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Netherlands held their nerve to record a sensational upset in the opening match of the ICC World Twenty20, beating England by four wickets. With seven needed from the final over, here’s what happened

Will Luke05-Jun-2009Edgar Schiferli leaps for joy as he seals Netherlands’ dramatic last-ball win•Getty ImagesWell, what an opening match we’ve had, ladies and gents. It’s all coming down to the last over. Seven to win for Netherlands! Who’d have predicted this? Not I, sir. Collingwood’s chatting to Broad and Anderson, and it’ll be Broad going around the wicket19.1Broad to ten Doeschate, 1 run, cracked out to the off side, Broad fields and should run him out – but misses! That’s the fourth run-out opportunity they’ve missed tonight alone19.2Broad to Schiferli, 1 run, tries to smack it out to cover but can’t time it. Broad fields and does a Jonty Rhodes, diving onto the stumps. But as his right hand (holding the ball) hits the turf, he releases the ball – it’s his hand which smashes the bails! Not out19.3Broad to ten Doeschate, 1 run, Broad’s dropped a wellied smash to a full toss! High above his head and it took a while to reach him19.4Broad to Schiferli, 1 bye, he plays and misses, the ball flies through to keeper who is standing back – and they run a bye!19.5Broad to ten Doeschate, 1 run, another smash, but he picks out mid-on! Only a single. Good grief, this is so tense19.6Broad to Schiferli, 2 runs, goes for a club, Broad again fields – they run, and Broad has all three stumps as he collects it in his follow through. But he misses, and they run an overthrow. They’re through and Netherlands have scored a brilliant, outstanding upset here for the first match at Lord’s!

Celtic midfielder Kerr McInroy has joined League One side Airdrieonians on loan.

The Lowdown: McInroy’s Celtic career

McInroy has been on the books at Parkhead for a number of years but is yet to make a competitive senior appearance for the Hoops.

The defensive midfielder spent time on loan with Dunfermline Athletic last year and made 22 appearances, with former manager Stevie Crawford labelling McInroy as ‘great’.

The 21-year-old started under Ange Postecoglou in a pre-season game against Sheffield Wednesday but has now left for Airdrieonians.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/celtic-updates-14/” title=”Celtic updates!!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Latest: Airdrieonians confirm transfer

Airdrieonians took to Twitter on Thursday evening to announce a loan deal for McInroy.

The Scot has penned a temporary move until January, though manager Ian Murray is hopeful of extending that further.

McInroy is out of contract at Celtic Park next summer, so it seems as if his underwhelming Parkhead career is drawing to a close.

The Verdict: Not good enough…

Airdrieonians boss Murray revealed that McInroy has been training with Celtic’s first-team every day, so he could prove to be a shrewd signing for the third-tier side.

However, he was obviously not good enough for Postecoglou, who, you’d expect, would have agreed to McInroy departing the club.

McInroy is now at the age where he needs regular first-team football, so it appears as if a move away makes sense for all involved.

In other news: Kieran Devlin drops worrying Ange Postecoglou and Celtic sack claim in Friday morning report. 

An unbeaten partnership of 131 between Sunil Dhaniram (63) and Qaiser Ali (60) restored Canada’s hopes at Rotterdam, leaving the visitors on 206 for 3 at the end of the second day

Cricinfo staff16-Jul-2009
ScorecardAn unbeaten partnership of 131 between Sunil Dhaniram (63) and Qaiser Ali (60) restored Canada’s hopes at Rotterdam, leaving the visitors on 206 for 3 at the end of the second day.Netherlands’ bowling attack struggled to find a decent length and any sort of consistency, allowing Canada to recover from their shaky start of 84 for 3. They finished with a lead of 163 and still have seven wickets in hand.Ali brought up his 50 in style with a hefty slog sweep for six, clearing the boundary with ease off Daan van Bunge. In an equally impressive manner, Dhaniram cracked a cover drive for four to produce his half century off Pieter Seelaar.Earlier in the day, Netherlands were bowled out for 229 – an advantage of 52 – with Nick Statham being the only man to produce a significant innings with 57, before being run out by Rizwan Cheema. Tom de Grooth was looking solid, but his innings was cut short at 36 by a handy stumping from Ashif Mulla off Umar Bhatti.The pick of the bowlers were Sandeep Jyoti, taking 3 for 59 with some impressive offspin, and Zameer Zahir who took 2 for 31 from 17 overs.

Sunderland’s eight-match unbeaten run came to an end on Saturday as they were hammered 4-0 by Portsmouth in League One.

Lee Johnson’s side found themselves 3-0 down by half-time as Pompey ran riot at Fratton Park, thumping the Black Cats and knocking them off the top of the table.

Wigan have overtaken Sunderland to lead League One on goal difference, with both teams having won seven, drawn one and lost two of their opening ten matches.

