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Graeme Smith, South Africa’s captain, has fractured the middle finger on his right hand, but is expected to be fit for the Test series against West Indies next month.Smith injured his finger when attempting to take a catch off his own bowling during a match between Western Province and the Highveld Strikers.”It is an innocuous, undisplaced fracture and is not to serious,” said Shane Jabaar, Western Province’s physio. “There is a fair amount of swelling and bleeding underneath the nail but he has no problem bending the finger and it is unlikely to get any worse. The only thing that would prevent him from playing would be the pain.”Smith has been fitted with a splint to protect the finger and it is unsure whether he will play in this Friday’s Standard Bank series match against Border.West Indies, currently touring Zimbabwe, play their first Test in South Africa on December 12 at Johannesburg.

Tasmania’s selectors have reacted to their team’s dismal recent form by swinging the axe today, dropping three of the state’s most experienced players from the side to play Queensland in a Pura Cup match in Hobart starting on Thursday.Opening batsman Dene Hills, upper order batsman Michael Di Venuto and all-rounder Shaun Young are the trio dumped from the side which lost to the Bulls by ten wickets inside two days in a match in Brisbane last month.All have been near-permanent fixtures in the state’s team for the last decade.Unusually, the starting eleven has been named three days ahead of the match, with left handed opener Scott Mason, all-rounder Scott Kremerskothen and left arm wrist spinner Shannon Tubb the new inclusions. Di Venuto has been named as twelfth man.Mason, who has been in sparkling form in club cricket and in ACB Cup competition, has already played once at Pura Cup level this season – scoring 30 as wickets tumbled on the opening day of the match against Victoria in Hobart in November.Kremerskothen returns to first-class cricket after being felled by a Stuart Clark bouncer and sustaining a fractured cheekbone in the state’s opening match of the season.Tubb, who has been in brilliant form for club side Clarence, has been included in the state squad for the first time this season. He last represented the Tigers in a Pura Cup match in Sydney nearly twelve months ago.The changes follow a disastrous run of results for Tasmania. After securing first innings points in their first-class opener in Sydney, and crushing Western Australia in a limited-overs in Perth the following week, the Tigers’ only other points in the two domestic competitions have come against Victoria.Queensland has meanwhile made one alteration to its squad, including young pace bowler Damien Mackenzie as cover for Michael Kasprowicz. Kasprowicz bowled only two overs in the Bulls’ 76-run ING Cup win in Hobart yesterday before leaving the field with slight soreness in his hamstring.Teams:Tasmania: Jamie Cox (c), Sean Clingeleffer, Michael Dighton, Shane Jurgensen, Scott Kremerskothen, Daniel Marsh, Scott Mason, David Saker, Shannon Tubb, Shane Watson, Damien Wright, Michael Di Venuto (12th man).Queensland: Stuart Law (c), Jerry Cassell, Joe Dawes, Nathan Hauritz, James Hopes, Michael Kasprowicz, Martin Love, Damien Mackenzie, Jimmy Maher, Brendan Nash, Ashley Noffke, Clinton Perren, Wade Seccombe (12th and 13th men to be named).

Hyderabad coasted to a comfortable innings and 46 run victory beforelunch on the fourth day of their Ranji Trophy South Zone league matchagainst Kerala. Seamer NP Singh did most of the damage, mopping up5/39 in the visiting team’s second innings to finish with a match haulof 9/109. The win lifted Hyderabad to second place in the zonal pointstable, with 11 from two games, while Kerala remained at five points,also from two games.At the NFC Ground in Hyderabad, Kerala resumed on the fourth morningat 210/4, still needing 114 to make the hosts bat again. In the day’sthird over Kerala suffered a major setback when Kanwaljit Singhcastled Sunil Oasis for 43. B Ramprakash (26) and skipper KNAnanthapadmanabhan (24) led a brief fightback, adding 45 for the sixthwicket. But that was to be the extent of their resistance. Kerala losttheir last five wickets for 18 runs, being bowled out for 278 in the86th over. All rounder Parth Satwalkar ended the match, trapping TinuYohannan leg before to return figures of 3/64.

