Manchester City’s first-choice attacking options are amongst some of the best in the Premier League. Erling Haaland is the leading scorer in the Premier League and has been largely unstoppable. Rayan Cherki has been flourishing, and Phil Foden is looking back to his best.

Yet, Pep Guardiola does seem reluctant at times to use the full extent of his squad in those forward areas. Perhaps the best example of that is Omar Marmoush, who has only played 206 minutes in the Premier League this term. Oscar Bobb and Sabvnho have only played 467 minutes apiece.

Thus, City are looking to add another attacker to the squad this winter, with Antoine Semenyo a real option.

What Semenyo could add to City’s attack

It does seem like City will push to sign Bournemouth winger Semenyo this winter. The former Bristol City star is a key target for Guardiola’s side, and they will go up against rivals Manchester United to get his signature.

If this deal were to get over the line, there are certainly a lot of positives to Semenyo’s game. He has been sensational for the Cherries this term, with eight goals and three assists in 16 appearances so far.

However, he will bring so much more than goals to this City side. The Ghanaian winger is an “explosive” attacker, according to football scout Ben Mattinson. He thrives in transitional scenarios and could add a new dynamic to this City squad in that sense.

His versatility will be a huge benefit for City’s Spanish manager, too. Guardiola can depend on Semenyo to play on either wing, with Mattinson noting he has “both footed ball striking” ability. The forward can even operate up front, as he has done under Andoni Iraola for Bournemouth.

However, if City had decided against releasing a former academy star, they may have been able to save a fortune on Semenyo this summer.

Big-money star is better than Semenyo 8 years after leaving

Over the last few seasons, City’s academy has produced some excellent footballers. Perhaps the most notable two are surely Phil Foden and Cole Palmer, who are key players at international level for England.

However, it might be a little-known fact that Bayern Munich and France star Michael Olise was once in the Citizens’ academy. The ex-Crystal Palace man represented the club for one season at youth level before moving to Reading in 2017.

Of course, his career has gone from strength to strength since becoming a professional player. He shone in the Premier League for Palace before moving to Bayern, where he has established himself as a world beater.

The London-born attacker has played 80 times for the Bundesliga giants. In that time, Olise has scored 30 goals and amassed an impressive 37 assists. He’s also become a first-choice starter for France under Didier Deschamps, alongside the likes of Kylian Mbappe.

Bayern legend Karl-Heinz Rummenigge certainly knows a thing or two about making it to the top in Bavaria. He has been full of praise for Olise since his move, putting him on the same pedestal as legendary duo Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery.

His numbers compared to Semenyo are nothing short of sensational. For example, the French winger is averaging 2.92 key passes and 1.15 goal-creating actions per 90 minutes, compared to the Cherries winger’s 1.44 key passes and 0.44 goal-creating actions each game.

Olise & Semenyo key stats compared

Stat (per 90)

Olise

Semenyo

Goals and assists

1.15

0.69

Key passes

2.92

1.44

Goal-creating actions

1.15

0.44

Take-ons completed

2.31

1.56

Progressive carries

6.23

3.69

Stats from FBref

Signing Semenyo this winter would be quite the coup for City; there is no doubt about that. However, if they had kept hold of Olise all those years ago, they might not have needed to add the Cherries star to their attack.

Now, the French star is valued at a reported £100m, and there are no links at present, so it seems unlikely City will move for him. But their fans may well look back on that and wonder what could have been.

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Ally McCoist took aim at a referee decision as Newcastle United and Chelsea battled out a frantic 2-2 draw in the Premier League.

Newcastle denied victory by Chelsea comeback

Nick Woltemade’s double had the Magpies 2-0 up inside 20 minutes, but Eddie Howe’s men wilted amid a second-half fightback, fuelled by the pace and trickery of Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho and Pedro, after Reece James’ curling free-kick reduced the deficit.

However, it was Pedro who ensured his side left with a deserved point when he fired home a 66th-minute equaliser to end a run of three successive league defeats for the Blues on Tyneside.

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Newcastle needed just four minutes to get their noses in front when Sandro Tonali won possession in the middle of the field to allow Bruno Guimaraes to feed Jacob Murphy down the right, and although keeper Robert Sanchez did well to block Anthony Gordon’s attempt at the far post, Woltemade followed up to smash the rebound into the roof of the net.

