Neil Carter proved the unlikely hero of Warwickshire’s comfortable five-wicket win over dispirited Essex at Edgbaston.The 26-year-old English-qualified South African was promoted for his one-day debut after impressive performances in the Second XI and responded with a match-winning all-round performance.Carter took four for 21 with his left-arm seamers as Essex were dismissed for 160 and then struck a quickfire 40 in his role as pinch-hitter as Warwickshire coasted home with almost seven overs to spare.Carter took his first three wickets for 12 runs in eight overs and it was a surprise when Warwickshire skipper Michael Powell then withdrew him from the attack.Essex skipper Ronnie Irani and Jamie Foster staged a partial recovery before Carter returned to take his fourth wicket and Essex might have made more of a game of it had they had a full-strength attack.They did manage to reduce Warwickshire to 93 for five after Carter had launched the innings with a 43-ball 40 which included two pulled sixes off Ashley Cowan.Paul Grayson’s slow left-arm spin on a slowly turning pitch caused Warwickshire most problems but the lack of depth in Essex’s bowling attack showed as Dougie Brown and Trevor Penney steered Warwickshire home.They added 68 in an unbroken sixth-wicket partnership with Brown completing a valuable half-century from 86 balls with three fours.It was Carter, predictably enough, who took the man-of-the-match award for the outstanding performance of an instantly forgettable match played in miserably cold weather.
It was brilliant, and then it wasn’t. It was breathtaking, and then it wasn’t. Quite how do you make sense of another remarkable mixed bag from this Manchester United team?
It wasn’t quite the chaos of Lyon last season, although Monday night’s 4-4 draw with Bournemouth certainly ran it close, with Ruben Amorim’s chaotic bunch looking slick and fluid at one end, while also proving creaky and exposed at the other.
Indeed, had it not been for two vital interventions from new man Senne Lammens late on, the Red Devils would have been walking away from nothing, albeit while having still now dropped seven points from their last three home Premier League games.
Perhaps, after a 15th-placed finish last time out, such turbulence is merely to be expected, with the Old Trafford side now sitting in sixth, in what is becoming an increasingly congested middle order.
Such a standing shows – as was also evident on Monday – that improvements are gradually being made in 2025/26, although, having shipped four on their own pitch, the continued concerns also reared their ugly head again.
Man Utd's worst performers vs Bournemouth
Like against West Ham earlier this month, there was a real inability to kill the game off as far as United are concerned, having raced into a deserved 1-0 lead that should well have been extended, with both Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo going close in the first half.
In the case of the latter man, it was arguably the worst of a poor run of performances from the AFCON-bound winger of late, with the left-footer squandering chance after chance, including his volleyed, first-half effort.
The 26-year-old was as guilty of failing to put the game to bed as the long-serving Luke Shaw was in failing to lead the youthful, makeshift backline, with the Englishman going walkabout as January target Antoine Semenyo raced clear to level things up on the 40-minute mark.
The experienced defender notably lost the ball 14 times amid that erratic performance in United’s left channel, as per Sofascore, with such a showing further highlighting the need for the returning Lisandro Martinez to slot in from the start in the coming weeks.
Equally, too, Amorim will surely be applying pressure on those at Carrington to get both Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire back fit and firing again, with centre-back options having been so depleted against the Cherries.
Two of the visitors’ three goals came from simple passes right through the Red Devils’ defence line, with all the good work in attack having been undone so cheaply, particularly for Eli Junior Kroupi’s equaliser to make it 4-4.
While Amorim may point to the need for his side to sharpen up collectively in a defensive sense, such a showing has only highlighted the increasing concerns over his supposedly promising talent.
Man Utd's 'new Hojlund' needs to be benched
The INEOS regime will likely look back on the signings made prior to their arrival with real frustration, with the club having notably forked out an initial £64m fee on 20-year-old, Rasmus Hojlund, in the summer of 2023.
