Surrey have announced their highest ever profits in the club’s 163-year history. Last year, their annual turnover was £23,407,000 and they recorded pre-tax profits in excess of £721,000, an increase of 108.4% from 2006.”We’re very pleased that 2007 has been a record year for us off-the-field,” Paul Sheldon, the Surrey chief executive, said. “All areas of the club are performing well and we’re really building on our potential. Our prospects for growth over the next few years are equally strong.”Aside from other international matches, we will host an Ashes Test match next summer and the ICC Twenty20 World Cup will be an important income generator for us. Further to this, the planned redevelopment of the Pavilion End will provide considerable benefits without any investment from the club directly thanks to our partnership with Arora Hotels.2007 generated receipts of over £5,815,000 courtesy of the four international matches staged at The Oval, a 66.8% increase from 2006.
ScorecardDurham scraped home by six runs against Lancashire in an exciting match in the FP Trophy at the Riverside Ground. With the balance swinging first one way and then the other, the result was in doubt until the end, and it was the home crowd who went home celebrating.Despite a reasonably sunny morning after days of cloud at Chester-le-Street, Lancashire put Durham in bat, presumably because of a lot of moisture in the pitch. Quick scoring was difficult for everybody.Not that this appeared to be the case when Sajid Mahmood bowled a short, widefirst ball of the match to Michael Di Venuto, who slashed it through the coversfor four. Di Venuto was not permitted to continue the good form he showed againstYorkshire, however, as with just 9 to his credit, his partner Phil Mustard soldhim a dummy by calling for a single straight to square leg. He was run out forthe third time in four dismissals, and the fourth time this season.After 15 overs, Durham had struggled to 35 for 3, the bowler mainly responsiblebeing the impressive Kyle Hogg, who bowled his ten overs off the reel for 19runs, collecting the wickets of Mustard and Kyle Coetzer. Recovery came through thetwo South Africans, who added 101 together. Neil McKenzie fought his way tosome sort of form with 32, while Dale Benkenstein was more fluent with 64 off108 balls. He eventually skied a pull off Lancashire’s debutant StephenCheetham, whom he had earlier pulled for six. Cheetham took two wickets, butgenerally bowled too short.As Durham’s later batsmen struggled, a total of 200 seemed unlikely, but GaryPark came to their rescue. After playing himself in, he ran to 42 not out off37 balls, hitting two successive sixes in the final over, bowled by Mahmood. Mahmood is not proving successful as a death bowler at present,following his final over that conceded 17 to Yorkshire a week ago.Graham Onions, Durham’s pace bowling hero in their mid-week championship matchagainst Yorkshire, began with a ragged over, but tightened up to ensureLancashire struggled for runs. The real strangler was Callum Thorp, whoseopening spell of eight overs cost only eight runs, and Lancashire began to losewickets as they fought in vain to keep up – after 30 overs, they were only 81 for3. A vital blow to them was the loss of Stuart Law for 8, run out by a finepiece of fielding from Park. On the other hand, their opener Mal Loye wascrucially dropped at slip off Steve Harmison when he had 32.Slowly Loye and Steven Croft fought back, but they were struggling against arequired run rate of more than six an over. They needed 54 from the last eightovers, but there were six wickets in hand and a close finish beckoned. SteveHarmison was Durham’s man for the moment. Loye, looking a little desperate,finally skied a catch for 77, trying to hit him out of the ground, and Croftsoon followed, caught at the wicket for 48. At 170 for 6 in the 45th over,Lancashire were up against it.They needed 26 from the last three, but an over from Gareth Breese cost 11, despiteseeing Luke Sutton dismissed. Hogg, the most likely batsman to do the job,edged Thorp to the keeper for 15, and 11 were needed from the final over,bowled by Onions. Two runs scored off three balls, then Marshall was caught atthird man; the last wicket needed nine runs off the final two balls. AlthoughOnions was not at his best, Mahmood was unable to pull off the near-miracle,and Durham were home. Harmison had the best figures of 3 for 44, but Thorp’sten overs for just 14 runs and a wicket was also crucial.
