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While Newcastle United do boast a fine history of producing exceptionally talented players, with the likes of Peter Beardsley and Paul Gascoigne having come through the youth setup at St. James’ Park, it would not be an unfair statement to make that the Magpies’ production line has tailed off somewhat in recent years.

Indeed, while the likes of Sean Longstaff, Matty Longstaff and Freddie Woodman are players who would appear to have a bright future in the game, not since Andy Carroll made his first-team debut back in 2006 has there been a nationwide level of excitement regarding a product of the Magpies’ academy.

However, that could be about to change, as 19-year-old attacking midfielder Joe White has been generating a great deal of attention.

Newcastle’s new Waddle?

Indeed, after handing the teenager a second-half appearance in a 2-0 win over Burton Albion back in August 2021, Steve Bruce appeared to be extremely excited about the potential of White, stating of the forward-thinking midfielder:

“He caught the eye, didn’t he? We brought him up about 18 months ago before [the pandemic] and he quietly impressed us. And, all of a sudden, they grow all of a sudden, find a yard of pace and look bigger and stronger. And he’s certainly done that. Over the last couple of games, in particular, I’ve been very, very pleased with what I’ve seen.”

However, it not only the 61-year-old impressed with the talent of the youngster, as Eddie Howe opted to hand White a new deal in January of this year, amid reported interest from Chelsea, Leeds United, Celtic and Rangers, with the 44-year-old going on to say of the midfielder:

“With Joe White, I’ve been very impressed. I saw him playing for the development squad recently, and he performed really well. He’s a talented player.”

Following the signing of his new contract, the 19-year-old was sent on loan to further his development at League Two side Hartlepool United in the January transfer window, where the teenager has already made his mark on Graeme Lee’s side, registering two assists over his seven league outings thus far.

This creativity in the final third is something that has been apparent throughout White’s progression in the youth ranks in the North East, with the attacking midfielder having scored eight goals and provided nine assists over his 33 appearances for the U18s, as well as bagging two goals and four assists over 30 outings for the U21s.

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And, while it is still extremely early days in White’s career, should he continue this level of creativity in senior football, he could very well go on to become Newcastle’s new Chris Waddle – the attacking midfielder who scored 52 goals over his five-year spell with the Magpies at the start of his own career.

Indeed, Newcastle supporters should be very excited about the 19-year-old who Howe dubbed a “very good technical player” with a “bright future” – as he could quite easily become the next big thing to come out of the North East.

In other news: £20m down the drain: “Bewildering” £40k-p/w flop has been rinsing NUFC for 254 weeks

	The Appu Army was in full swing and lent a carnival-like atmosphere as they marched up and down the main drag behind the Don Bradman stand inside the ground © AFP

Sport has always drawn crowds, even in the most hostile conditions. Tuesday morning in Canberra was no different with dark grey clouds looming ominously. Rains lashed the Manuka Oval from between seven and half past ten, raising doubts if any game was possible in the first place.That didn’t dampen the hundreds who started gathering outside the oval in little flocks at the scheduled start time (10 am). For them, despite the weather, the game was still on. And like in every crowd, where there is a bunch that stands out with its characteristic fervour, there was one here too making heads turn. Shaking their bodies and tapping their feet, they created a buzz with their livewire intensity.The Appu Army, the latest addition to the existing bunch that includes the Barmy Army (England), Wave the Flag (Australia) and Bharat Army (India), were here to follow their side closely. The pouring rain didn’t matter to them. They had come down from Sydney in droves. Their red coloured T-shirts made them stand out and were joined by their friends in hay-coloured sombrero-hats.They kept playing the distinctive tune that lets you know the Sri Lankans are around. The Appu Army was in full swing and lent a carnival-like atmosphere as they marched up and down the main drag behind the Don Bradman stand inside the ground. The horns and the whistles kept blowing, so did the conch shells and the hand bells. So festive was the atmosphere that it was difficult for the Indians not to soak it in.The Appu Army, under a month old, is the concept of Lal Jacobs, a Sydney-based web designer. Jacobs’ friends had been coaxing him to starting something like the Barmy Army for a while and he decided to do something about it during Sri Lanka’s tour game against the Australian Prime Minister’s XI here last month.”I just wanted to start something that would help the Sri Lankans enjoy the game more,” Jacobs says with a smile, adding that he doesn’t intend to emulate the Barmy Army’s style of traveling with the team around the world. For Jacobs, originally from Sri Lanka, it’s about getting people together whenever there is an opportunity.Interestingly there were a few Tamils wearing red T-shirts with a map of Sri Lanka that had “Voice of Tamils. Where’s humanity” painted across the north and east, which has borne the bulk of the violence over the past few decades. Jacobs agrees sport is one of the best mediums to get the message of peace across. “Cricket is one game that gets both the Tamils and the Sinhalese together which is such a good thing”. It was definitely the case at the Manuka Oval, where ethnic Tamils were seen mingling freely with the Sinhalese. In the aftermath of the Harbhajan Singh-Andrew Symonds affair, where cricket was pushed to the background and the crowds turned partisan, this was a happy turn of events.”It doesn’t matter if it’s a truncated game. We are here to enjoy Sehwag, Tendulkar and Jayasuriya blast, that’s what matters,” a beaming Jacobs said as he emptied his pint of beer. Meanwhile the drum beats carried on as did the rain.

