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'Exceptional work ethic' sets new Bengal captain Abhimanyu Easwaran apart

Published in Cricket

Friday, 30 August 2019 05:16

Abhimanyu Easwaran's career graph continues to rise. Already a regular opener with India A who is knocking on the doors of the national team, the 23-year-old Bengal player has now been handed the captaincy of the state team for the 2019-20 season across formats. It's a move that has made both Arun Lal, the team mentor, and Manoj Tiwary, the man he replaced, happy and excited.

"He hasn't got runs on the West Indies tour [by India A] and in the Duleep Trophy, but he is a terrific batsman, very, very talented, and he has exceptional work ethic," Lal told ESPNcricinfo. "He is young, and the best part about him is his work ethic, which is brilliant. He is very fit, and is always working hard to become fitter and a better cricketer.

"I like him very much; he has been living alone in Calcutta, away from his family, for a while now, but it hasn't affected his game at all. It's quite remarkable. I also like that he is very respectful towards his seniors and towards his team-mates. I think it's a good call."

ALSO READ: Abhimanyu Easwaran's pragmatism strengthens cricketing passion

Like Lal, Tiwary too has big hopes from Abhimanyu, who has risen to become one of their batting mainstays. Except for his debut season in 2013-14, when he averaged a measly 17.62, Abhimanyu has consistently been among the runs, often averaging in the high 40s, with 12 centuries and 17 half-centuries.

"I will be very disappointed if he doesn't play for India," Tiwary said. "He's worked hard to get here. I said it two years ago that he's India material. He's nearly there now, and hopefully he will wear that cap soon.

"I only hope he is persisted with and is given a decent run, and shouldn't be judged on the basis of a few low scores. He has a good technique and has the ability to leave balls. Once set, his scoring improves and he's a different player."

The captaincy decision was made formal on Friday at a Cricket Association of Bengal meeting, where the selectors initially proposed a split-captaincy model with Abhimanyu as four-day captain and Tiwary as the limited-overs leader. Tiwary, however, felt the new captain "needed to given space" to make a difference.

"While the trophy may not be there, I'm happy to have handled the transition phase well. I can be at peace with myself, because I did the job with utmost sincerity and commitment" Manoj Tiwary

"The selectors proposed a split-captaincy model, but I insisted if they are thinking of a leadership change, it should be uniform," Tiwary said. "That way the new captain gets a free hand to implement certain plans he may have in mind. Having different captains could only create some confusion, so I told them if this is what they're thinking, they should hand over the captaincy across formats."

On the change, Lal suggested that "a captain should in any case be changed every three-four years", partly for the team to move forward and partly because "the captain has contributed all he can contribute".

As for Tiwary, he wanted his successor to not let captaincy become a bugbear.

"Abhimanyu is level-headed, approaches situations in a calm manner. As a senior player, my only advice to him will be to soak it all in and not get too caught up in the job, because you're not just thinking for yourself but also the team," Tiwary said. "He's at a stage in his career where he's also broken into the India A ranks and is in national contention. Sometimes, when you're there, you tend to lose the enjoyment factor and take everything a tad too seriously.

"I'm always around as a senior player to help him out. He will be his own man, but should he need any support, as a senior, I will be around to help him."

Tiwary looked back at his stint with pride, despite Bengal failing to win any silverware under him. While their search for a Ranji Trophy since 1989-90 continues, the side made the semi-finals two seasons ago, and have consistently been in the reckoning for the knockouts. Tiwary hoped the "fruits of labour" would bear fruit soon.

"I will look back at my time as captain fondly. Yes, we couldn't win the big Ranji Trophy, but we had a lot of improvements. A number of players we backed three or four years ago are coming through," he said. "While the trophy may not be there, I'm happy to have handled the transition phase well. I can be at peace with myself, because I did the job with utmost sincerity and commitment."

With inputs from Shamya Dasgupta

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Bangladesh drop Mustafizur for Afghanistan Test

Published in Cricket

Friday, 30 August 2019 05:46

Bangladesh have left out Mustafizur Rahman from the 15-man squad that will take on Afghanistan in the one-off Test in Chattogram starting next Thursday. Apart from Mustafizur, Tamim Iqbal and Khaled Ahmed were also missing from the squad; Tamim was granted leave by the BCB earlier this month for recovery while Khaled recently underwent a knee surgery.

