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Mtutuzeli Nyoka, the Cricket South Africa (CSA) president, faces a second no-confidence vote after the board tabled the motion at a special general meeting on September 8

Firdose Moonda09-Sep-2011Mtutuzeli Nyoka, the Cricket South Africa (CSA) president, faces a second no-confidence vote after the board tabled the motion at a special general meeting on September 8. The meeting to vote on whether Nyoka will be removed as president will be held on October 15.CSA confirmed the notice had been sent to Nyoka’s office and to his lawyer, but Nyoka declined to comment when ESPNcricinfo inquired whether he had received the documentation.This is the second time in the space of eight months that CSA have attempted to oust their president. They first removed him in February but Nyoka challenged that decision in the South Gauteng High Court. It was found that the axing was unlawful and he was reinstated.The latest effort came after CSA’s annual conference, where Nyoka walked out of a board meeting, claiming there were issues on the agenda that he was not informed of. Nyoka’s lawyer, Bernard Matheson, said the items included a complaint against Nyoka for breaching media protocol, objections about the way he dealt with press releases, and an allegation that the national team was concerned that he had set a poor example.Nyoka informed the board he would lay criminal charges. “He did not say who those charges were against or what the charges were,” AJ Sooklal, head of CSA’s legal and governance committee, said.CSA hit back, claiming Nyoka had “brought the organisation into disrepute” and “treated the board in a contemptuous manner.” They also accused him of contravening the Companies Act by receiving his annual honorarium in advance without the consent of the board.The latest developments were part of the year-long spat between Nyoka and CSA chief executive Gerald Majola, which started when 4.7 million Rand ($671,428) were paid in bonuses after South Africa hosted the 2009 IPL and the Champions Trophy. The payments were not processed through CSA’s remunerations committee (Remco) – although they were taxed – and were picked up as irregularities by CSA’s auditors Deloitte. An external investigation was set up to look into the matter.Eight weeks later, CSA moved the inquiry in-house because board members felt they had not exhausted their own procedures. A committee of inquiry was appointed under vice-president AK Khan. In November, the Khan Commission cleared Majola of any wrongdoing save for making “an error of judgment” by not declaring the payments through Remco.The first attempt to remove Nyoka came three months later, but when Nyoka returned to office in May, the matter was reopened. As part of his court battle, Nyoka asked that CSA undergo a forensic audit and KPMG were tasked with conducting it.The audit results were presented to the board on July 30. KPMG found that Majola could have breached the Companies’ Act in four instances and had to pass the matter on to a lawyer in order for CSA to take a decision. With the help of the South African Sports Council and Olympic Committee, Azhra Bham was appointed as the legal advisor.Bham delivered his findings orally to CSA the day before their AGM on August 20. The board issued Majola with a severe reprimand for his role in the bonus payments and resolved to institute better corporate governance measures. Nyoka did not attend the AGM for personal reasons and tried to get a copy of Bham’s report, which has not been released.The matter may end up in court again, further denting CSA’s reputation, and it has had consequences that directly affect cricket. With less than a month to go before the 2011-12 season starts, CSA is yet to announce sponsors for two of the three domestic competitions, the international Twenty20 team and all three international formats – Tests, ODIs and T20s. CSA’s commercial manager, Richard Glover, said the scandal had taken its toll because “the new sponsors want us to draw a line under the bonus saga before we make any announcements.” CSA’s only confirmed international sponsor is Castle Lager, who renewed and expanded their contract to include the Test and ODI teams in August.

