All posts by h716a5.icu

On an unprecedented run of poor form under Pep Guardiola, Manchester City have unsurprisingly turned their attention towards the January transfer window – and are already reportedly preparing a big-money offer.

Man City transfer news

With 1 win in 13, the Premier League champions are no longer just wounded – they’re out for the count. Guardiola has never endured such a run during an almost flawless managerial career.

Even he – a true football genius – seems out of ideas. Never have the modern-day Citizens needed reinforcements so desperately, with their crown seemingly headed elsewhere and their Champions League status suddenly in danger.

On that front, the rumours are already underway. The likes of Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz have both been linked, perhaps with Kevin De Bruyne’s contract situation in mind. The Belgian – to compile City’s misery – is set to depart as a free agent when the summer arrives as things stand.

However, before Wirtz or Musiala, it looks as though those at the Etihad could turn their attention towards the Italian Serie A in the January transfer window. According to reports in Spain, Man City are now preparing a €65m (£54m) offer to sign Tijjani Reijnders from Milan.

The Dutchman has been one of the few bright sparks for the Rossoneri so far this season and could now earn a move away as a result. Given his ability to play in defensive and attacking midfield, City’s interest should come as no surprise.

Man City can land Savinho upgrade in swoop for "unbelievable" £66m star

Manchester City are reportedly interested in a deal for the Premier League forward.

ByDan Emery Dec 27, 2024

If they’re looking to replace Rodri and find a replacement for the ageing Ilkay Gundogan when the Spaniard returns, Reijnders may well be the man to sign for Manchester City in 2025.

"Great" Reijnders can replace Rodri and more

Before anything, Manchester City must replace Rodri. The Spaniard’s absence has been their greatest problem, even amid further injuries within Guardiola’s squad.

Completing that task should add the control that they’re so desperately lacking – the control that they have become so famous for over the years. And that’s where Reijnders could come in.

At a struggling Milan side, the Dutch midfielder has often found himself at the centre of praise, including from Ben Mattinson. The analyst dubbed Reijnders a “great ball-carrier and progressor” last season and has watched on like the rest of European football as he has only continued to improve that trait in abundance.

With eight goals and three assists to his name so far this season, signing Reijnders could even solve Manchester City’s recent goal problem and ease the responsibility on Erling Haaland, who has struggled to reach his best form of late.

Bangladesh’s Abdur Razzak also produced an economical spell in a rain-hit contest on Monday

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Mar-20239:30

Watch – Highlights from Asia Lions vs World Giants

10-overs-a-sideA fine batting performance from Misbah-ul-Haq (44 not out) followed by an economical display of spin bowling from Abdur Razzak (2 for 2) helped Asian Lions beat World Giants by 35 runs in a rain-curtailed match on Monday. The Asian Lions’ second consecutive win pushed them to the top of the table.A wet outfield had delayed the start by more than two hours, forcing the game to be curtailed to 10 overs a side. World Giants captain Aaron Finch’s plan of opting to bowl first on a slow, damp pitch worked beautifully in the first seven overs. Finch utilised four spinners, including Monty Panesar, Ricardo Powell, Chris Gayle and himself, and the slow-bowling option of Paul Collingwood.It was a struggle in the early stages for the former Sri Lankan opening pair of Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan. After a sedate start, Tharanga tried to pick up the pace in the second over but he was stumped after missing a flat delivery off Powell.The first boundary of the Asian Lions’ innings came off the final delivery of the third over as Dilshan came down the pitch to hit a flighted delivery off Panesar straight down the ground. Dilshan kept the scoreboard moving with singles but couldn’t find much support in new batters Thisara Perera and Shahid Afridi.Misbah, though, picked up from where he left off from the previous match. He smashed Gayle for a six over long-on before hitting Powell for three boundaries in the eighth over. He then lofted Collingwood over long-on for six to bring up his fifty-run partnership with Dilshan. He finished with a 19-ball 44 to push the Asian Lions to 99 for 3 in their 10 overs.World Giants never really got going in their chase after the dismissals of openers Chris Gayle and Lendl Simmons. Gayle survived an early scare in the first over from Mohammad Hafeez. He was given out on the field after missing a sweep but his review showed the ball was going over the stumps.Gayle then struck Dilshan for three consecutive sixes off the first three deliveries of the fourth over. Shahid Afridi, though, put an end to Gayle’s cameo in the fifth over as he hit a short delivery straight to Thisara Perera at long-on. Gayle’s opening partner Simmons was the next to fall in the same over. The openers were the only batters to make it to double digits as the chase fell away rapidly after that.Former Bangladesh spinner Razzak got the wickets of Shane Watson and Ricardo Powell in the eighth over, which was also a maiden, to kill the chase as the World Giants fell woefully short.

