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Rangers have arguably their biggest Premiership game of the season ahead of them tomorrow as the latest Old Firm derby is set to take place at Ibrox.

As things stand, the Gers are currently three points behind their Glasgow arch-rivals at the top of the league table, making victory imperative if they are to strengthen their hopes of retaining the title.

The Ibrox outfit were dealt an injury blow after Giovanni van Bronckhorst revealed that they will be without Alfredo Morelos for the next few weeks as a result of a thigh injury he picked up while on international duty with Colombia.

In addition to this direct blow, it seems as though the Dutchman and his side have been dealt another big setback ahead of tomorrow’s clash.

However, rather than it being an injury issue with one of their players, it seems to be the fitness of one of Celtic’s key players which could land a blow on Rangers’ chances of securing a much-needed victory.

What’s the news?

After being out of action since December with a hamstring injury, Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi will be available to feature in Sunday’s clash according to Ange Postecoglou.

Taking into account how the Japan international has scored 16 goals and provided five assists in 26 appearances for the Hoops since his arrival from Vissel Kobe last stummer, it’s safe to say that the attacker has been a solid addition to Celtic’s ranks and a real attacking threat for them, much to the annoyance of Rangers fans.

Also, to further highlight the 27-year-old’s attacking talent, he currently has the third-highest shot-on-target average (54.8%) out of any player in the Premiership this season, showing how deadly he is in front of goal.

Therefore, having him back available for selection will surely be a massive boost for the Hoops and a big blow for the Gers, especially if he is able to get on the pitch and on the scoresheet.

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Moving forward, Rangers will have to accept this bad news and make sure they do enough to snuff out the Japanese forward and Celtic’s other attacking players to make sure their arch-rivals don’t open a six-point gap at the top of the table.

In other news – McLeish howler: Rangers had a nightmare on “outstanding” 362-goal “special player”

ScorecardMumbai Champs turned in yet another disappointing performance to allow Chennai Superstars to register a facile win at Panchkula in Chandigarh. T Kumaran grabbed a four-wicket haul to restrict Champs to 123, a total that was never going to threaten the Superstars, who romped home by nine wickets with 44 balls to spare.G Vignesh chose the occasion to equal Chris Cairns’ tournament record for the fastest fifty with a 17-ball effort and picked up the Man-of-the-Match award.Kumaran struck in the fifth over to dismiss the opener Saman Jayantha, after which wickets continued to fall at regular intervals. That Dhiraj Jhadav’s 28 was the highest score of the innings reflects the Champs’ woes.The chase was over in a hurry after Vignesh exploded at the start with a 30-ball 61 that featured eight hits to the boundary and three over it. Michael Kasprowicz had a forgettable day, leaking 20 runs in his solitary over. Ian Harvey remained unbeaten on a 30-ball 31, while R Sathish hastened the end with a 17-ball 29.

After taking yesterday off, India trained hard in the afternoon heat of Mirpur © AFP

Things have changed a lot since India last visited Bangladesh. Rahul Dravid, after a tough practice session today, said as much. “Bangladesh have improved a lot since last time. Their team has changed a lot. You can see they are playing some really good cricket. We are aware of that and expect a stiffer challenge than the last time.”India had become the first team to lose an ODI to Bangladesh in Bangladesh then. They have beaten Australia, Sri Lanka, India again, and South Africa in one-dayers and come within three wickets of beating Australia in a Test match too.The Indian team themselves wear a different look. They are without a coach; they have a cricketing manager instead. For the first time they are touring with a bowling coach and a fielding coach. There is no Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, or Harbhajan Singh in the team. Instead, looking to make debuts are Manoj Tiwary and Piyush Chawla. Dravid praised both of them on the way they have performed in domestic cricket and said they had earned the opportunity. “It’s not only this series, selectors are investing in these players for the long-term future. They are exciting talents and good players,” Dravid said.

Dravid: It’s going to be challenging, especially for the bowlers. But the conditions are same for both the teams. Kolkata camp has been good for us in that regard.

