All posts by h716a5.icu

Ricky Ponting reflects on his 17-year career after playing his final Test, against South Africa in Perth

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Dec-2012.Ricky Ponting: “Even out of today, just being at the crease for 20-odd balls, it’s a pretty special time, and anyone who’s retired has felt that as well.”•AFPThe finality sinking in: That it’s [career] over has sunk in. It’s been a pretty long, tough week I guess, I know I’ve been more nervous this game than any other game that I’ve played. Just for the reason how much it means for me to play for Australia and wanting to finish the right way. So it has been a hard week and we haven’t got the result we were after and I haven’t got the result I was after. Looking back it’s been a special week as well, having my whole family here’s been great, unbelievable support from them, and great support from the fans and from my team-mates, so it’s been a special week.Why it was time to finish: Excluding Brisbane and the start of Adelaide, when I got a pretty good ball, I just think I’ve put a lot of pressure on myself to perform knowing that I had to, or feeling within myself that I had to. Also knowing where the series was at, it’s always been about big games and big series for me, and getting off the start I did with those two innings just had me under pressure again, and I haven’t been able to deal with it as well of late as I’d have liked to. Normally for me when those big moments come around, I’ve been able to find something within and go out and score runs and make it all go away, but I haven’t been able to do that for a while now, and that was when the alarm bells started to ring.The guard of honour and the final ovation: I got my big ovation today, but Graeme’s gesture and the South African team’s gesture, that sort of stuff will remain with me forever, and I told him that on the field today. So that was special. I was pretty pumped up for the moment, I just felt there was one last big push from me, and the game and the day was set up for it, and it didn’t last long enough. Even out of today, just being at the crease for 20-odd balls, it’s a pretty special time, and anyone who’s retired has felt that as well. It just would’ve been nice to have a few next to my name coming off.On the supreme batsmen of his era: I felt Sachin was the best player I played against, and that’s coming from more of a captain’s point of view as well, knowing he had so much success against us in our conditions and their conditions. But the other way to look at it is, I probably lost more sleep on the eve of games against Lara, because I knew he could singlehandedly win games for his team. The way I judge players has always been on their ability to win games, and win games by themselves. Lara could certainly do that and he did it probably more than what Sachin’s done for India. It’s hard to separate the class of player – you’ve got to put Kallis in that bracket as well. You put his wickets on top of what he’s done with the bat. He came out the other day to bat and I looked at the board and he was averaging 57 in Test cricket. That’s remarkable considering the amount he’s had to bowl and all that sort of stuff. I’ve been pretty blessed to play in the era I’ve played with so many great batsmen, and if my name gets mentioned among them, then that’s great.On the best bowlers he faced: I think Curtly Ambrose and Wasim Akram were probably the two outstanding quicks that I faced, and for different reasons. Ambrose for his ability to just make you feel like you couldn’t score off him for long periods of time, never felt like he was going to bowl you a bad ball. Akram for the exact opposite, you could get a few runs off him, but you just knew there was an unplayable ball around the corner, be it with an old ball or with a new ball. And thankfully for me I probably got both of those guys towards the end of their careers as well. Those two, and Harbhajan’s probably the other one who caused me as much grief as anything. He got me out a lot of times, and caused me a lot of grief. Those guys through their careers can all put their hand up and say they had my measure.On what he’ll miss: I’ll miss the mateship, I’ll miss the dressing room. That’s the stuff that’s irreplaceable in your life I guess. There’s a lot of guys in there I’m very close to, and a lot of the guys I’ve been closest to over the years are no longer around the dressing room either. I guess that’s the upside, I’ll probably get to spend a bit more time with those guys who I’ve played most of my cricket with, but the get-up attitude and find a way to make yourself better and try to find a way to make your team-mates better is what I’ll miss.

West Ham all but sealed a place in the Europa League knockout stages after a 2-2 draw against Genk on Thursday night.

