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Glasgow Rangers are reportedly now looking to secure a bumper new deal for Alex Lowry as early as next week.

The Lowdown: Offer rejected

Lowry actually rejected an initial contract offer from the Ibrox faithful back in February, as his current deal expires in 2023.

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It has been reported that Premier League clubs Newcastle United and Manchester City are interested in signing Lowry in the summer, should contract talks continue to stall, but recent news has been more positive, with Alan Hutton delighted to hear Lowry could now stay put.

The Latest: Breakthrough

As per The Scottish Sun, there seems to have been a breakthrough in talks, as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team are now hoping to tie Lowry down to a new deal next week.

More discussions have been pencilled in with his representatives, as the club are desperate to keep him and fend off interest from the English top flight.

However, Lowry and his camp would prefer to wait until later in the month before making their final decision.

The Verdict: More good news

After reaching the UEFA Europa League final with a 3-1 win at home to RB Leipzig on Thursday night, it seems as if more good news has emerged with regards to Lowry’s contract.

A player who has made four senior appearances for the Teddy Bears this season at just 18 years of age, Lowry is highly thought of at the club, as former boss Graeme Murty even went as far as to call him ‘remarkable‘.

Nonetheless, it is important that the Light Blues keep their young talents as they look to build for the future, hopefully adding a Europa League trophy to their legacy.

In other news, find out which ‘absolute legend’ Andrew Dickson hailed against Leipzig here!

Openers Tim McIntosh and Peter Ingram led New Zealand A to a comfortable nine-wicket win against Zimbabwe A on the third day of the final unofficial Test in Harare.

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2010
Scorecard
Openers Tim McIntosh and Peter Ingram led New Zealand A to a comfortable nine-wicket win against Zimbabwe A on the third day of the final unofficial Test in Harare. With this victory, New Zealand took the three-match series 2-0.Given the small target of 168, the only hope for Zimbabwe A was to try and get early wickets, but McIntosh and Ingram had other ideas. The pair shut Zimbabwe out of the game with a busy 122-run opening stand. Ingram, who has not been among the runs recently, finally found some form, hitting seven fours in his brisk 63. By the time he fell to medium-pacer Michael Chinouya, New Zealand needed only 46 more. Martin Guptill came in and smashed a quick 25 as New Zealand raced to the target. McIntosh remained unbeaten on 76, having hit 11 fours and a six.New Zealand fast bowler Chris Martin, who took 5 for 72, was named Player of the Match. Wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins was Player of the Series for top scoring with 292 runs in four innings, including one hundred and three half-centuries.

Celtic are weeks away from potentially lifting the SPFL trophy if they continue to put points on the board under the management of Ange Postecoglou.

With 34 league games played, the Parkhead club have won 27, drawn four and lost three, giving them a six-point gap over their Glasgow rivals Rangers in second place.

While the Hoops boss won’t want to disrupt the rhythm that his team are on, having not lost a league game since September, one potential change to the team that we think he should consider, either for the remainder of this season or for their next campaign is to unleash Karamoko Dembele.

They have already lost the services of one promising young player in Ben Doak of late and with Dembele’s own future in doubt, proving to him that he has a pathway to regular first-team minutes is of vital importance.

As a product of the club’s youth system, the 19-year-old has made just ten senior appearances for the Bhoys, scoring one goal in the process.

His first senior appearance came all the way back in 2019.

Having spent most of the season out with an ankle injury, the attacker was an unused substitute for Celtic’s two final league games in February before making his first appearance in their 2-0 win over St. Mirren last month where he came on as a late substitute.

Since then, the teenager has not been involved in a senior matchday squad.

Earlier this month, Dembele’s performance in a youth game against Rangers B caught the attention of talent scout Jacek Kulig, who took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the young Celtic figure.

He said: “Been a while since I last saw him live. Still far from being a physical monster but his dribbling skills, trickery, and flair are on a very high level.”

Even though Kulig said that the youngster may not be at his peak physically, we feel the best way for the attacker to improve this side of the game is to get as much experience of playing senior football as possible.

