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The 2011 World Cup’s format was designed keeping in mind the commercial significance of the top teams making it to the knock-out stages

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Feb-2011

The format for the 2011 World Cup was designed to give the top teams the best chance of qualifying for the knockout stage, tournament director Ratnakar Shetty has said.”Economically, we all know that India is the financial powerhouse of cricket,” Shetty said in an interview with . “The exit of India and Pakistan from the 2007 World Cup was a disaster for the tournament. The sponsors, broadcasters, tour operators, West Indies board – all lost a lot of money. The format was changed in such a way that it gives all the top teams a chance to compete. We have gone back to the same format that was used in 1996.”Shetty was satisfied with the improvements at the Wankhede Stadium, one of the four World Cup venues that were running behind schedule. Talking about the Eden Gardens fiasco, he said the BCCI and ICC could not have averted the situation by being more involved. “Unlike in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh where the Boards run the show completely, in India, the BCCI doesn’t run daily cricket. In our case, the stadia are completely managed by the state associations. The ICC has documented the progress of each venue. The BCCI monitored the reports of the venue, but to ensure that the work is completed was the responsibility of the state association.”Apart from security, Shetty identified filling up Indian grounds for non-India matches as the biggest organisational challenge posed by the tournament. “We have directed all the state associations to throw the gates open to the school children to enjoy a good day out. The tickets have been very reasonably priced too. The ICC is running a lot of contests, and free tickets will be issued to the contest winners, so in our capacity we are doing the best to ensure that the stadia will not see empty stands.”Shetty also stressed that the Indian board made a conscious effort to make the Indian grounds more spectator friendly, something that hasn’t been a concern in the past. “To a large extent, the BCCI have taken the spectators for granted, because irrespective of who India plays, the crowds turn up,” he said. “There was a serious discussion in the board to make the stadiums spectator-friendly. We didn’t want to go by just the numbers. Wankhede’s capacity could have been increased, but we have reduced it from 45,000 to 32,000. Similarly the Eden Gardens capacity has been reduced to 65,000. There is more space between the seats.”The toilet facilities, food courts and the media facilities have all been given a massive facelift, so I am sure people will not complain this time. The IPL has brought a lot of female fans to cricket. Female following has tremendously increased, so we have taken all this into account before redeveloping the stadia.”

On Thursday, at SuperSport Park in Centurion, Morkel and Steyn exacted a carefully planned revenge for the pain inflicted on them by the Indian batting in Kolkata earlier in the year

