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Twenty20 cricket poses a greater corruption threat than the traditional forms of the game, Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, has said

Alex Brown and Ajay S Shankar23-Apr-2009Twenty20 cricket poses a greater corruption threat than the traditional forms of the game, Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, has said. However, he says he isn’t perturbed by the IPL’s decision not to employ the services of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit.”The board has consistently said it cannot afford to be complacent [about the risk of corruption in Twenty20 cricket],” Lorgat told Cricinfo. “We are mindful that with Twenty20 cricket there is great excitement and money. Put those ingredients into a pot and there is a higher concern.”Lorgat’s sentiments echo those of the ACSU’s chairman, Sir Paul Condon, who last year told the council’s executive board meeting, “the IPL brings with it the biggest threat in terms of corruption in the game since the days of cricket in Sharjah.”There remains a question mark over anti-corruption arrangements for the tournament. The ICC says it offered the IPL use of their security agents for the five-week tournament in South Africa, only to be informed that the Indian league had made its own arrangements.However, Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, denied refusing the ICC’s offer of ACSU staff. “We are using the same system as we did last year,” he saidThe IPL last year formed its own anti-corruption unit, which comprised 10 officers from police and military backgrounds. All were briefed by officials from the ACSU prior to the start of the inaugural IPL.Several ACSU officers were deployed at last year’s IPL – one of whom ejected Kolkata Knight Riders owner Shah Rukh Khan from the players’ dug-out for not being properly accredited – and briefed IPL officials at length on anti-corruption matters. None will be in operation in South Africa.Bob Nicholls, co-owner of the firm charged with providing security for the current IPL season, said anti-corruption measures were not part of their remit. “The ICC anti-corruption and security unit has various functions that they conduct and those include obviously anti-corruption investigations as well as security,” Nicholls said. “So the part we do is security. As far the corruption part goes we are only involved only as far as it relates to security because there is a crossover. The crossover part is the security. We have no knowledge about the IPL refusing ACSU on board this season.”Lorgat, though, says he wasn’t perturbed by IPL’s decision not to employ the services of the ACSU. “It is not dissimilar to county cricket, in that it is a domestic tournament, and the onus for matters such as anti-corruption and doping lie with the home board,” he said.

There were no surprises in Ireland’s 15-man squad for the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in South Africa in April

Cricinfo staff26-Feb-2009
Eoin Morgan replaces Phil Eaglestone in the squad which won the ICC Intercontinental Cup in South Africa last November © Getty Images
There were no surprises in Ireland’s 15-man squad for the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in South Africa in April.The return of Eoin Morgan, currently on tour with England A in New Zealand, at the expense of Phil Eaglestone is the only change from the squad which won the ICC Intercontinental Cup in South Africa last November. Ten of the squad were in the Caribbean for the 2007 World Cup, and a seasoned side averages almost 60 appearances each.”The players have all worked hard and they all know what it means to play on the World stage,” explained coach Phil, Simmons. “They’ve had a taste of it, and they want to embrace it again. It’s also good to have a few newer faces like Regan West and Peter Connell coming in to keep it fresh and add something new.”With so much at stake in terms of qualification, and the associated financial rewards, there’s bound to be a lot of pressure games, and I think the squad that’s been selected is better placed than most to handle it. They’ve been in a lot of tough games over the years and acquitted themselves superbly. There’s a good balance to the squad, and having so many quality allrounders gives us lots of options.”William Portfield, who will lead the team, said he was happy to have a full-strength squad. “It’s a great boost to have Eoin Morgan back with us. We now have five players involved with English counties playing full time cricket, and that’s a great benefit. “We’ve pretty much covered all bases in terms of the players selected, and I think we’ll do well in the South African conditions. There’s a bit of extra pace and bounce usually in the wickets, and with Peter Connell and Boyd Rankin both bowling pretty quick, we have a good spearhead. Kyle McCallan and Regan West are both quality spinners, and we have a host of allrounders who are all slightly different in their own way.””I think we’ve been drawn in slightly the tougher group, but with the competition format, if we want to progress, we have to play well against all the top sides. I’d be confident we can progress and keep Irish cricket very much on the map.”Ireland squad William Porterfield (capt), Andre Botha, Peter Connell, Alex Cusack, Trent Johnston, Kyle McCallan, John Mooney, Eoin Morgan, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Andrew Poynter, Boyd Rankin, Regan West, Andrew White, Gary Wilson.Reserves: Phil Eaglestone, Paul Stirling, Reinhardt Strydom.

