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While the Longstaff brothers have yet to really stamp their mark at Newcastle United, the club may already have their next breakout star in 18-year-old starlet Dylan Stephenson.

Able to play anywhere across the front-line, but at his most lethal through the middle, Stephenson has already the caught eye at academy level, with the club’s U18 manager, Neil Winskill, left raving about him following a hat-trick against Leeds United in the FA Youth Cup late last season.

He said: “I’m thrilled for Dylan because he is such an honest, hard-working lad. He’s the type of player any team would like to have in their XI, who’s going to really put a shift in for you.

“Every game and training session, the physical stats come through and he’s always top of the charts but we had a chat during the week about the need for him to be consistent with his quality, and he spoke to me about how he thinks people will judge him on goals.”

As per Transfermarkt, in the 18 games that he played up front at youth level, Stephenson has scored 13 times and set up another, while in the 22 games he’s featured out wide on the right, he’s bagged on eight occasions and again set up another.

It was no surprise that the teenager was one of a few young talents who were given their first pro deal by the club, and he’s already started repaying that trust on the pitch – his five goals in three games last month has seen him nominated for the Premier League 2 Player of the Month award for August.

Newcastle fans have already been quick to voice their excitement about the youngster following a fine display against Birmingham City for the club’s U23s this season, and given the lack of genuine optimism surrounding the first-team at the moment, his introduction into the senior side could bring in a breath of fresh air.

The likes of Matty and Sean Longstaff were no doubt seen as the Magpies’ hopes for the future after their breakthrough games, but neither have really asserted themselves in the first-team since then.

In Stephenson, the Tyneside club may well have their new breakout star from the academy.

Meanwhile, Newcastle must finally unleash this academy starlet…

Mushtaq Ahmed, England’s spin bowling coach, will extend his stint with the team and stay in the Caribbean until midway through the Test series

Cricinfo staff30-Jan-2009
Mushtaq Ahmed will stay a little longer to guide England’s spinners © Getty Images
Mushtaq Ahmed, England’s spin-bowling coach, will extend his stint with the team and stay in the Caribbean until midway through the Test series against West Indies. Mushtaq was originally going to spend only the ten-day warm-up period in St Kitts with the team but the tour management has requested an extension.”He’s created a really good impression with the spin bowlers and indeed everybody on the tour,” Hugh Morris, the managing director of England cricket, told the . “His experience and skill at international level have led us to the conclusion he would be valuable to have around for a longer period. We always suspected he would be an ideal person to help the spinners along.”Morris’ view was endorsed by left-arm spinner Monty Panesar, with whom Mushtaq has been working. “It’s been great having Mushtaq with us and I’ve really enjoyed both his company and the way he’s been coaching us,” Panesar said. “For me it has been a good experience so far – and it is great to see that he is going to be around for a few more weeks.”He has been talking a lot to me about the artistry of spin bowling and the flow of bowling – which is less technical and more about getting a feel for what you’re trying to do with the ball.”He knows what that is all about, having been an international player – when to be patient and let the ball do the work for you and when to attack to make things happen. The way he explains things is very simple and straightforward and he uses his experience to get his point across.”The tour of the West Indies is Mushtaq’s first official assignment as England’s spin-bowling coach. He was due to be part of the India tour before Christmas, but problems with his work visa prevented him from joining the team.

Gabriel Jesus has enjoyed a superb start to the season for Manchester City and is flourishing in a new role in Pep Guardiola’s side.

The Brazilian forward had to endure a summer of hearing that, following Sergio Aguero’s exit, Manchester City didn’t possess a striker in their squad and needed to add someone such as Harry Kane.

He was linked with a move to Juventus as the Citizens looked to raise transfer funds earlier in the summer but he ended up staying at the Etihad Stadium and has certainly proved his worth in recent games.

After starting on the bench in City’s opening Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur, the 24-year-old has started each of the last two matches on the wing and has seriously impressed in the 5-0 wins against Norwich City and Arsenal, contributing one goal and three assists.

