Rodri has picked out four players that could succeed him as the Ballon d’Or winner in 2025, with Lamine Yamal considered to be in the mix.
Spanish midfielder took the crown in 2024New recipient lined up for prestigious prizePSG & Barca superstars leading that raceFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
On the back of helping Manchester City to the Premier League title and Spain to European Championship glory, all-action midfielder Rodri was named the best player on the planet in 2024.
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He has endured a tough time since then, with knee ligament damage writing off much of his 2024-25 campaign, and that means a prestigious Golden Ball will be passed on to a new recipient when another glitzy ceremony takes place in Paris on September 22.
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Paris Saint-Germain’s exploits last season, as they broke their Champions League duck, are considered to make Ousmane Dembele a leading contender for the Ballon d’Or. Barcelona wonderkid Yamal remains part of that conversation at 18 years of age.
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Getty/GOALWHAT RODRI SAID
Asked to pick out his leading contenders, City talisman Rodri told reporters: “The Ballon d’Or is difficult. PSG has been the team of the season, and it would be hard not to give it to someone from that team. I’m happy for Luis Enrique. I’d like to see Lamine or Pedri win it for my affinity with them, but on sporting merit, Dembele or Vitinha.”
Manchester United finished 15th in the Premier League last season, with emphasis on the word ‘last’.
Ruben Amorim didn’t mince his words when talking about the need to turn things around and use the 2024/25, and all the baggage that came with it, as a springboard for the future, finally ending these endless years of frustration for one of the game’s biggest superpowers.
Fixing the frontline was always going to be among the chief priorities for the Old Trafford side, and INEOS started on a strong footing there, signing Matheus Cunha from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a £62.5m fee, the Brazil forward rejecting interest from a host of Premier League suitors to join the Red Devils.
Efforts for Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo are ongoing, but the pointers suggest that the right-sided forward will join up with Amorim’s squad in the coming weeks, having expressed a burning desire to make the switch.
This is all well and good, but Man United still need to sign a central striker.
Why Man Utd need a new striker
By all accounts, Amorim wanted to commence pre-season with Marcus Rashford, Antony, Jadon Sancho and Alejandro Garnacho all sold. That hasn’t happened, and they have all informed the hierarchy of their wish to depart.
More concerning, perhaps, is Rasmus Hojlund’s continued presence in the Man United senior squad.
The Danish striker, 22, was well out of sorts last term, and has been heavily linked with a summer exit, Inter Milan showing the most interest in his signature.
Hojlund is clearly a talented forward, but after such an abject run across the recent campaign, it might be a good idea for him to leave, not least because Sir Jim Ratcliffe openly admitted that the young talent was inherited from the past regime, and that he would “have to sort that out”.
Well, whether Hojlund goes or not, United’s movements in the market thus far suggest that a central frontman is on the agenda.
And they’ve been locked in talks for one of the best that Europe has to offer.
Man Utd open talks for new striker
According to talkSPORT, Manchester United have made a fresh enquiry for Eintracht Frankfurt centre-forward Hugo Ekitike, who is one of the hottest commodities in the market this summer.
Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike
Ekitike has been coveted by a host of Premier League sides this summer, with United joined in their interest by Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool.
However, with the Gunners closing in on Gyokeres, Jason Wilcox might feel he has a good shot at securing the talented Frenchman’s signature.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
Frankfurt value their man at €100m (£85m), a figure they are unwilling to budge on and suitors are as yet unwilling to meet.
What Hugo Ekitike would bring to Man United
Ekitike is only 22 years old, but he’s already established himself as “one of the best strikers out there”, as said by analyst Ben Mattinson.
After leaving Paris Saint-Germain for Frankfurt in January 2024, initially on loan, he’s only gone from strength to strength, scoring 22 goals and supplying 12 assists across 48 matches in all competitions last season.
Ekitike’s natural finishing ability is neat and all, but his high-speed movements and all-round presence in the final third have led journalist Graeme Bailey to dub him “the next Mbappe”, with such a skill set surely perfect for the frontline Amorim is trying to build, namely with Mbeumo circling in on the Theatre of Dreams.
Runners – and confident ones at that – were in short supply at Old Trafford last season. Adding Mbeumo and Ekitike would do wonders, building back up a will to win and work which would pour over to the rest of the squad.
He’s certainly performing at a superior level to Hojlund, and could in that sense prove the perfect centre-forward for Mbeumo to combine with and rekindle the United attack.
