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An unbroken 174-run stand between Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow allowed England to enjoy a strong start to the pivotal third Test

The Report by Brydon Coverdale14-Dec-20171:48

Nannes: Starc couldn’t quite get the radar right

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThere was a wry smile on Joe Root’s face when he won the toss at the WACA and chose to bat. At Adelaide Oval, he had learnt the hard way that sending the opposition in and then losing is difficult for a captain to live down. So in Perth it was back to conventional wisdom: bat first and put runs on the board. On a day when Dawid Malan scored his maiden Test century and Mark Stoneman posted his highest Test score, and England moved to 4 for 305 at stumps, Root must have breathed a sigh of relief.And by the close of play, another decision had also paid off for England: the move of Jonny Bairstow up from No. 7 to No. 6. Bairstow was the second leading scorer in Test cricket in 2016, but has found himself batting behind Moeen Ali in this series – until today. At stumps, he was on 75 and Malan had 110, and their unbeaten 174-run partnership was England’s best Ashes stand in Australia since the second Test of their memorable 2010-11 campaign.Notably, England’s success on this day came without significant contributions from Root, who made a brisk 20 before he gloved one down leg off Pat Cummins, or Alastair Cook, who began his 150th Test in disappointing fashion by missing a straight one from Mitchell Starc and being adjudged lbw for 7 in the fifth over of the match. Little did England care, though, for all that mattered was that at 2-0 down they had given themselves some hope of fighting back in the series.Australia may yet rue a missed opportunity late in the day when Starc swung the first delivery with the second new ball and Malan, on 92, edged to third slip, where Cameron Bancroft spilled the chance. It was Australia’s second dropped catch in the cordon: Mitchell Marsh at first slip had grassed a straightforward chance off Josh Hazlewood’s bowling when Stoneman edged on 52. At least that cost Australia little, for Stoneman was soon out for 56.But the key to the day was the Malan-Bairstow stand, which lasted throughout the final session and set England up for a potentially hefty first-innings total. Malan was strong when driving through cover and he was given plenty of opportunities to do so. Australian fast bowlers have often spoken of the importance of not getting carried away with the pace and bounce at the WACA, where visiting fast men regularly bowl too short. Here Australia were punished when they bowled full.Dawid Malan takes in his maiden Test hundred•Getty ImagesMalan struck 15 fours and one six – a top-edged hook off Starc – and brought up his century late in the afternoon with a boundary pulled off Hazlewood, from his 159th delivery. It was the 20th century of Malan’s first-class career and his second on this tour, after he scored 109 against the Cricket Australia XI in Townsville, and it was the first by any England player in an Ashes Test in Australia since Ben Stokes at the WACA four years ago.Bairstow too could go to bed dreaming of an Ashes hundred, having already managed the highest score of his 12-Test Ashes career. He was productive through the leg side when the Australians bowled too straight and by stumps had struck 10 boundaries.There were a few cracks on the WACA surface at the toss, and a little bit of grass, but the Australians believed it would be a good batting pitch, hence their decision to include Mitchell Marsh for Peter Handscomb as a fifth bowling option. It was Marsh’s first Test since the tour of India earlier this year and while he did send down seven overs on the opening day, it was Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins who looked the most likely to do any damage.Stoneman was impressive when sweeping Nathan Lyon, who found himself struggling for impact for the first time in the series, and the opener also picked off three fours from one Starc over early in the day. But Stoneman’s initially quick scoring rate slowed considerably after lunch, when he was struck on the helmet by a fierce bouncer from Hazlewood. The next delivery was another short one that Stoneman fended towards Lyon at point, though he couldn’t hold a tough chance, and soon Stoneman found himself bogged down.Stoneman’s fifty came up from his 82nd delivery but soon fell to another accurate bouncer, this time from Starc. Stoneman was given not out on field but Australia’s review was upheld by third umpire Aleem Dar, on the evidence of a Snicko spike as the ball passed Stoneman’s glove on the way through to Tim Paine. The hasty overturning of the decision caused a brief ruckus, but further replays showed it was the correct call.The review perhaps also overshadowed the fact that it was a brilliant take from Paine, who had to leap into the air and snared the catch with one hand thrust above his head. But it was the last breakthrough of the day for Australia, who had picked up Cook and James Vince, who flirted outside off and edged behind off Hazlewood for 25, in the first session, and then Root and Stoneman in the second. Malan and Bairstow ensured this was unequivocally England’s day.

