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How to watch Everton against Tottenham in the Premier League in the USA, as well as the kick-off time and team news.

Evertonwill host Newcastle Unitedin aPremier League fixture at Goodison Park on Thursday.

▶ Watch Everton vs Newcastle live on Sling TV today!▶ Watch Everton vs Newcastle live on BT Sport today!

The hosts have won just one of their last six Premier League games against Newcastle. The Toffees find themselves in trouble as they are winless in five matches and are currently in the 18th spot with 28 points from 32 matches.

They are desperate for points but to crack Eddie Howe's Newcastle will be a tough challenge for them. However, they can look for inspiration from the exact fixture in the previous season where they staged an upset by beating the Magpies with 10 men, courtesy of Alex Iwobi's 99th-minute winner.

Meanwhile, Newcastle head into this fixture brimming with confidence after beating Tottenham 6-1 at the weekend. They will take a major step towards Champions League qualification if they pick up three points on Thursday as they are third on the table with 59 points from 31 matches.

Newcastle striker Callum Wilson has scored six goals in his last five Premier League games against Everton and will definitely look to better that record. Whereas, in Miguel Almiron (11), Wilson (11) and Alexander Isak (10), this is the first time that Newcastle have had as many as three different players reach double figures for goals in a Premier League season.

GOAL brings you details on how to watch the game on TV in the U.S., as well as how to stream it live online.

GettyKick-off timeGame:Everton vs NewcastleDate:April 27, 2023Kick-off:3:45pm EDTVenue:Goodison Park

The game is scheduled for April 27, 2023, at Goodison Park. It will kick off at 3:45 pm EDT in the USA.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesHow to watch Everton vs Newcastle online – TV channels & live streamsTV channels & streaming options

Country TV channel Live stream

U.S.USA Network, Telemundo Deportes en Vivo, UNIVERSOFubo, Sling TV, NBC Sports App/website

In the United States (USA), the game can be watched live on USA Network (English-language), Telemundo Deportes en Vivo (Spanish-language), Fubo, Sling TV and NBC Sports App/website.

(C)Getty ImagesTeam news & squadsEverton team news

Everton's Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Amadou Onana should start after recovering from their respective injuries.

Meanwhile, Abdoulaye Doucoure should also return after serving his three-match ban.

However, Mason Holgate remains suspended after he was sent off against Crystal Palace.

Seamus Coleman (thigh), Bamidele Alli (groin), Andy Lonergan (knee), Ruben Vinagre (calf) and Andros Townsend (knee) remain unavailable for Everton.

Position

Players

Goalkeepers

Pickford, Begovic.

Defenders

Tarkowski, Mina, Godfrey, Coady, Keane, Mykolenko, Patterson

Midfielders

Onana, Doucoure, Davies, Gueye, Iwobi, Garner.

Forwards

Calvert-Lewin, Maupay, Simms, Gray, McNeil.

Newcastle United team news

Newcastle have a couple of injury woes in Allan Saint-Maximin and Fabian Schar.

However, the centre-back might be included in the matchday squad if he passes a late fitness test before the match after injuring his hamstring against Spurs.

Position

Players

Goalkeepers

Pope, Dubravka, Karius, Gillespie.

Defenders

Botman, Burn, Lascelles, Targett, Lewis, Dummett, Trippier, Krafth, Manquillo, Ashby.

Midfielders

Guimaraes, Willock, S. Longstaff, Ritchie, Joelinton.

Forwards

Gordon, Fraser, Almiron, Murphy, Isak, Wilson.

Head-to-head record

Date Result Competition

20/10/2022Newcastle 1-0 EvertonPremier League18/03/2022Everton 1-0 NewcastlePremier League9/02/2022Newcastle 3-1 EvertonPremier League30/1/2021Everton 0-2 NewcastlePremier League1/11/2020Newcastle 2-1 EvertonPremier League

In their last five meetings, Newcastle United have won four times whereas Everton emerged triumphant on one occasion.

