During his 37 years at Somerset County Cricket Club the popular former all-rounder Peter Robinson has undertaken almost every job that there is to be done at the club.Currently Robbo is health and safety officer, cricket manager, manager of the Somerset Board Eleven and Somerset Under-19s coach, to mention but a few of the responsibilities that he undertakes at the County Ground.Robbo has just accepted the invitation from the Lloyd and White Youth Cricket League to take over as their president.Speaking earlier this morning he told me: “The league committee wrote to me recently and asked if I’d like to become their president. I’m honoured to take on the job.”I’m looking forward to carrying out my duties, and hope to get round to see some of the league matches this season.”
Karnataka played host to Andhra Pradesh at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore in the P Ramachandra Rao Trophy for the Under-22 and the match came to end as a draw on Saturday.Having won the toss on Thursday, Andhra decided to bat first and were helped on by some useful partnerships that kept the innings going. Andhra were all out for 333 in 91.3 overs as KV Lazarus picked 5/111 for Karnataka. For Andhra ASK Varma made a breezy 83 in 136 balls which included two sixes and nine boundaries. TK Ayappa Swamy made 79 in 121 balls which included 10 hits to the fence. There were useful contributions in the lower order from Shankara Rao (33) and M Faiq (40) hitting seven fours each.Karnataka made a steady start and kept going till they were bowled out for 390 in 121.5 overs. BM Rowland made 84 (10 fours) and Amith Kumar 89 with 12 fours were the main stay of the Karnataka innings. R Shanbal chipped in with 54 (6 fours, 1 six) adding 110 for the sixth wicket with Kumar. Faiq came good with the ball picking up 3/92. Karnataka gained the crucial first innings lead of 57 runs. Batting on the last day Andhra struggled against a determined Karnataka attack. M Aleem 4/53 and G Chaitra 3/42 reduced Andhra to 176/9 in 52 overs at the close of the match. ASK Varma with 31 top scored for Andhra as wickets kept falling at regular intervals. Karnataka collected five points to Andhra’s three.
Newcastle have already shown signs of their ambition in the transfer market since switching to Saudi PIF ownership towards the end of last year.
The signings of Bruno Guimaraes from Lyon and Kieran Trippier from Atletico Madrid are proving to be quality additions to Eddie Howe’s team, while Chris Wood, Matt Targett and Dan Burn have all also made an impact since arriving in January.
However, they haven’t yet added that one world-class marquee signing that will really capture the attention of not just the rest of the league, but the world – and PSG forward Neymar has emerged as someone who can be that man.
What’s the news?
According to reports in Spain, via the Daily Mail, Newcastle are interested in bringing the Brazilian superstar to St James’ Park this Summer – and they of course have the finances to fund such a deal.
After being booed by his own fans against Bordeaux last week, the report also states that he is now unsettled in France, and the Ligue 1 giants are willing to sell.
Rivalling them for his signature could be his former club Barcelona and Premier League champions Manchester City, who are on the lookout for a world-class forward to add to their team for next season.
Makes football a pleasure
Despite not having set the world alight this season, scoring just five goals in 14 Ligue 1 games, the winger is still worth £81m according to Transfermarkt.
Once hailed as a “genius” by Brazil teammate Rodrygo, the most expensive player ever is still someone who can terrorise defences, evident by the fact that he ranks in the top 2% in Europe’s top five leagues and continental competitions among wingers and attacking midfielders for shot-creating actions per 90 (5.85).
Also ranking in the top 2% for dribbles completed per 90 (3.83), top 1% for carries into the final third per 90 (3.79) and top 6% for nutmegs per 90 (0.43) – it’s not hard to see why Man City boss Pep Guardiola once said Neymar “makes football a pleasure.”
PIF’s riches are well known but even this move is perhaps a bit audacious even for them.
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However, if Newcastle do complete the signing, it will surely take the club to the next level on the pitch for his immense ability, and off the pitch from a marketing perspective.
To put things simply, there won’t be many more players available this summer that will instantly revolutionise the club and prepare them for the future.
