Everton chiefs are now confident in their bid to sign a “menacing” forward who has a £34 million release clause, according to a new report.

David Moyes wants midfield reinforcements at Everton

Heading into the new stadium, it is clear to see that David Moyes is keen to put together a squad at Everton that can look up the table rather than over their shoulder. The Toffees are unlikely to have lots of money to spend this summer as like everyone else they dance around PSR, but Moyes will have no intentions of another relegation scrap.

Everton in race with West Ham to sign midfielder who can leave for £25m

Everton are now involved in a Premier League race to sign an experienced international midfielder.

ByBrett Worthington Jun 26, 2025

Strengthening his midfield appears to be high on the list, and that can be shown with their latest transfer targets. According to talkSPORT, Everton have returned to Wilfred Ndidi as a potential target this summer. The midfielder could cost Everton as little as £9 million, due to a release clause that has now been activated due to Leicester City suffering relegation.

As well as looking at Ndidi, the Toffees have reportedly registered their interest in signing James McAtee from Manchester City. The attacking midfielder is expected to leave the Etihad due to his lack of game time last season, and he could be available for around £25 million.

There is now a new name on their midfield list, and that is Raphael Onyedika from Club Brugge. Everton are said to be in pole position to sign him, with Club Brugge looking to get £25 million for his services.

Everton confident in their bid to sign Thierno Barry

But as much as Moyes wants a new midfielder, that may have to wait, as the Toffees focus on securing their top striker target. According to TBR Football, Everton are now ready to accelerate talks to sign Thierno Barry from Villarreal.

The Toffees’ interest in Barry emerged at the very start of the summer transfer window, but they have had to be patient when it comes to a transfer, as the forward has been away with France at the U21 Championships, only knocked out by Germany on Wednesday.

Despite interest from other teams across Europe, The Friedkin Group are confident they can sign Barry this summer. The forward’s representatives have already held talks with the Premier League side, and he is now open to the move. The fact that Barry has a £34 million release clause makes the deal easier to do, but the Toffees may even end up paying slightly more than that if they do the deal in installments.

Apps

35

Starts

25

Goals

11

xG

12.41

Total shots per game

2.1

Big chances missed

15

Chance conversion

15%

Assists

4

Big chances created

7

Barry, who has been dubbed “menacing” by U23 scout Antonio Mango, joined Villarreal in August 2024, and in his first full season, the striker scored 11 goals in 35 La Liga appearances.

His presence and ability to find the net have made him a target for Everton, who lacked a serious presence at the top end of the pitch last season and now look set to lose Dominic Calvert-Lewin at the end of this month.

