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Queensland are missing the class that it carried over the past decade and will call on their lesser names this summer

Peter English07-Oct-2009Once again bowlers across Australia will have pinpointed Queensland as the most likely place for Shield wickets this season. But not only is the Gabba a fun ground for the quicks, the Bulls’ line-up is missing the class that it carried over the past decade and will call on lesser names to beef up their totals.The off-season exit has been busy in Queensland, with Martin Love taking his 10,132 Shield runs into retirement, Shane Watson moving to New South Wales and Ashley Noffke flying to Western Australia. Andrew Symonds is now a Twenty20 bat for hire. Without four major players the Bulls have been forced into a premature regeneration and if they match their FR Cup win and Shield runner-up place of 2008-09 it should turn Trevor Barsby and his coaching staff into state heroes.During their first four-day game, which starts at the WACA on Tuesday, the top six is expected to read Ryan Broad, Nick Kruger, Greg Moller, Lee Carseldine, Glen Batticciotto and Chris Hartley. There is not much fear for interstate bowlers there and it is something Barsby acknowledges.”You look and go wow, where’s the 1000-run player? We don’t have a 1000-run player,” he said. “If our top six can combine and put good performances on the board we’ll win games. If we don’t bat well, this year it’s very important to bat well, because if we don’t the likes of [the legspinner] Daniel Doran can’t play. He’s started some real good improvement with his bowling and I’d like to play him as much as possible, but it really hinges on our batting. If we don’t score enough runs and he’s in the side, it’s going to be history repeating itself, where he’s a specialist batsman at No. 10.”Barsby knows the limitations in his ranks and during the off-season spoke to Mark Thompson, the premiership-winning Geelong AFL coach, about how he rebuilt his squad. “I just like the story of the Geelong football team,” he said. “When Mark took over in 2001, he sort of cleaned the decks, which we did as well. We’ve moved on Clinton Perren, Aaron Nye and Scott Brant.Form guide: Queensland in 2008-09

Shield – 2nd

FR Cup – 1st

Twenty20 – 3rd

“Ryan Broad is one guy who we need to lead off and with Nick Kruger they started to get a good partnership last year. With Broady, it’s either none or a gut full and if he can get through that first half hour he’s going to score runs.” Trevor Barsby”He went in with a blueprint and started working with all the young kids. For me, it was just sitting and watching and learning about how he coaches his team. He seems unflappable, he’s got confidence in his players, and I just like the style.”There are few stand-out players in Queensland’s squad, especially when James Hopes, Australia’s one-day allrounder, is away, but they will forage in every competition. “All 20 in the squad have to become a champion team, because we’re not a team of champions,” Barsby said. “We don’t have the Borders, Laws, Mahers, Loves, all those sorts of guys. This group here is a group that everyone needs to work together and contribute.”The beauty of this season is everyone is going to have an opportunity. There are no more excuses, like Martin Love stopping me from getting a game, or Andy Bichel or Ashley Noffke. Sullivan, Cutting, McDermott, everyone has got an opportunity in all forms.”Next week there is also a remote possibility the Western Australia attack will be full of Queensland-raised bowlers. Steve Magoffin and Ben Edmondson, who is no longer quite as potent, crossed the country to escape the long line of pace men in their home state and started productive Shield careers while Mitchell Johnson is still waiting for his first match with the Warriors after moving to be closer to his fiancée.”It’s quite funny really, there’s talk Mitch is going to be playing the four-day game,” Barsby said. “It could be Noffke, Johnson, Edmondson, Magoffin: Queensland A versus Queensland B.” He doesn’t say which outfit is which, but the Warriors have the more enviable pool. Barsby’s fast-bowling squad includes Ryan Harris, Alister McDermott, Ben Laughlin, Nathan Rimmington, Grant Sullivan, Ben Cutting, Chris Swan and Scott Walter.Queensland’s chances of success are better in the one-day and Twenty20 competitions and they will hope the batsman Lee Carseldine can repeat his form of last summer, when he excelled in all three formats. For success in the Shield the players will have to reach new peaks of performance.”This team has got very good skills in the shorter versions, if not better than the other states,” Barsby said. “In four-day cricket we need to close the gap between our good days and our bad days. Last year it hurt us a couple of times when we had a bad hour and the game got taken away from us. We have to improve so we can have a bad day and it doesn’t hurt too badly. Then we’ll become a good side.”

Taking to Twitter, journalist Rudy Galetti of Sportitalia TV has dropped a major update on Newcastle United’s pursuit of manager Paulo Fonseca.

