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The task force is scheduled to visit Pakistan between August 10 and 12 but Ashraf is in the United States and has had to extend his stay because of a minor surgery

Cricinfo staff10-Aug-2008
Nasim Ashraf’s stay in the United States has been extended because of a minor surgery © AFP
Nasim Ashraf, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, will not be in the country for the ICC task force’s visit to assess the security situation in the three venues hosting the Champions Trophy in September. The task force is scheduled to visit Pakistan between August 10 and 12 but Ashraf is in the USA and has had to extend his stay because of a minor surgery.”The chairman [Ashraf] has undergone minor surgery and will return home within a week or so,” Mansur Sohail, PCB’s media chief, told the . “He will have to miss the visit of the task force because of it.”The development added to speculation over Ashraf’s future as PCB chairman. Ashraf is a ally of PCB patron Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistan president who is facing a possible impeachment.The task force was scheduled to arrive in Islamabad on August 10. Sohail said the delegation would meet senior Interior Ministry officials in Islamabad on Monday and arrive in Karachi on Tuesday to meet the city’s chief of police.The delegation will be led by David Morgan, the ICC president, and will include Sharad Pawar (vice-president), Haroon Lorgat (CEO), IS Bindra (principal advisor), Tim May, the chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations, representatives of ESPN-Star (the broadcasters of the event) and the board’s security consultants.The task force was constituted after a teleconference among top ICC officials on July 24, when it was decided that the Champions Trophy would go ahead in Pakistan as scheduled despite security concerns. The decision was met with reservations from the players’ associations from Australia, England, South Africa and New Zealand, who warned of player boycotts.

Michael Vaughan has resigned as England captain following the series defeat against South Africa, which was sealed by the five-wicket loss at Edgbaston on Saturday

Cricinfo staff03-Aug-2008
Michael Vaughan has resigned as captain following defeat against South Africa © Getty Images
Michael Vaughan has resigned as England captain following the series defeat against South Africa, which was sealed by the five-wicket loss at Edgbaston on Saturday.The decision was announced during a hastily arranged press conference at Loughborough even though yesterday evening Vaughan said he “would let the dust” settle on the defeat.Paul Collingwood has also stood down as one-day captain, meaning that England will announce a new captain for both forms of the game on Monday. The frontrunner is Kevin Pietersen, who is a fixture in both teams. Collingwood is currently serving a four-match suspension for a slow over-rate.An emotional Vaughan said he felt the time was right to go and will take some time out of the game and won’t play in the final Test at The Oval, though he remains available for selection for future England contests.”It’s the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make, but also the easiest,” said Vaughan. “I put my heart and soul into the job but if I kept on going my career could have come to an abrupt end. I think this decision will prolong my career.”I thought it might be time to go in New Zealand, where my body was working well but my mind was not working well. I will always cherish the support I’ve had, but this is a weight off my shoulders.”I had every ambition to lead the England team to the next Ashes Series but as England captain I feel I’ve run out of steam,” he added. “I believe that the best thing for the team is to embark on a new direction under a new captain.”I also believe the best thing for me is to try and get back to being best batsmen I can be. I’ll still have all the experience and knowledge to pass on and I hope to be a valuable player for both my county and the England team.Vaughan’s captaincy timelineJuly 2003 – Named England captain for the second Test against South Africa at Lord’s after Nasser Hussain steps down
August 2003 – Secures first Test win as captain, by 70 runs at Trent Bridge
August 2003 – England level the series against South Africa with a nine-wicket win at The Oval
March 2004 – Leads England to their first series win in West Indies since 1967-68
May-August 2004 – England win all seven Tests in the summer against New Zealand and West Indies
January 2005 – A draw at Centurion Park gives England a series victory in South Africa for the first time since 1965
September 2005 – England regain the Ashes after 16 years with a draw at The Oval
February 2006 – Breaks down with a knee injury at the start of tour of India. Doesn’t play again for nearly a year
May 2007 – Makes Test comeback with a century at Headingley against West Indies
June 2007 – Resigns one-day captaincy
August 2007 – Loses his first home series as captain, going down 1-0 to India
March 2008 – Drops Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison after Hamilton defeat against New Zealand
August 2008 – Resigns as Test captain following five-wicket loss against South Africa at Edgbaston
“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the fans who have always been so supportive and have provided a huge inspiration to me as captain. A captain is only as good as his teams and I’ve been fortunate enough to captain some terrific players and great blokes.”It brings an end to Vaughan’s 51-match run as captain, four games short of becoming England’s long-serving leader, although his 26 victories makes him, statistically, the most successful captain.”He’s led from the front and always led with integrity and honesty. He’s been the best possible ambassador for the England cricket team,” said managing director Hugh Morris.However, the pressure on Vaughan has been growing in recent months despite back-to-back series victories against New Zealand. The series loss to South Africa is England’s third in five series, dating back to the 1-0 reversal against India last summer. They then lost by the same margin in Sri Lanka before losing the first Test against New Zealand in Hamilton. Vaughan led a shake-up of the team by dropping Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison and England hit back to take the series, but the performances were not convincing.Adding to the stress on Vaughan has been his own lack of runs. He has made 40 in five innings against South Africa, consistently being troubled by the pace bowlers, and his last ten Test have produced just one century and an average of 22.He took on the role against South Africa in 2003, following Nasser Hussain’s resignation which also came after an Edgbaston Test. His first Test in charge, at Lord’s, was a thumping innings defeat, but he subsequently secured victories at Trent Bridge and The Oval as England shared the series.The defeats in the past two weeks at Headingley and Edgbaston were the first time he has lost back-to-back Tests and a hallmark of his reign as captain was how England could bounce back from defeats. His finest moment was the 2005 Ashes victory, although he was also at the helm for historic away successes against West Indies in 2004 and South Africa in 2005.

