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Curran’s release from England Test bubble tempered by visiting duo at The Oval

ECB Reporters Network22-Aug-2020Grant Stewart made 58 and Harry Podmore scored a fine 42-ball 47 from No. 8 as the pair added 73 for the seventh wicket and Kent reached a determined 295 for 8 after being put in by Surrey on the opening day of their Bob Willis Trophy fixture at the Kia Oval.Sam Curran returned from England Test duty to take 3 for 65 for Surrey but it was the lower-order partnership between Podmore and Stewart that ultimately edged the day Kent’s way after a battling performance.There were also half-century stands for the second and fifth wickets, respectively by Daniel Bell-Drummond and Jack Leaning and then by Marcus O’Riordan and Darren Stevens, to frustrate Surrey’s attack.At 99 for 4 in mid-afternoon, however, it looked like it would be Surrey’s day after Bell-Drummond fell for a fighting 111-ball 45 – leg-before to Adam Finch – and Ollie Robinson was also pinned in front for 17 by Curran.But O’Riordan, a contemporary of England’s new batting star Zak Crawley when they were both at Tonbridge School, reached 30 from 65 balls while veteran allrounder Stevens made 24, before edging Rikki Clarke to Ben Foakes behind the stumps, as the pair led a counter-attack with a stand of 55 in 13 overs.And then, after O’Riordan had thin-edged Curran to Foakes in the second over after tea, pushing at one angled across him from the left-arm seamer, Podmore arrived to play an excellent knock that included six fours and a big six sweetly struck into the new Peter May Stand construction site off Amar Virdi.Stewart also drove offspinner Virdi for a straight six and hit five fours in his 103-ball innings, before being eighth out in the day’s 87th over when he went down the pitch to Virdi, missed an attempted lofted drive and was bowled leg stump.The 22-year-old O’Riordan, just nine days older than Crawley, impressed in what is just his fifth first-class game. He has been getting his Kent chance in this abbreviated summer largely because of the absences of Crawley and other senior players, and despite his offspin being reportedly his strongest cricketing suit he has looked very comfortable taking various top-order batting roles in the past month.In his fourth Willis Trophy appearance, O’Riordan came in at 99 for 3 and resisted gamely, hitting five fours before departing at 170 for 6. The efforts of Podmore, Stewart and Matt Milnes, who finished on 22 not out after a handy 49-run stand with Stewart, then ensured that Kent were marginally the happier at stumps.Earlier Kent had fought hard to get to 56 for 1 by lunch, with Bell-Drummond joined by Leaning in a partnership of 58 in 25 overs after Jordan Cox had gone in the ninth over, leg-before to a Matt Dunn yorker.Leaning eventually went for 21, chipping Curran to mid on off a leading edge in the sixth over after lunch, and just before his dismissal by Finch, acting captain Bell-Drummond was hit on the shoulder by the impressive 20-year-old paceman, making his second Surrey appearance on loan from Worcestershire.Finch, though, then had to wait until deep into the final session to get his second scalp, that of Podmore who carved to backward point.Wicketkeeper Foakes, like Curran, was playing his first BWT game after being released from England’s bio-secure Test bubble but Surrey were without fast bowler Morne Morkel, who picked up a niggle in the defeat against Hampshire at Arundel last week.Kent, without Joe Denly and Sam Billings – who have joined England’s white-ball squad – and Heino Kuhn, who is on paternity leave, have given a first-class debut to 20-year-old paceman Nathan Gilchrist, signed from Somerset earlier this summer, and who finished on 1 not out.

He also mentioned how Hanuma Vihari took up opening despite being a middle-order batsman

