Celtic have been dealt a major injury blow regarding Carl Starfelt ahead of their upcoming Europa League clash.

What’s the latest?

According to a report by Sky Sports, the centre-back has been ruled out of both Thursday evening’s trip to Ferencvaros TC and Sunday’s visit to Dundee due to a hamstring injury picked up in the 0-0 draw with Livingston last weekend.

Speaking about the 26-year-old’s injury, Ange Postecoglou said: “We lost Carl Starfelt in the last game and similar sort of timeline to Tommy [Rogic] I suppose, we are hoping he will be back after the international break, but he will definitely miss these two games.

“It is always a blow when you lose players to injury. To be fair to Carl, he has played every game since he got here and it’s not surprising that he has something like this happen.

“We would have loved to have rotated him earlier, but we tried to build some cohesion, consistency in the back four and we didn’t want to chop and change too much because we had to at the start of the season.”

Postecoglou will be gutted

Considering just how impressive Starfelt has been since his £4.5m move to Parkhead this summer, in addition to the fact that Celtic simply must defeat Ferencvaros if they are to have any chance of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Europa League, the confirmation that the centre-back will not be available for selection on Thursday is sure to have left Postecoglou gutted.

Indeed, over his 11 Scottish Premiership appearances this season, the £2.7m-rated defender has helped his side keep five clean sheets and has chipped in with one goal, as well as making an average of 1.5 interceptions, 1.1 tackles, 3.7 clearances and winning 6.3 duels per game.

These returns have seen the Sweden international average a SofaScore match rating of 7.23, ranking him as the Hoops’ fourth-best performer in the top flight of Scottish football of players still in Postecoglou’s first-team squad.

Furthermore, the centre-back has also been in impressive form over his three Europa League appearances for the Bhoys, helping his side keep one clean sheet, in addition to making an average of 1.3 interceptions, one tackle, 1.7 clearances and winning 3.7 duels per fixture – with these returns seeing the 26-year-old average a SofaScore match rating of 6.90.

As such, the fact that Celtic will be without Starfelt on Thursday evening will undoubtedly dent the Hoops’ chances of leaving Hungary with all three points in a fixture that could well prove to be season-defining for Postecoglou and his side.

In other news: Ange must unleash “aggressive” rarely-seen 20 y/o gem, could solve a huge Celtic issue

MatériaMais Notícias

Após anunciar as chegadas de Robinho e Richard, o Fluminense está próximo de um novo reforço. Trata-se de Romarinho, jovem atacante do Globo-RN. O jogador de 23 anos enfrentou o Tricolor na primeira fase da Copa do Brasil e agradou o técnico Abel Braga, que pediu sua contratação. Marconi Barreto, presidente do clube de Ceará-MIrim, confirmou que o acordo está perto de ser concretizado ao “Novo Notícias”, jornal do Rio Grande do Norte.

-É uma negociação importante para o clube e também para o Romarinho. Gostaríamos muito que ele jogasse as semifinais, pois continuamos em busca do título da Série D. Mas acho pouco provável que ele volte a jogar pelo Globo – confirmou o mandatário Marconi Barreto, que também é prefeito da cidade.

José Romário da Silva Souza é um dos destaques do Globo-RN, semifinalista da Série D do Brasileirão. O clube deseja que o atacante dispute as fases finais do torneio, mas a vontade do jogador deve ser decisiva para o acerto com o Flu.

Com passagem pelas categorias de base do ABC, Romarinho começou a se destacar no Globo-RN em 2015. Na última temporada, chegou a defender o América-RN, mas foi pouco utilizado e não marcou gols. O atacante é o maior artilheiro da curta história do Globo-RN, fundado em 2012, com 24 gols.

