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A round-up of the last five rounds and the final of the Bangladesh National Cricket League’s one-day competition

Rabeed Imam15-Nov-2010What was originally a hastily taken decision proved to be a lifeline for a number of cricketers as this season’s NCL one-day version brought out the best in the World Cup hopefuls. The competition only got going after the weather had conspired to put the first class tournament off track after just one completed round of matches. The BCB then decided that in the interest of preparation for the World Cup, the four-dayers would be put on hold and the limited overs matches finished within a three-week period. Eventually, it was the overall class of Dhaka that triumphed in the final against a spirited Barisal. When curtains fell it was the lasting memories of an exhilarating climax with four teams neck and neck going into the final round, and the continuous domination of national team players that stood out.Phase 1 – Round 4With the 20 top players unavailable for this round because of a preparation camp for Zimbabwe’s tour next month, the runs suddenly dried up. Dhaka collapsed against the steady Barisal attack at Mirpur, and were all out for 170 with Mehrab Hossain Jr. making 59. With such a paltry target unbeaten Barisal must have fancied a fourth straight win, but veteran Mohammad Sharif took a wicket in each of his first three overs, finishing with five for 20, while legspinner Nur Hossain nipped out the middle-order, taking three for 22, as Barisal were shot out for 136.Plagued by injuries to key players and short on spirit, Sylhet were already out of contention for a second phase spot. In a game reduced to 45 overs due to rain at Bogra, they were scuttled for 94 by a ruthless Rajshahi, who won by ten wickets, with makeshift opener Farhad Reza hitting an unbeaten 77.In another rain-shortened match, Chittagong could manage only 121 for eight in 23 overs against Khulna at Rajshahi. At 106 for 8 in the 21st over, Khulna appeared to have made a hash of the chase, before Ziaur Rahman (24 not out) carried them home. With four teams moving into the second phase, Chittagong’s chances evaporated with this loss.Phase 1 – Round 5With qualification more or less ensured for both, the Barisal v Rajshahi clash at Mirpur was more about regional pride. Rajshahi’s innings never took off as they laboured to 221 for nine. Anisur Rahman top scored with 61. Once again Barisal’s bowlers all chipped in. When they batted, openers Hannan Sarker (58) and find-of-the-season Fazl-e-Rabbi (50) promised a hammering for Rajshahi, but once they got out the bowlers tightened the noose, and it took a boundary off the last ball by Arafat Salauddin to ensure victory by three wickets.Paceman Mahbubul Alam blew Khulna away with four wickets in his two opening overs, and despite half centuries from Tushar Imran (53) and Sahagir Hossain (54), the total of 170 was never really going to challenge Dhaka, who crossed the target in the 36.5 overs with six wickets in hand. The big-hitting Anamul Hoque was unbeaten on 64.In the contest of no-hopers, Chittagong finally gave a batting performance where all key men contributed. Nafis Iqbal hit 69, Faisal Hossain 58 and Aftab Ahmed struck 52 in their total of 251 for seven at Rajshahi. After his effort with the bat, Faisal proved even more destructive with the ball as his left-arm spin claimed five for 28. Sylhet went down by 121 runs.Phase 2 – Round 1As the stars returned after a two-round break, so did quality. Mohammad Ashraful’s chanceless 111 not out off 103 balls and Uttam Sarker’s 66 took Dhaka to a seemingly comfortable 271 for six against Khulna at Mirpur. Imrul Kayes (108) and Mohammad Mithun (59), however, kept Khulna in the game with a 140-run stand for the second wicket. When the last power play was on, Ziaur Rahman did what he does best and his unconquered 41-ball 42 saw Khulna home with four balls and four wickets in hand.Mohammad Ashraful was Dhaka’s batting linchpin and earned the player-of-the-tournament award•BCB MediaWith Dhaka losing, Barisal had the chance to go atop the points chart at the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium. With leading batsman Roqibul Hassan out with a groin injury, Fazl-e-Rabbi gave them the single-innings inspiration they needed as he batted the entire 50 overs in a run-a-ball knock of 148 that had 16 fours and two sixes. Nasiruddin Faruque gave good support with 68. For Rajshahi wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim had put his side on course by sharing 45 for the