Brentford star Yoane Wissa has reportedly left the team's pre-season training camp amid transfer links with Tottenham and Newcastle.
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Inter are pursuing Parma’s 18-year-old Giovanni Leoni but face strong competition from both English clubs and several Italian sides.
Inter interested in Parma's LeoniFace competition from Italian and English clubsPlayer wants maximum game time ahead of World CupFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
According to , Parma have set a €40 million (£34m/$46m) price tag on Italian talent Leoni, a target for Inter. They are counting on manager Christian Chivu, who coached Leoni last season at Parma, to tip the scales in their favour in the battle to convince him to move to San Siro. Inter are also proposing a development plan that would see Leoni play alongside experienced defenders Francesco Acerbi and Stefan de Vrij to help ease his transition.
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Leoni’s impressive form at Sampdoria convinced Parma to spend €4m (£3m/$5m) to bring him to Serie A. Since then, his performances have drawn attention from Italy’s top three clubs. AC Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri is a big admirer and reportedly wants Leoni to be a key figure in his backline, but they must sell players before making a move. Juventus are also interested and see him as a long-term partner for Gleison Bremer, though they first must raise funds by offloading the likes of Dusan Vlahovic, Timothy Weah, and Weston McKennie.
ENGLISH INTEREST AND WORLD CUP FACTOR
English clubs are also interested in Leoni, with Liverpool viewing him as a long-term replacement for Virgil van Dijk, Tottenham eyeing him as a successor to Cristian Romero and Newcastle looking to add stability to their backline. However, Leoni has turned down a move to the Premier League, as he has no intention of leaving Italy. His priority is to secure regular playing time next season to strengthen his case for a spot in Italy’s squad for the 2026 World Cup.
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AFPWHAT NEXT FOR INTER AND LEONI?
Still in his development phase Leoni will carefully evaluate all proposal and choose a club which will aid his growth. Inter will hope that Leoni will make the move to the Nerazzurri as they look to infuse some much needed young blood into their backline.
Ricky Ponting’s journey as a Test batsman began almost exactly ten years back, and he’s come a long way in that period
S Rajesh01-Jan-2006
Ricky Ponting: 100 matches, and playing better than ever © Getty Images
Ricky Ponting’s journey as a Test batsman began almost exactly ten years back, and he’s come a long way in that period. From a talented but impetuous 21-year-old who struggled for consistency, Ponting has blossomed into the mainstay of Australia’s batting line-up, scoring runs against almost all attacks in all climes without sacrificing his flair.Ponting’s progression to the 100-Test mark shows just how he has grown in stature in the second half of his career. In his first 40 matches, he had only seven hundreds, in his next 60, he added 19 to his tally – that’s almost one every three matches. In fact, in his last 49 Tests, he averages 67. (Click here for Ponting’s career summary.)
1-20 1183 39.43 2/ 7 21-40 1292 53.83 5/ 5 41-60 1498 51.66 6/ 4 61-80 2136 68.90 7/ 6 81-99 1881 67.18 6/ 10His rich and consistent form over the last four years means that in any discussion about the best batsman in the world, his name figures prominently. Based strictly on numbers, no batsman has had more success than Ponting since 2002. During this period, 17 hundreds have flowed from his bat, which translates into one every 2.76 Tests – at this rate, he will go past Sunil Gavaskar’s tally of 34 in just 25 Tests. Sachin Tendulkar is currently nine in front, but if Ponting continues his run-glut, he might have a realistic chance of catching up.
Ponting 47 4808 68.6817/ 17 Jacques Kallis 39 3703 67.3213/ 17 Rahul Dravid 41 3746 64.5811/ 16 Brian Lara 38 3983 61.2713/ 12 Inzamam-ul-Haq 30 2753 61.179/ 12 Matthew Hayden 52 4975 58.5219/ 16 Virender Sehwag 35 3085 54.129/ 9 Sachin Tendulkar 37 2904 53.778/ 11His numbers against each side show he’s got runs facing all of them. The only team he averages less than 40 against is Bangladesh – it’s unlikely he’ll be spending sleepless nights over that statistic.
