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Pakistan will have a new captain after their tour of Australia comes to an end in early February, Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, has said

Cricinfo staff22-Jan-2010Pakistan will have a new captain after their tour of Australia comes to an end in early February, Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, has said. Mohammad Yousuf was appointed to lead in New Zealand and Australia after Younis Khan quit in a huff back in November.”This captain [Mohammad Yousuf] was for this series only and we will decide after the tour of Australia about the captain, [but] we will change,” Butt told the private ARY News channel.Under Yousuf, Pakistan squared a three-Test series against New Zealand but lost three Tests in a row to Australia before they surrendered the first ODI in Brisbane today. The relationship between Yousuf and the selection committee, headed by Iqbal Qasim, has been tense over the course of the long tour of Australia. He had Misbah-ul-Haq sent over to New Zealand after the player had been dropped from all three formats of the game just a month before.Butt termed Younis’ decision to relinquish the captaincy as unfortunate for Pakistan. “We did not change Younis. Unfortunately the sports committee of the parliament made him run away after they levelled match-fixing allegations against him,” he said.Butt squashed the match-fixing allegations against Pakistan after the Champions Trophy, in specific the game against Australia in which they lost by one run off the last ball. “How can someone fix a match on the last ball? Only a magician can do that and on this allegation Younis was mentally disturbed and resigned,” Butt said. “Younis was a good captain but he was hurt on the allegations and quit. Now we will soon decide about the change.”Butt also said there could be changes to the coaching staff. “Coaching is a very difficult job so I don’t want to comment on it, but yes, we are looking at options to hire batting and fielding coaches, foreign or local, for the national team,” he said. “The problem is no foreign coach is willing to come to Pakistan in present security conditions and a local coach appears to be a more feasible prospect.”Pakistan’s next Test assignment is in England where they play Australia, a series shifted out of Pakistan over security fears. They are scheduled to play four Tests against England on the same tour.

Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard will be without one of his standout performers since the 41-year-old’s arrival last month on Sunday as they host Midlands rivals Leicester City.

What’s the latest? 

Speaking in his press conference, Gerrard confirmed that left-back Matt Targett will face a late fitness test before the Villa boss makes a decision on whether or not to include the 26-year-old against Leicester.

The 41-year-old said: “Matty Targett will probably struggle for this game, but we’ll make a late decision on him.”

The defender was taken off in the 67th minute during the Midlanders’ clash with Manchester City on Wednesday night due to a head injury and therefore faces a race against time to be available to face the Foxes.

Leon Bailey is a confirmed absentee for the game, with Gerrard also sweating on the fitness of Danny Ings (Birmingham Live) as Villa face the prospect of being without several valuable players this weekend.

Gerrard will be gutted

Villa have been excellent during Gerrard’s short time at the helm, winning twice and losing narrowly to Manchester City. One of the key factors to the former Liverpool captain’s instant success has been the performances of Targett at left-back, who has been a standout performer in the last couple of games.

The 26-year-old was rated 8.1 by SofaScore in Gerrard’s first game, a 2-0 win over Brighton, and then scored the opener in their 2-1 triumph at Crystal Palace last week.

This is a stark contrast to his start to the campaign under former manager Dean Smith, where the defender’s performances were under par, particularly against Watford on the opening day as he was withdrawn at half-time after a tricky test against Ismalia Sarr.

Villa do have a natural replacement in Ashley Young, but the 36-year-old has started just one Premier League game at left-back this term, also being deployed as a winger and central midfielder on occasion.

However, the £900k-rated veteran has also vastly improved under Gerrard, recording his two assists to date this season against Brighton and Crystal Palace.

It appears that Targett won’t beat the race against time to be fit for the Leicester clash, which is a significant blow to Gerrard, who will be gutted if he has to do without the 26-year-old. Villa fans shouldn’t panic though, as in Young they have a vastly experienced replacement to fill in at left-back.

In other news – Forget McGinn: Gerrard must stick with £52k-p/w Villa beast dubbed “better than Pogba”

David Moyes is likely to make wholesale changes to his West Ham United side as they welcome Dinamo Zagreb to the London Stadium for their final Europa League group game this evening.

