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.
The bidding process for the eight franchises that will compete in the Indian Premier League has officially begun with the release of the prospectus for the inaugural Twenty20 competition beginning in April 2008.The tender inviting bids for the franchises will be announced sometime in December. Potential franchisees can submit bids for more than one city-team and must state the total fee they are offering for a franchise for the first ten-year term. The auction of players will immediately follow the awarding of the franchises.The prospectus also laid out the manner in which the IPL’s revenue would be shared with the franchises. The franchises will receive 80% of the television revenue over the first two years, 70% in the third and fourth years, 60% between years five and ten, and 50% from the 11th year onwards. In addition, they will also receive 60% of the sponsorship revenue during the first ten years, after which they will receive 50%.Of the total amount to be distributed, 20% will be divided based on the final league positions of the franchises while the other 80% will be shared squally. The IPL’s distribution model, which is based on their current forecasts for the first contracts for centralized television and sponsorship agreements, should be adjusted should the forecasts change.The competition comprises 59 matches and spans 44 days with each franchise playing the other on a home and away basis. The top four teams qualify for the semi-finals, the winners of which will contest the final. The two finalists will in turn qualify for the Champions Twenty20 tournament, which has been provisionally scheduled for October 2008.Each franchise’s squad will have a minimum of 16 players and no more than four international players, drawn from the pool of contracted players, may play in a particular match. Four Under-21 players and four players from the franchise’s catchment area must also be part of the squad, though these can be the same players.The following cricketers have already committed to the IPL:India: Ajit Agarkar, S Badrinath, Piyush Chawla, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir, Sourav Ganguly, Wasim Jaffer, Mohammad Kaif, Dinesh Karthik, Murali Kartik, Zaheer Khan, Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman, Munaf Patel, Parthiv Patel, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Ramesh Powar, Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag, Joginder Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, RP Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Sreesanth, Sachin Tendulkar, Robin Uthappa.Australia: Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Brett Lee, Matthew Hayden, Nathan Bracken, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Simon Katich, Jason Gillespie, Cameron White.Pakistan: Shoaib Malik, Mohammed Yousuf, Shoaib Akthar, Younis Khan, Mohammed Asif, Shahid Afridi.Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene, Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Zoysa, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Farveez Maharoof, Dilhara Fernando.South Africa: Graeme Smith, Ashwell Prince, Herschelle Gibbs, Albie Morkel, AB de Villiers, Shaun Pollock, Loots Bosman, Jacques Kallis, Makhaya Ntini.New Zealand: Stephen Fleming, Brendon McCullum, Jacob Oram, Daniel Vettori, Scott Styris.West Indies: Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle.
Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica, and the multi-purpose Trelawny Stadium are likely to miss out on first-class action in the forthcoming season owing to ongoing World Cup preparations. The Jamaican Cricket Association (JCA) had written a proposal to the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) requesting that all first-class matches in the two venues for the Carib Beer Series be relocated.Paul Campbell, the vice-president of the JCA, stated that they did not want work to come to a standstill at Sabina Park while the sewerage work at Trelawny, situated on the outskirts of Kingston, was yet to be completed. He added that the JCA had altered the fixtures and were awaiting a green signal from the WICB. Trelawny was originally scheduled to host Guyana from January 20 while the matches against Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago were slated for Sabina Park.”Initially, those two venues, Sabina Park and Trelawny, were scheduled to facilitate testing,” Campbell told the . “We have submitted the changes. We asked for Guyana to be played at Kensington Park; Barbados at Chedwin Park and Trinidad & Tobago at Alpart, that’s our proposal. We are waiting on their (WICB) input to find out if that is ok.”He added that they were waiting to find out if it would be possible to play the domestic one-day games in the same venues. All three matches of the KFC Cup one-day tournament have been scheduled two days after the four-day first-class games.
ScorecardWellington gave Dave Nosworthy, Canterbury’s coach, the worst possible start to his tenure with an emphatic innings and 109-run victory at the Village Green, Christchurch. Beginning the day following on 331 runs behind Wellington’s 512 first innings, Canterbury was again quickly in trouble. Mark Gillespie (4 for 54) carved through the top order, while Iain O’Brien, Jeetan Patel and Luke Woodcock picked up two wickets apiece. Of the Canterbury batsmen, only Andrew Ellis (56) offered any meaningful resistance as the home side folded to be all out for 222. The game was highlighted by brilliant centuries to Wellington’s Jesse Ryder and Michael Parlane, and the return to cricket following surgery for Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain. ScorecardOtago wrapped up a win against Northern Districts at Gisborne to get its State Championship season off to a perfect start. Otago chased down 81 for victory with the loss of three wickets. Jonathan Trott (29*) and Greg Todd (26*) were the not out batsmen. For the first time in the match though, Northern showed some real resistance, forcing Otago to bat again after positing 299 in its second innings. That was mainly due to Daniel Flynn. The 20-year-old left-hander scored his maiden first-class century, going through to 107 before Aaron Redmond, dismissed for 99 the previous day, dismissed him after a 328-minute stay. Redmond (4 for 79) capped a fine allround performance as he ripped through the Northern middle order, while Nathan McCullum picked up Peter McGlashan (64), who completed a useful match double after 40 in the first innings. ScorecardAuckland and Central Districts played out a dramatic end to a match that looked headed nowhere after Auckland posted a 103-run lead on the first innings. Central cruised to 399-5 in its second innings with Ross Taylor the star with 92 from 84 balls. Jarrod Engelfield scored a more sedate 70 not out, while Kerry Walmsley took four wickets. Jamie How, the Central captain, made a surprisingly generous declaration, leaving Auckland 54 overs to score 297 on a perfect wicket. Richard Jones, the Auckand captain, led the way with 114, his 10th first-class century. Tim McIntosh supplemented his first innings century with 46. However Brendon Diamanti was Central’s saviour, taking 6 for 73, leaving him with 11 for the match. Auckland finished on 276 for 8.
