The Railways-Vidarbha Ranji Trophy league match played at Nagpur ended on Day Three, with Railways emerging comprehensive winners and picking up eight points in the process.Resuming at their overnight score of 113/5, Vidarbha had to mount a massive second-innings total and bowl Railways out to stand any chance of winning the game. That did not happen; although Ulhas Gandhe (44) and Sameer Khare (39*) ensured that their side were not humiliated as badly as in the first innings, the lower middle-order collapsed, with the last wicket falling for 205 just four minutes before lunch. Murali Kartik, Railways’ left-arm spinner, picked up five wickets for 33 runs.Set a target of 30 to win, Railways were never likely to be in any deep trouble and, as expected, openers Jai P Yadav and Sanjay Bangar knocked off the runs in eight overs. The match ended just 35 minutes after lunch, a good sign of how Railways dominated Vidarbha in this game right from the outset.
ScorecardSteve O’Keefe picked up 4 for 46 (file photo)•Getty Images
Three wickets from Jackson Bird helped Tasmania into a strong position on the second day of their clash with New South Wales at Bankstown Oval, where the Blues went to stumps on 6 for 150. They still trailed by 145 runs after Tasmania were earlier dismissed for 295, and at the close of play Kurtis Patterson was the key on 56, and Sean Abbott had 16.Bird had collected 3 for 34 and Sam Rainbird had taken 2 for 26, including the wicket of Ed Cowan, who was bowled for 13. The major wicket takers in the Tasmania innings had been Doug Bollinger and Steve O’Keefe, who each picked up four victims.Tasmania had resumed at 1 for 127 and Ben Dunk failed to add to his score of 68 before he was bowled by Bollinger. Alex Doolan was lbw to O’Keefe for 65 and the only other half-century of the innings came from wicketkeeper Tom Triffitt, who managed 54.
A concerning Rangers transfer claim has been made over Ibrox centre-back Connor Goldson’s future in Glasgow…
What’s the talk?
Gers journalist Chris Jack has claimed that the central defender will be on his way out of the club at the end of the season if he wants to go back down south of the border to his home country.
He told GIVEMESPORT: “I think the timing is probably right. If Connor fancies another crack at England, it’s going to be this summer.”
Devastation
Gio van Bronckhorst will surely be devastated by this news as Jack is suggesting that Goldson is likely to be on his way out at the end of his current deal in June.
He has featured in every single match for the Dutch head coach in the Premiership and Europa League since the ex-Feyenoord man came in to replace Steven Gerrard so his loss will be seismic.
In fact, he has only missed one game in the league all season and that came against St. Johnstone back in September.
This highlights his importance to the team in terms of his availability. He has consistently been fit and ready to play since van Bronckhorst arrived at Ibrox and that has made him a reliable, steady, figure to build around at the heart of the defence.
His performances have also been excellent. Goldson has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.12 in the Premiership, with Rangers keeping 14 clean sheets in his 29 appearances. He has won a whopping 68% of his individual duels in the competition, showing that he has been a dominant force at the back for the Gers throughout the campaign as he has got the better of opposition forwards more often than not.
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The English defender has also built up strong relationships on the pitch. He has played alongside ten current Rangers players in 116 or more matches, including four of them 170 or more times. This shows how integral he is to the team as he has been playing alongside the bulk of the current starting XI for a number of years, which is why losing him in the summer would be a huge blow.
Therefore, van Bronckhorst will be devastated by the prospect of the towering machine heading out of the door later this year. He would leave a gigantic hole to fill at centre-back and the Dutch head coach would then be left worrying about how he will replace him.
