The pressure is on the BBL to get big-name players to revive the competition

Alex Malcolm22-Jun-2022

After two years of planning and delays caused by Covid-19 the BBL has finally unveiled an overseas player draft for the upcoming season. Here is everything you need to know.What is the overseas draft?
BBL teams will no longer go out and search for their three overseas players privately. They will select a minimum of two or a maximum of three from a draft that will likely be held on a single day in August. The draft will only be for the overseas players. Domestic players will be contracted in the same way they always are.How do overseas players nominate?
Players get to nominate their price category and their availability in terms of the number of games they can play. The BBL will once again be a 14-game season plus finals and CA are realistic that not all overseas will be available for the whole competition. There will be a nomination window between June and August. Players will be put into four categories: Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze. The players themselves can choose to enter the Gold, Silver, or Bronze band. Platinum players will be decided by the BBL based off the nominations and will be paid an estimated $AUD340,000. A significant portion of that will sit outside the $AUD1.9 million salary cap, with Cricket Australia topping up the deal via a marquee payment. That money is a flat rate and will be paid regardless of whether the player makes themselves available for six games or for 14. There are no match payments in the BBL, as players are contracted with set retainers.Gold players will earn approximately $AUD260,000, Silver $AUD175,000 and Bronze $AUD100,000. Like the Platinum category, a portion will be paid by the club inside the cap and CA will contribute a bonus outside the cap, but the proportion of marquee payments from CA are not consistent across the categories, with Platinum receiving a greater bonus than Bronze. The categories only relate to price, not to availability. So players can nominate to be available for the whole tournament in the Bronze category, or for half the tournament in the Platinum category. Their availability is their currency and teams will have to decide whether a Platinum player with limited availability is worth selecting.What is the draft order?
There will be a weighted lottery to decide the order. The three teams who missed the finals last season – Melbourne Renegades, Brisbane Heat and Melbourne Stars – will enter a lottery for the first three draft picks. Renegades, who finished last, will get three chances to get the first draft pick, Heat two and Stars one. Here’s another way to think of it: there are six balls in the first lottery and three of them are Renegades’ giving them a 50% chance of first pick, whereas Stars, with one ball, only have 16.66% chance.The order of the next five picks will be selected from a second pot featuring the finalists from last season. Again, the lottery will be weighted. Fifth-placed Hobart Hurricanes will get five chances to get the fourth pick, Sydney Thunder four, Adelaide Strikers three, Sydney Sixers two, and defending champions Perth Scorchers will get one. Picks five to eight will be drawn the same way. Once the order is established via the two weighted lotteries, the first two rounds of the draft will run in order from one to eight. Round three will run in reverse order, so team eight will get two selections in a row (notionally pick 16 and 17). Round four will run in normal order again. So team one will get two selections in a row (picks 24 and 25).Cricket Australia

How does the draft work?
There will be four rounds of the draft with each team getting one pick per round. Clubs can pass if they don’t want to pick in certain rounds but must pick a minimum of two or a maximum of three players by the completion of round four. Round one is for Platinum players only. In round two, teams can pick Platinum or Gold players. In round three, teams can select Gold or Silver players. In round four, teams can pick Silver or Bronze players. Teams do not have to select a Platinum player.Can overseas players who are currently connected with BBL clubs be retained?
Yes, they can. But only one. This could be coined the “Rashid Khan rule”. For example, Rashid has played his entire BBL career with Strikers but is almost certainly going to be a Platinum player and available to everyone in the first round. If Renegades get the first pick in the lottery and select Rashid, Strikers have the option to use their retention pick to keep him. Strikers would have to pay the same amount of money and they have to use their pick in the first round to retain him. Renegades would then get the opportunity to pick again. Players such as Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman at Heat, Alex Hales at Thunder and Haris Rauf at Stars could be retention picks given their strong links to the teams if they nominate in the draft.Cricket Australia

