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Adam Milne, the 18-year-old Central Districts fast bowler who has been named in New Zealand’s squad for their Twenty20 series against Pakistan, has said he was surprised by the call-up in just his first year of senior cricket, but was excited at the opportunity.”I think they [the selectors] just picked me on what I’ve done so far,” Milne, who has also been named in the 30 probables for the 2011 World Cup, told the regional newspaper , “They want me to go out there, and do what I have been doing, and bowl at a good pace.” Just over a year ago, Milne was still playing school cricket and he only made his first-class debut in March 2010, when he took 4 for 52 for Central Districts against Canterbury.Milne made his Twenty20 debut for Central Districts in their Champions League T20 campaign in September, during which he was clocked at 145kph. Milne said he has probably been bowling faster during the 2010-11 domestic season in New Zealand, where speed guns aren’t being used. Shane Bond, the Central Districts Twenty20 bowling coach, tipped him to get even quicker with age, and Milne agreed it was a possibility. “I’m sure there could be [an increase in pace] if I got a little bit stronger and worked a few things out,” he said.Milne was given a contract with Central Districts only two months ago and has played three first-class matches and eight domestic Twenty20 matches. His Central Districts coach Alan Hunt said Milne wasn’t a finished product but merited a chance in the national team. “In my view he needs a bit more time yet,” Hunt said. “But he’s certainly a raw talent and if they want to try somebody, why not him I guess.”Milne’s selection came just two weeks after the newly-appointed national selector Lance Cairns told the he wanted to see Milne given time to play more domestic cricket.New Zealand’s three-match Twenty20 series against Pakistan starts on December 26 in Auckland. Ross Taylor will captain the side with Daniel Vettori rested.

Australia cannot expect Shane Warne’s advice to magically solve Nathan Hauritz’s recent bowling problems, according to the coach Tim Nielsen

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Oct-2010

Australia cannot expect Shane Warne’s advice to magically solve Nathan Hauritz’s recent bowling problems, according to the coach Tim Nielsen. Hauritz is likely to remain Australia’s No. 1 spinner for the Ashes but after taking six wickets at 65 in the recent Tests against India, he has some work to do.That could include sessions with Warne, who has offered his services to Hauritz ahead of Australia’s first home Ashes series since Warne’s retirement. Nielsen said while such tutoring could be useful, it was more important that Hauritz take on the responsibility of working out what he should change in order to trouble England’s batsmen.”He’s had some discussions with Warney in the past,” Nielsen told the Sydney Morning Herald. “If Warney is available and Haury would like to speak to him I can’t see any reason they wouldn’t have a chat. In the end, that’s a great little resource to utilise, but it’s more important that Haury identifies the things he needs to improve and we identify as a team the things we need to improve, and go about fixing them.”We can’t expect someone to come in and fix the ills of the game for us. It’s about us saying ‘yes, I need to get better at this’, and working our backsides off at training and preparation to make sure we’ve nailed those skills. It’d be great to have people like Warne offering advice but in the end it comes back to us.”The main competition for Hauritz in the immediate future is set to come from the legspinning allrounder Steven Smith, who made a promising start to his Test career against Pakistan this year. The former spinners Ashley Mallett and Ray Bright would like to see Smith in the Test side, although alongside Hauritz rather than in his place.Smith’s batting makes him an attractive all-round option and although Ricky Ponting is not keen on the idea yet, one possible role could be for Smith to bat at No. 6 and become the second spinner. But Smith, who was in the Test squad in India and remains there for the ODI series, believes his Test hopes for the time being will rest on his bowling.”I’d like to become a genuine allrounder down the track so scoring runs whenever I can is going to be good for me to get my best foot forward,” Smith told reporters in India. “Something I want to do is bat in the top six at some point. But at the moment it’s probably going to be my spin that’ll give me a game.”

Tottenham Hotspur remain interested in Nicolo Zaniolo with sporting director Fabio Paratici eyeing up a swoop this summer…

What’s the word?

Calciomercato.it have once again linked Spurs with interest in the AS Roma midfielder but they face competition from Serie A rivals Juventus and AC Milan, as well as from Atletico Madrid and Sevilla.

