West Ham United will sanction the exit of Issa Diop in the summer amid heavy interest from Lyon, according to former Premier League striker Noel Whelan.

The Lowdown: Diop’s West Ham career

The 25-year-old arrived at the London Stadium in 2018 after the Hammers agreed a then-club record £22m fee with Ligue 2 outfit Toulouse. However, since arriving in east London, the defender has often struggled to adjust to life in the English top flight.

As a result, Diop has played just 11 Premier League games this season, with David Moyes favouring a centre-back partnership of Kurt Zouma and Craig Dawson.

According to L’Equipe (via Get Football News France), Lyon are interested in bolstering their centre-half options with the addition of the £10.8m-rated defender.

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The Latest: Whelan’s claim on Diop

Whelan, who used to regularly feature as a pundit for the BBC, believes that West Ham will let the Frenchman go in the summer.

Speaking with Football Insider, the 47-year-old claimed: “I think they can afford to let him go.

“They have Zouma now and Craig Dawson has provided quality and consistency this season. He has been the standout player out of all of the centre-halves for me. David Moyes knows how important Dawson is at the back. He’s a leader and a competitor. He’s their rock at the back.

“Diop is not getting in the side so I think they’ll let him go and look elsewhere. It doesn’t surprise me to hear he might leave. I think they will let him if the right offer comes in.”

The Verdict: Time to sell

Given Lyon’s apparent interest in the player, this may be the time for West Ham and Diop to part ways.

Despite the huge promise he showed when he first arrived at the club, the move hasn’t really worked out for the Frenchman, given his sparsity of game-time this season despite the Irons being far from stacked in his position and the meagre impression he has made whenever called upon.

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The 6 foot 4 defender has displayed glimpses of brilliance during his four-year stay in east London, with Jose Mourinho even referring to him as “a monster” after one of his performances against the Portuguese’s Manchester United side in the early weeks of the 2018/19 season.

Therefore, whilst this news may come as a disappointment to some West Ham supporters, the move would probably be in the best interests of both parties, and it’s little wonder that Whelan is predicting that Diop’s four-year stint with the Hammers could soon reach its denouement.

In other news: Whelan has also made this transfer claim regarding a potential London Stadium incoming

Muthumudalige Pushpakumara led a Sri Lankan recovery in the second Under-19s’Test at Northampton.Pushpakumara scored 125 not out in four hours, including a stand of 129 for the seventh wicket with Kausbal Lokuarachchi after the tourists had collapsed to 74 for six in their second innings.Sri Lanka, who trail 1-0 in the three-match series, finished the day on 268 for eight. They lead by 291 runs, so England’s batsmen have a mountain to climb on a pitch already generating a response for Sri Lanka’s four-man spin attack.England were all out for 263, their last four wickets falling for the addition of 41 runs at the start of the day. Ian Pattison of Durham was ninth out after battling his way to 39 in over three hours.Slow left-arm spinner Ranil Dhammika secured two more scalps to finish with five for 59 from 37 overs, while Pushpakumara accounted for Justin Bishop and Pattison with his off-breaks.When Sri Lanka batted the Surrey seamer Tim Murtagh used the new ball to good effect, taking the wickets of Ian Daniels, Thilina Kandamby and Jehana Mubarak for just seven runs in six overs.David Harrison trapped Malintha Gajanayake lbw, and opener Nimesh Perera was beautifully caught at extra cover by Ian Bell, leaving Sri Lanka just 74 runs ahead with five wickets gone.Then captain Kaushalya Weeraratne was clean bowled by Bishop. It was then thatLokuarachchi arrived to join Pushpakumara.Just after tea Lokuarachchi was missed at slip off Monty Panesar, who later bowled him to break the dangerous partnership.Panesar also dismissed Dhammika before the close, but Sri Lanka remain in the driving seat with Pushpakumara still at the crease.

