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A big update has emerged over Newcastle United midfielder Joelinton’s injury situation…

What’s the latest?

Magpies coach Eddie Howe has revealed that the Brazilian powerhouse is a major doubt to face Everton in the Premier League tonight.

Joelinton has not played a competitive minute since the 2-1 win over Brighton on the 5th of March, missing the 2-1 win over Southampton and the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea last time out at Stamford Bridge.

The club quotes Howe as saying: “He is touch and go for this game. We have a decision to make. Whether we look after him with the break we have afterwards or whether we push him back out there – we’ll have to make a late call on that one.”

Grave danger

Howe must avoid playing the midfielder against Everton as he is in grave danger of ruining the £80k-per-week machine’s resurgence at St. James’ Park.

On the one hand, you could argue that it is worth the risk because of the importance of the match. A win would send them 12 points clear of the bottom three as they equal 18th-placed Watford’s number of games played, whilst also condemning the Toffees to another defeat and knocking their confidence down another peg or two.

This would all but secure Newcastle’s safety as it seems unlikely that Watford and Everton will amass 12 points more than the Magpies in the final nine games of the campaign. Both teams would have 22 points after 29 and 27 matches respectively, which means that they would have to jump from less than a point per game to more than a point per game – with no evidence to suggest that they will do that as it stands.

On the other hand, Howe is risking further damage to Joelinton and ruining the end of the campaign for him, which would be a major blow. Whilst it may not have much of a bearing on this season, with the club on course to avoid the drop, it could have major repercussions heading into the next term.

The midfield monster, who journalist Mark Douglas dubbed a “student of the game”, has been in fine form since Howe took the job. He has averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.9 or higher in each month from November through to the end of February, showing that he has been consistently impressive in the middle of the park.

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He has been riding the crest of a wave and ending his season prematurely for the sake of playing against Everton does not seem worth it, on paper.

Suffering such a killer blow after his recent highs could set him back and mean that he struggles to recapture his form in the following campaign because he would be back at square one instead of being full of confidence, which is why the benefits do not outweigh the negatives to starting him tonight.

AND in other news, Howe must unleash “breathtaking” £93k-pw NUFC gem today, he “will reach” a Ballon d’Or…

	Michael Clarke says Ricky Ponting stood tall in the week following the controversial Sydney Test © Getty Images

Michael Clarke says he has cleared the air with Anil Kumble over two of the controversies that flared in the second innings of the Sydney Test. Clarke stood his ground after edging Kumble to first slip and then, as India were fighting to save the game, he claimed a catch off Sourav Ganguly while fielding in the slip cordon, although there were doubts over whether the take was clean.”I wanted to speak to Anil before I spoke to the media on both cases – the catch and my dismissal,” Clarke said. “I still, to this day, feel 100% positive that I caught the catch fairly. I told him that and said with my dismissal that it was more out of shock and disappointment more than anything else.”Anil was very supportive and said ‘mate I understand’. We’ve played a fair bit of cricket against each other and he knows I’m not the kind of person to try and harm the game; the last thing I’d want is to put the game in jeopardy.”Kumble had criticised Clarke for not walking after edging to slip and called it “unsportsmanlike” behaviour. “Huss [Michael Hussey] and Haydos [Matthew Hayden] batted fantastic in the second innings, so I sat and waited for a couple of hours dying to get out and have a bat,” Clarke said.”I was really excited to get out there and do well, with family and friends all at the game, after failing in the first innings. When I went to cut the ball and it come off my glove and went to slip it was more just the shock and disappointment of failing and getting my first first-baller in Test cricket.”In hindsight and if I had my time again, I wish I had just walked straight off the field. I hope it doesn’t happen too many times, I hope I don’t get too many ducks in Test cricket, but if it happens again, I’m certain I will react differently.”Clarke would not be drawn on the Harbhajan-Symonds controversy but said there was no room for racism in the game. “That’s why the ICC and the Indian board dealt with the stuff with spectators in India [during the ODI series in October].”He said he was not sure how Australia would have reacted if “we were in their shoes” but hoped that India would not boycott the series. “Fingers crossed I’m hoping they definitely stay for the rest of the Test series and the one-dayers because you look forward to every chance you get to play India. It’s up to BCCI and Anil and whoever is in charge.”Clarke said he was positive the Perth Test, which starts on Wednesday, would be played in the right spirit after the problems in Sydney. Australia will be pushing for their 17th consecutive Test victory, a triumph that would break the world record set by Steve Waugh’s Australians between 1999 and 2001.”The Australians are keen as mustard to get out here and win this 17th Test match in a row,” he said. “It’s a reminder about why we are the best cricket team in the world, what we do to achieve such highs in all forms of the game except Twenty20 at the moment. I think he [Ricky Ponting] will want to remind us about that and make sure that we keep playing it like that for a long time.”It might one day be Clarke who sets outs to guide an Australian side past the record again, as there has been much speculation that he is being groomed to eventually succeed Ponting as the Test captain. But Clarke said he was unsure how he would have handled the events of the past week had he been in Ponting’s shoes.”Full credit to the way he has stood tall,” Clarke said. “It’s been a hell of a ride in the last week. I don’t think many players have experienced what we’ve experienced. I think it’s opened everybody’s eyes as to how big this game of cricket is. You don’t know until you are sitting in the chair, I don’t know if I’d have handled it like Ricky; I am not sure how I would have approached it.”

