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Australian cricket’s marketing experiment with split innings limited overs matches has been thrown out.

Daniel Brettig01-Jun-2011Australian cricket’s marketing experiment with split innings limited overs matches, and a bevy of exotic proposed rules for next summer’s expanded Twenty20 competition, have been thrown out by the Cricket Australia playing conditions committee.The committee, which serves a similar function to the ICC’s cricket committee by deliberating on issues within the game, will forward these conclusions to the CA board for final approval at its next meeting. Committee members observed that the global body’s commitment to 50-over cricket for the 2015 World Cup, and the success of the 2011 tournament on the subcontinent, made further split innings experimentation redundant.Paul Marsh, the chief executive of the Australian Cricketers Association, sat on the committee alongside the CA chairman Jack Clarke, Greg Chappell and Mark Taylor – Matthew Hayden and Shane Warne were absent – and said that no other decision could have been made.”It was really the only decision the committee could take from our perspective given that the ICC have now elected to push forward with the 50-over format towards the next World Cup,” Marsh told . “It wouldn’t have made sense to have our players playing a different format domestically, heading into the next World Cup, so it was a sensible decision.”The remit of the playing conditions committee, there’s various things we look at but one of them is that it has to be a realistic chance of getting up at international level, but there’s a time to trial things, and last year was that time. While we [the ACA] didn’t think it should’ve been trialled, it was and now we’ve got to go back to keeping ourselves in-line with what the international format is.”Clarke noted that other elements of the domestic competition, “such as using two balls, one from each end, reducing restrictions on the number of overs bowlers can deliver or increasing the number of bouncers allowed”, had been accepted as possible innovations by the ICC.However a raft of outlandish proposed rules for next summer’s T20 competition, presented to the public via a survey, were given short shrift by committee members, who reasoned that gambits like letting the crowd keep the ball or overs worth double runs were simply unnecessary.”Common sense prevailed there,” Marsh said. “The committee I know from the ACA’s perspective we’re supportive of initiatives that will promote the Big Bash and get the most people through the ground, and we’ve talked through a few alternative things there to help achieve that.”The matter of domestic playing surfaces was also addressed, and while general assessments of pitch conditions last summer were favourable, often achieving scores of 4.33/5 or better, groundsmen will be reminded of the need to prepare surfaces that reflect the challenges of Test cricket. Numerous players, coaches and the CA chief executive James Sutherland, have all pondered whether or not last summer’s pitches did not help to equip Australia’s players for the Ashes, where England’s batsmen repeatedly ran up tall scores.”The focus should most certainly be on trying to have wickets or pitches around the country that are as close to international pitches as you can get, that’s the best preparation for players,” said Marsh. “But there’s no doubt the weather played a part in it last year, we’ve thought in some cases that states are prioritising result pitches over preparation for international cricket.”

The stadium was in danger of losing the iconic fixture against England due to construction and administrative issues

Firdose Moonda03-Oct-2019Cape Town’s Newlands Stadium will host South Africa’s 2020 New Year’s Test against England. The stadium had run the risk of losing the iconic fixture due to potential disruptions stemming from an ongoing construction project, and concerns over the administrative and financial affairs of the Western Province Cricket Association (WPCA). Late last month, CSA CEO Thabang Moroe said Newlands may not be in a position to host the match – which will bring with it big numbers of touring supporters – but ESPNcricinfo has learned that the match will go ahead.The confirmation means major rearrangements for the summer have been avoided and the four-Test series against England will go ahead as originally planned. The venues for the matches are SuperSport Park (Centurion), which will host the Boxing Day Test, Newlands, St George’s Park (Port Elizabeth) and the Wanderers (Johannesburg).”We are currently gearing up to host the New Year’s Test match at Newlands as planned,” Moroe said in a press release by CSA. “The readiness of the stadium is on track and, barring a significant change in circumstances, it is unlikely that the venue for this Test will change from our schedule.”However, this does not bring an end to the difficulties the WPCA are facing as they remain under CSA administration. The WPCA board remain suspended and under CSA administration with former CEO Andre Odendaal at the helm. CSA, who lent WPCA R81 million (US$5.3 million) for the construction of four office blocks and a refurbishment on the existing structures, are looking into WPCA’s finances and governance.”WPCA chief executive Nabeal Dien will be in charge of the smooth running of all cricket operations and will report directly to the CSA administrator, professor Andre Odendaal, until such time as CSA is reasonably of the opinion that the WPCA administrative and financial affairs are being conducted according to best practice,” Moroe concluded.

