All posts by h716a5.icu

England were enraged by Australia’s conduct at the Gabba and Steven Smith was their chief target

Daniel Brettig in Adelaide02-Dec-2017In March 2015, Steven Smith had the best seat in the house – the non-striker’s end – as Wahab Riaz went after Shane Watson in a World Cup quarter-final under lights at Adelaide Oval. It was the most pulsating passage of the tournament, so entertaining as to merit an ICC sanction for both players, and impossible to look away from.But the other striking thing about it was how much the tension eased whenever Watson managed to get to the other end. Smith did not have anywhere near as much trouble, almost as though Wahab was saving his aggression for Watson alone, and his calm accumulation helped Australia ease to victory despite Pakistan’s febrile efforts.Two and a half years on and now it was Smith who found himself the lightning rod for desperate opponents. This time they were Joe Root’s Englishmen, enraged by elements of the Australians’ conduct at the Gabba and also operating in the knowledge that defeat in Adelaide would more or less decide this Ashes series in the space of two matches. Smith faced 90 balls on the first evening of the day/night Test, and throughout was given barely a moment’s peace.There was, immediately, a contrast to the way England approached Smith in Brisbane. There and then, they had seemed intent upon suffocating Smith’s scoring as though it was the oxygen on which his batting breathes. To a degree it worked – the phrase “making him work hard for his runs” has seldom been more aptly applied – but Smith did not let it faze him, simple recalibrating for a long innings that grew into the slowest but perhaps also most monumental of all his Test centuries to date.In reflecting on how England had tried to bore him out, Smith expressed a natural love for spending time at the crease that suggested it was not a method likely to stretch him. “I’m happy with that, I love batting so I’m happy to stay out there for as long as I can to be perfectly honest,” he said. “I don’t like being back in the sheds, I prefer being out in the middle and just doing my thing. If it takes me 300 balls to get a 100, then it’ll take me 300 balls. That’ll also tire the bowlers quite a bit too, so it’s a bit of a win-win if that’s the case. But I’ll just adapt to whatever they throw at me.””Whatever they throw” turned out to be a level of overt hostility not commonly associated with the team of Joe Root, and seldom seen from any England side since the James Anderson and Ravindra Jadeja affair at Nottingham in 2014 – perhaps not entirely oincidentally the last Test ever played by Matt Prior. Smith of course knew England had players in their number who had made life difficult for him in the past, none more so than Anderson in 2010-11. He had been happy to suggest hypocrisy on Anderson’s part when responding to the Lancastrian’s accusation that Australia played like “bullies”, happy to kick a supine opponent.But that awareness could not have prepared Smith for the level of prickliness he encountered virtually from the moment he walked out to bat after the dismissal of David Warner, who followed a Chris Woakes delivery that seamed away in contradiction to his earlier forbearance in leaving balls angled across him. Almost immediately, Smith was the target of verbal confrontation, though from Stuart Broad rather than Anderson. At one point Broad punched his chest in what appeared a mocking reference to Smith’s century celebration, while maintaining a constant unfriendly dialogue.Smith looks back to see the ball hit the stumps•Getty ImagesAfter some time and deliveries had passed, Anderson elected to join in, not least when provocatively posted to a very short mid on for Pete Handscomb which meant he was scarcely more than a metre away from Smith. Their level of chatter, banter, chirping or sledging – take your pick among the many euphemisms available – was intense enough to cause the umpire Aleem Dar not merely to ask them to desist but to physically step between the pair, recalling Tony Crafter’s 1981-82 intervention in Perth to stop Javed Miandad from using his bat to fell Dennis Lillee after the fast bowler had essayed a kick at the pugilistic Pakistani.Smith has built a considerable level of toughness throughout his years in then out of, then back in the Australian side, and is able to dish out as much as he cops. Famously, as a teenager in Sydney club cricket, he once responded to some hours of sustained sledging from an older opposing bowler by eventually asking “how old are you?” When the 30something reply arrived, his retort of “and you’re still playing second grade?” ensured little more was said.Nevertheless, England’s attack on Smith had the desired effect, meaning he stayed in the middle for less than a third of the deliveries soaked up in Brisbane, and also looked somewhat out of form and rhythm throughout his stay in the middle. Conditions, it must be said, were more challenging than those in Brisbane, combining seam movement, some variance in pace off the pitch, and the inherent challenge of a pink ball under lights. There was a harried passive aggression about the way Smith took to refusing singles later in his innings, thrusting his bat down the pitch in a manner that begged the question of whether his parents had ever counselled him about the rudeness of pointing.When Craig Overton enjoyed the moment of his cricketing life so far, bowling Smith off bat and pad to claim a first Test wicket, it was an excellent delivery, of good length and nipping back, to draw gasps from 55,317 spectators. But as the first ball of a new spell it also looked to have caught Smith at a moment when his concentration was not quite at the sharpest. In reference to the often fractious India tour earlier this year, in which he was by a distance the best batsman on either side, Smith said that by series’ end he was so drained that he did not think himself capable of batting for as long a period as at the beginning, so felt compelled to try to score faster. England will hope that Smith’s mental reserves are similarly stretched in this series.Despite seeing Smith dismissed for only 40, Australia ended the day with far more satisfaction than England. A tally of 4 for 209 after being sent in to bat was handsome, built upon a more collective effort than that of the Gabba. Warner’s early patience was useful even as England bowled too short and Cameron Bancroft was needlessly sacrificed by a run out, then Usman Khawaja got himself into the series with an innings of 53 helped by Mark Stoneman’s abject drop at fine leg. Finally Shaun Marsh built the foundations of a meaningful stand with Pete Handscomb even though the West Australian showed a far higher degree of comfort in the middle than the wilfully creasebound Victorian.Their survival through to the close was, of course, due to their own efforts. But it was doubtless made easier by the fact that each Australian batsman was able to fly “under the radar” relative to Smith, who made himself very much the lightning rod for England’s vitriol, planning and most intense bowling.In that way, he was able to absorb the efforts of the visitors like Watson had done against Wahab in the World Cup. Now, as then, it meant the Australians will sleep as much the more contented team.

