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Allrounder becomes first Hampshire player since 1901 to score a century and take 10 wickets in a match

ECB Reporters Network27-Jun-2023Liam Dawson completed the greatest LV= Insurance County Championship performance of his career by becoming only the fourth Hampshire player to score a century and take 10 wickets in a match
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Dawson had scored 141 in Hampshire’s only innings before taking six for 40 and six for 90 in an extraordinary outing, as the hosts thrashed Middlesex by an innings and 61 runs inside three days.His career-best match figures of 12 for 130 enters him into an exclusive Hampshire club of 19th-century players Arthur Ridley and Francis Lacey, and Charlie Llewellyn in 1901. Worcestershire’s Jack Shantry was the last to achieve the feat in the Championship nine years ago.The victory, which saw Hampshire bowl Middlesex out for 150 and 208, keeps them hanging on in the title race, and further boosts Dawson’s Ashes credentials. It was Hampshire’s fourth victory of the season, as they took 21 points away, while Middlesex looked destined to drop into the relegation zone with their solitary point.Kyle Abbott rattled through the Middlesex tail to finish the first innings, with two outstanding wickets falling inside five overs. Tom Helm shouldered his arms to a delivery which swung then seamed into his off stump before Josh de Caires was the victim of more inwards movement as the ball thudded into his pads.Middlesex, bowled out 269 behind, were asked to follow on, and are still without a Championship centurion this year.Second time around they survived almost 13 overs before collapsing.Dawson ended the first innings with 6 for 40, his best at the Ageas Bowl, bettering the 6 for 61 he had taken against Northamptonshire in the previous Championship match at home. Having been introduced in the 12th over in the first innings, James Vince threw him the ball in the 11th this time around before striking in his second to start a 21-ball avalanche of wickets.Dawson bookended the spell with Sam Robson edging to second slip and Mark Stoneman popping a reverse sweep off his glove to first slip.In between, Keith Barker had Pieter Malan failing to go through with a shot and toeing to mid-off and Max Holden brashly advancing and edging to first slip. There had also been time for Stoneman to be dropped at short leg as the visitors sagged from 40 without loss to 51 for 4.Ryan Higgins was proactive in dragging his side out of their malaise with regular advances at the spin bowlers and reverse sweeps on his way to eight boundaries. He reached a 59-ball fifty in a 78-run stand with John Simpson but fell for 54 when he reversed Dawson to first slip.Dawson brought up his 10th wicket in the match when Luke Hollman was well caught at wide mid-off by Mohammad Abbas. It was only the second 10-wicket haul of Dawson’s career, after his 10 for 139 against Essex last season. His 20 wickets this season have come at 17.75, half his career average.Simpson and de Caires had frustrated Hampshire for just over an hour either side of tea but the unlikely legspin of Nick Gubbins produced a delivery Shane Warne would have been proud of to castle de Caires – giving Gubbins a maiden Championship wicket.After Simpson fell for 49 when he strangled Fuller behind, that man Dawson rounded things off when Roland-Jones was struck on the pads and Helm was stumped. The six-for was his third in a row at the Ageas Bowl, having never previously taken more than five wickets in an innings on his home ground.

Stats highlights from Australia’s seven-wicket win in Adelaide

S Rajesh27-Nov-20162 Instances, in Test history, of two debutants staying unbeaten in the fourth innings of a Test win. The only previous such occurrence was in 1880, in the fourth Test ever, when England beat Australia by five wickets at The Oval.9 Instances of Australia successfully chasing down targets between 100 and 150 out of ten, in Tests since 2000. The only time they failed was on treacherous Wankhede pitch in Mumbai in 2004, when they were bowled out for 93 chasing 107 for victory. In ten previous instances before 2000, Australia had lost four out of ten such chases.

