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The Zimbabwe Under-19 team rounded off its preparations for the World Cup with a two-wicket win against Titans in Paarl.

Cricinfo staff08-Jan-2010The Zimbabwe Under-19 team rounded off its preparations for the World Cup with a two-wicket win against Titans in Paarl. After electing to field first, Zimbabwe’s opening bowlers Calum Price and Tendai Chitara hit their straps immediately to have the hosts reeling at three wickets down with less than 30 on the board. A middle-order recovery overcame a fine fielding performance to take the score to 183 runs.Zimbabwe’s response followed a similar theme of early wickets followed by a resurgence. The chase was initially was stunted by a fine opening salvo from the Titans’ seamers who had the visitors in a shambles at 28 for 4. The rebuilding phase was masterminded by Tinotenda Mutombodzi and Andrew Lindsay, who added 70 runs to bring their side back into the game. Titans’ spinners restored parity by dismissing both batsmen with fifty runs still required for victory. However, Nathan Waller put paid to the hosts’ hopes of a back-door victory with a belligerent 40 that took Zimbabwe home with an over to spare. The squad will be buoyed by this win as they head to New Zealand for the Under-19 World Cup.

A transfer update has emerged on Rangers midfielder Ianis Hagi, regarding interest from a European club in luring him away from Ibrox.

What’s the talk?

According to Turkish outlet Sabah Spor, Galatasaray will hold a meeting with the Gers to discuss a deal for the Romania international.

The report does not state any further details, such as a potential fee or Hagi’s thoughts on the move, and simply claims that they are expected to meet with the Scottish giants.

Fans gutted?

Rangers fans will surely be gutted with this update as it suggests that there is strong interest in the mercurial midfielder ahead of the upcoming transfer window. It would be a big blow to lose him halfway through the campaign and Galatasaray are seemingly ready to test the club’s resolve with a move for him.

With aims to actually meet with Rangers instead of just holding interest from afar also indicates that they feel they have a chance of getting a deal done. It would be a waste of their time to enter discussions with the Gers if they did not truly believe that they have the funds to secure his services, which could be worrying for supporters.

Fans will have to hope and pray that Ross Wilson stands firm and does not allow Hagi to leave in the winter window and is able to reject Galatasaray’s advances. It would be a seismic blow for Gio van Bronckhorst’s squad heading into the second half of the campaign as he is a vital member of the team and his absence would leave a hole in the attacking line-up, which could hinder their chances of winning silverware.

Ex-Ibrox head coach Steven Gerrard previously hailed him, saying: “We’re really happy with Ianis Hagi, he’s a joy to work with.

“He’s a student of the game. He’s always looking at areas to improve, whether that be from a physical point of view or tactically or technically. He’s someone you have to drag off the training ground.

“Ianis is always in the analyst department too. He’s never out of the gym, so he’s an absolute dream to work with, very low maintenance. We’re delighted with how he is developing and progressing and we’re happy to have him.”

This suggests that van Bronckhorst will enjoy working with him in the coming months, with his quality on the pitch there for all to see. Hagi has 14 goals and 21 assists in 77 appearances for the Gers, showing that he has the ability to score and create in the final third.

Therefore, fans will understandably be gutted with the prospect of the Turkish side trying to prise him away from Ibrox and it explains why his sale could dampen the club’s chances of winning trophies as his goal contributions could be crucial to winning matches.

AND in other news, Rangers pulled off dream swoop for “outstanding” beast whose value has rocketed 75%…

Kepler Wessels, South Africa’s batting consultant, was satisfied with what his team achieved during the two-day game against Board President’s XI, their only warm-up match on the tour