Ian Chappell pays tribute to his first touring room-mate Graeme Watson

Ian Chappell25-Apr-2020You never forget your first touring room-mate; it’s not quite a love-of-your-life remembrance but a fond recall.My first room-mate on a five-month tour of Rhodesia (modern-day Zimbabwe) and South Africa in 1966-67 was Graeme Donald Watson. His nickname was Beatle as he wore his hair long like the ‘Fab Four’. He was chosen as the replacement for Doug Walters who was called up for Army national service.Beatle was a genuine allrounder who batted in the top six for Victoria and bowled hit-the-deck-hard medium-fast. Before the tour, I’d played against Graeme, but I really only knew him as a slightly unusual Victorian in that he stayed around for a beer after play.On a five-month tour where you’re regularly cooped up in the same room, you get to know a guy pretty well. The friendship is either a lasting one or it runs out of steam pretty quickly. In our case, it remained firm until Friday, when sadly cancer claimed the Beatle’s life.There are many fond memories of that tour. We shared a lot together including a solid partnership against Eastern Province where we both completed our first centuries for Australia. The match was played at St George’s Park, which was then known as Pollockville because of the presence of the brothers, Peter the fast bowler and Graeme, one of the pre-eminent Test batsmen of the time.The second-innings battle of the Graemes ended with Pollock c Chappell b Watson 120.After commencing his debut Test at Newlands with an impressive half-century, Beatle injured his ankle while bowling and finished up on crutches with his leg in plaster. That resulted in the unusual sight of late-night crutch races being held in the corridors of Deals Hotel in East London, with the other participants being the fully capacitated but slightly inebriated Dave Renneberg, Brian Taber and yours truly.Unfortunately for Beatle injuries dogged his sporting life.I toured with Beatle again in 1972 but by that time I was captain and enjoyed a single room, so he had to make do with second best. He’d been included in the touring party despite suffering a near-death experience after an incident at the MCG in the Rest of the World series of 1971-72.I was batting with Watson when an unintentional beamer from Tony Greig hit him in the nose and he was carted off the ground bleeding profusely. He was extremely unfortunate as Greig’s delivery was affected when his bowling hand hit the stumps and Watson top-edged a ball that would’ve hit him in the chest if his attempted pull shot had missed.By 1972, Chappell was captain and enjoyed a single room, so Watson (back row, extreme left) had to make do with second best•Getty ImagesIt was only on that 1972 tour when I met one of his nurses at a social function that I found out Beatle had actually stopped breathing for a while when he was in hospital. It was typical of Beatle to say very little about the incident; he made light of any injury and at times was too brave for his own good.That serious injury occurred on January 5 but with a fervent desire to be selected for the 1972 tour of England, he defied doctors’ orders and played against South Australia on February 26. In the second innings with a gale blowing in the direction from mid-off to fine leg, I told fast bowler Kevin McCarthy the only option was to operate with a strong leg-side field.A bouncer from McCarthy struck Watson on the side of the head and for a moment my heart sank. Fortunately, it was only a glancing blow and he successfully continued his innings.In another season, he bowled for Western Australia with a broken bone in his leg and Rod Marsh swears that at times he was standing as far back for Beatle as he was for Dennis Lillee.However, there was one injury that did stop him; a broken jaw. A talented dual sportsman, he was in the Melbourne Football Club squad that won the 1964 Victorian Football League grand final. When he suffered two broken jaws in quick succession during the 1965 season, that brought his football career to an abrupt halt. On that South African tour, whenever Keith Stackpole wanted to annoy Beatle, he’d call out, “Hey, glass jaw.”His cricket career involved playing for three states Victoria, WA and New South Wales. During regular drink sessions with a group of mates it was a standard joke to claim that he played with four states – he was selected for Queensland but joined World Series Cricket instead – the same number as he had wives.I was in the official party at his first wedding which was attended by then Australian prime minister Harold Holt. I was unable to attend any of the other ceremonies which was unfortunate because it precluded me from using the hilarious line of England’s fast bowling funnyman John J Warr.When JJ attended England batsman Bill Edrich’s fifth wedding he was asked, “Which side – bride or groom?” Without a flicker of a smile, he answered, “Season’s ticket.”I know his last two wives well, Karina with whom he sired two beautiful girls in Laura and Louisa, and Jan who was at his side when he passed away. Beatle had generously offered a kidney to Jan who needed a transplant, but the dreaded cancer diagnosis put an end to that plan. Fortunately, Jan received a transplant and is now recovering well.Watson had a successful business life after sport, cleverly maximising his qualifications as an architect. He excelled in solutions for sports stadium management and was involved in that capacity in the highly successful Sydney Olympic precinct.His architectural background stood out in the functional design of his house at Burradoo in the NSW Southern Highlands and the farmhouse on his property at Wollombi, just north of Sydney. That was a favourite venue as a ‘male retreat’ and I have fond memories of the sessions enjoyed there with Tabsy and Beatle that made allowances for one female – our dog Bella.Beatle lived a very full life and he was looking forward to caring for Jan in her post-operation period, but unfortunately, the tables were turned and it was she who lovingly cared for him.His last public act was a selfless one as usual. Even in struggling health, he offered to help the Southern Highlands District Cricket Association raise funds for junior development.This culminated in a sold-out dinner in early March which provided much-needed funds for the association. Beatle – with his voice fading – made a fine speech that night, full of common sense and with a vision for the future.It was a long journey from Salisbury (now Harare) to Burradoo, but it was a successful one, with a lot of laughs along the way.