5 Wins for Australia in their last six Tests in Adelaide – they have beaten India (twice), England, New Zealand and South Africa, and drawn against South Africa in November 2012.23.08 Mitchell Starc’s bowling average in Tests since the start of 2015. Among fast bowlers with 50-plus wickets during this period, only James Anderson has a better average. In 17 Tests since the start of 2015, Starc has taken 84 wickets; in 14 Tests before 2015, he had 45 wickets at 36.22.24.04 Matt Renshaw’s strike rate in his debut Test – he scored 44 runs off 183 balls over the two innings. Among Australians who have faced 150-plus balls in their debut Test, only four players have had a lower scoring rate; the last such batsman with a slower rate was John Dyson, when he scored 57 off 239 balls (strike rate 23.84) in his debut Test against India in Perth in 1977.6 South African openers who have scored a Test hundred in Australia – Billy Zulch, Eddie Barlow, Gary Kirsten, Graeme Smith, Dean Elgar and Stephen Cook. Cook’s was the 11th century here by these openers, but eight of those have been scores of less than 130.4 Instances of Cook scoring more than 25 in his ten Test innings. He has converted two of those into hundreds.1 Number of times David Warner had been run out in 100 Test innings before the start of this series; in this series he has been dismissed in this manner twice – in the second innings in Perth and in Adelaide. His only previous run out in Tests was against Sri Lanka in Hobart in 2012.

After Melbourne Renegades used Sunil Narine as an opener, we look at other surprises at the top of the order in T20s

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jan-2017Sreesanth: Andhra v Kerala, Inter-state Twenty20 tournament 2007, Score: 19(21)•Associated PressYasir Shah: Chittagong Vikings v Dhaka Dynamites, BPL 2015, Score: 10(9). Next match as opener: 8 (18)•Getty ImagesNeil Wagner: Auckland v Otago, HRV Cup 2011-12, Score: 4(5)•Getty ImagesR Ashwin: Kolkata Knight Riders v Chennai Super Kings, IPL 2013, Score: 11(13)•BCCI

We are only in the second week of the silly season, yet the rumour mill is in full swing, especially so for Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta’s side are enduring something of a minor blip in the Premier League and look destined to exit the League Cup, so links to a whole host of attacking stars shouldn’t be all that surprising.

One of the most prominent links has been to Wolverhampton Wanderers’ star Matheus Cunha, although with talk of him signing a new deal with the Old Gold, it seems unlikely that he’ll be going anywhere.

However, there is another Premier League star that the Gunners have been linked to recently, a star who just so happens to have won comparisons to Cunha this year.

Arsenal chase superb Premier League star

According to a recent report from Sky Sports Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg, Arsenal are interested in Brentford star Bryan Mbeumo.

Unfortunately for any fans hoping he might join this month, Plettenberg has revealed that the Cameroon international has been placed on the Gunners’ shortlist for potential summer signings.

The report does not mention a potential price tag, but according to other stories from earlier this month, the talented attacker could be available for around £50m.

It could be a complicated and relatively costly transfer to get over the line, but given Mbeumo’s incredible ability, it’s one well worth pursuing, especially as he’s won comparisons to Cunha.

How Mbeumo compares to fellow Arsenal target Matheus Cunha

So, before we look at a couple of the reasons Arsenal should go out and sign Mbeumo this year, be that this month or in the summer, let’s examine this comparison to Cunha and where it has come from.

It primarily stems from FBref, which compares players in similar positions in Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League then creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one, and, in this instance, has concluded that the Brazilian is the seventh most similar attacking midfielder or winger to the Cameroonian over the last 365 days.

The best way to see where this comparison has come from is to look at the underlying metrics in which the pair rank closely, including, but not limited to, expected goals plus assists, passing accuracy, progressive, live and key passes, shot and goal-creating actions and more, all per 90.

However, aside from his similarities to the incredible Wolves talent, there are a couple of other reasons Arteta and Co should look to bring the former Troyes ace in this year.

The first is his incredible output, as in just 23 appearances across all competitions this season, the dynamic attacker, whom pundit Dan Bardell recently dubbed “one of the best players in the Premier League,” has found the back of the net on 13 occasions and provided four assists for good measure.

