West Bromwich Albion have already displayed an outside-the-box approach with their transfer activity this summer.

Whilst Nathaniel Phillips is a well-known name to most Championship fans, Aune Heggebo is definitely more of an unknown entity to the average supporter. Yet, West Brom have gambled on the former Brann goal machine to come good on English shores, having spent £4.7m on the Nordic striker.

It remains to be seen whether Heggebo will go on to be a rip-roaring success in England, but his blistering goal record in his native Norway is definitely encouraging to look at.

Why Heggebo could be a success at West Brom

After all, Erling Haaland infamously hails from the same nation, with the lofty attacker now one of the most feared strikers in world football after beginning his career in Scandinavia.

Of course, nobody will be anticipating Heggebo to storm into his new environment and be as instantly clinical as the Manchester City powerhouse, but the signs are there that he could be a lethal finisher at the Hawthorns if he can manage to navigate the step-up well.

In total, for Brann, the £4.7m forward would power home a potent 51 goals from 146 games, with the Eliteserien outfit no doubt putting up a valiant fight to try and keep their star asset around for longer.

Unfortunately, whilst £4.7m is a steep amount to splash in go, West Brom’s lavish spending has been overshadowed somewhat by near neighbours Birmingham City routinely flexing their muscles.

Across the Midlands, the £10m forked out on ex-Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi around the same time has certainly sent a message to the division’s best clubs.

However, the Baggies could shoot back into the limelight if they manage to get another left-field piece of business over the line, with a new target perhaps going down as Ryan Mason’s very own Kyogo if all clicks into place.

West Brom's answer to Kyogo

Before being renowned as a venomous goal threat with 85 strikes next to his name at Celtic, Kyogo would have been viewed as a bold pick-up by the Hoops, considering the Japanese gem had only ever played in the comforts of the J League, before Glasgow came calling.

West Brom might well look to tap into the Asian markets themselves with their next summer buy, with reports from earlier in the month suggesting that the Championship side had bid £1.1m for Jeonbuk Hyundai attacker Jeon Jin-Woo.

Jin-Woo might well follow in Kyogo’s footsteps in establishing himself as a menace up top when making the same daunting geographical leap, having amassed an electric 52 goal contributions plying his trade in Korea for both Jeonbuk and ex-employers Suwon Bluewings.

The brand-new Birmingham buy was able to devastatingly reach double Jin-Woo’s goal tally when starring for the likes of Vissel Kobe, but the two-time South Korea international will surely feel less nervous about taking that next step to the Baggies, knowing others have moved to the United Kingdom and thrived in some challenging environments.

To help the 25-year-old even more, Mason will also have Heggebo available for selection in attack, who will be equally eager to hit the ground running in his fresh location.

It does remain up in the air how well West Brom will do next season, with Mason also being a rookie manager away from their daring summer business, but Jin-Woo could become a firm fan’s favourite at the Hawthorns if he manages to excel in the English game to the same lofty heights Kyogo managed in Scotland.

Dream Johnston upgrade: West Brom submit surprise offer for £1.1m star

West Bromwich Albion could think outside of the box when pursuing a Mikey Johnston upgrade.

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By
Kelan Sarson

Jul 16, 2025

علق محمد أحمد عضو مجلس إدارة نادي الاتحاد السكندري، على هزيمة الفريق التي تعرض لها اليوم أمام الزمالك، بالمباراة التي أقيمت بينهما ببطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز.

وخسر الاتحاد السكندري بهدفين دون رد أمام الزمالك، على استاد القاهرة الدولي، في إطار مواجهات الجولة السابعة لمسابقة الدوري الممتاز.

وقال محمد أحمد في تصريحات عبر قناة “أون تايم سبورتس”: “أشيد بكل اللاعبين والمدير الفني، قدموا مباراة كبيرة في الشوط الأول، كان ممكن نخرج فائزين بهدف أو اثنين، لكن طرد عبد الغني محمد أثر على النتيجة”.

طالع أيضاً.. جروس: هناك أمور تحتاج للتطوير في الزمالك.. وأثق فيما قاله لي الجزيري

وتابع: “لا يوجد كلام أقوله عن التحكيم، أصبحنا في مأساة وكم المعاناة الكبيرة من التحكيم، كل فرق الدوري تتحدث في نفس الموضوع، الذي انتهينا به الموسم الماضي بدأنا به الموسم الحالي، لا يوجد جديد، نسير في التحكيم من سيء لأسوأ”.

