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The triangular tournament involving India, Sri Lanka and West Indies, starting on July 30, will not be played under the new rules for one-day internationals. The Sri Lankan cricket board have informed the BCCI of its decision not to introduce the changes, which officially take effect on July 31.Gautam Dasgupta, joint secretary of the BCCI, said: “We have received a letter from the Sri Lankan cricket board in this regard. It is the prerogative of the hosts to decide on this matter.” He added that the BCCI had no problem with the decision of the Sri Lankanboard to stick to the old rules.The new rules, which will come into effect from July 30, allow every team to make one substitution during the game and has 20 overs of fielding restrictions instead of 15, of which two blocks of five are used at the fielding captain’s discretion.England and Australia will become the first teams to trail the new rules during the NatWest Challenge, which starts on July 7, after both sides agreed to adopt the changes.

Jagmohan Dalmiya: has been in regular touch with the Pakistan board © Getty Images

A report in India Today magazine claims that India’s players are seeking assurances from the Indian board (BCCI) about their personal safety before agreeing to travel to Pakistan for March’s ground-breaking series.The article adds that several players believe that the BCCI has spent more time focusing on the financial windfall likely to accrue from the games than it has on the welfare of the team.”Is anyone in the BCCI going to do a recce before the tour and see what the arrangements are for the team?” the magazine quotes an unnamed player as saying. “We get a feeling they are happy to just have the tour and send us off. There seems to be more talk of television revenues rather than security which is disturbing.”Recent reports have indicated that the tour could generate huge sums of money, with the cash-strapped Pakistan Cricket Board alone set to earn around $30 million in broadcast and sponsorship rights.Jagmohan Dalmiya, the BCCI president, dismissed the concerns, insisting that he had been in regular touch with the Pakistan board to discuss all aspects of the tour, including player security.

HOBART, Dec 21 AAP – Queensland, led by Ashley Noffke, tightened its grip on the Pura Cup cricket match against Tasmania in Hobart today.At stumps on the third day, Tasmania, after being forced to follow on, was 4-99 in its second innings and trailed by 118 runs.Scott Mason was 40 not out and Dan Marsh was on three.Noffke took three wickets in the first innings and the first two in the second to ensure Tasmania was left with an impossible rearguard action.On a Bellerive Oval wicket wicket still playing dreadfully low at times – embarrassed curator Peter Apps said he was perplexed by its behaviour – Tasmania was bowled out for 191, 217 runs behind Queensland’s 8-408 declared, with captain Jamie Cox making 88.Only briefly did Tasmania, which resumed at 2-50, look capable of averting the follow on.After losing two early wickets, Cox and Marsh stayed for almost an hour and a half while adding 70 runs.But eight minutes before lunch Marsh, on 32, got a faint edge to Andrew Symonds, after which the only question was whether Cox could get a deserved century.He was second last out when Noffke ended his defiant, 330-minute vigil.Cox gave two tough chances and needed treatment after being cracked on the hand, but also hit 15 boundaries – many of them cracking cover drives – and showed, as Martin Love did before him, that despite its difficulties, scoring was possible on the wicket.He barely had time for a shower, however, before he was back in the middle and this time lasted only three balls before Noffke produced a rare rearing delivery that flew to gully.With Michael Dighton and Michael Di Venuto falling cheaply either side of tea the Tigers appeared to be subsiding to an embarrassingly lopsided defeat.But Mason and Scott Kremerskothen frustrated the Bulls for 100 minutes and ensured the match went into the fourth day.Kremerskothen finally fell for 34, trying to pull a Lee Carseldine delivery that kept low and trapped him in front.Mason, a fringe state player for years who is cementing his place in the team through sheer grit, has grafted for 148 minutes.But there’s no batting form to follow him and Marsh.

