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They tend to look down on players who can do the job but aren’t young and exciting

Jarrod Kimber31-Jan-2019Will Pucovski has had more concussions than first-class hundreds, and now he’s in an Australian cricket squad. Anyone who has seen him will understand why: square of the wicket, he’s top-class; he builds innings and he bats time. Is he good enough for Test cricket? No one knows.But he could be great. Potential is the heaviest word in sport.That’s what Australian cricket has always been looking for. And that is what Cricket Australia, especially, is looking for. In private, those involved have declared this to be a competitive advantage over a nation as large as India and its enormous talent pool.They are looking, they have always been looking, and they will probably always keep looking for what they refer to as once-in-a-generation talent. What it really means is ten-year players. Having a few of those at once is the surest way to build a number one team.Australian cricket is built on the back of finding the young bloke who plays the game the right way, getting him into the team, and seeing him become a household name. Australia’s success is built on the back of a lot of young guys who were sacrificed to the gods of Tests before they were ready. Shane Warne recently said in the Herald Sun: “Australia has always had a history of getting young players in who have shown signs they can play. From Doug Walters to Ricky Ponting, the list goes on. We’re a country that likes to get them in – let’s not make them wait, just get them in.”What Australia don’t rate, and never have, is the bridge player. The player who comes in late in his career to take a spot that’s open. No one expects them to hang around. They are just there until a younger, or better, or younger and better, player comes along.No one fits this template better than Tim Paine. After an early Shield double-hundred, he was seen as a ten-year player. He made his international debut at 24, but he was not in the team for almost ten years because Brad Haddin was in place as wicketkeeper, and a series of finger injuries destroyed Paine’s confidence.Then he was back, first as a stand-in keeper and then, after the ball-tampering scandal, as the short-term captain. Paine is a temporary keeper and temporary captain. He is the bridge player in the right place at the right time.

Other nations believe in schoolboy or underage cricket; in Australia, they only respect boys when they play against men

When Australia lost to South Africa in 2016, Matt Renshaw was brought in as an opener. All doe-eyed and long-limbed, he looked Dorothy-like, shocked by the weirdness of the yellow brick road. His scores of 10 and 34 from a combined 183 balls were applauded, maybe not as much as Usman Khawaja’s 37, and not as ridiculously as Rob Quiney’s 9, but there was serious Renshaw hype. Even as it was clear he had a limited game, Australians wanted to believe. Nine Tests later, with a string of scores below 50, he was gone.Renshaw sat out of Tests as Australia tried six other openers (he returned for one Test after Sandpapergate). He was good enough to play as a kid and make 184, but then suddenly he wasn’t among the best seven openers (if you include David Warner) over the next couple of years.So how good would Pucovski have to be to last longer than Renshaw’s 11 Tests? He has played fewer first-class games, would have to survive an Ashes, and would need to play twice as many Tests as he has done other first-class matches. The press, the spotlight, analysts and bowlers all get ten times more stringent in Test cricket. A bad shot in a first-class game is a bad shot. A bad shot in a Test match is back page.Pucovksi is 20, and batsmen who bat in the top six at that age average 31. And to play at that age, you are usually seen as a potential great, meaning even the most talented young players rarely succeed when that young.How well does he need to know his batting to survive under the limelight, let alone prosper? Not to mention that with Warner and Steven Smith most likely coming back, there will be fewer spots to grab, meaning even decent performances will be judged harshly.Like Renshaw, no one believes Pucovski is one of the best six batsmen in the country yet. But that’s not how once-in-a-generation works in Australian cricket. It’s more like the witch trials: dump the kid in the water of Test cricket, and if they float, they have special powers, and if they don’t, well, our bad.Many teams believe the best way to train people for Tests is to play them. That as much as first-class cricket can help, it doesn’t prepare you enough. Alastair Cook recently pointed out that county cricket is a front-foot game, while Tests are back foot. For years the wickets in Tests were flat, while the bowlers who succeeded in first-class cricket often did so on friendly wickets made to ensure results inside four days. There are many in the game who think spending too long in first-class cricket can ruin the techniques and skills needed for Tests.Colin Miller was named Australia’s Test Player of the Year in 2001, but played only one Test after winning the honour and retired from first-class cricket a year later•Getty ImagesWe also know that since Test cricket is harder, it’s far more likely that experienced players will succeed. The prime batting years in Tests are 27 to 29, according to research by independent analyst Mainuddin Ahmad Jonas. We also don’t know how many of those players are in their prime in Tests as much because they played the format earlier.Australian cricket is hardwired to think this way. Other nations believe in schoolboy or underage cricket; in Australia, they only respect boys when they play against men. This means getting the young lads into Tests and seeing what they have, which makes Australian selection a constant lottery.Cricket fans are obsessed with selection the way football supporters are obsessed with managers, US sports devotees with the draft, and golfing buffs with equipment. Once you have picked your best eight or nine players – which is usually pretty straightforward – the other two selections are relatively unimportant. The players chosen first will always have the biggest say in a game.Most cricket writing in the world is not writing on the sport but writing about who is in danger of losing their spot and who should come in next. The international fixture list is so vast it’s almost impossible for writers or fans to see the players in the level below. But it doesn’t stop the conversations. According to Kartikeya Date, no team of the same 11 players has ever played together more than 11 times. So teams are in near-constant change, and we obsess over most of it. Over 50% of Test cricketers play seven Tests or fewer.But when you break down international cricket, there are basically three kinds of selections. Future ten-year players you hope will end up on your version of a Wheaties box. Bowlers are often in this position, as teams have always taken a flyer on bowlers. Then the role players: a spinner for a turning track, your best player of fast bowling for the tour down under. And finally, the bridge players. This is the reductionist way of looking at roughly 3000 Test players; it doesn’t include teams taking punts on allrounders, for example.If you look at the Australian team of recent times, you can see these different styles. Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood were anointed future stars at a young age. Players like Chadd Sayers, Jon Holland, Steve O’Keefe and Shaun Marsh were selected based on certain conditions. And Peter Handscomb and Chris Tremain were form picks.Paine was a ten-year pick early in his life. He became a role player when Haddin was injured, and now he’s a bridge player. His current selection is because Australia had run out of keepers. No one expects him to be there for five years. He will either fail, and they will look for someone else, or he’ll do well but be replaced by a longer-term option.

