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Celtic are pushing to claim a fifth Scottish Premiership title in a row and could now turn to a star Wilfried Nancy has a working knowledge of to strengthen their backline.

Celtic line up new signings to aid Wilfried Nancy

In the grand scheme of things, Nancy has hardly had the most straightforward of tasks since being plunged into the deep end of life at Parkhead, though supporters will feel that the best is yet to come after two victories and four losses.

Implementing his system has been a challenging endeavour with a squad that has endured a fair amount of injuries, with key men such as Alistair Johnston, Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers scheduled to be out until well after the New Year.

There is also the question of square pegs in round holes to answer. Anthony Ralston has been thrust into a right-sided centre-back berth. At the same time, Hyunjun Yang and Luke McCowan are wing-backs within his system, a role neither had previously played since joining the Glasgow giants.

Hibernian star Josh Mulligan has been lined up by Celtic as a more natural solution on the right-hand side, albeit it remains to be seen if his current employers are willing to entertain offers in January.

Nancy saw off Livingston in chaotic fashion with a 4-2 victory last weekend, though it is clear that the Bhoys need to work on the defensive elements of their system to ensure they can shut up shop when needed.

Despite their free-scoring existence, Celtic are in need of solidity to make their 3-4-2-1 system fully ignite, and they could now turn to a star who the Frenchman knows from his time in the United States to shore up across their rearguard.

Celtic keen to sign Bournemouth's Julian Araujo on loan

According to The Scottish Sun, Celtic are in pole position to sign Bournemouth defender Julian Araujo on loan, who is seen as an ‘ideal’ fit on the right-hand side of Nancy’s 3-4-2-1 formation.

Formerly of Barcelona, the Frenchman has come up against Araujo both during his time with Columbus Crew and CF Montreal while the Mexico international was on the books of LA Galaxy.

Related Celtic line up move for "Rolls-Royce" who's been dubbed the new Gareth Bale

The Bhoys are lining up a homegrown star to strengthen under Wilfried Nancy.

Posts BySean Markus Clifford

Born in the United States, the 24-year-old switched international allegiance to Mexico in 2021 and has won 16 caps to date for his country and will be keen to claim regular game-time ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

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Predominantly a right-back, Araujo has featured once for Bournemouth this campaign against Brentford in the EFL Cup, though he was sent off in stoppage time for a second yellow card offence.

After joining the Cherries for £9 million in 2024, Andoni Iraola is likely to sanction a temporary exit for the defender, and Celtic are now strong contenders to bolster their ranks with his signature.

The BCCI’s objection to the ICC’s assessment of the Nagpur pitch is that there are “inconsistencies” in the match referee’s report, and the board unanimously stands behind the surface.According to a top BCCI official, the assessment that the Nagpur pitch was “poor” was not right, and that the BCCI was going to contest it strongly. “The report says the ball ‘spun’ on day one,” he said on the sidelines of the IPL Governing Council meeting in Delhi. “It says ‘excessive turn’ only for day three.” However, it is worth noting that the ICC’s guidelines on what qualifies as a poor pitch is “excessive assistance to spin bowlers, “, and not just early in the match.The officials present at the meeting were vehement in their support of the pitch, whose excessive turn, variable bounce and pace had come in for criticism from various quarters. “Excessive turn is subjective,” the official said. “It depends on how the bowler uses it. I don’t think there was anything wrong with the surface.”The ICC informed the BCCI on December 1 that Jeff Crowe, the match referee, in consultation with the umpires, had rated the pitch poor. The BCCI had 14 days to respond after which Geoff Allardice, ICC”s general manager of cricket, and Ranjan Madugalle, its chief match referee, will consider all evidence, including video footage of the match, before deciding if the pitch was indeed poor.If found to be poor, the penalties range from a warning and/or a fine of $15,000 with a directive to institute corrective measures.Another official said the worst-case scenario will be a warning from the ICC, but insisted there was nothing wrong with the pitch. “Early turn is a new concept to them [the batsmen],” he said. “Maybe they are not used to it, but it would have been a problem only if the pitch had been dangerous.”

