All posts by h716a5.icu

Cricket Australia is trying to rectify the mistakes of the past; they know they’re playing catch up to sports like Australian rules football. But for the first time they are trying to find indigenous players

Jarrod Kimber16-Jan-2018Monday night was just a regular Big Bash League game. The Brisbane Heat are searching for wickets, the Hobart Hurricanes have just broken the hard part of the chase. D’Arcy Short is taking a deep breath at the non-strikers’ end, Brendan Doggett is talking to his captain (Brendon McCullum), and Daniel Christian is preparing to face up.It’s such a standard piece of cricket, such a small moment; you could’ve missed it. The men in the middle didn’t even think about it. Later, when it was brought to their attention, they wished Josh Lalor (in Brisbane Heat’s squad) had been playing too. In that one instant, Australian cricket did something it had never done, it had three top-level indigenous cricketers in action at the same time.Then Doggett ruined it by taking Christian’s wicket. Of course, Doggett is just doing what fast bowlers do – take wickets.Former England batsman Pelham Warner had said Australia’s Jack Marsh was the best bowler in the world in 1903. Marsh was quick; he took Victor Trumper once. But Warner and many others accused Marsh of being a shier, what today we call a chucker. To combat those accusations, Marsh went to a hospital and requested they put splints on his arm, to keep it straight. Then he bowled, and those there said he was bowling as fast as ever.He should have been cleared forever from chucking. After 1903, Marsh never played another first-class match. In six games, he took 34 wickets at 2147. Marsh was indigenous. Warren Bardsley wrote of Marsh “that the reason they kept him out of big cricket was his colour”.If Marsh wasn’t the quickest bowler of his era, Albert Henry probably was. In seven first-class matches, he took 21 wickets at 32. He also got called for chucking. Henry reportedly said, “You no-ball my good balls and the ones I did throw, you never. You know nothing about cricket.” He didn’t play much after that. This all happened in cricket’s golden age.A similar story concerns Eddie Gilbert. He played 23 first-class games, taking 87 wickets with a 29 average and striking every 56 balls. But being that he was also indigenous, he had to get permission to leave his settlement to play because of the Protection of Aboriginals Act 1897.When Don Bradman arrived at the Gabba after his previous knock against Queensland of 452*, Gilbert played. When Gilbert took a wicket first ball, the crowd cheered with delight. Not for the wicket, but because Bradman was coming in. Bradman handled Gilbert’s first ball. Bradman was knocked over by the second delivery. A couple of balls later Bradman tried to hook and ended up with the bat leaving his hand. Bradman tried to hook again, this time edging behind. Gilbert knocked him over, smacked the bat out of his hand and dismissed him for a duck. That spell partly inspired Bodyline.Cricket AustraliaBut the talk about Gilbert being a chucker only got louder. And despite being a talented player, he was sent back to his settlement, after being asked to give back his cricket clothes to the Queensland Cricket Association. Indigenous cricket was practically relegated to the settlement with him.For the longest time Gilbert was the most famous indigenous player. Faith Thomas represented the Australian women’s team at a time no one much cared for women playing cricket, indigenous or not. Ian King and Michael Mainhardt played some first-class cricket. And that’s not that far from the full list of players. In the 1980s, John McGuire made more than 10,000 runs in Perth club cricket and trialled for Western Australia, but never got a Shield game. “There wasn’t a match,” he told the last year, “I wasn’t racially abused in when I went out to bat.”Australia has had players born in Sri Lanka and Portugal and the children of Eastern European immigrants with no knowledge of cricket. In Richard Chee Quee, they had their first Shield cricketer of Chinese origin. Usman Khawaja is the Test match No. 3. But indigenous cricketers, with their great history in the game, never made it past grade cricket. There were rumours, stories and myths about great players, and racist attitudes they couldn’t overcome. But you never saw them, almost none for a state, certainly not for their nation.Their history in the game was as solid as anyone’s. The first Australian touring side to England was made of almost only indigenous players. Many of them not known by their real names, but by racist nicknames, like (Jim Crow) Jallachmurrimin and (King Cole) Brippokei. Twenty years ago, there was a move to make them Test players. Some cricket fans fought it, saying they weren’t real Test players. Which is overlooking that many early players weren’t Test players at the time and were only given that status years later. And the first Australian Test team to England was a team who paid their own way as a business venture, and had no Tests planned before leaving. Which was very similar to that the indigenous team that toured before them. On that tour, (Johnny Mullagh) Unaarrimin averaged around 20 with the bat and 10 with the ball.Between this tour and Jason Gillespie playing for Australia, indigenous athletes starred in many sports. They won Olympic gold, the Brownlow medal (the highest honour) in Australian rules football, captained Australia in rugby league, represented in hockey and rugby union, won Wimbledon, the Australian and French Opens, and won world title boxing belts. Over the last few years, there has been an indigenous athlete in the NFL and also the NBA.For most of the time cricket had history with indigenous Australians, almost every other sport had current day reality.Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesSince Gillespie’s debut as the first indigenous male cricketer to represent Australia, things have changed. In 1994, Alice Springs and Tennant Creek would play an indigenous game that then became the Imparja Cup. Cricket Australia made that into a national competition in 2001. That has allowed for many indigenous players to be seen by state associations and get into academies. Cricket in Australia is still about the six Sheffield Shield teams, and the cities they are based. If you’re from the Northern Territory, far north Queensland or the Tiwi Islands, your chances of making it are much lower, regardless of your race. Cricket Australia is trying to rectify this; they know they’re playing catch up to sports like Australian rules football. But for the first time they are trying to find indigenous players.In the past, Australians rarely looked into their ancestry, and if white families knew of indigenous heritage, they often hid it because of the shame. Gillespie is the first known male indigenous player to represent Australia; it’s possible that other Australian players of previous eras didn’t know, or weren’t comfortable speaking up. Now people embrace their heritage. D’Arcy Short and Scott Boland weren’t raised thinking they were indigenous; they found out later.Then there is the BBL, men’s and women’s. Australia has more professional cricketers than it has ever had. More people can take up cricket as a profession. Thirty years ago, Ashleigh Gardner wouldn’t have been a professional cricketer because she was a woman. And being indigenous might have made it fairly unlikely she’d have played for Australia. Now she’s done both.Right now, with eight teams per competition, franchises are desperate for new players. Your background is less important than the fact you can hit sixes. With Short, there was a fight over his services, because, like Gardner, he hits the ball very hard. The old state cricket system, which almost made it feel like it was a privileged men’s club you were asked to join, is gone. The old blazer wearers no longer have the power. Cricket has general managers and list managers who want to win to keep their jobs, and your ethnic blend or upbringing is unimportant.In the BBL this year, there are Lalor, Christian, Short, Doggett, Gardner, Boland, and Gillespie as the Strikers coach. Other fringe players may get on lists next year. That doesn’t seem like many, but it’s a hell of a start.The moment of Short and Christian batting together with Doggett bowling should be noted, because cricket has changed.Gilbert has a cricket ground and competition named after him, Jack Marsh a competition, and those first Australian tourists were put into Cricket Australia’s hall of fame.Gilbert spent time, and ultimately died at the Goodna Hospital for the Insane (renamed the Wolston Park Hospital). Albert Henry died of tuberculosis at the age of 29. Jack Marsh was killed outside a pub; the two men charged were acquitted. They played 41 first-class matches and no Tests. Australian cricket has a terrible past, and there is nothing that can change that history.As a nation, Australia is still struggling with its racist past and present. Recently, there has been the war on Apex gangs coming from the prime minister, people following African Australian families home to threaten them, and Channel 7 doing puff pieces on Nazis re-branded as a “kind of neighbourhood watch”. Not to mention the fight over whether the 26th of January is invasion day or Australia Day.But on Monday night, Christian was caught off the bowling of Doggett for 23, and Short was the not out batsman on 58 at the time. Just a simple normal everyday moment in cricket. It doesn’t sound like much, but it was one of the most beautiful moments in Australian cricket history. This isn’t a golden age for indigenous Australian cricket, but for the first time, you could see how there could be one. Last night was not just a regular Big Bash game.