Perth – A disciplined, dogged 119 by Barbadian Sherwin Campbell thatspanned seven hours inspired a determined batting performance by theWest Indies on the third day of their four-day match against WesternAustralia yesterday. Vice-captain Campbell, on his second tour ofAustralia, shared solid partnerships with two experienced lefthanders. He put on 86 with Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who made 43, and 84with captain Jimmy Adams, who was 41 not out.They helped carry the West Indies’ second innings to 266 for six atclose, ahead by 40 with three effective wickets standing. Fast bowlerKerry Jeremy was ruled out of the match when he had his jaw fracturedby a bouncer from Matthew Nicholson in the first innings.An otherwise satisfying day was spoiled for the West Indies by theloss of Campbell and nightwatchman Merv Dillon to medium-pacer TomMoody, the Western Australian captain, in the last 20 minutes.Campbell was LBW defending, and Dillon caught at short-leg fending offa lifting delivery.Adams will be joined by the last of the specialist batsmen, 20-yearold Ramnaresh Sarwan, when play resumes today, a stand that willdetermine how far the West Indies can carry the match.Compiling his second century in as many matches on tour, following hisunbeaten 111 in the traditional opener against the ACB Chairman’s XIon Tuesday, Campbell set the example for the rest of the batting.There was little of the rash strokeplay that led to their firstinnings collapse for 132 on the first day. Only Wavell Hinds, one ofthe three left-handers in the middle order, could be accused of poorjudgement.He stroked 27 off 40 balls in an hour when he top-edged a pull offfast bowler Nicholson that wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist trotted aroundto the leg-side to catch.Hinds came in when nightwatchman Marlon Black touched a catch toGilchrist off left-arm fast bowler Brendon Julian, and dominated thepartnership with the careful Campbell.Campbell added only a single in the first hour and went scoreless for56 balls on 24. But he never lost focus, offering no chance from the286 balls he faced. Most of his 15 boundaries were well struck offside strokes.Chanderpaul, in his first match since the summer’s England tour,looked a little rusty in just over two hours in the middle. He wasgaining in form and confidence when he clipped young fast bowler GavinSwann to square-leg where Simon Katitch held a good, low catch. TheGuyanese left-hander hit six fours from his 105 balls.Adams played with typically defensive resolve in his stand with hisvice-captain. He was unbeaten on 41 after almost two-and-a-half hoursand 124 balls.

Everton’s financial troubles have put them on the lookout for potential bargain signings this summer – and in the near future too with Pedrinho and Guus Til having been linked with free transfers to Goodison Park due to the foreign players in the recently opened Ukraine and Russia transfer window.

One player though that could have joined the Toffees on a free transfer a few years ago was legendary striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who came close to joining Carlo Ancelotti at the club.

According to the Telegraph in December 2019, the 40-year-old – who is still worth £3.6m according to Transfermarkt, was “interested” in a move to Merseyside to play in blue, but the move never materialised.

Instead, the Swede moved from LA Galaxy just a couple weeks later on a free transfer to Italian giants AC Milan for his second stint there, scoring 36 goals in all competitions since.

In comparison, Richarlison has just 25 goals in that time period in all competitions, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin bettering the Brazilians total by just four.

While the Premier League is arguably a more difficult league to score in than the Italian Serie A, Ibrahimovic, who has proclaimed himself a “lion”, was a success in the English top flight, scoring 17 goals in 33 games for Manchester United, as well as netting a total of 29 in all competitions.

If his age was a concern at the time, it is clear that Marcel Brands made a misjudgement on the longevity of the striker’s career. This season, the titan who Mino Raiola said has “the strength of Mike Tyson” has still managed eight league goals for Milan, despite having started just 11 times – with the club leading the Serie A standings.

Once upon a time a Malmo youth academy prospect, the forward is still as active as ever – ranking in the top 7% among strikers in Europe’s top five leagues and continental competitions for shots per 90 (3.84), top 9% for shot creating actions per 90 (3.48), as well as top 5% for touches in the attacking penalty area per 90 (7.56).

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With the club currently fighting in a relegation battle, a leader with a wealth of experience like the £175k-per-week Ibrahimovic would have not only been crucial in steering the club away from the drop – but it would have also been unlikely they would be in the situation in the first place due to his elite serial-winning mentality.

In other news: “I’m told..” – Journo drops big Everton transfer news that will surprise supporters

	Sohail Tanvir was one of the players roped in during the second round of auctions © AFP