According to WhoScored, only Rodri has a higher average rating for the champions so far this season, with Jesus tied with Jack Grealish in second after averaging a superb 7.85 rating in his three appearances thus far.

In the absence of Kevin De Bruyne, City have needed a creative outlet in their team and the Brazilian has certainly stepped up, averaging 2.7 key passes per game so far this season, a huge improvement on the 1.1 key passes per game he averaged last term.

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With Ferran Torres likely to feature at centre-forward this season, Jesus has moved out to the wing with great effect and looks set to be a key player in Guardiola’s side, keeping the likes of Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling out of the team against Arsenal.

The former Palmeiras man has come under criticism for his finishing in the past but looks much more dangerous in a wide position where he can best showcase his ability on the ball, so it looks like something of a masterstroke by Guardiola to alter his position.

The Spaniard certainly rates Jesus highly and sang his praises last season, dubbing him the “unsung hero” in Manchester City’s side.

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Certainly, after what will have undoubtedly been a tough summer for Jesus, it is good to see him earning due plaudits for his superb performances in the early weeks of the season.

In other news… Pep may already have his next David Silva at Man City in “very intelligent” 18 y/o

Cricinfo presents the plays of the day from day four of the second Test between Australia and South Africa in Melbourne

Brydon Coverdale at the MCG29-Dec-2008
Michael Hussey’s gloves were nowhere near the ball when he was hit by a Morne Morkel bouncer. Umpire Aleem Dar thought otherwise. © Getty Images
Hussey’s headache
Aleem Dar has had a poor series and he has contributed to the disappointing results for Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey as well. He gave Hayden caught off his pad in Perth and today Hussey was the victim of a bad decision. Hussey was thumped on the helmet by a Morne Morkel bouncer and the ball lobbed up to Hashim Amla at square leg. Dar gave it out, although Hussey’s gloves were nowhere near the ball, and it was the second time this summer Hussey has had to bite his tongue after a poor decision. At the Gabba against New Zealand, Rudi Koertzen adjudged him caught behind for 0 when the ball had clearly come off his pad and his season has been off track ever since.A very silly point …
Hussey certainly wasn’t smiling after his whack on the head but at least Neil McKenzie could laugh about a similarly painful blow. At the start of a Makhaya Ntini over, McKenzie moved in so close on the off side that he was almost on the pitch. Perhaps he was trying to get in the batsman Ricky Ponting’s eyeline but doing it without a helmet was more stupid than brave. Lo and behold, it took only one ball for Ponting to launch a full-blooded cover drive that rocketed into McKenzie’s midriff. Technically it was a dropped chance but in reality his hands didn’t even have time to move. McKenzie smiled, rubbed his chest, and wandered back to a more regulation cover for the next ball. They call it silly point for a reason.… and a very smart move
That may not have been McKenzie’s brightest move but he showed his smarts earlier in the day. McKenzie was chatting to the captain Graeme Smith and pointing towards short cover during an over from Dale Steyn. As a result of the conversation, JP Duminy was shifted to short cover.Two balls later, Hayden drove straight to Duminy. McKenzie might not be making runs but he is at least ensuring the opposition openers are not scoring much either.One short
Three times Ricky Ponting has scored a century in each innings of a Test. He came agonisingly close to making it four. After he registered 101 in the first innings, Ponting looked almost certain to reach triple figures again in the second. But on 99 he became the second man to be snared at short cover in the innings, when he drove Morne Morkel to Graeme Smith. Ponting became only the second player – Geoffrey Boycott is the other – to score 99 and a century in the same Test. After stumps Ponting had had a chance to think about how close he had come: “I’m actually going to check with the scorers tonight and see if I can take one run from the first innings and transfer it over to the second innings, see if that’s possible.”An all-round champion
Jacques Kallis will soon become the eighth man to score 10,000 Test runs – he is only 53 short – and he will be the only one of the group with 100 Test wickets to his name as well. In fact, Kallis has been such an enduring allrounder that he now has 250 Test victims. He brought up the milestone with the last ball before tea, when he bowled Brett Lee.Comeback of the day
Lee is expected to miss the third Test in Sydney with a foot injury that is almost a stress fracture, but it couldn’t stop him doing his part in South Africa’s second innings. Lee, who was off the field for the entire third day because of the problem, ran in to bowl the first over of South Africa’s chase. He slammed his left foot down, each time risking a small crack in the bone becoming a full stress fracture. It might be his last chance for the next six weeks to prove he is still aforce in international cricket. The left foot caused him more problems when he overstepped with a delivery that bowled Neil McKenzie.

