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Sean Ervine has been named as Hampshire captain in T20 and 50-over cricket after James Vince’s England call

ESPNcricinfo staff18-May-2016

The rise of James Vince to England’s Test team has left his county, Hampshire, looking for a replacement captain, with Sean Ervine named as the man to take charge in T20 and 50-over cricket.Ervine, 33, is one of Hampshire’s longest-serving players and captained the team on their pre-season tour of Barbados, when Vince was away at the World T20.”It feels great to be captain,” Ervine said. “Whilst we’re disappointed Vince can’t be with us, it’s brilliant he’s been selected for England.”I’ll bring calmness, and try and use my experience from over the years to counter certain situations – it can get quite manic out there. I captained in Barbados during pre-season and I really enjoyed the experience. Jimmy [Adams] has been a brilliant example and Vince has done an amazing job. It’s just about making sure we continue the success we’ve had over the last few years.”Vince was named Hampshire’s T20 captain in 2014, then took over in 50-over cricket at the start of last season. Adams’ decision to relinquish the Championship captaincy midway through 2015 saw Vince elevated in all three formats but this has coincided with his England career taking off and the club may not see much of him this year.A former Zimbabwe international, Ervine has played a key part in Hampshire’s limited-overs success, helping them to lift the C&G Trophy in 2005, as well as T20 titles in 2010 and 2012. He was the first Hampshire player to make 100 T20 appearances and has helped them to a record six successive Finals Days.His first match in charge will come next Friday, when Hampshire begin their NatWest Blast campaign with a fixture away to Middlesex at Uxbridge.

Scottish champions Celtic endured a day to forget in Saturday's Old Firm derby away to bitter rivals Rangers, with the treble hopefuls suffering a disappointing 3-0 defeat to slip to just their second league loss of the campaign.

While the result ultimately matters little in the grand scheme of things with the title having already been wrapped up by the Parkhead outfit, manager Ange Postecoglou will still have been deeply frustrated to see his side produce such an uncharacteristically poor display.

Among those to have perhaps let the side down was summer signing, Alexandro Bernabei, with the promising Argentine having formed part of what was a rather shaky, second-string backline, in the absence of the likes of Cameron Carter-Vickers, Alistair Johnston and Greg Taylor.

With the latter man dropping to the bench, Bernabei had been afforded a rare chance to impress at Ibrox, albeit with the £3.75m addition ultimately looking 'uncomfortable' and 'unsettled' throughout, as per Football Scotland's Mark Hendry, having notably lost possession on 27 occasions as a marker of his woes.

As ex-Hoops star Kris Commons noted in his Daily Mail column following the match – as per The Scotsman – the 22-year-old has proven a 'disappointing signing' thus far, having been unable to dislodge Taylor as the first-choice pick.

Although the former Lanus man still has time on his side to turn things around in Glasgow, the 5 foot 7 speedster should perhaps be wary of sliding down the pecking order even further amid his recent struggles, particularly with teenage sensation, Matthew Anderson, having been tipped to make his mark on the first-team sooner rather than later.

Who is Celtic's Matthew Anderson?

The exciting 19-year-old has only recently come to wider attention after receiving notable praise from Postecoglou back in January, with the Greek-Aussie stating that the club have "high hopes" for the young left-back, following the news that he had signed a new contract extension at the club until 2025.

The former Yokohama F Marinos boss also claimed at the time that the youth starlet was among those who "over the course of the next sort of six to 12 months" will "start to make an impact at first-team level."

A chance to impress in the senior ranks has yet to emerge for the 'B' team skipper, although Anderson can take encouragement from the recent promotions of both Rocco Vata and Ben Summers, with the latter pair showcasing that there is a pathway to the first-team squad.

The Scotland U21 international has been highly-regarded for a number of years now having previously been the subject of interest from Leeds United back in 2021, with Blantyre Soccer Academy chief Jimmy Whelan stating that the full-back is the "real deal" and "one to watch".

Whelan also went as far as to suggest that the £480-per-week teen "could be like Kieran Tierney" and go on to establish himself at Celtic Park, having thus far shown his quality in the academy with four goals and five assists in 30 games across all fronts this season – a better record than what Bernabei has achieved in the first team (one goal and three assists).

