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Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett has revealed that Tino Livramento was close to being sent off for Southampton against Manchester City in the teams’ 0-0 draw last Saturday.

What’s the talk?

The Saints youngster was issued a yellow card for a challenge on Raheem Sterling, with Hackett believing that the 18-year-old was given the benefit of the doubt by on-field referee Jon Moss.

Hackett told Football Insider: “It’s close to a red card. There’s no question. I would go with the on-field referee because of his position.

“Moss has given the benefit of the doubt there. He’s in an excellent position to see that challenge.

“He hasn’t overreacted. The body language of the Southampton player is not good.”

Relief

Southampton fans will surely be feeling a sense of relief after reading these comments from Hackett, which suggested that Livramento could easily have been sent off on another day, with Moss erring on the side of caution instead of brandishing a red card to the teenage defender.

Losing the youngster for three games could have been a big blow for the Saints, as he has been a crucial member of the squad so far this season. He has started all five Premier League matches since his summer move from Chelsea, ousting Kyle Walker-Peters out of his natural position.

Hasenhuttl lauded Livramento as a ‘fantastic’ player earlier this season and raved about how much he has enjoyed working with him. The Southampton manager said: “Yes, I must say I’m super happy with this guy. He shows every week how strong he is and when you play against such players like these you have to be good and one against one he is.

“He never stays, he is always going and that’s what I want from him. Physically he is a good guy, a good height for a full-back, a fantastic player. But keep it calm – don’t talk too much about him!”

This shows how quickly the 18-year-old has settled in at St Mary’s, with Hasenhuttl lavishing praise on his performances. Livramento has averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.80, making two tackles and 1.8 interceptions per game from right-back.

He has been a rock in the back four and clearly caught the manager’s eye, which is why him being sent off and suspended for three games would have been frustrating for Saints supporters. In light of Hackett’s comments, they must now be feeling relieved that Moss opted against showing a red card, with Livramento available to face Wolves at the weekend.

AND in other news, Semmens disasterclass: Former Southampton beast has seen his value soar 317% since St Mary’s exit

Swing turned Mitchell Johnson from a good bowler to a menacing one in South Africa and the early signs are positive that he can find movement in England

Cricinfo staff16-Jun-2009It was swing that turned Mitchell Johnson from a good bowler to a menacing one in South Africa and the early signs are positive that he can find movement in England. Johnson has been practicing with Duke balls in Leicester and has already found threatening late curve.”What we’ve noticed is we have used the same ball for two long sessions now and we’re still getting the ball to swing, so that’s a good sign,” Johnson told the . “It’s good to see the ball swinging around.”As much as his new-found inswing to the right-handers, it was Johnson’s all-round game that made him such an asset in South Africa. He began the series with a highly entertaining unbeaten 96 at the Wanderers and finished with his first Test century in Cape Town and now finds himself being mentioned in the same breath as the allrounder Andrew Flintoff, who destroyed Australia in 2005.”To be put in the same sort of bracket as those guys is pretty exciting for me, because I never would have thought I would be,” Johnson said. “I think maybe once you keep hearing that name, allrounder, all the time, it might put a bit more pressure on me, but I think the type of person I am I probably don’t let it get to me too much. I just try and keep everything really simple.”Australia’s coach Tim Nielsen believes Johnson will go a long way to deciding the series and, although nobody in the Australian camp has specifically said it, he is the only fast man guaranteed a start in the first Test. Peter Siddle would be unlucky to miss out after impressing against South Africa at home and away, while Ben Hilfenhaus is an incumbent and will swing the ball.That leaves Brett Lee and Stuart Clark as the old warriors trying to fight their way back into the line-up after injury lay-offs and they have two warm-up games to push their cases. Clark flew out from Sydney to join the squad on Monday and he believes the selectors will make their call only after the tour matches.”I’m not sure they’ll go down the path of blokes getting rewarded for wickets,” Clark said in the . “It will be about displaying certain qualities of your bowling style, which is going to be important come the Test matches.”If I bowl well and don’t get any wickets that probably won’t rule me out. There will be a real understanding of what’s happening. We all want to get wickets; someone will get wickets and someone won’t. Given that you’re bowling well, I think you’re just as good a chance as anyone.”Adding to the selection quandary is the expectation that the pitch for the first Test in Cardiff will offer spin, enhancing Nathan Hauritz’s chances of taking one of the available bowling slots. However, Clark was not convinced that a turning surface would hurt the hopes of the seamers.”I’m very hesitant to start jumping at shadows there, whether the wicket is going to be turning or not,” he said. “It’s been like that in county games, but I’ve also played county games at Lord’s where the wicket’s spun, and last time it seamed around everywhere as well. We’ll see when we get to Cardiff, but if they take three quicks then, yes, it will be tougher because someone’s going to have to miss out.”