Despite taking until Boxing Day to score a first league goal in English football, the Dane did at least show flashes during a fine run at the start of 2024, alongside his stellar Champions League group stage performances, which yielded six goals.
The top scorer for the club in all competitions in that debut campaign, the ex-Atalanta man’s form sadly nosedived in a real case of second-season syndrome, scoring just four league goals before being sent packing to Naples over the summer.
Patience was afforded the youngster during 2023/24, although he simply regressed too much last season. Could the same be happening again with INEOS’ own costly investment, Leny Yoro?
Signed for £52m from Lille back in 2024, the teenage Frenchman recovered from an injury-hit start to life in Manchester to ultimately prove a key figure in last season’s Europa League run, regularly driving United up the pitch with confident, gliding dribbles from deep.
Tipped to be the ‘new Rio Ferdinand’, Yoro showed more than enough to be encouraged by in that first season, although in the present, he is in danger of drifting into Hojlund territory, as another rough diamond who is failing to shine.
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Indeed, it was not too long ago that he was hooked early in the second half following a shaky showing away at Selhurst Park, having again been off the pace in the meeting with Andoni Iraola’s side.
Yoro – 25/26 PL stats
Stat
Record
Games
16
Starts
10
Pass accuracy*
87%
Key passes*
0.2
Ground duels won*
50%
Aerial duels won*
66%
Possession lost*
5.6
Dribbled past*
0.3
Clean sheets
0
Stats via Sofascore
Operating on the right of the back three, before his withdrawal on the 69-minute mark, the France U21 international lost the ball nine times from just 47 touches, while failing to successfully complete a single key pass, dribble or cross from what should be a progressive position.
Also winning just 50% of his duels, it was telling that Amorim opted to withdraw the £52m man, rather than £1m teammate Ayden Heaven, not least with another left-footer in Martinez entering the fray.
A weak link defensively, and hardly an asset in a forward-thinking sense, Yoro is not having a happy time of things in this turbulent second season, having yet to prove he is the long-term solution in any of the three backline roles.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
At just 19, he won’t be written off just yet, although, as was seen in the case of Hojlund, it could be a case of two seasons and out if improvements don’t drastically improve before the campaign is over.
As bad as Shaw: Man Utd star had his worst game for the club vs Bournemouth
Manchester United drew again at Old Trafford in a frantic 4-4 draw with Bournemouth.
Jason Lewry, the left-arm quick bowler, will miss at least the opening two week’s of Sussex’s County Championship defence after picking up a knee and calf injuries during the match against MCC at Lord’s.Lewry pulled up after a six-over opening spell on the first day and didn’t bowl again during the match. He is being sent for an assessment and won’t be available for the game against Hampshire on Wednesday and probably Kent the following week at Hove.”He’s going to a specialist tomorrow to make a plan,” said Chris Adams. “He missed the pre-season tour [of Abu Dhabi] for personal reasons and that seemed to put him back a few weeks and we said ‘we need to know if you are going to be right’. We played him here and it was probably a little early to put him through that.”However, Sussex should be able to absorb the loss of Lewry after the promising debut of Ryan Harris at Lord’s, where he took four wickets, and the impressive work of Luke Wright. They also have James Kirtley and Ragheb Aga in reserve while Mushtaq Ahmed was busy in the nets on the Nursery Ground as he prepares for the start of his season.Although the final day of the MCC match was washed out by regular heavy showers, Adams was delighted with what his team had managed to take from the match. “We got everything we could have hoped for and probably a bit more,” he said.After being shot out for 171 on the opening day they responded by restricting MCC to 205 then piling up 474 for 5 with Wright hitting a career-best 155 alongside runs for Robin Martin-Jenkins and Chris Nash.”The decision to bat first was a reflection on possible scenarios for next week, we fully expect to turn up at The Rose Bowl and find a similar type of pitch,” explained Adams. “I don’t think we’ll see anything different, it will be grassy and seam will be prevalent. I wanted to put the guys under pressure and bat first against what I thought was thoroughly impressive bowling from MCC.”
