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A huge Newcastle United claim has been dropped regarding Fabian Schar’s future at St James’ Park…

What’s the talk?

According to i News reporter Mark Douglas, the centre-back is eager to put pen to paper on a contract extension with the club.

The report claimed that there have been positive talks between the two parties in the midst of interest from clubs in Serie A. It is said that the Swiss defender’s wages will not be an issue for PIF as they attempt to prevent him from leaving for nothing at the end of his current deal in the summer.

Elation

This news will surely leave Eddie Howe elated, as keeping Schar heading into the 2022/23 campaign will be a major boost to his Newcastle squad.

The Switzerland international is now in his fourth season for the Magpies and is currently a regular starter alongside Dan Burn at the back. Schar has started 10 league games in 2022 and only lost two of them, scoring one goal and setting up another whilst helping his side to record three clean sheets, which shows the impressive form he is enjoying at the moment.

In the 2018/19 campaign, he averaged an excellent SofaScore rating of 7.14 as he scored four goals in 24 top-flight appearances. The centre-back averaged a whopping 5.3 tackles and interceptions per game in that campaign as he showcased his defensive prowess for the Toon.

He is a proven Premier League performer who also has the ability in possession to be a part of a progressive system moving forward. As per FBRef, he ranks in the 91st percentile for attacking touches, 81st for dribbles completed, 97th for assists and 82nd for shot-creating actions amongst centre-backs in Europe’s top five leagues over the last 365 days.

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This shows that he has the quality in possession to do more than just clear danger and worry about the next attack to defend. For example, Jamaal Lascelles ranks in the 12th percentile for dribbling, 30th for assists and 12th for shot-creating actions, as per FBRef, suggesting that he is not as influential in possession in comparison to Schar.

Therefore, Howe will be buzzing to retain the 30-year-old, and this news suggests that the defender will be staying at St James’ Park beyond the end of the current season. The ex-Bournemouth coach will surely be eager to lean on him again at the heart of his defence next term, both for his out-and-out defending and his use of the ball to build attacks for Newcastle.

AND in other news, NUFC eye £49.5m-rated “phenomenon” who’s a “work of art”, he’d ignite St James’ Park…

There will be beach parties, street parties and house parties, at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens there will be live music, and by the time the clock strikes 12 the annual fireworks display at the Waterfront will blast Cape Town into 2016. And somehow, South Africa have to find a way to sit in silence amid all that sound.”It’s important for our team to stay a really tight unit and try and keep the noise out,” Russell Domingo, South Africa’s coach, said after their Boxing Day Test defeat. “There will be a lot said, a lot written about and a lot of comments on Twitter and Facebook, and to try keep the noise out and keep in mind what this team is capable of is going to be the important thing for us.”New Year’s Eve celebrations aside, South Africa are dealing with a lot of distractions ahead of the second Test. Chief among them is the selection dilemma which has grown now that a third member of pace pack, Kyle Abbott, has experienced tightness in his hamstring.In-form Hardus Viljoen has been called up as cover but his 20 wickets in two matches still puts him last in a three-man queue led by Kagiso Rabada, who should replace Dale Steyn if his shoulder stays injured, and Chris Morris, who seems to have been picked on the basis that he can bat more than that he can bowl. If either Morris or Viljoen is capped, South Africa will field their most inexperienced bowling line-up in years, which Morne Morkel will lead.That is not necessarily a bad thing, especially as stubbornness to send senior players from the batting department back to domestic cricket is costing South Africa more. In 20 innings between them in 2015, Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy average 16.75 and 14.00 respectively but are being retained on reputation.”When you have got players the calibre of Hashim Amla, JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis, with proven records, performances under pressure and big hundreds when it counts, you know they are one or two innings away from a big score and you’ve got to keep believing in that,” Domingo said. “Whether it’s for five or 10 innings, I can’t tell you that. You’ve just got to believe that they are going to make a score at some stage.”AB de Villiers’ workload and Faf du Plessis’ lack of runs are two concerns for South Africa•Getty Images