There are many good reasons for Joe Root to enter the IPL auction, but his inclusion begs several questions that cricket must answer

David Hopps13-Jan-2018As they apparently say at the poshest parties when asked who is coming: “Everybody who is anybody darling”. As many as 1122 players, including 282 from outside India, have put themselves up for the IPL auction. It is easier to ask who can’t be there.But for one player at least, the decision has not been an easy one. For two seasons, Joe Root has eschewed IPL, firstly because he wanted to establish the certainty of his Test match game, then because of the twin considerations of his first child and his appointment as England’s Test captain.Such considerations are now behind him. Root wants to swig headily from IPL’s champagne flute as much as anybody. Entering his peak years, at 27, he desires to assert himself as a multi-format player, part of a special breed of batsmen including Virat Kohli, Steven Smith and Kane Williamson who can turn their hand to anything cricket’s split personality can devise.The mood in England towards the IPL has also changed. Resistance to the tournament was abandoned within the ECB from the moment Andrew Strauss became director of England cricket. But resistance has also collapsed beyond the confines of the governing body. The new breed of cricket fan, weaned on Twenty20, actively wants to see Root play in the IPL and even many traditionalists who resent the format because it intrudes so overbearingly on the start of the English county season now shrug that his involvement is inevitable.England will always come first – Root

Joe Root emphasised that England will always take priority after he entered the IPL auction.
“I’ve always said I put playing for England first and if it means resting from things like the IPL, which I’ve done in the past, I’ll happily do that,” he said. “For however long my international career lasts it’s going to be focused about giving as much as I can for this team and playing for England.
“But as someone involved in the Test side I don’t want to be missing white-ball cricket and falling behind, trying to catch up. The IPL is a great opportunity. It may be that I don’t have a great IPL but the best thing would be the exposure to different players and different ways of looking at the game, being under pressure for long periods of time. I can’t see how that could hamper my game or be detrimental to my England career.”

Root is right to join the IPL long list. Not to challenge himself against the best, in the hullaballoo of IPL, would be to limit the extent of his ambitions. Not to learn from the best would be to suppress his potential. IPL is now a central part of cricket’s history. See and be seen: it would be a strikingly non-conformist cricketer who resisted that.There has been a lot of tosh, nevertheless, about how a sports career is short and cricketers “need” the money. Of course, they are entitled to seek their rewards while they can, but “need” is an inflammatory word when a top cricketer can earn in a single year from England alone what a worker on average wages can earn in 40. And, as for talk of a short career, the support mechanisms that exist for English professional cricketers as they approach retirement are better than ever. They are allowed to work after their careers are over.T20 data on Root is hardly extensive. He has regularly rested out T20 internationals and such is the all-consuming nature of England’s international summer that he has rarely appeared in the Blast – England’s own T20 tournament. But his strike rates in all three forms of the game are comparable to Smith and faster than Williamson. He is no plodder; indeed, it is his propensity to become over ambitious when set at Test level that has become one of the recurring features of his game.Dan Weston, a data analyst at Sports Analytics Advantage, calculates that Root will do better than many casual Indian observers expect, saying: “With an Expected IPL batting average of 46.35, and strike rate 134.44, Root would be an excellent acquisition for an IPL franchise looking for a player capable of playing a strong anchor innings at the top of the order.”As Weston points out, the comparison to last year’s IPL mean batting average of 25.29 and strike rate of 133.36, suggests that Root’s elite-level performance would be expected to be seen in his average rather than strike rate. There are other predictions, too: his boundary count can be expected to be lower with a heavy emphasis on reducing dot balls to a minimum, and potential suitors might fear that his innings may stagnate against spin.All this conjecture is the very stuff of sport and encapsulates why Root must put his skills to the test.

Compensation levels to the clubs that produce the players who keep the T20 gravy train rolling are wholly inadequate

But there are legitimate worries nonetheless. International cricket and the T20 leagues co-exist not by intelligent consideration of a sustainable international schedule, but by piling ever more demands on ambitious young sportsmen.Multi-format cricketers feel this burden more than many, none more so, of course, than Kohli, who played 86 days’ international cricket in 2017, plus IPL. Root played 78, plus two four-day Championship matches for Yorkshire, and the sight of him exercising one of the stiffer backs in international cricket have become commonplace. More than double that for practice and travel days. Root, too, has committed himself diligently to regular media opportunities on behalf of various sponsors and charities and surely now that must be curtailed.Already Trevor Bayliss, England’s coach, has intimated that, if Root wants rest, he might also now have to skip county matches ahead of the England Test summer (he only played two anyway and barely got a run). Just turn up to practice, flick a switch and put on the right coloured clothing. It is now quite possible Yorkshire – the county that nurtured him – will not see him again for the next five years.Root’s exhuastion summed up England’s repeated Ashes failings•Getty ImagesCompensation levels to the clubs that produce the players who keep the T20 gravy train rolling are wholly inadequate. The gathering talent drain from county cricket has emphasised the pressing need for England’s 18-team professional system to extend its developmental reach to ensure its standards are not compromised. Proper financial rewards would protect the supply lines – and not just in England.As far as the players are concerned, to cope with the workload, concessions are already made. International tours have been curtailed by slashing warm-up matches, and too many series have become one-sided as a consequence, but until crowds fall, or TV companies protest, that outcome is not about to change.In England, some young county professionals excited by a marquee signing for the NatWest Blast have been somewhat disillusioned when the recognition dawns that most of the sporting knowledge they hoped to glean from their overseas import would have to take place on the golf course. The second tier of T20 leagues might still manage to sign the player, but they no longer delude themselves that they necessarily command his full attention.Eventually, something will give. Just as it takes a tragic accident outside a school for a council to fast-track a new speeding sign, it will doubtless take an overburdened, world-renowned cricketer to suffer a serious health issue to make cricket give the issue serious thought. Unless cricket’s rulers negotiate a responsible outcome, where T20 and international cricket can co-exist in a sensible framework, that one day the whole shebang will explode in our faces is inevitable.