The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators had asked the BCCI to hold a meeting before the ICC workshop, given the importance of the FTP on the agenda, but the board has failed to meet the date

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Nov-2017The BCCI has called its emergent Special General Meeting (SGM) on December 11, which means the meeting will take place after the ICC workshop that will be held on December 7-8, in Singapore to discuss the minutiae of the new Future Tours Programme (FTP) for 2019 to 2023. The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) had asked the BCCI to convene the meeting before the ICC workshop because the FTP was one of the three important agendas, but the BCCI has failed to meet that date. The agenda for the SGM will now be the settlement of the dispute concerning the Kochi Tuskers Kerala franchise and the revocation of the suspension of Rajasthan Cricket Association.”The BCCI has convened a Special General Meeting (SGM) on Dec. 11, 2017 in New Delhi at 12.30 PM under the instruction of Mr. CK Khanna, Acting President and as per the directions from the Committee of Administrators,” a board release on Tuesday said, without expanding on the agenda.In the absence of a general body debate over the FTP, despite the request from the CoA on November 15 through an email to Khanna, the committee gave its nod to the board’s plan of the FTP designed by CEO Rahul Johri. At the workshop, the Full Member countries will chalk out a week-by-week plan for the FTP, extending from post-2019 World Cup till 2023. Apart from the global events, the FTP will cover the Test and ODI Leagues, which start in the next two years. It is understood that there has been resistance among the BCCI office bearers and the general body against rushing through with the FTP without “time and documents to study and deliberate on the item”.As per the BCCI’s existing constitution, the president can call for the SGM with a 21-day notice period. However, he also has the power to reduce the notice period to 10 days, which the CoA had asked Khanna to do.The important topic for the SGM now remains the litigation involving the Kochi Tuskers. The BCCI needs to decide whether, and how much, it should pay the owners of the franchise, whose agreement was terminated in 2011, two seasons after it came into existence. The BCCI had also encashed the bank guarantee of INR 153.34 crores at the time of termination, which the owners contested in the court. The court asked the matter to be settled via arbitration.In 2016 the Kochi owners won the arbitration case, which said that the board would not only refund the bank guarantee amount encashed by them, but also pay an additional INR 384.83 crore towards compensation for termination of the franchise. Subsequently, the BCCI’s attempts to resolve the issue amicably failed as the Kochi owners wanted compensation upwards of INR 1000 crore. During the SGM in May, Amitabh Choudhury, BCCI secretary, told the members that the BCCI might negotiate a settlement soon. In October, the IPL governing council resolved that the BCCI was left with no choice but pay the compensation. The CoA now awaits the members’ collective call on the subject.

Wolves host Brighton & Hove Albion this weekend, with the home side hoping to get off the mark in their second Premier League game of the season.

They were narrowly beaten 1-0 by Manchester United at Old Trafford on Monday evening, but it was an encounter marred by a controversial decision.

Fans and pundits within the media thought the West Midlanders were the better side and unlucky not to at least come away with a point.

There was a stoppage-time collision between United goalkeeper André Onana and Wolves forward Sasa Kalajdzic, which many believed should have constituted a penalty. But after a brief VAR check, the penalty was not awarded, to the surprise of many.

Meanwhile, the Seagulls opened up their account with a thumping 4-1 victory over Premier League new boys Luton Town.

Roberto De Zerbi's side, who finished sixth last term, are expected to be back in and amongst the European spots once more, so they'll be a difficult test for Wolves on Saturday.

Ahead of the clash, Football FanCast has decided to take a look at the stats between the pair and how they've fared against each other over the years.

Wolves vs Brighton: Who has the better head-to-head record?

The pair have only faced each other 40 times throughout their long histories. Often, they've been in different divisions, so there have been periods where they've had long stints without meeting.

Perhaps quite surprisingly, Brighton dominate this statistic. The Seagulls have only conceded defeat on eight occasions – with 18 meetings resulting in victory.

What's perhaps even more surprising is that their first meeting didn't come until a League Cup third-round fixture in September 1969.

So considering Wolves had a lot of their success in the 1950s when they won three top-flight titles, this stat begins to make more sense.

Wolves wins: 8 Draws: 14 Brighton wins: 18 Wolves vs Brighton: Who has more wins at Molineux?

Considering the overall head-to-head statistic, it should come as no surprise that the south coast club come out on top in this one, too.

Though, you would expect the majority of Wolves' wins to have come at Molineux – but that isn't the case.

Just three wins from 19 games for Wolves have come at their home ground. It appears the Seagulls are most definitely their 'bogey team'.

Wolves wins: 3 Draws: 7 Brighton wins: 9 Wolves vs Brighton: Who has more wins on the south coast?

Brighton's home turf – be it at the Amex, Withdean Stadium or the Goldstone Ground – has produced a slightly more even affair between these two sides throughout the years. Of course, it is again the Seagulls who win this head-to-head statistic, but they only just edge it.

Wolves have picked up more of their victories on the south coast, so on Saturday, they'll be hoping to balance this out with a win at home.

Gary O'Neil's side will want to get off the mark as soon as possible as they bid to avoid a second successive relegation battle.

Brighton wins: 9 Draws: 7 Wolves wins: 5 Wolves vs Brighton: Who has the better domestic cup record?

