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Wolves will be facing off against Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace this afternoon in their latest Premier League fixture.

Having lost their two previous league games on the road against Arsenal and West Ham United, the Old Gold are back at Molineux today to try and secure all three points against the south London club.

On the chalkboard

In terms of which players Bruno Lage could pick in his starting XI to take on the Eagles today, one man who didn’t start against West Ham last weekend but who we think should be in from the beginning this time around is Daniel Podence.

With Lage picking Hwang Hee-chan and Francisco Trincao on the wings at the London Stadium, who both failed to test opposing goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski with even a single shot on target throughout their time on the pitch, this could persuade the manager to put Podence back into the team.

Despite netting just one goal and providing two assists in the league so far this season, Podence has still proved to be an attacking threat by averaging 1.2 shots per game (surpassed only by Raul Jimenez and Ruben Neves), along with the highest average of key passes per game in Lage’s squad with 1.3.

Taking all this into account, it could be the best option for the 45-year-old to make some changes to his team this afternoon, particularly in attack, to see if this would give the home side a better chance of securing victory at Molineux and putting their disappointing run of form behind them.

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Having been previously labelled by Michael Kightly as a player who is “exactly what Wolves need”, today could be another opportunity for Podence – who is currently earning £52k-p/w according to Salary Sport – to show everyone how important he can be for his side, especially if he can add another goal or assist to his record for the campaign and help the Old Gold to a timely victory.

In other news – 49 tackles won: “Phenomenal” Wolves gem has been Lage’s “standout” player this season

	Shoaib Akhtar: “I have no problems against the [Pakistan] board for not giving me a contract” © AFP

Shoaib Akhtar has refused the special retainership he was offered by the PCB after being overlooked for a central contract. But the fast bowler insists he is optimistic over his international future.Based on a formula devised by the board, taking into account players’ performance over the last six months, 15 players were awarded contracts, but Shoaib was overlooked. He was, instead, demoted to a retainership, having been awarded a Category A contract last year.”Central contracts are not an issue because I play for my country and not for money. I will not accept retainership,” Shoaib said after training at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, with Pakistan’s 15-man squad for the fifth ODI against Zimbabwe. Having sought permission from the team management, Shoaib bowled in the nets for an hour and said later he was optimistic over his future.”I have no problems against the board for not giving me a contract. In fact, thinking of financial gains instead of putting the needs of my country first would’ve been a source of embarrassment on my part,” he said. “I turned up for my country when I was ill because I was required [during the Test series against India] and I will do so again whenever required. I’m fit, I’m strong and I’m ready to resume my international career with Pakistan with or without a contract.”Although ruing the missed opportunity to play against Zimbabwe, Shoaib confirmed that he will take part in the forthcoming Pentangular Cup in order to prove his fitness and form. Omitted from the squad for the Zimbabwe series, the PCB had requested Shoaib to prove his match fitness by participating in the tournament before being eligible for selection for theseries against Australia.”I will certainly take part [in the Pentangular Cup] and prove my fitness. I don’t know what the fuss was about prior to the series [against Zimbabwe]. Omission from a squad is part and parcel of the game. Even Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis went through that phase. However, I wanted to play the series as it would’ve proved useful in preparing for the Australian series. They [the Australians] will not be easy to beat even though we will be playing at home.”Shoaib also played down reports that he was more interested in seeking a career in Bollywood, reiterating that cricket remained his focus. “It’s my life and I can do what I want. I don’t know why the PCB is making a huge fuss of all this especially when I haven’t even signed anything yet. For the moment it’s cricket but I might think about a film career when it comes to it.It has been speculated that Shoaib was demoted primarily due to reasons of discipline and fitness, arising from last year’s tour to India. But Shoaib said he had the coach’s backing and had done nothing wrong.”There were no issues of discipline with me on the Indian tour and coach Geoff Lawson praised my attitude and concentration, so all those things were baseless that I fell short on discipline.”Shoaib Malik, Pakistan’s captain, said the fast bowler’s return to fitness was an encouraging sign for the future of the team. “He is a great bowler and an asset to the team,” Malik said. “His fitness and form will only benefit Pakistan, especially with a tough series against Australia coming up.”