Nathan Lyon will have to adopt some of his Indian counterpart’s methods if he is to set his record in Asia right; and he has been working on doing just that

Sidharth Monga in Pune21-Feb-20172:11

‘I have been studying Ashwin a lot’ – Lyon

You split the index finger and the middle finger along the seam, make sure you don’t let the ball touch the palm, and give it as much rip as you can. That’s fingerspin stripped to its essentials, but the variations within that purview make it fascinating, especially in an era when three of the top four Test bowlers are fingerspinners despite the doosra going out of favour. The traditional – correct, even – Australian way of bowling with the seam pointing to leg slip and the street-smart Asian way of mixing it up with various seam angles to facilitate natural variation provide a great contrast on the eve of a series that will pit Nathan Lyon, Australia’s most successful offspinner, against R Ashwin, the fastest man to 250 Test wickets.It is remarkable that the fingerspinners have found this resurgence after the doosra has practically been outlawed. The DRS-empowered (or awakened) umpires have made the straighter delivery lethal. No longer can a batsman afford to plonk the front foot forward and miss the ball. So they are trying to stay inside the line, which exposes the outside edge and the stumps. That makes for a role reversal.When India went to Australia in 2014-15, Ashwin tried to learn from Lyon, who won Australia the Adelaide Test with a 12-wicket haul. Now Lyon is watching Ashwin. Most important for him is to be able to threaten both edges as India’s fingerspinners do. You can’t bowl the straighter one on demand. It’s not like the legspinners’ wrong ‘un, which you actually aim to bowl. That’s what makes it lethal too: you can pick the wrong ‘un out of the hand, but there is no way you can tell from the hand that the next intended offbreak is not going to turn.Josh Hazlewood on…

The SG ball
“Haven’t bowled with the SG ball, this is my first time. Little bit different. Been training with it. The brand new ball swings a bit, and once it’s old, it reverses. Good signs there. We have three front-line quicks, that’s plenty of fast bowling for this tour.”
What has changed after nine straight defeats in Asia
“This is a really different group even from Sri Lanka. We have had a good preparation, two weeks in Dubai. Definitely we are well prepared this time. I think we have done everything we can leading in to the first Test. It is about putting those plans into action this week.”
Change in lines required in India
“In India you bowl a lot straighter. In Australia you bowl in that channel on and outside the off stump. In India you bowl a lot tighter on the middle and off. I think it’s about drying up the runs. It’s fast outfields here and runs can tick along pretty quickly. In that sense you build pressure and wickets come by bowling the dots and good maiden overs for a long period of time.”

You can’t bowl the straighter one, but you can facilitate it. It is perfectly reasonable if Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja and Rangana Herath – the leading spinners in the rankings – don’t share all their trade secrets, but conventionally they are understood to do it through different seam positions, through different release points, and through under-cutting the ball. The idea is to land the ball differently; if it lands on the seam, it turns and if it lands on the leather, it skids straight on. Under-cutting the ball is remarkable in particular because it extremely difficult to do it across 22 yards and not flex the elbow. Sometimes you just drift it away enough to land it wider than the batsman originally expects it to land.Lyon has played 11 Tests in Asia, and averages 42.57 in conditions that should help him. In less helpful conditions, he averages a respectable 32.15. This will be his fifth series in Asia, and over the years he has tried to adjust, especially in his trajectory and pace – bowling quicker to not give batsmen time to recover – but success has been elusive. Lyon can’t unlearn everything and start bowling fingerspin all over again, but he is now looking to Ashwin to help him out.Ever since his last Test, in the first week of January, Lyon has spent considerable time watching tapes of Ashwin. “I have been watching a lot of footage of Ashwin, the way he goes about it, his different release points,” Lyon said in Pune, the venue of the first Test. “He is a world-class spinner, the best at the moment in the world, there is a reason for it. Been studying him a lot, hopefully I can put it in play.”I am not going to tell you what that is, because the whole world will read it. There are a few things as spinners in the Australian team we have certainly spoken about. Hopefully we can put them in practice and hit a few pads. There are a few changes, but I am not going to change my whole action for this tour. I am aware you need to change a few things here and there. But it’s a game of cricket, if we go out there and control the process… We are playing on the same wickets as they are, so there are no excuses.”Lyon said he has “definitely changed” his approach to bowling in Asia since his last visit to India, but didn’t want to elaborate it so close to a Test series. He will need all the improvement he can manage because he doesn’t find himself in an enviable position. Outside Asia, he is mainly used as a steady bowler. Sometimes he can be just an afterthought. When he does come on, he is expected to be steady, bowl the Australian way and build pressure for the quicker bowlers.

