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Pakistan will have a new captain after their tour of Australia comes to an end in early February, Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, has said. Mohammad Yousuf was appointed to lead in New Zealand and Australia after Younis Khan quit in a huff back in November.”This captain [Mohammad Yousuf] was for this series only and we will decide after the tour of Australia about the captain, [but] we will change,” Butt told the private ARY News channel.Under Yousuf, Pakistan squared a three-Test series against New Zealand but lost three Tests in a row to Australia before they surrendered the first ODI in Brisbane today. The relationship between Yousuf and the selection committee, headed by Iqbal Qasim, has been tense over the course of the long tour of Australia. He had Misbah-ul-Haq sent over to New Zealand after the player had been dropped from all three formats of the game just a month before.Butt termed Younis’ decision to relinquish the captaincy as unfortunate for Pakistan. “We did not change Younis. Unfortunately the sports committee of the parliament made him run away after they levelled match-fixing allegations against him,” he said.Butt squashed the match-fixing allegations against Pakistan after the Champions Trophy, in specific the game against Australia in which they lost by one run off the last ball. “How can someone fix a match on the last ball? Only a magician can do that and on this allegation Younis was mentally disturbed and resigned,” Butt said. “Younis was a good captain but he was hurt on the allegations and quit. Now we will soon decide about the change.”Butt also said there could be changes to the coaching staff. “Coaching is a very difficult job so I don’t want to comment on it, but yes, we are looking at options to hire batting and fielding coaches, foreign or local, for the national team,” he said. “The problem is no foreign coach is willing to come to Pakistan in present security conditions and a local coach appears to be a more feasible prospect.”Pakistan’s next Test assignment is in England where they play Australia, a series shifted out of Pakistan over security fears. They are scheduled to play four Tests against England on the same tour.

James Anderson was the focus of attention as England wound up their four days of practice at East London, but Ryan Sidebottom was the most impressive bowler on show

Cricinfo staff12-Dec-2009England XI 317 for 5 (Strauss 100 ret, Pietersen 71) drew with South Africa Invitational XI 263 (Wiese 80, Pietersen 64, Sidebottom 5-42)
ScorecardJames Anderson struck with his tenth delivery of the match, but was made to toil thereafter•PA Photos

James Anderson was the focus of attention as England wound up their four days of practice at East London, but Ryan Sidebottom was the most impressive bowler on show as he took 5 for 42 against the South African Invitational XI to make a late bid for Test selection. Anderson, who is battling a unknown injury to his right knee, got through 15 overs in his first bowl since the fourth ODI although he managed just a single wicket.Charl Pietersen (64) and David Wiese (80) ensured England didn’t have things all their own way with a seventh-wicket stand of 119 after the home side had fallen to 101 for 5. Sidebottom took two wickets in his first spell and return after tea to mop up the tail as the final four wickets fell for one run. Although there were still more than 24 overs remaining when the innings ended, England didn’t bother batting again and the match was called off.The result, clearly, was academic, but the South African resistance was nevertheless timely for an England bowling attack that was in need of a competitive workout ahead of next week’s first Test at Centurion. After their successful morning, they were limited to a solitary scalp during a hard afternoon session – that of Yaseen Vallie, who was bowled by Graeme Swann for 56.The most significant aspects of the day’s play were the performances of Anderson, who took a major step towards proving his fitness for Centurion, and Sidebottom, who shrugged off his recent side strain with impressive results to put pressure on Graham Onions for a place in the Test side.Anderson had not bowled competitively since claiming 5 for 23 at Port Elizabeth to set up England’s one-day series win two weeks ago. He showed few signs of injury, however, as he struck with his tenth delivery of the morning to remove Andrea Agathagelou for 2. By tea, he had bowled 15 rust-removing overs, claiming 1 for 58.Sidebottom has been a peripheral figure for England throughout 2009, and has not played a Test since the tour of the Caribbean in March. He enhanced his prospects with an effective morning’s work, bowling the opener Divan van Wyk for 22, before inducing a nick from Sammy-Joe Avontuur that flew through to Matt Prior behind the stumps.Luke Wright, who is widely tipped to make his Test debut as England’s allrounder next week, had a hand in each of the other two wickets to fall before lunch. First he found Mangaliso Mosehli’s edge to give Prior his second catch of the morning, before catching Wendell Bossenger at mid-on to give Stuart Broad his one wicket of the session.But after the break, the South African batsmen began to find their feet. Vallie converted his lunchtime 34 from 38 balls into a well-deserved half-century, whereupon Pietersen and Wiese repelled everything that England could throw at them on a slow and unresponsive surface.However, once Sidebottom removed Pietersen after tea the end was swift as Wright also claimed a second scalp. After all the rain in recent weeks, England will leave East London content with their work although questions still remain to be answered in the next three days.

