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The Sri Lanka Cricketers’ Association has claimed Sri Lanka Cricket was informed that some of the country’s leading cricketers had committed to the IPL

Sa'adi Thawfeeq07-Nov-2008BCCI deal ‘still on’Graeme Labrooy, the players’ association secretary, has said Sri Lanka can take its proposed multi-million deal with the Indian board to the next level “once we get our relationship on the road”. Labrooy said the offer involved Sri Lanka’s participation in the Champions Twenty20 League for the next ten years and was put forward by the BCCI as a solution for the loss Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) would suffer due to the aborted England tour next year. However, he admitted SLC’s hardline stance against the Indian board has meant the offer couldn’t be discussed in detail during a meeting in Bangkok last month. “A delegation appointed by the sports minister went to Bangkok to confirm the offer but unfortunately we couldn’t take it any further,” Labrooy said. “At this meeting, the BCCI officials expressed their disappointment over the strained relationship that had developed between them and SLC in the past few months and wanted to know why. They didn’t say the deal is off; it is still on. Once we get our relationship on the road, we can take it to the next level.” Speaking about the offer, Labrooy said, “We went to the IPL and sought their views about the deadlock with England. They came up with a solution that if SLC was going to lose US$2 million revenue on the England tour they would compensate that loss by giving us a window [Sri Lanka[ in the Champions League from next year and for the next nine years where they would pay a sum of $3million to SLC and $1m as participation fee to the provincial side to improve its cricket.”The Sri Lanka Cricketers’ Association (SLCA) has claimed Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), including chairman Arjuna Ranatunga, was informed during a meeting in June that some of the country’s leading cricketers had committed to the IPL for the next three years. However, in July, the SLC finalised a tour of England in 2009 – currently put on hold by sports minister Gamini Lokuge – despite assuring its cricketers during that meeting that they would keep a window free for the players’ participation in IPL till 2010. The tour announcement was made in July, a month after the meeting.”We see this not as a one-off thing; we feel there is something more to it,” Graeme Labrooy, the SLCA secretary, said at a press conference in Colombo that was also addressed by Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain, and vice-captain Kumar Sangakkara. “Unfortunately, even in 2008, when the players had been given permission by Sri Lanka Cricket to play in the first IPL, SLC tried its best to play a one-day series in Pakistan that would have led to a direct confrontation with IPL. So it is not just the 2009 England tour.”Labrooy, Jayawardene and Sangakkara said they had decided to go public with their views after recent comments from SLC officials, including Ranatunga, questioned their commitment to playing for the country. Sangakkara said he was “disturbed” by the ongoing controversy over the players’ participation in IPL.Labrooy said that SLC’s only demand from the players during the June 12 meeting was they commit to playing 75% of the provincial season. SLC then agreed to tour England for two Tests and three ODIs after the ECB suspended bilateral ties with Zimbabwe, who were due to tour in 2009. Labrooy said Zimbabwe were slated to play three ODIs but the ECB were keen to add two Tests to give the players some practice ahead of Australia’s visit. “We were prepared to compromise and play three one-day games but England wouldn’t want to go with that. They were keen on playing two Test matches.”The key stakeholders of the game are the players. Knowing the players had signed contracts during the same period, SLC should have come back with the England proposal and sat with the players and the cricketers’ association and thrashed out the matter. It would have been resolved to a great extent and wouldn’t have gone so far.”Sangakkara and Jaywardene, who were given permission by the SLC to speak at the press conference, said they wanted to clear the air over the issue and present their “side of the story”. “We always try as players to stay away from controversy, to do what is right and to play our cricket in peace,” Sangakkara said. “There are certain things that we can ignore and take and not worry about it and make any comments. But when we are accused of misleading the public and the government of Sri Lanka, it is time for us to come out into the open and state our side of the story.”Jayawardene said the players had signed for IPL as individuals and not as part of the Sri Lankan team. “So therefore I am not the captain of this IPL group,” he said. “I am the captain of the Sri Lanka team and I am responsible for the decisions which I make on and off the field regarding the team. Above and beyond that, it’s not my responsibility. All these players have their own managers or agents and they have individually written to SLC and got permission and signed with IPL.”