Cricket Kenya has announced new 20 and 50-over domestic competitions aimed at bolstering the standard of cricket in the country

Martin Williamson03-May-2011Cricket Kenya has announced new 20 and 50-over domestic competitions aimed at bolstering the standard of cricket in the country. The inclusion of two Ugandan sides in the six-team set-up will also provide a valuable boost to their up-and-coming neighbours.The gulf between the NPCA league, Kenya’s premier competition, and the national side has been a worry for a long time. In 2009 an attempt was made to establish a four-team elite event in both three-day and limited-over formats, but it floundered because of a lack of finance and poor support from players.The latest initiative will feature four Kenyan sides – two from Nairobi, one each from Coast and Rift Valley – as well as two Ugandan teams. Each side will play ten games over weekends, with a Twenty20 match on a Saturday followed a day later by a 50-over contest. The leading four teams in each event would then progress to play-offs and a final.Nationally contracted players will be split between sides to ensure a fair balance between the competitors, and Tom Sears, Cricket Kenya’s chief executive, told ESPNcricinfo there were also plans to bring in overseas players from the subcontinent. “I believe by bringing in players from abroad we have the best chance of our players improving their game,” he said.Original plans had been for all six sides to come from within Kenya, but Sears admitted that “the level of competition was such that we could not offer enough strength in depth to provide strong enough cricket”. He added that as Africa’s leading Associate, it was Kenya’s responsibility to help the progress of Uganda. “They have good players,” he said. “That’s why we opted to give them a chance to take part.”It was also revealed that a media deal had been agreed with Supersport for them to cover the semi-finals and finals of each competition.

In another demonstration of their improving record overseas, a weakened India closed in on what will only be their fifth Test win in the Caribbean

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran23-Jun-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outPraveen Kumar’s two strikes on the fourth morning put India on course for a win•Associated Press

In another demonstration of their improving record overseas, a weakened India eased to only their fifth Test win in the Caribbean. The resistance from West Indies was disappointingly limp at Sabina Park as they lost six of the seven remaining wickets in the morning session. Praveen Kumar, sporting a buzz cut, snapped the home side’s resolve by removing both overnight batsmen, Darren Bravo and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, in the first half hour. There were some big hits from Darren Sammy and Ravi Rampaul, but they merely delayed an Indian victory.

Smart stats

• India’s 63-run win is their second in Jamaica and their fifth Test victory in the West Indies. The number of wins in West Indies (5) brings it level with their number of wins in Australia, England and New Zealand.

• Praveen Kumar’s match figures of 6 for 80 is the third-best by an Indian bowler in a Test win in West Indies. BS Chandrasekhar’s 8 for 208 in the six-wicket win in Trinidad in 1976 is the best bowling performance by an Indian bowler in a win in the West Indies.

• Ishant Sharma’s match haul of 6 for 110 is third on the list of his best bowling performances in a match in Tests. His finest is 7 for 58 against New Zealand in Nagpur in 2010.

• Among captains who have led in at least 25 Tests, MS Dhoni has the best win-loss ratio (5.00). He is followed by Steve Waugh (4.55) and Mike Brearley (4.50). Dhoni has now led in five away-Test wins bringing him joint-second on the list of Indian captains with most wins in away Tests.

• The 74 runs added by West Indies for the last two wickets is the second-highest aggregate for wickets nine and ten in Tests in Jamaica. Their highest is 98 against Australia in 1990-91.

