Last week, Everton signed 26-year-old striker Cenk Tosun from Besiktas, after netting 64 goals in 142 appearances for the Turkish side, and Toffees fans will be hoping he can transition that goalscoring prowess to the Premier League.
Yet, it might still be a little too soon for the 6 foot front-man. Yes, Everton need another focal point in attack, but midseason signings struggling to settle certainly isn’t unheard of – especially when they don’t have any experience in the Premier League.
And although Everton signed Tosun – who Transfermarkt value at £20.7million – to provide more experience up front, exciting youngster Dominic Calvert-Lewin certainly hasn’t let the Merseysiders down this season, leading the line with real enthusiasm to find three goals and four assists in the Premier League.
So with a difficult trip to Wembley on the horizon, which striker would you start against Tottenham Hotspur this Saturday Everton fans? Let us know by voting below…
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If Tottenham have suffered from one intrinsic weakness this season, it’s been a lack of efficiency in front of goal.
So far this year, the Lilywhites have averaged less than a goal a game, with just six in their first seven Premier League fixtures, despite the fact the White Hart Lane outfit forked out a whopping £74million on attacking talent over the summer, in the form of new signings Erik Lamela, Christian Eriksen, Roberto Soldado and Nacer Chadli.
The Spaniard in particular has been rather disappointing, considering his preceding reputation from his feats with Valencia and his £26million price-tag, which until Lamela arrived in North London a few weeks later, was Tottenham’s record-breaking inward transfer fee.
Players from abroad often take a while to settle in the English top flight, especially if like Soldado they bear no particular physical advantage in terms of pace, height or power, but his performances so far this season have hardly been inspiring or suggesting of greater times ahead.
Barring two successful spot kicks, the 28 year-old has failed to find the score sheet, and averaged just 2.1 shots per game – some way behind his Premier League counterparts, such as Olivier Giroud, 3.9, Rickie Lambert, 3.7, Edin Dzeko, 3.4, Romelu Lukaku, 3.3 Loic Remy, 3.2, Daniel Sturridge and Michu, 3.1 , and Alvaro Negredo, 2.3, to name a few.
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You’d argue Soldado’s limited efficiency in the final third was a symptom of Tottenham’s lukewarm start to the campaign in which they’ve hardly been a dominant and imposing force going forward, but despite the fact the Lilywhites have claimed almost as many victories as goals this season, they’ve averaged 19 shots per game, six on target, and 33% of their possession has been in the attacking third. It seems Soldado has been rather absent whilst all this attacking play has been going on.
The Spain international was even dropped by Andre Villas-Boas at the weekend against West Ham to be replaced by Jermain Defoe. Admittedly, the England international has been in hot form in the auxiliary tournaments this season, with seven goals for the League cup and Europa League combined, and also has a knack for scoring against his former clubs, but it hardly bodes confidence on the Portuguese’s part to bench a £26million summer signing during a fixture in which the game plan was to let Tottenham’s greater quality on the ball tell.
It begs the question – Was Soldado the right choice of striker for Spurs in the summer?
Of course, as previously stated, the 28 year-old has only been at White Hart Lane a matter of months, and it can take even the most talented players time to settle in a new country. That process will be made even harder by the fact he’s not the only new face in North London; overall, the Lilywhites have brought in seven new players this summer, whilst the first team as a whole tries to re-invent itself without the talismanic influence of Gareth Bale.
The new creative hub at the tip of Tottenham’s midfield is still in development – Erik Lamela is yet to play a full half of Premier League football, Christian Eriksen has showed glimpses of brilliance but hasn’t controlled a match from the offset to the final whistle as many would like him to, and Lewis Holtby is still recovering from a summer injury – and perhaps when Tottenham’s midfield start to flex their creative might in a more imposing manner, providing greater support to Soldado in the final third, the Spaniard will find it easier to get on the score sheet in open play. There’s no doubt he’s been an isolated element for prolonged periods of matches during the Lilywhites’ opening fixtures so far this season.
