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Kevin Campbell believes Lewis O’Brien could still sign for Leeds United, despite the Wednesday development of signing a new deal at Huddersfield Town.

The Lowdown: No move in summer

The Huddersfield midfielder was linked with a move to Elland Road during the previous transfer window and was subject to a £13million bid by the Premier League side, but a move never materialised and he remained at Huddersfield Town.

O’Brien, 22, came through the Town academy before spending the 2018/29 campaign on loan with Bradford City, making 40 appearances before becoming a key figure at Huddersfield, with over 85 appearances.

After links with Leeds, O’Brien signed a new contract this week, but Campbell, a regular on Sky Sports, doesn’t believe this is the end of the saga.

The Latest: Orta won’t give up

Speaking to Football Insider, the former Arsenal striker has claimed that, despite extending his stay at the Terriers, O’Brien could still be on Victor Orta’s radar.

When asked if the deal had gone, he said: “No, no, he could still sign for Leeds next year.

“He has signed a new contract to up his money and make sure that Huddersfield can get the fee that they want. If Leeds come in they are going to have to come in correct.

“At the end of the day it is easy to say he shouldn’t have signed a new contract but if Leeds really want him they will come in with a bid that satisfies Huddersfield.

“Listen, he has done the right thing by signing a new contract. If Leeds want him they will get him. Let’s see how it goes.”

The Verdict: Exciting player

O’Brien’s surge onto the scene at the John Smith Stadium has warranted links with a move to the Premier League. Last season, he started 39 times, completing 77% of his passes per game, whilst making 2 tackles per game and winning over 5 duels per 90 minutes.

Huddersfield’s 2019/20 Player of the Year winner has continued his impressive form this season, scoring one and assisting one already this season for Carlos Corberan’s team.

His relentless worth ethic and energy would fit perfectly at Elland Road, so the thought of a move ‘next year’ in the words of Campbell is exciting.

In other news, Phil Hay has revealed a brilliant story about Tuesday’s game with Fulham that you may have missed. Find out more here.

Leeds United are in advanced talks with Celtic for defender Leo Hjelde, according to Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Hjelde’s Celtic career

The Hoops brought Hjelde to Parkhead back in 2019 from Rosenborg on a three-year deal.

Now 17 years of age, the centre-back, who can also play at left-back, is into the final 12 months of his Celtic contract.

Hjelde joined Ross County on loan in January and made 12 senior appearances for the club, with the Norwegian still waiting for his senior Hoops debut.

The teenager featured under Ange Postecoglou on Saturday against West Ham, coming on in the second half, but it seems as if his days in Glasgow are numbered.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/celtic-updates-10/” title=”Celtic updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Latest: Source shares update

Football Insider, who were informed by a Leeds source, ran a story on Hjelde on Saturday morning.

They claimed that the Whites are in advanced talks to sign Hjelde, with discussions progressing well.

Hjelde has been offered a Leeds contract and is ‘very keen’ to make the move to Elland Road.

The Verdict: A big blow

Celtic appear to be building for the future with four of their summer signings under the age of 21 in Liam Shaw, Joey Dawson, Osaze Urhoghide and Liel Abada, so losing Hjelde to Leeds could be a big blow going forward.

The Hoops may have seen Hjelde as a key part of their future, with former Ross County manager John Hughes tipping the teenager to become the next Virgil van Dijk.

It seems as if they may have to plan for their future without Hjelde, though, going off the latest reports.

In other news: Celtic now offered fee more than Dembele’s for Edouard. 

