Newcastle United goalkeeper Karl Darlow is a target for both Bournemouth and Leeds United this summer according to journalist Craig Hope.

The 32-year-old spent the second half of the last campaign on loan at Hull City in the Championship

Is Karl Darlow still at Newcastle United?

Darlow is still at Newcastle, with this being his ninth summer at the Tyneside club following his move from Nottingham Forest in 2014.

The Englishman has made exactly 100 appearances for the Magpies since his move, with the majority of his time being spent as the club's second-choice goalkeeper behind the likes of Martin Dubravka, Tim Krul, and Nick Pope. During the club's one season in the Championship, Darlow was a regular starter under then-manager Rafa Benitez, making 34 appearances as the club went on to win the title and earn promotion back to the top flight at the first time of asking.

The 32-year-old also had an extended spell as a starter under Steve Bruce during the 2020/21 campaign, making 25 appearances before a knee injury ended his season early. The keeper impressed many that season, with Sky Sports pundit Matt Murray stating: "If I'm Karl Darlow, with Steve Bruce resting me against Arsenal, the way he’s played this season, and how patient Karl Darlow has been during his time at Newcastle, I’d have been bashing the door down [if Bruce had selected Dubravka against Sheffield United]. Since Darlow has come in he’s been absolutely awesome. He makes save after save. Even games where they’ve been beaten heavily – against Manchester United he was still excellent. He was man of the match against Tottenham. It’s his right, it should be his shirt to lose, and it would have to be a brave manager to drop any goalkeeper in that kind of form.”

After spending the second half of last season out on loan, it now looks likely that Darlow's career on Tyneside will be coming to an end this summer, with reports stating that Leeds United are interested in bringing in the shot-stopper ahead of their first campaign back in the Championship, whilst Premier League side Bournemouth are reportedly closing in on a deal for the keeper.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, journalist Hope revealed that both Bournemouth and Leeds are battling for the player's signature, with his final decision still unknown: "We thought Karl Darlow was definitely off to Bournemouth, but I know that Leeds have emerged as a rival for his signature. It looks almost certain like he’s going to go, whether it’s Bournemouth or Leeds we’ll have to wait and see."

Which club will Karl Darlow join?

Both sides interested in Darlow offer something different for the player to consider.

Should he make the move to Leeds, there is a good chance that he becomes the Yorkshire side's first-choice goalkeeper, especially if the reports that current number one Illan Meslier could depart this summer are true. The 32-year-old has plenty of experience in the Championship, having made 152 appearances in the division across seven seasons with three different clubs, and his campaign as Newcastle's number one in 2016/17 will also be a good reference for Leeds as they hope to achieve what that side achieved and bounce straight back up to the Premier League, and they would know that Darlow has shown he can be relied upon between the sticks for a side that can achieve that.

The move to Bournemouth would allow the English-man to stay in the Premier League for the next season, however, he would most likely struggle for game time at the Cherries due to the presence of former Barcelona keeper Norberto Neto. Darlow has impressed when played in a team that expects to be second best and near the bottom of the table, with that spell during Lockdown sticking out, with then manager Bruce stating after the shot-stoppers impressive performance against Liverpool: "He's had to wait patiently for his chance and certainly with the way he's trained. We've had to call on him a bit too much at times, but there's no denying he's been terrific all season."

It may ultimately come down to what Darlow's aspirations are at the age of 32; play regular football, or be part of a squad competing at the highest level of the English pyramid.

حقق فريق الكرة بالزمالك فوزًا هامًا على الأهلي بنتيجة 2-1 في المباراة التي جمعت بينهما مساء اليوم ضمن منافسات الدوري المصري.

وأقيمت مباراة الأهلي والزمالك مساء اليوم على أرضية استاد القاهرة باللقاء المؤجل من الجولة العاشرة بالمسابقة المحلية.

وبهذا الفوز يرتفع رصيد الزمالك إلى 21 نقطة حصدها من 13 مباراة خاضها هذا الموسم حتى الوقت الحالي.

طالع.. فيديو | الزمالك يحسم القمة 127 أمام الأهلي بثنائية الجزيري في الدوري المصري

وكان الزمالك قد تأهل إلى الدور نصف النهائي ببطولة الكونفدرالية على حساب فيوتشر بعد الفوز عليه في مباراة الذهاب 2-1، وتعادل 1-1 في لقاء العودة ضمن مواجهات دور ربع النهائي للبطولة الإفريقية.

