Gabby Agbonlahor believes that Bruno Fernandes has "wasted his best years" at Manchester United, amid their struggles under Ruben Amorim.
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Fernandes joined United in 2020Now captain of the clubHas won two major trophies at Old TraffordFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Speaking on talkSPORT, former Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor claimed United midfielder Bruno Fernandes will regret spending the peak years of his career at Old Trafford. Agbonlahor believes the Portuguese midfielder should have held out for a move to a team capable of challenging for bigger honours, as he has won just two trophies at the club – the League Cup and the FA Cup.
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Fernandes signed for United in January 2020 and has since made 278 appearances for the Red Devils, scoring 95 goals and registering 82 assists. While United did win the FA Cup last season, they sit 13th in the Premier League table, and their only hope of qualifying for Europe comes through the Europa League, which they will have to win.
WHAT AGBONLAHOR SAID
He said: "He’s 31 in September. And if he retired next season and didn’t win anything this season, he could retire or leave Manchester United with one FA Cup and one Carabao Cup. I think he's actually wasted his best years at Manchester United, even if they win the Europa League."
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United face Manchester City this weekend. They will then play Lyon in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final as Ruben Amorim bids to end the season with a trophy.
Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United were the Premier League’s main entertainers in December, as the super-confident Magpies ended up scoring goals by the bucket load on the way to some convincing victories being picked up.
Indeed, across the entire month in all competitions, the Toon fired home a ridiculous 21 strikes, which then saw Howe’s men rise up the league standings to a pretty fifth position.
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe
Still, there are spots in his team that the Magpies manager will want to improve during the transfer window, with concerns over depth arising down the right channel.
Newcastle considering move for "magic" attacker
As per a report by journalist Graeme Bailey, various different Premier League clubs are considering a move for Celtic ace Nicolas Kuhn this January, as the Bhoys attacker continues to tear Scottish Premiership defences to shreds.
The report states that Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur, Brentford, Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace are all keen alongside Newcastle, with the Magpies in for an almighty battle to win their desired man.
But, with it looking increasingly likely that Miguel Almiron will depart St James’ Park this month according to reports, Newcastle will hope they can be successful in this pursuit.
Moreover, the “magic” Magpies target – as he was once labelled by current boss Brendan Rodgers – would offer Jacob Murphy some great competition on Tyneside if a move does get finalised, with the German winger far surpassing the 29-year-old’s numbers playing in Scotland this season.
What Nicolas Kuhn could offer Newcastle
It does appear that the in-demand German has outgrown his surroundings at Celtic Park – hence all this frenzied interest coming from England – with the ex-RB Leipzig man just toying with defenders week in week out now in Scotland.
This campaign to date, Kuhn has fired home an outrageous 14 goals from 25 overall games, with a further 11 assists also tallied up.
One of those sublime strikes even came on Europe’s grandest stage as the tricky Bhoys number 10 delicately curled an opportunity home in the Champions League, which is a competition Newcastle would love to compete in again very soon if they can enter into the top four spots in the Premier League in 2025.
Adding in top-quality talents such as Kuhn could help them achieve that far-off goal, with the Toon also wanting to get rid of some deadwood now surfacing in their camp in the form of Almiron down the right.
Shot-creating actions
2.93
3.77
2.08
Progressive passes
3.71
3.68
2.43
Progressive carries
3.12
2.65
2.43
Successful take-ons
2.73
0.76
0.93
Touches in attacking penalty area
5.66
3.68
4.17
Progressive passes received
9.57
8.25
5.56
Looking at the table above, it’s clear that Kuhn would fit in well with the gung-ho style of play Newcastle have perfected over recent weeks, with more progressive carries and successful take-ons managed over the last year compared to both Murphy and Almiron.
On top of that, his goal and assist numbers for the campaign to date completely blow Murphy out of the water, who has just nine goal contributions in all competitions in contrast.
Also similar to Anthony Gordon according to FBref’s similar players feature, Kuhn could well seamlessly fit into the set-up under Howe, with the potential for the Magpies to cause even more issues for Premier League defences to cope with if the Celtic attacker relocates to Tyneside.
Whilst Howe will likely be content with what he has currently, January will be an apt time for him to add even more quality to make 2025 a memorable year at St James’ Park.
Their next Gordon: Howe targeting "monster" Newcastle signing for £0
Eddie Howe could soon add this surprise attacker to his Newcastle United squad.
