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Derbyshire needed only 20 minutes to wrap up the victory that keeps alive their slender chance of staying in Division One of the championship.Durham’s last four wickets went down in five overs as Derbyshire won by 232 runs, their first victory in any cricket since late June.The day began with Durham on 257-6, still 243 runs short of victory, and another blazing hot morning offered no prospect of rain coming to their rescue.In the end, Derbyshire wrapped up the contest in five overs with Kevin Dean and Tim Munton each taking two wickets.Dean started the slide with the first ball of the second over when John Wood was bowled with no addition to the total and after an edge to the third man boundary, Andy Pratt was caught behind off Munton for 21.Melvyn Betts was lbw to Dean and the end came when Steve Harmison pushedforward at Munton and was bowled, giving Derbyshire 15 points.Durham took only three points from the game which has dented their chances of staying up and although Derbyshire have given themselves a glimmer of hope, they still need Kent to collapse.They also need to get back the eight points that were deducted for a sub standard pitch against Surrey in June and negotiations with Lord’s are still ongoing.

Aston Villa have been one of the more active clubs over the past few years in terms of being busy in the transfer market with numerous players being recruited to Villa Park.

Looking at the previous January transfer window, the Villans secured the signatures of four new faces, one of which was former Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho, who joined from Barcelona on loan until the end of the season.

With the next summer transfer window in mind, it seems as though the Brazilian’s presence at Villa Park could play a part in another former Premier League star’s decision to return to England from abroad.

What’s the talk?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist and transfer insider Dean Jones had this to say about one potential factor Villa have that could sway Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum into joining the Midlands club amid recent transfer links.

He said: “I think Wijnaldum could look towards Coutinho and think he seems happy, seems to be in form, is at a good club and there’s big hopes for what they can achieve there.“

Villa’s new Coutinho?

Since joining Steven Gerrard’s side, the winger has scored four goals and provided three assists in nine league games, showing that it didn’t take him too long to get acclimatised back into the Premier League.

With that in mind, it’s easy to see why Wijnaldum could be looking at his former Reds teammate in envy after the Dutchman previously shared his unhappiness with his current situation at the French club.

Labelled as a “machine” by The Athletic’s Liverpool journalist James Pearce, as well as being “relentless” on the pitch, the £22.5m-rated midfielder could be a perfect player for Johan Lange to secure a deal for this summer, in a similar sort of way they signed Coutinho.

Given how the club missed out on signing Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma in January, this would be the perfect response from the club’s transfer chief. Considering his expertise and qualities at the top, he would be a simply wonderful signing.

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If the Midlands club end up securing their Brazilian loan star on a permanent basis when his current temporary spell comes to an end, this could further improve their chances of persuading Wijnaldum to make a move back to England to link up with the Brazilian and play under the guidance of Gerrard.

After all, eye-catching signings will always convince others to make a switch; just look at Newcastle last January.

In other news: Gerrard must finally unleash “raw” 19 y/o AVFC sensation with a “fantastic profile”

Zimbabwe’s selectors have not sprung any surprises in their 15-man squad for the five-ODI series in Pakistan.Ray Price and Gary Brent, who have both returned to the side after turning their backs on international cricket, are named, as is Sean Williams, whose inclusion in the side which played in South Africa last week reportedly caused a bitter dispute among the selectors who wanted another black player instead.Meanwhile, Peter Chingoka, Zimbabwe Cricket’s chairman, denied claims that his board was putting player safety second to the standing of the country within the ICC. “The players and their technical staff are all comfortable with the tour,” he said. “I will accompany the team on the first leg of the tour and the vice-chairman, Tavengwa Mukuhlani, will then join the travelling party when I return on January 17 or 18. The chairman of the cricket committee, Cyprian Mandenge, will take over from Mukuhlani on January 24 and return with the team.”Critics point out that the women’s World Cup qualifier has been moved from Pakistan to South Africa on safety grounds and accuse ZC of not taking the proper steps to establish the security situation in the country. Zimbabwe will be there in the build-up to the national elections in mid February when many are predicting an escalation in violence.Zimbabwe squad Prosper Utseya (capt), Gary Brent, Chamu Chibhabha, Elton Chigumbura, Keith Dabengwa, Timycen Maruma, Hamilton Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Chris Mpofu, Tawanda Mupariwa, Ray Price, Vusi Sibanda, Tatenda Taibu, Brendon Taylor, Sean Williams

