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Cricinfo presents the plays of the day from day five of the second Test between India and South Africa in Kolkata

N Hunter18-Feb-2010Amla prospers in silence
Eden Gardens had not even started to fill in when Virender Sehwag bowled the day’s first ball. So when Hashim Amla raised his bat, having taken a single to reach his half-century, barring a few isolated claps, no one seemed interested in acknowledging his efforts.Mishra needs a Ranadeb Bose pillRanadeb Bose, Bengal’s medium-fast bowler, has never bowled a front-foot no-ball in his entire first-class career. Perhaps, Amit Mishra needs to pay Bose a visit, now that he is in Kolkata. The legspinner over-stepped the line on 13 occasions in this Test to carry his series tally to 18.Dhoni’s left theory
When in Bengal think ‘Left’. With Amla well set MS Dhoni opted for a bizarre leg-side field comprising a backward square leg, square leg, midwicket and a mid-on along with the short leg for a couple of early Harbhajan Singh overs. Not sure what exactly the Indian captain had on his mind, but to the normal eye it seemed pure left theory.Boucher, the cutman
Each time there was a drinks break or the batsman signalled the dressing room for any sort of assistance, Mark Boucher rushed to the middle to inject a fresh dose of motivation and inspiration in equal proportions to Amla. Just like a cutman in a boxing ring, Boucher had towels, wet and dry, across his shoulders with a water bottle at hand as he lent the exhausted Amla a shoulder, whispering words of wisdom into his team-mate’s ears. It did help Amla who played a gallant knock and held his head high despite the lows.Harris distracts himself
The needle had already been established in the first innings after Ishant Sharma had seen off Paul Harris with a , having forced the South African to nick. Today, as Amla pushed the game into the final session the Indians grew desperate and an equally anxious Harris decided to play with their nerves. As Ishant charged in to bowl and was about to take the leap before delivering the ball, Harris moved back out of the crease, waving towards the sight an irritant behind the sightscreen.Viru’s foul play
With the game entering the final five overs, the Indian desperation reached levels where players were willing to cross the line. Amla cut Sachin Tendulkar to the point boundary, but the ball stopped a few inches inside the ropes, but Virender Sehwag tapped it with his foot, which was, picked up by the TV cameras and India were penalised five runs.

According to sources close to The Daily Mail, there has been a very promising update as Tottenham Hotspur look to seal the signing of Wolves winger Adama Traore.

The Lowdown: Spurs in talks…

As explained by reliable outlets, Tottenham are in discussions to sign the Premier League forward by the end of January 31 with manager Antonio Conte already mapping out a role.

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Indeed, the Spurs boss is apparently after Traore as he aims to re-mould the player into a right-wing back for Tottenham’s back-three system.

This comes as summer signing Emerson Royal fails to impress the Italian with transfer chief Fabio Paratici now tasked to bring Wolves’ ace to north London.

In an update, the Mail have just dropped some very promising news.

The Latest: ‘Strong’ chance of agreement…

As per their sources, chances of a Spurs agreement to sign Traore are now ‘strong’ with the Lilywhites ‘pushing to complete a £20 million deal’.

The Mail also back that Conte is planning to use the player as a right-wing back but also claim that Spain’s international ace could fill one of the two wide-attacking roles in a 3-4-3 formation.

The Verdict: Big update…

As Tottenham are now very likely to sign Traore this winter, we believe he could be a snip at £20m going by his age and plaudits in England’s top flight already.

There is a reason Wolves once valued the 25-year-old at around £50 million and Paratici should certainly take advantage of the attacker’s contract situation to sign him for £30m less.

His current deal is set to expire at the end of next season with no extension in sight, gifting Conte and the club an opportunity to bolster their ranks with a serious threat.

Wolves legend Steve Bull, speaking to FootballFanCast, even called him a ‘world-beater’ on his day and it’s safe to claim Traore would be an exciting first signing of the Conte era.

In other news: ‘This will get Tottenham fans excited…’ – Sky Sports drop major N17 transfer update on live TV, find out more here.

Sussex Sharks remain in control of the Twenty20 South Group after thrashing Hampshire Royals by nine wickets at Hove