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jul-2020Virat Kohli has highlighted the “character” of Mayank Agarwal as a factor that “stood out” for him during India’s tour of Australia in 2018-19, where Agarwal made his Test debut. In Part 2 of a chat with Agarwal on , Kohli explained what impressed him the most about the opener.The visitors had dropped Shikhar Dhawan for the Test series and then lost Prithvi Shaw to injury in a warm-up match, leaving them with only Murali Vijay and KL Rahul as experienced names in the line-up.But after both openers failed to deliver in the Adelaide as well the Perth Tests, India switched to a completely new opening pair for the third Test in Melbourne. Despite the series being tied at 1-1, Kohli believed Agarwal and Hanuma Vihari – who started his career batting at No. 6 and had never opened before – were up for the challenge of facing the new ball in Australia.On getting someone new and inexperienced into the side midway into a series – like Kohli did with Agarwal in Australia then – he stressed that one’s approach to the game mattered the most. “I had seen you play for RCB [in the IPL]. I knew even then you played international bowlers with absolute conviction and would take them on. You were performing well in first-class for a while and in a dominating way [as well],” Kohli said.He stated that Agarwal being positive and going about things in the right manner also worked in his favour, especially “when there was a requirement”. “That is something that always stood out with you and when you had scored so many runs, it was a no-brainer for you to come in when there was a requirement. But it was your character that stood out the most for me than the number of runs you had scored because I knew you’d be fearless and play without a baggage and thinking what might happen,” Kohli mentioned.ALSO READ: Virat Kohli credits Sachin Tendulkar for turnaround after dismal 2014 England tourOn Vihari, Kohli was quick to point out how he immediately took up the opener’s slot despite starting out in the middle-order.”We had seen the way Vihari played – he would come towards the ball, he was brave and he was sure of himself – and in the first opportunity that we presented to him to open the innings, he said, ‘I’m going to do it’. That is what matters to me the most. A guy who wants to get into the tough situations will come out either holding his head high or learning.”Eventually, India won the Melbourne Test by 137 runs to take a 2-1 lead and following a draw in the next match in Sydney, became the first Asian side to win a Test series in Australia.On being asked by Agarwal as to what routine he followed before getting ready to face every ball, Kohli responded that that he tried analysing “everything about the bowler”. “If he bowled a certain delivery, then was there a difference in his body language? Did he do something different in his run up and his wrists? Was the arm speed different or was he holding the ball [in] a different way?”He described it as an “amazing feeling” when he hit the bowler after perfectly judging his methods. “[If] I’ve seen the ball position and I know where the ball is going to come, that’s the most amazing feeling as the bowler actually bowls there [where you want him to] – then you just smash it and it’s an unbelievable feeling. But for that, you need to be ready and at peace with yourself so that the fear [of getting out] goes away.”

The Argentinian FA have reportedly submitted a complaint to FIFA after seeing their last-minute equaliser against Morocco ruled out by VAR.

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Argentina equalised in the 106th minutePitch invasion forced the match to be suspendedVAR cancelled the goal after the restart WHAT HAPPENED?

Trouble was brewing even before kick-off as Argentine players and the national anthem were booed by the spectators at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in St-Etienne in a seeming response to Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez's alleged racist chants against France during their Copa America victory celebrations. However, things took a turn for the worse when the Albiceleste found their equaliser in the dying minutes of stoppage time.

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Following the leveller, Morocco fans stormed the pitch and the match, which appeared to be heading for a 2-2 draw, was abruptly halted. The players from both teams were taken off the field, and were gone for more than an hour. However, their dramatic comeback, from being 2-0 down, was short-lived as VAR intervened and the semi-automated offside technology determined that Cristian Medina was offside in the build-up to the goal, leading to it being disallowed over 60 minutes after it was scored.

DID YOU KNOW?

According to TyC Sports journalist, , the AFA has submitted a formal complaint to the FIFA disciplinary commission. The complaint focuses on the handling of the match and the pitch invasion, which led to an extensive delay and widespread confusion.

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The Argentina-Morocco match at the Paris 2024 Olympics will be remembered for its chaotic scenes and the contentious VAR decision that changed its fate. Nonetheless, following this shock defeat, Argentina must bounce back in their upcoming fixtures to keep their Olympic hopes alive. They are set to face Iraq on July 27, followed by their final group-stage match against Ukraine on July 30.

Rangers and Philippe Clement may well have just been handed a major blow for their squad planning next season, if the latest reports are to be believed.

Rangers at summer crossroads

It has been a successful season at Ibrox thus far, with the Glasgow giants able to overtake major rivals Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership if they win their game in hand against Dundee.

They boast the meanest defence in the division, having conceded just 16 goals all campaign, and although they limped out in Europe their domestic form has been excellent to date.

Rangers ace definitely out vs Hibs and "unlikely" to make squad for Celtic

It’s a major blow with the Old Firm derby looming large.

ByBen Browning Mar 28, 2024

But this summer could prove to be a major obstacle to continued success. This comes as there has been plenty of speculation around several of Rangers' star men. Both James Tavernier and Jack Butland have been linked with moves away from the club, while a whole host of stars are set to see their contracts expire and potentially leave Ibrox for absolutely nothing ahead of the new campaign.

The likes of Borna Barisic and Kemar Roofe are among those who can leave for free this summer in what would represent a major hole in Rangers' squad.

