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The Zimbabwe captain was disappointed after a seven wicket defeat to Sri Lanka, saying his batsmen did not adjust to the change in the pitch on Sunday and play more straight-bat shots

Andrew Fidel Fernando02-Jul-2017Graeme Cremer conceded Zimbabwe’s batsmen may have been too eager on the sweeps and reverse sweeps during the second ODI on Sunday, even though those strokes had proved productive during Friday’s record chase. Sri Lanka’s best bowler Lakshan Sandakan, meanwhile, had come prepared for that tactic from Zimbabwe, which goes some way to explaining his match figures of 4 for 52.Zimbabwe had been 67 for 1 before the spinners came into operation in Galle, and prompted a collapse that cost the visitors five wickets in the space of 10.3 overs. Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl all fell attempting to sweep or reverse sweep.”Maybe with the wicket, we should have adjusted, should have hit the ball down the ground a bit more,” Cremer said after the seven-wicket defeat. “I thought the wicket was a little bit different from the pitch for the first game, and we didn’t adjust early enough. At one stage we could have batted off the overs – 230 could have been a decent score, but we lost too many wickets in the middle.”Sandakan, playing his first ODI since March, employed several strategies to counter Zimbabwe’s sweep-happy batsmen. Early in the innings, he overcame Hamilton Masakadza’s reverse sweep threat by firing deliveries on a leg-stump line. Later in the innings, the dip he achieved also made him a difficult bowler to play across the line.”We identified that they were sweeping us, and we tried to change the field, slow the ball up a bit and change our lengths,” Sandakan said. “We didn’t try too many changes, but length and pace was important and it worked for us today. We also bowled wicket to wicket – a little straighter – to stop some of those shots.”While Sandakan had made the more telling blows to the opposition innings, debutant legspinner Wanidu Hasaranga knocked out Zimbabwe’s tail with a hat-trick in his third over. After the match, captain Angelo Mathews said he had not known much about Hasaranga, which suggests Cremer and the Zimbabwe are likely to have been even less enlightened on the threat he posed.”To get a hat-trick on debut that something special,” Cremer said of Hasaranga. “He looked a little bit nervous when he started, which is understandable. But credit to him when he stuck at it, and credit to the skipper having faith in him to keep him on. To clean up the back end of the innings was excellent.”Sandakan also lauded the 19-year-old’s poise. “When someone is debuting, he is under pressure. He managed the pressure well and bowled his googlies, flippers and leg-spin nicely.”

The France forward has re-established himself as being among the game's elite players over the past 12 months, but has received little to no credit

On October 30, France Football revealed its final Ballon d'Or rankings for 2023, placing the 30 nominees in order after all the votes were counted. The names trickled in via social media during the star-studded gala in Paris, with the outstanding players of the past 12 months all included.

There was Jamal Musiala, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard earning places in the top 20. So too did the likes of Mo Salah, Lautauro Martinez and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Lionel Messi, of course, won his eighth Golden Ball, with Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr close behind him.

One name that might have surprised those watching was Antoine Griezmann, who ranked at a lowly 21st following a season where Atletico Madrid crashed out of Europe early and went trophy-less in Spain. That he was even on the shortlist at all will have surprised some, but in truth, Griezmann's final ranking did him something of a disservice. That's a sentiment shared by Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who told GOAL this week that he "couldn't believe it" when he heard Griezmann's Ballon d'Or position.

Since the 2022 World Cup kicked-off in November of last year, the 32-year-old forward has scored 25 goals and added 17 assists for club and country. He took an Atletico side that had started the season in miserable form and led them to a third-placed finish and Champions League qualification. He has also been the architect of an undefeated Euro 2024 qualifying campaign for France, while in the opening months of the current campaign, his nine goals have Diego Simeone's side well-placed to make a first La Liga title push in three years.

On Sunday, when Atleti travel to take on Griezmann's former club, Barcelona, he has the chance to haunt Catalunya, as one of the Blaugrana's most-expensive transfer flops returns with his world-class abilities now revived and ready to land another blow to Barca's fading title dreams.

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  Not the right fit at Barca

  Griezmann and Barcelona's split was an amicable one. The two parties had endured a rocky 24-month relationship ever since his €120 million (£107m/$134m) move in the summer 2019, with neither side benefitting from the union.

  Griezmann, once one of Europe's best, saw his career stagnate at Camp Nou, though he did manage to scored a respectable 35 goals in 102 appearances. Brought into try and appease Messi and stop him from leaving, the pair instead found themselves operating in the same areas on the pitch, and manager Ronald Koeman never made the tactical adjustments to accommodate the duo.

