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An update has emerged on Newcastle United and their plans to make a late foray into the summer transfer window before tonight's deadline passes.

What's the latest Newcastle transfer news?

According to The Times, the Magpies are eyeing up a deal to sign Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Hugo Lloris as Eddie Howe tries to bring the former World Cup winner to Tyneside.

The report claims that the club are keen on a swoop to snap him up on a season-long loan, as he has been replaced as Spurs' number one by Ange Postecoglou this season.

It does, however, state that the veteran shot-stopper has turned down Newcastle's advances so far, although it remains to be seen if they will continue to convince him to make the move.

How did Hugo Lloris perform last season?

Howe is heading for a last-gasp blunder on deadline day as Lloris' dreadful form for Tottenham last season suggests that he would be an expensive flop for the Magpies.

He is reportedly on £100k-per-week in north London and that could make it an expensive loan deal for the club if they have to cover a decent percentage of his wages as only four current Newcastle players are on more than £100k-per-week, which could make him one of the top-earners.

Lloris would not be an upgrade on Nick Pope, based on their respective displays last term, and it does not seem prudent to have a second-choice goalkeeper on significant money, particularly one that could be detrimental to them if he does end up on the pitch.

His poor performances led to former Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness stating that he is "past his sell-by date", which is a fair comment you consider the dip in his shot-stopping capability over the last few years.

Lloris saved 3.6 more goals than expected, based on the post-shot xG against him, during the 2020/21 Premier League campaign for Tottenham, which meant that he was an above-average goalkeeper that year.

However, the 36-year-old then conceded 1.4 more than expected throughout the following season across 38 appearances. This meant that he went from being a net-positive to a net-negative for the club in terms of his shot-stopping.

The regression continued into the 2022/23 campaign as Lloris ended the term with 4.1 more goals conceded than expected, whilst the veteran also made four errors directly leading to goals for the opposition.

Pope, on the other hand, saved 0.9 more goals than expected for Newcastle in the top flight and only made one mistake that led to a goal for the opposition over the course of the season.

This suggests that the England international is a superior goalkeeper to Lloris both in terms of his general performances when it comes to stopping shots and his ability to avoid major errors, which is why the French giant would not come in as an upgrade on Howe's current number one.

Therefore, bringing in an underperforming goalkeeper who could be on huge wages in comparison to the rest of the squad would be a deadline day howler and a move that the club should look to avoid before the deadline.

Ben Stokes has been named in England’s ODI squad for New Zealand but first of all he has a a court appearance to negotiate

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2018Ben Stokes is poised again to make an England return – this time in the one-day series against New Zealand – after being included in a 15-man squad “subject to any court obligations”.Stokes has spent more than four months out of England’s side since he was arrested following a dead-of-night incident outside a Bristol nightclub. He is due to appear at magistrates’ court in the city on February 13 to answer a charge of affray.

England ODI squad

Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

England remain hopeful that he will be clear to play the five-match ODI series which starts on February 25, but cannot make a firm decision until the outcome of Stokes’ courth appearance.England’s decision to name Stokes provisionally follows a familiar pattern dating back to the Ashes, when he was selected but ultimately deemed unavailable for both the Test and ODI series.Instead, he managed some cricket across the Tasman Sea for Canterbury and may now find himself returning to New Zealand in more fulfilling circumstances.England have made two changes to the squad that beat Australia 4-1. Nottinghamshire seamer Jake Ball, who played the final match of the series, has been omitted, as has Dawid Malan who was added as Stokes’ replacement.With Stokes’ inclusion not yet certain, Malan, who has just been appointed as Middlesex club captain, might decide not to unpack his bags just yet.

Celtic are "interested" in signing Newcastle United's forgotten man this summer as the Hoops' search for a winger continues, Italian journalist Rudy Galetti has told GIVEMESPORT.

Is Ryan Fraser joining Celtic?

It's been an interesting transfer window for Brendan Rodgers' side so far this summer.

There have been plenty of positives for the Glasgow giants as they've secured the signature of players like Maik Nawrocki, Odin Thiago Holm and several other impressive players whilst convincing star players like Kyogo Furuhasi and Daizen Maeda to sign new deals.