Whilst a number of players struggled throughout the match, one player who let Lee Johnson down badly was winger Aiden O’Brien.

The ex-Millwall man endured a rough afternoon as he failed to impress in general play and in the final third, playing the full 90 minutes of the 4-0 defeat. He was given the joint-lowest SofaScore rating (6.1) for Sunderland, highlighting how disappointing he was in the match.

In terms of his general play, he left plenty to be desired. Per SofaScore, he lost nine of his 17 duels on the pitch and gave possession of the ball away 21 times. He also completed 75% of his passes and made one tackle and one interception.

This suggests that he was sloppy with the ball at his feet as he failed to provide a reliable outlet for Sunderland on the left-hand side. He gave up possession far too often and that helped Portsmouth to build more attacks and continue to build the pressure on Hoffmann’s goal, which contributed to the home side dominating the match and winning comfortably.

O’Brien struggled to make an impact when in the final third. Per SofaScore, he had a 0% success rate from his attempted crosses and only completed one of his four dribble attempts.

This led to him providing zero key passes in the entire match, whilst having two shots – one on and one off-target – at the Pompey goalkeeper. So, he was unable to showcase his quality in-and-around the box, whilst also looking off the pace in general play.

Therefore, the dud let Johnson down as he did not offer anything out of or in possession in the game and that contributed to Sunderland’s ultimate demise.

Although he was not the sole reason for the defeat, with other players also struggling, his performance was worrying and his place in the starting XI could now be under threat at the head coach has two weeks of an international break to ponder changes to his team.

Trevor Bayliss, the Sri Lanka coach, has said the turning point in his side’s loss was the dismissal of Chamara Kapugedera to a diving, one-handed catch by Naved-ul-Hasan

Sa'adi Thawfeeq in Colombo08-Aug-2009Trevor Bayliss, the Sri Lanka coach, has said the turning point in his side’s 146-run loss to Pakistan in the fourth ODI was the dismissal of Chamara Kapugedera to a diving, one-handed catch by Naved-ul-Hasan.Sri Lanka were threatening to push Pakistan hard despite facing a mammoth target of 322, reaching 157 for 3 in the 30th over, but their resistance melted away after Kapugedera’s exit; the last seven wickets going down for 17 runs.”We were going along pretty well up until the stage when Naved took a stunning catch falling backwards to remove Kapugedera,” Bayliss said. “We set ourselves a few targets and we were right on schedule but unfortunately we lost too many wickets around about that time. This wicket gets difficult to play on the longer the game goes and it makes it difficult for the new batters coming in to start and get into the groove.”The coach said that fast bowler Lasith Malinga’s fitness to play in the fifty-over game needs to be reassessed. Malinga sent down 26 wides out of 29 conceded by his team. “We got him in the team to try and bring him back after injury and try and rest him in some matches,” Bayliss said. “We brought him back through the Twenty20 when he had four-over spells, now we are trying to step it up a little bit to get him to bowl 10-over spells. He’s got a little bit of work to do on his fitness but that’s only natural after being out for so long.”Malinga, who was near unplayable in the World Twenty20 in England, went for 79 runs in his ten overs without taking a wicket and came in for some harsh treatment from centurion Umar Akmal who hit him for 21 runs in the 46th over.”Not too many players can hit Malinga the way he did,” Bayliss said. “Umar showed some good ability up in Dambulla so we weren’t surprised that he can play. He batted extremely well tonight. Looks like he’s got a good future in front of him.”Sri Lanka’s chase was spearheaded by opener Upul Tharanga who scored his second successive half-century. “Upul looks like he’s getting into the swing of things and getting his confidence back. He is starting to time the ball very nicely. He was strong enough to hit one straight for six.”Bayliss said that Sri Lanka will be looking to make a few changes in the last ODI on Sunday in order to give some of the other players a rest. “We had a long program and we got a very busy schedule in front of us. We want to give some guys a bit of a rest in view of the New Zealand Test series and the Champions Trophy. It gives us an opportunity to play some of the guys on the fringes who are trying to make their way into international cricket and get into the team.”

Armed with a war chest of money after Jack Grealish’s departure over the summer, Aston Villa still seemingly have plenty left in their cash reserves.

They signed multiple players over the summer in a bid to replace the £100m exit of their former star player but there is still work to be done in order to take the Villans to the next level.

What’s the word?

One player who has been on Dean Smith’s radar for a while is Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie.

The midfielder is valued at £22.5m via Transfermarkt and has attracted plenty of suitors in the Premier League.

Villa were keen on McKennie over a month ago and now they are considering another bite of the cherry in January.

That’s according to The Sun who suggests that they could join Tottenham and West Ham in the race for the 23-year-old.

