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Mitchell Johnson is confident he will be fit for the Test series against Pakistan in July despite an elbow infection that has ruled him out of the opening part of Australia’s tour

Cricinfo staff10-Jun-2010Mitchell Johnson is confident he will be fit for the Test series against Pakistan in July despite an elbow infection that has ruled him out of the opening part of Australia’s tour. The Australians fly out on Friday to begin their trip with six ODIs against England and Ireland, and Johnson has been replaced in the squad by Josh Hazlewood.Australia are already without the wicketkeeper Brad Haddin for the one-dayers and he is no certainty for the two Tests against Pakistan at Lord’s and Headingley. However, Johnson is hopeful of being available to spearhead the attack.”It’s a bit of an elbow infection that flared up again after the West Indies,” Johnson told the Sydney radio station 2UE. “It’s not something that really I’m enjoying at the moment, to miss out on a tour for the Australian team, but hopefully I can get it right here and then be back over there for the Twenty20s and Test matches.”I hope [it’s not long-term]. I’ve seen some specialists yesterday or the day before and got their opinions. Hopefully they’ve given me the right stuff to heal it up. Fingers crossed and hopefully I’ll be back out there soon.”Johnson’s absence has opened the door for the 19-year-old New South Wales fast man Hazlewood, who was supposed to be representing Australia A this month. His plans have been upgraded and he will jet off to Ireland with the senior squad under Ricky Ponting.”It’s all pretty exciting, it’s all happening pretty quickly,” Hazlewood told AAP. “I’m just hoping to learn a lot from the fast bowlers over there and maybe get a little time with the ball.”Should Hazlewood make his ODI debut during the series, he will be Australia’s youngest ever one-day international debutant. In November 2008 he became the youngest fast bowler to play for New South Wales, and stepping on to the international stage would provide a thrill for the residents of Bendemeer, the country town from which he hails.”It’s a pretty quiet little town of about 300 people just out of Tamworth,” Hazlewood said. “They’ll be over the moon I reckon. There’s been a few good stars from Tamworth but none from Bendemeer.”

An update has emerged on Rangers manager Steven Gerrard, regarding interest from a Premier League club…

What’s the talk?

According to The Telegraph, Aston Villa are keen to take the Gers head coach south of the border to replace Dean Smith at Villa Park.

The report claims the Midlands club are also looking at Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl, with Villa attempting to land a replacement for Smith before the end of the international break.

Gutted

This is a worrying update and will surely leave Rangers fans feeling gutted as it means more speculation over Gerrard’s head.

He was linked with the Newcastle job last month and Gers supporters had to deal with the uncertainty over his future then, although Eddie Howe has now been officially appointed as Steve Bruce’s successor at St. James’ Park.

Having come out the other side of the Magpies speculation unscathed, Rangers and their fans now have to listen to talk of Gerrard taking the job at Villa. It remains to be seen whether or not the ex-Liverpool man would be interested in ditching Glasgow to go and manage in the Premier League with the Claret and Blues, but the uncertainty could be frustrating for fans – particularly with an international break coming up this week and no domestic fixtures to focus on.

There is little doubting that Gerrard has enjoyed great success with Rangers. He ended Celtic’s dominance of Scottish football by winning the Scottish Premiership last season, going unbeaten in the 38 league matches and picking up 102 points in the process. He was able to set up a resolute side capable of avoiding defeat for an entire campaign, proving his managerial talent.

Overall, he has won 2.33 points per game across 107 Premiership matches in charge of Rangers since arriving from the Liverpool youth set-up. This shows that he has been able to reinstall a winning mindset at Ibrox with the club currently sat top of the table again after 13 games this season.

Therefore, fans will be gutted by new uncertainty over Gerrard’s future with these links to Aston Villa. It could be a difficult couple of weeks for Rangers supporters to get through before they are able to watch their side play in the flesh again.

