Rajshahi confirm Tier 1 promotion; Enamul stars with 10-for

Tier 1Naeem Islam struck his maiden double-hundred across formats in Rangpur Division‘s draw against Dhaka Division in Khulna. He amassed 216 out of Rangpur’s first-innings total of 560 for 8 (declared) which also included centuries from Suhrawadi Shuvo and Ariful Haque.Naeem struck 23 fours and five sixes in his 349-ball innings that lasted eight-and-a-half hours. His 266-run fourth-wicket stand with Shuvo took Rangpur past 300, before he added another 183 runs for the sixth wicket with Ariful.Rangpur batted till 3pm on the second day, with Shuvagata Hom returning the best figures – 3 for 125 – among the opposition bowlers. In reply, Minhaz Khan, Raqibul Hasan and Shuvagata made fifties, but could not convert their knocks into bigger scores. Dhaka were bowled out for 321 as Abdur Rahman bagged a four-for with his left-arm spin.Asked to follow-on, Dhaka batted out 49 overs on the final day, crawling to 85 for the loss of Rony Talukdar. Opener Abdul Majid made a patient and unbeaten 52, having batted for more than three hours.Barisal fought hard to draw against defending champions Khulna despite being asked to follow-on in Rajshahi.Having elected to bat first, Khulna declared on 511 for 8 after Robiul Islam Robi and Ziaur Rahman made 114 and 152 respectively. Robi struck 17 fours while Ziaur blasted six sixes and 11 fours in his 222-ball knock. Barisal offspinner Sohag Gazi finished with figures of 4 for 148.Three-wicket hauls from Nahidul Islam and Abdur Razzak helped Khulna skittle Barisal out for 296 runs in 92 overs, despite half-centuries from Salman Hossain, Moin Khan and Gazi.Following-on, Barisal scored 296 again, but this time at the expense of only five wickets while playing out 110 overs. Captain Fazle Mahmud’s 107 anchored the innings, with fifties from Rafsan Al Mahmud and Gazi, whose unbeaten 68 saved Barisal from defeat as the ten Khulna bowlers used could only dismiss five batsmen.Tier 2Delwar Hossain’s all-round show – a match haul of 9 for 92 coupled with a half-century – and a second successive century from Mizanur Rahman powered Rajshahi to an innings and 13-run win over Chittagong in Bogra. With Sylhet defeating Dhaka Metropolis in the other Tier-2 game in this round, Rajshahi confirmed their promotion to next season’s Tier 1.Trailing by 143 after the first innings, Chittagong were shot out for 130 in 41.4 overs with Sadiqur Rahman’s 48 being the only substantial contribution. Delwar’s 6 for 23 – his career-best figures – helped him become the first quick bowler in this season’s National Cricket League to grab more than five wickets in an innings. Delwar’s charge with the ball was abetted by Farhad Reza, who coupled his first-innings four-for with two in the second.Put in to bat, Chittagong scored 260 in the first innings on the back of a 128-run fifth-wicket stand between Saeed Sarkar (70) and Sazzadul Haque (95). Rajshahi replied with 403 courtesy Mizanur’s 102, which included 13 fours and two sixes. Having hammered 143 in his side’s previous game against Sylhet, Mizanur added 153 for the third wicket with nightwatchman Delwar, who scored his second first-class half-century (62). Later, the wicketkeeper-batsman Hamidul Islam (73*) added important runs in the lower order and strung an 88-run ninth-wicket stand with Saqlain Sajib.A five-for in each innings from Sylhet‘s Enamul Haque Jnr handed Dhaka Metropolis a 190-run drubbing in Chittagong. In what was his seventh 10-for in his career, Enamul earned the distinction of becoming the first bowler to bag a 10-wicket match haul since the 2015-16 season.Sylhet put together 319 after electing to bat, with captain Imtiaz Hossain making 132 in nearly five hours, peppering 17 fours during his innings. Shykat Ali, Nihaduzzaman and Sharifullah took three wickets each for Dhaka Metroplis.Dhaka Metro were bowled out for 259 in 77.4 overs with captain Marshall Ayub scoring 98 off 149 balls as no other batsman crossed 40. Enamul took 5 for 96 from the 34 overs he bowled.Headlined by half-centuries from Shanaj Ahmed, Shahanur Rahman and Abu Jayed, Sylhet added 263 runs to their 60-run first-innings lead. Nihaduzzaman took four wickets and Elias Sunny picked up three wickets.After Sylhet declared on the final day to set a target of 324, Dhaka Metro lasted just 49.2 overs, as Enamul ran through the line-up with 5 for 63, skittling the opposition for only 133 runs.

