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Leeds United are interested in a deal to bring Zak Sturge to Elland Road this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football Insider, who claim that Victor Orta is now preparing an offer for the Brighton & Hove Albion left-back – whose current contract at the American Express Community Stadium is set to expire on Thursday.

And, despite further reports suggesting that Chelsea have already won the race for the 18-year-old’s signature, Nizaar Kinsella recently revealed in a post on Twitter that, despite the Blues’ interest in the England U18 international, these claims are wide of the mark.

In his tweet, GOAL’s Chelsea correspondent said: “Chelsea have been interested in signing Brighton’s Zak Sturge since January. But reports he’s about to join are wide of the mark. Lots of interest from the top PL academies and also from German clubs.”

“Very exciting”

While it would appear as if Orta will have to fight off a great deal of competition if he is to seal a deal for Sturge this summer, considering just how exciting a prospect the full-back is, it would very much seem as if the teenager’s signature is well worth fighting for.

Indeed, while the defender is yet to make a senior appearance for the Seagulls, he has highly impressed in Brighton’s youth ranks over the last two years, providing five assists over 44 appearances for both the U18 and U23 sides.

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Furthermore, Brighton’s former U18 manager, Mark Beard, clearly believes that the left-back has an exceptionally bright future in the game, with the 47-year-old stating in an interview with Sussex Live of his former player:

“You don’t get called up for your country if you are not a good player. When he was an U16 he trained with the U18s sometimes and you could see his great attributes; he was lightning quick, likes to get forward, taking people on – we just encouraged him to use his strengths.

“Technically he got a lot better and defensively improved a lot, too. In the first six months that he played for us, he was flying. He played every single game for us and then he got called up to the U23s under Simon Rusk.

“In those six months, I never saw anyone take him on. The first person that did and made him struggle a bit was Manchester City’s Carlton Palmer, which is something in itself.

“Then we had to think about something else as [Palmer] was the first one to take him on. So we carried on working with him and he has done brilliantly. One of his biggest strengths, along with his pace, is his attitude. He really wants to learn.”

As such, with left-back being a position in which Jesse Marsch is desperately lacking depth, it would appear an extremely wise move for Orta to do everything in his power to attempt to land the “very exciting” – in the words of Richie Mills – Sturge ahead of Chelsea this summer, as the England youth international undoubtedly boasts the potential become a starter on the left of Whites’ back four in not too distant future.

AND in other news: Leeds make “contact” for £25m target with “three lungs”, he’s a “top replacement”

Leeds United have always been good for a goal or two, even prior to Marcelo Bielsa guiding the Elland Road outfit back to the Premier League. Chris Wood, for example, rose to stardom at the Yorkshire club, yet was never a part of a Leeds team that earned promotion – instead jumping ship to Burnley.

Upon their return to the top flight, Leeds were able to turn to Patrick Bamford for goals, while during his absence through injury last season, it was Raphinha who stepped up.

The Brazilian winger single-handedly kept Leeds afloat at times, and could be rewarded with a big move this summer as a result.

Next season, Jesse Marsch will be hoping to return Leeds to the comforts of mid-table. It won’t be an easy task, though, with the Premier League as competitive as ever and Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and Fulham fresh from promotion.

We could see a new top contributor of goals for next season, following in the footsteps of the players listed below, as revealed by TransferMarkt.

12/13: Luciano Becchio – 20 goals, 4 assists (24)

Although it may feel like a long time ago that Leeds United were in the Championship, travel back a decade and you’ll see a side nowhere near promotion. They did, at the very least, have a serial goal scorer, with Luciano Becchio netting 20 and assisting a further four.

The contributions could only lead the Yorkshire club to a place in mid-table, though.

13/14: Ross McCormack – 29 goals, 10 assists (39)

Speaking of serial goal scorers, Ross McCormack was exactly that in the 2013/14 campaign, netting a total of 29 goals in all competitions, whilst also assisting a further 10. The 29 goals were enough to secure the Golden Boot, but not a place near Championship promotion.

Instead, the forward was forced to settle for 15th place.

14/15: Mirco Antenucci – 10 goals, 2 assists (12)

As it turns out, the goals from Ross McCormack weren’t making too much of a difference, as, in the next season, Leeds finished 15th in the Championship for the third consecutive season.

This time, it was Mirco Antenucci with 10 goals and two assists who took the contributions crown in an underwhelming season.

15/16: Chris Wood – 13 goals, 4 assists (17)

More goals in the 2015/16 season meant a jump up in two places for Leeds, who rose to 13th to end their run of 15th-placed finishes. The man behind the extra goals? Chris Wood. The New Zealand international netted 13 and assisted four.

16/17: Chris Wood – 30 goals, 4 assists (34)

Picking up where he left off in the season prior, Wood went on to score an impressive 30 goals in all competitions, which included 27 Golden Boot winning goals in the Championship. Four assists in all competitions made it a total of 34 contributions for the season.

The goals didn’t stop Leeds’ frustration, however, as they finished seventh to miss out on a play-off place.

17/18: Kemar Roofe – 14 goals, 5 assists, Pablo Hernandez, 9 goals, 10 assists (19)

Without Wood, who swapped the Championship for the Premier League and Burnley, the responsibility fell to Kemar Roofe and Pablo Hernandez to find the goals. And they did exactly that.