Are there swapping of picks?
No, once the draft order is set, it will remain that way.What about replacement players?
Each team can contract up to four replacement overseas players (or five if they have only taken two players at the draft) if their picks in the draft become unavailable due to injury or international duty. There will be an additional $AUD50,000 replacement bonus available for clubs use outside of the salary cap to help recruit replacement players. However, replacement overseas players must have nominated for the draft and to be eligible for the $50,000 teams have to have selected a Platinum player. If a team picks two Platinum players they are eligible for $100,000 salary cap relief. Teams can’t tell overseas players privately not to nominate for the draft and then contract them as replacements. They must have been available to all teams initially in the draft before being available as a replacement.Are the list sizes the same?
Yes. Clubs will have contract lists of 18 players comprising of 15 domestic Australian players and three overseas, although teams can have 16 locals and a minimum of two overseas. Any replacement overseas players are on top of that.What about uncontracted Australian players?
There is a possibility that Australian international players will be available for large portions of the upcoming BBL. Australia’s limited-overs specialists will be available for the first half of the tournament and could be there throughout if the three-match ODI series against South Africa scheduled for January 12-17 does not go ahead. Australia’s Test players will miss the first part of the tournament but will be available from January 9 at the conclusion of the Sydney Test against South Africa.Multi-format internationals like David Warner, Pat Cummins, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green are players who currently do not have BBL contracts with clubs. If they are available, and a club does not have a full list or needs an overseas replacement player, clubs can use the $50,000 replacement bonus, plus any space left in their salary cap, on Australian players to contract them for the back end of the tournament. This ensures that the farcical situation with Smith and Sixers last season will likely be avoided.Will the overseas draft be televised?
The BBL is in discussion with rights holders Channel Seven and Foxtel about televising the draft. Should neither of those networks opt to show it, the draft will likely be streamed online.

Things might not be going their way in the Premier League at present, but Arsenal have a brilliant opportunity to rebuild some positive momentum in Europe tonight.

Mikel Arteta’s side play hosts to the high-flying AS Monaco, who find themselves third in Ligue 1 and 11th in the Champions League, although a win at the Emirates would send them level on points with second-placed Bayer Leverkusen.

So, while the home fans might be expecting a convincing win from the Gunners, they could be in for a harder-fought affair than they’re expecting, especially with the number of injury concerns the North Londoners have at present.

That said, with how things panned out last time the two sides met in Europe’s premier competition, there could be a desire for revenge…

Arsenal's last Champions League game against Monaco

So, the last time Arsenal played Monaco was in the 2023 Emirates Cup, but the last competitive game between the two teams was the second leg of a Champions League quarter-final in March 2015.

The Gunners went into the game 3-1 down on aggregate thanks to a horror show of a first leg that saw a young Anthony Martial pick up an assist in the first half and Bernardo Silva do the same in the second 45.

The North Londoners knew they had to either win 3-0 or score enough goals to come out ahead on the away goals rule.

Unfortunately, neither of those things happened, as a 36th-minute strike from Olivier Giroud and another from Aaron Ramsey in the 79th minute saw Arsène Wenger’s side exit the competition courtesy of away goals.

So, Arteta will be hoping he fares slightly better against the French side later tonight.

Arsenal team news

Unfortunately for Arsenal fans, the only team news is bad news at the moment.

Seven players missed the open training session yesterday afternoon, and then in his press conference afterwards, Arteta confirmed that they were all doubts for tonight’s clash.

As if it were some cosmic joke, six of the seven who could miss out are defenders and have, at some point or another, played at full-back this season.

We know Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White are out and will likely remain so for some time, and it’s now been confirmed that Riccardo Calafiori has a groin issue and Gabriel Magalhaes is suffering from a muscle problem.

Lastly, Jurrien Timber, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Thomas Partey were part of the seven that missed training, so could well also be ruled out for the game.

Arsenal predicted lineup vs Monaco

So, with the club seemingly in the midst of a defensive injury crisis, it looks like Arteta could make five changes to the lineup that drew with Fulham on Sunday.

