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Burnley fans in the Transfer Tavern are loving the action in the 2018 World Cup but can’t wait for their European adventure to begin on July 27.

The Clarets ended the season in seventh place, guaranteeing a place in next season’s Europa League. They will enter the qualifying rounds to fight for a place alongside Europe’s elite in the group stages. Sean Dyche’s side was drawn to face Scottish team Aberdeen in their first qualifier.

Our punters are hoping to see some new faces arrive at Turf Moor ahead of the journey up north. Scott Arfield left the club on a free transfer to Rangers, but Dyche is yet to make a signing in the summer window. Adding goals to the side will be a priority if Burnley are to compete on a European and domestic level.

Therefore, the perfect signing could be a former striker – Danny Ings. Valued at £7.2m by Transfermarkt, the striker left the club for Liverpool for £7m back in 2015 after an excellent debut season in the Premier League. His time on Merseyside has been plagued with injuries which has seen him fall down the pecking order. Ings recognises he needs first-team football and is set to leave the club this summer.

A return to Burnley would be the best option for the former England international as he looks to get his career back on track. Ings was a popular player at Turf Moor, scoring 43 goals in 130 appearances for the Clarets. Returning to the familiar environment under a manager that knows him well would be a wise decision.

Liverpool are unlikely to command a large fee for Ings due to his injury problems meaning Burnley could get a great deal. Still only 25-years-old, Burnley need their former forward to fire them to European success.

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Burnley fans, thoughts?

On Thursday night, Frank Lampard guided Everton to their third victory under his management since being appointed at the end of January, defeating National League side Boreham Wood 2-0 in the FA Cup fifth round at Goodison Park.

Salomon Rondon’s double was enough to earn the Toffees a place in the quarter-finals, and it was his best performance in an Everton shirt (in terms of match rating according to SofaScore) since arriving from Chinese outfit Dalian Professional on a free transfer last summer.

Not only did he complete 100% of his dribbles in a typically aggressive display, he also completed 21 out of 23 of his passes with a tremendous striking performance.

The Venezuela international has largely struggled since signing for the Toffees and has been used as nothing more than a backup option and cup striker. However, with Everton having scored just seven Premier League goals in 2022 so far, Rondon could potentially be of use to Lampard’s team, with the manager praising him as “something different”.

Since being appointed, Lampard has deployed a 4-4-2 formation twice, beating Leeds 3-0 but losing to Southampton 2-0. However, if Rondon is given a chance in that formation, he could make a huge impact, not just as a goalscorer but as a valuable team player.

The 32-year-old ranks in the top 11% among forwards across Europe’s top five leagues and continental competitions for aerial challenges won per 90 (4.78), as well as in the top 2% for passes attempted with a header per 90 (3.27). Those figures illustrate his ability to play as a target man alongside a faster forward to get onto his knockdowns.

He has also performed well when asked to press high up the pitch, ranking in the top 10% for successful pressures per 90 (5.41) and in the top 22% for pressures overall per 90 (17.62). Those figures suggest that he intelligently chooses when to press the opposition defence, giving him a higher success rate for pressures than most strikers.

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There aren’t many strikers in the world who you could consider a ‘bruiser’ but also likes to run and work for his team, along with being able to hold the ball up well and make effective aerial challenges. Therefore, if Lampard continues to try the 4-4-2 formation, he should definitely give Rondon a chance in the Premier League up top.

In other news: Lampard potentially heading for his biggest Everton disaster yet over £112m-rated trio

