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The dream of an England recall in his home Ashes Test might have been denied to Graham Onions but he may look back and decide that bowling Durham to the title was reasonably adequate consolation.

Jon Culley at Derby14-Sep-2013
ScorecardGraham Onions hasn’t been able to pull the England shirt back on in a Test this year but may have bowled Durham to another Championship•Getty Images

The dream of an England recall in his home Ashes Test might have been denied to Graham Onions in a summer of frustrations in his international career but he may look back and decide that bowling Durham to the title was reasonably adequate consolation.He is on the brink of that now after taking 5 for 23 at the Racecourse, where Derbyshire, against all probability, were comprehensively blitzed, bowled out for 63, leaving Durham needing to score only 37 runs to complete a victory that leaves them just one more win away from winning the Championship for a third time in six years.After Yorkshire’s bid to chase down a contrived target at Hove was foiled by the weather, Durham lead Division One by 27 and a half points and will look to finish the job against Nottinghamshire at Chester-le-Street, starting on Tuesday.Their final match is against Sussex at Hove, while Yorkshire’s remaining games are against Middlesex at Headingley and Surrey at The Oval.Onions took 45 Championship wickets in seven matches as Durham won their second title in 2009. This year he has 60 wickets in 10 appearances, five times taking five wickets or more in an innings. Nine of those came in this match, the last five in the space of 41 balls with four runs conceded during a 15-over unbroken spell.Paul Collingwood, whose captaincy record now stands at 13 wins from 20 Championship games in charge, praised Onions for his resilience in the face of the repeated disappointments he has been dealt by the England selectors since winning his last Test cap in June last year, a comment to which Onions responded by saying he had learned how to put setbacks of that nature to one side.”I learned a lot about myself when I was injured for such a long time,” Onions said. “I learned about mental preparation and getting yourself ready for the tough games you have to expect every time you play.”You have to push those disappointments to one side and forget about it. If you perform well against good opposition you get recognised. It’s trying to force my way into the side and trying to win things that keeps me going and we are close to winning things.”A place on the plane to Australia this winter would fulfil his own goal but Onions agreed that a title would bring just as much satisfaction.”It would be incredible,” he said. “It is hard to put it into words what it would mean. There are a lot of very good teams that don’t win championships and the character that the lads keep showing to put in performances and win us games is unbelievable, although we have to remember that we have not won it yet.”Nonetheless, it is difficult to imagine them being overhauled now, given that the unpredictable September weather is more than likely to play a part in denying Yorkshire points.For Derbyshire, the two weeks ahead are beginning to look bleak again after three wins in four had raised the prospect of an unlikely act of defiance from the season’s short-priced relegation favourites.Having begun the fourth day 41 runs in front, with the first innings still incomplete, no outcome but a draw could be envisaged. Durham, who had found scoring runs on a slow pitch no easier than their hosts, increased their tempo enough to claw a third batting point but that seemed sure to be the extent of their gains once they were all out for 325, giving them a lead of 27 and Tony Palladino 6 for 90 after taking four on the day, his dismissal of Collingwood, caught off a top-edged attempted pull, sparking a Durham collapse in which their last six wickets fell for 42.Yet even that did not really hint at the possibility of a win, even though Derbyshire were one down in the second over when Chris Rushworth thumped one into Ben Slater’s pads.But once Paul Borrington had been caught off the glove at short leg in the 10th over, Derbyshire’s inexperienced side folded alarmingly, only just scraping past the season-low 60 for which they had been dismissed at Lord’s in April.Then again, Onions was in supreme form, in the face of which few batsmen would have come out on top. Even Shivnarine Chanderpaul, with his weight of experience, had no answer, set up by a couple of short balls and then pinned in his crease, trapped leg before by a ball that almost knocked him off his feet.”He is a class act,” Derbyshire’s head coach, Karl Krikken, admitted afterwards, with admiration in his voice. “If you look at the video, the ball is basically on a string and swinging all over the place.”Derbyshire’s last nine wickets fell for 37 runs in the space of 20 overs, with Rushworth and the rookie Usman Arshad good value too for their successes. It took Durham fewer than eight overs to score the same number of runs to win, for the loss of Mark Stoneman, whose disappointment at being dismissed for seven came with the consolation of passing 1,000 first-class runs for the season, the fourth Durham-born player to pass that milestone, and the second in two days.

