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Newcastle’s defence has arguably been one of their weakest areas in recent years, having conceded 48 goals in 28 games so far this season, 62 the campaign before and 58 during the 2019/20 term.

In recent weeks under manager Eddie Howe, they have become more solid and organised at the back – but with their youngest centre-back, club-captain Jamaal Lascelles, being 28-years-old and turning 29 before the end of this year, fans will be frustrated by former Chairman Mike Ashley’s mistake in not signing Southampton star Mohammed Salisu back in 2020 after being interested.

At the time, the Ghanaian central defender was playing at Spanish outfit Rayo Vallecano aged 20, and and was subsequently signed by the Saints for £10.9m – peanuts in comparison to the £40m they paid for Brazilian forward Joelinton earlier in the same season – who has since transitioned into a midfielder after struggling up-top.

In January, the Tyneside club almost secured his services again – this time for £40m – a near 300% increase from the fee which they were initially debating with themselves whether or not to pay, just under two and a half years ago.

Excluding signings made in the winter transfer window, Newcastle’s highest performing defender across the season is Fabian Schar, who has averaged a match rating of 6.88 according to SofaScore, meanwhile, Salisu’s rating of 6.97, as well as a total of six clean sheets, beats them all.

Nicknamed a ‘Scorpion King’, he has made on average 2.4 interceptions and tackles each per game in the Premier League, with the Southampton star clearly possessing the qualities to have been a key player for Howe’s team to build his backline around.

Having been described as a “nasty” defender to come up against by his manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, the 22-year-old would be a crucial asset to have in any relegation battle.

Salisu is quickly establishing himself now not just as one of the league’s top up-and-coming defenders, but also in Europe too, ranking among defenders in the top five leagues and continental competitions over the last 365 days in the top 2% for tackles per 90 (2.86), top 7% for successful pressure percentage per 90 (41.9%) and top 7% for ball recoveries per 90 (11.49).

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It’s clear that Southampton have a gem on their hands, but from Newcastle’s perspective, they made a dreadful mistake in not snapping him up for cheap when they had the chance.

In other news: NUFC plot bid for £101m ace who Messi says “is one of the best”, it’s a huge statement

	Thanks, but no thanks: Ali Brown won’t be joining the IPL bandwagon © Getty Images

Alistair Brown, the Surrey and former England batsman, has rejected an offer to join the Mumbai IPL franchise.Brown was contacted by Harbhajan Singh, who has spent time as Surrey’s overseas player, and asked whether he would be interested in signing up but declined after decided to keep to his new one-year county deal.”He was very flattered to receive the offer to play among some of the world’s leading cricketers,” a Surrey spokesman told , “but he has decided to honour his Surrey deal.”Brown played 16 ODIs for England between 1996 and 2001 with the disappointing return of 354 runs at 22.12. His one century came against India, at Old Trafford, in 1996 but his results in domestic cricket put him up with the most successful one-day players. He has over 10,000 runs a high score of 268 against Glamorgan in 2002.The Mumbai team also includes Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya and Shaun Pollock. No English players have been signed up for the opening year of the IPL although it is believed a number have been approached like Brown or players’ agents have been in touch with IPL organisers.Surrey are still waiting for confirmation from the ECB surrounding the status of Saqlain Mushtaq who is part of the unofficial Indian Cricket League (ICL). The club says that the “complex and unique situation” is taking a while to resolve but they are being led by the ECB.It is unclear whether Saqlain, who is now England qualified, requires the No Obligation Certificate (NOC) from his home board before be can play for Surrey.