Karnataka captain Vinay Kumar capped his return from injury with a second-innings half-century and five-wicket haul that sent Vidarbha crashing to a 189-run loss inside three days in Vadodara. The win took Karnataka to their third victory in four games, thereby topping Group B at the season’s halfway mark.On a 17-wicket day in 71 overs, Karnataka first crumbled from 108 for 3 to 209 all out. Set 301 for victory, Vidarbha were skittled for 111, with Vinay returning 5 for 28.Left-arm pacer Shrikant Wagh (4 for 59) and Lalit Yadav ripped through Karnataka’s lower middle-order, before Vinay rescued them with 56 from No. 8. He hit eight fours along the way to build the lead.After top-scoring with the bat, Vinay returned to lead the bowling charge, by picking three of the first four wickets; Vidarbha slumped to 12 for 4 at one stage. Jitesh Sharma counter-attacked to make 61, before S Aravind and K Gowtham dismissed the tailenders to finish off the innings inside 37 overs.Saurashtra dismissed Assam for 171 in Kolkata with Jaydev Unadkat taking six wickets, but not before Assam took a first-innings lead of 18.Saurashtra started the day on 121 for 9 with Unadkat and Shaurya Sanandia adding 32 runs in the morning for a cumulative partnership of 46 runs for the final wicket – their highest in the innings. Unadkat’s 46 helped creep their score up to 153 before Sanadia was dismissed by Dhiraj Goswami.In the reply, Assam lost their first wicket in their second over and Unadkat’s double-strike in overs 13 and 15 saw them stranded at 26 for 3. But a 52-run partnership between Arun Karthik and Swarupam Purkayastha for the sixth-wicket took them close to Saurashtra’s score, before the former was dismissed for 57. Purkayastha was out the following over and then Unadkat and Jadeja cleaned up the tail to constrict Assam to a slender lead.Saurashtra lost opener Avi Barot to Arup Das – his eighth scalp of the match – as they ended on 0 for the loss of one wicket at stumps.Opener Ranjit Singh and Subhranshu Senapati helped Odisha to 244 for 2 after following-on against Rajasthan in Patiala. Their unbeaten partnership of 159 runs in 56.3 overs gave Odisha a 93-run lead before final day’s play.Beginning the day on 143 for 8 in their first innings, Odisha fell short of avoiding follow-on by one run as Pankaj Singh picked up the last two wickets to finish with 4 for 61 as they were all out for 172, chasing 343.Odisha batted better in their second innings; opener Sandeep Pattnaik scored a 32-ball 40 before his partner Singh and Senapati – both of whom remained not out on 89 and 90 – steered Odisha to a significant lead while playing out the seven Rajasthan bowlers used in the innings.Unmukt Chand reached his century and followed that up with another half-century as Delhi reached 165 for 1 in their second-innings at stumps against Jharkhand in Thumba after being asked to follow on.Starting the day on 225 for 3, Chand and overnight centurion Rishabh Pant added 36 runs more before the latter was removed by Ashish Kumar. Chand fell one run later, but not before he had completed his eighth first-class ton earlier in the day. The last five Delhi wickets could add only 72 more runs as they were dismissed for 334, trailing by 159. Kumar and offbreak bowler Sunny Gupta returned with three wickets each.In their second innings, Chand put on 109-runs with fellow-opener Dhruv Shorey before Gupta dismissed him for 63. Shorey continued, to post his third first-class fifty, and ended not out on 67 with Nitish Rana, at stumps with Delhi on 165 for 1, leading by six runs. * The report erroneously mentioned Karnataka had beaten Baroda. This has been corrected.

Shaun Tait’s appearances this summer have been sporadic as he recovers from elbow surgery © Getty Images

Cricket Australia has ordered Shaun Tait to rest from South Australia’s Pura Cup match starting on Friday as he continues to recover from an elbow injury. Tait played in the Redbacks’ one-day win over Western Australia on Wednesday, taking 2 for 50, but Australia are concerned that too much bowling could delay his progress.”Cricket Australia do not believe that playing Shaun in back-to-back four-day domestic matches is in the best interests of his pending return to the Australian team,” Mark Sorell, the South Australia coach said. “While we had hoped to play Shaun we are fully supportive of Cricket Australia’s decision.”While Tait will not play in Darren Lehmann’s farewell game against Western Australia at Adelaide Oval, he might be considered for the match against Queensland, which starts in eight days’ time. Sorell said the Redbacks understood the need for Tait to be handled carefully in the lead-up to Australia’s Chappell-Hadlee Trophy games in December and the Test series against India that follows.Tait had surgery on his right elbow in June and his recovery has been much slower than anticipated. He has played only one Pura Cup match this season and had been targeting an international comeback in the Chappell-Hadlee Series.South Australia squad Matthew Elliott, Callum Ferguson, Mark Cosgrove, Nathan Adcok (capt), Darren Lehmann, Andy Delmont, Graham Manou (wk), Ryan Harris, Jason Gillespie, Cullen Bailey, Dan Cullen.Western Australia squad Justin Langer, Chris Rogers, Adam Voges (capt), Liam Davis, Luke Ronchi (wk), Theo Doropoulos, Brad Hogg, Darren Wates, Aaron Heal, Steve Magoffin, Ben Edmondson, Mathew Inness.