Leeds United could have as many as four returning players available for their upcoming Premier League clash against Southampton, according to journalist Adam Pope.

The Lowdown: Leeds face another crucial game

The Whites are in the middle of a two-week hiatus because of the international break, having not played since the dramatic 3-2 win away to Wolves on 18 March.

Next up for Jesse Marsch’s side is the visit of Southampton to Elland Road on Saturday afternoon as the home side look to pull further clear of the relegation mire.

It has been an injury-plagued season for Leeds, but a hugely positive update has emerged in that regard.

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The Latest: Four players set to return

Taking to Twitter, Pope claimed that up to four Leeds players who had been affected by injury in recent weeks and months could all be set to return for Saturday’s clash.

He revealed: “Illan Meslier (bruising) is expected to be ready to face Southampton. Kalvin Phillips, Liam Cooper & Diego Llorente all set to feature too.”

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The Verdict: Massive boost for Whites

To have those four players in contention to start is a huge boost for Leeds, especially after the negative news surrounding Patrick Bamford’s latest setback.

Meslier’s return between the sticks should bring more calm to the defence, especially if club captain Cooper is also named in Marsch’s starting line-up at Elland Road next weekend, potentially alongside Llorente.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

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Meanwhile, Phillips could make his first Leeds appearance since December, which would be the biggest positive of all, given his status as one of the best players in the country.

At a time when the Whites are still looking for strong results to ensure their Premier League status for next season, the prospective returns of several key figures ahead of the run-in will come as a huge fillip for Marsch and the Elland Road faithful.

In other news, Leeds could reportedly sign one player on loan this summer. Find out who it is here.

	Lara will undergo a fitness test concerning his left shoulder © AFP

A fitness test is all that stands between Brian Lara and the opening Carib Beer Series contest against Guyana at the Queen’s Park Oval on Friday.Lara was named in the 14-man Trinidad and Tobago squad that will take on the Guyanese, pending a fitness test tomorrow concerning his shoulder injury. Once a decision has been made on his fitness, the squad will be trimmed to 13 players for the Guyana match.T&T will be led by allrounder Rayad Emrit in the absence of Daren Ganga, who is currently on tour with West Indies in South Africa.Noticeably absent from the T&T squad is veteran fast bowler Mervyn Dillon, but T&T Cricket Board chairman Dudnath Ramkessoon stressed yesterday that this does not mean the big pacer is out of the series. “We have Ravi Rampaul there, we have [Richard] Kelly there,” Ramkessoon told the . “There’s [only] so many players you can pick. It’s just for this game, because after the first game [against Guyana] we’ll pick for the second one [against Barbados].”Adrian Barath, the talented young opener, returns from an elbow injury to boost the T&T team. Coach Kelvin Williams will be buoyed by Barath’s robust 106 from a total of 266 for 6 for South against North in their limited-overs fixture, on Sunday. Atiba Alert, a fast bowler, is the only new face in the T&T squad.Richard Kelly returns to the fold after being excluded from the KFC Cup squad in October. Kelly was in sparkling form for North in the Pizza Hut Gerry Gomez North/South Classic, last weekend, his ten-wicket match haul earning him the accolades of Man of the Match, Best Bowler and North MVP.

