Cape Cobras consolidated their position at the top of the standings with a comfortable six-wicket win over Lions in Paarl.Lions, who were sent in to bat, were shot out for 133. Save Dominic Hendrick’s unbeaten 44, there was little of note in the innings that lasted 40.3 overs. Beuran Hendricks, the left-arm seamer, returned figures of 3 for 18 off eight overs, while Dane Paterson, Wayne Parnell and Dane Piedt had two scalps apiece.The Cobras stuttered at the start by losing Parnell and Omphile Ramela early, but Andrew Puttick ate into the target with an unbeaten 63. He was helped by Stiaan van Zyl, who made 35, as Cobras won with 16.5 overs to spare.An unbeaten century from opener Rudi Second, followed by three-wicket hauls from Mbulelo Budaza and Michael Erlank, sent Knights to a 74-run win over Warriors in East London.The bonus point win meant that Knights were dragged from the bottom of the table, with 13 points, five behind the Warriors in the final play-off spot with two rounds to play.Having elected to bat, Knights lost Reeza Hendricks and Michael Erlank early, but Second and Botha drove them forward with a brisk 100-run partnership. Botha was aggressive, striking 63 off 54 balls, including seven fours and a six. Second’s century,which contained only four fours, was a measured effort. Werner Coetsee strengthened Knights’ advantage with a cameo lower down the order, as they finished with 258.JJ Smuts was the pick of the bowlers for Warriors, claiming figures of 2 for 49. He then gave the chase early thurst with his 21st List A fifty, but the rest of the batsmen fell away. Budaza, playing only his 10th List A game accounted for Smuts,Jerry Nqolo, and Yaseen Vallie to finish with career-best figures. Erlank then wrapped up the tail to dismiss Warriors for 184 in 43.3 overs and seal Knights’ third win of the tournament.
This isn’t true, of course, but this summer, the Reds signed Giovanni Leoni from Parma for a £27m fee, and the 18-year-old became only the second permanent senior signing since Virgil van Dijk’s record-breaking transfer in January 2018, the first being Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig in 2021.
With Leoni out for the season after rupturing his ACL on his Reds debut, Arne Slot’s side have been left frustrated, with defensive issues forming the crux of Liverpool’s wider struggle this season.
Despite fierce speculation over Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo’s future – Liverpool have been in the mix but Manchester City look set to win his signature – the need for a new centre-half remains great.
Liverpool lining up winter Guehi alternative
Guehi, 25, is one of the best defenders in the Premier League. One of the best players. With Van Dijk turning 35 next summer and the error-riddled Konate soon out of contract, FSG and sporting director Richard Hughes are sure to contest for the Crystal Palace captain’s signature.
But Guehi is a free agent himself by the end of the term, so Liverpool may have to play the waiting game. Even so, the need for a new centre-back is great, and if the right opportunity emerges in the New Year, the Merseysiders must pounce.
Well, as it would happen, such a shot has materialised, with Bolavip confirming Liverpool’s interest in Club Brugge defender Joel Ordonez ahead of the January window.
With Chelsea dropping out of the race, the suggestion is that the Reds are the frontrunners having been given a clear route to securing his signature, albeit with Serie A side Inter Milan also now in the mix.
Ordonez, 21, is considered one of the most talented up-and-coming centre-backs out there, and it would take a Belgian-record fee of €40m (converting to about £34m), to prise him away from Bruges.
Why Liverpool need to sign Ordonez
Make no mistake, adding a forward like Semenyo to Slot’s squad would mark an improvement for Liverpool. But, having phoned the Ghanaian’s reps in November, FSG have opted against matching the intensity of Manchester City.
Why is this? Semenyo has been one of the finest players in Europe this season, after all, with nine goals and three assists spread across 17 games in the Premier League.
Could it be because Liverpool have instead decided to prioritise a defender? There is a stronger case to be made for a centre-half, with Liverpool’s leaky backline causing so many problems this season, and Konate and Van Dijk depicting cracked shells of their usual selves.
