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Birmingham City are keen to secure promotion this term and now appear to be on the verge of adding a critical January reinforcement, according to Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg.

Birmingham look to have significant January window

The race for the playoffs is heating up in the Sky Bet Championship, and Birmingham will be hoping to force themselves into the picture over the coming months, even if they have flattered to deceive after an indifferent campaign thus far.

Draws have been their downfall of late, not to mention a frustrating stalemate at home to Derby County on Boxing Day, followed by another at home to Southampton. Nevertheless, there is still plenty of optimism in the air at St Andrews.

Partly, that is due to the fact that the transfer window is now open, signifying that signings are likely to bolster a squad in need of new blood.

Basel star Philip Otele may be someone that is explored by the Blues this month, potentially adding a new layer to the forward areas amid Kyogo Furuhashi’s struggles in front of goal since joining from Rennes during the summer.

Birmingham City’s top scorers this season

Jay Stansfield

9

Demarai Gray

5

Seung-ho Paik

4

Marvin Ducksch

3

Lyndon Dykes

2

Clearly, there is a need for more attacking output to help Stansfield and Gray at the top end of the field. Nevertheless, defensive improvements are also needed to steady a side that has conceded in their last ten matches.

There is plenty to play for at the midway point in the campaign, and Tom Brady is likely to play a part in making funds available so that Birmingham can compete in the race for promotion, and they may now be on course to land an early arrival as they gear up for the season run-in.

Birmingham set to sign Kai Wagner

Taking to social media platform X, Florian Plettenberg has confirmed that Birmingham are close to signing Philadelphia left-back Kai Wagner after activating his release clause that is believed to sit at just over the £2 million mark.

After registering two goals and ten assists in 38 matches this term, he was a standout performer in Major League Soccer and is now set to join the Blues with a clear focus on their strategy to reach the Premier League, as is said to be behind the deal.

The German-born full-back has also featured for the likes of Schalke and Wurzburger Kickers in his homeland, and he would likely come directly into the fold as a direct competitor for Alex Cochrane.

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With the window underway, Birmingham appear to have done their homework on potential signings and aren’t wasting any time in putting their plans into action.

Cuba will not be playing in the 2008 Stanford 20/20 because of a political embargo, the competition’s board of directors has announced.The United States embargo against Cuba means that organisations and American citizens such as Allen Stanford have to make application to, and receive special permission from the US Government to conduct any type of activity with Cuba. Stanford’s application was denied but now he plans to ask the US government to reconsider for future tournaments.”We have been anxious to include the entire Caribbean in the Stanford 20/20 Cricket Tournament and I am extremely disappointed that Cuba will not be able to play,” said Stanford. “Stanford 20/20 is requesting that the denial from the United States Government be reconsidered and we are exploring every option to secure their future participation.”The news disappointed Cuba, who have been training intensely for what was to be their first official tournament outside their country. Cuba was scheduled to play in the first match against St. Maarten on Friday, January 25 but their opposition will now get a bye.

Scorecard
A captain’s knock from Mithali Raj lifted India to their third successive win of the Asia Cup against Sri Lanka at Jaipur. Set 172 for victory, India rode on Raj’s 108-ball knock, which included four fours, along with handy 30s from Sunetra Paranjpe and Anjum Chopra.Sri Lanka’s total of 171, largely thanks to half-centuries from Dedunu Silva and Eshani Kaushalya, proved to be inadequate. Choosing to bat first, Sri Lanka were done in by tight Indian bowling, with Jhulan Goswami and Thirush Kamini managing two wickets apiece.Only one other batsman managed double figures and Sri Lanka didn’t get the kick in the final overs. Paranjpe began India’s reply confidently, with a stroke-filled 37, before a 70-run stand between Chopra and Raj sealed the deal.