That being said however, it’s my speculation that Soldado is quite simply not the right type of striker for Tottenham at this moment in time. Last season, the Lilywhites were a counter-attacking outfit, so it’s hard to tell quite where a 5 foot 10 striker, bearing no particular strength or pace, fits in to the Tottenham game plan going forward. He’s already shown in his seven Premier League outings to date that he’s not the most capable when it comes to holding up the ball or bringing supporting midfielders into the game.
Things are slightly different this season without the counter-attacking machine that is Gareth Bale, as the Lilywhites look to adopt a more possession-based style of football, and although I’ve criticised Soldado’s physique, he comfortably fulfilled the lone striker role at Valencia, netting 30 times in all competitions during his final season in Spain.
It’s that level of prolific goalscoring Daniel Levy willingly paid £26million for, despite the precarious financial position of the Spaniard’s former club. But the Premier League is incredibly different in style to La Liga, especially in terms of quality on the ball, and I have my doubts regarding Soldado’s effectiveness for a team that regularly fields two holding midfielders in the starting line-up and the majority of their attacking play is sourced from the flanks.
Does the Spurs striker offer anything particularly different in the final third to his team-mate Jermain Defoe? Both fit the light-weight poacher category, both are incredibly limited in their contributions to build-up play – Soldado has averaged just 20 passes per game this season – and both would most likely finish up with somewhere between 12 and 18 goals this year if they made around 30 Premier League starts.
Surely a 4-2-3-1 counter-attacking system, based around three attacking midfielders as the integral cogs going forward, would be better off with a more commanding and physical presence to provide a platform to build from in the final third, or a speedy striker who can get in behind the line of defence to stretch play and create space for the midfield three. Andre Villas-Boas’s more technical approach, centred around the striker and three supporting midfielders linking up in a tica-taca style, is understandable, but as West Ham proved on Sunday, there’s no guarantee of its success against the ever-disciplined, ten-man defensive displays you often get in the Premier League.
But if not Soldado, then who? Who could Tottenham have brought in instead during the summer to lead the line for them this season and provide that vital prolificness in front of goal to push them a step closer to Champions League qualification? With the vast majority of Europe’s top strikers jumping ship early in the transfer window, by the time Daniel Levy had secured his £26million purchase of Soldado, other options were few and far between.
But Christian Benteke was undoubtedly the leading alternative, having made himself available to other Premier League clubs in the summer after handing in a transfer request at Villa Park, and in my humble opinion, the Aston Villa forward would have made a far better signing than Tottenham’s £27million man.
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The 6 foot 3 Belgian would have been the perfect fit for Spurs’ counter-attacking brand of football, whilst he’s already shaken off claims of being a one-season wonder by netting four times in five appearances so far this year, bringing his Premier League total to 23 goals in 39 games.
Perhaps most importantly however, the 22 year-old, who is not only younger than Soldado but could have arrived at White Hart Lane for considerably less, is a big game player, recording a brace against Arsenal and netting against Chelsea in the first two weeks of the season, which could have been a vital influence in Tottenham’s Champions League hopes this year.
Even if Benteke didn’t tickle AVB’s fancy, Manchester United’s Javier Hernandez was reportedly a £15million option for Spurs, Swansea’s Michu would be an excellent fit for Tottenham’s new, more technical style, and Loic Remy was always available to the highest bidder following QPR’s relegation.
That’s not to say Roberto Soldado can’t or won’t be a success at White Hart Lane – his record in La Liga alone is enough to suggest he can easily achieve double figures this season if he begins to find his form. But considering the Lilywhites broke their record transfer fee and splashed out a whopping £26million on the Spain striker, a quarter of their total summer spend, has he actually significantly improved the Tottenham first team to a justifiable level? For a chairman of Daniel Levy’s transfer-saviness, you get the feeling there must have been better-fitting, cheaper and younger alternatives available to the Lilywhites over the summer.
After the international break Cardiff City returned refreshed for their assault on the Championship title. Malky Mackay named an unchanged starting line-up from their last game against Wolves. He made only one squad change – bringing back Craig Bellamy who had missed the games against Brighton and Wolves and two Welsh internationals due to a calf strain and nothing to do with his well-documented troubles Cardiff City manager Malky MacKay insists.
