As reported by The Daily Record, Rangers will not be letting Bruno Alves leave Ibrox this summer if it means they are left paying a proportion of the last year of his contract.

The paper say that Portuguese outfit Vitoria Guimaraes have been priced out of a move for the World Cup star, with the Light Blues both looking for a fee for the player and being unwilling to pay up his deal that expires next summer.

Alves had a difficult first season at Ibrox, failing to shine under Pedro Caixinha or Graeme Murty and leaving Rangers supporters scratching their heads and wondering why they are paying him such high wages.

The Record reckon he is on a deal worth £28,000-a-week, which is a huge salary for Rangers these days.

Fans though recognise that the club should not be letting him leave if there is little value in an exit, hoping that they can recoup some of the investment they have already put into the failed signing.

Some even believing he can play a big part next season.

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[brid autoplay=”true” video=”252976″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch 21 things that will definitely happen at the World Cup”]

Gujranwala U-19 beat Karachi U-19 by 51 runs to claim the limited oversfinal of the Pepsi Junior Under 19 Tournament (Grade I) played at thelush green KRL cricket ground, Rawalpindi. The four-day final betweenthe two teams would be played at the same venue from tomorrow.Put into bat by Karachi Under-19s, Gujranwala Under-19s lost their firstwicket with just 20 runs on the board. A second wicket partnership of103 between Atiq-ur-Rehman and Kamran Younis at this stage did not onlytake their score to safety but it also seemed that Gujranwala will beable to post a huge total.However, with the fall of Atiq at the individual score of 54, theGujranwala players appeared to have lost their way. It was not long afterthat the wicket of dangerous looking Kamran was also taken at the scoreof 147. Kamran played a fine knock of 63 off 91 balls.With both Kamran and Atiq now back in the pavilion, the Gujranwalabatsmen could not find enough grit and determination to take their sideto a big total. Naeem-ud-Din, the stylish left-hander, was the onlyother player who could take his score past 20. However, he too was slowin batting as he took 49 balls to reach 21 runs.The rest of the Gujranwala batsmen just gave in under the pressureapplied by Karachi players’ good fielding and bowling. They could gathera total of only 41 in the last 10 overs as they lost 6 wickets duringthis period. The Gujranwala innings came to a close at 218 in the 48.5overs.Azam Hussain, the left-arm spinner from Karachi, took three wickets for41 runs in 9 overs. The other successful bowlers were Faraz Ahmed andAftab Ahmed with figures of 3/47 and 1/34, respectively. The other threewickets to fall were all run outs.Requiring 219 to win in their 50 overs, the Karachi side started offaggressively despite losing the early wicket of Khalid Latif at thescore of 16. They reached their fifty in only the 6th over without anyfurther success for the fielding side.However, with the loss in quick succession of Mohammad Farooq, theskipper of the Karachi side and Mushtaq Afridi, the younger brother ofthe hard-hitting Shahid Afridi, brought real troubles for the battingside. Farooq scored 14 from 28 deliveries whereas Afridi could get onlyone run in the ten balls that he faced.Seeing that the wicket was taking the turn, the Gujranwala captain appliedspinners from both ends in short spells, ensuring thatthe batsmen just do not adjust themselves to the playing conditions.It was mainly due to this tactic that the Karachi side, which boasted ofa fairly long batting line up, was reduced to 102 for 6 by the 29thover. Realising that they had grabbed the initiative from theiropponents, the Gujranwala bowlers attacked with more ferocity and vigor,making life extremely miserable for the batsmen.Ashraf Ali, the right-handed opener, was the only batsman who could putsome resistance against the Gujranwala bowlers. However, his run out atthe individual score of 46, rendered the Karachi line up virtually atthe mercy of the opposition.The late order of Karachi, comprising of Amin-ur-Rehman (18), AzamHussain (14), and Aftab Ahmed (14), did spend some time at the crease,but their efforts were just not enough to overhaul the target. Karachiwas all out for a mere 167 in the 47th over, in the end conceding thematch quite easily.Every Gujranwala bowler was among wickets. However, Kamran Hussain andthe skipper Bilal Hussain were the pick of the lot with figures of 2/20and 2/25, respectively.The victory in this match has certainly shifted the odds in favour ofthe Gujranwala side to win the four-day contest, too. However, oneexpects that the Karachi players would learn from their mistakes and putup a brave show in the coming match in order to avenge their defeat atthe hands of their rivals.