Following the shoulder injury to Manoj Tiwary, another possible injury was evaded when a Sreesanth beamer hit Ramesh Powar’s left glove at the nets. Powar went off for a moment, but came back to bat and field without any obvious discomfort.After having taken yesterday off, India trained hard today in the afternoon heat of Mirpur. The first look of the ground conditions – what with temperatures hovering around 35 degree Celsius through the day and a high humidity – has suggested this is going to be a tough tour physically. “It’s going to be challenging, especially for the bowlers,” Dravid said, “But the conditions are same for both the teams. Kolkata camp has been good for us in that regard.”The nets, otherwise, followed India’s normal routine of late – two batsmen go out on two simultaneous wickets; pace bowlers bowl on one and spinners on the other. The spinners’ net is observed by Ravi Shastri, the pacers’ by Venkatesh Prasad. The batsmen interchange when they are done with one type of bowlers. Two players, at the same time, practice catches with Robin Singh and Greg King.With a day to go before the first one-dayer, India haven’t zeroed in on any particular combination. “Any 11 out of the 15 can play,” Dravid said, “We are going to play according to the conditions; we are pretty clear we are going to be putting the best team possible. If it means some have to sit out, they will sit out.”

‘Today the priority is money and it is really sad because it is destroying West Indies cricket’ – Richie Richardson © Getty Images

Richie Richardson and Andy Roberts, former players, have hit out at the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) for its stance on negotiating a contract for retainer fees with the regional board.Richardson said WIPA was pushing for too much money while Andy Roberts said the players’ association has been dragging its feet in meeting with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to discuss the contract. The WICB, after negotiations went beyond their first deadline of last Friday, have now proposed a further meeting with WIPA tomorrow with a new deadline of May 3 for the players to sign its offer for retainer contracts.Richardson said the players are failing to understand the plight of the regional game. “It is really sad the state of affairs of West Indies cricket at this present time,” Richardson told a local radio station yesterday. “We are all aware of what we are going through and rather than us getting together and trying to restore our cricket as quickly as possible we continue to fight and argue for things that should not be a priority in West Indies cricket.”Cricket is bigger than the players. The board and I think that in the interest of the fans and West Indies cricket we have got to really quickly sort out our problems and get on with playing and get the game going, get the fans happy and try and restore our cricket.”We are right down at the bottom of the table and yet our players are demanding big money. I don’t like to compare time but when we played we fought for a lot of things. We fought for better treatment of the players, for improvement in payments and things like that. If we were to adopt the same attitude that the players were adopting today we would have never gone out on the field of play because there was hardly any money.”But our priority was to go out there and play for West Indies, to go out there and represent the millions of fans who depend on us to keep them uplifted throughout their daily lives. Today the priority is money and it is really sad because it is destroying West Indies cricket.”I think the board needs to be a bit stronger. At the end of the day the board can only offer what it’s capable of offering to the players,” Richardson added. “Just take it or leave it. If they don’t want to go out there and play cricket I’m sure there are a number of players who want to go out and play. We’re not winning anything so you might as well go out there and invest in young players who want to go out there and play for their country and groom them and maybe in five, 10 years we will have a much better team.”Roberts, a former player and coach, said both WICB and WIPA should share the blame for the impasse, which has been raising its ugly head repeatedly.”It seems as though this is a problem we are seeing every tour West Indies have embarked on within the last year or so, whether it’s a home series or away series,” Roberts said. “I’m not casting the blame entirely on WICB and I’m not casting the blame entirely on WIPA. But I believe the CEO for WIPA has some ulterior motives because I cannot see every time you wait until the final hour before you decide to come to the bargaining table. If there’s any hiccup we are back to square one again. We have to find a team if the players decide that they are not signing any contract on Tuesday. Where do you find the top players from?Roberts also castigated the WICB. The players are to blame but the board has contributed to the problem. Check some of the salaries of some of the administrators.”

