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Both batsmen made half-centuries to lift India to 213 for 4 after which Ireland crumbled to wristspin, again

The Report by Sreshth Shah29-Jun-20182:09

Rahul makes strong case for inclusion in all formats – Chopra

If the first T20I showed a distinct gap in skills between India and Ireland, the second T20I displayed exactly how that gap was. In front of a 9000-strong crowd at the packed Malahide ground, Ireland capitulated at the hands of India’s bowling attack, all out for their second-lowest T20I score to lose the two-match series 2-0.It was the third-shortest innings in T20I history as India’s spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal shared six wickets to cripple Ireland’s middle- and lower-order into submission. It set up India’s biggest margin of victory in the format, which was also the second-biggest margin of victory in all T20I cricket.The game, however, was won in the afternoon’s first innings, when incoming opener KL Rahul thumped a 36-ball 70 to give India a flying start. Suresh Raina then anchored the innings with a 45-ball 60 to set the base for a big total, after which Hardik Pandya’s nine-ball blitz of 32* ensured India crossed the 200-run mark in consecutive matches for the first time.With a target that big it was going to be a difficult chase, especially after how the first game turned out. But Ireland’s batsmen made the same mistakes that marred their loss on Wednesday, looking to play cross-batted shots to Chahal and Kuldeep, crashing and burning to the wristspinners’ guile. Eventually, the hosts were bowled out in 12.3 overs.Playing only his second T20I match – and his first after missing 65 games – Umesh Yadav was given the new ball. He struck off his second delivery when an outswinger found the outside edge of opener Paul Stirling. In his next over, Umesh was smashed for 12 off the first three balls, but a comeback delivery aimed at the base of middle stump sent William Porterfield back as well. Trying to play a ramp shot over short fine leg, Porterfield shuffled across way too much only to expose his middle stump. And when debutant Siddarth Kaul prised the wicket of James Shannon with a short ball that was sliced to cover, Ireland were reeling at 22 for 3 with eight overs of spin still to play.There was still work to do (or at least do enough to finish respectably) with Andy Balbirnie, Simi Singh and the captain Gary Wilson to follow, but when the spinners came on, Ireland’s middle order just wasn’t sure how to pick them.KL Rahul unleashes a slog sweep•PA PhotosIn his first over, Chahal bowled five straight deliveries, while the sixth turned just enough – away from Balbirnie – to sneak past the outside edge and crash into middle stump. Three balls later, Kevin O’Brien holed out to third man while trying to clobber a Pandya ball to cow corner and by the time Simi was trapped lbw in front of off stump, Ireland were 36 for 6 and staring at potentially their lowest-ever T20I total.That, however, did not happen. Wilson made 15 – helped by double-digit scores from No. 8 Stuart Thompson and No. 10 Boyd Rankin – to take Ireland past their lowest-ever T20I score of 68, but when Rankin skipped down the wicket to try and lift Kuldeep over his head in the 13th over, wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik came swooping down and whipped the bails off to seal India’s win with 35 balls to spare.Earlier in the day, Wilson put India in on what appeared to be a greenish surface. It was a fine batting track, with the ball coming easily onto the bat, and with a village-style ground to boot – India were always looking for a big score.Rahul, who was in rampaging form at the IPL – and brought in for the rested Shikhar Dhawan – smashed six sixes and three fours in his 36-ball knock of 70. He dominated a 106-run partnership for the second wicket with Raina, but the 57-ball partnership was halted by O’ Brien, after which India suffered a brief hiccup.Rohit Sharma, batting at No. 4, drove straight to point on his second ball, and Ireland pulled India’s run-rate down by frustrating the incoming Manish Pandey. Pandey hit only one boundary in his unbeaten 20-ball 21, and his struggle might have kept India from breaching 200. But when Hardik came in in the 18th over, he had other plans, smashing four sixes and a four off the final two overs to take India past the 200-run mark. He teed up to anything pitched full, and in classic Hardik style, smashed his boundaries in the arc between mid on and mid off.As Kohli had promised at the end of the first game, everyone in India’s squad played in the two-game series. Everyone except Washington Sundar, who suffered an ankle injury in training earlier in the week. With the confidence gathered in Ireland, Kohli’s men now make their way down to England for a full tour of ODIs, T20Is and Tests.