That attacking prowess should well have piqued the interest of Postecoglou, with Anderson potentially not too far away from making a senior bow – particularly following Bernabei's high profile, Ibrox woes.

Alex Hales might have missed out on a maiden century for the third time in the series but he could console himself with the knowledge that he has established himself in England’s top order for the foreseeable future

George Dobell at Lord's12-Jun-2016Alex Hales might have missed out on a maiden century for the third time in the series but he could console himself with the knowledge that he has established himself in England’s top order for the foreseeable future and given his side a decent chance of completing a third successive victory over Sri Lanka.Hales, who followed innings of 86 at Headingley and 83 in Durham with 94 here, admitted he was “frustrated” at failing to convert such scores to three figures. But, having answered many of the questions about his technique that hung over him at the start of the summer, he reasoned that, on balance, he had still enjoyed an encouraging series. He also conceded that he benefited from some significant luck during the course of this innings.Quite apart from being dropped twice, Hales also saw the DRS go his way when Sri Lanka reviewed an lbw shout and survived being clean bowled by Nuwan Pradeep when umpire Rod Tucker incorrectly called a no-ball.”It is frustrating,” he said. “But if someone had offered me nearly 300 runs at an average of 60 at the start of the series [he has scored 292 at 58.40], I’d probably have taken it. To have gone into the final Test 2-0 up and helped get the team off to some good starts, it could hardly have been a better. Well, it could if I had converted some starts, but so far so good.”I’d had my fair share of luck. I was bowled off that close no-ball and there were umpire’s calls and edges, so I guess my luck ran out. It’s disappointing to come so close and miss out again. When you get so close you have to be converting. But it was pretty decent delivery.”Hales was particularly pleased with his increased assurance outside off stump. While his tour to South Africa was dogged by dismissals to edges behind the wicket – he averaged 17.00 in the four-Test series, with a top-score of 60 – here he has dealt with Sri Lanka’s seam attack relatively comfortably and felt that he was also improving against spin bowling.”I had a lot of questions to answer after South Africa,” he said. “The biggest thing I’ve improved is my decision-making outside off stump. Whether it is leaving the ball or attacking the ball.”In South Africa, a few times, I was tentatively hanging my bat in the channel. So I’ve tried to be more positive. Positive in my leaving and positive when I’m looking to attack. It’s still something I’m improving on each game and there are other areas to work on as well, but I feel I’m heading in the right direction.”Maybe in the first couple games this summer, I have tried to go after the spinners more than should have. But this game I have played a lot better and picked my attacking options better against Rangana Herath. I’m learning from my mistakes and looking to build on this later in the summer. I know there are tougher challenges to come.”Hales admitted he had not changed his shot when bowled by the no-ball – it is doubtful whether a batsman has time to do so against a fast bowler at Test level – but suggested that, had a spinner been bowling, there may have been time to change his stroke. For that reason, it remains hard to envisage a scenario where an incorrect on-field no-ball call could be rescinded by TV evidence.”If the spinners are bowling, I guess your eyes could light up if hear the no-ball call,” he said. “But I have a bit of sympathy with Rod Tucker. You think about how fast the game moves and how close he was to the front line and it’s a split decision he has to make at the time. Rod had told him a few times that over he was getting close to the front line.”Perhaps the England declaration was also significant. While the first few years of Alastair Cook’s captaincy were marked by some low-risk, attritional cricket, here he has risked the possibility of losing in the attempt to win the game.The England side of a couple of years ago may well have batted on ensure they could not have lost the match before attempting to bowl out Sri Lanka but, in keeping with the more positive style that has characterised much of their cricket in the last 12 months, England have given Sri Lanka an outside chance of victory. Memories of West Indies’ run chase in 1984 were revived for some, though this pitch – offering a bit of spin and some uneven bounce at one end – looks considerably more demanding.”We could have batted on,” Hales said. “But this is the positive option. There’s still plenty of life in the pitch, so if they chase 350 or whatever it is, they deserve to win.”

سجل منتخب البحرين الهدف الأول له في مرمى الأردن في المباراة التي تقام بينهما بالجولة الثالثة والأخيرة من مجموعات كأس آسيا 2023.