The toss became crucial on a surface that started out sticky before flattening out considerably

Sidharth Monga02-Oct-20214:55

Dasgupta: Gaikwad shows that this format is not just for power-hitters

When a side wins so comfortably after conceding a century to an opposition batter, the first thing you tend to do is look at that hundred with suspicion. Ruturaj Gaikwad’s came up in 60 balls, off the last ball of the innings. While batting first in the IPL, there have been 11 innings lasting 60 balls or longer and worth between 100 and 105. Eight of them, including Gaikwad’s, have come in defeats.Gaikwad’s innings, though, was not the problem on the night. It was a night on which the first 10 overs of the match produced just 63 runs, and the next 27.3 went for 316 at 11.5 an over. Gaikwad’s first 50 took 43 balls, the next 51 came in 17. All of a sudden you weren’t thinking of the field settings each time someone hit the ball in the air. This was a pitch different to what has been on display so far this season: everything was travelling with the ball beginning to skid onto the bat.Watch the IPL on ESPN+

Sign up for ESPN+ and catch all the action from the IPL live in the US. Match highlights of Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals is available here in English, and here in Hindi (US only).

It was one of those unfortunate things that can happen in T20: you get put in on a slightly sticky pitch, the dew then settles in in about 10 overs, and the ball starts to come on nicely. In a contest as short as a T20 match, even a period of five overs before the pitch settles down can prove critical. MS Dhoni, Sanju Samson, Gaikwad and Stephen Fleming all said that was the case. When you are put in on such a pitch, the best way to be competitive is to post an above-par score, which, according to Dhoni, would have been close to 250 here.”My observations were that as the dew settled, the pitch just got better and better,” the Super Kings’ coach Fleming said. “The second half of our innings showed that as well. Initially there was a bit of stickiness so the ball just sat a little bit. Once the dew settled, it became an absolute road. Which is quite different to any other pitches we have played on so far. All games have been sort of 130-150.”The Super Kings have already qualified for the playoffs and look favourites to end up in the top two, which means the ideal response from them would be to forget such a match and move on. However, this is something that can happen in a knockout game too.If an identical match were to happen in identical conditions, Dhoni doesn’t believe it would be possible to set a target of more than 190 or 200. Dhoni said his openers have been really good at assessing the conditions, and while the idea is to prevent over-attacking and losing too many wickets early, this wasn’t a case of a hangover from earlier slow pitches and thus aiming too low.Ruturaj Gaikwad’s first 50 came in 43 balls, and his next 51 in just 17, but the difference wasn’t just about intent•BCCIWhat a side can change when they lose such a bad toss is either take that over-attacking route, which is a risk, or, as Dhoni would want, be smarter with the ball. In their ideal XI, Super Kings would have Dwayne Bravo and Deepak Chahar, who were rested against the Royals and should make a difference when they return, but Dhoni and Fleming would like to see better thinking from the bowlers when caught in another onslaught.”The wicket changed quite a bit,” Dhoni said when asked how much he missed Chahar and Bravo. “Both of them are quite experienced, but I felt their batters put us under pressure. What we could have done slightly better was maybe use the dimensions of the field. Or put fielders where you would like to bowl, make them go over the [boundary] fielders rather than go over mid-off or short cover.”Fleming echoed the sentiment. “It is not a bad thing to have a high-scoring game like this and be tested,” Fleming said. “It gives you some really good coaching points and improvement points. One of them is how to absorb an onslaught like that. It was spectacular and it was great play. The only criticism would probably be our adjustments were not as quick as they needed to be.”

The captains event is tentatively scheduled around February 16 or 17 in Karachi

Nagraj Gollapudi22-Jan-2025

Rohit Sharma and Babar Azam at the captains’ photoshoot ahead of the 2023 World Cup in India•AFP/Getty Images

There is no clear answer to whether India captain Rohit Sharma will travel to Pakistan for the ICC’s official captains call to ring in the 2025 Champions Trophy. The captains event, which as per practice happens in the host country, is tentatively scheduled around February 16 or 17 in Karachi, but the BCCI is yet to get any official communication on it from the ICC.”It [Rohit travelling to Pakistan] has not yet been discussed. It is not on the agenda yet,” Devjit Saikia, the BCCI’s newly-appointed secretary, told ESPNcricinfo.It could not be confirmed whether the BCCI would need the Indian government’s permission for Rohit to travel to Pakistan.Related

