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Ricky Ponting, after becoming the third batsman to cross 12,000 runs in one-day cricket, has said he is chasing milestones set by Sachin Tendulkar

Cricinfo staff03-Oct-2009Listen to Ponting’s press conferenceRicky Ponting crosses another landmark•Getty ImagesRicky Ponting has been piling on the runs over the past month, highlighted by his authoritative century against England on Friday that sealed Australia’s berth in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy. He attributed his superb form to the week’s break he took after a draining Ashes campaign.”I’ve felt really good since the break after the end of the Ashes series, since I’ve come back I’ve felt like I’ve been batting really well and felt in control more importantly,” he said. “When you’re out their batting or out there leading the side you always want to feel in control and I’ve certainly felt that in the last couple of weeks.”During his unbeaten 111 in the semi-finals, Ponting became the Champions Trophy’s leading run-getter and also crossed the 12,000-run mark, only the third batsman to reach that milestone. “It is a nice achievement but I had no idea before the game how many runs I had scored,” he said. “I hit runs for my country and when my career is over I can reflect on the successes.”Ponting received a round of applause in Centurion as he pulled Graham Onions for four to deep square leg, and then raised his bat to acknowledge the crowd and his team-mates. He sits behind Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya in the list of all-time ODI run-getters. Ponting is the only Australian with over 10,000 runs and has an enormous buffer over the next of his countrymen on the list – Adam Gilchrist is second with 9619 runs.Ponting also paid tribute to Tendulkar, the leading run-scorer in ODIs and Tests. “The number of innings of his I have been able to sit back and watch, I think he is an amazing player,” he said. “Look at his stats and records and it’s quite incredible for someone to have stayed in the game for 20 years. He has set benchmarks for guys like me to chase him and get as close as we can. If I had to last 20 years, I would probably be batting in a wheelchair.”In Tests, Ponting is also third to Tendulkar’s 12,773 runs with 11,345. Like Tendulkar, Ponting has stepped down from playing Twenty20 internationals for his country.

Following Steven Gerrard’s appointment as Aston Villa’s new manager last week, the 41-year-old has been linked with a host of players that he could look to bring into Villa Park in the upcoming January transfer window.

And, considering the incredible success the former Liverpool captain achieved with a number of players in his former Rangers side, such as Ryan Kent, Joe Aribo, Glen Kamara and Nathan Patterson – all of whom have been tipped for a reunion with Gerrard at the second city side – perhaps these rumours should not come as a surprise.

However, before the manager goes splashing the clash on incoming signings this winter, it may well be wise to take a closer look at some of Villa’s up and coming talents before doing so – with Carney Chukwuemeka being arguably the most promising of the club’s academy products at present.

Chukwuemeka could save Villa millions

Being dubbed as “the best 16-year-old in England” by Aston Villa chief executive Christian Purslow last year, exactly how high expectations are for the future of Chukwuemeka amongst those at Villa are clear for all to see.

Indeed, it is equally easy to understand why Purslow holds this belief about the central midfielder, as, over his 26 appearances for Villa’s U18 side, the £2.25m-rated man knocked up a highly impressive ten goals and eight assists, in addition to bagging a further three goals and five assists for the club’s U23 side.

These returns led to reports that both Manchester City and Manchester United started to keep a very close eye on the progression of the recently turned 18-year-old, while the likes of Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Juventus, RB Leipzig, Monaco and PSV have also been credited with an interest in the England U19 international.

However, despite his abundance of potential, Chukwuemeka has so far played just 81 minutes of Premier League football for Aston Villa, something that Birmingham Live suggest could see the youngster tempted into a move away from Villa Park upon the end of his current contract in the summer of 2023.

And, with Jack Grealish very much being the archetypical example of how important an academy graduate can become when given the opportunity, in addition to the not-dissimilar level of talent Chukwuemeka possesses in comparison to that of the £90m-rated Manchester City man when he was first coming through, it would seem highly advisable for Gerrard to start unleashing the 18-year-old on a much more regular basis in the coming weeks.

The youngster could just end up saving the club millions of pounds in the January transfer window.

In other news: Ashley Preece drops “serious” Aston Villa transfer claim which is sure to excite fans

Rangers want at least £10million for Crystal Palace target Joe Aribo, according to Football Insider.

The lowdown

The publication reported last week that Palace were monitoring Aribo’s situation at Ibrox with a view to a possible move.