وتلعب مباراة البحرين والأردن الآن في ملعب “خليفة الدولي” في العاصمة القطرية “الدوحة” وسط حضور جماهير قارب على 45 ألف متفرج.

ويقود المباراة الحكم الإماراتي الدولي، عمر محمد العلي.

اقرأ أيضًا.. مواجهات دور الـ16 من كأس آسيا.. (محدث باستمرار) هدف البحرين الأول أمام الأردن في كأس آسيا

وجاء الهدف في ظل اندفاع هجومي من لاعبي منتخب الأردن أمام مرمى البحرين، ليخطفها أحد مدافعي الأخير ويمررها لتصل إلى زميله، عبد الله يوسف هلال.

وانطلق هلال نحو مرمى الأردن من منتصف الملعب ونجح في الوصول إلى حارس الأردن، يزيد أبو ليلة، ليسجل هدف البحرين الأول في الدقيقة 34.

هذ هو الهدف الأول الذي يسجله اللاعب في النسخة الحالية من البطولة، رغم أنه شارك في مباراتي الجولة الأولى والثانية أمام كوريا الجنوبية وماليزيا.

Sunderland defender Aji Alese is “back” in the squad for the Championship playoff semi-final second leg vs Luton Town tonight, according to journalist Scott Wilson.

When is the Championship playoff final?

The Black Cats secured a 2-1 victory over the Hatters in the first leg of the second-tier playoffs at the Stadium of Light last weekend and will be hoping to book their place in the final at Wembley with another win this evening. The playoff final takes place on Bank Holiday Weekend, Saturday May 27, with kick-off set for 16:45.

Alese, a 6 foot 4 colossus who first arrived in the northeast last summer, has made 23 appearances during his debut season, but he hasn’t featured since the 5-1 defeat to Stoke City back in March after sustaining a thigh injury.

Tony Mowbray’s centre-back was unsurprisingly missing from the squad for the most recent deciding fixture, though a promising update has now emerged which could see him play a part in what will be a vital 90 minutes for his side.

What's the Sunderland team news vs Luton?

Taking to Twitter on Monday, Wilson revealed that Alese is expected to stage his competitive comeback vs Luton at Kenilworth Road having returned to regular first-team training. He wrote:

“Aji Alese back in the #SAFC squad for tomorrow's play-off decider at Luton – and likely to be on the bench. Patrick Roberts and Alex Pritchard both "touch and go" though after their injury knocks at the weekend…”

According to journalist Josh Bunting, Alese is “scary” for how good he is at defending, and considering the high standard of his performances since putting pen to paper, Sunderland and Mowbray will definitely receive a boost should he be available for selection this evening.

The Black Cats ace, who currently pockets £5.7k-per-week, ranks in the 98th percentile for clearances and has won 20 of his tackles from 34 players challenged this season, as per FBRef, form which has seen him receive two man-of-the-match awards.

The Islington-born talent is also capable of contributing to his team’s efforts in the final third having scored one goal and provided the same number of assists since the start of the term, not to mention that he offers wonderful versatility having operated at centre-back, left-back and slightly higher up in left midfield in his opening campaign, so the chances of the red and whites picking up a positive result are only set to increase with the return of Alese.

واصل الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي جيرونا مطاردة ريال مدريد على قمة الدوري الإسباني بفوز جديد على سيلتا فيجو خارج الديار، بهدف نظيف.

وأقيمت مباراة جيرونا وسيلتا فيجو على ملعب “بالايدوس” بقيادة الحكم، ماريو ميليرو لوبيز، بحضور جماهير وصل إلى 20 ألف متفرج.

وسجل هدف جيرونا والمباراة الوحيد اللاعب، بورتو، في الدقيقة 20 من زمن المباراة.

اقرأ أيضًا.. تقارير: مدرب بـ الدوري الإنجليزي الأقرب لخلافة تشافي في برشلونة

بهذه النتيجة، يحصد جيرونا 3 نقاط جديدة في مشواره المميز هذا الموسم في الدوري الإسباني ويعتلي الصدارة وذلك مؤقتًا خاصة وأن ريال مدريد لديه مباراة مؤجلة.

وبالتالي، سيكون جيرونا في الصدارة برصيد 55 نقطة من 22 مباراة وبفارق نقطة واحدة عن ريال مدريد الوصيف من 21 مباراة.