ويلتقي الزمالك مع فريق دريمز، في دور نصف النهائي، بعدما تخطى الفريق الغاني عقبة الملعب المالي بنتيجة 3-2 في مجموع مباراتي الذهاب والإياب. موعد مباراة الزمالك القادمة أمام دريمز في الكونفدرالية

ويواجه الزمالك منافسه دريمز يوم الأحد 21 أبريل الجاري، على ملعب استاد القاهرة، في تمام الساعة 6 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، 7 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية.

Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham are "leading the fight" for Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher, and he is "ready" to make a move this summer.

Who will Spurs sign?

Ange Postecoglou will be fairly happy with his side's moves in the transfer window, with Spurs having sealed deals for goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, playmaker James Maddison and winger Manor Solomon on a free transfer.

The trio join both Dejan Kulusevski and Pedro Porro in putting pen to paper on permanent moves to north London after their previous loan deals, but reports suggest the Lilywhites could add more new faces.

Postecoglou, speaking to the media recently, confirmed that his club are looking to sign a centre-back to shore up a leaky defence which conceded 63 league goals last season.

"That's definitely our intention, absolutely," said Postecoglou when asked about new defenders.

"We've been working on it for a while and we'll definitely try to get it done as quickly as possible."

"I don't think it's any secret about some of the areas we needed to strengthen. Some of it I identified early on. The goalkeeper was one and central defence is another.

"In terms of the other boys, we've got a big squad but my view is I wanted to bring them along and just work with them, get some clarity in my head and give clarity to them."

Wolfsburg's Micky van de Ven, Edmond Tapsoba of Bayer Leverkusen, Fulham's Tosin Adarabioyo, Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet, Galatasary's Victor Nelsson and Juventus defender Gleison Bremer have all been linked to joining for the defensive positions.

Meanwhile, it is also believed that Spurs want to sign a new midfielder to succeed Denmark international Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who could well join Atletico Madrid.

Gallagher is a name attracting their serious interest, with London rivals West Ham and Spurs "leading the fight" for his services.

David Moyes' side have already seen a bid rejected for the 23-year-old, so a transfer won't be easy, but it is believed that Gallagher "ready" to leave Stamford Bridge.

Reliable journalist Nizaar Kinsella wrote in The Evening Standard:

"Conor Gallagher is ready to leave Chelsea after being deemed surplus to requirements, with ­Tottenham and West Ham leading the fight for his signature.

"The 23-year-old, who scored in a 4-3 friendly win over Brighton in Philadelphia on Saturday and also in the 5-0 thrashing of Wrexham last week, is being offered to clubs."

How good is Conor Gallagher?

The midfielder struggled to gain consistent starting places for Chelsea last season, making half of his appearances from the bench (WhoScored).

However, Gallagher showcased his true quality on loan at Crystal Palace over 2021/2022, where the player ranked as their best-performing player per 90 whilst chipping in with eight goals and three assists (WhoScored).

Gallagher has also been praised by former Spurs star Jermaine Jenas, who told Match of The Day (via The Sun) that he is a "game-changer" and similar to Chelsea legend Frank Lampard.

“He reminds me a lot of Lampard," said Jenas.

"I think he is a game-changer aswell Conor Gallagher. He’s the type of player that you bring on and he has an impact on the game.

“He presses, gets himself in the box and creates chances. Also, he’s won a World Cup. He was part of the U17 World Cup-winning side so he understands tournament football and I’m pleased for Conor.”

Manchester United could finally launch a move to land Sofyan Amrabat this weekend, with Corriere Fiorentino, via Sport Witness reporting that a “decisive” approach could be made.

How many games has Sofyan Amrabat played for Fiorentina?

The 26-year-old has been a mainstay in the Fiorentina first-team over the last three seasons, even helping them to reach the Europa Conference League final in 2022/23. In Serie A, he played on 29 occasions for them with 24 starts, and managed an assist along the way. It means that he has now spent more time with the Italian outfit than any other club during his career (or at least he’s played in more games), featuring 83 times for the side since his move there three years ago.

It was his loan stint at Hellas Verona that really put him on the radar, with the Morocco international proving that he could cut it at the top level in Italy. Despite the side being relatively unfancied, he led them to ninth and he played 34 times for them in Serie A that season.