ScorecardFile photo – Tanwir Afzal clobbered two fours and three sixes in his 42•Graham Crouch/IDI/Getty
Hong Kong cruised to a comfortable four-wicket win after chasing down 163 in the last over against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi. Tanwir Afzal blitzed a 22-ball 42, an innings that featured two fours and three sixes, to swing the momentum in Hong Kong’s favour after they were stuttering at 89 for 4 in the 12th over.Hong Kong’s chase began slowly and the team soon also lost Kinchit Shah in the third over for 2. Though they managed to stitch substantial partnerships thereafter through brisk contributions from Babar Hayat (35 off 18), Mark Chapman (22) and Nizakat Khan (26), frequent wickets meant Afghanistan were still in with a shot.Afzal and Nizakat added 55 for the fifth wicket in just 30 balls as the match drifted away from Afghanistan, and an equation of 24 off the last four overs was easily achieved in the end with two balls to spare. Karim Sadiq, Aftab Alam and Rokhan Barakzai picked up two wickets apiece.Earlier, Afghanistan lost both their openers within the first four overs after choosing to bat. Asghar Stanikzai (51) then struck a counterattacking half-century and combined with Sadiq (22) and Samiullah Shenwari (34) in stands of 34 and 63 respectively to set up a strong platform for a late surge. Shafiqullah provided the required impetus late in the innings with a 16-ball 30 to lift Afghanistan to a score of 162 for 6.
Shimron Hetmyer has been named captain of West Indies for the Under-19 World Cup to be held in Bangladesh in January-February 2016.Hetmyer, who was also featured in the 2014 edition of the tournament in the United Arab Emirates, is one of two players along with Alzarri Joseph, the pacer, to have first-class experience.Hetmyer made his first-class debut for Guyana in April 2014, and has played five matches since. Joseph, meanwhile, made his debut for Leeward Islands and has picked up 17 wickets in five matches, with a best of 7 for 46.”We have put together a group of players we believe will perform for the West Indies,” said Clive Lloyd, the WICB chairman of selectors. “We see them as future Test cricketers for the West Indies and this tour is an opportunity for them to be exposed at the international level against strong opposition.”West Indies are placed in Group C alongside England, Fiji and Zimbabwe. They open their campaign on January 29 against Fiji in Chittagong.Prior to the tournament, West Indies will play Bangladesh Under-19 in a three-match series as part of their preparation for the World Cup.Squad: Shimron Hetmyer (capt), Keemo Paul, Kacey Carty, Shahid Crooks, Michael Frew, Jyd Goolie, Tevin Imlach, Ryan John, Alzarri Joseph, Kirstan Kallicharan, Obed McCoy, Gidron Pope, Odean Smith, Shamar Springer, Emmanuel Stewart
Malinga T20 captain, Mathews vice-captain, Chandimal third in line
Lasith Malinga, if fit, will captain Sri Lanka at the World T20, Sri Lanka Cricket has confirmed. SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala: “Angelo Mathews will be the vice-captain and Dinesh Chandimal his deputy. “These three players have been given the responsibility to work together and build the national team. They have a colossal amount of experience and ability to build the team.” Malinga, who will miss the upcoming T20s in India as he recuperates from a knee injury, will lead in the Asia Cup as well if he regains fitness in time. Chandimal will captain in India in his absence.
