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Celtic goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas is set to be approached by two different agencies, according to journalist Giannis Chorianopoulos.

The Lowdown: Barkas under Postecoglou

The 27-year-old, who cost the Hoops £4.5m last season, has struggled in Glasgow.

He’s made just 23 appearances for the club, with just one of those coming this season under Ange Postecoglou.

Barkas played 90 minutes against FC Midtjylland in a Champions League qualifier but hasn’t featured since following a second-half blunder at Celtic Park.

The Greek goalkeeper is currently represented by CJ Pronk Management, but it appears as if that could change fairly soon.

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The Latest: Barkas in demand

Greek reporter Chorianopoulos of Sportime.gr took to Twitter on Monday evening to talk about the £9,000-a-week Hoops ‘keeper.

He claimed that two separate agencies have plans to talk with Barkas ahead of a possible switch.

“Two different agencies have plans to approach Celtic’s Vasilis Barkas. To sign with one of them for his representation”

The Verdict: January exit on the cards?

Should Barkas sign with a new agency, that could well lead to a New Year exit for the shot-stopper.

Postecoglou has Barkas, Joe Hart, Scott Bain and Conor Hazard on the books at Parkhead, so letting one go in January certainly makes sense.

That may well prove to be Barkas, if he signs with a new agency before the winter window, which would then give his team plenty of time to find a new destination.

In other news: Journalist hints 43-cap free-agent for possible Celtic move to bolster Ange’s left-back ranks. 

Younis Khan says his team must get over the Twenty20 success and get ready for its next assignment, a full tour of Sri Lanka next month

Cricinfo staff26-Jun-2009The headlines in Pakistan continue to laud the national team’s ICC World Twenty20 title triumph, but Younis Khan has said his team is ready for its next assignment. Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the World Twenty20 final at Lord’s on Sunday but Younis says he is wary of a stronger showing by Sri Lanka when Pakistan tour there next month.”The Sri Lanka tour will be a big challenge,” Younis said. “The celebrations become a matter of the past when you embark on the next tour, so I hope players get into a different mood soon. We will have to leave our World Cup win behind and focus on what is a very tough assignment against Sri Lanka.”Younis admitted there was more pressure on Pakistan after their success in England but said his squad had the potential to take whatever came their way. “In Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka have a wise captain and their team is balanced with quality players, so we will have to be at our best to get positive results,” he said. “It will be double pressure on us because our people want wins in every match and after the Twenty20 success they want more success and that can put pressure on us, but we are ready for it.”Twenty20 cricket was different and now Test cricket is different, it seriously tests the abilities of a player whereas I don’t think the abilities of a player can be gauged in a Twenty20 match.”Saeed Ajmal, the offspinner, has been included alongside Danish Kaneria. Ajmal has yet to play Test cricket but was crucial in Pakistan’s success in England, with 12 wickets at 13.58. “Kaneria gives us variety and along with Saeed Ajmal supplements our spin bowling,” said Younis, “so it will be a keen contest between two balanced teams and I hope it will be a great series.”Pakistan will play three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20. The tour begins with a three-day warm-up match in Colombo on June 29.

Callum Ferguson guided Australia A to a comfortable eight-wicket win over Pakistan A to level the one-day series 1-1 in Brisbane

Cricinfo staff12-Jul-2009
ScorecardCallum Ferguson was in fine form for Australia A•Associated PressCallum Ferguson guided Australia A to a comfortable eight-wicket win over Pakistan A to level the one-day series 1-1 in Brisbane. After being thrashed by 146 runs in the first match, the Australians began strongly in the second as their seamers restricted Pakistan to 188.Only Mohammad Hafeez with 75 and Sarfraz Ahmed (45) offered any real resistance as Brett Geeves tied things down with 3 for 32 and Clint McKay, Doug Bollinger and Moises Henriques picked up two each. It was a strong performance by the hosts after losing the toss and they reached their target with more than 15 overs to spare.David Warner (29) and Tim Paine (28) were the only wickets to fall, after they helped Australia to a quick start. Ferguson and Adam Voges then clicked into cruise control and sailed through the rest of the chase with relative ease.Ferguson finished unbeaten on 72 from 78 deliveries and Voges launched a couple of sixes in his 49 not out. Ferguson said the tone had been set in the first ten overs of the day, when Australia’s bowling and sharp fielding restricted their opponents, and then he was keen for some valuable time in the middle.”It was nice to get a bit of time out there and it’s always nice to be there at the end with Adam Voges, it’s a nice satisfying feeling to see it through to the end,” Ferguson said. “After Friday’s game, everyone is very, very happy to get the win today and that is definitely more like how we want to play.”The third and final one-dayer is at Allan Border Field on Thursday. Australia A won the two-match unofficial Test series 1-0.

