Aston Villa are now keen on signing a “quality” £40 million striker who former Arsenal striker Ian Wright is a big fan of, according to a new report.
Alejandro Garnacho now open to Aston Villa transfer
The Villans have been very quiet in this transfer window so far, adding just two new players to their squad having been forced to work around PSR requirements before they could pursue any deals.
Aston Villa keen on £21m international star but he's already in talks with Man City
Aston Villa are the latest team to show an interest in a player who has a low release clause until the end of July.
1 ByBrett Worthington Jul 21, 2025
Now that issue has passed, and the Premier League edges closer to getting underway, Villa could be about to start making an impact in this transfer window. The Villans are keen to add more power to their forward line, and one player who has emerged as a target is Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho.
The Argentine is expected to leave Old Trafford this summer, as the Red Devils don’t consider him a part of their plans, and he’s been left behind in Manchester as the club have jetted off to Chicago for their pre-season preparations.
Manchester United's AlejandroGarnachoreacts
It was reported last week that Villa made an approach to Garnacho about a move to Villa Park, as United look to get around £70 million for the winger. Now, in a boost to their pursuit, Garnacho is said to be open to the idea of playing for Aston Villa and working under manager Unai Emery. It just remains to be seen if the club can agree a transfer fee with United.
Aston Villa and Wolves in race for Mika Biereth
As the club works on a potential deal for Garnacho, according to Caught Offside, Aston Villa are also interested in signing striker Mika Biereth from AS Monaco.
Mika Biereth scores for Monaco
The report states that Biereth’s fine form since joining the French side has now caught the attention of not just Villa but Newcastle United, Wolves and Everton from the Premier League. Indeed, the forward joined Monaco in January and scored an impressive 13 goals in 16 Ligue 1 games.
Despite the fact that he is under contract until 2030, Caught Offside reports that Biereth can leave Monaco for a fee of £40 million, which would mean Monaco would make a huge profit after paying Sturm Graz just €13 million (roughly £11 million) six months ago.
The 22-year-old is already known in England, as he started his career at Fulham, and while he didn’t play for the first team, he earned a move to Arsenal. Biereth didn’t play again in the first team, but he scored 11 goals in 21 Premier League 2 games in the 2021/22 season.
Mika Biereth’s 24/25 Ligue 1 stats
Apps
16
Starts
16
Goals
13
xG
11.32
Left-footed goals
1
Right-footed goals
12
Shots per game
2.6
Chance conversion
31%
Assists
2
Big chances created
8
During his time in the UK, Biereth had a spell at Motherwell, during which he was dubbed “quality” by manager Stuart Kettlewell. Meanwhile, after his spell at Arsenal, Ian Wright was left very impressed by his performances and stated he was “incredibly proud of him”.
Defeat deals heavy blow to Sunrisers’ hopes of reaching semi-finals
ECB Reporters Network04-Sep-2024Chloe Skelton’s five-wicket haul propelled Western Storm to victory at Radlett and dealt a severe blow to Sunrisers’ hopes of reaching the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy semi-finals.Off-spinner Skelton finished with 5 for 29 as the home side were rolled over for 150, having earlier played a valuable role with the bat in support of Amanda-Jade Wellington’s counter-attacking 45 not out that lifted Storm to a competitive total of 180.Sunrisers looked on course to chase that down through Cordelia Griffith (39) and Alice Macleod, with a season’s best of 48, only for Skelton to turn the contest back in the visitors’ favour.Storm’s success was only their fourth of this year’s competition and left Sunrisers needing to win their final fixture away to Southern Vipers to maintain their chances of advancing to the knockout stage.Having won the toss, Sunrisers inserted the visitors and immediately seized control of the game, although it took them until the ninth over to make inroads when Kate Coppack took a tumbling return catch off Sophia Smale’s leading edge.Emma Corney and skipper Sophie Luff made steady progress, guiding their side to 61 for 1 before the introduction of Sophie Munro, who yorked Corney for 29 in her first over and finished with 3 for 42, triggered a clatter of wickets.Luff was bowled leaving a slower delivery from Eva Gray that seamed back to hit her off stump and a miserly second spell from leg-spinner Jodi Grewcock yielded two wickets as Storm slumped to 115 for 8.However, their prospects were salvaged by the tail, with Skelton and then Ellie Anderson providing staunch support for Wellington’s spirited counter-attack to extend the innings by a valuable 65 runs.The Australian steered Munro to the point boundary to bring up Storm’s 150 and drilled her next ball over the top for six as she and Anderson frustrated the home side in a partnership of 41, the highest of the innings.Abtaha Maqsood eventually finished off proceedings in the 47th over, bowling Anderson with a flighted delivery to leave Wellington five short of her half-century – but having done enough to lift Storm morale.That received another boost at the start of Sunrisers’ reply when Anderson dismissed both openers cheaply, with Jo Gardner picking out the midwicket fielder before Grace Scrivens played around one and was bowled.When Skelton had Grewcock caught behind off her fourth delivery, the home side were wobbling at 44 for 3, but Griffith adopted a pugnacious approach, pummelling Anderson for successive off-side boundaries.In tandem with MacLeod, Griffith got Sunrisers back on track with a partnership of 46 from 58 balls and looked comfortably set on 39 when she swung Skelton into the hands of deep midwicket.But MacLeod took up the baton, hitting confidently over the infield and took the total past 100 by dispatching Wellington to the rope as well as taking successive leg-side boundaries off Smale.A half-century seemed to be MacLeod’s for the taking until she was thwarted by a stunning one-handed catch from Alex Griffiths at short cover – and that proved to be a turning point.Storm’s spinners pressed home their advantage, with Skelton capturing three of the last four wickets to complete the win with 10.3 overs to spare.
