All posts by h716a5.icu

Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa has made a ruthless call on academy starlet Robbie Gotts, and it’s one that may leave fans gutted.

What’s the story?

The 21-year-old spent the last season on loan at Lincoln and Salford respectively, and his contract at Elland Road comes to an end next summer.

And now, Football Insider have delivered a major update on the situation, revealing that Gotts is the latest young player who’s been told he’s free to leave the club after reports suggested that a few players, such as Niall Huggins, were also told the same previously.

It said: “A Leeds source has now told Football Insider that Gotts will become their latest young player to seek pastures news amid an overhaul of their set-up.

“United do not regard the versatile midfielder, who can also play at right-back, as capable of forcing his way into Marcelo Bielsa’s team amid increasingly strong competition. That will be a bitter blow for Gotts, who has been on Leeds’ books since the age of seven.”

Leeds fans will be gutted

The 21-year-old appeared to be one of the real bright prospects coming through the clubs academy sides, with Bielsa himself previously raving about the midfielder, saying: “He’s a number eight. A midfielder, not defensive, a number eight. I have never seen a player with such a dynamic. A player with skills.”

After a short spell at Lincoln earlier in the campaign, Gotts made the switch to Salford in the January transfer window – a side one division lower than the Imps, but crucially a team where he’s getting regular first-team football.

After playing just 370 minutes worth of football for Lincoln in the league, he managed more than triple that amount with Salford in League Two – he’s also showed his developing attacking instincts, notching three goals and one assist in his time there.

And it’s fair to say he’s already made a very good impression with those involved at Salford, with manager Richie Wellens telling The Evening Express: “On the press he is excellent, a typical (Marcelo) Bielsa player. His passing is good, he’s scored two in three for us and could have had more. He is a really good, infectious lad who the group has taken to straight away.

“We are going to improve him for free, that’s why Leeds have loaned him to us. We think he has a real chance to go all the way.”With the success he had on loan and the praise he’s given him before as well, it’s a ruthless call from Bielsa to let him go, especially without really checking him out once more during pre-season to see first-hand the kind of improvements he will no doubt have made in his time away.Given how Leeds fans were so excited and talked up Gotts’ potential as a future first-team player at the club following his move to Lincoln, the latest news that the 21-year-old has been told he can leave is sure to have them gutted.Meanwhile, Leeds are closing in on a major agreement…

Nottingham Forest have been dealt a blow in their bid to bring Zian Flemming to the City Ground.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Dutch publication De Limburger, who claim that a deal for the Fortuna Sittard midfielder is looking increasingly unlikely for Dane Murphy to be able to get over the line this summer, with Italian sides Empoli and Napoli having entered the race for the 23-year-old.

It is also reported that Forest and the Eredivisie club have been at something of a stalemate over their respective valuations of the player, with the Reds thought to have already submitted more than one offer for Flemming, all of which have been rejected.

It is claimed that the Championship side feel the youngster is worth around £1.5m, while Fortuna are thought to be demanding a figure much higher than this amount in order to sanction a sale – with Flemming himself stating that his asking price was “a very high transfer fee – too high.”

However, De Limburger claim that, following the interest from Italy, the chances of a move to England and Nottingham, in particular, are fading fast.

Murphy will be gutted

Considering the sheer amount of potential Flemming appears to possess, as well as the fact that, at one point, it looked as if Forest were very much in the driving seat regarding the signing of the midfielder, should the Reds ultimately miss out on a deal for the 23-year-old this summer, it would undoubtedly leave Murphy gutted.

Indeed, over his 33 Eredivisie appearances last season, the £1.08m-rated man bagged 12 goals, provided seven assists and created eight big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.8 shots and making 0.8 key passes per fixture.

These metrics saw the attacking midfielder earn a highly impressive average SofaScore match rating of 7.04, ranking him as Fortuna Sittard’s third-best player in the top flight of Dutch football.

As such, with Forest already boasting a number of extremely talented youngsters in the likes of Brennan Johnson, Alex Mighten and Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel, the addition of Flemming would have further transformed Chris Hughton’s side into one of the most exciting outfits in the second tier.

However, with a move now looking unlikely for the 23-year-old, unless the Forest CEO can pull something special out of the bag to beat both Napoli and Empoli to the midfielder, he will have to turn his attention in what remains of the summer transfer window elsewhere.

