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How to watch Wolves vs Chelsea in the Premier League on TV and online in the United States.

Wolves take on Chelsea in a Premier Leaguegame at Molineux Stadium on Saturday.

Wolves, who are just one point above the relegation zone, have failed to win a match in their last three appearances in the league. They will hope to get back to winning ways at home and climb up on the league table.

Chelsea have managed to collect only two points in their last three league games. A series of poor results prompted the management to part ways with Graham Potter and replaced him with club legend Frank Lampard as their interim manager.

GOAL brings you everything you need to know about how to watch the Premier League fixture between Wolves vs Chelsea, plus team news, recent form and more.

Getty ImagesKick-off time

Date:

April 8, 2023

Kick-off time:

10am ET

Venue:

Molineux Stadium

The game is scheduled for April 8, 2023, at Vitality Stadium. It will kick off at 10am ET in the US.

AdvertisementGettyHow to watch Wolves vs Chelsea online – TV channels & live streamsTV channels & streaming options

Country TV channel Live stream

U.SUSA NetworkNBCSports.com

In the U.S., the match can be watched on USA Network and can be streamed on NBC Sports.com.

GettyTeam news & squadsWolves team news

Ruben Neves and Jonny Castro are suspended for the match while Sasa Kalajdzic, Chiquinho and Hwang Hee-chan are sidelined due to injuries.

Hugo Bueno, on the other hand, has recovered from his hamstring injury and is likely to be back in the starting lineup against Chelsea.

Position Players

Goalkeepers:Sa, Bentley, MouldenDefenders:Collins, Kilman, Dawson, Toti, Ait-Nouri, Jonny, Semedo, BuenoMidfielders:Lemina, B. Traore, Hodge, Nunes, Gomes, Moutinho, Podence, SarabiaForwards:Neto, Cunha, Jimenez, Hwang, A. Traore, CostaChelsea team news

Chelsea will miss the services of Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang due to injuries.

Interim manager Frank Lampard could include Mason Mount in the Chelsea midfield alongside N'Golo Kante and Enzo Fernandez.

Position Players

Goalkeepers:Mendy, Arrizabalaga, Bettinelli, SloninaDefenders:Chalobah, Koulibaly, Cucurella, Badiashile, Chilwell, JamesMidfielders:Gallagher, Chukuwuemeka, Mudryk, Fernandez, Loftus-Cheek, Madueke, Ziyech, Zakaria, Kante, Kovacic, MountForwards:Havertz, Felix, PulisicHead-to-head record

Date Result Competition

8 October, 2022Chelsea 3-0 WolvesPremier League7 May, 2022Chelsea 2-2 WolvesPremier League19 December, 2021Wolves 0-0 ChelseaPremier League27 January, 2021Chelsea 0-0 WolvesPremier League15 December, 2020Wolves 2-1 ChelseaPremier League

Chelsea and Wolves have won one match each in their last five meetings while three matches ended in draws.

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Wolves team page

Chelsea team page

Live soccer on TV in the U.S.

Whether they are established names, future stars or summer transfer targets, there are a host of intriguing players in action at the Games in Japan

While mention of the Olympics might not spark up images of great football, the men's tournament at the Games still offers those who compete for the rare opportunity to take home a gold medal.

Ahead of Tokyo 2020, the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Mohamed Salah and Sergio Ramos were all rumoured to be interested in taking part in a bid to claim one of the greatest sporting prizes of them all.

In the end, none of that fabled trio will be in action over the next fortnight, but that does not mean there are not plenty of players who are worth keeping an eye on, be they established stars, up-and-coming wonderkids or potential transfer targets for some of the world's biggest clubs…

Getty ImagesThiago Almada (Argentina)

Given the hype that has surrounded Almada in recent years, it is quite surprising that the attacking midfielder still finds himself at Velez Sarsfield rather than in one of Europe's top five leagues.

Manchester City and Manchester United are among a host of clubs to have been linked with the 20-year-old, who twice appeared on Goal's NXGN list of the top teenage footballers in the world.

Expect him to use the Olympics as a potential shop window to show himself off to potential suitors ahead of the transfer window closing at the end of August.

AdvertisementGettyDani Alves (Brazil)

Despite having turned 38 in May, Dani Alves still harbours hopes of representing Brazil at the 2022 World Cup, and as such is using the Olympics, in part, to show Selecao boss Tite that he is worth a place in his squad for Qatar.

