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Everton are now said to have entered the race to complete the signing of a “talented” midfield player during the summer transfer window.

Everton make call to sign star winger

The Blues still have over a month to bring in new signings, ahead of an exciting era at the club, with PSV Eindhoven winger Johan Bakayoko emerging as an eye-catching target.

Everton are believed to be among a host of clubs who have “called” about a potential move for the 22-year-old Belgian, according to an update from journalist Fabrizio Romano.

Bakayoko is far from the only young target for the Blues, however, with talks reportedly taking place with Manchester City attacking midfielder James McAtee over a move to Merseyside.

He played a key role in England’s Under-21s winning the European Championships earlier this summer, and could be a fantastic long-term option for Everton, providing so much guile and quality.

Everton make contact sign "talented" midfielder ahead of Roma

Now, according to a fresh report from TEAMtalk, Everton have “joined the race” to sign highly-rated Lens midfielder Neil El Aynaoui this summer ahead of AS Roma.

The 24-year-old is valued at £26m by his current club and there could now be a tug of war between two teams who have the same owners in The Friedkin Group. Everton have been in contact over a deal by recently asking for information regarding a transfer.

El Aynaoui could be a strong addition for Everton, at a time when midfield reinforcements are important, given the fact that Abdoulaye Doucoure has moved on and Idrissa Gueye is now well into his 30s.

The Moroccan operates mainly as a box-to-box midfielder, but is also adept at taking up a more disciplined role in the middle of the park, with journalist Mohamed Toubache-Ter describing him as a “highly talented” player.

Last season, Aynaoui scored eight goals in just 17 starts in Ligue 1, highlighting the level of end product he is capable of from his midfield role, but he also averaged 1.6 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per game at the same time, showing that he can be a force both in and out of possession.

Everton battling to sign Italian midfielder who's lined up for England move

The Toffees will be keen to win the race…

BySean Markus Clifford Jul 13, 2025

That is exactly what Everton need this summer, and at 24 years of age, the Lens ace is likely to have his peak years ahead of him, which David Moyes would no doubt love to see happen under his management. It feels like a deal that is very much worth pushing hard to get over the line.

Not one of the young players in whom so much time and money has been invested has thrived under Silverwood’s watch

Matt Roller29-Dec-2021It was a comment that stuck in the craw. “I think there are positives coming out of this,” Chris Silverwood said in an interview to , after his England side lost by an innings and 14 runs at the MCG to give Australia an unassailable 3-0 lead in the Ashes. “I’ve got to give our boys credit for the way they pushed back yesterday.”If Silverwood’s intentions were sound – defending his bowlers’ efforts after they had come in for heavy criticism after the Adelaide Test – then his response still betrayed a coach whose outlook seems increasingly out of touch with reality. His side has lost nine of their last 12 Tests, including six consecutive thrashings away from home: this was the time for honesty and introspection, not empty cliché.Those results mean Silverwood should be well-versed in fronting up after a defeat but his words have suggested otherwise. He has referred to a batting line-up containing “youngsters that are learning on the job constantly”, when five of the top seven in all three Tests have been aged 30-plus. He has described the dressing-room debrief after the thrashing in Adelaide as “a good, honest chat” and evidence that the players respond to him, despite the manner of the defeat. Most bizarrely, he insisted that England know what their best XI is, despite the very notion being outdated in this squad-based era of Test cricket.But Silverwood has a history of making a rod for his own back. He has stressed the importance of preparing his side for this series ever since his appointment 26 months ago to the extent that everything had been geared towards it: why focus on winning the series at hand or making qualification for the World Test Championship final a priority when you can talk in vagaries about long-term Ashes preparation?The nadir came at the start of the English summer. “Playing the top two teams in the world, in New Zealand and India, is perfect preparation for us as we continue to improve and progress towards an Ashes series in Australia at the back end of the year,” Silverwood was quoted as saying in a press release before his side went on to win one out of six Tests across their home season. Under his predecessor, Trevor Bayliss, England were dominant at home but struggled away; under Silverwood, England sacrificed their stellar home record to prepare for the Ashes, but results overseas have been just as bad.