Cricinfo previews Pakistan’s chances at the World Twenty20 in testing times for the nation

Osman Samiuddin02-Jun-2009

Few sides really need to win – or do very well – the World Twenty20 as badly as Pakistan. Few sides will be as rusty as Pakistan. And few sides are as capable of them of pulling off something special, especially in this format.Pakistan’s travails on and off the field need no repeating. Suffice to say, on the field, they have lurched closer and closer to what was once thought to be unthinkable: a team you have no particular opinion about, a team that doesn’t set any pulses racing. For Pakistan, that is a fate worse than defeat, or death. So a triumph here – a good run even – would be as significant a boost on the field as winning a battle against militants off it.It won’t be easy given their rustiness – nobody, not even Bangladesh, has played less international cricket since January 2007 than Pakistan. And they were the only country whose players weren’t represented at the IPL; instead they warmed up with a conditioning camp and a hastily-arranged domestic Twenty20 tournament. But for Pakistan, Twenty20 is like finding yourself back in the galli you have played cricket in all your life. The angles, the run-stealing, the yorkers, the spin, the-poor-fielding-with-crucial-moments-of-quality, the big-hitting, clarity emerging only from chaos; as in South Africa two years ago, there is a natural familiarity and comfort with the format.Additionally, the draw seems so kind to them, it can only be a trick. You would think England – averse as they are to the format and obsessed in this summer of all summers – and Netherlands should be negotiated (though Dirk Nannes on a bouncy, green pitch has headlines written all over it). And, if all goes to form, they avoid Australia, India and South Africa in the Super Eights. Sri Lanka and New Zealand are proper threats where a semi-final place is concerned, but given their records against them, there is no question Pakistan would face them, rather than any of the big three. Once you’re in the semis, strange things begin to happen.StrengthsThe variety in their bowling attack: Shahid Afridi’s leg-spin is as effective as it has ever been, in restricting runs and taking wickets, and Saeed Ajmal’s strangely-trajectoried off-spin and doosra is an unexpectedly useful foil. In Umar Gul, Pakistan have one of the format’s very best bowlers, pace or slow. Now they only need for Sohail Tanvir to break free from the shackles of indifference that have gripped him since the start of the year.WeaknessesAround Pakistan’s batting swarm an uncomfortably high number of question marks. Is Salman Butt really a Twenty20 opener (a strike rate of 94 and one fifty in 13 internationals), given his inability to at least rotate the strike when not finding the boundary? Is Younis Khan cut out for this format – he himself seems unsure about it, hinting recently it may be his last Twenty20 assignment – and if so, what position is best? What is Shahid Afridi’s best position, and Kamran Akmal’s?X-FactorDepending on whether or not they play, Shahzaib Hasan and Mohammad Aamer: Hasan is an explosive opener, mostly unseen, but highly recommended by Rashid Latif. Aamer is the whippy left-armer with Wasim Akram’s stamp of approval: a fantastic first-class debut season that has seen his confident rise, his time may come if Sohail Tanvir continues to misfire. Pakistan’s history of thrusting unknown names into the mix is long and established.Key PlayersIf Pakistan end up doing well here, a number of things will have to have happened. Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi must’ve taken a fair few wickets, Kamran Akmal must’ve scored some runs, Misbah-ul-Haq must’ve played a few remarkably cool hands and Afridi must’ve played at least one madcap, match-changing innings. Given the form and mood he is in, Afridi could be the real key.Twenty20 form guideThey looked rusty in the warm-up loss to South Africa but too much should not be read from the defeat. They looked up for it in decimating an admittedly weakened Australia before that, but missing the IPL, crucially, could go either way for Pakistan’s players: they may not be as tired as some, but neither might they be as attuned to competitive Twenty20 as others.Squad: Younis Khan (capt), Salman Butt, Ahmed Shehzad, Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal (wk), Fawad Alam, Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamer, Yasir Arafat, Saeed Ajmal, Shahzaib Hasan

