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A devastating new-ball spell from Pakistan’s latest left-arm sensation sent Sri Lanka spiralling to 103 all out and the ignominy of their third 5-0 ODI whitewash of the year

The Report by Danyal Rasool23-Oct-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAssociated PressIn a year in which Sri Lanka have continued to sink further into the depths of ODI ineptitude, they surely hit rock bottom today. In a performance that put an exclamation mark on their run of 12 straight ODI losses, they illustrated why they have struggled so badly in the format.They couldn’t bat, dismissed for 103 in 26 overs. They couldn’t bowl all that well, taking only one wicket as Pakistan cruised home with over 30 overs to spare. It is another whitewash for Sri Lanka, the third they have suffered this year alone. South Africa and India were the othertormentors.The prospect of a damning defeat was writ large over the contest after the very first over, in which Usman Khan took the first two wickets of astaggering opening spell. He had come to prominence with a scintillating performance in a domestic T20 final in 2013, but after today, thatdomestic admiration can turn to international acclaim. It tends to happen once you complete a five-for in 3.3 overs.Maybe there’s a peculiar curse Sharjah has cast on Sri Lanka – they’ve been bowled out below 100 four times at this ground. It could have been five; they were 85 for 9 at one point, before Dushmantha Chameera and VishwaFernando put together an 18-run partnership and rescued their side from that ignominy.For the third straight game, Upul Tharanga won the toss and chose to bat. But Sri Lanka’s luck has remained confined to the toss this tour. One over into the innings, it was clear that wasn’t going to change today.The dismissals themselves were something to behold; it was Pakistani fast bowling at its most exhilarating. Sadeera Samarawickmara failed to adjust to the moving ball and inside-edged onto his middle stump. Dinesh Chandimal was utterly helpless against one that swung away, edging to Sarfraz Ahmed.In Usman’s second over, Tharanga – just like the previous game – was unable to prevent one from sneaking in between his bat and pad. Niroshan Dickwella fell lbw to another prodigious inswinger. Siriwardana tamely scooped to cover point, and in under 7 overs Sri Lanka were 20 for 5.Thoroughly dispirited and broken all series, Sri Lanka had dug themselves into a hole in the first half hour of the game, and were already reduced to respectability restoration. Then Thirimanne edged Hasan Ali to the wicketkeeper and Seekkuge Prasanna ran himself out in a horribly amateur way, failing to ground his bat in a bid to avoid a throw in his direction. Pakistan didn’t need that sort of charity, but it was welcome.Thisara Perera struck a few boundaries en route to 25, the top score for his side. But in an innings where wickets were the currency of choice, that sort of resistance was merely pennies on the dollar. Hasan and Shadab Khan cleaned up the tail, and Pakistan were left with 104 to get to sweep the series.There was no drama to be had, with Sri Lanka coming out looking like a boxer for whom the knockout punch would be a blissful release. The second innings was a case of two teams going through the motions. But while Fakhar Zaman fell short of a half-century, reasons for joy were in short supply for the visitors. Pakistan looked almost embarrassed to complete the whitewash, so wide was the chasm between the two sides.However, the major discomfort all belongs to the visitors, who will be left pondering how on earth to salvage some pride in the upcoming T20series.

