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Some big Newcastle United team news has been dropped involving Ryan Fraser ahead of their game at Brentford in the Premier League this afternoon.

The Lowdown: Injury scare

The 28-year-old suffered an injury scare late on in the 1-1 draw at West Ham United last week, having to be substituted for Miguel Almiron with just over 10 minutes left in the match.

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Eddie Howe has since revealed that the Scotland international missed the early part of training in preparation for the clash against the Bees, but also commented on whether the winger will be fit enough to play.

The Latest: Fraser OK for Brentford clash

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the fixture, Howe has now confirmed (via Jordan Cronin) that Fraser ‘will be OK’, while he also gave updates on the fitness of five other players in his squad.

A ‘late call’ will be made on Allan Saint-Maximin, while Javier Manquillo is ‘getting closer’ to full fitness, but Callum Wilson, Kieran Trippier and Matt Ritchie all miss out once more.

The Verdict: Big news

If Saint-Maximin is declared unavailable for the match, then it is certainly a big plus to have another winger in Fraser fit enough to play.

Coupled with his one goal and one assist in the top flight so far this season, the former Bournemouth ace ranks fourth out of his Newcastle team-mates in terms of crosses per match (1.2). That is something from which Chris Wood should be able to thrive, as he wins far more aerial duels per game (10.2) than any Magpies player.

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Howe will surely want a threat out wide if Saint-Maximin is absent, and Fraser would certainly provide that if he features in west London today.

In other news, NUFC are now ahead in terms of talks to sign this ‘phenomenal’ Ligue 1 star

Not that they missed him, but Sri Lanka won’t mind the return of Sanath Jayasuriya © AFP

Mahela Jayawardene acknowledged Bangladesh’s growing one-day prowess but warned that his team was determined to win the three-match series starting at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo on Friday at any cost.”We always respected Bangladesh whenever we played them in Test or ODIs, especially in ODIs where they can be a handful. They’ve shown that when we played them in Bangladesh. They beat us once,” Jayawardene said.”You can’t take the eye off the ball when you play them. We just have to make sure we play the best cricket possible and be consistent about our all round performance. The main thing is to win the series. It doesn’t matter how you win it,” he said.For this series Sri Lanka has rested Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan who have captured nearly 700 one-day wickets between them. Jayawardene said: “It’s a good opportunity for the others without Vaas and Murali. That’s how we look at it. Both of them have been great campaigners for us. What we try to do is try to manage them and give exposure to the other players.”Their absence is not going to put too much pressure on the rest of the bowlers. The amount of cricket guys like (Farveez) Maharoof, Dilhara (Fernando), Lasith (Malinga) and (Malinga) Bandara have played they know what it is all about. It’s a healthy atmosphere and competition that we’ve got,” Jayawardene said.”In the recent past I haven’t thrown the ball to Murali and Vaas at all because I know that guys like Lasith and Dilhara have picked up wickets whenever I had thrown the ball to them. It’s not a big issue for us.”The return of Sanath Jayasuriya, the most capped one-day cricketer, adds considerable strength to the batting. “Sanath is fresh and wants to play one-day cricket again. He has played well for Lancashire and he had some really good games. He is looking forward to the opportunity,” Jayawardene said.Sri Lanka delayed finalising their eleven because three of the players (Jayasuriya, Jehan Mubarak and Chamara Kapugedera) arrived from England only on Tuesday.Bangladesh, meanwhile, remain wary of playing the World Cup runners up, at home to boot. Shaun Williams, the coach, said: “If we are to beat Sri Lanka we need to play better than we did against them in the Test series.”We have quite a few new players who have come into the one-day team and one of them is Aftab Ahmed who played a fabulous knock to steer us to victory in the practice game on Wednesday,” Williams said.”We are confident of putting up a better performance. To do that our batting must click. I was disappointed with our top order in the practice match with the exception of Tamim Iqbal when we lost half the side for 100. But we showed we had the batting depth and we didn’t panic with Aftab leading the way at six,” he said.Aftab, who hit a run-a-ball 91in Bangladesh’s three-wicket win, will continue to bat at the same position. The second and third ODIs will be played at the R Premadasa Stadium on July 23 and 25.Sri Lanka (from): Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Chamara Silva, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedera, Jehan Mubarak, Farveez Maharoof, Dilhara Fernando, Lasith Malinga, Malinga Bandara, Nuwan Kulasekera, Upul ChandanaBangladesh: Shariar Nafees, Tamim Iqbal, Thushar Imran, Mohammad Ashraful (capt), Shakib al Hassan, Aftab Ahmed, Mushfiqur Rahim, Farhad Reza, Mashrafe Mortaza, Syed Rasel, Abdur Razzak