Now playing his club football for Sao Paulo FC, the veteran full-back continues to showcase his undoubted quality on a weekly basis domestically, and, though he might not be the same electric presence on the right-hand side as he was at Barcelona, he can still play a key role in Brazil defending the gold medal they won on home soil back in 2016.

Getty ImagesMarco Asensio (Spain)

If you had asked a Spanish football fan which tournament Marco Asensio would be playing in this summer a few years ago, they undoubtedly would have said Euro 2020, such was the winger's potential and performance level at Real Madrid.

Injuries and a subsequent drop in form, however, mean he now finds himself needing to prove himself in Tokyo if he is to fight his way back into Luis Enrique's exciting, young, attacking team.

At 25, time is starting to run out for Asensio to make a return on the promise he showed as a youngster, and there is no better place to start than at the biggest festival of sport in the world. 

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Getty ImagesDani Ceballos (Spain)

Another Real Madrid player looking to reignite their career somewhat is Ceballos, who, after two up-and-down seasons on loan at Arsenal, is now preparing himself for a new challenge.

Unlike Asensio, his future almost certainly lies away from Santiago Bernabeu, and as such the Olympics offers the 24-year-old midfielder an opportunity to show any interested clubs that he is still the same player who was named in back-to-back Teams of the Tournament at the 2017 and 2019 Under-21 European Championships.

Goal rounds up some of the most exciting World Cup 2018 group stage fixtures – including Spain vs Portugal and England vs Belgium

With the World Cup set to kick off on June 14, Goal rounds up some of the biggest and best clashes to take place in Russia – including Spain vs Portugal which sees the new and old guard of La Furia Roja battle it out against the European champions, and Luis Suarez facing off against Mohamed Salah when Uruguay and Egypt play each other.Getty ImagesEgypt vs Uruguay

Mohamed Salah propelled Egypt to the finals after scoring a 95th-minute penalty against DR Congo to ensure that the Pharoahs would appear in their first World Cup since 1990.

The 25-year-old endeared himself to the world after an emphatic debut season at Liverpool where he smashed records and netted 44 goals in all competitions, and though he was unable to lift the European Cup with the Reds, he will be looking to redeem himself with a successful World Cup campaign.

He is set to face off against none other than Luis Suarez for Uruguay in their sides' opening fixture. Suarez was the Salah of yesteryear for Reds supporters before he moved to Barcelona in 2014 – and his was one of the scoring records that Salah broke this season.

It'll be an exciting game with Salah and Mohamed Elneny facing off against Suarez and Paris Saint-Germain star Edinson Cavani – and a chance to assert each forward's abilities.

Match Information: Egypt vs Uruguay | Friday June 15 | 1pm UK time (8am US ET)

AdvertisementGettyPortugal vs Spain

Portugal vs Spain is easily one of the most exciting fixtures of the tournament. Portugal are a threat in this competition as they are helmed by a confident Cristiano Ronaldo fresh from winning the Champions League as well as leading his side to a European Championship victory two years ago.

The current Spanish team features a mixed assortment of promising young talent including Marco Asensio, David de Gea and Isco as well as talismen in Andres Iniesta, David Silva and Gerard Pique.

Match Information: Portugal vs Spain | Friday June 15 | 7pm UK time (2pm US ET)

EITAN ABRAMOVICHArgentina vs Iceland

What will happen when Argentina – one of the most storied national sides of all-time – comes up against Iceland, one of the smallest of the qualified nations and who are set to make their first ever appearance in the World Cup?

Lionel Messi has yet to lift a major honour on the international stage and has finished as runner-up in four of his last Copa America finals. Despite his great successes with Barcelona – he has long since been the Spanish side's all-time top-scorer and has won every major club trophy imaginable, as well as lifting the Ballon d'Or on five separate occasions – some critics still feel that to truly cement his place as one of football's greats he must win the World Cup with his nation.

Match Information: Argentina vs Iceland | Saturday June 16 | 2pm UK time (9am US ET)

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GettyGermany vs Mexico

The defending champions will be looking to make their World Cup success a back-to-back feat, starting with their opening fixture against Mexico, as the current Germany squad is still as strong as the one four years ago – even without hero Mario Gotze in the squad.

The Germany squad is rife with experienced players in the shape of Thomas Muller, Sami Khedira and Toni Kroos as well as young talent such as Leroy Sane, who had a magnificent season with Manchester City, winning the title in the process, where he scored 23 goals.