Leicestershire 2nd XI won the AON Trophy for the fourth time, when they defeated Hampshire 2nd XI at the County Ground, Southampton on Monday.In front of a sizable crowd and warm weather, Hampshire’s captain Shaun Udal decision to put Leicestershire into bat paid early dividends. Leicestershire were struggling at 59-4, only Steve Adshead holding up the home sides progress. He finally found partners in Carl Crowe, Luke Reeves and the veteran Phil Robinson, and was able to push the score to a more respectable 205. Five Hampshire bowlers took 2 wickets apiece with only Udal failing to make his mark in an expensive spell.Hampshire had a strong batting line up. Brunnschweiler at 11 had recently made a century, so confidence was high as Stephenson and Kenway opened with a 33 run stand. Andrew Sexton and Lawrence Prittipaul took the score to 157-4 and a seemingly easy task towards victory.What followed however was a collapse of serious proportions, as four wickets fell for six runs, including Sexton, whose 58 had looked to be taking his side towards the trophy. Hampshire’s panic came from a combination of bat shot selection and good pressure from the Leicestershire bowlers and fielders. Sexton came down to a ball from Carl Crowe, and was well out of his ground when Adshead found the stumping task too easy.A six from Chris Tremlett raised the home supporters hope, but he was last man out when attempting another big hit, and was brilliantly caught by 37-year-old Phil Robinson.

Scorecard2:50

‘We want to have a clean sweep’ – Priest

Rachel Priest’s maiden half-century in T20Is powered New Zealand Women to a six-wicket win against India Women in Bangalore, victory also sealing the series for the visitors.Set 137 for the win, New Zealand lost their captain Suzie Bates off the second ball of the innings, and slumped to further trouble when Sophie Devine, who broke the record for fastest T20 fifty on Saturday, was caught by Jhulan Goswami off her own bowling. However, Priest led a recovery, marshaling a 71-run stand for the third wicket to Leigh Kasperek to put the team back on track. Priest drilled 10 fours and two sixes during her 34-ball 60, but both she and Kasperek fell within quick succession of each other by the 11th over to open the door slightly for India. However, Amy Satterthwaite and Katie Perkins remained unfazed, chipping in with handy twenties to take the team home inside 18 overs.Earlier, India, after being inserted, were pegged back by early strikes from Devine and Hannah Rowe. Vellaswami Vanitha top-scored with 41 and strung together crucial partnerships with Harmanpreet Kaur (30) and Veda Krishnamurthy (29), but were unable to really accelerate and push on to a big total.

Three weeks after returning home from the World Twenty20 Qualifier in Ireland, each player from USA’s 15-man squad is yet to receive nearly $2000 in stipend payments that were promised to them ahead of the tour. The news was initially reported by ESPNcricinfo on Monday after learning of the situation from multiple players in the squad.However, the USA Cricket Association is laying blame on the ICC for what it says was a broken promise to take care of the players while the board is under ICC suspension. USACA officials were due to meet with ICC chief executive David Richardson and ICC general counsel Iain Higgins in New York on Tuesday to discuss a variety of issues related to the suspension, including finances, and the ICC claims it never agreed to pay the players. USACA vice-president Owen Grey has pointed the finger squarely back at the ICC.”Ask the ICC why they refuse to pay the players,” Grey told ESPNcricinfo on Monday. “You suspend a nation and you said the players must not suffer. You’re supposed to pay the players and you decided that yes you’re going to pay the players and then you renege. So go ask Ben Kavenagh, David Richardson and Tim Anderson. You hear that a nation is suspended and the ICC wants it both ways.”The ICC told the manager John Wilson up in Dublin that they sent the money to USACA to pay the players which is a bloody lie. The ICC got the request about the stipend for the players through [USACA liaison] Vincent [Adams] to Tim Anderson, Ben Kavanagh, Faisal Hasnain and David Richardson. They were supposed to pay the players. They didn’t do it. They said they sent the money to USACA which is a lie.”ESPNcricinfo reached out to ICC officials late Monday to get their version of events relating to the stipend payment. An ICC spokesperson responded on Tuesday, stating that though USACA did make a request, no agreement was ever made by the ICC to provide a supplemental stipend beyond the $60 a day that all players from each of the 14 teams received from the ICC as meal money during the tournament.”The ICC didn’t agree, and is not in a position to pay the USA players,” the ICC spokesperson said. “USACA was advised of this several weeks ago. In saying this, despite USACA’s current suspension, the ICC remains committed to providing the best players in the USA with opportunities to compete internationally. It is for this reason that the USA was allowed to compete in the recent ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier and the ICC Americas U19 Championship, while USA players have also been selected for the upcoming ICC Americas Combine.”On Sunday, USACA announced a national $100,000 tournament in Florida to be played by the best clubs of USACA member leagues. However, Grey was adamant that the tour stipend payments for the 15 USA players should come from the ICC and not from any other funding sources.”The players are out $27,000 as we speak, which should have been paid before they left Dublin last month,” Grey said. “The pay scale was $60 per day for dinner and a $100 stipend. In 2013, when we weren’t suspended, USACA paid the players $120 a day plus they got $50 dinner money from the ICC for the same tournament in Dubai. The meal money was increased $10 a day this year so we said fair is fair, pay them $100. So the players are out $100 per day which is $1800 per player.”

