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Kris Srikkanth and Anjum Chopra will also be presented lifetime achievement awards

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jan-2020

Jasprit Bumrah’s trophy cabinet is set to include the BCCI’s Polly Umrigar award, recognising him as the best male cricketer for India in 2018-19. The 26-year-old fast bowler will be felicitated on Sunday in Mumbai alongside Poonam Yadav, who will go home with the title best women’s player of the past season.The winners of the BCCI awards 2018-19

Kris Srikkanth – Col CK Nayudu Lifetime achievement award
Anjum Chopra – BCCI lifetime achievement award for women
Dilip Doshi – BCCI special award
Cheteshwar Pujara – Dilip Sardesai highest run-getter in Test cricket
Jasprit Bumrah – Dilip Sardesai highest wickets in Test cricket
Smriti Mandhana – Highest run-getter in women’s ODIs
Jhulan Goswami – Highest wickets in women’s ODIs
Mayank Agarwal – Best international debut (men)
Shafali Verma – Best international debut (women)
Shivam Dube (Mumbai) – Lala Amarnath award for best allrounder in Ranji Trophy cricket
Nitish Rana (Delhi) – Lala Amarnath award for best allrounder in limited-overs competitions
Milind Kumar (Sikkim) – Madhavrao Scindia award for highest run-getter in Ranji Trophy
Ashutosh Aman (Bihar) – Madhavrao Scindia award for highest wicket-taker in Ranji Trophy
Vidarbha – Best performance in BCCI domestic tournaments

Although he was already a first-choice pick in limited-overs cricket, Bumrah made his Test debut for India in January 2018 and has proven himself to be an all-format wicket-taking force. He became the first man from Asia to pick up five-wicket hauls in Australia, England, South Africa and the West Indies, and even added a hat-trick to his resume. Since his debut in the Cape Town Test two years ago, Bumrah has picked up 62 wickets in 12 Tests. Only three players have a better bowling average than his 19.24 in this period (under the condition of at least 20 wickets taken). His consistency was crucial to India winning their first ever series in Australia in early 2019, and for all that the BCCI will present him with a trophy, a citation and a cash prize of INR 15 lakh.ALSO READ: Sharda Ugra on the boy called BoomYadav, meanwhile, is the world’s top ODI wicket-taker (39) for the last two years. Her slow, teasing legspin helps the team dictate terms through the middle overs in T20I cricket as well, where she’s performed even better – 51 wickets at an average of 16.27. Recognition as India’s best female cricketer by the BCCI comes on the heels of the 28-year-old winning the Arjuna award last year.Both the senior men’s and women’s teams are expected to be at the BCCI function. “It will be a special evening in Mumbai as we will also have the 7th MAK Pataudi lecture and I am delighted to inform that it will be Virender Sehwag who will address the gathering.” the board president Sourav Ganguly said.Lifetime achievement awards will also be given to the World-Cup-winning former India opener Kris Srikkanth and Anjum Chopra, the first Indian woman to play 100 ODIs.”We wanted to make Naman [the BCCI awards] bigger and better and have introduced four new categories – highest run-getter and wicket-takers in WODIs and best international debut men and women – from this year. A total of 25 awards will be presented,” board secretary Jay Shah said.