Hugo Ekitike vs Rasmus Hojlund (League – 24/25)
Stats (per 90)
Ekitike
Hojlund
Goals scored
0.53
0.18
Assists
0.28
0.00
Shots taken
4.00
1.44
Shot-creating actions
3.55
1.53
Touches (att pen)
6.88
3.32
Progressive passes
1.86
0.82
Progressive carries
3.27
1.26
Successful take-ons
1.83
0.40
Ball recoveries
3.06
1.57
Tackles + interceptions
0.81
0.22
All data via FBref
Quite comprehensively, Hojlund was outstripped by his French counterpart, like bark from a sun-weathered tree.
Ekitike’s dynamic movements and innate creative flair suggest he could be perfect for a pair of goal-focused wide forwards such as Cunha and Mbeumo.
Of course, Mbeumo isn’t only about goalscoring. The Cameroonian racked up seven assists in the Premier League last season, creating 17 big chances across the campaign and averaging 1.8 key passes per game, as per Sofascore.
He also finished the campaign ranked among the top 9% of Premier League attacking midfielders and wingers for crosses completed per 90 (FBref), so he would be well equipped to turn provider for the rangy striker when required.
Bryan Mbeumo celebrates for Brentford
The fact that the Red Devils have tweaked their strategy and appear to be intent on signing Prem-proven quality alongside the rising phenoms from overseas like Ekitike bespeaks the new era, incipient but inspired by the struggles of recent years, of ensuring that a corner will be turned.
United were at their nadir last season, and no mistake. However, Amorim is a tactician worth his salt, and he might just piece together a squad capable of competing at the top once more, with the likes of Mbeumo playing with the perfect frontman in Ekitike.
Let’s see how this one pans out over the coming weeks.
Cunha 2.0 for Amorim: Man Utd in talks to sign "unstoppable" £35m star
Manchester United are still planning to make some attacking signings this summer.
Lord’s will host two men’s Tests this summer, with England’s third Test against India slotted for the venue as well
ESPNcricinfo staff03-Sep-2024
Pat Cummins poses with the Test mace after winning the previous edition of the WTC•ICC/Getty Images
The final of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 will be played at Lord’s from June 11.India and Australia are currently the top two teams on the points table with 68.52 and 62.50 percentage points respectively, but the identity of the finalists will not be known till next year. For India, who were the losing finalists in both the previous WTCs, there are ten Tests left to play in the cycle – two at home against Bangladesh, three at home against New Zealand, and five away in Australia; Australia, the defending champions, also have an away series of two Tests in Sri Lanka.”Winning the World Test Championship was, and still is, a big goal for this team,” Pat Cummins, Australia’s Test captain, said in a statement. “It is the culmination of hard work and consistency over the two-year cycle for all teams. So hopefully we will be there again, there’s a lot of cricket still to be played between now and then, and the fans can get a chance to watch us defend the title.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd
New Zealand (50.00) are currently at No. 3 on the nine-team table and, after their historic 2-0 series win in Pakistan, Bangladesh (45.83) are at No. 4. They are followed by England (45.00) and South Africa (38.89). Sri Lanka, Pakistan and West Indies are the bottom three teams at the moment.England has been picked as the venue for all three WTC finals so far, the first having been in Southampton and the second at The Oval.”We’re delighted to be working with the ICC to bring the World Test Championship final to Lord’s for the first time,” Guy Lavender, the MCC chief executive and secretary, said. “It is our great privilege to be asked to host a final of any kind but to welcome the two best men’s sides in Test cricket – our most cherished format – is a singular honour. It will be an experience not to be missed, adding to the storied 140-year history of Lord’s Tests.”Lord’s will host two Tests next summer, the other being the England vs India Test from July 10 to 14. That is the third Test of that tour, which will start at Headingley on June 20, followed by Tests at Edgbaston (from July 2), Lord’s, Old Trafford (from July 23) and The Oval (from July 31). If India make the final of the WTC, it will mean six Tests in a row for them in England.
