While Lehmann lauded O’Keefe, who had returns of 6 for 35 in both innings, he was also fulsome in his praise for Nathan Lyon

Brydon Coverdale26-Feb-2017Steve O’Keefe might not strike fear into the hearts of batsman like Mitchell Johnson did at his pomp, but not since Johnson scythed through England at Adelaide Oval in 2013 has an Australian bowler dismantled the opposition as quickly as O’Keefe did on the second day in Pune.Such was the observation of Australia’s coach, Darren Lehmann, who hailed O’Keefe as “exceptional” in delivering Australia a drought-breaking win on Indian soil. The last time Australia won a Test in India, back in 2004, Lehmann was part of the batting order; this time he was watching on from the dressing room, and liking almost all of what he saw.From putting up a competitive 260 in the first innings to bettering that total in the second innings, Australia’s batsmen found a way to outperform their Indian counterparts on a highly challenging pitch. But the defining period of the game occurred on day two, when O’Keefe snared three wickets in an over and six in the space of 4.1-overs.”An exceptional spell – I haven’t seen that since Mitchell Johnson in the Ashes with England in Adelaide when he tore them apart,” Lehmann said after Australia’s triumph within three days. “We took 7 for 11 and that obviously turned the game.”Johnson’s memorable spell in Adelaide also began with three wickets in an over, and later in the same spell he was on a hat-trick, at which point he had collected five wickets in 18 deliveries. Johnson’s speed and aggression troubled England; O’Keefe’s accuracy and natural variations caused chaos in the minds of the Indian batsmen.”Twelve-for, 6 for 35 in both innings is pretty special,” Lehmann said. “You always hope don’t you, as a player. I actually thought Nathan Lyon bowled just as well, to be perfectly honest. Nathan’s been under pressure from a lot of sources throughout the subcontinent, myself included. I thought he was outstanding in this game. He was brilliant, so both spinners did the job, but Steven was exceptional getting the rewards.”Although O’Keefe was a clear stand-out for the Man of the Match award, Australia had several other contributors to the Pune win – none more so than the captain Steven Smith, who struck 109 in the second innings on a dry and turning pitch. Smith was just the third Australian after Mark Taylor and Damien Martyn to score a second-innings Test hundred in India.”I think it’s probably his best, especially in those conditions,” Lehmann said. “I haven’t seen him so determined. He’s always determined – he’s captain of our country and plays really well obviously, but he knows conditions on that wicket [were difficult]. To make a hundred was very special, so that’d have to be in his top few for sure.”Impressive in a different way was the young opener Matt Renshaw, who was playing his first Test outside Australia, yet handled India’s spinners with aplomb. He top-scored in the first innings with 68 and then added 31 in the second innings, despite struggling with illness.”He hadn’t actually hit the ball that well in our lead-up, but for some reason when he gets out in the middle, he knows exactly what he wants to do and how he wants to do it,” Lehmann said. “So for a 20-year-old that’s pretty special. I think he’ll back that up in Bangalore.”For him to come out, obviously a bit crook here and there, and to bat in different positions and had a clear plan, especially in the second innings, the way he wanted to go about it. That’s good for a young man to have that insight into the game so early.”The early win by 333 runs gives Australia an extra two days to prepare for the second Test in Bangalore, where Lehmann expects a better pitch than the one offered up in Pune. He stressed that the key was now for Australia to back up their win come the second Test next weekend.”I think the way we played, we deserved to win by that much at the end,” he said. “But they’re a quality side for the challenge for our group is to back that performance up in Bangalore. We’re not getting too far ahead of ourselves. India are a quality at home, especially at home I think that’s the first Test they’ve lost in 20 Test matches so they’ll come back pretty hard.”

Erling Haaland has been “untouchable” for Man City but will struggle to beat “finished article” Lionel Messi to the Ballon d’Or, says Richard Dunne.

