Centuries from opener Connor Williams and skipper Jacob Martin saw defending Ranji champions Baroda call the shots on day two of their encounter against Hyderabad at the Gujarat State Fertilizer Corporation Ground, Baroda. The home team had reached 327 for three in reply to Hyderabad’s first innings score of 290 when stumps were drawn.Baroda, who began the day at 21 for no loss, lost opener SS Kale and No. 3 Nayan Mongia in the space of ten overs. At 70 for two, Hyderabad were still in the game. But Martin and Williams, the men at the crease, proceeded to take the game away from the grasp of the visitors. The two batsmen put on 245 runs before Williams was out for 157, an innings that included 22 fours and one six. Martin, who was unbeaten on 116, in the company of night watchman Valmik Buch ensured that his team played out the remaining few overs without the losing another wicket.
Left-arm spinner Claude Henderson took five for 40 to bowl Western Province to victory by 127 runs over Eastern Province at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth on Monday. The win earned Province 18 points, with EP claiming seven.Man-of-the-match Henderson played the key role in dismissing EP for 165 in search of their target of 293. However, credit was also due to left-arm wrist spinner Paul Adams, who took two for 55 off 28 overs.Together, and for the most part in tandem, they bowled all but 30 of the overs Province needed to dismiss EP. Bad balls were few and far between as the slow men whittled away at their moderately obdurate opponents.The best of them was EP captain James Bryant, who defied the visitors for more than two hours and for 123 deliveries in scoring his 40.Carl Bradfield and Bryant added 44 for the second wicket, but the only other significant stand, also worth 44 runs, was shared by the fifth-wicket pair of Justin Kemp and Murray Creed.EP reached lunch on 46 for one and tea on 114 for four – seemingly placed well enough to save the match. However, their guard then slipped and it was all over 45 minutes before the scheduled close.Province resumed their second innings on 118 for six, with their fate largely in the hands of seventh-wicket pair Graeme Smith and Alan Dawson.They did not disappoint, scoring 80 and 53 not out respectively in a partnership of 93 that enabled the visitors to declare on 212 for eight an hour before lunch. Opener Smith’s patience saw him stay at the crease for more than four-and-a-half hours in which he faced 217 balls and hit eight fours.
For the third time in the series Pakistan denied those expecting drama and nerves and inexplicable events normally associated with Pakistan cricket. They first refused to let Sri Lanka get away despite a seemingly effortless 100-run second-wicket stand and dragged them down to 256, and then Ahmed Shehzad followed it with a ruthless chase of a target that could have been tricky on a dry turning surface. This was their first bilateral series win in Sri Lanka in nine years, and took them closer to Champions Trophy qualification.In fact even in the second match – the one that they lost – Pakistan were predictable and excellent. They just came up against individual brilliance of the Pakistani kind, and even after that record fastest fifty by Kusal Perera Pakistan fought to make sure it was not a cakewalk for Sri Lanka. There was no such out-of-the-world brilliance from Sri Lanka this time, but Pakistan retained that tenacity even though Lahiru Thirimanne and Tillakaratne Dilshan seemed in control scoring half-centuries after Perera fell for a duck. The fielders cut out the singles, the spinners choked supply of easy runs, the quicks struck to cash in on the pressure, and Sri Lanka went from 170 for 3 to score only 86 in the last 14 overs.As a comparison, in the next 14 overs there was enough evidence Pakistan were going to cruise through the chase. Sri Lanka finally went to using Lasith Malinga as an attacking option, but Azhar Ali and Shehzad took his first three overs for 20. When it seemed like pace on ball was flying, Sri Lanka went to spin only to see Shehzad jump out of the crease and belt Sachith Pathirana back over his head first ball for a six. Nuwan Pradeep injured himself, Suranga Lakmal looked ineffective, and already Malinga was back for a second spell. Malinga provided a breakthrough, but then had Shehzad edge through vacant slip and then through the hands of slip for successive fours. All in the first 14 overs.With his side 92 for 1 in the first 14, Mohammad Hafeez could now afford to take his time settling in. He also blunted out Malinga as he exhausted his nine overs in the first 20, looking desperately for a breakthrough. In Malinga’s ninth, Shehzad suggested it wouldn’t have made a difference had Malinga many more