Lloyd Pope triggered an England collapse with a spectacular spell to propel Australia into the semi-finals of the Under-19 World Cup, but he will not want this to be the summit of his career

Daniel Brettig23-Jan-20181:02

‘It’s an unreal experience’ – Lloyd Pope

When Jason Sangha calls for “Wizard” to bowl the sixth over of the innings, England only need a further 99 runs to eliminate Australia from the Under-19 World Cup. The match is being watched by a handful of spectators in Queenstown, and a few thousand on television across the Tasman – word of the Australians being bowled out for 127 cannot have encouraged too many to tune in.Lloyd Pope, though, is watchable whatever the score. There’s the flowing red hair, the plentiful confidence, and the legspin repertoire that has befuddled countless batsmen in Australian junior ranks – all of which helped earn the “Wizard” nickname. Pope’s is a combination of legbreaks, googlies and skidders he has honed since taking up wristspin while “mucking around” with his dad in Cairns as an eight-year old, two years before the family moved to Adelaide and he took up with Kensington.The Browns are one of the most storied clubs in Adelaide grade cricket, the home patch of Don Bradman and also Clarrie Grimmett, Australia’s relentlessly wily legspinner of the 1920s and ’30s. Grimmett’s arm was lower than Pope’s, but he would have appreciated the way the 18-year-old took control of the situation upon being called upon by Sangha. If days where he has needed to produce something special for the strong Kensington side have been few and far between, Pope has become used to doing so for South Australia’s Under-17 and 19 teams; what’s known colloquially as “pulling his team out of the s***”.In that first over to Liam Banks and Tom Banton, Pope is looking for the ideal pace at which to operate, the speed at which the ball would spin and bounce best. “A little bit of trying to rush the batsmen, trying to get them to play different shots and things,” he said later. “I feel if you’re bowling the same pace of the same ball in one-day cricket, you get a little bit predictable and then you can start going for runs from there, so yeah I was changing things up.”In keeping with his role as England’s aggressor, Banton reverse-sweeps his first ball from Pope to the backward-point boundary, but his second is slower, higher and spinning past the bat from a line just outside off stump. It is this delivery Pope returns to in his second over, the scoreboard reading 47 for 0, to tease the quieter Banks forward. Mistiming his first ball, beaten by his second, then trying to drive the third, Banks is beaten by spin, and drags his back foot just enough for Baxter Holt to complete a quicksilver stumping.England’s captain Harry Brook walked to the middle without having been dismissed in the tournament. In that time, he’d tallied 173 runs at a strike rate better than 122, including a commanding century to overwhelm Bangladesh’s bevy of spin bowlers. But Pope had a plan in mind, linked to the fifth stump line he had used against Banks and Banton. They had driven at legbreaks, drawn wider, and when Pope tossed up his first delivery to Brook, the batsman saw another such teaser. Stretching out to drive, he was short of the pitch, and English horror matched Australian delight as the wrong’un snapped back into middle stump. Pope’s celebrations, exhorting his team-mates to fight, had a bit of the Shane Warne 1999 World Cup semi-finals about it.Lloyd Pope registered record figures of 8 for 35•IDI via Getty Images”It was nice the plan paid off,” Pope said. “It came out my hand pretty nicely. I watched it go down the other end, it was a good feeling to see a plan work out. Everyone has been supportive of my wrong’un. I’ve always played cricket for fun. In the nets experimenting with different things has been enjoyable to me. As long as it’s working in games I’ll keep using my variations in different ways with different balls. It is a challenge, particularly in the longer form cricket, to get the ratio right and work out different batsmen as such. In white-ball cricket I can afford to bowl a few more variations.”Fun was not on Will Jacks’ mind as he joined the rest in having enormous trouble picking Pope out of the hand. After evading the hat-trick ball, he jammed down on another wrong’un just in time to avoid being bowled. In Pope’s next over, though, he was deceived as much by bounce as turn and edged off the back foot to a juggling Sangha, who as captain has imbued his spin bowler with plenty of confidence. “It gives me confidence my captain is looking for me to advance the game, put me in early and have the faith in me to land a ball straight away and take some wickets,” Pope said. “I love those scenarios.”Banton still loomed as England’s best hope, and in Pope’s fourth over he clobbered a rare brace of loose deliveries with pull shots to and over the midwicket boundary. When the first ball of Pope’s next over disappeared through cover, the target had slipped below 60. But Banton was caught up in his own momentum, having struck 14 off three deliveries, and when he tried another reverse-sweep to a Pope delivery that bounced, he managed only to glove it. The deflection struck Holt before rebounding in the general vicinity of Sangha, who dived for a magnificent catch. Pope and Australia were now all over England, without an established batsman at the crease. Back home, more and more followers looked for television screens, where previously they’d been content to follow the scores.While the scores suggested England still had the advantage, the faces on the field told otherwise. Pope’s fifth wicket, Finlay Trenouth flailing at a wider legbreak and being beautifully held by Sangha above his head, was greeted less with Australian glee than expectation. Pope had changed the mood of the game, and the rest of the team now prowled the field like winners. “All the boys, as soon as we took a couple of wickets, were really up and about, really supportive, and everyone was up as a team,” Pope said. “Every single person there wanted it 110% and that feeling maybe affected the English a little bit, I don’t know if it affected them too much, but it was really good to get the win and we always had that belief, even when they were 0 for 47.”Pope’s belief allows him to convince Sangha that he should stay on when play resumes after the lunch interval, despite the presence of two left-handers at the crease. Param Uppal does his job at the other end, bowling his offbreaks tightly from around the wicket and coaxing Euan Wood into dragging a fretful cut onto the stumps, before England’s panic is summed up by Tom Scriven’s scramble to get off strike first ball, and compounded by Jonathan Merlo’s throw to knock out a stump and effect the run-out.England have lost 3 for 3 and Australia now have victory firmly in view, but Pope still wants to prove a point about the left-handers. Switching to around the wicket to dart his wrong’uns away, he finds another with prancing bounce to catch a thin edge from the bat of Luke Hollman. The wicketkeeper Jack Davies offers some semblance of resistance, but cannot keep Pope away from the tail – a flatter, sliding delivery pins Ethan Bamber in front of leg stump, then three balls later Dillon Pennington reads the wrong’un no better than the rest, chopping onto the stumps to commence Australian celebrations. Pope has 8 for 35; England have lost 10 for 49 while he’s been bowling.Through it all, Pope makes himself a compelling sight, dominating the screen, the batsmen and the moment. This may, of course, be a shooting-star performance. Not much about Pope’s Under-19 World Cup so far had suggested he was about to do what he did on Tuesday. Against a rampant India he was spared the worst punishment, bowling only three overs while Austin Waugh faced far more aggression. By his own admission, Pope is far from the finished article: “I’ve always had high expectations for myself, I try to take wickets and focus on those areas of my game, but I’ve definitely still got work to do on my fielding, and my batting as well has got to improve.”But on this day in southern New Zealand he produced the sleight-of-hand magic that only the best legspinners bring to the game at international level – in other words, wizardry. Australia will hope that Queenstown Hill is far from the summit of Pope’s ambition.