The profits from the World Cup may entirely clear the debts of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). Board president Ken Gordon told the Express last week: “I’m optimistic enough to hope that it might wipe it all out.”The beleaguered board are carrying a debt of US$15m. And it was the pre-tournament hope of Gordon that the six-week tournament, which will end on Saturday in Barbados, would go some way to relieving that burden.Asked last week if the WICB would in fact reap the expected financial bounty, the president said, “I expect that if we don’t reap the full benefits, we will get pretty close. There may be a shortfall but I don’t think it will be of any significance. I think we will come close to the targets we set. And I think overall, we will look back on this as a tremendous event.”Elaborating on what the World Cup profits could mean for the board, Gordon continued: “West Indies cricket expects to get a fair investment on it and out of that it intends to put in place plans for the developing of cricket. That’s what we want to do. We’ve been carrying a deficit of US$15m. If we can find a way to clear that, it eases our overall structure. It gives us the ability to have bank-borrowing, to do things which we can’t do now. Now we can hopefully work our way out of that.”The Caribbean’s first-ever hosting of cricket’s biggest event, however, has been marred by the death of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer, complaints about the numbers of spectators at some venues and the restrictions on them.”Many things have gone wrong,” Gordon admitted. “But,” he asked, “who could have expected Bob Woolmer, right at the beginning of the series, to go like that? Who would have expected India and Pakistan to be withdrawn and so many thousands of people who were planning to come canceling? Who could have expected these things? Some countries have paid the price for it.”In spite of the difficulties, though, Gordon insisted that the World Cup was more success than failure. “This is the third largest event in the world. And we have done it when people didn’t think we could. And I think at the end of the day, we should all take some little pride in achieving it.”Gordon said he was impressed with the manner in which the local organisers have responded to the various problems. “We have dealt with enormous problems and our people have grown every time they have addressed them. And I think even though there were all these setbacks which I referred to, we moved into a second gear. And other things were done to put in place.”Grenada was happy, Guyana was happy. From what I see here, Barbados looks happy. We’ve had some empty stands, but you always have empty stands when you have weak games. The challenge is how you handle that in a way that would minimise the damage to the visible, while at the same time, not affecting the sales you’re trying to build, and I think we’ve done a pretty good job at this.”And Gordon noted further that he was especially pleased with “the tremendous personal growth I’ve seen amongst the people who have been managing this. The volunteers have been one of the great successes of this thing … because they have been absolutely superb. I’ve heard so many tourists talk about that. You can’t quantify the benefit of the warmth that has been generated at that level when those people leave here We must understand that this is not a project that you can expect your investment to be returned in a year or two, it’s a long-term investment.”Gordon, who has tendered his resignation as WICB boss but who has been asked to re-consider, is expected to give the board his final decision on Sunday at a special meeting.The WICB have been busy this week with planning meetings on the way forward for the cricket following the West Indies’ disappointing World Cup performance. Gordon said last week a change of culture was needed, “by laying down rules on which you are first of all absolutely serious about implementing. Those who don’t conform to those rules will know it’s their option to conform or otherwise…the new people you bring in, people who are committed to those standards, will ensure that they are maintained.”Asked why such change was taking so long, Gordon said: “I can only speak for the last 18 months and I will tell you that we have attempted to do so. But when you are dealing with a culture that has been inculcated over a very long time, you don’t do that and press your fingers and it disappears.”Gordon said he felt Brian Lara’s appointment as captain for a third time, last year, and his re-commitment to really do everything that he could to put cricket on a new footing, was the start of “an important beginning.”But the president conceded last week that West Indies cricket must now go back to the drawing board again. “We were found sadly wanting. We tried but it wasn’t good enough because we were not trying the right way, because we are not prepared properly enough to do it. And that’s what we’ve got to correct.”