As the scouting for a new full-time coach takes its natural course, the opportunity for greater re-evaluation presented by the current shake-up shouldn’t be lost on the board

Annesha Ghosh17-Jul-2018In recent times, July has seen heroes emerge among women in Indian sport. Dipa Karmakar clinched India’s maiden World Challenge Cup gold in gymnastics on July 8. Five days later, teenager Hima Das sprinted her way into national recognition with India’s first international gold in a track event.Between the jubilation surrounding these two individual feats, though, there emerged a narrative of a team grappling with the fickleness of fame and the burden of expectation in a cricket-dominated culture that accepted them ideologically as one of their own, only last July.The breakout run of India women’s cricket team at the 2017 World Cup in England had promised to be more than a performance that culminated in just a silver medal at the podium. It was a collective expression of individual brilliance that turned a group of female athletes into the “brand it is [now]” as Mithali Raj, one of their foremost exponents – and herself “a product of the brand” – said recently.A year on from the World Cup, the shock resignation of their head coach Tushar Arothe has now shoved the team into a void of uncertainty. This, at a time that the “brand” had only just started gaining traction. That the fallout coincided with a row involving one of their star performers – T20I captain Harmanpreet Kaur – and her alleged fake college certificates, has only added to the disarray.The World T20 is less than four months away, so the timing isn’t favourable. And questions about the players’ temperaments haven’t helped either. Arothe saying he demanded “more honesty and more intent from the players” to come out of their “comfort zone to achieve bigger things” is perhaps not the best endorsement for any team. Especially from a former coach whose contract was extended after the team shot past expectations at their previous world tournament.While it is no secret in Indian cricket that the influence of the coach pales in significance when compared to the clout of the captain, questions remain if relations between Arothe and the two captains – Raj and Harmanpreet, who had both met with senior BCCI officials and the Committee of Administrators last month – had become untenable. Or, worse still, if disagreements intensified to the point that the BCCI and the CoA saw no room for convening a meeting with all players and support staff involved.The roots of the rot perhaps lay in the precedent set by the shocking ouster of Arothe’s predecessor, Purnima Rau, who was sacked in April 2017 despite back-to-back title-winning campaigns ahead of the World Cup. Word has it that the request for a male head coach from the senior players last year didn’t perhaps necessitate the removal of Rau, contrary to how it eventually panned out. Therefore, in light of Arothe’s premature resignation, do the board, the CoA and the players as a collective not send out the message that accountability on the part of players themselves is not to be expected for their lean returns on a tour?ESPNcricinfo understands that within days of Arothe vacating the post, the BCCI offered the job to Chandrakant Pandit, coach of reigning Ranji Trophy champions Vidarbha. Even though he declined it “on the grounds of his commitment to Vidarbha”, the BCCI’s choice appears at once logical and unreasoned. Pandit’s emphasis on clarity of thought and instilling a sense of purpose among his players has been a trademark of his success as a coach, as has his no-nonsense approach as a disciplinarian. But how would these traits have gone down with players who were unwilling to “step out of the comfort zone” during Arothe’s tenure?Mithali Raj takes a few throwdowns during Railways’ warm-up session•ESPNcricinfo/Annesha GhoshAs a short-term fix ahead of the first national camp – starting July 25 – after failure in the Asia Cup, the board named Ramesh Powar as the interim head coach.As the scouting for a new full-time coach takes its natural course, the opportunity for a greater re-evaluation presented by the current shake-up shouldn’t be lost on the board. While there is every need for scrutinising existing cultures where players appear to have some license to put an expiry date on the coach’s shelf life, the time is right, perhaps, for the BCCI and the think tank to look beyond.Truth be told, T20I cricket is not India’s strongest suit. Their last-place finish against England and Australia in the tri-series at home, or their losses to Bangladesh in the Asia Cup, only exposed their inadequacies in the format. However, that is not to say that India don’t stand a chance at the World T20; not many had backed them to even qualify for the semi-finals in the World Cup last year, let alone win it. But if myopia be cast off, isn’t there a case for the board and the management to look beyond their outing in the world tournament this November and instead devise a long-term plan for the 2020 World T20 and the 2021 World Cup? Nineteen months is adequate time to build a T20 team for the next world tournament, but does the current side have enough clarity to adapt to the rapid nature of the game?Not necessarily. India have employed the slow-starting Raj as Smriti Mandhana’s opening partner. They don’t have a second legspin option besides Poonam Yadav. There has been a lack of sustained exposure for teenagers Jemimah Rodrigues and Pooja Vastrakar. And finally, Harmanpreet’s own role as a part-time offspinner (as exposed in the Asia Cup final) and India’s poor T20I form under her captaincy since October 2016 are some of the inadequacies in the shortest format.What these patterns establish is the tendency of India to base their T20I tactics on a relatively successful ODI template, but that hasn’t worked out. The efficacy of their ODI formula too is slowly getting exposed, as witnessed earlier this year at home during their 0-3 hammering against Australia, and the jailbreak of a victory that the subsequent 2-1 series win against England proved to be.India’s current limitations in the field also mean – in Harmanpreet’s own words – that not everyone “can run all over the ground; we don’t need players [in T20Is] who can just stand in the 30-yard [circle].” Does that merit a consideration that more youngsters, or fitter players, including promising, uncapped ones from the India A squads, be given a go in T20Is?What good are the sporadic ‘A’ series going to serve anyway – there’s one in the pipeline ahead of the World T20 against a visiting Australia A side, too – if the rookies are not backed to mature through the rigours of international cricket? The Asia Cup was to be one such testing ground, but conservative selection decisions shut that opportunity down.As the administration and the team confront these questions and come to grips with the evolving profile of women’s cricket, much of the onus to salvage “brand” India women will now depend on two of its most marketable “products”. The return of Mandhana and Harmanpreet to the UK for their Kia Super League debuts later this week, and the nature of their performance in England, will add further significance to events of this month as had their knocks of 90 and 171 not-out this time last year. Those performances bookended India’s victorious run at a World Cup that made a “brand” of the team, even though they finished second.