That said, the departure of the dynamic winger and fan favourite Jota to Saudi Pro League side Al Ittihad came as a serious blow to the team, and while the £25m fee that the Hoops received certainly softened that blow, it was still far from the ideal way for Rodgers to start his second tenure as manager.

With a glaring hole on the leftwing, signing a replacement for the 24-year-old became imperative, and with less than three weeks before the window slams shut, The Bhoys are running out of time to find a replacement.

One player that could be the solution to Rodgers' woes is former Bournemouth star and current Scotland international Fraser.

The 5 foot 4 dynamo, who has the same agent as Federico Valverde, has reportedly been frozen out of the Newcastle team and stripped of his squad number after a bitter falling out with manager Eddie Howe in March of this year, per Football Scotland.

While the £63,000-a-week man might have burnt his bridges with the Magpies, he certainly has the ability required to make an impact north of the border and could make for a brilliant addition to the left wing of Celtic's attack.

And according to journalist Rudy Galetti, a move back to Scotland could be on the cards.

What did Journalist Rudy Galetti say about Ryan Fraser to Celtic?

Galetti confirmed that the Hoops are indeed interested in the Scottish international, and his lack of game time in the Premier League could influence his decision.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he said: "Celtic are interested in Ryan Fraser from Newcastle. That has been confirmed.

"They are looking for a winger. The Scottish player, who doesn't play a central role for the Magpies, is one of the preferred names and profiles."

How old is Ryan Fraser?

Born February 24th, 1994, in Aberdeen, Scotland, the 29-year-old has undoubtedly struggled for game time on Tyneside over the last 12 months, starting just three league games last season.

That's not to say that he wouldn't be an excellent signing for Celtic; however, as when his managers have given him the minutes, he's been a consistently decent top-flight-level footballer.

In his 128 Premier League starts across his whole career, he has scored 18 goals and provided 31 assists. On top of that, he has averaged a match rating of 6.67 across his entire professional playing career, which shows remarkable consistency from the Scotsman, per WhoScored.

Described as "excellent" for his national team performances by Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie, if Rodgers can get this deal over the line and coax the best out of Fraser once more, this could be an outstanding piece of business from the Scottish champions.

The T20 encounter against the Knights on Wednesday will be Steyn’s first competitive match since breaking a bone in his shoulder during the tour of Australia in November 2016

Firdose Moonda14-Nov-2017Dale Steyn is expected to make a comeback to competitive cricket, after a year on the sidelines, in the Ram Slam on Wednesday. Steyn has been named in the Titans’ 13-man squad set to play the Knights in Kimberley, for their second match of the competition.The Titans beat the Lions in their opening game on Sunday, where Steyn carried drinks and reunited with his team-mates after seven years at the Cape Town-based Cobras. Steyn, whose career began up-country with the Titans, opted to return to the franchise while still recovering from the broken bone in his shoulder that has seen him spend the last 12 months out of action.In that time, Steyn has had a pin inserted into his right shoulder and overcome torn bicep and pectoral muscles. When speaking to ESPNcricinfo last month, Steyn explained how he was slowly building up his bowling loads so that he could be at 100% by the time he returns. That time, it seems, is now.To make space for Steyn in their XI, the Titans will likely have to leave out David Wiese from the side that beat the Lions. That means the Titans could boast at least six current internationals with Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, Farhaan Behardien, Aiden Markram, Tabraiz Shamsi and Lungi Ngidi all in the mix and Dean Elgar waiting in the wings. Morne Morkel and Chris Morris, who are recovering from a side strain and a back injury respectively, are not part of the Titans’ squad for now but are both expected to make comebacks at some stage of the Ram Slam.If all goes well with Steyn’s participation in the Ram Slam, he is expected to make a return to the national side in whites, where he needs just five wickets to overtake Shaun Pollock as South Africa’s highest Test wicket-taker. South Africa play Zimbabwe in the inaugural day-night Test over Boxing Day and then host India for three Tests. New coach Ottis Gibson has already indicated Steyn will walk back into the XI provided the man himself is confident he can get through a full Test.

Granit Xhaka went through hell and earth to earn the plaudits of Arsenal fans during his time in north London.

It was a remarkable stint at the Emirates for the Swiss who played under three managers having initially been brought in by Arsene Wenger.

He was the backbone of the side with the Frenchman as his tutor but enjoyed a less successful spell under Unai Emery. The infamous booing and tossing of the armband to the floor looked as though it meant he'd never play for the club again.

