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When it comes to the full-back positions, Celtic haven’t exactly brought in great quality with the Hoops devoid of many first-class options in Ange Postecoglou’s ranks at Parkhead.

Take Boli Bolingoli for example. The Belgian full-back was the subject of a rather stern telling off from Neil Lennon when the current pandemic was at its peak.

He visited Spain on an unsanctioned trip, failed to isolate when he came home and as a result, put the entirety of Celtic’s playing and coaching staff at huge risk of the virus.

But then there’s Greg Taylor as well, someone who is rather divisive in Glasgow.

Capable of bursting forward from full-back and delivering a cross, he is arguably the closest thing the Bhoys have had to Kieran Tierney since he departed for Arsenal.

Yet, met with inconsistency and injuries, he’s hardly an ideal long-term heir.

Of course, Josip Juranovic has deputised ably in that position at times since Postecoglou signed him but they didn’t half make a messy situation out of one of their former academy gems, someone who would now be their first choice every week.

That happens to be Aaron Hickey, a player who Celtic let go in his mid-teens to Hearts and then failed to bring back to Paradise in two successive summers.

The Hoops have long been linked with a move to bring him back into the fold but after a £1.5m sale to Serie A side Bologna, his path now looks destined for greater things.

The 19-year-old has been labelled an “exceptional talent” by Daniel Stendel and has even been compared to Sergio Busquets due to his ability to feature in a holding midfield role too.

Yet, it’s on the left-hand side of defence, an area that needs obvious improvement long-term at Celtic, that he’s become a star in.

As a teenager, he has quickly become one of the most promising young defenders in Italy, scoring four times and assisting a strike in 2021/22 so far.

Furthermore, he ranks in the top 1% of full-backs across Europe’s top five leagues over the last year for shot on-target percentage, and in the same 1% for fouls drawn by an opponent per 90 minutes.

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With those stats in mind, it would appear that not only did Celtic lose a tricky defender from their academy, but they have also missed a golden chance to bring him back to Glasgow.

Sadly, any chance of luring him back has now gone as well, with Transfermarkt valuing the Scot at a whopping £11.7m, an increase of 766% on what he was sold for and surely miles out of Postecoglou’s price range.

It’s fair to say they will have plenty of regrets about Hickey.

AND in other news, Forget Jota: Celtic ace with 78 touches today is no longer Parkhead’s “walking joke”…

	Injuries to Sreesanth and Munaf Patel and now Zaheer Khan have severely hampered India’s chances in the Test series against Australia © AFP

India’s prospects of challenging Australia in the ongoing Test series were jolted when an injured Zaheer Khan was ruled out of the series. With Sreesanth on the sidelines, it meant that both of India’s new-ball bowlers from the previous away Test series – in England – would miss part of the action in Australia.The constant injuries to Indian fast bowlers, according to Javagal Srinath, are due to two reasons: Indian first-class cricket doesn’t prepare fast bowlers for the physical and mental demands of international cricket, and that the players are not good at injury management at a personal level.”The injury management has to start from the players themselves,” Srinath said. “Fast bowling is all about self-learning. Injuries will always be a part of a fast bowler’s career. It’s how you manage them. Once you play international cricket, especially undertake fast bowling which is unnatural to normal life, you have to work around the injuries.”Knowing your body is very important. Outsiders can’t read your body at all, you are the best doctor and physiotherapist. When you can’t really understand your inner voices or body, you look out for help.”TA Sekhar, the head coach at the MRF Pace Academy, has an interesting take on it. According to him, most of the injuries have root in technical faults in the bowling actions. And the bowling coach travelling with the team can’t keep a tab on technical deficiencies, as the game strategy is foremost on his mind. And there is no back-end support in India to work on bowler’s techniques, to understand the inner voices the bowler himself can’t hear.Working around the injuries, according to Srinath, doesn’t mean hiding them and playing on. “If you carry an injury into a match, which calls for more than 100% effort, you are hurting both yourself and the team. If a bowler goes through a match with an injury and doesn’t perform up to his best, his career will be in tatters. If somebody is doing that, he is doing at his own peril.”Srinath doesn’t buy into the argument about the increased workload. “The workload has increased for every team, and not only for India. Earlier too, people used to go play county cricket for six months and come back and play international cricket. Workload is kind of over-rated. The body can take breaks at the correct times and you will be doing fine.”But once a player does get injured, India, according to Srinath, is primitive in terms of sport medicine and physiotherapy. “That is also compounding the problems at Ranji Trophy level and below. Only international players get the top facility.”A Ranji player has to take a big leap when he graduates to international level. “The gap is too big. The cricket played in Ranji Trophy is not even 20% of what you play at international level. In terms of quality of wickets, batsmen, in terms of mental make-up.”The turnover of fast bowlers and the quality has definitely improved since Srinath’s retirement, but none of the bowlers has been able to sustain the quality for a consistent injury-free time. The search, as we speak, is still on.