‘Ken Gordon’s most positive legacy was his immediate curb on the spending spree within the organisation that bumped up the WICB’s already sizeable debt. Under his guidance, the board’s finances are in far better shape than they were’ © Getty Images

The not so merry-go-round of West Indies cricket continues later this month when the leadership of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) changes yet again at the annual general meeting. The president, Ken Gordon, resigns after two years of “moderate success and devastating failure”, to exactly quote the words seven years ago of another leader of West Indies cricket, if in a slightly different context.Val Banks, the Anguillan banker who has been a virtually anonymous vice-president for the past decade, is also stepping down.Gordon, the 77-year-old Trinidadian media executive and one-time cabinet minister, was a complete outsider with no previous experience in cricket administration when he replaced Teddy Griffith in 2005. He followed others who did have the seeming benefit of such a background-Pat Rousseau, Wes Hall, Griffith – but who were all overwhelmed by the peculiar problems of the most prominent position in the small cricket-playing territories of the Caribbean.As the only nomination, his successor as the fifth president in ten years will be Julian Hunte whose vice-president will be Wycliffe “Dave” Cameron, also the only candidate.Given that the interim report from the committee, created by Gordon and headed by retired Jamaica Prime Minister PJ Patterson to recommend structural changes to the WICB, is to be presented this weekend, the new president and his deputy are likely to head a very different organisation to the one to which they are accustomed. Yet the essentials will remain the same.Hunte and Cameron are from different backgrounds, different generations. Hunte, 67, brings with him a long and impressive c.v as head of his own company, politician, trade unionist and diplomat in his native St Lucia. Cameron, a Jamaican several years his junior, is a self-made businessman.Both have served as executives on the WICB. Hunte was a fixture for more than a quarter-century, rising to vice-president and representative at the International Cricket Council (ICC) before he left in 1998 to take up a post as St Lucia’s representative at the United Nations where he had a term as president of the General Assembly.As one of Jamaica’s two directors, Cameron is head of the marketing committee. Since Hunte has been out of the loop for the past decade, his return is very much a case of back to the future, especially at a time when the talk is of a “new beginning” for the board. Yet, on the back of his varied career, he brings a reputation as a pragmatist and a problem-solver, significant qualifications in two of the most pressing issues, straightening out the WICB’s relations with the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) and those with the Stanford organisation.Hunte is astute enough to know from Gordon’s tenure that he needs to leave cricketing decisions to the eminent cricketers who are placed on the cricket committee and the selection panel for just such a purpose.

Gordon ran himself into trouble when he delved into cricket matters, specifically over the appointment of Brian Lara for his third stint as captain and the initial rejection of the selectors’ choice of Chris Gayle as limited-overs skipper that was followed by the embarrassment of having to reinstate him

Gordon’s most positive legacy was his immediate curb on the spending spree within the organisation that bumped up the WICB’s already sizeable debt. Under his guidance, the board’s finances are in far better shape than they were.But he ran himself into trouble when he delved into cricket matters, specifically over the appointment of Brian Lara for his third stint as captain and the initial rejection of the selectors’ choice of Chris Gayle as limited-overs skipper that was followed by the embarrassment of having to reinstate him.One of Hunte’s immediate tasks, and that of the new chief executive Bruce Aanensen, is to sort out the mess that, based on reports from those in the know, the secretariat in St John’s has become. There has been such a turnover of staff in all departments that some key files and documents cannot be located and proper procedures do not appear to have been followed. It is no wonder even basic tasks end up as blunders.The public attitude towards the WICB has hardened with every gaffe, every intervention into issues of cricket by one of its unqualified operatives and, ultimately, every defeat. It has been correctly captured in the advice in Dave Martin’s new calypso for it to “take a rest”.Hunte and, to a lesser extent, Cameron will be carefully watched and harshly judged. Cameron is less well known in cricket circles than Hunte and he does carry some unwelcome baggage. The Lucky Report into the contentious switch of sponsorship from Cable & Wireless to Digicel, commissioned by the WICB two years ago, found that the Kensington Club, of which Cameron was president, had benefited from Digicel’s financial help in renovations to its facilities.Cameron explained that he had approached both Cable & Wireless and Digicel for sponsorship and only the latter agreed. Such action appeared to compromise his position on the marketing committee and the Lucky Report concluded that there were “legitimate concerns which required examination”.It is not known whether the required examination took place but Cameron remained head of the marketing committee. As such, he secured a significant contract just over a year ago with the Centrex Group, based in Scotland, to form a joint venture company with the WICB to develop its licensing, merchandise and memorabilia ranges.A media release from Centrex at the time stated that the initial phase of the project would see “branding and development of three different merchandise collections”. It revealed that these would be the main WICB range, a Windies sports and leisure range, and a Select Legends range that would include a Sir Garfield Sobers series of merchandise.None of the specified merchandise ranges are yet evident in circulation and it is impossible to know how the untimely death in a car crash last month of Centrex’s head, 40-year-old Jim Whannel, while on a business trip to Manchester, will impact on the agreement. The issue is likely to occupy some time at the meeting but the Patterson report, even if only partially complete, will be one of the main items.After all, it deals with the composition and structure of the WICB and makes recommendations to “improve its overall operations, governance effectiveness, team performance and strengthen its credibility and public support”.