Yet, his character is tough, perhaps one of the sternest we've seen in this part of London. He fought back and after taking his leave earlier this month, will go down as a cult hero among supporters.

How many goals did Xhaka score for Arsenal?

Under Mikel Arteta, he became one of the most influential midfielders in the Premier League, this time for all the right reasons.

Xhaka may well have still received three red cards while the Spaniard was in charge for 147 of his Arsenal outings, but 12 of his 23 strikes in Gunners colours also came during that time.

Indeed, his most prolific term was in 2022/23, finding the net on nine occasions while also supplying seven assists from his role as a number 8.

Although this position meant the Switzerland international could burst forward to join the attack with far more regularly than we had ever seen from him, the defensive side of his game wasn't neglected either.

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He made the role his own and after departing for Bayer Leverkusen, Arteta has a difficult job on his hands. Who will replace Xhaka in his system? Declan Rice? Kai Havertz? Think again, it could well be a wild card pick.

Who will replace Xhaka at Arsenal?

When Havertz arrived through the door from Chelsea, Arteta immediately stated that he was pleased to bolster his midfield options. Indeed, as the season pans out, he may well operate in that number eight role.

As too may Rice, although his best qualities are perhaps best showcased in a holding role. That said, he has the carrying ability to play to a high level in Xhaka's role as a no.8.

In the last few seasons, the former West Ham captain's ability to carry things forward has improved significantly. In 2018/19, he ranked inside the worst 21% in the division among midfielders for progressive carries yet last term, the England international sat in the best 17% in the entire top-flight. Some progress.

To put that number into context, Havertz sat inside the best 39% for progressive carries, but among forward players in the Premier League throughout 2022/23.

Whether Arteta is able to extract the most out of the German in a deeper role remains to be seen. Should that not be the plan then he could turn to a man who ranked inside the top 13% of forwards in the English top division for progressive carries last campaign; Leandro Trossard.

The Belgian has been a phenomenal signing for the Gunners after arriving in January for a bargain £27m fee.

He posted ten assists in just 22 outings, perhaps outlining him as the perfect man for a role in the middle of the park.

Trossard has reportedly been training in the number 8 role and he has twice featured there in pre-season now. It wasn't until the 5-0 drubbing over the MLS All Stars, however, that Arteta's vision started to be realised.

How did Trossard perform against MLS All Stars?

Although it won't go down as an official goal, the 28-year-old fired home his second goal for the club in that rout on Thursday morning.

The effervescent Bukayo Saka cut inside nicely from the right as he does before laying the ball off to Trossard. In true Santi Cazorla fashion, he checked the ball onto his right foot before curling home a delicious effort from outside the box.

Throughout the game, the former Brighton ace picked up nice pockets of space and showcased, albeit against poor opposition, that he could be the answer to Arsenal's midfield depth in the new season.

All in all, Arsenal's number 19 completed 82% of his passes, created one big chance, succeeded with 100% of his dribble attempts and won four duels in what was a complete 56-minute performance.

One prominent club writer even went as far as to declare the attacking midfielder had been "outrageous".

There is still plenty of work to do for Trossard to make that position his own but he clearly has the faith of his manager. That could well be key when the season kicks off against Nottingham Forest next month. Watch this space.

Adam Milne claimed 5 for 11 as Kent beat Somerset by six wickets at Taunton to keep alive their chances of qualifying for the quarter-finals of the NatWest T20 Blast.Returning his best figures for Kent, the New Zealand paceman registered 15 dot balls in 3.5 overs as the home side were dismissed for 149 in 18.5 overs. Striking the ball cleanly, Sam Billings then posted an unbeaten 56 from 36 balls as the visitors reached their target with nine deliveries to spare, in the process inflicting Somerset’s first home defeat in the competition.Adam Milne picked up sensational figures of 5 for 11•Getty Images