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Hybrid model agreed for Champions Trophy and ICC events from 2024-27

Due to the climate of political tension between the two countries, India and Pakistan have played no bilateral series since 2012, but continue to meet at ICC tournaments. While Pakistan have travelled to India for ICC tournaments in this period, India have not played any international cricket in Pakistan since 2008.With the BCCI insisting that India would not travel to Pakistan for their matches, the ICC in co-ordination with the PCB, the tournament hosts, decided upon a hybrid model for ICC events until 2027, with Dubai named as the host of India’s Champions Trophy games.While there is no recent precedent for an India player visiting Pakistan in an official capacity, there is one involving BCCI officials. In 2023, Roger Binny and Rajiv Shukla, the BCCI’s president and vice-president, travelled to Lahore for an official PCB dinner during the Asia Cup, after being invited by the then PCB chair Zaka Ashraf.It is understood that the PCB has requested the ICC to ensure that, as per standard practice, all teams and captains are available for the Champions Trophy photoshoot, opening ceremony and other pre-tournament engagements. The ICC, it is understood, is still finalising logistics and travel dates for teams.Incidentally, the ICC did not organise a captains event ahead of the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup which was co-hosted by the West Indies and the USA. With teams playing warm-up matches in several countries, the ICC instead opted to do the official launch via a lighting projection show that featured all 20 captains beamed onto the Rockefeller Centre building in New York City. It is understood that like in the 2024 T20 World Cup, teams will have the option of playing up to two warm-up matches each depending on their arrival time for the Champions Trophy.Saikia: ‘BCCI will follow every uniform-related ICC rule’Saikia, meanwhile, has clarified that India will adhere to the dress code set by the ICC for the Champions Trophy, responding to media speculation that the BCCI had objected to the host nation’s name on their jersey. Player jerseys during ICC events usually include the tournament logo with the name of the tournament, host country and year below it.”BCCI will follow every uniform-related ICC rule during Champions Trophy,” Saikia told . “Whatever the other teams will do regarding the logo and dress code, we are going to follow in true letter and spirit.”

“It was not an easy decision to make,” according to Johnathan Atkeison, CEO of USA Cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Oct-2024USA Cricket has announced the departure of Stuart Law as the head coach of the men’s national team. While the reason behind his departure has not been made public, Johnathan Atkeison, CEO of USA Cricket, said “it was not an easy decision to make”.The announcement came in the middle of USA’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 campaign, a day before their game against Nepal in Dallas.Law’s tenure, which started in April, lasted just over seven months despite the team beating Bangladesh in a T20I series and then advancing into the Super-Eights stage of the T20 World Cup for the first time in their history.USA beat Canada and more significantly, Pakistan, to progress in the tournament they co-hosted with the West Indies.”Given Stuart’s contribution to the program, this was not an easy decision to make,” Atkeison said in a press release. “Unfortunately, we felt that a change was necessary for the next phase of competitive preparation.Venu Pisike, Chair of USA Cricket added, “We thank Stuart for his contributions to USA Cricket during his tenure. We wish him nothing but success in his future endeavors.”USA are currently placed second on the Cricket World Cup League 2 points table with six wins in nine games, and are looking to qualify for the 2027 ODI World Cup.

تحدث جاري نيفيل، النجم السابق لفريق مانشستر يونايتد، عن سباق المنافسة على لقب الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، موسم 2025/26، مع نجاح آرسنال في الوقت الحالي وصدارتهم تحت قيادة المدرب ميكيل أرتيتا.

ويتصدر آرسنال جدول الدوري الإنجليزي برصيد 25 نقطة، ويليه بورنموث وليفربول بـ18 نقطة.

وقال جاري نيفيل، في تصريحات نشرتها صحيفة “مترو” الإنجليزية: “انظروا، قد يخسر آرسنال من الآن فصاعدًا، لكنهم الفريق الأكثر ثباتًا في الأداء، وقد واصلوا العمل على هذا النهج لثلاثة أو أربعة مواسم”.

