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A round-up of the latest action from the County Championship matches

Cricinfo staff07-Aug-2009Division OneSean Ervine hit a powerful hundred but Hampshire’s batting faded at The Rose Bowl•Getty Images

Adam Voges hit his first hundred for Nottinghamshire as Sussex were made to toil at Horsham with the visitors building a lead of 120. Play didn’t start until mid-afternoon due to rain – and Sussex will be confident of a draw – but Voges and Samit Patel put Nottinghamshire on the front foot. They added 168 for the fourth wicket as Voges reached three figures after twice falling in the 90s earlier in the season. This time that fate belonged to Patel as he top-edged a pull to midwicket for 91.For a full report from Warwickshire against Somerset at Edgbaston click here.2nd dayCenturies from Jimmy Adams (107) and Sean Ervine (114) were poorly supported by the rest of the Hampshire batsmen at The Rose Bowl, as four wickets each for Kyle Hogg and Oliver Newby helped Lancashire reduce the home side to 337. However, after rolling over Tom Burrows, David Griffiths and Imran Tahir without scoring, Lancashire struggled to take the final wicket, as brave support from James Tomlinson helped to rack up a 50 partnership with Ervine. Ervine launched two sixes, including a reverse sweep off Gary Keedy, but finally fell to Hogg as he was caught at long on by Tom Smith. The visitors got off to a sturdy start to their first innings, with Smith ending the second day on 44 not out. Hampshire’s only wicket coming from David Griffiths, who dismissed Paul Horton for 34, with a short delivery which was hooked and caught low down by Imran Tahir.Division TwoMiddlesex secured their first Championship match of the season with a day to spare, as Murali Kartik took 4 for 53 in the second innings to beat Kent at Canterbury by 47 runs. Having lost the wickets of Robert Key and Geraint Jones on Thursday, Kent were left with an uphill struggle this morning, having to chase 335 and lost Joe Denly early on the third morning. Martin van Jaarsveld put up a fight with 54 before edging Gareth Berg into the slips and Kartik’s relentless 29-over spell pinned the home side down. However, Middlesex’s may just have had a nervous moment or two, as No. 11 Amjad Khan produced a season’s best 62 not out, which included nine boundaries. He added an entertaining final-wicket stand of 86 with Simon Cook until Tim Murtagh ended the fun as Cook edged to skipper Eoin Morgan in the slips for 27. The win handed Middlesex their first victory on Kent soil since success at Dartford in 1983.A career-best, unbeaten 156 by Stephen Adshead helped put Gloucestershire on course for victory against Essex at Garon’s Park. Adshead built a lead of 198 as the last two wickets added 144 with Ian Saxelby (20) and Jon Lewis (32) providing valuable support. Essex had hopes of restricting the advantage when Danish Kaneria trapped James Franklin lbw shortly after the New Zealander had reached his hundred, but the home attack became toothless. After his valuable innings, Lewis then struck with the new ball and when Matt Walker was caught at slip off Steve Kirby Essex were 31 for 3. They avoided further loss before the close, but will need a huge effort to survive the final day.An extraordinary performance from the Glamorgan lower order put them in control against Leicestershire at Colwyn Bay as Adam Shantry hit a century from No. 10 and added 253 for the ninth wicket with Robert Croft who struck 121. Shantry became the first Glamorgan batsman to hit a hundred from such a low position for 80 years and reached his ton from 192 balls. Even when he fell to Harry Gurney the problems didn’t stop for Leicestershire as Croft reached his hundred from 238 deliveries in a final-wicket stand of 73 with David Harrison. The visitors then lost two before the close as the spinners made an impact with Jamie Dalrymple beating Greg Smith with one that spun sharply. They still trail by 176 with a battled ahead.2nd dayDerbyshire staged a strong fightback against Surrey at Whitgift School, firstly led by Tim Groenewald’s career-best 6 for 50 then Chris Rogers’ unbeaten 80 as they moved to 169 for 2. Surrey lost their last seven wickets for 54 after Usman Afzaal was caught at deep square leg. Groenewald operated at a lively pace in overcast conditions and dispatched the tail to complete a spell of 5 for 10. The sky had cleared when Derbyshire began their reply and although fell early, Rogers held firm during the final session. Garry Park was the other wicket to fall when he edged to slip, but Derbyshire will be confident of a first-innings lead.