They increased their lead with 20 minutes gone when Lewis Hall played a free-kick wide to Gordon, who cut inside Neto and crossed for Woltemade to toe-poke the ball past the stranded Sanchez, although the goal was only awarded after a lengthy VAR check for offside.

Although Enzo Maresca’s men rallied as the half-time whistle approached, they were unable to find a way back into the game and almost conceded once again when Woltemade steered another Gordon cross just wide.

However, the visitors reduced the deficit within four minutes of the restart when, after Ramsey had been penalised for a foul on Cole Palmer 25 yards out, James expertly curled the resulting free-kick wide of Aaron Ramsdale’s dive and in off the post.

The Blues were then level within nine minutes when Malick Thiaw slipped as Pedro controlled Sanchez’s clearance to allow the striker in behind him and he raced away to finish with aplomb.

Ally McCoist spots huge referee mistake

Amidst the drama of goals galore, it was referee Andy Madley who stole the headlines when he decided against awarding Newcastle a penalty. The moment of controversy came when Anthony Gordon ran across Trevoh Chalobah as the Chelsea defender eased him to one side.

The decision was subject to a VAR check, but still failed to result in a penalty. TNT pundit McCoist looked at the incident and claimed that the Magpies should have been awarded a spotkick.

Howe will be left ruing what could have been a comfortable afternoon for his side after watching Newcastle concede their 2-0 lead after the break and settle for a point.

Arsenal moved back to the top of the Premier League table with a nervy 2-1 win against Brighton at the Emirates.

After Man City won their lunchtime kick-off at Nottingham Forest, the pressure was on a side who have finished runners-up in the league for the past three seasons.

However, they started well and Viktor Gyokeres should have done better when he side-footed at Bart Verbruggen inside two minutes before Bukayo Saka ghosted past Maxim de Cuyper only to find Verbruggen equal to his close-range effort.

Saka then blazed over and from the ensuing goal kick, came the opener.

Martin Zubimendi reacted first to Verbruggen’s hospital pass and Delcan Rice’s header found Bukayo Saka, who played the ball to Martin Odegaard.

The Arsenal captain was afforded too much room, taking one touch to compose himself, before firing a low, left-footed strike that nestled into the bottom corner.

Half-chances for Saka and Rice, on two occasions, followed, and Verbruggen then turned away Zubimendi’s neat back-heel following a goalmouth scramble.

Verbruggen was in the spotlight on the stroke of half-time when he clattered Gyokeres on the far touchline, but he escaped with a caution and Brighton were able to keep the deficit to one at the interval.

But less than seven minutes of the second half had been played when the hosts doubled their advantage after an unmarked Rutter’s near-post header left Verbruggen with no chance.

It marked another goal from a corner and a fourth own goal across three home games Arsenal have been able to cash in on.

On the hour mark, Gyokeres saw his shot blocked by Verbruggen – the Sweden international’s wait for a goal in open play extending to seven matches – but Arsenal looked in cruise control.

That was until Yasin Ayari’s shot hit David Raya’s far post and Diego Gomez fired home the rebound. A flying fingertip stop from Raya then kept out Yankuba Minteh’s curling effort with the home support suddenly riddled by anxiety.

Arsenal have made a habit of conceding late goals in recent times and Mikel Arteta was on his knees when substitute Gabriel Martinelli managed to hit his six-yard shot over the bar with five minutes to go.

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But the Spaniard’s side managed to get three crucial points over the line to keep Pep Guardiola’s in-form City at arm’s length.

Alongside Raya’s absolutely out of this world save to keep Brighton at bay, Paul Merson was in awe of Odegaard’s display.

Paul Merson says Martin Odegaard had his best Arsenal game in ages

Speaking on the Sky Sports Soccer Saturday panel in the aftermath of Arsenal’s precious victory, Merson claimed that the Norway international put in his most convincing display in ages.

Merson said that Odegaard had his ‘best football match’ for the Gunners ‘for a long time’ — lavishing praise on the playmaker who’s endured a real stop-start campaign overall.

Subscribe for Deeper Arsenal & Premier League Insights Unlock deeper Arsenal and Premier League analysis — subscribe to the newsletter for tactical breakdowns, player-form reports (including Odegaard), and match insights that expand on this topic and what matters most to fans. Subscribe Subscribe for Deeper Arsenal & Premier League Insights Unlock deeper Arsenal and Premier League analysis — subscribe to the newsletter for tactical breakdowns, player-form reports (including Odegaard), and match insights that expand on this topic and what matters most to fans.

