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Journalist Pete O’Rourke has claimed that Everton manager Frank Lampard will be fearful of the sack even if the Toffees retain their Premier League status.

The Lowdown: Lampard’s results at Everton…

Since arriving at Goodison Park, the 43-year-old has struggled to make a positive impact. In his first seven Premier League matches in charge, the former Chelsea boss has won just twice, having lost the other five games.

As a result, the Toffees sit dangerously close to the relegation zone, just three points clear of Watford in 18th. Whilst Everton have two games in hand over the Hornets, their upcoming fixture list – including the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal – looks rather daunting.

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The Latest: O’Rourke’s claim on Lampard

O’Rourke believes that Lampard will be disappointed with his lack of impact upon taking over from Rafael Benitez and will be fearful for his future at Everton.

Speaking with GiveMeSport, the transfer insider was questioned over whether Toffees owner Farhad Moshiri could look to exercise the break clause in Lampard’s contract, whereby they could relieve the 43-year-old of his duties at Goodison Park at the season’s end without needing to pay any compensation.

In response, O’Rourke claimed: “It will be a real worry for Frank Lampard. It hasn’t worked out as he probably hoped when he took over in January from Rafa Benitez.”

The Verdict: Could be gone

Lampard was over the moon when his team beat a much-improved Newcastle side recently. However, any hope that it would spark an upturn in form quickly dissipated as the Toffees bowed out of the FA Cup last weekend after suffering a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Crystal Palace.

With such poor results, it would not be surprising to see the Merseyside club part ways with their manager, despite only appointing him in January. Whilst the situation may have been different if Lampard had been in charge from the start of the season, Moshiri could be hesitant to place his trust in the 43-year-old once again, even if he manages to keep them up this season.

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Having already gone through six managers (excluding caretakers) since David Moyes’ departure in 2013, the Everton chief is not slow to pull the trigger when he feels it is necessary, which could be a worry for Lampard.

In other news: Noel Whelan drops Richarlison transfer claim

	Karnataka’s NC Aiyappa was one of the judges along with team-mate R Vinay Kumar © Cricinfo Ltd

Gatorade Pacers’ Bangalore edition was successfully held at the National Cricket Academy ground, with two people chosen each in the Under-15 and Under-19 categories. The winners, who were among a field of more than 1300, will participate in the all-India final to be held in Delhi from January 21.The 2008 contest is the second edition of the talent hunt held in partnership with MRF Pace Academy and Cricinfo. The winners will join a training schedule at the prestigious MRF Pace Academy under Dennis Lillee and T A Sekhar, the Academy’s head coach.Unlike other similar hunts for fast bowlers, Gatorade Pacers is not purely based on speed alone but also the overall bowling prowess. R Vinay Kumar and NC Aiyappa – the new-ball bowlers for Karnataka – were the judges and they evaluated the boys over two days.In the final round, the bowlers were made to bowl at specific target areas. There were two boxes that were chalk-marked to indicate good length and short of a length. Additionally, the bowlers were also asked to bowl a yorker.In the U-22 category, David Mathias, who clocked a high speed of 118 kph, and Magiyhendan, who had clocked 122 kph on the first day, were chosen; R Prabhakar, with a highest speed of 108 kph, and Rehan Ali, with a high of 107 kph, were selected in the U-15 category. However, the criterion was not pure pace as the judges looked to select the most complete bowlers.

