Five fast bowlers, three explosive hitters, three striking young batsmen, a captain who can do anything: a beguiling prospect for fans, a terrifying one for a shaken South Africa

Sharda Ugra in Southampton09-Jun-2019Within the space of one match against Pakistan, West Indies have made everyone forget about how they had to scrap and qualify for the World Cup. Inside two matches, after having Australia at 79 for 5, they had a generation of cricket fans swooning, reminded of their 16-year-old selves. On the eve of their third World Cup game, at Southampton against a struggling South Africa, West Indies are to the romantic acquiring the status of a squad of superheroes, cricket’s Avengers back and ready to seize the game from the superbats – sorry, superbots – who rule the cricket world.It gets richer: when South Africa hosted its World Cup in 2003, their campaign was upended in the very first match by West Indies, who won by three runs. Between the 2015 World Cup and now, South Africa have only faced West Indies three times in ODIs, during a tri-series also involving Australia, winning once and losing twice (with AB de Villiers in the side, in case you wondered). So their encounters with the new West Indies have been minimal. The road leading up to the Hampshire Bowl is called the Marshall Drive, after the county’s two great Barbados-born Marshalls: opening batsman Roy, and a slightly more famous fast bowler who took 1065 wickets for the county across all competitions (and just, by the way, 533 for West Indies.)The two teams did face each other in a rain-affected World Cup warm-up match in Bristol, South Africa rattling along to 95 for no loss in 12.4 overs. But that was before everything – before the AB bombshell, before injuries to Ngidi and Steyn, before Amla ran into a fog. The West Indians have gone in the other direction, leaving South Africa coach Ottis Gibson reminding the world on Saturday that West Indies “are dangerous in World Cups.”The truth is that between the last World Cup and this one, West Indies didn’t win too much. They won just 19 out of 67 ODIs, didn’t win an ODI series – coming closest with a 2-2 draw at home against England in February – and lost the World Cup Qualifier final to Afghanistan. Only Sri Lanka have lost more.And yet, West Indies stride the World Cup with aura reburnished. This has come from two reasons – the first, that West Indies have been seen and heard of as winning in other formats – the 2016 World T20 in India, a home Test series against England, and making three other tournament finals in the time (even if those have spelt defeats to Australia, Afghanistan and, most recently, to Bangladesh.) In World Cups, it must be said that even though West Indies last won the title in 1979 and made the semi-finals in 1996, they’re ahead of Pakistan and Sri Lanka and South Africa in match victories, 42 out of 73.Gibson reminded the world, “West Indies teams have always been dangerous and this one is no different. They have a lot of players in there that can win matches, they have always had match-winners.” It is the manner in which they are setting up the winning that has the world sit up, “They are going to go on an all-out and they have decided with the team they have set up.” It is simple. When they bowl, it’s five fast bowlers and bam. When they bat, a trio of the game’s most explosive hitters is shuffled around three striking young batsmen and a captain who can do anything. How do you not get beguiled and hypnotised by the idea of this kind of West Indies?Shai Hope smashes one on the leg side•Getty ImagesWest Indies assistant coach Roddy Estwick has seen all sides: a first-class cricketer from 1982 to 1990, half-brother to Sylvester Clarke, and now working with a team trying to respectfully set aside an enormous heritage and create their own. “We can’t keep looking back. We have to respect the past, you know. Our great bowlers of the past obviously they are very important in our history. But what we’ve got now, this group of bowlers now, they have got to find their own identity. They have got to find their own way.”It will be both daunting and inspirational for the West Indians to travel around this country during the World Cup, where the very ground has been touched by the greatness of their predecessors. The Marshall Drive will remind them of it, as will the sight of Bishop or Holding turning up for commentary, or Garner, Robers and Croft dropping by to watch.On the Monday, Estwick knows will not be about sentiment or aura or presence or history, it will be about the boring stuff. “What we must do is play the one-percenters a bit better… It’s [defeat to Australia] nothing to do with the bowlers. We are all in it together. We are not going to single out the bowlers and say the bowlers did a poor job, or the batsmen did a poor job, it is a team. If you are looking for excuses in the cricket game, you can find it wherever you look.”He refused to grumble about the umpiring in Nottingham. “It is history. We can’t do anything about it. You can’t keep looking back. If you keep looking back, you have major problems. We have now got to look forward… Not on the past because past is history. It can’t come back.” The past in West Indies cricket is hard to shake off. In this World Cup, its current team has discovered that in the aftermath of compelling performance, its looming cloud could become an updraft.Estwick took the match and the World Cup out of Southampton and Great Britain and put it across the oceans. “Every West Indian is in this,” he said, “This is big for the Caribbean people.”The team’s management has been asking the team, “to go out and put a smile on the people’s faces in the Caribbean,” Estwick said, “Economically we are struggling a little bit so we want people to wake up in the morning at 5 o’clock and 6 o’clock with a smile on their face, seeing West Indians playing good cricket. And also we want to help the people in London as well, you know, who have had so much pressure cricket-wise in the last 10, 15 years and if we can put a smile on all black people’s faces we will be very happy.”Outside of West Indies’ direct opponents in this event, the cricket world is already beaming.