Add the likes of Timo Werner, Marco Reus and Manuel Neuer and Germany are once again favourites to defend their title.

Match information: Germany vs Mexico | Sunday June 18 | 4pm UK time (11am US ET)

Ambati Rayudu and Stuart Binny added 160 runs together – the highest sixth-wicket stand for India in ODIs – in a last-ball four-run win

The Report by Alagappan Muthu10-Jul-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFifty off thirty balls. Tense. Elton Chigumbura defuses the pressure with a rasping cut. Forty-five off 24. He winds up and lashes a full toss to the cover boundary. Harare had been jiving with their captain. Song and dance galore. Thirty-two off 18. He tonks a four through long-on and Zimbabwe believed. They beamed with their captain as he collected a second successive ODI century. As it is with low-scorers – the target Zimbabwe were chasing was only 256 – nerves of both team’s were put through a shredder.India though weren’t quite so accommodating. Amid the many harried discussions, they made sure the best yorker bowler had the final over. Bhuvneshwar Kumar hit the mark enough to sever Zimbabwe’s feel-good vibes. The home crowd can’t be too cheery when their team needs six off one ball. And he nailed one last yorker to help his team break out of jail, and India’s own centurion Ambati Rayudu sigh in relief as well.Zimbabwe’s best chance would have been if one of their seniors shepherded the innings. Two of them were undone by beautiful left-arm spin bowling from Axar Patel. Hamilton Masakadza surprised by extra bounce and popped a catch to point. Sean Williams was lured forward only for the ball to dip and sneak through the gate.To compound that, Sikandar Raza launched a Harbhajan Singh long-hop – can happen when you’re coming back to ODIs after four years – down to Axar again at deep midwicket. Zimbabwe were 142 for 5. Zimbabwe needed something special. They got Chigumbura and they were roaring approval with every bottom-handed bludgeon.Chigumbura’s hits met the fence nine times and he was one of only three batsmen in the match to have a strike rate over 100. Beyond that, he strung vital partnerships through the middle order – 42 with Masakadza, 48 with Raza and a calculated 86 with No. 8 Graeme Cremer to keep the hosts’ threat alive. At one point, a young ball boy raced to the edge of the boundary and gleefully welcomed the ball towards him. All was going well, until the final hurdle, when Zimbabwe stumbled.”I think we’re the envy of a few to be honest,” coach Dav Whatmore had said with respect to their bench strength. That assessment is merited when it comes to their batting – since the start of the year, their batsmen have posted totals excess of 270 six out of eight completed matches. The downside though is one solitary win.The reason for that is their bowling. A motley crew of medium-pacers were excellent when the ball was new and early morning conditions offered some assistance. They had half of India’s line-up back in the pavilion by the time half the innings was done. Chigumbura barely had any work to do in the first 30-odd overs. The ball was put on a good length, outside off and allowed to do its bit. But once the slog overs came, their radar suffered a bad blip and the finishing blow never came. Good length balls outside off stump don’t work when the only swing on offer is from the bat looking for deep midwicket.Rayudu, to his credit, waited and waited waited for those shortcomings. He might not be the most water-tight No. 3 around, but throughout the innings he showed he was capable of smart cricket. Overpitched deliveries fed his drives, and he peppered a wide arc from cover to long-on. But when that length wasn’t there, he was quite judicious at not letting his bat travel too far from his body. A general rule for anyone who is sucked into the middle by the fourth over.Zimbabwe, having decided to field, continued to rack up a lot of dot-ball pressure. There were 160 of them overall with the Harare pitch being as stingy as the local bowlers. But through it all Rayudu held on. He was 25 off 50, learning that when he targeted the easy escape to third man the sideways movement bested him. He pushed to 50 off 72, realising that his technique was in better order having spent time at the crease. He ended up with his second ODI century and his longest innings in international cricket.Stuart Binny hadn’t been the most solid either. But it may have helped that Binny played legspinner Cremer the most at the time he was building his innings – 25 runs off 31 balls. By then the innings had surreptitiously reached the tipping point that every Zimbabwe supporter fears: the final few overs. And Binny opened his shoulders. He trod past his fifty off the 63rd ball in the 45th over, cracked three fours and a six to finish with 77 off 76. And India finished with 51 in the last five overs.Until their partnership – 160 off 147 balls, the highest sixth-wicket stand for India in ODIs – it had been old-fashioned cricket. Cautious batsmen and line bowling. M Vijay, playing his first ODI in two years, fished outside off stump and was caught in the slips – a fielding position Zimbabwe used quite late into the game much to Ajinkya Rahane’s chagrin. In the 18th over, the new India captain gave catching practice to Masakadza at first slip and was left contemplating another start not capitalised: 34 off 49.Then Manoj Tiwary was caught plumb in front, Robin Uthappa made a poor call to be run out for a duck and Kedhar Jadhav feathered an edge to the keeper for 5. Four of the top six falling for single-figures at a time when India are looking for new batsmen. But at least the new ODI playing conditions were ushered in with a game that went down to the last ball.