Sri Lanka’s new coach, Graham Ford, who is set to begin his second stint with the team, has cautioned against expecting quick fixes. The team, he said, is in transition, so he expects the job to be challenging.”Sri Lanka is in the early part of a rebuilding phase, so don’t expect any quick fixes,” Ford said on arrival in Sri Lanka. “I am very aware what a huge challenge it is. A lot of hard work needs to be done. It’s very important that this team building is done on a very solid foundation, so patience is required.”I know there is an abundance of talent within the system, but it is about identifying those who have got the mental toughness to go on and become consistent players and match-winners at international level.”Jerome Jayaratne, Sri Lanka Cricket’s head of coaching, who took charge of the team on a temporary basis when Marvan Atapattu resigned as coach in Sri Lanka, is expected to be appointed full-time assistant coach. Ford said it was important to draw on his experience, and for the entire Sri Lankan cricket set-up to work together.”It’s quite a long process which is required. A lot of hard work, not just for me but all involved, particularly Jerome who has been involved in Sri Lanka cricket for a long time, knows the players so well and has a wealth of knowledge technically and tactically.”It’s important to have his input, and also to have the selectors and the board all working together to ensure the long-term process can take place so that we can take Sri Lanka back to the top of the international stage.”Jayaratne also expected to play the role of team manager, a position previously held by Jeryl Woutersz.Ford’s first assignment is the three-match T20 international series in India, which he said would be a tough beginning but one he could use to find out how good the team is at present.SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala said Ford was one of 12 coaches his board interviewed for the post, and he was confident they had made the right choice. “We have secured the services of one of the best coaches in the world,” Sumathipala said. “We have appointed him for 45 months [from February 1] so that he covers the 2019 World Cup in England, where he has first-hand knowledge of the conditions having coached the counties.”Sumathipala also thanked Kumar Sangakkara for playing a pivotal role in securing the services of Ford from English county Surrey, which Sangakkara represents.
Piyush Chawla’s nine-for gave Gujarat a bonus-point win as they beat Jammu and Kashmir by an innings and 64 runs in Surat. Sixteen wickets fell on the day where the hosts bundled J&K out for 130 in their second innings, with contributions from Hardik Patel (5-49) and Chawla (4-38), after getting bowled out for 455 earlier in the day.In the morning, Manprit Juneja converted his overnight score of 66 to bring up his seventh first-class century. He led the charge with his 150-run fifth-wicket stand with Chirag Gandhi (86) and lifted Gujarat to a 400-plus score post lunch.In reply to Gujarat’s first-innings lead of 194 runs, J&K had a shaky start as they lost their openers Ahmed Bandy (5) and Shubham Khajuria (17) within the first eight overs. With minimal resistance from the lower middle-order trio of captain Parvez Rasool (24), Bandeep Singh (24) and Ram Dayal (29), J&K failed to recover as Harshal and Chawla ran through the line-up to bundle them out in 34.4 overs. The win was Gujarat’s second in a row.Jalaj Saxena’s all-round show gave Kerala a 309-run lead over Rajasthan in Thiruvananthapuram. His eight-for trounced the visitors as they were bowled out for 243 in their first innings, and later in the day, brought up his 12th first-class century, along with an unbeaten third-wicket partnership with Sanju Samson (72*). Saxena became only the third man in Ranji history to take eight wickets in an innings and score a ton in the same match.Kerala lost Vishnu Vinod (8) and Rohan Prem (24) early in their second innings, but the century-stand between Saxena and Samson took them from 58 for 2 to 217 at stumps.Haryana face the prospect of an innings defeat against Jharkhand in Ranchi, after they finished the day trailing by 76 with only six wickets in hand. Jharkhand had declared on 425 for 9 earlier in the day after Ishank Jaggi’s 135 and a lower-order charge from Shahbaz Nadeem (70).In their second innings, Haryana suffered a top-order collapse as they lost their first three batsmen within nine overs, with Nadeem picking the wickets of Shubham Rohilla (0) and Chaitanya Bishnoi (11). Rajat Paliwal (44*) and Rahul Dagar (64) led the middle-order resistance as they took Haryana from 31 for 3 to 141 for 4. Dagar gave away his wicket shortly before stumps.
Celtic moved three points clear at the top of the Premiership table on Sunday as they won 3-2 at home against Dundee FC.
The Hoops went 1-0 down early on in the match but came from behind to lead 2-1 at half-time thanks to a quickfire double from Giorgos Giakoumakis.
Dundee pulled the score back to 2-2 in the 60th minute and looked set to weather the Celtic storm heading towards the end of the match. That was until the Greek striker completed his hat-trick to seal the three points in the 86th minute.
