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West Ham United have been dealt a major injury blow regarding Jarrod Bowen ahead of their upcoming Europa League fixture.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to David Ornstein’s recent report for The Athletic, in which the journalist revealed that, after picking up a heel injury in the 1-0 defeat to Liverpool last weekend, the right-winger now looks set to miss out on Thursday evening’s trip to Sevilla for the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 clash, as well as the weekend’s fixture against Aston Villa.

Regarding the 25-year-old’s knock, Ornstein writes: “David Moyes’ side could be without him for a handful of games after the 25-year-old picked up a heel injury in the defeat at Liverpool. Although the club yesterday confirmed that he had suffered no significant damage, this week’s Europa League trip to Sevilla and the weekend’s home game against Aston Villa are likely to come too soon.”

Hammers will be seething

Considering just how impressive Bowen has been for West Ham in the current campaign, the news that the winger now looks as if he will be unavailable for what is undoubtedly the club’s biggest game of the season is sure to have left the London Stadium faithful seething.

Indeed, over his 28 Premier League appearances this term, the £58m-rated forward has been in spectacular form for the Hammers, scoring eight goals, registering eight assists and creating eight big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.4 shots and making 1.3 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the £96k-per-week attacker average an extremely admirable SofaScore match rating of 7.09, ranking him as David Moyes’ second-best performer in the top flight of English football.

As such, with a trip to the side who currently occupy second place in the LaLiga table already having been something of a daunting task, the fact that the Irons will now have to face Julen Lopetegui’s outfit without both their leading goalscorer and assist-maker in all competitions this season is sure to put a major dent in West Ham’s chances of securing a positive result at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium.

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Indeed, the unavailability of Bowen not only comes as a huge blow to the Hammers’ hopes of progressing to the next round of the competition, but it also shines further light on the club’s failure to bring in attacking reinforcements in the January transfer window.

In other news: £14.5m wasted: Pellegrini’s £75k-p/w “shocker” has been rinsing West Ham for 191 weeks

Kenya 302 and 161 for 2 (Ouma 63, D Obuya 70, C Obuya 14*) beat Bermuda 281 (Hemp 97, Varaiya 5-56) and 178 (Hemp 68*, Varaiya 5-77) by 8 wickets
ScorecardKenya knocked off the final 79 runs to beat Bermuda in their Intercontinental Cup match at the Nairobi Gymkhana, easing to an eight-wicket win.Maurice Ouma brought up a slick fifty from 49 balls, but he couldn’t replicate the blistering strokeplay of yesterday afternoon, scooping Malachi Jones straight to mid-off for 63.But David Obuya, the slower of the two yesterday, opened his shoulders – clubbing Jones over long-on before dispatching Rodney Trott over the same boundary for six. Trott got his man, however, when Obuya stepped to the leg-side and was beaten by a quicker delivery. Obuya’s namesake, Collins, together with Tony Suji knocked off the required runs with the minimum of fuss to inflict yet another defeat on Bermuda.Kenya now top the Intercontinental Cup table with 40 points, six ahead of Netherlands. Bermuda, though, have won just a single game on their forgettable tour of Kenya, beating Uganda in their opening match. They now travel to Sharjah to face UAE on November 8.

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	Draw	Aban	Pts
Kenya	2	2	0	0	0	0	40
Netherlands	3	2	1	0	0	0	34
Ireland	2	1	0	0	1	0	29
Canada	4	1	3	0	0	0	26
Scotland	3	1	0	0	2	0	26
Namibia	1	1	0	0	0	0	20
U.A.E.	2	0	1	0	1	0	3
Bermuda	3	0	3	0	0	0	0