Cricinfo staff03-Feb-2010Kepler Wessels, South Africa’s batting consultant, was satisfied with what his team achieved during the two-day game against Board President’s XI, their only warm-up match on the tour. “The good thing is our top six had valuable time in the middle so they got enough time against the seamers and some good practice against the spinners as well, which is ideal for us,” Wessels said. “On the whole we’re very happy with the outcome.”Over the last two days, South Africa’s fast bowlers and top-order batsmen impressed, but their spinners struggled and they lost late wickets to the Board President’s XI slow bowlers. Wessels didn’t read too much into losing seven wickets to Piyush Chawla and R Ashwin. “In this particular instance two of our guys [Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla] retired when they probably would have just carried on batting – they were in no trouble at all. The only real problems they caused was right at the end with the tail, which can happen. You never want anyone to do well against you, but clearly it’s not as big an issue as it could have been had they taken out the top order.”Wessels did admit, though, that Johan Botha would push Paul Harris, who looked ineffective with the ball. What compounds the problem for them is that Botha didn’t look far better either. “Well Johan Botha for us is always an option – as a package he’s a good player,” Wessels said. “We haven’t got round to sitting down and thinking about final selection at all. A lot of that will be depending on the conditions.”The big positive for South Africa was both Ashwell Prince and JP Duminy, who had a pretty lukewarm series against England, got a few runs (42 and 39 respectively) under their belts. “Ashwell looked good,” Wessels said. “Pretty solid in his technique, and also his focus in the last couple of weeks has been good. He did well in the domestic stuff and carried that on today so that’s good. The thing with JP was that he came in when the spinners were on – which he’ll probably do in the Tests – with a close-in field and he handled it pretty well. So that was the biggest plus out of the day.”This is yet another cramped tour, which is increasingly becoming the norm rather than the exception. Wessels said much of it would be offset by the fact that South Africa are coming off a pretty tough series, which will have them tuned in. “It (the recent series) flows into it,” he said. “I don’t feel so concerned after the practice we had on Monday, the two days we’ve had here and the two days we’ve got coming up. I think that by the time the first Test starts it will be enough, given that they came out of a tough series so it’s just really a case of adapting to conditions and it’s going to be enough.”

Glasgow Rangers are interested in a deal to bring Wesley Hoedt to Ibrox in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by the Daily Record, who claim that Ross Wilson sent scouts to watch the centre-back in action for Anderlecht last weekend ahead of a potential move for the 27-year-old in the winter market.

A further report by Ibrox Noise also suggested that Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side are keeping a very close eye on the defender, who already holds a relationship with three of the current Rangers staff – Wilson, who signed the defender for Southampton, Kemar Roofe, who played with the centre-back at Anderlecht, and Van Bronckhorst himself, a compatriot of Hoedt.

Fans will fume

Considering just how poor a signing for Southampton Hoedt proved to be, the news that Wilson appears to once again be targeting a move for the 27-year-old is surely something that will make Rangers fans fume.

Indeed, following his £15m move to St. Mary’s back in 2017, the centre-back went on to make just 45 appearances for the Premier League side, with Ralph Hasenhuttl sending the defender out on loan to clubs such as Celta Vigo, Royal Antwerp and Lazio – the latter of whom rejected the chance to make the Netherlands international’s temporary switch a €5m (£4m) permanent deal this summer.

The defender himself even admitted Wilson’s decision to sign him for Saints was a mistake, stating: “[Hasenhuttl] told me he wanted to give me a second chance, but I never got one to begin with. I trained hard for six weeks, but it was for nothing. After another chat with him, I decided to prove my worth elsewhere.

“I made a mistake [leaving Lazio]. I had a five-year contract with them. Italian football culture is very professional, but everyone wants to play in the best league in the world, the Premier League, and Southampton offered me a contract that I couldn’t refuse. Unfortunately, the club had two bad seasons and things didn’t go as I thought they would.”

As such, while it is true the £13k-per-week centre-back is enjoying a much better time of it at Anderlecht, averaging a SofaScore match rating of 7.01 over his 16 Pro League appearances this season, considering just how badly things turned out for Hoedt last time he was in the UK, the signing of the defender would very much appear to be a risk that is not worth taking for Wilson.

In other news: GVB must seal Rangers swoop for £8k-p/w dynamo who “has everything”, he’s like Iniesta

Tottenham Hotspur are among the teams listed as a potential destination for Gini Wijnaldum this winter…

What’s the word?

The 31-year-old midfielder, who left Liverpool on a free transfer to join Mauricio Pochettino’s Paris Saint-Germain in the summer, has found regular game-time hard to come by and could be shipped out on loan as a result, with the north Londoners keen, according to 90min.

It’s thought that half of the Premier League have been offered his services, including Spurs’ arch-rivals Arsenal, Saudi-backed Newcastle United and the likes of West Ham, Aston Villa and Leicester City.

The £27m-rated dynamo would not be short on options, should the former Spurs boss sanction his departure.