More impressively, he had a progressive carrying distance of 4827 yards that season – ranking him ninth of everyone in that area in the division. His 75 successful take-ons also put him in the top five in that area that year. It showcased Amrabat’s abilities as a midfielder who likes to drive forward and help his side on the attack – something that caught the eye of La Viola, who snapped him up.

Are Manchester United signing Sofyan Amrabat?

Now, he could be on the move again. The Morocco star has been tracked by Man United for most of the summer window and it appears as though a bid – and the chance for a move – could finally happen this weekend.

According to a report from Corriere Fiorentino, via Sport Witness, "something is moving" and the Premier League side could launch a “decisive thrust” – a solid approach for his services – "over the weekend".

As things stand, no move is happening because no club has met the demands of Fiorentina and hit his 30 million Euro (£26m) asking price. However, the inclination is that the Red Devils may be about to do that, as it looks as though the Italian outfit are preparing for it to happen this weekend.

If United did decide to launch an official swoop for the Morocco international, it could be a shrewd bit of business for them. He not only has produced the goods for Fiorentina but has done similar for his country, helping them to a historic fourth-placed finish in the World Cup last year.

Stuart Pearce stated that Amrabat had too much “drive”, “energy” and “leadership” for his opponents in Qatar, whilst Nigel Adderley called him the African side's “player of the tournament”.

He is at the top of his game right now then and United should capitalise while they can. If they can land him in a deal around that £26m tag, it would be a positive step in the search for trophies by United.

Manchester United could indeed sign Sofyan Amrabat this summer – but only if they dispose of Fred or Donny van de Beek first, as reported by Fabrizio Romano for The Guardian.

What is the latest Manchester United transfer news?

With the Red Devils looking to kick on and keep fighting at the top end of the Premier League next season, more business is being done in the transfer market to ensure they have a squad capable of fighting on all fronts. Having secured Champions League football next term and with plenty of cups to be won, the side will need to make sure they have enough depth and ability to bring home some silverware.

The current transfer priority for United appears to be in attack, with Rasmus Hojlund the big name linked with a switch to Old Trafford. With the English outfit wanting to add goals to their ranks, it appears they have turned their attention to the Atalanta youngster and are determined to bring him in this summer. A recent report states that they plan to move swiftly for the youngster after wrapping up a deal for Andre Onana in goal, and will launch a fresh bid to try and secure him amongst competition for his signature this summer.

Are Man United signing Sofyan Amrabat?

Another name that has been regularly mentioned in regards to a United move has been Sofyan Amrabat. The Fiorentina midfielder has been on the club's transfer radar for most of the summer it seems and a recent report suggests that a deal could happen. That's because he is no longer in the plans of the Serie A club it seems – and if that is the case, they could be prepared to listen to offers for the 26-year-old this window.

Now, according to a new report from Fabrizio Romano, writing in The Guardian, Amrabat is certainly on the wanted list of the Red Devils this summer – but there is a caveat to a deal happening. That is because the journalist states that he is "under consideration" by the Premier League outfit but that a deal may only happen if Fred or Donny van de Beek can be offloaded. It adds that building on their midfield is not high up on the list for the club and it means that only if a gap opens up in the centre of the field could a deal happen for the Moroccan.

Amrabat really stood out on the international stage for his country Morocco in the World Cup last year. His performances in helping lead the side to fourth place in the tournament – their best ever finish – led to high praise from those who did manage to see him in action.

Former professional and now pundit Joe Cole lavished it on the midfielder, stating that he was "outstanding" and one of the best holding midfielders he'd seen at that tournament after they defeated Spain.

It shows that the 26-year-old can indeed cut it on the biggest stage – and adding him to the Man United squad would therefore boost the middle of the field for the Red Devils. If they sign him then, it could be a shrewd piece of transfer business.

