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A solid Zimbabwean batting effort, led by a watchful Vusi Sibanda and an innovative Tatenda Taibu, was backed up by their slow-bowling armada

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran04-Mar-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Man of the Match Vusi Sibanda is bowled for 95 and has his bat smashed in the process•The NationIt’s not often that a bowler with an economy rate of 12 is a team’s hero. Shingirai Masakadza was, though, and that too on his debut, when he secured Zimbabwe their first ODI win in the Caribbean by conceding only one run in the final three deliveries of a game that the visitors somehow contrived to convert into a close one after being in control for large parts.For much of the home side’s batting, it was death by spin again, just as in their defeat in Sunday’s Twenty20. A solid Zimbabwe batting effort, led by a watchful Vusi Sibanda and an innovative Tatenda Taibu, was backed up by their slow-bowling armada on a sluggish track in Providence to extend West Indies’ winless streak.Zimbabwe seemed to have the match in hand when their four frontline spinners bowled out by the 46th over, leaving West Indies needing 45 off the final four, with five wickets down and the Powerplay used up. Five tight deliveries from Elton Chigumbura made it an even tougher 41 off 19, before a big no-ball was slammed for a straight six by Shivanrine Chanderpaul and two more taken off the free-hit.Three overs to go, two of which Zimbabwe’s debutant bowler had to send down. This, after Masakadza’s first over in ODIs had been lashed for 14 runs. After Chanderpaul hopped across the stumps and got down on one knee to paddle an outside off ball over short fine leg for four, on his way to ten runs off the first four balls, the target became a gettable 22 off 14. Masakadza eased the Zimbabwe nerves by getting Chanderpaul to hole out to long-off next ball, and finished off the over with a dot ball.Again, the match looked to be a lock for Zimbabwe when Chigumbura send down five deliveries for three runs and removed Denesh Ramdin in the penultimate over, but Dwayne Smith slugged a four off the last ball to make it 15 off the final over, to be bowled by Masakadza.There were still twists to come. First, Nikita Miller whittled down the target to five off four with a swipe over midwicket for six followed by a streaky four to third man. Masakadza couldn’t have asked for a tougher initiation to top-flight cricket. A single brought Smith on strike, before Masakadza bowled him and then had Sulieman Benn dismissed by an under-pressure, low catch from Greame Cremer running in from deep midwicket. Four required off the final ball; Masakadza coolly served up perhaps the best ball of his spell, a yorker that could only be dug out to mid-on to spark off massive Zimbabwean celebrations.It was his brother, Hamilton, who kicked off an impressive day for Zimbabwe with a brisk 41 in a slow-and-steady opening stand of 67 with Sibanda. Despite his hitting, the run-rate was dawdling at about three an over because of a struggling Sibanda, who consumed 162 deliveries for his 95, the longest sub-100 innings since Aamer Sohail’s 167-ball 87 in 1993.It hardly looked like Sibanda would survive so long during his uncertain start to the innings, fresh from a golden duck on Sunday. He had a fortunate edge over slips for four early on, and the umpire didn’t spot him glove a delivery to the keeper in the 17th over from Kieron Pollard. Between the chances, he barely managed to get the ball away, scoring mainly in singles.It was the arrival of Taibu that energised the Zimbabwe batting, with his assortment of sweeps and reverse-sweeps taking him to a quick half-century, and putting on a century stand with the resolute Sibanda. That took the visitors to an imposing 167 for 1 in 37 overs, and despite the exit of Taibu, Sibanda and the big-hitting Chigumbura launched an assault that yielded 80 off the final ten overs to push Zimbabwe past 250.The West Indies chase got off to a promising start: the returning captain, Chris Gayle, and Adrian Barath following the template set by the Zimbabwean openers – Gayle played the Hamilton Masakadza role, scoring the bulk of the runs, and Barath laid down anchor like Sibanda – to progress to 96 for 0 after 22 against some accurate Zimbabwe spin.With Gayle confidently playing the reverse-sweep, a shot he rarely uses, to bring up his half-century, West Indies were well placed, but offspinner Greg Lamb, the best of the Zimbabwe bowlers, trapped him lbw soon after, when he played down the wrong line. Barath also fell not long after reaching his half-century, and a couple of run-outs placed the responsibility on Chanderpaul and Pollard.With Chanderpaul unable to find the boundaries early on – he took 48 balls before hitting his first – and Pollard hardly at ease, the asking-rate spiralled above eight by the 41st over. Pollard holed out to mid-on in the 43rd, the first of the Powerplay overs, and though Chanderpaul battled hard, he couldn’t pull it off and neither could the West Indies lower-order.

