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On August 29, the Premier League elite were limbering up for another enthralling transfer deadline day, when Tottenham Hotspur somewhat jumped the gun and swooped to sign Moussa Dembele. The club activated the £15m release clause in his contract at Fulham, forcing their way past the more desirable outfits of Real Madrid and Manchester United to secure the Belgian international’s signature.

Despite Dembele’s obvious potential, his reputation in mainstream circles was rather subdued, as if the platform at Craven Cottage didn’t do justice to his excellent skill set. His arrival at White Hart Lane drew the same concerned looks and surprised expressions akin to when Brendan Rodgers spent a similar fee acquiring Joe Allen.

However, the 25-year-old has spent the past two seasons gradually transforming into one of the most desirable deep-lying playmakers in modern football. He has slowly been shuffled from his natural position as a striker, deeper into the heart of midfield, where he flourished alongside Danny Murphy last season. The transition has been remarkable and has allowed Dembele to have a greater impact on games, despite the fact he is now further away from goal.

In a Tottenham midfield that has been depleted by the departures of influential duo Luka Modric and Rafael van der Vaart, Dembele has thrived along the spine of his new team. While he has been keen to distance himself from comparisons with the creative Croatian, there are certain traits that suggest the club have obtained a superior replacement.

Although Modric now plies his trade in La Liga – in surroundings far removed from the intensity of the Premier League – it’s still worth analysing their statistics this season. In a similar number of league appearances, both players have clocked up over 400 passes with Modric averaging 41.3 per game and Dembele 46.2. The accuracy rates are also particularly impressive with Dembele boasting a completion rate off 88.9% compared to Modric’s 86.6%.

The parallels continue when you notice that Modric has made 17 interceptions compared to Dembele’s 15, but the stark contrast occurs in the tackling department. Whereas Modric has made 16 successful tackles, Dembele has instigated nearly double, 30, which suggests the new man in North London is a better fit for the typically more combative midfields that epitomise English football.

This season has hailed the rise of the dominant box-to-box midfielder, with the likes of Marouane Fellani and Yaya Toure hauling their respective clubs up the table. In Dembele, Spurs have their very own midfield general, blessed with the energy levels of Chelsea’s Ramires and the composure of Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere.

Without wanting to commit the crime of sensationalised reporting, Andre Villas-Boas now has the complete package at his disposal, a prized asset that every club in the league will rue not taking a gamble on. He is Mikel Arteta on steroids, Gareth Barry with pace and the player that Anderson should and may well one day become. The only real task for Spurs is to keep him away from the treatment table or he risks becoming just another unfulfilled talent in the club’s recent history.

Daniel Levy has come under fire for failing to provide better support for his new manager, most notably in the pursuit of Joao Moutinho in the summer. However, few can argue with his track record in the transfer market, with Moussa Dembele the latest name to be etched into his profitable portfolio of purchases. If he can repeat the same feats in January, a place in the top four looks even more likely than this time last season.

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Southampton appointed Mark Hughes as their new manager on Wednesday night, and some of the comments from  the Welshman in his first interview since the announcement will be gladly received by out-of-favour striker Manolo Gabbiadini.

While the Italy international made a blistering start to his Saints career more than a year ago, he has found form harder to come by in more recent times and he quickly fell down the pecking order under former boss Mauricio Pellegrino during the current campaign, with the likes of Charlie Austin, Shane Long and now Guido Carrillo ahead of him in the pecking order.

The 26-year-old has only started one Premier League match since December 16, much to the annoyance of the St Mary’s faithful, and despite scoring the equaliser as a substitute in the 1-1 draw against Burnley last month, it wasn’t enough to earn him a spot in the XI for the following match against Stoke City at St Mary’s.

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Hughes will know Gabbiadini well having tried to sign him – along with many other of the south coast outfit’s stars – when he was in charge of the Potters, and that should bode well for the attacker’s chances for the remainder of the season.

Speaking to southamptonfc.com, the 54-year-old said: “If I’m honest I’ve probably tried to sign half of them so I know a lot of the quality that these players possess, and it’s going to be good to get the opportunity to finally work with some of the players that I missed out on at previous clubs.”

