Jake Lehmann reeled off his third century of the summer as a young South Australia side held their own against New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield match at Coffs Harbour

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Feb-2016
ScorecardJake Lehmann’s 148-ball 122 included 14 fours and a six•Getty Images

Jake Lehmann reeled off his third century of the summer as a young South Australia side held their own against New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield match at Coffs Harbour.Following Lehmann’s hundred, Joe Mennie was able to dismiss Ed Cowan cheaply before stumps were drawn. Cowan was returning to the team after he missed their draw against Western Australia in Perth due to the after-effects of a blow to the helmet inflicted by a Joel Paris bouncer in Lincoln.The match is being held on the NSW north coast in memory of the late Phillip Hughes, and Lehmann marked it with a swashbuckling left-hander’s century as part of a concerted Redbacks counterattack that followed the loss of three early wickets.SA’s selectors had been the subject of considerable debate in Adelaide after the decision to drop the experienced but underperforming Tom Cooper and Tim Ludeman.Their replacements Jake Weatherald and Alex Carey both made strong contributions. Opener Weatherald made a sprightly 58 while the gloveman added 105 with Lehmann after the visitors had slipped further to 5 for 123.Another youngster, the second-game seamer Cameron Valente, helped add further runs with Lehmann, allowing the Redbacks to reach the fringes of 300.Arjun Nair, the teenaged finger spinner who became the Blues’ 738th first-class cricketer and 11th youngest debutant, claimed a pair of tail-end wickets to help round up SA’s innings.

Liverpool are among the outfits interested in pursuing a move for dynamic Real Madrid forward Marco Asensio this summer, with the Spaniard's contract set to expire at the end of the campaign.

That's according to Football Transfers' Jacques Talbot, who claims that the 27-year-old is on the Reds' radar ahead of a possible swoop in the coming months.

Asensio has been with Los Blancos since 2014, when he signed for just €4m (£3.5m) from Mallorca, but has been informed that he will not be guaranteed regular minutes, although reluctant to grant his lucrative wage demands.

The report continues to state that Jurgen Klopp's assistant Pep Lijnders is a huge admirer of the attacker, and with Liverpool stalwart Roberto Firmino confirmed to be departing from Anfield when his own contract concludes in June, Asensio could be a tailor-made replacement, slotting into a new-look frontline, following seasonal signings Cody Gakpo and Darwin Núñez.

Should Liverpool sign Asensio?

Having plied the majority of his career at the Santiago Bernabeu, Asensio is no stranger to success; across his Real career, the £166k-per-week ace has forged 268 appearances, scoring 56 goals and supplying 29 assists, playing his part in clinching a wealth of major honours that notably includes three La Liga triumphs and three Champions League trophies.

The 35-cap international was hailed as "magical" by former team-mate Casemiro, and would certainly bring a new, dazzling dimension to Liverpool's attack, utilising his precision and dynamic capabilities to resounding effect.

As per FBref, Asensio ranks among the top 6% of attacking midfielders in Europe for rate of goals and the top 18% for rate of assists per 90 over the past year, also among the top 8% for pass completion, illustrating a slick, ball-playing prowess which would suit Klopp's system to a tee.

With a successful swoop, Liverpool would indeed wield the perfect replacement for the departing Firmino, who has been integral under Klopp's wing, having signed for the Merseyside outfit for £29m in 2015.

Making 356 appearances, the distinguished Brazilian has scored 108 goals and served 79 assists, paramount to the successful endeavours of the club over the past several years.

Firmino has been hailed as a "leader" by Henry Winter for his feats with the Premier League giants, and despite not featuring from the start on every occasion this term, still ranks among the top 8% of forwards for goals and the top 5% for assists per 90, boasting a similarity with Asensio that affirms the clinical reliability of the pair.

With Liverpool out of sorts this season, and Firmino indeed leaving, Klopp must act swiftly to replace the phenom and ensure the Reds wield a reformed attack capable of surging back toward prominence.

Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali produced impressive spells to subdue Kane Williamson and set England up for a six-wicket victory in Mumbai

Nagraj Gollapudi in Mumbai12-Mar-2016
ScorecardAdil Rashid finished with 3 for 15 to help tie down New Zealand•Getty Images

After seven overs New Zealand were 78 for 1, steadily marching towards another 200-plus target like they had posted two evenings ago against Sri Lanka. Kane Williamson, New Zealand’s captain, was knocking runs effortlessly as the England fast bowlers struggled to find the right length in the early overs.Eoin Morgan, the England captain, had already tried all his quicks: Chris Jordan, Reece Topley, Liam Plunkett and Ben Stokes. Against each of them, Williamson had waited till the last minute before reacting to the ball.Williamson, always easy on the eye, looted 19 runs from the third over, delivered by Plunkett. He started with two sucessive fours: the first went over Plunkett’s head, followed by a deft flick to the right of Adil Rashid at short fine leg. A double that sailed over the outstretched hands of Alex Hales at midwicket and was then followed by a fluent cover-driven four. Plunkett continued to err and pitched full again, allowing Willimson to drive over midwicket for another four.When the left-armer Topley pitched short and wide outside off stump, the New Zealand captain, up on his toes, cut bluntly for a sweetly timed four. Stokes replaced Plunkett but Williamson first stroked him over cover to bring up New Zealand’s 50 and then moved outside the line of the ball to hit over mid-off for another easy four.Moving inside the line of the ball, Willamson then hit Stokes into the Sachin Tendulkar Stand at deep midwicket for his first, and only, six. It brought up his 50 off just 26 balls and comprised ten boundaries.Morgan did not wait any further before introducing his spin twins: Moeen Ali and Rashid to stem the flow. Moeen struck immediately when he removed Henry Nichols, who went for the sweep shot, top-edged and was caught at short fine leg by Rashid. The legspinner, too, got into the groove when he had Luke Ronchi drive into the hands of Morgan at point.Still Williamson was lurking at the other end but England need not have worried. Rashid reserved his best for the best batsmen, a perfect legbreak that caught Williamson out of the crease and gave Jos Butler enough time to whip off the bails. Surprisingly, and disappointingly for Willamson, New Zealand stagnated thereafter.If England were wondering how their two best spinners would fare on Indian wickets they will have been heartened by the first audition. Both Moeen and Rashid kept a tight line, utilised the spin of the pitch and made use of the drift wisely to expose the weakness of the New Zealand batsmen against slow bowlers.After 10 overs New Zealand were 101 for 2. After 15 overs they were 123 for 5. England’s spinners had nicely washed away all the gains scored Williamson in the first ten overs. Only 45 runs came in the middle segment of the New Zealand innings, comprising eight overs bowled by Moeen and Rashid. It was there England snatched the match out of New Zealand’s hands.”It was pretty important for us, we look to win every game whether it’s a warm-up or not,” Rashid said. “We always want to play at 100% and this was a good workout,” he said. “If you’ve got a spinning wicket you’ve still got to execute your skills and bowl your variations.”These are different conditions that we’ve got to adapt to. In India you’ve got to adjust your lines and lengths and field placings.”A target of 170 did not prove to too difficult for England, who bat deep. The opening combination of Jason Roy and Alex Hales did not disappoint as they gave England the aggressive start they were looking for: after the Powerplay they were 53 for 0. At the halfway stage England needed a further 81 runs with nine wickets in hand. Roy had departed having hit a robust 55 off 36 balls, which included two massive sixes, one of which went out of the ground in the passage separating the Vijay Merchant and Sachin Tendulkar stands behind deep midwicket.The match did get exciting towards the end, however, with England needing 42 runs from the final four overs. Eoin Morgan took charge and looked like taking his team home till he went for one shot too many. Having reverse swept Nathan McCullum for a four Morgan attempted a slog sweep the very next ball but was caught on the ropes by Williamson: 22 runs from 16 was now the target. It became 20 from the final two overs.Jos Buttler picked Trent Boult’s slower delivery to hit it flat over deep midwicket for a six. Then Stokes punched a low full toss for a one-bounce four that beat Mitchell Santner at wide long-on. With the target down to six from six, Buttler wrapped up the issue with a straight four against a low, slow full toss from Tim Southee.