Irfan Pathan’s form, both with bat and ball, are critical to the team balance and he’s likely to get a chance on his home ground © AFP

With the four-match series against the West Indies winding to a close, India are stuck with more questions than answers. While it would be over the top to say they are indisarray, the Indian team certainly needs to clear the question marks hanging over certain key players in the lead-up to the World Cup.The most important, perhaps, is Irfan Pathan, who had, through his ability to score runs both at the top of the innings and later on, given the team the option of going light on the batting and playing the extra bowler. But, with his bowling falling away to the extent that he lost his place in the team, all talk of balance seems a bit of a luxury.Speaking at a press conference ahead of the final one-dayer against West Indies, where Pathan is set to return to the side on the back of seven wickets in his last Ranji Trophy match, Rahul Dravid took the safety-first option when asked about him. “The proof of the pudding will be in the eating,” said Dravid. “When Irfan goes out there and playsa few games and performs, only then will we know. I’m just looking forwardto him playing again. Him bowling well and performing well – those areimportant words – are critical to the balance of the team so we hope thathe’ll do just that.” Pathan’s batting form has been on a steady rise, sothere’s no real concern there. If his bowling comes through then that’sone less headache India have.Sreesanth’s meteoric rise in Test cricket has, intriguingly, had little todo with his fortunes in the one-day game. His performances in Tests,both in West Indies and in South Africa, were forceful and filled withpurpose, sometimes even inspirational, but he has bled runsin ODIs. He’s the kind of bowler who you want to be able tocall up at any time, but he’s by no means a certainty to make the cut forthe World Cup just yet.”Sree’s a young bowler and is competing for a spot in the side as anyoneis. He’s finding out it’s not that easy to bowl on Indian wickets. He’sgot to keep learning and improving. That’s part of what it is to be ayoung cricketer. We’ve got to be patient with some of our youngcricketers. It can be hard to bring on and develop a young player here inIndia because of the expectancy of immediate results,” said Dravid. “Thatdoesn’t always happen, especially with the difference between domestic andinternational cricket being a big one. You look at some of the other teams – Marlon Samuels has been doing well but they’ve given him so much time and been patient with him. That’s something we have to learn.”

The reason why most teams want to play three fast bowlers is thePower Plays. But with the experience of our two main spinners they might beable to do that job and that could be quite critical

The other massive cause for concern is Munaf Patel. Not long ago he wasleading the pack of young fast bowlers coming through. Now, after thesorry episode of South Africa, where he sat out virtually the wholeseries only to return for the final Test well below full fitness andembarrass himself, the road back may not be so easy. Munaf’s honesty inrevealing the extent of his injury was under question, and no captain willstick his neck out for a player who he believes has been economical withthe truth. Dravid, though, had encouraging words for Munaf. “Just watchingMunaf in the nets today, even though he was not in the squad, was good. The way he was running in and bowling …” he said. “We needed to find outwhether he had come back fit and from what I’ve seen in the nets that’sheartening.”Dravid, who was batting against Munaf and even otherwise watching himfrom close quarters in the nets, may have seen something that was notobviously evident. But from thirty feet away it certainly did not looklike Munaf was near full fitness. He was not steaming in, appeared to bebowling well within himself – almost as though he feared a relapse – anddid not extract that trademark rearing bounce. But with only four gamesagainst Sri Lanka left before the World Cup, Munaf will certainly get alook in. Whether he goes on to book himself a place for the big tournamentremains to be seen.With so many doubts over the fast bowlers, the role of the spinnersbecomes far more critical and Dravid agreed when this was put to him.”The experience of Anil [Kumble] and Harbhajan might give us the option of usingthem even in the Power Plays,” he said. “If we’ve got four experiencedbowlers and Anil and Harbhajan can do a job for us in the twenty overs ofthe Power Plays it may even give us the option of playing an extra batsman.”The reason why most teams want to play three fast bowlers is thePower Plays. But with the experience of our two main spinners they might beable to do that job and that could be quite critical.” It might not only becritical to India’s fortunes, but also to Ramesh Powar’s, for as someone who’s performances are seldom mentioned, he could well find himself a place in the squadahead of one of the quick men.

