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Newcastle United now reportedly have the go-ahead to sign a Premier League star, who Alan Shearer previously called “excellent”.

Eddie Howe salutes "special" Bruno Guimaraes

It’s a new year, but it’s the same Bruno Guimaraes as far as Eddie Howe is concerned. The Newcastle boss watched on with the rest of St James’ Park as the Brazilian stole the show against Crystal Palace and scored his seventh Premier League goal of the season.

Howe told reporters: “Bruno is a very special player, a special person, a special character.

“He’s very positive, he’s got great energy and today he played a captain’s role because that game was always going to be decided by very key moments in the game and he’s come up with a big one for us, and he’s done it countless times.

“Your big players normally decide big games, and today was a big game for us decided by a huge player in our recent history.”

It’s the perfect start for Newcastle, who will be hoping to enjoy a positive month on and off the pitch. Away from the action, the January transfer window represents an ideal opportunity for PIF to end some unfinished business from the summer.

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Whether that means moves for the likes of Kees Smit is now the big question. The promising midfield star is firmly on the Magpies’ radar, but they may have to wait until the summer to make a deal happen.

Instead, their focus could turn back towards their frontline. According to TeamTalk, Newcastle have now received the go-ahead to sign Jorgen Strand Larsen at a cut-price close to the £40m-mark this month, having been told that he’d cost as much as £60m in the summer.

Newcastle receive go-ahead to sign Strand Larsen

Wolverhampton Wanderers are now reportedly prepared to sell their forward at a cut-price before his value drops even further with what currently looks like inevitable relegation to the Championship.

As a result, Newcastle are now back in the race to secure his signature and finish what they started in the summer. It’s an open secret that those at St James’ Park were scrambling to secure Strand Larsen just months ago and even though he’s struggled ever since in the Midlands, they now have an ideal opportunity.

There’s no hiding that the Norwegian has struggled this season after netting 14 goals in his debut campaign, but the context of Wolves’ situation must be considered.

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If the praise of Alan Shearer is anything to go by from last season, then Strand Larsen is certainly still worth pursuing. The Newcastle legend said following Wolves’ victory over Ipswich last season: “He was a nuisance. His hold-up play was excellent and I thought his touch and his control were superb.”

Praise doesn’t get much higher than that in Tyneside and Newcastle should take note as they attempt to complete their frontline at long last.

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	Nayar’s 80-ball 90 propelled West to a win over South © Cricinfo Ltd

Powered by a counterattacking 90 by Abhishek Nayar, and a steady display by their medium-pacers, West Zone beat South Zone by 26 runs in Bangalore to finish second in the Deodhar Trophy. Central had already secured the title by winning their first three matches with a bonus point in each of them.West had started a middle-order collapse when Nayar came into bat at 105 for 3 in the 25th over. In the next 10 overs, they stumbled to 165 for 6, and were in danger of being bowled out. That’s when Nayar found stable company in Ajit Agarkar, and by the time Agarkar got out West were in a position to accelerate in the slog overs. The two added 66 in 11.1 overs, while some lusty blows towards the end to take West to 272. Nayar was the last man out – in the 50th over, for an 80-ball 90.South’s chase never got going, and they had lost Robin Uthappa, M Vijay and S Vidyut in the first 13 overs for 51 runs. S Badrinath, along with mini contributions from the middle and the lower-middle order, kept them within an outside shot, but once Badrinath got out for 64 in the 42nd over, the task was too much for the lower order. Munaf Patel and Siddharth Trivedi took three wickets apiece.
ScorecardAnustup Majumdar and Saurabh Tiwary helped East Zone recover from a precarious situation to put up 296, a total North Zone did not have the firepower to chase. This ended a dismal campaign for North Zone, who failed to win anything and conceded bonus points in two of their matches. East finished third with nine points from four matches.When Majumdar and Saurabh came together, East had lost three wickets for 75 runs, and were in need of a partnership that would be big and one that would keep the rate up. The two did just that, adding 133 runs in 31.1 overs. Saurabh contributed 73 of those – off 74 balls, with the help of three fours and three sixes. Majumdar, though, went on to get his second List A century and his highest List A score, hitting 10 fours and two sixes in his 107-ball 109.The lack of impetus in East’s slog overs – last nine overs went for 56 – proved inconsequential, as a slow start followed by a middle-order collapse meant North were never with a shot. A mini recovery by Virat Kohli had taken North to 96 for 2 in the 22nd over, but it soon became 134 for 7 as East wrested control.

