The International Cricket Council and the Irish Cricket Union today announced the venues for the ICC Trophy Ireland 2005, the tournament which will determine the final five qualifying places for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007.The eighth ICC Trophy will bring together 12 teams to contest 42 matches at 25 venues – a record for an ICC event – in the first half of July. The venues, which are still subject to final ICC inspection, are spread out across the north and south of Ireland with the group phase scheduled to take place in the north and the finals in the south. Clontarf, the ground at which Ireland defeated Surrey by five wickets in this year’s Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy, will host the final.Ehsan Mani, the ICC’s president, said the tournament was fortunate to have so many highly rated grounds available throughout Ireland. “The ICC is delighted that the games will be played at such a variety of venues as it means that no ground will be played on too frequently and that will augur well for the state of the pitches,” said Mani. “It is obviously a hugely important aspect of the tournament, not least because five of the 12 countries will qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup in the West Indies in 2007.”John Wright, secretary of the Irish Cricket Union who will also be the tournament director, said: “We are very grateful for the enthusiastic manner in which clubs throughout the country responded to the invitation to host games. In fact we received more acceptances than were required so, inevitably, some clubs will be disappointed. However, such is the enthusiasm for the tournament that some of these clubs have offered their facilities for `warm-up’ games.”Ireland will play their five first phase matches at Bangor, North Down, Waringstown and Civil Service which will stage two matches.The full list of venues is as follows:Armagh, Bangor, Carrick, Civil Service, Cliftonville, Clontarf, Cooke Collegians, Downpatrick, Drummond, Eglinton, Instonians, Leinster, Limavady, Lisburn, Lurgan, Malahide, Merrion, Muckamore, Newforge, North County, North Down, RBAI (Osborne Park, Belfast), The Hills, Waringstown, Woodvale.Details on ticketing and hospitality arrangements will be made available in early 2005.Eleven of the participating nations in the ICC Trophy 2005 are now known and the groups have been drawn. The final team will be the winner of ICC World Cup Qualifying Series (WCQS) event in Malaysia in February.Group A Bermuda, Denmark, Ireland, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United States.Group B Canada, Holland, Namibia, Oman, Scotland, WCQS winner.Previous winners 1979 – Sri Lanka 1982 – Zimbabwe 1986 – Zimbabwe 1990 – Zimbabwe 1994 – UAE 1997 – Bangladesh 2001 – Holland
ScorecardAs expected, Mashonaland used the third day to recover from a regular first-innings aberration and turn the screws on the hapless Matabeleland team. The feature of the day was a monumental unbeaten 181 from Stuart Carlisle, his fourth century of the year out of seven in his 11 years in first-class cricket. Matabeleland, set 424 to win, struggled to 82 for three at the close.From 134 for one overnight, Mashonaland ground their way to 442 for six, built around Carlisle’s 6½ innings, before declaring. Matabeleland seemed resigned to defeat from the start, bowling a negative line outside off stump from the start and after tea putting nine fielders on the boundary to their spinners.Carlisle’s innings included 15 fours and 7 sixes. Dion Ebrahim made 70 before edging one of Mbangwa’s width balls to the keeper, while there were useful contributions from Tatenda Taibu (31), Elton Chigumbura (32), Andy Blignaut (45) and Ryan Butterworth (29 not out).There was time before the close for Mluleki Nkala to show real class with the bat, finishing unbeaten on 28, but his team faces a virtually hopeless task.Day 2 Bulletin
Former Somerset scorer David Oldam died in Taunton on New Years Day at the age of sixty six.David was the first eleven scorer for Somerset between 1983 and 1999, and during his sixteen years never missed a single match played by the county in any competition either at home or away.Before taking on the post of scorer he ran the main scoreboard at the County Ground for two years.After he retired at the end of the 1999 season David continued to be involved at the club and made all of the tannoy announcements at Somerset home matches up until the end of last season, apart from a short break when he was in hospital.His knowledge of Somerset cricket was considerable and on many occasions David was able to provide the answers to questions that were raised by members of the press box who were situated next door to where he scored.Chief Executive Peter Anderson told me earlier today, “It’s always a sad loss when you lose such a devoted member of the club. David was a man who didn’t suffer fools gladly , but he knew his cricket.”David Oldham will be cremated at Taunton Deane Crematorium on Thursday January 10th at 1.30pm.He will be sadly missed by all of those who got to know him over the years that he was involved with the club.
