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Harbhajan Singh has said India won’t lose their focus in the Asia Cup after the high of beating Pakistan

Siddarth Ravindran in Dambulla21-Jun-2010

Harbhajan Singh, who hit the winning six in the see-saw match against Pakistan, has said India won’t lose their focus in the Asia Cup after the high of beating their arch-rivals. He had launched the penultimate ball of Saturday’s contest to pull off a thrilling victory which secured India’s place in the final against Sri Lanka.”You obviously feel proud and happy that we won the game against Pakistan, but this tournament isn’t over yet,” Harbhajan said after India’s practice session on Monday. “There are two more important matches to play, and we are looking to finish the tournament on a good note.”Harbhajan also stressed that his focus was mainly on his bowling and not on his batting. “I’m not an allrounder,” he said. “Firstly, I’m a bowler who can bat a bit and I want to keep it like that. I don’t take too much of pressure on myself by being called an allrounder.”Ahead of the Asia Cup, MS Dhoni had spoken about the dearth of quality fast-bowling allrounders in India, and Harbhajan also highlighted the lack of multi-skilled cricketers. “There was only one allrounder India has produced, that was Sir Kapil Dev,” he said. “After that forget Kapil Dev, we haven’t even produced an allrounder half as good as Kapil.”India have a decent record against Sri Lanka in bilateral series over the past few years, but have fallen short against them in several multi-team tournaments. Harbhajan said India needed to be wary of the Sri Lankan side. “They are a very good side, if you see their batting line-up, they have a very good line-up, Mahela [Jaywardene], [Kumar] Sangakkara and [Angelo] Mathews,” he said. “Their bowling is also quite good, we need to play as well as we can.”The visitors’ chances received a blow when experienced opener Virender Sehwag was forced out of the tournament by a hamstring injury. The Indian squad had a new member joining them on Monday morning after Dinesh Karthik was flown in as a replacement. Karthik and Saurabh Tiwary, one of whom is likely to take Sehwag’s place in the XI for India’s two remaining matches, both had lengthy batting sessions in the afternoon.Harbhajan remained confident of a good performance despite missing three of their most experienced players. “All the players who are here have performed well whenever given the chance, whether it’s Pragyan Ojha, Dinesh Karthik or Virat Kohli,” he said. “I think we shouldn’t think of them as youngsters, they are here because they are good enough.”

وجه سيد عبد الرازق بازوكا لاعب الإسماعيلي السابق، رسالة إلى صالح جمعة صانع ألعاب الدراويش، بعد ظهوره مع الفريق في مباراتي الجولة الأولى والثانية.

وكان صالح جمعة قد انضم إلى صفوف الإسماعيلي في فترة الانتقالات الصيفية الماضية قادمًا من سيراميكا كليوباترا.

وقال بازوكا خلال تصريحات لبرنامج “الريمونتادا” المُذاع على قناة “المحور”: “صالح جمعة وزنه زائد جدًا ومن المفترض أن يتدرب مرتين في اليوم (يا تخس يا تمشي من النادي)”.

طالع | جاريدو: مرتدات غزل المحلة أثرت على الإسماعيلي.. والدوري ما زال طويلًا

وأضاف: “قبل بداية الموسم قلنا إن صفقات الإسماعيلي ليست بالكثرة ولكن بالجودة، الفريق يحتاج عملًا كثيرًا، إذا كان جاريدو يظن أنه لو خسر مرة أخرى لن يرحل سيكون مخطئا”.

وتابع: “الإسماعيلي أمام غزل المحلة كان أسوأ من لقاء الأهلي، وشعرت خلال المباراة أن غزل المحلة فريق من أوروبا”.

وأتم: “جماهير الإسماعيلي (بتتبهدل) خلف الفريق والأوزان الزائدة للاعبين علامة استفهام”.

