At their current pace, Sunderland could soon have a whole starting lineup of new players to call upon.

The Black Cats are picking up fresh signings at a breakneck speed, with a whopping £67m already dropped on the services of Enzo Le Fee, Habib Diarra, and Noah Sadiki.

Amazingly, another £19.5m could soon dent the weighty Sunderland back account, with Club Brugge winger Chemsdine Talbi the reported next big buy on Regis Le Bris and Co’s agenda.

Four signings are nearly through the door, but don’t expect the Wearside underdogs to stop here as they go about assembling a Premier League-capable squad, with plenty more standout purchases in the offing.

Sunderland set sights on new £13m star

After a jubilant promotion, Sunderland might as well give it their all on their return to the top-flight, instead of just being content with making up the numbers.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

Indeed, reports are coming thick and fast as to who Le Bris wants to add next to his ever-growing camp, with a bid of around £26m having allegedly been submitted to sign rising Real Madrid star Gonzalo Garcia.

Another name floating about is that of Armand Lauriente’s, with a new development from French outlet L’Equipe stating that Sunderland have entered negotiations to sign the 26-year-old attacker from Sassuolo.

Having caused a lot of havoc in Serie B last season, the hope will be that Lauriente explodes into life even more as a dangerous face down the Black Cats’ left flank.

How Lauriente can be Le Bris' own Amad Diallo

If Le Bris can bring Lauriente to Wearside this summer then he could potentially sign his very own Amad Diallo in the process, considering the Ivorian was once a slick attacker himself in Italy.

U19s

46

13

12

U17s

41

23

6

Youth League

6

1

3

Atalanta

5

1

0

Obviously, Amad is now more known for his exploits at Manchester United – with 26 goals and assists next to his name from 64 Old Trafford outings – but there was a time when he was considered an exciting winger ready for that next step on the books of Atalanta.

Whilst his Atalanta education ultimately won him that high-profile move to Manchester, Amad very much honed his craft at the Stadium of Light as a daring and entertaining option up top when he headed out on loan to the Mackems in 2022, leading to him strutting his stuff in style all across the 2022/23 season with 14 goals and four assists picked up from 42 clashes.

Sunderland’s new £13m-rated target will hope he finds his time at Le Bris’ men to be equally beneficial in advancing his game, with Lauriente having the useful advantage already of being proven at a top level when Sassuolo plied their trade in Serie A.

The blistering Frenchman is only two off Amad’s entire total for Man United when assessing his Italian top-flight numbers, with a mightily impressive 12 goals and 12 assists tallied up, but it’s his numbers last campaign for Sassuolo when they triumphantly moved back up to face the likes of Juventus and AC Milan again that will have really caught the eye of the Black Cats.

Games played

33

Goals scored

18

Assists

5

Big chances missed

4

Big chances created

6

In total, the former Lorient forward would pick up a bumper 23 goals and assists from just 33 Serie B games last season, with Lauriente now potentially ready to cause ripples on Wearside by challenging the likes of Enzo Le Fee and Romaine Mundle down the left wing.

Much like Amad needed Tony Mowbray’s guidance to get the very best out of him, Lauriente might be able to perform at the peak of his jaw-dropping excellence knowing he has Le Bris by his side, with this audacious free-kick below – which was heralded as “amazing” at the time by football talent scout Jacek Kulig – coming when the pair were together at Lorient.

Whilst Le Fee, Diarra, Sadiki, and Talbi will steal plenty of headlines, securing Lauriente’s services could be the best buy of the bunch, particularly if he morphs into being a star like Amad to help Sunderland beat the drop.

Dream squad Sunderland could build: £112m spent on 7 signings after Talbi

Sunderland looks ready to take the Premier League by storm, with this being potentially what their dream squad could look like very soon.

1 ByKelan Sarson Jul 6, 2025

England have little to show aside from Nat Sciver-Brunt’s fifty on day one of pink-ball Test

