Tottenham midfielder Harry Winks would be interested in a move to Southampton this summer, transfer insider Dean Jones has claimed.

The Lowdown: Winks’ playing time

Since the arrival of Rodrigo Bentancur at the end of January, the former England international’s playing time with Spurs has decreased significantly. In the Lilywhites’ last five Premier League games, the 26-year-old has played just 17 minutes of football.

As a result, reports have claimed that both Crystal Palace and Southampton are keen on signing the midfielder in the summer transfer window.

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The Latest: Jones’ claim on Winks

Jones believes that a move to St Mary’s would be the best option for Winks, who could jump at the chance to join the Saints.

Speaking with GiveMeSport, the journalist claimed: “If everything comes together for them, I think he would be interested in it, so I think Southampton are on the right path.”

The Verdict: Lack of midfield options

Southampton have a limited number of options in the midfield department. Whilst James Ward-Prowse and Oriol Romeu have been leading the charge, the only other senior option in the engine room is youngster Ibrahima Diallo.

Therefore, a player with Winks’ experience in the top flight (124 Premier League appearances) would surely be of great use to this Saints side, as it would allow for more frequent rotation.

Having described a number of the 26-year-old’s performances as “amazing”, former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino once compared the player to the likes of Andres Iniesta and Xavi in the midfield, illustrating his calm presence on the ball.

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Therefore, with limited game-time expected under Antonio Conte, a move to Southampton could be the best option for Winks’ career, and Jones seems to think it is very much viable.

In other news: Dan Sheldon has criticised one Saints player during the 1-1 draw at Leeds

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Leeds United revealed on Monday that talismanic centre-back Pontus Jansson will be missing for three weeks with the knee issue he picked up against Sheffield United on Saturday, and Whites fans have produced a surprise reaction to the news.

The Sweden international has been such a big player for the Yorkshire outfit ever since initially joining them on loan, and it has been no different this term as they have challenged in and around the automatic promotion places throughout the whole campaign.

Perhaps the lack of concern is because of the international break meaning he may only miss one game or, in many cases in the following comments, the chance that they will see another Elland Road favourite in Gaetano Berardi potentially returning to the starting XI.

Despite his questionable disciplinary record, it is no surprise that the United faithful like the Swiss defender given his never-say-die warrior-like attitude, and the fact that he filled in for Jansson so well earlier in the campaign means they shouldn’t be worried about him being named in the XI.

In fact, some of the Leeds fans that have had their on the setback are actually more concerned – and rightly so – about their side going forward, following another blank against the Blades at the weekend.

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Here is what they have been saying on Twitter…

Are fans being priced out of the Championship as well as the Premier League? The angry Bolton fan in the video below certainly believes so…

The Yorkshire Phoenix completed the double over Lancashire Lightning in the Norwich Union National League with an emphatic nine-wicket victory. The match was over by 7.15 when the players should have been enjoying their mid innings break.After winning the toss and electing to bat the Lightning were blitzed by some explosive bowling from the Phoenix. Matthew Hoggard made the breakthrough when he bowled John Crawley for three in the fourth over. The next three deliveries he forced Flintoff to play and miss each time. Two overs later the Lightning lost their second wicket. Sourav Ganguly turned Hoggard off his legs and straight into the hands of Vic Craven at square leg.The stage looked set for Neil Fairbrother to play another of his one day match winning innings against the Phoenix but he only scored six when he was back in the changing rooms. He hit Hoggard to Gough at third man and set off for two runs. He turned blind for the second run and was run out by accurate throw from Gough.Only nine overs had gone and the Lightning were 21 for three. Next man Graham Lloyd fell to the first ball from Craig White when he was caught behind by Blakey. Two balls later and White bowled Scuderi for a duck. In the next over Flintoff edged Hoggard just wide off McGrath at second slip.Warren Hegg pushed White’s slower ball straight to Lehmann at short mid-off and the Lightning were now 40 for six with 30 of their 45 overs left. Ian Austin playing his second match since returning from injury was dropped by Vaughan at first slip off White but the drop was not expensive for he was bowled by Hoggard for two in the next over.Glen Chapple was anther run out victim in a mix up with Flintoff. Flintoff with the score at 47 for eight decided to attack the Phoenix bowlers. He hit Hamilton for two successive fours. One was a cross-batted slog and the other was a top edge, which went over the slips heads. However he became White’s fourth victim when he was bowled for 28 off 44 balls. His innings included four fours.When Gary Yates pulled Hamilton straight to Vaughan at square leg the Lightning’s innings was over for 68 in just in 23.3 overs. White ended with four wickets for 14 in his six overs, while Hoggard bowled his nine overs straight through with four maidens and took three wickets for 15 runs. Lancashire Lightning’s score was their lowest ever in the competition.The Phoenix only needed 53 minutes to knock off the 69 required to win and a ball under 14 overs. To stand a chance of making the match a close one, the Lightning needed to take early wickets and bowl tight. They did get an early breakthrough when Fairbrother caught Craven at point of Austin in the second over. Acting captain Darren Lehmann came in and he was in no mood to take his time to get the runs. When he and Vaughan put on fifty Vaughan had only scored seven of them while Lehmann had hit 40.Lehmann’s hit seven fours in his fifty and he ended the match with a four over square leg. He was unbeaten on 54 with Vaughan not out on 11. It was the third time this season that Yorkshire had beaten Lancashire in a one-day competition. The other victory being in the Benson and Hedges.

