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Craig Ervine’s maiden Test ton and 148-run sixth-wicket stand with debutant Peter Moor took Zimbabwe to within 77 runs of avoiding the follow-on

The Report by Firdose Moonda in Bulawayo08-Aug-2016Stumps
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details0:58

By the numbers – Ervine’s ton and Moor’s record on debut

Zimbabwe celebrate their heroes on August 8, and in Craig Ervine they certainly found one. His maiden Test ton and 148-run sixth-wicket stand with debutant PJ Moor took Zimbabwe to within 78 runs of avoiding the follow-on. Perhaps more crucially, he frustrated a New Zealand attack that now has a maximum of two days – could be lesser if the visitors have to bat – to take 14 wickets and on a flat Queens Sports Club surface.In their favour is the fact that New Zealand have discovered the best way to break through – reverse swing. With the second new ball that is more than 30 overs old, they may start looking for it again early on fourth morning. When they found it with their first ball, they made life uncomfortable for the Zimbabwean line-up, who were suffocated with close fields to the spinners.With just eight Tests under his belt, Ervine, the most experienced of Zimbabwe’s line-up going into this match, played the way a senior should. His approach combined caution with clever stroke-play and ensured the scoreboard kept ticking over. Zimbabwe scored 250 runs on the day, 120 in the final session alone. The dismissal of Moor for 71 in the last half hour lifted the morale of the visitors, who were run ragged after a spirited start.Ervine was needed after Zimbabwe’s openers – Chamu Chibhabha and Tino Mawoyo – gave the team their best start in 13 Tests, over five years, with a 65-run stand. Chibhabha was lucky to survive a confident shout off a Trent Boult delivery that tailed back in late. There was a bat-pad noise which may have put umpire Paul Reiffel off.His opening partner Mawoyo appeared to be better equipped to play defensively and bullishly. He fronted up to Neil Wagner’s short-ball strategy before inside-edging a drive onto the stumps.After they were separated, Sikandar Raza, batting at No. 3 in place of the injured Hamilton Masakadza, squandered an opportunity to present his case further. By then, a spell of uncertainty had been woven into the Zimbabwean mindset. For 9.3 overs, Raza looked to have put away his aggressive streak but then drove lazily at a wide Wagner delivery with no foot movement to give Kane Williamson at gully a present on his 26th birthday.Chibhabha, for all his fidgeting, had shown ability to occupy the crease. He fought his way to fifty and looked like he would see out the opening session. But Williamson’s decision to introduce spin in the form of Mitchell Santner paid off as Chibhabha drove with hard hands to find short cover.New Zealand could have had one more in the opening session when Southee tempted Ervine to drive, only to see Ross Taylor grass an opportunity in the slips. Instead, they had to wait until after the break when Prince Masvaure brought about his own dismissal as the ball bounced back off a half-hearted defense to hit leg stump.That brought Zimbabwe’s most assured pair of Ervine and Sean Williams together. While they were watchful, they also cashed in when the bad balls came their way. Williams, fresh off a century in the previous Test, was in sparkling form till he was adjudged lbw off a premeditated reverse-sweep against Ish Sodhi.After a period of settling in, Moor scored freely, especially off the second new ball, which became available with 25 minutes left in the session. But Williamson, who waited until there were only 10 overs left before taking it, may need to wait a little longer before it brings rewards.

Mauricio Pochettino already faces a number of dilemmas to solve ahead of his imminent arrival at Chelsea, as he looks to get the best out of a bloated squad at Stamford Bridge.

While player exits will be necessary this summer in order to balance the books, both Mason Mount and N'Golo Kante are yet to agree to a new deal at Stamford Bridge and could leave on a free transfer when their contracts expire at the end of the season.

While the Argentine manager may be keen to keep a world-class midfielder such as the World Cup-winning Frenchman, his injury issues this season have been a major concern and at 32, the Blues perhaps need to begin their search for a long-term successor in midfield.

Pochettino could find a dream heir to the former Leicester City man in Everton star Amadou Onana, who has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge in recent months after an impressive debut season at Goodison Park.

Could Chelsea sign Onana?

