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England won’t have much time for festive fun and frolics this year, after it was agreed they would play three back-to-back Tests against South Africa in a punishing Christmas schedule.After two warm-up games, the first Test will begin on December 17 in Port Elizabeth, and will be followed by matches in Durban on Boxing Day and Cape Town on January 2, before a seven-day break to recharge the batteries ahead of another pair of back-to-back matches in Johannesburg and Centurion.As if that is not punishment enough, the squad will then embark on a series of seven one-day internationals in the space of a fortnight, the last of which will end on February 13. For Michael Vaughan, it is a disappointing itinerary, especially given the way in which England capitulated in Sri Lanka at the end of a similar string of matches last December. The final match, which England lost by an innings and 215 runs, was described by Vaughan as "a game too much".The tour will follow England’s busiest home summer yet, with seven Tests and at least 11 one-day internationals already scheduled. The players are, on the other hand, virtually guaranteed a decent break at the end of the English season, as the proposed tour to Zimbabwe in October and November is almost certain to be cancelled, despite the pressure being exerted by the ICC.Tour itinerary
December
5 England squad arrives
8 v Nicky Oppenheimer XI, Ranjesfontein
11-13 v South Africa A, Potchefstroom
17-21 1st Test, Port Elizabeth
26-30 2nd Test, Durban
January
2-6 3rd Test, Cape Town
9 v South Africa A, Kimberley
13-17 4th Test, Johannesburg
21-25 5th Test, Centurion
28 v South Africa A, Benoni
30 1st ODI, Johannesburg
February
2 2nd ODI, Bloemfontein D/N
4 3rd ODI, Port Elizabeth D/N
6 4th ODI, Cape Town
9 5th ODI, East London D/N
11 6th ODI, Durban D/N
13 7th ODI, Centurion

Consistency is what both New Zealand and India are looking for in the second match of the National Bank One-Day International Series in Napier.Consistency in the playing surface which will allow for consistency in application, especially by the batsmen who have been threatening to join the ranks of the unemployed in the cricket played in the series overall.New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said today that the batting problems being experienced were probably due to the poorer quality of the wickets the series has been played on but he was hopeful that Napier’s McLean Park will at last provide some rewards for batting.However, so gun shy are players from both sides after all they have been through that it will be the side which best handles the transition to a friendlier surface that will have the best chance of success in this match.”I’m sure that both batting teams are looking forward to getting onto a consistent surface and then they can show some consistency which is what everyone is looking for and haven’t seen so far this summer,” he said.Fleming has been reasonably happy with his own form, although he would like more solid evidence that how he is feeling can be translated into some runs. He thought he was reasonably sound in the first Test in Wellington and felt “pretty good” in the second Test at Hamilton.”But when you’re nicking three or four in the nets or getting your off pin knocked over every second ball the general feeling is, ‘I don’t know.'”The only time you can get reasonably close to the middle of the bat is when you have throwdowns, which to me doesn’t equate. You can work on elemental stuff.”The bottom line is that we are crying out for some quality practice surfaces and some quality playing surfaces as selfishly as a batting unit and as a batter,” he said.The Auckland practice wickets had finally allowed some quality work to be done but it was getting quality runs in the middle that was most concerning him.But as far as his batting form was going, he just didn’t know.And he said a lot of his players were feeling confused about just where they were at.”When you feel like that you start searching for form or an indication that you are in form. It would be nice to rack up a good score tomorrow,” he said.Whether tomorrow is an occasion that the selectors will look to rest their bowling ace, fast bowler Shane Bond, is something that has not yet been decided. Fleming said it was a case of how Bond was holding up, and what the selectors wanted to see in this game because it was important for the selectors to get some answers from what will be their final look for the World Cup squad which has to be named by January 1.Fleming said it would be nice to go 2-0 up in the series here because it would be a big advantage in the seven-game contest and New Zealand would be determined to achieve that.”It’s all about momentum. If you can keep momentum going in a long series, I think every team is going to have the day at some stage and when you have your day you just have to clock it up which we were happy about doing the other day,” he said.

