Klopp turns Du Plessis into fan
CENTURION:SOUTH African captain Faf du Plessis said on Tuesday that a chance meeting with Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp had turned him into a fan.
Du Plessis was having dinner with Springbok rugby captain Siya Kolisi in a Cape Town restaurant in November when Klopp, on a private visit to South Africa, walked in.
Kolisi has been a long-time Liverpool fan and Du Plessis posted a picture on both Instagram and Twitter showing the two captains and Klopp, commenting that Kolisi had a “mancrush moment”.
Klopp recognised Kolisi after watching the Springboks win the Rugby World Cup final in Japan some 10 days earlier and came across to congratulate him.
“Did he recognise you?” asked a journalist at Du Plessis’ press conference ahead of the first Test against England, starting on Thursday. “No,” admitted the cricket captain to laughter. “But he said he watches cricket. The Liverpool guys watched the Cricket World Cup and saw how well England did.” Du Plessis said he had never become a close follower of football but said meeting Klopp had changed that. “For someone to be that famous, he is a great guy and that’s what I believe real leadership is about. It’s about connecting with people, having great relationships with people, so I became a massive fan.”
HAFEEZ SUSPENDED FOR CHUCKING AGAIN
LONDON: Pakistan all-rounder Mohammed Hafeez was on Tuesday suspended from bowling in English cricket’s domestic competitions after his action was again found illegal following an independent assessment.
According to a report in Espncricinfo, off-spinner Hafeez’s action was found to be illegal during a Vitality Blast (T20) match between his county Middlesex against Somerset on August 30. The on-field umpires reported his action.
Hafeez, has been called a number of times for illegal action, contested the findings of the assessment which held that his elbow extension for his offbreak exceeded the 15-degree tolerance limit for bowling actions.
A bowling review group, which heard his appeal at Lord’s on Tuesday, suspended him from bowling in ECB competitions, and advised him to correct his action, accorfing to the report.
Hafeez may request a re-assessment after correcting his action. He played four matches for Middlesex, scoring 115 runs at a strike rate of 112.74, and taking two wickets while conceding 8.64 runs per over after being signed on as a mid-season replacement for AB de Villiers.