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It is being widely reported that Allen Stanford is set to confirm a substantial reduction in his investment in cricket both internationally and in the Caribbean

Cricinfo staff12-Feb-2009
Before the dream turned sour: Allen Stanford poses with Giles Clarke and Julian Hunte at Lord’s last June © Getty Images
Although an official announcement has yet to be made, it is being widely reported that Allen Stanford is set to confirm a substantial reduction in his investment in cricket both internationally and in the Caribbean.Last December, Stanford shut his cricket office in Antigua and dissolved his self-styled board of legends. And in January signs that the global economic downturn was hitting home came with the announcement of 200 redundancies at Stanford’s Antigua-based investment company.It is believed that the 20/20 for 20 event, which was unveiled with a garish launch at Lord’s last June but took place amid unflattering headlines and negative reporting in November, will not happen again.And while Stanford is expected to honour his commitment to take part in a quadrangular Twenty20 tournament in England this summer, it might well turn out to be a one-off rather than the first of five annual events as planned. Both Stanford and the ECB are understood to have break clauses in the contract signed last year.The one crumb of comfort for Caribbean cricket is that his Stanford 20/20 tournament, in effect the West Indies domestic Twenty20 event, seems likely to continue, albeit in a reduced form. Of all Stanford’s ventures, that was the most successful in terms of publicity and also spreading cricket throughout the region. Whether the various islands will benefit as handsomely as in the past remains less certain.

Following on what has been a relatively quiet summer transfer window, Valerien Ismael’s side West Bromwich Albion side were equally quiet on deadline day, with the only movement at The Hawthorns being 19-year-old centre-forward Jovan Malcolm’s departure on loan.

Having confirmed the signings of Adam Reach, Alex Mowatt, Matt Clarke, Quevin Castro, Jordan Hugill and Jayson Molumby, Albion were to make no more moves prior to the closure of the market on Tuesday evening, while they also failed to find a club willing to take Kenneth Zohore off of their hands.

Indeed, it was reported that Ismael had given the green light for the Baggies to offload the 27-year-old centre-forward on Tuesday, and, while Albion could not find the £1.8m-rated man a new home, the striker nevertheless looks unlikely to feature in the Frenchman’s first-team plans with any great regularity over the course of the season.

As such, the club’s failure to move the striker onto pastures new this summer, coupled with the 45-year-old’s aforementioned apparent unwillingness to utilise the Denmark international, could present the West Brom manager with something of a headache going forwards.

Lack of depth

While it is true that West Brom have not exactly struggled for goals in the absence of an out and out number nine so far this season, having found the back of the net 12 times over their opening five Championship fixtures, with only Jordan Hugill – aside from Zohore – in the Frenchman’s squad who could really be described as a classic centre-forward, the 45-year-old could be left somewhat short in the position over the course of the club’s campaign.

Although Callum Robinson and Karlan Grant can operate through the middle if required, both players are more suited to playing on the wing, meaning that, if Zohore is not going to be considered for the role, Ismael has no choice but to place a considerable amount of trust in the Norwich City loanee.

And, considering the centre-forward’s form in the Canaries’ promotion-winning campaign last term, during which the 29-year-old scored just four goals over his 31 Championship appearances, the argument could easily be made that the Frenchman’s trust could be slightly misplaced.

As such, should Hugill indeed struggle to find form at The Hawthorns this season, the failure to shift Zohore’s £16.5k-per-week wages off of the club’s books on deadline day – something which, it can be assumed, stopped the club making a move for another player in the position – could prove extremely costly for the club’s promotion hopes come next May.

In other news: Ismael sets sights on last-gasp West Brom deal, could be the final piece of the puzzle

Cricinfo previews the Duleep Trophy semi-final between West Zone and East Zone at the Brabourne Stadium

