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Dale Steyn says South Africa will never truly consider themselves the world’s pre-eminent team until they break their big-tournament jinx and claim silverware

Alex Brown30-Sep-2009Dale Steyn insists South Africa will never truly consider themselves the world’s pre-eminent team until they break their big-tournament jinx and claim an ICC trophy. South Africa entered the Champions Trophy as the world’s top-ranked team, only to crash out in the first round and perpetuate the “chokers” tag that has hounded them for a decade.The South Africans have in the past dismissed suggestions of wilting under the spotlight, but Steyn believes the time has come for the team to conduct a thorough review of their approach to big tournaments. The world’s top-ranked Test fast bowler admitted the lack of ICC trophies was gnawing at his team-mates, and tainting their status as the best team in international cricket.”You want to win silverware, you want to be known as a team that walks in to a competition and is able to dominate,” Steyn told Cricinfo’s Switch-Hit podcast. “Being ranked No. 1 in Tests and ODIs is a fantastic feeling but every year it changes and it works on points. You won’t be able to take home any silverware from that. Unfortunately, my grandkids will never be able to look at me and say I won a Champions Trophy in South Africa. That’s where it truly lies. It’s a reflection of how well you’ve played. When you walk into a tournament those rankings really mean nothing.”I’m [looking at] 2-0 now – two tournaments in one year and we haven’t been able to bring home any silverware. It is disappointing, we want to be the best the best team in the world, we want to be two steps ahead of other sides. It’s something that we really have to sit down and look at. People are saying we’re the No. 1 team because of ranking, but it doesn’t mean anything once you walk onto a cricket field. We’ve got to sit back and look at ways of trying to stay two steps ahead. Teams will catch up and will try and take your ideas to be able to stay at the top … so it’s something for us to really look at now.”The failure to reach the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy continued a worrying trend for South Africa at ICC events. Not since the inaugural Champions Trophy 11 years ago has a South African side claimed a major tournament, and their most recent exits from the World Cup, the World Twenty20 and, now, a Champions Trophy at home have prompted another round of questions over the team’s ability to cope with the pressures of the game’s grandest stages.South Africa’s 55-run defeat in a rain-effected match against Sri Lanka was only mildly surprising, given the strength of Kumar Sangakkara’s side and the fact that South Africa had not played an international match since the World Twenty20 in June. Far more shocking was their 22-run loss to England – a team barely a week removed from ignominy of a 6-1 ODI series defeat to Australia – in a result that sealed their Champions Trophy exit.England will return to South Africa next month for a winter Test and ODI tour, and Steyn predicts Andrew Strauss’ men will encounter a more torrid time. “They came back from the Ashes series and one-day series a bit of a wounded animal,” he said. “It’s always like that when you’re dealing with teams like that. They’ve almost got nothing to lose. They came out and played fearless cricket and it really paid off for them.”I think coming back to South Africa for their ODI and Test series will be different. They know that they’re going to be playing against one side for the whole summer and they’re going to have to play their cards pretty right, whereas in this respect they can play fearless cricket because anybody that gets thrown in their direction they’re quite happy to tackle.”The last time I played against England in South Africa they beat us … (but) England will also know that they’re playing against a Test team that’s already beaten them. That might be in the back of their heads. It’s been the same players for the last couple of years. We know them. We know what their strengths and weaknesses are. It’s just a matter of being able to sit back, do our homework and trying to stay two steps ahead this time around.”Steyn supported the calls of his chief executive, Gerald Majola, and chairman of selectors, Mike Procter, for Graeme Smith and Mickey Arthur to be retained as South Africa captain and coach respectively. Both have been the target of criticism in the wake of their side’s Champions Trophy exit, but with South Africa still ranked No. 1 in Test cricket and No. 3 in ODIs, Steyn is adamant change is not required.”At the end of the day, everyone’s going to point fingers at your coach and your captain,” he said. “(But) I will put up my hand and say that there are elevn players in the team and we take responsibility whether we win or lose. I feel massively for Mickey and Graeme. They’ve done extremely well over the last couple of years, basically herding this team together and looking after us. We’ve been a pretty tight unit over the last couple of years. Unfortunately, we just haven’t been able to bring home the silverware in tournaments like this.”

There are plenty of ways for Rangers to raise money to fund transfers to bolster their squad, whether by winning trophies or securing sponsorship deals or ticket sales.

