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David Moyes’ West Ham United side crashed out of the FA Cup on Wednesday evening, with Southampton running out comfortable 3-1 winners at St. Mary’s Stadium.

However, with the Hammers still well in contention for a top-four finish in the Premier League this season, as well as participating in the knockout stages of the Europa League, the 58-year-old manager may be quietly pleased that his side now have one less competition to compete in over the remainder of the current campaign.

Having said that, considering the starting XI the Scot fielded, perhaps this is a slightly naive take, as, aside from Issa Diop’s start ahead of Aaron Cresswell on the left of the Irons’ back three, the West Ham lineup was as strong as it could have possibly been on Wednesday night.

And, when taking into account the fact that Ralph Hasenhuttl made nine changes from the side that defeated Norwich City last Friday, the manner of the loss is sure to have disappointed Moyes – as will the performances of a number of his players, with Jarrod Bowen, Said Benrahma and Craig Dawson all having games to forget on the South Coast.

However, it will undoubtedly be the latter of this trio most frustrated with his display, as the 31-year-old centre-back had something of a nightmare on Wednesday evening.

Lost 62% duels

Indeed, over the course of his 90 minutes on the pitch, Dawson endured an extremely torrid time on the right of West Ham’s back three, with Armando Broja, Moussa Djenepo and Romain Perraud running riot down Southampton’s left flank.

In terms of his personal statistics from the game, the £2.7m-rated defender was rather wasteful in possession, completing just 34 of his 44 attempted passes, finding his man with only four of his 11 attempted long balls and ceding possession of the ball on 14 separate occasions.

In a defensive capacity, the £52k-per-week centre-back also had something of a shocker, committing the foul on Broja which saw James Ward-Prowse restore Southampton’s lead from the spot, as well as being beaten by an opponent once and losing eight of his 13 duels – a failure rate of 62%.

These returns saw the player who Roshane Thomas once dubbed “shaky” earn an extremely disappointing SofaScore match rating of just 5.9 – with no player from either side receiving a lower rating than the former England U21 international.

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As such, while hindsight is a wonderful thing, considering the below-par performance from a number of his first-team regulars, in addition to the Hammers’ hectic fixture schedule, exactly why Moyes did not choose to hand a valuable senior start to the likes of Aji Alese, Pierre Ekwah, Dan Chesters, Armstrong Oko-Flex and Sonny Perkins – all of whom were on the bench – on Wednesday night does appear a rather strange move.

Indeed, the performance of Dawson – who it is certain would have appreciated a rest against Southampton – only further proves that Moyes got his team selection wrong for the cup clash – something that could well come back to haunt the Irons both at Liverpool this weekend and Sevilla next week.

In other news: GSB heading for West Ham catastrophe as deal agreed for “invaluable” £62k-p/w “leader”

ScorecardKenya opened their Intercontinental Cup campaign with a commanding nine-wicket win against Canada to take maximum points with a day to spare in Nairobi. Steve Tikolo claimed four wickets to leave Kenya chasing 100 for victory and they cruised home as Maurice Ouma helped himself to an unbeaten 68-ball 71.Canada began the day facing a first-innings deficit of 130, following Thomas Odoyo’s maiden first-class century on Saturday, and were in immediate trouble as Peter Ongondo removed both openers in the first over. Their main resistance came from a third-wicket stand of 113 between Trevin Bastiampillai (63) and 36-year-old debutant Arvind Kandappah (87). As they pushed Canada into a narrow lead there was a chance Kenya could be set a challenging target, but the home side stuck to their task.Bastiampillai became Tikolo’s first wicket when he was beaten by the turn and Asif Mulla soon followed as he edged an outswinger from Nehemiah Odhiambo. Kandappah, who clubbed three sixes in his 111-ball innings, miscued a sweep to square leg as Kenya tightened their grip leaving Odoyo to help his captain clean up the tail.Kenya began their chase with a flurry of boundaries and Ouma recovered from his first innings duck with a string of powerful blows. David Obuya fell with the target in sight, leaving Ouma to finish the match in emphatic style by launching Qaiser Ali over long-on for his second six.