Put into bat, Somerset made a blistering start in front of a sellout crowd, Steven Davies and Lewis Gregory trading almost exclusively in boundaries and matching one another blow for blow in an opening stand of 35. But the momentum shifted dramatically as Somerset then lost three wickets in a Powerplay that ebbed and flowed.Davies was brilliantly caught by an airborne James Neesham at midwicket off the bowling of Milne and Gregory top-edged a quicker delivery from Mitchell Claydon and was snaffled by wicketkeeper Billings on the run. When Jim Allenby edged Claydon behind in the fifth over, the home side were 40 for 3 and firmly on the back foot.Required to rebuild the innings, Johann Myburgh and James Hildreth had little option but to proceed with a degree of caution. More of an accumulator than a dasher, Hildreth adopted a supporting role, while the naturally pugnacious Myburgh opted to hit out, a high-risk strategy that resulted in him chipping a delivery from Imran Qayyum to cover point for 25.Hildreth has proved himself a saviour on more than one occasion for Somerset in the short format this summer, helping his team chase down victory targets in games against Middlesex and Surrey. Charged with the task of stabilising the innings, he successfully rotated the strike with Dean Elgar in a revitalising partnership that was characterised by deft placement and feverish running.Having raised 36 from 30 balls and dominated a stand of 43 for the fifth wicket, Hildreth was looking to accelerate when, in the act of attempting to sweep Milne, he proved fallible and was adjudged lbw with the score on 117 in the 15th over. With a tendency to be hit or miss on these occasions, one-day specialist Roeluf van der Merve was then bowled by a straight ball from Callum Haggett as Somerset’s prospects of posting a challenging total receded.Called upon to play expansively, Elgar perished in pursuit of a six, held by Alex Blake on the long-on boundary off the bowling of Neesham as Kent, supremely athletic in the field, turned the screw further. Tim Groenewald hoisted the final ball of the 18th over to deep midwicket and Craig Overton was bowled by Milne for 12, at which point the home side were 147 for 9 and resigned to falling short.His confidence running high, the impressive Milne then made a mess of Paul van Meekeren’s stumps as the innings was terminated with seven balls unused.Managing to deliver what Somerset could not, Joe Denly and Daniel Bell-Drummond both cleared the boundary rope in an opening stand of 40 that served to stamp Kent’s authority.Any anxiety induced by the dismissals of Bell-Drummond and Sam Northeast, who succumbed in quick succession to Gregory and van Meekeren respectively, was dispelled by the arrival of England international Billings, who scored at better than a run a ball from the outset. But Somerset stuck to their task and the introduction of Groenewald saw Denly hole out to deep midwicket for 33, leaving the visitors needing a further 77 from 60 balls with seven wickets in hand.Veteran Darren Stevens offered a return catch to van der Merve to give Somerset renewed hope, but Billings batted with supreme assurance throughout a measured innings that yielded three fours and three sixes and helped keep the required rate in check. Billings brought up his fifty in grand manner, clearing the rope at Groenewald’s expense as Kent cruised to victory.

England are in the unusual position of entering an ODI match against Australia as favourites. But their upsurge owes much to a common adversary

