Neither of the three captains from Group B teams, Ihsanullah, Abraash Khan and Charith Asalanka, were short of confidence, but it was the Afghanistan Under-19 captain who firmly said that his team has set sights on the title.Ihsanullah, the younger brother of Nawroz Mangal, drew confidence from Afghanistan’s series win against Pakistan in October 2014, and said that the Under-19 side looked up to the senior team.”We beat Pakistan in their home so we hope we can beat them and top our group. We dream of winning the trophy, ,” Ihsanullah said. “Obviously, we are inspired by the national team and wish to play for them. Our future is so bright so now we are looking for this achievement. All our national players are heroes. There’s nothing in Afghanistan but cricket is getting very big, because of them.”Sri Lanka’s Asalanka, meanwhile, was wary of the expectations with his country having never won the Under-19 World Cup.”I think all teams will have target to win the World Cup,” he said. “I will have the responsibility to bring the trophy home. If I can, it will be for the first time, and it will be a big thing. I think it is a tough group. Canada, Afghanistan and Pakistan are good sides.”Abraash, the Canada captain, said that they were keen to get past the group stage for the first time and give a good account of themselves. “Our goal is to make the second round in this tournament,” he said. I know Canada has played many World Cups in the past, I played in the last one.”We never made the second round. If we really believe in our preparations, we can make it. We don’t play that much cricket. Sometimes it is good to be an underdog. People don’t expect you to do well. We are trying to change opinions in the World Cup.”Abraash took inspiration from offspinner Nikhil Dutta who has featured in the BPL and CPL, and said that Canada’s participation in the regional tournament in West Indies held them in good stead.”Nikhil and I are from the same club. We have played in the same team, Abraash said.” It is good to see him making big strides and hopefully we can all follow his footsteps. We won one game out of six in the West Indies regional tournament. It was a good tournament to prepare for the World Cup because it is a step up for us.”Abraash also identified Davy Jacobs, who has played for Eagles, Free State and Mumbai Indians among other teams, as a key figure.”Davy Jacobs is in my club,” Abraash said. He is not with the national body but he is the head coach in the Ontario Cricket Academy. We trained with him all winter and played with him all summer as well.”