The resolve the West Indian batsmen showed on the third evening didn’t make an appearance on Thursday. The Indian bowlers weren’t particularly threatening early on, regularly providing harmless leg-side deliveries. One of those broke the stand that had frustrated India for nearly two hours, with Bravo losing his leg stump after walking across to try and guide the ball to fine leg. In Praveen’s next over, he had Chanderpaul chipping a catch to cover as the ball, after causing a cloud of dust on pitching, came on slower than the batsman expected.West Indies’ chances evaporated with those two strikes, and Harbhajan Singh made it worse, removing birthday boy Carlton Baugh for a duck. Sammy wasn’t going to give up, though. He was struck on the forearm by a kicker from Harbhajan, which prompted him to attack. Some blacksmith-swings sent the final three deliveries of the over for leg-side sixes, with the last two flying into the second tier at least. The entertainment ended with Amit Mishra’s first delivery, a tossed-up, over-pitched ball that Sammy wanted to send out of the ground but sent only as far as extra cover.Brendan Nash, the vice-captain who has been desperately short of runs over the home summer, restricted himself to defensive nudges. When he attempted one of his first enterprising strokes, a pull off a short ball from Mishra, he was horrified to see the ball scoot through impossibly low to be trapped plumb lbw.Ravi Rampaul gave the few fans that turned up something to cheer about with a series of swept and driven boundaries, the highlight of which was an inside-out six over extra cover off Harbhajan. Like Nash, he too was done in by a ball of unpredictable bounce, from Ishant: it took off from a length and had him gloving it to MS Dhoni, who leapt acrobatically to take a one-handed catch over his head.The last pair kept out the final seven deliveries before lunch, and then kept India waiting for half an hour after the break. With the specialists unable to finish things off, Dhoni turned to the part-time offspin of Suresh Raina, who needed only two deliveries to bowl Bishoo and secure a 1-0 series lead.

Derbyshire, Durham will be first major English sides to tour Zimbabwe since 2004

Matt Roller14-Feb-2020Derbyshire and Durham will become the first major English teams to travel to Zimbabwe since 2004 next month, with both sides accepting invitations from Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) to go to the country for pre-season tours.England have not played an international fixture against Zimbabwe since 2007, and ZC’s director of cricket Hamilton Masakadza claimed that the importance of the counties’ pre-season visits “cannot be overemphasised”.ALSO READ: ‘Smaller teams want to play more but the cash isn’t there’ – Alistair CampbellDerbyshire, whose head coach Dave Houghton played 22 Tests and 63 ODIs for Zimbabwe between 1983 and 1997, will play two T20s, two one-day games and two three-day games against a Zimbabwe Select XI, while Durham will play two three-day fixtures against a ZC Chairman’s XI.”Hopefully this tour will open the door for further English county tours in future, which may help Zimbabwe cricket get back on its feet,” Houghton said. “We will be facing some strong opposition during the tour, which will provide ideal preparation for the 2020 season.”We also want to give the players some life experiences because as cricketers, we can become solely focused on the game sometimes and it’s important make the most of these opportunities.”No county team has visited Zimbabwe since Worcestershire in 1997, and Masakadza said that ZC were “thrilled to be hosting Derbyshire and Durham”.”The magnitude and importance of their visit cannot be overemphasised,” he said. “While our players will learn big lessons and gain invaluable experience from playing against such top opposition, we believe this marks the beginning of a new chapter that will hopefully see more English county teams touring Zimbabwe as that will go a long way in preparing our players for the rigours of high-level and international cricket.”Relations between the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe deteriorated significantly during Robert Mugabe’s presidency, primarily due to consistent human rights abuses, leading to several high-profile cricketing disputes.In 2003, England decided to pull out of their scheduled World Cup game in Harare following death threats, though decided to fulfil an ODI series in the country a year later despite opposition from the British government.Michael Vaughan led England’s last tour to Zimbabwe in 2004•AFP via Getty Images

The teams played one another at the World T20 in 2007 but a year later Andy Burnham, the minister for culture, media and sport wrote to the ECB to instruct them to cancel a tour by Zimbabwe to England scheduled for 2009, and Zimbabwe pulled out of the World T20 weeks later after being informed that their players may not be granted visas.Since Mugabe was removed from power following a successful coup in November 2017, relations between the UK and Zimbabwe have improved significantly. The UK’s Africa minister Rory Stewart visited the country soon after Mugabe’s fall from power, with a foreign ministry spokesperson describing relations as “cordial” last month.Whether the tours have any wider significance in paving the way for England to travel to Zimbabwe remains to be seen. The ECB declined to comment on the developments, and there are no fixtures scheduled between the two sides in the current cycle of the Future Tours Programme, which runs until the end of 2023.Zimbabwe will not compete in the T20 World Cup in October, having had their ICC membership suspended due to political inference soon before the qualifying tournament, and the teams were not drawn to play one another in the 2020-22 ODI Super League.Zimbabwe’s players were recently forced to take a pay cut, while several games in the Logan Cup, the domestic first-class competition, were postponed without notice.