Alex Malcolm30-Jan-2025

Not for the first time in this series, Alana King put on a masterclass of legspin bowling in front of the Shane Warne Stand to bamboozle England and hand Australia full control on the opening day of the pink-ball Test at the MCG.Just as she did across town at the Junction Oval during the ODI series, where a smaller, quainter Shane Warne Stand casts a shadow at the southern end, King put on a clinic bowling 23 overs unchanged from the start of the second session to claim career-best Test figures of 4 for 45 and help bowl England out for 170. Nat Sciver-Brunt’s 51 was the lone shining light for England on another bleak afternoon, but she should have been out twice to King whose spell even outshone the bizarre pop-up rock concert Australian artist G-Flip performed during the dinner break.The bowling performance was soured however by a hip injury to Ellyse Perry. She landed heavily after diving to knock back a ball on the rope during the middle session. She left the field shortly after and did not return for the last two hours of Australia’s bowling innings. Australia’s team management confirmed she would not bat on the first evening and would be reassessed in the morning.Annabel Sutherland instead walked in at No. 3 and saw Australia through to stumps alongside Phoebe Litchfield, cruising to 56 for 1 after the loss of Georgia Voll who opened on Test debut.Australia would have been delighted with the bowling performance after winning the toss and electing to field on an MCG surface featuring 9mm of grass. But they could have bowled England out even sooner.King should have had more, with four chances missed off her bowling alone as Australia were uncharacteristically sloppy in the field. Beth Mooney missed a stumping and a caught behind off King and dropped another off Annabel Sutherland diving to her right. Alyssa Healy failed to take a simple catch cleanly at slip, again off King, clutching at the ball awkwardly and grounding it while it was in the end of her fingers. King dropped a caught-and-bowled chance, while Voll grassed a straightforward chance at slip off Darcie Brown.None of the misses were costly though as England capitulated again. King’s hard-spun legbreaks were the stuff of dreams for a legspinner but will only create further nightmares for England’s batters after haunting them all tour.England were getting a foothold in the day at 97 for 3 when King deceived Sophia Dunkley with late drop to force a simple chipped return catch after Mooney had early missed a difficult stumping chance.King then went to work on Danni Wyatt-Hodge, fizzing three huge legbreaks past her outside edge in one over. Sciver-Brunt, who had held England’s innings together, was also beaten multiple times in similar fashion.King finally kissed Sciver-Brunt’s outside edge with another perfect legbreak only for a poorly set-up Healy at slip to grass the rare catch without gloves on. Her injured foot meant she was not keeping and posting up at slip to limit her running. But she was set up too high, with her hands on her knees, and was unable to pouch the ankle-high chance cleanly.Litchfield had no such problems at silly mid-off, taking at outstanding catch diving low to her right after Wyatt-Hodge presented the leading edge to another fizzing legbreak.England may have regretted leaving out Charlie Dean and selecting three seamers as their lone spinner Sophie Ecclestone chipped King to cover to hand her a third scalp.Sciver-Brunt was then bowled for the fifth consecutive innings in the series, and for the third time against legspin, trying to a pull a good-length legbreak that hit the stumps well under bail height.Amongst King’s carnage, Amy Jones was bowled playing back to spin for the second time in the series, missing a full delivery from Ash Gardner and losing her off stump.King missed out on a maiden Test five-for as Mooney dropped an edge off Ryana MacDonald-Gay and then clanged a sharp return catch offered by Lauren Filer. Brown claimed Filer instead before Lauren Bell was run out tamely to end the innings.Brown and Kim Garth had earlier laid the groundwork for King’s wizardry with an excellent opening burst that saw England slump to 47 for 3. Maia Bouchier’s miserable tour continued, nicking Garth behind for 2 to go with scores of 13, 0, 0, 17 and 9 in the white-ball series.Tammy Beaumont was trapped plumb lbw for 8 by an excellent delivery from Brown that nipped back off the seam to leave England 23 for 2.Skipper Heather Knight’s innings was anything but assured. She survived a similar lbw shout off Brown and a subsequent review that showed it was umpire’s call on clipping leg stump. She edged Sutherland behind but Mooney could not take the one-handed offer. Garth then followed Brown and nipped another back into Knight’s front pad and the appeal was rewarded with a raised finger.

أعلن بيب جوارديولا، المدير الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي مانشستر سيتي، تشكيل فريقه لمواجهة نظيره بورنموث ضمن منافسات الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

ويستضيف مانشستر سيتي، مساء اليوم الأحد، بورنموث في إطار منافسات بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز “بريميرليج”.

وتقام المباراة على ملعب “الاتحاد” في تمام الساعة السادسة والنصف بتوقيت القاهرة السابعة والنصف بتوقيت مكة المكرمة، ضمن منافسات الجولة العاشرة من البريميرليج.

اقرأ أيضًا | دوناروما: كرة القدم في إنجلترا مختلفة.. وأسعى لرد الجميل إلى جوارديولا

ويحتل مانشستر سيتي حاليًا المركز الثامن في جدول الدوري الإنجليزي برصيد 16 نقطة، في حين أن بورنموث لديه 18 نقطة في المركز الثاني.

