According to reports in The Sun on Sunday, Birmingham City are one of three clubs interested in a £3m move for Hibernian midfielder John McGinn this summer, but Blues boss Garry Monk would certainly be taking a risk by splashing out on the 23-year-old.

What’s the word, then?

Well, The Sun on Sunday says that the Midlands outfit, along with Championship rivals Derby County and Scottish Premiership champions Celtic, are all keen on the hard-running star, who is a key man for club and country.

The Sun on Sunday report that McGinn has strong connections with the Bhoys and they are still in pole position to buy him, but Monk and new Rams manager Frank Lampard both want to bring him to the second-tier of English football.

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How did McGinn do in the 2017/18 campaign?

He certainly made a big impression in the middle of the park for Hibs in terms of impact in the final third, scoring six goals and providing a further eight assists in 43 appearances in all competitions, as per Transfermarkt.

While that is impressive, his disciplinary record certainly isn’t and he picked up a remarkable 18 yellow cards during those outings, although he never received a red.

That was 12 more cautions than he got during the previous campaign, which suggests that he has added more aggression to his game.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”257647″ player=”12034″ title=”Three reasons we love to hate… Brazil and Argentina”]

Would he be a good Birmingham signing?

Because of his impressive record from a central midfield area he certainly would be, but his record of 18 yellow cards in all competitions against opposition that are almost certainly weaker than what he would come up against in the Championship is certainly a worry.

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Monk, who will significantly improve his side’s attack by signing £1.35m forward, will need his best players on the pitch consistently if the Blues are going to significantly improve in the upcoming season, and you just wouldn’t be able to guarantee that with McGinn when you look at his poor record.

The 39-year-old boss could choose to take the risk if he can convince him to move to England over Celtic, but there is no doubt that it would be a big one.

Many Arsenal fans were left missing the contribution of Olivier Giroud at the Emirates Stadium after watching him in action for France at the World Cup on Saturday afternoon.The 31-year-old Chelsea striker started their last 16 match against Argentina and while he didn’t find the back of the net, his assist for Kylian Mbappe helped put the game beyond doubt for the French in an eventual 4-3 victory.Giroud has been an effective presence for his country throughout the tournament, becoming a key outlet for their attacking play and helping more dynamic players impact the game around him.He was sold to Chelsea in January after failing to hold down at regular place at the Gunners, netting five times in half a season for the Blues.Now some fans regret that decision, feeling that he’ll always be an Arsenal player in their minds after five-and-a-half seasons at the club.These Arsenal supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts after his Saturday performance…

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Sussex have signed a new three-year contract with Will Beer, the 21-year-old legspinner, which will keep him at Hove until the end of the 2012 season

Cricinfo staff11-Dec-2009Sussex have signed a new three-year contract with Will Beer, the 21-year-old legspinner, which will keep him at Hove until the end of the 2012 season.Beer played regular first-team cricket for Sussex last season in their successful Twenty20 and Pro40 campaigns, which culminated with a trip to the Champions League T20 in India.Sussex have a rich recent tradition with spin, having won the Championship in 2003, 2006 and 2007 in large part due to the exploits of the former Pakistan legspinner Mushtaq Ahmed, who is now England’s spin bowling coach. The club also signed Monty Panesar from Northamptonshire last month and is captained by left-arm-spinner Michael Yardy.Beer is looking forward to working with the senior players as he tries to break into the first-class side. “I am very excited about the next three years at the club and continuing the club’s recent success,” he said.”I want to build on my first year of first team cricket and am really looking forward to working with Monty Panesar – using his experience as a spinner to drive my game forward.”Mark Davis, the Sussex coach, said he’s eager to see Beer develop into a potent spinner as the club looks to improve last season’s showing in the Championship, where they won just two of 16 games.”We’re really pleased that Will has signed a new three-year deal. If his improvement last year is anything to go by, his development curve is moving in the right direction and signing an extended contract will allow him the opportunity of developing in to a match winning leg spinner.”

