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Ian Harvey held his nerve to clinch a Gloucestershire an eight-run Norwich Union League success over arch-rivals Somerset at Taunton.The Australian claimed 4-42, conceding just two runs off the final over to restrict Somerset to 211-8 in reply to 219-9.Gloucestershire’s total after winning the toss did not look likely to be enough, despite Kim Barnett’s rock-solid 94, made off 119 balls, with seven fours.The visitors were 163-2 at one stage in excellent batting conditions as Tim Hancock (43) and Matt Windows (33) helped give them a fine start.Keith Parsons, who had dropped Barnett on 20, removed Hancock and Jeremy Snape with successive balls, and later produced a brilliant throw from deep backward point to run out Harvey for four.From that point the Gloucestershire innings fell away and Somerset must have fancied their chances of getting 220 in bright sunshine on a good pitch.Surprisingly, the hosts chose to alter their batting order. And, whileRichard Johnson hit a quick 20 on promotion to open, leading batsmen Parsons and Mike Burns did not appear until six and seven respectively.Peter Bowler did his best to match Barnett’s effort with a steady 60. But wickets fell regularly around him and by the time acting skipper Burns came in at 145-5 Gloucestershire had taken a grip.Burns hit an unbeaten 32 as some late swipes by Rob Turner and Keith Dutch gave Somerset renewed hope.But Harvey again proved his worth bowling at the end of a limited overs innings and produced a faultless last over to give Gloucestershire the points.

Arsenal are interested in a deal to bring Cody Gakpo to The Emirates in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Dutch media outlet Voetbal International, who claim that Mikel Arteta’s side are currently leading the race for the PSV Eindhoven forward, while the likes of Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Manchester City are also believed to be keeping a close eye on the situation of the 22-year-old – who the Eredivisie side reportedly value at around £42m.

The next Dennis Bergkamp

Considering the sheer amount of potential Gakpo quite clearly possesses, it is easy to see why Mikel Arteta is plotting a move to bring the Netherlands international to Arsenal this summer.

Indeed, over his 20 Eredivisie appearances this season, the £22.5m-rated winger has been in sensational form for PSV, scoring eight goals, providing 13 assists and creating ten big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of three shots and making three key passes per game.

These metrics have seen the £7.4k-per-week forward who journalist Agragami dubbed a “serious talent” average an astonishing SofaScore match rating of 7.58, ranking the 22-year-old as the fourth-best player in the top flight of Dutch football.

However, it has not only been in the league that Gakpo has impressed, with the PSV starlet bagging a further eight goals and registering two more assists over 17 appearances in domestic and European cup competitions, taking his haul for the current campaign to a whopping 16 goals and 15 assists over 37 fixtures.

As such, while the two players do not particularly occupy the same position on the pitch – although Gakpo is capable of operating just off a centre-forward, as well as up top himself – should the Dutch prodigy be able to continue his remarkable goalscoring and creative form after a switch to north London this summer, the youngster could well go on to become the Gunners’ next Dennis Bergkamp – a player if the same nationality who bagged 113 goals and registered 94 assists over his 410 appearances for the club.

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However, before we get too carried away with the comparisons between Gakpo and both a Dutch and Arsenal legend, Arteta must ensure that he beats off the competition from Bayern, Liverpool and Manchester City for the 22-year-old – as it is clear for all to see that the winger could be a transformative signing for the Spaniard this summer.

AND in other news: Arteta can finally axe £27m-rated “practice dummy” as AFC bid for “sneaky” £13m dynamo

ScorecardAl-Amin Hossain had a good game, picking up 2 for 34, including Tamim Iqbal•BCB

