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West Ham managed to secure a big victory in the Premier League yesterday with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa at the London Stadium thanks to goals from Andriy Yarmolenko and Pablo Fornals.

This win will have undoubtedly put the Hammers in a good place, raising the players’ confidence ahead of their crucial second-leg clash against Sevilla in the Europa League round of 16, as the east London club will be aiming to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg.

However, despite picking up three points and staying in touching distance of breaking into the top four, West Ham were dealt an unfortunate injury blow with two of their key players being forced off the pitch against Steven Gerrard’s side.

What’s the news?

With 52 minutes on the clock, Hammers striker Michail Antonio left the pitch with a suspected hamstring injury, just a few minutes before Aaron Cresswell came off with another injury issue.

After the match against the Villans, David Moyes remained tight-lipped on the situation concerning the duo as to not influence what their midweek opponents could do in terms of their set up for Thursday’s clash.

On their current condition, he said: “I don’t really know yet but if I did I would not tell you because I am not going to let Sevilla know any idea whether they’re going to be fit or not.”

Moyes will be fuming

Taking into account how Antonio has been a major part of West Ham’s attacking force this season with ten goals in 34 appearances, it’s safe to say that he would be a big miss for his side if he wasn’t able to play in midweek.

He is the only direct centre-forward at the club and if they were to lose him at such a crucial stage of the season, supporters would surely be enraged by their lack of activity in the January transfer market.

Additionally, Cresswell has shown just how much of an important figure he is for the Hammers, particularly in the Europa League.

He has three assists in five games and an overall performance rating of 7.2 from WhoScored, making him the second-highest rated player in that competition for the east London club. As a result, Moyes would definitely have been relying on the full-back to play in their next game.

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With all of this in mind, the West Ham boss will surely be fuming over the possibility of the duo missing the game against Sevilla through injury given how pivotal they have been for the team in this campaign.

Until their midweek showdown arrives, the best thing to hope for now would be that the two can recover in time and be available to play in what could end up being a very special game for the club as a whole if they manage to make it through to the next stage of the competition.

In other news: West Ham are eyeing “sensational” £22.5m-rated star, supporters will be buzzing

	Why not me? “Other players can take part in the IPL and still play for their countries, ” says Mascarenhas © Getty Images

Dimitri Mascarenhas’s life has changed considerably in the couple of months since he was part of England’s one-day squad in New Zealand. He has been named Hampshire captain after Shane Warne terminated his deal, but more significantly he will be the only England representative in the Indian Premier League.His three-year deal with Jaipur came about after Warne made contact with Mascarenhas following the first round of auctions. Some hasty negotiations followed before a contract was signed, although for this season he will only be part of the IPL for two weeks in mid-May, with the possibility of returning for the final on June 1 if Jaipur make it through.In recent weeks the ECB have been trying to convince people that England players won’t be joining the IPL, a stance reiterated in some bullish comments from the chairman, Giles Clarke. However, there has been a subtle shift in attitude from some leading lights with Kevin Pietersen the most high-profile player to say that they should be given a slice of the action.Mascarenhas has yet to find out how envious some of his England team-mates are, but being a non-centrally contracted player clearly has its advantages. It allowed him to come to a deal with Hampshire which didn’t involve the ECB and he doesn’t feel his international career will be jeopardised. Future seasons of the IPL could be moved to avoid conflict and Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, has already said that international commitments will take precedence.”If you look around, all the other players can take part in the IPL and still play for their countries,” he said. “I’m not missing any one-dayers or anything. I suppose there is an element of risk, but speaking to the hierarchy – Hugh Morris, Geoff Miller and Peter Moores – they are all pretty positive about it and don’t see too much of a problem. They couldn’t guarantee me anything, obviously they can’t, but they all seemed very positive.””I did all the negotiations with Rod [Bransgrove, the Hampshire chairman] and he’s been really supportive of what I want to do. He thinks it’s a good opportunity for me, but also for Hampshire to be involved.”Mascarenhas is fairly relaxed about the whole affair, and thinks the experience of bowling to the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and facing Brett Lee will be benefit his game, even though he has little idea of what to expect when he arrives next month.”Because I got in late I literally don’t know anything about it,” he said. “All I know is the dates, I don’t know where I’m going to be. I’ll just meet up with Warney and the rest of the team when I get there. I’ll be getting some good cricket, playing with and against world-class players. I can’t see why more won’t do it in the future.”Hampshire, though, will have to do without their captain for two weeks while Mascarenhas is away. “At the time I signed I didn’t know the captaincy situation would come up, but there are a couple of guys lined up who could take over,” he said.One name suggested by Mascarenhas as a stand-in was Nic Pothas. He has spent parts of his winter with the Indian Cricket League (ICL), the unofficial event which has caused the ECB more headaches even though it hardly clashes with the domestic season. Hampshire, too, were unimpressed when Pothas took up his ICL deal, but clubs are having to find pragmatic solutions as cricket’s changing face makes an impact on English shores.