There is always a chance that the Spaniard could potentially turn to the club’s forgotten man, Kieran Tierney, but history tells us that’s just not going to happen.

Instead, fans could see the incredibly exciting Myles Lewis-Skelly make his full Champions League debut on the left, while fellow academy gem Josh Nichols, who impressed on pre-season, could be called in as emergency cover at right-back should Timber not be fit enough to start.

Given the inexperience of the full-backs, it seems almost certain that Jakub Kiwior and William Saliba will keep their places at centre-back, while Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice could keep their places in the team, with Mikel Merino stepping in for Jorginho.

Up top could see Raheem Sterling given a rare start ahead of Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli, who were poor at Craven Cottage, while Bukayo Saka will likely keep his place off the right, and Gabriel Jesus could get a start in the competition he produced seven goal involvements in last year.

Arsenal predicted lineup in full: Raya, Nichols, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly, Rice, Merino, Odegaard, Saka, Sterling, Jesus.

Havertz upgrade: Arsenal chasing move for one of Europe's 'best young CFs'

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By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Dec 11, 2024

حقق فريق زد فوزًا صعبًا على الإسماعيلي بنتيجة 2-0، في المباراة التي جمعت بينهما ضمن منافسات بطولة الدوري المصري.

وأقيمت مباراة بين الإسماعيلي وزد على أرضية استاد الإسماعيلية ضمن منافسات الجولة الثالثة من المرحلة الفاصلة بالدوري المصري.

وسجل مصطفى سعد “ميسي”، هدف زد الأول في الدقيقة 58، بعدما تلقى تمريرة من مصطفى زيكو في الجبهة اليمنى لمنطقة الجزاء، وصوب الكرة بقوة وارتطمت في هشام محمد لاعب الإسماعيلي ودخلت المرمى.

وأضاف شادي حسين الهدف الثاني، في الدقيقة 62 من تسديدة أرضية من على حدود منطقة الجزاء سكنت أسفل يسار حارس الإسماعيلي. أهداف فوز زد أمام الإسماعيلي في الدوري المصري

وبهذه النتيجة وصل رصيد زد للنقطة 27 محتلاً صدارة ترتيب مجموعة الهبوط للدوري المصري، بينما تجمد رصيد الإسماعيلي عند 18 نقطة بالمركز السابع في المجموعة.

طالع.. فيديو | الجونة وسموحة يكتفيان بالتعادل في صراع الهبوط بالدوري

يشهد الدوري المصري الممتاز هذا الموسم تطبيق نظام جديد يهدف إلى زيادة التنافسية وتقليل عدد المباريات، وبحسب التعديلات، تقام المرحلة الأولى من البطولة بنظام الدور الواحد بين جميع الفرق، على أن يتم لاحقًا تقسيم الأندية إلى مجموعتين بناءً على الترتيب النهائي.

وتضم المجموعة الأولى الأندية من المركز الأول وحتى المركز التاسع، حيث تتنافس هذه الفرق على لقب الدوري، بينما تشمل المجموعة الثانية الأندية من المركز العاشر حتى الثامن عشر، والتي ستتنافس لتفادي الهبوط.

وبموجب النظام الجديد، تقرر هبوط فريقين فقط إلى دوري الدرجة الثانية “دوري المحترفين”، بدلاً من هبوط ثلاثة فرق كما كان معمولًا به في المواسم السابقة.

Whilst West Bromwich Albion’s main priorities at this moment in time rest on appointing a new manager, the January transfer window will also obviously be on the club’s mind.

After all, the Baggies will need some new recruits here and there to ensure they can sustain a battle for the rest of the season to be in and around those Championship playoff spots, regardless of who Carlos Corberan’s successor ends up being.

Whilst the rumour mill is very active in throwing out names in that regard, it is also going into overdrive with some rumoured incomings on the pitch at the Hawthorns, with this exciting loanee touted to make a move to the West Midlands.