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• Norwegian striker helped to land treble
• Argentine icon savoured World Cup glory
• French superstar continues to sparkle

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Norwegian striker was a revelation for City last season on the back of his £51 million ($63m) transfer from Borussia Dortmund. Haaland hit 52 goals across all competitions, helping himself to the English top-flight Golden Boot and his club to a historic Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble.

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  WHAT THEY SAID

  Those efforts are considered to have Haaland battling it out with 2022 World Cup winner Messi for the title of best player on the planet, with former City captain Dunne – speaking in association with – telling GOAL when asked if the prolific 23-year-old can pip a man with seven Golden Balls to the most prestigious of individual prizes: “From a numbers point of view, he's been untouchable, he's been the difference to Man City. If you look back and think about what they were missing in terms of going on and winning the Champions League, it probably was the natural number nine. I know he didn't score in the later stages of the competition, but he just causes trouble and forces players to mark him, they might even need two of them, he creates spaces in other areas. Whatever the Ballon d’Or is judged on, I obviously think Messi is the more complete footballer, he is the finished article. Haaland has things he needs to improve on, even as good as he is. He could still be better outside the box and getting more involved in games, but if you're looking at out-and-out goal-scorers there is nobody in the world who can touch Haaland.”

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Whatever happens in 2023, Haaland appears destined to become a superstar of the world game. He is expected to battle it out with Paris Saint-Germain sensation Kylian Mbappe for future Ballons d’Or, with Dunne saying of a rivalry that could emulate the one enjoyed by Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo: “I hope we can get that rivalry again of two or three top players in the world. I think Haaland is on the road to becoming a superstar. Mbappe needs to settle down somewhere and find a club that suits him, the transfer rumours don't help him. I think the levels he can reach are extremely high and the speed he has is incredible, but sometimes you watch him and wonder if he's happy or interested. Is it a long-term thing at PSG or does he need to move on to another club? When we work that out, I think we might start to see the best of him.”

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  WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

  Haaland has already netted seven times through as many appearances for City this season – adding a UEFA Super Cup winners’ medal to his collection – while Mbappe, who spent much of the summer being linked with a transfer to Real Madrid, has netted seven times through just four outings at PSG.

England’s batting line-up, full of depth and power, poses a massive threat to India as they begin a home series under a new ODI captain

The Preview by Sidharth Monga14-Jan-2017

Match facts

Sunday, January 15, 2017
Start time 1330 local (0800 GMT)5:46

Agarkar: Can’t leave out Yuvraj after picking him in the squad

Big picture

The cricketing gods must be crazy. We are living in an era where India are regularly winning Test series 3-0 and 4-0, having done so only twice in their history until 2012. In ODIs, on the other hand, they are not starting as favourites in a series against even after beating them 4-0 in Tests. England are not the clear favourites either, but it says a lot about their metamorphosis since the 2015 World Cup that they start on even terms against a side that has beaten them in four of the last five bilateral ODI series and is 17-8 in recent ODI cricket between them. And England are not apologetic about pushing the boundaries in ODIs independent of how the Test side is performing.India and MS Dhoni have recognised that they, for a change, need motivation from their Test side. That the split captaincy doesn’t work. So Virat Kohli, who has tasted early success in Tests, takes over an ODI side that is desperately in need of new ideas and match-winners in the middle order.England have batting match-winners all the way down. Which is why they keep coming at you with the big shots, the switch hits and the reverse-sweeps. India will look to bat more clinically, relying as they do on a smaller base of batsmen, especially given Rohit Sharma’s absence. Either way there will be runs. A lot of them.The contest, though, will come down to the bowlers. One spell of 10 overs for 45 runs or one extra wicket in the middle overs. England will rely more on discipline of their pace bowlers, India on the spinners. A flat pitch will give England the advantage, and the slightest hint of slowness or turn will give India control. The day-night warm-up match played at the Brabourne Stadium between an England XI and India A showed a lot of what to expect: Chris Woakes and David Willey were tight at the start, keeping India A down to 304, and India A came back in their defence through the spin of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. England XI scored 156 for 1 off the 24.5 overs bowled by the quicks, and 148 for 6 in 24 overs of spin.The pitches for ODIs, though, are generally flat. And India wouldn’t necessarily want too much help for the spinners: they wouldn’t want to be chasing 250 on turning pitches, as demonstrated in the defeats against New Zealand in Delhi and Ranchi, and Adil Rashid cannot be underestimated in ODIs. Early starts to the matches – 1.30pm as opposed to 2.30pm in earlier years – should make dew and the toss less of a factor. Hopefully.

