Durham have loaned medium-pacer Mark Davies to Nottinghamshire for one month. Davies will make his Notts debut in the Pro40 match against Essex on Wednesday.Davies played six County Championship matches this season and has taken 16 wickets. “I’m looking forward to getting involved in Nottinghamshire’s campaigns, both in one-day and Championship cricket,” Davies told Sportinglife.co.uk. “It will be good to get some more competitive one-day games under my belt, especially if Durham need me later on in the season.”Notts were hit by injuries to several of their bowlers and had already loaned Nadeem Malik, from Worcestershire, and Kyle Hogg from Lancashire this season.Durham chief executive David Harker said: “We appreciate that Mark is keen to play competitive first-team cricket in both forms of the game and due to the current strength of our bowling attack Mark’s appearances have been limited to Championship matches. We are able to recall Mark at any time should we need him, so this gives him a great opportunity to play at first-team level.”
In another rejoinder to Sourav Ganguly’s scathing email, Jagmohan Dalmiya has claimed it was a witch-hunt devised by his detractors in the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA). Dalmiya has accused Inderjit Singh Bindra, the PCA president and a friend-turned-rival, of attempting to alienate and neutralise him.Speaking to , Dalmiya highlighted his far-from-amicable relationship with Bindra. “Isn’t it an open secret? This is nothing but a witch-hunt,” he said. “I know who is behind all this. Mohali is the epicentre of all my troubles. He [Bindra] tried to implicate me in a false case, accusing me of financial irregularities. We are witnessing a blatant misuse of power.”Since last year’s BCCI election, where Dalmiya’s candidate for the president’s post was defeated, Dalmiya has found the going tough even in his home city of Kolkata. With the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) set to hold elections soon, Dalmiya has labeled Ganguly’s attack as “pitiable”.”I can’t believe it’s genuine…if it is then it’s very sad,” he said. “When I was in power I tried to help him as much as I could. The Board appointed top lawyers to hear his appeals against match referees. I don’t know much about this e-mail, but if he [Ganguly] indeed feels I have ruined his career, it’s pitiable. In my entire career as cricket administrator, I have never harmed anyone knowingly, nor have I resorted to any witch-hunt something that is going on against me. I will surely bounce back.”Dalmiya even questioned Bindra and Lalit Modi, the BCCI vice-president’s, ascendancy to power. “Let us not get into the ways used by them to grab power,” he said. “Everyone [in the Board] knows what ethical and unethical ways they used to woo voters.”Bindra, in response to the accusations, said: “If Dalmiya feels Mohali is the epicentre of his troubles, he should not forget that he was the epicentre of our troubles. After having gone through so much, I will be the last person to get vindictive. It was Dalmiya who claimed that he can never lose a BCCI election as he knew all about manipulating the voters. I don’t think he should be talking about this.””It is surprising that of all people Dalmiya is talking about ethics. I just want to tell him one thing – he must understand that if he has any sympathiser left in the BCCI, it is Inderjit Singh Bindra,” he added. “At any stage, if he wants my help, I shall readily do so for the sake of an old friendship.”In regards to the legal action taken against Dalmiya earlier this year, Bindra was cutthroat: “Where have the Board accounts disappeared? Why is he not submitting them? It was he who threw me out of the BCCI because I spoke in my personal capacity about match-fixing – among others things – something that was later proved by the Central Bureau of Investigation. He stopped the Board money that was due to PCA. Was that not witch-hunting?”
Australia’s two-run Ashes defeat brought back awful memories for Jeff Thomson, the No. 11 dismissed in another heart-breaking loss to England at the MCG in 1982-83. Michael Kasprowicz expects to see the ball that ended Australia’s spectacular victory push forever, and the moment Thomson edged to Geoff Miller via Chris Tavare with his side four short of victory left him speechless.”It took me years to be able to talk about it I was so upset,” Thomson told . “I took that very badly. If anyone mentioned it to me I’d become ropeable.” Thomson said he couldn’t believe they lost then, and he expected Kasprowicz to be “absolutely shattered” now.While Kasprowicz and Brett Lee were aware of the target dropping rapidly during their 59-run stand, Thomson, who was batting with Allan Border, didn’t bother about the scoreboard. “It was only when I looked up and realised we had got so close that I thought I’d push a single and let AB hit the winning runs,” he said. “Ian Botham bowled a half-tracker which swung away a little bit and I tried to just sort of glide it. I should have played a baseball shot and hit it for four to win the game.”