It's the West Midlanders who win this statistic. There has been just the two meetings between the pair in domestic cup competitions, with one coming in the FA Cup and the other in the League Cup.

Interestingly, both affairs ended in 3-2 away victories for Wolves, with the first dating back to the 1969/70 campaign and the other in 1978/79.

Brighton have never won either the League or FA Cup, whereas Wolves have won the latter on four separate occasions. However, they are yet to win the former throughout their 146-year history.

If there come up against Brighton this year, though, history would at least be on their side.

Wolves wins: 2 Draws: 0 Brighton wins: 0 Wolves vs Brighton: What were the last five meetings?

29th April 2023 – Brighton 6-0 Wolves: De Zerbi's side recorded the club's biggest-ever top-flight victory and continued their push for a European spot.

They carved the away side open with ease as three players in Denis Undav, Pascal Gross and Danny Welbeck all registered braces.

Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui offered an apology to his fans following the match.

5th November 2023 – Wolves 2-3 Brighton: 10-man Wolves, managed by interim manager Steve Davis, suffered a sinking defeat on Bonfire Night after Gross netted the winner for Brighton with seven of the 90 minutes remaining.

The result left the West Midlands club in 19th, two points adrift of 17th-placed Aston Villa in safety.

30th April 2022 – Wolves 0-3 Brighton: Wolves' boss at the time, Bruno Lage, said this was his side's 'worst performance' of his tenure.

Brighton romped their way to a comfortable away victory thanks to goals from Alexis Mac Allister, Leandro Trossard and Yves Bissouma, all of whom no longer play for the club anymore, interestingly.

Despite the sizeable defeat, Wolves remained in a healthy league position, as they sat eighth, five points clear of their opposition. Though, they ultimately ended that season in 10th, behind Brighton on goal difference.

15th December 2021 – Brighton 0-1 Wolves: Romain Saïss ended Wolves' five-game run without a win as his side picked up a 1-0 away victory at the Amex to fire themselves up to eighth.

They hadn't actually scored in the previous four matches, remarkably, so this victory was certainly needed.

Meanwhile, Brighton, who were managed by Graham Potter, may have just started to look over their shoulders, as they dropped down to 13th, nine points above 18th-placed Burnley and having played a game more – while going winless in 13 games across all competitions.

9th May 2021 – Wolves 2-1 Brighton: Wolves midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White, who now plays for Nottingham Forest, scored a 90th-minute winner to clinch the three points in a dramatic encounter.

Brighton were down to 10 men for much of the second half after Lewis Dunk received a red card for pulling back Fabio Silva as he ran through on goal.

It was the West Midlanders' first top-flight win over the Seagulls in the club's history.

Who has played for Wolves and Brighton?

Rajiv van La Parra (Wolves 2014-2016; Brighton 2015-2016): The Dutch winger had a 57-game career at Wolves after signing on a free transfer in 2014 from SC Heerenveen. He scored two goals for the club whilst laying on 11 assists.

Meanwhile, he spent less than two months on loan at the Seagulls from Wolves, making six appearances and scoring two goals.

Perhaps his most memorable spell in England was during his stint at Huddersfield Town, where he helped the West Yorkshire club to a shock promotion to the Premier League.

Keith Andrews (Wolves 1999-2005; Brighton 2013-2014): The 32-cap Republic of Ireland international began his career at Wolves after graduating through the academy. He made a total of 72 appearances for the club.

He had a season-long loan spell at Brighton during the 2013/14 season, where he made 37 appearances, helping the club reach the play-off semi-finals before suffering a thumping 6-2 aggregate defeat to Derby County.

Sam Vokes (Wolves 2008-2012; Brighton 2012): The towering centre-forward was on Wolves' books for four years, but much of that time was spent out on loan. He was shipped out to six separate clubs before Burnley signed him on a permanent deal in 2012.

Brighton were one of those six clubs, but his short time on the south coast wasn't particularly fruitful, as he netted just three times in 15 appearances.

Ade Akinbiyi (Brighton 1994; Wolves 1999-2001): The Nigerian forward had a short spell on loan at Brighton, where he scored four goals in seven appearances.

His two-year stint in the West Midlands saw him find the back of the net 16 times in 40 outings before he was snapped up by Leicester City, who paid a club-record £5.5m to sign him.

Steve Claridge (Wolves 1998; Brighton 2004): The forward made a total of six appearances during his five-month spell at Wolves and only five during a one-month stretch with Albion.

What is Wolves' biggest win over Brighton?

28th December 1991 – Wolves 2-0 Brighton: It's been over three decades since Wolves' biggest victory over the Seagulls, which was actually not a thrashing by any means.

Mark Burke opened the scoring in the second minute before Andy Mutch, who was well known for his strike partnership with Steve Bull, added a second.

The victory came during the 1991/92 season in the second tier. The West Midlanders finished the campaign in 11th, whilst Albion suffered relegation, finishing 23rd.

