Manchester United have now been offered the chance to sign an “absolute monster” in a swap deal, with the player believed to be keen on the move, according to a report.

Man Utd pursuing a striker

Man United are now pushing to bring in a new striker this month, with Napoli’s Victor Osimhen now on their list of targets, and there has recently been a positive update on their pursuit of the Nigerian, as he is said to be determined to move to Old Trafford.

FC Porto’s Samu Omorodion is also under consideration, having sent scouts to watch the striker in action against Boavista, and he is likely to have caught the eye, netting twice in a 4-0 victory to help continue his side’s title charge.

Just a few days ago, it emerged that United could look to make a move for Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic this month, with journalist Enrico Camelio explaining that a deal could be possible, should Joshua Zirkzee be sent in the opposite direction.

INEOS working on transfer for £75m star who wants Man Utd move this month

It would be some coup…

ByBarney Lane Jan 6, 2025

Now, the Red Devils have been handed the opportunity to make that deal a reality, with TEAMtalk reporting that Juventus have now made an official cash-plus-player offer.

There are signs that a deal could have a good chance of coming to fruition, too, as both players have given the green light to moving, with Zirkzee struggling to adapt to life in the Premier League since arriving from Bologna in the summer.

TEAMtalk relay a previous valuation of the Juventus striker from CaughtOffside, which suggests he could be worth €65m (£54m), with United required to pay a fee to bring the combined value of their player and the money to a suitable amount.

Vlahovic is an upgrade on Zirkzee

Members of the Italian media have lauded the Serbian as an “absolute monster”, and for good reason, given that his record in front of goal in the Serie A is very impressive, with his most prolific season coming in 2020-21 for Fiorentina, netting 21 times.

Statistic (per 90)

Joshua Zirkzee

Dusan Vlahovic

Non-penalty goals

0.26

0.61

Assists

0.17

0.12

Shot-creating actions

3.26

2.27

Successful take-ons

1.55

0.44

As shown, the Juventus star has a better eye for goal than the Dutchman, scoring more than double the number of non-penalty goals per 90 over the past year, but his all-round game isn’t as strong.

As such, if Ruben Amorim wants a proven goalscorer, who does not offer much else to the team, it is worth considering Juventus’ proposal of a swap deal, but Zirkzee is likely to help the team in different ways. Osimhen should be United’s priority target, given that his all-round game is a lot better than Vlahovic’s, while also averaging more non-penalty goals over the past year.

Although Zirkzee has failed to deliver so far, it seems a little premature to let him leave this winter, especially considering Vlahovic is not the best striker United are currently linked with, meaning there is no pressing need to accept a swap deal.

He is contracted to the Royals in the SA20 and CPL, but he will be up against them in the IPL on Friday

Matt Roller04-May-20239:30

Are IPL team owners going to take over world cricket?

Royal Multisport Private Limited – Rajasthan Royals’ parent company – have been David Miller’s employers for around one-third of the last seven months but on Friday night, he will find himself walking out to bat them.Miller represented Barbados in the Caribbean Premier League last September, and captained Paarl in the SA20 in January, but for the months of April and May, he is playing for the team that beat Rajasthan in last season’s IPL final. It is a right Royal tangle, and one that highlights the oddity of players representing different IPL-owned franchises in different leagues.”I’ve got some understanding of what they are all about,” Miller said before training in Jaipur on Thursday evening. “I’m looking forward to it. I know a lot of the guys, and this is the joy about franchise cricket around the world: you get to build relationships with players and management along the way, and build some really good friendships.”Similar situations have arisen throughout this IPL season. Two weeks ago, at the Wankhede Stadium, Sam Curran won the Player of the Match award for captaining Punjab Kings to victory over Mumbai Indians – the franchise who recruited him for their SA20 team, MI Cape Town, and bid aggressively for him in December’s mini auction.Related