South Africa’s last four wickets added 189 to shore up an already strong total before Australia’s new look batting line-up went on a freefall

The Report by Brydon Coverdale31-Mar-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:57

Voges: Nothing has gone right for Australia

It was a difficult day for Australia’s new-look batting order. Of course, not the kind of difficult day their old-look batting order has been having this week. But if much has changed since the Cape Town Test, South Africa’s dominance has remained the constant them. The only negative thing that could be said of South Africa on the second day was the inability of the lower order to help get Temba Bavuma his second Test ton. As low points go, that is stratospheric.The day began with South Africa on 313 for 6. They batted on, and on, and on, and posted 488, the highest total made in a Test at the Wanderers since 2003. The day finished with Australia on 110 for 6 in reply, after Vernon Philander led a strong bowling display with three wickets. Only two Australians had reached double figures and at stumps they were relying on new captain Tim Paine, who was on 5, and Pat Cummins, on 7, and avoiding the follow-on was still 179 runs away.Australia’s top order was almost unrecognisable from the corresponding group in Cape Town. Joe Burns and Matt Renshaw opened, the first time Australia had switched both openers from the previous Test since the start of the 2013 Ashes, when Chris Rogers and Shane Watson walked out first. The tour of India earlier that year had ended with David Warner and Ed Cowan as the opening pair, but Cowan had been demoted to No.3 and Warner had been suspended due to his pub fracas with Joe Root.Back then, neither Rogers nor Watson made it to 20 in the first innings; here, neither Burns nor Renshaw made double figures. On four, Burns prodded outside off to Kagiso Rabada and his edge was sharply snapped up at second slip by Faf du Plessis. Renshaw made eight before he wafted at Philander and edged behind. Both Burns and Renshaw had been batting in Brisbane on Tuesday, rushed to South Africa, and were in the Test team by Friday, and if that was perfect preparation for a Test then everyone would do it.The other batting inclusion, Peter Handscomb, has waited all series for a chance to face up in a Test, and when his opportunity finally arrived it ended quickly and with much frustration. Handscomb shaped to leave his first ball from Philander but could not get his bat out of the way, and the ball ricocheted off it and back onto his stumps for a golden duck. Handscomb simply shook his head in disbelief.Philander missed the chance of a hat-trick – Geoff Griffin in 1960 remains the only South African to have taken a Test hat-trick – but plenty more wickets were to fall. Only a 52-run stand between Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh looked like giving Australia any sort of platform. Khawaja, rounding out an all-Queensland top three, looked in good touch, but Marsh’s strokeplay seemed about as fluent as his Xhosa.Khawaja brought up his second fifty of the series from his 77th ball but lasted only a few more, brilliantly caught down the leg side by Quinton de Kock, standing up to the stumps to Philander. Marsh, who had played and missed and been struck on the pads numerous times, was put out of his misery when he edged Keshav Maharaj to slip on 16 from 74 balls. And in his final Test, Morne Morkel capped off the day by having Mitchell Marsh bowled, playing on, for four.Earlier, Morkel had been the last man out to leave Bavuma stranded on 95 as Cummins finished the South Africa innings with two wickets in two balls. Cummins ended up with 5 for 83, remarkably just his second five-wicket haul in first-class cricket, the other having also come at the Wanderers when he made his Test debut in 2011. Cummins wrapped up the innings by having Keshav Maharaj caught behind, slashing loosely for a career-best 45, and Morkel taken at slip for a golden duck.Bavuma and de Kock had started the day at the crease and put on 85 for the seventh wicket, moving the score along steadily for much of the morning. But on 39, de Kock tried to force one from Nathan Lyon through the leg side with a cross-bat stroke, checking his shot when the ball turned sharply, and he skied a catch to mid-on. Bavuma struck 13 boundaries and played all the shots, sweeping, reverse-sweeping, driving and cutting, and he showed his adventurous side by lofting Cummins over extra cover for a boundary.His 76-run ninth-wicket stand with Maharaj frustrated the Australians, though its end must have frustrated Bavuma. Maharaj’s innings was typically aggressive but ended in typically reckless style, and Bavuma was soon stranded. Still, compared to Australia’s long list of issues, it was a good problem to have.

