ESPNcricinfo staff14-Nov-2018MCC, the guardian of the Laws of Cricket, has back-pedalled on its new, more punitive approach to head-high full tosses, after accepting that stricter penalties were unfair to those who delivered them by accident, in particular inexperienced junior players.Law 41.7, which concerns the bowling of dangerous and unfair non-pitching deliveries (beamers), was amended in October 2017 as part of an attempt to clamp down on the increasing levels of misconduct that had been creeping into the sport in recent years, particularly at club level.The amended law, issued as part of the first code revision since 2000, stated that any bowler who delivered more than one beamer, passing above waist-height of the batsman and irrespective of speed, had to be taken out of the attack.Previously slow deliveries could be up to shoulder height, with two warnings to be given to the bowler prior to a removal from the attack for a third infringement.The interpretation caused particular disquiet among junior coaches, who feared that young bowlers would be discouraged from attempting to bowl if they were penalised on grounds that had been introduced to improve discipline and safety at higher levels of the game.In a statement, MCC acknowledged that the rule change had been too strict.”Since its introduction, feedback has been received which suggests strongly that the new sanctions were overly severe (especially to younger bowlers),” the club said. “In many cases, Governing Bodies introduced their own playing conditions that rendered the new Law irrelevant.”In response to this feedback, the Laws sub-committee has reviewed Law 41.7 and – with the support of the Cricket committee, World Cricket committee and MCC Committee – agreed that it should be adjusted, with effect from 1st April 2019, to allow umpires to make a more subjective decision over which deliveries are dangerous.”The revision will be incorporated into the second Edition of the 2017 Code of Laws, and confirmed by early January 2019 ahead of universal adoption from April 1, 2019, in time for the new English season.
Liverpool's frontline might appear to be the one area of Jurgen Klopp's squad that does not require attention, but there are murmurings that change could be afoot.
Over the past few years, the Reds have prioritised the bolstering of the attacking ranks to combat sales of stars such as Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, but this has come at the expense of defensive and midfield recruitment.
After falling flat last year, Klopp and co restored the engine room and are now in pursuit of prominence once again, and while the rearguard is considered the priority zone in the transfer market, recent rumours have suggested that Liverpool are interested in signing Leroy Sane from Bayern Munich.
Liverpool transfer news – Leroy Sane
According to the Mirror, Sane has put a halt on negotiations to renew his contract with the German Bundesliga champions, claiming that he wants to "concentrate on the season."
This comes at a time when Liverpool are eyeing up a possible swoop, with German outlet BILD stating that Die Roten would entertain the 27-year-old's sale but have slapped a €100m (£87m) price tag on his name as a deterrent.
samuel-iling-junior-leroy-sane-tottenham-opinion
The report from the Mirror reveals that Liverpool are indeed monitoring the Germany international's situation, with his former club Manchester City also attentive.
Leroy Sane's style of play
Sane is a player Liverpool will be all too aware of after years of fierce battling while plying his trade for Pep Guardiola's City; from just five Premier League matches against the Reds, he has scored four goals.
Notably winning two league titles and the FA Cup in England, Sane completed a £55m transfer to Bayern in 2020 and has since developed his brilliant raw attributes and refined them to perfection.
The £337k-per-week star is technically astounding and intelligent with his movement, distribution and progression, and he would be the perfect addition to this Liverpool team, should the need for another attacker arise.
Why Liverpool might need to sign Leroy Sane
This season, Sane has scored nine goals and supplied seven assists across 18 matches in all competitions, proving to be an integral component of Bayern's frightening frontline.
Liverpool could hand Trent new role by signing "breathtaking" £52m-rated target
Jurgen Klopp could strengthen his side in a number of areas with one January signing…
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Incredibly, the 59-cap international is averaging 3.5 key passes per game in the Bundesliga this term – as per Sofascore – despite also investing his focus into his goalscoring feats, plundering eight strikes from 11 games.
Described as a "world-class" player by talent scout Jacek Kulig, Sane ranks among the top 10% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals, the top 7% for assists, the top 9% for shot-creating actions, the top 14% for progressive passes and the top 3% for successful take-ons per 90, as per FBref.