The left-arm spinner rarely fails to deliver and is shaping as a vital part of the plans for next year’s T20 World Cup

Deivarayan Muthu11-Nov-2019The ultra-short boundaries at Eden Park, known as the postage stamp, are mean to the bowlers. They can be even meaner when rain cuts a 20-over series decider into 11 overs. After England’s bowlers suffer at the hands of Martin Guptill and Colin Munro, Eoin Morgan launches the visitors’ chase with a hat-trick of boundaries. Sam Curran then goes one better, clubbing Scott Kuggeleijn for four boundaries in a row. Jonny Bairstow, too, joins the carnage as England rack up 52 in just three overs. Bairstow has now nicked off for 47, but England are fairly well-placed at 100 for 4 in seven overs.Captain Tim Southee turns to Mitchell Santner in search of a wicket. The left-arm spinner delivers a double blow, but then the match goes into another Super Over and we all know how that unfolds. However, Santner’s strikes and composure under pressure showed why he’s New Zealand’s MVP heading into the T20 World Cup across the Tasman Sea next year. Once he saw Sam Curran advance down the track, he speared a back-of-a-length slider well past the tramline and had the batsman stumped off an off-side wide for 24 off 11 balls. Wicketkeeper Tim Seifert, who was mic’d up, suggested that Santner probably knew that the batsman was coming at him.Mitchell Santner celebrates a wicket•AFP

Santner then made a rare error, looping a non-turning half-volley, which Lewis Gregory muscled over long-on for six. But he wasn’t flustered and bravely floated the next one up at 85kph, and got it to turn away, daring Gregory to manufacture pace for himself. Gregory swung hard, but Santner’s clever change-up defeated him as he could only scoop it as far as extra-cover. He conceded only singles off the next four balls to finish an excellent 11-run over. Earlier, in his first over, the fourth of the chase, Santner had given away only nine runs. In daunting defence against a power-packed line-up on flat track, Santner came away with the two most economical overs. What might have been had Santner been handed another over?While Santner doesn’t quite demand the attention that Sunil Narine or wristspinners do these days, there’s no denying his class and control. It was on bright display during the 50-over World Cup in the UK earlier this year and also during this T20I series against England. Santner ended the series as the top wicket-taker with 11 wickets at an economy rate of 7.83 and strike rate of 9.8. Ish Sodhi and Adil Rashid, the purveyors of the more glamorous variety of spin – wristspin – managed only three wickets each while proving more expensive. Sodhi went at 11.73 an over while Rashid fared somewhat better, conceding at 9.54.Meanwhile, left-arm seamer Sam Curran, who had the benefit of bowling as many overs as Santner did (18), picked up six wickets at an economy rate of 8.50. It’s no secret these days that Santner bowls one over in the powerplay and then works his way through the middle overs. Yet, batsmen haven’t been able to line him up as he hits the hard length in the early exchanges and then, when the batsman is desperately searching for the big hits, Santner slows up his pace. He also thrives by shifting his lines wide of off, challenging the batsmen to fetch the ball and then slog it. More than 80% of Santner’s success this series is down to hanging the ball up outside off or even wider. According to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data, he has bowled 62 balls around that line, grabbing nine wickets and conceding 81 runs.Santner’s wiles, in particular, were key to New Zealand pinning England down at the Westpac Stadium in the second T20I. Chris Jordan had shellacked Sodhi for four successive sixes and then cracked Lockie Ferguson over mid-off for four, threatening a late jailbreak. England were needing 49 off 30 balls when Southee tossed the ball over to his main man Santner. After his first ball was sent over extra-cover for four, Santner responded strongly by having Jordan holing out with a nifty drop in pace. Game over for England.”Chris Jordan was hitting it pretty well there at the end,” Santner said at the post-match press conference. “When you bowl slow as a spinner, I guess you’ve quite a fine margin – you can be swept square or pulled square. You try to hit a couple in the [block]hole and mix it up. You try not to be too predictable and it was nice to get that wicket and go from there.”Speaking to Radio Sport, Santner said that the wickets of big-hitters like Morgan and Jordan gave him extra pleasure. “They’re one of the best T20 sides at the moment and the way they like to play T20 cricket is to come pretty hard and that’s what they do whether you’re taking wickets or not. It’s one of things that even if you get a wicket, you’ve got to be on top of your game because the English can come hard and put you under pressure. And the best way to stall momentum is to take wickets throughout.”All told, Santner has bagged 20 T20I wickets in 2019 – the most among bowlers from Full Member nations in the shortest format. This time last year, Santner was recovering from a knee surgery, wondering if he could prove his fitness in time for the World Cup. He, ultimately, made it to the UK and almost helped New Zealand win the tournament. Then, he almost helped New Zealand win the T20I series against England. If he keeps up his form, Santner could prove more effective on the larger grounds in Australia by this time next year and could (actually) help New Zealand win a World Cup.

