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Luton Town manager Nathan Jones has claimed that the injury to on-loan Aston Villa goalkeeper Jed Steer is not good, as per Birmingham Live.

The Lowdown: Steer stretchered off

The 29-year-old made the move to Kenilworth Road on loan during the January transfer window and was finally getting a run of starts after serving as backup to Emiliano Martinez at Villa Park.

Unfortunately, he had to be stretchered off against Chelsea in the FA Cup last week after going down off the ball with what appeared to be an Achilles problem.

Micah Richards labelled it as ‘devastating’ and Gregg Evans was gutted reacting to the injury on Twitter, with Villa now set to share details of the setback.

The Latest: Jones’ update on Steer

As per Birmingham Live, Jones was talking to the media on Saturday as the Hatters fell to a 2-1 defeat at Middlesbrough.

When it came to an update on Steer, the Luton manager said that Villa will ‘come out’ and address the injury, but revealed that it does not look good for the goalkeeper.

Jones stated: “It’s not a good injury. We won’t divulge too much as it’s confidential and it’s Villa’s player, so they will come out and say, but it’s not a good injury.”

The Verdict: Nightmare for Steer

Steer, who former Villa team-mate Tammy Abraham labelled ‘brilliant’, has previous when it comes to Achilles injuries, so this ominous update from Jones isn’t a good one.

The shot-stopper had to remain patient for a first-team chance and was impressing in the Championship, helping Luton to three straight wins and keeping two clean sheets.

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However, it seems as if he now has a long road ahead when it comes to recovering from this injury, but we’re sure that Villa will provide the best possible support over the coming months as he enters the final 12 months of his contract in the summer.

In other news: Reliable journalist reveals Villa and Lange have now struck out-of-window agreement for this signing

Group A

	Shahid Afridi smashed 84 off just 27 balls to power HBL to a five-wicket win (file photo) © AFP

A 27-ball blitz from Shahid Afridi, scoring 84, powered Habib Bank Limited (HBL) to a five-wicket win over the Quetta Bears in Peshawar. Chasing 214, HBL were struggling at 76 for 4, but a 109-run stand between Afridi and Sulaman Qadir set up the win.Afridi did the bulk of the scoring, his runs coming at a strike-rate of over 300. Naseer Khan suffered the most, conceding 61 runs off 4.3 overs as Afridi blasted eight fours and seven sixes in his knock. Fifites from Shoaib Khan jnr and Nasim Khan, and an unbeaten 41-ball 46 from Faisal Irfan has helped Quetta Bears post 213, a score that was chased down in just 28.2 overs.In Islamabad, a century (109) by Umair Khan, and an unbroken 67-run stand for the seventh wicket between Naeem Anjum and Rauf Akbar sealed a four-wicket win for the Islamabad Leopards over the Peshawar Panthers, with ten balls to spare.The Panthers top order chipped in with useful scores as they posted 255, with Nawaz Ahmed top scoring with 56. However, they suffered a collapse going from 190 for 3 to 255 all out in 49.5 overs. Raheel Majeed did the bulk of the damage with his legbreaks, taking 4 for 47.Azhar Ali’s hundred and an all-round performance from Saeed Anwar jnr sealed a thumping 107-run win for Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) over the Lahore Lions in Rawalpindi.KRL chose to bat and their batsmen took full advantage. The openers added 98, with Anwar jnr going on to score 71. Bazid Khan scored a patient 45 while Azhar needed only 89 balls to score an unbeaten 106. Set a score of 289, the Lahore Lions lost wickets at regular intervals, and were bundled out for 181 in 37.2 overs. Anwar jnr finished with figures of 8-0-28-3.

Group B

At the Sheikhupura Stadium, the Hyderabad Hawks coasted to a comfortable seven-wicket win over the Multan Tigers.Opener Hammad Tariq top scored for the Tigers with 68 after they chose to bat, but the rest of the batsmen didn’t do much as they ended their 50 overs at 217 all out. Nauman Ali, the left-arm slow bowler, took 3 for 26.The Hawks made easy work of their target; Faisal Athar’s 90-ball 98 saw them home in 40.5 overs, and seven wickets remaining.In Sialkot, both Tariq Aziz and Aamer Sajjad scored unbeaten 78s to guide Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) to an eight-wicket win over Sialkot Stallions.Left-arm medium-pacer Sarfraz Ahmed took 4 for 39 as the Stallions were bowled out for 219. Opener Naeemuddin top scored with a run-a-ball 76.

