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“Mumbai’s spirit is such that we always come back,” Praveen Amre, Mumbai’s coach, said ahead of their clash against Hyderabad in Group A of the Ranji Trophy Super League at the Bandra Kurla Complex

Nagraj Gollapudi01-Dec-2008
Amol Muzumdar is glad to get back to the cricket after having a close shave during last week’s terror strike in Mumbai © Cricinfo Ltd.
As the Mumbai and Hyderabad teams prepared for Tuesday’s Ranji match at the Bandra Kurla complex, the first cricketing diversion from the horrors of last week, there was a sombre air: grey clouds gathered over the green outfield, the silence was amplified by the unfinished buildings that surround the stadium.On the ground, though, the mood was markedly upbeat. “Mumbai’s spirit is such that we always come back,” Praveen Amre, Mumbai’s coach, said. “The important thing is to focus on the present and for us it is to play the game. What has happened is really unfortunate and we cricketers feel the same as the common man. But one has to move on.”For Amol Muzumdar, who saw one of the attacks from up close, playing cricket was the best way to forget the pain. On Wednesday evening, Muzumdar was driving towards his house in the suburb of Vile Parle when he heard a loud blast about a couple of hundred metres away. “My dad and I looked at each other in horror. The car shook,” Muzumdar recollected. He initially thought there had been an aircrash in the nearby international airport. It was only when he reached home and switched on the TV that he realised how lucky he was to be alive.On Saturday the Mumbai team was back at practice. A cautious Muzumdar double-checked whether the practice session would be held before venturing out of his house. “It definitely moves me as a cricketer. It has left a big scar on my mind and my heart. You are shaken for about two days. Fortunately the game was posptoned.”And now, he feels, it’s back at the right time. “When you enter the ground you tend to keep personal thoughts behind. Resuming [playing] cricket is the best thing for me.”Any doubts would have been dispelled by the sight of Sachin Tendulkar walking on to the ground, accompanied by a single bodyguard. He didn’t speak today – “It’s not the right time” – and may not play tomorrow but the mere sight of the most celebrated contemporary cricketer would have lifted any flagging spirits.And so to tomorrow, where the match will be preceded by a minute’s silence. The teams are up for it, so are the ground officials. The ground authorities have asked the local police station, as part of normal protocol for such a game, for an inspector and six constables. “They will be present here tomorrow. That is enough,” MS Rao, the ground manager, said.

Mahmudullah, the Bangladesh middle-order batsman, is hopeful to making a return to the one-day side for the tri-nation series in January following an impressive run in the domestic circuit

Cricinfo staff27-Dec-2008
Mahmudullah: “After the ODI series against New Zealand, I got back to the nets and made sure I trained harder” © AFP
Mahmudullah, the Bangladesh middle-order batsman, is hoping to make a return to the one-day side for the tri-nation series in January following an impressive run on the domestic circuit.Mahmudullah was dropped from the one-day squad after Bangladesh’s series loss to New Zealand at home in October. He scored eight runs and was wicketless in the two ODIs he played and went back to first-class cricket after being overlooked for the tour of South Africa. He is currently second on the National Cricket League’s run-scorer’s list with 710 from nine matches, including four hundreds and a half-century, for Dhaka Division.”After the ODI series against New Zealand, I got back to the nets and made sure I trained harder,” Mahmudullah told Bangladesh’s . “I started well [in the National Cricket League] but had a struggle in the next few matches. The last three or four matches have been really great. I scored four hundreds and I have enjoyed each of them.”He said his favourite hundred of the season was the one against Barisal Division in Mirpur. Chasing a target of 216, Dhaka were nearly out of the game at 95 for 8 before Mahmudullah added 124 runs with Elias Sunny to give his side a two-wicket win. “We needed a lot of runs for victory and again I made sure I finished it.”Mahmudullah, yet to make his Test debut, said not being selected for the Tests against South Africa made him determined to score more runs in the domestic game. He said it didn’t matter what format of the game he was picked for, as long as he got to play for Bangladesh. “The format of the game is not an issue for me but to play for Bangladesh, that’s what makes me tick.”

