cup just around the corner, is Shane Warne’s 1994 Gabba flipper through Alec Stewart, after a couple of short balls had him thinking of the cut and pull shots.As spin bowlers do, the selectors had cunningly set-up quite different expectations, from the moment the Cricket Australia board had urged Trevor Hohns’ panel to look for more youthful talent following Rod Marsh’s resignation in the wake of a fifth consecutive Test match defeat in Hobart late in 2016. Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Stoinis and Sam Heazlett were all ushered into the national team during this period, leaving numerous older players looking wistfully towards retirement.Certainly Paine and White were not expecting to be in contention. Paine was seriously contemplating a move out of Tasmania to take a job with Kookaburra last winter after Matthew Wade elected to return home, and White was so sure he is surplus to international cricket that he has critiqued the aforementioned selection policy in an unvarnished manner that could only be described as “going down swinging”.His words last January were spicy enough to provoke this response from Hohns: “I’m a little bit surprised by those comments, to be quite honest. The Sheffield Shield has been well-documented as being very important to us in Australian cricket – selectors, everybody. And then younger players – I think he just needs to remember that he was a very young man when he was given his first opportunity in one-day cricket. I don’t think there is any disparity there at all, to be honest. Cameron has had plenty of opportunities … he has had plenty of opportunities in the past and it’s probably fair to say performed okay without being earth-shattering.”More earth-shattering was the selectors’ sharp change of tack with the Ashes looming, abandoning youth in favour of players either in good run-scoring form (Cameron Bancroft), long-time talents who as Darren Lehmann said “we hope we’ve got him at the right time” (Shaun Marsh) or more obscure choices that Lehmann conceded were as much a matter of “gut feel” as anything else (Paine). It is a combination of selection pragmatism and mysticism that has blindsided plenty in Australian cricket, never more so than on the night the Brisbane Test squad floated into the public domain via some strong reporting from the .Disquiet about Paine’s selection in particular was evident at many levels of the game, leaving plenty of questions to be asked even before the squad was officially named at 10am the following day. Paine’s subsequent success in the Ashes was universally lauded, but did not stop debate about the process or lack thereof behind the decision. Now, as White comes to terms with how he has gone from the selectors’ most strident critic to their latest choice to end a sequence of middle-order collapses in ODIs, those process questions have re-emerged.”I haven’t been out of the one-day team for Victoria and that’s what this format is, but pretty surprised,” White said. “There have been some guys in great form around the country, Ashton Turner, D’Aarcy Short and to be honest I was expecting one of those guys to get the call-up, but I’m very happy that it’s me and I’ve got the opportunity, but it was a surprise, no doubt.Chris Hyde/Getty Images”I just think with those selections during the summer the selectors thought they were the best fit and they showed that was pretty spot on, so hopefully I can prove the right that they’ve made another good call with this one. Anytime there’s selections its an opinion isn’t it, there’s always going to be people disagreeing and I’m sure some people disagree with this selection as well.”The disagreement White speaks of is generally considered the type of pub debate long associated with selection, being as it is a thankless task where, as Jamie Cox once said “you’re only right if you win”. But there is a deeper issue implicit in decisions that are as surprising to players and the states they hail from as they are to members of the cricket-watching public. Cricket Australia is now an organisation where much has been made of all groups pulling in the same direction, whether employed by the Board or the states – they literally work off a philosophy called “One Team”.So when decisions on players are made in contravention of previous policy, whether stated publicly or internally, hackles are quite reasonably raised. By their own selection decisions, whether not picking Paine as wicketkeeper or leaving White out of three of five Sheffield Shield games before the start of the Big Bash League, Tasmania and Victoria made it patently clear they had little or no idea that either man was in the selection frame. This demonstrates that, whether on wider philosophy or more specific player management, national set-up and state have not been on the kind of close wavelength they are supposed to be. It was a position articulated by Ed Cowan earlier in the season, when he revealed even Smith had been surprised by some choices in the Brisbane squad.”He (Smith) has had some open and honest conversations with me,” Cowan had said. “I think he was surprised – without revealing confidential conversations between us – he certainly had a view that that’s the way the board had indicated selections were going to go. And I think the selection panel, as directed by Pat Howard, has turned that on its head. Once we got to the bottom of why it happened, I was comfortable with that [being dropped from NSW team]. The only sour element comes from the fact that three weeks ago, I was evidently too old, and then someone [Shaun Marsh] who I played youth cricket with gets picked in the Test team.”The policy of the young guys playing, I’ve got no problem with, as long as it is a selection policy that sticks consistently. The bottom line here is every player in the system wants it to be at its absolute maximum capacity. We love the Australian cricket team. We want it to win and we are wishing those guys all the very best. But from a systemic point of view, we just want a little more consistency and clarity around selection.”In terms of selection priorities, the states have searched for some indication from CA as to what has driven recent decisions, but they have got nothing quite so instructive as the words of the selector Mark Waugh in commentary for Ten on Thursday night’s BBL coverage: “There’s nothing that beats a winning culture, so winning the games in front of you, I think that’s just as important as looking ahead, a bit of both.”It was Waugh, ironically, who had first suggested Paine was in contention to play this summer, during a radio interview in October. As a straight-talking commentator, he has often been a more reliable source of messaging than anything shared in private between CA and states.As White has said, he has been picked at a time when he is in form and has decent self-knowledge of his game, meaning he is every chance of succeeding and so going down as another “success” in terms of Australian selection this summer, another well-disguised variation with which to fool England. But in terms of reaching decisions based on judgments linked to an overall strategy, the selectors this season have been the equivalent of a golfer driving into the rough, hacking out into a bunker, blasting out onto the green, then holing a 40-foot putt to make par. The right result, sure, but by a method that may not be sustainable in the long run.