Group C

Khalid Latif’s 156 went in vain in a high-scoring affair in Lahore; the Karachi Zebras put on 291 after being asked to bat by the Lahore Eagles, who chased the target with 3.3 overs left in their innings.Latif’s 156 took 150 balls, and included 14 fours and four sixes, but only three other batsmen reached double figures, as the Zebras failed to go past the 300-run mark. Wasim Naeem contributed with 56, while the next-best scores were 32 and 13. Junaid Zia took 4 for 46 off his ten overs.In reply, the top order of the Eagles failed to capitalise on their starts, but Junaid capped a fine day with the ball with an unbeaten 59 off 37. Junaid, along with Arsalan Mir, who scored 73 off 68, steered the Eagles to a five-wicket win.National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) also successfully chased a big score in Faisalabad: they overcame their target of 272 off the third ball in the final over against Pakistan Customs. Fawad Alam’s unbeaten run-a-ball 122 saw NBP home after Kamran Akmal built a foundation with his 62; the team were at a precarious 71 for 4 at one stage.Pakistan Customs scored 271, thanks to a 71-run opening stand. The openers came up with contrasting knocks: Hasnain Abbas scored 42 off 42, while Imran Qadir needed 100 balls for his 57. Asif Iqbal, the captain, chipped in with 47. Qaiser Abbas, the left-arm bowler, took 4 for 45 off his ten.

Group D

Fahad Iqbal’s unbeaten 92, supported by Kamran Sajid’s 69 not out, helped Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) complete an eight-wicket win over the Karachi Dolphins at the National Stadium. Opener Shadab Kabir made 66 for the Dolphins, who chose to bat, but two wickets apiece for four PIA bowlers ensured they were dismissed for 245 in 49 overs.In Hyderabad, the Rawalpindi Rams edged out a close one-wicket win over Sui Southern Gas Corporation (SSGC).SSGC were down to 45 for 3 after deciding to bat, but an unbeaten 90 from Mohtashim Ali, aided by Mohammad Zafar’s 51, helped them score 244 for 8. Fifteen-year-old Mohammad Aamer, who contracted dengue during Pakistan’s Under-19 World Cup campaign, was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 35 from ten overs.Another U-19 player, Umar Amin, made 51 as he and Babar Naeem put on a 120-run partnership for the first wicket during SSGC’s reply. However, the rest of the batsmen fell after making starts, and a late flurry of wickets saw them collapse from 212 for 5 to 235 for 9. However, Aamer and his U-19 team-mate Mohammad Rameez held their nerve to clinch the win with one over to spare. Sohail Khan and Adnan Malik grabbed three wickets each for the Rams.The Abbottabad Rhinos were shot out for 61 by Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) in Karachi. They were chasing 267, but fell over 200 runs short.Only the top four went past ten, and all the six bowlers employed by ZTBL picked a wicket. Earlier, Inam-ul-Haq’s 71 and Wajahatullah Wasti’s 72 guided ZTBL to 266 after they were put in by the Rhinos.

Ireland have every intention of building on their achievements in the Caribbean © Getty Images