Rajasthan’s strategy, according to franchise officials, will be to use players such as Rahul Dravid and Shane Warne to attract and mould younger, talented domestic players.

Tariq Engineer10-Jan-2011Faced with a reduced budget of $7.1m at the IPL player auction, the Rajasthan Royals were limited to buying just eight players (of which only two were Indian) and now face another problem – how do they fill out the rest of the squad? The solution, according to franchise officials, will be to use the star power and proven leadership qualities of players such as Rahul Dravid and Shane Warne, and the presence of two current national Twenty20 captains, to attract and mould younger, talented domestic players.Rajasthan were widely considered to have the weakest team on paper in 2008, but their combination of experience and young talent gelled under Shane Warne’s inspired leadership, and they confounded the pundits to lift the trophy in the tournament’s inaugural year. The same blueprint will be in place this time around, which is why Sean Morris, the Rajasthan chief executive, says they honed in on players who have captained their national Twenty20 sides, such as Johan Botha and Paul Collingwood.”We had to be focused and have specific targets,” Morris told ESPNcricinfo. “I think we’ve got the kind of dressing room you would build if you wanted a dream dressing room of leaders. We’ve surpassed our expectations. [There is] lots of talent that we can bring in to the dressing room that is full of international experience, creating a blend of incredible experience with the young, local players.””All these Indian boys can have Dravid as a mentor,” Raghu Iyer, spokesperson for Rajasthan, said. “The strategy is to have a blend of youth and experience. That is what delivered for us in season one. Yusuf [Pathan] was not the star he is now. [Ravindra] Jadeja was not the star he is now. They have all delivered for us and done extremely well.”There is a second incentive the team can offer talented, young players that other franchises might not be able to match – the opportunity to play regularly in the IPL. Over the first three years, a number of domestic players merely sat on the sidelines and watched while the more established players in the squad were picked for matches. They still benefitted from training with and being exposed to international players, but there is no substitute for competitive games.”Our players are going to be playing a lot of cricket for us,” Morris said. “The young Indian players will be looking at all the teams and players and thinking who am I going to compete with and when I am going to play? And they will look at Rajasthan and will be thinking I have a fantastic chance of playing.”The franchise plans to begin augmenting its squad with players from Rajasthan’s Ranji Trophy team, which has had an excellent domestic season, knocking off heavyweights Mumbai and Tamil Nadu on their way to the finals against Baroda. “The domestic players from Rajasthan are going to get a lot of focus,” Iyer, said. “They have done very well this season. There is a loyalty there and talent as well. We need to be riding that wave.”Among the players the franchise is looking at are 18-year-old Deepak Chahar, who made a huge splash on his first-class debut by taking 8 for 10 to dismiss Hyderabad for a Ranji record low-score of 21, and 20-year-old Ashok Menaria, who captained India in the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand in 2010, after which he bagged an IPL contract with Royal Challengers Bangalore. Rajasthan’s wicketkeeper, Rohit Jhalani, is another player the franchise has its eye on as they failed to pick up a keeper in the auction. In addition, the team is hoping to re-sign players that were part of its development squad for the first three years.Naturally, the franchise is also attempting to sign some of the more prominent domestic players, such as the Mumbai pair of middle-order batsman Ajinkya Rahane and seamer Dhawal Kulkarni, by offering them the same carrot of regular cricket alongside established stars.”At the end of the day, the domestic players are going to make a lot of difference,” Iyer said. “It [the squad] is going to be lean and mean. Everybody has learnt that.”