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The Norwegian captain has made 12 Premier League appearances totaling just 628 minutes, and remarkably remained without a goal across all competitions until this afternoon.

He has also registered just one assist in the league, a significant drop from the eight he managed last season and 11 the year before.

Odegaard’s campaign has been marred by injuries, with the captain suffering a shoulder problem during their first home game of 25/26 against Leeds United, forcing his first-half withdrawal.

He also became the first player in Premier League history to be substituted before half-time in three consecutive starts after sustaining a medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury to his left knee in October’s clash with West Ham.

Now, the £240,000-per-week star appears to be working his way back to full form, and Arteta will be hoping that continues into 2026.

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Kent captain Matthew Fleming claimed four wickets to inspire a late Kent comeback against Yorkshire.Bad light stopped play five overs prior to the scheduled first day close with the Tykes on 365 for seven – yet the visitors had been in fine shape on 327 for two just 73 minutes earlier.After winning the toss, the white rose county took advantage of a sublime St Lawrence pitch and a short leg-side boundary on the lime tree side of the ground to punish Kent’s injury-hit attack.After the early loss of Simon Widdup, Vaughan – the only one on Yorkshire’s three representatives appearing in this game to have also played in last week’s series winning Test against The West Indies, started the run glut with a stylish 69 in almost three hours.He finally went to an excellent catch by Rahul Dravid at second slip to give Fleming the first of his four for 77 return, leaving Anthony McGrath to add a further 195 for the third wicket in partnership with Australian Darren Lehmann.Scoring at almost five an over McGrath notched 14 fours and a six on his way to a 181-ball hundred.Lehmann, who has past 50 in his last six championship innings, was even quicker to three figures needing just 89 balls to reach his fourth century of the championship summer.With the Yorkshire score on 330, Fleming removed McGrath to a catch at the wicket and then ended Lehmann’s stay to a leg-side catch also by Nixon.Gary Fellows followed in similar fashion in Fleming’s next over, then David Byas and Simon Guy both went cheaply to Martin Saggers and David Masters respectively to give Kent a second valuable bowling bonus point in their quest to stay out of the relegation zone.

Canterbury bowlers Paul Wiseman and Warren Wisneski have been cleared of allegations of unacceptable behaviour in Canterbury’s win over Otago this week.Canterbury code of conduct commissioner Peter Doody heard charges the players had acted in breach of rule 2 (a) of the code on Tuesday but released an interim decision today which said the allegations against the pair had not been proven and the charges were dismissed.