Bangladesh batsman Mahmudullah has rued the five washed-out days during the series against South Africa, saying that playing against the No. 1 Test side would have been valuable experience for a growing team. He said the players would now have to use the Bangladesh Cricket League, which is reportedly going to be held soon, to tune up for the two Tests against Australia in October.”It would have helped us immensely had there been ten days of cricket, whether we won, lost or drew the matches,” Mahmudullah said after a third successive day of the second Test in Mirpur was lost to rain. The last two days of the Chittagong Test had also been washed out. “We would have played ten days against the best team in the world, and tested our skills better against them. It will be good if there is BCL before the Australia series, gives us a chance to play matches before a big series.”There was sunshine at the Shere Bangla Stadium around 2.00 pm on Sunday, less than half an hour after the fourth day was abandoned. Both teams were at the venue, but the ground was not fit for play following a heavy afternoon downpour. This Test, and with it the two-match series, is certain to be drawn.On the first day, Mahmudullah had made 35 after batting for more than two hours, and he said it was a crime to get out after putting in the hard work to get a start. “I think everyone understands the need to take the opportunities,” he said. “It is always hard to score the first 20-30 runs. It is the major hurdle. Then one has to play normally. Three-four of us got out in the 30s and 40s. I think it is a big crime. We have to find out, by speaking in groups and individually, how we can get out of this.”Over the last three days, like the other players, Mahmudullah has also been frustrated by the weather. “I think it is quite a tough situation. It is quite frustrating when you prepare yourself mentally for a five-day game and three days on the trot get called off. But it is important that one doesn’t lose focus. It is also important to enjoy and relax when we are back at the hotel. When we head to the ground, we have to switch on since we have to get prepared for the match.””At breakfast today I was talking to Imrul about what would have happened had the match taken place properly. We sometimes talk about such things. We spend time in the hotel room but when we are together, we talk cricket. We share ideas. He [Nasir Hossain] was telling me in the morning that he isn’t feeling well. He has been not out for two days. We all want to play but we have to face the circumstances. Let’s see what happens tomorrow.”

Yorkshire’s captain, Andrew Gale, has criticised England’s decision to omit Adam Lyth and Gary Ballance from the Test squad for the UAE. Four players from the Championship-winning county were included but Gale said Ballance in particular had been “harshly treated” after being overlooked by the selectors.Ballance became the third-fastest England batsman to score 1000 Test runs earlier this year but was dropped after the second Ashes Test, with Ian Bell moving up to No. 3 and Yorkshire team-mate Jonny Bairstow earning a recall. He has now slipped further down the pecking order, with James Taylor included at Ballance’s expense after impressing during the ODIs with Australia.While Ballance has produced scores of 165 and 91 in the Championship in recent weeks, he made a pair against Middlesex as Yorkshire claimed the title at Lord’s. Concerns have been expressed about his back-foot technique – in Yorkshire’s current fixture against Hampshire, being televised on Sky, Ballance was dropped in the gully playing tentatively at Fidel Edwards before being dismissed for 30 – although that may have been less of an issue on the slow surfaces of the UAE.There was no room for Ballance in either the Lions squad to play a T20 series with Pakistan A in the UAE this winter – although the format is not his strongest suit – or the England Performance Programme, which were announced on Wednesday.”I’m gutted for the lads,” Gale said. “I’m so disappointed for Gaz. He’s got an unbelievable record. I think he’s been harshly treated, and I’m really disappointed with the ECB for that.”I strongly disagree with the decision they’ve made. He’s got a proven record at that level, and yet they’ve picked James Taylor ahead of him. As much as I love ‘Titch’, I think Gaz deserves a chance to get back in that squad and prove again what he did before.”He’s a mentally strong lad is Gaz and a pretty level-headed guy. Knowing him as I do, he’ll take it in his stride and come back much stronger.”Lyth scored a century in his second Test but his position as Alastair Cook’s opening partner came under increasing threat during the Ashes, as he averaged just 12.77 with a highest score of 37. Lyth was the leading first-class run-scorer in 2014, with 1619 at 70.39, but only passed 50 once in 13 Test innings against New Zealand and Australia as bowlers targeted a noticeable fragility outside off stump.Alex Hales was the beneficiary, having passed 1000 runs in first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire this season, although England could pursue other options within the squad to open in three Tests against Pakistan.”In terms of Lythy, I thought Michael Carberry summed it up well in a Sky interview when he said someone deserves a really good run in that opener’s spot,” Gale said.”I’m not a fan of chopping and changing. You’ll see with our Yorkshire team this year that I’m a big believer in continuity and backing guys for a certain amount of time. Lythy’s shown that he can perform at that level, and it’s not as if opening batters are falling out of trees and churning runs out week after week like Lythy did last year.”With Lyth and Ballance left out, the number of Yorkshire representatives in the touring squad fell, after six were taken to the Caribbean at the start of the season. Joe Root, England’s highest-ranked batsmen, is a guaranteed starter in the middle order, while Bairstow, Adil Rashid and Liam Plunkett retained their places.