The Preview by Nagraj Gollapudi28-Jan-2009
Dhawal Kulkarni will lead the West Zone attack with Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel away on national duty © Cricinfo Ltd
With five batsmen and four bowlers among the top ten in this season’s Ranji Trophy runs and wickets charts, West Zone start as favourites against East Zone in their Duleep Trophy semi-final, which begins tomorrow at the Brabourne Stadium.A top order comprising Wasim Jaffer, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara – the top three run-makers this year – and a bowling attack led by Dhawal Kulkarni [the joint highest wicket-taker] along with Siddarth Trivedi , Ramesh Powar and Samad Fallah make West an intimidating prospect. And this is not even their first XI: Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Rohit Sharma, Munaf Patel, the Pathan brothers [Irfan and Yusuf] and Ravindra Jadeja are away on national duty. Even in their absence East have much to worry about.East have two internationals in their ranks – Shiv Sunder Das, their captain, and Manoj Tiwary – who will need to take charge if they are to match their formidable rivals. They will also need the best out of the new-ball pair of Ranadeb Bose and Basanth Mohanty, who might find the Kookaburra ball to their liking, especially in the morning session.Most of all, East will need a superlative team effort. Das, leading East for the second successive year, said it was a challenge captaining players from five different states (Bengal, Orissa, Jharkhand, Tripura and Assam) but said he was getting used to it. He admitted West are a “strong” opponent, but said he had faith in his seamers to do the job. “The side that plays the new ball (both batsmen and bowlers) well will hold the upper hand. And I back my seamers [Bose, Mohanty and Ashok Dinda],” Das said after the training session.Both captains spoke about the true behaviour of the pitch, expected to be lively in the first session with enough moisture for the fast bowlers to create an advantage. There have been results in all the three games played at the ground this season and another one cannot be ruled out over the next four days. The curator has left a light grass cover, so some action is expected in the first session at least on the first two mornings with spin coming into play in second half of the match.Although the line-ups are to be picked on the morning of the game, the pace-conducive pitch will influence the final XIs with both teams likely to adopt a five-bowler strategy (three seamers and two spinners).Apart from bonding as a unit, certain players will aim to further their ambitions of making it to the next level. “If they perform for themselves it will help the team. They can think of getting not only on the New Zealand tour but also into the India A squads,” Jaffer said. Between the two teams there are five players with a BCCI contract – Jaffer, Parthiv Patel and Cheteshwar Pujara from West and East’s pair of Wriddhiman Saha and Ashok Dinda – and all of them will look to make an impact to attract the attention of the selectors.Of the five, Parthiv will entertain strong hopes of making a comeback at least as a stand-by wicketkeeper for Mahendra Singh Dhoni on the New Zealand tour. Even if Dinesh Karthik has been making a statement with the bat his keeping remains a concern and Parthiv will hope the selectors give him another chance after recalling him for the third Test of the Sri Lanka series last year. He has had a strong domestic season with the bat, piling up 526 runs in eight games at 47 – including a double-century – and leading Gujarat to the Ranji quarterfinals.Teams
West Zone (likely): Wasim Jaffer (capt), Parthiv Patel (wk), Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Kedar Jadhav, Bhavik Thakker, Ramesh Powar, Rajesh Pawar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Siddarth Trivedi, Samad FallahEast Zone (likely): Shiv Sunder Das (capt), Dibyendu Chakravarthy, Manoj Tiwary, Rashmi Parida, Nishit Shetty, Niranjan Behera, Wriddhiman Saha, Ranadeb Bose, Ashok Dinda, Basant Mohanty, Anand Katti.

West Ham are finally closing in on their second signing of the summer transfer window…

What’s the word?

According to renowned Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, the Irons are on the verge of signing Chelsea centre-back Kurt Zouma in a €30m (£25.5m) deal.

“West Ham are closing on Kurt Zouma deal with Chelsea for €30m, the agreement is now at final stages also on player side,” he tweeted. “Last details to be completed then done deal.

“Chelsea are working to submit new official bid for Jules Koundé once Zouma will join West Ham.”

It’s no secret that the centre-back position has been the top priority for manager David Moyes before next week’s deadline and now it appears that he has got his man, at long last.

Several weeks ago, reports emerged suggesting that the 26-year-old defender had actually rejected a move to the London Stadium, though that does not seem to be the case anymore.

Finally another signing?

This latest update from Romano will leave many in east London absolutely delighted, especially the fanbase as they have been crying out for more additions before August 31st.

Up until now, the Hammers had only signed one senior player, a new backup goalkeeper in the form of Paris Saint-Germain’s Alphonse Areola, who is yet to feature since joining on loan.