Stephen Fleming rues another failure with the bat © Getty Images

Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain, has admitted that they were below par in all aspects of their game in the Commonwealth Bank Series. In a tournament in which Australia were far and away the best team, New Zealand were at least expected to sneak into the finals, but a resurgent England bounced them out of the tournament with a 14-run victory in the last league match, at Brisbane on Tuesday.”If you look at all our games in the tournament we’ve been just a few percent off the money at crucial times,” Fleming was quoted as saying by . “No one particular area, I think it was across the board.”New Zealand lost a couple of close matches to England and Australia early in the tournament, but seemed to be on course for a berth in the finals after beating England in their next two encounters. England, though, recovered with two wins in their last two matches, while New Zealand lost both the games in their last leg.”We should have won this game in a canter, two or three down,” Fleming said, looking back at their last defeat. “It’s maybe mental to start with but physically as well, with the ball we’re not quite nailing it and bowling one four ball an over; with the batting getting close to having a winning partnership then a run-out of a mis-hit, and England are back in the game. It’s not much to turn but we’ve got to get it turned pretty quick.”New Zealand’s batsmen, bowlers and fielders all had their moments in the tournament, but rarely did they all perform in the same match: in their first four games, the team totaled 184, 205, 218 and 210, and were occasionally bailed out by the bowlers. Then the batsmen found form – the totals rose to 335, 318, 290 and 256 in the last four matches – but the bowlers found it far more difficult to contain the opposition. “The wickets got a bit better and we had to ask a little bit more of our bowlers,” Fleming conceded. “We’re not quite there, just as the batting wasn’t quite up to scratch at the start.”The batting revival was mainly due to the performances of Jacob Oram and Lou Vincent – Oram comfortably topped the averages for New Zealand and struck a hundred and two half-centuries from five innings, while Vincent averaged more than 65 – but the rest of the cast was disappointing. Despite his century in the last match, Fleming only managed an aggregate of 231, while Nathan Astle scored 46 in four ODIs before announcing his retirement. The bowling was patchy as well, in spite of some inspired spells by Shane Bond and Daniel Vettori.Even more shocking, though, was New Zealand’s display in the field. Normally known for their outstanding fielding and catching, they were a shambles through most of the tournament, with plenty of dropped catches in the outfield. Three chances were spilled in the crucial last match against England, but Fleming chose to defend the fielding coach, Travis Wilson. “Travis hasn’t had a lot to do with our fielding patterns, more one-on-one stuff. It’s more attention to detail from our players.”New Zealand only have three more matches, against Australia in the Chappell-Hadlee Series, to find some form and confidence before the World Cup. Given their recent track record against that opposition – 19 defeats in the last 21 ODIs – it’s unlikely they’ll be going into these matches with too many expectations.

Scotland coach Peter Drinnen has said solid performances from his players at the U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka could catapult them into contention for the senior event in the Caribbean next year.”It is all there in front of them,” he said in Colombo on Monday. “They have got a World Cup now and they have possibly got a World Cup next year if they can put their best foot forward and put their names up in lights. To compete in two World Cups would be pretty special for any young player and they know that is on offer.”If they can put together a couple of solid performances here and a solid domestic season back home then some of them will not be too far away from the West Indies next year which is pretty exciting for them,” added Drinnen, who recently took over the coaching role of the senior side.The Caribbean is, of course, in the future. In the present looms the immediate task of the Scotland U-19 side trying to compete with the hosts Sri Lanka and tournament favourites India as well as Namibia in what appears to be a very tough group for the Associate country. But far from being intimidated, Drinnen said he and his players were looking forward to the challenge those matches presented, especially their opening fixture against Sri Lanka.”It is exciting to play the home nation, it is fantastic,” he said. “Obviously they will be familiar with conditions and that is the biggest advantage they can have but we do not feel extra pressure.Everyone considers Scotland as underdogs and that is a fantastic title to have. We will look after our game, prepare very well and if the players do the jobs asked of them then I think we will put up some strong opposition.””I do not know whether the pressure is on Sri Lanka or us,” added Kasaim Farid, Scotland’s captain. “It is obviously big to be here and play India and Sri Lanka but all we can do is to take each game into consideration. Sri Lanka are the ones who have got to perform in front of their home crowd so it balances both ways.”Scotland’s biggest problem, even before they lock horns with two of the tournament’s big guns, is in adapting to conditions which are about as different from back home as it is possible to find.”It’s quite simple,” said Farid as he reflected on that difference. “Scotland is cold and Sri Lanka is hot – that sums it up.”Drinnen said the players had been training hard since September in an attempt to get ready for the heat and humidity and four of them – Farid, Richard Berrington, Gordon Goudie and Sean Weeraratna – had also spent 12 weeks at the ICC Winter Training Camp in South Africa. But he said the players would have to come to terms not only with the high temperatures but also the pitches, which are totally different to those they are used to in Scotland.”We have played one practice match and I thought we dealt with that quite well although the bowlers toiled more than the batsmen,” he said. “It is a case of finding the right length to bowl and that is something we are exploring.”One potential weakness in the Scotland line-up is their lack of a top-class spinner, which could be a crucial handicap in conditions that traditionally favour that style of bowling. “Our spinners are still learning, as are our seamers,” said Drinnen. “They have to come to terms with conditions quickly but if they [the spinners] can adapt I think they will do a very fine job.”Drinnen said pushing allrounder Goudie (who is on the playing staff with English county Middlesex) up the batting order to fill a pinch-hitting role was a possibility. “It is an option although I do not see Gordon as a pinch-hitter,” he said. “He may go up the top of the order and if he does he will play his game. The way he plays is pretty aggressive and he can get us away to a pretty positive start. I think he is a bit better than a pinch-hitter but it is an option and one we may well look to use.”Scotland open their campaign with a match against Sri Lanka on Sunday before facing up to India on February 8 and Namibia the following day to complete their Group C commitments.The top two sides from each of the four groups in the tournament will progress to the Super League stage, which consists of knock-out quarter- and semi-finals and a final on February 19.Scotland squad Kasiam Farid (capt), Robert Cannon, Richard Berrington, David Bill, Tyler Buchan, Gordon Goudie, Andrew Hislop, Moneeb Iqbal, Scott MacLennan, Calum MacLeod, Aamir Mehmood, Umair Mohammed, Rajeev Routray and Sean Weeraratna.Manager – Tino Weeraratna, Coach – Peter Drinnen, Asst. coach – Andrew Lawson, physiotherapist – Andrew Raselli.The ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup 2006 will take place between February 5 and 19. 16 teams are scheduled to play 44 matches in 15 days at five different venues in Colombo.

