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Frank Lampard is overlooking Vitalii Mykolenko, Nathan Patterson and Jarrad Branthwaite because they’re not doing enough in training. 

That’s according to Gregg Evans, writing for The Athletic.

The lowdown

Everton shelled out £21.15million to sign left-back Mykolenko from Dynamo Kyiv in January, but he’s only started one Premier League game so far.

Lampard is presently favouring a predominant right-back in Jonjoe Kenny in that position.

Patterson, meanwhile, cost an initial £12.6million and has yet to play in the league at all, with his only minutes coming in the FA Cup against non-league Boreham Wood.

And Brainthwaite, valued at £2.7million by Transfermarkt, has only started one top-flight match this season.

The latest

Evans was asked in a Q & A on The Athletic’s website why Mykolenko, Patterson and Branthwaite were finding opportunities limited.

“From what I’m hearing,” he replied, “Frank Lampard is making his selections based on what he sees in training.”

It follows that the trio aren’t impressing sufficiently at Finch Farm to change the pecking order.

Evans stresses that Lampard has ‘no problem’, based on his stint at Chelsea, with fielding young players in big games.

But he questioned the wisdom of recruiting two inexperienced full-backs in January as they were unlikely to solve Everton’s ‘big problem’ with defending.

The verdict

It’s inevitable that Lampard’s defensive selection is under scrutiny.

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The Toffees shipped five goals in their defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on Monday night, leading Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher to brand their back four ‘Championship’ standard.

Branthwaite, however, may get his chance this weekend after coming on in North London.

Michael Keane has been dealing with illness this week and arguably doesn’t deserve to play anyway after producing a 5.8/10 performance (SofaScore).

In other news, talks over this transfer will take place in the next few weeks.

	Adam Gilchrist has begun his goodbyes, and his team-mates are keen on giving him a parting gift – a victory in his last Test© AFP

Rewind to December 2006 at the Adelaide Oval and you have a scenario eerily similar to this one: England rattle up 550-plus, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke smash hundreds to help Australia match it, England end the fourth day on 59 for 1, and few are looking beyond a draw.While England were 97 ahead then, India lead by 8. A draw still remains the most likely possibility but Australia, it seems, are the only team capable of winning from here. With the series almost sealed, they’re unlikely to hold back punches. Michael Clarke has said his side will want to “win it for Gilly” and 3-1 has a more resounding ring to it than 2-1. The Sydney Test showed India’s second-innings vulnerability and a fifth-day pitch would be expected to throw up some surprises.”It will be a perfect farewell for Gilly to go out with a win,” said Clarke hoping for an escape-act as sensational as the six-wicket win against England last season. “Fingers crossed and hope it goes the same as last year. It’s going to be hard work but we’re hoping to win the game. Once the ball gets softer it will become difficult to score. Hopefully Hogg, Symmo and myself will come into play. I certainly know Australia wants to win. And if we bowl in the right areas we could achieve that. It’s a big day tomorrow.”An Indian win would require Harry Houdini-esque intervention. A team trailing the series would be expected to go all out for victory but India might have just fallen too far behind. Unlike Graeme Smith, who was tempted into a bold declaration in the Sydney Test of 2006, Anil Kumble doesn’t have the luxury of runs behind him. After 350 overs of the Test, the score is effectively 0 for 8 with 19 wickets standing. That sounds more like a score you would hear in the bowls arena adjacent to the Oval.There’s could be a temptation to go all out for the win – with some suggestion that 3-1 is as bad as 2-1 – but getting the better of a draw will be some consolation. They got a life-line too, when Clarke fluffed a straightforward chance off Virender Sehwag at second slip, but got through a tough period till stumps to settle nerves.They did themselves no favours by asking Irfan Pathan to open, especially after he bowled 36 overs in the innings and 12 in the day. Test match situations demand flexibility and the team would have been perfectly served if Rahul Dravid had been shifted up. Brett Lee was in a hostile mood and India could have been in a serious spot if the top-order was rattled. Pathan himself admitted it was difficult to open in the second innings and the team could have afforded to float him down the order.He retained his sangfroid, though, on a day he had picked up his 100th Test wicket. It was on this very ground where the journey began and he remained optimistic about levelling the series. “Anything can happen on the last day,” he said. “We need to bat well and if we put runs on the board, you never know. Australia have to bat last and nobody can say what’s going to happen. The pitch will spin more on the final day and so many such matches have changed at the end.”