7 for 283 (Wright 57*, Bollinger 5-57) v New South Wales
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Doug Bollinger caused problems for the Tasmania top order © Getty Images

Doug Bollinger’s career-best 5 for 57 put New South Wales in charge before Luke Butterworth and Damien Wright steered a wobbly Tasmania to 7 for 283 at stumps. The pair added 95 for the eighth wicket and reinstated Tasmania’s hopes of winning the Pura Cup for the first time.Wright was unbeaten on 57; it was his 14th time past fifty in his first-class career and he brought up the milestone with a daring slap over midwicket for four off Matthew Nicholson. Butterworth took a more patient approach and finished on 40 not out.Theirs was the second of two fighting partnerships after Bollinger’s efforts had the Blues on track to steal the title in an away final for the third time in five years. Tasmania were 5 for 94 when Dan Marsh and Sean Clingeleffer came together and advanced the score by 79.Marsh (44) initially struggled on his return having missed two matches with a calf tear and he took 52 minutes and 33 deliveries to get off the mark. Bollinger removed both batsmen through edges to slip within five overs of each other but he had limited support from the other bowlers.It was also Bollinger who snared two wickets in the first three overs after lunch to continue New South Wales’ early dominance. Michael Dighton (33) top-edged an attempted hook high to the wicketkeeper and George Bailey edged behind for 1.Bollinger had removed Tim Paine for 0 in the second over of the day with a ball that swung back slightly and clipped the offstump. Michael Di Venuto and Travis Birt were early victims of the movement, prompting questions over Marsh’s decision to bat.”The wicket had more moisture in it than I thought and probably than anyone thought,” Marsh said. “It did swing around a bit early. Generally what happens here on day two is it gets a bit quicker and even better for bowling so hopefully we can frustrate them for an hour or two and then have a bowl. We feel we’ve got the momentum now.”

‘It was an exceptional spell’ said Marvan Atapattu on Chaminda Vaas’ bowling in the first session © Getty Images

Greg ChappellOn the batting collapse in the morningThe Sri Lankans bowled quite well, and we didn’t bat as well as we could have done. I thought we made it look a bit harder than it really was.On whether he would read too much into today’s eventsI wouldn’t. It was good practice for both teams. That’s about all you can say.On whether the batting was a concernI wouldn’t read too much into it. We’ve learnt some lessons from this game, and we’ll address them.On Sehwag squandering another startIf you want to make it a cause for concern, you can. We know that at some stage, he’s going to go on and play a big innings. It could be in Delhi. It’s not a big issue at the moment. And he was the top scorer.On what areas the teams needs to improveWe obviously need to make more runs. Hopefully the batting conditions will be different in Delhi. But I don’t think you can make too much of this. Things can change very quickly.On what he made of Sourav Ganguly making few runs, and no impact with the ballI wouldn’t [make much of it]. What can I say? We made 167 runs.Marvan AtapattuOn the batting conditionsIt wasn’t the easiest pitch to bat on. The ball kept low, and batting was hard work.On his team’s performanceI thought we did pretty well with the ball to restrict a very strong line-up to 167. We’re satisfied with how we played. It was important that we start well after what happened a month ago [in the one-day matches]. It was up to us to put things right in the middle.On what this meant to the teamLike Tom [Moody] said, we prepared very hard for this. Consistency is what we’re looking for, and this will give us a lot of confidence.On Chaminda VaasIt was an exceptional spell. To bowl 10 overs on the trot this morning without conceding a run, against such good opposition, tells its own story.On how his spinners bowledYou expect Murali to perform on any type of pitch. But for our legspinner [Malinga Bandara], it was a first wicket seven years after making his debut against New Zealand in Colombo. That shows you how tough Test cricket is, and how cruel it can be.On being missing from the field for most of the morningI sprained my right ankle yesterday and aggravated it this morning. We didn’t want to take any chances, so I went for an X-ray.Tom MoodyOn how he looked at the matchYou can see it in a number of ways. We’re pleased with the limited cricket that we got, and disappointed that we didn’t get five days. We’d prepared very hard for this, and it was a shame that the weather won in the end. But we’re looking forward to Delhi.On how Vaas, his former county team-mate, bowledChaminda’s worked very hard over the past few weeks. He was disappointed, as we all were, after what happened in the one-day series. I was really pleased that he could string a spell like that together, and produce such a performance against a strong side. He’s a vital member of our team, and it’s nice to see such hard work rewarded.