Form guide

India WLWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
England WLWLWEoin Morgan comes into the series with scores of 3 and 0 in the warm-up games•AFP

In the spotlight

Dhoni has had his share of eulogies. Now the attention must shift to Virat Kohli. He operates differently to India’s most successful limited-overs captain. His first call of duty will be to deal with Dhoni’s batting order. Will he give Dhoni a long stint at No. 4 and start looking for other finishers? What plans does he have for Yuvraj Singh? How is he going to utilise his Test talisman R Ashwin, who had seemingly fallen out of favour with Dhoni in the final stages of his captaincy? Does Ajinkya Rahane have a place in India’s ODI plans when everybody is fit? And Kohli will have to keep winning matches with the bat while he does all that thinking.Kohli’s counterpart Eoin Morgan, on the other hand, is going through a bit of a Dhoni patch in a batting line-up full of power hitters. He is often required in pressure situations and during good times he hardly gets enough balls to face to register big innings. His last century came in June 2015, he has averaged 38.00 since then and has won one match award in 25 matches. These numbers by themselves shouldn’t put him under pressure, but he has scored 3 and a golden duck in the tour games after Sam Billings impressed as his replacement when he opted out of the Bangladesh tour. He too will now have decisions and runs to make.

Team news

India’s squad looks completely different to the one that beat New Zealand 3-2. The two Test spinners are back, and Yuvraj is part of the 15 too. Looking at England’s struggle against spin in practice games, India could look to stack the side up with batsmen who bowl part-time spin. Manish Pandey could make way for Yuvraj but where does the man in irrepressible form, KL Rahul, fit? One way out could be to give up on Hardik Pandya or Umesh Yadav and rely on Yuvraj and Kedar Jadhav for 10 overs. Otherwise one out of the returning Rahane, Rahul and the returning Shikhar Dhawan might have to sit out. And does Kohli make the call of sitting out Amit Mishra, the spinner who took five wickets in his last ODI, just because the Test spinners are back?India (probable): 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Ajinkya Rahane/ KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli (capt.), 4 MS Dhoni (wk), 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 Kedar Jadhav, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 R Ashwin/ Amit Mishra, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Jasprit BumrahAs they suggested with their line-ups in the warm-up games, England could look to play six batsmen, including the allrounder Ben Stokes and the wicketkeeper Jos Buttler, and five bowlers. This means they might have to make more than one difficult decision, and leave out both Sam Billings, who scored a match-winning 93 in the first warm-up game, as well as the in-form Jonny Bairstow. England (probable): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Joe Root, 4 Jos Buttler (wk), 5 Eoin Morgan (capt), 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 David Willey, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Liam Plunkett/Liam DawsonAmit Mishra took a five-for in his last ODI, but may have to sit out this one with R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja back in India’s squad•Associated Press

Pitch and conditions

The pitch is expected to be a regular ODI surface where 300 from both sides cannot be counted out. Two days before the match India’s coach Anil Kumble said there hadn’t been any dew until 7.30pm but you cannot be certain in this time of year in India when dew usually affects day-night games. If the dew does show up at around 8pm, it still has an hour and a half to play havoc in, and the last 90 minutes of an ODI can often sway the result.

Stats and trivia

• In four matches against India, Alex Hales averages 23 and has struck at 68.65 per 100 balls as against corresponding overall numbers of 37.77 and 94.49. In 2014, India choked his off-side game by cramping him with straight inswingers.
• England have won only one bilateral series in India in eight attempts, back in 1984.
• This is only the second ODI at this venue: in the first, Australia scored 304 and defended comfortably.