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	Draw	Aban	Pts
Netherlands	3	2	1	0	0	0	34
Ireland	2	1	0	0	1	0	29
Canada	3	1	2	0	0	0	26
Scotland	3	1	0	0	2	0	26
Kenya	1	1	0	0	0	0	20
U.A.E.	2	0	1	0	1	0	3
Bermuda	2	0	2	0	0	0	0

Mark Chilton is aiming for the Championship next season © Getty Images

Lancashire have confirmed that Mark Chilton will continue as captain in 2007. Chilton, 30, is going into his 11th season at the county and has captained them for the last two years.”It is a great honour,” he said. “I have enjoyed the job thoroughly and I continue to learn and to improve. We were close to winning things last season and the objective now is clear, to go that one step further.”Lancashire’s manager Mike Watkinson added: “Mark works tirelessly on and off the field, and is respected throughout the game for his leadership qualities. He is a deep-thinking and courteous person, but he also has a steely inner nature and is never fazed by tough situations or bullish characters in the game and he never shies away from difficult decisions.”Out in the middle, Mark is determined to lead from the front. He remains hugely ambitious, for the club and for himself.”Lancashire were runners-up in both the County Championship and the Natwest Trophy last season, and have recently secured the signature of Muttiah Muralitharan for 2007.

Sourav Ganguly: on the way to recovery from his tennis elbow problem © Getty Images

Sourav Ganguly should be fit enough to play for East Zone in the Duleep Trophy match against North Zone from October 20. Ganguly has been suffering from early symptoms of tennis elbow, but a doctor attending to him said his condition is getting better.”He is improving,” said Kalyan Mukherjee, an orthopaedic surgeon. “If this trend continues, and he responds to the treatment, then I see no reason why he can’t play the Duleep [Trophy] match at Rajkot.”The final decision on this matter will be taken by Dr Ananth Joshi, the sports-medicine expert, when he examines Ganguly on October 18. John Gloster, the team physiotherapist, is also expected to be present during the examination.The elbow problem for Ganguly first cropped up during the Indian team’s tour to Zimbabwe, and also kept him out of the Challenger Series in Mohali. Ganguly was also left out of the Indian squad for the first two one-day internationals against Sri Lanka later this month, with the selectors indicating that he would have to prove his fitness first.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Harbhajan Singh had the South Africans in a spin© AFP

India concluded a dour series with a victory by eight wickets at Eden Gardens. Though the required 117 runs were achieved comfortably in the end, the favourable series result was largely due to three sessions of guileful bowling on a helpful track by Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble, who persevered tirelessly through both matches before finally hitting pay-dirt yesterday and today. Harbhajan picked up 7 for 87, while Kumble equalled Kapil Dev’s Indian record of 434 Test wickets, in 41 fewer matches.Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar then guided India to their second Test win of the season with a stand that made heavy work of the inevitable. Pads were stuck out dangerously to South Africa’s part-time spinners – who turned the ball sharply – but both batsmen were loth to risk an attacking approach. However, Dravid was quick to dismiss loose offerings while Tendulkar protected his wicket steadfastly. But at the end, when the target was down to single figures, it was Tendulkar who cut free with a couple of fours off Justin Ontong. Dravid remained unbeaten on 47.Virender Sehwag’s early dismissal did not rock the boat. After he guided Makhaya Ntini to Graeme Smith at slip, Gautam Gambhir and Dravid squirted balls between the infielders for runs. Both batsmen were relaxed during their stay, and Gambhir, in particular, appeared at ease when Shaun Pollock, who had previously troubled him, came on, striking him gloriously through cover. He was dismissed padding at a legbreak from Jacques Rudolph that struck him in front of the stumps (60 for 2). But by then South Africa’s cause was lost, even though the spinners extracted appreciable bounce and turn from the pitch.

Anil Kumble drew level with Kapil Dev on 434 Test wickets© AFP

The day belonged to the two men India rely on most at home. Harbhajan and Kumble continued their work from yesterday and struck down South Africa for the addition of 50 runs. In tandem, they bowled out the entire side, contributing 64.4 of the 74.4 overs sent down by India.Harbhajan continued his feverish affair with Eden Gardens. He first removed Jacques Kallis for 55 and then struck twice more. It was his fourth five-wicket haul in five innings here. Kallis had battled to 52 yesterday, but in Harbhajan’s second over of the day, he patted one back to the bowler, who accepted the simple catch and disbelievingly turned to the umpire and appealed. A few overs later, Pollock stuck his pad out at one that missed his bat and glove, and carried to a sprawling Gambhir at short leg. The appeal for the catch was upheld. Daryl Harper, the umpire, struck again two deliveries later when Justin Ontong swept, and the ball popped off his forearm to Dinesh Karthik. Then Thami Tsolekile played around a Kumble delivery and was bowled (194 for 9). After 28 valuable runs were added, Makhaya Ntini edged to Dravid, presenting Kumble with his record-equalling wicket.India were expected to win the series, albeit a tad earlier than the second-last session of the tour. On this pitch, against bowlers of the calibre of Harbhajan and Kumble, South Africa’s batting line-up stood little chance. For a team beleaguered by poor form, this victory will bring India temporary respite from scrutiny.

