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Graeme Smith, the South African captain, will not feature in the three-match ODI series after failing to recover from a finger injury

Cricinfo staff18-Feb-2010Graeme Smith, the South African captain, will not feature in the three-match ODI series after failing to recover from a finger injury.”I am going to assess it again when the team gets back home from India,” Smith said. “It has been a bit frustrating last year-and-a-half with my two little fingers which have occasionally broken. The bone needs time to heal.”Michael Owen-Smith, South Africa’s media manager, said that Smith would fly home after the Kolkata Test and that Jacques Kallis would lead in the series. An in-form Hashim Amla, originally not named in the ODI squad, will stay back as Smith’s replacement.”Doctors have advised Smith 10 days’ rest to recover from the fracture in his left little finger,” Owen-Smith said. “He is returning home and [Hashim] Amla will be added to the side. [Jacques] Kallis will lead the side in Smith’s absence.”Smith had picked up a freakish injury to the little finger on his left hand during fielding drills two days ahead of the Kolkata Test. Subsequent MRI scans showed it was a bone fracture but Smith was passed fit for the match.Mark Boucher, who did not play the second Test after suffering fresh back problems during the team’s final practice session, will stay on as South Africa travel to Jaipur on Friday for the first ODI. The team management was hopeful he be available for Sunday’s match.”Mark Boucher is on track with his recovery, and we’re confident that he’ll be able to play on Sunday,” Owen-Smith confirmed.

Following Steven Gerrard’s appointment as the new Aston Villa manager last week, the club have already been linked with a host of players in the upcoming transfer window, with the likes of Ryan Kent, Glen Kamara and Joe Aribo all being touted with moves to Villa Park this winter.

However, in order to make space for the club’s potential incoming signings, the 41-year-old may well have to look to move a number of the current Villa squad on come January, with one name likely to be high on the manager’s list of outgoing candidates being that of Keinan Davis.

Despite having made his debut for the club as an exciting 18-year-old prospect back in 2017, the centre-forward has failed to kick on in his professional career at Villa Park, still yet to enjoy what could be considered as his breakout season in first-team football.

Indeed, in his first season spent predominantly with the senior squad, the £2.7m-rated striker scored three goals and provided four assists over his 30 appearances in all competitions, returns which suggested that the former England U20 international could have the potential to go on and become a first-team regular.

However, the 23-year-old would ultimately make only 45 more appearances over the following three campaigns, scoring just three goals and registering three assists in the process, as the centre-forward found himself pushed further and further down the Aston Villa pecking order, while his returns did nothing to convince Dean Smith that he deserved a spot in the manager’s starting XI.

This is a lesson that Steven Gerrard must learn from, as, over the past four seasons the £25k-per-week Davis has consistently proven that he is not a player of the standard required at Villa Park.

Indeed, fans of the club also agree with this assessment, as, in a poll ran on Football FanCast, the vast majority of supporters made their feelings known that they do not believe the player who Jack Grealish once dubbed as “unplayable” has a future at their club.

As such, Gerrard simply must axe the 23-year-old in January, as his place in the squad, as well as his rather hefty weekly wage, could be put to much better use by the 41-year-old manager.

In other news: Lange could transform Gerrard’s AVFC by signing “frightening” £20m gem likened to Mane

Reflecting on his career-best performance of 7 for 87 on the third day in Napier, Fidel Edwards has said his ploy of bringing in variations to his bowling helped keep the New Zealand batsmen in check

Cricinfo staff21-Dec-2008
Fidel Edwards: “You had to do something to get wickets out there and I looked at all my options” © Getty Images
Reflecting on his career-best performance of 7 for 87 on the third day in Napier, Fidel Edwards, the West Indies fast bowler, said his ploy of bringing in variations to his bowling helped keep the New Zealand batsmen in check.West Indies fought back to restrict New Zealand to 371 after they were cruising at 316 for 4. Jerome Taylor and Darren Powell struck early blows before Edwards, who took the first two wickets to fall in the opening session, returned to mop up the tail and keep New Zealand’s first-innings lead down to 64. Edwards’ performance also surpassed his previous best first-class figures of 5 for 22.”It is still a good batting pitch so I tried to mix up my deliveries as much as possible,” Edwards said. “You had to do something to get wickets out there and I looked at all my options. Using the short ball was just part of the plan to unsettle the New Zealand batsmen and it worked some of the time.”I felt really good with the way the ball was coming out and obviously I’m thrilled to get my career-best figures. You could say it was my day and I decided to make the most of it. Hopefully it was the kind of performance that could see my team go on to win the Test match and with it the series. That would be wonderful for us.”Edwards had earlier passed the 100-wicket mark with the dismissal of Daniel Flynn on the second day. In the process, he joined his half-brother Pedro Collins in the 100-wicket club.”I was giving him (Flynn) some short stuff so I decided to slip in a slower ball to see how he would handle it. He pushed it back and I was happy when I took the catch.””We are the first brothers to each take 100 Test wickets so that added a bit extra to the moment. I spoke to Peddy (Collins) before the match and he told me it was a chance to create history so that was a bit of added motivation as well.”