It’s almost time to say goodbye © Getty Images

West Indies’ last two World Cup games are shaping up as a valedictory to the captain Brian Lara, who will retire from one-day internationals after the tournament. Lara, who turns 38 on May 2, said: “My day in the sun is over. It’s tough playing one-day internationals out there.”Lara, who has appeared in 297 matches scoring 10,354 runs with 19 centuries, will almost certainly finish his career against England at the Kensington Oval on April 21. West Indies can still make the semi-finals but need an unlikely sequence of results to allow them into the last four.Lara will continue to play in Tests and after the 67-run defeat against South Africa he looked ahead to the tour of England. “We’ve got to pick ourselves up,” he said. “Cricket is going to go on.”Lara is in his third stint as West Indies captain and has been the subject of much criticism for the team’s lacklustre performances. He said the campaign had been a major personal disappointment. “It’s a situation where you are playing your last few one-dayers and you hope you can end up in a World Cup final or a semi-final,” he said.It is his fifth World Cup but West Indies have only once reached the last four during his career when they were beaten by Australia in Mohali in 1996. Lara denied that contract negotiations, which were still going on when the tournament started, had affected the West Indian performance.”We’ve got a players’ association and a West Indies Cricket Board,” he said. “These matters are handled at that level by people who are astute enough to understand the delicate situation. We are just the players.”Whatever the situation, when we go on the cricket field we try our best. I know the disappointment of the cricket fans. I am sad that we have disappointed the Caribbean and our supporters around the world.”We feel it a lot and we know the man in the street is definitely disappointed. When we go to practice and see the people waving on the side of the road, we understand what cricket means to them.”West Indies still have to play against Bangladesh on April 19 and England two days later. “We’ve got to dig deep,” Lara said. “It’s tough playing games where you’re not really involved in the tournament but you’ve got to put that aside and show some character and pride.”Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, said it would be sad to see Lara go. “He’s been an unbelievable performer for the West Indies,” he said. “I hope the team plays for him in his last two games. He’s been a credit to the game.”

Dennis Brookes, the former Northamptonshire and England batsman, has died at the age of 90.A right-hand opener, Brookes scored 30,824 first-class runs in a career which spanned the Second World War, including 28,980 for Northamptonshire, more than anyone else. He also holds the record for most appearances for the county (492) and most hundreds (67). After retiring, he continued to serve the county as 2nd XI captain, coach, assistant secretary, and finally president.His one Test appearance came in the Caribbean in 1947-48 when he was part of a weak England side led by Gubby Allen. Brookes appeared in the first Test, scoring 13 and 7.At the time of his death he was the eighth oldest living Test cricketer, and the second oldest from England behind Mandy Mitchell-Innes.

Kyle Mills might get an opportunity to add to his only Test wicket when the Test against Sri Lanka starts on Monday© Getty Images

Daniel Vettori has been rested for New Zealand’s first Test against Sri Lanka, which starts at Napier on April 4. He has been replaced by Kyle Mills in the 12-man squad.Vettori had complained of a sore back after taking a heavy workload during the Test series against Australia, and the selectors hoped that and extra week’s rest would help Vettori get back to peak fitness in time for the second Test which starts on April 11 at Wellington. Mills has played just two Tests so far, against England at Nottingham in 2004 and against Australia at Brisbane earlier this season, and his stats do not look impressive – his only wicket has cost him 130 runs.New Zealand have been struggling with injuries almost throughout this season. Scott Styris is recovering from knee surgery while Jacob Oram and Ian Butler are battling back from long-standing back problems. Chris Harris underwent shoulder surgery after injuring himself in the VB Series in February, Daryl Tuffey has a bicep strain and Michael Papps has undergone an operation on his finger.Squad
Craig Cumming, James Marshall, Stephen Fleming (capt), Hamish Marshall, Nathan Astle, Lou Vincent, Brendon McCullum, Iain O’Brien, Kyle Mills, Paul Wiseman, James Franklin, Chris Martin.

West Indians 404 for 5 dec and 246 for 5 (Samuels 109*, Ganga 25*) lead Zimbabwe A 242 by 408 runs
Scorecard