وأضاف: “دوري هذا الموسم استثنائيًا، نحن ناد جماهيري وإسكندرية كلها خلف الاتحاد، عندما يُقال إن لاعبنا لا يستحق الطرد، ما الاستفادة؟، الأمر أصبح صعبًا جدًا، يجب أن يكون هناك قرار”.

وأتم: “من المؤكد أن نادي الاتحاد سيتقدم بشكوى إلى اتحاد الكرة، الموضوع لن يمر بهذا الشكل، تعب موسم كامل يضيع، يجب أن يكون هناك حل سواء من هاني أبو ريدة أو رابطة الأندية، نحن أندية جماهيرية، يكفي الضغط الذي نعاني منه، سواء من الجماهير أو من الموارد، أعتقد النادي سيكون له موقف، يجب أن يقف هذا الأمر عند حده”.

كشف نيمار، لاعب فريق الهلال السعودي، موقفه من إمكانية لم الشمل مع الثنائي ليونيل ميسي ولويس سواريز، عن طريق انتقاله إلى فرق إنتر ميامي الأمريكي.

وظهرت تقارير صحفية في الفترة الأخيرة، تربط نيمار بإمكانية مغادرة الهلال والانتقال إلى إنتر ميامي.

وسبق أن لعب نيمار بجوار ليونيل ميسي لويس سواريز، في صفوف برشلونة، قبل رحيله المفاجئ إلى باريس سان جيرمان في 2017، في صفقة قياسية آنذاك.

وقال نيمار، في تصريحات نشرتها صحيفة “جارديان” الإنجليزية: “من الواضح أن اللعب مرة أخرى مع ميسي وسواريز سيكون أمرًا لا يصدق، إنهما أصدقائي، ما زلنا نتحدث مع بعضنا البعض”.

اقرأ أيضًا | ميسي يوضح سبب غيابه عن تسلم وسام الحرية في البيت الأبيض

وأضاف: “إعادة ذلك الثلاثي سيكون أمرًا مثيرًا للاهتمام، أنا سعيد في الهلال، سعيد في السعودية، ولكن من يدري، كرة القدم مليئة بالمفاجآت”.

ومن المقرر أن ينتهي العقد الحالي لـ نيمار مع الهلال في يونيو المقبل، ولم يشارك إلا في 7 مباريات منذ قدومه في 2023، حيث أثرت الإصابات على مشاركته.

واسترسل: “عندما ظهرت الأخبار عن مغادرتي لـ باريس سان جيرمان، كان سوق الانتقالات مغلقًا في أمريكا، لم يكن لدي خيار الانتقال إلى إنتر ميامي”.

وأوضح: “كان المشروع الذي حصلت عليه من السعودية جيدًا للغاية، ليس فقط بالنسبة لي، ولكن كذلك لعائلتي، كان الذهاب إلى المملكة هو الخيار الأفضل”.

الجدير بالذكر أن إنتر ميامي يتواجد في المجموعة الأولى في كأس العالم للأندية 2025، رفقة الأهلي المصري، بورتو البرتغالي وبالميراس البرازيلي.

رد الحكم محمد العتباني على قرار لجنة الحكام بالاتحاد المصري، بإيقافه على خلفية المقطع المصور المنتشر له خلال الساعات الماضية.

وكان بطولات قد أعلن عن قرار إيقاف العتباني بعد ما أشيع عنه خلال مباراة البنك الأهلي وبترول أسيوط في كأس مصر.

فيديو | أسامة فيصل يقود البنك الأهلي للفوز على بترول أسيوط في كأس مصر

وكتب العتباني عبر حسابه الرسمي بموقع التواصل الاجتماعي فيس بوك: “الحمد الله دائما وابدًا.. وحسبي الله ونعم الوكيل في من قال فينا ما ليس فينا وكفى به وکیلا .. وعند الله تجتمع الخصوم”.

وأضاف: “وقد جاء في وصية رسول الله لابن عباس رضي الله عنهما.. وإذا سألت فاسأل الله، وإذا استعنت فاستعن بالله واعلم أن الأمة لو اجتمعت على أن ينفعوك بشيء لم ينفعوك إلا بشيء قد كتبه الله لك، وإن اجتمعوا على أن يضروك بشيء لم يضروك إلا بشيء قد كتبه الله عليك، رفعت الأقلام وجفت الصحف رواه الترمذي وقال: حديث حسن صحيح”.