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Getty ImagesUseful links

Everton team page

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Tottenham team page

Goal rounds up players who have scored hat-tricks on their first league appearances for their clubs in Europe

Sure, it's impressive when a new club signing scores on their debut – but how about when they bag three goals in their first appearance?

Scoring a hat-trick in general is no easy feat, but these players have managed to do so in their full debut over the last 15 seasons across Europe's top-five leagues.

Getty1Martin Fenin | Eintracht Frankfurt | Feb 2, 2008

There was no better way for 20-year-old Martin Fenin to showcase his talents after moving from Czech side FK Teplice to the Bundesliga than with a treble against Hertha Berlin. It was his first ever hat-trick as well, and his three goals secured a 3-0 victory all by his own doing.

It couldn’t have come against a better opponent, either – his Czech Republic countryman Jaroslav Drobny was in goal for the opposing team.

AdvertisementGetty2Johan Audel | Valenciennes | Aug 4, 2007

Fresh Valenciennes signing Johan Audel got off the mark on his debut with a hat-trick against Toulouse, bagging his third goal in the 61st minute.

Audel’s treble was already more than he managed the previous season for Lorient, and the eventual 3-1 victory catapulted Valenciennes to the top of Ligue 1 for the first time since 1978.

Getty3Nils Petersen | Freiburg | Jan 31, 2015

After making his switch from Werder Bremen to Freiburg permanent, Nils Petersen introduced himself to his new club spectacularly by scoring a hat-trick against Frankfurt in a 4-1 victory.

Freiburg came from behind to win against Bremen, with Marco Russ firing Bremen ahead in the first minute – only for Freiburg to fire back, starting with Vladimir Darida’s equaliser in minute 62.

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4Andre Silva | Sevilla | Aug 18, 2018

22-year-old Andre Silva bagged a hat-trick for Sevilla in his full debut, on loan from AC Milan, against Rayo Vallecano in 2018.

After scoring two Serie A goals in 24 games the season before, he matched that tally for Sevilla in the opening 45 minutes for his new side, before adding a third goal to his tally in the second half.

The newly-crowned league champions are the main force in the best XI this season, with Tottenham Hotspur well represented as well

Few people will be surprised to see Manchester City dominate the PFA Premier League Team of the Year by having five players named.

Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Sergio Aguero, Nicolas Otamendi and Kyle Walker are the five newly-crowned English champions included in the XI due to their impressive performances for a side sitting 16 points clear at the top of the table with four games to go.

Despite Pep Guardiola's team's dominance of the league, there are more star-studded names throughout the squad.

Tottenham Hotspur are the next best represented side as star striker Harry Kane takes the centre-forward role, with Christian Eriksen and Jan Vertonghen also included. 

Although still sitting second and third in the league, Manchester United and Liverpool only have one star each in the squad, with David de Gea taking his place between the posts and 30-goal hero and PFA Player of the Year Mohamed Salah adding to a mouth-watering attack.

Amid their poor title defence, Chelsea also saw one player named in the side, with Marcos Alonso earning praise for his impressive work on the left side.

David de Gea | Manchester UnitedThe Spanish goalkeeper has been pivotal in keeping the Red Devils in the fight for second place, with some of his individual displays being enough to justify his inclusion in the squad alone.AdvertisementGettyKyle Walker | Manchester CityThe right-back has looked worth the £50 million investment City parted with to lure the England international from Tottenham Hotspur. He has been a big presence for Pep Guardiola's side and is expected to be even more important for his country at the World Cup.GettyJan Vertonghen | Tottenham HotspurThe Belgian centre-back remains a fan favourite at Spurs and a huge asset for Mauricio Pochettino's men. Christian Eriksen is the only other Tottenham player to have started as many Premier League games this term.ENJOYED THIS STORY?

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Getty ImagesNicolas Otamendi | Manchester CityThe Argentine's development under Pep Guardiola has earned him a great deal of praise recently and his progress has been recognised with a place alongside Vertonghen.