A round-up of the third day of the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 in Jersey

Cricinfo staff25-May-2008
Khawaja Shuja after taking 5 for 15 for USA against Norway © Cricket Europe/ICC
While there was frustration that yesterday’s rain caused all but one of the second round matches to be carried into what should have been a rest day, Nepal’s Mahaboob Alam was not complaining after taking 10 for 12 in 7.5 overs against Mozambique. Chasing Nepal’s 238 for 7, Mozambique managed a paltry 19 to slump to a 219-run victory. Click here for more.It was again a day for the favourites as, in addition to Nepal, there were wins for Afghanistan, USA and Jersey.Former West Indies batsman Clayton Lambert, coach of the USA team, hailed his side as they comprehensively beat Norway by 10 wickets but said that the players were not going to become over confident despite two comfortable wins. “We’re not going to underestimate anybody. We’re the ones who have played a higher level of cricket so everyone expects us to win so there is a lot of pressure on,” said Lambert.The USA bowling attack looked extremely threatening with the wickets shared around its pace attack. Khawaja Shuja, the 19-year-old right-arm fast medium bowler, was the pick with figures of 5 for 15, although Steve Pitter (2 for 24) and Imran Awan (2 for 36) were also looking dangerous with some aggressive short-pitched bowling.”Some of the short balls were the right length for the wicket and the guys did a great job of putting the balls on a correct length,” said Lambert. “Some balls bounced and Norway didn’t seem to have played against the bouncing balls a whole lot so it worked in our favour.” In reply, the USA coasted to their target in just 14.5 overs with Sushil Nadkarni (41*) and Orlando Baker (32*) looking in fine form.
Jersey’s Peter Gough on his way to an unbeaten 59 against Japan © Cricket Europe/ICC
Eighteen-year-old Gulbudeen Naib was the hero for Afghanistan as he took 5 for 7, including a hat-trick to close the innings, as Bahamas managed just 46 all out. And although they too suffered a batting collapse, Afghanistan secured victory by five wickets after 6.3 overs as they attempted to score quick runs to improve their run-rate, with Mario Ford claiming 3 for 5.”I was very happy to receive my Man-of-the-Match award for Afghanistan and I would like to pay tribute to my captain, team and coach who have helped me achieve this,” said Naib. “It was the first ever hat-trick for Afghanistan so I am very happy,” he added. “I am sure my friends and family back at home will be very proud.”Matt Hague produced a captain’s performance for Jersey in their eight-wicket win over Japan taking 4 for 26 with the ball and scoring 27 not out with the bat. He played his part in reducing Japan to 124 for 8 in 50 overs before helping Peter Gough, who made 59 not out, reach Jersey’s target with 15.5 overs to spare. “It was a really good performance. After yesterday when we got off to such a good start batting we wanted to get in a game today and get a win on the board,” said Hague.In the other game of the day, Singapore registered their first victory of the event with an exciting win by three wickets over Botswana. Buddhika Oshanka made 79 as Singapore reached a target of 184 with 2.3 overs to spare.