Melinda Farrell at Edgbaston09-Jun-2017So far, Australia’s Champions Trophy campaign has run about as smoothly as a three-wheeled cart on gravel.The players are in the middle of a fractious employment dispute with Cricket Australia, with David Warner going so far as to question CA’s desire for a successful campaign, and they could effectively be unemployed in three weeks’ time. To top it off, they haven’t played a single full match in this tournament.And now they find themselves in the position where they must beat England; tournament favourites, already secure of a semi-final berth, playing at home and on a ground that has brought success and joyful memories.It has clearly been a frustrating tournament for Australia, providing a challenge for Steven Smith to keep his players focussed on the elements they can control. But while he is adamant the MoU discussions haven’t clouded the team’s preparations, it can’t be helpful to have the topic raised at every media appearance and dominate their social media landscape. Nor can it be easy to forget the more literal clouds that have doused their first two matches.But Smith hopes the tribulations and the knockout pressure of this match will bring out the best in his players and see them emerge as cornered kangaroos, if you will.”Obviously, a must-win match for us,” said Smith, speaking at Edgbaston. “Yeah, it usually does bring out the best of the Australia cricket team in big tournaments. So let’s hope this is the case tomorrow.”It’s not ideal we haven’t got through a full fixture yet, but we can’t control the weather. We can only control what we’re doing, and we’ve prepared really well in the nets.”The guys are looking forward to tomorrow. It’s essentially a quarter-final for us, so we’re ready to come up against a good England outfit.”Steven Smith and his team have spent much of the tournament watching from the sidelines•Getty ImagesWhile Australia’s batsmen have struggled to find either time or many runs in the middle, Smith can at least take encouragement from the improvement shown by Mitchell Starc. After a wicketless innings in his first match back from a foot injury, Starc was menacing at The Oval, taking 4 for 29 as he tore through the Bangladesh tail.A new pitch has been prepared at Edgbaston and, while there has been much anticipation to see Australia’s four quickest bowlers in the same side for the first time, John Hastings has strong claims for inclusion. He was in the team selected for the eventual washout against New Zealand at Edgbaston, in which he took two wickets.”I’m sure he’ll be talked about, particularly as there’s a new wicket,” said Smith. “He’s a guy that bowls that little bit slower and can hit the seam and generate, or get, whatever’s in the wicket.”Being a fresh wicket, there could be a little bit there, and he’ll certainly come into contention, I’m sure.”It must almost be a relief for Smith to ponder selections and contemplate how the pitch might play. It the midst of the nagging MoU uncertainty, those thoughts provide a slice of cricket normality and, once they walk onto the Edgbaston field, it will become clear whether the obstacles have been a distraction or a means of galvanizing the players.”I think the players have been really united through everything that’s going on with the MoU back home,” said Smith. “So the guys are in a good place. There hasn’t been that much talk about it as a team.””I said at the start before we got here, this is an ICC tournament. It only comes around every four years, the Champions Trophy, and it’s the second-biggest tournament after the World Cup.”So we’ve got to be focused on that. It’s a very sort of cut-throat tournament with only three pool matches. So you’ve got to be switched on for each and every one of those, albeit we’re only going to be getting through one potentially.”I made sure that coming over here, that we’re completely focused on this tournament and getting the job done at hand.”

ScorecardJoe Leach responded stoutly for Worcestershire [file picture]•Getty Images

New skipper Joe Leach inspired a Worcestershire fightback as 16 tumbled on the opening day of the Specsavers County Championship match with in-form Northamptonshire at New Road.New Northants signing, paceman Andy Carter, enjoyed an inspired debut with a deadly three wicket burst including Worcestershire top-scorer Moeen Ali, who made 50 as the home side were bowled out for 188.It was the ideal start to Northamptonshire’s bid to win the opening three Championship matches in a season for the first time in their history.But Leach, in his first home match at the helm since replacing Daryl Mitchell as captain, produced a deadly new ball spell which yielded four wickets.It was reminiscent of the form which brought him 65 Championship wickets last summer – the most by any bowler in Division Two.When bad light intervened with 25 overs remaining, Northants had been reduced to 102 for 6 with only Ben Duckett (45 not out) offering serious resistance.Former Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire player Carter was signed up after injuries to pace duo Ben Sanderson and Rory Kleinveldt.The visitors were also without skipper Alex Wakely for family reasons and Josh Cobb led the side in his absence.Moeen, playing his first Championship match for almost a year, and Daryl Mitchell dug in against the Northants seamers in adding 62 for the second wicket after the early departure of Brett D’Oliveira.Steven Crook trapped Mitchell lbw for 30 and Tom Fell departed in the same manner to Mohammad Azharullah.Moeen had greeted Carter’s introduction into the attack by planting his first delivery over midwicket for six and the England all-rounder went to his half century off 87 balls.But then Carter changed the complexion of the game when he returned after lunch for his second spell. Moeen went for a drive and was bowled and four balls later Tom Kohler-Cadmore, still to get off the mark, shouldered arms and suffered the same fate.It became three wickets in 11 balls for Carter as Ben Cox nicked a ball of extra bounce through to keeper Adam Rossington.Joe Clarke produced some flowing drives but Nathan Buck ensured Northants polished off the innings in efficient fashion.He disposed of Ed Barnard, Leach and Josh Tongue in the space of five overs while Clarke’s knock ended at 33 when he fell lbw to Crook.The wickets continued to tumble when Northants launched their reply with Leach settling into a lengthy opening spell which brought him four wickets.After Rob Newton went lbw in Leach’s first over, Duckett decided attack was the best form of defence in an over from Worcestershire overseas player John Hastings which cost 22 runs.He was aided by Max Holden in a stand of 53 but it was only a brief respite before the bowlers dominance returned.Holden drove Barnard to point before Leach took centre stage. Rob Keogh edged to second slip and Rossington rashly slashed the next delivery to point.Richard Levi survived the hat-trick ball and a spilled chance by Josh Tongue off Leach but it did not prove costly.He went lbw for 24 in Leach’s next over and his replacement Barnard disposed of Cobb in the same manner.