Bowlers dominated on a fluctuating first day at Arundel where Clint McKay’s four wickets gave Leicestershire hope that they can win their first game of the season

ECB Reporters Network05-Jul-2017
ScorecardBowlers dominated on a fluctuating first day at Arundel where Clint McKay’s four wickets gave Leicestershire hope that they can win their first game of the season in the Specsavers County Championship.The wholehearted Australian fast bowler picked up 4 for 59 in searing heat at Arundel as Sussex were bowled out for 262 and appeared to have squandered the advantage of winning the toss.But a two-paced pitch, which is expected to turn, gave seamers assistance all day and Sussex’s new ball pair Chris Jordan and Jofra Archer each picked up one of the Leicestershire openers as they closed on 77 for 2.It was a day to remember for Leicestershire’s 19-year-old debutant William Fazackerley. Guernsey-born but educated just down the road from Arundel at Lancing College, he claimed his maiden Championship wicket when he had Jordan lbw for 34.Jordan was one of several Sussex players who got starts without pushing on. Eight of their batsmen got to 20 but only South African Stiaan van Zyl, who top scored with 49, looked capable of dominating a persevering Leicestershire attack.Van Zyl shared in a fourth-wicket stand of 62 in 12 overs either side of lunch with Luke Wright, whose first scoring shot for the second successive game was a six.But from 138 for 4 Sussex lost three wickets adding 27 runs. Wright played on to Richard Jones for 25, van Zyl was lbw half-forward to McKay after hitting nine boundaries before skipper Ben Brown drove McKay’s slower ball to cover for 19.Jordan and leg-spinner Will Beer, who took 11 wickets at Arundel last month against South Africa A, put on 54 for the seventh wicket but Leicestershire wrapped up the innings with three wickets after tea, two of them to Matt Pillans.Earlier, Luke Wells had passed 700 Championship runs after being restored to the top of the order. The left-hander lost opening partner Chris Nash, who played on to McKay before Harry Finch fell for a golden duck shuffling in front to a ball from Jones which nipped back.Wells and van Zyl briefly prospered together, taking the score to 74 before Wells, who had struck eight fours in a fluent 42, was caught behind off Pillans.By then umpire Martin Saggers was on the pitch, his arrival having been delayed by traffic congestion. Martin Bodenham, who retired from the first-class list last season but lives in nearby Ferring, stood at square leg before Saggers arrived.

There’s not much that Mohamed Salah isn’t good at when it comes to the world of football. Name a type of goal, and the Liverpool star has likely scored it. But, even as a usual standout, the Egyptian could never quite defeat James Milner in the Reds’ pre-season test.The test in question, of course, is the lactate test, which measures a player’s aerobic endurance whilst they run increasing distances at speed. So, with that said, you’d have to be an incredible athlete to beat a squad full of players in their prime to take victory in your mid to late 30s. Yet, seemingly without a single concern, Milner did exactly that every pre-season at Liverpool.

Who won the Liverpool lactate test?

It has taken Milner’s departure to crown a new champion of the Liverpool lactate test, and if there were odds as to who would take a seat on the throne, Salah would have been up there as the favourite. The winger finished first in his group, as seen in the footage above.

He wasn’t the only who impressed, however.

New signing Dominik Szoboszlai excited many fans by how easy he made it look, and came first in his group to stand alongside Salah. Whilst others struggled behind, the former RB Leipzig midfielder barely broke a sweat, remaining picture-perfect in Liverpool’s answer to Baywatch.

Liverpool’s midfield, of course, suffered a major burnout last season, with the likes of Fabinho looking nowhere near the player who reached the Champions League final in the previous campaign. The Reds were in need of a refresh.

So, out went Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and James Milner – all on free deals upon the expiration of their contracts. In came, importantly, Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister.

Suddenly, Liverpool’s midfield doesn’t just have a fresh coat of paint, but it has a vibrant new look. And Szoboszlai, in particular, proved that he’s got the engine to transform Jurgen Klopp’s side once more.

How many all-time goals does Mohamed Salah have?

Whilst Salah will no doubt enjoy the lactate test victory, his best work comes in front of goal. The winner of three Golden Boots, the modern-day Liverpool legend has scored a total of 186 goals for the Reds in 305 appearances, whilst also assisting 79 goals.

In his career as a whole, Salah has found the back of the net an incredible 367 times, with goals for Fiorentina, AS Roma, and even Chelsea.

In the coming season, he’ll be hoping to add a number of goals to that tally, especially after his below-par campaign last time out for his standards, scoring just 19 Premier League goals – his joint-lowest season Talley. For many, that number would be impressive, but Salah is, simply put, usually a level above.

