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Vidarbha wrapped up Delhi’s innings earlier than expected on the morning, and fifties from seniors Faiz Fazal and Wasim Jaffer kept them in the hunt for a lead

The Report by Vishal Dikshit in Indore30-Dec-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Rajneesh Gurbani is mobbed by his team-mates•Rajneesh GurbaniWhen it looked like Delhi would ease past 300 early on the second day, Rajneesh Gurbani stalled them with a hat-trick. When it looked like the Vidarbha openers would stretch their partnership past 100, both fell within the space of four overs. And when it looked like Vidarbha would place themselves in a strong position for a lead after crossing 200 and only three down, they lost one more in the final moments of the second day to expose a weak middle order, making the match restore some parity yet again.Vidarbha had dominated much of the day, finishing off Delhi’s last four wickets for only five runs to wrap them up for 295. Faiz Fazal and Wasim Jaffer struck solid half-centuries to help them finish the day on 206 for 4. Jaffer was on 61 at stumps and would be their biggest hope to take a lead and avoid a collapse.Resuming on their overnight 271 for 6, Dhruv Shorey was looking set with a patient Vikas Mishra, amid edges that weren’t turning into wickets. Gurbani then targeted the stumps. On the last two deliveries of his seventh straight over of the day, he produced two incutters against Mishra and Navdeep Saini. Both deliveries nipped in so sharply from outside off that neither could get the bat down in time and were bowled. Gurbani completed the hat-trick in his next over with the most important wicket of the innings, bringing another one to knock over Shorey’s off stump.Hat-trick hero Gurbani on…

Taking a hat-trick in the Ranji final: “It is a fast bowler’s dream to take a hat-trick and a five-wicket haul in the finals, so obviously it is a special feeling. To be frank, I was not aware I was on a hat-trick. I was not thinking about taking it, but I was bowling every delivery with the intent of taking a wicket.”

How he realised he was on a hat-trick: “I had got two wickets off the fifth and sixth deliveries of my over. When I came on to bowl my next over, someone in the crowd shouted “hat-trick ball”. That is when I realised to be frank. So I planned to bowl on the stumps as much as possible.”

Bowling after cramps on the first day: “I had prepared myself that I should remain on the field and bowl the first over today. I was not fit yesterday. I knew that if I would bowl well, the team would win so since the time I could not bowl yesterday [because of cramps] I was waiting to bowl today.”

If he prefers the new or old ball: “I prefer the new ball. But the SG Test starts swinging more after it gets a bit old so I become more [dangerous]. Otherwise I get wickets with the new ball too.”