While Liverpool boast a range of excellent forwards, recent news suggests that Barcelona are interested in signing Luis Diaz, with the Colombian understood to consider a move to Camp Nou as his "dream."
Diaz was signed from Porto for an initial £37m in January 2022 and has won the FA Cup and Carabao Cup at the outfit, completing 61 matches, scoring 15 goals and providing nine assists.
Ranking among the top 16% of positional peers for goals and the top 14% for successful take-ons per 90, Diaz has been hailed for his "world-class" talents (like Sane) and is comfortably one of the finest wingers in the Premier League.
Should Barcelona decide to further their interest in the 26-year-old, then Sane would be the perfect replacement – perhaps even an upgrade.
Leicester City are in good shape as they continue their promotion charge under Enzo Maresca and could now look to add a talented rising star in January, according to a report.
Leicester City lead the way…
Leicester City remain top of the Championship table and were able to extend their lead at the summit to three points after a Jamie Vardy double helped to see off Watford at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.
Despite their own positive form, Ipswich Town were struck down by West Bromwich Albion, giving the Foxes some breathing space at the top of the league with 42 points from their first 17 fixtures.
Speaking in the aftermath of their comfortable triumph, Italian boss Maresca was delighted with his side, who he feels got their just reward from the encounter. Cited via the club's official website, he stated: "I think overall we deserved to win. We improved in the second half. In the first half it was just a matter of tempo – starting quick with free-kick and goal-kicks – if they are not man-to-man, we can start quick."
He added: "This is a journey that started less than five months ago so thinking that in five months everything is working well is not a reality. Especially after two defeats, seeing how difficult it is to win games, we continue in the way we want to play. It’s difficult, it’s a process but we are improving."
Looking like genuine contenders to gain promotion to the Premier League, Maresca will hope his side can continue to maintain their impressive consistency away to Sheffield Wednesday in midweek.
Leicester City's recent results – Sky Bet Championship
Opponent & result
Venue
Leicester City 2-0 Watford
King Power Stadium
Middlesbrough 1-0 Leicester City
Riverside Stadium
Leicester City 0-1 Leeds United
King Power Stadium
Queens Park Rangers 1-2 Leicester City
Loftus Road
Leicester City 1-0 Sunderland
King Power Stadium
Now delving into the transfer market, the Foxes could land themselves a talented defender at the King Power Stadium, according to a recent report.
Jarell Quansah targeted by Leicester City
According to The Sun, Liverpool defender Jarell Quansah has been checked out by Leicester City, who could look to enact a loan swoop for the 20-year-old in the January transfer window as Jurgen Klopp aims to build his experience.
Preston North End are also keen to acquire the Warrington-born ace and both clubs are monitoring his progress as his stock continues to grow at Anfield.
marcelo-pitaluga-jarell-quansah-liverpool-opinion
Quansah, who has been labelled "excellent" by teammate Andy Robertson, has made nine senior appearances for Liverpool this term across all competitions, registering one assist in the process (Quansah statistics – Transfermarkt).
Making an impression, the Reds youngster has managed to record an average of one completed tackle and 1.8 successful clearances per match in the Premier League (Quansah statistics – WhoScored).
Now seemingly being floated for a loan move, Leicester City could be the perfect platform for Quansah to gain more first-team expertise as the Foxes bid to win the Championship title.
The official Euro 2024 sticker album is under the spotlight after leaving out a host of top stars including Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka.
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Top players missing from Euro 2024 albumLeicester's uncapped Luke Thomas featuresWales also included despite failing to qualifyWHAT HAPPENED?
England fans hoping to complete their Euro 2024 sticker albums this summer will be disappointed after learning that several top Three Lions stars have not made it into this year's edition. Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Marcus Rashford and John Stones have all been excluded. To make matters even more confusing Leicester City's Luke Thomas, who has never received a single senior cap, does feature in the album along with fringe stars such as Marc Guehi, Eberechi Eze, Fikayo Tomori, Callum Wilson, Rico Lewis.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE
The problems have occurred because the official provider of the album, Topps, do not hold all the rights to player likenesses, kits and club badges. Former supplier Panini still hold the rights to several teams, including England, and have even produced its own album complete with missing players.
