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Veteran allrounder doesn’t yet know if Royal London Cup final will be his last professional game

Valkerie Baynes16-Sep-2022″It hurts,” says Darren Stevens a month after Kent, the county he has called home for 17 years, announced they would not be offering a new contract – one which would have seen him play to the age of 47 and beyond.It’s present tense, but this time – having lived on year-by-year deals with the club for several years, memorably forcing their hand at the end of the 2019 season – he has accepted the decision.”I don’t want to fight any more,” Stevens told ESPNcricinfo. “I feel like for the last five years I’ve been fighting for a contact where in three of those five years I’ve got Player of the Year, so I don’t know how that actually works.Related

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“It was gut-wrenching and really disappointing and it still hurts because I feel like I still have a lot to give for Kent cricket, on and off the pitch. But unfortunately the decision’s been made by the hierarchy.”I’d like to think I’ve still got the fight in me to churn out a couple of hundreds and a couple of five-fors but unfortunately I’ve not been picked in the four-day stuff. That’s disappointing as well, so I can’t really put a fight up. So yeah, it hurts. It hurts.”Stevens’ last chance to give for Kent will be in Saturday’s Royal London Cup final against Lancashire at Trent Bridge. It comes after he helped propel his side into the knockout stages with a 41-ball 49 in a two-wicket victory the last time the two sides met, which was also Stevens’ final appearance at Canterbury.He smashed 41 off just 24 balls and conceded only 37 runs from his 10 overs as Kent eased past his former club, Leicestershire, in the play-off. Then his 84 from 65 balls broke Hampshire hearts in the semi-final after Kent had wobbled to 20 for 2 inside six overs and 68 for 3 inside 15 chasing 311.He admits it will be strange walking out with the team knowing that it’s probably the last time with Kent but not knowing whether it will be for the last time ever. Stevens has only played five of Kent’s 12 Championship games so far this year and, with just two fixtures remaining, he has low expectations of being picked again.”It will be emotional,” Stevens said. “We’ve had too much thinking time this week. I’ve been talking about it a lot and I’ve been thinking about it more than I would do.

“They don’t think you can be a player in a changing room and then go straight into coaching in a changing room [but] the group of lads that we’ve got at Kent, I feel like I’m like a mentor to them anyway”

“I’ll be a bit nervous but when you get across the rope, you’re back on your job and I’ll have a clear mind on what I’m doing, batting or bowling. It’s hard to explain. It might be my last game for Kent, it might my last professional game.”Somebody asked me a while ago about walking out at Kent in a four-day game for the last time. Well, I think I’ve already done that.”But it was like, ‘say it was the last game of the season, what would that be like?’ And I said, ‘you can’t ask me that question because I can’t answer it.’ I don’t want it to stop but it might be taken out of my hands.”Having railed against retirement, saying he still adores playing, Stevens is determined to seek a fresh deal at another club. He has held talks with two counties he doesn’t wish to name at this stage about a player-coach role.It’s the sort of job he wanted at Kent, where he has settled with his wife and two young sons after moving from Leicestershire in 2005. He spent this season building his coaching experience as a bowling coach for South East Stars and working with a school in Canterbury, but the club were not prepared to offer him such a position.”They don’t think you can be a player in a changing room and then go straight into coaching in a changing room,” Stevens said. “I’ll look at it differently, because it’s from a selfish point of view… the group of lads that we’ve got at Kent at the moment, I feel like I’m like a mentor to them anyway, not only a team-mate and a good friend.”You naturally just do it, I feel like I naturally just help. A lot of the lads at the moment, they talk to me a lot about their batting and some of them about their bowling. That’s where I want to go.Stevens will bow out with Kent at the end of the season•Getty Images”I’d love to stay at Kent but obviously they’ve made it very clear that they’d like me to go away and then maybe one day I’ll come back. We’ll see what happens.”Stevens said he had found it particularly hard seeing Kent struggle in the Championship – they are third from bottom in Division One and face a three-way battle with Somerset and Warwickshire to avoid being relegated alongside last-placed Gloucestershire.Stevens hasn’t played a four-day game since mid-May. He scored 148 runs at 24.66 during his limited appearances in the Championship and took four wickets at an average of 92.75.”They gave me the one-day stuff, I’ve done okay in the one-day game,” Stevens said. “Looking at that semi-final knock, that was probably as good as I’ve played for a long time.”Unfortunately they’ve taken it of my hands so I can’t perform in four-day cricket because they’ve not given me an opportunity. But the other thing with that is we’re losing games.”For the last 17 years for Kent, when we’ve been in trouble it’s been my job to try and get us out of trouble and when I’m sitting there watching us lose games it really hurts. But there’s nothing I can do bar support he lads as I always do. But it hurts when I see my team losing.”Should his team find themselves in trouble against Lancashire on Saturday, all Kent eyes will be on Stevens to do his job one more time.

