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Romel Currency, the right-handed batsman, has been named captain of the Combined Campuses & Colleges for the upcoming Caribbean T20 tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Dec-2010Romel Currency, the right-handed batsman, has been named captain of the Combined Campuses & Colleges for the upcoming Caribbean T20 tournament.The team includes several players who represented CCC at the 50-over tournament in Jamaica in October but there are two newcomers in batsman Kyle Hope and legspinning allrounder Nkrumah Bonner.Hope made his first-class debut for Barbados in the WICB four-day tournament earlier this year but has been overlooked ever since. Bonner, the West Indies Under-19 allrounder, represented Jamaica earlier this year in the four-day championship and also played for Sagicor High Performance Centre in the One-Day Tournament.The CCC selectors have omitted former captain Omar Phillips, who is listed among the reserves, as well as fellow top-order batsman Nikoli Parris.The second edition of the Caribbean T20 will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium in Antigua and Kensington Oval in Barbados from Monday, January 10 to Sunday, January 23. The students have been drawn in Group A alongside Jamaica, Guyana, Windward Islands and English County side Somerset. They will play the tournament-opener on January 10 against the Windwards at 4pm (local time).Combined Campuses & Colleges: Romel Currency (captain), Floyd Reifer (player/coach), Miles Bascombe, Martin Nurse, William Perkins, Kyle Hope, Ryan Wiggins, Chadwick Walton, Nkrumah Bonner, Kavesh Kantasingh, Ryan Austin, Gilford Moore, Kevin McClean, Boris Hutchinson. Reserves: Omar Phillips, Marlon Richards, Nikolai Charles, Kyle Corbin.

Crystal Palace have enjoyed an impressive first campaign under the reign of Patrick Vieira, with the Eagles currently 14th, although they do have at least one game in hand on numerous sides nearby in mid-table.

After having had, for the most part, an ageing squad under Roy Hodgson, Palace have seen youngsters impress for the south London outfit, with 22-year-old left-back Tyrick Mitchell particularly enjoying his campaign.

Having started all 32 Premier League matches for his side this season, the Eagles academy graduate has made serious progress this term, with the undoubted highlight his senior England debut last month.

Mitchell did start and finish last season as Hodgson’s preferred choice, making a total of 19 Premier League appearances, however, this campaign has seen the left-back ensure his place as Vieira’s preference on the left-hand side of the defence.

As a result, the Englishman’s market value has shot up.

Over the course of last season, the left-back’s market value didn’t change from £4.5m until June, when it slightly increased to £6.3m after the youngster’s breakthrough season.

Since then though, Palace have reaped the rewards of giving the 22-year-old an opportunity, with his valuation almost doubling within four months, rising to £10.8m by early October.

It then rose again slightly at Christmas to £12.6m and then, once Mitchell had established himself as an England international, the Englishman saw his value rise to it’s current standing of £15.3m.

Having come through the academy, the left-back has already proven to be worth the gamble by Palace when he was a youngster, with the Eagles now set to eventually make a serious profit on the homegrown talent.

Of course, the Selhurst Park faithful won’t want to hear their left-back’s name linked with potential moves away just yet, however, similarities can certainly be drawn between the careers of both Mitchell and former Palace star Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

The right-back came through the youth system and Crystal Palace before establishing himself as an exciting defender known for his tackling ability, making 35 league appearances during the 2018/19 campaign.

Prior to that season, the now-24-year-old had made just seven appearances for the first-team

It was those impressive displays that convinced Manchester United to fork out £45m for the Englishman who, unlike Mitchell, is yet to make his senior England debut.

Like Wan Bissaka, the 22-year-old is a full-back who prides himself on his defensive ability, as opposed to forward play, contributing to nine clean sheets this term as well as averaging three tackles, 1.2 interceptions and 2.4 clearances a game.

Moreover, the £25k-per-week left-back makes 68.3 touches a match whilst winning an impressive 60% of his duels.

What’s also impressive is the fact that Mitchell has picked up just one yellow card in 32 matches as a defender.

The future certainly looks bright for the Englishman labelled “fantastic” by his U23s coach Richard Shaw, with chairman Steve Parish striking gold with the left-back.

