New manager and a new start. Sunderland fans in the Transfer Tavern will be hoping that Jack Ross push the Black Cats back up the league next year.
Sunderland’s defence last season was among the worst in the Championship. The Black Cats must strengthen at the back if they are to secure promotion from League One. One player the club have been linked with recently is Shrewsbury’s Aristote Nsiala.
The Breakdown
The Sunderland Echo (h/t Chronicle Live) reports that Nsiala is on Sunderland’s radar. New boss, Jack Ross is keen to strengthen his defence following Paddy McNair’s departure and probable sale of Lamine Kone. Sunderland have been linked with Peterborough defender Jack Baldwin to help out at the back. A centre-back pairing of Nsiala and Baldwin would certainly improve the backline.
Nsiala was an integral part of the Shrewsbury side that defied the early season odds to go from relegation contenders to a side that only lost out in the League One play-off final. The 26-year-old has been a physically imposing defender at the back for the Shrews and has helped the club to two play-off finals which resulted in a promotion to League Two in 2016.
Due to his solid performances in the league last season, the defender has attracted interest from Championship sides. However, if Sunderland can bring the former Everton academy man on board, he may go some way in helping the Black Cats seal up their porous defence and finally reach the Championship after last year’s heartbreak.
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Barcelona could be about to make a summer move for unsettled Spurs defender Toby Alderweireld, according to reports, with the Belgian unwilling to resign with Tottenham unless they meet his mammoth £180,000 a week wage demands.
Alderweireld’s representatives are understood to be searching for a deal with the same kind of financial incentive as Liverpool signing Virgil Van Dijk, although the club are adamant that they will not pay any player over £100,000 a week.
With talks at an impasse, the only question now remaining is whether Spurs can afford to lose the domineering centre-half. The continued rise of Ben Davies and defensive reliability of Alderweireld’s compatriot Jan Vertonghen are cause for comfort for Daniel Levy and the Spurs board, after all.
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Moreover, there is a clause in the Belgian’s contract which will allow him to leave for just £25m in the summer of 2019 should no deal be agreed, so Spurs will want to offload the defender for as much money as possible if there is no deal before then.
Currently valued at £35m by transfermarkt,com, the 28-year-old may find himself sent packing from North London in the summer – but do Spurs fans think it’s high time for their club to cash in?
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The summer transfer window may have only just slammed shut but we at Football FanCast are already looking forward to its winter counterpart. And we believe Spurs will be among the busiest clubs in the Premier League during the January window.Tottenham were by no means anonymous in the market during the off-season, splashing out around £32million as they welcomed a new manager in Mauricio Pochettino, but the Lilywhites still have plenty of unfinished business in the January salesÂand a number of lingering issues that need to be resolved in the new year.So without further ado, here’s the FIVE transfer dilemmas the White Hart Lane boss needs to find solutions toÂwhen the market reopens.
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It could be worse Nando, you could be one of these guys…
If there’s one major flaw of Tottenham’s current squad, it’s undoubtedly the absence of a dependable goalscorer.
A strike-force of Emmanuel Adebayor, Harry Kane and Roberto Soldado have found just 19 league goals collectively since last summer, including a solitary one this season. It’s shown in the table too – only six clubs have netted less than Spurs’ seven since the start of the 2014/15 campaign.
In terms of budgeted stop-gap solutions, Schalke assassin Klaas-Jan Huntelaar remains the best option.
The Netherland international’s contribution to open play is infamously limited, and at 31 years of age he’s no spring chicken. But he boasts returns of 35 in 65 for Oranje and 93 in 143 for the Miners – including this strike in the Champions League against Chelsea last week:
Huntelaar’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season and although Schalke want him to sign a new deal, he’ll have to take a wage cut. That makes a January departure incredibly likely. A more long-term resolution could come in the form of Swansea front-man Wilfried Bony, who netted 16 times in his debut Premier League campaign last season. Here’s a look at some of the 25 year-old’s highlights: //www.youtube.com/embed/L_zt5akDKGs Mauricio Pochettino favoured powerful, old-fashioned centre-forwards at Southampton and the 6 foot Ivorian fits the bill perfectly. Bony allegedly comes with a £19million release clause and his slump in form this season suggests a slight disgruntlement in not leaving South Wales during the summer. But whether Daniel Levy would be prepared to sanction such a costly purchase in January remains to be seen.
