Michy Batshuayi came off the bench to score for Belgium in their 5-2 win over Tunisia at the 2018 World Cup on Saturday afternoon.
The 24-year-old is very much second choice to Romelu Lukaku when it comes to the Belgium national team, but he will be hoping to play a part against England on Thursday night.
Batshuayi was deemed surplus to requirements by Chelsea in the second half of last season, but he went on loan to Borussia Dortmund and scored seven times in 10 Bundesliga appearances for the German outfit.
It remains to be seen whether the forward is part of Chelsea’s plans next season, and a number of clubs have been credited with an interest this summer.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”257647″ player=”12034″ title=”Three reasons we love to hate… Brazil and Argentina”]
Batshuayi, who is valued at £36m by transfermarkt.co.uk, might well be the perfect centre-forward acquisition for West Ham United in this summer’s transfer window.
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However, it seems that a number of Everton fans are desperate for the Belgian to make the move to Goodison Park in this summer’s transfer window.
A selection of the Twitter reaction from the club’s supporters can be seen below:
Tottenham Hotspur managed to rescue a draw against Liverpool on Sunday after a dramatic 90 minutes at Anfield in the English Premier League.
With the Reds scoring within 3 minutes thanks to Mohamed Salah, Spurs had to remain patient for their equaliser, which came through a rocketed Victor Wanyama goal of the season contender in the 80th minute.
Liverpool looked like they had grabbed the three points when Salah scored again injury time, but Harry Kane netted a penalty to score his 100th Premier League goal and bring a point back to London.
Spurs fans were pleased with the result in the circumstances, but had hoped some of their players could have performed better across the 90 minutes including the likes of Eric Dier and Kieran Trippier.
Trippier’s performance rankled many, the belief being that he doesn’t possess enough quality in the wide areas to be an effective full-back force, especially in games against the top six sides in the country.
Supporters took to Twitter to discuss his performance…
It recently emerged that Newcastle United attempted, at the end of the 1996/7 season, to coax Sir Alex Ferguson away from the illustrious and decorated colours of Manchester United to the black and white ensigns of the Tyneside club.
And though the move failed to materialise, to the misfortune of Newcastle and their irrepressible fan following, the affiliation between the two sides has been longstanding.
Newcastle were one of Manchester United’s main rivals for Wayne Rooney’s signature in 2004, and the two clubs have been linked in various ways since well before Ashley’s time. Indeed, their battle for the Premier League title in 1996 remains one of the most exciting seasons of all-time even if the Manchester club did win out on that occasion.
And now, 14 years on, though Manchester United have grown in stature considerably, winning 18 major trophies in the process, they currently sit 7th in the league, having endured their most unsuccessful Premier League campaign in 24 years, and are in danger of losing their seat of eminence in the footballing sphere.
Today, David Moyes has fallen victim to the unforgiving machine of managerial tenancy, and with Alan Pardew’s position as Newcastle manager looking increasingly untenable, the club having lost their last five Premier League games, I think Moyes would be an ideal fit for the Tyneside club.
Pardew currently has the lowest win percentage out of any manager in the history of the club (or as far back as Wikipedia tracks, anyway). That says it all.
His tactical nous is, in my opinion, the worst of all managers in the league – even the intensely dull stratagems of Tony Pulis and Mark Hughes are proving more successful that Pardew’s this season.
His stubborn refusal to deviate from his instantly-recognisable 90s-esque long-ball style has been the source of Newcastle’s downfall, and he seems to completely disregard the seemingly obvious positional strengths of our players who, under the right direction, would definitely warrant a top 8 finish.
The angry protests permeating the Newcastle blogosphere right now should not be branded as another example of impatience or heightened estimations of grandeur from Newcastle fans, as was recently remarked by the bothersome Michael Owen: the grievances are very much justified, and there is a desperate need for change: this is where Moyes steps in.
First, Moyes’ style of play would very much suit the players Newcastle have on their books. Yohan Cabaye may now be gone, but in Moussa Sissoko, Vernon Anita and Cheick Tiote, the Scot would have the kind of athletic and technical players he loves to coach.
Newcastle’s squad is also packed with physically powerful players who can easily go for a more blunt, direct style of play when required. Many of their best results this season have actually come from hitting opponents hard rather than out-playing them, such as the win over Chelsea in November.
While managing Everton, Moyes helmed the team to nine top 10 finishes and five top 6 finishes in the eleven years he was there. Furthermore, European qualification was achieved four times in five seasons between 2004 and 2009. And all of this was attained on a shoe-string budget.