“I don’t know what they are doing,” remarked IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi about Jaipur, his home team, after the first players’ auction in Mumbai on February 20. Of the nearly US$ 42 million that was spent by the eight teams on blockbuster names, Jaipur had spent only around US$ 2.95 million.On Tuesday, after the second auction, Jaipur spent just US$ 385,000 more but emerged with the biggest smile of them all.For a total of US$ 3.35 million – just half a million over what Chennai and Hyderabad spent for MS Dhoni and Andrew Symonds in the first auction – Jaipur’s Rajasthan Royals are looking quite formidable: Shane Warne, Graeme Smith, Younis Khan, Shane Watson, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Kamran Akmal, Yusuf Pathan, Mohammad Kaif, Munaf Patel, Morne Morkel and Sohail Tanvir.”We have put together a great squad from the two auctions at our price,” Fraser Castellino, the CEO of the franchise, told Cricinfo. “I would call this a victory for us. Other teams have great squads too, but now I believe they may have overspent a bit. We believe we are well-placed now, as good as any of the other teams.”While spending just under three-fourths of the near US$ 5 million that the seven franchises have spent, Jaipur’s strategy of staggering their purchases across the two auctions seems to have worked.”We would like to be called a strategic franchise now,” Castellino said. “After today, few people will say we are a weak team. There were a lot of people who made fun of us last time. What they failed to understand then was we had a clear strategy, and we were as sure as they were that this was serious business.”On Tuesday, Jaipur started the ball rolling by picking up England allrounder Mascarenhas (US$ 100,000), with whom they had been negotiating for the last few days. Hampshire’s Twenty20 specialist was a last-minute addition to the auction after being cleared early on Tuesday morning by the county, which also has Warne on its rolls.Then, they bought Australian allrounder Watson (US$ 125,000), South Africa fast bowler Morkel (US$ 60,000) and Pakistan left-arm seamer Tanvir (US$ 100,000).Explaining the strategy, Castellino said, “Yes, there were good players in the first auction. But we also knew then that there were a lot of good Twenty20 specialists who missed out and who would come into play in the second auction. We targeted them this time, and our strategy has worked.”However, Jaipur could still run into some trouble with the second part of their strategy – tackling the minimum cap of US$ 3.3 million for the first auction in two attempts. While Castellino claimed that the cap covered the entire auction process and included the amount spent in the second auction as well, IPL governing council member IS Bindra told Cricinfo that the penalty for falling short last month “still stands”.”It was very clear early on that the first auction was just the first step,” Castellino said. “All the franchises knew then that there would be a second auction. And as far as we are concerned, we have crossed the minimum cap and adhered to the rules.”Jaipur now plans to rope in some more players from India, some of them through their Cricket Star talent hunt, steered by former India coach Greg Chappell.”We will be taking a few more players from India, especially through our Cricket Star programme through which we are currently talent-spotting across the country,” Castellino said. “If we find some exceptional talent we will fast-track him into the team this season, but there will be somebody from the programme in the team definitely next time.”

Chris Gayle began to cut loose but perished for 44 © AFP

Duplicitous team selection of the Day Part 1
“It’s a batsman’s paradise,” declared Brian Lara after yesterday’sdefeat against Australia. Few entirely concurred with him, but evenfewer could believe what a dramatic volte-face he would pullovernight. Far from backing the batsmen who had let him down the daybefore, he instead chastised them by drafting in an extra man in LendlSimmons, who contributed 14 not out from 26 balls, and faced just onedelivery as the last three wickets tumbled.Duplicitous team selection of the Day Part 2
Simmons did not, of course, just waltz into the side unchallenged.Someone had to be the fall guy and that honour went to Jerome Taylor,the quickest man in the attack (and consequently, you might havethought, the best suited to overcoming the easy-paced conditions). Butit got crazier. In Taylor’s absence, the new ball was flung to DwayneSmith, whose medium-pacers weren’t even called upon against Australia.”Maybe we have too many bowlers,” Lara had shrugged when quizzed aboutSmith’s lack of use against the Aussies. Nobody for one minuteimagined that could possibly have constituted a weakness.Flaccid dismissal of the Day
Once again there were almost too many to choose from, but this timethe honour goes to Smith whose demotion to No. 9 in the order wasfully justified by hindsight. A second-ball slog went spiralling overmidwicket, but just four deliveries later he was gone to the mostatrociously-mistimed sweep since Sooty lost his autocue.Catch of the Day
It wasn’t just a tale of West Indian ineptitude, however. New Zealandwere full value for their victory because they played the sort ofcricket that deserves to win matches. Take the wicketkeeper BrendonMcCullum for instance, whose one-handed pluck off Ramnaresh Sarwan’sinside-edge was a moment of genuine brilliance. His weight was alreadytransferring to the off-side, but he braced, buckled, sprung andstretched to shift his momentum in the opposite direction and clung onat full stretch with his weaker left hand.

