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Victor Orta’s record at Leeds United has always divided opinion, especially in recent windows where recruitment has been lacklustre, to say the least.

Despite an injury-ravaged season, the Yorkshire giants failed to bolster Marcelo Bielsa’s playing squad with any additions in January and one damaging theme can be seen in the fact that they haven’t signed a central midfielder for eight successive windows now.

If your ambition is to remain competitive in the Premier League, then that sort of activity is far from good enough.

However, there is plenty to like about what he has done in recent years.

Raphinha is one shining example – having cost only £17m from Stade Rennes in 2020, he has emerged as a standout in the final third, particularly without the injured Patrick Bamford.

His worth is now thought to be in the region of £36m, so Leeds will make a substantial profit on him in the coming years.

And the Spanish supremo hasn’t only hit the jackpot with incomings as he has often made a shrewd decision when it comes to player sales, too, with Jack Clarke the perfect reminder.

Orta played quite the transfer masterclass there, albeit in hindsight.

In July 2019, the young winger joined Premier League outfit Tottenham Hotspur for around £10m plus add-ons, as per the BBC, and as part of the deal he remained at Elland Road on loan for the 2019/20 campaign.

By December, though, that temporary return was cut short due to a lack of game time. He was then sent out to then-Championship rivals Queens Park Rangers, where he also failed to make his mark.

His fortunes took a turn for the worse during another loan stint, this time at Stoke City. His season was ended abruptly due to an Achilles injury, whilst this season, he’s ended up in League One with northeast giants Sunderland.

In five appearances so far, two of which being starts, he has failed to deliver a single goal contribution, as per Transfermarkt, who now value him at a lowly £4.5m – a decrease in value of 55% since Orta sanctioned his departure nearly three years ago.

“He has got a great ability to glide past players. I don’t think I’ve seen a winger really as talented as that, where it looks effortless, just to take somebody on and he really does get you on the edge of your seat, he’s one of those exciting players,” once claimed Whites legend Noel Whelan back when Clarke came through the academy system at Thorp Arch.

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Meanwhile, former Leeds assistant Carlos Corberan – now in charge of Huddersfield Town – once deemed the 21-year-old to be a “huge talent.”

His fall from grace as a one-time promising talent is certainly disappointing to see but from a business and financial standpoint, it was an absolute masterstroke from Orta and co.

For all of his failings at Elland Road, it’s moves like this that should keep the fans onside, that’s for sure.

AND in other news, Orta could make “huge statement” at Leeds by hiring 37 y/o “leader” to replace Bielsa…

Abhigyan Kundu, the wicketkeeper-batter, walked out at No. 5 in the 11th over, batted till the end of India’s innings against Malaysia in their Under-19 Asia Cup contest in Dubai, and finished with a 125-ball 209 not out against his name, taking India to a formidable 408 for 7 in the process. In return, Malaysia could only muster 93, with medium pacer Deepesh Devendran running through the line-up to finish with a five-for.The India vs Malaysia match, however, doesn’t have “official youth ODI” status, meaning South Africa’s Jorich Van Schalkwyk, who had scored 215 off 153 balls against Zimbabwe earlier this year in Harare, remains the only batter in that list. Bangladesh international Soumya Sarkar had also hit a double-century in a fixture against Qatar in 2012, hitting 209 in 135 balls, but that was also in a game without official youth ODI status.Kundu led India’s batting effort against Malaysia after Vaibhav Suryavanshi had done the initial scoring, with a 26-ball 50. Kundu put together a 209-run stand with Vedant Trivedi (90 in 106 balls) for the fourth wicket, a partnership that ran from the 11th over to the 41st.When Trivedi was dismissed, Kundu was on 128 in 92 balls. He sped up in the last ten overs, adding 81 runs in 33 balls, taking India past the 400-run mark. Kundu had earlier scored 32 not out in 17 balls against UAE and 22 in 32 balls against Pakistan.For Malaysia, Muhammad Akram was the standout performer, returning 5 for 89 from his ten overs, the left-arm medium pacer victims including Suryavanshi, Vihaan Malhotra and Harvansh Pangalia.In the chase, Malaysia lost openers Azib Wajdi and Mohammad Hairil for ducks. Deepesh then took a wicket in each of his first five overs, leaving Malaysia tottering at 38 for 7. Hamza Panggi and Jaashwin Krishnamurthi resisted with a 36-run 10th-wicket stand, but it did not take too long for India to wrap things up.India are on top of the Group A table in the tournament, having earlier beaten UAE and Pakistan. Malaysia are bottom of the group, having lost to the same opponents earlier.