Many Everton fans have been left reacting as some early team news emerged ahead of their away game at Leeds United on Saturday afternoon.

Speaking in his pre-game press conference ahead of the match, Rafa Benitez said with regards to whether Jean-Philippe Gbamin will play (via Toffee TV): “It will not be easy because we have some players in isolation.”

The central midfield player was pictured in training earlier this week, but strangely looks set to miss out against the Whites at Elland Road due to protocols.

Gbamin has barely featured for the Goodison Park faithful since his move a couple of years ago and did not play in their 3-1 opening day win at home to Southampton.

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A lot of supporters of the Merseyside club are simply desperate to see him in action more, and so have been left frustrated by this latest setback.

Everton fans on Gbamin news

These Toffees gave their reactions as the news was shared on Twitter, with one Blue even going as far as to claim that it was ‘bizarre’:

“Wasn’t he photographed training yesterday. All getting a bit ridiculous. Is Gomes injured or isolating as well?”

Credit: @photogareth

“It’s very bizarre why he or the club won’t come out and actually tell us who’s isolating and who’s injured”

Credit: @EfcSl

“2 years of nothing. I’d just try and release him now”

Credit: @Conform1984

“Makes no sense at all he was pictured in training all getting a bit weird this”

Credit: @Ryanc10efc

“He’s such a weirdo”

Credit: @EFCbuggi1878

“Obviously this is a mind game but I’m not quite sure that’s even a sentence that makes sense…”

Credit: @1878_Shirts

In other news, find out what comments from one player has Evertonians fuming here!

West Ham United are the latest side to enter the race to sign Maxwel Cornet before Tuesday’s transfer deadline…

What’s the word?

According to 90min, the Irons are considering making a rival bid for the versatile Lyon star after Burnley made a club-record £15m offer for his signature recently.

Newcastle United are also mulling over the same prospect, whilst Leeds United have been linked with a move for the Ivory Coast international, who can play on the wing and at full-back.

It’s thought that there could be late competition for Cornet after he rejected the Clarets’ first offer.

Moyes masterclass

If Hammers boss David Moyes beats his Premier League rivals to the 24-year-old winger, then he deserves plenty of plaudits. He’d certainly be getting an intriguing and solid option that can play anywhere down the left flank.

Across 39 appearances in all competitions, Cornet provided Lyon with four goals and six assists, whilst he won 4.6 duels, made 1.9 tackles and registered 1.2 interceptions per game in Ligue 1, via SofaScore.

By comparison, Aaron Cresswell managed to average only 2.5 duels won, 0.9 tackles and 0.9 interceptions per Premier League outing, also notching eight assists, too.

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A season earlier, Cornet played an important role in the French outfit’s impressive Champions League run, in which they knocked out Manchester City. And his performance left Pep Guardiola wowed.

He said: “We only talk about PSG but there are many good French teams, I was very impressed by the talent of Maxwel Cornet. There are many talents in France, I like to play the Champions League because there is a very high quality everywhere, players, coaches.”

The former Metz graduate was once tipped to follow in the footsteps of Manchester United ace Anthony Martial, with journalist Robin Bairner dubbing him “a massive talent.”

Whilst The Sun’s Alan Nixon, who reported Leeds’ interest in him in June, hailed Cornet as a “top talent.”

Given his pace and natural instincts in attack, the £18m-rated beast could be a solid option under Moyes, whether that’s as a back-up to Said Benrahma up top or to Cresswell further back – he could even play in the same side as the Englishman when a back-three is deployed.

This versatility could be crucial as the Hammers embark on a campaign in the Europa League, so GSB should look to sanction this swoop, especially if they’re willing to accept around £15m for his signature.

West Ham being in Europe surely gives them a major edge over the likes of Burnley, Newcastle and Leeds, so Moyes can surely beat his rivals to this bargain buy.