ويجلس عمر مرموش على دكة البدلاء في مباراة اليوم رغم تألقه وتسجيله هدفًا رائعًا ضد سوانزي سيتي في كأس كاراباو، يوم الأربعاء الماضي. تشكيل مانشستر سيتي اليوم أمام بورنموث في الدوري الإنجليزي

في حراسة المرمى: دوناروما.

في خط الدفاع: روبن دياز – ماتيوس نونيز – جفارديول.

في خط الوسط: فيل فودين – برناردو سيلفا – نيكو – نيكو أوريللي.

في خط الهجوم: جيريمي دوكو – إيرلينج هالاند – ريان شرقي.

We asked experts – and one participant – their considered view of the controversial Hawk-Eye projection

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Mar-2020It was a replay that rang around the world. Sachin Tendulkar is given out on the field to Saeed Ajmal, reviews it after a long discussion with his partner, and is reinstated by a Hawk-Eye projection that says the ball is missing leg. Tendulkar goes on to score a match-winning 85.The replay was subject of conspiracy theories with many YouTube videos showing what the correct prediction path should have been. There is one difference between fans’ rants and this replay: quite a few neutral experts found the prediction incredulous. Umpire Ian Gould, a man known for his humour and even temper on the field, was seen shaking his head when he saw the replay. Moments later, Mark Nicholas came on air and said, “It seemed inconceivable that that ball could miss the leg stump.” Sunil Gavaskar observed the ball had hit the inside of Tendulkar’s shin, which is traditionally considered incriminating in such cases.All these years later, keeping in mind what we have learnt from technology, we asked experts – and one participant – their considered view of the prediction.Saeed Ajmal
This is a ball the whole world will remember. There has been a lot of debate over it already. Once Ian Gould gave it out, I was sure it would stay out because all it needed to do was clip the leg stump. And I overheard Sachin tell Gautam Gambhir, “Let me take a chance. Who knows it might save me?” Gambhir advised him against it because he felt he was out, but Sachin insisted.Getty ImagesThe time taken in the review made me suspect something, but I can’t say there was any foul play for sure. Even when I see the replay today, that looks 100% out. Even if it had been an umpire’s call, it was given out on the field. You have to remember it was the straighter ball, but they showed a big break on it. I think they missed a frame in between; that’s how it appears to me when I watch it again.ALSO READ: Ajmal still baffled by Tendulkar lbw reversalSanjay Manjrekar
This was all new for us. This is Hawk-Eye and DRS, and we were not as experienced watching Hawk-Eye predictions and everything but when I watch it now, I think today as a commentator I would have said probably missing leg stump. Because you see where it pitched and where the impact is. So it turned big. If you watch the keeper Kamran Akmal, he has already moved down the leg side and then when it hits him [Tendulkar] on the pad, he comes back towards the stumps to appeal. So because we didn’t understand angles as well as we do today, I don’t think it is as controversial as it seemed at the time.Aakash Chopra
When I saw that Ajmal delivery thudding into Sachin’s pad, my hand went up in the air because it was quite apparent that the ball would go on to hit middle and leg stump. It wasn’t a ball that would’ve turned enough to miss the leg stump, and it was definitely not going the other way as much either. Tendulkar’s decision to review the decision was, perhaps, more in hope than in belief. The Hawk-Eye trajectory taking the ball down the leg side – missing the three stumps – was quite astonishing. You knew that it was an error but an error that couldn’t be reversed. My mind went back to another such dismissal in Sri Lanka where the ball was an offbreak but the Hawk-Eye trajectory showed it as a carrom ball turning the other way after pitching and, therefore, missing the stumps. It was a further reiteration of the fact that DRS wasn’t foolproof yet; in fact, far from it.The replay that rang around the world•ESPNcricinfo LtdDeep Dasgupta
My assessment is that the Hawk-Eye got it right. It was at best clipping the leg stump. Don’t get me wrong, it was an extremely close call. It’ll fall under the realm of Protagoras Paradox, in that both sides have convincing arguments. Saeed Ajmal is not a big turner, neither was the pitch a rank turner. The impact was within the stumps and post impact the ball landed on the off side, which means it hit the inside of the shin.I have three pieces of evidence to make the call.

• Ajmal bowled fairly from the top of the box, almost from the wide ball mark on the crease, which is 35 inches from the middle stump. That is bound to create an angle.
• The ball pitched on the fourth stump, and hit Sachin in front of the middle stump.
• At the point of impact, Sachin was on the front foot, albeit “half-cock”, let’s say seven feet from the stumps.

