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South Africa took just 36.4 overs to dismiss Bangladesh in Centurion, thereby completing an emphatic innings victory to seal a 2-0 series win

The Bulletin by Will Luke28-Nov-2008
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out
Ashwell Prince reached his highest Test score, remaining unbeaten on 162 © Getty Images
South Africa took only 36.4 overs to dismiss Bangladesh in Centurion, thereby completing an emphatic innings victory to seal a 2-0 series win. Ashwell Prince cracked an unbeaten 162 before South Africa’s fast bowlers tore into Bangladesh’s fragile line-up, dismissing them for an abject 131. Three panicky run-outs left Jamie Siddons, their coach, with his head on his hands; with no wins on the tour, it is unsure whether Bangladesh are better off for the experience.What frustrates and perplexes is Bangladesh’s ability to turn it on, and then throw it away. When the pressure is off (which it so rarely is) they are confident in their stroke-play and disciplined with the ball. Yet, put them in the position of conceding a 179-run lead, as they were today and they disintegrate without a trace. Makhaya Ntini, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel’s barrage of intimidating bouncers was predictable, but the right tactic; Bangladesh’s batsmen could not cope with accurate fast bowling, and the ensuing performance of their middle-order smacked of blind panic.The subdued manner in which Mark Boucher accepted the final catch told a story in itself. But although his coach, Mickey Arthur, was concerned at South Africa’s build-up to Australia next month, he needn’t be too worried. Today’s performance was as clinical and effective as he could hope for given the opposition.The rift in class between the two teams was as wide as ever. After dismissing South Africa for 429, Bangladesh had to survive 15 minutes until lunch but, after the openers had worked so hard, Imrul Kayes fell to Ntini when he edged straight to slip. Junaid Siddique, who batted courageously in the first innings for 67, joined Tamim Iqbal and the pair was repeatedly peppered after the interval. Ntini’s around-the-wicket ploy to Tamim was a favourite tactic, rapping the left-hander on the gloves three times.Jacques Kallis, buoyed by his team-mates’ fire at the other end, was in venomous form, passing the bat several times before yet another bumper had Junaid fending an easy catch to Hashim Amla at short-leg. Three overs later, Tamim’s tortuous innings came to an end, when he drove Morkel uppishly behind square where Neil McKenzie took the catch of the series. It was his second sublime snaffle of the match, diving wide at backward point to catch the ball behind his body with his right hand.Wickets continued to tumble and two run-outs demonstrated how panicky Bangladesh’s batsmen were. A hopeless call for a second run from Mohammad Ashraful sent his partner, Mehrab Hossain jnr, packing to Amla’s direct hit. And Ashraful himself was caught short by Steyn’s strong arm as Bangladesh slumped to 77 for 6, still trailing by 102. Bangladesh’s cricket today was of Associate standard, and their running would have embarrassed a school side.The worst was yet to come, however, for Shakib Al Hasan uppercut a hopelessly wide delivery from Morkel straight down Ntini’s throat at deep backward point. Had Shakib left it alone, Graeme Smith would have taken it at first slip, or possibly second. Siddons was not too happy on the balcony and it was difficult not to sympathise.What made Bangladesh’s performance all the more disappointing was the occasional excellence they showed. Prince and Mark Boucher continued to flay their attack in the first hour this morning, but Shakib – who bowled with great control yesterday – picked up three wickets in an over as South Africa’s hopes of a 200-run lead were quickly extinguished. Bowling around the wicket, Shakib had Boucher caught at silly point and bowled Morkel for a golden duck, before Monde Zondeki – playing in his first Test in three years – was caught behind.From 405 for 5 they dismissed South Africa for 429, but one man escaped: Prince, who moved onto his highest Test score. So often described as dogged, or the team’s anchor, today Prince showed his dominant and free-flowing style – and was one of the only South Africa batsmen to attack Shakib. Shakib finished with 6 for 99, his third five-wicket haul and, curiously, South Africa’s 429 was the highest total to include five ducks.It rather summed up Bangladesh’s fortunes: one step forward, two steps back. It is difficult to see them challenge Sri Lanka at home in December.