Damien Martyn is back for the Warriors © Getty Images

Damien Martyn, who missed the past four weeks with a painful finger injury, has been recalled to Western Australia’s squad for the ING Cup match against Queensland on Saturday. Martyn suffered the setback during a one-day game against South Australia and was subsequently ruled out of Australia’s one-day tour of New Zealand.With the side winning the series and the middle order performing strongly, Martyn will face a difficult time reclaiming his place and his international career could be over after he was dropped from the Test side after the Ashes. Martyn has replaced the allrounder David Bandy for the Warriors, who will be captained by Marcus North. North has led the side for the past two Pura Cup games after taking over the leadership role when Justin Langer was absent and Martyn was injured.Western Australia squad Marcus North (capt), Clint Heron, Chris Rogers, Adam Voges, Shaun Marsh, Damien Martyn, Ryan Campbell (wk), Brett Dorey, Beau Casson, Ben Edmondson, Mathew Inness and Steve Magoffin.

Individual statistics for Tests played in 2004

India Batting
Name	M	I	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	100	50	0	CT	ST
Agarkar	3	5	1	99	44*	24.75	–	–	–	2	–
Balaji	3	3	0	11	11	3.67	–	–	2	–	–
Chopra	5	9	0	113	45	12.56	–	–	1	8	–
Dravid	12	18	3	946	270	63.07	2	4	3	26	–
Gambhir	5	7	0	307	139	43.86	1	1	–	4	–
Ganguly	8	9	0	408	88	45.33	–	4	–	2	–
Harbhajan	7	9	0	155	47	17.22	–	–	1	5	–
Kaif	3	5	0	153	64	30.60	–	2	–	6	–
Kartik, KKD	5	6	0	97	46	16.17	–	–	–	17	2
Kartik	4	5	1	27	22	6.75	–	–	1	1	–
Kumble	12	14	3	142	26	12.91	–	–	1	4	–
Laxman	12	16	0	513	178	32.06	1	2	–	12	–
Nehra	1	1	1	1	1*	–	–	–	–	1	–
Patel	7	9	1	349	69	43.63	–	4	1	19	3
Pathan	9	10	1	210	55	23.33	–	1	1	4	–
Sehwag	12	19	1	1141	309	63.39	3	4	2	7	–
Tendulkar	10	15	5	915	248*	91.50	3	2	–	5	–
Yuvraj	5	8	1	277	112	39.57	1	1	–	8	–
Zaheer	9	11	5	163	75	27.17	–	1	3	2	–

India Bowling
Name	M	BI	Md	R	W	Ave	Best	5	10	SR	ER
Agarkar	3	612	19	408	2	204.00	1\80	–	–	306.00	66.67
Balaji	3	636	24	369	12	30.75	4\63	–	–	53.00	58.02
Ganguly	8	210	9	104	2	52.00	1\14	–	–	105.00	49.52
Harbhajan	7	2032	64	976	38	25.68	7\87	4	1	53.47	48.03
Kartik	4	1047	34	511	15	34.07	4\44	–	–	69.80	48.81
Kumble	12	3680	127	1838	74	24.84	8\141	6	2	49.73	49.95
Nehra	1	162	6	80	3	26.67	2\60	–	–	54.00	49.38
Pathan	9	1944	89	919	38	24.18	6\51	3	1	51.16	47.27
Sehwag	12	102	1	82	0	–	0\5	–	–	–	80.39
Tendulkar	10	450	6	276	5	55.20	2\36	–	–	90.00	61.33
Yuvraj	5	78	1	42	1	42.00	1\25	–	–	78.00	53.85
Zaheer	9	1607	52	830	19	43.68	4\95	–	–	84.58	51.65