• IPL teams and international stars in informal contract discussions

• Royals vs Titans brings together IPL 2023's best in class

• 'I feel extremely backed' – Miller on his success at GT

Perhaps, in that context, it is no wonder that franchises are looking to tie players to year-round contracts. There are clear challenges as to how to fit them into the draft and auction systems around the world that are designed to ensure a level of competitive balance, but the oddities thrown up by the status quo suggest change is likely.In a parallel universe, Miller might well have found himself walking out in Royals’ pink kit tomorrow rather than Gujarat Titans’ dark blue. He spent two IPL seasons with them in 2020 and 2021 and if his record for them was anything like what it has been since he joined Titans, he would surely have been retained ahead of the 2022 mega-auction.But Miller struggled for opportunities with Royals, batting only nine times for them in two years, averaging 20.66 and striking at 109.73. “It has been quite frustrating, not really being able to play over the past couple of years,” he told this website ahead of IPL 2022.It has been a bumpy ride for Miller in the IPL. From 2013-2015, he was one of the league’s best middle-order batters, consistently scoring 350-plus runs a season for Kings XI Punjab. But after a lean 2016 season – in which his top score in 13 innings was 31 – he found himself struggling for consistent opportunities, first with Kings XI and then Royals.David Miller had captained Paarl Royals in the inaugural SA20 earlier this year•SA20

“I wouldn’t say professional sport is easy,” Miller said. “It can be very challenging and tough at times, especially in a tournament like this where there’s so many overseas [players] in one squad and if you don’t really do well in one season, you’re kind of just forgotten about.”Outside of the IPL, I’ve done really well internationally, domestically – it’s just the IPL, where that one bad season that I had… I kind of just got written off. I knew what I was capable of. It was just a matter of getting a really good run and opportunity, so I trained really hard and tried to become a better player.”At Titans, Miller has played every single game that he has been available for, missing only the 2023 season opener when he was on international duty. “I was really chuffed that last season went the way it did,” Miller said, “and I had the opportunity to play throughout the whole season.”And his record has been phenomenal. He is Titans’ third-highest run-scorer across both seasons, averaging 60.09 with a strike rate of 144.00, and has been at the crease in nine of their twelve successful run chases.Key to that has been a marked improvement against spin. From 2016-21, Miller scored at just under a run a ball (98.68) against spin in the IPL, and averaged 22.60 against it; since joining Titans, his strike rate against spin has shot up to 145.32. With only three dismissals to spinners in his last 24 IPL games, he has a remarkable average of 98.33 against spin.The secret? “Just the mindset,” Miller explained. “I’ve never really felt that I’ve been poor against spin, but it’s definitely an area that I’ve needed to work on and as the years have gone on I’ve definitely focused a lot more on it. The biggest thing for me is just the mindset rather than technical faults and stuff like that… [but] I’m probably looking to play more on the back foot than [the] front foot.”It’s [been about] finding a way of getting off strike and accessing different areas. Playing spin… I’m feeling a lot better, and not feeling that they can bog me down. I’ve got my boundary options, I’ve got my one [single] options and then it’s just about going out there and trusting that preparation that you’ve had with the mindset.”If he can extend that success against R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal on Friday night, Miller will leave Royals wondering what might have been.

Leicester City supporters would have been hopeful that an exciting new era was on the horizon when Ruud Van Nistelrooy took charge of the Foxes back in November after Steve Cooper’s tenure had fizzled out.

Instead, the Dutchman looks to already be on borrowed time in the King Power Stadium dug-out, with the former interim Manchester United manager not taking to the pressures of a relegation battle whatsoever having now overseen seven Premier League losses in a row.

He will be trying everything in his power to turn around this sinking ship, however, with one or two positive January additions potentially helping him cling onto his precarious job post.

Leicester targeting additions at the back

As per recent reports from Spain, Leicester look to be targeting a move for CD Leganés goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic this January in an attempt to shore up at the back.

The East Midlands strugglers aren’t the only lowly team from the Premier League looking to snap up Dmitrovic, however, with Wolverhampton Wanderers also named in the article as a suitor for the Serbian shot-stopper.

