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For former West Indies fast bowler Charlie Griffith and the localcricketing fraternity, it should definitely be a September toremember

Barry Alleyne09-May-2001For former West Indies fast bowler Charlie Griffith and the localcricketing fraternity, it should definitely be a September toremember.The Empire Sports Club, where Griffith has been a member since 1958,has organised a special week of activities paying tribute to the fastbowler who overcame humble beginnings in the parish of St Lucy beforebecoming half of one of the most feared fast bowling partnerships ininternational cricket.From September 2 to 8, the life and times of Griffith, a formerpresident of Empire, will be highlighted and chronicled in the week ofactivities entitled Our Charlie, A Salute To Excellence, as the BankHall, St Michael club honours him for over 43 years of service, 12 atthe helm of the organisation.Feared worldwide, Griffith played 28 Tests between 1960 and 1969 forthe West Indies, collecting 94 wickets at an average of 28.54.Wes Hall who, along with Griffith sent fear through the batting lineups of all of cricket’s superpowers, yesterday revealed what the clubplanned for one of its most famous stalwarts.On Sunday, September 2, activities begin with an 8:30 a.m. service atSt Clement’s Church, less than 100 yards from the village whereGriffith was born. Later that day, there will be a special East vsWest limited overs match at the Lord’s ground, in Lowlands, St Lucy.Two days later, Griffith will be the special guest of moderator CarolRoberts, on the Channel 8 show Up Close, where he will talk about hisplaying days at Empire and his life as a youngster growing up in StLucy.The next day, September 5, he will be special guest of Vic Brewster inthe CBC Radio 900 programme Under The Sandbox Tree.Barbadians can then get up close and personal with the bowling legendhimself later that day, as the Empire Club will be hosting An EveningWith Charlie Griffith from 7:30 p.m. at the Bank Hall club.On September 7, at the Barbados Lumber Company Grounds in Waterford,St Michael, there will be a special celebrity night match.The week culminates on Saturday, September 8, with a celebrationdinner at Sherbourne Conference Centre, where more than 500 friends,fans and former team-mates have been invited to spend the evening.That event will be highlighted by a play, directed by Cicely Spencer-Cross, looking back at Griffith’s life and career.

Tottenham Hotspur are still looking for their next manager and have seen several targets ruled out of the running in the last week or so.

After missing out on Julian Nagelsmann, Erik ten Hag and Brendan Rodgers, the Daily Mail claim that Brighton and Hove Albion boss Graham Potter is now being considered as an option to replace Jose Mourinho in North London.

It is thought that the 45-year-old is high on technical director Steve Hitchen’s wishlist and ultimately, that’s who Daniel Levy will be trusting in this hiring process.

Potter would be a massive gamble for Spurs to take, given the Seagulls looked to be embroiled in a relegation dogfight at one stage this season, but he does play the attractive, attacking football that the chairman is longing for in his next appointment.

But what would the Lilywhites actually look like under him? Football FanCast takes a peek into his potential Spurs XI next season – if he were to be appointed…

Potter has kept Brighton in the division on a tight budget, whilst also playing an eye-catching brand of football. It’s a system that is largely three-at-the-back with wing-backs crucial to overloading the box.

Primarily playing from the back, his combative midfield swallows up possession and looks to contribute at either side of the pitch.

And a high-pressing style draws some similarities to that of Mauricio Pochettino, so arguably he could already have players to fit the system at his disposal.

Goalkeeper: Lloris

Hugo Lloris will be entering the final year of his currently contract at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer but it would be a surprise to see him depart given he’s the current club captain and there is a need to bolster other areas of the pitch on an already questionable budget.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-latest-spurs-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-managerial-update-levy-mason-mourinho-sacked” title= “Read the latest Spurs news, transfer rumours, managerial gossip and more!”]

Defence: Reguilon, Rodon, Dier, Alderweireld, Doherty

Potter could turn to Sergio Reguilon and Matt Doherty for both his wing-back slots, giving the latter a lifeline after a poor start to his Spurs career. ESPN suggested his future was at risk under Mourinho whilst his very best form at Wolves came in a similar system to that of Brighton’s – the Portuguese often stuck him in a back four.

A new defensive leader was the priority for Spurs this summer under Mourinho, according to football.london, and the Seagulls’ Lewis Dunk was among the names being considered but with Joe Rodon, Toby Alderweireld and Eric Dier, Potter may be set until finances vastly improve.

In the Englishman, he has a ball-playing option in the middle, given he was once a holding midfielder. Dier could be Potter’s Ben White in this regard.