When Dan Mousley walked out to bat on his ODI debut in Antigua, he was playing his first List A match in three years.And one million pounds to whoever in the audience knows which team his previous game was for. Because it was obviously, clearly, never-in-doubtedly for Burgher Recreation Club against Nugegoda Sports and Welfare in Sri Lanka’s 2021 domestic competition .A series of broken fingers meant he had been short of cricket, so a 20-year-old Mousley approached a coach at the Warwickshire Academy with connections to Sri Lanka and asked if he could get a game. A few weeks later he was off to Colombo.Mousley has never been one to do things the usual way. A point he is now proving with his one-of-a-kind “offspin”.Related

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Bowling 116kph/72mph yorkers off three steps, his first international wicket was secured with his signature move. Right-arm, round the wicket, fast, straight, out. Rovman Powell the victim.No one in the world bowls like Mousley does. According to CricViz, he is the fastest spin bowler since ball tracking records began in 2006. And by miles.The second fastest spinner on record, Manimaran Siddharth, averages 99kph/61.5mph. Mousley averages 109kph/68mph. The fastest he has been clocked is 132kph/82mph during the Hundred, but even he accepts that may be a juiced reading.”We’ll take it anyway,” he jokes.His speed has always been part of his style. But compared to when he was younger and encouraged to slow down, now he is being encouraged to lean into it.”I don’t know where he’s got it from,” England captain Jos Buttler said of Mousley, who was entrusted with the final over of West Indies’ innings on Sunday. “As a captain, it’s unique. Everyone will see him now and so they’ll come up with plans. But his character is one of his biggest attributes and to deliver a bit of unique skill and give us a point of difference is fantastic.”While Mousley is new to the international scene, he wouldn’t have been to Powell. Mousley’s fast spin/seamers first rose to national attention during the Hundred when he delivered a triple-wicket final set of ten to snatch victory for Birmingham Phoenix against Trent Rockets. In the Rockets team that day was Powell himself.Mousley will be a fascinating case study of whether this is the future appearing in front of our eyes, or a fad that’ll soon be understood by batters and launched into orbit.With T20 scores always on the up, some commentators, including Sourav Ganguly, have called upon bowlers to step-up and up-skill. New challenges have to be presented to players and Mousley is presenting one.If you wanted to be cruel, you could make the case that Mousley’s bowling is, by traditional aesthetics, bad. In the warm-ups, when other spinners are hammering the tea towel that’s been draped on a length, he is spraying it at pace in various different directions. There is no spin on the ball as it is released, instead he has flipped his fingers round and bowled what’s pretty much a standard seamer.But, as former England offspinner Gareth Batty once told ESPNcricinfo, there is “no place for your traditional ball in T20 cricket”.”Any player that is not trying to get better and diversify is a sitting duck,” he added.Mousley is not a one-trick pony either, with eight first-class wickets at an average of 38.37, he is capable of bowling in a traditional manner with a traditional skillset. But if you’re bowling to Andre Russell and Nicholas Pooran, pretty offies aren’t going to get you very far.In short, rather than attempting to always bowl wicket-taking deliveries, he is trying to bowl the ball that is hardest to hit for six.”I’m just trying to use the conditions,” says Mousley, who has played the majority of his T20 cricket at Edgbaston, which often has one long side and one short. “I know I bowl a lot of yorkers, but I try and use the dimensions and try to use the wind as much as I can.”Batters are honed on a lifetime of responding to certain cues. It is why left-handed bowlers feel faster than right-handed bowlers because batters don’t have the same level of muscle memory hard-wired into their body. And it’s this lack of familiarity which Mousley feeds off. Stick the ball in his hand and give him a ten yard run-up and he’s a 70mph seamer who’d go the distance. But off three paces and from round the wicket? No-one has seen that before. Batters are concert pianists that have been trained within an inch of their life; Mousley is asking them to play jazz.”It started off because people say offspinners can’t bowl at right-handers,” Mousley says.”But I don’t believe in that, I made it clear at Warwickshire I didn’t believe in that and then ended up getting a bit of confidence. It went from there. It’s a different skill, it’s probably not traditional offspin but it’s one of those things which I’ve just learnt to bring into my favour. It’s okay to be different as a bowler.”And if there’s one thing Mousley’s bowling is, it’s exactly that.

The strikers will be the headline acts in Sunday's blockbuster match at Old Trafford but they could easily have ended up at opposite destinations

Cesc Fabregas throwing pizza at Sir Alex Ferguson. Gary Neville scissor-tackling Jose Antonio Reyes. Roy Keane telling Patrick Vieira "I'll see you out there". Peter Schmeichel taking on Ian Wright after having his leg stamped on. It was rarely a dull affair when Manchester United met Arsenal.

But as well as the vitriol, the epic clashes between the clubs in the late 1990s and early 2000s were remembered as meetings of fearsome forwards. And the best moments belonged to Thierry Henry and Ruud van Nistelrooy, the two leading marksmen who spearheaded the pitched battles between the teams for five seasons.

The rivalry never really truly recovered from their eventual departures and United-Arsenal was eventually overtaken by Manchester City versus Liverpool as the Premier League's biggest fixture. 

But this summer both United and Arsenal have broken the bank to land leading strikers and when they meet on Sunday at Old Trafford, all eyes will be on Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko – two lethal centre-forwards who both clubs hope will take them to the next level.