ScorecardChris Dent recorded the highest score by a Gloucesteshire player since World War II•PA Photos

Chris Dent’s superb career-best 268 put Gloucestershire in the ascendancy against old foes Glamorgan on the third day of their Championship match at Bristol.Gloucestershire’s formidable total of 558, founded upon a record-breaking stand of 166 between Dent and James Fuller, helped the home side establish a meaningful first-innings lead of 125. But a draw appears the most likely outcome after Glamorgan openers Jacques Rudolph and James Kettleborough overcame fatigue to negotiate 27 overs and reach the close on 88 without loss.Rudolph’s chanceless innings of 56 not out has occupied 87 balls and the captain will seek to steer his side, who trail by 37, to safety on the final day.On a day when the records tumbled, Dent posted the highest individual score by any Gloucestershire batsman in matches against Glamorgan since World War II, eclipsing the 254 made by Andrew Symonds at Abergavenny in 1995.His run-laden alliance with Fuller, who registered a career-best 73 from 99 balls, represented a club record stand for the eighth wicket in matches against Glamorgan, surpassing the 128 mustered by Mark Hardinges and Ashley Noffke at Bristol in 2007.And Dent comfortably bettered his previous highest first-class score of 203 not out, made against Cardiff MCCU in 2014, in the process becoming the only Gloucestershire player to pass 1000 first-class runs this season.Dropped by Colin Ingram in the slips before he had scored, Fuller made good his escape to eclipse his previous highest score of 57, made against Leicestershire at Cheltenham in 2012.With the exception of a couple of early setbacks, Benny Howell shouldering arms and losing his off stump to Michael Hogan without adding to his overnight score of 40 and Kieran Noema-Barnett chipping Craig Meschede straight to point for 5, it was pretty much plain sailing for the home side.Dent and Jack Taylor, who raised 35 from 33 balls and struck seven fours before top-edging a catch behind off Dewi Penrhyn-Jones, redressed the balance in an entertaining stand of 53 for the sixth wicket.With Gloucestershire opting to apply scoreboard pressure rather than pursue a contrived finish, Dent was presented with a chance to post a maiden Championship double hundred. In no mood to pass up such an opportunity, the Bristolian clipped Penrhyn-Jones to backward point and scampered a quick single to reach the mark in the 98th over. When he guided Graham Wagg to the fine leg boundary in the next over, the left-hander entered hitherto uncharted territory and County Ground regulars rose to acknowledge his achievement.Fuller must have had one eye on a maiden hundred when he advanced down the track to Andrew Salter and attempted to clear the long-on boundary, only to find Penrhyn-Jones, who took a fine catch just inside the rope.David Payne was bowled by Salter shortly after tea and Dent, having batted for eight hours, faced 347 balls and accrued 34 fours and 2 sixes, was last man out, superbly held by Wagg on the deep midwicket boundary off the bowling of Meschede. It proved tough going for Glamorgan’s seamers and Australian Hogan was the only bowler to emerge with credit, returning figures of 3-83.

