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It’s fair to say West Bromwich Albion’s season hasn’t gone to plan in the Championship with Tony Mowbray axed after just 17 clashes back at the Hawthorns helm.

Losing the steady presence of Carlos Corberan abruptly has ultimately derailed the Baggies’ promotion push, leaving Mowbray with the tough task of picking up the pieces after the Spaniard walked away for a chance at Valencia.

Unfortunately, the 61-year-old would only pick up a meagre five victories from those 17 games, with the failed promotion chasers now after another new manager to freshen up the stale environment.

Marti Cifuentes has been the main name getting all the buzz, but the second-tier underperformers could now opt to appoint this left-field name instead of landing the Queens Park Rangers boss.

West Brom keen admirers of Cifuentes' alternative

Indeed, reports in recent days have suggested that talks have been held between the Baggies and the Hoops over a deal for Cifuentes, with West Brom clearly a fan of what the 42-year-old has managed to achieve to date at Loftus Road.

Manager Focus

Who are the greatest coaches in the land? Football FanCast’s Manager Focus series aims to reveal all.

But, he isn’t the only face being considered for the vacant job post, with journalist Darren Witcoop taking to X recently to confirm that the Championship side are also ‘admirers’ of current FC St. Pauli head coach Alexander Blessin.

Blessin took over the reins at the German giants from Fabian Hurzeler, with the 51-year-old perhaps following Hurzeler’s career path even more if he too takes the leap to relocate to England.

After all, when glancing at Blessin’s career achievements so far as a manager, he could actually be viewed as an upgrade on Cifuentes, meaning he might well become the main desired target if QPR aren’t willing to sanction a move.

Why Blessin could be an upgrade on Cifuentes

Before looking more in-depth at Blessin’s varied CV as a manager, there are a multitude of reasons as to why West Brom have cherry-picked Cifuentes as a candidate to replace Mowbray.

Last season saw the ex-Hammarby boss transform QPR’s fortunes on the pitch, with relegation looking nailed on at one point under the previous tenure of Gareth Ainsworth, only for Cifuentes to lift the once downtrodden Hoops all the way up to 18th and six points clear of the dreaded drop-zone.

But, the Spaniard has struggled at points this season to kick on, with a sobering 5-0 loss to an already promoted Burnley side more than kicking his side in the teeth last match.

Whilst Blessin has equally had to navigate choppy waters this campaign in the German top-flight (six points above the relegation zone), his overall resume as a manager to date does look slightly more impressive than his counterpart’s.

Most notably, the Stuttgart-born coach was an overwhelming success in Belgium with Royal Union Saint-Gilloise before the Bundesliga beckoned.

FC St. Pauli

33

9

7

17

Union Saint-Gilloise

58

36

12

10

Genoa

33

11

12

10

KV Oostende

65

26

11

28

RB Leipzig (U17s/U19s)

87

56

6

25

Away from some hiccups at his current employers, Blessin has largely been a success wherever he’s been managing all across Europe, with his celebrated 58-game stay at Union SG even seeing him lift the Belgian Cup.

Overall, the West Brom target has steered all of his teams to an impressive 138 victories from 276 career games. To add context, Cifuentes has a lesser 130 from a heftier 321 clashes.

With his expansive 3-5-2 set-up also potentially suiting the likes of wide man Tom Fellows, this might well be a match made in heaven if a move is signed off on, with the Baggies hopeful they can pick up their next Corberan-style figure shortly to put Mowbray’s dismal return firmly in the past.

Surprise Corberan repeat: West Brom can take big gamble by hiring 3-4-3 boss

West Brom are eyeing a deal for a Premier League coach who could be a Carlos Corberan repeat.

ByDan Emery Apr 24, 2025

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： Chelsea have now submitted an opening bid of £64m for an “incredible” striker, but they are set to face fierce competition for his signature from their Premier League rivals, according to a report.

Blues ramping up striker pursuit

da esport bet： The Blues looked toothless in front of goal yesterday afternoon, drawing 0-0 away at Brentford, with Christopher Nkunku once again failing to deliver at striker, having scored just three Premier League goals all season.

The performance at the Gtech Community Stadium underlined the need for Enzo Maresca to bring in a top striker in the summer transfer window, and the west Londoners have been ramping up their pursuit over the past few weeks.

There has been a positive update on the move for Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, with the Nigerian now setting his sights on a move to Stamford Bridge, while Maresca’s side are also plotting an approach for Lille striker Jonathan David, who is set to be available on a free transfer.

