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Andrew Flintoff, who was bought by the Chennai Super Kings for US$1.5 million in the second auction, believes the IPL will help him reach his peak for a busy summer

Cricinfo staff05-Apr-2009Andrew Flintoff, who was bought by the Chennai Super Kings for US$1.5 million in the second auction, believes the IPL will help him reach his peak for a busy summer. Flintoff has signed on for two weeks with Chennai and intends to absorb as much as he can from team-mates and opposition in a bid to aid England in the World Twenty20 at home in June.”It’s been frustrating with the hip injury, thigh injury and getting hit on the thumb just before the end of the tour of the West Indies and I think the IPL will be good for me,” said Flintoff, who had earlier expressed disappointment at not being able to play the tournament in India. “There are a few people putting it down but keeping playing should help me out a lot. When I stop and start is when my body is at its most vulnerable.”I know I’m only bowling four overs a game, but it will give me a chance to work on my game in between games going into a Test series and I will be working with top facilities out in South Africa.”England’s hectic summer includes Test and one-day series against West Indies, the World Twenty20, the Ashes and a seven-match one-day series against Australia. The other leading England players in the IPL include Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Owais Shah and Ravi Bopara, all of whom will report back to England by May 1.”It is a long schedule and everyone is looking forward to the Ashes and making sure everyone is fit for that but I’ve stressed all along that we have to perform in all the games we’re playing,” Flintoff said. “From my point of view, although it’s been frustrating I’ve had four or five weeks when I’ve not played because I’ve been injured so I’m probably fresher than a lot of the lads. If I’m asked whether I’m jaded in September I’ll probably be on my knees but at this moment in time I’m looking forward to getting on with it.”During the IPL Flintoff will play alongside Matthew Hayden, MS Dhoni and Muttiah Muralitharan for Chennai and he hoped it would give him clues about preparation techniques and the strengths and weaknesses of opposition in the World Twenty20. “The Twenty20 World Cup is going to be huge and international Twenty20 cricket is going to become bigger and bigger,” Flintoff said. “While I’m out there I’ll be watching the likes of Dhoni, who has played a lot of it, and Hayden who had a good IPL last year. I will be speaking to a few of the Indian guys and see if I can pick their brains.”I think you’ll find players helping each other out and talking to each other, but the flip side of that is that other sides have England team-mates so you have to be a bit cautious about what you’re saying. Ultimately, it’s all about playing for England and by passing on a bit of information about one of your players could be to the detriment of this team and that’s something you can’t do.”Flintoff will play his first IPL match against the Mumbai Indians in Cape Town on April 18 before facing Pietersen’s Bangalore Royal Challengers in Port Elizabeth two days later. He can play up to seven IPL games before returning to England.

Crystal Palace will be aiming to pick up their first victory under the tutelage of new manager Patrick Vieira when they host Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League this afternoon.

What’s the word?

The Eagles have collected two points from a possible nine so far this season and are set to face a tricky task when the current league leaders arrive at Selhurst Park for the early kick-off.

Palace’s day’s work will be made even harder after Vieira ruled versatile midfielder Jeffrey Schlupp out of action after he picked up an injury while on international duty.

“The only one who came back with an injury was Jeffrey Schlupp. He felt his hamstring, so he won’t be involved in the game tomorrow. Everybody else came back fit,” the Frenchman revealed in Friday’s press conference.

“(Eberechi) Eze and Nathan (Ferguson) are progressing, and it will still take a while for them to get back and training with the team.”

Patrick Vieira will be frustrated

Schlupp has started three of Palace’s four games in all competitions so far this season, so Vieira will likely be frustrated to be without the 28-year-old for the visit of in-form Spurs.

After the Eagles failed to replace winger Andros Townsend over the summer, the Ghana international has been fielded out wide in the early stages of the campaign, and his latest injury setback will leave Vieira short of options on the flanks.

Talismanic star Wilfried Zaha is currently the only natural winger in Palace’s first team squad, and Schlupp’s enforced absence is likely to mean that Jordan Ayew is selected in his less favoured wide position.

