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Of all the players to have contributed to South Africa’s historic series win in England, Hashim Amla is the one man who will have caused the most surprise among his opponents, and delight among his peers

Andrew Miller at The Oval09-Aug-2008
Hashim Amla stalled England’s push towards a consolation win © Getty Images
Of all the players to have contributed to South Africa’s historic series win in England, Hashim Amla is the one man who will have caused the most surprise among his opponents, and delight among his peers. With his unmistakeable beard, and a manner that can come across as meek before you realise he’s simply being polite, he has the look and feel of a soft touch – hardly the sort of character you want batting at the pivotal No. 3 position in such a high-profile tussle for supremacy.But Amla has been eroding that perception all throughout this trip, and the quality of his final-day defiance at Lord’s has given way to the majesty of his straight driving today. His unbeaten 71 from 86 balls was an innings of such quality and, above all, speed, that South Africa’s hopes of registering their third consecutive victory of the series are beginning to break the surface of the puddles that were forming on the covers by the close of the third day’s play.”We’d be gutted to lose here, but we do have an opportunity to win,” said South Africa’s coach, Mickey Arthur. “England looked vibrant, and I do think our guys weren’t mentally in the same space as they were at the start of the series, and that’s understandable, but it’s even stevens now. With another one or two partnerships, we can get up to or over 200-220 and put a lot of pressure on the England top five. We feel we can defend that.”Amla is an unlikely ego-pricker, but on today’s brief evidence, he is South Africa’s best hope if they are to get close to a total from which they can win the match. It is not merely that he will have been the least affected by the celebrations that followed the Edgbaston triumph (as a devout Muslim, he opted out of the hedonism that gripped of some of his team-mates). Far more important is the fact that he still has one last point to prove to an England team that, even now, are probably not quite convinced that he is the real deal.Amla’s first appearance against England, at home in 2004-05, set the agenda for the barrage to which he has been subjected on this tour. After a debut against India at Kolkata in November 2004, he was selected for his home debut at Durban in place of the black wicketkeeper, Thami Tsolekile, and unwittingly underpinned the feeling that he did not deserve a place on merit when he was bombed out for 1 and 0 by Steve Harmison and Simon Jones.Two more short-lived scores of 25 and 10 in the subsequent Test at Cape Town persuaded the selectors to shelve the experiment, and Mark Boucher – a frustrated onlooker for the early part of the series – was belatedly recalled for the fourth Test at Johannesburg and AB de Villiers was allowed to give up the gloves and get back to being a batsman. The fact that Amla had been chosen after a prolific season as the captain of the Dolphins in Natal was neither here nor there. The statistics of the series said he had not been worth his place, and that seemed to be the end of the argument.England’s thinktank remembered that fact all too clearly ahead of this series, and right from the start of the Lord’s Test their approach to Amla has mirrored the bombardment of three years ago, with short balls in abundance. And yet, at the close of the third day, England’s coach, Peter Moores, was forced to admit that the player they’ve been targeting was not the same man they remembered from the video footage.”He’s improved over the last 12 months before he came here, and what we’d seen of him from when we did our homework, he’s become a much tighter player than last time he played against England,” said Moores. “He got a beautiful ball from Steve Harmison to get rid of him in the first innings, but what he’s done so well, is he’s latched onto anything slightly loose and put it away for four. He hits down the ground now as well as square, so he’s a pretty accomplished player.”His success is a vindication of the faith that was placed in him three years ago, and by extension, of the faith that South Africa has placed in the transformation process. “We’ve always rated Hash highly,” said Arthur. “He obviously had a problem when he started, but when I came in [as coach], he was always the one we identified to bat at 3 for us.”Amla’s second coming as a Test cricketer began 18 months after his England experience, when he once again topped the domestic averages to undermine the notion that he was merely a quota selection. He responded immediately with a commanding innings of 149 against New Zealand, against whom he collected his second Test century the following season in Centurion. If those two innings failed to convince the doubters that he truly belonged at the highest level, then an unbeaten seven-and-a-half hour 159 in the sapping heat of Chennai brooked no equivocation.”We needed to give him a run and an opportunity,” said Arthur. “When we look back to where the planning started for a tour like this, two years ago, we needed Hash to come into the tour with 20 Tests under his belt. He’s blossomed and repaid the faith we showed in him, and he’s going to be a quality player.””He’s so calm, he’s got a good head and he’s pretty streetwise for a player his age,” said Arthur. With two days of an historic Test series remaining, Amla has a chance to apply the finishing touches to a total team effort, and silence his naysayers for once and for all.