Danish Kaneria, the Pakistan legspinner, has said Pakistan have a distinct advantage on the tour of Australia, for the hosts lack a wristspinner in their ranks

Cricinfo staff18-Dec-2009Legspinner Danish Kaneria has said Pakistan have a distinct advantage against Australia during the upcoming Tests because the hosts do not have a wristspinner in their squad. Kaneria was successful during the Test series in New Zealand, taking 13 wickets in two matches, including a seven-wicket haul, at 20.69. He will be backed up by offspinner Saeed Ajmal, who was impressive in the first Test in Dunedin and has been a regular fixture in the ODI team.”I think there is a distinct advantage,” Kaneria told AAP. “There is a big gap in the Australian leg-spin department. They have finger spinners like [Jason] Krejza and now Nathan Hauritz, the main problem for Australia in my opinion is they are lacking a wristspinner.”Kaneria said a wristspinner was an important part of any attack in Tests and could be expected to be effective on any kind of track. “Wickets around the world are being prepared so on the third day, the fourth, the fifth day, the spinners can do their part,” he said. “A wrist spinner will get the bounce from any sort of wicket, no matter if it’s green or it’s a flat track. A wrist spinner will get the turn on any track.”New South Wales allrounder Steven Smith, who bowls leg spin, was drafted in as cover for Nathan Hauritz for the third Test against West Indies, but since the departure of Shane Warne and Stuart Macgill, and the experiment with Beau Casson, Cameron White and Bryce McGain, Australia have lacked a frontline wristspinner.Pakistan take on Tasmania in Hobart in their first warm-up game of the tour, and the hosts will welcome the services of fast bowler Brett Geeves, who has been released from the Australia squad for the ongoing Perth Test. Geeves had earlier said he’d be rested for the tour game but injury concerns in the Australian line-up, the absence of Peter Siddle topping the list, had prompted a change in thinking.”It’s good for me ahead of the next Test,” Geeves said. “I’m 12th man at the moment which means I’m currently next in line and if I’m able to take some wickets who knows, anything is possible. But I certainly don’t have my hopes up and I just want to represent Tasmania as best I can.”Geeves said South Australia’s Peter George and Dan Christian, and NSW’s Burt Cockley, were also competing with him for a Test place. “But I guess the positive for me is that I’m playing against Pakistan in a tour game and the Aussies play them in a week’s time,” he said.Tasmania squad: George Bailey (capt), Ed Cowan, Brendan Drew, Alex Doolan, Brett Geeves, Wade Irvine, Jason Krejza, Tim Macdonald, Adam Maher, Dan Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), John Rogers, Jonathan Wells.Pakistan squad: Mohammad Yousuf (capt), Mohammad Aamer, Saeed Ajmal, Kamran Akmal (wk), Umar Akmal, Mohammad Asif, Fawad Alam, Salman Butt, Imran Farhat, Faisal Iqbal, Danish Kaneria, Umar Gul, Shoaib Malik, Khurram Manzoor, Misbah-ul-Haq, Abdul Rauf, Mohammad Sami.

A round-up of the first day’s play of the second round of the RBS Pentangular Cup

Cricinfo staff07-Jan-2010
Scorecard
The Rest began their Pentangular Cup on an encouraging note, reaching 371 for 7 on an action-packed day against Sialkot at the National Stadium. They scored their runs at a fair clip and were boosted by a century from Aamer Sajjad, who struck 25 fours in his 119. The Rest were in a spot of bother at 74 for 3, Sajjad stepped up to the task, adding 155 with Naved Yasin, who made 93, and Sarfraz Ahmed – who has been called up for the third Test against Australia. Sarfraz finished the day unbeaten on 67 and his team will bank on him to stretch that score to something more substantial. For Sialkot, Faisal Rasheed picked up three wickets.Karachi Blues 253 for 9 (Asad 69, Mansoor 50, Hafeez 3-54) against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited
Scorecard
A collective bowling display helped Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited take the first-day honours against Karachi Blues at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex. Mohammad Hafeez’s offspin fetched him three wickets, and each of the other SNGPL bowlers grabbed at least a wicket each to limit Karachi to 253 for 9 at stumps. Karachi had been struggling at 69 for 4, but useful contributions from Ali Asad (69), Tariq Haroon (41) and wicketkeeper Javed Mansoor (50) helped them recover. Asad and Haroon were involved in an 80-run stand after which the lower order stepped up to add some respectability to the Karachi total.