The nominees for the 2009 Zimbabwe Cricket Awards have been announced

Cricinfo staff17-Jul-2009The nominees for the 2009 Zimbabwe Cricket Awards have been announced, with captain Prosper Utseya, Ray Price, Tawanda Mupariwa and HamiltonMasakadza vying to be named Cricketer of the Year.A panel of 15 judges, including ZC administrators, selectors and members of the media, met in Harare on July 15 to deliberate over the candidates in a variety of award categories. The awards recognize achievements attained during the 2008-09 season which ended in March.”The annual awards were created to pay special tribute to the leading cricketers of the day and honor those who have played a significant role in administering and developing the sport in Zimbabwe”, said a board spokesperson.ZC will also use the ceremony to reveal the names and corporate identities of the recently-launched franchises. “There has been much anticipation about how the new franchises will be branded and invited guest will be the first to get a sneak peek at how each of the five franchises will be represented in the coming season,” the spokesman added.

Some Liverpool supporters are unhappy at an update regarding Nat Phillips’ future, with the Reds willing to sell him this summer.

The Reds suffered terrible injury misfortune at centre-back last season, with Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip all missing most of the campaign.

Liverpool managed to battle their way to a third-place finish in the Premier League, however, with Phillips playing a key role in that achievement. The 24-year-old was drafted in from nowhere in order to alleviate the issue, making 17 appearances in the league, 15 of which were starts.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

Despite Phillips impressing at the heart of Liverpool’s defence, he could find chances few and far between this season, with key players back fit again and Ibrahima Konate joining from RB Leipzig.

According to journalist Jonathan Norcroft [via Anfield Watch on Twitter], Liverpool value the Englishman at between £12m and £15m and would accept a “buy now pay later” deal for him this summer.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/the-latest-liverpool-transfer-news-9/” title=”The latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=“none”]

Liverpool fans unhappy at Phillips update

These Reds fans have taken to Twitter to show their frustration at the news, with some wanting Phillips to stay put and others claiming that it proves the club aren’t desperate for money.

“I’m not happy about this, sell Gomez”

Credit: @Munash_Tondoya

“I don’t want Nat to leave. There I said it. By October I fully expect at least Matip and Gomez to be addressing some form of injuries. We also have no certainty Ibou is gonna immediately take to the physicality of this league. Keep the lad here. Especially if the fee isn’t instant”

Credit: @jondickson_

“So the issue is not money. Okay”

Credit: @Kea_IsTheName

“So that clearly shows we’re not desperate for money and we’re just stingy”

Credit: @ahmedlfc

“What a bad joke. That just shows we have the money but we will not spend it because we’re stingy. I just hope, by that way of thinking, we’ll not have many problems…”

Credit: @Seyjith

“This is bad, Nat is a very good player”

Credit: @IkeoneP

In other news, some Liverpool fans have reacted to an update from journalist James Pearce. Read more here.

After falling to a defeat last time out in the Premier League, Leeds United will be hoping to pick up their first win of the new season when they travel to Newcastle United on Friday night.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side lost 3-0 to Liverpool, with Pascal Struijk’s red card for his challenge on Harvey Elliott the understandable talking point after the game.

However, the defeat meant that the Whites now linger only just above the relegation zone and desperately need a positive performance and result against the Magpies tonight to lift the mood.

One way in which Bielsa can do that even before the game is by starting new signing Dan James.

The Wales international arrived from Manchester United on transfer deadline day and has only been restricted to one substitute appearance thus far as Bielsa understandably looks to ease him into life at Elland Road.

