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ESPNcricinfo previews the first ODI between South Africa and India in Durban

The Preview by Siddhartha Talya11-Jan-2011Match FactsAn impressive show in the Twenty20 match and strong batting skills could help Wayne Parnell make the final XI•Getty ImagesJanuary 12, Durban
Start time 14:30 (12.30 GMT, 18.00 IST)
Big PictureThe Test series between the top two teams in international cricket was meant to be this tour’s biggest draw, but the ODI series that starts on Wednesday is almost as significant. Bilateral one-dayers are an after-party to a grand event, though not in this case with the World Cup just over a month away and with the teams required to finalise their fifteen-member squads for the event by January 19. Three of the five games in this series – the last official 50-over preparation for the two sides ahead of the World Cup – will be played out before the deadline and they are likely to influence the composition of the final squads.Injuries to Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir have led to call-ups for Rohit Sharma and M Vijay for the ODI series, though Virat Kohli appears to have done enough in the middle order for his place to be in any risk. There is more competition in the bowling, with a possible tussle between Sreesanth and Munaf Patel for a spot alongside Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar and Ashish Nehra in the fast-bowling attack. Praveen’s eleventh-hour injury gives Ishant Sharma, who had an ordinary Test series, another go at the one-day level, though he is almost certain to miss the first game. Piyush Chawla returns to the 50-over format after more than two years, but R Ashwin is the favoured second spinner in the squad, while Harbhajan Singh will look to build on his performance in the Tests.South Africa have roped in legspinner Imran Tahir and left-arm spinner Robin Peterson, as potential slow-bowling partners to Johan Botha; Colin Ingram, who scored a century on ODI debut, fills in for the injured Jacques Kallis at No.3, and could be in the running for a top-order spot in the World Cup, while David Miller will possibly be fighting for a middle-order slot along with the leg-spinning allrounder Faf du Plessis. The battle for the third seamer’s position will be between Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Wayne Parnell, though Ryan McLaren, not playing this series, has also done the job in the past.South Africa, at home on lively tracks, go in as the favourites. The team coming on top will go into the World Cup on a high, but individual performances in this series could be just as important as the scoreline itself.Form guideSouth Africa: WLWLW
India: WWWWWPlayers to watch out for…Virat Kohli: One of India’s in-form batsman, Kohli comes into this series with two centuries and two half-centuries in his last six matches. Almost a certainty in India’s World Cup squad, given a successful 2010, an impressive performance in tougher conditions – his only ODI series outside the subcontinent has been in Zimbabwe – should further reaffirm his chances.Faf du Plessis: He was signed up for US$120,000 at the IPL auctions and will be eager for an ODI debut here. An impressive List A batting average of 44.37 and his abilities as a legpinner makes him a strong contender as an all-round option in South Africa’s middle order.Team newsThe teams could shuffle their line-ups for the first few games. Sachin Tendulkar returns to the 50-over format after a self-imposed break – his last ODI was in Gwalior, where he scored that record-breaking double-century against the same opposition.Praveen’s absence puts Munaf in the frame for the third seamer’s spot, but India will want to take a good look at the conditions before taking a call on whether to go with two spinners and two fast bowlers.India (possible): 1 Sachin Tendulkar, 2 M Vijay, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 R Ashwin / Munaf Patel, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Ashish NehraParnell’s impressive show in the Twenty20 match will make it tough for Smith to ignore him. Tsotsobe was in good form against Pakistan in the UAE when Parnell was injured, and the latter’s batting credentials could be the clinching factor.South Africa (possible): 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Colin Ingram, 4 AB de Villiers (wk), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Faf du Plessis / Robin Petersen, 7 David Miller, 8 Johan Botha, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Wayne Parnell / Lonwabo Tsotsobe, 11 Morne MorkelStats and trivia India’s have won only three matches and lost 16 against South Africa in South Africa – their worst record in any country Sachin Tendulkar has scored 1422 one-day runs in South Africa, but only 522 of those have come against the hosts, at an average of 26.10Quotes”It’s something that I have dreamt of throughout my captaincy.”South Africa captain Graeme Smith is excited at the prospect of having an attacking spinner in Imran Tahir in his squad

“You have to start respecting the bowlers right from the very start.”India captain MS Dhoni knows conditions in South Africa are different from the ones the India team is used to at home

Celtic will be looking to continue their march towards the domestic treble this season as they play in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup today.

The Hoops face off against their arch-rivals in the clash at Hampden this afternoon as they compete for a place in the final of the competition.

Ange Postecoglou’s men have already secured the League Cup trophy this season and are currently six points clear at the top of the Premiership.