England batsman Jason Roy talks about his favourite meat, the England players’ football and dancing skills, and more

Interview by Jack Wilson08-May-2016The England team have a competition to see who is the best dancer. Who wins?
That’s impossible to answer. There’s not one iota of dance talent in that dressing room.You wear the number 67 for England. Why?
Because I can’t wear 20! That has always been my number but Bressie has got that, so 67 was the number I was assigned.Who do you least want to be stuck next to on the team bus?
Sam Billings. He’s got terrible chat. It’s relentless.Who is the best footballer in the England team warm-ups?
To be fair to him, Jos Buttler can play a bit.And who is the worst?
Alex Hales. Hands down.Which of your team-mates is the most fun on a night out?
Ben Stokes – he goes for it every time. He’s hilarious. Reece Topley is funny too as he thinks he’s a ladies’ man.Who is the last at the bar to buy a round of drinks?
Sam Billings. Easy.Who is the biggest stats geek in the dressing room?
[Laughs] I desperately want to pick someone but we’re not the cleverest bunch. If anyone, it’d have to be Rooty.Reece Topley: ladies’ man?•Getty ImagesWho is the most superstitious?
Stokes again. He always does that stupid thing at the crease when he comes out to bat. At Surrey, Arun Harinath has to go to the toilet just before he bats. Every time, without fail. So, if he’s late to bat, which has happened loads of times, you now know why.If you could go back in time and face any bowler from history in their prime, who would it be?
I want to say Shoaib Akhtar but I’d be lying. A spinner, definitely. [Shane] Warne or Murali [Muttiah Muralitharan].Which of your team-mates is most likely to play a practical joke?
That has got to be Rooty or Hales.And who is it most likely to be on?
David Willey. He’s an easy target.What is your favourite shot?
The straight drive – or any of them that goes for runs.If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things would you bring?
A lighter, a fishing rod and a satellite phone.Where do you keep tomato ketchup: in the fridge or in the cupboard?
Fridge. Who keeps it in a cupboard? That’s nuts.What meat do you like most on your roast dinner?
Tough one, but nothing beats lamb and mint sauce. Nothing whatsoever.