Many Southampton fans have been slamming the performance of Ibrahima Diallo in their 2-1 loss at Norwich City on Saturday.

After a promising start with Che Adams giving the Saints the lead inside the first four minutes, the visitors were almost immediately pegged back by Teemu Pukki, before Grant Hanley gave the hosts all three points with a header from a second half corner kick.

Diallo started the match well but badly tailed off in the second half. Asked to play as a right midfielder by Ralph Hasenhuttl, he failed to record a shot, lost six of his 12 duels and made only one accurate cross throughout the match, while he was also guilty of losing possession 12 times, the joint-sixth most out of any of his teammates at Carrow Road (SofaScore).

Southampton fans slam Diallo

These Southampton supporters slammed the 22-year-old’s performance on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that he was ‘hopeless’ against Norwich:

“Our squad is still not good enough. Theo Walcott coming onto the pitch in 2021 is a horrifying indictment of the state of the club. So is not having a single option to switch a Diallo who had an absolute nightmare of a second half”

Credit: @DanJean09

“McCarthy is the first player who needs to be dropped, closely followed by Bednarek and Diallo. I hope Walcott never puts a #saintsfc shirt on again. Can’t wait for his contract to end”

Credit: @miserygutscoop

“Walcott, Broja, Diallo all hopeless in 2nd half”

Credit: @L1minus10

“#saintsfc undoing all of their good work from the first half. KWP neutered, Diallo not getting it right, too many misplaced passes. Norwich have wanted it more and will get the result. Also, how Theo is stealing a living is beyond me. Poor Nathan Tella”

Credit: @TomParker81

“Diallo’s passing today has been some of the worst I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure how he’s still on the pitch”

Credit: @wilcoryce

“#SaintsFC pushing our luck again in the 2nd half – same against Villa. Someone remind Diallo we’re playing in red.”

Credit: @RedondoSaint

In other news, find out whose display against the Canaries was also slammed by many Southampton fans

Rumoured Liverpool transfer target Dusan Vlahovic will be available for ‘€70/75m’ in January, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Liverpool keen on signing Vlahovic

The Serbian is maturing into one of the most sought-after young attackers in Europe, scoring eight goals in 12 Serie A appearances this season.

Liverpool are one of the clubs who are reportedly keen on signing the 21-year-old as Jurgen Klopp looks to bolster his attacking options.

Fiorentina are understandably reluctant to let their prized asset go cheaply but his contract expires in the summer of 2023, so they are running out of time to get big money for him.

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The Latest: Romano provides fresh update

Taking to Twitter on Thursday, Romano claimed that the Serie A club are willing to let Vlahovic leave for €70m-€75m (£59.9m-£64.1m) in the January transfer window, should a bid for that amount come their way.

His tweet is aimed towards Arsenal, who are thought to be interested, but it is also stated that ‘many clubs’ are in the running.

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The Verdict: January move seems unlikely

Vlahovic looks like a special young talent with a huge future – Serie A expert Conor Clancy has hailed him as ‘incredible’ – so the idea of seeing him in a Liverpool shirt is exciting.

It is hard to envisage the Reds spending that much on a player midway through the season, though, at a time when Klopp has four top-class attacking players already, and considering the club’s relative frugality in recent transfer windows.

Next summer would feel more likely for a move to happen, but by that point, someone else may have swooped in for him.

In other news, some Liverpool fans have flocked to another Romano update on one player. Find out who it is here.

Antonio Conte is facing plenty of important decisions as he embarks on his first game in charge of Tottenham Hotspur this evening.

The north London outfit appointed the 52-year-old on Tuesday after handing Nuno Santo his marching orders less than 24 hours earlier following a 3-0 defeat to Manchester United at the weekend.

It’ll be no easy task for the Italian, who won a Premier League and FA Cup during his last stint in England, but he could do himself a massive favour by axing Ben Davies.