يذكر، أن الفيديو الذي تم تداوله على وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي، أظهر العتباني وهو يتحدث مع سامي الشيشيني، عضو الجهاز الفني لفريق البنك الأهلي، داخل ممر استاد القاهرة، حيث قال له “هيتحسبلك أي لعبة حتى لو 50٪- 50٪”.

وأدى هذا التسريب إلى حالة من الاستياء في الأوساط الرياضية، خاصة أن تصريحات العتباني أظهرت تلميحات بعدم حياديته في اتخاذ قرارات تحكيمية، ورغم أن الفيديو لم يُظهر تفاصيل كاملة عن سياق الحديث، إلا أن هذه الكلمات فُهمت على أنها تعبير عن إمكانية التأثير في سير المباراة بشكل غير قانوني.

الجدير بالذكر، أن المباراة قد انتهت بفوز البنك الأهلي بهدف دون رد، ليتأهل للدور الـ16 من البطولة، حيث سيواجه الفائز من المباراة التي ستجمع بين المصري البورسعيدي ووادي دجلة، ومن المقرر أن تُقام هذه المباراة يوم الثلاثاء الموافق 4 فبراير المُقبل.

تأهل برشلونة إلى دور الثمانية من بطولة كأس ملك إسبانيا، بعد الفوز بخماسية مقابل هدف على حساب ريال بيتيس، ضمن منافسات دور الـ16.

المباراة جمعت بين الفريقين على ملعب لويس كومبانيس، ولكن البداية كانت كتالونية بامتياز، في ظل النشوة التي يعيشها الفريق منذ الفوز بالسوبر الإسباني على حساب ريال مدريد يوم الأحد الماضي.

طالع أيضًا.. الفرق المتأهلة إلى دور الـ8 من كأس ملك إسبانيا (محدث باستمرار)

برشلونة تمكن من التسجيل مبكرًا عن طريق جافي، في الدقيقة 3 من داخل منطقة الجزاء، وظل النادي الكتالوني في الضغط لتسجيل الثاني.

جاء الهدف الثاني بعد إهدار العديد من الفرص، في الدقيقة 27 بعد تمريرة رائعة من لامين يامال، وأطلقها جوليس كوندي بصاروخية في شباك ريال بيتيس.

انتهى الشوط الأول بعد سيل من الفرص، وابداعات النادي الكتالوني، بعدما ألغى الحكم هدفاً لـ لامين يامال.

بدأ الشوط الثاني بنفس المستوى الذي أنهى به البلوجرانا شوط المباراة الأول، وسجل لامين يامال هدفًا في الدقيقة 57، ولكن الحكم ألغاه بداعي التسلل أيضًا.

وفي الدقيقة 58، نثر لامين يامال سحره، وانطلق من منطقة جزاء فريقه إلى مرمى الخصم، ليمر من لاعبي ريال بيتيس، وعندما سدد تدخل عليه لاعب النادي الأندلسي بقوة ليعطي الحكم إتاحة الفرصة للبلوجرانا ويستغل رافينها الوضع ويسجل الثالث.

أجرى فليك العديد من التغييرات، وأراح نجومه، ودخل فيران توريس، الذي لم ينتظر طويلًا حتى يضع بصمته، وبتمريرة من داني أولمو، يطلق تسديدة في شباك الضيوف معلنًا عن الرابع في الدقيقة 67.

ظن البعض أن الحفلة قد توقفت هنا، ولكن عزف لامين يامال استمر، وبعد تمريرة ممتازة من فيرمين لوبيز، سجل الإسباني المغربي هدفه الثاني، والخامس لفريقه عند الدقيقة 75.

وخرج لامين يامال بعد الهدف، وسط تحية كبيرة من جماهير البلوجرانا، الذين ظلوا يحتفلون بالإشارة للخماسية التي تكررت في أقل من 4 أيام، أمام ريال مدريد وبيتيس.

وفي الدقيقة 85، سجل فيتور روكي لاعب برشلونة السابق، هدف حفظ ماء الوجه لـ ريال بيتيس، من ركلة جزاء.

