Scotland 274 for 4 (Watson 166*, C Smith 70) lead Namibia 168 by 106 runs Scorecard A superb unbeaten 166 from Ryan Watson put Scotland in control at the end of a rain-affected second day of their Intercontinental Cup tie against Namibia at Aberdeen. Play did not start until 4pm and less than 50 overs were possible, but Scotland, who resumed on 95 for 3, reached 274 for 4 at the close.Watson and Colin Smith did the damage, adding 179 for the fourth wicket in even time. Watson brought up his hundred off 121 balls, but got slightly bogged down towards the end of the day, but Smith more than made up for that.Namibia’s only breakthrough came late in the day when Smith was caught behind for 70 off Deon Kotze.The forecast for the weekend is again mixed, and Scotland may need an adventurous declaration if they are to give themselves a chance of victory. After being eliminated because of the weather last year, they will probably go for broke rather than face a repetition of that disappointment.
In another bizarre twist to the US cricket saga, meetings called by the two organisations claiming to represent US cricket – Gladstone Dainty’s “official” USACA Board, and the extraordinary general meeting of the USA Cricket Association called by the USA Council of League Presidents and the so-called “dissidents” – will be held at the same time, in the airport hotels of two cities close to each other, New Jersey and New York.The EGM has been scheduled for several months, and has been the topic of discussion on the internet as well as in Cricinfo’s recent interview with Gladstone Dainty. Dainty’s announcement of a board meeting was made last week, and it is a fair bet that the date of the EGM was known in advance.Both meetings are intended to deal with important issues in US cricket. The EGM will be considering constitutional amendments for the USACA which would, if implemented, signal a fundamental reform of USACA’s “system of governance” and set standards of accountability for its executive and other officers. This is an aspect that has come in for severe criticism from the ICC.Dainty’s meeting, on the other hand, has a somewhat more modest purpose. It is intended to make appointments of the USACA executive for the 2005-06 season, meaning that the “new” officers would have two years before they would need to be reappointed by the Association.Unlike previous elections of the USACA executive, there have been no listings of the candidates who have applied for the various positions, let alone their credentials and qualifications. In the past, the announcement of candidacies had led to lively and animated discussions of their merits, and in fact Dainty himself was elected USACA president following just such a discussion.The absence of any such announcements this time is leading opponents to believe that these so-called elections are meant to be a rubber-stamp to help Dainty and his group retain control of the USACA’s administrative process for another two years, thwarting the efforts of reformers to bring about changes in the USACA. On the other hand, the EGM is drawing a lot more interest and attention across the country, and (if successful) could make a significant difference to the US cricket landscape.
An inspired allround display from Muttiah Muralitharan took the gloss off what was otherwise a hard-working and productive display from England on the second day at Galle. Murali scored a whirlwind 38 from 37 balls to help Sri Lanka recover from 239 for 7 to reach a useful 331 all out. Then he removed Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick late in the day, and England closed on 97 for 2.Vaughan will be disappointed that England surrendered their strong position after a fruitful morning session, in which they took charge with three wickets. But after losing the toss yesterday, they could still take satisfaction from their efforts after a long and tiring day – and this time one with no breaks for rain.At the start, all Sri Lankan eyes and hopes were on Kumar Sangakkara, their one remaining specialist batsman. He was in sublime touch on Tuesday evening, and soon brought up his fifty with some extravagant shots off Ashley Giles, in particular. Vaughan turned early to his spin pairing of Giles and Gareth Batty, but the Sri Lankans remained keen to impose themselves, as Thilan Samaraweera showed when he danced down the track and slammed Batty over midwicket for four.It was the new ball that did the trick for England. With his very first delivery, Richard Johnson found the perfect line and length to trap Sangakkara lbw for 71 (202 for 5), as he played back and across. And when Samaraweera chased and edged a wide one from Andrew Flintoff, England were well on top (238 for 6).Upul Chandana battled hard for his 21, but with Flintoff on a roll, Chandana was adjudged lbw by Daryl Harper, although the ball appeared to be skimming