The Red Devils had been leaking goals for fun before they turned up at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon, so it was perhaps a huge surprise to see Nuno opt for the 67-cap Welshman over the more attack-minded Sergio Reguilon.

Ultimately, it was a decision that cost him dearly as Spurs looked lacklustre in attack once again and they leaked three goals in yet another league outing.

The 28-year-old left-back was given the run around by United’s veteran frontline of Edinson Cavani and Cristiano Ronaldo and he was caught ball watching for the latter’s superb opener.

Davies was also Spurs’ lowest-rated outfield player (6.1), as per SofaScore figures, which only further highlights his struggles.

Across the full 90 minutes, the £14.4m-rated star won just one of four ground duels (25%), lost possession 16 times, failed to deliver a single accurate cross and even earned a booking for his troubles.

He has often failed to impress in the big matches, as seen by Sunday and last season. One game against Liverpool saw ex-Leeds striker Noel Whelan deem him “appalling” to Football Insider.

Whilst Vitesse are no great shakes, the £93k-per-week Wales international captained the side when these two faced each other in the Netherlands 14 days ago and he was once again one of the poorer players on the pitch, earning a 6.3 rating – the joint-third lowest, as per SofaScore.

Conte is likely to utilise an attacking formation with wing-backs, so Davies’ time at the club could be thrown into doubt. Therefore, it seems a wise decision for the Italian to ruthlessly axe him, starting with tonight’s encounter.

If he were to start, it could prove costly and the new manager will want to kickstart his reign with a bang.

AND in other news, Spurs have “close agreement” with “devastating” £34m-rated beast, Conte surely buzzing…

Mark Douglas has revealed what changes Eddie Howe has made on the training ground at Newcastle United.

The Lowdown: Brutal regime

As per Craig Hope, the 43-year-old sent a lot of brutal messages to his players in first training session since taking over from the departed Steve Bruce.

Some of the messages included: ‘we train as we play’, ‘match sharp’, ‘no jogging’ and ‘if you think you’re maxed out, you’re not’, before then watching the under-11 side train.

It is clear that he is putting a stamp on his authority at St James’ Park straight away as he aims to help the Magpies fight off relegation from the Premier League.

The Latest: Changes

Writing in his latest piece for The Chronicle, Douglas has revealed that sources from the training ground have said that Howe has had a ‘transformational’ impact in the international week, with the intensity and overall mood having ‘lifted’ in the space of just a few days.

The former Bournemouth boss has been getting to know his players and staff, and one of his beliefs is that everyone at the training ground should be ‘adding value’, as he has also been talking to staff about their roles and how it fits into football operations.

The Verdict: Promising

Given the situation in which Bruce left Newcastle, 19th in the Premier League with just five points and no wins after their first 11 games (Premier League), it is promising to see Howe stamp his authority so early on in his tenure.

First and foremost, the aim for the 43-year-old will be to make sure that his team stays up before he can really sink his teeth into the long-term project. If he succeeds, there is no reason not to give him a chance of improving his squad with a big transfer budget, and then he can implement his methods on better quality players.

Judging by Douglas’ insight, Howe certainly seems like a coach who the current crop of players do not want to cross.

In other news: One former EPL goalkeeper had his say on some potentially ‘big’ transfer news for NUFC

A source from Tottenham Hotspur has revealed that Cristian Romero, Giovani Lo Celso and Emerson Royal all flew up to Newcastle for today’s Premier League clash.

The Lowdown: Uncertainty

Nuno Espirito Santo revealed to the media in his pre-game press conference ahead of the match that he would make a late decision on the selection of Romero, Lo Celso and Emerson, as well as Davinson Sanchez, following their exploits during the international break with their respective South American countries.

They had reportedly been expected to miss out because of the travelling involved, and the fact that some of the games in which they played were in the early hours of Friday morning UK time.

The Latest: They travelled

Speaking to Football Insider, a Spurs source has revealed that Romero, Lo Celso and Emerson all flew up to St James’ Park with the rest of the squad on Saturday evening.

That now puts them in contention to play against the Magpies when the fixture kicks off at 4:30 this afternoon.

The Verdict: Big boost

It will certainly be a big boost for Spurs to have all three players available, especially if they can play from the start.

Emerson is currently averaging the most tackles (three) per Premier League game out of his teammates, while he also averages a mammoth five clearances per match, exceeded only by Joe Rodon (seven) in his one appearance so far (WhoScored).