However, with Rodrigo badly struggling at the start of this new season – here on FFC we’ve called on the Leeds boss to drop the Spaniard tonight – James might have the perfect chance to make his full debut for the club.

Speaking after the game against Liverpool last week, former Leeds striker Noel Whelan said: “He came into really tough circumstances in the game. We were fighting to get back into it and were down to 10 men, so it wasn’t the ideal circumstances to make your debut.

“But the glimpses we saw of him, he has good feet, good link-up play, he’s good at cutting inside. He is a top player all round. It was everything that we expected, that he showed at Man United during the time he was there.

“He looks like the type of player who will be perfect for Elland Road. He ticks a lot of the boxes that will make us a better team this season. We do play very direct and down the wings and the cut inside to link up with Patrick Bamford.”

His former Old Trafford teammate Andreas Pereira lauded the 23-year-old as being “explosive and so fast” in an interview with the club’s official website last season, and that level of pace and directness is something that the Whites could really do with as they look to get their campaign going.

His performances at Euro 2020 over the summer showed exactly why he could be a major thorn in the Magpies’ defence, averaging an impressive 2.5 key passes and 1.5 dribbles per game – not only was he electric taking players on, but he also showed an impressive end product too.

The £43m-rated star could terrify Newcastle tonight at St James’ Park if Bielsa decides to start him.