Australia don’t rate the bridge player, the one who comes in late in his career to take a spot that’s open. They are just there until a younger, or better, or younger and better, player comes along

That’s what bridge players do. They bridge the gap from your last long-term player to your next. They are players in form, no matter their age or reputation, but not players in your long-term plan, because you expect them to be found out, or replaced, reasonably soon.Australia have always looked down on such players. If a player isn’t young, there is very little excitement shown when they are being picked. And Australia have found special talent in every generation, almost always overlapping, which is why they have been a consistently good team for most of the game’s history.But in the professional era, things have changed. A first-class player in Australia at the age of 28 has been in a set-up designed to make top-class athletes and talented cricketers. Gone are the days you played a bit of Shield cricket in between work commitments; now you spend all your time honing your skills and being the best cricketer you can be as your full-time job. Players like Damien Martyn, Matt Hayden and Justin Langer were thrown into the game at an early age and they struggled. But because of the professional structure, they stuck around and came back. They were failed ten-year players who came back to have long careers because when they returned, they were ready.When Australian domestic cricket became professional after the pay dispute of 1997, Cricket Australia feared the age of Shield players was going to go up because players were sticking around longer. The numbers actually say the change was so minimal that Cricket Australia’s belief was bizarre. But what the rise in professionalism did was allow late bloomers to have access to cricket’s best system to improve. That meant for the first time Australia was producing a lot of ready-made players.Anyone who saw Colin Miller play in the early ’90s will not have seen a Test player then; at best a medium-fast nagger. In 1997-98, he started bowling offspin as well as seam-up, and broke Chuck Fleetwood-Smith’s record for the most wickets in a Shield season. Less than a year later he was playing for Australia. In 2001, he was named Australian Test player of the year. Think of the players he beat: Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Mark Waugh, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist.Adam Voges has a Test average of 61. He was always a talented player, but no one expected him to be picked for his first Test at 35 and to average 85 in his first year. But when he was selected he had been involved in Australia’s elite pathways (or whatever terms they had then) for nearly 20 years. He knew his game well, got some average Test bowling to dine on, and averaged 15 more than in first-class cricket at large. His average is an anomaly, but his success makes sense.By the time Adam Voges played Test cricket, at 35, he understood his game well enough to succeed, but because of his age he was always considered a short-term option•AFPStuart Clark spent nearly a decade in first-class cricket paring back his bowling until it was designed to take top-order wickets. At 30, he made his Test debut as the best version of Stuart Clark he could be. Ninety-four wickets at 23.86 followed.All three of these players had better Test records than first-class ones. That is because when they were picked, they were ripe. But once they showed any sign that they were no longer at their best, or there was a possibility that there was someone better (or younger), they were gone. Clark set up an Australian win by slicing up England’s top order in his penultimate Test, Miller took 26 wickets in his last four Tests (including six in his final match), and Voges was out after failing to score a 50 for five Tests even though he had made a double-hundred in Wellington shortly before. These players are only valid while they are necessary.These are the successful bridge players; there are plenty of players who have been picked for the short term after ten-year apprenticeships and not done well. England have a long, proud history of champion opening batsmen. And they have tried several bridge players in that position of late. Nick Compton and Mark Stoneman both struggled to make consistent runs in the team.But Graeme Swann was a 30-year-old with a dodgy elbow who was brought in as a role player for an Indian series. He bowled so well he took out the long-term player, Monty Panesar, and Adil Rashid was shelved. Swann went from role player to bridge player to long term. He stayed in the team as long as his elbow allowed. He is a perfect illustration of how a bridge player can fly. His former Northants team-mate Mike Hussey played even longer.The myth of Hussey being overlooked because of an incredible generation of cricketers is strong. But he had been dropped from Western Australia, and from 2000-01 to 2003-04 he averaged 36 in Shield cricket. Australia was in love with the one-in-a-generation qualities of Michael Clarke and the potential of Shane Watson. Not to mention Andrew Symonds’ all-round allure. And Hussey was an opening batsman when Australia had Hayden and Langer, and their back-ups were Matthew Elliott, Jamie Cox, and Chris Rogers.

Dump the kid in the water of Test cricket, and if they float, they have special powers, and if don’t, well, our bad