  When the possibility of an Atleti return presented itself — on an initial two-year loan with an obligation to buy — neither side of the deal had reason to complain. Simeone, in fact, hailed the Frenchman's homecoming.

  "I found a Griezmann who was eager to return," Simeone said in September 2021. "[He was] enthusiastic about the option of returning to the team, and people will demand from Griezmann what they demand from us every day."

  There were some issues that still needed ironing out, as Atleti famously tried to use Griezmann as little as possible in order to avoid paying the obligated €40m (£35m/$39m) fee that would kick in after a certain number of appearances. But once a permanent move was finalised, on friendlier terms for a reluctant Atleti and cash-strapped Barca, Griezmann's Atletico journey 2.0 kicked off in earnest.

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  Atletico at a crossroads

  In January 2023, Simeone was reportedly on the verge of being let go. His side had gone into the World Cup break sat fifth in the table, already 13 points behind leaders Barcelona after just 14 matches. They had also crashed out of Europe altogether, finishing bottom of a less-than daunting Champions League group that also included Porto, Club Brugge and Bayer Leverkusen.

  The legendary Atleti manager seemingly couldn't work his magic anymore, with it claimed that opposition coaches had worked out how to counter 'Cholismo'. His team may have won La Liga in 2021, but even that felt like a spectre of something old (with the ageing Luis Suarez leading the charge), rather than the dawn of a new club.

  And so, Simeone changed things. Atletico could no longer be an elite defensive side — not in the mould of those that had competed with Barcelona and Real Madrid in the early 2010s. It was time for something new, something more attacking, something that the roaring Rojiblanco fans could get behind.

  In truth, Simeone had searched for it for a while, making the ill-advised signature of Joao Felix two years previously as a replacement for Griezmann. But that never worked – and with the Portuguese playmaker loaned out to Chelsea while Griezmann's loan move was made permanent – Simeone had his answer.

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  Taking a lesson from Deschamps

  To make his new-look side work, Simeone turned to the French national team, who had come within an Emiliano Martinez save of winning their second straight World Cup. Mbappe may have been the hero of that side, but Griezmann was the unquestioned fulcrum of it all. Dropped into a playmaking No.10 role, Didier Deschamps, in effect, allowed his attacking midfielder to control the tempo of games.

  And he repaid that faith in style. Griezmann didn't score in Qatar, but he was present for the bulk of Les Bleus' biggest moments. He provided the killer assist that set up Olivier Giroud's winner against England in the last eight, while was instrumental in the build-up to two of Mbappe's goals in the final. The Barcelona flop had become, in the space of one month, one of the world's most important playmakers.

  Simeone hasn't used Griezmann in exactly the same way; he still likes to pack the centre of the park with three interior midfielders, while France use only two. But the Argentine coach has asked Griezmann to drop deeper while still involving himself in attacking play. In the first four months after the World Cup, Griezmann touched the ball more in the middle third than at any point in his club career.

  And so while the teamsheet suggested that he was going to be playing alongside Alvaro Morata, the eye test told a different story. This was an orchestrator who covered ground, created spaces, and got into the box at the right moments. With Griezmann dictating, Atletico only lost once in the remainder of their La Liga campaign. Griezmann scored 10 and assisted 12 across those four months, becoming the driving force in an unlikely turnaround.

  Simeone, victorious and vindicated, summed it up: "He is an extraordinary player despite the fact that many, many, thought otherwise."

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  No drop off in form

  "We've been changing the way we play," Griezmann told GOAL before the 2023-24 campaign. Atleti, he said, were going to play more attacking football this season. They planned on keeping the ball, dictating play, and creating more goalscoring opportunities.

  This would still be a hardworking side revered for its transition defending and ruthless edge. But they would do that while also being more ambitious on the ball. It's a style that saw the Rojiblancos turn last season around, and a full campaign of that swagger, only more refined and calculated, meant Atletico could challenge for domestic and European success, Griezmann claimed.

  Thus far, his assertions have yielded results. Atleti are third in La Liga, four points off the top with a game in hand on co-leaders Real Madrid and Girona. They have scored the third-most goals in the league, and conceded the second-fewest. A drubbing at the hands of Valencia and tight loss to Las Palmas now look like outliers rather than warning signs.

