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Hugh Morris wants a “much stronger Welsh core” at Glamorgan but that is a tough ask – just as it was for the home side bowling to James Bracey

Richard Hobson at Spytty Park14-May-2019. Welcome to Wales. The friendly words beneath the red dragon greet M4 drivers after they cross the Severn Bridge immediately before the lanes narrow and average speed checks of 50mph take force. There are two parts to the message and while few ever question the warmth of said welcome at Glamorgan, the cricket has not always felt particularly Welsh.A cynic might have thought as much again en route to the club’s newest Championship ground, Spytty Park, in Newport. The vowel-shy name is authentically, even evocatively Welsh. But it is actually closer to the land border with England than the Swalec Stadium in Cardiff, which is preparing for the World Cup later this month.In fact, the ambiguous status of Monmouthshire as Welsh was only legally clarified in the Local Government Act of 1972, and even then, boundaries could be blurred. Mike Knight, the chairman of Newport CC, bumped into a number of visiting Gloucestershire supporters as he lapped the ground who recalled playing here in the nineties when the club featured in a league in England.Knight smiles at the historical nuances. His greater emotion is one of pride at seeing around 1000 people enjoy the weather and the cricket almost three decades after Newport’s previous ground, Rodney Parade, was sold off after nearly a century to leave the club’s future in jeopardy. It is now the sight of a school, and, yes, Maindee Primary does offer cricket of a sort to its boys and girls.”There are people here from Newport and Gwent,” Knight says, pointing to the ring of spectators. “We are not far from Cardiff [around 12 miles], but it is an opportunity for people to see cricket in their local area and possibly they are not comfortable going to Cardiff for whatever reason. Also, there are people here because they want to see a new venue. I understand Glamorgan’s commitment to Cardiff, but varying grounds does widen interest.”Rodney Parade hosted its final Championship match in 1965. Glamorgan included seven Welsh-born players on that occasion. Here the total was only three: David Lloyd, from Denbigh, Jeremy Lawlor (Cardiff) and Kieran Bull (Haverfordwest). Five of the current side are not even from the same hemisphere. Some more stats: In 1965, Glamorgan used seven home venues, this season four – though the fact that they played away at Leyton, Weston-Super-Mare and Nuneaton reminds that they are hardly alone in centralising their home.Robert Croft was sacked as head coach last year after a third poor finish in a row having tried (partly for budgetary reasons) to give young talent its head. It worked, but not often and then in fits and starts. In fact, poor results long pre-date Croft’s appointment to that post. Since 2000 when the Championship split into two divisions, Glamorgan have spent only two years in the top flight – and been relegated both times.In his 2017 notes, Edward Bevan, the doyen and great optimist of the Glamorgan press scene, said that more local players emerged in 2016 than for many seasons. He cited Aneurin Donald, Kiran Carlson, Lukas Carey and Owen Morgan. Carlson would be playing here but for exams, while Carey is twelfth man. But Morgan is back in the second team and Donald, a prolific and exciting schoolboy batsman, was playing for Hampshire having left last season, he said, to further England ambitions.Knight describes the Welsh representation as “a sore point” and talked about the game well below first-class level. “We are seeing the demise of cricket in schools,” he says. “If we didn’t do as a club what we do for the junior cricketers there would be no cricket in Newport, or almost nothing.”Our next step is to try to develop an indoor cricket school here to safeguard things. We have the building. We just need some help. Our junior kids have to go to Ebbw Vale for a training session indoors in winter for their coaching. That can be impossible in the evenings and I am sure it is contributing massively to the demise of cricket in Gwent. Cardiff is nearer, but that caters for the South Glamorgan area.”Another problem is the relatively small sector of Welsh independent schools. Hugh Morris, Glamorgan’s chief executive, estimates that only 1% of Welsh children attend private establishments compared to 7% in England. Here, at least, cricket has facilities and budgets to thrive. In June, Glamorgan are hosting a 20-over competition involving Monmouth School, Christ College in Brecon and Cardiff’s Cathedral School along with a number of Colleges to try to identify talent.Morris played in the last Glamorgan team to win the Championship, in 1997. Bristling at suggestions the county is insufficiently Welsh he delivers a register of current officials. There is Gerard Elias, the president, who replaced the man Morris describes as “Mr Welsh Cricket,” Alan Jones. The roll continues: Gareth Williams, a Welsh-speaking chairman, Matthew Maynard, interim head coach, with fellow coaches Steve Watkin, Adrian Shaw and David Harrison.”Do we want to get more Welsh talent in the side?” Morris answers his own question. “Yes, absolutely. Last season, we did that, we were in a position where we had to play too many youngsters and it was too early for them. But we do want to get more talent through.” Talks are ongoing with Cricket Wales over the pathway through junior levels up to the age of 17. “The will is there to have a much stronger Welsh core in the team.”Just as the World Cup has opened opportunities for out-grounds this season, so The Hundred will force eight county sides to move 50-over fixtures from their headquarters next year. Newport want more of the action and can only hope the metaphorical sun shines on them as brightly as the real one against Gloucestershire, although it was hot work for the bowlers as James Bracey compiled 152. Glamorgan are also looking at an array of grounds with their second team this year. One of them, Pontypridd hosted Surrey on Tuesday.As Morris spoke, Lloyd was bowling his medium pace from the opposite side of the ground, a rare example of a Welshman established in the side. His steady, all-round progress gained due reward in a ceremony in front of the pavilion before lunch when he received his County Cap. Andrew Hignell, the club historian, suggested he thus became the first North Walian by birth to be capped since the formidable Wilf Wooller, captain of the 1948 title-winning side. Well played David Lloyd, but that fact has to be an indictment of something.