Chopra and Gambhir lead Delhi's fightback

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Gautam Gambhir scored his second century in two matches and in partnership with Aakash Chopra staved off an innings defeat for Delhi © Cricinfo Ltd

Aakash Chopra and Gautam Gambhir, who scored centuries, put up a much improved show for Delhi and prevented an innings defeat against Himachal Pradesh. Following on after being bowled out for 75 in the first innings, Delhi needed 268 to avoid an innings defeat, and Chopra and Gambhir ensured they did it quite easily.After Virender Sehwag got out for the addition of one run to his overnight 31, Chopra and Gambhir made Himachal wait another 66.5 overs for the next wicket. They added 230 for the second wicket, with Chopra ending the day on an unbeaten 146, while Gambhir scored 103. This is Chopra’s second century of the season to go with the 87 he scored against Mumbai; all three have come in the second innings.
ScorecardRamesh Powar and Ajit Agarkar, the bowlers dropped from the Indian side, came to Mumbai’s rescue with the bat with a 185-run seventh-wicket partnership after Mumbai were reduced to 197 for 6 in reply to Maharashtra’s 451. Maharashtra seemed certain to take the first-innings points, but Powar and Agarkar have brought Mumbai to within 61 of their total, with three wickets in hand.Agarkar missed his century by five runs, and was dismissed by Salil Agharkar with just 2.1 overs to go to stumps after a partnership which lasted 65 overs. Powar went on to get his hundred just before close of play, and was unbeaten on a 214-ball 102, an innings which included nine fours and three sixes.
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Praveen Gupta and Piyush Chawla spun Baroda out for 148 in the second innings to bring Uttar Pradesh back into contention at Lucknow. After the UP openers, RP Srivastava and Tanmay Srivastava, saw out 28 overs without the loss of any wickets, they ended the day needing 219 more on the final day.Baroda started the day 142 ahead with all their wickets in hand and didn’t lose a wicket for 22 more overs. But once Satyajit Parab fell with the score at 59, the combination of Gupta and Chawla turned the screw on them, as the rest of the wicket fell for the addition of just 89 runs. Gupta ended up with career-best figures of 5 for 35, his second five-wicket haul in first-class cricket. Chawla took 4 for 49, while Mohammad Kaif chipped in with one.

Manoj Tiwary scored his second century of the season to put Bengal in charge © Cricinfo Ltd

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Arindam Das completed a patient century, Manoj Tiwary scored an aggressive one, and Laxmi Ratan Shukla scored a quickfire 74 to build a massive first-innings lead as Bengal pushed for an outright win against Punjab. At stumps on day three, Punjab had scored 64 for 1, still needing 208 runs to avoid an innings defeat.Earlier in the day, Das added only 10 his overnight 93, but Tiwary and Shukla continued from where the openers had left. Tiwary scored his second century in three matches, hitting 17 boundaries in his 183-ball 138. Shukla, the Bengal captain, shrugged off his poor batting form (one run in three innings so far) as he hit 11 fours and three sixes in his unbeaten 74 that came off 59 deliveries.
ScorecardCaptain Yere Goud’s century, scored in company in No. 11 NC Aiyappa, was not enough to save Karnataka from falling behind Rajasthan in the first innings. Starting the day at 118 for 3 in reply to Rajasthan’s 393, Karnataka were soon reduced to 208 for 9, as Shamsher Singh and Mohammad Aslam caused plenty of damage with the ball.But Goud and Aiyappa created hope for Karnataka in a hopeless situation, adding 121 runs for the last wicket. Goud farmed the strike as Aiyappa contributed only 24 to the partnership. Goud stayed unbeaten on 110, while Shamsher and Aslam took four wickets apiece.
ScorecardHyderabad took the last seven Orissa wickets for 50 runs, thus keeping the first-innings deficit down to 58, but lost five wickets themselves in scoring 143 runs before stumps. The fall of wickets gave Orissa hopes for an outright win, something they must have lost after their collapse earlier in the day.Pragyan Ojha took six wickets for Hyderabad, while Ashwin Yadav took four. Orissa would have been disappointed as they had started the day eight runs in the lead with seven wickets in hand. But they pulled it back in the second innings, taking wickets consistently.
ScorecardBecause of bad light, only 28 overs’ play was possible at the Chepauk, but R Ramkumar struck twice during that period to give Tamil Nadu hopes of at least taking the first-innings lead, as an outright result looks difficult with a significant amount of play lost due to the weather over the last two days.Ramkumar crucially took the wicket of Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored 62 out of Saurashtra’s 120. He has scored three centuries in the previous three matches. Amarnath ended the day with figures of 3 for 31.

