A Premier League club have reportedly made an approach to try and lure Glasgow Rangers winger Ryan Kent away from Ibrox this summer.
The Lowdown: Contract talks
Rangers are reportedly ‘increasingly hopeful’ that Kent will sign a new contract at Ibrox, with the latest round of talks thought to be positive.
His current deal at expires this summer, meaning that he can leave as a free agent at the end of the campaign should a new contract not be signed.
The Latest: Leeds approach
As per Football Insider, Leeds United have made an approach to try and sign Kent on a free transfer, and have officially registered their interest.
They have been ‘in contact’ with the player’s camp, and hold a long-term interest in him dating back to when Marcelo Bielsa was in charge.
The Verdict: Keep at all costs
Kent is a player that the Gers really need to try and keep hold of at all costs.
Lauded as an ‘incredible‘ athlete by The Athletic reporter Jordan Campbell, the Englishman can dribble with the ball at an immense speed, and ranks in the 91st percentile of all his positional peers outside of Europe’s top five leagues for successful take-ons per match over the last year.
Kent has also shown that he has a consistent end product as well, with no fewer than 88 goal contributions in total since he first signed in the 2018/19 term.
Nonetheless, he still has a lot to offer at 26, and so signing him up to a new deal should be a priority for the Light Blues over the next few months.
Inter director Beppe Marotta insists that Simone Inzaghi "wants to stay" at the club in a hands-off warning to any potential suitors.
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Inzaghi in line for new contract
Inter running away with Serie A
Have lost just once in the league
WHAT HAPPENED?
Inzaghi is enjoying a superb season at Inter, with the club top of Serie A, having lost just once. They sit 12 points clear of second-placed Juventus, and Inzaghi could subsequently be touted as a potential new manager for various clubs this summer; Barcelona and Liverpool are both set to undergo a managerial change with Xavi and Jurgen Klopp leaving, while Erik ten Hag is under intense pressure at Manchester United.
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WHAT MAROTTA SAID
Marotta has confirmed plans to offer Inzaghi a new contract, telling : "The renewal of his contract? The fundamental thing is that Inzaghi enjoys the esteem of the club, the owners and the fans not only for what he has demonstrated, but also for his abilities, his behavior on and off the pitch and for the results obtained For our part, we want to continue with him.
"If we look at the rankings, the coaches of the top four all have contracts expiring in 2025 and we will address the issue of Inzaghi's renewal at the right time. Certainly, I repeat, Inzaghi enjoys our trust: He wants to stay with us, just as we want him to stay. The contract is a complement."
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
Inter have been in utterly remarkable form and have conceded just 12 goals in 26 games. They are also on a run of four straight wins in which they have scored four goals in each game. It is little surprise, as a result, that the club want to keep Inzaghi.
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WHAT NEXT?
Inter play Genoa on Monday and then they face Bologna away from home the following matchday.
Kolkata Knight Riders: beat Royal Challenegers Bangalore by six wickets, lost to Delhi Daredevils by 55 runs, lost to Kings XI Punjab by nine wickets, beat Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets Chennai Super Kings: beat Delhi Daredevils by 13 runs, lost to Mumbai Indians by eight wickets, beat Royal Challengers by five wickets, beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by four runs
Big Picture
The previous match these two played became the one of most talked about games this season, after Vinay Kumar faltered in the execution of a yorker that became a full toss that Dwayne Bravo blasted it into the stands to win it.That match itself was high-scoring and some of the questions it prompted have remained the same. How these sides address them will likely determine the winner on Thursday evening.Halfway into the tournament the Super Kings have proved to be the best batting unit – in terms of run rate across the three phases of innings. They are third in the Powerplay (8.92), but have the best scoring rate in the middle overs (8.54) and at the death (12.64) where MS Dhoni has regained his golden touch as a finisher. However that advantage is virtually erased by the sloppiness of their bowling, which has been inconsistent throughout innings. The absence of a good new-ball bowler is evident in the Powerplay phase, where the Super Kings are fourth most expensive with an economy rate of 8.63. It gets worse as the innings goes on: in the middle overs, they are third-worst, conceding at 8.40; at the death, where Super Kings have leaked runs at 11.42 an over, they are second-worst in the tournament.ESPNcricinfo Ltd
Luckily it would seem for Super Kings, Knight Riders have failed to sustain the early momentum gained by their top order comprising Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine and Robin Uthappa. At the death, Knight Riders lose a wicket every 10.5 balls and score a boundary every five deliveries. Their run rate of 9.91 in this phase is decent, but nothing that truly hurts the opposition.Clearly then this could be a battle that is won or lost at the death.
