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Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a fresh injury blow ahead of their upcoming Premier League fixture.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by Football.London, Antonio Conte revealed that Giovani Lo Celso has suffered a fresh injury setback which looks as if it will rule him out of the trip to Southampton on Tuesday afternoon.

Speaking about the current condition of the 25-year-old, the Tottenham manager said: “It is not a serious injury, after the game against West Ham the players that didn’t play had a little training and in this training, he had a bit of fatigue in his calf but only for precaution we decided to wait, especially in this situation it is important to listen to the player. When you have a problem in your calf only the player can give you the right situation.”

Conte will be fuming

Considering that Lo Celso had only just recovered from a knee injury picked up while on international duty with Argentina towards the start of November, the news that the midfielder has sustained yet another knock during what is undoubtedly the busiest period of the English footballing calendar is sure to come as a huge blow to Conte and will leave the 52-year-old fuming.

Indeed, so far this season, the £19.8m-rated man has started just two Premier League fixtures due to his various fitness concerns, making a further five top-flight appearances off the bench, with only one of those outings coming under the Italian’s management.

However, the current campaign is not the only one in which the £100k-per-week midfielder has been sidelined due to injury, with the 25-year-old managing just 11 Premier League starts last season as a result of a thigh muscle strain, an unspecified muscle injury and a pulled hamstring.

In fact, Lo Celso failed to complete a single 90 minutes in the league last term, being brought off in all 11 of the matches in which he appeared in the starting XI.

As such, while the Argentina international is a talented player who can make a big impact on games (think of his dramatic substitute appearance against Man City last season), Conte may well begin to consider moving the midfielder on at the end of the season should he be unable to keep himself fit for any real length of time. At present, it is debatable whether Lo Celso is proving good value for money on his hefty weekly wage.

In other news: Conte must ruthlessly axe £34.2m-rated “maverick”, he’s turning into a “joke” at Spurs

One thing is dominating the sporting minds of South Africans. And it isn’t the World Twenty20, even though the football World Cup doesn’t start until June 11

Andrew McGlashan01-May-2010OverviewAB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis will be crucial to South Africa’s chances•Getty ImagesOne thing is dominating the sporting minds of South Africans. And it isn’t the World Twenty20, even though the football World Cup doesn’t start until June 11. Given the team’s record at global tournaments perhaps that isn’t a surprise, and Graeme Smith’s downbeat assessment of his side’s preparation didn’t suggest they were primed to end their trophy drought.Other than Jacques Kallis and Dale Steyn the IPL wasn’t a huge success for South Africa. AB de Villiers and Mark Boucher were shunted out of their franchises’ XIs, Smith broke his hand again and Charl Langeveldt was also injured. Still, it would be ridiculous to suggest they don’t have a chance over the next two weeks.It has been a period upheaval since the end of England series with Mickey Arthur resigning as coach just days before the India tour and Mike Proctor, the convenor of selectors, also losing his job in a radical shake-up. Corrie van Zyl took charge of the team and under the circumstances a 1-1 Test series in India was a notable success.Having had a couple of months to formulate plans, van Zyl will now have a better idea of the task ahead. Can he be the coach to bring back that elusive silverware? And, while the football World Cup is nearing, will anyone notice if he does?Twenty20 pedigreeA shared series against England was a disappointment, but the way they pulverised the visitors at Centurion Park in racking up 241 for 6 showed their batting packs a punch. Last time out at the World Twenty20, South Africa produced a slick display to reach the semi-finals only to be undone by Pakistan, to leave Smith facing familiar questions having been a similar situation when the team bottled it against India during the 2007 event.Strengths and weaknessesThe batting is full of powerful strokemakers with Jacques Kallis, especially, having reinvented himself in this year’s IPL. A couple of years ago it appeared South Africa had moved on from him in Twenty20, but now he is central to their hopes. The problem in recent times has been the balance of the team as they try to squeeze two spinners, Roelof van der Merwe and Johan Botha, into the line-up. They will also miss the wicket-taking ability of Wayne Parnell who is an IPL casualty. As ever, the ‘c’ word is never far away, either.Key menAB de Villiers was dropped midway through the IPL as Delhi tried to juggle their batting resources, but he’s a guaranteed starter for his country. His average of 23 suggests he has underachieved in Twenty20, although sometimes that has been down to a lack of time in the middle. However, just as a vital is his fielding that is capable of winning matches with a catch or a run out.Dale Steyn, meanwhile, produced some express spells in India and, although four overs doesn’t leave much time to make an impact, he can influence matches with early wickets. Often during the IPL, he wasn’t used in the death overs and it will be interesting to see how Smith utilises his strike weapon.X-factorMaybe Smith’s underwhelming comments are a secret plan. South Africa have often entered global events under the weight of expectation. Could the captain be trying some reverse psychology? On the field, Loots Bosman has been a revelation in recent T20s and was unlucky not to get an IPL deal. If he gets going, Caribbean grounds won’t be big enough.Vital statsLoots Bosman’s strike-rate of 170.19 is the highest among batsman with more than 200 Twenty20 internationals runs and he has the third-most sixes by a South African in just six matches.Albie Morkel is the squad’s most prolific six-hitter with 22 in 20 inningsJuan Theron is the one uncapped player in the squad and has earned his chance after taking 12 Pro20 wickets at 18.31, with an economy-rate of 6.81, and 21 wickets in the Pro40 at 18.80