In other news: Forest dealt blow over “one of the best” ahead of Bradford tie, Hughton will be gutted

The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece has dropped a major claim on Jack Grealish’s future at Aston Villa amid speculation linking him with a move to Manchester City.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent days and weeks have suggested that Pep Guardiola’s side are preparing a big-money bid for the Villa captain as they look to lure him away from Villa Park this summer.

However, Preece has now delivered an update on the situation, and it’s good news for Villa supporters.

Replying to a fan on Twitter, he said: “What will be will be, Jack. I expect Grealish to stay. I’ve got a good feeling about that. I’m sure that Jack doesn’t know himself about staying or leaving. He still needs to sit down with Villa; City yet to come on strong. That’s all there is to it, as it stands.”

Fans will be buzzing

If Villa stand firm on their intentions to keep Grealish, then they can rest assured that the England star won’t start sulking – according to The Express and Star’s Luke Hatfield.

Speaking to FFC, he said: “I don’t think Grealish would go and out throw his toys out of the pram and refuse to play for Villa, put it that way. We’ve seen that with some protracted transfers before where the player’s on a lengthy deal and he ends up saying ‘well, I’m not going to play for you then, I’ll just sit here and run out the contract’, and it gets very awkward.

“The issue is with Grealish, he’s club captain, he’s a Villa fan, a boyhood Villan, I don’t think he would ever put the club in that kind of position.

“I think there’s probably an agreement to be had there between the player and the club where if the player feels that a move is right, that the club would agree as long as the money was right as well.”

Make no mistake about it, Grealish staying at Villa Park this summer would be the biggest and best piece of business Dean Smith’s side could do, regardless of any new high-profile signings.

And it’s exactly why Preece’s optimistic claim that he expects Grealish to stay will be music to the ears of Villa fans everywhere.

Meanwhile, Villa have opened talks with this star…

According to a Tottenham Hotspur source, speaking to Football Insider, the Lilywhites are submitting a ‘fresh offer’ to sign Bologna defender Takehiro Tomiyasu.

The Lowdown: Spurs in month-long talks…

Tottenham have been in talks over a deal for Tomiyasu since the start of last month, with Sky Sports revealing that they had a bid of £12.9m (€15m), plus an extra £2.6m (€3m) in add-ons, rejected.

Two weeks later, the Athletic came out with a positive development that Spurs were ‘closing in’ on Tomiyasu’s signing and finalising terms on a fee believed to be around £15 million, plus add-ons.

Since then, updates have been scarce, but reliable reporter Alasdair Gold believes his signing ‘will happen’ going by what he’s heard from the Japan international’s side (football.london Q&A).

The Latest: Spurs submitting fresh Tomiyasu offer…

As per Football Insider, a Tottenham source has revealed that the Lilywhites are now submitting a fresh bid to sign the 22-year-old this summer.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-latest-gossip/” title=”Tottenham latest gossip!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

They say that Spurs ‘called a halt’ on their pursuit of Tomiyasu while he was at the Olympic games with Japan but are in fact still interested with a new offer at the ready.

Indeed, Fabio Paratici very much still wants the versatile defender at Spurs and is tabling a £17 million bid for his services.

Tottenham are hopeful this amount will be enough to finally get Tomiyasu over the line.

The Verdict: Get it done…

The 6 foot 2 colossus can play both at centre-back and right-back, so for just £17m, Spurs could solve two problems in one swoop.

At 22 years of age, Tomiyasu also has plenty of time ahead of him, meaning Tottenham could stand to even earn profit in terms of sell-on-value if he keeps performing at a high level.

Lauded as a ‘giant’ player by Italian media for his Bologna performances last term, he made the joint-most clearances per 90 out of their whole squad (3.3) and third-most successful aerial duels on average (WhoScored).

There’s certainly little debating he would be a shrewd addition for Nuno Espirito Santo.

In other news: Tottenham set sights on signing yet another defender, he is ready for move away…find out more here.