Amla is not faring much better, with a 2015 average of 22.81 and the extra pressure of captaincy. Having been reluctant to lead before – he even stood down as ODI vice-captain in 2011 – his current lack of form has only fuelled speculation he may want to step aside again but he maintains he won’t. “I definitely want to continue. I’ve enjoyed every minute of captaining,” Amla said. “It’s just been disappointing not to get the runs. But in the middle of a Test series like this, I am getting more and more hungry to get runs on the board.”His cause is not being helped by controversial comments from former captain Graeme Smith, who remains close to many players in the side and does not seem to be offering Amla much support. In one analysis, Smith said the team “needs leadership to be strong and to make good decisions for the team”, in another he sensed “a few rumblings in the South African camp at the moment”.Domingo darted in to shield Amla from scrutiny over what Smith said but it was not overly convincing. “Smithy is entitled to his opinion,” Domingo said. “From what I am aware, it seems a pretty happy camp. They are not happy with the performances but they are all supporting and backing each other and supporting the captain 100%. The issues or the gripes that [Smith] is perceiving – I’m not too sure where they are coming from.”They are coming from the rumours of AB de Villiers’ early retirement, which even Smith has hinted at, despite de Villiers saying he just wants to manage his workload. On the BBC’s Test Match Special, Smith said “his interview wasn’t that convincing” and, since he remains very friendly with de Villiers, he would know.The selectors have already taken a step to ease de Villiers’ concerns by including Quinton de Kock in the squad for the second Test. They have not confirmed that de Kock will play, or if he will keep, but it seems a poorly kept secret that he will and that South Africa believe it will be the solution to all their batting woes. It will not.Although de Kock is in form, he is man in form. De Villiers has already showed South Africa they need more than that, even more than two. De Kock cannot ease the concerns over the top two, he cannot help Amla or du Plessis or Duminy find form, and he cannot single-handedly stop the noise. For that, South Africa need to ring the New Year in by putting on a better performance at Newlands. Then, given the high percentage of English supporters expected at the ground, it will be quiet.

Brian Lara is the first big name to sign up for the ICL © Getty Images

Brian Lara has become the first big-name signing for the Indian Cricket League, which announced today that it has also contracted former Indian allrounder Madan Lal to coach its Delhi team and Balwinder Singh Sandhu as director of academies.Lara, who retired from international cricket after the World Cup earlier this year, said he looked forward to playing with promising youngsters and to captaining one of the teams. “You can’t keep me too far from cricket and hence I return to the game in this exciting new avatar”, Lara said in a statement issued by the Essel Group, promoters of the ICL.Lara’s joining the ICL had first been reported in May and at the time the names of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath had also been linked with the league.Rajesh Chauhan and Pranob Roy, former players who had also served as selectors, were roped in as talent scouts for the league. They joined Kapil Dev, Kiran More and Sandeep Patil on the ICL roster.The Board for Control of Cricket in India has not given its official sanction to the ICL, and has, in a controversial decision, barred current India players and former players on its payroll from associating with it.Niranjan Shah, the secretary of the BCCI, recently said the board had decided not to recognise the ICL as no State Association was in its favour. “We don’t want to promoteanybody who wants to be a parallel body. We have a policy and there will not be any re-think on this.”Lal, who was a part of India’s World Cup-winning team captained by Kapil Dev, said his role as a coach included inculcating character in the team and creating a “brand of cricket which possesses killer instinct”.In his reaction, Sandhu pointed out that he had been the head coach at the BCCI’s National Cricket Academy and the coach of the under-19 team.

MCC 165 for 5 (Cairns 61*) beat European XI 162 (Cairns 3-26) by five wickets
ScorecardMCC eased to a five-wicket win in their match against a European XI at Rotterdam, thanks largely to the allround efforts of Chris Cairns who smacked an unbeaten 61 after taking 3 for 26.MCC were wobbling on 97 for 5 before Cairns drew on his experience to launch a measured counterattack with Rob Turner, the pair adding an unbeaten 68 for the sixth wicket. Cairns was steady rather than spectacular, but still managed to score at better than a run-a-ball.Trent Johnston was the pick of the European bowlers, taking 1 for 16 from nine overs.