Somerset steamrollered Gloucestershire’s patched-up team to complete a record-breaking LV= County Championship victory by an innings and 246 runs inside three days at Bristol.It was the Cider county’s biggest ever margin of victory over their arch-rivals, which was previously by an innings and 170 at Taunton back in 1893, a match in which WG Grace featured for the visitors.Gloucestershire, without injured skipper Graeme van Buuren, were bowled out for 186 in their first innings from an overnight 119 for 4, Jack Leach finishing with 5 for 49 from 25.4 overs.There was no respite for a home side including three new loan signings when they followed on 405 behind beneath cloudless skies. Leach completed match figures of 8 for 90, while teenager Jacob Bethell hit 61 in a total of 159.Somerset took 23 points to Gloucestershire’s one and have now reeled off successive victories after losing their first three Championship fixtures.With van Burren nursing a shoulder injury sustained in the field on day two, Somerset needed only five wickets at the start of the day to wrap up their opponents’ first innings.Bethell, on a one-match loan to Gloucestershire from Warwickshire, began with a sweet on-drive for four off Craig Overton and followed up with another boundary in the same over.There was concern for Somerset when Overton was forced off by a twinge in his left knee, but the England all-rounder was able to return to bowl at the end of the innings.Josh Davey made the breakthrough for Somerset with the total on 144, rapping Ryan Higgins on the back pad and pinning him lbw for 31, before quickly having Zafar Gofar taken at slip.Lewis Gregory uprooted Zak Chappell’s middle stump and the impressive Bethell fell leg-before on the back foot to Leach for 37 as Gloucestershire lurched to 152 for 8.Last pair Matt Taylor and Brad Wheal offered some resistance, taking the total to 186 for 8 at lunch. Taylor finished 24 not out when Wheal fell lbw to a ball from Leach that appeared to keep low.Gloucestershire’s second innings had reached 24 in the ninth over when George Scott edged Peter Siddle straight to James Hildreth at second slip.Marcus Harris fell on the same total, miscuing a pull shot off Overton and skying a catch to Tom Lammonby at mid-on. It was 28 for 3 when Miles Hammond nicked a ball from Davey through to wicketkeeper Steve Davies.Higgins was caught behind for 16 trying to force Gregory off the back foot and by tea Gloucestershire were in disarray at 74 for 4.Bethell had again given a lesson in technique to more experienced colleagues. But any hopes of a recovery disappeared in the over after the interval when James Bracey swept Leach and Tom Abell took an outstanding catch, one-handed above his head at backward square leg.Luck continued to desert injury-plagued Gloucestershire as Bethell slipped when called for a quick single off Leach by Zafar Gohar, who was forced to turn back and failed to beat Abell’s throw to the bowler’s end.Chappell was bowled off an inside edge for 20 by Overton, who then took a low catch at second slip off Leach to remove Taylor.Bethell’s mature batting in a crisis brought him a deserved half-century off 84 balls, with eight fours. But when he swept Leach into the hands of Lammonby at deep square, Somerset celebrated an overwhelming success.
Franchise physio Patrick Farhart to determine, after conducting fresh tests, when the quick can return to bowling competitively
Firdose Moonda and Nagraj Gollapudi26-Mar-2022
Anrich Nortje last played competitively at the 2021 T20 World Cup•BCCI
Delhi Capitals’ South African quick Anrich Nortje has been cleared of “any serious injury”. Also, the stress fracture that was understood to be the reason for him being sidelined for the last six months, has been ruled out, clearing the way for him to join Capitals at the IPL.The update has come from CSA chief medical officer Shuaib Manjra, who confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that Nortje would now complete his rehab during the IPL. “We did a range of Tests on Anrich and ruled out any serious injury,” Manjra said on Saturday. “We felt safe enough to have Anrich do his rehab in India and his return to play in India. We have ruled out the stress fracture of the back.”Nortje, who last played competitively at the T20 World Cup last November, was retained by the Capitals, and joined the franchise bubble in Mumbai earlier this week after Capitals physiotherapist Patrick Farhart flew to South Africa to conduct his own assessment. Farhart, an experienced and well-respected physio, is understood to have been confident about Nortje’s recovery and him being able to take part in IPL at some stage. Farhart will determine when that would be, once he has conducted fresh fitness tests on Nortje.Related
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The injury itself has intrigued CSA. Initially, it was identified as a “persistent hip injury”, which ruled him out of the home series against India in December-January. Nortje also did not travel to New Zealand for the two-match Test series, and was then ruled out of the ongoing home series against Bangladesh.On March 8, when the South Africa ODI squad for the Bangladesh series was announced, Victor Mpitsang, CSA’s chief selector, had said that it might be “difficult” for Nortje to take part in the IPL, and there was no “time frame” for his recovery. At the time, Manjra had also noted that it was “frustrating” because Nortje was facing discomfort in his loading and the medical team had “identified three different problems between back and hip and we don’t know which is primary”.Why then did CSA allow Nortje to travel to IPL, when his rehab had not concluded? And what about the risk of the injury recurring considering he has not bowled in competitive cricket for six months?Manjra allayed the fears. “Before he left SA he was beginning to bowl. We felt comfortable sending him to India,” he said.Importantly, CSA has the right to recall Nortje if they deem it necessary for his long-term fitness. However, at the moment, they have decided to join hands with Capitals and give Nortje a chance to get back to bowling normally.