A round-up of the twelfth day’s games of the HRV Cup, New Zealand’s domestic Twenty20 competition

Cricinfo staff24-Jan-2010Daniel Vettori produced a polished all-round performance to steer Northern Districts to a 60-run win over Wellington at the Basin Reserve. Vettori, batting at No. 3, scored 57 off 41 balls in a 112-run partnership with Tillakaratne Dilshan for the second wicket. Dilshan played his part with 59 off 52 balls to lay the platform for ND’s 191 for 8. Wellington crumbled under pressure during the chase and were cleaned up for 131 in 18.3 overs as ND backed their batting with a strong fielding display. Wellington were 60 for 7 at the halfway mark, mostly due to Owais Shah’s 25 off 19 balls. Although Dewayne Bowden (34) and Mark Houghton (32) wagged in the Wellington tail, ND were never in doubt. Bradley Scott was ND’s most succcessful bowler with 4 for 13, and Vettori finished with 2 for 31.Otago‘s chances of defending their title looked increasingly shaky as they were humbled by Central Districts by four wickets in Dunedin. A score of 121 for 9 after being invited to bat, was never going to be enough for the hosts against CD’s powerful batting lineup. The captain Jamie How’s rapid 50 from 36 balls paved the way to victory and late cameos from Ross Taylor (23) and Jacob Oram (22) took them home with nine balls to spare. Earlier, the seamer Seth Rance claimed a miserly 2 for 14, frustrating an Otago batting effort that faltered after the exits after Neil Broom (38) and Brendon McCullum (28).Martin Guptill’s hurricane 97 took Auckland closer to a spot in the final as they beat Canterbury by six wickets at Village Green. His 60-ball innings, comprising seven fours and a six, took Auckland home with an over to spare and kept Canterbury rooted to the bottom with a round to play. Auckland still needed 39 runs off 20 balls to win when captain Gareth Hopkins became the fourth casualty. Colin de Grandhomme clubbed his first ball, from Carl Frauenstein, for six and the classy Guptill then unleashed havoc, peppering the boundary with relative ease. Paceman Chris Martin knocked over Lou Vincent and Ravi Bopara cheaply but the other Canterbury bowlers struggled. The going was no better for Canterbury’s batsmen, aside from in-form opener Rob Nicol, who plundered 58 off 33 balls to inspire a rapid start after being put in. However, their innings faltered over the second half, largely through some tight bowling from Bopara, who claimed 3 for 21 off four overs.After the latest results, four teams are ready to slug it out in an exciting final round on Tuesday. Auckland, CD, ND and Otago are in the fray for next Sunday’s final; Auckland host Otago and ND are home to CD at Hamilton. The two winners should advance, although a narrow loss for table-toppers Auckland may still be enough for them, given their impressive net run-rate.

Teams	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Pts	Net RR	For	Against
Auckland	9	6	3	0	0	24	+0.552	1502/177.2	1420/179.2
Central Districts	9	6	3	0	0	24	+0.295	1377/168.5	1343/170.5
Northern Districts	9	5	4	0	0	20	+0.605	1377/176.3	1287/178.5
Otago	9	4	3	0	2	20	+0.310	1051/138.2	1002/137.3
Wellington	9	2	5	0	2	12	-1.067	1071/130.1	1199/129.0
Canterbury	9	2	7	0	0	8	-0.910	1309/178.5	1436/174.3

Afghanistan’s battle against adversity during their rise up the cricket ranks has all the makings of a Hollywood script

Cricinfo staff11-Feb-2010Afghanistan’s battle against adversity during their rise up the cricket ranks has all the makings of a Hollywood script. Now, after their victory over USA which confirmed progression to the Super Fours of the World Twenty20 Qualifiers, Hamid Hassan, their star performer, has compared his country’s success against the odds to the iconic boxing movie , with Hassan himself delivering the knockout blow.Hassan took 3 for 14 as USA were restricted to 106 for 7 in their pursuit of 136 on Thursday, and it gives him a tournament haul of eight wickets at 8.12. Hassan, who spent time as an MCC Young Cricketer along with team-mate Mohammad Nabi, has been a regular contributor to Afghanistan’s growing list of international victories with his pace bowling.”I am a big fan of American television and movies and my favourite film is – I vividly remember watching it when I was growing up – and one of my heroes is Sylvester Stallone,” Hassan wrote in his Cricinfo blog.”I think that there is a similarity in the story of Rocky and the Afghanistan cricket team – we both started at the bottom and gradually made our way up the rankings. It is easy to forget how far we have come in the last two years since we played at the World Cricket League Division 5 in Jersey.”Afghanistan are now one step closer to reaching the World Twenty20 in West Indies having just missed out on qualification for the 2011 World Cup and Hassan couldn’t help but think ahead to the possibility of facing the leading teams in the world.”We all want to win the tournament,” he said. “Having the chance to play against India or South Africa at the ICC World Twenty20 really would be like Rocky having the chance to fight the champion and we are determined to make our dreams come true.”Rocky overcame all his obstacles to become the champion, and don’t rule out Afghanistan scripting their own, real life, glorious ending.