Individual statistics for ODIs played in 2004

India Batting
Name	M	I	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	100	50	0	SR	Ct
Agarkar	13	9	1	179	53	22.38	–	1	–	79.56	1
Badani	9	7	4	141	60*	47	–	1	–	71.94	3
Balaji	23	12	4	95	21*	11.88	–	–	1	75.4	8
Bangar	2	2	0	3	3	1.5	–	–	1	33.33	0
Bhandari	1	0	0	0	dnb	dnb	–	–	–	0	0
Dhoni	3	3	1	19	12	9.5	–	–	1	135.71	4
Dravid	31	28	2	1025	104	39.42	1	10	2	74.98	24
Ganguly	31	30	1	947	90	32.66	–	7	2	69.89	12
Gavaskar	11	10	2	151	54	18.88	–	1	–	64.53	5
Harbhajan	11	5	2	62	41*	20.67	–	–	1	76.54	4
Kaif	22	20	5	564	80	37.6	–	4	–	78.44	12
Karthik	2	1	0	1	1	1	–	–	–	8.33	4
Kartik	8	4	2	61	32*	30.5	–	–	–	79.22	3
Kumble	13	6	3	26	9*	8.67	–	–	–	60.47	2
Laxman	25	24	4	837	131	41.85	4	1	–	79.79	17
Mongia	1	1	0	12	12	12	–	–	–	66.67	0
Nehra	15	6	3	24	14*	8	–	–	3	150	1
Patel	5	5	1	66	28	16.5	–	–	1	68.75	6
Pathan	28	21	9	230	38	19.17	–	–	1	79.31	4
Powar	2	2	1	32	18*	32	–	–	–	110.34	0
Sehwag	27	26	0	671	90	25.81	–	5	3	91.17	11
Sharma	3	2	2	34	29*	–	–		–	141.67	3
Sriram	2	2	0	60	57	30	–	1	–	62.5	0
Tendulkar	21	21	1	812	141	40.6	1	5	1	80.08	4
Yuvraj	31	28	0	841	139	30.04	1	5	1	90.72	15
Zaheer	12	6	3	44	28*	14.67	–	–	1	95.65	1
India Bowling
Name	M	B	Md	R	W	Ave	Best	5	4	SR	ER
Agarkar	13	670	7	570	21	27.14	6/42	1	1	31.9	85.07
Badani	9	42	0	31	1	31	1/31	–	–	42	73.81
Balaji	23	1183	11	1053	30	35.1	4/48	–	1	39.43	89.01
Bangar	2	66	0	61	1	61	1/42	–	–	66	92.42
Bhandari	1	46	0	31	3	10.33	3/31	–	–	15.33	67.39
Ganguly	31	384	0	367	6	61.17	3/41	–	–	64	95.57
Gavaskar	11	72	0	74	1	74	1/56	–	–	72	102.78
Harbhajan	11	648	9	416	13	32	3/28	–	–	49.85	64.2
Kartik	8	396	1	385	8	48.13	2/43	–	–	49.5	97.22
Kumble	13	680	5	551	8	68.88	2/37	–	–	85	81.03
Mongia	1	18	0	10	0	–	0/10	–	–	–	55.56
Nehra	15	752	5	623	18	34.61	3/26	–	–	41.78	82.85
Pathan	28	1491	10	1240	47	26.38	4/24	–	1	31.72	83.17
Powar	2	60	0	52	0	–	0/17	–	–	–	86.67
Sehwag	27	684	5	583	15	38.87	3/37	–	–	45.6	85.23
Sharma	3	126	3	99	1	99	1/28	–	–	126	78.57
Sriram	2	114	1	80	4	20	3/43	–	–	28.5	70.18
Tendulkar	21	480	3	461	19	24.26	4/54	–	1	25.26	96.04
Yuvraj Singh	31	230	1	189	4	47.25	2/41	–	–	57.5	82.17
Zaheer	12	612	5	585	14	41.79	3/66	–	–	43.71	95.59

Surviving members of the 1952 team with Pakistan president Photo © PCB

Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s president, has made his pitch for the resumption of cricketing ties with India, which he said would benefit both countries and also cricket in the region.Speaking at a reception to honour the surviving members of the Pakistan cricket team that went on the country’s first Test tour to India in 1952, he said: “It’s very unfortunate that India has not played us for a long time, we need to leave the past aside, India should start playing us for the mutual benefits and for cricket in South Asia.”