Stats highlights from the first ODI between South Africa and West Indies, in Durban

Bishen Jeswant17-Jan-2015101 Innings in which Hashim Amla got to 5000 ODI runs, the fastest for any batsman. He broke the previous record of 114 innings, jointly held by Virat Kohli and Viv Richards. Amla also holds the record for being the fastest to 2000, 3000 and 4000 ODI runs.23 Jason Holder’s age (23yrs 72days), making him the youngest player to captain West Indies in any format of international cricket. The previous youngest was Jackie Grant who captained West Indies in a Test against Australia in 1930 aged 23 years and 217 days.6 Ducks scored by Rilee Rossouw in international cricket, the most by any top-order batsman (Nos. 1 to 7) since 2014. Sri Lanka’s Kusal Perera has also scored exactly six ducks in this period. Rossouw has scored five of his six ducks in ODIs, from only ten innings.7.3 Vernon Philander’s economy rate in this ODI, his highest in a game where he has picked up a wicket. Philander returned figures for 3 for 44 from his six overs.2 Ducks scored by Faf du Plessis in his last seven international innings. He had not scored a single duck in the 108 innings prior to that.79.8 The average partnership between Amla and AB de Villiers in ODIs, the highest for any pair who have shared at least ten partnerships. They have scored 2473 runs in 33 innings. Amla and de Villiers posted a 99-run partnership for the third wicket in this match.5.8 South Africa’s run-rate during their innings of 279 in 48.2 overs. This is the fourth-highest run-rate for a team batting first at Kingsmead, Durban.

Usually, anything less than a clean sweep against Bangladesh would have invited criticism, but not when Sri Lanka are trying out their next generation

Andrew Fidel Fernando01-Apr-2013As Sri Lanka’s mixed tour arrived at a happy close in Pallekele, Twenty20 captain Dinesh Chandimal’s words after the game suggested an encouraging future, just as Angelo Mathews’ comments had done after a loss, three nights earlier. Amid a flood of praise for Kusal Perera’s bat speed and brutality, Chandimal explained how he would spend the imminent two-month break from international cricket, instead of travelling to India for the IPL.”Over the next two months, I’ll be doing a lot of training,” he said. “I still have a few issues with my technique that need to be sorted out, so I will be working very hard with the national coaches to correct those issues, looking forward to a busy season.”It was heartening, honest, realism from a young captain, desperate to improve himself after having embarked on a season of sudden responsibility. Captaincy aside, he is now the Test side’s wicketkeeper, as well as vice-captain and a key batsman in all three formats. Four months ago, he did not find a place in any of Sri Lanka’s preferred XIs.Mathews had also been candid and introspective after the loss in the third ODI. A wet ball played its role in the result, as did a shortened chase that tilted the match slightly in the visitors’ favour, but Mathews refused to find fault anywhere but in Sri Lanka’s own performance. It has been a difficult tour for him, with his side having achieved worse-than-anticipated results in the Tests and ODIs. But although he could have justifiably called for patience as an inexperienced captain leading a regenerating side, he apportioned blame where it was deserved and emphasised a commitment to correcting specific shortcomings.Though as a side, Sri Lanka will be disappointed at not having whitewashed Bangladesh in all formats, as they have done in every home series before, their two young leaders have displayed an awareness of the bigger game that is afoot; that of preparing for a future without Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene or Tillakaratne Dilshan. It appears that Kusal Perera is likely to become a mainstay – particularly as he could relieve Chandimal of the gloves, if they are deemed too big a burden. Lahiru Thirimanne has also begun producing high-quality innings in earnest, despite not having a settled place in the top order. And Chandimal’s own batting has already made major strides towards fortitude and consistency.Mathews’ captaincy betrayed his inexperience at times, particularly as he rifled through bowlers in the Tests, as quickly as most captains would in an ODI. But he hardly allowed the game to meander either, as Dilshan did during his unsuccessful stint at the helm. Under Chandimal’s effervescent leadership, the side was electric in the field, and flourished as a collective. He will regret having given part-timer Angelo Perera an over, when plenty remained from his frontline bowlers, but there was much encouragement as well. In all three formats, Chandimal and Mathews were in constant, often animated discussion, before fields were set and bowling changes made.In the future, it is conceivable the pair might exchange leadership between formats. Chandimal is patently unready for Test captaincy, but his talents and temperament – immature though both still are – seem better suited to the longest format, where he has been most impressive for Sri Lanka. Mathews’ all-round ability, meanwhile, is a better fit for limited-overs cricket, where he rarely allows a game to pass in which he has not contributed in either discipline. Sri Lanka’s selectors have felt it wise not to overload either captain with all three formats for now, but even as they develop, Chandimal and Mathews appear to have a relationship that might empower a successful split captaincy in years to come.At any other time, as unconvincing a series as this against Bangladesh would constitute a substantial failing for Sri Lanka. A firm focus on youth during this tour has given the side a grace period, in which poor results will be easily forgiven and forgotten. But if Sri Lanka are to become a major force in cricket once more, Chandimal and Mathews must ensure the improvements they have spoken of come swiftly, and emphatically.

