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Hazlewood back into the top ten in T20I rankings while Scholtz, Erasmus of Namibia dazzle too

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Feb-2024

Joe Root’s first century in England’s ongoing tour of India has lifted the batter to No. 3, while Yashasvi Jaiswal’s consistent scores have taken him to No. 12 on ICC’s rankings for Test batters.Root’s unbeaten 122 in the fourth Test, his first major contribution with the bat this series, lifted him two places and into the top three. His exploits as an offspinner have also moved him up to No. 4 among Test allrounders.For Jaiswal, now only two shy of the top ten, the rise has been meteoric. He started the Test series at No. 69 in the rankings, but in a matter of weeks, his 655 runs at an average of 93.57 in eight innings has seen him jump 57 steps to 12th. The batters’ rankings are still led by New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, with Australia’s Steven Smith at No. 2.Full rankings tables

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In the Test bowling rankings, world No. 2 R Ashwin has closed the distance between him and World No. 1 Jasprit Bumrah to only 21 rating points. After missing parts of the Rajkot Test for personal reasons, Ashwin took a second-innings five-wicket haul in Ranchi to set up India’s victory. Bumrah was rested. Behind the pair are Kagiso Rabada at third, with the Australian duo of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood to follow.Australians surge in T20IsHazlewood’s spell of 4-1-12-1 in Auckland against New Zealand has taken him six places up to No. 7 on the rankings for T20I bowlers. He is now the only Australian in the top 10 of the T20I bowling rankings, with England spinner Adil Rashid leading the way followed by the Sri Lankan pair of Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana.Travis Head and Tim David have also gained positions among T20I batters. Head’s scores of 24, 45 and 33 elevated him 18 places up to 19th. Tim David’s 10-ball 31 in Australia’s final-ball win in the opening game of the series now sees him at a career-best 22nd. Suryakumar Yadav, Phil Salt and Mohammad Rizwan still hold the top three spots.Scholtz makes history for NamibiaBernard Scholtz’s six-wicket haul across two games at the League 2 tri-series in Nepal has taken him to 11th among ODI bowlers, a record high for Namibia. Scholtz’s slow left-arm orthodox spin earned him 4 for 31 against Nepal and 2 for 15 against Netherlands.Scholtz’s captain Gerhard Erasmus, meanwhile, is tied at No. 8 among ODI allrounders alongside Glenn Maxwell of Australia. Erasmus struck 52 against Nepal and took 3 for 33 against Netherlands to zoom eight places up and into the top ten.

Head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe has said that Bangladesh need to “move on” from the senior players, calling the current transition phase an “exciting” one for the cricket in the country, ahead of the upcoming home Test series against New Zealand.Regular captain Shakib Al Hasan, his deputy Litton Das, and Taskin Ahmed, the leader of the pace attack, have all been ruled out of the series. Shakib is recovering from a finger injury, Taskin is managing his shoulder niggle, while the BCB has given Litton a paternity break.Related