A look back at matches involving Afghanistan that wrote themselves in the history books

Shashank Kishore26-Sep-2018ESPNcricinfo LtdZimbabwe v Afghanistan, World Cup Qualifiers, Harare, 2018Afghanistan had lost their opening game to Scotland, and defeat to Zimbabwe looked all but inevitable when Mujeeb Ur Rahman was the ninth man out with Afghanistan still needing 20. But the Zadrans – Dawlat and Shapoor – weren’t giving up yet. In a tense half hour where every ball was an event, the pair slowly ate into the target, batting out 49 deliveries to add 17. It was now down to three runs off four deliveries. A mini-conference on the field kept Afghanistan on tenterhooks. Then Brian Vitori slanted one full, drew the edge from Shapoor and Brendon Taylor held on to give Zimbabwe a two-run victory. A packed Harare Sports Club went into delirium. Shapoor, a picture of dejection and angst, had to be literally forced off the field in disappointment. Afghanistan’s campaign had been jolted.West Indies v Afghanistan, 1st ODI, St Lucia, 2017Rashid Khan had 212 to defend on a sluggish surface. The four previous occasions that he had picked four or more wickets resulted in wins. West Indies were steady at 68 for 2, when Rashid struck off his first two deliveries in the 23rd over to crack the game open. Then he struck off consecutive deliveries in his second over, the 25th, to be on a hat-trick twice during his opening spell that read 4 for 1 at one point. Even the lone run conceded came courtesy a dubious wide call. Rashid scythed through the lower order too, finishing with 7 for 18, the fourth-best haul in ODI history as West Indies were shot out for 149. The 63-run victory for Afghanistan was their first in this format over a Full Member other than Zimbabwe or Bangladesh.Afghanistan v Scotland, 2015 World Cup, DunedinAfghanistan looked down and out when they slumped to 97 for 7. The slide was sparked by Richie Berrington’s accurate seam-ups that triggered an epic 5 for 12 collapse after Javed Ahmadi’s brisk half-century. Samiullah Shenwari, however, had other ideas. He was consuming too many balls, he was struggling to rotate strike, but buckled down and gave himself time. His calmness and a partnership of 35 for the eighth wicket with Dawlat brought them back. But Dawlat slogged across the line to be caught at mid-off.Shenwari made his disgust obvious much before the catch had been taken. Then there were calculated blows, frantic running, pure unbreakable belief and some breathtaking six-hitting with Afghanistan needing 38 off 24. Shenwari hit three sixes in four balls and was caught trying to hit a fourth. It eventually boiled down to five off the final over, and four off four balls. Shapoor had dead-batted expertly, but he had to look for the boundary now. Iain Wardlaw went for a yorker, missed and slipped a low full toss down leg. Shapoor picked it behind square and raced off in celebration the moment it crossed the infield. This was a victory for Associate cricket. This was for Afghanistan. A first World Cup win had been achieved.2:05

What do Afghanistan need to do to reach the next level?

Bangladesh v Afghanistan, Asia Cup 2014, FatullahRashid was still two years away from international cricket, Mujeeb three. Afghanistan were playing only their fourth match against a major team, and in Fatullah, they not only defeated Bangladesh, the Test-playing hosts, but nearly sneaked out a bonus point too. The foundation was laid by a stunning 164-run partnership between Asghar Afghan and Shenwari to lift them from 90 for 5 in the 27th over. After being hauled to 254, they bowled and fielded like Tigers – a name their opponents are fondly referred to by the fans. Shapoor generated enough pace in his first over to rattle the openers. He capped it off with a wicket off the fifth ball. Hamid Hasan, the headband, tattoo and heart-on-his-sleeve bowler, bristled in from the other end and struck vital blows. Bangladesh’s chances of revival rested on their captain, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Mominul Haque but once Afghanistan found their way past, there was a sense of despondency in the Bangladesh camp.Afghanistan v Ireland, 4th ODI, Greater Noida, 2017Afghanistan were tottering at 142 for 8, before Shafiqullah and Dawlat hauled them to 220. Ireland, trailing 1-2 in the five-match series, had every reason to be happy. Mohammad Nabi spun out the top order with his guile to leave Ireland hanging by a thread. Their problems were compounded when Kevin O’Brien had to retire hurt because of a hamstring injury. Then he returned with Ireland needing 91 with four wickets in hand and counter-attacked at the first sign of Afghanistan’s spinners switching off. In a 10-minute passage, O’Brien went berserk, the ferocity of his onslaught offsetting the top-order collapse. Gary Wilson held his own and the series had been tied.Three other historic Afghanistan winsJersey v Afghanistan, final, World Cricket League Division Five, 2008: Chasing 81, Afghanistan won by two wickets.Afghanistan v USA, World Twenty20 Qualifier, Dubai, 2010: Afghanistan defended 135, to win by 29 runs.Afghanistan v Ireland, final, World Twenty20 Qualifier, Dubai, 2010: Afghanistan won by eight wickets to qualify for the World T20 in West Indies..

Also: were Adil Rashid’s figures in Grenada the most expensive five-for in ODI history?