Presenter Joe Wainman has made an intriguing claim about Leeds United transfer target Noa Lang.

What’s the story?

Sport/Voetbalmagazine (via Sport Witness) claimed that Marcelo Bielsa’s side remained interested in signing Lang before transfer deadline day, but a deal failed to materialise for the Club Brugge winger.

Now, Wainman has delivered his verdict on why a summer move didn’t happen for the 22-year-old, but dropped a teasing claim on whether the Whites will make a future move for him.

He said: “The thing with Club Brugge is they had already sold Emmanuel Dennis to Watford and Odilon Kossounou to Bayer Leverkusen for big money, so they weren’t short of cash.

“When you look at what Noa Lang is doing in Belgium for them, it might have been a case of them being able to afford to hold onto him.

“I looked at someone like Noa Lang and thought maybe towards the back-end of the window Club Brugge would have to take some money, but the fact they moved other players on meant they were healthy.

“I think maybe we will revisit that in the summer.”

Leeds fans will be buzzing

Able to play anywhere across the frontline, Lang showcased just why Bielsa wanted him at Elland Road, bagging an impressive 17 goals and providing a further 11 assists in just 37 games.

Dubbed a “phenomenon” by Belgian journalist Peter Vandenbempt, the winger made history when he became the first player in 60 years to mark his debut with a hat-trick for Ajax, while his teammate at Brugge, Cyriel Dessers, has even admitted that Leeds’ interest in the fleet-footed winger is to be expected.

He said: “He is absolutely ready for the Premier League. He was fantastic last season. Then it is logical that there is a next step.  I would love to see him in the Champions League with Club Brugge, but he has shown that he is one of the best footballers in Belgium.

“He is a graceful footballer, but he also works very hard. I often sat on the bench, so I could keep an eye on him there. But the way he works, I didn’t know he had that in him. He has really taken a step. The interest does not come out of nowhere. I know how Leeds work.”

Wainman’s claim that rather than simply moving on from their pursuit of Lang, that they could revisit that in the summer, is sure to have fans excited given just how good Lang is right now, and how great he could be in the future.

Meanwhile, Phil Hay has dropped an update on this Leeds United star…

Trevor Bayliss has come out in defence of Chris Broad, against whom the Pakistan board has complained to the ICC

Cricinfo staff10-Mar-2009
Trevor Bayliss: “All Chris Broad has done as have the other officials is tell the truth as they saw it.” © Getty Images
Trevor Bayliss, the Sri Lanka coach, has defended match referee Chris Broad, for his comments on the lax security at Lahore. Broad had accused the security forces of fleeing the scene of the terrorist strike against the Sri Lanka team bus, saying they had “left us to be sitting ducks”. This led the Pakistan board to lodge a complaint with the ICC.Bayliss said the security for the Test series was less than that provided during the preceding one-day series and the 2008 Asia Cup.”Security measures were certainly less than when [we] were there for the Asia Cup in July the year before and when we [were] there for the one-day series only a month before [the attack] and probably different between Lahore [second Test] and [the first Test in] Karachi,” Bayliss told the .”In Karachi we had the small trucks out the front and some behind but we also had a truck either side of us with guys standing up through the roof with a fixed machine gun on either side. That wasn’t there in Lahore so there was probably a little bit less in Lahore than in Karachi and definitely less than what was seen when we were there for the one-day series a month before.”Bayliss, who escaped the attack with no injuries, said that Broad, who said he was “angry with the Pakistani security forces”, was merely stating his version of events and added that there would be a big difference in comments made by those who came under fire and those who did not.”All Chris Broad has done as have the other officials is tell the truth as they saw it,” Bayliss said. “What we saw from a terrorist point of view is they know no boundaries. It wouldn’t matter if you were a person on the street or a sportsman, or a politician, they are after the widest audience they can get. If that meant attacking Sri Lankan (cricketers) they knew they would get maximum exposure and that sadly is what they got.”I can understand from the Pakistan Cricket Board’s point of view [against Broad]. They would be very disappointed they are not going to have too much cricket in Pakistan for the next few years. They are trying to limit the damage, in hindsight there simply wasn’t enough [security].”The terror attack in Lahore has raised questions over the security of players during the IPL, which is scheduled to begin in April, with several international stars voicing their concerns over traveling to India. Bayliss, however, said that the Sri Lankan players planned to take part in the tournament.”That’s more of an individual choice,” he said. “I think the Sri Lankan players, most of them if they’re fit, will go. I think that most of them are fairly keen that cricket must continue and that terrorism can’t stop sport and they should show a united front. When it comes to the crunch though, when your life’s on the line, it might be a different story.”

