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Liverpool have been heavily linked to signing Aurelien Tchouameni, and now a promising update has emerged on the chances of the Monaco midfielder moving to Merseyside this summer.

What’s the latest?

French TV presenter and journalist Gregoire Margotton has given an update on the current speculation surrounding a move for Tchouameni to the Premier League at the end of the season.

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Margotton tweeted out to his 340k followers two images, one of Tchouameni and one of Anfield accompanied with the following quotes:

“I hear the immense talent on the left could move into the legendary house [Anfield] on the right shortly. Joy. Congratulations. Happiness.”

Xabi Alonso 2.0

The signing of the £50m star who was hailed a “monster” by France U21 boss Sylvain Ripoll would be a major coup for Liverpool, with Manchester United and Arsenal both reportedly interested in securing the youngster’s signature in the upcoming transfer window.

With Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago Alcantara and James Milner all well into their 30s at this point, it would be a cunning idea for Jurgen Klopp to add some young blood in the more central and defensive midfield roles in the team, with Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliot already offering youth into the more advanced midfield roles in the team.

Tchouameni has been making impressive strides in Ligue 1 and could emulate a similar role and progress at a similar level to Liverpool and Real Madrid legend Xabi Alonso if the deal can get done to bring him to Anfield.

Just like Alonso, the 22-year-old is most effective in a central midfield role with both outstanding defensive and pressing attributes that have seen him become an absolute nuisance for his opponents at Monaco.

According to One Versus One, Tchouameni ranks number one for pass interceptions and has made the fourth most tackles in the opponent’s half, and the fifth most tackles in his own half in the entirety of the French top-flight. That’s accompanied by an impressive three goals and one assist in 37 appearances.

Ultimately, it is looking likely that FSG and the Liverpool manager will be able to beat off the competition to sign the Monaco star this summer and can become an extremely exciting prospect for the club and supporters next season.

AND in other news: FA Cup final blow: Liverpool rocked by “massive problem” that’ll leave Klopp gutted

Middlesex reached 145 for 2 by the close to leave their County Championship Division Two clash with Derbyshire nicely poised going into the final day

22-Apr-2011Stumps
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Middlesex reached 145 for 2 by the close to leave their County Championship Division Two clash with Derbyshire nicely poised going into the final day. Tony Palladino struck a big blow when he removed the dangerous Chris Rogers for 49. But Dan Housego and Dawid Malan remained together in a stand of 37 by the close, leaving their team needing 183 more runs on the final day with eight wickets remaining.Palladino had earlier shone with the bat as Derbyshire’s last four wickets added what could prove to be 90 match-winning runs to take the home side’s second innings to 403. Derbyshire started the third day 117 in front and Middlesex would have looked to Steven Finn to make early inroads, but the England seamer failed to find a consistent line and Derbyshire’s first casualty was self-inflicted.Chesney Hughes had looked particularly good off the back foot but he was guilty off a poor shot when he flashed at a wide ball from Finn and was caught behind for 36. It had taken Middlesex 40 minutes to break through and it was another 15 overs before they took another wicket as Dan Redfern and Greg Smith added 70.Redfern unleashed some flowing drives and was one short of a half-century when he went for a big cut at Ollie Rayner and edged into John Simpson’s gloves. Smith did reach his fifty before he was bowled trying to drive Corey Collymore just before lunch.But Derbyshire were still well placed at the interval with a lead of 245 and despite having a new ball, Middlesex could not mop up the tail which wagged impressively. Although Luke Sutton was bowled off his pads by Finn in the second over of the afternoon, Jon Clare, batting with a runner because of a hamstring injury, and Ross Whiteley added another 41 runs for the eighth wicket.It was a further indication of how the wicket had flattened out and there was more frustration for Middlesex as Palladino, dropped before he had scored, and Tim Groenewald put on 37 for the last wicket. Palladino looked far better than a No. 11 and was unbeaten on 29 from 32 balls when Finn finally wrapped up the innings to finish with 3 for 55, although he was a long way short of his best.Rogers had been off the field with a finger injury but he opened with Scott Newman and the pair gave Middlesex just the start they needed against a Derbyshire attack that was a bowler down in Clare. They scored at five an over and the stand was worth 79 when Newman pulled Smith into the hands of Redfern at deep square leg.But the key wicket was Rogers, who had looked in ominous touch in advancing to 49 from 64 balls and for the second time in the match, Palladino delivered. The former Derbyshire captain was lbw as he tried to work Palladino through midwicket but Housego and Malan batted through 16 overs to set up a fascinating fourth day.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has reacted strongly to comments made by Chris Gayle and Jerome Taylor about the lack of communication with the board before leaving for the IPL

