South Africa wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock has been cleared to play the third Test Zealand after being a doubt due to a finger injury

Firdose Moonda in Hamilton24-Mar-2017While New Zealand have been ruling several injured players out of their XI, South Africa have found a way to include one of their wounded. Wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock will play the Hamilton Test after passing a fitness test to determine whether the tendon damage on his right index finger was severe enough to sideline him.De Kock, however, will need at least four weeks to recover from the injury and Cricket South Africa ruled him out of playing the 2017 IPL season for Delhi Daredevils in order to be available for the Champions Trophy and the England Tests that follow.Although in some pain on the eve of the Hamilton Test, de Kock was able to bat and catch with strapping and a finger splint, the brainchild of physiotherapist Brandon Jackson. When asked why South Africa were risking de Kock when they have a reserve gloveman in Heinrich Klaasen, Faf du Plessis explained the occasion was too important to leave de Kock out.”It’s a big game. Quinton is someone who you don’t just replace. From my side, I am trying to have Quinton in my team all the time,” du Plessis said. “He has had problems with his fingers for quite a while. It’s part of being a keeper. It’s never nice to catch balls on the fingertips all the time and it’s been painful for him for a while. Maybe the cold New Zealand conditions make it worse. It’s hurting for him a bit more now but because it’s a big game, resting him for someone else is not an option.”Du Plessis explained that if de Kock was carrying “three or four broken fingers then obviously he won’t play,” but because the issue could be kept at bay for a while, South Africa were willing to take their chances. More so, because three of the top six (Stephen Cook, Hashim Amla and JP Duminy) were out of form and de Kock, who was one half of a match-winning partnership with Temba Bavuma in Wellington, was among the runs.The news that neither Tim Southee nor Trent Boult would be playing for New Zealand also did not influence South Africa’s team composition, as they aimed to assemble the strongest side they could in search for a 2-0 series win.”We are trying to put as much pressure as we can on New Zealand,” du Plessis said.At the start of the series, du Plessis admitted South Africa would target Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, who they regarded as New Zealand’s keybatsmen, because they sensed vulnerability in the rest of the line-up.”It’s a huge blow (for New Zealand). I always take reference to our own team – if we lose guys like them in our side, it will be a huge loss. Seamers that have got experience and the numbers behind them – you don’t just replace that in Test cricket,” du Plessis said. “But we know whoever comes in can do a job for the day and we have to respect that and play at our best. If we do that, hopefully it will be easier but it’s never a guarantee.”

Middlesex pushed on to a second declaration after Steven Finn’s four-wicket haul and set Essex 452 or a day to survive at Lord’s

