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This is what BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry wants to know, even as coach Ravi Shastri says the yo-yo test as a measure of fitness is ‘not going to go anywhere’

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jun-20185:39

Taking on the yo-yo test

How has the yo-yo test become a prerequisite for selection in the Indian team? In an exhaustive letter written to the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA), BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry has raised this question about the yo-yo test. The letter comes even as coach Ravi Shastri has suggested the test will be a regular feature for the Indian team going forward. has the full copy of Chaudhry’s letter, which states: “I keep reading about the yo-yo test being a criterion for selection in the Indian team. Is this correct? If so, who took this decision and when and what is the rationale for the same?”At which forum was the decision taken to have a minimum score on the yo-yo test as a prerequisite for selection in a BCCI-selected team? Who all were present in the meeting that decided this?”Most importantly, once this decision was taken, to whom was the same communicated? Was it communicated to all first-class players in India? Was it communicated to all List A players in India? Was it communicated to all state cricket associations to communicate to their players?”Chaudhry’s questions come after a number of players were sidelined after failing the yo-yo test in the lead-up to the England tour. Ambati Rayudu was dropped from the ODI squad for the three-match series in England after he failed the yo-yo test. Sanju Samson was also withdrawn from the India A squad for the one-day tri-series in England after falling short of the 16:1 benchmark.Fast bowler Mohammed Shami, meanwhile, had been sidelined from squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan in Bengaluru after failing a fitness test as well; reportedly, he also underwent yo-yo tests, though the results of these tests could not be confirmed. Previously, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh had been the first high-profile players who failed to meet the 16:1 benchmark after it was introduced, and teenaged allrounder Washington Sundar failed it and missed out on selection for a T20I series at home against New Zealand last year.Coach Shastri has often prioritised fitness, even saying last year that he wanted his team to be the best fielding side at the 2019 World Cup. Now, as the senior team departed for England on Friday, he emphasised on the importance of fitness once again, particularly playing up the role of the yo-yo test.”You have a certain ability, but with fitness you can enhance the same ability,” he said. “That is why we emphasise on this yo-yo thing. And whoever thinks it’s a one-off, he’s sadly mistaken. He can go for a walk. The philosophy is simple: you pass, you play; you fail, you fail.”So this is not going to go anywhere and the captain leads from the front, the selectors are on the same page, the entire team management is on the same page, and the boys have responded extremely well.”Shastri’s predecessor Anil Kumble, speaking to the media in Chennai, said that communication is particularly important when it comes to fitness. “It’s about the communication you have with a cricketer,” he said. “If he knows what’s expected of him on the fitness front and what the benchmark is, then what’s the problem?”Last week, Saba Karim, the BCCI general manager for cricket operations, told the that conducting yo-yo tests only after the teams – A and senior – had already been selected for their England tours was a “one-off”, given it was not possible to have the tests beforehand while the IPL was on.

England’s batsmen produced nine scores between 16 and 49, all of which added up to an overnight lead of 128