Roofe, the goalscorer of the duo, netted 14 whilst assisting five. Meanwhile, Hernandez, the chief creator, scored nine and assisted a further 10, as Leeds once again had to settle for a place in mid-table.

18/19: Pablo Hernandez – 12 goals, 12 assists (24)

In the first season under Marcelo Bielsa, Hernandez managed to pick up where he left off in the previous campaign, scoring and assisting 12 goals to tally an impressive 24 contributions.

It was enough to earn Leeds a place in the play-offs, before Frank Lampard’s Derby County ended their season in heartbreak with a semi-final victory. Bielsa’s first campaign showed plenty of promise, however.

19/20: Patrick Bamford – 16 goals, 4 assists (20)

The first under Bielsa turned out to be a warning shot for the rest of the Championship. In the next campaign, Leeds finally made a return to the Premier League and in some style – winning the league with 93 points.

Amongst the key players involved in their promotion was Patrick Bamford, whose 16 goals and four assists in all competitions propelled Leeds to the promised land.

20/21: Patrick Bamford – 17 goals, 8 assists (25)

Bamford did not let the jump up in quality get in the way of his goal scoring capabilities once promoted.

The forward scored 17 goals in all competitions, whilst assisting a further eight, as Leeds shocked the rest of the Premier League by finishing ninth in a season full of praise for ‘Bielsa-ball’.

21/22: Raphinha – 11 goals, 3 assists (14)

Last season wasn’t quite as comfortable for Leeds as a campaign full of injuries led them into the relegation battle. In the end, survival was achieved on the final day.

It felt fitting that Raphinha managed to get on the scoresheet against Brentford in the final day victory. The Brazilian took his goals total to 11 to accompany his three assists in all competitions.

The biggest struggle this summer may just be keeping Raphina. With Barcelona interested, according to Fabrizio Romano, Leeds may be forced to bid a fond farewell to their Brazilian winger.

If that is to be the case, the Yorkshire club will need to find a replacement; it may just be imperative to their survival next season.

West Brom are not interested in signing Aston Villa midfielder Conor Hourihane in the summer transfer window, according to reliable journalist Joseph Masi.

The Lowdown: West Brom linked with Hourihane move

The Baggies will be looking for a successful summer in the transfer market, having disappointed hugely in the Championship in 2021/22.

One player they have been linked with bringing in is Hourihane, who spent the campaign on loan at Sheffield United, making 30 league appearances for a Blades side who missed a spot in the play-off final by a penalty shootout at Nottingham Forest.

That would suggest he would be a good capture for a team hoping to push towards the top six, but a fresh update claims he won’t be heading to the Hawthorns.

The Latest: Masi shuts down rumour

According to The Express & Star‘s Masi, West Brom have no desire to make a move for Hourihane this summer, with the same applying to both Karl Darlow and Elliot Anderson.

None are ‘seen as targets’ by Steve Bruce, as the Baggies boss looks elsewhere for reinforcements.

The Verdict: Not a long-term addition

While Hourihane has enjoyed an excellent career, making 173 appearances in the Championship and being hailed for his ‘wand of a left foot’ by Jack Grealish, now doesn’t feel the time to sign him.

At 31, the Irishman’s very best days are arguably behind him and Bruce needs to be signing younger players who can be part of the long-term picture at the Hawthorns.

Granted, experience is required in order to get out of the Championship, but West Brom should be able to find a younger option than Hourihane with fewer years in his legs.

In other news, West Brom are believed to have opened talks with one player. Find out who it is here.

Aston Villa and West Ham are reportedly readying big offers to sign Lille forward Jonathan David.

The Lowdown: David profiled

David, primarily a centre-forward who can also play as a second striker or as an attacking midfielder, has been with Lille since 2020. [Transfermarkt]

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Valued at £45m, the Canada international has scored 30 goals in 94 appearances for the Ligue 1 side and has an impressive record for his country, netting 20 times in 30 games.

Labelled as ‘fearless’ by Canada manager John Herdman, the two-footed forward is under contract in France until 2025, but it looks as if a summer exit could be on the cards.

The Latest: Villa ready to write ‘big cheque’

Sports Witness relayed a story from a French outlet regarding David on Thursday. They claim that both Villa and West Ham stand out in a long list of potential buyers, adding that they are ‘likely’ to write a ‘big cheque’ for his services.

Arsenal, Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan and PSG are also name-checked in the report, with a €50m (£42.5m) fee mooted.

The Verdict: Watkins replacement?

It looks as if both Villa and West Ham are willing to spend big on a forward ahead of the 2022/23 season, with the Hammers actually keen on Ollie Watkins.

Reports in recent days have stated that David Moyes’ side are eyeing up a move for the forward this summer, with Villa looking to make a substantial profit on the 26-year-old.

So, should West Ham come in with a bid for Watkins, NSWE could then put those funds towards a move for David, who now has Champions League experience and has netted at least 13 league goals in each of the past three seasons, turning out in a variety of attacking roles.

In other news: NSWE now close to agreeing deal for another midfielder alongside Coutinho.  