ScorecardSreesanth rocked the top order, Somasetty Suresh ripped the middle while Sreekumar Nair removed the tail to bundle out Jharkhand for a paltry 189 in their first innings and following on Jharkhand were 13 for 1 at stumps as Kerala gained complete command over the Plate match at Palakkad. Manoj Joglekar offered the lone resistance with an half-century. Earlier Fernandez Robert hit 59 to lift Kerala, overnight at 320 for 6, to 399.
ScorecardMadhusudan Acharya and Sandeep Singh shared five wickets between them to engineer a stunning collapse as Tripura, well placed overnight at 63 for 1, crumbled to 112 before Vidarbha rode on half-centuries from Amit Deshpande and Alind Naidu to reach 184 for 5, 228 runs ahead, at stumps on the second day at Agartala. Acharya, the offspinner, struck twice off successive deliveries to reduce Tripura to 91 for 6 before Sandeep, the medium pacer, got into act, grabbing two wickets in an over to further push Tripura to 104 for 8. Vidarbha then consolidated their hold on the game through a 107-run partnership for the second wicket between Deshpande and Naidu.
ScorecardHalf-centuries from B Songavkar and Shitanshu Kotak powered Saurashtra, overnight on 269 for 4, to 439 before they reduced Goa to 50 for 3 to dominate the second day’s play at Rajkot. Songavkar and Kotak added 92 runs for the sixth wicket after the departure of the overnight centurion Cheteshwar Pujara who added 34 runs today. Sandip Maniar grabbed two wickets to push Goa on the backfoot by close of play.
ScorecardMohammad Aslam grabbed three wickets to bundle out Assam, overnight at a comfortable 198 for 5, for 240 before Rajasthan batted their way to a position of relative strength at 172 for 4 by the end of the second day’s play at Udaipur. J Arunkumar, overnight centurion, took the score to 223 for 5 when he fell triggering a collapse; 5 wickets fell for the addition of 17 runs. Naresh Gehlot, the left-hand middle order batsman, hit an unbeaten 42 to consolidate the Rajasthan innings after the openers had put a 76 run stand.
ScorecardPowered by an 119-run stand between Arshad Bhatt and Kavaljit Singh for the third wicket J&K reached 257 for 5 by the end of the opening day against Madhya Pradesh at Indore. While Bhatt’s was a breezy effort, 89 off 146 balls with 11 fours and a six, Kavaljit played a patient hand. The duo’s efforts were consolidated by an unbeaten 41 from Pranav Mahajan. The match had been postponed by a day since the J&K team had not arrived in time due to flight delay.
ScorecardS Sehgal starred with an seven-wicket haul as Himachal Pradesh collapsed from 120 for 2 to 168 all out before Orissa reached 18 for 0 at stumps to dominate the opening day’s play at Cuttack. Owing to bad weather and problems in flight connectivity the match between Orissa and HP was postponed by a day. Half-centuries from Mridul Gupta and Rajeev Nayyar had lifted HP to a comfortable position before Sehgal got into the act.