In the battle for the inaugural Pakistan Super League title, Quetta Gladiators, the first team to make it to the final, will face an in-form Islamabad United on Tuesday evening in Dubai

The Preview by Nagraj Gollapudi22-Feb-2016Match factsFebruary 23, 2016

Start time 2000 local (1600 GMT)Islamabad United have relied a lot on their top order•Chris WhiteoakBig PictureIslamabad United v Quetta Gladiators. Buddha-esque Misbah-ul-Haq v restless Sarfraz Ahmed. Eccentric Dean Jones v street-smart Moin Khan. Strategic Wasim Akram against emotional Viv Richards. Powerful Andre Russell against an equally powerful Kevin Pietersen. Ever-confident Ahmed Shehzad v only PSL centurion Sharjeel Khan.The above mini-duels within the main battle have all the portents to make the final a contest to look forward to. Both teams have taken a different route to the summit: Quetta did not break too much sweat during the league phase losing just two matches and became the first team to make the final. Islamabad took the more arduous route as they lost four matches in the group phase, but then bounced back with four consecutive wins.If Quetta hold the edge on paper, it is only because they won both times the teams met earlier. On both occasions, Quetta successfully chased down the targets: they won the tournament opener with a whopping four overs to spare and a week later they won with 23 balls still in the bag.However, both teams are back on the starting blocks for the final. Quetta were lucky to scamper into the final after their one-run win over initial and fans’ favourites Peshawar Zalmi in the 1st Qualifying final. It once again exposed Quetta’s reliance on their foreign imports Pietersen and Kumar Sangakkara. Of the two times they batted first, they collapsed the first time and then put up a sub-par total in the second attempt. Shehzad and Sarfraz will need to play responsibly if Quetta need to negate the in-form Islamabad bowling line-up.For Islamabad, too, the runs have come mainly from the top order comprising Sharjeel, Dwayne Smith, Brad Haddin and, before he was forced out due to injury, Shane Watson. Although they have started well in the first 10 overs, Islamabad have shown the habit of not accelerating as much towards the end. Islamabad’s run rate in the first 10 overs is 7.09 which is second only to Quetta. That rate climbs to just 7.83 in the final 10. The team has also had to deal with veterans Misbah, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Sami along with Andre Russell and Mohammad Irfan sitting out due to injuries.The PSL had started with a maiden. The build-up might have been quiet but there have been quite a few last-over and last-ball thrillers. And Tuesday evening’s finale, despite being a weekday, is sold out.Form guideQuetta WWLWW

Islamabad WWWWLIn the spotlightAndre Russell said he is dying to raise his bat, raise his level of performance in the PSL where he has not exactly delivered. He is the joint second-highest wicket-taker, but has found it hard to bowl on the slow and sluggish pitches of Dubai. He has not clocked enough batting time as the Islamabad top and middle order have finished the job easily. Russell was the IPL’s most valuable player last season, he won the Big Bash League with the Sydney Thunder, but was underwhelming in the final. Now, Russell has another opportunity and he is itching to prove why he is regarded as one of the biggest T20 assets across the world.Mohammad Nawaz won the first Man-of-the-Match award of the PSL with his all-round performance against Islamabad. He is the joint second-highest wicket-taker along with Russell and will fancy signing out with another impactful performance.Team newsIslamabad have two injury concerns: fast bowler Rumman Raees has a hamstring issue while Saeed Ajmal, who has sat out the previous two matches, is recovering from a minor foot injury. Ajmal was hit on the right foot while he was bowling on the eve of the play-off encounter during Islamabad’s training and since then has been nursing a mild stiffness. But it is understood that he can play if the team management prefers him over Mohammad Irfan.Luke Wright, who was forced to sit out in the previous two matches for Quetta due to some stiffness, is back in contention and likely to return as an opener. Fast bowler Aizaz Cheema, after his last-over heroics in the play-off, is likely to keep senior fast bowler Umar Gul out.Stats and trivia Out of the nine matches they have played, Quetta have chased on seven occasions and lost only once. Sharjeel Khan needs 49 runs to become the highest run-scorer of the tournament. He already has the most sixes (18). The highest wicket-taker in PSL is Peshawar’s Wahab Riaz (15). But next two in queue are from Islamabad and Quetta – left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz and allrounder Andre Russell with 13 wickets each. Quetta Gladiators have the highest innings total in the tournament – 203 – which they chased against Lahore Qalandars.Quotes”It is a very big opportunity for Quetta and the population of Quetta and for its cricket if we are to win. Whether we bat first or bowl doest not really matter. The key to us performing is our team bonding which has been very good throughout the tournament.”

