All posts by h716a5.icu

Former Glasgow Rangers manager Alex McLeish has suggested Glen Kamara could leave the Gers this summer for the Premier League.

The Lowdown: Kamara linked with exit

After playing an important role in Rangers’ Premiership title win last term, Kamara has attracted plenty of interest from south of the border.

Watford (The Daily Mail), Arsenal and Leeds United (TEAMtalk) have all been linked with the midfielder, who started all three games for Finland at Euro 2020 (Transfermarkt).

The Latest: McLeish fears the worst

Speaking to Ibrox News, McLeish believes the £5.4m-valued 25-year-old (Transfermarkt) could leave the 55-time Scottish champions this summer. When asked whether the prospect of the Premier League would be too much to turn down for Kamara, he said:

“100%.

“It would surprise me if he did get offered the chance to go to one of those clubs and he turned it down.

“Listen, we hope that he would. I’m sure he has a massive attachment to Rangers, he knows what they have done for him, but life is short.

“A lot of players won’t waste the opportunity to leave and go to a bigger league, and the Premier League is bigger.”

The Verdict: Difficult

There is no doubt it will be difficult for Ross Wilson and co to hold on to Kamara this summer, which they will surely want to do. Yes, they can offer the potential carrot of Champions League football, but they must get through two rounds to make the group stages – there is no guarantee they will be able to do that.

After the last year or so, Kamara’s stock has grown massively, and that is only going to continue to do so after his Euro 2020 involvement.

Unfortunately, the Gers must prepare for the worse and plan ahead for beyond Kamara’s seemingly inevitable departure, whenever exactly that will be.

In other news, this Rangers man speaks about his Ibrox desperation.

Aston Villa have now registered their interest in Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe amid a potential summer transfer move.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent weeks have claimed that the centre-back could be set for a reunion with Dean Smith, having, of course, played under the Villa boss during their time in the Championship.

And now, Football Insider have revealed that Villa have now made an approach for the defender by registering their interest in him and that they will make an official move for him if given the encouragement to do so.

It’s added that: “Smith wants a young defender with Premier League experience to provide cover and competition for first-choice duo Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa. Tuanzebe has been targeted as he fits the profile of the recruitment team and has the potential to develop.”

Fans will be buzzing

The £7.2m-rated centre-back has earned rave reviews for his performances for United last season, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer waxing lyrical about him after he stopped PSG and Kylian Mbappe in the Champions League.

He said: “Axel’s a tremendous defender, a great leader. He’s come through the academy and we’ve known for years that he’s going to be a top player for us and he’s got the character and the attitude that a Man United player should have. Sometimes you’ll get in a foot race with Mbappe and you have to run with him and we know Axel’s qualities, he’s a top defender.”

Given the £50k-a-week earning ace has already played under Smith, he should be able to hit the ground running, especially with his experience of Premier League football at United too.

Tuanzebe featured 35 times in his one season at Villa, including starting in the club’s Championship play-offs run that earned them promotion back to the Premier League.

Villa fans will surely be buzzing at the prospect of another, young English talent heading to Villa Park and joining the likes of Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa as Smith’s impressive centre-back options, especially with Bjorn Engels’ recent departure.

Meanwhile, Villa could sign their new John Carew in this man…

The Logan Cup competition for this season would be very exciting, were it not for the fact that Mashonaland are once again almost certain to win

John Ward26-Oct-2002The Logan Cup competition for this season would be very exciting, were it not for the fact that Mashonaland are once again almost certain to win. The other three teams are very evenly matched; Midlands looked the strongest of the three at the start of the season but have not yet lived up to their potential, while Manicaland, perhaps the weakest on paper, secured a narrow victory over Midlands last weekend.The table, compiled by ZCU administration manager Ian Robinson, is produced below. 12 points are awarded for a win and 3 for a draw.

