Leeds United are looking to sign Chelsea youngster Lewis Baker on a permanent deal, although they will also consider loaning him if Chelsea are unwilling to sell, according to The Mirror’s live transfer blog (28/06 18:20).

The 23-year-old midfielder has been on Chelsea’s books for a number of years, and has spent time on loan at Sheffield Wednesday, Vitesse and Middlesbrough.

Last season at Boro, Baker made 12 appearances in the Championship, scoring one goal, but wasn’t favoured by new manager Tony Pulis when he took over in December.

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The central midfielder is one of a number of Chelsea youngsters who haven’t made an impression at the club and have spent their entire careers out on loan.

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According to the report, Marcelo Bielsa is looking to buy Baker, who is valued at £4.95million on Transfermarkt, although a loan deal could also take place if Chelsea don’t want to sell their player.

Here’s a selection of what some Leeds fans are saying about the potential move.

The Fulham fans in and around the Transfer Tavern are eagerly awaiting the start of the new Premier League season having seen their beloved club gain promotion via the play-offs.

In what was a long and strenuous season, Fulham made it through and reached their ultimate goal of Premier League football once again, the first time since 2014. The Cottagers are already well equipped, possessing some great talents within their ranks but our punters feel that signing Saido Berahino would raise a few eyebrows yes but could work out to be a great signing.

Fulham transformed the talent of Aleksandar Mitrovic last season, when the Newcastle loanee joined the club to help their promotion bid. So why can’t the same happen with Saido Berahino? His future doesn’t look particularly bright at the moment but given the right now in the next step in his career could make all the difference. Valued at £7.2 million on Transfermarkt, Berahino is isolated currently with Stoke, having failed to score since move to the recently relegated Potters. Slavic Jokanović has shown how he can take another failing striker and turn them into a goal-scorer and based on the ability Berahino has previously shown, why can’t it be another success story.

The Englishman is thought to be available this summer and although the negative connotations associated with Berahino are bad, Fulham could undo all those and turn him into the player everyone believed he always would be.

It is a bold move to say the least but Saido Berahino does have the knowledge of Premier League football, unlike a lot of Fulham players.

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Would it be worth the risk… Let us know!

A round-up of the final day’s action of the first round of matches in the 2009-10 Ranji Trophy Plate League

Cricinfo staff06-Nov-2009

Group A

Scorecard
Pankaj Singh picked up 7 for 64 during Assam’s chase as Rajasthan put aside their off-the-field troubles to take full points in Guwahati. Madhur Khatri dealt Assam the first blow on the final day, sending back Dheeraj Jadhav for 16, with the hosts needing 294 to win. That opened the gates for Pankaj, who repeatedly dented Assam – an even better showing than his 4 for 44 in the first innings. The right-arm fast bowler was unstoppable as none of the batsmen managed to convert their starts, with Parvez Aziz top scoring with 45. Assam captain Amol Muzumdar had reason to celebrate though, becoming the highest run-getter in the Ranji Trophy, courtesy his 25 in the second innings.
ScorecardAkshay Wakhare’s five-for might have come too late as Goa held on to first-innings points against Vidarbha in Nagpur. The offpsinner ran through the Goa top and middle orders before they declared on 203 for 8 in their second innings. First-innings centurion Saurabh Bandekar was the top scorer for Goa with 40 off 53 balls. The target of 340 was near impossible to achieve as Jayesh Dongaonkar and captain Alind Naidu saw Vidarbha through to the end of the day’s play at 83 for 1.
Scorecard
Debabrata Chowdhury’s half-century ensured crucial first-innings points for Tripura against Jharkhand in the drawn-game in Ranchi. Chowdhury added 44 to his overnight score of 34, taking Tripura’s first-innings total to 438 – a narrow lead of seven. Opener Siddhartha Sinha gave Jharkhand a solid start in their second innings with 76 and they finally took stumps at 167 for 3. Jharkhand would look to make-up for the lost points when they take on Vidarbha on November 10.

