All posts by h716a5.icu

Vineet Saxena remained unconquered for the second successive day as he notched his career-best score

The Report by Nagraj Gollapudi in Chennai20-Jan-2012
ScorecardRajasthan captain Hrishikesh Kanitkar carved out a patient 67•K SivaramanVineet Saxena remained unconquered for the second successive day as he notched his career-best score and became the 21st batsman to score a double-century in a Ranji Trophy final, breaking the drought after fourteen years. The last man to accomplish such a feat was Rahul Dravid, playing for Karnataka in 1997-98 season against Uttar Pradesh. Saxena’s marathon 12-hour effort helped Rajasthan to take a commanding position from where they can now dictate the outcome in the remaining three days.Considering that the run rate hovered around the two-per-over mark, critics are likely to question Rajasthan’s conservative approach on what has been an unthreatening pitch, which has remained a flat baking bed in the Chennai heat.Saxena silenced the opposition with his patience. His presence became more significant as the day progressed after Rajasthan had endured a tough morning session, when only 51 runs came in 36 overs for the loss of one wicket. Saxena lost his overnight partner Aakash Chopra, who paid the price for his defensiveness in the morning. Chopra began the day 14 short of his century, but struggled to catch a rhythm, managing only eight runs from 34 deliveries before losing his wicket.Only 15 runs were scored after the first hour, with the first boundary arriving after 63 deliveries. Probably that fact was weighing on Chopra’s mind when he reacted, a bit slowly, to a straighter delivery from the left-arm spinner Aushik Srinivas. The ball pitched on off and middle stump and rushed to catch Chopra plumb in front of the wicket. Finally after 105 overs, Tamil Nadu had their first wicket.The stagnating run rate, along with the suffocating fields, only increased the pressure on the batsmen. Hrishikesh Kanitkar, the new man, was beaten off successive deliveries by Srinivas half an hour before lunch: the first ball turned into his pads and hit him in line with the stump but the big stride forward saved the Rajasthan captain. Srinivas turned the next ball away with his arm and missed the outside edge marginally.Both Saxena and Kanitkar returned more positive post lunch. Kanitkar cut Yo Mahesh in front of square and then swept Srinivas when he persisted by attacking his leg stump. Saxena, who had been completely subdued for the entire morning session, pushed a firm drive, against the offspinner Sunny Gupta, through the thick off-side field to get to 150 and pass his previous first-class best of 143.Saxena brought up the first six of the match, over long-on, by giving Gupta the charge. Understandably anxious, Saxena spent a little while before getting to his double-century: trying to push a fuller delivery from Yo Mahesh to third man, the bottom edge travelled past the gully for a four. It was an incredible achievement in the art of grafting.Saxena could only thank the opposition bowlers for making life easy for him. The pitch, no doubt, was of little assistance but L Balaji had encountered many such surfaces in the past. Balaji, the Tamil Nadu captain and the bowling leader, had to use his cutters to make an impact. Sadly for the hosts, Balaji was wayward, as was the pair of Yo Mahesh and Kaushik, who offered more width when the need was to be accurate.Not that the slow bowlers did any better. In fact, it was a true test of patience for the 18-year-old Srinivas, who bowled the most number of overs in an innings in his three-year career. Unlike on Thursday, when he was darting the ball, today Srinivas offered more flight and also got the ball to jump from the widening cracks and the rough.But the absence of a plan, as well as an attacking field hurt the spinners. A good example was when Srinivas changed ends to make use of the rough outside Saxena’s leg stump at the Pavilion end. However, his first mistake was to pitch marginally outside the leg stump when a better line would have been to stick to middle and leg. Balaji then failed to crowd the batsman with a short leg and a leg slip to support his bowler’s lines. It only allowed Saxena to breathe easy.Earlier, Gupta, who had failed to get any sort of grip on the batsmen, had moved the slip to leg slip against Saxena. But instead of bowling on the middle stump, he pitched on the rough outside the leg stump, making it easier for the batsmen to play the sweep. The Tamil Nadu bowlers were clearly lost between trying to attack and squeezing the run rate.There was a cry of relief from Gupta when, immediately after the tea break, he floated a loopy off break to Kanitkar, who lazily tried to play it away from the body. The edge was picked nicely by Dinesh Karthik, to log his 250th victim in first-class cricket. There was not much joy for the hosts for the second day running.