Gilchrist: rested© Getty Images

Adam Gilchrist is being rested for Australia’s next two matches in the one-day VB Series. His place will be taken by the New South Wales wicketkeeper Brad Haddin.The selectors decided to leave Gilchrist out of the matches against Pakistan at Sydney on Sunday (Jan 23) and West Indies at Adelaide on Wednesday.Trevor Hohns, the chairman of selectors, explained: “Upon selecting the squad for this series, we said that certain players would be rested from time to time. That was the reason we opted for a larger squad. Matthew Hayden and Glenn McGrath have had short spells so far in this series, and we felt that it was in Adam’s best interests to have some time out prior to the end of the VB Series and the tour of New Zealand. Brad Haddin has been in very good form so far this season and deserves this opportunity.”Glenn McGrath, who missed today’s match against West Indies at Brisbane, rejoins the squad for Sunday’s match at the SCG.

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Scorecard

Another Hayden masterclass © Getty

Matthew Hayden, reportedly battling a back problem that almost prevented him from playing, unleashed a century of outstanding quality which contained all the elements of batsmanship that have made him one of the most dominant destroyers on the world stage over the last few years. By the close, Australia had marched to 372 for 3, with Hayden unbeaten on 183. The unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 173 with Steve Waugh utterly demoralised Zimbabwe, who had fought hard for a semblance of parity in the first two sessions.Hayden attacked early on, to gain the ascendancy, then anchored the innings through potential danger before finishing off the day with an assault that bordered on the sublime. He took 308 minutes and 210 balls to reach his 15th Test century, but needed just 32 more deliveries to speed past 150. It was a brutal decimation of an impotent attack, with the prospect of more punishment tomorrow.The day had started on an emotional note with 88 seconds of silence in memory of the 88 victims of the Bali bombings, which happened a year ago on Sunday. There was also a presentation of medallions to both teams in honour of the first match in Australia between these sides, and a special greeting for the umpires and the referee as part of the Australian Sports Commission’s Year of the Official.The way Australia started, it seemed as if they were on a time bonus to complete the match within three days. Hayden and Justin Langer scored at six an over with some audacious strokeplay, more in keeping with the final session of a day than the start. High risk brings greater demand for execution, and when Langer had made 26 he failed to cover a ball that he played defensively onto his stumps off an inside edge. Sean Ervine’s medium-pace had done what Heath Streak and Andy Blignaut’s superior speed had not been able to achieve.Further success came just after lunch when Ervine trapped Ricky Ponting in front for 37. Throughout it all, Hayden was immovable. He reined in the aggression when Langer departed, and it wasn’t until after he had scored his century that he opened out.Damien Martyn came in and rattled off a quickfire 53 from 76 balls before he edged one to slip off Trevor Gripper’s gentle offspin. But with Steve Waugh settling in, there was no more respite for Zimbabwe. After a period of consolidation just after tea, Hayden and Waugh lifted the scoring tempo with imperceptible ease. Hayden reached his century, and then moved into another realm.Zimbabwe’s attack was ill-equipped to contain the power and intent of the Australians. If Streak thought the second new ball might rescue his day, and the decision to bowl first, reality was less than one over away. Hayden took 14 runs from the first over – a four to cover, another to midwicket and six over long-on. In between, he copped a severe blow to his left knee when he pulled the ball down onto it, leaving him hobbling in pain.For Ervine, there was some comfort with two wickets for 56 but, in all likelihood, Australia have already done enough to wrap up this match quickly. However, as long as Hayden maintains his desire, the prospects for individual records are limitless. And then there’s the small matter of Perth being the only current Test ground in Australia on which Waugh hasn’t scored a century … yet. The omens aren’t that great for Zimbabwe ahead of the second day.