Group B

Scorecard
Girikina Prasad’s five-for ensured Andhra grabbed first-innings against Kerala. Continuing from their overnight score of 208 for 6, Preambhastn Prem and Padmanbhan Prasanth battled valiantly, as the seventh-wicket stand yielded 82. Prem surrendered to Prasad nine short of his fifty, and the offspinner then proceeded to take out the last two batsmen to end with a well-deserved 5 for 100. Sitting pretty on a lead of 106, the Andhra openers, Hemal Watekar and Prasad Reddy, saw out the remaining 11 overs in the day without trouble.
Scorecard
The runs continued to flow in Indore as the Haryana openers made merry after they had ensured first-innings points against Madhya Pradesh. Resuming on 364 for 7, still 182 behind Haryana’s mammoth first-innings total, Sanjay Pandey’s patient 46 only delayed the inevitable. He was the last wicket to fall, with the last three wickets contributing 70. Ahead by 112, Rahul Dewan and Ankit Rawat chose to extend Haryana’s domination, smashing 133 and 100 respectively. While Dewan scored 20 fours during his 171-ball innings, Rawat managed nine fours and three sixes during his knock. The unbeaten 244-run partnership was the perfect icing to the three points Haryana gained.

Michael Hussey will return to open if asked, but believes Shane Watson is currently the best man for the top spot

Cricinfo staff13-Dec-2009The under-pressure Michael Hussey will return to open if asked, but believes Shane Watson is currently the best man for the top spot. Shane Warne has joined the critics who believe Hussey is on his last legs, with him saying the batsman should have shifted places to fit Watson into the middle order.Hussey has scored reasonably well in the first two Tests against West Indies, with 66, 41 and 29, but has been scratchy, especially at the start of his innings. While he is happy to move around, he said it wasn’t his role to ask the selectors or Ricky Ponting for a switch in the batting order.”They haven’t approached me and at this stage they see Shane as the best option to open – and he has responded affirmatively – with me at No. 4,” Hussey said in the Sunday Telegraph. “I would happily open the batting for Australia. But Shane Watson proved in the Adelaide Test that he has the technique and temperament to be a very good opener for Australia. Shane can obviously handle the workload as an allrounder.”Marcus North is a state and national team-mate of Hussey and was “pretty shocked” by the criticism. “There’s been a bit of debate about his position, but his form over in India in one-day cricket has been outstanding, he finished the last Test match in England with a fine hundred and he’s walked into Brisbane and Adelaide in great form,” North told AAP. ”He would have liked to turn some of those starts into three figures, but he is hitting the ball as well as anyone in the Australian batting line-up and hopefully this week once he gets going the three figures will be coming Huss’ way.”Mark Taylor, the former Test captain, has called for Michael Clarke to move up a spot to No. 4, which is Hussey’s current place. Clarke has been the team’s form batsman in 2009, scoring 941 runs at 58.81, and held the innings together as Australia scrapped a draw in Adelaide last week.”There’s no doubt Ricky Ponting has been our best in the last five to 10 years but I’d certainly talk about Michael in the same breath now,” Taylor said in the Sunday Mail. “He’s in that elite category. I think he’s ready to go up the order. He should move up to No.4 any time from now on.”He’s the sort of player who can play any type of innings now. He can put pressure on the bowlers and score quickly or, as he showed the other day, he can hold up the other end and tough it out.”

Tim Paine will lead Tasmania for the first time after the captain George Bailey was ruled out of Friday’s Twenty20 game against Queensland with an elbow problem

Cricinfo staff06-Jan-2010Tim Paine will lead Tasmania for the first time after the captain George Bailey was ruled out of Friday’s Twenty20 game against Queensland with an elbow problem. Bailey has an infection in his elbow caused by an abrasion and has been left out, with Michael Dighton and the uncapped batsman John Rogers added to a 13-man squad.Queensland have included the batsman Chris Lynn, 19, in their 13-man group following a strong year in which he was a prolific scorer in the national youth titles and the Futures League Twenty20 tournament. Lynn has replaced Alister McDermott, who is unavailable for the rest of the Big Bash having been named in Australia’s Under-19 World Cup squad.Queensland have lost both their matches so far in the tournament and need a win to lift themselves off the bottom of the table. Tasmania have won one match and lost one.Queensland squad James Hopes, Ben Dunk (wk), Lee Carseldine, Andrew Symonds, Glen Batticciotto, Chris Lynn, Craig Philipson, Nathan Reardon, Chris Simpson (capt), Ryan Harris, Ben Cutting, Ben Laughlin, Nathan Rimmington.Tasmania squad Tim Paine (capt, wk), Michael Dighton, Rhett Lockyear, Travis Birt, Alex Doolan, John Rogers, Naved-ul-Hasan, Brett Geeves, James Faulkner, Jason Krejza, Xavier Doherty, Brendan Drew, Gerard Denton.