In other news… Journalist reveals exciting Crystal Palace transfer update which will have fans buzzing 

Ralph Hasenhuttl has offered an insight into Armando Broja’s start to life at Southampton…

What’s the latest?

The manager has admitted that the Albanian is showing signs of progression at St Mary’s after a difficult start following his loan switch from fellow Premier League side Chelsea.

Hasenhuttl told Hampshire Live: “During the first two weeks, I was looking at what he had to give for me and I did not see a lot, to be honest. I had a very serious conversation with him to tell him what I wanted to see.

“He is a little bit of a slow starter. You need to push him a little bit. He is moving in the right direction now. He is showing me what I want to see and this is very positive for me.

“The way we play is a little different to how he has played so far in his career, it is a little bit more energetic.

“I would not say that he was lazy but, in the beginning, he did not show me the qualities that he has. When you arrive at a new club you must show the qualities that you have. He has done this during the last two games. He did this against Newcastle and against West Ham. For me, this is a very good sign.”

Unleash him

The time has come for Hasenhuttl to take the training wheels off Broja and unleash him in the Premier League by handing him a start against Manchester City next weekend.

He has made two league appearances for the Saints this season and both of them came as a substitute. Broja was given cameos against both West Ham and Newcastle in the last two matches, particularly impressing against the former as he hit the post and won two duels from only six touches.

The 20-year-old has already shown glimpses of what he can do this term. He scored two goals and created two chances in the 8-0 win over Newport County in the Carabao Cup, whilst also going away on international duty and scoring two goals and providing two assists in two games against Hungary and San Marino.

Football talent scout Jacek Kulig hailed Broja as ‘dangerous’ earlier this summer and urged fans to keep an eye on him this season. Along with his statistics in those aforementioned matches, this suggests that he has the potential to make an impact in the final third for the Saints.

Hasenhuttl said that the 20-year-old has been a slow starter but, as he explained, the signs are now promising and it could be the right time to unleash him from the start. Let him attack Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte, or John Stones, from the off and see what he is capable of producing.

Given his form in the Carabao Cup and at international level for Albania, the upside to starting Broja could be huge as he has the quality to score and create goals. The downside is that he could struggle, but Southampton are not expected to travel to the Etihad Stadium and pick up three points, so it could be the perfect low-pressure environment for him to thrive.

AND in other news, Southampton must sign £28k-p/w beast who’s “one of the best”, he won’t cost a penny…

Middle-order batsman Rajin Saleh and medium-pacer Sajidul Islam have missed out on a list of 17 contracted players named by the Bangladesh Cricket Board

Cricinfo staff11-Apr-2009Middle-order batsman Rajin Saleh and medium-pacer Sajidul Islam have missed out on a list of 17 contracted players named by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). The BCB offered contracts to six players for the first time – Mahmudullah, Nazmul Hossain, Naeem Islam, Mahbubul Alam, Imrul Kayes and Rubel Hossain.The BCB had 21 players on its payroll last year but seven terminated their contracts to join the ICL. Mohammad Rafique, the veteral spinner, had earlier retired. The BCB announced a 30% pay increase for players last month in a bid to stop further defections to the ICL.This is the second year in a row Saleh, 25, has been overlooked for a contract. He was one of five players whose contracts had been reduced from one year to six months in December 2007. Not a regular feature in the squad since July 2007, he was called up for the series against New Zealand last October where he managed just 26 runs in the two Tests at 8.66.Sajidul, a 21-year-old left-arm medium-pacer, played two Tests against New Zealand in January 2008. He has not featured in Bangladesh’s plans since.The 11 already contracted players to have been given new ones are the Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shahadat Hossain, Abdur Razzak, Shakib-Al-Hasan, Syed Rasel, Mehrab Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Junaid Siddique and Raqibul Hasan.

After back-to-back league defeats, Nuno Santo and his Tottenham Hotspur side will be looking forward to the chance of competing in a different competition this week as their Carabao Cup campaign gets underway.