‘Katich batting at No. 3 will be one of the options’© Getty Images

On the performance today
We are very happy with the performance. To be 3 for 160 at the end of the day is very satisfying for us. There was a good bit of time for all the players who batted.On the rain delay
Yes, but we can’t do anything about that. We got a chance to get used to the conditions.On the Mumbai attack
The attack was very good in terms of work divided. I think Ajit Agarkar is very much in consideration with the Indian selectors. I thought the use of [Ramesh] Powar, the offspinner, early on was a good move by the Mumbai team. It was good for us, too, as it gave Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer a chance to experience a slower bowler from the outset. I think it was very useful for us as a batting team.On Ricky Ponting missing the second Test
I think we basically thought that it was unlikely he would play in the second Test. I think he, like all of us, knew that that would be the outcome. So it’s good that his thumb is recovering well, and we expect him during the second Test and hopefully he will return for the third Test.Selection for this game
The players that we left out will be relatively comfortable about their own preparation. So that gave the opportunity to other players who we needed to see in match circumstances.On Simon Katich batting at No. 3
That is not completely certain for the Tests, but it is one of the options we have. We are getting closer to understanding what our final combination will be, so there is every chance that Katich batting at No. 3 will be one of the options when the selectors sit down to pick the team.

India A 213 for 5 (Sriram 105*) beat England A 210 (Smith 76*, Newman 68) by five wickets
ScorecardSridharan Sriram scored an unbeaten 105, adding 155 for the fifth wicket with Venugopal Rao, as India A eased past England A’s substandard target of 211 to complete a 3-0 clean sweep in Chennai. The victory was secured with nearly five overs to spare, and ensures that England will enter the first-class phase of their tour with spirits at a low ebb.It was a disappointing performance from start to finish for England. The high point came when Scott Newman and Ed Smith were adding 99 for the third wicket, but only one other batsman could reach double figures – Sajid Mahmood, who made a rapid 13 from No. 9. England tumbled from 141 for 3 to 210 all out with nearly three overs of their innings still remaining.It has been a difficult week for England A, with defeats in the first two matches, and the loss of their captain, Alex Gidman, to a hand injury. His absence was compounded by the suspension of Bilal Shafayat for dissent in the second match, and when James Tredwell won the toss and chose to bat, his decision instantly backfired. England lost two early wickets, including the big scalp of Kevin Pietersen, whose hard-hitting 131 had salvaged the innings in Tuesday’s match.But Newman and Smith held the innings together. Newman was especially impressive, but when he fell for 68, the innings disintegrated despite Smith’s best efforts to stay afloat. Smith, who is used to tough situations after making his Test debut in last summer’s closely fought series with South Africa, was left not out on 76, as the last seven wickets tumbled for 69. The pick of India’s bowlers was Sairaj Bahutule, who claimed 3 for 33 from a 10-over spell.England made a fighting start to India’s innings, with Mahmood leading from the front with three early wickets, including both openers – Dinesh Mongia included – for single figures. He later added the scalp of JP Yadav, while Graeme Wagg removed Mithan Manhas for 14. But from 34 for 4, India A rallied through the efforts of Sriram and Rao, who were not parted until the match was as good as over. On the plus side for England, Simon Jones came through another 10-over spell unscathed, finishing with 0 for 39.

