West Indies women will tour Netherlands for four one-day internationals and two Twenty20 games between July 1 and 9. This series follows their tour of Ireland in June.They will open with a Twenty20 on July 1 and play two ODIs before breaking for another Twenty20 on July 6. The last two ODIs will be played on July 7 and 9. After that West Indies will travel to England for two ODIs on July 11 and 12.West Indies last toured Netherlands five years ago for the International Women’s Cricket Council Trophy and they won four out of their five matches there. Their last international outing was the World Cup 2005 in South Africa. Netherlands are better prepared for the series, having played the World Cup qualifiers in February.West Indies in Netherlands schedule July 1 – 1st Twenty20 July 2 – 1st ODI July 3 – 2nd ODI July 6 – 2nd Twenty20 July 7 – 3rd ODI July 9 – 4th ODI
Shoaib Malik has threatened to sue an Indian family for alleging that he married their daughter in a ceremony conducted over the telephone five years ago.In a hurriedly-arranged press conference in Lahore on Tuesday, Malik confirmed he had a relationship with the girl, Ayesha but denied a (wedding ceremony) ever took place. “I liked Ayesha and I told my family about that,” Malik said. “Elders of both families discussed the matter but the chapter was closed after they couldn’t agree on certain things. I can never think of cheating on a girl and since it was something that disturbed me, I am here to clarify the matter.”Ayesha’s father, Mohammed Ahmed Siddiqui, claimed last week that Malik married her on June 3, 2002 before all but abandoning her and should be punished for it. “There should be a fatwa (legal religious announcement) against him. My demand to him is to accept the marriage and divorce my daughter. She does not want to go back to a cheater like him. And we want our life back,” Siddiqui told an Indian newspaper.Siddiqui claims that Ayesha met Malik in 2002 during a cricket match in Dubai, where she was working as the vice-principal of an international school. “It was Malik who called me up and asked for my daughter’s hand. Although I had objections to my daughter marrying a Pakistani boy, I agreed because both of them were keen,” Siddiqui said.Siddiqui said the couple married over the phone after a two-month courthship, with witnesses from both sides. “I have the (proof of marriage) issued by a judge in Sialkot,” he said. Siddiqui, however, was not willing to produce that proof of marriage: “I will not give it now because my lawyer has asked me not to say anything about it as my case might not succeed.”Malik’s camp, however, insist they were lied to over the identity of the girl and that the family is exploiting Malik’s fame and status as Pakistan captain. “We are not denying the fact that Malik had an affair with a girl named Ayesha on the internet almost six years ago,” Imran Zafar, Malik’s brother-in-law, said.”He had planned to marry her and Mohammad Siddiqui claimed she was his daughter. But the photographs they showed of Ayesha to Malik were not those of their real daughter. They had been cheating Malik.”He added that Malik will go to India soon to file a case for fraud against the Siddiqui family. “We cannot allow anybody to defame Malik like this,” he said.