Imagine him and Skipp

Capped 85 times by the Netherlands, Wijnaldum is a vastly experienced option in the English top-flight, having racked up 217 appearances in the competition across spells with Jurgen Klopp’s Reds and the Magpies.

He has also made 86 appearances across UEFA’s European competitions, most notably winning the Champions League against the Lilywhites in the 2019 final, when he played over an hour and completed 100% of his passes.

The idea of pairing the Dutch veteran alongside a young talent like Oliver Skipp is surely on Antonio Conte’s mind, not at least because he’s reportedly a big fan of the PSG midfielder.

Before his departure from Anfield, the Italian head coach was said to be ‘crazy’ about signing him for Inter Milan in the summer, as per FcInterNews (via Sport Witness).

Meanwhile, it’s hardly a surprise, given his qualities seem a surefire fit for a Conte system.

“I have no words for Gini’s performances and quality,” former Liverpool and Netherlands star Ryan Babel told Liverpoolfc.com. “He’s an incredible person.  His energy is incredible, he has lungs for days. You can tell when he has the confidence, he’s really unbeatable and very hard to play against.”

Even despite only starting ten of his 20 appearances for PSG this season, Wijnaldum has still provided three goals and one assist, whilst his box-to-box qualities are reflected by the fact that he has averaged two total dribbles, 1.5 shots and 1.1 successful tackles per 90 throughout the course of his career, via WhoScored.

That makes him an even better fit for Conte’s system in north London as he’s capable of linking the midfield to the attack, whilst someone like Skipp sits a little deeper.

AND in other news, Conte could have Spurs’ secret weapon in £70k-p/w flop dubbed “phenomenal” by Mourinho…

Kumar Sangakkara powered his team Kandurata to the Inter-Provincial limited-overs title when they defeated Ruhuna by three wickets with five balls to spare in an enthralling final

Sa'adi Thawfeeq21-Feb-2010Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara powered his team Kandurata to the Inter-Provincial limited-overs title when they defeated Ruhuna by three wickets with five balls to spare in an enthralling final played at Moratuwa. The result looked very much in the balance when Sangakkara got out for a well-paced 76 off 79 deliveries, with 43 needed off 41 balls. But Chinthaka Jayasinghe’s cameo knock of 28 off 23 balls carried them over the line in the final over.Sangakkara, sacrificing his customary No. 3 position, came to bat at the fall of the third wicket and stabilised the innings with a stand of 109 with Chamara Kapugedera who scored a half-century off 49 balls. Despite the dismissals of Kapugedera and Sangakkara in the space of three balls for the addition of one run, Jayasinghe was there to provide the finishing touches.Earlier Ruhuna, winning the toss, rattled off an impressive 263 for 7, making full use of the opening stand of 61 provided by captain Upul Tharanga and Sanath Jayasuriya in less than 10 overs. Useful contributions from Indika de Saram, Tillakaratne Sampath and Sachithra Senanayake ensured the Ruhuna innings did not lose the momentum provided by the openers.In the semi-finals, Kandurata crushed Wayamba by nine wickets at Nondescripts cricket ground, winning on the D/L method, and Ruhuna snuffed out the challenge offered by Basnahira South by 39 runs in Moratuwa. Wayamba’s strong batting line-up was reduced to a mere 123 by Sri Lanka’s left-arm fast bowler Thilan Thushara who ended up with five wickets. Kandurata had no difficulty in knocking those runs off in 20.1 overs with more than half the total coming off the bat of Kaushal Weeraratne. Indika de Saram starred for Ruhuna with a patient knock of 76 off 101 balls.

Tottenham Hotspur could launch a move for Lorenzo Insigne in January, according to emerging claims…

What’s the word?

It’s believed the north London outfit are in pole position to seal the Italian’s signature as Lilywhites head coach Antonio Conte is said to be ‘crazy’ about signing him.

“The closest team to Lorenzo Insigne is Tottenham. Their executive, Fabio Paratici is courting him closely,” journalist Fabio Santini told Il Processo (via Area Napoli).

He later added: “Antonio Conte is crazy about Lorenzo Insigne and would like the player as early as January… Lorenzo Insigne, of course, is flattered by the interest of both Conte and Tottenham, but he is undecided.”

Bargain swoop

The 30-year-old dynamo is out of contract in the summer, so he will either be available for free at the end of the season or for a cut-price in January, should Napoli want to cash in on him.