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

Cricinfo staff08-Apr-2009Group BBermuda lost their ODI status after failing to qualify for the Super Eights following a 63-run defeat against Netherlands in Potchefstroom.Riding on Ryan ten Doeschate’s 67 and a late blitz from Edgar Schiferli, Netherlands set Bermuda a challenging target of 305. Schiferli provided the acceleration to take his team past 300, smashing 41 off 17 balls towards the final over. Bermuda opener David Hemp steered the chase with a steady 81 but although several other batsmen got starts, none of them made it count. Doeschate capped an all-round effort by picking up 3 for 51 as Bermuda were restricted to 241 for 9.Kenya secured their fourth consecutive win in Group B, beating Denmark comprehensively by nine wickets with 16.5 overs to spare in Potchefstroom. Peter Ongondo was impressive with the ball for Kenya, taking 1 for 21 off ten overs, while Elijah Otieno took 3 for 51 as Denmark were restricted to 173 for 8. Mickey Lund was their top-scorer with 45.Kenya lost their opener Maurice Ouma early during their chase but Kennedy Otieno and Seren Waters struck half-centuries to ensure a comfortable victory. Otieno was unbeaten on 84 off 95 balls with one six and ten fours while Waters made 61. They reached their target in the 34th over and finished the group stage with eight points from five matches.Click here for Will Luke’s bulletin on the match between Afghanistan and UAE.Group ACanada completed a thumping 148-run victory against Scotland in Benoni to finish among the top two in Group A of the World Cup Qualifiers. Scotland, however, also qualified for the Super Eights after winning three of their five matches.Canada made a solid start to their innings, with their openers adding 59, before they lost two wickets in three balls for no addition to the score. They lost another wicket to slip to 73 for 3 before the captain Ashish Bagai led the recovery by scoring 87. He steered Canada to a formidable total of 252 for 7. Craig Wright was Scotland’s best bowler, taking 3 for 23 in ten overs.Canada’s new-ball attack of Umar Bhatti and Henry Osinde wrecked the Scotland top-order, taking 3 for 31 and 2 for 14 respectively to reduce them to 33 for 5. None of the batsman, apart from Colin Smith who scored 43, passed 20 and the innings folded for 104 in the 31st over.Smith, was severely critical of the poor performance and said Scotland had he been “outplayed”. “But we were the architects of our own downfall,” he said. “We bowled poorly, too many extras, dropped too many catches. I can’t explain the way we batted. I’m astonished to be honest. I’m obviously very disappointed at the moment and I cannot be giving any answers to the way we’ve played today.”For us it’s a simple equation now. We have four games and we’re going to have to win them all. We’re going to have to show some character, some guts and desire that we actually want to get to this World Cup. So we’re going to have to up our game 50% at least.”Ireland maintained their unbeaten run in the group stage by beating Namibia by seven wickets in Johannesburg. They progressed to the Super Eights with five wins out of five, the only team to do so in the tournament. Namibia, on the other hand, clung on to their Super Eight spot by virtue of having a better net run-rate than both Oman and Uganda.Namibia were in deep trouble, sinking to 66 for 6, before a half-century from Nicholaas Scholtz and thirties from Deon Kotze and Ian van Zyl led them to 213. Ireland opener William Porterfield led a strong chase, scoring 84, and he was supported by Eoin Morgan, who made 42, and Niall O’Brien who scored an unbeaten 64. They reached their target of 214 with five overs to spare.Oman ended their World Cup Qualifier campaign with a bang, securing their first victory of the tournament with an extraordinary run-chase, beating Uganda by one wicket during a tense finish in Pretoria. Chasing 299 for victory, Oman were boosted by Farhan Khan who smashed 95 off 49 balls with seven sixes to give his team hope. However, they lost wickets at regular intervals and needed 23 runs to win at the fall of the eighth wicket in the 34th over. Hemal Mehta, who was the ninth man out for 49, and Haider Ali, unbeaten on 14, secured the victory.Oman’s effort snuffed out Uganda’s Super Eight hopes for they needed a victory to pip Namibia for the final spot from Group A. Their top-order batsman made solid contributions – Joel Olwenyi and Nehal Bibodi stood out with 85 and 54 respectively – to lead them to 298 for 5 but their bowlers were not up to the task of defending the total.

