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Zaman shrugged off Sarfraz’s histrionics, suggesting that the team are comfortable under their captain and that, perhaps, a bit of sound and fury was what was needed to sharpen them up

Liam Brickhill in Harare04-Jul-2018Despite Pakistan overcoming Zimbabwe to secure their place in the tri-series final, their captain Sarfraz Ahmed was vocal in the criticism of his bowling attack. “The bowling was not up to the mark,” he said shortly after guiding his side to a seven-wicket win. “They have to work hard.”Sarfraz had been a loud and, at times, stroppy presence behind the stumps during Zimbabwe’s innings. The very first ball of the day seemed to set the tone, as Sarfraz let rip with a fearful ear-bashing at Fakhar Zaman when he was slow off the mark from midwicket, allowing Zimbabwe opener Cephas Zhuwao to get off the mark. There wasn’t much let up thereafter.But Zaman shrugged off Sarfraz’s histrionics, suggesting that the team are comfortable under their captain and that, perhaps, a bit of sound and fury was what was needed to sharpen them up on a particularly cold winter’s day in Harare. “Yeah, he’s the kind of person who does that sometimes,” said Zaman. “But he’s very good at getting us up on the field. We’re used to it and he’s our captain. And well, it works for us and it worked today.”Sarfraz also had some fiery words for his bowlers, ticking Shadab Khan off during an over when Solomon Mire hit him for two big sixes. Mire took the attack to Pakistan’s bowlers, and Zaman admitted that Zimbabwe had scored 20 to 30 more runs than they thought was par on this pitch.”We were expecting 130 to 140 on this pitch, but Mire played a very good innings,” Zaman said. “We knew that we have a very deep batting lineup – we have Shadab at no. 9 – so we were confident we could chase it.”As it turned out, Pakistan’s lower order wasn’t needed as Zaman and Hussain Talat cracked forties before Sarfraz finished things off with an ice-cold, unbeaten 38. While his tongue-lashing geed them up, Sarfraz’s batting was the picture of limited-overs sangfroid and provided a different sort of a lesson to his team. Zaman said that spending time under Sarfraz had helped him improve his own game, particularly in T20 cricket.”In the start in T20 I was hitting every ball in my striking zone, and after playing eight to 10 games I sat with some senior players like Shoaib Malik and Sarfraz Ahmed, and spoke about my gameplans with them,” Zaman said. “I realised that I could play proper cricket shots and be successful, and that’s what I’ve been doing recently.”Pakistan’s win means they are assured of a place in Sunday’s final, though they have a dead rubber against Australia tomorrow. Bucking their recent trend in short-format cricket, Australia have won two in two in this tournament and they were buoyed by an opening victory against Pakistan which included Billy Stanlake’s 4 for 8.”We’ll just keep it very simple [against Australia],” Zaman said. “[Stanlake] bowled really well in the last match but every day is a new day. We’ll play him well.”

Imran Tahir’s four-wicket haul applied the brakes on Sri Lanka as they fell short by 96 in their chase of 300 at The Oval

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando03-Jun-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
1:41