Justice Albie Sachs has been appointed by the game’s governing body to hear Gautam Gambhir’s appeal against his one-Test ban

Cricinfo staff01-Nov-2008
Gautam Gambhir will make his appeal to Justice Albie Sachs, a South African judge © Getty Images
Justice Albie Sachs, Cricket South Africa’s representative on the ICC Code of Conduct Commission, has been appointed by the game’s governing body to hear Gautam Gambhir’s appeal against his one-Test ban.Sachs, who is a senior judge on the Constitutional Court of South Africa, will issue directions regarding the hearing which must be held within seven days of his appointment. He has the power to uphold or change the decision made at the previous hearing, and his decision is final and binding.Gambhir was banned for one Test by match referee Chris Broad after he pleaded guilty to a charge of not conducting play “within the spirit of the game as well as within the laws of cricket”. The incident that led to the ban occurred in the 51st over of India’s first innings when Gambhir, who had verbal altercations with Shane Watson, appeared to elbow the bowler during a run.The charges were laid by the on-field umpires, Billy Bowden and Aleem Dar, and the third umpire Suresh Shastri. Gambhir’s hearing was originally scheduled for Thursday evening but was postponed until Friday morning because Broad wanted to review evidence.Gambhir was told of his ban before the third day’s play after which he filed an appeal. However, he will be allowed to play until the verdict of the appeal has been given. Should the appeal be unsuccessful, though, Gambhir will have to bear the costs of the appeal under an amendment to the Code of Conduct.

Mike Brearley, the president of MCC, has moved to distance the club from the proposals for an English rival to the Indian Premier League

Cricinfo staff13-Jul-2008
Keith Bradshaw: his plans haven’t yet got the backing of his employers © MCC
Mike Brearley, the president of MCC, has moved to distance the club from the proposals for an English rival to the Indian Premier League that have been outlined by the secretary and chief executive, Keith Bradshaw, in a paper that was leaked to the media last week.The plan, which proposes a 57-match tournament to be contested by nine teams at England’s established international venues, was intended to be put to the ECB board on July 15. Bradshaw and his co-author, the Surrey chairman, David Stewart, have since expressed their disappointment at the leak, but the upshot has been fury among the county executives, particularly those in rural locations who have been excluded from the plans.Brearley, writing in his column in The Observer, defended Bradshaw’s right to voice his opinion, and praised him for bringing “an engaging and expansive spirit of openness to the MCC’s affairs”. Nonetheless, he gave his chief executive a clear rebuke for the embarrassing situation in which his proposals have now placed his employers.”Bradshaw is an independent director of the ECB, and as such has every right to put forward his opinion,” wrote Brearley. “He has fiduciary responsibilities as a director, and these are his alone. On the other hand, he is there as the nominee of the MCC, of which I am president. He has often left the room when he felt there was a conflict between these two roles.”Any proposal coming from him is liable to be seen as an MCC initiative, and, as such, to have been discussed within the MCC and in particular on its committee. This proposal has not been discussed there, so it has no backing, as things stand, from the MCC. It might of course agree with and support the views expressed in the plan, but so far there has not been the chance either to do so or to disagree.””I am aware of the potential conflicts of wearing two hats,” Bradshaw told Cricinfo. “When I go into a board meeting with the ECB, I do need to hang my MCC hat up outside the door. When the proposal was submitted, I wrote to Giles Clarke just to ensure he understood it had been submitted in my capacity as an ECB board director, and not from the MCC as an established document that had been through the committee.”On the subject of the leak, Bradshaw reiterated his disappointment, and confirmed that it had not come from his office. “A document like that, if it had been going into the public domain, would have been written very differently, particularly to address the understandable concerns that the counties may have,” he said. “However, the feedback that I am getting today is that they’ve now started to understand that it is a partnership model that I have proposed, not a franchise model, and there are some potentially significant gains.” A profit of £50 million has been projected for the first year alone.Nevertheless, Brearley’s initial thoughts on the proposal seem to mirror many of the concerns that have already been raised on the county circuit. “Many counties, especially those that do not have grounds in the bigger cities, will be, and no doubt are, deeply suspicious,” he wrote. “They will find it a divisive plan. Even if, as the proponents say, ‘such a tournament can generate extra revenue for cricket, for all 18 counties and the grass-roots of the game’, the counties (especially the more rural ones) will feel even more sidelined and secondary. Their supporters will have to travel further to watch cricket and traditional loyalties will be interrupted.”The authors say that they ‘welcome the debate which will now take place’,” wrote Brearley. “No doubt. But it would have been better if some of that debate had already taken place in the committee rooms of the clubs of the proponents.”