Roger Twose had become increasingly conscious, even broodingly concerned, that his form for Wellington through this Shell Cup season had not been commensurate with his status as one of the best one-day batsmen in the world.Twose wanted desperately to contribute for Wellington, consistently and well as he felt a player should who was both a professional and an international, but had been bedevilled by an unaccountable series of dismissals for low scores.It wasn’t that Twose was out of form – quite the contrary, he had a sense that he was well prepared, settled and in a frame of mind to make substantial one-day totals. But each visit to the crease seemed more brief and unproductive than the last and he had a sense that while he was ready to perform, luck was against him.It was a coincidence, clearly, but still a point of relevance that while Twose’s form lagged behind his expectations, Wellington’s ability to win Cup matches was also reduced. They were unlucky to lose matches against Northern Districts at Mt Maunganui and Central Districts at Waikanae and they were gradually losing their standing in a close race for places in the Cup finals.So there was considerable celebration in the Wellington dressing room this evening from Twose, who made 45 in an innings of typically earthy and uncomplicated style and from Wellington who took advantage of that contribution to beat Auckland by five wickets in a match vital to their Cup hopes.Wellington dismissed Auckland for 157 in 48.1 overs after their opponents had won the toss and batted, and made 158/5 in 42.2 overs in reply to grab two points which made their failing Cup campaign more sturdy.They still face three more matches over the next six days, against Otago and Northern Districts in Wellington and Canterbury in Christchurch, and must win each of those, and be favoured by other results, to have any chance of reaching the finals.But their win today and Twose’s contribution to it lifted the spirits of both and made the disappointing events of the recent past lose a little of their black appearance.”We can’t afford to slip up again and this win today was just the start of a big six-day run for us but it was very satisfying,” Wellington coach Vaughn Johnson said.”We were pleased with the way the bowlers set up the game for us. The channels were excellent and our ground fielding was superb. We showed lots of energy in those first 15 overs.”It’s been one of those campaigns where we haven’t had the rub of the green and we’ve lost a couple of games that we probably should have won. But we’re not looking back, we’re only looking forward and we’re in much better spirits after this win today.”It was nice for us all to be able to get up today and have such a complete performance. And I’m delighted on Roger’s behalf. He was thrilled to make a contribution today. We know how good he is and we were all thrilled that he got a chance to show what he could do. He told us today that he felt in good nick lately but he kept on getting out cheaply and he couldn’t explain it. He just wanted to contribute but things weren’t going his way. He feels a lot better this evening.”Wellington’s win was set up, as Johnson suggested, by an outstanding bowling performance supported by an energetic and skillful effort in the field. Auckland would have been happy to have the chance to bat first after winning the toss but when they lost both openers, Llorne Howell and John Aiken, for 13 runs in the first six overs, their innings lost direction and it stumbled rather than galloped to an early conclusion.Carl Bulfin, James Franklin and Andrew Penn bowled accurately in the first 15 overs to limit Auckland to 38/2, then Stephen Mather and Matthew Walker stepped in and took the heart of Auckland’s middle order.Franklin removed Howell, Bulfin took Aiken, spinner Mark Jefferson wrung out the wicket of Adam Parore, then Mather quickly contributed the wickets of Dion Nash, Blair Pocock and Tama Canning and Auckland were 109/6. At the same time, Walker bowled 10 consecutive overs for 16 runs and Auckland’s innings has been robbed of its heart.Even the few batsmen who made runs did so too slowly to help the revival of the innings. Parore lingered for 48 balls for his 18 runs, Pocock for 91 minutes for 26 and Canning for 41 balls for the same score.Kyle Mills batted through the second half of the innings, for a total of 90 minutes, for Auckland’s top score of 31 but the progress of the Auckland batting effort was always more sluggish than sprightly.Mather finished his eight overs with 3-24 and Franklin, who bowled seven overs to take 1-19 at the top of the order, returned to claim another wicket for only two runs at the death.Wellington, in reply, were slightly shaken by the loss of Chris Nevin for 10 when they were 11 and Matthew Bell for 15 when they were 38, both out to soft dismissals. They needed an anchor for the innings and they found it in Richard Jones who batted 135 minutes for 62 – his best Cup score for the Firebirds – and was out three overs and five runs before the end.But Twose gave the innings the boost it needed in its middle stages when he blasted 45 from only 46 balls. His first six scoring shots were boundaries and he ended with a flourish, hitting Mark Haslam out of the ground for six before being caught and bowled, to the immense delight of the bowler, from the next ball.His innings included eight fours – to all parts of the ground – and that six for a total of 38 runs from boundaries. Seldom has a player made a more resounding announcement of his return to form.Spinner Haslam bowled his 10 overs and took 3-30, Chris Drum removed Bell and Nevin and had 2-26 but the Auckland bowlers always had too few runs to defend.

Left-arm orthodox spinner Sijomon Joseph took his maiden five-wicket haul to help Kerala notch up their second win of the season, a 131-run win against Rajasthan in Thumba.Rajasthan were set 343 to win after Sachin Baby’s counterattack – 30 off 16 balls – lifted Kerala’s score from 217 for 2 to 250 for 5 in less than five overs on the morning of the final day. Overnight batsman Jalaj Saxena was unbeaten on 105 when Kerala declared; Sanju Samson couldn’t add to his overnight score of 72, falling in the first over of the day.Rajasthan’s innings was plagued by recurring collapses. They had lost both openers withing seven balls of the start of their innings, before a 63-run stand between Robin Bist (70) and Rajesh Bishnoi (35) brought stability to the innings. But Joseph broke that stand and followed it up with the wicket of Ashok Menaria to reduce Rajasthan to 64 for 4 with more than 70 overs still to play. Nearly 40 of those overs were absorbed by the fifth-wicket pair of Bist and Mahipal Lomror (53) but the former’s wicket brought yet another collapse – they fell from 160 for 4 to 190 for 9. Deepak Chahar and Aniket Choudhary then attempted a final resistance, batting out 62 balls and bringing Rajasthan close to pulling off a draw. But Joseph trapped him in front in the 84th over to seize the win for Kerala.Jalaj, who made scores of 79 and 105* in the game, took two wickets in the second innings to also finish with a ten-wicket match-haul.Jharkhand walked away with a bonus-point win against Haryana in Ranchi, after chasing their 80-run target without losing any wickets.The win was set up by Shahbaz Nadeem, whose six-wicket haul inflicted a collapse on Haryana, who had begun the day on 141 for 4. Overnight batsmen Rajat Paliwal (93) and Rohit Sharma (71) added 107 runs on the final day before Nadeem dismissed the former, seven short of a 14th hundred. Haryana lost the rest of their wickets for the addition of only 48 runs and were bowled out for 296, having conceded a first-innings lead of 217.Jharkhand promoted wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan, who struck an unbeaten 46 off 45 balls and took them home in the company of Nazim Siddiqui (24*).