Sourav Ganguly chipped in with both bat at ball © Cricinfo Ltd

Andhra v Haryana third day update

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Joginder Sharma picked up 7 for 47 – including a hat-trick to skittle out the tail – as Haryana dismissed Andhra for 168 and set themselves 242 to win at Rohtak.
A comprehensive bowling performance dismissed Haryana for 129 and gave Andhra the second day’s honours at the Bansi Lal Stadium in Rohtak. Syed Sahabuddin grabbed three wickets and Chandramouli Prasad , Gnaneswara Rao and D Kalyankrishna two apiece to run riot over a hapless Haryana, whose top and middle orders came a cropper after a good display with the ball on day one.Kalyankrishna, Prasad and Rao combined to nip out the top order, while Sahabuddin caused trouble down the order. Haryana’s top-scorers were Sumit Sharma, the opener, and Amit Mishra, the legspinning captain, with 27. Haryana came back well to reduce Andhra to 67 for 3 at the close, but with a 140-run lead and Haryana’s dismal first innings as evidence, Andhra were in the driving seat.
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Ranadeb Bose, Bengal’s opening bowler, picked up four wickets to reduce Punjab to 157 before Bengal took a 111-run lead at stumps on the second day of their Ranji Trophy clash at Mohali. Sourav Ganguly, Bengal’s captain, made amends for his first-innings 6 with a 65-ball 43 but fell nine overs before the close of the day as Punjab grabbed four wickets.Ravneet Ricky, the Punjab opener, resumed the day on 33 and progressed to 47 when Ganguly dismissed him leg before, his third wicket of the innings. Eklak Ahmid, the debutant partner to Bose, picked up two wickets to complement Bose’s strikes as Punjab took a slender 1-run lead. Bengal’s second innings didn’t get off smoothly as L Ablash quickly grabbed three wickets. Ganguly and Abhishek Jhunjhunwala (33 not out) added 70 before Gagandeep Singh returned to trap Ganguly leg before.
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Ravikant Shukla and Jyoti Prakash Yadav added 116 for the fifth wicket as Uttar Pradesh came within 83 runs of Saurashtra’s first-innings 342 at the Ordinance Equipment Factory Ground at Kanpur. A top-order wobble had left UP at 143 for 4 but a rookie-veteran combination buckled down to add some shine to the innings. Shukla was 11 short of a maiden first-class hundred at stumps. For Saurashtra, Pratik Mehta, overnight on 38, progressed to his maiden first-class half-century and was unbeaten on 63. Shalabh Srivastava, the medium-fast bowler, picked up 4 for 89 and Rudra Pratap Singh ended with 3 for 90.
ScorecardBaroda gained the upper hand by running away to a 172-run lead and prised out four quick wickets before Karnataka rallied through an 84-run partnership between Deepak Chougule and Thilak Naidu to stay afloat in the contest. Baroda were lifted by Ketan Panchal’s 72. The left-handed batsman making his debut, was involved in a 54-run partnership with Yousuf Pathan (33) and guided the lower middle order to boost Baroda to a healthy score. Robin Uthappa, who failed in the first innings, started off the Karnataka reply in a brisk fashion with a 30-ball 34 but failed to capitalise the good start. Both he and Bharat Chipli, his fellow opener, fell to the guile of Rajesh Powar, the left-arm spinner, who ended the day with three wickets.
ScorecardRajasthan established a stranglehold by bowling out Gujarat for 128 before Gagan Khoda extended the lead with an unbeaten 68. All the bowlers shared the spoils as Gujarat, overnight on 43 for 2, crumbled to 128. Only Nilesh Modi, the opener, offered any semblance of fight with a patient 135-ball 30. Khoda held Rajasthan together in their second innings, chugging alongmerrily with nine fours and a six to lift the side to a commanding position by the end of the second day.
Scorecard
Overnight rain prevented a single ball from being bowled on the second day at the Chatrapati Shivaji Stadium in Karad. Anirudh Singh, Hyderabad’s No. 3 batsman, was unbeaten on 100, his third first-class hundred.

