Category Uncategorized

Aston Villa could be close to sealing their second signing of the January transfer window as they have submitted another bid for a talented Championship starlet…

Aston Villa’s search for new signings

Unai Emery secured his first deal of the winter window by sealing a move for defender Kosta Nedeljkovic from Red Star Belgrade, yet he will remain with the club until joining up with Villa in the summer.

This means the Spaniard has not actually signed anyone as yet who will bolster his first-team squad between now and the end of the season.

This could change between now and Thursday, however, as David Ornstein has given an update on their chase for Middlesbrough forward Morgan Rogers.

The journalist said: “Aston Villa submit improved third offer to Middlesbrough for Morgan Rogers.

“Latest proposal worth in region of £15m including add-ons. No agreement with #Boro so far but negotiations ongoing + #AVFC hopeful of closing deal early next week.”

Could the Midlands outfit finally get the player they have been chasing for the previous few weeks? It looks like a deal could go through before deadline day on Thursday.

Emery could certainly form a frightening duo with him and Moussa Diaby on either flank as they would help ease the pressure on Ollie Watkins for goals.

Related Latest Aston Villa transfer news: Unai eyes £40m deal; Saudi club want star

It’s a huge summer for Aston Villa and Unai Emery as they prepare for the Champions League.

Posts ByEmilio Galantini Jul 11, 2024 Why Morgan Rogers could benefit Diaby

Diaby arrived for a club record fee of £51.9m last summer, yet he has not quite lived up to those high expectations yet.

The Frenchman has registered 11 goal contributions in 30 matches for the club, but once he really settles down, there is no doubt he could start replicating the form he displayed for Bayer Leverkusen over the previous few years.

His favoured position is on the right wing and with Rogers operating on the left flank for Boro on a regular basis, the duo could be devastating together.

The 21-year-old has scored seven goals and grabbed nine assists in 33 matches this term, but it is not just his effectiveness in front of goal which would make him a good signing for Emery.

The youngster currently ranks second among the squad for big chances created (11), along with ranking fourth for key passes per game (1.4) and for successful dribbles per game (one), clearly indicating his desire to burst into the final third and create opportunities for his teammates. It's those attributes that could well be game-changing for both Diaby and Watkins in Villa's attack.

Rogers was previously dubbed “outstanding” by his former boss Michael Appleton during his loan spell at Lincoln City in 2021, and it is safe to say he has developed into a wonderful talent who could well be ready for the rigours of Premier League football.

While Rogers may not be a big name as such, the fact that he will only cost Villa £15m could prove to be a wise move by Emery as he keeps some funds for bigger signings in the summer.

The current Boro star could thrive in the top flight should he be given regular opportunities and a duo of him and Diaby on either wing may lead to the club ending their 28-year-trophy drought this term.

Durham pulled off a comfortable DLS chase after restricting Warwickshire in the field