Keeping these three in mind, I’d say the angle of the ball would have missed the stump, maybe clipped the leg stump at best. If we add a hint of turn, which I reckon it did, I’d say Hawk-Eye got it right.Saqlain Mushtaq
Absolutely plumb. That is my observation. Sachin’s stride wasn’t big. Yes, he was on front foot, but he didn’t get a big stride in. If you see the trajectory of the ball, it is not loopy. It tells you it was bowled fast. Saeed Ajmal has himself said he didn’t try to turn the ball. He bowled from mid-crease so he had an angle on it, but no turn. Because of the trajectory, it stayed low, so height is out of question. And it hit the inside of his shin, in front of middle after pitching just outside off. It would have hit the stumps. I can’t say how the mistake was made.The final word: Hawk-Eye
Hawk-eye doesn’t feel the need to clarify further after it made an explanation back in the day. There were two discrepancies that were popularly observed then. Firstly, the point of impact on the predictive-path replay was different from the last time the ball was seen in the replay. Hawk-Eye said the frame rate on TV cameras was 50 frames per second, and that they didn’t capture the actual point of impact. Hawk-Eye cameras used the run-out camera too to calibrate and determine the actual interception point, the explanation said.The other point of contention was the predictive track appeared to have moved to the right of what it would have been had it been a straight extension of the trajectory of the ball. The explanation pointed to gravity, and how the ball had already started veering off a straight line even before hitting the pad.”For each ball bowled the Hawk-Eye system outputs a screen-shot showing our raw data,” the explanation said. “For reviewed LBWs this is sent to the ICC so that there is an independent check verifying the integrity of what is seen on TV for any DRS LBW decision. The ICC were happy with the outcome of this review.”

Barcelona boss Hansi Flick has revealed why he wanted to sign Manchester United outcast Marcus Rashford on loan this summer. The German also delivered his verdict on ex-United star Jesse Lingard ahead of Barca's pre-season friendly clash with FC Seoul.

• Flick revealed why he wanted Rashford
• Admitted he followed his performances for Man Utd
• Barcelona to face Lingard's FC Seoul

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Rashford has joined Barcelona on a season-long loan deal and the Catalan giants have an option to make the transfer permanent for €30m (£26m/$35m). Flick has admitted that he has been following Rashford's games at United for many years and believes that the England international can shine at Barca, despite his poor form in the last couple of seasons at Old Trafford. Rashford made his unofficial debut for Barcelona in their first pre-season friendly against Vissel Kobe in Japan last week, where he played for just 33 minutes.

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• WHAT FLICK SAID

  Speaking to reporters about Rashford, the German coach said: "Marcus is a great player. I’ve been following him for many years, since he started his career at United. He has a lot of quality, and we hope he can show it this season with the team."

• AFP
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Ahead of facing Lingard's FC Seoul in their upcoming friendly in South Korea, Flick added: "Lingard is a great player, we know him from his time in England, but we focus on his team… Seoul is working well and will be our second challenge."

• Getty
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR BARCELONA?

  The reigning La Liga champions will face Lingard and Co in a friendly clash at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on Thursday. Barca are due to kick off their new domestic campaign away at Mallorca on August 16.

Tatsuya Imai wants to forge his own path.

The 27-year-old right-hander was posted by the Saitama Seibu Lions of the Nippon Professional Baseball League and has until Jan. 2 to sign with an MLB team. It’s pretty clear he won’t be joining the Dodgers.

When asked about potentially joining Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki in Los Angeles, Imai was quick to point out that he wanted to do something different.

“I want to take them down,” Imai said in a recent interview, translated to English. “(Playing together with players like Ohtani, Yamamoto, Sasaki, and others) of course, sounds fun, but I think beating a team like that and becoming world champions would be the most valuable thing in my life.”

That’s a bold proclamation from Imai, and he probably earned a bunch of new fans with his attitude.

Tatsuya Imai’s stats in Japan

Imai is a three-time NPB All-Star who just finished his eighth season in the league. In 2025, he made 24 starts and went 10-5 with a 1.92 ERA, a 0.89 WHIP, and 178 strikeouts against 45 walks in 163 2/3 innings. He tossed five complete games and three shutouts along the way. He has posted a sub-3.00 ERA in each of the past four seasons, and owns a career NPB ERA of 3.15.