وتجمد رصيد سيلتا فيجو عند النقطة 17 في المركز السادس عشر والقريب من مراكز الهبوط إلى الدرجة الثانية الإسبانية.

Allrounder Albie Morkel will captain Titans in limited-overs cricket in 2016-17, but will not be available to play first-class cricket, he has informed the franchise

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jun-2016

Allrounder Albie Morkel will captain Titans in limited-overs cricket in 2016-17, but will not be available to play first-class cricket. Morkel, 35, said he took the decision because he did not want to keep spending so much time away from his family, and also wanted to allow someone younger the chance to come through in first-class cricket.Morkel has become a limited-overs specialist of late, having played only one first-class game in the 2015-16 season, and just the one other since 2011-12. In all he has played 77 first-class matches, scoring 4117 runs at 44.26 and taking 203 wickets at 30.28. He played only one Test for South Africa, against Australia in Cape Town in March 2009.While he had led Titans to a title win the domestic T20s last season – they also won the first-class competition, the Sunfoil Cup – they finished at the bottom of the table in the domestic one-dayers. That, Morkel said, did not bother him too much going into next season, given the team had lost a lot of players to the national set-up. “I think the environment at Titans is so healthy that it produces good performances,” Morkel said. “But we just lacked continuity and we were not settled as a team. In two games, we lost nine players who were simultaneously selected for South Africa A and South Africa.”Morkel had been in good touch in Titans’ successful Ram Slam T20 campaign, taking 10 wickets from 11 games while conceding less than five runs an over, and also scoring 198 runs at a strike rate of 141.42. He had a more middling Momentum One-Day Cup, with six wickets at an average of 42.00 and just the one fifty in seven games. He told the Titans website that he would demand high standards of himself in the coming season, and will stand down as limited-overs captain if he cannot find form.

South Africa is set to get a T20 Premier League of its own after the board was presented with a proposal for an eight-team tournament, which will run separately to other domestic cricket in the country

Firdose Moonda26-Jul-2016

South Africa is set to get a T20 Premier League of its own after the board was presented with a proposal for an eight-team tournament, which will run separately to other domestic cricket in the country. If approved, the competition will begin in the 2017-18 season and will take place in November-December, with a final pencilled in for December 16, a public holiday in South Africa.Should the new tournament become a reality, it would drastically alter South Africa’s twenty-over landscape, which is languishing behind other countries. While the IPL, BBL, CPL, BPL, PSL and NatWest T20 Blast continue to attract big names, South Africa’s Ram Slam competition has struggled to do the same. The weak Rand and the scheduling – which often coincides with international cricket, including fixtures played by South Africa – are to blame.CSA intended to fix the second of those this season, when, in February, they moved a Test against Sri Lanka to ensure South African internationals could be available for the Ram Slam. But, when the domestic fixtures were announced in June it emerged that several players will be unavailable for that tournament because they will be playing Test cricket in Australia, meaning the 2016-17 Ram Slam will not be too dissimilar to its predecessors.There will be at least one big name, with Kevin Pietersen signing for Dolphins for the second season in succession. South Africa’s domestic twenty-over tournaments have had a small selection of players of Pietersen’s profile involved, mostly from the Caribbean. In previous seasons, Chris Gayle played for Dolphins, Kieron Pollard for Cobras, Sohail Tanvir for Lions, Andre Russell for Knights, and Darren Sammy for Titans, but the domestic transformation targets and the small number of franchise teams make it difficult to attract more big names.For that reason, there has been talk of an expansion into eight franchises, which CSA is mulling across all formats, but it is likely to be implemented in this new T20 event first. Details regarding the funding of the competition are yet to be revealed.

أكد ماوريسيو بوتشيتينو، المدير الفني لفريق تشيلسي، رغبتهم في تحقيق الفوز ضد ليفربول في مباراتهما المرتقبة غدًا في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

ويستضيف ملعب “الأنفيلد” مباراة الفريقين في إطار منافسات الجولة الثانية والعشرين من الدوري الإنجليزي.

وتأتي تلك المباراة بعد أيام من إعلان يورجن كلوب رحيله عن صفوف ليفربول، نهاية الموسم الحالي.