In the news
Nitish Rana has back spasms and will undergo a fitness assessment on the morning of the game. In case he is unfit, Knight Riders could choose between Ishank Jaggi and Rinku Singh.
Previous meeting
It is the match that will be remembered as the one that pushed fans to troll India seamer Vinay Kumar, following the penultimate-ball six by Dwayne Bravo that helped Super Kings chase down a target of 203. That game also happened to be the last match played in Chennai, after which Super Kings’ home base was switched to Pune.
Best chance for Sunil Narine to regain his impact with the ball. Narine picked up seven wickets in the first four matches, but then could manage just the one wicket in the next four games during which he conceded at a rate of 10.3 with an average of 144. However his numbers against the specialist batsmen in Super Kings are healthy and home conditions are likely to favour Narine.
Stats that matter
Andre Russell can overpower all kinds of bowling. Of particular note in that list is Russell’s Caribbean team-mate Dwayne Bravo. Russell has 216 runs off 102 balls he has faced from Bravo, a strike rate of 211.8 in 17 innings
Sunil Narine has had the better of Shane Watson, Super Kings’ gun batsman. In 13 T20 innings he has bowled against the Australian, Narine has got Watson six times
Robin Uthappa needs 23 runs to register 4000 runs in the IPL. Uthappa also needs nine runs to register 1000 runs at Eden Gardens in the IPL
Piyush Chawla needs two wickets to register 50 wickets for KKR in the IPL. He will become the first player in IPL history to pick up 50-plus wickets for multiple teams. Chawla previously took 84 wickets for Kings XI Punjab
This IPL, Chris Lynn has been defensive against left-arm spinners: in four innings so far, out of 27 deliveries he has faced against them, he has got 25 runs at a strike rate of 92.6 with a dot ball percentage of 44.4, and has been out twice
Fantasy pick
The Eden Gardens pitch has helped quick bowlers more than spinners, which gives Andre Russell two bites at the cherry; he can be great value if he gets to bat too, not least because he has big numbers against Super Kings at the death.
Celtic head coach Brendan Rodgers has been able to bolster his playing squad with six new additions during the summer transfer window so far.
Who have Celtic signed this summer?
The Hoops have brought in Hyeok-kyu Kwon, Marco Tilio, Odin Thiago Holm, Hyun-jun Yang, Maik Nawrocki, and Gustaf Lagerbielke to improve the side after the 2022/23 campaign.
That does not appear to be the end of their foray into the market before next month's deadline, though, as they have been touted with a move for one of their former players.
It was recently reported by Football Insider that the Hoops could look to tempt Arsenal into selling former fan-favourite Kieran Tierney back to them after Newcastle United dropped out of the race for the Scotland international's signature.
The outlet did state that they may lack the financial power to secure a deal for the left-back's services but it remains to be seen whether or not a loan deal could be a viable alternative option.
How good is Kieran Tierney?
Tierney would arrive at Celtic as a player who has the quality and experience to hit the ground running due to his first spell at Parkhead after coming through the academy set-up, which could make him a dream partner for Nawrocki.
The Poland U21 international has started on the left of the centre-back pairing in all three of the team's competitive fixtures this season, which means that he would be playing directly next to the Arsenal gem if the club are able to snap him up.
Nawrocki is new to life in Scotland after coming over from his home country and Tierney could help him to settle in with his knowledge of the league and his ability.