Sunderland confirmed on Thursday that Sunderland Ladies will be taking charge of the club’s social media channels ahead of their game against Durham on Sunday.

And a number of Black Cats supporters have heaped praise on the club as a result.

Lee Johnson’s side aren’t in League One action this weekend, with their next game against Manchester United’s U21s in the EFL Trophy next week.

Therefore, with no men’s action to report on, the club have handed over their Twitter page, which has close to one million followers, to the club’s ladies side.

They’ll be posting pre-match content ahead of their Championship clash with Durham, looking to get back to winning ways following a 2-1 defeat to Bristol City last time out. Tickets are also still available to buy for the River Wear derby at Eppleton CW.

Sunderland fans react

The club shared the news regarding the social media handover on Thursday lunchtime. This is what these Sunderland supporters had to say in reply, with one labelling it as love ‘absolutely superb’.

“About time..let’s go. Massive game Sunday.”

Credit: @antony_waterson

“That’s more like it!”

Credit: @RokerReport

“Love how the club is becoming one again.”

Credit: @marcwranson

“Class”

Credit: @Katiemurillo

“Good this”

Credit: @CackStottie

“The coverage from @SunderlandAFC re: @SAFCLadies has been absolutely superb recently. Huge improvement and welcomed by many.”

Credit: @GrahamFalk

In other news: ‘Been waiting for this’ – Many SAFC fans buzz as ‘class’ news confirmed. 

Jonty Rhodes has said home advantage will mean little in next month’s Champions Trophy in South Africa since teams travel a lot more and are used to different conditions these days

Cricinfo staff16-Aug-2009Jonty Rhodes, the former South African player, has said home advantage will mean little in next month’s Champions Trophy in South Africa since teams travel a lot more and are used to different conditions these days.”The support of the crowd does make a difference if things go a bit flat and they can lift you, but South Africa won’t be relying on that,” Rhodes told the Supercricket website. “They’ll be relying on planning and getting in place all the processes involved in winning.”Rhodes, a fielding coach for IPL team Mumbai Indians, said South Africa were favourites for the trophy along with Australia and India. “They [South Africa] are a really well-balanced unit and they are setting standards for the other teams to chase. But Australia are written off far too easily, they will obviously be strong contenders, they have a good record in the competition and they know how to win. India are also very good, they’ve learnt how to travel and win and they have destructive bowlers and hitters in their line-up.”South Africa’s strength, Rhodes said, was their consistency, which is important in a 50-over tournament. The top eight teams have been divided into two groups of four each and the top two from each group will qualify for the semi-finals of the two-week long tournament. “They’ve been playing great cricket, the team is settled and everyone knows their roles, they’ve got special players in batting, bowling and fielding. Their preparation and organisation will be excellent and they’ve learnt how to hit the ground running. They’ve learnt how to switch on very quickly and the management team of Graeme Smith and Mickey Arthur have been very good at that.”But you can’t afford to have a bad day. We saw that in the Twenty20 World Cup, where we played great cricket but, to take nothing away from the opposition, someone like Shahid Afridi produced something special.”South Africa will open the tournament, from September 22 to October 5, with a game against Sri Lanka in Centurion.

Rangers defender Leon Balogun was forced off with an injury in Nigeria’s World Cup qualifier against the Central African Republic, to the horror of many Gers fans. 