The Report by Andrew Miller02-Jun-2018

Dom Bess steers into the off side•Getty Images

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThe second Test at Headingley has officially been designated the Participation Test – a call to arms from the ECB for everyone with a passing interest in English cricket to get involved, and (so the unspoken reasoning goes…) help dig the sport out of something of an existential crisis.Ever the diligent corporate citizens, England’s Test cricketers have been leading from the front in that regard at least, and will go into the third day against Pakistan with a solid advantage borne of a collective team effort. After a four-way share of the wickets in the first innings, today it was the turn of all the batsmen to chip in for the greater good.A total of nine scores between 16 and 49 – everyone taking a turn but none for so long that their team-mates would get bored waiting – added up to an overnight lead of 128. It is the sort of position that ought, on the evidence of the series so far, to prove decisive. But it hardly added up to a decisive performance.Pakistan simply kept chiselling away, their skilful attack finding sufficient magic at irregular intervals to dislodge a series of well-set players. But England were once again complicit in their own downfalls, and it was telling that their outstanding player of the day was their 20-year-old nightwatchman Dom Bess, whose cover-driving evoked Joe Root at his most fluent, but whose spin bowling – his primary suit – has yet to claim a Test wicket, or even bowl an over in this match.Root himself is becoming something of a past master at the unconverted start, and once again, he inadvertently set the tone for England’s innings with a typically attractive but ultimately underwhelming 45. He was the first man to depart as play got underway at 2.45pm after a three-hour rain delay – snicking outside off as Mohammad Amir’s left-arm line once again exposed a slight weakness in an otherwise enviable technique.His technical issues, however, were as nothing compared to those that Dawid Malan was experiencing by the end of England’s winter in Australia and New Zealand. Like his fellow left-handers, Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings, he appeared to have reached for an off-the-peg remedy, in setting himself up outside of his crease and willing himself on to the front foot at every opportunity.And just like Cook in particular, the approach appeared to be paying dividends for Malan, not least with the clarity of his cover-driving. He went to tea on 28 from 70 balls, with five fours to his name and the air of a batsman who had found the answer to his struggles. But then, from his first ball of the resumption, he received a snorter from that man Amir, which bounced and left him, taking the shoulder of the bat as it did so, before looping invitingly to slip.Bess, by contrast, hasn’t got a care in the world right now. He’d like, presumably, to pick up that elusive first Test wicket at some point in the near future, but at the age of 20, and with the confidence of youth, he’s used his batting to showcase his credentials as a player who is made of The Right Stuff™. A second consecutive Test fifty appeared a done deal, especially when he scuffed a Shadab Khan full toss to ease along to 49. But then one ball later, Shadab bit back with his best ball of the match so far – a fizzing top-spinning legbreak that slammed the gloves and nestled in the hands of slip before the batsman really knew what had happened.Pakistan could – no, should – have taken three wickets for 20 runs in the space of five overs when Buttler, looking to bat with the same controlled belligerence that had briefly raised England’s spirits at Lord’s, clipped Shadab uppishly into the leg side, and straight through the hands of Hasan Ali at short midwicket. But the moment was lost, and so too seemed the momentum, especially when Jonny Bairstow successfully overturned an lbw appeal on 8, after offering no shot to Faheem Ashraf.But that wasn’t quite the end of the resistance. Faheem got his man in his next over instead, as Bairstow nibbled outside off, having just helped himself to three fours in the space of seven balls. The fact that his dismissal came on the stroke of the 80th over rather added to the soft-headedness of the moment, even though Pakistan then chose to delay the new ball, perhaps to give Amir an extra over or two to gather his strength.Either way, Mohammad Abbas didn’t waste it when he was finally handed it, and produced another pearler in the channel outside off to account for Chris Woakes for 17. It was left to Sam Curran to finish the day with a mini-flourish, two fours from the final three balls brought up England’s 300 and underlined their eventual dominance. But it had been a circuitous route to the top.

No sooner had Todd Astle been grasping a rare opportunity in Test cricket than he has been hit by injury

Andrew McGlashan28-Mar-2018No sooner had Todd Astle been grasping a rare opportunity in Test cricket than he has been hit by injury, a side strain ruling him out of his hometown match in Christchurch as New Zealand target just a fourth series win over England.Astle took 3 for 39 in the second innings at Eden Park, but scans the following day showed he had picked up the injury. He had a previous side strain earlier in the season and this one means he still has yet to play consecutive Tests after single outings in 2012 and 2016.”Through some incredibly hard work, Todd’s already overcome some injuries this summer, so for this to happen now is a cruel blow,” coach Mike Hesson said. “Todd played a major role in helping us win the game at Eden Park, so it’s disappointing for Todd and the team that he’s forced to the sideline ahead of Friday.”With Mitchell Santner sidelined by a long-term knee injury, it has opened up the chance for fellow legspinner Ish Sodhi to resume his Test career having not played the format since September 2016 against India in Kanpur. If New Zealand maintain the same balance of attack, rather than going all-seam with Matt Henry, Sodhi will come into the match and high on confidence at that. He took career-best match figures of 12 for 62 against Wellington in the Plunket Shield last week, which included a 7 for 30 in the first innings, and 7 for 98 against Otago in the outing before that.”It was good to get the chance to bowl some overs in the middle so you go into the Test, if I play, with a bit of momentum. It was the ideal scenario,” Sodhi said. “As a young spinner learning your art, the best way to do it is to bowl as much as you can and bowling in the nets is so different to bowling in the middle in games. You have to take the chance with both hands.”It’s awesome to get the opportunity to be part of a winning team. The last game was fantastic and boys got up a great spectacle with the pink-ball Test so to be part of it is fantastic but I feel sorry for Toddy. He’s work very hard in the last game, performed well so it’s heartbreaking.”Astle’s absence will lengthen New Zealand’s tail unless they take a cautious approach and opt to play an extra batsman. Martin Guptill is in the squad but, on Tuesday, Hesson said the team would not go into the match looking for a draw despite the carrot of the series win.On the other hand, spin has only taken 14 wickets in four Tests at Hagley Oval. New Zealand didn’t play a spinner against Australia in 2016, and in Tests against Pakistan and Bangladesh, they used a grand total of four overs with Santner not bowling a ball in the Bangladesh contest.Sodhi hasn’t played a first-class match at the ground since 2015 – and in three matches has a return of 3 for 256 – but believes the surface could offer him something. “It’s normally hard and bouncy and if you gave me the option, and the turn was slow, I’d rather have the bounce so hopefully can extract something out the wicket.”The prize for a win or drawn Test is significant for New Zealand: to join the team of 1983-84 as the only series winners against England on home soil, and the 1986 and 1999 sides who achieved the feat in England. They will be favourites going into the match after dismantling England for 58 in Auckland and overcoming the rain to win in effectively little more than three days, but getting carried away is not the New Zealand style.”I think we saw in the second innings what they are capable of and we expect them to be a lot tougher in this match,” BJ Watling said. “They are a quality outfit and we’ll have to on our game.”