Given the position that Postecoglou’s side find themselves in at the top of the league table, now could be the ideal time to give Dembele a consistent run of games to see if he can set himself up to be a regular first-team figure in their next campaign.

Also, if the Hoops are not able to work out a permanent deal for current loan star Jota, having a player like Dembele to unleash could be an ideal option for the 56-year-old moving forward.

In other news: Time to go: Ange must finally axe Celtic’s £2m Parkhead flop, he’s stealing a living

Round-up of the second day of the fifth round of the Ranji Trophy Plate League

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Dec-2010Group BA century from AG Pradeep kept Andhra’s hopes of a berth in the knockout phase alive, as they declared at 447 for 8 against Kerala at the Rural Development Trust Stadium in Anantapur. With Maharashtra and Services playing each other in the last round of games, a win would guarantee Andhra a semi-final spot, while three points would be enough so long as Services don’t pick up points against Maharashtra. Andhra started the second day at 215 for 6, but Pradeep’s 132 and seamer Duvvarapu Shivkumar’s 93 took them to a strong first innings total. The pair added 217 for the seventh wicket. Andhra reduced Kerala to 42 for 1 by stumps.Maharashtra hold the edge in their top-of-the-table clash, after a century by seamer Shrikhant Mundhe gave them a first innings total of 386. But Services’ bastsmen made a strong comeback, reaching 109 for 1 at the Harbax Singh Stadium in Delhi. After helping rescue Maharashtra’s innings with a 125-run seventh wicket stand with centurion Rohit Motwani on the first day, Mundhe pushed on on the second and made sure Maharashtra reached a strong position. Opener Pratik Desai then led Services’ reply with an unbeaten 53.Jammu & Kashmir look destined to stay at the bottom after collapsing to 151 for 9 against Vidarbha at the Gandhi Memorial Science College Ground in Jammu. Seamer Amol Jungade did the early damage for Vidarbha, taking 3 for 35. The hosts were a further 280 behind, after Vidarbha made their highest total since their first match of the season. Having built a solid base on the first day, Vidarbha’s lower order produced useful runs on the second, with legspinner Azhar Sheikh scoring 69 and Shalabh Shrivastava getting 91, to take them to 431.Group AGoa’s outside chance of staking a claim for a semi-final berth was fading away as they needed another 113 to make Tripura bat again, with six wickets in hand, in Porvorim. Tripura, who are bottom of the table with no points, managed to cross 300 for the first time in the season, getting to 353, before reducing Goa to 128 for 4. Nishit Shetty became the season’s first centurion for Tripura, while wicketkeeper Rajib Datta made 76. Tripura seamer Timir Chanda, who took four wickets in Goa’s first innings when they were bowled out for 112, took 3 for 43 on the second day. Nothing short of a win will suffice for Goa as they are four points behind the top two teams.Even a win for Goa may not make a difference to the standings, as the two top sides in Group A are in relatively strong positions in their matches. Madhya Pradesh put themselves in control against Hyderabad at the Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad, getting to 354 for 2 on the second day after the first was washed out. Monish Mishra’s unbeaten 206 took him to second in the season’s run charts with 453 at an average of 113. Mishra hit 25 fours and four sixes in his double-century as Hyderabad tried seven different bowlers on Thursday.Former India opener Aakash Chopra helped Rajasthan build a solid base against Jharkhand at the Field Club Ground in Udaipur. Chopra was unbeaten on 88 at the end of the second day, with Rajasthan 186 for 3 in response to the visitors’ 303. Jharkhand were able to add 49 runs to their overnight total, before seamer Pankaj Singh dismissed Ishank Jaggi for 131 and his new-ball partner Deepak Chahar took the last two wickets to finish with 4 for 86.

Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI and Sri Lankans played out a draw at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. Just 31 overs were bowled today and the visitors finished on 396 for 6

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-2012
Scorecard
Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI and Sri Lankans played out a draw at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. Just 31 overs were bowled today and the visitors finished on 396 for 6. They added 120 runs on the day, with Prasanna Jayawardene and Dinesh Chandimal scoring half-centuries. The pair added 110 for the fifth wicket in 27 overs. Both fell before the close. Sri Lanka’s batsmen, though, had begun their tour on a positive note, with three half-centuries and a century in response to CA Chairman’s XI’s 439. The game ended by mutual agreement between the captains.