ECB Reporters Network26-Apr-2019

Durham returned to winning ways in the Royal London Cup with a comfortable seven-wicket Duckworth-Lewis-Stern victory over Warwickshire at Edgbaston.A solid all-round display saw Durham bounce back from their North Group defeat at Worcester two days earlier. They restricted Warwickshire to 244 for 8 with tidy bowling, led by Ben Raine and Liam Trevaskis, supported by excellent fielding.Tim Ambrose, Chris Woakes and Sam Hain made half-centuries but the scoring-rate was slowed for too long by the need to shore up the innings after the loss of early wickets. The home side’s total looked under-par and even more so when, after an hour’s rain delay, the DLS equation left Durham requiring 211 in 36 overs.Alex Lees, Graham Clark and Gareth Harte eased Durham to victory with 14 balls to spare to ensure they remain right in the heart of the qualification race.Warwickshire, meanwhile, without a win after four games, desperately need victory in the derby against Worcestershire at New Road on Sunday. Added to their problems is yet another injury concern as Ambrose did not keep wicket after suffering some hip discomfort between innings.Put in, the home side received a perky start from Ed Pollock who collected 22 in fours and sixes but was then smartly caught by Scott Steel, running round the midwicket boundary, off Brydon Carse. Steel then showed safe hands again, at deep extra cover, to remove Dom Sibley off Trevaskis.Ambrose and Hain added 69 in 15 overs before the latter was bowled behind his legs by Gareth Harte. That was the first of three wickets in 23 balls as Will Rhodes chipped Carse to midwicket and Liam Banks lifted Raine to long off to leave the Bears 142 for 5.Woakes injected some momentum with a 43-ball half-century but Durham fielded tigerishly, turning a number of apparent boundary hits into ones or twos. They also caught like cats, with Harte pouching Ambrose at midwicket, Steel pouncing like a panther for a third time when Alex Thomson skied Carse, and Clark making no mistake when Woakes lifted Matty Potts to long-on.The DLS calculation left Warwickshire badly needing early wickets but they took only one, when Steel was brilliantly caught at cover by a diving Sibley off Olly Hannon-Dalby.Clark and Lees were little troubled in a stand of 93 in 14 overs, the former reaching his second List A half-century, from 47 balls, in the grand manner with a six hoisted into the Hollies Stand off George Panayi. He then pulled a Thomson long-hop to midwicket and Woakes swiftly had Cameron Bancroft caught by sub keeper Alex Mellor but Lees skilfully shepherded his side to victory in an unbroken partnership of 79 with Harte.

It's difficult to judge Everton based on the Premier League table alone. As things stand, the Toffees sit just one point clear of the relegation zone, but without the deduction, they would be as high as 12th and 11 points clear of the drop. That said, those at Goodison Park must face their current reality and continue a solid season of results to keep their top-flight status intact once again.

It could yet be a damaging month for the Merseyside club, however, with a Premier League rival reportedly making contact to sign one of Sean Dyche's best players at Goodison Park. His exit would certainly deal the Toffees a major blow.

Everton transfer news

After already breaching Financial Fair Play rules, Everton's main priority may well be to stay within the regulations these days, rather than run the risk of another decuction, which could leave them all but relegated. This means that it could be a fairly quiet month in the blue half of Merseyside when it comes to incomings. Instead, Everton may be forced to shift their focus to keeping hold of certain players with one club reportedly circling to land one of Dyche's stars.

All confirmed Premier League done deals: January transfer window 2024

With the January transfer window coming towards its conclusion, FFC has all the info for tracking your club’s winter transfer activity.

ByLuke Randall Feb 1, 2024

According to TeamTalk, Arsenal have made an approach to sign Amandou Onana from Everton this month. The Toffees will hope to fend off any interest by reportedly setting a huge price tag, with previous estimations sitting between £70m and £90m in what would likely be one of the most expensive deals in the transfer window this month.

Whilst Everton are reluctant to sell Onana, they reportedly see the midfielder as one of their most sellable assets, which could potentially see them cash in for the right price. As the window goes on, the Belgian will certainly be one to keep an eye on amid Arsenal's interest.

"Terrific" Onana is vital to Everton's survival chances

At just 22-years-old, Onana is only likely to get even better over time in the Premier League and that makes him vital to Dyche's side in both the present and future. As things stand, the Belgium international is vital to their survival chances, making a mid-season departure a potential disaster for those at Goodison Park. Onana's stats prove how important he is to Dyche, given that he's started 15 of Everton's 20 Premier League games in the current campaign.

It's therefore no surprise that Onana has earned plenty of praise from Dyche, who told Everton TV: “I thought Amadou [Onana] was terrific today, not just his goal but the ugly side of the game with his hard work and positional sense."

What stands out most when looking at Onana's performances is his aerial ability. The midfielder is in the top 95 percentile for aerials won when compared to midfielders in Europe's top five leagues. His 2.47 aerial duels won per 90 minutes makes him a vital player in Dyche's squad and someone that Everton should avoid selling at all costs during the January transfer window.