Tottenham Hotspur sporting director Fabio Paratici is eager to sign Antonio Rudiger…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Football Insider, who claim the Lilywhites recruitment chief is “calling every day” to try and win the race to sign the out-of-contract Chelsea centre-back.

The 28-year-old has emerged as a ‘top target’ for Spurs as they look to sign him for nothing in the summer following his likely departure from Stamford Bridge.

However, despite the Italian being in constant contact with Rudiger’s camp, the north Londoners face stiff competition from some of Europe’s biggest teams, including Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.

Major upgrade

Despite his contractual situation, Blues boss Thomas Tuchel has continued to trust the German international to regularly start matches, featuring 25 times across the Premier League and Champions League.

After securing a winners’ medal in the latter competition last season, Rudiger would undoubtedly be a massive upgrade on several of Antonio Conte’s current options at Spurs and his familiarity with not just the English top-flight, but the Italian manager himself would help tenfold.

He has recorded 45 of his 176 appearances for the Chelsea under Conte. They even won the 2017/18 FA Cup together, leading to the German describing his boss as a “very good coach” to reporters at the time.

Rudiger has averaged 2.1 aerial duels won, 1.3 tackles and an 86.4% passing accuracy, having been only one of two players to register over 1,400 minutes in the Premier League this term, as per WhoScored, who also state his strengths as being passing and more crucially concentration.

The £31.5m-rated colossus has been one of Chelsea’s standout performers over the past 12 months, with BT Sport pundit and Premier League legend Rio Ferdinand a big fan of his.

“Look at Rudiger, he’s arguably, since Tuchel has been there [at Chelsea], been the best defender in the Premier League,” he told his podcast (via the Metro). “Him or [Ruben] Dias in that time. He’s been unbelievable, he’s like an animal.”

Both Japhet Tanganga and Davinson Sanchez, who has previously been lambasted as a “liability” to Spurs have struggled in recent games and neither are up to the standard of Rudiger, given his vast experience and trophy history.

Paratici could land a massive upgrade on the latter with an ambitious swoop for the Chelsea star this summer.