Two vital partnerships took the Knights to a four-wicket victory over the Dolphins in the first leg of the second MTN40 semi-final in Bloemfontein

Firdose Moonda28-Nov-2010
ScorecardRavi Bopara’s half-century was in vain as Dolphins lost to Knights by four wickets•Getty ImagesTwo vital partnerships took the Knights to a four-wicket victory over the Dolphins in the first leg of the second MTN40 semi-final in Bloemfontein. They successfully chased 227 in an intriguing low-scoring match on a deceivingly two-paced wicket.Dean Elgar and Reeza Hendricks steadied the Knights’ innings with a 109-run fourth-wicket stand in 117 balls after they had been reduced to 29 for 3. And in a tense finish with 54 needed in 5.3 overs, Obus Pienaar and Johan van der Wath finished off the job in 23 balls.The Dolphins had earlier got off to a snappy start after choosing to bat, with Imraan Khan and Ahmed Amla putting on 31. Khan skied a Ryan McLaren delivery to midwicket, giving the South Africa fringe bowler his first scalp. McLaren also removed Jon Kent four overs later, and the scoring rate cooled off a bit after the big hitter’s dismissal.Amla and Ravi Bopara then found some rhythm. Both played a range of wristy boundaries, but just when the combination had started to look dangerous, Amla lofted one to Obus Pienaar at long-on to depart for 35. Jandre Coetzee had snagged the big fish in his first over.He went on to bowl an economical spell, giving away 19 runs in his first four overs. Coetzee and Con de Lange managed to keep Bopara and Vaughn van Jaarsveld relatively quiet in the middle overs. After being frustrated by a lack of boundaries, the pair began to rotate the strike. Van Jaarsveld, however, grew restless and with no balance, played a nothing shot, a casual flick to Johan van der Wath at long leg.Bopara patiently soldiered on and reached his 28th limited-overs half century, off 60 balls with six boundaries. He had his anchor role cut short when Coetzee came back for a second spell. He offered Bopara a long hop down the leg side which should have been smacked over midwicket for six, but the batsman played too early, the ball came off the back of the bat and Morne van Wyk took the catch.David Miller and Daryn Smit’s seventh-wicket partnership added late impetus. They hit three sixes between them; Smit’s was a down-on-bended-knee improvisation over fine leg. They added 37 in five overs as the Dolphins ended on 226 for 7.The Dolphins had the Knights on the back foot early when the opening bowling pair of Kent and Kyle Abbott plucked three wickets in ten overs. van Wyk was dismissed off the first ball in bizarre fashion. He missed a Kent delivery, which went on to clip his off stump although the bail was not removed. Umpire Dennis Smith heard the noise and gave van Wyk out caught behind.Rilee Rossouw went in the next over, trapped lbw by Abbott, who had a superb five-over opening spell, also taking out Ryan Bailey. Abbott gave the batsmen no room and only conceded nine runs in that spell.The change bowlers didn’t have the same success though. Quinton Friend was expensive and Bopara had a chance put down. Elgar was on 17 and offered a simple catch to Glen Addicott on the deep cover boundary, who not only couldn’t dropped it, but also let the ball escape for four.The Dolphins were left to rue that mistake as Elgar and Hendricks quietly chipped away at the target. Hendricks finally went lbw to Friend for 64 and Elgar followed in the next over on 58, also leg before, to Imran Tahir.When McLaren too fell in the 35th over with 54 runs required, it looked as though the Dolphins had sealed the win, but Pienaar and van der Wath had other ideas. Their bludgeoning burst finished off the Dolphins, with van der Wath the chief aggressor. He bashed 29 off 14 balls to lead the Knights to victory with 10 balls to spare. The second leg of the tie takes place in Durban on Friday.