Ricky Ponting believes one-day cricket will have to take the strain of Australia’s packed schedule with full-strength sides unlikely to turn out for all the contests over the next 18 months

Cricinfo staff21-Jan-2009
Mitchell Johnson’s workload is being watched carefully by the Australian management © Getty Images
Ricky Ponting believes one-day cricket will have to take the strain of Australia’s packed schedule with full-strength sides unlikely to turn out for all the contests over the next 18 months. Injury woes have compounded the team’s recent reversals in the Test arena, and Ponting feels rotation is the way for the future.”I think the players, Cricket Australia and the players’ association need to start prioritising which of the tournaments that we want to have the team as fit and raring to go as best we possibly can,” Ponting told the . “As we know there are lot of one-off little one-day tournaments and and some big Test series around those with South Africa over there and then the Ashes.”The important thing for me is prioritising that and making sure we have all the players that are taking part in those big Test series as fit and ready to go for those.”Australia have three ODIs remaining against South Africa, with the series currently level at 1-1, followed by five more against New Zealand. They will play three Tests and five ODIs in South Africa before the proposed ODI series against Pakistan, and then head to England for the World Twenty20 followed by the Ashes.The postponed Champions Trophy and Tests against Pakistan are due later in the year followed by another full home season in Australia. The team’s resources have been stretched this season, especially in the bowling department, which has lost the services of Brett Lee and Stuart Clark for significant periods while allrounders Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson are also on the sidelines.The team management is conscious of player workload and rested Mitchell Johnson for recent one-day games, while Brad Haddin missed the Twenty20 internationals against South Africa. However, Ponting believes that part of Australia’s run with injuries is just plain bad luck.”Does it just come down to workload?” Ponting said. “I think we pay so much attention to workload … that sometimes it is just the run that you have. But that is why this next phase is so important for us because we can’t afford to be going into the Ashes with eight Cricket Australia [contracted] players out injured.”As well as all the international cricket there is also the IPL to fit in along the way, but Ponting said the main concern should be over Australia’s matches. Ponting is one of a number of Australians who have IPL deals, including the recently-capped David Warner, but at the moment it isn’t at the forefront of his mind.”There has been a lot made about that [the IPL] and we might have one week after Pakistan in Abu Dhabi or wherever it may be,” he said. “I think we need to worry about the international programme before we worry about the IPL.”

Manchester City begin their Premier League title defence with a trip to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon, and Pep Guardiola should unleash Jack Grealish from the start.

The new £100m signing was limited to an appearance from the bench against Leicester City in the Community Shield last weekend, and whilst the Citizens would go on to lose that game, Grealish showed glimpses of what he will offer City with his dribbling and passing technique.

As City will be without Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden for their trip to North London, the England international could be the man to unlock Nuno Espirito Santo’s defence, as only the Belgian contributed more key passes per game than City’s new signing in the top-flight last season.

You could also argue that the former Aston Villa man will have a point to prove against Spurs, after seeing a move to the Lilywhites break down in 2018 due to Daniel Levy’s refusal to pay the Villans’ £40m asking price, which would have perhaps proved to have been a bargain, in hindsight, considering his superb form since then.

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Whilst the Spanish manager has several options on the wing available to him, Raheem Sterling didn’t feature at all in pre-season due to England reaching the final of the European Championships this summer, with Foden absent through injury for at least another month.