Four deliveries after he became only the second bowler to claim a hat-trick in a Ranji final – after Tamil Nadu’s Kalyanasundram against Bombay in 1972-73 – he wrapped up Delhi when Kulwant Khejroliya charged and lost two of his stumps. Four bowled in seven deliveries and Gurbani finished with 6 for 59, his fifth five-for in four straight matches.Vidarbha’s openers put on a solid 96 runs after blunting the new ball in the first session. Saini was Delhi’s best bowler of the day by consistently putting his 140kph deliveries in the right areas, posing threats in all three sessions. He did it against Fazal and Sanjay Ramaswamy but he hardly got support from the other end in the absence of Ishant Sharma and Vikas Tokas, who was replaced by Akash Sudan.Barring the occasional edge or appeal, Fazal and Sanjay looked untroubled for the 30 overs they batted together. Fazal was more productive, middling three drives down the ground and steering plenty of short deliveries square. That he scored 29 off 33 against Saini helped Vidarbha in taming the fired-up bowler. Left-arm spinner Mishra’s flat deliveries could not penetrate his defences and Fazal tucked him to long leg for four to complete his first half-century that was not converted into one of his five hundreds this season.Sudan somehow returned in a different avatar in his second spell when the ball was over 25 overs old. He first brought one into Sanjay for an lbw appeal in the 28th over – that the batsman survived – before seaming one in marginally to have Sanjay chop on for 31. Four overs later, he swung one away from Fazal and the left-hander edged behind for 67.Still 188 adrift, Vidarbha had the man in the middle they needed – Jaffer. He steered two partnerships – with Ganesh Satish and Apoorv Wankhade – during which he was as unruffled as ever in his ninth Ranji final. Those two partnerships were not blemish-free on the bowler-friendly pitch. Saini was brought back soon after Fazal’s dismissal and he created two chances against Satish before tea – first an edge fell short of the slips and then the umpire turned down a a loud lbw appeal because it was probably going down leg.Jaffer meanwhile dropped reminders of his calmness. He drove the second ball after tea serenely through the covers. But Saini tasted success in the next over by pinning Satish above the knee roll, which made the batsman unhappy with the decision. Jaffer continued to late cut – his most productive shot – and punch balls off the backfoot to register his 86th first-class half-century. Wankhade also exhibited two elegant cover drives against the pacers, with Vidarbha appearing like they wouldn’t lose further wickets on the day.However, left-arm pacer Khejroliya titled the balance a bit towards Delhi in the third over before stumps when he angled one away and Wankhade poked for an edge on 28. Saini scared Vidarbha before stumps too by making Jaffer edge one that fell short of slip and appealing for a catch down the leg side four balls later, when the ball had gone off the pad.Delhi are 13 overs away from the new ball and Vidarbha 89 runs short with the key in Jaffer’s hands.

USMNT star Ricardo Pepi started for the PSV second team Monday, leaving many to question if he has been demoted despite his starring role a week ago.

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Pepi demotion questions raisedUSMNT striker starts for second teamScored UCL winner one week agoGetty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

The USMNT star has been sent down to the second team for their match against NAC Breda. It comes five days after Pepi netted the winner in the UEFA Champions League against Sevilla in stoppage-time – sending them through to the knockout round.

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USMNT boss Gregg Berhalter will hope it's a request from Pepi to get more minutes and not an actual demotion. It would be a baffling move from PSV if true, because the USMNT striker is not only in good form, but has mentioned he is content with his current role in the team. Regardless, it's a move that sees him get starting minutes and a potential confidence booster as well.

DID YOU KNOW?

Pepi grew up in the FC Dallas academy system in MLS. This summer, he joined PSV for €10m, and has linked up with USMNT stars Sergino Dest and Malik Tillman there as well.

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR PEPI AND PSV?

PSV Jong (the Dutch club's second team) will finish out their game against NAC Breda before the first-team returns to action on Thursday against SC Heerenveen. Pepi and the USMNT, however, will not return to action until January with a friendly against Slovenia on the 20th.

Jake Lehmann won the Player-of-the-Match award for his double of 103 and 93 as South Australia fell two wickets short of outright victory over Victoria

The report by Daniel Brettig07-Nov-2017
ScorecardAssociated PressAshes aspirant Glenn Maxwell made his second decent score of the match before South Australia fell two wickets short of outright victory over Victoria on the final day of the Sheffield Shield match at the MCG.By following up a first innings 60 with 64, Maxwell showed the sort of consistency the national selectors want from him if they are to consider retaining him in the top six for the first Test against England at the Gabba later this month.But he was unable to go on to a match-shaping hundred, and after the captain Peter Handscomb and Aaron Finch also fell soon after passing 50, the Bushrangers had to scrap to avoid defeat in the closing overs.Joe Mennie, who played his one Test match in Hobart last year, claimed four vital wickets for the Redbacks, but was curiously unused when SA’s captain Travis Head threw the second new ball to Daniel Worrall and Chadd Sayers with four overs remaining and two wickets required. Peter Siddle and Scott Boland were able to survive, which amounted to the honours being shared. Jake Lehmann won the Player-of-the-Match award for his double of 103 and 93 – scores that added him to the list of players for the Test selectors to consider.