Of course it was spin that sealed Somerset’s victory. And of course it was Jack Leach who took the final wicket.Less than a year after his career was threatened by suggestion that his action was not legal, Leach clinched his fourth five-wicket haul of the campaign to secure his side’s third victory in the final four games of the season. As a result, he passed 50 wickets in the season and Somerset avoided relegation. Matt Maynard, Somerset’s departing director of cricket, said he “couldn’t make sense” of the decision not to take him to the Ashes.Leach wouldn’t see many pitches like this in Australia, of course. Pitches where spinners open the bowling in three of the four innings and take all 10 wickets in the fourth innings. Somerset have made a point of preparing such surfaces in the last couple of years and, in Leach and Dom Bess, they have two bowlers well equipped to take advantage.The Somerset players took a lap of honour at the end of the game. It wasn’t so much a sign that they were content with their low position in the table; more a reflection of their relief in retaining their decade-long stay in Division One (no side in the land will have been in the top division so long when the 2018 starts) and gratitude to their 2000 supporters. Cricket still matters in Taunton.This pitch was marked “below average” by the Cricket Liaison Officer (CLO), Wayne Noon, as it showed signs of “excessive turn” from the start. Crucially he could not see any uneven bounce on days one or two. As a result there will be no points deduction and Somerset’s place in Division One is assured.That isn’t quite the get out of jail free card it might appear. The ECB regulations state that, should a pitch be marked “below average” twice within a 12-month period in the same competition, penalties can be applied. While Somerset have not had another such mark this season, they will, Noon said “have to be very mindful” of their surfaces in 2018.There is a slight caveat to all this. Phil Whitticase, a senior CLO, will arrive in Taunton on Friday and conduct a further investigation into the pitch. He will, as part of that investigation, speak to the umpires and the groundsman and it remains theoretically possible that he will increase the penalty. He could also decrease it.But it would be a major surprise – and an astounding own goal from the ECB – if they should, for the second season in succession, alter the table after the campaign has finished and change the relegation positions. But, not so long ago, it seemed impossible that a hotel magnate with comic hair would become US president; life is full of surprises and not all of them are good.Adam Voges, the Middlesex captain, was frank in his assessment of the pitch. “We knew we’d get a spinning wicket,” he said. “And I’ve no problem with teams preparing pitches to suit their strengths.”But we were surprised by how much disturbance there was before a ball was bowled. There was excessive spin from ball one. There were rake marks at both ends. There should be a line and whether that line was crossed is the match-referee’s decision.”He remains more upset by the two-point deduction for a slow over rate following the crossbow incident at The Oval last month. He feels his team were assured by officials at the time that the nature of the incident would be taken into account and no penalty levelled.”It was such an extraordinary circumstance,” he said. “We had every intention to rectify our over rate and were assured at the time that it wouldn’t be an issue. Whether there is anything that can be done now is up to the administrators.”Voges admitted, though, that to leave themselves in a position where they were hurt by such moments was a reflection of their disappointing cricket over the course of the season. Champions in 2016, they end 2017 with rumours of deep dressing-room discontent. They still look a very strong side on paper, though, and might reflect in time that they have simply been victim to a league which relegates a quarter of its participants a season. Over-reaction would probably be an error.”You look at the season as a whole and it’s obviously been disappointing,” Voges said. “It’s not just the last week or the last month.”It took less than two hours to wrap-up victory on the final day. Leach and his fellow left-arm spinner, Roelof van der Merwe, utilised the conditions expertly with the latter finishing with career-best figures. Leach, in particular, bowled beautifully with his subtle and wonderfully disguised changes of pace causing many of the problems. And, for all the talk about this pitch, it wouldn’t have raised an eyebrow in Asia. England really don’t play spin very well.Marcus Trescothick salutes the crowd after Somerset secured Division One status•Getty Images