Bonus   PenaltyP    W    L    D    Bat  Bowl   Pts   TOTALMashonaland         2    2    -    -     8     7    0.5    38.5Manicaland          2    1    1    -     5     5    2      20Midlands            2    -    1    1     5     7    0.5    14.5Matabeleland        2    -    1    1     4     7    0.5    13.5

This weekend sees the third round out of six; the competition will be completed after the World Cup in April. Mashonaland play Midlands at home, while Manicaland travel to Bulawayo to play Matabeleland.Last year Midlands would have won the Logan Cup had not an over-generous declaration by Mashonaland A handed the senior Mashonaland side victory almost on a plate, an event that still rankles in Kwekwe. However, in their match against Mashonaland they were heavily defeated by 248 runs at Harare Sports Club. Craig Evans scored 163 and the all-round strength of the champions, even without their Test players, was too great for Midlands.Midlands have in fact lost all three of their matches against Mashonaland of first-class status heavily, with last year’s actually being the smallest margin of defeat. Their ultimate humiliation came in the first encounter on a rogue pitch at Harare Sports Club in 1999/2000, when Gus Mackay took an astounding 11 wickets for just 35 runs and they were bowled out for 31 and 56. The strip at headquarters is now much more in favour of the batsman, so such an event is unlikely to recur, but perhaps it is realistic to say that, barring unusual happenings, the best Midlands can hope for is a draw, or at least a smaller margin of defeat than before.Key players for Midlands are all-rounder Doug Marillier and left-arm spinner Raymond Price, who will hope the pitch will give him the same help as it gave spinners in the Mashonaland-Matabeleland match. Campbell Macmillan will also be looking to impress the selectors after his fin all-round performance against Manicaland. But the loss of captain Dirk Viljoen and all-rounder Travis Friend through injury is yet another example of how Lady Luck seems to have a special hatred for the underdog. No doubt they will also lose the toss . . .Mashonaland for their part have dropped Stuart Carlisle, out of form, which makes it unlikely that he will be selected against Pakistan, and surely not as captain in place of the injured Heath Streak. He is replaced by Darlington Matambanadzo, who has been in fine form for the Mashonaland B side and has thoroughly earned his promotion. With the Flower brothers and Craig Evans in the middle order, Mashonaland have a batting line-up that overawes the opposition. In the past two seasons, though, they have frequently begun a match feebly, perhaps through complacency, only to recover in the second innings. It could recur again, although this season they have got on top of the opposition right from the start and never relaxed.In Bulawayo the match should be much closer. Since Manicaland won first-class status in 1999/2000, the teams have met three times, with two draws and Manicaland winning the only match to produce a definite result, interestingly enough at a neutral venue in Harare in that first season. Last season rain in Mutare helped Matabeleland to avoid defeat after being forced to follow on. Neil Ferreira (210) and Paul Strang (154) put Manicaland in a dominant position, and both are playing again this year.Ferreira especially will be looking for a big score after struggling so far this season. Manicaland do not have a daunting bowling attack, but achieved their success against Midlands last weekend through the virtues of line and length. Pommie Mbangwa, hopefully fit again, can do the same for Matabeleland, who strengthen their pace attack by promoting Piet Rinke, recently of the CFX Academy, in place of spinner Keith Dabengwa, who is twelfth man. Rinke took 15 wickets with his seamers in his team’s defeat by Mashonaland B last weekend.With the bat Matabeleland still miss their star player Greg Strydom with an ankle injury and are over-reliant on their opening pair of Gavin Rennie and Mark Vermeulen. The middle order is talented but not yet likely to produce centuries. For the consistent Barney Rogers, very much in the eye of the selectors, there could be nothing better than a maiden first-class century this weekend. This match at least should be engrossing.The nominated teams are as follows:Mashonaland: Trevor Gripper, Dion Ebrahim, Darlington Matambanadzo, Andy Flower, Grant Flower, Craig Evans, +Tatenda Taibu, Andy Blignaut, *Brian Murphy, Gus Mackay, Alfred Mbwembwe.Midlands: Terry Duffin, Vusi Sibanda, *Doug Marillier, Craig Wishart, Sean Ervine, David Mutendera, +Alester Maregwede, Don Campbell, Raymond Price, Innocent Chinyoka, Campbell Macmillan.Matabeleland: Gavin Rennie, Mark Vermeulen, Charles Coventry, Barney Rogers, Andre Hoffman, Mluleki Nkala, Gavin Ewing, +Wisdom Siziba, Piet Rinke, *Pommie Mbangwa, Jordane Nicolle.Manicaland: +Neil Ferreira, Richie Sims, Alistair Campbell, Guy Whittall, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Guy Croxford, Blessing Mahwire, Paul Strang, Gary Brent, Kingsley Went, *Henry Olonga.B DIVISION TEAMSMatches:
Midlands B v Manicaland B, at Kwekwe Sports ClubMasvingo v Mashonaland B, at MasvingoBye: Matabeleland BAn interesting inclusion in Midlands B is that of Greg Lamb, a former very promising Academy player who has returned to the country after a couple of years in England.Mashonaland B: *Ryan Butterworth, Stuart Carlisle, +Glenn Goosen, Conan Brewer, Brendan Taylor, Tom Benade, Stephen Marillier, Kuda Samundere, Neeten Chouhan, Nyasha Chari, Waddington Mwayenga.Manicaland B: Paxton Chatora, +Kudzai Taibu, Shepherd Makunura, *Glen Barrett, Gerald Makota, Edward Matsikenyeri, Farai Chari, Bright Benhura, Leon Soma, Alec Taylor, Justin Lewis.Midlands B: Luther Mutyambizi, Admire Marodza, Greg Lamb, James Cornford, *John Vaughan-Davies, Colin Delport, Innocent Chikunya, Ryan Bennett, Ian Coulson, Mark Levendale, Ed Rainsford.Masvingo: Archibald Chirinda, Chamu Chibhabha, *Norbert Manyande, Amos Maungwa, Mufaro Chiturumani, Jemton Chinyengetere, Takawira Mundure, +Elliot Rutsate, Arnold Rushambwa, Hilary Matanga, Robertson Chiyengetere.