Referees to decide if matches can be terminated

The ICC chief executives’ committee has recommended a change in the playing conditions so that only the match referee can terminate a match and not, as is the case at present, the on-field umpires.The proposal, which came after a two-day meeting of the committee in the UAE, will be considered by the full ICC board when it next meets in March.The meeting also considered a range of issues relating to anti-doping, and agreed that the ICC should take an active role in monitoring the anti-doping programs of its members.The review came in the light of the Oval Test last August when Mike Procter’s role in events that led to the abandonment of the match was criticised in a number of quarters. Procter seemed a virtual bytstander on the fourth afternoon of the game.”It’s often perceived that the referee is an official of a type used in many other sports,” said Dave Richardson, the ICC’s general manager – cricket. “The reality is that [he] is the ‘chief executive’ of an international cricket match who is responsible for liaising with the teams, the boards, the venue and other stakeholders to ensure the smooth running of a match.”It is therefore suggested that while the on-field role of the umpires shall not be undermined, the referee should have the final say on the termination of a match.”

Lee rested for South Africa tie

Brett Lee is the the latest Australian player to earn a rest © Getty Images

Continuing with their controversial rotation policy, Australia are resting Brett Lee from the match against South Africa at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne on Friday.Ricky Ponting said that Lee’s break was well earned and that the timing was right with the finals beginning on February 10. “He’s been up for a long time and doing what he does he probably has more stress and physical burn-out than anybody else in the side, so we felt now was an ideal time to give him a rest,” Ponting said.”You’d like to have Brett in your side all the time, but we’ve got to try to manage the side as well as we can and manage him as well as we can. He’s been a great weapon for us in both forms of the game over the last 12 months and we’ve just got to be a little bit careful with him.”Mickey Arthur, the South Africa coach, said that Lee’s rest was good news for South Africa. “I suppose it does release the shackles,” he said. “I think there might be one or two happier batters out there when I tell them the news.”Brad Hodge has made way for Ponting, who has returned to lead the team after a two-match rest. Brett Dorey, who was thrashed by Sanath Jayasuriya at the SCG, has replaced Lee and will play his third one-day international while Stuart Clark retains his spot after taking two wickets against Sri Lanka in Perth. However, there is no place for Nathan Bracken, the left-arm bowler who missed the Perth match for personal reasons. James Hopes has stepped in as Supersub.The practice of resting players during the one-day touranment has been criticised by several former Australian players. Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and Ponting have already taken mid-series breaks this summer.”There is no doubt the rest helped me immensely, as it has done in the previous four years,” Gilchrist said after the Perth game on Sunday. “People are questioning a couple of guys having a rest. We have been doing this for a long time now.”Australia 1 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 2 Simon Katich, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Andrew Symonds, 6 Michael Clarke, 7 Michael Hussey, 8 Brad Hogg, 9 Brett Dorey, 10 Stuart Clark, 11 Glenn McGrath, Supersub James Hopes.

Call for more technology – Your views on the umpiring controversy

Ricky Ponting with the VB Series trophy after beating Pakistan 2-0 in the finals© Getty Images