4th dayNo surprises at Edgbaston where Hampshire consigned Warwickshire to an expected defeat. Warwickshire started the day at 69 for 2 needing a further 338 for an unlikely victory. Instead, their batting collapsed and they lost by 193 runs. While most batsmen managed to get a start, none could hold it together and Nick Knight ended up the topscorer, with just 34. Wickets were shared, with Chris Tremlett (3 for 50) the most successful, and the job was wrapped up inside 100 overs.3rd dayA brisk hundred from Justin Kemp powered Kent to a 151-runlead on the third day against Yorkshire at Canterbury.Resuming on 196 for 3, Martin van Jaarsveld (82) and Matthew Walker(60) put on an excellent fourth-wicket stand of 118. And thoughRichard Dawson removed both batsmen in quick succession, Kemp stoodtall, smashed five sixes and nine fours. He received good support fromNeil Dexter (39) who, though only 21-years-old and playing in hissixth first-class game, already has two fifties to his name. Together,the pair put on a vital 81-run partnership to hand Kent a very usefullead of 151 going into the final day.A good day for Middlesex restored some balance to their game against Durham at the Riverside but it is still unlikely to be enough to save them. Although Durham are still firmly in control of proceedings, helped by a fourth-wicket stand of 86 between Jon Lewis and Dale Benkenstein, Middlesex chipped out the last seven wickets for 91 runs. Chris Silverwood did the damage with 5 for 47, well supported by Alan Richardson who took 4 for 50. Middlesex were left chasing an unlikely 386, and by the close they 87 for 4.
Division Two
4th day Daniel Cherry and David Hemp put on a second-wicket stand of 172 as Glamorgan made sure of the draw against Leicestershire. After following on, Glamorgan had started the day at 37 for 1 but Leicestershire failed to make significant inroads into their batting, thanks to the efforts of Cherry and Hemp, who each made fifties. Hemp was eventually out nine short of what would have been a well-deserved hundred, while Cherry made 86. Mark Cosgrove made certain the points were shared with an unbeaten fifty.3rd dayAt the County Ground, Gloucestershire completed their second win of the season, beating Northamptonshire and leapfrogging them in the process, just to rub it in. Gloucestershire started the day at 8 for 1, needing a just 94 more runs for victory which they knocked off quite comfortably to win by six wickets. Their captain Jon Lewis was understandably delighted with the win, completed inside three days, and he told reporters: “Northamptonshire are a decent side and to beat them so convincingly is great for us.” But they weren’t so delighted with being docked one point for a slow over-rate. A sporting declaration from Essex has increased the chances ofa result against Somerset, after Ronnie Irani and Andy Flowerboth continued where they left off last night to add a further 118runs on the third day at Taunton. The home side’s batsmen lost bothopeners cheaply, but Cameron White and James Hildreth both hitattractive fifties before Keith Parsons (59*) and Will Durston (69*)carried Somerset to a commanding 346-run lead.Ray Price and Nadeem Malik’s plucky tenth-wicket stand of 60 nearlypulled off a stunning victory for Worcestershire, before IanHunter took the final wicket to hand Derbyshire a tense35-run victory on the third day at Worcester. Earlier in the day,Kabir Ali gave Worcestershire the upper hand with a brilliant burst of7 for 43 as Derbyshire collapsed to just 149 inside 41 overs. But, inchasing 210 for victory, Worcestershire’s batsmen stumbled to 114 for9 thanks to some penetrative bowling from Steffan Jones (4 for 62) andGraeme Welch (4 for 33). Though Price (56) and Malik took their sideclose, it was too little, too late.