Adding a left winger/forward
The left side of attack was a real problem for Spurs last season, with Nacer Chadli, Aaron Lennon, and Andros Townsend failing to make the role their own before it was passed to Christian Eriksen, who remains his most effective at No.10. The Lilywhites planned to address this in the summer with a swoop for Danny Welbeck and Franco Baldini’s failure to strike a deal for the former Manchester United star could reportedly cost him the job of Sporting Director at White Hart Lane, which shows how big an issue the vacancy on the left has become for Spurs. Chadli’s filled the void impressively so far this season, as shown below:
But an inconsistent dribbler and even weaker crosser, he can’t be considered a long-term solution out wide. The Lilywhites were linked with Southampton star Jay Rodriguez on deadline day and could be tempted to revive their interest in January:
The 25 year-old flourished under Mauricio Pochettino last season to finish up as the third top-scoring Englishman in the Premier League with 15 goals. Here’s a look at his campaign highlights:
//www.youtube.com/embed/e3adfleiWiE?rel=0
But the Saints launched a staunch public resistance to selling the England international in the summer, so Spurs may have to consider some alternatives.
Perhaps Marseille wideman Andre Ayew? He’s has emerged as Ligue 1’s most potent wideman over the last few seasons, amassing an impressive 49 goals and 16 assists in 166 appearances for L’OM, and a January move seems likely with his contract set to expire at the end of the season.
The Ghana international isn’t the most conventional winger but he’s strong defensively, versatile and a real threat in the final third. As viewable in the below video, he’s also outrageously good at heading:
//www.youtube.com/embed/0gIZogfsorU?rel=0
Decide the fates of fringe players
Fringe players are an inevitable part of every squad, but Tottenham have amassed quite a number over the past few years and it’s time to either get them more involved in the first team or move them on.
Moussa Dembele for example, has never quite hit the heights expected of him at White Hart Lane and he’s now being linked to Everton:
Spurs already boast decent depth in central midfield, so his departure won’t affect their first team plans too much. Likewise, £24million signing Roberto Soldado has never looked comfortable with the power and pace of the Premier League, and having featured only as a substitute thus far under Mauricio Pochettino, looks unlikely to replicate his scoring feats at Valencia any time soon. Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid have been linked and the time feels right to move the Spaniard on. That should free up some funds for Spurs to invest in a more dependable front-man. Then there’s Andros Townsend, once hailed as the future of English football after netting this wonder-strike past Montenegro last season: //www.youtube.com/embed/BAkOjFq1_Tc?rel=0 But the 23 year-old has continually struggled to evolve his game under the added pressure international football provides. Moving him on to a smaller club, or sorting out a loan stint until the end of the season, could do the winger a world of good.
Offloading the deadwood
In addition to a multitude of fringe players, there’s also a growing contingent in Tottenham’s squad that are simply surplus to requirements. For example, after signing Ben Davies from Swansea City this summer, Spurs now have five players capable of playing at left-back, including centre-half Jan Vertonghen. Two of these need to be moved on, namely Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Kyle Naughton. The former is a decent player and performed well on loan to QPR last season, providing a Man of the Match display against Charlton Athletic: //www.youtube.com/embed/2a3eNwANJTo?rel=0 But he’s now 30 years of age and appears to be only moving further away from the Tottenham starting XI. Likewise, Kyle Naughton’s versatility in being able to play on either defensive flank proved vital for the Lilywhites last season. But they now boast depth at No.2 and No.3, and the 25 year-old’s form has been questionable for some time. Here’s a look at his stats from last season:
Aaron Lennon too, although once a mainstay in the Spurs starting XI, was absolutely atrocious in terms of output last season, as shown below:
After nearly a decade in north London, his Tottenham tenure has probably run its course.