The Zimbabweans were in good batting form in what play there was against NewZealand A at Bristol, but were frustrated by rain from pressing home theiradvantage. The New Zealanders started well with Marshall (76) and Papps (40)putting on 122 for the first wicket and reached 173-3 in 41 overs.Under the Duckworth-Lewis system the Zimbabweans had to score 194 to win in41 overs. With Murray Goodwin, who hit 61 n.o. from 65 balls, in the goodform he has enjoyed almost all summer that target seemed to be well withinreach. However a further shower put an end to play with the score at 128-2after just 22 overs – and as the minimum 25 overs had not been completed thematch was abandoned withouit result.
Liverpool just about scraped past Inter Milan in their Champions League round of 16 tie last night, after Lautaro Martinez brought the Italian side within one goal of Jurgen Klopp’s side, before former Manchester United and Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez ended the Serie A Champions’ hopes by getting sent off after receiving a second yellow card.
Despite going through on aggregate, it was the Reds’ first loss since the end of December – and the first time this season in the Champions League that they failed to win.
However, they should have scored at least two goals on the night but for some great defending and poor finishing.
While Joel Matip hit the bar, it was Egyptian fan-favourite Mohamed Salah who missed the two best chances of the game – hitting the post on both occasions, on his way to a 6.6 match rating according to SofaScore, which only Diogo Jota failed to match or beat.
The 29-year-old also lost the ball 18 times – working out at every three times he touched the ball he gave up possession, which is something that will surely frustrate Klopp – particularly as the result was anything but a comfortable one.
Rather remarkably, goalkeeper Alisson also had two more touches of the ball at Anfield last night and made 18 more passes at a higher completion rate. Those are rather alarming statistics when you consider Salah is someone that Liverpool will always be aiming to give the ball to.
Despite wanting an insurance goal after Martinez’s thunderbolt, he also failed to deliver one accurate cross, or have a shot that was on target and could even force a save out of 37-year-old Slovenian keeper Samir Handanovic.
With that in mind, it was a rare off day for Salah who will need to improve on this performance if Klopp’s side wants to go all the way and win the competition.
In comparison, Senegalese teammate Sadio Mane achieved a rating of 7.0, despite himself not having a shot on target either – but he also only gave away possession eight times and created a big chance himself, which the Egypt international failed to do.
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It was the third game running that the former Chelsea and Roma winger had failed to score or assist, and with his contract set to expire next year, his form is the last thing the fans want to be worrying about if 2023 will prove to be his last on Merseyside.
However, this is the Premier League’s current top scorer and second top assister that we are talking about, who has 29 goal contributions in 25 games – he will most definitely soon bounce back and supporters will be hoping it will be immediate with Liverpool still in with a shot at winning the elusive quadruple.
In other news: Klopp drops cryptic 7-word Liverpool message on live TV, fans will be worried
Glasgow Rangers enjoyed a somewhat productive summer transfer window, releasing various players such as Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos, who were on big wages, while managing to lure some quality to Ibrox in the process.
The likes of Danilo, Jack Butland and Jose Cifuentes are players who have proven their class elsewhere and are the kind of pedigree that can only improve the Gers in the long run.
Michael Beale failed to secure the club Champions League group stage football for the second season in a row and will have to be content with the Europa League following a poor display against PSV Eindhoven.
This wasn’t his only blunder either, as the 42-year-old missed out on a few players during the window, and one could have been a major upgrade on a player who has made just one appearance this season – Scott Wright.
What’s happened to Scott Wright?
The right-winger has failed to light up Ibrox during his two-and-a-half seasons at the club, netting only eight goals and registering seven assists across 85 games, a poor return for a player who was signed in order to add some goal contributions from the flank.
Indeed, across 34 matches last term, Wright managed just one assist, while ranking in a lowly 30th spot for overall Sofascore rating (6.64), tenth for successful dribbles (0.5) and 21st for key passes (0.4) per game, indicating that he failed to really take his chances when given an opportunity to shine.