The BCB has lifted the temporary suspension of fast bowler Shahadat Hossain, imposed last year, on humanitarian grounds

ESPNcricinfo staff10-May-2016The BCB has lifted the temporary suspension on fast bowler Shahadat Hossain on “humanitarian grounds”. Shahadat will be eligible to play domestic cricket but not international cricket until his legal problems are resolved; he is likely to play in the ongoing Dhaka Premier League.”The BCB’s disciplinary committee has taken the decision to withdraw the playing ban on Shahadat from humanitarian considerations following an appeal by the player,” BCB chief executive Nizam Uddin Chowdhury said. “The ruling, effective from today, is applicable for participation in domestic cricket only. He will not be considered for national team selection until his legal issues are settled.”Shahadat expressed his gratitude to the board and said that he was “fully fit”, although he hasn’t played competitive cricket for over a year.”I felt really bad missing out on so much cricket, but I am thankful to the BCB for letting me play, and always helping me in my bad times,” Shahadat said. “I tried to work on my fitness even when I was in jail. Now I am fully fit and I can bowl at my full strength. It is still not confirmed for which club I will play. I have been training for a long time with Mohammedan Sporting Club, so I could play for them. Or it could be any other club too.”Shahadat had been suspended in September 2015 after a case was registered against him and his wife under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act on charges of assaulting their housemaid. They were arrested on October 5 and were granted bail in December.Shahadat had appealed to the BCB in April this year for permission to play in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League, but the board’s disciplinary committee turned him down. AJM Nasir Uddin, the disciplinary committee chairman, had also said Shahadat would remain suspended unless the court dismissed the case. His name had been listed in the B+ category of the tournament roster subject to withdrawal of the suspension.Shahadat’s last appearance for Bangladesh was in May 2015, in the second Test against Pakistan in Mirpur. He bowled only two balls in the first innings before suffering a knee injury that ruled him out for six months, during which time he was charged for assault and suspended.

After whitewashing Zimbabwe and Pakistan in their last two home ODI series, Bangladesh will complete a hat-trick if they beat India in the third ODI in Mirpur

The Preview by Alagappan Muthu in Mirpur23-Jun-2015Match factsWednesday, June 24, 2015
Start time 1500 local (0900 GMT)3:02

Isam: Bangladesh are playing attacking cricket

Big pictureFrom the outside looking in, Bangladesh trouncing Zimbabwe 5-0 barely caused a blip. There was perhaps a double-take when Pakistan were served 3-0. If they whitewash India on Wednesday, the world will sit up and notice.The 14 men and the support staff on tour here already have. MS Dhoni has admitted his team was outplayed. He has wrestled questions on his captaincy, even bristled momentarily when the critique moved onto selection. R Ashwin, another player of the ‘keep calm’ variety, seemed to feel he was behind enemy lines at the pre-match press conference. He felt compelled to remind everyone that India had won 75% of their matches this season. Whether that was because of the scoreline of the series or the brutal spotlight that is on the team is debatable, but it was clear to see it does have issues to sort out. Besides the headache of why the batsmen who are touted to front up for the 2019 World Cup are misfiring all at once.A lot of the credit should go to Bangladesh. They have won key moments and ensured the momentum never dissipated. There is a pack mentality readily visible among the quicks. So much that India’s batsmen haven’t had any room to breathe. They have been bowled out twice, and the best partnership they have put on – one among only four that have crossed fifty – has been 95.”They’ve owned the Mirpur stadium,” was Ashwin’s assessment. New faces like Mustafizur Rahman, Soumya Sarkar and Litton Das have fit neatly into the one-day structure, while the old faithful Shakib Al Hasan and Mashrafe Mortaza have continued contributing. An 11th win on the trot at home would be the perfect way for them to sign-off in front of the loud, colourful and unabashedly partisan Mirpur crowd.Form guideBangladesh: WWWWW (last five matches, most recent first)