Tim Wigmore at Lord's23-Apr-2017
ScorecardIf it is the start of the English season, it must be time to talk about Steven Finn. Every summer it is a source of fascination whether Finn can channel his palpable gifts – pace, bounce from his 6ft 7in frame and the outswing that he has honed in recent years – and become the bowler England supporters have long seen in their mind’s eye. A man not flitting between squads but one who is, instead, a persistent menace in international cricket.It remains far too soon to tell whether this is the summer when Finn makes that transition, rather than just tantalisingly hinting at it, but on a docile Lord’s pitch, he produced a performance of hostility and great skill. It was not so much the four wickets he took – a quick, short ball that Simon Harmer pulled to midwicket; Dan Lawrence deceived with a ball that held its line, rather than swinging away; and a ball that slanted into Neil Wagner and uprooted off stump, to add to the wicket of Tom Westley on the second evening – as his parsimony and immaculate control.Even when bowling loosely, he has always been able to produce brilliant deliveries. But seldom can he have bowled so few poor balls. In 22.1 overs, he conceded just 51 runs; yielding 2.30 an over, Finn was the most frugal of Middlesex’s bowling quintet.”It’s as good as I’ve felt for a while,” Finn said. “Across my career it’s the one side of my game that has not been my best, my economy rate. It’s about keeping it simple, it doesn’t just happen. Without chasing wickets you get your rewards later in the day.”I felt in good rhythm at Hampshire without getting too many rewards and yesterday as well. Today I bowled two long spells and then came back to get wickets at the end.”Few cricketers are aware of the vagaries of professional sport like Finn. The 46 Test wickets at 26.23 apiece he took in 2010, his first year of international cricket, remains his best annual haul for England; last year, he took just 17 Test wickets at 46.64 apiece. Yet his talents are so seductive that England’s interest has never gone away, and here he produced a performance to gladden the selectors’ hearts. If he does it again on the final day, Middlesex will record their first Championship victory of the season, and the case for including Finn in the Champions Trophy squad will become even stronger.”There’s enough eyes around, and people in the know realise when you’re in good rhythm and bowling well,” he said, with the sense of a man who has been here before. “I don’t think everything depends on tomorrow but if you have another good day it furthers your claims even more.”The rest of Middlesex’s bowlers were impressive, too, as they needed to be to restrict Essex to 295 on a picturesque Lord’s day. Toby Roland-Jones generated persistent swing, Ollie Rayner showed his nous, James Franklin embraced bowling with the older ball and Tim Murtagh bowled an expert spell up the slope with the second new ball to account for Ryan ten Doeschate.Against such a well-balanced attack, Lawrence and Adam Wheater needed to summon all of their resolve after Ravi Bopara’s early dismissal, driving indolently at Roland-Jones.Lawrence has won rightful acclaim as one of English cricket’s most promising talents. Perhaps his defining quality is how quickly he judges length, as revealed by a sumptuous push through midwicket for four when Franklin slightly overpitched; a shot to savour. And, just as in a match-saving 141 not out against Lancashire a fortnight ago, Lawrence married such strokeplay with technical fortitude and equanimity rarely spotted in a 19-year-old.Wheater’s contribution was particularly welcome. Having helped to end the career of the brilliant wicketkeeper Michael Bates at Hampshire, his return to Essex has dislodged James Foster, widely acclaimed as the finest of his generation. And Wheater was not even able to score the runs needed to justify the decision, mustering only six in his first three innings of the season.His jittery start betrayed a man woefully short of form, and one badly in need of fortune. That he got, and in bountiful quantity, when he was dropped three times over three consecutive overs off Roland-Jones – by Rayner at second slip, by John Simpson, diving to his right in front of first slip, and by Sam Robson at third slip. In between times Wheater drove with class and swept dexterously, as befitting a man with a first-class average not far shy of 40.Yet Wheater’s dismissal, rather irresponsibly caught at square leg sweeping Ollie Rayner just before the second new ball, triggered the loss of Essex’s last five wickets for 42 runs. A lead of 212, though, was not enough to entice James Franklin to make Essex follow on. It was a “50-50 decision,” Finn said, and cautious, especially with the threat of rain on the final afternoon. Still, Middlesex ought to have claimed the first of the ten wickets needed, only for Nick Browne to be reprieved by Rayner when he edged Roland-Jones to second slip.After Middlesex decided to bat again, what came next was utterly predictable. With the intensity seeping out of the game, their top three all made breezy half-centuries; all squandered the chance to score twin hundreds in the match, Sam Robson coming closest with 77. The only puzzle was why they felt the need to bat on past a target of 420, which Essex’s openers doubtless appreciated.Only one passage of play is worth recalling. In the 33rd over, Stevie Eskinazi scooped Jamie Porter for six, then went down on his front knee to launch him over midwicket, just as Mal Loye once did to Glenn McGrath, before clipping the next delivery over square leg for another six. After launching Harmer over midwicket next ball, Eskinazi was then caught on the extra cover boundary attempting a fifth six in five deliveries. Most remarkable of all was the notion that Eskinazi is normally regarded as relatively sedate, so much so that he has only played a single white-ball game for Middlesex. That will surely change soon.

Al-Nassr have put the wheels in motion for a potential bid to sign Kevin De Bruyne from Manchester City, it has been claimed.

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De Bruyne wanted by Saudi sideHave contacted agent about meetingStar's Man City contract ends in 2025WHAT HAPPENED?