Lonwabo Tsotsobe may have been earmarked for the containment role in South Africa’s pace attack, but he’s going to do a lot more than just hold up an end

Firdose Moonda26-Oct-2011The first time Lonwabo Tsotosbe played an ODI, he claimed the wickets of Shaun Marsh, Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey and Mitchell Johnson. His performance helped South Africa claim the No. 1 rank in ODIs, but he did not play for the national team again for the next nine months.South Africa had already won that series, and had decided to rest Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini and hand debuts to Tsotsobe and left-arm seamer Wayne Parnell as an experiment. That the bean in the petridish actually sprouted meant very little.It’s that feeling of being always on the fringes that Tsotsobe has struggled to shake off, even after a successful and complete first season in international cricket, in which he excelled against India.He has started his second international summer as the best performer in the South Africa XI. While Dale Steyn has been erratic and wayward against Australia, and Morne Morkel took time to get his bounce right, Tsotsobe was spot on from the first match of the home series, a Twenty20 international in Cape Town. He picked up the most economical figures by a South Africa bowler in a T20I (over a completed spell) in his next outing, at the Wanderers, was impressive in his first spell during the first ODI, in Centurion, and again in Port Elizabeth.With the deciding ODI and a two-Test series on the horizon, Tsotsobe has announced himself as a key player in South Africa’s attack. He wants to be perceived as one who can shine in his role.”I wouldn’t like to be seen as someone who is going to be the third bowler and is just going to hold up one end,” he said after South Africa’s series-levelling win in Port Elizabeth. “I want to be recognised as a person who can also get wickets.”His statement is particularly pertinent to South Africa’s Test line-up, which is expected to contain three attacking bowlers, Steyn, Morkel and legspinner Imran Tahir. The inclusion of Tahir means that Tsotsobe will be earmarked as the container, who will have to bowl more overs than any of the others and give away fewer runs.His fitness was thought to be a reason he would struggle to perform that role, but a noticeably leaner Tsotsobe now looks like he could easily bowl 30 overs in a day. He said he has been training with South Africa’s fitness expert Rob Walter and working on muscle strength as well as cardio activities.”Every time when we play, we go to the gym for a light session, and I think it’s paying off. When you bowl your first ball, your legs are fresh, but when you are about to bowl your 30th over, you are tired and maybe your legs are drained. We do a lot of work on our legs and upper body, so it’s helping a lot.”Pace is not as big a buzzword for seam bowlers in South Africa as it used to be, and Tsotsobe’s ability to change his speeds, bowl the cutter and vary his lengths makes him tricky to face. “I know when to bowl my slower balls, my bouncers, and I am using my variations quite well,” he said.He believes that he complements the faster bowlers and it showed when he opened the bowling with Steyn in the first two ODIs. “It’s worked out very well,” he said, while adding that even though Steyn has not looked his usual fearsome self, having a player of his experience has been of assistance.”I enjoy opening with Dale because he has played a lot of games and whenever I am not bowling well, he will come up to me and say, ‘You’ve always told me that when you are not bowling well, your front arm is not working.’ And maybe my front arm isn’t working that day. I’ve got someone who is backing me and telling me I can do it.”