What Dimtrovic could offer Leicester

Leicester will hope they can beat Vitor Pereira’s men to this coveted signature, knowing that the Foxes’ woes at the back stem from Mads Hermansen’s absence from the side, with Van Nistelrooy’s usual number one goalkeeper out of action since the middle of December through injury.

Therefore, picking up the £8k-per-week Leganes man could stop the goals from flooding in, and in tow, keep the under-fire 48-year-old in his unstable position for far longer.

Before emphasising further why Dmitrovic would be a welcome addition – away from his goalkeeping heroics against Barcelona above – Leicester really have struggled to keep the ball out of their net across a dismal January so far.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

Indeed, across this depressing month to date, the relegation candidates have leaked six strikes in Premier League action from three games, with a further 12 strikes conceded in late December after Hermansen was substituted off mid-way through the Newcastle defeat.

Minutes played

90

90

Saves made

4

3

Goals prevented

+0.22

+0.67

Goals conceded

1

0

Whilst the likes of Danny Ward and Jakub Stolarczyk have collapsed under the strain of being Leicester’s number one between the sticks, Dimtrovic has revelled in the joy of being Leganes’ main man in goal this month, with just one goal given up across his two standout La Liga showings.

In total, the in-demand Serbian has only shipped 22 strikes all campaign long, with his unbelievable display at the Camp Nou last month helping Borja Jiménez’s men beat the Catalan giants 1-0.

Dmitrovic prevented 2.25 goals from rippling the back of his net across the course of the eventful 90 minutes, even as the likes of two of Europe’s premier forwards in Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski routinely burst forward in an attempt to gift their side a much-needed advantage.

He could take to the stresses of a basement battle in the Premier League well, therefore, with Van Nistelrooy having to seek out alternative faces in goal now, with the Foxes up to a worrying 48 goals shipped from 22 league games. To add context, only Ivan Juric’s Southampton have conceded more at 50.

If he doesn’t turn around his lowly team’s fortunes soon, Van Nistelrooy will begin to look more and more like a dead man walking, with transformative January buys needed to stop the current rot and to stave off an immediate return to the Championship.

2025 winter transfer window: Every done deal from the Premier League

Find every incoming and outgoing this winter for each Premier League club here.

ByStephan Georgiou Feb 3, 2025

da stake casino： Football’s a funny business. Liverpool entered the January transfer window reciting the usual mantra: Arne Slot’s squad is talented and deep and capable, FSG would only act if that perfect market opportunity arose.

da bet7： Well, it has. Though the club’s most pressing concerns in terms of transfer dealings are spread across the backline, Liverpool are ready to pounce and sign one of Europe’s most talented left-wingers, for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia may be on the move this month.

Liverpool's January transfer plans

On Thursday, it emerged that Paris Saint-Germain are seeking to sign Kvaratskhelia from Napoli this winter and that the Georgian is open to leaving the first-placed Serie A side.

Napoli are looking to bank €80m (£68m) for their prized forward, and despite this, Liverpool have made their interest known and are weighing up a stunning hijack, as per The Athletic.

The Premier League leaders are already well stocked up top, but this could be an opportunity too good to pass – as well as hinting at Darwin Nunez or Federico Chiesa’s potential sale, both having been linked with exits.

Kvaratskhelia would be an incredible addition, but Cody Gakpo’s recent form does give rise to the notion that the 23-year-old might not even earn a starting role from the offing.

Slot has hit gold on Cody Gakpo

Gakpo, 26, is playing the best football of his Liverpool career under Slot’s leadership, turning into one of Liverpool’s biggest goal threats and forging a neat connection with Mohamed Salah, who has assisted the 26-year-old nine times already, the third-highest total in the Egyptian’s Reds career.

It’s all worked out quite well. Gakpo spent the early months of the campaign battling with Luis Diaz for the left wing spot in the Premier League but has now made it his own with the Colombian’s multi-faceted skills serving him well in a kind of makeshift, Firmino-esque focal role.