• Southee expects spin to play a big role in 'hard-fought' series

• Shanto to lead Bangladesh in home Tests against New Zealand

“It’s challenging to lose that much of experience from any team, especially for Bangladesh,” Hathurusinghe said. “Those guys have been part of the Bangladesh team in every format for more than 15 years. Some of them for ten years. It is however something to look forward to, to see what the youngsters can do.”I think it’s a time that we need to move on from some of the players that have played for a long time. They are not going to be there forever. But this is happening because of many reasons. I think it’s exciting, and it’s an opportunity for some of the youngsters to make their name and then have a long career.”At a time when Bangladesh were enduring a tough time at the World Cup, having lost six out of their seven matches, Hathurusinghe had said that his work has to “start after the World Cup”, adding that he couldn’t do much before the tournament having been appointed just seven months prior. Two weeks after their World Cup exit, he called the phase “a changing guard for Bangladesh cricket” and said that his focus was on developing a team with young players.”I think every team takes pride in winning at home,” Hathurusinghe said. “We are no different. We are looking to win games in our own conditions. We will try to compete on away conditions. That’s the plan. We are very aware of our limitations and strengths. So we are not going to predict big things. We are developing a team now. It’s just a kind of a changing guard for Bangladesh cricket.”The exciting thing is, there are good young players. The challenge is these guys haven’t played enough cricket leading up to [the Test match]. So our planning has to be a little bit better than this going forward and making a bigger pool of players available for every position in bowling and batting. Players challenging the others who are in the team, make our team better.”One immediate concern ahead of the first Test in Sylhet on Tuesday is that most of the Bangladesh players haven’t played red-ball cricket since June. The Bangladesh players who returned from India after the World Cup in mid-November were part of the last NCL first-class match. Hathurusinghe believed that was the most they could do to adjust to the longer format in this short turnaround period.”We used the NCL matches for the guys who played the World Cup as preparation,” he said. “Most of the batters made use of that opportunity. Most of the other players have been playing NCL. This is almost like a new-look Bangladesh team for various reasons. Not by design. I think we are ready as we can be and I’m looking forward to this Test series.”Bangladesh will bank on the vast experience of his spin bowling duo Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who are the side’s second and third-highest overall Test wicket-takers respectively. They have a combined 328 Test wickets, of which 228 are at home. In the last ten years, Taijul has been Bangladesh’s most successful bowler at home too. The pair has also been head and shoulders above the rest of the Bangladesh bowling attack.”There is experience in Taijul and Miraz. Taijul has 177 Test wickets. Definitely he’ll be a leader of the attack and Miraz is playing since 2016 if I remember correctly,” Hathurusinghe said. “Then there’s young (Hasan) Murad and Naeem Hassan. I think playing on this condition and this heat, those guys, spinners mainly, will play a big role.”Sylhet has hosted just one Test so far, when Zimbabwe beat Bangladesh by 151 runs in 2018. Hathurusinghe said Bangladesh, too, were not sure of how the pitch would behave.”We haven’t played as much Test matches [in Sylhet]. One, I think, if my memory serves right. So it’s new for us as well. We don’t know how the wicket is going to behave because we don’t have history here. We will just go by what we see in front of us. It is an unknown at the moment.”

يعمل تشيلسي بشكل قوي على الاستعداد لمنافسات الموسم المقبل، من خلال سوق الانتقالات الصيفية الحالية حيث يرغب في تدعيم صفوفه بشكل جيد.

وارتبط تشيلسي خلال الأيام الماضية بالتعاقد مع أحد الجواهر التي تخرجت من أكاديمية لاماسيا في برشلونة تشافي سيمونز من صفوف لايبزيج الألماني.

اقرأ أيضًا.. تايمز: باريس سان جيرمان استفز تشيلسي بكلمات “متعالية” قبل نهائي كأس العالم للأندية

وكشف الصحفي البريطاني “بن جاكوبس” تطورات جديدة بشأن دخول تشيلسي في محادثات مع لايبزيج للتعاقد مع لاعب وسط برشلونة السابق.

وأكد جاكوبس أن تشيلسي يستعد لتقديم أول عرض رسمي لضم لاعب برشلونة السابق تشافي سيمونز.

وأصبح تشيلسي قريبًا من التوصل لاتفاق على البنود الشخصية مع اللاعب بعد محادثات إيجابية خلال الـ24 ساعة الماضية.

وينافس تشيلسي فريق بايرن ميونخ الذي استفسر عن الحصول على خدمات اللاعب، مع ذلك يميل سيمونز للانتقال للدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

ويستهدف آرسنال ومدربه ميكيل أرتيتا الحصول على خدمات تشافي سيمونز، لكنه لم يبدأ أي محادثات مع لايبزيج بعد.

جدير بالذكر أن سيمونز قد انضم لصفوف لايبزيج في 2023 قادمًا من صفوف باريس سان جيرمان الفرنسي مقابل 43 مليون جنيه إسترليني.

ولعب سيمونز مع آيندهوفن أيضًا بعد انتقاله لباريس سان جيرمان، وخاض الهولندي الشاب الموسم الماضي 33 مباراة مع لايبزيج سجل 11 وصنع 8 تمريرات حاسمة.

يبقى مستقبل الحارس الألماني مارك أندريه تير شتيجن واحداً من القضايا الشائكة في برشلونة والتي يحتاج النادي لحلها في الأسابيع المقبلة.

ومع انضمام خوان جارسيا من نادي إسبانيول وتجديد عقد فويتشيك تشيزني، فقد أرسل البلوجرانا رسالة واضحة لشتيجن، أنه لن يكون الحارس الأساسي الموسم المقبل.