Fazal Mahmood presented with a new Pakistan blazer Photo © PCB

Since that inaugural series, bilateral cricket ties have been intermittent at best. There were no matches between 1961 and 1978, and it’s now 14 years since India played a Test match in Pakistan. Pakistan’s last Test tour of India was in 1999, months before the Kargil conflict led to a further deterioration in relations.”Cricket is a passion in South Asia which is so very rich in talent, andteams will improve if we play each other and sports can add interaction,” saidMusharraf.The late Abdul Hafeez Kardar led that 1952 side, and those team-mates who have outlived him were presented with medallions, Pakistan blazers and Rs 200,000 (US$4200) each. The survivors are Fazal Mahmood, Hanif Mohammad, Imtiaz Ahmed, Israr Ali, Khan Mohammad, Waqar Hasan, Wazir Mohammad, Rusi Dinshaw, Zulfiqar Ahmed, Khalid Ibadullah, Khursheed Ahmad and Khalid Qureshi.

Robbie Lawson, unwanted by Otago in its initial selection for the State Shield, made the most of his call-up when his 80 spearheaded a batting assault that allowed the side its first win in eight matches.That the 45-run victory achieved was over old rival Canterbury, at Christchurch’s Jade Stadium, was all the more satisfying.It was an important win in terms of the overall Otago season because it had won nothing before today although it had been in some competitive positions in the State Championship four-day competition and lost its first Shield game by only three runs.It was due for a win, and once getting away to a terrific start with an opening stand of 84 runs in 13 overs, it was always going to be calling the tune on a good pitch on the revamped Jade Stadium.Lawson played the steadying hand from the outset for Otago, and his role when hard-hitting opener Andrew Hore was out for 55, was to assume the main scoring thrust. Once past his 50 off 77 balls, Lawson hit out and acknowledged afterward that he was looking for a century, and beyond, with the amount of time he had available.However, he admitted that he started looking too far ahead and that was his downfall. He was out for 80, bowled off an inside edge and off his pads by off spinner Paul Wiseman, three runs short of his highest score in one-day matches.There was a period in the Otago innings when it seemed they had lost their way. Lawson had shared a 94-run partnership with Craig Pryor who was promoted to No 5.Lawson’s replacement at the crease Jordan Sheed, a member of New Zealand team for the ICC Under-19 World Cup, took 26 balls to get off the mark. And in his haste to get a run, Pryor was run out for 45 off 48 balls.In a tighter game that loss could have been crucial. Pryor was the player who had the hitting power to get Otago up to around 280.As it was, they had to settle for 251/7 which was still a competitive target and one that became moreso with the manner of Canterbury’s chase.The home team made the worst possible start when Otago’s ploy of using off-spinner Nathan McCullum paid off immediately for Otago. Brad Doody was caught from the first ball McCullum bowled.Jarrod Englefield succumbed to the bowling of Kerry Walmsley when held at deep third man for eight runs while Michael Papps also fell to McCullum for 21.Gary Stead and Shanan Stewart added 58 for the fourth wicket, but just as his innings was beginning to blossom, Stewart was well caught by Rob Smith at deep mid off running back towards the boundary with the ball coming over his shoulder. His debut innings ended with his dismissal for 25.Stead was required to attempt to bat his side out of trouble but he succumbed when Walmsley was reintroduced to the attack and was out for 35 scored off 53 balls.Canterbury at that stage were 105/5 and on the end of a disappointing defeat.It might have been tempting for Otago captain Craig Cumming to have taken Smith out of the attack when his first over went for 10 runs. But his perseverance paid off in Smith’s second over when Darron Reekers was unable to get Smith away from the pitch area and when he finally launched into a big shot he was caught at deep mid on for 15.And in his next over Smith had Wiseman caught at the wicket for 16. Canterbury were 138/7.Warren Wisneski started to hit out but when Cumming made the change to Pryor from the northern end of the ground, he had Carl Anderson attempting to hit to the off-side boundary. He too, was guilty of mis-timing the shot and Hore at mid-off was able to run around and take the catch.That left Canterbury on 164/8 and a required run rate of 7.26.Wisneski charged long enough and hard enough to score 45 off 42 balls with four fours and two sixes but when Pryor got through Chris Martin’s defence for the only bowling dismissal of the innings, Canterbury were all out for 206.McCullum responded well to opening the bowling with two for 15 from his seven overs while Walmsley took two for 32 from eight with some fiery bowling.Most encouragingly for Otago was the effort of newcomer James McMillan who took two for 32 from his 10 overs with some fast deliveries included among his package.Otago now travel to Nelson to play Central Districts on Wednesday while Canterbury play Northern Districts at Whangarei.