Incumbent Pakistan women coach Mark Coles withdrew his application ahead of the interview on Thursday

Annesha Ghosh and Umar Farooq19-Dec-2018Gary Kirsten, Ramesh Powar, and Herschelle Gibbs are among the high-profile shortlisted candidates for the full-time position of India women head coach.The position was opened up after the BCCI decided against handing an extension to Powar, whose contract as the India women’s interim head coach expired on November 30. The board instead opted to invite fresh applications for a two-year term. ESPNcricinfo understands the shortlist includes 11 names, winnowed from a pool of 28 applicants, 10 of whom were overseas candidates, and the interviews will be held on Thursday.Kirsten, who was in charge of India’s men’s team during their title-winning 2011 World Cup campaign, is among the overseas applicants on the shortlist, alongside Gibbs, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Brad Hogg and Trent Johnston. Dav Whatmore – the former Sri Lanka men’s head coach, who currently leads Kerala – Owais Shah, Colin Siller and Dominic Thornely have failed to make the cut. The Indian candidates who have been shortlisted include Venkatesh Prasad, Manoj Prabhakar and WV Raman. Among other applicants on the longlist, three former India women’s Test cricketers, including Gargi Banerji and Arati Vaidya, also featured.Incumbent Pakistan women head coach Mark Coles was also briefly in the running, but withdrew his application ahead of the interview on Thursday. Coles ascribed his application to a “confusion” arising from a third-party agent.”There is some confusion about this… through a third party,” Coles told ESPNcricinfo on Tuesday, stating he had already informed the PCB about his application reaching the BCCI and, subsequently, apprised both the boards of his withdrawal. “I have withdrawn, and am committed to Pakistan cricket and trying to get the team to be the best they can be.”Contracted with the PCB until 2020, Coles, a former List A player with Wellington who coached Wellington Blaze to a T20 title in 2013, became the first foreigner to be roped in as a Pakistan women coach when he was handed the job in September last year “on a trial basis”. His appointment – part of a major revamp of the women’s cricket set-up in the country – had come in the wake of a scathing evaluation of Pakistan’s winless 2017 World Cup campaign by former head coach Sabhi Azhar.The application process for India’s next head coach, itself a consequence of Powar not being given an extension in controversial circumstances, came to a close on December 14. Powar reapplied on December 11, stating he couldn’t “let the girls down, especially Harman, Smriti for showing the support for the hard work we put together for three months.”The advertisement for the job, too, was not bereft of controversy, with Diana Edulji, the former India women’s captain and now one half of the two-member Committee of Administrators (CoA), taking strong exception to the “unilateral” decision taken by the CoA chief, Vinod Rai, over the hiring process. Their dissimilar stance over Powar’s re-appointment reached a tipping point after Rai signed a BCCI media release last week which stated that the ad-hoc committee was formed to shortlist and finalise the new coach.Former India cricketers Kapil Dev, Anshuman Gaekwad and Shantha Rangaswamy, who make up the three-member committee, will be interviewing the ten candidates at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai.