The Lowdown: Magpies in Fonseca talks…

As widely reported, Newcastle have been in talks over the potential appointment of Fonseca after they sacked Steve Bruce (Chronicle Live).

The former AS Roma tactician has been tipped as one of the overwhelming favourites for the role and reliable reporters like Fabrizio Romano insist that there is progress being made in negotiations.

Sharing an update on social media, Galetti has now backed this news whilst going a step further.

The Latest: Fonseca ‘ready to sign’ for Newcastle…

Indeed, the Italian reporter claimed that Fonseca is now ‘ready to sign’ a three-year contract with the Magpies and the announcement ‘could already be made official’ quite soon.

“Paulo Fonseca is ready to sign a 3-year contract with Newcastle,” Galetti explained on Twitter.

“The former Roma coach should be present in the Selhurst Park stands to follow the match against Crystal Palace.

“The announcement could already be made official soon.”

The Verdict: Big claim…

Coming as a big claim, Newcastle supporters could be enticed by the prospect of potentially appointing Fonseca as Bruce’s immediate heir.

Lauded as an ‘international class’ tactician by Roma chief executive officer Tiago Pinto, the 48-year-old has also been described as mixing both Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp’s tactics in ‘a symphony of Beethoven and Metallica’ (Liverpool Echo).

Also a three-time league title winner with Shakhtar Donetsk, it’s clear that Newcastle and PIF could certainly do far worse than hiring Fonseca.

In other news: Newcastle now preparing £67.7m bid for ‘extraordinary’ ace with eight goal contributions already this season, find out more here.

Speaking live for Sky Sports Italy, as transcribed by FC Inter 1908.it, journalist Matteo Marani has dropped a transfer claim involving Tottenham Hotspur and Antonio Conte.

The Lowdown: Spurs going for Italian job?

Since the 52-year-old’s arrival, taking over from former boss Nuno Espirito Santo, there has been much anticipation on what the future holds.

Serie A experts tip Tottenham to become a high-intensity pressing team with much more work and quality being drilled into training (football.london), which could perhaps bring a return of the ‘Spurs way’ to N17.

In terms of the transfer market, there has been even more excitement as reports of flood in from Italy in particular.

Plenty of Serie A talents have already been linked to Spurs following Conte’s appointment and many from his old club, Inter Milan, in particular.

Nicolo Barella, Marcelo Brozovic and Stefan de Vrij have been tipped with possible moves to north London and Marani backs that the San Siro could become a fruitful resource for Spurs.

The Latest: Marani makes live TV claim…

Speaking in the Sky studios (via FC Inter 1908.it), Marani says that he has ‘no doubts’ both Fabio Paratici and Conte will ‘look to Italy’ and ‘maybe Inter’.

“He was very attracted by the proposal, in London, in Tottenham, in the Premier League,” explained the reporter.

“I think he couldn’t stay without football, when you see the others on the bench and the ball spinning. He accepted and now he will start with the new challenge.

“The Vidal shot you saw is paying late. He is now giving what Conte expected last year.

“I have no doubts that Paratici and Conte will look to Italy and maybe Inter itself will become a catchment area for Tottenham ”.

The Verdict: Exciting?

Cherry-picking the Creme de la Creme of Nerrazzuri talent sounds good on paper, but as Inter’s recent announcement of a new deal for Barella proves, the Serie A giants aren’t just going to lie down and let Conte strip their squad bare.

If Tottenham and Paratici are going to look to Italy and Inter in particular, they may find the Italian champions to to be stubborn at first in talks depending on the calibre of player, amount s offered and various other factors.

The Lilywhites thought that they had reached an agreement for the signing of striker Lautaro Martinez from Inter, according to The Times, only for them to pull a swift U-turn when Chelsea landed Romelu Lukaku.

Negotiations seem anything but straight forward when it comes to dealing with Inter but perhaps Conte’s presence could be a crucial factor.

In other news: Conte now personally plotting to sell ‘very talented’ Spurs player who Nuno called ‘unique’…find out more here.