India: LLLWWIn the spotlightWith the squad bursting with performers, Mushfiqur Rahim hasn’t had much to do. He did seal the series with a sparkly cameo that indicated he was finding his best touch again. But perhaps he might like to put in a more substantial performance, considering the scrutiny over his wicketkeeping lately.Shikhar Dhawan has had a decent tour so far. He has restated his case for Test selection, and has taken home a half-century from the second ODI. What he and the rest of the India batting line-up haven’t been able to do is set up a big total. India have spoken about playing freely, a mandate Dhawan quite likes.Team newsBangladesh have added the legspinner Jubair Hossain to their squad for the third ODI. “”He was taken to increase the bowling options,” Faruque Ahmed, the chief selector, told ESPNcricinfo. “We will have a look at the wicket tomorrow and take a call on him.”Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Litton Das/ Mominul Haque/ Rony Talukdar, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Sabbir Rahman, 7 Nasir Hossain, 8 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 9 Rubel Hossain/Jubair Hossain, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Taskin AhmedAjinkya Rahane opted to train yesterday after being dropped for the last ODI. The rest of the team went through “a couple of quiet days,” Ashwin said. The morale isn’t as high as it normally is within the Indian camp.India (probable): 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Ambati Rayudu/ Ajinkya Rahane/ Stuart Binny, 5 Suresh Raina 6 MS Dhoni (capt &wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Axar Patel, 11 Dhawal KulkarniPitch and conditionsEvery day of play on tour has contained the threat of rain, and the trend doesn’t look to be changing. The players trained under cloudy skies on the eve of the match as well. As far as the pitch is concerned, there might not be much change. It is expected to be a touch slow.Stats and trivia Bangladesh will have 11 consecutive wins at home if they win the third ODI. That will leave them one short of the record held jointly by Pakistan (2000-03), West Indies (1986-89) and Australia (2003-04). This is the fifth time Bangladesh have won five or more consecutive ODIs, the longest being a nine-match streak in 2006. Bangladesh have currently won five back-to-back ODIs – three against Pakistan and two against India. Before this series, India had only lost one match to Bangladesh in a bilateral ODI series (Dhaka, 2004). They have already lost two ODIs in this series.Quotes”If there is no counter, then what can we do? Can we kidnap him?”
“We spoke in the dressing-room just before going out to training [on Tuesday]. We have told to be as serious as we would be if we had lost the first two games. We will not give an inch.”

Mohammad Amir’s possible appearance in the Big Bash League didn’t materialise as Sydney Thunder weren’t keen on signing the fast bowler

ESPNcricinfo staff19-May-2015Mohammad Amir’s possible appearance in the Big Bash League didn’t materialise as Sydney Thunder weren’t keen on signing the fast bowler. Amir’s London-based agents contacted Thunder to find out their interest in Amir, but the franchise’s general manager Nick Cummins said they were looking for an allrounder rather than a bowler to join Jacques Kallis as their second International player.”We approached the Sydney Thunder and at that point we thought they still had a spot left for a similar type of player,” Simon Auteri, whose company Insignia Sports International represents Amir, was quoted as saying in the . “With the World Twenty20 coming up early next year we thought it might have been a decent fit.””We appreciate with a lot of these teams abroad it will probably be a tough sell especially until he gets back playing at the highest level. He’s back fully playing and he wants to play abroad, and he’s still so young. We think that he does deserve another go and that’s what we’re trying to do.”Amir, banned for five years in 2010 for his role in spot-fixing, was allowed an early return to domestic cricket in January after he adhered to criteria stipulated by the new anti-corruption code. He picked up three wickets in a Grade-2 game, his first competitive fixture since 2010. Amir also turned up for Rawalpindi Rams in the Super 8 T20 Cup.