Hussey was an unfashionable player: no power, pretty but not the most eye-catching. People said his record was bloated by county cricket (in his poor period it was). And he was Western Australian; to be picked from Western Australia, you have to be seen as something special, or make 10% more runs than everyone else.When he finally came in as an injury replacement, he made a hundred so impressive that he was given a role in the middle order. Here is a professional cricketer with ten years of difficulties, who knew his game intimately and who averaged 84 in his first 20 Tests. But by then, he had already moved in the thinking of fans and selectors, from a player filling in a gap to an automatic long-term choice. He was never dropped, and unlike other bridge players, when he faded he was afforded special treatment, similar to Ricky Ponting, whereas Simon Katich (who averaged 47 in his last two years in Tests – two runs higher than his overall average) came back in as a bridge player and excelled, yet was still dumped while in form.The difference between Hussey and players like Katich and Voges is that transcendence, partly because of age, partly because of the impact. But when Hussey came in for his first Test, no one was expecting an eight-year career and 79 Tests.The two best bridge players are Rangana Herath and Clarrie Grimmett. Herath was picked from club cricket as a role player. When Muttiah Muralitharan left, Herath became a bridge player, and by the end of his career he was the second greatest bowler his country had produced. Grimmett, who had played in New Zealand, New South Wales and Victoria before ending up in South Australia, wasn’t even picked for Australia until he was 34. And even as good as his first-class record was, to think he would take 200 wickets and play for 11 years would have been a story HG Wells would have disregarded as fanciful.Hussey was the king of Australia’s modern bridge players. Yet he was seen as a missed young champion by the old Australian cricket folk, which is telling. He wasn’t lost, he was struggling. Hussey wasn’t special. There were players like him before, during and after his career. He proves that not picking players at 30 because of their age, or their lack of prodigious skills at 18, is a limited way of picking players. You wonder what would happen if all teams, and not just Australia, picked their best XIs for each Test, and not a bunch of players who might come good one day.The only difference between Hussey and the many performing 30-year-olds in Shield cricket over that year was that he got the opportunity and he did something special. They have overlooked many players because they were already 30. How many players have been picked years ahead of their best? And how many players were never picked because there was another younger player who was seen to have a longer and brighter future?Mike Hussey: the bridge player who made it big•Getty ImagesAndrew Hilditch, the former Australia chairman of selectors, once remarked of his own career after he had hooked his way out of the Test team in 1985: “The best I ever played was actually after the ’85 Ashes, when I was no longer playing for Australia, but it was such a dramatic exit that I don’t suppose the selectors would have ever looked at me again.”Mark Ramprakash was a far better batsman later in his career when he was mostly nowhere near selection. Murali Kartik didn’t receiving a Test cap after 2004 despite India struggling with spin following Anil Kumble’s retirement and Kartik being a seasoned pro in his best form.Hussey was not different from many other bridge players. He was just better and he got the chance. He was a great Australian player who didn’t look like he should have been.Will Pucovski wasn’t picked for the Gabba Test against Sri Lanka; Kurtis Patterson was. Patterson’s first-class average has been hovering around 40 since 2013, with six hundreds in 58 games. But in the warm-up against Sri Lanka he looked special, scoring a hundred in each innings. And when he is mentioned, it’s almost the law to recall his record as the youngest player to make a Shield hundred on debut. When he made that, there was significant hope he was the next big thing.Since then, his career has been one of a grinder. But he has also had seven years at the professional level working on his game. That has got him into form at a time Australia are panicking. He’s no longer the new boy wonder, but maybe, just maybe, he’ll be great.Paine won’t have the great career his talent hinted at when he was young. Greatness in sport is a weird thing; we look for the Serena Williams or Mike Trout kind of perfection. We want the obvious greatness of Eliud Kipchoge sprinting to break the marathon world record.What Paine has done is different. He was virtually retired and he never recovered the magic from his youth. But when Australia needed a Paine to hold their middle order together for some big series, he stepped up. And when Australia needed someone in their most humiliating moment, he stepped up. Not to mention that in the history of Tests, Paine has the second highest batting average of any Australian wicketkeeper.Lots of cricketers have the potential to be great, but almost none are. And then greatness is subjective. We struggle to define it, and in the end it doesn’t matter. What matters is using your resources the best you can to win matches. On occasion that will be trying out a young kid who has Greg Chappell’s timing and Ponting’s back foot. And sometimes it’s giving a chance to a broken-down keeper who is already toying with taking a desk job.Maybe Patterson will be great. Perhaps he’ll just come in and out a few times, or perhaps he’ll come in, fail, and then disappear. It’s possible he or Pucovksi will go on to have remarkable careers.But chances are they won’t have the impact of the temporary keeper who stepped up when he was needed. Paine won’t ever be an all-time great, but what he has done for Australian cricket has sure seemed great.

Everton have turned a corner since David Moyes replaced Sean Dyche in January, but the Merseysiders still need more in attack.

With just three losses in 14 Premier League matches since the Scotsman’s arrival, those of a Toffees persuasion have long forgotten the fear of relegation.

But, barring the three doomed outfits in the bottom three, no top-flight team has scored fewer goals than Everton.

Premier League 24/25: Lowest-scoring Teams
Rank	Team	Position	Goals Scored
16.	West Ham	17th	37
17.	Everton	13th	34
18.	Ipswich Town	18th	33
19.	Leicester City	19th	27
20.	Southampton	20th	24
Data via Premier League

Moyes and incoming Director of Football Angus Kinnear need to fix this problem during the off-season.

Why Everton need a new striker

Beto has been a man transformed since Moyes took to the dugout, scoring five goals across four Premier League matches after notching just four goals over his opening 44 appearances in the English division.

However, the wellspring of potency has dried once more, with the powerful Bissau Guinean star having now gone seven games without scoring.

Armando Broja’s loan spell from Chelsea has been disastrous due to horrible injury luck and Dominic Calvert-Lewin is set to leave at the end of his contract this summer, with long-time fitness issues and a total lack of prolificness this season sure to leave him without a fresh deal.

Moyes is a pragmatist, in the best sense of the word. While he won’t be expecting to sign a goalscorer on the level of Mohamed Salah or Erling Haaland, Everton do appear to have found a rising star on a similar vein of goalscoring form to the superstars.

One who could comfortably upgrade on the departing Calvert-Lewin.

Everton eyeing Calvert-Lewin upgrade

Beto will hopefully stick around next season. Even when he’s not scoring, the 6 foot 4 striker adds such a strong focal presence to Moyes’ system, almost factory-built for the role.

However, with Calvert-Lewin going, Everton need someone else, and that player could be Mika Biereth, though it won’t be an easy deal to engineer.

As per TEAMtalk, Everton have shortlisted the AS Monaco centre-forward ahead of the summer transfer window, impressed after his prolific start to life in France, scoring 12 goals and supplying three assists since leaving Austrian club Sturm Graz in January for a £13m fee.

The 22-year-old, a product of Arsenal’s academy, is actually outscoring Salah in 2025, with the Liverpool talisman having scored 11 times at club level since the turn of the calendar year.

Salah, who has gone five matches without scoring, has lulled of late but still remains one of the deadliest forwards in the Premier League, an expert creator too.

But it still underscores Biereth’s brilliance, actually ranking among the top 5% of centre-forwards across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for non-penalty goals scored per 90, as per FBref.

Fast and powerful, the 6 foot 1 Dane has even compared himself to Haaland. Manchester City’s number nine is widely regarded as one of the most prolific marksmen of his generation and comparisons only bear testament to Biereth’s blooming prowess.

Biereth commented that “like Haaland,” all he really cares about is scoring goals. He’s doing all the right things in that regard, to be sure, with just nine big chances missed in Ligue 1 despite his clinical return of 12 goals, as per Sofascore.

Everton could do much worse.

Moyes now happy for Everton to get rid of one of their highest earners

Would this be the right call by the Blues?

By
Henry Jackson

Apr 21, 2025

Arsenal head into the summer with a new sporting director, Andrea Berta, and given the volume of work expected to be carried out, it’s just as well they’ve acted swiftly to appoint Edu’s successor.