In other news: Value crashed 54.5%: Ashley sealed a NUFC masterclass on 21 y/o dubbed “the real deal”
Twenty20 is meant to be a batsman’s game, but try telling that to anyone present at Port Elizabeth as West Indies completed a five-wicket win with 19 balls to spare in a frantic match reduced to 13 overs a side by early rain. South Africa crashed to 22 for 7 after Jerome Taylor took three wickets in his first over but defending a paltry 58 – the lowest total in Twenty20 internationals – Dale Steyn produced another triple-wicket over to make a statement of his own ahead of the Test series.West Indies went hard at the run chase from ball one, literally, as Brenton Parchment walked down the pitch at Shaun Pollock then three balls later launched him out of the ground, half way towards Cape Town. But he slapped the final ball of the first over to cover as Pollock won a mini battle. A few moments of normality followed as West Indies moved to 32 for 1 before Steyn’s intervention.Devon Smith was late to get his bat down, losing his off stump, Runako Morton was bowled off his pads and Marlon Samuels offered Steyn a full view of the timber as he backed away to leg. None of those were anything, though, in comparison to Dwayne Bravo’s first-ball dismissal as he was left with one stump standing following a shattering 90mph yorker from Steyn. For a moment it looked like South Africa might pull off an astonishing turnaround, but Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Denesh Ramdin produced some sensible shot selection although Chanderpaul could have been run out on 4.It is dangerous to read too much into a Twenty20 match – South Africa were without Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla who will all be part of the Test side – but such matches have been known to set the tone early on in a tour. Remember England’s clash against Australia at The Rose Bowl in 2005, when Darren Gough helped reduce Australia to 31 for 7 in a similarly mind-boggling passage of play. No international side enjoys being humiliated in any format, and West Indies should have taken note of the way some of the batsmen played the extra pace. This wasn’t the military medium of the New Zealanders.The conditions were ideal for quick bowling, a heavy atmosphere and a pitch with pace and bounce. South Africa could barely get the ball off the square; their first two came in the eighth over and they didn’t find the boundary inside the first 10 overs.Taylor’s opening over certainly woke anyone up who was still snoozing after the rain. His first delivery beat Morne van Wyk’s loose drive, then he followed up with a rapid yorker which beat JP Duminy for pace. AB de Villiers survived the hat-trick delivery but not much longer, although was slightly unfortunate when the ball went off the inside edge from a defensive push. Taylor had bowled a triple-wicket maiden; a rarity in any cricket let-alone a 13-over match.Three wickets in six balls became four in seven when Daren Powell removed Herschelle Gibbs, but Powell owed everything to a stunning one-handed catch by Chanderpaul at mid-on. And, as if it wasn’t tough enough, South Africa gifted the next wicket through a horrible mix-up which left both Pollock and Gulam Bodi at the same end.Everything West Indies touched turned to success. Bravo’s pick-up-and-throw from the covers – aiming at one-and-a-half stumps – brought the end of Albie Morkel’s brief stay and a notable milestone for South Africa was when Bodi’s innings reached double figures of balls faced. Finally, in the 11th over South Africa cut loose (it’s all relative) as Botha went high over long-on off Darren Sammy, but revenge came Sammy’s way he ended Bodi’s 26-ball resistance – which almost classed as a vigil – off the final ball of the over.Fidel Edwards charged in and made the batsmen hop around, pinning Johan Botha on the grill leaving him needing lengthy treatment on the outfield. Botha recovered to lift his team above fifty with a couple of meaty blows in the final over and, given the chaos surrounding him, his 28 was a Herculean effort. It ended as the highest score on a crazy evening, but West Indies took the honours and can enter the more serious business of the Test series with a timely confidence boost.
Lisa Sthalekar and Kate Blackwell guided New South Wales Breakers to their ninth title in 11 years as the Breakers chased down Victoria Spirit’s 205 at Melbourne. Sthalekar, the captain, starred with 83 and Blackwell made an unbeaten 57 to earn New South Wales a 2-1 victory in the finals series and continue the team’s decade of dominance.The visitors were on track to rein in the target easily at 2 for 167 in the 41st over before Cathryn Fitzpatrick and Clea Smith sparked a mini-collapse of 5 for 20 within 23 balls to give Victoria hope. But Blackwell held firm as Smith and Fitzpatrick bowled out their ten overs and Victoria could not find the last few wickets.Fitzpatrick took 3 for 33 and finished with 13 dismissals from the three-matches, but the decider was all but wrenched out of Victoria’s grip by Sthalekar. Having struggled in the first two finals, Sthalekar stepped up to score 83 from 98 deliveries and her 115-run partnership with Blackwell set up the win.Mel Jones top-scored for the home side with 39 and the Spirit would have fancied their chances when they posted a challenging 7 for 205, but for the third time in a row the team batting second chased successfully. New South Wales, who scraped into the finals ahead of Queensland, completed an impressive turnaround after a poor start to earn back-to-back titles.