over the top of middle stump. Sri Lanka, who had packed their middle order with spinning allrounders with a view to a quick victory, were beginning to regret their shortage of specialist batsmen.But Kumar Dharmasena and Chaminda Vaas held up England’s progress with a handy partnership worth 40 stubborn runs, which was ended by Batty’s first wicket of the match. Dharmasena tried to sweep but missed the ball, which pitched outside off and hit him in line, and he was adjudged lbw by Venkat (279 for 8).It was a deserved wicket for Batty, who, like Matthew Hoggard, had bowled tirelessly but without any luck while Sri Lanka pushed towards 300. And Batty got more reward when Dinusha Fernando, on his Test debut, prodded forward and edged a low chance to Paul Collingwood at short leg, who took his third catch on his debut (291 for 9).England were thrilled at the prospect of restricting Sri Lanka to less than 300, but they didn’t bank on Murali. Before this series, they probably didn’t spend much time fretting over his batting talents, but a last-wicket stand of 40 between Murali and Chaminda Vaas kept a frustrated England waiting in the field.Murali immediately enlivened the crowd by slapping his first ball over mid-off for four, and then he signalled the 300 with a huge straight six off Batty. He flicked Batty over mid-on for another four, and Vaughan was beginning to get a little edgy. He brought back Flintoff to finish the job off, but he couldn’t.Murali top-edged him over the slips for two fours in consecutive balls, and continued to frustrate the bowling with his unconventional style. He finally fell when he edged Giles to Chris Read, but he was smiling all the way to the pavilion, knowing England would have an uncomfortable final session.Trescothick and Vaughan made a confident start, though, as they cruised to a fifty partnership with little fuss. Vaughan started off with a bang, creaming Fernando through midwicket and then straight past him in successive balls. Trescothick started more sedately, but then stamped his authority. He twice punched Fernando through the covers for four, and followed that up with a sumptuous straight-drive for four more.
But it wasn’t long before Hashan Tillakaratne turned to that man Murali, and immediately things started to happen. Vaughan was lucky to survive an lbw shout on 18 when he miscued a sweep shot and was hit in front of middle, but Trescothick wasn’t quite so fortunate – in fact he copped a rotten decision from Daryl Harper.Murali fizzed down a quicker one which turned sharply and beat Trescothick’s forward prod. Sangakkara collected the ball cleanly, and made a token shriek as an appeal for caught-behind, and to some astonishment, Harper gave him out (56 for 1). And worse was to come when Vaughan padded up to a vicious offcutter and was bowled through his legs. The ball pitched way outside off, then spun back underneath Vaughan’s front leg, and clipped the top of off stump (67 for 2).Mark Butcher and Graham Thorpe averted any collapse, as they held firm and made sure England stayed well and truly in the game with a watchful 30-run partnership. Butcher and Thorpe accepted the offer of bad light with a few overs remaining, with all to play for tomorrow in this close contest.
Konica Queensland Fire duo Julia Price and Sally Cooper have wonselection in the Australian women’s cricket team for the coming seriesagainst world champions New Zealand.Price, the most-capped Australian wicket-keeper, and Cooper, aleft-handed middle order bat, are the only Queenslanders in the12-player squad announced today for the series later this month inAustralia and next month in New Zealand.Both players were members of the undefeated Australian team that won theAshes on their tour of England and Ireland last year.The Southern Stars will play three One Day Internationals in Australia -two matches at the Adelaide Oval on February 20 and 21 including aday/night game and one at the MCG on February 23 – and three ODIs in NewZealand next month.The selectors have retained the option to add a player from theAustralian Youth team – the Shooting Stars – once they have finishedtheir series of matches against New Zealand ‘A’ next week.Queensland had four players named in the Youth team – pace bowler MeganWhite, opening bat Melissa Bulow and allrounders Tricia Brown andBelinda Matheson.New Zealand are the current world champions after defeating Australialast year in the Final of the World Cup.The Australian team will be captained by Belinda Clark.Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars v New Zealand: Belinda Clark (Captain)(VIC), Karen Rolton (Vice Captain) (SA), Sally Cooper (QLD), CathrynFitzpatrick (VIC), Michelle Goszko (NSW), Julie Hayes (NSW), MelanieJones (VIC), Lisa Keightley (NSW), Therese McGregor (NSW), Julia Price(QLD), Lisa Sthalekar (NSW), Emma Twining (NSW). Coach: Steve Jenkin(NSW).
