David Parsons, the acting director of the ECB’s Academy, has expressed his disappointment at Rod Marsh’s comments that England have gone backwards since winning the Ashes last year. Marsh was critical of Duncan Fletcher and said England had done themselves a huge disservice by losing their bowling coach Troy Cooley.”We’ve had two disappointing results here in Australia, but I don’t agree that our Test standards are slipping fast,” Parsons told . “When I read those comments, I thought it was a shame. Rod did a really good job when he was in charge and he got the academy up and running. It’s just sad that someone who has been so heavily involved in the programme feels that it is right to make that sort of comment.”Parsons also defended the decision to have the academy side based in Perth during the Ashes, despite the fact they have played only two one-day matches – both ending in defeat – and have one remaining game before their stay in Australia ends. He described the policy as “a risk worth taking”.”Given the injuries that England had last time, it was important to know someone was on stand-by if something was to go wrong,” Parsons said in the . “The other side of it is that you get the advantage of being out here in the sunshine on some really good pitches. Even if none of the players get the call-up they will still have benefited from being out here in the middle.”Parsons mentioned Ravi Bopara, Steven Davies, Stuart Broad, Chris Tremlett and Graham Onions as players who could help form the next generation of England cricket and who would take the most from the trip.
Speculation is rife that Aziz Al Kaiser Titoo, the vice-president of Bangladesh Cricket Board, has resigned as the row over a secret deal regarding television rights grows. The rumours come in the wake of the resignation of Reazuddin Al Mamun , the board joint-secretary and media committee chairman, in protest at the deal.Speaking to the Dhaka-based daily, , Titoo denied submitting any resignation letter, but did not rule out its possibility in the near future. “Honestly speaking, I am looking forward to the next board meeting to clarify my position. I will definitely raise some burning issues like the TV and sponsorship deal and the resignation of our joint-secretary in the meeting and if there is no satisfactory outcome then I will definitely think about my resignation.”Titoo also expressed his dissatisfaction at the way Ali Asghar, the board’s president, has handled the TV deal. “There is an elected committee in the board and I think nothing should be passed or accepted bypassing the executive committee. I don’t know whether president has accepted one of our top members’ resignation or not, but I think it should be discussed in the board meeting before taking a final decision.”He also expressed his ignorance about the alleged secret deal that Asghar struck with Aston Moore Sports and Entertainment in July, and demanded an inquiry into the affair.. “I’m not aware of such deal. If such deal was struck then it is certainly a big issue. I know Aston Moore but to be honest the company is not experienced enough to handle such a big matter. We should form an inquiry committee to bring out the truth.”
“South Africa looked like they didn’t want to win the match,” saidHarbhajan Singh. “They seemed like they would be happy with a draw. Theynever scored at much more than two runs an over. Now our batsmen have todo their part of the job, and make a big score – about 500. That will giveus enough of a lead to put South Africa under pressure in the secondinnings.”South African coach Ray Jennings later contested Harbhajan’s remarks.”People are misunderstanding us,” he said. “We played as well as we could.You have to remember the guy coming in after Kallis was making his debut.And Ontong was playing his first game for four years. It’s a differentthing when you’re batting with Tendulkar waiting to bat after you.”Jacques Kallis expressed satisfaction with his hundred, saying that thepitch was not an easy one to score on. “It’s always more rewarding whenyou have to work to get your runs. It’s probably one of my best hundreds,though I’d say my first hundred against Australia was better.”Kallis conceded that South Africa had not made enough runs. “305 is anaverage score – we would have liked 400. But the Indians bowled very welland we didn’t stand up. We’ll have to bowl well tomorrow to come back inthe game. But we didn’t set out to play for a draw. The day a South Africateam comes out to play for a draw we’ll walk right off the field.”
Andrew Caddick is expected to miss the rest of the season with a back complaint, a development that leaves his future in some doubt. Caddick, 34, has spent the last six weeks recovering from a stress fracture of the right foot, but this latest injury is potentially far more serious.”There is a distinct possibility that Andy could be out for the season,” said Somerset’s chief executive Peter Anderson. “We should know more after he sees a specialist in Bristol tomorrow. He has had a problem with his back for a couple of years and it seems that wearing an air-cast on his foot because of the stress fracture has accentuated the back condition.Caddick has made only one County Championship and one National Leagueappearance for Somerset this season. He had been expected to play against Zimbabwe in May, but he had reported pain between the toes of his right foot. At first the problem was diagnosed as ligament damage, but a later scan revealed a stress fracture.Anderson added: “We must await the result of the examination before knowing whether or not the injury is career-threatening.”