“It’s a big role that I am playing for the team, but I can’t say just because I am bowling well I am unbeatable”

Having his franchise coach, Russell Domingo, in the national setup has also had its benefits. “When I’ve got something going on or when I am not performing well, he knows what’s going on,” Tsotsobe said. “It helps when I’ve got someone that I can talk to. Not that I don’t talk to the head coach, Gazza [Gary Kirsten], or Allan [Donald], but sometimes you feel more comfortable talking to the person you have known for a long time.”One of the things Domingo has instilled in all of the players he has coached, including Johan Botha, Colin Ingram and Parnell, is a sense of the importance of remaining humble. Tsotsobe is another example of the modest Eastern Cape attitude, and he has not let his success over the past year bloat his ego.”It’s a big role that I am playing for the team, but I can’t say just because I am bowling well I am unbeatable. This is the international level and bowlers get studied, and I have to keep working on my game.”His family has provided him with good grounding and support. It probably helps that he is not their only sporting superstar. Tsotsobe’s mother, Dorothy, is the only woman on the executive board of the Eastern Province Rugby Union.”My mom is always supporting me,” he said. ‘”Whether it’s a four-day game or an international, she is always there. His sister, Nomsebenzi, captains the national women’s rugby team, and she was present at the match in Port Elizabeth.Tsotsobe has maintained a shy and quiet approach in international cricket, but beneath the gentle-giant exterior is a strong, confident man who is determined to leave his mark on the country’s cricketing landscape. Other bowlers may have come along, like Parnell, Vernon Philander and Rusty Theron, who all, like Tsotsobe himself, thrive on variations rather than raw pace, but it’s not something that fazes him. “I don’t want anyone to take my spot,” he said. “I have been working very hard.”

Sriram Veera watches the Ranji Trophy final come to end, from up close

Sriram Veera17-Jan-2009

In the stands a lady in a glided towards the far end to sit in the shade. In the tier above the sightscreen, where final touches were still being done to the structure, a labourer walked across alone with a cement bag. The rest of the crowd, sparse but very vocal, were chanting the Indian fan’s mantra – “Sachin … Sachin!”. In the middle, the game, with Uttar Pradesh struggling at nine wickets down, was wobbling towards its death.Tendulkar turned around towards the crowd and moved his arm as if bowling a leg break. The crowd roared. They have wanted him to bowl for a while now. Tendulkar pointed to Wasim Jaffer, Mumbai’s captain standing next to him in the slips, and suggested in jest that it was up to him. The crowd roared again. The next over, Tendulkar bowled.In the UP dressing room Mohammad Kaif led the laughter. The third delivery whirred in the air invitingly and Amir Khan edged his drive to first slip where Sahil Kukreja spilled it. The crowd sighed. It was pure theatre. More laughter broke out in both the dressing rooms.The tea break intervened. In the UP area, Parvinder Singh, one of the semi-final heroes, turned philosophical, sipping his tea. , ‘luck doesn’t play a part in cricket’, Parvinder started his cricket seven years back and was in and out of the side before getting his first full season this year and hopefully has sealed his spot with a big ton in the semi-final. He was also referring to the dropped chances given to the centurion Rohit Sharma in the first innings and the numerous times the ball went past the edge, but it was sort of a statement on his own career as well. “I will make sure I play for UP at this level as long as possible,” he said.Outside, a member of the UP contingent promised reporters he would bring more of the special made-only-in Allahabad “Dohra”, an indigenous preparation of tobacco. Sudeep Tyagi, the highest wicket-taker last year but out of the playing XI now, struggling to come to terms with his changed action, spoke about his intended visit to the National Cricket Academy this week and about his hope for a better new year.In the Mumbai area, everyone eagerly waited for the game to end. The celebration had started last evening in the hotel. , a popular Hindi film number, blared as players, Tendulkar included, danced around. And today Mumbai’s 38th Ranji triumph came at 3.22 pm when Praveen Gupta, who hit the winning runs in the semi-final, edged to Kukreja, who didn’t make any mistake this time. And the usual melee ensued.Stumps were uprooted from the earth for souvenirs and the Mumbai dressing room emptied on to the playing field. Kaif rushed out of the dressing room and led his team to shake hands with Mumbai’s players.And then, more of the same. Camera ‘no 7’ broke down just before the prize ceremony. Another camera was hurriedly brought in and the show continued. UP retreated and Mumbai continued with their Kodak moment. More laughter and camera flashes. The frenzy continued in the dressing room where champagne bubbled and Sula wine and beer drenched the floor. But there was a flight to catch and the players filed out one by one to the team bus. More Tendulkar moments. Some happy, some well …A Mumbai player was talking to a reporter when Tendulkar emerged from the room. A security guard tried to clear the way but unknowingly shoved the player out of the way. The player stumbled, held his balance some how, shrugged his shoulder, smiled and stepped aside. It comes with the territory of playing with a legend. A crowd had gathered outside waiting to catch a glimpse of their Tendulkar. And they erupted at the sight of their beloved. Tendulkar waved. The crowd grew delirious. All was well with the world.

