DHAKA: West Indies and Bangladesh will play two Twenty20 matches in Florida in August, Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced on Tuesday.

The scheduling continues CWI’s efforts to make inroads into the largely untapped North American market, following on the heels of two matches between West Indies and India at the same venue two two years ago.

The Aug. 4-5 matches will be held at the Central Broward oval in Lauderhill, south Florida.

“Both matches are scheduled for the weekend and will be played under the lights,” CWI chief executive Johnny Grave said.

“Our intention is to work with ICC Americas members, USA Cricket & Cricket Canada in partnership to establish cricket as a popular sport from North to South America.”

Though West Indies has fallen on hard times at the five-day test level, they remain a powerhouse in the short three-hour version of the game and are the reigning world champions.

The Bangladesh tour of the Caribbean will include two tests in July, followed by three one-day internationals and three Twenty20s.

Sri Lanka will also tour the Caribbean, with three tests next month — one each in Trinidad, St. Lucia and Barbados.

The post Windies and Bangladesh to play T20 matches in Florida appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

LONDON: Everton’s structural shake-up left no room for Sam Allardyce who was sacked as manager on Wednesday after a six-month reign in which he steered the Merseysiders to eighth place in the Premier League.

Former England manager Allardyce replaced sacked Dutchman Ronald Koeman in November with the club 13th and five points above the relegation zone. He had a year to run on his contract.

Denise Barrett-Baxendale, who will officially replace Robert Elstone as the club’s CEO on June 1 as part of a raft of changes at the top, said the task of replacing Allardyce would begin immediately.

“On behalf of the Chairman, Board of Directors and (owner) Mr Farhad Moshiri, I’d like to thank Sam for the job he has done at Everton over the last seven months,” she told the club’s website.

“Sam was brought in at a challenging time last season to provide us with some stability and we are grateful to him for doing that.

“However, we have made the decision that, as part of our longer-term plan, we will be appointing a new manager this summer. We wish Sam well for the future.”

Allardyce was not a popular choice with the fans and the writing looked on the wall for the 63-year-old when he criticised the recent changes in the club’s hierarchy on Tuesday.

“I’m shocked, disappointed and disgusted that the football club didn’t have the decency to tell me, my Director of Football and my staff about the changes,” he told the Liverpool Post.

“They must have been in the pipeline for a considerable time but no-one thought to tell me and my staff.”

Since Moshiri took over the club in February 2016, Everton have spent around 300 million pounds ($404.3 million) in the transfer market but rather than mount a challenge to the top four they are treading water in the Premier League.

Koeman was sacked with the club in 18th place, although by the time Allardyce took charge caretaker manager David Unsworth had steadied the ship and they were 13th.

Allardyce was in charge for 26 games in all competitions, winning 10, drawing seven and losing nine.

His final match in charge was a 3-1 defeat at one of his former clubs West Ham United on Sunday.

Including Unsworth, Everton have had four managers since Moshiri came in and former Watford and Hull City manager Marco Silva is favourite to become the fifth.

Everton first targeted Silva when they were seeking a replacement for Koeman but then appointed Allardyce after Watford refused to give them permission to approach the Portuguese who was subsequently sacked in January.

Watford accused Everton of unsettling Silva which they say led to a downturn in form.

“The club is convinced the appointment of Silva was the right one and had it not been for the unwarranted approach by a Premier League rival for his services we would have continued to prosper under his leadership,” Watford said at the time.

The post Allardyce sacked as Everton manager appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

David Moyes has left West Ham after the club decided against extending his contract. The former Everton and Manchester United manager was appointed to replace Slaven Bilic in November on a six-month deal and guided them to a 13th-place finish, having taken over with the team in the relegation zone.

Related: Sam Allardyce sacked by Everton after six months as manager

The uncapped Liverpool youngster Trent Alexander-Arnold is set to be included in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the summer’s World Cup, with the national manager to announce his 23-man selection on Wednesday afternoon.

Alexander-Arnold, who has made three appearances for the Under-21s, had been invited to train with the senior squad ahead of the friendlies against the Netherlands and Italy in March and has enjoyed an impressive season with the Champions League finalists. The 19-year-old played a key role in the eye-catching knockout victories over Manchester City and Roma, with Southgate having taken note.

The ECB chairman seems determined to push on with his plans for The Hundred despite the outcry the prospect of the new format has caused across the game

There is no fiercer battle than the one to be the least appealing individual in British sporting governance. It is a field in which we are absolutely world class. From the FA to the RFU to the ECB to the Jockey Club and far beyond, we really bring home the bacon. All the cured pork, in fact. Of all the games we invented, this is the last one we can always be sure of winning.

And yet, even by the high standards of his peers, the England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Colin Graves is having an excellent run. I think the clinching factor is how much Colin clearly seems to hate cricket. In one sense, even that’s not weird. All populists secretly hate their people. All bookies secretly hate their punters. And all sports blazers secretly hate their sport. You only have to look at Gianni Infantino’s sporticidal plans for a 48-team World Cup, and ever more competitive black-tie award ceremonies, to see a similar tendency.

Allardyce’s sacking ends an ill-judged tenure which confirmed he is a survival specialist but had not one impressive display

It was overshadowed at the time by his tales of Romelu Lukaku and voodoo, late-night calls from Jim White and Ross Barkley’s contract demands but even now, four months on, it is staggering to recall Farhad Moshiri telling Everton’s AGM he decided to give Sam Allardyce the most important job at the club after reading the former England manager’s autobiography. No Evertonian at the Philharmonic Hall in January needed to flick through ‘Big Sam’ to confirm suspicions the latest chapter would end acrimoniously and swiftly. His was a desperate and ill-judged appointment, and his removal alone will not rectify the serious drift at Goodison Park.

Related: Sam Allardyce sacked by Everton after six months as manager

Ten years on from playing their first Test match together, England’s greatest bowling partnership discuss the day they met, their families and the summer ahead

By Wisden Cricket Monthly, of the Guardian Sport Network

Anderson The first game we played against each other was Lancashire v Leicestershire at Old Trafford in 2005. I remember Gibbo [Ottis Gibson] was playing for you guys, but I don’t think we actually spoke to each other.

Broad No, we definitely didn’t speak to each other because you’re not exactly the most socially friendly bloke with people you don’t know! I can then remember an England preparation camp for the 2006-07 Ashes in Loughborough. You were going on that tour but I was just up there as part of the academy and a few of us got involved in the training camp. But you didn’t speak to anyone you didn’t already know.

Tepper will have to sell his minority stake with the Steelers to take full ownership of the Panthers.

Eden Hazard fully expects to be at Chelsea next season but says he is in no hurry to sign a new contract as he wants the club to prove their ambition by bringing in players capable of winning the Premier League.

The 27-year-old’s current deal expires in 2020 and Chelsea have been keen to tie him to the club amid persistent speculation about a move to Spain.

Chelsea finished fifth in the league, and while they have the chance to end the season on a high with Saturday’s FA Cup final against Manchester United, Hazard said the club must look to improve the squad for a title challenge.

“I’m waiting for new players next season. I want good players, because I want to win the Premier League next season,” Hazard told British media.

The Belgium forward said that his next contract might be the last one he signs while he is in the prime of his career.

“That’s why I’ m taking my time. It’s something big, so I need to think about a lot of things. But one thing is for sure: I’m happy here,” he added.

“… I think the FA Cup final is not my last game for Chelsea. It’s the last game of the season, that’s it… “

The post Chelsea must show ambition with new signings, says Hazard appeared first on The Himalayan Times.