Their lead over Rangers in the league has put them in a terrific position to reclaim the title and they can now pile the misery on them with a win in this latest Old Firm matchup.

One change will be enforced upon the Australian head coach for this match as Gio Giakoumakis has been ruled out through injury.

This leaves a spot at the top end of the pitch and Kyogo Furuhashi must be unleashed from the start to take the Greek international’s place.

Ahead of the match, John Hartson has backed the forward to start: “I think he’ll be dying to get back on the scoresheet.

“He’s such an enthusiastic and quality player. What an impact he made before he got injured.”

This is not the first time the ex-Hoops striker has praised the Japan international, as he previously said:

“There is no doubt Celtic have landed someone quite special in Kyogo. His movement is outstanding.

“It was a pity he couldn’t get more involved against Rangers, but when he moved into the central role, he was an absolute menace to their defence.”

Postecoglou must heed his advice and start the centre-forward as he proved earlier in the season that he has a keen eye for goal. He has found the back of the net 16 times in 27 matches for the club in all competitions, including eight goals in 12 cup matches in the Europa League and League Cup.

Kyogo has also delivered 1.1 key passes per game and created four ‘big chances’ in the Premiership, which shows that he is able to link up the play and create openings for his teammates as well as scoring the goals.

This shows that he has the quality to be the difference-maker in this Old Firm clash. He has the ability to score goals at this level and will be able to punish Rangers if the Celtic midfield are able to provide him with the service he needs to do his damage in the final third.

AND in other news, Huge blow: Celtic dealt late Rangers injury setback, Ange Postecoglou will be fuming…

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has cast doubt over the availability of two more defensive options for the Premier League meeting with Watford. 

The lowdown: Walker worry

The Sky Blues are currently in the midst of a gruelling fixture schedule and are likely to remain without Kyle Walker with an ankle injury after Ruben Dias also spent time on the sidelines recently.

As just a solitary point separates Guardiola’s side and the chasing Liverpool, every remaining league game has been billed as a must-win encounter by the Spanish boss.

Walker appear to roll his ankle in the win at Atletico Madrid and has since been spotted in a protective boot, raising plenty of doubts over his availability for the run-in.

However, it seems he’s not the only defensive issue for Pep to worry about…

The latest: Defensive duo doubtful

Speaking during the pre-match press conference, as relayed by the Manchester Evening News, Guardiola is unsure about the availability of John Stones and Nathan Ake.

When asked over fresh team news, he said: “A niggle [Stones]. Little problems, like Nathan today we make an assessment, tomorrow we decide.”

Regular England international Stones is believed to have felt tightness during the 3-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion in midweek whilst Ake had to be replaced at half time due to a twisted ankle.

The verdict: No risks required

In truth, the potential defensive absentees shouldn’t cause too many headaches for City in a game the hosts should dominate at the Etihad.

Albeit Roy Hodgson’s side will arrive with their Premier League status hanging in the balance, Watford have only mustered 30 goals in 32 matches this season and therefore Aymeric Laporte alongside a fit again Dias should be more than enough to cope with any threat posed by the visitors.

Allowing key players such as Stones, recently hailed as ‘phenomenal’ by Guardiola, time to recover ahead of crunch clashes still to come is vitally important as the Citizens still harbour ambitions of completing a historic double this season.

In other news, a journalist has shared a major City transfer breakthrough. Read more here.

Aston Villa reporter Ashley Preece poked fun at Tottenham’s move for midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur on deadline day.

The Lowdown: Villa keen

Villa were after a new midfielder throughout January and appeared to turn their attention to the Uruguay international after having a bid rejected for Brighton’s Yves Bissouma.

Steven Gerrard and co firmed up their interest in Bentancur and were hopeful of securing a move for the Uruguayan. However, after launching a £20.8m bid, it was Spurs who secured the 24-year-old’s services, announcing a move in the final hours of the transfer window.

The Latest: Preece reacts

Preece took to Twitter on Monday and replied to Spurs’ announcement on Bentancur.

He poked fun at the deal following the strong Villa Park links, saying: “Never heard of him!?” and adding a stuck-out tongue and winking emoji.

The Verdict: Not a disaster

Even though Villa were clearly big admirers of Bentancur, it may not be the end of the world that they missed out on his signature.

Villa wanted to bolster their holding midfield ranks with Marvelous Nakamba injured, but Bentancur is primarily a central midfielder. He has played as a defensive midfielder on just 48 occasions during his career compared to 156 as a central midfielder, so he wouldn’t have been a like-for-like alternative to the Zimabwean.

Therefore, waiting until the summer to pursue Bissouma could be a wiser move, when hopefully Brighton’s £45m+ asking price will drop ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, as the Mali international will be into the final 12 months of his contract at the Amex Stadium.