Loads of Everton fans have been left lauding a piece of news on Denise Barrett-Baxendale.

As per the official website of the Goodison Park faithful, the chief executive of the Merseyside club has won the Business Woman of the Year award at the National Business Women’s Awards 2020.

She was commended for overseeing the project that will see a new stadium being built at Bramley-Moore Dock, and for her part in launching the engagement campaign Blue Family.

It is clear that she has done a lot of good work since her appointment as CEO for the Toffees, and a lot of Blues supporters are very appreciative of her and what she has brought to the club.

Everton fans on Barrett-Baxendale news

These EFC fans lauded the news on Barrett-Baxendale as it was shared on their official Twitter page, with one Evertonian even going as far as to claim that it is ‘amazing’:

“Name a better CEO in football…I’ll wait”

Credit: @amyswift2002

“Role model for every young woman. #fantastic #nsno”

Credit: @KeithLazell

“Absolutely brilliant! Many congratulations to her and the whole management team at the club, as she said herself, it’s acknowledging everything they’ve all done! She’s a credit to herself and @Everton!!”

Credit: @CathyMcAlle

“Great achievement. See if she can use her acumen to get Delph out of our club with a fee”

Credit: @YerrysBlue

“Well done Denise, amazing work”

Credit: @CharliesSnowman

“Wow and fantastic. An inspiration for all young girls and women and us men. Congratulations”

Credit: @DBarlow20

In other news, find out what transfer update has been slammed by Toffees here!

With a new manager in place at Everton, pre-season training underway and the summer’s major tournaments done and dusted, the Toffees can finally start making some inroads in the transfer market.

At the moment, Rafa Benitez is yet to conclude any meaningful business so he needs to get his skates on.

What’s the word?

One player Everton have considered a move for this summer is Ben White.

The Brighton defender was part of the England squad for the European Championships but Gareth Southgate didn’t reward him with any minutes.

White has attracted the interest of Arsenal with the Gunners still the frontrunners to sign him.

Everton entered the race a few weeks ago and were willing to put £55m on the table in various instalments.

Ian McGarry of the Transfer Window podcast issued an update on the 23-year-old’s situation this week. He commented (via the Sport Review):

“We’ve been discussing for several podcasts the future of Ben White with regards to a potential move to Arsenal.

“We’ve also reported exclusively that there is interest from Chelsea and Everton, who are playing a waiting game to see if Arsenal realise the valuation that Brighton feel is correct for their 23-year-old centre-back and then perhaps will try and gazump Arsenal by offering more money.”

Supporters should be delighted

If the idea of signing White doesn’t generate excitement among supporters then beating one of the Premier League’s big six to a player would surely thrill the Goodison Park faithful.

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This is a huge season for Everton and as always, the goal is to secure European football.

With a vastly experienced coach in Benitez at the helm, there are reasons to believe they could get close but the arrival of White would only help them in their assignment.

The centre-back only has a year of Premier League experience under his belt but he looks set for an incredibly vibrant future right at the top of the game.

White developed tremendously well at Leeds United during a loan spell in the Championship throughout 2019/20, being named in the second tier’s Team of the Season. Since then, he’s taken to the top-flight like a duck to water.

He completed over 83% of his passes, proving he has the ability to transition play and won an impressive 1.7 interceptions per match.

Everton’s defence struggled towards the back end of the season, eventually shipping five to Manchester City on the final day.

Therefore, their first port of call this summer must be strengthening the defence. White is a centre-back who has all of the qualities necessary to become a mainstay at Goodison Park.

He is young, has plenty of re-sale value and is already an England international.

Consequently, supporters should be enthralled by the idea of Benitez bringing him to Merseyside.

AND in other news, Everton may repeat their Walcott howler by signing £30m gem who Rafa compared to Messi…

Sheffield United are rumoured to be interested in a deal to sign Liverpool defender Ben Davies on loan, according to The Sun.

What’s the story?

Davies only signed for Liverpool back in February 2021, as Jurgen Klopp looked to add depth to his defensive options, with both Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk ruled out of action through injury for the majority of the 2020/21 season.

But Davies’ arrival hasn’t seen him go straight into the starting XI, with the 25-year-old still yet to play a single minute of action for the Reds’ senior side.