قال البرتغالي ريكاردو فورموسينيو، المدرب السابق لكل من مودرن سبورت والهلال السوداني، إنه يرى أن الهلال يتمتع بفرصة كبيرة للتغلب على الأهلي في المواجهة المقبلة بينهما.
ويحل الأهلي ضيفًا على الهلال في إياب ربع نهائي بطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا، مساء غد الثلاثاء، بعد أن فاز ذهابًا بهدف دون رد.
الأهلي في اختبار صعب أمام الهلال السوداني بإياب ربع نهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا
وأضاف فورموسينيو في تصريحات تلفزيونية عبر فضائية “الأولى”: “أرى أن الهلال فريق قوي، وأعتقد أنه قد يفوز على الأهلي غدًا بنسبة 80%، ففي المباراة الماضية لم ألاحظ الروح لدى لاعبي الأهلي التي تمكنهم من الفوز، على عكس لاعبي الهلال”.
وتابع المدرب البرتغالي: “ما حدث في مودرن سبورت أنني دربت الفريق وجعلته في مستوى جيد جدًا، لكن الحظ لم يحالفنا، ومع ذلك، فالدوري المصري معروف بأن هناك فريقين أو ثلاثة هم الأفضل، بينما تحاول الفرق الأخرى إثبات وجودها، كانت تجربة جيدة، وتعاملت بشكل ممتاز مع الجمهور والإدارة”.
وأردف: “مصر معروفة بهيمنة فريق أو فريقين فقط، لكن ذلك لا يقلل من شدة المنافسة”.
واختتم فورموسينيو حديثه: “بالتأكيد أتمنى العودة للتدريب في الدوري المصري، فلا زلت أحتفظ بعلاقات جيدة في مصر، وكنت أشعر دائمًا أنني في بلدي الثاني”.
No one foresaw this. Even the most optimistic of Liverpool supporters wouldn’t have dreamed up a world where Arne Slot basked in an eight-point lead in the Premier League heading into December.
December 1st marks quite the date: Liverpool host Manchester City in the league as Pep Guardiola seeks to stop the rot that has sent his season into a tailspin.
Early days. Early days. Liverpool are champions elect after climbing back to beat Southampton? More fool the fan who is subscribed to that notion.
There are plenty of twists and turns left as Liverpool move through this crooked season, and a Citizen victory by the River Mersey would change the narrative with the swiftness of a Redmen counter-attack.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot
Liverpool do look good though, it must be said. Even when the parts don’t combine to the most rip-roaring effect, Slot’s squad still find a way. Of course, with Mohamed Salah at the spearhead, such things are child’s play.
Mohamed Salah's talismanic season
Salah’s days on Merseyside might be numbered, but he’s not letting that affect his performances for Liverpool this season. In fact, the Egyptian sensation is supercharged by a sense of urgency that perhaps speaks of a man on borrowed time.
That’s a downcast thought that would be fit for the conditions that Slot’s side faced at the St. Mary’s Stadium. The thing is, though, this is a team with a moveless mindset. Salah’s brace turned the game on its head and Liverpool are now eight points clear at the top of the Premier League.
We’ve met too many false dawns to get excited yet – after all, Manchester City journey to Anfield next weekend. Salah said post-match that “hopefully we can beat City,” and he’s certain to be confident after his performance on the South Coast.