Out of contract this summer

Transfer value

John Lundstram

£6m

Kemar Roofe

£1.5m

Ryan Jack

£1m

Leon Balogun

£200k

Borna Barisic

£3.75m

Jon McLaughlin

£200k

There is still time to negotiate new deals with some of their stars, but other clubs can negotiate with the soon-to-be free agents already, and that is not doing Rangers any favours.

Lundstram approach approved in blow for Clement

Now, an update has been forthcoming on the future of John Lundstram, who is one of those free to leave this summer as it stands. Lundstram joined the Ibrox side as a free agent in 2021 after his contract with Sheffield United expired, and has been a mainstay in the heart of midfield ever since. So far this season, he has started 26 Scottish Premiership games and has only been among the substitutes on one occasion.

It was previously reported that although Clement is personally keen for the 30-year-old to remain at the club, contract talks had "stalled" over a new deal and the possibility that he walks away is now very real despite the manager's best efforts to keep him.

To make matters worse, the latest update will only fuel that thought, as it is being reported that Turkish side Trabzonspor have readied a "bumper contract" for the veteran. As per Turkish sources (via the Daily record), Trabzonspor boss Adbullah Avci has "approved" the offer, with Rangers teammate Borna Barisic also on his shopping list. They add that a "significant" contract will now be tabled to tempt Lundstram to Turkey.

It remains to be seen whether he will want to accept the offer to leave Ibrox, but it is a worrying sign for Rangers given the uncertain summer that lies ahead for Clement's side.

The head of NCA believes that come October, the Covid-19 impact will hit Indian cricket more

Shashank Kishore31-Jul-2020Rahul Dravid, the former India captain, has all but ruled out the possibility of a full 2020-21 domestic season in India due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He stressed on the need for the BCCI to prioritise the tournaments they want to conduct in the limited time frame that could be available from after October-November.For context, a total of 2036 games, across various age groups in the men’s and women’s category, were played during the 2019-20 season. Under normal circumstances, July would have marked the start of the domestic season in India. Many associations, like TNCA and KSCA, have earlier used the window to conduct highly-competitive first-class matches in preparation for the domestic season.With India’s metro cities still under some sort of restrictions post the Covid-19 lockdown, associations have either indefinitely postponed or cancelled their tournaments, leaving hundreds of domestic cricketers uncertain. The National Cricket Academy, which Dravid heads, hasn’t resumed operations, and it’s unclear yet as to when a formal SOP will be released for the resumption of domestic cricket in the country.”Hopefully if we’re able to find a level of cure or vaccine even towards the end of the year, we’ll be in a position to be able to complete, even if not the whole domestic season, but large parts of it,” Dravid said in a webinar hosted by . “Obviously prioritising what that would be is important so that young boys and girls don’t miss out on cricket for a year. We’ve been lucky so far [that the pandemic started in March towards the end of BCCI’s domestic season], but come October, things might start getting stressful.”A few international tournaments have been cancelled and repositioned, and people can always find time and place for that, but once October comes around, that’s when I think it’ll start hitting us more. The next domestic season, for a lot of our young domestic players – juniors, Under-16s, Under-19s and women cricketers – start in October. If we aren’t able to get back to a level of normalcy from then – it could take longer – we’ll see the real impact on our domestic cricket and grassroots cricket. This year is probably more important for someone in his final year of Under-19s, than say for someone who is 23-24.”ALSO READ: England tour cancelled, T20 Challenge in doubt, no selection panel: What’s next for India women?Dravid welcomed the resumption of international cricket with the England-West Indies series last month, but emphasised it may not be easy to create similar biosecure bubbles in domestic or junior cricket. The senior men’s domestic calendar, for example, has 38 teams criss-crossing the length and breadth of the country for matches. In some cases, teams from the North East host matches at neutral venues citing infrastructural challenges. Such conditions will leave BCCI with several logistical challenges in hosting domestic tournaments.”It was nice to watch some live cricket with the England-West Indies series. They did a great job of ensuring the kind of environment they created,” he said. “I heard Jason Holder say much later that it was tough being in that [biosecure] environment for more than two months. But it was important that we got something going, and great that it got going without a hitch. But my worry is that in domestic or junior cricket, it [biobubbles] may not be easy to create.”Dravid also went to great lengths to explain the importance of IPL taking place for the well-being of the cricket ecosystem in India. He was specifically asked about the “BCCI’s desperation to host IPL” at a time when many world events, like the Tokyo Olympics, have been postponed.”I’m sure leagues like the IPL will be able to put in the kind of biosecure environments required, like what EPL, Bundesliga or what ECB did with the England-West Indies series,” he said. “I’m sure every effort will be made to do that. Let’s be honest. There is a lot of revenue that rides with tournaments like the IPL. I know if you’re cynical about it, you can only look at the money that the big players make or maybe the franchises or BCCI make, but where does that money go? It goes down to state associations, in conducting Under-19 and Under-16 tournaments, so a lot of the revenue associated with the game.”The fact of the matter is, none of the domestic sport actually generates any revenue. In fact, it costs a lot of money to hold. So if you want to give young boys and girls the opportunity to play, if you want to give them opportunities to express their talent, money has got to come from somewhere. The reality is, to conduct tournaments and develop high-class athletes, it costs money; there’s a financial element involved.”It’s easy to say we’re conducting [the IPL] it only because of the huge finances riding on it. I would like to think, without compromising on safety and ensuring all the SOPs are in place to conduct a safe and secure tournament, the money generated from the IPL filters all through our sport and helps fund junior and domestic cricket. That is why sporting organisations are keen to conduct these tournaments. They understand if we don’t have that revenue, not only will that tournament suffer but the ripple effect will be felt all the way down.”