The upstart US Youth Cricket Association is designating March 24, 2011, as America’s first ever National Youth Cricket Day

Peter Della Penna24-Mar-2011The upstart US Youth Cricket Association is designating March 24, 2011, as America’s first ever National Youth Cricket Day. USYCA President Jamie Harrison is hoping that the date will spur more awareness for cricket at the grassroots level.”We’re having a photo contest where we’re giving away a cricket set to the school or teacher who submits the photo that best exemplifies the ideals of US Youth Cricket’s Schools Program,” Harrison said. “We’re just encouraging our affiliates and our volunteers to just make an extra effort to do something for National Youth Cricket Day.”We understand this is the first National Youth Cricket Day ever so people aren’t used to planning an event to coincide with it, but we have to begin somewhere. Sometimes it’s good just to have a place to start and this year is the place to start.”The ICC recently honored the USYCA with an ICC Americas Development Program award for the ‘Best Junior Participation Initiative’ for its Schools Program. It’s an impressive achievement for an organization that has been in existence for less than a year. The USYCA has been responsible for donating hundreds of start-up cricket kits to physical education teachers for use in schools across America.”The USA Cricket Association applauds the role the USYCA is playing in focusing on the grassroots enthusiasm of youth cricket through the designation of ‘National Youth Cricket Day,'” USACA Secretary John Aaron said via email. “As a largely volunteer organization, USA Cricket is appreciative of the enormous potential for the growth of cricket at the youth levels, and through the efforts of such organizations as the USYCA.”

Chris Nash finally converted a half-century into three figures to put Sussex on course for victory over Somerset in their County Championship Division One clash at Hove