The City academy graduate sung Grealish’s praises earlier this week and suggested that he was looking forward to being in the same side as him, saying:

“He’s fearless on the ball. He can just change a game on his own, so I believe that he’s a really special player and he’s going to be key for us.”

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Spurs are arguably weakest at right-back, with both Matt Doherty and Serge Aurier struggling to perform last season, so the £58.5m-rated beast could cause them all sorts of problems down the left and be Guardiola’s game-changer, in a game that City should be targeting three points from if they are to win the title again this season.

United set the marker on Saturday, so City must spark a reaction here – the inclusion of Grealish could well be key to their hopes of achieving that.

And, in other news… Guardiola provides injury update, City fans will be fuming

The BCCI and the ECB are engaged in “positive discussions” to hold the two-Test series, which start on December 11, with Mohali and Chennai believed to have been identified as the new venues

Cricinfo staff01-Dec-2008
The PCA Stadium in Mohali last hosted the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia in October © Getty Images
The BCCI and the ECB are engaged in “positive discussions” to ensure the two-Test series goes ahead with Mohali and Chennai now believed to have been identified as the new venues. The BCCI said last week that Chennai would replace Mumbai as the host of the second Test, following terror attacks in the city which forced England to return home without completing the tour. But it now turns out that discussions are being held on whether Chennai can host the first Test and Mohali the second.The pre-Test practice match is also likely to be held at the venue of the first Test, scheduled to start from December 11, underscoring reports that the ECB had made this request.”The discussions are still going on and nothing has been finalised as yet,” MP Pandove, BCCI treasurer and secretary of the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), which runs the Mohali venue, told Cricinfo. Pandove, however, refused to confirm the venue change.What is certain is that Ahmedabad – the scene of serial bomb blasts three months ago – has been ruled out as the first Test venue considering its relative proximity to Mumbai.Under the BCCI schedule, revised following the terror strikes, the first Test was to be held as originally scheduled in Ahmedabad from December 11-15, and the second Test in Chennai from December 19-23. The pre-Test practice match between England and a Board President’s XI was to be held in Vadodara from December 5-7.Chennai is now being considered for the first Test, possibly because it is seen as a venue with the least threat perception from a security point of view, and will help ease the immediate fears expressed by some of the England players on touring India. The ECB has specifically asked for a southern Indian venue for the second Test instead of Mumbai.There were also reports that Kolkata could be an alternate venue instead of Ahmedabad, but Jagmohan Dalmiya, the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) told Cricinfo that he was yet to receive any official information from the BCCI.Hugh Morris, the managing director of the ECB, indicated that if England failed to reach India in time for the match against Board President’s XI, they might opt for a neutral venue provided the tour was still on. “We have to keep our options open, and training in Abu Dhabi is definitely an option,” he said.

Fulham have agreed a £15m deal for Southampton defender Mohammed Salisu, while they are also close to signing Ajax's Calvin Bassey, according to a report from talkSPORT.

What's the latest Fulham transfer news?

Fulham have been pursuing a new centre-back during the summer transfer window, with Benfica's Morato emerging as a major target, having recently made a €25m (£22m) offer for the Brazilian, however they are now set to bring their pursuit to an end.

As reported by the Portuguese media, Benfica "remain adamant" they will not sell the 22-year-old, rejecting the most recent offer made, meaning the Cottagers are set to move on to other targets, with Bassey one of the names on their list.

Marco Silva may have to bring in more than one new defender this summer, amid the uncertainty over Tosin Adarabioyo's future, with the Englishman's contract set to expire at the end of next season, meaning it is Fulham's last chance to cash-in.

Talks over a contract extension for Adarabioyo have broken down, and Tottenham Hotspur have recently asked for more information about the 25-year-old, so he could be on his way to north London this summer.

As such, Silva has set his sights on signing Salisu and Bassey, with talkSPORT reporting they have agreed a £15m deal with Southampton for the former, meaning personal terms are the only thing that need to be finalised.