The former fielding coach said the board’s lack of professionalism was the reason he quit

Danyal Rasool27-Sep-2018Former Pakistan fielding coach Steve Rixon accused the PCB of “disrespect and stupidity”, and said he had “not once” been paid on time. Rixon said that was the reason he quit his post after two years, deciding he “didn’t need it that much”, and opted to walk out than have to deal with what he believed to be a lack of professionalism on his employer’s part.”I never got paid on time,” Rixon told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s disrespectful, and the disrespect came from the fact that nothing was paid on time to the subsidiary staff. Indecision was the other thing. Whenever something needed to be done, and my contract was one of those things, that took over five months to get clarified. They thought I’d just roll over and accept it right at the eleventh hour but I didn’t do that as I’d basically had enough of it at that stage. I’ve been involved with coaching for 30 years. I enjoy the game a huge amount and I never want to finish a job at cricket not enjoying it. And that’s what probably would have happened if I’d stayed on there.”Refusing to point the finger directly at anyone, Rixon said the PCB needed to learn to treat overseas staff well. He pointed to the fact that the PCB’s conduct had put off Darren Berry from replacing Rixon as Pakistan’s fielding coach – the PCB’s clear first choice – and forgoing the services of such professionals was “stupidity”.”Darren Berry eventually refused to do the job, and I was left out at that particular time when things were going so well. When I say “stupid”, it’s those decisions I’m talking about. If you want overseas staff to come and do a job they’ve started to do which was going extremely well, don’t treat people like that.”Rixon, who had last month mentioned he was “horribly worried” Pakistan would slip back into old ways if they didn’t have someone to drum fielding standards into them, said some of the things that had concerned him had already started to happen. Pakistan were knocked out of the Asia Cup by Bangladesh on Wednesday. The tournament was notable for Pakistan in that it was the first time since the team appeared to have turned a corner under Mickey Arthur that fielding standards sharply dropped. Before the Bangladesh game, the catching rate at the tournament stood at a mere 30%, with eight chances put down in two crunch games alone. For Rixon, it highlighted the importance of not letting up on the Pakistan players who, he felt, tended to relax as soon as things began to go well.”I highlighted that if you don’t work hard with these kids and stay on their backs, you’re going to have the sort of things that have started to happen. Far, far too many easy catches were dropped. The fielding record that had improved, the catching record that had improved, and the run-out record that took them to the top of the table in world cricket is not going to happen again if these kids don’t continue to be pushed.”The concentration level of a lot of our players is very minimal when it comes to the fielding aspect, and we tend to relax when things start to go okay. When we think we’re getting on top is when the danger time starts; that’s the most vulnerable time for our boys. When one thing goes wrong, it’s like a snowball effect. That’s when things start to happen in bulk and that’s obviously what’s happened of late. But it’s more our level of concentration. You have to stay on top of these boys at all times. Don’t relax at any stage and keep the work ethic as high as possible because if you don’t, they’ll fall off as quick as they started.”Grant Bradburn, Pakistan’s new fielding coach, was a New Zealand cricketer when Rixon coached the side. And although Rixon said he didn’t know much of Bradburn’s fielding credentials, he did remember that he was a good fielder.”I think he’ll do a very good job, he’s a guy that has been from an era where fielding became a massive part of the way we train. When I was with NZ, all the provinces talked about the same philosophy of fielding and started to place emphasis on it. But they need to keep pushing those boys, and if they get that part right, I’m sure it’ll turn out okay.”The PCB, responding shortly after, issued a statement rejecting Steve Rixon’s “baseless” allegations”, saying they came “as a surprise”.”The PCB is disappointed by the baseless allegations made by former fielding coach Steve Rixon in a recent interview,” the statement read. “The PCB spokesman wishes to clarify that the Board has enjoyed cordial relations with all current and former foreign staff attached with national teams.”Mr. Steve Rixon was a good coach who worked hard with the players and certainly helped improve team’s fielding in the last two years. It comes as a surprise to us that Mr. Rixon made unfounded allegations against PCB.The PCB strongly refutes the allegations made by Mr. Rixon in his interview, the foreign coaching staff has full backing and support of the board.”