Whereas Australia’s bugbear has been their inability to push past the 300-run barrier twice in a row

The Preview by Shashank Kishore17-Jan-20190:49

Agarkar: Would be great if India pick Chahal

Big PictureShaun Marsh can’t buy a run in Tests these days, but has four centuries in his last eight ODI innings. MS Dhoni couldn’t score a single ODI half-century in 2018, but has begun 2019 with back-to-back ones, also finishing the second ODI with a six in the final over. Twitterverse thinks this is a roll back to 2009, their version of the #10yearschallenge in action: scoring runs then, scoring runs now.The reality is Marsh needs these runs to stave off competition after losing his Test spot, while Dhoni continues to receive firm backing from his captain, even as the clamour for Rishabh Pant’s inclusion in the shorter formats reaches fever pitch. The concerns for both teams, though, are elsewhere.Australia’s is their inability to push past the 300-run barrier twice in a row. In Adelaide, a clutch of middle-order wickets on the face of superb death bowling from Bhuvneshwar Kumar denied them a final kick. In Sydney, they had a middle-overs lift courtesy Peter Handscomb, but couldn’t capitalise on it. Can Glenn Maxwell be that man?Justin Langer believes he is best suited at No. 7 presently. This puts the onus equally on Marcus Stoinis to do the heavy lifting. This could be tricky at times, if the top order takes its time to consolidate. In the first two games, Australia made 138 for 3 and 141 for 4 at the 30-over mark. This leaves the lower order little breathing space if they are to push towards 330, quite the norm in ODIs these days – most-certainly will be at the World Cup in England.Another headache that is growing with every passing game is Aaron Finch’s form and his shortcomings against the incoming delivery. His return to form will give the middle order some breathing space.ALSO READ: Finch just ‘needs a few breaks’ to turn form around – LangerIt’s not all hunky-dory for India. They need to find an ideal sixth bowler, and have Vijay Shankar, the seam-bowling allrounder, and Kedar Jadhav’s round-armish offspin to choose from. Desperation forced Virat Kohli to turn to Ambati Rayudu, who was reported for an illegal action in Sydney. In Adelaide, he had to bowl out the expensive Mohammed Siraj for a lack of options.Form guide(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia LWLWL
India WLWWLIn the spotlightOne of Yuzvendra Chahal’s hallmark was his wicket-taking ability, but they’ve dried up in recent times. He has featured just once in India’s last 10 limited-overs matches, when Kuldeep Yadav was rested. In his last 11 ODIs since June 2018, Chahal has managed just 13 wickets at an average of 37.84. MCG’s big boundaries could tempt the team management into bringing him back. That said, from once being touted one half of India’s new wristspinners’ combine, he finds himself on the crossroads.Adam Zampa hasn’t been a limited-overs regular, but he’s spent time in various franchise-based T20 competitions while away. He was Essex’s top T20 wicket-taker in the 2018 season, claiming 12 scalps at an average of 20.75. At the BBL this season, he’s been in steady wicket-taking form, conceding a highest of 32 in his four-overs quota across five games, while going wicketless in only one outing. Friday presents him a big chance to stake a claim as the first-choice tweaker.Aaron Finch’s lean form continued when he fell to Bhuvneshwar Kumar•Getty Images