Australia’s performances in some of the practice matches on previous tours would have highlighted a few lessons for Darren Lehmann to follow, chief among them resilience on the field and in selections

Daniel Brettig16-Feb-2017As he surveys Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium on the eve of Australia’s warm-up match against India A, there is a chance Darren Lehmann is casting his mind back to the first time he played at the ground. In the equivalent fixture on Australia’s 1998 visit – their first full tour of India in 12 years – Lehmann was one of 10 Australian fielders held spellbound by a ferocious Sachin Tendulkar double-century.Tendulkar led the local XI, and chose the occasion to strike the first blow in a battle he would ultimately win comfortably against the Australians in general and Shane Warne in particular. There was nothing subtle about the way Tendulkar took to Warne, hammering the visitors’ most accomplished bowler to such an extent that he finished the innings with the ugly figures of 0 for 111 from 16 overs.The awestruck Australians proceeded to stumble to an unexpected defeat, leaving their captain Mark Taylor to realise that the calculated assault on Warne had set the scene for a difficult and unsuccessful tour.”Warney’s a bit like all of us,” Taylor said at the time, “we need to improve. I think they’d be his worst figures in his first-class career. You don’t need me to tell you he’s been a great bowler for a number of years, but it shows that if you don’t bowl well and a side attacks you, you can go for runs.”Certainly Tendulkar did not look back, using the Mumbai platform to launch into one of his greatest Test hundreds in Chennai, before the entire Indian batting line-up laid waste to Warne at Eden Gardens. The episode is the most celebrated but far from the only example of Australian spin bowlers being targeted early in an India tour, building doubts in the minds of bowlers, team-mates and even selectors.Trevor Hohns and Darren Lehmann will have to be wary of second-guessing their selections, even as Australia’s spinners will have to respond effectively when they come under attack from India•Getty Images

A decade later, Bryce McGain pulled out of Australia’s India tour party due to a shoulder injury on the eve of a warm-up fixture in Hyderabad. McGain’s misfortune left Jason Krejza as the only full-time spin bowler on tour, a likely debutant in the first Test, and with a big target on his back for an invitational batting line-up featuring a young Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Yuvraj Singh.What followed was another calculated mauling of the spin bowler by batsmen fleet of foot and aggressive of intent. Krejza, feeling the pressure, dropped repeatedly short, and was brutalised to such an extent that he returned the figures of 0-199 from 31 overs, spread across two innings.It was a return that troubled the selectors to such an extent that they summarily ruled Krejza out of the first Test. Then chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch was on duty in Hyderabad and offered a simple verdict down the phone to the rest of the panel back home: “We can’t pick him; they have absolutely slaughtered him in the tour game.”Instead, the tourists opted to include the Victorian captain Cameron White, flown in to replace McGain despite barely bowling his skiddy leg breaks in the Sheffield Shield the previous season. White was ineffective, Krejza unwanted. when the selectors finally decided to give Krejza a belated chance in the final Test, he harvested 12 (albeit expensive) wickets, posing a far greater threat than others had done before him.These lessons have hopefully not been forgotten by Lehmann, nor by the spin bowlers likely to feature in Mumbai over the next three days. Steve O’Keefe, Nathan Lyon, Ashton Agar and Mitch Swepson can expect to be attacked, and will need to be ready to respond effectively rather than thinking in purely practice mode.Likewise, the captain Steven Smith and the selectors on duty in Lehmann and Trevor Hohns should be wary of second-guessing themselves on the basis of a warm-up fixture. Perceived threats will be attacked by the hosts, in the hope of spinning the visitors off their axis. Resilience will be required, both with the ball and at the selection table.