After the departure of Fabian Balbuena at the end of last season, a spot has opened up in the backline and Zouma is certainly going to be a perfect fit.

The France international, who made Didier Deschamps’ Euro 2020 squad this summer, has racked up over 200 appearances across the Premier League and both of UEFA’s top two European competitions, which could prove vital in West Ham’s Europa League quest this season.

Similarly, none of Moyes’ current options can rival his aerial presence (3.6 duels won per game in 2020/21), whilst only three other centre-backs were better at playing the ball out from the back after he averaged a 90.6% passing accuracy, as per WhoScored.

It’s no wonder many fans want to see the Chelsea star signed – as relayed by The Transfer Tavern, one member of the Hammers faithful claimed it would be a “good signing”, whilst another urged the club to pay up what’s required.

Now with the Irons moving ever so much closer to securing his signature, they will surely be even more delighted heading into the final week of the transfer window.

AND in other news, ExWHUemployee drops PAI Capital claim…

Croatian journalist Izak Ante Sucic has provided an update on Celtic’s pursuit of right-back Josip Juranovic.

The Lowdown: ‘One step away’

The Hoops have been linked with the Legia Warsaw full-back for a number of weeks now, with a move for Aurelio Buta now looking unlikely due to Royal Antwerp’s demands.

Sucic claimed on Wednesday morning that a move to Parkhead for Juranovic was ‘one step away’ following Warsaw’s Champions League qualifying defeat, with a fee thought to be in the region of €3m.

He’s now provided an update on the situation after being quizzed by a Celtic fan.

The Latest: Juranovic update

Sucic responded to a Hoops supporter on Twitter who asked if a move for Juranovic was a ‘done deal’.

He replied, revealing a transfer still isn’t over the line, however, there was positive news with the journalist saying ‘everything seems to be just fine’.

“Juranovic is still not done deal, work in progress. Right now, everything seems to be just fine. We’ll have to wait and see.”

The Verdict: Couto or Juranovic?

Ange Postecoglou admitted on Thursday he is still on the hunt for new signings at Celtic Park, with a right-back thought to be on his list.

Manchester City right-back Yan Couto was apparently at Parkhead for the Europa League qualifier against Jablonec, so it could be a case of one or the other.

Couto has been linked with a season-long loan move, whereas links to Juranovic have touted permanent transfer fees, so it’ll be interesting to see who the club decide to pursue more.

In other news: Celtic ace’s representatives ‘mightily unimpressed’ with Hoops; now ‘on his way’ out of Parkhead. 

Carlton Palmer has exclusively told Football FanCast that Arsenal fans are soon going to lose patience with Mikel Arteta.

The Spaniard has delivered the FA Cup in his first season in north London, but the Gunners league form since his arrival has been seriously concerning.

Arsenal finished outside the top-six when they came eighth in his FA Cup-winning season, with their victory over Chelsea securing their place in the Europa League.

However, a second eighth-place last term saw them fail to qualify for Europe for the first time in 21 years, with Tottenham’s final-day win at Leicester snatching their place in the UEFA Conference League.

Arteta has looked to improve his squad by making three summer signing, including the £50m arrival of Ben White from Brighton.

But White’s presence made little difference as Arsenal slumped to a 2-0 opening day loss at Brentford on Friday, with the daunting prospect of games against Chelsea and Man City now to come.

Asked whether he thinks Arteta’s job could soon come under threat, Palmer told FFC:

” I do. At some point, the fans are going to lose their patience. When you’re a supporter or a chairman, you look at an evolvement of the club.

“If you look at Ole, people wanted him out, but every time I watch him, I see an improvement, and I’ve not seen an evolvement at Arsenal since Arteta has gone in there.”