Zimbabwe 3 290 96.671/ 1 Pakistan 10 1061 81.614/ 3 New Zealand 11 808 73.452/ 4 West Indies 15 1372 65.336/ 4 South Africa 11 924 54.353/ 5 India 15 1253 52.204/ 4 Sri Lanka 10 711 47.401/ 5 England 21 1402 41.235/ 4 Bangladesh 2 69 34.500/ 1Ponting’s runs have come against all teams in all conditions, but the one country he has struggled in is India: in eight matches he averages a miserable 12. He makes up for it, though, with his performances against them at home.
In India 8 172 12.280/ 1 In Australia 7 1081 108.104/ 3And unlike many top-class batsmen who have been bogged down by captaincy, the additional burden hasn’t impacted Ponting’s batting ability at all. Despite a few question-marks being raised over his tactical acumen, Ponting the batsman has flowered since he took over the leadership mantle.
As captain 24 2169 57.076/ 11 Not as captain 75 5821 55.9720/ 21Perhaps Ponting’s biggest achievement has been the manner in which he wrested the No. 3 position in a strong Australian batting line-up and made it his own. Ponting’s predecessor at that position had been David Boon, who had scored 4412 runs at one-down, with 13 centuries and 20 fifties, at an average of 45.48. These were imposing numbers, and Boon was clearly a tough act to follow. But Australia have been blessed with successors who’ve outdone the original masters. Just as Adam Gilchrist ensured that Ian Healy wasn’t missed, Ponting took over from Boon and made an even greater success of the No. 3 spot.In fact, in the all-time list of the best No. 3 batsmen, Ponting figures in third place, behind only Don Bradman and Wally Hammond (qualification: 30 Tests). Among the other Australian greats at that position, Ian Chappell averages 50.94 (4279 runs from 54 Tests), while Neil Harvey managed 46.67 (3454 from 54).
Don Bradman 40 5078 103.6320/ 10 Wally Hammond 37 3440 74.7814/ 4 Ricky Ponting 60 5544 63.7219/ 20 Viv Richards 45 3508 61.5412/ 14 Rahul Dravid 77 6518 60.9117/ 31 Brian Lara 39 3244 58.987/ 12
It was a day of confusion in the Caribbean with claim and counter claim but no sign of an end to the dispute
Cricinfo staff28-Jun-2005A day of confusion in the Caribbean ended with the announcement by the West Indies board (WICB) that it was preparing to select an alternate squad for the forthcoming tour of Sri Lanka following the continued refusal of most of those originally picked to sign the board contract. At the close of play on Monday, only five players had agreed to tour.Late last night, the WICB issued a press release stating that it had submitted counter proposals to those put forward by the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) on June 22, as well as submitting an amendment to the controversial Clause Five of the contract which has been at the heart of the dispute.The counter proposal, sent by Roger Brathwaite, the board’s CEO, to Dinanath Ramnarine, the president of WIPA, on June 25 laid out a four-point plan which clarified existing processes involving the role of Justice Adrian Saunders, the judge appointed last year to arbitrate in the dispute. Crucially, the board’s proposal would allow the tour to go ahead while the arbitration process continued, a move WIPA will almost certainly interpret as little more than stalling tactics.But what is not clear is if the counter proposal included the amendments to Clause Five, as these seem to have emerged after negotiations between an agent representing some of the players and Brathwaite during the course of Monday. Those changes have not materially altered the contract, but have sought to clarify the rights of the players to enter into personal endorsement deals.But the stumbling block is that those discussions appear to have taken place without the involvement of WIPA, who in the meantime have submitted their own response to Brathwaite’s letter of June 25.The mood of WIPA will hardly have been improved by the board’s failed attempt to outflank it by going directly to the A-team players in Sri Lanka to try to get them to agree to replace their senior colleagues.