Allrounder unites a USA team defying all odds for their chance on the World Cup stage

Peter Della Penna13-Jan-2023If America can sometimes be seen as a country of extremes, then the USA squad preparing to take part in the maiden Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup is in some ways a microcosm of that, whether by population demographics, culturally or geographically.There are players representing seven states from coast to coast: from New Jersey, Virginia and North Carolina in the east, to California and Washington in the Pacific Northwest, to Texas in the south and even two players from Missouri to showcase the Show-Me State in middle America.Culturally, they all share a bond in that every player in the squad is a daughter of at least one parent, and in many cases both, who is a first-generation immigrant from India. But more remarkable is the minor miracle of the sample size they are drawing from.Most casual statistics would deduce that it should not be hard to find 11 quality players in a country of 350 million people, even if the actual number of registered cricketers in the country can range from 25,000 to 100,000 depending on where the data is drawn from. Yet there are only 283 total registered female cricketers of any age group in the USA, less than 1% of the overall amateur player pool, according to data shared during the most recent USA Cricket AGM.Related

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Some of them have been playing cricket for more than half their lives. Others have only started since the Covid pandemic, and in one case, precisely because of it. Some live in cities where there are enough girls to form an entire female team or mini-league to compete against fellow girls. Other players are literally pioneers, the first and in some cases only females of any age group playing in their city or state, forced to join boys’ age-group or men’s teams if they want to get a game.In some sports, the odds would be stacked against not just the individuals but the group making it to this tournament. But these girls will prove to be just one more example of how to live out the American Dream by wearing the red, white and blue when they take the field for their opening Group A match against Sri Lanka in Benoni as part of the first USA cricket team to qualify for any World Cup since 2010, when the U19 boys did it.”The opportunities that we’re getting, it just shows how fast cricket is growing in the US and around the world,” said USA Women’s U19 captain Geetika Kodali.She would know better than most. Just over three years ago, she was making her debut in the USA Women’s senior team at a time when there was no such thing as a USA Women’s U19 team, let alone a Women’s U19 World Cup.But in the time since, she has carved out a name for herself globally, taking part in the Fairbreak T20 in Dubai last May as well as being picked in the Trinbago Knight Riders squad for the inaugural Women’s CPL and 6ixty, where she took a hat-trick that included Hayley Matthews, Britney Cooper and Chloe Tryon.”Women’s cricket has been growing rapidly starting with the new women’s CPL and Fairbreak tournaments,” Kodali said. “It’s an absolutely amazing time to start playing this game now.”

“This team is exactly who America is because America is known for its diversity”Aditi Chudasama

