Leeds: Hay drops Bamford injury update

Phil Hay has dropped a teasing injury update concerning Leeds United centre-forward Patrick Bamford.

What’s the latest?

In comments made on a recent Q&A for The Athletic ahead of the Arsenal fixture on Saturday, the Leeds correspondent revealed that, while the 28-year-old was not deemed ready to feature at The Emirates, it is very possible that the England international does make a return to action prior to the end of the current campaign.

Hay went on to suggest in a further comment made after the 2-1 loss that, with the Whites lacking any real attacking threat in the striker’s absence, Jesse Marsch could well look to take a risk on reintroducing the forward to his starting XI over the club’s remaining Premier League fixtures – even if he is not 100% fit.

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Regarding the current condition of Bamford, the journalist said: “Patrick Bamford isn’t ready to return, although it’s very possible that Bamford will feature before the season ends…  I’d be gambling on Bamford if he’s ready for the last two games.”

Supporters will be buzzing

Considering the fact that Leeds’ 2-1 defeat in north London, coupled with Everton’s 2-1 win over Leicester City, saw the Whites slip back into the relegation zone with just three fixtures of the Premier League season left to play, the news that Bamford could make a return to first-team football before the end of the current campaign is sure to have left the Elland Road faithful buzzing.

Indeed, the £18m-rated striker proved just how important he is to the Leeds attack over his 38 Premier League fixtures last term, scoring 17 goals, registering seven assists and creating five big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.8 shots and making 0.8 key passes per game.

These returns saw the £74k-per-week forward average a highly impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.01, ranking him as his club’s seventh-best performer in the English top-flight – with the 28-year-old playing a key role in Leeds securing a top-half finish in the league.

As such, should Bamford be able to refind this level of goalscoring form upon his potential return to the side over their last three games of 2021/22, it would undoubtedly come as a huge boost to the Whites’ chances of remaining a Premier League outfit next season – an outcome that everyone involved with the club will certainly be hoping for.

AND in other news: “I’m told…”: Insider drops huge Leeds transfer update, Victor Orta will be buzzing

Series comes alive after wicket-fest

A Kingsmead-record 18 wickets went down on a wildly fluctuating second day on which India clawed their way back into contention in the series

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran27-Dec-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Zaheer Khan sparked India’s resurgence in South Africa with an incisive spell on the second day•AFPThe world’s two best batting line-ups faltered with 18 wickets – a Kingsmead record – falling on a wildly fluctuating second day as India clawed their way back into contention in the series. South Africa seemed to have the contest sewn up when their relentless quicks packed off the Indian tail in a hurry, but the returning Zaheer Khan inspired a comeback that resulted in a priceless 74-run lead before poor strokes from some of the much-decorated names in the Indian batting set up a tantalising third day.Smart Stats

Rahul Dravid became the first fielder to take 200 catches in Tests. It was also his 50th catch off the bowling of Harbhajan Singh, only five behind his tally of 55 catches off Anil Kumble. Dravid became the only fielder to take 50 or more catches off two different bowlers in Tests.

Harbhajan’s four-wicket haul was his 11th in away Tests and his best figures in South Africa.

South Africa’s total of 131 is their fourth lowest in home Tests since their readmission in 1992. Their lowest ever total at home also came against India in the previous tour in 2006-07 when they were bowled out for 84 at the Wanderers.

Dale Steyn picked up his 15th five-wicket haul in his 45th Test. It is also his third five-wicket haul against India. Among bowlers to have picked up more than 200 wickets, Steyn’s strike rate of 39.6 is the best.

18 wickets fell for a total of 245 runs on day two of the second Test, equalling the record for most wickets in a day in Durban. The previous occasion that 18 wickets fell in a day at Durban was back in 1950 in the match between Australia and South Africa.

Sachin Tendulkar and Dravid continued their poor run of form at Durban. They average 16.00 and 15.40 from seven and six innings at this ground respectively. VVS Laxman is the best Indian batsman at this venue, with 126 runs at an average of 63.00.