James Anderson could have played his final Ashes Test after being ruled out of the last installment of this campaign at the Kia Oval due to the side strain he sustained at Edgbaston.Anderson had hoped to recover in time to return to the side, but Alastair Cook said that he had only been able to bowl at “60-70%” during England’s training sessions on Monday and Tuesday. Cook also confirmed that barring any late injury problems England will name an unchanged team which means they will resist any temptation to give Adil Rashid a debut.Although Anderson has said that he has ambitions to extend his England career for considerable time to come, at the age of 33 nothing is certain for a fast bowler. The next Ashes series is in Australia during the 2017-18 season.”Unfortunately Jimmy isn’t going to make it. He’s gutted about it,” Cook said. “He’s made real good progress from where he was at Edgbaston but it’s a week or so too early. He bowled in the nets yesterday at about 60-70%, that’s not how you go into a game. He’s worked really hard, it’s just a bit early.”With confirmation that England will retain the same XI which won so convincingly at Trent Bridge it means that Rashid continues to wait for his Test debut. Cook said he was now far more confident around the England set-up having been in the squad throughout the series and can expect to play a role against Pakistan in the UAE.”Clearly Adil has been with us for every squad but the pitches haven’t quite suited two spinners. Adil will have to wait his chance but as a cricketer he’s really improving and he feels a lot more comfortable in the England environment and he’ll probably get his chance in Abu Dhabi.”There were words of encouragement, too, for opener Adam Lyth who has struggled during the series in making 86 runs at 12.28 but there was a hint that this was shaping as a defining Test for Lyth’s short-term prospects.”He hasn’t scored the runs he would have liked, but he made a very good hundred against New Zealand which is where I thought you saw a lot of his talent,” Cook said. “It’s tough when your first seven games are against the bowlers he has faced, but he has to clear that out of his mind. He’s an Ashes-winning player and he can be very proud of that.”He’s been a big part of the squad and he has to go out there over the next five days and score runs. He’s a very good player who can succeed at international level.”

Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAngelo Mathews picked up the crucial wicket of Virat Kohli early in the day•AFP