Despite being just 18, Kodali is not just seen as a captain, but an inspiration and a role model by a number of her team-mates. Prior to her debut and that of Maryland native Lisa Ramjit, both at the age of 14 in the same T20 World Cup Regional Qualifier series against Canada, it was practically unheard of for an American-raised and developed player to be in the USA Women’s national team.”Geets and Lisa, them getting into the team, there was like a spark across a lot of the girls in the country because their eyes opened up, of their families and them,” said USA Women’s U19 vice-captain and fellow senior team player Anika Kolan, who grew up playing junior cricket with Kodali in the East Bay of northern California.”These girls, even though they’re young, they were getting somewhere, they’re doing things. When I started, a lot of the uncles thought it was just a waste of time. But both of them getting in, especially being the younger ones to get in, definitely inspired a lot of us to keep on pushing and try to reach that goal to represent a national team like they did.”The only other American-born players in the team at the time, in May 2019, were field hockey convert Erica Rendler from California and Shebani Bhaskar, who was born in Illinois but had travelled the world for most of her life as the daughter of a US diplomat. But in the USA Women’s squad that took part in the Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in the UAE this past September, 11 of the 15 players were teenagers. All but one of them would double up as part of the squad at the U19 World Cup, and all but two are American born.In Kodali’s first two tours with the USA Women in 2019, she played two matches and mostly rode the bench as a reserve with raw but unrefined fast-bowling talent. But Kodali’s stature has rocketed since then, to the point that she was named vice-captain for the senior team in Abu Dhabi, not to mention U19 captain for the World Cup.”In the past year or so with the experiences and opportunities she’s been getting, it’s amazing how she’s starting to understand her game better,” said USA Women’s senior national team captain Sindhu Sriharsha. “At Fairbreak we did speak a little bit about how she should be using this opportunity for herself and she was loving it.”She spent every minute she could with Shabnim Ismail. She’s definitely looking up to Shabnim as her role model and after she came back from Fairbreak, she was a different bowler altogether.”She was trying to work on different variations and trying to think about the batter, how to play the batter and manipulate the batter. I think she has grown as a person and having that leadership role with the Under-19s, all of the girls really look up to her.”We’ve been working on this for a year because we identified quite quickly that she would be a leader going forward. I don’t think we noticed it growing up, but the way she has developed confidence in herself has come up in the last couple of years.”Kodali has also been someone who has the unique perspective of being part of the cricket culture on both coasts, aiding her ability to bond with many of the players and help form a more cohesive national team. Though she grew up in Fremont, California, her family moved to North Carolina not long after her senior national team debut to access better playing facilities and coaching from former West Indies opener Alvin Kallicharran, who was active in junior cricket initiatives in the Raleigh area. She has been a successful captain of the Eastern Conference team now that she’s based in North Carolina, and wound up leading them to the USA Cricket Women’s national title this year over the Western Conference team captained by Sriharsha.But that’s not the only feather in Kodali’s leadership cap. The USA Women’s U19 squad was invited to participate this past summer in the Cricket West Indies Women’s U19 Rising Stars Regional tournament and went undefeated to win the title, including a resounding victory over Trinidad & Tobago in the de facto final. The successful tour coincided with former West Indies legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s appointment as USA Women’s senior and U19 head coach to guide the team on their journey to South Africa. To show that this result was not a fluke, USA hosted a full West Indies Women’s U19 side a month later for a five-match T20 series in Florida and won it 4-1 with captain Kodali ending as one of USA’s key performers with bat and ball.Aditi Chudasama receives the Best Batter Award at the 2022 USA Cricket Women’s National Championship from Shivnarine Chanderpaul•Peter Della Penna”I think that and with the experience that she’s gotten now with Fairbreak and the opportunity at the CPL, she’s very commanding with the players,” Sriharsha said. “I saw it at USA nationals. Isu [Vaghela] and I came out to bat together after a wicket and she’s telling the girls in the huddle, ‘These are the top two batters of the West. If we get these two out, they’re finished and we win the championship. This is when I need the best from you all.’ I was like, ‘Oh wow.’ I even told her, ‘Geets, that was good.’ And she was like, ‘I know, we’re gonna get you!'”She has a never-give-up kind of an attitude. And she also speaks the language of the teenager, which helps me a little bit as well. So she is a true vice-captain for me in such a young team.”But Kodali is not the only leading light in the U19 team. Ritu Singh and Pooja Ganesh were the first two females playing in St. Louis, Missouri. Both of them have risen through the adverse circumstance of non-existent dedicated female cricket opportunities in their state to make it to South Africa. Singh’s journey is especially remarkable because she has done it while juggling Olympic gymnastics ambitions, having competed at a high level nationally in her age group in trampoline.Allrounder Ritu Singh drives over mid-off during USA’s tour of the UAE•Peter Della PennaJivana Aras is the first female to play competitive league cricket in Seattle. Born and raised in the suburb of Bellevue, Aras only started playing organised cricket because the club soccer season – her primary sport at the time – was cancelled in 2020 due to local Covid restrictions. Cricket was one of the few sports that was sanctioned for outdoor activity and Aras joined the same club team as her dad, Yatin. Less than three years later, she’s playing for USA and hopes she is not the only player from Seattle who plays for the country in future.”It’s been an honor to represent the USA, and specifically Seattle and Bellevue in Washington,” Aras said. “I’m really looking forward to helping younger girls come into the sport and not be scared of playing with the boys and being discriminated [against] in a way.”Speaking of discrimination, the U19 World Cup squad caused a stir on the internet when it was unveiled on the USA Cricket social media account in December. A graphic featuring headshots of each player was included, sparking derisive comments mainly from sections of the cricket community outside of the USA who zeroed in on the ethnic background of the entire squad and labelled them, ‘The India B side’.But the players just shrug it off, eager to talk up their pride in wearing the Stars & Stripes as they hope to beat the odds against the Test nation competition they’ll face through January.”These people are saying things because they’re not in our shoes,” said New Jersey native Aditi Chudasama. “I think this team is exactly who America is because America is known for its diversity. We’re known for its culture and inclusiveness. If you look at this team, we’re just that. We’re diverse and we come from different parts of the country. I don’t think that’s anything out of the American norm.”Any cricketer who grows up wanting to play professionally, they all want to have their last name on their back, have the country’s flag on their chest. It’s no different for me. I’ve always wanted to play for the country. I think it’s an honor to be a part of history to play in the first U19 World Cup.”