A devastating 87 not out from Phil Salt, supplemented by an unbeaten 48 from Jonny Bairstow, saw England thrash West Indies by eight wickets in St Lucia. It was the kind of performance that set down a marker for the rest of the teams in the Super Eight of the T20 World Cup 2024.The defending champions made light work of their target of 181, with a clinical 97-run stand between Salt and Bairstow earning victory with 15 deliveries to spare.Played out on a fine batting deck at the Daren Sammy National Stadium, Jos Buttler opted to chase at the toss. Things looked precarious after eight overs, with West Indies getting 72 on the board for the loss of just Brandon King, who collapsed with a side strain early in the fifth over, having scored 23 off his previous 12 deliveries.Related
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A diet of spin restricted West Indies’ batters thanks to Adil Rashid – the pick of the bowlers with 1 for 21 from his four overs – and Moeen Ali, who would go on to remove Johnson Charles.Rovman Powell, promoting himself to No. 4, took 20 from the 15th over, striking Liam Livingstone for three sixes down the ground in four deliveries. But an attempt at a fourth off Livingstone’s final ball brought his downfall, caught low at short third by Mark Wood, returning to the XI in place of Chris Jordan.It was the first of three wickets to fall in the space of 12 deliveries for just six runs. Jofra Archer removed Nicholas Pooran caught behind in the next over, before Andre Russell nailed a Rashid googly straight to wide long on.Rovman Powell hit five sixes in his innings•ICC/Getty Images
That West Indies were able to reach 180 without any further loss from a position of 143 for 4 with three overs to go owes as much to Sherfane Rutherford as it does to Wood. The former was able to find 28 from 15 deliveries, 13 of them off the latter as the 18th over was taken for 19.England’s pursuit began steadily enough, reaching 58 for no loss after six overs. Roston Chase’s flat delivery eventually ended the opening stand on 67, trapping Buttler in front, before Moeen came and went, batting at No. 3 for the first time since March 2023.Salt remained, and though he did end up slowing down, Bairstow was on hand to pick up the slack, striking 46 off 21 up to the 16th over. It was then that Salt tagged back in, and unfurled a brutal attack on Romario Shepherd, striking the seamer for 30 with three fours and three sixes – the joint-most expensive over by a West Indian in a T20 World Cup.The first of those boundaries brought up Salt’s half-century from 38 deliveries, before he skewered any remaining jeopardy. It left West Indies to rue a half chance to remove Salt on seven in the third over, when he toed a hack across the line through to Pooran, who could not hold on.
Bairstow clicks himself, and Salt, into gear
Salt deserved the Player-of-the-Match award. But without Bairstow’s help, he – and maybe even England – might not have had something to celebrate.Salt had emerged from the powerplay with a respectable 35 off 20. But with the field spread, twirlers working in tandem and less of the strike, he had stalled. Going into the 14th over, he had scored just 12 more from 15 deliveries.That was when Bairstow set about a jump-start. For some reason, Powell returned to Alzarri Joseph instead of persisting with the frugal Chase. Bairstow used the pace on the ball to send the first delivery over the deep midwicket fence – the longer side, no less – before ramping the next delivery for four.Adil Rashid delivered the big wicket of Andre Russell•Getty Images
Powell attempted to correct his error by bringing Akeal Hosein back on for his final over. Bairstow, though, was in an unforgiving mood. An attempted reverse sweep brought a subdued lbw appeal before a conventional sweep, a 76-metre six heaved into the stands at midwicket, and a fortuitous inside edge brought 14 from three deliveries. The 16 from the over outright made it Hosein’s most expensive of this World Cup.It was at that point, with 40 needed from 30, that Salt set about his assault on Shepherd. Bairstow watched on from the other end, settling into the role of cheerleader as his partner went ballistic. He eventually had the honour of striking the winning run, raising his personal best at T20 World Cups to 48 not out.”Once Jos got out, I had to be the better to bat through,” explained Salt. “For Jonny to come out and take the pressure off me by taking calculated risks. I couldn’t be happier about that as a teammate.”