Wolverhampton Wanderers extended their excellent start to 2022 with a 2-1 victory over Midlands rivals Leicester City on Sunday evening, climbing back up to seventh place in the Premier League.

The West Midlands club have lost just one of their last eight league games and are still very much in the hunt for European qualification.

Goals from Ruben Neves and Daniel Podence either side of half time and Ademola Lookman’s equaliser for the Foxes secured the victory for Bruno Lage’s side.

However, the Golden Boys will have goalkeeper Jose Sa to thank once again after an excellent display against Brendan Rodgers’ side at Molineux.

According to SofaScore, the 29-year-old made six saves to keep Leicester at bay, as well as one punch and four high claims whilst being Wolves’ highest rated player with a score of 7.8/10.

Moreover, the Portuguese won his only attempted duel and had a 67% passing accuracy as well as making two clearances.

Although the stopper couldn’t secure his tenth clean sheet of the season, it was another match where the summer signing from Olympiakos ensured Wolves won.

Sa is yet to miss a league game for the Golden Boys since joining from the Greek giants for a fee believed to be around £6.25m which is already looking like a major bargain.

The goalkeeper came in as Rui Patricio’s replacement, after Sa’s fellow countryman joined Serie A side Roma for almost double his fee at €11.5m (£9.5m) proving to be a shrewd piece of business from Fosun.

Throughout his career, Sa has been a solid goalkeeper, keeping 123 clean sheets to date across 290 appearances for Maritimo, Porto, Olympiakos and Wolves, averaging a shut out every 2.36 matches.

It could be argued that the 6 foot 4 ‘keeper doesn’t have much competition and could slack off with John Ruddy Wolves’ only other available senior goalkeeper. However, that certainly hasn’t been the case and the number one shirt is very much Sa’s.

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Wolves face a crucial couple of weeks in their bid for European qualification, making two trips to London to face Arsenal and West Ham before hosting Crystal Palace and Watford.

What is for sure is that Lage will need his goalkeeper at his best as Wolves look to close the gap on those above them in order to boost their chances of competing in Europe once again next season.

However, on this evidence, he’s very much steering them towards that goal.

In other news: Wolves could be set for a transfer nightmare that’ll have fans seething 

Chris Morris gave South Africa one of their most memorable ODI victories in Johannesburg on Friday night but not even the man himself thinks it has secured him a place in a side packed with allrounders but still searching for middle-order muscle.”I’m trying my hardest to cement a spot in the team,” Morris said. “I wouldn’t say I’ve leapfrogged over anybody. There are still a couple of guys who should be given an opportunity if they put in the performances but I’ve put in a lot of work on my batting. Eventually it has to pay off and tonight it was my turn to show off that I am pushing for that allrounder spot.”As a seam-bowling allrounder, Morris’ direct competitor is David Wiese, who also played in the Wanderers match but had far less eye-catching returns. Wiese scored just 21 runs off 32 balls before reaching for a wide ball and spooning a catch to short cover after a similar bowling effort to Morris’. Wiese conceded 58 runs in his 10 overs while Morris cost South Africa 52 runs in nine overs and picked up an important wicket – that of Joe Root – at the death.Ultimately Morris believes they are not competing with the bat because his “main role is to bowl.” In that department, Morris thought he was “slightly under par” but admitted that “being a hitter at the end is a bit of an advantage”.In South Africa, it is more than a bit of a positive. The team have long looked for reliable finishers and have yet to find someone who can consistently deliver, although AB de Villiers mentioned someone else who he can now put faith in at the end.”Fudgie, look he’s a big match player, he always has been, especially at domestic level, he’s proved it time and time again,” de Villiers said, referring to Farhaan Behardien, who hit 38 off 42 and shared in a sixth-wicket stand of 48 with Wiese that ensured South Africa did not implode after JP Duminy’s dismissal. “He’s started to prove that now at international level over the last year or so, playing big knocks under pressure. Unfortunately he got out but he played his game to perfection and set it up nicely for guys like Chris to finish it off.”Behardien will welcome the support, especially after his bowling was not required and he received heaps of criticism on social media for not seeing the chase through.De Villiers’ backing of Behardien can also only mean that Duminy, who ran the captain out and was then dismissed by an Adil Rashid legbreak that smacked him on the pad, is under pressure for his place, especially as his contributions dwindle.Duminy’s bowling was cast aside two matches ago, when South Africa first called on an allrounder in the XI, but that has not helped his batting. He last scored an ODI fifty seven matches ago, in Bangladesh last June, and questions over how much longer South Africa can accommodate Duminy while keeping David Miller and Rilee Rossouw on the sidelines are starting to sprout.Unlike some of his team-mates, Duminy does not seem to embrace the do-or-die moment in the same way Morris did. “As a cricketer you live for those pressure situations,” Morris said. “I kind of enjoy being put under pressure because that’s where you get tested as a character and a cricketer.”Those are exactly the kind of words a captain like de Villiers wants to hear. “Knocks like that shape a player,” de Villiers said. “It’s massive for Chris what happened. The game and sport is about confidence and now he can find a way to get a bit of confidence and self-belief.”Not that Morris needed any more of an ego boost. Last Saturday, he sold for a million dollars in the IPL – over R16 million at the current exchange rate – but it seems he still has not realised what that says about his worth.Just as Morris did not think his match-winning efforts at the Wanderers will guarantee him a place in the national side, he does not think that his price tag says too much about his ability. “I don’t think anyone can justify going for that amount of money in the IPL,” Morris said. But after his performance on Friday, the Delhi Daredevils will be able to justify spending that amount.