Ricky Ponting and John Buchanan have a decision to make over who will step in for Shane Watson © AFP

John Buchanan believes Australia will all but eliminate England from the World Cup if they win Sunday’s Super Eights clash. Australia are unbeaten in their five matches and top the second round standings as they bid for an unprecedented third straight title.England have yet to beat a Test nation after losing to New Zealand and suffering an agonising two-run defeat against Sri Lanka in Antigua on Wednesday. However, they did beat the world champions 2-0 during the finals of the CB series in February.”We’re keen to make amends for that,” Buchanan said. “But that’s past history. Now we’re in the West Indies and we’ve got a very important game for us. If we manage to come out on top of that well, we virtually eliminate another side out of the tournament and that’s pretty important for us.”Buchanan said Australia’s win over England in a 13-a-side warm-up match in St Vincent had in part atoned for their shock reverse on home soil. “I still viewed St Vincent as a proper one-day game, although you could play a couple of extra players,” he said. “I thought we played pretty well there. I think both teams have progressed since the CB Series.”He said England’s desperation for victory could work in their favour. “England at this stage are playing knockout cricket,” he said. “Every game for them is a knockout game and that puts them on the razor’s edge.”It will be an exceptional contest. Any side that’s playing for its life in the tournament, it understands fairly well what it has to do.”Buchanan said England had a long batting order and identified Ian Bell as a key figure. “Bell’s come in at No. 3 and played a really pivotal role,” he said. “He plays well with Kevin Pietersen and they’ve put some good partnerships together.”Australia must decide before Sunday’s match whether to play an extra batsman or bowler following a left calf injury sustained by the allrounder Shane Watson during the ten-wicket win against Bangladesh. Queensland’s James Hopes is on standby back in Australia but, in the short term, either Brad Hodge or Mitchell Johnson could come in on Sunday.”We’re still undecided,” Buchanan said of the choice between a batsman or a bowler. “Both combinations present some strengths and some weaknesses. The upside of all of that is that it is making us re-think, although the preference would be to have a fit Shane Watson.”He said it was probably too early to ask Andrew Symonds, who is recovering from an arm injury, to bowl more than his offspin. “Andrew is Andrew and once he takes the field if he feels he needs to bowl medium-pace, he’ll be talking strongly to the captain to say ‘give me the opportunity to do it’.”

The Indian cricket board (BCCI) has announced that India could soon be playing home matches at a number of overseas venues as far a field as the USA, Malaysia and England.The BCCI said that various venues had been looked at. In North America, New York, Houston, Chicago and Toronto were possibilities, as were Birmingham and London in England, as well as grounds in Holland, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur. The thing all these locations have in common is that they are in areas with a large number of expats from the Indian subcontinent.The BCCI raised the possibility of playing overseas while announcing a tender for global media rights for five years for all matches that India play on neutral grounds. The rights comprise all television, radio and internet, and will include the two-match India-Pakistan series in Abu Dhabi April 18 and 19.”The global media rights tender is intended to streamline the process of match telecasting wherever the Indian team is playing,” said Lalit Modi, BCCI vice-president and chairman of its marketing sub-committee. “With the number and quality of matches growing, this streamlining becomes increasingly important.”Modi added that where matches were played in Full Member countries, the broadcasting rights will fall under the jurisdiction of the home board.

