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The permanent Lord’s floodlights were officially unveiled on Wednesday, but Kent outshone Middlesex, in a replay of last year’s final, as the home side slumped to their second heavy loss in two matches

Andrew McGlashan at Lord's27-May-2009
ScorecardThe new permanent floodlights were used in a match for the first time as Middlesex took on Kent at Lord’s•Getty ImagesThe permanent Lord’s floodlights were officially unveiled on Wednesday, but Kent outshone Middlesex, in revenge for last year’s final, as the home side slumped to their second heavy Twenty20 defeat in two matches by 62 runs. Martin van Jaarsveld and Darren Stevens, who reached his fifty off 21 balls, launched Kent to 191, a target that proved well out of the reach of Middlesex despite the return of Owais Shah and Eoin Morgan.Middlesex’s best moment came in the opening over when Dawid Malan held a stunning catch at mid-off to send back Robert Key for a second ball duck but from there they went downhill. van Jaarsveld could have been run out early and Malan’s catch set a fielding standard that couldn’t be maintained. van Jaarsveld’s fifty came from 38 balls and he added 60 with Geraint Jones before Stevens arrived to take the game away from Middlesex.Stevens raced to his fifty with a succession of boundaries off Tyron Henderson, who was given some fearful hammer in his final two overs to finish with 56 off his four overs. None of the Middlesex batsmen could build an innings with Morgan falling to his reverse lap and Shah lofting a catch off James Tredwell after managing one huge six over deep midwicket.A dull, chilly evening, coupled with the Champions League final, led to another disappointing crowd, but at least meant the lights had an effect earlier than would have been the case on a sunny day. There were very few in the ground when the lights were raised at 6pm, a process that takes around eight minutes and the in total it takes 25 minutes until they are up to full power.Middlesex trained under the lights earlier this week and Angus Fraser, their managing director of cricket, said the players were delighted with them. They have been designed with concerns of local residents in mind and when at their resting height blend in well with the overall design of the ground.Abacus, the lighting company behind them, said they’d been conscious of making them fit the architecture already at Lord’s and used the curves of the media centre as a guide. Tony Staten, the contracts manager for Abacus, said it had been “one of the most challenging jobs” they had worked on. At one point their unearthed a Victorian sewer when they were digging the foundations and also had to lower one of the pylons over huge trees at Nursery End.By the time the lights were having their full impact the match was over as a contest with the Middlesex batsmen swinging from the hip. Maybe they wanted to catch the end of the football.

A round-up of the latest Friends Provident Trophy matches on a wet day around the country, but there were wins for Middlesex and Worcestershire

Cricinfo staff14-May-2009Group AChris Whelan took 4 for 27 as Worcestershire breezed past Hampshire by 108 runs at New Road. Worcestershire’s 246 for 8 was a fragmented innings made up of three knocks of 31, by Moeen Ali, Gareth Batty and, at No.9, Ian Fisher. Yet in reply, Hampshire suffered an early collapse, sinking to 57 for 5. When Chris Benham was seventh-man out for 42, Whelan mopped up the tail as Worcestershire romped home with more than 11 overs to spare.Heavy Dublin rain prevented any play between Ireland and Leicestershire, the match abandoned without a ball bowled.Group BScotland made it five losses out of five with another comprehensive defeat, this time by Middlesex whose captain, Shaun Udal, turned in a fine allround performance in Edinburgh. Phillip Hughes, for once, failed to make a sizeable contribution in making just 11, and when Dawid Malan departed for just 7, Middlesex were beginning to wobble on 128 for 3. However, Eoin Morgan’s sublime one-day form continued unabated with another half-century and he was well supported by Udal who smacked a career-best 79, from just 46 balls, with five fours and a six. Chasing 281, Scotland lost their captain, Gavin Hamilton, for a sixth-ball duck and despite Ryan Watson’s 47, there was little else to worry Middlesex. Udal picked up 3 for 32 while Malan’s very part-time legspinners earned him 2 for 4 in a 138-run trouncing.Somerset reached 135 for 2 from 22 overs in their match against Warwickshire at Taunton, before rain ended any possibility of forcing a result. Marcus Trescothick continued his fine form with a 69-ball 84 while James Hildreth made 33.

Group A Team Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net RR For Against

Worcestershire 64 2 0 0 8 +0.7101357/256.1 1163/253.3 Hampshire 6 32 0 1 7 -0.278 1150/241.31260/250.0 Nottinghamshire 5 3 20 0 6 +1.026 1055/200.3 917/216.3 Leicestershire 6 2 3 01 5 -0.621 1130/229.0 1162/209.1Ireland 5 0 3 0 22 -1.781 537/114.0 727/112.0

Group B Team Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net RR For Against

Somerset 5 4 0 0 19 +3.152 1032/142.3 769/188.0 Middlesex 6 3 3 0 0 6+0.366 1267/300.0 893/231.3 Kent 53 2 0 0 6 -0.337985/209.3 1169/232.0 Warwickshire 5 22 0 1 5 +0.577 838/166.2838/187.5 Scotland 5 0 50 0 0 -2.387 921/244.0 1374/223.0

Celtic are ‘considering’ hiring Andriy Shevchenko as head coach, according to European outlet Ajansspor.