West Indies’ three-day practice match at the SSC has been postponed by one day due to bad weather in Colombo. The match against Sri Lanka Cricket Board President’s XI, led by Lahiru Thirimanne, had been scheduled to begin on Thursday, but will now begin on Friday.The postponement means West Indies are left only two clear days between the end of the practice match and the start of the first Test which is scheduled to begin from October 14.West Indies had arrived in Sri Lanka on October 1, and had largely been forced to practice indoors, thanks to almost daily showers in Colombo. The northeast monsoon brings island-wide rain in October and November, but scheduling difficulties often force Sri Lanka to host international sides during these months.Prior to the postponement, West Indies captain Jason Holder had said the three-day match would be particularly vital to his team’s preparation, as most of the West Indies squad have not played Tests in Sri Lanka before.”The warm-up is our first game since we have been here and we can gauge where we are in these conditions. Hopefully the rain stays away and we can get the practice we want ahead of the Test match. Our batsmen and bowlers need to spend some time in the middle and hopefully we can make use of this match and be ready for the first Test on October 14.”The first Test is set to be played in Galle before the teams return to Colombo to play the second Test at the P Sara Oval.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has appointed a two-man committee to investigate allegations of widespread corruption within the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA). The committee, comprising the secretaries in the sports and urban development departments, has been given 48 hours to report back their findings.The probe assumes significance as the BCCI at its AGM on Monday had given the DDCA time till November 17 to get all necessary clearances from the government and the Delhi civic body for it to host the fourth Test between India and South Africa. Should Delhi fail to meet the deadline, Pune will host its maiden Test, scheduled between December 3 to 7.It is understood that on November 10 prominent former Delhi cricketers, led by former Indian captain Bishan Singh Bedi, met Kejriwal. “On Diwali eve they met the chief minister and submitted a memorandum alleging largescale corruption and financial irregularities in the DDCA,” a government source, present at the meeting, told ESPNcricinfo.Incidentally, current Delhi captain and senior India batsman, Gautam Gambhir also met Kejriwal on Thursday morning to express his frustration about leading a team without any support from the DDCA. In his interviews with the media this week, Gambhir brought out in the open his rift with the DDCA. “[If Delhi were to win the Ranji Trophy this year] that will be a massive, massive slap in the face for a lot of people who haven’t done anything for cricket and yet have been on top posts in the DDCA,” Gambhir told the .The issue of corruption and financial mismanagement has plagued the DDCA for a many years, but the inability of the factions to resolve their differences has now come to bite them back. Both the Delhi government, which is headed by Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party, and the Delhi civic body have slapped numerous notices on the DDCA to clear long-standing dues and seek clearances in order to host the South Africa Test match. The BCCI, too, has for the past two years stopped the funds to DDCA because the association has not filed its accounts for the said period.The biggest impediment for the DDCA is the massive sum of Rs 24.46 crore it owes to the Delhi government as entertainment tax. DDCA apparently believes it was exempted from entertainment tax from 2008 to 2012, but the new commission has asked them for arrears for those years plus interest. So DDCA claims they owe no more than 5 crore, but the government has asked for 24 crore.None of the DDCA officials responded to calls, but in their interactions with the media earlier this week some senior officials had expressed confidence that Kejriwal would listen to their case and waive off a part of the entertainment tax.The government official pointed out, however, that the probe panel was not concerned about the BCCI deadline. “Those are two different matters,” the official said. “The DDCA has not paid the entertainment tax to Delhi government since a long time. So the department would be concerned only about the tax. The deadline to DDCA by the BCCI is their own internal matter”.The official said Kejriwal had two options with regards to the memorandum submitted by Bedi and co. Either the government disposes of the memorandum, but that would not be done considering it was supported by eminent names like Bedi. The second option was to conduct a swift and thorough inquiry.()