eighth wicket with Mohammad Sohrawordi. But when Sohrawordi perished for a quick 32 off 25, and Rahim followed an over later for 114, Rajshahi wound up eight runs shortPhase 2 – Round 2The world’s number one allrounder Shakib Al Hasan hasn’t been as awe-inspiring in domestic cricket. But against Barisal he was his usual self. Having taken three for 34 to restrict them to 213 for eight, Shakib was also influential in the chase, making 35, but it was Nazmus Sadat’s 71 that eased the nerves as Khulna secured a three-wicket victory. The win allowed Khulna to keep their hopes of a top-two finish alive.Rajshahi powered to 276 for 8 on the back of Shabbir Rahman’s 74 and Zunaed Siddique’s 60 against Dhaka who floundered against the slow bowlers and were bundled out for 197.The results in this round meant that three teams – Dhaka, Rajshahi and Khulna were on eight points going into the last round. Barisal were on 10 points, but all four sides were still fighting for a place in the final.Phase 2 – Round 3Khulna were the first team to be omitted from the race to reach the final when they were thrashed by Rajshahi at the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium. Mohammad Mithun’s 54 was their only innings of substance, as Khulna crashed to 118. Rajshahi were convincing winners by six wickets, with Siddique making 47.With 10 points and level with Barisal, Rajshahi’s eyes were now on the happenings at Mirpur where Dhaka made a fighting 242. Shamsur Rahman and Shuvagata Hom both scored 54. A loss for Dhaka would have given Rajshahi a berth in the final, but Barisal’s usual tenacity with the bat went missing in this match as they lost the plot and went down by 79 runs. As three sides had 10 points, it was then left to the tournament laws to ascertain that by virtue of head-to-head results Dhaka and Barisal were the finalists.The FinalDrama preceded the final with Barisal’s prolific opener Nasiruddin Faruque getting suspended for the match for showing dissent and abusing the umpires in the game before. Then it was learned that Tamim Iqbal, who had recovered from hand surgery but has not featured in a competitive match for months, had sought a no-objection certificate from his home division Chittagong to play in the final for Dhaka. In the end though, Chittagong decided against giving the NOC as that would have robbed them of their prized batsman for the four-day games later on.Barisal opted to bat, but failed to get a decent run-rate going even though they had wickets in hand. With the openers departing inside 15 overs, Asif Ahmed (48) and Shahin Hossain (40) dug deep but it was left to a 19-ball 35 from Ariful Haque to get them past 200. Fast bowler Shahadat Hossain, another Bangladesh player desperate to impress the selectors with the World Cup clock ticking, returned figures of four for 39 to follow up his three for 23 in the previous game. Set 222 to win Dhaka had five of their top six back in the dressing room with the score on 79 at the half-way point. However, Mahmudullah and Elias Sunny kept their cool and dealt mainly in singles and twos, with the occasional boundary thrown in. Mahmudullah fell for 53 but Sunny, who is more renowned as a left-arm spinner, continued batting like a man possessed. With the lights fading, Sunny found the extra cover boundary off three consecutive balls to seal a third one-day version title for Dhaka.PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT – Mohammad Ashraful (Dhaka)With a hundred, two fifties and a couple of decent cameos, Ashraful was Dhaka’s batting mainstay and for a change thrived in that role consistently. He also backed himself with the ball and made breakthroughs when his team needed them. More than anything it was his calmness at the crease that warmed the heart of his admirers. When he is in that frame of mind it is very difficult to dislodge him and majority of his innings were chanceless.FIND OF THE TOURNAMENT – Fazl-e-Rabbi (Barisal)Only batsman in the competition to score two hundreds and the only man apart from national team players to make a century. With a stand-and-deliver style that brought out a comparison with Chris Gayle from former Bangladesh captain Khaled Mashud, the left-hander impressed everyone with his aggression and hand-eye coordination. He only took the game seriously in 2005 and had never batted for 50 overs before his epic 148 against Rajshahi. The fact that he is local product of Barisal, where the infrastructure is still in its infancy, and had never received any specialized coaching, speaks a lot about the perseverance and talent of this lad.