20-May-2011ScorecardChris Nash finally converted a half-century into three figures to put Sussex on course for victory over Somerset in their County Championship Division One clash at Hove. Nash enjoyed a belated present a day after his 28th birthday with an unbeaten 111, made off 165 balls with 15 fours, as Sussex ended the third day on 218 for 1 and needing just 54 runs to complete their third win of the season.Nash has passed 50 six times already this season but finally converted one into what was the 10th hundred of his career. Somerset’s seam attack, who had taken seven wickets for 38 in Sussex’s first innings on the second day, struggled to repeat that performance as Nash and
opening partner Ed Joyce put together a partnership of 201, their sixth century stand of the season.Their punishing partnership in 48 overs, 104 of which were scored in boundaries, looked as if it might pave the way for a three-day win for their side. But the in-form Joyce was leg before to Lewis Gregory for a stylish 84 shortly after Nash had reached his hundred with successive boundaries off Arul Suppiah.Neither looked troubled by a wayward attack apart from when Nash suffered a stinging blow to the thigh from a ball by Steve Kirby on 60. Earlier Somerset had collapsed for the second time in the match, losing their last seven wickets for 38 in 18 overs either side of lunch to be bowled out for 235.There was little hint of the drama to come as skipper Marcus Trescothick and Nick Compton batted positively at the start of the day before Trescothick, who had struck 12 fours and a six, was caught behind pushing forward to Naved-ul-Hasan for 79, the first of five wickets for the Pakistani quick bowler.Jos Buttler was dropped at slip off the next ball then James Anyon continued his superb start to the season by picking up three wickets in five overs during a fiery spell. Alex Barrow edged a good length ball behind and Anyon then switched ends to take two wickets with in three balls. Compton, who had played well for his 44, was surprised by Anyon’s extra pace and gloved a lifter to wicketkeeper Matt Prior and Peter Trego was beaten for pace and lost his middle stump.Rana then stepped up to finish things off after lunch with a spell of 4 for 12 in 32 balls. Buttler was bowled by an inswinging yorker and Gregory fell leg before to another delivery which was well pitched up.Rana also had a hand in the run out of Gemaal Hussain who hesitated in coming back for a second run and was beaten by Naved’s direct hit from the non-striker’s end. Naved finished things off in successive balls. Kirby was leg before to a yorker that struck him on the toe and Charl Willoughby was bowled for his second duck of the match.He finished with match figures of 10 for 161, the second time he has taken 10 wickets in a match during five years with Sussex.

Allrounder bats through day for unbeaten 150 as Derbyshire wilt in face of Division Two leaders

ECB Reporters Network11-Sep-2019
Since marking his Championship debut in 2018 with a half-century at The Oval against a rampant Surrey, Lancashire have struggled to know quite what to do with the prodigious talents of Bolton-born allrounder Josh Bohannon.Well wonder no more. Moved up and down the batting order throughout this season, 22-year-old Bohannon entered the stage late on the first day at the fall of the Red Rose’s first wicket and was still there around the same time 24 hours later, having compiled his debut first-class century and put his county in pole position to beat Derbyshire and claim promotion back to county cricket’s top flight. Three was indeed the magic number.Bohannon’s brilliant knock dominated a day during which Derbyshire’s lacklustre efforts with the ball yielded just a single wicket as they meekly conceded a first-innings lead with none of the fight their skipper Billy Godleman had shown in making a battling century on the first day at Emirates Old Trafford.Early morning rain gave the visitors a helping hand in taking time out of the game, but once play resumed at 1.40pm, Derbyshire needed their bowlers to step up too. That they comprehensively failed to do so was in no small part down to Bohannon, who alongside opener Keaton Jennings, made steady progress throughout the afternoon session.Jennings, who has enjoyed another stuttering season in his quest to return to the England fold, was the only wicket to fall before tea, when he misjudged a sharply spinning delivery from Hamidullah Qadri and watched in horror as his off stump was knocked back. Jennings had made 38 and played his part in a second-wicket partnership of 63 with Bohannon, who reached his fifty from 107 balls with seven fours and one six as the Derbyshire attack was slowly ground down during an increasingly chastening session.Progress had been slow previously, but the introduction of Liam Livingstone provoked a change in pace with both players on the attack as the fifty partnership was reached in 45 balls with Bohannon unbeaten on 69 at tea alongside Livingstone on 22 not out.While Livingstone was typically belligerent after the break, it was Bohannon who became the main aggressor as the pair reached their century partnership from 120 balls before the latter reached his own personal milestone from 173 balls with 15 fours, two sixes and one giant leap of celebration.If Derbyshire had any fight left it was soon distinguished as Bohannon and Livingstone sailed past the 150 partnership for the third wicket with Lancashire’s former captain bringing up his own half-century from 68 balls before the pair posted the county’s highest partnership this season when they reached 153.Barely a half-chance had presented itself all day and considering Derbyshire endured a scruffy afternoon in the field, summed up the unfortunate Ravi Rampaul performing a painful splits at mid-off at one point, it’s doubtful they would have even have taken it.At around 5.30pm, Lancashire moved into the lead, knowing that matching or bettering Glamorgan’s result would mean promotion. With Livingston unbeaten on 70, a lead of 25 with eight wickets in hand and the third-wicket partnership totalling 194, it feels like an inevitability. For Bohannon, who reached his 150 just before the close, it would be an achievement to savour.

