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West Indies’ selectors have named a 13-man squad for the Jamaica Cricket Festival, a competition that also involves Ireland, Canada and hosts Jamaica

Cricinfo staff06-Apr-2010West Indies’ selectors have named a 13-man squad for the Jamaica Cricket Festival, a competition that also involves Ireland, Canada and hosts Jamaica. They also announced a 13-man team for West Indies A’s match against the touring Zimbabweans in Grenada. A media release from the board said they would name captains for the squads in the coming days.Jerome Taylor and Ramnaresh Sarwan, who are part of the West Indies squad, were out of action since the Test series in Australia late last year. Taylor pulled up with a hip injury during the first match in Brisbane, and Sarwan struggled with a back problem since the end of the series and wasn’t risked against Zimbabwe last month.West Indies: Lionel Baker, Sulieman Benn, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Andre Fletcher, Wavell Hinds, Nikita Miller, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Darren Sammy, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor.West Indies A: Brandon Bess, Kraigg Brathwaite, Travis Dowlin, Shane Dowrich, Kirk Edwards, Assad Fudadin, Shannon Gabriel, Justin Guillen, Jason Haynes, Jason Holder, Imran Khan, Nelon Pascal, Shane Shillingford.

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has the chance to secure his first trophy in charge of the club tomorrow if they can beat Hibernian in the Scottish League Cup final.

In terms of which players the 56-year-old could pick in his starting XI for the showpiece decider, one man who started their previous league match against Ross County but should be taken out for the final is Adam Montgomery.

Time to axe Montgomery

Playing on the left-hand side of the front three, the youngster failed to have much of an impact from an attacking point of view before being substituted in the 63rd minute to be replaced by Owen Moffat. During his time on the pitch, Montgomery only completed 15 of his 24 passes, with no shots at goal or key passes made.

Despite being previously labelled a “talented” player by Postecoglou, the 19-year-old also failed to make any successful dribbles, crosses or long balls in Dingwall, which make it clear why Postecoglou took him off in the second half.

This performance earned Montgomery an underwhelming overall match rating of 6.4/10, making him Celtic’s joint-lowest rated player on the day according to SofaScore. That tied him with Carl Starfelt, who was sent off on the night, showing how much the 19-year-old let Postecoglou down with his performance.

In fairness to the teenager, having predominantly played as a left-back this season, perhaps it may not have been likely for him to have a huge say when deployed in a more attacking position against Ross County.

Taking this into account, perhaps it would be in Celtic’s best interest if Postecoglou took Montgomery, who is currently valued at £135k according to Transfermarkt, out of the team for the final against Hibs.

In terms of who Postecoglou could utilise tomorrow instead of Montgomery, Mikey Johnston returned to training on Friday and is apparently in contention to play in the final. As a result, there could be every chance that he could force the teenager out of the team if the manager doesn’t trust Montgomery to perform on the left-wing again.

In other news: Celtic handed potential injury boost ahead of cup final which will surely leave fans thrilled

Wolves are reportedly interested in signing Huddersfield Town midfielder Lewis O’Brien in the January transfer window but face stiff competition for his services.

The Lowdown: O’Brien shines for Huddersfield

The 23-year-old has matured into arguably one of the best midfielders in the Championship in recent times, producing consistently influential performances.

O’Brien has started 23 league games for the Terriers this season, averaging an impressive 2.9 tackles per match – more than both Joao Moutinho (1.9) and Ruben Neves (2.1) at Molineux – as well as completing 1.1 key passes and 1.7 dribbles per game.

The midfielder has been linked with a move to Leeds recently, and it appears as though Wolves are also in the conversation.

The Latest: Wolves linked with move

According to TEAMtalk, Wanderers are ‘weighing up’ an offer for O’Brien, who has been hailed as ‘incredible’ by journalist Steven Chicken in the past.

Wolves aren’t alone in showing an interest, with fellow Premier League clubs Newcastle United, Burnley and Norwich City all mentioned in the report to accompany the aforementioned Leeds interest.

The Verdict: Strong squad option

While O’Brien wouldn’t necessarily seem like a glamorous signing by Wolves, he is someone who could come in and improve the midfield depth in the squad.

His superior tackling average to Moutinho and Neves speaks volumes, and his age means that he could develop even further as a player in the coming years.

His prospective signing in the January transfer window could give Wolves the necessary injection of fresh blood to aid their push for a European finish this season.

In other news, Bruno Lage is confident of one Wolves move happening. Read more here.

