Category Uncategorized

West Ham insider ExWHUemployee has now shared a significant injury update regarding Angelo Ogbonna.

The Lowdown: Ogbonna’s injury

The Italian defender suffered a cruciate ligament rupture during the 3-2 win over Liverpool last November. Consequently he was ruled out for the season; and with his contract expiring in the summer, this seemingly meant that the 33-year-old had already played his last game in a Hammers shirt.

Before the Liverpool game, Ogbonna had played the full 90 minutes in all ten of West Ham’s opening Premier League matches this term. He played a crucial part in the team’s fantastic start to the season as his side won six, drew two and lost two.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-latest-developments-4/” title=”West Ham latest developments!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Latest: Ex’s update on Ogbonna…

In an interview for his site The West Ham Way, ExWHUemployee was asked by site editor Mark Carlaw about Jarrod Bowen’s injury situation. After relaying positive news on the 25-year-old, Ex continued speaking about some of the club’s other injuries.

He stated: “Whilst we are on injuries, I can say that Ogbonna is ahead of schedule, with end of April being a potential return date for him.”

The Verdict: Great news

The Irons have suffered from a lack of central defensive depth at times this season, with Craig Dawson and Issa Diop at times the only two options to call upon in that position.

Therefore, Ogbonna’s return will prove hugely useful for the east London club as they prepare to undergo a busy period consisting of Premier League clashes in the hunt for a European finish and their all-important Europa League quarter-final tie against Lyon.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Interestingly, the Italian ranks in the 94th percentile for non-penalty goals among defenders in Europe’s top five leagues (via FB Ref), so with Michail Antonio going through another drought in the final third, let’s hope that the defender can offer some attacking threat from corners upon his return.

In other news: West Ham target has ‘gentleman’s agreement’ to leave his current club

New Zealand’s now former ODI captain Brendon McCullum has praised his team for the way they responded to a batting collapse in the first innings and staged a 55-run win to retain the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy.McCullum, playing his final ODI innings, smoked a 27-ball 47 to set New Zealand up nicely, but the hosts lost their way towards the end of the innings, losing six wickets for just 23 runs to muster a below-par 246.If New Zealand were feeling low immediately after that slide, they certainly did not show their disappointment when they took to the field, as McCullum revealed that he had urged his players during the break to not get bogged down.”The team performance today, especially after losing six for not many, I think lesser teams would have folded,” McCullum said. “And one thing we pride ourselves on is making sure that if we are going to get beaten, we’re going to make it hard for the opposition to do so.”That was the mentality we try to take out to fielding and bowling and also just stress to the guys, it doesn’t matter what we get, it’s a matter of what they get. If we were capable of losing six for not many, it was a wicket that was tough to start on, so that was the message that was stressed at halftime.”McCullum’s words clearly lifted the team, as excellent spells from Doug Bracewell, Ish Sodhi, Corey Anderson and Matt Henry suffocated the Australia batsmen on a slow pitch, and New Zealand bundled their opponents out for 191 inside 44 overs. McCullum, who now has just two more Tests left in him before he quits internationals all together, could not think of a better way of signing off from limited-overs internationals.”To beat the world champions in the Chappell-Hadlee series, which means so much to us, is a fitting way to step away from the game. For us to be able to still step out and beat the best team in the world is testament to the depth that we’ve been able to create over a period of time.”That was a pleasing aspect of it and I thought the way the guys responded was phenomenal. Doug Bracewell, he was on the the sidelines for the last little while, and the way he came in and seized that key moment, kept it tight, started building some pressure.”And that allowed Ish, another wonderful story of a guy who’s come back in after a long time out of the side, and he bowled with confidence and he bowled beautifully. He was able to apply some pressure and get wickets.It’s great when you can see guys come in and perform in pressure situations.”

Phil Jaques is the most likely man to open with Matthew Hayden after beginning his Pura Cup campaign with 167 against Western Australia © Getty Images