Kamran Akmal was brilliant, and Abdul Razzaq supported him valiantly, but did India do all they could to break the partnership?© Getty Images

There are many things that go into making a great team: a good opening pair, potent strike bowlers, a wicketkeeper who can bat, a captain whoinspires from behind and leads from the front. But the most importantfacet of a winning team, the one that is indispensable, is a culturalone: a burning desire to win.This Indian team, which aspires to greatness, does not have enough ofthat desire. These are not unduly unkind words for a team that wasthwarted by worthy opponents: the evidence was there to see atdifferent points during the Test.Consider the third day’s play. India made 129 runs in 60 overs betweenlunch and close of play. And in the afternoon session alone, they made59 runs in 29 overs. This from a team, mind you, that was on top inthe Test, that had only to drive home the advantage. And althoughPakistan’s bowlers, especially Abdul Razzaq and Danish Kaneria, bowledwell in that post-lunch session, it was not of such a class that theIndians couldn’t handle it. Sachin Tendulkar, who has evisceratedbetter attacks than this, batted as if Geoff Boycott and not VivRichards was his hero. Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman alldawdled, as if they had to play out time to save the Test. Indiashould have ended that day with 100 more than they did. Those runswould have made the difference.Then, consider the fifth day’s play. Pakistan began the day with theirtop six batsmen out, just 53 ahead, and you’d imagine that the gamewould be over, at the latest, by an hour into the afternoon session.Instead, Pakistan added 239 more. Kamran Akmal and Abdul Razzaq battedwonderfully, but the Indians never looked like getting them out. Theydid not have a man capable of running through the tail. Or rather,they did have the men, but those men didn’t do the job.Being a fast-bowling strike bowler doesn’t just mean that you run inwith the new ball and make it swing and seam and get early wickets. Italso means that when there is no help from the conditions, you run inand bend your back and use your brain and, with the sheer fire in yourbelly, burn the opposition. Wasim Akram, the West Indian quartet, AllanDonald, they could all do that. do that? Strike thatfirst word; they do that, time and again.India once looked to Zaheer to play that role, but he blows hot, blowscold, and sometimes doesn’t blow at all. He was outstanding with thenew ball on the first morning of this game, and woeful on the lastmorning. You can’t blame a guy who gives it his all, but Zaheer didn’teven bowl accurately, and his line and length was wayward. Ditto IrfanPathan, who was far slower than his usual self. Had he picked up aninjury during the Test? Perhaps. He had done so Chennai againstAustralia as well, a few months ago, and India had struggled to getthe lower order out then as well. Such familiar themes should not bereprised, and the team management must be blamed if they are. Thesemen are capable of much more, and they did not deliver. The questionmust be asked: “Why?”Virender Sehwag, in fact, told reporters after the third day’s playthat it was team strategy to “play out time”, and to not bother aboutthe pace of run-scoring. Such a safety-first strategy befits teamsthat struggle to compete, as India did for a few decades. It isunseemly now, for a team aspiring to be top of the heap. There areplayers in this team who epitomise the attitude that the entire sideneeds to get: Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid. (Kumble didn’t breakthrough either on the fifth morning, but at least he tried his hardeston a pitch that offered him little.) But the entire team must imbibethat attitude, and the change has to come from the top.If not, a change has to come the top.