ESPNcricinfo staff12-May-2011The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has reacted strongly to comments made by Chris Gayle and Jerome Taylor about the lack of communication from the board about their injury and rehabilitation prior to their departure to India to play in the IPL. The WICB stated, in a release, that both players “unilaterally decided to resume playing before being given final clearance from WICB appointed therapists.”Gayle, in an interview with KLAS Sports, a radio station in Jamaica, said the board hadn’t checked on his rehabilitation after the World Cup – where he sustained an abdominal muscle strain – and that he was “stunned” when he found out he hadn’t been picked for the limited-overs series against Pakistan. Taylor, in an interview with ESPNcricinfo, had said the WICB did not contact him about his back injury before he left to play in the IPL, and it only did so on April 7, once he’d arrived in India.In response, the WICB has released detailed timelines of the two players’ rehabilitation and correspondence with the board. In the case of Gayle, the board’s timeline notes that between April 17 and 18 this year: “Chris departs for India. Has not had required medical review, nor did he complete rehabilitation program and physiotherapy review as required, neither did he complete fitness testing prior to competition resumption.” It also published an exchange of messages between Gayle and West Indies team physio CJ Clark about his fitness during the period March 24-April 8.With regard to Taylor, the board claimed “he had not kept physiotherapy appointments for weeks prior to his deciding to resume playing.” Its timeline notes that as per early April this year, “Jerome departs to India without completion of rehabilitation, medical assessment or approval” after missing a scheduled review with Dr. Akshai Mansingh, part of the WICB medical panel, who had been tracking his progress.The board also reacted to criticism from Shivnarine Chanderpaul, saying “as a centrally contracted player the Board will address this matter through contractual provisions at the appropriate time.”

Mike McKenna, project owner of the Big Bash League, insists that Twenty20’s popularity has not yet peaked,