Quotes

I was actually pretty delighted to be given the captaincy for all the three formats. It adds to the responsibility and makes you a better player, a better person; that’s something I have always liked that aspect of captaincy.
You wake up on the weekend and all you wanted to do was play cricket. You look out the window and hope the sun was shining. So that kind of attitude is very important. It’s a nice way to play cricket regardless of you win, lose or draw.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details5:02

Kalra: Shakib snatched the momentum away from India

India made light work of the Bangladesh top order before fifties from Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, and Mehedi Hasan Miraz hauled the visitors to 322 for 6 in reply to India’s 687. Bangladesh’s most experienced batsmen, Shakib and Mushfiqur, sparked the resistance with a 107-run partnership off 165 balls. Mushfiqur and the 19-year-old Mehedi, who scored his maiden half-century, then saw off the second new ball and stubbornly played out a wicketless post-tea session.Glaring errors on the first two days had put Mushfiqur’s wicketkeeping and captaincy in the spotlight. On the third afternoon, his running was in the spotlight, and he was frequently caught ball-watching early in his innings, but he overcame it to progress to an unbeaten 81.When Shakib danced out and drilled R Ashwin to mid-off in the 50th over, Mushfiqur was late to respond to his partner’s call for a single. Ravindra Jadeja hunted the ball down and speared it to Wriddhiman Saha, who broke the bails. Mushfiqur had brought out a desperate full-length dive, but his bat had popped up in the air momentarily. The shoulder of the bat was seemingly on the line when the bail came off the groove. Chris Gaffney, the TV umpire, ultimately gave Mushfiqur the benefit of the doubt. He was on 18 at that point.Mushfiqur then accumulated with sweeps while Shakib reached his maiden Test half-century against India off 69 balls. The scorecard will tell you Shakib hit 14 boundaries, but it was a chancy innings throughout. He repeatedly drove away from the body against the seamers and often drove out of the footmarks against the spinners. The century stand ended when Shakib skipped out and heedlessly dragged a catch against the spin to mid-on.It was a repeat of his fateful shot against Mitchell Santner on the fifth day in Wellington in January when the Test was on the line. This time he gave Ashwin his 249th wicket in Tests. He was kept waiting for the 250th.Mushfiqur Rahim brought out a variety of sweeps against the spinners•AFP

A sure-footed Mehedi took over from Shakib and ably complemented Mushfiqur’s patience. Mehedi claimed 51 of the unbroken 87-run stand for the seventh wicket after Jadeja had removed Sabbir Rahman ten minutes before tea.Mehedi dared to club Ashwin over midwicket and even picked a carrom ball and drove it exquisitely through cover. He got to his fifty when he late-cut Ashwin for four in the penultimate over of the day. In the last over, Mushfiqur became the fourth Bangladesh player, after Habibul Bashar, Tamim Iqbal, and Shakib Al Hasan, to reach 3000 runs in Test cricket.Things weren’t as rosy for Bangladesh in the morning session. Tamim fell in the third over of the day, taking on Umesh’s arm from the deep. A mix-up resulted in both Tamim and Mominul Haque stopping near the middle of the pitch while running a second. Umesh swooped in from long leg, attacked the ball, and fired a throw to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the bowler, who collected and under-armed adroitly onto the stumps.In addition to being uncertain while running between the wickets, Mominul was uncertain outside his off stump. Virat Kohli reinforced the slip cordon and even posted a silly mid-on to apply more pressure. Mominul’s tentative stay ended on 12 when Umesh trapped him in front with reverse-swing.Mahmudullah survived a tight lbw call on 6 off Bhuvneshwar with India’s review of Joel Wilson’s on-field not-out decision returning umpire’s call on leg stump. He managed to regroup to put on 45 with Shakib before Ishant Sharma had him lbw with an inswinger for 28. This time Wilson raised his finger, and Mahmudullah coaxed Shakib and reviewed only for ball-tracking to suggest it would have grazed leg stump.