Agarkar: Sri Lanka’s inexperience showed

Sri Lanka had lost five ODIs to South Africa already this year, but had hoped that months later, playing for a different trophy, they could apply the lessons learned during that walloping. It wasn’t to be. The gulf in quality between these teams was borne out by the margin of South Africa’s victory: 96 runs.In fact, South Africa may reflect that despite Hashim Amla’s velvet 103 from 115 balls, and Faf du Plessis’ efficient 75, they were not quite explosive enough during the death.They had begun indifferently with the ball too, allowing a pugnacious Niroshan Dickwella to unsettle them in the Powerplay, but soon, the middle-overs mastery of Imran Tahir took grip, and Sri Lanka’s chase of 300 lay all but scuttled, as they slumped to 155 for 6 in the 30th over. In wiping the remainder of Sri Lanka’s innings out in clinical fashion, South Africa have confirmed, if there was any doubt, that they are serious contenders for the trophy. Tahir’s final figures were 4 for 27, but his effect on the match was even more substantial than those numbers lay out.Meanwhile Sri Lanka, for whom it is now a compliment that only one important catch was dropped, gleaned only minor personal positives from the match. Dickwella set the chase off to a roaring start, Upul Tharanga contributed a half-decent fifty, Kusal Perera stood firm at one end while the lower order crashed around him, and Nuwan Pradeep showcased a slowly burgeoning range of skills with the ball. But these are not the kinds of performances that win matches.The defining periods of play were the middle overs in each innings: having picked the less-aggressive spin option in Seekkuge Prasanna, Sri Lanka allowed Amla and du Plessis to prosper too easily during those overs, and with the bat, lost five wickets for 66 runs from overs 11 to 30.For Amla, who had set South Africa on course for 299 – an imposing score, given the slightly slow nature of the surface – this innings may not rank as one of his best, but it did get him to the milestone of 25 ODI hundreds in 11 fewer innings than any previous batsman had managed it. He now also sits alongside Sachin Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara and Ricky Ponting to have 25 hundreds in both Tests and ODIs.He was cautious to begin with, as Sri Lanka delivered some exceptionally tight overs. Initially, he hovered in the crease, dabbing and squeezing his way into the innings. Not until the penultimate ball of the first Powerplay did he venture a boundary: a flick off Pradeep over the leg side. He made only 26 off the first 40 balls he faced.But following the departure of Quinton de Kock, whe nicked off to Pradeep, Amla playd with more ambition. There was a six over long-off, off Asela Gunaratne, in the 19th over, and in the 24th he slunk down the pitch to send Seekkuge Prasanna sailing over the deep midwicket fence. In between those two shots he had reached fifty, and suddenly, was scoring at close to a run a ball.His partnership with du Plessis was the most fruitful of the innings, and the pair hauled South Africa to a position of strength with their quickening 145-run stand. Amla, having provided the innings its thrust during the overs when du Plessis was feeling his way into the game, allowed his partner to make the riskier plays during the middle overs, saving for himself the role of turning the strike over. In fact, between the 24th and 43rd over – when he got out – he hit only one boundary. South Africa scored only 78 runs in the last 10 overs, thanks again to some tight bowling by Pradeep, with support from Lasith Malinga and Suranga Lakmal. Of those runs, JP Duminy contributed 38 in the space of 20 deliveries.Sri Lanka will particularly rule the rate at which their innings crashed and burned, because by the end of the first Powerplay, they had scored 55 more runs than South Africa had managed at that stage of the innings. Dickwella led this charge, flitting about the crease to carve the quicks over the offside, then jumping across to leg to whip them over leg, during his 33-ball 41. With Tharanga also batting confidently through those overs, it seemed inconceivable that Sri Lanka would not at least mount a muscular challenge to South Africa’s total.In the end, Tahir became their downfall, just as he had been during that bilateral series earlier in the year. Dinesh Chandimal got himself run-out trying to get off strike in Tahir’s first over, before Chamara Kapugedara was trapped in front by a googly three balls later. Tharanga then launched a ball into the hands of deep cover, and Asela Gunaratne squirted a catch to square leg, and pretty soon, a rapid start had turned into a procession of wickets. Perera stuck around for 66 balls and hit 44 unbeaten runs, but Sri Lanka were already out of contention for most of his stay. Tahir came back to take the final wicket, and Sri Lanka were all out in the 42nd over.

Keaton Jennings produced a superbly hard-working hundred before three late wickets put Durham on top against Somerset

Paul Edwards at Chester-le-Street10-Apr-2016
ScorecardKeaton Jennings salutes the applause after falling for 116•PA Photos