Australia fast bowler Ryan Harris’ battered right knee has finally given out on him, ending his days in the baggy green less than a week before the first Test of the Investec Ashes, which he had hoped would be the capstone on his international career.In a grievous blow to Australia’s plans for their attempt to defeat England on their home soil for the first time since 2001, two sets of scans during the tour match against Essex confirmed that Harris would be unable to get himself right in time to take part in this series.As a result, he has decided to retire from the game, having set this tour as the final frontier after being ruled out of last summer’s World Cup campaign in order to give himself the best chance to play against England. Harris’ final international match was the Sydney Test against India in January.”Given the news I received yesterday, and after talking it over with my family, I know now is the right is the time to step away from cricket,” Harris said. “I’m pretty lucky, I have had a wonderful career and nothing made me prouder than pulling on the baggy green.”I played 27 more Tests than I ever thought I would and I have relished every single moment of them. I couldn’t have played with a better bunch of blokes and walking away from the team and our support staff is probably the hardest thing to stomach right now. This is a very special team and I know they will do Australia proud in this Ashes series. I know I will certainly be watching every ball.”I am lucky enough to have a wonderful family who have supported me through the ups and downs of my career and I’m looking forward to the next chapter of my life with them and spending time with my new son Carter. Whatever is next for me, and I don’t know what that is right now, I know it will still involve cricket as that is what I love and I want to be able to give back to the game that has given me so much.”Cricket Australia has named Pat Cummins as Harris’ replacement on tour. Cummins was to take part in the Australia A tour of India but will now fly from Sydney to join the Australians ahead of the Cardiff Test. Harris will not fly home immediately but remain with the team as a source of advice to the younger bowlers.Harris was a late starter to international cricket, making his Test debut against New Zealand in 2010 after nearly a decade in domestic ranks. However his combination of bustling pace, swing and seam, plus an indomitable spirit that allowed him to shrug of a succession of major injuries, made him one of the most effective Australian pace bowlers of all time.He played pivotal roles in numerous Test series, notably Sri Lanka in 2011, before proving himself the outstanding bowler on either side during the dual Ashes series in 2013-14. Harris’ 46 wickets across nine Tests – he missed the first match in Trent Bridge – allowed him to experience victory over England after taking part in the 3-1 defeat at home during 2010-11.Perhaps his finest moment of all was reserved for South Africa, when Harris defied the pain of loose cartilage floating around his right knee, sometimes pressing visibly against his skin, to rip out the last two wickets and secure a memorable series victory in March 2014. The coach Darren Lehmann, a former state team-mate and longtime mentor of Harris, described him as “one of the most talented players I have ever seen.””Ryan always gave it his all for his country and he epitomises everything the baggy green stands for,” Lehmann said. “His never-say-die attitude was his signature as he left absolutely nothing on the field each time he played and I think that is something for which he should be incredibly proud.”His beautiful wife Cherie and his new son Carter, his dad Jim, his late mum Gai and his brother Gavin will be so proud of him and what he has achieved and the legacy he leaves behind. The team and I are certainly very proud of everything he has achieved on and off the field and we wish him all the best in whatever he decides to do next.”After the South Africa series, Harris had undergone extensive knee clean-out surgery, and worked assiduously to return to fitness for the Border-Gavaskar Tests against India. While still bowling well, he showed signs of losing some of his earlier zip, and CA elected not to consider him for the World Cup to try to replicate his careful preparation for the 2013 Ashes series, when he returned slowly to the game after shoulder surgery.As recently as last week in Canterbury, Harris said he was trying to adjust to the pain he inevitably faced when landing on his right knee. However he was even less mobile than usual following the Kent match, leading to the scans that confirmed his inability to play in this series. Harris has often said he knew he only had a certain number of balls left in his body. Unfortunately for him and Australia, it was fewer than either had hoped for.

Alastair Cook has described Jonny Bairstow’s batting as having “improved unrecognisably” from his last experience of international cricket. The recall for Bairstow may not be the only change to England’s side for the third Investec Ashes Test as Mark Wood has failed to fully shake his ankle injury, with Steven Finn primed to replace him when a last-minute decision is made on Wednesday morning.Bairstow will bat at No. 5 in a reshuffled middle order after replacing his Yorkshire colleague Gary Ballance, having averaged 108.88, including five centuries, in the Championship this season. He also scored a series-sealing 83 not out in the final ODI against New Zealand in June.”Jonny couldn’t be in a better place,” Cook said. “I guess that’s what happens when you’re averaging 100. I haven’t seen him play for Yorkshire but I did when he toured the Caribbean with us and played for St Kitts in a mixed warm-up and got a brilliant 90.”His game has improved unrecognisably from where he was before. Players are allowed to improve, but we have to remember that he got a really good 90 and 50 against a good pace attack against South Africa in 2012.”Jonny’s knocked the door down with his weight of runs for Yorkshire in Division One, they’re top of the league and he’s still averaging over 100 which is fantastic cricket at any level. He’s raring to go.”Six of Bairstow’s 14 Tests have come in the Ashes, the final two as a wicketkeeper amid the wreckage of the disastrous tour of 2013-14, and his record against Australia is underwhelming, averaging just 22.90 with a single half-century. Bairstow never struggled for starts – only in his last Test innings, a duck as England were bowled out inside 32 overs in Sydney, did he fail to reach double figures against the Australians – although a pair of technical kinks prevented him kicking on and scoring the weight of rapid runs those innings against South Africa promised.Jonny Bairstow has been in prolific form for Yorkshire and played a match-winning innings on his ODI return for England•Getty Images