For one, they understand bowling, which is key for decision-makers on the field

Ian Chappell03-Jul-2022Much recent talk in cricket circles has centred around captaincy and retirement.No one should be shocked by the success of Ben Stokes as captain. He’s an allrounder who understands bowling. On the field his main priority is taking wickets, and despite Joe Root’s dazzling success as a batter, Stokes is the most inspirational England player on the field.The former cricketer and excellent captain Imran Khan declared that a good captain understands bowling. Stokes is such a player, and the team believing in his approach is a huge positive for the England side.When Eoin Morgan announced his retirement from the England limited-overs captaincy, the timing of it reaffirmed former Australia captain Richie Benaud’s thoughts on how to make the decision on when to step down. “You’ll know,” was his typically succinct and wise comment on the touchy subject. The best summary of it came from another former Australia allrounder, Keith Miller, who in reply to a question said, “I wanted to retire while people were asking why did you, rather than them saying why don’t you.”Related

• Ben Stokes on his new documentary: 'I said, I want everything in there – the good and the not-such-good stuff'

• Australia have eye on India as building blocks slot into place

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• No fear: England have dared to dream under their new brains trust

Despite all the talk of consulting partners, grandmas, and other assorted gurus, retirement should be a selfish decision: it is made to satisfy only one person.When England coach Brendon McCullum discussed Morgan’s retirement with him, he said: “You’ll know. It will be a feeling that just comes and hits you. Just make sure you recognise it when it comes.” Morgan recognised the sign and made the correct decision.Perhaps looking to emulate the success of captains Pat Cummins and Stokes, India appointed fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah as captain for their current Test with England. This is a courageous appointment and speaks volumes for Bumrah’s on-field nous.Like with Stokes, no one should be surprised by Cummins’ success. He leads a varied attack that contains very good bowlers and he utilises them wisely. It also doesn’t hurt that Nathan Lyon is a very experienced and long-time spinner.

If a captain has a competitive team who believe in his methods, a lot of good things happen. The players tend to expect, and consequently produce, a good outcome

Part of Cummins’ success as captain comes from recognising Australia’s ability to handle an opposition assault, and how he maintains his composure. Australia also have enough good batters to mount a challenge, and their superiority helped them demolish a weak Sri Lankan side this week. Handling opposition assaults and not spreading fields senselessly is one sure way to gain an advantage in Test cricket.This is an area where Stokes scored over New Zealand captain Kane Williamson. Fast bowler Trent Boult was the only New Zealander who maintained a semblance of control under assault, especially from the destructive Jonny Bairstow. The fact that Williamson had a very inexperienced spinner in Michael Bracewell didn’t help.If a captain has a competitive team who believe in his methods, a lot of good things happen. The players tend to expect, and consequently produce, a good outcome.One of the main things a player has to deal with in cricket is the strain that develops when the opposition goes on the attack. England have performed brilliantly with the bat in this aspect, and Stokes’ own aggressive batting shouldn’t be underestimated. While he will have to slightly temper that aggression, it has rubbed off on the other players. As the best slip fielder, being in the slips is also Stokes’ best fielding position.England have also started gradually picking their best players for a position, with wicketkeeping being a priority. However, they have to ditch the nonsensical bouncer barrages, and they need a varied bowling attack rather than an all-right-arm-seam squad. They’ll also come to understand that Jack Leach is not the spinner to withstand an onslaught from the better batters.Nevertheless, they have improved immensely under Stokes’ positive guidance. While Root remains a top-class player, his captaincy, although afflicted with bad luck in regard to his faster bowlers, was going downhill fast and the team had lost faith in his tactics.Now it remains to be seen how much Stokes’ imagination and positivity can help England against a tested team. His leadership battle with Bumrah will be a fascinating sidelight to what will be an entertaining game.