Australia wondered why there was little sympathy for their players in the face of personal abuse from the Newlands crowd. Then Cameron Bancroft was caught ball-tampering

Daniel Brettig in Cape Town24-Mar-2018Australia wondered why there was little sympathy for their players in the face of personal abuse from the crowd at Newlands. Then Cameron Bancroft was shown on the stadium’s big screen, and their question was answered.”Disgraceful” declared Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann. “Offensive and inappropriate,” thundered the Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland. The CA chairman David Peever, never one to volunteer a public comment, had “taken the matter up directly” with his opposite number at Cricket South Africa, Chris Nenzani. A letter of complaint was written to Mike Gajjar, CSA’s operations manager.Seldom has so much outrage been assembled by one team about one day of crowd behaviour, by the usually genteel assembly at Newlands in Cape Town. The personal abuse faced by Australia’s fielders on day one, specifically the calling out of their partners by their first names in disparaging and degrading terms, was indeed worthy of strong censure. But the CSA reaction seemed restrained, even reluctant: the acting chief executive, Thabang Moroe, spoke of the need to respect players “on both sides”.3:30

Voges: Australia’s reputation comes in question now

The day after the official written complaint, there was no formal reply from CSA. The Western Province Cricket Association was unable to identify the male spectator who had singled out David Warner upon his dismissal, nor even the WPCC member he had come into the ground as a guest of. There is no evidence to suggest that WPCC will be filing an official report on the incidents, nor making any substantial change to policies around spectators and their proximity to the players.Around the world, the response was tantamount to a shrug of the shoulders at its kindest. Former players like Mark Boucher, Graeme Smith and Michael Vaughan suggested Australia look more closely at their own backyard. Many laughed at Australia’s outrage. In short, there was little sympathy, least of all for this statement: “We accept it all around the world, but as soon as they cross the line and they talk about players’ families the whole time and getting abused like that, it’s just not on. There’s been various incidents throughout the Test series but this one has taken the cake.”There it was, the line. Whatever had been said about the partners of Australian players, whatever the response of CSA, whatever the legitimacy of the touring team’s complaints, nobody in South Africa or the rest of the world could see beyond the line. The sight of Warner being personally guarded by Australia’s security manager Frank Dimasi at deep-backward square leg was an apt demonstration that the tourists felt additional protection was needed to prevent further line crossings from the crowd that the home Board was not quite so fussed about. And why?Lehmann was the same man who had told a radio station he hoped Australian crowds would target Stuart Broad so viciously that “he cries and goes home”. Sutherland was the same man who had talked up an ugly 2012-13 Big Bash League confrontation between Marlon Samuels and Shane Warne as “two teams playing in front of a very big crowd in a highly charged environment with a lot at stake. That was my observation of it and from time to time things cross the line in that scenario…”Cameron Bancroft’s pants came under scrutiny•Gallo Images/Getty ImagesWithin the team, Warner and Nathan Lyon have been two targets of the Newlands crowd in particular. But it was Warner who let loose at Aiden Markram upon his run-out of AB de Villiers in Durban, and Lyon who carefully dropped the ball near de Villiers at the other end. Debates over Warner’s encounter with Quinton de Kock were enlivened by the leaking of CCTV footage in two parts, but there was no doubt that the Australian spoke first. And who can forget Lyon’s use of the term “headbutt the line” before the series began.Nevertheless, the Australians wondered why there was little sympathy, even when they said it was not about them, but about their partners, and women in general. They had only until midway through the second session of day three, the best attended of the series so far, to find out. Seldom in elite sport has a team been caught cheating so clearly, so systematically, and so collectively. Seldom has a team normalising sharp practice, and enlisting the youngest members of the team to carry it out, been so wholly exposed.Having been put in this position by repeated batting failures on this tour, the Australian team leaders – Steven Smith, Warner, Lyon, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood – reasoned over the lunch break that something had to be tried to rough the ball up to get it to reverse swing. Overhearing this and all too ready to volunteer his services was Bancroft, Australia’s least seasoned player.Cameron Bancroft shows a black piece of cloth to the umpires•Gallo Images/StringerTo suggest that Bancroft did not know the rules – the explanation offered for Peter Handscomb’s suggestion that Smith ask the dressing room about a DRS referral in India last year – would be pointless: ball tampering is, rightly or wrongly, among cricket’s most-high profile taboos – just ask Faf du Plessis. Indeed, Bancroft admitted to nervousness about a knowing attempt to rough up the ball illegally with the eyes of the world on Newlands. They knew this was wrong even as they contemplated it. To quote a detective observing a crime scene in the film : “This guy crossed the line and he didn’t even blink. You don’t come back from that.”When footage of something amiss was aired on the stadium’s big screen, worse was to follow. A ham-fisted attempt by the team – whether it was Smith, Lehmann, Handscomb or Bancroft involved is secondary to the attempt itself – to cover up the practice had Bancroft dropping the offending adhesive tape down his trousers and then innocently waving a cloth for his sunglasses to the umpires. Ever since the attempted bugging of the Democratic National Committee in the 1972, the dangers of a cover-up have been plain to all who uttered the term “Watergate”, yet here was the Australian team trying one in plain sight.The rest, of course, followed the pictures as surely as night follows day. Bancroft’s actions were decried by seasoned commentators, brought to the attention of the match referee Andy Pycroft, and charged as ball tampering under the ICC code of conduct. So clearly and badly caught out, Bancroft and Smith faced television cameras, owned up to their offence, and gravely intoned that it would never happen again. “We’ll learn from it and move past it,” Smith said. “It’s not what we’re about, it’s a poor reflection on everyone in that dressing room, particularly the leaders of the group.”Most certainly, there will have to be consequences beyond those levied by the ICC. Smith remains a young leader, with judgment shown to be less sound than the CA Board – who appointed him – had hoped. Lehmann has a little more than a year of his contract remaining, but will struggle to survive the exposure of a culture for which he is the most experienced overseer. Seldom has “within the spirit of the game” looked more like “whatever we can get away with”. Sutherland’s public response to the episode will be telling.But the most sobering learning for Australia about Newlands must surely be that there is far more than to move past. The world already had a low opinion of the Australian team, reflected in the indifference to their protests about abuse from the crowd. To then be caught cheating so egregiously on the same day they had complained was the “smoking gun” to underline countless low assertions about their integrity and approach to the game. The Australian line has become a noose.