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

Ireland 5 5 0 00 10 +1.492 1115/204.4 989/250.0Canada 5 4 1 0 08 +1.490 1270/247.0 880/241.0 Scotland 5 3 2 0 0 6-0.318 1086/250.0 1108/237.4 Namibia 51 4 0 0 2 -0.5061104/250.0 1206/245.0 Uganda 5 14 0 0 2 -0.928 1082/250.01131/215.1 Oman 5 1 40 0 2 -1.144 1052/237.1 1395/250.0

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

Kenya 5 4 10 0 8 +1.683 1043/190.3 934/246.2 Netherlands 5 4 1 00 8 +0.557 1271/235.4 1205/249.1U.A.E. 5 4 1 0 08 -0.131 1173/243.4 1050/212.2 Afghanistan 5 2 3 0 0 4-0.278 1074/246.2 1130/243.4 Bermuda 51 4 0 0 2 -0.4411026/238.1 1150/242.1 Denmark 5 05 0 0 0 -1.341 1046/250.01164/210.4

Would they play they play or wouldn’t they? Until the eve of the fifth and final ODI in St Lucia, no-one could say for sure

The Preview by Andrew Miller02-Apr-2009
Chris Gayle: far more adept at striking of the six-hitting variety © Getty Images
Match factsFriday April 3
Start time 9.30am (13.30GMT)Big pictureWould they play they play or wouldn’t they? Until the eve of the fifth and final ODI in St Lucia, no-one could say for sure. The West Indies Cricket Board had been locked in crisis talks with the Players’ Association, with the threat looming, not only of a boycott of Friday’s fixture, but – going forward – a mass withdrawal from the tour of England which commences later this month, and clashes head-on with the lucrative Indian Premier League.The crisis was ultimately averted, but with so much up in the air for so long, it’s hard to imagine how the players have managed to focus on what is suddenly a must-win match. West Indies may have outscored England by 23 sixes to three, but thanks to a misreading of the Duckworth-Lewis charts in Guyana and a tour de force in another rain-affected contest from Andrew Strauss, England somehow made up for their serious shortcomings in games two and three to move into a position to strike (in the non-industrial sense).Form guide (most recent first)West Indies LWWLL
England WLLWLWatch out for …Leading into this series, Andrew Strauss had an unflattering reputation as an ODI batsman. He had not played in England’s limited-overs set-up for two years because of doubts about his big-hitting abilities, but two spectacular efforts in this series – one stand-alone century in defeat in Guyana and a brilliant 79 not out from 61 balls to square the series in Barbados – have cemented his role, in the short-term at least. The simple fact is that he is in the form of his life, coming off the back of three hundreds in the Test series last month.All eyes have been on Chris Gayle this week, first for his spectacular six-hitting exploits in Barbados – 13 in two games, including eight in an 43-ball 80 last Friday – then for his lead role in the threatened strike. He now says he is satisfied with the situation and will play, but will his eye be sufficiently on the ball to wallop England all over Gros Islet?Team newsThere could have been 11 team changes, but now it’s done to one. Nikita Miller hurt his back while trying to smash a free hit out of the ground last week, so he is out, with his fellow spinner, Sulieman Benn, restored to the squad. His omission was something of a surprise to England, given his starring role in the Jamaica Test victory, as well as two Twenty20 triumphs, starting with the Stanford Superstars in Antigua last year.West Indies (possible) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Lendl Simmons, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Darren Sammy, 8 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 9 Lionel Baker, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Fidel Edwards.As for England, there are no obvious alterations to be made. Their seamers did a fine job to restrict West Indies to an attainable 239 for 9 in the last match, although there could yet be a temptation to re-introduce the spinner Gareth Batty – possibly at the expense of Steve Harmison, whose winter’s Hokey-Cokey (in all internationals since November) currently reads: “In, in, out, out, in, in, out, in, out, out, in, out, out, in, in, out, in.”England (possible) 1 Ravi Bopara, 2 Andrew Strauss (capt), 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Owais Shah, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Dimitri Mascarenhas, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 James Anderson.Stats & TriviaAside from a victory over Zimbabwe in 2002, West Indies have not won a single ODI at Beausejour since 2004, when they beat none other than England in back-to-back fixtures The highest score ever made in an ODI in St Lucia is 363 for 5, by New Zealand against Canada at the 2007 World CupQuotes”We’re totally focused … even though a lot of things have been happening off the field. We’re here to play cricket. Hopefully we can finish off on a high.”
Chris Gayle looks forward to putting the power struggles behind him

When Rafa Benitez was appointed as the new manager of Everton it sparked controversy among the Goodison Park faithful.