اقرأ أيضًا..”سبورت” تكشف سبب غياب تير شتيجن عن تدريبات برشلونة للمرة الثالثة

ويرغب برشلونة في التخلص من شتيجن نظرًا للراتب المرتفع الذي يحصل عليه الحارس الألماني والذي أبدى تردده في دراسة فكرة رحيله عن النادي.

وبحسب صحيفة “آس”الإسبانية فإن مانشستر سيتي أبدى اهتمامه بالتعاقد مع مارك تير شتيجن كبديل محتمل لإيدرسون مورايش.

ويعلم مانشستر سيتي إلى جانب جالطة سراي التركي أن برشلونة قد يضطر لبيع حارسه الألماني لخفض فاتورة الرواتب والعودة لقاعدة اللعب المالي النظيف في الليجا 1:1.

ولا يتدرب مارك تير شتيجن مع برشلونة حتى الآن بسبب مشكلة في الظهر يعاني منها، ويتدرب الألماني صاحب الـ33 عاماً في صالة الألعاب الرياضية.

وأكد تير شتيجن في وقت سابق أنه لا يرغب في ترك النادي ومع ذلك فإن اقتراب مسابقة كأس العالم يرجح أن الألماني قد يتراجع ويرغب في حجز مكان أساسي في تشكيل ألمانيا بعد اعتزال مانويل نوير.

Tottenham Hotspur have been offered the chance to sign a Bayern Munich star this summer by intermediaries, with a report sharing what their stance is on striking a deal to back manager Ange Postecoglou.

Tottenham seal place in Europa League quarter-finals after AZ Alkmaar win

Spurs’ hopes of ending their 17-year wait for a major trophy are still alive after they sealed a place in the Europa League quarter-finals with a 3-1 win at home to AZ Alkmaar on Thursday evening.

Tottenham set to axe "powerful" young player after making tough decision

There’s no long-term place for him in Ange Postecoglou’s ranks.

By
Emilio Galantini

Mar 12, 2025

Wilson Odobert opened the scoring with an excellent finish before James Maddison was on target to make it 2-0, gifting the home side an aggregate lead, with Peer Koopmeiners then handing Postecoglou a brief scare by taking advantage of a misplaced Lucas Bergvall pass to grab one back for the visitors.

Luckily, Odobert was on hand for his second of the game and Tottenham’s third of the match around 15 minutes from full-time. The game ended with a much-needed 3-1 victory for the Lilywhites, who now face Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt in the next round.

Bergvall put in a very impressive display, barring his error, while the likes of Odobert, Dominic Solanke, James Maddison, Son Heung-min and the rejuvenated Djed Spence also had very solid outings against the Eredivisie visitors.

“Really liked the way the boys addressed the challenge tonight,” said Postecoglou on Tottenham’s performance against AZ.

“It’s not easy when you’re 1-0 down before the game starts. You know you don’t want to give the opposition any opportunity to get a further advantage. I thought we started the game really well. Really composed and controlled. We didn’t create a lot but at the same time we just had them camped in their half and they didn’t really venture anywhere near our goal.

“Scored a really good goal from our press. And second half started brilliantly, exactly what we wanted to do, got our goal, and then we gave them a goal. That puts the tie again on edge a little bit. But I thought our response to that was really good, scored another good goal, probably should have got another one or two to finish the game off.”

Tottenham stance with Ange Postecoglou offered Leroy Sané

Off the field, Spurs need to address key areas in the squad to avoid a repeat of their underwhelming domestic campaign, which has been summed up by a lack of squad depth and injuries to important players.

Tottenham are believed to be in the market for a new forward this summer, alongside their plan to buy Mathys Tel permanently, and it has now come to light that they’ve been handed the chance to do a deal for Bayern’s Leroy Sané.

The £241,000-per-week winger will be a free agent at the end of this season as things stand, following five fruitful years at the Allianz Arena, with The Boot Room’s Graeme Bailey now reporting that he’s been floated towards N17.

It is believed Tottenham have been offered the chance to sign Sane by agents, but as things stand, they haven’t taken the bait and are simply being kept aware of his ongoing situation. The “incredible” former Man City and Schalke star, as lauded by Pep Guardiola, could be one of the bargains of the summer.