Cheteshwar Pujara, previously out of the side to presumably accommodate a more forceful batsman and an extra bowler, scored his first Test century since the last month of 2013 to deny Sri Lanka clear advantage in the rain-hit SSC Test. He was helped along by Amit Mishra’s third Test fifty, an enterprising effort, to rescue India after Dhammika Prasad had reduced India to 180 for 7. It was thanks largely to Prasad that Sri Lanka didn’t lose the advantage of bowling first on a pitch with uneven grass covering, which offered seam movement and variable bounce. Pujara and Mishra added 104, the highest eighth-wicket stand for India against Sri Lanka, the highest at SSC, with Mishra’s 59 the highest by a No. 9 at SSC.Given almost a whole day’s play has been lost to rain, India might just have enough to feel they can’t lose the Test. They can thank Pujara for that. Batting above his preferred station, thanks only to injuries to the openers in the side, Pujara knew he had a brief window to make impact to earn a long-time return. On a pitch as challenging as this, the impact was not going to be immediate, but any runs he scored would be valuable. And he scored an unbeaten 135 of them out of India’s 292 for 8.Immediate impact was left for Prasad. That Sri Lanka ran the risk of wasting the conditions is evident from how they had to bowl 37 overs of spin out of 95.3 on a seaming pitch. Angelo Mathews, the third seamer, doesn’t bowl long spells because of back issues, and Prasad bowled only short spells. In the short spells, though, he struck instantly. He took out KL Rahul in the first over of the match, nearly had Virat Kohli in the first over on the second morning, took out Rohit Sharma with the last ball before lunch and Stuart Binny with the first after, and then R Ashwin with the first ball back.The first wicket of the day, though, went to Mathews, and that too after Kohli had survived a close call off Prasad and seen his burst off. He just couldn’t help pushing defensively at wide balls that he is better off leaving alone. In England, it proved to be Kohli’s downfall. In Australia and in the two previous Tests, the ball hardly seamed so Kohli kept getting away with it. This time he nicked off.This brought together two men whom a fully fit India XI might not have space for: Pujara and Rohit, the last two specialist batsmen. After surviving a streaky chip early in the innings and then successfully taking Rangana Herath’s spin on, Rohit once again fell just before an interval. In the previous Test, his dismissal brought an end to the day’s play; here he ended the first session. Prasad pitched close enough to make Rohit push at this, and the ball just held its line to take the edge. This was the fifth ball of the over, but lunch was taken immediately. Post the break, India’s suspect No. 6 Stuart Binny came out to bat. He got a near perfect ball, a ball you can’t mean to bowl. You can only hope that a ball shaping up as an outswinger pitches on the seam and then jags back the other way. That’s what happened with the first ball after lunch, and Binny was trapped lbw for a golden duck.Naman Ojha, the debutant, went on to have an important partnership with Pujara. But once the two had worn the bowlers out, with the ball 60 overs old, Ojha holed out when slogging against Tharindu Kuashal, who provides loose balls if you wait for them.Ask Pujara. He had to wait and wait and wait in the first session, leaving balls alone outside off, defended when they made him play, absorbing the pressure dot after dot after dot. He didn’t feel the itch to score runs even when he spent 23 balls on the score of 31. At times he even shaped up to play at balls, and then withdrew at the last moment realising they were outside off and not seaming in.Pujara was provided a release by the inconsistent Kaushal. He had come on for the first time 30 minutes before lunch, and offered a long half-volley. Pujara had only just got off 31, and he unfurled a cover drive for four and then cut a short ball past slip. Then came a good delivery, but Pujara was in a different mood now, and drove through point. He also drove Prasad to the boundary off the back foot, a shot Pujara had shelved earlier.Pujara reached his fifty minutes before lunch, and well known for accelerating after passing through an early period of defence, he went from 31 off 91 to 101 off 219.Pujara found a perfect partner in Mishra. After Ashwin had fallen to a loose push outside off, Mishra came in full of intent. He refused to get bogged down, didn’t play the most orthodox shots, but succeeded in frustrating the tired Sri Lankan bowlers. Pujara showed full faith in Mishra’s abilities, and the two stole the initiative from Sri Lanka who would have had hopes of batting for a major part of the final session.Although a few balls turned and bounced from the edge of a grassy patch on the pitch, which should encourage India should the match go into the fourth innings, the pitch had by and large settled down by now. The ball did seam, but Sri Lanka didn’t help themselves by bowling either too short or two full at Mishra. By the time Sri Lanka finally found a way past Mishra, who got too close to the ball when charging at Herath and was stumped off his pads, the clouds had come in and cost the Test another hour. Only 95.3 overs were bowled in the first two days.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:00