Six sessions remain in which the destination of the Ashes will be decided, and England must surely believe that the litany of surprises that have been strung out across this summer have finally run their course

Andrew Miller at The Oval22-Aug-2009It’s happening again. That nagging, gnawing, pit-of-the-stomach doubt that only the most gripping Test series can serve up. Six sessions remain in which the destination of the Ashes will be decided, and England – with every single historical precedent weighted in their favour, including one from their most recent victory at Lord’s – must surely believe, deep down, that the litany of surprises that have been strung out across this summer have finally run their course.But where there is uncertainty, English pessimism is sure to take root, and having watched their own lower-order tee off to contemptuous effect on a pitch supposedly prepared by Doctor Faustus, the sight of Australia’s openers following suit to the tune of 80 runs in 20 overs was all too much for the umbrella-chewing fraternity of English sports-fans.The 2009 Ashes has lacked the class, the 24-7 tension, and, yes, the unfettered jingoism that made the 2005 summer so unforgettable, but the peaks and troughs on display have, if anything, been all the more marked. Which is all the more reason to wonder if a world-record chase – another 466 required in a minimum of 180 overs – could somehow prove attainable.They thought it was possible back in July after all, when Australia were set a hefty 522 to extend their 75-year hegemony at Lord’s, and thanks to a battling partnership from Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin, reached 313 for 5 at the close of the fourth day before Andrew Flintoff stormed in on the fifth to up-end them 115 runs short. But Flintoff has not been the same force since – his only subsequent wicket in nearly 50 overs was the No. 11, Ben Hilfenhaus, in Australia’s first innings on Friday – and 233 runs per day is not a big ask in any version of international cricket.Jonathan Trott has done an astounding job at dispelling the doubters this week – nobody in their wildest imaginations could have predicted he would exactly maintain his season’s average of 80 in his maiden Test performance – but when he was asked if an England victory was in the bag, all of his soothing powers had clearly been expended at the crease.”Until you’ve taken the tenth wicket in the second innings it’s always a game of the unknown,” he said. “There are so many variables in the game of cricket, it’s never a foregone conclusion at all. We want to do as well as we can, break it down, and have a good first hour tomorrow to set the game up from there.”To be fair, England as a unit were not especially downcast as they left the field on Saturday evening. Seeing as Steve Harmison had bowled a grand total of four overs in the first innings, the shiny hard new ball was never likely to be their most incisive weapon, especially when Stuart Broad beat, and then found, the edge with a brace of offcutters in his first over. Australia survived all the same, but as Marcus North – the unlikely star of their bowling performance – admitted, they had seen little to suggest that they’ve got the measure of the conditions.”History is against us,” said North. “It’s too early to look that far ahead, because there’s a lot of cricket to be played. What you’ll see tomorrow is 11 guys who have got a lot of character to show, and they are going to give everything for every contest for every over. Hopefully that can lay the foundation to give us a chance.”The first objective was to get through tonight unscathed and Simon and Watto did that superbly,” he said. “To walk off at 0 for 80, it’s the position we needed to be in, if we can start well tomorrow, get to lunch, and reassess things from there. It’s a massive target to get, but the best thing we can do is not look too far ahead. We’ve given ourselves the opportunity to have that target in sight at some stage.”As for Lord’s, that performance will doubtless weigh on the minds of England’s fans on a packed fourth day at The Oval, but can Australia go one better than that heroic endeavour? “We can take a lot out of all our innings through the series,” said North. “We batted well at Lord’s with some big partnerships, and laid some foundations to give us some opportunity to chase that target down.”But this is a different Test, different conditions, and again we’ll have to show some character,” he said. “Clarke and Haddin did that in that Test, and we’ll have to show some of the same courage and determination tomorrow. Everyone has got the same attitude that I’ve got. The guys are as positive as they can be. It’s a huge task ahead. It’s small steps at a time.”But if omens are what Australia seek – and frankly, in the circumstances, why on earth wouldn’t they – then they can turn for inspiration to two first-class fixtures of contrasting fortunes. In the former, in February 1992, Australia’s current chairman of selectors, Andrew Hilditch, hit a century, and their coach, Tim Nielsen, shared in the winning stand, as South Australia chased 506 to beat Queensland in the Sheffield Shield. And then, 12 years later in Gurgaon, England A failed to defend 501 against South Zone in the Duleep Trophy. Kevin Pietersen was a member of that beaten team, as was England’s current wicketkeeper, Matt Prior. It’s all stacked up, but is it ready to topple?

