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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…

Cricket Kenya will be holding a meeting of leading stakeholders on December 1 and 2 at Nairobi’s Parklands Sports Club.Those invited to attend include representatives of clubs and associations, sponsors, cricketers, and the media. CK has also invited both the African Cricket Association CEO Cassim Sulliman and ICC high performance manager Richard Done to attend.High on the agenda will be discussions about the ongoing crisis affecting the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association, as well as planning the way ahead for Kenyan cricket in general.

5.5 overs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Sanath Jayasuriya launched a stunning attack on New Zealand’s bowlers © Getty Images

Sanath Jayasuriya enjoyed a field day at Wellington’s Westpac Stadium, picking up three key wickets as Sri Lanka derailed New Zealand’s batting onslaught, and then playing a blitzkrieg of an innings to propel his side to an 18-run Duckworth-Lewis victory. Rain forced everyone off the field with one delivery left in the sixth over of Sri Lanka’s chase of 163, just as Jayasuriya slammed Andre Adams for 18 in four balls. With no respite in sight, Sri Lanka were declared winners based on their excellent run rate, despite being 101 runs adrift of their target.Jayasuriya set off in manic fashion, slamming 51 from 23 deliveries. By the time Shane Bond removed Upul Tharanga for six, Jayasuriya had raced away to 27 from 15 deliveries with a brutal attack on Bond and James Franklin. Adams, in his first over in New Zealand colours since October 2005, was welcomed with the following greeting: four over backward point, four through square leg, six over wide long-on, and four more through extra cover. It was just as well that rain intervened, from Adams’s perspective.Led by their spinners, Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka clawed their way back into the first of the two Twenty20s to restrict New Zealand to 162. After taking a solid hammering from Stephen Fleming and Brendon McCullum – 80 runs were added in just over seven overs – Murali and Jayasuriya turned the game on its head with some controlled bowling and waited for the hosts to hit the self-destruct button.Dressed in 1992 World Cup grey, both openers set the tone of proceedings with scorching shots, and some thick outside edges, as 29 runs came off the first two overs. In the first over, Chaminda Vaas was slammed hard over extra cover for six by McCullum, and in the second Fleming picked up three fours – one sweetly creamed through covers, two edged through the vacant slip region – to make it 17 from the over. Dilhara Fernando, playing his first game on tour, was taken for 16 from his opening over, with McCullum rounding it off with a pulled six over deep backward square leg.Maharoof came back well to bowl Fleming with a well-disguised slower ball, and Muralitharan, though smoked for two huge sixes in his first three deliveries, got McCullum to mistime a slog-sweep out to deep midwicket. From here on, it was Sri Lanka’s turn to dictate terms.While Murali plied away with a great length from one end, Jayasuriya kept it simple yet clever; there was no room offered, he controlled his spin, and kept it flat. Franklin, sent in as pinch-hitter, played some good shots before Jayasuriya trapped him leg before; a great catch at midwicket – Chamara Silva timed his jump to perfection and took the catch on the second attempt – took care of James Marshall; and Nathan Astle was bowled neck and crop by a straight delivery. It was a pretty good effort considering there was rain in the air and that the ball must have been pretty slippery when he bowled.The run rate dropped as the spinners continued with a controlled length, and even Silva, called on for just one over, gave away just four runs and removed the debutant wicketkeeper Peter McGlashan.Where Fleming and McCullum had blazed 80 in no time, the remaining batsmen could only muster 82 in double the overs. Sri Lanka tasted success in their Twenty20 debut, against England at Southampton this summer, defending 163, and today, in pursuit of the identical target, they came up trumps – with a little help from the weather gods.

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 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.”