Leach may yet feature in the Ashes. He can expect to be named in the Lions party that will train in Perth as the Test series is played and, should anything befall Moeen Ali, could well be called into the Test squad if required.”I’d prefer to see him there instead of Mason Crane,” Maynard said. “Crane can’t get into the Hampshire side all the time. I can’t understand it. If he gets called into the team he won’t know anyone there. They’ve missed a trick in not picking him”One thing is sure: for Leach to recover from the low he was in only a few months ago is testament to impressive resilience. To re-model an action without missing a game and then emerge as a better, more skilful, more mature bowler bodes well for his future.He had, he admits, some “dark moments” on the Lions tour of the UAE last winter. There were times, as he tried to bowl with his new action, when he feared he might never recapture the bite and consistency of previous days. Just nine months later, he is back to winning games for his side and pushing for an England spot.”I’ve shown good resilience,” he said. “Something like that can’t be fixed overnight and, from a mental perspective more than technical, there were some dark moments on that tour. I wanted to make a really good impression but it was hard.”Now I look back on it as part of the journey. I think I’m probably a better bowler now. I can bowl a bit quicker and I’ve learned a lot. About myself and my action. At the start of the season I wasn’t sure if I could keep doing this, so to have finished with more than 50 wickets…. Yes, I’m proud of how I’ve reacted to the challenges. It was tough.”Leach was one of eight academy products in this Somerset side. Well, academy or equivalent. They didn’t have academies when Marcus Trescothick was growing up. Hell, they didn’t even have the Quantocks. But it means that Maynard’s successor – and it still seems likely that Andy Hurry will be named as such next week with Jason Kerr as his deputy – inherits strong foundations ahead of next season.”I’d love to have stayed and seen the project through,” Maynard said. “We did have discussions about me doing the head coach role, but decided there could be friction if I didn’t agree with the new director of cricket. So a settlement was agreed and we part very amicably. The club have handled it well.”The club have undergone quite a transition under Maynard. The over-reliance upon imports has improved and the trust in home-grown youth has improved. And it was his idea that Trescothick, at slip, should field on his knees to the spinners in certain circumstances. “When the ball is dying, we felt he could get that bit lower,” he explained. It wasn’t, perhaps, a perfect stay but the club went within an ace of winning that elusive first Championship title a year ago. Memories in cricket have never been shorter.It transpires the review of the club structure was led by James Taylor, the England batsman who retired through illness at the start of last season, who felt it was necessary to employ a head coach and director of cricket. Maynard, who described cricket as his passion, will now consider more “backseat” roles such as batting consultancy positions. He is unlikely to be without offers for long.So, Somerset will play in Division One in 2018. And that means Trescothick could yet fulfil that Championship-winning dream. If he does, it would be a success popular far beyond the borders of the county.

It’s almost as if managers have forgotten to give their defenders the pre-season talk about avoiding reckless challenges, because, after all, it is only a friendly game.We’ve seen Lisandro Martinez go flying into poor challenges twice now. The first time was at Bukayo Saka’s expense, who was lucky to avoid injury as Arsenal were defeated 2-0 by Manchester United. The second time then came against Real Madrid, as Jude Bellingham was recklessly taken out, sparking the midfielder’s fume.Now, it seems as though Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo has caught the recklessness bug, leaving no prisoners against Arsenal, as he wiped out Gabriel Jesus in a needless challenge.The forward fortunately managed to avoid injury, but there’s no doubt that he was left unpleased, with nothing really riding on the game to warrant such aggression from the Barca man.

Gabriel Jesus wiped out by Ronald Araujo

In Araujo’s defence, the ball was there to be won. It just didn’t need to be won with a dangerously high sliding challenge, which Jesus upwards in a way we didn’t even know was possible.

Jesus immediately looked towards the referee, feeling rightly aggrieved by the challenge, as Araujo strolled off as if he had just committed the tackle of the season.

The challenge summed up a frantic affair, as Arsenal ran out 5-3 winners. And after the match, Xavi ironically complained (via Tribuna) “Arsenal’s intensity wasn’t normal. Too many fouls for a friendly game.”

The Gunners initially found themselves a goal down, courtesy of Robert Lewandowski, before Bukayo Saka equalised.

It was then the turn of Raphinha Kai Havertz to get on the scoresheet, making it 2-2.

Arsenal ran away with it in the second half, however, with a Leandro Trossard brace handing them a 4-2 lead. Mikel Arteta’s side were forced to refocus by Ferran Torres’ late goal, but Fabio Vieira soon sealed the 5-3 victory.

How have Arsenal performed in pre-season?

Arsenal have impressed at times during pre-season, enjoying victories over MLS All-Stars and Barcelona, whilst also drawing against FC Nurnberg in their first pre-season game.

Arteta will be disappointed with his side’s 2-0 defeat against Premier League rivals Manchester United, but is unlikely to look too much into what was ultimately a pre-season game, and only that.