It’s believed that the Rome outfit are looking for a fee in the region of €60m (£50m) to €70m (£58m) but they are said to be more likely to receive between €40m (£33m) to €50m (£41.5m).

It also remains to be seen whether manager Jose Mourinho would accept a sale or push for the board to try and renew the 22-year-old’s contract.

Bye-bye Ndombele

Lilywhites manager Antonio Conte recently hinted of his intentions to sign a new no.10-like player during the off-season to help the likes of Harry Kane, Heung-min Son and Dejan Kulusevski, so it’s no surprise to see the north Londoners mooted with a move for Zaniolo.

You’d have to then wonder what the future holds for Tanguy Ndombele – Spurs’ disappointing £55m club-record signing – as he is currently on loan to former club Lyon.

During his time at Hotspur Way, the Frenchman has been lambasted as being “very lazy” and as having a “bad attitude” by pundit Alan Hutton, as well as “disgraceful” by Sky Sports man Jamie Carragher last season.

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Meanwhile, despite persistent injury troubles, the Italy international remains one of the hottest prospects in his age bracket with Transfermarkt valuing him at £29.7m, which was higher than Kulusevski, 21, at the time of his departure from Juventus this winter.

The versatile attacking midfielder, who can also play on the wing, has featured in 36 matches this term, where he has delivered seven goals and eight assists, including a recent hat-trick in their Europa Conference League quarter-final win over Bodo/Glimt.

In terms of attacking output, Zaniolo is only tracking 0.1 shots per game behind top goalscorer Tammy Abraham at the Stadio Olimpico, whilst he leads the squad for dribbles (2.2 successive attempts per outing), as per WhoScored.

His ability and form in the Italian capital once caught the eye of legendary Roma striker Francesco Totti, who lauded the young maestro as “explosive” before also suggesting that he “plays like a veteran,” via the BBC.

Some have even likened him to Premier League greats Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, suggesting that he’s a more box-to-box beast that can contribute in the opposition’s penalty box, too.

As such, any Zaniolo arrival could finally force Ndombele out of the exit door at long last – at least, Conte would then have a valid reason to cash in on Spurs’ club-record disaster.

Paratici and co must look to sign the Italian this off-season.

AND in other news, Spurs “keeping tabs” on PL star that would excite the Lilywhites faithful…

Tottenham Hotspur could be rocked with a fresh injury blow as a worrying observation has emerged…

What’s the latest?

After putting in one of his best-ever displays in a Spurs shirt, Saturday’s match-winner Harry Kane was seen walking away from the match with some sort of niggling problem, as revealed by Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge.

“Harry Kane was walking gingerly to the coach after the Manchester City game I’m hearing,” he told GIVEMESPORT this week.

The Lilywhites return to action on Wednesday evening when they head to Turf Moor to face Burnley for a rearranged Premier League clash.

Big blow ahead of Burnley?

This would be something of a devastating blow to Tottenham and manager Antonio Conte, especially just a few days after the attacking masterclass at the Etihad Stadium

The Times described his performance as ‘one of the all-time great performances in Premier League history’, whilst former title-winning striker Alan Shearer claimed it was “A masterclass in how to play centre-forward. Two goals against the champions, 10/10.”

After a slow start to the season, the England international has looked revitalised under the Italian head coach as his two goals against the defending champions took his tally to 17 across all competitions this season, in which ten of those have been scored since Conte’s arrival, as per Transfermarkt.

Without him, there isn’t another senior centre-forward in Spurs’ ranks.

Heung-min Son could deputise but that would drag him out of his natural and best position, and then there is young starlet Dane Scarlett. Deadline day signing Dejan Kulusevski would be another name in the hat to lead the lineup in Lancashire, as is Steven Bergwijn.

Spurs fans will now have to wait in fear to hear more from Conte in his pre-game press conference today.

If Kane is genuinely carrying a problem, as Bridge insinuates, then everyone concerned will be hugely worried, if not gutted ahead of Wednesday night.

AND in other news, Conte could find his new Lukaku in “cracking” 20 y/o gem who can save Spurs millions…

يواصل نادي النصر السعودي برئاسة مسلى آل معمر عقد جلسات مع الفرنسي رودي جارسيا للحديث عن تعزيز صفوف الفريق في فترة الانتقالات الشتوية في يناير المقبل.

