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Umar Gul and Mohammad Aamer, Pakistan’s newest pace sensation, can be expected to give a few nervous moments to oppostion batsmen

Cricinfo staff01-Jun-2009Pakistan’s bowling attack for the ICC World Twenty20 could provide some anxious moments to opposition batsmen with the addition of the country’s newest fast bowling sensation Mohammad Aamer to its pace battery. The attack already includes Umar Gul, the leading wicket-taker at the last World Twenty20.Gul said he wanted to do better than last time and would attack the batsmen right from the first ball. “We have a balanced attack and if we bowl to a tight line and length, then we can get teams out or restrict them to gettable totals.”Gul said he preferred bowling first change since more swing could be obtained. “It’s the ideal time to not only stop the flow of runs but to take wickets. We came so close to winning the title in 2007 but it was bad luck. This time round we want to finish it without a blemish. The title, nothing less, is the aim.”Aamer, a 17-year old left-arm fast bowler from Rawalpindi, has said he wants to emulate his idol Wasim Akram’s success in the 1992 World Cup when he plays in the World Twenty20.”I want fairytale success, and will do my best for it,” Aamer said.Aamer, a protégé of Akram who had called for his selection to the national side in July last year, was born only two weeks after Akram’s feats at the 1992 World Cup but said he had watched videos of his idol and that attracted him to cricket. “I was never interested in joining the army. I was attracted by cricket and by Wasim Akram,” he said. In his maiden first-class season, Aamer took 56 wickets in 10 matches for Rawalpindi. He also picked up 15 wickets in List A games and was picked for the Bangladesh tour which was postponed. Along with Mohammad Talha, Aamer is regarded as Pakistan’s latest pace sensation.Shakil Shaikh, the official who spotted Aamer, said his swing and pace was handy. “Aamer’s strong point is that he can judge a batsman after a few deliveries and then plan his deliveries,” Shaikh said.Akram has tipped him to be a revelation in the World Twenty20. “I have watched him more than once and he’s impressive with over 140kmh speed and can swing the ball both ways.”

Football Insider and talkSPORT pundit, Gabby Agbonlahor, has been reacting to news on Celtic midfielder James McCarthy.

The Lowdown: Devlin’s claim

Devlin, Celtic’s correspondent for The Athletic, shared news from a dressing room source regarding summer signing Giorgos Giakoumakis.

Prior to the Hoops’ 1-0 defeat to Livingston, Devlin claimed that Giakoumakis is ‘quite far off it in training’.

Devlin then shared another dressing room source claim less than 24 hours later, revealing McCarthy has struggled in training with the pace and intensity of Ange Postecoglou’s sessions.

The Celtic boss nor the club’s scouts had meaningful input into signing McCarthy, who failed to shine on his first start in green and white.

The Latest: Agbonlahor reacts

Agbonlahor was talking to Football Insider regarding Devlin’s claim on McCarthy.

He didn’t hold back on the midfielder, labelling the 30-year-old as ‘average’.

“He’s an average player, to be honest. I played against him a few times while he was at Wigan and he’s an average player. He does some things well but Celtic for me have got better midfielders.

“Maybe he’s one that comes out the team and is then in and out of the side.

“It’s worrying times for Celtic.”

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The Verdict: Next few months crucial

There has been speculation that the Irishman has suffered from Covid, so that could explain his struggles at Lennoxtown, particularly in terms of cardiovascular fitness.

Hopefully, we will see the midfielder improving prior to the New Year as he gets back to full health and match sharpness.

However, with Postecoglou not contributing to McCarthy’s transfer, if he continues to struggle, it might mean he falls down the Parkhead pecking order relatively quickly if things don’t improve.

In other news: Celtic now working on ‘top’ transfer without McKay; 48 y/o says he ‘would shine’ in Glasgow. 