Steyn: ‘If you get enough short balls in the right place then they’ll make a mistake’ © AFP

Dale Steyn has said that Shaun Pollock’s inclusion will allow him to play the role of a `shock’ bowler in the second Test against Sri Lanka beginning on Friday in Colombo. Pollock missed the first Test that South Africa lost by an inning and 153 runs because of the birth of his child.”I bowled one decent bouncer in the first Test and, with Polly [Pollock] keeping one end tight, I will concentrate on bowling, basically, two lengths – short and full. With the new ball I’ll bowl full and try to get it to swing, but I will also concentrate on bowling more short balls,” Steyn told Supercricket.co.za. “If you get enough short balls in the right place then they’ll make a mistake.””Every time we bowled a short ball they would play an attacking shot so, while I would never say they were lucky, at some time those aggressive shots will go wrong and there will be a man there to take the catch. Hopefully!,” he said.Steyn took 3 for 129 in the first Test and had given South Africa a perfect start by reducing Sri Lanka to 14 for 2 before Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene put on 624 runs for the third wicket. Steyn had Sangakkara dropped by Jacques Rudolph when he was on seven and one run later bowled him with a no-ball.”I wanted to break my head against a wall. It was always going to be harder from that end because you had jump up a slope as you got into your delivery stride and your front landed before it normally does. Vinnie Barnes warned me about it before the Test started so that made it even worse when it happened.”

Brian Charles: giving West Indies a Lara Lara hope© Getty Images

Brian Lara, equally sledged and celebrated for the role he has played in West Indian cricket, brought the horns of Brixton to life with a stirring performance against England in the final of the Champions Trophy at The Oval. India-Pakistan and Australia-England might well be the big drawcards at the moment, but those who forget the history and ethos of West Indies-England matches do so at their own peril.There are few figures as compelling as Lara in world cricket. When he gets going with the bat, there aren’t many who can match him for sheer electrifying entertainment. Freddie Flintoff hits it further, VVS Laxman flicks it with more charm, Sachin Tendulkar blunts it with greater control. But few can keep you on the edge of your seat like the Prince of Trinidad.And very few people have had to carry a team for so long, single-handedly, as Lara has had to. West Indian cricket has been in such a freefall over the last few years that their odd victory barely stays in the mind for the flicker of an eye. In that sense, this Champions Trophy means more to them than anyone else. Sure, Australia were desperate to succeed because this is one piece of silverware that is missing from the trophy cabinet in the board offices in Jolimont Street in Melbourne. And England were keen to cap a fruitful season with a headline-grabbing win before football engulfs everything in its wake.But, as Lara put it, victory in this tournament was a chance to put a smile on the faces of West Indians back home. The first people you met when you walked through the Jack Hobbs Gates at The Oval were those working for charity, collecting money for the victims of the terrible Hurricane Ivan tragedy in Grenada. The West Indian team has already pledged money to the cause, but that’s not their speciality. They’re a cricket team – there are others whose job it is to raise funds when it is needed.What Lara and his team can do is give the people of their islands something no-one else can. Pride and passion are commodities which have been in short supply in West Indian cricket teams of recent years. And they have not won a major tournament since 1979, when they were crowned world champions at Lord’s. Some observers of West Indian cricket believe that part of the problem is that this team is Lara-centric.And today, you could see in the first session why it is so with the media. England began well enough, batting calmly in wobbly conditions, but the ball did a bit and the bowlers – even if they weren’t Michael Holding and Malcolm Marshall – did enough to kiss the edges of bats. It was then that Flintoff had a chance to rise to the occasion and plunder the bowling attack. The first chance for him to do so came when Wavell Hinds dragged a long-hop down mid-pitch. Flintoff played a pull shot with the sort of power that would sever a bull’s head in one go, and as the ball screamed towards midwicket, Lara dived low and scooped a fine catch.Then came the second bit of inspiration. Geraint Jones smacked one from Hinds to midwicket, and Lara timed his leap perfectly, couching yet another full-blooded shot, and took the return that popped up. In two moments Lara had shown his pedigree – spot-on field placement and perfect anticipation, to remove two key batsmen and wrest the initiative.He may not have the foresight and vision needed to lift West Indian cricket out of the trouble it is in, but Brian Charles Lara certainly has the magic to put a smile on a face, with or without a bat in hand. And, at the moment, that is all a Caribbean supporter can ask for.