There were a few catches put down during the record-breaking T20 at Eden Park, but one very valuable one was taken

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-2018There were a few catches put down during the record-breaking T20 at Eden Park, but one very valuable one was taken.Mitchell Grimstone, a 20-year-old student, earned himself NZD50,000 courtesy of a local drinks sponsor when he leaned over the railing at deep midwicket to pluck Ross Taylor’s penultimate-ball six out of the air with his left hand.His reaction was priceless (or, well, worth 50K) as he was mobbed by those next to him in the stands.”I’m not left-handed,” he said. “But somehow I put it there and it stuck, and then everyone was jumping over me.”After the match, Taylor also presented him with his gloves and the match ball while offering congratulations.Having had a major boost to his bank balance, it’s probably a good thing Grimstone is studying accounting at university.

Congratulations Mitch on a great catch and 50k Enjoy my gloves and the match ball #tuicatchamillion #blackcaps #nzvaus

A post shared by Ross Taylor (@rossltaylor3) on Feb 16, 2018 at 2:25am PST

County executives assured there will be no more compensation payments to Test-hosting counties until the issue has been discussed further

George Dobell08-Mar-2018ECB chairman Colin Graves has sought to ease the concerns of anxious county executives by assuring them there will be no more compensation payments to Test-hosting counties until the issue has been discussed further.In a chief executives’ meeting on Thursday, Graves insisted that plans for such payments had only been at draft stage and would have to have been ratified by the board before implementation. As a result of concerns raised by the counties – and most notably by the resignation from the board of Andy Nash – those plans will now be reviewed.While the mood among the counties does appear to be somewhat appeased – there is no serious talk of a vote of no confidence – there are still some awkward questions to answer. At least one club would appear to have already received a payment from the ECB, while at least two more have budgeted for it.Meanwhile, those counties concerned that the suggested compensation payments might signal a change in the long-term policy of the ECB were further alarmed by the news that the new County Partnership Agreements (the successor to Memorandums of Understanding) are likely to be bespoke to each club. While the aim of that is largely to reflect the differing needs of clubs in different parts of the country, it might also be interpreted as providing potential for a further divide between Test-hosting clubs and the rest. In the past, the ECB’s funds have been largely split on an equitable basis (with some room for performance-related bonus payments) among the counties.It has also been revealed that, at some stage in the last couple of years, Sport England expressed some concern over Graves’ position of chairman of the ECB’s new nominations committee.While the ECB has made much of the fact that its board will shortly be mostly made up of independent members, the nominations committee effectively has the opportunity to vet every prospective applicant. All other board members with affiliations to counties – the likes of Richard Thompson, the Surrey chairman, or Peter Wright, the Nottinghamshire Cricket Board chairman – are obliged to step down in May when they will be replaced by independent board members. Giles Clarke, the ECB president, is also expected to step down in May. Alan Leighton is expected, at some stage, to take over as chairman of the nominations committee.Furthermore, it has emerged that in March 2016 the ECB provided an assurance that Graves would abstain from “any vote or decision which could be deemed a conflict of duty… as is his statutory duty”.Although Graves, who was previously chairman of Yorkshire, did excuse himself from the room when the recent allocation of major matches was validated by the board, questions remain as to whether he did so on other occasions; notably when the decision to strip Durham of their Test status was approved. Graves no longer has any direct financial link to Yorkshire, though family trusts set up by him but run independently are owed £20m by the club.

Al-Nassr star Cristiano Ronaldo is causing controversy in Japan after the governor of Nagasaki skipped a meeting back in July to watch him live.