The 32-year-old’s two late goals negated Southampton’s fine work in turning the game on its head, with his effort now leaving him with ten goals and six assists across 12 Premier League matches. Salah’s consistency on English shores is frankly absurd and he is undisputedly one of the finest players to have graced the division.
Most PL Goal Involvements (Single Side)
Rank
Player
Club
G/A
1.
Wayne Rooney
Man United
276
2.
Ryan Giggs
Man United
271
3.
Harry Kane
Tottenham
259
4.
Thierry Henry
Arsenal
249
5.
Mohamed Salah
Liverpool
239
Stats via Squawka
Salah wasn’t the only one to produce an emphatic display though, with Dominik Szoboszlai opening the scoring and putting in a high-class performance that might just leave him undroppable going forward.
Performance in Numbers
Want data and stats? Football FanCast's Performance in Numbers series provides you with the latest match analysis from across Europe.
Why Dominik Szoboszlai is now undroppable
Admittedly, Szoboszlai can be frustrating to watch sometimes. Do more, we cry. Please, channel that energy and electricity into something prolific and potent and all the rest.
His “sublime” finish against Southampton, as Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher put it, proved that he can produce those moments of genuine quality to illuminate his name on the big board, but it’s perhaps important to dig deeper into the underlying data and understand that the attacking midfielder is quietly becoming one of Liverpool’s most important players.
Having been benched in two of the previous three top-flight outings, this was a welcome return to form and something that the Hungary captain will feel he can use as a springboard to more positive noise.
Journalist Bence Bocsak hailed the 23-year-old’s “brilliant performance” and rightly so. As per Sofascore, he notably completed 100% (2/2) of his dribbles, made three key passes and won six of his eight contested ground duels.
Dominik Szoboszlai scores for Liverpool
That duel success is particularly interesting, a step up from his campaign average of 2.2 per game. It’s the tactical dimension that would speak volumes to Slot, proving to him that Szoboszlai is deserving of an unmoving starting berth in Liverpool’s Premier League line-up.
He also made four tackles, four ball recoveries, and completed all four of his long balls, showcasing a technical range that indeed compelled Jurgen Klopp and Jorg Schmadtke to fork out £60m for the RB Leipzig talent’s transfer in the dog days of 2023.
Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai.
The Liverpool Echo’s Ian Doyle awarded Szoboszlai with an 8/10 match score – the same as Salah – and wrote: ‘Led the Liverpool press, used ball well, had some shots and curled in a fine finish for the opening goal. Energy and work-rate made such a difference.’
It’s important to note that Szoboszlai’s athleticism could be a decisive factor against Guardiola’s beleaguered outfit next week, with Tottenham Hotspur’s Dejan Kulusevski – a player of similarly indefatigable energy and powerful dribbling – running roughshod over the Sky Blues’ defences on Saturday.
The Swede claimed an assist but more importantly, succeeded with all four of his dribbles and won each of his six contested ground duels, as per Sofascore, which pertains to Szoboszlai’s potential continuation of form next weekend given he has the quality, and demonstrated as such against Saints, to adopt that blueprint.
Szoboszlai’s ball-carrying and -playing skills have been discernible from the get-go at Anfield, but fluency in crucial moments has been choppy across the past 15 months.
To be sure, there’s more in the attacking midfielder’s locker, but if he performs as he did against Southampton going forward, there’s no way that Slot will want to demote him to the bench, for his energy and impact on the other forwards is so important.
Salah, for example, is an extraordinary forward, but his life is made easier by Szoboszlai’s movements and they will be called into play once again next.
Liverpool are flying, but there’s so much football still to be played. The quality of a player like Szoboszlai ensures that even when not flourishing, three points can still be secured.
Saved by Salah: Slot must drop 4/10 Liverpool star 'who did nothing'
Liverpool were made to work hard for their win over Southampton on Sunday afternoon.
Glasgow Rangers head coach Philippe Clement masterminded a 2-0 victory for his side against St Johnstone in their last game before the October international break.
His team secured all three points at Ibrox on Sunday night to head into the break on a high, after the disappointment of their 4-1 defeat to Lyon in the Europa League in Glasgow.
Vaclav Cerny, who is on loan from Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg, scored a goal in either half to seal the win for his side, with his first goal being a piece of individual brilliance.