AND in other news, Fabrizio Romano reveals Spurs’ “priority” in January…

Tamim Iqbal is expecting to take his place at the top of the Bangladesh batting order when the first Test at Lord’s despite struggling during the tour of England with an injury to his left wrist that may yet require surgery

Andrew Miller at Lord's25-May-2010Tamim Iqbal is expecting to take his place at the top of the Bangladesh batting order when the first Test at Lord’s gets underway on Thursday, despite struggling during the tour of England with an injury to his left wrist that may yet require surgery at some stage this year.Tamim first sustained the injury while fielding during Bangladesh’s domestic Twenty20 competition in 2009, but the problem flared up again ahead of the recent World Twenty20 in the Caribbean, in which he played only a minor role during their 21-run defeat against Pakistan in St Lucia and missed the defeat to Australia in Barbados.Upon arrival in England, Tamim sat out Bangladesh’s first two fixtures against Surrey and Essex, but showed glimpses of form with scores of 36 and 19 in the team’s nine-wicket defeat against England Lions at Derby last week, and the lure of a Lord’s Test is likely to persuade him to push through the pain barrier.”I’ve pushed myself five percent more than maybe I would have done on other grounds,” Tamim told Cricinfo. “I’m really excited to play at Lord’s in a Test match. It will be a dream come true and I really want to play, because I don’t know when I’ll get another chance.”Tamim conceded that the prospect of surgery had not been entirely ruled out, but given Bangladesh’s hectic schedule, which includes the Asia Cup straight after the Test series, followed by the one-day leg of the England tour in July, finding a three-month window that will allow him sufficient time to recuperate ahead of the World Cup next February is a tricky balancing act.”I went to a specialist yesterday, and he said you’ve got two choices,” Tamim said. “Either you play with taping and hope there won’t be any harm, or you can have surgery that will take three months. We have a very busy schedule so the team management told me to decide, so I am seeing another doctor today [Tuesday], and if he gives me the green signal, then I’ll play the first match, and think about surgery when I am free.Tamim was the stand-out performer for Bangladesh during England’s tour of the country in March, in which he scored a brilliant century in the first ODI in Dhaka, followed by three free-flowing half-centuries in four innings during the Tests. Whether fully fit or otherwise, his presence at the top of the order will provide his side with vital experience in alien bowler-friendly conditions.”Test cricket is most important, so I don’t want to take any chances, but I’m batting okay in the nets and the pain is getting better day by day,” he said. “This is my third tour to England, and last time I played okay. I scored some runs against South Africa and the county teams, so there won’t be any problem adjusting to the wickets. I am an international cricket player, so I need to adjust to every ground and every wicket.”Bangladesh’s preparations for the first Test have been blighted by illness as well as injury, with their captain, Shakib Al Hasan, being forced into quarantine after contracting chicken pox early in the tour. He took a full part in training on Monday and is sure to lead his team out on Thursday morning, but the disruption is not what Bangladesh needed ahead of such a tough assignment.”I think he’s fully recovered now, he’s running around, batting and bowling, and he’ll be there in the first Test to captain our side,” said Tamim. “We were not allowed to go anywhere near him [last week], he was staying alone, and only the guys who’d had chicken pox before were allowed to go and see him. I asked my mother if I’d ever had chicken pox and she said I hadn’t, but then I did a test and it said that I had had, which was funny.”Assuming Bangladesh can overcome their setbacks to field a full-strength side, Tamim hopes that they can build on the encouraging displays that they showed against England earlier in the year. “We know that we are an improving side, we are doing okay in international games, but we are just not winning games,” he said. “We’ve got to prove to the world that we can play in any conditions.”

Ahead of their first meeting with interim IPL chairman Chirayu Amin, a number of franchises have told Cricinfo they are against player retention and playing fewer matches next year