The spoils were shared between Australia, England and South Africa while Pakistan, led by Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, were not too far behind

Siddhartha Talya24-Aug-2010Australia and South Africa have the best bowling attacks in world cricket today, with Pakistan, led by Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, and England not too far behind, according to Ian Chappell, Allan Donald and Sanjay Manjrekar. Speaking on the latest episode of , they also agreed that India and Sri Lanka didn’t measure up to the rest.Among the parameters used to rate the line-ups was their effectiveness in all conditions. The ability of Australia and South Africa’s bowlers to challenge batsmen on placid surfaces gave them an edge over the others, said Manjrekar. “When you look at bowling attacks from around the world Australia will still perhaps be No.1, because you can imagine that attack being pretty good on Indian conditions, in Sri Lanka as well,” he said.”Getting everything in the air, trying to beat batsmen in pace and not using the surface at all by bowling the ball full – that’s where Australia are good. They have got Mitchell Johnson who uses the length well. Doug Bollinger is also quite happy pitching the ball up. Australia and South Africa to me are the attacks that can perhaps make an impression in all sorts of conditions.”England, with a strong pace attack and a successful spinner in Graeme Swann, Donald said, were formidable in home conditions. But he felt they would be tested in Australia later in the year. “It’ll be very interesting for them to go to Australia during the Ashes and bowl on those flat pitches,” Donald said. “With the new ball, they’re pretty good. James Anderson is the bowler for me who really stands out in that regard. Stuart Broad is pretty much a line bowler, he’s quite aggressive. But in conditions with the Kookaburra ball, they’re going to need something off the deck as well. So they’re going to be tested during the Ashes.”

AustraliaEnglandSouth AfricaPakistanIndiaSri LankaAllan Donald6-76-76-7544Ian Chappell6.86.95 (home) and 6.5 (away)6.26.756.15.9Sanjay Manjrekar7-867766The success of the Pakistan seamers in England would have earned them more points among the experts had it not been for some poor catching and a “horrible” slip cordon. “You never know what you are going to get from Kamran Akmal, some days he has got bricks in his gloves. So that makes it very hard for the bowlers, when sometimes you have to get the guy out three times,” Chappell said.Donald rated Dale Steyn as the best fast bowler in the world, though Chappell had his doubts. “There was a classic example when Phil Hughes got his hundred in Durban. Steyn did not go after him, after Hughes at all until he got the hundred. I was starting to wonder when you had a handicap in Test cricket where they let you get a hundred before they get after you. So that’s my query with Steyn. When he is good, he is very good; but he is a little bit moody.”The uncertainty with Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh’s lack of form in the recent past meant India were among the bottom-placed teams while Sri Lanka had much to thank Lasith Malinga for. “These are the sides that will struggle bowling people out,” Donald said.

Neco Williams has made an early return from his January holiday as a Deadline Day Liverpool exit potentially looms, according to The Liverpool Echo’s Paul Gorst. 

The lowdown

Championship promotion-chasers Bournemouth are trying to pull off a late loan move for the Reds right-back, who has only made eight appearances so far this season, with the majority of his minutes coming in the Carabao Cup. He has started two Champions League matches but only played seven Premier League minutes.

Williams is under contract for another three-and-a-half years and is valued at £7.2m by Transfermarkt.

The latest

In a tweet on Monday morning, Gorst revealed that Williams had ‘cut short a Dubai break’ in an attempt to ‘resolve his future’.

The Welshman isn’t the only player who may leave Anfield before the window shuts, with Nat Phillips attracting interest and ‘late offers’ for Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi also possible.

The verdict

Should Liverpool be open to letting Williams go? In Connor Bradley, they may believe that they have ample backup for Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The Northern Ireland right-back has played four games so far this season, including the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Leicester City.

There’s also the possibility that Williams has been pushing to leave in search of more regular game-time, and that may factor in the club’s decision. If he does go out on loan, that doesn’t necessarily mean a permanent exit is inevitable.

Indeed, he’s a player with great long-term potential, which is perhaps best illustrated by his performances on the international stage. Wales Online’s Paul Abbandonato even described one of his displays in November as ‘majestic’.

Williams could get some much-needed game-time elsewhere which would stand him in good stead upon returning to Liverpool, while the Reds still have adequate backup for Alexander-Arnold. Plenty of positives from this one, it seems.

In other news, many LFC fans were delighted with this update on one Reds player

West Bromwich Albion look to have been handed a major injury boost ahead of their upcoming Championship fixture.