It wasn’t a performance that was up to the Irons’ usual standard, having squandered their 100% win and clean sheet record but the solitary point did put them one foot into the next round.

An inspired come-from-behind brace from Said Benrahma looked to be enough for the east Londoners to have sealed the victory but Tomas Soucek turned the ball into his own net three minutes from time in what was an unfortunate gaffe.

However, this moment was by no means the reason for the Hammers’ sub-par performance, especially as the Czech midfielder was only on the pitch for half an hour. Instead, there were plenty of others who let manager David Moyes down.

One of which was arguably fellow countryman Vladimir Coufal, who made his first start since returning from injury. He was well off the pace and showed some signs of rust down that right flank.

His 6.5 rating on SofaScore was the second-lowest of any West Ham star behind Craig Dawson (6.3).

And it’s easy to see why as he was hugely wasteful in possession, losing the ball a squad-high 21 times from 52 touches, which in itself shows he was well behind his usual influential nature, having averaged nearly 65 touches per game in the Premier League in 2020/21.

Elsewhere, he was equally lightweight in his battles, winning just one of his four duels (25%). The 29-year-old was also dribbled past twice and failed to provide a single accurate cross from two attempts – considering he delivered seven assists (second-most) last term, this was certainly a poor attacking display too.

To add further misery to his evening, Coufal missed one big chance – had that gone in, then we could very much be speaking differently about the result.

He was just one of many to let down the Scotsman in Belgium, though.

AND in other news, “I believe..”: ExWHUemployee drops huge West Ham transfer claim, fans will be buzzing…

Southampton currently have a number of senior players in their squad who will see their contracts expire in the summer such as Fraser Forster, Jack Stephens and Shane Long among others.

However, the Saints also have one player in their squad that has a contract set to expire at the end of January – 26-year-old left-back Sam McQueen.

As a product of Southampton’s youth academy, McQueen played his way through the ranks at the club before making his senior debut back in February 2014 in a FA Cup match against Sunderland.

Since then, the defender, who is currently valued at £720k according to Transfermarkt, has made a total of just 29 senior appearances for the club across all competitions.

McQueen has not featured for the Saints since the 2017/18 season where he made seven appearances in the Premier League and one in the Carabao Cup, making him somewhat of a forgotten figure in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s squad.

In fairness to the player, McQueen suffered a cruciate ligament rupture back in October 2018 and is still recovering from it, highlighting just how serious the injury was and still is given how long he’s been out of action.

Back in April, Hasenhuttl, unfortunately, claimed that it would be a miracle if McQueen ever played football again, showing the severity of the injury and how unsuccessful his recovery has been.

However, in July, The Athletic reported that Southampton gave McQueen a six-month contract that is set to expire in January to see if he can impress Hasenhuttl after being involved in first-team group training sessions in pre-season.

McQueen, who was reportedly earning a weekly wage of £18k-per-week last season according to Spotrac, hasn’t made a senior appearance for the Saints this season and with the club now possessing Romain Perraud, it doesn’t look good for the defender’s chances of getting back into the team by January. Combine that with the fact Kyle Walker-Peters has played in that role too and the future does isn’t bright at St Mary’s.

With this in mind, if the full-back can fully recover by then, we feel it would be the best option for all parties if Southampton didn’t offer McQueen a new deal in January and instead moved him on to a club that would be willing to give him a chance to get his career back on track.

After all, it’s the least he deserves after such a rotten few years on the south coast.

In other news: Ralph could unearth a new Bednarek at Southampton in 20 y/o beast with “real promise” – opinion

Newcastle United have set their sights on signing Aston Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba in January, according to Football Insider.

And, as to be expected, a number of Villa fans have been giving their thoughts to the rumours on social media.

Football Insider shared a story on Monday after being informed by a Newcastle source, claiming the Magpies have identified Nakamba as a target due to his energy and drive.

It is expected to take an offer of £15m for Villa to part ways with the 27-year-old, who has been in and out of Dean Smith’s side this season.