Team newsJason Behrendorff has pulled up with a sore back and will rest, while Nathan Lyon has been left out after going wicketless in the first two ODIs. Billy Stanlake and legspinner Adam Zampa will slot into the XI. Kane Richardson will join the squad as fast bowling cover.Australia (probable) 1 Aaron Finch (capt), 2 Alex Carey (wk), 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Shaun Marsh, 5 Peter Handscomb, 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Glenn Maxwell, 8 Peter Siddle, 9 Jhye Richardson, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Billy StanlakeKedar Jadhav or Vijay Shankar could come into the fray at No. 6, with MS Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik moving up a spot. If India do bring in an allrounder to shore up their sixth-bowler quota, Ambati Rayudu is likely to miss out.India (probable) 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 MS Dhoni (wk) 5 Dinesh Karthik, 6 Kedar Jadhav/Vijay Shankar, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Khaleel Ahmed, 11 Mohammed ShamiPitch and conditionsIt’s a drop-in surface, as is the norm. That means there will be true bounce and some zip for the fast bowlers. Spinners will come into the picture owing to large boundaries. Weather-wise, it promises to be nowhere near as hot as Adelaide, where it touched 41 degrees. A high of 27 and a low of 16 degrees should make it that much more comfortable to run the extra twos and threes.Stats and trivia Aaron Finch has had a woeful home season across formats. In 15 innings, he’s managed just one half-century, and made 228 runs at an average of 15.20. Eight of these have been single-digit scores, with two ducks. India have lost each of their last three ODIs at the MCG against Australia. Overall, India have lost nine of their 14 ODIs at this venue against the hosts. Their last win was in the CB series in 2008, when they won by five wickets, chasing 160. Kuldeep Yadav’s strike rate drops to a wicket every 65 balls in final games of bilateral ODI series, a far cry from his career strike rate of roughly 26 balls per wicket. This is an indication that batsmen tend to work him out as a series nears completion.Quotes”It’s been a while since we’ve won a series either home or away. Coming up against a really powerful line-up, there’s been some real positives, particularly with the bat in these two games. There’s been a lot of improvement over the last eight to 10 months to be really proud of in these two games.”
Aaron Finch, Australia’s captain“It’s not a worry. They’re young blokes. They just came in and, of course, we back them. That’s how they are going to learn. When they play against a good side, if they go for runs, that’s when they lift up themselves because they think more about the game and strategies and that’s how they will be become more mature players.”

MatériaMais NotíciasRelacionadasBragantinoLateral do Bragantino já projeta equipe brigando por vaga na LibertadoresBragantino28/01/2021Futebol InternacionalNo Bnei Yehuda, Allyson quer sequência da equipe em IsraelFutebol Internacional28/01/2021Futebol LatinoPalmeiras terá ‘torcedor ilustre’ para a decisão da LibertadoresFutebol Latino28/01/2021

A Série B do Campeonato Brasileiro de 2020 está chegando ao fim. Nessa sexta-feira (29), dez partidas fecham a 38ª rodada e, consequentemente, a competição. Até o momento, América-MG e Chapecoense, já classificados para a divisão de cima no próximo ano, brigam pelo título.

QUEM SERÁ CAMPEÃO? ACESSE A TABELA DA SÉRIE B E SIMULE RESULTADOS

O Cuiabá não pode mais ser campeão, mas também já garantiu o acesso. A última vaga está sendo disputada por Juventude, CSA e Avaí. Em busca da taça, a Chapecoense recebe o Confiança, às 21h30, na Arena Condá. Enquanto isso, o América-MG , outro postulante ao título, enfrenta o Avaí, em casa, às 21h30.

Além disso, o dia também será agitado pela rodada do Campeonato Italiano e pela Copa do Brasil Sub-17, com o duelo entre Fluminense e São Paulo.

Confira abaixo os principais confrontos do dia e a programação de transmissão:

16h – Figueirense x Ponte Preta
Série B
Onde assistir: Premiere

16h45 – Torino x Fiorentina
Campeonato Italiano
Onde assistir: TNT Sports

Rojas com futuro indefinido: Veja os jogadores do São Paulo que têm contrato somente até 2021

17h – Sampaio Corrêa x Oeste
Série B
Onde assistir: Premiere

17h15 – Fluminense x São Paulo
Copa do Brasil Sub-17
Onde assistir: SporTV

19h15 – CRB x Cuiabá
Série B
Onde assistir: Premiere

19h15 – Botafogo-SP x Operário
Série B
Onde assistir: Premiere

21h30 – Náutico x CSA
Série B
Onde assistir: Premiere

21h30 – Chapecoense x Confiança
Série B
Onde assistir: Premiere

21h30 – Guarani x Juventude
Série B
Onde assistir: SporTV e Premiere

21h30 – Brasil-RS x Vitória
Série B
Onde assistir: Premiere

21h30 – Paraná x Cruzeiro
Série B
Onde assistir: Premiere

21h30 – América-MG x Avaí
Série B
Onde assistir: SporTV e Premiere

Debutant Nayeem Hasan took five wickets to help Bangladesh go 78 ahead, but West Indies fought back with five wickets in the last session