  They have produced in big moments, too. Atletico dominated the Madrid derby, and remain the only team to keep Jude Bellingham quiet over 90 minutes this season. A nervy win against Real Sociedad, battering of Rayo Vallecano, and qualification for the Champions League knockout stages have only bolstered their credentials as genuine trophy candidates.

The Parisians are bracing themselves for the loss of their star man this summer, but might already have a capable replacement on their books

Kylian Mbappe is flirting with Real Madrid – he has been for quite some time. This melodrama, one which presumably concludes with Mbappe standing with a smirk in front of the famous wall of Champions League trophies at Valdebebas, is winding to its end. And although it will certainly leave Florentino Perez, Carlo Ancelotti and co. dreaming of another year of glittering success, Paris Saint-Germain will have to confront the reality of being without their all-time top goalscorer.

That is mostly because Mbappe cannot be replaced. The Parisians, though, can change. It's a process that football advisor Luis Campos kicked off last season by bringing in 12 new recruits, all signed to soften the blow of an Mbappe-less future in the French capital.

The biggest new arrival, though, might be a player who hasn't yet appeared for the club since his return in 2023. RB Leipzig playmaker Xavi Simons is technically is currently in Germany on loan from PSG, and in all likelihood will make a proper return to Paris this summer.

After two seasons away, the 20-year-old could be the final piece in PSG's post-Mbappe puzzle, the face of a team refurbished and ready to stay competitive on Europe's biggest stage.

• La Masia upbringing

  Simons' football career hasn't been all success. Although he's just 20, it seems like the exciting attacker has been around for years. In a way, he has. Born in Amsterdam, Simons moved to south-eastern Spain at the age of three. By the time he was seven years old, Barcelona had snapped him up, and made him one of the biggest talents of a generation, alongside current Golden Boy winner Gavi.

  The hype around his upbringing was palpable from an early age. Simons appeared in commercials with Ronaldinho and Neymar as a child, and his name alone gave Barca fans reason for excitement (yes, he was named Xavi because of that famous midfielder). One social media account summarised the hype in modest terms: "Dribbles like [Andres] Iniesta, wins awards like [Lionel] Messi, face like Ronaldinho, hair like [Carles] Puyol, nationality like [Johan] Cruyff, and the name is Xavi."

  Simons never saw the field for a senior Barca team. Chelsea tried to take him to London at 12, but he declined the offer. However, he eventually left Catalunya when super-agent Mino Raiola came along in 2019.

  Barca reportedly offered Simon assurances that he would star for their Juvenil A (Under-19s) side, and teased a first-team role. But with Messi in the way and Raiola able to drum up interest from around Europe, Simons penned a three-year deal with PSG. Some reports suggested that he would earn up to €1 million (£850,000/$1.1m) per year as a 16-year-old. Barca, for their part, received just €130,000 – a meagre sum for a player who was regarded as a sure-fire world-class talent at the time.

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  Uncertain start to Parisian life

  PSG didn't offer Simons consistent playing time – at least not immediately. He spent his first season tucked away in their academy system, as the Parisians dropped him straight into their U19 set-up, handing the 16-year-old ample space to focus on football.

  It proved to be valuable development time for a teenager who had never really spent time away from the spotlight. PSG lived in a world of preoccupation at the time, with the antics of Neymar and Mbappe dominating the senior side. Simons, who had over four million Instagram followers and the watchful eyes of an expectant world on him when he first arrived, managed to snatch some valuable time to develop.

  Hopes remained high, though, and he trained with the senior PSG squad during pre-season in 2020, making his debut in a friendly that August. By early 2021, he was a fixture on the PSG bench, awaiting his chance to crack a line-up full of global superstars. He made his professional debut in February of that year, and his Ligue 1 bow soon after. By the summer of 2021, it seemed that Simons was well on track to work his way into the first team, especially with Mauricio Pochettino highlighting a specific role for him in the side.

  But it never worked out, and Simons spent most of the 2021-22 campaign on the bench. By the end of that campaign, the teenager had been on the pitch for just over 300 minutes, and was yet to score as a professional.

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  PSV breakout

  Simons needed a way out, and PSV provided it. Once again, he was afforded the opportunity to work out of the spotlight, functioning as a key cog for a PSV team that very few would tab as genuine contenders for domestic or European glory. But with Simons pulling the strings, Ruud van Nistelrooy's side came close. He scored 22 goals and assisted 12 more in all competitions, working in tandem with Cody Gakpo to drag an otherwise flawed side to a second-placed finish in the Eredivisie.