Midfield: Hojbjerg, Bissouma

As mentioned, phenomenal work rate is needed in midfield and that’s where things get a little competitive. We’re unlikely to see the likes of Tanguy Ndombele or Giovani Lo Celso feature so much under Potter.

Instead, he could try to bring Yves Bissouma to North London with him, especially as he knows exactly what he’s getting with the Mali beast. Spurs have been linked to the 24-year-old this week and he could cost £30m, as per the Daily Star, which you’d imagine would be the bulk of their transfer budget.

He’d partner Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the middle.

Attack: Son, Bale, Kane

If Spurs can keep hold of Harry Kane and retain Gareth Bale for another year, then the attack will speak for itself with Heung-min Son joining the pair to form a very lucrative and exciting front three.

The Welsh superstar is set to return to parent club Real Madrid next month but the Daily Mail believes Levy will offer his next manager the chance to keep him for next season as Spurs do hold the option of a second year.

AND in other news, Daniel Levy could pile more misery on Spurs by hiring 47 y/o PL flop…

Xisco Munoz’s Watford side are considering a move for Yakou Meite this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Telegraph, who claim that the Hornets, as well as Crystal Palace and Brighton & Hove Albion, are keeping a close eye on the Reading centre-forward ahead of the upcoming transfer window.

It is reported that Veljko Paunovic’s side value the 25-year-old Ivory Coast international at around £5 million and could be tempted into cashing in on the striker this summer in order to balance the books at the Madejski Stadium.

Bye-bye Gray

Since joining Reading from Paris Saint-Germain B back in 2016, Meite has gone on to make 125 appearances for the club, scoring 42 goals and providing five assists along the way.

The striker has bagged impressive returns in the Championship on a consistent basis over the past three seasons, scoring 12 goals and providing one assist in the club’s 2018/19 campaign, netting 13 goals and registering two assists in the 2019/20 season and bagging 11 goals and providing one assist over just 25 appearances in Reading’s most recent jaunt.

When comparing the 25-year-old’s most recent haul to those of the Watford centre-forwards, Meite’s returns better all three of Joao Pedro, Troy Deeney and Andre Gray, who scored nine, seven and five Championship goals respectively last season.

As such, the argument can easily be made that the £1.8 million-rated forward would be an upgrade on Xisco Munoz’s current attacking arsenal, although, with Gray reported to be on a whopping £70,000-per-week at Vicarage Road, it would be highly advisable for Cristiano Giaretta to do all he can to move the 29-year-old on this summer and replace him with the Reading hitman.

And, with Watford facing the challenge of retaining their status as a Premier League club come the end of next season, a consistent goalscorer will go a long way to helping achieve this feat – something that Meite – whom the former Reading manager Paul Clement dubbed an “exciting” player – has very much proven he is.

In other news: Watford suffer huge blow in pursuit of “talented” £25k-p/w gem, Giaretta will be livid – opinion

Yorkshire collapsed against the pace of Andy Caddick and Steffan Jones at Headingley today as Somerset stormed to victory by 161-runs in the CricInfo Championship match

David Warner12-May-2001Yorkshire collapsed against the pace of Andy Caddick and Steffan Jones at Headingley today as Somerset stormed to victory by 161-runs in the CricInfo Championship match.Caddick warmed up for the Lord’s Test next week by taking five for 92 to give him ten wickets in the match and Jones gave him strong support to finish with four for 91.Yorkshire began the final day on 96 for three, still needing 258 to achieve their 354 target, and everything depended on whether Darren Lehmann could blaze the trail like he did yesterday when he dashed to his half-century off only 38 balls.Lehmann resumed on 53 and skipper David Byas on 26, their fourth-wicket stand already worth 66, and they put on a further 20 quite confidently before Byas got a thin edge off Caddick and was caught behind.Yorkshire suffered another blow when Craig White played round a ball from Jones and was lbw and Somerset knew they were home and dry with the departure of Lehmann for 77 off 78 balls with 13 boundaries.The Australian attempted to hit Caddick over square leg but only made a slight contact for wicketkeeper Rob Turner to take another catch.Apart from some lusty blows by Gary Fellows, who made 29 before his off-stump was removed by Jones, Yorkshire had little to offer and Caddick had the satisfaction of dismissing his England colleague Darren Gough with a sharply lifting ball that he could only fend off to point.Caddick and Jones had bowled in tandem for 95 minutes from the start and as soon as Jason Kerr took over from Jones he ended the match by getting Chris Silverwood to top edge a skier which landed in Turner’s gloves, Somerset collecting 17 points from the match and Yorkshire four.Yorkshire captain David Byas admitted that his side had been outplayed. “They played the better cricket in most sessions of the match. It is fair to say they outplayed us really,” he conceded, before expressing the hope that his young side could learn from the match.”We have to look at this as a poor performance but learn from it and if afew of the lads get a kick up the backside from it then that is the benefit,” he reasoned.”We had aspirations of actually getting the runs when we started this morning,” Byas revealed. “It obviously got easier last night when Darren and I were in. But we knew we had to stay there. If we could have got through to lunch we had a chance. But all good plans come to an end some time, and that is what happened.”Meanwhile Somerset coach, Kevin Shine, was delighted with the win, and praised his opening bowlers in particular: “It has been a clinical effort this morning. Both our main pace bowlers, Caddick and Steffan Jones, bowled fantastically well.”