That has seen Sheffield United register their interest in taking Davies on loan ahead of the 2021/22 campaign, as they look to bolster their own defensive options this summer, with promotion back into the Premier League being the aim for Slavisa Jokanovic’s side.

It’d be a shrewd move by the Blades

This could turn out to be a shrewd signing by the Blades, as they’ll need players that have experience of playing in the Championship, and having additional depth during the hectic schedule in the second tier will be more than welcome for any manager.

Davies would be somewhat of a risk-free signing, as it would only be on a temporary basis, though it remains to be seen how much of his £60k-per-week wages the Blades would have to cover.

He’s already got a considerable amount of experience of playing in the Championship, so you would imagine that it won’t take long for him to adjust to the demands of the second tier once again this summer.

The 25-year-old made more clearances on average than all but one of the Preston North End team during the 2020/21 season, as Davies averaged 4.3 clearances per game, with Liam Lindsay being the only other player ahead of him in the list at 4.4 per game.

Davies made a rapid rise through the ranks with Preston North End as well, with the centre-back winning the club’s Young Player of the Season award in the 2017/18 campaign, before scooping the Player of the Season award in the following year, as well as the Sir Tom Finney Player of the Year award.

Davies was previously labelled as ‘different class’ for his performances whilst at Southport, with their manager Paul Carden issuing high praise for the defender in an interview with The Athletic.

“He was a different class and I did think he’d get in Preston’s first team. If you’d have asked me whether he’d sign for Liverpool, I probably wouldn’t have said so.”

United have moved on Phil Jagielka ahead of the 2021/22 season, and with Kean Bryan’s future still remaining somewhat ‘up in the air’, you can understand the Blades’ thinking when it comes to targeting another defender before their season opener against Birmingham City on Saturday 7th August.

Davies has played regularly in the Championship for four seasons whilst with Preston North End, and you would imagine that he’ll be keen to make up for lost time with a new club this summer, and Sheffield United could be the team to benefit from that in the near future, which is certain to excite the Bramall Lane faithful, as they target promotion this term.

Jokanovic must follow up his interest with a bid.

Pakistan overwhelmed Zimbabwe in the second one-day international at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, again humiliating a bankrupt bowling line-up