Daniel Vettori is looking forward to bowling in tandem with Jeetan Patel © Getty Images

Daniel Vettori’s eyes might well have lit up when he saw the effect spin had in the first match at New Zealand’s group venue. Kenya’s three slow bowlers applied the brakes superbly during Canada’s innings at St Lucia on Wednesday and Vettori hopes the pitch will be just as helpful to him against England on Friday.”What we saw in the match between Kenya and Canada was that everything came to a standstill when the spinners came on,” Vettori told . “If you’ve got spin bowlers and you see that it is turning and slowing up you think it’s going to make an impact throughout the tournament, particularly in St Lucia.”Vettori said he was looking forward to his first spell in the battle of the Group C big guns. “I am pretty excited,” he said. “John Bracewell [the New Zealand coach] won’t leave me alone so I guess he is expecting me to do something out there.”The spin load will not be entirely on Vettori, however, with Jeetan Patel’s offspin also likely to play a key role in the Caribbean. “We seem to go in tandem quite well,” Vettori said. “Throughout this tournament we will play together for the majority of the time so we will hope it is to the New Zealand team’s advantage.”Vettori said it would also be interesting to see how Monty Panesar handled the conditions. “Monty’s one of the spinners around the world who’s willing to learn, willing to talk to you about anything,” he said.”If you’ve seen his development over the short time he’s played the game, he’s obviously taken a lot of advice from what people have said. I think he’s a great bowler with a huge future.”

Rahul Dravid said that the appeal against Inzamam-ul-Haq was not against the spirit of the game© AFP

Rahul Dravid has defended the decision to appeal against Inzamam-ul-Haq for obstructing the field in the first ODI at Peshawar while adding that the team has decided not to react to allegations of “unsportsmanlike” behaviour.The umpires upheld the Indians’ appeal after Inzamam fended off Suresh Raina’s throw from mid-off with his bat while still out of his crease. Inzamam had written in a syndicated column that the appeal made by the Indian fielders was “against the spirit of cricket” and added that dismissals like “obstructing the field”, “handled the ball” and “hit the ball twice” went against the spirit of the game. Terming the appeal “unsportsmanlike” he went to the extent of saying that it could have an “adverse affect on the relations between the two opponents”.Dravid read out a statement to the press, clearly suggesting that India had no intention of taking the issue up with the concerned authorities. “In my opinion, and in the opinion of the umpires and match referee, both of whom I have spoken to, the Indian team did not act in any manner that was unsportsmanlike or against the spirit of the game,” he said. “If it was the case, the umpires and match referee would have taken action. We had the option of taking up the issue with relevant authorities but keeping the relevance, importance and context of this series in mind we would like the issue to pass and put it to rest.”Moin Khan, a former Pakistan captain, also wrote in his column for Press Trust of India that Dravid’s decision to back the appeal was “deplorable”. He also said that it appeared as though India wanted to win “by hook or by crook” and Dravid should have realised what bearing his action would have on the series.