While the Blues were actually rejected by the Belgium international in January as Graham Potter sought to improve upon his midfield options, a summer move could well be on the cards for the 21-year-old, especially if the Toffees go down.

Journalist Ben Jacobs suggested in one column for Caught Offside last month that Chelsea, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid were all potential destinations for the young midfielder this summer, although interested sides may have to meet Everton's reported £50m price tag.

The giant midfielder only joined from Lille in a £33m deal last summer but has been one of the bright sparks in another woeful season for the Merseyside outfit, as his solid 6.69 average rating from WhoScored ranks him as the sixth-best performer, of those to make at least ten appearances this term.

Onana's physicality in midfield is clear to see, as according to FBref, he ranks in the top 20% of midfielders across Europe for tackles per game (2.66), clearances per game (1.54) and aerials won per game (2.08).

WhoScored also suggests that he excels at aerial duels and tackling, which outlines him as the perfect mould for a defensive-minded midfielder such as Kante, who too excels at winning the ball back.

As per FBref, the French World Cup winner ranks inside the top 20% of midfielders for tackles per 90, further outlining their similarities.

Onana's performances for both Lille and Everton saw him earn a call-up to Belgium's World Cup squad in 2022, with former manager Roberto Martinez singing his praises following his selection.

He said: “Another unique profile. Someone with such physical presence and dynamism is needed, just think of Fellaini in 2018. He is also a leader on the field who has made strides in his career. From Germany to France and now the Premier League… He deserves this selection.”

Liverpool Echo writer Connor O'Neill also lauded him as "outstanding" earlier in the season, which suggests that Onana's reputation is only going to increase further as he continues to impress.

Considering the lack of European football on offer at Stamford Bridge next season, it may prove difficult to sign world-class talents but in Onana, Pochettino could land a promising youngster who looks to have all the attributes to replace Kante at Chelsea.

Darren Stevens admitted his disappointment after his side had closed on 397 for 9 for an overall lead of 186 at the mid-point of this the 165th Canterbury Cricket Week fixture

ECB Reporters Network04-Aug-2016
ScorecardDarren Stevens fell short of his century but carried Kent to a strong position•Getty ImagesKent’s beneficiary Darren Stevens was already ‘suited and booted’ by the close of play having top-scored with 81 during Kent’s fascinating Specsavers County Championship tussle with promotion-chasing Worcestershire.With a benefit dinner at the Shepherd Neame Brewery in Faversham awaiting him, Stevens admitted his disappointment after his side had closed on 397 for 9 for an overall lead of 186 at the mid-point of this the 165th Canterbury Cricket Week fixture.”We’re disappointed with our day’s work to be fair. I got in, Dickson and Denly did too, but we all got out without going on to get a big score,” said the former Leicestershire batsman.”Yes, we’ve got a nice little lead, but we only wanted to be four or five wickets won at this stage. Personally I’m disappointed. I started counting down to my hundred and it proved a big mistake. It’ll be the last time I ever do that and I’m really gutted to miss out on three figures.”If I were still there at the end of the day I’d be sitting pretty on 140 not out and the side would have a 220 lead. We should be in a stronger position.”The 40-year-old all-rounder batted 142 minutes and hit 12 fours and a six which, in tandem with half-centuries by Sean Dickson and Will Gidman – the latter on loan from Nottinghamshire and on his Kent county championship debut – ensured that the hosts will go into day three in a fairly dominant position.Resuming on their overnight score of 55 without loss in response to Worcestershire’s 211 all out, Kent lost three first-session wickets as batsmen again struggled to bat long-term on a spicy Canterbury pitch.Daniel Bell-Drummond, celebrating his 23rd birthday, added only seven to his first-day score before becoming the first casualty of Ladies Day at the world’s oldest cricket festival.The right-hander fenced a Kyle Abbott leg-cutter to second slip, where Ross Whiteley held onto the good catch diving to his left in front of first slip to make it 74 for 1.Joe Denly moved smoothly to 21 before having his off stump trimmed by a Charlie Morris yorker then Sam Northeast spooned a catch to cover off a leading edge to gift Ed Barnard a wicket and leave centre stage marooned on 995 county championship runs for the summer.At the other end Dickson, Kent’s South African-born right-hander, posted a 106-ball half-century with nine fours – his fourth 50 of the county championship campaign.Having taken his side in at lunch on 152 for 3, Dickson added only two to his interval score before chopping on against Ed Barnard to go for a well-made 77.Sam Billings and Stevens then teamed up to add an attractive 40 runs inside 13 overs before Billings, on 33, edged an attempted cut to the keeper off the bowling of Charlie Morris with Kent still trailing by two on first innings.Stevens and Alex Blake took the hosts into profit before Blake (9) lamely chipped to short mid-wicket off the bowling of Joe Leach with Kent seven short of their second batting bonus point.Stevens marched on to a 67 ball 50 with six fours and a six, the 69th half-century of his career but only the fourth of this somewhat barren benefit summer.Soon after tea and only 19 from is maiden ton of the summer Stevens slapped one to cover off the bowling of Joe Leach then James Tredwell gloved a half-hearted pull to the keeper to go for 9.The Kent tail wagged however, as Gidman and Matt Coles combined to add 51 inside 14 overs before left-handed Coles holed out to cow corner.Gidman was still unbeaten at the close however, having posted his maiden Championship 50 for Kent from 86 balls and with five fours.