With a spot in the knockout stages already confirmed, the Irons only have an unbeaten record to uphold, knowing otherwise that the result changes nothing in the grand scheme of things.

The Scot is also dealing with several injury troubles, so it gives him an opportunity to test out a few things and rest some key names but exactly what sort of XI could we see tonight?

Here’s what Football FanCast are predicting as the 58-year-old opts for a mix of youth and fringe options…

There could be as many as ten changes from the side that defeated Chelsea on Sunday afternoon, with the only player to remain being central defender Issa Diop.

In the absence of injured trio Kurt Zouma, Angelo Ogbonna and Craig Dawson, Moyes could turn to one of the U23s’ biggest prospects in Jamal Baptise, a 6-foot youngster dubbed a “monster” and tipped to become the next Rio Ferdinand in east London.

They will also be joined by another academy talent in Harrison Ashby, who starts at right-back, with Arthur Masuaku on the other flank. The 20-year-old is believed to be “very fearless” and a “big unit” too.

Alphonse Areola should resume his duties as the cup ‘keeper, handing a rest to Lukasz Fabianski between the sticks.

In midfield, it is all change as club captain Mark Noble and another rarely-seen loanee in Alex Kral replace vice-skipper Declan Rice and Czech compatriot Tomas Soucek, whilst Moyes has confirmed that Croatian playmaker Nikola Vlasic will start, so he’s preferred to Manuel Lanzini in the advanced role.

Andriy Yarmolenko could get an opportunity in the attack, alongside Said Benrahma, who must impress after being axed at the weekend following a string of poor performances.

Meanwhile, it is 17-year-old sensation Sonny Perkins who could lead the line for the Hammers this evening, meaning the likes of Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen are rested.

AND in other news, West Ham could end striker transfer nightmare with “absolute predator”…

Michael Lumb continued his impressive tour of UAE with 110 as England Lions levelled their one-day series against Pakistan A with a three-wicket victory in Dubai

Cricinfo staff24-Feb-2010
ScorecardMichael Lumb’s 110 ensured England Lions fought back from their defeat two days ago•Getty ImagesMichael Lumb continued his impressive tour of UAE with 110 as England Lions levelled their one-day series against Pakistan A with a three-wicket victory in Dubai. Lumb, who hit the winning runs against England last week, added 109 with James Taylor after spin had again threatened to undo their run chase.In the opening match the Lions were skittled for 96 as Pakistan A’s spinners proved a real handful. A repeat looked on the cards when Andrew Gale and Ian Bell fell in consecutive deliveries to Raza Hasan to leave the Lions 56 for 3 chasing 232. However, this time a full-blown collapse didn’t ensue as Lumb and Taylor firstly consolidated then became increasingly aggressive during the chase, although there was a small wobble late on as three wickets fell in five balls during the 49th over.Lumb wasn’t involved with the England Performance Programme earlier in the winter, but has taken his chance with the Lions so much so that he is being talked about as a potential candidate for the World Twenty20 in West Indies. His innings only included six fours and a six as he ran hard between the wickets to keep England on top of the asking rate.”It was a good win for the boys today. I thought it was a fair score on this wicket, maybe we could have put a bit more pressure on them at the death but thought we bowled pretty well,” Lumb said. “We knew we needed a couple of big partnerships if we were going to chase down that sort of total and it was pretty special getting a hundred.”We’re 1-1 going into the last game so we did the job today and Friday is a really big game for us. They’re a good side and we’ll need to play good cricket to beat them but we know that we’re capable of it and it would be great to leave here with another series win.”Taylor, the Leicestershire batsman, also played a crucial role with his 61 which included five boundaries before he became Hasan’s third wicket to give Pakistan A a glimmer of hope. However, Steven Davies added 55 with Lumb to take the Lions to the brink before the three late losses made the result slightly less emphatic.The Lions bowlers had earlier chipped away steadily at Pakistan A, breaking partnerships each time they threatened to dominate. Peter Trego, drafted in for this match in place of Michael Carberry to strengthen the bowling options, helped control the scoring rate with nine overs for 24 and removed Asad Shafiq.Umair Khan top-scored with 61 before falling to David Wainwright, while Steven Finn impressed with 2 for 30 and Sajid Mahmood also collected a couple. Wahab Riaz swung two sixes in his 17-ball 22, but this time the target was within the Lions’ compass.