وصل السويسري توماس جروتر مدرب حراس المرمى الجديد للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي الزمالك إلى القاهرة، تمهيداً للتواجد في الجهاز الفني للفريق بقيادة السويسري كريستيان جروس.

وكان عماد المندوه المشرف على مدربي حراس مرمى قطاع الناشئين بالنادي تولى المسؤولية في الفترة الماضية بصورة مؤقتة لحين وصول جروتر إلى القاهرة.

ويستعد الزمالك لمواجهة بلاك بولز بطل موزمبيق، في السادسة مساء غد الأحد باستاد القاهرة الدولي، في الجولة الخامسة من دور مجموعات الكونفدرالية.

طالع أيضاً.. الزمالك يعلق على صور الـ”ميكروباص”.. ويعلن تطورات التجديد لـ زيزو

ويتواجد الزمالك في المجموعة الرابعة في كأس الكونفدرالية بجوار أندية المصري وإنيمبا النيجيري وبلاك بولز الموزمبيقي.

ويحتل الزمالك صدارة ترتيب المجموعة برصيد 8 نقاط، بينما يأتي المصري ثانيًا برصيد 5 نقاط وإنيمبا ثالثا بـ4 نقاط وبلاك بولز رابعًا بـ4 نقاط كذلك.

One country's technical director was "warned" that Tottenham could have a nation's future star who has the potential to be a "phenomenon".

Tottenham 1-4 Chelsea

During a chaotic Monday night, Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou suffered his first Premier League defeat as manager with former Lilywhites boss Mauricio Pochettino coming away from north London with a win upon his return. Their 4-1 defeat to Chelsea is a tough one to take, but they can take a lot of pride away from the result given Spurs' bravery in playing a high line with nine men and the fact it took Pochettino's side a long time to break through.

There is a case to be made that the four goals even flattered Chelsea, who actually endured a far tricker task at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium than their result would suggest. When asked about Spurs' decision to maintain a high press, rather than sit back in a low block, Postecoglou explained that his side will refuse to diverge away from their philosophy.

"It's just who we are mate," said Postecoglou on Tottenham's loss to Chelsea.

"And it's who we're going to be as long as I'm here. We go down to five men mate, we'll have a crack."

There is a far bigger worry for Postecoglou than simply not taking away any points. Injuries to both James Maddison and Micky van de Ven could seriously hamper Spurs in the coming weeks, with the latter star pulling his hamstring. Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie will also be suspended following their red cards, bringing attention to Tottenham's severe lack of depth.

There is perhaps one silver lining, though, coming in the form of goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario's incredible performance. The Italian pulled off save after save over what was a Man of the Match performance for Spurs, with the summer signing looking like one of this league's most in-form keepers right now.

Guglielmo Vicario could become a "phenomenon"

Commenting on Vicario's potential, Kosovo technical director Sami Ujkani has revealed he was "warned" at Empoli that the 27-year-old could become a "phenomenon" and Italy's future star.

Speaking in an interview with TUTTOmercatoWEB, Ujkani praised Vicario and made comments over their time at Empoli together.

“When I made the choice to go to Empoli, Sicignano was there and he warned me that Vicario could become a phenomenon," said Ujkani.

"Guglielmo has grown a lot, we are all proud of him. Italy has the goalkeeper of the future. For me he could go anywhere; whoever took it would have done bingo. But the right choice was certainly to go to Tottenham".

The shot-stopper has also been hailed by ESPN pundit Janusz Michallik in recent weeks, who described Vicario as a truly "excellent" addition to Postecoglou's squad.

Shot-stopping

Long passes

"Defensively what he’s done is even more impressive," said Michallik last month.

"They’re the second-best defensive team, look at Vicario, Google probably went down when Vicario came to London because nobody paid attention to who he was, but, today, we’re talking about Sanchez, Onana and Raya, here you have Vicario who is excellent,”

Arsenal ceded ground in the Premier League after drawing against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening, though Mikel Arteta will be elated by his side's comeback from two goals down.