India have lost the last four times they’ve turned up for a Test at the Basin Reserve, and some of their heaviest defeats against New Zealand have been at this ground

S Rajesh01-Apr-2009After India’s dogged fightback in Napier, they will go into the Wellington Test as favourites to wrap up the series, but if past stats are any indicator, New Zealand will fancy their chances of turning the tables on India despite spending three days in the field in the previous Test without a positive result. More than New Zealand’s good record here, the home team will be encouraged by India’s struggles at this venue.New Zealand have themselves lost about as often as they’ve won here, but India have lost the last four times they’ve turned up for a Test at the Basin Reserve. (They’ve only lost to New Zealand nine times in all, which means almost 50% of their defeats have come at a single venue.) Some of their heaviest defeats against New Zealand have come here too – their innings-and-33-run loss in 1976 is their only innings defeat against them, while they also lost by ten wickets the last time they played a Test at this ground. Their innings-by-innings list doesn’t make impressive reading either, with seven scores of less than 225 in ten innings.

Stats in Wellington

Team and periodPlayedWonLostDrawnNew Zealand – overall48141618New Zealand – since 200210442India – overall5140If the trend from the previous New Zealand-India Tests at this venue continues, expect batsmen from both teams to struggle to get the runs. In five previous Tests, New Zealand’s batsmen average 24.43 runs per wicket, which is four runs better than what the Indians have managed. There have been 13 fifty-plus scores from the home team, but Geoff Howarth was the only one to convert it into a century. The Indians have had three centurions here – Sachin Tedulkar, Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajit Wadekar – but they’ve also had many more low scores.

New Zealand and Indian batting in WellingtonTests

TeamTestsRunsAverage100s/ 50sNew Zealand5185724.431/ 12India5183420.153/ 4Recent stats also suggest the conditions here are excellent for seam and swing: in the last ten Tests here, since 2002, fast bowlers average 26.47 runs per wicket. The average for the spinners – who have only taken 55 wickets during this period – is exactly ten runs more.

Pace and spin in Wellington since 2002

TypeWicketsAverageStike rate5WI/ 10WMPace25426.4751.814/ 1Spin5536.4779.12/ 2Among the New Zealand bowlers in the current squad, the fast men have all done well here: Kyle Mills has taken 15 wickets in four Tests; Chris Martin has 40 from nine, with four five-wicket hauls. The strike rates for the fast bowlers is excellent too: it’s in the late 40s for Martin and James Franklin, while Mills, who has the best average but the poorest strike rate among the four, takes a wicket every six overs. The stats aren’t as impressive for Daniel Vettori, though – in 16 Tests he has taken 44 wickets, and average of less than three wickets per match, with each costing him 38 runs. His only five-wicket haul here was against Sri Lanka in 2006 in a rare match dominated by spin – Muttiah Muralitharan took 10 for 118 to take his team to victory.

New Zealand bowlers in Wellington

BowlerTestsWicketsAverageStrike rate5WI/ 10WMKyle Mills41523.9353.40/ 0Iain O’Brien2625.6650.00/ 0Chris Martin94026.4547.54/ 0James Franklin41728.0049.71/ 0Daniel Vettori164438.1182.01/ 1With the stats so heavily in favour of fast bowlers, it’s hardly surprising that teams winning the toss have mostly put the opposition in to bat: in the last ten Tests, the captains have taken this route seven times, and five times they’ve gone on to win the match.The innings-wise average runs per wicket indicates, there isn’t much difference in the first three innings, but in the fourth innings teams have done significantly better, suggesting again that bowling first have historically been a good option here.

Innings-wise runs per wicket Wellington in Tests since 2002

1st innings2nd innings3rd innings4th innings28.8728.6424.1343.19The partnership stats too suggest that batting later in the innings is easier than tackling the new ball: average partnership for the first two wickets is less than 30, but it increases to 43.78 for the fourth wicket.Among the Indian batsmen in the current squad, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid are the only ones to have played more than one Test at the Basin Reserve. Tendulkar has done well here, with three 45-plus scores in four innings. Dravid, though, averages 27.75.Those who only played in 2002-03 have hardly scored any runs here, which isn’t surprising since India totalled 161 and 121 in their two innings: Virender Sehwag scored 14 in two innings, while VVS Laxman failed to score a run in the match.

Leeds United are reportedly looking to bolster their playing squad when the January transfer window officially opens for business next month.

Leeds transfer news – Bright Osayi-Samuel

According to TEAMtalk, the Whites are one of three English sides in the race to land Fenerbahce defender Bright Osayi-Samuel ahead of the second half of the season.

The report has claimed that Premier League teams Wolverhampton Wanderers and Crystal Palace are also eyeing up a swoop for the Nigeria international.

It is stated that Palace are currently ahead of Leeds and Wolves in the pursuit of the former QPR star and there is no mention of how much he would cost in January.

Daniel Farke could, though, ditch Luke Ayling by securing a deal to sign Osayi-Samuel ahead of the two top-flight clubs at the turn of the year.

Luke Ayling's season in numbers

The veteran full-back has lost his starting place to 17-year-old Archie Gray, who is a central midfielder by trade, under the German head coach this season.

He has only made eight Championship starts and featured in 14 league matches in total since the club were relegated from the Premier League.