Bennett King cannot afford two further results like the first Test, says Cozier © Getty Images

He has had no control over the sponsorship dispute between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) that coincided with his appointment. He is not to blame for the open split it caused in the team or the consequent use of 32 different players in the year he has been in charge. He cannot take catches, bowl properly or prevent his tailend trying to swipe Test cricket’s leading wicket-taker into the stands or shamelessly backing away from pace bowling. He is powerless to prevent supposedly elite umpires making elementary errors to despatch his two premier batsmen. But after the crushing loss to Australia in the first Test in his home town of Brisbane and on the famous Gabba where he coached Queensland to three inter-state championships early in the decade, Bennett King, the West Indies coach, confronts the most pressing challenge in his new post.More than any of his seven predecessors, King, the Australian who is the West Indies’ first foreign coach, has been given all but absolute authority to produce results and end the tailspin that has carried the team to the lower reaches of international cricket. Two Tests in the current series remain over the next three weeks, in Hobart and Adelaide, and similar results to Brisbane will pose significant questions for King. Even before he eventually signed his three-year contract, Teddy Griffith, then WICB president, publicly stated that the buck would stop with the new coach, whoever he happened to be.Under a new team structure, Griffith revealed, the head coach would not only be a member of the selection panel but would also have the casting vote. He would also be “the principal authority”, in consultation with the captain, in the choice of the final XI. His control, said Griffith, extended even further. While the captain would lead the team on the field, the coach would carry out the strategy and tactics as determined in collaboration with the captain. “It follows, therefore, that he will be accountable for the performance of the team and will be judged accordingly in relation to his contract.”No such powers extended to the West Indians who preceded King, from Rohan Kanhai to Gus Logie via Andy Roberts, Clive Lloyd (briefly), Malcolm Marshall, Viv Richards and Roger Harper. In the convoluted circumstances that he has had to deal with, it has been impossible to appropriately assess how effective King and his all-Australian support staff of David Moore, the assistant coach, Stephen Partridge, the physiotherapist, and Bruce Cavanaugh, the fitness coordinator have been. They have certainly pressed the players – whoever they have been – with training and practice. Almost to a man, the players have praised King’s methods and his man-management. The first-hand evidence is irrefutable. Yet the results under him have been confusing.After Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwayne Bravo and others with personal contracts with Cable and Wireless were disqualified from the first home Test against South Africa last April and Brian Lara withdrew from the team and captaincy in solidarity, the West Indies so dominated the match they could enforce the follow-on and might have won but for a couple of missed catches. Back to full strength on the return of the Cable and Wireless group, they were immediately beaten by South Africa in the next two Tests and in all eight one-day internationals, against South Africa and Pakistan, an unprecedented whitewash in a home series.Stripped over the same ridiculous row about tour contracts of ten of the originally-chosen 13 for the series in Sri Lanka in July and August, King had to devise urgent contingency plans for the team of ill-prepared, novice replacements. They played above themselves, in spite of predictable defeats in the two Tests, and ended the losing ODI streak with victory over Sri Lanka in the triangular Indian Oil Cup.Although the best players were again available, and picked, for the current tour of Australia, there was justifiable concern over whether unity could be maintained. Lara’s refusal to carry the West Indies flag at the ICC awards function during the Super Series in Melbourne or represent the West Indies at the parallel annual Test captains’ conference in Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s absence was an early warning sign that all was still not well. The energetic and enthusiastic build-up to the Brisbane Test, on and off the field, eased such worries. The players seemed committed and keen and a dominant performance that was within one wicket of earning victory over a strong Queensland was confirmation.Such optimism was shattered within a day and a half of the Test. The assault by Shane Warne, Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken on the second morning weakened resolve and umpire Ian Howell’s harsh lbw verdict against Lara smashed it. The subsequent capitulation was swift, complete and utterly humiliating.If for nothing else, King was culpable in the decision to exclude Jermaine Lawson, Corey Collymore and Fidel Edwards from the lead-up match against Queensland – it was better, he said, to “monitor their workload in the nets” – and include them in the Test. It took no more than an over to realise that Lawson, who had not bowled in a match since Sri Lanka in August while he had a minor operation on his ankle, was under prepared. Even before the toss was spun, it was obvious that the selection of four fast bowlers meant a potential hat-trick once seven wickets were down.King’s task over the week prior to the second Test is to lift morale by uniting the team and convincing them that the Gabba was an aberration. He might remind them of England’s recovery after their heavy loss by 239 runs in the first Test in the recent Ashes series and the Lara-led phenomenon of 1999 in the Caribbean that transformed an all-out for 51 in the first Test and defeat by 312 runs into victories in the next two.The West Indies, and King, cannot afford two further results like the first.