He’s racked up 56 goals and 50 assists in total during his time at Bayern, but Spurs would likely need the 29-year-old to lower his wage demands, as Sane’s current salary would make him the club’s highest earner above Son.

Knight Riders’ top six faces a big challenge as the IPL returns to the Eden Gardens

Vishal Dikshit05-Apr-2023Big picture – will KKR’s batting stand up?If a depleted Royal Challengers Bangalore attack could deflate the power-packed Mumbai Indians at the batting-friendly Chinnaswamy Stadium, imagine what they could do at a more pace-friendly Eden Gardens against the underwhelming top six of Kolkata Knight Riders.Against Punjab Kings’ bowling attack, which doesn’t look the most threatening in the tournament, Knight Riders were 146 for 7 in 16 overs, without a single marquee name in their top six which managed a combined 90 runs off 74 balls, leaving too much on Andre Russell’s shoulders and weathered knees. They signing of Jason Roy is a clear boost, but he won’t be joining them in time for this game.On Thursday, they have to match the fired-up top order of Royal Challengers. In the previous match, Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis scored blazing half-centuries, hammering 11 sixes and as many fours together. Both of them like pace onto the bat, which could put the onus on the Knight Riders’ spin trio of Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy and Anukul Roy, if he gets another game. Spinners have been more economical compared to the quicks in Kolkata since 2018, and both du Plessis and Kohli haven’t scored as quickly against spinners in the last three IPLs. Kohli also doesn’t have a great record against both Narine and Varun. Remember the 2021 eliminator when Narine single-handedly took out the trio of Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers to help his team to the final?Even if Knight Riders can’t replicate that performance, they will be hoping to put up a better show in front of their home crowd.Team news – RCB without TopleyRoyal Challengers will continue to be without Wanindu Hasaranga and Josh Hazlewood, who are yet to join the squad, and Rajat Patidar has been ruled out of the tournament. Their left-arm quick Reece Topley, who snared Cameron Green with a searing yorker in their last game, hurt his right shoulder badly while fielding and traveled to Kolkata with his arm in a sling. They can bring in David Willey as a like-for-like bowling replacement.Roy will join Knight Riders in time for Sunday’s game in Ahmedabad, and Litton Das will fly in from Dhaka after the ongoing Test against Ireland. Lockie Ferguson, who missed their first game as well, is still bowling with half a run-up in the nets and is unlikely to play.Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis were on fire in RCB’s first match against Mumbai Indians•Associated PressToss and Impact Player strategyRoyal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers didn’t have to use the Impact Player rule in their convincing win against Mumbai. If they bat second like they did that day, they can bring in another batter like Suyash Prabhudessai or Anuj Rawat in place of Akash Deep or Mohammed Siraj, and do the opposite while batting first.Probable bat-first XI: 1 Faf du Plessis (capt), 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Glenn Maxwell, 4 Michael Bracewell, 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Suyash Prabhudessai, 7 Shahbaz Ahmed, 8 Harshal Patel, 9 Akash Deep, 10 David Willey, 11 Karn SharmaProbable bowl-first XI: 1 Faf du Plessis (capt), 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Glenn Maxwell, 4 Michael Bracewell, 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Shahbaz Ahmed, 7 Harshal Patel, 8 Akash Deep, 9 David Willey, 10 Karn Sharma, 11 Mohammed SirajKolkata Knight Riders
While batting second against Kings, they subbed out Varun to bring in Venkatesh Iyer in the chase, and they could stick to a similar strategy in this game as well. Batting first, they could start with an extra batter with Russell slotted at No. 7 and Narine at 8, and sub out Mandeep Singh for a bowler to retain Venkatesh’s bowling option for the second innings. In either case, they could also play Kulwant Khejroliya instead of Shardul Thakur, who leaked 43 in the first game, with enough batting depth.Possible bat-first XI: 1 Mandeep Singh, 2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 3 Anukul Roy, 4 Venkatesh Iyer, 5 Nitish Rana (capt), 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Shardul Thakur/Kulwant Khejroliya, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Tim SoutheePossible bowl-first XI: 1 Mandeep Singh, 2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 3 Anukul Roy, 4 Venkatesh Iyer, 5 Nitish Rana (capt), 6 Andre Russell, 7 Sunil Narine, 8 Shardul Thakur/Kulwant Khejroliya, 9 Varun Chakravarthy, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Tim SoutheeStats that matter – Tie Kohli up with spin Maxwell, Kohli and du Plessis don’t have great strike rates against Narine in the IPL. Maxwell’s stands at 101.75 (58 off 57 balls), Kohli’s at 103.06 (101 off 98) and du Plessis’ at 80 (36 off 45 balls) On the other hand, Kohli loves hitting out against the India quicks in the Knight Riders squad. He has hit Umesh Yadav for 150 runs off 85 balls and Thakur for 67 off 42. So don’t be surprised if they introduce Narine early against Kohli and du Plessis. Russell is going to play his 100th IPL game and Narine his 150th, and it will be in front of the Knight Riders home crowd.Pitch and conditions – Home disadvantageThe trend at Eden Gardens in the IPL has mostly been to chase. The pitch usually has something for the quicks and spinners both, and the bigger dimensions mean boundaries may not come as often as they did for Kohli and du Plessis at the Chinnaswamy Stadium a few days ago. It’s expected to be slightly humid with temperatures in the late 20s in the evening, and some early swing and dew later as usual.Quotes”One cannot be judgmental after only one game. Even in the last game, we were in the game till the end and it was unfortunate [that we lost]. I’m pretty confident about the side we have.”

