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Sunderland have been gifted a potential double boost ahead of their game away at Charlton Athletic in League One this afternoon.

The Lowdown: Building momentum

Alex Neil will now be looking to build some momentum after gaining his first win as manager at the Stadium of Light, following their 3-0 win away at Wigan Athletic in the division last time out.

They are facing an Addicks side who are now looking anxiously over their shoulders after five defeats in a row in the league, and another three points would really help in terms of their play-off push.

The Latest: Two returnees?

Speaking in his pre-game press conference ahead of the match, Neil has teased that two out of Nathan Broadhead, Aiden McGeady and Luke O’Nien could now return to the team, following periods out with injury:

“Of the three, there’s one who is nowhere near ready, there’s one who is getting there, and there’s one who is a lot closer – I’ll let you decide which one is which!”

The Verdict: Needed

Even though Charlton does look like a winnable fixture on paper, the Black Cats will no doubt be wary about their previous bad form, and so getting two of those three players back would be a welcome boost and may certainly be needed.

Broadhead, McGeady and O’Nien currently rank in the best-six performing players for the Wearside club in League One so far this term, as per WhoScored, and have scored ten goals and made a further five assists in total between them.

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Nonetheless, after Neil confirmed one of them won’t make it, we will not know who has made it into the squad until the team sheet is released, but SAFC fans will be eager to see two of those players listed.

In other news, find out whose display against Wigan was lauded by Neil here!

Cricket Australia doesn’t believe Andrew Symonds will be subjected to any racial taunts © Getty Images

Spectators at the Gabba will not be evicted for shouting no-ball when Muttiah Muralitharan bowls in the first Test but they will be removed immediately if they start monkey chants. Andrew Symonds was subjected to the animal taunts during the one-day tour of India last month and while Cricket Australia does not expect any reprisals it has adopted strong anti-racism measures for the series against Sri Lanka and India.Comments from Ricky Ponting about poor crowd behaviour will be shown on big screens at the Gabba and 70 closed-circuit television cameras will be used to monitor the spectators. A “dob in a yob” programme is also available for fans to report any offensive actions, but that won’t include screaming no-ball at Murali, who was called for throwing at the MCG in 1995.Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain, said he was not aware of any racist behaviour directed at the Sri Lankans on his previous tours. “Crowds have been tough on certain players, but we’ve never had an incident,” he said. “Racism is something I firmly believe is not part of cricket. People should have the freedom to express themselves in the middle no matter their background or religion.”Peter Young, Cricket Australia’s anti-racism officer, said players “expect to cop an earful” from the crowds in Australia. “It’s what happens in any major sport here,” he said. “But we’re not expecting a problem with racism.”Cricket Australia has met with Sri Lankan officials and adopted the stance following discussions with the ICC. “There is no place for racism in cricket,” Young said, “and we are implementing a global policy.”

Stuart MacGill has played only for New South Wales this season © Getty Images

Stuart MacGill guessed he would retire before Shane Warne, but now his long-term rival plans to leave the Test scene he is confident of being an international performer for another three years. MacGill, who might have played 100 Tests if he wasn’t an understudy for the past decade, said Warne’s decision had not changed his outlook.”I’m going to be playing every game with the intention of preparing myself so if the opportunity arises to play for Australia, I’m the guy,” he said in . In the MacGill said initially he did not believe the news about Warne departing at the SCG.”I was always under the impression that I would be out before Shane,” MacGill told the paper. “He’s still very able to compete at whatever level he chooses, but professional sport is about achieving goals and setting goals. I guess the first thing I thought this morning when I woke up was that how lucky I am that I still think that I’ve got things I want to do.”It would be a real shame to have heard the news and then think: ‘I’ve had enough too.’ I still really think I’ve got some significant contributions to make to Australian cricket and if I play well for NSW and continue to prepare well, then I will be in good shape if Australia needs me.”MacGill, who has appeared only for New South Wales this season and retired from the one-day game, said there was “definitely” a role for him at state and international level for the next two to three years. “It’s really important to have experienced bowlers to form part of your attack because we’ve encountered difficult situations before and had to deal with them,” he said in .In 40 Tests MacGill has 198 wickets at 27.20 and he wants to finish when the “time’s appropriate”. “That’s definitely not now,” he said. “Shane retiring hasn’t changed my outlook at all.”However, MacGill was not sure whether he would get a chance to partner Warne for the final time in the SCG Test. “I’m not really sure if I will play in Sydney, to be honest,” he said in the . “It’s not supposed to be easy to play Test cricket, and in a really kind of strange way, I’m kind of happy … I’m comfortable with the way things are going and know that I still have things that I want to get done in a blue cap and that might lead to a little more.”

Livescorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Harbhajan Singh racked the Sri Lankan top order © Getty Images

Harbhajan Singh racked the Sri Lankan top order, taking 4 for 24 asSri Lanka limped to 131 for 5 in reply to India’s 398. It was afrustrating day for them: first, their bowlers failed to skittle outthe remaining Indian batsmen, who added 151 to the overnight score of247 for 6, with VVS Laxman making 104 and Irfan Pathan making 82; andthen their batsmen handled Harbhajan’s offspin inadequately.Marvan Atapattu and Kumar Sangakkara had shown signs of defiance,adding 60 after Upul Tharanga was out with the score on 14. ButHarbhajan changed all that. First, he induced a mistake from Atapattu,on 40, who top-edged a sweep to Virender Sehwag (74 for 2). The verynext ball, Mahela Jayawardene was defeated by spin and bounce, glovinga ball that turned into him to Mohammad Kaif at forward short leg. Notlong afterwards, Thilan Samaraweera, on the back foot, tapped asimilar delivery to Kaif (82 for 4.)Sangakkara was the next to go, for 41, bowled around his legs as hebent down to sweep (105 for 5). Tillakaratne Dilshan and Jehan Mubarak kept theinnings together till the close of play, but it was all so ironic:just a day after they had reduced India to 97 for 5, they were indanger of being made to follow on. The credit for that had to go asmuch to India’s batsmen as to Harbhajan.The story of India’s innings lies in these numbers: 86, 125, 37, 39,14. These are the partnerships, totalling to 301, that their batsmenput together after they lost those five early wickets. VVS Laxman andMahendra Singh Dhoni had added 86 yesterday, and Laxman and IrfanPathan extended their overnight partnership of 64 to 125 today. Andafter these men were out, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan allchipped in to take India close to 400. Through all this, Sri Lankabowled with fire, fielded with vigour, but were simply outbattled.They began the day with some sharp bowling, but the batsmen were up toit. Lasith Malinga was more accurate than on the first day, notoverdoing the short-pitched stuff, troubling the batsmen with a fullerlength than yesterday. He induced a couple of edges and false shotsfrom Laxman, who was otherwise unflappable. Compact and assured,Laxman played the ball late and eschewed strokeplay.Muttiah Muralitatharan, no stranger to wrapping up innings, gave theball a lot of rip and extracted prodigious turn, but the Indians wereunruffled. Pathan was watchful when the length of the ball was good,but quick to step up to the pitch of the ball when he got a chance,and unfraid to loft.It was Farveez Maharoof who eventually struck, as Laxman was beatenand bowled by an incoming ball (308 for 7). His 104 was his ninth Testcentury, in a career that has featured many exceptional innings but isinvoked for just one.At such times, seven wickets down, all their specialist batsmen out,India tend to panic. But Pathan and Agarkar, once touted as anallrounder, batted sensibly. Pathan mixed solid defence with somelusty strokeplay, seeing off testing spells from both Malinga andMuralitharan. It was Maharoof who finally trapped him lbw,as he stepped a bit too across to a ball, bowled from over the wicket,that pitched on leg and would have hit off stump (345 for 8).Agarkar and Kumble, playing his 100th Test, then had a partnershipthat spanned 73 balls, as Sri Lanka’s early advantage became just amemory. They were out in quick succession, but India’s bowlers, bythen, had plenty runs on the board to defend. And they got to work.How they were outIndiaVVS Laxman b Maharoof 104 (308 for 7)
Irfan Pathan lbw Maharoof 82 (345 for 8)
Ajit Agarkar b Malinga 26 (384 for 9)
Anil Kumble v Jayawardene b Bandara 21 (398)
Sri LankaUpul Tharanga c Dhoni b Pathan 2 (14 for 1)
Marvan Atapattu c Sehwag b Harbhajan 40 (74 for 2)
Mahela Jayawardene c Kaif b Harbhajan 0 (74 for 3)
Thilan Samaraweera c Kaif b Harbhajan 1 (82 for 3)
Kumar Sangakkara b Harbhajan 41 (105 for 5)