At exactly eleven o’clock on the first day of this game umpire Rob Bailey dropped his arm to his side and, one may assume, called, “Play”. Behind him at the Finchale End, the Somerset seamer Lewis Gregory composed himself and began his run-up. The ball he bowled was of a good length and on middle stump; Durham’s Mark Stoneman played it easily to midwicket. No trouble and no run either, yet such moments matter a great deal. The very many cricket fans who measure their summers by the fluctuations of the County Championship could afford a quiet smile of collective contentment. Another season.By the end of the gorgeous spring day, when an evening chill was settling on the Riverside, Gregory had four wickets in his bag and these will certainly have increased his delight. Yet his satisfaction was far exceeded by that of Keaton Jennings, who had made his first County Championship century since June 2014, and by Durham’s players in general after Chris Rushworth and Graham Onions had removed Somerset’s openers and the nightwatchman Josh Davey in the first ten overs of the visitors’ reply.Chris Rogers, of course, already knew about the potency of Durham’s seamers; he will be in no doubt about the severity of the further examination ahead of himself and James Hildreth on the second morning of this match. The swinging yorker from Onions which bowled Marcus Trescothick off his pads mocked geometry.The second morning may also be the time when the value of Jennings’ hard work becomes even plainer. He lost both Mark Stoneman and Scott Borthwick, neither of them very culpable, inside twelve overs but that seemed only to stiffen his determination to play within his familiar limits. Pulling and cutting whenever the opportunity presented itself, Jennings was nevertheless content to score just seven runs in the hour before lunch as a Somerset attack lacking both Overtons but including the accurate Peter Trego suddenly forbade liberties.Partnering Jennings in a third-wicket stand of 79 in 33 overs was 19-year-old Jack Burnham, whose talent was recognised by his being promoted above both Michael Richardson and Paul Collingwood in the batting order. Burnham scored three centuries in the Under-19 World Cup and his tight technique was one of the most pleasing sights on offer to home spectators as they watched in the mellow afternoon sunlight. wrote Philip Larkin, and so it is with a young batsman as he becomes accustomed and easy in the crease and becomes ever more certain that this is a professional game he is able to play.But it was also a fine afternoon for Somerset’s bowlers. Davey produced one of the balls of the day to take out Burnham’s off and middle stumps when the he had made 33 in 123 minutes and Gregory then struck twice in two balls, both of which nipped back off the seam. The first had Michael Richardson leg before for nine; the second defeated Collingwood’s slightly tardy defensive push and removed his middle stump. Three overs later Pringle drove Tim Groenewald to Davey and Durham were 172 for 6, at which point this brave new toss-less world must have seemed a pleasant place for Rogers and his bowlers.However, Jennings redoubled his resolve and found an equally obdurate partner in Usman Arshad. The pair put on 72 in 24 overs, during which Jennings reached three figures off 201 balls with 13 fours. He has probably not had to work harder in any of his five other centuries, so perhaps it was simple joy that led him to become almost cavalier for the first time in the day. Whatever the truth of the matter, he perished on one of the few occasions when he took a liberty with the bowling, top edging Davey to Trescothick. It began a clatter of wickets, four of them in 19 balls in fact, as Somerset’s bowlers, Gregory and Groenewald in particular, collected just rewards for their labours.A first-innings total of 256 seemed modest enough, albeit that it allowed Durham to collect a couple of batting bonus points. Yet it soon appeared almost daunting as Rushworth and Onions set to work in the slightly thickening light. They did so in a manner that has won Championships and the home supporters cheered every late breakthrough. They, too, remember the glory days. Suddenly it seemed rather more than six hours since Gregory had stood at the end of his run at the Finchale End, a new cricket ball in his hand and all the summer before him.

Finally, at the twelfth attempt, Surrey have their first win of the 2013 County Championship, and one that keeps their fate in their own hands.

Vithushan Ehantharajah01-Sep-2013Surrey 289 (Solanki 93, Footitt 4-50) and 218-6 (Amla 88) beat Derbyshire 219 (Linley 4-59, Edwards 3-29) and 286 (Madsen 59, Wainwright 54*, Batty 5-71) by four wickets
ScorecardGareth Batty, a captain in crisis, unrecognised by the Surrey Honours Board, finally had reason to celebrate•Getty Images