Silver League finalBuoyed by Bhilal Khilji’s 132, Multan made full use of the absence of Rao Iftikhar and allrounder Azhar Mahmood from the Islamabad line-up, as they posted an impressive 326 for 4 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Both Iftikhar and Azhar are with the Pakistan squad in South Africa, thus denting Islamabad’s chances to get promoted to next season’s Gold League.Khilji’s knock came off 218 balls with 22 fours and a six. Opener Usman Tariq chipped in with 56. Bilal was joined by Kashif Naved in a 134-run stand for the fourth wicket. Naved’s 72 came off 109 balls with 11 boundaries.Gold LeagueFawad Alam hammered his second century of the tounament, as Karachi Harbour ran up an impressive total of 323 for 6 against Faisalabad at the National Stadium in Karachi. The 21-year-old, who was tipped earlier in the season to at least make Pakistan’s preliminary World Cup squad but eventually didn’t, came in at number five with his team at 140-3 and proceeded to score his third first-class hundred.Fawad faced 149 deliveries to make 103, that included 15 boundaries. He dominated the 132-run fifth-wicket partnership with Fahad Iqbal. Karachi Harbour, led by Danish Kaneria, won the toss and decided to go in first. Khalid Latif and Wajihuddin got off to a good start, adding 53. Wajihuddin scored a resolute 67 off 121 balls with nine fours and a six and his second-wicket stand with Akbar Rehman was worth 85. Seamer Asad Ali bowled usefully for Faisalabad with figures of 3 for 97 from 27 overs, although he conceded 13 no-balls and a wide. Ahmed Hayat picked up 2 for 57 in 16 overs.Sialkot took a step closer to toppling Karachi Urban from the top of the Gold League table, as they dismissed their opponents for just 164 at the Jinnah Stadium on Wednesday. By the close of play, the Sialkot openers batted out the remaining overs, adding 53.Seamer Kashif Daud, playing his first match for Sialkot after having captured 21 wickets for Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) in the Patron’s Trophy earlier in the season, picked up five wickets for 54 runs in 11.5 overs. Only wicketkeeper Amin-ur-Rehman reached 30 for the visitors. Four others got good starts but couldn’t go beyond that. Sialkot’s in-form paceman Tahir Mughal struck three times before Daud took over.Mohammad Wasim and Babar Naeem scored half-centuries as Rawalpindi compiled 330 in the opening day against Lahore Shalimar at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. At stumps, the hosts lost opener Ashfaq Ahmed for a third-ball duck, finishing at 15 for 1.After being put in to bat, Rawalpindi lost two early wickets before Naeem smacked 63 runs off just 77 balls with five fours and five sixes. Wasim was joined by Awais Zia in a 69-run sixth-wicket stand. Wasim’s 75 came off 119 balls with 10 boundaries. Four more wickets then fell for an addition of 59 runs to make it 264 for 9. Yasim Murtaza and Najaf Shah proceeded to add 66 in a rollicking last-wicket partnership that took the score to 330 in less than an hour.Yasim made 42 off 54 balls with five fours and a six while Najaf remained unbeaten with 31. Mohammad Khalil returned figures of 3 for 57 in 19 overs.
Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh stadium has emerged as a leading contender to host the ICC Champions Trophy matches following commercial glitches at the venues originally selected for the tournament. Maqbul Dudhia, the ICC representative, and Rick Jamieson, a Global Cricket Corporation (GCC) official, inspected the venue which hosted a one-dayer between India and Sri Lanka in October 2005.According to the host nation agreement of the ICC, the venues chosen must be free from ground signages and other sponsorship obligations. Nagpur, Mohali and Hyderabad are the other centres in the running to host the matches. Subhash Joshi, secretary of the Rajasthan Cricket Association and former Ranji cricketers Taposh Chatterjee and Shamsher Singh met with the ICC and GCC officials.”We shall submit our report to the ICC and the final decision will be taken. We will be visiting Nagpur, Mohali, Kolkata and Hyderabad to look at alternative venues,” said Dudhia. Joshi said Jaipur had a better chance of being awarded matches as neither the association nor the venue had any kind of sponsorship contract.New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata were the venues originally identified by the ICC, but all these cities have pre-existing contracts with various corporates, which goes against the ICC’s sponsorship policies.
Rahul Dravid has urged Indian fans to treat the Pakistan side well when they tour India soon, in order to reciprocate the warmth Pakistani fans had given Indian players and fans last year. Writing in his column in the , Dravid wrote: “[I] hope we will watch, cheer and support the teams in the spirit in which the game must be [played]. The home team will appreciate and be inspired by your support, but we would also hope that our opponents and their fans are respected.”Remembering past encounters between India and Pakistan, Dravid wrote that India’s “most cherished memories” were “outside the field of play. The standing ovation of the Chennai crowd. The spontaneous applause of the people at Karachi airport. Watching Indians fans with Indian flags and facepaint walking along with Pakistani supporters on the streets of Lahore. The people have made these series as memorable as the players.”India-Pakistan matches also played a big role in the evolution of all the players who took part in them, he said. “No-one who has played in any of these contests can claim to come away from them unaffected. They help you grow as a player and as a man. They have inspired the players to produce some magical moments.”