When Bairstow first played Test cricket, against West Indies earlier in the summer of 2012, he struggled against short-pitched bowling, while in the 2013 Ashes Australia exploited a weakness against full, straight bowling, which he tended to play around.Technically, Australia will encounter a changed batsman. This season, having been left utterly to his own devices by Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie, he has a higher backlift, reminiscent of Graham Gooch, that means he is quicker to attack the short ball and plays full bowling with a straighter bat. It has certainly reaped rewards at county level, and the sight of him hooking compulsively in the Edgbaston nets on Monday suggests it is a method he will persist with in Test cricket, even if Mitchells Johnson and Starc pose a rather different threat to anything lurking in the shires.In manner as well as technique, Bairstow has matured, his dealings with the press less forced, and he carries the demeanour of a young man – for, at 25, that is very much what he remains, even if 15 cricketers have debuted for England since he made his bow – much more at ease with himself.Doubts remain over Wood’s fitness. He passed a fitness test on Monday morning and bowled at full tilt in the nets that afternoon, but heavy rain in Birmingham on Tuesday meant England’s bowlers remained indoors, with a decision set to be made on the morning of the Test. Cook confirmed that if Wood failed to pull through that it would be the pace of Finn, not the legspin of Adil Rashid, that England plump for. Cook also said that Moeen Ali was over the side strain that left him a doubt for Lord’s, making a Test debut for Rashid even less likely.”I’ll say with the forecast around, it’s not the heatwave people have talked about, it will be Finny. Considering Wood’s past record, he’s played a huge amount of cricket over the last six or seven months, compared to what he has done for Durham. We’ve got to be careful and we’ll make that call in the morning. Finny has bowled really well for Middlesex and in the one-dayers so whichever way we go, whoever gets the nod is the lucky one.”Finn, like Bairstow, is an improved cricketer since Australia last encountered him at Test level, in the opening match of the 2013 series at Trent Bridge. Finn has battled with his run-up, pace and belief and was famously labeled “unselectable” by then coach Ashley Giles during the ODI series that followed the 2013-14 whitewash.Finn, according to those who know him best at Middlesex, is bowling as well as he ever has. His pace, rhythm and consistency has been improving throughout the season and he bowled a spectacular spell, full of hostility, to take 4 for 41 against Somerset at Merchant Taylor’s School a fortnight ago. Both Somerset’s openers were struck on the arm and Michael Bates was hit on the helmet later in the innings. If both men play, Finn’s former Middlesex captain Chris Rogers – recovering from a dizzy spell suffered at Lord’s – can expect bowling of similarly awkward length.

Worcestershire 210 and 59 for 3 trail Sussex 510 for 5 dec (Wright 226*, Brown 103, Nash 90) by 241 runs
ScorecardLuke Wright passed 1000 Championship runs and recorded a double-hundred for the first time in his career•Getty Images

