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While Everton will be firmly fixed on steering away from relegation danger in the Premier League and returning to prominence after a tumultuous few years, manager Sean Dyche would also be wise to keep the faith with the club's prestigious Finch Farm academy.

The outfit has brought through numerous high-profile talents over the years, notably Wayne Rooney, who burst onto the scene as a prodigious teenager and earned a £27m transfer to Manchester United in 2004.

More recently, the likes of Anthony Gordon and Ross Barkley have risen through the youth ranks on the blue half of Merseyside, and the Toffees might have the latest member of an illustrious belt of talent in teenage full-back Mathew Mallon.

Who is Mathew Mallon?

The Liverpool-born defender joined the Goodison Park side's academy at the age of four, since rising the ladder and has now made his debut for the U21s, where he clinched an assist against Arsenal for David Unsworth's side.

Listing his 'pace, strength, defending and crossing' as his standout attributes, Mallon has now chalked up 43 appearances for Everton's respective youth outfits, scoring twice and supplying three assists, with Liverpool Echo reporter Sam Carroll stating he's "impressive every time I've watched him,"

The 19-year-old is yet to make his senior debut for his Premier League side, but given the right-back's dynamism and blend of qualities, he could soon wedge his way into Dyche's first-team plans.

In 2022, there were rumours that Mallon was poised to make a permanent switch to Blackburn Rovers, but soon after the ace penned his first professional contract with Everton, with Director of Football Kevin Thelwell saying:

"He has a strong mix of strengths that are needed in the modern-day full-back and we look forward to him continuing his progression on the next chapter of his journey."

Everton's right-back department currently boasts Nathan Patterson and club captain Seamus Coleman as the first-team candidates, but given the latter is approaching the twilight phase of his career, Mallon could soon earn the opportunity to impress.

What has Seamus Coleman achieved at Everton?

Coleman might be approaching his 35th birthday and playing a remarkable 15th season in the Everton shirt, but he is not done yet and earned a new contract with the club this summer, keeping him on the books until the end of the season.

The stalwart has made 409 appearances and has contributed 28 goals and 32 assists since joining from Republic of Ireland side Sligo Rovers in 2009 under the management of David Moyes.

The 68-cap international has been hailed for his performance against title-chasing Arsenal only last season, with FourFourTwo's Mark White saying the 34-year-old "locks up every left-winger Arsenal ever throw at him."

As per WhoScored, the £55k-per-week right-back has averaged an impressive career pass success rate of 79.9% across the duration of his professional career for Everton and Ireland, also making one interception, 1.7 tackles and 1.9 clearances per game.

Also still ranking among the top 7% of positional peers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year, as per FBref, Coleman is a tenacious and composed presence at the back, excellent at sweeping away danger.

Big boots to fill, but Mallon is embracing the all-encompassing role of a full-back and will now be pushing to take the veteran's baton and cement a starting berth in Dyche's team in the future.

He's very much in the maiden stage of his career, but Mallon could be a shrewd, homegrown option to lead from the back at Goodison Park for years to come, emulating club icon Coleman who very much boasts similar traits.

Victoria were ahead by 160 runs and had nine second-innings wickets in hand at the WACA

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Feb-2018
Chris Tremain sends down a delivery•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Fast bowler Chris Tremain’s first seven-wicket haul in first-class cricket gave Victoria the ascendency on day two against Western Australia at the WACA.Tremain had five of his seven victims caught behind the wicket in an outstanding display of fast bowling on a surface that offered bounce and seam movement.Josh Philippe made a brisk 62 at the top of the order before he edged Tremain to first slip, while Ashton Turner was the unluckiest victim, strangled down the leg side for 44. Wicketkeeper Sam Harper took four catches while Dan Christian took two of his three catches at first slip, as the Warriors conceded a 90-run first innings lead.The Bushrangers lost Travis Dean late in the day after a 61-run opening stand with Marcus Harris. Peter Siddle kept out eight balls as the nightwatchman to give the visitors a 160-run lead heading into day three.