وأضاف: “لقد رشحتهم للفوز باللقب في المواسم الثلاثة الماضية، لم يحققوا ذلك، كنت أعتقد أنه كان ينبغي أن يكونوا هناك الموسم الماضي عندما فاز ليفربول باللقب، لأنني اعتقدت أنه إذا تراجع مانشستر سيتي، فإن آرسنال هو الفريق الأنسب لتحقيق اللقب”.

وواصل: “لن يكون هناك الكثير من الأعذار لـ آرسنال هذا الموسم وهذا لا يعني أنني أضغط عليه، أنا فقط أعتقد أنهم أفضل فريق في الدوري ولديهم التشكيلة المناسبة”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. ترتيب الدوري الإنجليزي بعد فوز ليفربول على أستون فيلا

وأردف: “ما زلنا في نوفمبر، لذلك من غير المنطقي أن نقترح الفائز بالدوري لكنهم يستحقون ذلك، وإذا لم تكن ميكيل أرتيتا أو لاعبًا في آرسنال، فيمكنك قول ذلك بثقة تامة”.

وشدد: “السبب الذي يجعلني أقول إني واثق من فوز آرسنال بالدوري هو أنك دائمًا تفكر فيما يمكن أن يوقف الفريق، لو خسر ليفربول فيرجيل فان دايك أو محمد صلاح في المواسم السابقة، لكان في ورطة”.

واسترسل: “لكنني لا أستطيع التفكير في إمكانية خسارة آرسنال للقب حال خسارته أي لاعب الآن، حتى قلبي الدفاع، بسبب التعاقدات الصيفية، جميع المراكز مُغطاة”.

وأوضح: “كان بوكايو ساكا هو ذلك اللاعب في الماضي (لا يمكن تعويضه)، لكن نوني مادويكي جاء عندما كان مصابًا، يُضاعفون من قوتهم في كل مركز، بنفس المستوى أو بانخفاض طفيف فقط، سيتعين على آرسنال أن يهزم نفسه حتى لا يفوز باللقب”.

وأفاد: “لا أعتقد أن مانشستر سيتي سيعود إلى مستواه السابق ويعود إلى منافسة آرسنال، بيب جوارديولا عبقري، لكنه لا يملك اللاعبين أو الفريق الذي يلعب بالمستوى المطلوب، ليفربول هو الفريق الوحيد ولكن سيتعين عليه العودة إلى المسار الصحيح بسرعة كبيرة”.

Stand-in captain, who is just one away from 10,000 Test runs, will rather look to “focus on job at hand”

Andrew Fidel Fernando28-Jan-2025Sometimes it spins. At other times it goes straight. Be ready for both. This is stand-in captain Steven Smith’s advice to Australia’s less-experienced batters, as he prepares to lead them in a two-Test series against Sri Lanka in Galle. Of Australia’s batters on tour, Smith understands the challenge ahead more than most – he has two hundreds in Sri Lanka, and averages 49.75 on the island.”We have spoken about the differences in the surfaces,” Smith said on Tuesday, the eve of the first Test on Australia’s ongoing tour of Sri Lanka. “Last time we came, we played on one that spun from ball one and the other one was pretty flat in the first innings, and then spun a lot in the second innings.”So it’s important to have plans for both kind of surfaces. Then if it is extreme from the outset, then you need to be proactive and follow different methods to score runs. You just have to adapt as quickly as possible to what you get.”Related

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In 2016, Smith had overseen a tour in which Australia’s batters largely failed to pick the slider from the one that turned off the surface, thus going down 3-0 in the series. In 2022, however, their batters fared much better, even winning a Test on the more spin-friendly surface in that series.Among the more recent trends in countering the kind of spin often seen in Galle has been to focus on run-scoring, rather than on defence. Smith’s own 145* the last time he was at this venue was memorable for how quick he was to move around the crease to create scoring opportunities. Reverse sweeps, slogs, paddles around the corner, and more frequent trips down the pitch – these have all become much more commonly employed.”I think the game has changed a lot since I first came to the sub-continent,” Smith said. “Guys play different shots to put pressure on the bowlers. The game has evolved a lot in the last ten years, and it’s good to see some of the shots these guys play to take the game forward.”For Smith, this is a series that will almost certainly feature a major career milestone. He is one run away from becoming the fourth Australia batter to 10,000 Test runs. Smith only needed 38 more runs from the last Test of the home summer – in Sydney – to get to the landmark, but fell for 33 and 4 against India.”I’ll just try to put it out of my mind, to be honest,” Smith said of the milestone. “I probably thought too much about it in Sydney. This time I’ll just try to forget it and focus on job at hand.”