The recent debate on lbw percentages in Australia needs to be looked at more scientifically than just bare stats. It may well say more about batsmen’s deficient techniques and bowlers line and length than any issue of bias. Just have a look at where some of the Aussies take strike and you will see them well in front of their creases andlooking to play forward. David GeytenbeekI agree that umpires suffer from some sort of subconscious propensity to give more lbw decisions in favour of Australia. It is similar to umpires giving No. 11 batsmen out more readily than top-order batsmen. I especially noticed this with a couple of Australian umpires during the current season. Andrew HigginsIt would be useful to know how many of the wrong decisions were made bythe home umpire and how many by the neutral. If it turns out that themajority of them were made by the neutral umpire, then having two of themrather than one isn’t going to help improve matters. R SankarI was quite appalled to see the way the third umpire ruled Adam Gilchrist in on a close run-out call after viewing the replay from only one angle. Attempts by the TV crew to show other angles were, for some odd reason, cut short, and the viewers never got to see the real picture on that run-our throughout the game. Abrar AhmadThe article was misleading – there could be other reasons why the Aussies appeals are more successful. For example, it may be because Australians appeal only when they think the opponent batsman is surely out whereas others appeal even if then know thebatsman is not really out. You can’t indicate any casual relationshipfrom observational studies where you cannot control for many unknownfactors. Somesh ChattopadhyayThe ICC’s position that umpires are beyond reproach is beyond comprehension. Everyone has been complaining about the umpiring in matches that involve Australia, but the ICC seems to think that everyone but the umpires have it wrong. I suggest that the ICC dock the umpires for poor decisions, and make the information public, exactly the way they do it for the players. RajThe team which is stronger usually has more decisions going its way. Since the Australians are the strongest of them all, they get the better end of the decisions. The same is true when a stronger team plays a really weak outfit. The Indians, who suffered badly on their tour to Australia, got many decisions in their favour against Bangladesh. Kish KumarStatistics can only show the number of appeals – it can’t show the number of worthy or unworthy appeals. Similarly the percentage of batsmen getting out lbw is related to batting style and skill in addition to umpiring. Statistics just can’t play a definitive role in adjudging bias when there are other important parameters involved. Altaf AhmadAustralia should be proud of the numbers that come out in the article – it shows they are very choosy in appealing. GaganIt is an old adage that good teams make their own luck, and that is fair enough; but it also follows that luck make good teams better. Australia is a great team, and has been for a number of years. But luck has also played a part in that greatness, which is what Bob Woolmer and Mark Richardson were getting at. Aaron BellWhen was the last time that the most controversial decision in an Australia home series went against them? Be it Mark Waugh being reprieved after knocking his stumps or Sachin Tendulkar being declared lbw after being hit on the helmet – Australians have repeatedly had the better of umpiring decisions. It’s high time to look at these incidents in totality rather than individually. Asif JavedAll this talk about umpiring bias is nonsense. Australia played better cricket, and the umpiring was definitely of good standards. Pakistan are complaining just because they ran Australia close in the ODIs they felt they had a chance to win. Regarding the high percentage of appeals upheld in favour of the Aussies, it’s only the direct result of their bowling in the corridor more consistently than any other team. Don’t demean their greatness achieved by blaming the umpires. Vilas PrabhuWe need more technology to come in – Hawkeye and snickometer should be used in every decision. GrahamThe numbers on lbw appeals in the recent VB Series is a good indication of how umpires are generally intimidated in favour of Australia. However, it would have been better if the chart also showed how many of those decisions did home umpires give favouring Australia. K PrakashI am ambivalent about whether Aussie appeals are more successful. I am happy to believe that John Buchanan is capable of anything. However, Australia are the best team and will, by definition, create more opportunities (eg lbw shouts) than any other team. That should be factored into any discussion on the subject. Rodney DelantyAustralians certainly do intimidate the umpires. During the Australia-New Zealand series in 2004 Shane Warne was appealing for everything, perhaps thinking that he could bully Aleem Dar into giving a decision in his favour. What was particularly nasty was the way he kept shaking his head and complaining each time the appeal was, quite correctly, turned down. Tariq MahmoodLet’s keep it simple – had those appeals by Pakistan against the Aussies been upheld, Inzamam-ul-Haq would surely have lifted the VB Series trophy this year. There wasn’t much quality shown by the Aussies in the field, and Pakistan would have been deserving winners. Salman Ali KhanWe need two neutral umpires in all international matches, more utilisation of technology, and and additional rights to teams and players to express themselves freely without fear of being punished by the ICC. MobashirThe umpiring errors take the sheen off the Aussie supremacy. I remember a Pakistani bowler being warned of some non-existent offense after an appeal which was turned down even though television replays confirmed that the batsman was caught plumb in front. We need more umpires from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and West Indies. Asghar AliI would like to know what happens when a team submits a report on an umpire suggesting bias or incompetence. How does the ICC review the matter and what kind of actions have been taken in the past? It would be helpful if fans were made aware of the systems in place to tackle incompetent umpires. Fayyaz AlimohamedIn which other sport is it such a taboo to comment on umpires? The decisions during the VB Series were truly appalling. Mark Richardson is right – the players’ stature seem to tilt the balance. Shane Warne is likely to get a decision in his favour, while any other legspinner will struggle with exactly the same delivery. SadullahTell us what you think.