Speaking to Calciomercato.it, Italian reporter Romeo Agresti has shared some interesting news on Tottenham Hotspur target Dusan Vlahovic.

The Lowdown: Spurs eye Vlahovic move…

As per numerous sources, Tottenham have been interested in signing the Serbia international for quite a long while and links can be traced all the way back to the summer transfer window.

Italian news outlet Fanta Calcio even went as far as to say a Spurs bid had been lodged to sign Vlahovic but it was swiftly rejected, even despite the fact he was personally keen on the idea of an N17 move.

The arrival of new boss Antonio Conte has only heightened reports of Tottenham’s interest, especially taking into account the 52-year-old’s ties to Serie A.

Calciomercato.it recently name dropped Vlahovic as one of several Italian top flight stars being eyed by Spurs’ manager and now Agresti has shared the latest on Fiorentina’s stance.

The Latest: Fiorentina officials have already made a ‘couple of trips’ to England…

According to the reporter, who spoke to Calciomercato.it recently, La Viola chiefs have already travelled to England to ‘explore the local market’ with the Serie A side wanting to offload Vlahovic in January.

“Fiorentina wants to sell it in January to avoid dangerous dynamics,” Agresti explained.

“There have been a couple of trips to England to explore the local market.

“A price has been fixed: 80 million euros. Fiorentina do not want to sit down and talk with Juventus.”

The Verdict: Spurs in pole?

It appears their stance is clear – sell for as big a price as possible but not to one of their direct Serie A rivals.

This could gift Spurs a boost in the race to sign Vlahovic for Conte and managing director Fabio Paratici may well have the upper hand in negotiations due to the striker’s stance over a new deal.

His current contract expires in 2023, meaning La Viola’s position to demand a hefty price tag wains with each passing transfer window.

Despite president Rocco Commisso offering to make Vlahovic the highest-paid Fiorentina player in history, the American billionaire’s advances were swiftly rejected, as he confirmed in an official statement.

It appears Vlahovic is now closer than ever to the exit door and he could be a mega signing for Spurs and Conte if they manage to pull it off.

Bagging ten goals and an assist in 12 appearances across all competitions already this season (Transfermarkt), the 21-year-old is turning many heads in Italy and has been called a ‘really exciting’ player by Serie A expert Conor Clancy.

As Tottenham seek a natural alternative to superstar Harry Kane, we believe they can do no better than Vlahovic.

In other news: ‘Close agreement’…Journalist has also dropped a major Tottenham transfer claim on Twitter, find out more here.