Daryl Tuffey will be hoping for no slip-ups as he returns for New Zealand© Getty Images

There were no surprises in the New Zealand squad for the first three games of the one-day international series against Sri Lanka, which starts at Eden Park on Boxing Day.Daryl Tuffey completed an intensive rehabilitation with a team from the New Zealand Cricket High Performance Centre and haproved his fitness with 11 wickets in two first-class matches. Tuffey returned in place of the injured Chris Harris while Andre Adams and Craig McMillan were left out from the side that toured Australia.”Daryl has been watched and monitored very closely by one of the selectors and the High Performance Centre staff, and they should be congratulated for the work they have done to get him back to match fitness,” John Bracewell, the coach, said. “When he’s got it, he’s been Mr Consistent in our side.”A series of injuries frustrated Tuffey for the past nine months, but Bracewell said his recovery included a “vast improvement to his technique”. He has recovered his ball presentation at the crease, which suffered as a result of injured knees.Bracewell cleared up Ian Butler’s role, saying that he provided cover and had developed “some pretty special skills when bowling at the death, especially his slower ball”. The death-bowling situation has been helped with Chris Cairns volunteering to be included in the end-of-innings mix.Bracewell said he was looking forward to the series, which has added interest after John Dyson, the Sri Lanka coach, said his team was the mentally toughest only behind Australia. A decision on who will open with Stephen Fleming will depend on the conditions, with Mathew Sinclair expected to be preferred to Nathan Astle if the pitch favours swing and seam.Ross Dykes, the selector, will continue as team manager.New Zealand squad Stephen Fleming (capt), Nathan Astle, Ian Butler, Chris Cairns, Brendon McCullum (wk), Hamish Marshall, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Mathew Sinclair, Scott Styris, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori.

New Zealand will have a new cricket coach next season.Incumbent coach Denis Aberhart has withdrawn from the application process which would have either confirmed his hold on the position, or replaced him.Aberhart, coach of New Zealand since August 2001, said he is going to pursue other opportunities away from cricket. He was headmaster of a Christchurch private school before taking up the coaching position.”I was not guaranteed a further term with New Zealand Cricket and another exciting opportunity presented itself and is likely to be confirmed later in the week,” he said.New Zealand Cricket’s chief executive Martin Snedden said Aberhart had made a significant contribution to the New Zealand side.”The team is No 3 in Test cricket and No 7 in ODI cricket. The team has had some notable successes during Denis’ two years as coach including excellent team performances in Australia during the2001-02 tour, the home ODI and Test series wins against India last season, our first Test series win in the West Indies and the recent tri-series win in Sri Lanka. The selection process for the coach’s position is continuing and the successful candidate is likely to be announced next week,” Snedden said.During Aberhart’s time as coach, Shane Bond has shot onto the world scene as a rated fast bowler, Nathan Astle gained the fastest double century, off balls faced, in Test history, left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori regained his best touches after back troubles and Daryl Tuffey, Jacob Oram and Scott Styris have emerged as genuine competitors on the international stage.And possibly most important of all in the longer-term New Zealand future, Stephen Fleming has been able to lift his batting towards the heights he has already achieved as a captain.Collectively, these have been some of the most significant developments in New Zealand’s recent cricket history and Aberhart can reflect on having played a big part in developing the atmosphere allowing opportunities to be taken by his players.

Former WP B allrounder Alfonso Thomas claimed 6 for 20 to send Nashua WP reeling on the second day of their Supersport Series match against North West in Potchefstroom on Saturday.WP never recovered from losing 4 wicket for 27 as West Indian Garth Roe did the initial damage on a seaming pitch. Then former Tygerberg all rounder Thomas ran through the rest of the Province batting card. Only Neil Johnson, with an aggressive 86, offered any resistance as WP was dismissed for a paltry 180 in reply to North West first innings of 297. With a healthy first innings lead of 117 North West reached 62 for one in their second knock before bad lead put a premature end to the days play with Paul Adams claiming the only wicket to fall.Play resumes at 09H30 on Sunday.