Division One

Dimitri Mascarenhas ran through Yorkshire’s line-up with 6 for 65 © Getty Images

A superb spell of 6 for 65 from Dimitri Mascarenhas blew away Yorkshire for 195 on the first day against Hampshire at Southampton. Craig White, the Yorkshire captain, was the first to go when Chris Tremlett snuck one through his defence; thereafter it was the Mascarenhas massacre. From 105 for 3 Yorkshire fell to 138 for 7, all wickets falling to Mascarenhas. And though Jason Gillespie played a cheeky cameo, Tremlett mopped up the tail. Gillespie removed James Adams for 29 in Hampshire’s reply, but Michael Carberry (81 not out) led a confident response by the home side, who now trail by just 64 runs.Middlesex were put to the sword by Dale Benkenstein and Gareth Breese, both of whom struck solid hundreds for Durham, on the first day at Lord’s. Jimmy Maher (46) and Gordon Muchall, who spanked a quick-fire 68, put on 104 for the second wicket but Middlesex fought back, leaving Durham wobbling on 131 for 4. Benkenstein and Breese then took over with great authority, putting on 222 for the fifth wicket. Despite Benkenstein (125) falling with Durham on double Nelson, the visitors took the first days’ honours, going to stumps on 379 for 6.David Hussey continued his fine form this season with a superb150, his second successive hundred in Championship matches, as Nottinghamshire amassed 397 in just 98 overs on the first day against Lancashire at Nottingham. The visitors had Notts in all sorts of trouble at 107 for 5 with Dominic Cork and Tom Smith cutting through the top order. Hussey refused to be dictated to, however, and in just 177 balls he smashed 150 with 22 fours and a six. He was indebted to Mark Ealham (83) who stuck with him for three hours, and together the pair put on 226 for the sixth wicket to hand the momentum back to Nottinghamshire.