Firdose Moonda at SuperSport Park16-Dec-2010Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel must remember Kolkata 2010 the same way the United States remembers Vietnam. That’s where they thought they had a chance to defeat an opposition that looked beatable, and that’s where they misjudged badly. They were wounded from all fronts, their morale was broken and in the end, they lost the battle.After their victory in Nagpur a week earlier, South Africa had an ideal opportunity to win the series in the subcontinent. That never happened. They collapsed to 296 on a turning track at Eden Gardens and conceded a massive 643/6 to lose by an innings and 57 runs. Dale Steyn bowled thirty overs and Morne Morkel 26, both conceding 115 runs apiece. Virender Sehwag, in particular, treated the pair as though they were nothing more than cheap rag dolls. Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman followed, although in less manic fashion, and then MS Dhoni joined the party. Steyn and Morkel were left hurting. On Thursday, at SuperSport Park in Centurion, they exacted a carefully planned revenge.”It’s the most important thing not to forget your aggression,” Morkel said after the first day when a mixture of that attacking instinct and ingenious strategy helped South Africa seize the advantage.The match was being billed as a contest between South Africa’s bowlers and India’s batsmen, in particular the openers on both sides, and it did not disappoint. Steyn versus Sehwag was considered the heavyweight fight but it lasted just three balls. The first two were regulation Steyn balls, shaping away outside off and Sehwag dutifully left them. In his next over, Steyn began with a similar delivery, moving away just a touch. Sehwag could not resist.He didn’t care that Hashim Amla was positioned at short third-man for in case he gave in to the temptation. The urge to hit on the up was too tempting and Sehwag went for it. In doing so, he scooped it off the outside edge to Amla giving South Africa immediate reward, even though they were prepared to wait. “We knew we would have to stay calm and patient and that he would give it away,” Morkel said.The middleweight clash lasted a few more rounds. Morkel was unrelenting as he banged in short balls by the half-dozen to Gautam Gambhir, but mixed them up well. He topped 151 kph at times and sent the ball whizzing around Gambhir’s ears in the first over. In the second over he bowled to Gambhir the real crux of the strategy emerged. Two short balls, followed up by a fuller one, and then another. When Morkel, elegant as a giraffe, reached down to save four off his own bowling from the second fuller ball, it was as though he was prophesising his own victory.He almost had his man in the next over when a nasty bouncer took something on the way through to Mark Boucher. Umpire Steve Davis thought it shaved something other than the glove. Morkel did not relent and gave Gambhir no scoring opportunities as the pattern of short, short, full continued. Gambhir survived Morkel’s first spell but just as he was relaxing, Morkel returned from the other end and continued the same trend. Two more short balls, and then Gambhir perished to the follow-up. He was too late on the full ball and the outside edge was comfortably taken by Paul Harris at first slip.The way Steyn and Morkel varied their lengths was crucial to their success. “They weren’t sure whether to go forward or back,” Morkel said. Steyn used the seam movement in exemplary fashion, particularly as he got the ball to go away from Rahul Dravid and in to Gambhir. Morkel’s height allowed him to extract the spongy bounce but he managed to mix the short balls with a range of deliveries that landed on a good length and ones that were full enough to tease the batsmen’s toes. It was that assortment that got Dravid out as he was hit on the pads by a delivery that stayed lower than expected.Steyn came out spitting venom after tea. The over he bowled to Tendulkar immediately after the break covered an entire spectrum. It contained a delivery that moved away, one that straightened, one that moved in, a bouncer and an over-pitched ball. In the next over, Steyn left Laxman aghast by getting right through him and pegging back his middle stump. He also got rid of Tendulkar, who was looking strong in the battle against Lonwabo Tsotsobe, with a ball that straightened.South Africa’s opening bowlers, who have been labelled the most fearsome in world cricket, out-thought the Indians with their follow-up balls. The straighter or fuller deliveries were proving to be the wicket-taking ones but they didn’t forget that the ball India have always been vulnerable against on tour was the short one.The pair has always been revered because of their styles complementing each other and Morkel said they aimed to exploit the variety to their advantage. “Myself and Dale are different bowlers. I’m six foot five but he is a bit shorter. I need to use my strength which is my bounce. I don’t get a lot of swing and shape off the wicket, but Dale does.”While they were dismantling the Indian line-up, some luck also went their way. Suresh Raina, who was considered a target for short balls, ended up edging a length delivery from Jacques Kallis to third slip. After his dismissal a recovery seemed imminent. Even the South African bowlers expected it. “They have a quality top six or seven and we were lucky that Harbhajan was run out today,” Morkel said. Harbhajan appeared confident before he was caught short of his crease by an underarm throw from Mark Boucher.South Africa will be aware that is still plenty of movement left in the pitch, but an Indian attack without Zaheer Khan is a far less scary prospect than one with him. Morkel has some advice for his batsmen when they get they turn out tomorrow. “You need to leave well. It nips about but it’s a touch slow.” First, South Africa have one more wicket to claim but they must sense that the end is close with a debutant and a captain struggling for form at the crease. Then the revenge will be complete.

The allrounder John Hastings could be set for an ODI debut after he was called up to replace his Victoria team-mate James Pattinson in Australia’s squad in India

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Oct-2010

The allrounder John Hastings could be set for an ODI debut after he was called up to replace his Victoria team-mate James Pattinson in Australia’s squad in India. Pattinson, who was already on tour with the Test side, will fly home due to a back injury that has ended his immediate hopes of joining his brother Darren in the ranks of international cricketers.”During the past week, James has complained of some back stiffness during preparation for the second Test of the VB tour of India in Bangalore,” Australia’s physio Kevin Sims said. “James’ symptoms were consistent with a low back-bone stress injury and scans have confirmed the early stages of a low back stress fracture.”He has therefore been withdrawn from the one-day squad as he will require a period of rest from bowling. He will be closely monitored by Victorian and Cricket Australia medical staff to determine his return to cricket.”The injury is a major blow for Pattinson, 20, who had jumped into Test contention when he was called in to cover for the injured New South Wales fast man Josh Hazlewood in India. However, it has opened the door for Hastings, 24, who was Victoria’s leading wicket taker in all three formats last season.A tall right-arm fast-medium bowler, Hastings is also a powerful striker of the ball in the lower order and has thrived since moving from New South Wales three years ago. The chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said Hastings, who won last summer’s Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year award, was “a very exciting prospect”.”John Hastings performed very well at interstate level last year across all formats of the game,” Hilditch said. “It is disappointing for James Pattinson to suffer an injury at this stage however it does present a great opportunity for John to show his potential at international level prior to selection for the 2010-11 ICC Cricket World Cup on the sub-continent.”Australia play three one-day internationals following the ongoing Test in Bangalore. The series begins on October 17 and the squad is already without several first-choice players after the selectors decided to rest Ricky Ponting, Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson ahead of their busy summer.