Watford have reportedly seen another bid for Blackburn Rovers striker Adam Armstrong rejected, which is a blow to Xisco Munoz’s hopes of bringing him to Vicarage Road.

What’s the word?

According to The Sun, the Hornets have seen a fresh £15m bid turned down for the former Newcastle United marksman, who hit 28 goals in the Championship for Tony Mowbray’s side last season.

The report claims that Watford also offered Andre Gray as part of the deal, but Blackburn are holding out for £25m for their star striker, as Newcastle will claim 40% of the fee due to a sell-on clause.

It is certainly a big risk by the Lancashire club to demand so much for Armstrong, as his contract at Ewood Park is set to expire at the end of the coming season, so he could be available on a free transfer next summer should they fail to tie him down to a new deal.

A huge transfer blow for Munoz?

Whilst Watford have added strikers Emmanuel Dennis and Ashley Fletcher to their squad already this summer, neither have been particularly profilic in their careers thus far, and it seems clear that Munoz wants to add a clinical goalscorer to his side ahead of their opening Premier League game against Aston Villa next month.

Armstrong struggled for regular game-time at Newcastle when he was younger but made a name for himself in an impressive loan spell at Coventry City before joining Blackburn on a permanent basis in 2018 after a loan spell at Ewood Park.

Since then, he has gone on to make 160 appearances for the club, contributing an impressive 64 goals and 19 assists, which included 29 goals in all competitions during the 2020/21 campaign.

If he could continue that form with Watford, he could prove to be the difference between them staying up and being relegated back to the Championship, but it seems unlikely that the Hornets would splash as much as £25m on a player with just one year left on his current contract.

Therefore, unless Blackburn drastically rethink their asking price for the “explosive” forward, in Mowbray’s own words, it seems unlikely that Armstrong will be moving to Vicarage Road, which will likely disappoint Watford fans.

In other news… Munoz should seal Watford swoop for prolific winger loved by Aubameyang

Manchester City have recently been tipped to swoop for Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski should a move for Harry Kane fall through this summer, and the experienced Poland international could be an incredible addition to Pep Guardiola’s side.

What’s the word?

In an exclusive interview with Football Transfer Tavern, former City defender Steve Howey has tipped Guardiola’s side to consider the 32-year-old as an alternative to Kane this summer, saying:

“I think he would cost less and he’d probably be asking for slightly less in wages as well. I mean, that’s a very good shout.

“They haven’t really got an out-and-out goalscorer like [Sergio] Aguero, that’s what he did. He was just born to score goals, but Lewandowski is born to score goals too.”

Would Lewandowski be a good alternative to Kane?

City were credited with an interest in the former Borussia Dortmund marksman earlier this summer, but it appears that their attention has switched to Kane, with various reports suggesting that City’s first bid for the England captain was rejected by Spurs.

Although Lewandowski does not have age on his side, he showed no signs of slowing down last season, contributing a remarkable 41 goals and seven assists in just 29 Bundesliga appearances and averaging an incredible 8.07 rating from WhoScored.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-manchester-city-transfer-rumours-and-news” title=”Read the latest Manchester City transfer rumours and news!”]

Considering that midfielder Ilkay Gundogan was City’s top scorer in the Premier League last season with 13 goals, you could argue that they lacked a clinical finisher such as Lewandowski up front, and he could prove to be the difference next season should City reach the latter stages of the Champions League once again.