The newly-posted righty debuted in 2018 at the age of 20, and has been one of the league’s top pitchers since 2021, when he went 8-8 with a 3.30 ERA. He has improved in every season since, peaking with his 2025 performance.

Tatsuya Imai scouting report

Imai is undersized for a pitcher by MLB standards. He stands at 5’11” and 176 pounds. It’s worth noting, Yamamoto is only 5’10” and 176 pounds, so the two are comparable in size.

He throws the ball out of a lower three-quarters arm slot, but he can still generate excellent velocity. Imai’s fastball can hit 99 mph, and it sits in the 95 mph range. He works off that four-seamer with an excellent mid-80s slider, and will toss in occasional splitters as well. He has a changeup and a sinker, but is mostly a fastball-slider guy.

He is an intriguing option for MLB teams this winter.

A look at where the semi-final between England and New Zealand could be won or lost

Gaurav Sundararaman09-Nov-20213:00

Can England stave off Southee-Boult challenge? Our experts discuss

The 2016 World T20 semi-final. The 2019 ODI World Cup final. And now, the 2021 T20 World Cup semi-final. That’s three knockout matches in the last three World Cups. New Zealand have failed to win on the two previous occasions against England: can they get across the line this time around against the favourites? This is where the game could be won or lost.Where should Moeen bat?
England’s middle order has been largely untested in this competition. Only three batters have faced more than 60 balls and one of them, Jason Roy, is now injured. New Zealand have a well-rounded attack with all bowlers capable of bowling across all phases. Moeen Ali is the man in form and has been playing in these conditions for a while now.Recently, Moeen Ali has been the world’s most destructive batter vs spin•ESPNcricinfo LtdWith Roy not around, would it make sense for England to use Moeen at the fall of the first wicket to capitalise upon the powerplay or would England want to use Moeen the spin smasher to target Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner in the middle? Moeen at three – where he batted against South Africa – could upset New Zealand’s rhythm by ensuring they bowl pace to him and that could delay the overs bowled by spin.Dawid Malan is a slow starter and does not match up well against spin. In a knockout game, will England bank on Malan or the experience of Moeen who delivered just a month ago in an all-important IPL final wearing a Chennai Super Kings shirt?Can New Zealand capitalise on England’s death bowling
South Africa scored 49 runs in the last four overs the only time England were properly tested at the death. With Tymal Mills injured, England have lost their specialist in that phase. It remains to be seen whether Roy will be replaced by an extra bowler or not, but the options that England have at their disposal are not very exciting.England’s pacers have not been tidy in the death overs•ESPNcricinfo LtdAll their pace options have gone for plenty in the death across the last four years in T20 cricket. Barring Chris Jordan, who goes at 9.65 an over, their other options have conceded more than ten runs per over. New Zealand will look to follow the template South Africa set: keeping wickets in hand and maximising the death rather than going hard first up, particularly with a relatively shallow batting lineup that sees Santner carded at No. 7.Can New Zealand’s swing bowlers win the powerplay?
England’s batters have some outstanding numbers in the powerplay this tournament. Their scoring rate of 8.33 is the best in the tournament and they have the tournament’s second-highest run-getter in Jos Buttler.England the better team in the powerplay overs?•ESPNcricinfo LtdHowever, this will be England’s first night match in Abu Dhabi. Of the three venues in the UAE for this tournament, Abu Dhabi has been most favourable for seamers in the powerplay. Seamers average just 17.38 (at 5.92 runs per over) here compared to averages of 25.17 and 31.33 in Dubai and Sharjah respectively.If the combination of Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Adam Milne can extract seam, swing and bounce, then the England batters could face their toughest test in this tournament. Could 20 minutes of madness cost England the tournament? Only time will tell.Can New Zealand find a way to attack England’s fifth bowler?
If England replace Roy with a batter then how are they going to use their ‘fifth’ bowler? England’s fifth bowler has been fantastic so far in the tournament: together Moeen and Liam Livingstone have picked up 11 wickets and have conceded less than six runs per over. With three right-handed batters in the top three for New Zealand, it would mean England may opt for the spin of Adil Rashid or the quicks early on.Can New Zealand take the attack against Moeen and Livingstone, whenever they bowl? This will be vital if New Zealand are looking to put up a challenging score to defend or ease the pressure while chasing. Devon Conway, James Neesham and Santner are the left-handers in the middle order who may end up facing the fifth bowler the most, while Kane Williamson will need to show greater attacking intent than he has so far in order to take those spin overs down.Other things to watchSodhi vs England
Sodhi has a very poor record against England, conceding 298 runs (with 20 sixes) at an economy of 11.03 runs per over. But these numbers mean very little: the majority of those games were played on grounds in New Zealand with much smaller dimensions than Abu Dhabi. On Wednesday, he gets a chance to bowl to England on the biggest ground of the tournament. That could work in his favour.Morgan’s form
Eoin Morgan enjoyed his career-best form in 2019 and 2020 but this year, he averages 17.59 and strikes at 118. Whichever metric you look at, he is struggling. England’s middle order is hardly tested in the tournament and Morgan will want to ensure he can play an impactful innings in a pressure game. His performances in knockout matches across his career are underwhelming – though the sample size is small.

