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Newcastle United picking up a rare away win in the Premier League should’ve been a joyful night for those of a Magpies persuasion.

Indeed, before this trip to Turf Moor, Newcastle had suffered back-to-back defeats on the road to Sunderland and Manchester United, so it would have been a relief that they managed to get the better of Scott Parker’s relegation-threatened Burnley side 3-1.

Still, it was far from a vintage Magpies showing, with journalist Craig Hope – come the end of the topsy-turvy contest – stating that the final scoreline was “not a reflection of how this game played out”, with Burnley spurning several chances to snatch a share of the points, or even a win.

Thankfully, there were enough positive performers from the away side’s perspective to clinch all three points, as Joelinton, Yoane Wissa, and Bruno Guimaraes shared out the goal load.

But the lack of a cutthroat nature deep within the Newcastle ranks will irk Howe as he contemplates changes for the Toon’s return to St James’ Park versus Crystal Palace in the New Year.

Newcastle underperformers who could be dropped

Having watched their rampant side race into a two-goal lead after seven minutes, the travelling Newcastle faithful would have wanted to see their clinical side wipe the floor with their lowly hosts.

Instead, Burnley were afforded a way back into the contest, and if it hadn’t been for some sloppy Burnley defending for both Wissa’s first-ever Magpies goal and Guimaraes’ fortuitous match-winning moment, Parker and Co could have collected only a fourth league win of the season.

Harvey Barnes was notably out of sorts throughout, as the ex-Leicester City winger could only manage a forgettable 27 touches of the ball, as per Sofascore, to try and add to his seven-goal tally for the season.

Moreover, Sandro Tonali fell way below his usual energetic standards when only winning two of his six duels on the night, with Howe perhaps prepared to drop both these usual members of his starting XI as the games come thick and fast.

Newcastle World’s Jordan Cronin would even note, in his post-match musings, that the Italian has been “iffy” for some time now, meaning a shock removal from the main lineup could soon be on the cards.

He’s far from the only first-team stalwart frustrating those on Tyneside, however, with another below-par showing put in from this £150k-per-week attacker at Turf Moor only solidifying further why Newcastle need some reinforcements in January.

The flop who showed why Howe needs to sign an upgrade

Newcastle have already been linked with a long list of attacking names as the chaotic transfer window edges ever closer to reopening, with both Bazoumana Toure and Oscar Bobb tipped to join Howe’s ranks to enhance the manager’s options down either flank.

Based on Anthony Gordon’s showing in Lancashire, Newcastle desperately need to sign an upgrade on their hit-and-miss forward in the New Year.

Indeed, the ex-Everton attacker was a very frustrating player to watch, as an assist after two minutes for Joelinton’s breakneck opener ended up being a rare bright spark.

Gordon’s performance in numbers

Stat

Gordon

Minutes played

80

Goals scored

0

Assists

1

Touches

53

Shots

2

Shots on target

0

Accurate passes

23/28 (82%)

Accurate crosses

0/5

Possession lost

17x

Total duels

5/12

Stats by Sofascore

After that glimpse of quality, Gordon offered very little else, with the lacklustre number ten coming off on the 80th minute mark with zero accurate crosses registered and just two shots attempted at Martin Dubravka’s goal.

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Additionally, his passing was largely haphazard all night as he gave away the ball a careless 17 times, while the England international also only won five of his 12 duels, as he often shirked the responsibility of rolling his sleeves up and getting dirty for the cause.

He was also, arguably, at fault for Josh Laurent’s sweetly struck volley beating Nick Pope, with the aforementioned Cronin accusing him of being “lazy” when trying to shut down the goalscoring number 29.

Gordon would be handed a low 4/10 post-match rating by Cronin, consequently, with Newcastle desperately needing some fresh blood down the right flank at this stage, so they don’t have to over-rely on their hit-and-miss winger to deliver the goods.

With only three goal contributions picked up all season long in the Premier League, there must be an upgrade out there somewhere for Newcastle when the window reopens, with Gordon suffering from another “all over the place” outing against Burnley, as journalist Adam Clery criticised him earlier in the season.

Yet, it’s not all doom and gloom, as Newcastle did at least sign off on 2025 with a win, even if Gordon did put in another worrying performance.