Former Glamorgan and England allrounder Peter Walker has died aged 84 following a stroke.A dependable option with bat and ball, Walker’s standout attribute was his close catching: he managed 697 catches over the course of his first-class career, including a club-record 656 for Glamorgan, with the vast majority at either slip or short leg.Partly educated in South Africa, Walker spent two years in the merchant navy before starting to play first-class cricket, making his debut in 1956. He passed the 1000-run mark in 11 separate seasons as an attacking middle-order batsman, and after starting out as a left-arm swing bowler, he developed into a left-arm orthodox spinner towards the end of his career.He made his Test debut aged 24, making 9 and 37 in a win against South Africa at Edgbaston, and added his only half-century at Lord’s two weeks later. But three games – and three wins – into his England career, he was left out and was never called upon again. Alongside Martin Saggers and Toby Roland-Jones, he is one of three men to have played three Tests or more in his England career while maintaining a 100% win record in the post-war era.He was a key part of the Glamorgan side that went undefeated in the 1969 County Championship season, which culminated in the club’s second title, and retired in 1972 to further his broadcasting career with the BBC, where he was the face of Sunday League coverage for several years.He went on to become an administrator, and was a driving force behind the creation of the National Cricket Centre for Wales at Sophia Gardens. In 2010, he was awarded an MBE for services to cricket, primarily for his role at the centre.He later had a short stint as Glamorgan president, starting his tenure in March 2009 but resigning in November 2010 following the sacking of Jamie Dalrymple as captain and the departure of Matthew Maynard as coach.Glamorgan chairman Gareth Williams said: “Everyone at Glamorgan is saddened to hear this news. Peter was a club legend, a man who gave everything he could to the club he loved while playing, and later in an off-field capacity. He gave so much back to the game, in particular through his work with Cricket Wales and the National Cricket Centre, and through his outstanding service as President of Glamorgan.”Hugh Morris, the club’s chief executive, said: “A combination of world-class catching ability, aggressive batting and accurate spin made him a triple threat and a brilliant allrounder. He helped Glamorgan to win a County Championship title and represented England, making him a true legend of the club.”We may never see another player quite like him, and he will be missed by everyone at the club. Our thoughts go out to his family, and his friends.”

When Granit Xhaka left Arsenal in the summer of 2023, Mikel Arteta and Edu knew they needed to go to great lengths to replace his extraordinary output last season.

A £105m move for Declan Rice was signed, sealed and delivered while Kai Havertz, certainly to less fanfare, arrived from another part of London in Chelsea.

The £65m addition hasn't quite made the grade after moving to the north of the capital, with it taking until November for the German to finally score a goal in Arsenal colours from open play.

Perhaps realising the error of their ways, the Gunners have been looking at signing another midfielder according to reports.

Arsenal's midfield shortlist

Two names on the club's shortlist for 2024 reside in the Premier League with Amadou Onana, touted at £60m, interesting Arsenal, while Joao Palhinha of Fulham is another to be tipped with a move to join the ranks at the Emirates Stadium.

A wildcard option could well be that of Joao Neves, Benfica's next hot property in the middle of the park after Enzo Fernandez.

The teenage sensation has been strongly linked with Manchester United in recent months but Arsenal are another casting their eyes towards Neves. Reports in the build-up to the January window suggested that the Gunners were tracking the 19-year-old but with a release clause of £103m and no intention of selling, any move is incredibly unlikely, at least for now.

All confirmed Premier League done deals: January transfer window 2024

With the January transfer window coming towards its conclusion, FFC has all the info for tracking your club’s winter transfer activity.

By
Luke Randall

Feb 1, 2024

Yet, if the Kroenke's were to dip their hands into their pockets again for another mega midfield signing, Neves would offer some extreme quality to Arteta's side. Does anyone fancy another round of Santi Cazorla?

How Joao Neves compares to Santi Cazorla

Who is Neves we hear you ask? Well, a quick look at his FBref scouting profile indicates what a fine young individual this budding teen is.

Compared to positionally similar players across Europe's top five leagues and the top continental competitions, he ranks among the best 11% for passes into the final third (via FBref), indicating his progressive nature in possession of the ball.

Further sitting inside the top 17% for passes attempted, it's clear Neves is a player who offers plenty of protection and composure on the ball. However, he's more than just about passing play. Neves happens to be adept in the defensive and offensive phases of play.

Indeed, the Benfica starlet is in the top 1% of midfielders in Europe for goal-creating actions per 90 minutes, the best 1% for tackles won (3.95) and the finest 13% for interceptions (1.58 per 90). To put that into context, Rice makes 2.01 tackles per 90 and 1.73 interceptions.