  For PSV, Simons was the catalyst, a player who could terrify opponents with his slick dribbling ability, before finding the cute passes around the penalty area to set up for his team-mates. It was everything that first Barcelona, then PSG hoped the player could be.

  “At this age, he’s not a real specialist,” PSV assistant coach Fred Rutten told in June 2023. “In the future, I think he can play at No.10, but he’s more of a No.10 who scores goals. He has the skills when he’s in the box and when he can come out quickly in the counter-attack — then he’s really dangerous.”

  Simons' form brought his future into sharp focus, with Premier League and Bundesliga clubs linked with moves for the youngster after he also broke into the senior Netherlands squad. However, it soon became clear that a return to PSG was on the cards, with a clause having been inserted into his contract that allowed him to return to the French champions, even though he had departed as a free agent just a few months prior.

  "It is a clause between me and PSV, not between me and Paris Saint-Germain. It’s a clause that, if I wanted to go to PSG, I could leave for a certain amount at the end of the season," Simons explained. "To be honest, it’s not in my head to leave. I’m settled here; I feel good here. You can also see that on the field, I think. I came here on a free transfer, so I have no obligations to anyone. I’m the one who has to make the choice."

  Simons may have had a say in the matter, but what he failed to mention was that PSG's buy-back clause was very affordable, and certainly came in at under market value. They showed little hesitation, then, in bringing one of the world's brightest talents back to Parc des Princes for just €6 million (£5.2m/$6.6m).

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  Leipzig and further development

  Simons arrived back in Paris last summer, only to confront the reality that PSG still had Mbappe and were busy retooling the rest of their forward line following Messi and Neymar's departures. Therefore, promptly after signing a four-year contract, he negotiated a loan move to Leipzig.

  The step up in quality has brought a new level out of Simons, who has been among the most impactful players in the Bundesliga this season. He has 16 goal contributions to his name in all competitions and is Leipzig's leader in assists.

  These days, he operates as an attacking midfielder in a 4-2-2-2 setup, floating between the lines and buzzing around the edge of the box. His link up with Dani Olmo – also a La Masia product – has been devastating at times, and the catalyst for Marco Rose's expansive attack. Once a chaotic, all-action dribbler, Simons has become a refined passer who can find a killer ball with ease.

  He remains, however, a human highlight-reel. He provided one of the more memorable goals of the Champions League season so far, whipping an effort into the top corner from 25 yards out against Red Star Belgrade, while he also bagged the Bundesliga Goal of the Month award in January for his swivel, pivot and volley that opened the scoring against Bayer Leverkusen. He will undoubtedly be the player Real Madrid fear the most when the two sides meet in the Champions League last 16, with the first leg in Germany on Tuesday.

The allrounder and Western Australia captain, slammed an unbeaten 80 to drive his side to a six-wicket win in the final against South Australia in Hobart

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-2017
ScorecardThe victorious Western Australia team with the trophy•Getty Images

Western Australia captain Mitchell Marsh led his state to a comfortable victory over South Australia to lift the domestic limited overs trophy at Bellerive Oval in Hobart on Saturday.South Australia made a swift start after winning the toss, but the loss of regular wickets limited their chances of posting the sort of totals that had allowed them to beat Western Australia in the qualifying rounds and Victoria in the elimination final.Western Australia, who had been unbeaten before the SA loss, were then able to reel them in with 38 balls to spare, largely due to the efforts of Mitchell Marsh and Cameron Bancroft, the sometime-Test opening contender, but now a free-scoring gloveman.While Mitchell Marsh was named Man of the Match, at a time when his recovery from shoulder surgery rules him out of bowling and by extension an Ashes berth, it was his brother Shaun Marsh who was named Man of the Tournament for a string of outstanding displays at the top of the batting order.South Asutralia had started fluently through a first-over boundary from Alex Carey, but the early dismissals of the wicketkeeper and dual tournament centurion Jake Weatherald set a pattern. South Australia scored freely but lost regular wickets, which meant the later acceleration typical of their bigger totals was instead a steady stand between Tom Cooper and Cameron Valente followed by a late rush of wickets.Their new-ball bowling had been another feature of their progress, but after Michael Klinger fell early and Shaun Marsh had not fired from the start, Mitchell Marsh and Bancroft missed scarcely a beat in bringing the target under control. Long touted as a future leader by his coach Justin Langer, Mitchell Marsh has aced his very first exam as state captain.

Arsenal ensured they stay just three points behind Women's Super League leaders Chelsea after they ran out 2-0 winners against Liverpool on Sunday.