This means that, as things stand, the 25-year-old ace is averaging a goal involvement every 1.35 games for the Bees.

Finally, on top of bringing more goals to the team, the Avallon-born dynamo would also be the perfect player to cover for Bukayo Saka off the right – to ensure he is no longer overplayed – and he could also rival Kai Havetrz and Gabriel Jesus for the number nine role, ensuring they have to stay on their toes at all times.

Ultimately, while it wouldn’t be cheap, Arsenal should do what they can to bring Mbeumo to the Emirates this year, as his goalscoring abilities and positional versatility would make the team far stronger.

Their answer to Isak: Arsenal handed chance to sign £46m "world-class" star

The impressive international would make Arsenal far more dangerous.

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By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Jan 8, 2025

Quinton de Kock stole most of Sunday’s headlines for his rapid century, but Mohammed Shami’s successful return in his first IPL match since 2014 provided a rich subplot in Delhi Daredevils’ seven-wicket win

Deivarayan Muthu in Bangalore17-Apr-2016The Chinnaswamy Stadium geared up for an ensemble-driven blockbuster on Sunday night. Chants of “R-C-B, R-C-B!” were deafening an hour before the start of the hosts’ second match of the season.The chants grew louder when Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Shane Watson turned up for practice. Delhi Daredevils coach Rahul Dravid, hoping for a happy homecoming, also drew a big cheer.At the pitch adjacent to the playing surface stood the comeback man Mohammed Shami with a new, flashy hairstyle. He listened intently to his captain Zaheer Khan, nodded, and delivered a short ball with extra bounce. It thudded into the gloves of Quinton de Kock. Zaheer had another chat with Shami and patted the fast bowler on his back. That turned out to be a regular scene throughout the first innings.After opting to bowl, Zaheer explained that Daredevils had picked Shami to exploit Royal Challengers Bangalore’s middle order, which does not have as much cream as the top. Shami, playing his first IPL match since May 2014 and his fifth competitive match since the 2015 World Cup, was far from his best, but changed the game by giving Daredevils the momentum de Kock needed to run away with the chase.At 16 overs, when Shami came back for his third spell, Royal Challengers were cruising at 164 for 2 with Kohli in a rarefied zone on 75 off 43 balls. By then, Watson was also set – on 27 off 17 balls – and the pair had the crowd grooving to their shots. Zaheer had been put away for two sixes and two fours in the previous over . The pressure was on Shami and to remind him the raucous crowd went: “We want sixer, we want sixer!”Shami duped Watson with a slower ball, but the batsman managed to find a six via a mis-hit. The crowd wanted more. Shami, however, muted them with a chest-high short ball, which tucked Watson up for room. He only managed to pop a catch off the gloves to short fine leg. Shami was pumped and let out a roar.Three balls later, Shami showed off his improved fitness and ran out Sarfaraz Khan off his own bowling. Shami nimbly moved to his left in his follow through, picked the ball up with his left hand, spun around and fired, all in one motion to nail the stumps and catch Sarfaraz a foot short despite a dive. Shami’s confidence was back.The crucial blow, though, came in his next over when Shami speared a full ball that Kohli could not get underneath and shovelled to long-on. Shami and Daredevils were on to something and he followed it with rising short balls that gave Kedar Jadhav and David Wiese no leeway to free their arms. He gave away only 14 runs from his last two overs and finished with 4-0-34-2.Morris’ hit-the-deck bustle complemented Shami and helped Daredevils drag Royal Challengers back to 191, which de Kock later termed a “par score.” At the post-match presentation, Zaheer said that his last over – the 16th which went for 21 and preceded Shami’s final spell – had made Daredevils re-assess their bowling plans.”My bad over helped me figure out what will work,” Zaheer said. “Just told [Shami and Morris] bowl back of a length … Tournament like IPL, momentum helps, these kinds of games matter. We ticked a box and now we have three to four days off.”That Shami hit back after a nervous start should come as a boost for Daredevils and Shami himself. His second ball was a loosener down leg, which was helped on its way. His third was a decent length ball, which was manoeuvred to the cover boundary by Kohli’s supple wrists. His sixth was a rank full toss, which was gleefully swatted into the stands beyond midwicket by de Villiers. In the tenth over, Shami lumbered to his right from long-on and fumbled, allowing two instead of one.Shami looked like he was shaken. It helped that he had Zaheer, who had the experience of mentoring several bowling groups, kept chatting with Shami and shielded him from pressure like an older brother would protect his younger one. The innings ended with a smiling Shami high-fiving Zaheer. The night ended with de Kock’s sparkling century sealing Daredevils’ first win over Royal Challengers since 2010.