The success of a clutch of players aged 24 or under means Joe Root can look forward with optimism

George Dobell in Johannesburg28-Jan-2020That’s how England can win the Ashes. Nobody is claiming they are favourites, or overlooking the many other significant challenges that lie ahead (not least India in about 12 months’ time). But the Ashes remain, for right or wrong, the barometer by which English Test cricket judges itself. And over the last few weeks in South Africa, England have shown a way they could regain the urn in Australia.What’s that way? Well, for a start, they have acknowledged – at last – that five-day cricket is a marathon not a sprint. And if they are to regularly establish match-defining first-innings totals, they are probably going to have to take their time over it. So the top-order have been empowered to occupy the crease for as long as it takes safe in the knowledge that the middle-order will not only be more comfortable against the older ball, but that they can accelerate if required. It’s not so dissimilar a formula to the one used so effectively in 2010-11.Then there’s the bowling. It was fitting that Mark Wood should take the final wicket in this series as it has been his pace that has shown what England have been missing. On flat surfaces, with a kookaburra ball, England have often looked toothless in recent years. With Wood and Jofra Archer in tandem – and let’s not forget, that is still only a dream, as they’ve yet to play a Test together – this England attack threatens real bite. “It would have made a big difference last time to have Jofra and Woody in Australia last time,” Joe Root said ruefully.ALSO READ: Broad handed demerit point over du Plessis altercationThis victory has all but guaranteed that Root will lead England into that Ashes series. While a change of captaincy never seemed an especially realistic suggestion – there simply aren’t viable alternatives, and Ben Stokes called it “laughable” after the Wanderers Test – it could have become a damaging distraction in the months ahead had England kept losing. They could still do with more runs from Root, whose top score in the series was just 61, but his positive qualities should not be underestimated.The team are united, delight in the success of their team-mates and are dedicated to playing selfless cricket. It says much about Root’s character – and that of senior players like Stokes and Stuart Broad – that young players are now able to come into the team and thrive. It wasn’t always this way. These are not minor attributes. Root deserves a lot of the credit for instilling them.It must be acknowledged that this is a weak South Africa side. Diluted by the loss of a coterie of economic migrants, they failed to post a total of 300 in any of the four matches; none of their batsmen registered an individual century. Their attack was led by a man in Vernon Philander who was clearly running on fumes while the other four seamers they used in Johannesburg came into the game with eight caps between them. They are nowhere near the force they once were.To a large extent, the causes of South Africa’s decline are well beyond the realm of cricket. But if the ICC and, more pertinently, the “big three” of England, India and Australia, are serious about nurturing international cricket, they will give more thought to a minimum wage and a new model for the distribution of revenues. If international cricket is to remain viable, it requires not just a strong England, but a strong Pakistan and West Indies and Sri Lanka and South Africa, too. There should be a certain hollowness in beating such an impoverished foe.That isn’t to take anything away from this England team. Even on the final day in Johannesburg, South Africa fought hard. Faf du Plessis was finally undone by a delivery that kept low; Temba Bavuma by one that reared. It says something for the incredible depth of talent in South Africa that, only through the dozens of departures, have cricketers as talented as Anrich Nortje, Pieter Malan and Rassie van dur Dussen won prolonged opportunities. It would be wrong to underplay the value of beating a team containing such players.England faced setbacks, too. Remember, they were decimated by illness when they went 1-0 down in Centurion. They lost their senior fast bowler, James Anderson, their senior opener, Rory Burns, and their senior spinner, Jack Leach, to illness and injury when they had contributed just three Tests between them. Archer also missed three Tests through injury, while Stokes had to contend with the serious illness of his father. These are significant challenges.But the holes in the side provided opportunity. And by the end of the series two men aged 24 or under (Archer and Dom Bess) had claimed five-wicket hauls, two others (Ollie Pope and Dom Sibley) had made centuries and two others (Sam Curran and Zak Crawley) had returned career-best figures with ball and bat respectively. All will hope to have their best days in Test cricket ahead of them. And, underlining the sense that this is a team building to future challenges, Sibley, Crawley and Bess will shortly fly to Australia to take part in the red-ball leg of the Lions tour. England’s eye is on Australia already.Of all these young batsmen, Pope is perhaps the most promising. His time for the ball, his range of strokes, his technique and his temperament mark him out as a special talent without obvious weaknesses. Stokes suggested that there wasn’t a more promising young batsman in Test cricket and it would be hard to disagree. But you could argue it is Sibley who is the most relevant. For in embracing the somewhat old-fashioned way he plays, England have also accepted the remit of the Trevor Bayliss years was naive. His partnership with Crawley, who looks made for Australian pitches, played a huge part in this series win.Ben Stokes and Ollie Pope celebrate•Gallo Images/Getty ImagesThe development of these young players has allowed England to peek into the future with more excitement than fear. For a long time, the bowling attack looked over-reliant on Anderson and Broad but now, with Archer and Wood to the fore, Olly Stone in the wings and Stokes in support, England have started the transition to life beyond them.That’s not to hasten their retirement. Not at all. Broad still finished the series as England’s leading wicket-taker, while Anderson claimed match figures of 7 for 63 in the Cape Town Test. They aren’t finished just yet. But England have to move on at some stage and, right now, the leap looks less intimidating than it has for a long time. The final Test of the 2020 English summer, at Trent Bridge, could well prove the stage for a double farewell.There are other concerns. England will need to look after Archer and Wood. And they have played three of their most recent five Tests without a specialist spinner. As a result, there have been times they have looked one-paced and forced to over-bowl seamers who might well benefit from a slightly lighter workload. At some stage, they need to find a way to include a spinner in their side in all but the most extreme circumstances.And then there’s Stokes. Just as Mike Brearley’s reputation was made, in part, by Ian Botham and Michael Vaughan’s, in part, by Andrew Flintoff, Root is incredibly fortunate to have a great allrounder at the peak of his powers in his side. Yes, he was hot-headed with the spectator in Johannesburg – “A grown man running 50 yards to shout at me. Let’s just say we were both immature” – and yes, he will have to learn to handle a great deal more provocation in Australia. But to have a player capable of shaping the game in all three disciplines, to have a player at his best when others might crumble, to have a player so utterly committed to the team good rather than personal statistics… England have something very, very special in Stokes.So it turned out not to be such a “cursed tour” after all. England won, Ged Stokes is, thankfully, on the road to recovery and the future looks brighter than it has for some time. Of course there will be bumps in the road in the months ahead. But if England’s attack at Brisbane in 2021 includes Wood and Archer, if their middle order consists of Root, Stokes and Pope, if those young opening batsmen can build on the good start they’ve made and complement Rory Burns in the top three… well, we might have quite an Ashes series, mightn’t we?