It was hard to see much hope for Worcestershire as they hauled themselves off the field after conceding 510 for 5. Sussex, their supposed companions in distress, will have high expectations of forcing an innings victory on the final day and, with Hampshire also winning at Chester-le-Street, Worcestershire are braced for the likelihood that they will enter the weekend as Division One’s bottom club.They have already lost three second-innings wickets, two them from the spinners as they were forced to bowl in indifferent light. They began this round with a points tally of 118 – the information number – and if they are foolhardy enough to ring it, they will probably receive directions to Division Two.Their undoing came against Luke Wright, who formulated a career-best 226 not out, the first double-century of his career, and shared in a fourth-wicket stand with Ben Brown of 282 in 64 overs – the fourth highest for that wicket in Sussex’s history. As with all Wright’s best innings, it was full of stocky aggression, a reminder of why England valued him so highly and gave him 101 caps in the two limited-overs formats.He finds himself the leading run-scorer in Division One, no longer able to be viewed as solely a white-ball specialist. “To be fair to Jonny Bairstow, he’s only had a couple of innings,” he laughed. “It will mean more if we stay up. This year I’ve been able to prepare, practice and play. It is my benefit year and I was determined not to let it affect my form.” The lack of bowling also takes the strain out of his knees.As for Brown, he has four Championship hundreds this summer and the best compliment that can be paid to him is that the retirement of Matt Prior because of a wrecked Achilles, so removing any possibility of him playing out his career in county cricket, has hardly been noticed. He struck 103, falling when he hooked Morris to deep square. They put on 335 together last season against Durham. “We complement each other,” Wright said. “I stay a bit more leg side and that can help us.”By the end of their suffering, Worcestershire’s pace trio looked spent. When Sussex called off the punishment, only three Division One pace bowlers – Steve Magoffin, Chris Rushworth and James Harris – had sent down more overs than Joe Leach (third in the PCA’s Most Valuable Player table for the Championship), Charlie Morris and Jack Shantry.With Saeed Ajmal’s magic no longer in evidence, they have shouldered the burden manfully, but the competitiveness seems to be draining from them and, although they will have the West Indies quick Shannon Gabriel in support for the last two games, they are more in need of help from Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. Ajmal is departing early to celebrate Hajj, a long-standing arrangement that will not weaken Worcestershire on September surfaces.There are two Luke Wrights as far as entertainment in England goes. Luke Wright, the cricketer, has not as far as can be ascertained ever been confused with Luke Wright the performance poet. He has never been described as a decadent booze hound or as flouncing around looking fabulous and he has never played the Edinburgh Fringe. He is one of cricket’s solid citizens: even tempered, dependable, good to watch.But Luke Wright, the poet, did once write a poem called Mondeo Man, essentially about the ambitions of someone born in suburbia, and there was a time when his namesake was England’s Mondeo Man: solid, unspectacular, expected only to achieve so much. It is good to see him blossoming as he enters his 30s, not just a travelling T20 specialist, but a Sussex one-day batsman and a dangerous Championship batsman who has passed 1000 runs in a season, comfortably, for the first time.Wright had 98 overnight and spent 25 balls over his century. Immediately, he stepped up the tempo. There were lusty blows towards all Worcester’s oft-described landmarks: Ajmal lofted straight for six towards the old scorebox, a slog-swept six off Ajmal sailing towards the cathedral, tawny brown against a grey skyline, and another six, this time against the jauntily geometrical puzzle of Shantry, peppering the stand in front of the Ladies Pavilion. Luke Wright the poet once complained in a poem about Nigel Farage about England’s “cod lament for tea and scones” so on this occasion we had better not reference the cakes.There were no sixes towards the Premier Inn, as far as can be recalled, although that is unlikely to gain a mention unless brutish architecture comes into vogue.The only Sussex batsman to find life taxing was their stand-in captain, Chris Nash, who had retired hurt with mild concussion the previous day when he was struck by a bouncer from Morris and, soon after returning to the crease upon Brown’s dismissal, he was rapped on the hand by the same bowler. At least he made 90 for his troubles.Wright was dropped three times by a Worcestershire side that spurned half a dozen in all, the first of them, on 118, an edge to third slip which came just after Leach had taken the second new ball. Leach was deputising as captain for Daryl Mitchell, who was absent until early afternoon to see his wife give birth to a daughter, Ava. When Mitchell returned, somewhat disorientated, and missed the simplest of chances at extra cover off Shantry, it was lugubriously observed that he was the second Mitchell to drop one that day – the sort of mordant observation that might find its way into one of Luke Wright’s more risqué stanzas. The performance poet, not the cricketer.

Loughborough MCC University from England and Sri Lanka-based International College of Business and Technology stamped their credentials as strong title contenders as they crushed their opponents for the second-straight day at the Abhimanyu Cricket Academy in Dehradun on Tuesday.ICBT was put in to bat by their opponents, Jinnah Degree College from Karachi – during their Group B encounter – and they lost opener Hasan Perera in the fourth over for just four.Nipuna Arachchige fell two-overs later, as the team from Pakistan looked to make more enroads. But A Perera and Sadeera Samarawickrama dropped anchor thereafter and began rebuilding the innings.The duo added 93 runs for the third wicket and that brought ICBT back in to the contest. JDC rued their all-spin strategy, as ICBT made the most of the placid surface and drove home the advantage.Perera top scored for ICBT with a 37-ball 54. They posted 150 in their 20 overs. Their bowlers didn’t let their batsmen’s efforts go in vein and picked up wickets regularly. JDC lost two wickets in the first-five overs for just 28.Shahzar Khan and Saeed Moutabar were the only JDC batsmen amongst the runs. Khan scored 20, while Moutabar added 23.A middle-order collapse ended JDC’s chances of making a comeback, as they lost five wickets for just 24 runs. They eventually crumbled for 108 in 18.1 overs.Loughborough MCC University added to European University of Bangladesh’s woes as they thrashed them by seven wickets in their Group A clash.EUB were put in to bat first and their batsmen failed to find answers to LMCC’s new-ball attack. They lost two wickets in the first eight overs for just 29.Their middle order added 70 runs to their tally and that helped them post a respectable 118 in their 20 overs.LMCC lost opener Anish Patel in just the second over of their innings, but Irfan Karim and Nitish Kumar’s 91-run stand for the second wicket ended any hope of EUB finding their first win of the tournament.In the third match of the day, defending champions Assupol TUKS from South Africa thumped Dubai-based Heriot-Watt University by 109 runs to register their first win of the tournament.Murray Coetzee slammed the first ton of the tournament, which came off just 67 balls. Coetzee’s 160-run partnership with Gerald Pike, for the second wicket, helped TUKS post a massive 208 in their innings. HWU managed just 73 runs in reply.