“If you are going to come out and try to take a wicket off every ball, you are going to get hit for boundaries. For us, coming over and competing here is about building pressure.”Nathan Lyon

All of a sudden, Lyon finds himself in conditions where the opposition spinners feel like demons to his side’s batsmen, and he has to go out and try to replicate it. Not many have been able to do so; only Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann come to mind after Saqlain Mushtaq did that to India in 1999. Lyon said he needed to stay away from that mindset.”That’s where you get into trouble,” Lyon said. “If you are going to come out and try to take a wicket off every ball, you are going to get hit for boundaries. For us, coming over and competing here is about building pressure, either with quickies or spinners at the other end. Try to give minimum runs and make the Indians play the big shots. That’s where we are going to build pressure. That’s how you build pressure and take wickets. If you go out thinking that I have got 10 overs and I am going to get them in 10 overs, you are on a slippery slope to nowhere really.”With the amount of cricket played today, Lyon has another opportunity to set his record in Asia right. He is already the most capped Australia fingerspinner in Asia. When he turns out in Bangalore later in the series, only Shane Warne will have played more Tests in Asia as a spinner. Whether he likes it or not, Lyon will be in the spotlight. The Australian way of bowling fingerspin will have to merge with the Asian way if Australia have to compete in the series.

Everton have finally managed to put some breathing space between themselves and the bottom three, with David Moyes getting his first victory against Tottenham at the weekend, with a 3-2 win at Goodison Park.

The Toffees now sit 16th in the Premier League on 20 points, with Wolves and Ipswich below them on 16 points in 17th and 18th place.

The biggest problem for Everton this season has been sticking the ball in the back of the net, scoring just 18 goals in 22 games, making them the second-lowest scorers in the division, only Southampton scoring fewer with 15.

Everton are currently averaging 11.3 shots per game (6th lowest in the division for this metric), which shows their shot creation could be far better in attacking areas, meaning a January addition could be on the cards in order to give Moyes the tools required to avoid that relegation battle.

Moyes chasing exciting winger at Everton

According to reports from a journalist working with Caught Offside, Everton have enquired about Sporting CP star, Marcus Edwards.

The 26-year-old has just 18 months left on his current deal, which is raising eyebrows at Everton as a potential opportunity to sign the English ace.

Transfer Focus

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

The English winger predominantly operates as a right-winger, looking to cut inside on his stronger left foot, but has also shown the ability to play off the left, taking it to the byline and delivering crosses to his teammates. Edwards has, of course, played in England before, coming through the academy ranks at Tottenham.

Edwards has only made ten appearances for Sporting in all competitions this season, scoring three goals and totalling just 346 minutes. His lack of game time could provide the opportunity for Everton to strike, obtaining an extremely talented player for a fair price.

How Edwards compares to Everton target Nuamah

Another name Everton have been linked to in the window, is Olympique Lyon winger, Ernest Nuamah.

The 21-year-old winger has made 19 appearances for the French outfit in all competitions this season, scoring one goal, providing one assist and totalling 763 minutes played so far.

That said, his numbers are considerably worse than Edwards if we compare them across the last two campaigns.

Goals

0.23

0.12

Assists

0.23

0.12

xG

0.30

0.24

xAG

0.41

0.16

Progressive Carries

5.21

4.94

Progressive Passes

4.88

3.61

Total Shots

2.19

2.82

Key Passes

3.07

1.20

Passes into Pen Area

2.51

1.81

Shot-Creating Actions

5.77

4.46

Successful Take-Ons

2.05

1.45

When comparing Edwards’ metrics from last season due to lack of minutes this term with Nuamah’s numbers in 2024/25, you can see Edwards ranks ahead in all but one of the metrics analysed.

Now, this isn’t to say Nuamah’s numbers are poor, as most of them rank very closely, but the extra experience of Edwards does shine through in his underlying numbers and output.

Mauricio Pochettino said back in 2016, that Edwards plays like “the beginning of Messi” with Rob Daly then further reporting this and labelling one of Edwards’ runs against Tottenham as “Messi-like”.

That’s certainly evident in the stats as the English winger is a brilliant dribbler, completing 2.05 take-ons per 90 last season, also completing 5.21 progressive carries per 90, showing his quality to dribble and carry the ball out.

As we mentioned at the beginning, Everton lack shot-creation and whilst Nuamah also has brilliant metrics in these departments, and would prove to be an excellent addition to the Everton squad, Edwards offers a more experienced and ready profile to join and make an instant impact, which could be the difference between Everton’s Premier League survival chances.

Their next James Rodriguez: Everton offered to sign "underrated" PL winner

New Everton manager David Moyes is seeking reinforcements this month, so could the Toffees sign a multiple-Premier League winner on a free?