The Central Zone Under-14 match at the Sukhadia Stadium in Bhilwara onthe third and final day on Thursday ended in a draw with Uttar Pradeshtaking home five points on the basis of the first innings lead.Rajasthan had to be content with three points.Set to score 305 for a win, Rajasthan made a disastrous start losingopener Ravishankar (0) bowled by Pradeep. Rajasthan were in deepertrouble when Pradeep bowled Ankit Agarwal (0) with only 5 on theboard. Then Atul Puri (14) and Sanjay Bharti (86) added 45 runs forthe third wicket. After Atul’s fall, Punit Yadav joined Sanjay to takethe score on to 132 when Punit fell to Bharat. Thereafter, Rajasthanlost four quick wicket before stumps were drawn on the final day.In their second innings, Uttar Pradesh openers AG Murtaza (122) and RPandey (23) added a quick 42 off 8.5 overs. Then D Issrani (54) joinedMurtaza to forge a 117 run second wicket partnership in 34.1 overs.Thereafter, Murtaza found company in RK Shukla (50 not out) to put on96 runs for the third wicket in 19.1 overs. The fall of Murtazaprompted the UP skipper to declare the innings.Earlier on the opening day, Uttar Pradesh won the toss and put up afighting 245 on the board. The chief architect being AN Alam with aneatly compiled 108 off 165 balls. During his 218 minute stay Alamheld the UP innings together even as wickets kept falling at the otherend. In reply Rajasthan were all out for 196 runs giving a 49 runlead to UP.
The current ownership situation taking place at Leeds United could become clearer later this year, according to transfer expert Dean Jones.
The Lowdown: Leeds ownership up in the air
The Whites have been sole-owned by Andrea Radrizzani since May 2017, with the Italian initially buying 50% of the club in January of that year.
However, 49ers Enterprises’ influence at Leeds is growing all the time, and there is a feeling that it won’t be long until they have taken over complete control from Radrizzani.
It is an ongoing saga, and a fresh update has now emerged regarding the situation.
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The Latest: Jones makes ownership claim
Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones claimed that things will make more sense towards the end of this year with regards to the ownership of Leeds United.
He outlined: “I was told to expect updates towards the back end of this year on where Leeds were heading in terms of ownership and investment.”
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The Verdict: Sort it sooner rather than later
In terms of a financial sense, it can only be a good thing for Leeds if 49ers Enterprise become full owners in the coming months, making them an even more attractive proposition.
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It would likely allow for more transfer funds to be available, although potential relegation to the Championship would certainly be a blow in that respect.
Radrizzani has been a great owner at Leeds, overseeing a memorable period under Marcelo Bielsa, but there is a feeling that it could be time for the next chapter in the club’s illustrious history.
In other news, Leeds are ‘confident’ of sorting a new deal for one player. Find out who it is here.
Shane Watson’s unbeaten 69 steered Queensland to an eight-run lead over South Australia as they finished a hard-working day at 6 for 245. The Bulls scrapped to the initial target of 237, a task which had became more difficult when Ryan Harris removed Chris Simpson (10) and Ashley Noffke (2) in quick succession.Martin Love’s 62 and a slow 32 from Jimmy Maher put Queensland on track for the small total, but once Maher departed things started to get a bit shaky and they were 6 for 190 when Watson was joined by Chris Hartley. Watson’s innings was also a calm one, taking 136 balls and including only six fours, but it was essential to Queensland achieving first-innings points late in the day.The visitors started the morning on 0 for 8 and lost Greg Moller to Harris for 3 before Jason Gillespie captured Ryan Broad, his first wicket in his final game for the state. Harris returned 3 for 68 while Mark Cleary captured the wickets of Maher and Love.