Liverpool flattered to deceive against Tottenham last time out but you can’t argue against Gakpo’s role in the overall success this year, especially when noting that he has sharpened an already keen attacking edge to a piercing point.

Cody Gakpo – Liverpool Stats by Season (all comps)

Season

Apps (starts)

Goals

Assists

G/A Rate

24/25

29 (18)

12

4

0.55

23/24

53 (32)

16

6

0.42

22/23

26 (22)

7

3

0.38

Stats via Transfermarkt

One of the most important points of improvement this term has been through Slot’s (correct) assessment that Gakpo is at his fearsome best when deployed on the left flank, owing to his precision finishing and expert inswinging ability on the ball.

All 18 of the Dutchman’s starting berths have been handed on the left flank this season, and he’s beginning to show why there was such a furore across the globe when he starred at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, alerting Liverpool to his skills.

The £68m-rated Kvaratskhelia would be a credit to Liverpool’s frontline, perhaps even a necessary signing if one of Nunez or Chiesa is to be sold this year, but Gakpo is thriving right now, with his quality too great to see him relegated to a lesser role.

In fact, as per CIES Football Observatory, the Netherlands international – who The Athletic’s Carl Anka has labelled a “superstar” – is currently valued at £91m, a higher valuation by the club’s current top target of some £23m.

Market Movers

Football FanCast's Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club's star player or biggest flop worth today?

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Slot has hit the jackpot with this one. A new addition up front would be fantastic to propel Liverpool toward success this season, but if FSG fail, they are in good hands with Gakpo in the mix – and thriving.

Related PL club want him: Liverpool face their own Palmer disaster with "magic" ace

This Liverpool player has been linked with an exit and it would be a disaster for Slot’s project.

Posts ByAngus Sinclair Jan 10, 2025

Birmingham City have joined the race to sign a new versatile defender to help them in their push for a return to the Championship at the first time of asking.

Birmingham flying high in League One

After signiificant outlay in the summer transfer window, it is no surprise to see Birmingham City at the top of League One heading into the second half of the season. Chris Davies has overseen a strong campaign so far for the Blues, with the club boasting the best defence in the division alongside the second best attack.

As a result, they sit two points clear of fellow promotion hopefuls Wrexham and Wycombe Wanderers, while having two games in hand on the pair, meaning that when all is said and done they could find themselves a mammoth eight points clear at the top of England’s third tier.

Birmingham City’s season stats

Statistic

League Rank

Wins

16

1st

Losses

2

1st

Goals scored

41

2nd

Goals conceded

17

1st

Goal difference

+24

1st

But despite losing just twice so far this campaign, they are still active in the January transfer window, with the club having already agreed a deal to sign Phil Neumann at the end of the campaign when his current deal with Hannover comes to an end, having had a substantial offer for the German knocked back over the summer transfer window.

Now, they could be looking to make a more immediate addition to Davies’ side as they look to ensure an instant return to the Championship.

Birmingham rival West Brom for defender

That comes according to the Daily Mail [Via the Scottish Sun], who report that Birmingham are ready to rival their Midlands rivals West Brom for Rangers talent Adam Devine, who the pair see as a potential bargain buy this January.

Just 21-years-old, Devine’s reported £2,500 a week deal at Ibrox comes to an end this summer, and he is no closer to forcing his way into the first team. In fact, he has not featured for 16 months in Glasgow.

Last spotted on loan at Motherwell, Devine has managed just 33 senior appearances to date across spells with Rangers, Motherwell and Brechin City. Though breaking into the Rangers side under Michael Beale in 2022, he has failed to kick on and is now deemed surplus to requirements.

That means that Rangers are ready to let him leave this month in order to receive a fee for the versatile defender, who is a rightback by trade but has also played at left back regularly across his brief career to date.

Birmingham chasing move for "heroic" star who'd be better than Neumann

Birmingham City are looking to boost their squad this January with this addition.