Getty/GOALTrading places

The names Gyokeres and Sesko have been the lips of United and Arsenal fans for the last year, as both clubs had kept a keen eye on the two most coveted strikers in Europe. Gyokeres' career finally lifted off under the tutelage of Ruben Amorim at Sporting CP, so when the Portuguese coach moved to Old Trafford last November it seemed natural that the new boss would want to take his super-striker with him. But it soon emerged that Gyokeres only wanted a club that would be able to offer him Champions League football, which played to Arsenal's advantage. 

The Gunners, though, remained very interested in Sesko. The player’s agent, Elvis Basanovic, was a guest at their final home game of the season against Newcastle and at the end of May reports suggested that they were going to pick him to be their new No.9. The news stories were met with a lot of anger from Arsenal fans online as Gyokeres was felt to be the safer option, a guarantee of goals rather than a project. Those fans needn't have worried as Arsenal eventually agreed to pay Sporting up to £63m ($86m) for the 27-year-old after new sporting director Andrea Berta urged them to change direction and go for the Sweden frontman instead of the Slovenian.

Sesko, meanwhile, was left without the big move to the Premier League that he had been craving. United were still on the lookout for a striker, however, after Chelsea beat them to Liam Delap and Liverpool landed Hugo Ekitike at their expense. They logically turned to Sesko, who they had explored signing in 2019 when he was 16, then again in 2022 and once more last year before eventually signing Joshua Zirkzee.

With Arsenal out of the picture, it was a straight choice between Newcastle United and the Red Devils for Sesko. He immediately opted for the 20-times league winners over the Magpies, rejecting the chance to play Champions League football at St. James' Park.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesThe missing piece

United and Arsenal have been crying out for a reliable centre-forward for some time, hence why they both committed so much time and money to their new recruits. A top-level striker, in theory, is the last missing piece for Arsenal after finishing second in the league for three years in a row and reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League last season.

Mikel Arteta's side had the best defence in the Premier League last term, conceding just 34 goals compared to champions Liverpool's 41. They were let down by their attack, scoring 69 goals compared to 91 the year before – when they missed out on the title to Manchester City by two points – and 88 in 2022-23.

No Arsenal player managed double figures last season, with Bukayo Saka's long absence after injuring his hamstring in December proving a big factor in their blunt attack. Kai Havertz finished as their top scorer with nine goals, his season ending in February after tearing his hamstring during a warm-weather camp in Dubai. It forced the Gunners to play central midfielder Mikel Merino up front for the remainder of the campaign. 

Even without a natural centre-forward, Arsenal rarely struggled to create chances. Converting them was a different matter. Their wastefulness was a big factor in them drawing 14 games last season. In 12 of the 18 matches in which they dropped points, they had a higher expected goals (xG) than their opponents.

Getty ImagesOnly behind Mbappe

Arsenal have not had a consistent out-and-out striker since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who scored 22 league goals in back-to-back seasons between 2018 and 2020. It was hoped that Gabriel Jesus could have a similar impact after signing from Manchester City in 2022 but a strong start to his first campaign in north London was derailed by a knee injury at the World Cup and he suffered a similar problem last season. He has scored a total of 18 Premier League goals in his three seasons.

Arsenal could not have signed a more prolific striker than Gyokeres, who scored 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting. He scored 39 goals in the league, averaging 1.25 strikes per start. That's more goals per start than the entire United squad managed. 

He ranked second in the European Golden Shoe rankings, only losing to Kylian Mbappe because the Portuguese league was given a lower weighting than La Liga as it is outside of Europe's top five leagues. The lack of quality beyond the major three sides in Portugal has to be considered, but it is worth stating that no player in Portugal had scored as many goals as Gyokeres since Mario Jardel in 2002.

Getty Images SportHenry: 'The perfect match'

Amorim warned that Gyokeres will have to adapt to a different and more physical league but he is not an English football novice. He joined Brighton when he was 20 but never made the first team. He did have success in the second tier of  English football, though, when being loaned to Coventry City, and after making the move permanent he scored 21 goals in the Championship, leading to him signing for Sporting for a club record €24m (£21m/$28m).

"He already was in England, let's not forget that. He was at Coventry, he couldn't do it at Brighton. So, you can see a guy who already knows what struggling is and comes back from that," said Thierry Henry, Arsenal's all-time top scorer. "He's more confident, and you can see from his body the way he's looked after himself, the way he's changed. You have a guy that's a killer in the box – numbers don't lie – and you have a team that creates a lot of chances, so it should be the perfect match."

While Arsenal see Gyokeres as the missing link between them and a first league title in 22 years or even a first major trophy in six, Sesko has a different remit at United. He has been brought in to help the team rise from the ashes of their lowest league finish, lowest points total and lowest goal count (just 44 strikes) in 51 years. 

A lack of goals, however, is not a new problem for the Red Devils. Even when they finished third under Erik ten Hag they only scored 58 times. And they have only scored more than 70 times in one season since Ferguson retired in 2013. No player has scored 20 goals in one campaign since Robin van Persie in that same season. Cristiano Ronaldo has come closest with 18, with Marcus Rashford hitting 17 in two campaigns.