AND in other news, Journo drops Rangers claim from “a Hampden source”, confusing Ibrox saga now resolved…
Rain ended Australia’s hopes of regaining the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy within three days as only six overs were possible in the second ODI at the SCG. Australia were well on top when the weather turned bad, reducing New Zealand to 3 for 30 after Daniel Vettori chose to bat.The umpires called for the covers at 3.30pm local time, just 30 minutes after the start, which had also been delayed due to drizzle. As the day progressed the weather radar continued to display a bleak outlook and only the most optimistic spectators stayed at the ground.Scott Styris remained unbeaten on 12 and Ross Taylor was on 5 following the early fireworks from Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken. Lee finished with 2 for 12 from his three overs and Bracken collected 1 for 18.The day began badly for New Zealand when the out-of-form Lou Vincent edged Lee to Ricky Ponting at second slip for 0 from the second ball of the match. Last time Vincent was in Australia, for the CB Series, he made three half-centuries from four innings but his only ODIs since the World Cup have yielded 6, 9, 18, 5 and 0.He was followed in the next over by Jamie How, who made 4 before he tried to cut a Bracken inswinger that was too close to his body. How sent a simple chance to Matthew Hayden at first slip and New Zealand were 2 for 7.That became 3 for 12 from three overs when Lee deceived the dangerous Brendon McCullum (5) with a wider, slower delivery that McCullum drove in the air to Brad Hogg at mid off. Styris was lucky to survive when he fended Bracken just wide of second slip and he was just starting to find some form with a pair of boundaries cut forward of square off Bracken when the umpires called for the covers.The abandoned match was as good as a victory for New Zealand, who lost the first game at Adelaide Oval on Friday. As the holders of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy they will retain the prize if they level the series with a win in the third match in Hobart on Thursday.
Mickey Arthur, who has asked for “fast and bouncy” pitches in the build-upto this Test series, admitted that South Africa had been comprehensivelyoutplayed so far at the Wanderers. While praising the Indian bowlers, heaccepted that his team hadn’t executed their gameplans well enough,leaving India 311 ahead on a difficult pitch with three days remaining.”They bowled very, very well, but there was no way that we should havebeen bowled out for under a hundred,” said Arthur, speaking to the mediaafter the second day. “India showed us the right lengths to bowl on thispitch. We have not got our lengths right throughout this Test. Over thelast two months, we have played a lot of one-day cricket, and yesterday inparticular, we largely bowled one-day lines and lengths.”That admission begs a question. While India warmed up for the Test with afour-day game at Sedgars Park in Potchefstroom, the South Africans took iteasy. Of the top eight, only Hashim Amla and Ashwell Prince had playedfour-day cricket this season, and complacent preparation could well comeback to haunt the hosts.Rather than focus too much on his own side’s shortcomings, Arthurpreferred to praise the resilience that the Indians have shown after beinghammered 4-0 in the one-day series. “We knew that they had been badlywounded after the one-day series, and we discussed every day the prospectof them fighting back,” he said. “Hats off to them for the way they haveplayed so far, and all credit to their bowlers in particular.”The pitch got a lot quicker today than it was yesterday. Yesterday, therewas a little time to adjust but today, things seemed to happen a lotfaster. At the same time, some of the shot selection and the applicationwasn’t perhaps where it should have been.”The bowling too was ordinary was vast stretches of India’s second innings,and Arthur agreed that the plans to target certain batsmen hadn’t quitecome off. Sourav Ganguly was expected to be set up with the short ball,but he showed oodles of courage and application to make 51 not out and 25over two innings. “We had our plans, but we couldn’t execute themproperly,” said Arthur. “But hats off to Sourav, he came in and did a verygood job.”The South African innings was doomed from the moment they slumped to 5 for3, and the frailty at the top of the order that saw them drubbed 3-0 byAustralia continued to trouble them. “It is a worry, but we have fullconfidence in the personnel we have,” said Arthur. “Today was a poor dayoverall, and everyone has owned up responsibility for what happened. Wehad a chat about it in the evening, and hopefully, there are big scores tocome soon.”Shaun Pollock’s 400th wicket was completely overshadowed on a day ofIndian dominance, but he remained confident that South Africa could pulloff an implausible victory. A session in the ice bath stopped him fromattending the press conference, but Pollock sent through a message thatsaid: “I’m chuffed to have got 400 Test wickets. I am hoping to get moretomorrow and help South Africa win this Test match.”It will need someone to play the innings of a lifetime for that to happen.