MS Dhoni wasn’t convinced the home surfaces are helpful enough to India’s spinners and urged curators to prepare tracks with more bite

Siddarth Ravindran in Bangalore30-Aug-2012Over the past year, India may have had two of their most humiliating series defeats in England and Australia, but their recent home record remains respectable. A major factor in that has been the spin pair of R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha, who between them have taken 60 wickets in the previous four home Tests. Watching New Zealand’s batsmen grope and prod at the spinning ball last week during the Hyderabad Test, you’d think the BCCI has decided to play to India’s strength by preparing turning tracks. MS Dhoni, though, wasn’t convinced the home surfaces are helpful enough to India’s spinners.”Frankly, we were expecting turning tracks, the last two wickets I don’t see them as turning tracks,” he said a day ahead of the Bangalore Test. “This wicket also doesn’t look like a turning track. We have put our request through and after that whatever wickets are provided we’ll have to play on them.”Despite Ashwin and Ojha dominating the Hyderabad Test, Dhoni urged curators to prepare tracks with more bite for the spinners. “You know the subcontinental speciality should be spin and I think we should stick to it. In the last match the spinners got lots of wickets but still I thought it was a hard-working wicket for them. Ashwin bowled brilliantly and Ojha had to keep it tight so I felt like if we can get a bit more spin and bit more bounce for the spinners it will be really good.”Much of India’s home success in the 1990s had come using a three-spinner strategy, the most prominent trio being Anil Kumble, Venkatapathy Raju and Rajesh Chauhan. When asked whether India were pondering using that tactic in Bangalore, Dhoni scoffed, “Have you seen the wicket?” suggesting that he expected it to assist the quick bowlers.While India rely heavily on spin, New Zealand are dependent on their fast bowlers, frequently deploying a four-quicks strategy in recent times. “I think they have a good bowling side especially on this kind of wicket and in overcast conditions they will come up with a good bowling plan and execute their plans well,” Dhoni said. “Hyderabad was a bit different as there was not much for the pacers, still their fast bowlers got wickets.”That’s one reason India were not complacent despite the all-too-easy victory in Hyderabad. “You don’t need to be overconfident, that has never been the case with us,” Dhoni said. “We are a side that respects the opponents whoever we are playing, wherever we are playing. Whatever we did right in the first Test, we will have to repeat everything.”

England allrounder Samit Patel has admitted that his fitness problems are not behind him yet, but insisted that his work ethic has changed and he’s headed in the right direction

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Oct-2011England allrounder Samit Patel has admitted that his fitness problems are not behind him yet, but insisted that his work ethic has changed and he’s headed in the right direction.Before he was recalled this summer, Patel had been out of the England set-up since their last tour of India in 2008. It was made clear by the England management that it was his attitude to fitness that was keeping him out of the side, and there was always the feeling that he had the talent to be an England cricketer if only he take on board the team’s strict work ethic.”If I did the right stuff I was very confident of getting back and I had good vibes from the management,” Patel told reporters in India after England’s arrival for their limited-overs series. “I knew my cricket wasn’t the issue, it was the other stuff.”There is no place for complacency in the England team under coach Andy Flower’s tutelage, and the attitudinal shift to accept the mantra of constant self-evaluation and improvement has been perhaps the hardest challenge for Patel. “It’s a big one really,” he added. “To be willing to do the work and show the attitude to do it was a big thing for me. I hope I’ve overcome that now. Not fully yet. It doesn’t change overnight, there is a long way to go.””It’s a combination [of things], training harder, doing the hours. The willingness to train was probably one of the issues, but attitude-wise I’m back on track and going in the right direction.”You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. But things are going quite well. I’ve lost a bit of weight and attitude-wise, training is the big one for the ECB and England, the willingness to do the work. Maybe I didn’t show that but now I’m doing it.”Patel’s change in direction did not come in time for him to win a World Cup place with England earlier this year, however, and he admits there is no-one to blame for that regret but himself. “It was huge, very disappointing,” he added. “The fact that I should have been there was so disappointing. But I can’t blame anyone else but myself.”Despite spending much of the last three years in the international wilderness, Patel was kept informed by the England management and always knew what was required of him. “They always kept me in the loop and told me what to do. They wouldn’t have picked me in the summer otherwise.”The issue of discipline will not apply only to Patel as England seek to extend their successful summer overseas. The bowling attack will be without James Anderson and Stuart Broad, and there will be plenty of pressure on a young seam attack featuring Tim Bresnan, Steven Finn, Jade Dernbach, Chris Woakes and the uncapped Stuart Meaker.Bresnan, who has built a reputation for metronomic accuracy with the new ball, will have to take up to role of senior bowler in the absence of Anderson and Broad. “It’s obviously different bowling in England than in India,” said Bresnan. “In England, you may gather some seam when the ball is new. With wickets playing different in India, I view it as a challenge.”We have to bowl very tightly with the new ball. We have to bowl very accurately and very straight. Otherwise, you will be hit for runs. We have young bowlers who have a lot of talent. If we bowl well, we can pick up early wickets.”It’s a fresh start and a new challenge for us. We are going into this series with exactly the same mentality with which we won in England. We are still looking to improve and looking forward to the challenge.”