Steven Davies has conceded he may need to leave Surrey to fulfil his England ambitions after it was confirmed that Ben Foakes will be preferred as the club’s wicketkeeper

George Dobell06-Apr-20161:10

Davies refuses to rule out leaving Surrey

Steven Davies has conceded he may need to leave Surrey to fulfil his England ambitions after it was confirmed that Ben Foakes will be preferred as the club’s wicketkeeper for the start of the County Championship campaign.Davies made his international debut as a wicketkeeper-batsman when he just 22 and soon left Worcestershire for Surrey in a high-profile move. But, having struggled with motivation for a while following the death of his friend and team-mate Tom Maynard, he gave up the gloves in May 2014 and has subsequently played as a specialist batsman.Now, however, he has decided he would like to return to keeping. Reflecting at the end of last season, Davies realised that he probably had, at the age of 29, one last opportunity to earn a Test place and that his chances would be increased greatly if he offered himself as both a batsman and keeper.The timing of that 2014 decision was unfortunate. Matt Prior was just coming to the end of his international career and England were not convinced that Jos Buttler or Jonny Bairstow were ready as his replacement. Had Davies felt able to continue, he would have had a great chance of winning the opportunity to succeed Prior.As it is, he may face a struggle to regain lost ground. Not only has he fallen behind the likes of Bairstow and Buttler in the battle for the England gloves, but he might be considered third choice at Surrey. Gary Wilson, who kept for most of the 2015 season, is also vying for the gloves.”My goal this season is to get back into the England side,” Davies told ESPNcricinfo. “And the best route for me to do that in Test cricket is to take the gloves back again.”I batted really well last year and, at the end of the season, I sat back, looked over my season again and thought about where I wanted to be. I felt super motivated and wanted to push for one last time. I’m 29 years old now, so time is kind of running out for me, but I wanted to give it one last push and try and play Test cricket.”Asked if that meant he might have to move counties, he replied: “Possibly, possibly. If the opportunity is not here – and obviously I love playing for Surrey and my focus is on Surrey – but we’ll see how the season goes and maybe reassess at the end of the year.”Obviously we’re blessed with a number of keepers here so it’s about me waiting for my opportunity. I know it’s not going to be easy for me to get back into the side as the keeper but I think it’s important to show that I’m committed to it.”I don’t regret my [2014] decision. There may have been a chance there for me, but at the time I wasn’t ready, there was stuff going on in my personal life and I didn’t feel I could do it at the time. Now I feel super motivated and fit and strong ready to push my case again.”Foakes, aged 23, as long been highly thought of within the England set-up but, having emerged at Essex as the understudy to James Foster, has struggled to gain the gloves at a county. After moving to Surrey at the end of the 2014 season, he kept in just five Championship innings last season as Wilson was preferred.But Alec Stewart, the Surrey director of cricket, saw enough to conclude that Foakes has the talent to do the job with distinction not just for the county but for England.”I believe Ben has the potential to play for England in Test cricket,” Stewart told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s one of the reasons we signed him from Essex. He wasn’t going to keep there because of James Foster. I saw him when he was 18 or 19 – alerted to him by Graham Gooch – and followed him and then [signed him], when the opportunity arose for him to keep wicket.”Though he didn’t keep regularly here last year, he kept more than he would have done for Essex. And he showed us that he has everything that will take him up to the highest level.”