Five wickets for Vasbert Drakes as Zimbabwe A struggled

The West Indians dominated the second day of their match against Zimbabwe A, finishing the day 408 runs ahead with five second-innings wickets in hand. The highlights of the day were impressive pace bowling by Vasbert Drakes and Jerome Taylor, and an easily compiled century from Marlon Samuels.In the morning Dion Ebrahim and Vusi Sibanda looked set to continue their good work of the previous evening against the fast bowlers, until Ebrahim, like his opposing captain, was beaten by a ball that kept low, and was adjudged lbw for 14. Ebrahim and Sibanda had added 45.Sibanda played some handsome drives down the ground and appeared to be learning quickly the art of building an innings, hitherto a major handicap to his development. He pulled Taylor for a superb six over midwicket, and then a powerful on-drive to the boundary, off the same bowler, brought him his fifty made off 78 balls. But shortly after, he fell on his face trying to chop down on a yorker from Taylor and became the third batsman to fall victim to an umpire’s trigger finger, out for 51.Barney Rogers and Stuart Matsikenyeri consolidated with a partnership of 96, with Matsikenyeri the more aggressive. Then Drakes broke through the middle order spectacularly, exploiting reverse swing with the old ball. First he knocked Rogers’ off stump out of the ground to dismiss him for 35, and three balls later bowled 17-year-old Elton Chigumbura for 0. Zimbabwe A were 187 for 5, with 68 short of avoiding the follow-on.This did not trouble the confident Matsikenyeri, who off-drove a boundary to reach his fifty, to the delight of his home crowd. But Travis Friend (4), playing well forward to Drakes, became the fourth lbw victim, and then Alester Maregwede (0) was bowled shouldering arms. Gavin Ewing, in at No. 9 despite going to Australia on a career batting average of over 50, was yorked for 4 by Taylor, who was finally giving Drakes a break after nine overs in the heat of the day.Taylor soon struck again, outdoing Drakes by knocking two of BlessingMahwire’s stumps out of the ground, bowling him for 2. Finally, Jordane Nicolle (3) was caught at the wicket off Chris Gayle, the first time a fielder had a hand in a dismissal during the innings. The total was 242, leaving Matsikenyeri not out with 84. He never looked in trouble against the swinging ball and could well have played himself into the Test team with this excellent innings.The West Indian fast bowlers stole the show, though, with Taylor taking 4 for 46 and Drakes finishing with 5 for 66. Rampaul showed real pace but was expensive. Although they had a lead of 162, the tourists chose batting practice ahead of enforcing the follow-on.Mahwire struck early, winning an lbw decision against Chris Gayle, who departed for 12, having lashed three boundaries off his previous six balls. Thus encouraged, Mahwire produced a superb swinging ball that totally flummoxed Wavell Hinds and knocked out his off stump for 9. The West Indians were 36 for 2.Carlton Baugh, promoted after failing to get a bat first time round, hit a bright 44, with 10 boundaries, off just 30 balls before snicking Nicolle to the keeper. The sixth lbw of the day – umpire Tapfumaneyi’s fourth – was Ramnaresh Sarwan to Nicolle for a rather laboured 10. In contrast, Marlon Samuels looked quite at ease, stroking the ball sweetly, helped once again by the failure of Ebrahim to protect his boundaries adequately.The West Indians were in a festive mood, and Ridley Jacobs had a big swing to be bowled by Ewing for 26 off 19 balls. Daren Ganga replaced him and boundaries came with monotonous regularity. Ewing failed to trouble the batsmen on a pitch that should have given him some help, and he did his Test chances little good in this game.Samuels achieved the rare feat of a century in a session, scored off 98balls, particularly notable since it took almost an hour for him to get tothe wicket.

Somerset all-rounder Ian Blackwell is taking his preparations for the new season very seriously indeed. In addition to being on a strict diet since the end of last season, he has also given up drinking alcohol completely.Since the end of the festive season, during which he admits he “had a bit of a blow out” he hasn’t had a single drink.”This is a very serious business, and I’ve made a firm resolve that I will stick to it at least until the season begins and even beyond, although it might be difficult if I get a century in my first innings!” he told me.The former Derbyshire player enjoyed his best ever season in 2001, scoring nearly 800 championship runs, including four centuries, and taking 18 wickets. In addition he scored over 400 runs and took 12 wickets in the Norwich Union League.The 23-year-old told me: “Following the end of last season I trained twice every day before I went off to play for England in the Hong Kong Sixes. Since then I’ve continued to work to the same regime with Darren Veness and Andy Hurry, and I now run regularly.”I want to play for England so for the next three months it will be hard work, but it will be worth it because hopefully I will see the benefits for the next 15 years. It’s been a bit tough to begin with but it’s getting easier every day.”As an incentive, Somerset Chief Executive Peter Anderson has made a side wager with “Blackie” that he will be fitter than the player when the start of the new season comes. The club’s fitness instructors have been charged with setting an appropriate test that can be administered to find the winner.The prize for the winner will be a meal out for four at the other’s expense, and when I spoke to them recently both parties were confident of winning!