Attention is already turning to the new 2025/26 Premier League season, with promoted sides Leeds United, Burnley and Sunderland looking to buck the recent trend and avoid relegation at the first time of asking.

Liverpool, under Arne Slot, will be the defending champions, whereas Pep Guardiola is leading a Manchester City rebuild. Arsenal and Mikel Arteta will finally be hoping that this is their year, while Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to improve on their terrible domestic campaigns last time around.

Grok, the AI tool on X, relayed by Birmingham World, has already predicted the 2025/26 Premier League table, looking at how many points each team will collect, including their goal difference.

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20

20th: Sunderland

(30 points, -30 GD)

Starting the countdown at the bottom of the table, AI thinks Championship playoff winners Sunderland will finish in 20th place.

They believe Regis Le Bris’ side will accumulate 30 points, though, 18 more than Southampton, who were 20th in 24/25.

19

19th: Burnley

(34 points, -25 GD)

Another newly promoted side, Burnley are believed to be the next side to go down. Scott Parker worked wonders at Turf Moor in his first campaign, conceding just 16 goals in 46 games and ending on 100 points.

However, potentially losing some of those defensive stars, including goalkeeper James Trafford, could see the Clarets struggle.

18

18th: Wolves

(38 points, -20 GD)

Wolves have been flirting with the bottom three in the 23/24 and 24/25 seasons, and AI thinks 25/26 is the year they are going down.

After losing Matheus Cunha to Man Utd, the Old Gold will need to replace their top scorer and could struggle under Vitor Pereira.

17

17th: Crystal Palace

(40 points, -15 GD)

Just avoiding the drop are the 24/25 FA Cup winners Crystal Palace. AI claims that the fixture congestion from Europe could see them struggle in the Premier League.

Another problem for the Eagles is player sales, with the likes of Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi and Jean-Philippe Mateta all being linked with moves away from Selhurst Park.

16

16th: Leeds United

(42 points, -12 GD)

AI feels that Leeds United, the Championship title winners, could buck the trend and avoid relegation by finishing on 42 points.

If they do, the Whites, who won the second tier title in stoppage time on the final day, will be the first side since the 2022/23 season to get promoted and remain in the Premier League.

15

15th: Brentford

(46 points, -8 GD)

Despite a top 10 finish in 24/25, Brentford are next on the list, with AI believing Bryan Mbeumo’s potential departure could result in a drop-off for Thomas Frank’s side.

Mbeumo scored 20 of the Bees’ 66 goals last season but could be on his way to Man Utd, which may see them slide down the table.

14

14th: Bournemouth

(48 points, -5 GD)

Another side who finished in the top 10 last season, Bournemouth, could also be in line to lose some of their star players.

Already selling Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid, Milos Kerkez and Antoine Semenyo are also in demand, with AI feeling that any sales will negatively impact the Cherries.

13

13th: West Ham

(50 points, -2 GD)

One side that AI feels will slightly improve from 24/25 is West Ham, who finished 14th in the previous campaign on 43 points.

Graham Potter is preparing for his first full season in charge at the London Stadium and will be looking to make his mark in the transfer window.

12

12th: Everton

(52 points, 0 GD)

Another team AI think will finish one place higher than 24/25 is Everton. David Moyes came in and steadied the ship for the Toffees and will be leading them at their new stadium in 25/26.

It is added that keeping hold of star defender Jarrad Branthwaite and adding depth to the side is key, though.

11

11th: Manchester United

(54 points, +2 GD)

Things couldn’t have gone much worse for Man Utd in 24/25, so AI does have them finishing higher but still in the bottom half with 54 points.

‘Integrating new signings and addressing defensive frailties’ under Ruben Amorim in a 3-4-3 system could still see the Red Devils struggle, ending 12 points and four places better off.

Tottenham Hotspur have now held advanced talks to appoint a “phenomenal” manager as a replacement for Ange Postecoglou, according to journalist Tancredi Palmeri.

Sack looming for Postecoglou despite Europa League victory

It appears as though the Europa League triumph in Bilbao will not be enough to prevent Daniel Levy from pulling the trigger on Postecoglou, with Football Insider recently revealing thaty the decision has been made to sack the manager.

That news comes after journalist Miguel Delaney revealed the 59-year-old has very little chance of remaining in his post, saying: “As of Friday morning, Tottenham Hotspur still hadn’t made an official decision on Ange Postecoglou but the chances of staying had apparently gone down from last week’s ‘five percent’.

“His departure is still expected, whenever that may be.”

Sacking the manager who led Spurs to their first trophy in 17 years will no doubt cause unrest within some pockets of the fanbase, but making the decision early will, at the very least, give any new manager an entire summer to instill a new philosophy.

According to Palmeri, who recently spoke to talkSPORT, Daniel Levy now has a top-level manager in mind as a replacement for Ange, namely Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi.

When asked about Inzaghi’s future at the San Siro, the journalist said: “The situation is that Al Hilal offered him £25million per-season for two seasons.

“I can tell you that he had advanced contacts with both Newcastle and Tottenham but at the same time, the priority for him is to stay at Inter.”