Sharp reflexes at short leg may yet made the difference in a closely fought Test

George Dobell at Pallekele17-Nov-2018If England do go on to win the second Test in Kandy – and a match of endless fluctuations of fortune could easily contain one more twist – it will have been their fielding that made the difference.Twice in this game Dimuth Karunaratne (63 in the first innings and 57 in the second) has looked set to carry his side into a position of dominance. And twice his innings have been ended by outrageously good pieces of fielding.In the first innings, it was Ben Stokes’ brilliant pick-up-and-throw that ended Karunaratne’s innings with a run-out. And, in the second, it was a brave, intelligent and, yes, somewhat fortuitous, piece of fielding by Keaton Jennings, at short leg, that resulted in his dismissal.Kennings admitted his deflection to Ben Foakes was actually an attempted catch. But perhaps his commitment and courage deserved some reward. After all, the instinct of most people upon seeing a batsman shape to paddle-sweep is surely to take evasive action. But Jennings anticipated the direction of the ball and attempted to put his body in its way. A grab for the catch subsequently resulted in a deflection which Foakes – alert as ever – held.”I’d love to say I parried it to Foaksey [on purpose],” Jenings said afterwards. “But I genuinely tried to catch it. It hit me really hard and went straight off to Foakesy.”You get a feeling of what the batter is looking to do. You try to watch his movements and match your movements to where he is trying to hit the ball: generally you try and get in the way.”I saw him go down to paddle and just set off running. He got a little too much bat on it and it ended up at me.”It wasn’t England’s only moment of inspiration in Sri Lanka’s second innings. Or Jennings’. His catch to dismiss Dhananjaya de Silva, also at short leg, was every bit as impressive. Again anticipating the direction of the ball, Jennings moved to his right (towards fine leg) only to see the ball squeeze out much more square than he had presumed. But, using his reach – he is six foot four – and benefiting from have remained low and in position, he stuck out his left hand and clung on to an outstanding one-handed catch.”It was actually off the face so I saw it all the way,” Jennings said afterwards. “I went down the leg side thinking that’s where he was trying to hit the ball. It kind of went the other way so I stuck out a mitt and it hit the middle of it, thankfully. It’s one of those that, on a lot of other days, would have hit my hand and gone back out. Thankfully, today it stuck.”Keaton Jennings took a blinding catch at short leg•Getty ImagesNow, when you combine those Jennings efforts with Stokes’ catch of Kusal Mendis in the first innings, Ben Foakes’ stumping of Kaushal Silva in the second and that Stokes run-out, you start to understand how vital a contribution England’s fielders have made. For on a pitch where England’s spinners have, at times, struggled to threaten or even contain the Sri Lankan batting, it has been the fielding that has made the breakthrough and the difference. Without it, England would have looked worryingly impotent at times.It’s worth contrasting England’s effort in the field with Sri Lanka’s. For it’s not just that Sri Lanka have, on the whole, lacked such moments of inspiration, it is that at times they have spurned pretty straightforward chances. And a couple of them have been very costly.Sam Curran, for example, should probably have been stumped on 14 in the first innings. And he certainly should have been caught on 53 when Malinda Pushpakumara made a fearful hash of a chance on the long-on boundary. Instead he went on to make 64. Bearing in mind the tight margins that seem destined to define this game, that is clearly vital.Equally James Anderson might have been missed – again by Niroshan Dickwella – before he had scored in England’s second innings. While he scored only 7, he helped Foakes add 41 for the final wicket. And how different might this game appear if Sri Lanka were going into the last day requiring 34 for victory instead of 75? There’s very little between these sides in batting and bowling. But in the field, there is a chasm.Hard, technical work in training is, no doubt, one of the key factors in England’s improvement in the field. Jennings, for example, has spent many hours in recent weeks working on the position – much of it with Paul Collingwood – having been relegated from the slips after an error-filled summer. From a low-base – he was at short leg in India a couple of years ago but did not look a natural even a couple of weeks ago – he has probably earned himself the job for the rest of the winter. Even though it is, as he joked, “a good job to do badly.”But Jennings had another theory about his success. He reckoned that it was his comfort in the England environment that had allowed him to both relax in the role and throw himself into it with hardly a thought for his own safety.That’s a remarkable thing. He was protected by nothing more than a helmet, shin pads and a box, after all. Over the last two weeks, two games on this tour – the first Test in Galle and the warm-up game in Colombo that preceded it – have been stopped to provide treatment to fielders struck when close to the bat. To hear Chris Rogers – a proficient and apparently fearless short-leg fielder – talk about it towards the end of his career was to hear a man who had started to think of it as something approaching torture. The courage required to stand there should not be under-rated.

Maybe the runs I’ve scored recently have helped with my confidence. But it’s also feeling settled in the environment. I’ve really enjoyed the trip.