With a new-look midfield behind him, we can’t see a reason why the Egyptian shouldn’t hit at least the 20-goal mark, perhaps taking Liverpool to unexpected Premier League glory once more.

Without Champions League football, Klopp’s side will certainly find it easier to focus on domestic trophies, whilst keeping an eye trained on the Europa League as it progresses.

Angelo Mathews, Sri Lanka’s captain, hailed his players for defying expectations after their seven-wicket victory over India

Alan Gardner at The Oval08-Jun-2017Angelo Mathews, Sri Lanka’s captain, hailed his players for defying expectations after their seven-wicket victory over India at The Oval kept alive their hopes of a Champions Trophy semi-final. He dedicated the performance to Sri Lanka’s supporters, who made their presence increasingly felt as the game went on, as well as the victims of last week’s flooding in the country.India had looked in control after posting 321 for 6 but Sri Lanka, led by dashing half-centuries from replacement opener Danushka Gunathilaka and Kusal Mendis, overhauled the highest successful Champions Trophy chase to set up a virtual quarter-final against Pakistan on Monday.”It was a very important game for us,” he said. “You know, no one really expected us to win. That took a lot of pressure off ourselves, and we just went out there, expressed ourselves and you can see what we can do when we play with a lot of freedom.”That’s our trademark, papare,” he said of the band playing enthusiastically in the stands for much of the game. “They come wherever we play. The Sri Lankan people like to have fun. It was very pleasing for us to give them a win because we had some terrible times in the recent past, especially with losing a lot of lives for floods, and we are very grateful that we could give them a smile.”It was like playing a World Cup Final. It was so noisy and a great atmosphere. We all know that all the Indians travel, and they’re right behind their team. I must thank all the Sri Lankan supporters that came out here. Even though it was little numbers, it was fantastic support for us. We really thank all of them.”Angelo Mathews swivels into a pull•Getty Images

Mathews had sat out Sri Lanka’s opening fixture – a heavy defeat against South Africa – due to a calf injury but contributed an unbeaten half-century on his return to help his team over the line. When asked about criticism aimed at himself and the coach, Graham Ford, for recent performances, he said he had been glad to be able to front up.”It’s always the coach and the captain. Today, once again, Kusal Perera’s call [to retire hurt] was also crucial. As a captain, I had to send him in, and it would have been a few bullets fired at me if it hadn’t gone too well. But that’s what we are there for, to take crucial decisions at crucial times, and it doesn’t matter if it fails. But, yeah, there is a lot of responsibility on the coach and the captain. So we do our very best out there, and we get the boys to do their very best, and we get the boys to try really hard, that’s what we look for.”Mendis was named Man of the Match for his innings of 89 off 93 and Mathews said that he and the team had benefited from speaking to Sri Lanka’s previous No. 3 before the match. “He [Mendis] met Kumar Sangakkara to get a few batting tips, and he’s the king, and we all look up to him. We all get advice from him, all the batters. He taught us a lot of good things on how to play on these tracks. Yesterday the guys met him and took a lot of advice and went out there and implemented it.”Sri Lanka’s victory left all four teams in Group B on two points after two games. Pakistan pulled off a surprise of their own when beating South Africa at Edgbaston on Wednesday and Mathews warned about taking preconceptions into the final round of matches.”It doesn’t matter if the opposition respects us. We are out to do a job, and we don’t really think about what the opposition think,” he said. “I mean, no one really expected us to win today as well, but we knew underneath that we had the talent and we had another opportunity to beat a fantastic team, which we did.”We don’t want to think too far ahead. We just want to take one game at a time. Now it’s done, and we look forward to the next game. It will be the same plans, go out there, no expectations. Go out there, play with a lot of freedom. You know, if we play good cricket, I’m certain that we can beat any team.”