GRAB FABIAN SCHAR BEFORE ARSENAL DO
Tottenham are hardly light on bodies in defence, but if there’s one commonly mooted January target the Lilywhites must get their hands on, it’s undoubtedly Fabian Schar – before rivals Arsenal beat them to it.
As viewable below, statistically he was the best defender in the Champions League last season:
And the Swiss international’s World Cup performances weren’t too bad either, making eight interceptions during two outings at Brazil 2014.
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The 22 year-old comes with an interesting knack of scoring goals too, such as this incredible strike as a youngster at FC Wil…
He also takes set piece duties for Basel, and boasts a return of 3 in 8 for his country.
In short, Schar’s a fantastic talent, a ball-playing defender of the Jan Vertonghen mould. He’s been linked to Barcelona and Manchester United over the last few years, and if the Lilywhites don’t take up the opportunity to sign him in January, Arsenal or another top European club undoubtedly will.
Arsenal’s Emmanuel Frimpong has rejected claims he will be shown the exit door at the Emirates in January, but will be going out on loan in the near future. It is believed Championship side Wolves are considering a loan bid for the defensive midfielder to replace suspended captain Karl Henry.
Frimpong, who has been at Arsenal since he was nine years old, broke into the first-team last season and was sent on loan to Wolves to help the West Midlands club in their failed efforts to avoid relegation from the Premier League. The midfielder’s spell at Molineux was short-lived however following a serious knee injury in February.
Since returning from the sidelines, Frimpong has made two appearances in the Capital One Cup for the Gunners but has failed to claim a place in Arsene Wenger’s starting XI despite the sale of Alex Song in the summer. Mirror Football claims the Ghanaian will be ousted in January, but Frimpong has denied he plans on leaving, and rejected the notion that he is in the last year of his contract.
The 20-year-old tweeted late last night: “Subject to rumours am not leaving afc I am positive of going on loan this week which am really excited about and I am fully committed to afc.
“And am not in my last year or looking to be sold just to clear matters thank you and going on loan to get games and cum back to arsenal.”
It is believed the midfielder, who was capped six times for England U17s but has pledged his international alliegence to Ghana, will now return to Molineux in what will be his second loan spell for the club.
Wolves boss Stale Solbakken is hoping the Arsenal man can fill in for Karl Henry, who is serving a three match ban following a red card against Brighton on Saturday.
“We’ve discussed him [Frimpong] and he has a relationship with Wolverhampton, but it’s also important he’s 100 per cent fit when he comes here and is ready, so we don’t lose a month,” said Solbakken.
“I can’t say I know in detail about his fitness because he hasn’t played many games.
“We’re monitoring the situation. But I don’t want to underestimate the players here either. It’s a balance. We’re not panicking over the situation with Karl.
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“If we sign someone, it’s important it’s someone with other qualities,” he added.
Jaiswal was originally picked in India’s Champions Trophy squad before missing the final cut
ESPNcricinfo staff13-Feb-2025Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had missed the final cut for the Champions Trophy, is set to play for Mumbai in their semi-final clash against Vidarbha in Nagpur. Jaiswal’s presence bolsters a Mumbai side that already has a number of other internationals in captain Ajinkya Rahane, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube and Shardul Thakur.Dube is part of the non-travelling reserves for the Champions Trophy and will travel to Dubai if required.Related
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Jaiswal out of India's CT squad
Jasiwal was originally picked in India’s Champions Trophy squad in January before making way for mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy when the final squad was announced on February 11. Jasiwal had made his ODI debut in the first match against England, also in Nagpur, in place of Virat Kohli, who had missed that game with a knee niggle. Opening the batting with Rohit Sharma, Jaiswal scored 15 off 22 balls before Jofra Archer had him caught behind.Before joining the India squad, Jaiswal had already played a Ranji game against Jammu & Kashmir, which they lost at home. Incidentally, that fixture also marked Rohit Sharma’s return to the Ranji Trophy.Mumbai, the defending champions, could face a challenge against Vidarbha in a rematch of last season’s final. In this season, Vidarbha had dominated the group stage, winning six of their seven games – the one against Gujarat was drawn with Vidarbha coming away with first-innings points – before crushing Tamil Nadu in the quarter-finals.
