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Erik ten Hag is reportedly plotting a shock move for Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount this summer and if he were to join Manchester United, he could be Bruno Fernandes 2.0 at Old Trafford.

It was reported recently that United are keeping an eye on the England international’s contract situation at Stamford Bridge following their recent takeover, with suggestions that they have already made contact with the player’s camp.

They also suggest that ten Hag has been following his progress since a loan spell with Vitesse Arnhem, and claim that Mount would jump at the chance to move to the north-west.

If he were to make the switch this summer, then the 23-year-old could be a superb addition to ten Hag’s squad, and could even replicate the performances of Fernandes.

The Portugal international has contributed 50 goals and 39 assists for the Red Devils since joining from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020.

Fbref suggests that Mount is very similar to the Portuguese midfielder, while WhoScored suggests that both Mount and Fernandes’ strengths include key passes and long shots, while both prefer to play layoffs.

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The 23-year-old has established himself as a key player for Chelsea following an impressive loan spell with Derby County in the Championship, where he contributed 11 goals and six assists in 44 appearances.

He has since gone on to make 160 appearances for the Blues, in which he has notched 30 goals and 31 assists, an impressive return for someone so young.

Former Chelsea man Joe Cole was full of praise for Mount after he starred in the 7-0 demolition of Norwich last season, saying:

“He doesn’t [get the credit] he deserves – he does from people within the game. I’ve never met one ex-player or one coach who doesn’t appreciate him.

“He’s a top, top outstanding player, he’s becoming one of the most important players in the country.

“But there is an unusual level of fans – I don’t know if it’s rival fans or whatever – who don’t quite get it.

“You want to sit them down in front of a touchscreen and educate them and show them that what this kid does is just unbelievable.”

Reports have suggested that Mount is valued at £70m by Chelsea but considering he is only 23, and seems to perform on a similar level as Fernandes, he could prove to be a superb addition to ten Hag’s side.

And, in other news… MUFC now “interested” in signing “unreal” 52-goal star, just imagine him & Ronaldo

Sunderland are reportedly now ‘ready for any offers’ to sign Dan Neil this summer.

The Lowdown: Speakman praise

Neil has recently earned the praise of Sporting Director Kristjaan Speakman, who has dubbed him an ‘incredible’ and ‘top young player’ (The Northern Echo).

The 20-year-old played 46 times in total over all competitions this season, scoring four goals and making eight assists (Transfermarkt), as he helped the Stadium of Light outfit gain promotion up to the Championship.

The Latest: Ready for offers

Taking to Twitter, North East journalist Matty Jones has shared that the Wearside club are now ‘ready for any offers’ that may come their way for Neil:

“Scouts have been to watch Sunderland this season but it’s not certain whether they were there to watch Dan Neil in action.

“Nevertheless, the Black Cats are ready for any offers that might come their way.”

The Verdict: Keep!

If the Black Cats are to stay in the Championship, and even look to a potential Premier League push, then they need to be keeping hold of their key players, and Neil certainly fits into that category.

He has ranked highly among his teammates in terms of average key passes and through balls in League One this term, while his 82% pass completion rate is the joint-highest out of any of his teammates to have made five or more appearances (WhoScored).

Nonetheless, Neil would not be an easy player to replace, and so Alex Neil’s side should be looking to keep hold of him this summer, regardless of any potential offers that may come in for the Englishman.

In other news, find out what behind-the-scenes SAFC ‘talks’ have now been going on here!

Reputable Spanish outlet AS have provided an update involving Manchester United and Frenkie de Jong. 

The lowdown: Dutch connection

Following the official announcement from the club that Erik ten Hag would be the man in the Old Trafford hot seat from next season, Sport ran a report claiming that the current Ajax manager was eyeing a reunion with De Jong.

Sold to Barcelona in 2020 for £65m under the stewardship of the 52-year-old (BBC), the Dutch midfielder was hailed as a ‘great player’ by Ten Hag whilst the pair were together in Amsterdam.

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There could now be a reunion on the horizon in Manchester, as Barca have reportedly named their price for De Jong…

The latest: De Jong a ‘wanted’ man

As per AS, United and Bayern Munich are named as the two main protagonists in the pursuit of the 24-year-old.

The report claims that De Jong is ‘mainly wanted’ by the two European giants as the Catalan club put their star ‘up for sale’ for €70m (£58m).

It is also stated that other Premier League clubs have ‘tested’ the situation surrounding the 40-cap Netherlands ace.

The verdict: Value for money

As a matter of course, Ten Hag will need to strengthen the midfield in order to regain poise at United, with Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic both preparing to leave at the end of the season.

Possessing a variety of impressive attributes including very strong dribbling and passing skills (WhoScored), the talented Dutchman stacks up stylistically alongside star midfielder such as Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva and Luka Modric when using the detailed FB Ref comparison tool.

So far this season, De Jong has scored four times and registered five assists in 44 appearances across all competitions, and signing him would be a superb place to start for any Old Trafford rebuild under Ten Hag this summer.

