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According to a report from Spanish newspaper Sport (via Sport Witness), Liverpool have already made an offer to sign Leeds United winger Raphinha.

The lowdown: Superb start

Since arriving in England from French Ligue 1 club Rennes for an initial £17million in October 2020 (BBC), the Brazilian forward has been a revelation at Leeds.

The 25-year old has scored 15 times and provided a further 12 assists in 59 outings for the Yorkshire club, earning senior international recognition with Brazil in the process.

Of course, this has led to links with a move away, particularly this season as the Whites flirt with relegation, and Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Graham Smyth has even confirmed an exit is very possible this summer with Barcelona lying in wait.

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The latest: Offers in

As per the latest report from Sport, as translated by SW, Liverpool, Barcelona and Chelsea are all attentive to the ace’s situation and he will definitely not sign a new contract in Yorkshire.

It’s claimed that the agent of the seven-cap Brazilian, Deco, is already in talks with the two Premier League clubs, ‘handling offers’ from both Anfield and Stamford Bridge.

The verdict: A Salah replacement?

Whilst it’s nigh on impossible to emulate the goal return of Mohamed Salah, as the Egyptian’s ongoing contract saga rumbles on, the need for a long-term successor appears to grow ever stronger.

Having taken to life in the Premier League like a duck to water, the man hailed as ‘tremendous’ by former red Danny Murphy following a stunning strike against Everton would fit the bill on Merseyside.

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This season, Raphinha has netted nine goals and registered three assists in 27 league outings, some way short of Salah’s return, but impressive given the struggles at Leeds this term.

Valued at £36million and under contract at Elland Road until 2024 (Transfermarkt), Liverpool may well be praying Leeds go down so they can swoop in and offer a lower fee.

In other news, Liverpool have been linked with an exciting EPL attacking signing. Read more here.

England 87 for 2 (Vaughan 44*) trail New Zealand 470 (Taylor 120, How 92, Vettori 88, Sidebottom 4-90) by 383 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out

	Ross Taylor drives on his way to his maiden Test hundred © Getty Images

England ended a rather subdued second day in Hamilton on 87 for 2, still 383 behind New Zealand’s first innings of 470. On a pitch which remains slow and unyielding they appeared to be making sedate progress until two late wickets – admittedly one of them nightwatchman Matthew Hoggard – underlined that they still have plenty to do.The day was dominated by Ross Taylor and Daniel Vettori, whose seventh-wicket stand of 148 extended midway into the afternoon. Taylor, whose off-side driving was a delight, completed his maiden Test hundred while Vettori looked set for his until he perished to Paul Collingwood. England might have believed they were in the ascendancy at the start of play, after the in-form Brendon McCullum had been dismissed late on the first day’s play, but Taylor and Vettori beat them back in a stand that occupied half the day.Taylor’s innings was a triumph of the will. He has built his entire international reputation of the strength and speed on his one-day strokeplay, and in two previous Test matches he had returned a highest score of 17. There was nothing frenetic about his approach to this innings, however. At the close of the first day, his colleague Jamie How remarked that he had never seen Taylor play so straight or with such determination, and having batted for almost three hours to reach stumps on 54 not out, there was a certain inevitability about his progress today.Taylor was aided and abetted by a docile pitch and an even more docile attack. Both Ryan Sidebottom, the pick of England’s seamers on the first day, and the off-colour Matthew Hoggard served up wide half-volleys in the opening ten minutes that Taylor slashed gratefully for four, and the left-handed Vettori was also allowed to settle quickly with a pull for four and a punched drive behind point. From 282 for 6 overnight, Taylor brought up the 300 in the fourth over of the day with another thumping drive, as England searched in vain for some inspiration.It didn’t come from Steve Harmison, unsurprisingly. He entered the attack in the 12th over of the morning, but was gloriously square-driven by Taylor as he too overpitched outside off stump. Collingwood was also called into the attack for an early burst, and though he found a genuine edge off Vettori that flew through the vacant second slip for four, both batsmen soon grew accustomed to his lack of venom.Taylor eased into the 90s with a crisply driven half-volley from Collingwood, but was made to wait for his big moment as England finally sensed an opportunity to apply the pressure. Monty Panesar kept him pinned on 98 with a timely maiden, but when Harmison dropped short four balls later, Taylor climbed into a cathartic pull shot, and instantly raised both arms in triumph. His hundred had come from 185 balls with 16 fours, and had taken him a shade over four hours. Vettori congratulated him with an embrace and a handshake, and no doubt a quiet reminder that, with New Zealand still shy of their par total of 400, his real task was still ahead of him.The breakthrough came when Michael Vaughan, almost in desperation after three hours of frustration, threw the ball to Kevin Pietersen. Taylor looked to carve his second ball over midwicket and a top edge was gratefully held by the bowler. Vettori, who until then had unfussily moved towards his own hundred, then fell to another part-time bowler, looking to run a ball angled across him to third man but only succeeding in steering it straight to Andrew Strauss at wide slip. Not much went right for England but their catching could not be faulted.The end came soon after, Sidebottom polishing things off in three balls of a new spell. Jeetan Patel nicked one angled across him to Strauss at slip and then Chris Martin lived up to his reputation as a non batsman by missing a straight one, the only time an England bowler managed to hit the stumps in a day and a half.Vettori would have noted with anticipation the increasingly frequent puffs of dust blowing up from the bone-dry surface. And yet Vaughan and Cook were rarely troubled in an opening stand of 84, although Vettori and Patel did enough to suggest that batting against the twin-spin attack in the fourth innings of the game will be a far tougher proposition.Just as it appeared that England would finish the day with all their wickets intact, Cook contrived to get himself out, miscuing a pull off Martin, and upholding the old adage that one brings two, Hoggard edged to slip in Martin’s next over. That brought in Strauss for a rather fraught couple of overs but he survived.