Journalist Joshua Mbu hit out at three West Ham players in the defeat to Brentford on Sunday afternoon. 

The Lowdown:

David Moyes made three changes to the side that drew with Lyon on Thursday evening, with Lukasz Fabianski, Vladimir Coufal and Manuel Lanzini coming in for Alphonse Areola, Ryan Fredericks and Said Benrahma.

The Hammers struggled throughout against Thomas Frank’s side, with goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Ivan Toney after half-time the difference between the two sides.

The defeat leaves the Hammers six points behind Tottenham in the race for fourth, with both Arsenal and Spurs having games in hand.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-newest-updates/” title=”West Ham newest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Latest: Mbu’s post

Mbu, a journalist for The Sun, took to Twitter in the first half to hit out at Lanzini, Pablo Fornals and Jarrod Bowen.

He labelled the trio behind Michail Antonio as ‘having an absolute shocker’ – and the stats back that up. As per SofaScore, the trio lost possession on 32 occasions, had no shots on or off goal all afternoon and made just one successful cross combined.

The Verdict: All eyes are on Lyon…

It seemed as if one eye was already on the trip to France for the second leg with Lyon, and it looks as if any chance of finishing in the top four is now over for the Hammers.

Moyes will want to put this result behind him and look towards the showdown with the Ligue 1 side, and he’ll have a number of selection calls to make ahead of the second leg.

Aaron Cresswell is suspended so will certainly miss out, and hopefully, fans will see a much-improved display against the French side, as it now seems to be the most realistic route into Europe’s elite competition next season.

In other news: West Ham make contact to sign ‘one of the top four’ number eights in Europe! Find out more here.

Jack Harrison endured a nightmare display as Leeds United snagged a point against Aston Villa in a six-goal thriller in the Premier League on Wednesday evening.

The visitors from west Yorkshire took an early lead through Daniel James, who was then denied a superb second before the half-hour mark after his shot from the edge of the box cannoned off the crossbar.

Villa equalised seconds later with a fine finish from Philippe Coutinho, who then turned on the style as he provided an assist for Jacob Ramsey’s effort before combining again five minutes later to bag a third.

James scrambled a goal back right on half-time and the Whites equalised just after an hour as Diego Llorente found the net from a corner.

A share of the spoils was probably a fair result but it could’ve been a lot better for Marcelo Bielsa and his side had some of his usual stars turned up for the game and the former Manchester City dynamo was particularly underwhelming.

LeedsLive journalist Beren Cross claimed the 25-year-old had a ‘quieter evening’, whilst MOT Leeds News ranked him amongst the worst-performers on the pitch, claiming that he should’ve gotten more involved than he did.

Indeed, Harrison was hugely ineffective and pretty anonymous and that was reflected by SofaScore grading him as the worst player on the pitch with a 5.7 rating.

He managed 60 touches across the 90 minutes but failed to even have a shot, despite the game being so end-to-end, and he recorded just one successful dribble from seven attempts (14%).

Elsewhere, he lost possession a whopping 24 times – the second-worst in the side – and won only two of his 14 duels, further suggesting his struggles up against Matty Cash and co.

It means that Harrison lost the ball once every 2.5 touches – or nearly once every four minutes, which is pretty appalling.

Harrison certainly had an off-night down at Villa Park and on the above evidence, he was not only lightweight against the opposition but he too was a complete passenger as the likes of James and Rodrigo, who contributed 5 key passes, thrived in the final third.

He’ll have to do much better when the Yorkshiremen face Everton on Saturday.

AND in other news, Signed for £5m, now worth 740% more: Leeds struck gold with £42m-rated “rare talent”…

أبدى أحمد حسام ميدو المدير الفني الأسبق لنادي الزمالك اندهاشه من عدم انضمام كريم فؤاد لاعب الأهلي إلى قائمة منتخب مصر خلال المعسكر الذي سيقام في شهر نوفمبر الحالي.

وضم فيتوريا 24 لاعبًا من أندية الدوري المصري استعدادًا لمواجهة بلجيكا وديًا يوم 18 من نوفمبر الحالي.