Brian Lara has decided to sit out the three-day tour match against Sri Lanka A at Shenley to give himself a breather before the first Test, which starts on Thursday (July 22). Lara hit 113 against the MCC at Arundel in the last tour match, but has been suffering from flu, which forced him to cut that innings short.Ramnaresh Sarwan took over the captaincy in Lara’s absence, and also opened the batting in place of Chris Gayle, who is also being rested. Sylvester Joseph has been drafted into the team to fill Lara’s position in the middle order, and Tino Best has replaced Pedro Collins as the third specialist fast bowler.The Sri Lanka A side, which includes future stars such as Ian Daniel and Kaushal Lokuarachchi, has won all seven of its tour matches so far.
Jacques Kallis could still play in the first Test against England at Edgbaston on Thursday even if he arrives back in the country only 24 hours before the game.Kallis is currently at home in Cape Town with his father Henry, who is suffering from lung cancer. Kallis was given compassionate leave from the tour by the team management after scoring an impressive 329 runs in the NatWest Series.Gerald de Kock, a team spokesman, speaking today at Arundel where South Africa are playing India A in their final warm-up match, insisted there was no pressure on Kallis to come back: “There’s no expectation about when he’s going to return.”There’s an opportunity for him to come back as late as Tuesday evening orWednesday morning. But there’s no pressure on him to come.”Eric Simons, South Africa’s coach, said: “We appreciate that this is an extremely difficult and emotional time for Jacques.” He continued, “I have told him that he must take as much time as he needs to be with his father. He is a vital member of our squad, but ultimately the well-being of a player’s family comes before any game of cricket. The thoughts of the entire touring party are with Jacques.”Shaun Pollock was playing against India A only 24 hours after arriving backfrom South Africa where he’d been visiting his pregnant wife. And De Kock added: “I don’t think it would be a problem for Jacques to play. Shaun’s come back and, I know it’s not a Test match, he’s playing here having been on an overnight flight.”Kallis missed South Africa’s tour of Bangladesh to spend more time with his65-year-old father, and if he does not play at Edgbaston his place will mostlikely be taken by Boeta Dippenaar.
The Asian Test Championship final, expected between Pakistan and SriLanka, is likely to be played at Lahore next year.Although the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) will be deciding the venue inits meeting at Lahore on Oct 20 and 21, Sri Lanka have conveyed theevent manager that they were willing to play the final in Pakistan.Gaddafi Stadium is the headquarters of cricket in Pakistan.ACC secretary Zakir Husain Syed said the final was likely to be playedin March but was unsure of exact dates.”The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) needs to inform us the itinerary ofWest Indies series and then we will study the availability of SriLanka. But the tournament in all probablity will conclude by Marchnext year,” he said.Sri Lanka are to host Zimbabwe this December but their next assignmentwill be in May when they tour England, according to ICC’s 10-yearcalendar.He said he had no reasons to believe that Indian delegation would notattend the summit in October which follows immediately after theInternational Cricket Council (ICC) executive board meeting.”The issues pertains to them. Therefore, they should attend themeeting. We have already requested the High Commission to grant themvisas,” he said.
A superb spell of off spin bowling by Amol Jichkar (3 for 16) late inthe day saw Vidharba Cricket Association record a 24 run victory overBPL sports club in the Moin Ud Dowla Gold Cup Tournament at the NFCground in Hyderabad on Thursday.Set to score 164 for a win BPL started rather badly losing opener VVinay Kumar (1) in the second over when C Atram trapped the former infront of the stumps. The other opener Dinesh (1) also did not lastlong and in the fourth over of the innings Atram trapped him in muchthe same way as his partner. The BPL captain Yere Goud (19) along withNitin Mulke seemed to be taking his team on the right path before Goudran himself out with his team score on 32.Mulke then kept the battle going and forged a 50 run fourth wicketpartnership along with SR Deepu (15) in 13.3 overs. Then with thescore at 92, Mulke himself departed after a well compiled 46 off 77balls which included four hits to the fence. The new bat Shashi (0)did not last long and with only a run added to the score he departed.At the fall of the sixth wicket at 107 in the 38th over, Vidharbaskipper Manish Dosi brought Jichkar into the attack and the right armspinner responded well. Jichkar gave three vital blows dismissing SShinde (16), Shadab Jakathi (5) and the BPL stumper Prasanna (2).Though the last wicket pair of Sandeep Hebbar (12 not out) and SyedNooruddin (12) added 23 runs BPL were left stranded at 139 in 45.3overs.Earlier, Put into bat, Vidharba Cricket Association managed to put up163 for the loss of nine wickets in their allotted 50 overs. Vidharbastarted with a minor hiccup losing opener Adwait Manohar (0) in thesecond over due to a mix-up which resulted in Adwait failing to reachhis crease. Mohd Sabir(7), who replaced Adwait, lasted just 21 minutesin the center before Hebbar shattered his defences.The 12th over saw the departure of Amit Deshpande (17) and three ballslater Ulhas Gandhe (0) gave a simple chance to the wicketkeeperPrasanna off the bowling of Hebbar. This brought in captain Dosi (34)and in the company Parimal Hedaoo (26) took the score on to 74. ThenDosi was joined by C Atram and the two added 44 runs for the sixthwicket in 12.5 overs. It was now left to Atram to hold the fort forVidharba. Though he kept losing partners he took the score on to 163before the overs ran out.