Lee Carseldine is in line for his first first-class appearance in five years after Queensland reacted strongly to last week’s three-day loss to Victoria. The Bulls have added four men to their Sheffield Shield squad to take on Western Australia in Perth s

Cricinfo staff27-Oct-2008
Clinton Perren could be included for his first Sheffield Shield match of the season © Getty Images
Lee Carseldine is in line for his first first-class appearance in five years after Queensland reacted strongly to last week’s three-day loss to Victoria. The Bulls have added four men to their Sheffield Shield squad to take on Western Australia in Perth starting on Friday.Clinton Perren has been named for his first Sheffield Shield game of the season after making a solid start to the one-day campaign. Ben Laughlin, the fast bowler, and the clean-striking batsman Nathan Reardon have also been rewarded for their strong limited-overs form.The promotion of the batsman Carseldine, 32, would complete a remarkable comeback after his career appeared to be over due to a serious back injury that resulted in him having a titanium disc inserted in his spine. Carseldine made his return to the FR Cup last season and having posted his first one-day century earlier this month, he is a chance to replace Martin Love in the four-day team.Love will miss the match with a groin injury and there are also doubts over the fitness of the allrounder Ashley Noffke, who did not play the Bulls’ FR Cup game on Sunday due to back soreness. Noffke has been named in the 13-man squad and will travel with the team to Perth but a decision on his fitness will not be made until shortly before the game.Grant Sullivan, the fast bowler, was unavailable so he could be at home for the birth of his first child. The legspinner Daniel Doran was omitted as Queensland continued their trend of giving him limited opportunities to bowl.Shane Warne said earlier this year he was frustrated at the way state captains in Australia, particularly in Queensland, handled their slow men. Chris Simpson, an offspinning allrounder, has taken the reins of the Bulls this summer but little has changed after Doran batted at No. 11 and did not bowl at all in the season opener before he was given only ten overs as the sixth bowler in last week’s match.Squad Ryan Broad, James Hopes, Clinton Perren, Andrew Symonds, Greg Moller, Lee Carseldine, Chris Simpson (capt), Nathan Reardon, Ashley Noffke, Chris Hartley (wk), Ryan Harris, Chris Swan, Ben Laughlin.

The ICC has pledged a further US$500-600,000 to the Afghanistan Cricket Federation (ACF) following the team’s victory in Division 4 of the World Cricket League earlier this month

Cricinfo staff27-Oct-2008The ICC has pledged a further US$500,000-600,000 to the Afghanistan Cricket Federation (ACF) following the team’s victory in Division 4 of the World Cricket League earlier this month.”Based on the pledge, Afghanistan’s cricket federation will receive between five to six hundred thousand dollars for the coming five years from the International Cricket Council,” Allah Daad Noori, the head of the ACF, told Reuters.Afghanistan’s win in the World Cricket League handed them promotion to Division 3, with the competition getting underway in Argentina from January. And in spite of their increasing ability as an affiliate nation, the facilities in the country are very poor, with very few grass pitches, and practice sessions often limited to dusty outfields.However, their dream of reaching the 2011 World Cup – to be co-hosted by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh – remains very much alive.

Ever since Sandro Tonali joined Newcastle United, the running joke has been his constant lack of smile, with many quick to joke that the Italian would much rather still be at AC Milan, rather than the Magpies.His debut display showed anything but an uncommitted player, however, with the Italian putting in an impressive first shift as a Newcastle player. We may not have got that big smile yet, but Eddie Howe certainly has reason to remain positive about his new arrival.With Champions League football to think about in the coming campaign, every player in Howe’s squad will have a job to do. And, given Tonali’s price tag of £55m, he, more so than others, will have the pressure on him to perform.Just 23, the midfielder has the chance to become a constant feature in a potential era to remember at St James’ Park.

Sandro Tonali impresses on Newcastle debut

And while not every new signing is having a great pre-season – check out Kai Havertz at Arsenal for instance – it appears the new NUFC man is settling in smoothly on the pitch.

As you can see from the video, Tonali’s performance, whilst not exactly flashy, was incredibly neat and tidy. Meanwhile, something to note was how physical the Italian was, which should see him settle into the intensity of Premier League football rather quickly.

He also played a part in the build-up to the first goal of the game, playing a fine first-touch pass to grab himself a pre-assist.

Newcastle ran out 2-1 winners at Ibrox against Rangers in what was Alan McGregor’s testimonial match. The Magpies initially took the lead through Miguel Almiron, before Sam Lammers equalised for the hosts after the break.

Securing the victory late on, Harrison Ashby found the back of the net in the 87th minute to hand Newcastle a solid second game of pre-season against the Scottish Premiership side.

