The Lancashire batsman was the Scorchers’ leading runscorer last season
ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2020
Liam Livingstone launches into one of his sixes•Getty Images
Liam Livingstone, the England and Lancashire batsman, will return to the Perth Scorchers for the BBL following the 2019-2020 season where he was the club’s leading scorer with 425 runs.Livingstone is the fourth English player confirmed for the season following Alex Hales’ return to the Sydney Thunder and the existing contracts held by Tom Banton (Brisbane Heat) and Tom Curran (Sydney Sixers).Internationally, Livingstone has yet to add to the two T20I caps he earned in 2017 but was part of England’s white-ball squads during the biosecure summer.In seven T20 Blast matches for Lancashire he scored 192 runs at 27.42 and the team’s best strike-rate of 156.09 while also picking up nine wickets before being hit for four sixes by Dan Christian in the semi-final against NottinghamshireIn last season’s BBL he formed a destructive opening pairing with Josh Inglis which included three of the 13 century stands produced in the competition.”It’s terrific that Liam has agreed to join us again for BBL 10, he made a great impression last season finishing as one of the competition’s leading run scorers,” Scorchers head coach Adam Voges said. “He fitted in very well with our group and along with his handy legspin and energetic fielding, he brings a wealth of talent to the team.”It is expected a number of other English players will join the BBL although there remains the possibility of a limited-overs tour to South Africa taking place next month which may impact early availability. Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy and Dawid Malan are among those tipped to earn deals if available.
The Mumbai Indians management is monitoring the recovery process in consultancy with BCCI
ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2020A hamstring injury in his left leg forced Rohit Sharma to miss the Mumbai Indians’ tenth game of IPL 2020, against the Chennai Super Kings on Friday in Sharjah. In his absence, Kieron Pollard got a chance to lead the side for only the second time in the IPL, having earlier led the team in a game against the Kings XI Punjab last year.A statement from the franchise just before the toss confirmed that Sharma had suffered the injury during the Mumbai Indians’ last game, against the Kings XI in Dubai on October 18, which the Kings XI won after a double Super Over. “Rohit has made good progress over last four days, while the management is taking one day at a time monitoring the recovery process in consultancy with BCCI,” the statement said.This is the second time this year that Sharma has been sidelined by an injury. He had to fly back early from India’s tour of New Zealand in February, missing the ODI and Test series as a result.The Mumbai Indians’ next match is in two days’ time, against the Rajasthan Royals. It is not yet clear whether Sharma will be fit in time for that game.After the IPL, India are scheduled to tour Australia, and with Sharma being part of the team in all three formats, his fitness will be closely monitored.
If Northamptonshire’s policy of using the Bob Willis Trophy as a development competition is to be deemed a success, they need more stories like this second day at Wantage Road when Charlie Thurston made 115, his maiden century for the club, and Ben Curran 82 as they responded to Glamorgan’s 259 with 288 for 5.Thurston and Curran have limited top-level experience but have been handed extended opportunities this season and both have looked comfortable in their first XI appearances but were in need of scores to underline their potential.So it would have been to the relief of the pair and the club – taking some flak for their results despite their stated intentions – that both delivered. They shared a second-wicket partnership of 176 as Northamptonshire finally realised runs from their top order.Thurston has been on the fringes at Northamptonshire for a few years after making a century against them for Loughborough MCCU in 2017, also at Wantage Road. He was handed county debuts in all three formats in 2018 but never a proper chance to launch his career.This has been his opportunity. He made 96 in the second innings at Edgbaston in the first match of the Bob Willis Trophy, part of a tremendous rearguard that saved the game from a helpless position.And this should have been an even closer near-miss if Kieran Bull had held a regulation chance at slip off Tim van der Gugten with Thurston on 99. Next ball he worked a single to long leg and raised his century in 145 balls with 10 fours and a six.He was very fluent and soon built on his overnight 30. He played a beautiful back-foot punch to bring the 100 up, then flicked van der Gugten for two to reach fifty in 67 balls with six fours. He then uppercut