In other news: Man Utd star could make sensational summer exit…find out more here

Bold selection calls, senior players mentoring youngsters, and an environment that sucked out mediocrity helps deliver maiden Ranji title

Vishal Dikshit in Indore02-Jan-2018Soon after arriving in Nagpur and signing the contract to take over from Paras Mhambrey as Vidarbha’s head coach at the start of the season, Chandrakant Pandit asked the state association’s vice-president Prashant Vaidya: “What happens to the prize money?”Vaidya thought he hadn’t heard Pandit right and asked: ” prize money [what prize money]?” Pandit was clear in his head and told Vaidya he was referring to the prize money the Ranji Trophy champions are entitled to. His planning of winning the Ranji Trophy had begun even before he had met the players.It started in his head, in his attitude, in his thinking. He had already won the title with Mumbai as a player and coach, but this Vidarbha team hadn’t even reached semi-finals in their past 60 attempts. Pandit knew the Mumbai attitude was not going to be enough, he had to be bloody-minded.”I started believing [that we could win the trophy] on the first day he [Pandit] came to Nagpur,” Vaidya recalls. “When he asked me about the prize money on the first day, I said, ‘Of course we will share the prize money’. This man was already thinking of winning the trophy, so I thought Vidarbha will definitely have a good season.”The seeds of Vidarbha’s success, however, were sown many years ago, right at the grassroots levels. The efforts took time and included chasing Pandit for “six-seven years”.After a forgettable Ranji Trophy campaign in 2013-14, in which they managed just a solitary win in eight matches, Vidarbha made it to the quarter-finals for the next two seasons. The encouraging results had a positive effect on their junior cricket too: in January 2017, Vidarbha’s Under-16 side lifted the Vijay Merchant Trophy at the same venue where the senior side would go on to lift their maiden Ranji Trophy crown.”The process takes time,” Vaidya says. “We started somewhere in 2009, when we got the residential academy working. Last year we did well with the juniors, this year as well. Of course, Chandu’s presence has got us here. I have been after him for six-seven years. For some reason or the other we could not get him. This year fortunately we got him and the results are there.”Pandit had been occupied throughout. He spent the last two seasons coaching Mumbai, the 41-time champions. He helped mastermind their most-recent title success, when they beat Saurashtra inside three days in the final in February 2016. He was replaced by Sameer Dighe for the want of “fresh faces and fresh outlook” after the side finished runners-up last season. While he stayed on to coach the side for the limited-overs competitions, a decision had been made.The sacking was ironic because his approach led to the unearthing of a number of talented cricketers. During his stint as Director of Cricket Operations at Kerala, Sanju Samson and Basil Thampi came through the ranks. When he moved to Mumbai, teen sensation Prithvi Shaw burst onto the scene, making a century on first-class debut during the 2016-17 Ranji semi-final against Tamil Nadu. Shreyas Iyer too hit the high notes with Mumbai, becoming the highest run-getter in a victorious 2015-16 season.PTI Now with Vidarbha for the first time, he handed 19-year-old Aditya Thakare, the fast bowler, a first-class debut in the final. Thakare, who was named as one of the reserves in India’s Under-19 World Cup squad, stepped up with a wicket in his first over with an outswinger. When the pitch eased out in the second innings, Delhi were showing signs of taking a bigger lead. Even though Thakare picked up no wickets this time around, he bowled with the new and old ball with precision and conceded only 14 runs in his 12 overs, including six maidens.”I would say that the credit for Aditya Thakare goes to Prashant Vaidya,” Pandit says. “He was talking to me about Thakare for maybe the last two-three games and I was not very keen, to be honest. Being an Under-19 boy, giving him an opportunity in the knockout phase would have probably put pressure on him.”But he [Vaidya] told me: ‘Why don’t you take him to the final and have a look at him?’ It really motivated me after looking at his performance for two days in the nets. Then I spoke to Faiz [Fazal, the captain] and he was also very impressed and said, ‘Sir, we should go with him’. The same type of history that you are talking about with Prithvi Shaw. Milind Rege, who was the chairman of the Mumbai selection committee, did the same thing that Prashant did. That clicked, so I thought this will also click. That is why I said let’s go [with him].”Vidarbha needed a fast bowler in the final because Umesh Yadav had to leave for South Africa after his subdued performance in the semi-final against Karnataka. Rajneesh Gurbani had already given them an edge with his match-winning performances of 12 wickets in the semi-final and seven in the quarter-final. He usually delivers better once the SG ball gets older. Now they needed a bowler who could move the new ball around too. Vidarbha had the option of going back to Lalit Yadav, who played seven out of their eight matches before the final, but Fazal thought Thakare had the “x-factor” they needed.Along the way, Pandit also laid emphasis on team unity and bonding. Ganesh Satish, a professional who came over from Karnataka after scoring a century in the final that they won in 2013-14, feels the transformation in their focus on excellence and not tolerating mediocre results has also helped.”I think apart from bringing in the discipline, the relaxed nature was thrown out of the dressing room,” Satish says. “Nobody could relax anymore, everyone had to be focused and determined, and everyone had that one goal of winning the trophy. Mediocre performances were not tolerated and everyone had to deliver.”Pandit firmly believes a team needs to stick together for several reasons, whether it shows in the results or not. “Basically, every team success is because of unity,” Pandit explains. “When you don’t do well, people say there is no unity. But it is not that way. The support staff were also equally contributing. Subroto Banerjee, the bowling coach, helped a great deal. If you look at the performance of the bowlers, especially fast bowlers, Gurbani has been taking so many wickets. That has also helped us in the dressing room.”Wasim Jaffer, Ganesh Satish, Karn Sharma, these are senior players, they have been role models in the dressing room. Akshay Wakhare is also there, [Akshay] Wadkar has peformed, [Aditya] Sarwate has performed. All these senior cricketers are in the dressing room and they pass on this very positive energy. They [the young players] have been watching them playing. We are grooming the youngsters.”I am very thankful to the [VCA] president and Prashant for giving us three extra players in the squad to groom them for the future. They can share in the experience of the dressing room, the captain can groom them. You see the young boy Thakare coming through. You could see the change, that a young boy is playing in the Ranji final. That makes a lot of difference.”PTI Satish was the third player in the dressing room to have won a Ranji title earlier, apart from Pandit and Jaffer. These three and Banerjee combined as the senior forces this time, to work out how to take them past that quarter-final barrier. The coaching staff assigned specific roles to the players, Jaffer worked with the bowlers and not just with the batsmen, match simulations were held to tackle the pressure situations.”They [the coaching staff] were very clear in terms of what roles were given,” Satish says. “This year there was something different. I felt definitely this team had something special in it – especially when we won that game against Bengal in Kalyani, we beat them at their home ground, I thought then that we had something different this year. If you see the previous years, our away performances were not that great but this year, beating Punjab in Mohali and then Bengal at their home ground… that gave us a lot of belief that we could beat the top sides.”Vidarbha ended the season in such fashion that they had three batsmen among the top 10 run-scorers of the season: openers Faiz Fazal and R Sanjay in second and third positions respectively, and Satish at eighth. On the chart of top wicket-takers, Gurbani shot up to second place, offspinner Wakhare was fourth and left-arm spinner Sarwate at 11th.Pandit knows his task is not over yet. Apart from winning the Irani Cup – played between the Ranji champions and a rest of India side – next, he wants to stretch this winning habit and make it sustainable season after season. He wants Vidarbha to become a force to reckon with.Vaidya said: “About the future as such, it’s more about consistency, that is what personally we would like to achieve. And see that there is constant flow of cricketers coming through and graduating to higher levels. That is the process we have started and that is the structure we want to build.”Vidarbha will now continue to dream with the clarity Pandit has given them. The state association, meanwhile, can think of what needs to be done with the prize money they win.