Sky Sports have reported that AS Monaco also expressed an interest in signing the centre-back, but the French side have had two bids rejected, and it now appears as though the Cottagers have won the race for his signature.

Bassey is also thought to be heading to Craven Cottage, in a deal worth around £18m, and the Ajax defender is set to have his medical and finalise personal terms in the coming days.

How good is Mohammed Salisu?

Lauded as "fantastic" by members of the media, the 24-year-old was one of the few shining lights in the Southampton side that was relegated from the Premier League in the 2022-23 campaign, and he could be a solid acquisition for Fulham.

With an average WhoScored match rating of 6.78 in the top flight, the Saints defender was ranked as the second-best performing player in the squad, averaging more tackles per game than any other member of the team.

Not only is the Ghanaian a very good tackler, he also ranks very highly for clearances and blocks per 90 over the course of the past year, placing in the 96th and 99th percentile in those two areas, when compared to his positional peers.

At 24-years-old, the Southampton star should be entering his prime years, and he has out-performed Adarabioyo on almost every key defensive metric in the past year, indicating he could be a real upgrade on the Englishman.

A fee of just £15m could be an absolute bargain for Salisu, given the level of his performances for Southampton in recent times, and it is promising news that a deal is edging closer towards completion.

Four Lads Had A Dream have paid special praise to one “excellent” Rangers player after his performance in his side’s 1-1 draw at home to Tottenham.

Rangers impress in Spurs draw

The Gers faced a big test of their European credentials on Thursday evening, as Spurs made the trip to Rangers for an important Europa League clash at Ibrox.

Philippe Clement’s Rangers side more than held their own on the night, taking the lead through Hamza Igamane, only to be pegged back by a Dejan Kulusevski’s strike with time running out. The draw leaves the Scottish Premiership giants sitting eighth in the table, remaining level on points with Spurs and still having a good chance of reaching the knockout stages.

The big games continue to come thick and fast for the Gers, whose next assignment sees them take on rivals Celtic in the Scottish League Cup final on Sunday afternoon. Victory at Hampden Park would not only earn them bragging rights, but also take some pressure off the shoulders of Clement.

There were plenty of Rangers players who shone against Spurs on Thursday, as the hosts had 15 shots compared to the Premier League side’s tally of 12, and one player has come in for particular praise.

"Excellent" Rangers player hailed v Spurs

Taking to X, Four Lads Had A Dream lauded the performance of Nicolas Raskin in Rangers’ draw with Spurs, describing him as “the player we knew he could be”.

The positive reviews coming Raskin’s way are fully deserved, with the 23-year-old producing a superb performance in the middle of the park against top-class opposition. The Rangers midfielder completed 91% of his passes at Ibrox, according to Sofascore, as well as winning six out of eight ground duels and making four interceptions to go with three clearances.

Raskin is going to be an important player for Rangers as the season goes on, both domestically and in Europe, with Kenny Miller once describing him as “excellent”.

The Belgian provides both technical quality and tenacity in midfield, as highlighted by an average of 3.3 tackles and 1.3 dribbles per match in the Scottish Premiership so far this season.

At 23, Raskin is still such a young player who is still learning his trade, having arrived from Standard Liege last year, and there is no reason why he can’t continue to mature into one of Rangers’ most important players in the coming years.

Better than Igamane: Rangers star "who could run all night" was real hero

The Rangers central midfielder was the true hero for Philippe Clement on the night.

ByDan Emery Dec 13, 2024

Gers supporters will be hoping he can produce a similar performance against Celtic this weekend, inspiring the Gers to League Cup glory in the process.