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• Arsenal dominant throughout WSL clash
• Miedema scored first goal in over a year
• Foord killed game off with second

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  TELL ME MORE

  Arsenal dominated possession and were the more imposing team in attack for most of the game as they managed to work the ball into the Liverpool box. The visitors were not able to find the breakthrough until the 60th minute when Vivianne Miedema took on a pass from Emily Fox in the middle of Liverpool's half and sent it sailing into the net from outside the box. It is Miedema's first goal for Arsenal since December 2022.

  Arsenal looked a bit braver following the opening goal and came close again when Caitlin Foord hit a shot from a tight angle but Rachael Laws managed to keep it out. It felt like a second goal was on the way and it was Foord who delivered it when Alessia Russo got onto the end of a Fox pass, squared to the winger and she tucked it in to kill the game off.

  Arsenal looked set to score a third when a nice high ball fell in behind the Liverpool defence for substitute Stina Blackstenius, but her effort went over the bar. The Swede had another great chance when it fell to her in the box, but Laws pulled off the save.

  Liverpool had their best chance to pull a goal back deep into stoppage time as the ball was headed on to Mia Enderby who raced towards the Arsenal goal, but Manuela Zinsberger did well to deny her. At the other end, Blackstenius came close yet again only to see her shot hit the post.

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  THE MVP

  There will be a lot of praise for Miedema and Foord for getting the goals, but Fox's excellent work in both goals should not be overlooked. She squeezed through three Liverpool players and down the wing before squaring to Miedema for the opener, then her perfectly weighted pass found Russo to create the second goal.

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  THE BIG LOSER

  Liverpool centre-back Gemma Bonner will feel she should have closed down Miedema and attempted to block the Netherlands star's shot rather than simply tracking back and leaving the space for her to tee it up and unleash the shot.

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• WHAT COMES NEXT?

  Arsenal will fancy their chances of keeping the pressure on WSL leaders Chelsea when they take on struggling West Ham in their next game on February 4. That same day, Liverpool will host another north London team as they face Tottenham.

Napoli coach Rudi Garcia says Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has found his confidence again and is back to his best for the Serie A champions.

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• Georgian winger had slow start
• Has starred in last two matches
• Coach says confidence is back

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The winger had endured a difficult few weeks in the beginning of the season, but he has sparked into life over his last two Serie A appearances.

  The Georgia international put in a starring role with a goal and an assist as his team beat Udinese 4-1 last Wednesday. Then, in the weekend's 4-0 win at Lecce, Kvaratskhelia chipped in with another assist.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The 22-year-old was a sensation for Napoli last season, scoring 12 goals and setting up 10 in 34 Serie A appearances as his side went on to win the title.

  However, his recent displays have convinced Garcia that he is up and running once again and in good time, with the Italian champions set to face Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.

• WHAT THEY SAID

  "I think of Kvara who used to play with a lot of anxiety and was very much looking for the goal that he had been missing for a long time," the coach told reporters. "Now that he has found his composure again, he has also found the goal again."

  He added: "When you win the first two of the championship you can't say that you started badly. The thing that has changed is that by scoring and not hitting the post you find confidence. Kvaratskhelia has regained his confidence and is now back to being a unique footballer. You can see that he has found serenity again. Before, however, he forced the play too much."

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  WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

  Garcia will hope Kvaratskhelia can help fire his team to a Champions League win against Real Madrid on Tuesday.

Atletico Madrid's Alvaro Morata left the field in tears before half-time after an awkward fall as the Rojiblancos lost 1-0 to Sevilla.

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• Atletico beaten 1-0
• Morata went off before the break
• Visibly upset after awkward fall

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  The small group of Atletico fans who travelled to the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan were concerned about Morata's knee injury. The injury initially seemed to not be very serious but after the medical team came on the field to treat the striker it was obvious that he could not continue as he limped off the field in tears.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The game ended with Sevilla taking all three points as the Rojiblancos failed to close the gap to Barcelona in third. Diego Simeone's side now sit in fourth place, within striking distance for Athletic Club, who are just three points away. The loss of Morata could be a major one, however, as the striker has been in spectacular form so far this season, having scored 18 goals in all competitions.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  It was, however, a good sign for Atleti fans that Morata was spotted walking out of the stadium. The striker was luckily not using crutches but was seen limping as he made his way out.

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• WHAT NEXT FOR ATLETICO?

  Atleti boss Diego Simeone will immediately shift his focus to next weekend's game against Las Palmas as he hopes that he will receive some positive news from his medical team regarding Morata before that match on Saturday, February 17.