Tim Nielsen, Australia’s new coach, believes the three replacements for the holes left by Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer have still not been decided. While Phil Jaques seems to have sealed the opening batting place, Mitchell Johnson the bowling spot and Stuart MacGill the spinning vacancy, Nielsen said there was still time for other players to be considered for the first Test against Sri Lanka from November 8.”I don’t think the Glenn McGrath position has been finalised and it’s the same with the spin position,” Nielsen said. “There are also a lot of contenders for the opening position and Phil Jaques has done well over the past couple of weeks.”Jaques strengthened his claim with 13 and 167 against Western Australia in Perth last week while Chris Rogers struggled before his chances were ended when he was hospitalised with appendicitis. Brad Hodge, who has also signalled his intention to partner Matthew Hayden at the Gabba, managed only 61 runs in eight games in India while Michael Hussey is recovering from a hamstring strain and the Australian management wants him to stay at No. 4.Nielsen said the round of Pura Cup games over the next week would be crucial as the Australian one-day players switch from limited-overs to Test mode. Ideally he wants his batsmen to spend long periods in the middle and the bowlers to deliver two or three spells a day.”This first game will be important for the guys,” he said. “They have four days of playing, getting up and playing again. It’s something they haven’t done for a while.”The fixtures will also be important for Stuart MacGill and Shaun Tait, who are coming back from off-season operations. MacGill, who is coming back from a knee surgery, will be part of the New South Wales team which will host Queensland from Friday, the same day Victoria begin their contest with Western Australia. Tait, who is fighting to prove his fitness from an elbow problem, will have a one-day match against Tasmania on Saturday before the Pura Cup game starting next Monday.Despite the loss of the three greats, Nielsen is confident Australia will be able to provide cover. “I want to make sure there is heaps of depth to do a great job,” he said. “There’s a new focus in the team and it’s the start of a new era. It will be positive and challenging time.”

ScorecardKenya cruised to a 104-run run victory in the third and final ODI at a sunny Mombasa Sports Club, completing a series whitewash over Bermuda to give their World Cup preparations a major boost. For Bermuda, however, the upbeat mood which has been a hallmark of their game ever since they qualified for the tournament 16 months ago has given way to the reality that they are far from ready to compete with cricket’s big guns.The game was as good as over by the halfway mark. For much of the last decade Steve Tikolo has been widely accepted as the best batsman outside mainstream international cricket. He is now past his best – and Kenya’s recent international isolation has also dulled his cutting edge – but he turned back the clock with a majestic hundred which enabled Kenya to post 305 for 8.Dropped early on, Tikolo cut loose against some mediocre bowling to record his second – and highest – hundred in an ODI. Both in Nairobi and in the first two matches here, the pitches were damp and made run-scoring hard work. Finally, this match was played on a hard, fast and true surface and Tikolo gorged himself.As was the case on Sunday, the main stand was between Tikolo and the precocious Tanmay Mishra. The pair added 117 for the fourth wicket in 18 overs before Mishra was undone by his own carelessness as he looked to open up. The burly Dwayne Leverock weighed in with wickets at the end to finish with 5 for 53.Thomas Odoyo reduced Bermuda to 6 for 2 before a third-wicket stand of 98 between Dean Minors and Irvine Romaine got the innings on course, albeit slipping behind the asking rate. When Romaine departed in the 26th over the required rate was close to being in double figures, and with the spinners, especially the fast-improving Hiren Varaiya, proving hard to get away, Bermuda gave up the chase and opted for some batting practice instead.

.

Tom Moody was delighted with the performance of Tillakaratne Dilshan © Getty Images

Tom MoodyOn Sri Lanka’s bowling and the overall performance
India is a very hard place to bowl. It’s not easy on these flat wickets. I thoughtwe collectively pulled together. I’d rather concentrate on the positives and amhappy that we had a terrific partnership while chasing. Our fielding wasn’t as goodas we are capable of. It’s pleasing that two middle-order players came together tofinish the job.On Sanath Jayasuriya’s bad run
He’s having a lean time. Every player goes through these highs and lows but the goodthing is he’s hitting the ball well and working hard in the nets. The Indian bowlershave bowled well to him. Ajit Agarkar has really done well and hit his straps in allthe games.On Nuwan Zoysa’s injury
He had a slight twist in the ankle while fielding. Probably stretched himself toomuch while trying to stop a run.Rahul DravidOn the performance
It’s not easy to say what went wrong but I think we were 25-30 runs short. I thoughtwe had a lot of positives form the game – the attitude and the fielding were goodand the young boys did a great job.On his batting and the experimentation to the side
I’m batting quite well and hitting the ball in the middle. We have a young battingline-up and we need to give them some time and chances. We are experimenting withthe side but we are looking to win every game. I’ll be looking for a 6-1 win in theseries irrespective of the experimentation.On his fitness
I had a slight cramp and didn’t want to take too many chances with many matchescoming up.Greg ChappellOn experimenting with the side
It was very positive. We have to experiment with the long run in mind. If we don’twe run the risk of finding ourselves with players not fit enough or not in form. Wehave to plan towards the World Cup in 2007 and all the games we play need to bedirected towards that. We are obviously looking to play the best combination but ifwe don’t give youngsters a chance now, we run the risk of looking back later andsaying, ‘we didn’t take that chance’. Had we won with this young side, the benefitfor the next 12 to 18 months would have been tremendous. We need to take such risks.On Gautam GambhirHe played brilliantly. It’s not easy for someone to sit in the sidelines and thenwalk out and play so well. I thought he started really well and showed his talentand his mental state.On the fielding
I don’t think we have fielded as well as this in recent times. We were outstanding.On Dravid’s form and Sehwag’s leadership today
Dravid’s a fine player and sets an example like always. I hope he does it forlonger. Sehwag did a good job. I thought he attacked and defended when he had to. Itwas tough to captain out there in the evening and he did fine.