left in his bag. He whipped him for successive fours to reach 71, and Pakistan were now 116 for 1 in 20 overs.Let down by spinners, missing in-form attacking bowlers, Sri Lanka threw other options at Pakistan, but there were no batsmen willing to oblige those looking for what has in the last 10 or so years become inevitable drama with Pakistan matches. Shehzad and Hafeez batted with authority. While Hafeez accelerated from 7 off 24 to the eventual 70 off 88, Shehzad never really slowed down. The only regret for Pakistan will be that a rare moment of fielding brilliance – diving-forward catch by Perera at third man – from Sri Lanka resulted in Shehzad’s falling five short of a hundred.Fielding brilliance was plentiful when Pakistan were in the field. From the time left-arm spinner Imad Wasim, playing only his second match, combined an arm ball with low bounce to remove Dilshan at 109 for 2 in the 23rd over, the fielders and the spinners circled around Sri Lanka. Often six men stayed inside the circle, and the spinners ran through their overs, building pressure dot by dot. Between them the three spinners – Yasir Shah, Wasim and Shoaib Malik – conceded just 108 in 24 overs.The first victim of the pressure was Mathews. Shah had been negotiated well by Dilshan and Thirimanne, but Mathews found it tough to face Wasim and Malik. With no easy singles on offer, Pakistan kept daring Mathews to take the risk. Nineteen runs came in Mathews’ first 5.3 overs at the wicket, and when he looked to break the shackles he hit Rahat Ali – in his first over back – straight to mid-off.Dinesh Chandimal, seemingly thanks to instructions from the dressing room, sought to avoid a similar fate – Mathews scored 12 off 23 – and went on a hitting spree. He tried one ambitious shot too many, getting out to Mohammad Irfan for 20 off 21. Amid all this Thirimanne went on smoothly, driving and late-cutting his way towards a hundred. Now, though, with an inexperienced lower middle order with him Thirimanne had to make a decision: stay the anchorman and bat till the 50th over or hit a few shots to take some pressure off the youngsters.Thirimanne went for the latter. When he first tried the big sweep off Shah, he was dropped by Ahmed Shehzad at deep square leg, a catch he somehow went on to claim. An over later Thirmanne provided both Shah and Shehzad the redemption, trying another big sweep, mis-hitting it, and watching Shehzad fly to his left. An innings that had looked solid for a long time had slowly but surely disintegrated, setting Pakistan a target that would be hunted down with 9.1 overs to spare.
Administrators initially set a soft deadline of December 5 for the takeover to be completed, but that date has now passed and Sheffield Wednesday are yet to receive new owners. After the disaster and controversy of Dejphon Chansiri’s tenure, those at Hillsborough are rightly keen to find the perfect candidates for the job.
Releasing a statement earlier this month, co-administrator Kris Wigfield chose to remain positive as the search for Sheffield Wednesday’s next owners continued.
We’re yet to see who that will be, but reports have claimed that it’s unlikely to be a group led by James Bord. The owner of an AI and date company reportedly submitted the highest bid north of £30m, but there are concerns that such an offer would fail to meet the EFL’s requirements.
Bord’s company advise Sheffield United and owns Scottish side Dunfermline Athletic. Whether their involvement in the Blades has forced Wednesday to look elsewhere remains to be seen.
Amass repeat: Sheffield Wednesday now express interest in signing PL gem
The Owls could land a loan deal.
ByTom Cunningham
What that does mean is that the Owls are likely down to just two candidates. According to the Daily Mail’s Mike Keegan, Mike Ashley and John McEvoy are part of a “two-horse race” to buy the club and Sheffield Wednesday are set to hand one candidate “exclusivity” within days.
Sheffield Wednesday takeover down to McEvoy and Ashley
It’s the biggest decision in Sheffield Wednesday’s most recent history and it looks as though administrators will have McEvoy and Ashley to pick from.
If it is Ashley that they choose, then the pressure will be straight on the former Newcastle United owner, who is no stranger to criticism. However, it is worth noting that he cleared the Magpies’ debt when he arrived.
From a financial standpoint, Ashley would provide stability, albeit without high ambitions. In terms of those riches, the 61-year-old is reportedly worth £3.12bn but has so far submitted the lowest bid to buy Sheffield Wednesday.
McEvoy, meanwhile, is reportedly set to meet with the club today as he looks to jump ahead of his takeover rival to take his first steps into the world of football.