Football fans want more; it's an intrinsic part of supporting a team, enjoying the highs and enduring the lows. There is certainly a sense at West Ham United that the reigning Europa Conference League champions could go to another level.

Seventh in the Premier League and preparing for a quarter-final clash in the Europa League against high-flying Bayer Leverkusen, David Moyes' job, on the surface level, is secure and his squad is in a good place, improved after impressive summer recruitment to combat the mammoth sale of Declan Rice.

But there's an unmissable ebb and flow to this team, and despite the success of forward-thinking players like Jarrod Bowen, Muhammed Kudus and Lucas Paqueta, there's a lot to be desired in attacking play.

It's better than it once was. For. Sure. West Ham have suffered some testing times regarding forwards in recent years, with Albian Ajeti one of the biggest underperformers.

Why West Ham signed Albian Ajeti

West Ham completed the transfer of Switzerland international Ajeti for around £8m back in August 2019 in what looked to be a shrewd deal, the 22-year-old having scored 21 goals and supplied 11 assists in his homeland the previous campaign.

To say he fell by the wayside would be offensive to the term. Ajeti was awful, scoring and assisting nothing from 12 West Ham displays and being harangued for his "lazy" attitude by pundit Frank McAvennie.

He was signed during the same window as Sebastien Haller, who joined for a club-record £45m fee at the time, and while the Ivorian can only go down as a flop himself after scoring 14 goals and adding three assists across 54 matches, sold due to an unwillingness to adapt to Moyes' managerial style, Ajeti, who earned a pretty pay packet at £60k-per-week, is at the bottom of the barrel.

Matches played

9

Matches started

0

Minutes per game

17

Goals

0

Assists

0

Pass completion

80%

Touches per game

3.3

Shots per game

0.3

Key passes per game

0.2

Dribbles per game

0.0

Tackles per game

0.1

Duels won per game

0.2

Scottish Premiership giants Celtic swooped in to end Ajeti's Irons nightmare and secured his services for around £5m, saving West Ham from a severe loss, though the Swiss' £60k-per-week wages in England do underscore how abject an asset he was.

Ajeti's transfer valuation in 2024

Ajeti has not enjoyed much success since leaving West Ham, and while his football improved at Celtic, scoring nine goals from 48 appearances, the Basel-born player has never revived his goalscoring ability and has actually netted just 14 times since joining West Ham way back when.

As per Football Transfers' player valuation model, Ajeti is worth just £860k, which marks a staggering 89% depreciation. It's as if his short stay in London snipped the core of his talent, sent his career into a spin.

While Ajeti didn't cost the club too much during his short stint in east London, largely thanks to Celtic's ill-advised move, he dramatically failed to impress and joins a litany of misfires up front for West Ham, Haller very much included.

The fact that his market value has nosedived to its present lowly figure merely illustrates the fall of a once-promising prospect.

Market Movers

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

Pep Guardiola is desperate for goalkeeper Ederson to remain at Manchester City as Saudi clubs seek his signature.

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Ederson considering leaving CityGuardiola wants to keep BrazilianOrtega would become number oneWHAT HAPPENED?