بهذه النتيجة يتأهل برشلونة إلى دور الثمانية من بطولة كأس ملك إسبانيا، في انتظار منافسه بذلك الدور الذي كان آخر محطاته في الموسم الماضي.

القرعة ستقام يوم الاثنين المقبل، في انتظار منافس برشلونة، صاحب الرقم القياسي في الفوز بالبطولة برصيد 31 لقبًا. أهداف مباراة برشلونة وريال بيتيس في كأس ملك إسبانيا

تغلب فريق برايتون على إيبسويتش تاون خلال المباراة التي جمعت الفريقين مساء اليوم الخميس، بالدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وحل برايتون ضيفًا على إيبسويتش تاون ضمن مباريات الجولة الحادية والعشرين للدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز “البريميرليج”.

وتواجد سام مرسي قائد فريق إيبسويتش تاون على مقاعد بدلاء فريقه، وشارك في المباراة كبديل.

شوط المباراة الأول لم يشهد تسجيل أي أهداف، وحسم بالتعادل السلبي بين برايتون وإيبسويتش تاون.

وتقدم برايتون بهدف أول في الدقيقة 59 عن طيق لاعبه كاورو ميتوما بعد تمريرة من مات أورايلي.

وشارك سام مرسي كبديل في صفوف فريقه إيبسويتش تاون بحلول الدقيقة 71 من اللقاء.

وفي الدقيقة 81 عزز برايتون تقدمه بهدف ثانٍ عن طريق لاعبه جورجينيو روتر.

حسمت المباراة بفوز برايتون 2-0 ليرفع رصيده للنقطة 31 في المركز التاسع، وتوقف رصيد إيبسويتش عند 16 نقطة بالمركز 18.

Watching the second Test wend its way towards a draw, it occurred to Vaneisa Baksh that the most exciting cricket really comes from evenly matched teams

Vaneisa Baksh03-Jun-2008

Watching the second Test wend its way towards a draw, it occurred to me that the most exciting cricket really comes from evenly-matched teams, even if they are not strong ones. The cricket is at its most competitive, twisting us into the knots we need to be in to keep watching for five days.By the final day in Antigua, with Australia having declared twice, and West Indies never really sparkling, it had become onerous. Even when the captain Ramnaresh Sarwan made his 11th Test century it had a tired air, as if we had waited too long for him to convert another fifty to a hundred. Ian Bishop mentioned that Sarwan had experienced a good season on account of his three fifties and a century in the Sri Lanka series. That is true, but Sarwan has been playing for eight years, and is an exceptionally good batsman who should have been able to turn more of his 30 half-centuries into hundreds. As it was, he lasted until 128 – a necessary innings if only for pride and to keep the series alive with a draw – and alongside him was the rock, Shivnarine Chanderpaul.Chanderpaul made another century in the first innings, and when the match ended with Ricky Ponting deciding it was not worth his while to plod on, he was 77 not out, having partnered Sarwan to guide West Indies to their first draw with Australia since 1995, and earning the Man-of-the-Match award. “Play it safe,” he said, just try to last it out – an ethic that seems terribly at odds with the flamboyance associated with West Indies cricketers.He held ground the way only Chanderpaul can in these times. In the first innings, his heroics had been simply another day’s work to him, that stoic, workman’s approach to the game that has empowered him above all in this team given to view their wickets as castaways. In truth, it was every man playing according to his nature during the series thus far. Nothing really new has emerged.In the first Test, the bowlers did what had been longed for and reaped wickets, and by doing so went into the second match with a larger measure of hope. Yet the batting was indifferent, and cost a game that should have been the reward for four good days. This has been the nature of the West Indies team; when the bowling and/or fielding is true, the batting tells lies, and vice versa. Rarely do all the elements join the chorus, and this is not just reflective of the squad members.At the barely scuffed grounds of the Sir Vivian Richards stadium in Antigua, what greeted them? They found a pitch that the journalist Garth Wattley described as “a lifeless, brown stretch of earth,” adding vividly that “there was more discernible movement in molasses than off it [on the first day]”.To compete on this corpse, there were no recognised spinners, and five pacers with little difference among them. In a grand sweep, the selectors managed to deflate the momentum gained by the quicks in the previous match because they were asking them to ply their trade on a surface that absorbed their wiles without giving anything back. They also managed to suppress further what little hope there might be for spinners having a chance on the West Indies team, as they again communicated their vision that spin is part-time work for some batsmen.One imagines pitch preparation aligned to the strengths of the home team, and one imagines selections based on maximising conditions that exist – desirable or not. Home advantage did not seem to be a worthy consideration for the administrators.The result was a first day’s play that was excruciatingly lifeless, as if the pitch had sucked away all the energy in its precincts. Spectators could not be bothered to come. There was no West Indian energy to come from off the field, as it did at Sabina Park. Even the fielders couldn’t keep their focus, and under the circumstances, the fumbles were costly and painful to the hard-working bowlers.To make matters worse, the drainage on the outfield was bad enough to lose two sessions on the third day, causing much lamentation over the enormous cost incurred to try to fix this problem repeatedly after it had become evident at the World Cup last year. It was embarrassing, and one wonders whether this had been factored into the decision to hold one of the matches on the ground. Poor umpiring decisions contributed to reducing the scores, a continuing source of debate over technology use.For Ricky Ponting’s men, it would be gratifying to hold on to the Sir Frank Worrell trophy even before they set foot on Barbados soil for the final match. The retirement of Stuart MacGill leaves Australia with yet another hole to fill, but they are a resilient bunch, with a cricket ethic that leaves them formidable even under pressure. The third Test may yet be the most revealing of what might be a turning point for both sides. If only the series was longer.