ScorecardPowered by Vineet Jain’s five-wicket haul, Tripura left Himachal Pradesh tottering at 111 for 6 and were on course for their historic first win in a Ranji game by the end of the third day at Agartala. Jain rocked the top order before Rajeev Nayyar and N Verma lifted HP from 17 for 4 to 111. But Jain came back to remove Verma and the next man in P Lath to put Tripura back on top. Rajib Dutta had earlier guided the tail enroute to a fighting 71 and steered Tripura to 203, setting a target of 287. Tripura played their first Ranji game in the 1985-86 season and this will be their first win after playing for 21 years.
Inzamam-ul-Haq has urged Shoaib Akhtar to not get too carried away with the battle for pace with Brett Lee but concentrate on getting his rhythm right. Pakistan open their VB Series campaign against Australia at Hobart tomorrow and Akhtar could play a crucial role in getting them off to a good start.Lee rocked the West Indian batting line-up in the first game of the VB Series yesterday and his 3 for 36 helped Australia post an emphatic 116-run win at the MCG. Akhtar, who repeatedly reveals his desire to be the fastest bowler in the world and the match at Hobart could see the speed-gun coming under severe scrutiny.Inzamam, despite saying that the Lee-Shoaib pace showdown was an exciting prospect, wanted Akhtar to get a good rhythm going on what is expected to be a batting belter. “His main thing is to concentrate on line and length and how he performs, and not his competition on speed,” Inzamam told AAP. “It’s not a game of speed, he’s [Shoaib] definitely the world’s fastest bowler, but the main thing is line, length and swing.”Pakistan have also persistently suffered throughout the tour owing to their slow over-rate and Australia A were awarded six bonus runs in the Twenty20 game at Adelaide. Inzamam admitted that Akhtar’s long run-up, another hot topic of discussion all summer, made it hard for his fellow bowlers to get through their overs quickly, but he confident his side would complete their overs in time and avoid penalties. “Because Twenty20 is very small, that’s the problem,” Inzamam said. “Shoaib bowled four overs and we had very little time to cover this … but in 50 overs we’ll try really, really hard and hopefully we’ll cover that.”Pakistan tried out 15 players in their two warm-up matches against Australia A and they planned to announce the final XI in the morning of the game. The batting order has constantly been shuffled around and they had two different opening combinations in the practice matches. Shoaib Malik, the allrounder, was expected to play but he would not be allowed to bowl after his action was reported to the International Cricket Council.Inzamam was upbeat about his team’s chances and added, “The boys are really geared up and they’ve really worked hard and hopefully if we put some runs on the board and our bowling is also very effective … if we make 260, 270 runs, I think it will be a good game.”