The Saudi Arabian side have contacted the Belgium international's agent with the aim of arranging a meeting, according to Rudy Galetti. Al-Nassr's plan is to explain their long-term strategy to convince the attacking midfielder to join.

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De Bruyne, 32, is currently contracted to City until 2025. He remains a key part of Pep Guardiola's team but has featured just once in the Premier League this season, having been ruled out with a muscle injury he sustained in the early stages of their first game against Burnley. As a result of his fitness troubles, City are reported to have put a stop to talks over a new contract until he recovers

DID YOU KNOW?

De Bruyne would be one of many big names to make the move to the Middle East if Al-Nassr are able to convince him. He would reunite with ex-City team-mate Aymeric Laporte as well as the likes of former Premier League rivals Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane and Alex Telles.

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De Bruyne will continue his recovery and prepare to return to the City team before he will consider making the switch to the Saudi Pro League.

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have suffered a stadium blow at Wrexham, with full clearance yet to be granted for the club’s rebuilt ‘Kop’ stand.

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• Hollywood co-owners updating famous venue
• Work underway on impressive new stand
• Council yet to green light full capacity

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The ambitious Welsh outfit have seen their Hollywood co-owners generate the funds required to give SToK Racecourse a serious facelift. Part of that project includes refurbishing the famous ‘Kop’ stand, taking its total capacity to 5,500.

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  Planning permission was granted over 12 months ago, with the old terrace being flattened. Wrexham are, however, seeing local authorities restrict them to 4,900 spectators in the new stand once it is completed. That is due to a council-imposed condition regarding the impact of potential river pollution.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Talks regarding the proposed structure have continued for some time, with Reynolds and McElhenney confident that they would receive the required clearance. A decision notice within the planning section of Wrexham council’s website does, however, show that concerns remain and no green light has been given. The decision notice reads: “The council hereby confirms that it considers the amendments, as described in the application, to be material. Your application for a non-material amendment to the above mentioned planning permission is refused. The applicant is advised that there is no right of appeal against the council’s refusal to grant this non-material amendment. The applicant is advised to contact the council to discuss other options and procedures for making the desired changes to the existing planning permission. The applicant is advised to contact the council’s head of community wellbeing and development prior to the preparation of detailed plans.”

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  More detailed evidence, or a revised plan, will need to be submitted in order to appease the planning department. The new ‘Kop’ stand at SToK Racecourse is expected to be in a position to welcome supporters through the turnstiles in time for the 2024-25 campaign – with Wrexham hoping to have added promotion out of League Two to their roll of honour by then.

Eoin Morgan, England’s one-day captain, has reiterated his enthusiasm for the ECB’s new city-based T20 tournament, saying that the sport has to do whatever is necessary to persuade a new generation of fans to fall in love with the game.Morgan, who will link up with his Kings XI Punjab team-mates next week ahead of his seventh season of IPL cricket, knows at first hand the benefits of being involved in franchise-style tournaments, and has long been an outspoken advocate of change within English cricket for that reason.And right at this moment – amid an unprecedented focus on white-ball cricket that will culminate in the Champions Trophy on home soil in June, and with Joe Root, the new Test captain, yet to lead his team on the field – Morgan’s views carry extra weight as the ranking officer among England’s players.Last week, he was invited by Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, to address the chairmen and chief executives of the 18 counties during a meeting in London, ahead of next month’s vote at which the new tournament is expected to be given the final go-ahead.And, despite the deep-seated reservations that exist among many traditional fans and administrators, as far as Morgan is concerned, the new-look T20 set-up cannot come soon enough.”Change is always difficult but I don’t think this is change,” Morgan said during a Chance to Shine event in Uxbridge. “It probably should have happened a while ago. We’re always going to have the same cricket fans unless we do something differently.”It’s a huge responsibility in growing the game. People are falling out of love with the game because it’s not engaging enough with the public.”There’s an intention to have a lot of games on free-to-air, which is a huge part of it,” he added. “One of the biggest turning points in my generation has been the 2005 Ashes. To have a lot of people, especially in and around London, who aren’t necessarily into cricket talking about cricket is awesome, and to get that back it’s going to have be as big a change as taking cricket to free-to-air.”Morgan admitted that, as a one-day specialist in a previously Test-orientated set-up, he had at times felt somewhat unwatched as an England cricketer during some of the less high-profile bilateral engagements. “You cannot wait four years for an Ashes series or two years for a Champions Trophy to engage with the public,” he said. “It’s got to be continuous. So creating that opportunity is what Tom [Harrison] was talking about.”In the past two years, however, the success of England’s white-ball cricket has, in part, been attributed to a more liberal attitude towards overseas T20 leagues. This year’s IPL will feature an unprecedented eight England players, and with the exception of Tymal Mills – who only plays T20 cricket – all are expected to feature prominently in England’s Champions Trophy plans.England are currently favourites for that tournament, having been losing finalists on home soil four years ago. And Morgan believes that the intensity of the IPL will help no end in preparing those players in particular to deal with the pressure to perform on the biggest stage – not least Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes, two of the players who attracted the biggest bucks at the auction.Eoin Morgan’s success as England’s one-day captain has coincided with a change of attitude towards white-ball cricket•Getty Images

