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Nigeria captain Endurance Ofem has said he is pleased with his side’s form ahead of the World Cricket League Division 7 tournament, which begins on May 1 in Gaborone, Botswana. Ofem, 28, is confident that the hard work the team has put in will show during the tournament, especially with the pitches in Botswana resembling those in Nigeria.”We have been working hard as a unit, we’ve been in South Africa since April 14 and have had the opportunity to train at the indoor facilities in Benoni,” he said. “I’m happy the guys are hitting good form ahead of the tournament in Botswana.”In Botswana we will be playing on hard surfaces, similar to the conditions back home in Nigeria. I feel we have a chance and the team should be able get going in those conditions.”Ofem is also pleased that the side is made up of a number of players who have come through the development system put in place by the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF). “The NCF, over the last 15 years, has taken grassroots development as a key objective. If we look back at the Under-19 Cricket World Cup Qualifiers in 2001, when we first participated as West Africa, Nigeria provided nine of the 13 players that represented West Africa.”Later, when we played as Nigeria in 2003 and onwards, you will see names such as myself, Adekunle Adegbola, Tope Olayinka, Akabogu Okwudili and Saheed Akolade, among others, coming through,” he said. This, he added, shows the board’s belief in developing young talent. “Most of the players in the current side have been around from a young age.”Ofem singled out in-form batsmen Okwudili and Adegbola, as well as Oluseye Olympio, as players to watch out for. “Every member of this team has the ability to take games away from the opponent. Some of the countries in this tournament should be aware of in the form of Oluseye Olympio, Adekunle Adegbola and Emmanuel Okwudili.” Nigeria’s goal, he said, is to win their first game – the tournament opener against Norway – and move forward from there.

Sachin Tendulkar and Ambati Rayudu took Mumbai to 159, a gettable score on this pitch, but not against an attack as ruthless as their’s

The Bulletin by Nitin Sundar02-May-2011
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAmbati Rayudu played some big shots in his half-century•AFPIf Sachin Tendulkar doesn’t get you, Ambati Rayudu will. If Lasith Malinga doesn’t get you, Harbhajan Singh will. Unfortunately for Kings XI Punjab, all four men were on top of their game today, and the rest of the Mumbai Indians XI was ruthlessly efficient. Tendulkar played within himself, Rayudu launched the occasional sortie and the middle order kept up the momentum to lift Mumbai to 159. It was a gettable target on this pitch, but not against this attack.Harbhajan and Malinga cracked open the game in their opening spells. Harbhajan nailed Adam Gilchrist on the sweep in the opening over, before Malinga put Paul Valthaty in his place with an over of pace-bowling brilliance. He began with a full ball that was through Valthaty in a blink. The second was a swerving full toss at 144.5 kph that Valthaty barely managed to get bat to. The third was faster, and Valthaty nervously glanced to fine-leg, but he was back on strike for the last two. Malinga let him have two short balls; Valthaty did not pick the first one, and missed a feeble attempt at a pull off the second. Valthaty, clearly outclassed, was stunned into his shell and Punjab never recovered.Tendulkar smelled blood, and went for all-out attack. Malinga bowled with two slips, while Harbhajan trotted in with a slip and a silly point. Valthaty continued to struggle, but Shaun Marsh managed to sneak a couple of boundaries off Malinga. Abu Nechim kept the pressure on Valthaty, who was so late on a pull in the fifth over that he ended up playing it uppishly to cover. Cover is not where a pull shot should go, neither is it the place for Munaf Patel to field: he grassed the catch, tumbling forward. Unfortunately for Punjab, that was the only fielding error from Mumbai.After dawdling to 8 off his first 24 balls, Valthaty eventually found respite against the back-up bowlers. He carted T Suman and Andrew Symonds for sixes, but holed out soon after. Marsh was in his groove by then, charming a Munaf half-volley for four and clattering a half-tracker from Nechim to midwicket, but he needed someone to hold up the other end.Mumbai ensured that did not happen: David Hussey was held spectacularly at long-on by Rohit Sharma, who hurtled forward and dived full-length. Dinesh Karthik was trapped in front by Kieron Pollard, and Abhishek Nayar allowed the entry ‘c Symonds b Harbhajan’ to enter the scorecard. Malinga tied up the loose ends in his second spell.Earlier, Mumbai were efficient rather than excellent with the bat, as Punjab’s spinners held them back in an attritional first half. Punjab were clearly looking to capitalise on Tendulkar’s weakness against left-arm spin, when they opened the attack with Bhargav Bhatt. Bipul Sharma took over for the third over, and struck with his unusual trajectory from well wide of the crease. Davy Jacobs was lazy leaning out to one of those deliveries, and turned his wrists too early as the ball slipped through to hit the stumps. The early dismissal forced Mumbai to rebuild cautiously, and the left-arm gambit had paid off though Tendulkar hadn’t fallen for it.Rayudu attempted to break free with a couple of against-the-spin heaves, while Tendulkar skipped inside the line to sweep Bhatt over deep square leg, but Mumbai showed their first real sign of intent only in the 12th over of the innings. As always, Praveen Kumar was cannon fodder once the shine disappeared from the ball, and Rayudu clubbed him for two fours and a six off consecutive balls. Punjab did not help their own cause, dropping Rayudu twice in two balls. The second a comical error in judgement from Ryan Harris at long-off, that allowed Rayudu reach his half-century.Rayudu and Tendulkar fell soon after getting to their half-centuries, but Pollard ensured there was no let-up, smashing two sixes and in the process increasing his tournament tally by a factor of five. His closing surge, aided by Rohit, took Mumbai to a score that Punjab would have fancied chasing, but Malinga and Co. had other plans.