Aribo, formerly of Palace’s London rivals Charlton Athletic, has two years left to run on his contract in Glasgow.

Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa, who was a team-mate of Aribo at The Valley, has marvelled at his ‘unreal’ abilities and likened him to Yaya Toure (via Daily Record).

The 25-year-old has started all of Rangers’ league matches so far this season and has been their fourth-best performer, WhoScored metrics show.

He’s averaged 2.2 successful aerial duels, two key passes and 1.7 dribbles per 90 minutes.

The latest

A Rangers source has made clear that ‘the club have no intention of letting Aribo go easily’.

A £10million sale would be the fourth-biggest in the club’s history behind Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Alan Hutton and Jean-Alain Boumsoung (via Transfermarkt).

The verdict

It’s hard to argue that isn’t a fair price-tag for a player who’s established himself as a mainstay under Steven Gerrard.

You wonder if Aribo is being lined-up as a potential replacement if Palace are unable to secure the permanent signing of Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher.

They’re not exactly the same mould of player, but both provide real attacking impetus from the middle of the park.

In other news, fans react to this transfer rumour. 

The Athletic’s Phil Hay has revealed that Leeds United star Kalvin Phillips has a “chance of being fit” ahead of this weekend’s Premier League clash against Southampton after providing an exciting four-word update.

What’s the story?

The midfielder was a late withdrawal from the England squad for Gareth Southgate’s side’s World Cup qualifiers, with medical staff deeming him unfit after the Whites’ 1-0 win over Watford.

And now, Hay has revealed where things stand with Phillips and whether he could make it for Saturday afternoon’s clash against the Saints.

In the full tweet, Hay said: “Bielsa speaking at his pre-Southampton presser. Bamford is out of Saturday’s game with his ankle injury. Phillips (calf) has a chance of being fit for it.”

Encouraging signs for Leeds

Last season saw the Whites struggle without their midfield lynchpin, winning just two out of nine Premier League games that he missed, and that saw Darren Bent speak about the kind of importance of the England international.

He said: “It is a unique role, and you think who else can they get in that position who can do the job effectively. The answer to that is no one. He’s that good of a player that it’s hard to replace him.”

As per WhoScored, Phillips ranks second for tackles made per game in the top-flight this season for Leeds, while unsurprisingly, he features in the top three for average passes per game – the kind of tough-tackling play-maker that the Whites rely so heavily on.

Hay’s update that the England star is in the frame for Saturday’s game against Southampton is sure to have fans buzzing, therefore, especially when you consider their side only picked up their first win of the new Premier League season just before the international break.

Meanwhile, Noel Whelan has reacted to this Phil Hay reveal…

Sheffield Wednesday have been dealt a blow regarding the fitness of George Byers ahead of their upcoming League One fixture.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by Yorkshire Live, Darren Moore confirmed that the central midfielder will once again be unavailable for selection against Wigan Athletic on Tuesday, as the 25-year-old is yet to recover from an injury he picked up in the Owls’ 3-0 loss against Plymouth Argyle towards the start of September.

Speaking about the current condition of Byers, the 47-year-old said: “George is working at the minute with the physios and we are making sure he is right before we unleash him again.

“George had a little bit of tightness. It is nothing substantial. We are making sure when we get him back that he is ready. Do I think George will be ready for Tuesday? No, but maybe we will have a look in regards to the weekend and see how he goes.”

Moore will be gutted

Considering how impressive Byers has been for Wednesday following his summer move from Swansea City, the fact that the Owls will once again have to make do without the midfielder for what is sure to be a challenging trip to table-topping Wigan Athletic on Tuesday will undoubtedly have left fans of the club gutted.

Indeed, over his four League One appearances so far this season, the £1.08m-rated man has provided his teammates with one assist, as well as making an average of one key pass, 1.5 interceptions, 0.3 tackles and winning 1.5 duels per game.

These returns have seen the 25-year-old average a SofaScore match rating of 6.83, ranking him as Moore’s 10th-best performer in the third tier of English football.

As such, the continued absence of the former Scotland U17 international is sure to come as a blow to Moore, who will certainly be hoping that his Owls side can send a message to the rest of the division with an impressive display at the DW Stadium.