Dwayne Smith was gone to the most atrociously-mistimed sweep since Sooty lost his autocue © AFP

Run-out of the Day
Sprinting, bending and stretching aren’t the sort of things that mostself-respecting 37-year-olds put themselves through, so when ScottStyris pushed Dwayne Bravo to Brian Lara’s right in the covers, he waswell within his rights to assume an easy single was on the cards. Larahowever had other ideas, and with the grace of an ageing gazelle, hesnatched the ball from the turf and pinged down the stumps withStephen Fleming not even in the frame.Anticlimax of the Day
You could say the crowd, but they are yesterday’s news. Once again theattendance was poor as the logistics of filling a stadium in themiddle of nowhere sapped the local enthusiasm. There was one man whohad the capacity to bring back the crowds, however. Chris Gayle is thekingpin of this current West Indian line-up, and after a tortuousfirst half to his innings, he was beginning to cut loose. After sevenruns from his first 19 balls he had recovered to 44 from 55, but thengot too cute as Jacob Oram dropped one short, and inside-edged ontohis stumps. A century was what was needed, but at 81 for 4 thegame was up.Bowler of the Day
Oram’s were the outstanding figures, with 3 for 23, and Daniel Vettorigrabbed a trio of his own, but it was once again Shane Bond who wasNew Zealand’s indisputable cutting edge. He cranked up the pace tolevels unmatched on either side, and struck in each of his threespells. Shivnarine Chanderpaul was becalmed, then beaten by latemovement; Dwayne Bravo fenced at the very first ball of Bond’s return, whilethe No. 11 Corey Collymore couldn’t counter a perfect yorker. For allhis injury problems, Bond has now taken 23 wickets in 11 World Cupmatches, at a stunning average of 16.26.

Shane Warne has become embroiled in yet another sex scandal, just weeks after arriving in England for the start of his stint as captain of Hampshire.Warne, who underwent a high-profile divorce from his wife Simone during last summer’s Ashes, was pictured in the British tabloid The News of the World with two 25-year-old models.The alleged episode is believed to have taken place on Thursday night in West London, during Hampshire’s Championship match against Middlesex. “Shane blew our minds,” claimed one of the models, Coralie Eichholtz, an MTV presenter. “He was so fit. I’d give him top marks for more than satisfying us.”Ironically, Warne claimed to be suffering from fatigue during that match and said in an interview: “If I’m honest, I’m tired out”. It was hard to tell from his on-field performance, however – Warne took 7 for 99 in the second innings to bowl Hampshire to a ten-wicket victory.But serious doubts have emerged over the claims because the two models involved are notorious headline grabbers. Warne’s management did not immediately return calls.It is just the latest in a catalogue of scandals that have beset Warne during his stints in England. In June 2000, it was revealed that he had been having phone sex with a 22-year-old nurse, a revelation that cost him the Australian vice-captaincy and almost certainly the opportunity to succeed Steve Waugh as the national captain.

Andrew Flintoff: happy to be back in action © Getty Images

The effect that Andrew Flintoff has on a cricket ground was witnessed again at Lord’s today, as he made his much anticipated comeback from injury. His 17 may not have set the world alight but it was a significant milestone in his recovery from the left ankle bone-spur that forced him home from the tour of South Africa and resulted in surgery.There was a reasonable crowd to see Flintoff back to competitive action and after watching him buzz around the field for 45 overs Lancashire quickly got into the spirit of the occasion, losing three early wickets. As Flintoff strode to the crease at No 5 the crowd shuffled to the edges of their seats, put down their newspapers and balanced their coffees so their hands were free for the applause.After a quick pat of the pitch and a flex of the arms he faced his first ball from Nantie Hayward, the red-haired South African quick bowler. He calmly went onto the back-foot, and played the ball right under his eyes. Flintoff’s last competitive match was the Centurion Test in January and although he played a practice game at Old Trafford earlier this month he could be forgiven for being a little rusty.It took him 10 balls to get off the mark. He played and missed at two in succession from Scott Styris and then inside-edged onto his pads. Then, however, things began to click. A short-arm pull through mid-wicket was followed by a perfectly executed on-drive towards the Lord’s pavilion. In the next over he forced an extra-cover drive towards the Tavern boundary. He was even feeling confident enough to run the quick singles and there was only a momentary flex of the offending ankle.He was looking comfortable and it came as a surprise, and disappointment, when he was trapped lbw by Styris after 23 balls and 33 minutes. As Flintoff departed so did sections of the crowd and the press box became a hive of activity – he was, of course, what everyone had come to watch. The main event was over, and although it had only been an appetiser, rather than a main course, most people seemed satisfied with what they had seen.