Fazl-e-Akbar is to replace Shoaib Akhtar in Pakistan’s squad in England.Shoaib has been suffering from a stomach complaint for some time. It delayed his arrival in England, and has forced him from the field on several occasions.Fazl has played four Tests and a One-Day International in the past. He is currently playing league cricket in England.”We don’t think he is fit enough for international cricket," said Pakistan manager Yawar Saeed, clearly in some exasperation. “There are only another 10 days left of the one-day tournament and if he can’t bowl 10 overs for us he’s not a lot of use.”He was spitting blood over the weekend and has seen seven doctors in the last six days; we don’t know what is wrong with him.”He went for a run yesterday and got tired very quickly. We have released him from the squad. He may be able to bowl in club cricket but not at international level at the moment,” he continued, referring to Shoaib’s inclusion in the Lashing’s team to play on Friday.”What he does from here is between him and the board,” added Saeed. “We are very disappointed because we wanted him to play for us and there are a lot of people in this country who wanted to see him play.”Meanwhile David Folb, chairman of Lashings Cricket Club, said: “Shoaib will play for us on Friday. That’s never been in doubt. I don’t think I have ever announced that anyone is going to play and they have not. He’s told me he’s available from Friday and I am not interested in politics."Lashings are a high-profile club side, boasting the services of Richie Richardson, Stuart Williams, Junior Murray, Jimmy Adams and Franklyn Rose at present. Brian Lara also has also represented them this season.Lara, like Shoaib, enjoys a lucrative endorsement from Intertops.Com, a bat manufacturer and Lashings’ club sponsor.

While Davinson Sanchez’s £42m arrival back in the summer of 2017 has been something of a blemish on Tottenham Hotspur’s record of centre-back signings, generally speaking, Spurs have recruited extremely well in the position in recent years.

Indeed, this season, the £42m Cristian Romero has made a fantastic addition in the heart of the Tottenham defence, while Toby Alderweireld’s £11.4m signing back in 2015, Eric Dier’s £4m arrival in 2014 and Jan Vertonghen’s £9.5m acquisition back in 2012 all proved to be incredibly successful moves by the north London side.

However, there is one player who Daniel Levy will undoubtedly rue missing out on back in the summer of 2015 – when Tottenham reportedly had the opportunity to sign Dayot Upamecano for as little as £300k.

Sold at £1.98m, now worth £101m

Indeed, after watching the then-16-year-old in action for France at the U17 European Championship in Bulgaria, Spurs scouts are believed to have been left in awe at the defender’s athleticism and ball-playing ability, identifying the youngster as the perfect candidate for Mauricio Pochettino’s project in north London.

However, Tottenham ultimately missed out on the signing of the 6 foot 1 centre-back to Red Bull Salzburg, with the Austrian side willing to pay FC Valenciennes a much higher fee than the Premier League outfit, with Upamecano making a £1.98m move to the Red Bull Arena.

Just two years later, after highly impressing for Salzburg, the then-18-year-old was on the move again, securing a £16.65m switch to RB Leipzig – a club where the defender went on to establish himself as one of the most exciting talents in European football.

The player who Rio Ferdinand dubbed “formidable” completed his rise to the very top of the professional game last summer, sealing a £37m move to Bayern Munich – who handed the £101m-rated machine a five-year deal on a reported £132k-per-week.

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As such, while hindsight is a wonderful thing, it is clear for all to see that Daniel Levy had a shocker when failing to secure the signing of Upamecano back in 2015, as the France international is now not only one of the most valuable defenders in world football, he is also one of the most talented.

AND in other news: Paratici in talks over “breathtaking” THFC deal for £220k-p/w ace, AC would “love” him

	Muttiah Muralitharan: “I think bowling coaching is not about technique but how to access the conditions and bowl in those conditions” © Getty Images

Muttiah Muralitharan has plans to work alongside Anil Kumble to coach subcontinent players in spin bowling after his retirement. “He [Anil] is one of the greatest bowlers I have seen and he knows a lot”, Murali told , a Mumbai daily.”We will see which country needs help. We are looking at subcontinent countries and academies.” Murali said they wanted to spend one to two weeks working with each academy. “I think bowling coaching is not about technique but how to access the conditions and bowl in those conditions. When both of us call it a day we will look at coaching together. Hopefully, it will help future generations.”Murali said he hoped to play for at least three more years so that he could complete 20 years in international cricket. “I am enjoying Twenty20 now so much so I might play a few years. I have signed for three years so I have to play for these three years. Then I have to see if I can play for one year or more. It depends on how I bowl.” In the IPL so far, he has taken three wickets in three matches for the Chennai Super Kings, who are at the top of the points table having won all their games.Murali said Twenty20 was as much a game for bowlers as it was for batsmen. The key, for bowlers, he said, was to read what the batsman is going to play very early. “Mainly people like to see sixes and fours and if there are wickets where batsmen can’t score then people will get bored. But bowlers also have to give themselves chances.”