Eyes on the ball: Brett Lee © AFP

The new one-day rule where the old ball is replaced for the 35th over is not making Brett Lee happy. Lee believes the change to a harder, shiny ball gives batsmen an advantage towards the end of an innings and says he is “not a massive fan” of the ICC regulation.Previously balls were switched when they became soft and pitch-coloured, but in the current series in India one in significantly better condition has appeared. “The newer balls we’ve been using have been pretty shiny and still have the Kookaburra writing on them,” Lee said in the Australian. “It makes it harder for the bowlers because you’re trying to work with a ball that is as old as possible and you come on at the 34th over and you’re bowling with a new ball again.”Tim Nielsen, Australia’s coach, has noticed a change in scoring rates after the change. “After the 34th over our run rate’s escalated quite a bit,” he told the paper. “We’ve been going on at four or five an over and it’s got up to seven or eight a couple of times. The different ball is harder and comes on to the bat better.”Lee has been tried with a soft ball during the series to see if he can get reverse-swing and he has also been employed with the replacement. “It depends on the position of the game,” Nielsen said. “If you’ve got a new batsman you might bring on the fast bowlers. If you’ve got two batsmen in you might try and batten down the hatches a bit until the ball gets softer.”

Steve Tikolo: Kenya’s veteran captain will need to be on top form against Bermuda © AFP

Bermuda arrive in Nairobi on Wednesday hoping to leave the problems that have dogged them in recent weeks back in the Caribbean.On Sunday, Bermuda play their four-day Intercontinental Cup tie against Kenya, and that is followed by three ODIs at Mombasa. While the Cup match has little significance to Kenya, who are already effectively out after two poor results, Bermuda could still qualify if they win. But the real interest will be in the one-dayers, which will be crucial in gauging how preparations for the World Cup are coming along.Bermuda hardly arrive in good shape. The players have until this week been embroiled in a row with the board over contracts, fast bowler George O’Brien has been ditched for disciplinary reasons, and batsman Lionel Cann stands accused of fraudulently claiming compensation for time spent away from work after it emerged that he had been absent from his job for “several months”.When Bermuda qualified for the World Cup in July 2005, they were awarded $11 million by the government to help them prepare. That, and cash from Allan Stanford’s initiative, seemed to be all they needed to mount a serious challenge to be considered among the best of the rest. But since then they have struggled, with a heavy defeat to Canada in the Intercontinental Cup and two thrashings by a weak Zimbabwe side in a one-day event in the Caribbean in May.Three ODI wins over Canada offered some solace, but the public and authorities back home will be asking serious questions if they return from Kenya without something tangible to show for a substantial investment.Kenya, meanwhile, continue to struggle to get their act together, and the selectors, who have chopped and changed lately, will need to settle on a side to take them into the World Cup and stick with it. A one-day whitewash at home to Bangladesh underlined how much ground has been lost by the bitter infighting which followed Kenya reaching the World Cup semi-final in 2003. Four years ago, Bermuda would have been meat and drink to Kenya, but times have moved on while Kenyan cricket has moved backwards.The new Cricket Kenya board is beginning to make progress and to clear much of the wreckage that it inherited. But the public, like those in Bermuda, will be looking for tangible evidence that the side is back on track.In a fortnight’s time, one side will emerge with hope, leaving the other facing tough questions and, in all likelihood, recriminations. It’s hardly a battle of India-Pakistan proportions, but in world cricket’s second XI it doesn’t get much more important than this.