Compared to the squad that last played Tests in March this year against New Zealand, Bangladesh brought back captain Shakib Al Hasan, Taskin Ahmed and Mosaddek Hossain. Shakib and Taskin were originally in that squad but had pulled out due to last-minute injuries. Mosaddek returned to the longer version after 18 months, having last played a Test against Sri Lanka in February last year.

Mosaddek becomes another spin-bowling option in a squad heavy with four frontline spinners, like their last home Test series against Afghanistan. They also retained pace bowlers Abu Jayed and Ebadat Hossain, who somewhat impressed in New Zealand, along with Taskin, who had been included in the New Zealand tour earlier in the year following a decent BPL campaign.

Taskin last played a first-class match in December last year, and his last Test in October 2017, in South Africa. Jayed bowled well in New Zealand without much luck while Ebadat showed signs of good pace too.

But there's some concern in the top order as the selectors didn't pick an opener in place of Tamim. Soumya Sarkar is likely to open with Shadman Islam, although he batted in the middle order in New Zealand.

Squad for one-off Test: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Soumya Sarkar, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, Mahmudullah, Mohammad Mithun, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Abu Jayed, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadat Hossain

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ZEN-NOH announced Title Sponsor of 2019 ITTF Team World Cup in Tokyo

Published in Table Tennis

Friday, 30 August 2019 02:07

ZEN-NOH, otherwise known as the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations, is headquartered in Japan and one of the world’s largest agricultural cooperatives in terms of trading volume. At the 2019 ITTF Team World Cup, ZEN-NOH has exclusivity to the Food & Beverage category.

ZEN-NOH has already built a strong track record in the sport of table tennis, including having been Title Sponsor of the 2014 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Tokyo.

Now as Title Sponsor of the 2019 ITTF Team World Cup, ZEN-NOH will be partnering one of the most prestigious international table tennis events, held every two years, in which the best 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams in the world will lock horns in search of some of the sport’s most highly coveted silverware.

Japan hosted the very first ITTF Team World Cup event in 1990 in the city of Chiba. Twenty-nine years later, the tournament returns to Japanese shores at a crucial moment in the nation’s sporting history. Indeed, the 2019 ITTF Team World Cup serves as a test event for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

“We are delighted that ZEN-NOH returns as Title Sponsor of a major ITTF event in Japan. We look forward to working with the Japan Table Tennis Association (JTTA) and ZEN-NOH to present an exciting and memorable Team World Cup, paving the way to more extensive cooperation in the future at further ITTF events globally.” – Kimberly Koh – ITTF Head of Sponsorship

“We at ZEN-NOH have had a great opportunity in the past to support ITTF events and, through that experience, we are proud to be Title Sponsor of the 2019 Team World Cup. We look forward to welcoming people from around the world with our Japanese food!” – Jinde Genichi, then ZEN-NOH President & CEO, Board of Directors

“As you all may know, since the beginning of this year, both male and female Japanese players have been making great progress around the world. Table Tennis is a hugely popular sport throughout Japan and I look forward to seeing our players putting in proud performances and our fans providing strong support for the success of this event.” – Sadayoshi Fujishige, JTTA President

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Awesome August: Expect the unexpected!

Published in Table Tennis

Friday, 30 August 2019 03:28

Four weeks of pure entertainment have surely spoiled us all in August 2019. Whether it were the athletes coming up with insane shots or the onset of a new trend in Smash TTX, let’s relive the top moments from last month!

Home benefits in Africa

Kicking us off were reigning champions Egyptian duo Omar Assar and Dina Meshref, who successfully retained their titles in an all-round impressive showing at the 2019 ITTF Africa Cup on Monday 5^thAugust in Lagos, Nigeria. Both athletes qualified for the respective Men’s and Women’s World Cup tournaments to be held later in the year in Chengdu, China.

The no.3 seed Assar was imperious as he accounted for the Nigerian favourite and top seed Quadri Aruna in the semi-final (11-6, 11-8, 3-11, 11-7, 11-3) before defeating Ahmed Saleh in a seven game thriller (10-12, 11-3, 11-6, 12-14, 11-3, 9-11, 11-3).