Wasim Jaffer was pleasantly surprised after being recalled to the Indian side but few will resent him being given another chance, after his gluttonous run-scoring on the domestic circuit
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan14-Dec-2005
Can Wasim Jaffer drive home the point this time? © Getty Images
It came as a surprise to many when Wasim Jaffer, who played the last of the seven Tests for India in Trent Bridge in 2002, was picked to replace Sourav Ganguly for the third Test against Sri Lanka at Ahmedabad. He had often been overlooked, despite his stupendous domestic record, and Jaffer himself was pleasantly surprised.”I’m quite surprised that I have been picked to replace Sourav Ganguly,” he said after hearing the news. “I didn’t expect to be recalled so early but I hope to put my best foot forward if given the opportunity. I’m not going to be looking as far as the Pakistan tour, just want to perform in this Test. I’ll try and fulfill whatever roles are handed out to me.”What the selectors had in mind while picking Jaffer, returning to the side after a three-year spell, and whether it was just a back-up option, one will have to wait and watch. But, though he looked out of place in his first two stints, few will resent him being given another chance, after his gluttonous run-scoring on the domestic circuit.The mountain of runs he accumulated ever since he was dropped – a double-hundred, seven hundreds and an average of close to 53 – was difficult to ignore and a penchant for scoring in the big games would have surely enhanced his case that much more. “I knew I needed to go on scoring consistently at the domestic level,” he continued. “It was a frustrating period but there is place for only two openers. No point complaining.”Ever since his mammoth triple hundred in only his second first-class game, Jaffer has always had the tools to build big hundreds. His flowing drives can be a treat to watch, struck on the up with superb timing, but the tendency to play half-cock, with his feet moving neither front nor back, have caused his downfall on a number of occasions. He produced three half-centuries while playing in West Indies and England but his vulnerability against the moving ball cost him. The likes of Pedro Collins and Matthew Hoggard capitalised on this weakness and both dismissed him twice with full-swinging deliveries.
Undone by a full swinging ball from Matthew Hoggard at Lord’s © Getty Images
Instead of getting lost in the labyrinth that is Indian domestic cricket, Jaffer went about rectifying his frailties, while ensuring that he didn’t compromise on his awesome consistency. He was one of the architects of Mumbai’s twin triumphs in the Ranji Trophy: his 83 and 98 under pressure in the 2003 final swung the see-saw battle their way, while his rock-solid 133 in the 2004 final set up a crushing win. He also played a major role in guiding West Zone to the Duleep Trophy recently, managing a hundred and two fifties in three low-scoring games. Around this time last year, when he fell for 7 and 0 in one game, one national daily had a fitting headline – `Jaffer fails … at last’. It gives you an idea of the sort of zone he was in.”He is a diligent student of the game and is always looking to improve irrespective of whether he scores a duck or a hundred,” said Chandrakant Pandit, the former Indian wicketkeeper who coached Mumbai for three seasons. “He’s much more compact with his defence now and is a solid presence at the top of the order, someone who I could always rely upon to give us big totals. Even though he went on scoring and yet didn’t get recalled, there was not a moment when he gave up hope.””At the age of 27, Jaffer has already been through a number of peaks and troughs and this second chance maybe the opening that can catapult him even further. Apart from his joy in being selected, Jaffer was also eagerly anticipating his first meeting with Greg Chappell, someone whom he had deeply admired during his formative years. Just two weeks earlier, as India geared up for their fifth ODI against South Africa at Mumbai, Jaffer, in his characteristically unobtrusive manner, watched them train from the sidelines. Come tomorrow, and he will make the much-deserved transition to the other side.
Simon Jones and Matthew Hoggard bowled the ideal length on a slow Trent Bridge pitch
On the ball with S Rajesh and Arun Gopalakrishnan27-Aug-2005The pitch at Trent Bridge didn’t offer too much assistance to the bowlers, but Simon Jones and Matthew Hoggard showed exactly how to bowl on this slow track. As the graphic shows, Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff were guilty of bowling just a touch too short in Australia’s first innings. On a track lacking in pace, that gave the Australian batsmen more time to line up those deliveries to either attack or defend. Jones and Hoggard, though, kept the ball up, and while that meant a few more chances for the batsmen to drive, it also resulted in more wicket-taking opportunities. Not surprisingly, Hoggard and Jones finished with combined figures of 8 for 114, while Harmison and Flintoff only had 2 for 102.The outstanding bowling performance meant that Australia were forced to follow on for the first time since 1988, when Pakistan inflicted that ignominy upon them. In this 17-year period, Australia forced that fate on the opposition 18 times in 190 Tests.Chastised by the experience of following on, Australia batted more resolutely the second time around. The scoring rate slowed to 3.31, a significant drop from the 4.43 they managed in the first innings, but the rate of losing wickets too dropped from one every five overs to one every 17. England’s bowlers kept up the pressure most of the time, but weren’t quite as incisive as in the first innings, when 26% of the deliveries they bowled were potentially wicket-taking ones (that is, they beat the bat, forced an edge or a mistimed stroke, or rapped the batsmen on the pads). In the second innings, that figure for England’s seamers dropped to 17%, which is as much as the Australian fast bowlers had managed in England’s first innings.