Related Chelsea now interested in signing £43m Inter Milan star alongside Thuram

The Blues have identified a new target ahead of the summer transfer window…

Posts ByDominic Lund Apr 6, 2025

A number of Europe’s top strikers are on the shortlist, including Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres, and a report from Spain has now revealed Chelsea have made their first move for the Swedish striker, submitting a €75m (£64m) bid for his services.

However, there may be fierce competition for Gyokeres’ signature, with Manchester United also submitting an offer of the same value, while recent reports have also detailed the Sporting star could be keen on a move to Arsenal following talks with sporting director Andrea Berta.

The Blues believe the forward will be able to adapt to life in the Premier League quickly, which is why they are willing to make a huge offer, and his goal record in Portugal this season indicates he could make an instant impact in Maresca’s side.

"Incredible" Gyokeres impressing in Portugal

The 26-year-old has been in simply sensational form for Sporting this season, amassing 43 goals and 11 assists in 43 appearances in all competitions, showcasing that he is ready for a big move to one of Europe’s top clubs.

Not only that, but the Sweden international, who has been lauded as “incredible”, ranks highly across a number of other key attacking metrics over the past year, when compared to his positional peers.

Statistic

Average per 90

Shot-creating actions

3.85 (95th percentile)

Progressive carries

4.29 (96th percentile)

Successful take-ons

1.18 (83rd percentile)

Touches (Att pen)

6.07 (86th percentile)

With Nkunku potentially in line to leave this summer, and Nicolas Jackson now without a goal in his last 10 Premier League games, it is clear the Blues will need to bring in a top striker this summer.

Gyokeres’ goal record indicates he could be one of the best options on the market, so it is exciting news that Chelsea have now made the first move by submitting an opening bid.

“He has looked very good at No. 4. He is a great stroke-maker, can play all shots and go through the gears”

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Feb-2024

Williamson on Ravindra: “One of his biggest strengths is being very calm”•AFP/Getty Images

New Zealand have called all the shots so far in the Mount Maunganui Test, and go into day three with a lead of 431 to boot. However, Kane Williamson is not getting carried away just yet, and has called on his team to “maintain their discipline and play the long game” as they look to go 1-0 up against South Africa.Williamson himself contributed 118 to New Zealand’s cause, but it was his “outstanding” team-mate Rachin Ravindra who stole most of the headlines with a fluent 240. Speaking after the first day’s play, Ravindra did not hold back in his praise for his “idol” Williamson, and on Monday, the roles were reversed, as it was the New Zealand captain’s turn to laud the 24-year-old.”Ravindra is simply a class act to watch from the other end,” Williamson said. “One of his biggest strengths is being very calm. He’s clearly got the skills and the game as we’ve seen in ODIs, but to go through the gears here, in such a calm temperament, speaks volumes. Their bowlers weren’t giving much away, so we had to keep each other focused.Related

Red-hot Williamson puts the stamp on NZ's day again

Ravindra 240 and Jamieson's burst make it NZ's day

'Pure batting bliss' – Ravindra lauds his 'unbelievable' idol Williamson

“We did a lot of groundwork and South Africa were extremely disciplined with the ball. It was quite difficult to use the pace on the surface, so we just wanted to up the run rate from a position of strength. I wasn’t able to, which was frustrating, but other guys came in and went through the gears in the middle session.”Ravindra has looked very good at No. 4. He is a great stroke-maker, can play all shots and go through the gears. That’s his style. He made the most of the opportunity. He’s quite natural and is loving every moment. From a team’s perspective, we’re loving his attitude to move us forward.”It was an outstanding innings and a special moment for him, but the milestone alone wasn’t enough. You can see he also wanted to put the team in a strong position.”After amassing 511, New Zealand then made further inroads by rattling South Africa’s top order, reducing the visitors to 80 for 4. Williamson believes that with the pitch deteriorating and wind possibly coming into play later on, it is essential that his bowlers be “mindful” with their plans.”Throughout today, and the last part of yesterday, both teams were trying to just hang in there. There was little bit on offer which made it hard to hit through the line, so it was all about just trying to stay with your plans and not lose patience. We had our moments. We were trying to understand where we want to be as a team and took risks when needed to. We gave ourselves the opportunity. Now we need to be mindful with the ball, be disciplined and play the long game, and see how the game unfolds.”We’re in a relatively strong position, but it’ll be hard, South Africa bat deep, the pitch will deteriorate, so let’s see.”Brand rues missed chancesSouth Africa, too, are not waving the white flag just yet. Their captain Neil Brand, who finished with six wickets, is confident that “one big partnership” is all that they need to get right back into the game.”It’s been a tough grind today, but we didn’t expect anything less,” he said. “New Zealand played well, but we also gave away a few chances which didn’t help. But we can still do something very much special here.”There wasn’t much of a chat on how we wanted to bat. I told everyone to play their natural games. There were a few strange dismissals, and ideally you don’t want to be two or three wickets down so soon. But these things happen. We have two great batters in David Bedingham and Keegan Petersen at the crease, and anything can happen.”