The day promised to be a re-run of Centurion – after India’s batting fails on a damp pitch, the sun comes out on the second day,the pitch eases out and South Africa’s run-machines bat India out of the game. It may well have turned out that way but for the inspired Zaheer, whose relentless hostility when Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma were wasteful with the new ball kept India fighting. There was also a fortuitous Jacques Kallis run-out, an unplayable snorter from Sreesanth that accounted for AB de Villiers, and some outstanding catches – including No. 200 for Rahul Dravid – that combined to hurt South Africa.Many Indian fans associate Durban with the infamous drubbing dished out in 1996, when India were bowled out for 100 and 66 in their two innings, but it hasn’t been the best ground for South Africa either in recent times: they made 138 against Australia in 2008-09, and 133 against England last year, and this time fared even worse, folding for 131.Things were going to plan for South Africa till ten minutes before lunch, by when they had moved to 67 for 2 with their middle-order bulwarks, Hashim Amla and Kallis, building a partnership. Amla punched a ball back towards Ishant, who half-fielded it and unintentionally parried it back onto the stumps at the non-striker’s end, catching Kallis out of his ground. Worse followed for South Africa, when de Villiers was dismissed by a ripper from the hitherto off-colour Sreesanth, bouncing sharply and cutting away to surprise the batsman, who thumbed it to the keeper.Still, there was no need to panic as Amla continued to be in supreme form. His back-foot drives were the stand-out shots in a calming innings, but he missed a straighter one from Harbhajan Singh to be struck in front of middle, for 33. Like most other batsmen in the match, he too failed to convert his start; this was only the seventh time since 1935 that no batsman from either team has made a half-century in the first innings.The last specialist batsman, Ashwell Prince, was troubled by Zaheer’s movement right through his innings. He made an edgy 13 before finally falling to Zaheer, the ball cannoning onto the stumps as he attempted a footwork-free drive.It continued the excellent work Zaheer had done with the new ball. If India were demoralised by their limp batting, Zaheer showed no signs of it. He was accurate, getting the ball to jag around, and frequently mouthing off at the batsmen. He was rewarded with the wicket of Graeme Smith – for the 10th time in 21 international innings – as a leaden-footed prod ended in MS Dhoni’s gloves. Then, a confident Alviro Petersen walked across the stumps, attempting to work the ball to the leg side, but had the misfortune of seeing his bails dislodged as the ball was dragged back from his pads.If Zaheer sparked India to life, the fight was continued by a clutch of spectacular catches, not something always associated with Indian fielding. Dravid flashed across to his left from first slip to pouch a faint edge from Steyn, Cheteshwar Pujara again showed his skill at short leg, stretching to his right to snaffle a prod from Paul Harris, and Harbhajan latched on to a swirler at fine leg to send back Morne Morkel and hasten the end of the South African innings.With the lead in the bag, India’s openers started off positively. Virender Sehwag and M Vijay had put on the match’s biggest partnership – 43 – in the first innings and added 42 in the second, with Sehwag as usual haring away at a run-a-ball. The big threat of Steyn was seen off, and India were effectively 116 for 0 for at that stage.Then came a bunch of bad strokes that allowed South Africa to draw level in the series. First, Sehwag wafted at a wide, length ball to nick to the keeper; then, Dravid went for an on-the-up drive to another wide delivery and gave Boucher his seventh catch of the match. Sachin Tendulkar came out full of aggression, getting off the mark with a punishing slash past point for four, but India’s tormentor Steyn returned to take out Tendulkar who guided the first ball of his spell to third slip. India had lost four wickets for 14, before VVS Laxman and Pujara played out the final hour to ensure there was no more damage.India had lost four wickets early in the morning as well, when Steyn completed his 15th five-wicket haul, and Morkel pitched it up to hassle the tail-enders. South Africa were in total control then, but no one could have foreseen the excitement that followed, which has left the game in balance.

Zimbabwe comfortable with 'underdogs' tag

It used to be that Zimbabwe carried the tag of ‘underdog’ into their engagements with every Test nation, bar Bangladesh. In the last five years, however, the two teams have moved in opposite directions and those roles have been well and truly reversed