The 26-year-old whiz enjoyed a fantastic time with the Hoops and proved himself to be a real attacking threat from left-back as he racked up 25 assists in 97 Scottish Premiership outings before his move to The Emirates.
This means that Tierney registered an assist every 3.88 matches on average. Whereas, current Hoops left-back Greg Taylor has assisted 21 goals in 130 games for the club, which is one every 6.19 clashes on average.
Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney.
The Athletic's Chris Hamill claimed that Nawrocki showed great tempo and acceleration in his passing out from the back for Celtic, which suggests that he will be able to get the ball out to the Scotland international quickly before the opposition defence can settle into a low block.
He has completed 71% of his attempted long passes this season so far and could, therefore, excel at being able to clip the ball over the opposition's press to set Tierney away down the left channel.
This could provide the current Gunners defender, who teammate Oleksandr Zinchenko lauded as "amazing", with ample opportunities to bomb forward in order to make the most of the attacking threat he can provide from left-back.
Tierney's statistics from his first spell at Celtic suggest that the £120k-per-week warrior has the potential to offer far more than Taylor does at the top end of the pitch.
Therefore, Nawrocki and the Scottish gem could be a dream pairing as the former's passing ability could unlock the left-back's attacking potential and the latter's knowledge of the club and experience of Scottish football could help the Polish titan to settle in.
“They went into a negative position to save their wickets and defend the balls. The ball is turning from the rough. I think positive approach is the best way to play on this wicket,” Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella said
Mohammad Isam in Chittagong03-Feb-2018As soon as third umpire Joel Wilson confirmed to the on-field umpires that Mushfiqur Rahim was out, the balance of the first Test became a lot more skewed. Bangladesh will have to fight without their two most experienced batsmen on the fifth day against Sri Lanka.Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella later said that despite the batting-friendly Chittagong pitch, it is their game to win. He also said Sri Lanka were helped by Bangladesh’s defensive approach. Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur both got out trying to defend, while Imrul Kayes’ was caught at square leg off a soft lap sweep.”We have a pretty good chance to win the Test,” Dickwella said. “It is a pretty good wicket. It is all turning from the rough, and outside the stumps. We are hoping to start the day well. We are bowling in good areas, line and length.”They went into a negative position to save their wickets and defend the balls. I don’t think it is the way to bat on this wicket. The ball is turning from the rough. I think positive approach is the best way to play in this wicket.”Bangladesh spinner Taijul Islam said their approach was to score off the bad balls, but their focus will remain on saving the Test. Taijul bowled 67.3 overs, the most in an innings for a Bangladesh bowler, and conceded 219 runs, the most for a Bangladesh bowler. His returns of 4 for 219 was the most expensive four-for in Tests.”There is a lot to think, and a lot not to think about. We have to save the game. If our batsmen can survive the fifth day, then we can get something out of it. Batsmen would like to score runs off the bad balls. It would have been better had we lost one wicket. Three wickets are too many,” he said.Bangladesh’s predicament in Chittagong was largely down to their spinners’ struggles against Sri Lanka’s batting. Starting the fourth day just nine runs short of Bangladesh’s first-innings total, Sri Lanka piled on the misery by keeping them on the field for 199.3 overs.Sunil Joshi, Bangladesh’s spin bowling coach, said that the spinners could have bowled with more consistency and shown more patience.”I think they could have been better. They could have had more consistency,” Joshi said. “If you don’t get wickets in the first session, you can always get them in the second and third session. You need to be patient. The young Bangladesh spinners need to understand the way they can perform in Test cricket.”It is important for a spinner to understand to bowl a dot ball, where you can bowl one. Consistency is key for Test cricket. These spinners will learn with due time,” he said.