Middlesex blown away for 75 as Ollie Robinson follows Lions call-up with career-best 8 for 34

David Hopps at Hove18-Aug-2019″One hundred percent a potential England cricketer.” That was the assessment of Chris Jordan when his fellow Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson was called up for England Lions last month. The best figures in the Championship this season, with Middlesex routed for 75, should only add to his reputation.Robinson’s 8 for 34 in 11 overs, based on unremitting accuracy and a modicum of seam movement both ways from an attacking length, ensured that Middlesex were accounted for in only 21.4 overs at Hove, one of the fastest capitulations in their history, and was followed by the presentation of his county cap in the tea interval.That cap is richly deserved. Since joining Sussex after Yorkshire released him for bad timekeeping, he has clocked in with 213 first-class wickets. This season, he now has 48 Division Two wickets at 15.48, a tally second only to Durham’s Chris Rushworth who has played three matches more.”The cap came out of the blue,” he said. “I just wanted to get upstairs and take my spikes off. I was overjoyed. Sussex gave me my chance and helped get me back on the map.”Initially regarded as a mercurial young cricketer capable of bursts of talent, at 25 he is now a day-in, day-out performer. Sussex, seeking to arrest a run of three successive defeats, the last of them an innings loss against Lancashire at Old Trafford when Robinson was on Lions duty, desperately needed his pick-me-up.This is a must-win match for both counties. Strongly fancied in April, they are off the pace, even in a season when three counties will be promoted to aid divisional restructuring. Sussex, 53 ahead with seven wickets standing at the close, put the wobbles of 15 for 3 behind them thanks to a settling third-wicket stand of 113 between Luke Wells and Alex Carey, but their bowling is understrength and are not in the clear yet.Robinson was on course to take all ten, having picking up the first eight wickets in nine overs, with no thoughts of taking a blow, after Middlesex had been put in following a delayed start at 2.30pm. Then, as Robinson was still chuntering to himself over a refused lbw decision against Toby Roland-Jones, the Middlesex batsman edged Tom Haines to second slip.He had to settle for Sussex’s best bowling figures at Hove since 1955 when Ted James took 9 for 60 and dented Yorkshire’s Championship chances in the process.England, of course, are rarely on the lookout for traditional county seamers, able to take advantage of a bit of sap in a superficially gleaming white deck. Most pressingly, it is top-order batsmen who are on their mind. On current trends, they will probably look at his batting average of 21 and offer him a go in the top four.Robinson’s career-best came on a bowlers’ day as potential England batsmen failed across the country. Dom Sibley’s duck for Warwickshire was the most notable in this litany of underachievement, but Middlesex managed a triple failure as Sam Robson, Nick Gubbins and Dawid Malan, either recent England batsmen or, in the case of Gubbins, still highly regarded, managed six runs between them.He has shown a new ability to crank up his pace at times this season – perhaps around the mid-80s mph – but he had the intelligence to recognise that this was not one of those Hove days. On a pitch that did just enough, but did it often, he concentrated on a full and probing length, six of his wickets falling in the arc between wicketkeeper and gully, plus one bowled and one lbw. This was not a story about failing batting techniques in the middle of a T20 tournament, but a high-class bowling display.He conceded only four boundaries, three of them squirted behind the wicket and the only blow of note a step-away clout over mid-on by the No. 11 Tim Murtagh during a last-wicket stand of 25, the highest of the innings. Middlesex must be sick of the sight of him: he picked up 10 wickets at Lord’s earlier in the season and has 46 in five matches against them. “Everyone has their team,” he said.He was on a roll straight away when he took a wicket with his first ball as Robson’s sculpted defensive push resulted in an edge to wicketkeeper Ben Brown. Gubbins fell to a fine diving catch at gully, one-handed to his left, by Haines, and Malan’s defensive cover-up gave Brown a second catch.He then cut one back to have Paul Stirling lbw and when Stevie Eskinazi, whose 24 was comfortably Middlesex’s top score, edged to second slip, Robinson’s squawk of delight would have been looked on approvingly by the seagulls perched on top of the old carpet shed; they too understand a little bit of creating terror.He ran in down the hill, the sun on his back, as if he would never tire. James Harris delayed him for only two balls, John Simpson left with a nod of approval as one seamed to hit his off stump and Nathan Sowter, his final wicket, ensured him of a career-best.It was easy to forget how reliant Sussex can be these days on Robinson. Such luminaries as Jordan, Jofra Archer and George Garton – not forgetting Tymal Mills (now out for the season) and Reece Topley who play only T20 – were all missing from their pace attack. Mir Hamza, the Pakistan left-arm quick, has also now departed.That left Haines as a make-do third seamer for the first time in his career; Jared Warner, on loan from Yorkshire, and a debutant slow left-armer, Elliott Hooper, never got on to bowl. Had Robinson had an off-day, it might have been a very different story, but these days he carries the responsibility confidently.