The second warm up game for the Indians touring Zimbabwe, playedagainst the CFX Academy side, was heartwarming and at the same timeset off some alarm bells at the back of the mind

Anand Vasu06-Jun-2001The second warm up game for the Indians touring Zimbabwe, playedagainst the CFX Academy side, was heartwarming and at the same timeset off some alarm bells at the back of the mind. Playing against aninexperienced side, the Indians showcased their batting might toperfection. Shiv Sunder Das (110 retired), VVS Laxman (100 retired),Hemang Badani (112 not out) all notched up tons and had an opportunityto spend time out in the middle in Zimbabwean conditions. SouravGanguly retired after making a half century, suggesting that he toowas comfortable out in the middle. It must be remembered that he didnot have a particularly memorable run with the bat in the three Testseries against Australia that concluded recently.However, all this is not source for any worry. If anything, it bodesextremely well for the touring side. But a look at the batting orderin the second innings is cause for minor concern. Opening the inningswith Sadagoppan Ramesh was statemate Badani, another southpaw. Havingdone well in the first innings, Badani is seen by some as aprospective candidate for higher honours. However, with Laxman, SachinTendulkar, Ganguly and Rahul Dravid forming the middle order therereally is no place for Badani in the playing XI. Unless of course, hereplaces Ramesh at the top of the order.Although it might be premature to speculate on the possibility ofBadani being asked to fill in as a makeshift opener, the rumblingshave already begun in Zimbabwe. Ramesh, looked upon as the dashing andeven reckless half of India’s opening partnership ‘needs to provehimself’ says a report. Ramesh’s scores of 42 and 52 (retired) in thesecond warm up game have not inspired enough confidence it seems.Although there is enough truth in the statement that Ramesh does havea somewhat cavalier approach to opening the innings, often chasing atballs that are best left alone, it would be a touch unfair to suggestthat he has failed at the highest level. In the 15 Tests and 29innings that Ramesh has played, he averages a healthy 40.17 and hasnotched up a score of 50 or more almost once in three Tests. What hasgiven detractors fuel for fire is a recent lack of consistency inRamesh’s batting. The last eight innings in Test cricket have yieldedscores of 13, 0, 48, 2, 44, 0, 30, 61 and 25.Through the recently concluded Australia tour of India, there werecries from all quarters to replace Ramesh. However, coach John Wrightbacked Ramesh to the end. The focus however seems to be a bitdifferent on an away tour for India. In recent interviews, Wright, aleft handed opening batsman himself, has stressed the need for a solidopening partnership.”We need a bit of consistency in the opening position. I would be veryhappy if we could go to lunch with only one or two down in the firstsession,” he said, speaking to the Press Trust of India. “Just getthrough the first session and see the new ball off and we have got themiddle order to take advantage of that situation,” added Wright.It goes without saying that Das is seen as the calming influence andthe more solid of the two openers. Ramesh himself is not one to runaway from things. “We start with the basic advantage of a right and aleft-handed opening pair. There is another advantage which comes withour batting techniques. While Das is defensive, I tend to go for myshots. It doesn’t allow bowlers to settle down,” said Ramesh.In recent times however, India have experimented unsuccessfully withmakeshift openers on more than one occasion. The last time India werein Zimbabwe, in 1998-99 stumper Nayan Mongia was asked to open theinnings. As it happened Mongia made 1 and 0 as India slumped to a 61-run loss in the one-off Test match. Another foreign tour and anotherscapegoat was found going back to India’s disastrous tour ofAustralia in 1999-2000. MSK Prasad, sent in at the top of the order inthe Sydney Test scored 3 and 5. It must not be forgotten that VVSLaxman opened in four Tests during the tour of the West Indies in 1997when India lost the series 0-1, failing to get 120 in the famous gameat Barbados. Fortunately, wisdom has prevailed in the end and Laxmanis now firmly ensconced in his rightful position in the middle order.Yet another foreign tour has come about and the rumours have startedonce more. If they remain rumours for the duration of the tour, Indiawould have done right by two talented left handed cricketers oneopener and one middle order bat.