A round-up of the action from the first day of the eighth round of matches in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Division One 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2011Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited drew first blood in their top-of-the-table clash, bowling out Water and Power Development Authority for 192 at the National Ground in Islamabad. WAPDA were put in and made a steady start, reaching 75 for 1 thanks to opener Asif Khan’s 59. A collapse of seven wickets for 63 runs followed and they were 138 for 8. No. 10 Sarfraz Ahmed counterattacked, scoring 40 off 35 balls to take WAPDA near the 200-run mark. ZTBL’s bowlers shared the wickets around, with seamers Junaid Nadir and Rehan Riaz picking up three each. ZTBL lost a wicket early in their innings and finished on 22 for 1.Six wickets from fast bowler Sajid Shah helped Habib Bank Limited bowl State Bank of Pakistan out for 204 on the first day at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad. Sajid rocked State Bank’s top order, leaving them 34 for 4 before Adnan Raees and Rameez Aziz began a recovery. Raees scored 34 and Aziz 44 but Sajid came back to remove Aziz and a couple of strikes from legspinner Danish Kaneria left State Bank 135 for 7. Rizwan Haider scored 62 at No. 8 to take State Bank’s total beyond 200. He was Sajid’s sixth victim, while Kaneria bagged another wicket too, to finish with three. HBL lost a wicket early in their response and finished the day 13 for 1.Seamer Kamran Sajid’s four wickets helped Pakistan International Airlines reduce National Bank of Pakistan to 216 for 9 at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot. Lots of National Bank’s batsmen got starts but none could carry on and make a big score. Fawad Alam’s 49 was the top score while the biggest partnership was 59, for the second wicket. The wickets fell at regular intervals, with seamers picking up all nine to fall on the day. Kamran Sajid bowled 16 overs through the day and took 4 for 47.A combined effort from Abbottabad’s seamers and spinners restricted Islamabad but a 101-run seventh-wicket partnership helped Islamabad reach 254 for 7 on the first day at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. Islamabad lost wickets regularly early on, and despite Zeeshan Mushtaq’s 37 slipped to 145 for 6. Abbottabad, who had chosen to field, may have been hoping to bowl their opponents out within the day, but Zohaib Ahmed, the Islamabad captain, and Faizan Riaz shared an important stand. Riaz was dismissed for 46 before the close of play but Zohaib remained not out on 52 and will try to extend his team’s total on the second day.Karachi Blues squandered a solid start and ended on 265 for 7 against Faisalabad at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. Karachi’s openers Shahzaib Hasan and Asad Baig vindicated their captain’s decision to bat by each getting half-centuries and sharing a 97-run partnership. Seamers Abdur Rauf and Naseer Akram managed to cause a mini-collapse in which five wickets fell for 51 runs, leaving Karachi 145 for 8. The lower-middle order did not crumble, though, and contributions from Nos 7, 8 and 9 ensured Karachi crossed the 250-run mark. Naseer finished the day with figures of 3 for 58.A strong performance from Rawalpindi’s middle order helped them get to 326 for 5 against Sialkot at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Rawalpindi were put in and were reduced to 89 for 3 before No. 4 Awais Zia became the first of three half-centurions on the day. Zia was dismissed for 51 before Usman Saeed and Babar Naeem got half-centuries and put together 85 runs for the fifth wicket. Naeem then stitched together an unbeaten 90-run stand with Zahid Mansoor to take Rawalpindi to a dominant position. Naeem ended the day on 80 not out while Mansoor was unbeaten on 44. Rawalpindi scored their runs at 4.55 runs an over, allowing them to go past 300 even though only 71.3 overs were bowled in the day.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the West Indies batsman, has rated his unbeaten 116 against India in Dominica as one of his finest Test innings