A round-up of the Ranji Trophy Group A matches on January 29, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jan-2015
ScorecardKL Rahul’s unbeaten century and brisk unbroken stand of 178 with Shreyas Gopal helped Karnataka build an early advantage against Uttar Pradesh. The pair added their runs at over four to the over, carrying Karnataka from a dodgy 148 for 4 to a very comfortable 326 by stumps. The early damage was done by seamer Praveen Kumar, who claimed two of his three wickets in the same over, and left-arm spinner Ali Murtaza who cut short a threatening innings from Robin Uthappa. Karnataka’s solidity in the second half of the day, though, means UP – who sat at the bottom of the table coming into this round of games – are already well behind in the game.
ScorecardSeamer Anureet Singh followed up his five-for against Jammu & Kashmir in the last round with 4 for 45 to help bowl out Bengal on day one for 268. He was ably backed up by offspinner Arnab Nandi, who struck twice during a mini-slide that rocked the Bengal top order. Anureet started it with the wicket of Abhimanyu Easwaran, before Nandi and a run-out reduced Bengal from 118 for 1 to 126 for 5. A 129-run stand between Manoj Tiwary and Shreevats Goswami ensured the innings did not fold, but once they were separated – again, by Anureet – four more wickets fell for 13 runs.
ScorecardStands of 129 and 93 among Jalaj Saxena, Naman Ojha and Devendra Bundela helped Madhya Pradesh recover from a poor start, in which they fell to 26 for 2, to 271 for 4. Saxena and Ojha both got into the 80s, but neither could push on to a hundred. Bundela, who ended the day unbeaten on 62, will hope to get there on the second day to further build MP’s advantage. MP handed a debut to former India legspinner Narendra Hirwani’s son, Mihir, who was picked after strong performances in junior cricket. Mihir, 20, is a legspinner.Baroda v Mumbai: Munaf and shot selection hurt Mumbai

A round-up of the Pro50 Championship matches played on March 17, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Mar-2015Mid West Rhinos survived a middle-order stumble to beat Mountaineers by three wickets, denying the latter a spot in the final of the Pro50 Championship. Mountaineers, who were two points adrift of Mashonaland Eagles, needed a win over Rhinos and a Matabeleland Tuskers’ victory over Eagles to climb into second and a place in the final, but a loss ended their run. Tuskers and Eagles will now clash in the Pro50 final despite the latter’s 74-run loss on Tuesday.Rhinos had Mountaineers under pressure right from the start of the game as their pacers Michael Chinouya and Tendai Chisoro reduced Mountaineers to 83 for 7. From 102 for 8, Mountaineers managed to post 211 only through the 109-run partnership between Innocent Kaia and No. 10 batsman Tapiwa Mufudza. Kaia took on the scoring responsibilities, and brought up his maiden List A hundred, finishing with 101 off 144 deliveries with 12 fours and a six.The foundation for Rhinos’ 212-run chase was set up by the top order, with knocks from Bradley Wadlan (50) and Prince Masvaure leading the way. Three quick strikes by legspinner Natsai M’shangwe saw them stumble from 147 for 2 to 189 for 6 but Masvaure’s unbeaten 68 held the innings together and they achieved the target in the 36th over.Brian Chari’s 125-ball 115 and three wickets each from Brian Vitori and John Nyumbu were the stand-out performances in Tuskers’ 74-run win against Eagles.Chari’s 115, his maiden List A hundred, helped Tuskers post an imposing 279 for 5. Chari’s 137-run second-wicket stand with Nkosana Mpofu (50) set the base for Tuskers’ innings and they were given a boost by Luke Jongwe’s unbeaten 20-ball 37. In reply, Eagles kept losing wickets at regular intervals and had lost half their side by the 32nd over for 132 runs. Nyumbu and Vitori then ran through the rest of the line-up as Eagles’ innings folded for 205 in 43 overs.