Nakamba has made just one Premier League start during the current campaign and it seems as if he could make the move north in the New Year.

Villa fans react

@AVFC_News shared a Newcastle fan reaction to the links on Tuesday morning, asking Villa fans if the club should part ways with the defensive midfielder.

This is what they had to say in reply, with many happy to let him go in January.

“Definitely, he’s OK but not what we need. Take the money and then upgrade in the summer. Luiz as backup is then an upgrade. That’s how you improve as a squad.”

Credit: @Benjmeister85

“Yes all day”

Credit: @morley_kev

“£25m +”

Credit: @AVFCTranstweet

“Yes sell him and El Ghazi for a combined £30m+ and use that to sign a top centre midfielder”

Credit: @keogh29

“He’s a solid enough squad player but £15m seems like good business, so if the lad is happy to go then, yeah”

Credit: @MartynS690706

“I’ll start the engine”

Credit: @Jord210993

In other news: Luke Hatfield makes exciting claim regarding Aston Villa ace who Grealish called ‘unplayable’. 

According to Calciomercato, there has been an update on the future of AC Milan captain Alessio Romagnoli and it involves Tottenham Hotspur.

The Lowdown: Conte eyeing Serie A swoops…

One of the recurring themes of new manager Antonio Conte’s time at Spurs so far is the repeated links to some of Italian football’s biggest names.

Indeed, Calciomercato recently claimed that the 52-year-old could target as many as six Serie A players in Federico Chiesa, Matthijs de Ligt, Stefan de Vrij, Marcelo Brozovic, Vlahovic and Romagnoli.

Another San Siro star in Franck Kessie has also been repeatedly linked with Tottenham as both Rudy Galetti and La Gazzetta (via Get Italian Football News) drop suggestions of a very advanced move.

The topic of this report is Romagnoli, however, as Calciomercato bring news on Spurs’ pursuit of the player after TuttoJuve24 claimed Conte is ‘ready’ to take him ‘immediately’.

The Latest: Romagnoli has ‘proposal’ from Tottenham…

As well as the majority of Tottenham’s targets being from Serie A, a number of them could also leave for free in the summer of 2022. Indeed, the likes of Brozovic, Kessie and Romagnoli all currently have deals which expire at the end of this season and are free to negotiate pre-contract terms with other clubs in January.

According to Calciomercato, the Milan defender has ‘many proposals’ on the table, including from Juventus and Spurs as both clubs endanger the Rossoneri’s chances of agreeing fresh terms with their captain.

The Verdict: Astute option?

If Tottenham can secure an agreement to sign Romagnoli for free next summer, or even for a cut-price fee in January, we believe he could be an astute purchase to partner Cristian Romero.

The 26-year-old, who would come with a longer shelf life than fellow centre-back targets like De Vrij, stands out as a composed and assured figure in central defence.

So far this season, Romagnoli has averaged a higher pass accuracy than any Tottenham defender, with teammate Fikayo Tomori also labelling him a ‘great champion’ alongside teammate Simon Kjaer (Corriere dello Sport via milannews.it).

With the player earning a reported £106,000 per week, Spurs managing director Fabio Paratici wouldn’t exactly have to break the bank with Romangnoli’s salary demands either, given that a fee around that amount should be more than attainable.

The 6 foot 2 powerhouse may well bolster Conte’s backline as he aims to bring glory back to N17.

In other news: Spurs now close to signing ‘monster’ player as Conte seeks to solve severe problem, find out more here.

Bangladesh held their nerve despite wobbles at significant junctures to complete a whitewash in St Kitts.