Wolves centre-back Max Kilman could sign a new-and-improved deal with the club at the end of the season, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

The Lowdown: Kilman excelling this season

Bruno Lage’s side have largely impressed this season despite a dip in recent weeks, with numerous players shining throughout the team.

Kilman has surely been one of Wolves’ strongest performers, starting 27 Premier League games and being described as ‘outstanding’ by team-mate Conor Coady.

While the 24-year-old’s current deal doesn’t expire until the summer of 2026, it could be that he signs another contract in the near future.

The Latest: New deal in the offing?

Speaking to GiveMeSport, O’Rourke claimed that Kilman could become one of Wolves’ highest earners following his dominant displays at the back.

The journalist said: “I’m sure there will be contract talks, maybe in the summer, just to improve his terms and bring him more in line with the other top earners at Molineux. It would show his reward for the progress that he’s made for the club as well.”

[freshpress-quiz id=“388797″]

The Verdict: Makes complete sense

Kilman has shown this season that he deserves to be recognised as one of the most important players at Molineux, averaging 3.4 clearances per game in the league and enjoying a 95.7% pass completion rate in the Carabao Cup.

Signing a new deal will also put Wolves in a strong bargaining position moving forward, should there be interest from one of the top clubs in the country. Indeed, talkSPORT reported last month that Chelsea have been considering a move for the 24-year-old, a boyhood fan of the Champions League holders.

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The hope is that Kilman remains at Molineux for many years to come, but if he is to move on, it is imperative that the club receive an appropriate transfer fee which can then be put towards top-quality signings.

In other news, Tim Spiers has shared a worrying observation regarding one Wolves player. Read more here.

There were fears Shane Harwood’s latest shoulder injury would require major surgery but Victoria now expect that will not be necessary © Getty Images

In 2006-07 Victoria nearly made the Pura Cup final, but not quite. They nearly won the FR Cup decider, but not quite. Two of their best players nearly established themselves in the national one-day team, but not quite. In many ways it was a frustrating summer for the Bushrangers as the major honours teased and then eluded them.Greg Shipperd, the state’s coach, does not see it that way. “All in all we thought we had a very good season,” he says. “Until the last day of our last Pura Cup match we were still in with a chance to make all three finals.”That disheartening conclusion – the 101-run loss to Queensland handed New South Wales a place in the decider – meant their only prize was a second consecutive Twenty20 title. “We’re disappointed that we didn’t win more that we qualified for,” Shipperd says. “From a one-day point of view, we were very happy with our seven wins and hosting the final [against Queensland].”Their success was impressive considering that all eight of their contracted fast bowlers were out injured at one point early in the season. Victoria scoured Melbourne’s club cricket and displayed their depth when Clinton McKay and Darren Pattinson filled the gaps admirably.Things are looking better for 2007-08. Pattinson will miss the first couple of games with an ankle injury but the key strike bowlers should be ready from day one. There were fears that Shane Harwood’s latest shoulder problem could require major surgery but Shipperd now expects that will not be the case. Andrew McDonald also has a shoulder injury and might initially be unable to bowl, but he will be chosen as a batsman regardless.The legspinner Bryce McGain, 35, took six seasons to register his first five Pura Cup games as he waited patiently behind Cameron White and Shane Warne. With Warne’s retirement and White seemingly focusing more on his batting, McGain will be an important part of the Bushrangers’ attack.The batting remains a strength – four players scored more than 700 Pura Cup runs last year – and Shipperd expects strong competition between Lloyd Mash, Michael Klinger, Aiden Blizzard and Rob Quiney for what could be only one vacancy. Jon Moss has gone home to New South Wales and another Sydney signing, John Hastings, may fill that gap when he recovers from ankle problems.