Sourav Ganguly has renewed his contract with Percept D’Mark for the next five years and the deal is believed to be in the region of Rs 50 crore. The agreement meant that Percept D’Mark will take care of Ganguly’s endorsements, appearances, interviews and promotional campaigns till 2008.The finalisation of the deal ends a contractual row between the Ganguly and the company that cropped up during their three-year association from 2000.Percept D’Mark’s CEO, Sanjay Lal, declined to share financial details of the agreement in the course of a conference at Bangalore. However sources said the deal is in the region of Rs 50 crore.Ganguly admitted that Nimbus had approach him with a deal, but conceded “we decided to continue with this commitment. This association till 2008 will be till I finish my career." This however was not a reference to his retirement and Ganguly pointed that even in 2008 he could renew the contract.
Ben Smith reached his second double century in first-class matches for Central Districts against Canterbury at Pukekura Park today, transforming at one stroke this match and his season.Smith had scored 32 runs in five previous State Championship innings this season and seemed a player well short of his best form, a player struggling to recover the prolific scoring touch of a season ago when he was Central’s batting mainstay.But as Smith turned around CD’s first innings over the past two days, taking them from two for two on his arrival at the crease to a bold declaration at 336/5 – 92 runs behind Canterbury – he also brought to an end his own batting slump.”It’s a mental thing,” Smith said after being left 200 not out at Central’s teatime declaration, only four runs short of his highest score in first-class matches. “Thirty five runs at [an average of] seven suddenly becomes 235 at 40.”That’s the marvellous thing about the game of cricket. Things can change so suddenly and so completely, even with a single innings. Now I feel confident and comfortable at the crease and I’m ready to get on with the job of scoring runs.”Smith now stands only 54 runs away from 10,000 runs in first-class cricket – a milestone he might yet have the opportunity to surpass in this match.The onus has fallen on Canterbury to reciprocate Central’s imaginative declaration and to foster the possibility of an outright result on the final day of the match tomorrow. Canterbury were 102/4 in their second innings at stumps tonight, leading by 194 runs overall but having lost four important wickets in 31 overs before stumps.Central have challenged Canterbury to make a declaration tomorrow which will make the last day of 2001 a memorable one for New Plymouth’s cricket fans. Judging that declaration will be difficult.Smith believes Canterbury might leave Central 300 to 320 to score in 70 or 80 overs but Canterbury will have in mind Smith’s form and the fact they scored 301 in 80 overs on the game’s first day on the way to their first innings of 428.”I think there’s no way after we played as well as that and made a declaration like that that Canterbury won’t come to the party,” Smith said. “It’s in their interests as much as ours to make something out of the last day. For one of us to walk away with six points before we get into the one-day series would really set us up for the second part of the season.”I think the slow bowlers could play a big part tomorrow but, having said that, there’s still a bit for the quicks and all four new balls have done a bit. The consistency of the wicket is tremendous and it was great to bat on.”Smith was aware he was encroaching on his highest first-class score when Central’s declaration came today but he calmly accepted the decision to withdraw while that milestone was within range.”The message came out that we were looking to declare at tea and while I wasn’t sure whether things had changed or not I could see the sense in the declaration and I’m happy with my score.”Smith’s innings gained in importance because of the background against which it was achieved. Central had lost both openers to lbw decisions when he came to the wicket at five minutes past four last night with his team two wickets down and with only two runs on the board. Central were seven for three when he was joined by his captain Glen Sulzberger.Smith and Sulzberger put on 175 for the fourth wicket in 181 minutes before Sulzberger was out shortly before 1pm today for 52. He had been 48 not out overnight.Richard King joined Smith in a fifth-wicket partnership of 88 in 111 minutes and had put on 66 in 61 minutes with Bevan Griggs before the declaration. King made 28, Griggs was left 23 not out and all of the Central wickets today fell to Warren Wisneski who had 4-95.Canterbury’s progress towards stumps, armed with that 92-run lead, was indecisive. They lost the valuable wickets of Jarrod Englefield, Shanan Stewart, Michael Papps and Gary Stead and were left with Chris Harris and Aaron Redmond at the wicket, still in the early stages of their innings.Englefield fell lbw to Brent Hefford for three, Stewart was caught by Griggs off Andrew Schwass for 38, Papps edged a catch to Sulzberger off Tim Anderson and part-timer David Kelly claimed his second first-class wicket when he trapped Stead lbw. Kelly took his first first-class wicket in Canterbury’s first innings.