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been left extremely proud of their club thanks to some news that has emerged ahead of their game against Ross County in the Scottish Premiership.

As per the official website of the Light Blues, the club will mark Remembrance Day on Sunday at the match with a minute’s silence in honour of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

The team will wear special commemorative poppy shirts in honour of the occasion, in what will be a fitting tribute from the club.

It is important that the day is treated with the utmost respect, and that is exactly what the Teddy Bears are doing ahead of November 11 next week, and the news has certainly left the supporters proud.

Steven Gerrard will also be hoping for a performance to match the one that he got from his side last time out in the Scottish Premiership, the 6-1 win away at Motherwell.

Rangers fans on Remembrance Day tribute

These Gers were left with nothing but pride as the ‘class’ news regarding the club’s tribute to Remembrance Day was shared on their official Twitter page:

“Class but expected”

Credit: @JT3106

“Love this club”

Credit: @stoofa2010

“Classy Rangers”

Credit: @bolton2021

“WATP”

Credit: @teddyh112

“Proud of my club”

Credit: @RangersRobbie83

“Lest We Forget”

Credit: @alangers82

In other news, find out what Ewan Murray claim has Gers fuming here!

Antonio Conte has been dealt the first blow of his Tottenham Hotspur managerial career as his side take on Vitesse in the UEFA Europa Conference League this evening…

What’s the word?

According to Evening Standard reporter Dan Kilpatrick, the 52-year-old will be without first-team duo Ryan Sessegnon and Bryan Gil as the pair missed training on Wednesday.

They are set to miss this clash, leaving the Italian light on options on the wing, a position that is expected to be pivotal to his system in north London.

“Sessegnon and Gil the only players to miss training yesterday & both out of tonight,” he tweeted.

Double setback

This isn’t the best of news to kickstart your reign at a struggling side and it’s one that he’ll have to deal with heading into kickoff.

Spurs were defeated by the Dutch outfit two weeks ago after Nuno Santo opted to leave the majority of his senior stars back in N17, trusting the ‘second-string’ to start.

A 1-0 defeat and a lack of clear-cut chances was the beginning of the end for him. They then lost to West Ham and Manchester United, where they went 135 minutes without registering a shot on goal.

Gil could hold the keys to being a creative solution for the Lilywhites and in a game like this, he would surely be in contention. The young gem averaged 1.7 crosses and 1.9 key passes per 90 in La Liga last season, via WhoScored.

Only Giovani Lo Celso has managed a better number of chances created per 90 this campaign, whilst the 20-year-old would lead the way for crosses based on last term’s exploits.

Meanwhile, Sessegnon’s time at the club has been nothing short of a disaster but with Conte expected to deploy wing-backs either side of a three-man defence, he could be in line for a little boost as he offers a lot more than Ben Davies in the attack.

However, his injury woes will be a concern to the new manager as he cannot stay fit – something that is also angering much of the Hotspur faithful. As relayed by This is Futbol, the England U21 international has been described as “pathetic” and a “sick note” in recent weeks.

Whether Conte fields his strongest side tonight or not remains to be seen but he won’t be too happy to have walked into what seems like a never-ending mess.