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Al-Nassr & Ronaldo played PSG in July in Osaka, JapanNagasaki Governor attended using government fundsControversy rising over situation, calls for resignationWHAT HAPPENED?

reports that Ronaldo's friendly with Al-Nassr against PSG in July saw the Nagasaki Governor, Kengo Oishi, attend the match using government money. The match was played in Osaka, 732.1 Kilometers from the Island off the coast of Japan by road. Oishi claims he purchased the ticket with his own money, but travel accommodation and travel funds came out of the governments pocket. To make matters worse, the governor skipped an official meeting to attend the match.

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The report adds that Oishi claims the purpose of the event was to speak with Ronaldo's party about potentially playing a role in a future publicity event, while "some officials" claim no deal existed with the Portuguese forward. Demands for the resignation of Oishi are now rolling in, while many of his supporters also claim that the publicity would have benefitted the city, meaning the governor was acting in good faith.

DID YOU KNOW?

The two sides played to a 0-0 draw in the friendly in Osaka, with Neymar then playing for PSG in the match before his Saudi Arabian switch to Al-Hilal.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR RONALDO AND NASSR

The Saudi Arabian side are back in action on December 22 against Al-Ettifaq, before a crucial Pro League match against Al-Ittihad on the 26th. For Ronaldo, now is a chance for some downtime until his next match, with an 11-day break before he takes the pitch again.

The wicketkeeper, who is set to equal Brad Hogg’s Australian record for the most Tests missed between appearances, is eager to use this chance to rewrite the story of his career

Brydon Coverdale in Brisbane20-Nov-2017Tim Paine can’t take a hint. In fact, he can’t take repeated hints over the course of several years.Three summers ago, when Paine was 29, Tasmania looked to the future by choosing the Western Australian import Tom Triffitt as wicketkeeper instead of Paine. Last season, it was the teenage Jake Doran – another import – who took the gloves. And this year, Matthew Wade returned from a decade with Victoria and settled in behind the stumps himself.So where does that leave Paine? In a plot-twist worthy of , it leaves him about to keep wicket for Australia in an Ashes series, seven years after he last wore the baggy green. As head-scratching selections go, this is one of the scratchiest, for Paine has been gloveman in just three Shield games in the past two years and has not scored a first-class hundred since 2006. But there are mitigating circumstances.”It was widely recognised last year in Tasmania that I was the best wicketkeeper in Tasmania,” Paine said in Brisbane on Monday, “it was just that at the time Tasmania had a fair share of battles in Shield cricket and decided to go in a new direction that was clearly a younger direction, so that was just how it panned out.”And the lack of big runs? One contributing factor was the smashed finger that he suffered while batting against Dirk Nannes in an exhibition match in 2010. Rod Marsh was Iron Gloves, but surely no Australian wicketkeeper has had as much metal to contend with as Tim Paine, who now has a plate and seven or eight pins as permanent features of his right hand, repairing the index finger that caused him such trouble after the Nannes blow.”Behind the stumps I was pretty good straight away, it didn’t worry me too much. It hurt a little bit but it didn’t take too much away from me,” Paine said. “But with batting, it really did affect me and you only have to look at my numbers in those few years when I came back. I was battling mentally, I was out there thinking I was going to get hit and if I did get hit I’d never play again. It certainly rattled me a lot.”It was not until he opened up with Tasmania’s sports psychologist, Emma Harris, that Paine was able to move past his batting troubles. And now, a couple of years down the track, he has also found an ally in the new Tasmania batting coach Jeff Vaughan, who has helped Paine rework his batting grip to better suit his pins and plate.”The opportunity has come at a really good time for me,” Paine said. “The past five or six months I’ve really started to bat well again and I’ll go into this Test with some confidence. I played pretty well last week [against England in a tour game], I’ve played Test cricket before so I know what to expect. And I’ve had some success in the few Tests I have played, so I’ll take some confidence from that.”Australia have played 78 Tests since Paine last wore the baggy green, meaning that on Thursday he will equal the Australian record for the most Tests missed between appearances: Brad Hogg also sat out of 78 Tests from his 1996 debut until he returned to the side in 2003.And while Paine admits he was surprised by his recall, he is keen to grab his chance. He turns 33 next month, and if he performs strongly during this Ashes campaign, he could feasibly have several years ahead of him as a Test keeper. Finally, it is a chance for Paine to live up to the high expectations that were placed on him seven years ago.”I’m not here for five minutes, I’m here to make the most of this opportunity,” he said. “To be honest, I’m sick of talking about being the person who hurt his finger and what could have been six or seven years ago. That’s the way I’m looking at this opportunity.”Hopefully I can be sitting in a room like this in two years or three years and we’re talking about the back end of my Test career, not ‘Geez, he could have been a good player back in 2009’. That’s something that’s really exciting for me, is to be able to re-write my story a bit and it’s something I’m really keen to do.”