Opener Tamim Iqbal’s return to the Bangladesh side is likely to be delayed further, after he had picked up a side strain during training on Tuesday. Tamim, who had fractured his wrist in the Asia Cup, had hoped to return to action for the first Test against West Indies, which begins on November 22 in Chittagong, but chief selector Minhajul Abedin has now said that he is in doubt.”We are still awaiting a doctor’s report on Tamim to know the extent of his injury but it now seems difficult [for him to be available for the first Test],” Minhajul told ESPNcricinfo.Tamim had returned to batting against the cricket ball in the nets earlier this week, after undergoing rehabilitation for the wrist injury. Tamim injured himself while batting during the Asia Cup opener in September.He then left to London for check-up before returning to Dhaka for rehabilitation. The Bangladesh selectors will also assess Shakib Al Hasan’s recovery from a long-standing finger injury, before naming the squad for the opening Test against West Indies.

Ramírez says team’s poor form has directly impacted Hernández, who has scored just three goals in 33 appearances

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• Chivas currently sit in 12th place with 17 points
• They haven’t won a Liga MX title in eight years
• During span, América lifted the trophy four times

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Although Javier Hernández’s second stint with Chivas hasn’t gone as fans, the board, or the player himself would have hoped, club legend Ramón Ramírez has come to his defense, saying the striker has been dragged down by the team’s poor form.

  “We all wanted to see him (Javier Hernández) finish his career on a high note,” Ramírez told TUDN. “He’s a successful player, with all the credentials and a great attitude. Unfortunately, he’s caught up in the dynamics of a team that rarely wins and is suffering because of it, so ‘Chicharito’ is being dragged down in that sense.”

  Ramírez, a key figure for Chivas in the 1990s, pointed out that the team’s overall struggles have directly impacted Hernández, who has scored just three goals in 33 appearances.

  “Regardless of what’s happening in Guadalajara and how his career ends, I won’t take away the merits he’s earned, but I would have loved to see him in a winning, proactive Chivas – succeeding and achieving important things. He’s not exactly a victim, but he’s definitely being dragged along by the negative inertia surrounding Guadalajara.”

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  While Club América is enjoying a golden era in its Liga MX history after winning three consecutive league titles, Chivas still lives in the shadow of its last championship, which came eight years ago in the Clausura 2017, when Matías Almeyda was the team’s head coach.

  El Rebaño has lost its standing in Mexican football and has struggled to find an identity and playing model that can bring them back to the top. Ramírez, a club legend, expressed his frustration over the state of the team, which remains second on the all-time list of Liga MX title winners with 12 – though they’ve fallen behind their archrival, América, who now boast 16.

  “Yes, it hurts that your biggest rival is doing things right,” said Ramírez. “Chivas should commit to playing one or two tournaments with young players and really withstand the blows if results don’t come. Right now, with no promotion or relegation, you have that opportunity… Guadalajara needs to be a contender.”

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  WHAT RAMÓN RAMÍREZ SAID

  "Guadalajara has to do things right, and they should be hurt by what América is doing. That's what we’d like to see from Chivas. For many years, I saw instability in América, but today they’re setting the example… Right now, head-to-head, Chivas can’t compete," Ramírez said.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR CHIVAS?

  With two matches left to play in the Clausura 2025, the team coached by Gerardo Espinoza risk missing out on the Liguilla once again. El Rebaño must take all three points when they host Puebla in Matchday 16 to keep their hopes alive and avoid another disappointing campaign.

Andrea Pirlo had to block his son's ban account in 2022, as the then teenager amassed gambling debts of €30k in illegal online scheme.

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• Ex-Italy international took decisive action
• Son forced to learn the hard way
• Avoid repetition of the same words & topics

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  The ex-Juventus and AC Milan playmaker was able to shut his son Nicolo's account as his legal guardian. Just 17 at the time, he would be unable to open another account until he turned 18. It is believed the young man had become embroiled in the same illicit gambling schemes as Sandro Tonali. The Newcastle midfielder served a 10-month ban for his indiscretions from October 2023 to August 2024.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  A report by , suggests that Fiorentina midfielder Nicolo Fagioli, who was also banned for his involvement in the scheme, had informed suspected ringleader Pietro Marinoni about the issue between Pirlo and his son. The Serie D referee is accused of organising and recruiting footballers to take part in illegal gambling activities. Marinoni was suspended by Association of Italian Referees, after Milan's public prosecutor opened a case against 12 current and former Serie A players.