AND in other news, Conte can become an instant hit at Spurs by brutally axing “phenomenal” £26m-rated dud…

A round-up of matches from the third day of the World Cup Qualifiers tournament in South Africa

Cricinfo staff04-Apr-2009Group ANavdeep Poonia contributed 79 to a third-wicket stand of 136 that was the core of Scotland’s innings•Cricinfo/Ian JacobsJohn Davison repeated his heroics from the 2003 World Cup, smashing a blistering 131 off just 99 balls to help Canada inflict a massive 141-run defeat over Namibia in Pretoria and qualify for the Super Eights. Davison made Namibia regret their decision to field, attacking from the outset and received excellent support from Geoff Barnett and Ian Billcliff, who contributed 46 and 61 respectively to bat the opposition out of the match. The Canada bowlers didn’t take too long to make inroads into the Namibian batting, leaving them tottering at 85 for 8 before a 70-run stand between Sarel Burger and Ian van Zyl helped salvage a better, yet disappointing, score. Four Canadian bowlers bagged two wickets each, with Umar Bhatti proving the most economical with 2 for 22.Davison, after his blazing innings, stressed the need to play in a similar manner against tougher opposition. “The goal was to get through to the next round, which we have done now, but it would be great to knock off both Ireland and Scotland. I fully believe we can do that if we play this sort of cricket. I think we can go all the way,” Davison said. “It was a great place to bat out there. The ball was hitting the middle of the bat quite regularly. I played with a bit of restraint early and then it went pretty well after that.”Up to now in the tournament I’ve probably been going a bit hard too early, which is easy to do when you’re batting with (Rizwan) Cheema because he likes to have a go. I just need to play my own game, I think, and not get caught up in what he’s doing.”Oman came excruciatingly close to pulling off a major upset against Scotland in Johannesburg . Chasing a stiff target of 275, Oman were given a rousing start from Maqsood Hussain (70 from 30 balls) but lost steam in the middle order. Zeeshan Siddiqui (50) and Nileshkumar Parmar (37) waged a brave resistance but Scotland’s bowlers regrouped, led by four-wicket man Jan Stander, and pipped a dramatic nine-run win. Stander stuck to tight lines and picked up 4 for 41. Scotland’s total owed to Kyle Coetzer’s 127 from 141 balls and 79 to Navdeep Poonia, who steadied the ship after a wobble. Their third-wicket stand of 136 was the core of the Scotland innings. The victory was Scotland’s second from their three group matches and kept them well on target to progress to the Super Eights.Ireland won their third consecutive game of the competition and confirmed their progression to the next round, beating Uganda convincingly by six wickets in Krugersdorp. Only three of Uganda’s batsmen managed to reach double-figures as the Ireland bowlers, led by Andrew White’s 4 for 22, tore through the batting line-up. Only the captain Junior Kewbiha, who made 51, and Joel Olwenyi putting up any resistance. Ireland made easy work of their target of 157 with the captain William Porterfield (44) and Gary Wilson (61) scoring runs freely to help their team achieve its target in just the 31st over.Group BAfghanistan, perhaps the most closely-followed team in this tournament, were stopped short for the first time by Kenya in Potchefstroom, as they faltered in pursuit of a challenging target of 283 to be bowled out for 175. Kenya put in a collective bowling display with Thomas Odoyo, who picked 3 for 29, backed by the rest of the attack. Six out of seven bowlers managed to pick at least a wicket each. Mohammad Nabi made a defiant 56 but received little help from the other end. Kenya’s imposing total was largely a result of an unbeaten 109 by opener Kennedy Otieno, who struck 11 fours and a six in his 136-ball knock. Alex Obanda made 60, and the rest of the middle-order chipped in with useful contributions in the death overs to make Afghanistan’s task all the more difficult.A four-wicket haul by offspinner Rodney Trott and an unbeaten 76 from opener David Hemp helped Bermuda register their first win of the tournament, as they beat Denmark comfortably by nine wickets in Vanderbijlpark. Denmark, after being asked to bat, started off soundly with the openers adding 33, but the seamers Janeiro Tucker and Jacobi Robinson triggered a collapse as the next five wickets fell for 35 runs. The sixth-wicket pair of Bobby Chawla and Thomas Hansen did show some resistance but Trott ran through the tail to skittle Denmark out for a paltry 157. The foundation for an easy run-chase was laid by an opening stand of 82 between Fiqre Crockwell and Hemp, who added a further 78 with Steven Outerbridge to seal victory with almost 12 overs to spare.United Arab Emirates edged past Netherlands, beating them by two wickets in a thrilling encounter at Senwes Park. Chasing a testing target of 266, the UAE innings was given impetus by a third-wicket stand of 94 between Nithin Gopal (51) and Saqib Ali (78). Though they lost a couple of quick wickets after that, their lower order chipped in with useful contributions, especially Fayyaz Ahmed who remained unbeaten on 25 and Zahid Shah, who made 21 off as many balls. Netherlands will be ruing the fact that they conceded 28 extras, eventually proving decisive in the outcome. Their innings was boosted by half-centuries from Bas Zuiderant and Eric Szwarczynski, and a quickfire 32 from Edgar Schiferli. Though Zahid Shah took 4 for 53, Netherlands had posted a sizable score. However, a determined run-chase, thanks to some lower-order spunk from UAE, stopped them in their tracks in the last over.