Although he would be a short-term option, he would be significantly cheaper than Kane, with Transfermarkt currently valuing the Poland striker at £54m, and City could perhaps bring him in for the season before taking advantage of Erling Haaland’s release clause at Borussia Dortmund next summer.

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There is no doubting that Lewandowski is a “world-class” centre-forward – in the words of former Bayern boss Jupp Heynckes – while Guardiola is a big fan of his having worked with him at Bayern Munich, so a move for him this summer would make a lot of sense for City if a deal for Kane cannot be completed.

In other news… Txiki heading for Man City transfer disaster over “incredibly fit” 23 y/o

Bangladesh’s selectors have named 24 probables, including six rookies, for the home series against New Zealand and the tour of South Africa in November

Cricinfo staff21-Sep-2008Bangladesh’s selectors have named 24 probables, including six rookies, for the home series against New Zealand and the tour of South Africa in November. They have also recalled Tushar Imran, Rajin Saleh, Enamul Haque jnr and Nafees Iqbal after 13 players were banned for ten years for joining the ICL.”The team is a combination of young and experienced players. And I think, under the changed circumstances, this is the best team we have,” chief selector Rafiqul Alam told AFP. “Hopefully some of them [young players] will find a place in the main squad. They are talented and have performed well against good opposition.”The players will report to the coach Jamie Siddons on Monday for a training camp at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur. Bangladesh will host New Zealand for three ODIs and two Tests in October before travelling to South Africa for three one-dayers, two Tests, and a Twenty20 international.Probables: Tamim Iqbal, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Ashraful, Raqibul Hasan, Shakib Al Hasan, Mehrab Hossain jnr, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain, Syed Rasel, Nazmul Hossain, Mahmudullah, Dolar Mahmud, Rajin Saleh, Tushar Imran, Enamul Haque jnr, Imrul Kayes, Shamsur Rahman, Naeem Islam, Suhrawadi Shuvo, Mahbubul Alam, Saghir Hossain.

Express and Star journalist Luke Hatfield believes that Aston Villa midfielder Conor Hourihane will want to play week in, week out and may have to move on from the club for that to happen.

Birmingham Live also reported that Hourihane is hopeful of a new deal at the club, but Aston Villa want to move Hourihane on in late August with manager Dean Smith keen to develop some of the youngsters amongst the Villa ranks.

The report also suggests that the Championship will likely be the destination for Hourihane, with The Athletic reporting that West Brom and Sheffield United are interested.

£30,000-a-week man Hourihane has entered the final year of his contract at Villa Park with Transfermarkt valuing the Republic of Ireland international at £3.15m.

Hourihane, who is comfortable playing as a central midfielder or further forward as an attacking midfielder, spent the majority of last season out on loan at Swansea City where he played 24 matches for the club and helped them reach the play-off final.

After a good season with Swansea where Hourihane featured regularly, Hatfield believes that he will want to continue playing regular football, telling Football FanCast: “I think for Hourihane it’s very much a position where he wants to play week in, week out.

“Obviously he was a vital player for Villa in getting promoted to the Premier League and that first season really good over a set piece too, but I’m not too sure whether Villa have pushed a little bit too far for him.

“He obviously wanted an opportunity to play with Swansea and got that and did well. I think probably for him and for Villa, it’s best if he was to find a club where he can play and potentially move on in a permanent deal.”