Northamptonshire tailender Chad Barrett completed a maiden century to mark his Specsavers County Championship debut on a record-breaking day against Worcestershire at New Road

ECB Reporters Network24-Aug-2016
ScorecardSteven Crook reached a new career-best of 145•Getty ImagesNorthamptonshire tailender Chad Barrett completed a maiden century to mark his Specsavers County Championship debut on a record-breaking day against Worcestershire at New Road.Barrett came in at No. 10 and finished unbeaten on 114 as the newly crowned NaWest T20 Blast holders switched effectively to red ball cricket and amassed 551 all out in 144.1 overs.But Worcestershire launched a strong reply with skipper Daryl Mitchell and Tom Fell scoring half centuries in an unbroken stand of 145 as the home side reached 153 for 1 by the close.Barrett’s innings was the highest score by a Northants No. 10 in first class cricket, beating the 106 by Gus Williamson against Cambridge University in 1960.Barrett became the third century-maker of the innings as he and Steven Crook added 145 in 34 overs – the best Northamptonshire ninth-wicket stand in matches against Worcestershire. It surpassed the 137 by John Timms and Reg Partridge at Stourbridge in 1934.”I couldn’t have wished for a better Championship debut. I’ve had to wait two years for my opportunity and it was a decent wicket and I had to make the most of it,” Barrett said. “We said we’d try to get to 500 which is a big milestone and to get to three figures myself was my own milestone.”Two years waiting to play a second first-class game is a long time and you think to yourself ‘are you going to play another one?’. When I got the nod, I thought when I have a bat or a bowl, I’ve just got to show what I can do.”Northamptonshire also registered their highest ever total at New Road, beating the 495 in 1922. Crook’s 145 was his career best score, over-taking his 142 not out versus Australia last summer.Ed Barnard struck in the first over of the day after Northants resumed on 345 for 6 when David Murphy was caught at second slip. Then Rory Kleinveldt became Joe Leach’s 50th Championship victim of the campaign when trapped lbw – the second time the Worcestershire vice-captain has achieved the milestone.But Crook and Barrett then flayed the home attack and the former went to three figures off 142 balls with 15 fours. Barrett was involved in a bizarre finale in the battle for bonus points when blocking out the final five deliveries of the 110th over from Brett D’Oliveira when Northants required one more run for a fifth batting point.That was the only blip for the visitors until Crook turned D’Oliveira into the hands of deep square leg. Last man Ben Sanderson was dropped on nought at first slip off D’Oliveira with Barrett still one short of his century.But he reached the milestone soon afterwards with a cover drive for four off George Rhodes and in total he struck one six and 15 fours from his 152 ball innings.”I had faith in Ben Sanderson while I got there,” he said. “I know he can hold a bat and is more than capable so it was a good wicket so I backed him all the way.”Worcestershire began their reply needing 402 to avoid the follow on and soon lost D’Oliveira for a duck, caught at second slip off Sanderson.Mitchell and Fell then batted in untroubled fashion and Mitchell brought up a composed 82 ball half century with seven boundaries. Fell went to his fifty off 104 balls with a six and eight fours. By the close Mitchell had moved onto 86 and Fell 61.