South African captain Sunette Loubser is keen to make up for the defeats to West Indies in the World Cup and World Twenty20, when they host them for four ODIs and three Twenty20s

Cricinfo staff14-Oct-2009South African women’s captain Sunette Loubser is keen to make up for the defeats to West Indies in the World Cup and World Twenty20, when they host them for four ODIs and three Twenty20s, beginning Friday. While West Indies beat South Africa by two wickets in a narrow finish during the Group A match of the Women’s World Cup in March this year, they eked out a three-run win during their World Twenty20 three months later.”We are going into this series on the back of two defeats against West Indies and we are ready for the task. We are going out there with the intention of achieving a clean sweep,” Loubser said. “The players believe in their ability and although it is in the past, we want to make up for our poor record. Our top six need to come to the party and post large totals while our bowlers need to keep it tight and disciplined, basics are key.”The South Africans will feel confident ahead of the opening ODI at Paarl, despite their warm-up match being rained out on Monday. They have put in arduous and intense work over the past days, and will rely on their performance on the field.The series, which takes place in Cape Town and Paarl, has been keenly anticipated by the locals, whom Loubser believes will make a big difference. She said they would look to exploit the advantage from the ground and local conditions as well.”I’ve played in Boland for the past 15 years so we have brought in the players that can make good use of the playing conditions. It will really come down to who wants it the most and to who uses their resources to the best.”Schedule:
October 16: 1st ODI – Paarl
October 18: 2nd ODI – Cape Town
October 21: 3rd ODI – Paarl
October 23: 4th ODI – Cape Town
October 25: 1st Twenty20 international – Paarl
October 26: 2nd Twenty20 international – Cape Town
October 28: 3rd Twenty20 international – Paarl

Ben Davies will be one of the players sold as part of a clearout at Tottenham Hotspur, according to Football Insider pundit Paddy Kenny.

The lowdown

The 28-year-old has played every minute so far under new manager Antonio Conte, operating as a left centre-back in a defensive three. He had only started one Premier League game under Nuno Espirito Santo before the Portuguese’s sacking.

Spurs insider John Wenham has labelled Davies ‘the real winner under Conte so far’, given how he has been ‘shoehorned’ back into the team due to his strong left-footedness.

The £14.4m-valued Welshman still has nearly three years left to run on his £60,000-per-week Tottenham contract.

The latest

Former Sheffield United goalkeeper Kenny namechecked Davies alongside Dele Alli and Harry Winks as players who are likely to be offloaded by Spurs under the new regime, saying that all three could use a ‘fresh start’ at another club.

“Winks has not been involved a lot, Alli has been in and out, Davies isn’t getting many games,” the Irishman told Football Insider.

“Alli is such a wasted talent. It’s time for him to go somewhere and get a fresh start. That’s been clear for a while now. The same goes for the other two. I think they’ll go.”

The verdict

It’s a bold claim from Kenny given that, in the early days of Conte’s reign, Davies does appear to be one of the main beneficiaries of the change of manager.

However, it should be acknowledged that this isn’t Conte’s team, and you’d imagine that the Italian would hope to truly leave his imprint on the starting XI ahead of the 2022/23 season through transfer window recruitment.

Still, Davies for now has a chance to prove his worth, and his performance in the 0-0 draw against Everton, where he won a team-high nine duels and made three tackles, should be seen as a solid starting point.

In other news, Conte has given his approval for this swoop

The West Indies captain has until Monday to decide whether he will return for Thursday’s first Test against Australia

Peter English21-Nov-2009Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, has until Monday to decide whether he will return for Thursday’s first Test against Australia at the Gabba. Gayle flew to Jamaica on Wednesday to be with his sick mother, who is in hospital with a heart problem, and is waiting to see how her treatment progresses.The West Indian selectors are expected to meet over the next day to decide whether a replacement batsman is required and Gayle has until the end of the weekend in the Caribbean to determine whether he can make it Down Under in time. Gayle will need at least a day and a half to fly back and even then he faces the prospect of being severely jet-lagged during the match.He has been on Twitter since landing back in Jamaica and has also been sending regular text messages to his team-mates asking about their progress in the tour game against Queensland. He will be happy when he wakes up to find half-centuries to Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul helped them to a draw in Brisbane with a second innings of 6 for 357. Sarwan, who gained a knock on his left knee, collected 66 while Chanderpaul was impressive in reaching 69.Denesh Ramdin, the wicketkeeper, is standing in for Gayle and gained a close-up of what the bowlers need to do to improve after they were taken for 617 in their first innings. Jerome Taylor, the fast bowler, was rested after the long flight but is gaining fitness while Kemar Roach and Dwayne Bravo will be better for their workouts over the past four days.Sulieman Benn, the left-arm spinner, struggled against Queensland’s line-up of left-handers, with Nick Kruger and Nathan Reardon particularly harsh on him. Ramdin said the pitch didn’t suit the slow men but Benn needed to find a way to succeed in Australia.”He must look at ways for him to improve as a bowler, more stock bowls and trying to work them out at the same time,” he said. “He has to bowl a lot of dot balls and be patient, rather than try and blast them out.”However, the most important thing for West Indies is to make runs and Sarwan and Chanderpaul will be in charge of guiding the young squad if Gayle doesn’t make it back. “If Chris is not here, those will be the two guys who will be doing the job for us and it’s good to see them get some runs and some confidence,” Ramdin said. “Most of the batters got a long hit-out in the middle and things are coming along. We just need to continue that form and all the guys have to keep the focus for the first Test match.”

