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The Afghanistan players are expecting a huge reception back home in Kabul after winning the World Cricket League Division 3 in Argentina. The team left Buenos Aires on Sunday night and will arrive in Afghanistan on Tuesday, and fast bowler Hamid Hassan was anticipating a large crowd turning out to greet them.”I am very excited about seeing them,” he said. “When we won Division 4 in Tanzania there were lots of people at the airport. So as we have won Division 3, there will be even more people there, blocking the roads and celebrating by banging drums.”I really enjoy the celebrations as we have such great fans. The people in Afghanistan pray for us and are waiting for the trophy to come home so we can all celebrate together.”However, the players also know they have plenty of hard work to put in if they are to realise their dream of playing in the 2011 World Cup, and once the party is over it will be straight back to work, preparing for the World Cup Qualifiers beginning April 1.Hamid, himself, will be off to play first-class cricket in Pakistan after a couple of days’ rest in Peshawar, and the team is expected to get together either in India or Pakistan in early March for a training camp ahead of the qualifiers.The joy was writ large on wicketkeeper Karim Khan’s face as well. “I am very, very happy,” he said. “We won Division 5, we won Division 4, now we have won Division 3 and if we all work hard we will get to the World Cup. This is our country’s dream and this is my dream, and the Afghan people are very happy.”I have seen the Afghan websites, I have seen the newspapers and people have said they will be coming to the airport to meet us. Even the president may be coming to see us at the airport.”However, he said the players would need to lift their game if they were to take the final step, though he believed they had the ability to perform well at that level.”Hopefully, we can beat the likes of Kenya, Bermuda and UAE and get to the World Cup in 2011,” said Karim. “It is my dream to play ODIs and face the likes of Pakistan, Australia, England and India. I have faced Shoaib Akhtar from Pakistan, India’s Irfan Pathan and Australia’s Mitchell Johnson in the nets, and I want to play them in a real match.”Karim will be back in training with former Pakistan wicketkeeper Rashid Latif, who acted as his personal coach in the build-up to the event in Argentina, and helped him improve his game.”I sent an email to Rashid Latif to thank him for all his hard work with me,” said Karim. “I used to be an offspinner but now I am a very good wicketkeeper. Rashid has invited me for more training in Karachi in 15 days’ time so I am going for more hard work on my wicketkeeping and my batting.”

Middle-order batsman Raees Ahmadzai also believed that Afghanistan would need to raise their game to do well at the qualifiers. “I am very happy that I am going to play for my country in the World Cup Qualifier but we need to work on our game and avoid the mistakes we made against Uganda, and in the first match against the Cayman Islands,” said Raees.”Our first priority is to qualify for the top six – that will be our first target so that we can play ODIs for the next four years. We want to get through to the second stage of the competition and try and get in the top four, as that would be a real gift for the Afghan people. It would be amazing to come from the refugee camps and play cricket with the big nations and try and beat a Test-playing country. That would be the greatest achievement of our lives,” he said.The top four sides from the qualifiers will go on to feature in the 2011 World Cup, while a top-six finish will secure ODI status for the next four years, as well as automatic qualification for the Intercontinental Cup.Afghanistan progressed as the first qualifier and will be placed in Group B alongside Kenya, The Netherlands, Bermuda, UAE and Denmark. Uganda will be up against Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Oman and Namibia in Group A.The fixtures for the qualifiers in South Africa from April 1-19 will be released shortly.