Somerset’s new friendly dragon mascot Stumpy spent a rare day outside of the county when he attended the Nat West One Day Final between England and India at Lord’s on Saturday

Richard Walsh15-Jul-2002Somerset’s new friendly dragon mascot Stumpy spent a rare day outside of the county when he attended the Nat West One Day Final between England and India at Lord’s on Saturday.It is unusual for Stumpy to stray far from his home in deepest darkest Somerset, but when a personal invitation was sent to him by England batting hero Marcus Trescothick, he just had to accept.Stumpy had to keep in the shadows at Lord’s for fear that the hot sun would upset him, but I am told he behaved impeccably and thoroughly enjoyed himself, and was introduced to many former players, including Alec Stewart’s father Mickey.Stumpy’s presence certainly brought good fortune to Marcus Trescothick who played a tremendous innings in the match, as a result of which the Somerset skipper has personally invited him to make a special guest appearance at the Cheltenham and Gloucester quarter final against Worcestershire at Taunton on Wednesday.Even Stumpy can’t say no to an invitation from England’s number one batsman, so lets all hope that he brings Marcus the same good fortune on Wednesday!

Sheffield Wednesday are interested in signing Preston North End striker Jayden Stockley in the summer transfer window, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Moore on the lookout for new signings

The Owls were relegated from the Championship last season, with their points deduction proving to be too difficult to overcome in the end.

With a number of players expected to leave this summer, Darren Moore will be eyeing up reinforcements, looking to mastermind his side’s return to the second tier.

The Latest: Owls linked with Stockley move

According to the Lancashire Post, Wednesday are one of a number of clubs keen on making a move for Stockley, with the 27-year-old potentially leaving Preston.

Portsmouth are another of those clubs mentioned in the report, but the Owls are also in the hunt, and it is ‘up to Stockley where he wants to go.’

The Verdict: A move that makes sense

The striker could be a solid addition for Moore’s side, having scored eight goals and registered two assists on loan at Charlton Athletic last season.

While not necessarily prolific, he could be a good squad player, with his 6ft 3in frame making him a handful for opposition defenders.

Stockley won an incredible 9.8 aerial battles per game for the Addicks, highlighting what a monstrous presence he can be in the air, which could come in very handy in League One.

In other news, Sheff Wed reportedly face competition for the signing of one player this summer. Find out who it is here.

With a number of twists and turns having already occurred in West Bromwich Albion’s bid to appoint Sam Allardyce’s successor at The Hawthorns this summer, as approaches for targets such as Chris Wilder, David Wagner and Roy Hodgson have all fallen through for a variety of reasons, Guochuan Lai may have just stumbled upon a perfect candidate for the role.

Following the news that the West Brom owner had personally blocked a move to appoint Wilder as the club’s new manager, the former Huddersfield Town head coach, David Wagner, emerged as a surprising leading candidate for the position, with reports suggesting that the 49-year-old was set to be announced as the Baggies new boss in the coming days.