From the first whistle it was clear The Bluebirds were well up for the defence of their hundred per cent record at home this season and were buoyed further by the knowledge Leeds United had last beaten the Bluebirds in 1982 at the old Ninian Park ground.
The game got off to a furious start tackles flying in from both sides, the feisty atmosphere on the pitch echoed throughout the ground as both sets of fans also renewed the unofficial derby day-rivalry that has arisen between the two sides in recent years – it was heightened for this particular meeting by the fact Leeds United had turned out in an all blue strip.
Former Bluebirds striker Ross McCormack, was earmarked by many City fans as the main Leeds threat before the game however with just five minutes of play on the clock he came off the worse in a crunching fifty-fifty tackle and despite several brave attempts to solider on left he the field on a stretcher to rapturous applause from both sets of supporters, and appeasing the home crowd with the tradition Ayatollah. Luke Varney was his replacement.
Craig Noone, who had been a constant thorn in Wolves’ side picked up where he had left off and in the tenth-minute he curled in a cross which Leeds defender Tom Lees headed out for a corner, saving the bushes of the scrambling Leeds ‘keeper Kenny. The resulting corner was wasted and Leeds came down the pitch with gusto panic ensued in the City area at the Leeds counter-attack, with substitute Varney being denied by McNaughton, but his clearance fell to Sam Byram who’s shot brought about a sprawling save by David Marshall.
It has to be said the first half was a raucous affair, punctuated by the occasional outburst of skilful football, City found themselves frustrated by the bitty play caused by the constant and at time cynical fouling as did the Bluebird supporters who started to chant “shoot, shoot” at every opportunity – hoping one of the shots would test Kenny’s resolve in the Leeds goal. Several long range attempts on goal ensued, the best being by Jordon Mutch whose shot flashed just shy of the left-hand post.
The game appeared to be getting away from the referee, who seemed only too happy to simply lecture and scold the players and the game was suffering badly for it. He finally took charge and booked Leeds’ Jamaican international Rodolph Austin after he had cynically hacked down Maynard for the umpteenth time. The ensuing free kick failed to find its intended target Tommy Smith who, in frustration, lunged in with a scything challenge right through and from behind on Leeds winger Byram, he can count himself lucky he was only booked – had the tackle been a bit further up the pitch or committed by a defensive player it would undoubtedly have been a straight red.
Unfortunately the bookings didn’t stop the tactical and at times agricultural tackles by both sides, with Leeds making the lion share. It was a poor, ugly half really for the most part, from a Bluebirds supporters’ point of view it was salvaged by a flurry of good attacking play In the last ten minutes. Maynard turned in the box and fired at goal, his shot was deflected away, by what looked from the stands to be a flailing arm of one of the Leeds’ defenders, but the protests from the Bluebirds players were muted and no penalty was awarded.
None of the City fans, hand on heart, really want to watch their team play in red, but the choice as it stands is you do just that or walk away – and that’s not easy – football is emotive and gets into the blood stream most of us have turned up to watch our team when doctors orders would have confined us to a duvet on the sofa! Personally I attended the 2008 FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium against Barnsley suffering from severe concussion, despite the nausea, ringing in the ears, dizziness, crippling headache and not knowing too much about what was going on at the time, I can honestly say I had a fantastic time and would do it again in a heartbeat!
Tommy Smith then fluffed yet another magnificent chance to open the scoring on 63 minutes as a McNaughton cross sailed over the Leeds defence, but Smith’s left-footed effort went agonisingly over. The 36 year old striker is a tireless workhorse, but as of yet his final touch in front of goal is lacking and he is yet to score for City in fact no striker as scored for Cardiff City this season.
Since the start of the half Craig Bellamy had been warming up to the Bluebirds supporters in fine voice chanting his name – on 64 minutes the Bluebirds wish was granted and Bellamy replaced Craig Noone.