His second goal, however, was assisted by the returning Ianis Hagi, who made his first appearance of the season off the bench in the second half.
The Romania international came on at half-time for Ross McCausland and fizzed a superb pass into Cerny’s feet in the box to assist the second goal for the Gers.
Ianis Hagi for Rangers.
Unfortunately, though, Hagi was then shown a straight red card for a studs-up challenge in midfield, after intervention from VAR, and will now spend the next three games on the sidelines.
That is another setback for the 25-year-old dynamo as he looks to get his career back on track, following a difficult few years due to injury issues.
Ianis Hagi's Rangers career
Rangers initially signed the attacking midfielder on loan from Belgian side Genk at the end of the January transfer window in 2020, to bolster Steven Gerrard’s side for the second half of the season.
Hagi made a fast start to life in Scotland with a return of three goals and two assists in 11 appearances in the Scottish Premiership and Europa League combined.
He did enough to convince Rangers to secure his services on a permanent deal in the summer of 2020 for a reported fee of £3m, and his form in his first full season at Ibrox suggested that it was money well spent by the Gers.
20/21 Premiership
Ianis Hagi
Appearances
33
Starts
23
Goals
7
Chances created
33
Assists
11
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Hagi was directly involved in 18 goals in 23 starts in the Premiership and featured in 33 of their 38 games, as the Light Blues went unbeaten and won the league under Gerrard.
The Romanian wizard then produced four goals and four assists in 27 outings in all competitions during the first half of the following campaign, before suffering a long-term knee injury in January 2022.
That injury kept him out of action for over a year and for 69 competitive matches and he is still trying to recapture his previous form for the Gers, after a return of zero goals and two assists in 22 LaLiga games for Alaves on loan last season.
Things could have been very different for the Light Blues, however, if they had landed one of their alternative targets in January 2020 – Lewis Ferguson.
Rangers' interest in Lewis Ferguson
Ahead of that January transfer window, The Scottish Sun reported that the Gers were weighing up a potential swoop to sign the Aberdeen central midfielder.
It was claimed that sporting director Ross Wilson, who has since moved on to join Nottingham Forest, had identified the Scottish whiz as a target for the Scottish giants, as a potential option for that window as well as future ones.
The outlet revealed that there was interest in Finland international Glen Kamara and that Ferguson could have been identified as a possible replacement for the ex-Arsenal man.
Lewis Ferguson
It was not, however, revealed how much Aberdeen were set to demand for the Scotland U21 international, who was valued at just €1m (£838k) by Transfermarkt at the time.
He had already established himself as a strong performer in the Premiership for the Dons, though, with a return of five goals and seven assists in 29 matches during the 2018/19 campaign.
That was not the first time they had missed out on the midfielder, though, as he had been in their academy between 2009 and 2013 before they released him ahead of the 2013/14 season, seemingly deciding that he would not develop into a first-team player for them.
One that got away
The transfers that nearly happened but never did. This article is part of Football FanCast's One That Got Away series.
Ferguson was one who slipped through the net that time and one that got away in the January transfer window in 2020, as he has soared in value since then.
Lewis Ferguson's current market value
At the time of writing (10/10/2024), Transfermarkt has his current market value at a whopping €24m (£22m), which is a staggering rise from his €1m valuation in January 2020.
18 months on from Rangers failing to sign, or opting not to, Ferguson, the Scottish midfielder secured a permanent transfer to Bologna in the summer of 2022.
The attacking midfielder hit the ground running in Italy with a return of seven goals in 32 appearances in the Italian top-flight during the 2022/23 campaign.
That came after the former Rangers academy prospect had racked up 37 goals and 23 assists in 169 games for Aberdeen during his spell with the Dons.
Rome-based journalist Alasdair Mackenzie hailed the 25-year-old star as a “sensation” and an “all-round” dynamo in midfield for Bologna, as he helped the club to secure Champions League football last term.
23/24 Serie A
Lewis Ferguson
Appearances
31
Goals
6
Assists
3
Pass accuracy
89%
Duel success rate
51%
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Ferguson caught the eye with nine direct goal contributions and a pass accuracy of 89% for the Italian side.
The former Aberdeen star, who is currently out with a knee injury, scored 13 goals in his first two seasons in the Serie A and has proven himself to be a fantastic performer at that level since his move to Bologna in the summer of 2022.