Middlesex made one last effort to get back into the promotion shake-up with a headlong charge to wipe out Worcestershire’s first innings advantage of 85.Andrew Strauss and Robin Weston raced to 66 by the 10th over, when Weston was stumped off Matt Rawnsley, and the scoring rate held at five-an-over as they reached 152 for 2. Strauss completed his second half-century of the match in establishing a modest lead of 87With Warwickshire taking maximum bonus points at Derby, Middlesex can only try to set up some kind of target for Worcestershire on the last day – and then hope for the best.They were forced into this position by the home side’s determination not to waste a career-best 168 from opener Anurag Singh. The former Cambridge University captain resumed on 103 and passed 1,000 runs in a season for the first time before he was caught behind off Chad Keegan.There was just a glimmer of hope for Middlesex when Worcestershire’s newly-installed player of the year, Andy Bichel, sliced Keegan’s next ball to cover point, but teenager Kadeer Ali settled into a stand of 52 with Steve Rhodes.Kadeer, reaching double figures for the first time in 11 Championship innings, was caught at cover for 38 as Simon Cook and Tim Bloomfield shared the last four wickets but with more resistance from Matt Rawnsley and Chris Liptrot.Middlesex had a mixed morning. Bloomfield made a breakthrough by dismissing Graeme Hick and Vikram Solanki in three balls, but David Leatherdale joined the imperious Singh in a partnership of 83 in 19 overs.
Uncapped Punjab allrounder Gurkeerat Singh has been included in India’s ODI squad for the first three matches against South Africa in October, while uncapped Karnataka seamer S Aravind was picked for the T20 internationals.The players left out from the full-strength ODI squad that had toured Bangladesh were allrounder Ravindra Jadeja and seamer Dhawal Kulkarni. Gurkeerat, who bowls offspin took Jadeja’s spot in the squad while legspinner Amit Mishra came in for Kulkarni.Gurkeerat, 25, had two impressive outings for India A recently. He had taken 2 for 42 and scored an unbeaten 87 in the tri-series final victory against Australia A in August, and then he made 65 and took 5 for 29 against a Bangladesh A team comprising several international players in the first one-day game in Bangalore.”Gurkeerat was picked looking at his all-round capabilities,” Sandeep Patil, the chairman of selectors, said. “The demands of the game are such that we need more allrounders.”The selectors, who met in Bangalore on Sunday afternoon, said they had not contemplated any change in the captaincy, with MS Dhoni returning to lead the ODI and T20I squads after Virat Kohli had captained India to a Test series win in Sri Lanka. Dhoni had retired from Test cricket during the tour of Australia last year.”We have not discussed anything regarding the ODI captaincy,” Patil said. “We are very happy the way Dhoni has led. We have total backing for Dhoni during this series.”Fast bowler Mohammed Shami was not included in either squad because he is still undergoing rehabilitation for the knee injury he suffered during the tour of Australia in 2014-15. Shami last played for India during the 2015 World Cup and been sidelined from all competitive cricket since.India did not pick any of their fastest bowlers – Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron or Ishant Sharma – for the T20 internationals, preferring the medium pace offered by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Aravind, and Stuart Binny.”We have picked this side looking at the wickets,” Patil said. “We have not lost faith in our [fast] bowlers. There is still a lot of time to go to World Twenty20. We did discuss Ishant Sharma also. Not like we have earmarked him only for Tests.”South Africa arrive in India in the last week of September and play three T20Is, five ODIs and four Tests during a tour that ends on December 7.ODI squad: MS Dhoni (captain), R Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh, Amit MishraT20I squad: MS Dhoni (captain), R Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma, S Aravind, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra
Liverpool have agreed terms with Heerenveen for winger Ousmane Assaidi, with the player set to move to Anfield if he passes a medical.
Brendan Rodgers is eager to strengthen his inherited Reds squad this summer, and has already brought Joe Allen and Fabio Borini to the Merseyside club.
A wide attacker has been on the wishlist for the Northern Irish manager all summer long, with moves for players such as Gaston Ramirez touted.
The Morocco international has been speculated with a move to a bigger club this off-season, with Fulham and Ajax reportedly keen to sign the African flyer.
However, the Reds have confirmed on their official website that they have agreed a fee with the Eredivisie side for the winger’s services.
Assaidi has 22 caps for his country and has scored 20 goals in 68 appearances for Heerenveen.
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Chelsea may have lost to Manchester United last weekend, but there’s only one way to see the Blues bounce back against Swansea on Saturday – from a Stamford Bridge Box.
If it’s something you’ve never done before, make sure you put that right straight away. Be treated like a VIP at Stamford Bridge courtesy of Football FanCast and 188BET. Not only that, but you can join the Chelsea FanCast boys in the box and meet your favourite podcast presenters!