ووفقا لصحيفة “سعودي سبورت”، فإن النصر يفكر في ضم الهداف الأوروغوياني المخضرم لويس سواريز الذي ودع ناديه ناسيونال مونيفيديو، بعد مسيرة قصيرة مع نادي الطفولة، وتمكن اللاعب من التتويج مع الفريق بلقب دوري أوروجواي لكرة القدم، ليصبح لاعبًا حرًا يحق له الانتقال مجانًا لأي فريق في الفترة المقبلة.

ويرى النصر أن التعاقد مع لاعب برشلونة السابق فرص لا تعوض لحل مشاكل الفريق الهجومية، لا سيما في ظل تراجع الأداء التهديفي للكاميروني فينسينت أبوبكر في الموسم الحالي.

 اقرأ أيضًا | حمد الله مهدد بدفع 84 مليون ريال إلى النصر السعودي

ويعتقد مسؤولي النصر أن سواريز، 35 عامًا، يمتلك الخبرات الكبيرة وكذلك القدرات التهديفية، ويعد فرصة جيدة لتعزيز الهجوم في منتصف الموسم الحالي.

ويسهل من مهمة النصر في ضم سواريز معاناة الهلال من قرار المنع من ضم لاعبين جدد في يناير.

يذكر أن مع سواريز لعب مع ناسيونال في 16 مباراة بمختلف المسابقات، وسجل 8 أهداف وصنع 3 أخرى.

أصفر الرياض يحتل المركز الثاني في جدول ترتيب دوري روشن برصيد 19 نقطة، بفارق 3 نقاط عن الشباب المتصدر، عقب مرور 8 جولات من عمر المسابقة.

Crystal Palace are one of three teams lining up a bid for Ajax’s Edson Alvarez, Football Insider claim. 

The lowdown

With just over a week of the January transfer window remaining, Palace are yet to do any first-team business, in or out.

But that could change as they set their sights on Alvarez, who’s valued at £18million by Transfermarkt and has three and a half years left on his Ajax contract.

The 24-year-old is predominantly a defensive midfielder but he’s also capable of operating as a centre-back.

The latest

The report cites a ‘recruitment source’ who says that Palace have been making ‘regular checks’ on Alvarez.

They’re one of three Premier League sides in the running, along with Leicester City and Chelsea.

Ajax would like to keep him but know it will be difficult and have ‘braced’ themselves for offers.

The verdict

Alvarez, who’s played 15 Champions League games during his time in Amsterdam, looks like he’d represent a considerable upgrade on the likes of Cheikhou Kouyate and Luka Milivojevic.

He shone for the runners-up Mexico at the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup, earning a place in the Team of the Tournament.

According to WhoScored, he’s mighty in the air and also excels at passing, in addition to reading the game well.

Indeed, they rank him as one of the 10 best performers in the Eredivisie so far this season.

What’s more, talent scout Jacek Kuling has raved about him, calling him a ‘superb tackler’, ‘tenacious’ and ‘charismatic’.

If Palace can fend off the competition and persuade Ajax, it could be an excellent signing.

In other news, this man is set to leave Selhurst Park after losing his place.

West Ham United have been handed a big boost in their bid to secure a deal to bring Boubacar Kamara to the London Stadium in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Italian publication Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness), who claim in a rather big twist that Olympique de Marseille have now lowered their asking price for the defensive midfielder from €20m (£17m) to between €6m-€7m (£5m-£6m).

The Ligue 1 side are not believed to be against sanctioning the January sale of a player whose current deal at the Stade Velodrome expires at the end of the season.

The report goes on to state that West Ham are joined by Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma in the race to land the 22-year-old, with the Serie A side believed to be keen on a deal for the France U21 international in the current transfer window – something that could well force David Moyes’ hand in a move for the Marseille starlet.

Moyes must move

Considering just how impressive Kamara has been in France since breaking into the Marseille first-team, in addition to the fact that the defensive midfielder would appear to be available for an extremely reasonable fee this month, it would appear highly advisable for Moyes to make a move for the 22-year-old as soon as possible.

Indeed, over his 17 Ligue 1 appearances this season, the £22.5m-rated man has been in exceptional form for Jorge Sampaoli’s side, making an average of 1.1 interceptions, 1.6 tackles, 0.9 clearances, 57.2 passes and winning 56% of his duels per game.