However, Wagner now looks as if he will be heading to Switzerland to become the new Young Boys boss, meaning that West Brom’s search rumbles on, with a host of new names being linked with the job.

One of these names is Alex Neil, and, considering the 40-year-old’s history of managing sides in the Championship as well as Scotland, West Brom could have finally found the right man for the job.

The Alex Neil bounce

After being appointed as the Hamilton Academical manager as a 31-year-old towards the back end of the club’s 2012/13 Scottish Championship campaign, Neil won five, drew one and lost one of his first seven games in charge of the Scottish side, with the Accies finishing the season in fifth place.

The following year, the young coach guided his side to a second-place finish in the second tier of Scottish football following a highly impressive season, eventually going on to seal promotion to the Scottish Premiership via the play-offs.

Neil’s upwards trajectory with Hamilton continued in the club’s 2014/15 campaign, with the Accies winning 12, drawing three and losing five of their first 20 Premiership fixtures, with the club, rather remarkably, sitting in third place in the top flight of Scottish football.

This form was enough for Championship side Norwich City to take a gamble on the Hamilton manager, appointing him as their new boss in January of 2015, when the club were sitting in seventh place in the league, three points outside the play-off places.

Neil went on to guide the Canaries to third that season, before winning the play-off final and securing the return of Premier League football to Carrow Road.

However, Norwich struggled in the top flight the following year, being relegated with 34 points, before Neil left the club in the 2016/17 season.

The best part of four seasons at Preston North End followed for the 40-year-old, with the Scot twice narrowly missing out on a top-six finish with the Lilywhites, securing a seventh-place finish in his first year at Deepdale and a ninth-place finish in 2019/20, before he parted company with the club in March this year.

As such, while history would suggest that Neil is not particularly a long term manager, he very much appears to have an immediate impact on a side after taking over, something that, with West Brom looking to secure an immediate return to the Premier League next season, could be an extremely useful string to the manager’s bow.

So, if the club cannot convince Guochuan Lai of a move to appoint Wilder, the manager Sebastien Bassong dubbed a “perfect” coach could well be the next best choice for the Baggies.

In other news: West Brom given huge transfer boost over “magnificent” 28 y/o gem that’ll delight fans

South Wilts will face Havant in the ECB Club Championship regional finals – but no one knows when or where

Mike Vimpany (as published in Daily Echo)21-Jun-2002South Wilts will face Havant in the ECB Club Championship regional finals – but no one knows when or where!The tie is due to be played at Lower Bemerton next Sunday, but Wiltshire are playing a Minor Counties Championship match against Devon on South Wilts’ ground.South Wilts, who scored 166-8 to beat Andover (124) by 42 runs in their zone semi-final, may have to concede ground advantage and play at Havant.Havant beat Basingstoke & North Hants by 33 runs after piled up 217-5 – Richard Hindley (75), Paul Gover (51) and Dominic Carson (28) top scoring.Hindley and Mark Copping each took three wickets as Basingstoke were dismissed for 184 (Giles 36).

Manchester United could be set for a significant windfall if Inter sell star striker Romelu Lukaku this summer.

What’s the story?

According to the Manchester Evening News, United negotiated a sell-on clause into the 28-year-old’s £74 million sale back in 2019.

With his current club experiencing financial difficulties, Lukaku is reportedly up for sale, meaning the Old Trafford outfit could receive a substantial, and welcome, boost to their transfer budget.

Ole would be buzzing

The Belgium international was a crucial component of Antonio Conte’s title-winning side in 2020/21, bagging 30 goals and providing 10 assists in 44 appearances as Inter secured their first Serie A crown in over a decade.

However, it’s widely believed that the Nerazzurri need to raise around £80m through player sales over the upcoming window due to stay afloat, and with Lukaku being one of the San Siro outfit’s most valuable assets, he could be one of the first names out the exit door.

Reigning Premier League champions Manchester City have been linked with a move for the prolific target man as Pep Guardiola searches for Sergio Aguero’s replacement, while one of Lukaku’s former clubs Chelsea have also shown an interest.

His potential return to the English top-flight could be bad news for United if he strengthens one of their main title rivals, but the prospect of extra funds to spend on new players for themselves would surely have Ole Gunnar Solskjaer buzzing.