The likes of Giakoumakis and Jota may get the praise of their flashy attacking play and an unsung hero from the match may come in the form of Anthony Ralston. He was sublime from start to finish and played a key role in the result, although he may not get the plaudits that the exciting forward players get for terrorising the Dundee defence.
Defensively, he was outstanding for Celtic. As per SofaScore, he won 80% (8/10) of his individual duels and made two tackles, truly living up the “warrior” tag given to him by Postecoglou. This shows that he was strong in physical battles and did not allow himself to be bullied by any Dundee players, which the manager will surely be delighted with as he will not want his players to be lightweights on the pitch.
Ralston, the £7.5k-per-week battler, also offered quality in possession of the ball. Via SofaScore, he had 116 touches of the ball and completed 106 passes, whilst completing 100% of his dribbles (1/1) and creating one chance – resulting in the winner for Giakoumakis in the 86th minute as his cross met the forward on the head from close range.
The opening he created for the Greek striker to win the game was registered as a ‘big chance’ and this shows that he delivered a superb cross at a crucial point in the game. He was, therefore, key to Celtic picking up all three points instead of dropping two and remaining just one point clear of their arch-rivals Rangers as he provided quality in defence and offence.
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Postecoglou will be buzzing with the player’s performance at both ends of the pitch and hoping that he can continue to deliver displays of a similar vein for the rest of the campaign. The Hoops are battling for multiple trophies and having a number of players producing week-in-week-out like Ralston, Jota and Giakoumakis will surely be a huge help to their chances.
AND in other news, Ange must brutally axe “really selfish” Celtic liability who left Lennon “appalled”…
Journalist Liam Keen has revealed a Wolves concern over the availability of Ruben Neves, as he is not fully fit and at risk of suspension amid their relegation fight.
What's going on with Neves and Wolves?
The Portugal international has been a standout player for Julen Lopetegui's side this season, scoring five times as Wolves aim to surivive the drop.
However, they could lose their captain ahead of a crucial few weeks as he struggles with a calf knock that is being carefully managed. He has been withdrawn in each of his side's last two games, having played the full 90 minutes in every previous league start this season.
He has also accumulated nine yellow cards this season, and one more will see him pick up a two-match suspension.
Speaking on the Express and Star podcast, Keen bemoaned the situation, which means Wolves either have to gamble on the availability of their talisman or purposefully rest him in crucial matches.
He said: "I think Neves is difficult. I think they probably are trying to save him, but you can't do that for the next four games, you can't take him off every single game.
"At the same time, Lopetegui has said that he was at the limits with a calf injury and they've been managing it, so it's a difficult one.
"If they are trying to save him for games, I don't think you can do that, I think you have to just play him and hope that he gets through.
"Of course, he did it last season where he got through eight games without a booking, so it's something he's capable of doing, albeit it's difficult."
Who could Wolves play in his absence?
Rio Ferdinand once referred to Neves as "fantastic", and he will be difficult to replace if he picks up an injury or a suspension.
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The £50k-per-week captain has missed just one game this season, which was the 3-0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea, and Wolves will be eager to avoid a similar disaster should they have to play without him.
One option could be to bring Matheus Nunes back into the starting XI. The summer signing has been benched for the last two games, and could return having been made available after the club won their appeal against a three-match ban for the midfielder.
Joao Moutinho and Joao Gomes could come in alongside Nunes to fill the three-man midfield, and this could be a taste of what is to come next season. With one year left on his deal, Neves looks likely to depart the club as it stands, and Lopetegui could trial his internal solutions in his absence now before turning to the transfer market.
England goalkeeper Robert Green insists he has the mental strength to recover from his calamitous World Cup mistake.
Fabio Capello's side had taken an early lead thanks to Steven Gerrard's well-taken goal and were in control of the match until Green inexplicably allowed Clint Dempsey's weak shot to slip out of his grasp and trundle over the line in a 1-1 Group C opener in Rustenburg.