Hrishikesh Kanitkar has said he was aware of Vijay’s injury that kept him out of the Vijay Hazare fixture on Thursday. Meanwhile, captain Vijay Shankar and R Ashwin are set to miss the next game

Arun Venugopal10-Feb-2018

Tamil Nadu coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar has admitted to being aware of M Vijay’s injury that kept him out of the Vijay Hazare Trophy fixture against Mumbai in Chennai on Thursday. The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) had subsequently left Vijay out of the squad for the remaining games after he had “failed to report” to the ground citing “shoulder pain”.The TNCA had also stated in a press release that the state body, selection committee and the team physio were unaware of Vijay’s injury.Kanitkar, however, acknowledged the possibility of a “communication gap”, and said Vijay had informed him of his unavailability on the morning of the match. He also said the team wasn’t caught unawares. “Vijay had told me on the morning of the match that he wouldn’t be able to play,” reports quoted Kanitkar as saying at the end of the Tamil Nadu-Madhya Pradesh match on Friday. “I think there was some communication gap with the association. I knew about it before coming to the ground. I also already knew who to replace him with. It wasn’t a surprise because we were prepared for it.”Even during the Ranji Trophy match against Tripura earlier this season, he opted out on the morning of the match with a neck sprain. But on that occasion he came to the ground to get it treated. I know Vijay has always played with commitment for the state.”A top TNCA official, however, confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that the association’s decision to replace Vijay with young batsman Pradosh Ranjan Paul remained unchanged and that “the matter was closed.” The TNCA official had said on Friday that Vijay had informed the Tamil Nadu coach at about 7.30am on the day of the match. The TNCA was upset by Vijay’s last-minute withdrawal and had generally been unhappy with his “attitude” over a period of time.Although the TNCA official had confirmed there wasn’t any disciplinary action initiated against Vijay, he said that going forward national players wouldn’t be allowed to pick and choose matches once they had confirmed their availability for a tournament. He further said the issue was likely to come up for discussion at an executive committee meeting of the TNCA.Meanwhile, an injury-ridden Tamil Nadu side suffered another blow with captain Vijay Shankar ruled out of the Andhra game on Sunday. Offspinner Malolan Rangarajan has been added to the squad, which will now be captained by B Aparajith. Lead spinner R Ashwin, who picked up seven wickets from four games, is also set to miss the game. The official clarified Ashwin had sought permission of the TNCA in advance, and the association, in consultation with the selectors, granted his request.