We are just over the halfway point of the season, and it would be fair to say things aren’t looking too bad for Ipswich Town.

Now, it is true that Kieran McKenna’s side are sat in the relegation zone, but results have improved in recent weeks, and they are still within touching distance of safety.

Moreover, with the transfer window in full swing, the club have a chance to further strengthen the squad and bolster their chances of survival.

That said, while reinforcements will undoubtedly help, we can’t imagine they’ll bring in anyone more valuable than one of their current stars, including Jadan Philogene.

Ipswich's January dealings

So, with so much on the line, there was an expectation that Ipswich would be at least somewhat active in the transfer market this month, and so far, anyway, they have been.

For example, just five days into the window, Atalanta defender Ben Godfrey joined the club on loan until the end of the season, and while he struggled to make an impact in Serie A, this could prove to be a brilliant deal.

The former Everton ace has 112 Premier League appearances to his name, two England caps and can play across the backline and even in defensive midfield if needed.

With that said, while the York-born defender will undoubtedly add some more solidity to the Tractor Boys, he won’t add much excitement, at least not as much as the club’s second addition, Jaden Philogene.

It took a little while for the deal to be officially completed, but it was finally announced on Wednesday afternoon that he had joined Ipswich for around £20m.

It’s certainly a lot of money to spend on a player with just 334 minutes of top-flight football to his name, but considering he racked up a brilliant haul of 12 goals and six assists in just 32 Championship appearances for Hull City last season, it could prove a wise investment a few years from now.

That said, there is a current Ipswich star who spent time with the Tigers last season, someone worth considerably more than £20m.

The Ipswich star worth millions more than Philogene

So, to get straight to the point, it will come as no surprise that the player we are talking about is, of course, Liam Delap.

The former Manchester City prospect, who also cost £20m in the summer, is now worth up to €41.3m according to Football Transfers, which converts to about £34.77m, or £14.77m more than Philogene is set to cost.

Now, while that is undoubtedly a lot of money, it could be argued that the Englishman should be worth even more, as so far this season, he has been utterly spectacular.

For example, even though he is playing for a relegation-threatened team and had limited top-flight experience prior, the incredible “one-man battering ram,” as dubbed by Opta Analyst, has scored eight goals and provided two assists in just 21 appearances, totalling 1553 minutes.

That means that the 21-year-old phenom is currently averaging a goal involvement every other game, or every 155.3minutes, which, again, for a team battling down in the relegation zone is simply sublime.

Ultimately, there can be no debate over Ipswich’s best player this season, and should they manage to keep themselves up, the sky is the limit for Delap’s future valuation.

Ipswich Town now receive permanent bid to sell "powerful" player in January

The Tractor Boys are open to a sale.

By
Charlie Smith

Jan 15, 2025

Leeds United are thought to be showing serious interest in completing the signing of a player who has been capped at youth international level, according to a new transfer update.

Leeds transfer news

The Whites continue to go marching on in the Championship this season, with Daniel Farke’s side securing a 2-0 victory away to Stoke City, thanks to two goals from Joel Piroe. They are top of the table on goal difference ahead of Sheffield United, as they continue to look like the front-runners to seal promotion back to the Premier League.

Various transfer rumours continue to emerge regarding potential business in the January transfer window, with Genoa and Wrexham believed to be eyeing a loan move for out-of-favour Leeds forward Patrick Bamford.