Suryakumar, Wadhera hit fifties as Mumbai win with 21 balls and six wickets to spare

Shashank Kishore09-May-20232:29

Moody: RCB will be shattered as a bowling unit

If ever you needed an example of a team walking home in a 200 chase without any stress, this was it. And in doing so, Mumbai Indians fired their IPL 2023 campaign into orbit as they made a stunning climb from No. 8 to No. 3 after razing Royal Challengers Bangalore in another six-fest at the Wankhede.At the forefront of their march were Suryakumar Yadav and Nehal Wadhera, who put together 140 off just 64 balls in a sensational spell of on-demand boundary hitting that had seasoned bowlers such as Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga and Harshal Patel searching for answers.From 101 needed off 60, Suryakumar’s pyrotechnics that brought him his IPL best – a 35-ball 83 – brought the equation down to 8 off 26 when he walked off to a standing ovation. It was his fourth fifty-plus score in his last six outings, marking a sensational turnaround in fortunes after a cold first half.Suryakumar’s partner for much of that innings, Wadhera, made the most of his promotion up the order in Tilak Varma’s absence due to a niggle. The ferocity of their partnership had a deflating effect on RCB, who now join a cluttered mid-table that has four teams on 10 points with a possibility of a fifth joining there on Wednesday night. Behrendorff’s powerplay act Long before there was an inkling of what was to come, Jason Behrendorff set the stage alight at Wankhede by stinging his former team with the wickets of Virat Kohli and Anuj Rawat. Kohli was out giving him the charge off his fourth ball, nicking a heave that was overturned through DRS, while Rawat’s top edge to an attempted scoop landed in Cameron Green’s lap as he ran back from slip.Prior to the double-strike, Behrendorff could’ve also had du Plessis first ball if Wadhera hadn’t dropped him at midwicket. Du Plessis, though, made them pay along with Glenn Maxwell as the pair quickly offset RCB’s early losses to fire them from 16 for 2 to 56 for 2 after six overs. The Maxwell-Faf show RCB’s soft middle order has been a cause for concern all season, but Maxwell and du Plessis weren’t going to die wondering. In fact, du Plessis took two fours off Chawla and continued the attack against Green. On the other side of the powerplay, Maxwell welcomed Chris Jordan – Jofra Archer’s replacement in the XI – by pumping him for two sixes in his very first over to raise the half-century of the partnership off just 25 balls. As it turned out, it was just the start of the mayhem that was to follow.Du Plessis was all muscle, backing away to swing cleanly if he wasn’t lofting through the line on instinct. Maxwell was a mix of the inventive and the ridiculous, switch-hitting, slog-sweeping, scooping and reverse-ramping his way, treating the bowling with such disdain that you wondered if Mumbai were in for a target in the vicinity of 230. The pair had put on 120 off just 60 balls when Maxwell dragged one across the line to deep midwicket for a 33-ball 68.Suryakumar Yadav celebrates after bringing up his half-century off 26 balls•BCCI