It’s barely been three months since the end of Sri Lanka’s ill-fated World Cup campaign, but things are already looking up, according to head coach Chris Silverwood, who has been impressed by his side’s showings so far, particularly in the last two ODIs against Afghanistan.Sri Lanka won both games by 42 and 155 runs respectively, with the batters piling on the runs on pitches that have been flatter than the surfaces traditional seen in Sri Lanka. Silverwood, much like Charith Asalanka two days prior, was pleased that SLC had taken his suggestion to curate flatter wickets to heart.”If we just look at 50-over cricket for the moment, our game plan is better suited to good wickets,” Silverwood said on the eve of the third ODI against Afghanistan. “I asked for flat wickets and thankfully I got the support in that from the powers that be.””For how we want to play our cricket, the nature of how we want to play it, then we need good wickets to do that. And to also allow players the opportunity to galvanise that game plan through the fact that you can go out and do it time and time again. Slow, low wickets don’t suit us to do that.”For me the wickets have been excellent here [in Pallekele]. Yes, we’ve seen lots of runs, but that’s what we want. We need to be able to put up those big scores and then we need to be able to defend them.”Related

• Asalanka pitches for batting-friendly tracks in Sri Lanka

• Binura Fernando comes in for injured Chameera for Afghanistan T20Is

• Mujeeb out of SL T20Is due to injury

In terms of defending those big totals, in the first game, despite Sri Lanka piling on a mammoth 381, Afghanistan ran them close only falling at the final hurdle following a spirited chase. In the second game however, with 308 defend, Sri Lanka’s bowlers made life much tougher for Afghanistan, ultimately resulting in a monumental collapse where the visitors lost their final eight wickets for just 25 runs.For Silverwood, this outcome was especially satisfying as it had been a result of the players actively taking on board and implementing the feedback from the coaching staff.”After the first game I thought there was plenty of room for improvement,” Silverwood said. “So we sat the lads down – all of them, not just the bowlers – and we showed them using the Hawk-Eye data what we were talking about. The areas that we bowled, the lengths that we bowled, what was and wasn’t successful, and talked about how we were going to tighten that up. And they did it beautifully in the last game.”Other things that we use is first and sixth ball – can you start your over well and finish your over well? Can you push the pressure back on to the batsman, and make them play the big shot? Rather than giving runs either side of the over. And it’s the job of the next bowler to pick up where they left off. So you’re constantly trying to build that pressure on to the batsman. And I think you saw us do that, particularly in the last game. We saw that with the boundary count coming down.”Sri Lanka’s spin-bowling coach Craig Howard and Wanindu Hasaranga at a training session•AFP/Getty Images

While Wanindu Hasaranga was the pick of the bowlers in the second ODI, grabbing four wickets, another who was particularly impressive was Asitha Fernando. Playing his first ODI in over a year, he returned figures of 2 for 23 in six overs, but those wickets were crucial as they broke the only two significant partnerships of the Afghanistan innings.Silverwood, who has been working closely with the Sri Lankan seamers, was full of praise for Fernando, who up until then had been primarily categorised as a Test bowler.”He certainly put his best foot forward in the last game,” Silverwood said. “The way he turned up on short notice, and the way he performed was fantastic. The skills that he’s got – what he showed us during the Test match – lend themselves very well to one-day cricket as well. The way that he can hit length hard time and time again, the lines that he bowls are very tight, and he’s got a very accurate bouncer.”For me, we need to keep pushing him on, keep working on that slower ball so he has that variation, but as for the basic skillset required to be successful in 50-over white-ball cricket he certainly showed he’s got that in the last game.”Going forward, the plan unsurprisingly is to build towards stability so that Sri Lanka can have a far better showing at the next ODI World Cup in 2027.”We are in that building phase again now, we’re building for that World Cup, and we have to make sure that we put all the building blocks in place,” Silverwood said. “So when we do arrive there we’re in a good place, everybody’s got experience under their belt, everybody knows their roles, and everybody has had success along the way as well so they carry that confidence with them.”