Andrew Miller’s plays of the day from Lord’s

Andrew Miller at Lord's07-May-2009

Spell of the dayGraham Onions didn’t have a wonderful introduction to Test cricket. He was bowled first-ball by a low full-toss, and then dropped short with his maiden delivery to be pulled ruthlessly through midwicket. But then, in his sixth over, everything started to click. Lendl Simmons received a brutal lifter to be caught at slip for Onions’ maiden Test wicket, two balls later Jerome Taylor was strangled down the leg-side, then, to cap a memorable over, Sulieman Benn sliced a third-ball drive to third slip. Still Onions was not finished. He made it four in seven balls when Denesh Ramdin was pinned lbw one delivery, and had his Durham team-mate, Paul Collingwood, clung onto a sharp chance off Lionel Baker he’d have made it five in 12. Ultimately, it was 5 in 27, as Baker succumbed after a defiant cameo. Not a bad first day proper at the office.Innings of the dayRavi Bopara led the way on the first day, but he barely got a look in when play resumed today. Graeme Swann is not a man who lacks confidence in any department, and today he was on remarkable form. In all, he flogged eight of his nine fours on the up and through the off side, including six in the first hour this morning before Bopara had the chance to add to his own overnight tally of 14. Then, to cap his performance, Swann posted his maiden Test half-century by walloping Lionel Baker into the Mound Stand for six. By the time he was left unbeaten on 63, he had surpassed Ashley Giles’ Test-best 59, and restated his growing claims to an Ashes starting berth.Interruption of the dayEngland were motoring in the first hour of the morning, adding 24 handy runs in five overs as West Indies struggled to rediscover their first-day vim. So it came as a total surprise when the umpires wandered across to have a chat with the batsman, and gave them the chance to troop off for bad light. It seemed a senseless break in England’s momentum, reminiscent of Marcus Trescothick and Mark Butcher’s walk-off at Headingley 2003. But then, after a 15-minute hiatus, Swann resumed with three fours in five balls, and that was the end of that analogy.Poor example of the dayFidel Edwards was rightly aggrieved at the close of the first day’s play, having suffered at the hands, quite literally, of his team-mates, who spilled three clear chances in the final session to delay his richly deserved five-wicket haul. When play resumed he would surely have wished to set the fielding example for his errant colleagues to follow. Instead, from the first ball of the day, he went down into the long barrier, and let a gentle push to mid-on roll straight through his legs.Clanger of the dayAs Edwards himself admitted at the close of the first day’s play, it has been a long, long while since he’s bowled on a pitch that rewards his natural pace. That hasn’t, however, stopped him digging it in when the mood suits him, and one brute of a lifter struck James Anderson an ugly blow on the back of his helmet as he averted his gaze and braced for impact. After a lengthy delay and a switch of headgear – his old lid had a ball-shaped chunk taken out of the bottom edge – he groggily resumed and survived with some courage through to lunch.Stat of the dayAt the break, in fact, Anderson was 1 not out from 17 deliveries. Nothing remarkable in that, you might suggest. How wrong you’d be. By nudging the final ball of the session off his hip for a single to square leg, Anderson extended his world-record sequence of 47 innings without ever being dismissed for a duck. He has been unbeaten on 0 on ten occasions, and fallen for 1 seven times. But the dreaded blob remains elusive.Bowling change of the dayWhen England’s turn came to bowl, Broad took one half of the new ball – no surprise there. At the other end, however, Andrew Strauss pulled a complete fast one on the punters, pundits and West Indies players alike. With Swann on a high after his half-century, he was thrown the ball ahead of Anderson and both debutant seamers, Onions and Tim Bresnan, who didn’t get to feature in the first innings at all. Perhaps the decision was influenced by Yuvraj Singh’s over to Kevin Pietersen in Mohali, or KP’s own opening of the bowling in the IPL last month. More likely, it was inspired by Swann’s dominance of West Indies’ openers, Chris Gayle and Devon Smith, who between them accounted for five of his 27 wickets prior to this Test.Double whammy of the dayAnd sure enough, Smith soon succumbed to his nemesis, who has now claimed his wicket on four occasions in Test cricket. With the first ball of his second spell, moments before the tea break, Swann beat the inside-edge with one that zipped through the gate, and then, before West Indies knew what had hit them, he dealt Shivnarine Chanderpaul a knockout blow as well, which a beautiful tweaker that took the edge to slip. By the time their other sheet-anchorman, Brendan Nash, had fallen by the wayside as well, Swann had 3 for 16 in five overs, and the gravy-train had been set in motion. Over to Onions, to slice and dice the lower-order.