A late afternoon collapse that saw Kent lose three wickets for four
runs in the space of five balls allowed Hampshire to wrest the
initiative of this first division survival battle

Mark Pennell at Canterbury08-Sep-2010
ScorecardA late afternoon collapse that saw Kent lose three wickets for four
runs in the space of five balls allowed Hampshire to wrest the
initiative of this first division survival battle and leave the hosts
staring down the barrel at Championship relegation.Having dismissed their fellow strugglers for 182 to secure a slender,
yet precious first innings lead of 22, Hampshire survived a dozen nervy
overs in fading light through to the close and go into day three on 16
without loss and an overall advantage in the match of 38 runs.Rain and bad light ensured there was no hope of Kent resuming on their
overnight total of 15 for one until 1.35pm and after the loss of 30
overs out of the day.Home second-wicket pair Rob Key and Joe Denly emerged seemingly hell
bent on making up for lost time and, with an array of drives and cuts,
took the score on to 41 before the gloom started to descend on the
Kentish faithful.Playing across the line of a canny off-cutter from Dominic Cork, Key
was almost walking by the time the finger went up to confirm the
Hampshire skipper’s leg before appeal.Denly, with a top-score of 42, and Martin van Jaarsveld (41) dug in to
double Kent’s tally before Denly played inside the line of a Sean
Ervine leg-cutter that rearranged middle and off stumps.Just before tea, Geraint Jones aiming to leg and against the spin
when facing left-arm spinner Danny Briggs also went lbw, though the
batsman left the middle somewhat quizzically and only after making a
point of inspecting the inside edge of his bat.Kent’s collapse gathered momentum soon after tea and coincided with a
second stint by seamer James Tomlinson, the pick of the visiting attack
on an overcast day with four for 59.He enticed Darren Stevens (13) into an ill-advised waft outside off
that found the edge through to the keeper and then beat Alex Blake for
pace next ball up to pin the rookie left-hander leg before.With five slips and a gully in place for the hat-trick delivery,
Tomlinson dragged the ball onto leg stump allowing James Tredwell to
survive it by glancing for four to fine leg.However, there was little or no respite for Kent as veteran seamer
Cork maintained his side’s grip on the game by plucking out van
Jaarsveld’s off stump in the next over as the hosts conspired to lose
three in the space of five deliveries.Malinga Bandara aimed a lusty blow against Tomlinson to miss by a mile
and go lbw, then Matt Coles steered to the keeper when trying to
withdraw the bat at the last minute. It was left to Ervine to polish off the innings by having James Tredwell caught at deep midwicket to end a last wicket stand of 22.Hampshire’s bowling hero Tomlinson, said afterwards: “We’re back in
the hunt in this game now and we’re delighted. We knew if we could nip
one or two out we might get more and we somehow managed to get wickets
at key moments.”

Liverpool could form a dream duo at Anfield next season after being linked with a move for Real Madrid midfielder Isco.

What’s the story?

According to Spanish outlet Fichajes [via Anfield Edition], the Reds are interested in signing the 29-year-old creative talent this summer as Jurgen Klopp looks to bolster his first team options.

Calciomercato have now provided an update on Isco’s situation, claiming that Real Madrid have placed a £20m price tag on the Spain international, with new manager Carlo Ancelotti happy to let him depart.