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Ordonez is young, but he’s gained experience in the Champions League and as a top talent in the Belgian top flight, with talent scout Jacek Kulig even hailing him as “something remarkable”, with “an impressively complete profile” for such a young defender.
The Ecuador international, moreover, ranks among the top 9% of positional peers across divisions relevant to the Belgian Pro League for passes attempted and pass completion, the top 16% for progressive passes and the top 2% for carries per 90, as per FBref.
This natural ball-playing ability is something that would serve Liverpool well, providing Slot not just with the defensive depth he needs but a more important cog than a wide forward like Semenyo, who would be more expensive besides.
With Florian Wirtz coming into his own, Cody Gakpo an experienced member of the squad and Rio Ngumoha billed as one of the most exciting talents in the country, it might just be that an up-and-coming defender like Ordonez proves exactly the player the Anfield side need.
Mac Allister upgrade: Liverpool could sign "best CM prospect in the world"
Liverpool are weighing up a winter move for a new centre-midfielder.
Pakistan allrounder Shoaib Malik has stated that the foot inflammation that kept him out of the first ODI against New Zealand in Wellington was a minor injury and that he had wanted to play the game but was advised rest by the team management. Malik also revealed that he played the preceding three-match T20 series with painkillers and a strapped foot. His selection for the third ODI in Auckland on Sunday will be determined by a fitness assessment before the match.Malik sustained the injury prior to the first T20 in Auckland while walking barefoot near the ground. He scored 20, 39 and 14 in the three matches but bowled only 2.4 overs.”I played with painkillers for the country,” Malik told ESPNcricinfo. “The injury was minor and I am not a 25-year-old to pull myself in caution. I am an experienced cricketer and can play with minor injuries. I believe that I can give my 100%, so I rather ignore minor niggles. I didn’t even try to hide myself in the field and batted to my full capacity to contribute.”I wasn’t really 100% with my body but I was there in the game with my 100%. I contributed and those three T20 games were quite evident. I even wanted to play the ODI but was rested for the game lest I aggravate my injury further. They wanted me to hold back for a while until the second ODI, giving me ample time to recover.”Having lost the T20 series 2-1, Pakistan are keen to save the ODI series. They lost the first ODI after having New Zealand reeling at 99 for 6, while the second match was abandoned due to rain. Malik said there were plenty of lessons for Pakistan to learn from the tour.”Obviously it wasn’t the one we planned for but you got to give New Zealand an edge being a host,” Malik said. “There were mistakes that could have been cut down and we did our best but it didn’t go well. But such a tour gives you a lot of positives going ahead and this will help us. The competitiveness always gives you lessons and it allow to you assess yourself, and I am hopeful this tour is going to help us in the upcoming Asia Cup and World T20.”Comparatively New Zealand were a better side and we need to enhance our individual performances. Our coaching staff has been emphasising on physical fitness, which needs to be improved, and I feel we are still behind the cricketing world in this aspect of the game. Also, if we need to compete, apart from fitness, we need to enhance our skill level to match the competition.”
Akeliah Antoine and Toneita Phillip were the first two girls selected for the Digicel coaching clinic yesterday, at the Sir Frank Worrell Cricket Centre in Trinidad.The two girls along with their brothers, Jaydon Antoine and Ansyl Phillip, joined 43 other young cricketers from across the country who were selected yesterday at the auditions.Steven Katwaroo, the Under-15 player – along with his younger brother Stephon – are also participating in the two-day clinic in addition to two Trinidad & Tobago Under-13 players Antonio Alleyne and Jordan Jahoor.”I’m impressed with the coaches, they are very experienced and they know what they are doing,” Katwaroo, 14, said, “and this clinic will be very useful for me and all the other kids because it will help us with our cricket skills in the future.”The youngsters were taken through their paces, learning basic cricket skills and other drills and exercises by Kenny Benjamin and Keith Arthurton, the former West Indies players.