“How we approached the seven games has been quite clinical – everybody put in the effort”
ESPNcricinfo staff02-Nov-20231:13
Hayden: ‘Iyer finding his feet is a big step for India’
Twenty-five days after starting their campaign, India have become the first team to qualify for the ODI World Cup semi-finals after a mammoth 302-run win over Sri Lanka in Mumbai on Thursday.”I’m very happy knowing we have officially qualified for the semi-finals, it’s been a good effort from the entire squad,” India captain Rohit Sharma said after India notched up their seventh win in seven games. “When we started off in Chennai, this was the first goal for us, to qualify first and then obviously, the semis and the final.”But all in all, I thought how we approached the seven games has been quite clinical. Everybody put in the effort. We wanted individuals to stand up and a lot of individuals towards these seven games put their hands up and stood up.”Related
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Rohit said that players hitting top gear augurs well for the team at the business end of the tournament. He was particularly impressed with the likes of Shreyas Iyer, who had a few low scores coming in to the game and hit a quick 82 to lift the team to 357, and Mohammed Siraj, who rattled Sri Lanka with three wickets up front. Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah played their parts to ensure Sri Lanka were bowled out for 55 in under 20 overs.”Shreyas, as far as I know him, is a very strong lad, strong in his mind, and today, as you saw… he did what he is known for. And that’s what we expect from him; to take on the opposition and the bowlers,” Rohit said. “The couple of sixes he hit in his innings showed that he is there to take on that challenge in front of him. He’s been working very hard on his game and today we saw what he’s capable of.”As for Siraj, he’s a quality bowler and if he does that, it’s quite a big difference for us with the new ball. He can swing the ball, get the ball to get back in, he’s got a lot of skills when he is operating with the new ball.”
Forties from Foakes and Hardie see visitors home to move 15 points ahead of Hampshire
David Hopps14-Jul-2022Surrey exacted satisfying revenge for their defeat against Yorkshire in the Vitality Blast quarter-final with another nerve-jangling victory, this time in the Championship, as they completed an immaculately-judged pursuit of 227 in 44 overs by four wickets with three balls to spare at North Marine Road.At 147 for 6 in the 28th over, their chase was faltering badly. But Ben Foakes’ unbeaten 42, astute from the outset, and 40 not out from the Australian all-rounder Aaron Hardie on Championship debut, a committed innings which grew in authority as it progressed, brought them home with an unbroken stand of 81 in 16 overs.Hardie was thrilled at his first experience of Championship cricket. “To come here today and win was a bit of a dream,” he said. “Everything had to go perfectly to plan, and it pretty much did. Our plan was to take it deep because we knew we’d be the ones driving the game. It worked.”Surrey needed this victory to consolidate their position at the top of the Championship after Hampshire had won earlier in the day. If Hardie had departed early, they might have settled for the draw and Foakes, dropped back down to No. 7, would have been charged with organising it. But victory leaves them 15 points ahead of Hampshire with five matches remaining, Lancashire now a distant third, their hopes fading.As for Yorkshire, they had shared in a memorable struggle despite a colossal list of absentees, but their second defeat of the season (made worse by the docking of two points for a slow overrate) sends them to Taunton next week fearing they might yet be dragged into a relegation fight. They have taken every game into the final session but have not won since their opening match against Gloucestershire.A season’s best 6 for 61 for Jamie Overton, two on the previous evening, had set up the chase as Yorkshire were dismissed for 220 in their second innings despite a maiden Championship half-century for Matthew Waite. They now must wait for the ECB to confirm which, if any, players will be released for Blast Finals Day on Saturday. The clash of fixtures between England and the climax to county cricket’s biggest week of the season is unconscionable – either greedy, cynical and deliberate or greedy incompetent and lacking in empathy: take your pick.Dom Bess, after his five wickets in the first innings, bore