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Gabbiadini will be hopeful that those quotes from the Welshman ensure that he will get more playing time between now and May – starting in the club’s FA Cup quarter-final tie against Wigan Athletic on Sunday.

One of the biggest matches happening in the Championship this evening is the tie between Watford and Nottingham Forest.

Both sides have been early pacesetters this season. Watford sitting at the top of the league on 24 points after picking up a fantastic 3-0 away victory against Sheffield Wednesday, despite being on their fourth manager since the start of the season. Forest on the other hand, sit 5th in the table on 21 points after a 2-1 away loss to Cardiff City, meaning the Reds have failed to win in their last five Championship games.

Watford’s current manager, Serbian Slavisa Jokanovic got off to a good start in charge against Wednesday thanks to goals by Odion Ighalo, Almen Abdi and Matej Vydra.

Scottish winger Ikechi Anya is set to return to the Watford squad for the visit of Forest. He was out at the weekend due to a calf injury but was back in training on Monday. Striker Troy Deeney could be making his full return as well. The Englishman did play a couple of minutes at the weekend after being out for a whole month with a hamstring injury. Craig Cathcart and Keith Andrews will miss the Forest match due to calf problems but they are expected to train on Wednesday, leaving just Gabriel Tamas (knee) and Gabriele Angella (ankle) on the injury list for The Hornets.

Forest manager Stuart Pearce suffered his first defeat in charge on Saturday, ending their 11-game unbeaten streak. They are now three points adrift from the top of the table.

Despite making a promising start to the match at the Cardiff City Stadium, the Reds fell two goals behind after 30 minutes, before their top goalscorer, striker Britt Assombalonga scored a late consolation. This was the Englishman’s ninth goal of the season. Fellow Englishman Michail Antonio assisted the goal, putting him on six for the season so far. These two danger men will be marked closely by Watford’s defence.

Pearce named an unchanged squad to face Cardiff, but a couple of changes will have to be made for this midweek fixture. English midfielder Henri Lansbury will miss the trip to Vicarage Road through suspension after he was booked for the fifth time this season during the defeat to Cardiff on Saturday, much to the irritation of Pearce.

“Henri has picked up a lot of bookings in a short space of time and it is something he has to improve on, cheap bookings. And it is another player down for us on Tuesday night,” said Pearce.

“Henri has always had it in him to give cheap bookings away, even going back to my time working with him in the England Under-21 squad. It is something he has to mature a little bit, in his game, to eradicate.”

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David Vaughan or Ben Osborn are expected to replace Lansbury in the midfield. As well as this, Pearce also still has Andy Reid, Chris Cohen and Jack Hobbs out through injury. Matty Fryatt is still expected to replace Reid behind Assombalonga.

The Hornets are undefeated in their last six home matches in the Championship, and The Reds have failed to win in their last five Championship games. In the eight of the last nine home matches against Forest for Watford, there has been under 2.5 goals, and with how close the teams are to each other in the table, this is likely to be a low scoring game. This will be both sides’ toughest game yet, and a position at the top of the table is a probability for either side if they win and results go their way, but a draw is the most likely outcome.

Prediction: Watford 1-1 Nottingham Forest

Manchester City are monitoring the situation of Paris St Germain defender Mamadou Sakho who has fallen out of favour at the French club, the Daily Mail reports.

The French international has found minutes on the pitch harder to come by following the arrival of Thiago Silva, whose partnership with fellow Brazilian Alex has become the first choice centre back pairing at the Parc des Princes.

Sakho is a fans favourite having been born in the city and coming through the ranks at the club since the age of six. Despite this the 22-year-old was told he could leave in August, however he decided to stay and fight for his place in the team and has gone on to make 10 starts this season.

There has been reported interest in the powerful defender from Italians AC Milan, as well as fellow French side Lille and offers from England. Arsenal have long been keen on bringing Sakho to the Emirates but have needed to move on players first before being able to fund a deal.

Manchester City now look like they could be the club to make a move for the defender, with Joleon  Lescott’s future at the Etihad looking uncertain.

City boss Roberto Mancini’s decision to replace the injured Vincent Kompany with Kolo Toure rather than Lescott during Sundays derby defeat has cast further doubts over the England defenders City career.