The Report by Mohammad Isam23-Nov-2018Imrul Kayes is bowled trying to drive•Getty Images

All the ingredients of an exciting Test match, that is often the case on a spicy pitch, frothed out in the last two sessions in Chattogram. After Shimron Hetmyer and Shane Dowrich made 63 each to give West Indies some breathing space, 17-year old Nayeem Hasan became the youngest ever debutant to take a five-wicket haul. But Bangladesh’s tendency to collapse was sparked in the final hour and 15 minutes of an absorbing second day.West Indies spinners Jomel Warrican and Roston Chase took two wickets each as the home side crawled to 55 for 5 at stumps, extending their lead to 133 runs. But they have plenty of rebuilding remaining on the third day with Mushfiqur Rahim and Mehidy Hasan the unbeaten batsmen at the crease.Warrican removed Imrul Kayes in the second over of the innings, bowled with a left-arm spinner’s classic that spun between bat and pad. Soumya Sarkar had a second failure in the game, caught at first slip where Kraigg Brathwaite took a juggling catch off Chase. He then removed Mominul Haque, who made his eighth Test hundred in the first innings, with a delivery that spun back into his pads. Mominul opted out of a review after discussion with Mohammad Mithun.Shakib Al Hasan’s dismissal was the biggest moment, though. With his side reeling on 35 for 3 with more than 11 overs remaining in the day, the Bangladesh captain slog-swept Warrican straight to deep midwicket off the second ball he faced.After a little resistance, Devendra Bishoo removed Mithun for the second time in the game, this time the Bangladesh No. 4 played back to a fullish delivery, and was bowled.Spin was the order of the day as Nayeem’s 5 for 61 had earlier headlined Bangladesh’s dominance over West Indies. He took three wickets after the tea break, removing Bishoo, Kemar Roach and Warrican, to add to his two wickets in the middle session.Nayeem beat Pat Cummins’ record as the youngest Test debutant to take a five-wicket haul, and became the fourth youngest of all time to take a five-for.After Bangladesh added just nine runs in 4.4 overs in the morning, West Indies had made a nervous start to their innings. Opener Kieran Powell survived an lbw decision and a close stumping chance before being dropped by Mushfiqur off the last ball, although the outside edge was detected much later. Taijul Islam finally put him out of his misery in the 11th over, when he was given lbw after missing a sweep shot on the stumps.Shakib then got into the act with the wickets of Shai Hope and Brathwaite, the most important batsmen in the West Indies line-up. Hope missed a delivery that pitched outside the leg stump but spun back to hit the leg stump, while Brathwaite edged to first slip where Soumya took an easy catch.Chase, who was taken by Imrul at short leg, became Nayeem’s maiden Test wicket before he had Ambris playing back to a delivery that ripped back into his pads from outside the off stump, the lbw decision an easy one.But from 88 for 5, Hetmyer counterattacked his way to 63 off 47 balls with five fours and four sixes. He added 92 for the sixth wicket with Shane Dowrich, who remained unbeaten on a fighting 63. Dowrich struck two fours and three sixes during his 101-ball stay.It was mostly Hetmyer who hit back, starting with a pull over mid-on off Nayeem, and two sixes off successive balls off Taijul, both on the leg side. His third six came off Nayeem over long-off, after he had struck him for a four through point. Hetmyer reached his fifty off 42 balls before blasting Shakib over mid-on twice in the same over, the first going for four and the next for a six.

The former selector has backed Maxwell as a good player of spin who could take the attack to the bowling side