West Indies’ No. 7 was at it again, trying to dig his team out of a hole – the way he often goes about it begs the question: does he deserve a promotion?

Shashank Kishore06-Feb-2022Not for the first time in his career, Jason Holder had to clean up a top-order mess. And not for the first time, he showed how the job ought to have been done. Again, not for the first time, he made you wonder if he was batting too low at No. 7.Ahead of the series, Kieron Pollard spoke of batting out 50 overs being a realistic goal, but West Indies were in danger of folding inside 30 overs in the series opener against India. Holder’s defiance, which quickly turned into a full-blown attack, especially with India’s spinners trying to exercise control, helped them bat out 43.5 overs eventually. This was by no means any consolation.For the record, West Indies haven’t batted out 50 overs for seven matches in a row now, stretching back to the Australia series at home in July 2021. It merely reaffirms Pollard’s statement that West Indies have a batting problem.Related

West Indies building 'something special' – Jason Holder

Washington and Chahal spin India to comfortable victory

Pollard wants Windies to bat entire 50 overs

Holder put on a batting show that many of his team-mates would do well to emulate. There was no premeditation, neither was there an attempt to throw the bowlers off their lengths. He was simply reacting to what was presented to him and played shots he thought were appropriate without worrying about how the pitch was playing or how one good ball could get him.The essence of his innings was built around trying to get fully forward and using his long levers to play Yuzvendra Chahal’s teasing legbreaks, and playing Washington Sundar by going right back into the crease because the offspinner was looking to largely bowl good length.It wasn’t that the class of his batting suddenly stood out; he has oozed plenty of it right from his debut seven years ago. You don’t average 30 across 53 Tests at No. 7 without possessing it. You don’t make a Test highest off 202 not out without learning to apply yourself at the crease. Yet, you couldn’t help but marvel at his ability to loft the ball cleanly with the spin, pick lengths early to punch through the covers, and nonchalantly play the pickup shot to anything that veered into the pads. More than anything, Holder seemed to revel even when he walked out to immense scoreboard pressure at 71 for 5 in the 20th over.For a better part of the last seven years, Holder has shouldered much of West Indies’ lower-order batting in ODIs. Since the 2015 World Cup, Holder has walked into bat inside the 25-over mark 19 times when he has batted at No. 7 or lower. He has made 564 runs at an average of 35.25, including six half-centuries, in these games. He has struck these runs at 88. Does this merit a promotion? You’d think yes.”When you’re looking at different things, you can say that,” Pollard told host broadcaster Star Sports at the presentation ceremony, when asked if there was merit in promoting Holder. “For instance, 12 months ago, guys wouldn’t have been saying that from a statistical point of view. But last couple of games, he has done well. He has played Test cricket, he has made a double-hundred, so he can bat at any position in the order.”But again, the combination of the team, when you look at it, yes he can bat at No. 6 or at No. 5, but when you watch the make-up of our team, we have international batsmen who have played Test cricket. He (Holder) has a role to play for us, and he came into a crucial scenario and made a crucial fifty. In the last couple of weeks, his cricket has improved and he’s doing well for himself. We’re happy for Jason as a team and long may it continue.”Jason Holder adapted to the challenge of batting in India despite limited time to acclimatise•ICC via GettyThis batting ability from a bowling allrounder is something teams around the world yearn for. Holder’s batting, along with his nagging bowling, has contributed largely to whatever success West Indies have had in Test cricket too, in recent years. It has allowed them to play five bowlers for one thing. But Holder’s improved batting hasn’t quite been enough to mask the inefficiency, and in some cases recklessness, of some of his colleagues.In Ahmedabad, Shai Hope was out driving with no feet in the same over that he dispatched Mohammed Siraj for two glorious boundaries. Pollard was out looking to hit out, disregarding Chahal’s dip and spin as he attempted a big mow first ball with his team four down and trying to rebuild inside the 20th over. Brandon King and Fabian Allen tamely lobbed return-catches to deliveries that stopped on them. Nicholas Pooran completely misjudged the length trying to sweep a full delivery, only to lose his balance and wicket. Of course, you could make some allowances for the fact West Indies came into the series barely having had one full training session, but the question remains: if Holder could, maybe some of the others could, too?Holder aside, there were a few other positives too for the visitors. Alzarri Joseph, fresh off a short stint in the Bangladesh Premier League, was zippy and nipped out the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in an over. Kohli’s, in particular, was a wicket well-earned because he surprised him for pace and got him to top-edge an attempted pull to fine leg. Rohit was beaten and nipped out lbw trying to play across the line.West Indies have little time between now and the second ODI to get their mindset right. If they need to look for inspiration, they needn’t look beyond Holder. In an era of the Pollards, Bravos, Narines and Gayles, that he has managed to carve a niche for himself speaks volumes of his drive and resolve. His team-mates will do well to try and match the benchmark he has set.