Imran Farhat: Not a happy bunny © AFP

Salahuddin Ahmed, the chief selector of the PCB, has filed an official complaint against Imran Farhat, after the opener dissented at being left out of the Pakistan squad for the Abu Dhabi series against Sri Lanka. The development comes on the heels of a public rift between the selector and Mohammad Ilyas, the former Test opener and father-in-law of Farhat.Salahuddin told that the national selection committee has sent a complaint to the board recommending disciplinary action against Farhat after he called up the selector and asked why he was left out of the squad.”We have filed a complaint against Imran Farhat for trying to interfere with selection matters,” said Salahuddin, a former Test cricketer. “It was a violation of the code of conduct. No player is allowed to talk to the chief selector or other members of the selection committee and raise objection over the selection process.”According to Salahuddin Farhat asked, “Why wasn’t I selected in the team? What was my fault? I have no contract and if I can’t be in the team what would become of my future? You will have to give me a reason why I was not considered?”Farhat was quoted by a local agency denying any misbehaviour. “I just met the selectors and asked the reasons behind my exclusion but, they snubbed me and told me that selection committee is not answerable to any player.” also reported, quoting sources, that Farhat later apologised to the selectors and assured them of their full cooperation in the future.Farhat has not been a part of Pakistan’s ODI plans in recent months, missing the ODI series against South Africa and the World Cup. The selectors opted instead for Salman Butt and Imran Nazir as openers in the 16-man squad for the series against Sri Lanka.Farhat’s protest came just a day after his father-in-law Ilyas exchanged heated words with Salahuddin and selection committee member Shafqat Rana soon after the Pakistan team was named in Lahore. Ilyas reportedly lost his cool when he discovered that Farhat had not been picked, ending the altercation with the words, “the war is now on.” Ilyas told , “It is not a threat but a fact that the selectors did not make the selection fairly and it will ruin the career of many youngsters. If they consider it a threat, let them.”An official notification about his behaviour has also been sent to the board. Farhat faces a fine for alleged violation of the PCB code of conduct.

‘I am proud to say that I am a matchwinner’ – VVS Laxman © Getty Images

VVS Laxman has brushed aside suggestions that, at 31, he is too old to play the game at the highest level and asserted that he remained a matchwinner.”I don’t see why people are making a big issue of me being 30 plus,” he told . “I am not too old to retire or give up the game. There have been players who have represented the country beyond the 30s. As long as I contribute to the team with my batting and fielding, I don’t see any reason why I should give up. I am a batsman and not a bowler and having crossed the 30s does not bother me.”Laxman cited Greg Chappell’s vision to support his cause. “Greg is looking for people who can perform and give their 100% to the team’s cause and win matches. He is basically looking for matchwinners and I am proud to say that I am a matchwinner. I have bailed the team out of many a tight situation in the past and am confident of doing so in the future too.”He gave the details of his fitness regime to prove that he is match fit. “I work out for nearly three hours in the morning. It is mostly jogging here. I do almost 25 rounds every day. I alternate it with time in the gym. I have another three hour workout in the evenings but it is mostly batting in the nets. For the last one-and-a-half months since the end of the Test series against England, I have been working hard on improving my fitness. Once a person is fit, he will naturally be good on the field.”Laxman also expressed hope and confidence that he would force his way into the one-day team. “Right now my focus is on the Tests and am confident of forcing my way back in to the ODI side. I still believe that I can perform for the team in the ODIs and win matches for the country.”Laxman was left out of the 2003 World Cup and had called it the lowest point of his career. Four years later he still harbours hopes of playing in one. “Playing in the World Cup is a dream for me and I am confident of achieving it. There is still a lot of cricket to be played before the World Cup and I am sure of finding a place in the team.”

Brett Lee: on the sidelines © Getty Images

Brett Lee has been cleared of any serious damage to his injured right shoulder after undergoing a scan, but remains “very unlikely” to play for Australia against either Bangladesh orEngland this weekend, according to their coach, John Buchanan.Lee suffered a twinge in his right shoulder at Taunton on Wednesday and couldn’tcomplete his spell in Australia’s shock four-wicket defeat against Somerset. That was Australia’s final warm-up match before they enter the NatWest Series with games this weekend against Bangladesh in Cardiff on Saturday and England in Bristol on Sunday.On Thursday, Lee, 28, travelled from Cardiff with Australia’s physio, Errol Alcott, to see a London specialist in a bid to find out the cause of his injury. It is believed that the bruising to the front of his shoulder is the result of being struck by Andrew Flintoff while batting in the Twenty 20 match on Monday, which may have caused some restriction to Lee’s normal bowling action and exacerbated a previous minor, shoulder injury Lee sustainedfour years ago. Meanwhile, with the Ashes Test series set to start in July, Buchanan made it clear there was no point risking Lee at the start of the triangular.”I am relieved there is no major damage and I am looking forward to playing forAustralia in this upcoming series,” said Lee. Buchanan, however, was likely to err on the side of caution. “I think it would be very unlikely that Brett would be playing over the weekend,” he said. “[Lee] felt a bit of soreness in the shoulder, so even if it is good news we would probably err on the side of caution.”Australia’s defeat against Somerset meant that they had lost two matches in three days aftertheir 100-run Twenty20 defeat against England at the Rose Bowl on Monday. Their captain, Ricky Ponting, said afterwards that he was “angry” and “embarrassed”, but Buchanan sought to put the results into perspective. “We are just a bit off the pace at the moment. We are just not right at the top of our game and not playing as we would like – that is obvious.”We would probably like to be a little further on in terms of application of ourskills in the limited-overs game – but that is not the case. We look forward toimproving over the course of the tournament.”