Division Two

On a brisk-scoring opening day at the picturesque ground of Queen’s Park, Derbyshire romped to 351 all out against Worcestershire. After losing two early wickets, Chris Taylor fought back with a quick 40 but it was left to Ant Botha at No.6 to really stabilise Derbyshire’s innings with a fine 87. But after demolishing Gloucestershire last week, Matt Mason was again in fine form for Worcestershire, never letting Derbyshire get away. He ended with the superb figures of 5 for 49.Two magnificent hundreds from Michael Powell and David Hemp put Glamorgan well on top against Gloucestershire on the first day at Cheltenham. Brendon McCullum, playing his last game for Gloucestershire, retired after seven balls when he was hit on the hand by Steve Kirby, which effectively left Glamorgan 27 for 2. But with an attack missing their captain and most accurate bowler, Jon Lewis, Gloucestershire struggled all day as Mike Powell (176 not out) belted the bowling to all parts. It was his third hundred in ten days, and he also passed the milestone of 1000 runs in the season. Hemp fell in the second over after tea, but Glamorgan were handily placed at 346 for 2 going into the second day.Northamptonshire raced to 406 for 4 on a sublime batting track against Essex on the first day at Northampton, thanks to contrasting hundreds from Stephen Peters (178) and David Sales (129 not out). Peters played magnificently, guiding 27 fours in a 277-ball innings lasting just short of six hours. He was joined by his captain, Sales, at the fall of Sourav Ganguly’s wicket, who made just 9, and immediately took charge. While Peters was happy to play the anchor role, Sales was characteristically aggressive, launching three big sixes. Together the pair put on 212 before Peters was fourth man out for 178.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul
On his team’s performance
I must say well done to the young guys who went out and played this game. Probably no one would have expected them to come out and play the sort of cricket they played. In the first innings we were doing well and had them on the ropes but let them off the hook. We just didn’t have the killer instinct to take the game awayfrom them. We relaxed a bit and let them back into the game.On the forthcoming second Test
We have a few days now to go and prepare and practice against those balls swing back [from Chaminda Vaas]. Murali and Vaas are two world class bowlers and you would expect them to do well. We just have to look at ways to go about playing them.Bennett KingOn the team’s overall performance
I am disappointed that we didn’t come away with a win there. We played very well initially and set up what should have been a positive result for us. But it is very hard to win a cricket match when five of your top six score 11 runs. They are certainly better players than that.On the threat posed by Chaminda VaasIt was quite dark and the ball swung around during that period probably more than at any other time of the match. But these guys have played against left-armers that swing the ball back in the Cariibeaan and at this level I would expect them to be good at it. We knew it was coming and we practiced it, but when they went out they moved too early.On the performance of the bowlersThe bowlers did enough to make them uncomfortable for long periods of time on what was a very flat track. We got through their top order pretty well, although we let them off the hook when their No 9 and 10 got runs. I was disappointed because we didn’t have the petrol in the tank to execute our plans. Then, again, in the secondinnings, we got to a position where we ran out of gas again.Marvan Atapattu
On playing a weakened West Indies team
They had a nothing to lose going in as there was only one side expected to win. People might have expected us to just run through but that does not always happen in cricket. Actually, to have a win after playing for four innings was more pleasing than just playing one innings and getting them out twice. Their batters are findingit a bit tougher than their bowlers. They have a good attack and in the first innings were very disciplined, bowling a good length and line which got us in a bit of bother.On Jayawardene and Samaraweera’s winning stand
We were 49 for 3 and under pressure, but both of them batted brilliantly and took responsibility for winning the game. We want to have all our batting going a bit better in the next game.On the thinking behind the inclusion of Gayan Wijekoon
We wanted to groom a youngster as an allrounder, especially with this new rule coming up in one-day internationals, and we wanted to have a seamer in the No 7 or No 8 slot that can bat a bit..On Murali’s performance
He was a bit worried I would say after the first innings. After bowling 30 overs he rarely ends up getting just one wicket. But he bowled a better line in the second innings and the pitch was a deteriorating a bit which helped his cause. He is back to being the normal Muralitharan.

Glenn McGrath celebrates another wicket on the second day at Darwin© Getty Images