The £46k-per-week Frenchman has also chipped in going forwards for Les Phoceens, scoring one goal and creating two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 0.8 shots and making 0.9 key passes per fixture.

These returns have seen the player who Rolando dubbed a “phenomenon” average a rather remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.04, ranking him as Marseille’s seventh-best performer in the top flight of French football.

Furthermore, with the 22-year-old also being more than capable of operating at centre-back – a position which Moyes has explicitly stated he is looking to strengthen this winter – Kamara’s impressive versatility will undoubtedly be a huge plus in the 58-year-old Hammers manager’s books.

As such, considering his fit to West Ham’s needs, his sheer amount of potential and his extremely reasonable asking price, a move for the defensive midfielder this month would indeed appear an extremely wise one for Moyes to make – as the youngster’s signing would appear to solve a number of issues in the Irons’ first-team squad.

In other news: “A deal is there…”: Ex drops teasing transfer claim that will have WHU fans sweating

20 overs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
HawkeyeMahela Jayawardene scored freely all round the wicket to reach 98 against West Indies•Getty Images

Sri Lanka wrapped up a crushing 57-run win over a disappointingly lacklustre West Indies in Barbados after Mahela Jayawardene’s sublime unbeaten 98 from 56 balls took them to 195 for 3. Jayawardene took full toll of a shambolic West Indian fielding performance in a 166-run partnership for the second wicket with Kumar Sangakkara – the highest of the tournament so far – and when Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Chris Gayle fell early in West Indies’ chase, the fight went from their batsmen.The inept West Indian batting was merely a continuance of their fielding effort, as the rot set in when five straightforward chances went down to allow Sri Lanka to take their score into the stratosphere. Jayawardene, whose superb form carried his side into the Super Eights, displayed silky touch and superb manipulation of the bowling in his innings, and Sangakkara, while not quite in Jayawardene’s league at the moment, matched him almost shot for shot.Jerome Taylor, on his return to international cricket after a six-month lay-off, should have had Sanath Jayasuriya, opening in place of the wretchedly out-of-form Tillekaratne Dilshan, caught by Kieron Pollard at backward point from his second ball. It was a regulation chance for a fielder in that position, but Pollard couldn’t hold on to it, and the lapse set the tone for West Indies’ performance in the field for the rest of the afternoon.After Kemar Roach got rid of Jayasuriya, Taylor suffered another lapse from his fielders in his second over, as the normally-reliable Gayle put Sangakkara down at slip before he had scored. Jayawardene lifted the very next ball handsomely over wide long on for six. With that, the moment had passed and the rest of the match was entirely Sri Lanka’s.Both Sangakkara and Jayawardene flashed airily at the odd delivery, but were level-headed enough to keep their composure and capitalise on the bad balls that came, predictably, at least once an over. As the partnership gained momentum, West Indies seemed almost resigned to the fact that a large total was in the offing, and a missed caught-and-bowled chance from Pollard’s first ball of the match barely registered.As West Indies’ fielding became ever more ragged, a fourth chance was missed as Benn found bounce and turn to elicit a rare mistake from Jayawardene, who was tempted out of his crease by a flighted delivery. But Fletcher fumbled the take, allowing Jayawardene to scramble back. Three balls later, things became even more farcical as Jayawardene top-edged Benn almost straight up in the air, and Fletcher and Wavell Hinds, the two closest fielders, both stood back and watched the ball plummet down, each expecting the other to go for it.It looked as though Jayawardene would be able to reach his second hundred of the tournament when he took 10 runs from Bravo’s final two balls to reach 97 with six balls still to be bowled. He was stranded at the wrong end in the final over, unable to reach the landmark, but through him Sri Lanka were able to post a massive total.Chanderpaul began with a paddled six over deep backward square and a cracking off drive in Angelo Matthews’ first over, but was out next ball, top-edging an ugly swipe to be caught at short third man. Gayle followed him two balls later, undone by a touch of extra bounce and nip off the seam by the impressive Nuwan Kulasekara, and West Indies were 23 for 2. His wicket stunned the large crowd into silence, and a similarly shell-shocked Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo trundled along at under a run a ball for the first 30 runs of their partnership.Their stand eventually crept past fifty, but soon after Bravo flapped Lasith Malinga straight to Matthews at cover with 120 needed off just 56 balls. With the hitting power of Pollard to come, it was still just possible that West Indies could get close, but inexplicably Andre Fletcher was sent in ahead of him, and struggled to get the ball off the square.When Sarwan departed, chipping a tame return catch back to Mendis, Pollard finally arrived, but the Sri Lankan spin attack, together with Malinga’s pinpoint yorkers, strangled every attempt to reach the boundary. The required run-rate rocketed up beyond 20, and even before Pollard skied Mendis to wide long on, the result was a foregone conclusion.