Blain recently accused Cricket Scotland of “rewriting history a week after I was forced to go public to clear my name”
Melinda Farrell20-Jun-2024Trudy Lindblade, Cricket Scotland’s CEO, has described public comments made by John Blain at the formal conclusion of independent investigations into allegations of racist behaviour as “very disappointing”.Blain, the former Scotland and Yorkshire bowler, claimed last week that he had been “exonerated” of allegations of racism after making public a letter he received from Lindblade’s predecessor, Peter FItzboydon, in January.On Tuesday, Blain issued a subsequent statement, pre-empting Cricket Scotland’s formal conclusion of the independent investigations process that had stemmed from the ‘Changing the Boundaries’ report in 2022 (which had found Cricket Scotland to be institutionally racist). In it, Blain threatened legal action against the board, and accused Cricket Scotland of “a craven, disingenuous and despicable attempt… to rewrite history a week after I was forced to go public to clear my name.”At the centre of the row is Fitzboydon’s letter to Blain, dated January 12, in which he stated that allegations of racism against him had been “unfounded”. Cricket Scotland clarified in its statement on Tuesday that those allegations against Blain had not been progressed further “due to a combination of insufficient evidence, a lack of an applicable rule at the time of the complaint, and/or a lack of jurisdictional remit or authority to take formal action”.Related
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But Blain has accused Cricket Scotland of making “a desperate attempt to reinvent history and to row back from an unequivocal exoneration”, and alleged Lindblade had confirmed the claims were “unfounded” on a phone call shortly after she replaced Fitzboydon in February.”Not only did Pete Fitzboydon, the CEO of Cricket Scotland, write to me in January to say that all of the claims against me were unfounded, that I had no case to answer, and my case was closed, but that position was clearly confirmed by his successor Trudy Lindblade in a phone call with me in February,” wrote Blain in his statement.”She reiterated on the call that the claims against me were unfounded and the case against me was closed. I am sure that, if asked, she will publicly confirm that to be the case.”Lindblade confirmed she made the phone call to Blain in February and, while unwilling to give specific details of the conversation, said Cricket Scotland would take up the matter with Blain and his legal representatives.”It’s disappointing to have such a personal comment made in a public space,” Lindblade told ESPNcricinfo. “I had a conversation with John in the first weeks of starting in my role. It’s very disappointing that lines have been drawn. We can’t get into specific cases and it’s something that we should speak to John and his representatives directly.”Lindblade said she has had contact with both complainants and those accused in the allegations under investigation since taking up the role, although the processes in place prevented her from contacting everyone involved.”I tried to meet with whom I could work with, what was appropriate to do,” said Lindblade. “These are confidential cases and I have a role to play. But certainly, it was impossible to meet with everyone and due to the confidential nature of the processes sitting within the investigation team, that was not able to be done. But if someone reached out to me, I looked within a very busy schedule to try and communicate back in whatever way, shape or form that was.”Cricket Scotland’s concluding statement said five of the 51 completed referrals had proceeded to disciplinary processes. Most of the referrals failed to meet the criteria required to proceed further, Blain’s included, which centred on allegations made during an ICC-sponsored tour of Kenya in 2007.Lindblade believes the wholesale changes made within Cricket Scotland since the publication of the Changing the Boundaries report are sufficiently robust to deal with any future allegations of racist behaviour.”We have got really strong processes and procedures in place now,” she said. “We have overhauled our code of conduct, we have brought in a Conduct in Sport Manager with significant experience. We have put a number of things in place so, if this was to happen now, we would have a process that it would fit within, but the same principles apply. [If it’s] a rule breach, there needs to be clear evidence of what the rule is and then what the breach of that rule is.”It’s quite technical, but it’s really important because that’s why we have codes of conduct. That’s why we have these processes, to enable us to listen to everyone in the same way. The other thing I would say is that we’re always learning. And that’s really important because the world evolves at such a fast rate, sport is evolving at such a fast rate. What’s really important for us now as Cricket Scotland is that we continue to look at what goes on around us, continue to look at our sport, and make sure as things change around us that we’re changing with that.”While Blain’s statements have overshadowed the conclusion of the referrals process, Lindblade hopes Cricket Scotland could move forward with a reconciliation process, which includes offers of mediation.”We’ve got to try and take what has been a really challenging time for everyone involved and look at the positives and what this period may actually do to the future of Scottish cricket,” she said. “Can we look at it from that perspective, and try to take what is a very difficult time and say, where could we get to in ten years’ time?”But we’re only going to do that if we have got everybody working together. We are not there yet and we have got a lot to do to get there. We have put an offer on the table, we would like to get together and talk to these people through mediation, and through those means to enable us to help push that forward. Because it’s a known and tested form of reconciliation using restorative justice.”However, Lindblade acknowledged the outcomes of the referrals process and any future mediation was unlikely to satisfy everyone involved.”There are no winners in this. This is really emotive. I think there will be relief. I think there will be anger. I think there will be emotions that are part of us all being human beings. We are talking about people here and people react to things differently because everyone’s different. It’s been very divisive. How do we find a way to get everybody back to make sure the future of Scottish cricket is bright and that’s going to take a really long time. So, anyone who expects that to take place in months, or even the next 12 months, it’s going to take much longer than that.”