Gareth Hopkins will no longer be seen in Otago colours © Getty Images

Gareth Hopkins has transferred to Auckland for the 2007-08 season to avoid a clash with Brendon McCullum, who has returned to Otago. The two are New Zealand’s contracted wicketkeepers and the move should allow each of them to play first-class cricket while not on national duties.Hopkins joined Otago four seasons ago but spent the last two years commuting from Auckland, where his wife lives and works. With McCullum’s move back to Otago the time seemed right for Hopkins to switch teams. “I have enjoyed playing for Otago very much and it was a hard decision to make,” Hopkins said. “I appreciate the opportunities that have come playing for Otago Cricket, and the support they have given me.”Hopkins had a prolific season for Otago last summer, scoring three centuries and averaging 85.66. However, Auckland now have the challenge of deciding how to use Hopkins and their current wicketkeeper Reece Young, who has played 68 first-class matches.”Auckland Cricket is delighted to welcome a player of Gareth’s obvious class and quality,” Auckland’s CEO Andrew Eade said. “His batting will clearly strengthen our top order and our selectors will have an interesting choice to make regarding the wicketkeeping berth, as the incumbent Reece Young is also very accomplished behind the stumps and has served Auckland well for many years.”Ross Dykes, the CEO of Otago Cricket, said it was disappointing to lose Hopkins but he understood the decision. “We appreciate that in each of the last two years it has been difficult for Gareth to make the migration to Dunedin due to personal circumstances and we wish him every success in his future cricketing endeavours,” Dykes said. Hopkins, who is currently playing club cricket in Netherlands, will join the New Zealand A squad in Australia early next week.

Division One

Hampshire’s Dominic Thornely celebrates dismissing Sussex’s Robin Martin-Jenkins for 3 © Getty Images

A solid hundred from Mal Loye, aided by a typically pugnacious and aggressive fifty from Glen Chapple (82) led Lancashire to a powerful 388 for 7 on the opening day against Durham at the Chester-le-Street. After losing Ian Sutcliffe early, Loye found support in Mark Chilton (44), Stuart Law (45) and Luke Sutton (39*). But it was Chapple who took the game away from the hosts. His 82, from just 73 balls, included 14 fours and a couple of sixes to hand Lancashire the advantage on day one.Hampshire dismissed Sussex for 212 on a seamer’s pitch at Southampton, thanks to Sean Ervine and Dominic Thornely’s three wickets. Chris Adams anchored Sussex manfully with 64, which spanned three hours; though he found support from Carl Hopkinson (45) there was little of substance from the rest. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, making his first appearance of the summer, injected some life into proceedings with a run-a-ball 38. Before today, Thornely had only taken 10 first-class wickets in his career with New South Wales, to give him the impressive figures of 3 for 38. Sussex struck back immediately, however, as Rana removed Michael Brown with the first ball of their reply, to leave Hampshire wobbling on 34 for 1.Middlesex v Kent – full bulletin by Andrew McGlashan at Lord’s.Dropped catches and mixed fortunes hampered Yorkshire on the first day of their match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston. Jonathan Trott (43) was given two lives before even reaching double figures, and Alex Loudon ought to have been run out for 34. He went on to make 73. Making his debut for Yorkshire, Jason Gillespie lacked the venom which he displayed for Australia against Bangladesh and managed just one wicket, that of No. 10 Neil Carter. Missed chances aside, Warwickshire’s young batsmen – Loudon and Jim Troughton who both top-scored with 73 – played sensibly, edging their side to 316 before Troughton was the last man out. Anthony McGrath, who had taken an excellent catch at gully, was the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 62.