With three new players through the door during the current January transfer window, Aston Villa could be set to miss out on a big opportunity to strengthen their squad even further before the end of the month.

What’s the news?

After being mentioned with a move to sign Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Denis Zakaria, it seems as though the Midlands club could be set to miss out on signing the Swiss international after journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano shared a post on his official Twitter page with the latest details regarding the midfielder.

In the tail off to his update about the midfielder, Romano uttered the dreaded five-word update: “Premier League move seems unlikely.”

He then went on to suggest that Bayern Munich and Dortmund were pushing to sign him.

Fans will be gutted

Since joining Monchengladbach back in the 2017 summer transfer window, the 25-year-old has gone on to make a total of  146 appearances for the club across all competitions with five of those appearances coming in the Champions League last season, showing the sort of top-level experience the midfield maestro has under his belt and why he would be a useful asset in Gerrard’s squad.

With all of that in mind and the fact that Gerrard apparently wants to add a midfielder to his squad before the end of the month, Zakaria could be a valid and cheap option for Villa to sign after they reportedly had a bid of £25m rejected by Brighton & Hove Albion for Yves Bissouma.

Thus, if Zakaria does end up moving to Bayern or Dortmund this month for the relatively low transfer fee Romano speaks of, it would surely be disappointing for the Villa fans to see their club not do all they can to bring him to Villa Park.

That’s especially when you consider how active they have been in the transfer window so far and how capable they have been when it comes to spending money on new players.

Consequently, the Villans would then have to make sure they bring a different midfielder in before the window closes to give Gerrard the best possible chance of ending his first season in charge of Villa as strongly as he can.

In other news: Talks ongoing: Sky Sports journo drops big Villa update on live TV, fans surely elated – opinion

Daniel Christian, the South Australia allrounder, is in line to become the second player of Aboriginal heritage to play an international for Australia after being selected in the Twenty20 squad to face West Indies. Christian will join Jason Gillespie, the former fast bowler, on the list if he appears in either of the games in Hobart on Sunday or Sydney on Tuesday.Michael Clarke leads the team that will also include the pace trio of Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Tait and Dirk Nannes, which upset Pakistan during a tight victory last month. The selectors have been impressed by Christian’s power with the bat and effective medium pace in the domestic Twenty20 competition and picked him in a 14-man squad.”We continue to look at various options and the balance of the team leading into the World Twenty20,” the panel chairman Andrew Hilditch said. “We see Dan as an explosive allrounder who could have a good impact for us in Twenty20 internationals.”In three seasons of domestic Twenty20 action Christian has 230 runs at a strike-rate of 148.38 and taken 13 wickets in 16 games. He has also been in strong form for the Redbacks in the other competitions and last week took nine wickets and scored 71 in a Sheffield Shield win over Western Australia.Christian grew up in New South Wales and is a graduate of Cricket Australia’s indigenous cricket programme. He captained the national indigenous development squad during a tour of England last winter and is due to help them again later this year when they play Papua New Guinea.”I’m an Aboriginal man from the Wiradjuri tribe in New South Wales, that’s all through my Dad’s side of the family, and they’re all born and bred from down there,” he said in Adelaide. “I’ve grown up in that environment, and I’m an Aboriginal man … it is what it is.”Australia Twenty20 squad Shane Watson, David Warner, Shaun Marsh, Michael Clarke (capt), Cameron White, David Hussey, Travis Birt, Brad Haddin (wk), Steven Smith, Daniel Christian, Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Dirk Nannes, Shaun Tait.