Auckland openers Matt Horne and Tim McIntosh batted their side back into a strong position on day three of their State Championship match with Otago in the continuing run fest at Carisbrook today.Auckland were 275 for one at stumps, a lead of 274.Otago resumed their first innings still 87 runs behind Auckland on the first innings but wicket-keeper Martyn Croy and Craig Pryor made up for the early loss of Chris Gaffaney for his overnight score of 36.Croy scored 58 not out and Pryor 22 not out as Otago declared immediately upon passing the Auckland total with six wickets down.It has not been a match for bowlers and of the Auckland attack, Tama Canning did best by sending down 27 overs and taking two for 71 by bowling economically. Kyle Mills tended to be too short and took two for 90 from his 17 overs.Auckland started its second innings cautiously with Horne and McIntosh again its opening pair and not even the most optimistic Auckland supporter could have foreseen what was about to unfold.They put on 240 for the first wicket and in so doing broke the record for Auckland’s first wicket of 169 against Otago set in 1976/77 at Eden Park by Austin Parsons and Jim Riley.Horne was finally out for 127 from 139 balls which included 21 fours. McIntosh, who was on 113 at stumps, had played a subservient role to Horne while scoring his third century of the first-class season, but nevertheless it was a most valuable one and his timing particularly towards the end of the day was quite magnificent.Horne, the faster and more experienced of the two, registered his 21st first-class hundred, and he told Cricinfo, “It was great to have Tim McIntosh at the other end and for both of us to be scoring well.”It was great to be back at Carisbrook and to be batting on an excellent pitch,” he said.McIntosh said he enjoyed the experience of batting with the New Zealand opener and relished the occasion of them both scoring centuries.Auckland’s decision tomorrow should it look to push for outright points by making a challenging declaration will know that its hopes rest on the timing of the close on a pitch which has been another first rate Carisbrook track.The weather forecast is good and a result seems highly likely.

England Women produced another encouraging result in their preparations for the CricInfo Women’s World Cup as they beat South Africa by 9 wickets in a rain-affected match at Trent Bridge.The rain rules, bizarrely avoiding the reliable yet incomprehensible Duckworth Lewis system, played straight into England’s hands. Captain Clare Connor remarked as such as she won the toss and elected to bowl. Man of the Match Lucy Pearson produced a devastating opening spell from which the South Africans struggled to recover.England’s team spirit and fielding was electrifying throughout. Arran Thompson’s catch in the first over set the standard for all that was to follow. Every appeal was uniformly supported in the field, and every wicket greeted with genuine excitement. None more so that the run out of Cindy Eksteen just as South Africa were heading confidently towards a good total, with Jane Cassar gathering a wild throw as she fell backwards, rapidly recovering to whip off the bails.The South African batsmen were positive throughout, despite losing regular wickets. The sixth wicket partnership of 74 between Eksteen and Davies ensured a total that would have been competitive without the intervention of the now familiar Trent Bridge rain.Initially chasing 151 in 35 overs, Claire Taylor and Charlotte Edwards formed a contrasting blend of patience and panache. Edwards was quickly into her stride, timing a number of shots exquisitely, while Taylor played a solid supporting role.Then came the rain, and a dramatic change in the match situation. The target off the remaining seven overs was reduced to just 38 runs, but after one eventful over, decisive hitting and poor fielding put England well on top. Taylor was dropped three times as she attempted to set the pace, including an horrific drop at mid-on by Lewis. From then on, runs came easily, quick singles and emphatic boundaries saw England cruise to a comfortable victory.Edwards was dismissed just before the winning hit, and it fell to Barbara Daniels to deny Taylor a well-deserved 50 as she cut the winning boundary.England Women now require just one more win to ensure a series victory, and a valuable morale boost prior to the CricInfo Women’s World Cup in New Zealand.

Speaking to Football Insider, pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor of talkSPORT has let rip into three ‘overrated’ West Ham United players.

The Lowdown: No backing in January…

Following what was a regrettable January transfer window, manager David Moyes will have to contend with his current crop as he aims to guide the Hammers to Champions League qualification whilst keeping their Europa League dreams alive.

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West Ham are now out of the FA Cup following last night’s disappointing 3-1 away defeat to Southampton and, depending on their European chase, face the prospect of going trophy-less for another campaign.

Moyes will need some members of his squad to rediscover their best form with Agbonlahor not impressed with three Irons stars in particular.

The Latest: Agbonlahor slams ‘overrated’ trio…

Speaking to FI, the ex-Aston Villa striker has ripped into Said Benrahma, Pablo Fornals and Manuel Lanzini – simply stating they don’t offer enough threat for Moyes.

“Apart from Antonio and Bowen, there are no other attacking players in that squad that I rate,” he explained.

“I think Benrahma is overrated, I think Lanzini and Fornals are overrated, they’re average. They need more help, they need more pace on the wings.

“I like Bowen on the right but can they get more pace on the left-wing? Benrahma drifts out of games and is subbed early.”

The Verdict: Right to criticise?

According to WhoScored, Agbonlahor may be right to single out members of this trio, but others remain up for debate.

Lanzini, for example, could arguably be questioned given he is statistically one of West Ham’s worst performers in the Premier League – averaging a 6.68 match rating and ranking among the lowliest of Moyes’ performers (WhoScored).