Supporters were hanging banners outside of his house in protest of the former Liverpool boss being handed the keys to the club.

Their concerns made sense after he dubbed the Toffees a small team during his stint at Anfield.

However, Benitez has hit back at his critics with Everton witnessing a near-perfect start to the new season. They haven’t spent a great deal in the transfer window but have still amassed seven points from their first three games.

Demarai Gray, the only man who cost anything this summer, has hit the ground running and has started the campaign with two goals in his last two matches.

The quick-footed winger is a throwback to the type of signing David Moyes made during his stay at Everton and it seems to be working a treat as he dominates Premier League defences.

Though, despite his goal in the club’s 2-0 win over Brighton on Saturday afternoon, it was actually a defender who stole the show.

Michael Keane has attracted his fair share of criticism this season and that’s completely justified. He has already made a plethora of errors leading to goals as he endures a torrid start to the campaign.

He turned too slowly against Leeds which allowed Patrick Bamford to pick up possession and then set up Mateusz Klich for a goal. Keane then lost his marker when Huddersfield scored against the Toffees in the Carabao Cup in midweek.

Yet, when the Toffees visited the south coast this weekend, Keane returned to form in emphatic fashion.

It will take a while for supporters to be convinced by him again but this showed he does indeed have the necessary qualities to shine under Benitez.

The £22.5m-rated England international was rock solid at the back against Brighton, winning 100% of the defensive duels he was involved in. That meant the centre-half won an impressive four tackles and produced five interceptions.

That final statistic was the best on the entire field of play while only Allan completed more tackles (5) than Keane during the game.

The defender was also calm and composed in possession of the ball. Keane registered a pass success rate of 92% which once more, was only bettered by the diminutive Allan.

If the centre-back can produce performances like this on a regular basis then he can still be a huge part of the Everton squad. If mistakes pop up again, however, Benitez will need to axe him quickly.

AND in other news, “Joorabchian has told Everton” – Castles issues big transfer claim, fans surely scared…

Ange Postecoglou has no intention of using Celtic left-back Boli Bolingoli, according to The Athletic’s Kieran Devlin.

The Lowdown: Bolingoli’s summer

Bolingoli returned to Parkhead over the summer following a loan spell in Turkey with Istanbul Basaksehir.

The Belgian was linked with a return to Turkey with Altay SK back in June, however, he remained a Parkhead player beyond Tuesday’s deadline.

He posted a picture on Instagram prior to the 2021/22 campaign in Celtic colours ready for the new season with the caption ‘let’s go’. However, he hasn’t been used in a competitive match under Postecoglou, and it seems as if he isn’t in the Parkhead boss’ plans.

The Latest: Devlin’s claim

The Athletic shared a story on Wednesday about some players who have been left high and dry after failing to secure a summer transfer.

Devlin contributed with a section on Bolingoli, claiming there is no intention in Glasgow to use him in the first team.

Bolingoli, on £780,000-a-year at Celtic, still has two years remaining on his deal.

The Verdict: January exit?

With Postecoglou preferring Adam Montgomery and new right-back Josip Juranvoic on the left-hand side in Greg Taylor’s absence, it looks like a New Year exit for Bolingoli could be on the cards.

The Hoops may well be open to a loan or permanent deal for the 26-year-old, and should it be the latter, they could struggle to recoup the £3m fee they forked out for his services back in 2019, especially with his Transfermarkt valuation dropping to £1.98m.

In other news: Ange’s first January target emerges; Celtic will watch ‘really important’ ace tomorrow. 

