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Scotland will play England in a Twenty20 match at Trent Bridge on June 2 ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 which gets underway the following week

Cricinfo staff05-Mar-2009Scotland will play England in a Twenty20 match at Trent Bridge on June 2 ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 which gets underway the following week.England had been scheduled to be involved in the Stanford quadrangular Twenty20 tournament at the end of May, but with the ECB cutting all ties with Allen Stanford, there is now a gap in the calendar.”This is really tremendous news,” said Roddy Smith, the chief executive of Cricket Scotland. “We played the first-ever ODI against England only last year. Now we’re being pitched in against them in this Twenty20 warm-up game. You can be certain that our players will be up for the challenge, and in this short form of the game anything can happen.””We’re really looking forward to these games,” Scotland captain Ryan Watson said. “They should be a lot of fun, and a highlight of the forthcoming season. However, our thoughts are firmly on the forthcoming ICC World Cup Qualifier in South Africa. We cannot afford to look any further ahead than that.”Scotland will travel down to The Oval the following day to play against Netherlands in their second and final warm-up.

Portsmouth manager Danny Cowley has offered an insight into Ronan Curtis’ situation following the end of the transfer window.

What’s the talk?

The 42-year-old has revealed that there were enquiries made for the striker over the course of the transfer window, but no official offers came in for him.

The Pompey head coach believes that the 25-year-old deserved to be in demand and suggested that the pandemic may have played a part in the lack of offers.

He told The News: “There has been a lot of noise around Ronan, a lot of people telling Ronan this and telling Ronan that. He needs to focus first and foremost. He needs to play well to get into our team and affect our team – and we know he has the capabilities.

“I thought we saw some of his best at the back end of last season, we know what he can do, it’s about trying to do it on a consistent basis. Part of it is the pandemic, but there’s a reason why we didn’t receive an offer. That’s the truth, we had some enquiries, but there was no offer.”If you look at his numbers and his assists, let’s be honest, he deserved more interest than there was. Now there’s a reason why there’s not that interest. I don’t understand that, but there’s a reason. Fans will be buzzing

Portsmouth fans will be buzzing with this update from Cowley as it suggests that clubs who are interested in Curtis are not willing to spend the money required to sign him. They refused to do so this summer, given the lack of concrete bids, and that bodes well for the January transfer window.

If prospective suitors are not able or willing to splash out on Curtis now, why would that be any different in the winter window in four months’ time? This means that Pompey could have a great chance of being able to keep hold of the winger for the entire season, which could bolster their chances of mounting a promotion push out of League One.

Last season, Cowley tipped the Irish forward to become a ‘top player’ in the future, outlining what he needs to do to achieve that.

He told The News: “There’s a lot of work to do on that because he’s going to be a top player – and to become a top player you must always be in emotional control otherwise the opponent is going to see that as a weakness and try to exploit that.

“The higher level you go, the more emotional it is and the more you’ve got to show control.

“We are working really hard with Ronan. He is so willing and keen to want to improve in that area and he was brilliant on Saturday.”

In the 2020/21 campaign, Curtis’ performances backed up the hype. He was Portsmouth’s highest-rated player on WhoScored, with an average rating of 7.10. The forward produced 10 goals and seven assists as he terrorised opposition defences with his superb runs down the left flank, showcasing his ability at League One level.

This is why Portsmouth fans must be delighted that he could now be at the club for the rest of the season, due to the interest not being sufficient enough to warrant offers, as his talent could improve their chances of going up. He has shown that he can perform consistently and deliver goals and assists, which could help Pompey win a lot of matches at this level of football.

AND in other news, Danny Cowley makes fresh Portsmouth transfer claim which could frustrate fans…

North Zone batsmen Aakash Chopra and Virat Kohli were fined for unsporting behaviour during their side’s 65-run loss to East Zone in the Deodhar Trophy on Saturday

Cricinfo staff15-Mar-2009North Zone batsmen Aakash Chopra and Virat Kohli were fined for unsporting behaviour during their side’s 65-run loss to East Zone in the Deodhar Trophy on Saturday. Kohli was docked 50% of his match fees while Chopra was fined 20%, match referee Hemant Wasu said.Kohli was penalised for a heated exchange of words with Assam medium-pacer Dhiraj Goswami after being caught-and-bowled for 7. Goswami was reprimanded for his role in the incident but was not slapped with a fine.Chopra got his penalty for dissent; after being adjudged lbw by umpire Suresh Shastri, Chopra showed his bat to the umpire to indicate he had edged the ball.North have completed both their games in the league phase, and have one win and a loss. Whether they progress to the final on March 18 will depend on the outcome of the Group A match between East and Central at the Ravenshaw College ground.