Marchant de Lange over point for six to take the stand into three-figures.But with his career-best in sight after lunch, he dragged Callum Taylor – who enjoyed a dream first-class debut with a whirlwind century on day one – into his stumps trying to cut a ball from the offspinner round the wicket that was too tight to do so.Curran was also impressive. Initially more watchful than Thurston, he took an hour to find his first boundary of the day. He edged de Lange over the slips cordon before hooking him for four over square leg. He cut the same bowler for his seventh four to reach fifty in 112 balls, his second of the season and seventh of his 17-match career.Curran had one moment of fortune as he reverse-swept Bull in his first over and edged to first slip, only to find the fielder had moved away trying to anticipate where the ball might have gone had Curran made his intended contact.But he enjoyed no luck three overs after lunch as a thick outside edge from van der Gugten was spectacularly held by Nick Selman diving one-handed to his left at second slip. It left Curran one short of his first-class best made against Sussex in September 2018 in his fifth appearance. This was his 12th game since.The partnership broken, Northamptonshire wobbled from 202 for 1 to 234 for 4 as Luke Procter drove van der Gugten lazily to mid-off to fall for just 3 and the hosts were made to wait by the rain to take the lead.Play resumed at 5.10pm and Rob Keogh got in a mess trying to defend Dan Douthwaite and was bowled for 20 but Ricardo Vasconcelos, down the order this week with him both keeping wicket and captaining the side in place of the rested Adam Rossington, ensured Northamptonshire went to the close in a strong position.
Leeds United are ready to splash out £20m on a £15,000-a-week playmaker who has been compared to Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard, according to a new update.
Leeds playoff final & transfer news
The Whites have enjoyed an excellent season under Daniel Farke, but ultimately, whether it is a success or not depends on what happens in the Championship playoff final this weekend. Leeds take on Southampton at Wembley in what remains one of the biggest matches in world football, with a return to the Premier League within touching distance.
The difference that being in the top flight can make for Leeds is impossible to downplay, especially when it comes to the calibre of players they are able to attract to Elland Road and the money available to Farke this summer.
Numerous individuals have been linked with joining the Whites in the summer transfer window, with Roma midfielder Edoardo Bove an audacious target who made 30 appearances in Serie A this season. Ryan Sessegnon has also emerged as an exciting option, with the Englishman's career admittedly stalling at Tottenham, but at 24, still possessing plenty of long-term potential.
Leeds are thought to have enquired about the availability of Borussia Dortmund wing-back Marius Wolf, too, seeing him as a player who could thrive alongside Wilfried Gnonto down the right flank.
Leeds want £20m ace who is "like Odegaard"
According to a fresh report from Give Me Sport, Leeds are keen on signing Manchester City youngster James McAtee for £20m this summer, with their weekend opponents Southampton also in the race to snap him up. It is claimed that both clubs may only look to strike a deal "if they succeed in coming out on top in the Championship playoff final at Wembley this weekend", which highlights the importance of victory on Sunday.
The Whites are said to be "huge admirers" of the 21-year-old, and have "put plans in place to offer a permanent route out of parent club Manchester City".
Former Sheffield United loanee James McAtee.
McAtee is such a talented young footballer, but with City having so many world-class attacking midfield players in their ranks, from Phil Foden to Bernardo Silva, it is hard to see how he is ever going to make the grade at the Etihad. The £15,000-a-week ace has shone on loan at Sheffield United, scoring 14 goals in 75 appearances, but he could feel that now is the right time to join another club on a permanent basis.
Leeds could be perfect for him in that respect, offering him regular playing time, and he could be a brilliant asset, adding depth and quality in the attacking third. The young playmaker can play centrally and on the right-hand side, and former striker Carl Asaba has even compared him to Arsenal star Odegaard.
Leeds eyeing dream Cooper upgrade in 6ft 3 titan who's "one of the best"
Leeds United are looking at signing a dream Liam Cooper replacement in the summer.
ByKelan Sarson May 24, 2024
That is high praise, considering Odegaard is one of the best players in the Premier League currently, and Leeds should do all they can to sign McAtee permanently. Beating Saints this weekend is the first important hurdle to clear, though.