WHAT HAS BEEN SAID
A spokesperson for Topps told The Telegraph: "Topps is proud of its first Euro 2024 sticker collection for the upcoming competition. While we are disappointed that a small number of players are missing, this is due to the tournament’s former sticker partner having blocked certain parts of the collection to the detriment of the fans. Unlike the former sticker partner, we are committed to the fans and believe the offering of stickers and cards – and range of current and former players – will get everyone excited for the tournament.”
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DID YOU KNOW?
Wales also feature in the Euro 2024 album despite the fact the team haven't qualified for the tournament as they were beaten by Poland in the play-offs. The Topps album was rather unfortunately printed before the vital qualifier took place.
Over the years, it’s been a contest marked by fiery exchanges but Virat Kohli and Tim Paine seemed to suggest the focus would be more on bat v ball this time
Daniel Brettig05-Dec-2018Sunil Gavaskar versus Dennis Lillee. Venkatesh Prasad versus Michael Slater. Andrew Symonds versus Harbhajan Singh. Ricky Ponting versus Zaheer Khan. Gautam Gambhir versus Shane Watson. David Warner versus Rohit Sharma. Virat Kohli versus Steven Smith.Australia versus India has become synonymous with individual encounters, many of them ugly ones. The Harbhajan v Symonds narrative overshadowed an entire summer, while Kohli’s verbal and mental duels with Smith in 2017 included accusations of systematic cheating by India’s captain. Even the 2014-15 summer, played out in the shadow of Phillip Hughes’ death, contained more histrionics and confrontations than anyone expected.So what to expect this time around, when Australia are seeking to remake themselves in the wake of the Newlands scandal, while India under Kohli glimpse their best chance, perhaps ever, to win a series in this country? Kohli and Tim Paine’s teams will exchange handshakes at the outset of the encounter, in a custom the Australian captain has introduced post-Newlands, but the visiting captain was under no illusions that attempts to get under each other’s skin would take place.”I don’t see stuff happening, which has happened in the past, where both teams have crossed the line but still it’s a competitive sport, it’s international cricket,” Kohli said in Adelaide on Wednesday, the eve of the first Test. “We do not expect guys to just come in and bowl and just walk back. There are going to be times when you have to put the batsmen under pressure, not necessarily crossing the line but just get into their heads, which you expect from any side in the world, not just Australia.”It is going to be there, but it’s not going to be at the level that has happened in the past where both teams have lost control. But the competitiveness will be there because you eventually want to get guys out if the situation is going your way and you understand you’re up against an important guy in the opposition, you will go hard at that person.”Be it in your body language or just putting in a word or two. But I don’t see anything radical happening, because the skill-set is high, so we necessarily would not need to get into anything. But at times where the situations are difficult, you do find ways to upset the batsman’s rhythm and I think a bit of banter there is not harmful at all.”Last week, Paine told ESPNcricinfo that he would not be averse to allowing his players to pick fights should they decide they needed to for reasons of motivation, with the significant change that this should now never lurch into the sort of abuse seen when Warner and Quinton de Kock became embroiled in Durban earlier this year.”It depends on the individual. I know some guys enjoy it, some guys it doesn’t matter,” Paine said. “In Test cricket and with some of the guys in the Indian side, there’s going to be times where there’s a bit of heat out in the middle, and guys are going to be right into the contest. The focus for us has got to be on delivering our skill as well as we possibly can, so if guys want to get involved in a bit of that stuff to get themselves going, then that’s great.”But we now know the difference between what’s right and what’s wrong, and what’s expected. We’re not going to be going over the top, but certainly you’ve got to stand up for your team and your teammates, and I’m sure when the time comes for that we’ll be doing that. But the main focus for us will be to play the best cricket we can.”However on match eve, he offered a simple message about how much things have changed for Australia since Newlands. Where once winning was the only thing, it is now one of two. “We play Test cricket to win, there is no doubt about that,” Paine said. “Clearly we’ve realised we needed to do some work in some areas, of gaining the respect of our country is as high a priority as is winning.”The way that