Summer signing Havertz has shown glimpses of what he is capable of this summer, too, scoring twice, including most recently against Barcelona.

Speaking after scoring his first Arsenal goal, against MLS All-Stars, Havertz told Sky Sports, via The Metro: “I think he was giving me this message [of support] from the first second when I spoke to him.

“The first time, I felt the support straight away. And I think this is very important for me as a player. He just gives the trust to me and I hopefully can give it back.”

The summer switch to North London could finally get the German going in the Premier League, after struggling to ever make a consistent impact at Chelsea.

The Gunners are certainly primed and ready to mount yet another title challenge in England’s top flight, perhaps going one better than last season by sealing the silverware in the coming year.

ScorecardTitle-chasing Kent will require a backs-to-the-wall batting effort on Sunday if they are to protect their unbeaten Division Two status after tomorrow’s final day of their Specsavers County Championship clash with Durham in Canterbury.Having been set an unlikely victory pursuit of 484 in a minimum of 90 overs, the hosts started their second innings just after 5.30pm and went in unscathed at stumps on 35 for nought – still needing 449 for an unlikely win.Openers Daniel Bell-Drummond and Sean Dickson escaped the 30-minute examination without alarm despite a pitch that is waring and beginning to show signs of variable bounce.A Durham victory would finally take them above zero after they began the season with a 48-point penalty from the ECB.Kent had started the day hanging on grimly in their first innings with skipper Sam Northeast leading their fight to avoid the follow-on. However, Paul Collingwood’s side needed only 12 overs and 50 minutes’ play to mop up Kent’s two remaining first-inning’s wickets and secure a 212-run lead.Barry McCarthy polished the job off by having Yasir Shah caught behind by a tumbling Stuart Poynter for 48 and then, with his next delivery, snaring Mitchell Claydon lbw with the home score on 236.Debutant Shah featured in a ninth-wicket stand worth 113 in 34.2 overs with his new captain Northeast, who was left unbeaten on 109 after posting his 18th first-class hundred from 162 balls and with 13 fours.McCarthy finished with a career-best 6 for 63, while Chris Rushworth bagged 3 for 69 in a much-improved Durham bowling performance.Batting again before noon and after deciding not to enforce the follow-on, Durham suffered a near immediate blow with the loss of left-handed opener Keaton Jennings.Prodding half-forward and inside the line of Darren Stevens’ first delivery, an off-cutter, the ball thudded into the right pad forcing umpire Jeff Evans to raise his finger.Paul Collingwood has put Durham in sight of their first win•Getty Images

Stephen Cook needed a stroke of luck to survive with his score on 25. Driving loosely at one from Will Gidman he watched as Matt Coles, at second slip, dropped a tough chance diving in front of first slip.After lunch, Durham continued at a surprisingly sedate pace, adding 100 in the mid-session for the loss of Stephen Cook who, with his score on 44, fenced at one from Claydon to edge to the keeper.Kent’s short-leg fielder Dickson went off for treatment just before tea when Graham Clark’s full-blooded sweep against Yasir Shah struck him a fearful blow at the back of his neck and immediately drew blood. Thankfully, the South Africa-born player emerged after the interval to take up a fielding spot on the ropes as Durham started to increase their run rate.Cameron Steel miscued a hook against Coles to hole out to mid-wicket, then Clark, after reaching an 81-ball 50, was bowled around his legs by Shah.In the quest for quicker runs Ryan Pringle was stumped off the bowling of Joe Denly and Stuart Poynter holed out to deep square leg to gift Yasir Shah his second scalp of the innings.Paul Collingwood upped the tempo further with a 49-ball, unbeaten 50 that took his side to 271 for six before his declaration with 10 overs remaining in the day.