Buoyed by their success in the World Cup, Ireland are preparing to ask the ICC for financial help to take the game forward.Ireland beat Pakistan to reach the Super Eights, and added a victory over another Test side – Bangladesh – to their list of victims in the second round. Now Warren Deutrom, the Irish Cricket Union’s CEO, has said he will be looking to the ICC for support.The top six Associates – including Ireland – receive an annual High Performance grant of around £125,000 from the ICC as well as the same allowance of £70,000 paid to all Associate members. That aside, all money to run the sport has to come from sponsors and other fund-raising events.”I shall certainly not be backward in asking ICC in what ways it might assist in ensuring that Ireland’s performance curve improves consistently over the next few years,” Deutrom told Reuters. “This would be in the same way the ICC pumped in significant funding to both the USA and Kenya to move forward. After all, it’s what the HPP is for.”After the 2003 World Cup, Kenya, who reached the semi-finals, were fast-tracked by the ICC and given considerable additional financial backing. But that money was almost all squandered as the country’s cricket administration descended into chaos. And Project USA, the ICC’s initiative to boost the game in the US, was scrapped after rows over governance with the country’s board. The ICC is likely to be very cautious about making the same mistake again.”My goal is to create a small team of professionals focused on the commercial and administrative side that can ensure we have a firm foundation for all areas of the game in Ireland,” explained Deurtrom, a former events manager for the ICC. “That’s all that any administration should be about … providing the best possible environment for the game of cricket to thrive.”Ireland have high-profile ODIs against India and South Africa at Stormont later this year, and they hope to attract other major countries. That will give the ICU a chance to exploit the lucrative broadcast market. “There is no doubt that developing a broadcast partnership is the key to a secure long-term future finance and profile for the sport in Ireland,” Deutrom said. “In terms of properties, there are domestic internationals and the possibility of creating new properties attractive to television. I will certainly be keen to cultivate relationships with the heads of sport at all of the broadcasters in Ireland and with overseas broadcasters that might have a footprint in Ireland.”I have to say, though, our achievements in the 2007 World Cup have somewhat accelerated the timetable.”

Sean Williams chats to the media during last month’s Under-19 World Cup © ICC

Sean Williams has revealed that he is not signing a contract with Zimbabwe Cricket after getting offers to play in South Africa and England.Williams, a 19-year-old left hander who captained the Zimbabwe Under-19 side in the recent World Cup, turned down the board’s offer last week after meeting with ZC Players Welfare and Technical committee chairman Crispen Pyswarai.”I am not signing a contract with Zimbabwe Cricket,” Williams said. “Let me emphasise that it was my own decision. The moment I walked out of Pyswarai’s office I made up my mind not to sign, he mentioned huge figures to me like a ZW$100 million (US$1000) appearance fee, but for how long are the players going to get that money?”Williams admitted that he did not entirely agree with his father Colin’s views on the issue, as he does not want any confrontation with Zimbabwe Cricket, but wants to move on peacefully with his cricket career.He has not picked up a bat since returning from the World Cup after he developed three boils on his right elbow that have since been lanced.Williams could have walked into the Zimbabwe team when senior players went on strike in April 2004. However, his father told him to concentrate on his studies, but he subsequently realised that his son’s talent was as a cricketer. Williams has since made four ODI appearances for Zimbabwe.

South Africa will miss Shaun Pollock for the second Test on April 8© Getty Images

Shaun Pollock has been ruled out of the second Test against the West Indies due to an ankle injury. Pollock, who also missed the first Test in Guyana to undergo treatment for chronic inflammation on his left ankle, has been advised to play domestic cricket to prove his fitness. The second Test starts at Trinidad on April 8.”Shaun will not travel to Trinidad for the second Test,” Moabi Litheko, the South African media liaison officer, was quoted as saying in the iol website. “The selectors want him to bowl for the Dolphins in the Pro20 game against the Lions in Durban on Wednesday to see if he is fit.”Graeme Smith also confirmed the news and was hopeful that Pollock would be fit in time for the third Test in Barbados on April 21. South Africa missed Pollock during the first Test with the West Indian batting line-up tormenting the bowling attack and South Africa clinging on for a draw on the final day. Pollock has a great record against West Indies with his 14 Tests producing 65 wickets at 21.7.

Sussex’s wicketkeeper-batsman Matt Prior has signed a new four-year contract that will keep him at Hove until the end of 2007.Prior, 21, is rated as one of the most promising keepers in the country, and played a major part in Sussex’s historic County Championship victory last summer. He has been forced to compete for the wicketkeeping duties with his fellow England prospect Tim Ambrose, but was nonetheless selected to join the England Academy this winter.”This is great news for everyone involved with Sussex," said their director of cricket, Peter Moores. "Matt is a part of the fabric and lifeblood of a resurgent Sussex squad. His enthusiasm, talent and commitment make him a key element in plans for the future.”Prior himself was equally pleased with the deal. “I feel very privileged and honoured to be offered this contract and secure my future with Sussex," he said. "We had a fantastic season last year and I am very excited to be involved with the Sussex team for years to come.”