“It’s only pressure for the first two weeks, while you’re there,” he said. “Then, that’s it. You get over it. No big deal. You’re still trying to get the same result out of what you’ve been doing as a kid.”The price tag is there because that’s your market value. Guys are paid a lot of money because they’re worth it. It becomes a shock for everyone at home because we haven’t been exposed enough to it. I think if the exposure to the IPL at home had been the same from the start until now, as opposed to being just over the last two years, people wouldn’t be as shocked about it.”The examples are round the world,” Morgan added. “And I think there will be more – as time goes on, we’ll see other countries produce franchise leagues. The CPL’s a good example – they took it to America. That was a huge hit, and they are going to take more games again next year.”But I don’t think it will damage county cricket at all. It’s not a gamble. It’s proved in other countries that it’s been done. I’m a massive cricket fan regardless of whether T20 goes through the roof. The majority of cricket fans are like that. To people who say it’s a gamble – which it is not – you can always go back to what you had before that.”Eoin Morgan and Charlotte Edwards were attending a Chance to Shine and Yorkshire Tea event to promote the Junior Journalist competition. To find out more and to enter go to www.chancetoshine.org/juniorjourno

Twitter has reacted in brutal fashion to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s penalty miss on Tuesday night against Scotland as he fired the ball well over the bar.

What happened in the game between Scotland and Georgia?

Scotland made it four wins from four in their quest to qualify for the 2024 European Championships on Tuesday, as they beat Georgia 2-0 at Hampden Park.

Goals from Callum McGregor and Manchester United’s Scott McTominay sealed the win for Steve Clarke’s side, but Napoli’s Kvaratskhelia had a glorious opportunity to pull one back for the visitors after they were awarded a penalty in the 93rd minute.

Much had been made about the 22-year-old’s influence on the game and his threat, but after a pretty poor performance, things only got worse for the winger as he fired the spot kick well over the crossbar.

As you can imagine, those on social media had a field day with the miss. After all, the Napoli star – who netted 12 league goals and claimed 13 assists on the way to a Serie A title – was far from his best on the night and fans online made that clear.

Indeed, some of the responses on Twitter to the awful penalty were ruthless. Here are some of the best…

A couple of users compared the miss to Harry Kane’s penalty for England against France in the World Cup last year…

One fan even claimed Kvaratskhelia couldn’t perform away from Napoli teammate Victor Osimhen…

A couple of Scottish fans weren’t impressed with the winger after seeing him in the flesh for the first time…

Leeds United striker Rodrigo's agent is scheduled to hold a meeting regarding his client's imminent exit from Elland Road, according to journalist Beren Cross.

When did Rodrigo join Leeds?

Rodrigo first arrived in Yorkshire back in 2020 from Valencia and he’s since gone on to make 97 senior appearances after becoming a regular feature of the first-team, but there’s a strong chance that he could be set to depart during the ongoing window.

The Spain international will be out of contract next summer meaning that now will be the final big opportunity that the hierarchy have to cash in should they not want to risk losing him for free in 12 months time, and having established himself as their top-performing offensive player last season, he won’t be short of potential suitors.