أعلن نادي برشلونة بشكل رسمي عن رحيل أحد لاعبيه في صفقة انتقال نهائية، بموافقة من المدرب الألماني هانز فليك خلال سوق الانتقالات الصيفية الحالية.

وذكر برشلونة في بيان رسمي: “توصل برشلونة وريال مايوركا لاتفاق بشأن انتقال جان فيرجيلي إلى نادي ريال مايوركا”.

وأضاف برشلونة في بيانه: “سيحتفظ النادي بنسبة مئوية من أي بيع مستقبلي للجناح الكاتالوني بالإضافة إلى حق أولوية الشراء، ويتمنى النادي له كل التوفيق والنجاح في المستقبل على الصعيدين الشخصي والمهني”.

أقرأ أيضاً.. ناصر الخليفي: الجميع ينتظر مواجهتنا مع برشلونة.. وتتويجنا أصبح من الماضي

وكان فيرجيلي قد انضم إلى صفوف برشلونة في الصيف الماضي قادما من ناستيك، وسرعان ما أصبح بعد ذلك لاعباً في فريق الشباب.

وكان الجناح الموهوب صاحب الـ19 عاماً عنصراً أساسياً في فريق الشباب بقيادة جوليانو بيليتي اللاعب البرازيلي السابق والذي حقق ثلاثية تاريخية كما انضم للفريق الرديف.

وشارك فيرجيلي في بعض الوقت خلال الفترة التحضيرية للفريق الأول لبرشلونة استعداداً للموسم الحالي تحت قيادة هانز فليك، ومع ذلك فقد قرر اتخاذ هذه الخطوة في مسيرته.

وأصبح فيرجيلي ثاني لاعب من برشلونة ينتقل للعب في ريال ايوركا هذا الصيف بعد بابلو توري.

Crystal Palace are expected to lodge an enquiry over signing a “quality” £25 million player in the summer, according to a recent report.

Crystal Palace eye attacking signings

The Eagles still have 11 games left to play in the Premier League and an FA Cup quarterfinal tie to think about, but plans already appear to be getting underway for what could be a busy summer at Selhurst Park.

Crystal Palace now plotting "ambitious" move for "incredible" £55m forward

The Eagles could be set to battle it out for a highly-rated forward, who’s also attracted interest from Tottenham Hotspur.

1 ByDominic Lund Mar 2, 2025

Oliver Glasner is keen for his side to strengthen in the wide areas of the team, with it emerging last week that Liverpool’s Ben Doak and Lewis Koumas are of interest to Palace. The South Londoners are interested in signing not just one, but both Liverpool loan stars, who have been thriving at Middlesbrough and Stoke respectively this season.

Palace are also keeping a close eye on FC Midtjylland striker Franculino Dju and have sent scouts to watch him in action in recent weeks. However, they are not the only team interested, as Leicester City are also keen on a deal, though their interest hinges on them remaining in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, former chief scout Mick Brown has also stated that Palace are interested in signing Tyler Dibling from Southampton, but again, there are many other teams also interested in the young star.

Crystal Palace expected to make enquiry to sign £25m Spurs star

But as well as looking to strengthen their forward line, the Eagles are also looking to strengthen their midfield, as according to Give Me Sport, Crystal Palace are interested in signing Yves Bissouma from Tottenham Hotspur.

The report states that Spurs are willing to let Bissouma leave come the end of the season, with no indications of a new deal being discussed, as he will enter the final 12 months of the contract he signed when he became one of the several Brighton success stories to be sold for profit. Palace are monitoring the situation and are expected to make an enquiry into a possible deal, while several other teams are also expected to join the race.