The measurements of most sports are in round numbers, except for a few ofthose that have been converted to metric equivalents. The welter of precisemeasurements in cricket seems distinct, but in fact some have quite a simple origin.The earliest known Laws of Cricket, the “Code of 1744”, give the length of thepitch as 22 yards. Over the centuries the often vague and regionally differing Saxonlinear measurements becaine standardized to give a mile (a survival of the oldRoman measurement of 1,000 double paces) as equal to 8 furlongs (i.e. “furrowlong”) or 320 perches (also called rods or poles) or 1,760 yards (from the Old Englishgyrd that meant stick or twig) or 5,280 feet or 63,360 inches or 190,080 barley corns(e.g. in the thirteenth century a royal Assize of Weights and Measures prescribed”the Iron Yard of our Lord the King” at 3 feet of 12 inches or 36 barley corns).It will thus be seen that 22 yards is in fact one tenth of a furlong or length of afurrow. There was an equally vague Saxon square measurement of land, the hide(called also carucate, from the Latin for a plough, and ploughland) which was thearea required by one free family with dependents and that could be ploughed withone plough and 8 oxen in one year. This was in turn divided into four yardlands or100 acres, the definition of which was the amount of land that could be ploughed byone yoke of oxen in one day. In Norman times the acre became precisely defined as40 by 4 perches, thus preserving the shape of the Saxon strip-acre, i.e. one furlongby one tenth of a furlong. The cricket pitch is therefore simply the breadth of theSaxon strip-acre.It would be a mistake, however, to assume that cricket, which is believed tohave had its origins on the Weald that was used primarily as grazing ground forsheep rather than ploughland, necessarily took the length of its pitch directly fromthis source, although the largest Saxon mete-wand or measuring rod, the gad,continued in use into the early days of cricket and was one perch in length, i.e. onequarter of the breadth of a furrow. In 1610 Edmund Gunter, an Oxford trainedmathematician, now Professor of Astronomy at Gresham College, London, inventedas an instrument of measurement the chain, taking its length from the breadth ofthe furrow and dividing it into 100 links of 7.92 inches each (i.e. 4 perches [not 40 as stated by the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th ed., vol. 19,p. 729, which is the length of the furrow]; By 1661 use of this chain had becomesufficiently popular for the word to be used to designate the measurement itself}.This chain becamethe common measuring tool for land surveyors. We do not know when cricketersfirst wished to standardize their pitch, but in the eighteenth and nineteenthcenturies at least pitches were often physically marked out with the use of Gunter’schain.The distance between the bowling crease and the popping crease (i.e. thecrease over which the bat could be popped for safety) is given by the “Code of 1744″as 46 inches (increased to 48 inches sometime before 1821). Before creases weremarked in whitewash in 1865 they were cut into the earth and were, as W.G. Graceremembered from his early days, one inch deep and one inch wide. With allowancemade of 1/2 inch from the centre of each crease the distance between the inner edgesof the creases was thus 45 inches, that is the length of an ell. This was anotherSaxon measurement that had been standardized by the time of Edward I whorequired that there should be an exact copy of his ell-wand in all the towns of hisrealm. It was used regularly for measuring cloth (hence its later name of clothyard), and indeed the king’s alnager had the duty of checking that all cloth for salewas one ell in width. It was thus a measurement that would have been veryfamiliar to the cricketing folk of the sheep-rearing Weald.The ell’s subdivision into 16 nails of 2 and 13/16 inches each probablyaccounts for the size of the early wicket. According to the “Code of 1744” “YeStumps must be 22 inches long, and ye Bail 6 inches”. P.F. Thomas (who wroteunder the pseudonymous H.P.