BAT Sports are effectively 43 points clear of their nearest rivals Bashley (Rydal) in their bid to reclaim the ECB Southern Electric Premier League championship.A crushing nine-wicket win over Andover, predictably led by a thumping 166 not out by New Zealander Neal Parlane, has put the 2001 league champions in a near unassailable position.Parlane smacked eight sixes and 25 fours in his highest individual score yet as Andover’s challenging 249-8 was simply blown away.BAT travel to Bashley on Saturday, but only a major downturn in fortune will prevent them from regaining the trophy from Havant, who suffered a third defeat against the Academy.Richard Dibden’s side will virtually have the title tied up if they beat Bashley next weekend, making the August 16 showdown with Havant purely academic.Led by Rose Bowl assistant Mark Miller, who struck a season’s best 97, Andover put up a gallant show at Southern Gardens.Toby Radford (31), Ian Gardner (33) and Roger Miller (23) all provided useful support, with Richard Dibden (3-67) BAT’s most successful bowler.Mark Miller’s ultra-safe hands accounted for Damian Shirazi, but the young left-hander’s departure was Andover’s solitary success as Parlane took over.Sixes and fours rattled all around the ground, with a staggering 148 of the Kiwi’s 166 coming in boundaries !Richard Kenway did well to garner some of the strike and finished with 62 not out as BAT posted 251-1 in 39.5 overs.BAT’s near neighbours Calmore Sports remain fastened to the Premier basement – 20 points behind Liphook & Ripsley – after a tame draw with South Wilts at Loperwood Park.Tom Caines (36), Paul Draper (34) and Jason Laney (31) were among the seven batsmen in double figures as South Wilts reached 225-9 off 66 overs.Mark Boston (4-100) and Charlie Freeston (3-69) wheeled away for Calmore, who appeared to have got themselves into a decent position at 125-2 through a half-century by Gary Stinson (54), Martin Bushell (30) and Paul Cass (29).But they didn’t altogether challenge a target of 100 off the final 23 overs and, with Stuart Bailey 42 not out, closed at 196-5, 29 runs behind.

Haryana’s spinners struck vital blows in the post-tea session to bringdown Delhi from a commanding position and reduce them to 288 for sevenin the first innings in the North Zone Ranji tie.Replying to Haryana’s 316, Delhi failed to capitalise on a 121-runopening stand between Gautam Gambhir (91) and Akash copra (48). From adominant position of 166 for two, Delhi collapsed to 260 for seven,with Amit Mishra striking thrice and Gautam Vashisht twice.Earlier, resuming at their overnight score of 282 for eight, Haryanaadded 34 runs in eight overs before Arun Singh ended the innings bytaking the wickets of Sumit Narwal (39) and Nitin Aggarwal (11). TheDelhi openers settled down early and soon got into an aggressive mode,hitting pace bowlers S Vidyut and Narwal all over the ground.Just when the partnership was going strong, and the hosts were firmlyon the road to a huge first innings score, Haryana got a breakthroughwhen Nitin Aggarwal’s direct hit broke the stumps at the non-striker’send while Chopra was attempting a cheeky single.Gambhir added 43 runs with new man Radhey Shyam Gupta. Just when helooked set for a well-deserved century, however, he was deceived as hejumped out to a flighted ball from Vashisht, keeper Ratra whipping offthe bails in a flash.Vashisht struck again after four overs, dismissing Gupta caught atsilly point by Shafiq Khan with the scoreboard reading 179 for three.Haryana clawed their way back into the game, grabbing four morewickets within a space of 10 overs, the Mishra-Vashisht combinationbowling accurately.But Delhi skipper Mithun Manhas (45 off 32 balls) refused to give upand executed some powerful shots in trying to stem the rot. Hecollaborated with Pradeep Chawla to add 44 runs, even as Haryana’sbowlers were on the rampage.Manhas could not hold on for long, though, as he was trapped in frontby Aggarwal. Even as Delhi’s middle order failed, the tailenders notonly showed resistance, but adopted attack as the best form ofdefence, with Sarandeep Singh (20) and Abhishek Sharma (23*) makingsome quick runs and hitting four boundaries each. Sharma and AmitBandhari (4*) were at the crease, and the hosts still trailed by 28runs, when stumps were drawn.