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Though managerial involvement in transfer dealings has declined, Moyes has developed a reputation for scouting intuition, and had been solely accredited for many of Everton’s successful acquisitions over the years. The recent purchases of John Stones, Steve Pienaar and Bryan Oviedo have all proved major successes, having been brought to the club for relatively small fees.
Added to that, Mirallas, Coleman and Baines, as well as club captain Phil Jagielka, senior defender Sylvain Distin and Darron Gibson, all provide a testament to the eye for talent that Moyes evidently has. Hand him the keys to the Magpies transfer kitty and the expertise of Graham Carr and great things could happen at St James.
It is very easy to overplay Newcastle’s stature within English football: the side no longer commands the respect that it boasted in the 90s, as many fans like to maintain, nor can it realistically, right now at least, stake a claim as England’s ‘fifth’ biggest club as it has often been self-branded. Unfortunately, whilst Mike Ashley is still in charge of the club’s running, Newcastle are a long way off that.
Nevertheless, with its irrepressible fan-base, and its longstanding history, it does deserve better. And if the club hopes to restore some much-needed stability, a managerial change is a necessity. David Moyes, therefore, most certainly could help Newcastle to become, once again, a force in English football.
Northern Ireland have returned from Portugal with a favourable result, after the home nation drew 1-1 with the Iberian side on Tuesday night.
Niall McGinn put the visitors into a shock lead in the first-half, and dogged defending kept the away team in the lead until 79 minutes, when Helder Postiga tied things up for the hosts.
Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill was proud of his players after the game, and felt that it was as good a display as he has seen in his tenure with the nation.
“It’s up there. This is as difficult a place to come, certainly in Europe, against a world class team,” he told Sky Sports.
“All credit goes to the players. They were magnificent. Their work rate, desire, the way they worked for each other – you cannot ask for more than that.
“It was very harsh to lose a goal at the end. Of course, we had to weather severe pressure but at times I thought we passed the ball well, scored a fantastic goal and we’re coming out disappointed with a draw.
“The shape of the team was excellent, the work rate, the way they went about the game, was fantastic.
“To go ahead and stifle Portugal was fantastic. I’m disappointed for the players because they deserved a wee bit more than a draw from the game.
“They have to take confidence and belief from what they did tonight. Their togetherness and spirit has been unquestionable. At times it has been questioned, but certainly tonight they answered that.
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“There is more in this team, because we were down a few bodies.
“We’ve got younger players coming into the team all the time. If they can continue to improve and grow and obviously have more performances like tonight, then if you have that spirit you will always get something in football,” he concluded.
Gaikwad and Abhimanyu failed with the bat again, but the Indians ended the second day 120 in front with eight wickets in hand
Tristan Lavalette01-Nov-2024Stumps After the first day’s spotlight shone firmly on Australia’s Test hopefuls, India Test squad member Abhimanyu Easwaran and reserve Mukesh Kumar had contrasting fortunes before B Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal led an India A fightback on day two in Mackay.Trailing by 88 runs on the first innings, India stared down the barrel at 30 for 2 after the wickets of skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad and Abhimanyu. But Sai Sudharsan and Padikkal steadied the ship with an unbroken 178-run partnership as batting became easier on a surface that flattened out as the day wore on.They learned the lessons from India A’s disastrous first innings of 107 when a number of batters nicked off. Sai Sudharsan and Padikkal demonstrated patience and judged the full lengths well as they closed in on centuries. They waited to pick off the bowling, which was more wayward than on the opening day.Both batters used their feet well to offspinner Todd Murphy, who did not threaten and had figures of none for 54 from 17 overs. His struggles reared just before stumps when a delivery slipped from his fingers and landed near the square leg umpire.Devdutt Padikkal scored 80 in an unbroken 178-run stand with B Sai Sudharsan•Getty Images