The Whites will know that they are resigned to losing several of their big names in the coming weeks with stars like Jack Harrison, Tyler Adams and Robin Koch having already been linked with an exit, and if the following update is to be believed, the 32-year-old could be another to follow in their footsteps and seal a move away from the Championship.

Is Rodrigo leaving Leeds?

Taking to Twitter, Cross revealed that Leeds will meet with Rodrigo's representative possibly in the coming days to discuss his departure from LS11 after three years of service. He wrote:

"Rodrigo's agent, his father, set to meet Leeds top brass imminently to get the wheels moving on his exit. United not expected to make it difficult for him to move and get those wages off the books."

Should the 49ers keep or sell Rodrigo?

Leeds obviously won’t want to lose Rodrigo for nothing and the fee that they could potentially bring in for him will be appealing, but the centre-forward is such a standout player at the club so the 49ers should see if he could be tempted to stay by offering him a new contract.

The Nike-sponsored ace, who pockets £100k-per-week, racked up 14 goal contributions (13 goals and one assist) in 31 Premier League outings last season and recorded 66 shots over the course of the campaign, which was higher than any other of his teammates, as per FBRef.

Rodrigo, who has been lauded a “top talent” by CEO Angus Kinnear, also adds wonderful versatility to the squad with his ability to be deployed in seven different positions over the pitch, including all across the frontline and even in the midfield, so retaining his services is something that the board shouldn’t even have to think twice about if possible.

The summer transfer window is well underway and Glasgow Rangers have been incredibly busy ahead of the 2023/24 Scottish Premiership campaign.

Dujon Sterling, Jack Butland, Kieran Dowell, Abdallah Sima, and Sam Lammers have all joined the club to bolster the squad from last season, while the likes of Alfredo Morelos, Scott Arfield, and Ryan Kent have moved on from Ibrox.

The Daily Record have also claimed that the club are closing in on the signings of Jose Cifuentes, from LAFC, and Cyriel Dessers, from Cremonese, to take the number of new arrivals to seven.

However, Michael Beale could also add to his first-team options by promoting one of the B-Team stars over to the senior group if they impress during pre-season, with Lewis Mayo, Ben Williamson, Cole McKinnon, Kieran Wright, and Arron Lyall all reportedly joining the manager's squad for training this week.

Who is Arron Lyall?

The 19-year-old, who is part of the group of young players attempting to catch the eye of the boss, is an exciting winger who predominantly plays on the right but is also capable of playing on the left or through the middle.

Rangers have been linked with interest in signing a new wide player, with LAFC's Kwadwo Opoku a reported €4.8m (£4.1m) transfer target, and Beale could now save the club millions by unleashing Lyall as a first-team player, preventing the need for a fresh addition from elsewhere.

The teenage wizard, who was described as "exciting" by ex-boss Neil McCann, enjoyed a prolific 2022/23 campaign as he plundered 15 goals in 40 appearances in all competitions, including 13 in 34 Lowland League outings.

Meanwhile, Antonio Colak (14) and James Tavernier (16) were the only senior stars with more league goals, while Malik Tillman was the highest-scoring midfielder with ten.

This suggests that the speed demon, whose "terrific" burst of pace was hailed by journalist Jordan Campbell, has the potential to be an excellent wide option for Beale if he can translate his impressive B-Team form over to the Premiership.

He did enough to convince the manager to hand him his debut for Rangers off the bench against Hibernian at the end of last season, which suggests that the 42-year-old tactician views the goalscoring winger as a prospect with the quality to play first-team football.

It's an exciting time to be part of the toward line at Ibrox right now, something that will be boosted by Dessers' arrival. He found the net on ten occasions last term and the 28-year-old, who is now in his prime, could be one of the players to immediately take Lyall under his wing and develop him as a footballer.

It is unlikely the teen will get too many minutes immediately but it could be the start of a fresh new partnership at Ibrox.

Beale must start by offering Lyall enough opportunities to impress in pre-season with a view to increasing his role in the senior side next term, if he can handle the step up to playing at that level on a regular basis.