Australia’s back-to-form fast bowler Glenn McGrath has said that he will be targeting Sanath Jayasuriya’s wicket when Sri Lanka begin their chase for 312 on the third day of the first Test at the Marrara Oval tomorrow.McGrath roared back with 5 for 37 to knock Sri Lanka over for a paltry 97, and he is looking forward to repeating that performance in the second innings.”Their top three is probably their key – Atapattu, Jayasuriya and Sangakkara,” said McGrath. “We will be trying to make early inroads in there. Jayasuriya is always a big key to their batting line-up. He is probably the guy I’d target before the series. I want to get on top of him and knock him over a few times. If I can do that we could be well on our way to winning the series.”McGrath said he didn’t think the pitch would improve or change that much from its present condition overnight, and that it would be a big ask for Sri Lanka to score 312 – over 100 more than Australia managed in either innings – on it.”I think there will still be something on it with the new ball if you keep bowling in the right areas,” he explained. “It is still hard to score runs. It is a little bit slow and the ball is not coming off it. It’s hard work for the batsmen out in the middle with the new and the old ball. To win this match Sri Lanka’s got to bat very well.”Turning to Australia’s bowling, McGrath said: “We bowled pretty much to our plans on a wicket that is giving a little bit of assistance to the bowlers. We put enough pressure on them, put balls in the right area, and held our catches to knock ’em over for 97. It would be nice to do something similar in the second innings.”And he went on: “It is good to see a pitch being of some assistance for the bowlers. I think wickets around the world are getting good to bat on. When a side scores 400 runs in a day nobody says the wickets are not good for the bowlers. I don’t think many bowlers would be disappointed bowling on that kind of pitch.”McGrath said that he never doubted that he would regain fitness, and was confident that he could make a comeback from his ankle injury – although he admitted that at one point during the four-day warm-up game that preceded this Test he had seriously thought of retiring after he bowled disappointingly in the first innings. He said that it was his team-mate Justin Langer who got him thinking, when he told him that you don’t think of retirement until you hit rock-bottom.McGrath said that his comeback performance was inspired by the fact that he was only a few wickets away from passing fast bowlers Sir Richard Hadlee and Kapil Dev’s individual records. “To get those five wickets and go past two legends of the game is a pretty big bonus to get my confidence back for the match,” he said. “I couldn’t have asked for more.”Kumar Sangakkara Sri Lanka’s wicketkeeper/batsman
Kumar Sangakkara had a good day behind the stumps at Darwin, taking four catches and pulling off a run-out in the Australian second innings of 201. But he admitted that it was a big challenge for Sri Lanka to chase 312 and win the Test.”When you look at the totals the two teams have got on this track it’s not been high. It’s going to be a challenge and most of the guys are looking forward to it,” he said. “They all want to do well. Basically we want to do what we do best. See the new ball off and then play your own game. Be positive and play to win. The pitch is very hard to read. It is better to go and see what it does and play accordingly. It is drier than it was yesterday. The pacies have got a little bit more bounce, but the movement’s been the same. It is up to us now to get the total.”Turning to his persona;l performance, Sangakkara said: “It’s always nice to take some catches. I felt good. It was one of my best days, taking four catches in an innings. It’s always good to have a chat with Ian Healy. who is an all-time great wicketkeeper. Ian spoke to me in Zimbabwe and in Morocco. He told me to keep it very simple and very basic. I have taken the best out of what he has told me.”

Stephen Fleming claimed to be surprised by Sri Lanka’s negative approach during the final Test in Kandy, believing that they did "not want to win." Sri Lanka were set a stiff 191 target in 38 overs after bowling out New Zealand for 183, but settled for a draw after the early loss of Sanath Jayasuriya."It was a pretty poor end to the Test match to be honest," said Fleming. "We didn’t have the ability to push on this morning and they didn’t seem to want to win the Test."Last night we showed the urgency required to get a base after a pretty slow day and we tried to do that again today," he added. "But the key is that when you push harder you expose yourself and in the end we weren’t skilful enough against a world-class bowler."Fleming had wanted to set a target of 260 in 65 overs when the day began but he said would have been happy to set 230 in 60 overs if necessary. "They gave up after losing the first wicket and that was very surprising … we were looking forward to a good scrap. They had nothing to lose and I can’t understand why they were not willing to push on further. We were certainly not going to bowl them out in 38 overs."Hashan Tillakaratne, in his first series as captain, denied that his side had been negative, arguing that it would have been dangerous to chase the total after the loss of Jayasuriya. "We wanted to go after the total but our playmaker was Sanath [Jayasuriya]," he said. "We were minus one of our best batsman [Marvan Atapattu] and they had two good spinners on a turning track – it was not easy out there."We did make mistakes in the field, though," he admitted. "We should have dismissed New Zealand for about 150 and with hindsight I should have brought back Chaminda Vaas earlier."Muttiah Muralitharan, who took his 450th Test wicket and a five-wicket haul for a world-record 37th time, was delighted to have starred in front of his home supporters. Murali claimed 5 for 49 in the second innings and 9 for 139 in the match."To reach 450 wickets here, in Kandy where I grew up, is very special for me," said Muralitharan afterwards. "I am happy but there is a long way to go as I want to play until 2007 and get to 600."Muralitharan, who was forced to toil hard for his 14 wickets in the series, admitted that New Zealand’s defensive strategy against him had been successful. "In a negative way they [the New Zealand batsmen] played me well … they never tried to attack though. It’s not easy to get wickets now in Test cricket … people have worked me out like they do any world-class bowler."