South Africa have arrived in Perth high on confidence, with Graeme Smith saying this tour is the side’s best shot at a series title in Australia since the early 1990s

Cricinfo staff07-Dec-2008
Paul Harris hasn’t faced Australia, but his captain has backed him to keep the pressure on the home side © Getty Images
South Africa have arrived in Perth high on confidence, with Graeme Smith saying this tour is the side’s best shot at a series title in Australia since their readmission in 1991. South Africa are yet to win a Test campaign Down Under, but Smith, the first South African to lead his country on two tours of Australia, is hopeful of a turnaround.”The reality is it’s probably our best chance of winning out of all five tours, and everyone knows that,” he said in the before leaving South Africa. “Dale Steyn, on current form, is the leading strike bowler in the world, Makhaya [Ntini] is one of the most experienced and Morne Morkel one of the most promising. We have a settled opening pair, the middle order has been functioning superbly for over a year, Jacques Kallis is probably the best allrounder in the world and Mark Boucher is the most experienced and, statistically, the best wicketkeeper the game has seen.”Smith felt the left-arm spinner Paul Harris, 30, was also a key component of the team. “As a captain I’m delighted with Paul Harris,” he said. “He has a very clearly defined role in the team, from first innings to second, and he gives me control. I enjoy the fact that he is underestimated by many opponents. We have seen some of the finest batsmen from India and Pakistan, and Kevin Pietersen in England, taking him lightly and paying the price.”There has been speculation as to whether Australia will go with an all-pace attack for the series opener and the injury sustained by the offspinner Jason Krejza, who failed a fitness test for Tasmania, gives Ricky Ponting a potential headache.The South Africa coach Mickey Arthur talked up Australia’s pace attack against the visiting side’s. “In the past you could predict conditions, the most obvious being that it would turn square in Sydney and Shane Warne would most likely take 10,” Arthur said. “But things are different now and it’s hard to see which way they will go in order to maximise home advantage. If they can produce an old-fashioned Perth wicket with pace and bounce, will they back [Brett] Lee, [Mitchell] Johnson and [Stuart[ Clark against our pace attack?”People must realise that our guys are still young,” Arthur said. “They are not the West Indies attack of the 1990s, as they were written up in England. But they are learning all the time and there’s unbelievable potential. There’s a huge amount of potential there [and] we are covered in all areas. You’ll see three different quick bowlers, all who bring different elements to our attack, which is brilliant, lots of variation.”South Africa arrive in Australia unbeaten in their last nine Test series – winning eight of those – and are currently ranked No. 2. Their last series loss was in Sri Lanka in 2006, with their only draw since then coming away against India earlier this year.South Africa will play a one-day game on December 11 and a two-day match against Western Australia starting Friday. The first Test starts in Perth on December 17.

Tim Spiers has delivered a killer blow with an update on Wolves star Pedro Neto’s injury situation.

What’s the talk?

According to The Athletic’s Tim Spiers, Wolves winger Pedro Neto has suffered a setback in his recovery from a dislocated kneecap and is now due to be out until February 2022.

The report claims that he was initially expected to return to training in October, following the injury that he sustained in April of this year. He is now set to watch on from the sidelines for the rest of the year and the start of 2022.

Lage will be gutted

Wolves boss Bruno Lage will be gutted with this news as he will surely want to work with the best possible players this season and Neto was one of the club’s top performers in the Premier League last term.

The Portuguese attacker averaged a phenomenal WhoScored rating of 7.11 across 30 starts and was the club’s top scorer and assister, with five goals and six assists. This suggests that Wanderers have lost their biggest goal threat as well as their most prolific creator in one fell swoop

He also won five WhoScored Man of the Match awards last term, the most by any Wolves player, whilst his two key passes per game topped the charts for creativity. These statistics highlight how important he was to Nuno Santo and why Lage will be devastated that he now has to potentially wait six months before he is able to utilise his talents on the pitch.

Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer hailed him as a huge talent after he scored against Southampton in the Premier League last season. He said.

“A huge talent who is having a fine season. He changed the game and scored a great goal.