Gujarat Lions batsman Aaron Finch said that the team’s poor net run rate at this stage of the season provided the motivation for him to complete a swift chase against Royal Challengers Bangalore

Akshay Gopalakrishnan in Bengaluru27-Apr-20172:03

‘It was a conscious effort to attack’ – Finch

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s batting in the 2017 IPL has hardly reinforced why they boast three of the five highest totals in IPL history. Out of the eight times they have batted this season, only thrice have they put up a total in excess of 150.On the heels of the lowest-ever IPL total, RCB tumbled to 134 on Thursday night after another underwhelming performance against Gujarat Lions. With no IPL team having ever successfully defended a total of 150 or less in a completed innings at the Chinnaswamy, the best RCB could have done was pick up early wickets and hope Lions went into a shell.They ticked the first box, reducing Lions to 23 for 2 in the fifth over. But any plans of applying the choke thereafter were thwarted by a rampaging Aaron Finch. Finch ran up the fastest half-century by a Lions batsman, off 22 balls, batting with a sense of urgency not necessarily associated with a chase of 135. As a result, Lions stormed home in 13.5 overs and RCB were consigned to another heavy defeat.”Sometimes, in a small run chase, you can make the mistake of trying to bat slowly, and before you know, the run rate is 7, 8, 9 an over,” Finch said. “It was a conscious effort to attack. We were just trying to get ahead of the run rate. So even if something did happen, there were a couple of guys behind myself and Suresh – Jadeja, Faulkner, Dinesh Karthik… if something went wrong, we could still pick up the pieces.”Then, there is the matter of net run rate that can leave teams twitchy when the various permutations come into play towards the end of the league stage. Languishing at the bottom with a NRR of -0.844, Lions have now sprung up two places, and the net run rate is considerably better at -0.360.”At this stage, you still got to keep winning games,” Finch said. “If you’re in a position where you can really accelerate and make sure you finish as quickly as possible, it’s great. We’re lucky we got into a position like that tonight.”Lions’ bowlers used the new ball well on a slightly spicy Chinnaswamy deck that had more pace than in previous games. Nathu Singh and Basil Thampi got the ball to jag around a bit. Andrew Tye’s accuracy then hastened RCB’s slide after the early loss of Virat Kohli. Tye got one to nip away from Chris Gayle to find the left-hander’s outside edge. Next ball, he harried Travis Head by finding extra bounce from the back-of-a-length region, and had him edge to slip.”Anytime you take wickets in the Powerplay, it’s a huge bonus,” Finch said. “That’s just a part of the game that we’ve been missing. When we were down with pressure, we saw some misfields and a couple of catches going down in the past, but today was a pretty polished performance, and we saw some young quicks, Nathu and Basil, really stand up with the new ball against some of the best players to have ever played this format.”Lions threw in an element of surprise when they opted to open with the scratchy Ishan Kishan, who had been left out of their previous game. “We knew that they’d open with Badree, Chahal has been bowling in the Powerplay and Pawan Negi as well. It was a case of having a left-hander at the top,” Finch explained.Finch felt that the pitch exceeded their expectations. RCB’s bowlers didn’t help themselves by repeatedly erring in their lengths to him. While it was the in-between length that probed batsmen, Finch was offered a steady diet of fuller balls that he mowed over the short leg-side boundary, and short ones that were crunched off the backfoot.”In the second innings, it came onto the bat nicely,” Finch said. “Once the brand new ball was gone, there wasn’t much extra bounce. We thought it would be a little bit low and slow, but it played a lot better and turned out to be a pretty good wicket.”Finch was also pleased with the team combination and reassured that Lions hadn’t lost hope yet. “Coming to a place like Bangalore where the ball can travel around, to bring in the experience of James Faulkner was a good move. Obviously, he bowled beautifully.”It was a very good performance from the team tonight. We’ve put ourselves in this position by being poor in a couple of games. We’re still very confident, though. We have a good side, but time will tell.”

Liverpool are reportedly interested in completing a sensational move for Kylian Mbappe in the summer transfer window, according to new report from Spain.

What next for Kylian Mbappe?

The 24-year-old has arguably taken on the mantle from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the biggest footballing star of his generation, already achieving so much in his career, despite his age.