The Western Australia allrounder scored the most Sheffield Shield hundreds last season
Andrew McGlashan23-Jun-2020Tim Paine believes Australian cricket “can get very excited” at the potential of Western Australia allrounder Cameron Green, after having witnessed first-hand what the 21-year-old is capable of.Green was prevented from bowling for the majority of the 2019-2020 season due to back problems but is expected to be able to resume his full all-round role in time for this coming summer. His early numbers in first-class cricket are eye-catching with a batting average of 43.84 and bowling returns of 21.53.ALSO READ: Nathan Coulter-Nile and AJ Tye cut by Western Australia; Cameron Gannon joinsHe scored all three of his centuries last season – the most by any batsman in the 2019-20 Sheffield Shield – becoming just the second player after Doug Walters to have three hundreds and two five-wicket hauls before the age of 21. One of those centuries, an unbeaten 158, came against a Tasmania team featuring Paine, towards the back-end of last season. And the Australia Test captain also came up against Green with the ball in Perth earlier in the summer before the back problems intervened.”I don’t want to put too much pressure on him, but I think all Australian cricket fans can get very excited about the prospect of Cam Green,” Paine said. “I’ve played a few Shield games against him and the first one all the senior guys noticed him bowling first and we thought ‘geez he’s a bit quicker and a bit better than I thought he’d be’ and all the young blokes are saying ‘just wait until you see him bat’, and we thought ‘there’s no way he’s going to be able to bat like he bowls’ and then he came out and hit a hundred.”
To me, Cameron Green is the next superstar of Australian cricket. He is a genuine prospect with bat and ball, but I think his future is as a batsman who can offer some quality overs. Cameron is a batsman of rare talent. At 6ft 7in, he could become something very specialGreg Chappell
Australia have long-searched for an allrounder to balance the Test side, particularly on flatter pitches or overseas when two spinners could be required. Paine was able to study Green’s batting closely from behind the stumps, especially during the match in Hobart where he faced 366 balls across the two innings.”He’s an exceptional talent,” Paine said. “Certainly playing against him he was really impressive out in the middle, looked like he was in complete control of his game and really knew what he was trying to do, and to see him moving around the crease, there were a couple of little things I noticed when I was keeping against him where I thought ‘he’s pretty impressive’, not only is he talented, but he looks like he really knows what he’s doing. It’s an exciting thing for an Australian cricket fan to have someone like that on the horizon.”
In a recent feature for ESPNcricinfo, where two teams were selected for the hypothetical notion of Australia playing a Test and T20I on the same day, former Australia selector Greg Chappell picked Green in his 12-man Test squad.”To me, Cameron Green is the next superstar of Australian cricket,” Chappell said. “He is a genuine prospect with bat and ball, but I think his future is as a batsman who can offer some quality overs. Cameron is a batsman of rare talent. At 6ft 7in, he could become something very special. I would bat him at No. 6 to start with, but I reckon No. 4 is his long-term position. The sooner he gets to play at this level, the sooner he will become the player that he should be.”Australia won’t be picking their next Test squad until November at the earliest – they are due to play Afghanistan in Perth from November 21 – although there remains a change the limited-overs teams could still return to action with a tour to England in September. If the T20 World Cup is postponed, as looks all-but certain, and a rescheduled IPL played in the same time frame, there is the likelihood that some of Australia’s contracted players will be absent from domestic cricket. But Paine believes that the national set-up will be well prepared by being able to have a long pre-season with Covid-19 restrictions lifting in most of the country.”The next Test we’ll play is our summer, so we’re really lucky here that we’ll have a pre-season, all our nationally contracted players have gone back to their states, which is a great thing for both them and all our young domestic players in the country to be learning off Steve Smith, Marnus [Labuschagne], Pat Cummins and all these guys,” he said. “You get a mental freshen up, which your David Warners and Pats and Steves never get, but also these guys are getting to do a full pre-season, getting their bodies right, which they haven’t been able to do for a number of years.”I think our Australian cricketers will be as well prepared as they’ve ever been come their first game, whether that’s Test cricket, one-day cricket or T20.”