A special correspondent in Harare says that the overhaul of domestic cricket inside Zimbabwe ends a long and proud history for the purpose of maintaining the current board in power
A special correspondent in Harare03-Jul-2006Zimbabwe domestic cricket has always been proud of its history and achievements. From a small, but intact and soundly administered provincial structure, Zimbabwe has been able to pull together players to form a fairly competitive Test side.Just like in any other cricket playing nation, provincial colours in Zimbabwe was something players wore with pride and honour. From the school game, having a Mashonaland or Matabeleland cricket tag sawn on the back of your school blazer was something to swank about.
At adult level, the Logan Cup, Zimbabwe’s sole domestic first-class competition, was the apex of provincial representation in Zimbabwe cricket. Again, like anywhere else where cricket is played at the highest level, pride, passion and the spirit of competitiveness were important elements learned by players at provincial level and carried into the international arena.What made the Logan Cup much the more momentous was the decentralisation of cricket strength in Zimbabwe. Mashonaland incorporating the capital Harare, as the biggest province in Zimbabwe, naturally had the largest pool of players in the country. Because of a rich cricket background in smaller towns and rural farming areas, the other provinces also had good cricketers and local clubs.The second biggest province, Matabeleland, produced some of Zimbabwe’s best players in history. In the Test years, players such as Heath Streak, Adam Huckle, Henry Olonga, John Rennie and Pommie Mbangwa were some of the national team players who gave the Matabeleland province a standing in Zimbabwe cricket.Though Mashonaland has dominated the Logan Cup, the provincial rivalry between them and Matabeleland was one of the talking points, and indeed the major highlights of Zimbabwe cricket.Cricinfo has reported that Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC), which in recent months dismantled the traditional provinces in Zimbabwe to form new and smaller provincial boards, has almost finalised plans to do away with the provinces on the playing side as well.Cricinfo was told this week that ZC is revising the Logan Cup to turn it into a national select sides competition. Gone are the Mashonaland, Matabeleland, Midlands and Manicaland sides in a turn of events which has left Zimbabwe cricket deprived of its soul and distinctiveness.Even if the Logan Cup was going to continue as a provincial competition, it was, all the same, never going to be the same again. The Mashonaland and Matabeleland provinces are no longer existent. Harare and Bulawayo Metropolitan provinces were formed out of the ashes of the two former dominant provinces, while the outline areas will be covered by regional associations such as Mashonaland West and Matabeleland North.Still, if the Logan Cup was to continue on provincial level, it would have made a mockery of first-class cricket, as most of the provinces out of the ten formed by ZC are still far from achieving first-class status. They don’t have substantive leadership yet, and they are still scrambling for positions. They are just local boards with no authority, made up of people with dubious cricket backgrounds.So, in order to mask these shortcomings, doing away with the old system and creating new teams altogether appears the only solution ZC could resort to. The new provinces have been rendered powerless and redundant. They are not first-class provinces, they cannot challenge the national board and they will soon have constitutions made for them by people who want to control them and make sure they do not question anything.