That has resulted in his market value soaring to a staggering £22m, which is significantly more than Rangers would have had to have paid for him in 2020, as the Italian team only paid £3m for him in 2022.
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The Light Blues once attempted to snap up the talented forward under Michael Beale.
By
Dan Emery
Oct 7, 2024
Therefore, the Scottish ace is one that got away for the Light Blues as they missed out on the chance to sign a player with the potential to soar in value whilst competing at a high level.
Erling Haaland enjoyed a "small feast" after limping out of Manchester City's 4-0 victory over Newcastle with a worrying knee injury.
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Haaland limped out of Newcastle winAppeared to be grimacing with painTook to Instagram after the gameFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Haaland had the Etihad Stadium concerned when he stayed down holding his knee, grimacing with pain, in the final minutes of Saturday's 4-0 Premier League win, but took to Instagram to reassure supporters after the match by posing with a piece of meat he was halfway through eating.
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City face Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Wednesday evening, needing to turn around a 3-2 deficit after they were beaten at the Etihad on Tuesday. Haaland is set to play a crucial role and Pep Guardiola will hope his striker makes a full recovery in time for the game.
WHAT HAALAND AND GUARDIOLA SAID
Haaland's Instagram post featured the words "small feast after game", suggesting he is not too concerned about a potential injury.
Asked about his condition after the game, Guardiola said: "When he went down everyone was scared but he walked off smiling and the doctor didn’t tell me bad news so hopefully he is fine."
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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR HAALAND AND MAN CITY?
Haaland recently signed a new nine-and-a-half year deal at City, keeping him at the club until 2034. He was also added by Guardiola to City's leadership group this week, proving what a crucial figure he is in their short-and long-term future.
Says India’s last-minute rejig of their batting order may have done them more harm than good
ESPNcricinfo staff02-Nov-202110:52
Jayawardene: Role clarity and team construction lacking in Indian team
India have fallen behind in the race to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup, and according to Mumbai Indians’ head coach and former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene, they may have contributed to their own downfall a little bit by fiddling with a settled batting order.Rohit Sharma was pulled out of his usual position at the top of the order in the game against New Zealand and made to bat at No. 3. While that was in response to an injury – Suryakumar Yadav – and the replacement’s – Ishan Kishan – best chance of success being at the top, it left too many players dealing with unfamiliar roles. In the end a rejigged line-up could only post 110 for 7 and was soundly beaten.”You can be flexible. But not with your top-three batters,” Jayawardene said on ESPNcricinfo’s T20 Time Out. “I think most teams if you take, you don’t have too much flexibility in that top three. They are settled. They are the ones who are going to give you that initial tempo, who are going to go about things. And then you have that guy at No. 3 who is going to glue things together and bat in both halves of the innings and the rest of the guys are the ones who will probably get floated in and around.”Jayawardene, in his tenure as Mumbai Indians coach, has seen a lot of India’s players up close and he believed that the team would have been better served if Rohit had stayed at the top of the order.”That’s his role he plays in T20 cricket and Virat Kohli is either an opener or No. 3. I think KL Rahul would have been able to play that No. 4 role because he has that ability to change and adapt.”In an ideal scenario, if India had a good start and had a settled thing, even Rishabh Pant could have batted No. 4 – given they [New Zealand] had a left-arm spinner [Mitchell Santner] and a legspinner [Ish Sodhi], he would have got more licence to then play knowing that he had two-three batters behind him.”So rather than making all those changes they should have done just that subtle change – one in, one out – and then maybe one batter changing positions, rather than three batters changing their slots, would have made a bit more sense. Especially going against a very good New Zealand new-ball attack because it was always going to do a little bit in those three-four overs.”Related
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Monga: Luck went against India, but so did their T20 template
Roller: Tired, timid India fluff their lines again
Jayawardene found it odd that India would ask their players to adapt to new responsibilities in the middle of a World Cup. “If you batted them in those correct positions, they are familiar with those roles and they would have executed,” he said. “If they had failed in those roles, then that’s a question you can always ask. But if you are pulling guys away from those particular roles where they are quite familiar with, then it’s always going to be a tough one.”Especially when you are going into a World Cup, you should have a steady, stable, settled set-up where everyone understands where if someone fails, that’s my role, to go in, consolidate and then kick on, get the tempo going again. I think that’s where India struggled. Especially having lost to Pakistan and then going into another big match, once you unsettle that, the fear of failure and all those thought processes creep into your game.”With back-to-back losses, India’s chances of making the semi-finals are complicated. But Jayawardene is not writing them off. “They still have an opportunity. Anything can happen. And if they sneak through to those semi-final spots they are a force to reckon with. But if they don’t have a successful T20 World Cup, there’s another one coming pretty soon [in Australia in late 2022] and obviously it’s an opportunity for them to look at some of the other options that they have.”We see a lot of young Indian players coming through, we’ve seen it in the IPL as well, in the big stage, playing with fearlessness. They bat just the situation, they don’t bat anything other than that. So that’s something you need in T20 cricket. Bit of experience and bit of fearlessness to guide you through those tough situations.”