Titans 151 for 3 (Petersen 64*, Tshabalala 2-26) beat Eagles 150 for 8 by 7 wickets
ScorecardThe Titans exploded into form at SuperSport Park in Centurion with a devastating display of hitting, crushing the Eagles – the current title-holders.In an unexpected – and ultimately successful – move, the Titans opened with Albie Morkel and Alviro Petersen, who put on 75 in 8.4 overs in the chase for the 151-run target. Morkel was eventually caught for 36 while Petersen, named the “Master Blaster”, helped himself to 64 off 40 balls, including a six off the last ball of the 16th over to give the Titans a bonus point.Having sent the Eagles in to bat, the Titans made things very difficult for the batsmen, at least initially. After 15 overs they were 89 for 5. Only a late onslaught by Craig Thyssen (31 in 13) helped them to 150 for 8. Cliff Deacon was also no slouch as he finished not out on 21 off 13 balls. Alfonso Thomas and Albie Morkel shared the wickets with two each while Dale Steyn and Justin Kemp kept things tight, giving away only 17 and 16 runs respectively off their four overs.Western Province Boland 115 for 5 (Duminy 47) beat Warriors 114 (Jacobs 45, Kleinveldt 3-18, Hantam 3-25) by 5 wicketsWestern Province Boland cruised to an easy five-wicket win over the Warriors at Newlands in Cape Town. The Warriors’s innings never got off the ground despite 45 off 41 balls by Arno Jacobs. Rory Kleinveldt and William Hantam ensured that most batsmen did not even reach double-figures.The target of 115 was never going to be a difficult chase for WPBOL. JP Duminy once again top-scored with a run-a-ball 47. A 50-run partnership with Thami Tsolekile (30 not out) was enough to see the home side through with five wickets down and an over to spare.

XXXX Queensland Bulls captain Jimmy Maher returns to ING Cup cricket tomorrow with the knowledge that he can become the leading domestic one-day runs scorer in Australian cricket.Maher is potentially one innings away from passing his Australian World Cup teammate Darren Lehmann as the leading runs-scorer in the one-day game in Australia.The Bulls left-hander, playing his first ING Cup game this season for Queensland, needs 84 runs to pass Lehmann’s total of 2791 runs scored for South Australia and Victoria.Lehmann is in Brisbane with the Redbacks team as a team manager while he recovers from a ruptured Achilles tendon.Tomorrow’s day/nighter at the Gabba has a host of potential milestones, with Redbacks batsman Greg Blewett just two runs away from becoming South Australia’s leading one-day runs-scorer.Blewett will eclipse Lehmann’s SA tally of 2599 runs.Queensland wicket-keeper Wade Seccombe is one dismissal away from becoming only the second glovesman to record 100 domestic limited overs dismissals.Seccombe, who will play for Australia ‘A’ in the three-day tour match against India in Hobart starting on Friday, will join Victoria’s Darren Berry who has 132 dismissals.Tomorrow’s match starts at 2.30pm with gates opening at 1.30pm.The Bulls are in second last spot with four points from three games while the Redbacks are one spot ahead on nine points from four games.Queensland welcome back Maher, Andrew Symonds and Michael Kasprowicz for their first limited games for the Bulls this season.Meanwhile Queensland’s Pura Cup team for the match against SA starting on Friday will be released tomorrow.XXXX Queensland Bulls: Jimmy Maher (c), Stuart Law, Martin Love, Andrew Symonds, Clinton Perren, Lee Carseldine, Wade Seccombe, James Hopes, Nathan Hauritz, Ashley Noffke, Michael Kasprowicz, Damien MacKenzie (12th man to be named).Southern Redbacks: Greg Blewett (captain), Mark Cleary, Mark Cosgrove, John Davison, Shane Deitz, Andy Flower, Mark Higgs, Ben Johnson, Graham Manou, Mick Miller, Paul Rofe, Shaun Tait. (12th man to be named).