Cricketers around the world congratulated James Anderson on becoming the first fast bowler to 600 Test wickets

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Aug-2020Pacers sang praise.

Champion bowler James Anderson! Congrats on reaching the first-ever 600 wickets for a fast bowler.. hard work, passion and never-day-die approach have been the hallmark of your career.. doyen of fast bowlers, best wishes for the rest of your career @jimmy9

— Wasim Akram (@wasimakramlive) August 25, 2020

Just take a moment to appreciate how good Jimmy is
600! You’re amazing bro! @jimmy9 #600

— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) August 25, 2020

Congratulations for your remarkable achievement @jimmy9! Your passion, fortitude and drive are exceptional, cheers and best wishes for the future. #600TestWickets

— Jasprit Bumrah (@Jaspritbumrah93) August 25, 2020

Slow and steady gets the milestone?

Incredible 600 by @jimmy9 . What an amazing achievement. Playing 156 Test Matches for a medium fast bowler is no less achievement. Cheers mate. #JamesAnderson #600TestWickets #England pic.twitter.com/dVFMqPvuwA

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) August 25, 2020

Anil Kumble welcomes Anderson to the 600 club.

Congratulations @jimmy9 on your 600 wickets! Massive effort from a great fast bowler. Welcome to the club

— Anil Kumble (@anilkumble1074) August 25, 2020

Former batsmen spoke of Anderson’s longevity and perseverance. He’s bowled the most among pace bowlers in Test cricket.

Remarkable achievement to play 156 Tests as a Batsman .. To do it as a quick bowler & then achieve 600 wickets is nothing short of extraordinary .. Well done @jimmy9 .. England’s greatest ever bowler .. #TestCricket

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) August 25, 2020

What an incredible achievement @jimmy9! Many congratulations on your feat.

wickets in Test Cricket over a span of 17 years for a fast bowler is a testament to your grit, perseverance and accurate bowling. pic.twitter.com/nQok5bgbOG

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) August 25, 2020

Never thought I’d see in my lifetime a fast bowler take 600 test wickets! It’s not just the quantity but the quality with which he has bowled – be it slow or fast wickets, bounce or no bounce, seam or no seam, for him conditions never mattered! Sir @jimmy9 you are the #GOAT pic.twitter.com/ADrrW7m3zp

— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) August 25, 2020

Well done james Anderson @jimmy9 .. this milestone is just greatness ..156 test matches as fast bowler is just unthinkable..u will make every young fast bowler believe that greatness is achievable .@bcci @ECB_cricket

— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) August 25, 2020

For a fast-bowler to play 156 test matches is an incredible achievement, a testament of his endurance. And becoming the first fast bowler to 600 test wickets is a just reward for the hard-work & the passion with which @jimmy9 has played his cricket. Many congratulations #ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/RGOdReZXuL

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) August 25, 2020

Words of appreciation from current opposition batsmen followed.

Congratulations @jimmy9 for this outstanding achievement of 600 wickets. Definitely one of the best bowlers I've faced.

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) August 25, 2020

Congrats James Anderson @jimmy9
First fast bowler in history to take 600 Test wickets.
You are a nightmare for any openers in world cricket….. #ENGvPAK

— (@IamDimuth) August 25, 2020

A true ambassador of the game.