*Sridharan Sharath puts Tamil Nadu on course for victoryAn unbeaten century from Sridharan Sharath saw Tamil Nadu declare at396/5 on Day Three of their Ranji Trophy league match at Chennai onMonday.Sharath, resuming from his overnight score of 12, lost his partner,skipper Robin Singh, but then found able support in TR Arasu (55*).Batting with his usual elan, Sharath made 141 off 252 balls, with 18fours and a six. The pair put on 190 runs for the sixth wicket.Hoping to force an outright victory, Tamil Nadu declared and then hadGoa reeling at 92/4 by the close of play. L Balaji took four wicketsfor 36 runs, and only first-innings hero Kiran Powar was able to staveoff the bowling onslaught.Needing 66 runs just to avoid an innings defeat, Goa will be hardpressed to ensure a draw, let alone an outright win in their firstRanji tie of the season.*Faiq gives Andhra a chance at victoryAfter taking five wickets in the first innings, Mohammad Faiq scalpedfour batsmen in Kerala’s second essay, giving Andhra Pradesh arealistic shot at victory in their Ranji Trophy league match at Cochinon Monday.Andhra Pradesh, overnight on 234/8, lost their last two wickets forthe addition of only 25 runs. Kerala, however, could not capitalise ontheir fine bowling effort. Apart from Sreekumar Nair, who made anunbeaten 46, none of the batsmen could stay at the crease long enoughto post a decent total.Wickets fell at regular intervals and, at the close of play, Keralawere 131/7, with Nair and KN Ananthapadmanabhan at the crease.*Jammu & Kashmir set a steep targetChasing a nigh-impossible 469 for victory, Jammu & Kashmir foundthemselves at 128/3 on Day Three of their Ranji Trophy league matchagainst Delhi at the Feroze Shah Kotla grounds in Delhi.The home side, overnight on 46/1, were propelled to a good total of316/4, a score that enabled them to declare and push for a win.Skipper Mithun Manhas, batting first with Pradeep Chawla (52) and thenwith Sohail Rauf (81) made 128 off just 132 balls, with 18 fours andone six.The Delhi batsmen scored their runs in a hurry, with the 316 comingoff 59 overs in just 242 minutes, leaving the visiting bowlinghapless. Jammu & Kashmir were, at the close of play, staring down thebarrel at 128/3. Kavaljit Singh on 54 and Guru Pratap Singh on 6 werethe batsmen at the crease.*Sangram Singh piles on the runsHelping his team surpass Services’ first-innings total, Sangram Singhmade an unbeaten 215, enabling Himachal Pradesh to declare at 463/5 onDay Three of their Ranji Trophy league match at Una.Batting with a stodgy Rajiv Nayyar, who made 90 off 289 balls, SangramSingh hit 26 fours and four sixes in his 308-ball, 405-minute knock.He was the dominant partner in stands with Varinder Sharma, AmitSharma and Chetan Kumar, none of whom even crossed 20.Services, now effectively unable to push for a win, were 25 for noloss at stumps on Monday, with openers PMS Reddy and K Chawda at thecrease.*Punjab take a big first-innings leadBowled out for 318, Punjab took a first-innings lead of 114 runs intheir Ranji Trophy league match against Haryana at Gurgaon on Monday.Ankur Kakkar, batting overnight on 81, fell just three runs short of awell-deserved century, becoming the eighth wicket to fall. Hisdeparture hastened the end of the Punjab innings, which only lastedfive overs more.Haryana, beginning their second innings badly with the fall of oneopener early, then consolidated to some extent. The middle-orderbatsmen, although able to get a start, could not take it further, andthe side found themselves on 173/6 at the close of play on Day Three,with skipper Parender Sharma (21*) and S Vidyut (23*) at the crease.