What is Brighton's biggest win over Wolves?

29th April 2023 – Brighton 6-0 Wolves: Unsurprisingly, the aforementioned 6-0 drubbing last season is Brighton's biggest win over Saturday's opposition.

It was a result that continued Brighton's assault on the European places, with the victory keeping them within touching distance of the likes of Aston Villa and Tottenham, who they would eventually usurp come the season's end.

The gap in quality between the two sides over the last 12 months has started to widen, and it could be another tough afternoon for Wolves at the weekend if the current trends continue.

Key match stats It will be the 41st meeting between the pair Wolves have only beaten Brighton once in the top flight Brighton have won their last four matches against Wolves The last three fixtures between these two sides have produced 14 goals

Retired striker Alan Shearer has hilariously commented on the possible summer transfer of Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur to Bayern Munich.

What is the latest Harry Kane transfers news?

In the last 24 hours or so, it has felt as though the long-standing questions over the Englishman’s future may finally be resolved.

Indeed, trusted journalist Fabrizio Romano even gave it the famous “here we go!”, noting on Twitter that a deal was “completed between all parties” as Kane was given the “final green light” over a €100m (roughly £86.5m) fixed fee, plus add-ons up to €20m (roughly £17m) package to join Bayern.

However, that wasn’t the end of it as things took a twist with a final “poker game” being played by Daniel Levy and co.

Read the latest Spurs transfer news here…

Romano again updated, noting that while Kane and his camp were waiting at the airport ready to fly to Munich, Levy and Spurs were now asking to change some small conditions of the deal.

Amid all the drama and uncertainty – on the same day the 2023/23 Premier League season begins, no less – former Newcastle United striker Shearer decided to comment on the situation,

Indeed, he took to Twitter to post a picture of himself as a pilot, insinuating that he would fly the Englishman to Germany himself in order to protect his goalscoring record with the comment: “Come on Harry it’s time to go!”

Come on Harry it’s time to go! 🤪 pic.twitter.com/rm284IXOXR— Alan Shearer (@alanshearer) August 11, 2023

Who is the Premier League’s all-time top goalscorer?

With 260 goals to his name, Shearer has netted the most times in the Premier League but Kane is only 47 goals behind him with 213 strikes of his own.

Wayne Rooney is next on the list (208), then it’s Andrew Cole (187), with Sergio Aguero fifth (184) – but with those three all now retired from football, only one man could steal Shearer’s record.

With that in mind, it’s little wonder the former Blackburn Rovers title-winner is so keen to see the Spurs ace leaving English football for the first time in his career.

Fellow TV pundit and ex-Arsenal striker Ian Wright loved the comment, taking to Twitter to share a number of crying laughing emojis – as you can see below.

And while opinion on whether Kane should leave or go has been spilt in some quarters, other fellow professionals have also commented on the situation.

For instance, Rio Ferdinand made his feelings known as he bluntly wrote on Twitter about how the Spurs striker shouldn’t be worried about “personal honours” if he can go to Germany and win major trophies.

In full he said: “You don’t start ya career saying you want to win the golden boot winner – you want to win things for ya team.

“You only make it personal honours when that’s ya only option!! Good luck Harry Kane.”

Of course, it appears Kane has decided he wants to join Bayern Munich but with some issues behind the scenes, it remains unclear if he will be able to complete a move this summer.

No doubt, Tottenham fans, Bundesliga fans, and Shearer will all nervously be keeping tabs on the situation as it develops over the coming hours.

It will certainly be interesting to see how this plays out, especially with Spurs’ first game of the season on Sunday away at Brentford.

The eighth-wicket pair blunt West Indies for 48.4 overs on final day after Raza heroics; visitors clinch series 1-0