French sides Marseille and Nice are also interested in signing the midfielder, and Bissouma is open to moving back to Ligue 1, but Palace will hope the opportunity to remain in the Premier League outweighs a return to France. It is unclear how much Spurs would be looking to get for Bissouma, but they may struggle to get near the £25 million they paid Brighton to sign him in 2022.

Apps

20

Starts

12

Goals

2

Touches per game

41.9

Passing accuracy per game

29.3 (90%)

Tackles per game

1.9

The 28-year-old, who was dubbed “quality” by Jamie Carragher two years ago, has fallen out of favour somewhat at Spurs this season. The midfielder has started 20 of the 32 games he has played in all competitions, but the rise of Lucas Bergvall and the performances of Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Sarr have seen Bissouma fall down the pecking order, and given his contract situation, a move could be on the cards this summer.

The Eagles will be hoping to keep hold of Adam Wharton, but Bissouma could be seen as a potential replacement should Palace find it hard to keep the young Englishman.

A Celtic player has been persuaded to leave the Scottish Champions and join a new club after a promise from his potential new manager, according to a recent report.

Celtic suffer Champions League heartbreak

The Hoops suffered Champions League disappointment on Tuesday night, as they were denied extra time as Bayern Munich scored in the dying moments of the game to secure their place in the last 16 of the tournament.

Celtic took a shock lead through Nicolas Kuhn to make the game 2-2 on aggregate, but Alphonso Davies was on hand to deliver the sucker punch in the fourth minute of injury time.

Better than Maeda: Celtic have unearthed a £124m-rated star in the making

Celtic have hit the jackpot with the forward who is even better than Daizen Maeda.

2 ByDan Emery Feb 19, 2025

Despite being knocked out of the Champions League, Brendan Rodgers was left proud of his team’s performance, and he wants to make Celtic a seasoned club at this level.

“It’s a mixture of pride, firstly in the performance level. We have to remember this is Bayern Munich, and everyone talked about that before the game,” Rodgers told the media.

“Performance-wise, we were outstanding, played without any fear. Defended so well, with discipline, pressed at the right moments, gave them issues on that side, and able to be compact and tight in the right moment.

“Our European credibility was always going to be important. That’s my main takeaway from this campaign. We learned some valuable lessons along the way, played some amazing football, and taken on a club of this size and magnitude – a club where one of their players is more than our budget.

“It allows us to build. Last year I felt we developed even though we never got the points. Performance-wise, I thought it was good. This season it’s been very good. We’ve made the progress that made me want to come back, and now we have to finish the season off strong. My unswerving plan is to make it a seasoned club at this level, where we can go and really hurt big opponents like Bayern Munich.”

Celtic gem has been persuaded to join a new club

As well as disappointment on the pitch, the Hoops have now suffered more off it, as according to Hammers News, Daniel Cummings’ rumoured move to West Ham is even closer after Graham Potter made the player a promise of first-team minutes.

The Hammers were keen on signing the young striker in January, while Celtic have been keen for Cummings to remain with them, as Rodgers has pleaded with the player to remain patient in his wait for a senior breakthrough.

However, he has become unhappy with the lack of opportunities in the first team, and despite Celtic trying to tie him to a new contract, Cummings looks set to join West Ham, as Potter has promised the player he will be part of the club’s first team squad next season.

The 18-year-old came through the ranks at Celtic Park, scoring 34 goals in their B team. However, that hasn’t done anything for him to get regular opportunities in Celtic’s first team, as he’s only made one appearance. That appearance came in this season’s Champions League, as he was brought off the bench for the final 11 minutes against Aston Villa last month.

Apps

50

Goals

34

Assists

0

The Hoops are well gifted in the attacking area, as shown in the game against Bayern Munich, as they had Adam Idah and Johnny Kenny both on the bench. So, with his contract coming to an end, Celtic can’t be surprised that the player is looking at options elsewhere, as he clearly feels moving on is the best for his career.

رد نداف شوشاني، المتحدث باسم جيش الاحتلال الإسرائيلي، على المصري محمد صلاح، جناح فريق ليفربول الإنجليزي، بشأن سؤاله للاتحاد الأوروبي لكرة القدم “يويفا”، حول استشهاد اللاعب الفلسطيني سليمان العبيد.

وكان الاتحاد الفلسطيني لكرة القدم، أعلن في بيان رسمي، يوم الأربعاء، استشهاد اللاعب الفلسطيني سليمان العبيد، إثر مقتله برصاص قوات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي.