A round-up of the opening day of the 11th round matches of the Regional Four Day Competition

Cricinfo staff22-Mar-2009It was an action-packed, frenetic day at Crab Hill as Leeward Islands slammed 410 for 8 in their 90 overs against Barbados. The honours belonged to Runako Morton, who braved a groin injury after lunch to end the day unbeaten on 192. He occupied the crease for almost the entire duration, walking in with the fall of Kieran Powell in the first over. They lost Montcin Hodge in the fifth before Morton and Codville Rogers went on the attack, finishing on 126 for 3 at lunch. Morton then added 90 for the fourth wicket with Tonito Willett and 64 with captain Steve Libburd before tea. He batted with a runner after lunch and reached three figures with a straight six off Kevin Stoute. It was his second hundred of the season and 12th in his first-class career. He shared two 40-plus stand with the lower order and ended the day with an unbeaten stand of 50 for the ninth wicket with Gavin Tonge. Morton’s unbeaten 192 came off 273 balls with 28 fours and two sixes.”I know the Bajans like to play competitive cricket and I love a challenge so I guess that’s why I probably have done so well against them,” Morton said. “Right now, I am just looking to enjoy my cricket and do my best for the Leewards. I will just continue to perform, and leave it to the selectors to decide.”Jason Mohammed stroked a solid half century to strengthen Trinidad and Tobago(T&T) against the Windward Islands at the Arnos Vale Ground. He scored a fluent 80 as T&T closed on 238 for 5 after being put into bat. Mohammed, playing his first match of the current first-class season, was involved in two half-century partnerships, including a 79-run fifth-wicket stand with Sherwin Ganga, who remained unbeaten on 34 at the close of play. T&T got a promising start from their openers Adrian Barath and Imran Khan, who posted a 52-run stand but Deighton Butler dismissed both batsmen in quick succession. Darren Bravo fell shortly before lunch, caught at slip off Shane Shillingford for 17. T&T were steady though, in the post-lunch session and captain Daren Ganga added 89 with Mohammed in a fourth-wicket stand that ended shortly before tea. Mohammed seemed on course to securing his second first-class hundred, but was trapped leg before by Johnson Charles, after hitting eight fours and a six during his innings.Jamaica took control on the opening day at Sabina Park, bundling out Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) for 171 before ending the day at 78 for no loss. Pacers Andrew Richardson and David Bernard and legspinner Gavin Wallace took three wickets apiece to sink CCC after they had opted to bat first. Richardson and Bernard did the early damages, claiming four wickets for five runs to leave CCC in the doldrums at 27 for 5. Nekoli Parris and Chadwick Walton resisted with a stand of 94, with Parris contributing 53. Walton fell two short of his half-century when he was run-out by Richardson and the lower order couldn’t put up the same resistance. Wallace had the best figures among the three, finishing with 3 for 19 in 12 overs. The Jamaican openers, Brenton Parchment and Donovan Pagon batted out 25 overs and ensured no loss of wickets.

The unlikely Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg salvaged Tottenham Hotspur a point at Rennes as the Premier League outfit got off to a drab start in the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League group stage on Thursday night.

Nuno Santo rang the changes and looked to be heading for a defeat at Roazhon Park before the Denmark international popped up with an equaliser in the 76th minute.

Spurs had taken an early lead when home defender Loic Bade turned the ball past his own goalkeeper off a Lucas Moura cross but it was soon back at all square after Flavien Tait fired home from the edge of the box midway through the first half.

The Ligue 1 outfit then retook the lead with less than 20 minutes on the clock, with Gaetan Laborde curling a shot past a helpless Pierluigi Gollini.

It was another disappointing outing from the Lilywhites but there was one rare positive, one which will give Nuno plenty to ponder heading into this weekend’s London derby against Chelsea.

Tanguy Ndombele excelled in his first start of the season.

“Pretty good outing forNdombeleoverall I thought,” explained The Athletic’s Jack Pitt-Brooke after the French midfielder was withdrawn in the 79th minute. “Great backheel to start the move for the first, and pass out to [Matt] Doherty for the second. Some other good moments like that burst forward early on in the second half.”