Stephen Fleming admitted that the last-wicket partnership between Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie took the game away from New Zealand© Getty Images

Stephen Fleming
On what went wrong
The turning point was yesterday when the game was well balanced. We had Australia five down and if we could have bowled them out for parity, or for 50 to 100 runs ahead, we could have looked to set them a target. But that period in the afternoon gave them an advantage and that last partnership took the game away from us. The team that turned up today probably had a hangover from that.On what was most disappointing
Today is extremely disappointing, but I think yesterday was more disappointing.On some unlucky decisions
We’re working with pretty small margins against a pretty good Australian side. We need things to go our way and when they don’t it makes it hard. It hurt us at times during this game, but it’s not why we lost.On the tension between the teams
There’s nothing more than usual. I’d be disappointed if it was all cuddles and handshakes.On the McMillan and Gilchrist disagreement
I was interested in how it finished when I saw that conversation in the middle of the field. Craig said it was sorted and I take his word for that. He seemed pretty relaxed about it.On the walking situation
Just because one or two guys are on a crusade doesn’t mean it changes the way of 95% of the other cricketers. We all like the game played in the best spirit, but if individuals don’t it has to be respected either way.On a team agreement
I’m not going to put a blanket on my side that says they must walk or follow every gentlemanly agreement. It’s still international sport and some guys are playing for their livelihoods. It’s been happening for too long to be changed overnight, and putting pressure on players to do it is wrong.On the side’s batting
Today’s batting was poor. In the first innings, to have No. 7 get us through to a score is becoming too much of a trend for my liking, and the top order have to improve. To get 350 is a par score … just.On any mental damage
I don’t think it damages us too much because I think you expect the best to come out.John Bracewell
On more technology coming into the game for decisions
Clearly Hawk-Eye has been shown to be inadequate throughout this match. Some balls were hitting the stumps or not hitting the stumps, and the umpires, who aren’t wrong, were in difference to that. Clearly the technology is not up to it yet, and shouldn’t be used.On changes to the team for Adelaide
Everybody except James Franklin is fit in the squad. We will be looking at the surface first, and obviously the history. Losing James could have made some difference for us here.On the bowling
Chris Martin was magnificent for long periods, and it was good to see him get the snap back that he lost in our winter. Dan [Vettori] bowled beautifully and to a plan for several batsmen coming in. A number of these [Australian] guys are great cricketers, they are establishing records of greatness, and there are very small windows of opportunity.On how they dealt with the Australian batsmen
Perhaps only Martin, of the quicks, had bowled against them before, and the counter-attacking may have become a little bit too much for them.

At a time when many things in cricket are changing – central contracts, more and more international cricket, the newfangled Twenty20 Cup – you could always rely on MCC to remain the same. Until now, that is. For the first time in its 216-year history, MCC has entered into a joint commercial venture.The other half of this enterprise is the Australian company Albion, the leading manufacturer of cricket headgear. By teaming up with Albion, MCC will become the exclusive distributor of caps, hats and helmets across England and Europe. And according to MCC, the joint venture reflects its commitment to increasing commercial income which can be ploughed back into the game.Albion’s products include the Baggy Green caps worn by the Australian Test team, the popular “Greg Chappell” wide-brimmed sunhat used by many club and Test players, and the special caps made to mark the Centenary of Federation during Australia’s Test against West Indies at Sydney in January 2001. Albion also produced the distinctive skull cap worn by the Australians to mark the first Test of the 21st century. As well as caps, they supply international players from all round the world with helmets and sunhats.Roger Knight, MCC’s chief executive, said: “We are delighted to be joining forces with a company of Albion’s calibre. Its Baggy Green is the most famous cricket cap in the world; we believe that its helmets are the world’s best; and its sunhats have led the way in providing players, around the world, with excellent protection from the sun. This venture is an exciting new development for everyone involved.” The commercial venture will be formally launched at Lord’s on Friday October 3.