ScorecardA sterling effort from Devendra Bundela, the middle-order batsman, took his side to 207 for 6 on the second day at Indore, 112 runs adrift of Jharkhand’s total. Bundela’s fine innings steadied the ship after Vijay Bharadwaj’s offbreaks and a good spell from Mihir Diwakar, the opening bowler, had disturbed Kerala’s batting lineup. For MP, the success story of the first session was Anand Rajan, the fast bowler, who bagged five wickets on first-class debut.ScorecardSwapnil Asnodkar’s unbeaten 64 took Goa to 121 for 3 after two early strikes before tea from Vineet Jain, Tripura’s opening bowler, had rocked the home side’s top order on the second day at Margoa. Tripura’s total of 309 was due in large part to Timir Chanda, the middle-order batsman, who batted 363 minutes for a dogged 89, and a breezy 41 down the order from Jain. Avinash Aware, the Goan fast bowler, had figures of 5 for 71. Asnodkar had added 64 with Saahil Dhuri at stumps and will look to ensure the first-innings lead. ScorecardAn unbeaten 59 from Sadagoppan Ramesh, the former India opener, helped Kerala to 121 for 2 at stumps, after Kerala’s bolwers had dismissed Rajasthan for 332 earlier in the day. For the home side, Ajay Jadeja’s vital 67 was the standout innings of the second day, as Kerala’s part-time bowlers combined to rout the tail. Mohammad Aslam, the left-arm spinner, took two wickets before stumps to stem Kerala’s reply, but in Ramesh they had a batsman capable of a big innings. ScorecardFaiz Fazal and Amit Deshpande put on 86 unbeaten runs to lead Vidarbha’s reply to Orissa’s first innings 382 on the second day’s play at Nagpur. For the tourists, P Patel and Subit Biswal were in good form, stroking fifties to take their side to a very good total, while Pritam Gandhe, the Vidarbha captain, sent down 51 overs of offspin to grab four key wickets. Fazal and Deshpande, who passed his fifty on the stroke of stumps, will need to continue their solid start if Vidarbha seek to press for a result. ScorecardJagtar Singh’s four-wicket haul left Assam in arrears after Jammu & Kashmir posted 252 on day two at Guwahati, with only J Arunkumar’s unbeaten 40 standing tall amid the rubble. Kavaljit Singh, J&K’s middle-order batsman, top-scored with 76 as the tourists struggled against the Assam spin duo of Anand Katti and A Konwar, who bagged seven wickets between them. Play to be rescheduled following political problems within the Himachal Pradesh camp.
Points TableDelhi 251 and 222 for 2 (Gambhir 126, Chopra 62*) beat Bengal 240 and 232 (Dasgupta 56, Shukla 51, Bhandari 5-61, Kunal 4-72) by 8 wickets Scorecard Amit Bhandari and Gautam Gambhir combined to power Delhi to a superb win against Bengal at the Eden Gardens. Bhandari took 5 for 61 as Bengal, resuming at a comfortable 190 for 3, were shot out for 232, losing seven wickets in just 11.3 overs this morning. Delhi then raced to their target of 222 in less than 50 overs, with Gambhir, coming in at No. 3, blasting 126 off just 111 balls with 20 fours and a six. Aakash Chopra played the sheet-anchor’s role to perfection, scoring an unbeaten 62 and adding 170 for the second wicket with Gambhir. With this win, Delhi moved to second in Group A and significantly increased their chances of making it to the last four, while Bengal slumped to last place and were in danger of relegation.Mumbai 292 and 264 for 8 dec beat Karnataka 166 and 185 (Joshi 45*, Powar 5-84) by 205 runs Scorecard Mumbai further consolidated their position at the top of Group A, beating Karnataka by a convincing 205-run margin at the Wankhede Stadium to register their fourth win in six games. Requiring an improbable 391 for victory after Mumbai declared at their overnight total of 264 for 8, Karnataka lost wickets at regular intervals and never