Australia’s captain Steven Smith has never felt better at the crease than during the early part of his Perth Ashes epic, before he re-adjusted to grind down England and absorbed a considerable physical toll to do so.By reaching 239 before his dismissal, Smith raised his career average to 62.32 after 108 innings in 59 matches, ranking him the second best batsman to Sir Donald Bradman in terms of average – now ahead of his former team-mate Adam Voges. The innings pushed Australia into a strong position to regain the urn with victory in the final Ashes Test at the WACA Ground, and Smith said it was not achieved without considerable exhaustion – support staff ran out a chair for him to sit on during drinks in the final session.”I was actually really tired at tea yesterday, and was struggling a little bit then, and went in and had to have some sugar and a banana and something to eat,” Smith told ABC Radio. “I don’t like to eat too much when I bat.”The strength and conditioning coach Kelly [Aaron Kellett] basically forced it down my throat and said ‘You need something to eat.’ It was good in the end, because it switched me back on and I actually felt pretty good in the last session. I was a little bit tired last night, but a good tired after batting for so long.””I really enjoyed it, particularly out there with Mitch [Marsh] who was playing so well and scoring so freely, it just enabled me to just keep batting and keep batting, and hopefully a few more this morning.”Smith’s innings was played in two distinct phases, as he motored to 92 on the second evening with scarcely believable levels of ease, before digging in on the third day to press into the lead, largely in the company of the recalled Mitchell Marsh. “I think that first night I was on, as you say,” Smith said. “I was in the zone, and everything hit the middle of the bat. I felt incredibly good. Probably didn’t feel quite as good yesterday, but still came off well and got the runs that we needed. That first night was probably as good as I’ve felt.Steven Smith walks off after making 239•Getty Images
“I guess it’s just getting across into that position I’ve been getting into for a while, with my back foot on off stump or thereabouts, and watching the ball. If it’s at my stumps and it’s a good length, defending it, and if it’s too full, hitting it. Just defending good balls and putting away bad balls, really.”I just [try] not to think too much. Keep batting and keep enjoying it. I’d prefer to be out there. I don’t like watching cricket that much, to be honest. So I’d prefer to be out there making runs than up there watching someone else do it. That just motivates me to try and score as many runs as I can. I just sit on my bat at the other end if I’m off strike, and try and relax as much as possible. But nothing too different I don’t think.”As for Marsh, who in making 181 stamped himself as a long-term Australian Test player, Smith said the allrounder had made significant technical improvements. “I think his defence, he’s softened his hands a little bit,” Smith said.”He actually nicked one yesterday and it went down and didn’t carry here at Perth on a wicket that’s been pretty quick, to be fair, so I think that’s something he’s improved a lot. He was just defending the good balls, and anything that’s loose he was putting it away. We spoke about it out there: I said ‘That’s just batting. That’s how you do it.’ He was really confident and played exceptionally well.”
South Africa’s new-look bowling attack have had a slightly gentle easing-in against Bangladesh and as their leader Kagiso Rabada is aware of both the potential they have and the challenges they will face in the future
Firdose Moonda in Bloemfontein07-Oct-2017Given the complete lack of a contest in this clash between South Africa and Bangladesh, there is very little that can be read into the result. It tells us only what we already know, that South Africa are a stronger team than Bangladesh, but maybe, it also tells us something more.This South African side has just about a full-strength batting line-up (AB de Villiers is the only notable absentee) but an almost entirely new-look attack. Kagiso Rabada, with 22 caps, is the most experienced member of the pack in the current XI and is now properly establishing himself as its leader. Wayne Parnell is making his umpteenth comeback, having never become a regular. Duanne Olivier and Andile Phehlukwayo are trying to make cases for more permanent places.Bavuma has a knack of never giving up – Rabada