AND in other news: “We will discuss…”: Huge CPFC summer update emerges that’ll have supporters ecstatic

Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab have filed affidavits in the Bombay High Court stating they have obtained bank guarantees to cover the cost of players’ salaries and the teams’ contracts with the BCCI

Tariq Engineer and Nagraj Gollapudi03-Jan-2011Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab have moved a step closer to participation in the upcoming IPL player auction by fulfilling the Bombay High Court’s condition of filing affidavits in connection with bank guarantees. The franchises were told to submit the guarantees – US$ 10.63 million for Rajasthan and $21.50 million for Punjab to cover the cost of players’ salaries and the teams’ contracts with the BCCI – as a condition of the stays against their expulsion granted by the Court.Officials of both franchises confirmed the submissions to ESPNcricinfo.Rajasthan were originally asked to provide $20.83 million as security – $18 million to cover salaries and $2.83 million to cover their board contract – but that amount was lowered by the Court after Rajasthan’s counsel, Janak Dwarkadas, produced affidavits from Shane Warne and Shane Watson, the two players retained by the franchise, saying that they did not need any bank guarantee towards their salaries. That reduced the amount by $6.2 million and a further reduction came after their counsel argued that the team’s average spend in the past three auctions was in the range of $3.9 to $4 million, so their total guarantee should be $8 million plus $2.83 for the BCCI.The teams have had to deposit the money to cover the guarantee with a bank owned by the Indian government. The arbitration proceedings between the franchises and the board will proceed independently of the court’s decisions on the issue of termination.

Scotsman journalist Barry Anderson has provided an update regarding Celtic and the pursuit of on-loan Benfica forward Jota. 

The lowdown: Smash hit

Signed on loan from the Primeira Liga giants for the duration of the 2021/22 campaign, the 23-year-old has been an outstanding capture for the Hoops, ranking as their best performer going by Whoscored match ratings..

The deal that brought the Portuguese youth starlet to Celtic Park is believed to contain a £6.3million option-to-buy clause at the end of the season.

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However, following doubts about whether Jota would make the permanent switch, it appears that a major hurdle has now been overcome…

The latest: Anderson provides an update

Taking to Twitter, Anderson, who writes for The Scotsman, has claimed that the Glasgow club are moving towards the deal’s completion.

“Celtic set to sign Jota permanently from Benfica for £6.3m (€7.5m). The winger is happy to stay in Scotland and Benfica expect the buyout clause in his loan deal to be activated by CFC.”

Previously, journalist Alex Goncalves has described the inclusion of an option-to-buy as an ‘absolute travesty and incredibly poor management’ from Benfica.

The verdict: Music to the ears

So far this season Jota – recently hailed as ‘unbelievable’ by Ange Postecoglou – has scored 12 times and provided another 12 assists in 37 appearances across all competitions, including a crucial goal in Sunday’s Old Firm.

The versatile winger has also created 14 big chances, completed 1.4 successful dribbles per game and taken 2.7 shots per game, underlining the Portuguese ace’s importance to Postecoglou’s side as the Bhoys stand on the brink of title glory.

For the mooted fee, 18-cap Portugal Under 21 starlet Jota is a bargain capture and one that will undoubtedly delight the Parkhead faithful should he indeed commit his permanent future to the club.

In other news… a player’s agent has ripped into the Hoops following some new transfer rumours.

Sunderland are back in action this evening with the first leg of their semi-final play-off set to take place at the Stadium of Light against Sheffield Wednesday.

As things stand, there isn’t much to split the two sides gunning to escape League One in terms of their results this season.

With 46 games played each, the two clubs have both won 24 of them.

In terms of goals scored and conceded, Sunderland have scored one more goal than the Owls but let three more in.

Looking ahead to tonight’s showdown, it seems as though the home side could be set to welcome back two key players that have been out of action.

What’s the news?

Speaking ahead of this evening’s big clash, Sunderland boss Alex Neil had this to say about the current fitness situation regarding Black Cats duo Dennis Cirkin and Aiden McGeady.