Over the course of 13 balls delivered from his favourite Wynberg End, Vernon Philander set Virat Kohli up and sent him back with the most artful of knockout blows

Sidharth Monga in Cape Town08-Jan-2018Vernon Philander’s pitch map to Virat Kohli in the second innings of the Cape Town Test is a thing of a beauty. Philander bowled 13 balls to Kohli over two spells; all of them pitched outside off, not one was full enough to drive or short enough to cut. Nothing fuller than 6m from the stumps, nothing shorter than 8m. That’s not where the beauty ends. Philander’s stock line to Kohli is not the usual fourth- or fifth-stump line usually bowled to batsmen. With Kohli, you shift the line wider because he is extremely good at the drive, and tends to play further away from his body than most batsmen. Eleven of those 13 deliveries are bowled a set of stumps wide of off stumps but not any wider.Kohli is left frustrated. There is no length for Kohli to drive, the line is not close enough for him to take a risk, and with every ball he is moving across his stumps to try to get close to the ball. To the fifth ball of the 20th over, Kohli finally manages to move across enough to cover the line and push the ball for a single. Now the plan is reaching its final stages.Philander comes back for the next over, the third he is bowling from the Kelvin Grove End, with the endgame on his mind. This is his home. He likes the Wynberg End. He is given the Wynberg End most of the time. This is not most of the time. Dale Steyn has injured himself. There are only three quicks left in South Africa’s attack. There is no allrounder to bowl change-up overs as Philander recovers for a new spell from the Wynberg End. South Africa can’t afford to wait here after being bowled out for 130 and setting India 208. This match has been a big gamble: an unnaturally quick and seaming Newlands pitch, four fast bowlers, batting after winning the toss. This is a match South Africa just can’t lose.1:13

‘I wanted to make a difference in this game’ – Philander

So Philander comes back for a new over. He bowls well outside off, Kohli moves across and pushes to cover. Wide outside off again, and Kohli moves across again, and then defends. Wide again, and this time he leaves. With the fourth ball, Philander goes the closest he has to Kohli all afternoon: it’s 6.5m on length, and the fourth stump on line. It seams back in, beating Kohli’s inside edge to trap him plumb in front.”I think it was two-and-a-half overs of away-swingers, and then the one back into him,” Philander says. “It was definitely a plan to keep him quiet, and also to drag him across to make sure that when you do bowl the other one, he’s on the other side of the off-stump.”Virat is an aggressive player, and the key thing is to keep him quiet and to make sure you set him up for the other one. Initially it was for me to keep him quiet, and I always knew I had the one coming back.”Philander is fired up now. South Africa too. They let R Ashwin have it. “Not quite a bowler, not quite a batsman, this guy Vern,” they shout. There is definite previous then between Philander and India from 2015-16, when South Africa toured India and lost 3-0. Philander has a reputation. People question his record in conditions where the ball doesn’t seam. David Warner has questioned his intent to play in difficult conditions. Graeme Smith has questioned his fitness and work ethic.ESPNcricinfo Ltd”I like people to be constructive and open and honest with us as players,” Philander says. “There are two ways of taking it: you can take it personally and fade away, or you can take it on board and make a play. I took it a bit personally up front, you are all obviously human, but you try to get over it as quickly as possible, get better, do some work behind the scenes and come back stronger.”All this doesn’t matter now. There is a Test to be won, and he has the conditions and the home crowd behind him. He keeps coming back over after over. He bowls the most overs for a South African in this Test. He walks back to applause at the end of every over. His final one is not meant to be. Faf du Plessis wants to bowl Morne Morkel. Philander tells him he has just got warm, and needs another. Du Plessis tells him to do so with the wicketkeeper up because R Ashwin has been taking stance outside the crease.Philander swallows his ego and calls Quinton de Kock up to the stumps. He gets the edge first ball. Then two more wickets. The match is over but this is a day on which Big Vern could have bowled forever.

