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Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson worked hard to improve Gio van Bronckhorst’s Ibrox squad in the January transfer window.

He brought in James Sands, Mateusz Zukowski, Aaron Ramsey and Amad Diallo, but they are all yet to establish themselves as regulars in the first team.

There is still plenty of time for them to prove that they were good signings by the Gers chief, but sometimes transfer windows can be remembered for the players who got away.

This may well be the case for one particular deal during the late Walter Smith’s reign in Glasgow. The club had a major howler over their failure to sign Luka Modric, now of Real Madrid, for £3.5m towards the start of his career during Smith’s tenure in charge.

Ally McCoist has revealed that Smith refused to act on his suggestion to sign the Croatian legend whilst he was still playing in his home country, before the midfielder went on to join Tottenham and then Real Madrid.

The legendary striker explained: “Walter sent me over to Dinamo Zagreb to look at the right back who went to Spurs as well, Vedran Corluka.

“He phoned me after the game and said ‘what do you think?’ and I said ‘I’ll tell you gaffer, they’ve got a wee boy in the middle of the park, he’s absolutely outrageous, see how much money we’ve got’.”I think we could have got him for £3.5million but we didn’t have the money. Aw wow. We didn’t have the money. He asked ‘how much?’ and I said three and a half million and he said we can’t afford it.”

£3.5m for a future Ballon d’Or winner does not seem like a bad deal in hindsight but the Gers were unwilling to push the boat out to bring him in, and they may now look back on that moment and wonder what could have been. To be fair, Smith was just doing what he thought was in the best interests of the club, but it is interesting to think what Modric would have been like at Rangers.

Brazilian icon Kaka previously said that the 36-year-old plays football “like a dance”, and his incredible trophy haul suggests that he has had plenty of experience dancing in celebration throughout his career. He has won 23 trophies at club level – including the Champions League four times – and won the Ballon d’Or, UEFA Best Player in Europe and The Best FIFA Men’s Player in 2018.

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This means that Rangers missed out on signing someone who would go on to be the best player in the world for a fee of £3.5m, which is why they may look back on this now as a huge howler by the club – albeit with a lot of hindsight involved.

File this under “one that got away”…

AND in other news, Forget Tavernier: Rangers machine with 83% duels won was Van Bronckhorst’s unsung hero on Thursday night…

Andrew Caddick: still drawing a crowd © Getty Images

Andrew Caddick’s last Test appearance came at Sydney back in January 2003, but even at the age of 38, he still feels that he would be worthy of a place in the England squad to tour Sri Lanka, which is set to be announced at The Oval on Friday morning.Caddick took 234 wickets in 62 Tests, having made his debut against Australia during the 1993 Ashes. But his form in county cricket for Somerset has remained remarkably consistent, and this year he was shortlisted for the PCA Player of the Year along with three fellow veterans – Mark Ramprakash, Mushtaq Ahmed and the eventual winner Ottis Gibson – after picking up 75 first-class wickets at 23.10.Caddick is not a realistic prospect for an England recall but his former 1990s team-mate Ramprakash is very much in the frame after passing 2000 runs in consecutive seasons for Surrey – rightly so, in Caddick’s opinion. “I don’t care what age you are,” he said. “If you’re getting thousands of runs and taking hundreds of wickets, you should be knocking on the door of these youngsters.””There have to be rewards for players who play to the best of their ability on the county circuit,” he said. “If you’ve got players who are bowling well, batting well, they should be pushing on the door of those who are playing international cricket and not doing well.”Although England’s former coach, Duncan Fletcher, was never a fan of county cricket, his successor Peter Moores has been keen to build bridges between the domestic and international circuits, with the likes of Ryan Sidebottom and Graeme Swann earning their rewards for consistency.Caddick himself was briefly in line for an astonishing comeback in August, when he was put on standby for the decisive third Test against India at The Oval, after Chris Tremlett reported an injury in training. “I spoke with Geoff Miller [England selector] up at Derby and told him what I could bring to the fold,” said Caddick. “It’s still up to the selectors to decide whether Andy Caddick should still be involved in English cricket.”