The South African captain sustained a finger injury while training at the Eden Gardens in the build-up to the second and final Test on Sunday

Cricinfo staff12-Feb-2010Graeme Smith, the South African captain, has sustained a finger injury while fielding at the Eden Gardens in the build-up to the second and final Test on Sunday.Smith was hit during practice and Michael Owen-Smith, South Africa’s media manager, said he had strained a ligament on the outside half of the little finger in his left hand. “He had an x-ray on the little finger of his left hand, it shows no fracture at all. We are having MRI scan this afternoon just to be 100% certain of what the injury is. It is obviously some sort of ligament damage, so it is just to establish if it is that. At this stage it has been treated as a sprained ligament.”Though an x-ray taken at the ground ruled out a fracture, an MRI scan later in the day showed up ligament damage, with considerable swelling around the injury.The medical team is however confident that the swelling will subside in the next 24 hours and Smith will put his finger to the test at Saturday’s practice at Eden Gardens after which a decision will be taken on his fitness to play in the second Test.Over the last 20 months Smith has had long-standing injury problems. He first suffered a tennis elbow injury during the IPL in India in April 2008 and that forced him to miss the last three ODIs against England the same year. He later broke his hand while facing Australia’s Mitchell Johnson in the third Test in Sydney but bravely batted in the second innings to try and save the game. He missed the subsequent ODI series and decided to delay the surgery on on his injured tennis elbow until after the return series against the Australians at home last year.

Everton are reportedly still keeping close tabs on Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Harry Winks ahead of the January transfer window, with manager Rafa Benitez desperate to reinforce his struggling side.

What’s the story?

According to Sunday People (as relayed by Goodison News), the 25-year-old is still wanted by the Toffees despite the recent departures of director of football Marcel Brands and head of recruitment and development Gretar Steinsson.

The newspaper report in their print edition (page 54, 12 December) that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy will consider the sale of Winks if a suitable offer arrives over the coming months in order to provide new manager Antonio Conte suitable funds to rebuild his squad.

Rafa Benitez must seal Everton swoop

After rising through the ranks at his boyhood club, Winks has made 182 appearances for the north London outfit in all competitions and started their 2019 Champions League final defeat at the hands of Liverpool.

The technically gifted talent featured prominently during the reign of former manager Mauricio Pochettino, who lavished praise on the midfielder after a late winner against Fulham two years ago, stating he has the “quality” to score more goals.

And Winks’ eye-catching displays at club level earned him ten senior caps for England, with ex-Spurs and Three Lions goalkeeper Paul Robinson lauding his important role in the national team setup.

“For me, I think Harry Winks is one of the best of the bunch,” said the retired 42-year-old when discussing Gareth Southgate’s midfield options.

“He dominates the game, defensively and offensively he offers you both and his ball retention, the stats speak for themselves. A fit Harry Winks is an important selection for England.”

However, the £18m-rated gem has struggled for game time in recent months, starting just nine Premier League games last term before slipping even further down the Spurs pecking order this time around.

But Winks could be the ideal solution to Everton’s engine room woes. Since James Rodriguez’s departure, the Blues have struggled to open up opposition defences on a consistent basis, scoring just 20 goals in their 16 top-flight games to date.

As per WhoScored, no Tottenham player who started a league match bettered or matched his average of 70 passes per game last season, and he also topped the charts for pass completion after achieving a 90% success rate.

Winks’ impressive figures weren’t just down to selecting the safe and simple options every time, either. He managed 1.3 key passes per Premier League fixture in 2020/21 and pulled off 4.4 long balls – of all of the capital club’s outfield players, only Toby Alderweireld completed more (7.3).

Therefore, the diminutive technician could be the catalyst to transform Everton’s disappointing campaign, and Benitez must sanction a swoop this winter in order to add more quality to his squad.

And, in other news…Everton eye swoop for “immense” 6ft4 goliath, he could be a Rafa masterclass

Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic tenure is really gathering pace at the moment but they did have to leave it late in their latest win.