Australia will play, and the manner in which Paine will lead, will undoubtedly be influenced by home surrounds. As Kohli put it, there is no Australian team yet selected that is vulnerable at home, and that aura will remain evident even if Smith and Warner are absent. “There’s no doubt playing in Australia suits our team,” Paine said. “Having Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins back in as well is going to be different and the style of play in Australia compared to the UAE is completely different, but in terms of leadership style it’s going to be exactly the same we are going to go about it the same way we did over there, it’s just going to be tactically slightly different.”It’s a huge honour, a massive privilege [to captain at home]. I just had an interview with Ricky Ponting and we went through the names of Australian Test captains over the years, so it is a little bit daunting to be in a bracket with some of those guys. At the same time I’m trying to keep it as simple as I can, I’m trying to be myself and do my job which is first and foremost to wicket keep and bat. I’m hugely honoured to be captain of Australia but I am not letting it weigh me down too much.”For all those aforementioned duels, the distinct impression in Adelaide on series eve was that both Australia and India would prefer that this contest is boiled down to cricket’s most fundamental contest: that between bat and ball.
Aston Villa recorded an extraordinary 15th straight win at home in the Premier League as they beat Arsenal 1-0 at Villa Park on Saturday.
John McGinn's goal was enough to seal all three points for the hosts, who are now third in the table and two points off Liverpool in first place.
Unai Emery's side are also top of the Europa Conference League group ahead of their final group stage match on Thursday, and will progress through to the knockout stages in 2024.
The Spanish head coach has been a terrific appointment by the club so far and Villa supporters will be hoping there is more to come from him, particularly in the transfer market alongside Monchi – who arrived over the summer.
Sevilla's former sporting director could work with Emery in the upcoming January transfer window to make further additions to the first-team squad to boost their pursuit of Champions League football for next season.
Aston Villa transfer news – Alex Baena
One player who has been touted with a possible move to Villa Park ahead of the second half of the 2023/24 campaign is Villarreal attacking midfielder Alex Baena.
90min recently reported that the Villans are 'increasingly' interested in a deal to sign the 22-year-old magician to improve their midfield options.
The outlet claimed that the club are now considering a swoop to sign the talented gem in January after being told to keep an eye on him by Emery.
Villarreal midfielder Alex Baena.
Villa's boss handed Baena his first-team debut at Villarreal and urged his scouts to keep close tabs on the Spanish whiz's performances over the last 12 months or so.
The Villans have been impressed by what they have seen and that could now lead to a move to England in January if they are able to agree a deal for his services.
It was also added that sporting director Monchi has been given the go-ahead to go out and recruit players to improve their chances of landing a top four spot at the end of the season.
Baena has a £51m release clause in his current contract with Villarreal and any interested club is likely to need to pay that in order to win the race for his signature, amid interest from Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal.
Monchi could now land Emery his own version of Gunners captain and star Martin Odegaard by beating the aforementioned Premier League giants to the Spain international next month.
Why Alex Baena is similar to Martin Odegaard
As per FBref, Odegaard is one of the most similar players to Baena based on their statistics in the Men's Big Five Leagues and European competitions over the last year – alongside the likes of Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan – who both won the Premier League last season.
Ilkay Gundogan
5
Teun Koopmeiners
4
Viktor Tsyhankov
3
Kevin de Bruyne
2
Martin Odegaard
1
As you can see from the table above, the Villarreal whiz is in great company and this shows how impressive he has been over the last 365 days for his club.
Baena, like Odegaard, is a creative talent who is mainly deployed as an attacking midfielder and has the quality to consistently find ways to open up the opposition's defence with his inventive and incisive play.
Odegaard's season in numbers
The Arsenal maestro has been in impressive form once again for Mikel Arteta's side in the Premier League so far this season with his magical displays.
He has racked up four goals, two assists, and five 'big chances' created in 13 top-flight appearances, to go along with two goals in four Champions League outings.