Mohammad Yousuf, the Pakistan batsman who recently signed up to the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), has slammed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for their subservience to the Indian board, particularly in their ongoing policy of life bans on ICL players.Some hope had emerged for Pakistan players involved with the ICL to have their bans lifted after PCB director general Javed Miandad openly questioned the rationale of the ban. He called on all cricket boards to resolve the issue and restore normalcy, especially in Pakistan, which has lost several cricketers to the ICL.”I just say the Pakistan board should take its own independent decision. It should not toe the line of the Indians,” Yousuf said in an interview on a popular show on Geo Super, a local sports channel. “What have they given us? They even refused to tour the country recently.””There is no such ruling from the ICC on ICL players. Tell me are we committing some crime going to play in the league? I say there is nothing to stop the board from lifting the ban on us if it wants to. Javed Miandad is now director general and he should keep his word.”Yousuf, for the second time in as many months, also launched a stinging attack on the current Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik and the selectors for not treating him with enough respect. Yousuf was never considered for the captaincy at any stage and was omitted from Pakistan’s Twenty20 plans. He again called into question Malik’s qualifications for the captaincy.”Tell me on what grounds did they decide I was not fit for Twenty20 cricket? What was the criteria for deciding this?” Yousuf said. “Tell me how did Shoaib Malik deserve to be the captain? How can you make a player a captain who is not certain of a place in the national Test or one-day team.”Ironically, Yousuf is currently ranked No.2 in the ICC Test rankings despite being ineligible to play international cricket and despite Pakistan not playing a single Test last year.

Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos has received criticism from Sky Sports pundit Kevin Phillips over recent comments on a radio interview in his native Colombia.

The Lowdown: Moving away from Rangers

The forward came to Ibrox in 2017 after scoring 46 goals in 62 games for Finish side HJK Helsinki. Since his arrival in Scotland, Morelos has been a consistent scorer for the Gers, netting 97 times in 190 appearances.

The 25-year-old has caused controversy during his time at the club on several occasions, receiving seven red cards since arriving in Glasgow and being called out over some moments of indiscipline by his manager Steven Gerrard.

In a recent interview with Colombian radio station El VBar de Caracol Radio, Morelos claimed that he was “calm” when asked if he wanted to leave Rangers but also said that he hopes to leave “soon”, having been linked with an exit from Ibrox in recent months.

The Latest: Fierce warning from Phillips

Speaking to Football Insider, Sky Sports pundit Phillips has criticised Morelos and urged him not to discuss his future publicly.

The former Sunderland striker said of the Rangers marksman: “He’s just making life more difficult for himself.

“He has to live in that area and we all know what supporters are like. He’ll get away with it if he comes back and scores goals.

“People will turn a blind eye but if he stops scoring and doesn’t look interested, you just leave yourself open.

“Keep your mouth shut and do your job. He needs people around him who will tell him to stop talking and to not answer those questions. Just be positive about Rangers and don’t talk about transfers in public.

“I said at the beginning of the season it would be best for him to move on, I can’t imagine this will go down well with the supporters.”

The Verdict: Morelos needs to stay focused

Despite earning his first Scottish Premiership medal, last season was Morelos’ worst goalscoring campaign for Rangers, with only 12 goals as Kemar Roofe scored two more in his debut campaign at Ibrox.

Speaking about one’s future when linked with a move away never goes down well with a club and its supporters, so Phillips’ comments may well be the thoughts of many Light Blues fans.

Fabio Capello once called the striker ‘an excellent player’ and Morelos must remain focused on the job at hand at Rangers and put his all in retaining the Premiership title, as well as impressing in the Europa League.

In other news, many Rangers fans loved recent update ahead of Europa League tie with Lyon. Find out more here.

Graham Roberts has told Manchester City to pay £160m or they simply won’t sign Harry Kane this summer.

The Premier League champions have made just one bid for the England captain of around £100m, which was rejected by Daniel Levy, who values him in excess of £150m.

Tottenham want to keep their star striker despite his off the field actions having missed training in a bid to push a move to City.

Kane later came out and denied missing his return to Hotspur Way but was then left out of Spurs’ opening day victory over Pep Guardiola’s men, although his lack of a pre-season could have been the reason for his exclusion – with the 28-year-old only joining the rest of his teammates on Friday.

Reports from The Times believe that City are set to return with an improved offer, although it’s still less than Tottenham’s asking-price, which means it’ll most likely be rejected by Levy.

Several Manchester City plays have seen their names thrown into the ring as part of a possible deal to bring Kane to the Etihad Stadium.