England’s blushes were spared by a grandstand finish to an off-key performance, but the overall direction of the team remains on track

George Dobell22-Jun-2016An optimist, they say, sees the glass as half-full, the pessimist sees it as half-empty and the England cricket supporter sees it as an opportunity to make a beer snake.You can understand why spectators might have been conflicted as they left Trent Bridge on Tuesday night. On the one hand, they had seen one of the most wonderfully memorable games of cricket they could hope to witness. On the other, they had seen two flawed, mid-ranking teams make a catalogue of errors in a game of wildly varying quality.It would be churlish not to recognise England’s admirable spirit. The partnership between Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes – men whose softly-spoken modesty off the pitch conceals impressive confidence and determination on it – spoke volumes for the attitude and ability within the current England dressing room. While many previous sides would have capitulated to a heavy defeat – the World Cup match in Wellington springs to mind – this side is made of sterner stuff. There is a lot to admire and a lot to like in that dressing room, not least the reminder that you don’t have to be a brat to be a success in international sport.But when Eoin Morgan spoke after the match, it was clear that he was not going to allow the fightback to mask earlier failings. While recognising the belief in the dressing room as “quite incredible” he also rated the “general performance” as “really poor” and England’s batting in the first 10 overs of their innings “as bad as any time in the last year”. England were, he said, “very lucky” to escape with a tie.All of which is heartening. A weaker captain may well have simply ‘taken the positives’ from the match and allowed his side to be deluded into thinking they remain on track. But, when Morgan spoke at the launch of the 2017 Champions Trophy earlier this month, he talked of the change in attitude in the new England team and a sense that, while previous sides may have been happy to “reflect on how good you are”, his team “always want to be better”.So Morgan will know that, at best, England just about got away with their failings on Tuesday. They got away with the five-man attack that left Morgan scratching his head at times. They got away with the lack of movement obtained by two of the seamers, with only David Willey gaining any swing. They got away with a top-order collapse and they got away with the sort of fielding errors – Woakes diving over a ball at fine leg and Joe Root dropping a catch at long-on – that will be punished by the best teams.To some extent, these errors are what you would expect in a developing side. England are only one year into their rebuilding project and they are still in the process of identifying the players that will carry them into the 2019 World Cup.So Root, after a fantastic year, is entitled to a relatively unproductive period without it sparking any long-term concerns. And while Morgan’s wicket – attempting a late-cut but managing only a thin edge to the keeper – extended his run of international innings without a half-century to 19, he had looked in fluent form until his dismissal and he is leading the side impressively. Moeen Ali, the top-rated ODI bowler in this series according to the ICC rankings, Buttler and Alex Hales, who has two centuries and four half-centuries in his last nine ODIs, also look very likely to be the men around whom the side is built. Adil Rashid, who delivered a well-controlled spell of leg-spin in Nottingham and must be one of the best No. 11s in the business, increasingly looks to be in the same category.One or two others have some work to do. Jonny Bairstow needs a longer run in the side to demonstrate that he can translate his fine Test form into this format, but Liam Plunkett perhaps required that last-ball strike to deflect attention from a slightly unconvincing performance with the ball. He will be 34 by the time the 2019 World Cup is played and may have limited opportunities to impress. Jason Roy, who has not passed 20 in five ODIs, also has some work to do to prevent Moeen returning to the top-order position from where he scored two centuries.One man whose stock rose considerably on Tuesday night was Woakes. He had never scored a List A half-century until Tuesday and, while he will never be a power hitter – he admitted he was pleased that Plunkett was on strike for the final ball as he was the more likely to hit a six – he impressed with his calm head, his quick running and the pace of his bowling. He will be 30 by the time the World Cup is played and feels he should be at his peak by then.It has appeared, at times, as if Woakes might be unfortunate to see his career coincide with that of Ben Stokes. Both are fine cricketers but Stokes is a little younger, a little more talented and a little more established. But England can always find room for players capable of delivering runs and wickets; there is no reason the pair cannot play alongside one another. Indeed, it is Stokes who has a bit to do to improve a surprisingly modest record in ODI cricket – he has a batting average of 21.40 and a bowling average of 36.50.”I’d like to think we can play in the same team,” Woakes said. “The workload is very high in international cricket, especially for all-rounders like myself and Ben, so I suppose there will be times we rotate. If that’s the case, so be it. I’ll be happy just to do a job for the team.”Woakes was a member of the 2015 World Cup squad that underperformed so memorably. As such he is well-placed to comment on what has changed in a relatively short space of time. He specifies two issues: the selection of a slightly younger team and, perhaps partially because of that, greater self-belief.”We probably doubted ourselves before,” Woakes said. “There is more belief that we can do it now. We didn’t do it as players in 2015 and that was our own fault. We back ourselves more and we believe in ourselves to play fearless cricket.”We believe we can win a game from any position. At 80 for 6 you are not thinking about winning immediately, but you always know a partnership can give you a sniff. Me and Jos did that. The belief is that we can do that.”And you are looking at a slightly different team. T20 has helped ODI cricket there. Batters have more shots too and scoops are the norm rather than a shock.”But Woakes, like Morgan, accepted that England had underperformed for much of Tuesday’s game.”All-round we could have been better,” Woakes said. “With bat and ball.”We don’t want to be losing wickets like that. It makes it hard work. We could have protected our wickets more and chasing that sort of total our best batsmen should face the majority of balls.”And we’re disappointed with the way we bowled. To restrict them was good, but we felt we could have bowled better.”The important thing is we realise we have more to prove, we can play better than that and hopefully it starts on Friday.”

Either way, WG Grace generated more than his share of column centimetres, in his lifetime and beyond