Chris Cairns, the former “golden boy” of New Zealand cricket who stands accused of lying under oath to win a £1.4million libel settlement, was described as believing he was “untouchable” as the prosecution laid out its case in his trial at Southwark Crown Court in London.Cairns, whom prosecutor Sasha Wass QC described as a “legend” of the game, appeared in the dock to answer charges of perjury and, in conjunction with his co-defendant and former attorney Andrew Fitch-Holland, perverting the course of justice. Both men deny the charges, which relate to Cairns’ 2012 libel action against Lalit Modi, the former commissioner of the Indian Premier League.Cairns successfully sued Modi at the High Court in London following a Twitter message in 2010 in which Modi had alleged that Cairns had been excluded from that year’s IPL auction list “due to his past record of match fixing” in the now-defunct Indian Cricket League (ICL).”The prosecution case against Mr Cairns is that he manipulated the legal system in this country to his advantage,” said Wass. “Chris Cairns knew he had been guilty of match-fixing, he knew why he had been suspended and he knew what Mr Modi tweeted about him was true.”But Mr Cairns was an arrogant individual and very sure of the power he held over the people around him. This is what he did: he lied in witness statements, he lied on oath and he arranged that others should give false evidence on his behalf.”After all, the only people who knew for certain that Mr Cairns was engaged in match fixing were those people who had been match fixing with him. Why would they want to give evidence to that effect in court?”So Mr Cairns had a free rein: he could protest his good name and spotless reputation to the rooftops, knowing or believing that he was untouchable.”The prosecution allege that Lou Vincent, the former New Zealand batsman who was a team-mate of Cairns’ at Chandigarh Lions in the ICL, was persuaded by Fitch-Holland to provide a false witness statement to support Cairns’ libel case. Vincent was last year handed a life ban by the ECB after admitting to taking money to under-perform.During a Skype call, played to the court, Fitch-Holland told Vincent: “If you can literally get a one-paragraph statement that says ‘I played in the game, everything seemed okay, end of … it makes it plain that things are a lot more straightforward than they look.”In the recording, Fitch-Holland appeared to accept that both he and Vincent knew the cheating had happened, saying: “… between you and I, we all know some of what is being said is clearly true”. However, he tried to reassure Vincent that he would never have to swear his statement was true in court.Vincent, however, expressed his concerns: “It’s a big ask from me to … in a legal document say something that isn’t true”, he said, adding: “I am not proud of what has happened at all … it’s hard for me to live with what’s gone on.”Wass said the conversation was proof that all parties knew the libel case that Cairns was bringing was untrue.The case continues at 10am on Monday.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details5:38