MatériaMais Notícias

da bet nacional： Durante a entrevista coletiva após a vitória do São Paulo por 3 a 0 sobre o América-MG, o técnico Dorival Júnior concedeu entrevista coletiva no Morumbi, e comentou seu início de trabalho no clube. O técnico revelou qual será a sua principal dificuldade nesses primeiros momentos após o retorno.

– Você tem que mostrar e aplicar (no treino), repetindo as variações possíveis, todas as possibilidades que existem dentro de uma partida. Por isso que ontem seria impossível qualquer tipo de ação nesse sentido – contou.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasSão PauloEm estreia com vitória, Dorival Júnior fala sobre a saída de Ceni do São Paulo e destaca: ‘Ele representa todo legado’São Paulo22/04/2023São PauloDorival explica mudanças em reestreia pelo São Paulo e revela busca por ‘segundo homem’ no meio-campoSão Paulo22/04/2023São PauloRafael fala sobre destaque em vitória do São Paulo e agradece carinho da torcida: ‘Hoje foi um dia inesquecível’São Paulo22/04/2023

da pinnacle：
+ATUAÇÕES: Rafael tem noite de “paredão” e salva São Paulo na estreia de Dorival

+Todos os jogos do Brasileirão você encontra no Prime Video. Assine já e acompanhe o seu time do coração!

O treinador fez algumas mudanças na equipe em relação ao que era proposto anteriormente por Rogério Ceni. No entanto, Dorival deu a entender que o risco foi ‘calculado’, já que esperava dificuldades no jogo.

-Eu mudei, sim, a postura de um ou outro jogador dentro de campo, mas eu sabia que nós teríamos muita dificuldade. Eu imaginava que sofreríamos mais defensiva do que ofensivamente, acredito que tenha sido que o que aconteceu. Não criamos da forma gostaríamos mas fomos muito eficientes na nas chegadas.

Por fim, o comandante Tricolor exaltou seu time, mesmo com os defeitos naturais de início de trabalho e que serão ajustados. De acordo com Dorival, a equipe teve coisas boas, e o ‘espírito’ da equipe foi fundamental para a conquista dos primeiros três pontos do clube no Brasileirão.

A próxima partida do São Paulo está marcada para quarta-feira (25), às 21h30 (hora de Brasília) pelo duelo de volta da terceira fase da Copa do Brasil, diante do Ituano no estádio Novelli Júnior. O jogo de ida terminou em 0 a 0, e o Tricolor precisa de uma vitória simples para se classificar.

continua após a publicidade

The opener confirmed on Friday morning that his original cap had been located

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jan-2024David Warner’s missing baggy green has been located four days after he announced it had been lost in transit between Melbourne and Sydney ahead of his final Test.The backpack containing two caps, including Warner’s original from his Test debut in 2011, was found at the team hotel in Sydney although how it got there remains unclear. Warner posted a video on social media on Friday morning holding his original baggy green and thanked those involved for finding it.Related

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“Hi everyone, I am very pleased and relieved to let you all know that my baggy greens have been found, which is great news,” he wrote alongside the video. “Thanks to all involved and I am extremely grateful. Qantas, the freight company, our hotels and team management. Thanks [sic] you.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by David Warner (@davidwarner31)

In the video he added: “Any cricketer knows how special their cap is and I will cherish this for the rest of my life.”A Cricket Australia spokesperson said: “The bag in which they were packed was found at the team hotel, with all the contents inside. The movements of the missing bag are unknown despite extensive searches and the review of CCTV footage at multiple locations and the efforts of numerous parties since Tuesday.”When Warner revealed the cap, which had been inside luggage transported separately to the players after the second Test, had not arrived in Sydney he said that if the backpack had been taken by someone they would not be in trouble if it was returned.Ahead of his final Test, Warner used a loaned fresh cap from Cricket Australia for various photoshoots then when Australia fielded on the opening day.”It’s a huge relief David’s cap has been located and a big thank you to everyone who was involved in the search,” Nick Hockley, the CA CEO said. “We really appreciate it.”

تحدث مدرب ليفربول آرني سلوت، عن قيادة المصري محمد صلاح للفريق، للفوز أمام بيرنلي بضربة جزاء في الوقت القاتل بمنافسات بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز “البريميرليج”.