Daniel Brettig19-May-2011Mike McKenna, project owner of the Big Bash League, insists that Twenty20’s popularity has not yet peaked, despite a rising tide of evidence to the contrary.A slackening of interest in this year’s Indian Premier League, including television ratings in free-fall, suggests the format is no longer attracting new fans. So too does the fact that English cricket has been compelled to reduce the size of its sprawling domestic T20 competition for 2012, following a raft of poor attendances last summer.Nonetheless, McKenna and Cricket Australia remain intent on pushing T20 as a bold new product during the inaugural BBL in 2011-12, as six state teams give way to eight manufactured city-based franchises sporting names such as the Sixers, the Thunder, the Renegades and the Scorchers. Seeking an additional revenue stream to ultimately rival that provided by the national team, CA and the states will suffer a significant hit if the T20 league does not capture the public mood.McKenna is not shy about the fact the tournament has been closely modelled on the IPL experience, even though the differences between cricket’s place in Australia and India are stark.”I think we’re a long way from the peak of this sort of competition around the world,” McKenna said. “There are a lot of people still feeling the game out, what’s the right way to play it, what’s the right way to promote it, where to play games, what’s the right number of teams.”England had 18 teams playing 151 games, right at the back-end of the World Cup soccer, which was the primary interest for English fans. So who knows what a different structure will do for them, but there’s no doubt there’s an appetite for cricket, and particularly among young people and women the appetite for Twenty20 cricket is huge.”So you put the right product on and promote it the right way, it’ll be successful. But we want to make sure that other forms of the game have a place in that too. So domestic T20, international one-day cricket and Test cricket are the priorities for Australia, those three forms of the game ahead of everything else.”The simultaneous creation of eight new teams with no strong regional ties means the early seasons of the BBL will have to ride on waves of interest in the format itself and the players who take part. However the probable lack of many Australian and overseas stars, with the exception of West Indians such as Chris Gayle, may leave the teams without much of an initial selling point at all. McKenna argued the landscape allowed for new players to emerge as purely T20 identities, with internationals viewed merely as a bonus.”One of the challenges we have is we’ve got a lot of big name players in Australia, but we really want to build another level of player that has the chance to engage with the public,” he said. “At the moment we have 25 CA-contracted players, who are more often than not playing or on tour. What we want to introduce is another level of player who can really excite the fans.”We’ve seen that with David Warner, who’s not a Test player or a one-day player on a regular basis but can excite the fans. So if we can take those guys who are available into schools, shopping centres and where kids are, to clinics, it’s a chance for us to really connect with the fans where we can’t at the moment. The big-name players would be the icing on the cake for us.”Oddly given that each team has so far been counselled against allying itself too closely to a particular region or state – to the point that clubs were forbidden from using state colours – McKenna said each team had to mean something to its city in order to win genuine supporters and develop a club mentality.”If you look at every club around Australia who are successful, they stand for something,” he said. “Collingwood and Essendon football clubs, Wests Tigers, South Sydney, they’ve all got something that really appeals to their fanbase. For us that’s the biggest thing we’ve got to create that meaningful connection with fans, and that’s something we’ve been working on with all the teams for the past two months, what the team stands for.”

More than two-thirds of players polled in a recent survey believe the BCCI has an unfair influence on decision-making within the ICC

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jun-2011More than two-thirds of players polled in a recent survey believe the BCCI has an unfair influence on decision-making within the ICC. The Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) has renewed its calls for a review of the game’s governance after releasing the results of its 2011 player survey, which also revealed strong support for the decision review system and 50-over cricket.Despite overwhelming approval for how this year’s World Cup was run, the findings were not all positive for the ICC. Of the 45 players polled, only 6% believed that decisions at ICC board level were made “in the best interests of cricket”, while 49% felt decisions were made according to “party lines or best interests of the country that they are representing”. The remaining players were “unsure”.When asked if ICC decision-making was influenced unfairly by the power of the BCCI, 69% said ‘yes’, while 31% answered “don’t know”. None of the respondents gave a definitive ‘no’. Despite those concerns, 63% said they had confidence in the ICC’s ability to govern international cricket, although the FICA chief executive Tim May said the findings raised important issues, with 46% saying the structure and composition of the ICC executive board should be reviewed.”Players have highlighted that the governance of the game is a serious issue,” May said. “FICA have continually advocated for a review of the game’s governance. Its present structure is outdated, full of conflicts, cronyism and far from best practice. FICA does believe though that the ICC day-to-day management has improved considerably and are unfairly tarnished as a result of decisions of the ICC Chief Executive and Board Committees.”The call for a review of the game’s governance is not new. FICA have been pushing for change for several years, and the former ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed this year said he would be in favour of an independent commission running the game, although he also said the idea that countries always voted in geographical blocs was, based on his time at the organisation, not accurate.The FICA survey did reveal some good news for the ICC, with 94% of players rating the recent World Cup as “good” or above, compared to only 11% giving the 2007 tournament that level of support. However, the event is still too long, according to 74% of those surveyed, while 72% backed the decision to reduce the number of teams in the next World Cup to 10, and 91% felt the Associate nations should have a chance to qualify.The majority (82%) of players said the DRS made for better decision-making from umpires at the World Cup, and 97% thought the DRS should be compulsory in all Test matches. Notably, FICA is not affiliated with players from India – the BCCI being the major opponent of the DRS – or from Pakistan or Zimbabwe.The survey also showed: 32% of players would retire prematurely from international cricket to play exclusively in the IPL and similar Twenty20 tournaments 40% said that given the magnitude of salaries being offered by the IPL, they could envisage a day where they would rank their obligations to IPL and other T20 events ahead of obligations to their home boards 94% believed that superior salaries offered by the IPL would motivate younger players to hone their skills principally to T20 40% said their board schedules too much international cricket Only 24% of players favour a change in the format of ODIs 39% believe boards schedule too many ODIs, reducing the public’s interest in the format