Women’s cricket sides from five schools and four clubs are to take the field on Saturday (March 31) at Westridge High School, where the Harare Metropolitan Cricket Association will be holding trials.The HMCA are looking to choose a squad for the women’s inter-provincial tournament which is due to be held in Kwekwe from April 20 to 24.Eaglesvale, Girls’ High School, Hatfield, Roosevelt and hosts Westridge have already confirmed their participation in the school’s section while Glen View, Harare Royals, Kuwadzana and Takashinga will be competing in the clubs’ category.Interest in the women’s game has been on a steady incline ever since the Zimbabwean national women’s team made it through to the final round of qualifiers which will be in Pakistan later this year. The Zimbabwe ladies created history last year after winning the prelims in Kenya in their first international outing.Commenting on the growth of women’s cricket in the country, coordinator Chiedza Mafunga said the interest has been “overwhelming”. She continued: “The response we are getting is just awesome. Even recently-affiliated provinces like Mashonaland West have come up with cricket programmes for the ladies. Generally, there has been an upward trend in playing numbers ever since the successful performance in Kenya last year.”

There is a suggestion circulating around India that the BCCI are considering buying their own jumbo jet so that they can ferry teams around the country. This latest grand idea comes on the back of England’s request to have direct flights between venues on their current tour.During their trip, England chartered a plane to travel between Nagpur and Mohali so that they could cut down their journey time. The BCCI are now thinking about investing in a plane to ease the traveling of touring teams and the Indian squad.A BCCI official told the Indo-Asian news service: “We all had gone to Mohali [for the second Test] after the England team sought direct flights between Nagpur and Mohali when a colleague said that all these transport problems could be overcome and for that the board should buy a Boeing.”He suggested if the board has its own airplane, the Indian team and visiting teams could be flown from one venue to the other without depending on the availability of seats in other airlines.”There is even the idea that the plane might be used during the domestic tournaments such as the Duleep Trophy and Ranji Trophy.