The unexpected 2-3 home series loss to Zimbabwe is “one of the lowest points” of Angelo Mathews’ career, and may in fact prompt the re-evaluation of his captaincy. Two days ago, Mathews hinted he may not be Sri Lanka’s captain during the 2019 World Cup, but an unexpected series loss to the 11th-ranked ODI side has his leadership draw particular scrutiny.”It’s one of the lowest points in my career, and a hard one to swallow,” Mathews said. “Everything went against us, from the toss to misreading the wicket. But there are no excuses. At the end of the day we were not good enough to beat them. They played better cricket.”Under Mathews, Sri Lanka have won an away Test series against England, and a home Test series against Australia – two of Sri Lanka’s greatest triumphs in the format – but they have been largely poor in ODI cricket since the last World Cup. They have defeated Ireland and West Indies under Mathews, but have lost home series against Pakistan, Australia and now Zimbabwe. Mathews said he would seek consultation before making a firm decision on his captaincy future.”Still haven’t thought about stepping down,” he said. “There’s time. I’ll give it a bit more thought and talk to the selectors. I haven’t decided anything yet.”Though they have won T20 series against depleted South Africa and Australia squads, Sri Lanka have not won an ODI or Test series this year. Their performances on the South Africa tour and the group-stage exit at the Champions Trophy came under particular fire.”We have not been consistent,” Mathews said. “The pressure is on all of us. The more we lose, the more pressure we are under. There is no solution for that and the only solution is winning. We try to win games, but we commit too many mistakes.”On Monday, Mathews largely dwelt on a substandard batting effort after Sri Lanka scored only 203 in the series decider and ended up losing by three wickets. Danushka Gunathilaka hit a pained fifty, and Asela Gunaratne scored a smart 59 not out – much of it in the company of the tail. However, the top order had failed to break the shackles Zimbabwe’s spinners had imposed on them and were bailed out, to an extent, by the 50-run ninth-wicket stand between Gunaratne and Dushmantha Chameera.”We did well with the bat in the last four games, but this game we were awful with the bat. If we could have got to 235, we could have done well. It was a flop today. There was some turn for the spinners in the beginning, but our eventual score wasn’t enough. We have a lot of improvements to make.”Despite the dispiriting defeat, Sri Lanka have little time to lick their wounds. The one-off Test against Zimbabwe begins on Friday, before a full tour against India kicks off on July 26.”We have an India series coming up, but before that, we have the Test against Zimbabwe to talk about. The Indian series will be even tougher. In a small period we have to fix our problems. As a team we did do the training, but nothing is working in the middle.”

The final night in the NatWest Blast group stages leaves just about every county involved in an extraordinary dash to the line

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Aug-2017Fifteen of the 18 counties could still qualify for the quarter-finals of the NatWest Blast ahead of Friday’s final round of matches in the most remarkable climax to the group stages that the tournament has ever known.The last eight games began with only Notts Outlaws, in the North Group, and Glamorgan and Hampshire, in the South, assured of a place in the last eight.North Group leaders Notts can already anticipate a home quarter final at Trent Bridge – their seventh in eight years – whereas Glamorgan, top in the South, need to take a point from their home game against Middlesex to be certain of staving off a potential Surrey challenge for second place.In South Group, if Hampshire beat Somerset at the Ageas Bowl, they will guarantee themselves a home quarter-final. Similarly, the winners of the Kent-Surrey game in Canterbury will qualify – and might even steal a top-two finish and a home tie.But the fact that Kent are playing Surrey opens up the chance for the bottom four sides – Middlesex, Sussex Sharks, Somerset and Essex Eagles – to overtake the losers of that game, and snaffle the fourth qualifying spot.If teams are level, qualification will be decided by Net Run Rate. Significantly, the bottom four all have better rates than both Surrey and Kent, which partly explains why the losers of that game in Canterbury will be eliminated.In the North Group, Yorkshire currently lie second, a position secured by Adam Lyth’s record T20 score in English domestic cricket, made against Northants at Headingley on Thursday.But it was a bitter-sweet victory. Derbyshire, Warwickshire, Leicestershire and Lancashire can all overhaul them tonight – although in Lancashire’s case it would take something extra special to get their Net Run Rate ahead of their Pennines rivals.To make matters worse for Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Birmingham and Leicestershire only need a point to pass them – which could be relevant, with an uncertain weather forecast for the Midlands.However, rain would not automatically take Derbyshire, Birmingham and Leicestershire through because the defending champions, Northants, can still hit the top four if they beat Durham at Wantage Road and other results fall in their favour.Even seventh-placed Lancashire could still sneak in, if they beat Birmingham, and two of Northants, Leicestershire and Derbyshire also lose.Spare a thought for Durham, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire – the only three counties who have already abandoned hopes of a place in next week’s quarter-finals. Gloucestershire have played their final game but the other two could still influence the final line up of next week’s quarter-finals.