Ivo Tennant22-Mar-2015Mr W. Grace, as called him before settling, somewhat arbitrarily, on the addition of his second initial and a medical prefix, died during World War I. It was said that one of his last acts was to shake his fist at a zeppelin flying close to his home in south London, a symbol of his autocracy and defiance. Whether or not he was the most prominent exponent of the finest and purest game, as Lord Harris declared, there can be little doubting that he still remains, 100 years after his death, the most recognisable of all cricketers.So an anthology is wholly deserved, even if his feats will be familiar to many followers of the game. The prime interest in Jonathan Rice’s collection of match reports and articles is in the reporting of the Victorian day. Do we learn more about his technique, his character, his utter dominance of the game? This was a period when was not known for its analysis, or “colour”, to use a more modern term. The accounts, nonetheless, are descriptive, and sometimes unintentionally amusing.Who is Jonathan Rice? Like his brother, Sir Tim, he is an unabashed cricket fan who has taken to editing anthologies. He sits on Kent’s committee and hence must bear some of the responsibility for the financial state of the club and consequent encroachment of housing on the St Lawrence, Canterbury, where WG played often and which he would not recognise today. He would, however, be familiar with Bank Holiday engineering work. Trouble on the railways meant that he did not take the field on the ground on one occasion until around lunchtime when “a hearty Kentish cheer greeted Mr W. Grace’s walk to the wickets”.WG became synonymous with the Victorians’ love of muscular Christianity. At the crease, although he was too heavily built to use his feet nimbly to slow bowling, he was, as AG Steel put it, “a master of playing with the left leg close to the bat”. He stood with his right leg on line with leg stump, his rigid right foot pointing slightly in front of the crease, his stance calculated to assist his placement of leg-side shots. Grace was the hero of Empire builders and the hero of .There was, though, as Rice points out, a strange equivocation in the Almanack’s view of him. While his brothers received almost uniformly good reports, the attitude to the “Champion” as called him, was grudging initially. It was apparent also that the social aspect of the cricket was as important as the scorecards. Grace was neither a professional nor an amateur: for the purposes of assisting the finances of the Marylebone Club, he was an amateur. In terms of his bank account, he was a pro – making far more money out of the game than any professional of his day.As to the reporting of the game, some of the phraseology is surprising. To have been “licked by a lob”, the fate of one hapless batsman, was a foretaste of how cricket would be covered in the popular prints. There is much rain and wintry weather and comment on Grace’s capacity for money-making. In a 1998 appreciation for , which is included here, Geoffrey Moorhouse wrote: “Nothing more exposed the humbug of Gents v Players than an examination of Grace’s financial rewards from the game.” Grace was, he opined, “sometimes a shameless cheat”.This is a sad summation, wholly at odds with Lord Harris’ view and not one, of course, that any cricket writer would have dared state during WG’s lifetime. Best, perhaps, to concentrate on the extraordinary achievements, the Victorian context, the interest he brought to the game and the financial benefits for MCC, as well as for the clubs where he played. The wonderful painting by Archibald Wortley that hangs at Lord’s, the cap, the beard, the cummerbund, the brown shoes and all, depicts a champion indeed.Wisden on Grace
Edited by Jonathan Rice
Bloomsbury, 2015
£20, 234 pages

The cricket world reacts to Zimbabwe beating Pakistan by 24 runs in Harare, to record their first Test win against a country other than Bangladesh in 12 years

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Sep-2013As Zimbabwe closed in on victory, the anticipation and excitement built…”Dare we start to believe.”
“It would be a brilliant test win for Zimbabwe… The players deserve the win after what they’ve been through.”
“GO ZIMBABWE CRICKET!”
After Rahat Ali was run out, the celebrations began…”Well deserved Brendan Taylor and the boys!!! Well done boys!!!! So proud!! Great day ‘babwe!!!”
“Congrats to Zim on their win today, the boys deserved a win after everything they had to put up with !”
“The boys deserve everything for that win!!! Great heart and determination to make a difference! Well done to Brendan Taylor. Great finish”

Bloody amazing!!!!! Zim boys you bloody beauties…

— Mluleki Nkala (@mnkala21) September 14, 2013

“Great result for Brendan Taylor and the lads. With results on the field time for the ZC board to turn up!”
“Great win for the Zimbabweans, considering the fact they have been going thru it’s a terrific achievement. Things will only get better from here.”

Zimbabwe 294 and 199 v Pakistan 230 and 239 https://t.co/GxpDWaDvFV via @espncricinfo BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

— Henry Olonga (@henryolonga) September 14, 2013

“Congrats to Brendan Taylor and Zim cricket on your outstanding performance to win the 2nd Test against Pakistan. Making our continent proud.”
“Congrats to Brendan Taylor and to Zim for the tight win over Pakistan. Bar bill could be high tonight Tayls!!”

I think Zimbabwe deserve this win they played well

— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) September 14, 2013

“Absolutely delighted for Zimbabwe cricket. Come on now Zim cricket officials, give them their due. They have shown what they can do.”

Every cricketer understands, knows and senses this; this game produces strange, twisted events in the careers of men