It is no secret that Leeds’ injury crisis this season has had a knock-on effect which reflects their position in the table right now.

With numerous key players missing at one point or another, Leeds have struggled to establish a run of form in the Premier League this season and are currently 17th in the table, with a relegation battle in sight if they don’t pick up points over the next few weeks.

One key injury which has hampered the goal threat for Marcelo Bielsa’s side is the one to Patrick Bamford. He was an integral member of the starting XI last season, scoring 17 goals and setting up his team-mates eight times, which even sparked shouts of an England call-up from many for Euro 2020 last summer.

It is clear that the striker’s injury is a big blow with numbers like those, but with no confirmation of a return date so far, it’s looking like Bielsa will need to find another way to cover the goals and assists needed to compete in the Premier League.

The Leeds manager spoke out ahead of the Spurs game about both Ayling and Bamford, saying: “They’re not available for the game on Sunday. The evolution is controlled on a daily basis and I would not want to give you a date that won’t be met. When my responses are brief it’s because I can’t offer certainty.”

The striker picked up his ankle injury in September and was hopeful to return after the October international break but that hasn’t been the case, and Bielsa confirmed that the 28-year-old’s ankle issue was “not a simple injury”.

Leeds will have to do without the striker until further notice, but have been handed a boost with Raphinha back in action and will be hoping that he can drive the team forward with some important attacking performances to keep the side out of the relegation zone before winter break.

It is unclear if the Whites will seek to add more attacking players at Elland Road during the winter transfer window, which could be dependent on further injuries or a better picture of whether Bamford will become available before then.

With only two other teams scoring fewer Premier League goals, the continued absence of last season’s top scorer will come as a gutting blow to Bielsa as he aims to lift Leeds away from trouble.

In other news: this potential partnership could unlock success for Leeds

MS Dhoni, the Indian captain, has been banned for two ODIs for maintaining a slow over-rate during the second ODI against Sri Lanka in Nagpur.

Cricinfo staff19-Dec-2009MS Dhoni, India’s captain, has been banned for two ODIs for India’s failure to maintain the over-rate during the second match against Sri Lanka in Nagpur. The ban is effective immediately, which means Dhoni will be unavailable for the games in Cuttack and Kolkata, returning only for the final ODI in Delhi. Virender Sehwag will captain the side in his absence.The severity of the penalty – a ban instead of a fine – is because India were three overs short, which comes under the “serious over-rate offence” category. Falling short by up to two overs in an ODI, and five in a Test day, is considered a “minor offence”, and merits a ban only if the offence is repeated twice in 12 months. On Friday night, though, India finished their 50 overs about 45 minutes after the scheduled finish and left match referee Jeff Crowe with no choice but to impose a ban.If India repeat a serious over-rate offence in any form of the game within the next 12 months, Dhoni could earn himself a ban of two to eight ODIs or one to four Tests.”The India captain, like his Sri Lanka counterpart, was reminded and warned before and during the ODI series to be mindful of the slow over-rates and the penalties under the revised code,” Crowe said. “The Indian side was at par until the 42nd over but bowled only eight overs in the last hour which, is unacceptable. I accept the fact that the ultimate desire of the Indian side was to win the match but at the same time it had deadlines to meet and also fulfill the responsibilities it owed to the stakeholders.”The rest of the Indian players were fined 40% of their match fee for the offence – 10% each for the first two overs of minor offence and 20% each for every subsequent over. The BCCI has also stated that it will not appeal against the ban.”We have received information that the match referee has put a two-ODI ban on Dhoni for slow over-rate,” Ratnakar Shetty, BCCI’s chief administrative officer, said. “We are waiting for a formal communication on this. We will look into details and then make further comments.”Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka’s captain, came close to getting banned when his side were found to be two overs short during the second Twenty20 international in Mohali. Sangakkara was fined 40% of his match fee while the rest of the team was docked 20% each, but Crowe said Sangakkara escaped a much bigger penalty.”Kumar was kept informed throughout the match by the on-field umpires of where his team was with its over-rate,” Crowe said. “Under the revised code of conduct, Sri Lanka was very close to being three overs behind and charged for a Serious Over Rate Offence, which would have resulted in its captain being suspended in the next two ODIs.” Within the next 12 months, Sri Lanka can afford to repeat this minor offence once. Third strike, and Sangakkara will be out for a game.Meanwhile, Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has been found not guilty of showing dissent towards the umpires while batting in Nagpur. He set off for a quick single to mid-on but collided with the bowler before Angelo Mathews’ direct hit caught him short of his crease. He appeared to gesticulate in frustration towards the umpire but Crowe clarified that it wasn’t directed at him when the decision was referred to the third umpire.”It was an unusual incident and while the umpires were justified in laying the charges, after studying all the evidences I found that Gambhir was actually annoyed and irritated by the actions of the bowler than at the decision of the third umpire,” Crowe said. “At the same time, the umpires and I were convinced that the actions of the bowler were unintentional.”