Amid all the impressive signings that Aston Villa have made over these past couple of summers, arguably their best bit of business remains their deal to sign John McGinn.

Signed for a reported £2m by Steve Bruce back in the summer of 2018, Villa’s signing of the Scotland international was made all the more sweeter by the fact they did it right under the noses of Celtic, who appeared to be in pole position to land him from Hibernian.

Speaking after his signing, McGinn himself said: “It’s been a crazy few days, but I sat in the stand at Villa Park and I could imagine myself playing out there. It felt right,” he said.

“It’s a Premier League club and deserves to be there. Everyone in the Championship has that aim. For some of them, it’s a fantasy, but here there is a real ambition that it could happen. We’re under no illusions, but the way the club is going is something that’s great to be a part of.”

A mainstay of Dean Smith’s side in the Premier League, the 26-year-old enjoyed a fine campaign last season, with Sky Sports and Match of the Day pundit Micah Richards waxing lyrical about him.

He said: “This season he’s been absolutely incredible, back to the John McGinn I know. A lot of shine goes off of him because of Grealish because Grealish does the little bits that make people stand up on their chairs, but in terms of hard work, putting in tackles, goals and assists, John McGinn is a top, top player.

“Villa have been a successful side largely down to him as well and his work-rate in there.”

And, speaking last summer, former Villa man Allan Evans raved about what the Scottish ace brings to the table, saying: “John has really been a saviour for Aston Villa. They were in a difficult situation and he was exactly the kind of guy they needed to get out of trouble.

“John has been a real star for the club. It was a disaster for him and Villa when he broke his leg. He is the type of player who can make a huge difference to a side. There are not too many like him around.”

Now valued at £43m by CIES, McGinn has enjoyed a meteoric rise both at domestic and international level, and that’s a real testament to the kind of work ethic he has in trying to be the best he can be.

And Villa have been the biggest winners of the lot.

Meanwhile, Villa made an approach for this “phenomenal” star…

Liverpool have been handed a major boost regarding the fitness of Takumi Minamino ahead of their upcoming Champions League fixture.

What’s the latest?

According to a report by This Is Anfield, the Liverpool winger was back in first-team training with Jurgen Klopp’s side following his recovery from a minor fitness complaint – which caused the 26-year-old to withdraw from international duty with Japan early and ruled him out of the club’s victory over Leeds United on Sunday.

Klopp will be buzzing

While Minamino is by no means a guaranteed starter in the Liverpool side, having featured from the off just 12 times in his career at Anfield to date, the return of the forward ahead of the Reds’ tantalising fixture against Milan will undoubtedly have Klopp buzzing.

Indeed, while the trio of Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah appear the most likely options to start for Liverpool on Wednesday evening, Minamino’s presence on the bench will provide the German manager with a different route when making substitutions in the latter stages of the fixture, in comparison to the victory at Leeds.

In the game at Elland Road, the 54-year-old had no other choice but to introduce Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for Jota in the closing stages of the match, playing the midfielder in the middle of a front three.

And, while this did not cause any problems with his side 2-0 up against 10 men, should the Reds be pushing for a late goal against the Serie A side on Wednesday, the option of adding Minamino to their attack would certainly appear to be a much-preferred move than once again bringing Oxlade-Chamberlain on.

With Divock Origi seemingly out of the picture, it’s a major boost for Klopp to have a natural attacking player available to him from the bench this evening.

In other news: Signed for £8m, now worth £58.8m: Edwards struck gold for Liverpool with £50k-p/w gem

United Arab Emirates bowler Fayyaz Ahmed has been reported during the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2009 on suspicion of an illegal bowling action, particularly while bowling the doosra

Cricinfo staff16-Apr-2009United Arab Emirates left-arm spinner Fayyaz Ahmed has been reported during the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2009 for a suspected illegal bowling action, particularly while bowling the doosra. Ahmed, 25, was reported by the umpires after UAE’s five-wicket victory over Canada in Krugersdorp on Wednesday.”[We] are of the opinion that Fayyaz Ahmed, left-arm orthodox bowler, bowls with a suspect action which is accentuated when bowling the doosra,” the umpires wrote in their official report . “We therefore request that the necessary action be instituted to deal with this matter.”Ahmed has been tidy but not threatening with the ball in the tournament so far, taking three wickets at 65.00 apiece in six matches at an impressive economy-rate of 3.75 per over. He will not be barred from bowling but the ICC has written to the Emirates Cricket Board to assess Ahmed’s action, and report back to them on the results and what action has been taken.