Liverpool's flight back to Merseyside was cancelled amid the wind and rain of Storm Ciaran, after they beat Bournemouth 2-1 in the Carabao Cup.

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Reds won in terrible conditionsCody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez scoredLiverpool unable to fly back northWHAT HAPPENED?

Liverpool battled to a 2-1 win over the Cherries on the south coast on Wednesday, despite the wind and rain that plagued the encounter. Gakpo and Nunez scored to send the Reds into the quarter-finals of the competition, but the conditions grounded their flight back north.

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Per Liverpool Echo journalist Paul Gorst, the Reds' flight back was cancelled, leaving the squad and staff stranded. Storm Ciaran brought strong winds and heavy rain to the United Kingdom overnight, with large parts of the country ordered to stay inside amid "danger to life" warnings. Liverpool, meanwhile, are not back in action until Sunday, when they face Luton Town away from home.

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The Reds have won the Carabao Cup on nine occasions and are aiming to repeat their 2021/22 success after overcoming the Cherries. They will face West Ham in the last-eight.

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Klopp's side face newly-promoted Luton at Kenilworth Road this weekend.

Leeds United winger Jack Harrison may leave the club this summer following their relegation to the Sky Bet Championship, according to journalist Dean Jones.

What's the latest transfer news involving Jack Harrison?

According to talkSPORT, Leeds United are 'preparing for the departure' of Harrison this summer amid interest from Premier League clubs in his services.

The £90k-a-week ace is said to have a relegation release clause in his contract, which has alerted West Ham United and Aston Villa to his potential availability as he would be allowed to leave on a cut-price deal.

Despite Harrison signing a new contract at Leeds United, they will not stand in his way if he chooses to seek a new challenge in the off-season, according to Leeds Live.

In the Whites' final Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur, Harrison applauded supporters after being substituted off in the encounter in what looked like a farewell gesture at Elland Road.

Earlier this year, Harrison was the subject of interest from Leicester City; nevertheless, he turned down the opportunity to move to the King Power Stadium in the January transfer window, as per Football Insider.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist Jones has said that it will be a 'test of loyalty' to see whether Harrison chooses to stay or leave Leeds United given their relegation to the English second-tier.

Jones stated: "It will be interesting. I mean, he's obviously committed to Leeds at the moment, but being in a different division now might change that – he's probably a bit too good for that level. It will be a test of loyalty, really."

What were Jack Harrison's stats like in 2022/23?

Harrison enjoyed a productive 2022/23 campaign, all things considered and was a little unlucky to be part of a side that eventually got themselves relegated from the Premier League.

All in, the 26-year-old winger made 40 appearances in all competitions for Leeds United and registered ten goals and six assists in total, as per Transfermarkt.

WhoScored also show that Harrison earned an average match rating of 6.72/10 for his exploits on the field, making him Leeds United's second-most consistent performer this term behind Tyler Adams.

According to FBRef, Harrison also managed to successfully carry out 114 shot-creating actions for Leeds United this campaign, showing that even in a dark moment for the club, he was a shining light that offered a beacon of hope regarding survival.

The former Manchester City star will have a big decision to make this summer; however, it looks hard to see how Leeds United will be able to keep hold of him in the Sky Bet Championship.