Can you imagine the thought of the two playing together, therefore? Yeah, it's a dreamy picture to envisage. The progressive and classy nature of the two is a tantalising prospect.

Already we're getting a sense of why Neves is similar to Cazorla though. He's intricate with his passing play, progressive and capable of doing his fair share of the dirty work. The comparison is supplemented by analyst Ben Mattinson.

Cazorla was one of the most gifted players in the Emirates Stadium era and is remembered particularly fondly by those of an Arsenal persuasion. He played a key hand in ending the club's trophy drought in 2014, scoring a scorching free-kick in the FA Cup final versus Hull City but overall, he was just marvellously gifted at football.

The Spaniard left in 2018 after a period of sustained injury hell that nearly ended his career but he did so with a mighty fine record in Arsenal colours, scoring 29 goals and supplying 45 assists in 180 outings.

With such a creative marvel in mind, let's dive a little deeper into how he compares to Neves.

Despite there being some differences in the volume of each stat, you can see how their playstyles are alike. Both registered a high number of progressive passes and shot-creating actions, showcasing a preference for getting on the ball and creating openings for teammates.

Cazorla was one of the finest in the Premier League era at such a quality and thus, signing Neves would be truly exciting for supporters. With such a huge asking price, however, we might never see him in Arsenal colours.

Lyon's Malick Fofana says he considered a summer move to the Premier League but decided to prioritise playing time with the Ligue 1 side.

• Fofana admits Liverpool and Chelsea interest
• Believes he'll get more playing time with Lyon
• Claims he still has progress to make

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Fofana emerged as a key player for the French side after joining from Gent last year, sparking links to the Premier League with Liverpool and Chelsea said to have been monitoring him. The Belgian winger admits to the transfer interest but felt that staying at the French club was in his best interests.

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  In his debut season for the French team, Fofana scored 11 goals and registered six assists across all competitions. The ex-Gent player has already had a good start to the season scoring a goal and providing an assists in the first three games for the club. Fofana, 20, is a first-team starter under coach Paulo Fonseca and values his status in the team enough to not want to jeopardise it by trying to fit into a new side.

• WHAT FOFANA SAID

  When asked by about interest from the Premier League, Fofana said: "There was interest from those two clubs, but ultimately nothing concrete. I've considered a transfer, but now I think it's more important that I play a lot, and that has to happen at Lyon. Because I still have some progress to make."

• AFP
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR FOFANA?

  Fofana was with Belgium national team playing in the World Cup Qualifiers where he bagged his first international goal for the team scoring a 90 minutes stoppage goal against Liechtenstein. He will now play for Lyon in their next league fixture against Rennes on September 15.

MatériaMais Notícias

da cassino online： Após a partida de ida da final da Copa do Brasil, que terminou com vitória do Palmeiras por 1 a 0 sobre o Grêmio, em Porto Alegre, o zagueiro Luan usou suas redes sociais para se desculpar pela expulsão provocada por uma cotovelada que deu em Diego Souza. O lance ocorreu no início do segundo tempo da disputa.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasPalmeirasFelipe Melo diz que Luan não é maldoso, destaca força defensiva e cita hinoPalmeiras28/02/2021PalmeirasVeiga exalta vitória do Palmeiras na ida da final e lamenta expulsão de LuanPalmeiras28/02/2021PalmeirasAbel Ferreira valoriza vitória do Palmeiras, porém alerta: ‘Vantagem garante nada’Palmeiras28/02/2021

da bet7： >>ATUAÇÕES: Veiga e Gustavo Gómez brilham em vitória do Verdão na primeira final

– Reitero aqui minhas sinceras desculpas ao meu amigo Diego Souza pela cotovelada hoje, como já fiz pessoalmente. Às vezes, dentro de campo, acontecem coisas inexplicáveis e reconheço meu erro. Também peço desculpas e agradeço aos meus companheiros, comissão técnica e à torcida do Palmeiras – publicou o defensor.