When Silverwood was unveiled as England coach, he had said his “job number one” was to improve the Test side so that they could “make a real impact” in Australia in 2021-22. Perhaps circumstances and a creaking system have let him down but he has clearly failed to achieve his primary goal

“Our gameplan is not rocket science – we need big first-innings runs,” Silverwood wrote in his programme notes at the start of the India series in August, like a football manager revealing that his team’s strategic masterplan was to try and score goals in the first half. In their seven Tests since then, England have been bowled out for 236 or under in the first innings four times and have made 400 only once. Silverwood highlighted old-school virtues of batting time but has been unable to implement that philosophy.Their failure to do simple things well has been a damning reflection on Silverwood’s training sessions: dropped catches, missed run-outs and wickets off no-balls have added to a wider sense that a focus on small details has caused England to lose sight of the basics. Jofra Archer’s absence is a mitigating factor – but his excessive workload in Silverwood’s first Test and beyond doubtless contributed to his injury.Asked about England’s response to Rory Burns’ first-ball dismissal in Brisbane, Silverwood spoke about the management’s wargaming and their attempts to think: “Okay, we expected this – let’s move forward.” Combined with his insistence that they picked the right team for the first two Tests in spite of all evidence, it has become clear that he lacks the humility to admit his own mistakes.In a winning team, that might be framed as a positive, demonstrating strength in his own convictions. But it has jarred badly with an unassuming public persona and either an inability or an unwillingness to explain England’s decision-making after defeats, and has been out of kilter with an understated defiance about his own future. “I do feel like I am capable of leading this team to winning things and that’s what I’m going to stay focused on,” he insisted after the MCG defeat.The response to a third consecutive drubbing in an Ashes series in Australia has been to look for systemic issues within the English game, to blame the rotation policy which saw first-choice players rested in India, to criticise the domestic schedule and to focus on the prioritisation of white-ball cricket. Covid, too, has contributed to a meagre warm-up period, a brutal schedule and an intense team environment.Silverwood is under growing pressure after his side conceded an unassailable 3-0 lead in the Ashes•Getty ImagesAll have contributed to this defeat, but Silverwood must shoulder some of the blame. Right now, his position appears untenable. Not one of the young players in whom so much time and money has been invested has thrived under his watch – in fact, most appear to have regressed – and two years of planning has unravelled within 12 days of cricket. Clearly, the players he has worked with have been limited, but it is damning on the management team he leads that aside from Joe Root, the only batter to emerge from the first three Tests with any credit – Dawid Malan – is the one who has spent the least time training with the Test squad in the last two years.Another defining feature of the Silverwood era has been his mistrust of spin, which has seen England go into seven out of his 27 Tests without a frontline spinner. Ironically, his primary qualification for the job was his Championship win with Essex in 2017 – a title underpinned by Simon Harmer, the outstanding spinner in county cricket, who took 72 wickets at 19.19. He clearly does not rate Jack Leach, who has not played a home Test under him, yet opted to throw him to the wolves on a green-top at the Gabba.Not since Ray Illingworth has an England coach had as much power as Silverwood, after Ashley Giles, the ECB’s managing director of men’s cricket, opted to give him lead selectorial duties and dismiss Ed Smith earlier this year. Yet that power has manifested itself in theory alone: after the T20 World Cup, Silverwood admitted he would not even consider removing the out-of-form Eoin Morgan as captain: “He’s got to make that decision himself… the longer he is there, the better,” he said.Giles’ own position must also be in question after the decisions to promote Silverwood twice: first from bowling coach to head coach, beating Gary Kirsten to the job, and later from head coach to overarching supremo. “His head is on the block,” he said when Smith was axed. “If we lose in Australia, the pressure will be on all of us. You might as well have a free run at it: it’s your team.”Giles hoped Silverwood could be cricket’s Gareth Southgate: a best-of-British choice who has used the knowledge and experience he gained in a junior role to galvanise a team that had lacked a clear identity. Instead, he has resembled Steve McClaren: hopelessly out of his depth after an overpromotion, as reflected by results.Related

• Silverwood insists he's 'right man for the job' as Ashes pressure mounts

• Woakes backs Root to stay on as England captain

• Prolific Root stands tall in a dismal year for England

• Chris Silverwood, England's unlikely supremo, follows in Ray Illingworth's footsteps