Yorkshire’s hopes. He struck the first blow on the brink of tea, a loopy, turning delivery which drew Rory Burns down the pitch and beat the outside edge, Johnny Tattersall completing the stumping. Yorkshire entrusted the offspinner with a decisive spell, and he did little wrong, but he never asserted the control he would have wanted and finished with 1 for 105 from 18 overs.Not that they had many options. With the West Indies quick, Shannon Gabriel off the field initially because of a hip injury sustained in the field, his presence was delayed until the 20th over. In that time, Surrey lost Ryan Patel, who paid for a wind-up at Steve Patterson, and Hashim Amla, an uppercut against Jordan Thompson which flew to third man. The catcher was James Wharton, shortly after he had passed a concussion check after being struck on the helmet at short leg by Overton. Standing at short leg when Overton is swinging is nobody’s idea of fun.Related
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Overton clubs sixes even when his bat is barely in the same postcode and Bess suffered more than once, but Thompson befuddled him with a back-of-the-hand slower ball, leaving Surrey 106 short with 20 overs remaining.Gabriel’s contribution caused a tremor, but only a short one: 2 for 18 from three overs. Jacks pulled him for six, but then fell lbw – unfortunately so as the ball struck him outside the line. There was no doubt about Jamie Smith’s dismissal as Gabriel plucked out his off stump. Short-term overseas signings face quite a task to hit the ground running, and injury problems in the second innings and 16 no balls in the match told its own story.Surrey’s assault on Bess with 43 needed from six overs shifted the match their way. Both Hardie and Foakes swept him for six. With 35 overs behind him in the first innings, and the need to pull off several goalkeeping dives off his own bowling, he was a weary, sweat-soiled figure by the time he was withdrawn from the attack with four overs remaining, but days that will hurt in the here and now will bring long-term benefit.Yorkshire had a 71-run lead banked overnight with eight second-innings wickets left. The loss of two wickets in the penultimate over the previous evening had left them vulnerable and a dank morning suggested that an inexperienced batting line-up were even more up against it. For Yorkshire supporters, it was a folded-arms sort of morning as they sat back, demanding the best but fearing the worst. They were proved right – but had to wait til after half-past six to say they’d always known as much.Only 18 overs into the day, they were 123 for 6. Surrey sensed the game was theirs – and some of their supporters wondered if they would even see it before they had to catch the 5.30 back to London. Those first four wickets fell to lbws, to four different bowlers, as Surrey bowled at the stumps, seeking a bit of seam and indifferent bounce. George Hill, dropped at cover, limped off as Overton had him lbw on the boot. There was a brief interruption for bad light but Will Fraine fell to Dan Worrall immediately on the resumption. James Wharton and Will Luxton were then caught on the crease as Tom Lawes and Hardie maintained the approach.Surrey could not be reliant on a second new ball to finish off the Yorkshire innings – by then there would have been fewer than 30 overs and a successful chase would probably have been beyond them. As Waite assembled a stand of 52 with Tattersall, the imperative for a further breakthrough was clear. Jacks had bowled only five overs of offspin in the first 58 – lightly used compared to Bess, his Yorkshire opposite number, but his first ball brought dividends as he turned one to end Tattersall’s vigil. Another lbw, this one bringing grumbles, but it seemed fair enough.Thompson unsuccessfully tried to shift the equation away from Surrey with a quick salvo, but Overton was hitting his straps for the first time in the match and he claimed Thompson and Patterson in successive balls.With the lead 193, some sort of last-wicket resistance was essential for Yorkshire and Gabriel, for all his hulking presence, came to the crease at No. 11 with a first-class average of 5.17 and a top score of 20. Waite attacked in selective fashion. He was put on his backside as he dug out an Overton yorker, but he hooked him resoundingly to reach a maiden Championship 50. They added 32, and were beginning to scent safety, when Overton had Gabriel caught at the wicket for his sixth wicket. Surrey had time – but only just.