had a chance. Sunil Joshi, Karnataka’s most successful bowler with nine wickets in the match, made a defiant unbeaten 45, but the rest of the batsmen crumbled against Mumbai’s spin duo of Ramesh Powar and Nilesh Kulkarni. Powar took five for 84 to add to the four wickets he took in the first innings, while Kulkarni’s three wickets gave him a match haul of eight.Uttar Pradesh 282 and 234 for 5 (Shamshad 78, Yadav 50) beat Maharashtra 394 and 119 by 5 wickets Scorecard Rizwan Shamshad and Jyoti Prakash Yadav led Uttar Pradesh as they completed a superb come-from-behind win at Karad. Trailing by 112 runs in the first innings, UP bundled Maharashtra out for 119 in the second innings, and then confidently achieved the victory target of 232, losing only five wickets. Shamshad made 78 and Yadav struck 50, but the crucial partnership came between Shamshad and Anurag Shukla. The two added 114 for the fourth wicket, taking UP from a wobbly 92 for 3 to a safe 206 for 4. From there, it was a canter.Railways 263 and 270 for 4 dec (Pagnis 145, Bangar 51) beat Andhra Pradesh 202 and 198 (Varma 50, Jai P Yadav 4-38) by 133 runs Scorecard Railways won their first Ranji game of the season, beating Andhra Pradesh by 133 runs at Anantapur. Amit Pagnis powered Railways’ second innings with a 175-ball 145, which allowed them to declare on 270 for 4 and give their bowlers enough time to take ten wickets. They managed that, thanks to Jai P Yadav, who took 4 for 38 as AP were bowled out for just 198. The win lifted Railways to fourth in Group A, while AP slid to sixth spot.Gujarat 353 and 124 for 1 (Joshipura 68*) drew with Madhya Pradesh 280 (Tomar 55*, Makda 5-69) Scorecard Gujarat took the first-innings points after their match against Madhya Pradesh ended in a tame draw at Ahmedabad. Resuming at their overnight total of 242 for 7, MP were bowled out for 280, 73 short of Gujarat’s first-innings total. A Makda and Hitesh Majumdar shared nine wickets, with Makda taking a five-for. For MP, B Tomar battled bravely to score an unbeaten 55. With nothing at stake once the first-innings lead had been obtained, Gujarat eased to 124 for 1 in their second innings. Scorecard Baroda completed a stunning fightback and enhanced their prospects of reaching the semi-final stage after a four-wicket win against Tamil Nadu at Vadodara. Having completed all their league games, Tamil Nadu will now await the results of the last league round. Chasing 272 for victory, Baroda were in a deep hole at 113 for 5 but Kiran Powar and Yusuf Pathan added 159 in an unbeaten seventh-wicket stand and sealed the win. Powar stroked 11 fours in his steady 90 while Yusuf, Irfan’s brother, cracked 81 in 124 balls with 11 fours and two sixes. For the second successive game Baroda came back from a low first-innings score to triumph in a thrilling chase. They take on Uttar Pradesh in the final league game, beginning on December 31, and need to win with a bonus point to ensure a place in the last four. Scorecard Hyderabad’s 60-run win in a low-scoring scrap gave them a great chance of entering the semi-finals. Chasing 278 for victory, Punjab couldn’t manage sizeable partnerships as Gaurav Gupta, who made a solid 87, lost partners at regular intervals. Gupta was stranded on 87 when the last wicket fell. Narender Pal Singh, the medium pacer, snapped up four wickets while Inder Shekar Reddy, the left-arm spinner, picked up three. Earlier VRV Singh, Punjab’s 20-year-old fast bowler, completed a great match with six wickets in the second innings, and finished with 13 for 115 for the game. The Punjab batsmen, though, faltered in both innings and though they were still favourites to make it to the semi-finals, big wins for Baroda and Hyderabad in the final league game would snuff out their chances.