Ederson has been hotly-linked with a move to Al-Ittihad throughout the summer and is believed to be interested in a move to Saudi Arabia. It has been reported that Ederson was disappointed with the praise his deputy Stefan Ortega received following the Brazilian's injury that kept him out of the final stages of the season. Despite this, Guardiola has not given up hope of keeping Ederson at the club.

AdvertisementGettyWHAT GUARDIOLA SAID

Hoping to persuade the keeper to stay, Guardiola said: "I wish with the bottom of my heart Eddie will continue with us… I would love him to stay. I cannot imagine our processes succeeding these last seasons without him. He is an important figure in the locker room."

DID YOU KNOW?

Since joining City from Benfica in 2017, Ederson has won a total of 17 trophies including six Premier League titles, one Champions League, one Club World Cup, two FA Cups and four League Cups. Should the goalkeeper depart for Saudi, he will leave the club as one their most-decorated players.

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Should a transfer to Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia materialise, Ederson could join a side that boasts the likes of Karim Benzema, Moussa Diaby and N'Golo Kante. He could be followed to Saudi by team-mate Kevin De Bruyne whose future remains in the balance. Meanwhile, City will likely stick with Ortega in goal as their number one and seek a new back-up.

Over the past few years, Crystal Palace have arguably been one of the most successful Premier League clubs in the transfer market.

Their recruitment strategy has seemingly kept them in the league for a sustained period, but they will hope their latest acquisition, Oliver Glasner, can take them one step further.

Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi, and Joachim Andersen are all examples of absolute bargains, but the Eagles also have had some misses among the hits.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at one player who’s costing the club millions via his wage, even earning more than Guehi.

Marc Guehi’s Salary

The summer of 2021 saw a young, promising centre-half leave Chelsea to join Palace in a deal worth £18m, which looks like an absolute steal today.

Since moving to Selhurst Park, the 23-year-old has developed into one of the most reliable defenders in the division, with his performances earning him the captain’s armband and an international call-up for England.

Unfortunately, the number six is out injured at the moment after being forced off early against Brighton & Hove Albion last month, but he’s still started 22 matches in the league this campaign.

Nonetheless, considering he’s such a vital player for Palace, his wage being at just £50k-per-week seems like an astute piece of business, especially when you consider the impact of one individual who’s earning more.

One of Roy Hodgson's worst signings is burning a wage at Crystal Palace

One of the signings which Roy Hodgson made has been burning a wage since joining Crystal Palace.

ByZak Anderton Mar 3, 2024 Jairo Riedewald’s wage at Palace

In 2017, 20-year-old Jairo Riedewald moved to Palace for a fee of £7.9m, which saw him play under his former boss Frank de Boer in England.

However, it wasn’t exactly the perfect start to life in England for the Netherlands ace, who started just 11 Premier League games over his first three seasons at the club.

That said, the former Ajax prospect did feature far more heavily in the 2020/21 campaign, where he played 33 top-flight matches at the heart of the Eagles midfield.

Fast forward to this season, and he’s started just twice, which is his best run of starts in three years, with his total tally in the Premier League being just three starts in the last three seasons.

But the biggest concern surrounding Riedewald is his wage, which sees him earn £55k per week, which is higher than Guehi, equating to £2.9m per season.

Olise, Henderson, Eze

£100k

Edouard

£90k

Clyne, Andersen

£80k

Lerma, Doucoure

£70k

Riedewald, Richards

£55k

As can be seen in the table above, this puts him not far off the top earners in the Palace squad, and considering his lack of minutes, it’s fair to say that he’s simply rinsing the club.

Having said that, with the number 44’s contract set to expire in June this year, it seems that Riedewald will be on his way out of the club for good, with Glasner expected to let him walk for free.

Nevertheless, it’s clear that the signing of the versatile Dutch player has been nothing short of a disaster, with him failing to impress under any manager since 2017.

Lionel Messi’s iconic celebration from 2017 has been recreated at Santiago Bernabeu, with streamer flaunting a Barcelona No.10 shirt.

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Argentine scored legendary Clasico goalCelebrated in front of the home supportFellow countryman has now done the sameWHAT HAPPENED?

During a Clasico clash between Barca and Real Madrid, Argentine superstar Messi snatched a dramatic stoppage-time winner that sealed a 3-2 victory for the visitors. As emotion spilled out of the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, he whipped off his jersey.

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Messi proceeded to stand in front of the home support with his shirt outstretched – allowing his name and number to be highlighted to those that needed no reminder as to who had found the target. Images of that celebration have gone down in football folklore.