Former Scotland offspinner Majid Haq has announced on Twitter that he is recovering after testing positive for COVID-19. The 37-year-old posted the news on Friday morning, saying he was being treated at Royal Alexandra Hospital in the Paisley area of Glasgow.”Looking forward to potentially getting back home today after testing positive with Coronavirus,” Haq tweeted. “Staff at the RAH in Paisley have been good to me & thank you to everyone who has sent me messages of support. Insha Allah the Panther will be back to full health soon. #covid19UK”According to the UK government’s dedicated NHS web site for Coronavirus information, there were 266 confirmed cases of the virus in Scotland as of 9.00 am on March 19, part of 3,269 confirmed cases across the whole of the United Kingdom.Haq, who logged 54 ODIs and 21 T20Is for Scotland, last played for his country at the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. He was Scotland’s all-time leading wicket-taker in ODI cricket with 60 wickets until being passed in 2019 by fast bowler Safyaan Sharif. However, Haq has still been active in domestic cricket in Scotland, most recently captaining Royal High Corstorphine CC in the Cricket Scotland League Eastern Premiership for the 2019 summer.Both Cricket Scotland and the ECB announced this week that recreational cricket would be suspended indefinitely in light of the Coronavirus outbreak. Many cricketers from around the world have been under self-isolation since the Coronavirus was declared a global pandemic.
Bangladesh name familiar-looking squad for T20 cricket’s showpiece event in Australia
Mohammad Isam30-Jan-2020
IDI/Getty Images
Rumana Ahmed and Panna Ghosh have been included in the Bangladesh squad for the Women’s T20 World Cup, which begins on February 21 in Australia. The experienced duo replaces Rabeya Khan and Suraiya Azmin, who were part of the side for the India tour earlier this month.Rumana, the legspin-bowling allrounder, has recovered from a knee injury, which kept her out of action for several months last year including the T20 World Cup qualifiers. Panna, who has taken 31 wickets in 37 T20Is, is a seam bowler.The rest of the squad bears a familiar look. Salma Khatun leads the side that includes seamer Jahanara Alam, who played in the Women’s T20 Challenge in India last year, and Nigar Sultana, who has made 309 runs at 44.14 in the last 12 months.Bangladesh will reach Brisbane on February 3, after which they will play three tour matches on February 7, 10 and 12 at the Gold Coast District Cricket Club ground. Their official warm-up matches are against Thailand (February 16) and Pakistan (February 20), before their tournament opener against India on February 24.Squad: Salma Khatun (capt), Rumana Ahmed, Jahanara Alam, Shamima Sultana, Murshida Khatun, Ayesha Rahman, Nigar Sultana, Sanjida Islam, Khadija Tul Kubra, Panna Ghosh, Fargana Haque, Nahida Akhtar, Fahima Khatun, Ritu Moni, Sobhana Mostary
It wasn't the best of nights for Arsenal on Tuesday, as they were held to a 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Mikel Arteta's usually impeccable defensive unit looked out at sea for much of the evening, but with limited options on the bench, there was little he could do.
William Saliba was the man who gave away the penalty in the first half, but Gabriel Magalhães was just as poor, and based on reports from earlier this week, he could soon have some competition to worry about.
Arsenal on the hunt for a new defender
According to a report from TEAMtalk earlier this week, Arsenal has been given a massive boost in their pursuit of Sporting CP centre-back Ousmane Diomande, one that puts them in pole position to secure his signature ahead of cross-city Chelsea.
The report has revealed that the highly rated 20-year-old has made a transfer to the Gunners his 'preferred move' over the Blues this summer. This has now put the north Londoners in the 'driver's seat' for any potential deal once the window opens.
Therefore, the most significant obstacle left to secure the defender's services this year is his release clause, which is priced at around £69m, and while that is undeniably expensive, it isn't out of reach for Arsenal, as they demonstrated last year.
Sporting centre-back Ousmane Diomande.
While this development has probably gone down exceptionally well with Arteta and Edu Gaspar, it might not be such great news for Gabriel, as his place in the starting lineup would suddenly look a lot less secure.