The first match of the second round of the tournament features Royal Challengers Bangalore, who finished second in Group C, and Victoria, second in Group D

Jamie Alter14-Oct-2009Match factsThursday October 15
Start time 20.00 (14.30 GMT)Cameron White and Brad Hodge will need all their Twenty20 experience•Getty ImagesThe first match of the second round of the Champions League features Royal Challengers Bangalore, who finished second in Group C, and Victoria, the runners-up of Group D.Bangalore began with a close defeat to Cape Cobras at home but stormed into the second round by thumping Otago. Victoria won their opening game and progressed to the next stage despite losing to Wayamba, because they passed the total needed to ensure qualification on the basis of net run-rate. The Australian side took two points into the second round, because they beat Delhi who also qualified, but Bangalore did not.Bangalore have an advantage over Victoria in terms of international talent as well as home advantage, but Victoria probably won’t mind playing at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. After playing on two slow and low tracks in Delhi where stroke-making was not easy, Victoria should find themselves more at home in Bangalore, where the hosts crossed 180 in both their matches and the lowest first-innings score in three matches was 150.Personnel-wise, Bangalore have the tremendous experience of Jacques Kallis, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid to fall back on while the likes of Ross Taylor and Robin Uthappa provide big-hitting power. Victoria will rely on Brad Hodge and David Hussey’s domestic Twenty20 experience; Hodge’s aggregate of 2341 runs at 41.80 in 70 matches is a record in Twenty20s and Hussey is another superbly skilled player with 1467 runs. They will also need Cameron White’s captaincy to be inspirational to keep emotions under control and instill self-belief in high-pressure situations.Watch out for…Jacques Kallis’ all-round performance against Otago ensured everything went to plan for Bangalore, and he was the rock around which the other stroke-makers sculpted their crowd-pleasing acts. Kallis’ effort was typical: a solid half-century, which was overshadowed by more aggressive cameos from his team-mates, followed by an unspectacular but incisive spell with the new ball that broke the back of Otago’s chase. Another one against a stronger Victoria will do plenty to boost Bangalore’s semi-final chances.Shane Harwood was Man of the Match against Wayamba, finishing with superb figures of 3 for 14 in four overs. Just when it seemed Wayamba could make the most of the one advantage of the initial slowness, the many wickets they had in hand, the batting unraveled, and Harwood played a major role. He snared two wickets in the 17th over and a third in the final, which also included a run-out. On a surface that will be more like what he plays on back home, with more pace and consistent bounce, Harwood could be a handful.Victoria captain Cameron White has an added incentive to do well against Bangalore. Having played just a handful of games for them in the first IPL, he was totally overlooked in South Africa this year. White can hit a long ball and his variation of leg spin, while rather ordinary, has a knack of picking wickets.Bangalore’s spinners, Anil Kumble and Roelof van der Merwe, pose a big threat. Victoria struggled against Wayamba’s left-arm spinner Rangana Herath and had a few concerns against the contrasting spin of Amit Mishra and Tillakaratne Dilshan earlier. Kumble and van der Merwe have been a solid tag-team duo with the ball, regularly applying pressure on batsmen. The pair, who rely on different speeds and trajectories and are both capable of stifling runs, will be especially dangerous under lights at the Chinnaswamy.

Temperamental fast bowler Sreesanth has been given one more chance to resurrect his stop-start career, after being selected in India’s 15-man squad

Sidharth Monga10-Nov-2009Temperamental fast bowler Sreesanth has been given another chance to resurrect his stop-start career, after being selected in India’s 15-man squad for the first two Tests against Sri Lanka. Weeks after being given a “final warning” for his poor on-field behaviour, Sreesanth is now a candidate to share the new ball with Zaheer Khan, who has recovered from his shoulder injury.Sreesanth last played for India in 2008, and had his share of injuries and criticism over attitude in equal measure. During the time he spent out of the Indian team, Sreesanth played 10 first-class games for 28 wickets, including one five-wicket haul for Warwickshire, and 23 overs for no wickets against Andhra in his latest Ranji Trophy match. Clearly his selection is a gamble on promise over form. It is a big – bordering on generous – decision made by the selectors, and an equally big chance for Sreesanth to wash away all the criticism against him.Zaheer made an expected comeback, having recovered from the injury he sustained during the IPL, and having featured in Twenty20 matches during the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament and a Ranji Trophy fixture. He has not missed a Test, but has not played limited-overs cricket for India since the ICC World Twenty20 in June.The selectors also recalled Pragyan Ojha, the left-arm spinner, and S Badrinath. His Tamil Nadu team-mate M Vijay retained his place as reserve batsman. Ojha, yet to make his Test debut, toured Sri Lanka in 2008, but lost his place to Amit Mishra, who made a strong debut against Australia in Mohali in 2008-09. Vijay, an opener, was handed a debut in Nagpur against Australia after Gautam Gambhir was banned for one Test. Badrinath has yet to play a Test.There was no place for Ashish Nehra, who has done well after making his ODI return, or Munaf Patel, as India opted for three spinners. There was no reserve wicketkeeper named.The decision to pick 15 players, and that too an extra batsman, raised questions about the selection. Usually for a home series, only 14 players are picked. And with the middle order set in stone, neither Vijay nor Badrinath has a realistic chance of starting in Ahmedabad. Now both of them will miss important Ranji Trophy matches, when only one was needed as injury cover, unless someone is sent back to domestic cricket on the morning of the Ahmedabad Test.The selection also left the bowling unbalanced. MS Dhoni is not a fan of playing only two pace bowlers unless the pitch is extremely spin-friendly, and the selectors have given him only three fast bowlers to choose from. Zaheer Khan is coming back from injury, Ishant Sharma is in poor form, and Sreesanth is a completely unpredictable character. One bowling back-up would have been of more value than two batting back-ups. And what about Munaf? He has lost his Test place on the basis of 13 overs bowled in two ODIs against Australia, one of them on a flat Hyderabad pitch.India squad: MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, M Vijay, S Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Sreesanth, Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra.