Liam Brickhill28-Nov-2010It used to be that Zimbabwe carried the tag of ‘underdog’ into their engagements with every Test nation, bar Bangladesh. In the last five years, however, the two teams have moved in opposite directions and those roles have been well and truly reversed.Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe for the first time in Harare in March 2004, but Zimbabwe went on to win that rain-ravaged series 2-1 and it was not until Bangladesh’s first Test victory over the Zimbabweans, at Chittagong in January 2005, that the worm really turned.Now, leading his team to Bangladesh for their fourth bilateral series against them in less than two years, Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura insists he is comfortable to let the hosts carry the burden of being singled out as favourites for whom anything less than a convincing series win will be deemed a failure. “Definitely they [Bangladesh] are playing well at home. We are the underdogs but we just need to play our best cricket,” he said.”Bangladesh played well against a better team recently, so they are expected to win. So we are not under pressure. All we have to do is play good cricket and concentrate on our own team and not focus too much on what Bangladesh is doing -the focus is our team. I just need to carry off from where I left off the last time I was here. I will be positive, the team will be even more positive this time; hopefully we will play good cricket and win games.”Similarly, Zimbabwe’s coach Alan Butcher conceded that a buoyant Bangladesh, having just handed New Zealand a 4-0 thrashing, will be tough to beat at home but a measure of Zimbabwean success is far from unthinkable. “We will approach every game with the intention to win and if we do that well enough indeed we will win the series,” he explained. “I am not going to sit here and promise that we win this series because Bangladesh will be feeling pretty confident as well. As we went to South Africa we did not really feel we would win the series but it is a lot different here in Bangladesh.”The Zimbabweans’ warm-up for this series was the Stanbic Bank 20 Series, a week-long Twenty20 tournament featuring the five domestic franchises – each with several overseas players on their books. Prior to that, in October they travelled to South Africa where, despite losing every game, there were signs of positive development; particularly from the batsmen.”We got some good reviews from our performances in South Africa,” said Butcher. “However we did not win any games and we have come here to play some good cricket and win some games. We’ve prepared well and taken a look at the conditions and it is going to be totally different from those in South Africa and we have prepared for them as well.”Zimbabwe, for several years ostracised from mainstream international cricket, have become very used to playing Bangladesh in the last half-decade. They have met in no less than nine series in that time, with Bangladesh winning all but one of those. Despite their abysmal win record in those encounters, both Zimbabwe’s captain and coach insist that the experience gained over the years will stand the team in good stead – and the current tour will only help preparations for next year’s World Cup.”So far it is pretty comfortable,” Butcher said of his team’s adjustment to the tropical conditions. “It is warm in Zimbabwe at the moment, so heat should not be a problem. A lot of the guys have played here before -the likes of Elton [Chigumbura], Prosper [Utseya] and Ray Price who have been here before. This is their sixth visit and they have plenty of experience playing here. Dew and humidity may be a factor but we are going to deal with any eventuality.””I don’t think the conditions have changed much here as I have been here plenty of times,” added Chigumbura, who has played 37 international matches against Bangladesh. “I just need to use the experience I have gathered and use it properly. We expect that [slow, low pitches] here and the guys are working on it in the hope that it will come right during the games as well. It will be good to play here to prepare ourselves for the World Cup.”Though Zimbabwe were crushed 4-1 the last time they visited Bangladesh – including the humiliation of being skittled for just 44 to surrender the series in the fourth ODI at Chittagong – bowling coach Heath Streak believes they are a much improved unit and are eager to show just how far they have come.”We played a lot between now and then and we had a good series at home against Sri Lanka and India and quite a competitive series against South Africa,” said Streak.” Of course we have Chigumbura and Taibu and Taylor who are all in really good form. We also have some good spinners so they will also plan to see how they play our spinners better. We are going to respect them but we are also here to prove that we are getting better and we deserve to get back into the Test arena.””It will be a factor in how people perceive Zimbabwe cricket,” Butcher responded when asked if a series win would be a boost to Zimbabwe’s return to Test cricket. “Should we win the series after Bangladesh demolished New Zealand, people will have to sit up and take notice and respect Zimbabwe cricket and feel that it is on an upward path again.”

Tottenham: Paratici eyes Seko Fofana move

As per Jeunesfooteux, some Tottenham Hotspur transfer news has come to light involving ex-Manchester City midfielder Seko Fofana.

The Lowdown: Paratici sets sights on summer market…

Seemingly transformed under Antonio Conte, the Lilywhites are now major contenders for the Premier League top four and qualification for the 2022/23 Champions League.

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Winning six out of their last seven league matches, this rejuvenated Spurs team have reignited faith amongst their supporters whilst providing real hope for next term.

However, as Conte aims to reinvent this team in his own image, he will need backing in the summer as club director Paratici is tasked with doing just that.

Sharing news on a possible transfer target, it appears that the Italian transfer chief has his eyes on a new one for Spurs.

The Latest: Tottenham official sent to Lens…

As per Jeunesfooteux, a Tottenham official was sent to run the rule over Lens midfielder Fofana, as well as Cheick Doucouré.

It is added that Paratici and Spurs ‘strongly appreciates’ the profiles of both players, but we believe that Fofana emerges as the more promising of the pair.

The Verdict: Register an interest?