Sharda Ugra at Edgbaston12-Aug-2011Having batted for almost 13 hours, making his highest score in any form of cricket and virtually ending India’s chances of staying alive in this series, the first question Alastair Cook was asked was whether he had felt satisfaction or disappointment. “It’s mad, isn’t it, how you can still be disappointed when you score 290-odd,” he said. “I suppose only cricket can do that to you.”Every cricketer understands, knows and senses this; this game produces strange, twisted events in the careers of men. “Tell me about it”, several of the Indians might well respond as they nurse aching limbs. For all the usual merits of his carefree cricket, Virender Sehwag will be one of them; his Test series has so far involved fielding for 12 hours and 47 minutes, batting for precisely eight minutes and receiving, for all his labour, the first king pair of his Test career.In the space of two balls, Sehwag has gone from being the turbo-engine the Indian team needed to get moving, to an advertisement about how not to approach any series in England, never mind the one that has been labelled ‘marquee’, ‘big ticket’ or ‘clash of the titans’.Sachin Tendulkar’s first ever non-injury-related break from Test cricket has turned into an extended wait for the richness of form that would give his team the meat its middle-order now badly needs in the series, and along with it, the now unmentionable hundred for the history books.Within four months of winning the World Cup, MS Dhoni’s No. 1 India are being skewered for their lack of intensity, and in the two completed Tests of this series, have scored ten runs less than Bangladesh did in their two Tests in England last year. Bangladesh scrapped to a tally of 1003, compared to India’s 993. The scoreline after two Tests: 0-2. Same difference?Only cricket can do that to you.India have the personnel to kick off the turnaround but it will have to – as it should have at the start, as it always did – begin with the batsmen. Cook’s innings marked a grim day of struggle in the field, but one in which England played exactly as they intended. They put as much distance as they could between themselves and the Indian first-innings total and used up the scads of time available in the game, given that India’s first innings folded in just over two sessions. It required, as Cook described, batting that was essentially “grinding out a day”.To save themselves, India will have to do that for about as long as Cook did. As he walked off the field, six runs short of becoming the first triple-centurion from England in two decades, he was patted on the back by the bowler, Ishant Sharma, who’d taken his wicket. One by one, Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Suresh Raina came across to shake his hand. Gautam Gambhir, who had sprinted to the pavilion to prepare to go out and bat again, did so at the end of the day’s play.Cook was of the opinion that the wicket at Edgbaston, which is often called a batsman’s track, was playing well. “You can see that when people got in, a lot of people got in, so it can’t be that bad a wicket,” he said. The wicket had begun to turn but that should not be a dark art for the Indian batsmen to tackle. It is surviving the onslaught of the England seamers that has given them the most grief in this series, and India’s top four need to make it through 50-odd overs to give themselves a chance to bat with freedom, confidence and flair.India first four wickets were gone by the 56th and the 50th over at Lord’s, the 51st and the 16th over at Trent Bridge and within the first 27 overs here at Edgbaston, in the first innings. India were supposed to be slow starters but on this tour it has not been a long-distance race, it has been quicksand.In his very candid media conference on Thursday, Gambhir remembered that he batted for 11 hours to save a Test in New Zealand. It was a different situation, against a very different attack but it is times like these that cricketers draw solace and strength from. After all, who knows what else cricket can do?

In winter Delhi often hosts multiple first-class matches at the same time. Can one fan watch them all? Our intrepid correspondent gives it a shot

Sidharth Monga07-Dec-2008

Concrete horror: the new Kotla takes shape, in early 2006 © Getty Images
The locals sometimes don’t realise it, but with three teams based in the capital Delhi is the place to be for a cricket fan in winter.You can take your pick: a Delhi or Railways game, or perhaps a Services one. If you know the place, you can shuttle between three matches in a day. If you don’t want to miss any action, you can hope for a round like the one that concluded this week, when Delhi and Orissa finished their game in two days, allowing the focus to shift to the other matches.Feroz Shah Kotla was my first stop for two reasons: Virender Sehwag, GautamGambhir and Ishant Sharma had returned to help Delhi out of the rut theyfound themselves in. Also, the track that was laid out, a green carpet because Delhi desperately need an outright win, promised a lot of action.The Kotla could be a beautiful ground. It’s located in the walled citadel of the emperor Feroz Shah Tughlaq, with fortified gates, barbican towers, and open spaces all around. But for years the stadium has been neglected by administrators. When they recently rebuilt it, they got it even more wrong. The massively ugly concrete Jaypee Stand (named after a local cement manufacturer) has a feel of the industrial areas on the outskirts of Delhi rather than the peaceful immediate surroundings. During international matches, supremely vulgar advertisements adorn the concrete, for, among other products, indigestion pills and mouth freshener – the ads for the latter featuring lots of cleavage. The