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If Lescott is to be offloaded in January, it seems that Sakho could well be lined up as his replacement.

Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Brighton has inevitably been painted as yet another Arsenal failing Arsene Wenger must answer for. No matter what perspective you view the Gunners’ current malaise from, all roads – transfer policy, tactics, team selection, youth development – eventually stem back to the Frenchman after two decades at the helm.

Yet, particularly during the last 18 months which have been the most testing, turbulent and disappointing of his tenure, the constant criticism Wenger’s received has become a smokescreen for underperforming players to hide behind, knowing it will be the manager who bears the brunt of bitter condemnation regardless of how pathetic individual performances are.

Sunday’s game provides a classic example. After two humbling 3-0 defeats to Manchester City, the Amex Stadium should have hosted a collective reaction from the players, an act of defiance against beatable opposition to remind fans and Premier League rivals of the undoubted quality this Gunners side possesses – a World Cup winning playmaker, one of the most prolific strikers in Europe and a centre-half pairing that has been capped 70 times at international level – but there was no response and once again, Arsenal’s biggest talents and dressing room leaders were nowhere to be found.

Of course, away form has been a constant problem for Arsenal this season; they’re now tenth in the Premier League’s away table, picking up the same amount of points as relegation-threatened Newcastle, and their most humiliating result of the season came at the City Ground against the Championship’s Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup.

Once again, all roads trace back to Wenger and his strategy on the road, but there wasn’t even time for tactics to come into play against Brighton – seven minutes in and the home side were already a goal up through Lewis Dunk as both Seagulls centre-backs were allowed precious space at a corner.

When you’re talking about early goals from poor marking at set pieces despite the chasm of investment between both sides, there’s only so much the manager can really be held responsible for.

Key defensive players should be organising the team better, and leaders within the squad are as culpable as Wenger for ensuring the side starts games in the right way with the right mindset.

Regardless of the formations used or the personnel involved, that just hasn’t happened enough on the road this season – and when Arsenal have gone behind away from home, positive and immediate reactions have been few and far between. In most instances, the players have wilted in front of partisan crowds.

But when Arsenal fans turned on the players rather than Wenger towards the end of last season following a 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace, Hector Bellerin particularly enduring a barrage of abuse, the individual and collective performances vastly improved – winning seven of the last eight in the Premier League and signing off the season with the FA Cup.

That shows how motivated and determined Arsenal’s players become when the focus is on them rather than the manager, but also highlights the lack of professional pride in their own performances when the situation is reversed.

It’s a problem that stems from notoriously mercurial talisman Mesut Ozil, who often evaporates just when Arsenal need him most, all the way through to the likes of Laurent Koscielny and Petr Cech who should be the unrelenting, dominant voices challenging this side from the back.

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Throughout the entire team, Arsenal’s players just aren’t standing up to be counted – they’re playing below their own proven standards, safe in the knowledge it will be Wenger rather than them who ends up in the firing line.

No doubt, Wenger must accept his share of the blame for that. The idea of Arsenal lacking ruthless is nothing new and at this point it appears to have ingrained itself in the club’s psyche. Wenger himself is symbolic of that, kept in job despite a decade of essentially non-participation in the title race, and he’s guilty of it too.

At no other top Premier League club would Mesut Ozil survive so long while consistently failing to produce in big games, and at no other club would players like Mohamed Elneny, Mathieu Debuchy and Carl Jenkinson be allowed to stick around to simply make up the numbers.

Even including the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere, Wenger’s shown too much faith in too many players that haven’t consistently produced for him and at this point, the lack of ruthlessness in performances is only symptomatic of the whole culture at the club.

But a significant portion of the blame belongs to the media as well, because they’ve allowed Arsenal’s players to get away with it for far too long, especially over the last 18 months. Blaming every problem on the manager has become a disturbingly superficial increasing obsession with English football, and particularly in the case of Arsenal it has made analyses of their flaws far too simplistic.

Sure, Ozil is often put in the spotlight and sometimes Ramsey and Wilshere are too. But more often than not, whenever Arsenal fail to meet expectations, the vast majority of the prevailing narrative is dominated by criticisms targeted at Wenger.