Ian Blackwell has signed a two year extension to his playing contract with Durham

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jun-2011Ian Blackwell has signed a two year extension to his playing contract with Durham. Blackwell, 33, moved to Durham after a nine-year spell with Somerset in 2009 and has since consistently contributed with the bat and ball in all formats of the game.”I’ve really enjoyed playing in such a competitive side especially having really settled at the club during my time here,” said Blackwell.”There’s real ambition within the squad and after winning the Championship once with Durham already I definitely want to be making even more of an impact as we look to secure more success over the coming years.”Blackwell was named Durham’s Player of the Year at the end of his first season with the county after helping them to defend their Championship title with 801 runs at 40.05 and 43 wickets at 23.53.He then received their Bowler of The Year Award in 2010 and currently averages over fifty in this season’s County Championship in addition to taking 20 wickets.”Ian has been a great addition to the team over the past three seasons, producing match winning performances and contributing to Durham’s continued development on the field,” added Head Coach Geoff Cook.”We’re pleased that he has decided to commit to the club for another two years, not only for his performances on the field but for his spin expertise which he can share with our younger players as the club plan for the long term future.”

Tom Craddock took four wickets and Owais Shah and Jaik Mickleburgh weighed in with half-centuries as Essex fought back on the second day against Glamorgan

03-Aug-2011
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Will Owen checks the damage on his injured finger•PA PhotosTom Craddock took four wickets and Owais Shah and Jaik Mickleburgh weighed in with half-centuries as Essex fought back on the second day of their County Championship match against Glamorgan at Cardiff.Glamorgan had resumed the second day with their eyes fixed firmly on a total of around 500 but they had not factored in an Essex comeback with the ball. The home side were 313 for 3 and in a seemingly comfortable position, but from 335 for 3 collapsed to 399 all out shortly after lunch.In reply, Essex, required to score 250 to avoid the follow-on, were 160 for 2 at the close with Shah on 66 and Mickleburgh on 56 after sharing in an unbroken partnership of 111.Michael Powell was the first to fall for Glamorgan this morning, caught at first slip by Shah off Maurice Chambers, who then forced night watchman Will Owen to retire hurt for 23 when the Glamorgan bowler was struck on the left hand.Stewart Walters, who scored a hundred against Northamptonshire last week, was dismissed next ball when David Masters trapped him leg before. Mark Wallace was the next to fall when he chipped a Graham Napier delivery to Chambers at mid-on, while Jim Allenby was caught at slip by Shah off the same bowler.Graham Wagg helped Glamorgan salvage a fourth batting point but was soon adjudged lbw off leg spinner Craddock, who celebrated a wicket with his first ball of the morning. Craddock claimed the final two victims to finish with figures of 4 for 89 from 27.2 overs.Batting did not seem to get any easier in the Essex reply. Opener Tom Westley went to a superb caught and bowled effort from Graham Wagg before Allenby trapped Billy Godleman lbw for 27 with the visitors slipping to 49 for two. Allenby recorded impressive figures of 8-5-7-1 in the afternoon session.Shah, who hit Robert Croft for a six in his first over, and Mickleburgh guided Essex to 72 for 2 at tea. Shah survived a very confident caught behind appeal on 49 from Owen before bringing up his fifty with the next delivery. His half-century was scored in 111 balls with five fours and a six.Mickleburgh was given a life on 44 when he was dropped at deep midwicket by Wagg off Robert Croft. He went to make his half-century from 118 balls.