18-Jun-2010
ScorecardSussex Sharks remain in control of the Twenty20 South Group after thrashing Hampshire Royals by nine wickets at Hove. The reigning champions are on course for the knockout stages again after recording their sixth win in seven games as they chased down a target of 133 in just 11.4 overs.Matt Prior fell for a golden duck, stumped by Nic Pothas off the bowling of slow left-armer Danny Briggs in the first over, but that was as good as it got for the Royals as Brendon McCullum and captain Murray Goodwin went on the rampage.Goodwin smashed 76 from just 35 balls, winning the match with a six off Dominic Cork – the second of his innings – to add to 11 boundaries. McCullum lost little in comparison as he hammered 59 from 33 deliveries with six fours and four sixes, his first half-century in his short stint with the Sharks.At one stage Sussex scored 31 runs from just eight balls as seamer Chris Wood’s second over disappeared for 21 and McCullum hit the first two deliveries of the next from Briggs for six and four.An understrength Royals’ attack had no answer and after picking up just two wins from five games so far they are already struggling to make the knockout stages. Sussex had earlier produced an excellent bowling performance to restrict the Royals to 132 for 8 after visiting skipper Cork had won the toss.Goodwin sprung a surprise by opening with his two slow bowlers and it paid off when off-spinner Ollie Rayner, making his first appearance in the competition for nearly four years, struck in his first over as Michael Lumb’s wretched form continued when the World Twenty20 winner drove to mid on.Jimmy Adams, who had scored a century against Surrey on Sunday, looked in the mood to make another hefty contribution, quickly moving to 31 with three fours and a six. But he failed to make his ground when sent back by Michael Carberry and was run out by McCullum’s under-arm throw from backward point.Dwayne Smith then picked up wickets in successive overs with Sean Ervine beaten by extra pace and bounce while Michael Carberry cut to backward point. When Australian Dan Christian was leg before on the walk to offspinner Chris Nash the Royals were 76 for 5 and struggling.They were revived by a stand of 45 from 33 balls between South African Neil McKenzie and Nic Pothas, with McKenzie top scoring with 40 from 35 deliveries. He should have been run out on 32 and Sussex also dropped three catches, but James Kirtley and Chad Keegan bowled superbly at the end of the innings with only 26 runs scored in the last four overs.McKenzie was deceived by Keegan’s slow bouncer and the former Middlesex quick then bowled Wood to finish with 2 for 22 while Kirtley had Pothas taken at deep point in the final over to further stall Hampshire’s momentum.

David Warner is sick of hearing about being a Twenty20 specialist

Cricinfo staff09-May-2010David Warner is sick of hearing about being a Twenty20 specialist and hopes his outstanding form in the short game doesn’t stop his dreams of winning a baggy green. Warner’s strong starts with Shane Watson are one of the reasons Australia are undefeated heading into the Super Eight match against Sri Lanka in Barbados on Sunday.Warner has 114 runs in 71 balls during the first three games, including an onslaught of seven sixes in his 72 against India. “A lot of the guys in the team take the mickey out of me about being a Twenty20 specialist,” he said in The Sunday Telegraph. “Your ambition as a kid is to play Test cricket and wear the baggy green. That’s always been my goal.”The performance against India earned him the Man-of-the-Match prize and he is becoming a big target for opposition teams. Sri Lanka have lost Muttiah Muralitharan to a groin injury but the side has fast and slow threats in Lasith Malinga and Ajantha Mendis that Warner will have to overcome.Warner said he hadn’t spoken with the selectors about his prospects in the other forms of the game. “It’s probably better that those guys don’t come up to me and tell me what to do because it could play with my head,” he said. “I know what I have to do.”He played with Virender Sehwag, another brutal opener, with Delhi in the IPL and asked for tips. “I said: ‘What game do you think would suit me?’ He said: ‘This [Twenty20] is your game, but Test cricket will be the key. All the field is up, opening the batting there you can play your shots.'”The hardest thing about Twenty20 cricket for me is that you have to keep looking at the scoreboard. There are times when you have to pull it in a little bit. But once you’re going and the adrenalin is going, you’re all pumped up and you want to keep scoring runs.”

Despite sitting in a respectable seventh place in the Premier League table with 25 from 14 matches, Tottenham Hotspur have only managed to score 16 goals in those games, so it would be no surprise to see the Lilywhites dip into the transfer market for attacking reinforcements.

Star striker Harry Kane has only managed to score one goal in 13 appearances so far this term after racking up an impressive 23 goals last season, lending credence to the belief that another goalscorer is a necessity.

With this in mind, it seems as though Spurs manager Antonio Conte has an eye on signing a player from one of his old clubs who could make the north London club a bit more dangerous going forward.

What’s the news?

According to Italian media outlet Leggo (via Sport Witness), Tottenham have joined the race alongside their north London rivals Arsenal for the signing of Juventus winger Dejan Kulusevski in January.

Kulusevski signed to Juventus back in the 2020 January transfer window from fellow Italian club Atalanta, shortly before joining Parma on a loan deal until the end of the 2019/20 season.

Overall, the 21-year-old, who is currently valued at £31.5m according to Transfermarkt, has made 66 appearances for Juventus across all competitions, scoring eight and providing nine assists in the process, a decent record considering his age.

Despite making 19 appearances across all competitions so far this season however, Kulusevski has only started four times, showing that he isn’t a crucial figure for the Old Lady and why they could be tempted to sell him in January.