In other news: “Unpredictable” £4.8k-p/w ace drops promising transfer hint, SWFC fans will be buzzing

Phillip Hughes has taken over from his fellow left-hander MatthewHayden as Australia’s Test opener but that’s about where thesimilarity ends. The pair couldn’t be less physically alike andHughes’ first substantial innings at international level has alsoshown that, apart from having the confidence to go for his shots, hisbatting style bears little resemblance to that of his predecessor.Hayden was big in every sense of the word and so imposing that when hewalked at the bowler it was easy to imagine his thunderous presenceopening up new cracks in the pitch. Hughes, at 170 centimetres, is soslight that on a particularly bad surface he could almost slip throughone of those fissures. It shouldn’t be any great surprise, then, thatthe men handle fast bowling rather differently.It’s hard to remember Hayden ever backing away from a bouncer; hepreferred to hook or duck. Hughes, who edged behind when he flashed ata high, wide bouncer from Dale Steyn in the first innings, was heavilytested by short stuff in his second innings. The South Africans weresurprised by his strange technique. As Steyn delivered a threateningbarrage, Hughes shuffled backwards in a manner that brought to mindStuart MacGill more than Matthew Hayden.But while he backed away he wasn’t backing down. Hughes was preparedto use the pace and cut over the cordon, which is a method he hasemployed since he played A-grade cricket at the age of 12 in the NewSouth Wales town of Macksville. When the older fast bowlers would tryto rattle the precocious kid with bouncers, Hughes refused to bebullied and regularly rocked back to slash them over the slips.Fast-forward eight years and not much has changed.”I thought that was the outstanding part of it, that he did stand upfor himself,” Australia’s coach Tim Nielsen said. “He took thechallenge on, head on. They’re good quality fast bowlers and theybowled fast and they bowled aggressively at him. There was obviouslysome bi-play going on out there and they were trying to get under hisskin but he really hung in there and he was willing to take them onwith some aggressive cricket.”That Hughes went on to post 75 in his second Test innings was a creditto his determination. His runs didn’t come easily, nor prettily, butit was impossible to look away during his 159-minute innings. He isparticularly strong square of the wicket and when he was given widthhe cut with reckless abandon, sometimes through point if not over thecordon. Balls were driven uppishly wide of fielders and there wasbarely a dull moment during his charmed existence.Twice Hughes was caught behind off his gloves from Morne Morkelbouncers but both times he was reprieved by the umpire Billy Bowdenand the South African captain Graeme Smith, who wasn’t certain enoughto ask for referrals. At 20, Hughes is a year younger than Smith waswhen he made his Test debut. While the two men were in the middlelocked in battle, Nielsen felt as though he was watching a raw versionof the South African captain.”I wouldn’t be surprised in the future if you see Phillip Hughesplaying similar roles to what Graeme Smith does for South Africa as anopening batsman,” Nielsen said. “He’s going to be a pugnacious, strongbackfoot player that’s willing to take on any contest and he’s shownthat in his first Test today.”

When Hughes brought up his half-century with one of his mostconventional shots, a terrific off-drive to the boundary off Morkel,he was congratulated by his partner and captain Ricky Ponting. AfterHughes acknowledged the crowd’s applause, Ponting made a special pointof walking up to his new colleague and handing out some advice.Whatever it was, it didn’t seem to include a smile.But there must have been plenty of happy faces in Macksville, whereHughes was raised in a banana-farming family. It’s a small townbetween Sydney and Brisbane that prompted the travel writer BillBryson to write: “It is possible, I suppose, to construct hypotheticalcircumstances in which you would be pleased to find yourself, at theend of a long day, in Macksville.” Bryson went on to clarify that itwouldn’t be his feeling in the normal course of events.At the end of a long day on Thursday, the locals weren’t too happyeither. They had been promised free beer at one of the town’s pubs foras long as Hughes’ first innings lasted. Four balls gave them barelylong enough to get to the front of the queue at the bar. At least whenhe scored his half-century in the second innings it was duringprime-time in Australia, even if the beer wasn’t free.When he slammed Paul Harris over midwicket for six it looked like hemight have enough luck on his side to join Marcus North in scoring acentury on debut. But his fortune soon ran out. Hughes glanced a catchto leg slip later in the same over and walked off having shown histremendous talent but also some potential weaknesses.He’ll never play just like Hayden, who before the tour advised Hughesto “be himself”. Nor will he ever look like the mountainous Smith, butif he increases the batting resemblance to South Africa’s captain thatso impressed his coach, Hughes will be a supremely valuable man foryears to come.