Florian Wirtz is in the process of signing for Liverpool this summer in what will likely prove a British-record deal, with Bayer Leverkusen demanding £120m to part with their prized possession.
It’s droning on a bit, the transfer saga, but then engineering a record deal for a world-class superstar was never going to be a walk in the park, and it bears testament to sporting director Richard Hughes and his team that Liverpool have batted off rival interest from Manchester City and Bayern Munich to take the lead in what is now a one-horse race.
With Trent Alexander-Arnold now officially a Real Madrid player, it was always going to be important that Liverpool replace him not just positionally but creatively as well, and Wirtz is “unbelievably intelligent” in his passing, says Leverkusen’s former executive CEO assistant, Devin Ozek.
Florian Wirtz
When (if) the Wirtz deal is wrapped up, Liverpool will want to turn their focus to the front of the ship, with a new centre-forward needed after difficult campaigns for Slot’s natural number nines.
However, the sale of one of Anfield’s biggest stars has led Liverpool to rekindle their interest in Anthony Gordon.
Why Liverpool are interested in Anthony Gordon
Gordon signed for Newcastle United in a £45m deal back in January 2023, and despite a slow start across the latter phase of that campaign, Gordon notched 28 goal contributions during the 2023/24 season and was crowned the club’s Player of the Season.
Newcastle would want £80m to let the England international leave St. James’ Park this summer, but that hasn’t stopped Liverpool from registering their interest in Gordon, who dreams of returning to Merseyside and joining his boyhood club.
Now, why is this? Well, interest is growing in Liverpool’s Luis Diaz, with FSG already rejecting an offer from Barcelona and stating the Colombian is not for sale, report The Athletic.
However, the Premier League side’s stance is likely far more equivocal, with the right offer sure to open the door for the 28-year-old’s sale. Al-Nassr are also intrigued, and maybe their riches would be more fitting for a summer departure.
Should Diaz depart, it would be because a suitor, likely from the Saudi Pro League, has agreed to meet FSG’s €85m (£72m) valuation.
If that happens, Liverpool will move for a new wideman, but it might not actually be Gordon who gets reeled in.
Liverpool lead race for Gordon alternative
The problem with Gordon is he’s worth £80m, and given there’s a similar player who could be signed for half that sum and placed to challenge Cody Gakpo for the number one spot, it seems silly to go down the more expensive route.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
That player is Lyon’s Malick Fofana, who, according to TEAMtalk, has been heavily scouted by Liverpool in recent months as Slot weighs up a move.
Fofana’s £40m release clause makes him an attractive option. Arsenal and Aston Villa are also interested, alongside Liverpool, with the trio all said to be leading the race.
The player’s agent, Bobo Fofana, however, has previously claimed that Anfield would be his “choice of heart.”
What Malick Fofana would bring to Liverpool
Fofana may only be 20 and with 62 Lyon appearances to his name, but he’s already made quite the name for himself in France, joining from Belgian team Gent for a fee rising to €22m (£19m) in January 2024, when he was only 18.
Lyon's Malick Fofana
Across 41 matches in all competitions this season, the wideman scored 11 goals and provided six assists for his teammates, and with his principal position being on the left flank, he’d be ideal to replace Diaz.
That is, unless Gordon signs for the club. Liverpool’s interest in the English star is long-standing, but it might be that moving for the Scouser wouldn’t be in the club’s best interests, not when Fofana’s progress suggests he could do the same job.
Given that he’s four years Gordon’s junior, he might even eclipse him in the years to come.
League Stats 24/25 – Anthony Gordon vs Malick Fofana
Stats (* per game)
Gordon
Fofana
Matches (starts)
34 (28)
29 (16)
Goals
6
5
Assists
5
4
Shots (on target)*
1.7 (0.6)
1.1 (0.4)
Pass completion
81%
84%
Key passes*
1.5
0.9
Big chances created
6
6
Dribbles*
1.1
0.8
Tackles + interceptions*
1.1
1.1
Ground duels (won)*
4.4
2.8 (54%)
Data via Sofascore
As you can see, both wingers enjoyed similar seasons in their respective leagues, but is Gordon performing at a level which proves he should cost double that of his French counterpart?