"Phenomenal" Inzaghi could be ideal Ange replacement

Tottenham’s 17th-place finish cannot be ignored, despite the Europa League triumph in Bilbao, with Ange’s side losing 22 Premier League games across the campaign, becoming the first side to lose as many without being relegated.

There is no doubting the Inter Milan manager’s talent, having led his side to the Champions League final this season, albeit coming up short in a 5-0 thrashing against Paris Saint-Germain in Munich.

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The Italian has been lauded as “phenomenal” by former Inter striker Felipe Caicedo, and he retains a stellar record across spells with Inter and Lazio, winning three Italian Cups, five Super Cups and one Serie A title in the process.

Inzaghi’s record

Matches

Points per match

Inter Milan

217

2.14

Lazio

244

1.79

It would be a shame to see Ange leave, given that he was responsible for ending Tottenham’s trophy drought, but Inzaghi, who rakes in £5.6m-a-year (£108k-a-week), could be an excellent replacement for the Australian.

شهد الجهاز الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي الزمالك استقالة أحد أعضاء الطاقم المعاون للمدير الفني البلجيكي يانيك فيريرا خلال الساعات الماضية، في خطوة مفاجئة جاءت بالتزامن مع استعداد الفريق للمرحلة المقبلة من الموسم.

وقدّم حازم إمام، مدرب الفريق، استقالته رسميًا إلى الكابتن عبد الناصر محمد مدير الكرة بالنادي، قبل أن يتم مناقشة الأمر بين المدير الرياضي جون إدوارد والمدير الفني يانيك فيريرا، حيث تم قبول الاستقالة بشكل رسمي.

ووجّهت إدارة الكرة في نادي الزمالك الشكر للمدرب على جهوده خلال الفترة الماضية ودوره مع الجهاز الفني، مؤكدة تقديرها لما قدّمه للفريق.

طالع أيضًا | وكيل بنتايج: أهدرت وقتي مع الزمالك.. وسأتقدم بشكوى جديدة لـ فيفا وكاس

ومن المنتظر أن يعقد رئيس النادي الكابتن حسين لبيب جلسة مع جون إدوارد خلال الأيام القليلة المقبلة لحسم هوية المدرب الجديد الذي سينضم للجهاز المعاون لفيريرا بعد التشاور مع المدير الفني البلجيكي.

يذكر، أن الزمالك سيواجه نظيره فريق ديكاداها في إياب دور الـ32 من بطولة الكونفدرالية، يوم الجمعة الموافق 24 من شهر أكتوبر الجاري، بعد أن حسم لقاء الذهاب بسداسية نظيفة.

You can teleport two bowlers from 2020 into a 1998 ODI on a dry Chepauk pitch to have a go at those two in a low-scoring game. Whom do you pick?

ESPNcricinfo staff18-May-2020 Hot SeatScenario
It’s 1998, and we’ve got ourselves a low-scoring ODI on a cracked up Chepauk pitch in Chennai that is offering turn and uneven bounce. Your Rest of the World XI has scrabbled to 190 against the hosts, India. In the chase, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly have the game seemingly locked up at 70 for 0 after 20 overs when you are given a wild card. A portal has been opened to the future, allowing any two bowlers (Indians included) from 2020 to be shipped in for an over each, one to bowl at Tendulkar and one to Ganguly. Whom do you teleport in to break open the game?Sharda Ugra:
You have to get them now. Five more overs and the game is gone. So a gamble is called for. Against a set Tendulkar, you need a left-arm bowler, either a fast bowler or left-arm wristspinner, but not someone of a known pedigree – that puts T on high alert. What we need now is to feed his ego some juicy carrots in the form of an under-the-radar type. Make him look for gimme runs and mistime one into the air. Step up Tabraiz Shamsi, lurking in the shadows of the Imran Tahir spotlight. Against Ganguly, even if this is a breaking Chepauk, no spinners. He knows how to handle that stuff. In the mood, he can extract gimmes from everyone, throw them off their lengths. You need fast, you need fierce, you need both accuracy and variety. Mitchell Starc is the man.Alan Gardner:
In what may seem a counterintuitive move, I’m going to eschew slow-bowling options – despite the turning pitch – on the ground that both batsmen had far better records against spin. It wasn’t such a well-established fact back in 1998, but Ganguly’s weakness against the short ball has to be targeted (even if the young Ganguly might be better able to get himself out of trouble). Who has the meanest bouncer in the game currently? Let’s not look any further than Jofra Archer, who spent the 2019 World Cup pinging helmets for fun. As for Tendulkar, I have a hunch the left-armer’s angle might help unsettle him. With his range of cutters and slower balls that should be perfectly suited to a dry Chepauk, I’m going to bank on Mustafizur Rahman to make the all-important pop for my ROW XI.Karthik Krishnaswamy:
My pick to bowl at Ganguly is a no-brainer: R Ashwin is from Chennai and is lethal against left-hand batsmen. Against Tendulkar, I’d go out of the box and bring on Colin de Grandhomme. He’d be a great option anyway on a pitch with uneven bounce, looking to bowl stump-to-stump, dry up the runs, and force an error, but I’m calling him from the future specifically because Tendulkar disliked facing medium-pacers such as Hansie Cronje, and often got out to them while trying to force the pace when the ball didn’t quite come on.Getty ImagesAndrew Fidel Fernando:
The ball has started to misbehave, jumping at the throat from short of a length at times and shooting into the shins if pitched an inch fuller. Although Ashwin knows Ganguly is uncomfortable against offspin, his eyes are set on Tendulkar. With only 120 runs to defend, World XI have no option but to attack. Slip, point, cover, mid-off and short leg wait in anticipation. Ashwin is sticking to the middle-and-leg line, turning the ball into Tendulkar’s pads. The wicked bounce is troubling Tendulkar, who is also wary of Ashwin’s carom ball. With runs drying up, Tendulkar, who usually likes to dominate, is restless. He is trying to play inside out. Ashwin has gained the upper hand. At the other end, Archer knows what makes Ganguly cringe: the rib-ticklers that dart from short-of-a-good length. Already, Ganguly has had to fold up a few times trying to fend off the short deliveries. Archer has added two slips to show who is dominating. It is a duel of four grandmasters on a checkered pitch. The Chepauk faithful are all eyes.Danyal Rasool:
In seven combined ODI innings that Tendulkar and Ganguly played at Chepuak Stadium, neither ever gave their wicket to a spinner. But since this is a dust bowl, for Tendulkar, I’d throw Kuldeep Yadav the ball. Yadav has begun to hone the wrong’un, and on a turning pitch, the batsman must play at every ball. If Tendulkar feels he could leave a couple alone, just remember the ball Yadav bowled to Babar Azam at the 2019 World Cup. Ganguly is, famously, brilliant against spin, but who could withstand Rashid Khan on such a pitch? Averaging under 19 from 71 ODIs, Khan has raised the bar for legspinners worldwide. A bit of flight, and Ganguly may not be able to resist dancing down the pitch. Should he succumb to that temptation, trouble awaits.