Em uma jogada dominada, na qual o palmeirense tinha o controle da bola, ele, com o cotovelo, acertou o rosto do camisa 29 gremista, a quem também direcionou o pedido de perdão. Árbitro e bandeira discutiram a infração e decidiram pela expulsão imediata de Luan.

Sem o camisa 13, o Palmeiras faz a segunda partida da final da Copa do Brasil no próximo domingo, às 18h, no Allianz Parque. Antes disso, enfrenta o Corinthians, em Itaquera, na quarta, às 19h, na estreia do Paulistão.

continua após a publicidade

da aviator aposta： Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe reportedly wants to bring a "future icon" to the club in the near future, personally picking him out as a target for the Magpies in 2024.

Newcastle transfer news

da fezbet： Newcastle will be desperate to get some incoming transfer business done during the January window, with so many players linked with moves to St James' Park of late, but FFP difficulties making business hard. In defence, Lazio ace Alessio Romagnoli has been backed to seal a move to Newcastle, while Sporting CP centre-back Goncalo Inacio has also been touted as a target in recent months, with the pair both highly-rated players with a lot of their careers ahead of them.

Further up the pitch, Atalanta defensive midfielder Ederson is seen as someone who could come in and add quality in the middle of the park, and Bayern Munich superstar Joshua Kimmich is considered an ambitious option.

Howe wants Benjamin Sesko at Newcastle

According to a fresh update from Football Transfers, Newcastle boss Howe wants to bring RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko to the club this summer.

"Newcastle have set their sights on RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko as a primary target for the upcoming summer transfer window, FootballTransfers has been told. The talented young forward caught the attention of Newcastle's scouting team when he was playing for RB Salzburg and now there is belief that a deal could be done with the forward playing second fiddle to Lois Openda in Germany.

"We are told Eddie Howe, who is keen on bolstering his squad for the upcoming season, has identified the 20-year-old as one of the club's major targets. Sesko has impressed during his time with RB Leipzig and it's thought that the Austrian could be competition for Alexander Isak in the upcoming seasons, with Callum Wilson’s future uncertain."

Benjamin Sesko key career stats

Appearances

Goals

Slovenia

25

10

RB Leipzig

24

7

RB Salzburg

79

29

FC Liefering

44

22

Sesko is a player of immense promise, having already made such an impact in European football at the age of just 20, scoring 29 goals in 79 appearances for RB Salzburg, and now seven in 25 in a Leipzig shirt. There is also the small matter of netting 10 times in 24 caps for Slovenia, showing that he is making a big impression on the international stage, too.

Football talent scout Jacek Kulig has described the young striker as a "future icon", which highlights just how highly he is regarded in some quarters, and he could be a perfect replacement for Callum Wilson.

Related Newcastle receive approach for "hugely important" star alongside Trippier

The Magpies hero in question could now be sold.

Posts ByHenry Jackson Jan 21, 2024

Sesko is someone who Newcastle should go all in for at the end of the season, seeing him as a massive part of their future. If they miss out on him, it could be one that they regret further down the line.

Alexi Lalas has blasted the USMNT's 'inferiority complex' after their humiliating Copa America exit.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• USMNT eliminated in group stages
• Lost to Panama and Uruguay
• Lalas savages culture in country

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The USMNT lost to Uruguay and Panama in the group stages of the Copa America, having opened their campaign with a 2-0 win over Bolivia. Their humiliating exit led to the departure of Gregg Berhalter as coach, and Lalas has now taken aim at the culture in the country, insisting an "inferiority complex" is to blame for their recent struggles, as fans "degrade" their best players.

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  The USMNT are ranked 11th in the world by FIFA; by comparison, Panama are 43rd and Uruguay are 14th. Although they won the CONCACAF Nations League in March, their most recent tournament showing may see them tumble down the standings.