ByKelan Sarson Jan 6, 2025

And Birmingham are one of the sides positioning themselves to land a potential bargain, as the Blues eye “an opportunity to sign a Rangers player on the cheap”.

Of course, Birmingham raided Rangers twice over the summer too, signing Scott Wright in a deal worth £300,000, while they also added Ben Davies to their ranks on loan. Now, it could be Devine’s time to tread what is becoming an increasingly familiar path from Glasgow to England’s second city.

Chris Tremain the chief destroyer as Middlesex line-up stumbles again

ECB Reporters Network15-Apr-2023

Northamptonshire 198 (Keogh 75*, Roland-Jones 4-53, Bamber 3-42) and 30 for 1 (Hassan 14*, Tremain 3*, Higgins 1-9) need 89 runs to beat Middlesex 149 and 167 (Roland-Jones 37, Eskinazi 37, Tremain 3-41)Northamptonshire closed in on their first LV= Insurance County Championship win over Middlesex since 2010 after the visitors suffered a fourth batting collapse of the season on day three at Wantage Road.The Middlesex top order had misfired in their first three innings since returning to Division One and this was Groundhog Day as they plummeted from 37 without loss to 107 for 7, Chris Tremain the chief destroyer with 3 for 41.A 52-run stand between Toby Roland-Jones and Luke Hollman at least ensured there would be a fourth day but, needing only 119 to win, the hosts closed on 30 for 1, Ricardo Vasconcelos the man to fall.Middlesex’s latest woes with willow in hand came after Northamptonshire were bowled out for 198 on the stroke of lunch, a first-innings lead of 49 with Rob Keogh left unbeaten on 75, Roland-Jones returning 4 for 53 and Ethan Bamber 3 for 42.Middlesex would have begun their second innings with some trepidation and Sam Robson, a man with just six runs to his name so far this season, should have added a nought to that tally, only for Josh Cobb to shell a comfortable catch at fourth slip.Although he and Mark Stoneman battled to 37, the sky fell in once more. Robson was castled by Ben Sanderson and just two balls later Pieter Malan shouldered arms only to see the ball send his off stump cartwheeling out of the ground. Stoneman perished soon afterwards, caught on the crease and pinned lbw as he had been in last week’s loss to Essex.Stephen Eskinazi and Max Holden briefly stemmed the flow of wickets, but just five minutes before tea, the latter inexplicably hooked a short ball from Gareth Berg, skying a catch to the grateful Luke Procter at mid-on.If tea in the away dressing-room was indigestible, things would only get worse two balls after the resumption as Tremain uprooted Eskinazi’s middle-stump and in his next over the Australian quick found the edge of Ryan Higgins’ bat presenting Lewis McManus with a simple catch.Not even wicketkeeper John Simpson, often the man for a crisis, could stop the rot, and when he drove another one from Tremain straight to cover, defeat in three days looked likely.Roland-Jones and Hollman eased those fears with an enterprising half-century stand, the former striking the ball powerfully to record a towering six and five fours in a swashbuckling 37.Procter shrewdly called on the spin of Keogh, however, to break the burgeoning stand, luring Roland-Jones out of his crease to be stumped by McManus after which the end came swiftly.Keogh stood head and shoulders above the rest in the morning session to steer Northamptonshire to a priceless first-innings lead. The 31-year-old fresh from his unbeaten second-innings century in last week’s defeat to Kent, made light of gloomy conditions and a pitch which had sweated under covers throughout the previous day when no play was possible.Keogh shrugged off the loss of Proctor in the first over of the day, caught at slip off Bamber to play the only innings of real quality. As wickets tumbled around him, other Northamptonshire batters groping and prodding uncertainly, their middle-order stalwart cut and drove with real authority to move to a half-century from 103 balls with seven fours.Even so, with Bamber and Roland-Jones chipping away, the hosts were only 25 ahead when their ninth wicket fell. It was the signal for Keogh to go on the attack, twice launching Higgins over the ropes for six, both blows ending up on the concourse. His belligerence meant by the time Jack White’s stumps were scattered by Roland-Jones, Northamptonshire’s lead had stretched into the realms of ‘more than useful.’