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A minority owner of NHL side Nashville Predators and MLB side Colorado Rockies, the American billionaire is no stranger to sports ownership, but most of his success has come in the music world. The Sheffield Wednesday candidate owns Various Artists – a talent agency which manages the likes of Mel C and Tom Grennan.
"Understand" – Miller shares "crucial" Sheffield Wednesday takeover bids update
Morne Morkel, the South Africa fast bowler, has signed for Yorkshire as cover for Rana Naved-ul-Hasan for the early part of the season.Morkel, who played for Kent last season in their Twenty20 campaign, had a reasonable one-day series against West Indies last week, picking up seven wickets in three games with a best of 4 for 36.”I am really pleased to have signed for Yorkshire,” Morkel said. “Although it is a short-term deal I am excited about the opportunity to play for such a historic and important club. The opportunity to play county cricket is one I couldn’t ignore.”I want to use the time I have with Yorkshire to help get the team off to a flying start and develop my own game. It will be great to play under a captain like Darren Gough and I know I can learn a lot from him about quick bowling.”Morkel has signed on a “week by week” contract until the availability of Naved-ul-Hasan – whose Pakistan board have expressed concerns over the amount of county cricket their internationals play – is confirmed.”Morne Morkel is a quality acquisition and a very talented prospect,” Stewart Regan, the Yorkshire chief executive, said. “We are pleased to have secured his services and he will provide excellent cover for Rana Naved during the first part of the season. He is highly regarded by Geoffrey Boycott who tells me that he can bowl very quickly indeed.”I’ve also spoken to Jacques Rudolph who has been impressed by Morne’s performances and is looking forward to playing with him at Headingley.”
How quickly fortunes are reversed. Two months ago, Yorkshire were a club in decline: no captain, no coach, and disharmony aplenty. Now, with Darren Gough returning to steer the ship, the old flock are heading back to Headingley and, today, Darren Lehmann has announced he is interested in coaching the club next season.”I would love to go and coach Yorkshire in 2008,” Lehmann, 37, told the . “I enjoyed many happy times as a player at Headingley, with the highlight being when we won the championship in 2001, and I am very keen to help develop the club’s next generation of players. It would be fantastic to work with Martyn Moxon.”In 88 matches for Yorkshire Lehmann scored 8871 runs at 68.76, including 26 hundreds. He left the club last year after six seasons.”I played 27 Tests and 117 one-day internationals for Australia and I’ve played first-class cricket since 1987, so I would bring more than twenty years of experience and knowledge of the game to Yorkshire,” he said. “I have always made it clear that I want to return to Yorkshire after finishing with South Australia.”I can’t think of anywhere else I would rather start my coaching career.”
Satellite broadcaster BSkyB has secured the rights to televise England’s tour of India.Nimbus Communication announced the four-year deal early on Friday, and it was confirmed by a spokesman for Sky TV. As well as the current series, it covers India’s home series against Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa through to 2009.Neither party would disclose the value of the contract. It is widely thought that many of the other channels mentioned by Nimbus in recent days were not necessarily serious bidders, but were brought into play in an attempt to increase the value of the rights.Sky’s production team, which has been on standby all week, will fly out to India this weekend and will be followed by the commentary team which includes Mike Atherton, Ian Botham, David Gower and Nasser Hussain.Sky now has the rights to all home international series in England, Australia, India, South Africa and West Indies.
Simon Katich, the favourite for the No. 6 Test spot, is confident he has developed the maturity to succeed at the highest level. Facing a friendly fight with Brad Hodge for the vacancy left by Darren Lehmann’s shoulder surgery, Katich was yesterday picked in the 13-man Test squad and felt ready to perform.The past 18 months have been difficult for Katich. He has looked on the verge of sealing a place only to be dropped and asked to force his way back. Andrew Symonds was preferred during the first two Tests in Sri Lanka in 2004 and Katich performed credibly batting at No. 3 in India when Ricky Ponting was injured, but was dumped for the series against New Zealand. After playing 13 Tests and 14 ODIs, including two as opener in the current series, Katich said he has adapted to the international game’s demands.”When I think back to 1999 I don’t think I was ready,” Katich told The Australian of his first Sri Lanka tour, where he suffered from chicken pox. “I don’t think I’ve really matured in terms of developing my game until the last couple of years.”Katich said even though he was 29 he was young in international terms, and was able to cope with the disappointment of missing out. “In the last 18 months I feel I’ve been really happy with the way I’ve progressed,” he told the Courier Mail. “I didn’t think that it would never happen again, but you also think ‘what happens if everyone plays really well for a year or two?'”The first Test starts at Christchurch on Thursday.