ScorecardFile photo – Cameron White’s century saved Victoria from an embarrassing collapse•Getty Images

Cameron White’s unbeaten century and Scott Boland’s unbeaten half-century helped stall a Victoria collapse after they had conceded a 401-run lead to Tasmania earlier in the day. But defeat was still imminent for Victoria, as they ended play still trailing by 162 with just three wickets in hand.Right-arm pacer Evan Gulbis starred with the ball for Tasmania, picking up four of the seven wickets that fell. Victoria stumbled to 5 for 92 after openers Aaron Ayre and Travis Dean put on a 51-run partnership. Gulbis then removed Daniel Christian and Chris Tremain quickly as Victoria slid further to 7 for 115. White then combined with Boland to add 124 for Victoria’s eighth wicket; resisting stoutly, the pair was yet to be separated by the end of play. White chose the route of counterattack: his unbeaten 100 off 118 balls included 15 fours and a six.After starting the day at 5 for 506, Sam Rainbird’s 22-ball 24 helped Tasmania quickly reach 8 for 556 declared, a mountainous first-innings lead of 401.

Liverpool are one of a number of top clubs eyeing up a potential move for Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Wirtz a huge talent

The 19-year-old has emerged as arguably one of the most exciting young players in the Bundesliga in recent years, already becoming an important figure at Leverkusen.

Wirtz has made 91 appearances for his current club, despite his tenders years, with an impressive tally of 21 goals and 28 assists coming his way in the process, outlining his end product.

This season, the German has scored twice in the Europa League and assisted four times in the league, as his reputation continues to be enhanced all the time.

Wirtz’s performance appear to have caught the eye of some of Europe’s top clubs, which is where Liverpool come into play, as Jurgen Klopp eyes up significant midfield reinforcements this summer.

The Latest: Liverpool in the mix

Taking to Twitter on Thursday, Romano claimed that the Reds are monitoring Wirtz’s current situation, even though Leverkusen are extremely hesitant to sell him at this point in his career:

“Florian Wirtz, attracting lot of interest as one of the best talents in the world – but Bayer Leverkusen remain convinced he will stay at least until 2024

“Barcelona, Real Madrid and Liverpool keep following the situation — the race is 100% open.”

The Verdict: Could be a special signing

The thought of Wirtz in a Liverpool shirt is a mouthwatering one, considering his reputation as arguably one of the standout midfielders of his generation, perhaps alongside fellow Reds target Jude Bellingham.

Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso has even compared the teenager to Lionel Messi, in terms of his use of the ball, which is about the highest compliment possible in football.

Predominantly an attacking midfield who can move wide at times, Wirtz already has four caps to his name for Germany and is someone who could added much-needed guile and youth in the middle of the park at Anfield.

Too often, Liverpool’s midfield can look one-dimensional, with no current central player scoring more than once in the Premier League this season, so he would add a spark in that area.

Whether or not he can be prized away from Leverkusen remains to be seen, though – his current deal doesn’t expire until the summer of 2027 – but if the funds are there and a big offer can be tabled, the Reds would be acquiring the services of an exceptional talent.

Aston Villa are now ready to sign AS Roma striker Tammy Abraham, who could cost as much as €55m (£48m) this summer, according to reports from Italy.

Will Tammy Abraham leave this summer?

Abraham has been attracting the attention of a number of Premier League clubs, though it has recently been reported that Villa are in pole position for his signature. However, they would be forced to shell out a club-record fee.

Manchester United are also said to be monitoring the striker, with scouts having been in regular attendance at Roma games so far this season, but journalist James Horncastle has also pointed out Chelsea have first refusal on their former player.

Recent reports from Sky Italy have also claimed the forward is likely to return to the Premier League at the end of the season, as he is struggling with Roma (via Football Italia).

In a recent report from Il Messaggero (via Sport Witness), the Englishman's poor recent form is highlighted, and it is suggested he is now becoming a problem for Jose Mourinho, meaning a return to his home country is potentially on the cards.