Group A Team Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net RR For Against

Ireland 3 3 00 0 6 +2.007 678/118.4 556/150.0 Canada 3 3 0 00 6 +1.742 798/147.0 553/150.0Scotland 3 2 1 0 04 +0.127 773/150.0 692/137.4 Uganda 3 1 2 0 0 2-0.710 620/150.0 620/128.0 Namibia 30 3 0 0 0 -1.467600/150.0 820/150.0 Oman 3 03 0 0 0 -1.520 578/150.0806/150.0

Group B Team Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net RR For Against

Kenya 3 21 0 0 4 +1.991 609/112.2502/146.2 Netherlands 3 2 10 0 4 +0.352 759/139.2 760/149.1 Afghanistan 3 2 1 00 4 -0.203 619/146.2 665/150.0U.A.E. 3 2 1 0 04 -1.066 537/146.2 532/112.2 Bermuda 3 1 2 0 0 2-0.175 526/138.1 586/147.1 Denmark 30 3 0 0 0 -0.752606/150.0 611/127.3

Leeds United defender Robin Koch has provided a positive update on his injury recovery, confirming that his return will hopefully arrive ‘as soon as possible’.

The Lowdown: Koch missing for months

The 25-year-old has made just one appearance this season, having been injured in the opening Premier League game away to Manchester United in August.

It means Koch has now been absent for more than two months with a hip issue and he underwent surgery on the problem in Philadelphia last week.

[freshpress-quiz id=“375277″]

The Latest: Defender provides update

Taking to Twitter on Saturday night, following Leeds’ 1-1 draw at home to Wolves, the centre-back gave a promising update on his road back into the first team.

Kock tweeted: “Last week I underwent minor surgery in Philadelphia to correct problems with my hip. I have already started rehabilitation training here and I am giving everything every day to be able to get back on the pitch as soon as possible and help my teammates.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-21/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Big boost for Leeds

While Koch may not necessarily be a guaranteed starter for the Whites, having him back in the fold in the coming weeks will act as a big boost.

Marcelo Bielsa is without a number of important figures from last season and it is showing on the pitch in Leeds’ ailing results, with Koch very much one of those.

His return will allow Bielsa to rotate the squad more and give the manager more options, both in defence and midfield, having been hailed as ‘magnificent’ by Noel Whelan in the past.

In other news, three Leeds players disappointed in the 1-1 draw with Wolves – find out who they are here.

Rangers will be looking to reclaim their spot at the top of the Scottish Premiership as they host Hibernian at Ibrox on Sunday.

Hearts are two points ahead of Steven Gerrard’s team as it stands, having played their eighth game of the campaign on Saturday. Hibernian, meanwhile, are third and could also go top with a win against the Gers, as they sit on 15 points.

Gerrard’s side will have to bounce back from a Europa League defeat to Sparta Prague in order to come out on top against Hibs. They lost 1-0 to the Czech side and that result could force the manager into making some changes to his XI.

One player he should unleash on Hibernian is Colombian centre-forward Alfredo Morelos.

We published an article on Saturday explaining why Fashion Sakala should be axed from the XI. The striker’s performance against Sparta was disappointing as he struggled to make any tangible, positive, impact on the match, losing possession 20 times and managing one shot and zero key passes.

This could open the door for Morelos to start. Gerrard must unleash him from the off and allow the attacker to get at Hibernian and cause them issues, as he has the quality to be a match-winner for Rangers at this level.

Speaking anonymously to The Athletic in 2019, one Premiership defender lauded Morelos as ‘deceptive’ with his strength on the pitch.

He told The Athletic: “When he goes to shield the ball it’s so difficult. His body strength and ball control are very good, so he makes it very difficult for you. He is deceptive with his physical attributes, but what I’d say he’s best at is when the ball is played up to him. He lets you think that you can nip in front of him and then his timing to put his body in and spin you is excellent.”

