Newcastle fans all agree it would be a big mistake to let Ayoze Perez leave this summer, after a report linked the Spaniard with both Napoli and Real Sociedad.

According to the Chronicle, Perez wants to stay on Tyneside this summer, but both Sociedad and Napoli will try to change his mind.

New Sociedad boss Roberto Olabe wants both Perez and Mikel Merino to help shape his side, after Perez found form towards the end of last season.

Napoli are also in the race, as the Italian giants are likely to undergo a major squad overhaul this summer with Europe’s elite sniffing around their best players.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”252976″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch 21 things that will definitely happen at the World Cup”]

Perez has been massively inconsistent since his move to Tyneside, but he is one of those players that just gets what fans expect from their stars, and has finally hit the form to reward his hard work in recent months.

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The clever Spaniard grabbed eight goals and five assists, and at 24 is just about to enter the prime of his career.

Rafael Benitez is pursuing another creative number ten to compete with Perez this summer, but fans are clearly hoping it doesn’t force him out, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere announced on Tuesday night via his official Instagram account that he would be leaving the north London club when his contract expires at the end of this month, and Manchester United fans have urged their club to sign the England international, rated at £18m by Transfermarkt.

The 26-year-old revealed that having spoken to new Gunners boss Unai Emery he had made the decision to leave the Emirates, having been told that he wouldn’t be regular starter if he accepted the reduced terms he had been offered.

Now Wilshere is free to move elsewhere, but it remains to be seen whether Red Devils manager Jose Mourinho could be tempted seeing as he already has the likes Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Fred, Scott McTominay and Ander Herrera in the middle of the park.

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Man United supporters, who have been quick to react to a link with a £44m centre-back with one saying the club would be “buying another Phil Jones”, were quick to have their say on the potential of signing Wilshere via social media, and while one said “he’s twice the player Herrera is”, another said they “would love Wilshere at United paired with Pogba”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”257236″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Five things we learned from England 21 Tunisia”]

Cardiff City boss Neil Warnock may seem like an overtly attritional manager, and in the main that’s a fair assessment.

But throughout his lengthy managerial career, the Yorkshireman has always found room in his sides for a maverick winger – whether that’s QPR’s Adel Taarabt, Crystal Palace’s Yannick Bolasie, Leeds United’s El Hadji Diouf or, as Bluebirds fans saw last season, Junior Hoilett.

And upon the Welsh outfit’s return to the Premier League, garnering extra top flight experience this summer is a must to give them the best chance of survival for 2018/19.

Sunderland forward Wabhi Khazri, who has impressed in glimpses for Tunisia at the World Cup, would appear to meet both remits – offering proven pedigree at Premier League level and also the kind of unorthodox creativity from out wide Warnock has demonstrated a recurring capacity to effectively tap into.

The Black Cats forward – who spent last season bagging nine Ligue 1 goals for Rennes – didn’t have much of an impact against England such was the defensive nature of Tunisia’s performance.

What do you think of the World Cup so far? Let us know and win any World Cup shirt of your choice.

But on Saturday, Khazri was a real thorn in the side of the Belgium defence, whipping in a sizzlingly delivery to assist Dylan Bronn and then scoring himself in stoppage time, tucking home a Hamdi Nagguez cross to ensure the underdogs went home with two goals in an otherwise hefty defeat.

Khazri is valued at just £9million by Transfermarkt but considering how desperate Sunderland will be to get him off their books now they’re in League One, Cardiff could well end up signing him for significantly less should they make a bid this summer. So, Bluebirds fans, would you back a swoop for Khazri? Let us know by voting below…

In recent years, Southampton have become known to most as a selling club. 

Since promotion to the Premier League, the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane, Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw and Nathaniel Clyne to name a few, have all been sold. In the Saints’ defence, they’ve managed to do extremely well in English football’s top division considering how many of their star players have been pinched.

Despite the constant array of departures at St. Mary’s, one player that the Saints have been able to retain, is the £18m-rated (via Transfermarkt) Ryan Bertrand.

Bertrand has reportedly attracted interest from former club Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham during his time at Southampton, but a transfer to one of the Premier League giants has failed to materialise. Considering all three clubs have the resources to sign Bertrand, one reason for the England international’s stay may simply be down to a worry of playing time elsewhere.