“It was a very tough tournament for me, which started with a knee injury, then I recovered on the second day. I am very happy with this victory and now I will keep training hard as I try to reach another goal in the German league, seizing the next challenge.” Omar Assar

For Meshref, it was a family affair as she beat her cousin, Yousra Helmy in straight games (11-9, 11-9, 11-1, 11-8) to claim her seventh title (!), meaning she will make her sixth consecutive appearance at the Women’s World Cup in November!

But this was not the end of the show in Africa – as the ITTF Challenge Plus Nigeria Open had some surprises for us as well.

Aruna came back from losing out in the Africa Cup to retain his Nigeria Open title on home soil, while Russian Polina Mikhailova completed a double win – securing both the women’s singles and doubles titles with partner Yana Noskova.

Bulgarian party for Asians

Moving to the middle of the month, there was no sign of relaxation from the players as the 2019 ITTF World Tour returned with the Asarel Bulgaria Open.

At 16 years of age, Japan’s fan favourite Tomokazu Harimoto established himself as a serious force on the international table tennis stage, by winning the Bulgaria Open in fine fashion. He defeated China’s Zhao Zihao 4-1 (11-6, 12-14, 11-5, 13-11, 13-15, 11-4) to secure the men’s singles gold medal.

Meanwhile, upcoming athlete Chen Xingtong overcame He Zhuojia (11-4, 7-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-4) in an all-Chinese women’s singles final. It was particularly exciting for Chen given her semi-final scalp of Japan’s Mima Ito, the no.2 seed.

Success for Chen in Bulgaria meant she had secured her fourth career ITTF World Tour women’s singles title. However, as we found out later in August, that number would change very soon.

These results wrapped up an exciting week in eastern Europe, which also produced a first ever international title for Japan’s mixed doubles pair Mima Ito and Jun Mizutani. They defeated China’s Ma Te and Wu Yang 3-1 (11-8, 12-10, 9-11, 11-9) after a stunning show of pace and poise in the final.

It turned out to be a perfect week for our Asian athletes, as Korea Republic’s Jeoung Youngsik and Lee Sangsu won the men’s doubles title, while China’s Gu Yuting and Mu Zi were crowned women’s doubles champions.

There was also a very important victory for the environment, as the Bulgaria Open organisers had decided, instead of the plastic bottles that have been used during the previous editions of the tournament, this time around there would be aluminum bottles provided to all accredited personnel – starting, of course, with the players!

“We firmly believe that our approach will benefit everyone and most importantly the planet that we live on. Furthermore, instead of the typical plastic cups for water and coffee, we are going to use 100 percent recyclable cardboard cups.” Aneliya Karova

Boredom? Czech yourself!

It had been almost nearly three years last week since each of the four singles players to reach an ITTF World Tour final had hailed from four different associations. Following the example set by exciting tournaments that preceded it, the Czech Open in Olomouc had no plans on letting the fun stop.

Concluding on Sunday 25th August, we saw four finalists in men’s and women’s singles flying colours of four different flags. It was a testament to class and competition of this sport across the globe – as well as a signal of truly inspiring times ahead.

Chen Xingtong represented China while playing Japan’s Miu Hirano for the women’s title. This was her second final – and second title – in two weeks, in a moment when she clearly stepped up on to the grand stage of world class athletes.

From Chinese Taipei, talented 18-year-old Lin Yun-Ju faced off with German legend Dimitrij Ovtcharov.

Speaking of Ovtcharov, it was a final he reached after a rather important prior match. At the ages of 30 and 27, both Ovtcharov and Patrick Franziska – his semi-final opponent – have the earned the right to be called veterans of the sport at which they highly excel. It speaks to the standards of quality in German athletes that these two are currently engaged in a battle for the final men’s singles spot at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Considering Ovtcharov’s 4-0 win over Franziska at the 2019 ITTF World Tour Czech Open, one would suggest he has the upper hand now, but in table tennis you never know how this “Streit” fight will end.