AND in other news, Possession lost 21x: £6k-p/w Rangers beast with 1 tackle let Gerrard down on Sunday…

PCB officials, in a meeting at the board’s headquarters in Lahore, reportedly gave the go-ahead for Razzaq after he had sought permission to play in the league

Cricinfo staff09-Sep-2009Pakistan allrounder Abdul Razzaq has said that the PCB has cleared him to play in the IPL, claiming that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were keen to seek his services for the third edition. The franchise though, has denied any official approach.PCB officials, in a meeting at the board’s headquarters in Lahore, reportedly gave the go-ahead to Razzaq after he had sought permission to play in the league. “It is great news for me and I’m now looking forward to give my best for Knight Riders,” Razzaq said.Razzaq, 29, was banned by the PCB for joining the unofficial ICL in 2007 after he was excluded from the World Twenty20 squad the same year. He was one of the key players for the Hyderabad Heroes in their title win in 2008.However, with the amnesty offer from the PCB earlier this year, he made his international return during the World Twenty20 in England in June. He was also part of the Pakistan squad that toured Sri Lanka earlier this summer, but was dropped for the Champions Trophy because of a lack of form and fitness.KKR officials though, clarified that no official approach had been made yet to any foreign ex-ICL player because the IPL was yet to finalise recruitment norms for those players. The IPL organisers said they might hold an auction for foreign ex-ICL players if needed, with the norms expected to be finalised in December.The inclusion of Razzaq may help turn around KKR’s fortunes after two forgettable IPL seasons. They finished sixth in 2007 and on the bottom in the second edition held in South Africa. The franchise has, in the past, hired a number of players from Pakistan, including Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Salman Butt and Mohammad Hafeez.

Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia might have to reconsider their overseas signings for the Twenty20 Big Bash due to a clash with Sri Lanka’s international schedule

Cricinfo staff30-Sep-2009Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia might have to reconsider their overseas signings for the Twenty20 Big Bash due to a clash with Sri Lanka’s international schedule. Muttiah Muralitharan (Victoria), Lasith Malinga (Tasmania) and Ajantha Mendis (South Australia) were set to take part in the Big Bash and thus potentially qualify to play for the states in next year’s Champions League Twenty20.However, there is now a planned tri-series between Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh during early January that would rule the Sri Lankan players out. Muralitharan said his Victoria contract stipulated that international commitments must take precedence and while he could possibly play a couple of matches at the end of the Big Bash, that was unlikely.”At the time when I sign it was free, now it is a problem because Sri Lanka has put a tour to Bangladesh that’s not confirmed yet,” Muralitharan told the Age. “In the contract we put if it happens then I won’t be able to come, because there’s no point playing two or three matches rather than the whole thing. That’s the only problem at the moment, otherwise I am happy to play there.”Spinners play a big part in Twenty20, so I said okay. I never played domestic in Australia, I played in England but not other countries except in India because of IPL. I thought it’s a good chance for me before we go to Twenty20 World Cup and IPL.”Muralitharan was looking forward to making the MCG a home ground after he was called for throwing by Darrell Hair at the venue 14 years ago. He refused to tour Australia in 2004 after being branded a chucker by Australia’s then prime minister John Howard, but Muralitharan said he had no problem with Australian crowds and would have enjoyed the chance to play for Shane Warne’s home team.”Warney is one of the greatest spinners I have ever seen and it’s a privilege to [represent] his home state,” Muralitharan said. “Only problem was that comment by the ex-prime minister. It’s not proper for the head of state to comment about someone’s bowling, because that’s not part of his job … after that I didn’t have any problems.”The states are allowed to sign two international players each and Victoria have also secured Dwayne Bravo for the Twenty20 tournament. Neither Tasmania nor South Australia have signed a second player, although the states have until Christmas Eve to confirm their overseas stars.

Celtic were ‘desperate’ to sign Manchester City defender Ko Itakura this summer, according to Schalke 04 sporting director Rouven Schroeder.

The Lowdown: Celtic’s defensive additions

The Hoops were extremely busy over the summer in the transfer market and managed to bring in 12 players. Four of those were centre-backs in Carl Starfelt, Camron Carter-Vickers, Liam Scales and Osaze Urhoghide.

They were also seemingly keen on Itakura, who shares the same agency as Mikey Johnston, but the Japanese defender moved to Germany instead.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/celtic-updates-13/” title=”Celtic updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Latest: Schroeder’s comments

Schalke secured Itakura’s services on loan and have the option to make a move permanent next summer for £3.4m.

Their sporting director Schroeder was talking to the media about the 6 foot 1 defender, as relayed by The Scottish Sun, and he said that the Hoops were ‘desperate’ to land the Japan international, revealing:

“It took a lot of patience to sign him from Manchester City.