Michael Hussey has seen no signs from Matthew Hayden that he is about to retire and would be stunned if the opener was not part of next month’s tour to South Africa. Hayden scored 39 in the second innings to continue his horrible run at home this season a

Cricinfo staff06-Jan-2009
Matthew Hayden has struggled in the series against South Africa, averaging 19.50 in six innings © Getty Images
Michael Hussey has seen no signs from Matthew Hayden that he is about to retire and would be stunned if the opener was not part of next month’s tour to South Africa. Hayden scored 39 in the second innings to continue his horrible run at home this season amid increasing pressure to call time on his 103-Test career.Hussey was in the dressing room when Hayden returned from his final five-day innings in Australia – he has talked about bowing out in England next year – after being bowled trying to heave Morne Morkel over midwicket. “He was fine,” Hussey said. “I was padding up when he came in, sometimes he comes in calm, sometimes he’s not so calm. He put his gear down and didn’t say too much.”Hayden, 37, has not spoken to his team-mates about walking away and has received regular backing from the side and the selectors, who were under fire for choosing him in Sydney instead of a younger option. “He hasn’t said anything to us,” Hussey said. “From my point of view, I hope he keeps going. From what I see inside the camp, he’s very hungry for runs. I’m not seeing any signs that he wants to call it a day.”

Kamran Khan tells Cricinfo how he kept his head during the tense finish in the tied game against Kolkata Knight Riders

Nagraj Gollapudi26-Apr-2009Kamran Khan slept well Thursday, hours after he had turned the match against Kolkata Knight Riders on its head in favour of Rajasthan Royals. Asked to bowl the final over against Kolkata, who needed seven runs for victory in Durban, Kamran forced a tie.Minutes later, he returned to his bowling mark with a smile on his face after his captain, and No. 1 backer, Shane Warne asked him to deliver the Super Over. Kamran managed to keep the marauding Chris Gayle from trampling him, limiting the target to a gettable 16 runs. Moments later, Yusuf Pathan charged Ajantha Mendis several times into the crowd to give Rajasthan their first victory in South Africa, which had looked improbable at one stage. But Kamran never had any doubt.Kamran, an 18-year-old left-arm fast bowler from Azamgarh in the north-Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, impressed Warne instantly after bowling one over against the Cape Cobras in a warm-up game, played couple of days before the IPL kicked off. Since then Warne has not stopped gushing about his new team-mate, who was spotted by Rajasthan team director Darren Berry at a talent scouting camp earlier this year.Kamran’s initiation has been smooth and in a matter of weeks he has become pivotal to Rajasthan’s bowling strategy, especially in the absence of last year’s key performers Sohail Tanvir and Shane Watson. Kamran said what has helped him settle down easily is the team’s belief in winning and Warne’s faith in each and every man in the squad – something that paved the way for Rajasthan to win the inaugural IPL.”We are a champion team and we need to perform like a champion team. That has been the message everyone has been talking about,” Kamran told Cricinfo from Cape Town after his evening prayers on Saturday. Of course, the fact that his captain has enough faith in him is not lost on Kamran. “Warne always keeps encouraging and motivating me. That, obviously, gives confidence. I felt very good that there is someone who has belief in me.”That support was the driving force behind Kamran’s excellent two-over spell at the end, the turning point, against Kolkata. The resolute Sourav Ganguly had brought Kolkata to the doorstep of victory, but Kamran, too, was not going to blink easily – the stage now was set for an interesting duel.

“For the last ball I set the field for a yorker. I was bowling to win the game and not a tie, but Ishant Sharma dug out that yorker well to run the single”Kamran Khan

“Warne had already signalled to me earlier that I would bowl the final over. So I was prepared. There was no pressure even if they needed only six runs. I had no plan except that I should get Ganguly out … I just needed to get his wicket. Before the penultimate delivery of the match I thought he [Ganguly] would want to finish it off without waiting for another ball. And when I saw him move to make room I bowled the length ball and he gave an easy catch. I was happy but not extraordinarily excited or anything like that for getting Ganguly, such a big wicket,” Kamran said.Warne praised the youngster’s “good ball”. But there was one more delivery to go. “For the last ball I set the field for a yorker. I was bowling to win the game and not a tie, but Ishant Sharma dug out that yorker well to run the single,” Kamran said with a chuckle.Kamran’s job wasn’t done yet; the Super Over remained. Wasn’t he drained after such a tight final over? “I was not tired and I thought I would be the one to deliver the Super Over. I was confident. And Warne told me to be ready.”Was there any special message from Warne? None. “He told me to enjoy cricket and not be serious about it. He said, ‘I like your smile and keep that when you bowl’. That lightened me up and helped me to focus.”Once back to the bowling mark Kamran did not panic. “There was no particular or special plan in my mind against Gayle. I knew the first ball would be a yorker. The second would also be in a block hole. He hit some good shots but I got lucky to get him on the final ball. Fifteen runs. I knew we had good hitters and that was not impossible. And when I saw Ajantha Mendis we knew [Yusuf] Pathan would win it for us – if he could stick for those six balls it would be easy.”