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jul-2011Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the West Indies batsman, has rated his unbeaten 116 against India in Dominica as one of his finest Test innings. In a match in which he became West Indies’ most-capped player, and in a new-look line-up where the other five specialist batsmen had a combined experience of 49 Tests, Chanderpaul battled for more than eight hours to help secure a draw.Coming in with the team struggling at 40 for 3 in the second innings soon after lunch on the fourth day, and still trailing by more than a 100 runs, Chanderpaul defied India almost till tea on the final day.”I would say this was one my best because of the situation of the team when I went in to bat and the way the game was going,” Chanderpaul said. “To be batting on a fifth day pitch and the way the ball was bouncing and turning – some would grip and bounce and you weren’t always sure which way the ball would go. You had to be very patient and very watchful and careful.”You couldn’t play as freely as you would have liked to so I had to use all my skills, and it took a lot of mental effort as well. Also, [MS] Dhoni blocked up all the areas where you had scoring opportunities and it was a lot of hard work. It was really tough out there.”It was Chanderpaul’s first Test century in more than a year, during which he had made starts in most innings without converting them to a big score. His partner in the resistance was debutant Kirk Edwards, who also made a hundred during a 161-run stand for the fourth wicket.”He [Kirk Edwards] was positive and had the right mindset. He was not afraid. He played it his way and did what he knows and what he does best.”It was a great effort for someone to come in under so much pressure and play the way he did. I had a discussion with Kirk and we were talking about the 20s and the 30s. He told me to put that behind and we worked towards the team goals which was building big partnerships and pulling the team out of the trouble we were in.”During his innings, Chanderpaul was also awarded Dominican citizenship recognising his contribution to cricket and for playing his record-breaking 133rd Test. “I’m extremely pleased to reach this milestone. I believe it is a really big occasion,” he said. “High point? I’m still looking for it. There is still more to come. Whatever knowledge and experience I have gained I would like to pass it on and help the other members of the team with their game.”

Derby County are set to be faced with a fresh threat ahead of the start of the 2022/23 season as the Rams could receive a three-point deduction heading into the new campaign, according to The Sun journalist Alan Nixon.

The Lowdown: Takeover update

The Rams entered administration back in September last year amid ongoing financial problems at the club, and despite a valiant effort after multiple deductions, Wayne Rooney’s side were relegated to League One.

Chris Kirchner was named as the preferred bidder for Derby in April, but even though most of the key areas of the takeover had already been arranged, a new roadblock appeared as it was reported that the American businessman was reluctant to proceed if unable to strike up a deal with Mel Morris for Pride Park.

However, Kirchner’s exclusivity period has now been extended by Quantuma after expiring last weekend, hopefully providing more time for negotiations to be agreed.

The Latest: Derby facing new threat

In a new report published on Nixon’s personal Patreon page after that update (via Football League World), it’s claimed that a new three-point deduction will come into action if the administrators fail to pay the player’s wages for the month of May, a term that would be triggered after being issued two years ago following Morris not paying the playing staff.

In addition, if it’s revealed that the County squad are not paid on time in June either, then there’s a possibility that the club could be dealt an extra three-point deduction on top of the original one.

The source states that the only way in which the club could avoid these punishments altogether is if all of the players and staff decided to defer their wages on a voluntary basis until there is a sufficient sum of money in the bank.

The Verdict: A never-ending saga

Fans of the Rams will have no doubt have been praying the constant points deductions was all over now that the Championship season has come to an end, but it looks like that’s far from the case.

There were rumours circulating back in February that Derby had informed the EFL that they were close to completely running out of money, so it wouldn’t come as any surprise to see Quantuma fail to cough up the amount required to prevent this further sanction.

If Kirchner still has strong intentions to complete a deal for the takeover of the club, hopefully this is something that can be finalised over the coming days to kickstart the new chapter of Rooney’s Rams before the opening day of the new season.

Pakistan’s World Cup preparations only got better as their youngest batsman scored a maiden ODI century to set up a series win – their first in a bilateral rubber since November 2008