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been reacting to the news that Cedric Itten has moved on loan to Bundesliga outfit Greuther Furth.

The Gers’ business in terms of incomings for this window is probably complete. John Lundstram, Fashion Sakala and Juninho Bacuna have all made the move Ibrox over the past few months, and after the 55-time Scottish champions beat Celtic 1-0 in the Old Firm derby last weekend, it appears that they may be hitting their stride.

In terms of outgoings, though, it may be a busy day. Brandon Barker has already been told that he can leave the club, and £3.15m-valued Itten (Transfermarkt) has now completed a temporary switch to Furth (rangers.co.uk). With six goals in 42 appearances for Rangers (Transfermarkt), he has not fared too well so far at Ibrox, but Steven Gerrard will be hoping that the Swiss forward can prove himself in Germany.

The news was shared on Twitter by Rangers’ official Twitter channel and it attracted plenty of news from supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about Itten’s loan exit

“Gutted! Didn’t see that coming. Good luck Ced, hopefully see you back soon and raring to go.”

Credit: @Tuddie44

“Gutted at that – Good luck Cedric and hope to see you back next year”

Credit: @Keithcareth

“Delete this”

Credit: @ginge_jpeg

“Disappointed with this but the guy is just not getting enough game time as it stands, hopefully he can go play bang some goals in and come back a better player, good luck Ced”

Credit: @AKA_TonyFleck

“Ehhhh??? Surely bringing someone in then? Only got Morelos & Roofe? Unless classing Sakala at ST”

Credit: @JRD1996_

“What”

Credit: @cjnovo992

In other news, Jordan Campbell has provided an update on this Gers defender.

Reflecting on his career-best performance of 7 for 87 on the third day in Napier, Fidel Edwards has said his ploy of bringing in variations to his bowling helped keep the New Zealand batsmen in check

Cricinfo staff21-Dec-2008
Fidel Edwards: “You had to do something to get wickets out there and I looked at all my options” © Getty Images
Reflecting on his career-best performance of 7 for 87 on the third day in Napier, Fidel Edwards, the West Indies fast bowler, said his ploy of bringing in variations to his bowling helped keep the New Zealand batsmen in check.West Indies fought back to restrict New Zealand to 371 after they were cruising at 316 for 4. Jerome Taylor and Darren Powell struck early blows before Edwards, who took the first two wickets to fall in the opening session, returned to mop up the tail and keep New Zealand’s first-innings lead down to 64. Edwards’ performance also surpassed his previous best first-class figures of 5 for 22.”It is still a good batting pitch so I tried to mix up my deliveries as much as possible,” Edwards said. “You had to do something to get wickets out there and I looked at all my options. Using the short ball was just part of the plan to unsettle the New Zealand batsmen and it worked some of the time.”I felt really good with the way the ball was coming out and obviously I’m thrilled to get my career-best figures. You could say it was my day and I decided to make the most of it. Hopefully it was the kind of performance that could see my team go on to win the Test match and with it the series. That would be wonderful for us.”Edwards had earlier passed the 100-wicket mark with the dismissal of Daniel Flynn on the second day. In the process, he joined his half-brother Pedro Collins in the 100-wicket club.”I was giving him (Flynn) some short stuff so I decided to slip in a slower ball to see how he would handle it. He pushed it back and I was happy when I took the catch.””We are the first brothers to each take 100 Test wickets so that added a bit extra to the moment. I spoke to Peddy (Collins) before the match and he told me it was a chance to create history so that was a bit of added motivation as well.”

The hastily arranged series against Sri Lanka is just what Pakistan cricket needs. Their batsmen will have to figure out Ajantha Mendis, but Pakistan will take heart from the fact that Sri Lanka’s batting hasn’t been in the best of touch either