Tottenham Hotspur have made contact with Eintracht Frankfurt defender Evan Ndicka about a summer move to north London, according to journalist Fabrice Hawkins.

What's the latest Tottenham transfer news?

Incoming Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou clearly has his sights set on a new defender, considering a €22m (£19m) bid has already been launched for Galatasaray defender Victor Nelsson, according to reports from Turkey.

However, with the Turkish side set to hold out for €25m (£21m), Spurs may choose to turn their attentions elsewhere, and they have been linked with a cut-price move for Leeds United's Robin Koch, following their relegation from the Premier League.

With Harry Maguire falling down the pecking order at Manchester United, the Lilywhites have registered their interest in the England international, and the Telegraph report he could also be available for a lower fee in the upcoming window.

Another player who wouldn't break the bank is outgoing Frankfurt defender Ndicka, whose contract with the Bundesliga club is set to expire at the end of the month, and he has attracted the interest of a number of potential suitors.

In a recent update on Twitter, RMC Sport journalist Hawkins confirmed that Tottenham have "had contacts" with the centre-back, however at the moment it appears as though he is more likely to move to Italy.

AC Milan have tabled a contract offer for the 23-year-old, but AS Roma are currently in the best position to win the race for his signature.

Who is Evan Ndicka?

The Paris-born defender came through the youth ranks at Auxerre, however he made just 16 appearances for the first team, before moving to Frankfurt ahead of the 2018-19 campaign, and he has since established himself as a key player.

In the 2021-22 Bundesliga season, the "towering" 6 foot 4 colossus, as dubbed by journalist Jacque Talbot, made 32 appearances, and he averaged a 7.12 match rating from Sofascore, the second-highest figure in the squad.

Although his form dipped slightly last season, the former Auxerre man has still managed to impress, ranking in the 83rd percentile for clearances per 90, as well as the 80th percentile for blocks in the past year, when compared to his positional peers.

It appears as though Roma are most likely to win the race for Ndicka, but he could be an excellent signing for Tottenham, should they make a late move, given his stellar defensive attributes, and the fact he is still only 23-years-old.

The winger made his international debut aged 18 after a stunning breakthrough with Borussia Dortmund, but a hugely promising career has hit a wall

Manchester United had tried to sign Jadon Sancho for years. And who could blame them? The winger was a generational talent, and after leaving the English game in search of first-team football, he had taken the Bundesliga by storm, averaging more than a goal contribution in every game for Borussia Dortmund.

After tracking him from 2018 and then opting against a move in 2019 after haggling over his transfer fee, United finally got their man in July 2021, paying £74 million for an England regular and one of the most coveted players in Europe. But fast-forward two years and Sancho has gone from being English football's next great hope into a ghost-like figure.

He was absent from the United squad for several months last season and when he did return, he often gave anonymous performances, looking shorn of the pace, power and invention that had made him such a thrilling prospect. And after only being given cameo roles in United's opening three games of the 2023-24 season, he was completely absent from the squad for the trip to Arsenal.

Fans assumed he must have been injured, but after the match Erik ten Hag gave a surprisingly honest response when asked about Sancho's absence. "On his performance on training we didn't select him," he said. "You have to reach the level every day at Manchester United. You can make choices in the front line, so in this game, he wasn't selected."

Sancho was quick to bite back and defend himself, claiming he had been made "a scapegoat for a long time". Sancho risked getting himself into trouble with his response, but it was actually refreshing to see him fight back. For too long it has felt like his career has stalled, that the fire he used to have has burned out.

GOAL charts the rise and fall of one of England's brightest talent, who went to Germany and conquered but appears lost back in his homeland.

Raised on the mean streets of South London

Sancho was born and raised in Kennington, South London. The capital's south has turned into a footballing hotbed in the last decade, with a 2021 study revealing that 10 per cent of Premier League players all hailed from the same, 10-mile stretch below the River Thames.