Imagine him and Thiago

Isco has played a pivotal part in Los Blancos’ success over the last few years, scoring 51 goals and providing 56 assists in 366 appearances for the club. His impressive exploits helped Real Madrid claim four Champions League crowns, two La Liga titles and one Copa del Rey during his time at the Bernabeu, but he has largely failed to fulfill his early promise.

Much was expected of the technically gifted forward in the early years of his career after shining on the biggest stage, even drawing Zinedine Zidane comparisons, but he has faded into the background at the Bernabeu over the last couple of years.

After starting just 23 league fixtures since the start of 2019/20, Isco appears to be surplus to requirements in Madrid, and with just one year remaining on his current contract, he is available at a bargain price.

With Liverpool thought to be working on a restricted budget this summer due to the financial impact of the global pandemic, the Spaniard’s £20m asking price could make him an attractive prospect for the Reds.

Famed for his outstanding dribbling ability and eye for a pass, Isco could form a formidable partnership with Spain compatriot Thiago in the Liverpool engine room should he make the switch to Merseyside over the coming months.

The pair have the ability to split open the tightest of defences with a killer pass at any moment, and their combination play could be too much for Premier League backlines to handle. Thiago has averaged 1.3 key passes per game over the course of his career, with Isco eclipsing him with a 1.4 average for this metric.

Klopp arguably never replaced Philippe Coutinho following his big-money move to Barcelona back in 2018, but Isco could be the club’s natural number 10 that they’ve lacked ever since, finding space between the lines before being picked out by Thiago and then feeding one of the front three himself.

It’s surely an exciting prospect for any Liverpool fan and one which director of football Michael Edwards must try to facilitate.

In other news… Edwards preparing Liverpool move for “undefendable” £30m beast, he’s a big upgrade 

The National Cricket selectors have chosen the following team to representSouth Africa “A” in a four-day-match against the touring Sri Lankan team inKimberley from the 25th to the 28th of October.Dale Benkenstein – Captain (Kwazulu Natal),
Neil McKenzie – Vice-captain (Northerns),
Jacques Rudolph (Northerns),
Alviro Petersen (Northerns),
Boeta Dippenaar (Free State),
Justin Ontong (Boland),
Robin Peterson (Eastern Province),
Andrew Hall (Easterns),
Steve Elworthy (Northerns),
Thami Tsolekile (Western Province),
Monde Zondeki (Border),
12th man: Loots Bosman (Griqualand West).
Northern Titans opener Alviro Petersen and Border fast bowler Monde Zondekiare the two new caps in the team. Twenty-one-year-old Petersen has been inprolific form this season, having scored two centuries in the SupersportSeries. Twenty-year-old Zondeki, who toured New Zealand with the SA Under 19squad in 2000/01 has taken 16 wickets in four Supersport Series matchesthis season.The captaincy reverts to Dale Benkenstein after Neil McKenzie led the teamin the recent series against Australia whilst Benkenstein was in the seniorside playing in the ICC Champions Trophy in Colombo

SYDNEY – Matthew Hayden has gone top of the PricewaterhouseCoopersratings of Test cricketers for the first time.

AAP14-Oct-2002SYDNEY – Matthew Hayden has gone top of the PricewaterhouseCoopersratings of Test cricketers for the first time.After scoring 119 runs in his seven-hour innings in Sharjah last week -more than the Pakistan team scored in the whole match, Hayden hasclaimed the top place from team-mate Adam Gilchrist.India’s Sachin Tendulkar is in third, Pakistani Inzamam-ul-Haq fourthwhile West Indian Brian Lara rounds out the top five.Australia’s Damien Martyn has moved three places to number 10, whileAustralian captain Steve Waugh is in 18th as his average slipped below50 to 49.39 after scores of 31, 0 and 0 on his current tour againstPakistan.

The Athletic have dropped an update regarding West Ham’s pursuit of Genk striker Paul Onuachu…

What’s the talk?

According to The Athletic, the Irons are one of the Premier League clubs interested in a deal to sign the 27-year-old this summer. The report claims that Watford, Arsenal and the Hammers have all looked at the attacker as a potential target ahead of next season.

Genk are demanding a fee of £20m for their top scorer and this has put Watford off as they may not have the funds to facilitate such a transfer following their promotion back to the Premier League, handing a boost to West Ham’s hopes of signing him.

Fans will be buzzing

West Ham fans will surely be buzzing with this news. For starters, the update has seemingly ruled out Watford as serious contenders for his signature as they do not have the financial muscle to compete with the Hammers or Arsenal in a straight transfer shootout. This means that David Moyes could have a greater chance of being able to sign the attacker to bolster his squad.