Perhaps that’s an inevitable consequence of clinging onto a job despite increasingly poor results and a growing share of the fan base turning against you. It’s clear Wenger’s lost his mandate to rule at Arsenal and the Frenchman has admitted himself that the uncertainty over his own future, some of which was self-created by non-committal and vague public remarks, brought added negative attention to the club last season.

It’s created a situation where every Arsenal discussion is inevitably reduced to whether he should still be at the club, how long he should still be there for and why the board are so reluctant to act.

Nonetheless, that doesn’t change the fact it’s become an object for Arsenal’s players to hide behind, an excuse to continue playing below their means, a scapegoat to pin their own failings onto.

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There is no doubt Wenger has been the driving force behind Arsenal’s decline from undefeated champions to mere Europa League qualifiers, yet there is equally no doubt that the players have continually shied away from chances to respond to disappointing performances this season – including on Sunday.

Even if they have become unresponsive to Wenger, they’ve shown little pride their own performances and no Arsenal player at any point this season – perhaps excepting Wilshere – has shown any real willingness to try and truly affect the state of affairs.

They’ve passively ambled around, as if circumstances are beyond their control, seemingly waiting for the change to come from elsewhere. For players paid so healthy, employed by such a prestigious club, that simply isn’t acceptable.

It’s become almost too easy to blame the manager alone in English football and that rings painfully true with Arsenal right now. For that, Wenger, the Arsenal players and the media must all accept some responsibility.

But it would be interesting to see how quickly those hiding behind Wenger’s shadow suddenly up their games once again should the Arsenal fans put the spot light back on them instead.

Everton are currently sitting in 15th place in the Premier League. They have hit the back of the net plenty so far this season, scoring 12 in total, the joint second highest in the league. However, their defence is another story, 14 goals conceded – the highest in the league. It seems as though their backline has gone from one of the strongest in the league, to one of the worst.

Going to Goodison Park was once considered to be a tough fixture, but this season, teams are walking all over the Toffees, as shown in the games against Arsenal, Chelsea and Crystal Palace. Throughout the whole of last season, Everton only conceded 39 goals, 19 of them in home games. So far this season, Everton have conceded 11 goals in three home league games. At this current rate, Everton could be in real danger of slipping down the table if they don’t improve their defensive performances.

Is the ageing of their defensive players the reason behind this? Frenchman Sylvain Distin is coming up to 36 years of age and is the oldest member of the squad. He has featured in every single one of Everton’s home games this season as well as the 2-2 draw against Leicester in the season opener. In the Foxes game, he made a costly error which lead to a Leicester equaliser when the Toffees were 1-0 up. When Englishman John Stones is played in place of Distin, Everton have won away at West Brom and drawn against Liverpool. Stones was in fine form in both of those games, picking up a whoscored.com rating of above seven in both fixtures. So could they perform better at the back by simply getting their team selection right?

Englishmen Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka are also in their, or coming up to their 30s and they have also dropped in form compared to last season. Baines whoscored.com rating has fallen from 7.25 last season, to 7.18 this season. Jagielka on the other hand has had a bigger drop in rating from 7.26 last season, to 6.8 this season. While there mustn’t be any rush to start thinking about getting rid of these two straight away, replacements must be considered for the future. Most defenders hit their peak between the ages of 25 and 32 so Baines and Jagielka are coming near the end of their respective times in the sun.

You could even point the finger at Toffees goalkeeper Tim Howard. He played brilliantly in the Europa League against Wolfsburg, but his form overall has been dropping when compared to last season. In the league last season, Howard earned a whoscored.com rating of 6.89, but so far this season, he has only managed a rating of 6.27. While goalkeepers are usually like fine wine – they get better with age – Howard may be starting to go a little bit sour at the age of 35. Maybe a replacement for him should be considered soon as well?

Everton’s position in the table is all because of their defence. To be more specific, their ageing defence. It’s about time they start looking to the future and the likes of Stones if they are to stop the rot.

It could be worse Nando, you could be one of these guys…

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With Liverpool FC making hard work of beating a struggling Southampton side at Anfield 1-0 at the weekend, courtesy of a Daniel Agger header, the need for reinforcements was stark, particularly given that star striker Luis Suarez will now sit the next game out through suspension after picking up a needless yellow card.