As Shearer explained, Neto changed the game with his goal. He is a match-winner, as shown by him scoring and assisting more goals than any other Wolves player, and that is what makes him difficult to replace for Lage. The Portuguese head coach needs his other forwards, like Raul Jimenez and Adama Traore, to step up in his absence and start picking up the load in front of goal.

If they struggle to do that and Wolves go on a barren run in terms of scoring, it could be a long wait for February to roll around. Although, it must be stressed that there is no guarantees that Neto will be able to hit the ground running instantly after such a serious injury, so the club should not rush him back.

AND in other news, Lage must avoid first Wolves howler over £77k-p/w “monster”, fans would be livid…

Sky Sports journalist Michael Bridge insists that Tottenham Hotspur were looking to sell Davinson Sanchez at the beginning of the summer.

Spurs have been attempting to restructure their playing squad this summer and have seen a number of players leave the club.

The club have sold Juan Foyth to Villarreal, Toby Alderweireld to Qatari side Al-Duhail SC, and Joe Hart to Celtic, while Erik Lamela moved to Sevilla in a part-exchange deal that has seen Bryan Gil join Spurs. Danny Rose and Paulo Gazzaniga have also left on free transfers.

Bridge now reports that Sanchez was seen as an expendable asset at the beginning of the summer but there may now be some reticence to move him on after the way he has begun the season.

Indeed, he played exceptionally well in the friendly against Arsenal, while he has also played in the first two Premier League games of the season, against Manchester City and Wolves, with Spurs keeping two consecutive clean sheets in a pair of 1-0 wins.

Bridge said: “Sanchez was probably the one they were going to look at to offload. However, he played very, very well against Arsenal, he was really good against City.

“I think the problem with Davinson Sanchez, though, is that we know he’s good but he has a real rocket in him.”

Rawl Lewis has stepped down as captain of the Windward Islands after their 166-run defeat to Trinidad and Tobago in their third round regional four-day match

Roger Seepersad27-Jan-2009
Rawl Lewis: “I really cannot explain why the team has been performing like this and probably they need a younger person to step forward with new ideas and take Windwards cricket forward © The Nation
Rawl Lewis has stepped down as captain of the Windward Islands after their 166-run defeat to Trinidad and Tobago in their third round regional four-day match.Lewis, who played five Tests for West Indies, announced that he will make himself available for selection for Windwards but not in the capacity of captain. “I remain committed to Windward Islands cricket and would play on once I am selected,” he said.Lewis, 34, said the team had been doing poorly recently and hoped a change in leadership would bring about a change in results. Windwards won one out their three first-class games this season. They came seventh in the one-day tournament, above USA and Canada, with one win from four games.”Probably with me out of the way, someone new can take charge and make a positive difference to the team. I have tried my best with this team and I have decided to give way to someone else,” said Lewis. “I really cannot explain why the team has been performing like this and probably they need a younger person to step forward with new ideas and take Windwards cricket forward.”Colin Borde, the T&T manager, said it was unfortunate Lewis had stepped down. “He [Lewis] is an experienced cricketer who brings a lot of the team. I think he is a good a player and it will definitely be a big loss to the Windwards and I hope that Rawl Lewis and the Windwards Cricket Association can both sit down and discuss what needs to be done in their cricket.”

A number of Liverpool supporters after fuming after a fresh update claimed any new Reds signings will likely be put off until next year.

Jurgen Klopp’s side scraped to a third-place finish in the Premier League last season, despite constant injury problems holding them back.

The hope from some fans was therefore that Liverpool would have a busy summer in the transfer market to alleviate that issue, but things haven’t panned out that way to date.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

Ibrahima Konate is still the only signing to come in, while the likes of Gini Wijnaldum and Xherdan Shaqiri have moved on to new clubs.

There is still time for new faces to arrive before next Tuesday’s transfer cutoff, but The Daily Mail [via LFC Transfer Room on Twitter] claim that signings won’t happen until next summer now, even though David Marshall and Mikkel Damsgaard are mentioned in the report.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Liverpool fans angry at transfer latest

These Liverpool fans took to Twitter to show their frustration at the update.