How Ousmane Diomande compares to Gabriel Magalhães
So, the first thing to say is that there are two reasons that Gabriel would be the defender at risk if Diomande joined the club.
gabriel-jesus-arsenal-injury-leeds-united-return
First, he plays as the left-sided centre-back in the team, which would likely be the favoured position for the left-footed Sporting man. Second, the fact that he was left out of the starting lineup at the start of this season suggests that while Arteta rates the Brazilian, he doesn't view him as an indispensable part of the team.
That said, how do the pairs' underlying numbers stack up against one another? Is there a clear winner in that metric? Well, unfortunately for the Arsenal man, the Ivorian comes out ahead here, and by quite some way in specific statistics.
Progressive Passes
5.23
3.68
Progressive Carries
0.97
0.48
Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists
0.08
0.17
Passing Accuracy
91.6%
88.4%
Shot-Creating Actions
1.18
0.74
Goal-Creating Actions
0.10
0.07
Tackles Won
0.97
0.77
Blocks
0.36
1.40
Tackle + Interceptions
2.31
2.28
Clearances
1.79
2.90
Ball Recoveries
6.05
4.08
For example, the "incredibly complete" defender, as described by talent scout Jacek Kulig, produces more progressive passes, progressive carries, shot-creating actions, and goal-creating actions, wins more tackles, and makes more ball recoveries per 90.
This ability to create chances as well as defend marries well with Kulig's description of the Sporting star as someone who possesses "high ball-playing and pure defender skills."
In his defence, the former LOSC Lille star does make more blocks and clearances per 90 than his potential competition, but those two areas of strength do not outweigh his relative weaknesses.
Ultimately, if Arteta and Edu can get this deal over the line in the summer, they absolutely should, and while it may hurt Gabriel's game time, it could also strengthen the squad.
Fabrizio Romano says Arsenal are set to sign "important" striker
The Gunners are intending to bring in a star number nine.
TN won the inaugural edition under Karthik in 2006-07. Can they repeat that feat against a side that thumped them in the group stages?
The Report by Deivarayan Muthu29-Nov-2019 Dinesh Karthik’s Tamil Nadu and Manish Pandey’s Karnataka will square off for the Syed Mushtaq Ali title in a repeat of the 50-over Vijay Hazare final on December 1. Incidentally, this will be the first time that the finalists of the Vijay Hazare trophy will also contest for the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy in an Indian domestic season.After asking Rajasthan to bat first under lights in Surat’s Lalabhai Contractor Stadium, Karthik rifled through his options, using as many as seven bowlers to limit Rajasthan to 112 for 9.Tamil Nadu then bumped up R Ashwin to the top – he was opening the batting for only the second time in T20 cricket according to ESPNcricinfo’s data – and although he couldn’t get the big hits away, the senior pro helped see off the new-ball threat posed by Deepak Chahar and co.After C Hari Nishanth chopped on to Chahar for a duck, Ashwin put on 69 for the second wicket with allrounder Washington Sundar to lend direction to the chase. Ashwin holed out for 31 off 33 balls in the 11th over and then Karthik was pinned lbw for 17 six overs later, but Washington remained unbeaten on 54 off 46 balls to finish the chase without much fuss.ALSO READ: Sai Kishore – spinning fingers and sweet dreamsEarlier in the evening, though, Washington didn’t have too much to do with the ball, delivering a solitary over and claiming the wicket of opener Ankit Lamba for 15. Rajasthan captain Chahar promoted himself as the other opener – he was initially picked by Stephen Fleming as a batting allrounder at Rising Pune Supergiant – but Tamil Nadu’s new-ball fingerspinner R Sai Kishore barged through his flimsy defences with an arm ball. The wicket took Kishore’s Powerplay tally to 15 in this Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. No other bowler has taken more than 10 wickets in the Powerplay this tournament.Vijay Shankar provided crucial breakthroughs with the new ball for Tamil Nadu•NurPhoto/Getty ImagesWith Royal Challengers Bangalore’s director of cricket Mike Hesson and a few other scouts in attendance, Kishore finished with 1 for 35 in his four overs. M Siddharth, the other left-arm spinner, who was a belated inclusion in the squad after M Vijay suffered an injury, returned 1 for 