MELBOURNE, Dec 16 AAP – Shane Warne should be available for Australia’s World Cup cricket campaign after undergoing shoulder surgery today.Australian team doctor Trefor James said Warne had undergone arthroscopic surgery this morning after he dislocated his bowling shoulder against England last night.James said Warne would be out of action for up to six weeks, meaning Warne will miss the remaining two Ashes Tests against England and the rest of the triangular one-day cricket series.But James was hopeful of having Warne back by the start of the World Cup in late February.”I don’t think I could be definite, we are hopeful he will be available and we will just have to wait until we’ll be in a better position to see,” he said.James said Warne was likely to make a full recovery despite fears his latest injury might have finished his career.”We expect him to bowl without any dramas and in the short term, we expect him to be out for four to six weeks,” James said.James said Warne was in shock and disappointment last night but in good spirits today.James said Warne faced a low-risk of redislocating his shoulder.But he said any risk would be associated with throwing a ball rather than bowling.James said Warne’s previous shoulder surgery had no bearing on his latest injury.He said Warne had a good track record of recovering from injuries and was diligent in his approach to rehabilitation.Melbourne specialist Greg Hoy performed the surgery, which was exploratory.

Four days have now been completed of quite splendid Test cricket, played on one of the finest pitches seen in England for many years. The game is poised for a fascinating final day and beautifully balanced with England overnight on 85 without loss.Michael Atherton had to endure a fearsome examination from his old colleague Wasim Akram who peppered him with a series of shortpitched deliveries but both he and Marcus Trescothick stood firm. Waqar Younis was expensive but Saqlain turned several deliveries past the outside edge of the England left-hander which will give Pakistan significant hope for tomorrow. There were several close calls, and a handful of pleading appeals, but to Pakistan’s dismay both umpires remained unmoved.Trescothick helped himself to a final dessert with consecutive boundaries from the last two balls of the day. He needs two for his half-century tomorrow morning and England require a further 285 runs to win from a minimum of 90 overs.The day’s play, once again, had everything. Magnificent batting, plenty of boundaries, quick bowling and fortunes always in the balance.Inzamam and Yousuf Youhana had resumed in the morning and they moved their partnership serenely on to 141, Inzamam repeating some of the wonderful strokes of his first innings century. There was fluent driving, clips through mid-wicket and he was particularly harsh on anything short – one memorable six over mid-wicket off Caddick had the large crowd roaring their delight.Yousuf, also began to find his form and timing, but history repeated itself within 24 hours when both players in a big partnership departed inside six balls. Hoggard deceived Inzamam with a slow off cutter and Youhana was adjudged to have gloved a snorter from Caddick to Stewart, though TV replays showed that the ball had actually touched the helmet. Similarly, Younis Khan was unfortunate to get the nod from umpire Shepherd, lbw to Cork when he probably had nicked the ball on to his pad.The new ball was taken and Pakistan took the initiative. Although Caddick yorked Azhar, Wasim Akram flayed Gough, Caddick and Hoggard to every part of his beloved Old Trafford. Caddick was removed from the attack with figures of one for 16 from his two overs with the new ball. Driving, and pulling with savage intensity, the Pakistani icon established his team as the favourites to win at this juncture.A partnership of 50 with Rashid Latif, and some slogging from Waqar and Saqlain at the end ensured that England would require 13 more than their first innings score to emerge as winners in this magnificent Test Match.

During his post-match press conference following Tottenham’s 3-1 victory over West Ham, Antonio Conte hailed the improvements made by Lilywhites youngster Dane Scarlett.

The Lowdown: Scarlett’s rise at Spurs

The 17-year-old has made tremendous strides over the past year after impressing with Tottenham’s under-23 side.

As a result, he has been included in the Lilywhites’ first-team matchday squad 17 times this season, coming off the bench in the 4-0 win over Leeds in February.

Conte is a keen admirer of the young striker – indeed, last month the 52-year-old publicly labelled him as “the best prospect from the academy”.

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The Latest: Conte praise for Scarlett

During his post-match press conference after the win over West Ham on Sunday, Conte sang Scarlett’s praises, claiming that the 17-year-old will play a big part in Spurs’ future.