One of the most lucrative ways of raising funds in football is player trading, signing and selling players and attempting to make a profit to then sign upgrades further down the line.

This is why Ross Wilson’s role as the club’s sporting director is integral to the long-term success at Ibrox, as he needs to ensure that he is planning for the future with his signings as well as for the here-and-now for Steven Gerrard.

Wilson masterclass

Wilson has pulled off a masterclass in this respect with the signing of Fashion Sakala from Belgian club Oostende in the summer. The Zambia international ticks a number of boxes for Rangers in terms of what they should be looking for in a signing – young, potential, cheap, on the up.

His contract expired at the end of last season and Rangers were able to swoop in and snap him up on a free transfer, with the 24-year-old putting pen to paper on a five-year deal.

The Belgian outfit signed him from Spartak Moscow’s reserves in 2018 and he produced 11 goals in his first 52 league appearances for the club. By the end of his second season, Transfermarkt valued him at a measly £1.08m.

He then managed 16 goals and five assists in 34 games for Oostende in the 2020/21 campaign, culminating in his transfer to Rangers, and his value soared between last October 2020 and this month. At the time of writing (30/10/21), Transfermarkt value him at £3.6m, which means that his valuation has soared 233% in just one year, proving that he is a player on the rise and growing in value.

Wilson hailed the attacker as determined and humble in Rangers’ official unveiling of Sakala’s arrival at the club in the summer.

The sporting director said: “Fashion has had an excellent season in Belgium and we believe he will develop further still working with all of our staff at the training ground. Fashion is a determined, humble and positive guy and we are sure he will fit the group here.

“We wanted to add more pace and power to the group across January and the summer and I am pleased that we have done that, firstly with Scott Wright and now with Fashion Sakala. I know Steven and the coaches are excited to work with Fashion and I am sure that he will further enhance his growing reputation here with Rangers.”

The 24-year-old has shown signs of promise in his early Rangers career. He has averaged a solid SofaScore rating of 6.77 across seven Premiership appearances, including two starts, with one goal and one assist to date. This suggests that there is potential there for him to become a useful player for the Gers in the future.

Therefore, Wilson has pulled off a masterclass with Sakala as he has been able to bring in a player on a free transfer whose value has been soaring over the past 12 months, whilst also having the ability to make an impact on the pitch for Rangers. This could duly aid the club in the future if they are able to get the best out of him while at Ibrox and perhaps make a huge profit on him further down the line.

AND in other news, Gerrard could unearth Charlie Adam 2.0 in Rangers gem with “great future in the game”…

Essex batsman John Maunders will stay with the county until the end of the 2010 domestic season after signing a one-year extension to his current contract

Cricinfo staff20-Oct-2009Essex batsman John Maunders will stay with the county until the end of the 2010 domestic season after signing a one-year extension to his current contract.”We are delighted John has decided to extend his stay with Essex, he is a popular member of the team and he put in strong performances this season and gave some very good contributions in the Pro40 and the County Championship,” Essex coach Paul Grayson told the county’s website. “We hope he has a good winter, and comes back next year ready for the challenge ahead.”Maunders moved to Essex in 2007 after being released by Leicestershire and has scored 560 runs at an average of 32.94 in the Championship for them.

With the future of Wolverhampton Wanderers centre-back Connor Coady looking increasingly uncertain as the January transfer window draws closer, the Molineux faithful would be forgiven if they are starting to worry about losing their services of a player who is undoubtedly Wolves’ most influential defender.

Indeed, the 28-year-old has been a highly important part of the club’s impressive rise from the Championship back to the Premier League, making a total of 287 appearances in all competitions for Wolves, as well as being appointed club captain.

However, with reports suggesting that Newcastle United are targeting the England international in the winter market, a move which – one would assume – would see the defender handed a rather significant pay rise on his current £62k-per-week salary, the chances of Bruno Lage finding himself without the £22.5m-rated man for the second half of the campaign would seem to be rather high.

Although, while it would undoubtedly come as a major blow to lose Coady this January, the 45-year-old Wolves boss may already possess a ready-made replacement for the 28-year-old in his first-team squad – in the shape of Max Kilman.

Indeed, the 24-year-old has highly impressed over his 10 Premier League appearances so far this season, helping his side keep two clean sheets, as well as making an average of 1.4 interceptions, 2.1 tackles, 3.8 clearances and winning five duels per game.