Coming back to the winners in Olomouc, the teenager Lin Yun-Ju from Chinese Taipei celebrated his debut gold medal at an ITTF World Tour men’s singles event, when he defeated former world no.1 Dimitrij Ovtcharov in the final (11-9, 11-5, 4-11, 11-5, 11-9).

Judging by how the 18-year-old star has played throughout 2019, this could well be his first of many singles successes on international table tennis’ premier event series. This year, Lin has already claimed consecutive mixed doubles titles at the China and Hong Kong Opens, a triple crown (men’s singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles titles) at the Challenge Plus Oman Open, and further tasted individual glory at the T2 Diamond Malaysia event in Johor Bahru.

Concluding August with an eye for the future

As we prepared to wrap up August, there was a third tournament in the African continent for the month. At the 2019 African Games concluding today, Egypt secured more success as they qualified for Men’s and Women’s Team events for the Olympic Games next year. Nigeria’s Omotayo Olajide won the men’s singles title on debut and Dina Meshref retained her women’s singles title, becoming the first Egyptian woman to win two in a row.

Across the ocean, the Para Pan American Games in Lima, Peru resulted in a further 15 players – 10 men and 5 women – qualifying for Tokyo 2020.

After such a roller-coaster of a month, we all needed a place to just relax and have a good time. It was in that spirit that more than 4,200 people spent Saturday 24th August basking in the sunshine at one incredible ping pong party in Denver, Colorado, for the first ever Table Tennis X (TTX) event, ‘Smash Street by TTX.‘

TTX is an action-packed rendition of table tennis, which puts a fun new spin on the sport. Whether you came to compete, or just to play some casual pong with your friends, Smash Street was an ace when it comes to fun.

What’s next?

September’s on the horizon for us and we at the ITTF have an even more exciting month ahead for you all! Out of the major events, Liebherr 2019 ITTF-European Championships kick us off in Nantes, France following which will be the ITTF Challenge Plus Paraguay Open in Asuncion, Paraguay.

Finally, we take you to Yogyakarta, Indonesia for the ITTF-ATTU Asian Table Tennis Championships to conclude what is surely going to be another crazy month!

Don’t forget you can stay up to date on all of those tournaments right here on ITTF and watch the live games on itTV!

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Career high for Lin Yun-Ju, meteoric rise continues

Published in Table Tennis

Friday, 30 August 2019 03:28

It is for Lin Yun-Ju the highest of his career and reflects the immense progress made in the past year; last September he occupied the no.43 spot; somewhat differently for Chen Xingtong, she approaches her previous best. Just over one year ago in July she occupied the no.7 position.

Notable progress but at the very top of the order life remains the same.

The Chinese quartet comprising Xu Xin, Fan Zhendong, Ma Long and Lin Gaoyuan continue to hold the top four respective places ahead of Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto and Brazil’s Hugo Calderano. Immediately below there is a change: Germany’s Timo Boll and China’s Liang Jingkun each climb one place. The player to give way is Sweden’s Mattias Falck, he drops from no.7 to no.9, being one place ahead of Lin Yun-Ju.

Japan’s Koki Niwa and Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov each advance one position to complete the top 12 names.

Dramatic progress

Progress for Lin Yun-Ju but amongst the top 100 names the players to make the most dramatic progress are China’s Zhao Zihao, beaten by Tomokazu Harimoto in the ITTF World Tour Bulgaria Open final, alongside Mexico’s Marcos Madrid, Romania’s Cristian Pletea, Ecuador’s Alberto Miño and Sweden’s Anton Källberg.

Marcos Madrid moves from no.86 to no.66, Cristian Pletea from no.115 to no.75; Alberto Miño from no.100 to no.75. Similarly, Anton Källberg advances from no.108 to no.88. Notably for Marcos Madrid, Cristian Pletea and Alberto Miño, it is the highest ranking of their careers.

Sun Yingsha joins colleagues

With no change at the top of the men’s order, it is the same on the women’s listings; the only difference when compared in August is that as opposed to China occupying the top five places, they occupy the top . Sun Yingsha advances one position and is now next in line to Chen Meng, Ding Ning, Zhu Yuling, Wang Manyu and Liu Shiwen.