West Brom make enquiry over Championship star

As per a fresh report by the Daily Mail Online, West Brom have made an enquiry about snapping up Liverpool youngster Lewis Koumas, who is known to Championship fans already for some standout moments on loan at Stoke City this season.

Sheffield United are also named as an onlooker keen on adding the 19-year-old winger to their ranks this month, but the Baggies could hold an advantage in this tussle.

Koumas’ father Jason was a beloved figure for the promotion candidates when he dazzled defences on a regular basis as a maverick in the middle, with those at the Hawthorns now hoping his son can be equally as spellbinding in attack if a move does materialise.

It remains to be seen whether or not Liverpool will cut short the Stoke deal to allow West Brom to swoop in, but if a deal were to happen, Koumas’ addition might well have the same impact as Mikey Johnston’s arrival in through the door last January conjured up.

What Koumas can offer West Brom

The teenager will obviously hope he has a bright future at Anfield ahead, but in the here and now, the 19-year-old would love to make a step up the division and show the Baggies what he’s made of in the midst of a promotion push.

In a Stoke camp that has underperformed to the point where a managerial dismissal took place, the raw Welshman has still managed to stand out with an encouraging four goals and two assists tallied up from 29 appearances, which included this acrobatic effort against Bristol City sailing in back in October.

Club played for

Games played

Goals scored

Assists

Stoke

29

4

2

Liverpool (first team)

1

1

0

Liverpool U21s

21

9

5

Liverpool U18s

24

18

6

Liverpool (youth league)

6

2

0

Koumas could also take to the pressure of playing for a team near the top of the Championship table in his stride, having scored on his senior debut for the Reds after lighting up many a youth pitch for his boyhood employers, with Jurgen Klopp labelling his contribution as “wonderful” to watch.

Of course, he won’t walk straight into the side, with the likes of Johnston shining in recent weeks in attack after he was once just a loan punt himself.

Now, he’s a consistent performer for his side week in week out after penning a permanent deal last transfer window, with nine goals and four assists amassed from 42 games.

There would have been some anxiety in the air that the Republic of Ireland international would be a flop, having put in some solid but unspectacular numbers for Celtic with 13 goals and 12 assists tallied up in Glasgow, but he would ultimately explode into life in England.

At least in this instance, it’s known that Koumas can perform at the level – and with the added plus that he can play all across the attacking positions – this will surely be an addition the new West Brom boss will love working with.

West Brom could hire Wicky alternative who "lives in the West Midlands"

West Bromwich Albion could now appoint this manager to replace Carlos Corberan.

2 ByKelan Sarson Jan 7, 2025

It’s no secret that the primary reason behind Manchester City’s enormous downturn in form this season is Rodri’s absence.

The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner ruptured his ACL against Arsenal in late-September, and the Sky Blues’ season has spiralled into oblivion ever since, winning just three of their last 15 matches, staggeringly losing ten of them.

So, with current options İlkay Gündoğan and Mateo Kovačić ill-equipped to fill Rodri’s ginormous void at the base of midfield, will the beleaguered four-in-a-row Premier League champions dip into the January transfer market?

Man City looking at Premier League midfielder

According to reports from Spain earlier this week, Manchester City have ‘set their sights’ on Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Carlos Baleba.

Baleba, a 20-year-old Cameroon international, joined the Seagulls from LOSC Lille in August 2023 for a reported fee of €27m (£23.2m), with the Ligue 1 side retaining a 15% sell-on clause, meaning les Dogues will certainly be hoping Man City make a move.

Baleba has been a key figure for Fabian Hürzeler’s side, starting 15 of the last 18 Premier League matches, while only two outfield Brighton players have accumulated more minutes during this campaign thus far; Kaoru Mitoma and Jan Paul van Hecke, in case you were wondering.

Transfermarkt currently values Baleba at €35m (£29m), but Brighton would surely demand more for one of their most prized assets.