“I really enjoyed it on this surface,” Jennings said. “You feel in the game all day. It’s good fun. It’s like being in the slips in England: you feel in the game and want to make a difference.”Cricket balls hurt regardless of whether you’re an opening batter or a bowler. You just hope it misses you or hits you on the shins.”Maybe the runs I’ve scored recently have helped with my confidence. But it’s also feeling settled in the environment. Generally, when you move into a new environment, it is tough to settle down and find a stable base for yourself.”But I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve really enjoyed the trip.”It has been mentioned before that Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, takes a hands-off approach to nearly everything. So there may be times when players requiring technical intervention do not receive it, or the tactics are just a little too aggressive to be sensible.But what he is really very good at achieving is a relaxed environment where stress on players is reduced. They are encouraged to express their skills and enjoy the journey far more than previous teams. It doesn’t mean they are not expected to work hard – quite the opposite, really – but it does mean the environment is welcoming and supportive. You wonder how the likes of Mark Ramprakash and Graeme Hick, in such an environment and supported by more continuity of selection – might have fared.There is still progress to be made on England’s fielding. They put down a couple of relatively straightforward catches at Galle and, over recent months, have proved particularly fallible in the slips. But, with more people now in their optimum positions – the cordon regularly contains Joe Root, Stokes, Rory Burns and Jos Buttler, with Stokes the slip to the spinners – they are starting to improve. And, sometime on Sunday morning, it may have proved one of the key factors behind a rare series win in Asia.

Delhi, within sight of victory against Kings XI Punjab, messed up their chase, and went from 144/3 to 152 all out – here’s how it panned out

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Apr-2019ESPNcricinfo’s Forecaster – you know all about it, don’t you? – had some fascinating readings during the course of the Kings XI Punjab v Delhi ‘Capitulation’ game, especially in the manic last few minutes.Midway through the 17th over of their chase of Kings XI Punjab’s 166 for 9, Delhi Capitals were 144 for 3. Rishabh Pant was on 39 and Colin Ingram on 37.Mohammed Shami had the ball, and had just been clubbed over long-on for six off the third ball of the over. Next ball, Shami pegged Pant’s middle stump back. The ball after that, Chris Morris was run-out. And Delhi were 144 for 5. Fifteen balls later, Delhi were all out. Sam Curran had bagged a hat-trick, spread over two overs, and we had the worst collapse for the last seven wickets in IPL history.Before going there, let’s take a look at how Forecaster went into freefall as the innings progressed. From Over No. 3, when Delhi had consolidated after the early loss of Prithvi Shaw, to Over No. 18, the Forecaster never came down below 50% for a Delhi win. In fact, even at the start of the 18th over, they were at 84%, only a marginal dip from the 95% when Pant and Ingram were in the middle. By the start of the 20th over, it was down to 14.86%, before dipping to zilch.ESPNcricinfo LtdAnd here’s how our ball-by-ball commentary team recorded the non-stop procession of batsmen:16.4 Mohammed Shami to Pant, OUT, but Shami is no pushover! Full, straight, knocks middle stump back! A hint of away swing too there, from a leg stump line. He wanted to cart this over square leg and completely missedRR Pant b Mohammed Shami 39 (26b 3×4 2×6) SR: 150.0016.5 Mohammed Shami to Morris, OUT, oh boy this game is still alive! R Ashwin has knocked the stumps down at the non-striker’s end and sent Morris back first ball! Hare-brained run that. Length just outside, punches straight to Ashwin at mid-off and takes off in a frenzy. Clean pick-up, good technique and he hits the stumps on the bounce. You don’t even need third umpire for this, he’s well shortCH Morris run out (Ashwin) 0 (1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.0016.6 Mohammed Shami to Ingram, no run, whistles away from under the bat in the corridor! Fire from Shami. A yorker that Ingram wants to carve behind point but can’t get bat on that17.1 Curran to Vihari, 1 run, length at leg stump, dropped into the leg side with soft hands17.2 Curran to Ingram, 1 run, full in the corridor, gets the front leg out and slices it but can’t beat sweeper cover to the right17.3 Curran to Vihari, 1 run, slower ball in the corridor, defended to point’s right17.4 Curran to Ingram, OUT, what have you done Ingram! Delhi Capitals are trying very hard not to win right now! Length ball outside off, drills it straight to long-off! It was there for the drive, and he’s been driving it wide of that fielder all along, and along the turf. Goes aerial this time and boy do we have a situation nowCA Ingram c sub (KK Nair) b Curran 38 (29b 4×4 1×6) SR: 131.0317.5 Curran to Patel, no run, slower ball at a length just outside off, swishes at this and is beaten17.6 Curran to Patel, 1 wide, called wide! Curran goes too short. Harshal was on the move, into the off side, setting up for a ramp. Was too late as it flew over the stumps17.6 Curran to Patel, OUT, KL Rahul holds on! Sam Curran wheeling away in the leg side. The camera cuts to the Capitals dugout and you will not spot a smile there. Length ball slanted across the corridor, looks to club it into the leg side, gets a leading edge that is at a comfortable catching height for the keeperHV Patel c †Rahul b Curran 0 (2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.0018.1 Mohammed Shami to Vihari, no run, length at off stump, hurries onto him and he defends into the pitch off the back foot18.2 Mohammed Shami to Vihari, no run, under-edge bounces back down the pitch! Vihari backs away and is too slow on the pull at this short of a length ball. Shami takes some steps forward and collects18.3 Mohammed Shami to Vihari, OUT, splits the stumps! What a gorgeous sight. Shami delivers – that’s Capitals’ last regular batsman gone. Wow. Length ball at middle stump. Backs away and swings across the line and this sounds as good at it looks when the ball splits middle and legGH Vihari b Mohammed Shami 2 (5b 0x4 0x6) SR: 40.0018.4 Mohammed Shami to Avesh Khan, no run, short ball outside off, backs away and swings across the line, beaten18.5 Mohammed Shami to Avesh Khan, FOUR runs, Ashwin with the Indian twirl of the wrists that suggests, ‘how did that happen?’ Low full toss outside off. Avesh closes his eyes, looks leg side and swings his hands. The ball ends up trickling into the extra cover boundary18.6 Mohammed Shami to Avesh Khan, no run, bouncer at at middle stump line, backs away and swings. Beaten19.1 Curran to Rabada, OUT, leg stump outta there! Stunning, stunning comeback from Kings XI Punjab. And Sam Curran has delivered. 20 off 10 in a position he’d never batted before in a T20, and now he’s here, taking his third wicket, almost dead-set nailing Capitals fortune with an inswinging yorker that’s gone past KG’s slog. On a hat-trick!K Rabada b Curran 0 (1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.0019.2 Curran to Lamichhane, OUT, he’s got it! Sam Curran has sprung out of nowhere and taken a hat-trick! Yorker at off stump, Lamichhane looks to drill through the off side and completely misses. He has lost his off stump. Delhi Capitals have done an unbelievable job of losing this gameS Lamichhane b Curran 0 (1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00