Cricinfo staff19-Jan-2009Match factsTuesday, January 20
Start time Noon (07.00 GMT)
Nuwan Kulasekara had a fantastic 2008 in ODI cricket © Getty Images
The Big PictureThe hastily arranged series against Sri Lanka is just what Pakistan cricket needs: it quenches their fans’ thirst for high-quality cricket, it should ease the board’s massive financial problems and will hopefully shift the focus from a spate of controversies surrounding the country’s cricket in the past few months (emphasised by the ludicrous situation of the board potentially facing a lawsuit from their own legal advisor).Both sides enter the contest in impressive ODI form – Sri Lanka have lost only five of their past 20 games, and Pakistan have done even better, winning all but three of the previous 21 matches – but the numbers are significantly boosted by the spate of matches they have played against weak opposition.As with the build-up to every series since his debut, this one has seen much of the talk centre on mystery spinner, Ajantha Mendis, who recently became the quickest bowler to 50 ODI wickets. The compressed contest, three matches to be played in five days, leaves Pakistan’s batsmen little time to reassess their strategy against him during the series. They have prepared to counter his threat by practising on shorter pitches but they aren’t the only batting unit entering the series with worries.Sri Lanka have breached the 200-run mark only once in their last eight games, all of which were against the unthreatening bowling attacks of Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. Their captain Mahela Jayawardene has demanded improvement from his batsmen and, given the form he is in – averaging 8.33 in his last nine innings – he needs to set the example.ODI form guide (most recent first)Pakistan WWWWW
Sri Lanka WLWWWWatch out for …With Chaminda Vaas cutting down on his ODI workload, Nuwan Kulasekara has become Sri Lanka’s premier quick bowler in the 50-over game. His numbers over the past year – 40 wickets at 19.15 – compare favourably with Muttiah Muralitharan’s over the same period.Younis Khan was Pakistan’s leading run-getter last year, and his role becomes even more crucial in the absence of the experienced Mohammad Yousuf. He is in irrepressible form as well, with three hundreds and three half-centuries in his last eight matches.Team newsThe bad news for Pakistan is that Shoaib Akhtar is yet again a doubtful starter for tomorrow’s game. Pakistan are likely to play three fast bowlers, with Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik sharing the spinning duties. Misbah-ul-Haq is also unwell, but though is confident of playing, he may miss out, in which case Umar Amin is likely to be included in the playing eleven.
Pakistan: Salman Butt, Khurram Manzoor, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik (capt), Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akaml (wk), Sohail Tanvir, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal
Jehan Mubarak hasn’t been in the best of form lately and could make way for allrounder Angelo Mathews.
Sri Lanka: Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Chamara Kapugedera, Thilan Thusharsa, Angelo Mathews, Farveez Maharoof, Nuwan Kulasekara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha MendisPitch and conditionsThe pitch in Karachi looked on Sunday like it might be good for bowling, but has become drier and looks like a more traditionally subcontinental, batting friendly surface. The National Stadium was a batting paradise during the Asia Cup last year, with teams regularly able to chase down totals in the region of 300.The weather forecast is perfect: sunny with the temperature expected to be in mid-twenties.Stats and trivia Murali needs only nine more wickets to go past Wasim Akram’s tally of 502 and become the leading wicket-taker in ODIs If Sri Lanka win all three matches, they will move up two places in the ranking to fourth No Pakistan batsman has scored a century against Sri Lanka since Mohammad Yousuf more than four years ago Upul Tharanga has not made a half-century in his last 17 inningsQuotes”We did think to play with four seamers until Monday, but after seeing the pitch today we are now thinking of playing with three seamers.”

“There are periods when you go through tough times as a team and you need to pull through them. That’s what character is all about.”

Southampton fans are far from happy after a report revealed the Saints’ transfer policy for the future.

The Saints kicked off their Premier League season last Saturday with a 3-1 defeat against Everton at Goodison Park, but they have been somewhat busy recently in the transfer window, bringing in five new players in Romain Perraud (southamptonfc.com), Danyl Simeu (chelseafc.com), Valentino Livramento, Armando Broja and Adam Armstrong – all of them are below the age of 25.

As per Tom Leach, that is to be Southampton’s transfer policy moving forward. The journalist says the club will look to sign young players, help them develop and then sell them on for a bigger fee in the future.

he Southampton fans do not seem too happy with that news at all, taking this as a sign that the St. Mary’s Stadium outfit see themselves as a selling club with low ambition.

The news was shared on Twitter by @SaintsExtra, and it attracted plenty of attention from the Saints supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the news below

“Sounds like we’ve accepted relegation”

Credit: @dazstevnson1973

“Sounds like the club know where we are heading”

Credit: @JoshSFC13578

“such a dangerous game”

Credit: @Steveba35151963

“That just sounds sad”

Credit: @olliesaints7

“This business model is not sustainable in the long term. Everyone in football knows eventually you run out of good young players to sign and you end up where we are now.”

Credit: @centristjim1

“So we are always a stepping stone, not a destination. OK got it.”