Valued at €20m (£18m) by CIES Football Observatory, Insigne would be an interesting addition to Conte’s current squad given his versatility in attack – primarily a left-winger, the 53-time international can also play centrally as a striker and as a no.10.

Despite his contractual situation, Insigne remains captain and a regular influence for Luciano Spalletti, providing five goals and six assists in 18 appearances, as per Transfermarkt.

He ranks inside their top four players in the Serie A so far and leads the squad in key attacking metrics, averaging 3.5 shots and 2.1 key passes per game, via WhoScored, who also list his major strengths as including his passing ability, finishing and dribbling.

“Insigne is strong and has personality, the way he plays, the way he dribbles reminds me of Messi,” once claimed former teammate Goran Pandev, whilst he has also earned comparisons to Diego Maradona in the past, too.

The diminutive 5 foot 4 maestro has been lauded as having “exceptional” work rate by talkSPORT pundit Tony Cascarino, so that’s another positive in Conte’s books.

On the above evidence, Paratici could land quite the bargain in Insigne, should he try to sign him in January.

AND in other news, Journalist drops exciting behind-the-scenes Antonio Conte claim…

Phillip Hughes’ final-day blast allowed Australia to finish off New Zealand and gain a 1-0 lead heading into the final Test in Hamilton

The Bulletin by Peter English22-Mar-2010Australia 459 for 5 dec & 106 for 0 (Hughes 86*) beat New Zealand 157 & 407 (McCullum 104, McIntosh 83, Vettori 77) by 10 wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Phillip Hughes raced Australia to victory with 86 not out, but he will probably have to make way for Shane Watson in the second Test•Getty ImagesIt took Australia longer than they expected, but Phillip Hughes’ final-day blast allowed them to finish off New Zealand and gain a 1-0 lead heading into the final Test in Hamilton on Saturday. Brendon McCullum’s inspired 104 forced the visitors to chase 106, a target they achieved without loss before lunch thanks to Hughes’ aggressive 86 off 75 balls.After spending time in the field over four days, Ryan Harris, the debutant, sealed a quick finish of New Zealand’s second innings, taking 4 for 77 as the hosts were dismissed for 407. Hughes, who grabbed 12 fours and a six, was then in a hurry to end the game and sped to the 10-wicket victory in 23 overs. It was left to Simon Katich, who played the anchor with 18, to take the winning single on the final ball before lunch.The upbeat display will give Hughes confidence for the next Test he plays, but he will probably have to wait as he is seat-warming for the injured Shane Watson in this game. Daniel Vettori came on and his first delivery was hit by Hughes through cover for four and his fourth effort went for six to midwicket. Hughes charged down the wicket, wasn’t put off by not being near the pitch of the ball, and swiped it flat and so hard that it came back damaged after hitting the bitumen in the car park.Hughes had collected 10 from the opening over of the innings from Chris Martin and added another 10 from Vettori’s first six offerings. He followed that with a trio of boundaries off Martin – an on-drive, a glide through the cordon and a straight drive – and was dropped at second slip by Tim McIntosh off Brent Arnel.The chance didn’t concern Hughes, who was playing his seventh Test, and in the same over he brought up his half-century from 43 balls. Cut boundaries continued to come easily in his best five-day performance since his debut tour of South Africa last year.New Zealand used up both their umpiring reviews in two overs early in the innings, but neither Martin’s appeal against Hughes nor Arnel’s shout against Katich were overturned by the third umpire. Katich’s was closer, with the ball tracking showing it hitting the top of the bails, but it was not decisive enough to change Asad Rauf’s not-out call.Following their courageous fight on the fourth day, New Zealand were unable to repeat their resistance. McCullum, the main obstacle, was removed in the fourth over after bringing up his fifth Test century almost instantly. He sliced behind point from the second ball of the morning to go to 98 and gained a thick edge to third man from Bollinger’s next effort for another boundary.The celebration included ripping off his helmet and raising his arms to the dressing room, but it wasn’t long before he pushed on to the back foot and edged Harris to Michael Clarke. There weren’t many people at the ground but they were all appreciative of McCullum’s performance, which included 13 fours and one six from his 187 balls. The innings showed McCullum’s ability to mix long periods of defence with bouts of attacking brilliance and gave his side some short-lived hopeNew Zealand began on 369 for 6, holding a lead of 67, and after losing their last specialist batsman the job was left to Daryl Tuffey and his bowling team-mates. Tim Southee gave Harris his third wicket when nicking to Clarke without scoring and Brent Arnel (3) was lbw in Harris’ next over.Harris had a chance for a five-wicket haul when Tuffey drove hard back at him but the ball went down in his follow-through. Mitchell Johnson ended the innings by bowling Martin, leaving Tuffey stranded after contributing a valuable 47, as the hosts lost 4 for 38 in less than an hour. Tuffey’s effort was even more admirable considering he was carrying a fractured hand – he was hit by Johnson – that is likely to keep him out for at least a month.Harris collected six wickets for the game while Nathan Hauritz had 3 for 119 from 49 overs in the second innings after spending most of yesterday bowling into the gale-force wind. After the awful weather on Sunday, the conditions were clear and sunny, which was a shame for the hosts who wanted some more rain. New Zealand were forced to follow-on after scoring 157 on Saturday and produced a strong performance to get so far ahead, but they will need two solid innings if they are to trouble the tourists in Hamilton.