The recruitment process appeared flawed, with reports highlighting the strength of Silverwood’s presentation. Kirsten himself has revealed a disconnect between what he had been led to believe heading to his interview at Lord’s in 2019 and the reality of the situation: “It was a very weird process,” he said last year. “I think they wanted Chris to do the job but if I arrived and I was convincing enough they might have offered it to me; but I was thinking they were going to offer me the job.”The refusal to split the head coach’s role in two was an obvious mistake, exacerbated by the pandemic further squeezing the international schedule. Silverwood has regularly missed white-ball series in order to take time off and contributes little to the limited-overs set-up; he was appointed due to his credentials as a red-ball coach after leading Essex to promotion and then the title, but had a losing record overall in the T20 Blast.Kirsten is already indirectly on the ECB’s payroll as Welsh Fire’s head coach and has at least some knowledge of England’s talent pool through his role in the Hundred. If his family commitments allow, he would be the standout candidate as a Test coach, with Paul Collingwood – already a regular and popular stand-in for Silverwood – well-placed for the white-ball job.Graham Ford, who left his job as Ireland head coach after growing increasingly frustrated with their lack of facilities and fixtures, would be another strong candidate for the Test job, but many of the world’s best coaches will justifiably have limited interest in spending hundreds of nights a year away on tour when they can earn just as much from two months at the IPL.When Silverwood was unveiled as England coach in 2019, he had said that his “job number one” was to improve the Test side so that they could “make a real impact” in Australia in 2021-22. Perhaps circumstances and a creaking system have let him down but he has clearly failed to achieve his primary goal.

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim's handling of Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford has been supported by a club legend.

Butt supports making winger leaveHe also green-lit Rashford exitEx-midfielder believes coach needs timeFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Amorim decided that Garnacho had to leave United after his fiery post-match interview following the Europa League final defeat by Tottenham, in which he complained about not starting the game and criticised the team's results under their Portuguese coach. Garnacho is nearing a permanent move to Chelsea and former United midfielder Nicky Butt has praised the coach's handling of the situation.

AdvertisementWHAT BUTT SAID

"He's certainly found Garnacho had the wrong attitude, the wrong way of behaving," Butt told GOAL, via BetMGM. "It was only the other day he was getting a tattoo while vaping so he's 100% right with that one. He's got to make sure he cracks down on that one and, you know, Garnacho has done okay, but he's no superstar. He's not some world class player that we're going to lose. He's just a young player that had a good season in a bad team, and you can't behave like that playing from Man United. So I think he's 100% right about that one."

Getty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Amorim's decision on Garnacho followed the coach putting his foot down on Rashford's transgressions in December, leading to the England forward heading to Aston Villa on loan and then moving to Barcelona. Butt believes Amorim also played things right with Rashford. He said: "Certain things have been going on with Rashford over two or three years, and sometimes it's time for you to leave the football club and I think that was the case for Marcus. Marcus has been at the club since he was eight years of age and it does come to an end for all of us at some point, there are very few that stay there right through their careers and think it's a good move for him. He went to Villa on loan and did well and now he's gone to a massive football club in Barcelona, and I think he'll kick on there. So that could be the right thing as well. So I think on both occasions Amorim has done the right thing."

DID YOU KNOW?

Butt, who won six Premier League titles at United and was part of the team that won the treble in 1999, also backed Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the other United directors' decision to keep the faith in Amorim even after he presided over the worst season in 51 years. He explained: "I think they had to give him that support. Man United can't keep getting rid of managers. They can't keep blaming these managers that come in, because these managers that come in have got a track record. They're all good. They know what they're doing. They've been there, seen it, and done it. I think probably only Ole hadn't. So you can't keep blaming the managers. I think the bigger thing is, is what the recruitment team was doing over the last 10 years and and how the club had been set up. Hopefully they've sorted that out now they seem to have got a lot of structure within the club now that they've been crying out for." 

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.”