Nicholas: NZ bit too dependent on Southee, Boult

How friendly is too friendly? New Zealand’s cricketers were derided by Australia as “the politest”,”nice guy” team ahead of this match, and on day one the touring bowlers allowed an untried home batting line-up the opportunity to dominate and thus set-up the Gabba Test in the same fashion as so many before them.So much did they dominate that this was Australia’s most fruitful of all opening days at the Gabba, better even than the 2 for 364 run up by Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting when invited to bat by Nasser Hussain in 2002. David Warner’s stand with his new partner Joe Burns set the scene, before Usman Khawaja glided to his first Test hundred with all the class he had promised on his debut against England five summers ago.For an Australian team still carrying the scars of being routed for 60 at Trent Bridge earlier in 2015, this was a day that began in a blissfully uneventful manner and grew increasingly dominant. For a New Zealand side harbouring genuine ambitions of winning a series down under for the first time since 1985, it was a shock to the system – and a reminder of how hurtful their abandoned warm-up fixture at Blacktown had been.Batting first after the captain Steven Smith won the toss, Warner and Burns weathered the new ball spells of Tim Southee and Trent Boult before accelerating to a union of 161 that went a long way towards setting up the match and series for the hosts. Khawaja then capitalised with an innings of fluency right around the ground. Their runs allowed Smith the luxury of walking to the wicket at 2 for 311, and he was soon making merry too.Warner’s 13th Test hundred was his first since he made 101 in Australia’s opening match of the year against India in Sydney, and was clearly informed by a few of the lessons he learned during the unsuccessful Ashes campaign in England. While there was still the odd flourish, Warner kept well and truly in control of his instincts and emotions, barely playing and missing until he made one failed swish at a Mark Craig delivery on 99. Ultimately he would face 200 balls for the first time in Tests, a credit to his powers of concentration.Burns’ Brisbane experience served him well. He showed tremendous patience to leave the ball well but also play the line when balls moved, not chancing an edge by trying to adjust too much. Burns waited until his 20th delivery to get off zero with a sturdy square drive, and later pushed his score along by showing fleetness of foot against the spin of Craig. He looked increasingly secure until dropping his guard briefly to follow a Southee delivery tailing away and paid for the error with his wicket.That delivery aside, the visitors were unable to keep the Kookaburra ball swerving as consistently as they had hoped, and only a handful of deliveries beat the bat. Southee and Boult were a tad short in the early overs before Warner and Burns had set themselves, a common failing of pacemen visiting the Gabba. The support bowlers Doug Bracewell and Craig showed very little ability to control the scoreboard, their days summed up when Bracewell took a heavy fall on the hard Gabba turf when in delivery stride first ball after tea.Warner’s innings carried on from the composed visage he took on in the dead fifth Test of the Ashes series at The Oval, when he excelled in his final opening stand with the now retired Chris Rogers. He waited until the eighth over of the morning for his first boundary, but rotated strike cleverly to ensure the New Zealand bowlers had to keep changing their lines.Later in the session he opened his shoulders, firing one straight driven six off Bracewell. Growing New Zealand anxiety about their lack of inroads was betrayed by an lbw referral against Warner for a ball that was pitching clearly outside leg stump.Boult and Southee found a modicum of swing when play resumed, but neither was able to land the ball consistently enough to pose problems. Burns and Warner grew increasingly confident, the former nailing one hook shot to a prancing Southee short ball that might easily have resulted in a top edge. The stand of 161 was the best by a new Australian opening combination since Bill Lawry and Ian Redpath over 50 years ago, and it was a surprise when Burns snicked a Southee ball delivered from wide on the crease.McCullum brought Boult straight back into the bowling attack to try to defeat Khawaja, but the left-armer’s motley assortment of short and straight deliveries did not trouble the new batsman. Nor did a selection of balls dragged down by Craig pose Khawaja any problems. Within a few overs Warner and Khawaja were rolling along as though Burns’ wicket had been of little consequence, and this most inventive of New Zealand sides were starting to look short of ideas.Few could be found in the evening session, and it was more fatigue than anything else that did for Warner. A tired-looking edge off the bowling of Jimmy Neesham was wonderfully caught by Ross Taylor, but that only served to bring Smith to the crease. In the run up to stumps he and Khawaja motored along against old ball and new, the latter leaping into the air upon reaching his century when pulling another short ball from Boult. For Khawaja and Australia’s selectors, this was the stuff of dreams.