David Hussey has been is such a rare streak of form that Greg Shipperd “would be bemused” if the Australia selectors continued to overlook him © Getty Images

There will also be a healthy rivalry between the incumbent wicketkeeper Adam Crosthwaite and Matthew Wade, who Victoria recruited from Tasmania during the off-season. Wade, 19, is highly rated as a batsman and Shipperd hinted Crosthwaite would have a challenge on his hands.”We’re not locked into thinking one keeper will do all forms of the game,” Shipperd says. “We’ll give opportunities to whoever’s in the right place at the right time. Crosthwaite started last season well and dropped away a bit, but he was an aggressive and innovative one-day batsman. He has some credits on the board.”Shipperd hopes White and Brad Hodge earn more national call-ups this summer and he believes the selectors cannot keep overlooking the prolific David Hussey, who made 911 Pura Cup runs in 2006-07 followed by 1259 at 83.93 for Nottinghamshire. “I would be bemused if he’s not given a chance, he’s in a rare streak of form,” Shipperd says. “If we can get one or two other players apart from Brad Hodge into a good, strong Australian team it would be a massive plus for our group.”Captain Cameron White
Coach Greg Shipperd
Squad Aiden Blizzard, Adam Crosthwaite, Gerard Denton, Shane Harwood, John Hastings, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Nick Jewell, Michael Klinger, Mick Lewis, Lloyd Mash, Andrew McDonald, Bryce McGain, Clinton McKay, Dirk Nannes, Darren Pattinson, Rob Quiney, Peter Siddle, Matthew Wade, Cameron White, Allan Wise. Rookies Grant Baldwin, Aaron Finch, Michael Hill, Jon Holland, Peter Nevill, James Pattinson.2006-07 results Pura Cup 3rd, FR Cup 2nd, Twenty20 1st.

Can we have more Kookaburra balls please? © Getty Images

What started off as an experiment, and what many believed could set a trend for the cricket-ball industry in India, appears to have descended into farce. The Indian board decided to try out Kookaburra balls during the ongoing Duleep Trophy but it’s learnt, even as the final looms, that the execution of the plan went completely awry.What’s left several players sour is that no Kookaburra balls were provided when the teams practiced before the games, requiring them to get used to the new cherry in match conditions. Bowlers were left to practice with the traditional Sanspereil Greenlands (SG) balls prior to the games, only to be confronted with the Kookaburra when the game got underway.”Only today, just a day before the final, we were provided with two Kookaburra balls for practice,” a North Zone player told Cricinfo. “Just two but this is a huge improvement, considering that we were only given balls during match before in this tournament. There are not enough old balls available. With SG each association had not only the new balls for the match but also enough old balls for practice. But they have not been given any Kookaburra balls and we have all suffered. Imagine practising with a different ball [SG] and then going into match to play with another brand which is completely different.”At Guwahati, the venue where East Zone took on North, events took a bizarre turn when there weren’t enough balls during the game. As a result it was decided not to change the balls even if they went out of shape. Players from the South and Central Zones, teams that didn’t make it to the final, also endorsed the same view. “Luckily, I had couple of Kookaburra balls with me,” said a Central Zone player, “and we used it for practice.” Another player, this time from South, mentioned how the bowlers took some time to adjust to the ball on the first day, struggling to get their rhythm going. “We would have loved to get Kookaburra balls for practice,” he said, “but luckily most of us knew what we can expect. So we managed to adjust quickly.”The Indian board, though, has rubbished these complaints. “The players are talking nonsense,” said Ratnakar Shetty, the recently appointed chief administrative officer. Shetty, however, refused any further comment.The tournament has had more problems as well. Lack of practice pitches have meant that some players have entered games without any chance to gear up. At Guwahati, East Zone players suffered because one of the practice pitches was unfit for use while the other was being used by a local team. Their opponents, North Zone, were scheduled to practice at the evening and luckily got to play on that “decent” strip.The staying conditions have not been satisfactory either, even for the final. At Kolkata, there is power shortage at the team hotel where North Zone are staying. And the back-up only powers up a fan and tubelight which means that the players have to do without television and, of course, air-conditioning.And in case you forgot, this is one of the premier domestic tournaments in India.