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera31-Jul-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Junaid Siddique set the platform with a well-composed fifty•Associated PressBangladesh held their nerve despite wobbles at significant junctures to complete a whitewash in St Kitts. Set a target of 249, they were given a fiery start by Tamim Iqbal and Junaid Siddique before Mahmudullah steered the side through nervy moments to clinch a historic victory.Things were looking a touch dicey for Bangladesh at 133 for 5 in the 28th over but they recovered through a serene partnership between Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim, the wicketkeeper. It was almost risk-free cricket as the duo picked singles quietly and stole the odd boundary here and there to get closer to the target. Importantly, they knew the batting Powerplay could be taken later when acceleration was the need of the hour; till then it was time to play safe cricket. Mushfiqur picked up a couple of boundaries in the 38th over but he was unlucky to be given out out caught behind in the 40 th over, when replays showed he did not get bat on a flick down the pads.Bangladesh opted for the batting Powerplay in the 44th over and immediately Naeem Islam smoked three boundaries off Gavin Donge. Two shuffled flicks followed a biff down the ground and the required rate dipped. Mahmudullah picked a six over long-off against Nikita Miller and Naeem hit another six, off Kemar Roach, before falling to the same bowler but by then the pair had ensured that they made full use of the Powerplay to clinch the win. West Indies were left to rue the first-ball reprieve that they offered to Mahmudullah when Darren Sammy spilled a catch at first slip.Just as they finished strongly, Bangladesh had started their chase brightly. Tamim, in particular, was in some hurry, rattling three fours in the first over before repeating the dose in the third. The kind of shots also pointed to the poor bowling. Three were flicked fours and the other three were carved over point as Roach sprayed it around. Tamim later swung Sammy over long-off before smashing one straight to mid-on.His opening partner, Siddique, kept the momentum going with a measured innings. He started with a series of on-side boundaries against Tonge before he settled down to drop anchor as a couple of wickets fell. Mohammad Ashraful edged one behind, Raqibul Hasan was caught brilliantly by a diving Floyd Reifer in the covers and Shakib Al Hasan, who started with a flurry of shots, edged an attempted pull but Siddique batted on serenely. Though he got out after reaching fifty, Bangladesh had enough firepower to get past the line.West Indies lacked similar firepower in the middle as they wasted a good start provided by Andre Fletcher. As they have done in the Tests and the ODIs, West Indies continued to struggle against the spinners. They lost two quick wickets, proceeded to recover smartly through a breezy fifty from Fletcher, only to lose their way against spin and be bowled out for 248 inside 50 overs.A poor finish was in contrast to the great start provided by Fletcher. What stood out in Fletcher’s innings was a delightful tendency to drive straight. Mahbubul Alam was getting some outswing and was looking pretty good but Fletcher countered him with his drives in the v. He started off with an off drive in the third over and upped the tempo in the fifth with two sixes: the first one was dispatched over long-off before he swung the other some 20 rows over the long-on boundary. Neither shot had any touch of violence as he covered for the outswing and drove cleanly and fluently through the line. Mahbubul lost his composure and in the seventh over, he pushed three deliveries on the legs of Fletcher, who put them away for boundaries.With the seamers bleeding runs, the action swung to Fletcher versus the spinners. Again, Fletcher won the first round, reeling off several meaty blows. There was a back-foot punch through the covers, a customary swing over long-on and a heave to the midwicket boundary, which brought up his fifty, against Abdur Razzak but he fell soon, launching one straight to long-on. Almost immediately, the run-rate dropped as Bangladesh applied the squeeze. More agony lay in store for the hosts as Travis Dowlin, who gave admirable support to Fletcher, was run out on the last ball of the 25th over.It didn’t help West Indies’ cause that their captain Reifer’s travails against spin continued. He couldn’t rotate the strike and it perhaps, led to Dowlin’s dismissal. He was allowed some breathing space by Sammy, who oozed intent from the start and kept unfurling the big hits. He swung Mahmudullah for two consecutive sixes and belted Naeem for a couple of fours but he fell rather tamely, scooping a caught-and-bowled chance to Razzak. That was the final nail on the coffin as West Indies fell short of achieving a defendable target. .

Manchester United have received a triple selection boost ahead of their Champions League encounter with Atalanta this evening.

What’s the word?