Michael Bevan, the former Australia middle-order batsman, has been named coach of the Orissa team for the next season of the Ranji Trophy. Earlier this month, Bevan was also appointed coach of the Kings XI Punjab team for the IPL.”Bevan has, in principle, agreed to render his service from October 2011 to February 2012,” Orissa Cricket Association Secretary Asirbad Behera told reporters in Cuttack. Orissa had a disappointing Ranji campaign in the 2010-11 season, finishing second from bottom in Group B after losing two of their six games and drawing four.”I will remain accountable to OCA for the performance of the team,” Bevan said, adding he was keen on working towards the overall development of cricket in the state.

Injury expert and Sky Sports contributor Ben Dinnery has reacted to a major injury blow for versatile Leeds United defender Stuart Dallas.

The lowdown: Long-term layoff for Dallas

The Whites confirmed that the Northern Ireland international suffered a femoral fracture in the 4-0 defeat against Manchester City last Saturday.

The 31-year-old will need to undergo surgery and is set for a ‘lengthy period out of action’ following the incident with Jack Grealish.

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An expert in the field of injuries has now had his say on this cruel blow for Dallas and Leeds…

The latest: Dallas suffers ‘unusual’ injury setback

Speaking to Football Insider, Dinnery – who runs the Premier Injuries website – suggested that the issues suffered by the 31-year-old are complicated and will likely take a long time from which to recover.

The injury expert lamented: “This is bad news for Leeds United. It’s a rare injury. At first, I thought it was an MCL injury and the focus was all around the knee. I didn’t expect for a minute for the update to confirm that there had been a fractured femur.

“It’s highly unusual and not a mechanism we’ve seen in all the years we’ve been recording data. The only fractured femur I’ve seen was Pape Matar Sarr at Crystal Palace, but that was from a car crash.

“A lot depends on the location and type of fracture. Based on the footage, there could be an injury to the adjacent knee joint as well.

“Some research suggests that a third of these injuries will involve ligament damage as well. We could be looking easily at six months or even beyond that if the damage is really severe.”

The verdict: Major loss for Leeds

Having featured in all of Leeds’ 34 Premier League fixtures in 2021/22 to this point, it’s not difficult to fathom how big a loss Dallas will be to Jesse Marsch’s side, particularly with them in the thick of a relegation battle.

Described as ‘tremendous’ by former Scotland manager Alex McLeish, the Northern Ireland international and Elland Road fan favourite has earned a superb 6.90 average Sofascore rating this season – the third-highest among outfield players in Marsch’s squad – whilst once again operating in numerous positions for the Whites.

Regardless of whether or not they retain their top-flight status next term, Leeds will hope to welcome the 56-cap stalwart back with open arms at some point in the 2022/23 campaign.

In other news, Danny Mills urges Leeds to tie down this player…

MatériaMais Notícias

Glasgow Rangers have been dealt a huge blow in their bid to bring goalkeeper Sam Johnstone to Ibrox this summer.

What’s the Word?

That’s according to a report by Football Insider, who claim that sources close to Johnstone have revealed that the shot-stopper wants to join Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur on the expiration of his West Bromwich Albion contract at the end of the current campaign.

This is sure to come as a huge blow to Rangers, as Giovanni van Bronckhorst is looking at a replacement for Allan McGregor – who himself looks increasingly likely to be leaving Ibrox this summer.

The Light Blues have shown interest in the England international who has kept 15 clean sheets in 36 Championship matches so far this season as West Brom has struggled.