The 26-year-old has come on leaps and bounds since leaving the Etihad Stadium and is a key player for Lens in Ligue 1, leaving little wonder as to why Spurs have taken note.

According to WhoScored, Fofana stands out as a major threat for Franck Haise’s team, taking more shots at goal per 90 than anyone in their squad this season and ranking as Lens’ second-highest scorer.

French football experts such as Get French Football News journalist Tom Scholes have raved over the player’s ‘imperious’ and ‘unbelievable’ performances this season.

As per a recent claim by Jeunesfooteux, the price tag stands at around €30m (£25m) – a seemingly affordable fee and a possible incentive for Paratici to consider bidding.

In other news: Tottenham could strike quick agreement to sign ‘magical’ £25m striker! Find out more here

Swan and Lynn see Queensland home

Chris Swan gorged on 13 wickets and Chris Lynn sped to 99 as Queensland came from behind to beat South Australia by five wickets

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Nov-2010Queensland 196 & 5 for 226 (Lynn 99) beat South Australia 223 & 198 (Manou 116, Swan 7-75) by 5 wickets
ScorecardChris Swan’s 13 wickets put Queensland on track for victory•Getty ImagesChris Swan gorged on 13 wickets and Chris Lynn sped to 99 as Queensland came from behind to beat South Australia by five wickets. Graham Manou’s aggressive 116 dug the Redbacks out of trouble after they started the day at 4 for 32, and by the time he was last man out they were 198.That left Queensland wanting 226 for victory and they were immediately in difficulty at 2 for 8 and 3 for 41 before Lynn, a 20-year-old right-hander, started to dominate. He put on 76 with Ben Dunk (30) and was a run away from a deserved century when he fended Gary Putland to second slip.James Hopes (46) and Chris Hartley (35) made sure of the win with a day to spare as they repaid Swan for his outstanding efforts. Swan, the swing bowler, was dropped for the previous game but showed he is a master of Brisbane conditions with match figures of 13 for 144, the best in the competition for nine years.His 7 for 75, which beat his day-old career peak, began with three wickets on Thursday and finished with the final three of the innings. Manou, who hit 16 fours and two sixes, was his last victim when he skied to Lynn at cover.

Liverpool fans happy at Milner update

A number of Liverpool supporters are happy after journalist Neil Jones claimed James Milner would leave the Reds in the summer.

The 36-year-old has proved to be a fantastic servant for Liverpool since arriving on a free transfer from Manchester City back in the summer of 2015.

Milner has made a total of 272 appearances for the Reds, using his experience to great use and winning both the Premier League and the Champions League.

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The midfielder’s current deal expires this summer, however, and it may be that his time at Anfield comes to an end at that point.

That certainly seems to be the opinion of Goal‘s Jones [via Anfield Watch on Twitter], who claims that Milner is ‘expected to leave’ once the season reaches its conclusion.

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Liverpool fans react to Milner claim

It’s fair to say the versatile veteran hasn’t been at his best this season, and these Liverpool fans reacted to the news positively on Twitter, claiming it is the right time for him to move on.

“Great news”

Credit: @2kelo_tuks

“Thank you Lord”

Credit: @charmokwana

“This is the best news of the year so far. Strip #7 off of him and give it to Harvey or Diaz”

Credit: @Sabista_

“Good”

Credit: @Smartooski

“Milner off to Leeds where he’ll be a player-coach”

Credit: @yemoisakop

“Give Diaz no.7 then I beg”

Credit: @BSSLFC

In other news, Liverpool have reportedly made an ‘official proposal’ for one player. Find out who it is here.

Rangers: Finance expert makes academy claim

An exciting Rangers claim has been made regarding where the Ibrox club could look to strengthen… 

What’s the talk?

Finance expert Kieran Maguire has backed the Gers to invest in their infrastructure to improve their youth setup in the years to come.

He told Football Insider: “Yes, I’d expect more investment in the academy.

“You only have to strike gold once. But you do your homework before you start drilling, you’re much more likely to strike gold. Some people do feel a bit uncomfortable in viewing young men as commodities, but it is part of the nature of football.

“If we take a look at Rangers’ sales since 2012-13, they have generated £12m worth of sales up to 30 June 2021.

“So Patterson has effectively doubled in one transaction what they made in nine years previously. In that same time, Celtic have generated £122m, so that’s a £98m gap.“

Fans will be buzzing

Rangers fans will surely be left buzzing by this news, as it suggests that they could look forward to more academy players making a huge profit for the club.