Credit: @DB_247

In other news, Southampton could make a move for this 4-time league winner.

Daniel Vettori will look for a magic cure to New Zealand’s traditionalbatting woes before Friday’s second Test as they attempt the difficulttask of levelling the series in Adelaide

Cricinfo staff23-Nov-2008
Daniel Flynn is unlikely to be moved up the order from No. 6 © Getty Images
Daniel Vettori will look for a magic cure to New Zealand’s traditionalbatting woes before Friday’s second Test as they attempt the difficulttask of levelling the series in Adelaide. One of the many worries forVettori when he took over the leadership from Stephen Fleming in 2007 wasthe side’s lack of run-scoring ability and it was on display again inBrisbane as they were dismissed for 156 and 177 on the way to a 149-rundefeat.”It’s been a problem well before I was captain,” Vettori said. “A lot ofguys went through it and tried to find ways of redeeming it. I still lookat the guys and think they’re extremely talented, but we have to turn thattalent into consistent performances and unfortunately we’re not justgetting that.”A lack of output from the batsmen is a long-term problem and it is madeharder by the fact five of the current top six have played fewer than 20Tests. Vettori hopes his team-mates will learn quickly on the job anddevelop in to strong international players.”We’ve always produced quality bowlers but with the batting there’s MartinCrowe, who averages 45 with 17 Test hundreds, and then there’s a prettybig gap,” he said. “Historically, we’ve always struggled with our batting.But I look at Jesse Ryder, I look at Ross Taylor, Jamie How, BrendonMcCullum and Daniel Flynn, who are very good players, and once they haveplayed 20 Test matches in those positions they can average 40 and can bevery good players.”At the moment we’re trying to work with some very young guys, some veryinexperienced guys. I think even Australian guys in their first 10 Testmatches would find it difficult coming into conditions like this.”Taylor top scored for New Zealand with 75 in the second innings but onlyhe and Ryder looked capable of attacking Australia, while Daniel Flynnstood firm on both occasions from No. 6. Vettori will resist making manychanges to the line-up and is reluctant to alter the order.”Jesse has always batted in that area his whole career and Daniel hasbatted five, so we would have been changing and probably upsetting a guyin his third Test and a guy in his sixth Test,” he said. “It would be abit too much.”Despite the side’s batting woes, Vettori does not believe he is resignedto a couple of tough years in charge. “I do have a lot of faith in them,”he said. “I see the talent in them and I think they are very good players.I’ll back them. We’ll get them improving, we have to accelerate thatimprovement.”Most guys maybe get 15 Tests to improve themselves and we’re trying toget guys to do that in five to 10. I hope we can turn it around comeAdelaide because Adelaide is renowned as a great batting deck. If we canget some guys to stand up there and get those hundreds on the board, thenI think we give ourselves a chance with our bowling line-up.”

Barcelona star Raphinha sent out a fiery message ahead of Brazil's World Cup qualifying clash against arch-rivals Argentina.

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Brazil to face Argentina in a World Cup qualifierRaphinha sent out a fiery message to arch-rivalsScored in Brazil's win against Colombia last weekFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty Images SportWHAT HAPPENED?

The South American foes are set to lock horns in a crucial 2026 World Cup qualifying match on Tuesday. Brazil head into the clash after a 2-1 win over Copa America 2024 runners-up Colombia last week where Raphinha and Vinicius Junior were on target. Ahead of the showdown in Buenos Aires, the Barcelona man has sent out a rallying call to motivate his team-mates.

AdvertisementWHAT RAPHINHA SAID

During a chat between Raphinha and Brazil legend Romario, the Selecao icon first asked: "We are going to play against Argentina, our biggest rival. Now, thank God, without Messi, are we going to beat them?" In response, Raphinha said: "We will beat them, no doubt. On and off the pitch, if we have to."

Romario again asked: "Are you going to try to score a goal against Argentina?" The Barca winger replied: "Yes, with everything." The duo then ended the conversation with Romario asking, "F*ck them?" Then Raphinha responded: "F*ck them."

Getty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Messi has not joined the reigning world champions for their latest round of World Cup qualifiers after a muscular complaint. Despite their leader's absence, Argentina won their last qualifying game against Uruguay 1-0 courtesy of Thiago Almada's strike.

WHAT NEXT FOR RAPHINHA?

After competing against the Argentines on Tuesday, it is unlikely that the 28-year-old will be able to take the field for Barcelona against Osasuna in their La Liga fixture on Thursday.