In terms of incoming, Emiliano Buendia is still being looked at as a transfer target, with the Whites interested in snapping him up for some time now. The Argentine has managed just 48 minutes of action in the Premier League for Aston Villa this season, so he may be keen on a new challenge and a reunion with Farke.

Meanwhile, Manchester City youngster James McAtee is also seen as a possible target for Leeds, with the attacking midfielder struggling to enjoy playing time under Pep Guardiola, despite their struggles. He has been on loan at Sheffield United in recent times, but a permanent move away to the Etihad could come to fruition.

Leeds eyeing signing of 22 y/o ace

Now, according to a fresh claim from Fotboll Direkt, Leeds are interested in signing Mjallby AIF goalkeeper Noel Tornqvist as early as January, with the 22-year-old linked with a move to the club last year, too.

The Whites and the 49ers could be able to snap him up for as little as £1.1m, with Mjallby sporting director Hasse Larsson discussing the situation, saying: “The only thing I can comment on is that we know there is interest.”

Not a huge amount will be known about Tornqvist, considering he is a young player who is plying his trade outside of one of Europe’s top leagues, but that’s not to sign he wouldn’t be a strong signing for Leeds.

It seems clear that the Whites are looking for more depth between the sticks and the Swede has pedigree as an international footballer, winning a combined seven caps across three different age groups for Sweden.

There is Premier League interest in Illan Meslier, according to recent reports, including from Manchester United, which would clearly heighten the need to bring in a new ‘keeper in the January transfer window.

Liverpool stopper Caoimhin Kelleher has been mentioned as an option to come in at Elland Road in 2025, which would represent an exciting piece of business, but in Tornqvist, who stands at 6ft 4, Leeds have a younger and cheaper option to the Liverpool man.

Farke may now have found the new Ben White in 7/10 Leeds machine

Leeds United battled through the fog to pick up a 2-0 win over Stoke City.

By
Kelan Sarson

Dec 27, 2024

Granted, his lack of experience means he may take longer to slot in and be a key man for the Whites, but he has 63 appearances for Mjallby to his name, keeping 20 clean sheets in that time.

Plays of the day from the second T20I between Sri Lanka and West Indies in Colombo

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo11-Nov-2015The pop up catch
Jason Holder did not play the second T20, but made an impact nonetheless, using every centimetre in his two-metre frame to dismiss Sri Lanka’s best batsman of the evening. Tillakaratne Dilshan got on his knees to switch-hit Ravi Rampaul in the air, but though the shot had enough power to carry over the deep point boundary, Holder zipped along the outfield, leapt up and held onto a tough chance above his head, his feet less than six inches from the rope.The slinking low catch
When Jayasuriya hit a full delivery sweetly in the 13th over, it seemed destined to beat the man at long-on and go for four. Only, the fielder there was perhaps had the quickest wheels on the field. Andre Russell covered the eight or so metres to his left in a flash, read the ball’s trajectory perfectly, went to ground to intercept it at knee-height, and ended up performing a barrel roll with ball in hand.The redemption
Shehan Jayasuriya dropped a high catch off Andre Fletcher, running back from point in the sixth over, but he made amends by creating a dismissal in the next over. Chasing a ball to the fine leg fence, Jayasuriya managed to reel it in just inside the line. The batsmen, taking a third run, had begun to coast when Jayasuriya fired in a surprisingly fast, flat throw, hit the stumps directly, and to the amazement even of the wicketkeeper, found Marlon Samuels short by a few inches.The explosive sequence
West Indies had begun a little slowly, having hit 17 off the first 4.2 overs, until Johnson Charles brought the innings to life with three big blows. He ran at Sachithra Senanayake’s third ball of the match and walloped him over long-on first, stayed in his crease to sweep the next one over deep midwicket next, then advanced again to send Senanayake way into the stands behind cow corner. The final ball of the over – a shorter one in anticipation of another trip down the pitch from Charles- was swept as well, this time for four. Twenty-two runs came from those four balls.