A record-breaking performance by Indian off-spin bowler Nooshin Al Khadeer propelled her side to a comfortable six-wicket victory over England at Bert Sutcliffe Oval today

Lynn McConnell25-Dec-2009A record-breaking performance by Indian off-spin bowler Nooshin Al Khadeer propelled her side to a comfortable six-wicket victory over England at Bert Sutcliffe Oval today.Al Khadeer, 21, ran through England’s middle and lower-order to take five wickets for 14 runs, her last four wickets coming off 17 balls without conceding a run.England were all out for 86, their third lowest score against India.What made Al Khadeer’s performance all the more creditable was the fact it was only her sixth One-Day International and she had taken only four wickets in her five previous matches.Her effort surpassed the five for 21 by Purnima Chowdhury against the West Indies at Faridabad in 1997/98.Al Khadeer said she came into the tournament with a five-wicket bag as her goal.”I just bowled wicket to wicket and did what my captain wanted,” she said.While she has had limited experience on the international scene she has been getting coaching advice from her personal coach at home, Irfan Seth and the Indian team coach Tarak Sinha.India captain Anjum Chopra said she was very happy with the win and with the way Al Khadeer responded to the situation today.”She was a little here and there in her first over but then she settled onto a line and length which was very good against the tail-enders. She bowled with beautiful drift which was the perfect delivery in the situation,” she said.India went into the match looking to restrict England to a total as low as possible. The side had worked very hard on its fielding since the last tour to England and with several young players coming into the side that had increased the pep in the field.”We were really high after we got a couple of early wickets,” she said.England had been scoring reasonably freely at the top of the order but lacked the ability of one of its players to throw down an anchor.Charlotte Edwards scored 23 but was well caught in the gully by debutant Rumeli Dhar and once she was gone the English resistance evaporated.India’s fielding was especially effective. Cover fieldsman Amita Sharma ran out Kathryn Leng in the third over of the game with a direct hit while mid-wicket fielder Jaya Sharma also ran out Clare Connor with another direct hit. Some good catches complemented the fine bowling efforts.The combined spin of left-armer Neetu David, who took one for eight from seven overs, and Al Khadeer saw the score slump from 73 for four wickets, to all out for 86, in the space of 11 overs.India started their innings with deadly intent, even if the scoring rate through the first 10 overs was barely a run an over. But it had the effect of seeing off the dangerous England bowlers Lucy Pearson and Clare Taylor.Once that happened the way was clear for Jaya Sharma and Mithali Raj to pick up the scoring rate and ensure that India were also able to claim a bonus point that allowed them to share the top of the table with Australia after the completion of the first round of games.Sharma batted nicely for India and it was unfortunate that she was bowled for 33 off 64 balls by Pearson off the first ball of her second spell. Once Raj had been dismissed for 12 when the score was 60, Hemlata Kala carried on and was 16 not out at the end.The pick of the England bowlers was the experienced Taylor who picked up two wickets for 15 runs from her nine overs.But it was India’s day and they showed that with their developing players they are well on the way to moulding a successful side before the next World Cup in South Africa in 2005.

Speaking to Football Insider, Tottenham Hotspur ‘insider’/club source John Wenham has shared his thoughts on a recent development involving Inter Milan star Stefan de Vrij.

The Lowdown: de Vrij emerges as Conte target…

As per numerous claims from Italian, Spanish and English media, Nerazzurri defender de Vrij is very much on new manager Antonio Conte’s list of targets.

The 29-year-old is apparently one of many Serie A big names who could be targeted by the Spurs boss and managing director Fabio Paratici, with Calciomercato.it listing him among six others in Federico Chiesa, Matthijs de Ligt, Marcelo Brozovic, Alessio Romagnoli, Dusan Vlahovic.

Meanwhile, Fichajes believe that things are slightly more advanced – claiming last week that the Dutch international is edging ‘closer and closer’ to signing for Spurs as Conte seeks to solve his major defensive problems.

Last but not least, Football Insider have the most recent development, stating de Vrij is personally open to the idea of a Spurs move – wanting more information and telling friends he is ‘very keen’.

The Latest: Insider backs realistic Spurs chance…

Speaking to FI, in reaction to these developments, insider Wenham believes that the centre-back is indeed a ‘realistic signing’ if the Lilywhites can negotiate a reasonable fee – certainly not his reported £40m valuation.