The RCB slowdownRCB would lose Mahipal Lomror and du Plessis, for a 45-ball 61, in the next two overs to expose that brittle lower middle order. It’s at this point that RCB decided to summon their Impact Player by bringing in Kedar Jadhav. It was now on him and Dinesh Karthik to give the finishing kick.Karthik struggled for rhythm, but flicked a switch from 8 off 7, to slam Kumar Kartikeya’s left-arm spin in the 18th over. But his dismissal with 11 balls left had RCB shortchanged. Akash Madhwal, the rookie seamer, delivered an excellent final over, only his second in the game, that went for six as RCB finished with 199; the last five had just brought them 48 runs. The Kishan turbocharge Five runs, four innings, two ducks.Rohit Sharma shredded that with a ferocious flat-bat off Hazlewood first ball. Ishan Kishan followed Rohit’s cue to take the attack to Mohammed Siraj, flicking and whipping his way to sixes. In trying to sustain his onslaught against spin, he was out to Hasaranga after hitting him for a four and six. Two balls later, Rohit was out lbw to a delivery he tried to nudge against the turn to one that didn’t turn as much as he expected. Mumbai were up against it at 52 for 2 in five overs. SKY takes over Over the next five overs, Suryakumar and Wadhera kept up with the asking rate by playing risk-free cricket, before the flick was well and truly switched on. Hasaranga’s return to deliver the 11th with Mumbai needing 101 more led to a torrent as both batters picked a six apiece.Du Plessis now went back to Hazlewood to stifle the scoring, especially with Harshal Patel struggling for rhythm. But Suryakumar’s grand hitting behind the V, where he used pace to takedown Hazlewood and Siraj for sixes behind square on either side, left everyone awestruck. He brought up his half-century off just 26 balls, and then raised the tempo even more by nonchalantly lofting a slot-ball from Siraj into the second tier down the ground.By now, Suryakumar was seeing it like a football, so big that even a beamer aimed at his body was swatted away for six like it was child’s play. His dismissal to Vyshak Vijaykumar in a double-wicket over was somewhat of an anti-climax at the end, but by then the result was a foregone conclusion.Wadhera fittingly finished it off with a lofted six over cover to bring up a second-straight fifty. By then, Mumbai had razed down the fastest 200 chase in IPL history – with 21 balls to spare – and the second-fastest overall.

Tottenham Hotspur went into last night’s game against Manchester City hoping to win their fourth Premier League game on the bounce.

Unfortunately, a goal from Erling Haaland in the first half made sure that didn’t happen.

However, while they left the match empty-handed, Ange Postecoglou’s side weren’t dreadful, and had they been a little more clinical in the final third, they could’ve easily picked up at least a point.

That does suggest that their attacking options on the night were a little lacklustre, though, which was the case, and therefore, the manager should look to take Mathys Tel out of the team for the next game.

Why Tel should be dropped

So, before the pitchforks come out, we are not saying that Tel is a bad player or someone that won’t develop into a serious world-beater for Spurs, as based on his performances for Bayern Munich last season, when he produced 16 goal involvements in 1406 minutes, he looks like he will be.

However, it’s also true that since moving to North London, the young Frenchman has struggled to make an impact.

For example, he’s now made five appearances for the Lilywhites, four of which have been starts, yet he’s only found the back of the net once, which ended up being a consolation goal against Aston Villa in the FA Cup.

Moreover, his actual performances have not been convincing either, with yesterday’s clash with City another example of that, as demonstrated by his statistics.

In 66 minutes of action, the 19-year-old prospect amassed an expected goal figure of 0.04, took a single shot on target, failed in 100% of his dribbles, took 13 touches, completed four passes, lost six of seven duels, committed a foul and was dribbled past once.

Minutes

66′

Expected Goals

0.04

Goals

0

Expected Assists

0.00

Shots on Target

1

Shots off Target

0

Shots Blocked

0

Dribbles (Successful)

2 (0)

Dribbled Past

1

Touches

13

Duels (Won)

7(1)

Fouls

1

Crosses (Accurate)

0 (0)

Long Balls (Accurate)

0 (0)

Completed Passes

4

In short, it was another display in which he failed to add anything to the team, so with a must-win tie against AZ Alkmaar coming up, it might be time for Postecoglou to drop Tel and turn to another of his up-and-coming forwards instead.