ScorecardFile photo – Dhawal Kulkarni’s patient 39, part of a 103-run sixth wicket stand with Siddhesh Lad, ensured Mumbai weren’t bowled out cheaply•Sportz Solutions

Three hundred and twenty two runs. Fifteen wickets. An outstanding exhibition by three players, each specialising in pace bowling, batting and spin bowling ensured a topsy-turvy, action-packed day between Mumbai and Tamil Nadu.More importantly, with Tamil Nadu leading by 213 for the loss of seven wickets, it has set up a thrilling finish on the last day at the Mumbai Cricket Association’s facility at Bandra-Kurla Complex.Despite the presence of some accomplished players in both teams, the day belonged to three underrated cricketers from both the teams. M Mohammed, the new-ball bowler from Dindigul, broke the back of Mumbai’s middle order to leave them stranded at 52 for 5 in the first half hour. Siddhesh Lad, who is better known as the son of Rohit Sharma’s childhood coach, then played a blinder under pressure to give some veneer to Mumbai’s innings.Vishal Dabholkar then changed the course of the game that was set to be dragged into a boring draw with his second five-for of the match to bring Mumbai right back into the game. Thanks to Dabholkar’s spell of 13-2-41-5 with the new ball, Tamil Nadu were left tottering at 73 for 7, despite leading by 140 runs in the first innings, to leave the game wide open, with the last 96 overs to be bowled on Sunday.Mohammed found the perfect line, pitching in the zone of uncertainty right from the word go. In the third over of the day, he first forced left-handed batsman Shrideep Mangela to edge one to B Aparajith at gully. Three balls later, he induced a faint edge off Suryakumar Yadav’s bat to Dinesh Karthik.As if the damage done was not enough, in his next over he made Mumbai captain Aditya Tare also nick to Karthik. At 52 for 5, with nightwatchman Dhawal Kulkarni hanging on at one end, Mumbai were staring down the barrel. In came Lad and changed the complexion of the game.On the Mumbai maidans and in his short stint in first-class cricket, Lad has a reputation of being the crisis man for his side. And the stage was set for him to enhance it. He did it with a near-flawless innings by scoring more than half of Mumbai’s total of 294.The diminutive batsman started playing strokes from the word go and displayed the wide range of strokes in his arsenal. When the pacers pitched it full, he pounced on it with drives. Whenever they drifted on to his pads, he played elegant flicks, one of which sailed over the square-leg boundary.While facing the spin duo of Malolan Rangarajan and Rahil Shah, Lad displayed his strong footwork by cutting, sweeping and charging down the wicket at will. He had no fear in going aerial too, hitting seven sixes, more than half of which were hit while taking on a fielder on the boundary line.The best of his sixes came after lunch, even after losing Kulkarni, who hung on for a valuable 103-run partnership, when he played an inside-out drive off Mohammed that sailed over wide long-off.Even after the wicket of Kulkarni in the second over after lunch, Lad didn’t hold back, with Abhishek Raut, Shardul Thakur and Balwinder Sandhu lending valuable support. By the time he played his first false stroke, an uppish drive off Shah that went straight to B Indrajith at mid-off, Lad had raised his bat for a splendid 150.Then came the remarkable turnaround. For the second match in succession, Tare opened the second innings with a left-arm spinner. While the move with Harmeet Singh didn’t work last week against Punjab, it paid rich dividends this time around.Dabholkar first bore the brunt of M Vijay, who used his feet and hit two straight sixes over the bowler’s head, in successive overs. However, with Thakur having cleaned up Aparajith in the third over, Tare persisted with Dabholkar.And the move paid off as Dabholkar’s quickish left-arm spin looked unplayable on a wicket that hadn’t deteriorated much. He beat Kaushik Gandhi with a straight ball to trap him lbw even before he could complete a forward defensive push. Four overs later, Karthik made the mistake of attempting a defensive stroke off the back foot only to be hit plumb in front.In his next over, he forced a nick off stand-in captain B Indrajith’s bat to Shreyas Iyer at second slip. Around 20 minutes later, R Prasanna was dropped by Suryakumar at first slip. Three balls later, Dabholkar got the prized scalp of Vijay, who hung his bat around the off stump to offer a sharp catch to Tare, for 29.And in Dabholkar’s next over, Prasanna was enticed into edging it again, to find Iyer at second slip. That was Dabholkar’s tenth wicket of the match. At 53 for 6, Tamil Nadu were in desperate need of some runs.While Rangarajan drove fluently, J Kousik couldn’t capitalise on a reprieve by Iyer off Dabholkar. The allrounder’s mis-timed pull off Thakur was easily taken by Kulkarni at mid-on to leave Tamil Nadu reeling at 71 for 7.