Limited overs champions KwaZulu-Natal built on three successive victories on the road with a three-wicket win over Easterns at home in their Standard Bank Cup match at Kingsmead on Friday night. In other games, the Eastern Province Jumbos added to the Highveld Strikers’ miseries with a five-wicket win at St George’s Park while in Kimberley Griquas accounted for Free State by four wickets.KZN’s triumph was set up by a blistering 57 off 51 balls from Gulam Bodi as the home team chased Easterns 154 for eight. Despite the start given the Dolphins by Bodi, the home team wobbled in mid-innings before getting home with more than eight overs to spare. Andrew Hall, with 67, provided the substance of the Easterns innings.In Port Elizabeth the Strikers collapsed after Adam Bacher (70) and Daryll Cullinan (30) had put on 73 for the first wicket. Garnett Kruger at one point took four wickets in 11 balls before finishing with five 29 as the Strikers were bowled out for 158 and with Dave Callaghan making 53, the Jumbos were able to get home in some comfort.In Kimberley, Warwickshire’s Mike Powell hit an unbeaten 62 to guide Griquas to a four-wicket win over Free State. Jimmy Adams’ 60 had enabled Free State to reach 186 for seven and at one point the Diamonds were creaking on 99 for five before Powell and Wendell Bossenger (31) added 68 for the sixth wicket to stabilise the innings.

Haryana with just 3 points have no chance of qualifying for the knockout phase. Perhaps this explained their lacklustre batting effortagainst Orissa at Cuttack. What would have hurt more is the fact thatHaryana won the toss and elected to bat.A combination of some effective bowling by leg spinner Jagannath Dasand a couple of run outs at the top of the innings stunned the Haryanainnings. Only Padamjeet Singh (51) and Parender Sharma (40) were up tothe task. The rest of the batting did not make scores worthy ofmention. Being knocked out for just 206, Das was easily the pick ofthe bowlers with 4/62 off his 19.5 overs.However, the drama was not over just then. After bowling Haryana outfor a small score, it would have taken only a steady battingperformance on Orissa’s part to put them in command on the firstday. However, they failed to do just that.Orissa were required to play out just eight overs, and in that shortperiod they suffered three causalities. Captain Shiv Sunder Das whohas had a good season with the bat succumbed to Jain after he had madejust 4 runs. P Das failed before he reached double figures and Orissawere in serious trouble at 12 for 2. In an attempt to stem the rot,Debashish Mohanty was sent as a nightwatchman. After surviving 15balls without scoring, Mohanty was trapped LBW by Sonu Sharma addingto Orissa’s woes. At the close of play Orissa were 17/3, not aposition they would have envisaged after bowling the opposition outfor 206.

Newcastle United are interested in signing Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips in the summer transfer window, according to a fresh transfer rumour.

The Lowdown: Phillips indispensable at Leeds

The 26-year-old has arguably been the most important player at Elland Road over the past five years, maturing into a truly formidable footballer.

Not only has Phillips shone for Leeds, making 226 appearances for the club, he has also become a key figure for England, scooping his country’s Player of the Year award in 2021.

However, it could be that the midfielder looks for a fresh challenge this summer, despite his love for his boyhood club.

[freshpress-quiz id=“383507″]

The Latest: Newcastle eye up move for Phillips

According to The Daily Mail, Newcastle have emerged as potential suitors for Phillips’ signature, with their big-money takeover allowing them vast sums of money to spend on new signings.

Aston Villa are also mentioned in the report, with the Leeds hero ‘prepared to assess his options’ once this season reaches its conclusion.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-37/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Survival paramount for Whites

It could be that Phillips decides to leave Leeds whatever happens this season, but there is no denying that relegation back to the Championship would almost certainly lead to his departure.

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An England regular simply isn’t going to be content with playing in the second tier, regardless of his love for the Whites, so that makes it all the more crucial for Jesse Marsch’s team to retain their top-flight status over the coming weeks.

The hope is that Phillips stay at Elland Road for the rest of his career – Tony Adams has hailed him as ‘fantastic’ – but it would be hard to begrudge the 26-year-old a move elsewhere considering the service he has given to Leeds, especially if a Champions League club were to come in for him.

In other news, Andrea Radrizzani has made a key claim regarding his future as Leeds owner. Read more here.