Jhulan Goswami, India’s new women’s captain, has said she will take inspiration from the performance of Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Cricinfo staff15-Oct-2008
Jhulan Goswami: “My first job is to understand the manner and positive approach with which [Mahendra Singh] Dhoni led the Indian team in Australia” © Cricinfo Ltd
Jhulan Goswami, India’s new women’s captain, has said she will take inspiration from the performance of Mahendra Singh Dhoni during the team’s tour of Australia, her first assignment in charge. Dhoni, who took over as India’s limited-overs captain last year, led the men’s team to victory in the CB Series in Australia earlier this year.”Now that I have a new job on my hands, I am looking up to Dhoni, particularly for our coming tour of Australia,” Goswami told the . Goswami, a fast bowler, said she and her team-mates would try to adopt a similar approach to that of the men’s team. “Dhoni is a special lesson for me on the captaincy front. I am the captain now.”My first job is to understand the manner and positive approach with which Dhoni led the Indian team in Australia. And I will also ask my team members to follow the same example. I think it will do us a world of good on our tour to Australia.”The Australia trip, starting October 22, features five ODIs and one Twenty20 international, and Goswami said it will be the ideal build-up for the World Cup in February 2008, also in Australia. “This Australia tour is very crucial as preparation for next year’s World Cup. I have been to Australia before, but this trip will act as good preparation for everyone since it is this team, more or less, that will play in the World Cup there next year.” India will play at two of the six venues for the World Cup, which will be staged in New South Wales.India’s disappointing performance in England, where they lost 4-0 in the ODIs, led to the sacking of Mithali Raj as captain. Goswami, though, felt their relationship won’t be affected. “I spoke to Mithali after she was removed from captaincy. I explained it’s a decision taken by the selectors. Mithali and I are great friends and it will continue to be that way.”Australia beat India in the final of the 2005 World Cup in South Africa. India last toured the country in 2006, losing the one-off Test and all three ODIs. But Goswami felt India were better prepared this time. “There are seniors like Anjum Chopra, Mithali Raj, Rumeli Dhar and young talents like Priyanka Roy, Thirush Kamini and others. It’s a nice blend of experience and youth. I am confident that if we stay positive we will surely be in a commanding position this time.”The 15-member squad will take part in a preparatory camp from October 13 in Mumbai, before leaving for Australia on October 18 or 19.

French expert Adam White reckons that both PSG and Moise Kean are interested in making a loan return possible – but there are complications in a potential deal.

Kean spent last season with Mauricio Pochettino’s side, and despite heading to the French capital having scored just four goals for Everton, made a significant impact for PSG, both domestically and in Europe.

In fact, Kean’s 17 goals in 41 appearances was more than he’s managed throughout the rest of his club first-team career combined for Everton and Juventus.

With the 21-year-old’s future at Goodison Park looking bleak, having failed to repay the £25.1m Everton paid for him two years, a return to France has looked on the cards for some time.

However, with PSG currently trying to secure a sensational deal to sign Lionel Messi, which comes after Pochettino has already added the likes of Achraf Hakimi, Sergio Ramos and others to his squad, bringing Kean back isn’t set to be an easy process.

White told The Transfer Tavern:

“RMC reported last month that both PSG and Kean would be keen for another loan, but those talks are becoming increasingly complicated because all the signings PSG are making, and they need to sell other players, but those are going to be factors.

“But PSG and Kean would be keen on a return. He was really good last season; he was surprisingly prolific and scored some important goals in the league.”

On a day when both sides sensed a chance of victory South Australia and Victoria eventually played out a season-opening draw on the flat pitch at Adelaide Oval

Cricinfo staff17-Oct-2008
Scorecard
Dan Cullen picked up 3 for 60 as Victoria struggled on the final day © Getty Images
On a day when both sides sensed a chance of victory South Australia and Victoria eventually played out a season-opening draw on the flat pitch at Adelaide Oval. Chasing a challenging but gettable 268, the Redbacks for a while had a sniff as Daniel Harris gave them a solid start but after losing a string of wickets they were happy just to bat out the day.Late strikes to Andrew McDonald, who finished with 3 for 15, gave Victoria hope but South Australia’s captain Graham Manou, who made 14 not out, and Dan Cullen (1 not out) saw them through to stumps at 7 for 176. It meant Victoria took the only points from the game after South Australia declared behind on the first innings.The Redbacks went to tea needing a further 192 at 5.6 an over with eight wickets in hand. It was an unlikely goal but with Harris the anchor and Aaron O’Brien capable of scoring quickly, they had seemingly not given up.The loss of Harris, who was lbw to McDonald for 62, was a major blow and despite O’Brien’s 49 from 75 deliveries, the home team found themselves too far behind. Their bowlers had done well to give the batsmen any hope.Victoria began the day with a healthy lead of 167 but they lost 9 for 100 on the final day as Cullen collected three wickets and O’Brien claimed two. A late counterattacking 31 from Shane Harwood was the only reason South Australia’s target was not significantly more attainable and in the end Victoria were fortunate not to lose a game they will feel they should have won.