He actually opened the scoring for his country after 29 minutes, but he went down in the second half and was unable to continue.

The 33-year-old has started six of Rangers’ eight Premiership matches so far this season, as well as both of their Europa League fixtures. His overall WhoScored rating of 7.15 in the top flight ranks him sixth in the Rangers squad, with match averages of 4.5 successful aerial duels, 3.8 clearances and 1.5 tackles so far in 2021/22.

What games is Balogun at risk of missing?

Balogun must surely be considered a doubt for Rangers’ top-of-the-table clash with Hearts on Saturday. The Gers then face Brondby on Thursday as they go in search of a much-needed Europa League win.

Twitter account Home of Nigerian Footballers relayed the news of the defender’s injury, and here’s what Rangers fans made of it, with one supporter calling it “bleak” as Steven Gerrard is now down to just two fit centre-backs.

Rangers fans bemoan ‘bleak’ news

“Nooooooooooooooo!”

Credit: @StevieSouness

“Protect our people”

Credit: @TheWorthingRed

“Hi @RangersFC, I enjoy a wee tackle here and there if you’re wanting me to play against Hearts? I have references.”

Credit: @1872David

“Ban international football”

Credit: @samsneddon72

“Balogun picks up an injury while playing for Nigeria. Rangers options looking bleak at centre half”

Credit: @steve_72

“Despise international football me”

Credit: @chrissyr8289

In other news, some Scotland fans slammed this Rangers player over the weekend. 

Liverpool managed to increase their impressive goals record in the Premier League so far this season after beating Watford 5-0 at Vicarage Road over the weekend, taking their total to 22 goals scored in just eight league games, higher than any other club in the top flight.

Jurgen Klopp’s side are now set to take on Atletico Madrid in the Champions League this evening to see if they can continue their impressive start to the season.

On the chalkboard

Taking the focus away from Liverpool’s impressive attacking power, one player that we think should be in the starting XI to face Diego Simeone’s side is Reds defender Joel Matip, who has recently been described as being a “top-class” player by Sky Sports pundit and former Liverpool centre-back Jamie Carragher.

Speaking about him on MNF this week, the ex-defender continued: “He has actually probably been better than Virgil van Dijk this season.”

Matip joined Liverpool on a free transfer from German club Schalke back in the 2016 summer window. Since then, the 30-year-old, who is earns a weekly salary of £125k-per-week according to Spotrac, has made a total of 132 appearances for the Reds across all competitions in which he has managed to chip in with six goals and three assists.

So far this season, Matip has played in all but one of Liverpool’s Premier League games, proving himself to be an important figure for the Reds.

In Liverpool’s 2-2 draw against Manchester City, Matip once again proved how much of a defensive unit he is for the club after making four interceptions, three tackles, blocked two shots and made one clearance. That ultimately earned himself an impressive overall match rating of 7.5/10, higher than any other Liverpool defender on the day according to SofaScore.

Taking all of this into account, we feel that Matip should definitely start against Atletico as he has shown he has what it takes to be a tough defensive opponent against high-class opposition. Keeping in mind his form this term, the Cameroon international could bully some of Atletico’s attacking players such as Luis Suarez, Antoine Griezmann and Joao Felix among others.

However, with Liverpool having a big clash against Manchester United in the Premier League at the weekend, there’s every possibility that Klopp could save Matip for that game and give him a rest in midweek. After all, they do have summer signing Ibrahima Konate in their ranks. However, we think the former should definitely be in the starting XI this evening; he may be decisive.