Following our debacle in Auckland about a week ago, when we lost to India, it was a nerve racking wait for our game against Canada two days later to try and qualify for the next round of the World Cup.Canada had suddenly started playing well and managed to tie against Bangladesh earlier in the week. We were also wary of the fact that the game may be rained out again and that would have been catastrophic for us at this stage of the competition.The players called a team meeting the night before the game to discuss why things had gone so wrong for us against India. A consensus was reached that we had not played to our full potential at all and that we were far better than the result against India suggested. With a strengthened resolve to rectify our previous errors we oozed confidence when we stepped onto the field the next day.Our frontline bowlers were outstanding and we managed to knock the Canadians out for 41 runs midway through their allotted overs. Once again Ryan Bailey was phenomenal with three wickets for five runs off only three overs. Brendon Reddy and Ryan Mclaren also contributed handsomely with their economical bowling figures.Our openers, Stephen Cook and Chad Baxter scored the winnning runs in about the eighth over. it was a welcome relief to know that we had qualified for the next stage of the competition. In fact it turned out to be a lot easier than we expected.Since the game finished early, most of the team decided to go into town and relax. We then traveled back to Christchurch to join the other teams for the super-league stage of the tournament. As we had lost to India, we came second in our preliminary group and therefore joined the Australians, New Zealanders and the English in the second round group. The other group included the teams from the sub continent, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan and the 4th team the West Indies.We knew this was always going to be a tough group and that we would have to beat some of the better teams if we were to advance to the semis of the competition.Our first game two days later was against the Australians. We had a disasterous start and were two wickets down for three runs after four overs. Things did not get any better when our captain Hashim Amla soon went out for 17. A spirited fightback by Stepehn Cook and Riel de Kok brought us back into the game until Stephen was run out from a direct hit. The balance of the game swayed to and fro and we were accelerating steadily with Ryan Bailey and Ryan Mclaren at the wicket. Another direct hit was responsible for Ryan Bailey losing his wicket at a crucial stage. A late attempt at resurrecting our innings was made when our number 11 batsmen, Brendon Reddy came in at number 9 and smashed 27 runs off 13 balls. We ended on 236 after 50 overs and thought we were in with a chance to give the Australians a run for their money.Our bowlers toiled away, but crucial errors in judgement were responsible for us conceding a few very expensive overs and soon the opponents were controlling the run chase. They managed to pass our total with two overs spare. This was very dispiriting for the players and we did not enjoy our supper that evening.Nevertheless, today the sun was up and we trained well and prepared ourselves for the important match against the New Zealanders tomorrow. We know we have to play really well if we are to beat the hosts in their own backyard and stand a chance of qualifying for the semi’s.Our final group game on Friday, 1 February against the English together with tomorrow’s result will determine our fate in the competition. With this in mind, the players have all been meticulous with their last minute preparations and no doubt an early night will be had by all. The tournament is now becoming more competitive and the stronger teams are starting to reveal themselves.We hope we can be part of it.Shane Jabaar (fizzer)

England all-rounder Graeme Swann gave Northamptonshire a winning start totheir tour to Grenada with a sparkling display with both bat and ball.Swann struck a 42-ball 73 hitting five sixes and then took three wickets asNorthamptonshire beat Grenada by 75 runs.The County players got their first glimpse of the $20 million stadium andsettled into life quickly under the hot sun, adapting well to the conditionsjust 36 hours after landing on the island.Director of cricket Bob Carter has used the games this weekend to give everyplayer a run out with Adrian Rollins making his first appearance in Countycolours on Saturday.Rollins put on 76 for the first wicket with Alec Swann (36) before fallingfor 21 to West Indian leg spinner Raul Lewis, who pegged the County backwith four for 27.But Swann played with panache and struck the ball superbly as he took thegame to the home side.Carter said: “It was a good start for us in the sense that it got us in thefield for 90 overs. That was what we needed. We played pretty well ingetting 220 plus particularly Graeme Swann who hit the ball as well as I’veever seen him. The boys have recovered well from the long trip and haveattuned to the conditions pretty well.”The stadium nestles between two lush green hillsides with palm trees liningthe perimeter and can hold up to 15,000 spectators. It’s an impressive venueand a large crowd is expected for the County’s match on Wednesday againstthe West Indies Masters XI.Carter said: “The stadium has impressed everyone. There isn’t much pace inthe pitch but that is good because that will be the case when we get backhome.”The team were originally due to watch the Grenada and Barbados World Cupmatch but a late start resulted in them missing what turned out to be a 3-2thriller in favour of the visitors.The Grenadian team were making their first appearance at the NationalStadium and many of the home side were playing their first limited oversmatch at this level, with the one-day game rare at club level on the island.Victor Joseph, coach of the Grenada team, said: “We are not used to playingthis format and it showed. The batsmen were a bit daunted chasing a totaland put a lot of pressure on themselves. Instead of seeing themselves inthey went for their shots early and paid the price.”The Northamptonshire team looked very sharp and I thought their fieldingwas the best I’ve seen in a long time. They put a lot of pressure on us withtheir fielding and our guys couldn’t cope.”The County celebrated the winning start to their tour with a drinks reception at the Governor General’s house thrown in honour of the first visit to the island by a county team.

According to Belgian news outlet Nieuwsblad, there has been a transfer update out of West Ham United involving KV Mechelen goalkeeper Gaëtan Coucke.

The Lowdown: West Ham eyeing new shot stopper?

Despite possessing an option to buy Alphonse Areola from Paris-Saint Germain, who is currently on loan at the London Stadium, West Ham and manager David Moyes have been tipped to bolster their goalkeeping department.