• WHAT NICOLO FAGIOLI SAID

  In a WhatsApp chat dated June 7th, 2022, Fagioli described Pirlo's son as "one of us" to Marinoni, but then also added:

  "He went into debit recovery, but his father found out and blocked his bank account until he’s 18. Having a €30,000 debt at 17 is something else."

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  DID YOU KNOW?

  Tonali told calciomercato in 2023 about Marinoni's role in recruiting him into the illegal activities. He said: "The person who initiated me to gambling is Pietro Marinoni, who comes from the same city as me and went to school with my sister. He was a referee.

  "I was never threatened, but I was offered to pay off the debt in installments. I reached a debt of €500,000 with them. Their objective was to make me continue to gamble, but they never pushed for any payment."

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.

أكد لويس إنريكي مدرب باريس سان جيرمان الفرنسي، رفضه لفكرة النجم الأوحد، وأن الفريق ككل أهم من الفرد، متحدثًا عن لاعبه عثمان ديمبلي المرشح بقوة للتتويج بالكرة الذهبية “بالون دور”.

ويستعد باريس سان جيرمان لخوض نهائي كأس العالم للأندية 2025 أمام تشيلسي، غدًا الأحد في البطولة التي تستضيفها الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية.

وقيل لإنريكي إنه هو نجم باريس سان جيرمان، وإنه المرشح الأوفر حظًا للفوز بجائزة الكرة الذهبية لأفضل مدرب، وأجاب في تصريحات نشرتها صحيفة “جارديان” البريطانية: “لا أؤمن بالجوائز الفردية بشكل عام، ولا حتى بالجوائز الفردية للمدربين”.

وأوضح: “الفريق دائمًا أهم من الفرد، وهذا ما نسعى إلى غرسه في باريس سان جيرمان، عثمان ديمبلي هو الأفضل بفضل إنجازاته الفردية، سواءً بتسجيله أهدافًا أو تمريراته الحاسمة، ولكن الأهم من ذلك كله هو أن عمله هو ما ساهم في فوز باريس سان جيرمان بجميع الألقاب”.

اقرأ أيضًا | إنريكي: أسعى لصُنع التاريخ مع باريس سان جيرمان.. وبطولة وحيدة تكمل موسمنا الاستثنائي

وواصل مدرب باريس سان جيرمان: “هذا هو المعيار الوحيد الذي يُكافأ به اللاعب على المستوى الفردي، هذا رأيي، وأنا متأكد من وجود آراء أخرى”.

وقال إنريكي : “الفريق يتكون من 11 نجمًا، هذه هي كرة القدم، لا نريد نجمًا واحدًا، بل 11، أو 13، أو 14، أو 15، هذا ما نريده، نبحث عن النجم الحقيقي، ألا وهو الفريق بأكمله”.

وأتم: “الأمر أشبه بالجماهير، ليس هناك نجم واحد، بل هو ملعب حديقة الأمراء بأكمله، أعتقد أن الطريق واضح للجميع، نريد نجومًا، ولكن في خدمة الفريق”.

Thomas Tuchel has reportedly left fringe members of his England squad feeling they need summer transfers to nail down a spot at next year's World Cup.

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• Tuchel ready to make big selection calls
• Grealish under the microscope amid a dismal campaign
• Branthwaite and Ramsey could look for new opportunities

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The German kicked off his tenure with back-to-back victories at Wembley, securing a 2-0 win against Albania before defeating Latvia 3-0 in their opening World Cup qualifiers. After making a successful start, Tuchel has sent a strong message to several players, making it clear that their World Cup aspirations could be in jeopardy unless they secure more playing time at the club level, as reported by A total of six players – four who were initially left out of the squad and two who were included – are now said to be exploring potential transfers in order to strengthen their chances of making the final squad for the global showpiece.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  One of the biggest names facing an uncertain future is Jack Grealish, who has struggled to establish himself at Manchester City this season. He has been a peripheral figure at the Etihad, managing just six Premier League starts. After being dropped by Gareth Southgate for Euro 2024, he remains on shaky ground under Tuchel as well. Reports suggest that the England boss has urged Grealish to take more responsibility off the pitch if he hopes to regain a key role in the national team setup.

  Meanwhile, Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite is another player assessing his options. The young centre-back has been in impressive form for the Toffees but was overlooked in favour of Newcastle’s 32-year-old Dan Burn, who earned his first England call-up. Branthwaite is reportedly considering whether a move to a more prominent club could boost his international prospects.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Jacob Ramsey of Aston Villa is another talented player who narrowly missed out on Tuchel’s squad. Although he remains a fan favourite at Villa Park, he has struggled to secure consistent playing time under Unai Emery. With competition for places in England’s midfield heating up, Ramsey may be tempted by a move that guarantees him regular starts.