Temba Bavuma has been ruled out of the first Test in Bangladesh after scans revealed a muscle strain in his left triceps. Aiden Markram will lead South Africa for the first Test, in Dhaka from October 21. With Nandre Burger earlier ruled out of the series because of a lumbar stress reaction, Dewald Brevis and Lungi Ngidi have been added to the squad.A CSA statement said that Bavuma will “travel with the squad to Dhaka on Tuesday and continue his recovery under the supervision of the Proteas medical team in preparation for the second Test”, which will start in Chattogram on October 29.On October 6, Bavuma was ruled out of the third and final ODI against Ireland with what was understood to be an elbow injury. He had retired hurt during the second ODI, on October 4, and didn’t field in that match. Rassie van der Dussen led South Africa in Bavuma’s absence, with Markram rested for that series.Brevis, CSA said, has been called up “as cover” for Bavuma. He hasn’t played a Test match yet – he has only played two T20Is so far – but has played 12 first-class matches, most recently for South Africa A against Sri Lanka A in Benoni, where he scored 49 and 74 in a five-wicket loss.Ngidi, who played all three ODIs against Ireland in Abu Dhabi, picking up two-fors in the first two matches, now completes the fast-bowling department which also has Kagiso Rabada, Dane Paterson and Wiaan Mulder, the allrounder.

South Africa Test squad for Bangladesh tour

Temba Bavuma (capt), David Bedingham, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram (capt for first Test), Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Dane Paterson, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Kyle Verreynne (wk)

The injury means she will be unavailable for the home ODI series against Australia in December

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2024New Zealand opener Georgia Plimmer has been ruled out of cricket for remainder of the year after sustaining a bone stress reaction in her groin. The injury means she will be unavailable for the home ODI series against Australia in December.A New Zealand Cricket release said Plimmer experienced pain in her left hip joint during the recent ODI series in India last month. A subsequent MRI and assessment by a specialist upon return to New Zealand confirmed the injury. She is expected to require six weeks of rest and rehabilitation, with a progressive return to high-speed running in January.Along with the Australia ODIs, Plimmer is also set to miss the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield and the Super Smash domestic competitions.”We’re really gutted for this to happen to Georgia when she’s at the top of her game,” Ben Sawyer, New Zealand women’s head coach, said.”She’s certainly a loss for us heading into an important series against Australia. After her recent success at the World Cup and in India it’s disappointing she won’t be able to continue that form for the Wellington Blaze and against Australia next month. Georgia’s determined to rehab well and get back as soon as she can and we’re wishing her a smooth recovery.”Plimmer was New Zealand’s second-highest run-scorer during their successful 2024 T20 World Cup campaign, making 150 runs in six innings. She also made scores of 25, 41 and 39 in the ODI series against India that followed, which New Zealand lost 2-1.

MatériaMais Notícias

da roleta： Após empatar com o São Paulo em 1 a 1 pela 19° rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro, o Flamengo volta as suas atenções para o jogo contra o Grêmio, pelo segundo jogo das semifinais da Copa do Brasil. Os times iram duelar nesta quarta-feira (16), às 21:30, no Maracanã.

RelacionadasFlamengoFlamengo e Grêmio fazem tira-teima na Copa do Brasil; relembre decisõesFlamengo16/08/2023FlamengoSampaoli tem futuro indefinido e aposta em classificação na Copa do Brasil por ‘respiro’ no FlamengoFlamengo16/08/2023FlamengoLonge do líder no Brasileirão, Flamengo joga a vida contra o Grêmio para evitar ano 100% frustranteFlamengo16/08/2023

da brwin： Mesmo com a vantagem de 2×0 no confronto, o Flamengo vem em um clima conturbado. Depois do caso de agressão entre o atacante Pedro e o ex-auxiliar do Flamengo, Pablo Fernandez, nesta terça (15), Gerson e Varela tiveram um entreveiro que pesou ainda mais o clima no Ninho do Urubu. Mesmo com a confusão, Varela e Gerson provavelmente serão escalados para o jogo.

+ Confira o chaveamento da Copa do Brasil

Já o time gaúcho vem bem, venceu o Fluminense no domingo (13), por 2 a 1 e conta com os retornos de Carballo e Cristaldo para o jogo decisivo.

O classificado deste duelo enfrentará São Paulo ou Corinthians pela grande final da Copa do Brasil. Os times paulistas decidiram a vaga mais cedo, às 19:30, no Morumbi.

FICHA TÉCNICA
FLAMENGO X GRÊMIO – SEGUNDO JOGO DAS SEMIFINAIS DA COPA DO BRASIL
Local:Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro (RJ)
Data e horário:Quarta-feira (16/08), às 21h30 (Brasília)
Árbitro: Braulio da Silva Machado (Santa Catarina)
Assistente 1: Danilo Ricardo Simon Manis (São Paulo)
Assistente 2: Nailton Junior de Sousa Oliveira (Ceará)
VAR: Wagner Reway (Pernambuco)

Onde assistir:Globo, SporTV e e Tempo Real doLance!