The Christchurch Junior Cricket Association Draw for Saturday, December 6 is:(All matches to start at 9am)Senior Traditional Two-daySection 12nd day of 2Section 22nd day of 2Senior Traditional One-day:Section 1:Es4 v Syd5 Cash1,Pk4 v Med2 Park1,Oc3 v Es5 Cla1,Hsob1 v Bwu2 Burn5,Sum1 v Oc4 Malv1,Bwu3 v Horn1 Dent1.Section 2:Lpw2 v Stc1 Stc2,Cagr2 v Hals3 Cagr2,Horn2 v Syd2 Dent2,Nb2 v Syd7 Syd4,Syd6 v Sum2 Lind1,Sum3 v Med3 Bar2,Bwu4 Bye.Section 3:Bwu6 v Upr1 Burn9,Med4 v Lpw4 Ens2,Stc2 v Bwu5 Stc3,Bwu7 v Med5 Burn10,Oc6 v Syd8 Syd3,Es6 v Oc5 Stal1,Med6 v Mp1 Emc1,Oc7 v Oc8 Elm3.Junior Traditional One-day:Section 1:Es11 v Syd14 Stal2,Med7 v Oc11 Malv2,Es10 v Oc15 Bwd3,Pk5 v Hals4 Park2,Oc12 v Hare2 Ilam5.Section 2:Cagr3 v Lpw5 Cagr3,Syd17 v Nb3 Southbd1a,Horn3 v Syd15 Cash2a,Oc10 v Bwu9 Burn8,Sum4 v Oc13 Bar1,Hals5 v Es12 Stal3.Section 3:Lpw6 v Bwu8 Burn7,Upr2 v Heath1 Hd1,Oc16 v Pk6 Park3,Stac4 v Syd18 Stac4a,Hals6 v Upr3 Rd1,Oc14 v Nb4 Fns1a.Junior Modified:Zone 1:Bwu10 v Oc21 Kirk1a,Hals7 v Hsob3 Halss1a,Med8 v Bwu11 Polo1a,Oc22 v Oc20 Polo3a,Oc24 v Sum5 Polo2a,Oc23 v Hals8 West1a.Zone 2:Es15 v Syd20 Thorn1a,Mp3 v Es14 Polo4a,Es16 v Syd21 Sis1a,Syd22 v Mp3 Bow1a.Junior Average:Zone 1:Sum6 v Lpw9 Brgn8,Lpw8 v Sum7 Brgn7,Heath2 v Syd35 Brgn6,Hals9 v Syd34 Brgn5,Hals10 v Syd33 Brgn4,Hals12 v Syd31 Brgn3,Syd32 v Hals11 Brgn2,Hh2 v Syd30 Brgn1.Zone2:Nb5 v Oc34 Walt5,Es23 v Es25 BurwN1,Hare3 v Pk7 Park4,Syd36 v Cagr5 Brgn9,Syd37 v Cagr4 Brgn10,Oc35 v Nb6 Walt8,Oc36 v Es24 BurwN2.Zone 3:Med9 v Oc33 Jel2,Hsob4 v Oc31 Jel3,Ricc1 v Mp5 Jel4,Oc30 v Horn4 Jel5,Oc32 v Med10 Jel6,Oc37 v Hare4 Jel7,Mp4 Bye.Kiwi:Zone 1:Lpw10 v Hals13 Brad1,Syd41 v Sum8 Brad2,Syd43 v Syd42 Brad3,Sum9 v Syd40 Brad4,Hals14 v Heath3 Brad5,Syd44 v Hh3 Brad6.Zone 2:Cagr6 v Cagr7 Walt1,Nb7 v Med11 Walt2,Nb8 Bye.Zone3:Pk9 v Pk8 Park5,Horn6 v Oc45 Elm7,Oc43 v Oc42 Elm5,Mp7 v Ricc2 Walt9,Mp6 v Upr4 Elm8,Oc46 v Oc40 Elm6,Oc44 v Horn5 Jel8,Oc41 v Tait1 Jel1.