Karunaratne provides SL solid platform

An unbeaten century from Dimuth Karunaratne ensured Sri Lanka negotiated the opening day of the series with a sense of calm and lost only two wickets on a slow Galle pitch. Sri Lanka grew increasingly dominant as the day progressed. The final session produced over 43% of the runs they scored on the day, and ended with a punchy Karunaratne straight drive that took the score from 246 to 250.West Indies did themselves no good by dropping two catches in the middle session. The first spill didn’t cost them – Lahiru Thirimanne, the reprieved batsman, was disimissed soon after – but the other – a backtracking Jerome Taylor failing to grasp Dinesh Chandimal at mid-on when he miscued an attempted pull off Devendra Bishoo – certainly did. Chandimal, who was on 11 at that point, went on to end the day unbeaten on 72, having added 149 with Karunaratne.Karunaratne’s innings was a triumph of restraint and adherence to a simple plan. In the morning session, he left resolutely when the ball was angled across him, and didn’t get lured into indiscretion outside off even when the quicks went around the wicket. He read the lengths well, picking up most of his runs with checked drives through cover – he rarely went hard at the ball while playing this stroke, mindful of the slowness of the pitch – and glides and cuts behind point. Against the legspinner Bishoo, he used his feet well, coming down the track to either whip him with the turn or to get close enough to the pitch of the ball to smother any potential misbehaviour out of the rough.In the first two sessions, accurate bowling and a slow pitch ensured Sri Lanka never ran too far ahead of their opponents. But they took control in the period immediately after tea, when West Indies began proceedings with Bishoo and Marlon Samuels and kept them going in tandem for 16 overs. It was a strange tactic, given that West Indies’ attack contained four frontline quicks – it was, perhaps, an admission that they had got the selection wrong – and those 16 overs went for 53 runs – the run rate of 3.31 comfortably above the rate of 2.56 that Sri Lanka had scored at until tea.Both batsmen milked the spinners, using their feet comfortably to get down the track, hit a six each over cow corner – Karunaratne reached his hundred in that manner – and grew increasingly entrenched. It wasn’t until West Indies took the second new ball that Chandimal faced Roach or Taylor – West Indies’ two most experienced bowlers, and their biggest threats on the day. By that time, he had moved to 54 off 120 balls.The new ball did a bit, but not so much as to trouble a two well-set batsmen, and Sri Lanka saw out the last 10 overs of the day without too much discomfort. The one dicey moment they endured was a result of uncertain calling when Karunaratne tucked Taylor into the leg side. Jermaine Blackwood reacted quickly to the mix-up at short midwicket, but his underarm flick missed the stumps at the bowler’s end with Karunaratne a long way short of the crease.In the morning session, Taylor and Roach asked questions of the openers, but they survived their new-ball spells without too much alarm. Both bowlers beat Silva’s edge, but he played close to his body and didn’t follow Taylor’s swing or Roach’s seam movement with his hands.The runs came slowly, but the initial nerves seemed to calm against Jason Holder and Shannon Gabriel, who didn’t move the ball as much as the new-ball pair. Gabriel offered a few loose balls – including a full-toss that Silva square-drove for his first boundary, off his 44th ball – but bowled with pace and pinged Silva on the helmet when a bouncer didn’t rise as much as expected.The 50 partnership – the first for a Sri Lanka opening pair since Karunaratne and Silva put on 85 in Christchurch back in December 2014 – came up in the 16th over, and West Indies were looking just a touch short on inspiration and just a touch flustered by the number of quick singles they were conceding. But they didn’t have to wait too long for the wicket, which came when Roach came back on for his second spell.All through his first, he had troubled Silva by going wide of the crease and straightening the ball past his outside edge. Now he repeated the same line of attack, and Silva, now well set, was good enough to nick him.Thirimanne’s 62-ball stay was a struggle all through, characterised by an utter inability to find the gaps. He survived a couple of close shaves too. First, soon after lunch, he shouldered arms to a ball from Holder that snaked in sharply from around the wicket and narrowly missed his off stump. Then he aimed an ill-advised drive at a good-length ball from Taylor and nicked to slip, where Darren Bravo got both hands to the ball but failed to hold on.But having got past those alarms, and having experienced a small release of pressure following Bishoo’s introduction – he picked up two doubles, a single and a boundary off the first five balls he faced from the legspinner as he searched for rhythm – Thirimanne threw his wicket away. Looking to boss Bishoo, he ran down the track and went hard at the ball, looking perhaps to hit over mid-on. Extra turn, though, caused him to hit the ball to short midwicket off the inside half of his bat.

Alex Hales and Moeen Ali will each be given the chance to stake a claim to be Alastair Cook’s opening partner for the Test series against Pakistan, according to Trevor Bayliss, England’s head coach.Speaking to the media in Dubai following England’s first day of training since arriving in the UAE, Bayliss admitted that he had a “bit of an idea” about which of the two batsmen would fill the vacancy left by Adam Lyth’s omission.However, with two two-day warm-ups against Pakistan A taking place in Sharjah next week, England intend to investigate their options ahead of the first Test on October 13. The balance of the bowling attack, Bayliss added, is likely to be the decisive factor.”I don’t think we’ve got a definitive answer just yet,” he said. “We’ve got a few days of practice and a couple of warm-up games … before we select that [Test] team.”It will probably get down, from a bowling point of view, to whether we want an extra spinner or pace bowler … [then] do we want an extra batter? It could get down to one of those decisions, and who opens the batting could be a consequence of that.”I think both those players will get an opportunity,” he added. “We’ll play the first [warm-up] … and then see what we need to achieve out of that last match.”It will probably be determined on how we play in the first one, and who needs an extra hit, who’s had enough … but I’m sure, especially those two boys, will get their opportunity.”Moeen, who currently bats at No. 8, has cemented his role as England’s first-choice spinner, with 45 wickets in 16 Tests since his debut against Sri Lanka at Lord’s in June 2014. However, he has opened the batting with some success in the one-day team and, on the slower surfaces of the UAE, his languid strokeplay could prove a useful foil to Cook’s more attritional attributes.His promotion would also allow England to hand a Test debut to Adil Rashid, the legspinner, without necessarily weakening their seam-bowling attack. James Anderson and Stuart Broad enjoyed plenty of personal success in the UAE on England’s last visit in 2012, claiming 22 wickets between them despite being on the wrong end of a 3-0 whitewash. With back-up from Ben Stokes and one of Mark Wood or Steven Finn, pace is likely to play a significant part in the team’s plans.Alex Hales (left) and James Taylor talk to Mahela Jayawardene, England’s batting consultant•Getty Images