Barisal Bulls’ batting revival came at the perfect time for them, although it was not quite so for Chittagong Vikings who were crushed at their home ground by 33 runs. Mahmudullah, Seekkuge Prasanna and Mehedi Maruf played without fear, on a good pitch to pile on 170 for 7, which was more then enough for their bowlers.While Chittagong slipped to their fourth loss in five matches, Barisal put up their third win in four matches and did so only after overcoming some stutters.The start of the Barisal innings was a grim reminder of how they got bowled out for 108 and 89 in their last two innings. Evin Lewis, Rony Talukdar and Sabbir Rahman all fell lbw to leave the score at 12 for 3 in the third over. Maruf, playing in his first match of this campaign, mounted resistance when he whacked Enamul Haque jnr’s full toss for a straight six. Then he paddled Elton Chigumbura over the square leg boundary, a shot that stood out among the nine sixes and eight fours in the innings. But Maruf was dismissed in the 10th over for a bright 28 off 25 balls, and Barisal slipped again when Nadif Chowdhury was the fourth leg-before victim in the 12th over.Mahmudullah and Prasanna ensured there wasn’t a lull in the scoring though and eventually they started hitting sixes almost at will. Their partnership for the sixth wicket provided 61 runs in 33 balls.Prasanna bashed Ziaur Rahman for two sixes over midwicket and Mahmudullah smashed Enamul over long-on. With runs leaking and pressure mounting, Chittagong played a hand in their own undoing. Ziaur and Naeem Islam, at long-off and long-on, dropped Prasanna and parried the ball on both occasions for sixes in the 16th over. The second instance was a no-ball as well. Prasanna was finally dismissed for 36 off 20 balls, after hitting a four and four sixes. A measure of Barisal’s misfiring batting until this match was that this partnership was only their second fifty-plus stand in the competition.Mahmudullah pushed on and made his second half-century in the competition. He was caught behind at the end of a nine-ball over by Chigumbura, who conceded 16 and 22 in his two overs, not to mention the four wides and a no-ball. All of them added up to a total that became too much to chase.Chittagong’s reply would have depended heavily on their top order but Al-Amin Hossain dealt a major blow when he had Tamim Iqbal caught at mid-on. Kamran Akmal, playing his first BPL game this season, was run out after he ran wide of the crease and then failed to drag his bat in the third over. Mohammad Sami then took an excellent catch at mid-on to get rid of Dilshan who made 19.Al-Amin struck again in the sixth over, drawing Anamul’s leading edge which was easily taken at point. In came Chigumbura, with his team at 40 for 4 before the Powerplay was even done, and his day only got worse as he was caught behind after making 5 off 11 balls.When Ziaur was caught at long-on off Sami in the 14th over, Chittagong’s chase was all but over. They were 77 for 6, with only the tail to rely on to handle an equation that read 94 needed off 37 balls. Naeem Islam was the only notable contribution – 38 off 40 balls. Kevon Cooper ended up with three wickets to take him to second place among the top wicket-takers in the BPL so far, while Al-Amin took 2 for 34.

Alex Tudor made 35 for Essex and took two Middlesex wickets at Lord’s, before the rain fell © Getty Images

Division One

Hampshire fought back well against Durham after Michael di Venuto and Will Smith’s century opening stand put them on the back foot at the Rose Bowl. Resuming on 160 for 5, Hampshire lost their last five wickets for 72 today and then watched di Venuto pile up a century, as he and Smith (28) added 116, then Gordon Muchall (58) joined him to add a further 94. But di Venuto’s dismissal, for 124, heralded something of a collapse, with Durham falling from 210 for 2 to 247 for 7.Brad Hodge’s 46th first-class hundred put Lancashire firmly in the driving seat against Kent at Old Trafford. Hodge helped the runs to pile up, assisted by half-centuries from Iain Sutcliffe, Mal Loye and Stuart Law and they reached 451 for 5 before declaring. Kent were 14 without loss by the close.Warwickshire managed to boost their total from 86 for 4 to 343 at Edgbaston, thanks to the efforts of Jim Troughton, who hit his 13th first-class century. Worcestershire lost just Phil Jaques before the close, reaching 77 for 1.The leaders Yorkshire were given a thorough working over by the champions Sussex after play finally got underway on the second day at Headingley. Jason Lewry and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan proved virtually unplayable as they combined to reduce the top order to 26 for 5. Robin Martin-Jenkins and Mushtaq Ahmed did further damage as Yorkshire slid to 139 all out. A rare bright point was the 32 not out made by Ajmal Shahzad in just his second first-class match this season. 21-year-old Shahzad shared in two stands, for the ninth and final wicket, which boosted Yorkshire from 85 for 8 to 139. But Sussex have an early glimmer of leapfrogging Yorkshire to the top.

Division Two

Essex’s seamers took three quick wickets to leave Middlesex struggling on 74 for 3 – trailing by 302 – on a curtailed second day at Lord’s. Essex’s lower order was quickly wrapped up – bowled out for 376 – but Alex Tudor made the most of the swinging conditions to remove Billy Godleman and Owais Shah, while Martin Saggers dismissed Nick Compton. Heavy rain ended the day early.Somerset continued to boss proceedings in a way to make Alan Sugar proud – with gritty authority – at Bristol, dismissing Gloucestershire for 121. But Andrew Caddick’s performance was from no apprentice – he took 7 for 30 from 18.5 overs. Marcus Trescothick took five of those catches, although he was later to lament a duck. With conditions favouring quicker bowlers, Justin Langer used just four bowlers; Charl Willoughby claiming two and Peter Trego the other. Langer was Somerset’s other faller as Neil Edwards and James Hildreth quickly erased the deficit and ended up with unbeaten half-centuries.Leicestershire piled on the misery for Northamptonshire on another truncated day at Northampton. Resuming on 53 for 3, they struggled to 105 for 6, before David Sales (72*) and Steven Crook (32*) put together the first meaningful partnership of the innings. They added an unbeaten 66 before an early stumps, with David Masters now having three wickets to his name.A ball has still yet to be bowled between Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire at Nottingham.