Steven Lynch05-Mar-2019Chris Gayle hit 39 sixes in the one-day series against England. Was this a record? asked Aswin Kini from India
That big-hitting bonanza by Chris Gayle was indeed a record for any one-day tournament, easily beating 26, in six matches in the 2014-15 World Cup… by Chris Gayle. Next with 23 – the previous best for a bilateral one-day series – comes Rohit Sharma, in six matches against Australia at home in 2013-14. AB de Villiers crashed 21 sixes in eight games in the 2014-15 World Cup, and 20 in the five-match series in India in 2015-16. Shane Watson hit 20 in a three-match rubber in Bangladesh in 2011.The website doesn’t have a page for most boundaries in women’s cricket. Can you tell me who has hit most sixes and fours in women’s ODIs and T20s? asked Ritesh Singh from India
There isn’t a preset table for this at the moment, but you can work it out using Statsguru – which I have just done, to save you a job! The leading six-hitter in women’s one-day internationals is Deandra Dottin of West Indies, with 74; Lizelle Lee of South Africa comes next with 63, while New Zealand’s Sophie Devine has 52. Top of the list of most fours in women’s one-day internationals is currently Mithali Raj of India, with 709. She recently overhauled England’s Charlotte Edwards (686), with Karen Rolton of Australia quite a way behind in third place, with 529.Dottin also leads the way for most sixes in women’s T20 internationals with 95, well ahead of Devine (69) and Harmanpreet Kaur (53). Turning to most fours in women’s T20 internationals, Suzie Bates of New Zealand leads the way with 347, having recently overtaken Edwards (338). Australia’s captain, Meg Lanning, currently lies third with 281. (Note that if a number in the tables has a plus sign by the side of it, then there are a few matches for which we don’t know the boundary details.)Shimron Hetmyer was out second ball for six the other day. How rare is this? asked Danny Bolton from Barbados
In the fourth one-day international in Grenada last week, Shimron Hetmyer hit his first ball (from Mark Wood) for six, but was caught on the boundary next ball. The ESPNcricinfo database throws up eight previous instances of this in ODIs – including one by Hetmyer’s captain, Jason Holder, against Zimbabwe in Harare last March.The first player known to have done it was the Sri Lanka seamer Graeme Labrooy, against Australia in Melbourne on Boxing Day in 1989. We don’t have ball-by-ball data for quite a few early matches, so it’s possible there were some other instances.The only man known to have done this in a Test match was another West Indian, fast bowler Frank King, against Australia in Kingston in 1954-55. According to the tour book by Pat Landsberg, “King survived two balls, the first of which he hit out of the ground and the second of which he neatly chipped into Archer’s hands at slip.”There have also been seven instances in T20 internationals, the most recent by England’s Tom Curran against Australia in Hobart in 2017-18.In Grenada, four of Adil Rashid’s five wickets came in his last five balls•Associated PressWere Adil Rashid’s figures in Grenada the most expensive five-for in ODI history? asked Andrew Lawson from England, and several others
Adil Rashid’s 5 for 85 in St George’s last week was comfortably the most expensive five-for in a one-day international. The previous mark was 5 for 73, by the Scottish seamer Gordon Goudie, against Australia in Edinburgh in 2009. Next comes Steven Finn’s 5 for 71 – which included a hat-trick – for England against Australia in Melbourne during the 2014-15 World Cup.It could have been worse, of course: before he polished off the innings (and the match) with four wickets in five balls, Rashid was nursing figures of 1 for 85.Bangladesh lost in Hamilton despite scoring 429 in their second innings. Was this the highest third-innings total in a losing cause? asked A Purushothaman from India
Rather surprisingly perhaps, there have been 15 higher third-innings totals by teams who ended up losing a Test. The highest (and the only one over 500) was India’s 510 against England at Headingley in 1967, when their captain, the Nawab of Pataudi, made a superb 148. In second place comes England’s 490 for 8 declared – also at Headingley – against West Indies in 2017, when Kraigg Brathwaite and Shai Hope made light of an imposing target.The highest total in the fourth innings of a Test lost is New Zealand’s 451 (to go down by 98 runs) against England in Christchurch in 2001-02, which just pips Pakistan’s 450 (to lose by 39) against Australia in Brisbane in 2016-17. And the highest total in any innings by a team that ended up losing is Bangladesh’s 595 for 8 declared in Wellington on their last tour of New Zealand in 2016-17.Use our feedback form or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Mohammad Abbas has carved a superb record in unhelpful conditions – but how will go against the master, Vernon Philander, on his home ground?

Danyal Rasool in Cape Town02-Jan-20196:53

Decoding Mohammad Abbas, the Sialkot not-so-express

Cape Town is Vernon Philander’s home ground, and in more ways than one. It is the place he made his debut, in that surreal game where South Africa bowled Australia out for 47, with Philander registering figures of 5 for 15. That match may have been freakish, a one-off, but Philander’s performances in subsequent years – everywhere in the world but particularly here – have not: 49 wickets in nine Newlands Tests at 16.55 leaves little room for arguments to the contrary.But in the Pakistan dressing room just across, Philander may spot a kindred soul – even if he has previously seen little of him. Newlands will be Mohammad Abbas’ 13th Test, and the first time he has taken to the field in South Africa. Like Philander, he could at best be described as medium-fast, forced instead to draw upon a range of skills most fast bowlers in his country have not needed to perfect because of the pace they were gifted with. Like Philander, he made his debut late (27 to Philander’s 26). Like Philander, he has made an explosive start to Test cricket, and like Philander, he missed the first of this three-Test series nursing an injury.The match-up between these two bowlers is as intriguing as it is unlikely. Who would imagine in the build-up to a Test in South Africa, the most absorbing conversations were to be had comparing two self-effacing medium-pacers in sides brimming with personality, aggression, verve and raw pace?

Abbas has showcased his skill on the dustbowls of Dubai, leaving him little option but to go gun-barrel straight and strip away the batsman’s choice of letting the ball go

It is their world-class talent that drives the interest. Philander’s record is well established but, in his first dozen matches, Abbas isn’t too far removed from the South African’s career trajectory. In his first 12 Tests, Philander had 67 wickets at 17.98 with a strike rate of 37.2. Abbas is hot on his heels, with 61 wickets at 16.62, his strike rate only slightly behind at 42.4.It may well be a premature comparison, and there are a couple of caveats – though perhaps not in the direction you would expect. Philander’s first 12 Tests comprised of four in South Africa, three in New Zealand, three in England, and a pair in Australia. If you were crafting out a wishlist of where you wanted to be while bowling fast, it would be indistinguishable from that schedule. Abbas, on the other hand, has played half of his 12 in the UAE, with a further three in the West Indies, two in England and one in Ireland.Add to that Abbas’ obvious discomfort in the last two matches he played – the Tests against New Zealand before he was sidelined by the shoulder injury that also kept him out at Centurion. If those two Tests were removed from his record, his average improves to 59 wickets at 15.64, with a strike rate of 38. This is not to ignore poor Test performances in order to exaggerate his quality, but simply to provide a clearer picture of how lethal Abbas has been, on mostly unhelpful wickets, so far in his career.The comparison isn’t just about the numbers, engagingly similar as they are; the methods the pair seem to apply as they go searching have an unmistakeable resemblance. Both are, as Faf du Plessis put it, “very similar bowlers who come at you relentlessly all day”. The unerring line and length ball after ball wears batsmen down more often than not, subtle seam movement drawing false shots and taking outside edges. Their tactic of targeting the stumps invariably brings lbw into play in a much more significant way than is the case for most bowlers, a skill that Abbas, in particular, has almost perfected.Mohammad Abbas exults after dismissing Aaron Finch•Getty ImagesThat is because no matter how much they resemble each other, each has had to find a way to evolve and thrive in their respective environments. In South Africa, where seam movement is more plentiful and swing more abundant, Philander is permitted a wider corridor in which to bowl and still leave the batsman uncertain about playing at him. Abbas has been forced to showcase his skill on the dustbowls of Dubai, for the most part, which leaves him little option but to go gun-barrel straight and strip away the batsman’s choice of letting the ball go. You can see it play out in the way the pair have found their wickets; Philander’s 205 scalps have included just 66 lbw and bowled dismissals, while Abbas has taken 32 of his 61 wickets in that fashion.There is another way to look at how Abbas has not let playing on uncooperative wickets become his excuse. According to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data, in the time since Philander made his debut, 22.9% of the balls he has bowled at Newlands have drawn false shots from the batsman. It is the second highest percentage at the ground, with only Kagiso Rabada bettering it at nearly 26% (Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn rank third and fourth, with 22.4% and 20.4% respectively). Abbas, meanwhile, shuffling his way through over after over on spin paradises, still induces batsmen into false shots 18.23% of the time – not a world away from what Philander has done at his ground of choice. That he does so without the luxury of any significant seam movement or real swing is particularly eye-catching. As Sarfraz Ahmed said in the Newlands build-up: “I know this is Vernon’s home town, so he will enjoy bowling here, but there is no reason Abbas will not enjoy it too.”Sarfraz was also cautious not to get carried away by Abbas’ dreamlike start to international cricket, saying he had a long way still to go. “I think you can’t compare Philander and Abbas yet, because Philander has been playing for almost 10 years, and Abbas has only played for Pakistan for 18 months. Abbas is just starting his career, but his bowling looks a lot like Vernon Philander’s. If Abbas plays cricket for Pakistan for a long time, he has the ability to be the same bowler Philander is for South Africa.”It is a fair point, and if Abbas is to be spoken of in those terms all the time, he has many years’ worth of work ahead of him. But if he is indeed fully fit, he could find himself bowling on a surface more receptive to his wiles than he has ever been allowed the opportunity to play on. This may be Philander’s home town, but in Abbas Pakistan have a player set to make the undisputed King of Cape Town hustle to defend his territory.