David Murray could have been great; now he’s a wreck
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan30-Jun-2006It’s tragic that many of Bridgetown’s younger generation consider David Murray a castaway roaming the streets. His skeletal frame and unkempt Rastafarian braids suggest as much, but behind that visage is a gentle man, sharing a joke, talking cricket and reflecting on what could have been. Murray, a brilliant keeper and stylish batsman, was one step away from being a part of the legendary side of the 1980s. Sadly, it turned out to be a bridge too far.Murray, Sir Everton Weekes’s son, was born into greatness. Local observers talk about the soft hands that characterised his keeping style, and the flair with which he approached his batting. Yet he managed only 19 Tests; his namesake Deryck took the wicketkeeper’s spot that could well have been his.Murray lives now in his childhood home in Station Hill, one of Bridgetown’s middle-class localities. As one enters, he talks about his financial problems and requests payment for the interview. The cigarettes strewn around the place tell a story, as does the distinct odour of marijuana.Murray admits that drugs played a part in ruining his life, yet he doesn’t regret any of it. Has he got over the smoking problem? “What you mean smoking problem? I was doing it all along… since I was 11 or 12.” First cigarettes, then marijuana and finally, in 1978, cocaine.Did smoking pot enhance his performance? “It gives you good meditation… concentration you know. Not that you did it to enhance your performance.” He even took drugs before the start and after the end of a day’s play. “But never in the breaks – you can’t do that.” Murray’s penchant for drugs got him into trouble on the 1975-76 tour of Australia. He attributes it to a misunderstanding between him and Bernard Julien, and eventually wriggled out thanks to Lance Gibbs’s backing. “If not for Gibbs, they wanted to send me home from Australia. Gibbs said, `He is a young man, he’s got a future in West Indies cricket, we can’t do this.'”Murray visited India in 1974-75 and 1977-78 and had a fine tour with the bat the second time around. Apart from two crucial fifties in the Tests, he managed his only first-class double-hundred in a tour game at Jamshedpur. He fondly recalls that innings, and even more so the attractions of Bombay. “It is very easy to get hashish in Bombay,” he reminisces. “A waiter at the team hotel started the whole thing. There was a market there, near the Gateway of India, where you used to get anything, good African marijuana, everything… it’s a great place.”The end came during the 1981-82 tour to Australia. Murray played the first two Tests at Melbourne and Sydney but was rested for the one-day series that followed. “I played two Tests back-to-back with a broken finger,” he says of the two games. “And they didn’t pick me, although I was fitter than before. They wanted me to go with the water cart and I said, `Hey, I am not doing that… I should be playing.’ They fined me $1000.” Murray never played a Test again. He soon joined the rebel side to South Africa and faced a ban as a result. He lived in Australia for close to seven years before returning to Bridgetown in 1991.With his financial resources drying up, Murray’s future looks bleak. Locals say he spends his days at the beach, making a living out of helping tourists get “stuff”. Murray’s version is slightly different: “I go to the beach, enjoy myself and stay alive.” It doesn’t really matter who is right. Here is a man Michael Holding felt was the best keeper who had kept to him; someone who could have been a legend. And here he is now, scoffed at as a pariah by the kids of Bridgetown. Neil Young was probably right: it’s better to burn out than to fade away.
Dale Steyn’s role has been clearly defined to him for the first time and the worries and anxiety about run-rate and ‘control’ have subsided. By Neil Manthorp
Neil Manthorp08-Oct-2007
Dale Steyn’s strike-rate of a wicket every 45 balls is second on the all-time South African list © AFP
If Inzamam-ul-Haq dominates the “Inzamam Test” it will be a fairy-tale end to a career that started like a fairy tale but included more wicked witches than Cinderella as it neared its end. Intriguingly, the man most likely to ensure it has an unhappy end is pretty much living a fairy tale of his own.Dale Steyn did not come wrapped in conventional fast bowlers’ packaging. For a start he still looks too small and too short even after four years of fitness-training and gym work and he neither talks nor acts like a “conventional” fast bowler. His lack of aggression on the field is a faithful reproduction of his character and personality off it.”He is reluctant to bowl flat out, and that can be frustrating for a captain and a coach. He doesn’t ever seem to want to just let it rip, and sometimes you want him to do that,” says Titans coach Richard Pybus, clearly perplexed as to why someone with the ability to bowl at 150kph doesn’t ever want to try and knock a batsman’s head off. But Steyn is Steyn, he is like no other.The most often repeated anecdote concerning his first-class debut is the one about how his