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Ashley Nurse, one of the three West Indian debutants against Sri Lanka, was relieved to earn a debut and said he didn’t have anything to lose

Liam Brickhill in Harare16-Nov-2016The road to recognition has been a long one for Ashley Nurse. The offspinning Barbadian made his List A debut nine years ago, played his maiden Twenty20 international more than five years ago, but has since played only three more T20Is – without taking a wicket. He had been included in three one-day international squads before finally making his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in Harare. Now that the chance has come again, he has taken it, literally and figuratively, with both hands, picking up three wickets – the first of which was caught and bowled – to decisively turn this match in West Indies’ favour.”This is my third tour, but until now I’ve not got a game,” Nurse said. “I’ve been on the sidelines watching the guys win sometimes, watching the guys lose sometimes, and it can be a bit frustrating. I thank God for the opportunity and I’m glad I’ve taken the opportunity now.”The delivery and the dismissal that brought Nurse his maiden ODI wicket may have been soft, Upul Tharanga misreading the pace of a long-hop and swiping far too early into a pull, but Nurse’s celebration was anything but. “I guess you could say it all came down to me,” Nurse said. “All I was telling myself is ‘you have to hold on to this one’. It was nice to induce the chance and then take it myself. I did everything to get that wicket!”He had taken a much sharper chance off Jason Holder’s bowling earlier in the innings, holding a flashing edge off Kusal Mendis’ bat with two hands reverse cupped in front of his face at second slip. That was Holder’s second wicket, and with it Sri Lanka were reduced to a decidedly rickety 16 for 3 in a chase that, 15 minutes earlier, had seemed almost a formality after West Indies were bowled out for 227 in the 50th over.”It was not an ideal score, but once we got a few wickets with the new ball, we knew we could get the job done,” Nurse said. “We thought we were 20 runs short, but having said that, as a bowling unit you’ve got to go out and just try to defend anything that the batsmen give us to work with.”Nurse was one of three debutants in West Indies’ side for their first match of the tri-series, and the other two did not do too badly either. Shai Hope kept his side ticking along through the middle overs with a sedate 47, while Rovman Powell pressed the accelerator later on with a 29-ball 44 that included three crisp sixes.”For me, being a debutant you have nothing to lose. You just have to go out and give it your all. And I think all the guys had that attitude today. We’re a young team. We have nothing to lose, so we just go out and play fearless cricket. And congrats to the other guys; Shai batted really well, Rovman batted superbly as well. It was a really commendable performance from the guys.”The performance was certainly appreciated by a modest but boisterous Harare crowd that made no secret of their support for West Indies. The Bob Marley songs that played repeatedly over the P.A. system during the breaks must also have helped the visitors feel a little more at home. And at the end of the game, Nurse, Hope, Powell and Carlos Brathwaite jogged across the sun-drenched ground from the West Indies dressing room to Castle Corner, where fans were still gathered, to personally thank them for the support.”For sure, it was not a big crowd but we could hear them,” Nurse said. “After the game, the guys went over and basically just said ‘thank you’ to the spectators for the support. Can you guys [in the media] extend the thanks from all of us? I hope we get the same sort of support in Bulawayo.”West Indies will be buoyed by this win, having lost the ODIs against Pakistan 3-0 last month before their remarkable Test comeback. Wins like these will help this new-look side creep up the ICC rankings from their current ninth position.”Against Pakistan, we had a bit of a rough time in the one-day series, so it’s nice to bounce back here with a win,” Nurse said. “To get wins for West Indies is the main thing, whether we’re eighth or ninth in the rankings, if we win we can only go up from there. We don’t play cricket based on who’s in front of us or who’s ahead in the rankings. We just go out and play cricket, day after day, taking it one step at a time gaining those points that will push us up the rankings.”