The Bulletin by Siddhartha Talya03-Feb-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Ahmed Shehzad sizzled in his maiden ODI century•Getty ImagesPakistan’s World Cup preparations only got better as their youngest batsman scored a maiden ODI century to set up a series win – their first in a bilateral rubber since November 2008 – over New Zealand, whose fortunes continued to slide at home after a miserable time in the subcontinent.Ahmed Shehzad batted with utmost confidence during his calculated assault, overcoming a cautious start in overcast conditions by launching a counter-attack that snatched the initiative New Zealand had worked hard to gain at the beginning of the game. He was backed up by a determined performance from Pakistan’s bowlers, who stepped up in areas where New Zealand had erred, and completed the job quite comfortably in the end.A miserly first spell by Kyle Mills appeared to have justified Ross Taylor’s decision to bowl, as it cramped the usually fluent openers through nagging lines outside off stump and crafty variations in pace. He conceded just two runs in his first four overs, and grabbed the wicket of Mohammad Hafeez.Shehzad, though, was intent on pulling things back. He had warmed up with a crisp straight drive off Hamish Bennett but opened his shoulders to release the pressure created by the early wicket. Mills’ tight lines were countered with a mow past mid-off and an agricultural slog over midwicket, catching the bowler off guard and marking a turn in the tide. Shehzad had won the psychological battle when Mills strayed onto the pads the next over, to be glanced to the fine-leg boundary.A feature of Shehzad’s knock was his domination of Bennett, which offset any pressure New Zealand were able to inflict with the fall of a wicket. Bennett overpitched too often, or dropped too short, and was picked off consistently for boundaries. He squandered some hard work by conceding fours off the last balls of his first two overs and was struck for consecutive boundaries by an initially rusty Kamran Akmal before Shehzad singled him out for treatment. He was launched for a straight six and welcomed in his second spell with a violent pull over the midwicket boundary followed by a clean strike over long-on.While Shehzad took timely risks and had the power and ability to back them up, he was ruthless against the opportunities doled out by the bowlers when Pakistan had been forced to shift gears in the middle overs. The run-out of Kamran resulted in four boundary-less overs before Nathan McCullum, otherwise quite tidy, gifted a short and wide delivery that Shehzad slashed through point. Scott Styris met a similar fate while James Franklin was a victim of Shehzad’s subtleties as he was twice scooped over fine leg.The constant throughout Shehzad’s innings, only his seventh in this format, was his assuredness and determination to keep the hosts worried at one end. When he fell, miscuing Styris to deep square leg, with plenty of ammunition left in the batting, New Zealand were staring at an intimidating target. The bowlers, however, hit back to restrict Pakistan in the death overs. Only once had a team lost chasing at Seddon Park since 2002 but with New Zealand’s recent ODI record in a shambles, Pakistan needn’t have worried about past results at the venue.The start to the chase could not have been worse for the hosts as Jesse Ryder backed up too far and was run out without facing a ball. Unlike New Zealand’s bowlers who had provided ample scoring opportunities to ease the pressure on Pakistan after each dismissal, Pakistan’s fast bowlers hardly ever overpitched, bowled consistently in the channel outside off and dried up the runs.Martin Guptill faced the pressure with a combination of bravado and opportunism. He dealt harshly with deliveries bowled wide or pitched up on middle – there weren’t too many of them – and improvised to clear the infield. Guptill ensured a steady flow of singles, ran well between the wickets as the field spread out and continued to be ruthless when freebies came his way. But having survived a close lbw shout early in his innings, Guptill failed to take full toll, as a short delivery from Shoaib came on a touch too quickly and he holed out to deep square leg.The onus was on Ross Taylor, who took his time to settle in and overcome the nervy start that has plagued him this series. He appeared to be getting back to his groove when just a firm push off Afridi raced to the extra-cover boundary and, in the company of Guptill, to whom he had ceded floor, kept his team in the hunt. It was in the attempt to rebuild after Guptill’s fall that New Zealand lost it. Afridi and Hafeez got through their overs quickly, produced a spate of dot balls and deprived the hosts of a boundary for 11 straight overs. The resultant frustration from New Zealand yielded wickets for Pakistan, as Brendon McCullum got a leading edge to long-on while Styris was run out by a direct hit from Younis Khan.Taylor fought on, managing a six off his favoured slog-sweep and began the batting Powerplay in the 41st over with a lofted drive against Wahab Riaz. Despite the field restrictions and with five wickets in hand, an asking rate of almost nine an over was going to be difficult to measure up to. In the next over he stepped across to sweep Afridi, only to miss and be trapped in front. And when James Franklin was cleaned up by a Riaz yorker, the depth in the New Zealand batting proved insufficient to secure the remaining runs or salvage some pride after 13 defeats in their last 14 completed games.

According to Football Insider pundit Paddy Kenny, it would be a “crazy” development if Tottenham Hotspur were to replace Antonio Conte with Mauricio Pochettino this summer.

The Lowdown: Contact with Levy

The Argentine left the north London club two-and-a-half years ago, with his departure coming just a few months after he took Spurs all the way to the Champions League final, where they lost out to Premier League rivals Liverpool.