The elections in South Africa on April 22, four days after the IPL starts in the country, the crime rate in cities like Johannesburg and the limited time available are some of the key challenges facing the league’s security managers, according to Nicholls Steyn & Associates, who are handling the tournament’s security.Nicholls admitted that moving the tournament to South Africa was a good option from the security point of view because the situation in India had made it “very difficult ” to host the event there. Besides, Nicholls said they were not able to conduct a final assessment of the situation in India for the IPL because of the delays in final decisions.”We were waiting for the feedback from the Indian government about what resources could be made available,” Nicholls told Cricinfo. “There were a lot of delays caused in getting a decision, but we believe that it is a positive sign that those delays were caused because of the desire to keep security first. We were very aware of the fact the security measures that were provided had to be of the highest standards and there were many discussions to see if those required standards could be provided with the other things that were going in India at time.”The IPL’s security template in South Africa will borrow significantly from the World Twenty20 model and the plan during India’s tour of South Africa in 2006 as well as other international tours and events. The South African agency has enormous expertise in providing security to teams and players and is also the ICC’s security consultant. They were roped in by the IPL last year as their central player-security managers.”From the cricketing perspective, it is obviously disappointing [to shift the IPL] because everyone would’ve liked the event to happen in India,” Nicholls said. “But the situation and timing make it impossible to host it there, so from our perspective if it is not going to be in India then we believe that South Africa is a good choice.”Asked whether the firm was confident of providing security in India without central security forces, as the IPL had claimed in a letter to the Indian government, Nicholls said, “It is a difficult question to answer because while we may be told that we do not have central forces, we needed to assess what forces are then actually going to be available. We knew what had to be done and everyone at the IPL agreed that player security was an absolute priority but obviously we didn’t know exactly what the situation was until the decision came from the government.”In South Africa, though, time is the major challenge, Nicholls said. “There is not much time to put everything together. The good thing is South Africa hosted the Twenty20 World Cup in the recent past as well as other large tournaments so there is good history of doing that. We would have certainly liked longer duration for planning but that is just the way it is – we have an X amount of time to do it and we have got to get things in place in the time available. Fortunately we have an experienced team who know what has to be done and have done it before.”Nicholls declined to reveal numbers, in terms of security personnel employed, but confirmed that he would be working together with the South African government. Bangalore Challengers take on Deccan Chargers in Cape Town on April 22, election-day in South Africa, and Nicholls said that he understood that the matter of holding the game on that particular day had been discussed at the “highest” level.”That was something which has been discussed at a very high level,” Nicholls said. “It was a concern, but from my understanding it has been discussed with the South African government and their input was taken into account in planning the schedule.”The crime rate in cities like Johannesburg, which hosts eight IPL matches, Nicholls admitted, was something that would be taken into consideration. “Some countries have a higher terrorism threat and a low crime rate and in others it is reverse where the crime rate is higher,” he said. “Certainly the crime rate is something that has to be taken in consideration for any major event that happens in South Africa.”

According to reliable reporter Sam Lee of The Athletic, West Ham have been keeping tabs on Manchester City attacker James McAtee.

The Lowdown: West Ham look to future…

As Rob Newman comes in as the club’s new recruitment chief, his West Ham transfer mission may stretch far beyond simply signing first team stars for the present.

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The Athletic relayed manager David Moyes’ personal desire to bring in promising, young players with re-sale value to the club in a bid to plan for West Ham’s future.

As such, news has now come to light involving the Hammers and interest in a very exciting talent.

The Latest: West Ham now eyeing McAtee…

As per Lee of The Athletic, West Ham are now keeping tabs on the dazzling 18-year-old who recently made his senior debut for The Sky Blues in a 6-1 Carabao Cup victory over Wycombe Wanderers last month.

As well as the Irons, Crystal Palace and Brighton are interested with the latter club even having an £8 million bid rejected for his services.

The teenage talent is apparently ‘not for sale at any price’ with City believing he has a real future at Eastlands.

The Verdict: Difficult move…

McAtee’s potential is vast enough to even draw comparisons with Premier League and City legend David Silva (Goal).