But Roberts exclusively told Football FanCast that City simply must pay the money or look elsewhere:

“All they have to do is pay £160m, that’s it. There’s no good throwing in Sterling, Silva, Laporte, those players are on mega wages. Sterling hasn’t signed a new contract because he wants £400,000 per-week.

“Pay us what Harry Kane is worth, Pep Guardiola should stop talking about players who aren’t his. If he wants him, come up with the money, and I’m sure the club will sell him to you.

“But are you going to pay what he’s worth? He’s worth £160m, pay it.”

MatériaMais Notícias

O Santos encerrou a preparação para encarar o Cruzeiro no domingo, às 16h, na Vila Belmiro, pela terceira rodada do Brasileirão. O técnico Dorival Júnior relacionou 23 jogadores, sendo que tem dois desfalques para a partida.

Lucas Lima, que se recupera de um estiramento na coxa direita, teve sua ausência confirmada, e Leandro Donizete, com uma inflamação no joelho direito, sequer vai para o banco de reservas.

O treinador poderá contar com Victor Ferraz, que não participou de dois treinos ao longo da semana por sentir dores no joelho direito. No entanto, o camisa 4 se mostrou apto a jogar e foi relacionado.

O Santos vai a campo com: Vanderlei; Victor Ferraz, Lucas Veríssimo, David Braz e Zeca; Renato, Thiago Maia e Vladimir Hernández; Vitor Bueno, Bruno Henrique e Ricardo Oliveira.

Confira a lista:
Goleiros: Vanderlei e Vladimir
Laterais: Victor Ferraz, Zeca e Matheus Ribeiro
Zagueiros: Lucas Veríssimo, David Braz e Cleber
Volantes: Renato, Thiago Maia, Yuri e Léo Cittadini
Meias: Jean Mota, Longuine e Vitor Bueno
Atacantes: Ricardo Oliveira, Bruno Henrique, Vladimir Hernández, Copete, Kayke, Thiago Ribeiro, Rodrigão e Arthur Gomes

RelacionadasBrasileirãoRevelado no Santos, Hudson alerta para os perigos da Vila BelmiroBrasileirão27/05/2017BrasileirãoArrascaeta está a um jogo de igualar Montillo na história do CruzeiroBrasileirão27/05/2017SantosCleber faz treino extra e quer apagar estreia pelo Santos: ‘Não valeu’Santos26/05/2017

Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh ran through Delhi’s batting order and completed a 187-run win for Rest of India in the Irani Cup match in Vadodara