Tariq Engineer23-Jun-2010Ahead of their first meeting with interim IPL chairman Chirayu Amin tomorrow, a number of franchises have told Cricinfo they are against player retention and playing fewer matches next year, and would like to see more transparency and accountability in the way the league is run.Following the suspension of Lalit Modi as IPL commissioner and the addition of two new franchises, a number of issues concerning this year’s player auction and next season’s tournament are still to be resolved. Chief among them is the issue of player retention. There have been debates over whether the original eight franchises should be allowed to keep any of their current players. Sachin Tendulkar has suggested teams be allowed to retain eight players – four Indian and four international – but the four franchises that spoke to Cricinfo felt all players should go back into the auction pool.”The practical thing to do is let them go and bid for the players you want in a transparent manner,” one franchise official told Cricinfo on the condition of anonymity.As a potential compromise, an official from another franchise suggested giving each team two “cards” for the auction. The cards would give the teams the first right of refusal for one Indian player and one foreign player from their team. So if the maximum bid for a player, say MS Dhoni, was set at $2 million, then Chennai could use the card to bid $2 million and automatically retain him even if another franchise bids the maximum amount.In case Chennai choose to bid less than $2 million for Dhoni, and that bid is matched by one or more of the other franchises, then Chennai would have the first right to break the tie and take the player, using the card. “[That way] everything is decided on the auction table,” the official said.In the wake of India’s disastrous World Twenty20 campaign, many observers blamed IPL fatigue for the team’s poor performance, leading to speculation that fewer matches will be played next year. The IPL governing council is reportedly studying a proposal that recommends the teams be split in two groups, with a total of 68 matches. Under the current format, 94 matches are set to be played next year.However, none of the franchises Cricinfo spoke to were in favour of shortening the tournament. They argue that their decisions are based on a particular business model and certain projections. “The number one reason for adding teams and having more matches was having more revenue. If the number of matches is reduced, it doesn’t work for me,” a franchise official said. “We can address the problems [player fatigue] arising out of that; there is a solution. But reducing matches and the reduction of revenue is not on.”One proposed solution was to limit the Indian players to 14 matches each, but there were reservations about how acceptable that would be, considering the large sums of money being paid for them.Other issues of concern are the maximum permissible size of teams and a salary cap that includes players bought outside the auction. As things stand, teams will be allowed to spend $7 million each on players at the auction. But there is no limit to how much money can be spent on players outside the auction, or how many players a team can buy. This gives franchises with deeper pockets an advantage; hence a cap to level the playing field.”We will ask for a cap on the spend,” a franchise official said. “We will ask for a cap on the number of people a team can hire. Nobody should have a squad of more than 25 or 30.”The teams would also like a larger voice in the running of the IPL. Among the suggestions is that the governing council should include a franchise representative, who would pass on information to the franchises in a timely way, allowing them to plan their operations more efficiently. Ultimately, clarity and communication are what the franchises want most to get on with the business of running their teams.

Paddy Kenny has told Football Insider that Aston Villa could ‘spring another surprise’ before the January transfer window is finished, following the arrival of Philippe Coutinho. 

The lowdown

The Brazil playmaker, whose 11 trophies at senior level include the Champions League in 2020, joined Steven Gerrard’s side on loan from Barcelona earlier this month.

The Athletic’s Gregg Evans called it ‘the highest-profile deal in the club’s history’, while The Telegraph’s John Percy dubbed it a ‘remarkable’ move.

Villa have also signed Coutinho’s former Barcelona team-mate Lucas Digne from Everton in a £25m deal.

The latest

Kenny reckons that the capture of Coutinho is a sign of what’s to come for Aston Villa, predicting that a ‘very interesting’ period lies ahead and backing the club to pull off another coup prior to the 31 January deadline.

The former Republic of Ireland goalkeeper told Football Insider: “Gerrard has some pull. Villa is also another club with a lot of money. It is an attractive club to be at.

“I can only see them spending more and more and becoming a better team. Players will see Coutinho signing for them and that will make them think it is something they could do.

“They are building a very good squad there, no one thought they would sign Coutinho, it was a shock. You wonder if they can spring another surprise signing on us at some point.

“You can’t rule it out, it’s an exciting club to be at. I think the last few weeks of this window are going to be very interesting for Villa.”

The verdict

Who could the next statement signing be?

One possible candidate is Brighton’s Yves Bissouma, with Villa said to be interested in the midfielder, who has a £50m price tag on his head (via The Athletic).

The Seagulls may not be comparable to Barcelona in stature, but the Mali international is a player who has been previously linked with the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal. According to one African football pundit Daniel Ekedo, it would be a ‘massive coup’ for the Midlands outfit if they can bring the 25-year-old to Villa Park.