Shane Bond hopes to dismiss Sanath Jayasuriya early in the innings and restrict Sri Lanka to 200 runs in their semi-final in Jamaica © Getty Images

Shane Bond, New Zealand’s fast bowler, has announced his intention to target Sanath Jayasuriya, the hard-hitting Sri Lankan opening batsman, in their semi-final clash in Jamaica.”If we can get Sanath out early we can probably limit them to 200 runs so it’s my job, especially in this game, to get him out and we’ve always identified him as a key wicket,” Bond told the .The pitch at Sabina Park is expected to offer a fair bit of assistance to fast bowlers and according to Bond it has more bounce and swing than any of the other wickets that New Zealand have played on this World Cup. “It’s a small ground,” Bond added. “We have a long batting line-up, some big hitters, so it might suit us better and should be an ideal ground when playing a side like Sri Lanka.”Bond has 12 wickets at 12.83 from seven matches in the tournament. He missed New Zealand’s final Super Eights game against Australia due to a stomach complaint and his side lost by 215 runs. The defeat, Bond said, was disappointing because New Zealand were a better side than the one bowled out for 133 in 25.5 overs.”The moment we beat South Africa [in their penultimate Super Eights game], we knew we would be playing Sri Lanka and that became our sole focus,” he said. “So we didn’t do ourselves justice; we weren’t focused. But we are here for the game we really want to play and we’ll turn up for this match.”Winning the World Cup will give a huge boost to cricket in New Zealand, felt Bond. “I think people are hoping we win but aren’t speaking it,” he said. “I think even to make the final would be a huge buzz and an Australia-New Zealand final would be something special.”

Malcolm Speed: ‘There is a reliance on members to be responsible in scheduling additional commitments’ © Getty Images

Malcolm Speed has hit out at critics who have accused the ICC of apparent indifference to player workloads, stating that they are “quite simply ill-informed and wrong”.Speed, the ICC chief executive, wrote in an article published on Cricinfo that the ICC was all too aware of the strain on players.”Avoiding that cycle of problems was one reason why the ICC recently introduced its new six-year Future Tours Program (FTP) to replace the existing five year schedule,” he explained. “[It] was put together following extensive consultation and has factored in guidelines, supported at the ICC Cricket Committee, by players at the captains’ meeting and by player representatives, including FICA, concerning the highest volume of matches each side should be playing.”He went on to outline the demands on each country, which should mean that no teams should play more than 15 Test matches and 30 ODIs in a 12-month period, although he added that “teams rarely come close to this limit”.But he warned that some of the scheduling was outside the ICC’s control and was down to the member countries themselves. “There is a reliance on members to be responsible in scheduling additional commitments above and beyond those required by the FTP – two Tests and three ODIs home and away against each other during the six-year period. The ICC recognizes the need for Members to look to maximize their revenue in order to grow the game … but, at the same time, they have to be mindful that the players are their prime assets and overworking them would benefit no one in the long run.”

[Players] are doing something that the vast majority of people that watch them in action can only dream of, and they are well-paid too

And Speed said that while the strain of travelling and playing was clear for all to see, he stated that “they are engaged in their career of choice”. He continued: “They are doing something that the vast majority of people that watch them in action can only dream of, and they are well-paid too. The current crop of international stars are better rewarded for their efforts than any of their predecessors.”Players have to realise it is a two-way street. They cannot, on the one hand, complain of playing too much and then turn round and head off for a lucrative spell of English county cricket when there is a break in the schedule.” He also pointed out that not all players were unhappy, and some wanted to actually play more.Speed’s comments would seem to throw the onus back on the individual boards as it is the extra matches they squeeze into gaps in the schedules – such as the DLF Cup in Abu Dhabi this week – that greatly increase the time spent travelling and playing.What is sure is that this debate is far from over.

On the way out: Brendan Taylor banned for missing training © Getty Images

Brendan Taylor has been banned for nine months following reports of indiscipline during Zimbabwe’s recent A-team series against Pakistan.Taylor was slapped with the ban after reportedly missing training twice without informing Kevin Curran, the coach, or giving a satisfactory explanation for his absence.The action rules Taylor out of the home series against India and New Zealand as well as Zimbabwe’s tour of New Zealand in January. He will, however, be able to play domestic matches.If the punishment appears to be excessive, sources report that this was not Taylor’s first brush with the authorities. Last month, Cricinfo exclusively reported that Taylor had stayed out clubbing all night less than 36 hours before the start of the Test against South Africa at Johannesburg in March.

The South Africa Cricket Board has announced contracts for 18 players for the period from May 2004 to April 2005. The categories under which the players will be contracted will be announced after the domestic season.Alan Dawson and Mfuneko Ngam, who were contracted for the 2003-04 season, have not been offered new contracts, while Gary Kirsten opted out by announcing his intention to retire after the tour of New Zealand.Contracted players 1 Paul Adams, 2 Nicky Boje, 3 Mark Boucher, 4 Boeta Dippenaar, 5 Herschelle Gibbs, 6 Andrew Hall, 7 Jacques Kallis, 8 Lance Klusener, 9 Neil McKenzie, 10 Andre Nel, 11 Makhaya Ntini, 12 Robin Peterson, 13 Shaun Pollock, 14 Ashwell Prince, 15 Jacques Rudolph, 16 Graeme Smith, 17 Martin van Jaarsveld, 18 Monde Zondeki.Garnett Kruger, Albie Morkel and Justin Ontong were shortlisted for national contracts.