Burnley are reportedly interested in signing Manchester City winger James McAtee on loan this summer and the youngster could allow Vincent Kompany to ditch Johann Berg Gudmundsson.

Could Burnley sign McAtee?

According to the Daily Mail earlier this month, a number of Premier League sides including Burnley, Leicester City, Brighton and Leeds United are monitoring the 20-year-old after his impressive performances in the second tier helped Sheffield United to promotion this season.

The report claims that Pep Guardiola is keen to assess the England U21 international in pre-season and City are expected to offer him a new deal, but a Premier League loan could well be on the cards for the attacking midfielder.

Kompany has already used his City connections to seal signings such as Arijanet Muric and Taylor Harwood-Bellis, so could return to his old club for another loanee this summer.

Would McAtee be a good signing?

The Englishman's eye-catching displays in Paul Heckingbottom's side last season certainly suggest that he could be a big player for Burnley in the top tier.

In 37 league outings, McAtee would notch nine goals and three assists, earning a solid 6.71 rating from WhoScored despite nearly half of his appearances coming from the bench.

It could prove difficult to prise him away from City as he is clearly a player that Guardiola rates highly after he dubbed him "exceptional" back in 2021.

Considering he has contributed 27 goals and 19 assists in just 52 appearances for the U21s at City, it is easy to see why the Spanish manager wants him to have a big future at the Etihad, but a loan spell with a possession-hungry Burnley side could be perfect for his long-term development.

While it wasn't an easy start to life at Sheffield United for McAtee, he finished the campaign "on fire" – in the words of scout Jacek Kulig – hitting five goals and one assist in the final nine league games, so he could arrive at Turf Moor in confident mood should he join on loan when the transfer window opens.

Kompany already boasts a plethora of attacking talent including Anass Zaroury, Manuel Benson and Gudmundsson but the Icelandic winger's advanced age and lack of goal contributions in the last campaign suggest that he could be the one to lose out should McAtee join the club.

The 32-year-old mustered just four goals and six assists in 37 league appearances, with his 6.76 average rating from WhoScored ranking him as the 13th-best performer in Kompany's squad.

The Belgian boss surely wants to build a young squad capable of competing in the Premier League and while Gudmundsson provides experience, he could be one who has to make way to ensure that Burnley can continue to progress and develop their young talents.

An update has emerged on Leeds United and their plans to replace Sam Allardyce following their relegation down to the Championship.

What's the latest on Rob Edwards to Leeds?

According to The Sun, the Whites are eyeing up Luton Town boss Rob Edwards, alongside Lorient's Regis Le Bris, as a possible candidate for the job in an ambitious swoop.

It is stated that the club want to draw a line under their dismal season by placing their faith in a new manager who can start a long-term project at Elland Road, although it remains to be seen how open the Hatters gaffer would be to the move given his side's promotion to the top-flight.

The club have confirmed that Allardyce has departed Elland Road by mutual consent after failing to achieve survival in his four Premier League matches in charge at the end of the 2022/23 campaign, with an announcement on his successor said to be on the way in the 'coming week'.

How did Rob Edwards perform this season?

The Welshman was dismissed by Watford, despite only losing twice after ten matches in the Championship and went on to win the play-offs with Luton to secure their first-ever promotion to the Premier League.

He enjoyed a terrific campaign with the Hatters and could arrive in west Yorkshire, if they are able to convince him to make the move.

Edwards would surely be a big upgrade on the departed Allardyce, who has not had any experience managing a team competing at the top end of the table for over ten years.

His last top-six finish in any division was third-place with West Ham United in the Championship in 2011/12. The Englishman won 1.87 points per game in the second tier and has since been in the bottom half positions in the Premier League in six of his last eight seasons as a manager.

Edwards, whose football has been described as "intense" by journalist Josh Bunting, is relatively fresh into management and has won League Two with Forest Green Rovers in 2021/22 before, now earning promotion with Luton via the play-offs.