Immediately following is the Japanese trio of Mima Ito, Kasumi Ishikawa and Miu Hirano. It is a rise of one place for Mima Ito and for Miu Hirano, while for Kasumi Ishikawa it is a drop of two positions; formerly Kasumi Ishikawa was named in the no.8 spot. A step up of one place for Mima Ito and Miu Hirano; it is the same for Cheng I-Ching who is now listed at no.10; Hong Kong’s Doo Hoi Kem and Singapore’s Feng Tianwei retain their places and complete the top 12 names.

Significant progress

Climbing the women’s rankings, lower down the order in leaps and bounds are Puerto Rico’s Melanie Diaz, Korea Republic’s Choi Hyojoo, China’s Gu Yuting and Chile’s Paulina Vega making most significant progress.

Melanie Diaz advances from no.88 to no.67, Choi Hyojoo from no.91 to no.69; in a similar vein Gu Yuting climbs from no.119 to no.75, Paulina Vega from no.100 to no.76.

New leaders

No changes at the very top of the order; on the under 18 boys’ and on the under 18 girls’ world rankings there are changes. Singapore’s Pang Yew En Koen, previously at no.4, now heads the list, replacing Russia’s Lev Katsman who drops one place. Success at the Hang Seng Hong Kong Junior and Cadet Open, Iran’s Amin Ahmadian is now at no.3; previously he stood at no.14.

Likewise on the girls’ list there is a new name at the very top; Amy Wang of the United States changes places with China’s Shi Xunyao, Poland’s Anna Wegrzyn once again completes the top three names.

Top places retained

Somewhat differently, on the under 15 boys’ and under 15 girls’ listings, there are no changes in the very top position.

China’s Chen Yuanyu and Kuai Man remain the respective leaders; next in line to Chen Yuanyu is Japan’s Sora Matsushima followed by Belgium’s Louis Laffineur. Notably Sora Matsushima advances two places, for Louis Laffineur it is one place lower.

Meanwhile, for the girls, in the elite positions there is no change at all; once again China’s Chen Yi and Romania’s Elena Zaharia are next in line.

World Rankings: September 2019

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Sheppard Beats The Rain At I-96

Published in Racing

Friday, 30 August 2019 03:43

LAKE ODESSA, Mich. — The chance of rain was imminent Thursday night at I-96 Speedway, so the urgency of the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series racers was clear.

Get to the lead and get to the lead quickly. That’s exactly how Brandon Sheppard raced.

From his outside front row starting position, Sheppard charged around Chase Junghans through turns one and two and into the top spot.

The point leader from New Berlin, Ill., continued to pull away while every spot behind him was tightly contested. Sheppard was going to leave no doubt en route to his 17th victory of the season, one short of tying the all-time single-season win mark.

Sheppard was blazing a trail through turns three and four on lap 24 when a group of cars spun in front of him. While under caution, the skies opened and that imminent rainstorm made its appearance.

The race was declared official with Sheppard earning the victory, Junghans in second and Frank Heckenast Jr. in third.

The finish:

Feature (24 Laps, rain shortened) 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard [2][$10,000]; 2. 18-Chase Junghans [1][$5,000]; 3. 99jr-Frank Heckenast [3][$3,000]; 4. 29-Darrell Lanigan [4][$2,500]; 5. 97-Cade Dillard [6][$2,000]; 6. M14-Brandon Thirlby [14][$1,700]; 7. 25-Shane Clanton [5][$1,400]; 8. 7-Ricky Weiss [12][$1,300]; 9. 99B-Boom Briggs [7][$1,200]; 10. 42-Chad Finley [8][$1,100]; 11. 87-David Mielke [13][$1,050]; 12. B1-Brent Larson [11][$1,000]; 13. 28-Dennis Erb [9][$950]; 14. 6-Blake Spencer [17][$900]; 15. 24n-Kyle Novak [19][$850]; 16. 5*-Bryant Dickinson [18][$800]; 17. CJ1-Rusty Schlenk [23][$770]; 18. 2s-Travis Stemler [10][$750]; 19. 52-Brad Harden [20][$730]; 20. 2-Bry Johnson [16][$700]; 21. 53-Hillard Miller [21][$700]; 22. 21-Logan Arntz [22][$700]; 23. 113-Kyle Roberts [15][$700] Hard Charger: M14-Brandon Thirlby[+8]

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Smalling, Darmian to leave, Rojo staying - Ole

Published in Soccer

Friday, 30 August 2019 03:01

MANCHESTER, England - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said he would speak to Zlatan Ibrahimovic if the LA Galaxy forward were serious about returning to Manchester United.