Almost exactly a year ago – on February 19, 2016 – the BCCI held a special general body meeting (SGM) in Mumbai. The meeting was chaired by then BCCI president Shashank Manohar and in attendance were board secretary Anurag Thakur, former BCCI and ICC president Sharad Pawar, and other senior BCCI and state association offiicials. The most important point on the agenda was the amount of revenue the BCCI would earn from the ICC’s commercial and broadcast rights deal for the 2015-2023 cycle.In the Big Three model, the BCCI was set to earn about $571.25 million if the ICC secured a rights deal worth $2.5 billion. The BCCI, Cricket Australia and ECB, constructors of this model, worked out the BCCI’s share to be 20.3%, the highest of all members, in recognition of the BCCI’s financial clout. The ECB and CA would also be due a bigger share than the others.Manohar, who took over as BCCI president in November 2015, also replaced N Srinivasan as ICC chairman (the BCCI representative would be ICC chairman for the first two years under the Big-Three governance structure revamp). And almost his first pronouncement as ICC chief was to criticise the Big-Three model, especially the financial inequality of its revenue distribution. He was said to have spoken of a 6% cut in the BCCI’s share, according to a Bangladesh cricket official.With Manohar as the chair, the ICC set up a five-man working group to review the Big-Three governance structure and recommend a new model after consultation with all Full Members and the major Associates.According to an official who was present at that SGM last February, the BCCI members agreed that the percentage of the BCCI’s share could be scaled down to 16-17%. Manohar and Thakur were authorised by the BCCI to negotiate this at ICC meetings. “But it was clearly decided that they would report back to the BCCI before any final decision was taken,” the official said.A year on, with the ICC’s working group’s report ready and containing recommendations for a new financial model and governance structures, leave alone the final decision – the BCCI currently does not even know who exactly will represent it at the important Finance & Commercial Affairs (F&CA) meeting on Friday and the ICC Board meeting on Saturday.On Monday, the Supreme Court of India had appointed a four-member committee of administrators to run the BCCI till fresh elections can take place, having already removed Thakur as BCCI president and Ajay Shirke as the board secretary on January 2.On the same day the court also approved two BCCI office bearers, treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry and joint-secretary Amitabh Choudhury to accompany Vikram Limaye, who sits on the court-appointed committee of adminstrators, to attend the ICC meetings, which began in Dubai today.On Tuesday, however, confusion began as the committee of administrators, in its first meeting, tasked Rahul Johri, the board CEO, with attending the ICC’s Chief Executive Committee’s (CEC) meeting and Limaye to do likewise at the F&CA and Board meetings. This was communicated by the BCCI to the ICC.The following day, the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association – Srinivasan’s home base – went to court to intervene against the choice of representatives made by the committee of administrators. The court said the three men it had approved to travel to Dubai on Monday enjoyed “equal status” and should travel to Dubai.On Thursday, as the two-day CEC meetings began, Choudhury attended as the BCCI representative. Johri travelled to Dubai, but it is understood he was not in the meeting, as only one person can represent a member board.There is no clarity yet on who will represent the BCCI at the F&CA and Board meetings. The ICC constitution states that a Full Member may send one representative, not three. But an observer from the member board is allowed to sit in on the meeting, although he can have no say in the meeting itself. Ultimately, how many attend from the BCCI will be decided by senior ICC management, including Manohar.The committee of administrators believes Limaye will attend and that if the ICC insists on just one or at best, two, out of the court-approved three, then Limaye will have the authority to decide on who attends the meetings.Despite having been forced out of office in 2015 as BCCI president and then as TNCA president, Srinivasan continues to cast a shadow over the BCCI. On Tuesday, it has emerged, Choudhury forwarded the minutes of the first meeting of committee of administrators to him.That meeting was attended by Vinod Rai (chairman) along with Limaye and former India women’s captain Diana Edulji. Johri and Chaudhry were present and briefed the panel on various matters including the ICC meetings.Chaudhry sent the minutes to Choudhury, who then forwarded them to the TNCA treasurer. It is understood both the Lodha Committee and the committee of administrators are aware of this. Srinivasan, through his supporters within the BCCI, has been an objector to Manohar’s Big-Three rollback measures. Chaudhry is said to be the solitary voice who opposed Manohar during last February’s SGM, arguing that the BCCI would suffer a massive loss from a repeal of the Big-Three model.Regardless of who participates in the F&CA and Board meetings, the committee of administrators has made it clear no decision can be taken by the representative(s). “It is an unusual situation and we are waiting to hear back from ICC how many can attend,” one of the committee of administrators told ESPNcricinfo. He would only say that the main aim of the representative(s) will be to “appropriately” deal with the matters.