وتحصل ليفربول على ضربة جزاء قبل إطلاق صافرة النهاية وسجلها محمد صلاح أمام بيرنلي ليفوز الفريق بهدف دون رد، ونشرت شبكة “بي بي سي سبورت”، و”سكاي سبورتس” تصريحات سلوت عقب اللقاء.

وقال سلوت: “لم أستوعب الأمر جيدًا، فبعد 90 دقيقة، عندما رأيت الوقت المحتسب بدل الضائع، صُدمت وما زلت مصدومًا عندما حصلنا على ركلة الجزاء، لأن خمس دقائق من الوقت بدل الضائع كانت بالنسبة لي لا تُصدق، شعرت بالصدمة، ثم شعرت بالسعادة لأن محمد صلاح سجل ركلة الجزاء”.

طالع | رجل مباراة ليفربول وبيرنلي في الدوري الإنجليزي

وأضاف: “لم تكن مباراةً سهلةً، فقد خلقنا فيها الكثير من الفرص، وكان الأمر صعبًا ضد فريق يلعب في منطقة الجزاء، واصلنا اللعب، وواصلنا تمرير الكرة، ازداد إرهاقهم، وهو أمر طبيعي عندما تضطر للدفاع 80% من الوقت، ثم دفعنا بأكبر قدر من المهاجمين”.

وأشار: “مباراة صعبة، لكن جميعها في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، حافظنا على شباكنا نظيفة، ومن اللعب المفتوح، لم نتلقَّ أي فرصة تُذكر، هذا أمر جيد”.

واستطرد سلوت: “هذا أمر طبيعي، ومع وجود العديد من اللاعبين الجدد، سنتحسن أكثر فأكثر، ولكن في الوقت الحالي، لدينا 12 نقطة”.

وعن لاعبه الجديد ألكسندر إيزاك، القادم من نيوكاسل، وعدم ضمه للقائمة أفاد: “يتخذ المرء قراره لسبب وجيه، ولحجة قوية، كان هذا القرار بسبب غيابه عن التدريبات الجماعية لأربعة أشهر، إنه في أسبوعه الثاني أو الثالث من فترة التحضير للموسم الجديد”.

وأكمل: “لقد منحناه أسبوعًا كافيًا، ونعتقد أنه قد يحصل على أكثر من 10 أو 15 دقيقة في مباراة الأربعاء، وهذه هي الطريقة الأمثل، يحتاج إلى وقت لعب كافٍ، ولكن أيضًا إلى بناء قاعدة جيدة له، هو الآن جاهز للعب 45 دقيقة على الأقل، لنرَ إن كنا سنستغل ذلك في مباراة يوم الأربعاء أو السبت القادم”.

اقرأ أيضًا | محمد صلاح يوجه رسالة بشأن صفقات ليفربول بعد الفوز على بيرنلي

وبشأن خصمه بيرنلي، علّق: “تحياتي لبيرنلي على دفاعهم القوي، كان من الصعب علينا إيجاد ثغرة، وكنا قريبين من التسجيل في بعض الأحيان، لو سجلنا، لكانت المباراة مفتوحة، ولكن لأننا لم نسجل، فعلوا الشيء نفسه، اضطررنا للانتظار حتى نهاية الشوط الثاني، وفي الدقائق الأخيرة حققنا ما كنا نأمله”.

وواصل: “هناك احتمال أن تسير الأمور كما نرغب، لكن الأمر كان صعبًا، كنا بحاجة إلى لحظة حظ، أو لحظة سحرية، لم يكن لدينا السحر، لكن الحظ حالفنا، نأمل ونحاول أن نجعل الأمور أكثر صعوبة، لكنهم كانوا أقوياء”.

وبشأن محمد صلاح، أكد سلوت: “لقد كان وجود محمد صلاح في ليفربول مفيدًا لنا طوال فترة وجوده، لقد كانت لحظة رائعة بالنسبة لنا، لأنني أعتقد أنه أهدر آخر ركلتي جزاء قبل ذلك”.

وعن قراره باستبدال ميلوس كيركيز بأندي روبرتسون في الدقيقة 38، أوضح: “كان ذلك بسبب حصوله على بطاقة صفراء، أعتقد أن الجماهير هنا اعتقدت أن فرصتهم للفوز بالمباراة تكمن في حصولنا على بطاقة صفراء ثانية”.

وأتم: “مع ميلوس، لا يمكنني أبدًا أن أكون متأكدًا تمامًا من أنه لا يرتكب المخالفة التالية، ثم يبدأ الجمهور في الضغط على الحكم، اعتقدت أن الطريقة الوحيدة التي قد نخسر بها المباراة اليوم هي أن نلعب بعشرة لاعبين”.