The Portuguese is returning to his old stomping ground for the second time in the space of a month as the Lilywhites face Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux tonight.

Spurs won that encounter 1-0 and they will be aiming to go one better in the tournament this time around, having been defeated by Manchester City in the final back in late April.

But with games coming thick and fast before the second international break of the 2021/22 campaign, Nuno has plenty to consider with his team selection.

He’s also dealing with several injury concerns, so here’s the lineup Football FanCast are predicting this evening…

The 47-year-old, who enjoyed a successful three seasons at Wolves, will definitely be without the services of wide trio Lucas Moura, Steven Bergwijn and Ryan Sessegnon.

It leaves Nuno short on options in attack.

Both Harry Kane and Heung-min Son are expected to keep their place, whilst Giovani Lo Celso may be preferred to summer signing Bryan Gil on the right as the young Spaniard continues to adapt to life in England.

Another two names from Sunday’s defeat to Chelsea could also remain in the starting XI, with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Tanguy Ndombele partnering returning academy gem Oliver Skipp in the engine room.

Dele Alli, valued at £27m, is axed to make way for the midfield change.

There could be changes aplenty at the back, however, as Nuno looks to shake things up to keep his side fresh for this weekend’s north London derby.

As a result, we’re expecting Davinson Sanchez to get his first start since returning from international duty. He had started their first three league games before missing the Crystal Palace loss due to quarantine.

Next to him could be Joe Rodon, meaning both Eric Dier and Cristian Romero are rested with Sunday afternoon in mind.

Both full-backs may also change, with Ben Davies replacing Sergio Reguilon on the left and Japhet Tanganga making his comeback from suspension, in the place of £22.5m-rated summer signing Emerson Royal.

Finally, between the sticks, club captain Hugo Lloris is likely to make way for Pierluigi Gollini as the Atalanta loanee appears to be the cup ‘keeper for Nuno this term.

In total, there could be as many as six changes from Sunday’s disappointing result.

AND in other news, Nuno must unleash “really special” 6 ft Spurs beast tonight, he can haunt Wolves again…

Ireland have virtually retained the same squad that won the recent World Cup Qualifiers tournament in South Africa

Cricinfo staff06-May-2009Ireland have virtually retained the same squad that won the recent World Cup Qualifiers tournament in South Africa, with the only changes being the inclusion of Jeremy Bray and Paul Stirling in place of Andrew Poynter and Eoin Morgan.Ireland coach Phil Simmons has again opted for experience, a policy which served him well in their triumph last month, with one notable exception, 18-year-old Paul Stirling. “Paul has been in such good form in the Friends Provident Trophy, with two exceptional knocks,” Simmons said. “It’s not just been the fact that he’s scored runs, but the manner in which he has played. He’s been confident, powerful and dominant. It’s hard to believe that innings of such maturity come from one so young. He looks the part and has a great attitude to the game which will stand him in good stead in years to come.”For Stirling, who’s still a student at the Belfast High School, the call-up was a dream come true. “It’s unbelievable really. This is my last official day of school, as I start sitting my ‘A’ levels next week,” Stirling said. “They don’t finish until June 4, so I’m free for the tournament, but may miss the warm up games. I’m looking forward to playing against some of the world’s greatest players, and am relishing taking on the defending world champions, India. The Bangladesh game is one which we’ll be targeting for a win. We’ve beaten them before, and in English conditions, there’s no reason why we can’t do it again.”Simmons also revealed that Andre Botha will undergo a fitness test as he continues to recover from a damaged ankle. “Andre will undergo rigorous testing on his ankle in two to three weeks time, and we’ll make a final decision then,” Simmons said. “He definitely won’t bowl in the tournament, but I’d be very confident he can play a major role with the bat. We have struggled a bit with the ball in the current Friends Provident campaign, but we’ll have a lot of experience coming back in Trent Johnston and Alex Cusack, as well as big Boyd [Rankin].”Ireland have been drawn in Group A and will face Bangladesh on June 8, and India on June 10, with both fixtures taking place at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.Squad: William Porterfield (capt), Andre Botha, Jeremy Bray, Peter Connell, Alex Cusack, Trent Johnston, Kyle McCallan, John Mooney, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien (wk), Boyd Rankin, Paul Stirling, Regan West, Andrew White, Gary Wilson