Every venue has been injected with a bit of oomph to pull crowds and make some noise, but it’s slightly different in rugby country

Sharda Ugra in Cardiff31-May-2019Every venue opener at the World Cup has been injected with a bit of oomph to pull crowds and make some noise. The Oval had England and South Africa, Nottingham was given Pakistan and West Indies, Bristol is where Australia show up, Southampton will host India’s first game and Manchester opens with India-Pakistan.In that regard, Cardiff could complain. Its opening fixture – New Zealand vs Sri Lanka – can only politely be described as an undercard to the rest of the event unfurling in a panorama of runs, wickets, sixes, beastly bouncers and freaky catches across England. The least they could have done for Cardiff for New Zealand-Sri Lanka was turn on the lights. The tournament’s first day-night fixture will be played on Saturday, but not here. That will be in Bristol, 25-odd miles east as the crow flies, between Australia and Afghanistan.Well, humph. Cardiff, we must remember, happens to be the capital of another country in the United Kingdom. Wales could cite the scheduling of their World Cup coming-out party as reason enough to leave the Union if they could be bothered. The Welsh are a generous people, though, currently revelling in their rugby success (unbeaten in the Six Nations, No. 2 in the world) and World Cup city initiatives have involved as many famous Welsh people as could be roped in. Rugby legend Shane Williams, most recently famous for captaining a team at the world’s highest altitude touch rugby match near Everest Base Camp, has been involved in fronting events welcoming the Cup to Cardiff.To be fair, on the record sheet, outside of India and Australia, it is New Zealand and Sri Lanka that are cricket’s two most consistent teams across this millennium’s World Cups. Sri Lanka have made two finals out of four as well as a semi-final spot in South Africa 2003, while New Zealand made two semi-finals and the 2015 final.But New Zealand are doing what New Zealand always do in big competitions, flying under the radar, self-deprecatory in performance before things get serious. In the World Cup warm-ups, they shot out pre-tournament favourites India for 179 and then conceded 400+ against the West Indies and got to within 90 in the chase.Yes, they are ranked No. 4 with respectable tournament odds that reflect their capabilities. In terms of being the sentimental favourites, the New Zealanders have been displaced by the New West Indies, who are stirring up old memories. Kane Williamson does not bristle, and when asked to respond about the low expectations around his team and, added with a smile, “some people may be saying something about us. I’m not sure. We’re talking about us.”IDI via Getty ImagesThe issue around Saturday’s match is not about New Zealand generating far too little clamour in the run-up to their World Cup. It is their opposition who are the underwhelming half of the Saturday undercard.Between the 2015 World Cup final and today, Sri Lanka have won four out of 20 series played (against West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland and Zimbabwe), lost 55 out of 85 ODI matches and been through six captains. They are now onto their seventh in Dimuth Karunaratne, who must lead three of those deposed captains, Angelo Mathews, Lasith Malinga and Thisara Perera in the squad.Sri Lanka’s team manager Ashantha De Mel is also its chief selector, a man who has stripped the coach Chandika Hathurasingha of having any say in the final XI. Please, Sri Lanka are the oldest team in the World Cup, only six of the 15-member squad played in Sri Lanka’s last ODI series, against South Africa in March. In the same chaotic interim, the Sri Lankans – their Test team that is – pulled off the greatest performance by an Asian team in South Africa, winning the Test series 2-0; they were led by Karunaratne, who was rewarded with a return into the ODI squad after four years – as captain.The absurdity of it all led a Sri Lankan journalist to confidently say that his team could most certainly hope to win the prize for the World Cup’s best, and most ecologically-conscious, team jersey. With turtles. The worry that remains, though, is that Sri Lanka will struggle to make an impression in the event with a motley crew of oldish players, with scratchy records and with doomsday propositions being made about wooden spoons.Karunaratne admitted it “was not easy” being in his role as opener and captain after having played very little limited overs cricket (he had signed a county deal with Hampshire before being named World Cup captain) but saw his team’s World Cup mash-up as a “positive thing.” “You need to prove yourself. Every time, you have to be hungry. The new faces (in the team) they want to do well to perform, to stay in the team. Everyone wants to do well… I have lots of experienced guys who played World Cup before, and I think these are the key factors.”Whatever they do on the field in the competition, Sri Lanka have certainly confused their opposition. When England captain Eoin Morgan was asked about the surprise package of the competition he said, “Sri Lanka have got ten new members – don’t they? Sri Lanka have picked a couple of guys who I haven’t played and I’ve been playing for ten years. I think that’s the surprise for me.”It was Williamson who put Saturday into perspective “I don’t know how much the past really counts as we come into a tournament. It is on the day… We know the Sri Lankan side is a little bit different to the one we played at home, but we have no doubt they’re a tough side.” Even if Williamson was saying so to keep things on even keel, all that Cardiff’s World Cup needs from Saturday is for boats to be rocked or shots fired.