Victoria were two wickets away from a win that would take them to the top of the table, but the weather played spoilsport

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff19-Feb-2024The thunderstorms that swept through Sydney on Monday denied Victoria an all-but certain Sheffield Shield victory over New South Wales with the home side eight down when play was suspended after Scott Boland had claimed five of them.A win would have put Victoria on top of the Shield ladder, but the players left the field about noon and did not return, with NSW 116 for 8 and needing another 86 runs to make Victoria bat again.Tasmania now have a massive home match against Victoria from March 1. NSW, who had turned their Shield campaign around with three wins from their previous four games, remain in the final hunt in fourth spot, behind Western Australia.NSW resumed their second innings on 40 for 3 and Victoria snared five more wickets before rain forced an early lunch and ultimately ended the match.Boland, who will head across to New Zealand for the Test series later this month, starred with 5 for 41 and took eight wickets for the match. On the final day he uprooted Moises Henriques’ leg stump, had Ollie Davies taken at second slip and then found the edge of top-scorer Sam Konstas.His Australian team-mate Nathan Lyon played a crucial innings for NSW to hold Victoria at bay before the weather intervened. Lyon faced 47 balls in tough conditions to make an unbeaten 17. Mitch Perry struck twice but it wasn’t enough.Despite going frustratingly close to a win and top spot, there was a significant highlight out of the match for Victoria. Will Pucovski returned to the Shield team and top-scored with 131 – his first ton in the competition since November 2020.

Chelsea talisman Cole Palmer has delivered a timely two-word update on Instagram regarding his fitness which will come as a massive boost to the Blues.

• Palmer said 'soon back' on social media
• Injured in warm-up ahead of West Ham clash
• Shared message with a series of pictures

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Cole Palmer has issued a brief but very welcome fitness update on social media, saying 'soon back' alongside a series of images, including one of him standing on the pitch at Stamford Bridge. Palmer injured his groin ahead of the clash with West Ham and was taken out of the matchday squad. And boss Enzo Maresca has blamed the injury on the workload placed on players. 

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Blues boss Maresca believes the volume of games is behind the glut of serious injuries. After Palmer was injured at West Ham, Maresca said: "I don't think that it is random that our three players with the most minutes last year were Levi Colwill, Cole and Moises Caicedo. It is not random, it is the amount of games. Look at Manchester City last year, they lost Rodri after two or three games. He was a player that had the most minutes for them. We are going to have problems this season for sure because of last season. But It's about how we can adapt and get players to recover."

• DID YOU KNOW

  Palmer shared a raft of images, alongside his brief 'soon back' message, which appeared to show some of his summer highlights. They included his Notting Hill Carnival appearance, in a mask hat and sunglasses, plus an image with the words: "A real flex is just being yourself in a world where people live for an image."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR PALMER?

  Palmer has the luxury of additional time during this international break to recover fitness and Chelsea are back in action with a west London derby against Brentford on September 13.