وكان الإسماعيلي قد تعثر للمباراة الثانية تواليًا في الجولة الثانية من عمر الدوري المصري الممتاز، أمام المحلة على ملعب الأخير بهدفين مقابل هدف، وذلك بعد مباراة الأهلي في الجولة الأولى بهدف نظيف.

Aston Villa captain Tyrone Mings was one of hundreds to react to news of Emiliano Martinez’s new contract.

The Lowdown: 2027

Martinez, who has made 58 appearances for Villa since joining from Arsenal in 2020, keeping 20 clean sheets, has extended his Villa Park stay until 2027.

Villa confirmed the ‘surprise’ news less than 24 hours on from Kortney Hause’s new deal, with Steven Gerrard and Johan Lange busy penning key players to extended deals while also sealing new signings.

The Argentine has missed just one Premier League game all season, and Mings was quick to react to the update on social media.

The Latest: Mings reacts

Villa shared the news regarding Martinez on their official Twitter page, with Mings quickly quote tweeting the post to share his thoughts.

The centre-back shared a video clip from a news broadcast in which a woman says: ‘You’re joking, not another one?’, seemingly in reference to a second player penning terms in a matter of days.

The Verdict: Brilliant news

Martinez was briefly linked with a move to Tottenham ahead of the January window, however, you’d like to think he won’t be going anywhere for the foreseeable future.

Jed Steer and new signing Robin Olsen will serve as back up to the South American, but Martinez extending his stay can only be viewed as excellent news due to his reliability in goal.

The shot-stopper will be 34 years of age in 2027 when his Villa new contract comes to an end, so between now and then, Martinez could establish himself as a Villa legend if he continues to impress in the Midlands and may now be targeting 100 clean sheets.

In other news: ‘Awful move’ – Many Villa fans fume as Lange targets ‘terrible’ ace. 

West Ham United are interested in a deal to bring Kortney Hause to the London Stadium in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by ExWHUemployee (via Birmingham Live), with the West Ham insider revealing that David Moyes’ side have made contact with Aston Villa regarding a move for the centre-back this month, although talks between the two clubs are still believed to be in the preliminary stages.

Regarding the Hammers’ interest in the 26-year-old defender, Ex said: “Hause was on the bench for Villa in their cup defeat at Manchester United [and] has featured very few times under new manager [Steven] Gerrard.

“Despite this, Aston Villa have reportedly offered him the option of a new contract to keep him at the club. Hause is said to be one of a number of centre-back targets [for West Ham] and talks are only at the primary stage.”

He’d be a major upgrade

Considering just how much West Ham have struggled for numbers at the back following the injuries suffered by first-choice centre-back pairing Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna, it would appear a very wise move for Moyes to bring in greater depth into the position this month if he wants to give his team the best possible chance of securing a top-four finish this season.

While it is true that Hause has not featured regularly for Villa since Gerrard’s arrival at the club in November, the former England under-21 international has nevertheless proven that he would make a fantastic addition to Moyes’ current options at the back.

Indeed, over his seven Premier League appearances last term, the £4.5m-rated defender helped his side to keep three clean sheets and scored one goal, as well as making 1.1 interceptions, 0.6 tackles, and 7.6 clearances per game and winning 65% of his duels.

These returns saw the £25k-per-week defender earn an impressive seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.03, ranking him as Villa’s sixth-best player – and their best-performing centre-back – in the top flight in 2020/21.

For comparison, over his eight league outings this season, Issa Diop has failed to convince that he is of the standard required to be a starter for West Ham. The centre-back has helped his side to keep two clean sheets, in addition to making 0.5 interceptions, 1.1 tackles and 3.3 clearances and winning a mere 2.9 duels per fixture.

These returns have seen the Frenchman average a disappointing SofaScore match rating of 6.59, ranking him as the Irons’ fourth-worst player – and their worst-performing defender – in the top flight.

As such, it is clear to see that the player who Matt Law dubbed a “ridiculous bargain” for the £3m that Villa paid to Wolves for the 26-year-old back in 2019 would be a major upgrade on Diop, leading us to believe that Moyes simply must do all he can to get a deal over the line for the Villa centre-back this month.