Meanwhile, this Leeds star must be dropped tonight against Newcastle…

The results from the fifth day of the Ranji Trophy one-day tournament 2008-09

Cricinfo staff19-Feb-2009
Ajinkya Rahane’s century steered Mumbai to their second straight win © Cricinfo Ltd
South ZoneAn aggressive 95 from M Vijay and good support from opener Srikkanth Anirudha and Arun Karthik handed Tamil Nadu a comfortable eight-wicket win – their fourth consecutive victory in the tournament – over Andhra Pradesh in Visakhapatnam. Tamil Nadu’s job was made easier by their fast bowlers R Suthesh and Yo Mahesh, who took five wickets between them to help restrict Andhra for 190. The duo struck to leave Andhra reeling at 37 for 6. However, Duvvarapu Shivkumar, who top scored for Andhra with 56, triggered a lower-order revival, with the last four wickets added 153. Garikina Prasad, the offspinner, who batted at No. 10, contributed 41. But the total proved inadequate, with Tamil Nadu’s batsmen scoring at more than 5.5 runs an over, led by Vijay, who struck 12 fours and two sixes.Fast bowlers M Arjun and Shoaib Ahmed took three wickets each to help Hyderabad inflict a 105-run defeat on Goa in Visakhapatnam. The two took the first five wickets to fall and left Goa – who were chasing 261 for victory – reeling at 48 for 5 in the 15th over. Though the lower order helped Goa salvage a more respectable final score, the flurry of wickets early in their innings meant they were always behind the eight-ball. Asked to bat, Hyderabad were provided a good start by opener DB Ravi Teja, who scored 69. Though the highest partnership in their innings was only 50 – between Teja and Anoop Pai for the third wicket – the middle order made important contributions to help their team post a competitive score. Amol Shinde made 43, wicketkeeper Abhinav Kumar chipped in with 34, and Ashish Reddy scored a quick 29 to take their team to 260 for 8. Shadab Jakati, the left-arm spinner, took 3 for 52. Goa, at the bottom of the table, have no chance of making it to the knockout stage.A threatening 89-run stand for the seventh wicket between centurion Devraj Patil and Raju Bhatkal could not prevent Kerala from beating Karnataka by a narrow 15-run margin at the Port Trust Golden Jubilee Stadium. Medium-pacer Prasanth Parameswaran took 3 for 15 in 7.3 overs, and was ably assisted by the rest of the bowling line-up as Karnataka faltered in pursuit of 243. They started off poorly, losing their openers Robin Uthappa and CM Gautam with 19 on the board and slipped to a precarious 111 for 6, despite a 54-run partnership between Patil and B Akhil. Though Patil and Bhatkal took their team within reach of the target, Parameswaran’s two wickets ensured Kerala won. Earlier, Kerala squandered a solid foundation for a sizeable score, losing five wickets for 68 runs in reaching 258 for 9. Half-centuries from Karimutthatu Rakesh, Sreekumar Nair and Preambhastn Prem had put Kerala in a dominating position, but three run-outs jolted their hopes of getting a total beyond Karnataka’s reach. It was Kerala’s first win in the tournament.West ZoneMumbai kept alive their chances of finishing in the top two by beating Maharashtra by seven wickets at the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground in Rajkot. Maharashtra, put in, managed a score over 200 thanks to an unbeaten 58 from No. 7 Ganesh Gaekwad, who added 71 for the eighth wicket with Rohit Motwani after they had been reduced to 110 for 7. Dhawal Kulkarni struck two early blows for Mumbai, while Iqbal Abdulla and Abhishek took three wickets apiece. Chasing 211, Mumbai’s openers – Wasim Jaffer and Ajinkya Rahane – put on 145 in 22 overs. Gaekwad took the three wickets to fall in the innings, while Rahane reached his century before Mumbai completed the win with 12.4 overs to spare. Mumbai, who now are tied at the top with Maharashtra and Gujarat on eight points, will have to rely on the results of the remaining games in the group phase – Mumbai have completed their four.Half-centuries from opener Sagar Jogiyani and Cheteshwar Pujara helped hosts Saurashtra beat Baroda by five wickets. Set a challenging target of 248, Saurashtra began soundly with the openers adding 36 in under ten overs. However, Chirag Pathak’s dismissal slowed down the innings and Saurashtra were behind the asking-rate when they lost No. 3 Bhushan Chauhan with the score on 83 in the 26th over. But Jogiyani batted steadily, and Pujara stepped up the scoring after Jogiyani fell to finish with 75 off 68 balls and take Saurashtra past Baroda’s total in the final over. Pratik Mehta supported Pujara well with a 28-ball 33, adding 60 for the fifth wicket. Baroda, after opting to bat, wasted a solid foundation laid by a 106-run third-wicket stand between Azharuddin Bilakhia, who top scored with 85, and Rakesh Solanki. They lost their last six wickets for 78 runs, with medium-pacer Jayesh Odedra taking 4 for 44 to precipitate a quick end to the innings.North ZoneAjay Mannu, the Himachal Pradesh wicketkeeper, made an invaluable 70 to help his team record a narrow two-wicket win over Delhi in Una. HP were struggling at 194 for 6 in pursuit of a challenging 282, but Mannu steadied the innings, getting involved in crucial partnerships of 31 for the seventh wicket with K Diwan, and 41 for the eighth with offspinner Sarandeep Singh to take his team within reach of the target. HP had begun their run-chase well, with opener Sangram Singh scoring a quickfire 57. However, the middle-order batsmen failed to build on starts – Vikramjeet Malik made 31 and captain Paras Dogra was trapped lbw on 44. Mannu’s rescue act, though, led the team to their third straight win. Delhi’s innings was anchored by opener Aakash Chopra’s century. He and was involved in a 96-run fourth-wicket stand with allrounder Rajat Bhatia, who made 77 off 68 balls.Haryana too completed a close two-wicket win against Services. Batting first, Services – who had complained about poor facilities in Una – managed only 181. Joginder Sharma struck three early blows, while India legspinner Amit Mishra grabbed 5 for 44 as only three Services batsmen made it past 20. Services’ opening bowlers Rakesh Kumar and Narendra Singh took five wickets to leave Haryana at 78 for 6, but Dhruv Singh and Joginder revived the chase with a 79 -run stand. Arun Sharma then removed Joginer and Sandeep Singh – he finished with 2 for 29 off ten overs – but Dhruv’s unbeaten 68 ensured his team reached the target with 4.2 overs to spare. At the other end, Gaurav Vashisht survived 11 balls for his 1.Uday Kaul top scored with 79 as Punjab posted the first win – a six-wicket victory over Jammu & Kashmir in Dharamsala. Set 219, Punjab’s chase was over in the 38th over, with Ravi Inder Singh and Ankur Kakkar chipping in with 40s. It was the third straight loss for J&K, who were off to a steady start after being put in. Openers Imraj Thakur and Ian Dev Singh scored contrasting 45s, but the middle order, barring Manoj Joglekar, failed to capitalise. Joglekar scored 73 to push his team past 200; the best from the rest was 12. Taruwar Kohli was the pick of the Punjab bowlers, with 3 for 28 off his 7.1 overs.East ZoneRanadeb Bose took a three-wicket haul as Bengal’s bowlers put on an impressive display at Eden Gardens to help their side book their place in the knockout stage. Chasing 250, Tripura were bowled out for 158. Ashok Dinda and spinners Iresh Saxena and Manoj Tiwary scalped two wickets each. Shreevats Goswami scored 74 in Bengal’s 249, with Tiwary making 55 and wicketkeeper-opener Wriddhiman Saha 41. For Tripura, opening bowler Rana Dutta, playing his third List A game, took 4 for 43.A seven-wicket win over Jharkhand in Kolkata boosted Orissa’s chances of qualification. Subit Biswal’s maiden List A century and an unbeaten 88 from Halhadar Das steered Orissa to their target of 261 with 5.3 overs remaining. Jharkhand reached 260 thanks to Saurabh Tiwary’s 76, and a 47-ball 62 from Shiv Gautham.