“He’s clearly a player Conte trusts. if he does want De Vrij then that is a deal I can see us doing,” said the Spurs source.

“He’s an international player with 55 caps, he’s a trophy winner and he’s an instant improvement on Ben Davies.

“The £40million fee is a bit steep for a player who doesn’t have that long left on his contract.

“I think Tottenham would look for a discount there, a £25million deal seems fair to me.

“Especially if you look at his age as well. He is a more realistic signing.

“If Conte really wants him then the club have to back that decision.”

The Verdict: Get it done…

If Tottenham can indeed whittle his price down to around £25m, even despite his age, we believe it is certainly a deal worth pursuing.

Racking up over half a century of caps for the Netherlands, de Vrij has not only played in two major international tournaments, but also possesses lots of Champions League and Europa League appearances at club level.

Making 44 cameos across the continent’s most elite European competitions since 2010/2011, de Vrij’s wealth of experience on the biggest stages in football could be invaluable to Conte and Spurs.

A remarkable ball-playing centre-back, de Vrij averaged a higher pass accuracy (93.8%) than any Tottenham player last season as Inter ended Juve’s stranglehold on the Scudetto (WhoScored).

We believe his composure and assurance would complement Cristian Romero to superb effect and potentially educate Tottenham’s relatively young defender in the process.

Lauded as a ‘worldbeater’ by pundit Noel Whelan, this could be one major potential coup for Spurs.

In other news: ‘Understand’, ‘In recent weeks’…Alasdair Gold shares exciting development out of Hotspur Way, find out more here.

Celtic reporter Kieran Devlin has explained the ‘weird’ clause in Cameron Carter-Vickers’ contract.

The Lowdown: Regular under Ange…

Carter-Vickers made the move to Parkhead on deadline day, with the Hoops having an option to make a season-long loan permanent next summer.

The 23-year-old, on £20,000-a-week, has been a regular since making the move north, turning out on 13 occasions in all competitions, scoring twice.

He actually netted on his Hoops debut against Ross County and hasn’t missed a game since, proving to be a key figure under Ange Postecoglou.

As a result of his impressive form, talk has turned to next summer and the chances of Carter-Vickers swapping Tottenham for Celtic full-time.

The Latest: Devlin’s comments

Devlin ran a Q&A on The Athletic, where he was quizzed on multiple topics regarding the Hoops prior to their meeting with Ferencvaros.

One fan asked him to explain the situation with Carter-Vickers and the chances of the American making a permanent move to Parkhead, to which Devlin said:

“There’s a weird clause in his contract apparently that automatically extends his contract with Spurs by another year if he goes on loan, so he’s technically tied to them until 2023 not 2022. Celtic have an option to buy, though I don’t know for certain how much it is.”

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The Verdict: Around £5m?

A late summer window move for Carter-Vickers appeared to be a gamble, with the defender making just five senior appearances for Spurs in his five-year stay.

However, it is now looking to be an inspired piece of business from the Hoops, with Chris Sutton recently calling him ‘excellent’, so you’d expect the club and Postecoglou could be extremely keen to make a deal permanent as soon as possible.

Devlin isn’t sure on a specific option to buy fee, but it may well be around the £5m mark, a figure Tottenham wanted over the summer.

If that is accurate, then it could well prove to be a solid piece of business in the long run, especially if he continues to put in solid displays in green and white.

In other news: ‘Fantastic’ colossus says he’d ‘love’ to join Celtic; Pochettino rates him. 

A fresh report has recently detailed how Eddie Howe secured the Newcastle United job and one claim will leave the St James’ Park faithful teeming with excitement…

What’s the word?

The 43-year-old, who had been out of work since leaving AFC Bournemouth in August 2020, was of interest to the Magpies’ new ownership but was only seen as a peripheral candidate until their first meeting over Zoom.

“It was the best interview by far,” a senior club source told the Telegraph’s Luke Edwards. “He had prepared meticulously, he knew the Newcastle players, what they were good at and where they needed to improve.

“He has studied the squad and done his research. He was fully prepared for every question and answered everything thrown at him. He also knew about the club, the fans and what is expected of a Newcastle manager if they are going to succeed here.

“Where other candidates talked in general about their principles, methods and philosophies, Eddie Howe was specific and tailored everything to what he would inherit at Newcastle. He had already identified where the strengths and weaknesses were, what the squad would need in January, as well as the type of players the club needed to improve.