A review of the matches in the fourth round of the ICC World Cricket League Division 7 in Guernsey

Cricinfo staff21-May-2009Bahrain sealed their place in the World Cricket League Division 6 in Singapore after a comfortable 196-run over Japan in Port Soif. Recovering from yet another top-order collapse at 24 for 4, when Patrick Giles-Jones picked up another five-for after the seven he took the previous day, half-centuries from Qamar Saeed (75 not out), Adil Hanif (73) and Ashraf Yaqoob (51) lifted them to 260. In reply, Japan couldn’t face up to the Bahrain attack, capitulating to 64, as Naeem Amin, Qamar and Yaser Sadeq remarkably finished with the same bowling figures of 3 for 15.Mohsin Kamal, the Bahrain coach, was delighted with the achievement. “Everybody is delighted as we have achieved the main target that we set ourselves before we had come here,” Kamal said. “Our other target is to try and win the final on Sunday. We have qualified for Division 6 and everybody hopes we can continue to progress to the top.”A century from Jeremy Frith inspired Guernsey to an eight-wicket victory over Nigeria leaving them a win away, in their final group game on Saturday, from securing the second promotion spot to Division 6.Nigeria, choosing to bat first, should arguably have reached a higher total than 217 after some disappointing Guernsey bowling. Endurance Ofem led the way with an unbeaten 78 but failed to inspire the rest of the batsmen. In reply, Guernsey had learned their lessons from the previous day’s poor run-chase against Bahrain and played more positively with some attractive strokeplay supported by aggressive running between the wickets. The 147-run partnership between Frith and skipper Stuart Le Prevost (59 not out) guided the hosts home with three overs to spare.Frith, who has now scored at least 50 in his last three matches, said the team were a little relieved with the result. “There was some big pressure on us to make sure we got a result,” Frith said. “I was really pleased to take the responsibility for getting the runs and take us over the line. There is a rest day tomorrow and we know we have to play well again on Saturday.”In the other match of the day, six wickets from legspinner Iain Latin helped Gibraltar beat Suriname by 39 runs. Batting first, a half-century from skipper Christian Rocca helped Gibraltar to 218, before Latin’s 6 for 23 ensured Suriname were bowled out for 179.Friday is a rest day in the tournament while in Saturday’s final group matches, Suriname play Guernsey, Bahrain take on Nigeria and Gibraltar play Japan.

Bahrain 4 4 0 0 08 +2.761 1030/188.0 511/188.0 Guernsey 4 3 1 0 0 6+0.231 830/185.0 851/200.0 Nigeria 42 2 0 0 4 -0.059787/198.1 794/197.0 Japan 4 13 0 0 2 -0.826 468/170.4666/186.4 Gibraltar 4 1 30 0 2 -0.946 672/200.0 859/199.3 Suriname 4 1 3 00 2 -1.280 622/188.0 728/158.4

The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece has confirmed a major injury setback for Aston Villa midfielder Morgan Sanson.

What’s the story?

The Frenchman had only recently returned to first-team action following another difficult spell out with injury, and it appears that his appearance against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge could be his last for a little while.

In response to a question from a fan, Preece confirmed: “Out for a month now. Gutted for him.”

Villa fans might be fuming

Having spent an entire summer being linked to new midfielders like Pape Sarr from Metz and James Ward-Prowse from Southampton, the failure to sign a new enforcer in the engine room is perhaps the only blot in the copybook when it comes to Villa’s business in the transfer window.

Dean Smith was left to rely upon his current options once again, and may have even felt that perhaps the return from injury of Sanson could offset the decision not to spend big on a new central midfielder.