Finally, at the twelfth attempt, Surrey have their first win of the 2013 County Championship, and one that keeps their fate in their own hands.That they are battling at the foot of the table is purely down to an inability to win games rather than a propensity to lose them. There are only so many crumbs of comfort you can take from draws (eight in total) until you are left with the remnants of a whole biscuit, with none of its consistency.Nothing nourishes quite like a win, and this one that sees Surrey leapfrog Derbyshire, with a game in hand on those around them.Gareth Batty was certainly as satisfied as he has been in a tough season for him, personally. Taking on the captaincy in place of Rory Hamilton-Brown after the Tom Maynard tragedy last year and then again this season after the injury to Graeme Smith, he has lead the side for the best part of two years, yet you won’t see his name on the captain’s honours board in the Pavilion.Given the character he is, he probably could not care less, but he deserves recognition for his work behind the scenes and out in the middle, even if he is reluctant to take it.He finished off the Derbyshire innings this morning, taking all three wickets to give him five in the innings and 500 first-class scalps in his career. Not that it mattered as much as victory.”I think everyone in the changing room know that at some point they are going to have to put their hands up and win a game of cricket. Today was my day; it was just one of those things. The wickets are irrelevant – we got the twenty-odd points and that’s the only thing that matters for me, certainly.”We were the ones forcing the game all the time, so we knew if we batted time, they would have to take it on. We had a plan on how we were going to knock off the runs and it served us well.”We’ve played some very good cricket but we just couldn’t force the wins. We can take a lot of confidence from this win. You can see the look in the boys’ eyes and can see the determination to get the win. We will come out against Middlesex next week and start on the front foot – I truly believe we have the skills to start forcing results.”The difference was Hashim Amla, Surrey’s third overseas reinforcement and the number one ranked Test batsmen in the world. He has taken little time integrating himself into the club, even using a day off to come in and pass on words of wisdom to their young batsmen, who have been spoiled for choice for world-class mentors this season.It certainly wasn’t a classic Amla knock, and it could have been a different story had Alex Hughes not dropped a routine catch at cover that spared him when he had just 24.That was the second of three reprieves. The first came ten minutes before lunch when he was hit on the pads by Footitt without a run to his name. It looked to have a lot going for it, but not according to the standing umpire.He was then nearly run out at the non-strikers end later in the afternoon after some brilliant work from Wayne Madsen, who stopped a straight drive from Zander de Bruyn before managing to get in a throw while sprawled on the floor that just missed the stumps. It was rather sloppy from Amla, who had been dawdling back to his crease on a few occasions after walking in with the bowler. From then on, he was more cautious.It wasn’t so much of a masterclass, more of a taster session enticing you to sign on for more. Those here to witness the powerful shots through cover or the checked straight drives – all powered by those snappy wrists – may now subscribe to the idea that Surrey can avoid the drop. Derbyshire played their part in an engrossing encounter, but the hosts, as Batty said, were superior during vital periods.Every run David Wainwright and Tim Poynton added this morning was valuable and risk free, as their fifty partnership was brought up early on, as they continued their careful accumulation. They ran decisively, picking up a couple of threes on their way to taking Derbyshire’s lead passed 200.Poynton, who was the more fluent of the two, fell one short of a deserved half century when a delivery from Batty ballooned up off his glove, with Zafar Ansari under the helmet at bat-pad diving toward leg slip to take a smart catch. Wainwright survived through to the end of the innings to bring up his third first class fifty for the county.The chase was set – Surrey needed 217 off a minimum of 73 overs. It could not have got off to a worse start when just four runs in, Rory Burns fell in the third over thanks to a brilliant catch from Madsen at cover; Burns met it well, as he does, but the Derbyshire skipper managed to dive to his right and clutch on to the ball with his right hand, before landing safely on his side without losing it. Two balls later, Arun Harinath was also back in the dressing room when he nicked Higginbottom to Chanderpaul at second slip, for a seven-ball duck.A long-form specialist, Harinath played just two games in the YB40 and did not feature at all in Surrey’s FLt20 programme; instead, tiding himself over with 2nd XI cricket. The Championship break has done him no good, as his binary return of 1,0,1,0 in the last four innings indicates.But with Amla bearing the brunt of the run-scoring, all that was required were contributions around him. Vikram Solanki was the first to share the burden with 44 of an 84-run partnership before he was adjudged lbw.De Bruyn played well for 31 before needlessly swiping at a wide ball from Hughes, who was trying desperately to make amends for his costly drop. An 18 for Steven Davies took them to 200 leaving Ansari and Batty to pick off the remaining 17 runs – each greeted with cheers. When Ansari completed the run chase with a boundary off a Burgoyne full toss, cheers turned to song.By Batty’s calculations – he admits he is no mathematician – a win away to Somerset and one from games against Middlesex next week, Warwickshire or Yorkshire should be enough.Derbyshire travel to Taunton first, before meeting Durham who have emerged later as a big threat to Yorkshire at the top of Division One. Having shown immense character to beat Sussex and Middlesex, this defeat is a big setback and leaves them at the mercy of others. The fight-back, as impressive as it was, was probably too late. Surrey might have timed theirs just right.