After narrowly missing out on qualification in 2013 & 2015, PNG clinched a place in the 2020 T20 World Cup this time

Peter Della Penna in Dubai28-Oct-2019At 19 for 6 in four overs against Kenya on Sunday morning, it appeared to be a case of deja vu for Papua New Guinea. In previous situations in 2013 & 2015 with a chance to qualify for the T20 World Cup, they threw away golden opportunities.But on this occasion, they kept their cool to rally to a defendable total in an eventual 45-run win that wound up being enough to keep them above Netherlands on net run rate in order to clinch the top spot in Group A and a place in the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia. PNG captain Assad Vala says it is a credit to the belief borne out of newer players in the squad, unscarred by heartaches at previous qualifiers.”The belief,” Vala said in the post-match press conference when asked what’s different about this year’s squad. “We’re just trying to do the basics. What this group is about, is just working for each other. We just try to play our roles to the best of our abilities. We’ve got roles given to us by the coach and we’re just trying to play them to the best of our ability. We’ve got a really good, disciplined bowling attack, our fielding has been outstanding lately, but I think the way the character we have shown, the fightback from difficult situations, I’m really proud of the way the boys have done.”In 2013, Papua New Guinea had Hong Kong pinned back at 19 for 4 in the fourth over before letting them off the hook in a playoff match in Abu Dhabi as Babar Hayat, Munir Dar and Mark Chapman took Hong Kong to a defendable total. In 2015, they tripped up against USA on the last day of group play at Malahide when a win would have clinched an automatic berth to India as the group winners. Instead the loss to USA meant Ireland topped the group while PNG were shunted into fourth place after group play and wound up as cannon fodder for Afghanistan, who were smarting after a last-ball loss to Hong Kong in the first qualifier playoff.But Papua New Guinea have been the dominant team in Group A in 2019, leaving almost no margin for error for such slip-ups to occur again. Their only loss came by four runs to Scotland at ICC Academy when they stumbled after needing nine off the last over. Otherwise, they have run circles around the opposition in oppressive heat thanks to their brilliant fitness and fielding.Papua New Guinea are going to the men’s T20 World Cup•International Cricket CouncilThough newer players have helped propel PNG in the field, they have still relied on experienced veterans in key moments. One of the four holdovers from the 2013 & 2015 disappointments along with Vala is Norman Vanua. The allrounder held his nerve after entering at 19 for 6 to come up with a career-best 54 as part of a 77-run stand with Sese Bau. In 2015, PNG didn’t record a single half-century at the qualifier in Malahide but contributions like Vanua’s made a massive difference in Dubai.”We knew that if we could get something around 120, we believed we could defend it,” Vala said. “It wasn’t looking like that until a really good partnership between Norman and Sese. Sese played a really good foil to Norman. He showed us how to play on the wicket, just rotating and waiting for the loose ball. When the loose ball came he got the boundary for us, so I think that’s something we can learn from him.[Vanua] He’s worked a lot on his batting. He’s done the same for us in some of the 50-over matches where he’s batted long, so it’s not something new for him. He needed to bat long, and that’s what he did for us.”PNG’s general form was poor coming into the tournament. They had lost eight straight ODIs to start off Cricket World Cup League, two against a combination of Scotland, Oman, Namibia and USA in their first two series held at Aberdeen in August and Florida in September. Overseas betting markets had them listed at 20 to 1 odds to win the T20 World Cup Qualifier, well behind 5/2 favourites Ireland. But they’re now just two wins away from ending as tournament champs. Vala says much of the difference in results is down to the team’s comfort level in T20 cricket at home in domestic competitions compared to 50-overs.”The T20 suits the way we play, lot of energy,” Vala said. “We don’t play a lot 50-over cricket back home. Only time we play 50-over matches is when we go to the World Cricket League. All our club games are based on T20s because of the grounds we have so that’s why the boys are probably used to playing the shorter format of the game. It’s not an excuse but we just need to keep doing the basics right for a longer period of time in 50-overs.””I don’t know how many qualifiers we’ve been to. We’ve come so close on so many occasions. Our ability is good. We can get it done. We believe we can. It’s something we’ve worked really hard for and we’re looking forward to it.”

Indian cricket has been so obsessed with its No. 4 spot that another important issue has gone somewhat unnoticed