طالع أيضًا.. خاص | اتحاد الكرة يرفض خوض منتخب مصر مباريات ودية دون مُقابل مادي

وقال ميدو خلال حديثه ببرنامج “الريمونتادا” المذاع على قناة “المحور”: “زيكو لاعب حرس الحدود جيد وانضمامه لمنتخب مصر يعطي رسالة للجميع بأن أي لاعب يجيد سوف ينضم للمنتخب، أوجه التحية لفيتوريا على اختياره له”.

وأضاف: “أرى أن كريم فؤاد كان يجب أن ينضم للمنتخب، ولقد سبق له الاستدعاء للفريق الوطني دون أن يشارك، وعندما يتألق لا ينضم، وعدم استدعائه وهو يسير بشكل جيد من الممكن يسبب له الإحباط”.

وأردف المدير الفني الأسبق لنادي الزمالك: “عدم انضمام كريم فؤاد إلى منتخب مصر لغز كبير”.

واستأنف: “أحمد الشناوي من أفضل حراس المرمى في مصر وهو يستحق الانضمام للمنتخب على المستوى الفني، وأشعر من حديث فيتوريا أنه لن يضمه، وأتمنى ألا يكون هناك أمور خارج كرة القدم، وأتمنى ألا تتدخل السياسة الكروية في اختيارات المدير الفني”.

A teasing update has emerged regarding Newcastle United’s attempts to sign Diego Carlos from Sevilla…

What’s the talk?

Sky Sports journalist Kaveh Solhekol has provided an update on the club’s pursuit of the Brazilian defender this month.

NUFC360 quote him as saying: “The latest information I have is that things are looking positive. The players himself wants to move to Newcastle. Everything I’m hearing about that deal makes me feel like it is moving in the right direction. [@SkyKaveh] #NUFC”

Excitement for Newcastle fans

This update from Solhekol will surely get Newcastle fans feeling excited, as it suggests that Carlos is likely to be on his way to St James’ Park.

He has averaged an impressive SofaScore rating of 7.14 for Sevilla in La Liga and 7.03 in the Champions League this season, showing that he is currently in flying form and could be able to come in and hit the ground running on Tyneside.

The centre-back could be an exciting signing for the fans to enjoy, as he has shown that he can perform consistently at the top level, albeit that it remains to be seen whether or not he can adapt to the Premier League.

Spanish football analyst Domagoj Kostanjšak previously outlined the defender’s key attributes and hailed his quality in La Liga, saying: “He’s a really physical player – he’s built like a tank and they don’t call him ‘The Beast’ for no reason. He’s really good in the air and he’s decent on the ball as well – you have to be under Julen Lopetegui.

“He’s been in my top three or four centre-backs in Spain this season, along with Raphael Varane and Inigo Martinez – he’s been a bit of a revelation. He’s playing the best football of his career and he immediately settled in. I would say there is a shade of Kalidou Koulibaly about him – not the same quality, of course, but I would compare him to him.”

Newcastle’s defence has been dreadful in the Premier League this season, with the second-worst record in the top flight, and Eddie Howe is in desperate need of reinforcements in that position. Therefore, fans will surely be excited by the prospect of someone as talented as Carlos coming in to try and solve that problem.

AND in other news, NUFC could land big Clark upgrade in “incredible” £7.2m-rated beast, he’s a “monster”…

West Indies saved their worst for last as they were knocked out of their home tournament with a crushing six-wicket defeat by Australia

The Bulletin by Peter English11-May-2010Australia 109 for 4 (Haddin 42) beat West Indies 105 (Sarwan 26, Smith 3-20) by 6 wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
HawkeyeSteven Smith stood out with an impressive return of 3 for 20•AFP