Michael Clarke has said sorry for not walking during a dramatic last-over dismissal that swung the second Test further towards England

Peter English at Adelaide06-Dec-2010Michael Clarke has said sorry for not walking during a dramatic last-over dismissal that swung the second Test further towards England. Clarke was 80 when he glanced Kevin Pietersen’s part-time offspin to Alastair Cook at short leg, leaving Australia 137 runs from forcing the tourists to bat again.Clarke took a series of steps towards the dressing room before stopping when he realised the umpire Tony Hill wasn’t going to raise his finger. England immediately referred the decision and the first replay showed Clarke was out.”Just want to apologise for not walking off the ground tonight when I hit the ball,” Clarke tweeted. “I was just so disappointed, my emotions got the best of me.”Michael Hussey, who was at the other end, saw the nick and his first instinct was to turn to Hill. “I just remember looking back at the umpire and yelling no, no, no,” he said. “So I didn’t know what was going on down [Clarke’s] end. By the time I turned around they pretty much referred it straight away and I could tell in Michael’s body language that he thought he was out.”He said Clarke was “pretty distraught” and had not spoken in the dressing room. “It was a real sombre way for us to finish the day because we fought pretty hard and it would have been nice to go in three-down,” Hussey said. “It would have really capped off a great day because he played awesome cricket today. He played like the Michael Clarke we love and have loved watching play over the last few years.”Clarke combined for a 104-run stand with Hussey that gave Australia a chance of saving the game, and they were 4 for 238 at stumps. Now that task has been passed on to Hussey and Marcus North, who is once again under pressure to hold his spot.”If we can draw the match, England will see it as a loss so that’s got to drive us on,” Hussey said. “We’ve certainly been outplayed, no question, but if we can get away with 0-0 it will be a great result for us. We’ve got a bit of hard work to do, with maybe a bit of luck and hopefully some weather to help us along the way.”North has scored 1 and 26 in this series and despite registering a century in Bangalore three matches ago, his hold on his place is loose. “He’ll definitely score runs,” Hussey said. “He’s a champion player, a champion guy to have around the team, and we want him around the team. We’re behind him all the way.”However, Hussey has the main job of navigating through the crisis after reaching 44 not out. “I’d be lying if I said I loved it, but it’s certainly rewarding to come into a pressure situation and get your team into a position to win the match or save the match,” he said. “It gives you a lot of satisfaction. I wish I could come out like Bradman and smash them everywhere, but unfortunately the game doesn’t work that way.”

Leicester City’s chances of UEFA Champions League football next season took what could be a devastating blow on Sunday with a 3-2 defeat against West Ham.

It was an utterly desperate defensive performance from the Foxes as the Hammers hit three within 47 minutes through a Jesse Lingard brace and another from Jarrod Bowen.