It was reported by The Times last week that Conte would be interested in replacing the 50-year-old at the Parc des Princes, with Pochettino’s job at PSG recently coming under increasing threat. It has been claimed by a French source that Daniel Levy has continued to maintain contact with the Argentine and will attempt to bring him back to N17, should the current managerial situation change.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-newest-updates/” title=”Tottenham newest updates…” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Former Leeds United goalkeeper Kenny believes that Pochettino would be a perfect appointment for Spurs, should the Italian be dismissed.

The Latest: Kenny backs Spurs return for Pochettino

Speaking about the prospective managerial exchange during an interview with Football Insider, the Irishman told correspondent Ben Wild: “Could they just swap over? If that happens it would be crazy, wouldn’t it? He has been linked with a return to England.

“The fact he’s going to lose his job is incredible. He was heavily linked with the Man United job for a while but obviously, that hasn’t worked out for him.

“Football is a crazy game and I wouldn’t be surprised if Poch does go back at some point. If he is available and Conte goes, it’s a no brainer to get him in. The fans love him.

“It would kind of help the club from their point of view in that the fans will be angry if Conte goes. So if they bring back this manager that is loved, it kind of takes the heat off them.”

The Verdict: Return on the cards?

When Conte arrived in north London last November, he only signed an initial short-term contract with Tottenham which is set to expire in 2023, so whether or not he stays at the helm is likely to depend on Spurs’ final position in the league table at the end of this month.

The Lilywhites currently find themselves sitting fifth in the Premier League, just two points off the top four with five games to go.

Pochettino won a staggering loved by many associated with the club, so should Spurs fail to secure that all-important Champions League spot, there could end up being a surprise return on the cards for the Argentine.

In other news… one ‘quality’ Tottenham player could be facing a move away from the club this summer

Tom Maynard’s third County Championship century of the season boosted Surrey’s hopes of promotion from Division Two

12-Sep-2011
Scorecard
Tom Maynard’s third County Championship century of the season boosted Surrey’s hopes of promotion from Division Two as they reached 400 for eight against Derbyshire at the Kia Oval.Maynard hit 123 from 157 balls, with 16 fours, and there were also fine innings of 73 and 61 respectively from Steve Davies and Zander de Bruyn as Surrey established a strong early position in a match they must win if they are to go up.Jason Roy struck an attractive 52-ball 45, in which he got off the mark with a six over mid-wicket off Wes Durston, and also drove Tom Knight straight for six, while adding 97 for the fifth wicket with the powerful Maynard. It was a determined and spirited effort from Surrey after they had initially slumped to 12 for 2, losing both skipper Rory Hamilton-Brown and master batsman Mark Ramprakash to the new ball.Hamilton-Brown, who was awarded his county cap during the lunch interval, had made just 6 when he edged to first slip a drive at left-arm paceman Mark Footitt after he had won an important toss to give Surrey first use of a dry, straw-coloured pitch.Ramprakash soon followed, bowled off stump for a second-ball duck as he pushed forward defensively at Tim Groenewald, who was then distraught to see Durston – who had pulled off an excellent catch to remove Hamilton-Brown – drop a straightforward edge by Davies when the left-hander had scored only 19.Surrey would have been 35 for three if Durston had held the chance, but soon Davies and De Bruyn were flourishing against some modest bowling in a stand of 120 in 31 overs for the second wicket. They were not parted until nine overs after lunch, when De Bruyn edged Footitt to wicketkeeper Luke Sutton. His 61 had taken him 110 balls, with nine fours.Davies, although fortunate on one occasion to thin-edge Jonathan Clare just past his stumps for four, batted with a sensible mix of watchfulness and aggression and he had just slog-swept Durston for his 10th four earlier in the over when he missed a conventional sweep at the off spinner and was lbw to his 114th ball.Roy’s bright innings was ended by a smart piece of reflex work by Dan Redfern at short leg, who stopped a firm clip off his pads by the batsman and threw down the stumps in a flash as the momentum of Roy’s stroke took him out of his crease.Gareth Batty and Chris Jordan both hung around usefully to help add 25 and 73 with Maynard for the sixth and seventh wickets, Batty being trapped lbw for 13 by Groenewald and Jordan yorked by Footitt for 14 soon after being dropped at second slip.Stuart Meaker was twice reprieved from Footitt no balls, at 362 and 392, when he was bowled and caught at backward square leg respectively, and with Tim Linley saw Surrey to maximum batting bonus points in the day’s final over after Maynard’s fine knock was finally ended by a catch to the keeper off Clare.