After a losing day one due to a soggy outfield, play finally got underway at the Allan Border Field and Queensland had the good fortune to the win the toss and elected to bat. When the players left the field for the bad light they were4 for 208 in a shortened day off 80 overs.Andrew Symonds innings of 98 off just 99 balls with ten fours and four big sixeswas the highlight of the days play following a slow start where the run rate barely crept above two runs an over. However Symonds had his luck, being dropped by Jeff Vaughan off Paul Wilson before he had scored.Mind you the rain over the preceding days had an impact on the outfield which was mainly to blame for the run rate but nonetheless the visitors did bowl well in the early stages.In the first session Jimmy Maher and Troy Dixon scored at a slow rate in the early stages and was Maher first to go, edging Swain to Bradley Young at first slip after taking nearly two hours over his 18.After lunch, Dixon’s slow knock came to an end after over two and a half hours of resistance when he edged Wilson to Manou for 30 and the Bulls were 2/62.Tall right hander Martin Love lost his wicket in the following over to Young and suddenly South Australia had a real sniff at 3/62.Stuart Law was joined by Symonds and they progressed to tea with Queensland 3/115 from 56 overs, Law was on 15 and Symonds 36.After tea and scones Law missed one from Swain but then Symonds went on the attack hitting Young for 20 off an over and doing likewise to Ben Johnson. At the close he needs just one for a century and how theSouthern Redbacks must be ruing that dropped chance

Leeds United correspondent Phil Hay has relayed an injury update regarding defender Leo Hjelde ahead of the clash with Aston Villa.  

The Lowdown: Hjelde’s absence

Hjelde, labelled as a ‘superb player’ by Paddy Kenny, has made three senior appearances for the Whites this season.

He featured for 67 minutes in Leeds’ last win away at West Ham back in January but hasn’t been seen since hobbling off against Everton last month.

The 18-year-old sustained a knee injury at Goodison Park, and Jesse Marsch has revealed the Norwegian required surgery last week.

The Latest: Hay’s post

Hay took to Twitter on Wednesday to relay news from Marsch’s pre-Villa press conference.

He confirmed that Hjelde has had surgery but may be able to feature before the 2021/22 season comes to an end.

“Leo Hjelde has undergone surgery on the knee injury he suffered against Everton. Marsch hopefully that he might be available before the end of the season.”

The Verdict: From bad to worse

Leeds’ injury issues just haven’t stopped during the current campaign, and this update on Hjelde isn’t exactly ideal.

The Whites were seemingly hopeful that the defender would make a full recovery without needing surgery, but that obviously hasn’t proven to be the case, resulting in the club’s problems going from bad to worse.

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It’s good news that he still may have a role to play this season, but Marsch won’t be able to call upon the exciting teenager in the foreseeable future, yet another hit to the depth at his disposal.

In other news: Phil Hay drops huge Leeds news from Thorp Arch before Villa. 

Ashley Giles, the former England left-arm spinner, will join the England Performance Programme (EPP) squad in India as the team’s official spin coach.”I’m really looking forward to the opportunity of working with the players involved in the EPP,” Giles said. “It’s exciting to be so hands-on in a coaching role, particularly with my new position as director of cricket at Warwickshire.”It’ll be great to get back involved in the England set-up after being forced out early through injury and being around an England dressing room again in India will be a fantastic experience.”Martyn Moxon, the director of cricket at Yorkshire, takes on the role of batting coach for the four-week high performance camp, which encompasses two weeks of intensive training at Mohali, followed by two weeks at the MRF Academy in Chennai.