If we are to move from our ‘A’ status to Black Caps as the result of this tour, runs and plenty of them are required by the batsmen, and bowling results from the bowlers.So far we have managed to make the semi-finals, after a close first-up game with Mumbai.The pressure is on us now for what has been an interesting tournament.Taking off from New Zealand we took a step down from the usual business class and it was economy class for the guys as we headed for our mid-evening arrival in Chennai from Singapore.Most of us managed a decent amount of sleep with the aid of some videos and sleeping pills. It always amazes me how much your feet swell when flying. My shoes feel two sizes too small when I go to put them back on again!The next day was a rest day as we waited for the other members to join us from England. They arrived at midday and we ended up having a light workout at the gym and a swim in the pool.We couldn’t practice this day as there was a bit of political turmoil resulting in a riot and a few deaths. But it was safe in the hotel which is absolutely magnificent. It is set out away from the centre of the city, which is fine by us, as we don’t plan on venturing out much as we have plenty of cricket ahead of us.The next three days were spent training and acclimatising. The days are very hot and humid, and the practices went well as the team slowly got used to the conditions. We trained on the first day at 10am and then earlier to become accustomed with actual playing hours which begin at 9:30am, meaning departure from the hotel was around 7:30am.Our first game was against Mumbai, who had a young team, with a few experienced players such as current Indian seamer Ajit Agarkar.Fortunately, I won the toss and we batted. Although we had a bad start as Richie (Mark Richardson) was run out in the first over. However, Matt Horne and myself rectified the situation with a healthy second wicket partnership, which saw Matt score 111 and myself 47. We ended up with 329 and I was a little nervous before we finally bowled Mumbai out for 319. A close call first up and we were glad to get through to the quarter-finals.We had a quiz night in between games for which the team has been divided into four groups of four. It is important to have regular social outings to keep everyone active on tour and take our minds away from cricket.After winning the toss for the second game we again batted first. It is so critical to bat first as you get to dictate the pace of the game, and have the opportunity to bat the opposition out of the game. We play well this game and score 474/8 declared. Hamish Marshall and myself score fine hundreds to set up the win.For me batting almost a full day in the heat and facing a fair amount of spin bowling and shining through with a hundred was very rewarding.As a team we decided that if you are a batsman and score in between 0-20, then that’s just bad luck, and you never got started.But, if you score between 21-99 then you are part of the problem as you have made a start and should go on to make a significant contribution to the team, which is 100-plus.As this is a NZ ‘A’ team, we are all trying to force our way into the Black Caps, and we know the only way to do this is by scoring heavily and making big hundreds. Nothing less will do.

ScorecardJake Carder pulls during his 58•Cricket Australia

Cricket Australia XI’s top order all chipped in with handy knocks, helping the team secure the lead against West Indians on the second day of the tour match in Brisbane.West Indians, who began the day precariously placed at 154 for 6, were led by Carlos Brathwaite’s patient 47, but received little by way of support from the other players, as the team eventually folded for 243. Medium-pacer Simon Milenko was the pick of the hosts’ bowlers, collecting 5 for 76, while James Bazley and Cameron Boyce shared two scalps apiece.CA XI began their reply positively, as the openers Jordan Silk and Jake Carder shared a 68-run partnership. Carder was the more aggressive foil of the two, stroking 58 off 77 balls, but both batsmen fell in quick succession of each other. The hosts, though, did not lose any momentum, as Nick Stevens (46) and Josh Inglis (44) kept the runs flowing by stringing together an 86-run partnership. Once again, CA XI lost two quick wickets, but once again, the visitors failed to make the most of their breakthroughs, as Jimmy Peirson and Matthew Short put up an unbroken stand of 52 to grab the lead. CA XI were 4 for 245 when stumps were called, leading by two runs.