Rajasthan Royals are on top of the table, but a win for LSG will close the gap to just two points

Karthik Krishnaswamy26-Apr-20244:04

Economy over wickets – Ashwin’s role at Royals this season?

Match detailsLucknow Super Giants (Fourth – P8, W5, L3) vs Rajasthan Royals (First – P8, W7, L1)
Lucknow, 7.30pm (2pm GMT)Big pictureForm is a fickle thing in T20, but if there’s such a thing, LSG and RR are the two form teams of IPL 2024, the only two with two or more wins in a row leading up to their meeting in Lucknow. Both teams sit in the top four at the moment, and RR, who already have 14 points, could have one foot in the playoffs if they win on Saturday night.This is a contest between broadly similar teams: both have strong top orders and occasionally get into a muddle with middle-order roles, and both have excellent attacks with plenty of variety. It’s hard to pick a favourite. LSG have won three of their four home games so far this season, but RR are perfectly equipped to compete on whatever surface Ekana throws up, whether it’s slow and low black soil or true, bouncy red.Both teams are looking ominous if you go by the metric of key players finding form midway through the season. Yashasvi Jaiswal did so with a match-winning century in RR’s most recent game, against Mumbai Indians on April 22, and Marcus Stoinis matched him in LSG’s most recent game, against Chennai Super Kings on April 23.Everything points to a tight and tactically interesting contest, and if you need anything else to whet your appetite, there’s the prospect of Mayank Yadav returning to action.Form guideLucknow Super Giants WWLLW (last five matches, most recent first)
Rajasthan Royals WWWLWYashasvi Jaiswal found form with a hundred in his previous game against MI•BCCI

Previous meetingBoth teams were playing their first match of IPL 2024 when they met in Jaipur on March 24. An unbeaten 82 from Sanju Samson led Royals to a total of 193, and LSG were in the hunt thanks to half-centuries from KL Rahul and Nicholas Pooran. It came down to a gettable 65 from 36 balls with both of them at the crease, but a terrific end-overs display led by Sandeep Sharma sealed a 20-run win for Royals.Team news and impact player strategyLucknow Super Giants
Mayank Yadav, who has missed LSG’s last four matches with an abdominal issue, bowled in the nets in the lead-up to Saturday’s game. S Sriram, the team’s assistant coach, said Mayank is “pretty close” to a comeback. If he returns, Yash Thakur could make way for him. LSG have not used M Siddharth’s left-arm spin in recent games, but he remains an interesting option to come off the subs bench and take the new ball if needed.Likely XII 1 Quinton de Kock, 2 KL Rahul (capt & wk), 3 Marcus Stoinis, 4 , 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Deepak Hooda, 7 Ayush Badoni, 8 Krunal Pandya, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Ravi Bishnoi, 11 Mohsin Khan, 12 .Rajasthan Royals
Sandeep Sharma returned from injury and took match-turning figures of 5 for 18 in RR’s last match, against Mumbai Indians. He is likely to keep his place and share the new ball with Trent Boult. If a black-soil pitch is rolled out in Lucknow, there is a chance Royals could bring in Keshav Maharaj as their third spinner.Likely XII: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 , 3 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 4 Riyan Parag, 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Dhruv Jurel, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Trent Boult, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Sandeep Sharma, 12 .In the spotlightQuinton de Kock has had a quiet IPL by his standards. He averages just 28.50 after eight innings, and while he’s made three fifties, all of them have come at strike rates below 145. LSG would love it if he found some of his old fluency, but the RR attack may present him a stern test: he has T20 strike rates of below 125 against all their key bowlers – Boult, Sandeep, Yuzvendra Chahal and R Ashwin.Marcus Stoinis also found form with a match-winning 63-ball 124 against CSK•BCCI