As he watched Ryan Harris, Michael Clarke, Chris Rogers, Shane Watson and Brad Haddin shuffle out of the dressing room for the final time, Mitchell Johnson wondered whether he should join them. Seriously drained after a year in which he could not follow up World Cup success with retaining the Ashes, he pondered the possibility of retirement.

‘I don’t think it’s the best preparation’

Mitchell Johnson has questioned Australia’s preparation for the New Zealand Test series, with only a two-day red-ball camp in Sydney offering relevant practice before the squad assembles for the Gabba.
The postponement of the Bangladesh tour means Australia’s Test players are warming up in the Matador Cup 50-over tournament but are then subject to a round of day-night Sheffield Shield matches with the experimental pink ball before the first two Tests of summer are played in daylight with the red ball.
Johnson’s scepticism about the day-night concept is well known. While he hesitated to comment too freely on the Adelaide match at this point, he questioned the wisdom of switching from red to white to pink to red ball again ahead of what is shaping as New Zealand’s best chance to unseat Australia at home since they last did so in 1985.
“I don’t think it’s ideal us playing a day-night Shield game coming into a three-Test series, two with a red ball and one with a pink ball,” Johnson said. “I don’t think it’s ideal, especially guys missing out on Bangladesh, they’re probably needing to bowl with a red ball and we’re playing this now, then going down to Tassie to play with a pink ball.
“I don’t think it’s the best preparation, but I guess that’s why we have this camp as well to get a bit of a feel with the red ball again.”
Earlier in the year Johnson responded to questions about the pink ball by saying: “One thing is I love the tradition of Test cricket, things like the Baggy Green and little things like wearing the woollen jumper. We had an option to change that but we wanted to keep that as a tradition. I think tradition in the game is very important.”

But, in the six weeks since the Ashes have passed, Johnson has found himself feeling the old urge to train, to compete, and most importantly to bowl fast. He is now eager to do so once more, as the senior pro in what has now become a young and much changed team. Johnson has clear ideas on how and how much he should be used, and has set his sights upon matching the wickets tally of his mentor Dennis Lillee.”It definitely has crossed my mind, especially with the guys retiring,” Johnson said at Australia’s training camp in Hurstville. “A lot of those guys I played a lot of cricket with [have moved on] and it definitely makes you question yourself. I definitely have questioned myself in the six weeks I’ve been home, but I had that desire when I saw the young guys out there performing and it really urged me and pushed me to get out there and play. I actually went for a run and was pushing myself.”Brett Lee changed it a little bit because he played for a while longer. Speaking to some other people like Dennis, he seems to think I can go for a few more years as well. It depends on the individual to be honest, I had that year out of the game really with my toe injury, I was a late starter to the game. So I think it’s more mind than anything, my body’s still holding up pretty well.”I’ve had little niggles here and there but i’m able to get through them. It’s more mind. I’m really looking forward to the summer, getting back on fair wickets with a bit of pace and bounce, good for batting and for bowling. I’d love to get a few wickets and get that tally back up again.”At the end of a two-year period in which he played 18 of a possible 19 Tests besides sundry ODIs and Twenty20 fixtures, Johnson’s body was holding up reasonably. But his mind had begun to waver – even though he felt he had stored up enough mental energy for the Ashes campaign, he found himself getting drained midway through the series, not helped by the constant toll of English crowds and batsmen.”I was definitely worn down physically but I think I can always manage physically though,” Johnson said. “It’s more mentally that I felt myself really drained even through the England tour at times. Constantly getting hammered by the crowds does take its toll, but also the long year we’ve had with the World Cup. It was a huge build-up, to win that and then I went to IPL and played there. Was pretty flat throughout that, and then got to the West Indies and started to pick up a bit.”The Ashes always takes it out of you anyway, it’s such a huge occasion, and was definitely great to get back home after that. I personally think if I’d played that one-day series there was a chance of burnout or injury, that’s how I felt within myself. That’s why I missed that one-day series, getting fresh to be ready for a big summer and hopefully be in really good form and play really good cricket.”I know New Zealand are going to be a tough opposition, then we’ve got a few Test matches after that against West Indies then over to New Zealand. So it’s a really hectic time, but the little break I’ve had has definitely freshened me up and I’m ready to go.”There were other issues that had crept into Johnson’s mind as well. The handling of Haddin’s exit from the team rankled, and so did the haziness that often surrounded how Johnson was to be used in the bowling attack. Seldom was he able to simply charge in at top pace and intimidate as he had done against England two years ago, as much for the fact that there was no Harris or Peter Siddle keeping things tight at the other end as anything else.Johnson will be speaking with the coach Darren Lehmann and the new captain Steven Smith about this concept. Already it appears Lehmann understands the need for control as well as pace, stating that Australia will retain an allrounder throughout the Test summer while also picking their most balanced attack to keep the scoreboard tight.”I spoke to Boof about it, it’s something I thought about,” Johnson said. “I think it works best if I bowl short spells and I can bowl that high 140s or mid 140s, then I think that’s the plan we should go with. I’m going to sit down and speak with Boof and Smithy about that and see what they think.”But I’ve always got a plan B and I think I learned that a lot more over in England to have a plan B, just try to use the ball a bit more in certain conditions. You can’t always blast teams out but when that time’s right I’m definitely still putting my hand up for that role.”That sort of outspokenness can be expected more often as Johnson begins the final phase of his career. No longer one of many 30-somethings in the Test team, he is now an elder statesman, a leader and a keeper of tradition. There is much he can pass on to a young team before he is done.