Lange could strike gold

Johan Lange and Christian Purslow’s plan to replace Grealish over the summer was a smart one. They brought in three players; Emi Buendia, Leon Bailey and Danny Ings in a bid to replace the England international’s best qualities.

While McKennie is a different sort of threat, there are some underlying attributes that fit the bill.

A gifted box to box midfielder, he is tricky in possession of the ball and knows how to arrive late in the penalty area to score goals.

Whether it’s tackling, intercepting, acting as a supply line for his teammates or finding the net, McKennie has a lot going for him.

Last term, the Juve gem had a hand in seven Serie A goals while providing a stable foundation from a deep-lying position with 1.9 tackles per match in the Champions League a stand out statistic.

He is very much comparable to John McGinn, Villa’s current box to box maestro.

Although Smith doesn’t necessarily need a replacement, the thought of the two lining up alongside each other in central areas is an exciting one. After all, in the words of David Wagner, McKennie is an “outstanding talent.”

Also hailed as a “rock” by Andrea Pirlo, the midfielder is a player blessed with heaps of potential and has all of the required attributes to thrive in the Premier League.

He is strong, delicate in possession and can score goals. It’s easy to see why Lange could strike gold by luring him to the Midlands in January.

AND in other news, Dean Smith could seal dream Villa midfield with “absolutely phenomenal” £75k-p/w beast…

Sunderland host Charlton Athletic at the Stadium of Light on Saturday as they look to move back to the top of the League One table.

The Black Cats are currently second, one point behind Plymouth – who have played two more games – with nine wins after 12 matches. They face an Addicks side who recently sacked manager Nigel Adkins and are 22nd in the table.

Lee Johnson’s men beat Crewe Alexandra 4-0 earlier in the week in a comprehensive win, but one change the Sunderland boss could make comes at left-back.

Dennis Cirkin started on the left of the back four and endured a difficult night on a personal note despite the impressive nature of the team’s performance. He was hauled off after 65 minutes as he failed to put in a solid display in defence.

The summer signing from Tottenham was poor at both ends of the pitch. Defensively, he was a lightweight for the Black Cats. As per SofaScore, he lost 100% of his duels and was unable to complete a single tackle, interception or block, whilst he made just one clearance. This suggests that he was not strong enough to compete with Crewe’s players on a physical level.

He did not fare much better on the ball. As per SofaScore, he completed a measly 62% of his attempted passes and did not pull off a single cross, long pass or dribble in the entire match. He also lost possession 10 times from 36 touches as he ended the game without providing a single chance for a teammate or attempting a shot at goal. Cirkin did not showcase his strength or his technical ability in the game, which could be why he was substituted in the second half.

Therefore, it could be time for Denver Hume to be handed his first league start of the campaign. He started 20 games in the third tier for Sunderland last season and averaged a solid SofaScore rating of 6.94. The full-back won 61% of his duels and created 1.3 chances per game, suggesting that he could come in and offer an improvement at both ends of the pitch, judging by Cirkin’s display against Crewe.

Johnson must axe the 19-year-old from the team and allow Hume the opportunity to stake a claim for a regular spot in the starting XI. If the Wearside academy product can put in an excellent showing, it could see him keep his place in the side for the foreseeable future, or else it could motivate Cirkin to up his game and win back his starting berth if he is dropped for the visit of Charlton today.

Ian Bell will resume his international career after being confirmed as Kevin Pietersen’s replacement for the third Test against Australia