Sourav Ganguly during his Lancashire days. By his own admission, he has something to prove© Getty Images

Sourav Ganguly clearly has more pressing matters on his mind at present, but according to an interview in the launch edition of Spin magazine, which is published today, once the India-Pakistan Test and one-day series is out of the way, he is contemplating a return to county cricket.One can only assume that Lancashire is not among Ganguly’s favoured destinations, for he endured a memorably miserable stint there in the 2000 season, when he scored just 644 runs in 13 matches at an average of 33.89, and fell out with key members of the dressing-room on account of an attitude that has earned him the sobriquet “Lord Snooty” in some quarters. On one occasion in a floodlit one-day game at Old Trafford, he raised his bat towards the team balcony upon reaching a half-century, only to discover there was nobody there.And yet, that experience has not dented his enthusiasm for county cricket. “I’ll play anywhere and for anybody, I’m not fussed where, I just want to play a season of county cricket again,” he told Spin. “The last time I played county cricket, I didn’t do as well as I do in international cricket, so I’ve got something to prove.”For the time being, Ganguly, 32, is fully focused on Pakistan’s visit to India, their first for six years. The series, which will consist of three Tests and five one-day internationals, gets underway on March 4.Thereafter, he will be on the lookout for a vacancy on the county circuit, although at this late stage, it will probably have to be a short-term berth. According the The Times newspaper, Somerset were interested in the possibility of him being their captain for 2005, but eventually plumped for Graeme Smith.International call-ups are sure to impinge upon the overseas players that have already been named, so Ganguly was keen to emphasise that India’s commitments this coming season are light. “We have a one-day tournament in Sri Lanka for two weeks [in August], but apart from that I’m available all season.”

Fast bowlers have never been known to queue up for service in India, and expressions like “graveyard” and “nightmare” enter the fast men’s lexicon and tend to sum up the reputation the pitches enjoy in India. Shane Bond, despite the success that elevated him to international status in India two years ago, will probably be more than happy at home getting ready for the Christmas series against Pakistan.

Men on a mission, Ian Butler (left) and Daryl Tuffey, facing up to India’s finest