Scorecard
Stuart Clark and Stuart MacGill made Darren Lehmann’s decision to bat look questionable in the Pura Cup match at Adelaide Oval, where South Australia crashed to 154 – and were lucky to even make that. MacGill finished with 3 for 6 as he ran through the Redbacks late in the innings, while Clark (2 for 33) set up the day of New South Wales dominance with two wickets in his first four overs.Phil Jaques and Greg Mail let the Redbacks off the hook with seven dropped catches between them but South Australia were unable to capitalise, managing to bat for only 65.3 overs. The opener Shane Deitz was dropped four times on his way to 62 before Doug Bollinger (2 for 30) finally had him caught behind off a thin edge.Lehmann also had a life before he was out for 32 just before tea to a magnificent return catch by MacGill. Clark, who is fighting for a place in Australia’s Ashes attack, had Matthew Elliott caught at gully for 0 from the fourth ball of the match, then claimed Cameron Borgas for 2. The Blues’ success came despite the fact that Moises Henriques, who took 5 for 17 against Queensland barely a week ago, was left out to make way for MacGill.In reply New South Wales showed there were runs in the pitch, reaching 2 for 96 at stumps. Phil Jaques and Ed Cowan (29 not out) led the way before Jaques was out for 44 off the last ball of the day.

Matthew Elliott: all set for his South Australia debut © Getty Images

Cameron Borgas, the Sturt batsman, and Gary Putland, the 19-year-old fast bowler from Southern District, are likely to make their ING Cup debut for South Australia, when they take on New South Wales in their opening game on October 23. Matthew Elliott, the left-handed batsman, was included in both the ING Cup and Pura Cup squads, announced today, and is set to make his South Australia debut, after moving from Victoria.Ryan Harris, the Northern Districts allrounder, was not available for selection, owing to a knee injury he sustained during yesterday’s one-day Grade match against Adelaide. Harris is scheduled to undergo surgery today on torn cartilage in his left knee and it is still uncertain how long he will be out of action.With the introduction this season of the super-sub initiative into the ING Cup competition, South Australia will be naming a 13-man team throughout the year. Of this 13, one player will be named as the super-sub and one player the 12th man on the morning of the match.The Pura Cup match, against New South Wales, will be held on the SCG from Tuesday, October 25.Redbacks ING Cup squad
Darren Lehmann (capt), Matthew Elliott, Graham Manou (vice-captain), Callum Ferguson, Nathan Adcock, Jason Gillespie, Greg Blewett, Mark Higgs, Cameron Borgas, Gary Putland, Mark Cleary, Paul Rofe, Daniel CullenRedbacks Pura Cup squad
Darren Lehmann (capt), Daniel Cullen, Graham Manou (vice-captain), Shane Deitz, Cullen Bailey, Matthew Elliott, Greg Blewett, Callum Ferguson, Cameron Borgas, Jason Gillespie, Mark Cleary, Paul Rofe

Hazare played his greatest innings against the best team of his era© Getty Images