George Binoy presents the Plays of the Day from Trent Bridge

George Binoy at Trent Bridge06-Jun-2009To succeed in the Twenty20 format a team needs players capable of breaking games, performers with the skill to grab momentum away from opponents in a single over. It’s why India are a quality side in the shortest format. Every player in the XI against Bangladesh was capable of a match-winning display, a premise best supported by their most unheralded and least experienced player on the field, the debutant left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, who short-circuited the chase and ended the contest at Trent Bridge.Ojha’s poise in trying conditions disguised his inexperience. Apart from having to make an international debut in a World Cup opener, the Nottingham weather was unhelpful. It had rained all morning and into the afternoon, the sky remained overcast and temperatures were below 15C when India were bowling, leaving the spinner’s fingers cold and stiff.He later said that bowling during Deccan Chargers’ victorious IPL campaign in South Africa during the winter had helped him cope with the conditions. The experience gained by bowling successfully to quality international batsmen had increased his confidence and helped him back himself. A stint with Slaithwaite in the Huddersfield league a couple of years ago had also prepared Ojha for English conditions.He came on in the ninth over, with Bangladesh on 72 for 2, and took two wickets in the space of five balls. He varied his pace, flighted the ball, and thrived in conditions that appeared more suited for fast bowling. His scalps were Bangladesh’s in-form players – Shakib Al Hasan, Twenty20’s leading allrounder, and Junaid Siddique, who had raced to 41 off 21 balls.While Ojha sealed the game for India with the ball, Yuvraj Singh took it away from Bangladesh with the bat. India were going through a phase that their captain termed “below-par”. They had scored no boundaries between overs six and 10 and both well-set batsman, MS Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir, were struggling to find gaps. Enter Yuvraj who dispatched four balls over the leg-side boundary during an innings of 41 off 18. And even after Gambhir, Yuvraj and Raina fell quickly, Irfan Pathan hit his first two balls for a six and a four to end the innings with a flourish.India’s victory by 25 runs was the first result in the World Twenty20 that conformed to expectations, after the Netherlands shocking England, New Zealand’s nervous moments in a rain-shortened match against Scotland, and West Indies’ thrashing of Australia. The two key performers highlighted the difference between the champions and the defeated sides so far.England lacked a power player in the middle and lower order against the Netherlands and wasted a magnificent start provided by their openers. India’s top six, on the other hand, are renowned strikers of the ball and their No. 7, Harbhajan Singh, can clout it as well. It’s what makes India such a tough side, according to Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons.”They are powerful. They keep coming at you, particularly the firepower with the bat,” he said. “You get a few wickets then Yuvraj blasts a few sixes. You get to the last over and there’s another guy who can hit sixes.”Australia bowlers had no answer to the onslaught from Chris Gayle and Andre Fletcher at The Oval. Theirs was a one dimensional, all-pace attack and the only slow-bowling options, in the absence of Andrew Symonds, were part-timers David Hussey and Michael Clarke. Ricky Ponting had few options to choose from.Dhoni, on the other hand, had plenty. His new-ball bowlers, Zaheer khan and Irfan, went for 20 in the first two overs and so he turned to Yusuf Pathan’s offspin. The move paid off, with Yusuf striking with his third ball. Dhoni said the abundance of options – three spinners – allowed him to think out of the box rather than simply persist with the fast bowlers.India’s victory has sealed their place in the next round. Their opponents in the Super Eights will be more skilled than Bangladesh but out of all the teams on show so far, India have ticked the most boxes.

A round-up of the third day’s play of the third-round matches of the Ranji Trophy Super League 2008-09