As per FBref, Fofana ranked among the top 10% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues this season for non-penalty goals scored, the top 2% for progressive carries and the top 16% for touches in the attacking box per 90.
His athleticism and pace have actually led the data-driven site to record Gordon as one of Fofana’s most comparable players, further evidence that he should be signed instead.
So then, the template for something remarkable might just be there. A natural goalscorer, Fofana has also been praised for his “explosive” running by analyst Ben Mattinson. Moreover, the defensive quality you can see ranks well against Gordon is something that would serve him well in the Premier League.
Given the richness of Liverpool’s attacking options, bringing in Fofana as a long-term project might not be the worst idea in the world, with his crisp passing aligning with the way Diaz plays and his fleet-footedness a further string to his bow.
With Wirtz, Mohamed Salah and the rest of them helping unlock Fofana’s high potential, this could be a shrewd move the Reds look back at fondly indeed in the years to come.
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Liverpool are now preparing an offer for an “outstanding” £77m striker, who is being targeted by a whole host of Europe’s top clubs, according to a report.
Reds stepping up pursuit of new striker
Darwin Nunez hasn’t been at the races this season, with the Uruguayan picking up just seven goals in all competitions, which is way below the number expected of a £85m player, so it is little wonder that the Reds are now stepping up their pursuit of a striker.
Atalanta’s Mateo Retegui is one option the Merseysiders have in mind, given the Italian’s stellar goal return this season, while they have started work on the signing of West Ham United’s Jarrod Bowen, who could be an alternative to Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak.
Last week, it was revealed that RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko is also on the shortlist, with Arne Slot’s side said to be keen on a move for the forward, with Nunez looking increasingly likely to exit Anfield at the end of the season.
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There has since been a new update on Liverpool’s pursuit of Sesko, with a report from Caught Offside revealing they are now preparing a bid for the forward, but there could be fierce competition for his signature.
Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United are also planning to make offers for the Slovenian, while Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain headline the interest from abroad, and a deal is now expected to be on the expensive side.
RB Leipzig's BenjaminSeskocelebrates
Leipzig are said to have set an asking price of €80m – €90m (£68m – £77m), in light of the widespread interest in the 21-year-old’s signature, although the interested parties have reservations about shelling out a fee in that ballpark.
"Outstanding" Sesko could be "better than Haaland"
Scout/writer Jacek Kulig has praised the starlet in the past, describing him as “outstanding”, while his teammates also hold him in very high regard, having stated he is a better player than Manchester City’s Erling Haaland.
Speaking in May last year, Sesko told the Gegenpress podcast: “My teammates at the club tell me that Haaland and I are very similar, especially in terms of speed. Most of them even tell me that I’m better than him.”
Much like the Man City star, the Slovenia international is an imposing figure, standing at 6 foot 5, and he has been very impressive in front of goal for Leipzig this season, picking up 13 goals and five assists in 31 Bundesliga outings.
With Nunez falling way short of expectations this season, Slot definitely needs to bring in a replacement this summer, and Sesko produced a stunning goal last weekend that even the most optimistic of Reds fans could envision Nunez toe-poking straight into the fans behind the goal.
Manchester United are believed to be in contact with a club’s director of recruitment over the signing of an “outstanding” goalkeeper this summer, according to a new report.
Man Utd produce historic comeback
Ruben Amorim’s side may have had a season to forget, but their 5-4 win over Lyon on Thursday evening was one of the most dramatic nights Old Trafford has ever witnessed.
Having led 2-0 and seemingly heading into the semi-finals of the Europa League with ease, United suddenly found themselves drawing 2-2 after 90 minutes, before then trailing 4-2 in extra-time against ten men.
Remarkably, the Red Devils scored three times in the remaining minutes, with Bruno Fernandes scoring a penalty, Kobbie Mainoo brilliantly curling home and Harry Maguire heading in a memorable last-gasp winner.
It was a remarkable evening that has kept United’s season alive, and given the nature of their victory over Lyon, there will be some who feel that their name is on the trophy. Regardless of what happens this season, though, lots of new signings are a must, including in goal to replace Andre Onana, and one intriguing transfer target in that position has now emerged.
Man Utd make contact for Kaua Santos
According to Sport Bild, Manchester United have held talks with Eintracht Frankfurt sporting director Markus Krosche over the signing of Kaua Santos this summer. The German outfit want £51m for his services and would rather keep hold of him.
It is claimed that Red Devils director of recruitment Christopher Vivell spoke with him during Frankfurt’s Europa League quarter-final first leg tie against Tottenham last week, as they look to entice the 22-year-old to Old Trafford.