Against Zimbabwe, he had played a tremendous innings before falling at the final hurdle; but in Mirpur, he finished things off with a thumping six

Mohammad Isam11-Oct-2011Very few men get a shot at redemption within just two months of a disappointment. Virender Sehwag needed four years and 175 runs to restore his pride against Bangladesh while Jason Gillespie had to wait a year and look to his batting to provide salvation. Sehwag had been dismissed for 2 in India’s loss to Bangladesh in the 2007 World Cup, which ended up eliminating them from the tournament, so his swashbuckling hundred in Mirpur in the 2011 edition was revenge of sorts. Gillespie had been hit for a six in the last over of Australia’s embarrassing loss to Bangladesh in Cardiff, in 2005, so he would have felt glad that his first double-century, which came in his last Test, in Chittagong, was against the same opponents.It is hard to find cases where a Bangladesh player has achieved similar redemption. There are very few shots at glory and the propensity of the board to drop those who flounder under pressure means comeback-stories are a rarity.Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh’s new captain, was lucky to be presented with a similar situation to the one he bungled up in Harare in August. This time, he finished the job in style, hammering the penultimate delivery of the Twenty20 international against West Indies high into the stands at midwicket.In Harare, Mushfiqur had fallen at the final hurdle after playing a tremendous knock. Not many Bangladesh batsman can guide the side through a stuttering innings with the ease with which Mushfiqur did in that game. He knocked around the ones and twos and pulled out the big hits when necessary during his 101, and could have kept Bangladesh alive in the series against Zimbabwe. However, with six runs needed off five balls, he skied one to long-on and was the last man dismissed, giving Zimbabwe the win.At the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Tuesday evening, it was a similar situation though the conditions were warmer and the crowd larger. Mushfiqur walked in after Bangladesh had lost three wickets for three runs after a brisk start to their chase of 133. The added burden of being captain must have weighed heavily on the 23-year-old, who is known to take personal failure very seriously.He hammered the ones and twos this time, given that it was a Twenty20, and only launched into a big hit after he found confidence in Nasir Hossain as an able partner. With 13 to win off nine balls, Mushfiqur guided one between short third-man and the wicketkeeper for four. The calmness with which he played that shot bore no shadow of the ghastly form he endured during this year’s World Cup. There were calls for his head, especially when one of his competitors for the wicketkeeper’s slot, Dhiman Ghosh, struck a few hundreds in first-class cricket, but Mushfiqur was persisted with.His latest resurrection began against Australia, when he hit 81 not out in the second ODI but his effort was overshadowed by Shane Watson’s 185 off 96 balls later that afternoon. This time though, no giant could eclipse the Mighty Atom who started celebrating the victory even before the ball had crossed the rope.Mushfiqur’s 26-ball 41 was the key to Bangladesh’s second Twenty20 win over West Indies but what was also significant was that the recently sacked captain Shakib Al Hasan and vice-captain Tamim Iqbal both remained heavily involved in Bangladesh’s performance. Shakib and Tamim combined to give Bangladesh their first dismissal of the match, that of Adrian Barath. Shakib continued to impress as a Twenty20 bowler while Tamim was energetic in the outfield.With Shakib’s every move being cheered by the capacity crowd, Mushfiqur used his key bowler cleverly, spacing out his four overs. Mushfiqur remained busy in the field and only looked slightly flustered when Marlon Samuels started attacking the bowlers, pounding sixes at will. The short spells Mushfiqur used his best bowlers in suggested he had a plan despite Bangladesh’s lack of Twenty20 experience. And after his bowlers had done half the job, he completed it himself.

It is no secret that Patrick Vieira and the Crystal Palace faithful are desperate to make Chelsea loanee, Conor Gallagher, a permanent Palace player.

Although it won’t be easy, with Chelsea quoting the Eagles a fee of £50m to commence conversations around the 22-year-old’s future.

With Gallagher’s future at Selhurst Park in doubt, fans will be glad to hear that a replacement has been identified.

What’s the word?