Bellamy had an immediate impact, he picked the ball up and passed it to Smith who crossed the ball to the right-hand side of the box, Mark Hudson launched himself at it and his diving header was palmed away at full stretch by Kenny.
New Leeds loan signing Michael Tonge was shown a yellow just after the hour for bringing down Nicky Maynard on the edge of the box. Whittingham and Bellamy stood over the set-piece, with most expecting Whittingham to take one of his signature free kicks at goal, but not the Leeds defence who didn’t bother to form anything close to a proper wall, not that it would have mattered as the Welsh captain Bellamy charged at the ball the Cardiff City supporters got just what they craved and hoped for, a sublime goal reminiscent of Bellamy’s first goal in a City shirt at home to Doncaster two seasons ago. A hammered, but well placed curving strike high beyond Kenny into the right-hand corner of the net. The goal was unstoppable and few could be sweeter – Our Boy was home!
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A mere four minutes later, Maynard, who was causing the Leeds defence all sorts of problems with his pace and silky skills, was brought down yet again. This time it was in the box, bringing referee Tierney to point to the penalty spot. Peter Whittingham stepped up and slotted the ball home sending Kenny the wrong way.
Malky Mackay sent on Aron Gunnarsson in replacement for Jordon Mutch to bolster things at the back however within a minutes of coming on Gunnarsson gave away a free kick for a foul on Luke Varney, Roldolph Austin’s effort sailed thought a gaping hole Cardiff had left in their wall after several players drifted off from where the City ‘keeper had positioned them leaving David Marshall completely wrong-footed and livid at the outfield players as he picked the ball from bottom corner of his goal.
A flurry of activity from the dugouts ensued Don Cowie came on for Nicky Maynard for the Bluebirds while Leeds substituted Luke Varney bringing on Dominic Poleon.
Leeds almost managed an equaliser their captain Lee Peltier heading just over from a right-sided cross. The five minutes of injury time were a period of concentrated defensive work by the Bluebirds as they sought to make it three league wins on the bounce at home. They held on to put their league points tally for the season to ten, placing them joint second in the league.
Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada ran through the top order as Afghanistan folded for 56, their lowest total in T20Is
Andrew Fidel Fernando27-Jun-2024South Africa’s quicks ravaged Afghanistan’s top order, taking five wickets inside the first five overs, to send the opposition spiralling towards their eventual 56 all out in the first semi-final of T20 World Cup 2024.Then, although they lost Quinton de Kock early, Aiden Markram and Reeza Hendricks calmly navigated the small chase on an exceedingly tricky Tarouba pitch.For a team infamous for playing jittery cricket in the knockouts, this win was dominant and clinical. South Africa left next to nothing to chance. They bowled beautifully, fielded well, and weathered some difficult early overs while pouncing on the loose balls.Related
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As their reward, they have their first ever berth in a men’s World Cup final, and continued their unbeaten run in the tournament, which now is up to eight matches. The margin of victory, by nine wickets and with 67 balls remaining, underscored the control they exerted on this match, from start to finish.
Jansen and Rabada rip out the top order
The Tarouba surface not only offered lateral movement but also a lot of bounce early on. With the heights that Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada bring to the table, South Africa had a great attack to exploit conditions.Kagiso Rabada flattened Mohammad Nabi’s off stump•AFP/Getty Images
Jansen struck at the end of the first over to remove Afghanistan’s batter of the tournament – Rahmanullah Gurbaz – who edged a ball angled across him to Hendricks at slip. In his next over, Jansen bowled Gulbadin Naib through the gate with a delivery that darted back into him.Rabada’s first over sent Afghanistan really into a nosedive. He jagged two balls back and hit timber on both occasions. The ball that clipped the top of Ibrahim Zadran’s middle stump was the killer – Ibrahim at that point was Afghanistan’s best hope of getting to a good score. Fourth ball, he took out Mohammad Nabi’s off stump with an even more stunning delivery. That over was a double-wicket maiden.