The £45m-rated dynamo requested to leave the north London club in the summer but no move materialised before deadline day and now it appears as if he has been given a lifeline.

Ndombele was a massive influence in the heart of midfield, playing alongside the youthful Oliver Skipp.

As per SofaScore, the 24-year-old midfielder made 88% of his 34 passing attempts, in which one was a key chance created, whilst he also pulled off 100% of his four dribbles and even made two interceptions.

This shows that he can contribute at either end of the pitch, making him a potential solution to Nuno’s attacking problems. That link between their own half and the final third has been a big issue in recent games and Ndombele just dropped one hell of a statement right in front of the Portuguese’s eyes.

Alasdair Gold at football.london was equally impressed, grading him a 7/10 – the best starter on the pitch.

‘He was the one Spurs player who looked like he might make something happen and combined well with Kane before being denied by the keeper after a run into the box,’ the reporter wrote.

Once lauded as a “world-beater” by former Spurs goalkeeper Joe Hart, we could be about to witness a massive comeback from Ndombele. His undoubted ability and talent is certainly going to be needed after back-to-back disappointments.

Nuno will have one huge headache on his hands now.

AND in other news, Nuno receives huge Spurs boost as Harry Kane update emerges…

It may not have happened in the way that many would’ve expected but it was inevitable.

West Ham will be without the services of their leading talisman Michail Antonio for their next Premier League outing, the tricky test of league leaders Manchester United, after the 31-year-old striker was sent off on Saturday afternoon.

In what was described as “stupid” by David Moyes, Antonio lunged into a tackle on Southampton’s Moussa Djenepo in the fifth minute of injury time to pick up his second yellow card.

The east Londoners failed to secure a new forward during the summer transfer window, so it now leaves the Scot in a tough predicament as he does not have the options to replace him outright, so this will come as a devastating blow ahead of a huge encounter.

Given Antonio’s injury history, we knew this situation was coming at some point, so they can count their lucky stars that it’s only a one-game ban and not something much longer as that would seriously hamper their unbeaten start to the 2021/22 season.

So, who should step up in the role?

On the Chalkboard

There are plenty of options to choose from.

Andriy Yarmolenko could be given a rare lifeline but considering he started just one league game last season – even when Antonio was in the squad too – it would be hard to imagine the Irons’ highest-paid player coming back into the starting XI anytime soon.

Said Benrhama is another who could step up and play a false nine-type role, especially after kickstarting the season with two goals and two assists. He’s already surpassed his goal tally from last season (one) and did find himself play up top on two occasions, too.

Moyes could even turn to the youth team in a desperate bid to find an alternative, with Thierry Nevers the most likely candidate following Mipo Odubeko’s loan to Huddersfield Town.

However, the best choice has to be Jarrod Bowen, who has also started the campaign on fire.

As per WhoScored ratings, the 24-year-old dynamo currently ranks as Moyes’ third-best player after their opening four matches, behind only Antonio and Declan Rice.

His average of 2.3 dribbles and 1.3 shots per game suggests that he can continue to be a nuisance to any Premier League backline, no matter the position he’s deployed in.

Bowen has experience in leading the line, too.

The former Hull City and Hereford United gem has played as a centre-forward or a second striker on 25 occasions, where he has scored nine goals and provided seven assists, as per Transfermarkt’s recorded matches.

During his time at the KCOM Stadium, Bowen was lauded as “unplayable” in attack and more recently, talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan described him as a “world-beater” (31 August, 10:50am).

The £26m-rated attacker must be the one to replace Antonio next weekend. Moyes could move him forward and bring summer signing Nikola Vlasic into the side, with Pablo Fornals and Benrahma able to run the channels instead.

