Shivnarine Chanderpaul has resigned as captain of West Indies with immediate effect. He has been in the post since the series against South Africa in May 2005.Chanderpaul, 31, was given the captaincy during the contracts row between leading players and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) before the start of the South African series.He informed the WICB of his decision on Tuesday and said: “I would like to take this opportunity to tender my resignation as captain with immediate effect.”This would give me an opportunity to focus on my batting and otherareas of my cricket where I would be able to make a more significant contribution to the team, by being more focused on my batting.” Chanderpaul averaged 47 as captain, but struggled in the last eight months, scoring just 198 from 13 innings.”I have served my time as the captain and would like to pass the mantle on to another person. I would fully support my replacement, and work towards the good of the team,” he said. “I would like to thank all who worked with me during my tenure as captain, and I am looking forward to continuing my hard work for West Indies cricket.”Ken Gordon, the WICB president, emphasised Chanderpaul’s importance to the team and denied that he was forced to resign. “No, I received Mr Chanderpaul’s letter today,” Gordon told CCN TV6. “In it he expressed his desire to focus more heavily on his batting…so I think it was a reasonable approach by him and I called him to thank him for it [his contribution] and to indicate to him that we are all very supportive of him.”Chanderpaul’s last series as captain resulted in a 2-0 defeat to New Zealand. He leaves just a couple of weeks before the home international season begins with a one-day series against Zimbabwe, before the visit of India. The WICB have said a new captain will be named in the shortly.
Haryana v Services, Ranji Trophy Plate Final ScorecardAK Mohanty made a determined 40 not out, but there was little support from the rest of the Services lower order, and he was left stranded as his side finished with 191. Joginder Sharma, who had taken three wickets on the second day, finished with 5 for 67. Haryana then coasted to 113 for 2, 264 ahead. Chetan Sharma, their first-innings hero, made 45.
Retravision Warriors fast-bowler Michael Clark will find out tonight if he needs surgery on his spine.Clark met with Orthopedic Surgeon Michael Alexis in West Perth this morning to discuss the results of his MRI Scan completed on Wednesday.The news was not good. The MRI scan showed an abnormality in disc 4-5. This is the same disc that suffered stress fractures in May 2003.Clark will have a more comprehensive CT (cat) scan this afternoon on the troubled disc to ascertain whether he needs a screw inserted into the disc.Alexis will inform Clark tonight on whether he requires surgery. As such Clark will not be available to the Media today, as he will not know his immediate future until tonight.Clark re-injured his back playing in an ING Cup match against Tasmania in Launceston on February 1st. He immediately flew home.
This week I wanted to look at England’s chances in India and give an early appraisal on their progress but being on holiday made it difficult to keep up to speed with the `goings on’ on the sub-continent. However, there is plenty time to reflect later.This has given me an appropriate time to talk a bit about our senior players at Gloucestershire CCC, the tremendous impact that they have made and why they are so invaluable to me. We often focus on the youth and the future stars and as I have mentioned in previous columns, I think we have this in abundance but for these guys to blossom and flourish, the quality of the senior structure needs to be spot on.I can enthuse about Jack Russell and Kim Barnett for ever because these two players are very special in their own right but, most importantly, they are special to me and to the ongoing progress of the club. You cannot separate Jack and Kim when it comes to playing standards. It is something we try to engender into our playing philosophy and two examples like Jack and Kim shows this off in practice. If you are cynical and are thinking that I love these guys because they make my job easier, I will forgive you because they do, but they also contribute a lot to the dynamics of the team.Jack is still `keeping’ as well as ever and when I watch international cricket, it confirms my suspicions that Jack is still rated in the top three in the world. He dominates most of our impressive fielding displays and there never is a moment that I can say `Jack is not quite with it today’. He represents the state that I want all Gloucestershire CCC players to be in and his presence on the field will help me achieve this.Equally, Kim’s presence is very reassuring. There are not many situations that Kim has not come across. His unique style works very well for him and although it might not work for other batsmen, it does encourage guys to explore and find a method that will suit them. There is nothing worse than trying to mould everyone into the same and I wholeheartedly support individual flair. I believe honed together with the right balance it will make us the most exciting team to watch. Winning is ultimately what you want to achieve but I think equally as important is entertaining. If we cannot win everything all the time, the next best thing is people walking away saying that they had a thoroughly enjoyable day.Although Jack and Kim are two glowing examples, I cannot ignore the role of Mike Smith and myself. Mike is very clinical when it comes to bowling and he leaves no stone unturned in his preparation for the season and, of course, for each match. Once again it may sound basic but a senior player showing that there are no short cuts is crucial. As for me, it is difficult for me to emphasize my role in glowing terms but my method is simply to lead from the front and being an all-rounder does help me to relate to all the disciplines required to perform at this level.Forgive me for repeating myself but we have a fantastic balance at the club with players of differing maturity coming together to form our strongest squad yet.