Daniel Brettig10-Oct-2018

As a strong player of spin and a batsman capable of changing a game’s momentum, Glenn Maxwell should have been chosen for Australia’s UAE tour in the absence of the banned Steven Smith and David Warner, according to former selector Mark Waugh.As Australia were drifting towards defeat against Pakistan in the first Test in Dubai after a horrendous first-innings collapse in which all ten wickets fell for 60 to the spin of Bilal Asif and the medium pace of Mohammad Abbas, Maxwell was part of the Victoria team that won the domestic limited-overs tournament with a comfortable win over Tasmania at the Junction Oval in Melbourne.Waugh, who resigned as a selector earlier this year to commentate full-time for Cricket Australia’s new host broadcaster Fox Sports, stated ahead of the fourth day of the Test that he would have picked Maxwell to better combat Pakistan’s bowlers in the sorts of conditions in which the allrounder made his only Test century – against India in Ranchi last year.”It’s tough because we’ve lost our two best batsmen, haven’t we? And three counting [Cameron] Bancroft, so there’s only a certain pool of players that are good enough to play Test cricket,” Waugh said when assessing Australia’s batting stocks. “It’s not the time to panic, I don’t think there are many players there that would make a big difference – the only player I would have picked is Glenn Maxwell, that’s not there.”I think he’s a guy with ability, can change the game, he’s a good player of spin, he can actually take the attack to the bowling side. So that’s the only guy I would have that’s not there, and maybe you can bring back Matt Renshaw for the second Test. But all the other guys? That’s about the best we’ve got at the moment.”Maxwell and his fellow Victorian Peter Handscomb were two curious omissions from the Test squad, the latter after struggling for runs on the Australia A tour of India as he underwent a process of technical changes with the help of the batting coach Chris Rogers. Maxwell, however, was denied the opportunity to play on that tour, having been left with the impression he was going to be picked for the Test side. As a result, he knocked back offers to play in England also.”I had a few offers to play county cricket in England and they were initially knocked back with an opportunity to go and play in India in the A series,” Maxwell told SEN Radio last month. “To get told not to play in the A series and have a rest, and I was understanding of that and their reasoning behind that… I was hoping that was a positive note to go to Dubai [to play Pakistan]. But obviously that wasn’t the case.”Posed the question of whether or not he had been misled by the selectors in terms of their plans for him this year, Maxwell said, “Maybe a little bit. I feel like there were other guys who were able to get a full off-season of cricket into them and hit the A series up and running or be able to put their names forward.”Running his eye over Australia’s flurry of wickets on day three, Waugh said the rush of dismissals indicated a lack of close attention to the spinning or reverse-swinging ball. “To me, they’re not watching the ball closely enough. They’re thinking about other things, they’re not focusing on that delivery. Abbas is a good bowler, but he should not get 4 for 29 bowling at that pace,” Waugh said. “If it’s Waqar Younis or Brett Lee, okay… 4 for 29 is acceptable. But not a medium-fast bowler.”

Fast bowler believes eight-week break until Sri Lanka Tests will be ample time to recover from exertions in India series

George Dobell12-Sep-20182:08

Anderson: Cook is an idol to me and the team

James Anderson, who became the highest wicket-taking pace bowler in history when he passed Glenn McGrath at The Oval, has urged the England selectors to resist the temptation to rest him for either of this winter’s tours to Sri Lanka and West Indies.Anderson claimed 24 wickets at 18.12 in the course of the five matches against India, and went past McGrath’s tally of 563 wickets by bowling Mohammed Shami with the final ball of the Test series against India. His performance defied pre-series reports that both he and Stuart Broad might need to be rested to cope with the demands of five Tests in six weeks, and it suggested that, at the age of 36, he is still operating at something close to his physical peak.The England team management is considering blooding a couple of young fast bowlers with a view to planning for life beyond Anderson and Broad, who is expected to be out of action for a month after suffering a broken rib while batting at The Oval.Anderson felt the natural break in the schedule – there are about eight weeks until England’s next Test starts in Sri Lanka on November 6 – provides time for them to rest, recover and prepare, even though he may yet be made available by the ECB to play for Lancashire in their final County Championship fixture, starting on September 24, depending on whether the club is still in with a chance of avoiding relegation.Key players rested for final county rounds

Alastair Cook, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes have all played their final matches of the 2018 season.
Cook has been stood down from Essex duty in the wake of his England farewell at The Oval, while the others have been rested ahead of next month’s tour of Sri Lanka.
Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), James Anderson, Jos Buttler and Keaton Jennings (all Lancashire) have been made available for T20 Blast Finals Day at Edgbaston on Saturday, with Moeen and Jennings both available for the final round of Championship games.
Sam Curran and Ollie Pope can play for Surrey as they seek to cement their title bid against Essex and Somerset, but a decision on Stuart Broad will be taken after an assessment of his rib injury.