He’s taken just one wicket in seven matches this season, at an average of 240.00, but R Ashwin will tell you (as he has on his YouTube channel) that wicket-taking is becoming irrelevant in T20. He may be right on one hand, since his economy rate (8.88) is nearly identical to that of Yuzvendra Chahal (8.83), who happens to have taken 13 wickets this season. What is different and possibly worrying is that Ashwin hasn’t tied left-hand batters down to his usual extent: his economy rate of 8.68 against left-handers is his worst of any IPL season. LSG could have de Kock, Nicholas Pooran, Krunal Pandya and possibly Devdutt Padikkal in their top eight; can Ashwin dominate his favourite match-up like he’s done for so many years?Pitch and conditionsRed soil or black soil? It’s the question to ask in the lead-up to every game in Lucknow, and it’s a potentially tricky one for the home side ahead of this game. LSG love controlling games with their spinners on black-soil pitches, but Royals come here with one of the best spin attacks in the competition.Stats that matter Royals have won three of their four matches against LSG so far. The two teams have never met in Lucknow, however. Mayank Yadav has the best middle-overs economy rate (5.00) and average (7.00) of any bowler in IPL 2024 (minimum 30 balls bowled in that phase). Sanju Samson is five hits away from becoming the 10th member of the 200 sixes club in the IPL. Quotes”You’ve got to keep that white noise away. That’s the skill of really good teams. You can’t look too much at what others are doing. We have no control over that. We’ve got to turn up every day and be the best that we can be, and then, we’ll definitely qualify [for the playoffs] if we do that.”
“We’ve played eight matches and won seven of them, and in those seven matches we’ve had six different Man of the Match [winners]. So everyone in the team has been contributing. This is the biggest thing that wins matches. Whenever there’s a requirement, a different player [steps up]. It’s not like just one player is winning us games.”

da lvbet： Liverpool are believed to be interested in signing an “extraordinary” attacking talent this summer, but it would be a seriously controversial piece of business.

Liverpool one win from Premier League title glory

da cassino online： The Reds are now just one victory away from being crowned Premier League champions for the second time, following Sunday’s 1-0 win away to Leicester City.

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s second-half strike proved to be the difference between the two teams, with Liverpool’s vice-captain coming off the substitutes’ bench to fire home the winner, celebrating in style in the process.

Some Reds supporters feel hopeful that the passionate nature of Alexander-Arnold’s celebration means he is staying put this summer, but he remained coy in his post-match interview, suggesting that a move to Real Madrid still feels most likely at the end of the season.

Liverpool can actually be confirmed as champions without playing this week, but only if Arsenal lose at home to Crystal Palace on Wednesday evening. If that doesn’t happen, glory can be secured against Tottenham at Anfield on Sunday afternoon. Now, a transfer rumoured has dropped that could cause a huge stir in the summer window.

Liverpool linked with "extraordinary" former Manchester United attacker

According to a report from Spain, Liverpool are interested in signing former Manchester United attacker Mason Greenwood this summer and are ‘willing to launch a multi-million-pound offensive’.

The 23-year-old is now plying his trade at Ligue 1 side Marseille after some serious off-field issues saw United dispose of him. The Reds are reportedly willing to pay as much as £68.5m for his services.

Greenwood has enjoyed a good season with Marseille, scoring 18 goals in 28 starts in the league, being praised by journalist Daniel Riolo: “Greenwood, in terms of pure qualities, over the first three games, is perhaps the best player in Ligue 1. We know his history but we’re going to talk about the pitch and on the pitch he’s extraordinary. He’s almost above Ligue 1.”

Despite the clear ability that Greenwood possesses, however, having burst onto the scene as a talented youngster at United, this is a move that surely cannot happen at Liverpool for various reasons.

For starters, the Englishman’s aforementioned off-field troubles led to the Red Devils selling him, so for the Reds to snap him up would be a bad look for the image of the club, which has generally been squeaky clean under both Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot.

Related He was as bad as Salah: Liverpool star proved why FSG must spend millions

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There is also the small matter of Greenwood being a former United player, which would also be controversial in its own right, so frankly, it is a transfer that Liverpool shouldn’t even be considering this summer.

After what has felt like a lifetime, the international break is finally over and Arsenal are back to winning ways.

Mikel Arteta’s side played host to the high-flying Fulham in a Premier League game that’s unlikely to impact the title race but offered the home side a chance to make right their draw at Craven Cottage earlier in the campaign. Fortunately, they did just that, winning the game 2-1.

With a season-defining game against Real Madrid in the Champions League next week, Tuesday evening’s game offered the squad the chance to build positive momentum.

However, to ensure his side are in the best shape possible for that, Arteta might need to make a few changes, such as dropping Mikel Merino.

Arteta's unorthodox options

Before we get to the change up top that we think Arteta should be making, it’s worth examining some of the other potential, if a little unlikely, changes he could make, like throwing the returning Bukayo Saka in from the start.

The Hale Ender has been out of action since late December, but he announced his return to first-team training with a social media post last week. Then, on Monday morning, the manager revealed he was back in contention for Fulham, saying, “Bukayo is ready to go.”

Having the 23-year-old available again is a massive game-changer for the Gunners, as despite not playing for almost four months now, he remains the club’s most productive player this season, with 23 goal involvements in just 24 games.