Given Arsenal’s domestic plight this season, this summer is a crucial one for the Gunners as they go in search of adding the bodies required to help them lift their first Premier League title in over 20 years.

Top of Berta’s priority list must be a striker. Kai Havertz has been a solid signing, but he’s not your 20-goal-a-season man.

The likes of Benjamin Sesko, Viktor Gyokeres, and of course, Alexander Isak continue to be linked with moves to north London.

Yet, this summer won’t all be about incomings. The Gunners need to get rid of a few bodies too.

Arsenal's exit dilemmas this summer

There are a few players definitely expected to depart this summer with Scottish full-back Kieran Tierney set to bring his association with the club to an end when his contract expires.

It’s expected that Tierney will head to former club Celtic, the side he swapped Arsenal for in a £25m deal in 2019.

Midfielder Jorginho is also expected to depart upon the conclusion of his contract but against all odds, Thomas Partey looks set to stay.

The Ghana midfielder’s deal ends at the conclusion of the season and it was widely thought that he would depart but the Athletic’s David Ornstein reported last week that talks are being held over a new deal.

So, who else could take their leave? Well, Oleksandr Zinchenko – who was linked with Dortmund last January – has seen decreased game time and will likely seek pastures new.

If Arsenal sign a new batch of forwards then don’t be surprised to see Leandro Trossard flee the Emirates either. There has been Saudi interest in the enigmatic Belgian who has found a recent run of strong form.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

The other forward who must leave Arsenal

Over the last two seasons, there has been a common theme with Arsenal’s summer business. They’ve seen a batch of homegrown attackers leave the club.

In 2023, it was the turn of Folarin Balogun who after a rip-roaring season on loan in France, headed to Monaco in a permanent deal.

Last summer, Eddie Nketiah left for Crystal Palace, Mika Biereth headed to Sturm Graz in Austria and infamously, Chibo Obi Martin left to Manchester United.

Well, in 2025, it must be the turn of Nathan Butler-Oyedeji.

The striker is out of contract in the summer and it’s unlikely Arsenal will take the opportunity to renew his terms.

Now aged 22, the forward has still only played 27 senior games of football in his career, and the returns he has to show for those appearances are non-existent, failing to find the back of the net.

While it might be a harsh assessment, one has to be realistic here. Butler-Oyedeji is just one year younger than Saka. He’s four years older than Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly. While we wish him the best for the rest of his career, he’s not going to make it Arsenal, it’s as simple as that.

Arsenal U21

64

23

12

Arsenal U18

29

3

2

Cheltenham

14

0

0

Accrington

11

0

0

Arsenal first team

2

0

0

Despite that, it has been a landmark campaign for the young attacker who must have learnt plenty from his regular appearances in the Arsenal matchday squad.

He made his first-team debut against Dinamo Zagreb, appearing off the bench in a Champions League dead rubber a few months ago and then finally earned his Premier League debut last weekend, coming off the bench against Ipswich.

He’s rated highly, particularly by the aforementioned Nwaneri, who revealed that his “finishing is so good”.

It was a lovely moment indeed, but for a 22-year-old it’s for the best of his career that he goes out and finds regular first-team football at a senior level next season.

Arsenal are yet to see much of that expert finishing, but there’s no doubt he’ll have a successful career elsewhere. As we always say, one a Gooner, always a Gooner.

Arteta's next Havertz: Arsenal make enquiry to sign £52m "monster"

Arsenal could be about to land a new fprward to end their issues in the final third.

ByEthan Lamb Apr 27, 2025

Not to forget the big question: will this be MS Dhoni’s IPL farewell if CSK fall short?

Sruthi Ravindranath17-May-20242:35

Aaron: Santner gives CSK a lot of options

Match details

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) (7th; 6W, 7L) vs Chennai Super Kings (CSK) (4th; 7W, 6L)
Bengaluru, 7.30pm IST (2pm GMT)

Big picture – RCB vs CSK, the match of the season?

Is the hype around this encounter justified?The results over the years have been rather one-sided in favour of CSK. RCB have won only once in their last five meetings and only 31% of the all the matches in the IPL against them.So maybe not.But this time, there is a lot at stake – it’s a virtual quarter-final. RCB are in roaring form, with five wins in a row; CSK have been up and down. Scenarios-wise, it’s easier for CSK to get through. Just win, or hope the game is rained out – not unlikely, considering the weather in Bengaluru. RCB, however, have to win and win by a certain margin – assuming a score of 200, they need to win by 18 runs or chase the target down with about 11 balls to spare – to get into the top four.There are sentimental reasons for the hype too. Is this the last we’ll see an MS Dhoni vs Virat Kohli encounter on the field? Will it be Dhoni’s last game for CSK? (Nobody knows, not even CSK’s batting coach Mike Hussey.)Dhoni and Kohli may grab all the headlines, but some subplots mean much more. The two most powerful spin-hitters this season will come up against each other: Shivam Dube, who rocked it for CSK in the first half, and Rajat Patidar, who turned the fortunes around for RCB in the second. It will also be the battle of the Indian quicks, who have played key roles in their sides’ wins in the last few games. M Chinnaswamy Stadium might be a batter-friendly surface, but it may all come down to which pace unit performs better on the day.In terms of the venue, RCB have won both their recent matches at the Chinnaswamy after being relentlessly bashed by oppositions earlier in the season. CSK, however, have won only two of their six away matches. For CSK to gain an advantage at the Chinnaswamy, their batters must come together.Does all of that make this the match of the season? It could very well be. Unless rain plays spoilsport.Related

• Gaikwad the captain faces his sternest test yet

• Patidar: 'I should know that I am the best, nothing else matters'

• Rain threat looms over RCB-CSK clash in Bengaluru

Form guide

RCB WWWWW
CSK WLWLW

Previous meeting

It was the season opener, at Chepauk. Mustafizur Rahman ran through the RCB top order but a late lift from Anuj Rawat and Dinesh Karthik took them to 173 for 6. In reply, CSK chased down the target with eight balls remaining, with Dube and Ravindra Jadeja posting an unbeaten 66-run stand. In many ways, that result set the tone for the first half of the season for the two sides. But it all changed since then.One last time?•AFP/Getty Images