“But he also talked about his training methods, the tactics that would work best with the players we have now. There was a vision for progress. How he wanted to play and why. It was just a really, really strong and persuasive presentation. We all agreed how good he could be.”

Exciting times ahead?

Those on Tyneside have suffered from mediocrity and disappointment for several seasons under Steve Bruce. As explained by the Daily Mail’s Craig Hope, his reign at Newcastle was ‘a joyless 27 months’, whilst ‘his attitude rendered progress impossible.’

Players rarely improved, a clear-cut system or identity was never really evident and fans were often wound up by his comments as the club seemingly settled for the bare minimum.

However, the aforementioned comments suggest that a different time is ahead – one that is full of hope, excitement and hopefully success.

Howe was responsible for the Cherries’ monumental rise through the English pyramid and then kept them in the big time for five successive seasons, often coming out on top in a relegation scrap, until that fateful 2019/20 season.

He racked up over 450 matches, earned three promotions in six years and took them as high as ninth in the Premier League. The Englishman was also known for bringing in young players, improving them and then selling them on for profit – again, another element that Bruce was lacking from his armoury.

The fact that the ex-Bournemouth stalwart has already arrived in the northeast with a major plan is certainly an inspiring prospect as he has already identified areas they need to improve and how he will do it, now and in the transfer window.

Edwards goes on to explain that Howe will have £50m available at his disposal at the turn of the year and given his meticulous preparation, you’d imagine he knows exactly who he wants and he must be trusted given his track record.

Overall, this massive claim should leave supporters and PIF absolutely buzzing for what lies ahead at St James’ Park.

AND in other news, PIF can revolutionise Newcastle United by hiring 56 y/o supremo in “huge coup”…

Crystal Palace are not expected to make Jean-Philippe Mateta’s stay at the club permanent after a disappointing loan spell from Mainz 05.

What’s the story?

That’s according to journalist Tom Barclay, who revealed he doesn’t believe that 23-year-old is in Palace’s long-term plans.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “Mateta, I don’t see being in the long-term Palace plan. I imagine when his 18-month deal is up, he’ll probably go back if not sooner, so that would open a spot up.”

Crystal Palace fans will be delighted

The former France U21 international arrived at Selhurst Park back in January 2021 on an initial 18-month loan deal with an option to buy, with the Eagles paying an initial £2.7m loan fee.

Palace also have an option to make the move permanent for a further £13.4m, although that only becomes an obligation if the versatile forward has started 15 Premier League games.

However, that prospect now appears to be extremely unlikely following several underwhelming showings for the south London outfit.

In seven top-flight outings last term, the 6 foot 2 beast found the back of the net on just one occasion under the tutelage of former manager Roy Hodgson, and things have gone from bad to worse during Patrick Vieira’s short reign.

Mateta has been awarded just 124 minutes of action by his compatriot throughout 2021/22 and has failed to start a Premier League game since the opening day of the season when he was hauled off just before the hour mark.

With summer signing Odsonne Edouard and the in-form Christian Benteke ahead of him in the pecking order, it’s hard to imagine the £7.2m-rated flop’s fortunes changing any time soon.

Therefore, large sections of the Palace supporters will be delighted at Barclay’s latest revelation as the capital club appear set to avoid a potentially expensive mistake in the transfer market.

And, in other news…Palace “lining up” swoop for “complete” £12.6m-rated gem, Vieira surely buzzing

While it may be slightly harsh to suggest that Valerien Ismael is enduring a crisis at West Bromwich Albion at present, the fact remains that the Frenchman’s side currently rank sixth in the Championship form table, having dropped six points over their last six fixtures.

Having said that, the Baggies did turn in an impressive performance against Bristol City last time out, besting the Robins 3-0 – a scoreline which could well have been much greater if Jordan Hugill have taken any number of his big chances missed.

However, undoubtedly one of the biggest positives to come from the fixture was the central midfield duo of Brighton loanee Jayson Molumby and 34-year-old Robert Snodgrass, who was handed his first Championship start of the season.

Indeed, the duo completed 79 passes combined over the course of the 90 minutes, with Molumby’s return of 40 just pipping Snodgrass’ 39 to rank the 22-year-old as the player who made the most passes in the match, with his Scottish colleague coming a very close second.

To his credit, Snodgrass did manage to better his teammate in terms of key passes made, with the former West Ham United man managing two in comparison to Molumby’s zero.