It was a terrific recovery from India A after the wickets of Gaikwad and Abhimanyu, who each had double failures for the match. Gaikwad could only tentatively poke at a length delivery from quick Fergus O’Neill and edged to second slip where Cameron Bancroft demonstrated why he is one of the country’s best fielders, with a sharp catch low to the ground.Abhimanyu is seen as a contender to play in the early part of the Test series given the uncertainty over Rohit Sharma. But he was all at sea against the new ball with O’Neill producing rampant movement.Abhimanyu was fortunate to have survived on 2 after edging quick Jordan Buckingham to third slip only for the delivery to be deemed a no-ball. The pressure was building on Abhimanyu, who attempted to play more positively and also scampered for tight singles on a couple of occasions. But he pushed his luck after dashing off for a quick run only for the athletic Buckingham at midwicket to throw down the stumps leaving the diving batter just short of his ground.India’s recovery appeared to have had a setback when Padikkal on 31 drove O’Neill straight to Nathan McSweeney at short extra-cover only for the delivery to be called a no-ball.Cooper Connolly played positively, hitting five fours in his 37•Getty Images
Padikkal had medical treatment on his legs late in the day, but fought through as India A eyed setting a tough target with the focus soon to shift once again to those Australia A batters hoping to partner Usman Khawaja in the first Test.India A’s revival was started by Mukesh. He bowled unwavering spells and nipped the ball both ways to finish with 6 for 46, while quick Prasidh Krishna unfurled canny changes of pace, which has served him well in white-ball cricket, to claim a three-wicket haul.Australia A resumed their first innings at 99 for 4, trailing by just eight runs, with skipper McSweeney having a golden opportunity to boost his bid for first Test selection. McSweeney had survived through to stumps on a madcap day one after the early dismissals of Test candidates Bancroft, Sam Konstas and Marcus Harris.He once again showcased dogged defence and good judgment to leave deliveries outside his off stump. After a slow start to the day’s play, it took 17 deliveries until the first runs were scored when Cooper Connolly flayed a boundary through the off side.Connolly, 21, decided to counter-attack and quickly passed McSweeney after smashing 22 runs in an eight-ball whirlwind. His ability to shift gears is a reason why Connolly has risen in the ranks quickly and is seen as a contender for the Test tour of Sri Lanka early next year.Mukesh Kumar finished with innings figures of 6 for 46•Getty Images
In a contrast to many batters so far in this match, Connolly drove with ease and underlined why in Western Australian cricket circles he has been compared favourably to former Test batter Shaun Marsh. He appeared set for his fourth half-century from six innings in his first-class career before a tame dismissal on 37 when he mistimed a delivery from Mukesh to square-leg.It led to the quick wickets of Josh Philippe and McSweeney, whose dedication to defence was finally broken when he was caught at gully after being lured into driving a full delivery from Nitish Kumar Reddy.Reddy was able to find late movement that deceived McSweeney to highlight an impressive performance of 1 for 14 from seven overs.Australia A led by just 29 runs at the fall of McSweeney’s wicket before Murphy hit a breezy 33 to frustrate India A. It was left to Mukesh to finally wrap up the innings as he clean bowled Brendan Doggett for his fifth wicket and then picked up Murphy – who was the fourth batter in the innings to fall in the 30s.
Harmanpreet’s 51-ball 71 not enough to take Supernovas to a safe total after their powerplay had ended on 29 for 3
Srinidhi Ramanujam24-May-2022Velocity 151 for 3 (Verma 51, Wolvaardt 51*, Dottin 2-21) beat Supernovas 150 for 5 (Harmanpreet 71, Taniya 36, Cross 2-24) by seven wicketsIn the contest between two of India’s best power-hitters, Harmanpreet Kaur’s 51-ball 71 won the individual battle, but Shafali Verma, with 51 off 33 balls, finished on the right side of the result.Supernovas lost to Velocity by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 Challenge match in Pune on Tuesday. A win would have secured a final berth for Supernovas after their opening-day win over Trailblazers but, fortunately for them, they still sit atop of the points table because of a good net run-rate.Chasing 151 for victory, Verma’s boundary-laden half-century and Laura Wolvaardt’s unbeaten 51 in 35 balls took Velocity to the target in 18.2 overs, without much of a hiccup. This was also the highest successful run chase in the history of the tournament.Supernovas were playing a match a little over half a day after beating Trailblazers. They lost three wickets inside four overs after being asked to bat, and scored just 60 runs in the first ten overs. But Harmanpreet’s 71 and her 82-run stand with Taniya Bhatia for the fourth wicket lifted Supernovas to 150 for 5; it might have been enough on another day, but not this one.Kate Cross had Priya Punia driving uppishly to cover on the third ball of the match•BCCI
Eighteen for three after 23 balls