Temba Bavuma was the only batsman in South Africa’s top five who did not cash in on a good surface against a toothless attack but he made up for it in a milli-second in the field. Bavuma was at gully when Mushfiqur Rahim prodded at a back-of-a-length delivery from Duanne Olivier that flew off the face and forced Bavuma into immediate action. He dived one-handed to his right and pouched the ball when it was nearly past him to dismiss the Bangladesh captain and create another moment of fielding magic, which his team-mates more than appreciated. “It wasn’t a nice situation for Temba – you get out at times. He is the only one who didn’t score a hundred. It happens to the best. But every time when he doesn’t score with the bat, he does something in the field,” Rabada said. “He’s got that knack of never giving up. He always contributes to the team. They depend on Mushfiqur so it was an important moment in the game
Without disrespecting Bangladesh, Rabada indicated that all of them have been given a gentle easing-in, and South Africa have been allowed a glimpse into what lies ahead without much to block their view. “We were sitting down and I was speaking to Quinny saying that all the guys we played with and against at school are all in the team now and are coming up. South Africa is in good hands in the future,” Rabada, who become Test cricket’s leading wicket-taker in 2017, said. “It gets much tougher than Bangladesh, of course. You can play them in their conditions and it’s a different story. It gets harder from here. This is not it.”That South African cricket is in safe hands is a bold statement to make, not least because there are many arguments against it. The most obvious is the domestic system, which has been ravaged by Kolpaks and has not thrown up any stand-out names to compete with the current crop.Aiden Markram was the most recent one and though he has made the step-up seamlessly, there are not too many candidates who look like they will be able to do the same. In seasons to come that may change, but for now, the pressure is on the incumbents to do the job, none more so than Rabada.When South Africans think of their next “it” cricketer, they think of him. Though he went through a quiet period in England, the signs from him this summer suggest he is in good rhythm. He didn’t go as far as to confirm that, but hinted he is maturing enough to have learnt to work through setbacks.”There is expectation and there will be pressure. No-one is a Rambo, we are all human beings. You have to find ways to cope with it,” Rabada said. “The best players and the guys who have been in the longest have found ways to cope with it. Sometimes it can get bigger and you have to find a new way to deal with it. You grow as a person when things are not going your way.”Having a new coach will help. Not because the previous one – Russell Domingo, who Rabada was a supporter of – did anything wrong but because his replacement, Ottis Gibson brings fresh ideas. “He is a very stern character but at the same time he is lenient. He doesn’t beat around the bush. He cracks jokes with the guys,” the also-stern Rabada said. “He brings in his own dynamic, something as South Africans we are not particularly used to, but the guys are enjoying what he brings to the table. When we do the warm-ups, we do things in a different style and the guys enjoy it.”Like the team, Gibson’s performance also cannot be properly assessed on this series but the early signs are good. Gibson has managed to impress on his men that this assignment should be taken seriously and apart from some dropped catches in Potchefstroom, South Africa have been clinical.They’ve even been hard on themselves when it hasn’t quite gone according to plan, like when Liton Das enjoyed a period of run-scoring in the afternoon. Rabada would not like to see that repeated.”Liton Das came in at a time where the ball got a bit soft and it wasn’t doing much. He is a good player and I thought he was nice and patient and aggressive. I thought we missed our mark with him at times, giving him freebies so that’s something we have to talk about and execute tomorrow so it doesn’t happen again,” he said.Ultimately, South Africa know that if “we just stuck to our plans and at the end of the day the batsmen got themselves out”. Bangladesh’s capitulation means interest in this series will sink even lower and discussions around the standard of Test cricket between top-tier and lower-tier countries may be sparked again.For Rabada, it’s not about the gap but how South Africa have filled it. “I don’t think you can compare a first-class game to an international game, but it feels like one because there isn’t a crowd. It’s very peaceful. We didn’t take them lightly. We prepared very well and we executed our plans well. They’ve got some good players so we made sure we didn’t give them any space.”