New Hong Kong captain Tanwir Afzal scored an unbeaten 55 off 27 balls but Namibia managed to defend 14 off the final over to hold on for a two-run win at Windhoek

ESPNcricinfo staff19-May-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo – Tanwir Afzal struck 55 not out in a losing effort for Hong Kong•Graham Crouch/IDI/GettyNew Hong Kong captain Tanwir Afzal scored an unbeaten 55 off 27 balls but Namibia managed to defend 14 off the final over to hold on for a two-run win in the last T20 at Windhoek on Tuesday. Afzal entered in the 13th over with the score 63 for 5 in pursuit of Namibia’s 144 and struck his third six of the day four balls into the final over to bring up a half-century off 25 balls and trim the target to seven runs in two deliveries. After a two on the fifth ball, Hong Kong needed six to win and four to tie but Afzal only managed two off JJ Smit’s final ball.Hong Kong had won the toss at the start of the day and chose to field first in the 12-a-side contest. Haseeb Amjad captured three wickets in the first four overs to leave Namibia struggling at 11 for 3 before Sarel Burger’s second half-century in as many days brought Namibia back into the game. The visitors still had a reasonable hold on the first innings after Irfan Ahmed bowled Michau du Preez for 27 on the first ball of the 11th over, ending a 52-run stand to make it 63 for 4.However, Burger wrested momentum back for the hosts in the 13th by hitting back-to-back boundaries off Ahmed to commence a 16-run over which took the score to 84 for 4. Burger and Zhivago Groenewald forged a 66-run stand before Groenewald was Amjad’s fourth victim of the day in the 18th. Burger brought up his fifty off 43 balls in the next over and stayed to the end to give Namibia a defendable total.Hong Kong’s chase got off to a reasonable start, progressing to 57 for 1 at the halfway stage, but Namibia took four wickets in the space of 12 deliveries. The middle-overs collapse was initially sparked by Christopher Coombe’s dismissal of Nizakat Khan for 30 before Smit struck twice in the 12th to remove Waqas Barkat and Babar Hayat. Craig Williams kept the pressure on in the 13th by bowling Jamie Atkinson for 1, one of the allrounder’s three wickets on the day.Afzal counterattacked gamely by striking three boundaries off Groenewald in the 14th. In the end though, Afzal didn’t get support from his partners down the stretch and the middle order stumble was too much to overcome.

In-form James Hildreth has given Somerset a good chance of victory on the final day as the Taunton wickets show signs of not being the featherbeds of old

Alex Winter at Taunton28-Apr-2015
ScorecardJames Hildreth has given Somerset the upper hand at Taunton•Getty ImagesThe Taunton wickets are much loathed for not being conducive enough to results – no-one drew more matches than Somerset’s 10 in 2014 – but the opening two matches of this season have seen a more even contest between bat and ball and, with 30 wickets falling in the opening three days of this match, a second consecutive positive result is possible.Somerset are the favourites after setting Middlesex 402 to win but Middlesex have a sporting chance following a third afternoon where they chipped away at the hosts’ second innings and took the final five wickets for 50. In the final analysis, James Hildreth’s 86 was a vital innings as the middle order fell away. It was no bad thing for the match.To win, Middlesex need to make their fourth-highest fourth-innings total but they can take some confidence from the 472 for 3 they made last season to beat Yorkshire at Lord’s – their second-highest fourth-innings total – albeit the architect of that chase, Chris Rogers who made 241 not out, is no longer at the club.They will hope Rogers’ replacement, fellow Australian Adam Voges, can create something similar. Or indeed, Nick Gubbins and Sam Robson who played carefully to reach the close unscathed.The danger for Middlesex is the fragile nature of their line-up. They lost 8 for 118 in the first innings and this wicket has offered assistance to the seamers throughout the match. Somerset will hope to probe that weakness and have in their attack two young Devonians showing the best form of their fledgling careers.Jamie Overton, who turned 21 at the start of the month, is a big and genuinely quick bowler who appears to have calibrated his radar over the winter. A quick spell on the second evening whittled out the Middlesex lower order. But it appears his injury worries, having blighted his career since breaking into the Somerset first XI, are not yet behind him. He limped off after seven balls of the chase. More will be revealed later.Lewis Gregory has his own injuries last season but, fit for the start of 2015, has been rewarded for his progress over the last 12 months with a call up to England’s squad for the ODI against Ireland next week. He celebrated by taking two wickets in five balls, both lbw, to see off the Middlesex first innings in the fourth over of day three.The swift end gave Somerset a 102-run first-innings lead, which was comfortably built on in a stand of 82 for the second wicket between Marcus Trescothick and Tom Cooper. The latter’s ill-advised reverse sweep, to be bowled for 42, did not appear crucial at the time but it ended what turned out to be the highest stand of the innings.Trescothick looked set for a second century in the match, having twice played the deftest of late cuts off Steven Finn to take boundaries fine of third man, and looked to have successfully covered a Rayner delivery on 76, only to lose his off stump. Again, the bounce Rayner generates created problems. The dismissal should encourage Somerset’s Abdur Rehman on day four.Thereafter only James Hildreth spent significant time at the crease. He passed fifty in 109 balls with five fours – a far more sedate effort than the first innings – but, as Finn returned from the River End, he pulled his first ball down the throat of deep midwicket to be ninth out. Overton then clubbed a six but Finn cleaned him up next ball.There were three more wickets for James Harris, who continued his impressive form, bringing a beauty into the off stump of Tom Abell. Two other middle order wickets followed as Middlesex kept themselves in the match.