In other news: ‘Hats off to the board’ – Sky Sports pundit purrs at ‘amazing’ out-of-the-blue Villa transfer news

Celtic have been dealt a huge blow regarding the availability of Daizen Maeda.

What’s the latest?

According to a recent report by Sky Sports, the 24-year-old has been called up by Japan for their World Cup qualifying fixtures against China on January 27 and Saudi Arabia on February 1.

The report added that the centre-forward will duly miss league matches against Hearts and Dundee United, as well as the Old Firm clash on February 2. Ange Postecoglou will be left with only Giorgos Giakoumakis as an out-and-out centre-forward for this period, as Kyogo Furuhashi is also currently unavailable for selection due to injury.

Earlier reports had initially suggested that Celtic’s Japanese internationals could be set to remain in Glasgow for their country’s upcoming international fixtures, as their country’s government had imposed a ban on the entry of all foreigners, but it now appears that an exception has been made for Maeda.

Postecoglou will be fuming

Considering how impressive Maeda was for Celtic on his debut against Hibernian earlier this week, and that the 24-year-old’s impending departure means that Postecoglou will be left with only Giakoumakis as an option up front for the end of the month, it is sure to have left the 56-year-old manager fuming.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/?post_type=web-story&p=664142″ title=”Check out the latest Celtic news!”]

Indeed, over his 74 minutes on the pitch against Hibs, the £1.44m-rated Japan ace scored one goal, found a team-mate with 80% of his passes, completed his one attempted dribble and made one interception. These returns saw the forward earn a SofaScore match rating of 7.3, ranking him as the Hoops’ fifth-best player to feature on the night.

As such, the fact that Celtic will be unable to call upon the Japanese hitman for three crucial fixtures in the coming weeks will undoubtedly come as a huge blow to the club’s hopes of picking up maximum points from the games in question. That could well have disastrous consequences for the Bhoys’ Premiership title hopes this season.

In other news: Postecoglou must finally unleash rarely-seen £4.95m-rated Celtic “leader” today, he’s a game-changer

أدلى يورجن كلوب، مدرب فريق ليفربول، بتصريحات بعد خسارتهم في مباراة اليوم أمام ليدز يونايتد في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وخسر ليفربول بهدفين مقابل هدف، في الجولة الرابعة عشر من الدوري الإنجليزي، على ملعب “الأنفيلد”. أهداف مباراة ليفربول وليدز

وقال كلوب في تصريحات نشرتها شبكة “بي بي سي” العالمية: “لقد كانت نكسة، بالتأكيد، اعتقدت أننا قدمنا ​​بداية جيدة حقًا ثم استقبلت شباكنا هدفًا غريبًا”.

وأضاف: “لقد سجلنا هدف التعادل لكن لسبب ما لم يمنحنا الأمن مرة أخرى، كافحنا للسيطرة على المباراة وسددنا الكثير من الكرات بعيدًا”.

وواصل: “حاول اللاعبون، كان لدينا استحواذ جيد وكانت لدينا فرص كبيرة، لكن في النهاية إذا كانت النتيجة 1-1 ودافعت في موقف الهدف الثاني بمثل هذا، فإنك تترك كل شيء مفتوحًا”.

وأردف: “في النهاية كان اثنان مقابل واحد في منطقة الجزاء ويمكنهم إنهاء الموقف، المشكلة هي أننا لا نستطيع التحكم في هذا النوع من المباريات في الوقت الحالي”.

واستكمل: “هدف ليدز الثاني كان أمرًا سيئًا بالنسبة لنا، لقد واجهنا موقفًا مشابهًا من قبل ولم نستغله، كيف نحل المشكلة؟ ربما تم المبالغة في لعب بعض اللاعبين، لقد كان هارفي إليوت استثنائيًا بالنسبة لنا هذا الموسم، لقد كانت بداية جيدة لكنه لم يستطع الاستمرار، لقد كان تياجو مريضًا، لاعبو الهجوم يلعبون طوال الوقت، علينا القتال وهذا ما يجب أن نفعله”.

وعندما سُئل عما إذا كان السبب وراء وضعهم الحالي يعود إلى الأخطاء الفردية، رد الألماني: “يتكون أداء الفريق دائمًا من العروض الفردية، أحدهما يؤدي إلى الآخر، يمكنك مشاهدة هذه المباراة بالكامل، ولا يمكنك الدفاع كما فعلنا في الهدف الثاني لكننا فعلنا ذلك، ولهذا خسرنا، وإلا كنا حصلنا على نقطة ونذهب من هناك، الآن ليس لدينا شيء ويبدو الأمر مختلفًا تمامًا”.