Despite toiling for much of the first half, the Gunners flaunted their title-winning credentials with a sensational late fightback, and at this stage of the campaign, Arteta will indeed be far more impressed with the mentality than the squandering of the joint-top spot.

However, the tense affair was littered with several subpar displays, and there will undoubtedly be some post-match discussions regarding the poor performances, with Oleksandr Zinchenko at the epicentre.

How did Oleksandr Zinchenko play against Chelsea?

The Ukrainian dynamo has been an important figure at the Emirates Stadium since signing from Manchester City in a £32m deal in 2022, though against the Blues, he had an evening to forget.

Hooked at half-time, the 26-year-old's technical qualities had been completely negated by the electric pace of Raheem Sterling, with BBC Sports' Raj Chohan remarking at the England international's "immense" dribbling.

According to Sofascore, Zinchenko produced the worst match rating of the night (6.2) and picked up a yellow card for his travails, recorded to have been dribbled past and committed an error leading to a shot.

Having only won one ground duel too, it truly was an awkward and forgettable affair on an individual level, having also taken 33 touches but failed to demonstrate his passing skills with anything of note.

While the 57-cap international was the notable struggler, captain Martin Odegaard, so often the spark of ingenuity and inspiration in decisive matches, was a shadow of his former self, subdued in the middle of the pitch.

How did Martin Odegaard perform vs Chelsea?

Declan Rice stole the show once again with his talismanic role in orchestrating the comeback having fallen two goals down after the break, but Odegaard really did endure a tough night.

As per FBref, the Norwegian phenom ranks among the top 1% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals, the top 2% for shot-creating actions, and the top 12% for progressive passes and progressive carries per 90, but he failed to live up to such superlative metrics in a heated London derby.

The £240k-per-week machine only took 35 touches during his 78 minutes on the pitch despite Arsenal controlling the lion's share of possession; comparatively, Enzo Fernandez took 73 in the opposite squad.

Odegaard also lost the ball on ten occasions, highlighting just how wasteful he was in possession.

And while the former Real Madrid prospect made two key passes, he couldn't muster a shot nor succeed with his one attempted dribble, also winning just one duel on the night despite his central placement, leading journalist Sam Dean to remark how "off it" he was.

In his post-match ratings, football.london's Kaya Kaynak was displeased with the captain's contribution, writing: 'A bad day at the office for the Norwegian who struggled to ever really got on the ball. On the rare occasions that he did there was a distinct lack of quality.'

The 5 foot 10 Odegaard has been absolutely integral to the Gunners' ascendancy over the past several years, proving to be the squad's creative fulcrum and inspiring leader since receiving the captaincy in July 2022.

But there's no denying that he was off the boil in west London, and Arteta will look to swiftly stamp out any tincture of poor form to serve the squad in the fight for the gleaming Premier League trophy.

Chelsea transformed into a powerhouse when Roman Abramovich arrived at the club in 2003, flexing his deep pockets in the transfer window and bringing a whole host of stars to Stamford Bridge.

In the mid-2000s, his appointment of Jose Mourinho, famously known as the "Special One" was the catalyst to achieving success as the eccentric Portuguese delivered back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006.

Backed by a spine of world-class talent, namely Petr Cech, John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba, that quartet helped deliver a glittering decade of success, including a Champions League triumph in 2012.

During that period, the club were relishing their tussles with Manchester United at the top of the table, prior to Manchester City forming a winning juggernaut that continues to flex their domestic and European dominance.

Chelsea can only dream of replicating that success now and although Todd Boehly has spent over £1bn since taking over the reins from Abramovich in May last year, Mauricio Pochettino's side are still no closer to challenging Man City for the title.

Overspending for the sake of isn't just an issue that has popped up since the club's ownership changed hands, it was prominent during the Russian's tenure, as the Blues made countless errors in the transfer window and one of those was the decision to sign Danny Drinkwater from Leicester City in 2017.

How much did Chelsea sign Danny Drinkwater for?