Nagraj Gollapudi27-Sep-2008
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Harbhajan Singh picked up 4 for 31 in Delhi’s second innings © AFP
The challenge facing Delhi on the fourth day – they needed 265 runs with seven wickets in hand – was always going to stretch them, and their batsmen, with the exception of Gautam Gambhir, caved without a fight. They were bowled out within the first session: Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh exploited the cracks in the pitch to pick up seven wickets, and Rest of India won the Irani Cup for the 21st time by 187 runs in Vadodara.The slide started in the second over of the day. Gambhir had batted aggressively on the third evening and needed a stable partner. Aakash Chopra, who had not opened because of an ankle injury, joined him with a runner. He had scored 182 in last week’s Nissar Trophy and a confident 42 in the first innings against a versatile and experienced attack. Chopra’s resistance in the second innings, however, ended with his first ball. He drove away from his body at a Zaheer Khan delivery and inside-edged it on to his stumps.Kumble brought Harbhajan on inside the first hour to take advantage of the wearing pitch and the offspinner struck immediately. Mithun Manhas tried to pad a delivery but the ball turned into him, deflected off the bat handle, and went to Rahul Dravid at first slip. The only point of interest after that was whether Gambhir, who scored steadily despite the regular setbacks, would reach his century. He fell on 91, edging an attempted cut off Kumble to Mahendra Singh Dhoni.This was the last opportunity for the national players to get match practice ahead of the Tests against Australia and coach Gary Kirsten would have expected more. Before the start of the game he, and Kumble, had said this game was an important component in their preparation for the Australia series and each individual had a role to fulfill and understood it well.If Sourav Ganguly doesn’t make the Test squad, it will open up a vacancy in the middle order. Two of the contenders for the spot, S Badrinath and Mohammad Kaif, had the opportunity to push their claims in the Irani Cup but failed to turn in convincing performances. Badrinath looked in discomfort in the first innings and did not move his feet. He made a scratchy 16 off 62 balls before he was bowled while trying to cut. He was more confident during his 36 in the second innings before he was struck on the elbow and bowled once again by Ishant Sharma.Kaif had made adjustments to his batting stance after chats with Kirsten but met with little success. He failed to convert a start in the first innings, top-edging a pull to midwicket, and edged a scorcher from Ishant off his second ball in the second innings.One of the biggest positives was the performance of the bowlers. Zaheer Khan bowled wicket-to-wicket and focused on the batsman’s weaknesses: he exploited Sehwag’s slow footwork and trapped him lbw with one that cut in during the second innings. Ishant was hostile and extracted pace and bounce from a slow pitch, Munaf Patel proved his recovery was on the right path, while both Kumble and Harbhajan showed how dangerous they could be on a helpful surface. Only RP Singh was erratic with his line and length.The most significant outcome from this game, however, was the resolute batting of Rahul Dravid, who opened for Rest of India. His poor form over the last year has hurt India but here he succeeded in the most demanding of situations. As the wicket grew slower, Dravid stuck it out for nearly five hours in the second innings. He played the majority of the deliveries confidently, used soft hands to block short balls aimed at the body, and waited for the bowler to feed his strengths.It was the sort of preparation Dravid would have hoped for ahead of the Australia series and it was a terrific example of mental discipline for the rest to follow.

Aston Villa could get their new Gareth Barry in the form of PSG midfielder Rafinha.

What’s the story?

Having already clinched the signings of Emi Buendia and Ashley Young, Dean Smith’s side have enjoyed a decent start to the transfer window, and appear to have their eye on their next midfield signing.

According to reports in Spain,, PSG are ready to let Rafinha leave this summer in order to raise some funds for their own signings, and Villa could come in for the Brazilian.

Villa’s new Barry

Left-footed, composed on the ball, and aggressive in trying to winning it back, while Rafinha may be thought of as a typical Barcelona academy product who’s invested in a tiki-taka style of play, the Brazilian has a much-more all-round, combative presence that has a lot of similarities to how Barry liked to play.

The former England international spent 11 years in the Aston Villa senior side, playing 433 games for them, before making the switch to Manchester City, where he won the Premier League title.

The City website described him as: “A reliable, composed and tactically astute midfielder with a knack for sniffing out danger, his understated style of play made him one of the unsung heroes of that title-winning side.”

That reliability and composure is exactly what Rafinha would bring to the table at Villa.

Talking about the 27-year-old, former Barca defender Andreu Fontas once said: “Rafinha is a great player. Physically, he is a beast and, technically, he is superb.”

As per Whoscored, the midfielder boasted an impressive 90.9% pass accuracy in Ligue 1 last season (considerably better than any Villa player with more than one start), while he also averaged 2.3 tackles per match as well (only Matty Cash fared better with 2.5).

And, speaking after his performance for PSG last year, now Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel, said: “Rafinha showed in this match that he was courageous. He showed that he knows how to take responsibility and he looked for attacking solutions. He had a good match.”

The £13.5m-rated play-maker could bring that same fearlessness and intensity both on and off the ball to Villa Park should Smith land his man this summer.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa are preparing a transfer bid for this player…

West Indies’ fighting performance in the first Test has convinced Australia’s coach Tim Nielsen that his opponents are on the way up