Joe Gomez, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Eberechi Eze and Tammy Abraham are just some of the players to have emerged from South London's football scene, which was the centre of , a TV series presented by Rio Ferdinand. And Sancho, whose skills were honed in the unforgiving concrete pitches dotted around the area, known as cages, was the area's biggest star.

AdvertisementGettyEducated at Watford

Despite being from south of the river, Sancho's first experience of organised football came north of the capital with Watford, where he moved at the age of seven, remaining until he was 15. Even though he left before he could turn professional, he has very fond memories of his time with the Hornets.

“Watford was a lot of fun,” Sancho told United's website in 2022. “I was happy when I was there and I had a lot of freedom when I was playing. That’s what makes me happy and makes me the best player I can be when I’m just free, doing what I love. At Watford I used to work on a lot of skills and I wanted to show people what I can do."

Getty ImagesMoving to the other side of Manchester

Word of Sancho's talents spread across the country and Manchester City came calling in 2015. Sancho said moving to the Blues "was a good opportunity to get out of the hood. There were a lot of bad influences."

He played in the same Under-18s side as Phil Foden and current Real Madrid forward Brahim Diaz, but was itching for a shot at first-team football. When he was left out of Pep Guardiola's squad for the pre-season tour of the United States in 2017 while Foden travelled, Sancho kicked up a fuss and stopped attending training.

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Getty ImagesHopping on a plane to Dortmund

While Guardiola did not think Sancho was ready for first-team football, the player thought otherwise and immediately sought a move. Borussia Dortmund were willing takers, snapping him up for around £8m ($10m) in the summer of 2017 and putting him straight into the first-team squad.

Sancho's belief in his own ability was vindicated when he made his first-team debut against Eintracht Frankfurt in October. His first goal came in a 4-0 win against local rivals Bayer Leverkusen in April 2018, the winger setting up two more on the day.

Tottenham Hotspur could well be set to rekindle their interest in Eintrach Frankfurt defender, Evan Ndicka, with the Lilywhites having previously been linked with the Frenchman back in January.

What's the latest on Ndicka to Tottenham?

According to journalist Fabrice Hawkins, the north London outfit are seemingly set to rival the likes of Roma and AC Milan for the signing of the 23-year-old, with the promising centre-back set to be a free agent when his contract expires later this month.

Writing on Twitter, the transfer insider revealed: "AC Milan has made a contractual offer to Evan Ndicka, 3 M € / year over 5 years. Scalable salary.

"Roma offers 4 M € / year over a period of 5 years. For the moment the Italians are in the best position to sign him. He also had contacts with Tottenham."

This follows reports from Germany back in the winter window that suggested Spurs had held talks regarding the signing of the Paris-born rock, with the 6 foot 4 ace having spent the last five years with the Bundesliga outfit.

Who is Evan Ndicka?

The former Auxerre ace could well represent a real upgrade on Clement Lenglet at N17 for new boss Ange Postecoglou, with recent reports suggesting that the on-loan Frenchman is unlikely to be signed on a permanent deal this summer.

Having been snapped up on a temporary basis from Barcelona ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, the 27-year-old formed part of a defence that shipped 63 league goals in 2022/23, an increase of 23 goals in contrast to the previous season.

While the one-time Sevilla man can not be solely blamed for those woes, it is telling that Tottenham were only able to keep one league clean sheet from his 26 Premier League outings, having notably been described as an "imposter" by ex-Spurs midfielder, Jamie O'Hara.

The addition of Ndicka then could well represent a dream replacement for the £145k-per-week dud, with the "phenomenal" talent – as previously hailed by former boss Adi Hutter – notably helping to keep six clean sheets from his 30 league appearances.

A left-footed option, like Lenglet, the younger man appeared to enjoy a far better season than his compatriot having achieved an average match rating of 6.81, as per Sofascore, while the Spurs loanee was only able to average 6.65 – ranking 20th among his teammates.

The Frankfurt ace appears to offer greater quality at defending his own box as he ranks in the top 17% for clearances and the top 20% for blocks made among those in his position in Europe's top five leagues, while Lenglet, by contrast, ranks in just the bottom 19% and the bottom 40% for those same two metrics, respectively.