Congratulations @jimmy9 600 Test wickets1st Fast bowler to achieve this Milestone U r a Great Ambassador of this beautiful game of cricket Stay Blessed

— Mohammad Hafeez (@MHafeez22) August 25, 2020

#600JA Couldn’t be a greater ambassador for Test Cricket than James Anderson! He’s an excellent example to young kids that to win a Cricket Oscar be great in Test Cricket!

— Ramiz Raja (@iramizraja) August 25, 2020

Congratulations @jimmy9. What a splendid record to have. More power to you https://t.co/EmpxuBzdrL

— Sir Vivian Richards (@ivivianrichards) August 25, 2020

While the defeat to Aston Villa has taken the wind out of their sails somewhat, Arsenal are still having an excellent season.

Mikel Arteta’s side are top of the Champions League table, having won five of five, and still sit two points clear atop the Premier League table.

However, while most of the team are playing at the level expected, a few stars aren’t quite where the manager would want them to be.

This latter camp includes one of Arteta’s most significant signings, who, if he doesn’t start improving, could become Arsenal’s new Nicolas Pepe.

What went wrong for Nicolas Pepe at Arsenal

In the summer of 2019, after Unai Emery’s first season in the dugout, Arsenal decided to go big in the transfer market, spending what was then a club record fee of around £72m to sign Pepe.

While the figure did raise a few eyebrows at the time, it wasn’t considered too outlandish as, in 41 appearances in the 17/18 season, the winger racked up a sensational haul of 23 goals and 12 assists.

Unfortunately, the Emirates faithful would never see the talented international reach that level during his time in North London.

In his first campaign in England, the former LOSC Lille star managed a reasonable, if a little underwhelming tally of eight goals and ten assists in 42 appearances.

However, as it was his first season in a new league, and he produced a goal involvement in the quarter-final, semi-final and final of the FA Cup, fans gave him some leeway.

Unfortunately, he also failed to hit the heady height of his Lille numbers the following season, ending it with a tally of 16 goals and five assists in 47 games, with ten of those goal involvements coming in the Europa League.

The 21/22 campaign would prove to be his last in red and white as Bukayo Saka was now well and truly Arteta’s first-choice right winger.

The 30-year-old spent the next two years on loan, first with Nice in France, and then with Turkish outfit Trabzonspor.

Arsenal finally agreed to terminate Pepe’s contract in the summer of 2024, and the player who was supposed to be the club’s superstar attacker left with a middling tally of 27 goals and 21 assists in 112 appearances.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Since then, the Gunners have been a bit better at spending money, but there is one of Arteta’s signings who could end up following the Ivorian’s path, lest he improve, and quickly.

Arsenal's new Nicolas Pepe

Now, it’s still early in the season, so making any concrete predictions about Arsenal’s summer signings would be unwise.

However, as things stand, the attacker who has somewhat underwhelmed since his big-money move, and could go down a similar route to Pepe, is Viktor Gyokeres.

Like the Ivorian, the Swedish international joined the Gunners for a fairly sizable fee off the back of a truly sensational season in a weaker league.

For example, the “absolute steam train,” as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, scored 54 goals and provided 13 assists in just 52 appearances.

Moreover, while nobody expected him to recreate those numbers in England, fans would have expected more than what he has delivered thus far.

For example, even though he hasn’t been a total flop like some other striker signings this season, the 27-year-old’s return of just six goals in 17 appearances is underwhelming.

Furthermore, all four of his Premier League goals have come against relegation candidates, and in games against the big sides earlier in the season, he looked somewhat out of his depth. As Gary Neville said earlier this term, he’s a bit of a “misfit.”

Appearances

52

17

Minutes

4248′

1130′

Goals

54

6

Assists

13

0

Finally, with Mikel Merino contributing up top, Gabriel Jesus back in matchday squads and reports that Kai Havertz is set to come right back in as Arteta’s first choice before Christmas, it’s not difficult to see a world in which the Stockholm-born powerhouse becomes a rotation option.

That was evident against Aston Villa. Arteta relied on the Swede to make a difference, bring him on at half-time for Merino. Yet, in his 45 minutes on the field, the centre-forward only had 11 touches of the ball and completed just four passes. He didn’t even have a single shot.

With all that said, there is still plenty of time for the former Coventry City star to come good, especially if he starts the next two games against Club Brugge and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Ultimately, the next six months will be vital in determining whether Gyokeres becomes Arsenal’s next superstar striker or their next Nicolas Pepe.

Their new Ozil: Arsenal ramp up move to sign £88m "generational talent"

The incredible talent could be a real game-changer for Arsenal and become Arteta’s own Mesut Ozil.

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