West Ham are not benefitting from Sebastien Haller’s lucrative return to form, it has been revealed…

What’s the word?

That’s according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, who dropped a fresh revelation in his recent column this week.

He claims that the terms of Haller’s cut-price exit from the London Stadium last January did not include any goal-related add-ons, with the six-cap Ivory Coast international now in red-hot form for his new club Ajax.

The decision to offload the 6 foot 3 forward for an eye-watering £25m loss was largely seen as a success by the club but Haller has been making a solid impression over in Amsterdam ever since.

Transfer clanger

The 27-year-old frontman scored 13 times in half a season for Ajax and has since continued that goal-laden form into the 2021/22 campaign, where he has netted five goals in just five Eredivisie appearances before he bagged four goals in his Champions League debut against Sporting Lisbon next week.

Unfortunately for the Irons, they’ll be receiving nothing for his scintillating change in fortunes up top. Such clauses aren’t uncommon in transfers of this nature, as Ornstein explains in his article, with the selling club often receiving a bonus if said player scores a certain number of goals.

Haller has averaged a goal every 111 minutes at the Dutch giants, a vast contrast to his time in east London, where he only scored 14 times in 54 appearances, at a rate of once every 262 minutes, as per Transfermarkt.

There has to be an argument that Moyes gave up on the club-record signing too soon, particularly as it left him – and still leaves him – with only one senior striker at his disposal, an injury-prone Michail Antonio, who has also started the new season on fire.

But perhaps the biggest mistake here has been highlighted by the aforementioned report.

It may not have worked out for him in England but Haller’s form at Eintracht Frankfurt always suggested that there was a talismanic striker in there somewhere. After all, it’s what made the Hammers strike on a £45m swoop for his signature back in July 2019.

There was always a chance that a player who had previously provided 33 goals in 77 appearances in Germany and 51 goals in 98 matches in his last stint in the Netherlands was going to rediscover his scoring boots at some stage, so it would’ve been smart of Moyes and co to include such a clause.

That’s even more so after taking a considerable financial hit on his departure. It wouldn’t have seen them make up the £25m but further funds from his exit would certainly have made the call to ditch him look a tad better now.

Whilst it just didn’t work out for Haller at West Ham, the club should’ve done more with his departure.

AND in other news, ExWHUemployee drops striker verdict that’ll leave West Ham fans fuming…

Unusually for a modern Championship match – though not necessarily so for Trent Bridge – the bowlers dominated the first day