Pep Guardiola lauded the attacking midfielder as one of the ‘special’ crop of youngsters coming through at Eastlands after he featured against Wycombe and it’s clear he may be one to watch for the future.

However, with all these tags, it is clear to see why City won’t sell at any price – so this may be a difficult move for West Ham to pull off.

In other news: Newman gifted boost in race to sign ‘outstanding’ star who is ‘very keen’ to join West Ham, find out more here.

Most franchises agree that this year’s smartest pick will be JP Duminy, the South African batsman

Cricinfo staff05-Feb-2009
Duminy is now being tagged by the franchises as “a favourite and one of the top three picks” © Getty Images
The IPL franchises are expected to splurge over US$3 million on Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, two of the biggest stars in world cricket, at the player auction in Goa on Friday. But after the pullout of Michael Clarke, the other star player who could have got well over a million dollars, most franchises agree that this year’s smartest pick will be JP Duminy, the South African batsman.Duminy, who is also a brilliant fielder, played a key role in South Africa’s success in Australia and is now being tagged by the franchises as “a favourite and one of the top three picks” for the season.The franchises concede the big money will be spent on Pietersen (base price: $1.35 million) and Flintoff ($950,000), especially after Clarke’s withdrawal. “Now if you are thinking long-term, current form and availability, then Duminy is your man,” a franchise official said.Duminy’s base price is $300,000 but what has made him a particularly attractive purchase, according to franchise officials, is that he will be available for most of this tournament, which starts on April 10 – the South African players are free after the home ODI series against Australia ends on April 17. In contrast, England players will be available only for the first three weeks of the IPL while the Australians will be free towards the end after they play Pakistan in an ODI series after the South Africa tour.”Duminy is also a natural strokeplayer, a great fielder, and at 24, your player for the future,” the official said. “You can expect vigorous bidding in his case.”The auction, which is scheduled to start at 10 am, is expected to be short and intense affair and IPL officials have confirmed that 17 slots would be available for purchase from a revised list of 50 players after the withdrawal of Pakistani cricketers.Last year, the inaugural IPL auction had featured over 75 top cricketers, including the entire Indian team, and the auction spilled over well into the evening. “This time, all the action will be foucused on a handful of cricketers,” a franchise official said. “After Pietersen, Flintoff, Duminy and possibly Shaun Tait, there are not many left to bid big for.”But of course, the big buzz is all about Pietersen and Flintoff. The Bangalore franchise, owned by industrialist Vijay Mallya, is expected to go the distance for Pietersen, while Punjab and Mumbai will bid hard for Andrew Flintoff. Chennai had originally targetted Clarke, but are now likely to join the race for Duminy while Rajasthan, the IPL champion, hasn’t ruled out the possibility of going after one of the top players. Incidentally, Graeme Smith, Duminy’s national captain, is a key member of the Rajasthan team.In fact, questions have already been asked whether Pietersen’s price would touch the $2m mark, which is the maximum a team can spend at this auction. And IPL officials are happy to let the price tag float around – it is great publicity, an official said.However, $2m for Pietersen is highly unlikely, going by IPL rules. “Each franchise will have the sum of US$ 2mn to spend on 2009 player fees for players who are acquired either: in the auction, through signing uncapped “new” players, through re-signing any 2008 temporary replacements,” the IPL rules state. Chennai is the only franchise that has the full amount at its disposal as the team has not yet signed on an uncapped player or resigned a temporary player from last year.Then, there are teams with specific needs. Delhi wants a specialist batsman; Kolkata, which has been hit by the absence of Shoaib Akhtar and Umar Gul, needs a fast bowler, possibly Shaun Tait; Mumbai would like to purchase an allrounder. “It has been generally accepted that multi-skilled players will be in demand, but most of the teams will enter the auction room with a clear, short list,” a franchise official said.The missing Pakistani players have also left the teams with a delicate balancing act to perform at the auction. According to IPL rules, teams can pick one-year replacements for the Pakistani players at the auction but will have to stay within the US$ 2 million cap. However, if the teams go for a replacement after the auction, they can spend the equivalent of the amount they would have paid the Pakistani player this year – this replacement will have to be from the original IPL list of 111 players released last week

The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece has delivered a huge blow to Aston Villa after confirming Morgan Sanson’s hamstring injury in the Carabao Cup clash against Chelsea on Wednesday night.