ScorecardYoung spinner Timycen Maruma picked up three crucial wickets to ensureZimbabwe A maintained their grip on the second day of their four-daymatch against Bangladesh A at Queens Sports Club. Maruma found someturn on the Queens track to get rid of opener Mehrab Hossain, AlokKapali and Mahmud Ullah Riyad as Bangladesh A in reply to the hometeam’s 353 closed the second day on 115 for the loss of seven wickets.The visitors still need 89 runs to avoid the follow-on and it is going tobe a difficult task with most of their reliable batsmen back in thepavilion. Earlier on in the day, the home side added 77 to theirovernight score to take their first innings to 353 as their tailenders continued to resist. Enamul Haque took all theremaining three wickets to finish with five wickets.
When New South Wales play their first game this season, they will be depleted, but undaunted. Steve and Mark Waugh have retired, Michael Bevan has shifted to Tasmania, and Glenn McGrath, Simon Katich, Brett Lee and Michael Clarke are all touring India. Yet, there is a fair amount of international experience in the side, and the squad announced will still be a handful to take on.Brad Haddin, Australia’s reserve one-day wicketkeeper, has been named captain for their first game, the ING Cup match against Queensland at the Gabba on October 10. The squad also includes former Test players Stuart MacGill, Nathan Bracken and Matthew Nicholson.The squad is set to assemble for a pre-season camp at Mooloolaba on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.Squad Brad Haddin (capt and wk), Nathan Bracken, Shawn Bradstreet, Stuart Clark, Phil Jaques, Jason Krejza, Greg Mail, Stuart MacGill, Don Nash, Matthew Nicholson, Aaron O’Brien, Matthew Phelps, Dominic Thornely.
John Morris, the former England batsman, has put his name forward as a candidate for election to the Derbyshire committee.”The way the club has been run has been a shambles,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “Since retiring in 2001, I’ve spent a lot of time at the County Ground and very little of what I have seen, on or off the field, has given me any satisfaction.”Morris scored 13489 runs at 40.26 in an eleven-year career with Derbyshire. He also played for Durham and Nottinghmashire.Derbyshire have suffered several years of poor performances and internal unrest. At the end of last summer Dominic Cork left by mutual consent, and county chairman Trevor Bowring said that it marked “the beginning of a new era, an era of development both on and off the field to which we are all looking forward.”It appears, however, that Derbyshire are set for another difficult season.
Stephen Fleming: holds aloft the ODI series trophy after comprehensive victory
It’s over, the longest one-day series played in New Zealand cricket history and thanks to an unbeaten innings of 60 by captain Stephen Fleming the home side claimed a six-wicket win over India at Hamilton tonight.It wasn’t a great cricket match, which was hardly surprising, because little of the series will live long in the memory. New Zealand took it 5-2 and as Fleming said, it was a war of attrition that New Zealand won.Just as small innings scores dominated the series, so they did in this match which saw India dismissed for 122, and New Zealand replied in 28.4 overs with 125 for four.India, put in to bat by Fleming, made another miserable start and were never going to recover from 17 for three wickets with Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Dinesh Mongia all back in the pavilion.Captain Sourav Ganguly (15) and Rahul Dravid (12) gave early impetus to recovering the innings, but it was left to Yuvraj Singh and Anil Kumble to get India up to 122. It was a blow to India getting an even higher score when Yuvraj attempted to hit a ball from Scott Styris over mid on but wasn’t able to clear Lou Vincent who held the catch.Kumble was the ninth man out for 21 off 70 balls and it was Andre Adams who again did the damage taking four wickets for 21 runs off 8.5 overs. Styris took two for 23 and Daryl Tuffey, the international cricketer of the New Zealand summer, took two for 26. Kyle Mills, who bowled another unbroken spell of 10 overs took two for 29.As New Zealand lost three wickets for 32 runs, there were natural rumblings that another crawl to victory was in prospect.But there was something extra in the way Fleming batted, an extra grit that wasn’t going to let the opportunity go by. Some of his shots square of the wicket were played in the manner of Fleming in his best touch and the hope must now be that it is a forerunner to expressing himself on the World Cup stage.Whenever New Zealand has performed well in World Cups, it has been because of the batsmen, Glenn Turner in 1975 and Martin