Of course, it would not be following the script of the last 18 months if the Hoops didn’t make life difficult for themselves.

If you’d told supporters a year and a half ago that Anthony Ralston would be scoring the winner in a game for them, they’d have laughed and probably spat out whatever they were drinking.

Yet, under Postecoglou, the Scot has become an unexpected key cog in the wheel and his last-gasp header against Ross County on Wednesday evening summed that up.

He has stopped new signing Josip Juranovic from getting the game time he expected at his favoured right-sided role.

Instead, the Croat has been featuring on the left-hand side of defence. However, one can make the argument that left-back is still very much a problem position for the Bhoys.

Greg Taylor has spent time out injured while Liam Scales and Adam Montgomery still have some convincing to do.

The future of Boli Bolingoli still remains up in the air too. It was a surprise to see the Belgian receive match action earlier this term but he’s now not been seen in the first-team picture since he started during the win over Motherwell back in October.

His time in Glasgow seems to be coming to an end and that shouldn’t be unexpected. After all, he did well to even play a game this season.

When football returned in 2020 following the worst of the pandemic, the defender decided to put both himself and his teammates at risk, all but ending his chances of making the grade at Paradise. He went to Spain on an unsanctioned trip and then failed to quarantine upon his return.

Bolingoli subsequently featured in the matchday squad against Kilmarnock a few days later before everything was uncovered.

Neil Lennon, the man who signed him, was rightfully left furious with his player, calling him “stupid.”

The Northern Irishman continued: “This has been premeditated. You don’t book a flight to Spain on a whim. He knew exactly what he was doing. So this has been quite calculated. It’s been total disregarding of the outcome and the risks involved, so he will be dealt with in the strongest possible way by the club.”

He was loaned out and has been fighting for his Celtic career ever since. Postecoglou hasn’t taken a liking to him and fresh transfer reports suggest he could finally be axed for good.

That’s because they’re interested in Niko Giesselmann who currently plies his trade for Union Berlin.

Capable of being deployed at left-back or further forward in an offensive role on the wing, he possesses a blend of characteristics that would make him perfect for Postecoglou.

First and foremost, the 30-year-old loves a goal. He scored what was described as an “unstoppable” strike for Union earlier this term, hammering home the ball home from inside the area at a rate knots.

So far this campaign, Giesselmann has been involved in six goals, while winning one tackle and one header per game in the Bundesliga.

Those numbers demonstrate that not only does the ageing defender love to compete physically, but he also loves to bound forward.

In a Celtic side who dominate possession under Postecoglou, those are traits he’s surely lusting after from his new recruits over the winter.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Jota: Ange must seal Celtic swoop for “extraordinary” £1m-rated “magician”…

Surrey’s hopes of reaching the finals of the inaugural Emirates Airline Twenty20 festival in Dubai were dealt a huge blow when they suffered a 46-run defeat to an emerging side representing the Cape Cobras

Mark Pennell in Dubai19-Mar-2010
ScorecardSurrey’s hopes of reaching the finals of the inaugural Emirates Airline Twenty20 festival in Dubai were dealt a huge blow when they suffered a 46-run defeat to an emerging side representing the Cape Cobras.A Surrey team that included former England Test players Gareth Batty, Usman Afzaal and Chris Schofield were skittled for 88 by a Cobras outfit that boasted an average age of 20 and included only two players with first-team contractsBatting first, the Cobras rookies cantered to 134 for 5, easily the best of the three totals so far on the opening day of this two-day event. Their captain Omphile Ramela (14) and keeper Derek Brand (39) set the tone for their innings in posting 49 for the first wicket inside seven overs.Surrey fought back through Schofield’s two wickes, but the Cobras rallied again as Mohammad Vallie (20) and Romano Ramoo (21*) combined to set a testing asking rate of 6.8 an over for victory.Surrey’s pursuit tottered early when captain Rory Hamilton-Brown missed an expansive drive in the second over and, six deliveries later, Usman Afzaal toe-ended a catch to the keeper to make it 15 for 2. Michael Brown attempted to rebuild with a straight six against Kirk Wernars, but his stay for a top score of 26 ended when he missed an attempted dab to third man to be bowled by Dane Piedt.It was one-way traffic thereafter as Ramela bagged three for two in 13 balls to secure the Cobras their giant-killing with 17 deliveries to spare.