Indeed, a £50m deal would shatter Villa’s existing club-record signing of Emiliano Buendia, who joined last summer. in a move which could amount to £38m.

Amid such a transfer rumour, it’s little wonder why Kenny is so excited at Villa’s prospective business over the remainder of this month.

In other news, many Villa fans flock to this exit rumour 

Leicestershire made a powerful return to County Championship action at NewRoad as, after dismissing Worcestershire for 175, they closed only 12 behindfollowing half-centuries by Will Jefferson and Jacques du Toit

28-Jun-2010
ScorecardLeicestershire made a powerful return to County Championship action at NewRoad as, after dismissing Worcestershire for 175, they closed only 12 behindfollowing half-centuries by Will Jefferson and Jacques du Toit.The only bright spot for the home side was a partnership of 71 by Ben Cox andlower-order left-hander Gareth Andrew after they had buckled to 77 for 6against impressive swing and seam bowling.Six days after completing his A-levels at Bromsgrove School, Cox marked hissecond Championship appearance by making 42, with the resourceful Andrew makingan unbeaten 53 from 96 balls.When Leicestershire replied with 163 for 3 in 36 overs, wicketkeeper Coxheld two catches but Worcestershire’s seamers could not prevent Jefferson (64)and Du Toit (57) putting on 107 for the second wicket.In the morning session, everything that captain Mathew Hoggard did turned toprofit for Leicestershire. The former England bowler rattled Daryl Mitchell’soff stump with his fifth delivery and his first bowling changes brought instantsuccess.Phil Jaques pulled Nadeem Malik’s third delivery to mid-on and Moeen Ali, aftermaking some headway with six fours, was leg-before for 33 in James Benning’ssecond over. For Malik it was a rewarding return to Championship cricket after a break of 21months since his last game in September 2008.After being troubled by a back problem last season, he resumed against one ofhis former sides with a testing spell in which he also bowled Alexei Kervezeefor figures of 2 for 50 from 12 overs.Teenage prospect Nathan Buck went empty-handed with the new ball but wasquickly on the button when he came back to have Ben Smith caught behind for 14.A second wicket followed after lunch when James Cameron (15) edged to slip.This was the cue for 18-year-old Cox to reinforce a favourable first impressionfrom last September, when he made 61 on his debut against Somerset at Taunton. Now signed up on a four-year contract, he has returned as the county’s number one keeper, taking over after a three-month loan stint by Middlesex’s Ben Scott.Cox batted with good judgment in picking off eight boundaries before Leicestershire’s spinners, Jigar Naik and Claude Henderson, shared the last four wickets.With Cox caught behind from Naik’s fourth delivery, Andrew made the best oflimited support from the tail, reaching his fifth Championship half-century withseven fours and a six.

A major transfer update has emerged regarding Newcastle United’s efforts to bolster their squad this month… 

What’s the talk?

Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed that the Magpies could have a fresh body in the door at some point this week.

The Toon are on the hunt for addition to their squad in the January transfer window and the reporter has offered a ray of hope to supporters hoping to see the club’s third piece of business done in the coming days.

He told Newcastle Fans TV YouTube channel, via This Is Futbol: “At the moment, the focus is on new signings because they need to have new faces, new players and in particular in the defence.

“So I’m told [that the] board, they’re working to have the new centre-back in maybe Wednesday or Thursday, but they want to have him as soon as possible. So I’m sure that Monday/Tuesday will be really busy with the new signings and then outgoings maybe in the final week of the window, they will have some sort of opportunity on this point.”

Fans will love it

Newcastle fans will surely love this update from Romano for several reasons. Firstly, the player coming in by Wednesday or Thursday means that the Toom Army have exciting news to anticipate imminently, whilst it also means that they could see an improved team for their clash with Leeds at the weekend.

The Magpies are in desperate need of further additions to their squad as they attempt to battle their way out of the relegation zone. They are currently 19th in the table and have only won one game in the Premier League all season, indicating that their current team is not good enough for where they want to be.