Two late goals from the in-form forward Kelechi Iheanacho was not enough for Leicester to stage a dramatic comeback as they fell to just their second away league loss of the season.

One of the main culprits of that defeat was centre-back Daniel Amartey.

Deployed in a back three in the absence of Caglar Soyuncu, who is still in self-isolation having tested positive for COVID-19 on international duty, the Ghanaian was utterly hopeless.

The 25-cap international did not contribute a single tackle or interception according to WhoScored as the hosts were allowed to run riot in the first-half. For context, striker Iheanacho managed to rack up a tackle.

Even more disappointingly, Amartey also did not manage to produce a block or a clearance and continued to look unconvincing throughout the majority of the first-half, failing to win a single defensive duel.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-leicester-city-news%2c-transfer-rumours-and-more-mcgregor-iheanacho-soyuncu-dewsbury-hall-rodgers” title=” Latest Leicester City news, transfer rumours and more… “]

Whilst the 26-year-old’s passing in general wasn’t too concerning having completed 92.6% of his attempted efforts, the highest rate of Leicester’s starting XI, there were a few occasions where he had to be bailed out by his teammates.

He twice played a short backpass that was almost picked off by Hammers’ forward Jesse Lingard.

Whilst Amartey was not at fault for any of the West Ham goals, it was still an utterly atrocious performance from the defender and he was eventually substituted at half-time for youngster Luke Thomas.

Rodgers will surely not believe that he is the centre-back solution in the absence of Caglar Soyuncu based on the horrendous showing against West Ham at the London Stadium.

AND in more news, take a look at our Leicester player ratings in the West Ham defeat…

Former Glasgow Rangers manager Alex McLeish believes Ianis Hagi is unhappy at Ibrox due to his lack of playing time.

McLeish makes Hagi claim

Hagi has been in and out of Gerrard’s starting line-up so far this campaign. He has made 42 appearances in all competitions this term, of which 33 have been starts – the Gers have been involved in a total of 52 matches throughout the season (Transfermarkt).

Speaking to Ibrox News, McLeish believes the £5.4m-valued Romania international (Transfermarkt) will be upset. He said:

“He’s played cameo roles for most of the season. There were doubts about him at Genk, they thought he was just ok, but he’s a young lad.

“For a young player like that, I would say that a lot of the games he has contributed more in than at the beginning which shows his improvements. He’ll probably be upset that he’s not started that much or played.

“Steven has obviously got a game plan, and he is a little reluctant to disrupt that too much.”

More expected

This campaign has been far from a total disappointment for the former Genk man. He has managed seven goals and 12 assists in the matches in which he has played, and his performances have contributed to the Gers winning the Premiership title.

Having said that, he will most likely have expected to be a crucial player for the 55-time Scottish champions, and that has not really been the case. He has also come in for criticism from the club’s supporters, which will not have done his confidence any favours. He has been linked with a move to Lazio (Sport.ro), and that may well be on the back of his mind.

Hagi, though, still has plenty to offer. He is just 22 years of age, and there have been plenty of signs of his talent. If both he and Steven Gerrard can remain patient, the youngster could have a fantastic career at Ibrox.

In other news, Rangers are favourites to sign this striker.

Peterborough United Director of Football Barry Fry has told Football FanCast that Jurgen Klopp will need backing in the summer transfer window by Liverpool’s owners if he is to learn to trust them again.

The Reds were, of course, at the centre of the European Super League storm at the beginning of last week.

Along with Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Manchester City, Liverpool attempted to form a breakaway league that would have taken the place of the Champions League.

It also led to the prospect of the Reds being excluded from the Premier League, and led to furious fan protests from across the country.

Klopp gave an interview to Sky Sports before their clash with Leeds United, when the Super League was still on the table, and could not hide his displeasure, insisting his previous opposition to such a league had not wavered.