Matthew Nicholson took 4 for 85 and now has 24 wickets at 26.95 this season © Getty Images

Andy Bichel has continued his outstanding county season with a six-wicket haul against Justin Langer’s Somerset side. Bichel, 36, was one of several old hands who starred in another rain-affected round of first-class matches, claiming 6 for 63 to give Essex the edge in their draw at Taunton.It was his best bowling performance in three matches this year for Essex, where he had already found form with the bat by striking centuries in each of his first two games. Bichel’s victims included Langer for 24 and Cameron White for 1 as Somerset were bundled out for 153. White also recorded his finest bowling figures this season, taking 4 for 28 in Essex’s first innings of 282.Spectators at Chester-le-Street could have been forgiven for thinking the Durham-Hampshire clash was a veterans’ benefit match. Hampshire had Shane Warne, 37, and Shaun Udal, 38, spinning in tandem while the danger bowlers for Durham were Ottis Gibson, 38, and Paul Wiseman, 37.Gibson was unquestionably the hero, becoming the 79th bowler in first-class cricket to take all ten wickets in an innings. He collected 10 for 47 to reduce Hampshire to 115 in the first innings and Warne could only manage 2 for 56 in reply as Durham set the visitors a near-impossible 359 for victory. Wiseman chipped away at Hampshire and took 5 for 65 but Warne had some impact with the bat, scoring 50 to help his side escape with a draw at 9 for 262.There was another draw at Headingley, and it was another old-timer who outshone his younger friends. Darren Gough, 36, led Yorkshire with 6 for 50 as Surrey were dismissed for 229. Gough’s team-mate Jason Gillespie – a spring-chicken at 32 – took 1 for 52. Earlier, Matthew Nicholson had grabbed 4 for 85 in Yorkshire’s 307.Travis Birt finally scored his first half-century of the year for Derbyshire in their draw with Glamorgan at Derby. Birt, who now averages 22.90 from seven matches, made a brisk 70 from 75 balls in the second innings as the home side chased 276 from no more than 46 overs.Robert Croft made the chase impossible when he rattled through the top order and finished with 6 for 44 but Derbyshire clung on and reached 9 for 195. Derbyshire’s Australian-dominated top order had been entertaining in the first innings, when Michael Dighton made 43 from 40 deliveries and Simon Katich posted 42 from 45.

Daren Ganga gets a chance to bag T&T another title, following their regional victories this year © Getty Images

Daren Ganga will lead Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) in the Stanford 20/20 Tournament, which has a grand prize of US$1 million at stake. Ganga will have the services of West Indies team-mate, wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin, who almost inspired the West Indies to an unlikely victory in the fourth Test against India in Jamaica earlier this month.Discarded West Indies pacer Mervyn Dillon will also get an opportunity to shine for his country as he will be leading the T&T bowling attack, which also features allrounder Rayad Emrit and spinner Ken Hazel.The squad has a good balance of youth and experience, including newcomer Sean Siloch, who was vice-captain of the Presentation College Secondary Schools Cricket League championship team of 2000, which also featured opener Tishan Maraj. Siloch has also played a big part in the success of top National Cricket League club FCB Clarke Road United.The T&T team will also be strengthened with the return of former West Indies one-day specialist batsman Ricardo Powell, who is set to make his comeback after injury. West Indies Under-19 batsman and vice-captain William Perkins will be seeking to establish himself as a solid bat in the middle order after his exploits at the U-19 World Cup earlier this year.Kieron Pollard, another U-19 player, will get the chance to impress with his consistent batting and handy right-arm spin bowling. Pollard will be in action along with his team-mate, Mario Belcon, both members of the triumphant Trinidad and Tobago squad who captured the Under-19 Challenge last year. Other members of the national team include Shazam Babwah, Samuel Badree and Nicholas Ramjas, the offspinner.Trinidad and Tobago open their campaign against the Cayman Islands on July 25 in Antigua.Squad: Daren Ganga (capt), Sean Siloch, Ricardo Powell, Samuel Badree, Nicholas Ramjas, Mervyn Dillon, Denesh Ramdin (wk), William Perkins, Shazam Babwah, Kieron Pollard, Rayad Emrit, Ken Hazel, Mario Belcon
Manager – Omar Khan Coach – David WilliamsCricinfo adds:
Ricardo Powell and Rayad Emritt took T&T to a seven-wicket win over St Lucia in the second of two practice matches at the Beausejoir Stadium. Powell, who recently announced his return from injury and a self-imposed break from the game, made 48 and Emrit an unbeaten 54 as T&T chased down 116 for the loss of just three wickets in 13.5 overs. The two added 87 for the second wicket to get their side off to a perfect start ahead of the Stanford 20/20 tournament.