Mbappe won the 2018 World Cup with France, immediately gaining legendary status, and he has scored 212 goals in just 260 appearances for Paris Saint-Germain, cementing his status as possibly the world's best player currently, along with the likes of Erling Haaland and Vinicius Jr.

It looks as if the French superstar could leave PSG before the start of next season, however, with Real Madrid possibly the favourites to snap him up for an eye-watering sum of money.

Liverpool have been linked with Mbappe in the past, however, and it looks as though they are still eyeing an incredible swoop for him.

Are Liverpool keen on signing Mbappe?

According to Marca, Liverpool have "also thrown their hat in the ring" to sign Mbappe this summer, with Jurgen Klopp keen on the move coming to fruition. It is even stated that the Reds, and by extension owners FSG, are "willing to pay more than $300m (£235m)", which would obliterate the club's transfer record.

In truth, it is difficult to see the PSG icon heading to Anfield this summer, simply because of the amount of money being talked about, for starters. Liverpool reportedly have a £200m budget to spend on several players, namely midfielders, so it is impossible to see them being able to fund a move.

The Reds also don't have Champions League football next season, which Mbappe surely wants to be playing in, even scoring at Anfield in the competition back in 2018, so that is another reason why a transfer ambitious. That being said, if the move did miraculously happen, it could be one of the most exciting in Liverpool's history, considering what a special talent he is, being hailed as "world-class" by Argentina and Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

He has every chance of going down as one of the greatest players in history, should he continue at his current level for another decade or so, and joining the Reds would make the rest of world football sit up and take notice. For now, though, it looks like little more than a pipe dream, unless Liverpool gets an enormous injection of cash from somewhere before the end of the summer transfer window.

Celtic are reportedly set to officially confirm Brendan Rodgers as their new head coach on Monday after they agreed terms with the 50-year-old boss.

Majority shareholder Dermot Desmond has been pursuing a new manager for the Hoops since Ange Postecoglou decided to join Tottenham Hotspur on June 6th.

After settling back in at Parkhead, the Northern Irishman will have plenty on his docket to deal with after the summer transfer window opened earlier this month.

Football Insider reported, in May, that multiple Premier League teams are interested in signing Liel Abada from the Scottish giants and that the club are prepared to accept offers in the region of £10m as the exciting youngster is pushing for an exit.

Who could replace Liel Abada at Celtic?

The incoming Celtic boss could find the perfect replacement for the Israel international by striking a deal to sign soon-to-be free agent forward Mohamed Elyounoussi, who Neil Lennon dubbed as "outstanding" during the hotshot's time on loan in 2019.

Speaking about Rodgers' reported move to Parkhead, the winger said: "From what I've heard, he's an excellent manager and is loved by the fans up there. It's a massive pull for the club and probably for him too, so it's a good link up I think."

Elyounoussi was then quizzed about a potential return for himself and teased: "We'll see. I enjoyed my time there. I didn't get much time to play with the fans, it was mostly without fans. I enjoyed my time there and you never know."

The Norway international appears to be open to a second spell with the Glasgow giants and Rodgers could take advantage of that by snapping the right-footed whiz up after his release from English side Southampton.

Abada provided an abundance of quality down the right flank for Celtic in the Scottish Premiership last season and Elyounoussi's previous time with the club suggests that the 28-year-old attacker has the ability to replace the young talent.

The 21-year-old plundered ten goals and five assists in 34 league appearances for the Hoops and averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.01, which shows that the exciting dynamo is able to make a huge impact at the top end of the pitch.

However, the Southampton magician has already proven himself capable of excelling in the Scottish top-flight. He racked up ten goals and four assists in 34 outings during the 2020/21 campaign, whilst on loan at Paradise from the English side, and averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.94.

These statistics show that the £60k-per-week ace could be the perfect replacement for Abada as his prior form for Celtic indicates that the Moroccan-born talent has the ability to make up for the goals and assists that the club would lose by cashing in on the £10m sensation.