Gideon Haigh
Perhaps because of the home-ground advantage each side enjoys, the history of cricket exchanges between Australia and India features a host of grand performances in the face of defeat. None, however, quite equals Vijay Hazare’s 116 and 145 amid the ruins of the two Indian innings at Adelaide in January 1948. The first Indian to accomplish the feat in Test cricket is still the only man to do so during a follow-on.Australia’s first Test series with India, and India’s first five-Test rubber, was a catchweight contest. The hosts were a constellation of talent seldom equalled; India were shorn of some of their best talent, including their first-choice leader Vijay Merchant, Mushtaq Ali, Rusi Modi and Fazal Mahmood.They accepted their subordinate role in the remarks of their manager Pankaj Gupta, who announced his hopes that Don Bradman would play: the Indians, Gupta said, had come to learn from him. Monstered by an innings and 226 runs at Brisbane then by 233 runs at Melbourne, they gave little appearance of having learned much. Hazare the bowler surprisingly accounted for Bradman at Sydney, but his bat was muted, and there were few expectations of resistance when India subsided to 133 for 5, chasing 674, shortly after lunch on the third day.In a match scheduled for six days, however, Hazare felt no need for haste, and soon found the pitch living up to the Adelaide Oval’s reputation for excellence. He reminded Ian Johnson of Len Hutton – the Indian was, perhaps, even “tighter” and “less inclined to be tempted”. But Hazare was not so much the renunciate that he could not work 14 boundaries. India finished nearly 300 behind, and followed on.When Ray Lindwall began India’s demolition in that follow-on, Hazare found himself taking guard in the first over to prevent a hat-trick, Vinoo Mankad and Lala Amarnath having been upended by the two preceding deliveries. Again, however, Hazare warmed to his task, meeting Keith Miller, Johnson, Ernie Toshack and Colin McCool alike. Though the crowds that turned out for Australia’s batting exhibition on the first two days had dwindled, the 5000 present became rapt in Hazare’s lonely vigil – “a great display of determined batting,” said Adelaide’s . He was 102 by the close, out of 188 for 6. “Two separate centuries in a Test!” exclaims Hazare in his formal, rather stilted autobiography, . “It seemed too good to be true.” Lindwall did eventually york him, breaking a 187-minute stand of 132 with Hemu Adhikari, but not until Hazare had batted six minutes short of 10 hours for the game, and generated 43% of India’s runs from the bat.Bradman later recalled a “lengthy argument with one of my compatriots” about Amarnath and Hazare – The Don preferred Hazare for his “soundness … and the correctness of his stroke production”, qualified only by concern about “a lack of aggression which prevented him taking charge of an attack”. In order to advance, though, Indian cricket had first to rule a line beyond which it discountenanced withdrawal, and Hazare had here engraved a very deep one indeed.
Raj Singh Dungarpur
Keith Miller was bowling with the second new ball – and Hazare considers Miller to be the toughest bowler he faced. Miller was bowling outswingers, but Hazare was so well-set that he flicked him for three boundaries through midwicket in an over. Miller said “Braddles, I want a deep midwicket.” Bradman turned around and said “Nugget, Australia’s new-ball bowler will not have a deep midwicket.”Hazare’s innings was awesome. The beauty was that he made it look easy. His hands moved up and down the handle like a flute player. When he cut, the right hand became dominant; when he drove the left. When he played fully forward, he stretched so much that he had to hop twice to get back.

A career can end in many ways. Some prefer a planned exit, others an impromptu departure. Some retire too quickly, others too slowly. Some Asian cricketers drag out their demise, eking out every morsel of acclaim and monetary reward. The bigger they come the slower they fade. Kapil Dev and Javed Miandad are two prime examples. This is not just an Asian trait, but it certainly runs more strongly in our blood.Such dithering can become a little bothersome for a cricket board intent on a clearout. What to do with a great cricketer who won’t let the fat lady sing? The answer is genius in its simplicity: announce a farewell match and stop the debate. The question is, why has nobody thought of it before? And the man with a chance to go down in history as a pioneer is Waqar Younis.Waqar has had some difficulty in the last few months. He hasn’t quite got the message. After Pakistan’s abysmal World Cup performance it seemed inevitable that he would retire from international cricket. Indeed, if Pakistan were to fail in the World Cup, a bad failure probably suited the purposes of the Pakistan Cricket Board best. Off the record, Pakistan officials will admit that it was a relief – they now had a mandate for change.Instead Waqar vowed to fight for his place, with a return to county cricket as part of his comeback plan. But in the meantime Pakistan’s young fast bowlers have rendered Waqar obsolete. And the recent public tiff between Waqar and Shoaib Akhtar underscores the painful tussle between old warhorses and young bucks that has paralysed Pakistan cricket over the last year. In offering Waqar a farewell home game against South Africa the message from the Pakistan Cricket Board is clear and simple: thank you and goodnight. The subtext is that this is Waqar’s best chance of a dignified exit, whereas the alternative is adding his name to the long list of great Asian cricketers who have departed with acrimony.It is touching too that this planned farewell will be hand in glove with Wasim Akram’s. Together they formed the most potent fast-bowling partnership in the history of Asian cricket, perhaps in world cricket. Together they will reward their fans with a final hurrah. Wasim, as ever, has shown a shrewder touch. Sensing that the mood was against him, Wasim announced his retirement and was instantly rewarded with a farewell game. During the NatWest Challenge in England I asked Wasim if he thought he should be playing. His reply? "I’ve had my time. It is time for the youngsters to enjoy themselves in the middle."Waqar should have taken a hint from Wasim’s retirement. Now the ignominy of having a farewell game foisted upon him can only be surpassed if he refuses to accept this unique offer. Waqar’s glittering career has brought many records. But there are no more on the horizon, except the dubious one of the first forced farewell. Waqar has still not accepted the Pakistan board’s proposal. He should. The selectors have said goodnight to Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram. Against South Africa in Pakistan it will be time for thank you.Kamran Abbasi, born in Lahore, brought up in Rotherham, is deputy editor of the British Medical Journal.