Jagmohan Dalmiya brushed aside Ganguly’s statements © Getty Images

Denying any involvement in leaking Greg Chappell’s controversial email last September, Jagmohan Dalmiya, the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), dismissed Sourav Ganguly’s charges against his group saying he did not expect loyalty as he was no more the chief of the Indian board (BCCI).”I am no longer in the BCCI. I have nothing to give. So, I do not expect loyalty from him,” Dalmiya told newspersons shortly after Ganguly’s email was made public by CAB dissidents.Ganguly blamed Dalmiya for leaking Chappell’s sensational email but Dalmiya said that Chappell himself had not wanted to send the mail to him. “Yes, I was one of the intended recipients,” he continued. “But in the meeting of the high-powered committee held in Mumbai after the controversy erupted, Chappell himself stated that he could not send it to me.The six-member committee, set-up to investigate that email, comprised Dalmiya, Ranbir Singh Mahendra, the then BCCI chief, SK Nair, the secretary, and three former India captains — Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and S Venkatraghavan. Asked whether he agreed with Ganguly that the email was leaked to damage his career, Dalmiya said “the e-mail does not concern me.”You put the question to those quarters who leaked it,” he said at a hurriedly convened media meet at the Eden Gardens. “This question can be best answered by the affected and those who made him affected.”

Andrew Flintoff: preparing for his 50th Test © Getty Images

As if his transformation into a national hero wasn’t enough to be getting on with, Andrew Flintoff has been appointed an honorary selector as he prepares to play his 50th Test in front of an adoring home crowd at Old Trafford.Flintoff’s allround heroics set up an excruciatingly tight two-run victory for England in the second Test at Edgbaston on Sunday, and now he is to be called upon to assess the conditions at Old Trafford before England decide on their final XI for tomorrow’s third Test.The temptation to name an unchanged side must be strong, but England are toying with the idea of giving a debut to the tall Hampshire seamer, Chris Tremlett, whose key attributes of bounce could play a part on a rock-hard Old Trafford pitch.”We just want to see the conditions and have a good long chat with Freddie [Flintoff],” Michael Vaughan told reporters on the eve of the match. “It’s his home ground. He knows the conditions better than most, certainly over the last year or so.”We haven’t played that much here so we are going to try to use his experience and see which is the best way to go,” added Vaughan, whose Yorkshire team-mate Matthew Hoggard would appear to be the most likely candidate to make way if Tremlett were to feature in this Test.”We want to have a look at the options of normal swing [Hoggard’s speciality], reverse swing, bounce [Tremlett], all the areas that you cover in a normal game of cricket. “We probably won’t decide until the last minute.”Flintoff’s Man-of-the-Match performance at Edgbaston included bowling figures of 7 for 131 and crucial innings of 68 and 73. “It’s difficult to say if there’s more to come from him,” said Vaughan. “He didn’t get five-for and he didn’t get a hundred. That’s the one area where he could get better, but it was an incredible game for the team and it was certainly a magnificent game for Freddie.”England’s latest victory was their first in a “live” Ashes Test since the opening match of the 1997 series, also at Edgbaston. “I always think momentum’s great but it can be difficult to deal with,” explained Vaughan, whose dream of becoming the first England captain in nine series to win the Ashes is still alive.”Everyone said Australia had the momentum going into Edgbaston, but for the first three days we dominated the game and it was only that last morning where they came back into it. You really do have to wipe the slate clean and make sure we go into this game fresh.”Vaughan’s concerns in the captaincy department are as nothing compared to his batting woes. He has scored just 32 runs in four innings, but was philosophical about his bad trot. “When you are playing well and getting a lot of runs that kind of form has to come to an end,” he said. “When you get a run of low scores that has to come to an end.”You can’t keep getting low scores. You work hard, keep doing the right things, and it will change in the middle, it has too,” added Vaughan who scored three hundreds in the last Ashes series, in Australia in 2002-03. “Sometimes you have to give credit to the bowlers. They’ve put all the batsmen under pressure.”