In hindsight, Jurgen Klopp was right.

When he stepped down from his Liverpool post, almost nine years into his tenure, the iconic manager’s decision was met with dismay from the fanbase, whose success over the past decade had been engineered by the German’s brilliance.

But Klopp was right. He was tired, you see, and knew that without that burning ball of energy within, his infectious personality wouldn’t feed into his team, into his tactics, into the club’s far-reaching community.

It was hard to accept – some, perhaps, still haven’t – but Klopp was right, because Arne Slot has taken his place and has taken Liverpool to a higher level, winning the Premier League in his maiden term at a canter.

Such has been the Reds’ dominance that they are currently lapping up the Gulf sunshine, on holiday in Dubai to celebrate triumphs and say farewell to Trent Alexander-Arnold as his expected transfer to Real Madrid looms large.

In his place, Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes seem set on signing Jeremie Frimpong to replace the vice-captain, strengthening the firm Dutch contingent.

Liverpool's growing Dutch contingent

Liverpool are fortunate to have welcomed Conor Bradley to the first team over the past two seasons, thus easing the onerous task of finding a Trent replacement.

Still, Bradley’s young and injury-prone besides. Frimpong would be a brilliant addition to shore up the right flank and add a new taste of attacking flair. Correspondents have clearly been briefed by the dozen, with numerous reports emerging that Liverpool are in advanced talks to seal the Dutchman’s signature.

Frimpong certainly wouldn’t be short of pals on Merseyside. Slot is a big admirer of the versatile right-sider, a compatriot who has played a defining role in Xabi Alonso’s trophy-filled Leverkusen era.

The boss’ compatriot would find plenty of teammates in the ranks, of course, with Virgil van Dijk both Liverpool and Netherlands captain and Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo good friends with the speedy flanker on the international scene.

The cohesion at Anfield has been a strong thing this term, Liverpool going from strength to strength under Slot’s wing. Gravenberch, especially, has bloomed into a high-class midfielder this season after sitting largely on the periphery last year.

He perhaps doesn’t get the same credit, but Gakpo has also taken bounding strides in his development, with Slot truly having hit the jackpot on his prolific left winger.

Slot has hit the jackpot on Cody Gakpo

When Gakpo reached the end of his first season at Liverpool, having joined at the midpoint, he probably felt a fair measure of frustration that he hadn’t reached the heights surely anticipated when FSG came calling.

The Netherlands international had just put his name on the map at the Qatar World Cup and was terrorising Eredivisie defences with PSV Eindhoven, so when Liverpool moved to hijack Manchester United’s deal and bring Gakpo to Anfield for a £35m base fee in late December 2022, there was plenty of excitement.

He certainly wasn’t poor, but Gakpo entered Liverpool with Klopp’s side in the throes of a collapse, the midfield malfunctioning and experienced heads looking at a dizzying loss.

He still managed to record ten goal involvements across 26 matches, but Gakpo looks a different player at this stage of his career, dovetailing perfectly into Slot’s system. Pundits Joe Cole and Peter Crouch agreed that he has “gone up a level” under new management this year.

24/25

47 (30)

18

6

0.51

23/24

53 (32)

16

7

0.43

22/23

26 (22)

7

3

0.38

The secret in the sauce hasn’t been anything complex, at least on the surface level. Gakpo was ferried about the starting line-up to no end, with Klopp determined to make good use of his player’s obvious technical ability.