FLAMENGO (Técnico: Jorge Sampaoli)
Matheus Cunha; Varela, Fabrício Bruno, Léo Pereira e Ayrton Lucas; Gerson (Thiago Maia) e Victor Hugo; Éverton Ribeiro, Arrascaeta e Bruno Henrique; Gabigol

Desfalques:Wesley (suspenso), David Luiz (lesionado);
Pendurados:Ayrton Lucas e Gabigol

GRÊMIO (Técnico: Renato Gaúcho)
Gabriel Grando; João Pedro, Bruno Alves, Rodrigo Ely e Reinaldo; Villasanti, Pepê, Bitello e Franco Cristaldo; Ferreira e Luis Suarez

Desfalques:Kannemann (suspenso), Geromel, Bruno Uvini – Carballo e Cristaldo estão recuperados vão para o jogo
Pendurados:-

Match details

India vs South Africa, T20 World Cup 2024 final
Bridgetown, June 29, 10.30am local time, 2.30pm GMT

Big Picture – It’s just a cup… right?

There are no fairytales in life, obviously, but sport does a great deal to make up for it, to the extent that it offers gifts like this Saturday, when, at the end of 40 overs – give or take a Super Over – 11 men will realise the difference between fantasy and reality is that fantasy was never quite as good as this.What would that feel like for South Africa? At the start, they couldn’t even play in these World Cups. Then, they changed some things that desperately needed changing and have since been specialising in the impossible. Jonty Rhodes switching gravity off in 1992. Twenty-two runs off 1 ball. Lance Klusener upending the natural order in 1999. Allan Donald run out without the bat even in his hand. There is no team with as rich a history in these tournaments, both good and bad, and there is probably no team that wants this more. The catharsis, should Aiden Markram find himself on that podium, will be seismic, because he will have with him an entire nation that at some point or other thought they might never see the day.Related

• Heartbreak or glory, India and South Africa are already winners

• Tactics Board: A plan to shackle Suryakumar, and Maharaj in the powerplay?

• India vs South Africa at the T20 World Cup final: all you need to know

• SA delayed in Trinidad because of runway closure in Barbados

There are those in India who might have felt similarly after November 19, 2023. Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid, for example. Their days are already numbered. The coach is set to depart and the captain may not have a lot of time on his hands as well. But, together, they are responsible for harassing a great team out of its comfort zone and into a place where anything seems possible. All of this – the acceptance that what they were doing in T20 cricket wasn’t working and the commitment to keep on this new path despite considerable personal lows – has been in search of silverware.For 40 overs – give or take a Super Over – nothing will matter as much as the ball and bat they will be holding in their hands. But after that, whether they win or lose, both India and South Africa should be reminded that they are excellent teams and exceptional people. They should both be able to share their love with family. Toast their time with colleagues. Chase after their children. Enjoy the compassion of their fans. If any of that is contingent on the colour of the medal around their necks, we’re doing something really wrong.

Form guide

India WWWWW (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
South Africa WWWWW

In the spotlight – Jasprit Bumrah and Heinrich Klaasen

At times, it feels unfair that Jasprit Bumrah gets to bowl four overs in a T20 game. Depending on allegiance, that is either too much or too few. For a sport that is built around pure spectacle, there can be no better ambassador than a man who detonates the wickets, leaves impact craters on the bat, the pad and even the mind of opposition batters, and does it all with a smile on his face.2:10

How do South Africa tackle Kuldeep and Bumrah?

Heinrich Klaasen is on similarly good terms with the forces that make simple human beings extraordinary. He shows the ball new places to go to and it takes flight all too willingly. This World Cup is yet to see him at his destructive best but the thing is, players of his quality rarely go too long without making a contribution.