Mahela Jayawardene now wants to push himself “to the limit” as a batsman

Ajay S Shankar30-Jun-2009Mahela Jayawardene has said Sri Lanka’s home series against Pakistan from Saturday will be a bigger challenge for him after giving up the team’s captaincy early this year because he now wants to push himself “to the limit” as a batsman. Jayawardene has discussed his new role with Kumar Sangakkara, his successor, and will focus on holding Sri Lanka’s batting together and improve its disappointing home record against Pakistan.The former Sri Lanka captain admitted that leading a subcontinent team, with all the passion involved, was not an easy job and hoped to emulate the manner in which Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid have managed the transition after giving up the captain’s role to contribute better as batsmen for India.”I always knew that everything [captaincy] was going to be over some day,” Jayawardene told Cricinfo. “For me, cricket is all about enjoyment and trying to do my best. I am sure I still have that hunger to do well and be a better cricketer than I am right now. In that perspective, it is a much bigger challenge for me, to push myself to the limit.”Jayawardene’s last Test as captain was also against Pakistan in March but that series was cut short by the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore. This time, he said, he was confident of easing into his new role for the home series, which starts on July 4. “When I captained the side, I made sure I had two different roles, as a captain and as a batsman. Now the captaincy has gone to somebody else but the batting role is going to be the same. My focus, my concentration, everything will be on that. So that’s not going to change because I am not the captain any more.”Jayawardene, who captained Sri Lanka from 2006, said Sangakkara, a close friend, understands and agrees with his views on how he should be contributing to the team. “Sanga just asked me to be the batsman that I am and probably be better than what I am right now. That’s what I want to be as well, and Sanga understands that. I enjoyed working with him when he was my deputy and now it is my duty to try and help him out in any way that I can to make his job easier.”We have already had lots of discussions about combinations, compositions and different things like tactics. I just give him different inputs and then it’s easier for him to play around with those. As for my role in the team, it is important for me to be the middle order batsman who will hold things together, and I just want to continue to do that.”Jayawardene has notched up four centuries, including a double against Pakistan in Karachi in February, in nine Tests over the last 12 months, scoring 773 runs at 70.27. His one-day batting dipped, however, during the same period and he scored just four fifties in 24 matches at 21.72, including three consecutive ducks against Zimbabwe and another against Bangladesh.On reflection, he said, he empathises with Tendulkar and Dravid who had also decided that captaincy was getting in the way of their batting. “It’s not an easy job, especially when you are captaining a sub-continent team. There are a lot of responsibilities, a lot of hope and joy because everyone is cricket-crazy. That’s something you get into when you get to be the captain. So you try and do your best and then leave it and go back and concentrate on your own performance and try and help the team in a different way. I have seen the way Sachin and Rahul have gone about things and it has been amazing. Hopefully, like them, I can do the job.”

It’s not an easy job, especially when you are captaining a sub-continent team. There are a lot of responsibilities, a lot of hope and joy because everyone is cricket-crazyJayawardene on captaincy

Jayawardene also revealed that he had a “light discussion” with Dravid on the issue when they met during the IPL in South Africa. “Rahul called me ‘skip’ and I said I am no longer that. We had a quiet joke about it during the IPL, [talking] about the captaincy and how much of a difference it makes when you leave it and come back into the team as a batsman. It’s all about prioritising your responsibilities; then the job becomes much easier.”It also helped, he said, that Sangakkara had emerged as a “capable” leader. “I knew I was leaving it to somebody capable of handling that pressure and of becoming a great captain for our country. I had no doubt in my mind about that.”The next step, Jayawardene said, was to work with Sangakkara and rectify their home record against the current visitors. Pakistan possess an overwhelming record in Sri Lanka, having lost just one Test to the hosts in 12 meetings since 1986. In fact, Pakistan have claimed three series wins out of five in Sri Lanka, including a 1-0 win in their previous meeting in 2006. This time, they are scheduled to play three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20 international.”We have always been very competitive, Pakistan and Sri Lanka,” Jayawardene said. “But our record against Pakistan is not that great. That’s something we need to improve on and that is added motivation for us. We need to make sure that we get it right because not many teams have beaten us at home but Pakistan have done that quite a bit. So that’s something we want to rectify.”Muthiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis will play a key role in the series, Jayawardene felt, and they will be helped by Lasith Maliga and a clutch of new fast bowlers. But he admitted that his own role will be under the scanner, too. “For me, from the first day that I played for my country, there has been pressure to do well. That’s always going to be there.”

يأسف إريك جارسيا مدافع برشلونة على فشل فريقه في الفوز بأولى مبارياته في الدوري الإسباني لموسم 2022-2023 أمام رايو فاييكانو.

واستقبل برشلونة نظيره رايو فاييكانو على ملعب “سبوتيفاي كامب نو” في مواجهة انتهت بالتعادل السلبي. 

وقال جارسيا بعد المباراة في تصريحات نشرتها صحيفة “موندو ديبورتيفو” الإسبانية: “جئنا لبدء الموسم بالقدم اليمنى ونحقق الفوز، مع العلم أن رايو كلفنا الكثير العام الماضي”.