Nortje and Shamsi do the rest
With the top five gone, and their middle order having failed to produce much right through the tournament, Afghanistan were seriously struggling. Anrich Nortje and Tabraiz Shamsi closed down the innings from there. Nortje had Azmatullah Omarzai (the only Afghan batter to get to double figures) caught at deep point, then later knocked out Rashid Khan’s off stump.Shamsi bowled a leg-stump line to the right-handers and kept getting them lbw as the balls rushed onto them. They reviewed all three decisions, but the on-field umpires had given them out, and umpires’ calls on impact were good enough.Jonathan Trott and Rashid Khan during the innings break•ICC/Getty Images
Farooqi and Naveen can’t wreck South Africa’s top order
Coming into this match, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq had 29 wickets between them. Their only chance of defending such a paltry score was running through the top order together.Farooqi added to his tournament-high wicket tally in his first over, setting de Kock up with some big outswingers before jagging one back in and making a mess of his stumps.And Naveen should have had Markram the next over, but most of Afghanistan’s players didn’t hear the thin edge to the wicketkeeper, and Rashid wasn’t sure enough of it to review the decision.
Markram and Hendricks take the chase home
There were still testing moments, as the pitch continued to play up, still often keeping low. But whenever Afghanistan bowled poor deliveries, South Africa’s batters pounced. The fifth over itself yielded 13 runs – more than a fifth of the target. South Africa got home in the ninth over, sparking restrained celebrations, even though this was a historic victory for them.
“He might be a little bit inconsistent but he’s the sort of guy who in big moments can win you something”
ESPNcricinfo staff07-Apr-2023Despite Suryakumar Yadav’s recent lean form, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes India should back him going into the home 50-over World Cup later this year.In India’s last ODI assignment, Suryakumar was dismissed for three consecutive golden ducks as Australia won the series 2-1 in India. But Ponting said that he is the kind of player who can “win you a World Cup”.”Everyone around the world knows what Surya [Suryakumar] can do in white-ball cricket. They should stick with him, I feel,” Ponting told the . “Because he is I think the kind of player that can win you a World Cup.Related
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“He might be a little bit inconsistent but he’s the sort of guy who in big moments can win you something,” Ponting said. “A bit like the late great Andrew Symonds did for Australia.”When you invest in these guys, you give them an opportunity, you give them a pretty clear direction and get some clarity around the role you want them to play, they’ve got so much talent that they can single-handedly win you games.”That’s definitely the way that I’d look at it for India. I wouldn’t be playing it safe, I’d be going with match-winning players and I think he’s a match-winner,” he said.Suryakumar, in 21 ODI innings, has scored 433 runs at an average of 24.05 with two half-centuries.Ponting picked out the No. 5 slot as the best option for Suryakumar.”I think he was only batting at 5 anyway, and I wouldn’t want him much lower than that, especially with Hardik [Pandya], [Ravindra] Jadeja and Axar [Patel] and all those guys there,” Ponting said. “I’m a big believer in giving your best batsman as much time as you can in all formats of the game.”Because if you keep them down the order quite often, sometimes you don’t get to use your best players and that’s the last thing you want. So I think the No. 5 slot is perfect for him and he just needs to grow into that role.”
Series of two Tests, five ODIs and three T20Is will be played from June 8 to July 12
ESPNcricinfo staff25-Mar-2022Australia will visit Sri Lanka for an all-format series in June-July this year. The tour, Australia’s first to Sri Lanka since mid-2016, will feature two Tests, five ODIs and three T20Is, to be played from June 8 to July 12, with the match slotted in Colombo, Kandy and Galle. The series will start with the T20Is and end with the Tests.