Alan Butcher, the Zimbabwe coach, has backed his team’s strength in spin bowling to cause Sri Lanka problems when the two teams meet at Providence on Monday

Andrew McGlashan in Providence02-May-2010Alan Butcher, the Zimbabwe coach, has backed his team’s strength in spin bowling to cause Sri Lanka problems when the two teams meet at Providence on Monday. Zimbabwe could open the bowling with two spinners and have the option to use as many as six or seven in the innings on the slow Guyana pitch.Zimbabwe have played plenty of cricket in West Indies recently – first the T20 and one-day tour then the trip to Grenada to face West Indies A – and spin has been central to their strategy throughout. Ray Price, the left-armer, often takes the new ball while captain Prosper Utseya and legspinner Graeme Cremer are the other frontline options. Utseya can also call on Greg Lamb, Timycen Maruma and Brendan Taylor depending on team selection.”We haven’t yet got the fast-bowling resources to change that strategy,” Butcher told Cricinfo, “but on the other hand why would you because spinners have done exceptionally well in Twenty20 all over the world. Taking pace off the ball is a vital tactic.”Zimbabwe produced two notable victories against Australia and Pakistan during their warm-up matches and Butcher said they couldn’t have come at a better time after a tough couple of weeks in Grenada.”The boost that the two results last week gave us has been immense. We came off the back of a pretty disappointing time in Grenada against West Indies A where we lost the four-day game and two T20s.”They [the wins] were obviously of less importance to the two teams we were playing, but on the day there was no doubt that they were trying to win and we played pretty well. You have to be happy that there is progress being made.”However, while spin bowling is clearly Zimbabwe’s strong point they still need enough runs to play with and the batting remains a concern. Elton Chigumbura, who has recently signed for Northamptonshire, showed his importance to the side with a thunderous 75 off 35 balls against Australia and 49 off 35 balls against Pakistan, but contributions from the top order have been limited.”The batting has been a problem, but over the last couple of days I’ve seen an improvement and that people are starting to work out their games better,” Butcher said, but he singled out Chigumbura for praise. “Against Australia and Pakistan he struck the ball brilliantly and he could be a star of the tournament if we do manage to sneak a win and progress.”

South Africa allrounder Wayne Parnell will begin his return from injury with the South Africa A side on its tour of Sri Lanka in August

Cricinfo staff10-Jun-2010South Africa allrounder Wayne Parnell will begin his return from injury with the South Africa A side on its tour of Sri Lanka in August. Parnell tore his groin while warming up for an IPL match in March and was forced to miss the ICC World Twenty20 and South Africa’s tour of the West Indies as a result.”It is important that Wayne gets as much game time as possible before the Proteas resume their international season against Zimbabwe, Pakistan and India,” Andrew Hudson, the CSA selection convener, said. “He has been out of cricket for a long time and needs quality time in the middle.”Thami Tsolekile has been retained as captain but will return to South Africa after the first two one-day matches to prepare for the Champions’ League in September. The selectors have stuck with the same group of players that beat Bangladesh A in two four-day matches earlier this year and won the triangular one-day tournament that included West Indies A.”We were very pleased with the way the young and inexperienced squad developed on that tour with one of them, David Miller, going on to represent the Proteas,” Hudson said. “Consistency and continuity is an important part of our selection policy.”Stephen Cook, who compiled a South African record score of 390 in the course of scoring over 1,000 runs during the summer first-class season, is the only newcomer in the four-day side.Four-day squad: Thami Tsolekile (capt), Stephen Cook, Dean Elgar, Quinton Friend, Heino Kuhn, Ethy Mbhalati, Wayne Parnell, Vernon Philander, Rilee Rossouw, Rusty Theron, Thandi Tshabalala, Jonathan Vandiar, Stiaan van Zyl.One-day squad: Thami Tsolekile (capt), Ryan Bailey, Dean Elgar, Colin Ingram, Rory Kleinveldt, Ethy Mbhalati, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Vernon Philander, Rilee Rossouw, Rusty Theron, Thandi Tshabalala, Jonathan Vandiar, Morne van Wyk, Stiaan van Zyl.

Everton have been struggling to find form in the Premier League this season under Rafael Benitez, but they have already completed the signings of Ukrainian left back Vitaliy Mykolenko on New Year’s Day and Nathan Patterson. However, they are set for further January incomings if the latest claims are to be believed.

What’s the word?

News editor and journalist Alan Myers has taken to Twitter to confirm that Everton will be doing more business during the January transfer window following the capture of Patterson.

An Everton fan tweeted the journalist asking if he expected to see any more signings after the deal for the former Rangers whizz, with Myers responding: “Yes, and it depends on outs I’d suggest.”

The teaser comes as Benitez confirmed in his press conference ahead of last Sunday’s clash against Brighton that the club would be getting involved in the transfer window and pinpointed his intentions, saying: “We are working hard [to sign players]. At the same time, everyone knows how difficult the transfer window is in January, but we are still working hard to try and find some targets to improve the team.”