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Argentine streamer 'La Cobra' has emulated the efforts of his fellow countryman during a boxing exhibition in the Spanish capital put together by Ibai Llanos. He was awarded the win in his meeting with Guanyar, allowing him to grab a Barcelona jersey and remind Madridistas of a day that they would rather forget.

Warwickshire director of sport says it’s “only human nature” for players and staff to worry about jobs

Matt Roller12-May-2020Everyone working in cricket is “in the firing line” as the English game comes to terms with the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting financial fallout, according to Warwickshire’s sport director, Paul Farbrace.No professional cricket will be played in the UK until July 1 at the earliest as things stand, and while the ECB’s plans to host internationals behind closed doors were boosted on Monday as the government’s latest strategy indicated provisional support, the prospects of counties playing in front of fans this summer appear to be slim.Farbrace, who joined Warwickshire last year after five years as England’s assistant coach, told ESPNcricinfo that “there are going to be some tough decisions to make” over the coming months, as counties face up to the possibility of a full season without cricket.ALSO READ: Cautious PCB open to possibility of touring England”There’s no doubt that cricket is going to have to look very carefully and closely at itself and work out what the best way forward it,” he said. “Every single one of us is in the firing line – it doesn’t matter what position you’re in, every single club will look at its financial situation and work out what the best thing is to do.”The game is really in a tough place. The ECB have been fantastic, very consistent in their communication to clubs, and the support they’ve given financially across the board has been excellent.”But we all know that the ECB doesn’t have endless pots of money, and we all know that the game is taking a massive hit. All the time England aren’t playing, and Sky aren’t getting what they want, which is live cricket to show, there is going to be a knock-on effect across the board.”There will be 134 male players out of contract at the end of this season, while female players who were expecting to become professional this summer with one of the ECB’s 40 new contracts, supplemented by their Hundred deals, have been left without the anticipated source of income.While discussions between the PCA and various stakeholders are ongoing, it seems inevitable that counties will have to cut costs over the winter, and with opportunities to prove themselves likely to be scarce, many players could face unemployment at the end of the season. “Normally it’s black and white: you’re judged on performance, runs and wickets are your currency,” Sussex opener Luke Wells said last month. “But if we play no red-ball cricket whatsoever, what happens?”Farbrace said that it was “only human nature” for players and staff to look ahead to the prospect of end-of-year appraisals fearing the worst.”It has crossed my mind, and it’ll have crossed the mind of every director of cricket and coach in the game,” he said. “It’s a big thing. We know that they are player in the last year of their contracts who are not getting the opportunity to earn another one at this stage.”And with every passing week, and every pound that’s being lost from the game because of no cricket [being played], everybody knows more clearly that there are going to be some tough decisions to make. There’s a lot of us within the game that earn our living and pay our bills from cricket, and there could be a lot of changes going forward.”Ultimately, what we want is to come out of it with 18 first-class counties, and as many people as possible to still be in their jobs. Nobody has a crystal ball. There’s been a bit of encouragement in the last few days but we have to understand that 300 people [in the UK] still lost their lives yesterday – that’s the sobering fact.”Farbrace also fears that the game may have missed the opportunity to make the most of a watershed 2019 summer which featured a World Cup win and a dramatic Ashes series, and is desperate for sport to return even if it has to be behind closed doors.”I genuinely worry about the state of the game, and whether we can build on what was a fantastic year for English cricket. We’ve had the women and now the men with the World Cup – there was going to be a lot of money spent this year across the game. It’s important that we get that momentum going again, and we get people really feeling part of the game.”There had never been a better time to cash in and keep interest in the game going on the back of last summer. Even if England have to play behind closed doors, I don’t really mind – I think at the moment quite a few of us would watch a five-a-side game of cricket in a car park, we’re that desperate.”It’s brilliant that Sky have been showing stuff like the 2005 Ashes, but I know the result. You can only watch it for 20 minutes. The whole beauty of sport is not knowing what’s going to happen, the World Cup final, the Stokes innings at Headingley last year, the Buttler innings at Old Trafford in 2018, the narrative of Leachy in the Ashes. The sooner we have something that we don’t know the result of, the better.”We need to think about wellbeing, and sport does give you a lift – it’s the most important of the unimportant things. If it has to be behind closed doors on TV, so be it. If a few hundred people can watch it at the ground, even better. But we have to be sensible, and we’re not going to do anything that will put people in jeopardy: if we can see that it’s safe, then we obviously want to see sport played again.”