Ibrahimovic said this week he believes he is still capable of performing in the Premier League adding that "if United needs me, I'm here."

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The former Sweden international scored 29 goals in 53 appearances at Old Trafford between 2016 and 2018 and Solskjaer appeared to leave the door open when asked about a possible move for the 37-year-old.

"If he was 28 and not 38 [in October], there'a big difference," Solskjaer told a news conference on Friday. "Zlatan had a great time here, he's still doing well, it's unfortunate he got his injury here.

"Who knows, he knows my number, he looked at my house [when he was here]. We can speak a native language. If he's serious I'll always speak to Zlatan.

"I don't think that will happen, I think he's had his time at the club, he's had a fantastic career at the club."

Solskjaer has seen his attacking options reduced this summer after the departures of Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez to Inter Milan.

It leaves the Norwegian with just Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and 17-year-old Mason Greenwood as the only recognised centre forwards in the squad. Martial is set to miss the trip to Southampton on Saturday because of a thigh injury but Solskjaer is insistent it was the right decision to let Sanchez leave.

"Alexis needed to go," Solskjaer said. "He's been here for 18 months and it's not really worked out for him.

"For him to restart and get himself playing regularly and scoring goals that will only benefit everyone in the end. He will come good for them. For us we had a decision to make. I'm trusting Anthony, Marcus, Mason to be our centre forwards.

"We've got wingers in Chongy [Tahith Chong], Dan James, [Andreas] Pereira. We've got loads of options. For me it's time for our boys to feel that pressure and responsibility, to be more robust, to know they have to play five games in a row."

Solskjaer also said Chris Smalling is set to sign for Roma on loan and added Matteo Darmian could also leave before Monday's deadline.

Smalling flew to Italy on Friday morning to finalise a season-long deal with the Serie A side. Darmian is also set to return to Italy but Marcos Rojo will stay at Old Trafford despite interest from AC Milan, Monaco and Marseille.

"The opportunity for Chris is something that came up the last couple of days," Solskjaer told a news conference on Friday. "We sat down [on Thursday] and I couldn't promise Chris regular football.

"It's a big club and hopefully he will come back stronger for it. There is some interest in Matteo from Italy and he wants to go back home. Marcos is definitely staying.

"The squad is now less in numbers but it's big enough and strong enough to have cover in all positions."

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Paarl Rocks sign on Isuru Udana to replace David Willey

Published in Cricket

Friday, 30 August 2019 02:39

Sri Lanka allrounder Isuru Udana has replaced David Willey as Paarl Rocks' international marquee player for the second edition of the Mzansi Super League. Willey has been ruled out due to the need to manage his workload, according to a statement from Cricket South Africa.

Udana will be familiar to a South African audience, as he was part of the Sri Lankan squad that toured the country at the beginning of the year, and was one of the few players to make a real impact during the limited-overs leg of the trip. He averaged 55 with the bat in the five-match ODI series and a whopping 132 across the three T20Is, being dismissed only once. Udana collected career-best scores in both formats against South Africa, while also chipping in with three wickets.

"We are very excited to get a player of Isuru's calibre who was Sri Lanka's star player during their T20 Series against the Proteas earlier this year," said CSA Acting Director of Cricket Corrie van Zyl. "He made more than twice the number of runs as any of his colleagues and had a strike rate of more than 170. This is right up with the very best standards by any comparison. He has a career strike rate of 153 in the T20 International format and one of 96 in ODI's.

"He was a regular choice for Sri Lanka throughout the recent ICC Men's Cricket World Cup which included his playing a crucial role in his country's upset 20-run win over the eventual champions, England. One of his two wickets was that of England captain Eoin Morgan.

"He is currently in action for Sri Lanka in their T20 Series against New Zealand and I am sure the Paarl Rocks players, management and fans will be keeping a close eye on his performances," added Van Zyl.