Santos could be a strong addition for United ahead of next season, having enjoyed an impressive campaign for Frankfurt in Europe, standing out as a key man at a young age, especially for a ‘keeper. The Brazilian has started five matches in the Europa League this term, prior to being eliminated by Spurs on Thursday night, and the Red Devils may see him as having a higher long-term ceiling than Onana.
Santos has been hailed as an “outstanding” player by Bayern Munich and Germany legend Thomas Muller, while analyst Ben Mattinson has described him as among the “most promising” young ‘keepers in Europe.
While Onana has had good moments in a United shirt, he is an error-prone player who doesn’t seem to bring calm to the defence, and if Amorim wants to take his team to another level, an upgrade is required.
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Santos is admittedly still a goalkeeper learning his trade, but his performances this season suggest that he would be an exciting signing who should only grow as a player.
Some are around the state first-team or BBL systems already and have shown plenty of promise
Andrew McGlashan12-Feb-20241:47
Australia Under 19 captain Hugh Weibgen: ‘We try to emulate the senior team’
Before Sunday, the last player to captain Australia to the Under-19 World Cup was Mitchell Marsh in 2010. He has just won the Allan Border Medal and will highly likely lead the senior team at this year’s T20 World Cup. Josh Hazlewood was Player of the Match in the final, Kane Richardson was also in the side and Adam Zampa part of the squad.Two years later, when they lost to India in the final the team included Travis Head along with Ashton Turner and Cameron Bancroft. From the 2018 side, also beaten by India in the final, Will Sutherland and Xavier Bartlett have recently made international debuts and Nathan McSweeney is highly tipped to follow. From the 2020 group, Todd Murphy, Tanveer Sangha and Jake Fraser-McGurk are already capped by Australia.There have been others, too, who have gained a handful of matches at the top level and many others who have played, and continue to do so, professionally at domestic level. However, it is not a straight line from being an Under-19 international to then forging a full career.Related
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Beardman: 'Our strong suit has been how close we are as a group'
Red-hot Australia defend 253 to win fourth Under-19 World Cup
It’s hard to say where all the current Australia U-19 side, victorious over India by 79 runs in Benoni, will be in 10 or 12 years’ time, but there is a feeling it could be something of a golden generation in terms of those who do kick on with their cricket careers.A number are already around the state first-team or BBL systems: Sam Konstas has made his Sheffield Shield debut for New South Wales, Player of the Final Mahli Beardman (who is highly regarded by Marsh) has appeared in one-day cricket for Western Australia, Harry Dixon has a BBL contract with Melbourne Renegades as does exciting quick Callum Vidler with Brisbane Heat and captain Hugh Weibgen holds a rookie Queensland contract.”If they can all keep working hard on their games there’s plenty who can make a career out of the game,” Australia Under-19 coach Anthony Clark told ESPNcricinfo the morning after the final. “Where they go and how far will depend on how hard they work, but the raw ability is certainly there for a lot of them.”My message after the game was obviously congratulations and enjoy the win, but the most important thing for all your guys now is when you go back and the next game you play is as important as this one and you need to keep getting better.”Dixon finished as the team’s leading run-scorer with 309 at 44.14 and believed his time with Renegades played a key role. Though he didn’t play, just being able to practice in that environment was priceless.The fast-bowling cartel – Mahli Beardman, Callum Vidler, Charlie Anderson and Tom Straker•ICC/Getty Images”Think it definitely helped with all the coaches they had around there and all the players, taking stuff from them, the likes of Aaron Finch, just soaking up as much as possible,” he said. “With the training there’s a lot of fielding stuff which is mostly what helped me develop a bit more which I think has helped the team.”However, while some already have their foot in the professional door, for others there are more mundane things awaiting when they get home. Oliver Peake, an injury replacement in the squad who made a vital 46 off 43 balls in the final, will be back at school in a few days.”He’s sucked the marrow out of cricket tournaments over the summer break,” his father, Clinton, told . “But he’ll need to go to school and get ready for assessment tasks and normal world stuff.”But a cricket career looks to be in the offing. “He’s bit of a student of the game, loves batting and is just a really good kid,” Clark said. “As someone so young, the future looks bright for him.”It was Australia’s pace attack that took most of the headlines with Beardman’s 3 for 15 in the final following Tom Straker’s 6 for 24 against Pakistan while Vidler, 14 wickets at 11.71, caught the eye with his pace regularly above 140kph.”With the bowling attack we have it’s pretty much a luxury,” Dixon said. “With all the boys being so good we don’t need to get as many on the board. We backed our bowlers in and they were fantastic throughout the whole tournament so credit to them.”The quicks were supplemented by offspinner Raf MacMillan who took 3 for 43 in the final. “He was really important,” Clark said. “Almost the final cog in the wheel and has gone a bit unheralded just because the other four boys are really exciting to watch…he’s very good at what he does.”You never know when you go into a tournament how it’s going to pan out but though we had most bases covered from a skills point of view across out 15. We had seven really good batters, couple of wicketkeepers, couple of spinners with real talent and the five fast bowlers. But you don’t know how it all gels together until it starts happening but really came together nicely as we went through the tournament.”The time the group spent together over the past year has been cited as a key reason behind their success. “They play hard for each other and really care about each other,” Clark said. “When it’s like that it comes together nicely on the field. Obviously, the talent part is the major ingredient but the other stuff is really helpful, too.”The nature of Under-19 cricket means this team won’t play together again, but the class of 2024 will always be World Cup winners. “It’s a massive achievement,” Dixon said. “Just really nice to make some lifelong friends.”