Heath Streak: his future is at Edgbaston © Getty Images

Warwickshire have confirmed that Heath Streak has been appointed as their captain for the next two seasons, a move which means that he has possibly played his last game for Zimbabwe.Streak, who has spent the last two summers at Edgbaston, was reported to have grown disenchanted with the constant in-fighting inside Zimbabwe cricket. Although he was been offered a new contract by Zimbabwe Cricket he did not sign it, and the offer from Warwickshire led to him quitting international cricket.But he has not ruled out a return at some time. “I cannot rule out playing for Zimbabwe in the future, outside my Warwickshire contract which takes priority,” he said. “I am not sure what the Zimbabwe Cricket plans are. I have not discussed anything with them, and I’m still willing to play club and provincial cricket.”Streak joined Warwickshire in 2004, and although his appearances were limited by international calls, he made a strong impression and his appointment will be welcomed by both players and spectators alike.”I am honoured to be appointed as captain,” Streak said. “The club has a proudhistory and I’m looking forward to working with the players, staff and supporters to bring more silverware in the future.”I’ve enjoyed playing for Zimbabwe immensely but I have decided to retire from international cricket in order to fulfil my contractual commitments with Warwickshire. I hope that one day I can assist Zimbabwe cricket again in its efforts to develop.”Mark Greatbatch, the county’s director of cricket, said: “Heath has had an outstanding international career and we are fortunate to secure his services as he has all the qualities that are vital in a club captain. All the players and management staff are looking forward to having him back next season.”

Warwickshire have confirmed that Martin Saggers, who had been linked with a move from Kent, would not be joining them. But Min Patel, another Kent player out of contract, is in talks with Edgbaston officials.

A man armed with a revolver was arrested by Kanpur police on the last day of the first Test between India and South Africa at Green Park.Television cameras had spotted a man with a gun sitting behind photographers close to the sightscreen while South Africa were batting out time until stumps. According to the arresting officer, Tripurari Pandey, the man had a .38 calibre revolver.The man, who was reportedly the son of the president of the Kanpur Cricket Association, was found to be drunk. He had a pass for the whole ground, but he had breached security regulations by bringing a firearm into Green Park.Police are investigating exactly how he managed to bring the gun into the ground, as all visitors are searched before the match.