A magnificent opening spell by Ryan Sidebottom got relegation-threatened Yorkshire off to a great start against Sussex before the visitors hit back on day one of their Championship match at Scarborough

17-Aug-2011
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A magnificent opening spell by Ryan Sidebottom got relegation-threatened Yorkshire off to a great start against Sussex before the visitors hit back on day one of their Championship match at Scarborough.Left-arm swing bowler Sidebottom picked up three wickets for seven runs in his first spell as Sussex slumped to 27 for 3, but skipper Michael Yardy and Ben Brown staged a recovery by both hitting centuries in a record 198 stand for the fifth wicket. Brown was eventually dismissed for 108 but Yardy had advanced to 126 by the close, when Sussex were healthily placed on 335 for 5.Yorkshire were captained by South African Jacques Rudolph in the absence of Andrew Gale, who is out for the remainder of the season with a broken forearm, and also missing from their line-up was Ajmal Shahzad due to an ankle injury. Sussex won the toss and took first use of a good batting pitch but there was sufficient early movement for Sidebottom to create plenty of problems steaming in from the pavilion end.He struck twice in as many balls when the score was on 15, Chris Nash falling lbw and Luke Wells being neatly taken by Anthony McGrath at second slip. Murray Goodwin denied Sidebottom the hat-trick with a defensive push but soon afterwards he was unable to avoid contact with one which moved away from him and McGrath held on to another well-judged catch.Moin Ashraf shared the new ball with Sidebottom and he sent down some useful deliveries as well as some looser ones before being replaced by Steven Patterson who had Yardy, on 7, edging close to Joe Sayers at fourth slip. Ed Joyce had looked confident from the start and he and Yardy middled the ball well to improve Sussex’s situation but just before lunch the opener was caught behind by Jonny Bairstow off Richard Pyrah for 45 out of 90 for 4.Wicketkeeper-batsman Brown joined Yardy and the pair stamped their authority on the game by dominating proceedings in the afternoon session as the pitch flattened out. The introduction of legspinner Adil Rashid in no way hindered Sussex’s progress and, after Yardy had completed his half-century off 146 balls with four boundaries, Brown reached the landmark off only 71 deliveries with seven fours.Yorkshire looked to McGrath in an attempt to force a breakthrough but a leg-side wide went to the boundary, the five runs credited making it a century stand in 33 overs. Yardy sailed past his previous best score this season of 63, compiled in his last innings against Worcestershire at Horsham, and at tea he stood on 79 with Brown on 52.It was Brown, however, who seized the initiative after the interval and he was the first to three figures, slicing Rashid for his 17th boundary off the 124th ball he had received. Brown’s century was the fourth first-class hundred of his career and Yardy moved to his 16th century by nudging a single in Sidebottom’s first over with the new ball which came at 265 for four in 80 overs.Yardy had used up 242 balls and struck eight fours but in the same over he lost Brown, who drove loosely and was caught behind by Bairstow to end a 198 stand in 55 overs – a record for Sussex’s fifth wicket against Yorkshire and the best by any side for that wicket at North Marine Road.Yorkshire were unable to capitalise on Brown’s departure because Kirk Wernars (16 not out) held firm for the day’s final 15 overs, off which a further 47 runs were added.