The £4.05m-rated man has also chipped in going forwards, scoring one goal, in addition to taking an average of 0.6 shots and making 0.2 key passes per fixture.

These returns have the player who commentator Arlo White dubbed an “authoritative” figure average a SofaScore match rating of 6.98, ranking him as Wolves’ best defender in the top flight – and fifth-best performer overall.

As such, should the £14k-per-week Kilman be able to maintain this level of performance over what remains of the current campaign, while Lage may have to bring in another centre-back in order to make up the numbers at the back, the 24-year-old could well be the man who the Portuguese manager builds his defence around.

In other news: John Percy issues exciting Wolves claim that should leave fans buzzing

With Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side heading into today’s Scottish Premiership fixture on a run of seven consecutive games without defeat, the 56-year-old Hoops manager would have undoubtedly been hoping to maintain this record when the Bhoys’ made the trip to Dundee.

And two goals each from Kyogo Furuhashi and Jota would ensure that Celtic saw this unbeaten run stretch to eight fixtures, with the Hoops running out 4-2 victors at the Kilmac Stadium – a result which takes the Bhoys back up to second in the Premiership standings.

However, while the two Celtic goalscorers undoubtedly deserve credit for their respective performances against the Dark Blues, the display of central midfielder David Turnbull should not be overlooked, as the 22-year-old was influential from the middle of the park in the Hoops victory on Sunday.

Eight key passes

Indeed, over his 90 minutes on the pitch this afternoon, the £4.5m-rated man stole the show for Celtic, enjoying 100 touches of the ball, completing 67 passes, finding his man with five of his nine attempted crosses and four of his six attempted long balls, as well as making a rather extraordinary eight key passes.

The £14k-per-week midfielder also created two big chances for his teammates, in addition to making one interception, one tackle and winning four duels – with his returns seeing him earn a SofaScore match rating of 8.2, a score which was only bettered by Jota and Kyogo.

Indeed, with Tom Rogic currently being out of the side due to injury, Postecoglou will be delighted that the man who the 56-year-old himself dubbed an “outstanding” talent has stepped up to the creative plate within his side.

And, with Bayer Leverkusen up next for the Bhoys, the Greek-Australian manager will certainly be hoping the 22-year-old can continue this form after the international break, or else Celtic’s hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Europa League could well be all but over.

In other news: Lost 100% duels: £15k-p/w Celtic beast who’s “not aggressive enough” failed Ange today

Tom Cooper’s explosion of 78 off 45 balls secured South Australia’s first one-day win of the summer as they disposed of Tasmania

Cricinfo staff29-Nov-2009South Australia 3 for 131 (Cooper 78*) beat Tasmania 7 for 130 (Bailey 35, Haberfield 3-22) by 7 wickets
ScorecardTom Cooper’s explosion of 78 off 45 balls secured South Australia’s first one-day win of the summer as they disposed of Tasmania at Bellerive Oval. The game was cut to 17 overs a side due to rain and the Redbacks beat the bad weather to tackle the hosts’ 7 for 130 with 11 balls to spare.Cooper made sure of the victory in his state’s fifth game of the year with three sixes and eight fours in a brutal display. The Redbacks, who remain last despite the victory, were also boosted by Michael Klinger’s 34, which included a reverse sweep for six off Jason Krejza, as they raced to 3 for 131.George Bailey pushed his side forward with 35 after they were sent in, but the visiting bowlers gained regular breakthroughs, with Jake Haberfield leading the way with 3 for 22 off three overs. The exciting encounter followed a drawn Sheffield Shield game that ended on Friday.

Hampshire are in discussions to sign Shane Warne, their former captain, for next season’s Twenty20 Cup

Cricinfo staff20-Nov-2009Hampshire are in discussions to sign Shane Warne, their former captain, for next season’s Twenty20 Cup. Warne led Hampshire from 2004 to 2007 and Rod Bransgrove, the chairman, confirmed that the club had made an approach.”Warne is the biggest name we’ve ever had at the club and, yes, we have spoken to him,” he told the . “You can never rule out getting Warne back to Hampshire, although he’s very busy and I wonder whether he’d get out of bed for the money we can offer.”Since retiring from international cricket in 2007, Warne has captained Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, winning the inaugural event with a young and relatively unknown side. He is also involved in a host of other activities, starring in the TV commentary box in this year’s Ashes, as well as playing international poker tournaments.In an effort to raise the profile of England’s Twenty20 Cup competition, counties will be able to include four overseas players in their squads next season but only two will be allowed in each game. Middlesex signed Adam Gilchrist earlier in the week and are hoping to sign Sachin Tendulkar.Hampshire, have already secured Ajantha Mendis, the Sri Lanka spinner, creating the prospect of an exciting pairing with Warne, but Bransgrove said Hampshire have other options.”Hampshire have also had talks with other big-name players that are reasonably well advanced. I’ve been talking about the potential of Twenty20 for some time and getting these superstars in is what it’s all about.”