Yorkshire’s captain once again came to the fore, but Somerset survived an early collapse to set up a fascinating final day

David Hopps at Taunton11-Jun-2017
ScorecardMany England fans are still on his case. “Ugly cricketer,” they carp about Gary Ballance. In Yorkshire, the criticism is peremptorily waved aside. As far as Yorkshire are concerned, ugly is the new beautiful.Since he was awarded the Yorkshire captaincy, Ballance has been irrepressible. His unbeaten 98 at Taunton has positioned his side for a victory that, if achieved, would pronounce them Championship contenders and which would deepen Somerset’s predicament in the process.How Somerset must wish they had a batsman like him. Pessimism surfaced in every corner of this intimate ground as they prepared to chase 263. That within 17 overs they succumbed at 49 for 4 was met by black West Country humour, but they finished on 101 for 4 with no further alarm, an engrossing conclusion in the offing.Steven Patterson took the first three, Dean Elgar to a leg-side strangle, Marcus Trescothick nicked one that straightened from around the wicket, and the poor, put-upon young captain, Tom Abell, lbw for 4 as he pushed forward. James Hildreth was ephemeral, a ghostly figure, there and then gone.Ballance is a captain who has been around the block. Abell, by everybody’s account, is a nice, polite young man, well-thought of, but he gives the impression that he should only go around the block if it is well lit, with CCTV cameras.Markedly young captains have a better chance of succeeding if they have a bit of arrogance and stubbornness about them. To draw courage from gentleness is never easy. It is to be hoped that the experience is the making of him, but his Championship average of 17 owes much to his unbeaten 71 on a dead final day against Middlesex at Lord’s last week.Ballance, by contrast, now has 727 runs in six Championship matches at 103.85. He has three hundreds, one of them a double. There are two dominant stories in Yorkshire’s season: the delightful wicket-taking exploits of a breakthrough fast bowler, Ben Coad, and something altogether earthier, Ballance at the crease, refusing to yield.When he took the Yorkshire captaincy in the close season, his England ambitions were far from abandoned. It is only last October, against Bangladesh in Dhaka that he played the last of his 21 Tests, but he met such a horrible end, passing 50 only once in his last 14 innings, that a long absence felt inevitable.Perhaps that absence remains likely. But with both Haseeb Hameed and Keaton Jennings short of runs, the theory that they will fill the top three places alongside Alastair Cook in the first Test against South Africa is not the certainty it once was.Ballance will never be an elegant batsman, but once again he is a highly effective one. He will never invite purrs of delight, but he draws admiration. While Somerset’s spinners, Dom Bess and Jack Leach, worked their way through Yorkshire’s order, sharing 4 for 10 in 8.2 overs after lunch, he shored up the innings as reliably as ever. He has become a batsman from the Essentials range, an everyday necessity.As ever, Ballance prospered square on the offside, enough to spring his detractors into life as they reflect upon his predominantly back-foot style. Judging by Steve Davies’ disappointed reaction behind the stumps when he failed to gather a squirted shot, Leach almost dismissed him on 57. Of his two sixes, a skilful ramp to third man off Jamie Overton to move to 98 stood out. Then the innings ended, Ryan Sidebottom agonised to be lbw, his captain’s fourth Championship hundred lost.”Confidence is such a huge thing and I feel really good about my game at the moment,” Ballance said. “I don’t think too much about stats, but rather concentrate on putting in performances that help the team.”Batting wasn’t easy today as their spinners were getting the ball to drift in the strong wind, as well as turn. So I am very happy about the position we have put ourselves in.”Gary Ballance set Somerset a testing target with another captain’s innings•PA Photos

There is some irony in the fact that Yorkshire’s overseas batsman, Peter Handscomb, springs even further back in his crease than Ballance. Perhaps he was signed as a reminder perhaps that back-foot play is not necessarily a criminal offence. Although if the Conservatives’ post-election deal with the DUP runs out of control, who knows what could become illegal?Positive news for Somerset came from Bess, who took his fourth five-wicket haul in five matches. At 19, his story is already one of perseverance, a trip to the Darren Lehmann Academy in Adelaide kick-starting his career after the Somerset Academy chose not to commit to his talents.Included in his 5 for 80 was a little drifter that did for Handscomb and a nicely-flighted delivery that had Jack Leaning caught at slip. A brief contest between Bess and Matthew Waite, an ambitious young player, quick on his feet, was as enjoyable as the day got.Hindsight suggests that Somerset should have kept faith with the spinners at 223 for 8, the lead 201, but they did not, and Yorkshire’s last two wickets added 60, primarily against pace bowlers and the second new ball, Ballance to the fore.