In Marcos Alonso and Benjamin Mendy, Chelsea and Manchester City have two of the best left-backs in the division, while despite speculation surrounding a move away from White Hart Lane, Danny Rose has remained at Tottenham to battle Ben Davies for a first-team spot in Tottenham’s starting XI.

However, Bertrand himself is one of the Premier League’s leading left-backs and has the ability to cement a place in any top six side.

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At 28, Bertrand is in the prime of his career and is running out of time if he wants to relive success similar to what he enjoyed at Chelsea when he helped the club win their first Champions League trophy back in 2012.

Former Indian allrounder chosen for highest honour the BCC can bestow

Cricinfo staff10-Nov-2009Mohinder Amarnath, the former Indian allrounder, has been chosen for the CK Nayudu lifetime achievement award, the highest honour the Indian board can bestow on a former player. It will be presented to him later this month in Mumbai.The CK Nayudu award comes with a trophy, a citation and a cash prize of Rs. 15 lakh (approx. US$ 3w,000).Amarnath – or Jimmy as he prefers to be known – scored 4,378 runs at an average of 42.50. Yet he will perhaps most be remembered for winning Man-of-the-Match awards in the 1983 World Cup semi-final against England and in the final against West Indies, when India achieved one of the game’s most unexpected victories.A technically accomplished and orthodox right-hander, he saved his best performances for the fearsome West Indies pace attacks. He made 85 in Trinidad in 1975-76 as India made the highest ever fourth innings score to win a Test (406 for 4) and was the brightest start of the 1983 Lord’s final, scoring 26 and taking 3 for 12 with his useful medium-pacers.The preceding winter Amarnath showed remarkable consistency in making 1182 runs at 69.53 in 11 overseas Tests, five of which were in the Caribbean and none of which India won, although the following winter he made just one run in six innings as the West Indian fast bowlers wreaked their revenge.The son of the great Indian captain Lala, Amarnath also captained Delhi to the Ranji Trophy in 1981/82 – he scored 185 as they overhauled Karnataka’s 705 to win an extraordinary final – and made a century before lunch against Northants in 1986.

A round-up of the fourth day’s action from the seventh round of the Ranji Trophy Super League

Cricinfo staff18-Dec-2009

Group B

Scorecard
Ashok Thakur took six wickets for Himachal Pradesh•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Karnataka continued their domination of the league phase with a resounding victory over Saurashtra. Set 241 to win, they knocked off the runs in 52.2 overs to finish on 28 points, 10 clear of the second-placed Uttar Pradesh. It was half-centuries from their young batsmen, G Satish and Manish Pandey, that steered Karnataka to their fourth win of the season. Captain Robin Uthappa gave the chase a cracking start, slamming nine fours in a 36-ball 47, after which Satish and Pandey took over. Satish dropped anchor while Pandey was more adventurous during their 126-run stand that nearly took Karnataka to the finish line. It ends a dismal season for Saurashtra, who end with a paltry seven points after reaching the semi-finals in the previous two seasons.
Scorecard
Expectedly, the game between Delhi and Bengal petered out to a dull draw. After Delhi’s first innings came to an end at 378 – Puneet Bisht remaining unbeaten on 128 – Bengal helped themselves to some batting practice. The Bengal openers piled on 187, with Arindam Das going on to a breezy century but his partner Rohan Banerjee was run out on 77. Das also retired hurt after the run out, and Bengal extended their score to 223 before the game was called off. Delhi made it to the quarter-finals by one point, where they will take on a strong Tamil Nadu.
Scorecard
Baroda completed a straightforward win over Maharashtra, but will be ruing their inability to chase down 101 without losing a wicket. Had they managed that, they would have made the quarter-finals ahead of Delhi but the loss of the bonus point means they finish in fourth place. Baroda only took 25 overs on the day to reach the target, thanks largely to Kedar Devdhar’s unbeaten half-century. There was a bit of a hiccup for Baroda when legspinner Digambhar Waghmare struck twice in an over, but Maharashtra had little else to celebrate on a day when they were relegated to the Plate League.