The amateur side founded by a Mexican restaurant has pulled off another remarkable upset in the US Open Cup after they beat the Real Monarchs

• El Farolito secures a 2-1 victory over Monterey Bay FC
• Amateur side continues their giant-killing run in the US Open Cup
• Victory showcases the magic of the cup and the strength of grassroots soccer

• WHAT HAPPENED

  El Farolito, affectionately known as or stunned Monterey Bay FC with a 2-1 victory in the second round of the 2025 US Open Cup. The amateur side from San Francisco came from behind to secure the win, with Edgard Kreye scoring the decisive goal in the 83rd minute. The goal sent the fans wild as their side produced yet another upset in America's premier cup competition.

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• WATCH THE CLIP

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  El Farolito has won the hearts of American soccer fans across the country as they continue to find upsets every season in the U.S. Open Cup. The San Francisco-based team joins other amateur clubs like Virginia Dream FC and Little Rock Rangers in pulling off upsets against professional opposition this year. Not only that, this is not El Farolito’s first run at the US Open Cup as they won the tournament in 1993 under their previous name Club Deportivo (CD) Mexico.

• WHAT’S NEXT?

  El Farolito will now advance to the third round of the US Open Cup, where they could potentially face higher-division professional teams, including MLS sides. However, the second round is not yet over, and draws will be revealed following its conclusion.

Ruben Amorim has revealed whether or not he will pick Andre Onana in Manchester United's Europa League quarter-final second leg with Lyon.

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Coach reveals GK choice for LyonOnana in spotlight after first leg errorsZirkzee ruled out for seasonFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Amorim left Onana out of his squad for United's last Premier League match at Newcastle following his two massive errors in the first leg against Lyon. However, back-up 'keeper Altay Bayindir made a huge blunder in the 4-1 thrashing at St James' Park, leaving the coach to choose between two unconvincing shot-stoppers for the biggest game of the season.

AdvertisementWHAT AMORIM SAID

"Andre will play tomorrow," Amorim told a press conference. "I think as a former coach and a player, I try to do things that can help a player in this situation. We talk about managing players physically, but we also have to manage them mentally. This week, my thinking was to put Onana to play."

Getty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Amorim confirmed that Joshua Zirkzee will miss the rest of the season after injuring his hamstring against Newcastle. The coach also revealed that Matthijs de Ligt is not available for the second leg against Lyon but will return before the end of the campaign, while the same was true for Ayden Heaven, Jonny Evans and Amad Diallo.

DID YOU KNOW?

Harry Maguire defended Onana as "an excellent goalkeeper" but said his confidence must be low after his twin errors in the first leg. "I think first and foremost, Andre has proved in the past that he is an excellent goalkeeper. He has won numerous trophies. But you always have spells in your career where you have ups and downs," the defender said. "At the moment, he is probably feeling that everything is going against him. Playing in front of Andre is great; I have confidence in Andre. We all know he is an excellent goalkeeper."

Fast-paced batting key to victory as New Zealand are left looking for answers

Andrew Miller19-Feb-2023Ben Stokes, England’s captain, admitted he was “blessed” to be able to call upon a bowling attack led by England’s greatest seam pairing, James Anderson and Stuart Broad, after an emphatic 267-run victory in the first Test against New Zealand. However, he added that the positivity of his batting line-up had been instrumental in allowing the bowlers to thrive under the floodlights at Mount Maunganui.Twice in the Test, on days one and three, England batted at such a high tempo – with Harry Brook, the player of the match, instrumental in both performances – that they were able to cede the stage early in the day’s final session and unleash their fast bowlers in the twilight, when the pink Kookaburra ball habitually offers the most assistance.Anderson and Ollie Robinson were duly to the fore on the first day, reducing New Zealand to 37 for 3 in reply to England’s 325 for 9 declared, before Broad took centre stage on day three, ripping out four wickets in his first seven overs as New Zealand closed on 63 for 5. From there, there was no way back into the match, as England wrapped up their tenth victory in 11 Tests inside the first session of day four.”It was another great performance,” Stokes said during the post-match presentation. “We were very clinical with the bat and obviously very clinical with the ball. You look at the bowling attack that we’ve got, with this pink ball especially under lights, we executed everything as well as we wanted to. When you got the likes of Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson in your bowling attack, it’s always going to be tough for any opposition with the bat in hand.”Tim Southee, New Zealand’s captain, admitted his disappointment after overseeing a first loss to England on home soil since his own Test debut at Napier in 2008, but acknowledged that “strategically, they played it pretty well.”Related