Canterbury made a decent reply to Central District’s first-innings 460, ending the second day on 208 for 2 at the Basin Reserve. . Michael Papps, the opener with international experience, hit 86 to go past 700 runs for the State Championship season. Shanan Stewart, who put on 99 with Papps after Todd Astle (41) was dismissed, was unbeaten at stumps on 56 with Andrew Ellis (17 not out) for company. Earlier, CD added 85 to their overnight score, with Tim Weston hitting an unbeaten 87.Mayu Pasupati proved his allround worth with two wickets on State Championship debut as Auckland kept Otago down to 130 for 4 by stumps on day two at Dunedin’s University Oval. Pasupati’s 76 had yesterday helped Auckland recover from 129 for 8 to 226, and handed the ball, he removed Aaron Redmond early and top-scorer Neil Broom (49) to finish with 2 for 23 from ten overs. Shaun Haig, the opener, hit 38 from 35 deliveries.In the eight overs of play on day two, Northern Districts needed just 16 deliveries to get the last two Wellington batsman out but lost opener BJ Watling to finish on eight for one at the Basin Reserve. ND added 13 to their overnight score to reach 314, and Dewayne Bowden then dismissed Watling to keep some momentum going.

Zimbabwe Under-19 captain Sean Williams is targeting a victory over Group D rivals England as the key to his side’s progress to the Super League at the U-19 World Cup.The group, that also includes Associate sides Ireland and Nepal, appears to be the most wide-open of the four in the tournament that starts in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Sunday. And Williams, who has already played four ODIs at senior level, believes a victory over the group favourites, who they face on 10 February, could go a long way to ensuring the African side reach the knock-out stage.”England are my main target – I really want to beat England,” he said on Monday. “I think if we beat England then we are close to the Super League and I would say if we can beat them then we can beat almost anybody. I know and believe we can beat them.”This tournament comes less than a month after Zimbabwe Cricket withdrew from Test matches for one year following a period of poor results and internal strife that has rocked the game in that country. The situation has prompted speculation about the future of cricket in Zimbabwe and so Williams acknowledged a solid performance from his team was vital to show that future is bright.”The U-19 team we have got has a lot of fight in it and the incentive for us is huge,” he said. “People do not expect a lot from Zimbabwe but at the last U-19 World Cup (in Bangladesh in 2004) we proved a lot and we’ve come to prove a lot again. In an individual way it is important for each and every (Zimbabwe) player that has come across to be seen by the rest of the world,” he added.The importance of the team being in Sri Lanka and also proving the vitality of the game at this development level was echoed by team manager Dilip Chouhan. “We know all eyes are focussed on us in the cricketing fraternity because of what has happened at home,” he said.”As a result we believe we are playing an important role as far as the future of Zimbabwe cricket is concerned.”Coach Walter Chawaguta said he had encouraged his players not to think about the internal problems that have affected cricket in Zimbabwe in the build-up to this tournament. “From day one we’ve said this is U-19 cricket,” he said. “A lot of them are schoolboys so not a lot of them have been affected. They may be worried about their futures but we have made it very clear they should only worry about things that are in their control – that has been our focus. Our future lies in the development of the game and our U-14, U-15 and U-16 sides right up to U-19 level are well developed. If we can be competitive at these levels then it means there is light at the end of the tunnel.”Zimbabwe lost all five of its matches in November’s Afro-Asian U-19 Cup in India but Williams said part of the blame for those losses was down to some players being unavailable because of schooling commitments. He said since that tournament the players had been in a training camp interrupted only by a break for the Christmas holidays in December ahead of the trip to Sri Lanka.Chawaguta added they knew little about their opening Group D opponents Ireland but said that was not a major concern. “Our focus is on making sure we play well on any particular day,” he said. “If we do that then we will put the opposition under pressure.”Zimbabwe face Ireland on Sunday on the opening day of the ICC U-19 CWC before further matches against Nepal (February 7) and England (February 10) complete their group stage.The top two sides from each of the four groups in the tournament will progress to the Super League stage, which consists of knock-out quarter- and semi-finals and a final on 19 February.Zimbabwe squad Sean Williams (capt), Gary Balance, Ronald Benade, Justice Chomunorwa (also known as Cham or Chamu Chibhabha), Graeme Cremer, Ryan Higgins, Friday Kasteni, Tarisai Mahlunge, Prince Masvaure, Keagan Meth, Taurai Muzarabani, Ian Nicolson, Donald (also known as Kuda) Samunderu and Glen Querl.