Regardless of the result between Australia and India at Centurion, Pakistan will be aiming to keep their game in working order when they take on the world champions in Centurion on Wednesday

Osman Samiuddin in Johannesburg28-Sep-2009Pakistan’s deal is not quite done yet. Two wins from two, in this tight tournament, at least means onward progress to the semi-final rests in their own hands. Regardless of the result between Australia and India at Centurion, they will be aiming to keep their game in working order when they take on the world champions in Centurion on Wednesday.”Our preparation is going really well at the moment,” Intikhab Alam, Pakistan’s coach, said after an energetic training session at the University of Witwatersrand ground in Johannesburg. “You have to have different strategies against different sides. You can’t go with the same strategy as we did against India. We have to look at their strengths batting and bowling and prepare accordingly to that.”Pakistan will be confident, despite a poor recent record against Australia; they’ve won only three of the last 12 encounters between the sides. “You cannot deny they are the world champions. We lost the series earlier this year (3-2) but I reckon we should’ve won it and we beat them in the T20. We are confident.”It’s always a challenge to play against better sides. This team has so much potential. Everyone has got a role, batsmen, bowlers and fielders and they all know what to do. If plan A doesn’t work the captain is there to implement plan B. We have to take Australia’s key points and work to that.”Though progress has been smooth, Pakistan are not without dilemmas. The first is a pleasant, selectorial one. Mohammad Asif has yet to play a part in the tournament, despite intense speculation before each of the two games. If the game becomes a dead rubber, he may well get a look-in. “It’s a very healthy sign that your bench strength is such that good players have to sit out. The problem is for selectors in picking a team – if a guy is bowling well, how can you drop him? It is a healthy sign.”The other is an age-old one. On Saturday against India, Umar Gul and Mohammad Aamer gave away six no-balls – and free hits – between them, most of which were punished. Australia will, like India, not waste such offerings. Work is being done on the issue, but match conditions, said Intikhab, are inevitably different.”We are very strict when we do practice and we always call no-balls in the nets. At times what happens is that pressure builds up and you stretch and strive and that is where you go wrong. It shouldn’t happen at all. I don’t think there will be that much pressure against Australia – we want to keep winning. It’s a crime to bowl a no-ball or wide with free hits.”

Aston Villa are interested in a deal to bring Nathan Patterson to Villa Park in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by 90min, who claim that Steven Gerrard has informed Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens that the 20-year-old right-back is one of his top transfer targets ahead of the winter market.

The report goes on to state that, while the 41-year-old manager does not want to ruin his relationship with Rangers by raiding his former side of their most promising talents, the former Liverpool captain nevertheless believes that a number of players at Ibrox are capable of making the step up to Premier League football, and will look to offer them a chance to do so at Aston Villa.

NSWE must move

Considering the remarkable talent Patterson developed into under the leadership of Gerrard at Rangers, in addition to the fact that Villa are somewhat short of cover for Matty Cash on the right-hand side of their defence, it would seem highly advisable for NSWE to grant Gerrard’s wish of signing the 20-year-old in January.

Having been handed his debut in professional football by Gerrard back in January 2020, Patterson has since gone on to make 22 appearances for the Gers first team, as well as having already been capped six times by Scotland at international level.

And, while the right-back’s game time has undoubtedly been limited by the fact that club captain James Tavernier is currently ahead of him in the pecking order at Ibrox, the £1.17m-rated youngster has nevertheless impressed when given the opportunity to do so, having already provided one assist and created one big chance over his three Scottish Premiership appearances this season.