The Lowdown: Shevchenko links

Shevchenko left his job as Ukraine manager in the summer following the European Championship and now wants to try his hand at club level with a job in Britain. That’s according to The Sun, who claimed that Celtic have been put on alert following his wishes.

The 45-year-old played in The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship along with Hoops chief Dermot Desmond, with the golf event getting underway on Thursday.

The Latest: Ajansspor’s claim

Ajansspor posted on Twitter regarding Shevchenko on Sunday morning.

They relayed The Sun’s claim about the Ukrainian wanting a British job if things don’t work out with incumbent Ange Postecoglou, prior to which they had said ‘Scottish team Celtic are considering hiring Andriy Shevchenko as head coach.’

The Verdict: Hopefully not true…

Both Shevchenko and Postecoglou like to play a 4-3-3 system, but the Hoops need to give the latter more time during his start to life as Celtic boss.

Postecoglou has overseen plenty of change during the summer, with a number of players arriving and departing the club. He’s also had to manage a thin squad due to a number of injuries in recent weeks, so Celtic shouldn’t feel the need to be panicking just yet.

Hopefully the media have merely picked up on the coincidence of Desmond and Shevchenko playing in a golf tournament together and there is nothing serious in the rumours. That’s nothing against the Ukrainian, but rather a show of support to keep faith with the current incumbent.

In other news: Postecoglou shares further Celtic injury blow on one player he thought wouldn’t be out for ‘too long’. 

One of the biggest plus points from Ange Postecoglou’s reign as Celtic manager so far has been Tom Rogic.

The Australian pair have worked together at international level before and it would appear that the attacking midfielder’s career has been revived somewhat.

In 2020, it looked as though Rogic was heading for the exit door. There was interest from overseas and a campaign of rarely featuring only heightened the chances of a departure in the last few months.

Yet, Postecoglou’s arrival has been timely. Rogic scored against Dundee in the 6-0 rout and then claimed an assist in the 6-0 hammering of St Mirren too.

A first start for his country since 2019 over the last two weeks also signified how big of a comeback he’s made.

Yet, after returning to Glasgow this weekend, he looked off the pace. Few can blame the Aussie for a tired display after travelling around the world but Celtic can be fortunate that it didn’t cost them.

The Hoops still routinely beat Ross County 3-0 but were let down by the 28-year-old who was taken off with 12 minutes remaining.

It was a performance that was distinctly out of character with the midfielder’s showings this term.

He gave away possession on 16 occasions, the second-highest number by a Celtic player and prevailed in just 22.2% of his defensive duels.

That meant that Rogic won two of the nine aerial and ground battles that he competed in throughout the clash.

On top of that, his pass success rate stood at a measly 71%, the worst by any Hoops player apart from Albian Ajeti.

The Australia international did provide two key passes but his ill-disciplined performance was summed up by a couple of fouls.

Rogic has impressed significantly under the stewardship of his fellow countryman but this was a display to forget for Celtic’s number 18.

Here’s hoping he can rediscover his early season form sooner rather than later.

AND in other news, Celtic dealt massive injury blow ahead of Ross County, Postecoglou will be gutted…

Dirk Nannes, the Delhi Daredevils bowler, has said he was apprehensive of the huge expectations after being picked ahead of the legendary Glenn McGrath

Cricinfo staff01-May-2009Dirk Nannes, the Delhi Daredevils bowler from Australia who has no international experience, has said he was apprehensive of the huge expectations from him after being picked ahead of the legendary Glenn McGrath.”I was very nervous when I was fielded in the first match. I knew there would be lot of expectations from me and I would have to perform outstandingly,” he told the official IPL website. “May be one day, I will tell me grandchildren that I was responsible for keeping out the greatest fast bowler of all times of a playing XI.”It was his early strikes, getting rid of the dangerous pair of Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs, that set Delhi on their way to ending Deccan Chargers’ unbeaten run in the tournament on Thursday. “I think it was great, just the start we needed in the match,” he said. “I got the ball moving and was enjoying every moment of it. I didn’t do too well in the last match but the guys backed me and it is good to live up to the expectations of the team.”Nannes gained an IPL contract after taking 12 wickets at 13.83 in the Australian domestic season to help Victoria qualify for the Champions League.His pace has proved a handful in the IPL as well, conceding only 6.43 runs an over which has convinced Delhi to retain him in the side for all five of their games so far, ahead of McGrath and Farveez Maharoof, who were outstanding last season.