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This is why fans will love the prospect of the club’s third signing coming in this week, following deals for Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood earlier in the month. It is impossible to say whether or not this prospective signing will be an upgrade on what they already have, but given that Romano has not name-dropped anyone, fans will still be able to look forward to seeing someone who has the potential to come in and improve the team.

Supporters will also be buzzing to see the club strengthen the centre-back position in particular. Only Norwich have conceded more goals than Newcastle in the top flight this season, so the fans will surely be excited to see an attempt to improve their team’s dreadful defensive record.

AND in other news, NUFC could land big Clark upgrade in “incredible” £7.2m-rated beast, he’s a “monster”…

It will be a huge challenge for Salman Butt to take over the reins for the first time as well as be Pakistan’s most important batsman

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale20-Jul-2010Match FactsWednesday, July 21, Headingley
Start time 10:30am (0930 GMT)The Big PictureSalman Butt, Pakistan’s most important batsman, has to now bear the burden of captaincy•Associated PressOh Pakistan, what will you come up with next? After the tour of Australia, life bans were handed out and overturned before the team had even played its next Test, and now it has lost its new captain to retirement after one match. Admittedly, Shahid Afridi wasn’t exactly in a Test-match state of mind, but it will be a huge challenge for Salman Butt to take over the reins for the first time as well as be Pakistan’s most important batsman. Butt was described during that trip to Australia as “a little lazy runner” by the then leader Mohammad Yousuf, and we will soon find out whether he has the respect of the rest of his team-mates. His vice-captain is Kamran Akmal, who was dropped two Tests ago. Go figure.For Australia things are considerably more stable. Since Pakistan last beat Australia in a Test, in November 1995, Australia have had four Test captains and Pakistan have had 12, soon to become 13. Still, Ricky Ponting is in charge of a side that had two debutants at Lord’s and the team has handed out 17 baggy green caps since the start of 2008. By the standards of Australian cricket, that’s Pakistan-like instability. However, things are coming together for Ponting six months out from another Ashes series and his men have won their last seven Tests.There are some areas Australia will hope to improve at Headingley. In the first Test, Australia gathered 11 wickets via the bowling of their top six batsmen, thanks to Shane Watson and Marcus North. That means the strike bowlers have plenty of room to lift while some key batsmen, including Ponting himself, also struggled at Lord’s.Form guideAustralia WWWWW
Pakistan LLLLD
Watch out for…Simon Katich may not put backsides on seats like Ricky Ponting, but he’s been a more consistent contributor than Australia’s captain over the past two years. Katich’s 80 and 83 at Lord’s continued a remarkable run for the opener; he has made at least a half-century in each of his past nine Tests. The longest equivalent streak that Don Bradman ever achieved was seven Tests, although that is a little misleading. An ankle injury prevented Bradman from batting in either innings at The Oval in 1938; take that match out of the list and Bradman had a minimum of a half-century in 13 consecutive Tests in which he batted.Salman Butt has a terrific record against Australia, averaging 47.14 against them in Tests compared to an overall career mark of 32.75. He was the joint Man of the Match with Katich at Lord’s for his 63 and 92, but now he must balance the captaincy with his own performance. Pakistan can barely afford for his batting to drop off at all; none of their other batsmen managed a half-century in the first Test.Team newsAustralia have had a couple of worries over the past few days with Ben Hilfenhaus managing a sore shoulder, while Marcus North sat out of training on Monday due to an illness. It is likely that both men will be passed fit, which would mean an unchanged side from the team that won by 150 runs in the first Test. Should either Hilfenhaus or North fail to prove their health, the fast bowler Peter George or the batsman Usman Khawaja would be in line for a debut.”He didn’t train yesterday,” Ricky Ponting said of Hilfenhaus before training on Tuesday. “He just came down and ran some laps, with the expectation that he’s going to have to bowl four or five overs today. He has come along really well. We were all a bit worried about him immediately after the Lord’s game. He woke up the next morning particularly sore but he’s improved a lot. We’ll push him today and we expect that he’ll be right to play.”[North has] been a little bit ill but I think everyone in his family has had it the last couple of days and got over it pretty quickly. I’d expect him to train today and be okay for the game.”Australia (possible) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Simon Katich, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Marcus North, 7 Tim Paine (wk), 8 Steven Smith, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Ben Hilfenhaus, 11 Doug Bollinger.The retirement of Afridi leaves a position available at No. 6 and Shoaib Malik would be the logical replacement as a batsman who can bowl useful overs of spin. However, there is also talk of a change to the attack, with Saeed Ajmal possibly in line for his sixth Test at the expense of Danish Kaneria.Pakistan (possible) 1 Imran Farhat, 2 Salman Butt (capt), 3 Umar Amin, 4 Azhar Ali, 5 Umar Akmal, 6 Shoaib Malik, 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 Mohammad Aamer, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Mohammad Asif.Pitch and conditionsOvercast conditions helped the swing bowlers at Lord’s and that could be the case again at Headingley. There is some rain forecast for the second and third days.Stats and trivia Australia have beaten Pakistan in 13 consecutive Tests, the greatest winning run by a country over another in Test history. The last Test in which Katich failed to post a half-century was at Headingley last year. His only other Test at this venue was his debut, when he made 15 and 0 not out Ricky Ponting has an incredible record at Headingley, where he averages 105.25 in his three matches. It was the venue of his first Test century way back in July 1997 Salman Butt will be the third man to captain Pakistan in a Test this calendar year, quite an achievement considering they have only played three TestsQuotes”We don’t know what to make of him as captain. I thought he played really well last game – that’s as well as I’ve seen him bat.”
Ricky Ponting on Salman Butt”I told them the best thing to do is leave the ball outside off stump and the short ball.”
Ijaz Ahmed, the Pakistan assistant coach who made 141 in a Headingley Test, has been giving some advice to his batsmen.