Related Woltemade 2.0: Newcastle chasing "one of the most exciting young wingers"

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	Chris Gayle will lead West Indies against Sri Lanka © Getty Images

Chris Gayle has been retained as West Indies captain for the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka in March, which involves two Tests and three one-day internationals. Gayle has recovered from a hamstring injury and broken thumb that he sustained in South Africa and the selectors decided to name him as captain ahead of Ramnaresh Sarwan.Gayle was given the captaincy for the tour of South Africa in December 2007 because Sarwan was injured and he led West Indies to their first Test victory in South Africa in Port Elizabeth. However, he had to return home before the third Test because of a hamstring injury and a broken thumb and missed the one-day series that followed after the Tests.”I heard from Sarwan. He called me and congratulated me and we talked and so on,” Gayle told CMC Sports. “There is no noise between us or anything like that. This thing won’t affect us or get between us. But he did call me and I appreciate that.”Sri Lanka’s tour of the West Indies will be their first since 2003 when they lost the Tests 0-1 but won the ODIs 2-1. Australia are scheduled to tour the Caribbean in May, after Sri Lanka complete their tour.

Ricky Ponting was satisfied with Shaun Tait’s opening World Cup performance © Getty Images

Andrew Symonds could complete a remarkable comeback from injury when the team for Australia’s second World Cup match against The Netherlands is unveiled. Six weeks ago it was feared Symonds could miss the entire tournament after tearing the biceps in his right arm, but Ricky Ponting said the allrounder was now “seriously close” to full fitness.”He was saying on the bus he was ready to play today, but that’s just him saying that,” Ponting said in the aftermath of the 203-run win over Scotland. “We can’t afford to take him into that game if he’s only 75-80% fit, in case he hurts himself again. There’s been a well-thought-out process to get him back to where he is now, so we’ve just got to make sure he ticks all those boxes.”Symonds’ fitness is crucial to Australia’s prospects of defending their World Cup crown, not only for the explosiveness of his middle-order batting, but for the versatility of his spin and medium-pace bowling. On the slow, low pitches of the Caribbean he is sure to carry a major role at some stage of the tournament.”He’d play with one arm if he could but he’s getting seriously close,” Ponting said. “There will be some discussion about him playing against The Netherlands [on Sunday], because he’s rolling his arm over and doing a fair bit of throwing, and he’s comfortable with his batting. The next few days are crucial if he’s going to play against Holland.”Ponting said he would be having several lengthy discussions with Australia’s chairman of selectors, Andrew Hilditch, who is in St Kitts, before any decision is made. “We probably could play him as just a batsman, but he’s still got to field,” Ponting said. “There’s nowhere to hide in a one-day international, and the last thing we want is for him to hurt himself again.”In Symonds’ absence, Ponting used today’s match to test the depth of his spin options. Michael Clarke, the usual alternative, was overlooked, and instead Brad Hodge took 1 for 17 in a tidy six-over spell. “We wanted to give Hodge a good bowl today and he looked good,” Ponting said. “Clarke has played a fair bit and bowled a fair bit, and I know what I get from him.”Ponting said he had been satisfied with the performance of another key man in Australia’s strategy, Shaun Tait, who has stepped into Brett Lee’s shoes as the team’s out-and-out paceman and picked up 2 for 45. “He’s been pretty good,” Ponting said. “He’s done what was expected of him.”He’s a real impact bowler for us, and we’ll use him when we need a wicket or when a new batsman comes to the crease. Because of his extreme pace he’s going to go for a few boundaries, especially on these smaller grounds, but he’s going to be a real card for us in this World Cup.”