Dav Whatmore: ‘The spirit is good and the morale high’© AFP

Rajin Saleh
On playing South Africa
In a one-dayer, anything can happen, so we want to play good cricket.On being a young team
We have some young cricketers who have come through and they’ve done welland I hope they do well tomorrow.On being made captain
It was a suprise and it brings pressure. But I don’t feel the pressure because of the players around me.Dav Whatmore
On Saleh being made captain
He’s been vice-captain in our last three series and it was probably the logical step-up for him. In the past three series, there have been matches when he’s stepped up and captained the team. The support he’s got from the other senior players has been wonderful. He’s fully attacking and leads by example. This kid would run through a brick wall for you. It’s another game for him. It may be his first as captain and the youngest captain of Bangladesh. But we have a job to do tomorrow and he has to work at it.On South Africa
Their confidence can’t be good. It’s not often they’ve played in a five match one-day series and lost all five, so it can’t be that good. But they’re probably pretty happy that they’re playing Bangladesh and no matter what we say, we’re still ranked down the bottom.On their own tactics
We have our little reasons for playing and trying to perform as well as we can and to be as totally relaxed as possible. A lot depends on what we do first, batting or bowling. But in many ways it doesn’t matter, you just have to be up for the game and we’ve had five full matches, which was a pretty good competition lead-up, and lost the one against Scotland. But our boys are in competition-mode in pretty similar conditions. I want to win. There’re always positives to come out of any game, but we go out in every match to win. We feel if we totally relax, let our natural ability take over and enjoy the contest, we will be in good competitive frame of mind to push the opposition as much as possible.On the team spirit
The spirit is good and the morale high. We exposed three youngsters through the under-19s and that’s been a wonderful knock-one effect for the whole team.

A quite superb 273 by Durham’s Martin Love, the ninth highest score ever against Hampshire, was the stepping stone that gave the home side the ascendancy at Riverside on the second day of the Frizzell County Championship match.His innings consisted of 38 fours and two sixes, the latter coming as he pushed for runs with his side 9 wickets down. He finally fell going for another big shot off Shaun Udal, having survived over 7 and a half hours.Love had good support at the bottom of the innings and Durham’s highest Individual score set up a formidable 515.Rain meant that play did not get under way until 12:15, but despite the overcast conditions Hampshire’s bowlers failed to make the breakthrough early enough.Batting suddenly became a different story when Hampshire began their reply needed an awsome 366 to avoid the follow on, and despite setting an opening partnership of 50, finished the day at 88 for 4.James Adams having batted for 80 minutes edged the seamer Mark Davies to the wicket-keeper, then after hitting three fours, Simon Katich celebrating his 28th birthday, was snared lbw by the same bowler.Robin Smith playing his first match for 6 weeks did not survive long falling lbw to Paul Collingwood, then skipper John Crawley top edged spinner Graeme Bridge.Bad light stopped play an hour early, much to the relief of the Hampshire batsmen, but they will have to do a great deal of back to the wall batting on the third day if they are not to suffer a third successive Championship defeat.

Damian Shirazi, whose 626 runs and 15 wickets helped BAT Sports win the championship, was named as the Southern Electric ECB Premier League Young Cricketer of the Year.