Arsenal are willing to shell out a fee to make one striker their second most expensive ever signing, behind their club-record deal for midfielder Declan Rice, as manager Mikel Arteta seeks to add a new forward to his squad this month.

Arsenal in dire need of striker after Gabriel Jesus blow

Gabriel Jesus is set to miss the rest of this season after rupturing his ACL, and the Brazilian’s lengthy absence means that Arteta will have just Kai Havertz from now until the conclusion of this Premier League title race – if they can’t get another striker through the door.

Arsenal approach £182k-per-week Bayern Munich star over joining them

The north Londoners have reached out to his agents.

By
Emilio Galantini

Jan 17, 2025

Arteta has confirmed Arsenal’s plans to sign a new forward this month, and it is reliably believed that the Gunners are working hard on adding a new number nine to their ranks before deadline day on February 3.

There are even reports that Arsenal have had a loan bid rejected for Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic, while others claim the north Londoners are in active negotiations with RB Leipzig starlet Benjamin Sesko, who they reportedly tried and failed to sign last summer.

Arsenal have also been urged to break the bank for Newcastle United star Alexander Isak, who’s been linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium.

“I would literally go right now with a barrel-load of cash and drive to Newcastle and break the bank to sign Alexander Isak,” said Piers Morgan on talkSPORT.

“£100million, £120m, £140m, £150m – I don’t care. I will find the players from our 87 defenders that we’ve signed in the last two years to make up the cash for the PSR stuff.

“The way we play, the chances we create – do you know how many shots we’ve had this week? 49 shots. Do you know how many goals we’ve scored? One. Do you know who scored it? Gabriel, a central defender. If that doesn’t tell you something, I don’t know what does.”

Arsenal prepared to pay £84 million release clause for Viktor Gyokeres

According to French newspaper L’Equipe, as relayed by GiveMeSport, Arteta’s side are prepared to go all out for Sporting star Viktor Gyokeres. The Swede has picked up right where he left off last season, bagging an incredible 32 goals and six assists in all competitions so far, making him a hot commodity for elite European sides who are after a proven scorer.

It is believed that Arsenal are not opposed to paying Gyokeres’ £84 million release clause, which would make him their second-most expensive ever signing behind Rice.

The 26-year-old, formerly of Coventry City, has enjoyed quite a rise to stardom. Gyokeres also possesses favourable physical attributes which could make him tailor-made for the Premier League, like his speed.

“I don’t want to say he should test himself in the Premier League but who is like him in the Premier League at the moment,” said Tony Mowbray in 2023.

“Who is too fast, too strong and too big, you would suggest Haaland is like that and Gyokeres in this league looks a yard faster and stronger than the players he plays against in the Championship.”

Saudi Arabia are reportedly trying to approach for Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti, who may be set to leave Los Blancos later this month.

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• Carlo Ancelotti set to leave Real Madrid
• Saudi Arabia want Italian for national team
• Brazil also keen on signing Ancelotti

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Ancelotti was reportedly set to part ways with Real Madrid at the end of the season. However, following his side's humiliation at the hands of the Premier League giants Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-final, it has been reported that the Italian coach may leave the club after their Copa del Rey final later this month.

Advertisement

• Getty Images Sport
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The Saudi Arabian national team has now approached Ancelotti to take over as head coach after he departs Real Madrid, as per FootballTransfers. Journalist Duncan Castles revealed that Ancelotti is open to his next job being in Saudi Arabia. The signing of the Italian has also been requested by the president of the Brazilian national team as they look to revamp the fortunes of the Selecao following Dorival Junior's departure.

• AFP
  

  DID YOU KNOW?

  As per the report, Saudi Arabia's football federation is drawing up plans to improve their national team in time for the 2034 World Cup, which they will be hosting, and they want Ancelotti to play the first part of the developmental process.

• WHAT NEXT FOR ANCELOTTI?

  The Italian's departure from Real Madrid after the Copa del Rey final is yet to be confirmed; however, if the news is true, Los Blancos' La Liga clashes against Athletic Club and Getafe will be his final set of league games as their coach.