The 40-year-old, who football agency chief Adrian Bevington hailed as "articulate", averaged two points per match in the regular season with his current club across 25 outings to finish third in the league.

These statistics show that Edwards is a promising young coach who has already proven himself to be capable of instilling a winning mentality at both Forest Green and Luton, whereas Allardyce's experience is mainly fighting for survival in the bottom half of the Premier League.

This is why Leeds could land a big upgrade on the former Everton boss as they could bring in an up-and-coming manager who has the ability to mastermind an instant promotion back to the big time, instead of someone who does not have a proven, or recent, track record on that front.

The BCCI has filed a fresh application in the Supreme Court pleading for the court’s July 18 order to be “suspended” until it hears the board’s review and curative petitions

Nagraj Gollapudi28-Sep-20164:26

‘BCCI’s conduct indicates it must have a plan’

The BCCI has filed a fresh application in the Supreme Court pleading for the court’s July 18 order to be “suspended” until it hears the board’s review and curative petitions against the mandatory implementation of most of the Lodha Committee’s recommendations.The board’s affidavit, filed on September 27, is not a response to the status report filed by the Lodha Committee in the court, which recommended that all BCCI office bearers be “superseded” because they were stalling the process of implementation of the reforms. The Supreme Court had given the BCCI a week to respond to the status report.The BCCI argued in its affidavit that the board had the right to seek more time before following the various timelines set by the Lodha Committee to set in motion the recommendations approved by the court. “The timelines framed by the Hon’ble Committee do not take into account the legal remedies available to the Applicant [BCCI] in the form of review petition and curative petition,” the affidavit, signed by Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI general manager, administration and game development, stated.The BCCI said it “ought to be granted” adequate time to exhaust its legal remedies. “Grave and irreparable loss, harm and prejudice will be caused to the Applicant if the Application is not heard. It is, therefore, respectfully prayed that this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to pass an order suspending the implementation of the judgment dated 18.7.2016 till the review petition and curative petition are not heard by this Hon’ble Court.”So far, the BCCI has filed two applications with the Supreme Court against its July 18 court order – a review petition and a curative petition. The review petition singled out TS Thakur, the chief justice of India who was on the two-judge bench that passed the order, and said he had a “prejudiced” approach towards the board and should recuse himself from hearing the matter.The curative petition was filed in 2015, challenging the appointment of the Lodha Committee by the court. A curative petition is heard by a panel of five justices of the Supreme Court behind closed doors, once the court has turned down the review petition.On Wednesday, the Lodha Committee submitted to the court a status report listing various “transgressions” of the BCCI. However, the BCCI insisted it had done nothing wrong. The board’s affidavit stated it had sought direction from senior lawyers on whether the board could be barred from carrying out its routine functions at the AGM as alerted by the Lodha Committee in an email on August 31.The board was told that “there was no such direction or mandate in the judgment” which “prohibited” it from carrying on routine functions during the implementation of the recommendations. The affidavit also stated the same was communicated to the Lodha Committee on September 20, when the BCCI explained why the items listed on the AGM agenda had to be carried out. According to the BCCI, the Committee never responded.The affidavit went on to explain that it is a “statutory necessity” to adopt the annual budget for the next fiscal year (2016-17), appoint auditors for next year and adopt the decisions taken by the working committee at the August 22 meeting. The BCCI said in the affidavit that the appointment of Ajay Shirke as the secretary till 2017 was important because he was the “public face” of the board who performs various duties under the board’s rules and regulations.The Lodha Committee – comprising Lodha and retired Supreme Court judges Ashok Bhan and R Raveendran – was formed in January 2015 to determine appropriate punishments for some of the officials involved in the 2013 IPL corruption scandal, and also to propose changes to streamline the BCCI, reform its functioning, prevent sporting fraud and conflict of interest.