He said: “Dennis has been back out on the grass, so he’s certainly closer. Unfortunately for Aiden, he’s not been available for quite a long period of time now, but he’s been training with us for a couple of weeks now, so we’ll take a view and make a decision in terms of these games.”

Great news for Neil

While the Sunderland boss didn’t confirm whether or not the duo will make an appearance against the Owls, it will still be great news for him to potentially have them available for selection, either for today or for Monday’s second-leg clash at Hillsborough.

Focusing on Cirkin, the fact that he has started 31 league games for the Wearside club this season highlights just how much of an important figure he is for them at the back.

In terms of his defensive capabilities, only Carl Winchester (63) and Callum Doyle (40) have won more tackles than the 20-year-old (38).

This shows how crucial he could be for them in defence and keeping the Owls out during the next couple of games if he’s fit enough to play.

As for McGeady, given his vast experience of playing in big games and ability to not only score goals but create them as well, he could be a game-changer for the Black Cats. During his time in the northeast, the Irishman has registered an impressive haul of 36 goals and 34 assists.

Moving forward, if the duo are fit enough to play this evening, Neil should definitely consider letting them play a part.

In other news: Neil must ruthlessly axe “unbelievable” £1.3m-rated SAFC dud, he’s holding them back

Andre Gale’s half-century was the highlight of England Lions’ innings as they reached 277 on the first day of their two-day tour match against St. Kitts and Nevis

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jan-2011Stumps
Scorecard
Andre Gale’s half-century was the highlight of England Lions’ innings as they reached 277 on the first day of their two-day tour match against St. Kitts and Nevis at Molyneaux. Entering at 128 for 3, Gale stroked three fours and two sixes in his 53 to see his side past 200. Seamer Tonito Willett was the pick of the home attack, dismissing Gale, Liam Plunkett and Danny Briggs on his way to 3 for 60 off 22 overs.Openers Adam Lyth and Jimmy Adams gave the Lions a solid start after captain James Hildreth won the toss and opted to bat first, putting on 74 before Adams was dismissed for a patient 24. Lyth departed soon after for a fluent 45, but Hildreth and Ravi Bopara steadied the innings with a 52-run partnership for the third wicket.After Bopara’s promising knock was ended by medium-pacer Calvin Williams, Gale shared in two crucial partnerships to ensure his side reached a competitive first-innings total. He put on 61 for the fourth wicket with Hildreth and another 37 for the fifth wicket with Johnny Bairstow, easing past fifty in the process.Ben Stokes and Plunkett proved there was some fight left in the lower middle order, both making starts, but wickets fell at regular intervals and Kieran Powell ended the innings with a wicket maiden. He was back on the field shortly afterwards as he and fellow opener Shane Jeffers played out the remaining four overs of the day without losing a wicket.

Trinidad & Tobago’s team has returned home to a warm welcome after emerging champions in the Caribbean T20

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2011Trinidad & Tobago’s team has returned home to a warm welcome after emerging champions in the Caribbean T20. Their captain Daren Ganga dedicated the victory to former West Indies opener, Joey Carew, who died earlier this month.”When we heard about the passing of Joey Carew, we felt it was very important to pay respect to a man who changed the face of local cricket,” Ganga said. “There’s no better way that we could have done it than to give him this send off and dedicate this Caribbean T20 victory to him.”Carew played 19 Tests in a decade-long career that ended in 1972, and also served as a selector for West Indies cricket for 20 years, on and off, retiring from the post in 2006.T&T were without their two biggest stars, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo, for the entire tournament but still came out on top. They caught the imagination with their brand of attacking cricket during their run to the final of the inaugural Champions League in 2009, and Ganga targeted the title this time.”The journey has now begun. I urge every single supporter of T&T cricket to step forward and ensure that Champions League 2011 is one step better than Champions League 2009. This time around, we’re not first-timers.”Two players pivotal to T&T’s title win in the Caribbean T20 were batsmen Lendl Simmons and Darren Bravo. Simmons was the second-highest run-getter in the tournament, making 249 including three half-centuries to be Player of the Series.”I am really working hard to get better and better at my game,” said Simmons, who has been out of the West Indies side for nearly a year now. “I am more relaxed as a cricketer and I am happy I got some runs under my name. I am now looking forward to the WICB Four Day Tournament. I will be looking to get some more runs in that and some more big performances and get back into the picture.”Darren Bravo was Man of the Match in the final after top scoring with 41, and also starred in a league phase win over Barbados. “I really enjoyed batting in the Caribbean T20,” he said. “I was feeling good at the crease and the ball was coming off the bat quite nicely. I have been doing a lot of work on my game and it was really a continuation from the way I started my Test career in Sri Lanka.”