• WHAT LALAS SAID

  Lalas wrote on X: "Our American soccer insecurity and inferiority complex is nothing new. We've long degraded/devalued our own American soccer players, coaches, and culture out of some misguided belief that our relative late entry into the world's game somehow makes us unworthy. We need to stop."

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  WHAT NEXT?

  The USMNT must find a new manager before their next fixture on September 8, when they play Canada in a friendly. They have already been turned down by ex-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp after making contact with the German.

After scoring his first half-century of the series to help keep England above water on the first day at The Oval, Jos Buttler admitted the Ashes had been a struggle for him. Having tried to “scrap through” his poor form, he reached the close on an unbeaten 64, finally hinting at the freedom his game is known for with a barrage of boundaries that included three towering sixes.Following another batting collapse that saw England go from 170 for 3 to 226 for 8, Buttler could be forgiven for looking at the “F*** it” motto on his bat handle and deciding to do just that. He had grafted his way to 20 from 44 while wickets fell around him, before his next 44 came at more than a run a ball as he attempted to bring out the scoops and reverse-sweeps that characterise his one-day game.”I’ve just found it hard all series,” he said. “An excellent attack and I don’t think I’ve played very well. I haven’t really got in and the period at the start of your innings is always tough. You have to be on it straight away and they challenge you straight away. I haven’t quite been good enough to get through those periods, but the last couple of games I tried to fight as hard as I could. I didn’t necessarily feel great at the crease but tried to scrap my way through it.”The new ball was about 10-12 overs away, I thought that would be the hardest time to try and attack, with the bowlers having bowled a lot, it felt the best time to score some runs, and find a bit more enjoyment in my batting.”On the subject of whether he had felt drained by England’s World Cup exploits, Buttler said he had been trying not to listen to all the talk about workloads. “It’s been a big test this summer, both mentally and physically,” he said. “Any game against Australia is massive and you find something within yourself to do it for your team. The more you can remind yourself, the more you find energy to do that.”That England ended the day with 300 still a possibility was almost entirely down to Buttler putting on an unbroken stand of 45 in 11.2 overs alongside No. 10 Jack Leach, who continued his string of unexpected batting cameos this summer by digging in for 10 not out.”It was good fun,” Buttler said of batting alongside his former Somerset team-mate. “I’ve found batting hard this summer, so it was nice to try and relax and have some fun. That style of batting comes quite naturally to me, I’ve spent a lot of my career trying to bat like that, so I enjoyed it, especially with him at the other end.”Despite surviving to the close after being inserted, England would have envisaged being in a stronger position after reaching tea only three wickets down and with conditions having eased. Rory Burns continued his impressive series with 47 – although his dismissal pulling limply to midwicket was a surprise – while Joe Root survived three dropped catches to make 57, with Buttler suggesting that neither team had yet forged a clear advantage.”Maybe a little bit in the balance. We lost the toss but got into a very good position, 100 and something for 2 and 170 for 3. Shame not quite to capitalise on that but it showed there is a little bit in the wicket for batters and bowlers. If you played well and applied yourself there were runs to be had but likewise with the ball it swung a bit all day and the odd one nipped around, so I think if you bowled well there were wickets to be had as well.”I think we were going to bat. Not many times Australia bowl first. I was a little bit surprised but it showed there was a bit of indecision with the way the wicket looked. Not like ten years ago when you turned up and knew you were going to bat. I think it’s actually been a pretty good cricket wicket, a bit in it for both.”He also praised Burns for having a “fantastic series”, after the Surrey opener took his tally to 370 runs at 41.11 – more than Alastair Cook ever aggregated in a home Ashes.”He’s played brilliantly. One of the big things that impressed me straight away with Rory is that he just acted like an international cricketer. He probably didn’t have the results early on but he handled it brilliantly, he showed the character he’s got. He’s got a huge amount of skill and he’s been the standout opening batsmen in county cricket for a number of years. He’s earned his chance and as much as the runs he’s scored I think it’s the character he’s showed that has stood him brilliantly through this series.”

