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Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso’s reluctance to sign a new contract at the club has set reports in motion about a possible return to Liverpool in the summer, but what are the chances of such a transfer coup coming to fruition for a player who enjoyed five successful seasons on Merseyside?

The 31-year-old Spain international currently has a contract at Madrid which runs through until the end of next season, but with manager Jose Mourinho’s future up in the air, he remains reluctant to commit himself until things become clearer about what path the club intend to take in the future. With the side currently 13 points behind rivals Barcelona in the league, in what has represented a pitiful defence of the title they won in such style last season, not only is a potential change in manager on the cards, but a freshening up in the squad in what promises to be a period of great upheaval if they fail to triumph in the Champions League this term.

In what looks certain to be a quote that will be revisited more and more the closer we draw to the end of the season and the summer, Alonso told the BBC in February: “With Brendan, Liverpool are building a project. They need to be patient. We all want to see Liverpool fighting for the Champions League places. I still follow the Premier League and I still feel very attached to Liverpool and I follow them. I consider myself a Liverpool fan.”

The midfielder’s Anfield exit in the summer of 2009 wasn’t brought about by the need to test himself on a bigger stage, after all, Liverpool had just seriously challenged for the Premier League title losing out to Manchester United by just four points and a couple of Federico Macheda shinned last-minute winners. The club were competing in the Champions League each and every year and in Javier Mascherano and Steven Gerrard, the club had perhaps the best midfield trio in European football outside of Catalonia.

The departure was all but sealed, as everyone knows, by Rafa Benitez’s clumsy pursuit of Aston Villa man Gareth Barry – a move which doesn’t look any more sane with the passing of time. It should be noted, though, that of Alonso’s five years at Anfield, only his first and last touched the heady heights we have come to remember him for; one when trying to impress in a new league and the other when trying to force a move through elsewhere in what has been a convenient re-writing of history to suit the man-love agenda. He has been hugely missed and by just how much has only become easier to quanifty the more time passes, but he’s definitely stepped up a level in terms of consistency while in Spain, certainly more so than he ever managed while at Liverpool.

Alonso moved to Liverpool because of Benitez, but after offering him around anyone that would have him, only Arsenal’s reluctance to offer anything above £15m (has Arsene Wenger made a bigger mistake in the market in the past five years?) stopped him from moving elsewhere in the top flight. Equally so, Alonso wanted to move because of Benitez, rather than a need for a new challenge and a desire to move back home. His one-time mentor had fallen out with him over his desire to be by his wife’s side at the birth of their first child on the eve of a crucial Champions League game and it never recovered and Alonso’s form fluctuated during the 2007-8 campaign before he was made available for transfer, with injuries taking their toll on his form.

When that is put into context, it makes the idea that Alonso fancies a return to Anfield all the more understandable and a reported £80k-a-week contract has been put on the table, while the fee ranges from £12m to £8.5m depending on where you look. What is clear, though, is that Alonso’s departure signalled the end of Liverpool as a top four force, with his ability to control and dominate possession in the middle of the park being sorely missed ever since.

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The narrowly avoided financial disaster of the final days of the Hicks and Gillett ownership saw the side fail to capitalise on a second-placed league finish in 2009 and they refused to invest for another push that summer which saw them subsequently finish seventh the following campaign, sack Benitez, appoint the patently out-of-his depth Roy Hodgson and being forced into selling Mascherano to Barcelona. It’s a state of affairs the club have still struggled to fully recover from and they hovered between eighth and sixth in the league ever since.

Despite his deal at Madrid being worth £130k-per-week, Alonso has spoken of his surprise when he watches top flight matches and how quick the pace and flow of the game is; with time hardly on his side, he could be equally reluctant to dive straight back into a league that he has been absent from for four seasons, even taking into account the significant wage drop. However, with Joe Allen struggling so much this season, Brendan Rodgers will be in the market for an experienced midfielder in the summer, even if he hadn’t bet on setting the bar so high.

Considering the midfield is such a central area of Rodgers possession-based philosophy, it’s remarkable what a mess he’s made of it this season, from playing out of form players (Allen), to unfathomably dropping those in form at times (Jordan Henderson) to just simply playing them out of position altogether (Nuri Sahin). The way he’s chopped and changed points to a manager struggling to pick his best trio or even knowing what they are, while failing to consistently deliver on his message that the side are capable of controlling a game for prolonged spells and Alonso could certainly help in that regard, even if the tempo of the league could ensure a bumpy first few months back.