Muttiah Muralitharan has been picked by Wisden as the Leading Cricketer of the Year ahead of Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne and Mohammad Yousuf. The Almanack, which is published today, awarded Muralitharan the prize after taking 90 Test wickets at 16.90 last year.Yousuf was named as a Cricketer of the Year alongside Monty Panesar, Paul Collingwood, Mark Ramprakash and Mahela Jayawardene based on their influence in an English season. Jayawardene led a striking Sri Lankan fightback in their Test series against England; Yousuf, with 631 runs in four Tests, saved Pakistan from complete disaster in theirs; Collingwood and Panesar established themselves as England matchwinners, while Ramprakash, aged 36, had an astounding summer for Surrey.In his article celebrating the new No. 1, Simon Barnes attacks Murali’s critics: “They are a familiar type: sneerers and begrudgers, the pusillanimous possessors of small minds and large opinions. Muralitharan is a truly great cricketer, and those that cannot go along with such a sentiment have something lacking in their souls. The spirit of cricket, perhaps.”However, Murali does not make the cover of the 144th edition of the Almanack, which instead carries Warne for the second year in a row. Last year he shared the space with Andrew Flintoff, but he has the front to himself after retiring from Tests after the 2006-07 Ashes series. “The heart of this year’s is the dramatic tale of the Ashes and Warne’s last hurrah,” the editor Matthew Engel said. “It’s a great picture and it conveys the year’s biggest cricketing story.”The new Wisden takes the leading cricketer award a step further and considers what might have been had it been invented more than a century earlier. A panel of 16 writers and historians researched back to 1900 and picked an outstanding player for each year.With no ban on repeat winners, an extraordinary coincidence emerged when only five players won the title more than twice. Don Bradman (ten times), Garry Sobers (eight) and Jack Hobbs, Viv Richards and Shane Warne (three times each) were the multiple victors and each was named as a Cricketer of the 20th Century in Wisden seven years ago.
Luke Williams, the captain of the Adelaide Buffalos, has won the 2006 Bradman Medal for South Australian grade cricketer of the year.Williams, 26, polled 30 votes, seven clear of Mark Higgs from Northern Districts. He had an outstanding season for Adelaide scoring 820 runs at 117. Two members of the South Australian squad, Matthew Weeks and Gary Putland, both earned 22 votes, with Ben Johnson, the 2005 winner, getting 21.Sturt won the team award, which goes to the side that polled the most player votes in the Bradman Medal count, while the Fred Godson Medal for XXXX Gold Cup player of the series went to Daniel Harris, the Woodville captain, ahead of Dean Waugh.Full awards list Bradman Medal – Luke Williams Team Award – Sturt Fred Godson Medal – Daniel Harris (Woodville) C.W. Walker Memorial Trophy (outstanding wicketkeeper) – Todd Ferguson (Sturt) Talbot Smith Fielding Trophy – Matthew Heffernan (Glenelg) Coach of the Year – Bob Lisle (South Districts) Women’s player of the Year – Karen Rolton (Scorpions) Vince Copley Medal (indigenous medal) – Shaun McLennan (Koonibba) and Ken Karpany (Gerard) Team of the Year – Luke Williams (Adelaide), Glenn Ashmead (Sturt), Shane Deitz (Southern District), Todd Ferguson (Sturt), Jason Borgas (Sturt), Chris Slattery (University), Nathan Adcock (University, capt), Mark Barber (Kensington), Ben Johnson (Adelaide), Nick Roberts (University), Mark Higgs (Northern Districts), Jamie Panelli (Kensington)
The Indian board has suggested that it will seek legal opinion over the six-match ban imposed on Sourav Ganguly for India’s slow over-rates in the one-day series against Pakistan. “We are getting the issue legally examined,” Ranbir Singh Mahendra, the president-elect of the BCCI, was quoted by Indo-Asian News Service. “We will do as our counsels advise.”Ganguly was handed the ban by Chris Broad, the match referee, after India fell behind in the over-rates during two consecutive matches of the one-day series, at Jamshedpur and at Ahmedabad. He then lost his appeal against the verdict when Michael Beloff QC, the ICC appeals commissioner, ruled that Broad’s decision was justified. Ganguly missed the last two games of the series, and will miss most of the triangular tournament in Sri Lanka in August if the decision stays.Radha Rangaswamy, a BCCI counsel, indicated that the board needed to spell out the next course of action. “They have to tell us [about exploring the legal option] after their meeting, possibly, by the end of this month.”Speaking to the media before leaving on a vacation to Europe, Ganguly himself stated that the matter was now in the board’s hands. “The matter is not in my hands. I have left it to the board. They’ll do whatever is necessary. There is no hurry. There is time till July. The BCCI bosses will take an appropriate decision in due time.”When asked for his opinion on who might be India’s next coach, Ganguly’s reply was quite non-committal: “There is a six-member team to select the new coach. I am not in any way involved in influencing their choice. I have no opinion on the selection.”Ganguly is expected to catch a few days of action at the French Open Tennis Championships in Paris, and is scheduled to return home on June 10.