According to journalist Christopher Michel, Ndicka also represents an "exciting complete package" as he is also "extremely goal-threatening", having scored 12 goals and provided ten assists in 183 games for his current side, while Lenglet, by contrast also boasts a tally of 22 goal involvements throughout his club career, albeit from over 350 appearances.

That would indicate that the signing of the £20k-per-week sensation could be the defensive upgrade that Postecoglou is in need of.

Mauricio Pochettino has revealed that he has been playing crossbar challenge with Mykhailo Mudryk as he bids to build up the winger's confidence.

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• Mudryk struggling this season
• Chelsea languishing in 14th
• Poch working with Ukraine international

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Mudryk moved to the Blues from Shakhtar Donetsk in January in a deal that could be worth up to £89m but he has yet to score his first goal for the club. In his 22 games, the winger has only been able to register two assists.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Pochettino is now working one-to-one with the 22-year-old as he bids to bring Chelsea out of their recent slump. The club have won just one game this season and face Brighton in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, before returning to Premier League action against Fulham this weekend.

• WHAT THEY SAID

  Pochettino insists that playing crossbar challenge with Mudryk is key to building his confidence.

  He said: "With Mudryk, I like to play sometimes to [hit] the crossbar from outside the box.

  "He said to me, 'I don't want to play anymore with you because you always win.' I said 'yes, because I have the belief, and the balance between belief and quality I know very well because I'm 50 years old. You're still young and you need to know yourself'.

  "Today [Tuesday] was the first day we draw, because I always won. Now you start to believe in yourself, believe in your quality. If not, it's difficult to balance belief and quality."

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  WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

  Mudryk will hope to be involved against Brighton on Wednesday.

Max Holden and George Bartlett earned a select place in the history of England Under-19s cricket with a new batting record in the Youth Test against India in Nagpur

ECB Reports Network14-Feb-2017

Max Holden and George Bartlett earned a select place in the history of England Under-19s cricket as they extended their marathon partnership on the second day of the first four-day match against India in Nagpur.They were finally separated after a stand of 321 in 82 overs, a new record for any wicket for England which has only been beaten once in all international Under-19 cricket, in 2001 by an Indian opening pair including Gautam Gambhir who put on 391 against an England attack including Monty Panesar and Chris Tremlett, and captained by Ian Bell.Bartlett was the first to go, stumped for 179 off 249 balls including 25 fours and three sixes. That became the highest score by an England Under-19s batsman overseas, beating 170 by Nasser Hussain against Sri Lanka in Kandy in 1986-87.There are still 10 batsmen ahead of Bartlett in the all-time England list, but all of them made their runs on home soil – including his Somerset seniors Marcus Trescothick with 206 against India at Edgbaston in 1994, and James Hildreth against Bangladesh in Taunton a decade later.After Bartlett’s dismissal, Holden batted on, for almost 20 more overs and into a fifth session, until after eight hours and 47 minutes at the crease the opener was finally dismissed for 170 – leaving him joint second with Hussain on England’s overseas list.Still the agony wasn’t over for India as Delray Rawlins, the Sussex allrounder who had been England’s batting star of the one-day series ended unbeaten on 70 from 94 balls before Holden declared on 501 for 5 – England’s second highest total against India in Under-19 cricket, and the third highest by anyone in India.

The success of Premier League clubs' summer tours of America demonstrates just how popular a competitive game in the US could be.

A sold-out crowd of more than 82,000. Fans congregating hours before kick off, setting off flares and singing the same chants as in England. Fans travelling across the country and paying at least $100 for a ticket. A punch-up in the stands and then a furious on-pitch altercation between Lisandro Martinez and Gabriel Jesus. Manchester United's friendly against Arsenal showed how much appetite there is for English football in the United States.