Ken Schofield has spent four months compiling his assessment of English cricket © Getty Images

The Schofield Report, published this afternoon at Headingley, has recommended cuts to the English domestic programme and a reshuffling of some of the key roles within the ECB. Overall there were 19 points in the report, of which 17 have been immediately endorsed, while the issues of management and the volume of cricket will be examined in more detail by the ECB.The review committee was chaired by Ken Schofield, the former director of the European PGA Tour, with input from journalists and the public as well as from a committee of six former county captains – Micky Stewart, Angus Fraser, Nasser Hussain, Nick Knight, Hugh Morris and Brian Rose.The ECB have said that the David Collier, the chief executive, will be charged with reporting to the board about the implications of a new management structure which has called for a managing director, national selector and director of county cricket.While Schofield recommended that the domestic game be cut, scrapping the Pro40, he added that this should be addressed by the Domestic Structure Review Group and the ECB have agreed to this.The report has also said that England should play one less Test per summer in order to reduce the demands place on the players and provide more time for recovery.David Morgan, the ECB chairman, said: “The board wishes to express its gratitude to all members of the Schofield Review Team and in particular to Ken Schofield for his leadership of this review.”The review was exceptionally well received by the board and I am delighted that the prompt endorsement of the recommendations will enable the beneficial changes outlined to be implemented in the immediate future.”Among the points already accepted by the ECB are a rebranding of the academy at Loughbrough to a performance centre and an annual training programme for players on the fringe of the national side.

Stuart Clark enjoyed the seamer-friendly conditions at Cape Town, taking nine wickets in Australia’s nine-wicket win © Getty Images

The Newlands groundsman, Christo Erasmus, has hit out at the South African management for leaving him as the scapegoat for the pitch he prepared for the first Test against Australia. South Africa lost the match inside three days on a surface that offered lavish assistance to the seamers throughout.However, Erasmus was surprised that South Africa chose to bat after winning the toss and believes Shane Warne’s history against them was a huge factor. In the end, Stuart Clark took nine wickets on debut as Australia won by seven wickets.”It seemed that Shane Warne won the Test for Australia before the game started,” Erasmus told . “Instead of playing the conditions as they were, the South Africans only seemed to worry about facing Warne on the fifth day.”Erasmus added that Mickey Arthur, the South African coach, had phoned him before the start of the Test stating he wanted a pitch that would help the seamers for the first two days. However, Erasmus followed his instincts and produced what he thought would be the best surface.But two days before the Test started members of the South African team said they were not happy with the way the pitch was taking shaped and suggested to Erasmus that it would be tailor made for Warne.”They said I was playing into Australia’s hands,” said Erasmus. “But I’ve been preparing pitches at Newlands for nine years and I knew that it was not a raging turner. Yes, the square is a bit worn at the back end of the season, but the cracks would not have widened.”With two matches remaining in the series, at Durban and Johannesburg, Erasmus cautioned other groundsmen against being pressured: “They shouldn’t blame the groundsman, and I advise other groundsmen not to open themselves up to external pressure, like I did.”