Younis Khan’s batting antics had drawn cricket fans into new descriptive heights in this series. But at The Oval he reminded them that he has been one of Pakistan’s most gifted batsmen

Jarrod Kimber12-Aug-2016It is calm, there is no bunny hop, no bucking bronco, the cat is not on a hot tin roof, and the goat has left the trampoline. Younis Khan looks like Younis Khan again. Younis Khan, the Pakistani batting legend.Earlier in the tour it hasn’t been like this, it has been a horror comedy. At times it was as if gremlins were biting him, he was hopping across a road dressed as an elf, he had fallen off the back of a truck, a man who has forgotten how gravity works. He has five limbs, his left and right feet are in an eternal dance off against each other, and he’s auditioning to play the plastic bag in the American Beauty reboot. That’s what Twitter thought. Batting coaches and cricket analysts probably just combusted upon watching it.In one shot his back foot was dragging towards square leg as his front foot went forward and across in the other direction; his bat was in the middle of this, missing the ball. There were leg glances that even if he had middled the ball he had jumped so far across the wicket he could have middled them onto his stumps. A simple forward defence turned into a weird dance move with a kicking back leg. Another delivery and his hands are thrusting out as if he is trying to punch the ball, not hit it, and his feet go backwards. Another leg glance ends with him using his bat as a crutch so he doesn’t fall over.And that is just a taste of how bad Younis had got. At Lord’s, even his leaves were an extraordinary dramatic contemporary dance move that conveyed emotions of worry and doubt. It was a trigger movement that was squat, charge and hope.Either Younis Khan, the Pakistani batting legend, had been replaced by some eager frightened replica, or Younis Khan, the Pakistani batting legend, had convinced himself that this was a batting method that could somehow work. Both didn’t make sense. Younis found it hard to play his regular shots as he propelled himself at the ball like he was a secret service agent and the ball was a bullet.33, 25, 1, 18, 31 and 4 were all he had to show for it on what have been tracks that several other Pakistani batsmen have been good on.Was he over thinking it, trying to get in line so much that he was jumping there? Were the pitches outside Asia getting to a man who didn’t have young reflexes? Had no one in the changeroom taken him aside and said: “Um, Younis, dude, what’s going on?” Was this the end, how the great man would go, launching himself to his own doom?At Younis’ age, the slightest sign of weakness is seen as the end. This wasn’t a subtle sign; it was a massive jumping neon one. But every Test Younis had been paring back his kangaroo technique a little. By the time he got to Edgbaston, he might not have been making runs, but at least he was trying to get there.Today he got there. There was still the Younis squat, but there wasn’t the Khan thrust. He stood in his crease, waited for the ball, his legs usually stayed where he wanted them, and when the ball came he played a Younis appropriate shot to them. He might have still gone across his crease, but he did it with his head screwed on and his feet often (as much as he ever does) touching the ground.It was a batsman of balance, patience and skill, making runs when the conditions were in his favour and his team needed a lot of them. He played all his classics, strike rotated, spinner milked, and quicks handled. He held his batting partner’s hand as he got nervous and went about building a total that Pakistan would need to win the game.Younis’ form was so good and off-putting to England that they reviewed a ball he middled. And compared to every other day in this series he middled a lot. A sweep off Moeen was so muscular it had its own throbbing bicep and a six went further than a 40-plus man should be able to hit anything.When he brought up his 50 it was a shot the Younis of Lord’s would have struggled to play. It was short and wide from Anderson, Younis waited and pounced, instead of pouncing and hoping. The ball disappeared through point. It was a shot so Younis, the Pakistani batting legend, it was practically autographed.Later he would play another, even better. As the ball cracked through backward point you couldn’t help but wonder where this calm, skilful, and patient batting had been all series. Pakistan have been so close to winning this series, what they really needed was this Younis, the Pakistani batting legend, to arrive.Asad Shafiq made being on 99 look like a Japanese horror film; Younis made it look like a Sunday afternoon walk. This despite a new ball for England that was moving. The wicket of his captain Misbah. And the gift from Iftikhar. Younis was on 99 for all of it. And yet at his end, it was serene. When Stuart Broad bowled a searching ball in and around off stump, Younis moved smoothly into the line, dropped his hands softly, middled the ball and wandered up the pitch like he was checking on his azaleas.Even when he celebrated his hundred there was no leap of joy. The leaping had gone, this was just batting. His team needed him, so he made a hundred. It was no different to the other 31 Test hundreds he has made. It was just number 32 for the Pakistani batting legend.