ScorecardManoj Tiwary made his 20th first-class century•PTI

Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary and debutant Naved Ahmed saved Bengal with the help of rain to draw against Karnataka in Bangalore. The hosts were in a dominating position when the day started, with a lead of 167 runs and two Bengal batsmen dismissed, before Tiwary’s unbeaten century and Naved’s 95 ensured Bengal got one point. Rain interrupted play minutes before tea and the match was called off within an hour after that.

‘Our spinners could have bowled better’ – Vinay Kumar

On the pitch: “This time the wicket became very slow, we couldn’t trouble any batsmen. Maybe if we had played a five-day game it would have been better. It happened in the Irani Cup; on the fifth day it was very difficult to bat on.”
On Karnataka’s bowling: “Overall, we bowled well. Our spinners could have bowled better.”
On Bengal’s batting: “Manoj played really well. If we had got Manoj and Saha… we were just looking at those two wickets. If we’d got them, one end would have been open.”
On two draws in two games: “Compared to the last two years, this year the start has not been that great. But we conceded the first-innings lead in the first game and came back here. In the coming games, we will improve.”

Even if rain had not come down, Bengal were heading towards a comfortable position on a pitch that did not have much for bowlers. Tiwary and Naved saw through a watchful morning session and took their team into the lead when both were in the 90s with seven wickets in hand. Tiwary brought up his 20th first-class hundred, but Naved was soon run out five runs short of what would have been another century from a debutant this season.The most crucial part of the day was when Naved and Tiwary withstood the first session, as Karnataka started with a silly mid-off and short extra cover. The ball was fairly new and Sudip Chatterjee fell in the fifth over by going for an extravagant and unnecessary drive to be caught at second slip off Abhimanyu Mithun.At 65 for 3, Bengal’s deficit was still over 150 when Naved and Tiwary came together. The Karnataka bowlers persisted with a nagging and attacking line outside off.Naved relied on straight-bat shots to play the waiting game, and so did Tiwary by leaving more deliveries than his partner. Bengal were not looking for runs, they only had to play out most of the day and the two batsmen did exactly that by standing firm against Mithun’s first spell of 4-3-3-1.Tiwary allowed Naved to do the scoring early on to take the score past 100. Once the ball lost its shine, both batsmen scored freely. Tiwary started driving and punching comfortably and soon caught up with Naved. Vinay Kumar used all his bowlers with close-in fielders, but with no success and both batsmen reached their fifties before lunch.The story didn’t change after the break. Vinay brought himself on for another short yet unthreatening spell, and Tiwary started off by creaming a cover drive against Shreyas Gopal for four. Naved unleashed his firm drives as well and collected boundaries in consecutive overs to strengthen Bengal’s position further. Now that the partnership was appearing unbreakable, Karnataka’s only hope was the second new ball.Vinay took it as soon as it was available, 22 overs after lunch with Tiwary on 93 and Naved on 84, only to be flicked by the latter to the midwicket boundary, which gave Bengal the lead.The only thing left in the match was for the Bengal dressing room to applaud for the two centuries. Tiwary brought his up by nudging Vinay to the leg side but when he cut J Suchith to sweeper cover, Naved was late to react for the second run and an alert Vinay at slip caught Karun Nair’s throw to hit the stumps at the other end, finding Naved marginally short.When rain came down, Bengal were leading by 24 runs with six wickets in hand, and soon play was called off.Man-of-the-Match Tiwary said he was pleased with his team’s performance even though they got only one point in their opening match of the season. “We were looking for more [points], but happy to fight it out against the champion side after the situation we were in,” he said. “If there was no partnership between me and Naved, it would have been difficult for us.”This also shows that we’re heading in the right direction. There is a lot of improvement from last year. This type of effort from us was lacking the last couple of seasons.”