On the back foot: Chris Gayle hits out before he was caught behind for 13
Zimbabwe were denied a rare Test victory after years of defeat and failure, as the last-wicket pair of Ridley Jacobs and Fidel Edwards successfully played out the last 32 minutes and 71 deliveries to secure a thrilling draw at Harare. The weather remarkably stayed fine to the end, but it was only to mock the earnest, but ultimately futile, efforts of the heart-broken Zimbabwe side.Zimbabwe had the game all but wrapped up when West Indies sunk to 204 for 9, but Jacobs, who finished on 60 not out, and Edwards emerged as the last-ditch heroes to hold out for the draw. Ray Price, who became only the third Zimbabwean bowler to take ten wickets in an innings, bowled his heart out, wheeling through 38 overs without a break. Heath Streak would gladly have swapped his Man of the Match award after his first-innings century and superb bowling for what would have been a wonderful victory after 11 successive defeats.Streak perhaps left his declaration too long, waiting until shortly before the close of the morning session with a lead of 372. West Indiesbegan their quest for safety cautiously, but a dramatic 15 minutes extinguished any hopes they had of an unlikely victory.After Wavell Hinds and Chris Gayle departed in quick succession, Streak picked up the big wicket of Brian Lara – with a bit of help from Billy Bowden. Streak deceived Lara with a ball that moved back in on him as he padded up and Bowden gave him out lbw. The replay, however, suggested that it had not come back enough to hit off. The fielders, and the crowd, were ecstatic as the unfortunate Lara made his way back to the pavilion for 1 and Zimbabwe sensed they were on to something (38 for 3).With all sniffs of victory gone, Daren Ganga and Ramnaresh Sarwan applied themselves to survival without the pressure or a required run rate. There were, remarkably in this modern era, no extras in the innings until the total reached 66 – at which point Andy Blignaut produced a superb delivery which beat Sarwan and would have trapped him plumb lbw, had Bowden not called no-ball.Both batsmen, though, cracked under the pressure created by spinners Price and Trevor Gripper. Ganga yorked himself for 16, leaping down the pitch to Price (73 for 4), while Sarwan also left his crease to Gripper, and was stumped for 39 (103 for 5).The last two recognised batsmen, Shivnarive Chanderpaul and Jacobs, put up a good fight for 78 minutes. They played well, but not with the care that one would expect with only a draw to play for. And that partnership came to an end after 68 runs when Chanderpaul clipped Price straight to midwicket (171 for 6).Even though they were making good progress, Zimbabwe struggled under the handicap of having only two threatening bowlers in Streak and Price. But Blignaut came on to bowl his fastest and most telling spell of the match. As if inspired, he bowled at a much greater speed and gave the batsmen a torrid time.He had Drakes caught by Tatenda Taibu, fending off a rearing ball (184 for 7), and then Jerome Taylor was taken low at fifth slip where Stuart Matsikenyeri juggled it and held the rebound from his hand. And after the third umpire was called to confirm the catch, Taylor was on his way for 3 and West Indies were starting the death march on 191 for 8. And the crowd knew it too, coming to life with cheers and songs in an atmosphere rarely seen outside one-day internationals.Jacobs in the meantime had reached his fifty, batting well but taking a few risks that were unnecessary considering his team’s plight. Corey Collymore was next to go, for 1, pushing a catch to silly mid-off to give Price ten wickets for the match (204 for 9). And that was that … or so everyone thought.Edwards joined Jacobs with the light fading and the big shadow of the Western Stand across the field, forcing Zimbabwe to resort to spin at both ends. But the batsmen remained obdurate. Price was no doubt tired, Gripper innocuous, and that last wicket just would not fall. By the close all the fielders were within about five yards of the bat, but the batsmen did their job marvellously. They saw out the last twelve overs and didn’t give anything away, keeping their cool as the pressure increased.For Zimbabwe, all that was left was to reflect on what might have been, and the injustice of life in a country where nothing ever seems to go right.
In a one-day international that was a classic of its kind, India won a thrilling match by 22 runs despite a marvellous innings of 121 from Marcus Trescothick. India had looked out of it when England were 224 for 4, but a dreadful umpiring decision that sparked a woeful collapse enabled India to take first blood in the six-match series.India got off to exactly the start they wanted. Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly set off at a rattling good pace, taking advantage of some English bowling that was slightly below par. There were enough wayward deliveries to allow run-scoring without risk-taking. The 50 came up in the tenth over and a total in excess of 300 could be envisaged at this stage.Paul Collingwood came on to bowl the 14th over of the innings only to be hit for a straight six by Ganguly, and was withdrawn from the attack after conceding ten from the over. Before the change could be effected, however, Andrew Flintoff had broken the partnership.The wicket, greeted with an eerie silence from the vast and otherwise noisy crowd, was something of a collector’s item. It will certainly feature prominently in Flintoff’s collection, for he hit Tendulkar’s stumps with a ball of fullish length that the batsman tried to work to mid-wicket.Three overs later, Ganguly fell to the same bowler. He also tried to fetch a ball from outside off stump towards mid-wicket with plenty of predetermination about the shot. He only succeeded in sending it high into the air for Nasser Hussain to take a testing catch with comfort.Dinesh Mongia was joined by VVS Laxman who became the third batsman to get out with mid-wicket in mind when well set. He chipped Darren Gough there when Gough had been brought back into the attack with the single aim of taking another wicket.Mongia, playing a sensible innings with a maturity that belied his inexperience at this level, reached his 50 off as many balls with only four fours and a six. He lost another partner when Virender Sehwag shaped a horrible slog to be bowled by Matthew Hoggard’s slower ball, and India appeared to have wasted a very good start.Mongia took a liking to Jeremy Snape’s off-breaks when he returned to the attack with two straight fours, despite the fact that long-on and long-off were set back, but then Snape snared his man. Mongia was bowled for an excellent 71 from 75 balls.Two more wickets then fell in quick succession. Ajit Agarkar was beautifully stumped by James Foster off a leg-side wide from an off-colour Ashley Giles, and Ajay Ratra was run out. Hemang Badani found a willing partner in Harbhajan Singh to stop the rot, and this pair manipulated the total to the level that India would have had in mind at the outset.England had been docked one over for a tardy bowling rate, and could be satisfied that it was not more than one. They were not satisfied with the start they made as they went after the impressive total.Trescothick got a single off Javagal Srinath’s first ball, but the bowler wrung an lbw decision out of the umpire as Nick Knight faced his first ball. Did it pitch outside the leg-stump? Not according to the umpire.Nasser Hussain came in with only one thing on his mind, and that was to get the scoreboard moving. Using the open face that he favours, he managed to locate the rope frequently enough, while Trescothick was totally uninhibited with his strokeplay.Both batsmen were dropped by Laxman at second slip. Trescothick was on only two when the fielder spurned a chance off Agarkar, and Hussain on 19 when Laxman again erred, this time off Srinath. That one did not prove as expensive, for Hussain was lbw to Anil Kumble’s second ball when he had scored 29. Despite the length of stride he got in, the umpire needed no time to think about his decision.Trescothick made the most of the fielding restrictions in the remainder of the first 15 overs, hitting sixes off Harbhajan Singh and Kumble and three fours off Harbhajan in the 15th over.Michael Vaughan was just beginning to look more comfortable having contributed 14 to a partnership of 59 off eight overs with Trescothick when he tried to lift Kumble over mid-off but failed to do so. Collingwood played his part before he too took an unnecessary liberty with Ganguly to offer a simple catch to mid-wicket.Trescothick meanwhile had brought up a memorable century from just 80 balls with 13 fours and two sixes. It was a gargantuan effort from a man who had left the field five times during the Indian innings feeling unwell. With Flintoff overcoming a nervous start to keep Trescothick company, they brought the required rate down to no more than five an over.Ganguly needed wickets; England needed to go steadily along. They might have done had Trescothick’s innings not come to an end in the unhappiest of circumstances. Srinath was brought into the attack, bowled a ball that pitched some six inches outside the left-hander’s leg stump. The bowler appealed and the umpire gave a shocking decision in his favour.It was the turning point in the match. There was an awful mix-up between Flintoff and Snape that resulted in Flintoff being run out at a crucial stage. Snape became the fourth lbw victim sweeping at Harbhajan Singh, and England’s challenge became forlorn.Foster chased a wide one from Agarkar to give Ratra his first victim in international cricket, Gough lasted no time at all and although Giles did his best to eke out the required runs at the end, he was out for 18 and India had won a great game of cricket.
The East Zone Cooch Behar Trophy match between Tripura and Orissa atthe Polytechnic Institute Ground in Agartala ended in a draw withTripura taking 5 points due to a massive 130 run lead while Orissa hadto be content with three.It was always a tough asking to score 250 runs for a win on the finalday and Orissa managed to scratch 207 runs while losing nine wicketsin the bargain. S Biswal (85) was the chief contributor, sharing a 220ball, 100 run partnership for the fourth wicket with N Behara (62). JDebnath (3 for 69) and T Saha (3 for 34) were the successful bowlersfor Tripura.In the morning, Tripura who resumed at 101 for 8 in their secondinnings, were all out for 119. Rasudeb Dutta (47), who waged a lonebattle for over 173 minutes, was the top scorer for Tripura. SKJahangir (4 for 45) reaped a rich harvest for Orissa.On the opening day, Tripura who opted to bat put up a fighting 240 onthe board. Tripura were chiefly helped by many small but usefulpartnerships along the way. The topscorer being Sandip Bannerjee witha well compiled 47 off 114 balls. In reply Orissa had to confront themedium pacers of J Debnath (7 for 37) and finding him too hard tohandle were bundled out for just 110 runs.