Pakistan opener Azhar Ali, after making his team’s historic 400th Test even more memorable by scoring a triple-hundred, has rued the lack of crowds at the Dubai International Stadium

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2016Pakistan opener Azhar Ali, after making his team’s historic 400th Test even more memorable by scoring a triple-hundred, has rued the lack of crowds at the Dubai International Stadium. Unable to host matches at home since 2009 due to security concerns, Pakistan now play their “home” matches in the UAE, but they rarely get big crowds for Test cricket in venues like Dubai and Abu Dhabi. While the whole idea of day-night Tests is to attract bigger crowds to the ground, the second day of the Test – a Friday and public holiday in the UAE – had mostly empty stands despite Pakistan’s batsmen scoring runs with ease.”If I had scored this at home, it would have been much better feeling and a better crowd would have made this occasion better, but a 300 is a 300 and I will take that any day,” Azhar said on Friday night. “But I would love it if more crowd came in and watched the day-night Test. I would want to dedicate the innings to my parents and my country, who live cricket so much and support Pakistani cricket even through tough times when we can’t play at home.”Azhar, who also crossed 4000 Test runs in this his 50th Test, became Pakistan’s fourth batsmen in the triple-century club after Hanif Mohammad (337), Inzamam-ul-Haq (329) and Younis Khan (313). He spent two minutes short of 11 hours at the crease to score an unbeaten 302 off 469 balls with the help of 23 fours and two sixes.”I can’t really explain my feelings, the way the team and captain supported me through the last few runs, when I was nearing 300, it was exceptional from them,” Azhar said. “It is a great achievement and I will remember it all my life. It is a proud moment for me, those who have already scored triple-centuries have been exceptional and world-class players, I am still working hard on my game but getting on that 300 list is a proud moment for me.”Opening the batting in Tests is a new role for Azhar. While he had done it earlier only in four matches between 2013 and 2015, he was asked to open again recently, during the fourth Test in England, as Mohammad Hafeez was dropped after a poor run. With Shoaib Malik also retired from Tests, Azhar seems to have now taken the role on for a longer run. One consequence of opening also means Azhar would have to bat for longer periods when he scores big, and its effects were seen when he started cramping after reaching his hundred.”It was hard and I was sweating all the time,” Azhar said. “Even yesterday I was feeling cramps but today I was getting runs; you get motivated with what is in front of you and that keeps you going. When you get pitches like this, you want to score big and when the chance comes, you convert hundred into double and triple, and that really boosted me. It has been tough overall but I kept going on and I am really happy that we have also set up a big total.”I never thought about scoring 300 but was thinking about the team’s needs. But yes, when I start my innings, I do think about scoring big”•AFP”I don’t think a lot about records while batting but instead kept my focus in the game, went with the flow and let things unfold on their own. Obviously, when you are set, you have to maintain the pace of the runs as well but for such a big score you also require luck factor despite how good the pitch is. So I did my hard work and was pushing myself when I was approaching 300 because you can’t really reach 270-280 every day in your career. Scoring a double is tough and think about how hard it would be to score triple. All I did was to keep things simple because when you are approaching a big milestone, the pressure naturally increases and at that stage even the non-regular bowlers are creating trouble.”Azhar had earlier said that he was not completely comfortable with the pink ball, when they experimented with it in Pakistan’s domestic cricket. But after batting for nearly two days against the pink ball in Dubai, Azhar said the visibility of the ball was clear but was reluctant to give a broader projection about its future.”I did see the pink ball clearly as the wicket was good and the ball didn’t do much for most parts of the couple of days we played,” he said. “These were different conditions. In the first [day-night] Test in Australia, the ball was swinging around in the evening so I think in different conditions this ball will do different things. You cannot just decide on this pitch how effective the ball is going to be – whether it is more favourable for batsmen or bowlers. I think we need to see more games and then see what happens.”While the declaration came as soon as Azhar crossed 300, he was asked if getting to 400 was on his mind or if he thought of reaching big scores when he began his innings.”I didn’t want go beyond 300 because there is a team plan and winning is important,” he said. “To continue batting from there could have hurt our team’s plans. Actually, I never thought about scoring 300 but was thinking about the team’s needs. But yes, when I start my innings, I do think about scoring big.”Double-hundred was what I was looking at and I got a lot of messages to get that as a triple looked quite far away. We had a plan and there was a shortage of time as we had to declare. We played according to the time we had and I knew I had to score a triple-hundred before that. It came easier but I did play big shots as well.”

Leeds United's relegation has condemned them to at least another year of Championship football, just three years after they thought they had left that league for good.