Transfer Focus

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

As noted by Brian Owen of the Argus, the Seagulls have earned a reputation as “tough negotiators”, most notably selling Moisés Caicedo for a British record £115m, as well as Marc Cucurella for a reported £62m, also joining Chelsea, while Benjamin White moved to Arsenal for £50m.

So, if Man City do want to land their man, they’ll have to pay top-dollar, but would Beleba be worth a heavy investment?

How Carlos Baleba would improve Manchester City

Of course, any defensive midfielder Man City sign, or are even interested in signing, will be compared to Rodri, so how do the pair compare?

Minutes

2,959

5,686

Appearances

58

67

Touches

1,856

5,625

Passes attempted

1,429

5,177

Pass completion %

90.6%

92%

Progressive passes *

4.00

11.6

Tackles won *

1.43

1.31

Interceptions *

1.64

0.64

Ball recoveries *

6.63

7.30

% of aerial duels won

68.9%

68%

Yellow cards

13

15

Red cards

1

1

Despite his current lay-off, since the start of last season, Rodri has played almost exactly double the number of minutes Baleba has, making the Cameroonian’s statistics all the more impressive.

During this timeframe, on a per-90-minute basis, Baleba significantly exceeds Rodri when it comes to tackles and interceptions, but is marginally behind for ball recoveries, underlining that the Brighton man is better out of possession.

Raj Cohan of Premier League Panel on Twitter described Baleba’s halftime introduction during the Seagulls’ win over Man City in November as “game-changing”, adding he had the “power to smash Haaland out of the way”.

On the flip side, Rodri’s in-possession passing numbers are off the scale, attempting close to a pass every minute, while Baleba’s figures are around half that.

Meantime, Rodri completed 546 progressive passes, defined as a pass that moves the ball “at least 30 meters closer to the opponent’s goal”, over eight per game on average, which is a ridiculously high figure.

Nevertheless, Baleba’s out-of-possession, ball-winning proficiency could be a major asset given that, as Barney Ronay for the Guardian noted, Man City keep letting in the same goal on the counter-attack repeatedly, with Pep Guardiola himself saying his team “conceded the goals we didn’t concede” in the past.

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ByBen Gray Dec 31, 2024

Ella Toone knows all about the pressure of being a Manchester United No.7, but she intends to emulate Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• England star fills iconic jersey
• Has embraced that pressure
• Pleased with efforts in 2024-25

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Lionesses star, who helped England to European Championship glory in 2022, has taken on the most iconic of jerseys at the club that she grew up supporting. At 25 years of age. Toone is a talismanic presence for the Red Devils – having helped them to lift the FA Cup last season.

Advertisement

• Getty/GOAL
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Toone is following in some illustrious footsteps when it comes to United’s No.7 shirt, but she claims to thrive under that pressure and wants to help cement the legacy of a squad number that has weighed heavy on some other notable names.

• WHAT ELLA TOONE SAID

  Toone has told the : “It’s a pinch-me moment every time I see it and every time I pull it on, I think, ‘Wow. I was a little girl with a big dream – and one that probably wasn't possible at the time – and now I'm stepping out onto the pitch for Manchester United and wearing my idol’s number seven shirt’.

  “And everyone knows what number seven means to Man United. It's a big number, and a lot of legends have worn that shirt before, and hopefully, I can come under that bracket when I pass it on as well.”

• Getty Images Sport
  

  DID YOU KNOW?

  The odd question has been asked of United in the 2024-25 campaign, but Marc Skinner’s side occupy a Champions League qualification spot and remain on course to defend their FA Cup crown. With that in mind, Toone said: “Looking back on last season, it wasn't the season that we'd wanted as a club and as players, but we've got some new players in now and we're really hungry to do well. We’ve really bought into Marc’s style of play, and he knows that he’s got an energetic squad with a lot of players willing to run through brick walls for each other, and we’ve really come together as a team and shown that in our performances.