A light shower in the final session forced stumps to be called almosttwelve overs early and prevented Hyderabad from mopping up theKarnataka tail this evening. Tomorrow the Ranji Trophy holders will beformally administered the push from this year’s edition, a result thatwas arguably on the cards by the end of the first dayitself. Karnataka’s last pair averted the follow on but there will belittle relief in the home camp, trailing as they are by 188 runs at523/9.Not even a washout of the last day’s play can save Karnataka. Theplaying conditions affirm that in case of a no result on firstinnings, a comparison of run rates will decide the winner. Karnatakahas an inferior run rate, a natural corollary to having an inferiorbatting, bowling and fielding.Karnataka started the fourth day trailing by 442 and with the secondnew ball due in five overs. Raju and Kanwaljit bowled three overs eachbefore the new ball was handed to Fiaz Ahmed who had beendisappointing yesterday, with 40 runs being taken off his six overs.Bharadwaj became the fourth successive batsman to get to his fifty andneither he nor Barrington seemed to be in undue discomfort as theseamers tried to find their rhythm.The first boundary off the bat came in the 13th over of the day whenBarrington got Fiaz away between second slip and gully to third man,bringing up the 300 in the process. But when Barrington tried tostreak one through the slips in the same over, he saw Mohd.Azharuddin’s left hand come in the way at the last possible moment andcatch the ball inches off the ground at second slip. In that onemoment the difference between the two sides was there to see inunmistakable terms.Barrington’s stout resistance at the wicket had netted him 65 runs andalthough Bharadwaj played a glorious cover drive off NP Singh, Fiazwas not done yet as he had Thilak Naidu caught down the leg side byRiaz Sheikh in his next over. Naidu tried to help the ball to backwardsquare leg but the bounce defeated him and suddenly two wickets hadgone down for nine runs against the run of play to leave Karnataka at311/4.Vijay flirted with danger when he followed one outside off stump fromFiaz and although the fielders appeared convinced that he’d got anick, umpire Jamula showed no interest. Satwalkar had replaced NPSingh at the pavilion end and Bharadwaj played a classy extra coverdrive, putting his front foot down and hitting on the rise to send itcrashing into the advertising boards. Fiaz went off after a nippyspell of 8-1-29-2 and Raju got some turn and bounce outside off stumprightaway.One such delivery flicked Vijay’s bat on its way to the keeper andKarnataka’s middle order was collapsing like a house of cards. Afterlunch another flicker of resistance came to an end when Bharadwajstepped out to drive Raju on the leg side and ended up presenting thebowler with a simple c&b for 90. Sunil Joshi walked out with a runnerin Mithun Beerala after having hurt his foot at a practice sessionthis morning. He showed his hand early when he went for a almightyheave across the line and connected thin air. Joshi is nothing if notan entertainer and soon enough he was connecting leather with the meatof the bat, savaging Raju with the biggest hit of the match, the balllanding in the uninhabited stands at deep midwicket.The bowlers gave him a wide berth after that with three and even fourfielders on the boundary line. Raju did bowl a beauty that turned andwent through Joshi’s gate, only to pass over the stumps. Hyderabad sawthe back of Akhil when he turned a ball pitched up on leg from Rajuinto the hands of forward short leg. Ganesh and Joshi now cametogether in the most entertaining association of the innings. Joshipulled Raju on bended knee over the fence at deep backward square andhis fifty came with another six over the straight boundary. Ganeshjoined the party with an authentic late cut to the square third manfence off Kanwaljit Singh that would have made any top order batsmanproud and the runs began to flow fast and thick now.The 70 run stand (66 minutes, 100 balls) was finally broken when FiazAhmed trapped Joshi leg before for 72 as he played back. Although RiazSheikh than dropped a straightforward chance offered by Prasad,Kanwaljit had him spoon a catch to midwicket soon to leave Karnatakaat 508/9 with four runs still needed to avoid the follow on. Ganeshhit three boundaries in one over off Fiaz to spare Karnataka’s blushesalthough Hyderabad wouldn’t have been too unhappy about that, havingalready spent a long time in the field. Ganesh brought up his fiftyoff just seventy balls but dark clouds were now hovering over theground and sure enough the sun vanished under a cover and a lightdrizzle enveloped the ground as the umpires called off play at 3.56p.m.