Welcome to the first issue of Zimbabwe Cricket Online for the 2001/02 season. Every week we plan to bring you news of cricket all over Zimbabwe, although for reasons beyond our control we will not be able to cover every area of the game, or even as extensively as we have done in the past. Still, we will try our best.In this issue we bring you news from Mashonaland, Matabeleland and Manicaland,and also a report on the first round of the Vigne Cup, the Mashonaland club competition. Unfortunately our regular club cricket contributor, Clive Ruffell, is no longer able to cover this, and we would like to thank him for his outstanding contributions of the past. Larry Moyo, sports reporter for The Herald, has willingly taken over this task. We also include a look at the coming season, through the eyes of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union managing director Dave Ellman-Brown, whose energy on behalf of cricket in this country remains as strong as ever.The South African tour has been covered extensively on CricInfo, and we have just a few thoughts to add on what was generally a disappointing Zimbabwe performance, with the exception of the incredible Andy Flower.Here is the cricket programme for Zimbabwe for the rest of the month:Friday 21 Sept: Zimbabwe A v South Africans (Queens Sports Club)Sunday 23 Sept: Zimbabwe v South Africa (1st ODI, Queens Sports Club)Vigne Cup Round 2 in HarareSaturday 29 Sept: Zimbabwe v South Africa (2nd ODI, Harare Sports Club)Sunday 30 Sept: Zimbabwe v South Africa (3rd ODI, Harare Sports Club)As usual, South Africa will be strong favourites to win the one-day series by three victories to none, but Zimbabwe have twice before upset the odds, once in the World Cup in England and once in South Africa. Can they do it a third time?

Leeds United are evaluating several options to replace Marcelo Bielsa as pressure starts to mount at Elland Road.

What’s the word?

The Yorkshire outfit were thrashed 6-0 by Liverpool in midweek, which was yet another humiliating and heavy defeat to one of the Premier League’s top teams.

Those six goals takes the Whites’ worrying record to 38 goals conceded across their last 12 outings in all competitions, in which they were beaten 7-0 by Manchester City and 4-1 by Arsenal, meaning they are leaking 3.2 goals per game at the moment.

According to verified Italian journalist Gianluigi Longari, Bielsa’s situation at Leeds is “complicated” and the club’s hierarchy have turned their attention to a new name in Paulo Fonseca.

Premier League rejection

Whilst it remains to be seen whether any managerial move would occur immediately or at the end of the season, all of the signals are suggesting that it could be Bielsa’s final few months in charge of the Yorkshire giants.

Back in December, ever-reliable reporter Phil Hay of The Athletic claimed that he had a “hunch is that this might be his last season”.

And evidently, recent results and the prospect of being dragged into a relegation dogfight have mounted the pressure on the 66-year-old, who has been at the helm since June 2018.

What he has done for the club will always be remembered and after all, he is something of a cult hero around west Yorkshire but these past few matches have been unacceptable, so it’s easy to see why Victor Orta may be planning for a different future.

But it’s unlikely that Fonseca is the answer. He has already been rejected by three other Premier League teams in the past year.

The 48-year-old came closest to Spurs, this weekend’s opponents, before the appointment of Nuno Santo in the summer but talks stalled despite sporting director Fabio Paratici naming him as his first-choice.

Newcastle United also were also close to appointing him following their Saudi-backed takeover. After three interviews, they turned their attentions elsewhere before settling on Eddie Howe, as per local news reports.

And then Aston Villa had him on their shortlist alongside Steven Gerrard, who they opted for instead.

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The Portuguese, who was once slammed for having an “abysmal” record against the big teams by Serie A expert Conor Clancy to Football FanCast, would clearly be no improvement on Bielsa as the pair have the same deficiencies.

If he wasn’t wanted by three other teams, including one below them in the standings, then that is rather damning, so Orta ought to stay clear of the former AS Roma and Shakhtar Donetsk boss.

AND in other news, £20.2m wasted: Leeds’ “forgotten man” has been robbing Radz blind for over 113 weeks…