Alviro Petersen and Heino Kuhn cracked hundreds as South Africa A put in a commanding batting display on the second day against Bangladesh A at Mirpur

Cricinfo staff24-Apr-2010
ScorecardAlviro Petersen and Heino Kuhn cracked hundreds as South Africa A put in a commanding batting display on the second day against Bangladesh A at Mirpur. The twin tons along with a number of useful contributions elsewhere led the visitors to 436 for 5, a lead of 90, and with Kuhn unbeaten on 140 alongside Thami Tsolekile on 59 the advantage could swell to commanding proportions.The innings was given a strong base in reply to Bangladesh’s 346 with Petersen and Dean Elgar added 103 for the first wicket in 19 overs. It was a scoring rate maintained throughout much of the day as runs came at a touch under five an over.When Petersen fell to Faisal Hossain for 116 the home side would have hopes of getting back into the match with South Africa A on 217 for 4, but a fifth-wicket stand of 106 between Kuhn and Jonathan Vandier (51) took the game away from them. Kuhn, who is known on the South Africa domestic scene for scoring rapid runs, took three hours over his hundred while Tsolekile ensured the momentum wasn’t lost in his 70-ball innings.There wasn’t much for the Bangladesh attack to enjoy although Faisal toiled hard for his three wickets. Noor Hossain took the other two scalps but conceded seven an over, while it was a disappointing day for Shahadat Hossain as he went wicketless through 12 overs.

Celtic are interested in a deal to bring Josh Doig to Parkhead in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to Alan Nixon’s recent report for The Sun, with the journalist stating in his article that Celtic are keeping a very close eye on the situation of the Hibernian left-back ahead of a potential move for the 19-year-old in the winter market.

Nixon then went on to relay some quotes given by Charlie Nicholas concerning the Scotland U21 international, who believes the Bhoys should sign Doig – due to the youngster fitting the Kieran Tierney mould.

Speaking about the Hibs teenager, Nicholas said: “Celtic can’t go out and buy the finished article. They need to develop players and sell them on. That is the club’s model.”

Fans will be buzzing

Considering the sheer amount of potential Doig appears to possess, the news that Ange Postecoglou is interested in sealing a deal for the defender this winter is sure to have left the Parkhead faithful buzzing.

Indeed, despite being just 19 years of age, the £3.6m-rated left-back is already a first-team regular at Easter Road, having already featured 55 times for the club’s first team.

Of these 55 appearances, 14 have come in the current Premiership campaign, over which the £710-per-week man has helped his side keep three clean sheets, provided one assist and created one big chance for his teammates, as well as making an average of 0.9 key passes, 0.6 interceptions, 1.4 tackles and winning 4.9 duels per game.

These returns have seen the teenager average a very respectable SofaScore match rating of 6.74 – something that will only improve with great experience and, potentially, when being surrounded with more talented teammates.

As such, with Neil Lennon’s £3.01m 2019 signing Boli Bolingoli looking to be on his way out of Parkhead this winter, Postecoglou could well be in need of a new addition on the left-hand side of his defence – and who better to be that addition than one of Scotland’s most exciting up and coming talents, in the shape of Doig.

AND in other news, Ange can finally replace Van Dijk at Celtic in £6m swoop for £20k-p/w “absolute beast”…