ByBen Gray Jan 21, 2025

The cricket world reacts to Rohit Sharma’s stunning T20I century in Indore

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Dec-2017

Hitman at it again. Clean and powerful hitting at it's best. Take a bow brother. Double it up now. @ImRo45 #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/k3z00KqYNP

— Suresh Raina (@ImRaina) December 22, 2017

So This is Christmas … the lights are on in the crowd… Fireworks from Rohit and Rahul … and SL showcasing the spirit of giving #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/1R03pfqh65

— Russel Arnold (@RusselArnold69) December 22, 2017

First t 20 200 by an individual and the highest team score, both records in danger of being broken tonight!. @ImRo45 is just painting the big hits like an artist. #INDvsSL

— Ashwin Ravichandran (@ashwinravi99) December 22, 2017

Wow again @ImRo45

— Mitchell McClenaghan (@Mitch_Savage) December 22, 2017

There are a few in the world, but none in India who can catch up with Rohit when he is in this mood. #Rohit

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) December 22, 2017

What a stunning century it was from Rohit Sharma. 35 ball 100. May this purple patch continue. pic.twitter.com/1MsNKfJd0F

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) December 22, 2017

Rohilicious….first individual T20 double hundred is a real possibility. #IndvSL #Indore #DilMangeMore

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) December 22, 2017

Everytime you think you have seen it all, you see something incredible. Today, Rohit Sharma has shown us that. I admit I am gasping.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) December 22, 2017

West Indies openers see off the day and extend their lead to 89

Abhimanyu Bose07-Feb-2023Gary Ballance marked his second coming in Tests – this time for Zimbabwe – with a composed and crucial century that helped his team go from being at risk of being made to follow on to a position from where they could declare the innings with the hope of forcing a result. His unbeaten 137, along with a maiden Test fifty from Brandon Mavuta helped Zimbabwe fight back from a perilous position.Ballance, who played 23 Tests for England and scored four centuries previously, was the rock that held Zimbabwe’s innings together after their solid opening stand on the third day. He was largely untroubled, hitting 12 fours and two sixes in his 231-ball innings, as he put on significant partnerships with the lower-order batters, after initially losing partners in quick succession.Related

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Ballance became only the second cricketer after Kepler Wessels to score Test centuries for two countries, and the third to score a century on Test debut for Zimbabwe.Ballance joined overnight batter Innocent Kaia, who had already reached his half-century on debut, at the start of day four in Bulawayo. But Alzarri Joseph struck twice early in the day to remove Kaia for 67 and Tafadzwa Tsiga for 2.Kemar Roach pegged them back further when he had Brad Evans edging behind, as Zimbabwe lost three wickets for 19 runs.Ballance then put on 45 runs with Wellington Masakadza, but the latter lofted a catch to mid-off trying to play an unnecessary stroke just before lunch.At this point, Zimbabwe still needed 56 runs to avoid the follow-on, with just three wickets in hand. West Indies, with the second new ball due after another 15 balls, had their tails up.But Ballance and Mavuta walked out after lunch and dominated the second session. The two added 121 runs in the session to help Zimbabwe get into a position from where it would be difficult to lose the game.Mavuta, coming into the match with two half-centuries in his last two first class games, started off tentatively and was troubled by Joseph’s pace early on. He survived a run-out scare after a mix-up with Ballance, spared only because Roston Chase had fumbled the ball at short third.Brandon Mavuta scored his maiden Test half-century•Associated PressMavuta was gifted another life when Jason Holder shelled a dolly at mid-off when he miscued a lofted shot off Gudakesh Motie. But soon, he found his bearings and thrashed out a couple of gorgeous drives through cover. He was resolute in defence and put away the bad deliveries with regularity, allowing Ballance to play at his tempo without the pressure of having to farm strike or score quickly.Mavuta, who recorded his maiden five-wicket haul in the Test, brought up his half-century with a drive to sweeper cover in the final session of the day. He was solid in defence after that, but did not take many risks until a short ball from Holder stayed low to clatter into his stumps.Mavuta contributed 53 runs to the 135 that he added with Ballance for the eighth wicket.Zimbabwe decided then that it was no use hanging about and took the aggressive route. Victor Nyauchi hit a first-ball four through covers and thrashed another cover drive and a cut through point before top-edging a pull to Joshua Da Silva off Holder.Ballance also brought out the slog-sweep with more regularity, and was even dropped at deep midwicket, while Richard Ngarava, Zimbabwe’s No. 11, hit a couple of gorgeous lofted straight drives – for a four and a six.Zimbabwe were still trailing by 68 when they declared, giving the bowlers 13 overs in the day to have a go at West Indies’ top order.But Kraigg Brathwaite and Tagenarine Chanderpaul, fresh from recording West Indies’ highest-ever opening stand, were once again stoic at the crease, and saw the day out without any damage to finish the day with a lead of 89.