With the likes of Newcastle United, West Ham United, and Southampton all linked with the highly-rated stopper in recent weeks, it’s clear to see why missing out on Johnstone could send Rangers into panic mode.

A potential replacement for McGregor?

Allan McGregor has so often been the saviour for Rangers over the years, producing big moments and penalty saves exactly when the side needs them, but this campaign has looked like a step too far.

There have been far too many mistakes as the Ibrox side has slipped behind in the title race, and the keeper has cost the club a fair few points since January.

As such, signing Johnstone on a pre-contract would be an excellent move. With three caps for England and still just 29 years of age, Giovanni van Bronckhorst could do no wrong in making a move for the shot-stopper.

Indeed, with the ‘keeper having been omitted from West Brom’s previous two matchday squads due to his contract running down, Rangers are in as good of a position as any to offer him terms.

With a market value of £7.2m, any side that secures the services of the 29-year-old could also make a solid profit in the future if they decide to sell him on, making this move an absolute no-brainer.

AND in other News: Wilson could land new £13m talent as Rangers plot bid for £180k-rated sensation

Gio van Bronckhorst’s Rangers return to action in the Premiership at Ibrox today after a two-week international break.

The Gers have an opportunity to go level on points with their rivals at the top of the league table in the Old Firm clash in Glasgow this lunchtime.

Prior to the international fixtures, Rangers won 2-1 in their Scottish top-flight clash away at Dundee, with Aaron Ramsey and Connor Goldson scoring the goals for the Light Blues.

How many changes will Van Bronckhorst make to the team? Here is our predicted XI…

We are predicting that he will make four alterations to the side from last time out, with Leon Balogun, Ryan Jack, Glen Kamara and Kemar Roofe all coming in.

Starting at the back, Balogun may come in to replace Filip Helander. The Swedish defender was taken off at half-time a fortnight ago and has struggled since returning, recording SofaScore ratings of 6.2, 6.5 and 6.7 respectively in his three Premiership appearances in 2022.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria international has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.02 in the top flight across 17 appearances for the Gers. This suggests that he may currently be the better option of the two, as he has been putting in a higher standard of performances, which is why Van Bronckhorst may bring him into the starting XI.

Rangers lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation against Dundee and we are predicting that the Dutchman will go with a 4-3-3 to add more defensive solidity across the middle of the park in what is set to be a huge game in the title race.

Scott Arfield was hooked at half-time at Dens Park for Joe Aribo, but we are predicting that neither of them will start and that Kamara will be the one to come in.

Aribo struggled on international duty as he lost five of his six duels away to Ghana and failed to complete any dribbles, tackles, interceptions or key passes, as per SofaScore. He was dubbed “useless” by journalist Zino Mulla after his performances for Nigeria and this should act as a warning to Van Bronckhorst to avoid starting the dud whilst his confidence is shot.

Kamara’s former Dundee coach Neil McCann once dubbed him “perfect”, and that’s what he may start with John Lundstram and Jack on either side of him, the latter coming in for James Sands. His two midfield partners can go from box to box with their energy and robustness, whilst Kamara has the quality to set the tempo and dictate the play from deep, with an exceptional 91% pass accuracy on 56 passes per game in the Premiership.

At the top of the pitch, Alfredo Morelos will need to be replaced. Van Bronckhorst has confirmed that the attacker will be absent, saying: “Morelos will be assessed and hopefully we can give more news after the weekend. Unfortunately for all of us he won’t be with us on Sunday, we won’t have him back in the next couple of weeks.”

This leaves the position free for Roofe to come in and take the number nine position, with the rest of the team remaining unchanged.

AND in other news, Rangers had a major disaster on “complete” 243 G/A ace who’s “like Harry Potter”…

Celtic have the chance to add some more points to their tally for the season and take a step closer to the Premiership title this afternoon. 

Their latest league outing sees them take on St Johnstone at Parkhead after securing a 2-1 victory in the Old Firm derby last weekend. 

However, it seems as though Hoops manager Ange Postecoglou will have to do without one of his main attacking options today.

What’s the news?

Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday (via 67 Hail Hail), the 56-year-old revealed that James Forrest is the only player not available to him for selection this afternoon. 

Having missed Celtic’s two previous league games as a result of a knock he picked up during the club’s Scottish Cup win against Dundee United last month, it will be a huge blow for Postecoglou to still have the winger sidelined. 

A product of the Parkhead club’s youth academy, Forrest has made 440 senior appearances in a Celtic shirt across all competitions. In that time, the 30-year-old has scored 97 goals and provided 97 assists, showing how significant figure a he has been across such a long period. 