West Indies have played down the past success they’ve enjoyed against South Africa in ICC tournaments

Firdose Moonda in Delhi22-Feb-2011It was 15 years and four World Cups ago that Brian Lara battered South Africa into submission. They had dominated the group stage of the World Cup, winning every match and then they ran into him. He smashed 111 off 94 balls, and received few other valuable contributions from the rest of the order that helped West Indies amass 264 for 8. South Africa were stunned and not even intent from Andrew Hudson, aggression from Daryll Cullinan and fight from Pat Symcox could take them over the line.Seven years later, that same Lara blasted South Africa’s dreams somewhere onto Table Mountain. With each of the 12 fours and two sixes that came off his bat that day, a small part of South African hope drifted up, up and away. In the end, his 116 was part of a very gettable score of 278 for 5 that the West Indies posted, and it was the Caribbean bowlers bowlers who burnt the last remaining bit of ambition South Africa had to win their World Cup opener on home soil and scattered the ashes all over the Cape coast.Four years after that, in a different tournament, the World Twenty20, Chris Gayle threatened to do the same, this time planting South Africa’s goals onto Corlett Drive in Johannesburg – quite literally. Gayle became the first man to score a century in Twenty20 cricket, his 117 came at a strike rate of over 200 and he propelled the West Indies to a score that has not been bettered in the format to that date. South Africa faced another defeat in the opening match of a major competition but this time the West Indian bowlers were not up for it and the hosts won albeit after receiving an almighty scare.More than three years have passed and the two teams have another date. It’s not a tournament opener in South Africa, but it is the first match either side will play in this competition. “It’s a new tournament and it’s in a different setting,” as Dwayne Bravo said, but it’s still a small slice of history that can be used as inspiration to one of the teams and a warning to the other, despite all that has changed since 1996.The West Indies have lost 169 of the 320 matches they’ve played since then, more than half, including six ODI series to South Africa. They’ve gone from bad to worse to joke and every time it looks as though they are turning the corner, they slide right back to where they started. Except twice. In 2004, when they won the Champions Trophy and in 2006, when they reached the final of the same tournament.Their victims in the semi-final in 2006 were none other than South Africa and, as if by some magic spell, Gayle was it again. The West Indies were chasing a modest 259 and Gayle didn’t want to waste time doing it. His 133-ball 133 snatched any sign of a contest away and had Shivanarine Chanderpaul not retired with the score on 194 without loss, the South African bowlers were at real risk of never making a breakthrough.It’s become such a habit for West Indies to pull the rug from under South Africa’s feet, usually with the help of one centurion, that Richie Richardson, now the West Indies team manager, says it will be no surprise if they do it again. “We have always beaten them, if we do that again it won’t be an upset,” he said. Still, he has cautioned the team not to rely or even think about the history. “We will not be going into the match thinking, we beat them in the past.”Most are with Bravo, saying the team has not even recalled the stories of matches of tournaments past. “We don’t discuss South Africa’s history in the World Cup and we don’t discuss our history in the World Cup,” he said. Only Chris Gayle flirted with the idea briefly when he said, “Give and take they are beatable,” but he quickly added a condition, “all teams are beatable, we just have to try and be discreet going about our business.” Like all teams, the West Indies are not talking the big talk until they’ve walked at least some of the big walk.If there is one team that can do that with a distinctive swagger, it’s them, so don’t be surprised if there is a mysterious little spring in the Caribbean step on Thursday when they walk out to kick off their tournament against South Africa.