Group A

Scorecard
In a tame draw at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, C Ganapathy made his second century in two games to power Tamil Nadu to a massive 785 against Hyderabad. There was no respite for the home side’s bowlers after Tamil Nadu resumed on 594 for 6, with Ganapathy receiving solid support from tailenders R Ashwin and R Jesuraj. Hyderabad’s Abhinav Kumar helped himself to one of the easiest centuries of the season, blasting the part-timers – S Badrinath, Abhinav Mukund, S Anirudha and Dinesh Karthik – Tamil Nadu used for the 27 overs that remained. Tamil Nadu finish on top of the table and now face Delhi in the quarter-finals, while Hyderabad were relegated to the Plate League for the first time.
Scorecard
In one of the most exciting matches of the round, Himachal Pradesh came within two wickets of pulling off a dramatic victory over Orissa. Overnight batsman Vinit Indulkar made 28 more before being dismissed on 165 and in No. 10 Vikramjeet Malik’s company helped stretched HP’s second innings score to 486. That left Orissa needing 296 to win, but thoughts of victory were quickly abandoned after their top order folded to the pace of Ashok Thakur. From 11 for 3 it was a question of escaping with a draw, and first-innings hero Halhadar Das nearly saved them by resisting for more than three hours for a 47. However, he was the eighth man out with 15 deliveries remaining; the tailenders didn’t look to play safe after that, thrashing 16 runs in those deliveries, but managed to stave off defeat.
Scorecard
Gujarat’s plucky chase of Mumbai’s huge first-innings total fizzled on the third day, with their lower order folding meekly. Once they were bowled out for 502, giving Mumbai the first-innings points, the match rambled towards a draw. Both Mumbai openers, Sahil Kukreja and Sushant Marathe, raced to 80s but fell short of reaching a century in the inconsequential second innings. Despite not having the most convincing of seasons, Mumbai are through to the quarter-finals where they clash with Harayana.
Scorecard
With little to play for after Punjab took the first-innings lead on the third day, Railways crawled to 230 for 4 off 86 overs in their second innings on Friday before the match was called off. Sanjay Bangar took nearly six hours to reach an unbeaten 115, his 12th first-class century. His strike-rate of 43.72 was the quickest of the Railways batsmen. The other Railways player to make a contribution was Harshad Rawle, who laboured to 40 off 138 deliveries.Group A

Teams	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	Draw	Aban	Pts	Quotient	For	Against
Tamil Nadu	7	2	0	0	5	0	26	1.484	4166/86	3198/98
Punjab	7	2	1	0	4	0	19	1.018	3071/102	3166/107
Mumbai	7	1	0	0	6	0	19	1.646	3343/60	3521/104
Railways	7	1	0	0	6	0	14	1.223	3292/89	2057/68
Orissa	7	0	1	0	6	0	12	0.857	2662/93	3305/99
Himachal Pradesh	7	1	3	0	3	0	10	0.875	2777/116	3148/115
Gujarat	7	1	3	0	3	0	10	0.770	3236/110	3055/80
Hyderabad (India)	7	0	0	0	7	0	7	0.624	2946/104	4043/89

Group B

Teams	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	Draw	Aban	Pts	Quotient	For	Against
Karnataka	6	4	0	0	2	0	28	1.911	3314/68	2933/115
Uttar Pradesh	6	2	1	0	3	0	18	1.030	2755/91	3144/107
Delhi	6	2	1	0	3	0	16	1.013	2989/80	3318/90
Baroda	6	2	1	0	3	0	15	1.067	3040/97	2379/81
Bengal	6	1	1	0	4	0	11	0.952	2963/83	3112/83
Saurashtra	6	0	3	0	3	0	7	0.973	3045/87	3023/84
Maharashtra	6	0	4	0	2	0	4	0.494	3026/114	3223/60

John Lyon, the former Lancashire wicket keeper, died in South Africa over the Christmas holidays.

Cricinfo staff04-Jan-2010John Lyon, the former Lancashire wicket keeper, died in South Africa over the Christmas holidays. He was 58.Lyon played 84 matches for Lancashire between 1973 and 1979, initially as a replacement for Farokh Engineer before becoming the first choice for his last three seasons, taking 159 catches and making 12 stumpings. Although he was a limited lower-order batsman, he did score a first-class hundred against Warwickshire in 1979 along with Bob Ratcliffe, who also made his only first-class century.Lyon then had a marked impact on Irish cricket, initially with Bangor and then Clontarf where he proved highly successful as a coach.He subsequently emigrated to South Africa where he ran a sports bar while continuing to coach.