The PCB chairman is not happy with Malcolm Speed © AFP

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has taken strong objection to the recent remarks of Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, about Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif with regards to the doping issue, calling them “unwarranted” and “irresponsible”. The board has sent an official letter of protest to the ICC.Speed, while talking about the ICC’s policy of targeted dope tests in the forthcoming World Cup, had called the whole affair of Shoaib and Asif continuing to play cricket after having tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid an “embarrassment” for the game.Nasim Ashraf, the PCB chairman, told Cricinfo, that Speed’s comments were uncalled for and inflammatory. “The board takes strong objection to the irresponsible remarks by Malcolm Speed to a case that is subjudice,” said Ashraf, referring to the fact that the overturning of the bans on both players was referred to the International Court of Sports Arbitration by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency).”Both players were voluntarily dope-tested and withdrawn from the Champions Trophy after which the due legal process of the PCB’s anti-doping code was strictly followed,” added Ashraf. “They were let off by an appellate tribunal after which the ICC has admitted it had no legal grounds over the case. WADA has filed a case over it and the matter is now subjudice. These remarks then are utterly irresponsible and unwarranted.”The chairman also criticised the statements of two international players he did not wish to name who had also lashed out at the possible inclusion of the fast bowling pair in Pakistan’s World Cup squad. “I don’t want to mention the names of the two top international players from a top cricket country but I would like the ICC to examine whether the remarks made by them constitute a breach of a certain code of conduct.”Shoaib and Asif were finally dropped from the Pakistan squad yesterday for medical reasons. While injuries to one’s knee and the other’s elbow is the official reason given by the board for their withdrawal, speculation in Pakistan has centred around fears that the duo were still carrying traces of Nandrolone in their body, a fact that could have led to stringent bans had they tested positive during the World Cup in ICC-conducted tests. The PCB has rubbished such speculation.Ashraf asserted he did not want to get into a public slanging match over the issue but had been compelled to respond. “We have asked Percy Sonn [ the ICC president] to instruct other ICC officials not to issue such inflammatory remarks. We do not want to engage in a public debate on this but since the remarks appeared in public, we are forced to state facts and clear the names of players, the PCB and Pakistan.” The chairman also reiterated the board’s commitment to a zero-tolerance policy on doping, pointing out that Pakistan remains one of only four cricket countries that carries out internal dope tests.The exchange of remarks is not likely to warm relations between the ICC and Pakistan, already a little cool after the Oval fiasco of last August and the doping scandal in October.