Aston Villa will consider loaning out exciting 18-year-old Aaron Ramsey in January, according to The Athletic’s Gregg Evans. 

The lowdown

Two developments this week underlined Ramsey’s potential. First, he was nominated for the Premier League 2 Player of the Month award for August, having netted two goals in their first three matches (via avfc.co.uk).

He has now been directly involved in 18 goals (scoring 12 and setting up six) in just 24 appearances for Mark Delaney’s youth side (via Transfermarkt).

He then earned a call-up to the England under-21 squad, jumping up from the under-19s following injuries to Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott and Tottenham Hotspur’s Ryan Sessegnon.

The latest

According to Evans for The Athletic, Villa thought about loaning Ramsey out during the summer window, but with some ‘key senior players’ either injured or ill, they decided against such a move. However, the possibility is expected to be revisited during the next transfer window.

Villa are ‘carefully mapping out a pathway’ to the first team for the attacking midfielder, who has been ‘highly thought of for years’.

The verdict

Ramsey is a serious talent, and his record at under-23 level suggests that he’s more than ready to make the step-up to the men’s game.

You’d imagine that he’ll be sent to the Championship, but it’s about finding the right team, the right manager and the right style of play to ensure that it’s a productive loan spell.

Look at Elliott, whose injury led to Ramsey’s England promotion. He has now made his breakthrough at Liverpool after a move to Blackburn Rovers last season proved to be a perfect fit, making 18 goal contributions in 42 appearances at Ewood Park. His is an obvious case study for the Villa starlet to try and emulate if he is loaned out in the winter.

In other news, many Villa fans were left fuming by this news.

Nuno Santo’s latest Tottenham Hotspur starting XI was quite damning.

Once again, his former Wolverhampton Wanderers star Matt Doherty did not feature as the pair made their returns to Molineux on Wednesday evening.

Instead, the Portuguese head coach opted for young academy graduate Japhet Tanganga, who appeared to be the first-choice at right-back until the deadline day arrival of Emerson Royal from Barcelona.

It now essentially leaves the 29-year-old as third-choice in north London.

Many could be forgiven in thinking that the arrival of Nuno would’ve given the Northern Ireland international the boost he needed to truly kickstart his Spurs career, particularly after he made 142 appearances under him in the old gold.

But that couldn’t be further from the truth as his future at the club looks as far away as it’s ever been, even under Jose Mourinho.

Back in February, ESPN reported that Doherty’s future was in doubt under the ‘Special One’ despite signing him for £15m earlier in the summer. He struggled to impress the former Spurs boss, who was even seen berating him from the sideline during one defeat to Liverpool – his red card against Leeds didn’t help either.

But with Mourinho gone, things have not changed for the £14.4m-rated dud whatsoever.

Under his former boss, Doherty has played only 277 minutes across all competitions so far this campaign, in which none of his appearances have been starts domestically, as per Transfermarkt.

He now has two other players ahead of him in the pecking order, so when January swings around, it would hardly be a surprise to see him moved on, especially as he’s reportedly earning wages of around £65k-per-week.

talkSPORT’s transfer expert Alex Crook even claimed in the summer that Doherty was surplus to requirements, so that only reinforces the potential of him leaving come the turn of the year.

Last season, the vastly-experienced defender was described as a “weak link” by BBC Sport contributor Premier League Panel.

After his latest snub, Doherty’s days are surely numbered at Tottenham Hotspur.

AND in other news, Paratici could make his biggest Spurs mistake yet as January transfer report emerges…

Aston Villa may now lose Cameron Archer after his heroics on Tuesday night, says Paddy Kenny.

The Lowdown: Hat-trick hero

Archer made a big impression playing for Dean Smith’s team in the Carabao Cup second round away at Barrow in midweek, scoring a hat-trick as AVFC won 6-0 to put them comfortably through into the next round of the competition.

As cited by the The Independent, he admitted that it was an ‘amazing, amazing feeling’ and a ‘dream’ start to his career at Villa Park.

The Latest: Kenny on Archer

Speaking to Football Insider, former Leeds United and Sheffield United goalkeeper turned pundit, Paddy Kenny, has claimed that ‘big clubs’ will now be looking to sign Archer after his impressive display, and also predicted that he could be sent out on loan to an EFL Championship side:

“I’ve seen him the other night and he did really well, looks a really good player.

“What a stage to put yourself on, playing first-team football away from home and scoring a hat-trick.

“That will have pricked a few ears up at a couple of clubs and stirred up a bit of interest in him now. So I’m sure there will be big clubs sniffing around.

“Maybe he could go and get a Championship loan now and prove himself and try and get into that Villa team in the future.”

The Verdict: Loan

Archer’s performance alone should be more than enough to show Smith that he certainly has the potential to mix it up with the senior squad, but a season out on loan could really benefit his development.

The 20-year-old was sent out on loan to Solihull Moors in the 2020/21 term and managed to play in 27 games in total over all competitions, scoring four goals and making one assist (Transfermarkt). Another campaign regularly playing men’s football will help him reach his full potential.

Nonetheless, with just a few days left of the window to go, Villa could have a big decision to make with regards to his future.

In other news, find out what club announcement had Villa fans fuming here!

The toss has been so important in this series that in the lead-up to the deciding fourth Test the Australians practised their calling. It was a short, light-hearted exercise, like a game of two-up on Anzac Day, and at the end it was revealed that the coin was two-headed. After three guesses Ricky Ponting was one of two guys with a perfect record. He always calls heads, and is desperate for a change in luck on Thursday morning at the Vidarbha Cricket Association’s new stadium.Ponting has lost the past two tosses and quickly watched his team fall behind, and he does not need the bat-first-and-dominate theory to occur as they push to level the series and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. “I went down and had a look at the wicket yesterday, it’s rock hard like concrete and there’s no grass on it,” Ponting said.”With no history to the wicket, we don’t know if it’s going to bounce, or stay low, or what it’s going to do. One thing I know is that it is going to spin, it’s so bare. Hopefully we win the toss.”While Ponting has no control over the fall of the coin, he is also uncertain as to what will happen in the morning when he walks out to the toss. Gautam Gambhir’s appeal against a one-match suspension for elbowing Shane Watson in the third Test in Delhi was turned down by the ICC on Tuesday, but the Indian board has “rejected” the ruling.”It’s going to be an awkward situation for me to be put in tomorrow if I get out there for the toss and the guy that’s been rubbed out has his name on the team sheet,” Ponting said. “I need to be clear, and Cricket Australia needs to be clear, on that.”India, who lead the series 1-0, also have a new captain in Mahendra Singh Dhoni after the exit of the legspinner Anil Kumble on Sunday, while VVS Laxman is playing his 100th Test and Sourav Ganguly will join Kumble in retirement after the game. Ponting hoped all the off-field issues of his opponents would help his side.”One thing it [the Gambhir decision] does do is create a bit of confusion around their team,” Ponting said. “They’ll obviously have a lot of distractions going on. For us, it’s pretty plain sailing, we’ve just got to work out the best way to play in these conditions.”The decision over the final XI will be difficult, but it appears the offspinner Jason Krejza will make his debut. Australia have taken 14, 13 and 12 wickets over the first three games and it is the main reason they are in such an unfamiliar position.”We’ve got to look at our overall balance,” Ponting said. “If we’re going to get Krejza into the side does he come in for White or one of our quicks? It’s the big decision we’ve got to make.

“Mitchell Johnson is our leading wicket-taker and Brett Lee got better and better in the last game. Stuart Clark did an excellent job for us, bowling his 30 overs for 50 or 60 in the first innings, and that is a pretty important role to play in a team over here if you’ve got guys that are striking at the other end.”Lee, Michael Clarke and Doug Bollinger were struggling with upset stomachs on Tuesday but are expected to be available for selection. Ponting has been impressed with Krejza, who he said had got better after going wicket-less and giving up 199 runs in a warm-up game before the first Test.Whatever Australia decide, it will be a risk. If Krejza and White are used in tandem, or if Peter Siddle comes in for his second game, it will steal experience from the fast bowling unit, which has regularly faltered. It is an unenviable choice for such an important contest.To add to Australia’s problems, they know very little about the ground, which is being used for the first time. The squad went to the stadium outside of Nagpur on Wednesday afternoon for a short look at the conditions that will help determine whether they leave India with a prize.”This is probably as big a Test match as a lot of us have played,” Ponting said. “Being 1-0 down with a match to play is a position that a lot of us haven’t been in before. We pride ourselves on playing well in big games and this is certainly a big game for us. There is a great opportunity for us to stand up and play better cricket than we’ve played in the first three Test matches.”