Newcastle United are reportedly now in pole position to sign Aaron Ramsey in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Midfielders wanted

Given that the St. James’ Park faithful have been linked recently with moves for the likes of Axel Witsel, Seko Fofana and Philippe Coutinho, it is clear that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium are looking to bring in midfield players for Eddie Howe.

The squad needs a boost in quality to give them the best chance of surviving come the end of the season, and the new riches should at least be able to attract some decent players to the North East to help them in their current predicament.

The Latest: Ramsey eyed

As per Juve Live, the Tyneside outfit are now in pole position to sign Ramsey in January, as Juventus ‘insist’ that he returns to the Premier League.

The Old Lady wants to sign Denis Zakaria from Borussia Monchengladbach, and so if they are able to snap him up, they would then allow Ramsey to leave.

The Verdict: Howe masterclass?

Howe has already revealed how he wants his team to play, a progressive style with a philosophy of having good technicians who can play long and short passes (The Athletic), and Ramsey would fit his style perfectly.

Welsh footballing legend Ian Rush claimed that Howe ‘would love’ Ramsey in his side, and that he would ‘fit his style down to a tee’ (The Chronicle).

A true maestro capable of goals and assists from the middle of the park, he has already shown what he can do in the Premier League, notching up 40 strikes and 51 assists in 262 games across 11 consecutive seasons (Transfermarkt).

Wales teammate Joe Allen claims that Ramsey can still be ‘world-class’ on his day, and if he is up for a move to the Magpies, he can shine the top flight alight once more.

In other news, find out who NUFC are ‘on the prowl’ to sign here!

A summary of the fourth day’s play of the tenth round of games in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