In other news: Liverpool dealt big injury blow ahead of Atletico clash, Klopp will be gutted – opinion

Mark Richardson has reopened the question over Muttiah Muralitharan’s bowling action by saying that he was convinced many of his deliveries were well beyond the 15-degree allowance

Cricinfo staff23-Aug-2009Mark Richardson, the former New Zealand Test opener, has reopened the question over Muttiah Muralitharan’s bowling action by saying that he was convinced many of his deliveries were well beyond the 15-degree allowance approved by lawmakers.Richardson said he did not blame Murali for the situation but felt the ICC was not doing enough to police throwing in cricket. New Zealand are touring Sri Lanka for two Tests, two Twenty20s and an ODI tri-series. They lost the first Test by 202 runs, with Murali taking 7 for 161.”Many of his deliveries may fall around the 15 degrees but, in my opinion, too many,” Richardson, now a television commentator, wrote in his column in the . “In particular his faster deliveries appear well beyond it and since the introduction of the 15 degree allowance his action appears to have deteriorated.”I know he’s been tested, re-tested, tested again and cleared. And I know, with the special makeup of his limbs to the naked eye, his action looks worse than it is. But, for goodness sake, half of cricket is now not watched with the naked eye, thanks to the invention of super-slow-motion cameras, hot-spots, snicko and Hawkeyes. Many of the slow-motion replays I’ve seen of Murali have only strengthened my conviction he is exceeding the 15 degrees bending and straightening allowance. Is it not meant to be the other way round? Isn’t the hi-tech equipment meant to alleviate my fears?”Richardson doubted whether the numerous tests conducted by the ICC proved that Murali stayed within the 15-degree limit. “What he proved is that he can bowl within limitation, not that in the heat of battle he actually does. Cricket is not played in a laboratory. On the field it matters where and how the ball gets to the other end. In a laboratory it doesn’t, all that matters is how you delivered it.”Murali was first no-balled for his action during his first tour of Australia in 1995-96 and though he was cleared after a biomechanical analysis, the controversy didn’t die out. He was called again on the 1998-99 tour to Australia and sent for further tests in Perth and England only to be cleared again.In 2004 the ICC stopped Murali from bowling the doosra, because his arm bent by an average of 10 degrees when bowling the delivery, which was double the permitted level for spinners. But next year, the ICC tweaked the bowling laws to allow all bowlers “to straighten their bowling arm up to 15 degrees, which was established as the point at which any straightening will become visible to the naked eye”.Richardson said the ICC had to amend procedures and use the technology introduced into the game to check bowlers with suspect actions.”We can use technology to access where the ball pitched, where it may be heading, how much it bounced, turned, seamed and yet we can’t use it to access the most important thing – how it got there in the first place. Surely the technology exists for the match referee or third umpire to assess, during the game, bowling actions and take appropriate action when someone is operating outside the laws of the game.”Last November former Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist also said he believed Murali had a suspect action.

Singapore emerged triumphant in the World Cricket League Division 6 after notching up their sixth consecutive win by beating Bahrain in the final by 68 runs