What’s the latest?

In a recent post on Twitter, West Brom shared two images of Dara O’Shea back in full training with the Albion squad, something that would appear to suggest the centre-back is not too far away from making a return to first-team action – potentially even when the Baggies make the trip to face Sheffield United this Wednesday.

The 22-year-old has been sidelined with an ankle injury sustained while on international duty with the Republic of Ireland back in August of last year, however, after playing two U23 fixtures in the past two weeks, in addition to now having rejoined first-team training, everything looks as if it is pointing towards the defender making a return to senior football in the very near future.

Fans will be buzzing

Considering just how impressive O’Shea had been for West Brom prior to his injury, the news that the centre-back could be in line for a return to first-team football as soon as this week is sure to have left The Hawthorns faithful buzzing.

Indeed, over his five Championship outings in the current campaign, the £2.7m-rated defender has been in remarkable form for Albion, helping his side keep two clean sheets and scoring two goals, as well as making an average of 2.2 interceptions, 2.4 tackles, 3.6 clearances and winning a whopping 10.2 duels per game.

These returns have seen the £4.4k-per-week Republic of Ireland international average a quite extraordinary SofaScore match rating of 7.26, ranking him as the Baggies’ best player in the second tier of English football.

As such, the return of O’Shea will undoubtedly provide West Brom’s chances of securing a play-off place this season with a substantial boost – while his potential involvement against Sheffield United would be a fantastic bonus for Steve Bruce in his first game in charge of the club.

In other news: Forget Snoddy: Bruce can make huge impact at WBA by landing “super-tactical” 30 y/o

Geoff Lawson, Pakistan’s former coach, believes Salman Butt’s appointment as captain of the Test side is premature and could do him more harm than good, and that Shoaib Malik should have been the “obvious choice” to replace Shahid Afridi

Cricinfo staff18-Jul-2010Geoff Lawson, Pakistan’s former coach, believes Salman Butt’s appointment as captain of the Test side is premature and could do him more harm than good, and that Shoaib Malik should have been the “obvious choice” to replace Shahid Afridi, who retired from Tests after Pakistan’s 150-run loss in the first Test at Lord’s.”Butt’s a good choice as vice-captain but he’s years away from being a captain,” Lawson told . “I would’ve let him concentrate on his batting because he’s probably the best batsman they have right now. He has captaincy potential but throwing him in at this stage will crucify him.”Lawson took up the role of Pakistan’s coach after Bob Woolmer’s death at the 2007 World Cup and took the side to the finals of the inaugural World Twenty20 tournament, but was dismissed by the PCB a year and a half into his two-year contract after a string of poor performances.Shoaib Malik was captain during Lawson’s tenure but it was a troubled stint and he was replaced by Younis Khan after Pakistan conceded an ODI series to Sri Lanka with a massive 234-run thrashing in Lahore in January 2009.”It might’ve been premature to name him captain then. But three years on, he’s certainly capable of being captain again,” said Lawson. “To me, he’s the obvious choice. He’s well respected by the younger players and the seniors that had problems with him aren’t in the team.Malik briefly regained the captaincy for two Twenty20 games against England in Dubai in February this year after Afridi, the regular captain, was banned for two matches after being found guilty of ball-tampering during an ODI in Australia. Less than a month later, Malik was banned for a year during one of the PCB’s deepest culls of the senior cricket team in many years, during which seven of its top players were banned or fined after the side’s shambolic, winless tour of Australia.The ban was lifted on appeal two months later and he returned to the squad for the Asia Cup in June. Though Malik has denied an interest in the Pakistan captaincy, Lawson believes he has matured as a cricketer and his reappointment would be a progressive move by the PCB.”In 2007, he was a reluctant captain. He was young and wanted to concentrate on his cricket. Now he’s matured and given Pakistan’s penchant for changing captains regularly, I’d say you should give it to him and move forward.”Malik did a good job as captain and at that time he was learning how to lead a side. He was taking the right steps in the right direction and if he’s named as Afridi’s successor, I don’t think it’ll be a step backwards by the Pakistan Cricket Board.”