The Red Devils take on their Italian opponents in a crucial Group F clash at Old Trafford and will be able to call upon the services of Harry Maguire, Fred and Edinson Cavani, although Anthony Martial remains sidelined.

Maguire made his comeback from a calf problem against Leicester City last time out, although looked short of match sharpness, while South American duo Fred and Cavani were unavailable due to their international exploits.

Ahead of tonight’s European fixture, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed all three will be available for selection, with Martial and Raphael Varane the only absentees.

“Anthony joined in training today, but he’s still not fit enough to join us (for the match),” Solskjaer told United’s in-house media.

“Harry’s not had any reaction, so he’s fine and good to go. We didn’t lose anyone else from the game through injury at the weekend. So we’re, more or less, a full squad. Raphael is still not with us, but Edinson and Fred are back available, which is good for us.”

Solskjaer will be buzzing

News that Maguire, Fred and Cavani will be ready to feature from the off against Atalanta will have Solskjaer buzzing, given the importance of the trio to his struggling charges.

Despite his hugely disappointing showing against the Foxes last time out, Maguire is a crucial cog in United’s backline and has captained the 20-time English champions on eight occasions this season, highlighting his influence.

The return of Brazil international Fred to United’s midfield should add some extra bite as none of his teammates have matched or bettered his tally of 2.5 tackles per game this term.

Meanwhile, the added goal threat of Cavani as Cristiano Ronaldo continues to struggle with one goal in his last four club outings could prove pivotal as Solskjaer’s side go in search of all three points.

And, in other news…Murtough must seal Man Utd move for £76m “exceptional talent”, Ole would love him 

Jonathan Trott won’t be changing the way he bats despite riling the South Africans with the slow nature of his preparations

Andrew McGlashan in Durban21-Dec-2009Jonathan Trott won’t be changing the way he bats despite riling the South Africans with the slow nature of his preparations for each delivery. During the final day of the first Test in Centurion, Graeme Smith became increasingly annoyed by Trott’s mannerisms, and the umpires told the England batsman to make sure he was ready for the bowler.Trott had previously been warned about his pace of play in the one-day series, and on a number of occasions during his 69 on Sunday the South African bowlers had to abort their run-ups. However, Trott doesn’t see what all the fuss is about and won’t be making any concessions during the second Test at Durban.”I’ve never really had any complaints before,” he said. “It’s one of those things, I do to get myself prepared and make sure I’m in the right frame of mind to help contribute to the England side.”I don’t play cricket to get under people’s skin. I play cricket to be effective and I have my things I do to get myself ready for battle. Maybe it can mess with their over-rate or whatever, but it’s just what I do and I won’t be changing it.”It’s what’s got me to this position to be able to play for England and it’s an exciting time. I won’t be trying to do anything different to what I know best.”Trott’s 212-ball 69 was a vital contribution in England’s bid to save the first Test and he shared in a stand of 145 with Kevin Pietersen. The partnership ended when Pietersen charged up the pitch for a non-existent single, leaving Trott with no option but to watch helplessly at the non-striker’s end, but he still apologised to his team-mate.”I said to Kev, ‘sorry, it was a misunderstanding’. He said ‘no problem’ and we look forward to batting again together in the future.”However, the real drama started when Trott was breathtakingly caught at third slip by AB de Villiers off a nasty delivery from Friedel de Wet to set in a motion a dramatic collapse of 5 for 13 that almost cost England the Test.”I was watching on TV, and it’s quite hard because there’s a bit of a delay by about 10 seconds, so you actually hear the roar while you’re waiting for the ball to be bowled,” Trott said. “If there’s no roar, you know it’s a dot ball.”I was sitting out the back with Graeme Swann while I was icing my finger and it was a bit nerve-wracking towards the end. But it was a great effort by the guys to pull through and for Paul Collingwood and Graham Onions to get us out of a spot of bother and keep the series level at nil-nil.”Trott’s first innings had ended with an ugly swipe against his good friend Paul Harris, who later said the pair were friends off the field but not on it. They were sentiments echoed by Trott. “I know a few of the guys who I played at school with and against,” he said.”But this is Test match cricket, something you’ve always strived to do and want to do to the best of your ability. So whenever you cross that line, it’s back to business, trying to gain any advantage you can and win every game you can for England.”England’s last-ditch escape meant that Trott’s first Test in his country of birth ended with positive memories and he can’t wait for the battle to be rejoined on Boxing Day. “I’ve worked so hard towards it, you always wonder what it will feel like if one day you have the opportunity to play a Test match back in South Africa,” he said. “I gave it my all and enjoyed the whole experience and look forward to a few more, I hope.”