players’ balcony is situated at extra cover. An open toilet welcomes one at the point beyond which police won’t let vehicles pass.It’s different during a Ranji match. There are no advertisements, no police, and at least no users of the toilet. The press box does not function during this game because the scorers want to sit in the sun.The first day of the match happens to be election day in Delhi. That’s close to 20 fewer votes cast: everyone in the Delhi team is eligible to vote – apart from Pradeep Sangwan, perhaps, who turned 18 only a month ago. Polling day is a holiday, so there is quite a first-day crowd – that’s about 200 people. Some are even able to sit on the grass between the boundary rope and the boundary boards. It’s the closest one can get to watching cricket from grass banks in India. With the winter sun, and tea, it is quite an experience.The scoreboard operator at the Kotla sits in the scoreboard, a wheeled unit, which affords him some shelter as he goes about his work, watching the game from the window-like slots for the scores.Sunil Dev, the secretary of the sports committee that runs Delhi cricket, is a businessman who always makes time to watch Delhi play. On this pitch, where if you blink you miss a wicket, he gets restive if a wicket doesn’t fall for ten minutes – when Delhi are fielding that is. He doesn’t rest easy until Ishant Sharma has clean-bowled Orissa’s No. 11, Dhiraj Singh, just after tea on the second day to get Delhi a 52-run win. That after Delhi managed 78 in the first innings. The transition is seamless: from the crowd outside New Delhi railway to ticket touts to shops selling fake sunglasses to cheap hotels to other frauds looking for tourists heading to the Karnail Singh stadium The early finish takes me to my next stop, the Karnail Singh Stadium, aboutseven kilometres away, next to the New Delhi railway station. Having lived in Delhi, I never imagined there could be a first-class ground just outside the chaos of the rail station. The transition is seamless: from the station crowd to ticket touts to shops selling fake sunglasses to cheap hotels to other frauds looking for tourists heading to the stadium.At the stadium what you see is what you get, unlike at the other establishments on the road. It is a humble ground, but quaint, and almost beautiful. It is a multi-sport venue and there are trees around the ground, broken up by the boxing hall, the badminton hall and the gymnasium. Akhil Kumar, the maverick boxer who almost won India a medal at the Beijing Olympics, is training at the ground. His physio, Heath Matthews, is a cricket buff. Is boxing the tougher sport? Matthews points out how, in comparison to cricket, boxing bouts, in airconditioned indoor rings, finish in half an hour.When UP are in town, quaintness takes a back seat. At 8.45am loud music blares just outside their dressing room. At the end of the match I realise that the music system is Praveen Kumar’s: he carries it back. Ferociously funny leg-pulling – most of it unprintable – is the UP players’ favourite pastime, and they treat team-mates and opponents alike to it.The scoreboard at the Karnail Singh is the old wooden green-boards type, withnails to hang the score digits on – also wooden. The operator sits near the board and gets up to change scores every time a run is scored, unlike at some grounds where scores on manual boards change in multiples of ten. Diwan Singh has been doing the job here for close to 30 years. He gave up a good bank job to work as an announcer with the Railways so he could get days off to watch cricket. He remembers the celebrations here in 2001-02 when Railways won the Ranji Trophy – avenging their loss to Baroda in the final the previous season. He distributed sweets worth Rs 2000 that day. He makes Rs 100 a day managing the scoreboard.The proceedings are slow, with Yere Goud playing a typically painstaking innings to save the follow-on. Diwan will recover by watching some Australian domestic Twenty20 at home. “I watch just about any cricket on TV.”A Railways fanatic, a fixture of sorts at the ground, wants to sit near the players, almost each of whom he knows. Security doesn’t let him in, but he tries to run through. The officials catch him and start beating him up. Maninder Singh, who happens to be there, intervenes, saves the young man, embraces him, and convinces him that nobody is allowed near the players. “See, they all know me,” the fan, who wears a Railways tracksuit, boasts to the security men.On the final day UP give themselves close to three sessions to bowl Railways out. It seems like too much time when Railways slip to 33 for 6 quickly. The probability of a facile result gives me time to move on to the third match, at the faraway Air Force Station, where no journalist goes. The reasons are not tough to find: on my way, I am made to divert from the direct route, which is off limits to the press because it passes through a defence area. Even if one manages to get to the ground, there is no conveyance back.When I finally reach the ground, less than a kilometre from the airport, I see, for the first time, a first-class match not being watched by anybody. Not a single party not directly involved with the teams. The only two “spectators” are from Modern Office Systems, the company contracted to move the cameras (for the umpire review), the laptops and computers required, and to look after the power requirements at the ground. These two gentlemen are seen at the Kotla too. They say they wouldn’t come to watch the game at the Palam A Stadium if it wasn’t part of their job, but they are interested enough in cricket to remember the warm-up game South Africa played here before the 1996 World Cup – about the only remotely high-profile game at the ground.