South Australia Redbacks spun their way to victory over the Victoria Bushrangers at the MCG – guaranteeing them the top spot and a home final on February 5

The Bulletin by Andrew Fuss28-Jan-2011
ScorecardMatthew Wade’s half-century was in vain for Victoria•Getty Images

South Australia Redbacks spun their way to victory over the Victoria Bushrangers at the MCG – guaranteeing them the top spot and a home final on February 5. The Redbacks spinners Adil Rashid, Nathan Lyon and Aaron O’Brien restricted the hosts to a seemingly below-par score of 4 for 144, on a somewhat slow deck, and their batsmen knocked off the runs with five wickets to spare.It could have been much worse for the Bushrangers, but big-hitting wicketkeeper Matthew Wade (52 off 31 balls) saved their blushes, smashing 41 of the 43 runs scored in the final three overs.Michael Klinger started positively for the Redbacks but was run out thanks to some brilliant outfielding from Evan Gulbis. Aiden Blizzard looked sharp in the time he was at the crease, but was dismissed by a Brad Hodge full toss – caught at deep midwicket when he would have normally put it into the stands.Callum Ferguson fell cheaply before Daniel Harris and Cameron Borgas steadied the innings, leaving room for a cameo from Daniel Christian (28 off 17) to seal the match. Young spinner Jon Holland was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts, finishing with 2 for 23.The reigning champions have now been condemned to a bottom-place finish while the Redbacks have eight days off before they play the final at home on February 5. New South Wales play Queensland on Saturday night to decide where the Preliminary Final will be played against Tasmania.

Nicolas Tagliafico would be an excellent signing for Leeds United this summer, according to former Arsenal and Everton striker Kevin Campbell.

Marcelo Bielsa could well be on the lookout for a new left-back at the end of the season, with Ezgjan Alioski expected to leave the club.

His exit would leave a void in that area of the pitch and Leeds have been linked with a number of replacements, including Crystal Palace’s Patrick van Aanholt.

Another player who has emerged as a reported target is £22.5million-rated Ajax left-back Tagliafico, who has 27 caps to his name for Argentina.

[freshpress-quiz id=“351040″]

Campbell heaps praise on Tagliafico

Speaking to Football Insider, Campbell talked up the idea of Leeds making a move for the 28-year-old, outlining his qualities:

“He is a top-quality player. He would fit the bill for Leeds because they are in definite need of a recognised left-back.

“He’s got lots of experience in the Champions League and on the international stage so I think it would be a smart signing.

“Bielsa and his team will be putting their feelers out and identifying players ahead of the summer and they could do a lot worse than Tagliafico, let me tell you.

“From Ajax as well, I do not think they would have to pay over the odds to get him.”

Transfer Tavern take

Tagliafico looks a strong fit for Leeds, with the Argentine possessing a wealth of experience at the top level, but also still having a number of years left in him at just 28.

He has chipped in with a goal and two assists in the Eredivisie this season, while his average of 1.9 tackles and 1.7 interceptions per game shows he can shine at both ends of the pitch – that is as many tackles and far more interceptions than Alioski.

Tagliafico’s current Ajax deal doesn’t expire until 2023, however, so a hefty fee may be required to prise him away, perhaps something in the region of the site’s £22.5m valuation.

In other news, Leeds have been urged to sign a Scottish Premiership player this summer. Find out who it is here.