Crowe in 1992. If Fleming can provide the inspiration, and light up Nathan Astle, Craig McMillan, Mathew Sinclair and Chris Cairns in the top order then prospects have to be bright.He scored his 33rd One-Day International half-century off 85 balls and was there at the end with 60 unbeaten runs beside his name.Styris scored 29 in a partnership of 84 with Fleming, and as Fleming said if you could construct a partnership you had to make sure it was the winning partnership, and in many ways that sums up the series.Javagal Srinath was clearly the dominating bowler of the series and he will be kicking himself that a simple caught and bowled chance that would have dismissed Styris when he was on six, and New Zealand were 56 for three wickets, went down as it would have put New Zealand under greater pressure and would have given him his 300th ODI wicket which would have made him only the second Indian to have achieved the feat.As it was, he finished with two for 28.New Zealand had been forced to use Brendon McCullum at No 3 because under the ICC laws covering players unable to take the field, Chris Harris was not allowed to bat until five wickets had fallen.He had missed the first 16 overs of India’s innings due to an illness.Interestingly, in his end of series speech made at the presentations after the game, New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden said the quality of the pitches had not been good enough, they had not been conducive to good cricket.”The buck stops with New Zealand Cricket and we will have to do better,” he said.However, he said New Zealand had kept command of the Test series and the first four matches of the one-day series, and had managed to finish with a flourish today.India were keen to take their third win and to go to South Africa on a winning momentum, but the New Zealanders looked more intent in their application and regained their winning perspective.
The Western Warriors jumped from the bottom of the Pura Cup standings after making short work of a meagre run chase on day three of their match with New South Wales at the WACA Ground today.Set just seventy-two runs to win after they dismissed the Blues for 130 in their second innings late yesterday, the Warriors grabbed an outright victory by reaching the target in the sixteenth over, with nine wickets to spare. The victory gives the Warriors ten points from five matches, and leaves them just four points adrift of second place.Warriors captain Tom Moody, named man of the match after taking five wickets late yesterday to decimate the Blues, said the result meant a positive feeling again surrounded the side.”We’ve gone awfully close in our last three four-day games, without delivering the final blow,” Moody said.”Going into Christmas it’s nice to be able to do it on your own turf, in a nice return fashion to the Blues because they bowled us over a couple of weeks earlier (in Sydney).””For some reason we tend to be a bit slow out of the blocks – we have been the last few years,” he said.”I’m certainly confident that from here on we can continue our good form and welcome back a couple of strike bowlers after Christmas, in Matthew Nicholson and Brad Williams, to put pressure on the attack we’ve already got.”The home side capitalised on a cameo appearance by left arm spinner Mark Higgs, plundering seventeen runs from his ten deliveries to close out the contest and snatch the six points. Mike Hussey, who hit the winning runs when he hoisted a Higgs delivery away square of the wicket, was left unbeaten on 29, while Simon Katich remained not out on 13.The Warriors’ intentions were signalled early when opener Ryan Campbell (24) hooked Don Nash (0/20) just inches short of the fence, with the ensuing four runs between wickets signalling a rapid start to the run chase.Nash responded by snaring an outside edge but it did not quite carry to third slip and, seconds later, Campbell repeated his hefty hook through mid wicket – this time reaching the boundary.Fellow strike bowler Stuart Clark (1/19) did not fare much better. In the very next over, Campbell thrashed a wide ball through cover, and when Greg Mail let a regulation stop escape past the slips cordon and register another four runs, the Blues’ chances of causing an early batting collapse looked slim.It was then Hussey’s turn to hit out; he glided a Nash delivery through the gully and helped the Warriors head more than a third of the way to their target inside the space of the first five overs.Just six runs later, however, the Blues had the breakthrough. Campbell wasted his good opening when, trying to defend back down the pitch, he gathered a thin outside edge from a ball in Clark’s third over and the catch duly carried through to ‘keeper Brad Haddin. Notwithstanding