The 22-year-old missed nearly the entire second half of the 2024-25 campaign, but returned Wednesday wearing his shooting boots

• Pepi scores brace for PSV in preseason match
• Striker returned from injury with statement
• Forward touted for big season in Netherlands

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  U.S. men's national team forward Ricardo Pepi returned to the scoresheet for PSV on Wednesday in a preseason friendly against FC Eindhoven, scoring a first-half brace in their 3-2 victory.

  Former New England Revolution winger Esmir Bajraktarevic played a role in both goals, creating the opportunity for each that saw Pepi find the back of the net from close range each time.

  For Pepi, it was his second appearance this preseason, and his first start since suffering an injury in a Champions League match against Liverpool in January that sidelined him for the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign.

  Fellow American Sergino Dest was not named to the teamsheet for the contest on Wednesday. He suffered a minor setback in preseason, but is expected to be fit for the start of the Eredivisie campaign.

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• WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Pepi is set to play an integral role for both club and country this upcoming campaign, as PSV look to win their third-straight Eredivise title, and the U.S. men's national team looks to find a spell of form under Mauricio Pochettino.

  The U.S. has just 10 matches left across five FIFA international windows until the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and after falling short in the CONCACAF Nations League and the Gold Cup in recent months, they'll look to put in some positive showings.

  Pepi, meanwhile, will look to play his first minutes for the USMNT this September since November 2024, when he scored twice across two matches against Jamaica in the Nations League quarterfinals.

  To date, Pepi has 33 caps and has scored 13 goals, and has recorded three assists.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  This offseason, PSV awarded Pepi the historic No. 9 jersey at the club, a shirt previously worn by the likes of Romario, Ronaldo Nazario, and Dutch legend Patrick Kluivert.