Southampton are still without a win in their 2021/22 Premier League campaign after falling to a 3-1 defeat against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

It was a lively affair in west London with goals from Trevor Chalobah, Timo Werner and Ben Chilwell securing the three points for the home side.

It was also a rather mixed day for Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse who managed to score from the penalty spot before picking up a red card in the second half.

Whilst a number of Southampton players failed to step up to the mark against Thomas Tuchel’s side, we feel that Nathan Tella, in particular, let Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl down.

Since making his senior debut for Southampton back in June 2020, Tella has gone on to make 27 appearances for the Saints in which he has managed to score two goals and provide three assists along the way (per Transfermarkt).

Prior to the Chelsea clash, Tella’s only appearance in the Premier League came in Southampton’s opening game of the season where he played ten minutes of their 3-1 defeat against Everton.

After being given the chance to start against Chelsea to see if he could help the Saints pick up their first win of the season, it’s safe to say Tella could have done better during a rare start.

The youngster was one of a few players to actually get at his man and look to make things happen, but ultimately, he was lapse in possession and lacking in his end product as the Saints rarely troubled Chelsea.

Before being taken off in the 73rd minute and replaced by Moussa Djenepo, the 22-year-old winger, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £12.5k-per-week according to Spotrac, failed to have a shot at goal, lost possession on 21 occasions and only made six successful passes (as per SofaScore).

In both of those final two departments, they were comfortably the worst tallies of all 22 players to start the game at Stamford Bridge.

Taking this into account, it’s easy to see why Tella hadn’t made an appearance in the league since the Everton defeat. However, perhaps it could be argued that his lack of game time and the strength of the opposition in Chelsea didn’t work in Tella’s favour.

Moving forward, it would be hard to see Hasenhuttl sticking with Tella and keeping him in the starting XI for their next league fixture against Leeds United later this month, in our view, based on what he showed on the pitch against Chelsea.

In other news: Southampton must start £4.5m-rated “great talent” today, he could terrify Chelsea – opinion

Ricky Ponting believes the Ashes schedule was changed deliberately to avoid England hosting the first game at Lord’s

Cricinfo staff23-May-2009Ricky Ponting believes the Ashes schedule was changed deliberately to avoid England hosting the opening game at Lord’s, a ground they haven’t beaten Australia at in 75 years. The contest will start instead at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff from July 8, the first time a five-day fixture has been held in Wales.”Last time we played the first Test of the series at Lord’s, and we felt comfortable with that because we almost knew we were going to get off to a good start,” Ponting said in the Sun-Herald. “There are places you turn up where players know that Australian teams have had success before, and it makes you feel a bit more comfortable playing there.”There was a fair bit of talk about it last time, starting the Ashes at Lord’s, given our record. This time around, it will be the second Test match, and I’ve got no doubt they changed it on purpose.”Australia have not lost a game at Lord’s since 1934 and it was the ground where they had their only success in 2005. Despite a 239-run victory in the opening match, they went on to lose 2-1 and end their 16-year hold on the urn. In 34 Tests at the home of cricket they have won 15 and lost five.”There’s all these big boards up around the rooms, and you want to get your name on those boards at Lord’s,” Ponting said. “That’s one thing that I’ll be certainly looking to do because I haven’t done very well there. I’ve made a one-day hundred there, but not done so well in Tests.”