his attacking start, it continued a run of outs for Campbell, increasing the pressure on him to prove his worth to the team.Katich joined Hussey at the crease and soon the pair looked to close out the contest, a smart straight drive by the latter from Simon Cook’s (0/11) first over maintaining the steady flow of runs.Clark continued at the other end to Cook. However, he received much the same treatment; Hussey drove him fiercely through cover to make it 1/41 from eight overs. Katich took a little longer to settle on the seaming pitch and eventually brought up his first runs twenty-six minutes into his innings, ironically with a cracking pull in Clark’s sixth over.After reaching their half-century in the thirteenth over (when Hussey tugged a short Cook delivery through the vacant mid wicket region), the Warriors seemed intent on escaping the searing Perth heat. Blues’ captain Shane Lee replaced Clark with the left arm spin of Higgs, and the Warriors batsmen welcomed the move by taking ten runs from his first over.Higgs’ expensive start left the home side only thirteen runs in arrears, and a short Cook delivery which whistled past both batsman and ‘keeper shortened the gap even more.Moody said that, after two days dominated by good bowling performances, it was pleasing to see his batsmen win out in the small run chase.”It was always going to be testing – 70 runs is 70 runs, but if you lose a couple of early wickets it can feel like 170,” he said.”I was pleased that Campbell certainly showed some initiative early and played some good shots – he got a good ball unfortunately,” Moody said. “But ‘Huss’ is also in need of a good hit as well, and looked solid and applied himself well out there.”Both Moody and Blues’ coach Steve Rixon said that, while the pitch was definitely playable, a worthy run chase on the last day would have presented a challenge.But they both said the disparate results between this match and the North Sydney Oval contest only two weeks ago were the result of home turf advantage.”Over there, the wickets tend to turn and keep low whereas here they do the complete opposite – you’ve got to deal with pace and bounce,” Moody said. “We’re brought up on these wickets and they’re brought up on theirs.”Rixon said that, while the game was dominated by the bowling side, the Blues struggled badly with their batting and needed more stability in their line-up.However, he also sang the praises of Nash, who looked dangerous while taking four first-innings wickets. Rixon said the only detracting feature was that the paceman needed a little more match fitness before warranting consideration for national selection.
Rangers are having a solid season so far, keeping pace in the Premiership title race and on course to reach the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
The Gers could also make it through to the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup tomorrow, with Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team firing strongly on three fronts.
In terms of standout figures at Ibrox throughout the campaign, it would be hard to ignore Alfredo Morelos, who has scored at least one goal in every competition in which he has played, with 19 goals netted in 39 games and eight assists to his name as well.
With this in mind, it’s safe to say that the Gers would almost certainly not be left fighting on three fronts had it not been for the Colombian’s regular goals.
Unsurprisingly, the striker – who is currently earning £33k-p/w according to Salary Sport – has averaged 4.4 shots at goal in the league this term, which is higher than any other player in the Premiership at this stage.
This has then led to the Colombian totalling 110 shots at goal, more than any other player in the top flight and 24 more than Aberdeen’s Lewis Ferguson in second place, highlighting what a deadly player he is for Rangers in front of goal and what a handful he has been for opposition defences.
Described as an “executioner” in front of goal by the Polish media for his goalscoring efforts in the Europa League last season, Morelos has been just as deadly for the Light Blues in the same competition this term, with four goals in eight appearances. He is also their top scorer in the league with 11, which is more than their next highest G/A contributors James Tavernier and Joe Aribo.
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If the £11.7m-rated star can keep scoring for Van Bronckhorst’s side in all competitions for the remainder of the campaign, he would hold the key for Rangers not only retaining the league title but also potentially securing the Scottish Cup and Europa League.
In other news – 71% duels lost: £21k-p/w Rangers passenger was carried by his team-mates on Thursday…