Internazionale president Massimo Moratti does not know when Rafael Benitez will be appointed as the club's new coach.

Speaking on Tuesday evening, Moratti revealed he had agreed a deal with the Spaniard to replace Jose Mourinho in the hot-seat following his departure to Real Madrid.

Benitez only left Liverpool by mutual consent last week after six years in charge at Anfield.

However, despite suggesting that an appointment was imminent, Moratti now claims that he is unsure when the former Valencia manager will officially put pen to paper with the Italian and European champions.

"Wait for the club to tell you something, I do not do that kind of work here," he told the club's official website.

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"Wait for (sporting director) Marco Branca and the others to tell you when the time will be and when the new coach will be presented."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Outgoing president Joan Laporta believes it is inevitable that Cesc Fabregas will leave Arsenal for Barcelona this summer.

Laporta, who will shortly be replaced in the Camp Nou hot-seat by Sandro Rosell, fully expects the north London club to "give way" and let their captain return to his former club.

Barcelona have already seen one bid in the region of £25million rejected by the Gunners for the 23-year-old midfielder.

That is despite Fabregas reportedly informing manager Arsene Wenger of his desire to return to the Catalan club following seven years in north London.

Meanwhile Laporta, who will leave office at the end of June, fully expects the deal to be completed.

However, he has accepted that the protracted nature of the transfer means it is more likely to be completed on Rosell's watch.

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"We'll keep trying and if it's not us who do it, the new board will, if they feel it's something they want to continue with," he said on the club's official website.

"I think Arsenal will gave way – but I don't know when and we just have to wait and let the professionals who are dealing with it get on with the job they've been given."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Belgian prodigy Romelu Lukaku has attracted admiring glances from all over Europe since bursting on to the scene as a 16-year-old with club side Anderlecht in May of 2009. The 6ft 4in 17-year-old topped the domestic league scoring charts last season, bagging 15 goals in just 25 appearances. Pictures of the youngster sitting in the Stamford Bridge dugout leaked this week, heightening speculation that Carlo Ancelotti is to make a move for the young Belgian. Speaking of Lukaku, current Chelsea striker Didier Drogba said: “I received his phone number from Vincent Kompany.’You should sign for Chelsea,’ I told him.”

Unlike other Premier League sides Chelsea do not have a reputation for nurturing young talent. Would a switch to Stamford Bridge represent a wise move for Romelu Lukaku?

Since the start of Roman Abramovich’s association with the club, Chelsea have financially outmuscled several clubs in order to sign a clutch of talented, young players. For the majority of these players, a move to West London turned out to be a bad decision. The careers of England internationals Glen Johnson, Scott Parker and Shaun Wright-Phillips are all widely considered to have stalled and/or regressed at Stamford Bridge. Having fought tooth and nail to ‘illegally’ procure Leeds United’s youth-team duo Tom Taiwo and Michael Woods in 2006, a succession of Chelsea managers failed to utilise their talents; indeed Taiwo now plies his trade for Carlisle United, whilst Woods languishes in the Chelsea reserves.