Having only made the move to Fulham at the beginning of the month, new manager Marco Silva is already facing a battle to plug a significant and newly-emerged gap at Craven Cottage after the club lost the services of a key member of their first team recruitment setup.

James Ellis had been a senior scout at Fulham since his arrival at the club back in 2015, helping the Cottagers to recruit players both domestically and from the continent, often to great effect.

However, as an unfortunate result of this aforementioned success, the club will now no longer be able to rely on the eagle eyes of Ellis. The Leicester-based talent spotter has just secured a move to Premier League side Arsenal, where he will be responsible for the assessment and recommendation of UK-based players.

Silva will be gutted

While Silva may not have directly benefited from the work Ellis put into Fulham during his six years at the club, the exit of the scout feels like a significant blow to the Cottagers’ recruitment team, with his departure potentially leaving the newly-installed manager gutted to have lost a reliable backroom presence so early in his tenure.

Indeed, Ellis had played a key role in a number of Fulham’s most impressive signings of the past few years, with players such as Tom Cairney, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Alphonse Areola, Tosin Adarabioyo and Antonee Robinson all being targets who would have been run through him prior to a decision being made regarding a move in the transfer market.

With some of these players now having cult level status at Craven Cottage (Cairney and Mitrovic), while others are being touted for significant transfer fees this summer (Adarabioyo and Robinson), it would indeed appear that Ellis got many decisions right during his time in west London.

As such, with his departure leaving a considerable gap in the backroom team at Fulham, Silva – as well as Shahid and Tony Kahn – will need to act quickly to replace Ellis this summer in order to minimise disruption to the Cottagers’ transfer plans ahead of the club’s upcoming Championship campaign.

In other news: Fulham dealt transfer blow over “exceptional” £41k-p/w machine, Silva surely furious

أنعش فريق بيرنلي آماله في البقاء بالدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز بالموسم القادم، وذلك بعد تعادله مع بيرنلي بهدفٍ لمثله.

وأقيمت المباراة مساء اليوم الخميس، على ملعب “فيلا بارك”، وذلك في مباراة مؤجلة من الجولة الثامنة عشر من الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

اقرأ أيضًا.. مارك كلاتنبرج يحسم الجدل عبر ‘بطولات’ بشأن هدف الأهلي الملغي أمام البنك الأهلي شاهد اهداف مباراة استون فيلا وبيرنلي

وانتهى الشوط الأول من اللقاء، بتقدم بيرنلي بهدف نظيف، سجله أشلي بارنز من ركلة جزاء في الدقيقة 45.

وبالدقيقة 48، في الشوط الثاني، تمكن بوينديا من تسجيل هدف التعادل لأستون فيلا بأسيست من ماكجين.

بيرنلي بهذا التعادل أصبح رصيده 35 نقطة في المرتبة السابعة عشر، بفارق الأهداف عن ليدز يونايتد الذي يحتل المرتبة الثامنة عشر المؤدية إلى دوري الدرجة الأولى الإنجليزي، بينما أستون فيلا بات رصيده 45 نقطة بالمرتبة الرابعة عشر.

FULL-TIME Aston Villa 1-1 Burnley

Ashley Barnes had put Burnley ahead from the spot, but Emiliano Buendia struck back

Burnley move out of the relegation zone on goal difference#AVLBUR pic.twitter.com/htbgR3EE5c — Premier League (@premierleague) May 19, 2022

Crystal Palace are interested in a deal to bring Conor Gallagher to Selhurst Park this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Sun, who claim that the incoming Palace manager Patrick Vieira will be looking to add a number of players to his squad in the summer transfer window, with the Chelsea central midfielder believed to be a potential target of Frenchman.

Indeed, a previous report by The Sun had claimed that the Eagles are preparing a £15m offer for the 21-year-old this summer, with it being said that Thomas Tuchel is unsure as to whether he believes the England U21 international as a future at the club.

Vieira must move

Considering just how much potential Gallagher appears to possess, as well as the fact that Palace are in need of a number of additions in the position this summer, it is unsurprising to learn that the south London side are considering a move for the Chelsea starlet.

Indeed, over his 30 Premier League appearances while on loan at West Bromwich Albion last season, the £13.5m-rated youngster scored two goals, registered two assists and created one big chance for his teammates, as well as taking an average of one shot and making 0.7 key passes per game.