Victoria’s season of dominance was confirmed as the one-sided final ended in a draw and the home players celebrated

Peter English17-Mar-2009Queensland 200 and 1 for 221 (Broad 109, Love 104*) drew with Victoria 510 and 5 for 282 dec (Hodge 90, Jewell 75, White 61)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Brad Hodge led Victoria’s second innings by breezing to 90 in the opening session, but the hosts had to wait to start their party © Getty Images
Victoria’s season of dominance was confirmed as the one-sided final ended in a draw and the home players celebrated their first Sheffield Shield triumph since 2003-04. Cameron White’s outfit was outstanding throughout the summer and was so successful they did not even give up a first-innings deficit.The win, which was on track since the second day was rained out at the Junction Oval, ended their sequence of Twenty20 and one-day final losses over the past two months. When time was called at 5.27pm the players started the partying for the state’s 27th Shield success.After the Bushrangers declared at lunch with a lead of 592, Queensland delayed their opponents’ march towards victory with Ryan Broad and Martin Love opening with a 199-run partnership. Love went on to his 31st Sheffield Shield century, driving David Hussey through cover for four shortly before Queensland finished with 1 for 221.Both Broad and Love batted with the freedom of men in their last day of work for the summer and, in Love’s case, his career. He retired at stumps after 16 years with Queensland and stepped down as one of only seven players to own more than 10,000 Shield runs.Love left a lasting reminder of his effortless talent by producing some sweet drives, clips and cuts, with his bat seeming in slow motion until the ball hit it and accelerated through the field. Love eased 19 boundaries in his unbeaten 104, which took his overall tally to 10,132.Broad was more aggressive, picking up 109 from 132 balls, and ended his season on a high with his fifth first-class hundred. His haul contained three fours from a Dirk Nannes over and he also launched fours sixes. One of the clearances off White exited the ground at long-off and another, a slash over cover off the spinner, brought up his century. He almost stayed to the end, but edged Shane Harwood behind while wanting to add another boundary.The performance prevented Queensland from falling to a heavy defeat, which was a small consolation after their poor week. They were dismissed for 200 on Monday in reply to Victoria’s 510 and were then batted even further out of the match.Brad Hodge, Nick Jewell and White slammed half-centuries as Victoria gorged in the opening session of the final day. Starting with a 392-run advantage, the hosts watched Hodge race to 90 and White blast to 61, including four fours and three sixes, after Jewell skipped to 75. There was not much Queensland could do to stop the fireworks, although holding a couple of catches would have helped, and 200 runs were scored in the 38 overs.Daniel Doran’s legspin was the main focus of the attack and Hodge and White, who scored 135 in the first innings, took him for 54 in 30 deliveries. One over went for 18, with both batsmen clearing the rope at midwicket, and he gave up another 13 before getting a rest.The captain Chris Simpson was also targeted, but he could have had Hodge and White if his outfielders had been more switched on. He did pick up Jewell and David Hussey (4) in his 2 for 49 after they were both bowled cutting on to their stumps.Hodge went within sight of a century, pulling Ben Laughlin to Lee Carseldine at deep square leg, and Laughlin earned a second when White holed out to long-on. Nine balls later Victoria ended the punishment by closing the innings, and by the end of the day they were toasting a sensational summer.

Tottenham Hotspur legend Graham Roberts insists that Tanguy Ndombele simply does not have the ability to make an impact in the Premier League.

The midfielder is reported to have informed Spurs that he would be open to an exit from the club in this transfer window.