Apart from some of the decisions, which the players didn’t agree with, they felt the match officials didn’t control the South Africans’ sledging

Mohammad Isam04-Apr-2022Bangladesh will lodge an official complaint about South Africa’s “deplorable” sledging during the Durban Test after, according to them, the umpires ignored their on-field complaints. The BCB is, in fact, planning to complain to the ICC about both the sledging as well as the overall umpiring during the game.Bangladesh have already filed one complaint – about the umpiring – during the ODI series, but want to take up some other issues that cropped up during the Test, which Bangladesh lost on the final day by 220 runs after collapsing for 53 in their second innings.Related

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Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, BCB cricket operations chief Jalal Yunus said, “We have already lodged one complaint about the umpiring after the ODI series. The match referee [Andy Pycroft] had an argument with our manager Nafees Iqbal, but then we gave him a written complaint. We will lodge another official complaint about this Test match.”Mominul Haque, the Bangladesh captain, also spoke up, joining Yunus as well as team director Khaled Mahmud, selector Habibul Bashar and Shakib Al Hasan in expressing disgruntlement with the umpiring.”Sledging is quite normal, but the umpires didn’t seem to notice it,” Mominul said after the game. “The umpiring in the match is not in our control, but I think the ICC should think about bringing back neutral umpires.”On Sunday, after the fourth day’s play, Mahmud and Bashar criticised the match officials, while Shakib, who left the tour early because of personal reasons, had also tweeted that the ICC should look at reinstating neutral umpires considering the improved Covid-19 situation in most parts of the cricketing world. At the end of the fourth day’s play, Tamim Iqbal was also seen speaking to the umpires but it is not clear what they spoke about.

“Sledging definitely took place from both sides, but when they started it and took it overboard, we complained to the umpires. It wasn’t acceptable. We properly condemn it. We have to accept the umpires’ decisions, but the ICC must reinstate neutral umpires”Jalal Yunus

Bangladesh made lbw appeals on multiple occasions during South Africa’s second innings, especially in the first two sessions on Sunday. They opted for a review when Dean Elgar was given not out on the field by umpire Marais Erasmus in the fifth over after being hit on his back leg. But he survived on umpire’s call as ball-tracking showed that the ball was only clipping off stump.Then, in the 19th over of the innings, Bangladesh successfully overturned Adrian Holdstock’s not-out decision for an lbw against Sarel Erwee. According to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball commentary, it “looked so out to the naked eye and it was a surprise that the on-field call was not given despite a screeching appeal”.In the 26th over, Khaled Ahmed was denied an lbw decision against Keegan Petersen. Bangladesh didn’t take that review but replays showed that it would have hit the stumps and would have been out had the review been taken.The main indication that emotions were running high was when, on the fourth morning, Ebadot Hossain, while bowling, threw the ball back in Dean Elgar’s direction after it was hit to him, and the pair exchanged words. Umpire Holdstock had to ask the players to calm down.Yunus also went back to the issue with the sightscreens, which delayed the start of the Test. He said that Bangladesh had expected the umpires to make up for the lost time as the Test went along.Should we go up? In this case, they did, and got the wicket of Sarel Erwee•AFP/Getty Images”There hasn’t been impartial umpiring in this Test match,” he said. “It started on the first day. We were held up for half an hour at the start of the game because of the sightscreens. We were deprived of the initial advantage.”To make up this half an hour, they extended the lunch session, instead of starting early, which we usually see. It is definitely at the umpire’s discretion, but generally we see them making up for lost time by starting early. These are subtle technical things.”It is, however, understood that both the teams had agreed to the playing conditions, which includes the rule when it comes to making up for lost time, before the start of the Test.Yunus said that Bangladesh were also concerned about how the umpires treated the Bangladesh players when they complained about the sledging by the home side.”They surrounded [Mahmudul Hasan] Joy when he went out to bat,” he said. “They were saying something. He couldn’t say anything back since he is a junior player. It was deplorable. Instead of controlling the situation, the umpires warned our players whenever we made complaints against the sledging.”Sledging definitely took place from both sides, but when they started it and took it overboard, we complained to the umpires. It wasn’t acceptable. We properly condemn it. We have to accept the umpires’ decisions, but the ICC must reinstate neutral umpires.”