West Indies were blown away by Jasprit Bumrah’s five-wicket haul, falling to 100 all out in what was effectively under a session’s worth of batting as they went down by 318 runs, the visitors’ biggest away win by runs. In the process, Bumrah became the first bowler from Asia to take five-wicket hauls in Australia, England, South Africa and the West Indies, in only his 11th Test. The win gave India a 1-0 lead in the two-match series and 60 points in their inaugural World Test Championship match.India had set the hosts a target of 419 after declaring on 343 for 7 with Ajinkya Rahane registering a century and Hanuma Vihari scoring a brisk 93. West Indies, in reply, lasted only 26.5 overs.ALSO READ – Sidharth Monga: Bumrah perfects the outswinger, his latest weaponBumrah’s spell was built around hitting the stumps, specifically the off stump, whether the batsman was right- or left-handed. He did this four times, all against West Indies’ recognised batsmen, on the back of fast-moving deliveries.Left-hand opener John Campbell tried to drive Bumrah through the off side but only managed to offer a wide passage for the ball to swing in late and knock the off stump over. It was a fiery stamp on the game from Bumrah, who had looked off-colour in the first innings because of a stiff back. As if to add further strength to that bounceback, Bumrah produced a repeat of the ball to Darren Bravo, smashing his off stump in much the same manner off what turned out to be the last ball of the second session, with West Indies on 15 for 5 after nearly 113 overs in the field.It had all started with Kraigg Brathwaite’s wicket in Bumrah’s first over. A loose prod at a wide outswinger was Brathwaite’s downfall, with the thin edge carrying conveniently through to the keeper. Debutant Shamarh Brooks was in early, as a result, but minutes after Bumrah’s inswinger rattled Campbell’s stumps, he was the victim of a big inswinger from Ishant Sharma and was trapped in front of leg stump as he fell over trying to flick.Jasprit Bumrah is swarmed by his team-mates•Getty Images

Bumrah could have had a fourth before tea – India bowled only 45 balls for the five wickets they picked up in that session – but the edge he induced with an outswinger to Shimron Hetmyer was dropped at third slip by Virat Kohli. Kohli was visibly relieved in the very next over as Hetmyer chased an outswinger from Ishant and Rahane held on to it safely at gully.West Indies had reshuffled their batting order, possibly because of Roston Chase’s 38 overs and two innings of wicketkeeping for Shai Hope. They were both pushed a spot down from the first-innings order, but found themselves in the middle after only 7.3 overs in the chase, trying to salvage something for the hosts.Bumrah was having none of it. While the wickets of Campbell and Bravo came from full swingers, he deceived Hope off the surface. Bumrah was barely short of a good length in the second innings, and this meant he could straighten one from middle stump past Hope’s outside edge. West Indies had only just got past the lowest Test total ever – 26 by New Zealand – at that point.An exasperated Jason Holder showed no signs of putting up a fight, swatting a short ball straight to backward square leg to be dropped by Vihari off Ishant, then pulling Ravindra Jadeja for four from a good length two overs later. He could only get as far as the second ball of Bumrah’s next over – an outswinger from middle stump that squared him up before taking out off stump. That was Bumrah’s fifth wicket.Moments after an ironic applause when West Indies made it to 50, Mohammed Shami bowled a peach that left Chase from a good length and took his off stump.Kemar Roach, among the best bowlers in the Test, albeit with little fortune, proved a thorn with the bat as well. He struck five sixes, including three off one Jadeja over, as he put together West Indies’ highest partnership of the match for the last wicket with Miguel Cummins. From 50 for 9, the pair took West Indies to 100 in under seven overs. Six cleanly-struck sixes helped that cause, but Ishant had Roach top-edge a pull 20 minutes from stumps as India sealed the win, which took Kohli past Sourav Ganguly’s 11 for most away wins as captain, and on par with MS Dhoni’s 27 wins overall.Ajinkya Rahane celebrates his hundred•Associated Press