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“We were on the receiving end of a couple of night periods that weren’t obviously ideal,” Southee said. “Broady last night, that spell was pretty impressive, but if we had got through that, we knew there were not a lot of demons out there today, with the nature of the pink ball, so I think it’s credit to the way they played it.”Stokes acknowledged that that had been England’s battle-plan after losing the toss and being asked to bat first, even though it took another remarkable pair of innings, both scored at a rate in excess of 5 an over, to give them the platform they were looking for.”The way we set the game up, with us having to bat on day one, the pace that we scored allowed us to get ahead of the game,” he said. “Having 320 on the board is a good score anywhere. So we were able to inflict some pretty hard damage with that new ball on day one, get them three-down, and then the same again last night.”It’s tough for anyone when Jimmy and Broady get that new ball talking like they did,” Stokes added. “I’m pretty blessed to be able to be in charge of this bowling group at the moment. But when you’re out in the field, the idea is to take 10 wickets and that’s what we’ve got to try and do. We’ve got an ethos with the bat, but also with the ball. It’s about taking 10 wickets, and not worrying too much about how he runs they go for.”No one, however, went for more runs in the match than the New Zealand quick, Neil Wagner, who bore the brunt of England’s second-innings onslaught with figures of 13-0-110-2, the second-most expensive bowling analysis in Test history.Faced with Wagner’s consistent short-pitched approach, England’s batters set themselves to clear the ropes at every opportunity, and Brook was one of his main tormentors, striking his 11th over for three fours and a six, en route to 54 from 41 balls. Coupled with his first-innings 89 from 81, that took his overall Test record to 623 runs in eight innings, at an astonishing strike rate of 96.88.”It is one of the most fun I’ve had,” Brook said afterwards. “Every time I go out to bat, I’m really excited to just do whatever I want. I think it helped a little bit that they went bumpers early, obviously I stuck to my strengths and just kept on trying to whack it.””Brooky’s just carried on from his amazing series in Pakistan,” Stokes added, after his Player-of-the-Series display in England’s 3-0 win before Christmas. “He’s a fantastic talent and I think he’s going to go on to be a global superstar.”For New Zealand, there is likely to be a week of soul-searching after their fourth bruising defeat in as many matches against England’s new aggressive approach, and Southee hoped that a return to red-ball cricket at the Basin Reserve in Wellington – one of New Zealand’s iconic venues – could offer them a chance to regroup.”Their style of play is going to present opportunities and we knew that,” Southee said. “We were able to get nine wickets in the first innings, and in the second innings, we got all ten. But it’s about trying to stem the bleeding in between those wickets, and trying to create those chances as often as we can.”

A seventh win for the Outlaws puts them in a strong position to claim a quarter-final place