Australia tour of Sri Lanka
June 7: 1st T20I, Colombo June 8: 2nd T20I, Colombo June 11: 3rd T20I, Colombo June 14: 1st ODI, Kandy June 16: 2nd ODI, Kandy June 19: 3rd ODI, Colombo June 21: 4th ODI, Colombo June 24: 5th ODI, Colombo June 29 to July 3: 1st Test, Galle July 8 to 12: 2nd Test, Galle
“We played some very competitive T20 internationals against Sri Lanka at home earlier this year and we are excited to tour there for the first time since 2016 in what is sure to be another terrific Test and white ball series,” Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley said in a statement. “There is no more challenging place to play cricket than on the subcontinent and this tour offers our players invaluable experience and another great opportunity to excel on the world stage.”Back in July-August 2016, Australia were blanked 3-0 in the Test series, but won the ODIs 4-1 and the T20Is 2-0. It will be a moderately quick turnaround for the players from the two countries who will be engaged in the IPL, which is expected to end on May 29.”We are in for some exciting cricket, especially considering that an Australian tour to Sri Lanka is taking place after five [six] years,” SLC CEO Ashley De Silva said. “The T20 Series will help our preparations for the T20 World Cup, whilst the Test and ODI segments are also competitions of immense value for us, as we aim to move through the ICC World Test Championship rankings and also gearing up for the ICC Men’s World Cup in 2023.”
He says his being the only Indian head coach in IPL is not a true reflection of the resources in the country
ESPNcricinfo staff08-Sep-2020Anil Kumble, who came on board as the head coach of Kings XI Punjab in October 2019, has said that the number of Indian coaches in the IPL is not a “true reflection” of the coaching resources in the country, and that he’d like to see more home-grown coaches in charge of IPL sides. Kumble is the only Indian head coach in the IPL. While each franchise has Indians on their coaching support staff, the head coaches in the other teams are Ricky Ponting (Delhi Capitals), Brendon McCullum (Kolkata Knight Riders), Stephen Fleming (Chennai Super Kings), Mahela Jayawardene (Mumbai Indians), Trevor Bayliss (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Simon Katich (Royal Challengers Bangalore) and Andrew McDonald (Rajasthan Royals).”I would like to see more Indian coaches in the IPL. It is not a true reflection of the Indian resources. I would want to see many Indians being part of the IPL as head coaches,” Kumble was quoted as saying by on Tuesday.”It is a bit of an irony – one Indian as head coach. I think at some point of time there will be a lot more Indian coaches.”Kumble will target getting a first IPL title for Kings XI, with the franchise’s best finish so far being losing finalists in 2014. He has plenty of options to pick from in the squad, among Indian players and overseas. One of the overseas stars in his stable is the 40-year-old Chris Gayle, and Kumble said Gayle’s role off the field would be as important as his big-hitting at the top of the order.”We still have to see the conditions at the main ground as we have been practicing (at ICC Academy),” Kumble said. “Chris has a major role even as player and even otherwise. His leadership, his experience, the youngsters look up to him. It is not just Chris the batsman we are looking at but Chris in a leadership role in terms of his contribution to developing young players. I want him to be active on the mentorship role.”Gayle will be competing for one of the four overseas spots in the XI with Sheldon Cottrell, Chris Jordan, Glenn Maxwell, James Neesham, Nicholas Pooran and Hardus Viljoen. While that will give Kumble and the support staff some selection headaches, the coach said picking the Indian players would also be a tricky task given the talent available.”Not just foreign players picking Indian players will be a challenge,” he said. “We have a few practice games that will we will tell us [the best combination]. We have a strong team. We needed an impact player in the middle and not just with batting and fielding and Maxwell is also handy with the ball. And the fast bowler [Cottrell] who bowls at the death.”It is about holding nerves. There will be moments, IPL it is not a smooth ride always. We need to focus on what we can achieve, not worry about other teams. We are confident we would be able to achieve that.”The biosecurity protocols in place have meant movement is restricted for all teams, but Kumble said the upside of that was the support staff getting to know the players well.”[After arriving in Dubai], it was my first time meeting with the whole squad,” he said. “Because of the Covid situation, we are able spend more time with the team than usual. That way we have been able to understand not just seniors but even the younger lot.”