The recent Harshal Patel example tells us why players need to train for these dismissals

Aditya Prakash12-Apr-2023It is not often that you see a run out at the non-striker’s end. It is even less often that you see a failed run out at the non-striker’s end. Perhaps it is yet more uncommon to be in a situation where five runs are needed off the last over and it is a challenging ask for the batting team in a match where only one other over has gone for fewer runs. We got two out of three of these unlikely possibilities in the last over of the game between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants on Monday.At the core of it lies a trite sentiment expressed by understandably shocked spectators: how on earth could Harshal Patel have missed that run out? That surprise might obscure a more complex, embedded, question: given that Harshal had uncannily perfect execution in that over, how could the run out be the thing he messed up?Let us start by regarding this situation from a more empathetic perspective, borrowing from the study of task-switch costs in psychology.Related

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Sidharth Monga: The spirit of cricket is not a substitute for the laws

In day-to-day life we often perform more than one activity at a time, such as watching a cricket match and tweeting about it. One can easily see how there is an impairment in the performance of either task that results from attempting to multitask. You may miss a magnificent six because you were too caught up in looking at your phone. It may take you several more minutes than usual to compose a tweet because you were distracted by a series of pressure-building dot balls in the match. In cognitive psychology, these different modes of activities are called task sets – representations of associations between information in the world and relevant responses to this information. As one swaps from one task set to another, there are initial impairments to performance – task-switch costs – while the existing task set is inhibited and the new task set is activated.Look back at the final over of the India vs Pakistan T20I World Cup game in 2022. One can think of Mohammed Nawaz’s unprecedented switch to medium pace from his previous three overs of left-arm fingerspin and his subsequent execution failures as a task-switch cost.Pressure can add to these switch-cost effects. In a losing situation – despite a rich history of a tactic or plan working successfully – a player or team might shortsightedly underestimate the effectiveness of existing plans and adopt alternative tactics that might seem relatively appealing under pressure. Moreover, research shows that time pressure itself (caused by a nervous bowler hurrying their rhythm, for instance) amplifies the effect of a switch cost. So pressure impairs performance by making alternative plans more attractive, forcing switch costs and amplifying these costs by causing bowlers to rush.A more fine-grained example of a task switch is the use of bowling variations, which often demand drastic changes in motor coordination. With disciplined practice, good bowlers can disguise variations and switch between deliveries with few flaws in their execution. Bowlers can train themselves to minimise or eliminate the effect of these switch costs between variations by bowling different types of deliveries a lot in net sessions. But in high-pressure situations, switching between different balls, which was so effortless in the nets, can suddenly prove challenging to execute. This is seen in the death overs of just about any T20 game when an intended yorker or flighted, wicket-seeking delivery becomes a full-toss.

Research shows that time pressure itself (caused by a nervous bowler hurrying their rhythm, for instance) amplifies the effect of a switch cost. Pressure impairs performance by making alternative plans look more attractive, forcing switch costs and amplifying these costs by causing bowlers to rush

Harshal has built his name on his death bowling, as was borne out by the fact that the match was not already won in the four balls preceding the failed run-out attempt. Like Dwayne Bravo, his success in this phase of the game rests on his signature dipping, slower yorker. Both these bowlers’ resounding success in the IPL (three purple caps between them) can be attributed not just to the difficulty batters have in hitting their signature deliveries but to how even the failed execution of this delivery – the dipping full toss – is difficult to hit. These players are not necessarily beasts under pressure; their success rests on even their “mistakes” having utility. In other words, just because Harshal can be effective at the death, that does not necessarily say he is invulnerable under pressure and to pressure-mediated switch costs.So, after concentrating his attention on the tasks of clinically bowling yorkers and short balls, Harshal readies himself for the final delivery of the game. Ravi Bishnoi had not been a non-striker to that point in the game, and there was no strong reason for Harshal to proactively keep an eye open for the possibility of Bishnoi leaving his crease early. Of course, Harshal will have had a non-specific awareness that this could occur, given how crucial it was that Lucknow Super Giants took the single.At this point perhaps Harshal simply plots another yorker in light of the relatively tighter field and the conditioning imposed by the previous delivery, which was short. As he gets into position for his run-up, he may well have got into “dipping yorker mode”, a rehearsed, finely tuned choreography – saunter, sprint, leap, release – that he has performed countless times in the nets and in match situations like this one with success.At some point during this sequence of actions, he catches a glimpse of intent from Bishnoi to run early, or perhaps he doesn’t see Bishnoi but quickly decides that there is no risk at this point in attempting a run out. Either way, given that he has already begun his bowling action, there is difficulty inhibiting dipping-yorker mode and therefore difficulty in efficiently adopting “non-striker-run-out mode”. As a result, an execution error occurs and the ball is declared dead.What if the run-out attempt was premeditated? The underlying switch-cost logic still holds. In this case, Harshal is aware that Bishnoi may leave his crease early in light of the game situation. In order to sufficiently fool Bishnoi into believing the ball will be bowled, Harshal launches into a general “bowling mode”, replicating most of the choreography mentioned above. In trying to realistically bait the non-striker, he devotes his attention to bowling mode. This makes the eventual inhibition of this mode difficult and subsequently leads to a failure in executing the secondary non-striker-run-out mode. The magnitude of this cost is perhaps amplified further by the implicit time pressure caused by rushing when nervous. In a sense, the razor-sharp focus on execution that preceded the run-out attempt amplified its error rate.The run-out action is not similar to anything else a bowler does routinely on the field, which is why it needs practice to effect smoothly•Patrick Hamilton/AFP/Getty ImagesWhat distinguishes the run-out attempt is that it is likely not something Harshal has practised to the extent he has practised actually bowling. More specifically, it is unlikely that coaches ever have had players practise disengaging from their run-up for a purpose beyond just stopping. As a result, most players likely do not have the required training required to switch without cost between the task of bowling and the task of running out the non-striker.Effecting a run out at the non-striker’s end is mechanistically among the most anomalous actions in a bowler’s repertoire. It is the least similar to any other action he routinely performs. This further amplifies the difficulty in switching from bowling mode to non-striker-run-out mode, relative to, say, switching from yorker mode to bouncer mode. Most (but not all) recent prominent examples of run outs at the non-striker’s end were effected by spinners, who have relatively modular and slower run-ups compared to fast bowlers. This provides them more time and opportunity to disengage from bowling mode and engage non-striker-run-out mode. In the heat of a game – especially for fast bowlers with quick, highly linear, stereotyped run-ups – run outs at the non-striker’s end are hard and should be practised like any other skill within the game.Unfortunately, this need is hindered by prominent coaches, captains, and other authority figures in the game not recognising non-striker run outs as a legitimate form of dismissal, to the point that it is suggested that should a player effect such a dismissal, the captain can opt to void the appeal.This confusion within the cricket community – which exists despite how clear the laws of the game are on the issue – may discourage players from training for a legitimate form of dismissal, leading to errors in execution during the moment of truth. Harshal’s own hesitation reflects the hesitation many in cricket have towards non-striker run outs generally. An event like this botched non-striker run out can indirectly serve as a reminder that teams need a full commitment to the laws of cricket, not to some nebulous “spirit of cricket”. This sentiment should not just be reflected in words and thoughts but also in training regimes and strategies, just like with any other element of cricket play.