“Ian Ayre is back”

Credit: @DembeReloaded

“Nextyearpool at it again”

Credit: @DarthMoaner

“That magic ‘next year/summer’ phrase again”

Credit: @LangatGodwin_LG

“Mbappe to David Marshall doesn’t feel like the flex I was hoping for”

Credit: @PaulSenior1

“If I had a pound for every time I heard that Liverpool would spend bigger NEXT summer, I would have enough money to make the signings myself”

Credit: @CosmoKhan

“I hate this club”

Credit: @nasir_l

In other news, some Liverpool fans are fuming at an update ahead of the Premier League clash with Chelsea. Read more here.

Pakistan have left out Rao Iftikhar Anjum from the 22 probables for the first Test against Sri Lanka, which starts on February 21

Cricinfo staff10-Feb-2009
Rao Iftikhar Anjum has been excluded from the Pakistan probables for the first Test against Sri Lanka © AFP
Pakistan have left out Rao Iftikhar Anjum from the 22 probables for the first Test against Sri Lanka, which starts in Karachi on February 21. The selectors have recalled left-hander Asim Kamal, and have also included some of the leading domestic performers this season – allrounder Fawad Alam and upcoming fast bowler Mohammad Talha.”Rao is a good fast bowler for one-day cricket, but we have depth in our fast bowling for Test matches,” chief selector Abdul Qadir said. Anjum, who has 56 ODI appearances, has played only one Test, against Sri Lanka in Kandy in 2006. The squad will be trimmed to 14 or 15 after a short training camp in Karachi, which starts on February 15.”We have good cushion in the middle-order with batsmen like Kamal, Faisal Iqbal and uncapped Saeed Bin Nasir,” Qadir said. Kamal last played for Pakistan in December 2005, against England in Lahore. In 12 Tests, he has scored 717 runs at 37.73, with a best of 99.Shoaib Akhtar had already been ruled out of the two-Test series after being advised to undergo knee surgery following the ODI series against Sri Lanka last month. Kamran Akmal and Sarfraz Ahmed are the two wicketkeepers among the probables.The Karachi Test will be Pakistan’s first five-day game since the third Test against India in Bangalore in December 2007. Legspinner Danish Kaneria is likely to make his first international appearance after a year on the sidelines – he is not a regular in Pakistan’s limited-overs teams. It will also be the first assignment under recently-appointed captain Younis Khan, who replaced Shoaib Malik after the 2-1 loss to Sri Lanka in the ODIs, including an embarrassing 234-run defeat in the decider in Lahore.Probables: Younis Khan, Salman Butt, Nasir Jamshed, Khurram Manzoor, Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq, Faisal Iqbal, Asim Kamal, Fawad Alam, Bazid Khan, Saeed Bin Nasir, Sohail Tanvir, Yasir Arafat, Danish Kaneria, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal, Umar Gul, Mohammad Talha, Sohail Khan, Abdul Rauf, Saeed Ajmal, Sarfraz Ahmed.

The Supreme Court has ordered that the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) elections, which were originally scheduled for February 22, be held on March 1

Cricinfo staff20-Feb-2009The Supreme Court has ordered that the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) elections, which were originally scheduled for February 22, be held on March 1. The order comes as a boost to Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman and RCA president, who had sought relief from the apex court on the issue.Modi, who was close to the previous state administration in Rajasthan, has been facing resistance at the local association from a group of dissidents ever since the government changed hands after an election last year. Local police have also lodged a series of cases against Modi over the last month on various charges, including fraud and forgery.The dissidents, meanwhile, amended the RCA’s constitution with the backing of the state administration and called for elections on February 22. The apex court, however, upheld a plea by Modi who questioned the election process as per the amended constitution and sought the court’s intervention to ensure a free and fair election. The court also appointed an independent observer to conduct the elections.”My stand gets vindicated,” Modi told reporters in Mumbai. “All the illegalities done by the other group by changing the constitution have been set aside by the Supreme Court. I’m extremely happy.”

A behind-the-scenes detail has emerged on Sheffield Wednesday forward Saido Berahino, regarding his contract at the club.

What’s the talk?

According to Yorkshire Live, Saido Berahino decided to take a ‘big wage cut’ to seal his deadline day move to Sheffield Wednesday.