England are still waiting to see whether Andrew Flintoff will be fit for the one-day international series in Bangladesh. Flintoff was forced to pull out of the two-Test series shortly before the squad departed due to a recurring groin injury.”We are keeping our fingers crossed that Freddie will be fine,” David Graveney, England’s chairman of selectors, said. “He bowled yesterday for the first time since he had his medical tests in early October, when he suffered some reaction. We are waiting to see how he reacts to that and if all goes to plan he’ll come to the Academy on October 20 and 21, do some more bowling, and if all goes to plan fly out with the one-day squad to Bangladesh on October 28.”Meanwhile, James Anderson, who is also missing the two Tests because of a knee injury, is on course to make the ODIs. “James just needed to strengthen his legs,” Graveney explained. “He was getting a reaction to such a degree that it was causing him discomfort and we felt we needed to get that fixed.”
After a cracked rib ended Michael Bevan’s tournament, Trevor Hohns, head of the Australian selectors, gave Michael Hussey a ring at about seven o’ clock last night to tell him he was in the international team. Hussey wasn’t expecting it.”I was pretty shocked really. It was a surreal feeling. He [Hohns] said I was in to replace Bevan for this game. It is a strange feeling really. It is something you obviously dream about as a kid. For all your life you are hoping you get the call. And then when it does finally come, it is a bit of a bizarre feeling. I was hoping and praying that I wouldn’t wake up to find out it was all a dream.”He realised it wasn’t, and spoke about his intended approach to the game on Sunday. “I think I will feel a bit nervous. It is great that it is at the WACA in front of my home crowd and my family and friends will all be able to be there. So I have plenty of support in that respect. I am just going to go and try and enjoy the whole experience.Hussey has been a prolific middle-order batsman for Western Australia, scoring over 12,000 runs in nine seasons. And with more than 5000 in 146 one-day games, with eight hundreds and 39 fifties, he has been one of the most consistent batsmen in Australia. Though he comes in for Bevan in the middle-order, and serves the same purpose, he hasn’t modelled himself on the man he’s replacing.”I haven’t really molded myself on him. But we do play a similar role. I guess that they wanted a like for like player. The main thing is to score runs. Quite often you come in with four or five overs to go, and you pretty much have to slog from ball one. That is the great thing about batting in the middle order, you get so many different challenges, and you have just got to try and cope with them as best as you can.”Though the tour of Sri Lanka was imminent, Hussey preferred to concentrate on the job at hand. “I am really just trying to get my head around this game on Sunday. After Sunday I can sit down and see where they are going and if they want to have a chat to me I don’t know. I will go to Sri Lanka if they need me.”I am going to try and concentrate on scoring as many runs as I can, and whatever will happen will happen. I hope that it is not the one and only experience, I am sure the selectors will keep me in the forefront of their minds over the next few years. Hopefully there will be more opportunities as well.”
India’s cricketers are hopeful that a compromise can be reached that will allow them to meet the sponsorship requirements for the World Cup starting next month.Contract issues had not previously been referred to on the tour but at today’s pre-match press conference before tomorrow’s sixth National Bank Series one-day match against New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland, India’s captain Sourav Ganguly said the side had been in touch with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over the matter.”We are in contact with the BCCI, they’ve told ICC what is our problem and given our terms and conditions in certain areas.”We all feel at the end of the day there has to be an adjustment from both sides. It can never be one-sided, whether it is the players or the ICC,” Ganguly said.”We’ve made our statement clear to them that this is what we can do and this is what we can’t do. Now the rest is up to them.”He didn’t think there was any potential for conflict so close to the World Cup because a similar thing happened when they were in England last year before the ICC Champions Trophy and the players had decided to co-operate fully.They did so thinking that there would be time after the Champions Trophy to sort it out.”But the situations have been the same. There are certain restrictions on us because we have our existing contracts which are illegal to break so we’ve let them know that.”So now it depends on them to come to a solution. But I feel there has got to be a bit of adjustment from both the sides which we are ready to do and which I hope ICC are ready to do,” he said.