Team news

India arrive in the final with seven wins from eight games (one rained out) and in almost all of them, they’ve been dominant. The only time they were really challenged was three weeks ago, on a treacherous New York pitch after posting 119 against Pakistan. South Africa arrive in the final with eight wins from eight and they’ve gone through the ringer. Except each time, with the game on the line, and the pressure at a peak, they coped. Given all this context, it is unlikely that either team will be making any changes (unless South Africa decide the conditions warrant an extra seamer).India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Rishabh Pant (wk), 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Arshdeep Singh, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Jasprit Bumrah.South Africa (probable): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Reeza Hendricks, 3 Aiden Markram (capt), 4 David Miller, 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Heinrich Klaasen 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Tabraiz Shamsi/Ottneil Baartman2:23

Morkel: Markram’s got the mix perfectly right to connect SA’s team environment

Pitch and conditions – Feisty conditions again

Outside of New York, Kensington Oval has offered the most wickets to fast bowlers in the T20 World Cup: 59 at an average of 20.22 and economy rate of 7.88. There’s been one total above 200 but the rest fit in a range between 109 and 181 (the latter made by India at the only game either of these finalists have played at the venue this World Cup).The final will be played on pitch No. 4, which was used for the games between Namibia and Oman, and Scotland and England. It’s the fourth pitch of eight on the square, so neither boundary should be significantly longer than the other.There is a threat of rain over this final but it does have a reserve day.

Stats and trivia

• This is only the seventh T20 World Cup match between India and South Africa. The first four squeeze into a five-year time-frame between 2007 and 2012.
• Never has this tournament yielded a champion who has remained unbeaten. That’s about to change.
• There isn’t a lot to separate India and South Africa on bowling metrics: 56 wickets at an average of 15.21 and economy rate of 6.42 vs 59 wickets at an average of 15.23 and economy rate of 5.95
• But the batting is a different story. India average 25.80 and strike at 132.13 with six fifty-plus scores. South Africa average 21.90 and strike at 106.14 with three fifty-plus scores

Quotes

“You know, I don’t really believe in this ‘Do it for somebody’. I love that quote about somebody asking somebody else, ‘Why do you want to climb Mount Everest?’ and he says ‘I want to climb Mount Everest because it’s there’. I want to win this World Cup because it’s there. It’s not for anyone, it’s not for anybody, it’s just there to win”
“It’s a game of cricket. Someone has to win, and someone has to lose ultimately. That’s the name of the game. You take it in your stride. You do get belief, though, from winning close games and potentially winning games that you thought you weren’t going to win. It does a lot for your changing room and the vibe in the changing room.”

England women go to the Caribbean for the World T20 with some uncertainty, having really only tested their skills in the Super League and the Big Bash