Cricinfo staff18-Nov-2008
Scorecard
L Balaji celebrated his return to first-class cricket with a five-wicket haul to help Tamil Nadu sink Uttar Pradesh by an innings and 238 runs in Ghaziabad. The captain, Dinesh Karthik, made his highest first-class score (213) to push Tamil Nadu past 500 before Balaji and C Ganapathy combined to bundle out UP for 119.Resuming on 356 for 4, Karthik strengthened Tamil Nadu’s position by adding 66 for the sixth wicket with R Ashwin. Karthik was eventually dismissed by Praveen Gupta, the left-arm spinner, who was the most effective bowler for UP with figures of 4 for 123. Faced with a daunting deficit of 357, UP began cautiously as their openers added 36 in 17 overs. Ganapathy broke through for Tamil Nadu, sending back Shivakant Shukla and that’s when the slide began for the home side. Only four players managed double figures and the resistance was feeble as Balaji and Ganapathy pegged away at the wickets, finishing the formalities in just 43 overs and a day to spare. Balaji finished with 5 for 42 while Ganapathy was equally threatening with 4 for 21.The win has pushed Tamil Nadu to the top of the Group B points table with 12 points.
Scorecard
After gaining a first-innings lead of 35, Mumbai took further control over Delhi at the Feroz Shah Kotla with their openers, Wasim Jaffer and Sahil Kukreja, ending the day unbroken on 149. Mumbai extended their overall lead to 184 and with a draw likely, Mumbai should profit from their first-innings points unless something dramatic happens on the final day.Resuming on 176 for 4, Delhi looked to their overnight pair of Mithun Manhas and Rajat Bhatia to push them past the visitors’ 330. The score progressed to 225 but Mumbai clawed back, picking up five wickets for 33 runs. Manhas fell two short of his hundred and Bhatia fell for 81 and the chief wicket-takers were the spin duo of Sairaj Bahutule and Ramesh Powar. The last-wicket pair of Chetanya Nanda and Parvinder Awana resisted for just over 15 overs but the innings eventually ended at 295. Kukreja and Jaffer batted out 37 overs and scored 70s, rounding off a good day for the visitors.
Scorecard
Hyderabad were staring at defeat on the third day after being asked to follow-on against Gujarat in Ahmedabad. The star for the home team was Siddarth Trivedi, the right-arm seamer, who took four wickets to restrict Hyderabad to 225 and later took all three wickets to fall in the second innings. Hyderabad ended the day at 45 for 3, needing a further 250 to make Gujarat bat again.The top order failed to contribute substantially contributions and wickets fell at regular intervals. They were 132 for 3 in the 48th over and soon lost four wickets for 18 runs and never recovered from that position. Syed Qadri offered some resistance with a half-century but the rest collapsed to Trivedi and Mohnish Parmar, who shared seven wickets between them. Trivedi finished with 4 for 44 while Parmar took three wickets for the same number of runs. Hyderabad fell 295 short of Gujarat’s 520 and their situation worsened when they stumbled to Trivedi again. Arjun Yadav and T Suman were unbeaten at stumps with their team needing to bat out the entire day tomorrow to save the match.
Scorecard
A seven-wicket haul by Dhiraj Singh helped Orissa snatch a vital first-innings lead of 11 against Rajasthan in Sambalpur. Dhiraj, the left-arm spinner, ran through the middle order to bowl out Rajasthan for 270. The visitors ended the second day at a strong 172 for 2 and looked set to obtain a lead but Dhiraj spoilt their plans.Gagan Khoda helped push the overnight score to 228 and reached his 19th first-class century but the slide began after he was dismissed. Dhiraj took the next five wickets to fall and in the end finished with 7 for 83. Shiv Sundar Das scored an unbeaten 57 to extent Orissa’s advantage to 120 with seven second-innings wickets in hand.
Scorecard
It was another luckless day for Railways as Baroda, led by centuries by Azharuddin Bilakhia (157) and Connor Williams (137), stretched the lead to 236 at the Karnail Singh Stadium. The pair added a mammoth 278 for the second wicket, more than what 11 Railways players could manage, before Karan Sharma ended Williams’ resistance. Murali Kartik took two quick wickets and Baroda suddenly lost three wickets against the run of play. However, the home side failed to make further inroads as Baroda frustrated them with two partnerships with 50 and 43 respectively. Shatrunjay Gaekwad scored a patient 47 while Irfan Pathan chipped in with 40 off 52 balls to push the score past 400. With a day left, and Railways yet to dismiss the opposition, a draw looms.
Scorecard
Cheteshwar Pujara is on a roll. After scoring two triple-centuries in the lead-up to the Ranji season, he scored a blazing 189 off 182 balls today and with the dour Shithanshu Kotak for company, took Saurashtra close to Punjab’s 482 in Rajkot. Kotak, who scored 102 off 287 balls, played second fiddle in a mammoth stand of 258 for the third wicket. Punjab began the day on a good note, dismissing Bhushan Chauhan for 45 but had to wait nearly 60 overs for their next breakthrough. Pujara smashed 31 fours in his knock and looked set for a double-century before edging Charanjeet Singh to Pankaj Dharmani. Manpreet Gony later accounted for Kotak and he was the last wicket to fall as Saurashtra trailed by 77.
Scorecard
Seventeen wickets fell on a dramatic third day in Mysore, but there was no change in overall match situation, with Karnataka retaining a firm grip. Andhra fought back after falling 148 runs short in the first innings through medium-pacer P Vijaykumar’s six-wicket haul. But their top order’s failings, on a pitch with a hint of variable bounce, put Karnataka back in charge. . Read the full report.