Sunderland’s play-off rivals have announced the signing of an emergency loan goalkeeper ahead of Wednesday’s play-off semi-final clash.

What’s the latest?

According to a statement on their club website, Lincoln City have confirmed the signing of Stoke City’s goalkeeper Josef Bursik on an emergency loan deal.

The club revealed that they had asked the EFL for dispensation in order to complete the transfer as a result of the club’s own shot-stopper, Alex Palmer, suffering a head injury in training.

Finally, Lincoln confirmed that the England U21 international will be available for the play-off semi-final clash with Sunderland on Wednesday evening.

Sunderland fans will be livid

While the injury to Palmer is in no way the fault of Lincoln City, the timing of the transfer undoubtedly has the potential to leave a number of the Sunderland fans livid.

Indeed, while Palmer is a fine goalkeeper in his own right – having impressed over his 46 League One appearances for the Imps this season, keeping 19 clean sheets and averaging a SofaScore match rating of 6.94 – the arrival of a Championship-standard and England youth international in Bursik – who kept seven clean sheets over his 15 league appearances for Stoke this season – would appear to be an upgrade on the Lincoln shot-stopper.

As such, with a season-defining fixture ahead of both teams on Wednesday, it could be argued that Lincoln are now in a better position strength-wise as a direct result of Palmer’s injury.

This would appear to be the belief of a number of the Black Cats fanbase too, with one questioning how the signing of Bursik was allowed, while others simply stated their belief that the EFL sanctioning the move was an “absolute joke.”

However, with the deal being completed, there is now nothing more that Lee Johnson and his side can do regarding the issue, and must now find a way to defeat Lincoln City with their new shot-stopper between the sticks.

In other news: Johnson must finally unleash “exciting” SAFC gem in play-off semi, he’s a game-changer – opinion

A sparkling century from Rashmi Ranjan Parida saw East Zone notch up a 141-run victory in their Duleep Trophy match against Central Zone at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on Friday.

Staff Reporter22-Mar-2002A sparkling century from Rashmi Ranjan Parida saw East Zone notch up a 141-run victory in their Duleep Trophy match against Central Zone at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on Friday.East Zone, on 102 for two at the start of the last day’s play, may have been looking to pile on the runs quickly before bowling Central out. The early fall of Sanjay Raul, thus, was not a good omen. Raul fell after adding only five runs to his score, making 37 off 70 balls before falling to Harvinder Singh.The batsmen after him too could not contribute significantly, all falling for single-figure scores. But Parida more than made up for that, holding up one end with elan even as he watched the wickets tumble at the other.Parida reached his century off 154 balls, his 10th in first-clas cricket. He was ultimately dismissed for 127 off 197 balls, with 18 fours studding his knock. His was the last wicket to fall, and East were dismissed for 211 in 68.1 overs.If one Parida tormented Central, another one aided it. Kulamani Parida took six of the eight wickets to fall on the day, conceding 39 runs in 21.1 overs as he did so.Set 263 to win off 49 overs, Central’s only hope lay in some big hitting. But Gagan Khoda, who top-scored with 39 off 78 balls, could not find any support. Central wilted in the face of Mark Ingty, who took 4-29, and Utpal Chatterjee, who took 3-32. Central folded for 121 in 35.4 overs, giving East a comprehensive 141-run win.

Speaking to the press, Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed that Jonny Evans ‘will miss’ their clash with Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League this afternoon through injury.

The Lowdown: Evans sidelined…

The Northern Ireland defender was substituted half an hour into the Foxes’ historic FA Cup final victory against Chelsea and subsequently missed their league encounter with the west Londoners (Leicestershire Live).

Evans, currently suffering from a heel issue, was in too much pain to take part in the defeat at Stamford Bridge, with Rodgers now providing an update on Evans going into the all-important clash with Spurs today.

The Latest: Evans ‘will miss’ Spurs clash

Speaking to the press (via Leicestershire Live), Rodgers has now confirmed that the 33-year-old will still be out of action this afternoon as Leicester gear up for a crucial match.

When asked who would be unavailable, the manager explained: “Jonny Evans will miss out. Everyone else who was available the other night will be available.”

Along with Evans, Harvey Barnes (knee), James Justin (knee), and Cengiz Under (hip) will also be unavailable through injury.