وأوضح: “التعافي؟ علينا أن نلعب بجودتنا على أرض الملعب، واجهتنا مشاكل منذ اليوم الأول بسبب الإصابة، كان على اللاعبين اللعب منذ اليوم الأول، إنه وضعنا وهذا يعني أنه يتعين علينا مساعدة أنفسنا، وهذا ما سنفعله”.

واستمر: “نلعب كل ثلاثة أيام، إنه موسم قاس بالنسبة لنا لأننا تعرضنا لإصابات منذ اليوم الأول واضطررنا إلى العودة إلى الوراء، ولكن علينا أن نكافح من خلال هذا وسوف نفعل ذلك”.

وأردف: “هناك أشياء كثيرة تختلف عنا في هذه اللحظة، أنا آسف أن الأمر كذلك، لكن هذا هو الوضع، لست متأكدًا من مدى العمق الذي يمكنك البحث فيه، لكننا سنفعل، الأمر كما هو وسنعمل على إيجاد الحلول”.

واختتم: “يجب أن نلقي نظرة على هذه المباراة أولاً، ونحاول فهمها أكثر قليلاً ونبدأ من هناك”.

Craig Hope has revealed that Newcastle United are now eyeing up a move for Gleison Bremer in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Third signing pending…

With both Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood already through the door at St. James’ Park, it looks as if the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium are now working on their third signing of the month.

Interestingly, Bremer shares the same agent as both players, and so there could be an easier route to signing him.

Nonetheless, with bringing in a new central defender the ‘priority’ for the new owners, this is certainly a deal to keep an eye on as the days progress – the Magpies have the second-worst defensive record in the league.

The Latest: Bremer eyed

As per Hope, the North East club are now eyeing Bremer as their potential new centre-back, but The Daily Mail journalist has warned that he may be ‘expensive’:

“Another name to add to list of centre-back options… Torino’s Gleison Bremer.

“Seems like another expensive one but I’m told NUFC have taken a look at 24-yr-old Brazilian.”

The Verdict: No-brainer

Bringing in Bremer would be a no-brainer, as he would immediately be an upgrade on their current options.

He is currently averaging more tackles and interceptions and completed passes at a higher success rate than Ciaran Clark, Fabian Schar and Jamaal Lascelles in their respective domestic leagues so far this season (WhoScored), and so would instantly slot into Eddie Howe’s side.

Described as ‘powerful’ by Serie A expert Conor Clancy, the six-foot-two Brazilian is a beast, and at 24 years of age, he will only get better.

Nonetheless, the Magpies should look no further if they want to sign a solid centre-back for the second half of the campaign.

In other news, find out what transfer claim Pete Graves has dropped from the new owners here!

أشاد سيد معوض نجم الأهلي ومنتخب مصر الأسبق، بالقدرات الفنية لدى مارسيل كولر، المدير الفني الجديد لفريق الكرة بالنادي الأهلي، واصفاً إياه بالمدرب الجيد للغاية.

ويلاقي الأهلي نظيره الاتحاد المنستيري مساء غداً السبت على أرضية استاد الأهلي وي السلام ضمن منافسات إياب دور الـ32 من دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

وكان الأهلي قد حقق الفوز على الاتحاد المنستيري بهدف دون رد في مباراة الذهاب التي أقيمت على ملعب مصطفى بن جنات بالمنستير.

وقال سيد معوض في تصريحات تلفزيونية عبر قناة ETC: “كولر مدرب جيد ويبدو أنه بالفعل أجاد السيطرة على الفريق في الفترة الأخيرة، الأفضل أن يشارك سافيو كجناح أيسر وأفشة صانع ألعاب”.

طالع | رمضان السيد: كولر نجح مع الأهلي.. والفريق سيصل لقمة مستواه بعد 6 أسابيع

وأكمل: “يعيب أحمد عبد القادر المبالغة في إظهار مهاراته، ولا بد أن يستمر على الأداء الجيد، وليس تذبذب المستوى”.

وبشأن رأيه في استبعاد الثنائي زياد طارق ومحمد محمود من تدريبات الأهلي، أجاب: “استبعاد زياد طارق ومحمد محمود من التدريبات بسبب عدم زيادة اللاعبين في المران، أمر يخص كولر بالطبع، لأنني أعلم أن زيادة عدد اللاعبين في التدريبات أمر سيء ويُغضب المدربين”.

واستطرد: “لكن اللاعبين أيضًا لهم حقوق ومن حقهم المنافسة مع زملائهم على إثبات جدارتهم بالمشاركة، ومن الطبيعي مشاركة أكرم توفيق أساسيًا بسبب أدائه القوي في المباراة الأولى أمام الاتحاد المنستيري”.