Jos Buttler rampaged into form in his second innings back in charge of England’s T20I side, a brutal 83 off 45 balls helping to clinically ice a chase of 159 and give the tourists a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.Batting once again at No. 3, Buttler followed up the good work of his bowling attack by peeling off the 26th 50-plus score of his career in T20 internationals, eight fours and six sixes ringing off his bat during a century stand with Will Jacks that saw England cruise to their requirement with more than five overs to spare.Having again won the toss and opted to bowl, England made good use of the conditions to leave West Indies three down in the powerplay, Saqib Mahmood striking twice to continue his prolific start to the series. Rovman Powell provided some ballast for West Indies with a 41-ball 43 but Romario Shepherd was the only other batter to reach 20 as Dan Mousley, in his second T20I, and Liam Livingstone shared four wickets.Although England then lost their centurion from Saturday’s successful chase of 183, Phil Salt, to the first ball of the reply, Buttler and Jacks dispelled West Indies’ hopes of making a game of it with a domineering stand of 129 from 72 balls. Both fell in the same Shepherd over but there was no reprieve forthcoming for West Indies.Hosein’s opening salvo
Only three times had a score of 150 or less been defended in T20Is at Kensington Oval – and none since 2010. West Indies clearly needed to make early inroads with the new ball, and they couldn’t have gone any better in that regard. Akeal Hosein gave his first ball some air, found a little turn, and Salt’s aggressive thump went straight to hand in the covers. Buttler was then late in jabbing down on Hosein’s fourth delivery, the ball deflecting off the toe of the bat before bouncing over the stumps. Might the pitch still be tricky to master?Buttler serves up a classic
The short answer was: no. Jacks did the early running, picking off boundaries against Matthew Forde and Hosein, with Buttler scoring just three runs off his first 10 balls. Back-to-back fours off Forde followed, before Jacks deposited Hosein over long-off. England were beginning to feel a little more comfortable as Shepherd came on to bowl the final over of the powerplay – and they were metaphorically in a deckchair sipping from a cold bottle of Banks by the end of it.Jacks again took the lead, clubbing four high over mid-off, before ceding the stage to Buttler. His first of three consecutive boundaries was something of an ungainly hack that spun away to the rope at deep backward point, but that was followed up by emphatically drilling Shepherd’s slower ball over the sightscreen, then walking across to the change of length and flipping four more over the head of short fine leg, as England reached the end of the powerplay on 56 for 1.Another bludgeon down the ground off Gudakesh Motie meant a replacement ball had to be sent for, and Buttler went to a 32-ball half-century by smashing Roston Chase into the crowd in the 10th over of the chase. Terrance Hinds, making his debut for West Indies, was collared for 15 runs as England brought up their 100 in the next, before Buttler went 6-6-4 against Chase. He fell in the next over, three balls after Jacks – and one ball after being dropped in the covers. But the finish line was already in sight for England, Livingstone creaming four boundaries in 11 balls and sealing the result with a six.Mahmood in the mood again
There was early evidence of some juice in the pitch, with Bridgetown having been lashed by rain during the morning, as Evin Lewis edged Jofra Archer fortuitously wide of slip while attempting to leave in the first over. Brandon King was in no mood for sighters, though, and tried to thrash his second ball from Mahmood over the top: the ball stood up just enough off the surface to send a spiralling leading edge to mid-off.Archer had Lewis prodding and poking in the channel, before producing a brute of a lifter to flick the glove through to Salt. And although Mahmood struggled at times to control the amount of movement on offer, conceding 10 wides in his opening three-over burst, he picked up his fifth powerplay wicket of the series when beating Chase on the inside to win an lbw decision that was backed up on DRS as umpire’s call. West Indies were 35 for 3 inside the fourth over – marginally better off than their start to the first T20I, but not by much.Powell powers the revival
West Indies needed a partnership and they got one from Powell and Nicholas Pooran – but it was not fluent. Pooran soon opted for seeing off the new-ball pair, given the movement on offer, while Powell was also circumspect, seeing off a maiden from Sam Curran in the eighth. The pair put on 35 from 43, with just a boundary apiece, before Pooran was lured from his ground by Livingstone, whose flighted offbreak left the West Indies No. 3 stranded.Powell had crabbed his way to 18 off 28 before he found his range, panning Livingstone over the midwicket rope for the first six. He lost another partner in Sherfane Rutherford, England reviewing successfully for lbw, and then somehow managed to muscle Rashid on to the rope at extra cover, despite aiming down the ground. Another boundary at the end of the over brought up West Indies’ 100; but just as Powell appeared set to unleash through the death overs, he was undone by Mousley’s 116kph/72mph yorker, which dipped under the bat to hit middle stump and give the 21-year-old his maiden international wicket.Windies tail wags
The hosts only managed three boundaries between the end of the powerplay and the start of the 15th over, but after Powell’s dismissal, the lower order heaved away to good effect. Motie made good use of the extra pace Mousley put on the ball to thrash two fours in three balls, before Shepherd took back-to-back boundaries off Archer and crunched Curran down the ground. Forde also found the ropes three times in six balls, all them sweetly struck, while Hinds hit his second ball in international cricket for four – Mousley’s final over costing 15, including five wides down the leg side.

A crisis man, a tidy bowler and a compact batter – Chase ticks all the boxes for WI