Such an eventuality could subsequently prevent any need for Rangers to sign a new winger.

Arsenal's deal for West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice is "almost there", with talks progressing on payment terms and the structure of the deal, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.

Is Declan Rice signing for Arsenal?

With Manchester City dropping out of the race for Rice earlier this week, Arsenal seemingly have a clear run at the West Ham captain, and they have finalised an agreement in principle over a move totalling £105m, including add-ons.

However, the intricacies of the deal still need to be sorted out, with West Ham eager to receive the initial £100m lump sum before 2025, while the Gunners would prefer to stagger the payments over a period of five years.

The same report details that personal terms have already been agreed, meaning the last remaining hurdle is agreeing on a payment structure with the Hammers, and a new update from Romano appears to indicate progress has been made in that regard.

Taking to Twitter, the transfer expert has now claimed the deal is "almost there", with Arsenal and West Ham "progressing in talks" to agree on payment terms and the structure of the move.

"Talks will continue" to get the deal done, however, it is now "close", with a £105m package having already been agreed.

"Declan Rice deal, almost there! Arsenal and West Ham are progressing in talks to agree on payment terms/structure of the deal — it’s really, finally close now. Talks will continue to get it done… and then, here we go. £105m package/fee agreed two days ago."

Is Declan Rice a defensive midfielder?

The 24-year-old has most commonly been deployed in a defensive midfield role throughout his career, but he has also been utilised at centre-back on 52 occasions, displaying his versatility.

It is clear the England international is most comfortable in a deeper role, ranking in the 95th percentile for interceptions per 90, and in the 83rd for clearances over the past year, when compared to his positional peers.

However, the central midfielder, dubbed "fantastic" in the media, does also manage to get on the scoresheet from time to time, netting five goals in all competitions last season, including a brilliant solo goal in the Europa Conference League quarter-final against Gent.

That said, if the Englishman is to fulfill his £105m price tag at Arsenal truly, then he probably does need to add a few more goals to his game, and there are indications he will be able to do so, having previously been hailed as West Ham's "best finisher" by Jack Wilshere.

It is exciting news that Arsenal's deal for Rice is edging closer to completion, as he could play a huge role in helping Mikel Arteta's side bridge the gap to Man City next season.

Mark Boucher had taken over as Titans coach in August last year, with his initial tenure extending until the 2017-18 season

ESPNcricinfo staff20-May-2017Former South Africa wicketkeeper Mark Boucher will remain Titans coach until the end of the 2019-20 domestic season, after signing a two-year extension with the franchise. Boucher, who was recently named CSA Coach of the Year, mentored Titans to both domestic limited-overs titles – CSA T20 Challenge and Momentum One Day Cup – while the team finished a close second in the Sunfoil Series first-class competition.Boucher, who has a Level 2 coaching qualification, had a stint as consultant with the national side ahead of their Test series last year against New Zealand, before joining Titans as a replacement for Rob Walter. His initial contract had extended until the end of the 2017-18 season.Assessing his performance over the past 12 months, Boucher was quoted as saying by : “It’s great to have done well in my first year. The culture in the team is one I’ve always looked up to as a player, and when I stepped into the role as coach, it was one of those ‘wow’ factors.”Titans’ assistant coach Mandla Mashimbyi, who has been in the role since 2013, has also extended his tenure until the end of the 2018-19 season. Mashimbyi is also the assistant coach of the South Africa A side and will tour with the squad for the series against England which begins on June 1.Heading into his second season with the franchise, Boucher acknowledged Mashimbyi’s role in helping him ease into the Titans’ scheme of things.”It’s a very successful set-up. I’ve related to the players really well and, thankfully, they accepted me in a very good way. Working alongside Mandla, with all his experience and knowledge of the franchise, has helped me fit into the structures and processes that were already in place.”Meanwhile, Mark Charlton has stepped down as Northerns Seniors coach, and been roped in as the High Performance Manager for Titans Cricket. In the newly-created position, Charlton has been tasked with the responsibility of coordinating the franchise’s pipeline structures in terms of player development.