The £4.9k-per-week defender has also highly impressed over his four World Cup qualifying fixtures for Scotland, scoring one goal, registering one assist and helping his side keep two clean sheets in their group, with Southampton striker Che Adams stating after Patterson’s goal in Scotland’s 2-0 win over Moldova last Friday: “Nathan’s an amazing player and a great guy off the pitch so I’m delighted for him.

“He’s a good young prospect coming through for the nation and hopefully he can continue and keep adding goals as well. These guys give us hope for the future. To keep getting club minutes is important, to keep building and growing as a player and learn their craft.

“But that’s what they’re doing. They’re delivering on cold nights in Moldova, so there’s no reason why they can’t do it anywhere else.”

As such, it is clear for all to see that Patterson is an exceptionally exciting talent, and one who there would very much appear to be room for in Steven Gerrard’s first-team squad at Villa Park, as the signing of the Everton-linked defender would undoubtedly be a big coup for Aston Villa.

In other news: Lange could transform Gerrard’s AVFC by signing “frightening” £20m gem likened to Mane

Former Glasgow Rangers player Derek McInnes has expressed his surprise that the Gers did not try to sign Ali McCann from St. Johnstone this summer.

The Lowdown: McCann joins Preston

Earlier this summer, McCann made the move to Preston North End in the English Championship.

The Lilywhites paid £1.25m for his services (Lancs Live). Rangers fans wanted the club to move for the 21-year-old (Rangers News), but clearly a concrete bid never arrived from Ross Wilson and co.

The Latest: McInnes surprised

Speaking to The Sunday Mail, McInnes suggested Rangers or Celtic should have made an offer for the 21-year-old. He said:

“McCann lacks a bit of finesse and quality with his final pass and he could probably score more goals, but he has everything else.

“He is a responsible midfielder, a real competitor who knows his job and is good on the ball. I have played and managed in the English Championship and he will deal with that fine.

“I am just surprised and disappointed that neither player (McCann or Jason Kerr) has stayed in the Scottish league.

“McCann would have been an easy one for Celtic or Rangers to take and such a hard one for Callum to replace.”

The Verdict: Promising player

McCann showed promise in the middle of the park as St. Johnstone impressed last term. He made 43 appearances in all competitions for the Saints (Transfermarkt) as Callum Davidson’s side won both the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup – something incredibly difficult to do in Scotland when you aren’t Rangers and Celtic.

In the Gers’ case, they brought in two new midfielders in Juninho Bacuna and John Lundstram – they did not really need to make a move for McCann. Still, with his ability, he could prove them wrong and McInnes right south of the border.

In other news, Rangers fans react to this latest Heart and Hand twist.

The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece has confirmed that Aston Villa star Leon Bailey will be missing from today’s Premier League game against Wolves.

What’s the story?

Writing on Twitter on Friday morning, he said: “Leon Bailey RULED OUT of tomorrow’s match vs Wolves, with #avfc hopeful he’ll return vs Arsenal next week (October 22). Morgan Sanson back in full training, while Bertrand Traore has thigh issue. Plus, latest on Martinez and Douglas Luiz.”

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the game today, Smith himself said: “Leon Bailey’s hasn’t ticked all the right boxes for the medical staff yet. We’re hopeful he’ll be ready for the Arsenal game. Sanson and Davis are back in full training now.”

Fans will be gutted

Ever since that electric cameo against Everton in which he came on, scored one goal and essentially made another, Villa fans will have been desperately hoping that Bailey’s quadricep injury was nothing too serious.

In the subsequent two games that he has missed in the Premier League, it has been a mixed bag for Villa, with a superb performance away at Old Trafford against Manchester United followed up by a rather tame defeat against Spurs just before the international break.

Bailey’s combination of pace, trickery and eye for goal gives Smith’s side a potent attacking force from out wide and removes much of the goal-scoring burden from the likes of Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings, who are continuing to try and forge a strike partnership between them.

The excitement levels that Bailey brings to the table are sure to be missed today against Wolves, and Villa fans will no doubt be gutted that he isn’t quite ready to make his comeback just yet.

Meanwhile, Villa could have their own Raheem Sterling in this academy sensation…

Celtic’s B team succumbed to a 1-0 defeat on Wednesday night as the young Hoops conceded a 90th-minute goal to lose the game vs Spartans.

Despite the final result, there appeared to be some positives to come from the game for the Bhoys as Ben Wylie caught the eye in midfield. The youngster was twice denied by the Spartans goalkeeper and set up a good opening for Bruno Davidson in the first half, showing promise in the middle of the park.