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The most prevalent link appears to be to West Bromwich Albion ace Sam Johnstone with the Englishman running out of contract at the Hawthorns and set to leave as a free agent later this year.

However, as some news comes out of the continent, it appears Moyes and co are also weighing some low profile options.

The Latest: Coucke open to joining as West Ham eye move…

As per Nieuwsblad, KV Mechelen’s colossal 6 foot 2 shot stopper Coucke is on West Ham’s radar as they enter the fray to sign him alongside Reims and Torino.

The 24-year-old’s deal expires in 2023 with his club eager to extend, but Coucke himself knows this could destroy the chance of an ‘attractive transfer’ to West Ham or any of the aforementioned teams.

As such, Mechelen’s number one is ‘interested’ in joining the Irons, Torino or Reims as he eyes more call-ups to the Belgium national team – with his first and only one coming back in 2020.

The Verdict: Get it done?

Areola’s lack of game time overall backs that Lukasz Fabianski is mostly an touchable in Moyes’ starting eleven so signing an astutely cheap back-up could be the way forward.

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Valued at around €750,000 (£628,000), West Ham could sign a bargain capable number two for Fabianski considering Coucke is still young and has proved capable going by his one-time nod for the Red Devils international squad.

In other news: Chief sports writer: West Ham enter talks to sign ‘out of the ordinary’ £22.5m-rated star for Moyes, find out more here.

	Ricky Ponting is no certainty to play in the Twenty20 match against India as he continues to battle a back injury © Getty Images

At the MCG on Friday, the world champions will attempt to maintain their unbeaten run against a talented opposition boasting a number of fresh faces. But in a reversal of the usual trend in recent years, Australia are the challengers and India are out to confirm their status as the world’s best Twenty20 side.The teams have met twice before in the shortest format and India came out on top both times, first with a 15-run semi-final win at the ICC World Twenty20 and then with a seven-wicket triumph in Mumbai a month later. However, India’s captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said his side was not overly concerned about Friday’s result.They have a 17-man squad to choose from and nine of those players were not part of the Test group. Dhoni said because the new arrivals had had only one training session in Melbourne, India would need to treat the Twenty20 as a chance to warm up ahead of the tri-series that also features Sri Lanka.”We will take the Twenty20 as one of the practice games,” Dhoni said in Melbourne. “The guys are more serious about the Twenty20 World Cup rather than just winning one game. I don’t know how the Australians will take it but we’ll take it as a good opportunity to get the new guys in and let them get used to the conditions.”Ricky Ponting said Australia were keen to stamp their authority on Twenty20 cricket after India’s successes against them. “For us, maybe there are some scores to settle,” Ponting said. “We are going to be playing more of it and there’s definitely room for improvement for Australia.”Australia have typically rested some senior players for one-off Twenty20 internationals, and this time Mitchell Johnson and Matthew Hayden are being given a break after a Test series that strained the relationship between the two sides. There is a chance that neither team will be led by the man who guided them through the Tests, with Ponting’s back injury giving Michael Clarke a slim hope of captaining Australia for the second time in two months, and Anil Kumble having returned home.Ponting picked up the problem during the Adelaide Test and although he is confident of playing, he conceded it was difficult to tell how much the complaint would affect his play. “I’ve been pretty much flat on my back for the last couple of days, just trying to give myself the best chance to recover,” he said. “At the moment I’m feeling okay but I haven’t done anything to test it out yet.”Ponting will likely have one new face in his line-up with David Hussey expected to make his international debut on his adopted home ground at the MCG. Hussey’s outstanding domestic Twenty20 form earned him a place and it will give him the chance to play alongside his brother Michael for the first time in three years.The pair has not been on the same side since a couple of Australia A games three seasons ago, and they never played together at Western Australia with David having to move to Victoria to break into state cricket. “It’s always been my goal to play for Australia,” he said, “so hopefully it can happen and can be a special night for me with my parents flying over.”The match will be preceded by a women’s Twenty20 international between Australia and England, which will be exposed to a huge audience with Channel set to air a highlights package on February 10. The MCG crowd is also expected to be something special, with Cricket Victoria hoping to break the ground’s record of 90,800 spectators, set during one day of an Australia-West Indies Test in 1961.Australia squad Michael Clarke, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Ricky Ponting (capt), Brad Hodge, Andrew Symonds, Michael Hussey, David Hussey, Adam Voges, James Hopes, Brett Lee, Ashley Noffke, Nathan Bracken, Ben Hilfenhaus.India squad Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Robin Uthappa, Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, MS Dhoni (capt, wk), Suresh Raina, Piyush Chawla, Praveen Kumar, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Sreesanth.