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Royal Challengers Bengaluru
RCB are likely to bring back Glenn Maxwell for the game in place of Will Jacks, who has left for England duty. Patidar for Yash Dayal or Swapnil Singh will likely be the impact swap again.RCB probable XII: 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Faf du Plessis (capt), 3 Glenn Maxwell, 4 Rajat Patidar, 5 Mahipal Lomror, 6 Cameron Green, 7 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 8 Yash Dayal, 9 Karn Sharma, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Lockie Ferguson 12 Swapnil SinghChennai Super Kings
Moeen Ali has left, so Mitchell Santner is likely to get a place in the XI. Ruturaj Gaikwad is also back to opening with Rachin Ravindra. In the last game, Daryl Mitchell was subbed out during the chase to get Sameer Rizvi in at No. 7. Considering Rahane’s poor form, and with Moeen out, will they consider starting with Rizvi and have Mitchell at No. 3?CSK probable XII: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 2 Rachin Ravindra, 3 Daryl Mitchell, 4 Shivam Dube, 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Sameer Rizvi, 7 MS Dhoni (wk), 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Maheesh Theekshana, 11 Tushar Deshpande, 12 Simarjeet Singh4:26

How do RCB make best use of Maxwell?

In the spotlight – Faf du Plessis and Shivam Dube

Faf du Plessis is yet to make a big impact with the bat. He has three fifties, but has struggled for consistency overall, having scored just 367 runs at 28.23 in 13 games. He averages just 27 in the powerplay this year compared to 120 last year, when he had a great time. While he’s not got the big scores, he’s been striking at 205 in RCB’s last seven games compared to 140 in the first six games. RCB will be hoping for a big score from their captain in the crucial game to go with another big hand from orange cap-holder Virat Kohli.Shivam Dube‘s superb run in the first half of the season earned him a spot in India’s T20 World Cup squad. However, since then, his form has dipped. Following ducks in back-to-back games against Punjab Kings, he scored 21 and 18 in the next two matches. He was taking spinners apart when the going was good. In three out of the last four games, he’s gotten out trying to go after spinners.

Pitch and conditions

It was cloudy all day in Bengaluru on Friday, and there’s a 78% chance of rain on Saturday, with the forecast saying there could be thunderstorms accompanied by showers in the evening. The average first-innings score at the venue this season is 193. The day before the game, there was no grass on the centre pitch, which will be used for this match, so expect it to be a belter.

Stats that matter

• Kohli has upped his powerplay game, from striking at 131 at an average of 62 in the first six matches to 193 at 98.50 in the last seven
• RCB are Dhoni’s favourite opposition – he has scored 413 runs at an average of 82.6 against them at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, the most against any team for him in the IPL
• Ruturaj Gaikwad averages 71 this season, which is the best for an opener in IPL 2024

Quotes

“He’s a bowler that basically bowled the fastest in our group. Every team will like a bowler like Simar because he bowls with a lot of pace and he’s very aggressive by nature. Even against our own batsmen in the nets, sometimes I get scared with the way he bowls. Very happy to see that the work that he’s put in to finally get an opportunity to play and he’s performing well.”

Bayern Munich are considering a move to gazump Chelsea in the hunt for Jamie Gittens' signature.

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Bayern chasing GittensDortmund winger had been expected to move to ChelseaBayern chasing new left-wingerFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The German club's sporting director Max Eberl left the Club World Cup surprisingly early to reportedly work on transfers, and it could be at Chelsea's expense. The Bundesliga champions have identified Jamie Gittens as a potential new signing and reports that the club are in talks with the player. It would be a blow for the Blues who had seen an initial offer knocked back by Dortmund as they look to bolster their front line.

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Should Bayern prove too strong competition for Chelsea in the hunt for Gittens, then the west London club will have to explore other options. Lyon's Malick Fofana and Brighton's Joao Pedro have emerged as possible alternative options in attack, but little progress has been made on a move for either player so far. Chelsea have already added Liam Delap to their forward options, but a wide player to replace the outgoing Jadon Sancho is still wanted.

DID YOU KNOW?

Bayern are having their own problems with recruitment. Needing to replace the outgoing Leroy Sane, the Bavarian giants had been after Athletic Club's Nico Williams, but the young Spanish winger looks set to move to Barcelona. A move for AC Milan's Rafael Leao is also only at early stages and nothing substantial has materialised as of yet.

AFPWHAT NEXT FOR GITTENS?

Gittens is currently in the United States with the Dortmund squad taking part in the Club World Cup. He made an appearance off of the bench against Fluminense in the opening group stage game, a 0-0 draw, but was an unused substitute in the 4-3 thriller against Mamelodi Sundowns. Their final game of the group stage is against Korean side Ulsan.

“It would be crazy not to look at the players who are in form,” Mitchell McClenaghan said on ESPNcricinfo’s T20 Time Out Live

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Apr-20243:03

Should Mayank be fast-tracked into India’s T20 WC squad?

Mayank Yadav has played only two IPL games but the conversation has already started if he should be part of India’s squad for the T20 World Cup in June.On his IPL debut on Saturday, Mayank picked up 3 for 27 against Punjab Kings and was named the Player of the Match. During his spell, he clocked 155.8kph, the fastest delivery of IPL 2024.Three days later, against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, he bettered it. He clocked 156.7kph and picked up 3 for 14 to claim his second consecutive Player-of-the-Match award.Related

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Talking on ESPNcricinfo’s show T20 Time Out Live, Tom Moody said: “He is definitely in the conversation. Whether you take that risk punting on him or not is another conversation because you also need to consider what skillset you need in that reserve fast bowler – is it someone who is a powerplay bowler, or someone who has the ability to bowl at the death, all those subtle skillsets are important when you are talking about a T20 World Cup.”Mitchell McClenaghan, Moody’s co-panellist, said if Mayank continues in the same manner, he would be “right in the mix” to join the T20 World Cup squad.”If his form continues throughout this tournament, the World Cup starts six days after the IPL, I think it would be crazy not to look at the players who are in form going into that tournament,” McClenaghan said.”He may not have the caps behind him, but if he continues this vein of form and can keep his pace up throughout the whole tournament and keep winning games – he has won two games in a row, his first two games – then you are right in the mix. Long shot but you wouldn’t say never.”3:15