22.Seam-bowling allrounder Vijay Shankar hit the hard lengths and compounded Rajasthan’s woes, picking up 2 for 13 in his four overs. Ashwin was held back until the 14th over and he struck almost immediately, trapping Manander Singh lbw for 7. At this point, Rajasthan were tottering at 76 for 7. Some late blows from Chandrapal Singh and Ravi Bishnoi hauled Rajasthan past 100 and helped them avoid the ignominy of being bundled out.Barring the Bishnois – Rajesh and Ravi – no other Rajasthan batsman passed 20. Chahar, however, briefly raised their hopes when he dismissed Hari Nishanth, but Ashwin and Washington saw off the Powerplay without any further damage. Ashwin ventured to play some funky shots, but couldn’t connect with them well enough while Washington was more adept at keeping the scorecard ticking.Washington was particularly severe on Ravi Bishnoi, the legspinner, taking him for 30 off 16 balls, including three sixes, the pick of them being a rasping slog-sweep over midwicket. In stark contrast, Ashwin was scratchy against the spinners and his stop-start innings finally ended when he hit a half-tracker from left-arm fingerspinner Chandrapal straight into the lap of deep midwicket.Left-arm seamer Aniket Choudhary gave Rajasthan another reason to smile when he removed Karthik, but it was Washington who had the last laugh.In 2006-07, Tamil Nadu became the inaugural Syed Mushtaq Ali champions under Karthik. Can they repeat the feat against a power-packed Karnataka side that thumped them in October earlier this year?
Aston Villa are reportedly set to dip into the free agent market this summer in order to bolster their defensive ranks.
Villa thriving despite defensive injury crisis
The difference between the Aston Villa of last season compared to the version we see now is quite remarkable. The Villans find themselves on the cusp of qualifying for the Champions League for the first time since they won the tournament all the way back in the 1981-82 season.
This is no doubt thanks to the tactical changes and overall solidity that Unai Emery has instilled in his squad, withstanding an injury crisis which has seen the likes of Tyrone Mings and Diego Carlos miss big chunks of time.
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery during a Premier League game.
Indeed, their attack has been the main area of the team which has been spoken about, as the club find themselves with the most Premier League goals outside of the three title chasers, but there's no question the partnership of Carlos and Pau Torres has been a revelation. The 31-year-old Brazilian has been phenomenal when healthy and has managed to cement his spot in Emery's starting 11, playing 27 games in all competitions this term.
Torres wasn't the only addition last summer, with Clement Lenglet joining on loan, but the France international is not expected to stay permanently. So, with Mings recovering from a horrible injury at 31 years of age, Konsa often used on the right hand side and Lenglet on the way out, Emery is looking to the free agent market for another left-footed centre-back to bolster his ranks for the 2024/25 season.
Aston Villa see defender as an 'attractive opportunity'
If Emery's men do manage to get into the Champions League next season, they will need to add a lot of experience to their squad in order to be competitive. It explains why the Villans see left-footed Mario Hermoso as an 'attractive opportunity' this summer. That is according to Tutto Juve, as summarised by Sport Witness, who state that Villa are 'in the lead' to sign the defender this summer.
Mario Hermoso's season in numbers so far
Games
36
Goals
2
Yellow Cards
12
Data via Transfermarkt
The update states that Villa are ready to enter negotiations for Hermoso in order to 'mock' Serie A giants Juventus by acquiring the player ahead of them. This follows reports last week that Emery was personally pushing talks with the soon-to-be free agent.
Hermoso's contract is set to expire in June and, if the Atletico Madrid man chooses to leave, there will be many clubs 'in the picture' to acquire his services. The centre-back has made a total of 165 appearances for Atletico with 28 of them coming in the Champions League.
This experience, alongside the versatility which the 28-year-old possesses, would make the defender an ideal match for the profile which Emery desires. His addition would not only bolster his defensive ranks but allow yet another experienced head to enter the camp.