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Devendra Bishoo, Anthony Martin, Jason Holder, Jonathan Carter and Kirk Edwards are the uncapped players named in West Indies’ preliminary 30-man squad for 2011 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Dec-2010Legspinners Devendra Bishoo and Anthony Martin, fast bowler Jason Holder, and batsmen Jonathan Carter and Kirk Edwards are the uncapped players named in West Indies’ preliminary 30-man squad for the 2011 World Cup.The list also included former captain Ramnaresh Sarwan and wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin, both of whom were excluded from the recent tour of Sri Lanka. Fast bowlers Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor, who have just begun their comeback from long-term injuries, were not included. Brendan Nash is the only player on a WICB central retainer contract left out of the mix.The squad will be trimmed by half for the tournament, which starts on February 19 in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India.Squad: Lionel Baker, Adrian Barath, Carlton Baugh Jr, Sulieman Benn, Dave Bernard Jr, Tino Best, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Kirk Edwards, Chris Gayle, Ryan Hinds, Jason Holder, Anthony Martin, Nikita Miller, Nelon Pascal, Kieron Pollard, Kieran Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Darren Sammy, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shane Shillingford, Devon Smith, Gavin Tonge, Devon Thomas.

West Ham United’s top-six hopes were dealt a blow this afternoon as the Hammers were held to a 1-1 draw against relegation-battling Burnley.

The managerless Clarets, who parted company with Sean Dyche on Friday after ten years in charge, took the lead through Wout Weghorst in the 33rd minute and could’ve had a two-goal lead at half-time when awarded a penalty. However, the spot-kick was missed by Maxwell Cornet.

Irons midfielder Tomas Soucek was able to equalise with 16 minutes to go for the hosts to ensure they took something from the match, although after Thursday’s 3-0 win in Lyon, the result will certainly be a disappointment.

Of course, the afternoon could’ve gone worse for David Moyes’ side, especially if Cornet had converted from the spot. However, the Scotsman will be assessing some of the below-par performances in his side, particularly that of goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, who conceded the penalty.

The 36-year-old came back into the side for league duties with deputy Alphonse Areola entrusted with European and domestic cup commitments and struggled to help his side.

According to SofaScore, alongside the penalty incident, Fabianski failed to make a single save all afternoon whilst making just one punch and catching zero high claims in a nervy performance from the ‘keeper.

Moreover, despite a 79% passing accuracy, the Polish Hammer attempted just 14 passes all afternoon and completed half of his six attempted long balls.

There was little action for the long-term West Ham servant in East London with Fabianski making just 21 touches all afternoon, the fewest of his teammates and the joint-fewest of the 22 players who started the match, with Burnley’s Ashley Westwood also touching the ball just 21 times.

Fabianski was also deemed the Hammers’ worst player with a 6.0/10 rating, with winger Nikola Vlasic the next worst with a 6.6 score. The 36-year-old certainly let his manager down.

The goalkeeping situation has been a debate all season amongst the West Ham faithful, particularly given the decent performances of PSG loanee Areola.

In the Premier League, Fabianski has averaged a 6.83/10 rating, according to SofaScore, whilst Areola has averaged a 7.19 rating in the Europa League and 7.97 in the EFL Cup.

The East London outfit do have an option to buy the French goalkeeper this summer upon the expiration of his loan whilst Fabianski’s current deal at the London Stadium expires in June.

Therefore, we may be starting to see the beginning of the end of the Polish goalkeeper’s four-season spell as the Hammers’ first choice in between the sticks.

AND in other news: West Ham plot bid for £21.6m-rated “leader”, Moyes can now axe “shocking” £61k-p/w dud

Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United missed a fantastic opportunity to push themselves clear of a relegation scrap against Everton on Saturday afternoon, with Frank Lampard’s side running out 3-0 winners against the Whites – a result which leaves the Elland Road faithful just six points above the drop zone.

However, while both the result and overall performance will be a difficult one for Leeds fans to stomach, there were nevertheless a couple of bright sparks for Bielsa on Saturday afternoon. Rodrigo looked very lively behind Dan James in the Whites’ attack, with the Spaniard twice smashing the woodwork with spectacular long-range efforts. Another plus was the surprise appearance of 18-year-old Leo Hjelde, who replaced the injured Stuart Dallas after just nine minutes.

Won 75% duels

Indeed, over the course of his 81 minutes on the pitch, the Norway under-21 international was imperious in defence for the Whites, making two clearances, three interceptions and four tackles and blocking two shots – one of which was a goal-saving stop from Richarlison, who had the Leeds goal at his mercy.

Furthermore, the £270k-rated defender – who John Hughes, his former manager at Ross County, dubbed an “athlete” – also won six of his eight duels (a success rate of 75%), enjoyed 73 touches of the ball and attempted two crosses and eight long balls.

These returns saw the summer signing earn an impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.0, ranking him as Bielsa’s joint-second best performer in the match – a commendable feat considering the final scoreline and the 18-year-old’s inexperience at this level.

The injury sustained by Dallas will certainly be a huge cause for concern for all involved with the club, but should Hjelde be able to maintain this level of form going forwards, it would massively ease the blow of losing the Northern Ireland international. The teenager was undoubtedly Leeds’ brightest spark on what was an otherwise gloomy afternoon for the Whites.

In other news: “Disinterested” Leeds dud with just 27 touches cost Bielsa dearly v Everton

Speaking ahead of his side’s first leg Europa League knockout round play-off tie against Borussia Dortmund tonight, Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst has confirmed a blow for Rangers.

The Lowdown: Gers without key men…

The Teddy Bears travel to Germany this evening as they begin their bid to make history, potentially by beating Dortmund over two legs and qualifying for the Europa League last 16 phase.

Dortmund will be without star forward Erling Braut Haaland for this evening’s crunch bout in a boost for van Bronckhorst and Gers supporters, but the Glasgow giants are without key men of their own.

Indeed, defender Filip Helander will miss out having been deemed not fit enough, with the Gers boss also confirming more injury news.

The Latest: Gers also without Balogun…

As well as missing the Swede, van Bronckhorst says that his side will be without another defender in Leon Balogun for their journey to Signal Iduna Park.

“Leon is not available,” said Van Bronckhorst (via STV).

“Hopefully he will be okay for next week.

“Ryan Jack has trained as normal the last couple of days so is fit to come with us to Germany.”

The Verdict: Blow for GVB…

Having been sidelined for a significant portion of this campaign already, news of his absence for tonight also will come as a blow for van Bronckhorst given how crucial Balogun has been in recent times when fit.

Described as a ‘pivotal’ Rangers player earlier this campaign by pundit Noel Whelan, former Teddy Bears manager Steven Gerrard also made no secret of the Nigeria international’s importance to the Ibrox club.

When available, Balogun has impressed in the Europa League, averaging a higher WhoScored match rating (7.16) than any Gers player in the competition.

In the SPFL, Rangers’ centre-back has also averaged the highest amount of interceptions per 90 (1.5) out of their squad (WhoScored), leaving little wonder why his absence for tonight will be a sore one.

In other news: ‘Who would have thought’…BBC pundit thrilled by ‘excellent’ news out of Rangers, find out more here.

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…