“For example, Celtic had tracked him for a year and were desperate to sign him, but we managed to beat them to it.”

The Verdict: Ange wants more

Celtic may have missed a trick by missing out on Itakura, who appears to be at the top of his game with a career-high £3.15m Transfermarkt valuation.

Although Ange Postecoglou added four centre-backs to his ranks, it is believed that he wants more options in that department – not surprising given the defensive horror show against Real Betis last week.

That could have been Itakura, described as ‘incredibly fast’, if they had gotten their way, but the Hoops will now need to look elsewhere for centre-back reinforcements ahead of the winter transfer window.

In other news: Front runners: Celtic leading the way to land ‘brilliant’ free agent who Ange has spoken about. 

Liverpool fans want to sign Franck Kessie after the Reds were linked with a move for the AC Milan midfielder.

Over the past few years, 24-year-old Kessie has evolved into one of the best midfielders in Serie A. He started out at Atalanta, where he scored seven goals and provided three assists in 31 appearances for the club (Transfermarkt). That earned him a move to Milan, one of the biggest clubs in the country. He has continued to impress, missing just 10 league matches since making the move in 2017.

However, his contract is set to run out at the end of the season. And, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, the Reds are prepared to pay the €8m-a-year (£6.8m) contract the Ivory Coast international is looking for.

The news was shared on Twitter by @AnfieldEdition, and it attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on the rumour, with one fan claiming Kessie is ‘perfect’…

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Kessie news below

“The Wijnaldum replacement. Not bad tbh decent player”

Credit: @Gho1stR7

“Masterclass”

Credit: @GxlDeSalah_

“Hed be a perfect signing.”

Credit: @joshambrown_

“Hopefully we can get him.”

Credit: @Seyjith

“Would be a quality player for us”

Credit: @ShayTreanor2

“Good player and still relatively young. Free transfer? Surely fsg are interested.”

Credit: @umxr168

In other news, Liverpool fans want this man to leave the club.

Frank McAvennie has been left slamming Daniel Levy after what he has heard coming out of Tottenham Hotspur.

The Lowdown: Levy tried to halt Newcastle

As per The Daily Mail, the chairman tried to stop Newcastle United from signing lucrative new sponsors following the takeover by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium.

It was also claimed that Spurs lobbied the Premier League against the deal amid fears of increased competition for Champions League spots.

The Latest: McAvennie slams Levy

Speaking to Football Insider, former Celtic and West Ham United striker McAvennie has slammed Levy for his actions, claiming that the Spurs chairman is scared that Newcastle could become more successful than the Lilywhites. The 61-year-old raged:

“Levy isn’t even talking to the fans now, he’s blanking them.

“He hasn’t got a leg to stand on, the fans have fully turned on him.

“It’s as if he’s trying to wind them up as much as possible. He thinks he doesn’t have to answer to anybody.

“This has all come from fear. Levy is scared that Newcastle could knock Tottenham off the map.

“He cannot compete with that wealth. Not being able to compete scares Levy.

“He tried to stop the takeover, now he’s trying to stop sponsors, grow up.

“Honestly, it’s pathetic, I’m embarrassed for him.”

The Verdict: Embarrassing

It is truly embarrassing on Levy’s behalf that he would even try to stop the Magpies from signing new sponsors, and ultimately screams of jealousy on his part.

After an impressive start to the season, Tottenham are currently lingering in ninth place in the Premier League table, and they only managed to qualify for the Europa Conference League from finishing seventh last term.

Newcastle promise to disrupt the so-called ‘big six’ with their new wealth, which could leave the north London club even further adrift. Nonetheless, Levy may need to reach into his own pockets once more to try and keep up with the likes of the Magpies in the transfer market.

In other news, find out who Fabio Paratici is now ‘thinking’ of signing for Spurs

The Athletic’s Phil Hay has delivered an update on Leeds United’s plans heading into the January transfer window.

What’s the story?

During a Q&A for The Athletic, Hay addressed claims the Whites could target a move for a new central midfielder, and how Victor Orta sees the January window in general.

He said: “Central midfielders. What else is there to talk about? At least one other person took this further by asking whether a new centre-mid will be a priority next summer, to which the answer has to be ‘yes’.

“But January? I’m not convinced the club will do much in January unless the league position is causing acute concern.