Harbhajan Singh: missing out on the action © Getty Images

Harbhajan Singh will undergo surgery on his injured right index finger on Friday (Dec 19). Harbhajan, along with the Indian team physiotherapist Andrew Leipus, flew to Melbourne to see Dr Greg Hoy, a finger specialist, who advised an immediate operation.Harbhajan sustained the injury during the one-day in Dhaka earlier this year. He had opted to avoid an operation and continue playing with the injury. Since then he has not had a great time with the ball, and had to drop out of the Adelaide Test.The team management hope that he will be ready to play again during the tour of Pakistan in late February next year – but that will depend entirely on his recovery and rehabilitation after the operation.

Nashua WP selectors have announced a squad of twelve players for Friday’s Standard Bank Cup final against KwaZulu-Natal in Durban. KwaZulu-Natal have gone with a 15 man squad.

NASHUA WESTERN PROVINCE Vs KWAZULU-NATALSTANDARD BANK CUP FINAL in DURBAN8 February 20021)Graeme Smith2)Lloyd Ferreira3)Neil Johnson (Capt)4)Ashwell Prince5)Andrew Puttick6)Jonathan Trott7)Thami Tsolekile (Wk)8)Alan Dawson9)Claude Henderson10Roger Telemachus11)Quentin Friend12)Renier MunnikCricket Managers: Vincent Barnes; Eric SimonsThe KwaZulu-Natal squad is as follows:The team will be chosen from the following squad:1. Doug Watson2. Gulam Bodi3. Ahmed Amla4. Dale Benkenstein (Capt)5. Ashraf Mall6. Jon Kent7. Duncan Brown8. Errol Stewart (Wk)9. Nixon McLean10. Andrew Tweedie11. Lucky Dladla12. Kyle Bender13. Ross Veenstra14. Gary Gilder15. Jon Bastow

With the first two days of the East Zone Cooch Behar under-19 Trophy matchbetween Bengal and Orissa at the Eden Gardens in Calcutta being washed outdue to rain, the encounter petered out into a draw on the final day onSunday.Play started only at 12.10 on the third and final day. Put into bat, Bengalscored 130 for 4 off 49.2 overs in their first innings. Openers AmitavaChakrabarthy (10) and Arindam Das (5) departed early,Subhamoy Das (30) and Ayan Nandi (27 not out) put on 39 runs for the thirdwicket in 7.1 overs when Bengal lost two quick wickets. Then Ayan andAvishek Jhunjhunwala (32 not out) added 56 runs in an unbroken fifth wicketstand in 19.2 overs.Play was suspended at 3.55 pm and officially called off at 4.20 pm. Sincenot even the first innings was completed, the teams shared threepoints each.

Celtic have told Vasilis Barkas that he is free to line up a transfer this summer, according to Football Insider. 

The lowdown

The Hoops paid £4.5m to sign the Greece international from AEK Athens ahead of the 2020/21 season, when Neil Lennon was still the manager at Parkhead. It’s the highest fee that Celtic have paid for a goalkeeper in their history.

The Greek stopper has made just 24 appearances for the club, conceding 23 goals and helping them to keep 11 clean sheets. His involvement this season has been minimal, with just one Premiership appearance to his name, the 3-1 win over St Johnstone on Boxing Day.

The latest

In a report published on Saturday morning, Football Insider claimed that Celtic are ‘willing’ to let Barkas leave in the summer transfer window.

As per a club source, they have even urged the £1.35m-rated ‘keeper to find a new club.

The verdict

Even from the early stages of his Celtic career, Barkas was – in the words of Hoops podcaster John McGinley – getting ‘slaughtered’ by pundits.

It’s worth noting that he would have been out the door already, had mooted January moves to Sheffield United and IFK Goteburg not collapsed.

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With the 27-year-old behind both Joe Hart and Scott Bain in the Parkead pecking order, and costing Celtic £9,000 per week (£468,000 per year), it’s probably in the best interests of all parties that he moves on in the summer.

In other news, Alex McLeish reacts to a big update on one Celtic player

Adeel Raja celebrates after dismissing Namibia’s captain Deon Kotze in 2003 © Getty Images

Adeel Raja, the Netherlands’ offspinner, has been banned for two years after failing a random drugs test during a domestic match in September.Raja, who has played six ODIs and nine first-class games for Netherlands and was in their World Cup squad earlier this year, tested positive for finasteride, a substance banned as it can be used as a masking agent.Although it is unclear why the player used the substance, finasteride can be used innocently to combat hair loss.The Dutch board decided to suspend the second year of the ban for a further two years, meaning that he will miss the entire 2008 season. Cricket Europe reported that Raja had previously successfully applied for dispensation to use the drug but that he had not renewed the application.Raja, 27, is believed to be lodging an appeal against the ban.