SYDNEY, Feb 3 AAP – Steve Waugh today supported the suggestion one-day internationals could be played at Sydney’s major Olympic venue after unveiling the pitch for cricket’s first game at Telstra Stadium.Both NSW captain Waugh and Blues paceman Stuart Clark suggested the manufactured pitch would produce plenty of runs for the ING Cup clash with South Australia on Sunday week.Although a renowned cricketing traditionalist, Waugh had no objections to one-day internationals being played at Telstra Stadium rather than the SCG.He said one-day matches didn’t have the same tradition as Tests where the established venues were concerned and therefore couldn’t see any reason why they shouldn’t be moved to other grounds.”It’s a great venue, players want to play at the best possible venues and this looks fantastic,” Waugh said from the middle of Telstra Stadium today.”They want to play in front of big crowds, so if it fits the bill, then why not?” said Waugh, who watched Olympic events at the stadium in 2000.NSW Cricket Association chief executive officer and former Australian representative David Gilbert suggested it was common sense to play some one-day internationals because its capacity was almost twice of the SCG.However, the Australian Cricket Board is contracted to playing one-day internationals at the SCG for the next couple of seasons.Waugh said the dimensions of Telstra Stadium reminded him of Adelaide Oval and said he thought the Olympic arena would be “one of the great venues to play cricket”.The centre wicket developed by Strathayr Turf Systems weighs approximately 32 tonnes with the pitch containing the same Oberon Creek soil used in most Sydney pitches, including the SCG.”The pitch looks good. It’s nice and flat, that’s the main thing with one-day cricket,” Waugh said.”It’s obviously a while to go before the match, but I think if they roll it and get a bit of hardness, there should be plenty of runs there.”Waugh described the outfield as “fantastic” and said the first game at the venue would be “a great experience for all the players, it’s something we will never forget.”Already used to playing on drop-in pitches in international cricket, especially in Melbourne, Waugh had no reservations about such wickets and didn’t approach them any differently to standard strips.”In some ways you are almost guaranteed a good quality pitch because they are looked after and have been worked on for a long while and all they’ve got to do is drop it on, so there’s no problem at all from a playing point of view.”

One of the key reasons for the success of the MRF Pace Foundation inrecent years is the manner in which the foundation follows up on itswards. Unlike many other academies, the MRF Pace Foundation tracks thecricketing growth of their trainees right from the beginning onwards.Even after Dennis Lillee finishes his stint in Chennai and heads backto Australia, he is in constant touch with TA Sekhar, head coach atthe Foundation. The latest stint at the academy began on the June 20and concluded on June 28. There were several new aspects to this camp,and several advancements from the last time around.The first major difference was the use of a software known as ‘SiliconCoach.’ The high tech aid helps caches dissect a bowler’s action rightdown to the basics. “This software determines injury mechanisms,creates split screen presentations, calculates distances, speeds andangles and provides rapid feedback for trainees and coaches,”described Lillee. The former Aussie quick went on to add, “Thesoftware compares techniques of elite and novice performers andprovides qualitative and quantitative comparison before and afterintervention.”But there was more to the camp than just the introduction of a new bitof technology. Troy Cooley, fitness expert and assistant coach at theAustralian Cricket Academy, was in Chennai for the second year insuccession. The former Tasmanian fast bowler performed some standardphysical tests on the trainees. The test he performed was the same oneused back home in Australia. It was good news for the lads at theFoundation as the results showed that the gap in fitness levelsbetween trainees in India and Australia was narrowing fast.When Lillee came to Chennai last in February, he selected 15 wards totrain at the Pace Foundation. Although encouraged by the results,Lillee was firm in his belief that these youngsters would have totrain much harder in order to achieve higher honours. The list of 15has been pruned to 12 and the training programme continues in rightearnest.The list of 12 trainees hand picked by Lillee to continue at the MRFPace Foundation are: Ishan Malhotra (Punjab), Tinu Yohannen (Kerala),Sujoy Parul (Bengal), G Chaita (Karnataka), Prashanth Chandran(Kerala), Chandrasekhar Atram (Vidarbha), Baburao Yadav (Vidarbha),Abhishek Choudhury (Delhi), Harish Puri (Punjab), Irfan Pathan(Vadodara), KS Veeranan (Tamil Nadu) and Avishkar Salvi (Mumbai).

The Athletic’s Phil Hay has delivered the latest update on Leeds United’s injury situation.