Chalkboard

The Spurs gem who should replace Tel

With Dominic Solnanke still out recovering from his knee injury, the centre-forward options Postecoglou can turn to at the moment are rather limited, especially when it comes to the Europa League knockout phases, the club have already announced their squad.

However, given Tel’s ineffectiveness in recent games, he has to do something.

Fortunately, there is a youngster who seriously impressed last time out in the competition who can join the main squad whenever thanks to the rules around U21 players: Dane Scarlett.

The academy gem returned from his lacklustre loan spell with Oxford United in December, and instead of going straight back into the youth set-up or going back out on loan, he was given a chance to play in the first team in the game against Elfsborg, where he shone.

The outrageous talent came on in the 66th minute, and instead of simply trying to find his feet, staying under the radar and avoiding any potential mistakes, the 20-year-old took the game by the scruff of the neck.

Just four minutes after coming on, the promising prospect positioned himself between two defenders and nodded home his first senior goal for the club.

Then, 14 minutes later, the Hillingdon-born dynamo, who Jacek Kulig described as being “born to score goals,” turned provider, as he was involved in a slick passing move that saw him pick up an assist from fellow academy graduate Oyindamola Ajayi.

It’s not just in Europe where he has impressed, though, as in a short 16-minute cameo against Ipswich Town over the weekend, he picked up another assist, bringing his tally for the Lilywhites this season to one goal and two assists in three appearances, totalling 51 minutes.

In other words, the youngster is averaging a goal involvement every game or every 17 minutes, and while that number will increase with more starts under his belt, it remains incredibly encouraging.

Ultimately, Tel is struggling to make an impact at the moment, and with few other options, it might be time for Postecoglou to hand Scarlett a start, as he has most certainly made an impact thus far.

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1 ByEthan Lamb Feb 27, 2025

Postponed West Indies tour of Pakistan opens up window for players to participate in new South African league

Umar Farooq04-Nov-2022

Cricketers from Pakistan have been permitted by the PCB to sign up with the CSA’s SA20 league, after not being part of the main player auction.ESPNcricinfo understands that the change came after the league introduced the option of additional wildcard entries. The process will allow each team to pick one extra player in their squads, and at least two Pakistani players who do not have PCB central contracts are aiming to secure deals. The PCB has also allowed contracted players to play in the SA20 league, if they can get takers. The first edition of the tournament begins in January 2023.”We are introducing a wildcard pick,” Graeme Smith, commissioner of the SA20 league, told ESPNcricinfo. “Post the World Cup, we will allow teams to pick one other player. From a league perspective, we don’t get involved with selection. The teams go to the market and pick.”No Pakistan players featured in the original auction, in part because most of the top players will be involved in a busy home international season. But there was also a sense within the PCB that their players would get snubbed because the franchises are owned by owners of IPL teams; Pakistan players have been effectively barred from the IPL since 2008 because of poor relations between the governments of India and Pakistan.Related

SA20 auction: Stubbs the biggest buy, Ferreira creates a stir

It is unclear what made PCB change its mind, though the postponement of West Indies’ tour to Pakistan is thought to be one of the reasons. That tour, of three T20Is, was scheduled for January 2023, but has been called off, providing space in the calendar for players from both countries to become available for T20 leagues in the January-February window.Apart from the SA20, the ILT20 (in the UAE), Australia’s BBL, and the BPL in Bangladesh are all on at the same time, and the PSL is set to start in early February.The PCB, however, will keep its players away from the ILT20 as originally planned. Fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain and wicketkeeper batter Azam Khan were both denied NOCs for the league earlier. Both players were in contention to sign a deal with Desert Vipers, one of the teams in the league that is not Indian-owned.The SA20 auction took place in September with a long list of 533 players. Tristan Stubbs fetched the highest bid of Rand 9.2 million (US$ 520,000 approx.) for the inaugural edition, with Sunrisers Eastern Cape winning a fierce bidding war against MI Cape Town and Johannesburg Super Kings to pick up their homegrown star-in-the-making.

The South Florida side was crushed on Wednesday as they squandered another trophy chance

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami's run in the CONCACAF Champions Cup has come to an end after an embarrassing 3-1 defeat (5-1 aggregate) to the Vancouver Whitecaps at home.