Stephen Fleming: fit to open the batting in first Test© Getty Images

New Zealand’s captain, Stephen Fleming, has been passed fit for the first Test against England at Lord’s, after overcoming a groin niggle, and is set to open the batting alongside Mark Richardson on Thursday.New Zealand have capitalised on the confusion in the England camp following Michael Vaughan’s knee injury, and have named their starting XI a full 24 hours in advance of the match. The specialist opener, Michael Papps, is the unfortunate batsman to miss out, despite his century in New Zealand’s recent defeat against Kent.Although he regularly faces the new ball in one-day internationals, Fleming is more used to batting at No. 3 in Tests – in fact he has opened the batting just once in his previous 82 matches. But once Nathan Astle had proved his form and fitness after his recent knee injury, he was always going to be a shoo-in for his first match since October.On a more disappointing note for New Zealand, they will be without Shane Bond, who had been sidelined for almost all of 2003 after suffering a stress fracture in his back. “Shane is struggling with his fitness," said New Zealand’s coach, John Bracewell, who always imagined Bond’s inclusion at Lord’s would be a long shot. "We are staying with our original plan; he’s still on target to be right for the second Test.”The seam bowler, Kyle Mills, is the remaining member of New Zealand’s Test squad to miss out on selection.New Zealand 1 Mark Richardson, 2 Stephen Fleming (capt), 3 Nathan Astle, 4 Craig McMillan, 5 Scott Styris, 6 Jacob Oram, 7 Chris Cairns, 8 Brendon McCullum (wk), 9 Daniel Vettori, 10 Daryl Tuffey, 11 Chris Martin.

As widely expected, Lance Klusener has been left out of South Africa’s squad to tour England this summer. Klusener’s form of late has been poor, and he was dealt a second blow with the news that he wasn’t being awarded a central contract by the South African board (UCBSA), putting his international future in doubt.Even before Klusener’s omission, the South Africa side was missing some familiar names with Allan Donald and Jonty Rhodes having both retired after the World Cup.The Test squad includes two uncapped players – fast bowler Monde Zondeki and Thami Tsolekile, a wicketkeeper. Zondeki is still short of full fitness following a car crash in March. Morne van Wyk, another wicketkeeper, and fast bowler Dewald Pretorius are the only two uncapped members of the one-day squad.Graeme Smith, who succeeded Shaun Pollock as captain following South Africa’s World Cup humiliation, was confident that the side would do well in England. “We are a young side with plenty of exciting talent,” Smith said. “But we are also starting on a new era with South African cricket and we see this tour as another step forward on that path.”South Africa squad for Tests and ODIs Graeme Smith (capt), Mark Boucher (v-capt/wkt), Paul Adams, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Neil McKenzie, Makhaya Ntini, Shaun Pollock, Dewald Pretorius, Jacques Rudolph.One-day only Nicky Boje, Allan Dawson, Andrew Hall, Charl Langeveldt, Andre Nel, Martin van Jaarsveld, Morne van Wyk.Tests only Boeta Dippenaar, Gary Kirsten, Robin Peterson, Thami Tsolekile, Charl Willoughby, Monde Zondeki

Fast bowlers Ruchira Perera and Ravindra Pushpakumara have been recalledinto Sri Lanka’s 15-man squad for the forthcoming Asian Test Championshipmatch against Bangladesh at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo onThursday.Left arm pace bowler Ruchira Perera was a surprise omission from the SriLanka squad for the third Test against India after two reasonableperformances in the first two Tests matches in Galle and Kandy.Right arm Pushpakumara, 26, meanwhile, gets a recall after more than yearout of the squad. His last Test was against Pakistan in June last year. Hehas played in 22 Tests.Both Ruchira Perera and Puspakumara are likely to play in place of Dulip Liyanage and Dilhara Fernando, who is suffering from a groin strain.Although Fernando’s injury is not serious, the Sri Lankans selectors werekeen that the injury not be aggravated and are likely to rest him.Left-handed batsman Michael Vandort is tipped to make his debut in place ofthe out-of-touch Russel Arnold, who scored just 60 runs in four inningsduring the Indian series.The Squad:Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu, Michael Vandort, Mahela Jayawardene,Kumar Sangakkara, Hashan Tillakaratne, Thilan Samaraweera, Chaminda Vaas,Muttiah Muralitharan, Ravindra Pushpakumara, Ruchira Perera, Russel Arnold,Avishka Gunawardene, Suresh Perera, Dilhara Fernando.