Windies given the run around
Intent comes in many different forms. England blitzed the six-count on the tournament’s truest batting pitch, but the difference between the running out in the middle told as true a story.West Indies, for all their might, set a new unwanted record of 51 dot balls – the most any team has registered in a T20 World Cup when posting a score of at least 180. They were also responsible for the previous highest – 50 – in the 2016 edition, albeit when they chased down 193 to take down India in the semi-final on their way to their second title.Moreover, they were second-best when making use of this ground’s lop-sided dimensions, failing to rotate the strike as much as they could, and running just nine twos across their 120 deliveries. Not only did England run three more in 15 fewer deliveries, but they even managed a three in the fourth over when Buttler could not quite time a cut to the cover point sponge. It brought Salt on strike for the final ball of the over, which he used to get going by charging at Russell and launching him back over his head and onto the roof for the first of five sixes.Jofra Archer was consistently around the 90mph mark•ICC/Getty Images
Archer glee
At the time, the purchasing of Powell’s wicket for 20 runs from Livingstone’s only over did not seem a smart deal. Powell was only averaging 16.25 coming into this match. Having cooled a partisan St Lucian crowd, watching their captain hoist three quick sixes was a surefire way to get them warmed up for the arrival of Russell to assist Pooran, who was set on 32.Both were back in the hut 11 deliveries later. And while Rashid’s snaring of Russell was the icing on the cake in this little stanza that shifted the match England’s way, it was Archer’s in the 17th over that vindicated Buttler’s investment.Over the wicket to Pooran, Archer hammered a tight line across the left-hander. Ranging from full and yorker length, barring one misstep – a full toss third ball which Pooran guided through point for four – Archer had it all his own way.He was too sharp – consistently around the 90mph mark – and too unwavering for a batter slowly falling into a funk, desperate for room to access his favoured hitting zones down the ground. The least full of all the deliveries was the one that took the edge through to Buttler, Pooran presenting the face of the bat in defeat rather than defiance.With six wickets, Archer is now England’s joint top wicket-taker alongside Rashid, boasting an economy rate of 6.58, which is lower than any of his teammates barring Reece Topley (5.50), who has played two fewer games and is still yet to register a dismissal.But the best stat of all is that Archer has now turned out five times for England in the last 15 days. The previous five caps came in the space of 448 days. After the nightmare run of elbow and back injuries over the last two years, the 29-year-old may finally be out the other end.
The close relative of a “great” Liverpool transfer target has claimed that his move to Anfield this summer is now “basically a done deal”, in an exciting new update.
Florian Wirtz week at Liverpool
The Reds have already brought in Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen since the end of last season, but this week has the potential to be a particularly memorable one at Anfield.
Liverpool appear to be edging closer to the stunning signing of Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz all the time, with fresh reports claiming that he will be in England on Thursday, with his medical and official unveiling taking place on Friday.
While much focus is on Wirtz currently, which is no surprise considering he is seen as one of Europe’s best players currently, a move for Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth is also close to happening.
The 21-year-old has emerged as the perfect left-back to come in and be Andy Robertson’s long-term successor at Liverpool, and now a new update suggests that the transfer is closer to happening than ever.
Liverpool signing Kerkez "basically a done deal"
Speaking to Super Indirektno [via The Mirror], Kerkez’s father, Sebastijan Kerkez, claimed that his son’s move to Liverpool is “basically a done deal”, also discussing the huge influence of sporting director Richard Hughes.
“It’s only Liverpool for us and we’re not going anywhere else and we won’t talk to other clubs. Everything is done between us (personal terms) we just need to sort out some details but it’s basically a done deal. Richard Hughes brought us to Bournemouth, if he said we go to India, then we go to India, everything is agreed, just some little things.”
AFC Bournemouth's MilosKerkez
This is fantastic news for anyone of a Liverpool persuasion, with Kerkez looking tailor-made to thrive in this Premier League-winning team under Arne Slot.
Milos Kerkez’s 2024/25 Premier League stats
Total
Appearances
38
Starts
38
Minutes played
3341
Goals
2
Assists
5
Clearances per game
2.6
Tackles per game
1.4
Interceptions per game
1.2
The Hungarian caught the eye so often with his performances for Bournemouth in 2024/25, standing out as one of the best left-backs in the country and being hailed by manager Andoni Iraola.
“Milos has improved a lot from past season. He has done a great job defensively. I think he’s a player that because of his physical condition arrives so many times to the last third with the ball under control to put good crosses that the number of assists, of good balls he was having, was quite low past season, but this season I think he’s deciding much better. He’s adding quality to his deliveries.”
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There is always a risk that any move won’t work out, but assuming he avoids serious injury, the £40m-rated Kerkez looks primed to be a massive player for Liverpool for many years to come.
Everton need to trim the fat this summer. Oh, while excitement is in the air as David Moyes gears up for what may be the club’s biggest summer of spending, there’s plenty going on out the exit door too.
As many as 15 first-team players are out of contract at the end of the season. Some will stay. Many will go. Two of these quandaries take the shape of the culminating loan spells of Jack Harrison and Jesper Lindstrom, neither of whom has enjoyed the best of terms. Several more are made from flotsam drifting out on short-term stints elsewhere.
There are too many profiles to dig into, but one curious expected outgoing is the man who earns more than any of his Toffees teammates: Abdoulaye Doucoure.