-T.) convincingly argues that these figures are arounding off by the gentlemen of London of the earlier rustic measurement of 8nails by 2 nails, which would give a wicket of 22 and 1/2 by 5 and 5/8 inches. Theaddition of the third stump c. 1775 did not change the dimensions of the wicket butsince 1798 a series of alterations has brought them to the present 28 by 9 inches.The addition of the third stump did not immediately bring about the division ofthe single bail into two bails (first mentioned in the Maidstone edition of the Laws c.1786 but not in a reputable edition until the early nineteenth century. It isInterestIng that even in the 1950s bails were often sold as a single piece to be cut atthe discretion of the purchaser).There were no legal limits on the size of the bat until Shock White appearedin a match with a weapon the width of the wicket, unsporting behaviour that ledtwo days later to his opponents, the Hambledon Club, writing the following minute:”In view of the performance of one White of Ryegate on September 23rd that ffour(sic) and quarter inches shall be the breadth forthwith. – this 25th day of September1771″. It is signed by its scribe Richard Nyren and by T. Brett and J. Small andwas speedily accepted elsewhere, occuring already in the “Code of 1774”. TheHambledonians promptly made an iron gauge to check the implements of futureopponents, but unfortunately it has been lost since it was purloined by “a gentlemanwho took a fancy to it”. Other similar gauges were, however, manufactured, the oneat Sheffield Park once catching out W.G. Grace. Approximately 4 and 1/4 inches isthe standard width of all earlier known bats, the oldest being that owned by JohnChitty of Knaphill now in the pavilion at Kennington Oval that is dated to 1729.There is tenuous evidence for an earlier period. The Roman Catholic College ofStonyhurst removed to France and later Belgium during the religious persecution ofthe sixteenth century and kept up a form of cricket that it brought back to Englandwhen forced to move by the French revolution. A teacher who left the school in 1871remembers its bats as being blocks of probably alder wood about 3 feet long,”roughly oval in shape, about 4 and 1/2 in. wide and 2 in. thick”. This distinctiveStonyhurst cricket had remarkable wickets, stones about 17 in. high, 13 in. wideand 8 in. thick at the bottom.There has never been any limitation on the weight of the bat, one of 1771 weighinga monstrous 5 Ib.The “Code of 1744″ prescribes that ‘Ye Ball must weigh between 5 and 6Ounces”. Its circumference was not specified until May lOth 1838 when it was putas between 9 and 9 and 1/4 inches. This lack of precision corroborates what onemight suspect, that a ball was the weight and size found convenient and that thedifficulties of manufacture have precluded even today any precise specification.The size of the wicket and other laws have been frequently changed inattempts to be fair to both batsman and bowler. Is it not time for further revisionsof measurements? The principal problems today are the ease with which even mis-hitsgo to the boundary and the sharply rising bouncers from tall fast bowlers. It isimpossible to push back the boundaries at most grounds (though Kennington Ovaland Grace Road, Leicester, for instance, do not use all the available playing area forany one match), but a restriction on the weight of the bat would not only revivemore refined batsmanship but also once more enable slow bowlers to tempt batsmento their doom with catches in the deep. The length of the pitch was chosen bycricketers who bowled, that is propelled the ball under arm, and were on averageshorter than their modern counterparts who can hurl their missile from far abovetheir heads. Is it not time that the pitch should be lengthened, that the old Saxonstrip-acre should at last be left fallow ?
Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieria should swoop for EFL star John Swift who has been the top scorer for relegation battling Reading having tallied 24 goal contributions this season.
The Eagles have been linked with a move according to Football League World who suggest that they may rival West Ham for his signature.
The 26-year old is a former Chelsea youth product having rose through the Cobham academy which has been deemed one of the best in world football.
Although he never made it through to the first team at Stamford Bridge a decent loan spell at Brentford scoring seven goals for them in the Championship.