Cricinfo staff12-Dec-2009Group AA heroic effort from Zeeshan Nadir couldn’t quite seal a win for Pakistan Customs on the final day in Islamabad. Water and Power Development Authority had to sweat a bit but eventually completed victory by four wickets. Customs came into the day leading by 25 with five wickets in hand and extended that to 127, with Hassan Adnan making 84. Chasing 128, WAPDA were given a major scare by Zeeshan who backed up five in the first innings with 6 for 63. The one man he failed to dislodge, Aamer Sajjad, held his nerve to score an unbeaten 39 from 31 balls to finish the chase.Karachi Whites wasted little time in wrapping up an innings win over National Bank of Pakistan on the fourth morning in Karachi. They needed just two wickets when play began and they took them quickly, dismissing Mansoor Amjad for 85 to achieve the win.Sui Southern Gas Corporation batted patiently on the final day in Rawalpindi to ensure a draw against Khan Research Laboratories. They took in sessions, first erasing a deficit of 119 and then batting long enough to negate chances of a loss. The opener Asif Zaqir was the man of the moment, scoring 109 from 224 balls out of a total of 315, with assistance from Rizwan Ahmed (64). Shakeel-ur-Rehman took two wickets as KRL hit 32 in five overs before close.A tame draw played out at the Jinnah Stadium. Zohaib Khan, the Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited opener, had batted the entire third day and carried his bat for an unbeaten 114 out of a total of 270. Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited then played out 65 overs and made 283 for 6, owed largely to Saleem Mughal’s 102 not out from 132 balls, with 14 fours and three sixes. Mohammad Hafeez started the second innings with a 44-ball 50 and three other batsmen got starts.Five wickets from the slow left-arm bowler Nauman Alavi helped set up a nine-wicket win for Pakistan International Airlines over Lahore Shalimar at the Gaddafi Stadium. From 76 for 3 overnight, Lahore Shalimar were dismissed for 225, with Alavi taking a career-best 5 for 42. Yasir Hameed slammed an unbeaten 51 from 42 balls to help PIA chase down 100 in 14. 1 overs.Group BPeshawar, spearheaded by new-ball bowler Imran Khan, pulled off a superb victory over Lahore Ravi in Lahore. Lahore Ravi went into the final day needing what seemed an achievable 229 to win, but Imran’s five wickets put a major spanner in the works. Lahore Ravi were unable to get a solid footing, losing Asif Khan to Imran and two more via run-outs, and Mohammad Asim (53) was cut off before he could really do some damage. At 158 for 5 it was still anyone’s game, but Asim’s dismissal was followed by a major collapse at Imran’s hands. Lahore Ravi lost their last five wickets for 19 runs and Peshawar got their second win of the season.Sialkot duly achieved their victory over Hyderabad at the Niaz Stadium, their fifth of the season. The medium-pacer Faisal Rasheed completed a five-wicket haul early in the day as Hyderabad lost their last three wickets for the addition of 18 runs. Sialkot knocked off a target of 27 with just one wicket down.Set a monumental 495 to win, and resuming the final day on 93 for 2, Quetta denied Karachi Blues and batted out a draw by reaching 407 for 6 at the National Stadium. Karachi Blues would have really fancied their chances, especially after taking three middle-order wickets in the space of 12 runs, but a stubborn 224-run alliance between Arun Lal (98) and Shoaib Khan jnr, who hit an unbeaten century, denied them. That stand totally flustered Karachi Blues. Shoaib’s 111 took just 138 deliveries, studded with 15 fours and a six, and proved crucial in holding the opposition at bay.A day after Zulfiqar Babar put his name into the record books, Islamabad and Multan batted out a predictable draw at the Multan Cricket Ground. Rameez Alam’s unbeaten 119 proved the bulk of Multan’s total of 333 for 5 declared, after which Islamabad – set an improbable 267 – played out 16 overs before the captains agreed to call it off. Babar added two more wickets for a match haul of 12 for 168. Islamabad took three points from the game by virtue of a first-innings lead.What carried the possibility of being an intriguing final day ended with Rawalpindi – who had already taken three points from a first-innings lead – opting to bat out time against Abbottabad in Islamabad. Naved Malik carried on to an unbeaten 116 and added 125 for the seventh wicket with Fawad Hussain (66) as Rawalpindi made 238 for 7. Junaid Khan, taking the new ball, picked up 5 for 100 in that effort. Abbottabad were never going to chase 250 in the minimum overs left in the day, and after a top-order collapse they reached 52 for 4 when the match was called off.

Taking into consideration how Liverpool wingers Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah have contributed to 16 of the 31 Premier League goals Jurgen Klopp’s side have managed to score this season, it’s safe to say the duo have been critical for the team since the start of the campaign.

With this in mind, it’s also safe to assume that they will both be a big miss for the Reds when they take part in the upcoming AFCON tournament in January with their respective countries.

Looking ahead to January, it seems as though the club could have their eye on bringing in a new winger that could help the team continue their season without Mane and Salah for a period of time.

What’s the news?

It has recently been reported by 90min that Wolves are ready to sell Adama Traore in January with talks over a new deal at Molineux continuing to stall.

The report also claims that Liverpool and Barcelona are in the frame to make a swoop for the winger with the Merseyside club’s valuation of Traore being less than £30m, which Wolves don’t want to drop below.

Dream move for Klopp

Since joining Wolves back in the 2018 summer transfer window from Championship club Middlesbrough in a deal worth a reported fee of £18m, Traore has made a total of 143 appearances for the Midlands club across all competitions, scoring ten goals and providing 18 assists in the process.

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Despite only managing to score two goals and provide two assists in the Premier League last season, Traore, who is currently valued at £27m according to Transfermarkt, managed to end the campaign as Wolves’ joint-highest rated player with an overall season rating of 7.11/10 alongside Pedro Neto according to WhoScored, showing how capable he is of playing at a high level in the Premier League.

If Wolves are willing to sell their star winger, then FSG should be doing all they can to bring the Spaniard to Anfield. Klopp once described Traore as “undefendable” and thus, he could be his dream swoop, particularly with Mane and Salah set to spend some time away from the club over the winter.

Liverpool have already felt the benefits of raiding Wolves and they will have to hope Traore can have an instant attacking impact on the team in the same way his former teammate Diogo Jota did by scoring 13 goals in his first season at Liverpool.

In other news: FSG could land Klopp’s next Fabinho at LFC with move for “complete” £24.3m-rated beast – opinion