Cricket Scotland boss Roddy Smith has demanded the ICC makes changes to its eligibility rules after losing Craig Kieswetter to England

Cricinfo staff05-Mar-2010Cricket Scotland boss Roddy Smith has demanded the ICC makes changes to its eligibility rules after “losing” Craig Kieswetter to England.Unlike Ireland, who have lost eligible players such as Eoin Morgan and Ed Joyce to England, South African-born Kieswetter was not qualified for Scotland even though his mother is Scottish. But Smith remains unimpressed.”Parentage doesn’t come into it as far as the ICC rules go,” he told the Daily Record. “To play for Scotland you must be born here or live in the country for four years, neither of which applies to Craig. The other two ways of qualifying are through being a national or holding a passport.”There’s no such thing as being a Scottish ‘national’ and we don’t have Scottish passports. So that’s what hurts us compared with a few of our rivals.”

Plays of the Day for the 13th match between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders in Ahmedabad

Cricinfo staff20-Mar-2010Eden at Motera
As soon as Ashok Dinda galloped to trap Michael Lumb plumb in front of the stumps off the first delivery of the match, the whole of Motera erupted in joy. Joining the Kolkata supporters were hundreds of Rajasthan flags which were being waved in the pavilion stand where Shilpa Shetty was camping. And this was at Motera, one of the two home bases of Rajasthan.Cheer girls face the heat
It seems a gross injustice to make the fair skin dance in simmering temperatures of 43 degrees. So you couldn’t blame the group of cheerleaders at the Adani End who, with no canopy to hide under, decided to place themselves behind the sponsor boards circling the boundary and beat the heat.Star struck…
(They are showing us stars in day time) is a common phrase used in Hindi when someone is raising false hopes or day dreaming. That seemed to be the organisers’ idea behind resorting to lighting fireworks each time a home wicket fell. There are many ways of hotting up things, but to light fireworks in sweltering heat in the IPL cauldron seemed ridiculous, especially when the stars of the show were on display on and off the pitch.Munaf, the unconventional cricketer
Munaf Patel can do things in his unassuming waysm which sometimes appear ridiculous. Brad Hodge cut Adam Voges square and Munaf’s chase from deep cover seemed futile, especially because he is not the best of the athletes. But just as the ball rolled a few paces closer to the rope, Munaf planted his right leg forward, tapped the ball from the outside of his foot and saved two runs. It seemed incredible only because Munaf could’ve tripped on the ball and injured himself badly. Instead, he pulled off the act with the finesse of a tap dancer. Later he was seen trying to deflect a throw from Shaun Tait with the same foot – an act that bordered on foolishness.Ganguly, ‘the Eel’
During his years with the Indian team, Sourav Ganguly endured numerous critics, staging comebacks when the selectors had lost faith in him while remaining a proud man and a leader. But today, Kolkata needed him to be more agile but their captain failed to inject any sort of momentum with the bat. What was worse was Ganguly was slow off the blocks and in his reflexes, which effectively slowed down his partner at the other end. In a format that demands agility, Ganguly is Eric ‘the Eel’ Moussambani, who struggled to finish his 200 metres heat in freestyle swimming during the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Leicestershire recovered from a top-order collapse to beat Northamptonshire by
six wickets in their County Championship clash at Grace Road

12-Apr-2010
ScorecardLeicestershire recovered from a top-order collapse to beat Northamptonshire by
six wickets in their County Championship clash at Grace Road. Chasing a meagre 65, they lost three wickets for 10 runs in six overs before Joshua Cobb and Tom New saw them safely over the line an hour before lunch on the final day.The home side needed only 51 more runs to win when they resumed on the fourth morning on 14 for 1. But Northamptonshire had them rocking as David Lucas and Jack Brooks made quick inroads with some fine seam bowling.Will Jefferson was trapped leg before wicket by Lucas without adding to his
overnight score of 10 and then Brooks picked up two wickets in two overs to have
Leicestershire on 29 for 4.He had James Taylor lbw offering no shot and Paul Nixon was also trapped in
front by a delivery which kept low. But Cobb and New held their nerve although Cobb could have been run out by Brooks who missed hitting the stumps by a narrow margin from close range.Cobb celebrated with a boundary off Lucas and two more fours by New eased the
pressure and victory was finally achieved with an overthrow by Brooks. Leicestershire, who finished bottom of Division Two last season, claimed 22 points from the win with Northamptonshire collecting two.