Odegaard has provided his teammates with 2.2 key passes per game in the league this term, whilst no Aston Villa player has managed more than 1.8 per match.
The Norway international also ranks within the top 6% of his positional peers for Expected Assisted Goals (0.21) per 90 in the Men's Big Five Leagues and European competitions over the last 365 days.
He is also within the top 2% for shot-creating actions (4.72) per 90 during that period and these statistics show that the left-footed whiz is a terrific creator who has been one of the best in Europe at unlocking opposition defences on a regular basis.
Odegaard ranked within the top 13% or higher of attacking midfielders for assists (0.20), shot-creating actions (4.69), xAG (0.23), and progressive passes (7.66) per 90 in the Premier League last season.
The statistics that show why Baena could be Odegaard 2.0
Baena, meanwhile, has caught the eye with his superb performances for Villarreal since the start of last season and could come in as Emery's own version of the Arsenal dynamo.
The 22-year-old wizard contributed with one goal, five assists, and seven 'big chances' created in 14 LaLiga appearances during the 2023/24 campaign, to go along with 2.4 key passes per game.
Appearances
35
Starts
19
Goals
Six
Assists
Two
Big chances created
12
This shows that, like Odegaard, the Spanish gem has the ability to create opportunities for his teammates at an impressive rate, and one that no current Villa player has been able to match.
Baena also ranks within the top 5% or higher of his positional peers across the Men's Big Five Leagues and European competitions over the last 365 days for xAG (0.26), assists (0.28), and shot-creating actions (4.46) per 90.
These statistics show that the £51m-rated whiz, who was once lauded as a "beautiful" technician by journalist Josh Bunting, is similar to Odegaard in terms of the quality of chances that he is able to create from a midfield position.
In fact, Baena ranks within the top 3% of midfielders in LaLiga this season for shot-creating actions (5.01) and assists (0.42) per 90, which illustrates how impressive his performances have been this term.
Therefore, Monchi could sign Emery's own version of Odegaard for Villa by bringing him to the club in January due to his sublime creative qualities that could make him a standout in the middle of the park during the second half of the season and beyond.
The 20-year-old had been included in the squad for the Tests against Australia last year but did not make it into the XI
Liam Brickhill07-Feb-2019Allrounder Wiaan Mulder has been called up to the South Africa Test squad for the two-match series against Sri Lanka, which starts next week. Mulder is the only addition to the Test squad that scored a 3-0 clean sweep over Pakistan earlier this season, as Cricket South Africa decided not to rush fast bowler Lungi Ngidi back into action despite his recovery from a knee injury picked up during South Africa’s trip to Australia in November last year.The 20-year-old Mulder has been on CSA’s radar radar for some time, having made his international debut in an ODI against Bangladesh in October 2017. He was subsequently included in the squad for the Tests against Australia last year but did not make it into a starting XI. He then picked up an Achilles injury in his left ankle during Zimbabwe’s limited-overs tour earlier this season.”Wiaan has been part of our strategic thinking in developing a batting all-rounder for the Test squad for some time,” said Cricket South Africa selection convener Linda Zondi. “His injury in the white-ball series against Zimbabwe last year came at an unfortunate time and we are gradually working him back into the Proteas set-up.”Mulder made a comeback on the domestic circuit, playing three matches for the Lions in the 4-Day Franchise Series. Those games brought him 10 wickets, as well as a career-best first-class score of 146 against Knights in Bloemfontein. Drafted back into South Africa’s one-day squad, Mulder played in the series decider against Pakistan at Newlands last week and was also part of South Africa’s squad for the T20I series against Pakistan, although he didn’t play a game.”We never want to rush players back from injury because that can be counter-productive, but he has now had a couple of good weeks of action in the 4-Day Domestic Series,” said Zondi. “For the same reason we are not going to rush Lungi Ngidi back into international action until he has had the time to gain full match fitness.”After the convincing victory against Pakistan the selectors are looking to exercise consistency in the squad and at the same time to strengthen it through the inclusion of Mulder.”South Africa Test squad: Faf du Plessis (capt), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock, Dean Elgar, Zubayr Hamza, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Duanne Olivier, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn
PSG fought back to secure a 3-3 draw against relegation-threatened Le Havre but will have to wait to be crowned champions.