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

Ian Bell struck an important 71 to hand England a solid base © Getty Images

The first of five days of Australian celebrations were interrupted by asolid England batting performance as they tried to upstage the hosts. Thetourists’ main plan at the SCG is to avoid becoming only the second team tofall to a 5-0 Ashes defeat and they made a strong opening attempt. A fourthhalf-century of the series to Ian Bell and useful contributions from therest of the top order drove England to a healthy 4 for 234 at stumps.However, anything England do in the game will be overshadowed by the exitsof Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer. If they feel unloved by thetime the match is over something will have gone seriously wrong.The teams walked out this morning to see the three players’ namesspray-painted on the ground in a mixture so thick the rain that delayed thestart for 70 minutes could not wash it away. Each time McGrath or Warnetouched the ball or walked to grab their caps they were cheered likereturning heroes and at tea the trio stood at the balcony of the dressingroom listening to Time to Say Goodbye. Only the title words are sungin English and the players were unable to mouth the lyrics of the Italianoperatic rendition like they did for the national anthem in the morning.On the field McGrath had the most impact with two important wickets thatupset England’s move from trouble to safety. In Stuart Clark’s second overafter lunch he removed Alastair Cook to an inside edge, leaving England at 2for 58, and Bell and Kevin Pietersen did a sensible job in directing themfrom danger with a 108-run partnership.However, just as Bell seemed set to break his century drought in the seriesand Pietersen was ready to muscle his way out of Australia’s restrictivefields, McGrath stepped in to dismiss both of them in two overs. The hometeam’s bowlers delivered tight, testing lines and the ball moved off theseam throughout the day, making Pietersen step down the wicket regularly inan attempt to push them off their lines.The tactic didn’t work very often and when he was starved of the strikeafter tea he made a terminal error by walking at McGrath and miscuing a pullto Michael Hussey, who took a back-tracking catch at midwicket. Until thatover Pietersen had stayed largely in control with his hot-stepping, but hedeparted with 41 and Bell followed quickly.Bell, who has played with purpose throughout the summer, was again lookingcomfortable and countered much of the movement before being undone by aMcGrath delivery that angled in and caught the edge on the way to thestumps. Had it missed the bat it would have cleared the wickets, but Bell’stentative push away from his body created a crucial deflection.

Glenn McGrath led the day for the retirees with two wickets © Getty Images

It was an unnecessary end to another brave innings from a batsman who is oneinnings of unbroken concentration away from his first Test century againstAustralia. He worked the ball strongly through midwicket and was happy toplay and miss – many of the balls were so good he had no choice – in a153-ball stay, which included eight fours. His loss for 71 left England at 4for 167 and more irritation was averted by Flintoff and Paul Collingwood.Knowing his name would forever be linked with a 5-0 defeat, Flintoff, whowon the toss, produced his smoothest batting of the series with 42 not outas England finished in a mood that was much brighter than the gloomy lightthat ended play seven overs early. Flintoff lifted Clark for a hefty sixover mid-on to signal he would not be tamed and was also comfortable leavingthe ball in a way he had not discovered over the first four Tests. WithCollingwood he combined in an important stand of 67 that England must buildon in the morning if they are to threaten Australia’s dominance.The hosts will not be too bothered by their opponents’ efforts and willconsider themselves unlucky not to have found more nicks. In the secondsession Clark, McGrath and Brett Lee were superb but were unable to makeregular breakthroughs. McGrath finished with 2 for 57 while Clark and Lee,who collected Andrew Strauss’ edge, each picked up a wicket.Warne delivered 19 overs without success and Langer spilled an early chanceoff Strauss at third slip as the retirees were led by McGrath. The other twohave four more opportunities to shine before they sign off.