Postecoglou will be fuming

Even though the Hoops are in a good position in the league following on from their victory over Rangers last week, Postecoglou will still surely be furious that Forrest hasn’t yet managed to recover from this latest injury, despite playing it down at the time.

An even bigger worry for the winger, the manager and the Celtic fans is that he has a reputation for picking up injuries and missing a lot of games over the years.

With Postecoglou saying that the Scotland international should be a week away from making a recovery, the Celtic manager will undoubtedly be hoping that this will indeed be the case and that he can have Forrest fit and available to see out the remainder of the season and hopefully drive his team to the title.

For the time being, it seems as though the Hoops boss will have to rely on the likes of Jota, Daizen Maeda and Liel Abada to provide an adequate attacking force for the team while Forrest is out.

Having scored a combined total of 20 league goals between them, at least it’s safe to say that the trio have what it takes to be a suitable threat for the Bhoys in the 30-year-old’s continued absence.

In other news: Ange must unleash “phenomenal” £5.85m-rated Celtic ace, he could fire them to glory

ScorecardMark Jonkman’s opening burst stunned Scotland and raised visions of an unlikely fourth-innings heist before Neil McCallum and Majid Haq ground out victory for the visitors in Deventer. Beginning the last day 13 runs behind, with two wickets standing, Netherlands dominated almost all passages of play on the final day but they had fallen too far behind on the previous days to make it count.Peter Borren continued his defiance in the first session and progressed from 52 to 109 in aggressive fashion, striking 11 fours and five sixes in all. No. 10 Pieter Seelaar held up the other end to frustrate Scotland, raising 67 with Borren to erase the deficit. After Borren’s fall, 22 more were added with Seelaar taking over scoring duties. The innings finally folded with Netherlands 76 ahead, and Scotland had enough time to walk to victory. Jonkman had other ideas though.He began his handiwork by dismissing Douglas Lockhart first ball, and intervened again in his second over to castle Qasim Sheikh. The panic button was pressed when Berend Westdijk got the better of Preston Mommsen to leave the score reading 4 for 3. The pressure was squarely on Scotland’s middle order and Netherlands cashed in with miserly and incisive bowling. Richie Berrington and Gregor Maiden had no answers to Jonkman, and the innings was in tatters with half the side gone for six runs after 11 overs. McCallum stayed put at the other end as he kept losing partners, the next being Matthew Parker after the addition of 12 runs. That gave Jonkman a special five-for and, at 18 for 6, it was Netherlands’ game to win.However, they were worn down by a determined partnership from McCallum and Haq, with the former taking most of the strike to blunt the Netherlands’ attack. Haq slowly grew in confidence and struck several fours, and the pair added 59 in fewer than 10 overs to take their side home.

Writing on his Patreon, reliable club insider ExWHUemployee has made a promising West Ham United player claim with talks ongoing behind the scenes.

The Lowdown: West Ham seal Antonio deal…

As confirmed by the club, West Ham and GSB have extended star striker Michail Antonio’s deal at the club.

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Indeed, in an official announcement, the Irons forward’s new contract means he looks set to remain at the London Stadium until 2024 with the option of a further year included.

The Jamaica international has been one of Moyes’ star players this season, winning August’s Premier League player of the Month award whilst going on to rack up eight goals so fat.

In an update, Ex claims this may not be the last bit of player news you hear soon as he makes a promising behind-the-scenes claim.

The Latest: Ex drops claim…

Taking to this Patreon, the Irons source says that ‘negotiations have been ongoing’ over new contracts for Lukasz Fabianski, Angelo Ogbonna and Ben Johnson.

Following on, he says that further contract news ‘should come soon’ after the club confirmed Antonio’s extension.

The Verdict: Promising…

As Moyes and recruitment chief Rob Newman also tie down important first teamers to long term contracts, it’s little wonder this particular trio are next in line.

Fabianski, deemed an ‘untouchable’ in the Scotsman’s starting eleven, is one of only two Irons players to start every single Premier League game this season alongside Tomas Soucek (WhoScored).

Johnson, meanwhile, has really impressed and played a much more prominent role in the first team than last campaign – drawing praise from Moyes in particular.

Ogbonna, despite currently being injured, was a fixture alongside summer signing Kurt Zouma in defence with reporters in the press describing the Italian as ‘influential’.

If the Irons trio all put pen to paper, it’s safe to say that will come as a mighty boost for the club.

In other news: ‘Tears in my eyes’, ‘Finally’…West Ham fans flock to ‘very exciting’ transfer news, find out more here.