John Dyson, the West Indies coach, wants his players to learn from their mistakes in Antigua and make sure they don’t have to fight it out for a draw again

Andrew McGlashan in Barbados25-Feb-2009
John Dyson: “I’m just waiting for the day when it all clicks for him [Daren Powell] and he walks away with a five-for” © Getty Images
John Dyson, the West Indies coach, wants his players to learn from their mistakes in Antigua and make sure they don’t have to fight for a draw again. The outstanding efforts of Ramnaresh Sarwan and the lower order helped them survive with nine wickets down, but Dyson said it should be a warning sign.”We showed some good character in Antigua,” he said, “although I was a bit disappointed with the way we battled and bowled but the end result showed a lot of character. England will come at us even harder this time and we need to be consistently putting big totals on the board in the first innings. England showed you can control the game by doing that.”West Indies let the game slip right from the opening session after Chris Gayle put the visitors in on a surface that was expected to aid the quick bowlers but turned into an excellent batting track. During the game Dyson said hindsight was a wonderful thing and he still supported Gayle’s decision. “It was made for all the right reasons,” he said. “We lacked intensity and passion, which then came out on the last afternoon when we should have been stamping our authority on the game.”Although Daren Powell was one of the heroes of the rearguard, playing out the final 10 overs with Fidel Edwards before the light faded, he has come under pressure for his sub-par performance with the ball. But Dyson has seen first hand how hard Powell is trying to overcome his problems and believes he can strike form.”Daren is an honest assessor of his own performances and he realises that it would be great for him to put in some big performances with the ball,” Dyson said. “If you watch him work in the nets and around the whole scene you realise he is a very hard worker. I think one of these days we are going to see a spell from Daren that turns his fortunes right around. I’m just waiting for the day when it all clicks for him and he walks away with a five-for.”West Indies’ last-gasp draw had them celebrating as though it was a victory while England looked as if they had lost. Coupled with the loss of Andrew Flintoff because of injury and Matt Prior’s flying home to see his new baby, it would suggest that momentum is heading the home side’s way.”Both sides have played some excellent cricket and both sides have played some poor cricket,” Dyson said. “England have been hit by a couple of injuries so it’s a difficult one to say who’s got the momentum.”West Indies will again face a challenge off the field with hordes of England fans set to flood the Kensington Oval, outnumbering local supporters. But Dyson wants his players to use that to their advantage and put in a performance to silence the visiting fans.”It’s a motivating factor for both teams. If you are out there with people yelling against you it still acts to motivate you. We expect larger numbers of England supporters here than locals, but it makes you want to do something about it.”