ECB Reporters Network20-Jun-2023Joe Clarke hit three sixes in a 41-ball 72 and Colin Munro 28 off 17 as a blistering start by the Outlaws proved to be enough to set up a 22-run North Group victory over Leicestershire Foxes in the Vitality Blast.The Outlaws were 78 for 1 after eight overs having opted to bat first, and though the Foxes came back strongly with the ball to restrict the visitors to 165 for 8, their efforts with the bat proved woefully inadequate.Nick Welsh (32 from 30) and Peter Handscomb (28 from 30) put on 63 for the first wicket but despite Wiaan Mulder striking 38 from 26 balls late in the innings, the Foxes fell 23 runs short of their target, Steven Mullaney taking 3 for 18 from his four overs, leg spinner Calvin Harrison 2 for 14 and Shaheen Shah Afridi 2 for 28.Pace-bowling all-rounder Tom Scriven took a career-best 4 for 21 for the Foxes in only his fifth Blast appearance, backed up by 3 for 22 from canny left-arm spinner Callum Parkinson, while Mike Finan equalled the county record for the format with four outfield catches.Yet they ended on the losing side again as their side suffered their ninth defeat from 11 matches to remain rooted to the bottom of the group.A seventh win for the Outlaws puts them in a strong position to claim a quarter-final place, although they suffered a double blow on the night with overseas star Munro unable to field after suffering what looked like a hamstring injury while batting, and veteran all-rounder Samit Patel leaving the field with an apparent ankle injury after the fourth ball of his third over.The Outlaws were 60 for 1 after an eventful powerplay which saw Parkinson dismiss Alex Hales for the fourth time in five seasons but then drop one of two catching chances the Foxes failed to hold.Munro was put down at short fine leg on five off left-armer Finan before Parkinson spilled an easier one at short third man as Clarke, on 26, went for the ramp against Matt Salisbury, Munro finishing the over with four and six. The Foxes were generally sloppy in the field in the powerplay.Munro needed lengthy treatment in the seventh over, was able to continue as Colin Ackermann’s first over went for 15 but fell in the ninth as he mistimed a lofted drive against Rehan Ahmed to be caught at long on, two tidy overs from the leg-spinner checking the Outlaws’ progress a little as they reached the halfway point at 91 for 2.Clarke stepped on the accelerator, adding sixes off Finan and Scriven to an earlier maximum off Ackermann as the next 22 balls saw the Foxes leak 41 runs but the shape of the Outlaws innings then changed dramatically with the loss of three wickets in seven balls.Scriven, hammered down the ground for six by Clarke the previous delivery, took revenge when the Outlaws’ leading run-scorer miscued high in the air to backward point, before Parkinson struck twice in five balls, having Matt Montomery caught at long off before trapping Tom Moores leg before on the back foot.Notts had slipped from 133 for 2 to 136 for 5, a triple blow that cost them all their momentum with only 29 added in the final five overs as Scriven rounded off a fine performance with three wickets and just eight runs conceded in his two death overs.Samit Patel holed out to long off and Finan became the third Foxes player – along with Arron Lilley and Wiaan Mulder – to take four outfield catches in a single Blast innings by safely pouching Shaheen Afridi and then Mullaney in the deep on the leg side.Foxes openers Welch and Handscomb were not able to match the Outlaws’ explosive start but did not lose a wicket in posting 42 runs from the powerplay, although the Australian would have been run out on seven had a Hales’ throw hit.Yet they struggled to find any acceleration and were already lagging behind the required rate at 74 for 1 after 10, having by then lost Handscomb, stumped going down the pitch to Mullaney, as Moores made amends for missing him off Samit Patel the over before.Rishi Patel announced himself with a pulled six off Calvin Harrison but perished in the next over, well caught on the extra cover boundary as a reverse-sweep went wrong and Mullaney claimed a second wicket.Next over, Welch holed out to Hales at deep midwicket before Ackermann departed in the most bizarre fashion, handing Mullaney a caught-and-bowled chance which he dropped but claimed at a juggling second attempt as the ball bounced back to him off the chest of Mulder, who was standing a yard from him at the non-striker’s end.By now, the run-rate was beginning to look beyond the Foxes, who lost Ahmed caught behind as Harrison completed the stricken Samit Patel’s unfinished over before Scriven found Hales on the long-on boundary, with 70 needed from 27 balls.Mulder launched back-to-back sixes off Jake Ball but they were no more than a consolation with 29 needed off a final over in which Shaheen bowled him and Finan in the space of four balls.