James Sutherland, the CA chief executive, will ask for an explanation from Michael Clarke about why he continued to plan for a grade-match appearance despite advice to the contrary from the national selectors

Daniel Brettig25-Nov-20141:47

Clarke and selectors butt heads

Michael Clarke is expected to be ruled out of the Gabba Test but may have to repair his relations with Cricket Australia and the national selectors•Getty ImagesMichael Clarke is likely to lose his fight to play in the first Test against India but faces a far bigger and more significant struggle to regain the trust of Cricket Australia and its selectors following the events of the past week, which have seen the captain and the board at odds over his fitness.Clarke’s single-minded quest to play in the first Test of the summer has left a trail of equal parts confused and furious CA officials, coaches and selectors in its wake, while the contrivances of the grade game he had chosen to prove his availability are now under investigation. It remains to be seen whether the selectors, including the chairman Rod Marsh and the coach Darren Lehmann, can still work with him.An announcement ruling Clarke out of the Gabba was expected on Tuesday, but was put to one side by events at the SCG, where Phillip Hughes was felled by a bouncer and taken to hospital for emergency surgery. Clarke drove to St Vincent’s Hospital to be at Hughes’ side, but only after being asked to explain why he had defied the selectors over how he would prove his fitness for Brisbane.James Sutherland, the CA chief executive, will ask for a “please explain” from Clarke about why he continued to plan for a grade appearance with Western Suburbs this Saturday despite advice to the contrary from the national selectors.”I will speak to Michael and others who have been involved in the process to make sure I understand where these things have gone awry,” Sutherland told .”It’s not really appropriate for me to go into any more detail. All I can say is I am concerned that there are some mixed messages coming out of Cricket Australia in the last 24 hours or so and I want to understand why things have fallen off the rails a bit there.”ESPNcricinfo understands that Clarke had been informed as early as Wednesday last week of the selectors’ desire to have him play the two-day match against the Indians at Adelaide Oval from Friday. Yet Western Suburbs still went into the club fixture intent on making sure Clarke could bat in Sydney on the second Saturday.The efforts of the club’s captain Jeff Cook to ensure this eventuality took an extreme form, declaring at 0 for 17 and effectively surrendering the first innings to Paramatta. That day’s events are to be investigated by Cricket New South Wales at the conclusion of the round.After the weekend’s events, Clarke was to be named by the selectors in the squad for the Gabba on the condition that he proved his fitness by playing in Adelaide. But Clarke still hung on to the view that he should be allowed to test his hamstring out via the Sydney grade game.So when the chairman of selectors Rod Marsh announced the team and stated that the captain needed to play the two-day game, Clarke was at the SCG preparing on a schedule that would have him ready to appear for Western Suburbs on Saturday. He then said as much later that afternoon at a promotional appearance in Sydney, directly contradicting the words of Marsh.On Tuesday morning, Clarke did so again, saying he still expected to be fit for Brisbane. “I really hope I’m fit and I’m there to captain Australia,” Clarke said on Nine’s . “If I’m not, then I think Brad Haddin the vice-captain should definitely takeover the captaincy.Clarke went on to say that he had no plans to retire in the next 12 months. “My goal is to continue to play for Australia for a lot longer; I love both forms of the game. I want to continue to play both forms of the game.”Once you get past the age of 30, I think naturally there’s always talk about who’s going to be next, how long you play for. I probably experienced the other side of that as vice-captain. People should be looking and thinking about who is going to take that role once I’m either dropped or not selected, or I retire.”Experienced players, coaches and officials around the country have not seen anything quite like the events of the past week.