Dimitri Mascarenhas: six wickets as Hampshire fought back v Northants
Kent 101 for 2 trail Surrey 401 by 300 runs at The Oval Scorecard Rob Ferley’s career-best figures of 4 for 76 weren’t enough to prevent Surrey taking control on the second day at The Oval. Surrey resumed on 245 for 3, and Mark Butcher fell early, caught behind for 144 off Ben Trott, before Alec Stewart followed swiftly for 1. But Ian Salisbury’s unbeaten 34 from 31 balls carried Surrey past 400. Kent soon lost David Fulton and Michael Carberry, but Andrew Symonds and Ed Smith were looking imposing at the crease, and by the close they had added an unbeaten 61 for the third wicket.Essex 178 for 7 trail Lancashire 218 by 40 runs at Chelmsford Scorecard Nasser Hussain continued his return to form with a fluent 54 from 71 balls, and Andy Flower added 46, but Essex were made to struggle after dispatching Lancashire for 218 on the first day. Hussain and Flower resumed in the morning on a precarious 6 for 2, and at first made batting look pretty simple as they added 90 for the third wicket, with Sajid Mahmood conceding 67 from 10 overs. But Hussain was caught behind off Glenn Chapple, and Flower was trapped lbw by Carl Hooper, who bowled a tight 10-over spell of offspin. Lancashire were right back in the game by the close, as Ronnie Irani and James Middlebrook fell in quick succession just before the close.Leicestershire 215 for 3 trail Warwickshire 253 by 38 runs at Leicester Scorecard Only 34 overs were possible on the second day at Grace Road, but John Maunders and Darren Maddy enlivened the atmosphere by adding 156 for the second wicket in double-quick time, as Leicestershire approached first-innings parity with wickets in hand. Maunders eventually fell for 64, and Brad Hodge didn’t last long, but Maddy was still there at the close, on 88 not out.Frizzell County Championship Division TwoDerbyshire 80 for 8 trail Yorkshire 314 for 7 by 364 runs at Derby Scorecard Craig White extended his overnight 102 to a superb 173 not out, as Yorkshire dominated on all fronts against Derbyshire. White’s principal ally was Steve Kirby, who hung around for almost an hour and a half to add 96 for the tenth wicket. Kirby then ripped the head off Derbyshire’s innings, removing Michael Di Venuto, Chris Bassano and Mohammad Kaif in quick succession. Dominic Hewson became the third duck of Derbyshire’s innings when he was caught by Stephen Fleming off Ryan Sidebottom, and Sidebottom had reduced Derbyshire to 55 for 8 with three more wickets, by the time Nathan Dumelow put in some much-needed resistance with an unbeaten 20 from 27 balls.Northamptonshire 163 for 9 lead Hampshire 125 by 38 runs at Northampton Scorecard Dimitri Mascarenhas led Hampshire’s fightback with five wickets on a rain-affected day, to finish with 6 for 43. James Bruce added the scalp of Toby Bailey to his two wickets on the first evening, and Northants were indebted to a gritty 46 from Damian Wright, who clung on for an hour and a half. Rain had kept the teams off the pitch throughout the morning session, and it was Ben Phillips who kept Hampshire at bay in the final hour. His more-than-handy 30 from 37 balls inched Northants into the lead, and by the close they had a potentially vital 38-run advantage.Somerset 477 lead Gloucestershire 228 and 31 for 0 by 218 runs at Taunton Scorecard Aaron Laraman’s maiden first-class century, and a career-best 76 from Nixon McLean, helped Somerset to take charge against their local rivals Gloucestershire. Somerset had been in some bother at 136 for 5 when Laraman came to the crease, but his 108-run partnership with Michael Burns turned the game around. Laraman started slowly, but having reached 59, he launched a savage assault on Ian Harvey, lamping him for 34 runs in 11 balls. McLean then took over the big-hitting duties, dominating their ninth-wicket stand of 108 with nine fours and four sixes. Gloucestershire reached the close without losing any second-innings wickets, but they have it all to do to escape with a draw.Durham 120 and 145 for 3 trail Worcestershire 218 and 198 by 153 runs at Worcester Scorecard Fifteen more wickets fell on the second day, to add to the 18 on Wednesday, as Worcestershire and Durham fought towards a gripping finish on a treacherous pitch. By the close, Durham needed another 153 runs to record their