However, it also showed the limitations of the spectacle currently on offer. The match began with the intensity and passion of a Premier League match as both teams fielded some of their best players. But in the second half, with each manager making 11 substitutes, the game began to resemble a friendly again. The fact that a penalty shootout took place after the full-time whistle despite United winning 2-0 served to underline the reality that this was not a serious event after all.

So just imagine how different things would be if a trophy was at stake, one with 115 years of history and tradition, and one that many people still see as a major honour. American fans would be even more excited and supporters in England and around the world would be tuning in too.

Imagine if the Community Shield took place in the United States every year.

Getty ImagesExploding popularity of football in the US

Football is not so much booming as exploding in the US right now. The US is co-hosting the next World Cup along with Canada and Mexico, and Lionel Messi fever is further fuelling the growth of Major League Soccer. Indeed, last month Inter Miami were the subject of 8.2 million Google searches, far more than Manchester United.

According to a poll by the , eight per cent of Americans said football was their favourite sport, compared to 11 per cent who said baseball and 12 per cent who said basketball. Other studies state that football has already overtaken ice hockey in popularity.

Interest in European football is massive too. The match between Arsenal and United set a record for a football match in the state of New Jersey. United's fixture with Real Madrid in Texas attracted 67,000 fans, while Arsenal's win over Barcelona was witnessed by 70,000. Huge attendances for European teams in the US is not a new phenomenon. In 2014, 109,000 people filled the 'Big House' in Michigan to see United play Madrid.

But how long can US audiences be sated by friendly matches? A competitive game with a trophy on the line is the next logical step for European football in the US.

AdvertisementGetty 'We would die to have a competitive game'

"I can say unequivocally, we would die to have a real competitive game anywhere in America," Phil Murphy, the governor of New Jersey and one of the organisers of the 2026 World Cup, said last month. "If it was in New York/New Jersey, you wouldn’t get near that game. It would be overwhelming. To have a Champions League game, you wouldn’t be able to get near it."

There has been interest in holding Premier League matches in the US ever since then CEO Richard Scudamore floated the idea in 2008 with the concept of a '39th game' being held abroad. But the plan provoked a huge backlash among English fans and led to questions about distorting the competition. La Liga's plans to take matches to Miami, announced in 2018, also failed to get off the ground for the same reason.

Murphy's dream of Champions League matches being held in the States is also unlikely to be realised due to the magnitude of Europe's top competition. The Community Shield, however, is the least controversial way to make it happen.

GettySpain and Italy have already done it

Spain and Italy have already taken their equivalent competitions abroad. Italy was the first to do so, playing the Supercoppa Italiana in Washington, DC as early as 1993. The competition has since been held in Libya, New Jersey, China, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

And earlier this year the Italian football association struck a deal worth approximately €23 million (£20m/$24m) per season to host an expanded Supercoppa in Saudi Arabia until 2028.

The Spanish football federation, encouraged by Gerard Pique, struck its own deal to host the revamped tournament in Saudi Arabia from 2020, earning a reported €40 million (£34m/$44m) per year.

Although the move provoked criticism from the likes of Athletic Bilbao, Atletico Madrid and Valencia, the refreshed tournament has been a great success both on a commercial and entertainment level.

And teams are still taking it deadly seriously. Barcelona sacked coach Ernesto Valverde days after his side were knocked out by Atletico in the semi-finals in 2020. The last two finals, both between Real and Barca, have been thrilling matches watched by sell-out crowds.

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GettyNo political controversy – unlike with Saudi

Both federations did face criticism for their deals due to Saudi Arabia's repressive record on human rights and homosexuality, however. And given the outrage that has followed Jordan Henderson's move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq, the English Football Association (FA) is unlikely to follow suit and send the Community Shield to the Gulf state.

There would be no political risk in taking the competition to the US, however. And even if the financial rewards would not as be as much as by cutting a deal with Saudi, the FA could still get a significant windfall from the move.

At the moment the match only generates ticket and programme sales for the FA, which it redistributes to community initiatives and charities. And there is no reason why the competition could not remain a force for good if played abroad. Indeed, the charities would stand to receive far larger amounts of money.