Dippenaar dropped and Klusener remains in the wilderness

Lance Klusener’s hopes of being recalled to the South African side were dashed when he was not included in the squad for the first Test against West Indies at Johannesburg, which starts on Friday (Dec 12). There was also no room for Paul Adams and Boeta Dippenaar, both of whom played in the second Test against Pakistan in October.Omar Henry, the convener of selectors, explained that Adams had recovered from injury but it was not felt that the conditions at the Wanderers would suit him. He added that Dippenaar had “shown fantastic form in both international and domestic limited-overs cricket, but his form at Test level has been patchy. Having said that, Boeta is certainly not by any means completely out of our plans for the future.”Gary Kirsten, whose wife is expecting the couple’s first baby any day, will make a decision on Monday about his availability. Should he withdraw, Martin van Jaarsveld will play in his place.As for Klusener, he didn’t even come close according to insiders, despite turning in some good performances for KwaZulu-Natal this season. The general feeling was that he had not done enough to warrant his inclusion.Henry also said that Mfuneko Ngam would join the squad for the three days leading up to the Test before returning home at the start of the match. “Mfuneko has shown signs of returning to his best form this season,” Henry explained. “The selectors feel that he would benefit from being involved with the squad.”The one surprise was the inclusion of Garnett Kruger, a 26-year-old right-arm fast bowler from Gauteng, although his good performances for South Africa A helped his cause. “Garnett will benefit from being involved in the national team set-up,” said Henry. “We are continuing to broaden our search for quality fast bowlers, and we are giving ourselves every chance of finding the right mix.”South African squad: Graeme Smith (capt), Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Neil McKenzie, Gary Kirsten, Jacques Rudolph, Martin van Jaarsveld, Mark Boucher (wk), Shaun Pollock, Andrew Hall, Robin Peterson, Garnett Kruger, Makhaya Ntini, André Nel.

New season for new blood

A new regional season of first-class cricket is under way, bringing with it all of the customary expectations: who will win the championship? Who are the stars that will emerge?These are the kinds of question the average pundit turns over in his or her mind. The answers should be provided in the next seven weeks.Last year belonged primarily to batsmen like Carl Hooper and Chris Gayle, both of whom hit over 900 runs, and Leon Garrick who got over 800. Who will cause the buzz this year?Beyond factors of this type, I think we should continue to monitor the overall standard of the Busta Cup rather than dwell too much on individual glory.After a humiliating whitewash in Sri Lanka there were management concerns that the standards in regional cricket are very low.Thus, we can’t really tell if we’re coming or going even when batsmen can make tons of runs and bowlers take plenty of wickets.The acid test of achievement and the real proof of merit and class come when successful regional players move up to Test cricket.This level tends to separate the wheat from the chaff, as we have seen in recent times.But the regional competition is where we are supposed to assess our players. So quite naturally the selectors, in particular, find themselves in a quandary.They probably have one of the most difficult non-paying jobs in the Caribbean.Imagine they are forced to include so-called specialist batsmen in the West Indies team with averages below or just above 20 and bowlers averaging almost 30 per wicket. This is where we are today.The fact that Barbados won the Busta title last year when they didn’t play at their best consistently told us a lot about the state of West Indies cricket.Still, as eternal optimists, as the overseers of a proud legacy, we have to pray and keep faith in the process while imploring players to take greater responsibility for their approach to the game.Attitude and character are on par with runs and wickets. The latter won’t be achieved without the former.Of course, the ultimate aim is to put out a product that’s world class, that can hold its own in any company.As far as I know there’s no law which says that we should not be seeing some signs of this in the Busta Cup.Therefore, as a matter of policy this is where our focus should be this season, every season. Everything else will fall into place.