The quality of pitches in English domestic cricket will have to improve if England are to enjoy more consistent success at international level, and avoid the sorts of spin-influenced defeats that they suffered against Pakistan in Sharjah, according to Andy Flower.Flower, the former England coach who is now technical director of elite coaching at the ECB, feels that too many poor surfaces in county cricket are inhibiting the development of players and creating a greater divide between domestic and international cricket.In particular Flower and the ECB’s head spin bowling coach, Peter Such, fear that the development of young spinners is being impeded by pitches that provide too much assistance to medium-pace bowlers.”The pitches are a real problem,” Flower said. “We have a situation now where dibbly-dobbly bowlers like Jesse Ryder – and no disrespect to him, because he’s a fine cricketer – are match-winners in county cricket.”Spin bowlers don’t develop because the medium-pacers bowl their overs and batsmen are not exposed to quality spin. The necessity for fast bowlers is negated because the medium-pacers do the work but, when you get to international cricket, the pitches are completely different and the qualities that proved successful in county cricket will be of little use. Dibbly-dobbly bowlers are not going to win you Test matches. Their abilities are exaggerated by green county pitches.”You can watch a game in Division Two of the County Championship and not see a bouncer bowler. That’s a problem, because the first thing that a batsman will be tested by in international cricket is the short ball.”The pitches are contributing to the divide between county and international cricket and leaving us – the coaches at Loughborough – needing to bridge a significant gap in standard.”Flower’s comments are timely. It is not just that they were made as England subsided to a 2-0 defeat against Pakistan in the UAE with the level of spin bowling proving the key difference between the sides, but that the ECB are currently conducting a review into domestic cricket that seems certain to bring significant changes.Adil Rashid had a taxing Test debut in Abu Dhabi•Getty Images

The statistics of the series in the UAE underline the current gulf between English spinners and the rest. All told, England’s trio of Moeen Ali, Ali Rashid and Samit Patel, with fill-in overs from Joe Root and even Ben Stokes, claimed 20 wickets at 60.1 in 295.1 overs, only 23 of which were maidens. Pakistan’s trio of Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar and Shoaib Malik bowled exactly that number of maidens in the third Test alone, while also claiming 17 wickets at 18.41.”In overseas Test cricket somewhere between 46-48% of overs are bowled by spinners, but in county cricket that figure is around 20%,” Such told ESPNcricinfo. “The pitches tend to start damp, which makes them seam-bowler dominated and makes it very hard for spin bowlers to break through. We need to do more to encourage spin bowling. It’s a tough gig at present.”The most important thing in the development of spin bowlers is that they get match-play overs, so they can use their skills in match situations. There is some talent out there, but at the moment young spinners are hitting a glass ceiling and it has become very hard for them to progress.”At present, the ECB are sending up to 16 young spinners abroad this winter – some just as net bowlers (Simon Kerrigan is unavailable with a stress fracture) – in order that they can gain experience in different conditions and benefit from the volume of overs denied them in county cricket. It is not a scenario that reflects well on the contribution of the domestic game.To that end, a scenario where the County Championship season starts abroad – probably in the UAE or Caribbean – remains possible. While it would not be a popular solution with county members, it currently seems inevitable that the county schedule will be cut to 14 games per side with two windows for white-ball cricket.Scheduling two games overseas would at least enable the competition to remain at 16 games per side and provide conditions in which spin bowlers might feature more prominently. The defeat to Pakistan may concentrate minds on the need to improve the development of spin bowlers.”County cricket is very much part of the solution,” Such said. “It is the biggest part of the solution. But we need to see young spinners bowling overs in county cricket.”

Patrick Boyland has revealed a fresh injury blow for Everton on Ben Godfrey ahead of their match at home to Manchester City in the Premier League this evening.

The Lowdown: Godfrey making progress

Earlier this week, the Goodison Park club tweeted that the 24-year-old was ‘making progress’ as he looks to step up his recovery from injury.

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The former Norwich City ace has not played since the 4-1 win at home to Brentford in the FA Cup earlier this month, and he had rarely missed a match this season before then (Transfermarkt).

Nonetheless, Frank Lampard will be hoping to have him back in the squad as soon as possible.

The Latest: Godfrey injury update

Taking to Twitter on Friday, The Athletic journalist Boyland revealed that Godfrey is still “a couple of weeks away” from returning to action.

There was better news on Abdoulaye Doucoure and Demarai Gray, though, with both players back in training and “with the Everton squad” ahead of this evening’s match.