Substantial crowd trouble marred both Dambulla ODIs, as several thousand ticket-holders were either unable to take their seats, or – in some cases – even enter the ground

Andrew Fidel Fernando03-Sep-2016

The perception that a move towards online ticket sales marginalised a large portion of cricket fans is what is understood to have angered some of those who swarmed the gates of the stadium in Dambulla•Associated Press

Substantial crowd trouble marred both Dambulla ODIs, as several thousand ticket-holders were either unable to take their seats, or – in some cases – even enter the ground. SLC has issued an apology, and condemned the actions of spectators who forced their way into the venue.This is the first series in which SLC has sold its tickets through BookMyShow – a ticket distributor of Indian origin. Tickets were sold at outlets in many of the main towns in the region, as well as online. However, the perception that a move towards online ticket sales marginalised a large portion of cricket fans is what is understood to have angered some of those who swarmed the gates of the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium last week. Wednesday’s ODI had even seen a large protest at the entrance, which led to severe congestion on the Colombo-Dambulla main road.”SLC has clearly advertised the selling points of tickets, and has sold their tickets prior to the match at 18 outlets island-wide, including in Dambulla, Matale and Anuradhapura,” an SLC release said. “Ninety per cent of the tickets were reported sold through the above network and only 10% via internet.”Public who did not purchase their respective tickets prior to the match behaved in an unruly manner, causing a situation outside the main gate. As a result, even the people who purchased the tickets could not come into the ground, due to the heavy traffic congestion caused by the unruly crowd who were blocking the main road in protest. Sri Lanka Police made several requests to the protestors to move out of the road to enable the genuine ticket holders to enter the ground. More than 2000 spectators who had purchased tickets complained that they could not get into the grounds within the first two hours of the play.”The standoff between the police and the “unruly crowd” had only been resolved after the gates were opened even to those who had not bought tickets, in order to clear the road.In the previous match, on Sunday, thousands were seen entering the ground illegally, which led to the 18,000-capacity stadium having to accommodate up to 45,000 people. The protesting crowd had pelted the police with stones on Wednesday, but there have been no reports of major injury as a result of either incident.”SLC would like to state that this kind of behaviour is unacceptable and would like to denounce the violent behaviour of the protestors who pelted stones at the police and damaged property of the stadium. As a result, Sri Lanka Police had no choice but to use minimal force to curb the situation.”The new ticketing protocols have been in place right through the tour, but Dambulla is the only venue at which substantial crowd-control issues have emerged. Dambulla also has the lowest capacity of the three limited-overs venues.

The future structure of England’s T20 competition might be in doubt, but there is no doubting the success of NatWest Blast Finals Day.Tickets for the three-match climax at Edgbaston on Saturday 20 August have now sold out, with the exception of the allocation of 3,200 tickets reserved for the competing semi-finalists.This is the first time in the history of NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day that the event has sold out before all semi-finalists have been confirmed.The four teams that will qualify for two semi-finals and a final in a full day of T20 action receive an allocation of only 800 tickets for Finals Day.Should any of these tickets remain unsold, Edgbaston will release a final allocation at 1000 on Tuesday August 16.Notts Outlaws and Northamptonshire Steelbacks have already won through following the first two quarter finals. Gloucestershire meet Durham on Wednesday and Glamorgan face Yorkshire on Thursday.Gareth Roberts, Commercial Director of Warwickshire County Cricket Club, said: “NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day is the biggest day in the domestic cricket calendar and is growing in demand each year, with tickets for this year’s event selling out in record time.”This will be the eighth NatWest T20 Blast Finals that Edgbaston has hosted and is part of our long-term staging agreement, which sees the event played here in Birmingham until at least 2018.”Controversy surrounded the start of the tournament in May when Colin Graves, the ECB chairman, who favours a big-city competirion that would by-pass the 18-team county system, called the present competition “mediocre”.Despite that, attendances have shown a slight improvement this season, following a large leap in 2015, even though there has been additional competition from the European football championships and, latterly, the Olympic Games.

Journalist Charles Watts has claimed that Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka should be fit to play this week despite doubts over his fitness.

What's the latest Arsenal injury news?

On Wednesday night, the Gunners have arguably one of the biggest games in their recent history as they travel to Manchester City.

Right now, Mikel Arteta's men sit at the top of the Premier League, but defeat at the Etihad would see that lead drop to just two points with City having played two fewer games.

With that being the case, Arsenal really need to get a result away from home and will be hoping to have Xhaka involved from the start.