The Spaniard added: “We are trying to find the right players for positions not just for the present, but also for the future. I’m sure we will bring two or three players and we will bring the kind of players that want to be here, which is the main thing for me.”

It is understood that the manager would be taking a more active role in the transfer business during this window due to the unexpected resignation of Marcel Brands, who left Goodison Park a month ago over a rumoured conflict of opinion on the direction of the club.

Fans surely buzzing

Many Everton fans have made no secret of their anger and frustration towards Farhad Moshiri, and more so Benitez, when it comes to what they have seen on the pitch over the last six months. Sunday’s home defeat to Brighton witnessed the latest exhibition of disdain towards both the owner’s and the manager’s presence at the club.

One angry Toffees fan took to Twitter to reflect on the problems that Moshiri and Rafa have been creating from their perspective, saying: “Sleepwalking from one disaster to the next, 1 win in 12, clueless in possession, and tactically inept but Moshiri continues to sit on his hands and tell us it’ll all come good with Rafa. How long do we wait? #RafaOut”

Despite the awful results and performances which have left Everton with only five wins out of 19 league games so far this season, fans will likely be buzzing about the prospect of new signings who could potentially change the course of the club’s current campaign.

They might be just as happy about Myers’ claim of potential outgoings to allow scope for further arrivals, given how some of the current squad have been subjected to some rather stinging criticism from a number of fans over their less than stellar performances for the club.

The possibility of further additions this month could provide a welcome antidote to what has so far been a dreadful season for Everton and their supporters.

In other news: Fabrizio Romano drops fresh transfer update on Nathan Patterson

Raqibul Hasan has been named in Bangladesh’s one-day squad to tour England and Ireland after he was forgiven for walking out on the team on the eve of the first Test against in England at Chittagong earlier this year

Cricinfo staff26-Jun-2010Raqibul Hasan has been named in Bangladesh’s one-day squad to tour England and Ireland after he was forgiven for walking out on the team on the eve of the first Test against in England at Chittagong earlier this year. However, as Raqibul is given a second chance Mohammad Ashraful’s career has been brought to another halt after he was omitted from the 15.Raqibul, 21, initially announced that he was retiring from international cricket, but was turned around after discussions with the board although he was still handed a three-month suspension following his show of anger. It stemmed from him being overlooked for the World Twenty20 squad and ODIs against England in Bangladesh, but he had been on the verge of a Test debut following an impressive hundred for the A-team against the tourists.Ashraful, though, has paid for continued inconsistency after failing to take his chance in the two Tests in England with scores of 4, 21, 11 and 14, followed by a poor show in the recent Asia Cup in Sri Lanka. Along with Ashraful there is no place for the dashing Aftab Ahmed either.Meanwhile, 31-year-old Faisal Hossain is recalled after playing the last of his four ODIs against Pakistan in 2004. In the bowling department Mashrafe Mortaza’s presence is a major boost after he came through the Asia Cup unscathed while Nazmul Hossain gets another chance at the top level.However, as ever Bangladesh’s fortunes will rest heavily on their two star players, captain Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal, who lit up the Test series against England last month with two thrilling hundreds at Lord’s and Old Trafford.Bangladesh play two warm-up matches against Sussex and Middlesex before the first one-day international at Trent Bridge followed by encounters at Bristol and Edgbaston. They then travel to Belfast to play two ODIs against Ireland.Squad Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Raqibul Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Faisal Hossain, Jahurul Islam, Mashrafe Mortaza, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Abdur Razzak, Syed Rasel

Crystal Palace are willing to sell Christian Benteke for £12m amid interest from Burnley, according to The Daily Mail’s Sami Mokbel.

The Clarets have identified the Belgian as a potential replacement for Chris Wood, who joined Newcastle United last week, and have lodged an enquiry, duly being informed of his price tag.

Benteke isn’t thought to be particularly keen on the move because he’s ‘settled in London’, but the report raises the possibility that other clubs come knocking now that they know Palace will listen to offers.

The Eagles are aware that the 31-year-old is into the final 18 months of his deal at Selhurst Park, so this may be a good opportunity to bank a decent fee.

A mistake to sell?

Benteke appears to be a valued member of Patrick Vieira’s squad, having started 11 of their 21 Premier League matches so far under the Frenchman. Also, only Conor Gallagher (seven), Odsonne Edouard and Wilfried Zaha (both five) have scored more goals for Palace this season (via BBC Sport).

Fan feed CPFC Transfers HQ relayed the news, and here’s what some supporters made of it, with many horrified at the prospect of the Belgian being sold for £12m.

Palace fans fret over Benteke exit report

“Absolutely no. We are a much better TEAM with him than without him. We need to strengthen our attacking options.”