Cricinfo staff05-Sep-2009
Scorecard
Chetan Suryawanshi, the Singapore captain, with the trophy•ICC/CricketEuropeSingapore emerged triumphant in the World Cricket League Division 6 after notching up their sixth consecutive win by beating Bahrain in the final at the Kallang Ground by 68 runs. It was a collective effort from the hosts with the batsmen chipping in with important contributions to take their team to a challenging score of 242, and the bowlers rallying around medium-pacer Saad Janjua, who took 3 for 19.Like most teams in a pressure game, Singapore opted to put the runs on the board but faltered early, losing captain Chetan Suryawanshi in the first over. But the others stepped up to the task. Buddika Mendis (32) and Narender Reddy (27) put together 65 for the second wicket, and the pair of Monish Arora (52) and Anish Param (41) consolidated further, adding 74 for the fourth. Bahrain, though, struck back, with spinners Qamar Saeed and Fahad Sadeq sharing five wickets between them. At 191 for 7, the hosts were in danger of being bowled out under 200, but the tail resisted well, led by Christopher Janik’s 19-ball 39, to reach a total that eventually proved adequate.Bahrain were shut out of contention fairly early in their chase, as the Singapore bowlers kept chipping away, reducing them to 60 for 7. Singapore’s victory would have proved more comprehensive had it not been for a rearguard eighth-wicket stand of 95 between Tahir Dar (73) and wicketkeeper Shahzad Ahmed (31). But the damage had been done, and the asking rate had crept up to over 10-an-over. Once Tahir fell with the score on 155, victory for Singapore was inevitable and they didn’t take too long to wrap it up.But the disappointment of defeat for Bahrain will be assuaged somewhat by the fact that both teams have qualified for Division 5 of the World Cricket League.”We’ve had a really great tournament and all our skills have improved greatly, especially in the fielding, thanks to our coach Trevor Chappell,” Singapore captain Chetan Suryawanshi said. “We’re now really looking forward to Division 5 in Nepal where we hope we can be as successful as we have been here in our own backyard.”3rd place play-off
Guernsey secured third place in the World Cricket League Division 6 by winning a thrilling contest against Malaysia by two runs at The Padang. Jeremy Frith scored a century and James Warr contributed 69, after Guernsey were asked to bat, to lead their team to a competitive score of 264 for 8. The innings got off to a poor start when Ross Kneller was dismissed with the score on 5 but Frith and Warr added 157 for the second wicket. However, there were no more substantial contributions from the middle and lower order and Suresh Navaratnam and Hassan Mohammed finished with 3 for 48 and 4 for 53 respectively. Malaysia’s top-order batsmen weighed in with useful contributions during the run chase but only Ahmed Faiz, who made 67, went past fifty. The periodical fall of wickets – Frith took 2 for 44 to go with his century – hampered Malaysia’s momentum and they fell agonisingly short of victory in the final over.5th place play-off
Botswana took fifth place in the league after Norway’s spirited chase of 346 runs ended 23 runs short at the Indian Association Ground. Karan Kapoor’s quickfire century and Abdul Patel’s 53, before he retired, took Botswana to an imposing total. Kapoor 119-ball 139 included 14 fours and three sixes at a strike-rate of 116.8. He was finally dismissed by Iram Dawood with the score at 264. Karobo Modsie (44 off 21 balls) and Omar Ali (25 off 13) took Botswana past 300. Norway used eight bowlers out of whom Dawood was the most successful with 3 for 93. Norway’s chase began positively, with the openers Umran Shehzad and Zaheer Ashiq adding 77. Ashiq added another 68 with Iftikhar Hussain before they fell in quick succession. While the other batsmen chipped in, Norway were hurt by the lack of a big score like Kapoor’s. They lost their eighth wicket soon after passing the 300-mark and the last two added 18 before folding in the final over. Botswana also used eight bowlers, four of whom picked up two wickets each.

Southampton secured a much-needed victory over Watford at Vicarage Road thanks to a brilliant strike from Che Adams.

The Scotland international’s perfectly-weighted effort curled over a helpless Ben Foster on the 20-minute mark and it proved enough to seal a first away win in the Premier League for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s charges this season.

Despite Adams’ match-winning effort, though, it was arguably full-back Kyle Walker-Peters who was the Saints’ real star of the show during a satisfying afternoon for the away side.

He set the tone early on with a lung-busting run down the left flank before providing a brilliant cutback for Adam Armstrong, but the out-of-form forward couldn’t provide the finish.

The £16.2m-rated gem then showed his class in a defensive sense as well. Watford’s Ismaila Sarr thought he had scored the equaliser following a quick breakaway, but Walker-Peters managed to get himself in the way of the attacker’s shot, making a vital goal-line clearance in the process.

His outstanding efforts at both ends of the pitch resulted in SofaScore awarding him an eight out of 10, the highest total received by any player on the pitch.

Throughout the 90 minutes, Walker-Peters won five duels, made three clearances and created one big chance, illustrating his effective performance at both ends of the pitch.

Hampshire Live journalist Rob Warlow was also impressed by the versatile full-back’s showing against the Hornets, writing: “Restored to the team at left-back and he did well, getting forward from defence to support the attack.

“He did his job defensively too against a difficult opponent in Ismaila Sarr, with Walker-Peters getting back superbly to make a goalline clearance to deny the Watford winger an equaliser.”

With Aston Villa up next for Southampton, the Saints will be hoping to build some momentum for the weeks ahead, and on today’s showing, Walker-Peters could be crucial if they are to do just that.

In other news… Ralph may be hit with big blow as transfer news emerges, Saints fans surely concerned