Shashank Kishore21-Feb-2022Roston Chase wasn’t meant to play any of the T20Is and was only picked as a back-up allrounder. He not only ended the T20I series as the highest wicket-taker across both teams, and all but sealed his spot as a bowling all-rounder, who can offer batting flexibility when the team needs it.Early wickets lost, consolidation the need of the hour? Dial Chase. Wickets needed with the ball to win back some control? Dial Chase. Besides, Chase is also an excellent fielder inside the ring. He bowled his full quota of overs in each game; his six wickets in three games came at an economy of just 5.16.Jason Holder’s bruise on his chest prior to the series opener handed him an opportunity. In a modest 157 chase, India were cruising at 57 without loss when he was brought on. He bowled his four overs at a stretch mostly with a wet ball.He used the crease to vary his lines, and then his tall frame to bowl it into the pitch and extract bounce. By not allowing batters to get underneath the flight on a two-paced surface, he kept India honest. The rewards for these were the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan. He finished the first T20I with figures of 4-0-14-2.In the second T20I, West Indies won a crucial toss and elected to bowl because of heavy dew. This time, Chase wasn’t a last-minute inclusion, but a first XI player in place of Fabian Allen, who was meant to start. Chase’s terrific effort in the series opener had swayed the team management into playing him again.This time, he had better conditions to show off his wares. India began to get off the blocks quickly, with Rohit and Virat Kohli playing in a refreshingly attacking manner. Kohli batted with freedom and positivity, hitting six boundaries off his first 15 deliveries. When Chase came on to bowl in the eighth over, Kohli had raced to 29 off 18, Rohit was on 18 off 16. The signs were ominous, and he delivered yet again.Chase’s tall frame helps him operate with different trajectories compared to Allen or Akeal Hosein, the other two spin bowling allrounders. And he used every bit of it to his advantage. Four balls into his spell, he dismissed Rohit for the second time in the series, by having him slice a lofted hit to cover.Chase can land the ball on the same spot – much like Washington Sundar does for India – and he mixes this with subtle changes in grip. The one that got Rohit held its line instead of spinning in because he bowled it with a scrambled seam. Rohit, who was looking to muscle it over cover ended up slicing it to the fielder at the edge of the ring. Off his next over, he enticed Suryakumar Yadav to drive, only to get the ball to dip and spin as he gobbled up a forceful push.Chase ensured India didn’t hit a single boundary between the end of the powerplay and the start of the 13th over. After a pulsating beginning, Kohli had managed just 10 runs off his next 15 balls during Chase’s spell, with two big wickets having fallen. Once again, his subtle mastery was at play, allowing Pollard a degree of control over proceedings. Four overs of mayhem at the end – where the fast bowlers repeatedly lost their lengths and bowled into the slot – allowed Rishabh Pant and Venkatesh Iyer to feast on the bowling to set up a target of 187, which the visitors fell short of.On Sunday, Chase was once again at the forefront for West Indies. Not allowing India’s fearless band to break away initially. They wanted to bat with freedom and made four changes with the series in the bag. In came Chase again, keeping them honest and in the process. Kishan’s frustration stemmed from his inability to step out to Chase.The lengths he bowled didn’t allow him to go back and pull either, because it was the “in-between” length Chase often goes back to as a default setting. Eventually, he’d have Kishan bowled trying to pull a delivery that held on to the surface and had him play early. Once again, he bowled out with West Indies having a degree of control, with Rohit and Suryakumar Yadav having to rebuild the innings. Allen, the man who was set to play ahead of him when the series started, bowled just one wicketless over. How the tide had turned. If not for some poor death bowling, West Indies may have found themselves chasing 20 fewer than the 185 they were set.While his bowling has come up leaps and bounds, Chase the batter struggled for any sort of rhythm. In the first game, he pottered his way around before falling lbw to a Ravi Bishnoi googly. In the third, he came in much later, after the cream of the batting had all been dismissed in pursuit of a big target. For someone who is seen as an accumulator, who can shift up and down the order based on conditions, these were disappointing series with the bat.In a line-up full of explosive power, Chase is often seen as the calm amid the storm. His presence gives West Indies a degree of comfort with the bat at the best of times. He is an excellent player of spin because of the assuredness in his footwork. His role is mainly to knock the ball around after the power plays, pick up occasional boundaries and allow the power-hitters to come into their own.This has been the DNA of his T20 game ever since he made a serious pitch as a T20 player in 2020, when he was named as a replacement player in the CPL by St Lucia Kings. In the following season, he repaid the faith by being the season’s MVP, which got him a maiden T20 World Cup call-up. While his bowling continues to be on the rise, Chase will hope his batting returns in India were an aberration. If he can offer West Indies a bit more flexibility, his presence, amid a succession of bowling allrounders in Allen, Hosein, Odean Smith, Jason Holder and Romario Shepherd will help build a bouquet of options T20 teams around the world yearn for.