Everton set to part with Abdoulaye Doucoure
Back in 2020, Everton signed Doucoure from Watford in a deal worth £20m, and he’s since made 162 appearances for the Blues in all competitions, scoring 21 goals.
Abdoulaye Doucoure
Regarded as a ‘pressing machine’, the Malian ace is now 32 and while he still works industriously in the middle, three goals across 29 matches is hardly a prolific return for an attacking midfielder whose duel success rate stands at just 39% in the Premier League this year, as per Sofascore.
Indeed, one of those facing the end of their contract this summer, the £130k-per-week Doucoure is Everton’s top earner. Given the amount of shuffling set to take place over at Bramley Moore this summer, it would be a grave error to renew Doucoure’s deal on the same terms.
1.
Abdoulaye Doucoure
32
2025
£130k-per-week
2.
Jordan Pickford
30
2027
£125k-per-week
3.
Idrissa Gueye
35
2025
£120k-per-week
=4
James Tarkowski
32
2026
£100k-per-week
=4
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
27
2025
£100k-per-week
He’ll be midway through his 33rd year by the end of next season and, despite scoring the winner at Nottingham Forest a few weeks back, no longer carries the same swagger in the final third.
Everton need a new star in attacking midfield. Iliman Ndiaye, Charly Alcaraz and Dwight McNeil make three exciting options, three good reasons why Doucoure’s influence is waning.
Everton midfielder Charly Alcaraz
That said, the fans could be in for an even more thrilling ride if Everton’s new version of Ross Barkley hits his stride after flourishing for the academy.
Everton's new Ross Barkley
Barkley featured 179 times for Everton’s first team after breaking from the Finch Farm youth ranks, notching 52 goal involvements and drawing inevitable comparisons to Wayne Rooney.
However, he left for Chelsea in January 2018 for a £15m fee, now long archived as a bygone part of the Merseysiders’ history.
It’s been a while since such a player rose to the fore (Anthony Gordon notwithstanding), but Moyes might just find he holds the keys to unlocking the next prodigy, with 17-year-old Braiden Graham making waves for the development outfit.
Graham’s still in that unsure maiden stage, struggling to find his best position. However, a four-goal performance from attacking midfield for the U21s last time out in the Premier League 2 suggests that maybe he has a future as a ten.
Attacking midfield
5
7
1
Centre-forward
5
3
0
Right winger
2
1
0
Left winger
2
1
1
Central midfield
2
0
0
With such dynamism, ranged in his ability to make a positive impression on the pitch, Graham’s surely going to go a long way, not least because his shooting boots seem to stay intact wherever he features.
The Northern Ireland youth international has been hailed as a “fearless” forward and an “incredible player” by his former Linfield boss David Healy, prior to transferring to the Toffees. In short, there’s an ever-loudening buzz around this young talent, whose eye for goal and crisp, powerful dribbling offer shades of Barkley in his Everton days.
Having scored four goals in a single game against Tottenham Hotspur’s U21s – away from home – makes a firm comment on this young man’s potential, not least because Spurs’ U21s won the Premier League 2 last season.
One to watch, and maybe one whose professional Everton debut lingers not too far away.
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Tottenham Hotspur were beaten for the 17th time in the Premier League this season when they lost 4-2 to relegation-threatened Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday.
Despite Wolves having battled against the drop throughout the 2024/25 campaign, Vitor Pereira’s side are now just two points behind Spurs, who are sat in 15th place in the division.
Player ratings courtesy of Sofascore
There is no escape from the fact that it has been a failure of a season for Ange Postecoglou in the Premier League, as his team are 17 points adrift of the top seven and European qualification, whilst they are only 16 points ahead of Ipswich Town in the last relegation spot.
Spurs are still in the Europa League, and face Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday, but there will be no domestic success for Tottenham before the end of the campaign.
Tottenham do have a clutch of very young players who are learning on the job, and Postecoglou may point to that as one of the factors behind their underperformance, but there is no guarantee that they will fulfill their potential.
There have been talented young prospects in North London in the past who have not gone on to live up to the hype, including electric winger Jack Clarke.
Why Jack Clarke failed at Spurs
Back in the summer of 2019, Tottenham swooped to sign the 18-year-old forward from Championship side Leeds United for a reported fee of £10m.
He had just made 25 appearances in the first-team for Marcelo Bielsa as the Whites reached the play-off semi-finals, only to lose to Derby County, and Spurs clearly saw him as a high-potential talent who could be a future star for the club, hence why they were willing to spend £10m on his services.
Clarke, as you can see in the graphic above, went on to make a further three appearances for Leeds on loan in the 2019/20 campaign, before playing six times in the Championship for QPR in the second half of that season.
At the start of the 2020/21 season, the English whiz was given a few opportunities to showcase his quality in the first-team for Spurs, with two appearances in the Europa League and one in the FA Cup, but did not muster up any goals or assists.
Appearances
2
Shots
1
Shots on target
0
Goals
0
Key passes
2
Assists
0
Big chances created
0
Dribbles completed
0
Duel success rate
25%
The £10m signing showed promise at youth level with a return of four goals and four assists in 18 academy matches in the first half of the 2021/22 campaign, before being sent out on loan to League One side Sunderland in January 2022.