وأضاف: “أعتقد أن رايو كان جيدًا وقد قدمنا ​​أداءً جيدًا في الدفاع، أمر مؤسف حقًا إننا لم نحقق الفوز”.

ولدى سؤاله عن تطور المباراة، حلل جارسيا: “رايو أغلقوا صفوفهم وهذا يجعل الأمر صعبًا بالنسبة لنا، لقد نجح حارس مرماهم في التصدي لكثير من الفرص”.

اقرأ أيضًا | برشلونة يخسر بوسكيتس في مباراته القادمة بالدوري الإسباني

وأشار: “نحن أمام موسم جيد للغاية، لكن المباراة المهمة كانت اليوم حيث كانت النقاط تستحق العناء بالفعل”.

وأفاد مدافع برشلونة: “أريد أيضًا أن أشكر الجماهير لأنهم قدموا دعمهم الكامل، لكنني الآن أفكر بالفعل في المباراة التالية”.

وأتم جارسيا: “لن تغادر أبدًا راضيًا، خاصة إذا لم تفز، فهناك دائمًا مجال للتحسين، كان بإمكاننا الفوز بشكل مثالي ولكن الآن حان الوقت لتصحيح أخطاء اليوم والمضي قدمًا والتفكير في ريال سوسيداد”.

Ricky Ponting has said the soggy conditions at Edgbaston had given them plenty to think about regarding the position of the spinner Nathan Hauritz

Cricinfo staff29-Jul-2009Mitchell Johnson’s chances of playing at Edgbaston may have firmed but Australia’s captain Ricky Ponting said the soggy conditions had given them plenty to think about regarding the position of the spinner Nathan Hauritz. As the selectors ponder whether Stuart Clark can squeeze into the line-up, Ponting said Australia’s research into Edgbaston didn’t make for happy reading for the spinners.”We’ve checked the stats for county games this season and spinners are averaging about 60 or 70 per wicket,” Ponting told the . “The numbers aren’t compelling and with all this weather around, the curator claims it will be a typical English seamer.”Hauritz would be unlucky to miss out, having picked up nine wickets in the first two Tests, and he would be a valuable man in Australia’s armoury if they bowl last. Ponting said it was unlikely he would choose to send England in after he did that at Edgbaston in 2005 and England scored 407 on the first day and won the match.”You can get a bit carried away and look into things too deeply,” Ponting said. “There aren’t many pitches you don’t want to bat first on, and if that’s the case you’re bowling last and you want a spinner. We just have to make sure we get our thinking right.”The beauty of our team is that whatever we do we’ve got plenty of options, with Michael Clarke, Simon Katich and Marcus North all able to bowl part-time spin. Marcus North showed he is more than capable of stepping up, with a good, long spell at Lord’s when Nathan Hauritz was injured.”However, North hasn’t picked up a Test wicket this series and it would be a gamble to rely on him as the leading spinner. He has also struggled to turn the ball as sharply as Hauritz, who is aiming to string together three consecutive Test appearances for the first time in his career.

Steven Bergwijn endured a disasterclass as Tottenham Hotspur’s second-string were embarrassingly beaten by Dutch outfit Vitesse.

Nuno Santo left the bulk of his first-team stars back in north London ahead of this weekend’s crunch match with local rivals West Ham United in the Premier League but it was a call which failed to pay dividends.

The Lilywhites picked up their first defeat in the UEFA Europa Conference League and slipped to third in Group G, which means they have it all to do to secure qualification into the next round.

Whilst players like Harry Kane and Heung-min Son did not travel, several senior professionals did, including the Dutch international, but he struggled to repay his manager’s faith on his return to the side.

Valued at £26m by CIES Football Observatory, Bergwijn was one of the more costly players in the starting XI in the Netherlands, so you’d expect him to have stepped up and been counted – even more so as he was given a full 90 minutes on the pitch.

Instead, he was absolutely anonymous and offered Spurs very little in attack. 17-year-old striker Dane Scarlett struggled at his young age but that was largely due to a lack of service, so the 5 foot 10 winger also failed his teammates.

As per SofaScore, Bergwijn recorded the second-fewest touches (36) of any starter – even goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini (38) had more – which isn’t an encouraging sign as one is between the sticks and the other is an attacking threat.