Moody: Mayank has great control and a mature head to go with his pace

Fast bowler Varun Aaron also had the same view. “I think no matter what the chatter is, he should focus on one game at a time,” he said. “Because that is going to automatically help him make his case. With the kind of work he has put in in the last two games, that does bring a lot of eyeballs but it has to be repeated over a period of time. The T20 World Cup, I am sure, he is going to be a contender if he backs it up with a few more performances because he is bowling absolute gas.”Apart from the searing pace, what has stood out is Mayank’s accuracy. On Tuesday, he bowled 17 dots in his spell, and not a single wide or no-ball.”What’s so impressive is it’s not only just the pace – it’s like everyone likes seeing a Nicholas Pooran hit the ball out of the ground, it is exhilarating to watch – but it’s his control,” Moody said. “Not only he has got the control, but he looks like he has got quite a mature head on his shoulders with regards to how he is bowling, and what lines he is bowling and lengths he is bowling. He is a real find.”Aaron was equally impressed with Mayank’s control.”Going into the game, we said that lines are going to be important,” he said. “Not just lines, even lengths he adapted. He bowled a few yorkers, it’s not just bowling back of length and being one-dimensional. The ball to Cameron Green was beautiful. He had hit him for a really convincing pull the previous ball.”I think he was a second late on that [wicket] ball. It just ricocheted off the stumps, I think it went one-bounce four. It is great signs. He has got really good control. And he has got a really, really repeatable clean action that enables him to bowl those lines time and again. Not a single cut, not a single ball down the leg side. Unbelievable.”

Over the last six years, Rangana Herath and R Ashwin have racked up astounding – and astoundingly similar – numbers while reviving the art of fingerspin. On Wednesday, they will cross paths again at a venue that holds a special place in both their hearts

Sidharth Monga in Galle24-Jul-20172:06

Rangana Herath: Sri Lanka’s trump card

On July 2, 2009, Rangana Herath was about to go to his gym in Stoke-on-Trent in northern England. He was 31, a veteran of 94 first-class matches, but only 14 of them were Tests. He wasn’t really expecting to add to that tally any time soon.Not yet an international cricketer, having made his IPL debut two months previously, R Ashwin was perhaps going through the previews to gear up to watch India play an ODI in the West Indies on July 3 and then the Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Galle from July 4.Herath’s phone rang. They wanted him in Galle. Muttiah Muralitharan had been injured, they needed a support bowler for the man supposed to take over from him, Ajantha Mendis. It was a matter of minutes. A little later, and that call could have gone unanswered for an hour at least. Perhaps Herath wasn’t the most punctual to go to the gym, which you can imagine he didn’t quite look forward to. The crucial fact is, the phone was in his pocket and not in his bag as it would have been a few minutes later. He was able to answer that call, drive five hours to London and make the flight, which he might not have been able to do an hour later. He flew economy, and made it to Galle on the morning of the Test. Had Sri Lanka lost the toss, Herath might have had to shake off his jet lag on the field.Six years later, their paths crossed in Galle. Ashwin was going through a strange patch in his career. He had excellent numbers but had also missed seven out of India’s last 13 Tests, played in South Africa, New Zealand, England and Australia. He was not happy about being left out. Inside he raged. He wondered why he had to sit out if the fast bowlers couldn’t finish a Test in South Africa. Or why the batsmen’s failures in England resulted in his being dropped in Australia.Herath had already gone through all of that twice over. Even after coming back and becoming Sri Lanka’s rescuer at the age of 31, he would find himself left out of sides inexplicably. The finals of the 2011 World Cup and the 2012 World T20, despite good performances. If Ashwin was despondent or nervous coming into Galle in 2015, he could do well to learn from the quiet perseverance of Herath.In this match, Ashwin took 10 wickets, including six on the first day, but he and India were outdone by Herath and Sri Lanka. Watching Herath, Ashwin learned an important lesson: to not give up the stumps, to sometimes strive to turn the ball less. The difference perhaps was the hours and hours of bowling experience Herath had gained by bowling in first-class cricket before he finally got his chance. Ashwin didn’t have to wait so long for success; when he was denied it, he would become restless and try to turn the ball harder. Ashwin was now learning to wait for his time.R Ashwin took ten wickets in his last Galle Test, in 2015, but ended up on the losing side thanks to Rangana Herath’s wiles•AFPSince then, between them, aided by changing techniques because of DRS and in part by changing pitches, Ashwin and Herath have made fingerspin great again. It can be argued that Ravindra Jadeja is more than just support cast – he is in fact No. 1 on ICC charts right now – but the two outstanding bowlers over the last six years have been Ashwin and Herath. Since Ashwin’s debut, they have played 49 Tests each and have near-identical numbers in those Tests: 275 wickets for Ashwin and 274 for Herath, 25 five-fors each, seven and eight 10-wicket match hauls. Herath is slightly more miserly, but Ashwin has taken fewer deliveries for each strike. Herath has set up Test wins in South Africa and England, Ashwin has been Man of the Series in Sri Lanka and the West Indies.Before the two, the pre-eminent spinners in the world were either wristspinners or fingerspinners with a bit of mystery about them. Fingerspinners without mystery were there just to tie one end up until the pitch started doing things for them. The most mystery these two have ever carried in their kitbags is the carrom ball, whose oldest known practitioner, without going as far back as Jack Iverson, is Herath and whose best proponent today, arguably, is Ashwin. Yet, in Test matches, in these days of close video analysis, there is hardly any mystery to the carrom ball.A lot of their mystery now is in trying to control the amount of turn they impart on the ball. It is not an exact science, but they are adept at giving the ball the best chance to turn less should they need that variation. They change their seam angles and points of release subtly. As a few batsmen have acknowledged, you can exhaust yourself countering one mode of their attack, and then suddenly, just like that, they unleash another.They use different arms. One is pudgy, the other is tall. One is likely to share a laugh about his pudginess, the other remains on the edge. One is trying to maximise whatever little Test cricket is left in his 39-year-old body, the other is at his prime, physically and mentally. Yet they are more similar in their styles and their stories than you would think. Back now in Galle, a landmark venue for both of them, they resume the contest to find out who the best bowler of this decade is. Herath will be at a disadvantage because his support is not as robust as Ashwin’s, because his body is less likely to stand the strain of three Tests in three weeks, and because his side nearly lost to Zimbabwe last week, but then again he was at a similar disadvantage the day he answered Kumar Sangakkara’s call in Stoke-on-Trent.