A keen duel for the all important first innings lead was on the cards and this did come about on the concluding day of the Coca Cola Trophy (under-25) tournament final between Kerala and Tamil Nadu at the Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar Sports Complex in Bangalore on Monday. Ultimately Kerala emerged triumphant by snatching a 15-run lead.Tamil Nadu resumed at 122 for three in reply to Kerala’s 323. They suffered an early reverse when Lokesh was out without adding to his overnight score of 50. But their hopes were revived with Subash Raj and skipper Ganesh Kumar (17) adding 48 runs off 21.3 overs. By now it had become a battle of attrition. Dhandapani (17) left at 195 but Subash Raj continued to solider on and with MR Shrinivas (42) added 72 runs for the seventh wicket off 29 overs. At 267 for six, Tamil Nadu were back in the hunt. However at this stage, Shrinivas was run out, dealing a severe blow to Tamil Nadu’s hopes. Shrinivas faced 80 ballsand hit four of them to the ropes. When Raghuram (0) was out at 268, Tamil Nadu’s goose seemed as good as cooked.But Subash Raj was still around and he made a valiant last ditch attempt with the help of the tailenders. With No 10 Vasudevan (11) he added 21 runs for the ninth wicket off eight overs. And he continued to battle it out in the company of last man Velmurugan (9 not out) with whom he added 19 runs off four overs. The score went past the 300 mark until amidst much tension and excitement, Subash Raj was leg before to Rajesh with the Tamil Nadu total at 308. Subash Raj had batted in gallant fashion for 84 which took him 418 minutes to compile. He faced 293 balls and hit seven fours. Opening bowler R Menon was the most successful bowler with three for 81 while P Manoj and PV Rajesh took two wickets each. The match was called off after 3.1 mandatory overs when Tamil Nadu were all out. Kerala were richer by Rs 50,000 while Tamil Nadu had to remain content with Rs 30,000. SK Nair chairman, finance comittee, BCCI was the chief guest at the prize distribution function.

Heavy rain frustrated Durham’s hopes of forcing the victory they need to ease First Division relegation fears.Only 16 overs were possible on the third day at Taunton where Somerset resumed on 58-0 in reply to the visitors’ 378.The start was delayed until 4.45pm, by which time the game already looked doomed to a draw. But there were bonus points to play for and Durham moved close to a fifth one by removing both overnight batsmen.Jamie Cox and Mark Lathwell suffered disappointments as they sought to build overdue scores.Unbeaten on 22 overnight, Cox was looking to end a poor run by his standards, which had seen him pass 30 only once in eight Championship innings.But the sequence continued as, having added only three to his score, the Somerset skipper was judged lbw pushing forward to John Wood.Lathwell, who resumed on 25, was soon looking in the sort of form to achieve his first Championship half-century since 1998 after missing the whole of last season with a knee injury.The former England player was untroubled progressing to 39, but then fell in almost identical fashion to Cox as his forward defensive shot was beaten by Paul Collingwood.Rob Turner and Peter Bowler took the score to 92-2 before accepting the umpires’ offer to go off for bad light.There had been claps of thunder and another storm caused play to be abandonedfor the day, putting much of the outfield under water.Wood had taken 1-5 from his five overs, while Collingwood also had tidy figures of 1-7 from three overs.A draw will suit Somerset more than Durham, who are desperately trying to make up ground on their opponents and fourth-from-bottom Kent in the battle to remain in the top flight.

Islamabad, Nov 25: Rawalpindi skipper Naseer Ahmed scored aswashbuckling 126 off 135 balls to help his side muster 274 for 4 inthe second innings against Gujranwala as the Quaid-i-Azam TrophyGrade-I fixture ended in a draw at Pindi Cricket Stadium on Saturday.Naseer’s 140-minute innings contained 21 fours and a six. He shared a135-run third wicket stand with opener Asif Mahmood who fell six shortof the hundred mark.The two came together at the double dismissal by right-arm mediumpacer Basit Murtaza who removed opener Naveed Qureshi (17 off 48) andthen trapped Test batsman Mohammad Wasim lbw for duck when the totalwas 70.Asif and Naseer raised the total 205. Asif ran himself out for for 94after facing 155 balls and smashing 13 boundaries during 190 minutesstay.Asim Munir grabbed the prized scalp of Naseer. Debutant Noman Aman(21) and allrounder Yasir Arafat (4) remained not out. Basit took 2for 45.Earlier, Gujranwala’s first innings was wrapped up at 303 as YasirArafat collected the remaining two wickets to provide Rawalpindi withthe first innings lead points.Basit Murtaza who resumed at 53 could add just three runs to hisovernight score before being clean bowled, while tenth batsmandebutant Adnan Farooq (38 off 82) added 20 runs coming back.Yasir ended with 4 for 97 while debutant left-arm spinner IftikharMahmood snatched 3 for 49.