Ange Postecoglou will surely be keeping a close eye on developments in the B team as he looks out for talents who could have the quality to make the step up to the senior side. Bringing through an academy player has many benefits; including saving money on signing an established first-team player from elsewhere and appeasing the fans by giving minutes to a promising homegrown gem.

In Wylie, Celtic could have one of those players. Postecoglou could unearth the new David Turnbull by unleashing the rarely-seen 19-year-old at first-team level to see how he adapts to senior football on a regular basis for the Scottish giants.

He can play out wide on the left and through the middle as a central midfielder, mirroring Turnbull’s positional flexibility as a player. Wylie also has the reputation at youth level to suggest that he has the potential to move up a stage into senior football.

Linfield manager David Healy, who is no stranger to Celtic fans with his Rangers connection, gave a glowing recommendation on Wylie. He said:

“Ben is a midfielder who is tidy on the ball.

“He has a swagger about him, which is a good thing. He can play in numerous positions, and I hope he gets the chance to do that at Celtic because it will really bring him on.”

He was also lauded by Ballymena United boss David Jeffrey earlier this year after joining the club on loan. Jeffrey said:

“He has joined us in training and it’s clear he’s a superb young man and an outstanding talent, so to get someone of his ability onboard is fantastic.”

These comments from Jeffrey and Healy suggest that Celtic have a very talented young prospect on their hands in central midfield. He has shown both of them enough to warrant high praise and continues to catch the eye for Celtic’s B team. Like Turnbull, he is tidy and has that arrogance to his attacking play that will no doubt benefit the Hoops moving forward.

It is now down to Postecoglou to unlock his ability in the first-team by exposing him to Scottish Premiership action as he could become a new Turnbull in the middle of the park. Given that they can both play out wide or centrally, Wylie and Turnbull could even link up in the same system for the Hoops.

AND in other news, Lawwell disaster: Celtic dud’s value has plummeted 60.8% in under 2 years, he’s a flop…

Worcestershire are awaiting the results of scans on Simon Jones to find out if he is likely to be able to play again in the near future

Cricinfo staff16-Jun-2009Worcestershire are awaiting the results of scans on Simon Jones to find out if he is likely to be able to play again in the near future.Jones, who has been dogged by injury since he was forced to miss the final Test of the 2005 Ashes series, underwent surgery on his knee in April and at the time it was expected he would be able to play the second half of the summer. A comeback in the second team had tentatively been set for June 30, but his knee is still causing concern and so the county have sent him for another scan.”We’ll know more in the week,” Steve Rhodes, the county’s director of cricket, told the Press Association. “We’re waiting for some stuff from the surgeon. We’ve got the results of scans and tests and all sorts of stuff to come and we’ll get the surgeon to tell us what’s going on. Then we’ll know exactly what the plan of attack will be.”

Many Liverpool fans have reacted to the news that the Reds will face off with Preston North End in the next round of the EFL Cup, and it’s fair to say they are absolutely delighted.

Jurgen Klopp’s side take on the Championship side on the week commencing 25th October following their 3-0 win at Norwich City.

Takumi Minamino scored a double either side of Divock Origi’s first goal of the season, with Christos Tzolis missing the chance to level the scoring in the first half from the penalty spot.

Liverpool have struggled to find success in the Carabao Cup since they reached the final of the competition in 2016, losing on penalties to Manchester City at Wembley.

Part of that however has been down to their unfortunate draws, as the clash with Norwich was their 13th battle against top flight opposition in their last 17 domestic cup ties.

The trip to Deepdale follows the trips to Atletico Madrid and Manchester United, possibly providing a chance for players like Origi and Minamino to impress Klopp again as the Reds boss may be forced to rotate his squad.

Liverpool fans react to cup draw

These Liverpool fans took to Twitter to react to the cup draw, which followed Manchester United’s defeat to West Ham United, as one supporter called the news ‘unbelievable’ due to the nature of previous draws.

“Am I dreaming?”

Credit: @empireoflfc

“Wow, finally we’re not playing Prime Barcelona in a cup game.”

Credit: @jasin_Muhaj

“Probably our best cup draw in about 5 years that”

Credit: @MichaelRondel1

“NO WAYY we’ve got an easy draw for once, I can’t believe my eyes”

Credit: @avixxina

“I’ll happily take that”

Credit: @lfc_jdr

“Absolutely unbelievable draw”

Credit: @eddiebrady222

In other news, Liverpool fans have been reacting to a club announcement. Find out more here.