Pakistan’s president, Pervez Musharraf, has accept an invitation by Manmohan Singh, the Indian prime minister, to visit and watch the ongoing India-Pakistan series. Manmohan extended the invitation publicly on Thursday and it was accepted within a day.A Pakistan foreign ministry official told AAP, “Yes, he has accepted the invitation,” while a foreign office spokesman, Jalil Abbas Jilani, said that they were “looking at the schedule of the president.” Musharraf had expressed his desire to watch a match in the ongoing series in India in an earlier interview, and this was seen as an opportunity to improve bilateral ties between the two countries. Manmohan said as much when he made the invitation to Musharrraf: “I do hope [President Musharraf] and his family will enjoy their visit to our country,” he was reported to have said by the BBC. “I must say… nothing brings the people of the subcontinent together more than our love for cricket and Bollywood.”Earlier, a spokesperson for India’s ministry of external affairs said that the visit would not be given the status of a state visit, but a friendly one.

Close
ScorecardOvernight rain, followed by intermmitent showers, meant that no further play was possible on the second day in the tour game between the Board President’s XI and New Zealand at Visakhapatnam.For more than an hour after the scheduled start of play at 9am, the sun was shining, and cricket looked eminently possible – until a big black cloud moved over the stadium, hovered for 10 minutes, and poured out torrents of rain.With big puddles of water still on the covers, the start of play was put off till an inspection at 1pm. At that time, with the outfield clearly too soggy to start, the umpires informed the captains that play would be called off. With no result feasible tomorrow – the final day – there is a strong possibility that, weather permitting, a limited-overs match will be held to give the crowds something to watch and the players some cricket.Day 1 Bulletin

Rawalpindi were dealt a big blow by match referee Abdul SamiKhan Thursday when he slapped a one-match ban on pacemanMohammad Zahid and fined him Rs 5,000 for imtimidatorybowling.Zahid was involved in a tiff with Rest of Punjab batsmanMohammad Fazil Wednesday in the Quaid Trophy match at theKRL Stadium and indulged in what the umpires said was an”intentional attempt by the bowler to hurt the batsman.”The referee summoned Zahid and after a hearing decided topenalise him, although Rawalpindi officials made desperateattempts to have the decision reverted.The match itself seemed headed for a draw as the Rest,resuming at the overnight 250 for five accumulated 423 intheir first innings – a lead of 174.By the close of third day’s play, that came 18 overs early,Rawalpindi in their second innings were 122 for one, still52 behind and a full day still to go.The Rest total revolved around a fine unconquered 127 bySufian Munir, who was 50 overnight. His 204-ball innings waslaced with 19 fours and he was involved in three importantpartnerships. The first stand with his overnight partnerFazil yielded 89 for the sixth wicket and later along withAbdur Rauf, he put on 53 for the eighth wicket. But it washis last wicket partnership of 88 with Mushtaq Ahmed thatreally boosted the Rest total. Mushtaq was in a punishingmood and struck six sixes and five boundaries in a knock of68 runs.Babar Naeem took the bowling honours with three for 71followed by Azhar Bhatti and Yasir Arafat who claimed twowickets each.Rawalpindi were given a good start to their second inningsby their openers Naveed Ashraf and Babar, with both strikinghalf centuries.When play ended prematurely due to bad light, Babar wasstill at the crease on 56 and with him was Mohammad Wasim on10.Azhar Abbas took the only Rawalpindi wicket to fall.

On an increasingly benign wicket, Victoria settled for batting practice today as their match in the Apple Islepetered out to a draw, with the Vics 331 ahead with five wickets in hand when stumps were called.Victoria were never in any threat of outright defeat today as they lost only three of their batsmen today,with Tasmania’s bowlers unable to gain any success in the opening session and thus unable to applyany pressure on their northern neighbours.Mark Ridgway took his last first class wicket in the fifth over after lunch trapping left handed Matthew Mottin front for 86 after over four hours resistance.An hour later, Laurie Harper after a brisk 40, was bowled by a ball from Andrew Downton.Meantime Brad Hodge was quietly closing in on a hundred and seemed set for it andin fact it took part time bowler Michael Divenuto to knock him over a boundary short of the milestone,trapping him in front for 96.Ian Harvey got a good two hours batting practice with an unbeaten 78 as his side look north to a chanceto take the Pura Milk Cup out of odds on favourite Queensland’s hands.Quite appropriately on a day of little other significance, Ridgway who fibbed about his age for acouple of years until someonechecked his driver’s licence one day in the changerooms,bowled his and the match’s last over andwas applauded off the ground as he led his side off the Bellerieve Oval for the last time.