The ECB will begin their search for a replacement bowling coach after Ottis Gibson was released from his contract to take up the head coach’s role with West Indies

Cricinfo staff02-Feb-2010The ECB will begin their search for a replacement bowling coach after Ottis Gibson was released from his contract to take up the head coach’s role with West Indies. England leave for Dubai in mid-February for two Twenty20s against Pakistan before heading onto Bangladesh for a one-day and Test tour, and it seems unlikely a full-time appointment will be made in time for that trip.Hugh Morris, the managing director of England cricket, and head coach Andy Flower will lead the search for Gibson’s replacement. “There has been much speculation in the last few days about the role of fast bowling coach,” Morris said, “but now Ottis has confirmed his departure, Andy Flower and I will begin the process of identifying the right individual who can join the England set up and build on the foundation laid by Ottis.”Gibson had become a well-respected member of England’s growing backroom staff and had been credited with the improving performances of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Graham Onions. The England quick bowlers often spoke highly of Gibson who was the first man to successfully fill the hole left by Troy Cooley’s departure following the 2005 Ashes series.”I think Ottis has done a pretty good job,” the former England seamer, Angus Fraser, told Cricinfo. “He’s been quiet and undemonstrative, and he’s just gone about his business. He never sought the limelight and he had the respect of his players, which you do when you’ve had a good career yourself, and he dealt with them in a very mature way.”The ECB will want a high-calibre appointment to fill the vacancy and their search could well lead them back to South Africa, a country that has proved a popular source of players and coaches in recent times. Allan Donald is likely to be sounded out over his availability and is certainly one of the stand-out candidates currently not in a role, having missed out on the India bowling role that recently went to his fellow South African, Eric Simons.Donald held an interim role with England in 2007 but turned down the full-time position because of the touring commitments involved, and instead returned to Warwickshire. However, he left county cricket at the end of the 2009 season because of family reasons and returned home, and it remains to be seen whether he would be willing to uproot his young family again.Another option the ECB may consider is Donald’s former team-mate Shaun Pollock, who has taken his first steps into coaching with the Mumbai Indians at the IPL. It is also possible that South Africa’s current bowling coach, Vincent Barnes, could well be looking for a new job after the tour of India if the upheaval in the South African coaching structure continues.There aren’t many candidates from closer to home making huge cases to be considered. Kevin Shine held the position after Cooley departed and is now in charge of the fast bowling programme at the National Academy in Loughborough, but remains tainted by his back-room role during the 2006-07 Ashes whitewash in Australia.From those not currently in the coaching set-up, Darren Gough would make an interesting choice, particularly when it comes to the art of one-day cricket, although his lifestyle has moved away from cricket since retirement. Meanwhile Phil DeFreitas, the former England seamer, was in the running when Shine got the job in 2006.”The most important factor in who they pick now is that they find someone who fits in with what Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower want to achieve,” added Fraser.

The Delhi High Court has reinforced its earlier decision that Essel Sports, promoters of the ICL, cannot sue the Indian board (BCCI) in British Courts

Cricinfo staff04-Feb-2010The Delhi High Court has reinforced its earlier decision of barring the ICL from suing the BCCI in British courts. However, the ICL has claimed that the courts have given them the go-ahead to initiate action against the ICC and the ECB in London Courts.Essel Sports, the promoters of the ICL, had, in November, served a legal notice, seeking various reliefs including restraint orders and damages against the BCCI, the ECB and the ICC for boycotting the ICL. The notice said that if the league did not receive a “full and satisfactory substantive response” from the BCCI by December 7, it would file proceedings in the London court. The Delhi High Court, on December 8, disallowed the ICL from pursuing the case in London.The BCCI, in response to the ICL’s legal notice, had filed a plea for an anti-suit injunction against the league before the Delhi High Court, which retained its earlier decision.”In a suit filed by the BCCI before the Delhi High Court for an anti-suit injunction against Essel Sports Pvt. Ltd. (Indian Cricket League), the Delhi High Court today held that the attempt of Essel Sports (ICL) to file a suit in the Courts of the UK against the BCCI, when a suit by Essel was already pending in the Delhi High Court based on similar causes of action, was ‘unconscionable'”, said the BCCI in a statement.However, the ICL can initiate action against the English board and the ICC in UK courts. “An Order has been passed in the Delhi High court in the matter BCCI vs Essel Sports Pvt. Ltd. (Indian Cricket League) stating that ESPL is free to initiate action against ICC and ECB in London Courts,” said the ICL in a statement.The Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) – a players’ lobby group – had questioned how the ICL could go ahead with the legal costs of suing the various boards while it owed the players “millions of dollars”. Most recently, the Pakistan players who were involved in the ICL filed a legal notice against the league over payments due to them since December 2008.