In other news: Transfer insider reveals West Ham have “looked at” signing £25m beast, fans surely buzzing

Many Sunderland fans have been left slamming the display of Callum Doyle in their 5-1 loss away at Arsenal in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.

The central defender, who is currently on loan from Manchester City, endured a very difficult night against Premier League opposition, as an Eddie Nketiah hat-trick, with further goals from Nicolas Pepe and debutant Charlie Patino, was more than enough to send Mikel Arteta’s team through into the semi-final stage of the competition.

It was a learning curve for the 18-year-old, who lost out on two of his duels, and failed to block any shots or make any interceptions throughout the game (SofaScore).

He also lost possession of the ball on no fewer than 14 separate occasions in the match, the most out of any player in Lee Johnson’s side, and his yellow card late on pretty much summed up how it went for him.

Sunderland fans slam Doyle

These members of the Stadium of Light faithful slammed his performance on Twitter, with one Black Cats supporter even going as far as to claim that he was ‘awful’:

“Callum Doyle has been awful since like September”

Credit: @JamieSAFC_

“Callum Doyle young or not simply isn’t good enough to play for Sunderland”

Credit: @GeorgeSmally

“Callum Doyle is so poor”

Credit: @Jake_3456

“Doyle having an absolute shocker so far”

Credit: @redman_aiden

“Doyle being exposed all over”

Credit: @KrisCoxon

“I’d call Sunderland unlucky. Should be 3-1. Doyle and Hume should be ashamed of that performance.”

Credit: @stustuy

In other news, find out who SAFC’s three worst players were against Ipswich Town here!

Giovanni van Bronckhorst continued his perfect start to life at Rangers with a 3-1 win in the Premiership on Sunday.

The Gers swept Livingston away in what ended up being a fairly comfortable victory, despite some nervous moments in the first half.

Allan McGregor was forced into a couple of terrific saves, but goals from Joe Aribo, Scott Arfield and Fashion Sakala ensured that they came away with the three points.

Forget Tavernier

Whilst James Tavernier may grab the headlines with two assists from right-back, perhaps the real star of the show for the Gers was Alfredo Morelos.

The Colombian bulldozer led the line brilliantly and was crucial to everything Rangers tried to do going forward with his work rate and movement up front. He was constantly harassing the Livingston defenders and trying to hold the ball up, whilst making runs off the ball to create space for the likes of Ianis Hagi, Aribo and Scott Arfield to run through.

Arfield’s goal to open the scoring came from him sprinting through the middle of the pitch after Morelos dragged a centre-back over to the far side. This highlights how much of an impact he can have without even touching the ball in the move.

However, the 25-year-old also made his mark in possession. As per SofaScore, he created an impressive four chances for his teammates throughout the game, whilst completing 81% of his passes and managing one shot on target. One of the opportunities that he created led to Aribo firing them 2-0 up, with his clever first-time pass finding the ex-Charlton man in the box to sweep it into the top corner.

He also put in a shift defensively. As per SofaScore, Morelos won five duels, including four of his seven on the ground, and completed two tackles for Van Bronckhorst’s side. This shows that he was willing to put in the hard yards for his team to win possession back and hold his own against Livingston.

Therefore, he was able to piece together a complete performance by making an impact at both ends of the pitch, which is why he was the real star of the show for Rangers. The Gers’ number 20 may not have managed to get himself on the scoresheet, but he was still crucial to their play and led the line superbly today.

AND in other news, 35 G/A: Rangers secured dream £4m deal for “outstanding talent”, he’s a match-winner…

As per football.london reporter Tom Clark, an update has emerged on West Ham United’s plans for Burnley defender James Tarkowski in January.

The Lowdown: Tarkowski targeted…

The 29-year-old, according to reports, is one of a handful of central defenders being targeted by manager David Moyes as he seeks to solve an emergency following injuries to both Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna.