He doesn’t know how he bowls the arm-ball and doesn’t want to either. Arafat Sunny is content in plying his skills gleaned from years on the domestic circuit. The only hitch – the loss of his beloved pigeons

Mohammad Isam20-Apr-2015A pigeon fancier wouldn’t necessarily know how to bowl an arm-ball. Arafat Sunny doesn’t know how he bowls the arm-ball. He rolls his arm over exactly the same way he bowls conventional left-arm spin, but the ball holds its line and arrows into a right-handed batsman.What Sunny knows is to bowl ten tight overs of left-arm spin from round and over the wicket. He also knows how to look after pigeons. Raise them like a child, he says. He knows what and when to feed them and exactly how long it would take them to return to the coop after a day’s flight.When you ask him about the pigeons these days however, he wears a slightly disenchanted look. “I had to give most of them away,” Sunny says. “I can’t give them much time. I had around 60-70 pigeons over the last several years but now I have around 8 to 10 birds. My mother insisted on keeping the few because she says ‘my house is empty without them’. I haven’t sold them. I have given it to people from whom I can get it back. I will get it back.”Former Australia captain Bill Lawry, former South Africa seamer Henry Williams and former Pakistan batsman Zahid Fazal are known pigeon racers among cricketers, but Sunny doesn’t want to be one because it takes a lot of dedication and attention towards the birds. “You have to treat them like humans if you are a racer. You need to feed them at certain times. You can’t feed them too much or they will get sick.”His knowledge of all things pigeon is enough to suggest it is more than just a hobby. What keeps him away from the pigeons is his day job, which has now become an all-year affair, after he spent the first 13 years of his career playing out only the domestic season. A year after his international debut in a Twenty20 against Sri Lanka, he is making the best of home conditions and doing the job expected of him.He has taken 12 wickets in his last four home matches, including two consecutive four-fors against Zimbabwe and a three-wicket haul against Pakistan last Friday. In the second ODI of the three-match series against Pakistan, he finished with 1-41 in ten overs. The only wicket was Mohammad Hafeez, who was dismissed by an arm-ball.Nothing suggests mystery in Sunny’s make-up as a bowler but to him, delivering and executing the arm-ball is still confusing. He doesn’t shy away from saying that he has tried to find out how he delivers the ball and why exactly it doesn’t spin away when he uses the same arm action and use of finger for the away-going delivery to the right-hander. He has even gone through video footage but hasn’t cracked the puzzle yet.”I myself don’t know about my arm-ball, to be completely honest,” Sunny said. “I don’t know which one is the arm-ball because I keep the same action and the ball turns and then it goes straight on, being an arm-ball. I don’t know and I don’t even want to know. Frankly what I don’t know must be quite difficult for the batsmen.”When the seam lands, the ball seems it will turn but sometimes it doesn’t. I have seen footage on my laptop in the last Zimbabwe series. Even I am curious to find out what exactly happens. I tried to locate it but I haven’t been able to find out the difference.”He may not know about the arm-ball but he knows exactly what he needs to do when brought on to bowl in the first mandatory Powerplay with a newish ball. He has mastered this part of his job in the domestic one-day leagues for high-profile Dhaka clubs.”There are advantages and disadvantages to bowling in the Powerplay overs,” he said. “You have more fielders inside the circle so the singles are cut out. In the domestic league, I often open or bowl one change.”I come early to the bowling attack in the domestic matches. So it doesn’t feel any different when I start early for Bangladesh. Plus we are playing in home conditions, so I know what length to bowl in order.”Sunny is the classic safety bowler in the mould of Abdur Razzak. With Shakib Al Hasan often mixing up his pace and attacking the batsman’s off-stump, Sunny is expected to tie them down with his faster pace.He said that bowling in that one game in the World Cup, against England in Adelaide, taught him a lot more about the skill than years in the domestic competition. Sunny went wicketless but did the job he was asked to – cutting out runs and not giving more than 50 in his spell.”I only try my stock ball later in the innings when the batsmen are in attacking mode. I don’t try anything different than what I know,” he said. “I don’t take the risk of finding out if something else would work towards the end of the innings. I try to stick to my strength.”I learned a lot from the World Cup, particularly pace variation. Conditions were totally different; those were bouncier pitches, more batting-friendly. One couldn’t just bowl back of a length. I had to learn how to bowl according to those conditions. I am applying those things here. I can mix things up. I don’t bowl every delivery quickly. I hold it back sometimes. I got a higher level of confidence from the World Cup.”The trajectory of Sunny’s cricket career is slightly varied from the usual path taken by Bangladesh internationals. Many start too young – in terms of age or domestic experience – and fade away quickly. Only a handful make the cut. Sunny is among the few cricketers in Bangladesh who got to the senior side after 13 years of first-class cricket. And he is still learning new tricks.The only downside obviously is the loss of his pigeons. For the time being, he will trade it for the high of international cricket, taking four-wicket hauls, playing in the World Cup, beating Pakistan and bowling a delivery that is still a mystery to him.