England’s smooth build-up hits a snag on eve of warm-up fixture at Southampton
George Dobell at the Ageas Bowl24-May-2019An optimist, they say, views the glass as half full. A pessimist, they say, views it as half empty. And a regular supporter of England at World Cups expects the glass to explode at any moment, killing all present with fragments of glass. It is an expectation conditioned by years of grim experience.So there wasn’t a great sense of surprise when news of Eoin Morgan’s injury began to filter around the Ageas Bowl (or the Hampshire Bowl as the ICC, always mindful not to allow ‘ambush marketing’ would have us call it; they’ve spent the last few days putting masking tape over any tradename or logo across all World Cup venues). It was more a sense of ‘here we go again, then’.And then the relief. News a few hours later that Morgan had sustained “a small flake fracture” provided hope that he might – should, even – be fit for England opening World Cup match. Suddenly that glass was looking half full again.In some ways, England are quite well covered should Morgan suffer injury. The team, generally, know their roles inside-out, Jos Buttler has shown himself to be an astute captain and James Vince looks in decent form with the bat. Morgan’s withdrawal wouldn’t necessarily prove a fatal blow.But so important is Morgan to this team – so talismanic his presence, so unblinkingly positive his leadership and such good form is he in with the bat (he is averaging 94.50 at a strike-rate of 105.73 in his last 16 ODIs) – that his absence would surely weaken this side that has been created, in many ways, in his image. Nobody has played more ODIs for England (the opening match of the tournament should be his 200th) or scored more runs. He is probably as close to irreplaceable as anyone in the squad.While the England management insist Morgan will make a “full recovery” and be available for their opening match, against South Africa at the Kia Oval (it’s hard to resist teasing the ICC just a little) on May 30, there must be some doubt as to his fragility. While he should be fine while batting – protective equipment is excellent these days – there may be more concern about how he would fare in the field if he sustained another blow to the same area. He generally fields in the ring so is likely to encounter plenty of balls hit with great power.ALSO READ:Eoin Morgan sustains ‘flake fracture’ in fielding incidentDid the use of the words “small” and “flake” in the ECB media release suggest they were protesting a little too much? Maybe only to those of us who have watched England in recent World Cups – and not so recent, really – and seen them beaten like a snare drum. But this is a different England and maybe we shouldn’t allow bad memories to dim our enthusiasm.England would have been put in a tricky position had the x-ray showed a full break. While that might have put Morgan out of action for anywhere between three and five weeks, they would have been loath to call a new player into the squad. Under tournament regulations, a replaced player cannot subsequently be recalled and England might well have been prepared to carry Morgan for the first half-dozen or so group games in the hope he could make an impact in the final half of the event. There will be great relief in the camp that they have not been forced into such a dilemma.Morgan is not the only injury concern. Adil Rashid also misses Saturday’s match with a view to managing his long-standing shoulder problem. He is not thought to be in doubt for the South Africa game, though it does provide a reminder of how many of these players are going to have to be nursed through the tournament. It is hard to imagine Mark Wood or Chris Woakes playing every game, either. Perhaps partly for that reason, England will utilise 12 players on Saturday to ensure the bowlers’ workload is limited. These warm-up games do not carry List A or ODI status and can involve up to 15 players a side.Rashid’s absence provides an early opportunity for Liam Dawson to slip back into England duty. It is not ideal that Dawson has not featured in the England side this year but he has, at least, been in excellent form for Hampshire. He has played for England in all formats and is, by all accounts, a down-to-earth character. Indeed, in his press conference on Friday, he reacted to questions about his late call-up with all the apparent enthusiasm of a man taking delivery of a new filter for his Hoover-unbranded vacuum cleaner. For journalists hungry for a soundbite it wasn’t ideal, but such an equable temperament may prove invaluable for England over the next few frenetic weeks.It remains a shame that Dawson – and his Hampshire colleague, Vince – should be forced to miss Saturday’s Royal London Cup final against Somerset at Lord’s. The domestic Lord’s final used to be one of the showcase events of the season; now it is not – arguably, anyway – even the biggest match of the day. Both games will be broadcast by Sky with the England game available on Sky Mix, which means it is free-to-air for some customers.How such a clash of events has been allowed to happen remains unclear. The cynical might suggest the ECB are looking to undermine and overshadow their own 50-over competition ahead of its downgrading next year. The cynical are often right.