Scorecard

Mohammad Kaif steered UP to a place in the final © AFP

Mohammad Kaif guided the run chase, Suresh Raina charged it with a cameo performance, and Rizwan Shamshad and Jyoti Prasad Yadav chipped in with vital contributions that saw Uttar Pradesh, having resumed the day needing 175 runs to win, achieve the target with five wickets in hand to beat Mumbai on the way to their third Ranji Trophy final.In bitter-sweet irony the match winning shot – a square cut by the veteran Gyanendra Pandey – crashed against the Sunil Gavaskar pavilion at the Wankhede stadium. That said it all; Mumbai had been vanquished and in a manner that signalled as much Mumbai’s capitulation as it exhibited UP’s domination.In a setting which screamed that it was a domestic game – a handful of spectators, the unused main scoreboard, the desperate appeals echoing around an empty stadium, the blue cylindrical plastic drum which carried the drinking water – Kaif was a man on a mission. “A great chance to probably win a Ranji trophy,” he had said on the eve of the game and the onus was on him today to lead his side into the final.He held fort at one end, spending over three hours at the crease and facing 162 balls, while steering his partners on an assured march to the target. Kaif used his feet to the spinners, driving Ramesh Powar to distraction and cutting, sweeping and tapping Nilesh Kulkarni to vacant areas on the field. “Partnerships are the key when you chase a fourth-innings target,” he said at the end of the match, and in the middle he had done exactly that. A 76-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Raina, 43 with Shamshad for the fifth and 25 – that settled the nerves and killed any potential Mumbai fightback – with Yadav before falling 16 runs short of the target.Mumbai would be left ruing the reprieve for Kaif, when he was on 17, a simple chance grassed by Vinit Indulkar. “The guys who said, `Catches win matches’ are not stupid,” a disgruntled Kulkarni, the Mumbai captain, said at the end of the game. While UP had hustled the Mumbai team with brilliant fielding, the hosts proved a hospitable lot. “We lost because we didn’t have the overall package, we lacked the ability to deliver when it matters. Players should not be content just playing for Mumbai, they should aim higher and then the results will come,” a angry Kulkarni reflected later. – KaifWhile Kaif held firm, it was Suresh Raina who accelerated the run chase with calculated aggression in a fine breezy cameo of 44. Raina, who averages 72.40 this season with one hundred and a couple of fifties, continued with his rich vein of form, and caressed five hits to the fence and rotated the strike intelligently. The fifty of the partnership came in 45 minutes off 65 balls before Raina fell to Kulkarni at the score on 130.Shamshad entered the game at a critical phase – the 36-times champions had smelt a faint scent of blood at the fall of Raina’s wicket and also due to a mini-drama that a ball-change had brought about. The `new’ ball appeared to turn, spin and bounce more and an infuriated Kaif had a lengthy talk with the umpires, demanding a change which led to a brief halt in the play. Shamshad tackled the spinning cherry well – a wicket at that stage could have opened the doors to Mumbai – and he stroked his way to a valuable knock, a 33-ball 29, which tilted the chase in favour of the visitors before he fell to Powar.With no option but to attack, Mumbai crowded the next man in Yadav, the left-hand bat, with two slips, a silly point and a forward short leg. Powar kicked one up from a good length and saw the ball beat an attempted cut from Yadav but the edge flew over slip. Yadav decided to counter-attack; he slog swept Powar to the midwicket fence and square cut Kulkarni past point. Kaif caught the Yadav spirit but not its impact as he jumped down the track to Powar but was beaten by the flight and the direction – it was a floater, drifting away from the right-hand bat, and the nick was smartly caught by Vinayak Samant who also decided to whip off the bails, just to be safe.But by then the damage had been done by Kaif. Only 16 runs were required and Yadav and Gyanendra Pandey, a veteran of 114 first-class games, hastened the end with a dash of bravado. Pandey went down on his knees to hoick Kulkarni over midwicket while Yadav leant back and cut him to the square point fence before Pandey cut him to the cover fence to propel UP into the finals. The entire UP squad rushed to congratulate the batsmen and soak in the moment.Kaif was to gush on the bowling effort later – “taking 20 wickets on this track was special” – and said the bowling was the biggest plus that they would take into the final. It had been a great turnaround for UP ever since Kaif took over the reins. A rough start – two straight losses, two drawn games – had left UP wallowing before Kaif joined the squad to charge them to a place in the semi-final. He was part of the 1997-98 team that beat Mumbai in the semi-final before running into Karnataka led by Rahul Dravid, who bled them with a double-century. Twenty years before that too, they had been vanquished by Karnataka in a final. Will they be third time lucky this time? On form, you have to say yes but then …

Body blow for New Zealand as Daniel Vettori misses out© Getty Images

Daniel Vettori has been ruled out of the second Test against Sri Lanka, to be played at the Basin Reserve in Wellington starting on April 11. His bad back had not responded sufficiently to treatment, and New Zealand did not want to risk his long-term future by rushing him into a Test match when he was not fully fit.Lindsay Crocker, the New Zealand manager, has said in a press release that Vettori "was the best indicator as to whether or not he was able to play, given the complaint is one he has had to varying levels throughout his international career."Further, Vettori had also been treated for a wear-and-tear injury to his right wrist, diagnosed as a sprain with minor joint irritation not long ago.