Jamie Siddons departed the Bangladesh coaching job by imploring his successors to persevere with a young team

Daniel Brettig in Mirpur13-Apr-2011Jamie Siddons departed the Bangladesh coaching job by imploring his successors to persevere with the young team he has mentored for most of his four-year tenure. Having watched his side slide to a 3-0 series defeat against Australia, the world’s No.1 limited-overs team, Siddons pointed to the progress made on his watch, exemplified in the final match when Bangladesh scored 295 for 6. This was by a distance the home side’s highest total against Australia, beating the 250 for 5 in the only Bangladesh defeat of Australia, in Cardiff in 2005.”When we passed the highest score against Australia that we’ve ever had, I was a bit emotional then, because I thought that just shows me how much the boys are improving and they’re continuing to improve,” Siddons said. “And I think it’s been a tough series but I think the criticism of our batting has worried me a bit: 210, 229, 295 against Australia, we rarely make those scores against the big teams and now we’re doing it quite often.”We need to bowl better and keep the scores down so that we can get those scores. It was a tough series, world No.1 versus world No.9, but we competed.”While he would have liked to see out the process himself, Siddons said whoever replaced him needed to be willing to persist with a young team, led by the 24-year-old captain Shakib Al Hasan. “If these boys are allowed to grow together for another four years to the next World Cup, you’re going to have a lot of good fun and a lot of joy,” Siddons said. “We’ve had a lot of joy with the New Zealand victories and World Cup victories against England and Ireland. We’ve smashed Zimbabwe the last four series, had a lot of success, and it’s all these guys. They’re the best 15.”There might be one or two come in and out because of form or injury, but you’ve got to stick with them, and you’ve got to trust them and stop being negative when they fail – they’re 23, 22 years old. There are no 33, 34, 36-year-old Ricky Pontings or Kumar Sangakkaras to hold them together yet, you’ve got to give them a chance to develop. You can’t bring back Habibul Bashar and ask him to be Ricky Ponting because he’s not. You’ve got to let them develop.”Siddons leaves Bangladesh with much good will behind him and will return to Australia before he decides where next to take his coaching career. There was plenty of emotion in his voice when he spoke of bidding farewell to Shakib and the rest of the team. “I love these boys, I’ve told them how much I loved working with them, and how much I think they’ve improved,” Siddons said. “Each and every one of them told me how much they thought they’d improved, and that’s why I coach, so I’ll go away from here a very happy man.”It’s a shame I can’t stay, but all good things come to an end. At least I know these boys have learned a lot and are on the way up, at least the group I’ve been working with.”

Nigeria captain Endurance Ofem has said he is pleased with his side’s form ahead of the World Cricket League Division Seven tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Apr-2011Nigeria captain Endurance Ofem has said he is pleased with his side’s form ahead of the World Cricket League Division 7 tournament, which begins on May 1 in Gaborone, Botswana. Ofem, 28, is confident that the hard work the team has put in will show during the tournament, especially with the pitches in Botswana resembling those in Nigeria.”We have been working hard as a unit, we’ve been in South Africa since April 14 and have had the opportunity to train at the indoor facilities in Benoni,” he said. “I’m happy the guys are hitting good form ahead of the tournament in Botswana.”In Botswana we will be playing on hard surfaces, similar to the conditions back home in Nigeria. I feel we have a chance and the team should be able get going in those conditions.”Ofem is also pleased that the side is made up of a number of players who have come through the development system put in place by the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF). “The NCF, over the last 15 years, has taken grassroots development as a key objective. If we look back at the Under-19 Cricket World Cup Qualifiers in 2001, when we first participated as West Africa, Nigeria provided nine of the 13 players that represented West Africa.”Later, when we played as Nigeria in 2003 and onwards, you will see names such as myself, Adekunle Adegbola, Tope Olayinka, Akabogu Okwudili and Saheed Akolade, among others, coming through,” he said. This, he added, shows the board’s belief in developing young talent. “Most of the players in the current side have been around from a young age.”Ofem singled out in-form batsmen Okwudili and Adegbola, as well as Oluseye Olympio, as players to watch out for. “Every member of this team has the ability to take games away from the opponent. Some of the countries in this tournament should be aware of in the form of Oluseye Olympio, Adekunle Adegbola and Emmanuel Okwudili.” Nigeria’s goal, he said, is to win their first game – the tournament opener against Norway – and move forward from there.