Yorkshire or Worcestershire will make a first appearance at T20 finals day after the two teams were drawn against each other in the last eight of the Friends Life t20

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jul-2012

Friends Life t20 quarter-finals draw

• Nottinghamshire v Hampshire

• Somerset v Essex

• Sussex v Gloucestershire

• Yorkshire v Worcestershire

Yorkshire or Worcestershire will make a first appearance at T20 finals day after the two teams were drawn against each other in the last eight of the Friends Life t20. Worcestershire, who qualified from the Midlands/Wales/West Group despite losing to Somerset, will travel to Headingley on either July 24 or 25, after Yorkshire secured top spot in the North Group. Neither side has previously reached the last four in nine seasons of domestic T20.The final round of group games saw several issues still to be decided, particularly in the Midlands/Wales/West Group, where four teams remained in contention for a quarter-final spot. In the end, Warwickshire’s defeat at home to Glamorgan cost them dear, as Gloucestershire grabbed second place with victory in a rain-ruined game at Wantage Road and Worcestershire’s net run-rate secured them third.Essex secured the other wildcard spot, as one of the two best third-placed sides, and a quarter-final at Somerset, despite not seeing a ball bowled in their game against Hampshire. Rain overnight in Southampton had left the pitch in a soggy, sorry state and the match was eventually abandoned at around 5pm. The point gained by Essex meant Durham had to beat Lancashire in the North Group and secure a turnaround in their net run-rate to progress – but they lost two wickets in the final over, needing six to win, as the match was tied.The West End washout denied Hampshire the chance of securing a home draw as the second-placed side with the best record – that reward went to their quarter-final opponents, Nottinghamshire, who crushed the deposed champions, Leicestershire, to amass 14 points in the North Group. Sussex suffered their first defeat of the tournament, at home to Surrey, but had already won the South Group and will therefore take on Gloucestershire at Hove. Finals day will take place at Cardiff on August 25.

Gary Kirsten’s support staff, Russell Domingo and Allan Donald, have been preparing South Africa’s new season that begins in October

Firdose Moonda01-Aug-2011The first few letters of the latest chapter in Gary Kirsten’s coaching career will be written on Monday when the former India coach officially starts work in his home country, South Africa. Kirsten’s contract, and that of his assistant Russell Domingo, comes in to effect on August 1, but they will have a gentle easing in to their new jobs.The national team, who are in the middle of a seven-month break from the game, will only convene in four weeks’ time, effectively giving Kirsten more time to devise strategies. “We will have a camp towards the end of August where we will be workshopping ideas for the new season,” Allan Donald, South Africa bowling coach told ESPNCricinfo. “There will probably be no cricket played in that time, just a lot of planning.”Donald has not had the same break as Kirsten and Domingo have, and started work a month ago, when he went with the A-team to Zimbabwe. Donald travelled as the assistant to his predecessor Vincent Barnes, who now works as High Performance coach, with a specific view to looking at the next generation of bowlers in the country.The short ODI tour came at an awkward time, in the middle of the South African winter, and many of the players had to shake off the cobwebs before getting back into the groove. Donald was concerned that the team only managed to bowl out their opposition once in five matches. “We restricted sides, but we could not bowl teams out and we never really threatened,” he said. “Everyone was a bit underdone. Australia A spent three weeks together before then, we only had three days, but I fully expect the structures to change now that we have Vinnie and Corrie [van Zyl] at the High Performance Centre.”While Kirsten and Domingo’s views on the way forward for South African cricket will be known over the next few weeks, Donald has already outlined his mission. “We need to find a second wave of bowlers to Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. That will be vital. Those two need to be challenged because that will make them even more potent,” he said. He identified left-arm seamer Wayne Parnell as one of the bowlers who will form a crucial part of the team’s future plans. “He needs to make an impact and stake a Test claim.”Donald has also been working with the bowlers at his home franchise, the Knights, in Bloemfontein and will soon start “going to the other franchises to talk to the bowlers there”. He has been in regular telephonic and email communication with Kirsten, working on compiling reports on some of players who are on the fringes of the national side.Domingo, who is the only one of the three to have coached in the franchise set up, has been working on similar dossiers. “I’ve communicated with Gary about some ideas I’ve got for players around the country,” he said. “I’ve also been in close touch with Vinnie Barnes, and have been following how the players have been doing in the A-side and on the [English] county circuit.”In between compiling the database of players that Kirsten will scrutinise during the course of the next month, Domingo has spent the winter “taking the kids to school and fetching them and fishing a lot.” He will still be able to do that until the end of August, because only then does the real preparation for the future begin. South Africa’s season kicks off with a Twenty20 on October 13 against Australia in Cape Town.