Danny Drinkwater and N'Golo Kante's indispensable partnership was crucial in landing Leicester their fairytale Premier League title in 2016.

Kante's ability to break up play and Drinkwater's exceptional passing range created the perfect blend and offered Claudio Ranieri's side a solid platform to build from.

The Frenchman, in particular, caught the eye with his monstrous ball-winning abilities as he ranked higher than anyone in the league that season for interceptions (156) and tackles (175), earning him a £30m transfer to Chelsea that summer.

Kante ended up proving to be instrumental in luring the Premier League title back to Stamford Bridge as Antonio Conte's first season in charge was a resounding success.

Following that triumph, the Italian was hungry for more silverware and spent a whopping £224m (€260m) on a whole host of talent, including a £35m deal to prise Drinkwater away from Leicester in the hopes of rekindling a title-winning partnership.

Instead, the Englishman's time at Stamford Bridge unravelled into a nightmare.

What happened to Danny Drinkwater at Chelsea?

Drinkwater rose to prominence as an excellent deep-lying maker during his time at Leicester. He exhumed calmness in possession and controlled the tempo of football matches with his brilliant passing range.

Chelsea thought the midfielder could become their conductor in midfield alongside Kante and bring his wealth of Premier League and Champions League experience to the party, however, the legacy he left behind in west London is one he'd want to forget.

In five years at the club, which included loan spells at Burnley, Aston Villa and Reading, the 32-year-old only made 23 appearances and bled the club dry in excess of £50m, when adding together his initial transfer fee and the amount of wages he earned, as per Capology.

Weekly wage: £98,000

Yearly wage: £5.1m

Total wage accrued: £15.3m (excluding time on loan)

Cost per game: £2.1m

Data via Capology

Going down as one of the worst signings in Premier League history is a tag nobody wants, but Drinkwater's time on the pitch spiralled into a nightmare time off it as he claimed to have wasted potentially some of the best years of his career and revealed how it impacted his mental health.

In an interview with Sky Sports, he commented: "When football is going well, everything else seems easier to deal with, but when this isn't going so well, everything seems so heavy. I definitely think that's the lowest I'd been."

Drinkwater's struggles at Chelsea are a timely reminder that footballers are only human and personal issues off the field can quickly get in the way of performances on it and unfortunately, the 6-foot flop fell victim to this narrative.

David Raya has revealed that Arsenal have worked 'a lot' on penalties on the training ground this season.

Article continues below

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• Raya the hero as Arsenal beat Porto
• Gunners stopper reveals secret to success
• Arteta's side through to UCL quarter-finals

• Getty Images
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  And that practice appears to be paying off, with the Gunners edging out FC Porto on spot kicks to reach the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday night. With the scores level at 1-1 on aggregate after extra time, penalties were required to separate the two sides. And Raya rose to the occasion, keeping out Wendell and Galeno's efforts from 12 yards to send Arsenal through.

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• WHAT RAYA SAID

  However, when speaking to TNT Sports after the game, Raya was not entirely satisfied. He revealed that he felt he could have kept out Marko Grujic's penalty, which he got a hand to, as well.

  "I should have saved three, but I'm over the moon to save two," he said. "We played a really good game from the start. We dominated, created chances and it went down to penalties. We've worked a lot on penalties this year and all the hard work with the goalie coach and the team has paid off."

  He added: "This means everything. You play football for these kind of things and I'm lucky to be playing for Arsenal, to be in the Champions League and to get through to the quarter-finals. We're just going to enjoy the night."

• Getty
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Raya's match-winning performance is further vindication of Mikel Arteta's decision to sign him in the summer and make the 28-year-old his No.1 goalkeeper at the expense of Aaron Ramsdale. Aside from his penalty heroics, Raya made three saves in normal time.

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• DID YOU KNOW?

  Incredibly, Tuesday's game was the first Champions League knockout tie to be settled by penalties since the 2016 final between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.