He has subsequently been linked with a potential move to Bayern Munich, and noted transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that the club are trying to find a way to move the France international out before the transfer deadline.

Ndombele has struggled for consistency during his time at Spurs and has yet to play for the club this season.

The 24-year-old made 33 Premier League appearances last term but he completed the 90 minutes just six times.

In total, he scored three goals and registered two assists, and Roberts believes that Ndombele needs to move to a club in a European league, as he does not have the required attributes to succeed in England.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, he said: “I think the way he plays the game, I think he has a lot of talent, but he can’t cover the ground. The Premier League is too powerful for him, it’s too physical and quick.

“You have to play every game to a high standard and I just feel that when you see midfield players running past him, that can’t happen, and for me he would be better off in the Italian league or the Spanish league or the French league.”

An update has emerged on Rangers defender Borna Barisic, regarding interest from an English team…

What’s the talk?

According to 90min, Steven Gerrard is eyeing the Croatian international as a potential January target for his new Aston Villa side.

The report claims that the ex-Liverpool man is not afraid of raiding the Gers for some of their top players, as he believes they are good enough to play in the Premier League.

Instant stitch-up

The club are reportedly closing in on the appointment of Dutch boss Gio van Bronckhorst to replace Gerrard and Rangers chief Ross Wilson must avoid stitching him up instantly. It would be a difficult situation for the 46-year-old to deal with if one of the better players in his squad is taken away from him half-way through the campaign.

Rangers are fighting for the Scottish Premiership title and will need their top performers to be available week-in-week-out to give themselves the best chance of pipping Celtic to the crown. Therefore, selling one of them could dampen their chances and leave van Bronckhorst with a harder job than it would be otherwise.

Barisic has averaged a terrific SofaScore rating of 7.18 in the Premiership this season, providing two assists from the left-back position. This is after he averaged a score of 7.40 last term, as he produced one goal and six assists for the club.

Former Gers player Alex Rae previously hailed the Croatian’s ‘terrific quality’ on the ball, saying:

“He performs at good level week-in, week-out and has terrific quality in the final third of the park.”

Mark Wilson added: “He’s the best left-back in the country. He’s improved his defending and supplies assists and is a threat at set pieces.”

This shows that he has the ability to be a top player by Premiership standards and could be a vital cog in the machine van Bronckhorst wants to build at Ibrox.

Therefore, Wilson cannot allow him to leave in the January window as the club are in the midst of a title challenge. It could disrupt their plans and leave the Dutch coach stitched up and left scrambling to solve a problem position.

Worst comes to worst, Rangers should attempt to see out the season with Barisic in the side before allowing him to leave, should he want to, at the end of the campaign. This would then give van Bronckhorst and Wilson the entire summer to source a replacement and prepare them for the 2022/23 season.

AND in other news, Behind-the-scenes: Report delivers Rangers manager detail that’ll leave fans buzzing…

Queensland’s lower order collapsed in a frenetic finish to hand South Australia a valuable 19-run victory

Cricinfo staff16-Feb-2009South Australia 6 for 489 dec and 7 for 143 dec beat Queensland 8 for 300 dec and 313 (Hartley 102, Carseldine 86, Haberfield 4-60) by 19 runs
Scorecard
Points table
Chris Hartley took Queensland close with 102 before the Bulls tripped at the finish © Getty Images
Chris Hartley stepped up with a century that positioned Queensland for a satisfying result before the lower order collapsed in a frenetic finish to hand South Australia a valuable 19-run victory. Set 333, the Bulls looked like they would hold on for a draw at tea, then increased their rate to push for the win.Only in the last hour did defeat come into the equation, but South Australia roared home to move two behind the fifth-placed New South Wales. Lee Carseldine was undone on 86 by Cullen Bailey, bringing the captain Chris Simpson out and things got eventful. He showed the side’s intent by striking 15 off 19 before he was bowled by the debutant Jake Haberfield, and Chris Swan became his fourth wicket after 12 from seven.Hartley, who struck 13 fours and a six during his 102, was adjudged lbw to Bailey, who followed up in the same over by bowling Ben Cutting around his legs. Ryan Harris, who played for South Australia last year, was last out. Haberfield was strong during his 4 for 60 while Bailey added 3 for 89 to his 5 for 90 in the first innings.There were some early murmurs when Ryan Broad, Martin Love and Andrew Symonds went in the first session, but the core of the Queensland order was much stronger until the setbacks after tea. Symonds’ unhappy match, which started with knee soreness on the opening day, continued when he was caught in the gully for 3 off Haberfield.That left Queensland at 3 for 56, but Carseldine worked with Nick Kruger (49) and then Hartley to steer them away from the immediate danger. It was Hartley’s second career century and was a timely one as Australia consider a back-up gloveman for Brad Haddin. Luke Ronchi, the incumbent understudy, has been dropped from the Western Australia side and both Graham Manou and Hartley posted three figures in Adelaide.