Abhijit Kale will face a disciplinary committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India for his final hearing on April 29. Kiran More and Pranab Roy, two national selectors, alleged that Kale offered them bribes in order to be selected in the Indian team.The panel that will hear Kale’s case is headed by Jagmohan Dalmiya, the BCCI president, and includes Kamal Morarka and Ranbir Singh Mahendra, two vice-presidents of the board. Kale had earlier replied to the board’s show cause notice with a 17-page letter.The Press Trust of India reports that SK Nair, the secretary of the BCCI, said, “It’s going to be an in-camera meeting and no details can be divulged at this juncture.” The same report adds that Kale has confirmed receiving the notice.
Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe:Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) needs 73 runs to complete 9000 ODI runs Grant Flower (ZIM) needs 45 runs to complete 6000 ODI runs Grant Flower (ZIM) needs 3 wickets to join the 100 ODI-wicket club Marvan Atapattu (SL) needs 96 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs Hashan Tillakaratne (SL) needs 117 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs Grant Flower (ZIM) need 19 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs Heath Streak (ZIM) needs 174 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) needs 10 wickets to join the 25 World Cup wicket-club Heath Streak (ZIM) needs 5 wickets to join the 25 World Cup wicket-club Aravinda De Silva (1028) needs 56 runs to become the second leading WorldCup run-getter, current second place record holder is Javed Miandad (1083)Australia v Kenya:Damien Martyn (AUS) needs 156 runs to complete 3000 ODI runs Ricky Ponting (AUS) needs 165 runs to complete 6000 ODI runs Andy Symonds (AUS) needs 36 runs to complete 1000 ODI runs Hitesh Modi (KEN) needs 147 runs to complete 1000 ODI runs Ricky Ponting (AUS) needs 162 runs to complete 1000 World Cup runs Adam Gilchrist (AUS) needs 14 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs Darren Lehmann (AUS) needs 178 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs Steve Tikolo (KEN) needs 38 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs Maurice Odumbe (KEN) needs 67 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs Kennedy Otieno (KEN) needs 89 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs Ravindu Shah (KEN) needs 128 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs Thomas Odoyo (KEN) needs 192 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs Glenn McGrath (AUS) needs 9 wickets to join the 50 World Cup wicket-club Maurice Odumbe (KEN) needs 7 wickets to join the 25 World Cup wicket-club Thomas Odoyo (KEN) needs 10 wickets to join the 25 World Cup wicket-club
Despite frequent interruptions for rain England manoeuvred themselves into a dominating position on the second day, only to find themselves once again dragged back into the mire by their old tormenter-in-chief Shane Warne.Five wickets for Warne, four of them late in the day, plus another high-quality all-round performance from Adam Gilchrist ensured that the Australians weren’t about to surrender their initiative in the series without a fight.At the close of the second day the home side, in their second innings, were on 144-6, leading overall by 139 runs, with 4 wickets in hand.Marcus Trescothick and Michael Atherton gave their side a solid platform by putting together a stand of 57 at the start of England’s second innings but then Warne struck in unusual fashion. Trescothick, on 31, struck the spinner firmly to leg but unluckily saw it rebound off the shin-pads of the close-in fielder Matthew Hayden. ‘Keeper Gilchrist threw himself forward to scoop up the catch.Mark Butcher made only one before Brett Lee trapped him lbw and the same bowler then had Mark Ramprakash caught behind off a no-ball. Lee, in a fiery burst, had earlier struck the grille on Atherton’s helmet with a delivery clocked at 91.8mph. Atherton also looked fortunate to survive a shout for lbw from Glenn McGrath, whose premature celebration took him beyond the striker.In the evening gloom Atherton and Ramprakash took their stand to 50, from 93 balls, with both batsmen hammering delightful shots through the offside from the bowling of Jason Gillespie. Atherton’s own half-century came with a push through the covers off Warne. On 51, though, it appeared as if he was given out incorrectly for the second time in the match. Replays seemed to indicate that he clipped his pad as he pushed forward to Warne but umpire Venkat gave him out caught behind.Having been very much on the ropes Australia bounced back with another wicket in Warne’s next over, as Alec Stewart chopped his second delivery onto his stumps.Ramprakash, still with something to prove at this level, had moved competently to 26 but then a rush of blood persuaded him to charge at Warne and Gilchrist completed the most routine of stumpings. The leggie had picked up 3-5 in nine balls and he collected yet another five-wicket haul in the final over as Steve Waugh dived to hold a bat-pad catch off Craig White.During the morning session Australia were again indebted to Adam Gilchrist, whose 54 ensured that the visitors picked up a narrow first innings lead. Bowling honours went to Alex Tudor who collected the last three wickets to fall, to finish with figures of 5-44, his first five-wicket haul in Tests.