  Similarly, Morgan Gibbs-White has been performing well for Nottingham Forest but was still left out of England’s initial squad selection. He eventually received a late call-up following Cole Palmer’s injury but did not feature in either match. He is now believed to be considering a switch to a more established club to improve his chances of making the final squad for the World Cup.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Two players who did make the recent squad but are still contemplating transfers are Marcus Rashford and Aaron Ramsdale. Rashford, currently on loan at Aston Villa from Manchester United, finds himself in an uncertain position. Despite showing flashes of form, he does not appear to have a future at Old Trafford, and his long-term place at Villa remains unconfirmed. With his England spot far from secure, Rashford may seek another club where he can be guaranteed a starting role.

  As for Ramsdale, the goalkeeper is facing an almost certain departure from Southampton, whose relegation to the Championship is nearly sealed. With Tuchel likely to prioritise goalkeepers playing in the Premier League, Ramsdale is expected to push for a move to ensure he remains in contention for one of the three goalkeeper spots in the World Cup squad.

Having returned to England’s Test side, James Taylor was finally gaining reward for hard work but all of a sudden his cricket dreams have been shattered

George Dobell12-Apr-20164:20

Iain O’Brien: Taylor a genuine fighter

A week ago, James Taylor was approaching the season with a view to consolidating his positions in the England Test and ODI squads.It was the next step in a progression that started long ago. Long before the England debut or the limited-overs captaincy of Nottinghamshire. Long before he was winning awards at Shrewsbury School or setting records at Loughborough Town and Leicestershire. Long before he was having dispensation to miss school to play county cricket or representing England Under-19. He has been playing cricket for as long as he can remember. It has been the constant theme of his life and he was, in his coach’s word, right on the cusp of fulfilling all the dreams of childhood.But now he is lying in hospital, awaiting a major operation and reeling from the knowledge that his life has changed irrevocably and his dream has been dashed. Everything he was building towards – in career terms, anyway – has been swept from under him. Aged just 26, his life as a professional sportsman is over.When he started to feel unwell, during warm-ups ahead of the second day of the match against Cambridge MCCU last Wednesday, he presumed that it was the first signs of a virus that had swept through the Nottinghamshire squad during their pre-season tour of Barbados. As he returned home, driven from Cambridge to Nottingham by his team-mate Jackson Bird, his heart began to race and his light headedness increased. His girlfriend and mother, sensing these was something unusual in this normally phlegmatic character complaining of chest pains, insisted he went to A&E. It was a wise intervention.He was admitted to hospital that evening and, as each test followed, the extent of the problem became apparent. On Monday the final set of scans revealed, as Mick Newell, the Nottinghamshire director of cricket, put it “the worst case scenario.” His Nottinghamshire team-mates were informed at around 9am on Tuesday and a statement released an hour later.It is a desperately cruel twist of fate. There are many examples of cricketers forced into retirement through injury: from well-known cases such as Craig Kieswetter to dimly remembered such as Matt Bulbeck or Simon Ecclestone. Each case represents a personal tragedy. But to add to the loss of a career, the acute health anxiety is a doubly cruel development.It is no exaggeration to suggest that England have lost a future captain. Taylor had already led them in one ODI – the rain-ruined match in Dublin last May – and, with Eoin Morgan’s future uncertain and England keen not to overburden Joe Root, it seems highly likely more leadership opportunities would have presented themselves.”Absolutely he was a potential England captain,” Newell, who is also an England selector said. “He captained for us and he batted better when he was captain. With the Champions Trophy and the World Cup coming up in this country there was every chance he could have been a star in those. He was an intelligent batter who finishes games off. He was right on the cusp.”His team-mates, understandably, were shocked and upset. Steven Mullaney, with whom he shared a house for a couple of years, dedicated his century in the on-going match against Surrey to his friend, while Nottinghamshire confirmed that a role could be found for him to “help out” around the club when he has recovered from his operation.”He was a lad who had the world at his feet and unfortunately it has been taken away from him,” Mullaney said. “But we are just glad he is still with us and we will give him our full support.”James Taylor pulled off some stunning grabs at short leg in South Africa•Getty ImagesHis fitness – Newell referred to him as “the original gym bunny” and “the fittest man in the squad” – will be a huge asset now as he battles to recover from heart surgery. “That level of fitness has saved him from a worse fate,” Newell said. “But what he wanted to do since he was a kid has been taken