Iqbal picked up 3 for 16 before Clarke’s 23-ball 46 reduced the chase to a formality
Danyal Rasool20-Feb-2021Last year’s win was no fluke, and this year’s title defence is no surrender. That was the emphatic message Karachi Kings sent out not just to the hapless Quetta Gladiators, whom they thrashed by seven wickets in the inaugural PSL match of this season, but also to the rest of the teams. The Kings might have copped criticism for letting go of Mohammad Rizwan in the off season, but it was the new wicketkeeping recruit Joe Clarke who was the star of the show for Imad Wasim’s side, taking four catches and blitzing 46 off 23 balls to tear the game away from the Gladiators.The win was initially set up by the Kings bowlers – emerging player Arshad Iqbal chief among them – who punctured the Gladiators with regular wickets throughout the innings, and in the end, bowled them out for 121 in 18.2 overs.After being put in, Quetta, somewhat curiously, opened the batting with captain Sarfaraz Ahmed alongside Tom Banton rather than the more obvious option of Chris Gayle. Banton’s stay was ephemeral, falling to a low-percentage hoick in the first over. Once Gayle settled himself in, he looked the most serious outlet for a potentially match-winning total for Quetta Gladiators. However, no one kept him company, and the Jamaican himself managed more of a cameo before falling for 39 off 24. The next highest for the Gladiators was Azam Khan’s 17.Mohammad Hasnain did briefly threaten to make things interesting by removing Sharjeel Khan in a fiery first over, but a loose one from Qais Ahmed that Clarke spanked for 24, apart from three wides, removed any realistic chances of victory. Hasnain returned to remove Babar Azam midway through the innings, but by this time the Kings only needed to go through the motions to get their title defence off to a resounding start, and when the winning runs were scored, they had 37 balls to spare.Star of the day
While the Gladiators pace unit got most of the attention, with Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain and Usman Shinwari in its ranks, the Kings’ emerging quick Iqbal ended up outshining the lot. Called in to bowl with Gayle having primed himself with 18 off Aamer Yamin, Iqbal held his nerve in the opening salvo, allowing just four in the seventh over. He wasn’t called on again until Ben Cutting and Azam Khan threatened to cut loose; the pair had just taken 11 off a Wasim over.What did Iqbal do? Bowl a wicket-maiden, naturally. He varied the pace beautifully as Cutting and Azam struggled to get a read on the young bowler’s plans before Azam swatted him straight to Daniel Christian in frustration. In his next over, Iqbal sent Cutting’s leg stump cartwheeling, and dismissed Hasnain in his final over, with figures of 4-1-16-3 not flattering him in the slightest.Tom Banton watches on as he is about to be caught by Joe Clarke•AFP via Getty Images
Miss of the day
Erm, the Gladiators batsmen in general? More specifically, Banton. The Gladiators would have plumped for Banton at the auction assuming his miserable outing last year with Peshawar Zalmi was something of an anomaly. But with the young Englishman having skipped the Big Bash League this year, there’s little recent data to gauge his form, and what was on offer today might worry Gladiators.Perhaps too eager to impose himself, he smashed Wasim to cow corner off the second ball he faced, before attempting an ugly smear over midwicket to a ball he never came close to the pitch of. It went a mile up and back down to the wicketkeeper, continuing Banton’s struggles in the PSL. Whether he shakes them off could be pivotal to the Gladiators’ chances in the tournament.Honourable mention
With that boyish innocent smile, the flowing wavy hair and the easy elegant, slender high-arm action, Hasnain can be the most marketable of Pakistan’s fast bowlers once he really gets his career underway. He was at that luscious best today, even if in a losing cause, pace and swing both on offer first up that proved too hot for Sharjeel. He had Joe Clarke on toast off his first delivery, unlucky not to find either the outside edge of the bat or the stumps. Despite little support from the other end, he then dismissed Azam, too, and when he was done, he had leaked just 18 off his four overs. The Gladiators might have had a bad day, but they will have that positive to take out of it.