Tim Nielsen, the Australia coach, has said he is firmly in support of whatever measures are taken to improve cricket in the country despite the uncertainty over his future

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Aug-2011Tim Nielsen, the Australia coach, has said he is firmly in support of whatever measures are taken to improve cricket in the country despite the uncertainty over his future because of the recommendations made in the Don Argus report.”The review’s been done with the sole purpose of improving and getting Australian cricket back to where we want to be, at No.1, and that’s what we’re all about as a team and especially in my role as coach, that’s what I’m all about,” Nielsen said in Colombo on the eve of the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka. “I’m supportive of this process; I just need some time to ensure that we go through this process and get all the information before we start making too much comment.”The Argus report recommended that the coach’s role be expanded to make him the leader of the overall coaching strategy for Australian cricket. The coach, along with the captain, will also be part of the five-member selection panel. However, it is not certain that Nielsen will be the man to fill the expanded role. Jack Clarke, CA’s chairman, said “in a restructure, you don’t just give someone the job in a new role” but added that Nielsen was welcome to re-apply for the role.”I think the most important thing is it’s been an exhaustive look at how we’re going to get Australian cricket back to where it wants to be, No.1 in all forms of the game,” Nielsen said. “You don’t do that by skirting around the edges and having nice, feel-good looks at things and hoping you’re going to fix things up by doing them the same way. We are 100,000% behind Australia being the best cricket team in the world and we’re going to start that process by winning again tomorrow and pushing on from there.”Michael Clarke, Australia’s Test and ODI captain, said that one of the major aspects of the Argus report was its emphasis on the necessity for an improvement in communication. “The positive from that is it allows the communication between selectors and players to be very clear now,” he said. “It allows me to give the player the consistent feedback the player is probably searching for and to let him know the reasons for his selection or non-selection. It certainly makes me more accountable now and I look forward to the challenge.”Another fallout of the Argus report was the removal of Greg Chappell, the national talent manager, from the selection committee. According to the , Chappell was banned from the Australian dressing room while the team was batting, because he was a disconcerting influence. Clarke, however, said he had no problems with Chappell.”My communications with Greg have been fantastic. He’s been open and honest with me and I’ve been able to do the same back in return,” he said. “My relationship with all the selectors has been fantastic and I’m certain that will continue.”

Danish Kaneria faces a further wait to gain clearance to play for Pakistan after the Sindh High Court adjourned his case against the PCB till October 20

Umar Farooq28-Sep-2011Pakistan legspinner Danish Kaneria’s case against the PCB in the Sindh High Court has been adjourned till October 20. During the September 27 hearing in the case, Kaneria consented to allow the board to ask the British Crown Prosecution Services for the tapes of an investigation by the Essex police. Kaneria had been questioned regarding a case involving spot-fixing allegations during a Pro40 match for his county Essex.Though Kaneria was not charged in the spot-fixing case, in which his Essex team-mate Mervyn Westfield faced criminal proceedings, he has not been cleared to play for Pakistan since the incident. Kaneria had filed a petition against the PCB over his non-clearance on July 2. During a hearing on August 18, he had admitted that tapes of the investigation in Essex existed and it was decided that they would be produced before the court on September 27. Kaneria’s lawyer Mohammad Farogh Naseem had said the tapes were in the UK with Kaneria’s British lawyer Steve Haurigan. .During the September 27 hearing it was decided that the PCB would write to the CPS to ask for the tapes or their transcripts. The PCB’s lawyer Taffazul Rizvi argued that though Kaneria was not charge with spot-fixing, his integrity was under the scanner and therefore his clearance would only be possible after scrutiny the of the tapes.The PCB’s integrity committee had asked Kaneria to produce transcripts of the investigation before the case had been filed began but his lawyers had maintained it was not possible as the transcripts were still part of an ongoing investigation in the UK. Before seeking legal recourse, Kaneria had appeared several times before the integrity committee to gain clearance and had submitted various financial records and documents, but had not managed to satisfy its members. He last met the committee on August 15, along with Shoaib Malik, and though Malik got clearance after that meeting and was on Pakistan’s tour of Zimbabwe, Kaneria’s wait continued.”I am desperate to play and am missing top cricket,” Kaneria told ESPNCricinfo after the September 27 hearing. “Of course I feel frustrated but I am optimistic about my career. I chose the legal path for which I feel no regret as I see it as the only way to get myself clear from the stigma.”