Vishal Dikshit in Mumbai12-Jan-2020Indian cricket has been so obsessed with its No. 4 spot for a few years now that another important issue in its batting line-up has gone somewhat unnoticed: the lower-middle order. While Shreyas Iyer tries to cement the No. 4 spot, the departure of MS Dhoni, the wait for Rishabh Pant to find his groove in ODIs, over-reliance on the top order, and Hardik Pandya’s absence have all led to India not having the necessary muscle at No. 6 and lower.Imagine a situation where India are 200 for 4 after 35 overs and the top three have been dismissed. Which batsman can India rely on right now to carry the lower order till the last five overs? Or to do the power-hitting in the end? Kedar Jadhav may fit in the first slot but he hasn’t scored quickly enough to fulfil the second criteria of late.India have played five completed ODIs since the World Cup – all against West Indies – and only in one of them were they not led by their top order: the first ODI of the home series in Chennai last month. In the others, Kohli scored two hundreds, openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul notched hundreds in Visakhapatnam, and in the last one, Sharma, Rahul and Kohli all scored half-centuries. India won all these games except the one in Chennai, which exposed the over-reliance on the top order.The lower order weakness has been troubling India for over a year now. The combined strike rate of India’s No. 6 and below since January 2019 reads 91.47, sixth on the list below Pakistan (104.95), Australia (104.64), West Indies (96.57), England (96.16) and New Zealand (95.68). The bulk of the scoring for India’s lower order in this period was done by Jadhav and Ravindra Jadeja, but they have not been among the quickest.Among batsmen who have played at least ten innings at No. 6 or lower in the same period, Jadhav’s strike rate ranks 14th, at 91.57. In comparison, Alex Carey (106.22), Imad Wasim (131.11) and Jimmy Neesham (109.27) – from teams whose lower-middle orders have done better than India’s – have scored faster than Jadhav, while also averaging better than him. Jadhav, nearly 35, is also unlikely to be around for the next World Cup, which might increase the responsibility on Pandya once he is back from injury.India play ODIs against Australia on three grounds – Mumbai, Rajkot and Bengaluru – with a mix of flat pitches and short boundaries, which Australia are likely to make the most of with Carey and Ashton Turner, whose unbeaten 84 off 43 to help Australia chase down 359 in Mohali last year wouldn’t have faded from Indian memories. In case India’s top order does not do the job in the coming days, they will desperately need Jadhav and Jadeja to step up and lead the tail in the end overs, while also scoring quickly.An injured Kedar Jadhav limps between wickets•Associated PressWhen asked on Sunday who India’s lower-order power-hitters could be in Pandya’s absence, and if there was a weakness there, batting coach Vikram Rathour said they had “enough options”.”It’s not a weakness, I think. Just a few days back we scored about 383 (387),” Rathour said, referring to the second ODI against West Indies in which Sharma and Rahul had scored centuries. “We’ve been scoring runs, our batters have done well, Shreyas [Iyer] is batting really well, Pant has played a couple of useful innings, so I don’t see an issue there. [The] top three are batting well and scoring heavily, that’s again a good problem to have. But I don’t see any issue with our lower order now, we have enough options.”Last year, India lost the five-match series to Australia despite being 2-0 up. Their lower-order problems started in the second ODI of that series. With Kohli’s century, India were 171 for 4 in the 33rd over but he ran out of partners and they were bowled out for 250. India somehow won that game even though Australia needed 33 from 34 with five wickets in hand.In the next game, India were chasing 314 and Kohli scored another century but this time no batsman from the middle and lower order scored over 35 and India were bowled out again, for 281. In the decider, India were chasing a modest 273 and this time only Sharma fired from the top order. Jadhav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar scored 44 and 46 respectively from 132 for 6, which could only take India to 237 as they were all out again.These issues have also led to India deepening the batting line-up, which stopped them from playing two trump cards – Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal – together in any of the recent ODIs against West Indies, slotting in Kumar or Shardul Thakur at No. 8 for those extra runs.In that loss in Chennai, India even took the risk of giving Shivam Dube a debut at No. 8, trying to squeeze a combined 20 overs out of Jadhav, Jadeja and Dube. But that backfired as Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer scored centuries to canter to the target of 288 with more than two overs to spare.In the Australia series beginning on Tuesday, India’s batting will also face a much stronger bowling line-up compared to West Indies’. Australia are bringing Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, along with an in-form spinner in Adam Zampa. Against a tougher opposition, India’s lower order has its work cut out, before facing New Zealand in their backyard.

Luke Sutton’s brutally honest autobiography chronicles his battle with addiction and the long, hard road through recovery

Paul Edwards26-Jan-2020For the five seasons from 2006 until 2010, Luke Sutton was the player local reporters requested if Lancashire had suffered a bad day. Almost regardless of how poorly the cricket had gone, he would be courteous, articulate, objective. If their sports desks needed quotes, the journalists were covered. And for Sutton, they thought, the glass was always half-full.But as things have turned out, this was not the happiest of metaphors. Inside the successful wicketkeeper-batsman there was the most troubled of souls, a player who viewed himself as a journeyman cricketer and who felt that he was nothing more than “just about good enough” at Old Trafford. Provoked by this belief – many would say misconception – Sutton’s deeply rooted competitive instincts compelled him to maintain an outstanding level of fitness and keep his place in a team stuffed with internationals.Sutton found release in alcohol. Since his early twenties he had known that booze was an issue for him but it was also the deceitful companion with whom he could escape from all the burdens of self. Anyone who has been dependent on alcohol knows such a lifestyle is almost certain to end in chaos and tragedy. Fortunately for Sutton, it was only the former.In 2011 he returned to his former county, Derbyshire, but after the end of that season he bumped into Lancashire’s Glen Chapple and his wife, Kerry, at Euston Station. The Lancashire players were returning north after their visit to Buckingham Palace to mark their championship win. Sutton was on the road to nowhere. He was even incapable of deciding which train he might catch to take him home. Fortunately the Chapples put him into a coach, but then came a horrendous 36-hour bender during which this loving father was too drunk to take his diabetic daughter to a hospital appointment. It ended with Sutton sitting on his bed in the Priory, the psychiatric hospital into which he had been booked by Kerry Chapple. Little could Sutton understand it, but he had started on the path back to beautiful normality.At a Costa’s in Knutsford last December, Sutton and I talked about , the book he wrote about his month in the Priory and the years that led up to it. He almost glowed with good health and it was difficult to believe that he is 43; difficult too, perhaps, to believe this bloke was once “broken” and felt “like a wafer-thin piece of paper that had been ripped into a million pieces”.You read a hundred or so pages of Sutton’s autobiography and realise that rigorous self-analysis and brutal truth-telling were required before he could do such sweet things as sip a cappuccino and look forward to his wedding to his fiancée Joanna this year. is one of the most honest cricket books ever written. Even people who can’t tell a short leg from a kick up the arse should read it.”The book is part of the cure and part of the healing,” said Sutton. “Almost everyone, except my fiancée, has been shocked by something they have read in it. They’ve all been touched by parts of my life. It was an opportunity for me to share things with people, including my mum and dad. I was initially asked to write another book but I’d reached the point where I wanted to write this one. I sent the publishers the first chapter and they texted me back telling me to keep on writing. Then it just poured out of me. I’d reached a point where I felt comfortable about my own journey and ready to write about it. I also felt it carried a message that might help other people and it was important not to dilute that message.”Drink was both a cause and a symptom of Sutton’s problems. Having had his competitive traits dangerously sharpened at Millfield, a school renowned for the veneration of sporting excellence, he became a professional cricketer who placed debilitating stress on every success and therefore rewarded himself after every triumph with a few drinks. Except that a few were never enough. Waking up with a hangover only sent him back to the gym or the cricket field, but punishment for one binge also became a justification for the next. Few spirals are more vicious.