Sri Lankan batsman Sanath Jayasuriya has been included in the All Stars team for the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes on November 8 and 9

Cricinfo staff24-Oct-2008Sri Lankan batsman Sanath Jayasuriya has been included in the All-Stars team for the Hong Kong Sixes tournament on November 8 and 9. Some of the other members include Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Justin Langer, Stephen Fleming and Matthew Hoggard.”I’m delighted to be playing in the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes and I’m looking forward to what promises to be a fantastic weekend at the Kowloon Cricket Club,” Jayasuriya said. “It will be great to team up with guys like Shiv, Justin, Stephen and Matthew, who have been my friends and respected opponents for many years in Test and one-day cricket, and hopefully we can put on a fantastic show for the fans.”Mark Burns, the tournament director, said Jayasuriya’s reputation as one of most dangerous hitters in world cricket will be terrific for the series.Langer and Fleming had announced their retirements from international cricket earlier in the year.The All-Stars are part of the Sobers Pool which also comprises Hong Kong, Australia and Sri Lanka. England, South Africa, India and Pakistan form the Bradman Pool.

Derby County have been dealt a major blow regarding the fitness of Lee Buchanan ahead of their upcoming Carabao Cup tie.

What’s the latest?

Speaking in the build-up to the Rams’ EFL Cup fixture against Salford City on Tuesday evening, Wayne Rooney shed some light on the current state of his Derby County side.

One player the 35-year-old discussed was Buchanan, with the left-back having missed the club’s Championship opener against Huddersfield Town on Saturday due to a thigh injury.

And, it would appear as if the 20-year-old will once again be watching from the stands at Pride Park on Tuesday, with Rooney revealing that the England U21 international has not recovered in time for the cup clash, as well as claiming the defender could be a doubt for the trip to Peterborough United on Saturday.

As cited by Derbyshire Live, the manager said: “Lee won’t be involved, he is still recovering. He will be touch and go for next Saturday. We are hoping he is ready for Saturday but will have to wait and see what the next couple of days brings.”

Rooney will be gutted

Derby fans will not need reminding just how threadbare their first-team squad is at present, with Rooney having just 14 outfield players at his disposal, four of whom – Tom Lawrence, Jason Knight, Krystian Bielik and Buchanan – are currently carrying knocks.

As such, while the visit of Salford in the Carabao Cup will not exactly be high on the 35-year-old’s list of must-win games this season – as it would appear likely the Rams will be putting all of their energy into ensuring that they remain in the Championship come the end of the campaign – the fact that Buchanan has not been deemed fit enough to feature will nevertheless have left the manager gutted.

Indeed, the match would have provided the man Rooney dubbed a “top player” with a relatively pressure-free run out to help him ease back into his stride before returning to action in the league.

However, with it looking as if the left-back will remain sidelined for the visit of Salford, as well as potentially missing out on the trip to Peterborough this weekend, the Rams boss may well be forced to start Craig Forsyth in the position once again on Tuesday evening, although both Rooney and the 32-year-old will more than likely wish the defender could sit out the Salford game with the Championship fixtures already coming thick and fast.

In other news: Derby County plotting swoop for “outstanding” £25k-p/w beast, Rooney would love him