The club are currently sat in 11th in the Premier League and with a favourable run of fixtures over the festive period to look forward to, as they seek to climb up the table. Even though reducing the wage budget and being frugal has become an FSG priority in recent times, Rodgers is still likely to be handed a budget in the region of, maybe even slightly north of £10m to bring in a few players, but which ones will he be after?

Click on Wilfried Bony to unveil the top 10

Williams and Ervine ended the prospects of an Afghanisttan win by batting solidly after a rain break

Himanshu Agrawal30-Dec-2024There were three Boxing Day Tests going on simultaneously. The one in Bulawayo, between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan, didn’t have the appeal of Melbourne. But for a brief while on the final evening, it did have some of the thrill from Centurion. Zimbabwe suffered a collapse of 4 for 15 in the second innings, and were still 25 runs behind Afghanistan, who had gone 113 ahead in the first.However, the prospect of any dramatic finish quickly vanished as Sean Williams and Craig Ervine not only wiped the deficit out, but also ensured no further damage. The game inevitably ended in a draw, but provided plenty of opportunities for players to fill their boots. Hashmatullah Shahidi scored a career-best 246, while Afsar Zazai hit his maiden Test hundred as Afghanistan piled up 699, their highest total in the format.Related

• Ervine urges Zimbabwe to improve their fielding: 'The outcome could've been different had we taken our chances'

• Stats – Zimbabwe (586), Afghanistan (699) reach record highs in Bulawayo run-fest

Afghanistan had themselves lost 6 for 20 to close their innings in search of quick runs. But on what was otherwise a lifeless pitch, Zimbabwe’s spinners Brian Bennett and Williams did get some turn. Bennett bagged five of the six wickets to fall – that followed a knock of 110* – and the fun began when he had Shahidi lbw.On the fifth ball of the 193rd over, Shahid went across the stumps to try and lap sweep, but was struck in front. Next ball, Azmatullah Omarzai skied one back to Bennett, who was left on a hat-trick. Bennett bowled the hat-trick ball to Shahidullah to start the 195th over, but the batter drove it to deep point.But Williams had Zia-ur-Rehman caught for 5 next over, as substitute fielder Tadiwanashe Marumani took a great catch while running forward from long-on. AM Ghazanfar then bashed Bennett for six, only for Bennett to be on a hat-trick again. Ghazanfar swung one to long-on, while Naveed Zadran bottom-edged on to the stumps. But Bennett was denied again, as Zahir Khan blocked one safely. Next ball, though, Bennett completed his five-for when he trapped Zahir to wrap the Afghanistan innings up.Zimbabwe’s second innings began in the afternoon session, when enough time was left for a surprise result. Perhaps seeing the Zimbabwe spinners get help from the surface, Afghanistan asked Ghazanfar to share the new ball with Naveed Zadran. But Ben Curran led Zimbabwe’s counterpunch, as they smashed 32 runs in the first five overs.That included four boundaries, including three off Ghazanfar. Curran slashed, swept and swung the offspinner for four each, even as Joylord Gumbie also hit a boundary in a much more patient start. Naveen, Zia-ur-Rehman, Omarzai and Zahir Khan checked Zimbabwe’s momentum thereafter, although Zimbabwe still went wicketless to tea.Zia and Zahir did find turn, though, and after multiple lbw appeals against Gumbie were turned down, Zahir finally had Gumbie edge one to slip. A length ball around sixth stump hinted to turn in, and Gumbie pushed forward only to get an outside edge. The opening partnership of 73 was broken, but just one ball later, the players were off due to rain.The break lasted nearly 40 minutes, but that didn’t affect Afghanistan. Third ball into the resumption, Curran was run out for 41 when he tapped Zia towards midwicket and set for a single. But his partner Takudzwanashe Kaitano seemed to have refused the single a little too late, and the throw from Shahidullah found Curran well short at the wicketkeeper’s end.Next over, Kaitano looked to paddle sweep Zahir, who was bowling from around the wicket. The ball landed on a full length on middle, and didn’t seem to turn, as Kaitano missed his attempted sweep, for which the length seemed a bit too full. But the most aesthetically pleasing dismissal came when Ghazanfar cleaned Dion Myers up in the 25th over.He drifted one in, and pitched it full on middle and off to draw the batter forward. Myers looked to defend the line of the ball, but it turned away to uproot the off stump. Zimbabwe were 88 for 4 at that stage, and still behind Afghanistan, who smelled a miracle. But the experienced Williams and Ervine took their side to safety by adding 54 in less than ten overs.They took Zimbabwe past Afghanistan at the start of the 30th over, as Ervine drilled Zahir through the covers, and the batters ran four. There were plenty of footmarks for the Afghanistan spinners to work with, but they couldn’t strike any further, as the game ended in a draw, and the two-match series remained locked at 0-0.