It’s evident that Beale shouldn’t rely on the Scot during the 2023/24 campaign and the 42-year-old missed a great opportunity to sign a player who was starring in the MLS for Los Angeles FC – Kwadwo Opoku.
Who did Rangers miss out on signing?
Despite Beale completing a major overhaul of his squad, the Ibrox side did miss out on a few targets, such as Luis Palma, Morgan Whittaker and Auston Trusty, yet it could be the failure to sign Opoku that leaves the Gers short of wide options.
Glasgow Rangers forward Scott Wright.
The Ghanaian was linked with a move to the Light Blues back in June, with Old Firm rivals Celtic also showing interest, and it looked as though he could’ve been available for €4.8m (£4m), which wouldn’t have been out of their price range.
The right-winger registered 11 goal contributions during the 2022 MLS season – eight goals and three assists – as he played a starring role in the club claiming the MLS cup.
He ranked third for big chances created (11), sixth for key passes per game (0.8) and for successful dribbles per game (one), clearly suggesting he’d be an upgrade on Wright, especially with his eye for goal.
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The 22-year-old was hailed by journalist Owuraku Ampofo following LAFC winning the title, saying: “Kwadwo Opoku caps off a magnificent season with LAFC, helping them lift the MLS trophy.
“Opoku had 8 goals and 3 assists this season, and was vital in the playoffs – providing an assist in the Quarterfinal, and scoring in the semi-final. A fairytale story for the forward.”
It wasn’t to be for Rangers however, as the 5 foot 4 starlet made the move to CF Montreal instead of heading to Europe, and it could certainly come to represent an opportunity missed by the club, especially if Wright barely features before Christmas.
The Sri Lankan legspinner, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, is expected to be out of action for two months after undergoing an operation on his dislocated right index finger.Lokuarchchi sustained the injury while attempting a return catch off Ravi Bopara during England’s first innings of their match against a Sri Lanka Board President’s XI in Colombo.Initially it was feared he had sustained a break, but his coach, Chandika Hathurusinghe, confirmed that the blow had dislocated a knuckle without severing the surrounding tendons. Nevertheless, he is expected to spend three weeks in plaster, and it will be a further month before he is fit to bowl again.Though Lokuarachchi was not in contention for the forthcoming Test series against England, he was very much in the selectors’ thoughts for the CB Series in Australia in January and February. He played in the final two matches of England’s recent ODI series in September and October, and has taken 31 wickets at 23.38 in 31 matches to date.
A battling unbeaten 77 by Daren Ganga kept West Indies in the game as they closed the second day on 191 for 6, still 113 behind Pakistan’s first-innings total of 304. Ganga fought off an inspired spell of reverse-swing bowling by Umar Gul – who rocked West Indies with three wickets in two overs after smashing a crucial 26 earlier in the day – and the relentless accuracy of Danish Kaneria in an attritional 212-ball innings which ensured that Pakistan didn’t completely take the day’s honours.The lack of pace and bounce in the pitch were deterrents for the bowlers, but they had other factors going in their favour. The track was dry and abrasive, while the outfield was rough, and together they were perfect conditions for reverse-swing, an art in which Pakistan have long excelled. Gul led the way with two outstanding deliveries to get rid of Brian Lara and Ramnaresh Sarwan – both for ducks – while Abdul Razzaq and Shahid Nazir consistently asked questions of the batsmen with their ability to move the ball late. Danish Kaneria was hampered by the lack of bounce, but he varied his line and flight, turned the ball appreciably, and ensured that there were few scoring opportunities.In such testing conditions, Ganga’s innings was a gem. It contained few strokes to light up the ground or bring the crowd to their feet – Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul took those honours – but for sheer technical excellence, poise, composure and powers of concentration, it was a top-class effort.Against the late swing from the fast bowlers, he displayed a compact defensive technique, getting a big front-foot stride and playing with bat right beside pad. The lack of pace also allowed him to adjust late, and he rarely committed to his shots early. Kaneria has troubled him in the past, but here even he