Short CutsFarewell of the day
Steve Waugh went out to working-class choruses of John Williamson’s in 2004, but the farewells of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer took a step up in class with an operatic rendition of at tea.Dead ball of the day
In his final Test McGrath found a way to do something new. Kevin Pietersen was walking down the pitch at him and the unfamiliar tactic caused McGrath to misfire when the ball stuck in his hand at delivery, ending up near the non-striker. It didn’t happen again.Shock of the day
Alastair Cook barely had to time to acclimatise to the fresh sunshine that had replaced the morning rain when Brett Lee’s first delivery of the day struck him a nasty knock in the groin. Lee’s response appeared to be something like “Happy New Year”.Crowd contest
Australia’s Fantatics are in a bay under the scoreboard and they started to flex their vocal muscles with a 4-0 chant after lunch, but their shouts quickly became whispers as the Barmy Army roared into action.

Virender Sehwag’s absence poses the dilemma of who will open with Gautam Gambhir © Getty Images

Virender Sehwag, the Indian vice-captain, is extremely unlikely to play the second Test against Sri Lanka beginning in Delhi on Saturday. He is suffering from a throat infection and fever and was admitted to a local hospital on Thursday. Rahul Dravid is expected to play, though he missed a net session because of fever.Though Sehwag’s health has improved, the doctors have advised him against any physical stress over the next few days. “He [Sehwag] has not been able to swallow food or water and was therefore put on intravenous medication,” SP Byotra, a senior doctor of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, told PTI. “His body temperature was also near normal. But if you ask me whether he should be playing tomorrow, my advice will be that he should avoid the game and take rest for at least five to six days.”Baladitya, the team’s media manager, said that there was no issue over Mohammad Kaif leaving the practice session midway. “Kaif went through all the drills. He is perfectly fine. He took the permission of the coach before leaving.”Greg Chappell, the India coach, refused to speculate on who would be captain in case both Dravid and Sehwag did not play. “I don’t want to answer that. It is a hypothetical question. If and when that happens, we will deal with that.”

Hitesh Modi: ‘We were even training more than ever before but we were not registering good results’© Getty Images

Kenya have named a 31-man squad for their ICC Intercontinental Cup match against Namibia at the end of February, and it includes most of the players who went on strike last October.The suspension of the KCA executive speeded up talks aimed at resolving the issue, and the departure of coach Andy Moles, who is thought to have clashed with some senior players, cleared the way for their reinstatement.The manner in which Moles quit has not gone down well. He still had some of his two-year contract remaining, and less than a fortnight ago he returned to Nairobi from his Christmas break and categorically denied that he was considering leaving.Hitesh Modi, Kenya’s captain, told reporters that Moles’ strict approach to the game may have had a bad effect on the team’s performance. “He insisted on the players adapting to his own style and wanted to have his own way,” Modi explained. “In fact we were even training more than ever before but we were not registering good results.”Kenya squad Hitesh Modi (capt), Ravindu Shah, Steve Tikolo Kennedy Obuya, Thomas Odoyo, Alfred Luseno, Peter Ongondo, Maurice Ouma, Collins Obuya, Lameck Onyango, Jadhavji Bhimji, Rashmi Gami, Brijal Patel, Martin Suji, Amit Bhudia, Ashish Karia, Ragheb Aga, Abeed Janmohamed, Kalpesh Patel, Malhar Patel, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Hafeez Manji, Alpesh Bhudia, Ashok Hiren, Tanmay Mishra, Timothy Muange, Shiraz Ali, Mukhit Musani, Rajesh Bhudia, Alex Obanda.

The League urgently needs help to ensure that it continues to run effectively.Firstly, we are looking for a League Secretary. Colin Savage fills this post as part of his role as Hampshire Cricket Board Administrator. However, increasing demands on the HCB post, which is intended to be part-time, mean that this arrangement is not working and cannot continue beyond the League AGM.As no volunteer has come forward since we highlighted this problem in the 2001 Annual Report, the League is therefore seeking a Secretary with an Honorarium of £1,000 per year, plus reimbursement of expenses.This is also the last year of Alan Bundy’s three-year tenure as Chairman,the League has not had a Vice Chairman for four years, and the Treasurer, Brian Funnell, made it clear at the 2002 AGM that he will also be standing down at the end of this year.This means that the following posts will need to be filled at the 2003 AGM to ensure the continued administration of the League:Chairman
Vice Chairman
League Secretary
Treasurer
The posts of Chairman, Vice Chairman, and Treasurer are voluntary but travelling and other legitimate expenses can be claimed.Applications for the post of Secretary should be sent to Alan Bundy by 130 September, and nominations for Chairman, Vice Chairman and Treasurer to the League Secretary by 15th September 2003.