John Ward at Trent Bridge06-May-2009Nottinghamshire 55 for 3 trail Somerset 138 (de Bruyn 64, Fletcher 4-38) by 83 runs
ScorecardUnusually for a modern Championship match – though not necessarily so for Trent Bridge – the bowlers dominated the first day – thirteen wickets fell as Somerset were dismissed for 138 and Nottinghamshire closed on 55 for 3.Ever since the high-rise stands were erected at the ground, bowlers have been able to swing the ball in most conditions, and a bit of seam movement as well meant that few batsmen were able to exhibit their talents. Pitch inspector David Hughes exonerated the surface, and the low scoring so far adds weight to the view that many of today’s most prolific batsmen tend to be ‘flat-track bullies’ who lack the technique to cope when conditions favour the bowlers.Somerset won the toss on an overcast day and decided to bat, a decision they were soon to regret. Perhaps they were encouraged by the absence, through minor injuries, of Nottinghamshire’s 2009 spearhead, Charlie Shreck and Darren Pattinson. But Ryan Sidebottom, who scarcely played for the team last season, and Luke Fletcher took the new ball and Somerset were in trouble almost from the start.Sidebottom immediately moved the ball away from the left-handed Marcus Trescothick, his first five deliveries all passing through to the keeper, and this was to be the characteristic of his bowling today: he was not easy to score from, but too often he failed to force the batsman to play. Fletcher, on the other hand, was on the spot right from the start.Aril Suppiah was the first to go, poking just outside the off stump and falling to a catch at the wicket. Trescothick put Sidebottom through the covers for a handsome four and was beginning to open up when he drove at Fletcher and was superbly caught by Andre Adams at third slip for 13, reducing Somerset to 13 for 2.Runs were at a premium, and Justin Langer took almost 30 minutes to get off the mark, and after an hour at the crease had only 3. He lost James Hildreth, beaten and bowled by Fletcher for 2, and 20 runs did not appear on the board until the 15th over. Fletcher was rested after a fine opening spell of 8-4-13-3. Langer finally fell to Adams, who made a ball fly from the shoulder of the Australian’s bat to backward point, having scored 11 off 58 balls.The one batsman to succeed in this situation was Zander de Bruyn, although even he struggled at the start. Soon after lunch Somerset were 61 for 6, but then Omari Banks proved a worthy partner for the South African. Early in their partnership came the loudest cheer of the day, at the announcement over the loudspeaker that Kevin Pietersen had been dismissed first ball in the Test; he is obviously remembered well at Trent Bridge, if not necessarily warmly.The pair more than doubled the score, with the conditions easing slightly, and de Bruyn reached a very creditable fifty with a well-placed on-drive for four off Mark Ealham, who was the least effective of the four seamers.Banks chose his shots well, but suffered a nasty body blow at the hands of Sidebottom, and dragged the next ball on to his stumps, departing for 28. De Bruyn went on to 64 before, on the stroke of tea, he played an indeterminate stroke and was caught at the wicket. Sidebottom had taken three wickets, but he was unable to produce the straight ball necessary to dismiss Charl Willoughby, one of the most hapless of No. 11s, despite having a full over to do so.The innings closed when Adams took his second fine slip catch of the day to dismiss David Stiff for 9. Sidebottom and Adams took three wickets each, but the best of them all was Fletcher, who seized the initiative for his team right from the start and thoroughly deserved his four wickets.Somerset do not really have the bowlers at present to take full advantage of helpful conditions. Willoughby was the best of the three seamers tried, but even he tended to bowl too short and off line at times; neither Ben Phillips nor Stiff came to terms with the conditions at all.Still, they did manage to take three wickets before bad light brought an early close, with Alex Hales trapped lbw by Willoughby, unwisely padding up without offering a shot to his first ball. Mark Wagh was dropped on 1 by Trescothick, who has been fallible in the slips of late, but was out for 10, while Samit Patel was not happy to be given out lbw for 11. Bilal Shafayat battled his way through to finish unbeaten with 19, and Notts can claim a slight advantage at the close – as long as their batsmen can score enough runs against bowling much less capable than their own.

Many Wolves fans have been left gushing over some news that has emerged on Adama Traore.

As per The Daily Mail, the Spain international is now ‘edging closer’ to signing a new deal at the Midlands club, and would earn £100,000-per-week, which would make him one of the highest-paid players at Molineux.

Tottenham Hotspur reportedly attempted to sign him in the summer transfer window, and so it is imperative that he is tied down to a new contract.

Traore has shown once again just how important of a player he is to the team in the Premier League so far this season, ranking highly among his teammates in terms of shots (2.3), key passes (two), dribbles (8.2), and crosses (1.2) per game (Whoscored), and Bruno Lage will want to keep him in his squad for as long as possible.

Wolves fans on Traore news

These WWFC supporters gushed as the update was shared on Twitter, with one Wanderer even going as far as to claim that it was ‘great news’, while another branded Traore as an ‘exciting’ player:

“Get it done then, Moutinho on similar money and he’ll probably move on in the next 12-24 months”

Credit: @kyleprentice99

“Great news, most exciting player we’ve had at Wolves for years.”

Credit: @Curly34008700

“Love to see it”

Credit: @_ltr_03

“Get it done”

Credit: @OnePack90973630

“Nice”

Credit: @Mongrelbite

“W”

Credit: @benrpark

In other news, find out what injury news has been bemoaned by Wanderers here!