The offspinner has never missed a Test through injury, but it would leave a massive headache if it did happen
Andrew McGlashan24-Oct-2019Shane Warne believes the lack of cover for Nathan Lyon as Australia’s Test spinner is a “real issue” and he has been disappointed with some states not selecting a frontline spinner in the early stages of the Sheffield Shield.While Australia would not want to lose Steven Smith or Pat Cummins to injury, the loss of Lyon could be an even bigger headache given the gap that has developed between him and the rest of the options available around the country.Australia did not select a second frontline spinner for the Ashes with Jon Holland, the Victoria left-arm bowler who was in the Australia A squad, not making the cut leaving Marnus Labuschagne’s improving legspin as the next spin-bowling resource.Labuschagne is a more-than-handy option for Tim Paine to have – as he showed with the ripping leg-break to remove Jack Leach late in the Old Trafford Test – but it would be a tall order for him to be thrust into a Test as the only spinner.It is not a problem Australia have had to confront with Lyon’s impressive durability meaning he has never missed a Test through injury during a 91-match career that has brought 363 wickets, but all it would take is a fielding mishap or blow in the nets to leave a significant problem.Holland probably remains the next in line, but he was left out of Victoria’s match against Western Australia in Perth, Ashton Agar might be a candidate while Queensland’s Mitch Swepson was the second-highest wicket-taker among spinners last season but has yet to play this summer.”Luckily we have such a quality spinner in Lyon, he’s done so well in all conditions around the world, held that attack together, but if something happened to him it would be a real issue,” Warne said at Fox Cricket’s season launch. “It’s important for Australia – I’m not saying Lyon is retiring or anything, he’s got a lot more in him – that if something does happen for Australia that someone could set up.”Only four spinners other than Lyon took more than 10 wickets in the Sheffield Shield last season: South Australia’s Tom Andrews (12 at 14.50), Steve O’Keefe (20 at 27.95), Swepson (24 at 38.16) and Holland (26 at 28.15). In the first two rounds of this season’s tournament, just 18 wickets have fallen to spin. That, perhaps, is partly mitigated by there being two matches at the WACA and the Gabba but Warne said that room should be made for a frontline spinner regardless of conditions for the benefit of Australian cricket.”They should always pick a spinner, it’s disappointing if sides are not picking spinners regardless of conditions we should be encouraging spinners in all forms because they’ll learn how to bowl in different conditions. The job of Sheffield Shield sides is to make sure you are producing international cricketers, it’s not just looking after your own state. You have to make sure Australian cricket is strong and they should be picking spinners.”In terms of Australia’s side for the opening Test against Pakistan next month, Warne endorsed bringing Usman Khawaja back to open alongside David Warner and introducing Will Pucovski at No. 6. “I think it’s time we picked a good, young player in there, bit like the old Australian way. Put him in at No. 6 and he can work his way up,” he said.
Olly Stone finished with seven wickets but Warwickshire face an immense task on the final day
ECB Reporters Network06-Sep-2018Warwickshire 310 and 28 for 1 lead Durham 292 (Stone 7-59) by 46 runs
ScorecardWarwickshire’s attempt to press for victory were thwarted by the weather on day three of their Specsavers County Championship match against Durham at Edgbaston.After heading into lunch on 28 for one, a lead of 46, rain started towards the end of the interval and continued throughout the day.The umpires did see an improvement as a 3.20pm inspection was called, but the weather deteriorated and no further play was possible meaning 70 overs in total had been lost.That will surely cause frustration for Warwickshire as promotion rivals Sussex have already won and Kent sit in a strong position again Northants.Jeetan Patel’s side must now bat aggressively in the morning to set-up a Durham run chase and unlikely victory with only 96 overs available on the final day.The day started under blue skies with the visitors resuming on 224 for 7, 86 behind.Olly Stone immediately exposed the tail by bowling Paul Collingwood first ball of the morning for 38, but any Warwickshire expectation of a sizeable first innings lead diminished as Barry McCarthy and Salisbury put on a resolute 42 between them.McCarthy was eventually dismissed, trapped lbw to Chris Wright for 43, but Durham were buoyed as they made inroads to the first innings total set.Chris Rushworth, the last man in, supported Salisbury in another valuable 26-run partnership before Stone struck with his seventh wicket to remove the stubborn number ten, who’d made a career-best 38, and bowl Durham out for 292.With conditions darkening, the Bears faced eleven overs before the interval and they saw opener Will Rhodes trapped lbw by Rushworth for 16.