The exact percentage the sale-on clause is worth is not known, but the Red Devils’ hierarchy are thought to have inserted a 25 per cent clause into the deal that took Wilfried Zaha back to Crystal Palace.

If a similar figure was included in the Lukaku move, then Solskjaer may get a nice top up of his transfer budget.

The likes of Harry Kane, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane have all been linked with a move to Old Trafford in recent weeks, but the financial impact of the ongoing pandemic has made securing all of the Norwegian’s targets virtually impossible.

Therefore, a potential boost to the kitty from Lukaku’s proposed Inter exit is bound to excite the United boss and the club’s supporters.

And, in other news…Get it done: United could seal their next Fernandes in “outstanding” £19.8m-rated gem 

Charles Forward, the hard hitting Old Tauntonians & Romsey left-hander, wrote himself into the Southern Electric Premier League record books with a stunning undefeated double-century against Division 2 rivals Sparsholt

Mike Vimpany (as published in Daily Echo)23-Jun-2002Charles Forward, the hard hitting Old Tauntonians & Romsey left-hander, wrote himself into the Southern Electric Premier League record books with a stunning undefeated double-century against Division 2 rivals Sparsholt.
Charles Forward 200*
Photo Vic Isaacs
Forward became only the third batsman in Southern League history to make 200, following Mel Hussain (205 in 1984) and Hampshire’s Robin Smith, who hit a double century for Trojans at Petersfield two years earlier.Ironically, only 92 of Forward’s 200 not out came in boundaries – he his two sixes and 20 fours – but it was enough to totally demoralise injury-hit Sparsholt, who lost Carl Nicols (broken toe) and Mike Ball (groin).With Max Smith (68) sharing a 187-run opening stand, OTS piled up a massive 345-6.Totally bemused, Sparsholt managed 152-7 in reply, with Ollie Kelly (40) top scoring.United Services lost top spot to Easton & Martyr Worthy – seven wicket winners over Rowledge – after suffering a last ball defeat against the Hampshire Academy at Burnaby Road.US improved from an uncertain 64-4 to make 196-8, with Tom Clark (67 not out) and Damien Carson (33) playing lead middle-order roles.The Academy, fielding their youngest team so far, were in the driving seat at 138-4 after useful contributions by Iain Brunnschweiler (44) and Chris Benham (26).But they stuttered on the run-in, with 15-year old Basingstoke prospect Mitchell Stokes hitting an unbeaten 17 to guide the county youngsters home off the fourth ball of the final over.Raj Naik was the inspiration behind Winchester KS’s 79-run win at Hungerford, where Hampshire’s Jason Laney retired hurt after top edging an intended pull shot into his forehead.Laney’s injury, when he had made 46, had a significant impact as Hungerford were going well at 113-1, chasing Winchester’s awesome 285-6.Spinner Naik (4-38), who was bowling when Laney was injured, cut through the Hungerford middle-order, eventually leaving the Berkshire club 79 runs adrift on a demanding post-tea chase.Naik (90) top scored for WKS, sharing a 119-run second-wicket stand with Paul Baker (60), before Jimmy Taylor (25) and brother Martin, with a quick-fire 21, helped the visitors to 285-6 (Jason Williams 4-75).Australian all-rounder Aaron Heal had a major influence on Lymington’s three-wicket win over Premier Division 2 strugglers Trojans at Stoneham Lane.He ripped out the Trojans middle-order to finish with 4-35 before guiding his side to the brink of victory.Glyn Treagus, who played for Trojans as a teenager, struck two early blows before Simon Williams (62) and Nigel le Bas (25) gave the innings some substance.Skipper Williams repeatedly lost partners to Heal’s left-arm spin and was eventually ninth batsman out as Trojans reached 132.Lymington lurched to 38-3 before Heal (38) found reliable partners in Matt Molloy (16) and Dave Coles (24) to steer Lymington to victory.

There are a couple of disturbing thoughts even as the Indians lick their wounds

Partab Ramchand06-May-2002Inconsistency is the bane of Indian cricket teams and the currentsquad in the West Indies is no different. One can’t really be surewhen the side will touch the heights of glory or when they will plumbthe depths. They alternate so quickly between the two extremes that itbecomes extremely frustrating. Just last year it happened in Zimbabweand Sri Lanka and now again they have followed up a notable triumph atPort of Spain with a humiliating loss at Bridgetown only some ten dayslater.