It would be a dream deal as Rodgers would be bringing in a player who is ready to hit the ground running as Elyounoussi knows what it takes to perform week in, week out at Parkhead.

Arsenal are set to make an offer for Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo, having held positive talks, according to a report from Football Transfers.

Is Joao Cancelo leaving Man City?

Cancelo left Man City to join Bayern Munich on loan during the January transfer window, with Pep Guardiola confirming his departure was due to a lack of game time, after the manager changed his side's play-style following the World Cup.

There were also reports the defender had a training ground bust-up with his manager, which led to his shock move to Bayern, however the German champions are set to reject the chance to sign him on a permanent basis this summer.

City proved they are more than capable of succeeding without the Portugal international, finally winning the Champions League on Saturday night, and he could be on the move this summer, having already held talks about a move to Arsenal.

According to a report from Football Transfers, those talks are progressing positively, so much so that Mikel Arteta is set to launch an opening bid of around £35m in the coming days, although that may not be enough to secure 29-year-old's signature.

Man City are asking for around £45m for the defender, £10m more than the Gunners are set to offer, but the indication is that they could table a higher bid, should their opening offer be rejected.

The report details that the £250k-per-week earner would become the starting right-back at the Emirates Stadium, allowing Arteta to use Ben White as cover in that area of the pitch.

Will Joao Cancelo sign for Arsenal?

The aforementioned report claims that Guardiola wants to get rid of the Portuguese full-back, and he does have a previous history of selling players to rival Premier League clubs, with Raheem Sterling joining Chelsea for £47.5m last summer.

As such, it would by no means be a surprise if Arsenal sign the Man City ace, and he could be a quality addition to the squad, having been hailed as "sensational" by Bayern Munich director Hasan Salihamidzic.

For a full-back, the Barreiro-born star is very impressive on the front foot, ranking in the 99th percentile for assists per 90 over the past year, and in the 98th percentile for successful take-ons, when compared to his positional peers.

Not only that, the former Benfica man is also solid defensively, ranking first in the Man City squad for average interceptions per game in the Premier League last season.

Cancelo could be a great signing for Arsenal, and it is fantastic news that Arteta is ready to test the waters with an opening bid.

Celtic can complete the domestic treble at the start of next month if they are able to overcome Inverness in the final of the Scottish Cup.

It would cap off an excellent second season for Ange Postecoglou at Parkhead but that may not stop the Australian from aiming to upgrade his squad in the summer.

The head coach may want to improve his side in the hope of making more of a dent in Europe, after being knocked out in the group stages of the Champions League, and he could also snap up some younger prospects who could be future stars for the club.

According to the Scottish Daily Mail (26/05/2023, print edition, back page), the Hoops have reportedly been keeping tabs on English left-back Archie Brown, who is available for a fee in the region of £2m, with a view to a possible swoop for the defender ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.

Who is Archie Brown?

He is a 21-year-old full-back who is currently playing for FC Lausanne in Switzerland and the youngster could come in as the eventual heir to Greg Taylor's position in the side.

In the Scottish Premiership this season, the current Celtic whiz enjoyed a terrific campaign as he averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.08 across 31 appearances, which placed him tenth in the squad.

The £15k-per-week ace, who ex-Hoops star Mark Wilson branded a "leader", made his presence felt at left-back by constantly bombing on to make an impact in the final third. He ended the league season with three goals and four assists to go along with his 1.3 key passes per match for the club.

Of the players still at Celtic, only four players created more chances per game than Taylor and this suggests that whoever ends up replacing the Scotsman in the future needs to be able to produce attacking quality from left-back.

Brown, who is over four years younger than the Hoops ace, fits that profile as the youngster has been in fine form for Lausanne this season and has experience playing as a winger in his academy days at Derby County.

The Englishman has scored five goals and provided four assists in 34 league appearances for the Swiss side from left-back this term and managed 15 goals and nine assists in 40 outings for the Rams at U18 level as a forward prior to his move across Europe.