Cricinfo previews the Group B clash between Karnataka and Andhra in Mysore

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran15-Nov-2008Match factsNov 16-19, 2008
Start time 9.30am (0400 GMT)The Big Picture
Rahul Dravid’s inclusion will boost an inexperienced Karnataka batting line-up © AFP
It’s virtually a bottom-of the-table clash when Karnataka take on Andhra in Mysore. The good news for both the teams is that since there have been no outright results in their group yet, they are still only four points behind the leaders.Andhra’s troubles so far this season have been mainly because of their ineffective bowling attack: their batsmen have run up scores in the region of 350 in both matches but Andhra have ceded the vital first-innings lead on both occasions, costing their side four points.While Karnataka’s bowling hasn’t been in top form this season, their real area of concern is the inexperienced batting; they folded for 127 against Railways and were forced to follow-on against Tamil Nadu. The specialist batsman with most matches under his belt is 23-year-old captain Robin Uthappa, with no other senior pro to guide the newcomers in the line-up. That drawback has been addressed by the inclusion of Rahul Dravid, who will be looking to play himself into form after an extended fallow period on the international circuit.Players to watchBesides Dravid, the other man to watch in the Karnataka side is Uthappa, who finds himself in the doldrums as far as national selection is concerned. When he was dropped from the ODI side after a promising beginning in 2006, he made his case with a spectacular Ranji season, amassing 854 runs to lead the batting charts. Uthappa started this season in a similar vein, with a superb Challenger Trophy and a century against Railways before being laid low by a viral fever. He has been declared fit for this match and how he fares will have a large bearing on Karnataka’s performance.For Andhra, 24-year-old legspinner M Suresh has made a great start to the season; the two best bowling performances in his first-class career have been in the two matches he’s played this season. There was also a doughty 46 at No. 8 against Uttar Pradesh, which boosted Andhra’s total to a challenging 349.TeamKarnataka (from): Robin Uthappa (capt), Rahul Dravid, KB Pawan, C Raghu, G Satish, Thilak Naidu (wk), Manish Pandey, Sunil Joshi, Vinay Kumar, NC Aiyappa, Sunil Raju, S Aravind, Deepak Chougule, KP Appanna, CM Gautam.
Andhra (from): Y Gnaneswara Rao (capt), AG Pradeep, D Kalyankrishna, Hemal Watekar, LNP Reddy, DP Vijaykumar, GV Saratbabu, ASK Verma, Manoj Sai (wk), I Raju, Achyut Rao, Ravi Shankar, M Suresh, A Veera Babu.