AND in other news, Imagine him and Antonio: Moyes must seal West Ham swoop for “creative” £18m-rated beast…

A round-up of the semi-finals in South Africa’s domestic one-day competition

Cricinfo staff05-Jan-2009Gulam Bodi and Roelof van der Merwe produced an unbroken second-wicket stand of 141 in 19 overs, as Titans eased past Cape Cobras at Centurion to book their place in the MTN final. In a rain-affected match that was reduced to 33 overs a side, Titans won the toss and chose to bowl first, and restricted Cobras to 183 for 9, with van der Merwe producing career-best figures of 5 for 31 in seven overs. Cobras had at one stage been handily placed on 107 for 1 after 20 overs, but the run-out of Henry Davids for 49 destabilised the innings, and there was no way back after that.Eagles held their nerve in a tense encounter against Dolphins at Bloemfontein, sneaking home by eight runs thanks largely to Loots Bosman’s boundary-laden 95 from 89 balls. In partnership with his captain, Boeta Dippenaar, who made 71, the pair added 125 for the fourth wicket in 14 overs, to post an imposing total of 253 for 8. That target was always just one step ahead of Dolphins, who shed vital wickets at regular intervals and had slipped to 184 for 7 before Daryn Smit and Quinton Friend’s late stand of 61 threatened a last-minute turnaround.Player of the Week – Roelof van der MerweVan der Merwe turned 24 on New Year’s Eve, and has begun 2009 with the sort of intent that could yet turn a few heads among the South African selectors. A left-arm spinner and opening batsman who adopts a no-fear attitude to all aspects of his game, he was the find of Titans’ Pro20 campaign last season, and also starred on the South Africa Academy’s tour of Bangladesh in August. South Africa has never been blessed with a rich pool of spinning talent, but in van der Merwe, they have a definite name for the future.

Ramnaresh Sarwan was West Indies’ best hope of avoiding a hefty first-innings deficit, as he reached tea on 68 not out from 109 balls after a hard-fought second session in which England kept their noses in front with two key wickets