Melinda Farrell04-Nov-2018It was swelteringly hot at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in Delhi. And there was no respite from the stuffy atmosphere as journalists waited in a dark room for the post-match press conference. When England coach Mark Robinson and captain Charlotte Edwards walked in to dissect the five-run loss to Australia, it was hard to tell if the temperature plunged or rose even higher; there was both the heated flush of embarrassment at the manner of England’s exit from the tournament and the cool assessment of England’s failure – primarily a lack of fitness that left twos untaken and made a modest target unreachable.”We’re looking for players who can stand up and be counted, and play under the pressure, and have the aerobic fitness to do the job necessary,” Robinson told the gathered media. “That will be a necessity for any women’s team going forward.”***The aftermath of England’s 2016 Women’s World T20 camp was comprehensive. A little more than two years later, seven players from the team that lost in Delhi will head to the Caribbean for this year’s edition after the sweep of a broom that also saw the end of Edwards’ long tenure as captain.The current squad also contains three debutants and several players who have pushed their way into the England frame since the 2016 campaign. So that ticks off the old cliché of “a good mix of youth and experience”, then, but just how much has this England side changed?There is certainly a sense that while Heather Knight leads on the field, this is very much Robinson’s side. He had limited experience of the women’s game before taking up the position of head coach at the end of 2015, and recalls meeting some of the squad for the first time at the airport when they were heading to South Africa for a tour that preceded the World T20 in India.England allrounder Nat Sciver made 362 runs and took ten wickets in Surrey Stars’ title-clinching 2018 Super League campaign•Getty ImagesHe has not shied away from making strong selection decisions and has been vocal about the need to improve fitness – a particular bugbear – as well as increasing the players’ skill level, and lessening the reliance on slow bowlers who offer little in the way of genuine spin or attacking options. At the same time he has encouraged batsmen to test the limits of their power-hitting. The results can be seen in the improved performances of players such as Tammy Beaumont, Nat Sciver and Dani Wyatt.”We’re definitely fitter, we’re definitely more resilient,” said Robinson in the weeks leading up to England’s departure for the Caribbean. “So, in many ways we’ve made a move. The key bit is, you’ve obviously got to do your skills as well. You’ve got to outscore, outbat and hopefully out-field the opposition.”The other bit is, we needed to be tougher at big moments and to win more close games and to get over the line when we should get over the line on a more frequent basis, and I think we’ve done that, which is brilliant.”Winning the big moments was clearly a key to England’s success in the 2017 World Cup, a title that probably came earlier than expected in the wake of Robinson’s shake-up of the status quo. The consequence is that it has raised expectations for their performance in the shortest format.The problem, however, with trying to gauge England’s form in T20Is is that, like other countries, they simply don’t play much of it; in the two and a half years since the last tournament, England have played only 16 T20Is. As a result, Robinson sees a similarity to England’s position before the 50-over World Cup: he thinks they have a good chance, but he doesn’t know where they truly stand.”You’re having to use the KSL [Women’s Super League in England], anything that happens in the women’s Big Bash, your own players, to try and formulate a plan and get a handle on where you are,” said Robinson. I think the players are ready to show they’ve made a move, but I don’t really know, and we’ll know a lot more at the end of the time in the Caribbean.Coach Mark Robinson thinks England’s improvement in T20Is can only be judged by how they do in this World T20 because there aren’t enough international performances to go by•Getty ImagesEngland will undoubtedly miss the multiple talents of wicketkeeper-batsman Sarah Taylor, who elected not to take part in the tournament as she continues to deal with mental-health issues. And there are concerns over the fitness of one of England’s most experienced campaigners and new-ball bowler Katherine Brunt.Robinson believes Taylor’s replacement, Amy Jones, is second in the world to the player she comes in for behind the stumps (“I’ll argue that passionately with anyone”), while newcomers Kirstie Gordon, Linsey Smith and Sophia Dunkley have all impressed at domestic level.”They haven’t come out of the cold,” said Robinson. “What they haven’t been able to do is put on an England shirt yet, and we don’t really know how they’ll handle that until they get the opportunity.”Although England are the current champions of the 50-over format and West Indies hold the World T20 title, which they earned by beating Australia in the final at Eden Gardens, it is – as ever – the Australians who wear the favourites tag in the Caribbean. And that’s not just because their best batsman and captain, Meg Lanning, is free from the shoulder injury that plagued her during last year’s World Cup campaign.One of the key findings in the recently released FICA report on the payment and conditions of female players around the world names Australia as having the only “fully professional” set-up for women, while England and India are listed as “partly professional”. Other countries lag even further behind in areas such as central contracts, access to medical care, and multi-year contracts that provide security. The women’s game has come a long way, but there is further to go.Holding England back from becoming fully professional is the fact that the structure of women’s domestic competitions is held to ransom by the contentious dealings between the ECB and the counties.Amy Jones replaces Sarah Taylor behind the stumps for the World T20•Getty ImagesAfter steadily building a fan following, increased media coverage, and promise as the world’s second major women’s T20 domestic tournament, the Women’s Super League already has a kill-by date. It will cease after next season so that the way is clear for the women to take part in The Hundred. While there may be greater publicity and marketing opportunities involved in pairing with the men’s competition, England can simply not afford to not have a women’s domestic T20 tournament – the format is too important internationally. And while there have been murmurings that such a competition will emerge, it is worth remembering that when the Super League was originally mooted, the ECB also said a 50-over women’s domestic competition, involving the same teams or hosts that made up the Super League, would follow within a year or two. It never did, and England currently have one year of high-level domestic T20s left with no equivalent beyond in the two formats that matter in international competition.But such things are out of this England team’s control in St Lucia, where they must first perform in the group stages against Sri Lanka; Bangladesh, the Asia Cup champions; West Indies, the current World T20I champions; and South Africa, the most improved team of the past few years and the one that came excruciatingly close to knocking England out of the World Cup in their semi-final clash.And for all the uncertainty surrounding England’s current standing in T20Is, Robinson believes the nature of the format renders many predictions irrelevant.”It’s probably going to be a more keenly contested competition from the outside looking in before it starts,” he said. “The shorter the format, the more an individual can influence it; the longer the format, the more the collective can come into it. A lot more teams in the world have now got players who individually can influence a game and that’s what makes it exciting.”

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