South Africa’s tight finish at odds with team’s fluency when batting first, as captain admits ‘conversations’ are needed

Andrew Miller27-Oct-20231:24

Pujara: South Africa seem to lack a clear game plan while chasing

South Africa are top of the World Cup standings, and firmly on course for a top-four finish, but their captain Temba Bavuma acknowledged that “conversations” would be had about their approach to run-chases, after they had an almighty scare in their one-wicket win over Pakistan in Chennai.South Africa have been a team of two distinct characters in the tournament to date. When batting first, they have been imperious – rattling off totals of 428, 311 and 399 and 382 in four imposing victories over Sri Lanka, Australia, England and Bangladesh.When chasing, however, it has been a different matter. They tripped up in embarrassing fashion against Netherlands in Dharamsala, losing by 38 runs after being bowled out for 207, and it was so nearly a similar tale in their pursuit of 271 against Pakistan. From a comfortable 206 for 4 with 17 overs remaining, they lost 5 for 54 in the next 12.3 overs, before the last pair of Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi dragged them over the line with an unbroken 11-run stand.”It was a nail-biting finish,” Bavuma said at the post-match presentations. “Obviously, if you are a South African fan, you’re a little bit happier at the outcome.”With the batting, there’s obviously been pressure with us chasing, and we haven’t done well to rectify that. We’ll obviously have conversations, but it will be easier now to have those conversations with the win. But it was due to our doing that we allowed the game to get to that point.”Given the ease with which South Africa have been blitzing the death overs when batting first, the manner of their collapse will have been noted by their rivals – not least their next two opponents, New Zealand and India, at least one of whom they are likely to encounter again in the knockouts.The wobble set in when David Miller, on 29 from 32, edged behind off Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was the pick of Pakistan’s seam attack with 3 for 45 in his ten overs. Marco Jansen then spooned a simple chance to backward point off Haris Rauf, one ball after driving a powerful straight six, to depart for 20 from 14.South Africa’s last pair – Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj – rejoices after sealing a one-wicket win•AFP/Getty Images

“The guys who were there in the pressure situations [would need to] truly speak out as to what they were thinking in terms of emotions, in terms of their game-plans,” Bavuma added. “It’s hard to say now, I’m still enjoying the victory myself, but those conversations will happen.””It’s something that we’ve spoken about, it’s obviously something that has been thrown about,” he added. “We obviously have a blueprint when batting first, and we’ve shown that in terms of the scores we have been able to post.”We can’t say with conviction that we do have the blueprint when we are chasing. We’re going to get into this situation again, that I do know, and we obviously want to show a lot more of a clinical display with the bat.”Even so, a win is a win, and Bavuma admitted that the scenes in the dressing-room were “chaos”, with “the guys picking up Shamsi” after his starring role as an unlikely allrounder. His four wickets in Pakistan’s innings included the key scalp of Babar Azam for 50 and looked to have broken open the contest. But in the end, his unbeaten four from six balls proved to be his critical intervention.”I’m ecstatic for Shamsi,” Bavuma said. “It started with the ball, he came on in conditions that were in his favour and he exploited them, and then with the bat … you’ll have seen Shamsi on social media gloating about his batting. We needed that today. Fortunately for us, he came through, but we are not going to stop hearing about for probably two weeks.”Shamsi, the Player of the Match, credited his team-mates for setting the game up for him with their early wickets, but admitted that his four runs were “probably all I’ve scored this whole year… they came at the right time.””Sometimes it goes for you, sometimes it doesn’t,” he added. “So while it’s going for me, I’m happy to be able to help the team win, but I didn’t think I’ll be able to it with my pads on.”In terms of soaking up the pressure of the chase, Shamsi showed the fight that his team required, and said that “it actually feels nicer” to have come through the match the hard way.Related