Twenty wickets tumbled on an eventful opening day of the 2005-06 Pentangular Cricket Championship at the Gaddafi Stadium on Thursday, as Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) were shot out for a pathetic 69 runs and Faisalabad too lost all their first-innings wickets in reply, though they managed to reach a comparatively adequate total of 277.A depleted PIA side, missing several players who are touring Sri Lanka with the Pakistan team, had no answer to the Faisalabad pace trio after having been put in to bat first. The two openers both failed to score and only two batsmen managed to reach double figures.Faisalabad appeared to be going the same way, when Mohammad Hafeez was dismissed first ball. But a 119-run fifth-wicket partnership put them on the road to recovery and at the end of the first day’s play, Faisalabad had gained a substantial first-innings lead of 208.Faisalabad’s pacemen, Samiullah Niazi and Asad Ali, both captured four wickets each. Asad’s four cost him only 19 while the left-armer Samiullah took 4 for 31 in nine overs.For Faisalabad, Ijaz Ahmed junior narrowly missed his 29th hundred as he made 96 off only 115 balls with 16 boundaries in a stay of almost two-and-three-quarter hours at the crease. His fifth-wicket stand of 119 was with Mohammad Zahid, whose 60 runs came off 101 balls with 10 fours. Jannisar Khan, the Peshawar allrounder, captured 5 for 63 with his medium-pacers.PIA are one of the three teams — Habib Bank and United Bank being the other two — who have won the Pentangular Trophy in the past on three occasions. Here in Lahore, they are struggling to hold on to their reputation. The match between Sialkot and NBP at the Multan Cricket Stadium, also due to start yesterday, has been postponed by a day and will now begin on Friday.The Pentangular has been revived after a lapse of a full decade. The five teams qualified for this season’s event are the top sides of the domestic circuit. National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) are one of them, by virtue of winning the Patron’s Trophy Championship while PIA had ended as the runners-up. Sialkot won the season’s Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Championship Gold League title with Faisalabad taking second spot. Karachi Harbour are the fifth team in the competition, as they had emerged champions of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Silver League.

Shoaib Akhtar asked to keep a check on his disciplinary problems © Getty Images

Shoaib Akhtar was left out of the Pakistan squad for the tour of West Indies on disciplinary grounds, Inzamam-ul-Haq has said. It was widely assumed that Shoaib had been left out because he was unfit. Akhtar, who had recovered from his hamstring injury, was asked to shed some weight to be fully fit.”Shoaib has disciplinary problems and I believe no player is bigger than the team,” Inzamam was quoted as saying by The News. “We’ve had these problems with him in the past and my concern is that it has a negative impact on other players also.” Akhtar has been questioned several times in the past for his off-field activities and his approach towards the game.Inzamam also brushed off the suggestion that the team would miss its spearhead. “What I learnt in India was that when every player contributes and you play strictly as a team, the absence of even the best player is not felt. In the West Indies to be successful we’ve to again play as a team and with spirit to do well. The strength of our bowling attack is not such a big issue.”Pakistan have never won a series in the West Indies and are scheduled to play in three one-day international and two Tests. The first one-dayer is on May 18 in St.Vincent.Younis Khan will lead the side in the first Test, in the absence of Inzamam, who has to serve a one-match ban for showing dissent in the third Test against India in Bangalore. Inzamam remarked that Younis would find no difficulty in captaining the side. “Even if I’m not playing I’ll be there involved in everything and the planning. As far as Younis Khan’s ability to lead the side is concerned, he is a good future prospect and will be an asset for the team in future.”

Scorecard

Jacques Kallis: yet another century © Getty Images

Another magnificent century by Jacques Kallis led South Africa to a dramatic four-wicket victory against West Indies at the Wanderers. After Chris Gayle helped his side to an impressive 304 for 2 with an unbeaten 152, South Africa sneaked home with only two balls to spare to take the series 3-1.The climatic ending was set-up by a wonderful penultimate over by Ravi Rampaul – in which he dismissed Kallis and conceded only one run. South Africa still required eight runs off the final six balls, but eased home, helped by some dreadful West Indian fielding. They will now fly home sick of the sight of Kallis, who hit six centuries against them on the tour.Kallis stroked 139 from 142 balls, his highest one-day score, including 11 fours and three sixes. His innings was an imperious mixture of orthodox strokes and savage blows, including one towering smack off Ryan Hurley, which landed 10 rows back beyond the longest boundary.Kallis paced the recovery to near perfection after West Indies were in the ascendancy, especially once Graeme Smith fell for an entertaining 58 off 60 balls. He was bowled trying to cut Gayle (133 for 2), ending a sprightly 102-run partnership with Kallis after the pair had come together following Herschelle Gibbs’s early exit (31 for 1). Boeta Dippenaar and Kallis were forced to consolidate and the required run rate rose towards eight an over.Yet the departure of Dippenaar, caught in the deep by Rampaul off Hurley (187 for 3), sparked a South African revival, led by Jacques Rudolph. He cracked three early boundaries and, crucially, was dropped on 20 by Merv Dillon at mid-off, from a Corey Collymore over that went for 12 runs.The tide was turning South Africa’s way and Kallis made hay, racing to a century – his 12th in one-dayers – off 115 balls. He accelerated further, heaping punishment on Hurley and Rampaul in particular, just as he had done to Collymore earlier in his innings. When Rudolph fell for 35, off only 28 balls, he and Kallis had put on 90 runs in little over ten overs (277 for 4).By then the required rate was down to a run a ball and victory was South Africa’s for the taking. However, a sensational catch by Brian Lara at midwicket dismissed Lance Klusener for only 4 (285 for 5), and two overs later Rampaul, who bowled well throughout, produced his marvellous late effort, during which Kallis holed out to Shivnarine Chanderpaul in the deep (296 for 6).