team-mates tried hard to conspire with him against English-speaking opposition. Anybody called Dale Steyn, from the Afrikaans backwater of Phalaborwa, would be fluent in the language, of course. Not.Steyn, having kickstarted his career by turning up at nets one day a la Waqar Younis and several other great fast bowlers, was an unknown. And his Zimbabwean, English-speaking heritage was, to say the least, unexpected for his new team-mates. After a mere 11 first-class games, he made his debut for South Africa. It was more than he could cope with.He bowled some spectacular deliveries and some woeful ones, too, probably in equal measure. But an 18-month break from the national team gave him time to settle and his current tally of 49 wickets from 12 Tests at an average of 29 promises great things. His strike-rate of a wicket every 45 balls is second on the all-time South African list. For the moment.His partnership in the first Test with Titans team-mate Paul Harris, the left-arm spinner, was crucial. “We work well as a team,” says Steyn. “Harry bowed so well that there were no runs coming from his end. That helps a fast bowler so much.” After a mere 11 first-class games, he made his debut for South Africa. It was more than he could cope with Steyn, however, is not just benefiting from the endeavours at the other end. His role has been clearly defined for the first time and the worries and anxiety about run-rate and “control” have subsided.”I’m allowed to go for four runs an over now … maybe! My role has been defined to me very nicely and clearly,” said Steyn. “It is to run in, 4-5 over spells, to break partnerships. The captain wants wickets from me and it’s a fantastic feeling to know that he, and my team-mates, back me to do that.”Asked whether he’d enjoy spoiling Inzamam’s celebratory farewell, Steyn’s eyes light up before his good-natured side kicks in. “It would be very nice to get him. I have taken his wicket before in Cape Town the last time we played. He’s a great player. I hope he has the occasion he deserves in his last Test, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want his wicket.”It may be true that Steyn is too “soft” to be a world-beater at the moment, but the opposite may be true, too. Perhaps he will be the smiling assassin South Africa have never had. Either way, there’s nothing soft about his approach to the second Test.”We don’t want to play for the draw. We started the first Test with all guns blazing and it worked very well for us, why would we decide to change that approach? We start the second Test full of confidence.”
A review of the The Final Test on DVD
Martin Williamson16-Sep-2007The Final Test Odeon Entertainment DVD, £9.99
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Cricket is not overly represented in the movies. With the exception of the excellent Lagaan in 2001, there are few films that centre on the game. One that does is Anthony Asquith’s 1953 drama The Final Test, which has been issued for the first time on DVD.And lest we think that cashing in is a modern phenomenon, the film premiered in April of that year, a fortnight before the Australians arrived. Most sports-based films are bad box office, but The Final Test was an exception.The basic story centres on Sam Palmer (played by Jack Warner, who for years played Dixon Of Dock Green on British TV) who is at the end of his England career and about to play his farewell Test. Some might argue it was long overdue as Warner was 59 when he played the role.While Palmer is feted by all and sundry, his main concern is that his poetry-obsessed son is not remotely interested in watching his father’s last performance. Instead the boy sets off to meet a famous playwright and poet. Will he relent and traipse down to The Oval?Therein lies the real problem. In the end we don’t really care one way or the other. It is hard to empathise with any of the leading characters and that is surprising as the author was the Oscar-nominated Terence Rattigan, no mean cricketer himself.Despite that, it’s an entertaining 90 minutes and offers a glimpse into a different England. A number of the vignettes – Richard Wattis as a man in the crowd at The Oval, and the gathering listening to the match on the radio in the pub – stand out, and the end result is well worth watching.What also appeals about this film are the cameos from a number of members of the England side that went on to regain the Ashes that year. Len Hutton, the captain, Denis Compton, Godfrey Evans, Jim Laker and Cyril Washbrook all make appearances. Asquith said that Compton and Evans were natural actors but that Bedser and Laker should stick to cricket.Hutton has more than a walk-on part and he copes with it admirably. His diction is a fascinating reflection on an age where class was still prevalent. In 1938, as a 21-year-old, Hutton scored his world-record 364 against Australia and when he was interviewed by the BBC there was no mistaking his Yorkshireness. By 1953 he was England captain and seemingly had taken elocution lessons. He was close to accentless, albeit rather strained. England could tolerate him as their first professional captain as long as he spoke correctly.