Despite a match-winning fifty, both Sanjay Manjrekar and Ian Bishop feel the batter could have been more aggressive
Shashank Kishore11-May-2022Ian Bishop wants him to add “another gear” to his batting. Sanjay Manjrekar felt he could have been a “bit more aggressive” when set, especially as he neared a half-century. Shubman Gill, however, felt he paced his innings exactly the way he had to on a challenging Pune surface on Wednesday against Lucknow Super Giants.There was grip and turn for the spinners, and there was something for the fast bowlers to work with, especially because it tended to get two-paced when they hit hard lengths. Hardik Pandya, the Gujarat Titans captain, may have been influenced by this as he elected to bat, and Gill “quickly realised” the need to bat through and bat long.Related
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Having been dropped off the very first ball he faced in the opening over, Gill batted through to make a 49-ball 63. He raised his half-century off 40 balls, and ended up with a strike rate of 128.58, the highest in the innings among batters who faced at least 20 balls. Rahul Tewatia’s cameo, a 16-ball 22 not out, gave them some impetus as Titans posted 144.ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats metrics pegged Gill’s impact runs as 74, meaning it was worth 11 more than what he finished with. His impact score overall stood at 80.36. The next best was Super Giants’ Avesh Khan, who had 67.57, courtesy his spell that accounted for the Matthew Wade and Hardik that left Titans reeling at 51 for 3 in the 10th over.”I’d like to see one more gear,” Bishop noted on ESPNcricinfo’s T20 Time:Out. “The traditional anchor doesn’t sit well with me. It’s just a personal thing, and I could be totally wrong. The guys I think anchor an innings well are Jos Buttler, below that a KL Rahul…guys who can go at maybe 120-125 and then tee off towards the back end and end with something over 140, maybe even 150. I don’t like a traditional guy batting through the innings, run-a-ball or just over a run-a-ball. I’m defining that for me. I’d like to see Shubman Gill have another gear to go to.”Vikram Solanki, the Titans’ Director of Cricket, looked at it slightly differently. “He was simply outstanding, wasn’t he?”, he said. “He’s a quality batsman, quality technician. He’s got a wonderful temperament. It’s no wonder that he’s so highly regarded in Indian cricket. I thought he was exemplary with his innings today. I thought he assessed the pitch very well, I thought he batted accordingly.
“The traditional anchor doesn’t sit well with me. It’s just a personal thing, and I could be totally wrong.”Ian Bishop
“I know he would’ve helped every other batter who went out to bat. It was quite difficult, and it was very evident with the scores. Our assessment of the pitch was exactly that, it was a tough pitch, and our batting would center around somebody taking responsibility around those situations, Shubman did exactly that today and showed what a high-quality player he is.”I think halfway, we knew that was a very competitive score. It was apparent that it wasn’t the easiest wicket to score on, it was difficult. Only due to Shubman’s knock, and later Rahul Tewatia who played a brilliant knock, we got to a competitive total. We took confidence from the fact that it was difficult for Lucknow to score. Our attack has been able to take wickets, so we know if we bowl like we have in the past, we’d make it difficult for them. We just felt we could put them under pressure [with the total they had].”On 40 off 32 at the 12-over mark with Titans on 76 for 3, Gill took another 10 balls to reach his half-century in the 17th over, having got through the stretch without looking for a single boundary-scoring option. Gill later explained his rationale behind the approach.”I didn’t expect the ball to seam as much as it did at the start,” he said. “It was nipping around. After that, I didn’t expect the spinners to have a bit of turn. One thing I felt was they didn’t bowl up as much. If they would’ve bowled a bit up, it would’ve been difficult. Krunal [Pandya] was keeping it a little short and being conservative. It was easy for us to maneuver the ball around, we kept on taking singles which was easy on this wicket.”It’s quite pleasing when you’re there till the end and finish off matches for the team. That’s exactly the chat I had with Gary [before the game].I told him I want to finish at least three-four matches for the team.”