However, the Switzerland international missed the club's 3-3 draw with Southampton, and according to manager Arteta, remains a doubt.

Speaking ahead of the game, the Spaniard explained (via Evening Standard): “Xhaka is hopefully able to train today, still a doubt.”

Despite this, while talking on his YouTube channel, Watts didn't seem overly concerned by the vagueness of Arteta's response.

Indeed, the journalist insisted: "I think Xhaka will play. I'll be surprised if he doesn't.

"Look, he's been ill… If he trains today, then he plays, in my opinion. I know Mikel's saying he is a doubt, but I'd be very, very surprised if Granit Xhaka doesn't play.

"If he's able to train today, if he's fit enough and healthy enough, and he's recovered from this illness in time to be able to train today, then he plays at the Etihad."

Will Granit Xhaka play against Man City?

Of course, Arteta sadly confirmed that key centre-back William Saliba will miss the game, saying (via Evening Standard): “There has not been real improvement unfortunately on him.

“So we are still waiting, we are still hopeful, but obviously it is another week that has gone by and he hasn’t been able to train with the team.

“At the moment, we don’t have him. We are preparing for this game without him and the next game is probably going to come too close as well, so we have to go week by week at the moment.”

With that being the case, it feels vital that Arsenal must get at least get £120k-per-week midfielder Xhaka back on the pitch against City.

After all, he's played in 31 of 32 league games this term – with an average WhoScored rating of 6.97 – showing how important he is to the team.

With that being the case, Xhaka has at least had a great fitness record up until now so he will hopefully be able to overcome this illness and take part on Wednesday night.

India and West Indies have typified there are various ways to dominate T20 cricket. With a shot at a World Championship on the line, who will succeed?

The Preview by Alagappan Muthu30-Mar-2016

Match facts

Thursday, March 31, 2016
Start time 1900 local (1330 GMT)2:43

Match Day: Who should replace Yuvraj in India’s XI?

Big picture

Chris Gayle. Virat Kohli. Dwayne Bravo. MS Dhoni. The Wankhede stadium will be screening an ensemble-driven action movie as much it hosts a cricket match on Thursday night. Those individuals and their styles of play contribute to a lot of the interest surrounding this game, and also typify there are various ways to establish T20 batting dominance.India’s has been to simply extend their Test and one-day game into the Twenty20s arena, and when all goes well, they get the bulk of their runs through orthodox cricket. West Indies, ideally, wouldn’t want their long-format form anywhere near them right now. Helpfully, this format has a tight cap on the number of overs so the big-hitters can keep hitting big without worrying about consequences.Case in point are the methods that their marquee players use. Gayle likes to “beat” the ball. No wonder it rockets as far away from him as it can, hoping to be lost somewhere in the rings of Saturn. Kohli is kinder in assisting with the ball’s travels, and even throws in a few surprises – patrons waiting in the off stump line could end up at midwicket almost as often as they do in the covers.Both teams clearly have lots of cream at the top, but the middle looks a bit squishy. It’s been over two years since Denesh Ramdin or Suresh Raina have hit a T20 fifty. Dwayne Bravo, at No. 5, has looked unsure whether he needs to be the aggressor or the anchor. Yuvraj Singh has been similarly jittery, but an ankle injury ruled him out of the World T20. That leads West Indies to the prospect of bowling at a player – one of Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey or Pawan Negi – who hasn’t faced a ball in this tournament. But Mumbai is just about the perfect venue for the out-of-form and brand new batsmen to get into the swing of things – the lowest total in the tournament here has been Afghanistan’s 172 against South Africa.Quite apart from tactics and strategy, there are players from both sides who may be playing their last World Cup, so the incentive to make it to Eden Gardens – for the final – for one more match will be very strong.

Form guide

India WWWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies LWWWW

In the spotlight

The last time India were in Mumbai, they missed the hell out of R Ashwin. It was an ODI, three of the opposition batsmen scored centuries and they were left chasing a 400-plus total. He did not have his best game against Australia, but his presence in the XI still goes a long way to adding confidence to the team.Samuel Badree seems to take the mickey out of the Powerplay overs every time he bowls. He doesn’t rely on turn, doesn’t often believe in flight, but faithfully follows a wicket-to-wicket line. The batsmen are tied down, and when they try to escape, they tend to fall. Hard.