Close of 3rd day West Zone 163 for 1 (Kanitkar 78*, Jadhav 64*) trail Central Zone 549 (Khoda 156, Yadav 80) by 386 runs
ScorecardHrishikesh Kanitkar anchored a dreary effort by West Zone, who began their reply to Central Zone’s 549 intent on securing the first-innings lead without taking any risks whatsoever. Kanitkar made 78 not out as West Zone crawled to 163 for 1 off 82 overs, with Dhiraj Jadhav unbeaten on a Boycottesque 64 off 259 balls.Earlier in the day, Central Zone added just 17 runs to their overnight total, as Munaf Patel, who had been wicketless on the first two days of the match, cleaned up the tail to finish with 3 for 82. Vinayak Mane was out early in the West Zone innings, making 10 off 11 balls, with two fours, an innings that seemed like a thunderous cameo compared to the dour defence that followed.Close of 3rd day South Zone 304 for 8 (Ramesh 57, Joshi 51) trail East Zone 388 by 84 runs
ScorecardEast Zone took the upper hand against the more fancied South Zone, at Dharmasala, as South Zone ended the third day on 304 for 8, still a daunting 84 runs behind their opponents’ total. It representated a comeback of sorts, though. At one stage, they had been 159 for 6, before a 90-run partnership between S Sharath (48) and Sunil Joshi (51) brought them back into the game. Both batsmen were out with more than an hour left in the day’s play, but R Ramkumar (19 not out) and NP Singh (29 not out) kept their hopes alive with an unbeaten 46-run partnership.

ADELAIDE, Dec 21 AAP – Western Australia will be hoping Beau Casson can repeat his first innings wicket blitz tomorrow and guide the Warriors to outright points against South Australia at Adelaide Oval.SA skipper Greg Blewett and opener David Fitzgerald offered their team some hope of saving the game when they put on an unbroken 111-run partnership in today’s final session.The Redbacks were 1-118 in their second innings at stumps on day three of the Pura Cup match.But the home side was still in a precarious position, needing another 176 runs tomorrow to make WA bat again, after trailing by 294 on the first innings.Fitzgerald, SA’s top-scorer in the first innings with 63, was unbeaten on 64 at the close of play, with skipper Blewett on 53, after being dropped when on 41.Shane Deitz was the batsman out, stumped for a duck on the last ball before tea off the bowling of 19-year-old left arm spinner Casson.The youngster took 6-64 in the first innings in just his second first-class match.Earlier, WA’s Murray Goodwin ensured his side was firmly in the box seat with an innings of 164 to help the Warriors to 9(dec)-520 in their first innings, in reply to SA’s first innings 226.Goodwin’s marathon effort in searing heat lasted one minute less than eight hours.He was involved in a 247-run second-wicket partnership yesterday with WA skipper Justin Langer, who was equal top-scorer with 164, and a 149-run third-wicket stand with Mike Hussey today.”It wasn’t exactly a pretty innings, but I suppose it kept the Redbacks out there for a long time, which is pleasing for us,” Goodwin told AAP.”It wasn’t easy to bat on that wicket, or it wasn’t easy to score, put it that way.”Goodwin said there was still not much assistance in the pitch for the fast bowlers, but Casson was likely to play a vital role tomorrow.”We’re a little bit thin on the spin bowling side, we’ve only really got one spinner, so he’s obviously got to play a part,” Goodwin said.”Our pace bowlers, if they can keep it quite tight, who knows?”Goodwin said he felt WA was a strong chance of taking full points, despite Blewett and Fitzgerald’s solid resistance so far.”Adelaide Oval, once you get a couple of wickets you can get on a roll, so it’s going to be interesting,” he said.”I fancy our chances, I think we got 10 wickets on the first day and I don’t see why we can’t get nine on the last day when the wicket’s a little bit harder to bat on.”