All four matches of the round, which ended on October 9, were affected by rain
ESPNcricinfo staff09-Oct-2017
Mohammad Ashraful was awarded the Man of the Match award for his half-century and a match haul of four wickets against Chittagong Division•Raton Gomes
Tier-1Khulna Division and Rangpur Division played out a tame draw in a rain-affected match in Rajshahi.Batting first, Khulna were bowled out for 218 runs with Anamul Haque and Nahidul Islam hitting half-centuries. Ariful Haque and Suhrawadi Shuvo took four wickets each.Jahid Javed’s century then became the foundation of Rangpur’s 317 for 9 in 80.4 overs. He struck 14 fours and two sixes in his 115 off 217 balls. Dhiman Ghosh chipped in with 69 off 68 balls.Trailing by 99 runs, Khulna batted out 33 overs on the final day to finish on 141 for 1 before the umpires called off play at 1.50pm due to rain. Mahedi Hasan was unbeaten on 88 with 15 fours.Rain interruptions on the third and fourth days also limited the match between Barisal Division and Dhaka Division to a draw in Khulna.Dhaka were bowled out for 250 in the first innings. Rony Talukdar (68) and Mohammad Sharif (58) struck fifties while Salman Hossain took four wickets.Barisal took a 49-run lead in the first innings with Nuruzzaman (68), Sohag Gazi (73) and Shamsul Islam (56 not out) hitting half-centuries in their total of 299 runs in 102 overs. Shuvagata Hom took four wickets.When play was called off at 1.30pm due to rain, Dhaka were 110 for 3 in their second innings.Tier-2Rain wiped out the first day’s play in the match between Rajshahi Division and Sylhet Division, after which only 212.3 overs were possible in the rest of the drawn match.Pace bowler Delwar Hossain took 4 for 72 as Sylhet were bowled out for 221 runs in the first innings. Abul Hasan made 60 off 96 balls with eight fours and a six.Mizanur Rahman’s 143 anchored Rajshahi as they made 370 for 7 in reply. Mizanur hit 24 fours and a six in his innings that spanned little over four hours. Junaid Siddique contributed 89 runs, while Sylhet pace bowler Abu Jayed took four wickets.Imtiaz Hossain then struck 108 off 160 balls including 14 fours and four sixes as Sylhet finished their second innings on 151for 2The match between Chittagong Division and Dhaka Metropolis was also drawn but of the four games, it lasted the longest on the final day in Chittagong.Dhaka Metro declared their first innings on 369 for 9, with Mehrab Hossain jnr missing out on a century by six runs. His 94 included seven fours and a six. Mohammad Ashraful (66) and Asif Ahmed (64 not out) also made fifties while offspinner Iftekhar Sajjad took 5 for 91.Chittagong were bowled out for 261 runs in 131.1 overs. Sazzadul Haque and No 10 Wahidul Alam hit fifties as a late order rally helped Chittagong recover from 144 for 6. Ashraful took three wickets for 65 runs.Shamsur Rahman then blazed five sixes and eight fours in his 67-ball 102 that put Dhaka Metro in further control as they declared on 165 for 3 in 21 overs, setting Chittagong 274. However, with the day’s start pushed to 2.10pm neither side had a realistic shot at a win.Still, Dhaka Metro took six wickets in the 49 overs as Chittagong scored 97 runs. Nihaduzzaman and Shykat Ali took two wickets each.
A career-best unbeaten 151 from Craig Ervine held a resurgent Zimbabwe together on the first day at the Premadasa Stadium, lifting them from a shaky 70 for 4 to a stumps total of 344 for 8
The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando14-Jul-2017 Scorecard and ball-by-ball updatesCraig Ervine’s unbeaten 151 was his highest Test score, going past the 146 he made against New Zealand last year•AFPThe score was 38 for 2 when Craig Ervine came to the crease. Within 10 overs, Zimbabwe would slip further, to 70 for 4, on a track that already seemed to be spitting. But for the remainder of the day, Ervine resisted Sri Lanka’s spinners, and Colombo’s sticky heat, to drive his team to a strong position, and himself to 151 not out. The lower order rallied around him, No. 10 Donald Tiripano – in particular – contributing 24 to an as-yet unbroken 62-run stand. Zimbabwe ended the day at 344 for 8, when at one time, it appeared as if 200 might be a struggle.Sri Lanka were reliant – as ever – on Rangana Herath for breakthroughs, and though he had two wickets in his first three overs, could claim only two further scalps in his next 27. Dilruwan Perera had Sean Williams top edge a sweep to square leg, but was largely unthreatening – outstripped for menace even by Asela Gunaratne, who was expensive, but beat the bat and claimed two wickets. On a track as slow as this, Suranga