Cheteshwar Pujara’s ability to bat hours on end, scoring massive amounts of runs, has become his signature. He has played the longest innings by an Indian in Tests, and his tally of 1611 runs last season is a national record in first-class cricket. So when he goes through a lean patch, questions are raised.In August, after the end of a productive series against Sri Lanka, Pujara went to play domestic cricket in England. He returned home with a top score of 34 in seven innings, and wasn’t his usual self in the Ranji Trophy either, where his first two innings yielded 35 and 13.”Sometimes, people expect a lot out of me because I have the habit of scoring big runs.” Pujara told . “The expectation is that I should score a hundred every second or third innings. It is difficult to always fulfil that.”Pre-season runs are a vital part of Pujara’s success. Upon his return from a difficult tour of the West Indies in 2016, when he was dropped from the XI, he struck 166 and 256 not out in two Duleep Trophy matches. They were vital innings, he felt, and paved the way to his becoming the highest run-getter in the world in 2016-17.Now, with two weeks to go for the home Tests against Sri Lanka, Pujara made his 12th double-hundred, another national record. He followed up with an innings of 182.”The moment I start scoring big runs, as a batsman, my rhythm comes back and my concentration improves,” Pujara said. “Everything looks good. So, it is a perfect start before I head into the Sri Lanka series.”Cheteshwar Pujara recorded his 12th first-class double-century•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Pujara said that his low scores prior to his back-to-back hundreds weren’t due to a lack of form. “I was playing on some tough pitches in England. All the matches were on challenging pitches and most of the games were low-scoring ones. I accepted my failures and I did learn so many things out of it.”It wasn’t that I was going through a bad phase or that I wasn’t timing the ball well,” Pujara said. “It was just a time where I had to stay patient. I was playing on tough pitches and if I get a good ball, just accept it and learn new things, what are the things I can still improve on and then start scoring runs again.”When I came back to India, in the first game, I had a little bit of jet lag but I was batting well and got good start and got out playing a bad shot for 35 [against Haryana]. Even in the next game [against Jammu & Kashmir], I looked in good touch but I made a mistake and got out [for 13]. So, overall I knew I was batting well.”The gap between the end of the Sri Lanka series and the start of the tour of South Africa is short. India play their last match at home on December 24 and the Cape Town Test begins on January 5. Pujara, however, is usually picked only for Test cricket and the last Test against Sri Lanka ends on December 6. So he will have more time to prepare for South Africa”When you travel abroad, you have to alter a few things,” Pujara said. “Obviously, the basic things remain the same. You have to have different preparations depending on the country you are visiting. If you are going to South Africa, there are certain things that I know that I need to do to perform well there, and I will work on them. I have played enough cricket in England that when we go there [in July-August 2018], I know the things I need to do there.”

Alongside Aravinda de Silva, Anura Tennakoon, they are expected to work on a range of topics including a restructuring of the domestic cricket scene

Madushka Balasuriya05-Oct-2017Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Aravinda de Silva and Anura Tennakoon have been appointed to a five-member committee to rehabilitate cricket in Sri Lanka. Brought together by the country’s sports ministry, the committee will make recommendations to the sports ministry and to Sri Lanka Cricket. Former SLC president Hemaka Amarasuriya heads the committee.Though largely tight-lipped about the exact changes they wish to bring about, committee members did single out Sri Lanka’s poor injury record as an issue they had discussed. The likes of Asela Gunaratne, Kusal Perera and Angelo Mathews were all unavailable for the ongoing Test series against Pakistan, and Sri Lanka has also had long-term problems with its fast-bowling battery.”One issue to look at in the short-term is the frequency of injuries,” De Silva said. “Whenever we have a good run of form, we get injuries to key players. We need to look at the research and try and gain a better understanding of why this is happening and how we can better handle it.”Given Jayawardene’s presence, it can be presumed that the committee will also push for a revamp of Sri Lanka’s domestic cricket structure. Jayawardene has been a vocal critic of Sri Lanka’s present domestic system and had even drawn up plans for a provincial tournament, which was ultimately rebuffed by the incumbent board in 2015. Having worked on that plan for months, only to see it shelved, Jayawardene and his fellow committee members hope the new committee’s recommendations will be taken more seriously.”We are not part of Sri Lanka Cricket,” Jayawardene said. “It’s up to them to implement these plans and we hope they do, because if not all these meetings would just be a waste of time.”I’m willing to put in one final effort to help cricket in the country, but it’s up to the board to make it happen. We can’t just keep coming back over and over again, as some sort of band-aid solution.”It appears that the SLC is indeed keen to revamp provincial cricket – as advised by Jayawardene two years ago – and a plan on the basis of that is expected to be presented towards the end of the year.While it remains to be seen what other issues the committee will address, some attention might be paid to overhauling SLC’s bloated voting system. Sidath Wettimuny, when he was in-charge of the board on an interim period, advocated for the move quite strongly and had also recommended Jayawardene and Sangakkara to be brought in to the SLC decision making process.As it stands, the committee has said it will first focus on short-term fixes following assurances by Sri Lanka’s sports minister that their suggestions would be taken seriously by SLC.