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Luis Enrique heavily rotates PSG teamCome back from 3-1 down to secure pointPSG title celebrations on holdGettyTELL ME MORE
A much-changed PSG side struggled their way through the first half. Although Ousmane Dembele opened the scoring, a quickfire response from the visitors saw them trail at the break. They added a third from the spot in the second half, before the Parisians worked their way back into the game. Achraf Hakimi and Goncalo Ramos scored late to snatch an unlikely point.
AdvertisementGettyTHE MVP
If you had to make a list of strikers most likely to walk away from Parc des Princes with a Man of the Match award in their hands this season, Andre Ayew would not be near the top. But the Ghanaian was excellent here. Ayew caused problems for the Parisian backline throughout his 71 minutes on the pitch, and scored an excellent second goal to give his side the lead. Le Havre are in 15th, above safety on goal difference. They will need Ayew to deliver to keep them up.
THE BIG LOSER
It was always going to be a bit of risk for Luis Enrique to change this PSG team so much. The Parisians, of course, would have loved to lift the league here, and against relegation battlers, normally would have snagged three points. It serves as a point of annoyance for the manager, then, that he will have to wait to be crowned champions.
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WHAT COMES NEXT?
The Parisians' focus now turns to the Champions League. They play Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday. PSG can be crowned Ligue 1 champions before the game if Monaco fail to beat Lyon on Sunday.
Journalist Malik Ouzia has shared a potential transfer twist out of West Ham as the east Londoners could well green-light a January exit.
West Ham players who could leave in 2024
As things stand, West Ham have an array of players facing the exit door on a free next summer, with manager David Moyes also looking likely to join them as things stand. Goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, defender Ben Johnson, Divin Mubama, Conor Coventry, Joseph Anang, Aaron Cresswell, Angelo Ogbonna and midfielder Tomas Soucek all have contracts which expire at the end of the Premier League season. (spotrac)
Michail Antonio, Vladimir Coufal and Pablo Fornals were all in similar positions until recently, with West Ham opting to trigger one-year extension clauses in all of their deals. Youngster Mubama, who has come off the pitch to contribute recently in Antonio's injury absence, is actually at the centre of new contract talks but no announcement has been made yet on fresh terms.
West Ham striker Divin Mubama.
"West Ham started the talks with Mubuma and his team 12 months ago," said club insider ExWHUemployee on Mubama recently.
"The club absolutely want him to stay, but as we know, we do adopt a very strict wage structure policy. It must be said though that Declan Rice played many many games for the club on a youth wage, earning his right to then seek higher wages later in his career – something I think gets forgotten.
"Now I have been told that the offer on the table is ‘amazing’, although this is from the clubs side. Now clearly the Mubama camp doesn’t feel that way, otherwise it would have been signed."
Meanwhile, Soucek is another peculiar case as the Czech Republic international has often thrived in a more advanced role under Moyes this season – so West Ham may not want to lose him on a free.
Fornals' extension had many believing the Spaniard was one set to stay for the foreseeable, but according to Ouzia, sharing a transfer twist on the matter, that may not be the case.
West Ham could green-light Fornals exit despite extension
According to the journalist, writing in a piece for The Evening Standard, West Ham are open to offers for Fornals in January and could well green-light an exit if the right bid comes in.
Moyes' side and technical director Tim Steidten are keen to bring in a new forward next month, but financial complications mean West Ham may need to sell.
West Ham United midfielder Pablo Fornals.
FFP regulations loom over the east Londoners, and to avoid an Everton-like scenario, West Ham must comply and not go over budget. Fornals' extension means they're in a position to demand more money from interested clubs, as there is no longer a risk of losing the midfielder on a free deal next summer.