In the latest twist to the Murali Kartik selection episode, two national selectors have voiced contradicting opinions about when the decision was made to send Kartik to Australia.Syed Kirmani, the chairman of selectors, told the , “We were in Mumbai to pick the A team when secretary SK Nair told us about the team management’s requirement for a left-armer. The obvious choice was Kartik.”The same news network has also quoted Pranab Roy, the East Zone representative on the selection panel as having said, “It is all news to me. All I can say is that during Wednesday’s A-team selection meeting in Mumbai, the Kartik issue did not come up for discussion at all. The meeting was restricted to the selection of the A team only.”Kartik arrived in Adelaide late on Thursday night, but the mystery surrounding his inclusion is getting curiouser and curiouser.

Canterbury’s 36-run over Wellington in a State Shield match at the Basin Reserve today, which ends Wellington’s unbeaten run after seven matches in the competition, may provide a feast for trivia buffs who will pick the carcass of the game in years to come.They may ask others to declare in what domestic limited overs match a player who took three catches in the field also kept wicket without either taking a catch or effecting a stumping? They will say name that player?And they may also ask in what match and against whom Canterbury employed three wicket-keepers within 48 overs and for what reason they were so profligate?And they may finally ask in what match a player who bowled six overs for 26 runs also kept wicket and took a catch and a stumping? Then they will again challenge others to name that player and they will ask in what other international field he has distinguished himself?The answer to the last question first, for those who fear they might be so assailed at some future social occasion and who might justifiably let the memory of this slow-moving match fade, is Darron Reekers – an extra point for spelling his first name correctly.Reekers scored 13 runs during Canterbury’s innings of 219/7 from 50 overs today – a total achieved after they had lost the toss and batted – then bowled with reasonable economy – six overs for 26 runs – when they held Wellington to 183 in 47.2 overs in reply.But Reekers also kept wicket for the last 18.2 overs as the third wicket-keeper Canterbury employed during Wellington’s innings, which also answers the second question.To answer the why: Canterbury lost wicket-keeper Michael Papps in the 13th over when he dived to field a ball down the left side and dislocated his left shoulder. Naturally, he could not continue and there is concern he will not play again this Shield season, or at least for some time.That might in turn lead on to another trivia question because Papps, who is enjoying an outstanding season with the bat, was also the third wicket-keeper Canterbury has employed this season after Ben Yock, who is suspended, and Gareth Hopkins, who has been injured. Hopkins is expected to return to the team as Papps’ immediate replacement.The answer to the first question is that Gary Stead, Canterbury’s captain, who immediately took the gloves from Papps and kept between the 14th and 29th overs, took three catches in the field before and after performing behind the stumps. He took the catch which dismissed Chris Nevin for two in the fifth over, another to remove David Sales in the 31st over, breaking a dangerous partnership between Sales and Matthew Bell, and a third to end the Wellington innings. The third dismissed Paul Hitchcock for 21 after the Wellington No 11, who faced only 15 balls, had prevented Canterbury embellishing their win with a bonus point.Stead took the gloves only long enough to allow Reekers to complete his six overs, which were then vital to Canterbury’s cause. He always intended to eventually hand the gloves to the talented all rounder.Now, more for trivia buffs.Why was Reekers the first choice to keep when Papps was injured?The reasons are manifold. He had been a wicket-keeper through most of his years as a Canterbury age-group representative. He gave up the gloves at under-20 level when he felt he had become too tall for the task. He then concentrated on his batting, which continued to earn him representative honours, and he developed his bowling to become a useful one-day all-rounder.But to answer another of the earlier trivia questions. Reekers has distinguished himself as an indoor cricket player and has been wicket-keeper for New Zealand in that sport. He kept wicket in six ‘Test’ matches for New Zealand on a tour of Australia and South Africa a few years ago.Reekers has also kept his hand in, so to speak, as a wicket-keeper on a social tour of England with a Dutch side and in regular social matches for a team, unfortunately called the Rats, for whom both he and his father have played.Reekers’ catch and stumping were both off left-arm spinner Carl Anderson who bowled superbly to take 5-34 from his 10 overs. The stumping removed Andrew Penn for three when Wellington was 141/6 and the catch dismissed Mark Gillespie for two when they were 153/9 and their winning chance had vanished.Anderson was able, along with Aaron Redmond, to exploit a great deal of turn in a fresh Basin Reserve wicket today and Reekers was delighted to have a close-up view of a spin bowler at the height of his powers.”Carl Anderson’s bowling was fantastic,” he said. “He turned it and he varied the pace and it was great fun keeping to him. He and Aaron Redmond were both getting a lot of turn and it was good to watch.”Chris Martin set up Canterbury for the win with an opening spell of six overs which conceded only three runs. His eight overs in the match were bowled at the paltry cost of 13 runs, two of which were wides.Canterbury’s scoring rate appeared pedestrian when they reached 30/1 after 10 overs and 54/2 after 20; 75/3 at three per over by the midpoint of their innings. They struggled through 100 in the 30th over and they were only 145/6 when the 40th over had been bowled.They were saved by Warren Wisneski who came to the wicket when they were 135/6 on Reekers’ dismissal and who battered 44 runs from 38 balls in the next 39 minutes. His partnership of 74 for the seventh wicket with Redmond was also match-winning.But Martin’s parsimony made Wellington’s reply even more hesitant and they were only 18/1, without Nevin, after 10 overs; 29/1 after 15.They were only a few runs behind Canterbury in the 20th and 25th overs and their 100 came up in similar time but they were simply unable to accelerate as Anderson, Redmond and Reekers put on the brakes.Bell and Sales’ third wicket partnership, which added 61 in 46 minutes, was vital. When Sales was out, caught by Stead off Stephen Cunis who bowled his 10 overs for 34 runs, the innings was in serious difficulty. When Bell ran himself out, wastefully, for 45 in the 33rd over they were struggling.The equally wasteful run out of Matthew Walker when they were 136/5 in the 38th over left them little hope of overhauling Canterbury’s total.Wellington had been struck a blow when they bowled on winning the toss by the loss of opening bowler Penn to sickness. Penn, who had been suffering from the flu, was in his fifth over, the ninth of the innings, when he was overcome by nausea and dizziness. He was forced to leave the field and didn’t bowl again in the innings. Mayu Pasupati, who completed the ninth over, bowled Brad Doody with his first ball – all of this grist to the trivia mill.”Canterbury simply got too many runs,” Wellington coach Vaughn Johnson said. “I thought about 180 would be reasonable and if we performed like we have previously this season we would have held them to that.”This loss crept up on us and I had said it might. We had a bad performance and we have no excuses.”Canterbury out-played us today not only with their skill but with their want.”A match like this was always going to happen and in hindsight it might not be a bad thing. We rested on our laurels today and this is a healthy reminder.”