Frizzell County Championship Division One
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Lancashire 450 for 6 dec beat Sussex 251 and 180 by an innings and 19 runs at Old Trafford
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If Sussex are to achieve a maiden championship title after 164 barren years, they are determined to do it the hard way. They resumed on a precarious 21 for 2 this morning and duly lost their last eight wickets for a further 159 runs, as Lancashire wrapped up an emphatic innings-and-19-run victory at Old Trafford. It was a result every bit as critical for Lancashire as for Sussex – they remain in position for a last-ditch raid on the title. Gary Keedy, mentioned in dispatches for England’s winter tour plans, was once again the destroyer. He spun through Sussex’s jittery resistance for his second five-wicket haul of the match. And likewise, Sussex’s main man was again Murray Goodwin, who battled bravely for 57, despite a nasty gash above his right eye – courtesy of a Peter Martin bouncer on Friday. On the positive side, Sussex remain in control of their own destiny – if they can take seven points from their final fixture, against the newly-relegated Leicestershire, they will be champions, regardless of how Lancashire fare at Trent Bridge.Nottinghamshire 361 and 407 for 5 dec drew with Middlesex 326 at Lord’s
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Russell Warren enlivened a dull final day against Middlesex, by becoming the first Nottinghamshire batsman to score a century in each innings at Lord’s. Rock-bottom and with nothing to play for, Notts batted all through the final day, with Warren adding an unbeaten 113 from 198 balls to his first-innings 123. Their captain Jason Gallian underpinned the tedium with a season’s best 116, and only Kevin Pietersen’s typically robust 68 from 57 balls attempted to lift the tempo. The result also suited Middlesex pretty well – unless Essex pull off an unlikely victory against Warwickshire, they should be guaranteed first division cricket next year.Warwickshire 456 for 7 and 61 for 1 beat Essex 256 and 302 by nine wickets at Chelmsford
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Essex became the third and final county to be relegated after they went down by nine wickets to Warwickshire. Waqar Younis blasted out five wickets in the morning session as Essex lost their last six batsmen for only 23 runs. Resuming on 257 for 4 and with a 10-run lead, Essex made a dreadful start whenthree wickets went down for two runs, including Mark Pettini for 78, caught by Nick Knight off Mark Wagh. Waqar (5-77) then wasted no time polishing off the tail, bowling Andy Clarke and Mohammad Akram, as Warwickshire were set only 56 to win. Akram removed Mike Powell early on for 10, but Knight and Wagh had no problems cruising home and Wagh rounded off a fine personal match with a towering six to send Essex tumbling down.Frizzell County Championship Division Two
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Somerset 409 and 214 beat Derbyshire 400 and 196 by 27 runs at Taunton
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Ian Blackwell followed up his breathtaking 247 not out in the first innings with a crafty spell of 4 for 65, as Derbyshire blew their golden opportunity to avoid the wooden spoon in the second division. Dominic Cork’s ten-wicket match haul had left Derby needing just 224 for their third victory of the season, and for a time they seemed to be cruising to victory on 178 for 4. But Blackwell, who had chiselled out two early wickets with his left-arm spin, found good support from Simon Francis and Gareth Andrew. Andrew dismissed Luke Sutton for 49 to spark a collapse of five wickets for 15 runs. It was Somerset’s fourth win of a disappointing season, but already they have their eyes on an upturn in fortunes next year, if the rumours surrounding Ricky Ponting and Rahul Dravid are to be believed.Northamptonshire 319 and 265 beat Glamorgan 203 and 361 by 20 runs at Cardiff
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David Hemp and Dean Cosker carried Glamorgan agonisingly close to victory with a tenth-wicket stand of 78, but in the end Northants recorded their ninth win in ten matches in a gripping final-day struggle at Cardiff. Chasing a target of 382, Hemp anchored the innings with an unbeaten 85, scored over four-and-a-half hours, while Matthew Maynard was equally watchful in his 78. At 271 for 5 with Robert Croft going well, Glamorgan were looking good for victory. But then Jeff Cook stepped in. He grabbed four wickets for seven runs in 11 balls, and suddenly Glamorgan’s last pair were together, with 98 still needed. A quick glance at Cosker’s first-class record suggested the game was up – in a seven-year career, he had managed 259 runs at an average of 8.09. But by the time he had moved onto his highest first-class score of 42, Northants were sweating. It couldn’t last, however, and Jason Brown eventually trapped Cosker lbw to end the resistance.Gloucestershire 374 and 288 for 7 dec beat Durham 218 and 318 by 126 runs at Bristol
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Gloucestershire’s left-arm spinner Ian Fisher completed a fine match haul of 10 for 123, to keep his side’s promotion push firmly on track at Bristol. Fisher took five key wickets in the second innings as Durham made a brave but futile pursuit of their victory target of 445. Most of Durham’s hopes had rested on their Australian import Martin Love, who was 49 not out overnight. He seemed firmly on course for a century, until he fell to Fisher for 97 – an especially cruel blow, seeing as he had made 98 in the first innings. Liam Plunkett hung around for a career-best 40 to delay the inevitable, but Gloucester now head for Headingley, for a promotion showdown with Yorkshire.Worcestershire 389 and 208 for 6 v Yorkshire 405 at New Road (Day 3)
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Two late wickets gave Yorkshire the edge in their intriguing tussle against Worcestershire, and kept alive their hopes of promotion. Resuming on 266 for 5, Craig White and Richard Dawson added 104 to help Yorkshire past 400. White struck six fours and a six in his 66, while Dawson’s 60 included nine fours. Yorkshire had a slender first-innings lead of 14 runs, but Chris Silverwood increased that advantage when he caught and bowled Stephen Peters for a duck. Graeme Hick and Ben Smith both scored 57 and ticked the score along to 155-4, but Yorkshire finished on a high. Anurag Singh, caught behind off Silverwood, and Justin Kemp, trapped lbw by Steve Kirby, fell in the dying overs to set up an interesting last day’s play.