Eoin Morgan and Ajmal Shahzad have retained their places in England’s Test squad for the first match of the four-Test series at Trent Bridge next week

Cricinfo staff25-Jul-2010Eoin Morgan and Ajmal Shahzad have retained their places in England’s Test squad for the first match of the four-Test series at Trent Bridge next week, but there is no place for Ravi Bopara, who has scored back-to-back hundreds for Essex in the County Championship, or Yorkshire’s Tim Bresnan.Middlesex seamer Steven Finn returns to the England squad following a successful Test series against Bangladesh, while Shahzad has been given a chance to build on his Test debut from the same series, having overcome an ankle problem that limited him to four overs in his most recent England outing, the third ODI against Bangladesh at Edgbaston two weeks ago.National Selector, Geoff Miller, said: “We have picked a very strong squad for the first Test against a Pakistan side that will be high on confidence following their recent win against Australia.”We’ve been encouraged by the form shown by a number of England players involved in County Championship matches this week and those that are coming back from injury or rest, such as Kevin Pietersen, have been working very hard ahead of the first Test next week.”Shahzad’s selection ahead of Bresnan is an acknowledgment of the role that swing bowling is likely to play in the coming series, especially at Trent Bridge where the ball habitually moves through the air, and against a Pakistan attack that includes the precocious 18-year-old Mohammad Aamer who, along with Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul, devastated Australia’s batting line-up in the recent second Test at Headingley.While Bresnan’s stamina and discipline earned him admirers in tough conditions in Bangladesh earlier in the year, and augur well for a role on unforgiving surfaces such as Adelaide on the fast-approaching Ashes tour, Shahzad’s ability to reverse-swing the ball, which he showcased to excellent effect at Old Trafford on debut, has earned him a chance to press for a permanent role as England’s first-change quick bowler.The attack will be led by the mercurial James Anderson – another man who can swing the ball to devastating effect, when the conditions are right – and Stuart Broad, whose confidence is high after a career-best haul of 8 for 52 against Warwickshire in the County Championship this week.Morgan, meanwhile, has been given another opportunity to state his Test credentials, after indifferent scores of 44 and 37 in his first two outings against Bangladesh. With Paul Collingwood slotting back into the squad after being rested for the last two Tests, Morgan had looked likely to make way, until Ian Bell suffered the broken foot at Bristol that has ruled him out of the full four-Test series.”Bell’s untimely foot injury during the NatWest Series was obviously a disappointing blow but he is now focused on his rehabilitation and should make a full recovery in due course. Ian’s absence provides other batsmen with the chance to impress against a world class Pakistan bowling attack.”England squad Andrew Strauss (capt), James Anderson, Stuart Broad,
Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Steven Finn, Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior (wk), Ajmal Shahzad, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott

A number of Manchester United supporters have praised Edinson Cavani after it was claimed he would stay put at the club beyond the January transfer window.

The Red Devils are suffering a tough time of things at the moment, with poor results and performances on the pitch and Ralf Rangnick’s squad seemingly an unhappy bunch off it. The Mirror made a shocking claim last week that as many as 17 players are seeking to leave the club, with the Uruguay striker named as one of them.

The hope is that United enjoy an upturn in fortunes soon, starting with victory at home to Aston Villa in the FA Cup third round on Monday night.

[freshpress-poll id=“378953″]

However, one player who seems to remain highly popular among many of the United faithful is Cavani, with the Uruguayan proving to be an excellent signing, scoring 19 goals in 50 appearances for the club thus far.

There has been speculation over a potential January exit but it now looks as though he will stay put, with journalist Fabrizio Romano sharing some comments from Ralf Rangnick via Twitter.