Julian Knight MP writes open letter to club officials, calling for findings to be open to scrutiny
George Dobell08-Sep-2021Pressure on Yorkshire to publish its report into allegations of racism at the club has increased significantly after the invention of parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee (DCMS).Julian Knight MP, the chair of the DCMS committee, has written to Yorkshire’s chief executive, Mark Arthur, and urged him to make “the report and its full findings… public and open to scrutiny”.An investigation was launched by the club in September 2020 following Azeem Rafiq’s allegations of institutional racism at Yorkshire. Almost 12 months later, a report was produced which concluded that “several of the allegations made by Azeem were upheld” and that he had been “historically… the victim of inappropriate behaviour”. It also found that the club had “failed to implement its policies and procedures in relation to these serious issues”.The club has so far declined to publish either the report or any of its recommendations, claiming that legal advice informs them that to do so would potentially expose them to libel proceedings from those implicated in the report. ESPNcricinfo understands that, at present, as few as three people at the club – the chair, Roger Hutton, the CEO, Arthur, and the director of cricket, Martyn Moxon – may have read the report. Despite repeated requests, the club have also declined to share it with MPs, the Professional Cricketers’ Association (the PCA) or the ECB.This has left Azeem, in particular, unimpressed. He has called the entire investigation “a sham” and called upon the ECB and politicians to intervene. It would appear his calls for assistance have not gone unheard.”We are very surprised that this report has not been published by the Yorkshire County Cricket Club, given the seriousness of the allegations of racism which span more than a decade and the fact that it has taken almost three years to reach this point,” Knight wrote in an open letter to Arthur.”Given that YCCC said in its statement that several allegations made against the club had been upheld, and that Azeem Rafiq had been a victim of inappropriate behaviour, it is crucial that the process, the report and its full findings are made public and open to scrutiny. He deserves no less.”The intervention of DCMS follows public calls for the publication of the report from various MPs including Hilary Benn, the MP for Leeds Central, and Kevin Brennan, the MP for Cardiff West and a member of the DCMS committee. Alex Sobel, the MP for Leeds North West, has also confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that he has written to the club requesting a copy of the report.Ultimately, the DCMS committee could call for a full enquiry which would involve witnesses giving evidence in public. While their ability to directly intervene is limited, any recommendations made by them would be tough for Yorkshire (or the ECB) to ignore. It is also possible – probable, even – that MPs will raise questions on the issue in the House of Commons. In doing so, they will be protected by parliamentary privilege which means they are immune to libel proceedings.Related
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At the same time, the ECB could charge Yorkshire with bringing the game into disrepute unless they receive the report within the next couple of weeks. While there is some sympathy towards the club not publishing the full report – or ensuring some of it is redacted ahead of publication – it is understood the ECB are incensed that they, as the game’s regulators, have not been trusted with it. If Yorkshire were found to have brought the game into disrepute, it would enable the ECB to withhold funding and, potentially, demand changes in the identity of those running the club.The DCMS intervention comes after the ECB confirmed that Yorkshire would be hosting one Test against New Zealand and an ODI against South Africa in the 2022 season. The former Kent cricketer, Fabian Cowdrey, suggested “all England fans hold fire on purchasing ticket for Headingley matches in 2022” until the “report is released for public scrutiny”. Making the suggestion on Twitter, Cowdrey said “justice must be served”.Meanwhile, it is understood that Yorkshire – or people employed directly or indirectly by the club – have threatened legal action against Azeem or a couple of organisations which have published his comments. Wayne Morton, the former England physio who now oversees medical provision at Yorkshire, is one of those understood to have threatened legal action against Azeem following comments made in an interview on Sky.