Fresh charge levelled against South Africa quick for Warner send-off, even as he awaits ruling on Smith shoulder nudge
ESPNcricinfo staff12-Mar-2018While Kagiso Rabada awaits the ruling on the Level 2 charge against him – for having brushed Australian captain Steven Smith in the shoulder – he has been hit by another charge: a Level 1 offence for the send-off he gave David Warner in Australia’s second innings in Port Elizabeth. Rabada is currently on five demerit points and could earn three more if found guilty of the Level 2 charge, which would see him banned for the next two Tests.He has yet to respond to the Level 1 charge, which was levelled for screaming in Warner’s face after dismissing him. Though no expletives were heard, provoking a response from the batsmen is also an offence according to the ICC’s code of conduct.If found guilty of both offences, Rabada’s total demerit points will amount to at least nine, which means he will be on the threshold of 12 points. Twelve demerit points equate to six suspension points and could see him miss at least three Test matches.ESPNcricinfo Ltd
Australia allrounder Mitchell Marsh, meanwhile, added to the growing list of this series’ unsavoury moments when television cameras captured his verbal riposte to Rabada after he was bowled on the fourth morning in Port Elizabeth. In the first over of the day, Marsh was comprehensively bowled by a ball that sliced between his bat and pad, and, as Rabada ran past in celebration, the Australian was seen mouthing the words “f*** you c***” while turning his head towards the bowler.Marsh had been the recipient of another celebration directed at the batsmen when dismissed by Rabada in the first innings; this time around, the bowler was far more composed but Marsh had his say. While the Australians had asked for stump microphones to be turned down whenever the ball is dead during this series, as is the case in Australia and in line with the ICC’s guidelines, there are no restrictions on the use of close-up television replays. Marsh’s response was duly repeated numerous times on the broadcast, and picked up on social media platforms around the world.Rabada’s Warner send-off was his second registered offence in the Test match. The first incident occurred on day one – on dismissing Smith in the first innings, Rabada yelled “yes, yes, yes” in the Australian captain’s face and then their shoulders made contact as Rabada approached his team-mates.Rabada is the leading wicket-taker in the series so far, with 15 scalps, and single-handedly bowled his team into a position of authority on the first day in Port Elizabeth, with five wickets in 18 balls. In the second gig, too, he helped wrap up Australia’s innings quickly on the fourth morning to finish with innings figures of 6 for 54. A Rabada suspension could have a significant effect on the series, especially if Dale Steyn, who is targeting the Cape Town Test for a comeback from injury, is unavailable.Three of the points he currently has will remain on his record until January 2019, having first been sanctioned in January 2017. Since then, he has developed a growing rap sheet, picking up another in July 2017, and one more last month. Each demerit point remains on his record for 24 months. He has already been suspended on disciplinary grounds once, when he reached four demerit points during South Africa’s tour of England last year.
The PSL has confirmed that the Decision Review System will be used for the tournament’s three play-off matches starting from Tuesday
Danyal Rasool28-Feb-2017The PSL has confirmed that the Decision Review System will be used for the tournament’s three play-off matches starting from Tuesday. The tournament’s chairman Najam Sethi made the decision public by tweeting, “another first from #HBLPSL. DRS to be used in the #HBLPSL play-off matches.”While the ball-tracking technology Hawk-Eye has been used as a tool by the broadcasters since the start of the PSL, it has not been part of the umpires’ decision-making process. This development possibly also marks the first time DRS will be used in a T20 contest at either franchise or international level. Each side will be allowed one review per innings in the same way the technology is used at ODI level.DRS is, however, not expected to be available for the PSL final, which Sethi announced yesterday would be held in Lahore, as the company handling the Hawk-Eye technology will not travel to Pakistan.Earlier this month, the ICC chief executives committee gave an in-principle approval for use of DRS for the first time in an ICC T20 tournament in 2018, with one review per team in the Women’s World T20 in the West Indies.