For one of these two great rivals, this is just another game. For the other? Well, it’s complicated

Osman Samiuddin at Old Trafford15-Jun-2019There were long evenings, even entire months, when some meagre salve could be found for deep wounds in the thought that if you took the batsmen of India and put them together with the bowlers of Pakistan, you would not only be holding a team-sheet that is 100% dynamite, but would also be solving some “issues” in the process. That this was not only to acknowledge cricketing realities but also express an acceptable degree of regret and yearning without being called a traitor.Those evenings weren’t as long ago as they now feel. We cannot reverse generational change, and it doesn’t feel like geopolitical realities can be reshaped right now. But cricketing realities have changed as much, and ahead of the seventh match between India and Pakistan at a World Cup, nobody can say a team of Indian batsmen and Pakistani bowlers would be stronger than either team as a separate entity.India are the stronger batting side. India have the better bowling attack. India have the fitter players. India have the sharper fielders. India have the better wicketkeeper. India have the greats. India have the freakish talents.Backed into a corner and forced to pick from this Pakistan squad? Maybe Mohammad Amir, but only so that the combined team could claim to have that angle of attack (India have no left-arm quick). Mohammad Hafeez. You laugh, but here are his figures for the year at No. 4 and here are those of India’s No. 4s for this year. Fine, you can still laugh, but numbers are numbers.

“I don’t want to say it’s the biggest rivalry in sport, but I saw some stats, you know, which said I think the soccer World Cup final attracted 1.6 billion viewers. Tomorrow likely to get 1.5 billion. It doesn’t get bigger than that”Mickey Arthur, Pakistan coach

And just as India have risen and Pakistan have remained, essentially, Pakistan, and time has moved further away from 1947, and populations have become younger, so too has this rivalry begun to change.Certainly to India’s players it matters less. An amount of bragging points, of course, but as Virat Kohli took great, great pains to point out at his pre-match press conference, it’s about them, not the opponents (and thus the rivalry). Five of the first six questions put to him were basically variations on how to deal with Pakistan, specifically how to handle their unpredictability, their main threats, Amir, yada, yada, yada.Each time, Kohli’s response was the same.”We’re not focusing on the opposition, so no one’s a threat.””Look, as I said, we’re not focusing too much on the strengths of the opposition.””We’re not focusing too much on what the opposition has to do or what they will bring to the table. We need to believe in our strengths.”The seventh question – itself revealing about the rivalry that it took so long for somebody to go there – was about the bigness of the occasion, of the madness of an India-Pakistan game.No sir. Nice try. But refer to the answers above please. This is just another game where have to be really good.Virat Kohli found in an unusual pose while training•AFPPakistan? Well, it’s complicated. Partially, that’s because of the immediate context of this game. This could’ve been South Africa or New Zealand and it would still be as important because they can’t afford to lose this game. They can, but then will have to start relying on other results to stand a chance of progressing to the last four.But over the past two days, a couple of their younger players have let on about the bigness of this contest, acknowledging that yes, it isn’t just any other game. Imam-ul-Haq first, who called it a “big pressure” game, and then Babar Azam, who agreed that doing well against India holds a different meaning.Mickey Arthur appeared initially to be reading from the same script as Kohli had done. It’s another game. Just two points, like every other game at this tournament. But eventually, in responding to a question about what the atmosphere will be like, he slipped.”I don’t want to say it’s the biggest rivalry in sport, but I saw some stats, you know, which said I think the soccer World Cup final attracted 1.6 billion viewers. Tomorrow likely to get 1.5 billion. It doesn’t get bigger than that. It doesn’t get more exciting. I’m telling our players in the dressing room, you could be a hero tomorrow. Your careers are going to be defined by a moment in the game. You do something incredible tomorrow, you’ll be remembered forever.”Here we have it, that age-old equation: game against India = chance to be a hero, a chance to change your life.On reflection, that it holds for Pakistan still, that it is Pakistan trying to use this as motivation and not India, is understandable. A lot of these India players might never play against Pakistan and they’d still be heroes. They have the IPL, Australia and England for that. A lot of these India players could lose and remain heroes because they have the IPL, Australia and England still. A lot of these India players are already heroes. That is now the nature and reality of the most powerful cricket country in the world, off the field for a while, but now on it as well. By dint of simply playing for India means you are more than halfway to being a hero already.Pakistan are the ones scrapping and trying to keep up. They are unequivocally the underdogs here and as long as they keep getting their selections wrong – as they have done so far in this tournament – they will remain the less likely to win. Even getting their selection right is no guarantee of victory.That is the new real, the shift in the crux of this contest – that only if Pakistan win this, if they do find that hero, might we invest some new meaning in this rivalry.

How did the Super Kings seamer better Imran Tahir despite taking fewer wickets? Did any other player come close to Russell? Smart Stats has the answers