New Zealand’s middle-order batsman reflects on a bad week for his team

Ross Taylor20-Jun-2008

Ross Taylor launches a six at Old Trafford, but it was a rare attacking stroke in a disappointing team performance © Getty Images
We are here in Bristol, preparing for the third one-day international after a week we’d like to put behind us. It started in Manchester with the continuation of our losing streak in Twenty20 cricket; next we were outplayed in the first one-dayer in Durham and then rain cost us a chance of winning in Birmingham. All in all, there’s no hiding the fact that it’s been a disappointing start to the NatWest Series.We are puzzled by our lack of Twenty20 form, having lost our last seven internationals while being very competitive in 50-over games during the same period. Perhaps it’s a reflection of how little Twenty20 cricket we play internationally and back home in New Zealand. Scott Styris, who has played over 50 matches, is easily the most experienced in Twenty20, while Brendon McCullum is the only other player in the team to have played in the English competition.We are going to have put a lot of effort into our strategy over the next six to twelve months if we want to have a chance of winning the Twenty20 World Cup in England next year. It would have been a plus if New Zealand teams were part of the domestic Twenty20 Champions League later this year, and hopefully we can participate in future tournaments. With Jacob Oram’s Chennai team having qualified, he might get the chance to benefit from more exposure to high-quality Twenty20 cricket.In future years it would be good if some of us had the chance to play Twenty20 regularly in both India and England. Personally, I’ve wanted to play county cricket since I was a kid, though it’s always been the idea of playing consistent first-class cricket and experiencing the English lifestyle that has been the attraction. Now with the ECB’s big plans for domestic Twenty20, a season over here is even more appealing.You should never blame your tools when things go wrong on the field, but when my defensive shot finished down long-on’s throat at Chester-le-Street, it was probably the only time I’ve wished I’d had a dud bat. It was a good batting wicket and I was very annoyed at getting out, but I did see the funny side of it. We struggled in that match and our bowlers received a fair bit of criticism. However they bounced back well on Wednesday, including Grant Elliott’s three-wicket performance on debut.If one of us had to go into the Big Brother house, I reckon Mark Gillespie would have the best chance of doing well. He’d back himself, get the sympathy vote, and I know he would pay people to vote for him. Off the field the guys spend their time in different ways. Jeetan Patel, Jamie How and Brendon are always in the shops buying designer clothes that half of us would never dare to wear. The fantasy baseball players are glued to the internet working out their teams, while the team management tend to be the most adventurous when it comes to getting out and about.With lots of spare time, the players’ partners take care of the touristy stuff. We have an open policy and partners can come on tour for as long as they are able to. These days we all have our own rooms, so there’s no chance of getting kicked out of your room when someone’s girlfriend turns up.We don’t have Big Brother in New Zealand, and it’s become so popular in the team that we’re now discussing what will happen next on the way to training. If one of us had to go into the Big Brother house, I reckon Mark Gillespie would have the best chance of doing well. He’d back himself, get the sympathy vote, and I know he would pay people to vote for him.As I finish writing this, I’m preparing for Croatia’s Euro 2008 quarter-final against Turkey. I drew Croatia in our sweepstake and they’ve impressed me. In fact, the whole tournament has been great to watch, even for someone like me who’s not a big football fan. There can’t be many tournaments where more than half the teams left have a good chance of winning and where there’s a great match on television every night.