The MSL squads will be finalised at the Player Draft on Tuesday next week.

South African Marquee Players:
Cape Town Blitz: Quinton de Kock; Durban Heat: Andile Phehlukwayo; Jozi Stars: Kagiso Rabada; Nelson Mandela Bay Giants: Imran Tahir; Paarl Rocks: Faf du Plessis; Tshwane Spartans: AB de Villiers

International Marquee Players:
Cape Town Blitz: Wahab Riaz (Pakistan); Durban Heat: Alex Hales (England); Jozi Stars: Chris Gayle (West Indies); Nelson Mandela Bay Giants: Jason Roy (England); Paarl Rocks: Isuru Udana (Sri Lanka); Tshwane Spartans: Tom Curran (England)

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Vitality Blast permutations: plenty to play for in South Group

Published in Cricket

Friday, 30 August 2019 03:26

After a whopping 126 games over six weeks, the Vitality Blast's group stage will finally draw to a close on Friday night. The qualification picture is crystal clear in the North Group, with the only complication regarding which team will join Lancashire in the top two and earn themselves a home quarter-final. In the South, it is complete carnage, with two teams through, two teams out, and five scrabbling around for the final two spots.

The team finishing first in the North Group will host the team that comes fourth in the South, then second hosts third, and so on. The quarter-finals will be held on consecutive nights from next Wednesday, with the order set to be confirmed by Saturday. The winners of those will then progress to Finals Day, at Edgbaston on September 15, for which the draw will take place after the quarters have been held.

South Group

Sussex are definitely through. Regardless of their result against Gloucestershire, they will top the group, and play at home in their quarter-final.

Gloucestershire are through, and likely to have a home quarter-final. If they beat or tie with Sussex, they will play at Bristol in the next round. If they lose, and if Kent beat Essex convincingly enough to overturn a substantial gap between the sides' net run rate (NRR), then Gloucestershire will play away from home with Kent hosting a quarter at Canterbury.

Kent will qualify if they beat Essex at Chelmsford, and could get a home tie if they win convincingly and Sussex thrash Gloucestershire. If they lose, they will be eliminated, despite having started the tournament with six wins from seven games.

Somerset's NRR is second only to Sussex's in the South Group, meaning a win by any margin against Middlesex should be enough for them to progress.

Hampshire must beat whipping boys Glamorgan to stand a chance, but their qualification will depend on other results. Their best-case scenario would be to win convincingly, and for Essex to beat Kent. Alternatively, if Hampshire win, Kent win and Middlesex win (but not by much) then Hampshire can still get through on NRR. If Kent and Somerset both win, Hampshire are effectively out regardless of their result in Cardiff.

For Middlesex to stand a chance of qualifying, they must beat Somerset at Taunton, but that may not be enough depending on other results. They will need either Kent or Hampshire to lose, or to win by a big margin while Hampshire only win by a small one, and will definitely be knocked out if they lose.

Essex need a lot to go their way, even after beating Surrey at The Oval on Thursday, on account of their poor NRR. Their best chance is to beat Kent at Chelmsford, and then hope that winless Glamorgan can turn over Hampshire. If Hampshire win, and the Somerset-Middlesex game ends in anything other than a tie, Essex will need to win by a ludicrous margin to qualify.

Surrey and Glamorgan are both out of the qualification race.

North Group

The four quarter-finalists have already been confirmed.

Lancashire will finish in the top two, but due to a date clash with the fourth Ashes Test, will play their 'home' game at Chester-le-Street. A win at home to Leicestershire would secure top spot and (supposedly) the easiest draw, though the South Group is so tight that it is hard to tell which team would be best to face.

Nottinghamshire host Durham, and will play their quarter-final at Trent Bridge if they win. If they lose, while Worcestershire win at Northamptonshire, then Notts will play away from home with New Road hosting Worcestershire's quarter.

Derbyshire have already played all 14 games. The only way they can play at home in the knockouts is if Leicestershire completely obliterate Nottinghamshire, overturning a substantial difference in the teams' NRR.

Worcestershire, the defending champions, will host a quarter-final if they win and Notts lose.