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As with many sub-plots that have developed over the past few months, plenty rests on the future of Mourinho and whether he chooses to extend his stay in the Spanish capital beyond the end of this season. If he leaves, Alonso may be seriously tempted to look elsewhere too and Liverpool would understandably provide a comfortable and familiar environment to see out the final days of a fantastic career and what better way to try and convince Luis Suarez to stay for another year at the same time, by signing a truly world-class midfield operator in what would represent a real signal of intent and ambition.

Harking back to the initial question and whether the deal is likely, it’s too early to tell at this stage, but he fits the style, the system and already loves the club which ensures they remain right at the front of the queue. If I were a betting man, I’d put it on Alonso staying at Real Madrid until his contract expires, turning down the two-year extension and then perhaps returning to a young and vibrant Real Sociedad side, the place where he started his playing career. His Basque roots will always ensure a stronger emotional pull than his Scouse credentials, but the ball remains firmly in his court and he’s never been a player who has terms dictated to him, rather a principled individual in control of his own career, something which could potentially be a determining factor that could count in Liverpool’s favour ahead of a proposed romantic and sensational comeback to the top flight. It’s a long shot, but I wouldn’t completely rule it out.

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Surrey break 126-year record for their highest total after opener extends marathon innings to 305

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay30-Jun-2025Durham 59 for 1 trail Surrey 820 for 9 dec (Sibley 305, Lawrence 178, Jacks 119) by 761 runsDom Sibley’s ten-hour 305, plus quickfire hundreds from both Dan Lawrence and Will Jacks, propelled Surrey to 820 for 9 declared at the Kia Oval, the biggest first-class total in the club’s long history.Resuming on 407 for 3, they broke their 126-year-old county record after batting on until just after tea on day two and prolonging Durham’s suffering in scorching sunshine and sweltering temperatures above 30 degrees.And in 28 overs before the close, Surrey then held Durham to 59 for 1 in reply with some testing bowling and will look to put the visitors under further pressure on days three and four of this Rothesay County Championship Division One fixture.Matt Fisher struck at the start of his second over with the new ball to bowl Emilio Gay behind his legs for 7, and it could have been better for Surrey if they had clung on to catches offered by Alex Lees, on 11, and Will Rhodes on 12.Lees, who reached stumps on 33, cut Tom Lawes’ first ball to cover where Jordan Clark could not hold a low diving chance and Rhodes, unbeaten on 16 at the close, was put down by Sibley at second slip off Clark.Sibley, on 169 overnight, eventually added 334 in 53 overs with Lawrence, a fourth-wicket record for Surrey against Durham. Lawrence cruised from 58 at the start of the day to 178 – as with Sibley, his first-class career best – before slicing Daniel Hogg to point.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Lawrence struck four sixes and 19 fours in an eye-catching 149-ball effort, while Jacks was just as effortlessly brutal in his own 119 from 94 balls – also hitting four sixes. Sibley and Jacks put on a further 133 in 21 overs for the fifth wicket.The declaration came when Jacks skied Hogg to deep mid-off looking to hit a third successive six, after Surrey had opted to bat on after tea for what proved to be another 12 balls and 17 runs.But the first post-tea Jacks blow off Hogg, swung high and far over a short mid-wicket boundary, took Surrey past their previous highest total in first-class matches – the 811 scored against Somerset at the Oval in May 1899.Sibley’s 475-ball epic, featuring two sixes and 29 fours but for the main part a relentless display of risk-free accumulation, was the eighth first-class individual score of 300 or more by a Surrey batter, and the seventh highest.The former England Test opener joins an illustrious list topped by Bobby Abel and also including Kevin Pietersen, Walter Read, Sir Jack Hobbs, Tom Hayward, Andy Ducat and Mark Ramprakash. Two more Surrey players, John Edrich and Andy Sandham, scored triple-hundreds for England.Surrey’s total, meanwhile, was also the highest first-class total made against Durham, beating the 810 for 4 declared reached by Warwickshire at Edgbaston in 1994. That was when Brian Lara hit his famous 501 not out, with Sibley joining Lara, Graeme Hick and Darren Lehmann as the fourth man to top 300 against Durham.When Sibley fell, to leave Surrey 745 for 5 in the 152nd over, he was only 24 runs short of becoming the first batsman to complete 1000 first-class runs this season and thoroughly deserved a standing ovation from a sizeable crowd boosted by the enthusiastic presence of more than 5000 schoolchildren.Clark, who contributed 24 in 16 balls, Josh Blake and Lawes all departed cheaply while Jacks continued to pile on the agony for a Durham attack missing Ben Raine, nursing an injury after bowling ten overs on day one.George Drissell, the offspinner, hit by Lawrence for 6, 6, 4 in successive balls at one stage, bore the brunt of Surrey’s hunger for runs. His 45 overs cost 247, the most runs conceded by a bowler in the County Championship, and he finished with just one wicket to show for his labours.