Gakpo’s dynamism lent itself to multi-positionality, but this frustrated his prolific senses and left him itching for a more structured role. To be sure, this was a fundamental part of Gakpo’s development, something he stressed himself during Liverpool’s title celebrations, but it’s hard to argue against his new role being one of greater reward for club and player.

That’s why Slot has left him on the left flank, with 40 of his 47 outings this season coming from the wide channel.

That £35m fee now looks to be an absolute bargain. Indeed, as per Transfermarkt, the Dutch forward has seen his market value shoot up to £59m after his exploits across the season, marking an increase of £24m on the investment made just two-and-a-half years ago. Frimpong, for instance, is said to be worth £42m.

Journalist Jacob Schneider claimed Gakpo was “downright ridiculous” before making the move to Liverpool, and that’s now been corroborated and then some.

This is quite the feat for a player who was brushed off by many rival fans after his stop-start beginning on Merseyside. While Gravenberch has taken most of the plaudits for his stunning season, Gakpo has been every bit as brilliant, and it would take quite a feat to eclipse the player.

That is to say, Frimpong might be joining Liverpool with the confidence from Slot and the powers that be that he can make a marked effect on the project, but he’s not going to knock Gakpo off his high perch without some special and sustained performances in red next year.

In any case, it hardly matters for those of a Liverpool persuasion. What matters is that Slot knows what he’s doing and has already showcased his ability to get the very best out of his countrymen.

Market Movers

Football FanCast’s Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club’s star player or biggest flop worth today?

There’s no doubt the coach has hit the jackpot on Gakpo and Gravenberch, but he might just have the same impact on Frimpong too next season.

A Salah-esque signing: Liverpool agree personal terms with "insane" target

Liverpool are ready to begin their summer shopping spree.

ByAngus Sinclair May 13, 2025

Northamptonshire 337 for 6 (Gay 88, Bartlett 71*, Procter 64) vs LeicestershireHalf-centuries from Emilio Gay, George Bartlett and skipper Luke Procter enabled Northamptonshire to shade the opening day of their Vitality County Championship match against Leicestershire, where they finished on 337 for 6.Gay’s 88 from 110 balls was the day’s most eye-catching batting performance but Bartlett’s unbeaten 71 and Procter’s 64 from 164 had much to commend them for grittiness as the home side’s bowlers, while expensive in the morning, did eventually make them work hard for their gains.Scott Currie and Tom Scriven finished with two wickets each but on-loan seamer Ben Green was unlucky not to have any success, while England leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, returning to county duty for his second appearance of the season, was impressively difficult to score against.Gay was the dominant figure in a morning session in which Northamptonshire were the clear winners. Leicestershire, who also recalled Matt Salisbury for the injured Ben Mike, made only one breakthrough after skipper Lewis Hill had won the toss.The home attack struggled with length and line at times and both Gay and opening partner Ricardo Vasconcelos, both of whom have started the season well, hungrily took advantage. If there was something for the bowlers in a green-tinged pitch it largely proved elusive. Northamptonshire were 60 without loss inside the first hour.By lunch they had 128 on the board but had surrendered one wicket, Vasconcelos losing his off stump to an inswinging ball from Scriven but Gay, though a little streaky on two or three occasions, particularly against Scriven, had looked in serious trouble only when Currie backed up a brilliant stop at third slip with a shy at the stumps that would have run him out for 41 had it hit.The 24-year-old left-hander cashed in two matches ago with a career-best 261 against a Middlesex attack struggling with the Kookaburra. He reached 52 from 61 balls and looked good for a sixth career hundred here. However, after increasing his boundary count to 16, he fell on 88 soon after lunch when Currie pushed one through with some extra pace and bowled him off an inside edge.The visitors suffered another blow when their Indian Test batter Karun Nair, who also has a double-hundred under his belt this season, was dismissed for 18, Salisbury finding a thin outside edge to have him caught at first slip, via the gloves of ‘keeper Ben Cox.Leicestershire bowled with better control in the middle session than they had before lunch, with Currie in particular bowling some impressive spells that deserved more success. Yet they found themselves up against two solid adversaries in Procter and winter signing Bartlett, who had added 66 in a little under 20 overs when tea arrived at 242 for 3, Procter having posted his fourth fifty-plus score in five innings.With Ahmed growing to his task as a foil, giving little away from the pavilion end, and Currie continuing to bend his back at the Bennett End, pressure continued to build on the fourth-wicket pair after tea and it was Ahmed who eventually split them, bowling Procter with a ball the left-hander shaped to cut but did not sit up for the shot.Leicestershire made the visitors work hard for their runs but not once in the day did a breakthrough prompt a flurry of quick wickets. Bartlett now had James Sales for company, and another 46 runs were chipped out before the new ball brought a second wicket for Scriven, who found the edge with a beauty, Louis Kimber taking a good, low catch at first slip. Bartlett, meanwhile, had completed his first half-century for his new county from 114 balls, but Northamptonshire lost Saif Zaib before the close, well taken by Cox off Currie.

Around USD 39m was spent on overseas players at this year’s IPL auction. Which international team has produced the most and least impactful players so far?