What’s the story?

With the international break having gotten underway, Jesse Marsch has the chance to pick the bones out from the club’s incredible triumph over Wolves – a game that saw them clinch all three points in the dying embers, but suffer a disastrous number of injuries.

And now, Hay has revealed what the club’s hopes are behind the scenes at Thorp Arch.

He said: “As new head coach Jesse Marsch went through them one by one post-match, he took solace from the fact that none of the individual knocks or strains appeared to be particularly severe. Regardless, Marsch always intended to give the squad a meaningful rest through the international break now underway.

“This two-week interlude has been perfectly timed after back-to-back wins and at a point in the season when so many players need some downtime. The 48 hours after Wolves were taken up with medical scans and decisions about who was fit enough to travel abroad for international duty.”

Much-needed boost for Leeds

While Marsch would undoubtedly have been on cloud nine following that dramatic late victory over Wolves at Molineux, his immediate attentions and concerns would have turned towards the club’s growing injury list.

Just when the American may have thought things had beginning to turn a corner – Patrick Bamford started the game, while Kalvin Phillips and Liam Cooper found themselves on the substitutes bench – it all took a shocking decline.

Bamford limped off and left inconsolable, while the likes of Illan Meslier, Diego Llorente and Mateusz Klich were all forced off with their own problems – that’s not to mention Stuart Dallas being absolutely crunched himself but fighting through it to stay on.

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So, news from Hay that none of those issues seem to be too severe, and that the squad will be given a “meaningful rest” over these coming two weeks is a perfectly timed boost for Marsch and one that will have him delighted.

AND in other news: Orta set for Leeds disaster as terms agreed for £63k-p/w “storm” who’s “a level above”

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	Younis Khan’s unbeaten 68 helped steer NWFP out of a top-order wobble © AFP

Career-best figures from medium-pacer Shakeel-ur-Rehman helped North West Frontier Province dismiss Sind for 149 and an unbeaten 68 from captain Younis Khan took the lead to 200 by stumps on day two in Karachi. Sind had resumed on 60 for 1 but Shakeel dealt quick blows to secure his side a 54-run lead.His first victim was opener Khalid Latif, caught behind for 17 from 75 balls to make it 79 for 2. Faisal Iqbal, the Pakistan international, was out for 1 and the dangerous Shahid Afridi was removed for an 18-ball 17. Naumanullah was then bowled for 47, the best contribution of the innings, and two swift strikes cut through the tail. Pind had proceeded to lose nine wickets for 89 runs.Rafatullah Mohmand and Yasir Hameed got NWFP’s second innings off to a solid start, adding 41, but a double-strike from Anwar Ali threatened to bring Sind back. Hameed hit 26 from 30 balls before he was trapped leg before by Anwar, a former Under-19 star. Riaz Kail suffered a similar fate for 4 as NWFP slipped to 51 for 2. That became 71 for 3 when Mohmand fell to Uzair-ul-Haq’s medium-pace, but Younis proved difficult to dislodge.Coming off two fifties against Zimbabwe and a one-match breather in the clean sweep, Younis rattled his way to an unbeaten 68 off 95 balls, with 13 boundaries, by the close of play. Offering solid support at the other end was Wajahatullah Wasti, the former Pakistan opener, with a sedate 14 from 81 balls. NWFP’s tail wagged in the first innings and further such contributions could be enough to seal Sind’s fate as this match progresses.
Scorecard
Salman Butt’s unbeaten 143-ball 135, in an opening stand of 191 with Mohammad Hafeez, gave Punjab a superb start to their first innings on day two in Lahore. Butt shrugged off an ordinary series against Zimbabwe by taking the Federal Areas attack to task – Punjab scored 219 for 1 at 4.56 runs an over – after Abdur Rehman and Wahab Riaz combined to reduce the opposition from an overnight 301 for 4 to an eventual 383.Butt struck 24 fours and a six , or 75% of his score, to launch a stirring reply. With Hafeez, another opener with international experience, he defied a line-up that included Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir and Yasir Arafat. Hafeez was a bit more relaxed in his approach, scoring 77 from 113 balls, but with his partner going all-out it suited the situation expertly. Butt ticked along at a strike rate of 94.40, doing plenty to keep this match from meandering to a draw. Punjab still trail by 164 but with the likes of Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf and Kamran Akmal to follow Federal Areas may be in for a tough third day in the field.Earlier, Rehman, who has played two Tests and 11 ODIs, snared 4 for 86 with his left-arm spin to support opening bowler Riaz. Usman Saeed and Naved Ashraf were cut short after crossing fifty and there was little action from Federal Areas’ lower order. Riaz, who had handed a maiden ODI cap against Zimbabwe last month, took 4 for 112 to help Punjab maintain damage control. Then it was over to Butt.