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There are a couple of disturbing thoughts even as the Indians licktheir wounds. One is that the remaining two Tests are at Kingston,Jamaica and St John’s, Antigua. The Indians have not exactly coveredthemselves with glory at these venues, especially at Kingston, wherethe tally reads five losses and three draws. Conditions at Sabina Parkare generally similar to those at the Kensington Oval.

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But then of course the Indians must have known that conditions at theKensington Oval would not be as amiable as those prevalent at theQueen’s Park Oval. There are batsmen who intimidate bowlers andbowlers who intimidate batsmen. But here we have a ground that has ademoralizing effect on the Indians.Seven defeats in eight matches at this venue ­ including five in arow, which makes it next only to Lord’s where the Indians lost sixsuccessive Tests in the period 1932-1967 ­ is frankly an unnervingrecord. The West Indies would seem to hold all the psychological acesagainst India at Bridgetown and unless the visitors are able to shakethis off ­ like they did with a splendid fighting performance in 1971­ more defeats are bound to follow.After all, it is not just the pace of Andy Roberts, Michael Holding,Ian Bishop, Malcolm Marshall, Courtney Walsh, Curtley Ambrose andFranklyn Rose that has laid the Indians low at this jinxed venue. Eventhe spin of Sonny Ramadhin, Lance Gibbs and David Holford has been thecause of much misery for the visitors. And the infamous collapse in1997 when the Indians, set to get just 120 runs for victory, werebowled out for 81 symbolises India’s dismal showing at Bridgetown.The Indians did just about everything wrong but there is little doubtthat the batting caused more problems than the bowling. When a side isbowled out for 102 on the first day, it is an arduous uphill journeyfrom then on and only some incisive bowling followed by determinedbatting can possibly save the day. Sadly, both were missing.The bowling was generally wayward. There was little planning or efforttaken to think a batsman out. During the long fifth wicket partnershipbetween Carl Hooper and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, frequently it seemedas if the bowlers were just going through the motions of completingthe over.A deficit of 292 can be crippling but it was hoped that the Indians,by a better showing the second time around on a pitch that looked tohave eased out, could put up a fight. The optimist’s mind instantlywent back to Lord’s in 1979, when despite being shot out for 96 on theopening day and finishing 323 runs behind on the first innings, theIndians came back to save the Test thanks a 210-run third wicketpartnership between Gundappa Viswanath and Dilip Vengsarkar, one ofthe most famous rearguard actions in Indian cricket.It was quaint to think of such heroics but we were all to be badlydisillusioned. The second innings was an improvement over the first ­anything would be ­ but that was not enough.There are a couple of disturbing thoughts even as the Indians licktheir wounds. One is that the remaining two Tests are at Kingston,Jamaica and St John’s, Antigua. The Indians have not exactly coveredthemselves with glory at these venues, especially at Kingston, wherethe tally reads five losses and three draws. Conditions at Sabina Parkare generally similar to those at the Kensington Oval.The Indians will be a bit more comfortable with their record atAntigua where both the Tests in 1983 and 1997 have been drawn. All thesame, the fun and games of Bourda and Queen’s Park Oval are over andthe tough part of the tour starts now. But one wonders whether theIndians are mentally, physically and technically prepared to tackleit.The second worrying aspect is that there is precious little that canbe done to work out any change in strategy. Yes, the top-order is abit more secure with Wasim Jaffer proving to be a success and ShivSundar Das providing some semblance of substance. The failure of thefamed middle-order ­ with the notable exception of the skipper who atlast seems to be coming into his own ­ did cause some dismay but it isstrong enough to make one feel that this was just an aberration.The main problem concerns the bowling. The spin department, inparticular, is a major worry with neither Anil Kumble nor HarbhajanSingh inspiring confidence. Both have bowling averages of 40 plus whenit comes to Tests abroad. And whichever combination the teammanagement opts for ­ three seamers and one spinner or two seamers andtwo spinners ­ there is nothing to suggest that the four bowlers willdeliver the goods.The line-up, to be candid, is quite problematic but then there arehardly any other options for the selectors and one supposes the teamwill have to soldier along with this tried and tested ­ though onlypartly successful ­ quartet for the rest of the series. And that is asobering thought even for the most optimistic Indian cricket fan.