Shoaib Akhtar, who this week was issued an ultimatum by the PCB, has now been included in a preliminary 20-man squad for next month’s Canada Cup Four Nation Twenty20 tournament

Cricinfo staff18-Sep-2008
Shoaib Akhtar has been included in a provisional Twenty20 squad for the four-nation series in Canada © AFP
Shoaib Akhtar, who was issued an ultimatum by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), has now been included in a preliminary 20-man squad for next month’s Canada Cup Four Nation Twenty20 tournament. It was earlier reported that Shoaib would not be eligible to play in Canada after he was left out of Islamabad’s squad for the upcoming National Twenty20 tournament, but the , a local daily, said the selectors have included his name for Canadian visa purposes.”The fine is purely a legal matter which is being sorted out,” PCB’s chief operating officer Shafqat Naghmi told PTI. “But we want Shoaib to play in the Twenty20 championship so that the selectors can judge his form and fitness.”The PCB also sought advice from the Lahore High Court on whether it can allow Shoaib to return to competitive cricket even if he delays paying the outstanding fine, but his lawyers have reportedly assured the board that the issue will be resolved soon. Bilal Minto, Shoaib’s lawyer, said: “There is no problem with paying the fine but we feel that since the case is in court we can wait for the court to reach a decision and than if it says pay the fine we will pay it. It is not a real issue.”The squad is expected to be trimmed to 15 for the Toronto series, which runs from October 10-13. Pakistan will leave for Canada on October 8.Meanwhile Shoaib Malik, Pakistan’s captain, said he and his team-mates were keen to play international cricket given the drought in the country. “We haven’t played any competitive cricket in the last several weeks and are itching to get back into action. The National Twenty20 Cup will provide us an excellent opportunity to regain our form and rhythm before the four-nation event. Twenty20 is a very unpredictable format and you can’t take any opposition for granted.”Pakistan’s last international series was the Asia Cup at home earlier this summer. They were supposed to host the ICC Champions Trophy in September but the tournament was postponed due to security concerns.

Sunderland look set to complete a deal to bring Nathan Broadhead to the Stadium of Light.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football Insider, who claim that the Black Cats have made a breakthrough in talks with Everton regarding a season-long loan deal for the centre-forward, who is scheduled to undergo a medical at Sunderland in the coming days.

The report goes on to state that Rafael Benitez has given the green light regarding the temporary departure of the 23-year-old, after assessing the former Wales U21 international during the Toffees’ pre-season tour of the United States of America.

Johnson will be buzzing

Having lost the services of both Charlie Wyke and Chris Maguire this summer, it was evident that bringing in a fresh face up front was something of a priority for Lee Johnson before the transfer deadline at the end of the month.

And, with it appearing as if the Mackems have completed this task with a couple of weeks of the summer window to spare, the 40-year-old will undoubtedly be buzzing with his transfer team, particularly when considering how much potential Broadhead looks to possess.

Indeed, over his 18 Premier League 2 appearances last season, the £450k-rated centre-forward – who can also operate from the wing – scored an impressive 11 goals and registered three assists, playing a key role in his side finishing in fifth-place in the division.

These performances clearly impressed the former Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti, who awarded Broadhead his Premier League debut in the club’s 0-0 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion in April this year.

Furthermore, the man David Unsworth dubbed “one of the best players” he’s worked with also has experience of playing in League One, having scored two goals and provided two assists over 19 appearances while on loan at Burton Albion back in 2019/20.

As such, it would very much appear that the capture of Broadhead is something of a coup for Sunderland, with the young forward clearly boasting the potential to finally help fire Lee Johnson’s side out of the third tier of English football.

In other news: Get it done: KLD must sanction SAFC summer swoop for “brilliant” £360k-rated dynamo