Elsewhere, the 24-year-old failed to register a shot on goal and wasn’t successful in any of his two dribbling attempts, which has to be a worrying sign considering the quality of opposition, who on the day were much the better side, of course.

He was also weak in possession, losing the ball 11 times from those 36 touches, whilst he won just two of his six duels (33.3%).

Alasdair Gold at football.london was far from impressed with the winger, who returned to his home country, handing him a 4/10 in his post-match ratings column.

Overall, on the above evidence, the 13-time international endured a shocker at the GelreDome on Thursday night. Nuno will be far from pleased with what he witnessed.

AND in other news, Forget Lo Celso: £27m-rated Spurs lightweight who lost 89% duels failed Nuno yet again…

Richarlison is ahead of Dominic Calvert-Lewin on the injury comeback trail, Everton manager Rafael Benitez has said. 

The England striker hasn’t featured for the Toffees since the 2-0 win at Brighton in August, having sustained a fractured toe (via Transfermarkt). He had scored in all three Premier League matches prior to that injury and bagged eight more than any of his team-mates last season.

Richarlison, meanwhile, has been missing since the 3-1 victory over Burnley on 13 September, when he was on the end of a brutal lunge from James Tarkowski.

How have Everton coped?

Salomon Rondon, a summer signing from Chinese Super League outfit Dalian Professional, has deputised in their absence but is yet to find the net for his new club.

Everton have won only one of their four matches without the duo, and that was against bottom side Norwich City at home. They have suffered defeats against Aston Villa and West Ham United and picked up a point against Manchester United.

As per Liverpool Echo, Benitez said: “I think Richarlison is closer, Dominic will take longer but Richarlison is getting closer.”

Everton fans fret over injury update

Twitter fan feed Toffee TV relayed the manager’s update on the injury-afflicted duo, and here’s what some Everton supporters made of it.

“Can’t take anymore of Rondon up front”

Credit: @lebatman1

“Not getting much proper info on Dom..! Hope it’s not worse than first feared. I reckon we will miss Richy for the Watford game as well but don’t like the vibes about Dom at all..”

Credit: @Kieranbuckley5

“It’s scary how much we are missing him. Rondon looks so out of his depth it untrue. We need to try someone else upfront until DCL is fit”

Credit: @kevertonH

“What is @CalvertLewin14 injury? Thought it was just minor?”

Credit: @garath_t

“Cannot understate how much I miss these 2”

Credit: @lil_platinum

“Richarlison has to replace Rondon and Gordon has to replace Iwobi and then pray for no more injuries”

Credit: @JamesBrownEFC

In other news, some Everton fans slammed this man’s display against West Ham

According to a report by Milan Live, West Ham United have now got Lille forward Jonathan Ikone in their sights as they eye more attacking additions for manager David Moyes.

The Lowdown: West Ham in forward hunt…

Over the summer, Moyes made no secret of his desire to add more forward additions to his ranks and bolster West Ham’s chances for 2021/2022.

As he candidly admitted, the Scotsman was ‘desperate’ to sign a striker in particular and it isn’t difficult to see why when taking into account star man Michail Antonio’s concerning injury history.

The Jamaica international has started this season in sublime form; bagging six goals and three assists in just nine Premier League starts whilst also winning the English top flight’s Player of the Month award for August.

Moyes has had to manage him carefully, though, with the Hammers boss electing not to use the 31-year-old at all in the Carabao Cup for example.

He has even sent club doctors abroad to monitor Antonio when the player goes touring on international duty.

An injury to Antonio, which is always a lingering possibility, would spell disaster for West Ham and Moyes – leaving little wonder why they are currently weighing moves for new attacking additions like Andrea Belotti and Jesse Lingard.

The Latest: West Ham set sights on Ikone…

As per Milan Live, West Ham have now set their sights on another forward in Lille star Ikone who has featured in the Champions League this season.

A key player for the Ligue 1 title-winners over 2020/2021, he has been attracting attention from Serie A giants AC Milan, but as they apparently pull out of the race, the Hammers and Everton swoop in.

West Ham, alongside the Toffees, are now in contention to sign the 23-year-old and are ‘seriously considering buying the player’ for Moyes.

The Verdict: Underwhelming?

Lille apparently value their man at around €40 million (£34.2m) according to an exclusive Anfield Central, and for that price, we believe Ikone should be strongly avoided.