Read the full text of chairman of selectors Sanath Jayasuriya’s resignation letter to the sports minister of Sri Lanka

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Aug-2017Dear Sir,I write this letter with great sadness in my heart as after long discussion with fellow selectors, we have unanimously decided to tender our resignation on September 7 2017.As a player who has represented the country at all levels, and as a former captain and current chairman of selectors, last Sunday’s incident at the grounds was the last straw. Cricket has been and will always be my life, so it was particularly painful to see our own fans attack our own players.I acknowledge it has been a very disappointing year. However, just one year ago we beat Australia at home three-nil. This was an unforgettable moment. We have some very talented boys and I am sure in time they will take cricket to the heights that it once was. We will always be ready to help Sri Lanka cricket should the need arise.The 1996 players always will think of the glory days with nostalgia. We would like to thank you sir for all the help and support extended to us. We would also like to thank the president and the board for the unwavering support that was extended to us.Finally we would like to thank the team for giving us their best at all times. We go with our eyes full of tears but with our heads held high. To all the fans we say please have faith in the boys. They will deliver. To the boys we say: believe in your ability and believe in the fans. They will be with you ultimately. We believe we will keep to our vision and succeed as One team, One nation.Yours faithfully,Sanath Jayasuriya

Former Sporting academy graduate Fabio Paim maintains that Cristiano Ronaldo's Instagram jibe at him over his Ballon d'Or wins was constructive.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Fabio Paim jokes about Ronaldo's reaction
• Ronaldo had claimed to not know Paim on Instagram
• The two were teammates at Sporting academy

• Getty
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  In an interview with last month, Paim quipped that if he had even some of the same mindset as the Manchester United and Real Madrid icon, he would have been awarded one of Ronaldo's Ballons d'Or. In reality, Paim failed to reach the world-class heights that many had anticipated. To his podcast comments, 38-year-old Ronaldo quiptively said on Instagram, "WTF. Who is this guy?"

  Paim, though, believes the veteran striker and former team-mate is only having fun. He recognised that the lighthearted comment has helped the former football player regain attention from the general public.

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• WHAT PAIM SAID

  Paim told : “I don't want to make this longer but I don't think what Cristiano said was serious, it was a joke. But it has had a good impact – people are talking about our relationship. Ronaldo is helping me as people talk about me. We played together, we were friends, we have nothing against each other. I am such a big fan of Ronaldo. It is all good. Ronaldo is trying to help me.”

  Asked if he wants to meet Ronaldo again, he added: “Yes and I think it is going to happen soon. Due to all this attention, we will probably meet up.”

• Getty/Goal
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  When Ronaldo joined Manchester United, following the pair's time together at the Sporting academy, he famously said that Paim was the only player better than him. However, their trajectories diverged greatly as Ronaldo become one of the greatest players of all time. He famously led Portugal to victory at Euro 2016 and won five Ballons d'Or and five Champions League trophies.

  Paim's career, meanwhile, failed due to his lavish lifestyle, fame, and partying. It reached its lowest point when Paim was imprisoned for a year on drug trafficking charges, and had to watch from his jail window as his old friend trained with Portugal.

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• Getty
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR PAIM AND RONALDO?

  While Paim has already retired from professional football, his former teammate and five-time Ballon d'Or winner is still active and will soon lead his nation in the 2024 Euros. He is currently playing with Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr, but won't make their upcoming AFC Champions League clash.