The £17k-per-week man also impressed in more typical central midfield metrics, making an average of 0.9 interceptions, 2.7 tackles and winning a whopping 6.5 duels per league fixture, with these returns seeing Gallagher earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.74 – ranking him as Albion’s joint ninth-best performer in the top flight of English football.

For comparison, Crystal Palace’s outgoing centre mid James McCarthy failed to score a single goal, provide an assist or create a big chance over his 16 Premier League appearances last season, as well as making an average of 0.5 interceptions, one tackle and winning a mere 1.9 duels per league fixture, culminating in an average SofaScore match rating of 6.66.

As such, with Vieria having only the 33-year-old James McArthur as an option in central midfield at present, a move for the man Slaven Bilic dubbed a “massive” player would seem highly advisable for the 45-year-old this summer, as Gallagher would not only plug a gap in the Palace squad, he could also turn out to be the rock on which Vieira builds his Eagles’ midfield for years to come.

In other news: Bye-bye Sakho: Vieira must sanction Palace swoop for £17m-rated “leader” this summer

خطف فريق إنبي تعادلًا صعبًا من البنك الأهلي بنتيجة 2-2 في المباراة التي جمعت بينهما ضمن منافسات الدوري المصري.

والتقى البنك الأهلي أمام إنبي على أرضية استاد بتروسبورت ضمن لقاءات الجولة الـ17 بالبطولة المحلية.

وأحرز إيزاكو ياكوبو الهدف الأول للبنك الأهلي في الدقيقة 3 من عمر اللقاء، وأضاف عاصم صلاح الهدف الثاني بالدقيقة 44.

وسجل مصطفى شلبي هدف تقليص الفارق لصالح إنبي بالدقيقة 58، وأحرز هدف التعادل بالدقيقة 91 من عمر اللقاء. أهداف مباراة البنك الأهلي وإنبي في الدوري

وبهذة النتيجة يحتل فريق البنك الأهلي المركز السادس بجدول الدوري ولديه 25 نقطة، بينما تجمد رصيد إنبي عند النقطة 19 في المركز العاشر.

FULL NAME: Allan Mwayenga BORN: At Harare, 28 June 1982 MAJOR TEAMS: CFX Academy (2001/02)

John Ward05-Apr-2002FULL NAME: Allan Mwayenga
BORN: At Harare, 28 June 1982
MAJOR TEAMS: CFX Academy (2001/02). Present club side: Country Club
KNOWN AS: Allan Mwayenga. Nickname: Cisco
BATTING STYLE: Right Hand Bat
BOWLING STYLE: Left Arm Fast Medium
OCCUPATION: CFX Academy studentFIRST-CLASS DEBUT: 15-17 February 2002, CFX Academy v Manicaland, at MutareSports Club
TEST DEBUT: Still awaited
ODI DEBUT: Still awaitedBIOGRAPHY (April 2002)Allan Mwayenga, left-arm seamer at the CFX Academy, has followed a slightly unusual course to first-class cricket. He had little or no contact with the game at junior school, and was only converted at the age of about 13 due to his father’s job.His father works at St John’s College in Harare, and he remembers as a youngster he and his brother Waddington, two years younger and now also a first-class cricketer, used to watch Mr Bill Flower, father of Test players Andy and Grant, coaching in the nets there. This was how their interest was kindled, and Bill soon took an interest himself in the two boys.Allan attended Vainona High School, and now started playing there. The two boys’ great natural talent quickly led to their being the leading players in a weak team, which he found difficult. By the time he was in Form Two, at the age of 15, he had forced his way into the school first team, where he spent three years. His best performance for Vainona was against Gateway School at a cricket festival, where he took eight for 16. He also scored 118 in a match against Lord Malvern High School, his only century to date, sharing a large partnership with his brother, who scored 95.In 1998 he was selected to play in a three-day match for a Mashonaland Under-19 side at Harare South, but this was to be his only taste of representative cricket. The following year he left school and found a job with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union coaching, having successfully past a coaching course at Harare Sports Club. He coached in Masvingo before returning to Harare, moving to Kutama College in Norton.He joined Old Georgians Sports Club in 1997, his best performance being three for 11 in eight overs. He has now moved to Country Club, which is clearly below his level. He has also played winter cricket for Enterprise, with five wickets for 20 runs as his best performance. His ambition, though, has always been to play representative cricket, and this led him to apply successfully to join the CFX Academy in 2002.His main strength as a batsman is off his legs, while he bowls predominantly in-swing to right-handers. He does not consider himself much of a batsman and at present is content to bat low in the order. His usual fielding positions are mid-off and fine leg.He feels that he owes most to his parents for his career. "They were always picking us up," he says. "My dad is always behind us’ if we have any problems, he will help us. I won’t say he’s a cricket fan himself but he is always there to help with our mental make-up." On the coaching side he pays tribute to Bill Flower.Cricket heroes: Andy Flower.Toughest opponents: So far, Hamilton Masakadza.Personal ambitions: "If everything goes well I would like to be in the Zimbabwe A side."Proudest achievement so far: When I received the Man of the Match playing first-league cricket for Old Georgians, when I took three for 11.Best friends in cricket: Innocent Chinyoka and my brother.Other qualifications: "I’m working to get my computer qualifications."Other sports: At school athletics, soccer, rugby, a bit of tennis.Outside interests: "I just enjoy hanging around with my friends."Views on cricket:

A Bola has revealed that Glasgow Rangers and Porto are close to agreeing a fee of €17m (£14.6m) for the transfer of Alfredo Morelos.

The Lowdown: Morelos heavily linked with move

Colombia international Morelos has been heavily linked with a move to the Portuguese outfit.

The 25-year-old is said to have already agreed personal terms ahead of a move (Antena 1), and now there has been an update in regards to an agreement between the clubs.

The Latest: Fee said to be close

Now, this report has revealed how much the Gers could receive from the sale of Morelos.

The fee would include a down-payment of €12m (£10.3m), with €5m (£4.3m) available to the Gers in add-ons.

The Verdict: Cheap

Of course, Steven Gerrard, Ross Wilson and the rest of the Gers hierarchy will not want to see Morelos leave the club. He has scored 94 goals in 182 matches for them (Transfermarkt), and has often been their most important player.

However, having previously stated that he wants to play in a more competitive league (Goal.com), it will come as little surprise that he could now move on.

When he does go, though, the Gers must make sure they get a good deal – and in this case, it feels as though they could be left a little short-handed.

It had previously been stated they were looking for £20m last summer (The Daily Mail) for his services. Now, it seems they will barely get half of that as a down-payment, and there is no guarantee Morelos will match the requirements needed for the Gers to get the add-ons either. The 55-time Scottish champions should really be looking for more than what is being reported.

In other news, Rangers fans were delighted by news on this four-goal ace.

Tottenham Hotspur’s manager hunt is now a ‘two horse race’ between former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo and Brighton’s Graham Potter.

That’s according to sports reporter and commentator Ian Abrahams on Twitter.

The lowdown

Spurs are still working to appoint a new manager more than two months on from the sacking of Jose Mourinho and many sports betting sites have the market as wide open.

Nuno left Wolves at the end of the season after they fell to 13th following consecutive seventh-place finishes. Football London journalist Alasdair Gold reported at the weekend that Spurs’ new managing director of football Fabio Paratici ‘likes’ the 47-year-old.

Potter has led Brighton to 15th and 16th in his two seasons at the Amex Stadium, successfully staving off the threat of relegation. Spurs were interested in the Englishman at the outset but chose to pursue other targets.

The latest

Abrahams tweeted: “Regarding @SpursOfficial next manager, my information today is it’s a two horse race now between Nuno Espirito Santo and Graham Potter”.

It’s unclear which candidate has the edge at this moment in time, but the north London outfit will need to act fairly swiftly with the transfer window already underway.

The verdict

Nuno deserves great credit for his achievements at Wolves, but his success was built upon a counterattacking style which some Spurs fans may struggle to embrace off the back of Mourinho’s tenure.

Potter, by contrast, has developed a Brighton team which is easy on the eye and a clinical goalscorer short of a huge leap up the table. Going off expected goals for and against, the Seagulls should have been competing for Europe last season.

It would no doubt be a huge gamble to appoint the former Swansea boss, but it could also be a very rewarding one. After all, he has been hailed by the hugely decorated Pep Guardiola as ‘the best English manager’.

Considering that Levy is on record as wanting a manager who will execute an attack-minded approach, Potter may seem the more desirable of the two supposedly remaining candidates.

In other news, the reason why Spurs ‘changed course’ in talks with Fonseca has been revealed.