However, his importance is also why he didn’t start against Fulham and may not even start against Everton at the weekend as losing him again, even for a short spell, would make the club’s chances of progressing in the Champions League far smaller.

Likewise, while there have been some calls to start fellow Hale Ender, Ethan Nwaneri, down the middle in recent weeks, it would probably be best to avoid doing so.

The 18-year-old has played there at youth level and was even touted to eventually move there by the manager, but seven of his eight goals and his only assist have come from him playing off the right or in the middle of the park, and as the old saying goes, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

Moreover, there is another player Arteta should look to start down the middle in place of Merino.

The Arsenal star who should start over Merino

So, the first thing to say is that while Merino hasn’t been Arsenal’s answer over the last few weeks, he hasn’t been too bad, considering he’s a central midfielder being asked to play up top.

However, while his overall haul of five goals and one assist in seven appearances as a striker is quite impressive, the reality is that those goal involvements all came in four vgames.

Then, against West Ham United, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, he failed to score or assist, making it clear that Arteta needs to replace him with a recognised attacker tonight.

The best candidate for this, from the players available, is undoubtedly Leandro Trossard.

Now, while the £27m Belgian has been a little inconsistent at times this season, he’s proven himself to be deadly in the penalty area over the last couple of years, and if Ian Wright thinks he’s “clinical” and the “best finisher” in the squad, then he must be doing something right.

For example, since joining the club in January 2023, the “sensational” attacker, as dubbed by Arsenal podcaster Adam Keys, has scored 24 goals and provided 20 assists in 112 appearances, totalling 5999 minutes.

That means the former Brighton & Hove Albion ace has averaged a goal involvement every 2.55 games, or every 136.34 minutes at the club.

Furthermore, the 30-year-old “wizard,” as dubbed by journalist Charlie Haffenden, has already played up top for the Gunners, racking up a haul of four goals and eight assists in 15 games, totalling 866 minutes, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.25 appearances, or every 72.16 minutes.

Finally, starting the Waterschei-born dynamo down the middle means that Gabriel Martinelli can start in his strongest position off the left, and Nwaneri can start off the right, before Saka comes on late to get some minutes under his belt, therefore making the whole frontline far more intimidating for their opponents.

Ultimately, with a big couple of weeks coming up, Arteta needs to make sure his side are in the best shape possible to ensure they can end the season with a bang, and one of the ways to ensure that happens, is starting Trossard in place of Merino.

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It is set to be a busy summer for Manchester City.

On the pitch, the Sky Blues are competing at the FIFA Club World Cup, kicking off their campaign on 18 June in Philadelphia against Wydad Casablanca, before also meeting Al Ain and Juventus.

Meantime, the Citizens are also likely to be busy in the transfer market, as they were in January, spending a reported £180m to recruit Abdukodir Khusanov, Omar Marmoush, Nico González, Vitor Reis and Juma Bah.

There is a clear strategy to make this squad younger, so are the Sky Blues now leading the chase for another highly-rated youngster?

Manchester City preparing a bid for a new full-back

According to reports from Spain, Manchester City are ‘preparing’ a bid to sign Benfica left-back Álvaro Carreras.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

They claim the 21-year-old ‘has caught the attention of Pep Guardiola’, making him a ‘priority option’ as Man City seek to bolster their left-back options.

Carreras actually spent time in Manchester United’s academy, making 42 appearances during a season-long loan spell at Preston North End in the EFL Championship, but he has really taken his game to a new level since joining Benfica for a reported fee of €6m (£5m) in the summer 2024 – after an initial loan move – featuring 61 times for As Águias so far.

Now, could the one-time Real Madrid starlet – who reportedly has a release clause of €50m (£41m) – be making the move to the other side of Manchester, but how well would he fit in at Man City?

How Álvaro Carreras would improve Manchester City

Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout describes Carreras as an “excellent left-back”, while Portuguese Football Expert Kevin Fernandes believes he is “one of the best” players in his position on the market this summer, describing him as “defensively solid” having enjoyed a “meteoric” rise since making the move to Lisbon.

The former United man has also been lauded by Kulig for his “amazing engine and quality” at left-back, potentially proving a solution to what has been a problem position for Manchester City all throughout this season.

Right now, Nico O’Reilly, a 20-year-old, inexperienced attacking midfielder, is being deployed there by Guardiola, following a game-changing second-half appearance off the bench during last month’s FA Cup victory at Bournemouth, in which he scored and registered an assist.