His absence has cost New Zealand their most valuable strike weapon, but it has provided an opportunity for others to stake their claim for what is one of the busiest nine months in New Zealand cricket history. Home series against Pakistan and South Africa and a tour to England are all in the offing once the India-Pakistan tour is completed at the end of November.That’s where Daryl Tuffey and Ian Butler step in for consideration as the new-ball attack, with Jacob Oram as first change and spinners Daniel Vettori and Paul Wiseman. The Northern Districts pace pair have bowled together at club, first-class and Test level, and are the frontrunners to do it again in India. There is the prospect of competition for the job from Michael Mason, untried at Test level, but a steady performer on the New Zealand domestic scene.Tuffey, 25, and Butler, 21, do have Test experience. Tuffey goes into the tour on 47 Test wickets at 26.85, while Butler, who last played in New Zealand’s Test series-winning victory in the West Indies midway through last year, has 14 wickets at 32.50. Both are under no illusions about what lies ahead. For Butler, it is a chance to get back into selectorial favour after missing out during the last home season, while Tuffey knows there will be some Indian batsmen gunning for him after the last series in New Zealand.”There will be a bit of vengeance on their minds,” said Tuffey, “as both sides bowled well on those tracks last summer – we just made the most of it. I’m looking forward to getting over there in their conditions. We’ll be much more of a potential match for them than perhaps they expect. We won’t be a walkover, that’s for certain. We’ll be looking to take matches into the fifth day and putting some pressure on there.”Butler, the relative tyro of the pair, had no qualms about the expected conditions. “Everyone has got to bowl on them. If you want to be a good bowler you have to be able to bowl in all conditions,” he said.Having suffered the disappointment of non-selection last summer, Butler had to go back to domestic cricket, but said it had been beneficial to his approach, especially in one-day cricket. “I knew my one-day record wasn’t good, but I managed to put in some good spells for Northern Districts, and it was good to win the State Shield with the side. We always enjoy it when our international players come back to the side, like Daryl or Daniel Vettori, and I wanted to help the side when I came back.”It was during the domestic one-day competition that Butler re-affirmed the potential that saw Sir Richard Hadlee and his fellow selectors pluck him from nowhere to be Bond’s replacement for the England series in the summer of 2001-02. While not as fast as Bond, yet, Butler has shown the capacity to learn and spent time this year at Gloucestershire where he came under the eye of incoming New Zealand coach John Bracewell.”It is disappointing that Shane won’t be in India, but I’m rapt that I’ve got a chance. With the amount of cricket we have to play in the near future, I want to make sure I put my hand up for consideration,” he said.Tuffey knows there has been a perception – real or imagined – that he has been a slow starter in seasons past, but given the build-up the New Zealanders had in Christchurch and then over eight days in Brisbane, he is sure he can hit the ground running in India. “It has been great to get back into the groove, and our build-up has been structured really well by Ashley Ross. We spent a lot of time in the nets, and so did the batters. We’ve been working to different work loads but the weather was great, the wickets were flat and they were similar conditions to what we will face in India, although probably not as hot as it will be.”Part of the intention of the workload development was to have the bowlers perform as well in their third stint of the day as in their first, and Tuffey felt that had been achieved. Equally, the pressure is on to bowl well in partnership with others in the attack, and Tuffey and Butler enjoy a natural association through their provincial ties.”I think we complement each other nicely, with him bowling his outswinger and me bowling them in,” Butler said. “In fact, it is not only Daryl and I, but you have to work with all the bowlers. You have to look at your over and not ease pressure achieved at the other end by bowling a loose ball that gets hit for four. Daryl helped me when I was in the Counties-Manukau squad at age 17. I looked up to him and what impressed me about him was that he was so consistent and he made the utmost of what he had.”He’s looking very good at the moment and is hitting the crease hard which helps his action,” Butler added. Both have been working on their strength during a winter at home this year, and Butler said it had allowed him to make the most of the time in Brisbane.”It was superb and getting outside gives you some confidence you can do the job. There is nothing like bowling on an outdoors length. The indoor length is completely different,” he said.Tuffey rates highly the developing maturity of Butler, who he says is “a bit like Shane. One of his weapons is pace, and that is a good foil for me. Accuracy is my biggest thing, and by doing that I can let them fire them down at the other end. I’ve got to know him pretty well, and he’s maturing into a fine cricketer, he’s learning all the time and is pretty receptive to advice. He’s been out of the team for a year and the hunger is there and with everyone looking to be involved for the whole season, he wants to be one of the first to put his hand up.”The New Zealanders fly out on Sunday for two months of tough cricket. But they are relishing the challenge against an Indian team preparing well for the big event, and their own big season.

Host Himachal Pradesh bowled out Jammu and Kashmir for 187 in theirfirst innings on the second day of North Zone Ranji tie at Mandi,thereby conceding a lead of 42 runs.Accurate bowling by Vishal Bhatia (4-55) and Shakti Singh (3-71)helped Himachal Pradesh contain the visitors to a moderate score.Jammu and Kashmir failed to capitalise fully on Himachal Pradesh’s lowfirst-innings total, and none of the batsmen could put up a sizeablescore. Abdul Qayoom was the highest scorer, making 32, followed byVikrant Taggar with 31.Resuming play at an overnight total of 21/1, Jammu and Kashmir lostKavaljit Singh at 43, followed by opener Raju Seema at 51.Himachal Pradesh, in reply, were 73 for two in the second innings,with both openers Nischal Gaur (18) and Sandeep Sharma (14) back inthe pavilion. Rajiv Nayyar, however, who was unbeaten on 41 in thefirst innings, was at the crease on 17, while Sangram Singh was notout on 22 at the close of the day.

Alasdair Gold has dropped a big claim about Tottenham Hotspur’s future after news emerged regarding Antonio Conte and Daniel Levy.

The Lowdown: Conte’s up-and-down tenure

Since the 52-year-old arrived at Hotspur Way, Spurs’ results have fluctuated dramatically, seemingly going from one extreme to another. For example, in the Italian’s last 14 games in charge, Spurs have won six and lost eight, with only two consecutive losses coming in a row – every other result has alternated between victory and defeat.

This isn’t the usual job spec for Conte, who most recently won the Serie A title with Inter Milan last year, and also the Premier League with Chelsea back in 2016/17.