away from him.”In the short term it might be quite painful for him to come and watch cricket and be involved. But there’s no reason he can’t be involved in cricket in the future. In the short term, that may be something that keeps him going through the rest of the summer. There are all sorts of options for him.”As a player, he will be remembered for some stunning catches at short-leg – his fielding during the Test series victory in South Africa was exceptional – a strength that belied his diminutive stature and a maturity that belied his years. His ODI century against Australia at Old Trafford last year was a model in assessing the conditions and batting accordingly. He was robbed of another international century by some poor umpiring during England’s opening match of the 2015 World Cup.’Titch’ as he was known to team-mates and friends, leaves behind him a career that many who played for a decade longer could envy. Almost as soon as he started playing, he broke records: the youngest Leicestershire player to 1,000 Championship runs in a season; the youngest to a List A century and, at the time, the fifth youngest English player to record a first-class double-century.He was the Cricket Writers’ Club’s young player of the year in 2009 and captained Nottinghamshire’s limited-overs side in 2014 and 2015. He had shown, without registering the scores to underline the point, that he had the temperament and quality to prosper at Test level: an innings of 76 at Sharjah demonstrated he could play spin; an innings of 70 in Durban that he could play pace. He was popular, calm and exuded enjoyment for the game and the lifestyle. The future was golden.So there is no way to disguise the fact that this is an innings cut horribly short. Encapsulating the sense that there was so much more to come, his final List A innings – and his final England innings – was a century in Kimberley. He retires from the game younger than Andrew Strauss or Jonathan Trott were when they made their Test debuts. It is, put simply, a damn shame.But this is a case of a career lost and a life saved. This condition often manifests itself only after it is too late (as a statement from the British Heart Foundation put it: “Tragically the first sign that the condition is present can be when someone has a sudden cardiac arrest”) and, at least in Taylor’s case, there is no reason he cannot go on to enjoy a rich and fulfilling life.As Newell put it: “I think the initial devastation of being told he’s not going to play cricket again has been tempered by how grateful he is to be alive.” Such choices provide welcome perspective.The ECB were in the process of reviewing their cardiac screening process anyway, but this incident will no doubt raise questions as to whether his condition might have been picked up sooner. At present, professional players are screened at around the ages of 20 and 23 and, unless any abnormalities are found, not usually after that.Taylor had not undergone a scan since 2013. Such screening probably saved the life of Calum Haggett who was diagnosed with an aortic root dilation and leaking heart valve in 2010. He underwent surgery and continues to play for Kent. Wilf Slack, who died at the crease aged 34, was less fortunate.Though the condition – generally genetic – is incurable, it can be managed. Taylor will undergo surgery on Thursday or Friday. An implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) will be fitted that detects dangerous heart rhythms and shocks the heart back into a normal rhythm. It may also be some comfort to know that he is insured – both under the terms of his incremental contract with the ECB and personal accident and illness cover through the PCA – so any potential financial worries will, at least, be eased.Sympathy for Taylor will extend far beyond any of his clubs – Worcestershire, where he attended the academy, Leicestershire or Nottinghamshire – and far beyond supporters of England cricket. He is bright, well connected – as Taylor was born upstairs, his father was drinking tea with Prince Charles downstairs – and personable. If he shows any interest in moving into coaching or the media, he will find many doors open to him.There will be a period, no doubt, of transition and even mourning for what has been lost. But better to mourn a career than a young man. James Taylor’s playing career may be over, but he has the character and chance to take a fresh guard and build a different sort of successful innings. For that, at least, we can be grateful.

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Feb-2016Australia required 131 at the start of the final day. Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja took them closer with a solid stand•Getty ImagesTim Southee removed Usman Khawaja for 45, caught by McCullum at first slip.•Marty Melville/AFP/Getty ImagesSteven Smith, however, ensured that Australia coasted towards the target with a brisk fifty•Getty ImagesJust before lunch, Smith asked for the extra 15 minutes to finish the match. In the search for quick runs, Burns lost his wicket after a patient 65•Getty ImagesAustralia cruised to a seven-wicket win, and in the process, became the No. 1 ranked Test side after winning the series 2-0•Getty ImagesMcCullum signed off his international career with his final presentation ceremony. “Thanks for buying in, and accepting we have to play the game differently.”•Getty Images