While clarifying a previous statement which left open the possibility that he could extend his career if the team needs him, Younis said he would retire even if he “scores a hundred in every innings of every match against West Indies”

Umar Farooq23-Apr-2017Pakistan batsman Younis Khan remains firm about his intent to retire from international cricket at the end of the ongoing three-Test series against West Indies. In a clarification of a previous statement which left open the possibility that he could extend his career if his team needs him, Younis said that he will retire even if he scores “a hundred in every innings of every match against West Indies”.Younis’ statement around the possibility of reconsidering his retirement raised a number of eyebrows in Pakistan, a country familiar with difficult and prolonged retirements; only two weeks ago he had announced his decision to end his career.”A lot has been said about my retirement from cricket that maybe Younis wants to keep on playing Test cricket which is absolutely not true,” Younis said in a video message released on the second day of the first Test in Kingston. “I had announced my retirement with a plan, with honour after thinking and according to my wish.”The question that was asked to me, what my answer was and what version went out, I don’t want to go in detail. Younis Khan will retire even if he scores a hundred in every innings of every match against West Indies. Please don’t doubt Younis Khan’s credibility and support Pakistan. Pray for Younis Khan and for Pakistan that we can win a Test series for the very first time in West Indies.”

Younis sets the record straight on retirement

Posted by ESPNcricinfo on Saturday, April 22, 2017

Younis, 39, had announced his decision to retire from international cricket on April 8. At the time, when asked if he would reconsider his decision if asked to return by the PCB or fans, he said: “This will be a u-turn and then people will call me u-turn. But the country is always first and we can do anything for Pakistan. I am not saying that I want to captain but I don’t want to make a u-turn. I am for Pakistan and Pakistan is everything for me.”His retirements from T20 internationals and ODIs have not been without some drama. In 2009, he announced his intent to retire from T20 internationals moments after leading the side to the World T20 title. But a year later, he played three T20I matches in New Zealand, after which he was never selected for the format.He announced his retirement from ODIs on the morning of the start of a four-ODI series against England in the UAE in November 2015 and walked away after playing the first match. He had been recalled to the side after losing his place following a disappointing performance in the 2015 World Cup, and had been vocal in his criticism of the selectors in the wake of his axing.With Younis and Misbah-ul-Haq set to retire at the end of the series, Pakistan’s selection committee is looking to induct youngsters in the side with the intention of building a new team after the exits of the senior batsmen. The team’s next assignment is a series against Bangladesh and Pakistan’s chief selector, Inzamam-ul-Haq was known to be keen to move on beyond Misbah and Younis after the Caribbean tour

In T20s, the batter wins on some days, and the bowler on others; with Kuldeep these days, the batter usually loses

Karthik Krishnaswamy26-Jun-2024It isn’t always easy to apportion credit when a bowler takes a wicket in T20s. At first glance, Mitchell Marsh c Axar Patel b Kuldeep Yadav, on Monday morning in St Lucia, was one of the many thousands of T20 wickets that simply happen because the pace of the game requires batters to take constant risks that don’t always come off.At first glance, the wicket belonged almost entirely to the catcher, Axar timing his jump perfectly at deep square-leg and plucking the ball out one-handed, at full stretch over his head. It certainly wasn’t a ball from Kuldeep, in the sense that he probably missed his length and ended up dropping shorter than intended.Everything leading up to that moment, though, contributed layers of to that ball, amping up the likelihood that it would create a wicket-taking chance.Related