Chris Martin’s favourite opponent was South Africa, against whom he had a better than Glenn McGrath did, but his Test bowling against Australia was more than 64

S Rajesh03-Jul-2013Only one New Zealand fast bowler – Richard Hadlee – has played more Test matches, or taken more Test wickets than Chris Martin. That, in a nutshell, captures the value that Martin offered to New Zealand cricket for more than a decade. Chris Cairns and Danny Morrison were more high-profile players (and Cairns obviously offered a lot with the bat as well), but neither played as many Tests: Cairns took 218 wickets in 62 matches, while Morrison played 48 Tests for his 160 wickets. And then there was Martin’s No.11 batting, which became legendary for its ineptness: in 104 innings he scored 123 runs, with only one innings in which he touched double-digits. Of the 52 times he was dismissed, 36 were for ducks, the second-highest in Test history; apart from this, he was also not out on zero 28 times, ten more than the second-best.He’ll arguably be remembered by fans more for his batting than his bowling, but for the team the consistency and control he brought with his bowling was a huge asset. There were the odd blips in his career when he lost his swing and his incisiveness, but for the most part he was New Zealand’s go-to seamer over the last decade.Martin started his Test career in style, taking 11 wickets against South Africa – his favourite opponents – at an average of 26, but then followed a few ordinary performances, including three successive series against England and Australia when his bowling average was more than 50. (Click here for Martin’s series-wise bowling stats.) After 21 Tests, his bowling average was almost 38, though that was also the period when he produced his best match figures – 11 for 180 against South Africa in Auckland, in a series in which he took 18 wickets in two Tests.Then came the period when he sustained his high level over a much longer time: over the next three years, he took 71 wickets in 19 Tests at an average of less than 28. Thereafter, he never regained that level, though he was reasonably consistent. In his last Test, quite fittingly against South Africa, he took 3 for 63 in 19.2 overs.

Break-up of Martin’s Test career

WicketsAverageStrike rate5WI/ 10WMFirst 21 Tests6537.9661.45/ 1Next 19 Tests7127.8152.73/ 0Last 31 Tests9735.4164.72/ 0Career23333.8160.110/ 1Martin is one of only four New Zealand bowlers to take 200-plus Test wickets, and one of five to go past 150. Like most bowlers, he preferred home conditions too, averaging 31 at home and more than 38 overseas. Among overseas countries, his favourite was South Africa – in nine Tests there, he averaged 29.13 at a strike rate of 54.7. (Click here for Martin’s bowling career summary in Tests.)

Most Test wickets by a New Zealand bowler

OverallIn home TestsBowlerTestsWicketsAverage5WI/ 10WMTestsWicketsAverage5WI/ 10WMRichard Hadlee8643122.2936/ 94320122.9615/ 3Daniel Vettori11135934.2020/ 35715937.116/ 2Chris Martin7123333.8110/ 13814630.997/ 1Chris Cairns6221829.4013/ 13110928.355/ 1Danny Morrison4816034.6810/ 02711527.129/ 0Lance Cairns4313032.926/ 1247528.903/ 0Ewen Chatfield4312332.173/ 1246630.740/ 0As mentioned earlier, South Africa were clearly his favourite opponents. So good was he against them that his average is slightly better than Glenn McGrath’s versus the same opposition. In fact, among bowlers who’ve bowled at least 250 overs against South Africa since their readmission into Test cricket, Martin is the only one with a strike rate of less than 50 balls per wicket; the next-best is Javagal Srinath’s 51.7. Against all other teams combined, Martin’s bowling average was 36, almost ten runs more than the average against South Africa.The team against whom he struggled the most was Australia: in 12 Tests he took 23 wickets at an average of 64.21, and a strike rate of 102 balls per wicket. His stats against them are so poor that among all the 136 bowlers who’ve bowled at least 300 overs in Test cricket against Australia, Martin’s average is the worst. Among those who’ve done better than Martin are Carl Hooper (average 60.35), Ashley Giles (56.95), and Venkatapathy Raju (50.35).

Most Test wickets v South Africa since their readmission

BowlerTestsWicketsAverageStrike rate5WI/ 10WMShane Warne2413024.1660.97/ 2Muttiah Muralitharan1510422.2256.811/ 4Anil Kumble218431.7981.33/ 0Javagal Srinath136424.4851.74/ 0Harbhajan Singh116028.4059.44/ 0James Anderson175738.0771.52/ 0Glenn McGrath175727.3371.62/ 0Chris Martin145526.7249.64/ 1Courtney Walsh105119.8055.42/ 0Brett Lee145034.6462.42/ 0And then there was Martin’s legendary batting skills, which was surely one of the main reasons why he played only 20 one-day internationals. In the 97 international matches he played – 71 Tests, 20 ODIs, and six Twenty20 internationals – he scored a grand total of 136 runs. In 192 first-class matches he averaged 3.71, in 142 List A games his average was 2.86. However, in seven Twenty20 matches he scored 16 runs and was dismissed just once, giving him a grand average of 16.In Tests, only once did he go get into double-digits, when he made an unbeaten 12 against Bangladesh in Dunedin in 2008. His second-highest score in Tests was 7.Among those who’ve played in at least 50 Tests, Martin’s aggregate of 123 runs is easily the lowest – the next-lowest is BS Chandrasekhar’s 167 runs in 58 Tests, at an average of 4.07. Clearly, the legend of Chris Martin the batsman isn’t going to die anytime soon.