This week, we bring you unforgettable moments from the venue that’s hosted more ODIs than any other
Mohammad Isam11-May-2020The iconic finishesSharjah shot to the limelight in 1986, when Pakistan needed four to win off one ball, and Javed Miandad swung Chetan Sharma off his hips and into the pages of folklore. For most of the next two decades, India and Pakistan simply couldn’t stop meeting in Sharjah, with Bollywood stars (and even the infamous gangster Dawood Ibrahim) thronging the VIP gallery.In 1995, Hashan Tillakaratne nearly pulled off a Miandad moment of his own, after scoring a valiant hundred that got Sri Lanka to the brink of victory in a record chase of 334 against West Indies. A West Indies victory looked a formality when they reduced Sri Lanka to 103 for 5, but Tillakaratne hadn’t had his say yet.The only tied matches in Sharjah also involved Sri Lanka. On both occasions, it was their match to win before they surrendered the initiative. In 1996, they restricted New Zealand to 169 but struggled in their chase, particularly against Danny Morrison. They looked to have won it when Chaminda Vaas took a single to level the scores, with two wickets and 15 balls remaining, but Sajeewa de Silva shouldered arms to Morrison, fatally, and Tony Greig wondered aloud: “Well, could this be a tie?”Three balls later, it was.Three years later, Sri Lanka gave away the game from an even better position, against Pakistan. Chasing 196, they were 157 for 1 with close to 15 overs remaining. Then Romesh Kaluwitharana was caught behind off Abdul Razzaq, and Sri Lanka collapsed spectacularly. Shoaib Malik removed the set Russell Arnold, before Wasim Akram and Razzaq cleaned up the rest of the line-up.Geniuses at workLara made not one, but two 150-plus scores in Sharjah. Against Pakistan in 1993, his 153 at the top of the order enabled West Indies to chase down 285 with 4.3 overs remaining. His highest ODI score, a brilliant 129-ball 169, also came in Sharjah, in the same match where Tillakaratne scored that hundred in the chase.Wasim Akram picked up 122 ODI wickets in Sharjah, at a remarkable average of 19.50•Getty ImagesThree years later, Sharjah became Sachin Tendulkar’s bastion, as he scored two of his most iconic ODI centuries in back-to-back matches against Australia: the Desert Storm 143 that dragged India into the final, and the 134 on his 25th birthday to seal victory in the the triangular tournament.Tendulkar finished with seven Sharjah hundreds, as did Saeed Anwar, who said before the 1999 World Cup that playing in front of big crowds at this venue had made him a stronger batsman mentally. Four of his seven hundreds came in 1993, and the best of the lot, arguably, was this 131 against West Indies in a chase of 261.Sharjah wasn’t just a batsman’s paradise, though. Wasim Akram took 122 wickets here, at an incredible 19.50, including two hat-tricks in the space of seven months in 1989-90 (As a bonus, this video also includes his two Test-match hat-tricks). There were numerous other match-winning spells, including two wickets in the first over of a tournament final against India in 1999.The everyman’s stadiumBut Sharjah wasn’t just about the big stars. Navjot Singh Sidhu made his maiden ODI hundred here, and took a dubious catch on the boundary – his feet surely touched the rope here – to help the seam-bowling allrounder Sanjeev Sharma pick up five wickets against West Indies. In 1991, Aaqib Javed bagged what were then world-record figures of 7 for 37 against India, including a hat-trick. Muttiah Muralitharan broke Javed’s record nine years later, in Sharjah again.England were also-rans in ODI cricket in the 1990s, but even they tasted success in Sharjah, when Adam Hollioake led an experimental side featuring a number of one-day specialists to victory in a quadrangular tournament also involving India, Pakistan and West Indies. Zimbabwe pulled off three wins in Sharjah against the world champions Sri Lanka in 1997-98, including this one and this one.For more such YouTube playlists, click here.