This could therefore give Spurs the opportunity to sign the winger, who has been likened in the past to Arjen Robben because of his ball control and finishing.

With Kulusevski’s young age and the fact that he has played in a number of positions across the midfield and attack throughout his career so far, this could make him a very useful player for Conte given his versatility and knack for scoring goals in those different positions, potentially solving Tottenham’s goalscoring issues.

Labelled by former Juventus manager Andrea Pirlo as a “champion” in terms of his mentality, Conte would surely blow a lot of Spurs fans away if he was able to make Kulusevski one of his first signings as Tottenham manager in January, especially if they manage to beat Arsenal to his signature.

In other news: Paratici could deliver Spurs masterclass with £22.5m-rated beast likened to Vidic – opinion

Loads of Everton fans have been left raging over a claim that has emerged from Andy Jacobs.

Speaking on talkSPORT, the sports radio pundit claimed that the Goodison Park faithful were ‘pathetic’ against Chelsea, and ‘should have lost 5-0 or 6-0’.

He also went on to claim that they are ‘going down’, and are ‘one of the worst teams’ that he has ever seen.

This is despite the Merseyside club getting a respectable 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, despite missing the likes of Seamus Coleman, Lucas Digne, Allan, Andros Townsend, Demarai Gray, Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Chelsea were very wasteful with their chances, having 23 shots on goal in total, but as for shouts of relegation, the Toffees are currently eight points clear of the drop zone.

Thus, it is no surprise at all to see so many Blues supporters outraged by his comments.

Everton fans on Jacobs claim

These EFC fans raged as the claim made by Jacobs was shared on Twitter, with one even going as far as to say that it was ‘childish’:

“HAHAHA! Nothing to do with the fact the kids we played were hungrier and wanted it more than Chelsea? Give credit where credit is due and praise the lads who played for their fight and hunger!”

Credit: @DeanJHD

“Taxi for (checks Google) Jacobs”

Credit: @kevjbee

“And they call us bitter.”

Credit: @Bonesy68

“Andy Jacobs you’re the pathetic one I think you’ll find! We only had 3/4 out of strongest XI playing, 2 lads made PL debuts, Chelsea had a full international side out. You just concentrate on your ‘Big 6’ narrative with your talkSPORT chums…”

Credit: @ToffeesInLondon

“Oh my days I’ve never seen such a childish response to a result in my life, this man is employed to talk about football, a middle aged man throwing his toys out the pram because his team couldn’t hack it against some teenagers.”

Credit: @bobmarl03974950

“Absolute clown.”

Credit: @Matt_S_1982

In other news, find out what transfer news has Evertonians fuming here!

The Athletic’s Phil Hay has delivered his verdict on Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa and the side’s struggles this season in the Premier League.

What’s the story?

The Whites fell to yet another disappointing defeat in the top-flight at the weekend, this time slipping to a 1-0 loss against Southampton, and Hay has now commented on some of the key issues facing the club.

He said: “The bench is incredibly young. With the exception of Forshaw, one Premier League start between them. I can understand why, despite the past three years, that still worries people. You’re looking for proven options and there are very few.

“We’ve asked him about squad depth or written about it so many times. He always has the same answer which is to say that it’s how he wants it and it’s how it’s going to be. It’s worked for him up until now but looking at that bench today, you just couldn’t see where the impact was going to come from. Fully fit there are decent options but it has to be said that this squad is rarely fully fit.

“I don’t think they’re confused. I think people can just see that it hasn’t worked in the same way so far. And because Leeds are so drilled and have such a defined way of playing, when it doesn’t work it’s going to cause concern. Because you know Bielsa will stick to his plan.”

Worrying times for Leeds

Just as much as the result, the performance is what really would have caused Leeds fans to worry about their team going forward over these next few weeks in the Premier League.

The Whites could only muster three shots on goal in the entire game against Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side, while they also made significantly less tackles and won fewer duels too – an all-round abject display.

As Hay touched upon, strength in depth has been a glaring problem at Elland Road under Bielsa, with the Leeds boss preferring a tight-knit squad with little room for manoeuvre if things go wrong.

The big problem for him, is that anything that could go wrong, has gone wrong for him in these early weeks of the Premier League campaign.

Whether it be injuries, illnesses or the dreaded consequences of the international break, Leeds have been without a number of key first-team players for a good period of time, including the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Raphinha and Patrick Bamford.

By not really strengthening the squad of the summer, and instead choosing to stick to his guns, Bielsa decided to play with fire. And everything that has come since has hardly been surprising. It’s sure to worry Leeds fans.

Meanwhile, Leeds are eyeing this La Liga starlet…

Speaking to Football Insider, Sky Sports pundit Kevin Campbell has been left thrilled by a Tottenham Hotspur transfer development involving Antonio Conte.