After one goal in 20 League One outings – including the play-offs – Tottenham decided to cash in on Clarke, who had yet to prove himself on a consistent basis at senior level three years on from his £10m move, by selling him to the Black Cats.
Ultimately, Clarke, who now plays for Ipswich in the Premier League, failed to realise his potential at White Hart Lane, and Archie Gray is in danger of following in his footsteps after a dismal showing last time out.
Archie Gray's performance against Wolves
The 19-year-old defender started at right-back, the position he made his breakthrough in at Leeds last season, against Wolves on Sunday and put in a dismal showing.
Gray was far from the only poor performer on the pitch, as Vicario flapped the ball back out for two of the goals, Djed Spence scored an own goal, Cristian Romero lost the ball for the third goal, and Ben Davies completely mistimed his challenge on Matheus Cunha for the fourth.
However, it was still a disappointing 90 minutes of football from the England U21 international, whose play in and out of possession left far too much to be desired.
Minutes
90
90
Pass accuracy
85%
87%
Key passes
0
0
Successful crosses
0/4
1/4
Possession lost
19x
17x
Interceptions
2
1
Tackles
0
3
Duels won
0/3
8/11
As you can see in the table above, Spence delivered an even better performance than him – despite playing as a right-footer at left-back – even with an unfortunate own goal to go with it.
Gray offered no threat at the top end of the pitch, with no key passes or successful crosses, and was a lightweight off the ball, losing 100% of his duels.
Why Archie Gray is in danger of being the next Jack Clarke
The versatile youngster is now in danger of following in the footsteps of another Leeds academy graduate, as it remains to be seen if he can realise his potential at Spurs.
Tottenham reportedly splashed out a fee of £30m to sign the defender from the Whites last summer, and he has yet to prove his worth on a consistent basis in the Premier League.
Gray has made 40 appearances in all competitions for Spurs, far more than the three outings that Clarke had at the start of his Tottenham career, but there has not been too much quality in those outings.
The England youth international has started nine of his ten appearances in the Europa League, resulting in zero goals, zero assists, and a duel success rate of 47%.
Appearances
23
Goals + assists
0
Key passes per game
0.1
Tackles + interceptions per game
0.9
Error led to shot
1
Error led to goal
1
Duel success rate
47%
As you can see in the table above, Gray has also failed to deliver much in the way of quality in the Premier League, with one chance created every ten games and less than one tackle and interception combined per game on average.
The 19-year-old, who has the lowest Sofascore rating (6.58) in the squad, does not offer a threat in possession or quality off the ball as a defender, rarely making interventions and losing the majority of his duels.
You could argue that he is being played out of position at right-back, as central midfield was the role he came up through the academy in, but 30 of his 49 starts for Leeds came in that area of the pitch.
At this moment in time, Gray is on his way to following in Clarke’s footsteps by failing to live up to his potential at Spurs after joining the club for big money.
Of course, there is plenty of time for the teenage talent to improve and develop if Postecoglou is willing to trust him in the long term, but he will need to show far more than what he is doing right now to become a success and avoid being Clarke 2.0.
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Spurs’ miserable run of form continued with a 4-2 defeat to Wolves on Sunday.
And who has the highest individual ODI score against England?
Steven Lynch04-Mar-2025Was Ibrahim Zadran’s 177 the other day the highest score against England in an ODI?asked Muhammad Sarfaraz from Pakistan
There have been only three individual innings against England in one-day internationals higher than Ibrahim Zadran’s sparkling 177 in Lahore last week.Joint top, with 189 not out, are Viv Richards (for West Indies at Old Trafford in 1984), and Martin Guptill (for New Zealand in Southampton in 2013). Another New Zealander, Ross Taylor, hit 181 not out against England in Dunedin in 2018.Zadran’s innings was the highest individual score in ODIs for Afghanistan, beating his own 162 against Sri Lanka in Pallekele in 2022, and easily their highest against England, which previously was Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s 80 in Delhi during the World Cup in 2023 . It was also the highest individual score in the Champions Trophy, beating Ben Duckett’s 165 for England against Australia in Lahore four days previously.Josh Hazlewood has a big percentage of his Test wickets caught behind. Is he the leader by that yardstick?asked Jared Marshall from Australia
You’re right that Australia’s Josh Hazlewood seems to pick up a lot of caught-behind dismissals in Tests: of his 279 wickets so far, 90 have been caught by the wicketkeeper. That’s 32.25% of his victims, the highest percentage for anyone with more than 100 Test wickets: next, with 31.70% (39 of 123 wickets) comes Ewen Chatfield of New Zealand. Third at the moment is India’s Mohammed Siraj at 31% (31 of exactly 100 Test wickets so far).If we lower the requirement to 50 Test wickets then Pakistan’s Wahab Riaz comes out on top at 40.96% (34 of his 83 wickets), just ahead of Chris Tremlett of England at 39.62% (21 of 53).Adil Rashid took four wickets in five balls in an ODI in 2018-19 without taking a hat-trick – has anyone else done this?asked Jamie Campbell from England