struggled to breach Ganga’s rock-solid defence. Amid all the doggedness, Ganga also produced a few glorious strokes – when the ball was pitched up he unfurled a couple of copy-book correct off-drives, while a cut shot off Gul, played off the front foot, showed just how well he had adjusted to the surface.While he negotiated the swing and the spin five of his mates fell to a combination of outstanding bowling and bad luck. Gayle started off at a frenetic pace in the morning, driving superbly down the ground and getting to 40 in quick time before mistiming a long hop straight to mid-on. If that was a wicket gifted away, the next two certainly weren’t. Gul, bowling an inspired spell in the afternoon session, first took care of Lara with one that pitched on middle, moved away, beat Lara’s hesitant second-ball prod, and took off. In his next over Sarwan – back in the side after missing out at Multan – was clueless against the perfect inswinging yorker. Fifty-one without loss quickly became 51 for 3, before Shivnarine Chanderpaul produced the second fluent cameo of the day.Timing the ball as sublimely as Mohammad Yousuf had on the first day, Chanderpaul started off with two crisply timed clips off his legs for fours, and raced to 36 from 49 balls before Imran Farhat took the first of two slightly fortuitous catches at short leg as Chanderpaul flicked one from the middle of the bat.Runako Morton’s technique was severely tested by the ball swinging in to him, but he survived and managed to add 39 with Ganga, before Farhat plucked off another one – this time the ball hit Farhat’s shoulder, and perhaps grazed the visor, before lobbing into his hands. There was a moment of controversy too, as the third umpire was called in to check if the ball had indeed touched the helmet, in which case the batsman would have been ruled not out. Replays were inconclusive, and Kaneria had his second wicket of the day.Those wickets buoyed up Kaneria, who wheeled down 28.4 overs with unflagging enthusiasm throughout a long day, and he soon had another dismissal to celebrate, as the out-of-sorts Dwayne Bravo finally ran out of patience and bottom-edged a cut to the wicketkeeper. Ganga kept West Indies afloat, but with 113 in the arrears, West Indies still have plenty of work to do on the third day.
Greg Chappell, the coach of the Indian side, has said that he is optimistic about the current team lifting their performance over the next few months and believes that they have improved in several areas since he took over.Chappell admitted that India had slipped up in the two finals recently – against Sri Lanka and New Zealand – but felt that it was just a matter of time before the team turned the corner and the “whole atmosphere around the team” changed.”We’re seeing some positive results of the hard work we’ve been doing,” Chappell told . “Unfortunately, it didn’t show up in the final, but in the lead-up matches, I was happy with a lot of things we’ve been working on. Our fielding, bowling and aspects of our batting are starting to show the benefits of the work we’ve done. Players are fitter than they were when we started. They are working harder. So in all ways, we’re seeing positive signs. It’s not going to happen overnight but over a six-month period, hopefully we should be seeing a different looking Indian team.”India’s woeful record in the finals of tournaments – losing 16 of the last 21 finals – was definitely a matter of concern for Chappell and he thought the “tension” surrounding these games was getting to the players. “The recent record in the finals plays on the minds of the players,” he said.” The fact that you guys are asking about it all the time – the media, the public are talking about it all the time. It increases the pressure on the players. If we’re getting into the finals, we’re giving ourselves a chance. And I’ve no doubt if we keep reaching the finals, we’ll win some and then the whole atmosphere around the team will change.”Chappell admitted that Sourav Ganguly’s continuing slump was bound to affect the “other areas of his game”, but he said the bad patch was bound to end sometime soon. “I have no doubts he can make runs again,” said Chappell, who was instrumental in Ganguly overcoming a previous slump before his successful tour of Australia in 2003-04. “He’s well aware of what he needs to do,” he continued. “There are some good signs on the way he’s batted on this tour. Again, hard work is beginning to pay off and that’s all he can or anyone of us can do in any stage of your career when things aren’t going well. You’ve to focus and work on the areas that would give you the best chance of success.”