When Mathew Sinclair goes, he quite clearly goes big. The 25-year-old from Wellington spread his second Test century out over six-and-threequarter hours at St George’s Park on Thursday and Friday and in doing so enabled New Zealand to give themselves at least a fighting chance in the second Castle Lager/MTN Test match against South Africa.Sinclair’s first Test hundred was a mammoth 214 against the West Indies. His second amounted to 150, just over half New Zealand’s 298 in Port Elizabeth, and it helped turn his side’s position around after the first day had belonged to the home team.This was underlined in the final session on Friday as South Africa lost three wickets after Gary Kirsten and Boeta Dippenaar had put on 81 for the first wicket. Dippenaar might have been a little unfortunate to be given out LBW for 35 to Chris Martin, but the other two wickets to fall were the products of good wicketkeeping.Jacques Kallis was caught close up by Adam Parore off Nathan Astle off a bottom edge from a delivery which barely bounced, and Kirsten was taken as he slashed at a wide one from Kerry Walmsley as he tried to get from 49 to his 23rd Test fifty.Those three wickets made it a very good day for New Zealand who had started it precariously at 206 for seven. That the tourists are at least at parity with the South Africans is due to Sinclair’s magnificent effort (and a 20 from Shayne O’Connor who stayed two hours to make 20 and help add 73 for the eighth wicket) and a slightly out-of-focus effort from the home team in the field.For the first two days of this Test match South Africa have been a little off the mark. The bowling has perhaps lacked intensity, Mark Boucher let through byes three times on Thursday and on Friday Lance Klusener dropped two catches at slip, letting off O’Connor on 5 and Sinclair on 121.By their own standards they haven’t quite been up there. At the same time, this is not to say that Sinclair was given an easy ride. "I had to work for my runs out there," he said afterwards. "I’m very much mentally drained … The South Africans are always at you. They bowl very good lines and lengths. I played and missed a lot. I guess I rode my luck a little."Sinclair’s hundred was the first by a New Zealand batsman since South Africa’s readmission to Test cricket and, more significantly perhaps, it was the highest score made by a Kiwi against South Africa, eclipsing John Reid’s 142 at the Wanderers in 1961/62.He had plenty of time to study the pitch and while agreeing that it played noticeably slower on the second day than the first, he wasn’t about to predict how it might play over the last three days. But the bounce has started to go up and down a little and it probably won’t improve. South Africa will have to bat last on Sunday or Monday, but first they have to get into the high 300s or 400 if they are to put pressure on New Zealand.Stephen Fleming’s tactics were there for all to see on Friday. He gave Astle 13 overs from the Duckpond End to block one end up and rotated his seamers from the other end. The tourists are trying South Africa’s patience, waiting to see who blinks first. It has not been particularly exciting cricket, but if and when one of the teams averts its eyes, this game could come quickly alight.