The Report by Liam Brickhill in Bulawayo02-Nov-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAFPZimbabwe’s battling rearguard secured a draw in the second Test at Queens Sports Club, but West Indies still took the series 1-0, their first Test series win under Jason Holder. Sikandar Raza’s 89 and Regis Chakabva’s 71 not out formed the backbone of their effort on the final day. Their obduracy was matched by Graeme Cremer, the captain, who blunted 150 deliveries for his 28 not out when both sides shook hands and settled for a draw at the start of the mandatory overs.Raza, who also scored 80 in the first innings, became the second player in history after Jacques Kallis to pass 80 twice and take five wickets in a Test, was named Man of the Match. Devendra Bishoo, with 13 wickets across two Tests, was named Man of the Series.While the match ended very tamely in the afternoon, West Indies had been probing with both seam and spin for much of the day, with wickets shared around. But neither the old ball nor the new could prise a limpet-like Chakabva from the crease, and he added an unbroken 91 with Cremer to stall West Indies’ push for victory.Chakabva played and missed several deliveries during the day and even ducked into a Holder bouncer that never got above waist height, but his defence held firm when it really mattered and bad balls were met with confident strokes. It had been eight innings – and almost three years – since he last passed fifty in a Test match, and this knock, which stretched on for almost 64 overs, will go some way towards securing his place in the side for their next Test against South Africa.The hosts were also buoyed by Raza’s gritty innings, which stretched for more than five hours and 203 deliveries before he inside edged a Holder inswinger onto his stumps. During a brave, battling knock Raza survived an lbw decision given against him and a withering blow to the knee, cobbling together stands of 98 with PJ Moor, 28 with Malcolm Waller and 38 with Chakabva.Much of his work with Moor came on Wednesday, and the pair had had added just four runs to their partnership when West Indies broke through almost first thing this morning. Holder positioned Shai Hope at gully, having noticed the angled bat that Moor was playing with. The plan worked to perfection, Moor guiding a length delivery straight to the fielder to depart for 42, Zimbabwe 144 for 5.A nervous starter, Waller settled in against the quicks, but the introduction of spin quickly brought another wicket. Coming around the stumps and landing a ball in the rough outside leg, Bishoo ripped one across him and a tame poke presented an easy catch to Jermaine Blackwood at slip.Zimbabwe were 172 for 6 when Waller fell an hour or so before lunch and the new ball was available, but as was the case in Zimbabwe’s first innings West Indies decided not to take it straight away. There was still significant movement and inconsistent bounce for the quicks, and the softening old ball also ensured that neither Raza nor Chakabva could get full value for all their shots.Raza, who had survived a West Indies review in the morning, used a review of his own to reverse an lbw decision against him five overs into his partnership with Chakabva. Roach was by this time getting the old ball to reverse alarmingly, and hooped one past Raza’s hopping glance to strike him on the left knee roll. Roach bellowed an appeal, and Dharmasena gave it out almost immediately, but the review showed the ball missing leg stump. In the same over Roach snaked a waspish delivery in viciously to strike Raza on the inner knee. He was able to continue batting, but hobbled his way through to lunch.At the other end, Chakabva opened his account from his 14th delivery, and swiped a brace of boundaries when Bishoo dropped short. He showed some uncertainty outside off stump against the genuine pace of Gabriel, but did enough to survive and keep stretching out Zimbabwe’s lead.West Indies did finally take the new ball in the over before lunch, and Holder used it to break breach Raza’s defences just after the interval. Playing the wrong line to one that jagged in to him, Raza had his off stump disturbed. A window had opened for West Indies with Zimbabwe tottering at 210 for 7, with the better part of two sessions remaining.But West Indies had used up all their reviews trying to get rid of Raza, and this detail gained crucial importance as the afternoon wore on. First, Cremer gloved a bouncer from Holder onto his shoulder, the chance being pouched by a leaping Dowrich, but the appeal was turned down.Then, ten minutes before tea, Roston Chase zipped one in to Cremer’s pads, but the appeal lacked conviction and umpire Kumar Dharmasena wasn’t convinced. Replays showed three reds on the ball tracker. Moments before the tea interval, Chase once again struck Cremer on the pad, but again it was given not out and West Indies could do nothing about the decision.Cremer made the most of the chances, soaking up well over 100 deliveries, and after tea it soon became apparent that the match was drifting inexorably towards a draw. Kraigg Brathwaite, Blackwood and Kieran Powell took over bowling duties from a tired attack, and with shadows lengthening the captains got together and decided to bring a hard-fought Test to an end.

However, the Cricket West Indies president was personally quite satisfied by security arrangements in Lahore for the final match of the World XI series

Umar Farooq16-Sep-2017Cricket West Indies president Dave Cameron said it was a “challenge” to convince the West Indies players that it was safe to visit Pakistan. Cameron was on a two-day trip to the country to watch the final T20I of the World XI series, an event which the PCB hopes will convince other nations to send their teams for international tours.”I have enjoyed my two days in Pakistan,” Cameron said in a press conference at Gaddafi Stadium on Friday. “As Najam [Sethi, the PCB chairman] said, we’ve been talking about this for some time and have our own challenges back in the West Indies. We’re only 5 million people, and as you heard there was recently a hurricane passing through our islands as well. But my challenge is to convince the players that it’s safe enough. It’s our duty to help as well. I felt that if I came over here to show that it’s safe enough that would go some way in convincing the players. InshAllah [God-willing] in November, we’ll be here.”This is the second time PCB has approached West Indies to tour, after they refused to travel to Pakistan in March upon receiving security advice from the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA). In the report then, FICA warned that the risk level in Pakistan remained “at an extremely elevated state” and that “an acceptable level of participant security and safety cannot be expected or guaranteed”. It had also discouraged players strongly from travelling to Lahore for the Pakistan Super League final.But things have improved since, as ICC’s chief executive officer David Richardson noted at a press conference on Wednesday. The security arrangements were overseen by international security consultants. The ICC bore the cost of the security advisors and have agreed terms to assist the PCB for every series they host in Pakistan from hereon in.But Cameron also explained that the matter may not necessarily be in his hands, with the board not having the final say over whether its players tour a particular nation. “We’ve had the security team here for the final of the PSL and they’ve seen these matches as well,” he said, when asked if FICA could be convinced. “Here, Pakistan’s board makes decisions [regarding where to tour]. My board’s a little bit different, with the WIPA [West Indies Players Association] also having a big say. We have to respect their decision.”We want to ensure that when the players come over, everyone actually wants to come and enjoy the experience, and we don’t want to be seen to be forcing anyone. We’ve had Darren Sammy here and Samuel Badree and they’ve loved it. Sammy’s on his second trip and I think that will also convince the players that it is safe to come.Cameron also gave the security arrangements in Pakistan a personal vote of confidence. “From what I believe I’m very convinced. The hospitality has been great, and the security has been first-class, and from where I stand right now, everything looks good.”