The plays of the day from the fourth day at Centurion

Andrew McGlashan at Centurion19-Dec-2009It’s all about planning
There were a few raised eyebrows when Stuart Broad had a deep square-leg in place while bowling to Jacques Kallis. After all, this has been a surface where the quicks have caused most of their problems by pitching the ball up and getting uneven bounce. Was it a double-bluff from Broad and Andrew Strauss? No, it was a perfect piece of planning. Broad, after drying up the runs, banged in his first short ball of the day, and Kallis obligingly pulled it to Alastair Cook on the boundary who, despite a mini-wobble, held on.Signal failure
Early in the day, there was a lot of arm-waving going on between the pitch and scorers. It wasn’t clear what the issue was until Brian Jerling, the fourth umpire, made his way up to the box, accompanied by a man with two large bulbs. It emerged that there were no indicator lights to enable the scorers to confirm they had registered the umpires’ signals, and so instead they had to resort to semaphore. However, the man with the bulbs quickly went to work, and soon everyone’s life had been made that bit easier.Within an inch
England haven’t had any luck with the review system in this match, and are pretty fed up with the whole process. Their mood won’t have been enhanced when, desperate for a breakthrough, Andrew Strauss gambled on using his final review when Graham Onions had a huge shout for lbw against AB de Villiers. The replay looked good; it pitched in line, hit in line, but would have crashed pretty comfortably into leg stump, but under the parameters set for the margin of error, there was enough doubt still lingering for de Villiers to survive.Young talent
As has been the case since the second day, the crowd were allowed onto the outfield during the lunch interval. Among the many games that sprang up, one young boy caught the attention. He ran in with a neat action, bowled with a hint of swing and then switched to sending down a few leggies. When his turn came with the bat he was quickly into position to play the pull shot. Expect him to be offered a Kolpak deal within days.England finally get one
Given they had spent another sweltering day in the field, England may just have lost the plot if JP Duminy had survived his lbw appeal against James Anderson on review. The ball pitched in line and swung nicely back into Duminy’s pads so Steve Davis was happy to give it out. Height was the concern, but it went in England’s favour – but only just. Replays showed the ball was only clipping the bails but, because it had originally been given out, the on-field call remained.Play that
Hashim Amla had just reached his hundred by flicking Broad through midwicket and was seeing it like a football. Still, he had no chance of playing the grubber from Anderson that scuttled along the deck and crashed into off stump. Anderson barely celebrated, partly because South Africa’s lead was out of reach, but mostly because he knew the challenge that was about to confront England in their second innings.Clouds on the horizon?
During the fourth day, the sky became something other than perfectly blue for the first time in the game. The ominous sign of thunderclouds began forming in the distance – as the forecast had predicted – and they started to turn the sunshine hazy. This match has been notable because it’s the first time here that an England game hasn’t impacted by the weather. But there is still a day to go, and the visitors would welcome some help from above.

The MCC has selected a blend of youthful promise, Test experience and county stalwarts for the traditional season opener against the County Champions.