Jack Butland’s career appeared to be going places when he was included in England’s Euro 2012 squad after replacing John Ruddy, who was injured just before the start of the tournament.

After signing for then-Premier League side Stoke City in January 2013 for just £3.4m, the goalkeeper then spent the next 18 months on loan at four different Championship teams, including Birmingham City, where he began his career.

After a number of injury-ridden campaigns with the Potters, Butland particularly impressed during the 2015/16 and 2017/18 seasons, making 31 and 35 appearances respectively.

This led to Wolves being linked with a £35m move for the shot-stopper – who was once branded “excellent” by Steve McClaren – in 2018 after they won promotion to the top flight, at the same time that Stoke had been relegated to the Championship.

However, Wolves instead opted for Rui Patricio, who proved to be a much better investment after playing 127 games for the West Midlands club, only conceding 151 goals before moving to Roma last summer for a reported £10.6m.

Bruno Lage replaced him with £7.2m signing Jose Sa, who this season has averaged a 7.24 match rating (the highest out of any Premier League goalkeeper) – and kept an impressive ten clean sheets so far.

Meanwhile, Butland has since become a backup player at Crystal Palace, having joined two years ago from Stoke for just under £1m – a 95% decrease in value from the £35m that Wolves almost paid for him.

If any Wolves fans doubted whether Patricio would be a better signing for the club than the Englishman, their fears were quickly allayed, and it’s hard to see the 29-year-old playing much in the Premier League from hereon.

This season, he has averaged a 6.58 match rating in his six top-flight appearances, only once earning a rating above seven (against Brighton in January).

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It’s safe to say that nobody at Molineux will have any regrets about not lashing out £35m on Butland, whose career has dwindled since that Euro 2012 call-up nearly a decade ago.

In other news: Lage could solve major Wolves problem with £16.2m-rated star with “magical powers”

	AB de Villiers looks on as Mashrafe Mortaza follows through in the Afro-Asia Cup in Chennai last summer © Getty Images

The Afro-Asian Cup, the second staging of which took place in Bangalore in June last year, looks likely to undergo a radical overhaul of its format.The event has raised valuable funds for the African Cricket Association and the Asian Cricket Council, but it has been less than a hit with audiences and has been roundly condemned as an unnecessary burden in an already packed international calendar. The third Afro-Asian Cup was initially scheduled to be held in Kenya in June 2008 but Cricinfo was told several weeks ago it was unlikely to go ahead.But while there had been speculation the event would be ditched completely, it is now reported that the organisers are to propose a new format which would involve matches being on a country basis rather than continent v continent, as is the case now.There is already an Asia Cup – the itinerary for the 2008 event in June was revealed earlier this week – and to run alongside that there would be a new Africa Cup. That would be likely to feature South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya, as well as other countries such as Namibia and Uganda. The winners from the two continents, and possibly the runners-up as well, would then progress to the finals.A source close to the event told Cricinfo that the appeal of the revised format was that it would include more countries and appealed far more to local sponsors and broadcasters. What’s more, the emerging African countries have been after more meaningful international cricket, and for them this will be a godsend.It seems that the choice for the organisers was change or bust. The emergence of the IPL – and to a lesser degree the ICL and Stanford 20/20 – on top of the burgeoning Test and ODI merry-go-round means that the international calendar no longer has time for the Afro-Asia Cup as it was. More regional tournaments with a quick in-and-out best-of-three final anytime during the year seems to appease both organisers and sponsors, and it can be scheduled to fit in one of the increasingly rare gaps in the international schedule.The proposal is due to be put to the next meeting of the Afro-Asia Cup Council early in March.