Sruthi Ravindranath21-May-2018What’s in a ranking?The eighth-ranked T20I side leads the way in bowling this IPL season. Afghanistan have had only three players in the tournament, out of which just two have been regulars, but both their young spinners have lit up IPL 2018 with their bags of tricks. Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman have been the lynchpins of their respective sides this season, with a combined total of 30 wickets this season so far.Going by Smart Stats – ESPNcricinfo’s new metrics to understand T20 cricket – they have been the most frugal bowlers, with a combined Smart Economy Rate of 6.59, while bowlers from teams standing above them in the ICC rankings have conceded over 8.4. While Rashid has saved more runs than he has conceded, Mujeeb’s absence from the Kings XI Punjab side following an injury has gone as far as making their bowling unit look far less threatening.Afghanistan leads the way•ESPNcricinfo LtdEngland join the partyWhen it comes to England players in the IPL, you might be conditioned to immediately think of Ben Stokes, who took centre-stage at the auctions. However, he did not live up to the INR 12.5 crore (USD 1.95 million approx) price tag this time around, with just 196 runs and eight wickets in 13 games, after a Player of the Series-winning debut season in 2017. That’s roughly INR 6.3 lakh (or comfortably over USD 9000) for every run he has scored – runs, which largely did not add much value for Royals.While English players’ participation in the IPL rose significantly this year, and there were one-match wonders like Jason Roy, Sam Billings, Moeen Ali and Liam Plunkett, it was Jos Buttler who easily had the most fun. While Rajasthan Royals failed to capitalise on his performances, Buttler had a breakout season, scoring the most runs by an English player in an IPL edition. His sublime form also earned him a Test call-up, which prematurely cut his IPL season short.He hit form after being deployed as an opener, with his Smart Strike Rate rising to 200 from 114.72 as a middle-order batsman. He has also contributed nearly 44% of the total runs scored by England players in this IPL season (as of May 18, 2018).Lest we forget, the second-best player from England has been someone who is serving his qualification period to earn a national call-up in 2022. Jofra Archer earned his Royals cap in their sixth game of the season and bagged the Man-of-the-Match award right away. A number of middling performances followed, but he’d look to be more effective in the coming seasons.The undisputed kings of T20Do the West Indies need to prove why they are the masters of the format? Even the numbers agree this year. Their Smart Strike Rate has climbed from 148.55 in the last three years to 175.57 this season, putting them top of the tree by a distance. Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo turned back the clock in their first few games, while Sunil Narine and Andre Russell made the most of their retention by Kolkata Knight Riders. For Mumbai Indians, Evin Lewis made a couple of noteworthy performances while the retained Kieron Pollard didn’t quite live up to reputation, following a bad run of form and a spell out of the side to score in a crucial game towards the end of the league phase.West Indies on top•ESPNcricinfo LtdWilliamson fills in Warner’s boots (and de Villiers does his thing)Finding a like-for-like replacement for David Warner may have sounded like a daunting task, but Sunrisers seem to have done it with ease. These bowling giants did lack batting depth, but there was captain Kane Williamson who carried them on his shoulders to take them to the top of points table. Williamson had only played five games in the past three seasons for Sunrisers, averaging around 31 and usually playing second fiddle, but his average of 60.09 this year could possibly see him beat his ex-captain Warner as the highest run-scorer for Sunrisers in a single season. While the other popular batting choices from New Zealand – namely Brendon McCullum and Colin Munro – could not make an impact, bowlers like Trent Boult and Mitchell McClenaghan are in the top ten on the wicket-takers’ charts this season.While we are running out of superlatives for AB de Villiers, who has been as impressive as ever, the other South Africans in the tournament like Quinton de Kock and JP Duminy have not been at their best. De Kock has struggled to find the hitting form which has made him one of the most exciting young batsmen going around.Their bowlers haven’t fared too better either. The likes of Imran Tahir and Lungi Ngidi have been unpredictable and have not featured regularly for Chennai Super Kings, while an injured Chris Morris returned home after a lean patch in a directionless Delhi Daredevils team. Would Kagiso Rabada have made the difference for them? Maybe we’ll know next season.How have the overseas imports fared?•ESPNcricinfo LtdAustralia’s 36-year-old lone warriorWith three trophy-winning captains, four Man-of-the-Series awardees and five orange cap winners over the seasons, Australians have been IPL’s hottest property over the years. In this season, however, there are just two names worth mentioning: the current purple cap holder Andrew Tye, and a surprise in the form of Shane Watson. With six 30-plus scores, Watson is second on the list of most runs for Chennai Super Kings this year.Clearly, Watson has been the only one contributing to the Australians’ Smart Strike Rate, which has fallen from 143.72 in the last three seasons to second worst 126.46 (just above Bangladesh) this season.Steven Smith and Warner’s absence and injuries to a number of fast bowlers can be blamed, but big buys like Glenn Maxwell, Chris Lynn and Aaron Finch haven’t quite been themselves. And the bowling? Apart from Tye, Watson and Maxwell, all the others who have bowled in five matches or more have an economy rate of over 9.7. They also have the worst Smart Economy Rate this season, finishing as the only team conceding at 9.