وسُئل بوتشيتينو عن الأمر، حيث رد في تصريحات نشرتها صحيفة “ميرور” الإنجليزية: “لقد حان الوقت بالنسبة له للإعلان عن الوضع، اللاعبون محترفون، اللاعبون يريدون الفوز، لا أرى أنه سيكون هناك موقف سيؤثر على الأداء”.

وأضاف: “بكل تأكيد ستكون مباراة خاصة بالنسبة له، سيظل الأمر مميزًا دائمًا حتى النهاية، في كل مرة يلعبون فيها في الأنفيلد، سيكون هناك احتفال دائمًا من قِبل الجماهير تجاه كلوب لمنحه كل الحب الذي يشعرون به ناحيته وهو يستحق ذلك”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. كلوب يحسم الجدل حول إمكانية مغادرة محمد صلاح وفان دايك ليفربول بعد إعلان رحيله

وواصل: “لكننا نفكر في الذهاب إلى هناك والفوز بالمباراة، آسف، لكننا لا نريد أن نكون جزءًا من الاحتفال”.

وأردف: “بعد بضعة أشهر في المنزل، سيبدأ كلوب في مرحلة افتقاد الدورات التدريبية واللاعبين، عندما تكون في جزء آخر من حياتك، تبدأ في افتقاد الجزء الذي كان مهمًا حقًا بالنسبة لك”.

واستمر: “إنه مدرب وشخص سأفتقده، أحب مشاهدته على خط التماس والفريق الذي يدربه، آمل أن يغيب لبضعة أشهر فقط، ربما لمدة عام واحد، ثم يعود بعد ذلك”.

West Ham United have been named as a possible destination for wantaway AC Milan striker Divock Origi.

What’s the latest on Divock Origi to West Ham?

According to Antonio Vitiello, the Hammers are set to be rivalled by Aston Villa for the signature of the 28-year-old.

Indeed, the Italian journalist took to Twitter on Sunday to report: "Premier League teams interested in Divock Origi at Milan. West Ham and Aston Villa are inquiring. He is also popular in Turkey. Rossoneri looking for a striker for the summer."

Would Divock Origi be a good fit at West Ham?

During an eight-year spell with Liverpool, the Belgian engrained himself into the folklore of the Merseyside outfit.

In the 2018/19 season, the Reds were emphatically dispatched 3-0 by Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.

The ever-present and ruthlessly efficient pairing of Roberto Firmino and Mohammed Salah were ruled out of the return leg, but Origi was drafted into devastating effect.

Unbelievably, the £8m-rated forward netted twice in an awe-inspiring 4-0 comeback victory over the Catalan giants and then scored in the final against Tottenham Hotspur to secure his side their sixth European title.

Unsurprisingly, Jurgen Klopp has only had positive things to say about his former player and described Origi as an “outstanding player” and a “Liverpool legend” ahead of his move to Italy.

However, his transfer hasn’t materialised in the expected fashion and has only found the net twice in 35 appearances in all competitions. Although, he has only started ten games and has been restricted to extremely limited minutes.

These statistics translate into extremely tough reading, but his legacy at Liverpool and the plethora of important goals remain and a return to the Premier League may ignite the forward who bagged 41 times for the Reds.

From a West Ham perspective, signing a player with the 32-cap international’s experience could be an intelligent and safe move – a vastly different alternative to the tumultuous and damaging transfer of Gianluca Scamacca who would no doubt be further ditched from Moyes' plans should another attacker arrive.

The Italian’s debut season in England has been blighted by injury and inconsistency. He arrived with huge expectations but has cut a dejected, uninvolved, and frustrated figure in the capital.

The former Sassuolo man has been "woeful" in front of goal this term – as per journalist Toby Cudworth – scoring only three goals in the Premier League this term.

The 11-cap international is ruled out for the rest of a campaign after undergoing knee surgery, but prior to this, Moyes questioned his “physical data”, while urging his “output to be bigger.”

It seems that Scamacca’s Irons career has plateaued into irrelevancy and after just one year, it may be the most sensible decision to offload the striker.

Whilst this situation is getting resolved, Origi will be patiently waiting in the wings and his reliability will be an extremely attractive prospect to the Hammers hierarchy.