AND in other news, Forget Antonio: £26m-rated West Ham star who lost possession 16x badly let Moyes down vs Saints…

Australian fast bowler Stuart Clark has been left out of the New South Wales squad for the Sheffield Shield clash against Western Australia at the SCG on Thursday to nurse his injured elbow

Cricinfo staff03-Mar-2009Australian fast bowler Stuart Clark has been left out of the New South Wales squad for the Sheffield Shield clash against Western Australia at the SCG on Thursday to nurse his injured elbow. Cricket Australia had in fact, instructed the NSW selectors to rest him for the sake of being fit for forthcoming national assignments.”He (Clark) told me he wanted to play and wanted to play last weekend against Queensland but (national team physiotherapist) Alex Kountouris and his medical team had said no,” NSW chairman of selectors Brian Taber told .The Blues made three changes to from the previous game, bringing in Nathan Bracken, Ed Cowan and Steven Smith for Peter Forrest, Grant Lambert and Moises Henriques. However, batsman David Warner was once again omitted and will have to wait longer for his first-class debut.”We hope he will play in all forms in the not too distant future,” Taber said. He explained that it he was omitted in favour of Usman Khawaja who impressed in the Blues’ previous game.Squad: Dominic Thornely (capt), Nathan Bracken, Beau Casson, Ed Cowan, Burt Cockley, Phil Jaques, Usman Khawaja, Greg Mail, Ben Rohrer, Daniel Smith, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc.

Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan batsman, was involved in an altercationwith spectators during a domestic match on Friday. Afridi was accusedof slapping a fan in the face, though he denied the speculation

Cricinfo staff09-Jan-2009
Shahid Afridi’s big-hitting makes him one of Pakistan’s most popular players © AFP
Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan batsman, was involved in an altercationwith spectators during a domestic match in Karachi on Friday. Afridi was accusedof slapping a fan in the face while turning out for Habib Bank Limited against Pakistan International Airlines in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, though he denied the speculation.”I didn’t slap anyone,” Afridi told Reuters. “There was this guy whowas chasing and pushing me for an autograph. I just pushed him away.”A local reporter and television cameraman claimed they had seenAfridi slap the autograph hunter after play finished for the day.This isn’t the first time Afridi has been involved in an incident with a spectator. He had been banned from four ODIs in 2007 after brandishing his bat at a spectator during a one-dayer in Pakistan’s tour of South Africa.

Fabrizio Romano has dropped an exciting transfer update on Leeds United’s transfer pursuit of Man Utd’s Dan James on deadline day.

What’s the story?

Marcelo Bielsa’s side had reportedly agreed a loan deal with Swansea for James back in the January 2019 transfer window, with the move being made permanent for around £8.5m if the Whites earned promotion.

But that deal then collapsed at the final hour, with Manchester United coming in for the Wales international.

Now, it appears Bielsa is finally set to get his man.

Writing on Twitter on Tuesday morning, Romano said: “Daniel James deal has been completed between Leeds and Manchester United, done and confirmed. Permanent move, paperworks signed. #MUFC #LUFC Everton have never been in the race or hijacking the deal. #EFC #DeadlineDay”

Bielsa will be delighted

Speaking previously on The Phil Hay Show, Phil Hay admitted that Bielsa is “forever interested” in the Welshman and that interest would never go away.

He said: “That’s a question for Bielsa because Bielsa’s forever interested in Dan James, and you probably remember last summer that before they did the deal for Raphinha, they were looking into the possibility of bringing Dan James in on loan from Manchester United.

“I don’t think it was ever really a possibility because it didn’t seem as though Solskjaer wanted him to go. I get the feeling that Bielsa will consistently be interested in Dan James, because he was very big on him when Leeds nearly got him from Swansea.”

It’s no surprise then that the Whites have come back in for James on deadline day as they look to bolster their wide options.

That extra pace and ability to be a real threat in the opposition box – he has managed six goals and seven assists in 50 Premier League games – could add another dimension to Leeds’ attack, particularly off the bench if Raphinha and Jack Harrison continue as the two starting wingers.