Only once has a West Indian bowler struck more than the 13 times he did in a single Test match, and that was back in 1976

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jun-2018

CWI Media/Randy Brooks

He took a few wickets with pace. Then a few more with bounce. Even some with lateral movement. Shannon Gabriel was so good in St Lucia that he vaulted into the record books. Only once has a West Indian bowler struck more than the 13 times he did in a single Test match. And that was back in 1976, when Michael Holding wrapped England up and put them in his pocket.”It’s a great feeling,” Gabriel said after the game. “If someone told me, ‘Shannon, you’ll play Tests and take 100 wickets’, I would’ve told him, ‘you’re crazy!’ I’d like to thank family and friends for supporting me.”I was prepared well for this series, getting myself fit. As long as you get wickets, pains and aches go away. I was supported well by Kemar (Roach), he was unlucky. Miguel Cummins kept coming at the batsmen. (Jason) Holder was also very good. Anything other than a loss is good. We can take plenty of positives from this Test.”There was only one clear star though, at least in captain Holder’s eyes. “Shannon was absolutely outstanding. I don’t think words can describe the spell he bowled in both the first and second innings. He was aggressive. His pace was up. He caused trouble with every spell he came in and bowled and he stood up. He put us in a position to draw this Test match.”West Indies had won the first Test of the series and were fighting to protect their 1-0 lead at the Darren Sammy stadium. Gabriel was a key part of that, picking up 5 for 59 and then bettering it with 8 for 62. Only three times in the last 23 years has a West Indies bowler taken five wickets in each innings. On the back of that, Gabriel has leapt 11 places up to No. 12 on the ICC Test bowlers rankings.The other saviour for West Indies was opener Kraigg Brathwaite. He soldiered on for 60.3 overs even as the top order crumbled – they were 64 for 4 chasing 296 – to shut down Sri Lanka’s hopes of levelling the series. The hosts had a little help from a timely spell of rain as well.”Congrats as well to Kemar [Roach] and Kraigg, both reaching milestones in this Test match,” Holder said. “Three-thousand Test match [runs] as an opening batter is remarkable and obviously Kemar getting 150 wickets. Very very pleasing to see our guys getting some landmarks and hopefully they can keep pressing forward.”The other major talking point from the Test match was a ball-tampering issue that broke out on the third day. The umpires laid a complaint against Sri Lanka’s methods at maintaining the red-ball, following which they refused to take the field for two hours. Eventually, their captain Dinesh Chandimal was charged by the ICC for breaking the code of conduct.Holder would not be drawn into talking about the incident, but he did feel aggrieved that there was little communication between the officials and the West Indies team. “To be honest I wasn’t aware of what was going on early in the morning. Then we got some information of what was going on. Obviously we’ve seen what has transpired and what has come of it. I choose not to get involved with it. The game is in the control of the match referee. Just a bit disappointed with how it was handled. We basically sat around for two hours with not much information.”Holder was far more open in talking about the final Test of the series, starting on Saturday. “Its obviously a special occasion, the first day-night Test in the Caribbean. I guess the people of Barbados – I’m from Barbados as well – will come out and support us. They’re really avid cricket fans and it should be a really good spectacle at the Kensington Oval.”

Glasgow Rangers have not had the best of luck with regard to injuries during the current campaign as it appears Philippe Clement is having to deal with a fresh blow following every match.

During the tie against Hearts in October, Nico Raskin was substituted after suffering an injury. He was expected to be out for just a few weeks, yet his recovery hasn't been going quite to plan and he won't play until 2024 at the earliest.

Scott Wright and Tom Lawrence have also suffered injuries which will rule them out for an unspecified period of time, while Danilo is the latest player to suffer a season defining injury…

Danilo's injury blow is bad news for Rangers

The Brazilian had enjoyed a decent start to life under the Belgian tactician, scoring three times and grabbing four assists as he was staking his claim to be the main option in the number nine role.

Despite missing a few games after suffering a fractured cheekbone during a match against St Johnstone back in September, the former Feyenoord hitman had returned to full fitness, albeit wearing a mask to protect his face.