However, regardless of their individual statistics, the pair highly impressed in the absence of both Alex Mowatt and Jake Livermore – with this particular duo having started all but two Championship fixtures in the middle of the park this season – as the former was still suffering from a toe injury picked up in the 1-0 win over Birmingham City earlier this month, while the latter was suspended.

Ismael himself also seemed delighted with their performance, stating after the match: “They did very well. For me, Robert Snodgrass was man of the match. He’s the perfect example of a player who has had to wait for his chance, stay focused, work hard, listen, learn the principles of what we want to do and when you get your chance, put on the performance to make sure the team stays successful.”

As such, with a crunch match against promotion rivals Fulham up next for West Brom, Ismael is now faced with something of a selection dilemma, as dropping either Molumby or Snodgrass would appear to be an extremely harsh decision following their performances last weekend.

However, in order to keep West Brom fans on-side, the Frenchman will have to ensure he makes the correct call on Saturday, or else there could be repercussions for the 46-year-old.

In other news: Cost the club £13m, left for nothing: WBA had a nightmare on “stupid” £30k-p/w flop

Sir Derrick Bailey, the former Gloucestershire captain, has died at his home in Alderney at the age of 90

Cricinfo staff28-Jun-2009Sir Derrick Bailey, the former Gloucestershire captain, has died at his home in Alderney at the age of 90.Derrick Bailey, the son of Sir Abe Bailey, the man who had the original idea for the ICC, played 60 first-class matches for Gloucestershire between 1949 and 1952 and scored 2029 runs with two centuries at an average of 24.44. He led them in 1951 and 1952. He had also played Minor Counties cricket for Oxfordshire before the war.Bailey founded Aurigny Air Services in 1968 when British United Airways pulled out of the Alderney-Guernsey route, threatening the islands’ livelihood. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his services as a pilot during the Second World War.

Steven Davies, the 23-year-old wicketkeeper, has signed with Surrey on a three-year contract, having decided to leave Worcestershire at the end of the season

Cricinfo staff25-Aug-2009Steven Davies, the 23-year-old wicketkeeper, has signed with Surrey on a three-year contract, having decided to leave Worcestershire at the end of the season.Davies joins Surrey having decided not to renew his contract at New Road, where he accumulated a first-class average of 36.46, taking 207 catches in 73 games.”Surrey are the biggest club in the country and I was very flattered when they made a move to sign me,” said Davies. “With a developing squad that is already very strong, I am hugely excited about playing my part in the next era of Surrey cricket.”Guy Mackay, managing director at Surrey, said: “He is an exciting, young, international player and will play a massive role in bringing long term success to Surrey.”Davies made his international Twenty20 debut in March this year against West Indies at Port of Spain, and scored a fifty on his England Lions first-class debut earlier this season.

Oliver Skipp is the most recent academy gem to have broken into the first-team at Tottenham Hotspur but who could be next in line?

Spurs boss Nuno Santo is blessed with a very promising youth set-up, one that has seen the likes of Harry Kane and Harry Winks establish themselves as senior stars.

One player who is currently delivering for the U23 squad is Harvey White, who has provided three goals and three assists from defensive midfield across seven appearances in the EFL Trophy and the Premier League 2.

The 20-year-old prodigy returned from a loan spell at League One giants Portsmouth in the summer and evidently, he’s been kept at the club for a reason, rather than going out on a second temporary stint away from N17.

He may be a little behind Skipp in his development but given how quickly his midfield counterpart rose through the system, that could soon change.

Pompey boss Danny Cowley tipped White for big things during his time at Fratton Park, telling local reporters:

“Harvey is going to be a good player and got real maturity beyond his years. He’s a really intelligent footballer. He watches loads of football, understands it and gets it.

“You only have to tell him an instruction once. He’s like a sponge and you’ll tell him something once and then he’ll be doing it. He’s so easy to coach, a coach’s dream.”He’s got a great attitude, good pitch coverage now we’re trying to get him used to the combative nature of the transitional game in League One he’s probably not used to in development football.”The diminutive 5 foot 6 dynamo has already made his first-team debut for the club, coming off the bench against Ludogorets in the Europa League last season, whilst he also featured in their FA Cup whitewash of non-league outfit Marine.On the above evidence, if he continues his fine form for the U23s, he could well be the next in line to be granted a chance by Nuno.White may well be the next to follow Skipp into first-team stardom.

AND in other news, Levy could land Spurs’ next Michael Dawson in 6 ft 5 “Rolls-Royce” likened to Maguire…