West Ham advanced to the quarter-finals of the Europa League last night,beating Sevilla 2-0 after extra time thanks to a Tomas Soucek header and a tap-in from perhaps the most popular player in London Stadium right now in Andriy Yarmolenko.

David Moyes’ side had to make do without key attacker Jarrod Bowen, while Aaron Cresswell and Michail Antonio were fast-tracked back to fitness after picking up knocks at the weekend, and they both put in an excellent shift.

However, perhaps the most impressive performance came from star midfielder Declan Rice, who achieved the joint highest match-rating according to SofaScore with 7.7 alongside his midfield partner Soucek.

The England midfielder said after the match last night: “I said this after the FA Cup win against Leeds, I’ll take anyone and I think the lads will take anyone as well.“There’s no-one to fear. Sevilla were probably the favourites. When the draw came out, people thought we had the hardest draw and we were going to get knocked out… and we’ve knocked them out.“So, look, we can go away anywhere and get a result and teams coming here know they’re in for a game when they step into this stadium with our fans, so I’m ready to take anyone.”The England international completed an impressive 90% of his passes as West Ham controlled the game, looking comfortable in possession after the winning goal went in. Rice was a huge part of that, having also completed three dribbles and being unlucky not to pull off a fourth after fatigue kicked in and the ball trickled out of play uncontested.On top of that, he accurately delivered six of his eight long ball attempts, including a number of excellent cross-field switches to get the wide men involved, and also into Antonio, who bullied Jules Kounde and Nemanja Gudelj all night long.Rice also was excellent on the defensive end of his remit, winning seven of his duels and making three critical interceptions and tackles each, along with one clearance to relieve the danger for the Irons.A reported transfer target for Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea this summer, last night showed that the 23-year-old remains as focused and determined as ever for West Ham, who will surely now believe they can go on to lift the Europa League trophy.In other news: West Ham can repeat Bowen masterclass as Moyes eyes bid for “exceptional” £10m brute

	Mark Vermeulen in action during Zimbabwe’s 2003-04 tour of Australia © Getty Images

Mark Vermeulen is poised to make the unlikeliest of international comebacks a little more than two years after he burnt down Zimbabwe Cricket’s academy and tried to set fire to the ZC boardroom.He was cleared on grounds of mental illness by a Harare court a year ago after it was revealed he suffered from a serious depressive illness.Although he resumed playing club cricket, few believed he had any hope of returning to the national side given his many problems. Shortly before the attacks in October 2006, he had been banned from playing club cricket in England for ten years – later reduced to three – after an incident where he clashed with spectators in a league match.In May 2008, Vermeulen publicly offered to help rebuild the academy if he was handed a central contract, but nothing came of it.However, Ozias Bvute, ZC’s managing director, confirmed to Cricinfo that Vermeulen would be offered a chance of rehabilitation. “We have allowed Mark to participate in our leagues. There was actually no ban on him, but relations were restrained after the two arson attacks.”In a separate interview with the local Independent newspaper, Bvute said: “He approached us with a desire to play in our leagues. Having weighed various issues we decided it was in his best interest to be allowed to play since he indicated that cricket was the only thing he lives for.”Should he make the grade, he will be selected [for the national team]. The decision was driven by a desire to help rehabilitate him, taking into account that he served Zimbabwe well when he first played for the national side. Life is such that everyone deserves a second chance.”Vermeulen played 32 ODIs and eight Tests between 2000 and 2004 but was no stranger to controversy. In 2003, he was sent home from the tour of England because of disciplinary problems, and as schoolboy he was once banned for walking off with the stumps after receiving a poor lbw decision and locking himself in the changing room.Nevertheless, on his day Vermeulen, who is still only 29, is a good top-order batsman and if he can regain his form then he is likely to be pressing for a recall in the near future.