The Palam A ground, which blurs into the B ground © Cricinfo Ltd
It is a scenic ground, with plenty of trees about, but the frequent noise of planes taking off spoils things a bit. The only other problem is the “A” in the name. It means there is a “B” ground too, right next to A. There are no boundaries between the two, so midwicket is where you want a fielder all the time. If the ball goes through there, there’s no stopping it from going as far as it can on its momentum.Services have four wickets left, and have to bat out two sessions to draw and get on the board this season. Madhya Pradesh have controlled the game throughout, but on abenign pitch they can’t eke out a result. Jasvir Singh scores a four-and-a-half hour unbeaten century to take Services home.A call to another journalist at the Karnail Singh tells me I have to rush back.Mahesh Rawat and Sanjay Bangar have got a partnership going, and the gamethere seems headed towards a thrilling draw. When I get there Suresh Rainapulls off a stunning catch to dismiss Rawat – who has scored 80 despite viral fever – and bring UP back into the game. That’s as far as they get,though: led by the broad bat of Bangar, and a courageous Anureet Singh,playing in his first season, Railways survive the remaining 47 minutes. Bangarhas batted through the 87 overs of the innings for 70 runs and a point.UP are disappointed they haven’t slammed the door shut. Five minutes later,though, loud Punjabi music emanates from their dressing room. That’show they play their cricket. It is a good note on which to end a satisfyingweek of cricket.

The Reds are once again investing a fortune in a forward of undoubted potential, but very little experience

Three years ago, Liverpool paid an initial £64 million ($86m) for Darwin Nunez, a young striker with just one prolific season under his belt. The gamble did not pay off. On the contrary, it backfired badly, with the Uruguayan now regarded as one of the most disappointing deals in the club's history.

It's fascinating, then, that Liverpool have now committed even more money to signing another forward with a less impressive CV than that of Nunez back in 2022.