Sourav Ganguly’s injury will put stand-in captain Rahul Dravid squarely in the spotlight © AFP

More than usual, the spotlight at Mohali will be on Rahul Dravid. An outstanding cricketer in the form of his – or anyone’s – life, he will now captain in a Test match, not an easy task, and never so in India. “It’s yet to sink in; I was only told five minutes back,” was his first reaction.Instantly, typically, Dravid proved accommodating to the media’s needs. “Iwish I could give you the playing XI right now,” he said, “but I’ve only justbeen told. I need to sit down with John Wright and Syed Kirmani. But if wecan arrange something for later in the evening, I’d be happy to give you theXI.”Throughout his press conference Dravid displayed the equanimity and intelligence that have marked him always. He would not be overtly aggressive or bitingly sarcastic, as Sourav Ganguly might (most often to his advantage), but would still make his point.He was asked about the pitches, and he managed to balance everything in hisanswer. By agreeing that the pitch at Ahmedabad was too dead, he sent theright message to the Indian board. By adding that it was hard to preparepitches and that, like bats, perhaps one out of 10 work out perfectly, heshowed himself to be empathetic to the ground realities that an Indiancurator must work with. By saying that he would rather India win ongood wickets than on vicious turners to avenge for the grass that New Zealand gave them last year, he showed himself to not be petty. And, by pointing out that, dead pitches or not, New Zealand haven’t been able to take 10 wickets in an innings all tour, be it versus India, India A or the Board President’s XI, he was able to send a signal to the opposing team.But still, the greatest balancing act Dravid will have to perform is not while answering questions. It will be to ensure that somehow he is able to lead and yet continue to bat in this dream-like trance that he has been in for the past 18 months, even though, as he says, “it’s only one match.” With interest, the nation will watch him and commentators dissect him, for it is virtually inevitable that he will be given the job on a longer term before his career is out.Dravid is at his pinnacle. He, till date, has scored 15 Test centuries (and four 90s). Out of these 15, nine have been made overseas; six of them have been made in the last year-and-a-half. Out of these 15, India have lost only once. Nobody in contemporary cricket with those many or more hundreds can claim this – not Matthew Hayden, not Ricky Ponting, both of whom have played for Australiain their – and Australia’s – pomp. It is a staggering statistic. If these were Ganguly’s statistics, he would have probably told us by now.”I’ll only know what it’s like when I go through it,” Dravid said, when asked if this might be a burden he does not at the moment need. A comparison with Michael Vaughan could be instructive here. Like Vaughan, Dravid was handed the job unexpectedly in a golden run. Vaughan, like Dravid, had a good one-day record as captain. (Dravid has won three of the four ODIs he has led in.) Vaughan, like Dravid, though to a larger degree, was a technically correct batsman who expressed himself with more and more strokes in time. Vaughan scored a matchsaving hundred the last time he wasn’t captain, and was then unable to cross 33 in nine Test innings since.True, it’s only one match, but it will still be interesting to see how Dravid does. “I will not take the job lightly,” he said. We didn’t need to be be assured of that.

Jacques Kallis: suffering from flu © Getty Images

Jacques Kallis is a slight fitness worry for South Africa as they prepare for the second one-day international against West Indies at Port Elizabeth. Kallis, who scored his fifth century in as many matches during the opening fixture at Cape Town, has been suffering from flu but expects to be passed fit.”Jacques went to the doctor and he’s been given some medicine,” said South Africa’s captain, Graeme Smith. “He’ll be able to put his feet up and he’ll be okay for tomorrow’s game.” But even without Kallis, South Africa are overwhelming favourites for the match, after bundling West Indies out for their lowest ODI total of 54 at Newlands, en route to a thumping 209-run victory.”We came into the match thinking we had our best XI, and seven hours later, we were devastated,” said Brian Lara, the West Indies captain. “But it would be bad thinking to make major changes,” he added. “The defeat was one of those things that can happen in cricket.”One change that might be on the cards is a first cap for the Barbadian opener, Kurt Wilkinson. But Lara’s words suggest that he will have to wait his turn.South Africa (probable) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 Boeta Dippenaar, 5 Jacques Rudolph, 6 Mark Boucher (wk), 7 Lance Klusener, 8 Robin Peterson, 9 Shaun Pollock, 10 Andre Nel, 11 Makhaya Ntini.West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 3 Brian Lara (capt), 4 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 5 Dwayne Smith, 6 Ricardo Powell, 7 Ridley Jacobs, 8 Vasbert Drakes, 9 Ryan Hurley, 10 Merv Dillon, 11 Corey Collymore.