Ryan ten Doeschate was the hero as Essex pulled off a thrilling victory by 62 runs against Hampshire at Chelmsford in the County Championship

12-Apr-2010
ScorecardRyan ten Doeschate stunned Hampshire with five wickets to take Essex to victory•Getty ImagesRyan ten Doeschate was the hero as Essex pulled off a thrilling victory by 62 runs against Hampshire at Chelmsford in the County Championship. After scoring an unbeaten half-century, Ten Doeschate returned figures of 5 for 13 from 5.5 overs as Hampshire were bowled out for 185 after facing a target of 248 in 48 overs.Victory was achieved with the fifth delivery of the final over as David Masters took a fine catch at leg slip to get rid of David Griffiths and provide ten Doeschate with his final success. The Netherlands allrounder was introduced into the attack with the visitors looking slight favourites with 78 required from 11 overs and six wickets remaining.But he immediately struck to get Chris Benham caught behind by James Foster to end a partnership of 46 with Nic Pothas and send the Hampshire innings into rapid decline. Pothas, Kabir Ali and Danny Briggs were ten Doeschate’s other victims, while Masters got rid of Sean Ervine.It all served to leave Hampshire shellshocked following an opening partnership of 71 between Mike Carberry and Jimmy Adams. That ended when Chris Wright tempted Adams into a hook which ended in Foster taking a fine running catch in the region of fine leg.It was one of five catches taken by the wicketkeeper to add to the couple he claimed in the first innings. Earlier in the day, Essex, who had resumed their second innings on 131 for 4, found themselves on the back foot when Tom Westley was caught behind off James Tomlinson without adding to his overnight 69.His departure left ten Doeschate with the task of holding the innings together but he was unable to find anyone to keep him company for any length of time. None of the four remaining batsmen managed to reach double figures as they were demolished by fast bowler Kabir.His fire and hostility brought him figures of 5 for 33 from 22.4 overs on his Hampshire debut. When the defences of Maurice Chambers were breached to bring the innings to a close, ten Doeschate was left stranded on 66, an innings containing 10 fours and one six.But, as later events were to prove, it was with the ball that he made the greatest impact as Essex announced their arrival in the Division One with 21 points. Hampshire had to settle for six.

Leeds United chief Victor Orta may be in the running for the Newcastle United director of football job, Liam Kennedy has told GIVEMESPORT. 

The lowdown

The Magpies’ new owners are ‘trying to lay the foundations for a better future’, and appointing a Director of Football (DoF) is at the centre of that process.

Nick Hammond, who occupied a similar role at Celtic and Reading, has agreed to come on board as a temporary consultant while the club look to make a permanent appointment, and it was reported on Monday that they are due to hold talks with Brighton’s Dan Ashworth ‘in due course’.

Ashworth ‘ranks highly’ on Newcastle’s list, but he is thought to be just one of a ‘range of candidates’ in contention for the DoF role.

The latest

Kennedy claimed to have heard that Leeds supremo Orta could indeed be a candidate for the DoF position at St James’ Park.

When asked about such reports, he told GIVEMESPORT: “I would concur on the Orta one. I’ve also heard that myself.”

The verdict

Would Orta be a good appointment for Newcastle if he were available? Well, his track record at Leeds United is mixed.

He has overseen deals for the likes of Raphinha and Illan Meslier, who are now ‘worth vastly more’ than what Leeds paid for them. On the other hand, the jury is still out on players like Rodrigo and Junior Firpo, who cost a combined £40.5m.

Away from transfers, he did seal the appointment of Marcelo Bielsa, who took Leeds back to the Premier League after 16 years away and subsequently led them to a ninth-place finish on their return to the top flight.

Could there be concerns about his temperament, though, in light of his heavily publicised confrontation with a Leeds supporter earlier this month? The clip of that incident, which was posted on Sky Sports News’ Twitter channel, has been viewed more than 561,000 times.

Hiring Orta could come with risks over an imperfect transfer record and questions over his conduct given the aforementioned viral footage.

In other news, Noel Whelan reacts to this significant injury blow.