He was described as “super-talented” by his former manager Veljko Paunovic last summer and his performances have proved that.
As a result he joined The Royals on a free transfer and has since been pivotal in their battle for survival, but with his contract expiring in the summer it could be the perfect time for the Eagles to land him.
Link up with Olise
Palace have surprised people this season by taking points off Arsenal and beating both Tottenham Hotspur and reigning champions Manchester City.
Moving to Selhurst Park would not only give Swift the chance to finally experience playing in the Premier League, it would also see him link up with former Reading teammate Michael Olise.
Olise, like Swift, rose through the ranks at Chelsea before eventually ending up at Reading via Man City. Last season he shone and at just 19-years of age scored seven and assisted 12.
This led to him being named the EFL Young Player of the Season and he was also included in the Championship team of the season and the PFA Championship team of the year.
The last time the pair played together was on the final day of last season where they were both rated two of the best players on the day for Reading by the Chronicle.
It would be a no brainer for Vieira to make a move for Swift especially seeing as he’s available on a free transfer.
He would likely be competing for a spot in the team with Cheikhou Kouyaté too.
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The Senegalese midfielder has has an amazing year with his country winning the Africa Cup of Nations and securing World Cup qualification he has also played a big part in Palaces’ success.
The 32-year old ranks in the 90th percentile in a number of defensive categories when comparing him to other Premier League midfielders this season, but his attacking stats aren’t great having only tallied one goal contribution to his name all season. That differs considerably from Swift who has 34 goals for the Royals.
It’s here where Swift could offer a lot more and link up with the front three which includes a player he know extremely well in Olise.
IN other news: “Fearless” £34k-p/w prodigy drops out, “special talent” unleashed: CPFC predicted XI…
India’s chances of fighting back from the 1-0 deficit against Australia have been dealt a huge blow with the news that Zaheer Khan, who missed the second Test in Sydney with a left heel injury, has been ruled out of the entire series. He has been ruled out for four to six weeks and will leave for India tomorrow while his replacement VRV Singh, the right-arm medium fast bowler, will fly to Australia on Friday.Zaheer has been India’s leading bowler over the last year – in nine Tests in 2007, he took 41 wickets at 25.73, including a nine-wicket haul in India’s win in Nottingham. However, he has also been plagued by fitness concerns. His current injury, which cropped up during practice a day before the second Test, was the same one that kept him out of the third Test against Pakistan in Bangalore last month.Zaheer first picked up the injury during the one-dayers in England in August. He had a similar fitness problem on India’s last tour to Australia in 2003-04, pulling out of the second Test in Adelaide with hamstring trouble, playing the third match and then missing the fourth. He also pulled a muscle in his right leg during India’s next tour, to Pakistan, and was forced to fly home after the first Test in Multan.Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, said Sreesanth and Munaf Patel were not considered as neither had proved his match fitness. Munaf is recovering from back spasms that had ruled him out of the third Test against Pakistan.A shoulder injury has kept Sreesanth out of international cricket since the ODI series against Pakistan in November. He has ignored doctors’ advice to undergo surgery and has instead opted for ayurvedic treatment. The two have been asked to report to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) on Friday, where they will work with Dav Whatmore. Sreesanth said he has been bowling at the nets and feels good about his recovery. “Even today I bowled at the NCA indoor nets,” Sreesanth said.These injuries are the latest in a series of fitness concerns for India’s fast bowlers. John Gloster, the team’s physiotherapist, had sent a 14-page report to the Indian board regarding the injuries suffered by the players. He said most players were forced to go through games carrying niggles because there was simply no time for them to either recover from injuries or do the rehabilitation work needed.VRV last played for India in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong in May last year. He has taken 15 wickets at 33.26 in four Ranji matches for Punjab this season. He said the call-up was a godsend and that his experience of Australian conditions – he was one of three to receive the annual Border-Gavaskar scholarship in 2005 – would be valuable.”I was in Australia two years back and have some knowledge about the nature of pitches there,” he told . “I will play according to my strength and bowl according to the nature of the wicket. I hope to perform and do well.”