Fry thinks that FSG’s decision to involve the club in the plans will have severely affected the trust Klopp has in the owners, and believes the club will have to spend this summer to help rebuild that relationship.

He told FFC: “He’s got a great relationship with everybody and I think no matter what, it has soured that, however he is a football man and if they back him in football terms, i.e. his recruitment in the summer, which he’ll have to do some, I think he’ll be alright.

“But I’m not sure he’ll trust them the way he trusted them before this came out, I’m not sure any manager will.”

Steven Gerrard could be set to receive a huge blow at Ibrox this summer, as Leeds United are reportedly set to reignite their interest in Rangers winger Ryan Kent.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side were heavily linked with a move for the former Liverpool youngster last summer ahead of their first season back in the Premier League and now, after an impressive campaign, they look likely to return for the 24-year-old Rangers star.

According to The Scottish Sun, the Yorkshire side are preparing a £15m bid for Kent this summer as they look to tempt him back to English football.

Although he made just one appearance for Liverpool’s senior side during this time with the Reds, he had a number of loan spells in the lower leagues of English football with Coventry City, Barnsley and Bristol City, before making the loan move to Ibrox in the summer of 2018.

After contributing six goals and six assists in 27 league appearances for Gerrard’s side, he joined the Light Blues on a permanent deal the following summer and has been a hugely important player at Ibrox ever since.

Kent has been instrumental in Rangers’ title win this season and has comfortably been one of their best performers both domestically and in Europe.

In 33 league appearances, the winger has contributed an impressive eight goals and seven assists, which has helped him earn a superb 7.40 average rating, which is second to only James Tavernier in the Rangers squad.

This would rank him as Leeds’ best performer if he were able to reproduce those numbers in the Premier League and given his seemingly endless running and ability to beat a man out wide, it is easy to see why Bielsa is so keen to bring him to Elland Road.

After Kent earned the Player of the Month award earlier in the season, Gerrard was full of praise for the young winger, saying:

“Ryan Kent has been top class and hasn’t let any noise affect him, he is scoring goals and looking very dangerous. He is really taking it to opposition teams and he’s settled and enjoying his football.

“Kent deserves to be Player of the Month and has been in sensational form. He has been fantastic to work with.”

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Therefore, the 40-year-old would undoubtedly be fuming if Kent were to depart for Leeds United this summer, as he is surely at the forefront of Gerrard’s plans for next season’s title defence and Champions League return, so it would be a huge blow if he were to depart this summer.

And, in other news… Gerrard suffers huge injury blow to “phenomenal” Rangers gem, it’s not good news

Frank McAvennie has exclusively told Football FanCast that West Ham captain Mark Noble would be “annoyed” if David Moyes ever opts to pick a youngster instead of him while Declan Rice is out.

The Hammers have one of the most settled midfield partnerships in the Premier League in Rice and Tomas Soucek, but the former has been ruled out for around four weeks with a knee problem sustained on international duty.

Prior to West Ham’s game with Wolves last week, the pair had played every minute in the Premier League season, with that run finally coming to an end at Molineux.

Mark Noble was the obvious choice to replace Rice, with 21-year-old Conor Coventry, who was an unused substitute for the recent defeat to Manchester United, their only other senior recognised central midfielder in the squad following the summer departures of both Carlos Sanchez and Jack Wilshere.

But McAvennie told Football FanCast that playing a youngster ahead of Noble wouldn’t sit well with the Hammers skipper:

“Nobes would be annoyed at him because you automatically want to get in.

“Sometimes you say ‘right Nobes, you go and sit in in front of the centre-halves and don’t let them get in’. But it’s so defensive. Because it’s so good to watch West Ham at the moment because they’re so quick and lively.

“They’ve got players there, it’s how they do it. Do they bring Nobes in or bring a youngster in and play the same way, that’s why David Moyes is given the big bucks. I know for a fact that Noble will want to play, but whether he can or not I don’t know.”