Shaun Green struck a superb 103 not out on a crumbling Burnaby Road surface as Easton & Martyr Worthy edged a dramatic one-wicket win over Southern Electric Premier League Division 2 rivals United Services.Green’s unbeaten century won the day after veteran Kelson Brooks (6-40) had exploited the dubious conditions to send Easton tumbling from 134-3 to a match-winning 185-9.”Given the poor state of the pitch, Shaun’s was probably the best innings I’ve ever seen from a club cricketer,” praised Easton team-mate Andy Birch.”It was the first time Shaun had ever worn a helmet – but, believe me, it was necessary.”Mark Stone and Steve Green each took three wickets as US totalled 183-9, with Gary Hounsome (46) top scoring.Zimbabwean all-rounder Daniel Peacock hit 68 and grabbed 4-51 as Lymington crushed Sparsholt by 103 runs to remain in contact with leaders Portsmouth.But Portsmouth had little difficulty in retaining their unbeaten lead, Raj Maru taking 5-12 as Old Basing were bowled out for 106.Stephen Cook (59) and Geoff Pike (37) led Portsmouth home.Peacock (68) and Ben Craft (61) shared a third wicket stand of 115 as Lymington put the depleted Sparsholt attack to the sword.Neil Trestrail (65 not out) and Ian Young (36 not out) cashed in with an unbroken century stand as Lymington surged towards 279-4.Sparsholt needed a major contribution from one of their top order if they were to muster any kind of challenge – but didn’t get one.Carl Nichols (29), Andy Heyes and Rob Savage all made starts, but Peacock (4-51), Glyn Treagus (2-26) and Brian Clemow (2-30) got amongst the wickets as Sparsholt tumbled to 176-9.Hampshire Under-19 trio Martin Docis (5-23), Neil Randall (75 not out) and Chris Benham (56) had a field day as Cove crushed depleted Old Tauntonians & Romsey by eight wickets.The leg spin of Docis accounted for the tail as OTs tumbled to 166 all out (Jeremy Ord 36), while Randall and Benham guided Cove home with ease.Trojans pair Marvin Sandiford and Tim Subnaik had Hambledon rocking at 29-4 before Andy Field (45) and Mark le Clerq (39) steadied the slide at Ridge Meadow.Tim Felgate (4-53) helped dismiss the Dons for an eventual 174 – a target six-wicket winners, Trojans polished off, with Mario Mohammed (60) and Subnaik (46) to the fore.Read Mike Vimpany’s regular cricket round-ups in the Southern Daily Echo
Angelo Ogbonna’s potential early return from a serious knee injury is a ‘massive boost’ for West Ham, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.
The Lowdown: Ogbonna could return early
The Italian was enjoying a superb start to the season back in the early months of 2021/22, only for his campaign to be cruelly cut short by injury.
Ogbonna suffered cruciate ligament damage in the memorable 3-2 win at home to Liverpool back in November and it was generally thought that he wouldn’t feature again this season, potentially even playing his last game for the club.
It has recently emerged that the centre-back looks likely to feature again before the summer, however, in a positive update for both West Ham and the player himself.
The Latest: Journalist reacts to news
Speaking to Give Me Sport, O’Rourke discussed the update, admitting it is an undoubted boost:
“It would be a massive boost to get Angelo Ogbonna back, who was in really good form for West Ham prior to the cruciate ligament injury he picked up against Liverpool.”
The Verdict: Enormous boost for Hammers
From a purely human perspective, it is heartwarming that Ogbonna looks likely to wear the Hammers shirt again, with the general assumption that he had donned it for the last time, as his contract expires this summer.
The veteran has been a great servant for West Ham and it is only right that he is able to receive a proper send-off at the end of the season, and although we won’t see him in action immediately, this could be a timely boost to morale around the camp ahead of Sunday’s clash with Everton.
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That being said, David Moyes must be ruthless when it comes to using Ogbonna, only playing him if he feels he is truly ready, with European football on the line at the London Stadium, both in terms of the Premier League and Europa League.
In other news, an exciting West Ham transfer claim has emerged. Read more here.