Having shown glimpses of fine form in his previous match, Jammu &Kashmir batsman Kavaljit Singh translated it into a big knock againstServices on Day One of their Ranji Trophy league match at Delhi.Winning the toss, Jammu & Kashmir opted to bat, a departure from thepolicy they have being following of late. They were rewarded for thisexperiment, however, as Sabir Kanth and Kavaljit batted resolutely toreach a score of 237/1 by stumps.Although opener Raju Sharma departed early, Kanth and Kavaljit put on217 runs for the second wicket. Kanth, the slower of the two, wasunbeaten n 69 off 268 balls, while Kavaljit had made more than doublethat score. He was on 148 off 254 balls at the close of play.

Kent skipper Matthew Fleming paid glowing tribute to Andrew Caddick after his side’s two-wicket County Championship defeat by Somerset at Bath.Fleming said: “I can’t fault the way we played. We battled from start to finish and there were some good performances, but Caddick was the difference between the sides.”Not content with match figures of 10-97, the England pace bowler produced an equally valuable contribution with the bat after coming in with Somerset struggling on 152-8, needing a further 38 to win.Caddick had the confidence to counter-attack, sweeping left-arm spinner Min Patel for a big six over mid-wicket, to give one final twist to a compelling match.His positive batting enabled Ian Blackwell to settle at the other end and the pair produced sensible shot selection to suffer few alarms in an unbroken stand of 41.When Blackwell cracked the winning boundary several team-mates ran onto the pitch to share the celebrations. It was a sweet moment for the winter signing from Derbyshire, who is making a good impression at his new county.Somerset captain Jamie Cox was overcome by the tension of the final overs and admitted he couldn’t watch. “I’m not usually like that, but it was some finish,” said the Australian.”Thanks to Caddy and Ian we have come out of the Bath Festival with a huge boost. Some of our earlier dismissals weren’t too clever and they pulled things around.”Going into the final day on 50-3, chasing a victory target of 190, Somerset were pinning hopes heavily on Cox, who was unbeaten on 27 overnight.But, having added 16 to his score, he was bowled around his legs by the tireless Patel, who later removed Rob Turner on his way to figures of 3-43 off 36 overs, including 20 maidens.Peter Bowler and Turner fell before lunch, which was taken with Somerset 123-6. When Keith Parsons was caught behind trying to force Mark Ealham off the back foot soon after the interval Kent were right on top.Graham Rose, batting with a runner because of a hamstring problem, fought hard for his 18. But when he fell lbw playing across a straight ball from David Masters at 152 Somerset supporters feared the worst.It was Caddick’s match. He consistently extracted bounce from a pitch that acted as a feather bed to the other seamers and deservedly picked up the Player of the Festival award.The prize was a bottle of bubbly and the chance to put his feet up for two nights in a local hotel, something the England management will presumably appreciate as they seek to keep their top bowler fresh for the battles ahead with West Indies.Kent contributed fully to Championship cricket at its most absorbing and had no reason to feel too downhearted over their first defeat in the competition this season.Fleming said: “It was four days of very competitive cricket. Tonight we’ll loosen our ties and relax because the only really bad aspect of the game for us was the result.”

Leeds United have been dealt a fresh blow over captain Liam Cooper as he recovers from his hamstring injury…

What’s the latest?

Injury expert Ben Dinnery has claimed that the centre-back’s return to training does not mean that he will be back sooner than expected.

The Premier League Injuries site owner has explained why the Scotland international may not be back in the team in the immediate future.