West Indies saved their worst for last as they were knocked out of their home tournament with a crushing six-wicket defeat by Australia. The hosts were in trouble as soon as the captain Chris Gayle fell second ball and flopped to 105, which their unbeaten opponents eased past in 16.2 overs.Australia’s next engagement is Friday’s semi-final against Pakistan while Sri Lanka, who qualified in the first game of the day in St Lucia, face England on Thursday. Sri Lanka’s five-wicket victory over India left West Indies needing to win by 24 runs to reach the last four ahead of Kumar Sangakkara’s side, but that quickly proved impossible.All Michael Clarke’s men needed to do to qualify on top of Group F was avoid a heavy loss. Instead they produced another muscular performance as they chase their first global Twenty20 title.David Warner blasted four boundaries and a huge six over long-on in 12 balls to kick-start the pursuit. He fell for 25 when edging Jerome Taylor and when Shane Watson (5) played-on to Sulieman Benn in the next over the hosts started to wonder.The slim hope was brief as Brad Haddin took over once he got comfortable to secure the result and give Australia their fifth win in the tournament. Haddin finished with 42 off 46, departing a ball before Gayle delivered five wides to end the match. David Hussey was 10 not out as the tourists finished at 109 for 3.The only worry for Australia entering the next stage is the ability of Clarke to lift the pace when required. Given a risk-free opportunity to show some muscle, he chipped the ball around in his usual style to collect 16 from 24 before being run-out by Dwayne Bravo’s direct hit from backward point.West Indies did not recover after losing Gayle, who played on to Dirk Nannes, and Australia’s well-rounded attack picked off his team-mates with ease as the innings ended six balls early. West Indies slumped to 60 for 5 in the 10th over as they were out-gunned, with Mitchell Johnson collecting 2 for 22, before the legspinner Steven Smith snuffed out any chance of a revival. Smith was on a hat-trick when he removed Kieron Pollard and Darren Sammy on the way to an impressive 3 for 20.Ramnaresh Sarwan, the No. 3, tried to hold the innings together with 26 off 32 balls, but there was too much damage at the other end and he exited in the 15th over. Nikita Miller (10 not out) and Benn (9) were left to add 20 for the last wicket to take West Indies to triple figures.The other opener Shivnarine Chanderpaul (24) raised the rate after Gayle’s exit before attempting to force Johnson down the ground, where David Hussey dived for an athletic take at mid-on. West Indies were 52 for 3 when Bravo was unlucky to be run out for 6 after Sarwan drove back to Johnson and the ball brushed the bowler’s fingers to ricochet on to the stumps. An over later Narsingh Deonarine hadn’t scored as he found Michael Hussey at deep square leg to give Smith his first wicket.Johnson’s second came with Denesh Ramdin’s edge behind on 1 and Pollard was stumped from a beautiful ball from Smith, who confused the batsman with a drifting legspinner. Smith then caught-and-bowled Sammy and when Sarwan fell to David Hussey (2 for 3), West Indies’ chances of a home success were gone.

Many Everton fans have been bemoaning some early team news ahead of their Premier Leaguematch at home to Brighton and Hove Albion today.

As per journalist Alan Myers, new signing Vitaliy Mykolenko is ‘not eligible’ to play at Goodison Park this afternoon.

The Merseyside club had announced the Ukrainian’s signature on their official website on Saturday morning, but they will not be able to see a first glimpse of him when they take on the Seagulls today.

Of course, there is still speculation surrounding the future of the recently-overlooked Lucas Digne as well, so Rafael Benitez’s team may go into the game without a recognised left-back, which in turn could affect their chances of getting all three points against Graham Potter’s side.

Everton fans on team news

These Everton fans bemoaned the team news as it was shared on Twitter, with one supporter claiming that they were ‘gutted’, while another even went as far as to call it a ‘blow’:

“Boooooo”

Credit: @RhysDavies1878

“Why always us?”

Credit: @HeidiInteriors

“That’s a blow”

Credit: @EvertonAllSorts

“That’s sad”

Credit: @534Nz

“Just let us be happy for 5 minutes please, I beg”

Credit: @maggiejane1985

“Gutted”

Credit: @michmosh85

In other news, find out what transfer news has left these Evertonians fuming

Manchester United may make a move for Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez if David de Gea leaves the club, according to The Daily Star’s Harry Pratt.

The lowdown

The Argentine joined Villa from Arsenal ahead of the 2020/21 season for a fee of £20m, committing to the club until June 2024.

He pockets £47,000 per week in the Midlands, whereas De Gea takes home a whopping £375,000 per week at Old Trafford. However, the Spaniard is out of contract at the end of the 2022/23 season, leading United to draw up contingency plans.

The latest

Pratt wrote in The Daily Star that Martinez’s name features on a list of options who could be pursued if De Gea leaves before the end of his contract. United would consider him a ‘highly suitable’ replacement for the Spaniard, who has been named in the PFA Team of the Year five times.

The Red Devils would apparently shell out £50m to bring the 29-year-old Villa ‘keeper to Old Trafford and they are also admirers of Leeds United’s Illan Meslier, who is eight years younger.

The verdict

Losing Martinez would be a big blow to Villa. Since he joined the club, he has earned some illustrious individual honours, including the club’s 2020/21 Player of the Season award and, perhaps most impressively, a Yashin Trophy nomination.

Even in defeat against Chelsea on Sunday, the Argentine demonstrated his class with a ‘superb’ save to deny Callum Hudson-Odoi.

Still, if they were to lose him, they would at least have £50m+ at their disposal to pick out a top-notch replacement.

In other news, many Villa fans slammed this player’s performance against Chelsea