  “I do think we slip under the radar a bit. You’ve got the ‘Big Three’ teams of Chelsea, City, and Arsenal, and we are up there, competing with them. But I think for us, we are not really bothered what other people think. We’ve got a good group of girls, really good staff, and if we’re under the radar, then that's fine. We'll go about our business and get on with it.”

The duo will now travel to Pakistan for the three ODIs starting June 8 in Multan

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jun-2022Rovman Powell and Romario Shepherd will miss the ongoing three-match ODI series in the Netherlands because of visa delays, Cricket West Indies (CWI) said in a statement on Friday.Both Powell and Shepherd immediately travelled to London from India after their participation in the IPL, as their visa interviews could not have taken place in India due to the IPL bio-secure protocols. The CWI statement said that “despite having the interviews the day after their arrival, they are both still in London awaiting the appropriate visas to be able to travel to the Netherlands.”Powell played for Delhi Capitals and played his last game on May 21 in Mumbai, whereas Shepherd, who represented Sunrisers Hyderabad, played his last match in the IPL on May 22. Both teams did not qualify for the IPL playoffs which would have given the West Indies squad hope of the two players making it for the ODIs in Netherlands.Related

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Pakistan vs WI ODIs moved from Rawalpindi to Multan

The final match of the ongoing ODI series – which West Indies currently lead 2-0 – will take place on Saturday in Amstelveen, which means Powell and Shepherd will now directly fly to Pakistan for the ODI series starting June 8 in Multan. For the final game in Amstelveen, West Indies will again have only 13 players available for selection, like in the first two matches.The West Indies squad will travel from Amsterdam to Pakistan on Sunday for matches at the Multan Cricket Stadium on June 8, 10 and 12. The games were initially slotted for Rawalpindi but were moved to Multan in light of political uncertainty in Islamabad, the country’s capital, adjacent to Rawalpindi.ODI squad to Pakistan: Nicholas Pooran (capt), Shai Hope (vice-capt), Nkrumah Bonner, Shamarh Brooks, Keacy Carty, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Shermon Lewis, Kyle Mayers, Anderson Phillip, Rovman Powell, Jayden Seales, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh Jr.

New white-ball captain doesn’t expect T20 World Cup XI to take field until Australia tour

Matt Roller01-Jul-2022

Jos Buttler, England’s new white-ball captain, does not expect to have his best team available to him until two weeks before the T20 World Cup due to fixture congestion.England will play 12 limited-overs internationals – three ODIs and three T20Is against both India and South Africa – in 25 days from July 7, and announced their squads for the India fixtures on Friday. Players involved in the ongoing Test match in Birmingham will be rested for the T20I leg of the series, which starts two days after the scheduled fifth day.”The way the schedule is, you’ve got to manage players,” Buttler told Sky Sports at Edgbaston, before travelling to Worcester for a rare Lancashire appearance in the T20 Blast tonight. “We have to be very honest about that: with the T20s starting two days after this game here is due to end, it’s not possible for guys to play all the cricket.Buttler: Hales ‘up for selection’

Jos Buttler clarified on Friday that Alex Hales is available for England selection but has simply been overlooked.
Hales, 33, has not played for England since a positive drugs test saw him axed from their 2019 World Cup squad shortly before the tournament.
“Alex is up for selection as everyone is in the country,” Buttler said. “We’re really blessed with a lot of strength in depth at the moment.
“We’ve been really impressed with certain guys who’ve come in and deserve their chance, but no, everyone is available for selection.”