• Temba Bavuma hamstring injury gives South Africa cause for concern ahead of semi-final

• South Africa gear up for free hit, a World Cup final somewhere at the back of their minds

• Marco Jansen, South Africa's Magnificent No. 7

• Ghosts of Chepauk's past don't spook South Africa

• South Africa rise to the top by the barest of margins in thriller against Pakistan

“These are the type of moments that you train for, you want the big stage,” he said. “Kesh was unbelievable out there, and Lungi [Ngidi] as well before him. If I’d tried to play a big shot then and it didn’t come off, the boys wouldn’t welcome me back in the change-room. So there was never a doubt in my head that I’m not going to play a big shot.”For Pakistan, the emotions were rather more downcast. Despite an unprecedented fourth World Cup loss in a row, they are not yet out of the running for the top four, but Babar Azam, their captain, was resigned to the likelihood that their tournament challenge is over.”We were very close but we did not finish well, it’s very disappointing,” he said. “In the batting, we were 10-15 runs short. The way we were bowling, the fast bowlers and spinners, we fought very well. But unfortunately it was not our night. We had the opportunity to win this match and stay in the tournament, but I think we are missing [out].”Pakistan might well rue their luck in the closing overs, however, after an excruciatingly close lbw shout against Shamsi off Haris Rauf’s final ball of his spell. Umpire Alex Wharf turned down an appeal that was shown to be umpire’s call on leg stump, although it did arguably even things up after Rassie van der Dussen had himself been given out to a delivery that was shown to be clipping the top of the leg bail – and was briefly shown to be missing by an on-screen graphic that the ICC later confirmed had been shown in error.”DRS is part of the game,” Babar said. “If they [had given it] out, it’s in favour for us, but umpire’s call is part of the game.”

Hales, Vince, Topley, Potts, Carse, Parkinson, Gregory, Mills, Gleeson and Pope have also nominated themselves

Alex Malcolm27-Jul-2022Liam Livingstone looks likely to be a Platinum pick in the upcoming BBL overseas draft as the headline act of 70 Englishmen who have nominated themselves, but availability will be a key consideration for teams, with a number of players likely to head to other leagues halfway through the tournament.Livingstone is set to be the most sought-after English player among a group that includes Alex Hales, James Vince, Tymal Mills, Reece Topley, Matthew Potts, Brydon Carse, Lewis Gregory, Matt Parkinson, Richard Gleeson and Ollie Pope.The nominees who are also involved in England’s current white-ball set-up are notionally available for the whole tournament, given England do not have any international limited-overs games scheduled in either December 2022 or January 2023, with their first series of the new year set to be an ODI series in South Africa that is likely to be played in February after the new South Africa T20 league is completed.England have a Test series in Pakistan set for early December meaning that the likes of Pope, Potts and possibly Parkinson could be late arrivals to the BBL if all three tour Pakistan.But of greater concern for the BBL is the fact that a number of English players, including Livingstone and Hales, are likely to leave the BBL halfway through to play in the proposed UAE T20 league in January, given they are likely to earn substantially higher wages for a shorter commitment there.Related

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The BBL is scheduled to run from December 13 to February 4, but South Africa and UAE leagues are set to start in January. The UAE league is proposed to run from January 6 to February 12. Both Ricky Ponting and Usman Khawaja raised concerns last week about overseas players only nominating for the first half of the BBL, leaving themselves open to joining the other leagues and leaving the BBL short on star overseas players.The BBL is offering AUD340,000 (roughly £196,000) to a select group of Platinum picks, while those who have nominated themselves in the Gold category are set to earn approximately AUD260,000 (roughly £150,000). Those are guaranteed wages no matter how many games the players have nominated themselves for.The challenge for BBL clubs is to evaluate if the likes of Livingstone and Hales are worth selecting in the draft at those prices if they are only available for the first half of the tournament, with a large portion of each wage to count in the AUD 1.9 million salary cap.Livingstone played in the BBL two seasons ago with Perth Scorchers and has expressed an interest in playing there again. Scorchers are also interested in having him back but they can’t use a retention pick because he did not play last year and they have pick No. 6 in the draft order, which means Livingstone could well be snapped up in the first five picks.Alex Hales could be a retention pick for Sydney Thunder•Getty Images