“Myself and Stuart don’t play white-ball cricket so we have that time to be able to get ourselves in the right frame of mind and the right physical condition to cope with what’s ahead of us,” Anderson said. “I think I have enough time in between Test series to prepare myself well and get myself in good physical shape.”We came into this five Test series in six weeks with question marks: will the bowlers get through? Will we need resting or will we get injuries? And we’ve done it. We pride ourselves on working hard.”Anderson, who has now been playing Test cricket for more than 15 years, also refused to be drawn on a retirement date following the emotional scenes at the end of The Oval Test as his close friend Alastair Cook brought the curtain down on his England career.”I don’t really think about it,” he said. “I play my best when I focus on what’s ahead of me: the next game, the next series, whatever. I’ll go away now – we have a decent break before Sri Lanka – and I’ll try to get myself in the best condition possible to cope with the rigours of bowling seam in Sri Lanka, which could be tough. Then we’ll see how it goes.”I read something that Glenn McGrath said that he went into the 2006 Ashes with no intention of retiring and by the end of it he thought his time was up. That could happen to me. Who knows? I don’t like looking too far ahead. I don’t think it helps me or the team either, when we look too far ahead, whether it’s in a session or a day or a game. If you look too far ahead, you take your eye off the here and now and that’s what I like to focus on.”Meanwhile, Anderson has hailed Sam Curran as “a diamond of a player” following England’s victory in the Test series over India.Curran, aged just 20, was named Player of the Series and singled out for praise by India captain Virat Kohli in the post-match presentations at The Oval. He claimed 11 wickets at 23.54 and made a couple of vital half-centuries – including an aggressive 63 at Edgbaston which helped England recover from a precarious 87 for 7 – in averaging 38.85 with the bat.After Kohli noted Curran’s “important contributions” as a defining feature in the result, Anderson was full of praise for both Curran’s skill and character, suggesting the all-round depth he provided would prove a huge asset for England.”I think we’ve found a gem there,” Anderson said. “He’s an absolute diamond of a player to be able to score runs in crucial situations or to be given the ball in any situation. He’s extremely skilful with the ball and he loves the battle and the fight that Test cricket brings. He offers us that left-arm option as well.”I think we’ve made really good strides in this series. We’ve had a really inconsistent period in Test cricket and it’s something that we’ve really tried to do something about and make sure we improve and put in more consistent performances. I think we’ve done that.”We always knew we had a pretty strong team and some really exciting talent in there. We’re lucky that we’ve added to that this series.”

A US-based private equity firm has acquired a 40% stake in Premier League promotion-chasers Ipswich Town as part of a £105m investment.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Ipswich announce £105m investmentUS-based private equity firm joinsTractor Boys eyeing Premier LeagueGettyWHAT HAPPENED?

The Championship club have revealed that Bright Path Sports Partners have pumped £105m ($132.3m) into the club, which will go towards infrastructure projects such as redeveloping the training ground at Playford Road. This is the latest example of a US firm investing in an English football side, with Hollywood actors and Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney a prime example of how to effectively run a club.

AdvertisementTHE BIGGER PICTURE

This is another big step in the right direction as Ipswich – whose most famous fan may be Ed Sheeran – seek to return to the Premier League for the first time since 2002. They have a well-respected manager in Kieran McKenna at the helm, are playing an attractive brand of football, and the signs seem positive they will be backed in the way they need to financially in the years to come. Incidentally, ORG remains the majority and controlling shareholder of Ipswich with a 50% stake, with the remaining 10% made up of smaller investors such as the Three Lions Fund.

Ipswich TownWHAT THE NEW INVESTORS SAID

Sam Simon, the lead investor in the Bright Path-Ipswich investment, told the club's website: “We are excited to be making this investment in a brilliant football club. We love the history, the potential for the future, the passionate fans and the management of the Club, who are amazing people. We invest in people and this is perfect for us. We believe in investing for the future in order to give the team and management the tools to do their jobs and we’re excited to be working together.”