“What’s important for me, looking ahead to that World Cup, is we play three T20s against Australia before that World Cup starts and that would be the time I’d like to go into that series with what I think is going to be our team to start that World Cup.”England tour Pakistan for seven T20Is in September-October but red-ball players are unlikely to be available at the start of the series, with the third Test against South Africa due to finish on September 12. “That maybe clashes a little bit with the Test matches,” Buttler said.”There may be a few games that we have to manage through that period and maybe they don’t come to Pakistan or maybe just do a little bit of it. Seven games is a lot, so that gives us a chance to expose players to pressure situations as well. The guys we are talking about who probably won’t be available are seasoned pros and quite experienced, so I don’t see it being a problem.”Buttler lost his own place in the Test side after this winter’s Ashes and played down the prospect of a recall after Kumar Sangakkara, his Rajasthan Royals coach, mooted the possibility of him returning to the side as an opening batter. “I thought someone had written the wrong story, to be honest,” he told the BBC’s . “I don’t think there’s much merit in that.”He added to Sky: “I’m really enjoying watching as a fan, at the minute. To be honest, I wasn’t worth my place in the side. I got left out on merit. I’ve got a great challenge with the white-ball team now, becoming captain as well. I’m really excited for that challenge and that’s where all my energy is.”Buttler described Ben Stokes, his Test counterpart who last played a T20I in March 2021, as “someone you want in your team… in any format of the game” and added that the door remains open for Joe Root to win a short-form recall. “His opportunities have been really, really limited but he’s certainly someone we’ll always keep an eye on, because he’s a top-class player,” Buttler said.Related

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Multi-format player workloads top of agenda for England's new management

He also played down any concerns about his own workload, insisting that he is “really keen” to continue keeping wicket even while captaining and opening the batting in the T20I side. “Keeping wicket is a nice place to captain from,” he said. “I’ll be running around, pretty busy, but T20 is a pretty short game.”Buttler was speaking publicly for the first time since his appointment as Eoin Morgan’s successor was officially confirmed. He said that he “can’t be Morgs – I’ve got to be myself” but added that he hopes to emulate the manner in which Morgan led from the front by playing in the ultra-attacking style that he encouraged throughout his tenure.”He asked people to play in a certain way and he would walk out, third ball, running down the wicket, trying to hit it over long-on for six,” Buttler said. “As a fellow player, you watch your captain do that and you think ‘let’s tuck in behind him and follow that lead’.”He suggested that Morgan should remain involved in English cricket in some capacity down the line “because you can’t waste great minds like that”, and addressed the subject of using data in his captaincy, hinting that he will continue to use the coded-signal system that Nathan Leamon, the team’s analyst, has implemented in the last 18 months.”It’d be naive not to use the data that’s there, but the skill of that is how you use it,” Buttler said. “It’s not as black and white as what the numbers tell you. I’d still quite like to have some cricket intuition. I just see it as an extra piece of information that can be there, and whether you use it or not, is then my call.”

The disappointment wasn’t amiss in coach Russell Domingo’s voice after the end of the second day’s play. West Indies led by 106 runs after going up to 340 at stumps, but it was a far cry from being reduced to 132 for 4 shortly before lunch as the visitors were buoyant after inflicting a sudden batting collapse.The home side lost four wickets for 32 runs, three of those for one run in the space of 12 deliveries. But Kyle Mayers and Jermaine Blackwood responded with a dominating 116-run fifth wicket stand that took the sting out of Bangladesh for the remaining two sessions. Mayers reached his second Test century while adding another 92 runs for the unbroken sixth wicket with Joshua Da Silva.Domingo said that Bangladesh have been giving up similar great positions in the recent past, mostly due to their habit of trying to get wickets rather than doing what was working for them during a good time.”It is the story of our Test match cricket at the moment,” Domingo said. “We are good for one session and then we have one really bad session. Guys were not patient. They couldn’t string together enough tight overs like we did in the first session. They were searching for wickets, bowled a few soft balls, came around the wicket when it should be over the wicket. They just made basic errors by not being patient enough. It was very disappointing the way we bowled after lunch.Related