Mitchell Johnson put his hand up over the past week, now he can put his feet up

Brydon Coverdale in Hamilton31-Mar-2010Mitchell Johnson put his hand up over the past week, now he can put his feet up. His second ten-wicket match haul delivered Australia victory in Hamilton, their seventh win from eight Tests this summer, and he’s ready for a break. Johnson has been Australia’s leading weapon this season with 41 victims at 25.90, and Ricky Ponting believes his strike bowler has never been performing better.He finished the Seddon Park Test with 10 for 132, having collected six in the second innings, but the most impressive thing was the way he kept digging the ball in short on a pitch offering little and regularly broke 150kph. Johnson has come a long way since his disappointing Ashes tour and Ponting said his fast man had learnt a lot, including from the Scott Styris headbutt at the start of the one-day series.”To be able to bowl the way he did in the second innings of this game, and probably bowled as quick in the second innings of this game as he has right through that period of time, says a lot about him,” Ponting said. “This tour in particular has probably been the best and most consistent I’ve seen him bowl. To get ten wickets in this last game here is a great way for him to end a couple of years of cricket.”Mitch is a pretty fiery competitor and the leader of our attack I guess as well, he wants to stand up and be that aggressive sort of bowler. He generally is at his best when he is like that. He might have even got a few fans back with the way he bowled here. Once again, those little things like [the Styris incident] are really good for these guys, they learn a lot about themselves when they are confronted with those issues and having the 15,000-20,000 crowd on their back. He is getting better game by game.”Johnson now gets three weeks away before the World Twenty20 and plans to relax at the beach and in the wineries of Margaret River. The challenge for Australia has always been to manage Johnson’s workload as he is the sort of bowler for whom too much time away from the game can be a negative.”Whenever we’ve given him an extended break he’s come back and it’s taken him a little while to get back in to it again,” Ponting said. “What we have to do is make sure we don’t run him into the ground. I know he’s got a nice little break with no IPL, so the guys will make sure he gets appropriate work done to be fresh and fit and ready to go for England [to play Pakistan].”Johnson said this week that he was happy to kick back and relax instead of heading to the IPL, despite what he conceded was tempting money, in order to keep himself fresh for Australia. His main goal is to make sure he is peaking for next summer’s Ashes series in Australia, so that he can make up for his meltdown in England and bowl his team to victory to regain the urn.”I need my breaks now and then but not big breaks, two or three weeks is probably my maximum break,” Johnson said. “I think the more bowling I do the better I feel. I know when I come back from a little break I do feel a bit stiff and sore, I know definitely the more bowling I do the better I feel about my bowling.”I think I have definitely improved, during that Ashes series I had a bad one at Lord’s and probably wasn’t as consistent throughout that whole series. But you are going to have those ups and downs throughout your career and I think I have learnt from that. I think I have proved it since then and I think I have definitely stepped up a little bit.”

Bill Lawry and Garth McKenzie, two greats of the 1960s, will be inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame

Cricinfo staff14-Feb-2010Bill Lawry and Garth McKenzie, two greats of the 1960s, will be inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame at the Allan Border Medal on Monday. Bob Lloyd, the selection panel chairman, praised the contributions of both players.”Bill was an outstanding opening batsman and captain of Australia during his 67 Test-match career and has also since then had an on-going and significant role in cricket as an administrator with Cricket Victoria and as a commentator with Channel 9,” Lloyd said. “Graham, or ‘Garth’ McKenzie as he was universally known, almost single-handedly led the Australian attack over a 10-year period and his 246 wickets places him eigth on the list of wickets taken for Australia.”The Australian Cricket Hall of Fame began in 1996 with 10 inductees and 22 more have been included since then. Selectors take into account the players’ status as sporting legends in addition to their outstanding statistical records and inductees must have been retired from international cricket for a minimum of five years.Hall of Fame inductees Fred Spofforth, John Blackham, Victor Trumper, Clarrie Grimmett, Bill Ponsford, Sir Donald Bradman, Bill O’Reilly, Keith Miller, Ray Lindwall, Dennis Lillee, Warwick Armstrong, Neil Harvey, Allan Border, Bill Woodfull, Arthur Morris, Stan McCabe, Greg Chappell, Lindsay Hassett, Ian Chappell, Hugh Trumble, Alan Davidson, Clem Hill, Rod Marsh, Monty Noble, Bob Simpson, Charles Macartney, Richie Benaud, George Giffen, Ian Healy, Steve Waugh, Bill Lawry, Garth McKenzie.