وحدثت الواقعة المؤلمة، أثناء انتظار سليمان العبيد للمساعدات الإنسانية في جنوب قطاع غزة، بعد استهداف قوات الاحتلال لمنتظري المساعدات الإنسانية.

ونشر يويفا تغريدة تحمل صورة سليمان العبيد بتعليق: “وداعًا سليمان العبيد، بيليه فلسطين، موهبة أعادت الأمل لعدد لا يحصى من الأطفال، حتى في أحلك الأوقات”.

وقام محمد صلاح بإعادة نشر تغريدة “يويفا” معلقًا: “هل يمكنكم أن تخبرونا كيف مات وأين ولماذا؟”.

وردًا على منشور محمد صلاح على منصة “إكس”، قال المتحدث باسم الجيش الإسرائيلي، نداف شوشاني بحسب ما نشرت وكالة أنباء رويترز: “مرحبًا محمد، بعد مراجعة أولية، لم نعثر على أي سجلات لأي حوادث تتعلق بسليمان العبيد، وللتدقيق أكثر، نحتاج إلى مزيد من التفاصيل”.

العبيد الذي لعب للمنتخب الوطني الفلسطيني، كان يلعب لصالح ناديه غزة عندما اندلعت الحرب في 7 أكتوبر 2023.

الفلسطيني الشهيد من مواليد 24 مارس 1984، وولد بمدينة غزة، وكان متزوجًا وأبًا لخمسة أطفال.

Australia’s reserve opener Marcus Harris is resigned to the fact that he may not play in the Ashes, praising David Warner for his performances despite twin failures in the Headingley Test.Harris, 30, is the only specialist reserve batter currently in the squad after Matt Renshaw was released following the second Test at Lord’s. But he is not expecting to play a part in the series unless there is an injury to one of Australia’s top five batters.Since Australia’s loss at Headingley, all the selection talk has revolved around trying to fit Cameron Green back into the team after Mitchell Marsh made himself indispensable following his stunning opening-day century and crucial wickets, having replaced Green when he was withdrawn due to a hamstring niggle.Related

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• David Warner hoping for SCG farewell from Test cricket in January 2024

Warner has been mooted publicly as the man who could make way given his continued struggles against Stuart Broad. But Green, and others within the Australian team, have tempered suggestions that either he, Marsh or Travis Head could be viable options to open the batting at Old Trafford.Harris echoed those sentiments and acknowledged that he is unlikely to be considered until after Warner’s planned Test swansong in January next year, given that Warner and Usman Khawaja have produced three 50-plus opening stands in the series so far while England’s opening duo of Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett have managed just one.”Davey’s earned the right to pull the pin whenever he wants to pull the pin and he’s done well this series,” Harris said.”England’s not an easy place to open the batting and him and Uz have got us off to some good starts. So if I have to wait until then, so be it. But if something comes up earlier, I’m ready to go. Davey’s obviously a bit of a lightning rod for opinion.”Even if you’re not getting the big runs that you want to get, if you can still contribute to the team in some way, shape or form, I think you’re doing a job. But that’s coming from an opening batter so I’m probably biased towards that.”Harris was called upon midway through the 2019 Ashes series and found the challenge every bit as difficult as Warner, making just 58 runs in six innings.Marcus Harris has made nine first-class centuries in England•Getty Images