Villa are said to be one of two English sides "ready to sign" the 25-year-old, although he will not come cheap, with Roma sporting director Tiago Pinto setting an asking price of up to €55m (£48m).

However, that fee is on the high end of the spectrum, and the report also speculates the Serie A club could sanction his departure for €40m (£35m), as they would still be making a healthy profit.

Should Aston Villa sign Tammy Abraham?

Villa fans will know all about the 11-time England international's qualities following his very successful loan spell at Villa Park in the 2018/19 season, in which he scored 25 goals in 37 Championship games during the regular season.

Hailed as "sensational" by members of the media, the London-born marksman has come on leaps and bounds since that loan spell, scoring 27 goals for Roma in all competitions last term, including nine en route to their Europa Conference League triumph.

With Danny Ings leaving to join West Ham United back in January, Unai Emery is short on options in attack, with Ollie Watkins proving to be his only consistent goal threat, scoring 11 goals so far this season.

As such, a new striker will almost definitely be required this summer, and we feel Abraham would be an excellent addition for the Villans given that he has a proven track record of scoring goals.

Victoria fast bowler Scott Boland and Western Australia batsman Cameron Bancroft have both taken home trophies at their state award ceremonies to cap off a summer in which they both made their international debut for Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Apr-2016Victoria fast bowler Scott Boland and Western Australia batsman Cameron Bancroft have both taken home trophies at their state award ceremonies to cap off a summer in which they both made their international debut for Australia.In Melbourne, Boland received the Bill Lawry Medal as Victoria’s best Sheffield Shield player in a season in which they won the title. Boland collected 33 wickets at 20.93 in the Shield campaign and was rewarded with a debut in Australia’s ODI and T20 teams in January, having been also been part of the Test squad earlier in the summer.Spinner Jon Holland was handed the Dean Jones Medal as Victoria’s best Matador Cup player in a campaign that brought him 14 wickets at 17.85. The Melbourne Renegades BBL player of the Season was Dwayne Bravo, while Kevin Pietersen was named the BBL Player of the Season for the Melbourne Stars.

Meg Lanning won the Sharon Tredrea Award and also took home the Melbourne Stars WBBL Player of the Season title, while Molly Strano was the Player of the Season for the Melbourne Renegades in the WBBL.In Perth, opening batsman Bancroft claimed the Laurie Sawle Medal as Western Australia’s Player of the Year in a season that brought him 732 runs at 45.75 in the Sheffield Shield. Bancroft was named in Australia’s Test squad to tour Bangladesh at the start of the summer but the cancellation of that trip meant he had to wait until a T20 against India in January to make his Australia debut.Bancroft also piled up 335 runs at 55.83 in the Matador Cup, but it was Shaun Marsh who was named WA’s one-day player of the year for his 390 runs at 65.00. Fast bowler Michael Hogan, with 37 wickets at 24.64 for the Warriors in his last season before his retirement from Australian first-class cricket, was named WA’s Sheffield Shield Player of the Year.David Willey was the recipient of the Simon Katich Medal as the Perth Scorchers’ BBL Player of the Year. Nicole Bolton picked up the Zoe Goss Medal as the best women’s player for Western Australia, while the WBBL Perth Scorchers award went to Katherine Brunt.In Hobart, Ben Dunk was honoured for a season in which he led all Sheffield Shield run scorers by being handed the Ricky Ponting Medal as Tasmania’s player of the season. Dunk also collected the Jack Simmons Medal as limited overs players of the hear, while Jackson Bird claimed the David Boon Medal as winner of the Shield award.Dan Christian was garlanded with the Hobart Hurricanes MVP for his all-round displays in the BBL, and Heather Knight was recognised as the best Hurricane in the inaugural WBBL. Veronica Pyke was named the best WNCL cricketer for the Tasmania Roar.