Team news

India haven’t made any changes to their XI since the start of the tournament. But now, with Yuvraj ruled out, they will be forced to do so ahead of the semi-final of the tournament.India 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Manish Pandey/Ajinkya Rahane/Pawan Negi, 6 MS Dhoni (capt and wk), 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Ashish NehraWest Indies will be without Andre Fletcher, who was ruled out with a hamstring injury. His replacement Lendl Simmons has a chance at getting a game straight away.West Indies 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Johnson Charles, 3 Lendl Simmons, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Darren Sammy (capt), 9 Carlos Brathwaite, 10 Suliemann Benn, 11 Samuel Badree

Pitch and conditions

Mumbai has been an oasis this World T20. Tough pitches have left batsmen parched for runs, but at the Wankhede they can come and go wheee. In terms of the weather, a clear night is expected.

Stats and trivia

• Virat Kohli, the No. 1-ranked T20I batsman, averages 91.80 batting second but 35.22 batting first.
• Chris Gayle is two sixes short of being the first player ever to hit 100 sixes in T20I cricket

Quotes

“We’ve played to 70% of our abilities in this tournament. So there’s still 30% in areas we need to improve, so lets hope it happens tomorrow”
“No not really, have you ever heard of Chris Gayle?”

Jose Mourinho blamed his grey hairs on a former Chelsea and Real Madrid star who went on to play for a club which no longer exists.

During the special one’s first spell at Stamford Bridge, during which he won the Premier League twice, Mourinho signed a young nimble midfielder from French club Le Havre, who have produced talents such as Paul Pogba and Dimitri Payet down the years.

That man was Lassana Diarra, who would later go on to play for the likes of Arsenal, Real Madrid and PSG, also earning 34 caps for the Franch national team.

Diarra’s list of admirers includes Mourinho, who called him “amazing” during their time at Chelsea, and France manager Didier Deschamps, who brought him back into the national team set-up in 2015.

“He has intelligence, he has everything and in such an important strategical position,” Deschamps told TF1.

“It’s so good to have the choices I have. Lass is a top player, a top-class performer who has experience.”

Despite his talent, Diarra only made 13 Premier League appearances for Chelsea, many of which were out of position at right-back, before he was sold to Arsenal as he sought more playing time.

And Mourinho has since revealed in a chat on John Obi Mikel’s podcast that both Diarra and his agent were a nightmare to deal with.

And leave he did, with one year left on his contract, Diarra left for Arsenal, where again he would make just seven top flight appearances before swapping North London for Portsmouth.

After a successful 12 months at Portsmouth, the midfielder earned his big money move – €20 million – to Real Madrid, where he would win La Liga, Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup between 2009 and 2012.

Le Havre

2004-05

Chelsea

2005-07

Arsenal

2007-08

Portsmouth

2008-09

Real Madrid

2009-12

Anzhi Makhachkala

2012-13

Lokomotiv Moscow

2013-14

Marseille

2015-17

Al Jazira

2017

PSG

2018-19

He later joined a string of high profile players, including the likes of Samuel Eto’o and Roberto Carlos, in signing for Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala. Their quest to dominate Russian football was short-lived however, as the club struggled to maintain the high wages on offer and sold the likes of Diarra shortly after, eventually losing their license to operate as a professional club in Russia in 2022.

A slim and slightly tense chase helped Pakistan seal a three-wicket win and a quarter-final berth, led by a combined five wickets between their quick bowlers Shaheen Afridi and Suleman Shafqat