The England legspinner Adil Rashid achieved this unusual feat in St George’s(Grenada) in 2019 . It transformed the match: West Indies had started the 48th over needing 32 with four wickets left and Rashid nursing figures of 1 for 83. After the first ball was hit for two, the rest of the over went WW0WW: West Indies were all out for 389, and England had won by 29 runs.Rashid finished with 5 for 85, still the most expensive five-for in ODIs. He’s the only player to take four wickets in five balls in an ODI without a hat-trick: the four-in-fives of Saqlain Mushtaq (Pakistan vs Zimbabwe in Peshawar in 1996) and Dane van Niekerk (South Africa Women vs West Indies Women in Basseterre, St Kitts, in 2013) both did feature a hat-trick.Lasith Malinga of Sri Lanka uniquely took four wickets in four balls against South Africa in Providence (Guyana) during the 2007 World Cup.In Grenada in 2019, four of Adil Rashid’s wickets came in his last five balls, but did not feature a hat-trick•Associated PressI noticed that in Barbados in 1983, West Indies needed just one run to win in their second innings, and it came from a no-ball. Are there any other instances where all the runs in a successful fourth-innings chase were extras?asked Chris Goddard from England
The match you’re talking about was the fourth Test against India in Bridgetown in 1983: West Indies needed one to win, and the visitors’ wicketkeeper, Syed Kirmani, was entrusted with the ball for the first time in a Test. Almost immediately he sent down a no-ball, and the match was over. Kirmani had two more bowling spells in his 88-Test career, and even took a wicket – of Azeem Hafeez of Pakistan in Nagpur a few months later.There’s only one other Test in which all the runs in a successful chase came from extras. In Mirpur in 2010 , India needed two to beat Bangladesh: the second ball of the innings, from Shakib Al Hasan, kept low, was missed by batter Virender Sehwag and wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim, and scooted away for two byes to end the game.This is not quite the same question, but there are 19 completed innings in Tests in which the highest contribution came from extras. The highest total involved is England’s 339 against West Indies in Kingston in 2004, which included 60 extras.Abid Ali scored 225 in a total of 346 in a domestic match in Pakistan recently. Was this the lowest completed total to include a double-century?asked Ishaq Siddiqui from Pakistan
The former Pakistan Test batter Abid Ali carried his bat for 225 in Sui Northern Gas Pipelines’ total of 346 against Eshaal in a President’s Trophy match in Karachi last week. Rather surprisingly perhaps, this is quite a long way from the record for a completed innings: Namibia’s 282 all out against Kenya in an Intercontinental Cup match in Sharjah in 2008 included 230 from Gerrie Snyman (the next-highest score was 13).The only lower first-class innings to contain a double-century was Oxford University’s 280 for 1 (Micky Walford 201 not out) to beat MCC at Lord’s in 1938. The Test record for a completed innings is India’s 329 against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2008, when Virender Sehwag carried his bat for 201.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions
Mohit Sharma had kept at it, behind the scenes, and made sure he was ready for his moment when it came, ready to make it his
Karthik Krishnaswamy14-Apr-20230:52
Tewatia: ‘Mohit has been working really hard in the last two years’
There’s been a retro flavour to IPL 2023. MS Dhoni is smacking it at a 200-plus strike rate. Amit Mishra, Piyush Chawla and Karn Sharma are taking wickets and reminding the world that no team is complete without a chubby legspinner.Thursday night in Mohali was yet another retro night. Gujarat Titans were fresh off a shock defeat in which one of their young quicks, Yash Dayal, had been hit for five successive sixes in a dramatic final over. They took Dayal out of the firing line for this game against Punjab Kings, and replaced him with a 34-year-old, whose last season as an IPL regular was in 2018. He’d played one game in 2019, one in 2020, and nothing since.Mohit Sharma. Purple Cap winner in 2014. World Cup semi-finalist in 2015. He had disappeared from our TV screens for years and years, and he was back now.Related
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He was back, and from a spectator’s distance he seemed to be the same bowler he has always been. He was doing the same things he’s always done, and he was doing them well.Mohali served up an interesting pitch for this game – Titans captain Hardik Pandya suggested afterwards that it was a hard pitch where the new ball came on to the bat beautifully, but so hard that it quickly roughened up and softened up the ball. This meant that by the time Mohit came on, in the 11th over of Punjab’s innings, the ball was in just the sort of shape to behave a little unpredictably off the pitch.Mohit is a natural at maximising that sort of unpredictability. He hits an awkward, bail-trimming length – too short to drive on the up, not short enough to pull. And he’s always been adept at hitting that length while shuffling through his variations – on pace, either with the seam upright or scrambled, or off pace, delivered either as an offcutter or out of the back of the hand.