The summer signing of Nikola Vlasic and links to Lingard, who could leave Manchester United in January for half of Ikone’s reported price (The Sun), arguably render the Frenchman’s addition unnecessary.

Going by his numbers, he doesn’t exactly stand out as a must-have target for Moyes either.

According to WhoScored, Ikone’s averages of 1.3 shots, 1.1 key passes and 1.1 completed dribbles per 90 don’t measure up to that of key West Ham first teamers.

The likes of Said Benrahma, Jarrod Bowen and Antonio have all racked up superior numbers to Ikone in terms of these attacking aspects, leaving one to wonder what he could add under Moyes.

A ‘very sought-after’ player before signing for Lille, we believe he shouldn’t be anywhere near the top of Rob Newman’s transfer wish list for January.

In other news: ‘Woohoo’, ‘Going for the title’…ExWHUemployee’s transfer claim has many West Ham fans buzzing, find out more here.

A convincing win for Western Province takes them above KwaZulu-Natal after the first round of the SuperSport Super Sixes. Elsewhere there was a century in each innings for Graham Grace, but they were in vain as a captain’s innings from Dale Benkenstein took KwaZulu-Natal home:Super Sixes – 4th dayWestern Province 554 for 2 dec beat Griqualand West 185 and 183 (Hector 70, Friend 5-34, Dawson 4-37) by an innings and 186 runs
ScorecardWestern Province made light of the absence of five Test players to jump to the top of the table. Their mammoth first-innings score did the trick at Newlands: today it took them only 17.4 overs to reduce Griqualand West from their overnight 128 for 2 to 183 all out. Griquas were soon in trouble when Benjamin Hector went for 70, after nearly two hours at the crease. Quentin Friend wrapped up the innings to end with 5 for 34, while Alan Dawson took his tally for the match to 10 with 4 for 37, which included his 250th wicket in first-class cricket. WP lost just two wickets in winning the match – it was only the sixth time that any side had won a domestic match in South Africa while losing either one or two wickets, and the first since Transvaal (325 for 1 dec) beat Northern Transvaal (97 and 173) by an> innings and 55 runs at Pretoria in 1980-81.KwaZulu-Natal 227 and 273 for 5 (Benkenstein 102*) beat North West 255 and 242 for 7 dec (Grace 102*, Moleon 66*) by 5 wickets
ScorecardAt Kingsmead Graham Grace added an unbeaten 102 to his first-innings century, the 19th time a batsman has scored twin centuries in South African first-class cricket. He spent seven hours at the crease, and his eighth-wicket partnership of 120 with Eugene Moleon – whose 66 not out was a career-best – enabled North West to make a sporting declaration, setting KwaZulu-Natal 271 in 51 overs. Knowing that Western Province had already overhauled them, Natal took up the challenge and raced to 50 inside eight overs. The rate dropped when three quick wickets tumbled, but Dale Benkenstein played the perfect captain’s innings with a near-run-a-ball 102 that took his side to victory with 11 balls to spare. Duncan Brown finished it off with a huge six over long-on, off Garth Roe.Shield – 3rd dayEasterns 515 for 7 dec lead Eastern Province 358 for 8 (Bradfield 123*, Wingfield 88) by 157 runs
ScorecardEastern Province’s first target today was to avoid the follow-on, and it is still a close-run thing. The batsmen’s paradise at St George’s Park produced another century – the third of the match – as Carl Bradfield stroked 18 fours in his 123. Wade Wingfield then took over, and his 88 took EP to the brink of the follow-on target. When bad light stopped play early they were eight runs short, with two wickets left.Gauteng 194 for 5 dec (Bacher 89, Ackerman 56*) lead Northerns 22 for 2 by 172 runs
ScorecardAfter two complete washouts play finally got under way at SuperSport Park on the third morning. Northerns won the toss and put Gauteng in. It seemed that bonus points from the first 100 overs of the first innings were all that was left to play for. Adam Bacher continued his recent good form, scoring a patient 89, while HD Ackerman compiled a useful undefeated 56 to take Gauteng to 194 for 5 before, after 73 overs, bad light interrupted play. On resumption Ackerman sprang a surprise by declaring, and was rewarded with two quick wickets before the light closed in again.