Rashid had been close to making his Test debut against Australia at Lord’s in the summer when Moeen was struggling with a side injury. However, he withdrew from selection citing a sore finger, and hasn’t yet had another opportunity to win his first cap despite impressing in limited-overs cricket for England.Bayliss, however, believes his time is sure to come at some stage during the Pakistan series. Asked if Rashid was ready for Test cricket, he replied: “Yes, if he goes out and bowls like he did against Australia. He backs himself, he bowls aggressively to take wickets, bowls his variations. There’s no reason why he can’t be successful.”I think he bowled extremely well during the one-dayers against Australia and took wickets. I think he’ll make his debut. I’m only one of three selectors but that’s my view – I think he’ll play at some stage on this tour.”All of which could leave Hales on the outside looking in, and not just for this leg of the winter either. He had originally been earmarked as the more likely selection against South Africa in December, following Cook’s suggestion earlier in the week that a horses-for-courses approach would be taken to England’s two winter tours. Bayliss, however, appeared to offer a different view, one that was more consistent with the recent experience for England openers.”Whoever does well here is going to be very difficult to drop,” Bayliss said. “A lot of it is up to the individual player. Whoever gets the opportunity, if they nail that position then we go to South Africa with more than likely that player the partner for Alastair.”With the exception of Jonathan Trott, who retired from international cricket after a three-Test comeback in the Caribbean earlier in the year, each of Cook’s batting partners since the retirement of Andrew Strauss – Nick Compton, Michael Carberry, Sam Robson and Lyth – was given at least five Tests to prove their worth.Cook himself is one of four survivors of the 2012 Test series, alongside Anderson, Broad and Ian Bell, and he admitted that it would require some “blood, sweat and tears” for his squad to acclimatise to the oppressive desert heat ahead of the series opener in Abu Dhabi in just under a fortnight’s time.”On that last tour, we probably should have won that series,” Cook said. “We had opportunities. We had to chase 140 on a good wicket, and we should have done that. Credit to Pakistan. They hung in there in that series, and then really won the critical moments well. That can be the way in these conditions – the game can turn very quickly.”We will get used to it, but it is very warm. That’s part of the conditions we’ve got to face, but it’s the same for both sides. You just have to make sure you grab that opportunity. But we’ve got a young side, an exciting side. We’re very clear in our mind how hard it is going to be – but what a challenge it is for us.”One additional factor for this series is England’s recruitment of Mahela Jayawardene, the former Sri Lanka captain, as a batting consultant. As one of the best players of spin of recent times, his input on the conditions that the players will face is sure to be invaluable.”To have Mahela on board with his experience, especially playing spin, and knowledge is a huge boost,” Cook said. “He knows Trevor and Paul [Farbrace, assistant coach] very well so he’s fitted in very well. He’s scored over 25,000 international runs which is a hell of an achievement. It’s down to our batters to pick his brains.”

ScorecardBen Dunk made a half-century before the rain hit•Getty Images

Ben Dunk gave Tasmania a solid start with an unbeaten half-century but it was rain that dominated the first day of their clash with New South Wales at Bankstown Oval. Only 36.4 overs were possible due to the wet weather, and Tasmania finished at 1 for 127, with Dunk on 68 and Alex Doolan on 44.The day began with a moment of concern when Dunk was struck on the helmet by a Doug Bollinger bouncer in the first over, but he was able to bat on. Bollinger claimed an early wicket when Beau Webster was trapped lbw for 9, but it was the only success of the day for New South Wales.Both teams entered the game hoping to put their seasons back on track, Tasmania having lost both of their matches and New South Wales having forfeited the points against Victoria after the match was abandoned due to the state of the SCG turf.Tasmania made some significant changes to their XI, with fast bowler Andrew Fekete and ex-Test wicketkeeper Tim Paine dropped. Last month, Fekete was to be part of Australia’s Test squad for the tour of Bangladesh, which was ultimately cancelled.