Among the plethora of positives that have come out of the season so far for Manchester United under manager Erik ten Hag, one of the more notable success stories has been the emergence of teenage sensation, Alejandro Garnacho, with the 18-year-old having established himself as a vital member of the squad since the World Cup, in particular.The promising “game changer” – as hailed by Manchester Evening News journalist Samuel Luckhurst – has registered nine goal involvements in all competitions in what has been a breakout campaign thus far, memorably scoring away at Elland Road and providing an assist for Marcus Rashford in the Manchester derby in what were two of his more notable contributions.The rapid and meteoric rise of the Madrid-born speedster – who had been included in Argentina’s senior squad prior to his recent injury blow – is yet another marker of the benefits of having such a star-studded youth set-up, with United undoubtedly masters at continually churning out potential gems of the future.For all the warranted hype surrounding Garnacho, however, the beauty of football is that there is always another youngster who can emerge as the next poster boy, with 15-year-old Shea Lacey seemingly the player who is sparking “lots of excitement” among those at the club, according to journalist Tom Maston.

Who is Shea Lacey?

Although both club and supporters will no doubt be wary of talking up the teen ace too greatly – with the case of Ravel Morrison still firmly in the minds of those at the Theatre of Dreams – it is hard to ignore the buzz that is surrounding the fleet-footed maestro.

While the precocious talent – who has been likened to Manchester City sensation, Phil Foden – may have to bide his time for a first-team berth due to his tender age, it does appear that United are keen to elevate him up the age groups, with the playmaker having already featured for the club’s U18 side this season, scoring once and registering two assists in just six league outings.

That is an indication of just how highly rated Lacey is by the Premier League giants, with that excitement beginning to bubble among those outside of the club, with the forward having set tongues wagging after producing a scintillating, solo goal for the U16’s earlier this month.

The manner in which the Liverpool-born menace weaved his way through a sea of bodies with breathtaking skill and trickery ensured that it is easy to see why the comparisons to Foden have come about, with Lacey truly having a “left foot made of gold” – according to talent scout, Jacek Kulig.

Football Transfers reporter Jacque Talbot even when as far as to suggest that the Old Trafford outfit may have stumbled across the “next [Lionel} Messi” in the form of the teen starlet, with the club’s current first team figures likely to be running scared at the prospect of losing their place in the side in the coming years.

Summer signing Antony, in particular, could well be fearing for his starting berth more than most, with Lacey potentially set to prove a direct rival to the Brazilian’s position on the right flank, with the duo both able to wreak havoc by cutting in onto their stronger left foot.

In the case of the former Ajax man, the 23-year-old has endured a mixed start to life in England, in truth, since his £86m arrival, having registered just eight goal involvements in all competitions thus far, including only three goals and no assists in the league.

It is no stretch to stay that Antony has not received a wholly warm welcome to the Premier League, with club legend Paul Scholes branding him a “clown” after the 15-cap enigma produced his trademark spin in the Europa League win over FC Sheriff, while talkSPORT pundit Gabby Agbonlahor also labelled him a “bluffer”.

Although it is that individualistic nature that has seemingly led the one-time Sao Paolo man to become a favourite of Ten Hag, the £200k-per-week wizard will need to begin proving himself more reliable in the final third or find himself ousted from the side.

If the 5 foot 9 ace is not careful, he could well be displaced by young Lacey not too far down the line…

Table-toppers Gujarat Lions appear well stocked with their bevy of allrounders, while Rising Pune Supergiants are struggling for variety

The Preview by Alagappan Muthu28-Apr-2016Match factsFriday, April 29, 2016
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)Rising Pune Supergiants’ bowling does not seem penetrative enough•BCCI