John Ward24-Nov-2002Pakistan overwhelmed Zimbabwe in the second one-day international at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, again humiliating a bankrupt bowling line-up. Their highlights were a century from Saleem Elahi, a remarkable innings by Yousuf Youhana, and a lethal opening spell from Wasim Akram. The margin, determined by Duckworth-Lewis, was a deceptively small 104 runs.The Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo was again hot and sun-drenched as Zimbabwe took on Pakistan in the second one-day international. As they did the previous day, Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat on a pitch that looked to have slightly more grass, but still proved very favourable to batsmen.Both teams made two changes, but Pakistan were clearly rotating their players. Younis Khan and Shoaib Akhtar made way for Faisal Iqbal and Saqlain Mushtaq. Zimbabwe left out both opening bowlers, Henry Olonga, who did not bowl well, and Andy Blignaut, who suffered a leg strain. They brought in schoolboy Waddington Mwayenga, a recent Under-19 player completely untried at the top level, and Mluleki Nkala, whose bowling form has been poor.Play seemed almost to be an action replay of the first match, with Pakistan slaughtering the wayward Zimbabwe bowling, except that this time no early wicket fell and the opening pair put on 159 together st five runs an over. Pakistan were determined this time to put up a total well beyond Zimbabwe’s reach, and some thrilling batting ensued as they amassed a mammoth total of 344 for five and showing up Zimbabwe’s bowlers for what they were worth – precious little.Mluleki Nkala, whose bowling has been disappointing recently, raised hopes briefly by beating Taufeeq Umar in his opening over, but proceeded to bowl too short and paid the penalty. Zimbabwe lost a golden opportunity to dismiss Taufeeq for 15 when he skyed an attempted pull off Sean Ervine, but Tatenda Taibu hesitated fatally and failed to judge the catch. Ervine was a little more accurate than Nkala, but not enough to put any pressure on the batsmen. Pace, movement and accuracy are three vital attributes in opening bowlers: few have all three, but the seamers currently selected to take the new ball by Zimbabwe display none of them.Debutant Waddington Mwayenga in his first over did show the ability to bowl a full length. Saleem Elahi for once made most of the early running with the bat, outscoring Taufeeq and aided by the spray-gun Zimbabwe bowling. He ran to his fifty off 48 deliveries, followed by a century off 99 deliveries. Richie Sims might have trapped Taufeeq lbw for 42, but umpire David Orchard was possibly programmed not to expect any wickets to fall.Grant Flower finally took the first wicket, in the 33rd over, bowling Saleem (107) behind the legs as he tried to sweep. It was an outstanding innings, his highest in one-day internationals, and assured Pakistan of a major total. Taufeeq finally reached his fifty off 93 balls, with Shahid Afridi as his new partner.Afridi gave Mwayenga a quick lesson, hitting him for two successive sixes over the covers, and powered his way to 30 off 18 balls before skying Grant Flower to his brother Andy, who judged the catch well at long-off. Grant finished his ten overs with two wickets for 54; again, this was to prove Zimbabwe’s most economical figures.Mwayenga took some heavy punishment from batsmen well set, tending to overpitch slightly, but that is better than bowling short, and he was much straighter than the other seamers. This match was a harsh introduction to international cricket for him and probably came earlier than was ideal, but he did enough to show he should have a bright future in the game.Youhana played some daring attacking strokes, hitting four sixes in his first 27 runs. He lost Taufeeq for 76, caught at long-off in Craig Evans’s first over, the 43rd of the innings, to make Pakistan 252 for three. Wasim Akram (1) was promoted, but only succeeded in hitting Evans straight to long-on, while Azhar hit a quick 18 and Kamran Akmal 23 not out.Youhana continued his blazing innings, reaching his fifty off only 23 balls, and finishing with an amazing 76 off only 33 balls, with eight sixes, most of them well over the boundary, and three fours. The final total of 344 for five was second only to South Africa’s 363 for three a year earlier.Zimbabwe immediately lost Stuart Matsikenyeri to the first ball he faced, declared lbw to Wasim Akram by umpire Orchard, and as 24 hours earlier it was a decision that might have gone the other way. Then the unbelievable happened: Wasim brought a ball back to Andy Flower, who also hadn’t scored, and bowled him through the gate. Zimbabwe were three for two wickets.It was the sort of situation that sometimes brings out the best in Alistair Campbell, and he leapt down the pitch to hammer Waqar Younis furiously to the long-off boundary. But he quickly retreated into mediocrity. Wasim and Waqar again bowled superbly, though, and it required the utmost concentration even to survive. The bowling attacks of the respective teams were definitely on different planets.Wasim struck a third time by forcing Grant Flower (1) to play a ball on to his stumps, apparently beaten for pace; in the same over Barney Rogers edged a ball to the keeper; 20 for four. Craig Evans scored 4 before snicking Waqar into the slips, and the fighting spirit shown the day before seemed to have been replaced by a fatalistic resignation.Tatenda Taibu’s confident walk to the wicket, though, showed that he did not intend to give up without a fight. His confidence put his seniors in the order to shame as he played his shots, especially the cut, fearlessly. Zimbabwean supporters were given the hope of gaining a totally undeserved draw by the advance of rainclouds, and Pakistan were worried enough to put on their spinners and improve their usually dismal over rate.Even Campbell suddenly decided he had something positive to offer, hitting Saqlain into the top row of the MCA stand, where the third spectator catch of the day was dropped, and then lashed him over mid-off for four. Then in the following over he fell to a typically soft dismissal, chipping Afridi gently to midwicket. He made 32, and Zimbabwe were 64 for six.Sean Ervine, like Taibu, showed fight and even greater belligerence, and however good the spinners life in the middle was certainly easier without Wasim and Waqar at the bowling crease. He launched a remarkable attack on those who did take the crease, scorning to take the offer of bad light, and raced to a sparkling fifty off just 30 balls.At 133 for six off 32 overs a light spell of rain drove the players from the field. On their return 15 minutes later Wasim returned to bowl, although the light hardly looked suitable. However the batsmen scored seven runs confidently off his over before the rain returned. Ervine finished unbeaten with a 61 that should have given him immense confidence, and Taibu 30. Unfortunately there was no such hope evident in the bowling.