He has also shown signs of being a defensive presence at the back. In the Super League in 21/22, Brown made 2.5 tackles and interceptions per game across four appearances, which is 0.3 more per outing than Taylor made in the Premiership in 22/23.

These statistics suggest that the ex-Derby prodigy has the potential to be Postecoglou's dream heir to Taylor's position in the side at left-back as the dynamo has the scope to develop into an attack-minded defender who can also win possession back on a regular basis.

Afghanistan Cricket Board chief executive Shafiq Stanikzai has presented an argument in favor of the proposal for two-tier Test cricket, saying the side is deserves the opportunity to play Tests through their solid performances in the ICC’s Intercontinent

Peter Della Penna04-Sep-2016

Afghanistan Cricket Board CEO Shafiq Stanikzai has presented an argument in favor of the proposal for two-tier Test cricket, saying the side deserves the opportunity to play Tests through their solid performances in the ICC’s Intercontinental Cup first-class multi-day competition for Associates.”We think that we are ready to play Test cricket and we have proven that,” Stanikzai told ESPNcricinfo in a recent interview. “Since we entered into the Intercontinental Cup arena, we were beaten only once. That was in the [2013] Intercontinental Cup final where we got beaten by Ireland but that’s the only loss we have in a four-day game or multi-day game.”Afghanistan are currently in second place behind Ireland on the 2015-17 Intercontinental Cup table after four rounds, with three wins and a rain-marred draw against Scotland. Afghanistan’s overall record in the first-class competition is outstanding with 14 wins, one loss and four draws. Right from their debut in the competition – a high-scoring draw in which they claimed first-innings points against a Zimbabwe XI in 2009 – they have made an effort to demonstrate their versatility rather than be pigeonholed as a limited-overs specialist outfit.Nowhere was that more evident than in their victory against a then elite Canada outfit in 2010, who at the time were preparing to play their third successive ICC World Cup. Set a target of 494 to win in the fourth innings, Afghanistan recorded the ninth-best successful chase in first-class cricket history spearheaded by Mohammad Shahzad’s unbeaten 214. That win propelled them to a maiden Intercontinental Cup title later that year with a win over Scotland in the final. That victory also broke Ireland’s streak of three successive titles.Overall, Afghanistan have scored 400 or more in an innings six times and batted for more than 100 overs in an innings on 11 occasions in the Intercontinental Cup, showing their versatility. They have also shown adaptability to foreign conditions, notching victories in Scotland, Kenya, Canada, Namibia and twice in the Netherlands.Three of Afghanistan’s last six Intercontinental Cup wins have come by an innings margin, while the other three were by margins of ten wickets, eight wickets and 201 runs. Stanikzai says there is not much more for them to prove against Associate-level competition in multi-day cricket and they are eager for a chance to show their skills in a Test scenario.”We have a real good package for every single format of the game,” he said. “If you have a look at the Afghanistan cricket team, we have almost a different squad for every single format. We have T20 specialists, we have ODI specialists, we have multi-day players, specialists not just in batting but in bowling as well. So we are carrying a different bunch of players in every single format we are playing.”Stanikzai’s point is backed up by the fact that core players from their limited-overs squad – bowlers Hamid Hassan, Shapoor Zadran and Rashid Khan, and batsmen Noor Ali Zadran, Javed Ahmadi, Najibullah Zadran and Gulbadin Naib – were all absent from Afghanistan’s starting XI in their most recent Intercontinental Cup win over Netherlands. Afghanistan also has a domestic four-day competition since 2014, which features teams from five regions, although this has not yet been assigned first-class status.”It means the talent is huge in Afghanistan and things have shaped up quite nicely and we have improved quite rapidly in the cricketing world,” Stanikzai said. “Afghanistan is a team that is ready to play Test cricket. We are just looking forward for this [two-tier] proposal to get passed by the ICC board. My stance and Afghanistan Cricket Board’s stance is quite clear that we need more opportunities.”