It took Velocity only three balls to strike, as Kate Cross removed Priya Punia in the first over of the innings. Punia, who began her innings with a four off the first delivery, was caught in the covers by Ayabonga Khaka when she played an uppish drive. A three-run over from captain Deepti Sharma followed, and Cross struck again in her second over when she removed the in-form Harleen Deol.Deol couldn’t build on her 19-ball 35 from the opener against Trailblazers as she fell to Cross’ outswing, looking to play a flick but only sending a leading edge to backward point for Wolvaardt to grab.The big wicket came in the fourth over when Deepti removed the dangerous Deandra Dottin. Dottin, who made 32 off 17 on Monday, came down the track for a slog-sweep but the mistimed shot ended up as a top-edge to wicketkeeper Yastika Bhatia.In 17 minutes, Supernovas’ top three – who contributed 89 runs in the first match – were back in the dugout.Harmanpreet Kaur looked untroubled despite the early wickets•BCCI
The rescue act
Taniya was promoted to No. 4 after batting at No. 9 in the first game. Her job was simple: stay long and steady the innings. She did exactly that. Alongside Harmanpreet, who came in at No. 5, she put on 82 runs off 63 balls for the fourth wicket – the highest stand ever in the Women’s T20 Challenge – after the early jitters.Both the batters preferred the assortment of sweeps, with Velocity’s spinners operating from both ends. The first 50 runs of the partnership came at a run a ball, but Harmanpreet upped the rate with a four and a six in debutant wristspinner Maya Sonawane’s second over, the 13th of the innings.Just when the two looked set for a big score, though, the partnership came to an end when Taniya was run out at the non-striker’s end attempting a non-existent run courtesy Yastika’s quick throw to Khaka, the bowler. Taniya fell for a 32-ball 36, which included three fours.Harmanpreet, who had scored 37 runs off her first 30 balls and got to ger half-century off 42 balls, finished with 71 off 51 to propel Supernovas to a respectable total. After Taniya’s departure, she went hard, scoring two boundaries and a six in the 18th over off Sneh Rana, after the bowler had conceded just ten runs in her first three overs.Shafali Verma smashed a 30-ball half-century•BCCI
Verma sets the stage on fire
Verma was on song, playing her shots as she always does, but showing off some touch play too along with her big hits. And she had raced away to 47 in 24 balls by the time the powerplay ended, with her team at 60 for 1. They became 69 for 2 not long after when Yastika was bowled between her legs by Dottin, but Verma completed her half-century as scheduled – after an lbw verdict against her, off Alana King, was overturned on review – off 30 balls.Ending an innings like that – the quickest half-century in the history of the competition – needed something special, and Harmanpreet provided it. Dottin went around the wicket and bowled wide of off stump, Verma flashed hard at it, and it would have flown to the third-man boundary had it not been for a flying catch from the Supernovas captain.Her team-mates can’t get enough of Harmanpreet Kaur after she pulled off a stunning catch at short third man to send back Shafali Verma•BCCI
Wolvaardt and Deepti finish the job
In the tenth over, newcomer Kiran Navgire was expected to join Wolvaardt, but Deepti decided to walk out, providing a left-right combination. Though the required rate was below seven at that stage, Wolvaardt was in no mood to slow down. She kept the scorecard ticking with a number of boundaries in her 35-ball knock, while Deepti played second fiddle, scoring at more than run-a-ball but without trying anything flashy.Wolvaardt completed her half-century, off 35 balls, in the 19th over with a six down the ground off Dottin. And the job was done when Dottin followed up with a short ball that was declared a wide.
Pakistan bowling allrounder will join the Renegades from December 26 following Pakistan’s T20I series with New Zealand
ESPNcricinfo staff03-Dec-2020Melbourne Renegades have signed experienced Pakistan bowling allrounder Imad Wasim for the second half of the upcoming BBL season.Imad will join the Renegades from December 26 after the completion of the three-match T20I series between Pakistan and New Zealand in New Zealand. The 31-year-old will be able to play immediately upon arriving in Australia without quarantining due to the Covid travel-bubble agreement between New Zealand and Australia.”Imad is one of the best T20 players in the world with his ability to impact games with the ball and to finish the innings with the bat,” Renegades coach Michael Klinger said.”He’s an experienced player with recent title success, he’s capable of bowling in the powerplay and he’ll strengthen our middle-order batting.”Imad joins South Africans Rilee Rossouw and Imran Tahir, and Afghanistan spin duo Mohammad Nabi and Noor Ahmad on the Renegades roster. The BBL has allowed three overseas to play per game this season and the various international commitments and travel restrictions have meant the Renegades have added five to their roster to give them flexibility.”Given the current landscape we’ve had to be flexible with our international players,” Klinger said. “We’ll have Rilee Rossouw available for the whole season while our other international players will feature at different points throughout the tournament.”It’s a really talented group of international players and they’ll provide us with some great flexibility throughout the season.”