Close ScorecardNew Zealand made a poor start to their one-off Test against India, ending the first day on 143 for 7. Asked to bat on a pitch that offered little suggestion of how it would play, they lost two key wickets to disappointing decisions, but were propped up by Katey Martin (46) and Haidee Tiffin (38 not out).Kate Pulford was given out caught behind in the first over of the match, even though her bat was well away from the ball (2 for 1). Then Maria Fahey, the other opener, was given out caught bat-pad when the ball went off her toe (21 for 2). The road to recovery was a slow grind and the scoring rate barely reached two runs per over throughout the 94 overs bowled.Martin, who was one of six New Zealand women making their Test debuts, settled in for the long haul. Maia Lewis, New Zealand’s captain, started aggressively but was caught off the bottom edge for only 9 (31 for 3).Martin was joined by Tiffen, and they grafted their way to 81 before Martin, in sight of a half-century on debut, played back to Neetu David, the left-arm spinner, and was caught behind. Her 46 came off 139 balls in 176 minutes of batting.The message was to build partnerships, but at every stage that one seemed to be developing, a wicket was lost. Tiffen produced a monumental display of control, given her natural attacking tendency, and by stumps she had batted for 264 minutes.The pick of the Indian bowlers was Nooshin Al Khadeer who took 3 for 36 from 27 overs. David took 2 for 37 from 29 overs.
Teams in the northern part of the country will be hoping forbetter luck with the weather when the fourth round matchesin the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Grade-I cricket competition startSunday.The third round clash between Rawalpindi and Peshawar wasabandoned without a ball being bowled at the Pindi CricketStadium after pre-match rains left the square in pools ofwater.The other match in Rawalpindi, saw play starting late onthird afternoon at KRL Ground between Islamabad and Rest ofNWFP.Karachi Blues chalked up their first win of the season whenthey crushed Rest of Sindh by innings. Sargodha were theother side to win in the third round, inflicting inningsdefeat on Hyderabad.Both Karachi Whites and Lahore Blues, who head theirrespective pools, had to contend with draws againstBalochistan and Rest of Punjab respectively in the thirdround.Karachi Whites, led by ex-national skipper Moin Khan, facetheir first major challenge in the shape of Gujranwala hereat the National Stadium.Lahore Blues, the defending champions, take on Islamabad atKRL Stadium in Rawalpindi.Karachi Blues, meanwhile, meet Faisalabad at Iqbal Stadium.Both Faisalabad and Sheikhupura, who play Rest of Punjab atGaddafi Stadium, will be fresh after being not involved inmatches last week.Fourth round schedule (Jan 20-23):*Karachi Whites v Gujranwala at National Stadium, Karachi(Umpires: M. Akbar Khan and Nadeem Ghauri. Match referee:Raees Ahmed).*Faisalabad v Karachi Blues at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad(Umpires: M. Nazir Junior and Iftikhar Malik. Match referee:Ishtiaq Ahmed).*Hyderabad v Rest of Balochistan at Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad(Umpires: Athar Zaidi and Sadiq Mohammad. Match referee:Munawwar Agha).*Bahawalpur v Rest of Sindh at Bahawalpur Stadium. (Umpires:Shakeel Khan and Riazuddin. Match referee: Fahimuddin Alvi).*Lahore Whites v Peshawar at LCCA Ground, Lahore (Umpires:Salim Badar and Feroz Butt. Match referee: Ali Zia).*Rawalpindi v Rest of NWFP at Pindi Cricket Stadium(Umpires: Siddique Khan and Asad Rauf. Match referee: JavedAkhtar).*Islamabad v Lahore Blues at KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi(Umpires: Islam Khan and Afzaal Ahmed. Match referee:Khateeb Rizwan).*Sheikhupura v Rest of Punjab at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore(Umpires: Aleem Dar and Sajjad Asghar. Match referee:Ehteshamuddin).