Everything about his comeback screamed pragmatism. At this time last year, Mohit was travelling around the IPL with Titans as a net bowler. Mohit had gone unsold at the auction, and he’d jumped at the chance to train and work on his bowling when Titans coach Ashish Nehra had offered him the net-bowler role
On a pitch that’s a little bit two-paced, or when he’s armed with an old ball that’s gone a little soft, Mohit can be extremely hard to hit.Punjab discovered this on Thursday, and it was a gradual realisation rather than a sudden jolt of knowledge, a realisation that dawned over a succession of dot balls and half-timed singles to deep fielders. By the time he was finished, with figures of 4-0-18-2 next to his name, their innings had stalled and stultified.Mohit dismissed Jitesh Sharma in his first over, the ball straightening ever so slightly from that in-between length to brush the outside edge of an attempted back-foot punch. Sam Curran joined Bhanuka Rajapaksa at the crease, and Punjab had a left-left pair at the crease all the way until Mohit’s final over.Mohit took his second wicket in that final over, the 19th of the innings, hitting the pitch hard with an offcutter-bouncer and daring Curran to hit against the angle, against the deviation, and towards the longer leg-side boundary. Curran took on the shot, and picked out deep midwicket. This was the perfect Mohit wicket, full of skill and smart playing of percentages.
“If you have to upgrade your cricket or better it in any way, you need competitive practice. I felt, what am I going to do sitting at home? I was here and doing competitive practice instead, I kept myself involved in cricket, and I think it was a good time for me”Mohit Sharma, on spending IPL 2022 as a net bowler with Gujarat Titans
The right-handed Shahrukh Khan walked out to the crease, and this was immediately followed by what may have been the day’s first sighting of Mohit’s most famous party trick, the back-of-the-hand slower ball.This is the ball that made Mohit’s name, a dipping topspinner that emerges with the seam miraculously upright. It’s a more spectacular variation than his offcutter, and comes out of his hand with a far bigger drop in speed, but on this day, he shelved it for most of his spell because he was bowling mostly to left-hand batters and wanted to use the variation that deviates away from them. Another illustration of the smart, pragmatic cricketer Mohit is.Everything about his comeback screamed pragmatism. At this time last year, Mohit was travelling around the IPL with Titans as a net bowler. Mohit had gone unsold at the auction, and he’d jumped at the chance to train and work on his bowling when Titans coach Ashish Nehra had offered him the net-bowler role.Mohit Sharma, in his comeback game in the IPL, returned 2 for 18•BCCI”I had had a back surgery, and a lot of people weren’t sure if I had played enough domestic cricket [to be signed at the auction],” Mohit said when he was interviewed by between innings. “I got a call from Ashu , saying I should be with the team, and if someone gets injured I’d get a chance.”Obviously, if you have to upgrade your cricket or better it in any way, you need competitive practice. I felt, what am I going to do sitting at home? I was here and doing competitive practice instead, I kept myself involved in cricket, and I think it was a good time for me.”You may think that a cricketer of Mohit’s experience and stature might balk at being a net bowler, but he didn’t see it that way.”It’s not a bad thing to be a net bowler,” he said. “You get very good exposure, you get to play alongside good players, and if you don’t do competitive practice, your cricket won’t evolve.”Mohit Sharma. He had all but disappeared from our TV screens for years and years, but he’d never really gone away. He’d kept at it, behind the scenes, and made sure he was ready for his moment when it came, ready to make it his.
“I’d see myself anywhere in the top four, probably more comfortable up-top for the time being,” he says
Firdose Moonda31-Mar-2021A long, long time ago, in the age BC (Before Coronavirus), South Africa played an ODI series. And won. Really.In March 2020, they swept Australia 3-0 at home, prompting suggestion of a tide being turned, that came to nothing. Just consult the results and boardroom shenanigans of the last few months as proof.But a long, long time before that, in the age of, let’s call it BB (before Mark Boucher took over as national men’s coach), Aiden Markram played an ODI. South Africa won that one too but by then they had lost so many others that they registered their worst performance at a World Cup and returned home disgraced.Markram scored 34 in that match but hasn’t played a white-ball international since, losing ground through injury and the other players’ form. Understandably now that we are entering the age NN (New Normal), in preparation for three white-ball World Cups in as many years, he said being part of a limited-overs group felt “a bit foreign” because he wasn’t banking on being part of South Africa’s squad.Related
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“I wasn’t expecting it at all. I understand my white-ball game for the Proteas hasn’t been where I would have liked it to be. In general you never expect selection but more so in this case for myself,” Markram said.Though Markram’s domestic record is outstanding – he averages 63.04 in 22 matches for the Titans and has scored seven centuries – he has not been able to translate that to international level. In 26 ODIs, his average is 27.95 and he has not brought up one three-figures score. On one hand, that may be because he was burdened with the stand-in captaincy two matches into his ODI career in a series against India (which South Africa went on to lose 1-5); on the other, he has been shifted around the top four with little indication of if or where he may settle permanently.The series against Pakistan is an opportunity to change the latter, even though South Africa have a bottleneck of top-order players in the squad. Incumbent openers Quinton de Kock and