Daniel Vettori, despite another top-order collapse, had his sights trained on a series-clinching win

Cricinfo staff05-Dec-2009After bowling Pakistan out for 239, New Zealand faced the daunting task of chasing down the fourth highest fourth-innings score with two days remaining in Wellington. But their captain, Daniel Vettori, despite another top-order collapse, had his sights trained on a series-clinching win.”I think you have to,” he said. “That’s what our bowling performance has allowed us to do. To restrict them to that score was a fantastic effort from the seamers. It was a wonderful day’s cricket for us, with the ball, and now we’ve got a partnership going so we’ve got to make sure that works tomorrow. It’s a great deck too, so that’s a positive.”Four wickets apiece for Chris Martin and Iain O’Brien, who today announced his retirement, helped wrestle New Zealand back in the game. Pakistan were at one stage 197 for 3 but ended up on 239.Winning will not be easy, especially against an attack in form. Apart from Ross Taylor, batting on 15 at the close, New Zealand’s middle order has failed to cope with Pakistan’s attack. Most worrying was the batting performance in the first innings of this Test, when nobody stepped up against Umar Gul and Danish Kaneria. Yet Vettori was optimistic, especially given how Taylor and Peter Fulton batted 16.3 overs before stumps.”There are no illusions,” he said. “It’s [a win] a long ways away and we just have to believe. Each individual is different in where they’re at with their games but to come off tonight, having that partnership going, puts us in a lot better space than we were last night.”

Following on from their disappointing 1-0 defeat against Huddersfield Town at the weekend, West Brom are back in Championship action tonight as they take on Blackpool away from home.

On the chalkboard

In terms of which players Baggies boss Valerien Ismael could pick for his starting XI on this occasion, one player that featured at the weekend that should keep their place in the team this time around is Taylor Gardner-Hickman.

During the game against Huddersfield, Gardner-Hickman managed to show Ismael just how much of a useful figure he is for the team in an attacking and defensive sense.

In the full 90 minutes he was on the pitch for, Gardner-Hickman had a total of 93 touches of the ball, completed 34 passes with one of them being a key pass, one of them being an accurate cross and three precise long balls. He also registered two shots at goal, highlighting his attacking intentions and passing range.

As well as this, the 19-year-old did not shirk away from his defensive duties as well having made four tackles, two interceptions and one clearance in the process, ultimately earning himself an overall match rating of 6.8/10 according to SofaScore.

With former West Brom manager Sam Allardyce previously claiming that Gardner-Hickman could become an “important” player for the Midlands club among a number of other young players at West Brom, it seems as though the teenager is proving to Ismael that he is a player that the current manager can rely on this season. That’s perhaps even more so than Darnell Furlong, who came on as a late substitute against Huddersfield but was ultimately unable to secure even a point for the Baggies.

The youngster also managed to impress in West Brom’s recent 1-0 win over Hull City where Birmingham Live said that he “was mostly measured on the ball and made a couple of eye-catching forward passes while possessing plenty of energy.”

Taking all of this into account, Gardner-Hickman’s inclusion in the starting XI tonight would give the Baggies a great chance of securing a positive result with his defensive capabilities giving West Brom some strength at the back as well as his attacking prowess providing the team with some energy going forward to terrify Blackpool, who have scored seven goals less than the Baggies and conceded five more than them.

In other news: Callum Robinson must start against Blackpool