Consequently, rumours have arisen about the Italian’s future in north London concerning whether or now he will remain as Tottenham manager next season.

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The Latest: Gold’s verdict

Taking to Twitter, Gold shared a corresponding article from football.london following Spurs’ 3-2 loss to Manchester United and claimed that Conte has now backed Levy into a corner by bluntly stating “I repeat I hope that we are in the same way” when discussing the club’s ambition.

The journalist tweeted: “My Tottenham talking points as there are aspects Conte is improving about this Spurs team but again it was an ‘every other’ game when his big players didn’t show. Conte has now backed Daniel Levy into a corner. How he reacts will define the coming years.”

The Verdict: Levy needs to back Conte

Gold revealed that Conte will be very clear where the blame lies if he leaves the club over the summer.

This follows the 52-year-old’s admission prior to Saturday’s clash with Man United when he stated that he wants to remain with the Lilywhites next year, but he will only do so if Levy and the club match his ambition in challenging for trophies.

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Considering the excitement among many Spurs fans when Conte was hired in November, if he were to depart this year, the supporters may feel that Levy would be to blame. Therefore, this seems a clever move by the manager, as the Spurs chief will be forced into making a huge decision either way.

In other news: Conte wants to reunite with this player by bringing him to Spurs

Mumbai 208 (Anand Singh 98, Jadhav 6-74) and 283 for 8 (Chitnis 99, Chavan 53*, Dole 5-56) beat Maharashtra 277 (Joshi 88*) and 213 (Shilakar 53, Chavan 6-43) by two wicketsMumbai claimed the CK Nayudu Trophy after defeating Maharashtra by two wickets in a close final of the all-India Under-22 tournament in Visakhapatnam.The four-day final was a fight to the finish, with Mumbai reaching their target of 283 with 2.2 mandatory overs to spare on the last day. The chase was led by 99 from Siddharth Chitnis, while Ankit Chavan followed up his six-wicket haul in Maharastra’s second innings with an unbeaten 53.It was a spirited effort from the Mumbai side which was captained by Sushant Marathe, who has played in the Ranji Trophy as well. They conceded a 69-run first-innings lead, but came back to dismiss Maharashtra for 213 in the second innings.Aditya Dole, who had taken all ten wickets in an innings during an earlier match against Rajasthan, threatened to wreck Mumbai’s chances with his 5 for 56. However, the Mumbai batsmen managed to string together useful partnerships, with Chitnis adding 76 with Marathe (48), 78 with Aditya Tare (42) and 46 with Chavan, who went on to steer his team to a win.Pradeep Sunderam, the Mumbai coach, hoped that his team’s success would motivate the city’s Ranji team. “When your bench strength excels, it is bound to motivate the seniors,” he told THE. “I hope the Ranji side will also live up to the expectations.” Sunderam was also pleased that the team had managed to win despite missing a few players who were required for the Ranji Trophy.

Scorecard

South Australia had Matthew Elliott to thank for their easy win © Getty Images

Matthew Elliott ensured South Australia cruised to a bonus-point victory that lifted them from the bottom of the FR Cup table at the Gabba. After dismissing Queensland for a below-par 177, the Redbacks were rarely troubled on the way to a seven-wicket win.Elliott, who added 89 off 115 balls, steadied the innings whenever a batsman was lost and he deserved to be unbeaten alongside Darren Lehmann (30) when the result was sealed in the 38th over. Ashley Noffke was Queensland’s most successful bowler with 2 for 37 on a disappointing night for the Bulls, who can still host the final.Jimmy Maher showed his strength at the top of the order with a half-century, but he was part of an awful collapse of 5 for 22 as they slipped from 1 for 84. Jason Gillespie picked up a couple of early wickets and Ryan Harris also made in-roads before Lehmann collected two soft dismissals. Aaron Nye chipped back to Lehmann on 8 and Michael Buchanan was stumped when he missed a legside full-toss.Chris Simpson’s 25 and Andy Bichel’s 21 off 15 balls, which included sixes off Dan Cullen and Gillespie, gave the Bulls a late push, but Shaun Tait ended the innings quickly. Tait, who could not find his range in his first spell, roared over the final stages to take four wickets.