Upul Chandana: one of the nine players who got a central contract last season © Getty Images

Sri Lanka are planning to expand the number of contracted players almost threefold when they draw up a fresh list for the national team. Last year only nine players were signed up, and their contracts expired on February 28, 2005. The interim committee of Sri Lanka Cricket is currently in the process of finalising the new contracts and this includes increasing the number of players upto a maximum of 25. The contracts are expected to be for a 12-month period, during which time Sri Lanka will play seven Tests and 25 to 30 one-day internationals.According to the , the nine players who got central contracts last year will all be retained. Six of those nine – Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu, Mahela Jayawardene, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara – are in the top tier, while Thilan Samaraweera, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Chandana are in tier two. There will be four categories in all.The newspaper also indicated that the selectors had already categorised the players and sent the list to the interim committee for approval. Tryphon Mirando, the interim committee secretary, stated that the committee was in the process of negotiating the financial terms with the players, and that the final contracts would be ready within a week.Meanwhile, four of the contracted players – Jayasuriya, Muralitharan, Vaas and Chandana – are expected to finish their county stints and return home by June 23 to prepare for next month’s two-Test series against West Indies and the triangular one-day tournament which will also involve India. Tom Moody, the new coach, is expected to arrive in Sri Lanka on June 18 to take charge of the national team. The coming months will be a busy period for the A team as well, as they will be involved in a series against West Indies A, who will arrive in the country on June 16 to play two unofficial Tests and five one-day matches.

The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA), in conjunction withCricket Australia, has today announced various tributes in honour ofDavid Hookes to occur across all levels of cricket this weekend in SouthAustralia.Tomorrow’s One-Day International between India and Zimbabwe will see theSACA’s president Ian McLachlan lead a minute’s silence before the startof play.Both India and Zimbabwe participated in a minute’s silence prior totheir match on Tuesday (January 20), therefore the SACA requested thisopportunity for a small tribute to David Hookes for the benefit of thefans attending tomorrow’s game.The One-Day International between Australia and Zimbabwe on Monday(January 26) will see the West End Redbacks join the two internationalteams on the Adelaide Oval, following the national anthem, to observe aminute’s silence.The Redbacks will wear their Pura Cup uniform and SACA red cap duringthe tribute.All Grade clubs, both men’s and women’s, will wear black armbands thisweekend and observe a minute’s silence prior to the start of each match.Flags at the Adelaide Oval will continue to fly at half mast throughoutthe weekend.

With the shortest day now in the past and the turn of the year in sight, thoughts at Somerset County Cricket Club are firmly focussed on the 2003 season and trying to ensure that all possible measures are taken to enable the club to gain promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt.The club has already made three impressive signings in West Indian fast bowler Nixon McLean, South African top order batsman James Bryant and promising young allrounder Aaron Laraman from Middlesex, each of whom will strengthen the Cidermen’s bid for success next summer.In the days leading up to Christmas officials at the club spent a considerable amount of time on the telephone to South Africa trying to get the latest information on two of their new recruits.The Somerset chief executive Peter Anderson told me: "Somerset are trying to make an assessment as to whether Nixon McLean’s contract with the club for 2003 will be affected by a possible recall to the West Indies team. If he is recalled the West Indies are due to play Australia and Pakistan at home with matches scheduled to take place up to the end of June 2003."Nixon McLean is currently in very good from in South Africa where he is playing for Natal. Last season he was one of the leading bowlers on the domestic scene and this year in his four matches he has taken 16 wickets at a cost of nearly 23 runs each.McLean told me: "I have a contract with Somerset County Cricket Club which I hope to fulfil. Joel Garner was a hero of mine and I was thrilled to bits to be given the chance to fill his enormous boots."He continued: "My contract with Somerset is attractive because it states that it will be me and not Andrew Caddick who bowls with the wind, and it will always be me who bowls into the end with the most grass!"In reality the likelihood is that because McLean is already playing in South Africa, where the World Cup is due to take place in spring 2003, he may well be recalled for that competition.Beyond the World Cup it is difficult to predict, but officials at Taunton will certainly be watching West Indian team developments very carefully over the next few months.The signing of batsman James Bryant by Somerset is looking better and better with each day that passes by.Referring to the Eastern Province batsman Mr Anderson told me: "Respected observers of the game in South Africa have been contacting me to say that the signing of James Bryant is a very shrewd move indeed. He is said to be technically a very good batsman, and his second attribute is that in the field he is on a par with Jonty Rhodes," all of which is very good news for Somerset supporters.