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The shot Marsh played is best described as a pull, but watch it again, and it becomes clear from his back lift and the way he sets himself up at the crease that it began life as a sweep. This was the eighth ball Marsh faced from Kuldeep on the day, and he had already attempted sweeps or slog-sweeps against three of them. This doesn’t include another proto-sweep that turned into a different shot entirely – the first ball of this very over, in fact, which Marsh had clipped for a single to long-on when Kuldeep, sensing that the sweep was coming, had fired a 90.5kph delivery (the quickest of his spell so far) – right up at the batter’s feet.The three sweeps Marsh had been allowed to play had brought him no runs. Twice Kuldeep had been too quick and full for a clean connection, and on one occasion he had dangled the ball away from the hitting arc, slower and wide of off stump, and beaten his bat, producing a third-umpire referral for a stumping.Kuldeep knew Marsh was itching to sweep him, and he wasn’t going to let him. The seven balls that preceded the wicket ball were all either quick and full and at leg stump, or slower and wide of off, the latter type either wrong’uns or sliders out of the front of his hand. When he wasn’t sweeping, Marsh was having to be content with singles off slaps to the off-side sweeper or flat-bat hits down to long-on.If Marsh wasn’t so intent on sweeping, he may have been better placed to deal with the wicket ball – better balanced, certainly, to get more elevation on his pull or place it wide of the boundary fielder.But sometimes, this is what one-on-one contests in T20s are like, particularly in conditions like those in St Lucia with a strong wind blowing across the ground: a batter chooses the areas he wants to target, and the bowler knows it, and uses all his skills and wiles to try and cut off those shots. The batter wins on some days, and the bowler on others.With Kuldeep, though, it’s increasingly rare that the batter wins, no matter what the format is and what the conditions are. Two months ago in the IPL, when Sunrisers Hyderabad ran away to the biggest powerplay score in T20 history against Delhi Capitals, it didn’t feel entirely against the run of play when Kuldeep came on and took two wickets in the seventh over. He didn’t get them off balls as we traditionally understand them, but if you’re looking to smash the daylights out of everything, your life is just that little bit harder against a bowler who generates more drift and dip than most spinners, varies his pace and trajectory more adroitly than most spinners, has a more intuitive understanding of batters’ intentions than most spinners, and better control and more variations to boot.0:59

Manjrekar: Kuldeep riding a wave of confidence

It’s quite something that Kuldeep, with all the above-mentioned tools at his disposal, didn’t feature in any of India’s first-round group games at the T20 World Cup 2024, but that’s just life as India’s best spinner when they need to play four quicks, because their other spinners are excellent bowlers too, and happen to offer a lot of value with the bat. Over the course of the USA leg of this tournament, Kuldeep experienced the T20 version of a feeling R Ashwin has experienced for large swathes of his Test career.But the USA leg is done, and Kuldeep was always going to be a key member of India’s line-up, and one of their trump cards, when the action shifted to the West Indies. And so he has been: in three Super Eight games, he’s taken seven wickets at an average of 10.71, while going at just 6.25 per over. And if those numbers don’t look extraordinary in a bowler-dominated World Cup, here’s a better one: according to ESPNcricinfo’s impact ratings, he’s averaged 53.8 bowling impact points per match so far at this World Cup. Jasprit Bumrah, who’s bowled like he’s from another planet, has gone at 42.7.This, of course, isn’t to say that Kuldeep has bowled than Bumrah or anything of that sort. What those numbers do say, however, is that India have a mind-blowingly good attack, quite likely the best of this tournament.This, of course, was true even last year at the ODI World Cup, and November 19 still turned out the way it did. There are no guarantees, certainly not in knockout games, and India have experienced this time and again over the last so many years and so many global events.Kuldeep Yadav was always going to be a key member of India’s line-up, and one of their trump cards, when the action shifted to the West Indies•ICC/Getty ImagesIt doesn’t diminish how good they are, but their players probably feel some sense of unfulfillment, like a subcutaneous itch that their nails can’t quite get at. And leading up to June 27 in Providence, Guyana, some of them may also feel like they have a point to prove.The India of 2024 are, in both structural and personnel terms, a significantly better T20 side than the India of Adelaide, November 10, 2022. They are no longer hampered by the depth issues that turned them into a diffident, risk-averse batting unit in 2022, and they are a far better bowling side with Bumrah – who missed that World Cup with a back injury – and Kuldeep – who wasn’t selected for the tournament, and wasn’t yet the fully rounded bowler he has since become – in their ranks.Kuldeep didn’t feel the sting of that semi-final defeat, but not being part of it would have hurt, and it may have meant something to him that it was England that knocked India out. It had been England that had left Kuldeep with figures of 1 for 72 in Birmingham in 2019, causing India to veer away from their twin-wristspinner ODI strategy and leave him out of their XI for their semi-final against New Zealand.All that is firmly behind Kuldeep now, and he’s already given England more than a glimpse of how good he has become in the years since. There was this, for instance:

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And there was a Test series earlier this year that Kuldeep dominated, his selection the foremost catalyst for India going from 0-1 to 4-1. If any scars remain from Birmingham, 2019, they are probably exceedingly faint.But if Kuldeep is already well on his way to asserting himself as one of the world’s leading all-format spinners, he still has a bit of distance left to cover. There’ll be a lot less of it if Providence is on his side, and India’s, on Thursday morning.