Central Districts bowler Brent Hefford produced a fine spell of bowling this morning to break through the Queensland Academy of Sport batting and bring the New Zealand Academy side back into the picture at Bert Sutcliffe Oval at Lincoln University.Going into the second day in the strong position of 267/4, Hefford found bowling into the stiff north-east wind no problem at all as he extracted leg before wicket decisions from the umpires against Allan Rowe and Craig Philipson. Soon after they departed he had another lbw decision when Scott O’Leary was caught in front to leave Queensland 290/7.Hefford completed a superb spell of seven overs by getting the edge of left-hander Chris Hartley’s bat. While finishing with five for 56 from his 25 overs, his spell this morning produced four wickets for 13 runs from his seven overs.Resistance was led by Boyd Williams who hit out hard but Craig Pryor induced a leading edge from Damien Mackenzie which was held by Chris Harris at cover and the innings was completed on 319 when Taraia Robin claimed his fourth wicket for 62 runs off 18.1 overs.It capped off an outstanding fightback by the New Zealanders as the last nine Queensland wickets fell for 95 runs.Brendon McCullum gave the home team a rollicking start and after five overs, 43 runs had been scored. Thirty-seven of them to McCullum off 19 balls.The 50-run partnership with Jamie How took 36 balls but Mackenzie struck for Queensland by trapping How leg before wicket.At lunch the total was 66/1 off 11 overs, with McCullum on 47 off 34 balls.After the break McCullum brought up his half century in 49 minutes off 40 balls.A 66-run second wicket partnership was broken when Jonathan McNamee edged Mackenzie to wicket-keeper Hartley. During his patient innings McNamee showed glimpses of a return to form after inconsistent performances over a prolonged period.McCullum finally departed six runs short of his century when he edged to Hartley, attempting to run the ball to third man off right-arm pace bowler Mark George.He hit 12 fours in his 102-ball innings which was riddled with flashing shots intermingled with resolute defence.While George was bowling to Nick Horsley there were six fielders between the wicket-keeper and point, with only one in front of the wicket.At tea the total was 174/3 off 47 overs.Horsley finally succumbed to the prolonged short-pitched attack outside off stump to be caught in the gully off the energetic George.The flamboyant Harris showed his intentions by attacking the bowling for a brief period before being caught at short mid off from off-spinner O’Leary.Two balls later Shanan Stewart played the ball on from George to see the total stumble to 210/6 off 57 overs. The great start to the innings was being squandered. Stewart, just missing his half-century, had weathered the early storm and was beginning to assert himself while George was rewarded for his sustained aggression claiming his third wicket.Reece Young misjudged a sweep off O’Leary to be lbw when he appeared set for a sizeable contribution.Pryor and Luke Woodcock mounted a lower order recovery and saw the 250 up in 265 minutes. While Pryor mixed caution with aggression, Woodcock was satisfied to defend resolutely and to rotate the strike.By stumps, the New Zealand Academy had reached 274/7, leaving the game interestingly poised with two days remaining. Pryor was on 30 and Woodcock 12.Too many of the NZCA batsmen failed to convert their starts into sizeable scores, failing to capitalise on the positive start from the top order.The QAS fielding effort was far from error free with at least three catches grassed and sloppy ground fielding being too prevalent.