Inter Miami actually off to an inspired start. Down 2-0 from that first leg, Miami scored first through Jordi Alba, seemingly putting some doubt into the Canadian side. Going into halftime with a 1-0 advantage, it was all to play for in the final 45. Yet, there was a moment in the second half, somewhere between the 55th and 60th minute, where Inter Miami seemingly accepted their fate. Even as the Vancouver Whitecaps continued to run circles around them, had all but given up. They weren't tracking back anymore. They weren't fighting or brawling. There was time on the clock, but there was no doubt remaining: their CONCACAF Champions Cup hopes were over.

Miami's Champions Cup ambitions didn't end in Vancouver last week, when they fell 2-0 to the Whitecaps in the opening leg. No, run ended with a 10-minute second half blitz in Leg 2. Brian White, who has terrorized everyone in his path all season long, scored in the 51st minute to all but bury Miami due to the away goals rule. Pedro Vite's deflected finish two minutes later made the comeback impossible. Sebastian Berhalter then added a third in the 71st minute to put an exclamation point on this thing, sending a message to all who were watching that the Whitecaps were playing a different sort of game than the team opposite them.

While Inter Miami were expected to make the final prior to the semifinal matchup, the Whitecaps move on as the unquestioned better team. This wasn't luck, this was a shellacking.

Onto the final they go, while Miami will be left looking at another missed opportunity with a trophy on the line. This is a flawed team, one that is still nowhere near where it needs to be under new coach Javier Mascherano. Defensively, this group still has so many frailties, and the attack is still missing that certain something that showed up for large stretches of last season.

With the Club World Cup looming, have work to do.

GOAL rates Inter Miami's players from Chase Stadium…

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Oscar Ustari (5/10):

Was nowhere near White's opener and was caught out on the Vite deflection. Fine in the first half, but couldn't do anything to prevent the mess that opened the second.

Jordi Alba (7/10):

Provided one heck of a finish and helped set a physical tone throughout. Typical game from him, exactly what he has done for the last decade.

Noah Allen (6/10):

Pretty good on the ball and also had a goal-saving tackle in the first half to bail Miami out. Definitely the better of the two central defenders.

Maximiliano Falcon (4/10):

Got cooked a few times in the first half, which is how he earned a yellow card for a foul on White. Was taken off early in the second half, partly due to that yellow and partly due to his inability to prevent the Whitecaps flurry.

Marcelo Weigandt (4/10):

Targeted on all three of the Whitecaps goals, which is never good for a player's rating. His inability to clear on the Whitecaps' second, in particular, was damning for Miami.

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Sergio Busquets (5/10):

Generally did what he does best, but it wasn't even close to enough as the young Whitecaps midfield ran circles around their Inter Miami counterparts.

Federico Redondo (6/10):

Picked up a yellow card just before the half that essentially sealed his fate. He was clean on the ball, but was part of the mess for those first two Whitecaps goals before being taken out of the match.

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Telasco Segovia (5/10):

Good on the ball, but didn't offer nearly enough off of it as the Whitecaps were never really threatened down his side.

Tadeo Allende (6/10):

Hit the woodwork, which was a bit unlucky. Overall, offered some good things on that right-hand side, even if Miami struggled to make much of anything with it.

Lionel Messi (5/10):

By his standards, this is about as quiet as it gets. Created just one chance and didn't ever threaten the goal himself. Credit to the Whitecaps for silencing the Argentinian icon.

Luis Suarez (7/10):

Was credited with the assist on Alba's goal. Went on to do all of the little things needed to lead the line, completing all but two passes while leading the match in fouls drawn. He didn't offer much in terms of being dangerous in front of goal, though.

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Gonzalo Lujan (6/10):

Came on to replace Falcon and was almost certainly an upgrade in that position, but that's not saying much

Benja Cremaschi (6/10):

With the midfield needing more legs, Miami turned to Cremaschi early in the second half. By that point, though, it was too late.

Allen Obando (4/10):

Was just about anonymous, failing to do much of anything during his 30-ish minutes.

Hector Martinez (N/A):

Chucked on in defense late with the game totally out of hand.

Yannick Bright (N/A):

Same as above, although he was able to do significantly more than Obando did in less than half the time.

Javier Mascherano (5/10):

A tale of two halves, for sure, but Mascherano will get some criticism for personnel decisions here. The midfield and defense featured some calls that were certainly up for debate. A lesson for the first-year manager, who was second best on the day in his spot with both his tactics and lineup choices.