Sydney Thunder can use their retention pick to retain Hales given he did play for them last season. They have already lost one half of one of the most successful opening duos in BBL history with Khawaja joining Brisbane Heat. If Hales is only available for the first half of the tournament, Thunder will need to find not one but two openers to fill the gap.There are a number of other English players who are eligible for a retention pick. Evans and Mills could be retained by Scorchers. Vince could be a retention pick with Sydney Sixers having had a very successful relationship with that club in recent years. Topley (Melbourne Renegades), Joe Clarke (Melbourne Stars), Jordan Cox (Hobart Hurricanes), Iain Cockbain (Adelaide Strikers) and George Garton (Adelaide Strikers) could also be retention picks for clubs having all played last season. But clubs only get one retention pick, with Strikers likely to take Rashid Khan.Like Livingstone, Jake Ball (Sydney Sixers), Danny Briggs (Adelaide Strikers), Benny Howell (Melbourne Renegades), Gleeson (Melbourne Renegades) and Gregory (Brisbane Heat) have all played in the BBL previously but are ineligible for a retention pick because they did not play last season.There are 98 players in total who have nominated themselves for the draft so far. Livingstone looks set to join Faf du Plessis, Kieron Pollard and Rashid among the Platinum picks, which are to be decided by the BBL.There are likely to be a host of Pakistan players nominating themselves in the coming weeks although there is some doubt about the availability of some of them due to international commitments. Pakistan host a Test series against England in early December and then two Tests and three ODIs against New Zealand, which are likely to run into the third week in January and will also be part of the World Cup Super League. The PSL is set for February meaning it would be virtually impossible for Pakistan’s multi-format players to come to the BBL, although those not involved in the Test matches could be available for the first half of the tournament.

All current draft nominations

Afghanistan: Rashid Khan, Qais Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Waqarullah Ishaq, Izharulhaq Naveed, Naveen-ul-Haq, Hazratullah ZazaiEngland: Colin Ackermann (also Netherlands), Rehan Ahmed, Martin Andersson, Gus Atkinson, Josh Baker, Sonny Baker, Jake Ball, James Bracey, Danny Briggs, Henry Brookes, Brydon Carse, Matthew Carter, Jordan Clark, Joe Clarke, Josh Cobb, Ian Cockbain, Jordan Cox, Mason Crane, Matt Critchley, Liam Dawson, Brett D’Oliveira, Ben Duckett, Jacobus Leus Du Plooy, Stephen Eskinazi, Laurie Evans, Matt Fisher, James Fuller, George Garton, Richard Gleeson, Lewis Gregory, Sam Hain, Alex Hales, Miles Hammond, Tom Hartley, Jack Haynes, Freddie Heldreich, Tom Helm, Ryan Higgins, Max Holden, Benny Howell, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Danny Lamb, Jack Leaning, Jake Lintott, Liam Livingstone, Lewis McManus, Ben Mike, Tymal Mills, Daniel Mousley, Steven Mullaney, Callum Parkinson, Matt Parkinson, David Payne, Michael Pepper, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ben Raine, Adam Rossington, George Scrimshaw, John Simpson, Prem Sisodiya, Olly Stone, Tommy Taylor, Reece Topley, Liam Trevaskis, James Vince, Joe Weatherley, Ross Whiteley, Chris Wood, Luke Wood, Saif ZaibNew Zealand: Colin Munro, Todd AstleSouth Africa: Faf du Plessis, Marchant de Lange, Rilee Rossouw, David Wiese (also Namibia)West Indies: Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Sheldon Cottrell, Chemar Holder, Akeal Hosein, Evin Lewis, Anderson Phillip, Khary Pierre, Ravi Rampaul, Sherfane Rutherford, Jayden Seales, Kevin Sinclair, Tion Webster, Nyeem Young