The West Ham keeper could be dropped for Friday's second game against Algeria with David James and Joe Hart pushing for the number one jersey.
But despite his high-profile mistake, Green believes he can cope with the scrutiny he will be under should Capello keep faith with him.
"It was a mistake," he said."The important thing is not to let it affect you for however long is left in the game.
"That is what you prepare for mentally. You don't prepare mentally for making great saves and playing the perfect game. You prepare for trauma.
"It is regrettable and not what you want to happen but that's life and you move on, you hold your head up high and get to work in training.
"It won't affect me psychologically. I'm 30, I'm a man and you have hardships in life and prepare for them.
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"I'm strong enough to move on. At a younger point in my life it would have affected me more.
"But you hold your hand up and say 'that's gone, move on and don't let it affect you'."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Former colleague Avram Grant expects Real Madrid to change the football philosophy of Jose Mourinho. The new West Ham manager was asked if he had a strained relationship with the Special One whilst at Chelsea and then went on to elaborate on the changes he thinks will occur at the Bernabeu:
“I enjoyed working with him. He is a good person, an organised coach, who knows how to use technology in football and has the capacity to analyse the games…Everyone knows that if you sign Jose you have one certain style of football. His Chelsea played good football in general. I mean, they had a way of dealing with games and tournaments. Mourinho likes to defend, he feels good that way. And we know that he will not be able to do that at the Bernabeu. I would not say that Mourinho will change their philosophy in Madrid, but Madrid will, in the end, change the philosophy of Mourinho.”
Real Madrid is a club steeped in historical prestige; the mid 50s and 60s saw Puskas and Di Stefano in a team that virtually monopolised the European Cup (5 consecutive wins from 1956-1960 and another in 1966). Then, just over 30 years later, the Galácticos supplied three more in five years. But a crucial difference at this stage is that Madrid have not been a force in European competition for half a decade. Not progressing past the round of sixteen consistently (6 consecutive attempts) is a damning and sobering statistic. And I think Grant underestimates the obsession Madrid have with returning to the summit of European club competition. Though their callous and surface driven ethos is unquestionable (the need to play attacking, care-free football maintains the Madrid image) it is only heightened by the appointment of Jose Mourinho; someone who wins.
It’s probably most fitting at this juncture in time that Mourinho finds himself head hunted by Madrid. It underpins the necessity of victory – by any means necessary. Though many have commented how the desire for great football supersedes the imperative of winning at Madrid, the very act of appointing an exponent of functional, tactically astute football is evidence enough to the contrary. It goes further than words, or player signings, or manager sackings to elucidate the image obsession that prevails at Real. Will the fans and the hierarchy grumble if victory is achieved unglamorously? Certainly. But if it brings the first Champions League trophy in nearly a decade the grumbles will not facilitate overhaul. A much more fitting scenario for Madrid and Mourinho to end with will be European success coming through the Portuguese’s methods and then the two parting company i.e. Madrid sacking him – only after he has restored them to the summit.
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But again, this remains purely speculative. The Madrid media monster is unlike anything Mourinho has undertaken previously. His unique ability as a manager is not the habit of winning but more so how he reacts to the players at his disposal. To say he always plays the same way is a sweeping misjudgement; though the output has the same tone, the method does vary. At Chelsea he clinically instilled a 4-3-3 because he knew it would be tactically superior to the heavily used 4-4-2 in the Premier League (it was a reactionary step with regards to the league, it wasn’t because it was his unmitigated system). With Inter the tactical setup differed as the fulcrum shifted to a double pivot in midfield and Wesley Sneijder as a playmaker – the best coaches adapt and Mourinho will certainly do the same:
"I am a coach who adapts his philosophy to the players he has, trying to get the best out of my players. Normally, players feel valued again after their work with me. A team needs to have equilibrium. One needs to work with and without the ball, be strong offensively and defensively, have psychological balance, and win matches. Winning matches is very important because it makes one psychologically stronger and more confident, without which it is impossible to win titles."