SYDNEY, Jan 5 AAP – Six hours of rehabilitation work every day for the last 21 days have paid off for Shane Warne.His bowling arm is no longer in a sling and his World Cup prospects are no longer in doubt.Australia’s great leg spinner has reaped such great rewards from an arduous recovery program for his dislocated shoulder that he expects to be on the field again by the end of the month.He might even play an international tri-series game for Australia.But even if Warne doesn’t appear in a full-fledged international before the Australians leave for the World Cup in South Africa on January 30, the 33-year-old seems certain to test his arm under match conditions for Victoria or a grade side in Melbourne.”It all depends on how it progresses in the next week,” Warne said at the SCG nets today.”If the next week goes okay, if it goes as well as last week, then I’ll definitely play a game before we go to the World Cup.”I don’t know whether it will be for Victoria or in club cricket or for Australia or whatever – I’d have to play for Victoria first or club cricket to get some confidence first before playing in an international.”Warne, man of the match in Australia’s thumping victory over Pakistan in the last World Cup final, has been working feverishly on his shoulder with team physiotherapist Errol Alcott and fitness coach Jock Campbell since the dislocation at the MCG on December 15.He’s so vital to Australia’s World Cup title defence that coach John Buchanan has indicated he will be given until halfway through the two-month tournament to recover.”I’ve done the work, so I’m glad I’ve improved,” said Warne.”I’ve worked very hard for six hours a day – two hours of fitness with Jock and four hours with Hooter (Alcott).”I’ve been putting in so it’s good to see some progress – it’s all going well, really well. Hopefully everything will be sweet.”Australia’s first match at the World Cup is against Pakistan on February 11 at the Wanderers, Johannesburg.Assuming Australia breezes through the first round stage of pool games, the real business of the Super Sixes will start on March 7.Warne had his first tentative bowl in the SCG nets on Friday, delivering about seven overs without discomfort.

After squaring the two Test series at Harare on June 18, a confidentZimbabwe team looks forward to a competitive triangular one-dayseries. The Coca Cola Cup pits India, Zimbabwe and West Indies againsteach other. The West Indies team, coming off a bit of a slump, havestarted off well, winning the first warm up game against the CFXAcademy by six runs. The skipper of the resurgent Caribbean side CarlHooper stated emphatically in the media that they had specific plansthat would enable them to tackle the threats that their two opponentsposed.Meanwhile, hosts Zimbabwe on Tuesday named a 13-member squad for thefirst clash of the tourney, between the hosts and West Indies on June23. Mluleki Nkala is the only change from the side that beat India inthe second Test. He replaces injured fast bowler Brighton Watambwa.Andy Flower who dislocated his thumb in the Test match is expected tobe fit in time for the first match. The Zimbabwe Cricket Union havedecided to play it safe and announced that promising young stumperTatenda Taibu would don the gloves if Flower was ruled medicallyunfit.Dirk Viljoen and David Mutendera, who were on the fringe of selectionfor the Tests have been named 12th and 13th men respectively.The team: Heath Streak (Captain), Guy Whittall (Vice-Captain), AndyBlignaut, Alistair Campbell, Stuart Carlisle, Dion Ebrahim, AndrewFlower, Grant Flower, Travis Friend, Brian Murphy, Mluleki Nkala, DirkViljoen (12th man), David Mutendera (13th man)Babu Meman (Manager), Carl Rackemann (Coach), Amato Machikicho(Physiotherapist), Malcolm Jarvis (Fitness Trainer)

Leeds have recently been linked with Nottingham Forest star Brennan Johnson, and his performance against Blackpool this weekend will certainly have caught Victor Orta’s eye.