Liverpool remain in negotiations with Southampton for midfielder Romeo Lavia, but to the indignation of the Anfield support, progress is moving at a snail's pace with the 2023/24 Premier League campaign just one week away.

Who are Liverpool signing this summer?

The summer transfer market started so brightly for the Reds, with Alexis Mac Allister arriving from Brighton & Hove Albion in a £35m deal before Dominik Szoboszlai was captured from RB Leipzig for £60m.

But progress was hampered when Saudi interest led to the departures of industrious midfield duo Fabinho and – captain – Jordan Henderson.

Read the latest Liverpool transfer news HERE…

Jurgen Klopp's side have since seen two bids for Lavia rejected, the second offer, £41m, still some way below Saints' £50m demand for the precocious engine room machine.

What is Romeo Lavia's style of play?

Lavia has been superb since joining Southampton from Manchester City one year ago in a deal potentially rising to £14m, and his performances on the south coast suggest that he boasts every ounce of quality requisite for success at the very highest level.

The 19-year-old would be a long-term project and the successor to Fabinho's role as the midfield anchor at Anfield, though given his Premier League displays over the past year there will be confidence at Liverpool that he could hit the ground running.

As per Sofascore, he recorded an average rating of 6.80 in the English top-flight, despite the tumult at St. Mary's Stadium and the discordant and disjointed harmony of Southampton's squad, resulting in a 20th-placed finish.

If Klopp succeeds in his pursuit, the £38k-per-week ace will be able to slot seamlessly into the Liverpool centre; the words of The Athletic's Jacob Tanswell corroborate the argument, as he said: in terms of technical quality and tactical understanding, he's more than ready to go right into that Liverpool midfield."

It is his innate ease and presence in the No. 6 role that will consequently allow teammates around him to flourish, with his ranking among the top 4% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for blocks per 90, as per FBref, illustrating his tenacity and determination to stifle opposition transitions.

Szoboszlai would certainly benefit from Lavia's arrival at Anfield, with the 32-cap Hungary captain's creative capabilities requiring steel-clad framework behind him to ensure he can effectively contribute to the offensive efforts.

And the £120k-per-week maestro could aid Lavia in his work too, ranking among the top 11% of attacking midfielders and wingers for blocks and the top 13% for clearances per 90.

Szoboszlai recorded an exemplary average rating of 7.42 in the German Bundesliga last season after scoring six goals and supplying eight assists from 28 starting appearances, creating 2.3 key passes per game, averaging 1.5 tackles per match and completing 83% of his passes.

Lavia is the "absolute monster" – as called by journalist Benjy Nurick – that Szoboszlai needs to thrive in the Premier League, while he can also utilise his own dynamism and defensive application to ensure that the workload is not too great for the teenage talent; it could be a partnership for the ages on Merseyside and Liverpool must ensure that they get this one over the line.

Burnley announced their ninth signing of the summer on Thursday with the addition of Jacob Bruun Larsen, but Vincent Kompany still has time to make it double figures in terms of arrivals in time for the start of the Premier League season.

Who have Burnley signed?

Danish winger Larsen joined from Bundesliga side Hoffenheim on a season-long loan, meaning a reunion with Kompany after spending time together at Anderlecht in 2020-21.

Larsen follows in the steps of Zeki Amdouni, James Trafford, Dara O'Shea, Luca Koleosho, Nathan Redmond and young goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux in joining Burnley this summer, while Jordan Beyer and Michael Obafemi have been signed on permanent deals after starring on loan last season.

The Clarets' move for Larsen comes amid ongoing speculation that they are looking to sign fellow attacking midfielder Jack Clarke from Championship side Sunderland.

According to The Northern Echo, Burnley's latest bid of £10m plus various add-ons has been rejected by Sunderland, but the Black Cats would be willing to sell if offered £15m.

What position does Jack Clarke play?

Sunderland snapped up Clarke from Tottenham Hotspur on a permanent deal 12 months ago after he impressed during a spell on loan in League One.