Whilst their 2004 demotion came as a shock to most, their 16-year failure to return to the top flight surpassed all of these emotions. They had gone from a sleeping giant to a comatose one, and it felt like no matter what occurred they would never earn that romantic Premier League return.

That was until Marcelo Bielsa was appointed, and his magic enacted.

His team was steely and hard-working, completely enamoured with a hard-working philosophy that saw them dominate the division. It was the perfect storm, with Kalvin Phillips conducting from within its eye.

An academy graduate handed a show of faith in a league where the top-flight often send their youngsters to develop, he instead was allowed to learn on the job, quickly becoming their most influential player. That promotion year saw the 27-year-old maintain a 7.28 average rating, alongside 1.8 key passes and 2.6 tackles per game, via Sofascore.

Now, in an effort to repeat that feat at the first time of asking, perhaps they could once again seek to put their faith in the academy, with Sean McGurk surely high on the list for those deserving of a first-team berth.

Who is Sean McGurk?

His potential inclusion within the senior squad is made all the more likely given the expected exit of Luis Sinisterra, who The Athletic suggest could seek to move, with a reported release clause encouraging this. With the possibility of relegation now a reality, the Colombian will be a fine signing for someone out there should he find fitness.

After all, his tally of seven goals in all competitions, whilst slightly underwhelming, was largely marred by a lack of fitness throughout the term.

His failure to adapt to the physicality of the English game cost him, especially after the 23-year-old joined having hit 23 goals and 14 assists the season prior in Holland.

Although having posted numbers nowhere near this level, McGurk has remained one of Michael Skubala's most consistent performers from that left flank, with his six goal contributions in 17 games a solid return. He has been a mainstay in the side that recently earned promotion into the Premier League 1 Division 1.

Seeking to cut in from his wing onto that favoured right foot, the 20-year-old boasts similarly blistering pace and sought to outline his other outstanding attributes after joining the club in 2021: "People describe me as a player who is quite exciting, I like to create goals and score goals and I think that is the strongest part of my game."

Whilst that is yet to shine through in the U21s, perhaps a promotion into the senior squad could see him realise this potential at the Championship level. After all, it only takes the new manager to hand him a few starts to figure out whether he can terrorise the division.

With his frightening speed, quick feet and youthful energy, that is sure to be a given though.

Victoria allrounder Daniel Christian has questioned the wisdom of Cricket Australia’s tinkering with domestic cricket, declaring that Sheffield Shield cricketers are being treated as “guinea pigs”

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Nov-2016Victoria allrounder Daniel Christian has questioned the wisdom of Cricket Australia’s tinkering with domestic cricket, declaring that Sheffield Shield cricketers are being treated as “guinea pigs”.This season, ex-players and commentators have expressed concern at a perceived “devaluing” of the Shield competition through measures such as Test players being substituted out mid-match, and the use of multiple types of balls. The 10 Shield rounds this summer include two played with pink Kookaburra balls, three with red Kookaburras, and five with Dukes balls later in the season.”We’re guinea pigs,” Christian said in an interview with Gideon Haigh in the . “It’s first-class cricket. Last season we had a game where Chris Tremain bowled like the wind in the first innings, then we subbed in James Pattinson in the second innings who did the same.”This season we’re using four different kinds of balls. When they’re trying to get blokes ready for Test cricket and talking about them banging out 1000-run years, it’s ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous.”The first-class competition is not the only part of Australia’s domestic cricket scene that has been altered in recent years. This summer was the second in which the Matador Cup featured the Cricket Australia XI as a seventh side, made up of young players who had not managed to squeeze into any of the six state squads.”They’re not trying to win the Matador Cup. They’re trying to do well for themselves,” Christian said. “I don’t think it’s a good concept at all. If players are good enough they’re going to be in the state teams anyway. They might win one every so often if someone has a day out. Otherwise they’ll get flogged every game.”The Cricket Australia XI have won only one of their 12 Matador Cup matches from the past two seasons, a three-run victory over Tasmania last year. Allrounder Hilton Cartwright, who played for the CA XI last summer and for Western Australia this season, is the first player to emerge from the CA XI and gain an international call-up, having been named in Australia’s ODI squad this month.