Mark Ramprakash has dropped hints that he might not stay at Surrey after 2009 if things don’t change

Cricinfo staff24-Sep-2008
Mark Ramprakash: ‘I have a year left on my contract and I don’t really want to finish my career in Division Two’ © Getty Images
Mark Ramprakash has dropped hints that he might not stay at Surrey after 2009 if things don’t change. The county were relegated from Division One of the County Championship after finishing the season without a win.In his column in the Daily Telegraph, Ramprakash said that the departure of coach Alan Butcher earlier this week had left a void at The Oval and he was waiting to see how it was filled.”I have a year left on my contract and I don’t really want to finish my career in Division Two,” he wrote. “I feel pretty good physically and I’m confident I can play for another three years but a lot of things go into the mix – motivation, enjoyment of the game and wanting to be part of something good. At the moment it is a case of waiting to see who is going to replace Alan and what their vision is for the club.”Ramprakash was stand-in captain for most of the summer after Mark Butcher was sidelined from June with a knee injury, but he uses his column to make clear that he was not at the heart of many decisions. “Right from the very beginning I said I was happy to carry out the orders on the field but I was conscious that I was a stand-in captain and that it was not my show. Policy and selection was still down to the coach and Mark Butcher. At the end of the day you can only take things so far.”If Ramprakash wants to carry on for another three years, it is clear he wants to do so in the top flight of the domestic game. If that isn’t with Surrey, then it seems increasingly clear he will consider moving on.His contract is up at the end of 2009, leaving him free to look at other options. Even though he will be 40 by then, his continuing excellent form – he again topped 1000 runs and averaged 61.25 in 2008 – would make an attractive, if expensive, prospect for a number of counties.The news will raise a few wry smiles at his previous county, Middlesex, who he left at the end of his benefit year because he believed that Division Two cricket would harm his England ambitions.Ramprakash also admitted that things haven’t been right at Surrey for some time. “If you look at the past five years then you can see we have been a side in transition and not realistic title contenders. In 2004 we narrowly avoided relegation, we went down in 2005, were promoted in 2006 but the following summer we occupied one of the bottom two spots until the final two weeks of the season.”

West Bromwich Albion could yet make one final move in what remains of the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Birmingham Live, who claim that, if Valerien Ismael’s side are to make a last-minute move on deadline day, it will be for a centre-forward, as the Frenchman would like to take the pressure off of the Baggies’ current options in the position.

The report goes on to state that, despite both players being heavily linked with a move to The Hawthorns this summer, neither Liam Delap – who looks set to remain at Manchester City – nor Daryl Dike – who is attracting interest from a number of Premier League clubs – appear to be feasible transfers.

Final piece of the puzzle

While West Brom’s transfer window has accelerated somewhat in recent weeks, with the club securing the signings of Norwich City centre-forward Jordan Hugill and Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Jayson Molumby on season-long loan deals, following the news that Kenneth Zohore is free to leave the club, it would indeed appear as if Ismael could use reinforcements up top prior to the closure of the transfer market on Tuesday evening.

Indeed, as mentioned above, while the Baggies did recently acquire the services of Hugill, the striker’s form for Norwich City last season was questionable, with the 29-year-old scoring just four goals over his 31 Championship appearances for Daniel Farke’s side.

As such, if Hugill is the only out and out number nine that Ismael has at his disposal this season, and the £1.8m-rated man suffers a dip in form or simply picks up an injury over what is sure to be an arduous Championship campaign, the 45-year-old Albion boss could well rue not making a move for another option in the position sooner or later.

So, it would seem as if the addition of another centre-forward on Tuesday would be a very good idea for West Brom, with a player in the position potentially being the final piece of Ismael’s Albion puzzle.

In other news: Fresh development on £16.5k-p/w West Brom ace emerges, it will have fans buzzing

Jimmy Adams, the former West Indies captain, will take over as the new technical director of Jamaica’s cricket development programme

Cricinfo staff13-Nov-2008Jimmy Adams, the former West Indies captain, has been named the next technical director of Jamaica’s cricket development programme. Adams, appointed to the post by newly elected Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) president Paul Campbell, will take charge on December 1.Junior Bennett, the Jamaican coach, women’s coach Cleon Smith and age-level coaches Andre Coley (Under-19) and Terrence Coke (Under-15) will come under Adams’ supervision. “He will be charged with responsibilities to evaluate and make sure those coaches are discharging their responsibilities, which includes hiring and firing,” Campbell said. “It is totally in sync with his plans, which is by extension in sync with our objectives at the JCA.””We believe that Jimmy has the experience and the knowledge. He is a visionary and he will take the game in sync with our objectives to a very, very high level,” Campbell said. “We look forward to great things and I am positive that we, at the JCA, have made the right decision to engage Jimmy as the new technical director.”