Australia have named an unchanged 12-man squad for the second Test against Pakistan, beginning on Boxing Day. The playing XI was not finalised, but in Australia are likley to stick with the same combination after steam-rolling Pakistan by a massive margin.Australia had little problem in crushing Pakistan by 491 runs in the first Test at Perth and Michael Kasprowicz justified his inclusion with a fantastic performance in the first innings. Brett Lee will mostly be the drinks carrier in the second game as well.The squad is scheduled to travel from Perth to Melbourne on December 21. Australia will be in line for their 300th Test victory in a Boxing Day Test match and considering Pakistan’s spineless batting display at Perth, they should have lots to cheer after Christmas.

Teenage Portsmouth batsman Michael Barnes has joined the growing list of cricketers who have been ruled out of action for the remainder of the season.Barnes was to have been behind the stumps in both Hampshire’s Under-17 and ECB Under-21 Championship side in the next few weeks.But he has been diagnosed with a form of Hepatitis for which he is having hospital treatment.In-form 2nd XI all-rounder Dean Oliffe replaced Barnes in Portsmouth’s thumping nine-wicket defeat by Havant last week and will play at Liphook & Ripsley on Saturday.A broken collar bone has put Rob Wade on the sidelines – just as the South Wilts captain was enjoying his best season for some time – while highly promising Academy all-rounder David Wheeler underwent a back operation in a London hospital last week and will not play again until next season.It appears the operation went well, though, with the powerful New Milton teenager up on his feet in the hospital ward barely an hour after being under the surgeon’s knife.Also struggling for fitness is Sparsholt captain Ian Stuart, who broke a thumb earlier in the season.

Excellent bowling performance from Punjab forced HimachalPardesh to follow-on and they are again five down for 216 runsin 2nd innings in the North Zone Ranji Trophy league cricketmatch being played at PCA Stadium, Mohali.Himachal Pradesh resumed their overnight innings from 147 for5 with not out batsman Sangram Singh and Sandeep Sharma. Bothplayed with great courage and showed some resistance against adisciplined attack. Sangram Singh completed his half centuryin 81 balls with the help of 8 fours. Trying to pull a shortpitched rising delivery on leg stump from Amit Uniyal, hesnicked the ball for keeper Dharmani, who took the catch andUniyal gave a vital breakthrough to his team. The duo added49 runs for the sixth wicket partnership.After the departure of Sangram Singh tailenders could not staylonger and for the addition of only 17 runs they lost anotherfour wickets. Debutant Amit Uniyal took three wickets for 33runs while Vineet Sharma and Babloo Kumar also accounted forthree wickets each after giving away 83 and 12 runsrespectively.Forced to follow-on, Himachal started their 2nd innings on asound note as Nischal Gaur (51) and Raza Ali (14) added 46runs for the first wicket. Raza Ali was brilliantly caught atthird slip by Dinesh Mongia who took a single handed highcatch to his left off the bowling of Vineet Sharma. Nayyar (5)joined Gaur but with the addition of 8 runs to the total hewas trapped in front of wicket by Sandeep Sawal.Sangram Singh and Nischal Gaur played cautiously and kept thescoreboard moving. Gaur completed his half century in 100balls with the help of 5 hits to the fence. Amit Uniyal gaveanother jolt to Himachal team as he clean bowled Sangram Singh(13) with a yorker. The scoreboard was showing 91 runs forthree wickets. With the addition of just two runs to the totalNischal Gaur lost his patience and was trapped in front ofwicket by left arm spinner Babloo Kumar.Here comes the brightest part of the innings when SandeepSharma joined skipper Virender Sharma. Both playedaggressively and added 50 runs in just 62 balls. Virender wasmost instrumental in scoring runs at a quick pace. Virendercompleted his fifty with a cheeky single to point off SandeepSawal. He took 75 balls to complete his half-century whichwas studded with 7 boundaries and a huge six. The duocompleted the 100-run partnership in 144 balls for the fifthwicket, which is a record for the fifth wicket against anyteam in this version of game.Sandeep Sharma who was shaping well for a big score playedearly to a slower delivery from Anit Uniyal and gave a simplecatch to Dinesh Mongia at mid-off. Sandeep scored 44 runs in76 balls with 7 hits to fence. The duo added valuable 117runs for their team and give them some stability and respect.At the draw of stumps on day three Virender Sharma wasbatting on 61 while Paras Dogra had 5 to his name.Himachal still requires 113 runs to avoid inningsdefeat with five wickets in hand. Amit Uniyalcaptured two wickets at the cost of 51 runs, whileBabloo Kumar, Sandeep Sawal and Vineet Sharma snared awicket each.