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jan-2018IDI/Getty ImagesA slim and slightly tense chase against Sri Lanka helped Pakistan seal a three-wicket win and a quarter-final berth, led by a combined five wickets between their quick bowlers Shaheen Afridi (2 for 41) and Suleman Shafqat (3 for 29). The duo helped bowl Sri Lanka out for 188 before the chase was steered by a half-century from left-hand middle-order batsman Ali Zaryab and later sealed by consecutive sixes from No. 9 Muhammad Musa.Put in to bat, Sri Lanka struggled to build substantial partnerships once opening bowler Arshad Iqbal struck in the third over. Only the No. 4 batsman, Jehan Daniel, held the innings together with a 53, stitching together a sixth-wicket stand of 76 with Ashen Bandara (37) that took them towards 150. Pakistan captain Hasan Khan broke the partnership and Shafqat wiped out the tail to dismiss Sri Lanka in 48.2 overs.Pakistan lost two early wickets to Thisaru Rashmika but opener Muhammad Zaid scored a quick 26-ball 28 while No. 4 Zaryab’s patient 59 rallied the chase. However, he lost two partners quickly when Mohammad Taha and Saad Khan were dismissed within the space of three balls and Pakistan were 119 for 5. Zaryab steered them past 150 but fell soon and Pakistan lost Afridi too, at the score of 165. The target of 189, however, was not too far away and Hasan and Musa confirmed their two points.

Major news has rocked Wolverhampton Wanderers fans with manager Julen Lopetegui departing the club.

Things may go from bad to worse as Dean Jones, when speaking with GIVEMESPORT has spoken on the mindset of the players at the club, saying that they do “not appear ready for a new season.”

What does Lopetegui’s departure mean for the Wolves players?

Julen Lopetegui has departed Molineux and the club have very quickly found his replacement. Former AFC Bournemouth boss Gary O’Neil is the man in question and one would think that this swift movement would be a sign of stability.

This may well be far from the truth though in what has already been a complex summer.

Atletico Madrid loanee Matheus Cunha saw his deal made permanent for a sizable fee, somewhere in the region of £43 million. This has been massively offset by the high-profile sale of Ruben Neves, the midfielder who was perennially linked with a major European move and yet he has ended up, alongside many other players, opting to ply his trade in Saudi Arabia.

Defender Nathan Collins also moved on from Wolves with Brentford as his destination, the Bees breaking their transfer record at roughly £23 million for the Irishman.

Players have come and players have gone and if what Jones’ says below is to be believed, then a number of others in black and gold will be considering where their futures lie too.

What has Dean Jones got to say on the developments at Wolves?

“After the good work of last season, this should have been an exciting moment, but the financial restrictions are just taking their toll.

“While the focus was on the manager, it also extends to the playing squad, where I have been told a couple of players are wondering what the knock-on effect will be. I think they would have preferred this was not such a public fallout as they don’t want to hear about concerns over Financial Fair Play.

“Players have to remain focused on playing matters in a time like this, but if there’s a real chance your manager is about to give up on the project because it does not meet the standards he thought he would be able to work at, then it’s worrying. The team does not appear ready for a new season, and the next few days will be interesting.”

Potential transfer business for Wolves?

Wolves will kick off their new season with a trip to Old Trafford in just a matter of days and yet, there could still be comings and goings before this face-off against Manchester United.

One player worth noting is actually no longer employed by the West Midlands side, in the form of Adama Traore. The winger-come-fullback’s deal at Molineux expired at the beginning of July and a number of European clubs are pursuing him. A trio of those play their football in the Serie A: Napoli, Roma and AC Milan as per Sport.es.

Birmingham Live are reporting that Wolves are keeping tabs on West Ham United forward Michail Antonio. This is particularly fascinating when the saga of another Hammer is considered- Aaron Cresswell has been on the brink of a move to Wolverhampton a number of times and it could still be on the cards.

Manchester City defender Nathan Ake is close to signing a new long-term deal at the club, according to an update from journalist Fabrizio Romano.

When is Nathan Ake out of contract?

Pep Guardiola's side enjoyed a truly legendary season last time around, winning the treble after securing Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup glory. It was a monstrous effort from everyone involved, with the manager showing why he is one of the best of all time, and so many players doing their bit for the cause.

While the likes of Erling Haaland, Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan may have often made the headlines, Ake was an outstanding performer in his own right, playing with such consistency and authority throughout the campaign. He started 22 Premier League games, averaging 1.8 clearances per game and enjoying a 91.1% pass completion rate, also featuring five times for the Netherlands at the 2022 World Cup.