Wolves said goodbye to one of their key players during the recent January transfer window after winger Adama Traore joined his former club Barcelona on loan until the end of the season with the option of making the move permanent in the summer.

Looking ahead to the next transfer market when the current season ends, it seems as though the Midlands club could be in danger of seeing another one of their important and prominent squad figures make a move away from Molineux.

What’s the talk?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist Pete O’Rourke had this to say about midfielder Ruben Neves and what the future could hold for him after he was previously linked with a move away from the club.

He said: “Wolves won’t want to hear this because they would love to keep Ruben Neves, but I think this summer, it could be a hard battle to keep hold of Neves.”

Fans will be sweating

Since the Old Gold shelled out a Championship transfer record fee for the Portuguese international back in the 2017 summer window, the 24-year-old has become a seriously impressive midfield player.

He’s gone on to make a total of 203 appearances across all competitions in a Wolves shirt, scoring 23 goals and providing 11 assists along the way, demonstrating how crucial he is for them and well he’s progressed in the Midlands.

Having earned himself an overall performance rating of 6.88/10 from WhoScored, making him the fifth-highest rated outfield player currently in Bruno Lage’s squad as well as the highest-rated midfielder, it shows just how much of a miss he would be if he were to leave Molineux this summer.

That rating is owed largely to the 2.3 tackles he makes per game, a number no other midfielder at the club can top in 2021/22.

With that in mind, O’Rourke’s comments will now surely have lots of fans sweating over Neves’ future and the club’s ability to keep hold of him, especially if another side does indeed come in and try to sign him when the transfer window opens.

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Moving forward, if Lage’s men are able to secure European football by the end of this campaign, it would surely give the club a big boost in their chances of keeping hold of the star for the foreseeable future, especially after he said himself how much he would love to play in Europe with his current team.

In other news: Fosun disaster: Wolves dropped huge clanger over “exceptional” £54m-rated “monster”

Scorecard

	Martin Guptill made 110 but it was not enough to stop a rampant Otago © Getty Images

Brendon McCullum hammered the highest score in New Zealand’s domestic one-day history, and also the fastest century, to drive Otago to their first State Shield title in 20 years. McCullum’s hundred came from 52 balls and his 170 ensured Otago reached their target of 311 with an incredible 48 deliveries to spare.It was a memorable day for Otago, who took the long road to the final in Auckland after a McCullum century also inspired their semi-final win on the road against Canterbury. Their previous State Shield triumph came in 1987-88 and when Martin Guptill’s 110 guided Auckland to 310 for 7 it appeared that Otago’s drought would continue.But McCullum had other ideas and he eclipsed by 13 runs the previous fastest century in State Shield history. When he reached 135 he had the best one-day score by an Otago player, and by the time he hit 162 that became the highest for any New Zealand domestic team.His 108-ball innings featured 19 fours and seven sixes, and his team-mate in the national side Chris Martin had a horror day, going for 81 from his eight overs. Craig Cumming shook off the disappointment of his Test axing by contributing 86 not out from 93 balls and their 194-run stand ended when McCullum was caught off Rob Nicol’s bowling only five runs from victory.They got there after 42 overs, which hardly looked likely after the reigning champions Auckland posted such a hefty total having been sent in. Guptill, 21, continued his superb season with a 137-ball innings that confirmed him as the leading scorer in the State Shield this season, finishing with 596 runs at 59.60.Richard Jones made 76 and Scott Styris added 68 as Otago started to wonder if their decision to bowl first was a wise one. That was soon forgotten once McCullum’s fireworks began and the fans at the Eden Park Outer Oval were given a day to remember.