“Clubs should be really careful about the environment they create and not to think that if the cricketer is playing well and the team are winning, all is good”Luke Sutton

“I would work extremely hard and make winning a thing that defined me as a person and then have a blow-out which released the pressure,” he says. “Purging and rewarding blended into one and both got to an extreme which started to destroy me. It was not only impossible to live a professional cricketer’s life, it was impossible to live any life. Lancashire never said anything because they didn’t know, and I did my job. After the first couple of years as a pro cricketer, I won every fitness test in every squad I was in. I was pretty reliable.”My message now is that we get lost in the ‘work hard, play hard’ and ‘boys will be boys’ mantras. I think there were times when I was exhibiting some pretty extreme behaviour but it was all just part of the persona. There was no reason for anyone to flag it; I was really good at hiding things.”Except, of course, that Sutton couldn’t hide things from his ex-wife, Jude, for whom his domestic unreliability became routine. Nor could he conceal things from tough counsellors at the Priory. “What makes you happy, Luke?” he was asked. “Being successful,” came the reply. And for Sutton that success was defined by winning cricket matches and the approbation of his peers.”I was obsessed with what people thought of me,” he wrote. “It was a full-time job trying to maintain this level of control in my life. It was exhausting. And the great irony was that when I started drinking I didn’t have any control. I could recognise that many of my mental health problems stemmed from this as well. My anxiety went with my obsession to control every outcome.”Sutton entered the Priory intending to stay for a week. He ended up spending 28 days in the hospital, making friends with people who didn’t give a hoot about his cricket and going through painful group counselling sessions in which chairs were thrown and the language would have done credit to the Lancashire dressing room after a bad defeat. He also learned how to remake his life without placing a ruthless need for achievement at the heart of it. Now he is well placed to guide the careers of the sportspeople for whom he is an agent, and to offer advice on how to cope with success.”Olympians struggle after Olympic Games, even if they win a gold medal,” he said. “They’ve had this massive euphoria and then they have to drop back into ordinary life, but also they’ve attached so much importance to winning this medal that their happiness has been defined by it. They need a broader understanding of where they find happiness in life.”I think the Professional Cricketers’ Association does a brilliant job but my point would be that clubs should be really careful about the environment they create and not to think that if the cricketer is playing well and the team are winning, all is good. You’ve got to have a broader appreciation of the young men and women who are part of the fabric of that club. If you are managing young people as part of a team, you have as close a view of them as almost anyone, and you have to keep an eye on their behaviours and whether they are becoming extreme.”Sutton knows he is deeply fortunate. Above all he is blessed in the loving family he has around him. But he is bloody lucky that he has mates like Glen Chapple, Mark Chilton and Jimmy Anderson, who stuck by him when his life was disintegrating. He is fortunate that there was money to pay for his stay at the Priory. And it is also his great good luck to be living at a time in which alcohol dependence is treated as a social disease rather than a social embarrassment, and in which men are not regarded as weak when they admit to mental illness. Many contemporary cricketers and other sportspeople have profited from these enlightened attitudes but it was not always thus. Every county historian can recall those players who hit the skids because they liked the sauce far too much and ended up going off their chump.Getty ImagesReg Santall played 496 matches for Warwickshire between 1919 and 1939, scoring 17518 runs and taking 280 wickets. He was something of a golden boy and the son of the county’s coach, Syd Santall. But when Reg died, aged 47, in 1950, he had ten pounds in the bank. “His bloated, purple-faced appearance in later years horrified those who could recall the slim and handsome youth,” wrote Robert Brooke.Or, on an even grander stage, there was Percy Chapman, who skippered England to a famous victory against Australia in 1926 and then captained the team that retained the Ashes 4-1 in 1928-29. Chapman was a brilliant fielder, a gloriously attacking batsman and a personification of charisma, but not even the kindly pen of Christopher Martin-Jenkins could disguise the lonely sadness of his final years. “He became an alcoholic and a sad shadow of the Adonis who had once been a national hero,” wrote CMJ. “People who had once flocked to be near now avoided him.”Sutton’s life is no longer defined by the demons that nearly destroyed him. His autobiography, like all the best books, is far richer than a review can reveal. As much as anything else, it tells how he came to appreciate life on life’s terms. If Sutton should be threatened again, he has the fellowship of friends who will always help him out. For the moment, though, he is grateful to be one of those people for whom every sunrise is a faintly miraculous gift. His two children are a wonderful barometer of his progress. Their laughter is worth more to him than anything he could have achieved on sport’s ivory stages.Back from the Edge
By Luke Sutton
White Owl
128 pages, £8.54

An “unbelievable” forward “would be open” to signing for Tottenham Hotspur in the summer transfer window, according to former scout Mick Brown.

Spurs' summer transfer plans taking shape

Son Heung-min has been one of the shining lights in a poor Tottenham side this season, picking up seven goals and 10 assists in the Premier League, but there are signs a long-term replacement for the 32-year-old could be brought in this summer.

Talks have been opened over a deal for Bayern Munich winger Leroy Sane, with Spurs incredibly interested in signing the former Manchester City man, while they are also increasingly likely to make a move for AFC Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo.

Semenyo is not the only Premier League player on the shortlist, however, with a report from earlier this week revealing the Lilywhites are leading the race for Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze, who could be available for a fee of £60m this summer.

Collymore urges title-winning manager not to join Tottenham after Levy talks

The pundit thinks he’d be making a big mistake.

5 ByEmilio Galantini Apr 5, 2025

There has now been a promising new update on Tottenham’s pursuit of Eze, with former scout Brown telling Football Insider he believes the winger would be interested in making a move across the capital this summer, despite Palace’s determination to keep hold of him.

Brown said: “They want to keep him and I don’t expect he’s the type of player to force through a move unless Palace’s asking price is met.

“Tottenham have been interested for a long time and he’s their type of player.

“If Eze has the opportunity to move to a team like Tottenham, I think he would be open to that, and it’s not slight on Palace and what they’ve done.

“So that move wouldn’t surprise me, but it will only be on Palace’s terms and they want to keep him.”

"Unbelievable" Eze could be fantastic signing for Tottenham

Tottenham’s summer transfer plans are likely to be heavily affected by whether Ange Postecoglou remains in his role as manager, but regardless of who is in charge, Eze could be a fantastic addition to the squad.

The Palace star has proven himself across a number of seasons in the Premier League, and he is enjoying another impressive season with the Eagles, having picked up six goals and 11 assists in all competitions.

Not only that, but the England international ranks highly across some key metrics for wingers over the past year, when compared to his positional peers.

Statistic

Average per 90

Assists

0.34 (89th percentile)

Shot-creating actions

4.85 (81st percentile)

Successful take-ons

2.58 (88th percentile)

Having also been lauded as “unbelievable” by BBC Sport’s Nizaar Kinsella earlier this season, there is every indication that Eze could be a fantastic signing for Tottenham this summer, so it is exciting news that he could be open to a move to north London.