The interim manager said: “I spoke with Edinson Cavani almost half an hour. He told me he will definitely stay at Man United this January. I can rely on him to give his very best and to be a role model for young players.”

Man United fans hail Cavani news

These United fans took to Twitter to share their positive thoughts at the news that Cavani is committed to staying at Old Trafford for another few months at least.

“Can’t love this guy enough”

Credit: @Mitul__Mistry

“If only the rest of the squad was like this fella”

Credit: @DJMurph79322365

“Happy Monday”

Credit: @J_Oxborough

“More reason to love Edi!”

Credit: @IqieNaim

“Some good news for once”

Credit: @_All_United

“I AM IN LOVE, I CAN’T DENY”

Credit: @JIM365_

In other news, some United fans have reacted to a managerial update. Read more here.

Intikhab Alam, the Pakistan coach, believes the Pakistan board needs toorganise specialist fielding training camps across Pakistan in order toimprove standards in the national side.Pakistan’s fielding through tours to New Zealand and Australia has reachedan all-time low and at a conservative estimate they have dropped at least25 chances through the six Tests. Most of the chances here in Australia have beencritical ones; both Shane Watson and Simon Katich were dropped in thefirst session of the series in Melbourne, both scored nineties; MichaelHussey was dropped thrice at Sydney on the way to a matchwinning hundred;Ricky Ponting was dropped on zero in Hobart and went on to score a double-hundred.Intikhab and Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistan’s captain, have struggled to stemthe rot, insisting there is no need for a specialist fielding coach butnot offering any tangible solution otherwise. Intikhab has consistently -and justifiably – called it a grassroots problem, arguing that the lack ofcare for fielding at domestic level instills poor habits into players whomake it to the national side.”They should organise 10-20 days fielding camps for the players in whichcatching, throwing, fielding and all things are practiced,” Intikhab said. “We have coaches at every level. Put these camps up in Karachi, Lahoreand Islamabad. Have 15-day camps and just get players from all levelsto practice there every day.”Waqar Younis is currently appointed to the side as a bowling and fieldingcoach, but that is, for now, only till the end of this series. There hasbeen talk of appointing a specialist fielding coach and Pakistan didbenefit a little during the coaching stint of Geoff Lawson, when they hadhired Mohtashim Rasheed as one. But his services haven’t since beenretained.”These camps really need to be organised,” Intikhab said. “Whenever a guycomes into the Pakistan side, then only they are taught how to field andthe basics of fielding, like how to bend for a ball, how to attack a ball.We have to emphasise this and work on it otherwise it will not getbetter.”

Having joined Celtic in what was a £5m deal back in the summer of 2020, with the centre-forward signing a four-year deal on a reported £16k-per-week, the opinion at Parkhead was the Bhoys had secured an excellent addition to their attacking lineup in the shape of Albian Ajeti.

However, over the 24-year-old’s 20 Scottish Premiership appearances during his debut campaign, the £2.88m-rated man scored just six goals, registered one assist and created no big chances for his teammates, as well as hitting the target with an average of just 0.5 shots per game.

These returns saw the Switzerland international who Packie Bonner dubbed a “problem” earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.85, ranking him as Celtic’s joint 12th-worst performer in the top flight of Scottish football.

Things have not improved for the striker over his six league appearances this season, with the former West Ham United man averaging an even more disappointing SofaScore match rating of 6.72, ranking him as Ange Postecoglou’s eighth-worst performer in the Premiership.

As such, it will perhaps come as no surprise that reports are suggesting the 56-year-old Bhoys manager is looking to move the centre-forward on in the January transfer window, nor why Celtic are being linked with a move for the rather more prolific Yokohama F Marinos striker, Daizen Maeda, as his replacement.

Indeed, over his 34 J League appearances this term, the 24-year-old has scored 21 goals, provided three assists and created four big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.6 shots and making 0.9 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the player who Kevin Muscat dubbed a “fantastic” talent average a SofaScore match rating of 7.10, ranking him as his side’s seventh-best performer in the Japanese top flight.

As such, it would indeed appear highly advisable for Postecoglou to finally wash Celtic’s hands of Ajeti this January and bring in a much more promising striker in the shape of the £990k-rated Maeda in his place.

In other news: Ransacked of £5.9m: Celtic had a transfer disasterclass on “horrendous” £20k-p/w flop