Counter-attack threat
Likes to play long balls
Plays the ball off the ground often
Likes to tackle
The Spaniard has made nine appearances for West Ham this season, with most of them coming from the bench, but he's apparently "popular" at the club. Moyes has also praised Fornals as an "energetic" team player in recent years.
Saurashtra chipped away steadily at Vidarbha on a day of attritional cricket, ending the first day of the Ranji Trophy 2018-19 final in a position of advantage
The Report by Saurabh Somani in Nagpur03-Feb-2019Saurashtra chipped away steadily at Vidarbha on a day of attritional cricket, ending the first day of the Ranji Trophy final in a position of advantage. The defending champions clawed their way to 200 for 7 at stumps, with Saurashtra’s bowlers striking every time a partnership threatened to develop into a substantial one.Vidarbha’s position was an improvement from the 139 for 6 spot they found themselves in just after tea, thanks to Akshay Wadkar (45) and Akshay Karnewar (31*) putting together the only 50-plus stand of the innings so far.When you have runs scored at 2.22 per over in day, and wickets taken once only every 13 overs, it can create the illusion that a day’s play has gone without much happening. But the illusion of status quo furthered Saurashtra after they lost the toss. They might have been happier with a couple of more wickets, but they didn’t let Vidarbha escape a tight leash. The pitch at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur is expected to aid spinners more as the match goes on, and Vidarbha will rue some of the dismissals.Jaydev Unadkat set the day up. He took only two wickets, but the second of those accounted for Wasim Jaffer and reduced Vidarbha to 60 for 3. Faiz Fazal had run himself out earlier, and with the top two run-getters gone, the Vidarbha line-up that looked deep at the start of the match, appeared shakier.Unadkat also removed R Sanjay, caught smartly by Arpit Vasavada who went low and forward at first slip. Fazal was ambling for a second run after getting an inside edge to square leg, expecting the throw to go to the non-striker’s end, but he was short of his crease when Chetan Sakariya fired it in flat and hard to the keeper.The kicker came with Jaffer’s wicket. In the first six first-class matches that Unadkat bowled to Jaffer, he had never got him out. That changed in the seventh game, which was the league match between Saurashtra and Vidarbha this season. And when it mattered most, Unadkat delivered. The Saurashtra captain has mastered being comfortable coming over and around the wicket. Going around gives him the advantage of an angle into the right-hander, and when he takes the ball away, the movement is pronounced. It’s hard, even if you are Jaffer and are batting on a 1000-plus runs season, to always avoid following the ball.Unadkat kept it back of a length and jagged it away, Jaffer drove at it with feet static and the keeper accepted a catch to his right gleefully. Unadkat was pumped, running across and thumping the Saurashtra crest on his vest while celebrating.He had seen Sakariya, his fellow left-arm seamer, come close to taking Jaffer’s wicket with a very close shout for lbw when the batsman was on 3, the umpire ruling that there was an inside edge when the ball had swung in late to hit the pads. There was no sound on replays, though.Jaffer seemed to have settled thereafter, even lifting Dharmendrasinh Jadeja’s left-arm spin clean over long-off, until Unadkat returned for his second spell.The middle order had Mohit Kale, who had made his debut this season and was not brimful of runs. Wadkar had the runs, but not much experience, being in his second season. It was the reverse for Ganesh Satish, who had the experience but not too many runs this year. If one of Jaffer or Fazal had been around, the batting might have not been so diffident, but with both gone, it fell to these three to ensure Fazal’s decision to bat first would bear fruit.The method they adopted was to be cautious above all else. It worked to the extent that they had nuggety partnerships, but it would have borne fruit only if the settling in period had been followed by a phase where runs flowed. Saurashtra never allowed that to happen.Kale was surprised by a Kamlesh Makvana delivery that bounced more than he expected, gloving a catch to slip. Ganesh was too late in attempting to leave a Prerak Mankad ball just after tea, feathering one behind. And Wadkar will rue the ill-advised cut shot that gave Sakariya his first wicket in the day’s final moments.Wadkar’s wicket late in the day meant that the advantage was with Saurashtra. Whether the defending champions can turn that around, or the challengers enforce their position further will make for an interesting second day’s play.