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“The message is always to bowl dots, building pressure, stay in control of the run-rate. As soon as you go looking for wickets, you just bowl too many soft balls. Being patient, being disciplined are the sort of messages that we try to emphasize. We do it for one session but we can’t do it for another session.”But the discussion went back to Bangladesh’s underwhelming first innings score of 234. They have failed to reach 300 runs in nine out of ten completed innings this year.”There are some serious questions with bat and ball at the moment,” he said. “It was not a 230 all out wicket. If it weren’t for a 30-run partnership in the end, we would be 190 all out. We are just not good enough at putting performances together with the bat. West Indies are showing us why they are better than us. They have managed to build partnerships and withstand the pressure. They just bat long – that’s the bottom line.”Domingo said that the Bangladesh batters should learn from the West Indies batters, particularly Mayers who has now scored two centuries in as many series, particularly when his team was in big trouble. “There’s a lot of players searching for form, searching for runs. The only way to get through it is to bat for long periods of time. Lot of 30s and 40s, the odd 50. Nobody is doing what Kyle Mayers is doing.”His big 126 is the difference between getting 230 and 400. They chased down 400 against us in Chattogram. He got a 200. But we are not getting those big scores. It is a big lesson for the boys. Test match is hard. When you are not batting as well, teams will punish you,” he said.

Liverpool are interested in signing a 23-year-old superstar in the January transfer window, according to an update from reliable journalist David Ornstein, and may now use a current player as part of the deal.

Liverpool transfer news

The Reds have had a slight wobble in recent days, drawing 2-2 at home to Manchester United in the Premier League and then losing 1-0 away to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg.

There is certainly no need to panic, but supporters wouldn’t be against the idea of new faces coming in this month, in order to bolster a squad that may be feeling a little jaded. Liverpool have been linked with a move for Bayern Munich legend Joshua Kimmich, who is out of contract at the end of the season, as his club look to potentially receive some money for his services in January.

Another Bayern player, Leroy Sane, has also been mentioned as a possible option for the Reds, should Arne Slot want to add even more quality in wide areas. He does turn 29 years of age this weekend, however, so wouldn’t be a long-term addition, like Kimmich for that matter.

Darwin Nunez continues to flatter to deceive in a Liverpool shirt, with a summer exit not out of the question, and Napoli striker Victor Osimhen has been backed to come in as a replacement for him. The Nigerian is currently on loan at Galatasaray.

Liverpool could sell player to sign Kvaratskhelia

Writing on X on Thursday evening, Ornstein claimed that Liverpool are interested in signing Napoli superstar Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in January, should the chance arise to snap him up amid PSG’s race to secure his signature.

Now, TEAMtalk report a new development that the Reds are willing to offer Federico Chiesa as part of a deal to sign the Georgian superstar, following a disappointing start to his Anfield career. The Merseysiders are reluctant to pay as much as £67m, so the Italian would be used to bring that number down.

The 23-year-old Georgian could be an unbelievable signing by the Reds, considering he is one of Europe’s most devastating wide players on his day, wreaking havoc with his dribbling brilliance and end product – he has 59 goal involvements in 107 appearances for Napoli.

Kvaratskhelia has terrorised Liverpool in the past, assisting against them a 4-1 win in the Champions League in 2022/23, and Jurgen Klopp has said of him: “He has speed, he is cheeky, he goes inside, he can go outside, that makes it always really difficult.

“A good player and I thought Trent played a really good game against him, was really on fire, didn’t get frustrated by one or two situations where he was second-best, stayed in the game and I liked Trent’s game tonight.”

Granted, some may feel that another left winger isn’t a priority for Liverpool, with Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz both great options there, but you don’t pass up the opportunity to sign such a special player if it arises.

Related New target: Liverpool now want to sign £300,000-a-week versatile defender

He could be a perfect replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold at Anfield.

Posts ByBen Browning Jan 9, 2025

Not only that, but if Nunez does leave, Diaz could be used centrally moving forward like he has at times this season, allowing Kvaratskhelia to battle Gakpo for minutes. The idea of him in a Reds shirt is mouthwatering, and it will be fascinating to see if anything develops.

As for Chiesa, on £150k a week at Anfield, he needs to kick on quickly if he is to remain at Liverpool beyond the summer, having not started a single Premier League game this season.