So, why were the Reds willing to stump up an initial £69m ($92.7m) for Hugo Ekitike? And what chance does he have of succeeding where Nunez failed so spectacularly? GOAL explores one of the biggest and most intriguing transfers of the summer so far…

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  Disastrous Darwin decision

  Liverpool began their search for a new No.9 long before the end of the 2021-22 season. As far as the Reds' recruitment team was concerned, there were three outstanding young strikers in Europe at the time – Nunez, Alexander Isak and Erling Haaland – and that view would have been shared by scouts all across the continent.

  As Liverpool's former director of research Ian Graham recently revealed, Haaland was out of their price range, meaning they were left with a straight choice between Isak or Nunez. Then-manager Jurgen Klopp favoured the latter, so the Reds signed the Uruguayan. It proved a disastrous decision.

  While Isak established himself as one of the most feared forwards in the Premier League after joining Newcastle from Real Sociedad in August 2022, Nunez became a laughing stock, a maddeningly frustrating forward mercilessly mocked for his atrocious finishing.

  Liverpool's desire to sell him this summer has, thus, come as no surprise. He has had numerous chances to prove his worth at Anfield and, rather fittingly, failed to take any of them.

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  Failing to land Isak – again

  Nonetheless, It would be unfair to be overly harsh on Klopp for buying Nunez. The striker really did look like a potential star at Benfica. He was big, strong, quick and had scored 34 goals in 41 appearances in all competitions during the 2021-22 campaign.

  What's more, six of those goals had come in the Champions League, including one apiece in both legs of Benfica's quarter-final tie with Liverpool. With his direct, all-action style and mix of pace and power, Nunez had tormented the likes of Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate, who were only too happy to see him go from opponent to team-mate just a few months later.

  Of course, excitement soon gave way to bewilderment, as it became painfully clear that Nunez simply couldn't be relied upon to stay onside – let alone score goals. In that sense, Liverpool are lucky that they're likely to make back quite a bit of the money they wasted on Nunez, even if Napoli's withdrawal from the race to sign him is an undeniable blow.

  However, Liverpool's hopes of righting a wrong by belatedly bringing Isak to Anfield appear to be over, with Newcastle having understandably deemed it better to let the Reds have Ekitike rather than Isak. That development has disappointed plenty of supporters, who were salivating at the prospect of seeing the Swedish striker in the same side as Mohamed Salah and Florian Wirtz.

  After all, Isak is, unlike Ekitike, Premier League-proven. His quality simply cannot be questioned after netting 44 times in his last 64 outings in England's top-flight. Ekitike, by contrast, remains something of an unknown quality in the eyes of most Liverpool fans – but, crucially, not to the club's recruitment team.

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  Winding road to the top

  Liverpool haven't suddenly turned their attention to Ekitike after missing out on Isak. He was a long-term target.

  The media first got wind of their interest in the Frenchman long before the end of his breakout season in Germany, but nearly every elite European club has been monitoring his progress since he started making a real name for himself at Reims following a highly successful loan spell at Danish outfit Vejle, in 2021.

  Indeed, Newcastle first tried to sign Ekitike in January 2022 but he joined Paris Saint-Germain instead that summer, admitting that, as a Frenchman, he found the lure of Parc des Princes impossible to resist. In hindsight, that move was a mistake. There was very little room for such a raw teenage talent in a forward line containing Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.

  "I progressed at such a high speed at Reims, but I also came back down at the same speed," Ekitike later explained. "Not everyone has experienced that and I don't wish it on anyone, it's not easy."

  Eintracht offered him a way out of PSG in the summer of 2023, but he was initially reluctant to take it, so desperate was he to prove himself at Paris. However, after earning just nine minutes of game time during the first half of the season, Ekitike belatedly accepted a move to Deutsche Bank Park in January 2024 – and he's not looked back since.

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  Catching fire in Frankfurt

  Ekitike improved exponentially in Frankfurt. As he said himself, he went from substitute to star in just over a year. Forming a formidable partnership with Omar Marmoush was key, but it was the way in which he revelled in the role of leading man following the Egyptian's January move to Manchester City that really made Liverpool and others sit up and take notice.

  There was a legitimate fear that Eintracht's bid to finish in the top four of the Bundesliga would collapse without Marmoush – but Ekitike excelled as a lone frontman. He was directly involved in 12 goals after Marmoush's exit – seven of which he scored himself – as Dino Toppmoller's ended up finishing third.

  By that point, sporting director Markus Krosche knew that the club had little chance of holding onto "one of the most interesting players on the European market". His only objective, therefore, was ensuring that Eintracht got top dollar for their prized possession – and it's fair to say that it's been realised.

  There's simply no hiding the fact that a fee that could rise to £79m ($106m) is an outrageous sum of money for an inexperienced forward who Eintracht paid €16.5m (£14/$19m) for just 18 months ago. At least Uruguay international Nunez had impressed in the Champions League; Ekitike has only made four goal-less appearances in Europe's premier club cup competition, while he's yet to be capped at senior level by France.

  However, all of that doesn't necessarily mean that Liverpool have signed another dud – far from it, in fact.