Damian Shirazi in action

Shirazi, 18, who is spending the winter playing for the University of New South Wales in the demanding Sydney Grade competition, hit six half-centuries and averaged 44.71 last season.”Damian is an ultra-competitive all-rounder who matured a lot as a player during the summer,” praised BAT vice-captain Richard Dibden.”He works very hard at his game and is very keen to learn, which is why he’s spending the winter in Sydney.”I think he has the fundamentals to do very well and, because he wants to listen and develop his game, he has the chance to go further.”Shirazi, who previously captained England at Schools and Under-17 level, has led various Hampshire YC teams, but seems to have missed out on a contract next season.”He’ll come back in March an improved and even more determined young player,” Dibden forecast.Shirazi saw off challenges from five other promising young cricketers to win the prestigious award, named in memory of Waterlooville’s John Millett, who died 20 years ago.He was pressed hard by Bournemouth teenager Chris Park, who notched 423 runs and snapped up 30 victims in his debut Premier League season at Chapel Gate.Park, 18, joins Northants on an Academy contract next summer.Ben Craft, with 760 runs and 14 catches for Lymington, Hampshire-bound left-armer James Tomlinson, with 21 wickets for South Wilts, Rowledge all-rounder Chris Yates (406 runs and 29 wickets) and promising New Milton all-rounder David Wheeler, with 582 runs and 22 wickets, were also in the frame. **** —- **** Your votes here on www.spcl.cricinfo.com did not match those of the committee. Cove’s Chris Benham, who has been awarded a summer contract with Hampshire topped the poll with 27%, with New Milton’s 16-year-old starlet David Wheeler taking 17%.Shirazi came a lowly fifth from the 11 names with 13%.HOW THEY POLLEDChris Benham (Cove) 27%, David Wheeler (New Milton) 17%, Neil Randall (Cove) 14%, Chris Yates (Rowledge) 14%, Damian Shirazi (B.A.T.Sports) 13%, James Tomlinson (South Wilts) 5%, James Hibberd (Calmore Sports) 3%, Chris Park (Bournemouth) 3%, Ben Craft (Lymington) 2%, Matthew Hooper (Andover) (2) 2%, Lee Beck (New Milton) (1) 1%.

Everton beat Newcastle 1-0 on Thursday night thanks to a late Alex Iwobi goal against the run of play, after Toffees midfielder Allan was sent off for a cynical tackle on Magpies winger Allan Saint-Maximin.

The goal, which sparked crazy celebrations which saw manager Frank Lampard break his hand, moved the Merseyside club three points clear of the relegation zone.

While Allan may appear to be the villain of the night for the eventual winners, it was Abdoulaye Doucoure who received the lowest match rating out of anyone who started the match, apart from Newcastle’s Joelinton, who was given a 6.0 rating by SofaScore, compared to the Frenchman’s 6.6.

Doucoure is Everton’s highest-performing midfielder this season with a 6.89 average match rating in the Premier League from Sofascore, completing 80% of his passes per game. However, last night he only managed 72%, also completing ten fewer passes than his seasonal average.

Not only did the 29-year-old lose 13 of his duels, he also lost possession 13 times and was dribbled past twice as Newcastle routinely looked to exploit the area of the pitch that Doucoure covered due to his poor performance.

Failing to complete any long balls forward or crosses in the game, he proved to be ineffective for Lampard last night; and with Andre Gomes waiting for opportunities on the sidelines, more performances like this may prompt the 43-year-old into potentially deploying other options.

However, having made six goal contributions in 20 Premier League appearances, the former Watford man remains Everton’s most creative midfielder statistically, posting the third-most goal contributions in the team.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Among central midfielders in the top five leagues and continental competitions in Europe, Doucoure ranks in the top 10% for ball recoveries per game (11.86), top 8% for pressures in the defensive third per game (8.93) and top 12% for assists per 90 (0.17). This shows that he still has plenty to offer to Lampard’s team, but on Thursday night he let the manager down with his below-par performance.

In other news – Forget Iwobi: “Ultimate professional” made six key interventions which saved Everton last night

Scorecard
File photo – Peter Fulton’s 55-ball 65 helped Canterbury chase down the target in 37.4 overs•Getty Images

Fifties from Peter Fulton and Henry Nicholls stretched Canterbury’s unbeaten run in this season’s Ford Trophy to five, as they collected a six-wicket victory against Auckland.Chasing 244, Fulton and Nicholls built on Ronnie Hira and Tom Latham’s strong start. The pair added 82 for the third wicket at a brisk pace before Nicholls fell to Lachie Ferguson with the score at 181 in the 32nd over. Fulton, however, continued his assault, smashing five fours and four sixes in his 55-ball 65. He was dismissed four overs after Nicholls, but by then Canterbury were just 28 runs away from the target with over 14 overs in hand. Todd Astle and Andrew Ellis took the visitors home in 37.4 overs, further strengthening Canterbury’s position at the top of the table.In the first innings, Auckland were guided to 243 for 7 by wicketkeeper Brad Cachopa’s 107. Cachopa walked in in the fourth over and dropped anchor for the hosts, batting till the last over of the innings. He was unable to build partnerships with the middle order as quick wickets reduced Auckland to 164 for 6. Donovan Grobbelaar then slammed an unbeaten 45, adding 75 with Cachopa for the seventh boost Auckland in the death.