While Fosun have been rather proactive when it comes to spending money on new players to join Wolves during the previous transfer windows, they have also seen quite a number of players leave the Midlands club.

One player that left Molineux in recent years for a rather hefty fee was winger Diogo Jota, who signed for fellow Premier League club Liverpool back in September 2020 in a deal worth a reported fee of £41m, making him their record departure.

Wolves originally signed the Portuguese international on loan from Spanish club Atletico Madrid in the 2017 summer transfer window before securing him on a permanent deal a year later for a reported fee of £12.3m.

Before making the move to Anfield, the 25-year-old racked up 44 goals and 19 assists in 131 appearances across all competitions.

Since joining the Merseyside club, Jota, who has been described as being a “pressing monster” by Liverpool assistant coach Pep Lijnders has gone on to make a total of 62 appearances with an impressive number of 30 goals under his belt.

A few months before leaving Molineux, Transfermarkt had his market value listed as £25.2m, whereas it now stands at £54m, highlighting just how impressive he has been on the pitch since joining Jurgen Klopp’s side.

Also, having earned himself an overall performance rating of 7.24/10 from WhoScored this season, which would comfortably make him the highest-rated player at Molineux by the same metric, there’s no denying his talents and capabilities.

Taking all of this into account, it’s safe to say that Fosun made a big error by allowing the winger to leave the Midlands club and strengthen one of the clubs above them in the league table.

Labelled as an “exceptional” player by Klopp, Jota could have been a vital player for Bruno Lage this season had Wolves not sold him to the Reds given how the Old Gold have only scored 24 goals in 25 league games this season.

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Moving forward, if Lage’s side are able to secure European football by the end of the season, they should be looking to the upcoming summer transfer window to bring in some attacking reinforcements that can help the team be more clinical in front of goal and forget about Jota.

In other news: Forget Traore: Lage must finally axe barely-seen Wolves outcast, he’s “miles off” – opinion

	Glenn McGrath made a one-off Twenty20 comeback for New South Wales in 2007-08 but he says he won’t be turning up in county cricket © Getty Images

Glenn McGrath’s successful return to cricket in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has reportedly prompted a bold bid from Surrey to lure him onto the county scene. However, McGrath says he has no intention of extending his comeback beyond the IPL and he is keen to return home when the tournament finishes in a fortnight.McGrath, 38, retired from international and state cricket at the end of last year’s World Cup but the Indian Twenty20 competition tempted him to return and in his first ten matches for the Delhi Daredevils he has grabbed nine wickets at 27.44. The reported that Surrey had offered him a three-week stint but McGrath said he was not interested.”They must be desperate,” McGrath told the paper. “Playing in the IPL has been a great experience, but it has only confirmed the reasons why I retired. There’s no way I want to play county.”I’ve been really happy with the way I’ve bowled, I think it has surprised a few people. However, I’m really looking forward to getting home to [wife] Jane and the kids. I’m missing them.”