The Bulletin by Andrew Miller17-Feb-2009England 566 for 9 dec and 31 for 1 (Cook 4*, Anderson 4*) lead West Indies 285 (Sarwan 94, Swann 5-57) by 312 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Graeme Swann was England’s star bowler on the third day© AFP
Graeme Swann bowled with skill, stamina and admirable patience on a baking hot day in Antigua to claim his maiden five-wicket haul in only his third Test, as England were made to battle hard for the ascendancy in the third Test at the ARG. Despite bowling West Indies out for 285 in reply to their first-innings total of 566 for 9, England opted not to enforce the follow-on with 40 minutes of the day remaining and rightly so, for it was a weary outfit that trooped from the field. With Steve Harmison on and off the field through illness and Andrew Flintoff labouring with a hip injury, their performance was dogged rather than inspired, and while the bowlers rested up for the second innings, England’s batsmen extended the advantage by a further 31 runs, for the loss of the captain, Andrew Strauss, for 14.Despite outbowling his senior team-mate, Monty Panesar, during England’s pre-Christmas tour of India, Swann was a surprise selection for this contest, especially seeing as Panesar hadn’t even had a chance to confirm his lack of form during the ten-ball Test at North Sound earlier in the week. But by the end of West Indies’ first innings, the selectors’ hunch had paid rich dividends. From an exploratory first over of the morning in which he ripped a beauty past Devon Smith’s edge, to the flighty floater that trapped Sulieman Benn lbw to earn him his fifth wicket, Swann kept England’s bid for victory firmly on course in a performance that made a mockery of Panesar’s recent one-dimensional efforts.Very little had been expected of Swann when Andrew Strauss tossed him the ball at the start of play, ostensibly to allow Harmison to change ends and attack the now-infamous football ridge at the Factory Road End of the ground. But before long he had become England’s most reliable attacking weapon. He claimed their first wicket of the day with the first ball after the morning drinks break, when Devon Smith ruined the memory of an otherwise diligent 38 by slogging gormlessly across the line, and Swann added his second with 15 minutes to go until lunch, when the nightwatchman, Daren Powell, was finally prised from the crease for an excellent 22 from 86 balls, well caught at slip after being deceived by extra bounce.Bounce, or lack of, was meant to be England’s main threat during the day’s play. Their seamers had spent the pre-match warm-up bowling at a marker on that awkward spot where a football halfway line runs across the middle of the wicket, but in the event the tactic proved counter-productive to their accuracy. Far too many deliveries went harmlessly past the bat (and, on two embarrassing occasions, straight through the legs of the wicketkeeper, Prior), as England became obsessed with the killer shooter, and forgot the basic rules of line and length.That suited Ramnaresh Sarwan just fine, as he produced the counterattacking innings of the day – an aggressive 94 from 133 balls, replete with crashing cuts and sweet clips off the toes as he took full toll of England’s wayward lines. He added 70 in a stylish fourth-wicket stand with Ryan Hinds, and at 200 for 3 midway through the second session, England were beginning to look resigned to a long and fruitless day in the field. Harmison by this stage was really struggling – he was seen retching at the top of his run-up before leaving the field for treatment, and when Sarwan briefly belted Swann from the attack as well with three fours and six in nine deliveries, Strauss was forced to turn to Pietersen’s part-time offies, to no avail.The turning point of the day, however, came in a crucial nine-ball spell just after the drinks break, when Andrew Flintoff and Stuart Broad finally tempted a pair of indiscretions outside off stump. First to go was Hinds, who dangled his bat at a ball angled across his bows, and Prior behind the stumps gathered impressively low to his left. Then, before he could settle, the main man Shivnarine Chanderpaul was gone as well. Stuart Broad, arguably the best of England’s seamers on the day, persuaded him to flash outside off, Prior again took the catch, and the most obdurate character in the West Indies dressing room had been and gone without making a significant mark.It was a jubilant moment for England, although the session could have gone even better for them had Broad in his followthrough clung onto a fierce return drive when Sarwan had made 63. Instead Sarwan pushed on after the break as well, and with Brendan Nash providing some typically frill-free support, the pair added 50 runs in 14 overs before a terrible rush of blood gave England the chance to go for the kill. On 94, and with a 13th Test century a single blow away, Sarwan went for the glory shot against Swann and picked out Flintoff at short mid-on. One ball later, and Swann was on a hat-trick as Denesh Ramdin tapped a loopy full-toss straight back into his hands, and at 251 for 7, the follow-on was beginning to loom.Nash ensured that would never be an option by hanging around for 81 balls for his 18, an innings that finally ended when Flintoff returned for one last spell, and with his second delivery drew a loose flat-footed prod to Collingwood at second slip. Swann then claimed a richly deserved five-for, only the second by a spinner in the ARG’s Test history, as Benn virtually gave himself out for the plumbest of lbws. Flintoff, visibly unfit, then ended an entertaining cameo from Jerome Taylor by running back to claim a skied return chance.Flintoff’s shattered demeanour meant there was no question of England heading back out to go through the whole ordeal again. Instead, their openers set about extending the advantage, although Strauss – after his 169 in the first innings – could not find the same fluency as Edwards rattled him with extra pace and drew an edgy drive to second slip. Edwards’ day could have finished on a high had Hinds clung onto a last-over chance when the nightwatchman Anderson flashed outside off, but the chance went down and England sensed an opportunity to tighten the screw.

Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge has told Football FanCast that Tottenham could still sign Adama Traore late on deadline day.

Traore has been linked with Spurs at various points this summer, although Wolves rejected Tottenham’s £5m loan bid for the Spaniard last week.

Having lost both Erik Lamela and Gareth Bale and failed to replace Carlos Vinicius, Nuno Espirito Santo has been trying to bolster his attacker numbers this summer.

A striker would appear Santo’s priority, but Alasdair Gold recently reported that Traore could be signed instead of a forward, with the Wolves man able to play through the middle, as are the likes of both Heung Min Son and Lucas Moura.