Form guideRising Pune Supergiants WLLLL (last five completed matches)
Gujarat Lions WWLWWIn the spotlightSo what missing from the Supergiants bowling? Variety, perhaps. Ishant Sharma and RP Singh are useful with the new ball but are liabilities in the final overs. Thisara Perera, Mitchell Marsh and Rajat Bhatia bowl wicket-to-wicket and can be lined up. Ashok Dinda brought an infusion of raw pace and trumped Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday, but he struggles with consistency. R Ashwin has the potential to keep the batsmen guessing, but he has bowled his full quota in only three of six games.How will the Lions middle order cope if the onus falls on them to rebuild an innings? A lot of their runs have come via the openers, which means Bravo, James Faulkner and Ravindra Jadeja have faced only 109 balls in 13 innings among them.Team newsWith du Plessis out for six weeks, Supergiants could bring in 24-year-old Australian batsman Peter Handscomb at the top of the order. Handscomb has a T20 hundred to his name and was the third-highest run-getter in the Sheffield Shield with 784 in 11 matches.Rising Pune Supergiants (probable): 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Peter Handscomb, 3 Steven Smith, 4 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 5 Mitchell Marsh, 6 Saurabh Tiwary, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Rajat Bhatia, 9 R Ashwin, 10 M Ashwin, 11 Ashok DindaFinch sustained a hamstring injury two weeks ago, but yesterday was the first game he sat out. Even if he recovers, it would put Lions in a tough spot because Smith and McCullum have had explosive results and Faulkner’s inclusion makes the team look well-rounded.Gujarat Lions (probable): 1 Brendon McCullum, 2 Dwayne Smith, 3 Suresh Raina (capt), 4 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 James Faulkner, 7 Ishan Kishan, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Dhawal Kulkarni, 11 Pravin TambePitch and conditionsThe pitch at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium offered substantial turn on Sunday when the hosts lost to Kolkata Knight Riders, which led to stinging critiques from both captain Dhoni and coach Stephen Fleming. Tomorrow will be the second-last match played in Pune due to the Bombay High Court ruling that the IPL move out of the drought-hit state.Stats and trivia McCullum (300) and Smith (280) are among the top-five six-hitters in T20 cricket Supergiants have conceded runs at 7.66 per over, which is the third-best economy rate among all teams this seasonQuotes”You can come in with fresh ideas and you can build your culture from day one rather than perhaps having a pre-existing culture, or even sometimes some poor experiences of the past can also weigh you down as well.”

Everton have had another difficult season in the Premier League and Sean Dyche has been tasked with the challenge to secure survival from relegation over the remaining fixtures.

The Toffees have only avoided a drop into the bottom three by goal difference following their defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford this weekend, however, there has been promising signs that Dyche could be the manager to lead them to safety.

The former Burnley boss has picked up 11 points from his first ten games in charge at Goodison Park, which is an incredible achievement given the form the squad were in when he inherited the burden from Frank Lampard.

Indeed, there is still a long way to go for the Merseysiders before they are comfortable in retaining their Premier League status with just eight games left to repair the damage already done at Goodison, however, should the manager save Everton at the end of the campaign, there will need to be serious recruitment done in the summer.

Whilst finding the perfect striker will be a key focus for the Everton hierarchy, it will also be important to clear out the players in the squad who are either not providing the squad with the quality needed to comfortably compete in the top flight or just not contributing at all.

The very first of Lampard's transfer disasters that Dyche should seek to repair is that of Portuguese left-back Ruben Vinagre, who has become a forgotten man for many at Goodison Park.

Will Everton permanently sign Ruben Vinagre?

There is no doubt that there are several players that will need to be moved on from the blue side of Merseyside this summer with Dele Alli, Yerry Mina and Andre Gomes springing to mind, but there is a very telling decision made by Dyche clearly demonstrating that Vinagre is not in his plans whatsoever.

Mykolenko missed out on the Nottingham Forest clash through illness, and the Everton boss leaned on centre-back Ben Godfrey to take the starting spot in the left-back position, which has further raised questions about the point of Vinagre even being at the club and not being selected to compete for the position with his Ukrainian teammate.

Everton correspondent for the Liverpool Echo, Joe Thomas, raised a point about Vinagre's absence ahead of the Forest clash:

"Penny for Ruben Vinagre's thoughts as Vitalii Mykolenko misses out through illness and Ben Godfrey starts ahead of him. Not saying it is the wrong call, but that is a loan move that gets increasingly baffling as the season goes on."

In fact, the 24-year-old full-back has only made four appearances since his arrival on a season-long loan last summer, with just 204 minutes tallied up in all competitions and just 24 minutes in the Premier League so far.

With that being said, it would make no sense for Everton to trigger their £17m option to buy this summer as the money would be better invested in other areas of the pitch that are in desperate need of improvement.