But Harris has accrued three years’ worth of County Championship experience since then and has built an impressive first-class record in England, averaging 45.83 from 52 innings with nine centuries, including two this season for Gloucestershire.Given his experience in English conditions, Harris cautioned against asking a middle-order batter to open the batting in a Test match in England.”I think it depends on the conditions and where you are,” he said. “Like you saw in the subcontinent, it is probably the best time so to have someone destructive like Heady, he can open the batting there. But I think probably in England and in Australia, the way the wickets have been the last couple of years, and New Zealand, those sorts of wickets, it’s more of a specialist position. And you want your destructive players like Greeny or Mitch or Travis to be coming in against a bit more of an older ball.”Maybe those first two wickets were alright. Definitely, Edgbaston would have been okay, but I think like we saw at Lord’s, whenever there were some overheads, and at Headingley, it was hard work. My experiences from county cricket [are] if you cop the wrong time of the day to open the batting, especially if you’re a destructive batter, it’s probably not ideal.”Harris is strong in his belief that he is a much-improved player compared to both his last England tour in 2019 and his last Test opportunity in January 2022.”I have been exposed to a lot more conditions,” Harris said. “Since then I have been to Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and played three county seasons here. Being an overseas pro to county teams is a different experience to playing Shield cricket. I just feel more well-rounded. That series taught me a lot in 2019. At the time it didn’t seem good, but I have probably benefited from it in the long haul.”I feel like I am ready to go whenever that chance comes. Whether that is this tour or not, so be it. I am in a good place mentally and with life. Whenever it comes up, I’ll be ready to go.”Harris has not played since making an unbeaten 122 for Gloucestershire against Durham on May 21, with the attack featuring Test bowlers Matthew Potts and Ajaz Patel.He was given the option of playing county cricket last week to get some middle time under his belt, as Michael Neser did for Glamorgan, but he opted to go on a golf trip to Scotland with Marsh, Josh Hazlewood, and Australia bowling coach Daniel Vettori.”I got given the option,” Harris said. “I thought it would be good to have a couple of days off and get away from cricket altogether. I have been here since April 1 so it has been a pretty long tour. The training we can do now with how big the squad is as a collective, during the games is as good, if not better, than playing a game of cricket. I don’t feel like I haven’t had a lot of cricket.”Might have been a different story if I just came on the Ashes and hadn’t played any county cricket. But personally, there hasn’t been any issue for me.”

Former Australia opener says it’s a “good strategy” to have “outliers” in the squad that can keep the other players “honest”

Sruthi Ravindranath21-Aug-20231:29

Moody: Tilak’s selection is down to his temperament

Matthew Hayden believes Tilak Varma’s inclusion in India’s squad for the men’s Asia Cup is a “good strategy” as it would put pressure on Suryakumar Yadav and keep the rest of the frontline batters in the side “honest”.”We’ve seen the class of Tilak Varma. I think it’s a good strategy in terms of not just this World Cup but even potentially getting into the next World Cup as well,” Hayden said on the sidelines of the CEAT Cricket Rating Awards ceremony in Mumbai. “The great thing about India is it’s got a really solid one-two-three combination. Similar to Australia actually, when you look at their last four or five months, they’ve had a really good and strong – what we like to call – the engine room. And then they’ve got some good problems to solve through the middle order.”And if they can fill spots with talented young players like Tilak Varma, put pressure on someone like Suryakumar Yadav, I think that’s a good strategy. Keep everyone honest in the side and performing. So not a bad move. I think it’s a great side.”Related

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Tilak, who hasn’t played an ODI yet, was included on the back of his promising performances during the T20I series in the Caribbean. Hayden said the emergence of such young talents is one of the positives to come out of injuries to various senior players in the Indian side. Jasprit Bumrah, India’s No. 1 bowler, has just returned from a 11-month hiatus and has been named in the 17-member squad. Ditto with KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, who have missed the last few months because of injuries too.”In the landscape of modern cricket now, you’re going to get injuries,” Hayden said. “We’ve seen that with Jasprit Bumrah and we’ve seen the emergence of players in and around him that have had an opportunity because he hasn’t been playing. They look at their bench strength as much as they look at their playing make-up because ultimately you’re going to be challenged.”When I look back at the World Cup campaigns that I was a part of, I remember [Shane] Warne was out with a drug-related incident [in 2003] and then [Brad] Hogg comes into the side and has an unbelievable series in South Africa. So as much as we’d love to see superstars feature in World Cups, the outliers tend to be those players that might win you a World Cup. It might be Ishan Kishan, for example. He might have an unbelievable World Cup and blast everyone away. The selectors don’t write their names down first, but they have something special and they can deliver it on a World Cup stage.”There are some key questions for India heading into the 50-over World Cup at home this year: who will be their No. 4? What will their middle order look like? While captain Rohit Sharma said he wanted to keep the batting order flexible, Hayden said the Asia Cup would give India a chance to fine-tune their plans and possibly find answers they need.”The Asia Cup is kind of where you’re going to see a lot more answers to those questions,” Hayden said. “Playing in their home conditions, in the build-up to the World Cup – the World Cup’s on our doorstep – that’s about as good as you get from the subcontinent teams, playing in Sri Lanka, in Pakistan, ahead of an enormous campaign here in India. There’s no question that you’re going to have bench players playing in this World Cup. Your outliers are as important as your key players. And it’s in your favour.”But we all know how much everyone loves cricket here as well. To be at home, there’s an enormous pressure that will come with that. But I think that you’ve got good lead up time and good preparation.”