Hampshire born Billy Taylor “The one that got away” demolished the Hampshire batting with 7-39 to send the Second XI to an Innings defeat in the first match at the Hampshire Rose Bowl.Resuming overnight at 102-4, after rain had held up the match until mid-afternoon, Hampshire lost their last 6 wickets for a paltry 26 runs.The match watched over the four days by good crowds of 2-300, proved that Groundsman Nigel Gray’s hard efforts over four years passed the wicket test, with players umpires and officials all praising his efforts.Hampshire next test is when Hampshire 2ndXI take on their Glamorgan counterparts on 23-23 June, at the main cricket oval. Although the pavilion and cricket academy is still being built, the teams will use the nursery pavilion to change and a marquee will be set up for scorers and players.
Rangers are enjoying a fine season so far under Gio van Bronckhorst as the Ibrox club remain in contention to win three trophies between now and the end of the campaign.
The Gers are three points behind their arch-rivals at the top of the Premiership and face them in their next league outing, which means that they have the chance to draw level with them heading into the final few weeks of the campaign.
The Gers are also in the quarter-finals of the Europa League and the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup, with a number of players in the squad consistently delivering across multiple competitions.
Forget Morelos
Whilst Alfredo Morelos has been banging in the goals and showing that he can find the net on a regular basis domestically and in Europe, one man has been unplayable for Van Bronckhorst – and also Steven Gerrard earlier in the 2021/22 campaign – and that is Ryan Kent.
The ex-Liverpool winger has been phenomenal and is crucial to the club’s hopes of lifting silverware this year, having proven himself to be an exceptional attacking talent.
Speaking on Sky Sports, via the Daily Record, one of the channel’s social media pundits – Specs Gonzalez – dubbed him the “Kylian Mbappe of Scottish football” as he tipped the 25-year-old to be called up by England this month.
Kent may not be on the same level as the France and PSG star in terms of quality, but their style of play is similar in the sense that they are both right-footed forwards who typically play off the left but can also be deployed down the middle whilst possessing lightning-quick pace.
Whilst he may not be scoring in World Cup finals and firing in hat-tricks at the Nou Camp like Mbappe, Kent has nonetheless been setting the pitch alight for the Gers in the Premiership and Europa League.
As shown in the graphic above, Kent has delivered superb statistics across both competitions – via SofaScore and Transfermarkt – and has been, in the recent words of Andrew Dickson, “completely unplayable” for the Gers.
The Englishman has produced three goals and a whopping 13 assists across the two competitions, averaging a direct goal contribution just over once every two matches. Kent has also averaged SofaScore ratings of 7.16 and 7.00 in the Premiership and Europa League respectively, showing that he has been consistently delivering with his overall performances.
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He is a constant threat to the opposition with his trickery on the wing, forcing defences to drop deeper in fear of him. Defenders move back five or 10 yards to give him less room in which to work, as otherwise they could be done for pace on the outside and leave him with acres of grass to get a delivery into the box, or to cut inside and shoot with either foot to score himself.
However, he has still been able to work his magic with an excellent record of assists in Europe and the Premiership, showing that he is just unplayable at his best for Van Bronckhorst’s side.