Chris Gayle: all smiles after his entertaining century © Getty Images

Gayle was charged with bowling the last over, only for his fielders to let him down. Shaun Pollock’s blast through the off-side should have yielded two runs at the very most, but Hurley comically slipped on the dewy surface and conceded a precious four. Next ball, Dillon contrived to turn a one into a two, allowing Pollock to smash a six over mid-off to clinch the match – and the series. All in all, as so often on the tour, West Indies’ fielding let them down when it mattered.Their loss was especially sickening for Gayle, who earlier lit the Wanderers up with his swash-buckling innings. He broke West Indies’ highest one-day individual score against South Africa, including 12 fours and three eye-catching sixes.Chanderpaul, who scored 85, offered deft support in a record-breaking opening stand of 193, before Ricardo Powell upped the ante in the last 10 overs, notching a searing 49 not out off only 24 balls.Lara would have been confident that a score of over 300 was enough to steal a draw in the series, especially after his comments that teams bowling second under the lights have an unfair advantage. However, rather than serving as a confidence booster ahead of the England series, this result capped a disappointing and ultimately forgetful tour.

Double-centuries from Shiv Sunder Das and captain Sanjay Raul helped Orissa pile on a massive 575 for four at the end of the second day of their all-important East Zone Ranji match against Bengal at Baripada on Sunday.Earlier, Orissa after winning the toss, lost opener BBCC Mohanty for no score. No. 3 Rashmi Ranjan Parida made 28 before he too was out. It was at this juncture, with the team score on 58-2, that Das and Raul began their grand stand. Das, who made 253 before he was run out, also had the pleasure of registering the highest Ranji score of the current season. Raul too must have been pleased at the end of a day which saw him register 210 runs against his name. The two men put on a massive 456 runs together before Raul was out. PM Mullick on 22* and P Jayachandra 30* were holding fort when stumps were drawn.

For the second consecutive game the Zimbabweans will go into the last day of the match with their backs to the wall and a draw their only realistic goal. Having gained the upper-hand in this match after bowling out the Sri Lankans for just 212 and then progressing to 142-4 in reply, they collapsed to 173 all out. Grateful for the lead, the Sri Lankan’s then extended it to 117 with an unbroken opening stand of 78.Spurred on by a May Day crowd of at least 38 locals, the Sri Lankan opening bowlers struck immediately in the morning. Suresh Perera, who is making his comeback to first class cricket after a layoff of 5 months due to a stress fracture, trapped Neil Ferreira (0) with the forth delivery of the day. Four balls later Gavin Rennie (1) chipped an easy return catch back to Dinusha Fernando and Zimbabwe were precariously placed on 2-2.The early wickets gave Aleser Maragwede (7) and Douglas Marillier (81) their first chance of a bat on this tour and an opportunity to push for their inclusion in the test side. With Andy Blignaut still suffering from a back injury and Mark Vermeulen having a wrist injury there could well be some changes for the match in Galle.It was an opportunity that Douglas Marillier didn’t waste. His presence on this tour a remarkable triumph in itself after a horrific car accident a few years ago, he compiled a fluent and entertaining half century. Unfortunately for his team only Craig Wishart (26) was able to give him support.Craig Wishart joined Marillier in the 26th over after Dion Ebrahim (18) was caught behind off the impressive left arm spin of Dinuk Hettiarachchi. After the lunch break the pair took the attack to the Sri Lankan bowlers, scoring 69 runs in an hour. However Wishart’s obvious skill and power was eventually undermined by some poor decision making. Immediately after cutting Priyanka Wickramasinghe to the point boundary he was caught at short cover trying to drive a ballfrom the same bowler that was too short in length.Having made the breakthrough the Sri Lankan spinners then applied the pressure with some miserly bowling, 11 runs being scored off nine overs. Stuck in the 80’s Douglas Marillier was then deceived by some extra bounce from Priyanka and was caught behind. Greg Lamb (10) walked straight in front of his stumps and was uncontroversially adjudged LBW and Peacock (2) popped up a simple catch to Suresh Perera just on the stroke of tea.Despite Angus Mackay’s attempt to launch something of a counter attack the tailenders cold offer little resistance. Dinuk Hettiarachchi (3-25) finishing off the innings with two quick wickets. It was just reward for a fine spell of bowling by the left arm spin. An energetic spinner of the ball he was prepared to give the ball and vary his pace. On the evidence of today he is currently Sri Lanka’s best left arm spinner.The Sri Lankan openers wasted no time in extending their small lead and were rarely troubled by the Zimbabwean bowlers. Shantha Kalavitigoda was the more attacking of the two: hitting eight fours and one six in a fine 49 not out. Ian Daniels (25*) looked equally impressive but nevertheless content to leave the acceleration to his partner.

Gio van Bronckhorst will be hoping to guide his Rangers side to back-to-back wins as they return to Premiership action at Ibrox on Saturday.

The Gers ended a run of three straight draws in all competitions by securing a 1-0 win in midweek and now have the chance to build on that this weekend.

Glen Kamara scored the only goal of the game as they beat St Johnstone last Wednesday, and they are set to play host to Aberdeen in the league on Saturday afternoon.

Unleash Sakala

One player who Van Bronckhorst must unleash from the start this weekend is Fashion Sakala, after he was surprisingly dropped for the win over St Johnstone.

He put in an excellent showing in the draw with Motherwell but was dropped to the bench in midweek as Scott Arfield lined up in the front three instead of him. This may have been down to fitness or simple rotation from the Dutch head coach, but he should now bring the Zambian straight back into the starting XI tomorrow to play in the attacking trident alongside Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent.

Against Motherwell, Sakala was a constant threat to the opposition. As per SofaScore, he created three chances for his team-mates, completed one dribble and hit four shots at goal, one of which landed in the back of the net as he brilliantly swept home a cross from Kent to make it 2-0 at the time.

Over the course of the campaign, the 24-year-old has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.01 as he has scored seven goals and provided one assist in 22 Premiership matches.

The “firework” – in the words of Alan Hutton, who also said that he “plays at 100 miles per hour” – has averaged 1.2 key passes per game and created four ‘big chances’ – suggesting that he deserves more than one assist – whilst missing three huge opportunities in front of goal himself.

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Meanwhile, Arfield has four goals and zero assists in 21 matches this term. He has missed a whopping seven ‘big chances’ and created none for his team-mates, which suggests that he is incredibly wasteful in front of goal whilst offering no creative threat for the other players in the team.

Therefore, Sakala is far better than the Canadian out on the right, as he is the better finisher out of the two and is able to deliver chances for his team-mates to finish off. The summer signing simply offers more in the final third and that is why he must be unleashed from the start against Aberdeen.

AND in other news, Forget Roofe: Van Bronckhorst can save Rangers millions in “big talent” who scores every 41 minutes…

Three of Bermuda’s squad members who should have appeared in their side’s Stanford 20/20 campaign are facing lengthy bans after failing a drugs test.”If any athlete has tested positive with us we then send a portion of the specimen to the government lab for confirmation,” Cathy Belvedere, a spokesman for the Bermuda Council for Drug Free Sports, told newspaper. “And if it is confirmed positive they then get a one year infraction.”They can apply for the domestic application whereas they won’t be able to represent Bermuda during that year but can go back to playing gymnastics, football, cricket or whatever sport they are involved in,” Belvedere added. “They would also have to agree to some counselling, but that’s only if there’s a positive find.”Although the identity of the players is not yet known, it was confirmed that two of the trio represented Somerset – one of Bermuda’s domestic teams – while the other is “a prominent member” of St George’s, the domestic champions.”All of the players [in the national team] were tested, but unfortunately not everyone cleared the process which has policies in place that all national bodies must adhere to,” Reggie Pearman, president of the Bermuda Cricket Board, said. “All of the players knew what was required of them and what the consequences were.”