Liam Plunkett and Sajid Mahmood shared seven wickets as New Zealand Emerging Players were dismissed one short of the England Lions’ total in the drawn two-day match at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval

Cricinfo staff26-Feb-2009
Scorecard

Liam Plunkett got four top order wickets © Getty Images
Two fast bowlers searching for a national recall, Liam Plunkett and Sajid Mahmood, shared seven wickets as New Zealand Emerging Players were dismissed one short of the England Lions’ total in the drawn two-day match at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval.Mahmood provided the first breakthrough, getting rid of the home side captain Tim McIntosh, who stitched together 59 with Josh Brodie. Plunkett then took over, slicing through the top and middle order as the hosts slipped to 172 for 5 from 108 for 1. The top four batsmen got starts, all of them crossing 20, but only Brodie went on to make a half-century before falling for 57. A quick, unbeaten 60 from Central Districts’ Greg Hay held the lower order together but Mahmood took a couple of quick wickets and effected a run-out to end the innings on 277.England Lions lost two wickets cheaply in their second innings but Jonathan Trott and Samit Patel made attacking 40s to take their side through to the end of the match.Their captain Rob Key was pleased with the side’s performance, particularly that of Plunkett and Mahmood, neither of whom have played for England in nearly two years. “When they had played for England, neither of them had played much senior cricket and they have a lot more guile and experience now and have started very well on this tour,” he told . “They were able to adjust to the conditions nicely. The pitch was a bit flat when we bowled and required a different length so it was very encouraging for us.”The next assigment on the tour for the England Lions is the first Test against New Zealand A starting Sunday in Queenstown.

Some Liverpool supporters have reacted angrily to claims regarding Mohamed Salah’s future, with some fearing that it could lead to him leaving the club.

The Egyptian has arguably been the superstar of the Jurgen Klopp era at Liverpool, producing incredible levels of quality for the Reds. Salah has scored a remarkable 127 goals in 206 appearances for the Merseysiders, smashing numerous records along the way.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

While a host of the 29-year-old’s teammates have signed new deals at Anfield this summer, his contract remains unchanged, with it expiring in the summer of 2023.

According to The Mirror [via Anfield Edition on Twitter], Salah is demanding an eye-watering £500,000 per week in order to sign on the dotted line, which would make him easily the highest-paid Liverpool player of all time, amid reported interest from the likes of Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-2/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=“none”]

Liverpool fans unhappy at Salah contract claim

These Reds fans have reacted negatively to the claims, suggesting there is no way that the much-maligned FSG ownership will pay those wages should the surprise story turn out to be true.

“We’re going to lose Salah”

Credit: @HaaikalZulkifli

“Our stingy owners are gonna let one of the greatest ever PL players leave for free next summer and paint HIM as the bad guy. FSG are so awful”

Credit: @BrayleyCrowe

“guess he’s leaving then”

Credit: @SadioSZN_ynwa

“Now look how they make him out to be the villain”

Credit: @lfcfigoo

“The way I’d be done with football if he left”

Credit: @TWregistalfc

“Here is the start of it, Salah is next summer’s transfer budget, and the briefing is already starting to make him look greedy, so when FSG sell him the fans will blame Salah”

Credit: @Corballyred

In other news, some Liverpool fans are also unhappy over another transfer update. Read more here.

Plays of the day for day five of the second Test between Australia and South Africa

Brydon Coverdale at the MCG30-Dec-2008
Shane Watson always looks on the bright side of life © AFP
Smith’s end-of-year party
Graeme Smith will spend the next couple of days celebrating South Africa’s historic series win but he also has a personal achievement to look back on. Smith was out for 75 in the second innings and it meant he finished 2008 as the leading run-scorer in Tests, with 1656 at 72. He had nearly 200 more than his nearest rival Virender Sehwag and only Mohammad Yousuf and Viv Richards have had greater collections in any calendar year.Lee’s pain, Hill’s gain
Brett Lee bravely charged in with a serious foot injury on the fifth morning as he tried to do his bit in pulling off a miracle. It wasn’t to be, and Lee was obviously in pain each time his left foot slammed down at the bowling crease. After seven overs to add to his three on the fourth afternoon, Lee gave it away and headed down to fine-leg – an ironic name given his situation. Eventually Lee left the field and the 20-year-old Victoria batsman Michael Hill took over the fielding duties.Glass half full
It’s hard enough to convince players to speak to the media when their side is losing, let alone when the player in question has just received devastating injury news. But Shane Watson is a talkative chap and when he discovered that he had stress fractures in his back that would keep him from bowling for up to six months, he was happy to do television and radio interviews to explain the situation. “I’ve been really happy with the way things have progressed over the last ten months to a year, the way my game has been able to improve,” Watson said. “I’m happy with the things that have been evolving and it’s just another little setback but I’m going to be really excited when I’m back bowling and back playing full pelt.” Talk about looking on the bright side.$20 too much?
When it became obvious late on the fourth afternoon that the match was likely to be over soon after lunch on the fifth day, Cricket Australia and Cricket Victoria announced that ticket prices would be slashed for the final day’s play. Well, cut to $20 at least. Several of the visiting South African journalists wondered why the authorities wouldn’t just open the gates and let people in for free. As it turned out only 6343 fans arrived to watch the conclusion of one of the most memorable matches seen in Australia in recent times.

Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge has told Football FanCast that it would make sense for Crystal Palace to make a late swoop for West Ham defender Issa Diop, with reliable Irons insider ExWHUemployee claiming earlier today that the Eagles are keen.

Palace have already made two impressive defensive additions in Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen but lost a host of experienced faces at the back, including Gary Cahill and Mamadou Sakho.

Those two have featured in all four of the Eagles’ competitive games, but Cheikhou Kouyate started the season-opener at Stamford Bridge which shows how little Patrick Vieira has in reserve.

With that in mind, earlier this summer, according to French outlet FootMercato, Palace were one of three Premier League clubs chasing Diop’s services this summer.

Diop has been an unused substitute in each of the Hammers’ Premier League matches, with Kurt Zouma’s recent arrival unlikely to improve his chances of playing regularly.

Bridge told Football FanCast that it’s a deal that he would understand, but hasn’t yet been informed about it:

“They didn’t want to lose Cahill and Dann, but Palace do look slightly inexperienced at the back despite Guehi and Andersen being really good signings.

“If that one comes up today, I will investigate it. I personally haven’t heard it yet, but that would make sense.”

Matthew Hayden took six years to play his first seven Tests but he has said in the lead-up to his 100th Test that his story has been no more special than any other Australian player

Brydon Coverdale27-Nov-2008
Matthew Hayden: “I’ve pursued other passions as well, food and life around the sea, so that’s who I really am as a person. I’m a bushy at heart but love the ocean.” © Getty Images
It is hard to think of Matthew Hayden as a slow starter. He has made his name by destroying opening bowlers and quickly turning shiny new balls into lifeless chunks of worn-out leather. But when it took him six years to make his first seven Test appearances, reaching 100 Tests seemed like an unattainable goal.He will bring up the milestone at the Adelaide Oval on Friday against New Zealand, eight and a half years after regaining his position permanently. At the time he was already 29, had a mountain of state runs and wondered if his big break would ever come, but in the lead-up to the game he said his eventful career-path was not particularly special.”My story’s not any more significant than anyone else’s,” Hayden said. “Anyone that’s got into the Australian cricket team has had to have their personal challenges met, and they’ve confronted those and conquered them – that’s just what it means to play for Australia, that’s the fabric of playing for the baggy green.”Hayden will be the 11th Australian to reach a century of Tests, although questions remain over just how many matches he will add to the tally. His form since suffering an achilles tendon injury mid-year has been disappointing but he has not decided on an exit time and he said the constant speculation over his future was not a worry.”You get used to the melodramatic nature of performances, sometimes you’re okay, other times you’re not okay, so it’s just the way it goes,” he said. “And the swings and roundabouts of people’s perceptions are something I’ve taken, never to heart, but more as a motivation as to how I can get better every single game.”My commitment to the game hasn’t changed, and more than anything if I can say what I’m proud of that would be it, Matthew Hayden in 1991 worked as hard as he works in 2008. And that guarantees you at least the best result in terms of how you prepare yourself, but it doesn’t guarantee success.”The Adelaide Test presents him with an ideal opportunity to regain his best form. He will be facing an attack devoid of superstars, with the exception of Daniel Vettori, on a pitch expected to offer the seamers little help.Vettori, the New Zealand captain, recalled once having his first ball of a Gabba Test spanked back over his head by Hayden for six. He said few men had mastered the art of dominating slow bowling like Hayden over the past decade.”Him and Gilchrist were the two guys I always thought any ball I bowled could disappear out of the park,” Vettori said. “Even if I felt like it was a good one and that always makes it tough bowling against guys like that – so destructive. Most of the time they took it to spinners.”He’s the sort of guy that a lot of batsmen grow up wanting to emulate the way he played spin. And it wasn’t just an average spinner, it was guys all the way through to Muralitharan. He was aggressive against him, Harbhajan … I think he almost wrote the manual for how to be aggressive against spin bowling.”Hayden, 37, said one of the keys to his longevity in the game was having interests away from cricket. “I’ve pursued other passions as well, food and life around the sea, so that’s who I really am as a person,” he said. “I’m a bushy at heart but love the ocean.”