Cricinfo staff26-Jan-2010The MCC has selected a blend of youthful promise, Test experience and county stalwarts for the traditional season opener against the County Champions starting on March 29.This year is a landmark for the fixture, with the match not being played at Lord’s for the first time. Instead the game, against Durham, will take place under lights in the Zayed stadium in Abu Dhabi with a pink ball, in an attempt to research the feasibility of Test cricket under lights.Gloucestershire captain and former MCC Young Cricketer Alex Gidman will lead the side that includes Mark Ramprakash, who, at 40, continues to dominate domestic attacks. Also in the ranks are two players who will be eager to impress national selectors: Leicestershire’s James Taylor, the Cricket Writers’ Club and PCA Young Player of the Year for 2009, and Middlesex and England Lions paceman Steve Finn.In a lively fast-bowling pack, Finn will be joined by Gloucestershire’s Steve Kirby, and Chris Tremlett, who is trying to resurrect his international career with a move of from current county Hampshire. In addition, Essex wicketkeeper James Foster will play in this fixture for the third year in succession.John Stephenson, the MCC head of cricket, said he is looking forward to being part of latest development in the game. “This is a traditional fixture, but there’s little else about this match that is traditional,” he said. “It’s not just a contest between MCC and the Champion County, but a crucial step in researching the pink ball and first-class cricket under floodlights.””We’re very pleased to be fielding an extremely talented MCC team in what will undoubtedly be a tough test against the strongest county in England. From speaking to our players in recent weeks, it’s clear there is a passion to play in this game: not only so they can kick-start their season but because they feel they can contribute to our wider research for the good of the game. We’re really looking forward to the match.”Gidman echoed these sentiments, saying that he is looking forward to being part of cricketing history. “I was delighted to be invited to play in this match, and to be asked to captain is a huge privilege. My family have strong ties with MCC, and both myself and my brother Will spent time as MCC Young Cricketers, so I cannot wait to lead out the MCC team in such an historic fixture,” he said.”Using pink balls under lights in a four-day, first-class match promises to be a very interesting experiment and certainly something that every player will be looking forward to being a part of.”MCC team 1 Alex Gidman (Gloucestershire) (Capt), 2 Scott Newman (Middlesex), 3 David Sales (Northamptonshire), 4 Mark Ramprakash (Surrey), 5 Dawid Malan (Middlesex), 6 James Taylor (Leicestershire), 7 James Foster (wk) (Essex), 8 James Middlebrook (Northamptonshire), 9 Chris Tremlett (Hampshire), 10 Steve Kirby (Gloucestershire), 11 Steve Finn (Middlesex)

Waqar Younis, the former Pakistan fast bowler and bowling coach, would be open to the prospect of taking on a broader coaching role with the Pakistan side if he were approached

Osman Samiuddin19-Feb-2010Waqar Younis, the former Pakistan fast bowler and bowling coach, would be open to the prospect of taking on a broader coaching role with the Pakistan side if he were approached. Waqar was bowling and fielding coach with Pakistan during the disastrous trip to Australia, but was appointed for that series only. His immediate future options are open for now, but he has said he would love to coach the senior side on a longer-term basis.Though the Pakistan board has not said so openly, it is acknowledged that they are looking for a new coach to replace Intikhab Alam. Nothing will be officially announced until the inquiry committee set up to look into the Australian tour reaches a conclusion and that has been delayed till after Pakistan returns from a short trip to Dubai, where they play England in two Twenty20s.The PCB has already contacted -and been turned down by – Greg Chappell and senior officials have said they are willing to look abroad as well as locally. The Pakistan post is not a particularly attractive one for a foreigner: an unstable administration and security concerns decree as much, so a local option may well have to be the way forward. Ijaz Ahmed is with the senior side in Dubai as a batting and fielding trainer and his name has also come up, after taking the Under-19 team to a World Cup final.”If offered I would love to take on the role of coach,” Waqar told Cricinfo. “Pakistan cricket remains my absolute passion and number one priority. I don’t want to do it on an appointment or short-term basis though. I’d like to have time to work with the boys, to really be able to plan ahead.”Waqar’s first stint as bowling coach was between March 2006 and January 2007 and though it didn’t end well, his role and contribution was widely acknowledged, especially by bowlers such as Umar Gul and Naved-ul-Hasan. “I enjoyed that stint when I was with [Bob] Woolmer, though I worked with limited resources then and in a limited role,” he said. “It would make more sense to have a broader role and greater authority if I do work with the side again.”Even as the inevitable finger-pointing and blame game swiftly followed the whitewash in Australia Waqar has remained silent, instead quietly handing in his own report of the tour to the inquiry committee. Surprisingly, he wasn’t asked to appear before it, though Intikhab, Aaqib Javed [assistant coach] and Abdur Raquib [team manager] have all been summoned by the committee.”I said what I wanted to say in the report and gave it in” Waqar said. “I just want to help make things better and not point fingers at anyone in particular. We lost the series and my report says why I think we lost. I have given some suggestions as well.”Pakistan plays best when they do with passion, like we used to when we were playing, that aggression and that Pakistani-ness. There was a lot of stuff happening off the field as well in those days, but when it came to matters on the field, we always had that hunger to just go out and play as well as we could for Pakistan.”It is believed Waqar met Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, during a short trip to Pakistan though it is unclear whether possible roles have been discussed. Butt refused to confirm whether a meeting had taken place, saying only that he “meet[s] any number of ex-Test players to take their inputs. I don’t want to comment on something that will only be decided once the committee’s work is concluded.”