In a summer of big one-day wins, Australia saved their heftiest victory for last.

The Bulletin by Brydon Coverdale at the MCG19-Feb-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJames Hopes provided some highlights with a 24-ball half-century•Getty Images

In a summer of big one-day wins, Australia saved one of their heftiest victories for last. After Ricky Ponting, James Hopes and Shane Watson set up a daunting 5 for 324, Doug Bollinger continued his torment of Chris Gayle and the West Indies top order crumbled – again – to leave the crowd in no doubt about the approaching result less than five overs in to the chase.The 125-run triumph maintained Australia’s chances of going through the summer undefeated in all forms of the game, with two Twenty20s against West Indies all that remain. Already they have equalled their effort of 2000-01, the only other home season when they did not lose a Test or ODI. Back then the team boasted Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and Mark Waugh, and faced West Indies and Zimbabwe.The developing Australia of this summer will be extra pleased with their record, although their opponents Pakistan and West Indies have been weak. Here West Indies dropped five catches and for the third time in the series they were three down by the end of the fifth over. Little wonder that at the end of a string of such one-sided contests, only 15,538 fans turned up – the fewest ever for an ODI between the two teams at the MCG.Those who did attend saw Bollinger snuff out West Indies’ chances when he picked up Gayle’s wicket for the sixth time in seven matches this summer. The only Test or ODI in which he failed to do so was the Sydney wash-out, when West Indies batted for six balls. Two top-edged sixes from Gayle were followed by a leading edge to cover and Bollinger had two wickets having trapped Travis Dowlin lbw from the second ball of the chase.Ryan Harris added Narsingh Deonarine, who played on for 4, and Wavell Hinds, who gave Steven Smith his first ODI catch. Kieron Pollard’s 45 featured two sixes but when he holed out to Smith in the deep off Hopes, all that was left for the crowd to look forward to was Smith’s maiden wicket, an lbw against Denesh Ramdin, and a fighting 47 not out from Darren Sammy. Still, they had been treated to some exciting strokeplay during the Australian innings.Ponting and Watson built the platform with half-centuries before Hopes and Adam Voges blasted them past the 300-mark in the final stages. Their 82-run partnership in 7.1 overs featured superb placement from both men, especially Hopes, who struck ten fours and found the gaps with ease. He made his third ODI half-century and took only 24 balls to do it, giving him the fifth-quickest one-day fifty by an Australian.Hopes finished unbeaten on 57 while Voges remained not out on 45. Hopes was put down at long-on by Hinds late in the innings and it continued a woeful fielding effort from West Indies. The selectors also made the strange decision to make no changes to the side that lost in Brisbane, despite the strike bowler Kemar Roach being passed fit.It meant that the openers Watson and Brad Haddin were confronted with medium-pace new-ball offerings and they enjoyed hitting through the line, down the ground and over the top. Dwayne Smith and Ravi Rampaul obliged by serving up half-volleys and both men watched sixes sail back over their heads.Watson in particular butchered the bowling and he brought up his half-century from 49 balls with perhaps the best of his three sixes, a searing pull over wide midwicket off Sammy. Two deliveries later Watson tried to work a Sammy full toss into the same region and was taken at deep midwicket for 51. Haddin was the quieter partner but still struck two sixes in his 42-ball 32 before he played on trying to pull Pollard.Michael Clarke and Ponting calmly compiled a 104-run stand that included a couple of sixes but mostly consisted of push-and-run play with the field back. Ponting fell on 61 from 55 balls when he tried to glide Pollard through the vacant cordon and managed only to find the wicketkeeper’s gloves. Clarke’s 58-ball 47 ended when he miscued a pull off Rampaul and skied a catch to mid-on, where Deonarine barely clasped the chance.Deonarine had already dropped Ponting on 47 at square leg when the batsman’s sweep off Nikita Miller stayed a bit low. Ponting was given another life on 55 when Hinds’ throw missed with Ponting a long way out of his ground. Haddin also enjoyed two breaks. On 7, Dowlin dropped a sitter at second slip before two balls later the bowler Smith couldn’t quite hold on to a flat-batted smash back at him. Watson was also grassed on 29 when he flicked Smith to short fine-leg, where Rampaul missed a chance he should have taken.It all combined to mean another easy win for Australia. Gayle predicted at the start of the series that West Indies would beat Australia 4-1; they lost 4-0. But they did win the tosses 4-1.