They can live vicariously through the player as the academy prospect potentially lives out their own fantasy on the pitch for the club. It also allows the supporters to resonate with them more than a player who may come in from elsewhere as they are ‘one of their own’, having been developed at the club.

They could follow a similar path to Nathan Patterson, who came through the ranks at Ibrox before joininh Everton for a club-record transfer sale this month.

Rangers porting director Ross Wilson paid tribute to those at the academy for their part in the 20-year-old’s progress, saying: “Our Academy staff can be proud of the role they’ve played in Nathan’s development. We are proud of Nathan, he leaves as a champion and I will follow every step of his career and journey and he will always be connected to Rangers. I am sure we will see him back supporting the lads at Ibrox soon.”

Imagine what Rangers could do with more funds and better facilities with which to work in the coming years. They could develop multiple players for the first team instead of one every now and then, and the club could have a conveyor belt of talent ready for Giovanni van Bronckhorst to unleash.

Fans will surely love to see that happening, and that is why they must be buzzing by this claim from Maguire. Hopefully more money will now be invested into the academy and the next Patterson can emerge sooner rather than later.

AND in other news,  Rangers headed for huge January blunder as Wilson could make a decision which would anger the fans…

Madsen keeps Derbyshire level

Derbyshire opener Wayne Madsen was denied a batting ‘hat-trick’ as Worcestershire’s bowlers hit back on a rain interrupted day in their County Championship Division Two clash at the County Ground

Cricinfo staff22-Jul-2010
Scorecard
Derbyshire opener Wayne Madsen was denied a batting ‘hat-trick’ as Worcestershire’s bowlers hit back on a rain interrupted day in their County Championship Division Two clash at the County Ground. The South African would have become only the fifth player in the county’s history to score three consecutive Championship centuries but he fell to Richard Jones for 75. That ended a century stand with Chesney Hughes who was out in Jones’ next over for 44 and the match was finely poised at the close of day two with Derbyshire on 183 for 4, 96 runs behind.The day had started well for Worcestershire who made the perfect start when they removed the dangerous Chris Rogers with the second ball of the morning. The Derbyshire skipper was caught behind down the legside for 22 and the visitors were celebrating a second wicket in the next over.Garry Park scored the first run of the day but then played around a ball that swung in from Matt Mason and was lbw. Worcestershire should have removed Madsen in the final over before lunch when he gloved a ball from Jones on 43 but wicket-keeper Ben Cox spilled the chance diving to his left. That was the last action for more than three hours as a thunderstorm followed by steady rain prevented any further play until 4.20pm and wiped 37 overs from the day’s allocation.Madsen showed his concentration had not been affected by the lengthy delay by driving former Derbyshire seamer Alan Richardson down the ground for his eighth four which took him to a 115-ball half century. He must have thought it was going to be his day when he was given another let-off on 57 with Moeen Ali failing to hold a one-handed catch at gully off the unlucky Richardson.Madsen had scored hundreds in both innings of the previous Championship match against Surrey at Chesterfield and he was closing in on becoming the first Derbyshire batsman since Kim Barnett in 1990 to make three centuries in a row when Jones struck.The 26-year-old right-hander had hit 11 fours and faced 158 balls when he tried to force the fast bowler and was caught low down at gully by David Wheeldon. He departed with an angry swish of the bat and Hughes, who had shared a stand of 113 in 40 overs, followed him to the pavilion after Cox was treated for an injured finger.The Anguillan edged the first ball after the stoppage down the legside and this time Cox made no mistake to put the game back in the balance but Greg Smith and Dan Redfern prevented further setbacks by batting out the last 15 overs.

Klusener turns down Bangladesh coaching role

Lance Klusener has finally turned down the offer to take over as Bangladesh’s bowling coach, ending a prolonged period of speculation over his possible appointment