ESPNcricinfo stats team14-May-2019His team didn’t make the playoffs, but Andre Russell remained the most valuable player of IPL 2019. According to ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats, which takes into account not just the runs scored and wickets taken, but also the match context and quality of those runs and wickets, Russell notched up a total impact score of 1013, which was well clear of second-placed Hardik Pandya’s 757.This impact score is calculated using a complex algorithm which takes into account multiple factors. For batsmen, this includes the innings run rate and required run rate at every ball when he scored his runs, the quality of opposition bowlers, the wickets in hand and the quality of batsmen to follow after him. For bowlers, it includes the phase in which he bowled, the current/required rate, the quality of batsmen dismissed and the match context when he took his wickets.ESPNcricinfo LtdTaking these factors into account, Russell had a batting impact score of 868 and a bowling impact score of 145, which adds up to 1013. His batting score itself was higher than Hardik’s overall impact. The India allrounder was second with a total score of 757. Both were key members for their teams – Russell scored 510 runs at a strike rate of 204.8, while Pandya made 402 at 191.4 – but Russell made a greater contribution to Knight Riders’ batting, scoring 22% of their battting runs, compared to 16% for Pandya.Rishabh Pant, David Warner and Chris Gayle make up the rest of the top five with impact scores in the 600s. The bowlers aren’t left out either, with R Ashwin (584.1) and Shreyas Gopal (566.8) occupying the next two spots.So impressive was Russell’s batting, though, that he finished as the joint-topper in ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Runs tally with 684, even though his actual aggregate of 510 was only fifth highest. That is because, as mentioned earlier, Smart Runs takes into account the match context and pressure on the batsman when he scored his runs.ESPNcricinfo LtdWhile Russell was at the crease, he scored 62% of the total runs scored – 510 out of 825, including extras, an indication of his domination. Warner, who had the same number of Smart Runs as Russell even though his tournament aggregate was 692, scored 49% of his team’s runs while he was at the crease.Also, because Warner batted at the top of the order with a batsman who scored more quickly than he did, the pressure was relatively lesser on him. His opening partner, Jonny Bairstow, scored 445 runs which converted into 489 Smart Runs, because he was often the more aggressive of the two, and did more of the heavy-lifting early in the innings.Like Russell, Pant too made some key contributions in high-pressure situations, which is why his 488 runs are converted into 559 Smart Runs. KL Rahul and Chris Gayle round up the top five.Imran Tahir was the leading wicket-taker and the Purple Cap winner with 26 wickets, but in terms of Smart Wickets, he was pipped by team-mate Deepak Chahar, whose 22 dismissals were worth 27 Smart Wickets.ESPNcricinfo LtdThat is because Smart Wickets takes into the account the following:- The quality of batsman dismissed, so dismissing Warner fetches more points than dismissing Jasprit Bumrah.
– The score at which a batsman was dismissed, so dismissing Warner for a single-digit score is more rewarding than getting him out for 80.
– The match situation at the time of the dismissal, so dismissing Warner when the match is in the balance is worth more than getting him out when the result of the game is all but decided.Out of Chahar’s 22 wickets, 18 were of batsmen in the top five (including 12 instances when he dismissed the openers), and three more of batsmen at Nos. 6 and 7. He dismissed Prithvi Shaw thrice, Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma twice each, and his other scalps included Warner, Pant, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya and Chris Lynn.In 12 out of 22 dismissals, the batsman was dismissed for single-digit scores, while five more dismissals were when the batsman was between 10 and 20. These factors result in his 22 wickets being boosted to 27.Tahir was exceptional for Chennai Super Kings, but his wicket quality was marginally inferior to that of Chahar. That is also partly because Chahar is a new-ball bowler and hence had more opportunities to bowl at top-order batsmen at the start of their innings. Eighteen of Tahir’s 26 wickets were of batsmen in the top five, and his scalps included Shreyas Iyer, Russell, Lynn, Pant, Shubman Gill and Kane Williamson.The surprise packet among spinners, though, was Shreyas Gopal, whose 20 wickets were worth 24. Out of those 20, 16 were of batsmen in the top three, while he dismissed the No. 4 batsman twice, and Nos. 5 and 6 once each. He dismissed AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli and Manish Pandey twice each, while his other victims included Bairstow, Williamson, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit, Iyer, Lynn and de Kock. Also, in eight of his 20 dismissals, the batsman was dismissed before he reached 20, and that includes both the de Villiers dismissals.Kagiso Rabada took plenty of death-over wickets, which also means some of those wickets were of lower-order batsmen: nine out of 25 were of batsmen at No. 7 or lower. That is why his Smart Wickets tally is slightly lower at 24. Khaleel Ahmed, another bowler who was very impressive through the tournament, comes in at No.5, with his 19 wickets being worth 22 Smart Wickets.

Between them, New Zealand’s openers have scored only 299 runs in 16 innings. It is a problem that doesn’t seem to be going away

Sidharth Monga at Chester-le-Street03-Jul-2019England have managed to – in some style – ride over the surprise thrown at them by testing batting conditions in the World Cup but, arguably, the biggest blow these conditions have struck is on New Zealand’s pre-tournament plans.They came to the World Cup with openers suited for pitches conducive to chasing 350, and now they are left with three batsmen out of form and down on confidence. Between them, the New Zealand openers have scored 299 runs in 16 innings, 131 of those scored in one chase of 137. They have four golden ducks between them. The median opening partnership has been 12. Kane Williamson has come out to bat in the first over on three occasions and once each in the second, third, sixth and ninth overs. Now we can’t even lament Williamson doesn’t get the same opportunity as the other three great batsmen of this era.WATCH on Hotstar (India only) – New Zealand’s fall of wicketsNot that Williamson should be shocked. They came to the World Cup with an extremely high-risk plan. They brought out two openers – Martin Guptill and Colin Munro – who can be explosive but rely unduly on conditions to suit them. Their back-up was a middle-order batsman, Henry Nicholls, who had only recently been converted into an opener presumably as a mild rebuke to Munro. Between the time he debuted for New Zealand and this World Cup, Nicholls had opened only six times in all List A cricket.Williamson admitted conditions have been a spanner in their works. It is Williamson’s and Ross Taylor’s job to do the scrapping, but because they have found themselves on slower pitches Guptill and the other opener – whoever it is – have also had to do the same.Jofra Archer celebrates as Martin Guptill is caught behind•Getty ImagesAnd at the business end of the tournament, Nicholls was opening with Guptill. This experiment, ironically enough, was only made possible thanks to the net run-rate cushion from that thumping win set up by the openers against Sri Lanka. And it was a great chance for the makeshift pair to get some feel back into their batting. There was nothing riding on this game for New Zealand. Their out-of-form players could have taken the time to play themselves in.WATCH on Hotstar (US only) – Highlights of England’s 119-run winGuptill will be extremely disappointed he nicked one down the leg side, as will be Nicholls for not reviewing the lbw call against him when the ball was sailing over the stumps. A more confident batsman would have felt comfortable making such calls.On the evidence of what has happened, New Zealand have tried a couple of things to work around the situation. At the start they seemed to wait for Munro – who has never scored an ODI century – to come off playing his natural game. Then they seemed to ask him to play a more percentage game. Coach Gary Stead said as much, after their defeat to Pakistan in Birmingham, that they were not looking for the funky starts. Eventually with two games to go to the semi-final, they went to Nicholls.The other option is Tom Latham. But that will cause too much disruption. For starters, he has spent the last couple of years playing in the middle order. Also, he is a naturalised wicketkeeper, which means batting at No. 5 gives him time to recover. The good news is, Latham has found some runs in Durham after having had a horror World Cup himself.Chris Woakes got rid of Henry Nicholls for a duck•Getty ImagesWorld Cups are the worst time to get into a rut as a batsman. Every match is played in new conditions and against a new opposition. “Batting has a number of different challenges, and adapting to conditions is one,” Williamson said. “And, I guess, often when you haven’t spent time in the middle you are looking to feel good and I think on a lot of these surfaces, that’s been something that’s been very difficult to do, even when you have had time in the middle.”So removing a lot of those thoughts and perhaps bringing that mindset back to ‘what can I do for the team’ rather than ‘how can I feel good’ or ‘how can perhaps I do this or that, it is ‘what can I maybe do to compliment the side and put them in a position of strength’. And that is something that is really important within our environment.”And we know the guys are certainly working really hard to do that. But it has been very challenging and I think we’ve all seen it, so it is important that when we hopefully go on to perhaps get another opportunity as a side that we go out and take that match on, play with freedom, which is very important for us to play our best cricket, but also play cricket smart because we don’t know what the surface has in store for us.”The hope for New Zealand is to get better batting conditions for the knockout games. Who’s to say Old Trafford, which is what they now get after losing and finishing fourth, might even be their preferred venue for the semi-final, even if it is hard to imagine teams going into a match with those thoughts. Still, it is a challenge to play with freedom considering the kind of tournament the New Zealand openers have had.Playing a World Cup semi-final, knowing that it is a matter of two great days, is an exciting time, but Williamson will not grudge any of them if it is their openers who end up having that great day.