John Ward reports from the first day of Yorkshire against Sussex at Scarborough

John Ward at Scarborough17-Sep-2008Somerset 160 for 3 (Suppiah 58*, Langer 55) v Yorkshire
ScorecardIt was a dull grey day in Scarborough; not a drop of proper rain fell during playing hours, but due to bad light only 44 overs were permitted by the umpires. There was much interesting cricket in this time, however, as Yorkshire bowled very well, only to be met with determined Somerset batting, with the balance of luck falling perhaps more on the side of the visitors.A damp outfield meant that the start of play was delayed by half an hour. This was umpire Barrie Leadbeater’s final match on home soil before his retirement, and a report stated that he was only 15 lbw victims short of the record for any umpire in top-class cricket. If this influenced Darren Gough’s decision to bowl first on winning the toss, it backfired, as Leadbeater was not very co-operative with his index finger on this occasion.Somerset seem to have acquired the habit of entertaining from the first ball of the match. Two matches ago, at Nottingham, Justin Langer was lbw to the first ball; last week at Taunton he survived a similar appeal by the narrowest of margins. This time, with Arul Suppiah in the side, he decided to go in at No. 3, but still had to face the second ball of the innings. Marcus Trescothick took strike, attempted a footwork-free swing at Matthew Hoggard’s first ball, well outside the off stump, and edged it to the keeper, a remarkable lapse from a batsman of his quality.The Yorkshire seamers did a fine job in fairly helpful conditions, but luck was on the side of the batsmen, although nobody could begrudge it to them as they fought their way through. Hoggard troubled Langer, who nevertheless struck him twice through the covers for four. His policy seemed to be to hammer the loose ball to the boundary and block the rest, as evidenced by the statistic that his fifty contained no fewer than 12 fours in 71 balls.Langer hit one crisp four after another and reached his landmark in the course of hammering Darren Gough for five boundaries in six balls. With 55 to his credit, though, he tried to slog Adil Rashid before having a look at him, and lobbed a catch into the covers.At the other end Suppiah hung on like a limpet, but was not as slow as he appeared, simply because he did not have much of the strike. He did a good holding job for his team, while Zander de Bruyn (0) fell lbw, sweeping, to Rashid as umpire Leadbeater finally answered one of numerous close appeals in the affirmative.The afternoon session was marred by bad light and poor Yorkshire fielding. Richard Pyrah, usually reserved for one-day cricket, missed Suppiah on 34 at third slip off Deon Kruis, and in the same over survived a much harder chance offered by James Hildreth, then on 13. Later on, with 26 to his account, Hildreth survived as Gerard Brophy fluffed a simple stumping, this time off Rashid. In the meantime the score progressed from 103 to 160 with three wickets down, despite two breaks for bad light. Suppiah was gradually opening up, playing some good shots through the covers, and reached his 50 off 112 balls.Tea was taken early after the second stoppage, and play never resumed afterwards. The natives grew restless, as is only to be expected in Yorkshire, and there were visions of such headlines as “Umpire lynched in final home match.” It did seem as if the umpires were unduly pernickity for at least part of the time when play was not taking place, and one would have thought that the players themselves, with their teams so desperate for points at this stage of the season, would have wanted to get on with the game.But such is the caution of professional cricket, and they tend to give the impression they would rather play with a football on the outfield (as Somerset did) than get on with the real game. With the match unseasonably late for Scarborough, they only had about half as many spectators as usual for this championship match, although still well over a thousand. Most of them as they trailed home today would probably have described themselves as dissatisfied customers.

Queens Park Rangers manager Mark Warburton has dropped an update on the future of Seny Dieng.

What’s been said?

In recent comments cited by West London Sport, the QPR boss addressed reports suggesting that Sheffield United would be able to sign the Rs goalkeeper for a fee of around £6m this summer, assuring fans that they should not be worried about his side selling one of their prized assets on the cheap, with the 58-year-old labelling the quoted fee for the 26-year-old as ludicrous.

Warburton said: “No one here is going cheap. I read about a price tag on Seny. Ludicrous. The fans need not worry. The owners will put the right price on the players.

“Every player in the world has got a value. If anyone leaves QPR it will be on the owners’ terms. If they leave it doesn’t matter, because they’ll leave at a price that represents great value for QPR.”

Fans will be buzzing

Considering just how impressive Dieng was for QPR last season, the news that Warburton has no intention of cashing in on the goalkeeper, unless it is for a fee the club simply cannot refuse, is sure to have left the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium faithful buzzing.

Indeed, over his 42 Championship appearances last term, the £900k-rated man kept 11 clean sheets and made a total of 121 saves, as well as making an average of 2.9 stops and 0.2 successful run outs per game.

These metrics saw the man Warburton dubbed an “outstanding” player earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.96, ranking him as the club’s seventh-best performer in the second tier of English football.

The £4k-per-week shot-stopper also appears to have carried on this impressive form in the club’s 2021/22 Championship campaign, keeping one clean sheet and making 2.5 saves per match over his two league appearances so far this season – seeing him average a SofaScore match rating of 6.95.

As such, it would very much seem as if retaining the services of the Senegal international this summer would provide Warburton’s promotion hopes with a rather significant boost, while his recent comments on the 26-year-old’s future are sure to be music to the ears of fans.

In other news: Warburton drops claim on “excellent” QPR gem which will be music to the ears of fans