Wrong place, wrong time. That’s been the story for Michael Klinger — ‘Maxi’ to his friends — in terms of international cricket. Any other country, any other era, I’m sure he’d have had a plethora of caps to his name for the famous Baggy Green in one form of the game or another as he has been one of the most prolific run-scorers in the game, in all levels, over the past few seasons.
Now he is preparing for another exciting shift and bumper pay-day in the IPL. It’s fair to say he’s earned the chance to fill his boots in more ways than one. [Update: Michael was not signed by an IPL franchise and is set to play a full season of County Cricket]
* A legacy was not the only thing Edgar Davids left at Barnet FC. The former Holland star now has bigger fish to fry, having been linked with coaching roles at AC Milan and Ajax, so it was good to see him finally remove his Bentley from Barnet’s ground, the Hive, in Edgware, more than a week after parting company with the club.
On the pitch Davids was always in a hurry and his parking is no different. The luxury vehicle was in the club car park for over a week, taking over more than one space. I just hope he was more considerate when he visited Brent Cross.
* Hendon C fans breathed a sigh of relief when star keeper Yaacov Goldin performed a U-turn after demanding a transfer. Having signed a long-term deal, the stopper played with a new lease of life in the impressive cup win over Jewdinese.
Hendon boss Adam Glekin told me: "I’m pleased Yak decided to stay, and I hope he’ll show everyone the reason we were so keen to keep hold of him."
* The wet weather has been playing havoc with Sunday morning football up and down the land, but spare a thought Leeds Maccabi and South Manchester whose Peter Morrison Trophy tie has been postponed no less than four times. The teams were originally meant to play in October and only last month, South travelled to Leeds on the day of the game, only for the pitch to fail an inspection. A coin toss may be the only solution as I hear snow is forecast …
* Match of the day in London on Sunday sees former winners Faithfold taking on Oakwood in the quarter-finals of the Cyril Anekstein Cup. The Superhoops will be missing injured trio Alex Kaye Elliot Stern and Joe Cohen, along with Jake Gottlieb and Dan Perkins, but manager Zuriel Solomon says there can be no excuses if they crash out.
"We are just itching to play and I guess Oakwood are as well," said Solomon. "I don’t know which club is the favourite as our form has not been great, but we’ll work hard and give it our best shot."