Rangers could be sweating over the future of two of Gio van Bronckhorst’s key players at Ibrox with Gers duo Ryan Kent and Joe Aribo in danger of leaving…

What’s the talk?

Sky Sports journalist Michael Bridge has claimed that teams will be eyeing up the Rangers pair during the summer transfer window. He believes that both of them will attract interest from elsewhere due to their form for the Ibrox giants this term.

Bridge told GIVEMESPORT: “I do expect Kent, and I do expect Aribo to get interest. I really do. I know you’ve touched on Aribo before with Palace, and I’m sure clubs will look at him. He’s a really, really, really good player.”

Fuming

Rangers fans will surely be fuming with this claim as both players are crucial for van Bronckhorst and losing either of them would be a huge blow.

Kent may not have found his goalscoring touch this season but he has remained a constant menace to opposing defences with his ability to take players on with the ball. He has two goals and six assists in 19 Premiership matches for the Gers, averaging 1.8 key passes per game and creating nine ‘big chances’ in total.

This suggests that he has been let down by his teammates at times as they have been unable to finish off the opportunities that he has been handing them. Whilst he has not been prolific himself, the creative threat that he offers on the wing is huge for Rangers and that is why losing him would be a major blow for van Bronckhorst and fans will be fuming with the prospect of his departure.

Aribo, meanwhile, has produced seven goals and four assists in 26 Premiership matches from midfield. He has averaged an impressive SofaScore rating of 7.12, showing that he has been consistently delivering top-class performances for the Light Blues this season.

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Therefore, selling Aribo would be a nightmare for the club as he has proven that he is an excellent player in the Scottish top-flight. It would be difficult to replace him, and Kent, in the summer and Rangers must navigate the situation carefully to avoid making any howlers ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

Although, it is worth saying that interest in them does not guarantee that they will leave. Ross Wilson is not going to roll over and allow his top performers to leave for nothing, but he will also need to consider offers if and when they arrive, as he did in January when he decided to sell Nathan Patterson to Everton.

AND in other news, Possession lost 33x: Rangers gem with 6 key passes was let down by his teammates today…

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRishabh Pant slammed 14 fours and two sixes for his century•ICC

Rishabh Pant continued his fine run of form in the Under-19 World Cup, slamming his third successive fifty-plus score to guide India into the semi-finals following a 197-run win against Namibia. Pant, who had blasted the fastest U-19 international half-century during the win against Nepal, scored 111 off 96 balls with 14 fours and two sixes, powering his team to a mammoth 349 for 6.India, opting to bat, did not make the best of starts, though, as the captain Ishan Kishan was dismissed for 6 in the third over. However, Pant and Anmolpreet Singh led a recovery, put up 103 runs for the second wicket. Pant added a further 62 for the third wicket with Sarfaraz Khan before falling in the 29th over. Still, Namibia failed to dry up the runs, as Sarfaraz (76), Armaan Jaffer (64) and Mahipal Lomror (41*) all chipped in with handy knocks to lift the team past the 300-run mark. Fritz Coetzee was the pick of Namibia’s bowlers, taking 3 for 78, but went at more than seven an over, as did four other players.Namibia began their huge run-chase promisingly, as the openers SJ Loftie-Eaton and Niko Davin razed 59 inside 10 overs. However, the dismissal of Davin opened the floodgates, as the team went on to lose wickets at regular intervals, eventually getting bowled out for 152. Left-arm spinner Mayank Dagar shone with figures of 3 for 25, while Anmolpreet snared 3 for 27; Namibia were dismissed in 39 overs.