As quoted by football.london, the Tottenham manager stated:

“I’m seeing a lot of improvement today in [Dane] Scarlett honestly if I have to tell you. Seeing that this guy is improving a lot, he’s only 17-years-old but I can tell you that he is a really important prospect for Tottenham. He has to be patient and work behind these very important players and continue to work in this way because about Scarlett, I can tell you that I see a brilliant future for him.”

The Verdict: Huge praise

These comments should come as a huge fillip for the 17-year-old, who has had piecemeal action in the FA Cup and Europa Conference League this season. Judging by the manager’s glowing praise, Scarlett may yet be handed more senior game-time in the closing weeks of the campaign.

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Indeed, the Italian is not the first Spurs coach to sing the teenager’s praises. Scarlett was previously hailed by former Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho, who claimed that “he will be somebody in a few years” and is already a “phenomenal” player.

The teenager even featured in the Europa League twice under Mourinho, so following Conte’s latest comments, he will be hoping to receive further opportunities under the Italian, who it’s fair to say is a massive admirer of this particular ‘one of our own’ in N17.

In other news: One Tottenham player may have risked incurring the wrath of Conte and the Spurs hierarchy

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSylhet Superstars recorded their first win of the season•BCB

Ravi Bopara brought Sylhet Super Stars their first win of the BPL season, beating Comilla Victorians by four wickets with two balls to spare in a hard-fought contest. Bopara took four wickets and later struck 50 of 38 balls, which was also his first meaningful contribution with the bat.Had he stayed till the end, the contest may not have been as exciting. As it was Abu Hider, the 19-year old left-arm seamer took back-to-back wickets in the final over including Bopara’s to leave the equation at three needed off three balls. Nazmul Hossain Milon defused the tenions with a six to secure the victory.It was a difficult end for the man who led Comilla’s defence. Hider claimed the first breakthrough in the sixth over, inducing a top edge from Mominul Haque which was called for and caught by wicketkeeper Liton ADas amid four other fielders in the vicinity. Sylhet still had Dilshan Munaweera, who hammered Mashrafe Mortaza for a six over square leg, en route to 36 off 26 balls. It was Hider again that made the incision as Munaweera cut straight to point.Bopara, promoted to No 3, joined Mushfiqur Rahim and stabilised the innings with an 87-run partnership which ultimately proved match-winning.Sylhet were 76 for 2 after 10 overs, needing a relatively straightforward 89 more. Bopara and Mushfiqur struck four fours in the 14th and 15th overs, to reduce the chase to a simple 45 off the last 30 balls.Mashrafe conceded a boundary off the first ball of the 16th over, but then missed a great chance to run Mushfiqur out when he had three stumps to aim at and the batsman nowhere near safety. As if to emphasise the good luck Sylhet’s captain had, Mushfiqur was dropped the very next ball. Two balls, two chances and two reprieves. Eventually, Kulasekara bowled him with an inswinger for 47 off 31 balls.Earlier when Comilla batted first, Liton Das sent the crowd into frenzy as he got Comilla off to a quick start. It began with a streaky four off the second ball of the match, the edge burst through Munaweera at slip. Liton’s next five fours were quite convincing. He flicked, drove inside out, carved past point and tonked one over mid-off to provide 42 out of the 56-run opening stand with Imrul Kayes. Liton was dismissed by Bopara in the seventh over, to signal the momentum shift.Bopara then took out Mukhtar Ahmed and Shuvagata Hom in the ninth over to leave Comilla in a bit of crisis at 66 for 3.Kayes, who was batting well within himself, got a reprieve. He jammed the bat down on a Munaweera delivery in the 11th over, the ball then rolled onto the stumps but did not topple the bails over. Kayes and Ashar Zaidi then added 62 runs for the fourth wicket though the latter, on 9, survived a chance when Nurul Hasan misjudged a catch at midwicket and overran the ball.Kayes smacked Rubel Hossain for a four over mid-on soon after, and followed it up with a six off Bopara, who completed his second four-for in T20s. Zaidi finished with two fours and a six in the final over, but his 53 off 36 balls could not bring his side a victory