The two teams largely responsible for making the second season of the IPL as closely contested as it is at present clash in the first match of Thursday’s double-header in Centurion

The Preview by George Binoy06-May-2009Match factsMay 7, 2009
Start time 12:30 local, (10:30 GMT)Anil Kumble’s Bangalore have turned their fortunes around•AFPBig PictureThe two teams largely responsible for making the second season of the IPL as closely contested as it is at present clash in the first match of Thursday’s double-header in Centurion. A week ago, there were only five serious contenders for semi-final spots because Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals (along with Kolkata Knight Riders) were languishing at the bottom of the league after losing several of their initial matches. However, both teams have engineered a turnaround in form and have won three out of their last four matches to claw their way back into contention for the knockout stages. Bangalore and Rajasthan are level on four wins each after eight games, though the defending champions are a point ahead because of a washout.Rajasthan have had no problems with their bowling attack, apart from the suspicion over the injured Kamran Khan’s action, but their batting was heavily reliant on Yusuf Pathan’s muscle. Their strategy appeared to be to send their lesser batsmen up the order to try and do as much as they can and leave the pressure of the final stages of the chase to Yusuf, who delivered in each of their first three victories. The most encouraging aspect of their most recent win, against Kings XI Punjab, is that they posted the season’s first 200-plus score with almost no contribution from Yusuf.Bangalore were also suffering from crippling batting problems. One of their openers inevitably got out for a duck and their hopes of Jesse Ryder and Kevin Pietersen blasting them to large scores came to naught. Bangalore frequently lost two to three wickets during the Powerplay leaving them with little momentum and ammunition for the rest of the innings. Even the first two of their hat-trick of wins was set up by their bowlers. However, that all changed in their last game. Against the toughest bowling attack of the tournament, the Lasith Malinga-led Mumbai Indians, Jacques Kallis and Robin Uthappa steered Bangalore to an astonishing nine-wicket victory and strengthened hopes of a dramatic revival.Form guide (completed matches, most recent first)Rajasthan Royals – WWLWL
Graeme Smith had scored 65 runs in six innings before exploding against Punjab with 77 off 44 balls. Rajasthan’s batting has also been bolstered by useful, if not match-winning, contributions from Lee Carseldine, Abhishek Raut, Ravindra Jadeja and Naman Ojha and if they continue to chip it, it will ease the responsibility on Yusuf. Yusuf has also given Rajasthan handy and early breakthroughs with the new ball but their bowling has been boosted by Shane Harwood who has taken three wickets in two games with an economy rate of 6.37.Royal Challengers Bangalore – WWWLL
After enduring a horrible run with the bat – 57 runs in six innings – Uthappa struck form with an unbeaten 66 off 42 balls. Kallis also struck his second half-century of the tournament but the find for Bangalore in the victory against Mumbai was Dillion du Preez. He struck twice in his first over and finished with 3 for 32.Watch out forThe two legspinner-captains: Anil Kumble is Bangalore’s best bowler with 10 wickets and an economy-rate of 5.82. Bangalore have also won both games since Kumble took over from Pietersen. Warne is also his team’s highest wicket-taker and drives his team with shrewd and inspired captaincy. At SuperSport Park, Kumble’s reliability will clash against Shane Warne’s charisma.Team newsRajasthan gave Amit Singh a debut in the game against Punjab and he impressed with 3 for 9 in four overs. They had also included Niraj Patel in the side but he didn’t get an opportunity to perform. Given the margin of victory against Punjab, Rajasthan are likely to retain the same side.Rajasthan Royals: 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Naman Ojha (wk), 3 Lee Carseldine, 4 Abhishek Raut, 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Niraj Patel, 8 Shane Warne (capt), 9 Shane Harwood, 10 Siddharth Trivedi, 11 Amit Singh.Bangalore packed their side with local experience and picked four South Africans as their overseas players against Mumbai. Two of them, Kallis and du Preez, played crucial roles in the win. Bangalore also are unlikely to make changes unless they want an additional spinner in KP Appanna.Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Jacques Kallis, 2 Wasim Jaffer, 3 Robin Uthappa, 4 Rahul Dravid, 5 Virat Kohli, 6 Mark Boucher (wk), 7 Roelof van der Merwe, 8 Dillon du Preez, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Anil Kumble (capt), 11 KP Appanna/R Vinay Kumar.Stats and triviaRajasthan were dismissed for 58 in their first match against Bangalore this season. It was the lowest total in the IPL.Kumble’s figures of 5 for 5 against Rajasthan are the second best of the IPL and the best this season.The 135-run partnership between Smith and Ojha is the highest of the second season and the second highest overall.Head-to-head recordBangalore won their first game against Rajasthan this season by 75 runs in Cape Town. They scored 133 for 8 and dismissed Rajasthan for 58.Rajasthan won both the matches against Bangalore in the 2008 season. The margin in the first game at the Chinnaswamy Stadium was seven wickets with 17 balls to spare, while in Jaipur it was 65 runs.