Wickets continue to tumble at Old Trafford

Wickets continued to tumble on the second day at Old Trafford with someprecious late runs from Neil Fairbrother and Chris Schofield just aboutkeeping Lancashire in the box seat.They were in danger of squandering a strong position provided by five wickets from Peter Martin when they slumped to 43 for six in their second innings.But Fairbrother and Schofield responded with a seventh wicket stand of 53 in 22 overs. And after Fairbrother went for a grafting 43, lbw to Matthew Walker’s first ball of the match, Schofield was joined by a third left-hander, Gary Keedy, to take Lancashire to 110 for seven, with a lead of 191, when bad light and rain forced a slightly early close.Earlier Walker and Alan Wells had led a Kent recovery from 14 for four to 127 for five, sharing a fifth wicket stand of 75 – still the best of the match.But Martin’s return triggered a collapse as Kent’s last five wickets fell for 28, and the last three all went with the score on 155.The 31-year-old former England paceman had taken five for 44 in his last Championship bowl, against Derbyshire at the end of May, before having hisright thumb broken by a nasty rising delivery from Dominic Cork.Today he ended with five for 42, the 14th five-wicket haul of his career taking his tally of Championship wickets in an injury-ravaged season to 23 at an average of less than 12.But David Masters led a strong Kent response, bowling John Crawley with a ball which shot along the floor then having Mark Chilton and Sourav Ganguly caught at second slip in an impressive opening burst.Martin McCague weighed in with the wickets of Joe Scuderi and Warren Hegg with consecutive balls before Fairbrother led Lancashire’s recovery.

Gauci, Doran hundreds put Australia U-19s on top

ScorecardMatthew Parkinson helped England hit back with his legspin•Getty Images

Centuries from Jordan Gauci and captain Jake Doran gave Australia Under-19s a strong opening day to the one-off Test at Chester-le-Street, though Lancashire legspinner Matthew Parkinson took 5 for 85 on his U-19 debut to ensure England kept themselves in sight.Gauci, a 17-year-old from Penrith, New South Wales, dominated the first part of the day as he made a hundred from 136 deliveries after Australia had chosen to bat first. He shared a second-wicket stand of 106 with Caleb Jewell and then added 77 with Doran for the third wicket.However, when Gauci fell to Ben Green for 111, England hit back by claiming 3 for 6 in four overs. Parkinson, who earlier removed Jewell to break the second-wicket stand, added Will Pucovski for a duck while Green claimed his second when he trapped Tom Healy, the son of Ian, lbw for 1 to leave Australia 191 for 5 and the day in the balance.Doran, the 18-year-old who played the Big Bash for Sydney Sixers and for the Prime Minister’s XI against England in January, initially had a charmed life as he was dropped on 0 then caught on 1 off a Saqib Mahmood no-ball, mistakes England were left to rue as he took charge alongside Jhye Richardson. The pair added 152 in 37 overs for the sixth wicket as England struggled to keep control of the scoring rate.Doran went to 99 with a six off Parkinson and brought up his century with a boundary off the next delivery – his 165th – only to fall next ball in an eventful over as Parkinson trapped him lbw. Parkinson then had his fourth when he bowled Fletcher Seymour round his legs in his next over.Richardson was on the brink of seeing out the day alongside David Grant – with his own century in sight for the second day – when the Australian curse of 87 struck as he became Parkinson’s fifth wicket after more than 30 overs of impressive work for the legspinner.

Spiers makes key Wolves injury claim

Wolves right-back Nelson Semedo is back in training ahead of the visit of Aston Villa, reliable journalist Tim Spiers has confirmed.

The Lowdown: Semedo missing for key period

The Portuguese ace has been an undisputed key man for the Wanderers this season, having started 23 times in a largely positive Premier League campaign.

Semedo picked up a hamstring injury at the end of February and hasn’t played since, however, acting as a blow to Bruno Lage during an important period.

It now looks as though the right-back’s return to action is on the horizon, though, as Wolves prepare to host Villa on Saturday afternoon.

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The Latest: Spiers makes positive claim

Taking to Twitter on Friday, Spiers confirmed in a simple four-word verdict that Semedo is back in the fold:

“Semedo back in training.”

[freshpress-quiz id=“388797″]

The Verdict: Big boost for Wolves

Semedo has been a strong performer for Wolves, being hailed as ‘unbelievable’ by Spiers himself in the past, so this news is an undoubted positive.

Jonny has been filling in at right-back in his teammate’s absence but he isn’t as natural in that role as he is on the left-hand side, while youngster Ki-Jana Hoever remains a work in progress.

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Semedo’s return in the coming weeks should provide Wolves with an extra attacking threat – he has averaged 1.5 dribbles per game in the league this season – as they look to secure European football of some kind at Molineux next season.

In other news, a transfer expert has dropped a key Wolves claim. Read more here.

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