Ayling has averaged 2.8 tackles and interceptions per game, with a duel success rate of 53%, but has also been dribbled past 1.1 times per match and only been successful with 24% of his attempted dribbles in those 14 outings.

The 32-year-old battler has also contributed with one goal and one assist from right-back, and these statistics have not done enough to convince Farke that he has what it takes to be his first-choice option in that position.

Bringing in a new number two, in Osayi-Samuel, would leave Ayling further down the pecking order and allow the manager to part ways with him in January, or next summer when his contract expires.

The statistics that show why Leeds should sign Osayi-Samuel

The Whites target has been a regular starter for Fenerbahce and caught the eye with his impressive defensive displays for the Turkish giants.

Osayi-Samuel has averaged 3.1 tackles and interceptions combined per match, with a duel success rate of 59%, and has only been dribbled past 0.3 times per clash across 12 Super Lig appearances.

These statistics show that the 25-year-old, who is seven years younger than Ayling, can win possession back more frequently than the current Leeds defender and does not allow opposition players to get the better of him anywhere near as often as the English dud.

Appearances

23

Starts

Ten

Duel success rate

51%

Dribble success rate

48%

Assists

Zero

The Fenerbahce star, who has improved since his struggles last season, also has experience in English football. During his time with QPR, manager Mark Warburton claimed that he "terrifies defenders" with his sheer pace.

Throughout the 2019/20 and 2020/21 campaigns combined, Osayi-Samuel racked up eight goals, ten assists, and 13 'big chances' created in 54 Championship starts as a winger.

This suggests that the £40k-per-week whiz has the potential to offer quality as an attacking force if Farke can get the best out of him, whilst also being an upgrade on Ayling from a defensive perspective, which is why Leeds could ditch their experienced dud with a swoop for him.

Newcastle United are in the midst of an injury crisis right now but have still managed to pick up some huge wins in the Premier League, particularly Saturday's 1-0 victory at home to Manchester United.

Eddie Howe has had to bandage his team up, but those who walk over the white line have certainly stepped up to the plate as of late for the head coach, having picked up massive results in recent weeks against the likes of the Red Devils, Arsenal, Chelsea and even Paris Saint-Germain.

The defence, in particular, has been left bruised and battered with injuries as Dan Burn, Matt Targett, Sven Botman and Nick Pope are all sidelined with long-term problems, meaning Newcastle's defence is quite a makeshift one.

Nevertheless, the back four have done really well so far, and one player in particular has exceeded expectations.

Tino Livramento's stats this season

Tino Livramento joined Newcastle United during the summer for £40m following Southampton's relegation from the Premier League. However, given the form of Kieran Trippier and Burn either side of the centre-backs, the young defender struggled to break into the first-team.

Heading into November, Livramento's only start for the Geordie outfit came in a 1-0 win at home to Manchester City in the EFL Cup back in September, although his display was certainly impressive.

Club legend Malcolm Macdonald called Livramento "faultless" throughout the game and admitted that Howe needed to find a place in the starting lineup for the exciting fullback, although it wasn't until Burn's injury that Livramento had the opportunity to shine for the Magpies, albeit at left-back.

Nevertheless, after a string of stellar performances on the left, the 21-year-old has made the position his own.

In fact, Livramento is outperforming Burn in a number of key metrics this season, meaning the latter could struggle to reclaim his starting place in the team upon returning from injury.

Assists

0.13

0

Expected Assists

0.07

0.02

Progressive Passes

4.36

3.16

Key Passes

0.91

0.23

Passes To Penalty Area

0.91

0.38

Passes To Final 1/3

2.91

2.93

Crosses

1.2

0.67

Progressive Carries

2.91

0.6

Tackles

2.91

1.73

Tackles Won

2.13

0.96

Interceptions

1.47

0.81

Errors

0

0.08

Livramento could have been seen as a long-term replacement for Trippier who is now on the wrong side of 30, but with the Chelsea academy product finding his feet on the left, perhaps another player in Howe's ranks could be his successor.

Harrison Ashby's stats this season

Livramento wasn't the only fullback Newcastle United bought this year. The club also managed to secure the services of Harrison Ashby from West Ham United for a reported £3m back in January.

Ashby was highly rated at West Ham United, with former captain Mark Noble even claiming that the wide defender has a "real physical stature". The 22-year-old had made seven appearances in all competitions for the Hammers over the past three seasons but appeared merely twice last term before making the switch to the Mags.

Nonetheless, after a handful of appearances in the Premier League 2 with Newcastle's U21s, Ashby was sent out on loan to Swansea City at the beginning of the current campaign. It's been a tricky season for the Swans, who recently sacked head coach Michael Duff, but Ashby is still playing plenty of first-team football, making 13 appearances so far, including 11 in the Championship.