Wolves boss Bruno Lage told Sky Sports that he expects the 25-year-old to remain at the club after their 1-0 defeat to Manchester United on Sunday.

However, with Bryan Gil Tottenham’s only attacking addition, Bridge refused to rule out Traore becoming a Tottenham player before the 11pm deadline.

He told FFC:

“I think with Traore, the offer was £5m loan plus future add-ons. I wouldn’t completely rule that out. I’ve got an inkling about that one.

“Tottenham wanted Martinez and Vlahovic, and they always wanted them with Kane. So, assuming Traore joined it would be Bergwijn, Moura and Son – Spurs think they can get away with a false-nine.”

The technical committee of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2009 has approved Debbie-Ann Lewis as a replacement player for Juliana Nero in the West Indies squad. The confirmation was conveyed to the West Indies Cricket Board on Tuesday evening

Cricinfo staff18-Feb-2009The technical committee of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2009 has approved Debbie-Ann Lewis as a replacement player for Juliana Nero in the West Indies squad. The confirmation was conveyed to West Indies Cricket Board on behalf of the committee on Tuesday evening.Lewis, the 39-year-old fast bowler from Grenada, has picked up 25 wickets in 37 ODIs at 30.68 and has scored 223 runs at 12.38. She will be making her second World Cup appearance after featuring in the previous edition in 2005 in South Africa. Nero, 29, suffered a hamstring injury during a training session.West Indies will be up against defending champions and hosts Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in Group A and open their campaign against South Africa in Newcastle on March 8. The tournament runs from March 7 to 22.

Many Wolves fans have been left fuming after some news emerged on Christian Marques.

As per Transfermarkt, the central defender has left the Midlands club to sign for Belenenses SAD on loan for the rest of the 2021/22 season.

Marques has never actually played a senior game for the Molineux faithful, but was left on the Transfermarkt).

His departure just leaves Bruno Lage’s squad even lighter, and although he already has five centre-backs to choose from, the fact that Marques made the bench for two games of the campaign suggests that he should have been kept as another option.

Wolves fans on Marques exit

These WWFC supporters fumed as the exit news was shared on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that it was ‘ridiculous’:

“A disgrace, our squad is getting weaker by the day”

Credit: @PedroBackOfNeto

“What??????? We don’t have enough players as it is! Who is making the footballing decisions at the club?”

Credit: @parker_bradley

“Jeff, what are you doing to us?”

Credit: @NickAllen224

“We now have way more out on loan than we have in the club. When did we turn into a player rental agency? Fosun did identify movement of players is the only profitable part of soccer when they invested in festivity but this is getting ridiculous”

Credit: @HungryLikeThe14

“Gobsmacked ain’t the word”

Credit: @Stonewolf68

“What?”

Credit: @cal_wolvesfc

In other news, find out what Tim Spiers update has Wanderers raging here!

Sky Sports journalist Michael Bridge believes that Rangers are happy with their summer business and seem relatively settled.

Steven Gerrard signed four players this summer for the Rangers first-team, with Fashion Sakala, Nnamdi Ofoborh, John Lundstram and Juninho Bacuna all penning deals at Ibrox.

The Glasgow outfit also concluded deals for Charlie McCann, Juan Alegria and Greig Allen, all of whom will join up with the Rangers B team.

The reigning Scottish Premiership Champions have started the new season with three wins in their opening four matches. The only time the Gers have dropped points was on matchday two, when they lost to Dundee United, but they have since won back-to-back league games Ross County and also beat Celtic in the first Old Firm of the new campaign.

Bridge believes that Rangers will be happy with their summer business and the squad they have, telling Football FanCast: “I think, for the first time in goodness knows how many years, they seem relatively settled.”

Alongside bringing players in this summer, manager Steven Gerrard also managed to keep hold of key players such as Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent and Borna Barisic who were all linked with moves away from Ibrox.

Rangers will be hoping after last years success of winning the Scottish Premiership that their squad can gel and go on a long undefeated run, to give them every opportunity of defending their crown this season.