According to Football Insider sources, Crystal Palace are said to be keeping tabs on Rangers’ 25-year-old midfielder; Joe Aribo.

The Nigeria international is reportedly receiving a lot of attention from Premier League sides, with Aston Villa and Leicester City both said to be in for him.

Palace appear to be one step ahead though, as they sent scouts to watch him in Rangers’ emphatic win over Portuguese outfit Braga in the Europa League on Thursday night.

A viable replacement

No doubt, Palace fans will be gutted if Conor Gallagher’s permanency at the club fails to come to fruition.

Though, in Aribo, they would have a player who offers a similar service for a fraction of the price.

The left-footed maestro, who has been described as “dangerous” by Giovanni van Bronckhorst, has always had end product to his game but this season he has found that next level.

In 31 appearances for Rangers in the Scottish Premiership, the £14k-per-week talent has notched up a respectable 14 goal contributions in the form of eight goals and six assists,

His creative ability was on show for all to see in Thursday night’s historic win over Braga, with his two assists proving to be vital in Rangers’ progression to the semi-finals of the Europa League.

With Gallagher’s loan spell expiring in the summer, if they fail to reacquire his services, they will have a creative void left in their midfield.

With Aribo’s contract set to expire in 2023, Vieira could be looking at a £9m-rated replacement who has very similar offensive stats to the eight goal Gallagher and has experience playing in European competitions.

Crystal Palace are right to eye the signing of Aribo in what could be one of the most astute acquisitions of the summer.

In other news: Forget Gallagher: Vieira must now unleash CPFC “star man”, “he’s so exciting to watch”…

Over the past week Australia have been asking the same question as everyone else. Why aren’t they taking wickets?

Peter English at Adelaide05-Dec-2010Often the Australian cricket team seems removed from the thought patterns of the rest of the country, but over the past week the players have been asking the same question as everyone else. Why aren’t they taking wickets?In England’s past two innings they have scored 1068 runs for the loss of only five batsmen, and they still aren’t finished after being 4 for 551 when rain arrived at tea. “That’s something we’ve been talking about the last week, really,” Shane Watson said. “What are the reasons why we haven’t been able to get as many wickets as we would have liked?”He blames fine England batting and Australian bowling that has been unable to build and then sustain pressure. The same problems were highlighted and discussed after the draw at the Gabba, but there have been no answers provided despite a re-worked attack that includes Doug Bollinger and Ryan Harris.”You can’t take anything away from the English, they have batted very well, Alastair Cook especially through these last two Tests,” Watson said. “His concentration is something we have to do as batters, and stay out there for long periods of time. The wickets have been fairly flat, but that’s no excuse as well. We’re skilled enough to make the most of what’s out there.”Cook was dismissed early in the day when he was caught behind off Harris, but then it was Kevin Pietersen’s turn to burn off a long period of frustration during a masterful 213 not out. Once again, Pietersen and his team-mates were allowed to wait for the full ball on their legs or the short one outside off. Throughout this innings they have scored at almost four an over with only pockets of danger from the hosts.”It is unfortunate and it’s very disappointing we’re where we are,” Watson said. “But there’s a couple of days for us to do everything we possibly can to draw the game.” That task first depends on an England declaration, and the response will then start with the opener Simon Katich under a fitness cloud.Katich hurt his heel and didn’t field late in the day, but he is determined to make some impact on this match after being run-out without facing a ball in the first over on Friday. “It’s going to be interesting to see our running between wickets after the first innings,” Watson said. “If I call it might make things a little bit easier. He’ll be sweet. He’ll be out there fighting his heart out.”England’s position has become so strong – even though the series score-line is still 0-0 – that the Australians are admitting to the pain of being so unthreatening. “It hurts,” Watson said. “It hurts in general whether it’s in our own conditions or anywhere else around the world. We have so far been outplayed in these three days, that’s the reason why it does hurt, because what we’ve been doing hasn’t been good enough.”Despite the state of the match – England have a lead of 306 – Watson still believes. “I never doubt our ability and our talent,” he said. “It’s more so what we can produce on the day and the last three days haven’t been good and they have been better than us, no doubt.”The only way we can turn that around, in this game anyway, is to bat as long as we possibly can.” The rain may encourage Australia again, with showers forecast over the rest of the contest, but in their current state, even that might not be enough.