Liverpool are closing in on the Premier League title and now have a dynamic target in their sights, per reports.

Liverpool look to build on impending Premier League title triumph

Although Liverpool aren’t quite there yet in their mission to claim the top-flight crown, the champagne is on ice at Anfield following their vital Merseyside derby victory over Everton in midweek.

While Sunday’s trip to face Fulham will be the main priority, Arne Slot is already making inroads ahead of the summer transfer window.

According to reports, the Reds have put Newcastle United star Alexander Isak on their wishlist, even if the £150 million needed to sign the Sweden international is unlikely to be sanctioned by FSG.

Virgil Van Dijk’s uncertain contract situation has prompted Liverpool to set their sights on Barcelona central defender Ronald Araujo, who may be attainable at the £50 million mark.

Following a similar theme to his Dutch counterpart, Trent Alexander-Arnold could be on his way to Real Madrid for free as his deal at Anfield expires this summer.

Freiburg’s Kiliann Sildillia could be a like-for-like replacement, though any prospective transfer is unlikely to appease the masses that are desperate for the Three Lions international to stay put.

Trent Alexander-Arnold

Virgil Van Dijk

Mohamed Salah

Vitezslav Jaros

Harvey Davies

Inevitably, claiming silverware may be viewed as an ideal end of the road for one or two star assets. Some would argue a Premier League winners’ medal should be enough evidence to stick around, but some legacies are best left on a high to avoid sour endings.

Either way, Liverpool are making progress ahead of the summer window and are now plotting an offer for one of the Bundesliga’s leading lights once the market opens for business.

Liverpool ready to make offer for Stuttgart star Angelo Stiller

Per reports in Spain, Liverpool are set to make an offer of €50m (£42.5m) for Stuttgart midfielder Angelo Stiller, who the Reds see as someone with ‘great potential’ to develop into a star at Anfield.

The Bundesliga outfit would like to keep him around for as long as possible, though they are aware that a battle for his signature could unfold during the summer window.

Liverpool must boldly sell "priceless" star earning more than Diaz & Jones

Liverpool, heading for the Premier League title, are set for a summer of change.

ByAngus Sinclair Apr 5, 2025

Labelled a “breakout star” by Ben Mattinson, the midfield enforcer has registered four goals and six assists in 41 appearances this term across all competitions.

Becoming a lynchpin for Stuttgart, the 23-year-old has created 44 chances and completed 19 dribbles on league duty. Illustrating his capacity to excel in the engine room, he could well be an ideal fit at Liverpool due to his purposeful approach in possession.

Now, the onus is on the Reds to push a deal over the line. They are unlikely to be the only side willing to secure Stiller’s signature, so time is of the essence.

PSG have reached out for talks with an Arsenal transfer target’s representatives, which also follows a mammoth bid from Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr for the player.

Arsenal riding high off Real Madrid win as transfer plans made

Mikel Arteta said in his pre-match press conference ahead of Brentford that the Gunners’ sensational 3-0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday night will be remembered for many years.

Arsenal hold "high-level talks" to sign "bargain" attacker "in recent days"

Negotiations have apparently taken place this week.

ByEmilio Galantini Apr 12, 2025

Two stunning Declan Rice free-kicks, followed by a brilliant Mikel Merino finish, downed the 15-time European champions and put Arsenal in cruise control heading into their second leg at the Bernabeu next week.

Brentford (home)

Today

Ipswich Town (away)

April 20th

Crystal Palace (home)

April 23rd

Bournemouth (home)

May 3rd

Liverpool (away)

May 11th

It was truly a statement performance by Arsenal, who will still be coming down off what was one of the best Champions League nights in their history.

“Nights like we had the other day are going to be remembered for many, many years, and that’s the kind of night that gives you belief,” said Arteta on Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Real.

“It gives purpose to the competition. It brings joy, and then it prepares you for the next one because you are waiting to experience a feeling like this again. That’s the most important thing, in my opinion, that people are looking forward to, to expend this kind of emotion with us.”

After that outstanding victory at the Emirates against Europe’s arguably most feared side, Arsenal fans have been handed real hope that they could even go on to win their first Champions League title.

Such a feat would also allow Berta to attract the continent’s most elite players, with Arsenal on the hunt for a star winger as one of their many reported items on the agenda this summer.

Berta has held talks with the representatives of Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams, according to multiple reports, and the Spaniard is seen as a top target with his £48 million release clause.

However, Williams isn’t Arsenal’s only wide target, and they’ve expressed an interest in West Ham United star Mohammed Kudus.

PSG open talks with Arsenal target Mohammed Kudus after £87m Al-Nassr bid

Arsenal were weighing up a January move for Kudus, according to talkSPORT, but reports at the time claimed that West Ham wanted around £100 million to let him depart mid-season.

As per Africafoot this week, Kudus remains on Arsenal’s agenda, but they face a looming threat from PSG and Al-Nassr, with the latter having already made an £87 million bid to sign the Ghanaian for this summer.

As well as the Saudis, it is believed that PSG have now made contact with Kudus’ representatives, so Arsenal may have to make their move quickly amid this growing battle from abroad for the forward’s signature.

Interestingly, despite West Ham setting a reported asking price of £74 million to sell in the next window, Al-Nassr appear to have gone above and beyond. It will be intriguing to see whether Arsenal decide to do battle with Cristiano Ronaldo’s side and PSG, but it is unlikely considering there are much cheaper, quality alternatives like Williams on the market.

Nevertheless, whoever ends up striking a deal for Kudus will be getting a player of real quality, with Michail Antonio calling his teammate “unbelievable” and a “starboy”.