They have recorded a total loss of £120.9m, with some of that down to the financial impact of the global pandemic.
However, the Merseyside club have remained in a secure position thanks to Farhad Moshiri, who has given them more than £600m since he first bought shares in 2016.
The Latest: McAvennie reacts
Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie has unleashed at the Toffees over their financial losses, and the 62-year-old added that relegation from the Premier League is now a ‘real worry’:
“You can spend all the money in the world but it’s the decisions that are letting them down.
“Hiring Benitez was such a huge mistake, no amount of money can help when you do that.
“A lot gets made of that hire but the transfers have been pretty bad too.
“Everton need to invest in people who make football decisions, people who know what they are doingbecause the current guys are clueless don’t know what they are doing.
“They are such a big club and I don’t want them to get relegated.
“But you look at the club’s position and it’s a real worry.“
The Verdict: Relegation catastrophic
If the Blues were to go down to the Championship, it would be nothing short of a catastrophe.
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They are already recording big financial losses, and without the security of wealth that the top flight brings through the likes of TV deals and sponsorships, they could be in real trouble come this time next term.
Of course, whether the pandemic will have as much of a financial impact is another question, but relegation still seems unthinkable at this moment in time, and so Frank Lampard and his team must push all the way to make sure that they stay up.
In other news, find out what ‘massive’ update will now have EFC ‘buzzing’ here!
Nottinghamshire 180 for 4 (Taylor 77, Franklin 3-26) trail Middlesex 374 (Malan 182*, Harris 73) by 194 runs ScorecardBrendan Taylor led a steady Notts reply•Getty Images
The odds against Yorkshire retaining the title may be shortening every day but Middlesex ought not to be discounted as contenders just yet, even though Andrew Gale’s team clearly have some momentum. A win for Middlesex here would take them above Durham into second place, albeit having played a game more than the leaders.Yorkshire, moreover, would have a comfortable lead (assuming they go on to beat Warwickshire at Edgbaston). Yet if Middlesex can stay in touch there is the possibility that Yorkshire’s visit to Lord’s in the penultimate round in September could be a title decider. Yorkshire won by four wickets at Headingley in June but it was a close contest in which the champions needed another outstanding performance from Jonny Bairstow to give them the edge.Middlesex strengthened their first-day position by adding 62 runs before Nottinghamshire could claim the final three wickets. The eighth-wicket partnership that turned Sunday in Middlesex’s favour was broken in the eighth over of the morning by a Brett Hutton inswinger. Toby Roland-Jones fell to another swinging ball from Hutton to which he offered no shot but his runs and those of Tim Murtagh were valuable in helping Dawid Malan extended his career-best to 182 not out as Middlesex claimed a fourth batting point for only the second time this season.Nottinghamshire announced the highest membership numbers in the county’s 174-year history, revealing a 15 per cent increase to 8342 for 2015, during the afternoon. Those members need to show some forbearance at the moment, as their team struggles to recover from a poor couple of months in Championship cricket and Twenty20, which has clearly been a key driver in their popularity boom. The win over Worcestershire last week was a step in the right direction in their bid to avoid relegation in the Championship, which would clearly have negative consequences for membership next year. Yet the shortcomings that have undermined them in the last couple of months remain.Alex Hales, whose compelling start to the season brought him 639 runs from his first eight first-class innings, has only 90 from his last seven, the latest ending on 18 when he went to cut a ball from Harris but succeeded only in chopping it down on to his stumps. Michael Lumb, still feeling his way back after missing the first two months of the season following an arm operation, pushed tentatively at a ball from James Franklin and was caught behind.Franklin, the veteran former New Zealand left-armer, was the only Middlesex bowler who managed to make the ball swing to any noteworthy degree. It was the