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Cricket Canada has settled on a squad for their upcoming engagement at the ICC America’s Division One Championship in Bermuda

Cricinfo staff07-May-2010Cricket Canada has settled on a squad for their upcoming engagement at the ICC America’s Division One Championship in Bermuda, but it does not include regular captain Ashish Bagai, who is being rested ahead of what is to be a gruelling push to the 2011 World Cup. Rizwan Cheema, who deputized for Bagai during the tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year, will captain the side in Bagai’s absence.”With Ashish unavailable for this tour we are looking to Cheema and Chohan to lead this team to a good performance,” said Chris James, chairman of selectors. “We have confidence in our young players to perform in this competition but are looking to see some good contributions from the senior players as well.”The head coach of the national side, Pubudu Dassanayake, was pleased with the squad and expressed his hopes that the team could return the America’s championship trophy to Canada. “We have just come out of a tough tour of the West Indies and are looking to build up into the WCL Division 1 and continue on into the World Cup,” he said. “Our expectation for this team is high and we are looking to reassert ourselves in the region.”Dassanayake will hand the team over to former Canadian captain and current Cricket Operations Officer Ingleton Liburd for the Bermuda tour as he will be participating in the upcoming Cricket Australia Conference in Australia at the time. This annual conference involves the majority of Australia’s full-time state and national coaching, sports science and sports medicine staff.Second Vice President Vimal Hardat backed Liburd to do well with the team, saying “Ingleton Liburd is one of our all time great players and we feel very comfortable handing over the reigns to him for this tour. The expectation will be high but we are confident he can deliver.”The team training camp has already started in Toronto, and the squad will leave on May 27 for the championship in Bermuda, which runs from May 28 to June 6.Canada squad: Rizwan Cheema (capt), Khurram Chohan, Harvir Baidwan, Trevin Bastiampillai, Umar Bhatti, Rustam Bhatti, Parth Desai, Sunil Dhaniram, Jimmy Hansra, Calvert Hooper, Sandeep Jyoti, Nitish Kumar, Usman Limbada, Zubin Surkari

Spanish football expert Guillem Balague has dropped the latest information regarding the future of Atletico Madrid right-back Kieran Trippier, with the Englishman reportedly keen on a move to Newcastle United.

What’s the story?

Speaking to BBC 5Live’s Euro Leagues show, Balague said: “Trippier has been approached. He likes the idea of going back. He doesn’t want to play in the Championship.

“But he would like to play for Newcastle next season, yes. I think he’s got a buy-out clause of about €31m or something like that.

“He has enjoyed Atletico Madrid but I feel he is ready to go back, go back to England.

“They [Newcastle] do want him January. He has said yes to them for January. It’s Atletico Madrid now who’s got to say, ‘We let him go now or at the end of the season.’”

Newcastle United are facing their first transfer window since the completion of their Saudi-backed takeover and have had countless amounts of players linked with moves to the North-East since the takeover was completed.

However, their Premier League status still remains well and truly in the balance, which could arguably prevent potential suitors from joining in January with their fate uncertain…Trippier included.

Newcastle fans will be buzzing

A swoop for the 31-year-old would be a major statement of intent from Eddie Howe and co. However, the uncertainty surrounding whether or not the Magpies will be relegated could prove a significant factor in the likelihood of a deal.

The Englishman has been a core member of Gareth Southgate’s England squad since the 51-year-old took charge of the national team as well as playing a major part in Atletico Madrid’s La Liga triumph last season.

Balague explained: “He was crucial last season, they changed their formation because of him and they took advantage of a lot of his fantastic crosses and his pushing on, going forward.”

However, this season the right-back hasn’t enjoyed similar fortunes with a shoulder injury holding him back lately.

Alas, Trippier’s quality and experience would prove to be a seismic improvement on the current options of Javier Manquillo and Emil Krafth, neither of whom have particularly impressed this campaign.

It’s exactly why Magpies fans will be buzzing with the potential of a deal.

Manchester United are yet to make any moves in the transfer window so far, despite a number of players being linked to the club due to Ralf Rangnick’s recent appointment at Old Trafford, but it looks like one of the rumoured targets has been taken off the table.

What’s the word?

Popular transfer insider, Fabrizio Romano, has taken to his Twitter account this afternoon to confirm that Manchester United are not in the process of signing, River Plate winger, Julian Alvarez.

The Italian journalist Tweeted:

“Julián Álvarez. Manchester United are currently not in the process to sign him in January. Rangnick staff monitored Álvarez at Lokomotiv and Man Utd sent scouts – there’s nothing else as of now.”