Australia’s mighty batting line-up capitulated for just 93 in the face of some magnificent bowling from Harbhajan Singh and Murali Kartik, as India pulled off a scarcely credible 13-run victory in the final Test at the Wankhede Stadium. Australia might have already won the series, but for an Indian team under the cosh since the third Test at Nagpur, it was a triumph to savour. Though the bowlers will get most of the plaudits, many of the hard yards had been done earlier in the day, with Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman scripting superb half-centuries before Michael Clarke uncurled his golden arm.But no-one could steal the limelight from Harbhajan. When Dravid recalled him into the attack, after Australia had crept to within 14 of the modest 107 they needed, he had Michael Kasprowicz caught at leg slip, and Glenn McGrath taken at slip to leave India victorious, and Jason Gillespie unconquered on an obdurate 9 that had spanned 51 balls.Zaheer Khan, destined for nothing more than a supporting role on this dustbowl, had given India the perfect fillip when Australia started their pursuit, with Justin Langer edging one to Dravid at first slip. And after a quick flurry of fours from Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden, Dravid opted for spin at both ends, with Kartik taking over from Zaheer.The impact was immediate. Ponting was caught by Laxman at second slip after the edge had initially gone on to Dinesh Karthik’s thigh-pad, and Damien Martyn, Australia’s most assured batsman in this series, lasted just five balls, trapped in front on the back foot by the last ball of the over (24 for 3).
That was the wobble. The quake started in earnest when Simon Katich aimed a drive at Harbhajan to give Dravid another scalp at slip. Hayden (24) was still a menace though, cutting Harbhajan for four and then miscuing one down to the fence at long-off. But when he attempted a sweep to one pitched outside leg, the ball trickled onto the stumps via glove and pad. Harbhajan celebrated, and Australia’s hopes nosedived.Kartik then bowled Clarke, and the collective delirium intensified when Tendulkar took a simple catch on the square-leg boundary after Adam Gilchrist had essayed a senseless sweep. But though India were in the box seat, the drama was far from over. Nathan Hauritz chiselled out 15 from 18 balls, and with Gillespie in thou-shall-not-pass mode, the target was whittled down by 20.Anil Kumble, on for Harbhajan, provided the crucial breakthrough, with Aleem Dar giving India the benefit of the doubt after Hauritz was struck on the pad in front of leg stump. But Gillespie and Kasprowicz then weathered the assault for over half an hour while eking out 15, before the voluble Harbhajan had the final word.Such a gripping contest had appeared very unlikely when Clarke, who had already given India plenty of heartache with the bat in this series, turned in a stunning spell with the ball either side of tea. Dravid, who had compiled a patient 27, was his first victim, caught off the glove by Gilchrist, and Karthik’s prod was expertly grabbed by Ponting at silly point (188 for 6). With tea only moments away, Kaif – who was sprightly and fluent on his way to 25 – padded up to one that pitched in line and straightened.
The procession continued after the interval, as Harbhajan, Kartik and Zaheer managed just two runs between them to leave Clarke with the astonishing figures of 6 for 9 from 6.2 overs. For a while in the morning, it had seemed that the likes of Clarke wouldn’t be needed, with McGrath sorting out both openers. Gautam Gambhir edged one to slip, and Virender Sehwag inexplicably shouldered arms to one that nipped back as India slumped to 14 for 2.That brought McGrath and Tendulkar face to face in a Test for the final time. Laxman was already in the middle, promoted to the No. 3 slot from which he had scripted his Kolkata magnum opus, and after the first 11 overs of the innings produced just 15, the next three went for 30 with both men uncorking some champagne strokes.Ponting then called on Hauritz, but there was to be no repeat of yesterday’s dream spell. Tendulkar stroked one through cover and then slammed one into the stand bearing his name as he raced to a 62-ball half-century. For the first time in a fair while, there was a real urgency to Tendulkar’s method. When he not stroking boundaries with a flourish, he worked the ball into the gaps and scampered singles and twos that often had the leaden-footed Laxman struggling. He batted with the panache and fluency of old for his 55, before an attempt to fetch the ball to leg only resulted in a top-edged skyer that was beautifully caught on the run by Clarke.Dravid was never fluent, save for a brief phase after lunch when he drove Hauritz with a flourish through midwicket and cover, but his presence allowed Laxman freedom to go for his shots. But the attacking intent, especially against Hauritz, was to be his undoing. After bisecting the leg-side field with a pull and piercing the off side with a fabulous cover-drive, he smashed the next ball in the direction of long-off, only to watch in amazement as Hauritz dived to his left to snaffle the chance (153 for 4).By then, Laxman had sauntered to 69, and in the final analysis, it – and Tendulkar’s gorgeous cameo – made all the difference, as Australia’s dream of a 3-0 series win went up in huge puffs of Mumbai dust.