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

WHAT NEXT?

Ipswich, who sit third in the Championship after earning automatic promotion from League One last season, return to action away to Blackburn Rovers on Friday, March 29, before hosting fourth-placed Southampton on Easter Monday.

The England allrounder said that he doesn’t mind some confrontation on the field but his exchange with Bhuvneshwar was “something of nothing”

Andrew McGlashan and Nagraj Gollapudi05-Jul-2018David Willey has questioned the tactics of India’s bowlers repeatedly pulling out of their delivery stride during the first T20I at Old Trafford. Kuldeep Yadav did it at least twice against Jos Buttler and then Bhuvneshwar Kumar followed with the final ball of the innings to Willey.It led to a sharp exchange of words between Bhuvneshwar and Willey with the England allrounder saying he did not agree with the bowler doing it.”I’m guessing, but I think he [Bhuvneshwar] was looking to see what I was going to do,” Willey said. “They did that a few times. The spinners did it a couple of times. I’m not sure what the rules are on that. I don’t particularly like it. I don’t think it is necessarily in the spirit of cricket. It’s not my job to comment on that too much on what they should or shouldn’t be doing. Personally, I don’t think I’d do that. I don’t think it is great.”However, KL Rahul believes that the T20 format is so weighted in the batsman’s favour that anything a bowler can do to try and even the contest should be permitted and also questioned how far England’s non-strikers were backing up.”It will frustrate me as a batsman, it did I guess frustrate the English batsmen but the margin for error for bowlers in T20 cricket is very little so whatever tactics they can come up with and whatever they try to do to upset the batsmen is only fair,” he said.”You know you can do it as a bowler, you can run a batsman out, he was taking few strides too many and it is a long boundary and if he gets that much start he can keep rotating the strike and keep getting two runs which will frustrate the bowler in return, so it’s only fair.”The fact that it has only taken until the first match of the tour for the first signs of some tension suggests it won’t be the last occasion that tempers rise. Willey spoke about the exchange with Bhuvneshwar in the final over of the England innings, but said that it was nothing unpleasant.”It was something of nothing. I think with all the microphones and cameras people get a bit giddy about this sort of thing,” he said. “I don’t think they got under our skin particularly. They have a few fiery characters and that is part and parcel of cricket. It has gone on for years, mostly unnoticed because of the lack of cameras and microphones. There is more attention drawn to it now. There is far less of it now.”I don’t mind a bit of confrontation. I have had my fair share of it in the past. If it comes my way I am quite happy to get involved. We are advised to play cricket and leave those antics to other people.”More than India’s bowlers occasionally pulling away, though, England’s biggest challenge appears to be picking the left-arm wristspin of Kuldeep. In an effort to mimic his skills they employed the Merlyn spin-bowling machine during their net session in Cardiff and Willey – who struck the only six Kuldeep conceded at Old Trafford – has backed the batsmen to decipher the variations.”People come in, a little bit of unknown, or you’re maybe not 100% sure how someone’s going to bowl or how they approach their bowling. It can baffle you a little bit,” he said. “But our numbers against spin are brilliant, and we’ll come back. No doubt tomorrow will be a different outcome.”When Rahul, the centurion in Manchester, was asked whether playing wrist-spin was an inherent weakness in England batsmen, he said that it was challenge globally. “I don’t think it is just England. A good wrist spinner is a good wrist spinner against any opposition. And with the kind of skill and quality that Kuldeep and Yuzvendra Chahal have, it’s always going to be hard for a team that doesn’t play spin a lot.”What Kuldeep did was special, getting a five-for in a T20 game isn’t easy,” Rahul said. “You can be bowling well but most times he could get away for two or three wickets and go for 30 runs. But he kept at it. To get balls like that against Bairstow and Root, it is always hard for a middle-order batsman.”That’s something we’re very confident with, to play two wristspinners and do most damage for us. We are missing Bumrah up the order a little bit, but the way Chahal and Kuldeep are bowling, they’re going to be dangerous throughout the series.”