The 22-year-old was one of the best players in the Championship last season, as he scored nine goals and set up a further 12 goals in 47 appearances for the Black Cats.

Those 12 assists were a joint-high among players in the Championship, level with former Coventry City star Viktor Gyokeres, who has earned a big move away this summer to Sporting CP.

Clarke's 0.48 goals or assists per 90 minutes in the regular season, as per FBref, was better than that of Burnley regulars Johann Berg Gudmundsson (0.46) and Josh Brownhill (0.38) last season, while Anass Zaroury (0.50) only fared marginally better.

That goes some way to showing that Clarke has the quality to be part of Burnley's squad, and his arrival could be particularly good news for Burnley's centre-forwards.

The former England U20 international played mainly on the left-hand side last season, which is likely where he would fit in at Burnley should he indeed sign, on the opposite flank to Manuel Benson.

Benson scored and assisted a combined 14 goals last season – only Brownhill (15) could better than among Clarets players still at the club – as he played an integral part in the Lancashire side's dominant title win.

Having Benson on one flank and Clarke on the other would give many Premier League defenders a torrid time next season, especially when you factor in that the Sunderland ace was level with creative force Brownhill last season for shot-creating actions (147).

That metric takes factors such as passes and take-ons directly leading to a shot into account and gives a strong indication of the danger Clarke can cause in the final third.

Labelled an "unreal" player by football reporter Josh Bunting, Clarke – as is the case with many Burnley players – showed last season that he is ready to make the leap from the Championship to the Premier League.

If that is not with Kompany's Burnley, then it is surely just a matter of time before another club pounces.

On a day of two halves, Sri Lanka’s bowlers fought back after a 188-run opening stand between Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul, taking six wickets for 141 to leave the Pallekele Test nicely poised

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy12-Aug-2017
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:43

Maharoof: Tremendous fightback from Sri Lanka

The first half of the day produced a massive opening partnership, a seventh successive 50-plus score for KL Rahul and a second century of the tour for Shikhar Dhawan. Then, Sri Lanka hit back through their trio of left-armers, the orthodox spin of Malinda Pushpakumara, the unorthodox spin of Lakshan Sandakan, and the swing of Vishwa Fernando.India scored 188 without loss in the first 39.2 overs of the day, and 141 for 6 in the remaining 50.4. Having won their third toss of the series, they would have taken 329 for 6 at stumps, given the strength of their lower order, and given the amount of turn – albeit slow, for now – this Pallekele pitch is beginning to offer. But, given the position India’s openers put them in, Sri Lanka would have ended the day thrilled with their efforts to pull things back.The first two wickets came from aggressive shots against Pushpakumara, Rahul stepping out and failing to clear mid-on, and Dhawan sweeping hard but uppishly to square leg. Given that opening, Sri Lanka’s bowlers ensured the pressure did not let up. Having seemed to go through the motions right through the morning session and for most of the post-lunch session, they suddenly began bowling with purpose.Pushpakumara, who dropped short far too often at the SSC, bowled much fuller here, attacking the stumps and keeping batsmen guessing with his scrambled-seam delivery. On a day when India went at 3.65 per over, Pushpakumara finished with 3 for 40 from 18 overs. He entered the attack late – in the 40th over of India’s innings – but made such an impact that Dilruwan Perera, Sri Lanka’s most senior spinner, didn’t bowl a single ball after lunch.Sandakan, meanwhile, forced the batsmen to keep a wary eye on his wrist to pick the variations out of his hand, and in the process, they sometimes misread his variations in trajectory. Cheteshwar Pujara, rocking back to cut one that wasn’t short enough, top-edged to slip.Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane saw out a testing period until tea, and found no release after the interval. Sandakan kept floating the ball above Rahane’s eyeline and got it to dip, forcing him to reach for the ball. Fernando, consistently clocking speeds in the high 130s, began finding a hint of reverse, accentuating his angle across the right-handers. He teased Kohli, bowling wide outside his off stump, daring him to drive. Kohli picked off a couple of overpitched balls, and ignored the rest.Dip undid Rahane and a loose drive undid Kohli, even if the bowler in each case wasn’t the one that initiated the respective plans. Rahane, reaching well in front of his body, played across a Pushpakumara ball that didn’t turn and also kept slightly low. Kohli, having fought his way to 42, threw his hands at a wide, flighted delivery from Sandakan and nicked to slip.With 13 balls left in the day, Fernando, armed with the second new ball, belatedly struck. In his 18th over of the day, he slanted one across R Ashwin, pitching just short of a good length. In his previous over, from the other end, he had kept swinging the ball back in. This one just went with the angle; Ashwin poked, and Niroshan Dickwella dived across first slip to grab a stunning one-hander.The mood of the match was transformed, and the events of the morning seemed to belong to a distant past, although they had ensured India were probably still in the ascendancy.Those events had occurred at great speed, the openers scoring their runs at 4.75 per over, with Dhawan going at close to a run a ball, capitalising on the smallest sign of width from the quicks and using his feet superbly against spin.Rahul made his seventh successive 50-plus score in Test matches, becoming the joint record-holder alongside Everton Weekes, Andy Flower, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Kumar Sangakkara and Chris Rogers. As was the case with most of the previous six innings, he looked good for a century before getting himself out, against the run of play.Batting was expected to be at its easiest on the first day, with the pitch looking dry beneath an even but not extravagant cover of grass. Kohli chose to bat again, and Sri Lanka made life easy for his batsmen by failing to make use of the new ball.Fernando, pushing close to 90mph and getting some swing, began reasonably well, finding Dhawan’s outside edge in his second over, the ball not quite carrying as third slip dived in front of second. Lahiru Kumara, however, leaked runs, pitching persistently short, feeding Dhawan’s cut and Rahul’s pull.Kumara went out of the attack after bowling just three overs and conceding 26. In his place came Dimuth Karunaratne, who, having dismissed Pujara in Colombo, now began to trouble Rahul with his wobble and lack of pace. He beat his outside edge once, then clipped it – once again the ball didn’t carry to the slip cordon – and then caused an attempted flick to balloon high over mid-on. Kumara, running back and watching the ball over his shoulder, got his hand to the ball on the dive, but couldn’t hold on.That chance, in the 12th over, would be the last of the session. Leading the spin attack in Rangana Herath’s absence, Perera wasn’t allowed to settle, Dhawan dancing down the track in only his second over to loft him over mid-off. Rattled, the offspinner dropped short a couple of balls later and Dhawan pulled him for another four.A return to the attack with a slightly older ball made no difference to Kumara’s fortunes – he went too full, rather than too short, in his first over back, and both Rahul and Dhawan drove him for fours. By the 20th over, both batsmen had brought up their fifties.India ended the first session on a dominant note – Rahul cutting and driving Perera for two fours in the last over before lunch – and continued in that vein after the break, with both batsmen finding the cover boundary off Fernando with drives on the up against good-length balls. Then, Dhawan brought out the sweep that had served him so well in Galle, hitting Sandakan square and fine.Aside from a top-edged cut from Rahul off Sandakan, which flew to the left of Angelo Mathews at slip, there was little sign of a wicket arriving, but the belated introduction of Pushpakumara provoked a mistake from Rahul, a mistake that would have far-reaching consequences.