first over of his second spell, from the Pavilion End, that undermined Nottinghamshire’s progress towards a more substantial reply after Brendan Taylor and Steven Mullaney had added 71 for the third wicket. He bowled Taylor with an inswinger that the former Zimbabwean captain played all round and, two balls later, took a return catch in his follow-through as Riki Wessels tried to flick the ball away on the leg side.Taylor made 77, his second half-century in as many matches and his fifth all told in the Championship, three of which he has converted to hundreds. He has 742 runs for the season so far, which is a fair return given that his signing brought Nottinghamshire more criticism for importing another batsman at the expense of home grown talent, although with Jake Libby injured after his impressive introduction last season there were extenuating circumstances. Only Jonny Bairstow and James Hildreth have scored more Division One runs than Taylor.Speaking afterwards, Taylor said he felt he owed his team-mates some runs after putting down two chances in the slips on the first day. “I’ve been fairly consistent in the slips over the years but I’ve dropped a few too many this season,” he said. “It’s been a little different catching Duke balls to Kookaburra ones but they’ve been very catchable chances I’ve put down. There’s no excuses.”Samit Patel cannot cite unfamiliarity with the make of ball as an explanation for his two misses at point on Sunday, which between them cost 162 runs, nine to Harris and 153 to Malan. He had carefully cleared 12 of his personal deficit by the close, with Mullaney, who batted impressively under some pressure, unbeaten on 57, his second half-century of the season, although with 45 more needed to reach Nottinghamshire’s first target, of avoiding the follow-on, the two will need to work with equal diligence on the third morning.
The caribbeancricket.com website has reported that most of the West Indies squad had to spend an extra two days in the UK waiting for flights back to the Caribbean.The team flew back to London after their game in Dublin on Saturday but flights for the onward journey home were not immediately available, so since then those players who have not gone on to join counties have been at a hotel at Gatwick airport.A spokesman for the board said that all the players had left on a flight earlier today. “The travel arrangements for the team were made a long time ago in order to secure business-class seats on the flights. It is a stipulation of the industrial agreement that the team travels business class. The original schedule for the Ireland leg of the British Isles tour was scheduled for Belfast with a completion date of July 16, 2007. The organizers shifted the tournament to Dublin with a completion date of July 16, 2007. Every effort was made by the WICB to have the players fly home on July 16 or July 17. However, British Airways were unable to accommodate the WICB’s request as business-class seats were not available. BA advised the WICB to keep the original bookings.”The website estimates that this administrative glitch could cost the West Indies board somewhere in the region of US$15,000 in accommodation, expenses and meal allowances.
Justin Langer is eager for his first taste of Twenty20 action after joining up with Somerset for a six-week stint. He is standing in for Dan Cullen, the offspinner, who is heading back to Australia for the Top End series in Darwin and Cairns.Langer, 35, has not played any cricket since the end of Australia’s tour of South Africa in early April following a blow to the head from Makhaya Ntini during the final Test at the Wanderers. He pulled out of the Bangladesh tour following medical advice.”I’ve never played any Twenty20 cricket so it’s going to be nice to play with some freedom,” he told BBC Bristol. “I watched the Australia-South Africa game last year and I can understand why people really enjoy it.”Langer spent three seasons with Middlesex from 1998 to 2000 and is credited with playing a significant role in the development of Andrew Strauss. He begins his latest county stay with Somerset’s C&G clash against Ireland, in Belfast, on Sunday and his first Twenty20 match follows two days later against Gloucestershire.Langer is following in the footsteps of Ricky Ponting who spent a period at Somerset two ago. “Ricky is one of my closest friends and that was one of the carrots for coming here because I know how much he enjoyed it,” added Langer. “To follow in his footsteps here is a real thrill for me.”