Karachi, April 5: Pakistan made a winning start to their tour of WestIndies when they defeated Zimbabwe by five wickets in the tri-nationone-day series match at Antigua’s Recreation Park.Chasing a target of 200, Pakistan achieved victory with 17 balls tospare. Abdur Razzaq (28 not out) hit the winning boundary. With himwas Moin Khan (25 not out). Shahid Afridi who blasted two sixes andfive fours in his breezy run-a-ball 69 put But Pakistan on course fora comfortable win.Afridi, adjudged Man-of-the-Match, added 67 runs for the third wicketwith Inzamam-ul-Haq (32). But both the batsmen perished in anidentical fashion – holing out in the deep off Dirk Viljoen.Pakistan found themselves in some sorts of problems when YousufYouhana (21) was run-out in a terrible mix-up with Moin Khan.Pakistan restrict ZimbabweAntigua, April 5: Backed up by some sharp catching and groundfielding, Pakistan restricted Zimbabwe to 199 for nine in the thirdmatch of the tri-nation one-day series at the Recreation Ground hereon Wednesday.The target is not that challenging considering Pakistan’s depth inbatting, but to achieve it they will have to bat really well tomaintain nearly four runs an over.Considering the state of the wicket, which seemingly is slow and alsohas the tendency to keep low with uneven bounce, the Zimbabweans didwell even to reach the ultimate score.An opening stand of 59 between Grant Flower and Neil Johnson was agood enough launching pad for Zimbabwe. But none of the batsmen wereable to get hold of the Pakistan bowling which rarely allowed anyliberty to the batsmen.Pakistan spinners Mushtaq Ahmad, Shahid Afridi and Arshad Khan sentdown tidy and economical overs to be rewarded with wickets. Alsoimpressive with the leather were Waqar Younis, Abdur Razzaq andMohammad Akram.Pakistan had their first breakthrough when out-of-form Grant Flowerplayed uppishly at short mid-wicket to be caught by Younis Khan offRazzaq when 36. Two runs later Johnson, also struggling to gain someform, was well taken at mid-wicket by Imran Nazir off spinner ArshadKhan for 20.Stuart Carlisle and Murray Goodwin did attempt to force the pace butwithout success. They, however, did share a stand of 41 runs for thethird wicket.Leg-spinner Mushtaq, playing after a long absence, lured Carlisle tothe deep mid-wicket region where Yousuf Youhana had no problem inmaking the catch. Carlisle made 30 with four fours in 38 balls.Goodwin, attempting a massive hit, lofted the ball on the top of thewicket-keeper’s head and Imran Nazir, running from covers, took yetanother catch as Goodwin went for 16 in the 27th over with Zimbabwe on109.Derek Viljoen made three before being run out by Younis Khan.Andy Flower, the captain, and Guy Whittall salvaged the situation alittle to add 33 for the sixth wicket. Flower, like Carlisle, alsowent hitting the ball in the air when 18.Heath streak dropped twice, once by Moin Khan off Razzaq when 13 andagain by Younis Khan of Mohammad Akram, finally holed out to Moinedging Mohammad Akram but not before adding 37 runs with Whittall whokept the score going. Not much later, Mluleki Nkala fell to WaqarYounis and Whittall became the ninth man out as he swung and missed toAkram. He made 31 off 65 balls with only one four.

Rain after tea on Monday ended the SuperSport Series match between Free State and the Highveld Strikers at Goodyear Park with the Highveld Strikers 47 runs ahead on 204 for five in their second innings.The Strikers resumed their second innings on 23 without loss needing 134 to erase the deficit. They were never in danger of falling short of that goal, and once it was achieved all interestdrained from the match.Adam Bacher and Sven Koenig did most of the work towards ushering the Strikers into the black with a solid partnership of 81 for the first wicket. Andre Seymour and Zander de Bruyn then added 36 for the third wicket, before De Bruyn and Geoff Toyana took the visitors to 152 for four and safety.De Bruyn ambled to an unbeaten 59 off 154 balls with 10 fours, while the day was also not wasted for Dewald Pretorius.The lively Free State fast bowler singlehandedly dismissed Bacher, Koenig – both bowled – and Toyana, who he trapped in front, to finish with three for 23 off 12 overs.Offspinner Kosie Venter, scorer of a fine 112 not out on Sunday, supported Pretorius well in his 26 overs, in which he earned two for 66.But there was only one genuine candidate for the man-of-the-match award, and Herman Bakkes was duly awarded the prize for a brilliant bowling performance in the Highveld Strikers’ first innings which brought him figures of six for 108.Deservedly, Free State claimed six bonus points to the Gautengers’ four.