India’s emerging fast-bowling depth and Zimbabwe’s lack of fight in the 50-over format were among the most striking features of the short, sharp tour

Alagappan Muthu and Karthik Krishnaswamy24-Jun-2016Lack of 50-over fight a worry for Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe won the first T20I and came within one hit of winning the third T20I. But they didn’t come anywhere near winning anything in the ODI series, and were bowled out for 168, 126 and 123 in the three matches. It showed that it takes a far wider range of qualities, technical and mental, to compete over 100 overs and that Zimbabwe, in this series at least, lacked those qualities. It was a little perplexing to watch, because this was more or less the same set of players that had given India a scare during the ODI series last year.Most of the issues stemmed from what seemed like a soft-centred batting line-up. A series of poor decisions from the batsmen led to a reasonably promising 106 for 3 turning into 126 all out in the second ODI, and a similar collapse in the third ODI saw Zimbabwe lose their last seven wickets for 19 runs.Zimbabwe’s batting leaders need to step up
Elton Chigumbura has played 202 ODIs, Hamilton Masakadza 168, Vusi Sibanda 127, Chamu Chibhabha 96, Sikandar Raza and Malcolm Waller 57 each. Throw in Sean Williams (96) and Craig Ervine (48), who missed a bulk of the series with injuries, and Zimbabwe have an experienced batting line-up. But through the ODI series, they failed to make use of that experience, and kept throwing their wickets away. Masakadza fell to a couple of soft dismissals, Sibanda and Raza played daft shots after putting on a promising partnership in the second ODI, and Chigumbura seemed to be batting at least one slot too low. For Zimbabwe to turn their ODI fortunes around, they will have to start by batting through 50 overs consistently, and that will need their best batsmen to re-learn the art of building innings.Ntini has raw material to work with
It is not known how long Makhaya Ntini’s stint as head coach will last, but he is likely to remain in charge of Zimbabwe’s bowlers for a fairly long time. He has a decent group of fast bowlers to work with: Donald Tiripano and Neville Madziva showed promise in the T20I series, Tendai Chatara seems to be gradually returning to his pre-injury best, while Tinashe Panyangara should return in due course from his back injury. The spin group doesn’t look bad either: Graeme Cremer is now a firmly established, international-class legspinner, Wellington Masakadza showed a lot of promise during the World T20, and Tendai Chisoro has shown his left-arm spin can hold up to the pressure of bowling with the new ball. Lots of promise, then, but Zimbabwe will need two or three of these names to go one step beyond promise and become fully-rounded operators at the top level. Can Ntini help them take that step?India’s fast-bowling depth
Jasprit Bumrah’s stock delivery comes into the right-hander. But in Harare, he was able to straighten the ball too. His style of bowling – hitting the deck – minimises swing through the air, so being able to move it both ways off the pitch is an impressive development.Barinder Sran’s success in Harare was old-fashioned. He pitched the ball up and made it swing. A left-arm fast bowler almost always threatens the outside edge of a right-hander from over the wicket. Sran’s inswinger added to that threat, although some of his wickets may have been the result of bowler-friendly conditions.Dhawal Kulkarni had a fine IPL – 14 of his 18 wickets came in the Powerplay, and he reprised that threat in Zimbabwe. The wicket-to-wicket lines and back-of-a-length preference makes him hard to hit when there is help on offer.All of that meant India’s limited-overs captain MS Dhoni was quite happy. “We can proudly say we have 10-12 bowlers who can play for the country,” he said.Takeaways, with a pinch of salt
Nine Indians were introduced to international cricket on this tour. KL Rahul became the first of his countrymen to hit a century on ODI debut; he got to the milestone with a six over long-on. His free-flowing strokeplay bolstered his argument that he wasn’t just a Test match specialist. But how much weight should be put on performances against a Zimbabwe side that kept self-destructing?Ordinarily, an emerging player with 196 runs in three ODIs would think he has a strong chance to continue playing for his country. And Rahul has already been pushing Shikhar Dhawan hard in Test cricket, but has his work of chasing down tiny totals and playing with very little pressure exerted by the opposition good enough to put him into a full-strength Indian XI?Faiz Fazal was handed an ODI debut at the age of 30 and he made a half-century to mark the occasion but it is difficult to see him getting further chances. Kedar Jadhav hit his maiden ODI hundred on the last Zimbabwe tour, had to wait for this one to resume his 50-over career and is still waiting to face his first ball in the format since July 2015.India went to Zimbabwe looking, among other things, to find batsmen who could take charge in the slog overs. They lost one match – the first T20 – where the middle order needed to step up and returned home with Nos. 4 through 11 facing only one ball in the entire ODI series.