Essex’s lead in Division One is a formidable one but Lancashire’s dismissal of bottom club Warwickshire confirmed they cannot be discounted

ECB Reporters Network31-Aug-2017
Tim Ambrose completed a century before Lancashire’s win•Getty ImagesLancashire completed their sixth Specsavers County Championship victory of the season from 10 matches as they chased down a target of 41 to beat Warwickshire at Emirates Old Trafford.The Red Rose county, second in Division One, boosted their chances of winning a second title in seven years by completing a maximum 24-point win by eight wickets during the fourth afternoon.But they were left waiting to see if Somerset could do them a favour by hanging on for the draw against leaders Essex which would reduce Essex’s lead from 36 points to 25.Tim Ambrose’s 16th career first-class century, an excellent 104 off 198 balls, at least ensured Warwickshire avoided a fifth innings defeat of 2017 as they posted a second-innings total of 344.But, still, their sixth defeat in 10 leaves them in a perilous situation at the bottom of the table, having only taken two points.They are more than 30 points adrift of safety with four games remaining.There was no play possible before lunch due to rain, but play started at 1.10pm with a minimum of 72 overs to be bowled.The Bears started on 275 for 6 in their second innings, trailing by 29, with Ambrose unbeaten on 76 and Jeetan Patel 18. Ambrose reached his ton off 156 balls in the 88th over, the third over of play, as the pair shared a stand of 86 inside 20 overs.That partnership was ended when home captain Ryan McLaren trapped Patel lbw for 30. Kyle Jarvis then bowled Chris Wright with one that kept a touch low in the next over to leave the score at 326 for 8.Warwickshire were helped along by the addition of five penalty runs when a Matthew Parkinson delivery beat everyone in his first over of the day, including batsman Olly Stone, and hit the helmet placed behind wicketkeeper Alex Davies.But the leg-spinner struck in his second, the 103rd of the innings, when he had Ambrose lbw with 339 on the board, a lead of 35.Jarvis wrapped up the innings with his eighth wicket of the match when he uprooted Ryan Sidebottom’s middle and off stumps in the next over, leaving Lancashire with 51 overs to chase their target.Alex Davies took two boundaries off Keith Barker’s first over, but he fell lbw to the same bowling in the fifth. Haseeb Hameed launched Patel’s off-spin for six over long-on, but he was also lbw in Barker’s next over for 21 before victory was secured.