AB de Villiers hopes to use the three T20s against England to thoroughly banish memories of the Champions Trophy exit and the resultant analysis of his leadership and lack of runs. De Villiers will captain a fairly inexperienced squad, which includes nine players from the failed Champions Trophy campaign but is without several seniors who are being rested before the Test, and he hopes they can use the matches to find a rhythm South Africa have lacked on this tour.”It was a tough few days after the Champions Trophy, to go through that phase of reflecting and to hear some of the criticism. It’s never easy but I have always been the kind of guy to see the positive in that and see opportunity to improve. These three matches give me that opportunity as a player and as a captain for the team,” de Villiers said. “I don’t feel like I need to prove anyone wrong or prove something to someone. I just want to go play. I feel like a youngster starting my career again. I am really full of energy and love playing. I just want to score some runs again and captain the team to a few good wins.”With a total of 20 runs from his three innings in the Champions Trophy, on the back of a quiet IPL, it’s fair to say de Villiers had a lean run but he insisted he is in good touch and simply a victim of poor luck. “I feel like I am playing very well. I had a couple of bad dismissals in those two games. The first game I tried to take it on a bit. The second game I don’t know how the ball went up in the air like that. The third game I felt like I was going to get 200 off 5 balls so I got run out. There’s nothing wrong with my form. The results are not showing.”Neither are they showing for South Africa. They arrived in England on a high following a successful 2016-17 season, in which they won eight trophies including three fifty-over series and sat at No.1 on the ODI rankings but are empty-handed. They lost their three-match ODI series to England and crashed out of the Champions Trophy in the first round, adding to a trove of major tournament misery.This time, de Villiers is taking a different approach to his reaction. Instead of dwelling on the disappointment, he is determined to get over it as quickly as possible.”I am past that stage of really harping on it for a very long time. The difficult part is the criticism all around, just hearing the negative stuff all the time but I am past nagging about losing games of cricket because that happens. It’s happened quite a few times,” de Villiers said. “I am not going to look into that too much. I am ready to move on. I know I am still a good player, I know the team can still achieve amazing things and it’s important for me not to think about what happened in the past. I am not going to spend too much energy thinking about the last 10 or 12 tournaments I have played in.”But he is still devoting time to thinking about the one tournament he does want to play in: the 2019 World Cup. In an effort to remain fit and focused, de Villiers has opted out of Test cricket for the rest of the year – and he has hinted it may be longer than that – which has earned the ire of some former players. Both Ashwell Prince and Herschelle Gibbs commented that players should not be allowed to dictate their availability to the national board but de Villiers claims that is not what he is doing.”It’s never been about managing my workload. It’s more about prioritising certain things that I still want to achieve. I’ve never been picking and choosing my games,” he said. “It’s making sure I am in the best form for that 2019 World Cup. That’s the goal. I have to regroup with CSA when I get back home. The new season will be starting and I have to see how I fit in and move forward from there.”De Villiers will be part of the new Global T20 League, as the marquee player for the Pretoria franchise. The competition will run across November and December, preceding a yet-to-be-confirmed series against India that will feature four Tests. It was initially de Villiers’ aim to play in those Tests but it remains to be seen if he does, especially as his own recent statements are more aligned with shorter formats, 50-over particularly.Despite South Africa’s premature end to the Champions Trophy, with the World Cup to be played in the same place, de Villiers believes they were taught lessons they could help them in future. “We learnt a lot of things. Pakistan surprised all of us. The way they controlled the middle overs, especially with the ball in hand. From the mental point of view, it shows that any team can come out on top on the day,” he said. “We made a few notes – mental notes which we will use coming back in 2019. I hope I will be part of that. That’s the plan.”

ScorecardFile photo – Chris Hartley top scored with 57•Getty Images

Quensland’s retiring captain Chris Hartley and his wicketkeeping successor Jimmy Peirson led the way for the Bulls with the bat but Victoria still enjoyed the better of the opening day of the Sheffield Shield match at Allan Border Field in Brisbane.Sent in by the first-placed Bushrangers in a match the hosts must win to be in contention to play Victoria in the competition decider, the Bulls struggled for traction despite Peirson’s determination at the top of the order.Arriving at the crease with five wickets down for 120, Hartley played his shots in the company of the Queensland tail, even firing off a trio of sixes.After Hartley was last out at 208, the Bushrangers openers Marcus Harris and Travis Dean reached the close without loss.