With Cyriel Dessers – who has netted just five league goals – struggling for any kind of form and Kemar Roofe going through his own fitness issues, there was a chance for Danilo to establish himself in the starting XI.

The 24-year-old started against Hearts last week and while he didn’t find the back of the net, the 1-0 win could prove crucial in the chase for the Premiership title.

Bad news was to follow after the match, however, with the 49-year-old providing an update on an injury suffered by the Brazilian.

He said: "Danilo has a problem with his knee because of a bad tackle in the game, an unlucky situation, part of football. Because of contact, he had a problem with his knee.

"The chances are he requires surgery so yes, it could be long term.”

It was confirmed that he needs surgery on the injury and will be out for around four months and this could force Clement into the transfer market for a potential replacement.

It remains to be seen how much of a budget he will have to work with next month, but the former Club Brugge coach simply cannot rely on Dessers and Roofe as his only centre-forward options for the remainder of the season.

Rangers transfer news – Lawrence Shankland

The links to the Scottish striker have stretched all the way back to January of this year, with Barry Ferguson claiming that the Light Blues would be keeping an eye on him after a solid start to his spell in Edinburgh.

In June, Michael Beale appeared to be taking a closer look at the player, yet no move ever materialised, and he ended up signing Dessers, Danilo, and Sam Lammers instead.

With the January transfer window fast approaching, Ferguson was once again suggesting Shankland would be an ideal fit for Rangers during the recent league clash between the two sides, even comparing him to a former Premier League legend, saying:

“Let’s start with Lawrence Shankland who catches my eye every time I see him play for Hearts.

“This guy has improved his game to such an extent over the last couple of years that I’m surprised he’s not been snapped up already but, watching him on Wednesday, I saw a ready made Rangers centre forward.

“I’m not exaggerating when I say his overall game reminds me of a young Teddy Sheringham. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying he’s at Sheringham’s level. But he does have similar attributes in terms of game intelligence and that natural ability to drop into dangerous areas and link up with his team mates.”

His statistics since joining the Gorgie outfit have demonstrated his ruthlessness in front of goal, and he could well be worth a punt next month.

Lawrence Shankland’s statistics at Hearts

The 28-year-old joined the Jambos last summer for a modest fee of around £500k and this soon proved to be one of the bargains of the season.

The former Dundee United marksman ended the 2022/23 campaign with a total of 28 goals across all competitions for Hearts, with 24 of these coming in the Premiership.

This tally saw him finish third in the top scorers list, while he contributed 38.1% of his team's goals during the whole term and it was hardly a wonder that Rangers were looking to add him to their squad.

Despite a barren spell a few months ago, Shankland has already found the back of the net on 12 occasions this season along with registering three assists and while it is a far cry from his sensational form last year, he is still scoring regularly.

The Scot currently ranks first among the Hearts squad for goals and assists in the top flight during 2023/24 (seven), while also ranking first for scoring frequency (a goal every 206 minutes), shots on target per game (1.2) and third for successful dribbles per game (1.1), underlining his importance to the team.

He may not be the marquee name that the Ibrox faithful expect to sign, but he has proven his worth in the Premiership and there is no doubt that, with better service, he could score a lot more goals leading the line at Rangers.

Domestic statistics this season	Danilo	Lawrence Shankland
Goals	4	7
Assists	1	0
Shots on target per game	1.5	1.2
Big chances missed	9	2
Successful dribbles per game	0.8	1.1

It remains to be seen what sort of price the Tynecastle outfit will place on their most prized asset, but he won’t come cheap, that’s for sure.

The onus is now for Clement to ship out some deadwood during the upcoming January transfer window in order to not only reduce the wage bill but also to raise funds for any potential new signings.

"Excellent" Rangers player facing months on sidelines with injury

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Chloe Chadwick

Dec 14, 2023

The likes of Dessers and Lammers have failed to live up to their inflated transfer fees, and it is clear they don’t have a long-term future at Ibrox under the Belgian manager.

Moving them on for a decent fee could allow the club to go after a move for Shankland and this could certainly be a wise investment, especially considering Danilo will miss the most important part of the season.