Graeme Aldridge’s incisive spell on the opening day and Kane Williamson’s stroke-filled 170 paved the way for Northern Districts’ nine-wicket win against Wellington at the Basin Reserve.

Cricinfo staff06-Mar-2010Graeme Aldridge’s incisive spell on the opening day, and Kane Williamson’s stroke-filled 170, paved the way for Northern Districts’ nine-wicket win against Wellington at Basin Reserve.Things went to plan right from the toss for Northern, as Wellington struggled to come to terms with Aldridge after being asked to bat. Openers Neal Parlane and Cameron Merchant fell early in the first morning and the hosts were never recovered. Chris Nevin’s fighting 53 took them close to 200, before Aldridge finished the innings with a six-for.When BJ Watling fell for a duck in Northerns’ reply, Wellington sensed an opportunity to claw back into contention. But their hopes were shattered by Michael Parlane and Williamson, who added 145 runs to give their side the advantage. Parlane fell shortly after reaching 50, but Williamson had his eyes set on a huge score. His attractive innings included 24 fours and came at a brisk pace to put Wellington out of the game. Useful contributions from Hamish Marshall, Daniel Flynn, Peter McGlashan and Aldridge pushed the visitors’ score to 400, a mammoth 203 runs ahead of Wellington.Fighting to make Northern bat a second time, Wellington’s batsmen made a marginal improvement in the second innings. Neal Parlane and Stephen Murdoch hit 70s but could not kick on to make more substantial contributions that may have given the visitors a tricky fourth-innings target. As it transpired, Northern needed only 42 runs and they raced home for the loss of Watling’s wicket.

Dinesh Karthik, who contributed a crucial 38-ball 69 in Delhi’s victory against Rajasthan, is pleased with his batting form and believes he is ready to take over the role of finisher in the India’s limited-overs teams

Cricinfo staff04-Apr-2010Dinesh Karthik, who contributed a crucial 38-ball 69 in Delhi Daredevils’ victory against Rajasthan Royals, is pleased with his batting form and believes he is ready to take over the role of finisher in the India’s limited-overs teams.”I can proudly say that I can be a good finisher. I would take that role of a finisher any day, it’s a high-pressure job; MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh have been doing it for sometime now and I want to take over that job,” Karthik told the . “I have been able to finish a few games for Delhi Daredevils and I want to do the same for the Indian team as well.”Karthik is second only to Virender Sehwag in the list of run-getters for Delhi so far in IPL 2010, with 210 runs at an average of 30.00, and a strike-rate of 140.93. His form in the middle order, in addition to his wicketkeeping skills, has been crucial to Delhi’s cause in the tournament.”I do feel that I have been batting very well recently. It’s tough for me to compare how I was batting before and now, but I am obviously very happy with the way my batting is shaping up and with the way I’m hitting the ball.”For me, it has never been about being flashy, or about telling people how many shots I have in my kitty. When I am playing those shots I am just reacting to what the team requirements are. Over the years you learn and it comes through sheer experience. I also spend a lot of time at the nets – in fact, I have been working a lot with my coach Jayaram [former Kerala captain] but I think some of the decisions to play the shots come with my mental strength,” Karthik said.Karthik has had a tough time at the highest level, where he faced reasonable success as a Test opener before MS Dhoni displaced him, first behind the stumps and later from the starting eleven. Since then, he has cemented his place as India’s second-choice keeper, and in recent times, forced his way back as a specialist batsman. Karthik attributed his comeback to his ability to take stock of things and improve on his weaknesses.”When you get dropped, you do sit down and try and reassess. After I was dropped two years back after the Sri Lanka series, I had a serious rethink on my game, and the way I was going. When you are down or you get out cheaply, people talk about you, one needs to make a note and sit down patiently and assess the merits and demerits.”I realised that there was a problem with my mindset – I used to get worked up very easily and I needed to improve my keeping. I made a conscious attempt to rectify those mistakes and I can confidently say that I have improved drastically since then,” Karthik said.Karthik was not too concerned that his wicketkeeping was not required by the national side. “I don’t think too much about keeping when I am with the Indian team. Obviously I am only there as a back-up for Dhoni and I concentrate on my batting. When I get back to the domestic circuit, it does take a while to adjust back, because I haven’t kept for a while. But that’s a bargain I am willing to take to play for India,” Karthik said.