Janneman Malan are likely to start the series, but when de Kock leaves for the IPL after the second match, Markram may get a chance to open, which he will gladly take.”The few discussions I’ve had with the coach and Temba (Bavuma) are to try to be quite versatile. I’d see myself anywhere in the top four, probably more comfortable up-top for the time being,” Markram said. “I’d still like to get to know numbers three and four a little bit more but certainly something I am open to doing. As a player, you’d be happy to take any spot that’s available in the team.”Markram acknowledged that there is a pecking order which includes captain Bavuma, who has also laid claim to a position in the top four, and allrounder Jon-Jon Smuts. “I still need to do a lot,” Markram said. “It’s just been about getting back to the game plans I used when things were going well for me, albeit at franchise cricket. It’s just about addressing plans from a mental side of things. I don’t think technically too much changes.”But there is much else about South Africa’s set-up that has changed. Since Markram last played ODIs, South Africa have moved from a Faf du Plessis captaincy through a de Kock one and now, to Bavuma. In that, Markram was overlooked for a leadership role he is thought to be destined for, not least because he took South Africa’s Under-19 team to World Cup glory in 2014.Markram may still get the job in future but until the 2023 World Cup, he is happy to be a foot soldier in Bavuma’s army and is impressed by what the new captain has offered so far. “He has been brilliant this week in guiding the brand of cricket he would like the Proteas to play,” Markram said.To date, South Africa’s new style of play has not been revealed but Markram indicated it will be built on meticulous plans. “Temba will be doing a lot of planning before a game so that when we are in the game he has got options to fall back on. Quinny (de Kock) is quite a free-spirited person and quite a free-spirited captain and was able to develop plans as they go. I’m not saying Temba can’t do that but his preparation might be different to Quinny,” Markram said. “We’ve got a couple of years to build on something and hopefully when 2023 comes, each player knows his role under the brand of cricket Temba wants.”And so South Africa enter the age of operation 2023, in a bid to become more of the team they were when they beat Australia BC and to finally get their hands on a WC. That’s World Cup, by the way.
Nottingham Forest chiefs privately want owner Evangelos Marinakis to replace Ange Postecoglou with a “master” tactician, with the latter relieved of his duties immediately after their 3-0 defeat to Chelsea.
Ange Postecoglou sacked by Nottingham Forest after Chelsea loss
Goals from Josh Acheampong, Pedro Neto and Reece James cemented Postecoglou’s title as the shortest reigning manager in Premier League history, but his departure has been inevitable for quite some time.
Forest failed to win a single game during the Australian’s brief 39-day tenure in charge, with reports over the international break suggesting that Marinakis and co performed due-diligence on a host of potential replacements.
Ange Postecoglou’s tenure at Nottingham Forest
Competition
Arsenal 3-0 Forest
Premier League
Swansea 3-2 Forest
Carabao Cup
Burnley 1-1 Forest
Premier League
Real Betis 2-2 Forest
Europa League
Forest 0-1 Sunderland
Premier League
Forest 2-3 FC Midtjylland
Europa League
Newcastle 2-0 Forest
Premier League
Forest 0-3 Chelsea
Premier League
Postecoglou also broke a 100-year record at the City Ground, making the worst start out of any new Forest boss in a century, forcing Marinakis to call time on the former Tottenham boss after a nightmare stint.
In his final pre-match press conference, the 60-year-old went down swinging, perhaps realising that a loss to Chelsea this afternoon would spell the end.
Marinakis had apparently made up his mind about sacking Postecoglou before their clash with Chelsea had even finished, with the Greek billionaire even seen storming out of his seat (talkSPORT).
Postecoglou was informed of the decision just moments after the full-time whistle blew (talkSPORT), and he then said goodbye to his Forest players in the dressing room before the club officially announced his departure.
Now, attention turns to who could replace Postecoglou in the hot seat.
A succession of managers have been linked within the past fortnight — including Sean Dyche, Oliver Glasner, Steve Cooper and Rafael Benitez — but it is Fulham boss Marco Silva who’s seriously admired by the Forest hierarchy.
Nottingham Forest chiefs want Marinakis to replace Postecoglou with Marco Silva
According to the BBC, internal figures at the club have identified Silva as their “preferred option” to succeed Postecoglou.
The 48-year-old, who reportedly has an £8 million release clause in his contract, is poised to become a free agent at the end of this season, and it’s believed that Silva is likely to leave Craven Cottage in 2026 after rather public spats with the owners about their transfer activity.
However, it’ll be much more difficult to prise him out of West London immediately, as Forest are mindful of the compensation fees due if they decide to try and appoint Silva right now.
Marinakis has only just paid off Nuno, and will also have to compensate Postecoglou now that Forest have parted company with him too — meaning the club aren’t overly keen on shelling out yet more money for a new manager.
Fulham managerMarcoSilvabefore the match
The Tricky Trees have studied alternatives to Silva amid the difficulties surrounding his appointment, but if Marinakis does decide to invest the cash, it is clear that he’s a very ideal candidate.
The former Everton and Hull City boss has worked wonders at Fulham on a shoe-string budget since guiding them back to the Premier League at the first time of asking in 2022.
They briefly contended for Europe last season as well, despite their meagre transfer spend compared to rivals, and Silva has been lavished with praise as a “master” tactician by players who’ve worked with him.