AND in other news, Wilson had a Rangers disaster on 6 foot 4 “monster” who’s “one of the best in the country”
Bermuda have announced their squad for the Under-19 World Cup which kicks off in Malaysia in February. Fifteen players will have further training in India at the end of January, while one extra, Kevon Fubler, will remain on the island on standby.Rodney Trott will captain a side which includes Malachi Jones, who played for the national team in last year’s World Cup. Jones is vice-captain. Another member of the World Cup squad, Stefan Kelly, is also in the 16 for Malaysia.Squad Rodney Trott (capt), Malachi Jones, Chris Douglas,Kyle Hodsoll, Stefan Kelly, Tamuari Tucker, Regino Smith, Jordan DeSilva,Gregory Maybury, Jr, Lamar Richardson, Deunte Darrell, Dennico Hollis,Pierre Smith, Tre Govia, Terryn Fray. Standby: Kevon Fubler.
Andy Flower, the former Zimbabwe captain whose black-armband protest was one of the most memorable images of the 2003 World Cup, has called on sporting authorities to impose sanctions against Zimbabwe following the brutal police attacks on members of the opposition, including their leader Morgan Tsvangirai.”People have been killed and tortured in Zimbabwe,” Flower told The Daily Telegraph. “But when you see how badly the leader of the official opposition has been beaten, it shows just how out of touch with the reality the government, the Zanu PF thugs, are. They will do anything to stay in power. Robert Mugabe has never changed since he took over in the early 1980s.”Flower, along with team-mate Henry Olonga, chose Zimbabwe’s opening match in the 2003 tournament, played in Harare, to make their own silent protest against what they described as the “death of democracy”. Both subsequently left Zimbabwe and now live in England.”The protest I made four years ago was a personal decision,” he said. “You can question whether it is appropriate for players to be representing their country in an international tournament at this time. But I can understand why they want to play international cricket and to make the best of their opportunities.”Maybe some sort of sporting sanctions or other sanctions would be a more powerful tool in bringing pressure to bear on the government rather than expecting a team of cricketers, most of them 20 to 23 years-old, to be making those sort of decisions.”
Richard Kelly’s open show of disapproval to his dismissal on the second day of the first unofficial Test between West Indies A and England A has hit him in the pocket.The allrounder was fined 10% of his match fee by match referee Hudson Knight for showing dissent. The fine was imposed following a hearing on Monday morning that was also attended by West Indies A manager Derrick Nicholas, the West Indies Cricket Board’s cricket operations officer.When Kelly was given out by umpire Clancy Mack to a catch at slip off offspinner Gareth Batty, he reacted with disappointment and gave the impression the ball came from the pad.
Ian Bell dominated the opening day of England A’s unofficial two-Test seriesagainst Sri Lanka A with a chanceless 128 not out, a marathon innings thatwas characteristically workmanlike and patient on what was a baking hot day at the Colombo Cricket Club, leading his team to 272 for 4 at stumps.Bell, England A’s captain, added 116 in the first half of the day withAlastair Cook (63) and then 117 during the afternoon with Owais Shah (52),blunting a Sri Lankan bowling attack weakened by a spate of injuries duringthe last couple of weeks and frustrated by a hard, flat batting pitch.Nandika Ranjith, a 30-year-old left-armer, was the most successful bowler on a generally unsuccessful day for bowlers. He found the outside edge of Michael Powell (7) with the new ball and then returned after lunch to trap Cook lbw. But Mohamed Suraj, a young offspinner, was the most threatening bowler.Sri Lanka’s spinners, Suraj and Malinga Bandara, a legspinner that has pulledhimself back into international contention, pulled back some of England’sinitiative just before the close with two quick wickets. Shah was trappedlbw playing across a straighter ball and Rikki Clarke (4) was snapped up atforward short leg.The England A squad arrived in Colombo on the weekend after cruising to a4-0 series win against the UAE in Sharjah. They had expected a sternerexamination in Sri Lanka, but thus far they’ve continued their successfulrun.