It would be fair to say that this season has not gone even remotely to plan for Tottenham Hotspur.

The Lilywhites have endured a mountain of injuries, an abysmal Premier League campaign, and following their thrashing on Thursday night, they’ve only got the Europa League and FA Cup to save their season.

However, with all that said, there have been reasons to be positive in recent weeks, such as their late but nonetheless impressive business in the transfer market.

Ange Postecoglou now has three more players to choose from than he did before the window opened, with Mathys Tel undoubtedly the most exciting, although the Frenchman is still worth millions less than one of his new teammates.

Tottenham's January business

In somewhat unusual fashion, Tottenham kicked off their winter transfer business early this year, signing Czech goalkeeper Antonín Kinský from Slavia Prague for £12.5m on January 5th.

The 21-year-old shot-stopper was excellent on his debut, keeping a clean sheet against Liverpool, and while he has been a little shaky of late, there is every chance he could develop into the club’s future number one.

The next transfer wasn’t completed until early this month when Daniel Levy and Co finally addressed the team’s dire need for a centre-back by agreeing to a short-term loan with an obligation to buy at £20.9m for RC Lens star Kevin Danso.

The 24-capped Austrian international has been a key figure for the French side who made it into the Champions League last season by finishing runners-up in Ligue 1 the campaign prior.

Moreover, while the scoreline would perhaps suggest otherwise, his individual performance against Liverpool wasn’t too bad.

Last but certainly not least, Spurs finally secured a loan deal with an option to buy at £45m for the exceptionally gifted Tel, despite him initially turning them down last Friday.

The French teenager wasn’t getting much game time for Bayern Munich this season, but last year, under Thomas Tuchel, he was spectacular, racking up a tally of ten goals and six assists in just 1406 minutes of first-team football, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 87.87 minutes.

There can be no doubt that, in the Sarcelles-born dynamo, Spurs have one of the most exciting talents in world football, but even so, there is already a player in the squad, signed by Antonio Conte, who is currently worth millions more.

The Spurs star worth millions more than Tel

Conte’s tenure in North London might not have been particularly successful or positive, but he was responsible for bringing several talented first-teamers to the club, such as Desiny Udogie, Djed Spence and Pedro Porro.

However, the player we are talking about is none other than Dejan Kulusevski, who joined the Lilywhites on a loan deal under the Italian manager, which was then made permanent under Postecoglou for around £25m.

Just a year and a half later, and according to Football Transfers, the Swedish superstar is now worth up to a whopping €65.5m, which is about £55m, or £10m more than the fee Spurs could pay for Tel come the end of the season.

While that is undoubtedly a lofty valuation, we’d argue that, at least this season, the Stockholm-born dynamo has more than justified it.

For example, in 38 appearances for the Australian manager this season, which has seen him play in central midfield, attacking midfield and off the right of a front three, the “world-class” international, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has scored nine goals and provided nine assists.

Appearances

38

Minutes

2760′

Goals

9

Assists

9

Goal Involvements per Match

0.47

Minutes per Goal Involvement

153.33

That means the 24-year-old is currently averaging a goal involvement every 2.11 games, which is seriously impressive for a team languishing where they are in the league table.

Ultimately, Spurs have got themselves a truly sensational prospect in Tel, but if he is to join the club on a permanent deal in the summer, he’ll have to seriously impress to see his valuation reach Kulusevski’s.

Alongside Kinsky: Spurs ace who lost 10/12 duels ruined their trophy hopes

Spurs were thumped at Anfield as their dreams of Wembley faded away.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Feb 7, 2025