A solid batting performance backed by fast bowler Zia-ul-Haq helped National Bank of Pakistan seal a spot in the final of the President’s Gold Cup with a 48-run victory over Khan Research Laboratories

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jan-2015An all-round performance helped National Bank of Pakistan seal a spot in the final of the President’s Gold Cup with a 48-run victory over Khan Research Laboratories. National Bank will play State Bank of Pakistan in the final on Sunday.Put in to bat, National Bank posted 340 for 5 building on half-centuries from Sami Aslam, Kamran Akmal and Fawad Alam. Aslam was out for 59 off 62 deliveries while Akmal scored 90 off 75 balls, and Alam contributed 68 off 62 deliveries. The first four wickets added at least fifty runs for each stand as they reached a strong 295 for 5 in the 47th over and the late thrust came through a swift, sixth-wicket partnership between Qaiser Abbas and Umar Waheed who added 45 in 20 deliveries to lift the score to 340.KRL made a steady start to their 341-run chase with opener Imam-ul-Haq’s 89 driving the innings. Imam added 105 runs for the third wicket with Saeed Anwar jnr to set a platform for the side before National Bank fought back with three quick wickets. Shoaib Ahmed’s swift 53-run stand with Ali Khan helped KRL move closer to the target but once the stand was broken, National Bank’s bowlers wrapped up the innings with ease. Zia-ul-Haq’s 4 for 61 led the way and Raza Hasan and Mohammad Asghar chipped in with three and two wickets respectively.

Following his team’s innings-and-217-run defeat to Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy final, Tamil Nadu captain Abhinav Mukund said there was no shame in the side’s defeat to Karnataka

Amol Karhadkar in Mumbai 12-Mar-2015Soon after BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur handed over the coveted Ranji Trophy and its replica to Karnataka skipper Vinay Kumar, the Tamil Nadu squad, dressed in their practice attire, made a quiet exit to the dressing room.While the Karnataka camp was celebrating their second successive Ranji Trophy title, with the players’ wives and families present, the Tamil Nadu camp was so disappointed they didn’t even pose for a photograph with the rolling runners-up trophy. After the kind of lop-sided contest witnessed in the final, it didn’t come as a surprise that Tamil Nadu preferred to be far from the spotlight but they put up a brave front, with captain Abhinav Mukund saying there was no shame in the loss.Captains, coaches conclave on March 15

The new BCCI regime seems to have taken a step towards getting its act right by reviving the captains and coaches conclave, which last took place in March 2013. Captains and coaches of all the 27 teams competing on the domestic circuit will meet in Delhi on March 15 to review the 2014-15 season.
The meeting will also be attended by Anil Kumble, who heads BCCI’s technical committee, and Daljit Singh, head of BCCI’s pitch and curators’ committee. The nature of pitches all over the country, which have made spinners’ role miniscule, is likely to be a major point of discussion.
The conclave was not held last year after the board was mired in controversies and legal battles following the IPL 2013 corruption scandal.