The report claims that he has signed a one-year contract at Hillsborough, with the option for a further year, and that he has incentives to boost his pay if he hits certain targets.

Delight

Sheffield Wednesday fans will be delighted by this behind-the-scenes detail as it offers an insight into Berahino’s motivation for this season.

He is not coming back to England to sit on the bench and collect his money at the end of each month, or else he would have refused to lower his wage demands and would not have been happy with an incentive-based deal.

The contract, if this report is accurate, shows that Berahino is motivated to make a huge impact in League One this season and show that he can get back to his best after a very promising start to his career for West Brom many years ago.

He worked with Darren Moore at The Hawthorns and scored 19 goals across his first two Premier League campaigns for the club after breaking through as a youngster. His career then went downhill, however, as he scored just five goals in 56 games for Stoke and then made the transition over to the Belgian Pro League.

Upon the forward’s arrival at the club earlier this week, Moore hailed him as a wonderful player and explained why he wanted to get the deal done. He told Yorkshire Live:

“I know his game and all round ability. In the systems we want to fit, he will fit into that. He’s a wonderful player with his feet. He will be a good addition for how we want to play.

“For him, it’s unfinished business. We feel we have got him a place here where if he can hit the right notes that this could be a wonderful home for him.

“It is the right time for us to come together. He’s the right type of striker that we want here. He possesses a huge amount of talent.”

This suggests that Moore believes he can reignite the attacker’s form to get him back on the right track following some difficult years.

Therefore, Wednesday are bringing in a motivated player with a point to prove who has previously scored goals in the Premier League, which is why fans will be delighted by this latest update.

AND in other news, Chansiri must avoid Sheff Wed nightmare with £14k-p/w “leader”, Moore would be fuming…

Following the news that Fulham captain Tom Cairney’s spell on the sidelines at Craven Cottage is not likely to end anytime soon, it would be wise for Marco Silva to start developing a plan for life without the 30-year-old attacking midfielder this season.

The west Londoners have hardly struggled without the Scotland international so far this term, currently topping the Championship table ahead of Saturday’s fixture against Blackpool; and 19-year-old Fabio Carvalho has been thriving in attacking midfield, earning an average SofaScore match rating of 7.30 over his five league fixtures. Whether or not the teenager can maintain his current level of form over the remainder of the campaign remains to be seen, though.

As such, it would appear wise for Silva to field one of his summer signings in a game which – with the greatest of respect to 22nd-placed Blackpool – the Cottagers should be comfortably winning, in order to both provide support to Carvalho and to make his attacking midfield three much more fluid.

He’d terrify Blackpool

While Silva has claimed that Domingos Quina was not signed as a replacement for Cairney, it would nevertheless appear as if the ex-Watford forward is a talent who boasts a considerable amount of potential – with both Barcelona and Real Madrid enquiring about his services while at West Ham United – and perhaps a player with a much higher ceiling than the Scottish ace.

However, considering Carvalho’s remarkable run of form, it would be naive to suggest dropping the Portuguese starlet in order to field Quina, which is where the 21-year-old’s impressive positional versatility comes into play.

Indeed, having featured on the left, middle and right of Watford’s attacking midfield last season, he is a player who can operate from almost anywhere going forwards, so he should quite easily fit in a Fulham starting XI alongside both Carvalho and Harry Wilson.

With the £2.7m-rated man possessing the ability to score from just about anywhere around the opposition penalty area, something for which both Carvalho and Wilson also have a knack, the prospect of lining up against the trio on Saturday could leave the Blackpool defenders and goalkeeper terrified.

Furthermore, with Quina being 21, Carvalho 19 and Wilson 24, should the trio indeed get the chance to mould with each other this season, Silva may have found an attacking lineup which could serve Fulham for many years into the future.

As such, in order to start this bonding process as quickly as possible, it would seem advisable for the 44-year-old to unleash Quina against Blackpool today, as the man who Slaven Billic dubbed a “talented” player could be the final piece of the Fulham puzzle for Silva.

In other news: Silva drops worrying Fulham injury update ahead of Blackpool game, fans will be gutted