This forms part of our Transfer Watch series, where we react to a performance from a current transfer target.

The Lowdown: Orta confirms talks

The Whites are keen on signing the Wales international in the summer, with Johnson in no rush to extend his current Forest contract. [Football Insider]

Leeds chief Orta confirmed in the week that he tried to bring Johnson to the club when he was just 16 years of age. He still appears to be on the club’s radar ahead of Jesse Marsch’s first full season in charge and once again starred for Steve Cooper on the weekend.

The Latest: Impressive display

Forest put in an impressive display at Bloomfield Road on Saturday lunchtime, with Johnson the star of the show, scoring twice and registering an assist in a 4-1 win.

He recorded a remarkable SofaScore match rating of 9.1/10 in his 66-minute display and also registered two key passes and completed two dribbles.

Johnson even contributed defensively by making a clearance and an interception as Forest continued their push for a Championship play-off place.

The Verdict: Sign

You’d expect that Johnson’s display would have caught Orta’s eye, and should Forest remain in the second tier, a move for the attacker this summer should be a no brainer.

Johnson has played all across the attacking line this season, contributing to 20 goals in all competitions. His versatility and breakthrough campaign at the City Ground has been impressive, and with Raphinha heavily linked with a move to Barcelona, Johnson could be the next gem signed by Orta.

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Leeds’ squad could also do with bolstering even if Raphinha stays, so bringing in Johnson could be an extremely shrewd move, providing Forest fall short in their bid to reach the Premier League.

In other news: Leeds may now lose another star alongside Raphinha and Phillips; he stunned a club employee. 

Scorecard

	Bermuda were bowled out for a paltry 13 © ICC

Bermuda’s women carved an unwanted niche in the international record books with one of the most abject performances in the game’s history. In their opening match of the World Cup Qualifiers at Stellenbosch University, they were bowled out for 13 and then South Africa took only four balls to sweep to a ten-wicket win.Bermuda’s men haven’t made much of a positive impact in the game either – eleven months ago, they conceded 413 for 5 against India in the World Cup and lost by 257 runs, the biggest margin in one-day history. But their women have just lowered the bar by several notches.They crawled to 7 for 2 after ten overs, but that represented the high-water mark. By the time drinks were taken after 15.5 overs they were 13 for 7 and had lost their 42-year-old captain, Linda Mienzer, for a determined 1 off 48 deliveries. Such was the confusion that when play resumed the batsmen returned to the wrong ends.The last three wickets failed to add to the score as Sunette Loubser finished with 6 for 3, including 5 for 1 in 12 balls.Terry-Lynn Paynter opened Bermuda’s attack but struggled to find the cut strip, conceding nine wides and a no-ball. Olivia Anderson did manage to reach one, which she dispatched for four.The statistics of the match are mindboggling. Eight Bermudans failed to get off the mark, and the three that did only managed a single each. Ten of the runs that helped make up their meagre score were extras – 71%. South Africa’s score of 15 for 0 was also made up of ten extras – nine wides and a no-ball. Anderson scored 50% of the runs scored off the bat in the match, and 80% of her side’s runs.Unfortunately for South Africa, but mercifully for the record-books, Bermuda’s debacle does not count towards the official statistics because they are ranked outside the world’s top ten countries. “I am disappointed that today’s stats don’t count for nothing,” said Loubser, “but I would say it was a team effort to win the opening match of the tournament.Bermuda’s captain, Mienzer, tried desperately to put a positive gloss on the performance. “I am extremely proud and our team is very proud to be here,” she said. “Just a year and a half ago there was no women’s programme so we went to Canada and qualified to come here which is an achievement in itself. In terms of women’s cricket in Bermuda, it has come a long way but we still have a long way to go.”South Africa’s next match is against equally unheralded opponents, Papua New Guinea, on Tuesday. “We are taking one match at a time and we are happy that we are off to a good start,” said Loubser. “It should augur well for the whole tournament. We don’t know anything about our next opponents, but that doesn’t mean we should rest on our laurels. We should be ready for anything.”