The Verdict: Blow for Leicester

A first team regular with 28 Premier League starts this season, Leicester being without Evans for the clash against Spurs comes as a hammer blow.

Foxes supporters could have felt more assured by his presence and experience as part of the back four, especially considering he has averaged the joint-most clearances per match out of Leicester’s entire squad (WhoScored). Alas, they will have to secure a result without Evans in what is set to be a nail-biting final day.

Champions League qualification is still a possibility for Leicester if they can rack up a big score against Spurs whilst hoping Crystal Palace can do them a mighty favour against Liverpool at Anfield. Unfortunately, they will have to try and get over the line without one of their defensive leaders to call upon.

In other news: talkSPORT journalist shares exciting Leicester City transfer development, find out more here.

New Zealand will leave a decision on whether they will field their left-arm spin bowler Daniel Vettori in the second National Bank Series Test against England, until the last moment on Thursday

Lynn McConnell19-Mar-2002New Zealand will leave a decision on whether they will field their left-arm spin bowler Daniel Vettori in the second National Bank Series Test against England, until the last moment on Thursday.Vettori is under constant surveillance by medical officers with the New Zealand side and he is being assessed after each bowling stint at practice.He had been quite good after bowling on Monday and it had been encouraging to see him get through a lengthy session today at the Basin Reserve, New Zealand Cricket’s sport science medical co-ordinator Warren Frost said today.”We’ve got till 10 o’clock on Thursday morning to make the call so we want to give him as much time as possible so we are aware of the long-term impact as well,” he said.Frost said that the medical panel policy was that if they pass a player as fit there are no limits on what he can or can’t bowl.What the medical advisors did was assess the risk and pass the information on to the selectors and it was the selectors who then weighed things up and made the final choice.”We think it is mainly disc-related so it is a soft tissue-type injury which is different to the stress fracture that he had about two years ago,” he said.”You will find that Dan will have periods of back pain throughout his career which is not uncommon for bowlers and it wouldn’t be correct to say that he is never going to experience back pain again,” he said.Frost said fast-medium bowler Chris Martin, who had a back problem in Christchurch, had been feeling much better today.England will choose their side for the Test from all the available fit players – and that includes Ian Bell once he arrives.While there was still some concern over batsman Mark Butcher, who injured a finger when catching Lou Vincent out in the second innings of the first Test in Christchurch, a final decision will not be made on his availability until after a net session tomorrow.England captain Nasser Hussain said when Bell arrived he would be in the squad and available for selection, just like every other fit player.Butcher had a net today and was still feeling some pain but he would be given another chance tomorrow to see if there was any improvement.Hussain said his own hand was fine batting but still a little tender when catching and just how that recovered would determine whether he will be at first slip when the Test starts on Thursday.”Batting is the most important thing and that felt 100%.”It was a jarring injury and everytime the ball doesn’t carry it is in my mind a little. It is a psychological thing,” he said.Hussain said it had been a long winter for everyone, both England and New Zealand, and there were a lot of niggles around for both teams.

Lots of Manchester City fans have been reacting to the news the Citizens are prepared to let Raheem Sterling leave the club this summer.

The Citizens face a huge clash on Saturday night as they prepare to face Chelsea in the Champions League final in Porto. This will be the first time they have played in the biggest match in European club football in their history, so Pep Guardiola and his team will have done all they can to make sure his side is as well-prepared as possible.

Unfortunately, he cannot control what the press decides to report in the build-up to the clash. According to Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail, Sterling is atop of a list of players City are prepared to offload this summer, with the club willing to listen to offers for the 26-year-old, whose form was questioned by numerous supporters this season after his goal tally dropped by more than half from last term.

The news was shared on Twitter by @City_Xtra, and it attracted plenty of attention from City supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts, and they were fuming at the thought of Sterling possibly being offloaded, with the winger having scored 114 goals in his six years at the club.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about the Sterling news

“delete this.”

Credit: @mancitybluess

“right before an important game how weird”

Credit: @mcfc_kai

“I will say this again, offloading Raz will be a huge mistake Man City will regret… We still need players like Sterling, yes he had bad season but we need him..he will bounce back to his form.”

Credit: @Zethemb87730720

“Amazing. Everybody’s leaving then. Right before the CL final. Thanks SAMI”

Credit: @NK_ESQ

“Just someone trying to cause issues before a final. Wouldn’t be surprised if it is true though, give us 100 million.”

Credit: @Ethan4707

“What a way to treat one of our best ever players, smh, he has one bad season and the club gives up on him just like that. Shameful”

Credit: @QJweRfWQ4YzvJ8R

In other news, these Man City fans want the club to sign this player in the summer.