The Lowdown: Conte pushing for ‘proven’ signing…

As per the same outlet, it appears Tottenham fans could be set for an ‘unprecedented’ January transfer window as Fabio Paratici and Conte lay the groundwork for a mass spending spree.

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Among Conte’s personal transfer demands for the winter window is apparently a ‘proven’ centre-back signing with the Italian ‘ ‘pushing’ to sign someone who can come in and marshal their backline alongside the in-form Eric Dier and Cristian Romero, when the latter returns from injury.

The Latest: Campbell heaps praise on Tottenham

After this development, Campbell has heaped praise on Conte and Spurs for targeting that area, calling it a ‘smart move’.

“They’ve got a lot of weapons going forward, so that backline has to be a real priority for Conte and Spurs,” he told Football Insider.

“With Romero injured there’s a gap at the back. Conte is a very experienced manager, and he knows that for all the attacking flair they have, if they are leaking goals – it will not end well for Tottenham.

“It’s a smart move to be targeting that marquee centre-back in January.”

The Verdict: Get it done…

Dier has impressed under Conte since the 52-year-old took over at Spurs but the Englishman’s presence without Romero arguably isn’t enough for Spurs to potentially get European qualification out of this campaign.

A marquee centre-half signing should certainly be top of the agenda for Tottenham and it’s little surprise Conte is pushing the club to sign one, with there being many links in recent months.

The likes of Stefan de Vrij, Alessio Romagnoli and even Juventus star Matthijs de Ligt have been linked from Serie A and any one of these big name defenders would gift Spurs an upgrade.

It remains to be seen who Conte and Paratici opt to bring to north London, but amid their current COVID crisis, supporters could do with some good news.

In other news: Conte wants player out in January as final decision made, Spurs chiefs already told to sell…find out more here.

New Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst made a ‘catastrophic error of judgement’ in choosing to watch their Scottish League Cup semifinal defeat from the stands. 

That’s according to The Daily Record’s Keith Jackson, writing in his Monday column.

The lowdown

The Van Bronckhorst era got off to a pretty disastrous start on Sunday as his new club fell to defeat against Hibernian at Hampden Park. The Gers found themselves three goals down inside the first 40 minutes, and Scott Arfield’s goal failed to ignite a comeback.

Van Bronckhorst, whose appointment had been confirmed on Thursday, was sat alongside sporting director Ross Wilson in the rafters rather than in the dugout. That’s despite the fact his work permit had reportedly gone through, which means that he could have taken full charge at the weekend.

The latest

Jackson was scathing in his criticism of the new Rangers boss after, in his eyes, he refused to carry out his ‘responsibilities’.

The journalist wrote: “This was not just a catastrophic error of judgement for Van Bronckhorst who made himself look weak by choosing to watch on from the main stand, it was a shirking of responsibilities on an industrial scale.”

The verdict

Only time will tell whether this was a significant misstep. It may have cost Rangers a place in the Scottish League Cup final, yes, but what kind of response can Van Bronckhorst muster?

With the Gers sitting third in their Europa League group on four points, Thursday’s Ibrox clash with Sparta Prague looks like a must-win if they are to progress to the knockout stage. If they do get those three important points, then you might feel that the cloud hanging over the club – amid growing fears that last season’s success may have been a one-off – will at least partially be lifted.

Put it this way, Van Bronckhorst’s seating arrangements last Sunday will be long forgiven and forgotten if the Gers retain their Premiership title.

In other news, many Rangers fans were excited by this development.

Lionel Messi may be joined in Florida by Federico Redondo after all, with Inter Miami reportedly resurrecting a deal for the midfielder.

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Herons in the market for midfield reinforcementsMLS rules appeared to have scuppered moveDiscussions ongoing ahead of 2024 campaignWHAT HAPPENED?

The Herons have lost Facundo Farias to a season-ending injury, putting them back in the market for midfield reinforcements. Another Argentine is said to be in their sights, with Redondo – the son of former Real Madrid and AC Milan star Fernando – registering on their radar.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

An agreement was said to be close, with personal terms being thrashed out with the talented 21-year-old ahead of an $8 million (£6m) transfer being pushed through. Serious doubt was then case over the deal, with MLS regulations regarding payment methods posing a problem.

DID YOU KNOW?

Redondo and Argentinos Juniors were left in the dark at that stage, but claims that the move could be back on. The “obstacles” blocking Inter Miami’s path are said to have been removed, with negotiations “moving forward again”.

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GettyWHAT NEXT?

Inter Miami are reportedly discussing “final details” when it comes to acquiring Redondo – who has also been linked with leading sides in Europe – and it could be that he is drafted in alongside Messi and Co ahead of the 2024 MLS campaign getting underway on February 21.