“His agent’s gonna meet with many clubs.”

The 21-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford over the last few day, but they could now lose out to another interested Premier League club, if they are cooling off from their approach, as Newcastle United have also been linked with the young player this week according to Italian news outlet, Gazzetta della Sport (via Sport Witness).

Fans will be gutted

Manchester United fans will be gutted that the club hasn’t started to nail down some new signings, especially after the 1-0 defeat to Wolves this week that would have been disappointing scenes for fans.

One fan Tweeted the club directly to express their desire to see the club make some signings:

“Speaking of signings can you sign some players who want to put effort into their work?”

Argentine winger, Alvarez, has managed to get on the radar of Premier League clubs, all the way from South America, thanks to his impressive output this season.

According to SofaScore, the 21-year-old has netted least every 88 minutes, with 18 goals in 21 games for River Plate, and has bagged six assists so far, despite averaging at just 76 minutes per game on the pitch, starting 17 of the 21 games he has played this season.

This kind of attacking threat and prolific finishing would be a welcome addition to United, who are struggling to finish their chances with just a 12% goal conversion rate this season in the league. As a result, supporters will be increasingly sad to see Alvarez not arriving.

Rangnick needs to find solutions in key areas that can make a positive impact on the current side that is “lacking confidence” according to former Red Devils defender, Rio Ferdinand.

Manchester United will have the chance to redeem themselves after a poor performance in the Premier League, by taking advantage of a good run in the FA Cup, they will host Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Monday night.

In other news: Manchester United eye Kamara & Neves deals

Matthew Hayden, the former Australia opener, has said Australia missed an opportunity to capitalise on the enormous potential of Twenty20 cricket when the format was still in its developing stages

Cricinfo staff13-Jun-2010Matthew Hayden, the former Australia opener, has said Australia missed an opportunity to capitalise on the enormous potential of Twenty20 cricket when the format was still in its developing stages. He claimed the desire to protect 50-over cricket – Australia’s own creation – and a primary focus on Tests and ODIs when the IPL was yet to materialise may have contributed to Australia’s delay in cashing in on Twenty20. Hayden also spoke of the need to make one-day cricket more meaningful and exciting for fans and players alike.”As a player, I think we in Australia were slow to react to T20,” Hayden, who is now part of Cricket Australia as board director, told the . ”We didn’t see much of it here for a start. It seemed to be something that was happening everywhere else. England created it and was holding competitions, but the IPL hadn’t started yet and our primary focus here was on winning every Test match and being one-day champions.”A conservative approach in trying to safeguard 50-over cricket, Hayden said, could have prompted the delay in realising the potential of Twenty20. ”There must have been some concern, being conservative as Australians tend to be, that we’ve got this great product, 50-over cricket, which KP [Kerry Packer] invented and which changed the cricketing landscape, and we didn’t want to leave it behind,” Hayden said. “We were all proud of 50-over cricket, we’d nurtured it and grew it and it was – and still is – good for the game.”But the little brother, Twenty20, isn’t little any more. He’s grown up, he’s now market leader and yelling from the mountain. Twenty20 is fuelling change.”The surging popularity of Twenty20 cricket, many believe, has threatened the viability of the 50-over format. Cricket Australia, in order to draw more people to the game, has decided to trial split-innings one-dayers next summer, with games divided into four innings of 20-25 overs each. Hayden said that, in addition to making one-day cricket more exciting, it was also important for administrators to ensure there wasn’t an overdose of the format.”I understand the fans more now than ever because, as a viewer, I want to see a game that’s exciting, innovative and entertaining,” Hayden said. “When I was in the Australian team, I could sense there was meaningless cricket going on. I always struggled to get myself up for matches against minnows. It’s not like Freddie Flintoff with his eyes wide open, bearing down on you for the Ashes. I could feel that in the team and now I can feel it from the outside, too. It needs to be dealt with.”With one-day cricket, people say they still love it, but it doesn’t have the excitement it used to, certainly not compared to T20. We have to work out when and how we play one-day cricket. It’s a pathway to the World Cup, which is still a valuable property, but it has to be programmed in a way that makes sense. Seven one-dayers at the end of a Test series isn’t [giving much] meaning.”Hayden has compiled his suggestions in a dossier, which he has submitted to the ICC. ”Greater minds than mine will act on this, but these things must be considered when discussing the game’s future,” he said. ”The intention of that dossier was to start conversations. I hope it leads to a more meaningful calendar.”The game’s gone beyond cigars and meetings in cloakrooms. The way it’s played and viewed has changed and now we need to streamline what’s important and what’s not. It brings great challenges. I think CA understands that. They know change is coming and needs to be embraced.”

South Africa Under-19 got off to a winning start in the opening ODI at Harare, bundling out the hosts for 94 to seal a 76-run win in a low scorer

Cricinfo staff04-Jul-2010
ScorecardSouth Africa Under-19 got off to a winning start in the opening one-day match in Harare, bundling out the hosts for 94 to seal a 76-run win in a low-scoring conest. Keaton Jennings, captaining South Africa on debut, top scored with 50 in his side’s total of 169, which was well out of Zimbabwe’s reach.Jennings, son of former South Africa coach Ray Jennings, was the only player in the top order who made a decent contribution. South Africa had lost half their side for 64 before Jennings and Johan de Preez added 50 for the sixth wicket. Roy Kahiya, the right-arm seamer, was the most effective bowler, taking 4 for 49, and one of his victims was Jennings. Quinton de Kock made 43 off 41 balls to lift his team to 169 but they could only last 40 overs.The Zimbabweans suffered in their chase because of the lack of partnerships. Keagan Rafferty and Riyaad Henry took three wickets apiece to flatten Zimbabwe and close out the match in the 35th over. Only three batsmen managed to reach double figures.

Many Everton fans have been left speculating over a claim made by Abdoulaye Doucoure on Rafa Benitez’s tactics.

Speaking to The Liverpool Echo, the former Watford ace claimed that it is ‘better’ to play in a three-man midfield, rather than the two that Benitez has often played this season:

“I think sometimes when you play a three, especially some games where Andre (Gomes) came on, I think we played much better because we have more possession in midfield and have more numbers in the middle sometimes.”

Gomes was given the start alongside Allan in midfield in the FA Cup fixture at Hull City last weekend, but the manager has not deployed a three-man midfield since the 3-1 defeat at Crystal Palace, where Fabian Delph started alongside Gomes and Doucoure.

This is not the first time that someone inside the club has challenged Benitez’s tactics, as Lucas Digne reportedly had a row with the manager over how he was using him.

The left-back has now been sold to Aston Villa, and so members of the Goodison Park faithful are now speculating whether Doucoure will have the same fate, should he take up his claim with Benitez.

Nonetheless, it is a matter that should be discussed on the training ground behind closed doors, with a game away at Norwich City in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon to come.

Everton fans on Doucoure claim

These supporters of the Merseyside club speculated as the claim was shared on Twitter:

“That’s him out the door”

Credit: @magtinheb316

“Another name to the transfer list.”

Credit: @ohso_savage

“That’ll be him sold next”

Credit: @_GaryRoe

“Bye Doucs”

Credit: @Stu17666455

“There’s Doucoure gone then”

Credit: @andrewJNRdwyer

“Benitez will probably sell him after seeing this”

Credit: @JoelFreemanEFC

In other news, find out what transfer update Blues have flocked to here!

Andrew Strauss insists there is still plenty of room for improvement from England in the final ODI at Lord’s as they search for a 4-1 series victory

Brydon Coverdale at Lord's02-Jul-2010Andrew Strauss insists there is still plenty of room for improvement from England in the final ODI at Lord’s as they search for a 4-1 series victory. The loss at The Oval on Wednesday ruined their chances of a clean-sweep and although Strauss maintains there is nothing to be gained from the series ahead of the Ashes, he does believe every win is important less than a year from a World Cup.England will consider making changes for Saturday’s game, with the possibility that players might be rested ahead of Bangladesh’s tour. But Strauss doesn’t want to risk Australia finishing the series with a pair of victories, after England’s powerful start gave them a realistic chance of completing a whitewash.”Having pretty much dominated the first three games, we don’t want the series to finish 3-2,” Strauss said. “It would not be the sort of way to finish the series we would have anticipated at 3-0 up. But we’ve got to play better than we did at The Oval, there’s no doubt about that, and look back to what we’ve done well over those first three games and make sure we repeat it.”We’ve had one hundred in the series, so you always want your top order to get hundreds, there’s no doubt about that. That’s an area we’ve identified that we can improve. As a batting unit I think we can probably play better than we have done. The bowling has been pretty good, the fielding his been pretty good, but there’s still room for improvement in both of those disciplines as well.”One man England would love to see lift is Kevin Pietersen, who has shown promise during the series without making use of his starts. Pietersen has now gone 16 ODIs without a half-century, stretching back to the tour of India in November 2008, and Strauss said that while such a lean patch was unexpected, he had no concerns over Pietersen’s form.”You expect him to score runs consistently and he has done so much in the past,” Strauss said. “What I would say is he has contributed in a lot of those one-day internationals without getting fifties. He’s still the player that opposition teams fear the most in our side. If you see him playing in the nets, you know there’s absolutely no reason to believe he’s not going to go out and get a hundred tomorrow. We’ve got no concerns with him.”While victory for England would cap off an outstanding series, Australia will consider it a minor triumph if they come from 3-0 down to end up with a 3-2 scoreline. There have been some real positives for the visitors over the past two games, including the form of the pace trio of Shaun Tait, Doug Bollinger and Ryan Harris.The Australians are also keen to take some momentum into their Twenty20s against Pakistan, which begin two days after the Lord’s ODI. The coach Tim Nielsen said the group was in better spirits after the 78-run win at The Oval.”We feel a bit better about ourselves,” Nielsen said. “We were probably building to that game throughout the first three. It would be nice to finish 3-2. If we do that, we know we’ve played well tomorrow and it’s probably a pretty fair reflection of the series.”

Leeds United have been dealt a huge setback in their pursuit of long-time target Nahitan Nandez…

What’s the word?

The Yorkshire outfit have regularly been linked with a move for the Cagliari midfielder, having been mooted during the summer window, as per L’Unione Sarda (via Sport Witness).

Director of football Victor Orta was even said to have flown out to Sardinia to try and strike a deal.

And earlier this month, other reports from Italy suggested that the Whites were ‘leading the race’ to sign the 26-year-old before deadline day on January 31st.

However, Leeds have now been dealt a late blow with just eight days to go as financial heavyweights Newcastle United have entered the race, according to Tuttosport.

After their takeover earlier in the season, the Magpies have huge backing from the Saudi Public Investment Fund, making them fierce competitors to Nandez’s signature, especially as there is a lack of funds at Elland Road.

“They don’t have fortunes to throw around at the moment,” recently claimed transfer insider Dean Jones to GIVEMESPORT this week.

Perfect for Bielsa

Thus, this latest development will come as a massive blow to Bielsa and Leeds, not at least because they are absolutely desperate to get in reinforcements for the engine room.

They have not signed a midfielder since January 2018, when Adam Forshaw joined from Middlesbrough, which is rather damning in itself, whilst Bielsa will be without the services of star anchorman Kalvin Phillips until March, at the very earliest.

Nandez would be an astute addition and one that is perfect for the Argentine’s tactical system. He certainly fits the atypical profile.

[snack-amp-story url = “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-lufc-transfer-rumours-gossip-bielsa-orta-radrizzani-elland-road-updates” title=”Read the latest Leeds news, transfer updates and much, much more!”]

As we’ve previously outlined on Football FanCast, the Uruguay international would be something of a dream signing for Bielsa.

Standing at a diminutive 5 foot 7, the midfield dynamo is a powerful and bustling presence in midfield, leading to him being dubbed a “machine” by Serie A expert Conor Clancy.

This season, he’s averaged 2.3 aerial duels, 1.9 tackles and 1.4 dribbles per league outing (via WhoScored), which suggests he’s not just a ball-winning beast but one that can quickly get up the pitch.

But Leeds simply won’t be able to compete with the Magpies, who splashed a whopping £25m on Chris Wood just to get him in time for their clash at Watford last week and then Elland Road on Saturday afternoon.

It paid off with Eddie Howe’s men securing just their second win of the season. They will be able to offer Cagliari a better fee and the player a better financial package, so it seems as if Bielsa and co may well struggle to land one of their key targets.

On the above evidence, this will surely leave the 66-year-old absolutely livid as his club are no closer to additions this month, especially after previously insisting to sign Nandez.

AND in other news, Bielsa could land his own Conor Gallagher in Leeds swoop for “silky” 15-cap sensation…

Dirk Nannes, the Australian left-arm quick, has warned young players about pinning all their aspirations on Twenty20

Andrew McGlashan20-Jul-2010Dirk Nannes, the Australian left-arm quick, has warned cricketers against pinning all their aspirations on Twenty20 despite his own success at forging a career in the shortest format of the game. He believes all players should aim for Test honours and only give that away if injuries impact heavily on their careers.It was a route Nannes took earlier this year when he quit first-class cricket after a series of injuries to focus on limited-overs. He has now formed a successful Twenty20 career with Australia and with domestic teams around the world, including Nottinghamshire whom he has helped qualify for the Friends Provident t20 quarter-finals, but still harbours ambitions of playing in next year’s 50-over World Cup.However, with the sums of money now on offer for Twenty20 it will be increasingly tempting for players to angle their game towards that format. There are already signs of such developments with Kieron Pollard, the West Indies allrounder, plying his trade around the world and, although not a youngster, Shahid Afridi last week quit Test cricket saying he didn’t have the temperament for the game.”I don’t think playing just Twenty20 is a good move. I think it would be a wrong move for a young player to go and do that,” Nannes told Cricinfo. “I don’t think it’s the right thing, certainly from a cricket development point of view. Yes, short term, you might be able to make a few quid out of it but long term you find the best players in Twenty20, more often than not, are the best in Tests and one-dayers as well.”I don’t think it is right that people give those things away too early. There’s been talk of people like David Warner being just a Twenty20 specialist, but I think that would be dangerous for someone like him to do that without first trying to be a Test cricketer. He’s certainly trying to be successful in all formats and I don’t think it’s right to just try to be a Twenty20 specialist.Nannes doesn’t want to stick to playing just Twenty20 and is pushing for a place in Australia’s World Cup squad next year. He has only played a single ODI, against Scotland last year, but feels he has plenty to offer the 50-over game if the selectors want to give him a chance.”Absolutely, I’d love to,” he said. “I’m still playing one-dayers at home. I certainly want to throw my hat in the ring for that, but unfortunately I don’t pick the team and they haven’t selected me yet so we’ll have to see how it goes. I think I’ve bowled well in India as a whole in the IPL and fast bowlers still have a case to play out there and do well.”Nannes didn’t want to give up first-class cricket but felt it was the only way to prolong his career, which is a decision that has also been taken by his Australia team-mate Shaun Tait, while Andrew Flintoff shelved Test cricket after another injury last year.”While I can sit there and think ‘what if’ the facts are that while I’m playing the longer forms my body suffers,” he said. “The chances are that if I was playing four-day cricket that I wouldn’t be able to stand up at the moment to play in a Test. I don’t have many regrets about most things I’ve done in my life.”Nannes, though, doesn’t go along with Imran Khan’s views – expressed at this year’s MCC Spirit of Cricket lecture – that fast bowlers will become extinct because of the increasing demands being placed on them by packed schedules, even though he admitted it wasn’t easy for the guys who bowl at 90mph.”That’s a bit sensationalist,” he said. “I wouldn’t have thought we were becoming extinct. I think with the nature of how much cricket we are playing fast bowlers are prone to being injured more. Playing so much cricket isn’t really conducive to good fast bowling so I can see where he’s coming from, but in terms of being a dying species I don’t think that’s right.”Dirk Nannes is playing for Nottinghamshire in the Friends Provident t20 Quarter Finals. For more information on Friends Provident’s pensions, protections and investment products visit www.friendsprovident.com or to buy tickets click here

Celtic’s ‘priority’ is to sign another central midfielder, Pete O’Rourke has told Give Me Sport. 

The lowdown: Surprising

With just over a week of the January transfer window remaining, Celtic’s outlay stands at £3.82million.

They’ve signed five new players, three of whom – Reo Hatate, Yosuke Ideguchi and Matt O’Riley – can play in central midfield.

It is surprising, then, that Ange Postecoglou wants another central player, but it’s possible that the Australian views Hatate as a more of a left-sided option in the long-term.

It should also be noted that Celtic have offloaded two midfielders this month, with Liam Shaw and Ewan Henderson sealing loan moves.

The latest: Priority

O’Rourke reckons that Postecoglou’s biggest concern at present is strengthening further in the middle of the park.

“I think central midfield is the priority for Celtic right now,” he said.

The verdict: Kendouci?

Who, then, could be the next central midfielder?

Well perhaps Ahmed Kendouci is the most likely candidate. In their live transfer blog on Tuesday, The Daily Record reported that the ES Setif man had submitted a transfer request.

The Algerian top-flight club didn’t dismiss that request outright. Instead, they’ve taken some time to assess their next move.

If they agree to grant his wish, £1.17million-rated Kendouci, the most valuable player in his league according to Transfermarkt, could be the latest player to jet into Glasgow from outside Europe.

Elsewhere, there’s bad news on a Celtic loanee.