The Tau Devi Lal stadium in Panchkula is too small and the outfield patchy © Cricinfo Ltd

Walk into the Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula and you’d think a rock concert is about to hit town. Volunteers go about their work in a relaxed atmosphere – light towers being set up, temporary stands erected, lawn-mowers puffing away – and it’s tough to miss a big dais mounted at the end of the ground. Listen carefully and names of Bollywood actresses like Kareena Kapoor and Yana Gupta, and pop groups like Band of Boys float in the air.However, cricket tournaments, especially massively-hyped, apparently path-breaking, ones like the Indian Cricket League, deserve better. The stadium is too small – almost like one used for college games – and the outfield dangerously patchy. The organisers prefer to take refuge in the “weather hampering our plans” line but that couldn’t have been true for seven months.The vibes, though, are all gung-ho. Sandeep Patil, the former Indian middle-order batsman currently coaching the Mumbai Champs, says it’s a “miracle” that the stadium has been ready in 28 days and adds, “it’s the same outfield for all teams”. Himanshu Modi, the ICL business head, is also upbeat. “We kept in mind many things while building the stadium. We needed to make allowance for scaling it up later. It’s an architecturally well-designed stadium.”Late in the afternoon, Brian Lara, clothed in a garish orange Mumbai Champs suit, walked onto the outfield, one which was being treated with urea and other fertilisers. There was some doubt over Lara’s participation in the tournament, with the talk of him shifting to the BCCI’s Indian Premier League. Modi, however, laughed off these suggestions. “The reason I kept quiet was that I know our friends [BCCI] were trying to reach him out. I was having a daily laugh with him on the phone. And they tried whatever they could but a contract is a contract. And people want to honour it.”This isn’t Modi’s first run-in with the Indian board. In fact what irks some in the ICL camp is the board’s interference with every step. “How will you feel if someone was constantly stopping you from doing something interesting?” says Erapalli Prasanna, the former Indian offspinner who’s currently a match referee at this tournament.

Modi and team will hope they can turn around to the spectators and repeat what Lara asked on the day he retired: “Did I entertain you?” In the answer may lie the success or failure of this tournament

Modi says the BCCI’s actions only endorse the good work that the ICL is doing. “It’s almost like they’re saying, ‘What they do, we will also follow’. We did ICL, they did IPL. They are endorsing our own format. We keep getting these individual comments in the press – from Rajeev Shukla, Lalit Modi, IS Bindra, Niranjan Shah – but officially from the BCCI has ICL got a letter till date? Not one. Have I written letters to them? Yes, three. I’ve not got a single official reply signed from their secretary. We’re just asking them to take an official stance. Officially our members have heard only from their state associations. Like the Cricket Association of Bengal not allowing entry into their stadium etc. But nothing from the BCCI.”A few fans mill about near the impressive practice area, most waiting to get a glimpse of Lara. He has a few knocks against throw-downs from Rajesh Chauhan, the former Indian offspinner. “We’ve had a positive response to ticket sales,” said Modi, hoping that the presence of international stars will attract an audience. “I’m sure the response will only get better because people who come for the first game will see the Bollywood entertainment that is planned.”We’ve invited filmstars, politicians and other VIPs. The Haryana chief minister is the chief guest on the opening day. He will be addressing the audience. Kareena Kapoor will be dancing too. Yana Gupta is scheduled to perform on one of the days. We’ll have our Sa Re Ga Ma Pa stars (winners of the television reality show) too. The Band of Boys will play almost every day.”There promises to be some entertaining cricket shows as well. One of the members of the commentary team, former Australian left-arm bowler Mike Whitney, said he might be moving around in the crowd and “having a bit of fun chatting to the spectators”.Modi makes no qualms about entertainment being their USP. “It’s like our singing contests. We make money out if it but provide singers with a platform to showcase their talents. We hope the cricketers take the chance.” At the end of it all Modi and team will hope they can turn around to the spectators and repeat what Lara asked on the day he retired: “Did I entertain you?” In the answer may lie the success or failure of this tournament.