India Green qualified for the final of Duleep Trophy on the basis of a superior quotient despite Avesh’s 56-ball 64 from No. 10 denying them a first-innings lead
The Report by Hemant Brar in Alur01-Sep-2019 Points: India Red 3, India Green 1India Green qualified for the final of the Duleep Trophy 2019-20 on the basis of a superior quotient despite Avesh Khan’s 56-ball 64 from No. 10 denying them a first-innings lead against India Red on day four in Alur.India Green had to avoid a collapse in the second innings to make it to the final. Although they lost their openers – Faiz Fazal and Akshath Reddy – with just 24 on the board, Dhruv Shorey’s unbeaten 44 ensured they were always well ahead of India Blue’s quotient. With no result in sight, the captains shook hands at tea.The final, to be played between the same two teams, will start on September 4 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.India Red started the day on 404 for 9, still 36 in arrears. But Avesh’s maiden first-class half-century took them to 441, one run ahead of India Green’s first-innings total. Avesh, who struck two fours and seven sixes in his knock, added 73 for the tenth wicket with Sandeep Warrier, the latter contributing only 5.On the third evening, Avesh had come in with the side on 368 for 8 and saw Akshay Wakhare falling on the same score, with India Red trailing by 72 at that stage. But in one Dharmendrasinh Jadeja over, he smashed four sixes, three off them on successive balls, and took the side past 400. On Sunday morning, he hit two more sixes – both off Rahul Chahar – but the shot that brought the loudest cheer from the dressing room was a reverse hoick off Chahar that almost went for a six. With the legspinner targeting the rough from around the wicket, Avesh hit with the spin and found the deep-cover boundary to level the scores.In the 138th over of India Red’s innings, Priyam Garg was hit on the back of the neck while fielding at silly point. Garg found himself in the line of the ball while taking evasive action against a back foot punch by Avesh Khan. Garg’s helmet had a neck guard, which softened the impact.Garg was conscious but in pain and lay down near the pitch as the team physio applied an ice pack to the injured area. An ambulance was brought on to the field and, as a precautionary measure, he was taken to hospital where he cleared the first concussion test.
Seekkuge Prasanna made good use of his early arrival in England for the Vitality Blast as he bowled Northants to a second successive Championship win
ECB Reporters Network28-Jun-2018 ScorecardNorthants took the final six Glamorgan wickets for 69 runs on the fourth morning to complete a comprehensive 233-run victory and record their second successive Championship win of the season.They also moved away from bottom place in Division Two, after outplaying a Glamorgan team who, after winning their opening game, have lost four of their last five championship games, and won only one of their eight Royal London 50 over matches.They were again let down by their batting, with only Usman Khawaja scoring over fifty in both innings, while there seven half centuries for Northants, whose batsmen showed far more application on a pitch of irregular bounce.Northants’ decision to bring their Sri Lankan legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna over a week early, ahead of the Vitality Blast, played dividends as he finished with four wickets in the second innings.Glamorgan resumed on 121 for 4 in their second innings, and soon lost their nightwatchman Timm van der Gugten, who fatally played back to Prasanna and was leg before on the back foot.Kiran Carlson meanwhile was fortunate to survive against the Sri Lankan leg spinner, twice edging deliveries wide of the slip cordon. He was joined by Chris Cooke who appeared more comfortable against Prasanna, twice striking him through extra cover for four.The fifth wicket pair had added 48 before Carlson, aiming to drive expansively at a wide ball, edged one in Brett Hutton’s opening over of the morning, to wicketkeeper Adam Rossington after scoring 32.Cooke was the next to go when he was bowled by Hutton; undone by a ball that kept very low, Cooke almost ended up on his knees as he tried unsuccessfully to get his bat down in time.The procession continued as Nathan Buck came on for his first over of the day, and with his first ball, trapped Ruaidhri Smith leg before with his opening. When Prem Sisodiya was caught at silly mid off to give Prasanna his fourth wicket, the players shook hands as Glamorgan captain Michael Hogan was absent and unable to bat.Glamorgan’s head coach, Robert Croft, sounded relieved that T20 cricket was around the corner: “This defeat had a common thread that we need to improve on,” he said. “We are not capitalising on the starts we are having, whether it’s a lack of concentration or inexperience. We are developing a young team that I’m sure will improve, but possibly we might have to bring in a senior player into the team for the next game or two.”