Michael Vaughan and Graeme Hick ensured England’s eventual lead would be substantial Photos © CricInfo

This was as euphoric a day for England cricketers as they could have dreamedof. For West Indies it was humiliation heaped upon disaster throughout thesecond day as they surrendered in the most ignominious fashion to go down byan innings and 39 runs in the fourth Test.To be one up in the series with just one Test to come, is a great position tobe in. What is important for England is to maintain the momentum gained inthis Test. They showed all the right qualities, there was application when itwas required at the start of the day, a determination to win and aggressionall through the latter half of the day when West Indies’ batsmen werestruggling to survive.That inability to despatch an apparently stricken opponent that has prevailedso often, with England, in similar circumstances in the recent past, was notthere this time as they, ruthlessly demolished the West Indies innings.With the match much in the balance at the start of the day, after thetourists had dismissed half the England side for 96 on the previous eveningand then removed the nightwatchman, England batsmen applied themselves totheir task with diligence, realising the importance of a first innings lead.The one advantage they had was that they batted practically all the way downthe order.Man-of-the-match Michael Vaughan and Graeme Hick ensured that their side’seventual lead would be substantial, with an invaluable stand which ended justtwo short of a century.After Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh had produced their customary spell offine bowling, Vaughan and Hick took runs more freely from the others,although the two veteran fast bowlers also received some punishment in alater spell. West Indies fielding became ragged and catches went down,particularly an easy one from Dominic Cork that Wavell Hinds dropped and theground fielding was appalling at times.England were well in the lead – by fifty runs – by the time Hick, havingreached his eighteenth Test century was dismissed. Vaughan’s was thepenultimate wicket to fall, his 76 was the result of a determined effort thatimmensly helped England to a vitally important hundred-run lead in such a lowscoring match.From half-way through the second session of play, it was the story ofEngland’s bowlers. Their ascendency was from the outset as they totallydominated the afternoon. Darren Gough struck two early blows, withconsecutive balls he removed Adrian Griffith and Wavell Hinds, both withoutscoring. Then in his next over he had Brian Lara padding up to a ball for thesecond time in the match, to be dismissed for two.Gough finally completed his haul of four wickets, having Sherwin Campbellcaught at slip and West Indies, on 21 for 4, looked a beaten, thoroughlyoutplayed team and looked subdued. Jimmy Adams resisted for a brief period,taking the score to 49 before falling to Dominic Cork.Therafter, it was Andy Caddick’s turn to be in the limelight for the rest ofthe innings as he finished off, taking all the remaining five wickets. In aninspired fifteen ball-spell he took those five for five runs. It wasremarkable bowling and England were unstoppable.This was an extraordinary victory and the first time since 1912 that Englandhad won a Test match in this country inside two days. It remains to be seenif West Indies have the strength to bounce back to square the series at theOval.

Aston Villa are on the road again this evening with a Premier League clash against relegation strugglers Leeds United at Elland Road.

In terms of recent form, Steven Gerrard’s side are in much better shape than their upcoming opponents with six goals and none conceded in their past two games. Whereas the Whites have lost six of their seven previous league outings, conceding 22 goals in the process.

As well as this, it seems as though the Villans have been handed a major boost in terms of their player options for the midweek clash.

What’s the news?

According to a recent Twitter post from journalist Gregg Evans, the Midlands club will have defenders Lucas Digne and Ezri Konsa back available after the duo missed the 4-0 win against Southampton.