The formative years within a player’s career are pivotal to one’s development. First-team football is generally considered to be the best way to facilitate the growth and development of one’s potential, and Lukaku will certainly be more likely to encounter such opportunities at Anderlecht.

Whilst Abramovich has provided signals that he is wishing to eke out the investment-heavy, ‘quick-fix-success’ nature of Chelsea’s existence since 2003, (with this summer’s signings of Tomáš Kalas and Matej Delač supporting the Russian’s assertions), it remains to be seen whether or not this will turn out to be the case. With Abramovich desperately trying to shed the club’s image of one as a trophy-buying, aging club, the signing of players such as Lukaku may be central to his intentions. Whilst a move for Lukaku may help Abramovich to achieve his aims, it may not help the young Belgian achieve his.

Follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/zarifrasul

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Click on image to see a gallery of the BEST BABES at the World Cup this summer

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Tottenham Hotspur boss Harry Redknapp has confirmed his ongoing interest in Joe Cole.

The England midfielder is available on a free transfer after leaving Chelsea at the end of last season.

Cole stressed throughout the World Cup finals that he was focusing on England and not his club future.

Redknapp is keen to ensure that future is at White Hart Lane despite reported competition from Arsenal and former club West Ham United.

"We're interested in Joe," Redknapp confirmed to talkSPORT."I know (chairman) Daniel (Levy) was talking to his people and we're interested.

"If the chairman can pull a deal off I'd love to have him at Tottenham.

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"But it all comes down to if we can do a deal. I don't get involved in the financial side, the chairman can do that with Joe's people.

"Hopefully there is a deal that can be done because we would love him at White Hart Lane."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

After only 16 weeks in the job, Steve Coppell quit as manager of Bristol City last Thursday in what has been one of the shocks of the season so far. For City fans so optimistic about what Coppell’s reign might bring to the club, it is a hammer blow and the confidence that surrounded the club at the start of the season has been shaken to its core. In an earlier article I argued that Steve Coppell, rather than David James, would be the best signing Bristol City made this summer. His record at Crystal Palace and Reading spoke volumes of his ability to get the best out of relatively small clubs and bring great success to them, and fans were hoping he could do similar things at Ashton Gate. His soujourn at Bristol City however, has been more reminescent of his brief spell at Manchester City in which he lasted only 33 days. Similarly to the end of his reign at Man City, his departure from Bristol City has been shrouded in mystery and no-one apart from Steve Coppell really knows the reasons behind his resignation.

At such an early stage in the season it is difficult to tell what the consequences of Coppell’s departure will mean for Bristol City. Assistant manager Keith Millen has been given the managers job on a three year contract; he has already had experience of managing the club on a caretaker basis. Millen will be hoping City can repeat the form they showed under him at the end of last season, after Gary Johnson’s departure Millen took over and the club enjoyed some good results, eventually finishing in the very respectable position of tenth. It will be Millen’s first full-time job in management so it remains to be seen how he performs as manager; his first result, a 1-1 draw away to Doncaster on Saturday, was a solid start. Millen will have to rebuild confidence in the side quickly, Coppell’s resignation would have come as a major shock to the players who would have been optimistic about the season with him at the helm. Players Coppell brought in, may also be feeling disillusioned, with marquee signing David James stating when he came to the club that he would not have come had Steve Coppell not been there. With last seasons top scorer Nicky Maynard out for three months along with a host of other injuries, Millen will face a difficult first few weeks as manager. The squad at Bristol City has not changed, but morale may have gone down a notch; if Millen can rebuild confidence and repeat the managerial performances he did last season, then Bristol City can still have a good campaign.

The reason Coppell gave for quitting Bristol City was he told the official club website,

“I found I could not become passionate about the role and give the commitment the position demands.”

He has always been an enigmatic individual. After a hugely successful spell at Crystal Palace, Coppell lasted just six games at Manchester City and to this day the reasons behind his resignation remain unclear. In his time at Reading he experienced mixed emotions. He enjoyed huge success with the club but after they were relegated from the Premier League he seemed to lose some of his appetite for the game, with Coppell also expressing concerns about the effects of management on his health in Reading’s subsequent season in the Championship. Reading reached the play-offs that season, but a loss against Burnley saw him resign, despite most fans being keen to see him stay. Bristol City fans may never know the true reasons behind Coppell’s resignation, and it is sad for English football as a whole that we will never see him manage again.

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