Kerala opening batsman MP Sorab covered himself with glory as hecarried his bat for 255 on the final day of the Coca Cola Trophy SouthZone (under-25) tournament at the Maharaja Jayachamarajendra WodeyarSports Complex in Bangalore on Sunday. With batsmen dominating, thematch ended in a tame draw with Kerala getting five points and Andhrathree.Resuming at 311 for five in reply to Andhra’s first innings total of355, Kerala were all out for 471. Sorab who was 157 overnight, simplycarried on from where he left off. First with S Ramakrishnan (34) headded 79 runs for the sixth wicket off 23 overs, reaching his doublecentury in the process. Then with P.Manoj (14) he added 41 runs forthe ninth wicket off 11 overs. He reached 250 in the company of lastman T Yohannan. Sorab’s innings stretched for ten hours. He faced 402balls and hit 35 fours. Off spinner Vatekar finished with five wicketsfor 118 runs.In arrears by 116 runs on the first innings, Andhra were 130 for twoin their second innings when stumps were finally drawn with bad lightcutting short play.Andhra have completed their engagements in group A with eight pointsfrom two games. Kerala play Karnataka from Tuesday. Group B comprisesof only two teams, Tamil Nadu and Hyderabad and the winner of thatmatch will go through to the final.

Alex Neil has revealed that Sunderland have been hit with a big injury setback over Alex Pritchard…

What’s the latest?

Black Cats reporter Phil Smith has relayed an update on the attacking midfielder from the head coach after his knock on Saturday.

The ex-Huddersfield and Norwich man was taken off in the 75th minute of the 0-0 draw with Charlton at the weekend and now looks set for a spell on the sidelines.

Smith Tweeted: “Alex Neil says Jermain Defoe was injured – not a major problem. Says the Alex Pritchard injury is his biggest concern – and that it doesn’t look good.”

Scrambling

This update will surely leave the Sunderland head coach scrambling as Pritchard being out for any length of time will be a major blow to his side.

He will need to re-jig his XI to account for the dazzling playmaker’s absence, as he has been a huge player for the club and it will be difficult to find a like-for-like replacement who can fill his shoes. The Englishman has averaged an impressive SofaScore rating of 7.08 in League One this season and this shows that he has been consistently delivering excellent performances throughout the campaign.

Pritchard has chipped in with four goals and seven assists in the division, whilst averaging an excellent 2.0 key passes per match – creating eight ‘big chances’. He has been a constant threat in the final third and has shown that he has the quality to be a difference-maker for the Black Cats with his direct goal contributions.

Elliot Embleton is also capable of playing in the number 10 role and has averaged a score of 6.84 and 1.3 key passes per game in the third tier so far – creating three ‘big chances’. This is a sizeable drop-off from Pritchard and illustrates exactly why Neil will be scrambling to find a solution to the problem as his absence will cause him a massive selection headache.

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The ex-Blackpool loanee has not been able to match last summer’s signing in terms of the creativity that he is able to provide from midfield and Sunderland look set to sorely miss his ability on the ball in the coming weeks. It remains to be seen exactly how long he will be out for, but the statistics show that it will be a major blow for every game that he misses due to the huge impact he has had throughout the season.

AND in other news, Moyes flop who’s “like Eden Hazard” has seen value rise by £14.4m after leaving SAFC…

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.