Evans also revealed that midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka is “fit again” and will be available for selection.

Gerrard surely delighted

Digne’s return specifically will represent a seismic boost to Villa’s chances of taking all three points today.

After all, he will give the Villans a lot more in the final third compared to his competitors at left-back. He has racked up an average of 1.8 key passes per game which shows just what he could offer his side this evening should Gerrard decide to put him back in the starting XI ahead of Ashley Young who started against the Saints last weekend.

With Konsa having started 22 of Villa’s 26 league games so far this season, it’s safe to say that he is seen as an important player for the club and will therefore be a massive boost for his manager to have back.

Only last week Gerrard lavished praise on the defender, saying: “He’s been outstanding for me, obviously the red card [against Leeds] was frustrating for him and us because he is an important players.

“His level of consistency has been really high, whether that be on the training pitch or in a match situation.”

As for Chukwuemeka, even though he has only started one league game for the Villans in this campaign, the fact that he has made eight substitute appearances since Gerrard took over back in mid-November shows just how much of a useful squad option he is for the team and how much the manager trusts him.

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As a result, the Villa boss will surely be delighted to have these three players back available to take on Leeds this evening. However, it could give him a pretty big headache when it comes to selecting his starting XI considering how well his players did last weekend in their very convincing thumping of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.

If all three end up being included in the team from the start tonight, this will be a big clue as to how much the 41-year-old rates them.

In other news: Gerrard must now ruthlessly axe AVFC’s “serious problem” tonight, Leeds could ruin him – opinion

Martin Crowe: He [Vettori] has to get up to speed ASAP and remind us every day why the selectors felt he’s a better option than Fleming © AFP

Martin Crowe, the former New Zealand captain, has launched a stinging attack on the current leadership of New Zealand cricket. Unimpressed by Daniel Vettori’s captaincy Crowe, arguably his country’s greatest batsman ever, says it’s high time the left-arm spinner showed why he was selected to lead in place of Stephen Fleming.”Daniel Vettori, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum and Scott Styris have all got to put their big money where their busy mouths are – Vettori in particular,” Crowe told stuff.co.nz. “He [Vettori] has to get up to speed ASAP and remind us every day why the selectors felt he’s a better option than Fleming.After inspiring New Zealand to the semi-finals of the ICC World Twenty20, Vettori has had a torrid time at the helm, his side losing both the Test and ODI series away in South Africa, and relinquishing the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy after a 2-0 loss to Australia.Crowe also targeted coach John Bracewell, though he suggested that criticism needs to focus on the players as Bracewell, with renewed backing from the New Zealand board, is not going anywhere.Crowe had called for Bracewell to step down right after the World Cup in April, following New Zealand’s exit at the semi-final stage. He now says that he is tired of Bracewell’s astounding interviews and selections during the short tour to Australia. “Braces this, Braces that – I’m sick of the talk and the headlines about the coach which have dominated for weeks and weeks,” he said. “When I was asked what I thought after we lost the World Cup semi, I said ‘it’s time for a change to keep evolving’ but now we need to forget it.””(NZ Cricket CEO) Justin Vaughan has made his call – his first big one. So have the players. Braces is very lucky to have two years to show NZ he can coach. Not be a smart arse, but be a very good coach.”During the winter all but one player wanted Braces to continue, so the onus is now on them.”They are the ones under pressure. They have what they wanted so now it’s all their heads on the line, series in-series out. Braces isn’t going anywhere I promise you.”Bracewell was handed a two-year extension in July this year, and has been in charge of the side since 2003. And despite the recent losses against South Africa and Australia, Vaughan believes the right man is in charge.”He’s under no more pressure than when he started [four years ago],” Vaughan told the Dominion Post. “But we’ve just played two difficult sides. The results were disappointing but we expect that to improve now. He’s got two home series against Bangladesh and England now, which we should win.”