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Tarkowski is also out of contract at Turf Moor next year, meaning he could leave at the end of 2021/2022 for free unless Burnley opt to sell on the cheap in January.

This has alerted West Ham with Moyes in particular thought to be a long term admirer of the Clarets mainstay.

The Latest: Journalist shares update…

As per Clark, some news has emerged on West Ham’s transfer plans, with the club and by extension head of recruitment Rob Newman now ‘contemplating a £5m bid’ for his services next month.

While Burnley are unlikely to accept this offer, it is believed that a ‘deal is thought to be possible’ if the right offer arrives for Tarkowski.

The Verdict: Get it done?

As West Ham also weigh moves for both Nathan Ake and Nathaniel Phillips as alternative targets, we believe either of this duo would come as better options than Tarkowski – despite Sean Dyche calling him ‘superb’.

Phillips, just 24-years-old, has already signalled his openness to leave Liverpool and could be available for as little as £10 million – a bargain price for someone who averaged more Premier League clearances per 90 than anyone in Jurgen Klopp’s side last season (WhoScored).

Ake, meanwhile, is just two years older than Phillips and has played more often for Man City under Pep Guardiola so far this season – with the Spaniard calling him ‘intelligent’, ‘concentrated’ and a ‘joy to have’ (mancity.com).

The Netherlands international can also play at left-back and in front of the defence alongside his natural position as a centre-half.

Tarkowski, meanwhile, doesn’t command much sell-on value and is approaching the twilight phase of his career – so we believe he should only be prioritised if Burnley opt to accept a very cheap fee.

In other news: ‘We are back’, ‘What I wanted to hear’…ExWHUemployee’s ‘best news’ has many West Ham fans buzzing, find out more here.

A summary of the second round of matches in New Zealand’s domestic one-day competition

Cricinfo staff17-Dec-2009Wellington have moved to the top of the points table after a comfortable six-wicket win over Central Districts at Basin Reserve. Left-arm fast bowler Andy McKay bagged four wickets, and was backed up by the rest of the bowling attack, as Wellington restricted Central Districts to 217. The score could have been much worse had it not been for Brendon Diamanti’s 68 at No.9 but his effort was in vain. Wellington faced little difficulty in scaling down the target, as James Franklin stroked an unbeaten 84 with support from Chris Nevin and Steven Rhodes to seal victory with almost six overs to spare.Powered by a strong middle-order performance, Auckland eased to a comfortable 37-run victory against Otago at Colin Maiden Park. After electing to bat, the home team lost the wickets of Richard Jones and Anaru Kitchen cheaply. Reece Young and Ravi Bopara then steadied the ship before Young was dismissed for 40. Gareth Hopkins took over the reins with a free-scoring 70, and in combination with Bopara who made 89, set Auckland on course for a sizeable score. Otago’s innings began in similar fashion with two early wickets preceding a repair job, this time through Shaun Haig and Craig Cumming. Haig top scored with 81 but the rest of middle order could not sustain the effort. Auckland’s bowlers shared the spoils as Otago were bowled out in the 48th over.Canterbury recorded their first win of the competition, overcoming Northern Districts by 42 runs at Seddon Park. Shanan Stewart smashed six fours and six sixes in his 80-ball 97 to take Canterbury to a formidable 296 for 7. Canterbury were boosted by contributions of 85 from Rob Nicol and a quickfire 46 from Kruger van Wyk. In response, ND looked good to trump Canterbury after openers BJ Watling (63) and Michael Parlane (80) added 143 for the opening wicket. But a middle-order slide and a five-wicket haul from Corey Anderson marked Canterbury’s comeback and took them to victory despite a belated lower-order recovery.