At other times, Joško Gvardiol had appeared to be the undisputed first-choice for this role, while Rico Lewis, a versatile full-back, isn’t starting very much on either side, with Matheus Nunes the most common starting right-back in recent months.

So, considering Carreras would probably be usurping Lewis in the full-back pecking order, let’s asses how the two youngsters compare.

Appearances

66

71

Minutes

4,557

4,822

Pass completion %

79.6%

92.1%

Progressive passes

71

226

Progressive carries

34

92

Take on success %

60.5%

46.3%

Shot-creating actions

46

97

Goal-creating actions

4

12

Crosses

135

14

Tackles won

61

49

Interceptions

77

31

Ball recoveries

99

196

% of aerial duels won

54.4%

23.3%

Errors leading to an opposition shot

1

3

The table makes for interesting reading because, based on statistics from the start of last season, Lewis significantly comes out on top when it comes to both possession and chances created metric.

Meantime, Carreras is a vastly superior out-of-possession defender, emphasised by his tackles won, ball recoveries and percentage of aerials duels won, albeit the latter is slightly harsh on Lewis, considering he’s 5 foot 7 in. Even so, the addition of such competition could be bad news for the young England star.

This season, as Manchester City have struggled significantly more, they’ve been tasked with doing a lot more defending, a challenge some of their defenders have not been able to cope with, so Carreras would certainly address this issue and be an excellent addition.

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Those who appeared late into the IPL have been given a short time at home before heading to West Indies

Andrew McGlashan27-May-2024Australia will be significantly shorthanded for their two T20 World Cup matches with players who were involved late into the IPL given the chance for a short break at home before heading to the Caribbean.They are set to have just nine players available for the match against Namibia on Tuesday (Wednesday morning Australia time) with their resources further stretched by captain Mitchell Marsh not yet ready to bowl following the hamstring injury which ended his IPL. They also play co-hosts West Indies on Thursday.Related

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Pat Cummins, Travis Head and Mitchell Starc were involved in the IPL final on Sunday and will briefly return to Australia before joining the World Cup squad. Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green, who were part of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s run to the playoffs, are also spending time at home. Those five are due to arrive when the Australia squad reaches Barbados ahead of their first group match against Oman on June 5. Marcus Stoinis has also yet to arrive in the Caribbean.”It’s important to be flexible,” Marsh told cricket.com.au. “Guys have been at the IPL. They’ve been playing a lot of cricket so we’ve prioritized giving them a couple of days at home, see their family, refresh and play the long game for this tournament. We’ll get to our 15 eventually but it’s really important that we give them a break, even if it’s [just] a couple of days at home.”It means that Australia will likely need to call on members of the coaching staff to field during the warm-up matches if they want a full complement. Brad Hodge has joined the support staff for this tournament while head coach Andrew McDonald, national selector George Bailey and assistant coach Andre Borovec could also be called in.Mitchell Marsh is set to play just as a batter during the warm-up period•AFP/Getty Images

Daniel Vettori, another assistant coach, will also be part of the group after the IPL where he has been head coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad but would not be eligible to field in warm-up matches with those used having to come from the country involved.Marsh, who will captain Australia in a global event for the first time, was confident of being able to play both warm-up matches as a batter despite a slower than expected recovery from the hamstring injury he picked up playing for Delhi Capitals.”I’m just ticking off the last few things I need to tick off to be fit and available,” he said. “All went well today. It’s been progressively slow but finally getting there now and looking forward to getting stuck into the tournament.”Initially we thought it was a three-weeker but with tendons they can take a little bit longer and you sort of have to go on feel. Once I was ruled out of the IPL we’ve certainly taken our time to get it right and I feel lucky I’ve had that bit of extra time, a little bit of time at home to refresh and like all the others who have arrived today I’m raring to go.”Some teams have opted out of practice matches altogether but Australia’s two warm-ups will carry significance for those players coming from the off-season – Adam Zampa, Josh Inglis, Josh Hazlewood and Ashton Agar – and those like Matthew Wade and Nathan Ellis who did not feature much for their IPL sides. David Warner, whose international career will come to a close at the World Cup, is also coming into the tournament after a lean IPL and having suffered a hand injury.”He [Warner] didn’t really hit scores, and then he got a nasty hit on his hand. Basically, had the worst bone bruising and his contusion on the back of his hand that he’s ever seen,” Ricky Ponting, Delhi Capitals’ head coach, told the . “He’s a feisty little competitor that once the World Cup comes around, he hits the Australian colours back on again, then I’ve got no real concerns about him.”