His former Old Trafford teammate Andreas Pereira lauded the 23-year-old as being “explosive and so fast” in an interview with the club’s official website last season, and it’s a real indication of the kind of unique pace he can bring to the table.

Romano’s update on Leeds essentially sealing the signing of James is sure to delight Bielsa, especially given how long he has tracked him for and how much Hay claims he has wanted him in the past.

Meanwhile, Leeds may already have their next Rio Ferdinand in this starlet…

Pep Guardiola has been handed an injury boost at Manchester City ahead of their game against Norwich this afternoon, with Ilkay Gundogan likely to feature despite the shoulder injury he suffered in last weekend’s defeat against Tottenham.

What’s the word?

The Germany international was on the end of a heavy challenge in the final moments of the 1-0 defeat in north London, which left him clutching his shoulder in a lot of pain as he left the pitch.

It was reported earlier this week that it was looking increasingly likely that he wouldn’t be fit enough to feature against the Canaries. However, Guardiola has dispelled those rumours and has confirmed that the 30-year-old could play on Saturday afternoon, which is surely a boost to City’s hopes of picking up their first three points of the Premier League campaign.

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After suffering a disappointing relegation in their last Premier League campaign, Norwich bounced back by winning the Championship title last season but struggled on the opening day of the new season, losing 3-0 at home to Liverpool.

Guardiola has shared his admiration for Daniel Farke in the build-up to the match at the Etihad Stadium, but if City have aspirations of winning the title again this season, then this is the sort of game they need to be winning comfortably.

The Citizens have failed to score in their opening two games of the new season, so it is a huge boost that Gundogan is likely to feature at the Etihad this weekend, as he finished as their leading scorer in the top flight last season with 13 goals.

Guardiola is certainly a big fan of the 30-year-old, singing his praises in 2019 by saying: “He’s an exceptional player, honestly. He’s one of Europe’s best players, in fact.”

The former Borussia Dortmund man enjoyed a remarkable run of form in the Premier League and comfortably enjoyed the best goalscoring season of his career, so it seems likely that he will be a key influence in Guardiola’s side again this season.

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As City’s search for a new striker to replace Sergio Aguero continues, the Spaniard will be reliant on experienced players such as Gundogan to get the goals and see them through matches such as this, so he will be delighted that the German is fit to play today despite his shoulder problems during the week.

In other news… Man City handed huge boost over “world-class” beast, Txiki must deliver

Many Sunderland fans have been sent wild on Twitter, after news broke that ex-fan favourite Vito Mannone has opened talks with the Black Cats over a return to the Stadium of Light [Roker Report].

Currently with Ligue 1 outfit Monaco, the 33-year-old has been nothing more than a bit part player in recent times, completing just nine outings last campaign [Transfermarkt].

Now, he could make a surprise return to Wearside, perhaps with a view to earn himself more consistent playing time.

The Italian has begun discussions with Sunderland, and is rumoured to be keen on the move as the close of the transfer window draws ever-nearer [Roker Report].

Holding a strong rapport with the Black Cats support, it is no wonder loads of Sunderland diehards took to social media to have their say on the latest news.

Sunderland AFC fans react:

Replying to the Roker Report Twitter account, here is what some supporters had to say about the prospect of Mannone returning to the North East, with one fan calling it ‘unreal’:

“Oooooooo Vito manoooooonnnnnneeee”

Credit: @Dan_h1993″Always be welcome Vito”Credit: @gazhall13″Genuinely buzzed about this, it would be great for the club!”Credit: @rednwhite4ever”INJECT THIS INTO MY VEINS!!!”Credit: @suffolkmackem”Unreal. Bring him home lads hawaaaaaay”Credit: @memerson619″This one’s got me excited!”Credit: @fbm8665In other news, Sunderland fans slam one of their key men. Find out who here.