third successive Championship win, but they had lost three important wickets. Despite conceding a hefty first innings deficit of 98 runs, Durham bounced back to dismiss Worcestershire for 198 in 51.5 overs. Liam Plunkett took 3 for 61 and was well backed up by Shoaib Akhtar, Steve Harmison and Nicky Phillips, who each took two apiece. Durham’s target of 297 looked pretty distant when Michael Gough and Martin Love fell in the same over to Matt Mason, but Jon Lewis and Gary Pratt added 67 for the third wicket to steady the nerves. Pratt was still there at the close, on 46, with Gordon Muchall not out on 10.Tour match Nottinghamshire 265 for 3 v India A Scorecard No play today due to rain.
Somerset pace bowler Richard Johnson has made it clear that if required he would be happy to go on the England Tour to India and New Zealand this winter.With Andy Caddick withdrawing from the original squad there is a vacancy for an opening bowler, and after being called up as cover for several of the summer 2001 Test series against the Aussies Johnson is likely to be in the frame.The former Middlesex quickie who joined the Cidermen during last winter toured India with England “A” in 1994, and was chosen to go on the full England tour to South Africa the following winter but had to withdraw because of injury.He said, “I’m 26 and want to play for England. If I’m offered the chance then I will jump at it.”
Paul Shaw, the head of England Women’s Performance, will step down from his job under a coaching restructuring following this summer’s Ashes defeat which will see a new head coach appointed early next year.The ECB has said they ideally want a coach with first-class or international experience, something Shaw does not possess, ahead of a period that includes the World T20 in India next March and the 2017 World Cup which will be hosted in England.Shaw has worked with England’s women’s set-up for seven years and was appointed to the head of performance role in 2013. He oversaw back-to-back Ashes series victories but England have not found success at a global event since winning both the World T20 and World Cup in 2009 although they have reached the last two World T20 finals – losing to Australia both times.Last month, England relinquished the Ashes 10-6 in the multi-point format having lost the one-day series and one-off Test. They won the T20 series 2-1, but a batting collapse at Hove – a theme of the season – when they fell to 87 all out chasing 108 decided the contest.”The important contribution that Paul has made to the development of England women’s cricket over the last seven years is unquestionable,” Clare Conner, the director of England women’s cricket, said. “When Paul was appointed to the new role of Head of England Women’s Performance in 2013, it was at a stage when professionalism of the England women’s team was imminent. His strategic planning, long term vision and relationship management have been instrumental in guiding the programme through this transition.”The women’s game is now fully professional and is in a different place to when Paul was appointed two and a half years ago. The decision to move back to a more traditional coaching structure, led by one overarching head coach, ideally with first-class or international playing or coaching experience, is what we believe is now needed to take the players to the next level in their development as professional cricketers.Shaw said: “I have very much enjoyed the past two and a half years working with the England women’s team. My personal highlights have been the successful back-to-back Women’s Ashes campaigns, both in England and Australia, as well as leading a young England team to the 2014 ICC Women’s World T20 final in Bangladesh.””The England women’s performance programme has evolved into a world class set-up over the past few years. With this in mind, I believe it is now time to step aside and give someone else the opportunity to take the programme and the team onto the next level, as I look to take on my next challenge.”I wish Charlotte and the team every success in what promises to be a very exciting couple of years ahead.”Interviews for the new head coach will begin next month with the ECB aiming to have the position filled before the tour of South Africa next February. Shaw will continue in his position until the end of the year.