Lakmal and Lahiru Kumara were always going to struggle. The main positive for Sri Lanka, is that on the first day of Dinesh Chandimal’s leadership, they took all their chances, and fielded with uncharacteristic zest.Ervine was measured to begin with. It took him 13 balls to score a run, and his first 50 deliveries brought just 19. Then the offside strokes began to flow – drives to overpitched deliveries mainly, but soon, cuts as well. Steadily growing confident through the day, reverse sweeps eventually began to prove productive, paddles around the corner were increasingly deployed, and though the likes of Herath would beat his bat late into the day, the quicks did not trouble him at all.The hundred – the second of his career – came not long after tea, via a sweep off Herath. The maiden 150 was achieved in the penultimate over of the day. Along the way, Ervine had struck 13 fours – most of these on the off side – and a six over wide long on. The significant partnerships he was involved in, were many. There was an 84-run fifth-wicket recovery alongside Sikander Raza for a start, then a 65-run seventh-wicket stand with Malcolm Waller, which put Zimbabwe within range of a fine first innings total. The stand that hurt Sri Lanka most, perhaps, was the one he wrought with Tiripano – a brisk, busy association, during which Zimbabwe scored at almost four an over. Where at one point in the day, it appeared as if Zimbabwe would roll over, Sri Lanka know now that they are in a fight.The hosts would have had such different hopes for the day. Herath, introduced by Chandimal in the eighth over, struck with his third ball, as Regis Chakabva played all around a delivery that dipped near his feet, and would go on to hit the stumps. Not long after, Hamilton Masakadza – one of Sri Lanka’s tormentors from the ODIs – had popped a catch to short leg off the insede edge of the bat. Sean Williams attempted to counterattack Zimbabwe out of their early troubles, and wound up top edging a ball he tried to sweep against the turn, and Tarisai Musakanda, on debut, was the day’s only victim of seam bowling. He was originally ruled not out when Sri Lanka appealed for a catch off Lahiru Kumara’s bowling. Upon review, however, a faint edge was detected and that decision overturned. Musakanda’s 6 was also the only single-figure score on the Zimbabwe card, though no one apart from Ervine mustered a fifty. Raza and Waller came closest, hitting 36 apiece.Although it was clear towards the end of the day that Zimbabwe were en route to a score of around 300, Sri Lanka perhaps would not have expected Tiripano to bat with such skill. He has a first-class hundred to his name however, and if he can support Ervine further in the morning, Zimbabwe might turn this from a highly competitive score to a commanding one.
Former South African Test opener Jacques Rudolph will retire from all forms of cricket at the end of the 2017 English season. The 36-year old has stepped down as four-day captain for Glamorgan with immediate effect, but will continue leading the T20 side until his retirement.”The time feels right to call an end to my playing career,” Rudolph said. “I have been incredibly fortunate to have enjoyed playing the game I love for the last 20 years. But at the end of this summer it will be time to focus on a new venture away from cricket and spend more time with my young family.”Rudolph, a product of the famed Afrikaans Hoer Seunskool, made his first-class debut twenty seasons ago in the 1997-98 summer. He played 48 Tests in two stints – the first 35 came between 2003 and 2006 and the remaining 13 between 2011 and 2012 – because he had signed a Kolpak deal with Yorkshire in 2007.By scoring 1000 runs or more in his first four seasons with the county, Rudolph found his way back into the South African team. But his second coming yielded only one Test century and he was dropped in November 2012. Rudolph then turned his attention to playing franchise cricket for the Titans and eventually called time on his South Africa career after the 2015-16 season.Rudolph has been with Glamorgan since 2014 and has captained them for the last two seasons. In 2017, he scored 319 runs in five first-class matches at 35.44 and 305 runs in eight one-day matches at 38.12. The T20 competition he will lead Glamorgan in begins on July 7. While Rudolph has not detailed what life after cricket holds, he has interest in a game farm with fellow South African batsman Boeta Dippenaar.With Rudolph standing down, Glamorgan have given the Championship captaincy to their 35-year-old Australian seamer Michael Hogan until the end of the season.