Romero also ranks highly in terms of tackles (1.7) and clearances (2.7) (WhoScored), and the Lilywhites will no doubt be eager to see more of their summer signings in action.

Lo Celso offers a creative spark in midfield, averaging one key pass per game and an 81.5% passing accuracy rate (WhoScored), and he could well be the difference in unlocking what may be a stubborn Newcastle defence.

In other news, find out who has called Daniel Levy ‘pathetic’ after one recent development

Leeds United winger Raphinha may have become even more crucial for the Whites than Kalvin Phillips, according to journalist Phil Hay.

The Lowdown: Raphinha excels on Brazil debut

The 24-year-old has been superb for Leeds since arriving from Rennes in 2020 and he has taken his form with him to the international stage.

Raphinha registered two assists on his Brazil debut on Thursday evening, helping them to a 3-1 victory away to Venezuela in a World Cup qualifier.

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The Latest: Hay hails winger

It was a performance that summed up Raphinha’s brilliance, and taking to Twitter on Friday morning, The Athletic‘s Hay admitted that he could be the first name on Leeds’ team-sheet, ahead of even Phillips:

“One of the questions in the mailbag was ‘Is Raphinha Leeds’ most important player?’ and even though Phillips is the player Leeds really miss, you could easily make an argument for Raphinha.”

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The Verdict: Phillips still the key man

Raphinha is a wonderful footballer who is unquestionably one of Leeds’ star men, but Phillips is still the player they miss the most when he isn’t there, losing seven out of the nine fixtures he was absent for in the top flight last term.

That was highlighted in the 5-1 defeat at Manchester United on the opening weekend of the season when the Whites’ midfield fell apart without him in the team.

Phillips has averaged 2.3 tackles per game in the Premier League this season – only Liam Cooper (2.7) has more – as well as an 84.6 percent pass completion rate.

The England international brings so much energy, quality and all-round influence in the middle of the park that he has the edge over Raphinha, which isn’t to diminish his own class as a footballer.

In other news, one Leeds player has been tipped to make a ‘breakthrough’. Find out who it is here.

A 113-year-old bat used by WG Grace will be auctioned at Sotheby’s in London next month for an expected £30,000

Cricinfo staff20-Apr-2009

A 113-year-old bat used by WG Grace will be auctioned at Sotheby’s in London next month for an expected £30,000. The legendary cricketer used the bat while bringing up his 1,000th run in Test cricket against Australia at Lord’s in June 1896.Grace subsequently gave the bat to his Australian opponent Syd Gregory, who in turn passed it on to his fellow tourist and brother-in-law Harry Donnan on their return to Australia.”I would expect it to go for somewhere in the region of £25,000-30,000,” said auctioneer Graham Budd. “From the evidence of the cording, Grace had probably used this bat for some time, culminating in his 1,000th Test run.”The bat, to be sold on May 12, displays the autographs of Grace’s England colleagues, Australian bowler Fred Spofforth and future British prime minister David Lloyd George.Grace played 22 times for England and scored the country’s first Test hundred against Australia, at the Oval in 1880, and was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1896. Although an automatic choice for England at home, his professional duties as a doctor meant he only travelled on one Test-playing tour of Australia, in 1891-92.

Former Everton star Michael Ball has hailed Abdoulaye Doucoure as the club’s most important player.

The French midfielder has enjoyed an exceptional start to the season under the management of Rafael Benitez.

Doucoure has made six appearances in the Premier League and has scored twice, while also providing three assists.

Signed from Watford for a fee of £20m, the midfielder has developed into one of the first names on the team sheet at Goodison Park.

Last season, he played 29 times in the league, and the Toffees struggled immensely when he was injured towards the end of the campaign.

Indeed, he missed a total of eight games between March and May and Everton only won two of them.

And Ball believes that Doucoure can now claim to be the club’s single most important first-team player under the management of Rafael Benitez.

He said: “Doucoure is our key guy. If he’s missing out of that central midfield role, no matter who’s alongside him, we’ll struggle.

“Allan can’t do it by himself, Tom Davies can’t do it by himself, they need a guy like Doucoure to run over every blade of grass and I think one of the fans said he saw him running past his window once when he was playing a game because he’s everywhere.”

Doucoure has a contract until 2023 and is valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt.