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One player has his eyes on a potential move to Leeds United, with Daniel Farke’s side making their stance clear on a January deal.

Unbeaten Leeds eyeing January transfer moves

It’s been a solid last two months for the newly-promoted Whites, who haven’t lost a single Premier League game since November with eight points now separating them from the drop zone.

While this run has been peppered with stalemates, the signs are hugely encouraging for Leeds as they hope to put further ground between them and West Ham in 18th.

Newcastle United awaits on Wednesday evening, and while a trip to St. James’ Park is always tough, Farke’s men go into their North East clash with real momentum from a solid festive period.

The January transfer window also presents an opportunity to strengthen in what would be a crucial month.

While tempering expectations of quick-fire winter deals in the opening week, or any major spending, Farke told reporters before their 1-1 draw with Man United that signings are very much a possibility over the next few weeks.

It is clear by Farke’s message that only obvious squad upgrades will be prioritised, which explains their stance on re-signing Man City midfielder Kalvin Phillips.

The £150,000-per-week midfielder has only made one appearance under Pep Guardiola this term, a seven-minute run out in the Carabao Cup against Huddersfield, and has been frozen out of the side for a long time now.

Related Worth £18m: 49ers could sign an even bigger talent than Aaronson for Leeds

Leeds United could sign an even bigger talent than Brenden Aaronson with a swoop for this star in January.

Posts ByDan Emery

Phillips spent last season on loan at Ipswich Town, where he failed to convince the Tractor Boys to make his move permanent, and that move was preceded by a dismal six months at West Ham.

Kalvin Phillips keen to re-join Leeds as Whites transfer stance revealed

Now, according to FourFourTwo’s Joe Donnohue, the 30-year-old looks upon the idea of an Elland Road pretty positively.

Phillips is apparently keen on a return to Leeds, though the club are unlikely to pursue negotiations having already strengthened Farke’s midfield with last summer’s arrivals of Anton Stach and Sean Longstaff.

Farke views captain Ethan Ampadu as indispensable at the heart of his system, further reducing any potential pathway back for the former Yorkshire favourite.

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Wolves have emerged as serious contenders to offer Phillips a Premier League lifeline this month instead, exploring a loan deal as Rob Edwards seeks reinforcements for the club’s desperate survival battle.

The Midlands outfit finally secured their first league win of the season last weekend by demolishing West Ham 3-0 at Molineux, temporarily easing pressure on Edwards.

As things stand, Wolves are a far more likely destination for Phillips than Leeds, who won’t be swayed by the prospect of an emotional homecoming.

Leeds’ refusal to entertain an approach leaves Phillips facing the stark choice between proving his credentials in a relegation scrap or continuing his Etihad exile under Guardiola, who has made abundantly clear the midfielder holds no future in Manchester.

Related Leeds now very interested in signing £94,000-a-week Serie A striker this month

He could partner Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Posts ByTom Cunningham

Darren Fletcher will finally get the chance to scratch the itch of management as he prepares to lead Manchester United as caretaker boss, and one of his first tasks will be reparing the academy he graduated from.

Fletcher set to lead United at Burnley

Ruben Amorim’s sacking as Old Trafford boss after 14 months has seen the 41-year-old former midfielder parachuted into the hotseat for Wednesday’s Premier League trip to struggling Burnley.

It is the latest chapter in Fletcher’s long association with United, whose sons Jack and Tyler have been on the bench in recent matches with the former making three substitute appearances.

Returning players may restrict opportunities under their father – who made 342 appearances for the Red Devils, winning trophies aplenty, before returning in 2020 to work within the academy as he “really got the bug” for coaching.

Speaking to the Press Association in August 2020, Fletcher said: “I’ve always wanted to stay in football. I’ve always had that goal and ambition.

“Management is something that does really, really interest me in the future. Not that I want to think about doing it (right now).

“I think the itch will need to be itched at some point, if you know what I mean, if the opportunity arises.

“But for me just now it’s about taking some time from not being a player and getting myself mentally prepared for my next whatever it is, my next challenge in life, in football.”

Related Man Utd identify "top target" to replace Ruben Amorim; INEOS love him

INEOS have brought an end to Amorim’s tenure.

Posts ByTom Cunningham INEOS angered by Amorim's treatment of two academy stars

While results on the pitch and his public barrage against the club’s leadership and recruitment staff were the nails in the Amorim coffin, Samuel Luckhurst reveals the club were also angered by his treatment of 18 year-olds Harry Amass and Chido Obi.

Amass is currently on loan at Sheffield Wednesday, where the midfielder has started 21 Championship games, but Amorim claimed he was “struggling” at Hillsborough.

Obi meanwhile has not made the same impact as Ayden Heaven after the pair moved from Arsenal, and the manager highlighted his lack of regular playing time for the Under-21s, which was not received well behind the scenes.

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The ownership also took issue with his public criticism of the now very in form Patrick Dorgu, who initially struggled to settle at United after his move from Italy.

Man Utd’s next manager

Odds

Xavi Hernandez

12/1

Gareth Southgate

10/1

Darren Fletcher

5/1

Oliver Glasner

5/1

Enzo Maresca

7/2

It is clear that Fletcher’s connection to the academy – both through his own career and his two sons – could help reinstil the famous pipeline that so many United greats have followed.

Tottenham are eyeing a complicated deal as they plot a move for a rising star who is set to join another club before he is available for transfer elsewhere.

Frank lauds Spurs mentality after win over Crystal Palace

Tottenham boss Thomas Frank hailed his players for a “huge mentality effort” after a gritty 1-0 win at Crystal Palace.

Spurs fans had started to turn on Frank after a run of five defeats in eight left them 14th in the Premier League on Christmas Day.

While there had been no suggestions internally that Frank’s job was under immediate threat, Tottenham needed to return to winning ways and Gray’s 42nd-minute header settled the contest between the current FA Cup and Europa League holders.

“I really liked the desire, details, mentality in the team and the character and resilience of the team is something I spoke about a lot,” Frank reflected.

“That is so important that we have that resilience in the team, because in a long Premier League season, you need to go to a very difficult away ground here and fight and show character. To get a clean sheet, win 1-0, that was a massive win in many ways.

“Was it a top performance? No. Are there things we can improve? Yes. But to go here, with the season having been a little bit up and down, I think it’s a huge mentality effort from the players.”

Sporting director Johan Lange is expected to be active in finding reinforcements for the manager in January, but their first signing of the month may not arrive until the summer.

Related Tottenham join race to sign "ridiculous" midfielder who's shining in the UCL

Spurs are looking to strengthen their options in the middle of the park.

Posts ByDominic Lund Spurs eyeing complicated deal for Aleksandar Stankovic

According to reports in Italy, via Sport Witness, Inter are set to activate their €23m (£20m) buyback option on Club Brugge midfielder Aleksandar Stankovic, son of legendary midfielder Dejan, who won five Serie A titles and one Champions League title in Milan.

However, the Itallian club are not planning for a future with the 20 year-old defensive midfielder, but instead hope to immediately shift him on for profit.

Tottenham are waiting in the wings and are ‘ready’ to make an offer worth €40m (£35m), having already made contact over a move, but the Nerazzurri are expected to ask for more.

Stankovic can play at the base of midfield or as a centre-back, and has played in 19 of Brugge’s 20 league fixtures this season, scoring twice.

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The youngster has also started all six of their Champions League games, having been praised for his strength, aerial ability and long passing.

With four Serbia caps to his name already, Stankovic is showing plenty of signs he could follow in his father’s footsteps.

A paradox, a paradox, a most ingenious paradox. For so long unwanted when it comes to Australia’s limited overs plans, Nathan Lyon can take his latest omission from the ODI team as a sign he is actually closer than ever to a start at the next major ICC tournament.The World Twenty20 in India in March looms as the event in which Lyon will belatedly make his mark as a bowler in Australian gold rather than Test match cream. His exclusion from the squad to face India in five 50-over matches at the start of a new World Cup cycle means that Lyon can play out the remainder of the Big Bash League, honing his T20 skills ahead of 20-over series against India and South Africa that precede the ICC event.The selector Trevor Hohns said this year’s calendar had been a factor in the decision to use only Glenn Maxwell’s part-time off spin in the ODIs against India, allowing Lyon to play T20 for the Sydney Sixers ahead of the more pivotal tournament in India. Hohns said that the event on the subcontinent would require more than one spin bowler, meaning Lyon is firming as the man to make the trip.”Nathan is not far out of the picture … for one-day cricket, and of course with the [World] T20 coming up it’s probably ideal for him to go back and play some of those games,” Hohns said. “Also, if we look where we’re playing the first few games – you’ve got Brisbane, you’ve got Perth – normally you play with your faster bowlers there.”Glenn Maxwell has done a pretty good job in the spinning role when we’re only playing that one type of spinner-cum-allrounder, plus the quicks. I think we’ll find that, for the T20 World Cup in particular in those conditions over there, we’ll probably need a couple of spinners in our squad. I can’t see why [Lyon and Maxwell can’t play together] – depending on conditions, of course.”There was a contrasting verdict from Hohns on the young fast man James Pattinson, who has made promising progress in his first Test series back from injury since early 2014. At some times Pattinson has been irresistible, at others eminently hittable, as shown when Carlos Brathwaite went after him on the rain-hit second day of the SCG Test before he responded with a pearler to bowl the allrounder.Hohns said the panel had been happy with Pattinson’s progress, but doubted he would be a limited-overs prospect in the medium term as he build back towards his very best rhythm and speed. “With Patto as we know he’s just coming back from pretty extensive injury,” Hohns said.”He’s now played a few Test matches on the trot, so we’re thinking more about the future for him, rather than just clogging him up immediately and bringing up his workloads as they say. It’s more about management for him in particular. One-day cricket there’s probably a question mark there I must say, but certainly Test cricket we want him back flying how he was a couple of years ago and he’s not quite there yet, but gradually getting there.”As for Australia’s batting, Hohns noted positively that there was now an emerging sense of depth that has not been evident for some time. The likes of Chris Lynn, Travis Head and the indefatigable Michael Klinger are keeping pressure on the players being picked in the Test ODI and T20 teams, something the selectors view as vital to the success of the national side across all formats.”There’s quite a few on the fringes there and the back half of the one day series might give us an opportunity to have a look at a couple of those players,” Hohns said. “What we’re finding now with your Lynns, Khawajas, Travis Head another one, it’s really starting to build our depth back up again, and those are the players we want to have keeping the pressure on the blokes in the side. It’s all about depth and we’re starting to get there in the batting line-up.”

Division One

Harbhajan Singh claimed five wickets in the second innings at Guildford, but the match ended in a draw © Martin Williamson

Phil Jaques’ second century of the season guided Worcestershire to a draw against Surrey at Guildford. His 103 carried the visitors into the lead alongside half centuries from Stephen Moore (54) and Ben Smith (66). Worcestershire were never really in danger on the final day once Jaques and Smith added 112 for the third wicket. Harbhajan Singh claimed all five wickets to fall, taking his match haul to nine, but couldn’t grab breakthroughs in clusters to force Surrey a victory. A draw wasn’t what either side needed from this match with them stuck in the two relegation places.John Crawley struck a fine century, but Hampshire couldn’t force a win against Sussex at The Rose Bowl despite handing them a scare with three early wickets. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan took out Hampshire’s middle order, but Crawley held firm and reached his hundred off 148 balls. Once Crawley had taken Hampshire to a second batting point, Shane Warne declared and Sussex’s top order wobbled. James Bruce, Dimitri Mascarenhas and Daren Powell did the damage and suddenly the pressure was on. Murray Goodwin and Chris Adams calmed nerves with a stand of 89 and Hampshire took the points honours nine to seven.Younis Khan hit an unbeaten double-century as Yorkshire and Kent played out a draw at Scarborough

Division Two

Derbyshire were decimated by Charl Willoughby and Andy Caddick, capitulating for 52 as Somerset completed a 278-run win at Derby. Chasing 331 after yesterday’s negotiations, the home side were soon in tatters at 13 for 5 as Willoughby claimed four of the top five. The spinners, Ian Blackwell and Cameron White, then ran through the tail as Derbyshire folded inside 28 overs. Ant Botha was the only batsman to reach double figures before falling to Blackwell for 21.Chris Taylor’s 101 almost enabled Gloucestershire to turn impending defeat into victory against Essex at Bristol in a match played over one innings after rain washed out the first three days. After being inserted Gloucestershire slumped to 23 for 4 and 122 for 8 against impressive bowling from Andy Bichel and Ravi Bopara. They claimed eight wickets between them, but Taylor found support from Steve Kirby and Ben Edmondson as the last two wickets added a priceless 62 runs. Gloucestershire’s attack then repeated the damage to the visitors with Kirby’s four wickets sending Essex sliding to 89 for 7. But Bichel (22 not out) and Alex Tudor (16 not out) held firm in the closing stages and the honours were shared.The match at Abergavenny between Glamorgan and Leicestershire was abandoned without a ball bowled due to unsafe run-ups. “It’s a shame for all concerned and especially Abergavenny Cricket Club but unfortunately we had to do the right thing and the run-ups were just not fit,” said umpire Barrie Leadbeater.3rd dayCenturies from Stephen Fleming and Mark Wagh put Nottinghamshire in the driving seat against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road. Fleming struck 19 fours and a six in his even 100, adding 112 for the second wicket with Wagh, before he was stumped off Jason Brown. Wagh then combined with Samit Patel (54) to add another 111. Wagh took 174 delivers over his third Championship ton of the season and Nottinghamshire are poised to take a lead. Earlier, the home side added 102 to their total mainly through the efforts of Johann van der Wath, who struck and unbeaten 59, and an eighth-wicket stand of 69 with David Lucas.

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	Draw	Aban	Pts
Yorkshire	11	3	1	0	7	0	139
Sussex	10	4	2	0	4	0	123
Hampshire	10	3	1	0	6	0	109
Warwickshire	10	2	1	0	7	0	109
Durham	10	3	4	0	3	0	107.5
Lancashire	9	2	0	0	6	1	99
Kent	10	2	3	0	4	1	98
Surrey	10	1	4	0	5	0	84
Worcestershire	10	0	4	0	4	2	59

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	Draw	Aban	Pts
Somerset	11	6	1	0	4	0	168
Nottinghamshire	11*	4	1	0	5	0	143.5
Essex	11	3	2	0	6	0	124
Derbyshire	10	2	2	0	6	0	100
Northamptonshire	10*	3	4	0	2	0	96
Middlesex	9	3	1	0	5	0	95.5
Leicestershire	11	1	4	0	5	1	88
Gloucestershire	10	1	4	0	5	0	74
Glamorgan	9	1	5	0	2	1	57

* – match still ongoing

Division One

First day

Jimmy Maher strikes out on his way to 95 © Getty Images

Lancashire‘s Championship ambition suffered a dent on the opening day at Old Trafford as a slow and low pitch hindered their efforts to bowl out Durham who set about grinding out a first-innings total. The opening pair, Jimmy Maher and Gary Scott, went along at two per over in the front session, Scott benefiting from a tough chance shelled by Luke Sutton behind the stumps. Other than that there were precious few alarms for the batsmen. Lancashire eventually made the breakthrough when Gary Keedy trapped Scott for a painstaking 53 off 158 balls. But Lancashire were unable to make further rapid incisions. Gary Park, a young Kolpak player, increased the tempo before falling to Tom Smith for 45 and Maher then fell five runs short of a hardworking century when he was caught behind off Glen Chapple. Lancashire were given a late boost by dismissing Dale Benkenstein shortly before stumps but they have only 22 more overs to gain their remaining two bowling points.A series of consistent performances from the Kent top order manoeuvred them into a promising position on the opening day against Warwickshire at Edgbaston. Joe Denly, the 20-year-old opener who replaced David Fulton in the starting eleven, led the way with an impressive 86 from 105 deliveries. He added 132 for the second wicket with Martin van Jaarsveld, who continued his fine form with 79. Warwickshire fought back by removing van Jaarsveld and Matthew Walker during the afternoon session but a timely return to form by Geraint Jones, who made his first half-century since being dropped by England, and Darren Stevens’s 61, put Kent on target for maximum batting points.Craig White led a spirited Yorkshire fightback on the opening day against Nottinghamshire at Headingley with a fine captain’s innings of 141 not out. Yorkshire had slumped to 42 for 3 against the new ball but White found an able ally in Adil Rashid who confirmed it’s not only legspin at which he can excel. Rashid helped White to add 130 for the fourth wicket and struck a Championship-best 63, his maiden first-class century, before another slump brought Nottinghamshire back into the match. Graeme Swann grabbed two middle-order wickets but none of the bowlers could shift White, who brought up his ton off 241 balls and will be relying on some support from the final two wickets to extend Yorkshire’s innings beyond 300 on the second day. Yorkshire had to do without Matthew Hoggard who withdrew from the game shortly before the start after pulling up with a side strain.

Division Two

Second daySomerset batted themselves into a strong position on the second day against Northamptonshire at Taunton thanks to a fine century for James Hildreth in an otherwise quiet season for him. They built on the solid work of the overnight pair of Arul Suppiah and Sam Spurway, who was acting as nightwatchman. The pair batted through the morning before Rob White made the breakthrough with his occasional legspin and Suppiah was run out two short of a deserved ton. Hildreth, though, took the innings under his wing and added 94 with Ian Blackwell in his first Championship innings of the season. Blackwell showed no ill effects off his shoulder injury and slammed 43 off 35 balls, while Hildreth moved to his century off just 94 deliveries as Somerset closed with a healthy advantage.

Close
Scorecard

Mark Chilton struck a superb 130 to defy Yorkshire’s bowlers on day two © Getty Images

A record stand of 223 between Mark Chilton and Iain Sutcliffe gave Lancashire a brilliant start in their first innings response to Yorkshire’s 417 all out. In what was another gritty and hard-fought day at Old Trafford, Lancashire were made to work hard for their runs, as Yorkshire’s bowlers toiled valiantly, watched by a decently-sized crowd.Yorkshire bowled with admirable intent throughout the afternoon, and had to wait until the 74th over before Sutcliffe became their first victim. Tim Bresnan pushed one across Sutcliffe’s defence when he was seven short of his hundred, feathering an outside edge to a delighted Ismail Dawood. Sutcliffe and Chilton’s stand broke the previous best opening stand in Roses matches, 181 between Harry Makepeace and Reg Spooner, which had stood since 1912. Chilton, whose excellent innings was his second Roses hundred of the year and his third of the season, remained unbeaten on 130.Earlier in the day, Yorkshire’s tail wagged with typical obduracy to frustrate Lancashire’s bowlers. Starting the day unbeaten on 71, Yorkshire’s captain, Craig White, lost his overnight partner Richard Dawson to the ninth ball of the day. Glen Chapple, the pick of Lancashire’s bowlers, trapped Dawson leg before and consistently bowled a full length all morning.White then combined with Tim Bresnan, during a dogged partnership of 26. Bresnan’s wicket was quickly followed by Chris Silverwood’s, as Lancashire threatened to run through Yorkshire’s tail. But an entertaining and explosive stand of 56 for the tenth wicket, at better than a run a ball, between White and Deon Kruis, ensured the visiting fans had something to cheer.Kruis’s innings was particularly brutal, containing four fours and three monstrous sixes in a knock lasting just 28 minutes. One of his blows landed on the pavilion roof, smashing a tile which fell dangerously close to an unsuspecting Lancashire member. Kruis’s impetus assisted White into striking his first century of the season, and his third against Lancashire in his career. Notably, it was also the one hundredth century made between these two sides in Roses’ history.Kruis’s bold hitting finally got the better of him when he attempted to smite James Anderson over midwicket, but was well caught by Mal Loye at third-man for 35. White remained unbeaten on 110, as Yorkshire reached 417 from 125 overs.In what was to be the last ball of the day, Tim Bresnan cut one back to trap Mal Loye leg-before to leave Lancashire on 243 for 2, trailing by 174 runs. Yorkshire will seek early wickets tomorrow morning if they are to regain the initiative, but Lancashire hold the aces on day two.

The South African board today announced some modifications for South Africa’s tour of Sri Lanka in July and August.The first change is the tour match that was originally scheduled to be played in Colombo on August 18 will now take place at Moratuwa. The fourth one-dayer, at Dambulla, will be played on August 28 instead of a day earlier, and at the same venue. The fifth and final game in the series has also been delayed by a day, and will now take place on August 31 at the SSC ground in Colombo.South Africa are to due to arrive on July 27, and will play two Tests and five one-dayers. They start kick off their tour with a three-day warm-up match on July 30. The first Test is on August 4 at Galle.

Whenever Brian Lara turns up for cricket he is a major factor.And he will be a major player when Barbados welcome Trinidad and Tobago iin their Carib Beer International Challenge semifinal starting tomorrow at Kensington Oval."You can’t ever count out Lara," said Barbados skipper Courtney Browne, who is also a close friend of the world double record-holder."But the only chance Trinidad have against us is when Lara plays. They were not very strong when we beat them a few weeks ago."On that occasion Lara and fast bowler Merv Dillon were with the West Indies at the World Cup and Barbados steamrolled the visitors before lunch on Day 3."We expect them to be better with Lara around, and we know they gel together when he is there. But we are confident we can still take care of business."Barbados welcomed back West Indies seam bowlers Vasbert Drakes and Pedro Collins and Browne expects them to be key players in the match. They replace left-arm seamer Ian Bradshaw and left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn, who were both outstanding in the earlier matches."We were bowling well before and I expect to get better," Browne said. "The guys coming in are experienced and I believe we still have the edge."

Remember South Africa’s visit to India at the beginning of last year? Right, that was the Match-Fixing tour. And what about South Africa in the West Indies this year? Ah yes, the Dope-Smoking tour.OK, then, the players might have been a little too busy undermining their own achievements for comfort, but at least the administrators have got their heads screwed on the right way, haven’t they? Um, who knows? A sizeable section of the South African public has been persuaded that the real villain of the piece in the Hansiegate scandal is the United Cricket Board, aided and abetted by those nasty people in the media. The Devil’s role in the affair has been all but forgotten.And that’s not even to mention the slanging match that broke out last weekend between Percy Sonn and the man-who-would-be-UCB-president, Dr Mtutulezi Nyoka.If all of this suggests that the credibility of South African is at its lowest ebb since, at least, readmission, well, that’s probably not too far off the mark. All things considered, it would not be difficult to paint a picture of South African cricket as a sport riddled with avarice, animosity and personal ambition, with undertones of racialism thrown in for good measure. For once rugby and football have a realistic third contender in their annual challenge to see which sport most frequently and accurately shoots itself in the foot.All of which points to the annual meeting of the UCB, at the Wanderers Club on Saturday morning, being as important to the future of the game in this country as any since the two opposing forces of South African cricket joined together.This week has seen an election campaign as ugly as anything dreamed up by Tony Leon’s Democratic Alliance. Dr Mtutulezi Nyoka, whose experience in cricket administration stretches back three years, launched a succession of attacks on UCB president Percy Sonn which grew more virulent every time you turned on the television and radio.Sonn is no one’s idea of a meek and gentle man and his style of presidency has often left sections of the UCB wincing with embarrassment. It is also true that the UCB’s handling of the dope-smoking incident, in which Sonn played a central part, left a lot to be desired.But Nyoka’s challenge seemed to consist entirely of accusations, both professional and personal, and very little evidence was forthcoming to back up his charges. Sonn, for perhaps the first time in living memory, chose to be silent, in the circumstances the best thing he could have done.What has been bewildering about Nyoka’s approach is that he claims to base it on integrity and honesty while all the while trying to tear another man’s reputation to shreds. His behaviour has been extraordinary and it has had the effect of scaring the wits out of people who might otherwise have seen his bid for the presidency in a sympathetic light. Opinion in cricket circles this week tended to be divided between viewing Nyoka as someone either terminally naïve or a man who might well have lost his marbles.The damage caused by these shenanigans, however, has been considerable, to South African cricket generally, to the Gauteng Cricket Board who put him forward for the position and to the same transformation process to which he claims to be passionately committed.The harm done this week stretches further than simply disillusionment with the governing body. It is one of the oldest saws in sport that disruptions in the boardroom eventually filter down to performances on the field, and there is an urgent need for the UCB to redefine itself as an example of strong leadership.No one should gainsay the results of the national team since the 1999 World Cup. Since the crushing disappointment of Edgbaston, South Africa have won Test series against Zimbabwe, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and the West Indies with a draw in Sri Lanka thrown in for good measure.The problem is, however, two of the most notable successes – in India and the West Indies – have been clouded by waves of adverse publicity. The players have to understand that success is a double-edged sword, that the better they play, the more interest will be taken in them, on and off the field. This is what happens in the real world.Questions, unfortunately, have arisen regarding Gulam Rajah’s management style. A thoroughly decent, caring man, Rajah has always seen his role in terms of keeping the unpleasant realities of the outside world away from the team in order that they are able to concentrate exclusively on playing the game.This means that Rajah is often required to be Mom and Dad at the same time, twin, but conflicting roles. This has led to the argument that while Rajah should be allowed to continue in his existing role, a Board member should accompany the team, if only as a reminder to the players that there are issues out there broader than the simple matter of winning or losing. (It should be pointed out, by the way, that Rajah’s response to the dope-smoking incident was exemplary. He had nothing to do with the delay in public disclosure that led to the accusations of a UCB cover-up.)That there is some cause for concern was illustrated a few days ago when Jacques Kallis blithely announced that the national side would welcome Hansie Cronje back with open arms. And he claimed to be speaking on behalf of the team.Whatever the opinions might be of Cronje’s return to cricket, it would be difficult to find anyone either side of the divide who would not agree that the South African middle order would look stronger with Cronje batting at five. That, however, not the point. It simply does not seem to have occurred to Kallis that Cronje’s return might, in a worst-case scenario, result in South Africa being cast once again into isolation.This week the England Cricket Board announced with some glee that it had persuaded Rodney Marsh to cross the floor and run the English academy. Marsh, an Aussie down to his XXXX cans, was asked whether it would not bother him helping to restore the fortunes of Australia’s oldest enemy.Marsh’s response was that as a player he had been concerned with team and country. Now, however, he was more interested in the game itself. It’s a point of view the UCB, its presidential candidates and the South African team would all do well to bear in mind.