Division Two

A pair of magnificent hundreds – one from an old-stager and the other a bright prospect – led Essex to the imposing total of 400 for 3 against Glamorgan at Cardiff. Having been put into bat, Essex stumbled to 60 for 2 before Andy Flower (154*) and Ravinder Bopara (159) demolished Glamorgan’s bowlers. Their stand of 339 was a record for any wicket against Glamorgan, who must now be questioning the wisdom of inserting the opposition on such a flat track. Though Simon Jones – in his comeback game – leaked runs, he bowled with aggression and pace and was unlucky to go wicketless. The day, though, belonged to Flower and Bopara who flayed the home attack to all parts.Mark Ramprakash and Mark Butcher powered Surrey to a dominating total of 320 for 4 against Leicestershire at Leicester. Ramprakash (113) made the most of the benign pitch and, though he was dropped on 31, played with his customary class and shared in a 162-run partnership with Butcher who remained unbeaten on 75. Butcher, who was injured for most of last season, never looked fluent but nevertheless batted with great skill and determination.Four fifties from Somerset’s batsmen – including two blistering knocks from their lower-order – led them to a dominating total of 406 against Worcestershire on the first day at New Road. The home side began well, removing Marcus Trescothick for a duck, John Francis for 27 and Matthew Wood to leave them struggling on 67 for 3. However, Cameron White continued his early season form with a pugnacious 65 from 81 balls and Wes Durston played solidly for his 74. The innings was given great momentum with two fifties from Richard Johnson and Peter Trego – both of whom made 51 – who swung lustily to hand the advantage to Somerset and power them past 400.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul: ‘We wanted to stay in front from the start of the game and we did’ © Getty Images

Shivnarine Chanderpaul was in a buoyant mood after West Indies sealed their 276-run win over Pakistan. He said that the performance was a great team effort: “I want to say thanks to the fans for their support over the last couple of months. We set out our stall from the beginning, we wanted to stay in front from the start of the game and we did.”I’m glad we came out on top and I just want to say well done to all the guys, Brian [Lara] in the first innings, Corey [Collymore], Chris Gayle. The bowlers all did well, Corey with a sore shoulder, he hurt it diving for a ball last night, but came out this morning and put the ball in the right place and I want to say well done to him.”Chanderpaul, himself, had a stunning match, scoring 92 and an unbeaten 153, plus the run out of Younis Khan yesterday evening, and the crucial catch to end Shahid Afridi’s explosive innings. “It’s just part of the job.” he said modestly. “You just go out and try and get things done and I’m pleased I was able to get it done this time.”And he hopes West Indies can take their form from this match into the second Test, starting in Jamaica on Friday. “We’ve been lacking a bit of confidence but this should help us. We just need to lift our games a little more and look at the next match. We still have another match to play and hopefully we can take the confidence from this game into the next.”Chanderpaul added that Dwayne Bravo and Ian Bradshaw, who both missed this Test with injuries, will be assessed by West Indies’ physio over the next couple days and a decision on their availability for Jamaica will be made then.Meanwhile, Bob Woolmer, Pakistan’s coach, lamented their poor batting display. “You can’t get bowled out for 144, it’s ridiculous,” he said. “Not having Inzamam and Youhana made a difference but I thought we were spineless. They got themselves out very stupidly and there was no fight, that is what was surprising.”

Mark Missen, playing for Hampton United against Cluden in a club match inMelbourne on Australia Day (Jan 26), took all 10 wickets for 27, in 24.1overs. He only took the new ball after his captain, Michael Hutchins,injured his back banging the stumps in before the match. Missen told thelocal paper, the Frankston Standard: “I’ve heard batsmen say ‘Hewon’t deceive you with his pace, but he will deceive you with hisslowness’.”

Redbacks bowler Paul Wilson is the only addition to an unchanged Pura Cuplineup that will take on the Tasmanian Tigers this weekend at Adelaide Ovalin a vital Pura Cup match.The Redbacks are currently sitting second on the Pura Cup table on 20points, with the Queensland Bulls leading the competition with 28. WesternAustralia and Tasmanina are both on 18 points.Redbacks paceman Paul Rofe currently leads the Pura Cup wicket takers with39 wickets at an average of 21.38.The Redbacks have named 13 players and will reduce the squad to 12 tomorrow.Squads:Southern Redbacks: Greg Blewett (c), Brad Young (v/c), Nathan Adcock, Chris Davies, David Fitzgerald, Mark Harrity, Ben Higgins, Ben Johnson, Graham Manou, Peter McIntyre, Paul Rofe, Mike Smith, Paul Wilson.Tasmanian Tigers: Jamie Cox (c), Daniel Marsh (v/c), Sean Clingeleffer, Gerard Denton, Michael Dighton, Michael Di Venuto, Xavier Doherty, Shane Jurgensen, Scott Kremerskothen, Scott Mason, David Saker, Shannon Tubb, Damien Wright.