West Indies’ batting was far removed from India’s effort earlier in the day. Having begun the day 260 ahead, they stretched the lead to 418 on the back of Rahane’s 102 and Vihari’s 93.Rahane’s hundred was his tenth in Tests, and his first since August 2017. It’s a milestone that has eluded him for a while, so when he did manage to find it with a tuck behind square, the relief was telling. Rahane smiled, stretched his arms as he acknowledged the dressing room, and then fell to his knees and rested his head on the bat to take a moment. It had been a long time coming.The man to take charge for India in the second session was Vihari, though. Aside from his driving, he also played the shot of the day, a ramp off Shannon Gabriel that went for six over the third-man boundary. On a slow pitch, it was also fitting that such a shot came from a man who had been in the Caribbean with the India A team since the start of the month.In the push for a declaration, Vihari was given the time to pursue his hundred even after Rishabh Pant holed out to deep backward square-leg. Vihari swept a ball from wide outside off past midwicket to get into the 90s, but fell shortly after, trying to pull Holder and getting himself cramped to edge the ball to the keeper down the leg side.The run to the declaration had been set up in a first session where Rahane oozed patience once again. His first-innings fifty had its moments of nervousness and fidgeting, but on Sunday, he barely provided a chance. Starting the day on 53, he made full use of West Indies’ reliance on spin and generous fields – point and long-on were perennially out – and continued to build his innings around singles and twos. When the partnership approached 100, even he couldn’t resist stretching his arms and creaming a Holder delivery wide of mid-off on the rise. It was Holder, though, who eventually held the catch at mid-off as Rahane tried to chip Gabriel. That ended the stand on 135 for the fifth wicket, adding to the 82 they had put up in the first innings to save India the blushes.It was one of the few moments of cheer for West Indies, who had begun what turned out to be a humiliating day, when Kohli fell in the second over of the day for 51 by handing a catch to extra cover off a leading edge.

“The art of competing, I’d learned from track, was the art of forgetting, and I now reminded myself of that fact. You must forget your limits. You must forget your doubts, your pain, your past.”Adam Gilchrist once penned a book called Walking To Victory. For Justin Langer, a more appropriate title might be Reading For Victory. Like a bowerbird, he pulls quotes, observations and stories from all over sport, business and life to inform his coaching of the Australian team and to provide him with examples and experiences to throw at his players. One of his recent reads has been Shoe Dog, the memoir of Nike’s founder Phil Knight, and the above line can be found within its pages.Knight’s story, while ending with Nike’s domination of the global market for sporting footwear, includes plenty of failures, wrong turns and false dawns. It goes a long way toward demonstrating that even the most successful individuals or organisations tend to fail a lot more often than they succeed, even if the ultimate success may be larger than the many individual failures that led to it. In his assessment of Shoe Dog, Bill Gates lauded it for uncovering the non-linear nature of long-term success.Gates wrote that the memoir is “a refreshingly honest reminder of what the path to business success really looks like. It’s a messy, perilous, and chaotic journey riddled with mistakes, endless struggles, and sacrifice. In fact, the only thing that seems inevitable in page after page of Knight’s story is that his company will end in failure”.Being able to face the knockdowns and defeats then continue forging on towards the final goal is a pretty relevant message for Langer and Australia this week, having lived through the trauma of Headingley. For all but the final hour of the Leeds Test, the tourists were set to record a famous victory of their own, claiming the Ashes without the services of their best batsman Steven Smith. The intervention of Ben Stokes, the staunch support of Jack Leach, and a good degree of tightening up by the Australians added up to a memorable finish but also a sequence that left Langer and his team feeling not just pained, but ill.As Langer reflected, this was all the harder to take for the fact that Australia’s preparation for this Ashes campaign, over a period of several years since their failure to retain the urn here in 2015, has been rigorous, attentive to the lessons of the past and with very little expense spared. The return of Steve Waugh for the final two Tests of this series, having originally been slated only to be working with the team for Edgbaston and Lord’s, is yet another example, but there are others like the use of Dukes balls in the Sheffield Shield and the Australia A tour run parallel to the World Cup.Justin Langer outside the Australian team hotel•PA Images via Getty Images