Cricinfo staff29-May-2008
Tim Nielsen: “Test cricket is definitely about talent … but in the end it is the ability to execute your skills and reproduce them over and over again” © Getty Images
West Indies’ fighting performance in the first Test has convinced Australia’s coach Tim Nielsen that his opponents are on the way up the world rankings. Currently placed at No. 8, West Indies battled with Australia over the opening four days in Jamaica before folding in the 95-run loss.”They could definitely be up in the middle rungs and fighting for a top three or four spot with the quality of player and the natural talent they’ve got in their team,” Nielsen told the Sydney Morning Herald. “We kept saying the whole way through the game that our challenge was not to have fits and spurts, but to do it as well as we possibly can for five days. I think that was the difference in the end.”Nielsen warned West Indies more was needed than relying on natural ability. “Test cricket is definitely about talent … but in the end it is the ability to execute your skills and reproduce them over and over again,” he said. “That’s probably the difference in the two sides at the moment. If the Windies can do that, they’ll definitely jump up the ladder.”The below-par performances of Mitchell Johnson and Stuart MacGill in the first Test did not concern Nielsen. MacGill picked up four wickets for the game while Johnson was out-bowled by Stuart Clark and Brett Lee.”While Mitch didn’t get the figures as such, I wasn’t too worried about his performance,” Nielsen said. Nielsen believed MacGill improved as the game wore on, despite his inability to make any middle-order breakthroughs on the final day.”He probably rolled in and out of his rhythm a little bit in this game,” Nielsen told AAP. “He probably didn’t have a real consistent patch where he bowled as he’d like for a session.”But I thought there were some pretty pleasing signs at the end where he was able to rip the ball past the bat a few more times. Considering he hasn’t played a hell of a lot of cricket, I expect him to get better and better as the series goes on.” MacGill will have another chance in the second Test in Antigua from Friday.

ICC president Ray Mali said that the Asia Cup would be given more prominence to reflect the region’s importance in world cricket

Cricinfo staff27-May-2008ICC president Ray Mali said that the Asia Cup would be given more prominence to reflect the region’s importance in world cricket.”India has become the centre of attention and Asia has become the hub of the game,” Mail told a media conference in Sharjah. “We will make sure in the ICC Future Tour Programme that the Asia Cup should be given more importance. We will make sure that the event is held on a regular basis.”Countries like India, Pakistan Sri Lanka, UAE and Bangladesh have a huge following. Afghanistan, Oman, Nepal and Kuwait are showing great improvement and the ICC needs to support them in many ways. We will soon see tall, broad shouldered bowlers emerging from places like Afghanistan. These countries need all support and attention.”Mali, who leaves office in five weeks, also spoke of the push to globalise the game. “We are trying to take the game to America and in next 30 years China will be a force to reckon with. The country has a great potential to nurture cricket and the Asian Cricket Council is fully aware of it.”

A number of Liverpool supporters have been reacting angrily to an update regarding the Reds’ pursuit of Saul Niguez, with a move for the Spaniard looking unlikely.

Jurgen Klopp has had a relatively quiet summer transfer window to date, with Ibrahima Konate the only signing made thus far.

Gini Wijnaldum’s exit to Paris Saint-Germain has left a void in the middle of the park, however, and it would be a surprise if he isn’t replaced.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

With Jordan Henderson and Thiago both in their 30s, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain injury-prone and Curtis Jones still learning, an addition in midfield wouldn’t go amiss.

One player who has been linked with a move to Liverpool is Atletico Madrid hero Saul, but the Daily Mail have claimed [via LFC Transfer Room on Twitter] that they are ‘unlikely to buy’ the 26-year-old, whose tackling average of 1.7 per game last season was bettered by only three players at Anfield.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/the-latest-liverpool-transfer-news-8/” title=”The latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=“none”]

Liverpool fans unhappy at Saul update

These Liverpool fans took to Twitter to provide their thoughts on the Daily Mail’s report, with plenty of negativity in the air over the apparent reluctance to do a deal.

“We always ‘admire’ or ‘register interest’ while others complete signings”

Credit: @lfcOscar11

“I want to vomit”

Credit: @xshawnshadowsx

“Admire FC”

Credit: @D2OJ_thanuesh

“You what”

Credit: @tylfc1

“We’re a tinpot club”

Credit: @EmpireFalcons

“This club…”

Credit: @whowasisaac

In other news, some Liverpool fans have been hugely critical of a former Reds player. Read more here.