Glasgow Rangers and the transfer market have not exactly been the best of friends over the previous few years.

Since securing promotion back to the Premiership ahead of the 20161/7 campaign, the Ibrox side have made plenty of dismal signings. Where to start?

Pedro Caixinha spent money on the likes of Carlos Pena and Eduardo Herrera, who both failed to live up to expectations, while even Steven Gerrard made a few howlers, especially during his early transfer windows.

The former Liverpool captain signed flops such as Umar Sadiq and Eros Grezda in 2018, a few years before spending money on Juninho Bacuna and Cedric Itten.

Sam Lammers, Ben Davies and Jose Cifuentes are just a few of the players who have been signed by managers since Gerrard left, with all three struggling to perform in Scotland.

While these types of signings typically outweigh the positive ones, when the club do sign a player who has excellent potential, it usually ends up rather well.

Joe Aribo was sold for around £10m in the summer of 2020, having cost the Gers just £300k three years previously. Of the current squad, Hamza Igamane looks certain to make the Light Blues a significant profit due to his performances this season.

One of the club’s finest signings – from a financial point of view anyway – was Calvin Bassey. The defender is now playing in the Premier League for Fulham, but Rangers gave him his big break.

Why Calvin Bassey was sold for a club-record fee

In the summer of 2020, Gerrard added a few players to his squad in a bid to challenge Celtic for the Premiership trophy during 2020/21.

Ianis Hagi signed permanently, while Cedric Itten, Kemar Roofe and Leon Balogun also arrived at Ibrox. It was the deal to bring Bassey to Scotland which looked the most promising, however.

Due to cross-border rules, the left-back cost just £200k in a compensation fee from Leicester City, and he was one for the future.

Indeed, Gerrard utilised his talents on just 15 occasions throughout the 2020/21 season, but things were about to get better.

With a defensive injury crisis hitting the squad hard during the early stages of the following campaign, Bassey was deployed as a centre-back alongside Connor Goldson and it soon progressed into a solid partnership.

Metric

Premiership

Europa League

Accurate passes

52.3

37.4

Tackles

1.5

1.6

Total duels won

5.2

4.1

Interceptions

0.7

1.4

Balls recovered

0.4

0.1

Once he got his chance in the starting XI, Bassey never left, making 50 appearances in all competitions as the Gers reached the Europa League final while winning the Scottish Cup for the first time in 13 years.

These performances would ultimately lead to the Nigerian international departing the club, with plenty of European sides showing interest that summer.

In the end, Ajax secured his services on a permanent deal for a fee of just under £23m, which was a club-record transfer.

It’s fair to say that he has been one of the finest signings of modern times, but is there a player in the current squad who has surpassed him recently?

Rangers' best signing since Bassey

Losing Scott Wright last summer meant Philippe Clement had a single right-winger in the squad – Ross McCausland – which meant this area needed a swift upgrade.

There were several players linked with a move to Ibrox, but due to limited funds being available, the Belgian manager had to rely on a loan signing, which saw Vaclav Cerny join the Light Blues on a temporary deal until the end of the current season.

Having scored five goals for Bundesliga side Wolfsburg during the 2023/24 campaign, Cerny looked like an exciting wide option for Rangers. He also scored against Celtic for Ajax, which would certainly help endear him to the supporters during his early weeks.

These first couple of weeks were mixed. The Czech star delivered a few decent displays, but he was poor against Lyon in a 4-1 Europa League defeat. He missed a big chance during that game and lost possession 11 times.

Two goals against St Johnstone just a few days later proved that his woeful European display was just a one-off and he has kicked on since then.

Overall, the loanee has netted an impressive tally of 17 goals across 44 matches, chipping in with seven assists too. The 27-year-old has saved his best football – minus the Lyon clash – for the Europa League, netting six goals in Europe’s secondary competition.

Furthermore, the winger has created two big chances, averages 1.3 key passes per game and succeeds with 2.3 dribbles each match, showcasing his skills against superior opposition.

Rangers won the recent Old Firm derby against Celtic 3-2 courtesy of a late winner by Igamane, who lashed in an effort when it appeared as though the match was going to finish as a draw.

The real hero of that game was Cerny, however, who ended up soaking Celtic supporters with a bottle of water while celebrating the goal.

Journalist Matthew Lindsay praised the winger, describing him as a “cult hero” following that “moment of madness”

According to Transfermarkt, Cerny is now valued at €9m (£7.5m) and, given his displays for the Gers recently, he will be a man in demand this summer.

Whoever becomes the new permanent manager of Rangers will have to decide whether spending money on Cerny is worth it, especially as there are other areas of the squad requiring some investment.

Cerny has endeared himself to the Ibrox faithful with his goals and antics during the latest derby win. If he did join the club this summer, could he be one of their best signings in recent memory?

The next few months will be interesting indeed.

Rangers loan star is now worth £27m more than Cerny after leaving in 2023

While Václav Černý continues to star in a Rangers jersey, a former loanee, who left in 2023, is starring elsewhere, seeing his value skyrocket.

ByBen Gray Mar 21, 2025

Teenage legspinner impressed in Antigua defeat and hopes to continue learning from England’s past master

Cameron Ponsonby04-Dec-20231:50

Miller: Judge Buttler and Mott on T20Is, not ODIs

For more than a decade, the of England’s white-ball set-up has been Adil’s wristspin.Filling the shoes of any world-class performer is almost always a doomed task. And those anointed to do so rarely appreciate the burden of expectation that is lumped on their growing shoulders. But nevertheless, step forward Rehan Ahmed.Rehan was the pick of England’s bowlers during defeat to West Indies in the first ODI, claiming 2 for 40 from his ten overs, spinning the ball sharply in both directions. His googly, which is arguably more of a stock delivery for him than his legbreak, is sensational. A modern-day legspinner in the shape of Rashid Khan as opposed to Shane Warne. And he can launch the ball out of the ground with the bat too.Related