There has been tactical and cultural humility, too, dovetailing a more considered approach to playing English conditions – shut down the scoreboard in the field, leave the ball diligently with the bat – with the wider change in attitude and outlook charted by Cricket Australia in the wake of last year’s Newlands scandal. Knowing all these details intimately, and having taken such a major role in their planning and execution, it is little wonder Langer was close to bereft at the moment Stokes carved Pat Cummins through the covers to level the series at 1-1.”The main challenge, the biggest one, is that you know how much work’s gone into winning this Ashes series,” Langer said. “It’s been huge, from the preparation, the Australia A stuff, the selections, everything that’s gone into it, and it was that close, we were that close. That’s the toughest part of it, we were that close, and we let an opportunity slip. Therefore, when you let an opportunity slip you can dwell on it or you can use it as fire to make sure it doesn’t slip next time.”Everyone in that change room, probably a lot of Australians felt it, but felt completely sick after that. I actually felt physically sick after it, and then I went back to my room, I wasn’t sure whether to cry my eyes out or smash my hotel room. For most people it’s just a game of cricket, but when so much goes into it, it means a lot. You do take it personally because I know how much work’s going into it.”That was the biggest part of losing last week, that we felt we were so close and we let it slip. You never like to let opportunities slip in your life. That’s ok, we’ll make sure we learn from it, we’ll learn a lot of lessons from that, short term and long term, and hopefully we can do it better next time.”Justin Langer at a fielding session•PA Images via Getty Images

How Australia do it better is a fairly straightforward question. They need more runs – Langer pointed to the fact that Australia seldom lose a Test match when they score more than 300 in their first innings – and a tad more composure with the ball at vital times They must also remember their strengths, whether it be greatly improved catching at Headingley, or Nathan Lyon’s strong record of creating chances when bowling to Stokes, even if none were able to be turned into victory in the third Test.”It was a tight game alright and we’d rather be on the other side of it,” Langer said. “For most of the game we played pretty good cricket. Still have to bat better, we haven’t got 300 in the first innings yet. Every time we’ve got 300 we’ve at the very least won the Test match in the first innings over the last 20 Test matches. It’s a huge focus batting well in the first innings.”The last week of coaching has probably been one of the most challenging weeks of my coaching career after what happened at Leeds. That said, as challenging as it has been, it’s been awesome. I’ve loved this last week of coaching, because you can sit back and feel sorry for yourself or put it under the carpet or you can work out ways to make sure we are up for the first ball of the next Test match.”Asked about those many written and verbal lessons about coping with failure, in the context of this Ashes series, Langer returned to another of his stories: that of how, as a child, Muhammad Ali had his bike stolen and used the pain of the experience to help fuel his legendary boxing career. Forgetting is vital to an athlete’s mindset, but so too, at times, is remembering.”The champions all have had times of adversity. Whether it’s in business, sport or life,” Langer said. “The ones who come back from it – think about Muhammad Ali getting his bike stolen.”We felt a bit like we got the Ashes stolen the other day. And to England’s great credit, that’s what they did. They won that Test match , so we felt a bit like it’d been stolen from us. Now we’ve got to work out what we’re going to do, and use that as fire.”We’re not going to feel sorry for ourselves and let it slip. The great players and great teams – in business and life – they have their ups and downs but they always fight back from it. You wouldn’t see one champion player, one champion team, one champion business that hasn’t done that.”Vital, too, will be a sense of equilibrium and peace about the results to follow. Having done all the work, the preparation and tried to choose the right teams for Old Trafford and The Oval, Langer and his team will also have to let things go, and acknowledge that days like Stokes’ at Headingley can happen in sport.As Knight put it: “Hard work is critical, a good team is essential, brains and determination are invaluable, but luck may decide the outcome.”