He told Football Insider: “We always thought it was going to be around three months but I think that mid-March is realistic now.

“Just because you’re back training, that doesn’t mean you’re ready to be part of the first team. It can actually be a bit of a red herring.

“There are lots of exercises to complete and hoops you need to jump through before you get to that stage.

“Leeds need Cooper to be ready when he does come back. If it adds a few weeks on the timeline for the sake of not rushing him, it’ll be worth it.”

Fuming

Leeds fans will surely be fuming with this claim as Cooper’s return to training may have led them to believe that he would be back in contention in the early parts of March.

He was not involved in the matchday squad against Leicester and Dinnery’s comments suggest that he may not be back for the massive clashes with Aston Villa and Norwich at Elland Road. Having the captain back for successive home matches against bottom-half sides would have been a huge boost as his leadership on the pitch would have been a lift to the side.

Instead, Jesse Marsch will need to deal with the current crop of defensive options who have been letting the club down all season. Leeds have conceded the most goals (61) in the entire division this season and have only kept three clean sheets in 27 matches.

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All three of those shutouts came in Cooper’s 15 appearances to date. This highlights the difference between him being in and out of the side, as the Whites have failed to keep a single clean sheet in the 12 matches that he has been absent for.

Therefore, Leeds are in desperate need of his presence at the back to improve their defence and improve their chances of avoiding relegation to the Championship. This is why fans will be fuming that his return to training will not see him return for another couple of games, at least, according to Dinnery.

AND in other news, “Definitely”: Insider drops teasing Elland Road claim that’ll have Leeds fans buzzing…

Andrew Flintoff is unhappy with Duncan Fletcher for speaking out about his behaviour during the Ashes tour © Getty Images

Geoff Boycott has called Duncan Fletcher “a hypocrite” for his comments about Andrew Flintoff’s drinking habits on tour. Flintoff’s father has also complained about Fletcher’s new book and says his son is “not a happy man” after the revelations surrounding his behaviour in Australia and the Caribbean over the past year.Fletcher wrote Flintoff attended a fielding session while drunk and the former coach also had doubts before naming him as captain for the Ashes. Boycott, who was also targeted in Behind the Shades, was unimpressed with Fletcher.”After the stuff he has come out with in the last couple of days, I find it ironic that he spent his eight years with England spouting on about loyalty and keeping everything within the team,” Boycott told the . “There he was, taking the moral high ground at every opportunity. And as soon as he finishes, what does he do? He gets stuck into Flintoff.”I have no problem with cricket people writing books, telling the truth, and making some money. I have done it myself. Fine. But it seems a bit rich coming from someone who has made such a big deal about not “talking out of school”. Fletcher is a hypocrite and he should be ashamed of himself.”Colin Flintoff said his son felt betrayed and was upset with Fletcher for speaking out. “The golden rule is that what goes on in the dressing room stays in the dressing room,” he told the Guardian. “Fletcher has betrayed Andrew’s confidence. I am upset that he has done this for the sake of his book.”There is no bigger team player than Andrew. These comments have really upset him. I have spoken to Andrew about this and he is not a happy man.”Paul Nixon, who was part of Flintoff’s one-day squad in Australia and at the World Cup, supported his former captain by saying he did not have a drinking problem. “Freddie’s such a competitive guy and a passionate guy, he wants to win every game ferociously for England,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “I think that the hiding they got in the Ashes really affected him more than people realise.”Alastair Cook also added his support for Flintoff. “All I know is when I was playing under Freddie for England, he was my leader,” he told . “He gave everything for England and I just wish him successful rehab on that ankle.”It’s his third time, which must be tough, but we hope he gets back as soon as possible because a fully-fit, firing Freddie Flintoff is what we need for English cricket.”He said he had not read the book. “It is just a book isn’t it? We are not bothered about what people are writing. We have moved on. Everyone is entitled to their opinions but personally I am not bothered what he has written now because we are under Peter Moores.”It doesn’t affect the squad as a whole and we are more worried about how we are going to play against Sri Lanka in two weeks’ time.”