Steven Finn has been ruled out of the first Test against Pakistan with a “bone stress injury” to his left foot.Finn reported soreness after England’s second warm-up match against Pakistan A in Sharjah in which he claimed 4 for 16 in 15 overs to put himself firmly in contention for Abu Dhabi. He bowled in training on Sunday but overnight the pain became worse.Alastair Cook confirmed he had “absolutely” been in the frame for the final XI for tomorrow’s first Test. With James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ben Stokes all certain to feature, Finn and Mark Wood had been in a head-to-head for the last pace-bowling slot.After months of well-documented problems with his bowling action, Finn returned to the Test side against Australia at Edgbaston where he claimed 6 for 79 to help England claim a 2-1 lead in the Ashes. Although England hope to have him available later in the series, the compressed nature of the matches must make that unlikely. More realistically, as one of a handful of players who is part of all three formats, he will be targetting full fitness in time for next month’s ODI and T20 legs of the tour.”It’s a bitter blow for him, he bowled really well in that warm-up game and over the last 12 months he has made huge strides back to where we’d like him to be,” Cook said. “We’ll monitor him over the next period of time and hopefully he could be right or the second Test but we’ll have to wait and see.”Steven Finn was firmly in contention for a Test place before his foot injury•Getty Images

Finn’s absence firms up England’s attack for the opening Test with Wood, who impressed in the first warm-up match, completing a six-man unit which will include Adil Rashid on debut.Rashid, who took three wickets in the second two-day match, will follow in the footsteps of Ian Salisbury, Chris Schofield and Scott Borthwick to become England’s fourth Test legspinner since 1971, when Robin Hobbs played the last of his seven matches. His debut had been earmarked even before the tour began with coach Trevor Bayliss, who is keen on a twin-spin attack, giving Rashid the encouragement to be an attacking bowler.”Adil’s made really good strides since the West Indies tour,” Cook said. “He has his one-day experience and is feeling a bit more comfortable around the group. It’s a tough art to master, but he’s got over 400 first-class wickets, so he can definitely bowl. I know he’s looking forward to his opportunity. Yes, there can be some bad balls along the way, but he can also bowl some jaffas.”While it was also confirmed that Moeen Ali will open the batting, Cook did not cement the full XI although the likely outcome is Jonny Bairstow retained at No. 5 with Jos Buttler keeping hold of the wicketkeeper’s position.”We’ve got a lot of tough selection calls to make,” Cook said. “A lot of people are pushing and it’s made my and Trevor’s job very hard to get the right XI.”Cook added that James Taylor was “doing all he can” to force his way into the side after making an unbeaten 61 against Pakistan A to follow up his productive one-day series against Australia which helped earn him a spot for this tour.”He’s been brilliant since he’s come back into the one-day side. A lot of people said because of his size he couldn’t play the short-pitched bowling or the quick bowling. He’s also a really good player of spin. That’s what we want – people pushing for selection, but you’ve also got to respect the guys who have done a good job as well in the team.”

ScorecardAdam Voges enjoyed a productive home Test summer, including against New Zealand•AFP

Australia’s one-day team might have struggled in their first game in Auckland, but Test batsman Adam Voges has started his acclimatisation well, scoring an unbeaten half-century in the Sheffield Shield match in Lincoln, New Zealand. Voges finished the second day on 58 alongside David Moody, who was yet to score, as Western Australia reached 4 for 194 in reply to the New South Wales first innings of 402.Voges, Peter Nevill and Nathan Lyon are the three men playing in the Shield match in New Zealand who will also be part of the first Test in Wellington starting next Friday. Nevill occupied the crease for 77 deliveries in making 28 for New South Wales and later snared a catch off the bat of Ashton Turner to give Lyon his only wicket from 18 overs.The day started with the Blues on 6 for 293 and they added a further 109 for the loss of their last four wickets, Sean Abbott (49) and Gurinder Sandhu (35) scoring some useful late runs. Trent Copeland, playing first-class cricket for the first time in nearly two years, then removed both the Western Australia openers, although not before Cameron Bancroft had made 45 and Will Bosisto 11.Doug Bollinger had Michael Klinger caught for 37 and Turner fell to Lyon late in the day, but Voges was still there at the close of play and had the chance to warm-up for the first Test with a century. Voges had two innings of note during the summer’s home Test series against New Zealand, scoring an unbeaten 83 in the first innings of the series in Brisbane, and 119 in Perth.