Ashby has a bright future ahead of him and with Livramento looking likely to hold onto his left-back berth long into the future, the Swansea loanee could come for Trippier's place over the coming seasons, with the latter turning 34 next year.

Trippier is still outperforming Ashby by a large margin in attack but the young defender has performed quite well defensively in comparison to the England international.

Assists

0.12

0.51

Expected Assists

0.05

0.36

Progressive Passes

1.69

7.33

Key Passes

0.39

3.04

Passes To Penalty Area

0.65

2.07

Passes To Final 1/3

1.69

4.81

Crosses

3.37

8.32

Progressive Carries

1.3

1.85

Tackles

3.25

1.63

Tackles Won

2.44

0.88

Interceptions

2.33

0.88

Errors

0.13

0.07

Trippier is one of the best attacking fullbacks in the world so it'll always be difficult for a young player to reach his heights. However, Ashby is playing regular first-team football for the first time in his career and his numbers are certainly encouraging.

Former Swansea manager Duff even admitted that Ashby came to the Swansea.com Stadium with a "really positive character reference" from Trippier, whom the coach played with at Burnley for a few seasons before retiring.

Perhaps Howe may look to implement him into the team next season, handing Trippier a few nights off, with an eye to having a permanent changing of the guard between the pair.

Newcastle United are in desperate need of a Sandro Tonali replacement in the January transfer window, and one renowned player could potentially head there on loan, according to a new claim.

Sandro Tonali banned for ten months

The Magpies' season was going smoothly recently, with some fantastic results picked up, not least a legendary 4-1 victory at home to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. Eddie Howe's plans have been thrown into chaos, however, with Tonali's ban confirmed to be ten months long, meaning he will play no further part in this season, and also miss Euro 2024 with Italy.

There is no denying what a huge blow this is for Newcastle, with the 23-year-old an influential and exciting from AC Milan, and their squad depth is now going to be tested without him until the January transfer window.

At that point, the Magpies will need to make an eye-catching new signing to replace him, with a host of names thrown into the hat recently, especially Manchester City and England man Kalvin Phillips, who has been strongly linked with a move to St James' Park.

Newcastle want Ruben Neves to replace Tonali

Ruben Neves is another named linked with a move recently, and now talkSPORT reporter Alex Crook says Newcastle are "considering" making an official move for Neves:

"Newcastle are considering a loan move for Ruben Neves to fill the void left by banned Sandro Tonali, talkSPORT understands. The former Wolves midfielder is currently at Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal, who are owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), who also own a controlling stake in Newcastle.

"It is thought the Magpies, who are also tracking out-of-favour Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips, cannot afford a permanent replacement for Tonali in January due to FFP restrictions."

Neves is someone who could be a perfect option to come in on the cheap and make up for the loss of Tonali in January. The 26-year-old has proven himself in the Premier League over a sustained period of time in the past, with Neves' stats showing that he has made 177 appearances in the competition, during which time he often stood out as arguably Wolves' best and most important player.

Journalist Tim Spiers is one individual who has heaped praise on the Portugal international in the past, describing him as "outstanding", and he could jump at the chance to return to England and test himself away from the less competitive Saudi Pro League – all the while keeping his contract in place there for the long term.

Appearances

177

Goals

21

Assists

9

Neves possesses Tonali's playmaking abilities in the middle of the park, dictating matches but also working hard for the team, and his eye for the spectacular has also been outlined numerous times for Wolves, with some stunning long-range strikes scored down the years.

There are few negatives surrounding the move – the loan aspect even makes it cheaper – with the PIF's links with Saudi Arabia also potentially making it easier to get over the line, so it is a transfer that Newcastle should seriously look at once the January window opens.

Olly Stone’s four wickets gave Warwickshire hope but Durham’s ninth-wicket pair refused to budge