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At a time when England are heading into the final years of Rashid’s career, the fact a readymade replacement is developing in front of our eyes is a blessing. Whether Rehan contributes the same quantity of wickets that Rashid has done across his career, it’s impossible to tell. What you can be sure of, however, is that he will provide a quality of entertainment that few across the rest of the game can.Rehan was picked for Pakistan last winter on the basis that Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum just liked it. What they liked exactly, no one was really sure. A batter who bowls? A bowler who bats? No one knew. They just felt that whatever mysterious concoction they’d been served up by the Leicestershire academy was delicious and they wanted lots more of it.”I don’t mind being hit for runs,” Rehan said the day after England’s defeat. “I just want to take wickets. The runs aren’t really part of it. I know there’s going to be a couple days where I get it wrong and I get hit around, which I’m fine with, it’s just more when I’m on top and I’m bowling well to [try to ] impact the game as much as I can.”On Sunday in Antigua, Rehan gave West Indies No. 3 Keacy Carty a living nightmare. In 17 deliveries to Carty, who has been struggling for domestic form, Rehan conceded just seven runs as he consistently turned the ball past both edges. Yes, the pitch assisted spin – but if it’s turning, you want your spinner to bowl well. And he did.”I think there was a couple of overs in there I could have maybe attacked a bit more,” Rehan said a spell that looked certain to have won England the match. “[I could have] played around with the field a little bit more. But again I’m not seeking perfection and I felt like I bowled very well. I think I challenged the stumps quite a bit. But there’s always ways to improve.”Rehan Ahmed was the pick of England’s attack in the first ODI•Getty Images

This isn’t to retire Rashid prematurely, with the sweet spot for England potentially lying in the idea of playing both of them. For just £40, you can go to a Trent Bridge ODI and watch Qui-Gon Jinn train his Padawan one over at a time. After all, in the same way that Rehan was picked for the tour of Pakistan on the basis that if you’re good enough, you’re old enough – a 39-year-old Rashid in 2027 may rock up to another World Cup on the basis that if you’re good enough, you’re young enough.”I think so,” Rehan replied when asked if he reckoned England could play with two leggies in one side. Which, admittedly, is a question it is in his interest to answer affirmatively. “You see more than one seamer in a team, so there can always be more than one legspinner.””Rash is probably the best legspinner in the world right now and whenever I’m with him I try to take as much information as I can, especially on his legspinner – he’s got about 12 so I just try to pick one of them for now. But it has offered me a lot and I’m getting a bit more sidespin than I used to.”I played a couple of T20s in the summer and the Bangladesh game [in March] as well so I think it was a nice feeling for all of us together. I feel like I can speak to Rash about bowling and it felt like a practice game even though it was an international game so it kept me very relaxed.”What’s more, if the idea of more than one legspinner in a team is cause for excitement, a team with more than one Ahmed is doubly so, with Rehan’s brother, Farhan, a 15-year-old offspinner, set to be named in England men’s Under-19 World Cup squad.”He bowls a lot of dot balls so he’ll be quite boring,” Rehan joked. “But no, I’m very happy for him. He’s very young and he’s been picked for such a big thing as well. It’s an unbelievable achievement. He’s actually at school right now doing his physics test.”Rehan is one of three brothers, and the family have a strong cricketing bond with his elder brother playing regularly for Nottinghamshire 2nd XI. The trio also regularly turn out together for their club side Cavaliers and Carrington – previously described by Rehan as the “Manchester United of cricket, the best club in England”.So invested is Rehan, he returned to play for Cavaliers the weekend before the Ireland ODI series in September began. “I play with my older brother and younger brother and dad in club cricket and it’s the best feeling ever. As many of us that can play together, it’s always going to be good. Whether it’s for England, for county, for school, for a club, anything. I think playing alongside family is always a great feeling.”

Liverpool are now plotting a transfer swoop for a “fantastic” 19 year-old forward who could be a long-term replacement for Mohamed Salah, according to a new report.

Liverpool extend Premier League lead to 13 points

It was another routine win for Arne Slot’s side on Wednesday night, as goals, surprisingly not from Salah, but from Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister saw Liverpool run out 2–0 winners and extend their lead to 13 points with 10 games left to play. That means they can now conceivably win the Premier League against Tottenham Hotspur on the 26th of April, with four games left to play.

Forget Salah: Slot has made 9/10 Liverpool star a truly "unstoppable" force

Liverpool beat Newcastle at Anfield to stretch their title lead to 13 points.

ByAngus Sinclair Feb 27, 2025

Despite the healthy lead and the short number of games left to play, Slot believes there is still a long way to go and is taking it game by game): “It is still a long way to go, ten games. In March, we only play one Premier League game; then we have the cup final, of course, and an international break, and then two big games against Paris Saint-Germain – so we are not focused on the long term.

“I know, and the players know how difficult the Champions League game is going to be – they are in the same form as us, hardly lose. It is going to be a difficult task for both teams. Now the players have some days off, and then we focus on PSG more than we do on the table in the Premier League.”

Liverpool eye move for "fantastic" Salah successor

But as the Reds get closer to securing that Premier League title, focus may start switching to the summer, and according to Caught Offside, Liverpool are keeping a close eye on teenager Assane Diao after his recent performances in Italy.

The report states that Liverpool’s interest in Diao comes as the future of Salah at Anfield is still very uncertain. There is a likelihood that the Egyptian leaves in the summer when his contract expires, and that would leave Liverpool very light in that area of the team. Therefore, the club are actively looking at possible short and long-term replacements, and Diao has emerged as a possible target.

The 19-year-old, who has been described as “fantastic” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig in the past, plays for Italian side Como, joining Cesc Fabregas’ side January and kicking on another gear under the Spaniard.

Apps

8

Starts

7

Goals

5

xG

1.74

Shots per game

2.0

Chance conversion

31%

Key passes per game

0.4

Succ. Dribbles per game

1.0 (35%)

Duels won per game

6.8 (42%)

The Spanish under-19 international decided to join Como in the New Year, and it is a move that has paid off, scoring five goals in eight Serie A games. Diao has started all but one game, operating as a right and left-winger. The forward has scored three goals in the last three consecutive games against Juventus, Fiorentina, and Napoli, and those performances have now put him on the radar of Liverpool.

It’s unclear how much he could cost the Reds, but Como paid a record fee of €12 million, so they are expected to want more than that in any departure.