As per a source close to Flamengo forward Gabriel Barbosa, speaking in an interview with Globo Esporte, there has been more news involving West Ham United and the player.

The Lowdown: West Ham enter talks…

The 25-year-old is a name we keep hearing through the press as David Moyes aims to bolster his attacking options before the January 31 deadline.

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Sky Sports first broke news of West Ham’s interest in Barbosa as they went on to lift the lid on talks and a loan-to-buy offer for him earlier this month.

Indeed, the Irons and recruitment chief Rob Newman lodged a proposal to take the striker on a temporary spell for 18 months with the option to make his stay permanent for €30m (£25m), according to Sky Sports.

Sharing an update, a source very close to Barbosa has now made a further admission.

The Latest: Agent confirms Barbosa offer…

Speaking to South American news outlet Globo Esporte, the former Inter Milan striker’s representative Junior Pedroso has claimed that West Ham have indeed tabled a formal offer to take Barbosa on loan.

First revealing an approach from Newcastle, Pedroso then went on to confirm West Ham’s involvement, saying: “The other club that actually went about with a formalization of a loan offer was West Ham. And then I didn’t even take that offer to Gabriel, I directed it to Flamengo , who gave a negative.

“Flamengo doesn’t see a loan as a possibility, even paying a fortune, and we wouldn’t consider a loan issue at the moment either.”

The Verdict: Time to move on…

The prolific forward has been nothing short of a revelation in Brazil, having scored a phenomenal 29 goals in all competitions throughout 2021, but he could be a gamble in the English top flight.

Barbosa’s only spell in Europe to date came at Inter, which was a regrettable one to say the least, so you can understand why Moyes and co want to test the waters with a loan deal before discussing any permanent move.

According to journalist Pete O’Rourke, West Ham are still interested in a loan deal for the ‘big name’ striker, as Graeme Bailey worded it. However, after this interview with his agent, it could be time for the Irons to move on to other targets.

In 0ther news: ExWHUemployee claims West Ham are eyeing ‘absolutely incredible’ ace with loan-to-buy move in discussion, find out more here.