The injury-prone Michail Antonio has been the club’s top scorer in each of the past two seasons with 10 goals in the Premier League. This suggests that there is room in West Ham’s squad for a prolific goalscorer to come in and be the main source of goals in the top flight, which is where Onuachu could come in useful.

Former England international John Fashanu hailed the Nigerian forward as a “goal king” earlier this year and said that he is proving to people that he is a number one option at the top end of the pitch.

He told The Punch, via Goal.com: “I remember when I said he was a great player and that he was the player that we needed and now I was right. I think everybody else has seen how football has to be understood at the right level.

“I want to tell Onuachu well done and a big congratulation because he has proved to everybody that he is still number one and indeed a goal king.

“Let’s just try to say we are not trying to prove anybody wrong but that we can have a successful team with the right players.”

This shows how highly Onuachu is regarded as a goalscorer. His record for Genk in Belgium is outstanding, with 45 goals and seven assists in 69 competitive games for the club, including 29 goals in 33 league matches during the 2020/21 campaign.

Therefore, he could be a sublime signing for the Hammers and hopefully become the potent starting striker they are currently lacking, which is why their fans would surely be buzzing to see him come through the door at the London Stadium.

AND in other news, Imagine him and Soucek: West Ham must seal swoop for £17m maestro, Moyes needs him…

MatériaMais Notícias

Aos poucos Escudero vem mostrando o seu valor no Vasco. Depois do gol contra o Resende, o meia deu a assistência para Thalles fazer o gol da vitória por 1 a 0 contra a Portuguesa-RJ, que garantiu o Cruz-Maltino na semifinal da Taça Guanabara. O argentino, que não vem sendo titular nos últimos jogos,vê como positiva a concorrência que vem enfrentando no elenco e garante que está motivado para ajudar em qualquer situação.

– Quando você tem tantos bons jogadores do mesmo setor assim, é bom. Gosto da concorrência de alto nível. Cada um precisa estar muito bem para jogar. Estou muito motivado para seguir ajudando, seja começando de primeira ou não, e também independente da posição que o professor optar -comentou o meia, com cinco partidas pelo Vasco, um gol e uma assistência.

Por falar em motivação, esse é o sentimento de Escudero para o clássico decisivo com o Flamengo, previsto para este sábado. A partida vale vaga na final da Taça Guanabara e o Vasco precisa da vitória para avançar.

– Será meu primeiro clássico com o Flamengo e também é decisão, que é uma partida que eu particularmente gosto de jogar. Estamos muito confiantes e empolgados. Só a vitória nos interessa para chegar a final e é isso que vamos buscar desde o primeiro minuto – projetou o argentino.

Aos 29 anos, Escudero está em seu quarto clube no futebol brasileiro – antes, atuou por Grêmio, Atlético-MG e Vitória. Revelado pelo Vélez Sarsfield, também jogou no Boca Juniors, nos espanhóis Villarreal e Valladollid, e na temporada 2016 defendeu o Puebla, do México.

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Serie A expert Conor Clancy insists that Tottenham Hotspur won’t be signing Merih Demiral from Juventus this summer, because Fabio Paratici has left Juventus.

Spurs have previously been linked with a move for the central defender, who has grown into an impressive figure during his time in Italy, with Football London’s Alasdair Gold claiming they’re keeping a close eye on him.

Demiral enjoyed a breakthrough season at the Italian club last season, making 15 appearances in Serie A and at the age of 23, he has already won 25 caps for Turkey.

Clancy is the editor-in-chief at Forza Italian Football and he claims that there is next to no chance of Spurs bringing the player to the club in this transfer window, especially with the pending appointment of Paratici as Sporting Director.

Indeed, BBC Sport claims that he is set to be appointed, and his fingerprints appear to be over the club’s pursuit of former Roma manager Paulo Fonseca, but Clancy believes he may have allowed Demiral to leave if he were still in power at Juve.

Clancy was asked about the prospect of Spurs getting Demiral, and told The Transfer Tavern exclusively: “If they do, it’s a miracle.

“Maybe if Paratici was still there, they might sell him and make a silly decision like that but I’m not so sure. Particularly with Allegri back now, he’s the type of player Allegri would love.”