However, while there is evidence of Benrahma ‘drifting out’, he’s also averaged the third-most shots at goal per 90 with only Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio managing more goals/assists combined (WhoScored) – perhaps indicating he can still be a threat.

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Fornals, who has made the joint-second most key passes per 90 for West Ham in England’s top flight, is another who comes in as a mixed bag – with the Spaniard also among West Ham’s best in terms of goals/assists this season.

The fact these players are attracting such fierce criticism could bring into debate the validity of stats in certain cases, but one thing is for certain, Moyes will need the best out of Fornals, Benrahma and Lanzini if West Ham wish to finish 2021/2022 strongly.

In other news: Insider: Moyes’ brand new transfer demand could now spell the end for ‘fantastic’ West Ham player, find out more here.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

	Jacob Oram hit a fluent hundred, but New Zealand will rue not having more runs on the board © Getty Images

Junaid Siddique and Tamim Iqbal showed there was plenty of fight in the Bangladesh camp, adding a record 148-run opening stand on a slow track to reduce the deficit to 72 on day two at Dunedin’s University Oval. Inspired by a new-ball burst that checked New Zealand’s lower order – the first time in seven Tests they bowled a side out – the debutant left-handed openers bravely chipped away at a 220-run first-innings lead and left the hosts with plenty to think about.New Zealand dominated the first half of the day as Matthew Bell made his comeback Test one to remember, converting his excellent provincial form into a second Test century, and Jacob Oram thumped a brisk fourth century, but they will be kicking themselves for not getting a larger total.If Tamim and Siddique were under pressure in their first Test, it rarely showed. Their association didn’t start pretty – Tamim was dropped by Iain O’Brien and a slog off Daniel Vettori was misjudged by Chris Martin in the deep – but the openers fought through a testing passage against a moving new ball. Initially eager to manufacture runs, they wisely settled down to press for time. But that didn’t mean the scoring rate reduced. Ticking along at around five runs an over, Siddique played some convincing drives down the ground while Tamim, happier to get onto the back foot, hooked and pulled fours. The team fifty was on the board in the 11th over.The two played on New Zealand’s mind. Anything full was driven firmly by Siddique, prompting the seamers to hold back the length, at which time Tamim flashed hard and picked the gaps, more often than not. Siddique got to fifty first, thumping O’Brien for four, and his maiden effort was well appreciated by a raucous dressing room. Tamim slogged Vettori to bring up the 100 in the 20th over and soon celebrated his second fifty of the match, driving Vettori against the spin for four. While Vettori struggled to locate his angle Tamim put him away through cover-point.While they were near impeccable in defence, both waited for the short stuff from Vettori and when it came, they thrashed behind point. As the pitch flattened out, so did the bowling. About 15 minutes before stumps a record was achieved with a nudge past square leg – it was the highest opening stand for Bangladesh. Even in the last over of the day Tamim and Siddique were playing their shots, such was their positive mindset.There was nothing in the first half hour which suggested it wouldn’t be a good batting day. With six wickets left New Zealand were in the position to command. The pitch played a lot better on day one than expected. Bangladesh needed early wickets but there were far too many loose balls that allowed Bell and Oram to start confidently.When he decided to put them away, Oram was clinical, and such was his power and placement that the fielders had little chance of stopping shorts. Putting his height to good use, he drove and punched with power, his on-drives especially well-timed. Enamul Haque jnr bowled a touch too short and was easy pickings for Oram on a slow pitch.If Oram was eager to get to a hundred, Bell was understandably patient to reach his second, seven years after his first. Making the most of an umpiring reprieve on 97 – umpire Peter Parker failed to see pad first on a very good leg before shout from Mashrafe Mortaza – Bell moved out of a tense couple of overs in the nineties with another dab between gully and the slips, to cheer from his home town crowd. For a team whose opening combinations have been poor all season, Bell’s hundred was a whiff of fresh air.Mohammad Ashraful struck twice before lunch, getting Bell and Brendon McCullum, but Oram didn’t keep the crowd waiting long after lunch, easing one to the midwicket boundary to raise three figures at a healthy strike rate of 70. To celebrate, Oram lifted an Ashaful long hop into the car park.The new ball, taken with New Zealand 320 for 6, worked straight away as Oram bottom-edged onto his stumps. Kyle Mills pushed his first ball into the wicketkeeper’s hands to lift sagging shoulders and Vettori tried one shot too many and chipped a simple catch to mid-on. Mortaza’s fourth wicket curtailed the innings at 357, a total that seemed extremely healthy at the time.After a largely unsuccessful first day with the bat Bangladesh had put themselves under pressure, but thanks to two teenagers with an appetite for a scrap they’re almost matching New Zealand step for step.