Cricinfo staff02-Sep-2010Lance Klusener, the former South Africa allrounder, has finally turned down the offer to take over as Bangladesh’s bowling coach, ending a prolonged period of speculation over his possible appointment. Klusener, who was in discussions to replace Sri Lanka’s Champaka Ramanayake, was reportedly unable to convince his wife about a permanent move to Bangladesh.BCB had tried to be flexible with Klusener’s demands to return home between series. “We are ready to fulfill all his demands,” BCB spokesman Jalal Yunus said. “He wanted some additional facilities and we agreed. We were also ready to allow him to go on a long leave between the twin home series against New Zealand and Zimbabwe and the World Cup.” However, the board was not open to the idea of having him on a strictly tour-by-tour basis.Klusener, who has a level-three coaching degree, was in the frame following Ramanayake’s resignation due to illness. “He put us in a serious trouble as we are now facing a race against time to appoint a bowling coach for the Tigers,” Yunus said. “We don’t have too many options now.”England’s Andy Caddick was an option but he has a business interest at home. We had also contacted Venkatesh Prasad, but he is also unlikely to come as he has a chance of joining the Asian Cricket Council as a development coach.” Colin Croft , the former West Indies fast bowler, had expressed interest in the role but was rejected for a lack of coaching experience.Meanwhile the board appointed sports psychologist Soumendra Saha as a consultant for the side. Saha who joined the squad’s training camp in Mirpur, will work closely with the players for three weeks before returning to his teaching job with a university in Malaysia.

The battle for the final

Sylhet Royals and Chittagong Kings will battle it out in the semi-final to decide the finalist who will play against Dhaka Gladiatiors

Mohammad Isam16-Feb-2013Match factsFebruary 17, 2013
Start time 1800 (1200 GMT)Ryan ten Doeschate’s form will be crucial for Chittagong Kings•Bangladesh Cricket Board Big PictureSylhet Royals would take heart from the gumption they have shown against Dhaka Gladiators. After Chris Gayle had flattened them with a century, it would have been easier to fade into the background of such a performance. Instead, they took the fight right till the end. It gave them the momentum to take on Chittagong Kings, who beat Duronto Rajshahi to make it to the second semifinal.The Royals would like to continue to play as the underdogs. It is a tag that has suited them so far, although a team that has Dwayne Smith and the marauding Mushfiqur Rahim alongside Elton Chigumbura has enough firepower to knock over a big total. They have some runs due from Paul Stirling, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Mominul Haque.The composition of their bowling attack would once again hover around who they pick between Dirk Nannes and Sajidul Islam. Common sense on a wicket like Mirpur would urge the Royals to pick all their overseas batsmen but leaving aside Nannes hardly makes sense even though Sajidul, his replacement, took three wickets.Kings’ win in the elimination match over Rajshahi would give them enough reason to believe they can knock out the Royals. But they were not tested enough to feel the need of Brendan Taylor, their in-form batsman who left for Zimbabwe. They are likely to pack the team with allrounders, but ultimately a lot will depend on Ryan ten Doeschate and Mahmudullah with the bat. Form Guide(Most recent first, completed matches)
Sylhet Royals LWWLW
Chittagong Kings WLWLW In the spotlightMushfiqur Rahim will again be in the thick of things whether with the bat or behind the stumps for the Royals. His brilliant 86 against the Gladiators showed he usually has the measure when the team is chasing. His captaincy will be tested too, particularly after some of his bowling changes completely backfired against Gayle.
The knockout match would be a huge test for Kings’ pace bowler Rubel Hossain for whom bowling at the death has been quite a struggle. He has done well in one game out of three when they were defending a total, so if such a situation arises in this game, Rubel’s over could be the clinching factor. Team newsPaul Stirling and Dwayne Smith have been passed fit for the game, Smith however will not be able to bowl. The Royals could still go with Sajidul as the left-arm seaming option, despite having Nannes around.
Sylhet Royals (probable): 1 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 2 Paul Stirling, 3 Dwayne Smith, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 5 Mominul Haque, 6 Elton Chigumbura, 7 Mohammad Nabi, 8 Nazmul Hossain Milon, 9 Suhrawadi Shuvo, 10 Sohag Gazi, 11 Sajidul IslamShaun Tait has been ruled out of the match with a groin injury which means Kings are unlikely to break the winning combination from the previous game.Chittagong Kings (probable): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Nurul Hasan (wk), 3 Ravi Bopara, 4 Ryan ten Doeschate, 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Ariful Haque, 7 Jacob Oram, 8 Kevon Cooper, 9 Rubel Hossain, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Enamul Haque jnr Pitch and conditionsA sudden cold spell in Dhaka could reduce the amount of dew during the second innings, though the wicket will still benefit the batsmen. Stats and triviaSylhet captain Mushfiqur Rahim is the third batsman to score more than 400 runs in this edition of the BPL. Quotes “It is certain that the match will be highly challenging for both the sides but I’m confident that our boys would give their best effort in tomorrow’s match.”

“We have to be a lot more positive against Sylhet Royals, particularly with the bat. I think that’s the only change in approach we need to make.”

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