There were no airy slashes, few high-risk shots, and yet Virender Sehwag’s innings had the same effect as so many of his cavalier knocks

George Binoy in Mirpur10-Jun-2008

A fleeting glance at the scorecard will tell you that Virender Sehwag scored 89 off 76 balls with 13 fours and a six. While the strike-rate – 117.10 – will suggest a typical Sehwag sizzler, this was a different sort of innings. There were no airy slashes, few high-risk shots, and yet this innings had the same effect as so many of his cavalier knocks.If the change in Sehwag’s approach was a conscious decision, there would have been reasons for it. Inconsistent form in ODIs – his last 50-plus score for India was against Bermuda in the 2007 World Cup – cost him a place in the XI. He was picked for the CB Series earlier this year, but after five failures, India preferred Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa to partner Sachin Tendulkar. Sehwag’s form in the Indian Premier League might have given him the edge over Uthappa for today’s match, but it was Tendulkar’s injury that really opened the door for him.The problems that led to most of Sehwag’s ODI failures – the inability to find the right pace of scoring, or attempting to hit the ball with might – were missing today. His approach was measured and though he cut down on risk, the damage caused was as severe.He began cautiously against testing deliveries from Umar Gul and Sohail Tanvir. His initial forceful shots, off his pads through midwicket and square drives through point, were all played along the ground. When Wahab Riaz pitched short on leg stump on two occasions, Sehwag merely moved inside the line and lapped the ball deftly to the long-leg boundary. Only when the ball was really loose, such as the wide one Gul offered him, did Sehwag go over the top. A significant absence among the shots Sehwag played was his trademark slash over third man – a stroke that has fetched him sixes and dismissals.”That [shot selection] is why he [Sehwag] scored 80 [89] runs,” Mahendra Singh Dhoni, his captain, said later. “You have to pick and choose. A batsman like him can score easily at one run per ball. He just has to pick and choose.”

It wasn’t just about the boundaries, though, as Dhoni put it. Sehwag’s running between the wickets along with Gambhir was “exceptional”. There was an instance in the 17th over, when Gambhir pushed the ball to cover off Iftikhar Anjum. He didn’t go for the single immediately but Sehwag had sprinted towards the danger end, putting pressure on the fielder. The throw was off target – Sehwag may have been home – and the batsmen were able to run an overthrow. His urgency and application today presented a stark contrast to his lackadaisical attitude in a match against Sri Lanka in February 2007, which resulted in one of the most ridiculous run-outs.His innings, however, wasn’t flawless. On 43, he edged one to Kamran Akmal but was dropped; and when on 58, he closed the face of the bat too early but the leading edge lobbed over Shahid Afridi’s head at point. By and large, his shots were orthodox, his timing terrific and placement precise. The outcome was that India began their first ODI after the IPL in Twenty20 mode. They were 43 after five overs, 76 after ten and 143 at the end of the 20th with Sehwag’s contribution being 71 off 63. His first attempt at clearing the boundary, off Riaz, paid off soon after.It took a freak delivery to get him out – a slower one out of the back of Riaz’s hand that bounced awkwardly and took the edge. By that time India were 174 for 2 in just the 24th over. “It’s really important in conditions like this to score off the new ball,” Dhoni said. “Wait for the bad deliveries but still look to score off the new ball. As the game progresses it gets really slow and it’s very difficult to rotate.”The contenders for India’s opening slots are many but if Sehwag continues to blend his aggression with judicious shot selection, he’s a shoo-in for the role. A sentiment Dhoni expressed when he said, “Hopefully, if he’s at his best he will continue to open.”