Least Test runs among batsmen who played at least 50 Tests

BatsmanTestsRunsAverageDucksChris Martin711232.3636BS Chandrasekhar581674.0723Danish Kaneria613607.0525Fidel Edwards553946.5619Ishant Sharma514509.7817Matthew Hoggard674737.2719Lance Gibbs794886.9715Iqbal Qasim5054913.0710Glenn McGrath1246417.3635Allan Donald7265210.6817

England’s tour of the UAE came to a gripping conclusion after what has been an important period for the game

George Dobell in Abu Dhabi27-Feb-2012Perhaps it was fitting that this tour should end with England’s batsmen struggling for fluency against Pakistan’s spinners. On the pitch where England suffered their tour nadir – dismissed for just 72 in the second Test a few weeks ago – batting again proved desperately difficult against the host’s spinners.It was fitting, too, that this game should be decided by the final delivery. Despite the score lines on this tour – a whitewash to Pakistan in the Test series and a whitewash to England in the ODI series – there is little to choose between these sides. Both are fine but flawed teams with some way to way to go on the road of progress.On this occasion, however, England prevailed. As a consequence they took the Twenty20 series 2-1. Coming on the heels of their 4-0 ODI series victory, it was redemption of sorts after losing the Test series 3-0.While it would be tempting to credit England’s bowlers with this victory, it would not tell the whole story.England’s bowlers certainly produced an excellent performance here, but there is nothing new in that. They have performed exceptionally well all tour, but it was to prove to no avail as their team lost the Test series.The difference, here and throughout much of the limited-overs series, has been the form of Kevin Pietersen. After his struggles in the Tests, where he averaged just 11.16, Pietersen has been quite magnificent during the limited-overs leg of the tour. Here he batted right the way through the England innings and underlined his return to form with an unbeaten innings of 62 on a pitch where all other batsmen struggled. To say that his contribution dwarfed that of his colleagues would be an understatement: the next highest score was just 17.The questions asked about Pietersen midway through this tour were valid. He looked unrecognisable from the masterful player that led England to the World T20 and No.1 in the Test rankings. He was low on confidence with a technique in tatters.The important thing is Pietersen answered all those questions. He adapted his technique, he worked hard and he overcame what he rated as the toughest challenge of his career. Perhaps he still has a point to prove in subcontinent Tests, but in this form, few would bet against him.There were many key moments in this game: the last ball full toss in the England innings that Pietersen thrashed for six; the four wides (five runs) that Umar Gul donated when he attempted to cramp Pietersen for room; the impetus added by Samit Patel’s cameo innings; Jos Buttler’s pick-up and throw that helped run out the fluent Asad Shafiq; the nerveless penultimate over delivered by Stuart Broad and Jonny Bairstow’s superb throw that defeated a labouring Shahid Afridi.Most pertinently, however, England held their nerve and Pakistan did not. Pakistan required only 23 from the final 18 balls with seven wickets in hand. It should have been easy; instead it was a nightmare.Some in Pakistan will blame Misbah-ul-Haq for this loss. They will criticise his somewhat ponderous batting and it will fuel their calls for Shahid Afridi to be reappointed as captain. The pressure on Misbah may well become unbearable in the coming weeks.It is true, too, that Misbah must take some responsibility for the result. He batted for 12-and-a-half overs, only found the boundary twice (once through a misfield) and must accept that he misjudged the pace of Pakistan’s chase. His side are fast gaining a reputation as ‘chokers’; it is not completely unwarranted.But he was far from alone in failing with the bat. Umar Akmal betrayed his inexperience with a reckless heave; Afridi simply did not look fit enough for a quick two and Mohammad Hafeez, for all the excellent influence he clearly has on this team and his usefulness as a bowler, has barely contributed with the bat for some time. Pakistan won the Test series as a team; they failed in the limited-overs series as a team. It would not be constructive for all the failings of the Pakistan team to be heaped upon Misbah’s shoulders.He had few answers afterwards. “Full credit to the England bowlers,” he said. “They bowled very well. But it was not [a] difficult [chase]. [We had] 18 balls to get 23 runs and we had wickets in hand.” When they come to reflect, however, Pakistan will surely conclude that their bowlers have performed to an extremely high standard throughout, but that their batting and fielding must improve.England – and specifically their batsmen – have certainly improved over the course of the tour. But while Broad, captain in the T20 format, took pleasure in that, he admitted that limited-overs victories were no substitute for Test success.”This doesn’t make up for losing the Tests,” Broad said. “We came here to prove ourselves in the subcontinent and we didn’t do that. But we did show character and we do leave on a high. It also gives us a lot of confidence with the next World T20 in the subcontinent.”Pietersen agreed. “It was an exceptional end [to the tour] and a slow start,” he said. “Full credit to the bowlers who have bowled brilliantly all the way through. I do believe we’re on our way to fixing our problems against spin in the sub-continent.It will be of little consolation in the short-term, but perhaps, in time, Pakistan can also take comfort in the fact that all the key memories of this tour are cricket related: the spin bowling of Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman; Younis Khan’s gorgeous century; Azhar Ali’s defiance. From an England perspective they might be the successful comeback of Monty Panesar, the return to form of Pietersen and Alastair Cook and the rude wake-up call that their batsmen received at the hands of Pakistan’s spinners.The important thing is that they are all cricket memories. Bearing in mind the context in which this tour began, that is no mean achievement. Series between these two countries have been strained for some years; this one has been fiercely competitive but good spirited. The various captains involved – all four of them – deserve much credit for that.Some things – many things, actually – are more important than winning and losing. After the damage inflicted to our beautiful game during the last series between these sides, this was the encounter that the game required. Hopefully, when results and performances are dissected over the coming weeks and months, that bigger picture will not be forgotten.