The 28-year-old only has two years remaining on his current City contract, and given his importance to the squad last season, the club will surely be wanting to extend his stay as soon as possible. That certainly looks set to be the case, following a promising new update.

Is Nathan Ake set to sign a new Man City deal?

Taking to Twitter, Romano provided a positive update regarding Ake's future at the Etihad, saying a contract extension is now close to coming to fruition:

"Manchester City are close to reaching an agreement with Nathan Ake over new long term deal. Talks are advanced – understand it’s just matter of time to get it done. Salary will be significantly improved, as Telegraaf reported."

This is brilliant news for anyone of a City persuasion, with Ake really growing into his role at the club after what was arguably a fairly slow start there, having arrived from Bournemouth back in 2020. The Dutchman has displayed his versatility superbly, allowing him to shine at both centre-back and left-back, and he has played with so much intelligence and defensive nous in recent times.

Guardiola has described Ake as a "proper defender", while former City striker Paul Dickov has lauded him as "fantastic", following a particularly impressive performance up against Arsenal's dangerous attacker Bukayo Saka last season. Having players of his ilk around is so important to the club's success moving forward, given his consistency and knowledge of the system, so the idea of him signing an extension is good to hear.

At 28, there is no reason why the Netherlands international can't continue to be an important figure at the Etihad for the next four or five years, becoming an even more experienced head, and he is a great example and showing patience with a player and seeing them eventually develop into a real force.

Ake will have to continue to improve, such is the level of competition at City in defence, but he has shown that he is ready to fight for his place, and his spot in the starting lineup became undeniable at times last season, including in the Champions League final win over Inter Milan in June.

The draft resolution was sent to the state associations, including the Associate BCCI member units, on Sunday, and requires them to affirm that they will implement the Lodha Committee recommendations

Nagraj Gollapudi18-Sep-2017Anticipating appeals for funds for the ongoing domestic and international season in India, the Committee of Administrators (CoA) has asked the various state associations to fulfil a draft resolution, wherein they must affirm that they will comply with the Supreme Court order to implement the Lodha Committee’s recommendations.

The draft resolution

Resolved the Name of the Association is agreeable to undertake, implement and support the reforms as proposed by the Hon’ble Justice Lodha Committee and accepted by the Hon’ble Supreme Court vide judgment dated 18 July 2016 in letter and spirit.
Resolved further that in the event the Hon’ble Supreme Court passes any further orders in relation to the recommendations of the Hon’ble Justice Lodha Committee and/or the judgment dated 18 July 2016, such orders shall also be accepted and implemented within one month thereof.

The CoA sent the draft resolution to the state associations, including the Associate BCCI member units, on Sunday. With India’s home season having got underway earlier in September, many states have already approached the BCCI, as well as the court, asking for funds to pay for cricket operations for hosting matches. In addition to the various domestic tournaments, India’s international commitments at home comprise a total of 11 ODIs, nine T20s and three Tests as they host Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka before departing for South Africa at the end of December.On Monday, the court rejected the appeals of the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) and the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA), both of whom had approached the BCCI funds for separate reasons. While the SCA wanted about INR 83 lakhs for cricket expenses, MCA wanted funds to the tune of INR 4 crores, to pay off the installment against a longstanding bank loan.Barring the Vidarbha Cricket Association, which approved the Lodha recommendations without any protest, no other BCCI member has complied with the court order so far. The CoA said despite the resistance, the BCCI had put forth, and will continue to make payments for the “conduct” of the cricket matches. The CoA also said it was “regrettable” that state associations continued to defy the court orders despite such a move having the “potential” to “prejudicially affect cricketing activity.”While the BCCI would continue to take care of the payments concerning cricket operations to third-party vendors, the CoA has said that going forward the state associations need to adopt the draft resolution. “In the hope that the defaulting State Associations would come around and comply with the orders passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, a draft of the resolution that should be passed by the General Body (or an equivalent forum) of the State Association is enclosed,” the CoA said in its e-mail. “By adopting this resolution, the State Associations will enable BCCI to release additional funds to them in a manner compliant with the orders passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court.”