Cricinfo staff25-Jul-2009Ian Bell will resume his international career after being confirmed as Kevin Pietersen’s replacement for the third Test against Australia. He was named in a 13-man squad for Edgbaston that also included Steve Harmison and Monty Panesar to provide bowling options, but England are hopeful that Andrew Flintoff will be fit.After losing Pietersen for the rest of the series it is crucial to England’s cause that they retain Flintoff for the remaining three Tests. The allrounder sent down a 10-over spell on the final day at Lord’s as England wrapped up victory by 115 runs and despite feeling discomfort in his knee is desperate to finish his swansong series.”Andrew’s performance at Lord’s was truly memorable and we are hopeful he can take his place in the side for the third Test as he continues to manage his knee injury,” national selector Geoff Miller said. “Andrew and the medical staff are quite bullish about his prospects of playing but we’ll continue to monitor his progress in the days leading up to Thursday.”Bell, who averages 25 in ten Tests against Australia, has been the spare batsman in the previous Tests and Andy Flower confirmed after the Lord’s victory that he was next in line for a berth. Now that Pietersen has been ruled out for the series he will return to the side for the first time since being dropped following England’s defeat against West Indies, at Sabina Park, in February.He paid the price for an unconvincing run at No. 3 and a particularly limp shot in the second innings collapse in Jamaica. At the start of the summer he was told to show “more hunger” for a recall and has subsequently made 647 runs in the Championship at 64.70, although his haul was dented by a double failure in the recent match against Hampshire where he made 7 and 0.The selectors may have been tempted to include another batting option in the party, but Bell is unchallenged on his return. “We have obviously had to make a change to the side following Kevin Pietersen’s unavailability and we wish Kevin the best with his rehabilitation and look forward to his return to the England team in due course,” Miller said. “Kevin’s injury has presented an opportunity for Ian Bell who we know is a top-class batsmen with an excellent international record for England”Although we haven’t named any extra batting cover in the squad we have several options should the need arise to call in another batsmen.”There is still the question of where Bell will bat, but the least disruption would come with a straight swap for Pietersen at No.4. The other options are to return at first drop and push the struggling Ravi Bopara down the order or promote Paul Collingwood and put Bell at No. 5.”Ian will be looking to make the most of his return to the side during an Ashes series and while we have a strong idea of where he will bat we won’t be disclosing the final line-up of the side until the toss on Thursday,” Miller added.However, Bell’s position is partly eased due to the lack of outstanding candidates elsewhere. If further injuries were to deplete the batting order, Robert Key, Joe Denly, Stephen Moore and Owais Shah would be the likely names for a call-up. Key has recently returned to form with a career-best 270, Denly and Moore impressed for England Lions against the Australians and Shah made a hundred for Middlesex last week.Although the attack performed impressively at Lord’s changes could still be made. Graham Onions is probably the most vulnerable, but Stuart Broad’s lack of wickets is a growing issue.Steve Rouse, the Edgbaston groundsman, described the pitch has being like “jelly” earlier in the week, and said it would be a challenge to bring it up to standard for the Test after recent poor weather. A slow, low surface would decrease the chances of a recall for Harmison and it is unlikely England will return to a two-spinner attack.Squad Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Ravi Bopara, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Matt Prior (wk), Andrew Flintoff, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Graham Onions, Steve Harmison, Monty Panesar

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been absolutely loving the fact that Robbie Ure scored for the B team on Wednesday evening.

The striker came off of the bench to open the scoring in their UEFA Youth League second leg away at Hammarby, after the B side won their home fixture 3-0.

At just 17 years of age, Ure is one of the hottest prospects in the academy at the moment, and goals like these in big matches will no doubt catch the eye of Steven Gerrard, who will be looking for players to break into the first team.

Nonetheless, the Scotsman will be pushing for more starts in the B team for now, before hopefully getting a breakthrough with the seniors at a later date.

Rangers fans on Ure goal

These members of the Ibrox faithful showed their love for Ure as his goal was shared on Twitter, with one Light Blues supporter even going as far as to claim that he is a ‘class’ player already:

“Give the lad a chance in the first team, he’s a goalscorer, if you’re good enough you’re old enough”

Credit: @gorbalstony

“Absolutely class this lad has a massive future ahead of him.”

Credit: @blue_queens11

“That’s why he should start”

Credit: @RangersRobbie83

“Scores when he wants.”

Credit: @Andrews22571

“Yesss!! Come on Rangers”

Credit: @Valerie33087475

“What a talent.”

Credit: @OliButler8

In other news, find out what ‘major issue’ before Brondby has emerged here!

The West Indies captain wants his players to improve their game as they head into their last Champions Trophy Group A match on Wednesday against India

Cricinfo staff28-Sep-2009West Indies captain Floyd Reifer wants his players to improve their game as they head into their last Champions Trophy Group A match on Wednesday against India. Despite being without their top-flight players – after a players’ dispute with the board – West Indies have drawn Pakistan and Australia close in their two previous encounters and have reason to go into the match in Johannesburg with their heads up.”We have played pretty well,” Reifer told the . “The important thing for us is to know that we are improving.”The ‘second-string’ squad bowled very well during their five-wicket defeat at the hands of Pakistan in the first match and lost to the Australia by 50 runs after having the defending champions at 171 for 7 at one stage.Reifer said the players should be proud of their efforts so far but called for another big effort when they faced the Indians. “From the first game to this one we have gotten better, as a team and as individuals,” Reifer said. “Looking at the two games we’ve played, against Pakistan if we had 40 more runs, things could have been different. And against Australia we were in the game into the 40th over. It’s been a great effort.”West Indies will have two more training sessions at the St David’s School in Johannesburg before Wednesday’s match and Reifer said the players will be doing more mental and physical preparation.”As we play as a team, stick together and keep working hard, improving our skills, we will get better,” he said. “We must show improvement, though. We still have more time to prepare and improve our skills and our mental attitude. Getting to international standards is all about the mental attitude.”We try to encourage the players to learn and learn fast. This is international cricket and not like domestic cricket we play back at home. We talk a lot. We talk through situations that are going to happen in the game and we ask the guys to improve, to talk cricket, to improve their all-round game – batting, bowling and fielding.”