Wellington 2 1 1 0 0 5 +0.425 372/65.5 371/71.0 Auckland 2 1 1 0 0 4 +0.326 547/100.0 511/99.2 Canterbury 2 1 1 0 0 4 +0.270 582/100.0 555/100.0 Central Districts 2 1 1 0 0 4 -0.202 518/100.0 505/93.5 Northern Districts 2 1 1 0 0 4 -0.375 519/99.2 560/100.0 Otago 2 1 1 0 0 4 -0.422 400/71.0 436/72.0

قرر أهلي جدة فسخ تعاقده مع المدرب الأوروجواياني روبرت سيبولدي بالتراضي، بعد تذبذب النتائج مؤخرًا في دوري “يلو” السعودي.

وأعلن الموقع الرسمي للنادي الجداوي، عن تعيين يوسف عنبر بمهمة قيادة الفريق أمام الخلود، الإثنين، ضمن الجولة الثالثة من دوري «يلو» لأندية الدرجة الأولى، من دون أن يعلن النادي عن رحيل سيبولدي عن منصبه.

وأكد الأهلي تعيين عنبر مستشارًا ضمن الفريق الاستشاري الذي يقوده البلجيكي جان فان وينكل.

اقرأ أيضا..تعرف على لويس غارابان لاعب أهلي جدة الجديد

وكتب النادي من خلال حسابه الرسمي عبر تويتر: ” تقرر أن يقود يوسف عنبر الفريق في مواجهة الخلود، الإثنين المقبل، على ملعب مدينة الملك عبد الله الرياضية في جدة، وذلك حتى إنهاء إجراءات التعاقد مع مدرب جديد للفريق”.

وجاء قرار رحيل سيبولدي عن الأهلي عقب تحقيق نقطة واحدة فقط من مباراتين بالتعادل في دوري يلو مع القيصومة 1-1 وخسارته أمام الأخدود 0-2 ضمن الجولتين الأولى والثانية.

وكان سيبولدي تولى تدريب أهلي جدة في مارس 2022 وقاد الفريق في 7 مواجهات فاز في لقاء وحيد وتعادل 4 مرات بجانب الخسارة مرتين وهو ما تسبب في هبوط الفريق لدوري الدرجة الأولى للمرة الأولى في تاريخه.

Southampton currently have a number of senior players in their squad who will see their contracts expire in the summer such as Fraser Forster, Jack Stephens and Shane Long among others.

However, the Saints also have one player in their squad that has a contract set to expire at the end of January – 26-year-old left-back Sam McQueen.

As a product of Southampton’s youth academy, McQueen played his way through the ranks at the club before making his senior debut back in February 2014 in a FA Cup match against Sunderland.

Since then, the defender, who is currently valued at £720k according to Transfermarkt, has made a total of just 29 senior appearances for the club across all competitions.

McQueen has not featured for the Saints since the 2017/18 season where he made seven appearances in the Premier League and one in the Carabao Cup, making him somewhat of a forgotten figure in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s squad.

In fairness to the player, McQueen suffered a cruciate ligament rupture back in October 2018 and is still recovering from it, highlighting just how serious the injury was and still is given how long he’s been out of action.

Back in April, Hasenhuttl, unfortunately, claimed that it would be a miracle if McQueen ever played football again, showing the severity of the injury and how unsuccessful his recovery has been.

However, in July, The Athletic reported that Southampton gave McQueen a six-month contract that is set to expire in January to see if he can impress Hasenhuttl after being involved in first-team group training sessions in pre-season.

McQueen, who was reportedly earning a weekly wage of £18k-per-week last season according to Spotrac, hasn’t made a senior appearance for the Saints this season and with the club now possessing Romain Perraud, it doesn’t look good for the defender’s chances of getting back into the team by January. Combine that with the fact Kyle Walker-Peters has played in that role too and the future does isn’t bright at St Mary’s.

With this in mind, if the full-back can fully recover by then, we feel it would be the best option for all parties if Southampton didn’t offer McQueen a new deal in January and instead moved him on to a club that would be willing to give him a chance to get his career back on track.

After all, it’s the least he deserves after such a rotten few years on the south coast.

In other news: Ralph could unearth a new Bednarek at Southampton in 20 y/o beast with “real promise” – opinion