Birmingham's game against Yorkshire is a complete dead rubber.

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'We tried to be calm, everyone else was stressing' - the unique challenge of playing your identical twin

Published in Tennis

Thursday, 29 August 2019 23:07

Third seed Karolina Pliskova is among the favourites to win the women's singles at the US Open and will play Tunisia's Ons Jabeur in the third round on Friday.

In her latest BBC Sport column, the Czech discusses her relationship with twin sister Kristyna, who is also a WTA Tour player, how they shared a hotel room before they played each other in Birmingham recently and what she bought Kristyna for beating her…

When the draw for a Grand Slam tournament is made I'm always worried that Kristyna and I will be drawn against each other in the first round - that would be the worst day of my life!

There would be too much pressure and too many nerves because the Grand Slams are so important and mean so much to us.

So it is always a relief when my sister is in the opposite half.

That's what happened here at the US Open, although it was sad that she lost to Elise Martens in their second-round match on Thursday.

We don't watch the draw as it is being made, nor do we follow it on social media, and then when we do eventually see it we message and always say: 'Phew, we are not playing each other!'

We have only played each other once on the WTA Tour and that came a few months ago in Birmingham.

It was a very difficult situation for both of us - and the worst thing was that we were sharing a hotel room at the tournament!

We have played each other many times when we were younger - in qualifiers and on the lower-ranked tours - but we hadn't played for about six or seven years.

We had come close a couple of times in main draws but either I lost or she lost earlier, and also I had to withdraw once because of injury when we were supposed to play in Prague.

So it felt like everybody was waiting for this match to happen, the Czech media were excited and many people were talking about the match.

'Our parents couldn't watch'

It was a strange atmosphere in our hotel room on the morning of the match.

Kristyna and I were trying to be calm and act normal, but all the people around us and our teams were stressing and wanted to talk about it so much.

Thankfully our parents weren't there in Birmingham, I can't imagine how horrible it was for them. They didn't even watch on television back in the Czech Republic.

My mum doesn't usually like to watch our matches anyway because she is too nervous. My father usually does watch matches - but not this one. He did something else to take his mind away from it.

So we both felt very nervous and didn't know what would happen, if we would play good tennis or bad tennis.

It was huge pressure for me because if you look at the rankings I should win easily.

Of course I wanted to win the match, but I also didn't want my sister to lose. It was an emotional rollercoaster. We ended up playing a long match and Kristyna won 6-2 3-6 7-6 (9-7)!

It was the biggest victory of her career - she had never beaten a top-five player before that.

Kristyna is ranked 86th at the moment but I believe she has the ability to improve that a lot. She is not easy to beat.

If we could both be ranked in the top 10 together that would mean a lot to both of us - even more to her of course - and our families.

But that would also mean we would play each other even more, which is something I'm not sure I would enjoy!

Maybe it is something you could get used to if it is happening more often, and then we wouldn't be as super stressed about it like we were in Birmingham.

'Sometimes I talk to Kristyna more than my husband'

Of course we look similar because we are identical twins. However, I think we have aged a little differently, and we try to be different because we have never wanted to be the same.

We have different tattoos. She is a little more blonde. And our personalities are quite different.

But sometimes we think in the same way, and we often say the same thing at the same time - that makes people laugh.

She thinks a little more about stuff and is more responsible. She is two minutes older - so maybe she is trying to be like the boss a little bit and protect me!

We still give each other advice about tennis; we give advice to each other about everything in life.

Barely an hour goes by when we aren't talking on the phone - I text "hi" as soon as I wake up and and we continue all day on WhatsApp.

Sometimes I speak to her more than my husband! He doesn't mind though and he's happy for Kristyna to hang out when it is just the three of us.

The week before the US Open we went to watch some Broadways shows together - Pretty Woman and Frozen - and had a few dinners, and also did some walking and shopping.

With us being in different parts of the draw - I played Monday and Wednesday, and Kristyna played Tuesday - we have not done much in the past three or four days because you don't want to go into Manhattan and waste energy.

I need all my focus on going as far as I can in the tournament and hopefully winning my first Grand Slam.

Karolina Pliskova was talking to BBC Sport's Jonathan Jurejko at Flushing Meadows

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