To one teenager at least, Fraser made relentless application and sweaty doggedness glamorous. Almost

Andrew Miller11-May-2009The summer of 1989 was a desperate time for an impressionable 11-year-old to get hooked on cricket. Four thumping Test defeats, 29 players, a raft of rebel-tour defectors, and Gooch lbw b Alderman 0. Try picking the positives out of that.And yet there was one. A lone pillar of rectitude in a ransacked temple. His shoulders were perpetually stooped but his spirit was never broken, and while the charlatans and showponies were being ruthlessly disembowelled by Allan Border’s freakishly focused Australians, Angus Fraser just ran in and bowled, and ran in and bowled, and ran in and bowled.I had hit upon my hero largely by accident. I had been struggling, as a patriotic Scotsman born in Germany and raised in Dorset, to justify on the one hand my loathing of the England rugby team and on the other my adoration of all things leather and willow. Fraser, born near Wigan and based in Middlesex, but blatantly as Scottish as they came, was all the evidence an 11-year-old needed to have his cake and eat it.But as soon as I saw him bowl, I realised the connection went deeper than any spurious claims to shared ancestry. In Fraser I recognised an anti-athlete at the peak of his powers, a sportsman to inspire the fat, the slow, the red-faced, and the sweaty. I was all of these and more. I loved cricket but was exquisitely hopeless at it.Fraser taught me that there was another way. Line and length, rhythm and control. Parsimony over panache. Every spare moment was spent in the nets, lumbering in, reaching high, competing for the first time with my flash athletic peers who had all the pace but none of the guile. When I was picked as first change for the junior third XI, it was the proudest day of my life.As the summer wore on and England’s poundings continued to mount, Fraser’s pyrrhic successes became the only thing worth clinging to. Take the fifth Test at Trent Bridge. I surveyed it from afar, having been whisked away on a family holiday to Yugoslavia, but a sneaked glimpse at a rare copy of the told me all I needed to know. Australia had amassed 602 for 6 declared, but Fraser had put his peers to shame with 52.3 overs, 18 maidens, 2 for 108. It was genius repackaged as futility.But then suddenly Fraser’s wickets started coming as well and my hero worship went into overdrive. Five for 28 in 20 overs at Sabina Park, as West Indies were sensationally toppled on home turf; eight in the match against India at Lord’s, when Gooch scored 333; and another five-for in the very next Test at Old Trafford. When my parents caught me bouncing on the sofa in glee after India had been skittled for 432 (Fraser 5 for 124), they realised it was time to bite the bullet and indulge my odd obsession.And so off we went to the Oval to watch my very first Test. It was an abominable day’s play, dominated by a tedious Ravi Shastri century, but at the close, I finally met my man. In fact I almost missed him. I’d been immersed in autograph-hunting behind the pavilion, ticking off the names like a trainee anorak, but my mother spotted Fraser’s loping figure plodding into the distance, and bang, I was off – hurtling down the Harleyford Road to intercept him as he fled. I don’t recall speaking as I thrust my bat under his nose. Adrenaline could carry me only so far.

While the charlatans and showponies were being ruthlessly disembowelled by Allan Border’s freakishly focused Australians, Angus Fraser just ran in and bowled, and ran in and bowled, and ran in and bowled

But no sooner had I met him than he was gone. A mystery hip condition, brought on by yet more Ashes futility, left his career hanging by a thread. For two seasons I searched for him in the county scorecards, but under ARC Fraser I found only an imposter with a handful of expensive appearances to his name. “Why aren’t you playing, Angus? We need you,” I shocked myself by shouting when I bumped into him again at the Oval in 1991. “I want to play,” came the plaintive response.But he couldn’t, and didn’t, and I had no choice but to move on. Mike Atherton became my new favourite player (no other bowler cut the mustard), and I took pleasure in England’s rare moments of success. But I still checked the Middlesex card every week, hoping that the big man would return.And then suddenly it happened. A spell of 7 for 40 against Leicestershire in 1993, and the cry went up from the shires that Fraser had got his “snap” back. Two games later he – and I – were back at the Oval for the sixth Test against Australia. But how would I respond? I was now 15 with my first vaguely teenage pretensions – clearly too grown-up for such childish obsessions.Like hell I was. Eight match-winning wickets later I was smugly reminding anyone I’d ever met that Fraser was the greatest medium-fast seam bowler that had ever walked the earth.And I was still doing it five years later as Fraser routed the West Indians in the third Test in Trinidad. Did he lose a certain something after his injury? Maybe. But in an era of slim pickings for players and fans alike, he still cared more passionately than any other English bowler of his generation. His main failing was that he was a sweaty knacker who looked defeated after a single delivery. But as the man himself has been known to grumble, “Bowling is bloody hard work.” It was never in Fraser’s nature to try and pretend otherwise.