The Otago Under-14 girls’ team has been named for next month’s Southern Zone series in Christchurch.The team is: Olivia Bates, Suzie Bates, Kylie Griffiths, Noelene Harry, Samara Heaney, Ashleigh Jamieson, Rebecca King, Shannon King, Amber Laking, Una Madden, Joanna Meyer, Courtney Winsloe.The tournament will be played in Christchurch from January 14-18.

	No messing around: Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag will captain the two competitive North Indian sides © AFP

Match facts

Sunday, April 27, 2008
Start time 16:00 local, 10:30 GMT

The Big Picture

“Live Punjabi, Play Punjabi” is the motto of Kings XI Punjab and their mission is to be the most successful and entertaining franchise in the IPL. Having just won their first game on Friday they’re entitled to some chest-thumping, but up against another feisty North Indian side, arguably the strongest in the tournament, they’ll need to be at their best. The Delhi Daredevils have won two out of two and, with an excellent blend of youth and experience, look the team to beat. This will be Brett Lee’s last appearance for Punjab – Simon Katich and Kyle Mills also leave India on April 28 – and his side could really use a repeat of his heroics against Mumbai Indians. Watching Lee and the man he replaced as Australia’s spearhead, Glenn McGrath, in the same match along with India’s two biggest hitters is enough to get the adrenalin running. A special Sunday beckons.

Watch out for …

… Lee versus Delhi’s in-form openers, Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag. Delhi have only lost two wickets in two games, but Lee is a different proposition given his form. Also keep an eye out for anything Kumar Sangakkara does. The tournament’s third-highest run-scorer, his 94 off 56 balls against Mumbai was a stellar effort and was highlighted by his ability to throw bowlers off target. He has the bowling attack of the tournament to deal with now.

Team news

James Hopes missed the last game with a stomach upset and if fit, he will take his place back at the top of the order, which means Ramnaresh Sarwan will go back to the bench. Sunny Sohal went for a fourth-ball duck and he could easily be replaced by either Sahil Kukreja or Tanmay Srivastava, the Under-19 batsman. Punjab are extremely unlikely to tinker with the bowling attack that wrapped up a 66-run win in Mohali. Having Hopes back in the attack will be a big boost.Punjab (probable) 1 Karan Goel, 2 James Hopes, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Yuvraj Singh (capt), 5 Mahela Jayawardene, 6 Tanmay Srivastava/ Sahil Kukreja, 7 Irfan Pathan 8 Brett Lee, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Sreesanth, 11 VRV Singh.It’s hard to envision Delhi changing their winning combination, even with AB de Villiers joining the team on game day. Their bowling, with Glenn McGrath, Mohammad Asif and Farveez Maharoof, is nagging and the middle order is yet to even get a bat. If Shoaib Malik gets time at the crease, expect fireworks.Delhi: (probable) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag (capt), 3 Shikhar Dhawan, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Manoj Tiwary, 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 Farveez Maharoof, 9 Mohammad Asif, 10 Yo Mahesh, 11 Glenn McGrath.

Sehwag’s unbeaten 94 from 41 balls in Delhi’s last game came at a manic strike-rate of 229.26 and included six sixes. His tournament strike-rate of 235.55 is the best so far.

Delhi have won both their matches by nine wickets, the biggest margin when chasing and with overs to spare: against Hyderabad they had 42 balls to go and against Rajasthan, 29.

Dhawan, yet to be dismissed, has featured in two second-wicket stands worth 112.

Along with Matthew Hayden, Sangakkara has the most fifties in the tournament, two, and his 168 runs at 56.00 have boosted his Twenty20 career batting average to 36.69.

Quotes

“This is a great opportunity for the U-19 and U-22 players to play in front of 25,000 people. They get a chance to showcase their talent for live audience too. The ones who do well can rise to India ranks.”
Sehwag, Delhi’s captain, gives two thumbs up to the IPL.