Howe’s side started their pre-season against Gateshead, of course, winning 3-2 in a back-and-forth affair as they came back from two goals down.

The Newcastle manager commented on his side’s most recent display, saying: “Bits of the first half was outstanding, some really good football.

“Second half wasn’t as pretty and clean but there were a lot of changes, we managed to find a way to win again and that’s a great thing.”

What kind of player is Sandro Tonali?

Tonali is not a player that will necessarily leave you in awe. But he is a player that you’ll look back on as an important cog in a well-oiled machine, sitting at the base of a midfield three.

To get a better understanding of his talents, Football FanCast have done an in-depth profile on the player which you can read here.

The Italian’s arrival is particularly positive for Bruno Guimaraes, who will have a greater license to advance into a more offensive role next season, such is the discipline of Tonali.

Last season, the Brazilian was involved in 10 goals in all competitions, scoring five and assisting a further five. Suddenly, however, those numbers could increase even more if he is allowed to advance more often.

Tonali certainly has plenty of time to improve, too, given the fact that he’s just 23. And, with that, giving him time to settle wouldn’t exactly be a bad thing. After all, he’s not coming into a Newcastle side in desperate need of reinforcements.

After his debut performance, though, it’s clear that the Magpies have got themselves a player who is more than capable of stepping into England’s top flight, perhaps helping his new side to even greater heights than last season.

Here are some Twitter reactions after his eye-catching display.

Bangladesh’s head coach also wants the batters to put together substantial partnerships

Mohammad Isam05-Mar-2022Bangladesh’s trend of dropping catches continued as they missed three straightforward chances in the second T20I against Afghanistan. Both Hazaratullah Zazai and Usman Ghani were reprieved on their way to a 99-run second-wicket partnership in Afghanistan’s chase of 116. Nasum Ahmed dropped Zazai off his own bowling in the first over when the opener was on 0. Mohammad Naim and Afif Hossain then dropped Usman Ghani at the leg-side boundary when he was on 39 and 41.Bangladesh’s head coach Russell Domingo noted that Bangladesh have been dropping catches for the last 12 months.”Dropping nine catches in five games is unheard of,” Domingo said. “It is unbelievable when you think about it. If we knew what [the problem] was, we probably wouldn’t be doing it. Whether it is concentration, confidence or dealing with pressure, I am not 100% sure. We just have to make sure we try to improve. We make too many mistakes in the field that have cost us. It cost us in the World Cup, here, Test matches. Just too many dropped catches. You can do all the drills in practice but the players have to catch the balls in the games. That is the bottom line.”Domingo bemoaned another tricky pitch at the Shere Bangla National Stadium where he said openers from both sides struggled to hit the spinners in the early exchanges.”I don’t think the pitches were easy to bat on today,” he said. “It wasn’t a 115 pitch, but it wasn’t also a 160 pitch. If we got 135 we were in the game. At 99 for 4 with four overs to go, we were looking at 135. There’s obviously some areas of concern in batting, but it wasn’t an easy wicket to bat on today. Both their openers could have been out in the first two overs. The ball spins, grips, one bounces and one stays low. We know that it is tough to bat in Mirpur.”Bangladesh also struggled to put partnerships together, which Domingo said was another area where they needed improvement.”Even in the first game, every time we get a partnership going, we just lose a wicket,” Domingo said. Partnerships of 20-30 won’t win you games. You need 70-run partnerships. The boys made some poor decisions at crucial times in the games. Riyad (Mahmudullah) gets out after getting a good partnership with Mushfiq (Mushfiqur Rahim). Those are mistakes you can’t make against big teams.Domingo defended their selection of Mohammad Naim, after they dropped Yasir Ali, who had made his debut in the previous game, to make way for Mushfiqur Rahim who was returning from a finger injury. Naim managed only 13 off 19 balls on Saturday, but Domingo said that they still rate him highly.Five games ago everyone was saying Litton should be dropped,” he said. “Now everyone is saying Litton is the best player in the world. Sometimes players go through slumps in form. Coaches and selectors have to support those players. It is an important part of coaching and building a team. Naim was the right guy to play today. He is our highest-rated T20I batsman, if the media don’t know that. He deserves his spot.”