ECB Reporters Network07-Sep-20181:22

Warwickshire’s lead cut as Division Two heats up

Warwickshire 310 (Trott 79, McCarthy 4-58) and 199 (Hain 58*, Patel 7-54) drew with Durham 292 (Stone 7-59) and 115 for 8 (Stone 4-37)
ScorecardDurham’s tail dug deep to earn a draw and dent Warwickshire’s promotion hopes on day four of their captivating Specsavers County Championship match at Edgbaston.Set 218 to win from 41 overs, Durham were fancying their chances but four wickets from Olly Stone helped reduce the visitors to 102 for eight with six overs remaining.The Bears intensified their efforts, missing the edge many times, but wicketkeeper Stuart Poynter (9*) and number ten Matt Salisbury (5*) put on a resolute ninth-wicket partnership of 13 runs from 35 balls.It was heartbreak for a home side that remains top but sees their lead reduced to seven points to second placed Kent who beat Northants earlier in the afternoon.With 70 overs lost in the match and Warwickshire’s promotion rivals Sussex and Kent closing in on top spot, there was plenty of urgency from the hosts to engineer a winning opportunity.Starting the day on 28 for one, Ian Bell was the first to go, caught by Graham Clark after wafting at Axar Patel’s first ball for 10, with Dominic Sibley following him shortly after, bowled by Patel for 27 trying to sweep.Jonathan Trott then fell four balls later, edging to Paul Collingwood for 13 off Barry McCarthy, leaving the Bears struggling on 68 for four.A valuable partnership of 89 from 202 balls between Sam Hain and Tim Ambrose who was dropped twice on 10 and 14, edged Warwickshire ahead in the game.But once Ambrose was trapped LBW by Patel, wickets fell at an alarming rate – five in nine overs – as the spinner bulldozed through the tail, once Barry McCarthy removed Keith Barker for five, to chalk up a career-best of 27.4-12-54-7.The 24 year-old bowled his namesake for seven, before getting Chris Wright (15), Stone (0) and Ryan Sidebottom to hole out with the latter dismissal coming via the head of Will Smith at short leg.Durham needed to go at 5.31 an over to reach their target, but they were immediately put on the back foot.Barker trapped Alex Lees lbw for nine, before Wright got Cameron Steel to edge behind for 21, whilst Stone dismissed Smith for eight an over later. Both wickets had come following a bowling change.Stone struck again, Richardson given lbw, putting the visitors on 54 for four and needing another 164 to win from 22.4 overs.An away win now looked heavily unlikely and Warwickshire, who were rotating the seam attack, struck with 21 overs remaining when Stone got Clark to find Hain at deep square for 23.Patel, who was going at a run a ball, was the next to fall trapped LBW by Barker for 22 leaving the experienced Collingwood and Stuart Poynter to see out the final the thirteen overs.But Collingwood was caught by Ambrose for 13 off the bowling of Wright and McCarthy followed when Stone trapped him lbw for two.Warwickshire’s tails were up but Durham’s were a match, defending seven intense overs of pace which saw five slips and no fielder more than 15 yards away from the bat.There’s little time for either side to dust themselves down with Warwickshire heading to Grace Road to face Leicestershire on Monday, whilst Durham return to Chester-le-Street to face third placed Sussex.

‘Ideally we would want two three- or four-day games before a Test series,’ India’s head coach has told ESPNcricinfo. ‘But do you have the time?’

Nagraj Gollapudi13-Sep-2018India head coach Ravi Shastri has said that the team management has asked the BCCI to arrange “a couple” of warm-up matches ahead of their four-Test series in Australia, which begins on December 6. In an exclusive interview with ESPNcricinfo, Shastri also made it clear that he was leaving the UK in a “positive” frame of mind and had not received any communication from the board to review India’s 4-1 series defeat in the Pataudi Trophy.The debate over India’s preparation ahead of major away Test series has raged over the last nine months. The team opted to skip the one-off warm-up match ahead of the three-Test series in South Africa in January in favour of high-intensity training sessions. In England, India played only one warm-up game, against an Essex second XI, ahead of the five-Test series. The visitors raised eyebrows by shortening the four-day match into a three-day affair.In a conversation with the former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding on during the Test series in England, India captain Virat Kohli had explained why he felt warm-up games weren’t always useful. The opposition in such games, he said, was often of poor quality, and pitches unlike the ones prepared for the Test matches. In those circumstances, he felt intense practice sessions were often a better way to prepare.Shastri has now said he is not against playing warm-up games.”Absolutely not. Why would we be?” he asked. “You can only see the results (in the England Tests). Every time after the second Test we have improved. You can still get better. But why can’t we be in that position in the first Test match?”He however said it was not always possible to play as many warm-up matches as the team would like, given the choked international calendar.”If you have two or three games against weaker sides we don’t mind because it is a game,” Shastri said. “But when you have a schedule as tight as this and when you have a memorandum of understanding that has already been formulated, with a choc-a-bloc calendar, there is very little you can do. Now, we have requested for a couple of (warm-up) games in Australia before the Test series. But is there space (to play those matches)? That is the question.”India start their Australia tour with a three-match T20I series, beginning on November 21. This leaves them with only a ten-day gap before the first Test.”Ideally we would want two three- or four-day games before a Test series,” Shastri said. “But do you have the time? For example, we have a T20 series in Australia preceding the Test series. There is a 10-day gap before the first Test. These are things that have been approved earlier. It is not in our control.”The 4-1 defeat in England has led numerous critics to question the role of India’s support staff, including Shastri. He, however, said he had full faith that India’s support staff could lead the team in the right direction.”Absolutely not,” Shastri said, when asked if he was distracted by the criticism. “Last one to press the panic button when I see so many positives. I head back home with a very positive state of mind. I know exactly what we do. I know exactly and clearly where the team is heading – it is heading in the right direction.”People are entitled to their opinions. As long as we know the job we are doing and we are honest to our jobs, as long as support staff we are helping players channelise their energies in the right direction, we are not worried about what critics say.”