You can win two places in the box for Chelsea v Swansea on Saturday 24th September, simply by signing up to 188BET and depositing £10 of cash. That’s what Rob and Paul did, and they won places in a Stamford Bridge box for Chelsea v Norwich. This is what they thought of the experience…
Rob (talking to Chidge at Chelsea FanCast): “Just got home, long way but so worth it, what a fantastic day, it was great to finally meet you and tell you in person what a great job you do on the FanCast.
What a great FanCast; always gives me a little buzz when I get a mention, so can you imagine my delight today, it was fantastic to meet you boys and you were right we were well up for it. I have been going to Chelsea for over twenty five years and had some great days but that one was up there with the best!!”
Paul had just as much fun: “Taken all day to recover. Great thing was to watch the game with fellow proper fans. The podcast will be interesting, as this time I was with you when the game was on. Great day, great pissup. Thanks mate.”
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Napoli’s Serie A title hopes took a blow after they slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Chievo Verona on Wednesday.
Walter Mazzarri’s side had the chance to cut AC Milan’s lead atop the Serie A to just two points with a win, but goals to Davide Moscardelli and Gennaro Santo powered Chievo to an important three points at the Stadio Marc Antonio Bentegodi.
The result lifted Chievo into 10th place in the league, while Napoli remain five points behind Milan in second spot.
Roma climbed into fourth despite being held to a 1-1 draw at home by Brescia.
Marco Borriello handed the hosts the lead just before the hour mark, but Brazilian striker Citadin Eder levelled proceedings after 69 minutes to ensure a share of the spoils.
Juventus slumped to eighth place with their second loss in a row, Luigi Delneri’s side going down 2-1 at Palermo.
Fabrizio Miccoli and Giulio Migliaccio gave the hosts a two-goal lead after just 20 minutes, and although Claudio Marchisio pulled one back for Juve nine minutes before the break, they could not find an equaliser. Palermo climb to sixth with the win.
Sampdoria fell to their third loss from four league matches after a 1-0 home defeat to Cagliari.
Belgian midfielder Radja Nainggolan scored the only goal of the game nine minutes before half-time meaning Cagliari have now won four of their last five.
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Fiorentina climbed to 11th place with a 1-0 win over Genoa at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, with Argentine winger Mario Santana scoring the winner five minutes before half-time.
Lecce moved three points clear of the drop zone with a crucial 1-0 away win over Parma, while fellow relegation battlers Cesena and Catania played out a 1-1 draw.
Udinese and Bologna also drew 1-1, after Maurizio Domizzi cancelled out Marco Di Vaio’s opener for Bologna.
Ask any football fan what is so special about the 31st August every year, and the vast majority will tell you just to turn on Sky Sports News and watch events unfold. Tune in to see the ‘drama’ that is transfer deadline day. We know what it’s all about, seeing reporters outside football grounds, cars leaving training complexes and Big Ben getting closer and closer to that midnight cut off point when the window closes. In the weeks and months prior to that, we must endure tens of made up transfer stories in rumour mills across a broad range of media outlets.
So why is the transfer window so melodramatic nowadays? One cliché may suggest it is just yet another indication of the way our beautiful game is heading. It is less about football on the pitch, more about capital off it. Who can make the headlines not for winning the most games or scoring the most goals, but for signing the biggest players and spending the most cash? Transfer rumours will get more coverage than some of the football matches that happen every weekend.
It also helps to maintain high readership and viewing figures amongst those footballing outfits when frankly, there’s not a lot else going on in the close season. Players are on holiday and training grounds are temporarily made redundant so people covering matters at such locations have little else to resort to. Transfer stories are reported based on barely a shred of evidence, but people still buy the newspapers, watch the TV Channels and click on the websites in the hope that the latest rumour is true, and in fact Fillipo Inzaghi will be joining Watford or Yann M’Villa has ‘100%’ signed for Arsenal.
It is true though, that football fans love nothing more than to be full of optimism going into a new season, the rumour mills and the drama of the transfer window only fuel this notion. If every story reported was proven to be true, all of the 92 teams in the football league would be considering themselves for success, becoming completely unrealistic over their teams hopes for the upcoming campaign. But the modern football fan is all too used to the speculation and the pre-season buzz.
There are other and more intelligent football stories that could be covered throughout the close season, taking in wider aspects of the game. To look at the impact of goal line technology, the poor financial structure of some the biggest clubs in football or the prospect of certain young talents. Whilst such stories can be seen, the underlying and consistent feature of summer footballing news is always transfer speculation.
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We may all find ourselves avidly following the transfer window in the close season, hoping for each rumour to be true, but the realistic aspect of the situation is that it is all made up, constantly fuelled by half stories just to keep football fans tuned in when there is very little else happening.