“I don’t think there is any shame in losing to the side. I think they are a really good side, they played really good cricket over five days, they were consistent,” Abhinav said. “Obviously there are areas that we have to work on but there is a ray of hope that I can see in this Tamil Nadu team. Youngsters are coming through and there are a lot of positives for us. We will take this back with us and probably come back stronger in the next season.”Once Karnataka’s batsmen had weathered the storm by lunch on the second day, the match seemed to be heading towards one outcome. And Karnataka rubbed salt on Tamil Nadu’s wounds by piling on a lead of 628 runs before bowling them out for 411 on the final day. The victory, with a margin of an innings and 217 runs, was set up by the four Karnataka pacers on the first day, who bundled Tamil Nadu out for a meagre 134 in the first two sessions of the match.Vinay admitted that Karnataka went into the game with an additional seamer after considering the fact that Tamil Nadu had played all their home games on turning tracks.”If you talk about the final, we wanted to go with the extra seamer,” Vinay said. “We thought they would definitely struggle against the seamers because they were playing on turners and they won’t play on the kind of wickets where they will get extra bounce or swing.”Vinay was “delighted” to finish as the first Karnataka captain to lift the trophy twice in succession. He also ended the season as the joint highest-wicket taker and added that the match did not pan out as easily as the scorecard suggested.”I won’t say it was easy,” Vinay stated. “In the first innings, we bowled really well that’s the result we have got now. Had they got around 300-350 runs, it would have been difficult. They are a good side. They bowled really well, but we tackled them well as a batting unit.”

Former Zimbabwe captain Alistair Campbell has warned that the country could soon be “lost to international cricket” unless drastic action is taken

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Nov-2014Former Zimbabwe captain Alistair Campbell has warned that the country could soon be “lost to international cricket” unless drastic action is taken. He said that the lack of former international cricketers in the current Zimbabwe set-up is hurting the team’s progress.”Without any attention being paid, we can become like Kenya and cricket will be dead in Zimbabwe,” he told the Dhaka-based daily . “I am fearful that in the next two years if there is no intervention, very quickly they will be lost to international cricket. No one wants to see that.”Grant Flower and Heath Streak’s move to Pakistan and Bangladesh respectively meant that Zimbabwe needed batting and bowling coaches but Campbell said although the current coaches have the requisite qualifications, their lack of wider exposure means that the players don’t get expert advice on a regular basis.”Douglas Hondo is the only player to play Test cricket in the whole setup,” Campbell said. “Among the selectors too, no one has played Test match cricket. I worry that there is not enough expertise in the game. The business of cricket requires cricketers to be involved, but that’s not happening in Zimbabwe.”When a batsman here is struggling against spin there’s nobody there who can talk from personal experience. Say someone like Grant Flower, he would have said guys this is how you play left-arm spin. ‘If we play like this we will get knocked over, if we play like that we have half a chance’.”I don’t think our youngsters here are getting the requisite expertise required. As a player I would listen to someone who has been there, done that. I just hope a lot of the ex-players can be re-engaged by Zimbabwe Cricket. I tried to do that when I was in the cricket committee,” he said.With Flower as batting coach, Pakistan’s batsmen have amassed 13 hundreds in their previous three Tests. “He [Grant Flower] is their [Pakistan’s] gain, and our [Zimbabwe’s] loss. Unfortunately, you don’t know what you lost till it is gone. I think that’s what Zimbabwe will wake up to in the coming months. In a nation like ours which is always struggling to compete and remain relevant, you have to tap into every single resource.”And one of those, Sean Williams, was not considered for selection for the Bangladesh tour after interruptions in his involvement in a training camp and an aborted disciplinary hearing. The , a Harare-based daily, reported that Williams asked for family-responsibility leave during the Zimbabwean squads training camp in Harare and arrived three days before the players were due to leave for Masvingo for their practice game.The coach Stephen Mangongo wanted Williams to travel for that match, subject to a hearing to look into the reason for his absence for the bulk of the training. Williams was unhappy that an official process was put in place and threatened to quit the squad but later spoke to Mangongo and apologised but it came too late.Campbell said that a path should have been found to resolve the matter and bring Williams to Bangladesh, especially given the dearth of cricketing resources in Zimbabwe.”Sean Williams obviously needs to sort out things with the coach. In a country with meagre resources, you need everyone to get along. Banning him from playing on such a crucial tour with the whole world watching, you have to make sure you have the best side. I just think you need all your best available players.”I think Sean [Williams] plays well against spin and bowls good left-arm spin. Part of your job as a coach is man-management. [Mario] Balotelli can play football because he doesn’t get banned and they try and work with him. I don’t know what Sean [Williams] has done. I have to get to the bottom of it. But he didn’t commit murder, but he has breached team protocol. We haven’t got an abundance of players to throw guys by the wayside. Sean [Williams] is arguably our second best batsman and not having him here is crazy.”Williams has scored two centuries in two matches since the domestic season began last week.