“Victor Orta has long seen the mid-season window as offering poor value for money and the club are less and less convinced that January arrivals work for Marcelo Bielsa (see Jean-Kevin Augustin, who we’ll come to later).

“From my perspective, if the season is in hand at the turn of the year, then I’d hold off and gear up for a major midfield addition when the season ends. I think we can all see that it has to be done.”

Fans will be worried

Given the injury problems that Leeds have already suffered this season, including in that problem position of central midfield, it leaves a worrying taste to hear that Hay believes the club will not do much in the January transfer window.

The Whites missed out on the signing of a new midfielder in the summer, and that has already come back to bite them, with Adam Forshaw suffering a setback in his return from a long-term injury and Kalvin Phillips also picking up a knock too.

The fact Hay thinks the Whites won’t do much business unless their league position warrants it, speaks of the club looking to be more reactive than proactive.

Having some genuine strength in depth in the middle of the park and not having to play players out of position or relying on academy talents to step up in pressure-filled games is so important in the modern Premier League.

Hay’s suggestion may leave fans

Meanwhile, Leeds are eyeing this record-breaker…

England women retained their Ashes by drawing the one-off Test against Australia in Worcester

Cricinfo staff13-Jul-2009
ScorecardThe England women’s side after they had drawn with Australia to retain the Ashes•PA PhotosA day after the men secured a tense draw in Cardiff to stay level in the Ashes, England women retained their Ashes by drawing the one-off Test against Australia in Worcester. Their task was comparatively easier, though, for they had to survive less than two sessions and it rained after tea at New Road.Australia began the final day on 128 for 1 in the second innings, with an overall lead of 169, and were in no danger of losing. However, in order to push for a win, they had to score briskly and give themselves enough time to bowl England out. In the end, however, they were dismissed for 231 in the second session.Opener Alex Blackwell had remained unbeaten on 59 at the end of the third day but was caught and bowled by Katherine Brunt – her only wicket in the second innings – for 68 on the fourth morning. The rest of the top order got starts but failed to carry on and Karen Rolton’s 31 was the second-highest score of the innings. England’s bowlers kept pegging away and Holly Colvin took three lower-order wickets to help restrict Australia.Chasing 273 to win, or needing to survive the rest of the day to draw the match, England were jolted by the loss of Caroline Atkins – lbw to Sarah Andrews – for a duck. However, a rain delay deprived Australia of valuable extra time and even though England stumbled to 39 for 3, Charlotte Edwards remained unbeaten on 53 to secure the draw.

With just nine days until the first Test against England, John Dyson, the West Indies coach, has rued his side’s poor performance after their match against Essex was washed out due to rain. Essex closed the second day on 175 for 3, leading by 292, but not

Cricinfo staff27-Apr-2009With just nine days until the first Test against England, John Dyson, the West Indies coach, has rued his side’s poor performance after their match against Essex was washed out due to rain. Essex closed the second day on 175 for 3, leading by 292, but not a single ball was bowled on the third and final day.”I thought we batted poorly except for Shiv,” Dyson told PA. “He just bats and bats “The other batsmen are very inexperienced in these sorts of conditions and they wasted their opportunity here to get some good time in the middle. They have hopefully learned a good lesson here about how to handle these conditions.”Our bowlers have all bowled some reasonable spells and it is just a matter of consistency throughout the total innings which they need to work on.”However, Dyson welcomed the news that Jerome Taylor would return in time for the first Test, following his recovery from a hip injury. “We expect him to be fully fit,” Dyson said. “The reports from the West Indies say that and we expect him to play at Derby.”Taylor will be joined by Fidel Edwards, who arrives on Sunday after his spell in the Indian Premier League, but that still leaves one unfilled spot.”Lionel Baker bowled some good spells in this match,” said Dyson. “He bowled at other times not so well. He still has a bit of work to do but he knows that. He is still in pole position as he is the man in possession and one of the others would have to do something brilliant to knock him out.”West Indies have one final warm-up game ahead of the first Test, against a strong England Lions team captained by Rob Key, featuring Ian Bell, Saj Mahmood and the young Warwickshire seamer, Chris Woakes.”It is very unusual these days to go into a Test series with so many games under your belt,” Dyson said. “It is nice for us seeing as we have a group of younger players with us from the Caribbean. “It gives us a chance to see them out of their home conditions.”