Yuvraj Singh: is he the answer to India’s opening gambit?© Getty Images

Yuvraj Singh, almost a certainty to open in Tests next season, has revealed that he wished to follow the same route as Virender Sehwag.Yuvraj, who is currently at the training camp in Bangalore, spoke about how Sehwag had blazed a trail with regard to opening the batting. “He has done tremendously in the opener’s slot,” Yuvraj said. “So, if I can do the same and be as successful as Sehwag, it would be good for the team.”Having had a successful time as an opener with Punjab last season, Yuvraj was optimistic about his new role. “I think it’s an advantage because if one sees through the new ball, one can also score big runs. So, I am looking forward to the challenge.”In the last domestic season, Yuvraj opened in all the three matches that he played for Punjab. He found the transition very smooth and the report card included 138 against Delhi, 80 against Railways and 38 in a low-scoring game against Andhra Pradesh.When asked if he will return to the middle order if he did not succeed as an opener, he said: “When you play cricket at international level, you don’t think about ifs and don’ts. Whatever the situation, you have to go through it, and be positive about it.”

The South Australian Cricket Association has announced that Woodville batsman Daniel Harris, has been flown to Brisbane to take part in the Pura Cup clash against the Queensland Bulls, starting today (January 19).Harris replaces Jeff Vaughan, who injured his left foot in Brisbane yesterday. Vaughan was hit on the foot while batting in the nets, and sustained severe bruising.Fast-bowler Paul Rofe, who dislocated and cut his finger during the ING Cup game on Friday, has been declared fit for the Pura Cup clash.The Redbacks team to face the Bulls is:

Greg Blewett (c)
Mark Cleary
Mark Cosgrove
John Davison
Shane Deitz
David Fitzgerald
Daniel Harris
Mark Harrity
Ben Higgins
Ben Johnson
Paul Rofe
Shaun Tait

Gloucestershire again suffered at the hands of Dominic Ostler as Warwickshire batted on remorselessly on another attritional day at Edgbaston.Ostler followed up his sparkling 134 in Tuesday’s floodlit National League game with a quickfire 92 which provided some welcome entertainment for a patient crowd as Warwickshire closed on 448-9.Ostler pulled and drove impressively as he struck 13 boundaries but he missed out on his second century of the summer when he was lured out of his ground by off-spinner Jeremy Snape and stumped by Reggie Williams.But Michael Powell, Warwickshire’s captain, made the most of a good batting pitch and an attack, depleted by the absence of Jon Lewis with a back injury, as he completed his first century of the season.It was the sixth Championship century of Powell’s career but, surprisingly, his first at Edgbaston.He began the day needing only three to reach three figures but managed only two singles from the first nine overs.However, he reached his century in style with a straight driven six off Martyn Ball and looked in no trouble at all until he edged Tim Hancock to Ball at slip on 133.Ostler then took control in a delightful innings in which he helped Warwickshire to secure a fourth batting point and to take the lead.He shared a seventh-wicket stand of 94 in 25 overs with Keith Piper who added to Gloucestershire’s frustration by making his first fifty of the season.There were four boundaries in Piper’s 115-ball half-century and he steered Warwickshire past 400 and to a useful lead of 88 which gave them a slim chance of forcing a victory.The start of play was delayed for 75 minutes by morning drizzle and an embarrassing breakdown of the ‘Brumbrella’, Edgbaston’s giant pitch cover.The motors failed and volunteers had to drag the cover off the pitch which was a hitch Warwickshire could have done without in the build-up to Thursday’s England v Pakistan One-Day International.

Glasgow Rangers are reportedly now fighting a number of clubs from the Premier League to sign teenage forward Bailey Rice.

The Lowdown: Motherwell sensation

Rice currently plays his trade at Motherwell, and is thought of as a highly-regarded talent.

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The 15-year-old has been called up the Scotland U17 squad, and has played the full 90 minutes in recent European Championship qualifying matches, while he has also captained his country at age-group level.

The Latest: Rangers lurking

As per Football Insider’s recruitment source, the Ibrox faithful are now fighting both Manchester City and Brighton and Hove Albion to sign Rice, and a recruitment source has revealed that the latter especially are ‘keeping close tabs’ on the attacker.

However, he cannot pen a professional deal with an English club until he is 17, while he only has to wait until he is 16 for Scottish teams, perhaps giving the Teddy Bears an advantage.

The Verdict: Exciting

Rice is certainly one to watch out for in the future, and the fact that the Light Blues could fend off Premier League competition for his services is exciting.

They already have some promising youngsters in the academy, like Juan Alegria and Tony Weston, and so adding Rice to the mix will surely catch the eye of Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

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Nonetheless, the Gers will need to act fast if they are to tie him down, and could perhaps even look to sell him to one of those English clubs for a tidy profit down the line.

In other news, find out what potential ‘catastrophe’ for RFC has now emerged here!