The 27-year-old played just nine times in the Premier League last season following his January arrival from French side Marseille, and would surely have been hoping for a better start to life at Villa Park in his second campaign at the club.

Instead, Sanson is set to be out for yet another month according to Preece, meaning he is likely to miss clashes against the likes of Tottenham, Wolves and Arsenal.

Preece’s latest update is sure to have some Villa fans fuming about the fact they put their faith in an injury-prone midfielder who’s once again been ruled out of action for them.

Meanwhile, Gregg Evans drops an Aston Villa update on this star…

Umar Akmal scored his fourth first-class century as the match between Pakistan A and Australia A petered out to a draw

Cricinfo staff29-Jun-2009
ScorecardUmar Akmal scored his fourth first-class century as the match between Pakistan A and Australia A petered out to a draw in Townsville. Chasing an unlikely 318 for victory, Pakistan finished on 5 for 207 with Umar unbeaten on 100 and Sarfraz Ahmed on 50.Umar, the younger brother of the Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, struck 11 fours and two sixes in his 110-ball innings but despite his speed the target was too great. Clint McKay added two second-innings wickets to his six from the first innings, while the spinners Jason Krejza and Jon Holland were both expensive.Australia’s second innings was anchored by the captain Cameron White, who made 77. He was assisted by the wicketkeeper Tim Paine, who finished on 54 not out when the Australians declared at 5 for 256. Australia A coach Mark Sorell said he was pleased with the performance of his team, and the way they had come out on top during some crucial phases in the match.”We played some really good cricket over the four days, another couple of wickets with the new ball to put some pressure on would have been handy,” Sorell said. “We certainly won some key moments in the game and we pretty much drove the game, it was pretty much our game to drive and pretty happy with that and went well. It would have been a good reward for us to get the win at the end of the day but unfortunately it didn’t happen.”Sorell credited the Pakistan batsmen, particularly Akmal and Sarfraz Ahmed, who put on an unbeaten 98-run partnership and helped secure the draw. “A couple of quick wickets after tea would have been really handy and probably would have put us well in control of the game, but to the credit of the Pakistani guys, they played really well and didn’t give their wicket up,” Sorell said. “Those two guys at the end there played very well and proved a tough partnership for us to crack.”The teams remain in Townsville for a second four-day match, which begins on Friday. They then head to Brisbane for three one-day matches and a Twenty20 game.

Celtic have been dealt a triple injury blow before their clash at home to Dundee United in the Premiership on Sunday afternoon.

The Lowdown: Injury crisis

Ange Postecoglou is facing a bit of an injury crisis at the moment, with Giorgos Giakoumakis, Callum McGregor, Greg Taylor, Christopher Jullien, Mikey Johnston and James Forrest all on the sidelines at the moment (The Scottish Sun).

The Parkhead side are currently lingering in sixth spot in the table, and the plethora of injuries certainly have not helped in that regard.

The Latest: Three confirmed out

Speaking in his pre-game press conference ahead of the match against Dundee United, Postecoglou has now confirmed (via The Scottish Sun) that Kyogo Furuhashi, as well as both McGregor and Johnston, will miss out through injury, on top of those already on the sidelines

The Hoops boss revealed:

“With Cal next Thursday is being optimistic.

“With Kyogo, I doubt we will see him this side of the international window but he is pushing hard.

“Unfortunately, Mikey Johnston picked up a niggle on Wednesday so he will be out and I’m not sure when he will be back.

“To cut a long story short, we won’t get anybody back for Sunday.”

The Verdict: Blow

It certainly is a blow to lose Furuhashi along with McGregor and Johnston among the long list of absentees.

The Japan international has scored no fewer than seven goals and supplied one assist in nine appearances over all competitions so far this season (injury-ravaged Johnston offers another attacking option.

Nonetheless, Postecoglou is under pressure to pick up results fast, and he will need to start doing so today without a number of his key players.

In other news, Frank McAvennie insists this Celtic ace ‘has to start’ against Dundee United