This highlights how difficult the £33k-per-week dynamo can be to play against for Premiership defenders. His record in the division also proves that he can be a match-winner. In 115 league matches, Morelos has scored 55 goals and provided 23 assists for the Gers.

He has produced a direct goal contribution every 1.47 games in the division, which shows how much of a threat he is at this level. Therefore, he could be the player to win the match for Gerrard against Hibs with a goal or an assist. That’s exactly why Sakala should be dropped in order for Morelos to take his place in the starting XI.

AND in other news, Gerrard masterclass: Rangers beast has seen his value soar 33.3% in less than 2 years…

Aston Villa and 18 other Premier League clubs have demanded answers following Newcastle United’s official takeover, according to The Guardian, and a number of Villa fans have been reacting to the update on social media.

Newcastle are now owned by Saudi-led consortium PIF, who purchased the club from Mike Ashley in a deal worth £300m which went through on Friday. The deal has been strongly criticised by human rights groups, with the PIF – the Middle Eastern country’s sovereign wealth fund – overseen by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The Guardian shared a report on Friday evening claiming that the other 19 top-flight clubs, including Villa, now want to know what changed for the Premier League to wave through a takeover with little notice.

The report claims that clubs have expressed their concern following the deal, with some who had no idea about the takeover already making complaints to Premier League chief executive Richard Masters and chairman Gary Hoffman.

Villa fans react

Well-known Villa account @villareport shared The Guardian’s claim on Twitter on Friday evening. Here is what these Villa fans had to say in reply, with many making their feelings known and one calling on CEO Christian Purslow to take the fight to the Premier League…

“Come on Purslow”

Credit: @Jackkay98

“HERE WE GO.”

Credit: @JackAVFC77

“Club should just fold”

Credit: @AVFC_Aston

“Someone grab the popcorn”

Credit: @Tom_Price_AVFC_

“Imagine the scenes”

Credit: @GW_94

“Gutted – the market will be even more inflated with people having to spend more in the Prem due to a “Newcastle tax” and that means buying players will get super costly and players will be an even bigger risk. I hope that an FFP plan get introduced to make it fair”

Credit: @bennyavfc

In other news: ‘Unreal’ – These Villa fans erupt after ‘mad’ news emerged

The former fast bowler believes it would be difficult for the hosts to deploy the short-pitched strategy against India

Sriram Veera24-Jun-2009West Indies may have beaten India in the ICC World Twenty20 by using the short-pitched strategy against the batsmen but former fast bowler Michael Holding believes the absence of Fidel Edwards will make it difficult for the hosts to successfully deploy the plan again during the upcoming four-ODI series. Edwards’ lower back injury, sustained during the tournament in England, kept him out of the 13-man squad for the first two one-dayers in Jamaica.”Everyone realises that Fidel is the quickest,” Holding told Cricinfo. “He can intimidate and will be crucial to use bouncers as a strategy. Without him, though, it will be tough to bowl that kind of short-pitched intimidatory bowling. Jerome Taylor has not been all that fit in recent times. Since the first Test against England in Jamaica, he has not been 100%.”India succeeded against the weaker attacks of Ireland and Bangladesh during the group stages of the tournament in England, but were startlingly inept against the volley of short balls bowled by the West Indies and England fast bowlers during the Super Eights matches at Lord’s. India’s susceptibility to the short delivery was no secret but it was the extent of their inability to counter that line of attack which was surprising. Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina, the two rising stars going by their performances in the subcontinent and in the IPL, struggled to play the rising ball. Gautam Gambhir, too, was cramped for room while Ravindra Jadeja simply looked out of his depth.Holding also said he didn’t expect Lendl Simmons and Darren Sammy to be dropped for the first two matches against India. “There aren’t too many bowlers in the Caribbean to say that they should be in the team,” Holding said. “But I have been surprised by the exclusion of Lendl Simmons and Darren Sammy. They are two young promising cricketers who I thought could be given more opportunities.Simmons hit a classy 77 off 50 balls against South Africa and a composed 44 against India while Sammy, drafted in for the injured Fidel Edwards, turned in economical spells in the two matches that he played. But both have been, surprisingly, dropped from the series against India.”Lendl didn’t have a bad tour of England. He is a young cricketer and should be encouraged and nurtured. I can’t see any reason why he has been left out especially when I see there are players in the team who didn’t play a game in England and have been in the squad for quite some time. ODIs are not something you can predict easily. West Indies have been doing well in the shorter format and I hope they do well against India.”