What’s the story?

The Frenchman has yet to play in the Premier League this season due to injury, and after looking like he’d finally made his comeback against the Blues in midweek, he went down with what looked like a hamstring problem.

And, writing on Twitter, Preece said: “Gutted for Sanson, he’s upset as he clutches his hamstring as the Frenchman gestures to Dean Smith that he may not be able to continue. Chukwuemeka now getting warmed up; MacPhee stops him beforehand to talk the 17-year-old through his set-piece positions.

Then, in a follow-up tweet, he added: “Devastating for Sanson, that. He screamed in pure frustration just prior to coming off. He started really well in there and looked confident. Looks like a hamstring injury. 17-year-old Carney Chukwuemeka’s on to play against Kante and Saul now.”

Dean Smith will be guttedHaving seen him arrive back in the January transfer window, it’s unbelievable that to this day, Sanson has still only played ten times for Villa since his move from Ligue 1 side Marseille.The fact he only just made his return from injury to take the field against Chelsea in mid-week, is a real indication of just how badly he has struggled for form and fitness at Villa Park.With Smith’s side failing to sign a new central midfielder in the summer transfer window – the club were of course linked with a move for Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse – Sanson would surely have seen this season as the one to really make his mark.Instead, just when he probably thought he could force his way back into Smith’s plans and really find his match fitness again, he’s been hit with a major injury again.It’s sure to leave the Villa boss gutted at once again being without one of his marquee signings from this year.Meanwhile, Aston Villa have another exciting academy starlet in this teenager…

Despite his side’s poor year, on and off the field, Bermuda’s coach Gus Logie is nevertheless encouraged by the proposed groupings for next year’s World Cup qualifiers and remains optimistic that Bermuda can qualify for the 2011 tournament

Cricinfo staff21-Dec-2008Despite his side’s poor year, on and off the field, Bermuda’s coach Gus Logie is nevertheless encouraged by the proposed groupings for next year’s World Cup qualifiers and remains optimistic that Bermuda can qualify for the 2011 tournament.Bermuda made their debut in the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean and are alongside top Kenya, Netherlands, Denmark, and the UAE for next April’s qualifiers.”We feel comfortable being in the group that we are in,” Logie told the The top four countries advance to the 2011 World Cup while the top six are each awarded full ODI status.”We haven’t discussed the World Cup qualifying groupings as a team. But I amcertain that our players will feel comfortable as well in the knowledge thatwe have already beaten some of those teams in our group.”And I think that if we can play to our full potential we can beat themagain.”Bermuda were roundly thrashed in last year’s World Cup, beaten comprehensively by Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka. 2008 has been a difficult year, too, with allegations of drug misuse and they finished bottom of the ICC Intercontinental Cup which was won by Ireland.

Singapore 190 (Janik 55) and 230 for 9 dec (Sivanandan 98, Rahim 4-52) drew with Malaysia 106 (Mulewa 5-30) and 60 for 4Singapore have retained the Saudara Cup after a draw against Malaysia at the Kallang Cricket Club. Malaysia could have few complaints, and but for rain which washed out much of the third and final day, they would almost certainly have been beaten, as there was little chance of them batting out time.Singapore managed a disappointing 190 in their first innings, but they still gained a decent lead after Malaysia were dismissed for 106, Darmichand Mulewa doing the damage with 5 for 30.Second time round, Singapore’s batsmen did better, closing the second day on 221 for 7. Nerves got to Sajith Sivanandan, unbeaten on 98 overnight, as he perished without addition on the third morning to a rather undignified swish, at which point Singapore declared, leaving Malaysia almost the whole day to score 315.They lost four wickets in the morning session and at 60 for 4 were odds-on to be on the receiving end of a heavy loss before the rain came.