Credit: @grundeyc

“NO”

Credit: @CPFCH10

“Please no”

Credit: @h1llb3n

“Stop”

Credit: @youpalaceee

“Wow, that’s a bargain”

Credit: @garyspencerr

“Selling Benteke to fund Nketiah, I hate this club”

Credit: @Jay_Rodrigues09

“Don’t you dare”

Credit: @cam_cpfc

In other news, many Palace fans flocked to this contract news

Daniel Levy could repeat one of his biggest mistakes at Tottenham Hotspur after a shock report emerged this week…

What’s the word?

According to Italian transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Spurs tried to sign Manchester United forward Anthony Martial on loan this month but the out-of-favour Frenchman turned down their approach despite wanting to leave Old Trafford.

The Red Devils’ hierarchy are said to want his full wages (£250k-per-week) and a loan fee covered to let him leave before deadline day on January 31st.

It’s not the first time that the north London outfit have been mooted with interest in the 26-year-old, who is currently valued at €40m (£34m), after the Manchester Evening News claimed Spurs were keen during the summer window.

Another Levy mistake

What a disaster this would be.

Not only would Martial be a terrible signing for Spurs but it also shows that the Lilywhites chairman has not learned his lessons.

The 30-time France international has been a big disappointment for United, having scored only £36m move back in September 2015.

[snack-amp-story url = “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/tottenham-latest-news-transfer-gossip-rumours-conte-paratici-levy-premier-league” title=”Read the latest Spurs news, transfer updates and much, much more!”]

Last season, he only found the net four times in the Premier League as his woes started to become apparent and as a result of his poor form, his attitude and work rate has been called into question – something that would not appeal to Spurs boss Antonio Conte whatsoever.

“His body language is horrible to watch, he doesn’t want to run around and work hard to be Manchester United’s number nine,” claimed former Aston Villa striker Dion Dublin after a drab outing in the Carabao Cup back in September.

Meanwhile, talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan has been a little more scathing.

“I think he’s lightweight. I think he does it when he feels like it,” he said (via The Sun). “To me, he is the embodiment of footballers who have an inordinate amount of talent but simply don’t have the psychological application or the innate strength required to compete at that level and not be a key component of Manchester United’s team.”

Whilst Martial would not command a transfer fee the size of their club-record signing Tangy Ndombele (£55m), his extortionate wages would make this loan swoop a very expensive deal indeed.

After two-and-a-half years of inconsistency and controversy, it appears the French midfield’s time at Spurs could soon be coming to an end, making Levy’s investment in him seem ghastly – even more so after a measly ten goal and nine assists in 91 appearances.

Martial is far from the answer to Conte’s frontline woes and as such, Spurs must steer clear of going back in for the struggling United flop. If they do, Levy could well make another horrendous transfer mistake.

AND in other news, Alasdair Gold drops exciting Hugo Lloris claim at Spurs…

Jenny Gunn excelled with bat and ball as England secured a six-wicket victory against New Zealand at Derby to take a 2-1 lead in the one-day series

Cricinfo staff16-Jul-2010
ScorecardJenny Gunn took a career-best 5 for 31 as England regained the series lead against New Zealand•Getty ImagesJenny Gunn excelled with bat and ball as England secured a six-wicket victory against New Zealand at Derby to take a 2-1 lead in the one-day series. Gunn ran through the visitors’ top-order with a career-best 5 for 31 before guiding the run chase home with 37 from 43 balls after England had been wobbling.Sarah Taylor (64) and Heather Knight (42) had formed an excellent platform in pursuit 221 as they added 108 for the first wicket in 26 overs. However, in the next eight overs England lost 4 for 32 as New Zealand hauled themselves back into the match.It needed the cool heads of Gunn and Lydia Greenway to ensure the innings didn’t fall away – with two stoppages for rain increasing the tension – as the pair added an unbroken 83 for the sixth wicket to complete the job with eight balls to spare.”I can’t believe the day I’ve had, it’s been great,” Gunn said. “I’m pleased my family were here to see it. It was tough work, I never thought I’d get it [five wickets] as I haven’t been bowling much recently. Lydia is in great form at the moment, I enjoy batting with her. Duckworth-Lewis went out of our minds and we just kept hitting the runs.”New Zealand had earlier made a solid start to their innings with Lucy Doolan and Maria Fahey putting on an opening stand of 64. But Gunn changed the game when she removed Doolan and added the scalps of Suzie Bates and Sara McGlashan for ducks as New Zealand fell away to 79 for 5.However, Aimee Watkins played a captain’s innings with 68 as the lower order produced an impressive fightback with useful contributions from Liz Perry (28) and Sophie Devine (23). In the end, though, it still wasn’t enough.