The Verdict: Blow for Everton

It is certainly a blow to hear that Godfrey is still a fortnight away from being fully fit, despite making  progress in training.

The defender is currently ranking highly among his team-mates in terms of average tackles, clearances and blocks per game in the top flight so far this season (WhoScored), so Everton could certainly have done with his defensive fortitude against Pep Guardiola’s men.

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Nonetheless, he will now miss the Man City clash, and probably their FA Cup tie against Boreham Wood and forthcoming Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur, which will no doubt come as a disappointment to Lampard and the Toffees’ fan base.

In other news, this Everton player has been slammed as ‘awful’ at one thing

	One of the arresting images of the win: Harbhajan Singh charges out with the tricolour© Getty Images

One of the most arresting images from this match came a few minutes after the end. Harbhajan Singh, tricolour in hand, sprinted onto the field to join his ecstatic team-mates and quickly merged into a group jumping up and down. For a brief moment, before the support staff arrived, it was about white clothing, blue caps and a national flag.This has always been a close-knit unit but it’s obvious that defeat in Sydney, and subsequent events, brought them closer. The scorecard shows that the spoils were divided equally (there wasn’t a century nor a five-wicket haul) but there was so much more to suggest a beautiful bond. Like at Nottingham last year, this was a band of musketeers rallying around each other.Sample this for team effort: Ishant Sharma has bowled seven overs, RP Singh, ready to take over, has his cap and jumper off, Anil Kumble chats to Virender Sehwag, hears that Ishant is used to long spells in domestic cricket, Tendulkar joins in, RP too, Kumble realises Ponting is on strike, and hands the ball to Ishant. One ball later they’re all back together, this time celebrating Ponting’s wicket.Wickets came at the right time, largely because the bowlers didn’t waver. Rarely have three Indian fast bowlers bowled so well in partnership. Ishant stood out this morning but his effectiveness was enhanced because neither RP Singh nor Pathan gave much away opposite him. The run-rate was in control and, more importantly, the ball regularly hustled the batsman. No bowler was dominated and the fours were largely because of some outstanding batting on view.It’s tough to zero in on any one critical moment: RP Singh’s ball to trap Michael Hussey was as important as Ishant’s straighter one to get Ricky Ponting or Kumble’s fizzer to outdo Michael Clarke, or Sehwag’s beauty to nail Adam Gilchrist or even Irfan Pathan’s away-goer to beat Stuart Clark. Kumble has long insisted that India possess the bowling attack to thrive on any pitch and his troops showed how swing and seam could be far more lethal than pace.”As long as you are confident it doesn’t matter what sort of surface you bowl on,” said Kumble. “It’s important to stick to a plan and repeat it again and again. We’ve played enough cricket to understand how to adjust accordingly.”Tendulkar and VVS Laxman were always on hand for advice, Rahul Dravid had a word or two to offer between overs, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, apart from his chattering behind the stumps, seemed to inform everyone about the direction of the breeze. It was fitting that the slip fielders were standing so close to each other, almost indicating the glue binding the team. When RP Singh hurried Clarke with a bouncer, striking him on the bat handle, Pathan ran in about 30 metres, from mid-on to the batsman, to urge everyone on. That was how desperate this team was to claw their way back.Team work is tough to quantify but a few pointers help: like in recent triumphs, the tail played a big hand, the batting order put together nuggety cameos, and the training sessions were joyous and sprightly. When Tendulkar dropped Andrew Symonds in the first innings, Dhoni’s reaction was instructive: he rehearsed how he could have gone for the catch, as if to say it was his. It wasn’t but it was a signal that he was on hand to help.The spirit seemed to infect even those not fully on board. India began the day with an intense session of catching practice. Gary Kirsten, the coach-in-waiting, whacked ball after ball in the air and made them practice taking skiers. “He’s been positive throughout, a great help in the dressing room,” Kumble said. “Having played against Australia, having played in Perth, he provided some valuable inputs. He’s been exceptional.”The end was reminiscent of the Kingston triumph in 2006. Like then, two lower-order batsmen were in belligerent mode and clearing the field almost at will. Catches were dropped and runs were leaked. The bowling plan partly went awry. But the effort was never found wanting. If it was Kumble who crashed through Dwayne Bravo’s defences then, it was Pathan out-doing Stuart Clark here. Like at Sabina Park, the stands at the northern end of the ground were packed with Indian supporters. Like then it was a must-win game and like then it was a side that just refused to give in.