Surrey needed just nine overs to chase their target of 108

ECB Reporters Network21-Jun-2024South Group leaders Surrey crushed Glamorgan by nine wickets after a superb bowling performance, spearheaded by the pace of Gus Atkinson, Sean Abbott and Spencer Johnson, restricted the Welsh county to just 107 for nine from their 20 overs.Atkinson took wickets with his first and fourth balls early on and finished with 3 for 19, Abbott followed up his 5 for 18 against Middlesex 24 hours earlier by taking 3 for 25 and his fellow Australian, left-arm quick Johnson, picked up 1 for 16 from his four overs.Marnus Labuschagne was top-scorer with 20 and tailender Chris Sole made the next highest score with 15 not out, and Glamorgan’s total was put into context as Surrey rushed to 108 for 1 in reply in only nine overs.Dan Lawrence and Dom Sibley launched Surrey’s chase with a fusillade of boundaries as the opening pair added 53 inside a 62-run powerplay. Sibley went on to 44 not out from 26 balls after Lawrence holed out to deep square leg on 27 from 16 balls, and Laurie Evans then arrived to play some wonderful shots of his own in a 13-ball unbeaten 31.It was Surrey’s sixth win from eight Vitality Blast group games while, for Glamorgan, it was a sorry fifth defeat from their first eight matches in the competition.Lawrence took three fours from the third over, bowled by Chris Sole, and Sibley smashed left-arm seamer Jamie McIroy long on for six before driving the next ball gloriously wide of mid off for four.Evans, meanwhile, hit Dan Douthwaite’s fast-medium over cover for a remarkable six, following it up later in the over with a more orthodox strike high over long on for another maximum. And there was just time for Sibley to sweep Marnus Labuschagne’s leg spin for six and thump him to extra cover for four before also hitting the winning run.Glamorgan’s innings began badly, and never really recovered. Openers Kiran Carlson and Sam Northeast both fell in the second over, with Atkinson having Carlson caught at short extra cover for 1 with his first ball and Northeast (4) beaten by pace three balls later as he flapped at a short one and spooned up to slip.Australian Test batsman Labuschagne did scoop a Jordan Clark full toss high over the keeper for six but Abbott’s introduction for the sixth over brought an immediate reward when Colin Ingram swung at his first ball and was bowled for 8.Glamorgan were only 34 for 3 at the end of the powerplay and the struggle continued against spin as Lawrence snared Labuschagne for 20 and Cameron Steel also bowled his leg breaks accurately.Ben Kellaway reached 11 before Johnson’s return accounted for him, caught at midwicket in the 11th over, and Douthwaite (7) was beaten by a sharply-rising leg-cutter from Abbott and nicked behind.Clark saw Chris Cooke miscue to cover to go for 13 and Glamorgan’s demise continued when Andy Gorvin (5) edged Abbott behind.Mason Crane made only six before nicking a pacy lifter from Atkinson to the keeper and Glamorgan only made it to three figures because, in the final over, Sole carved Abbott high and beyond the ropes at fine third man for six and last man McIlroy produced perhaps the best shot of a forgettable innings by delicately ramping a full-pitched ball to the fine leg boundary.

While RCB’s bowling woes continue, Maxwell has “no injury concerns” as of now

Abhimanyu Bose14-Apr-20242:54

What’s gone wrong with Siraj this season?

Match details

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (10th; P6 W1 L5) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (5th; P5 W3 L2)
Bengaluru, 7.30pm IST (2pm GMT)

Big picture – Can RCB withstand SRH’s power at the Chinnaswamy?

After making the playoffs for three seasons in a row and then narrowly missing out last year, RCB are having a horror campaign, having slumped to five defeats in their first six games. Their bowling has been a major area of concern, with captain Faf du Plessis admitting they “don’t have as many weapons” with the ball. In RCB’s last game, they saw Mumbai Indians chase 199 inside 16 overs. And on Monday, they will be up against another batting juggernaut in Sunrisers Hyderabad.With Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma at the top, Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen in the middle and the power of Abdul Samad and Pat Cummins, Sunrisers have a batting line-up that’s not just explosive, but also runs deep. Earlier in the season, they posted the highest total in IPL history (277), beating RCB’s 263, and are the second-quickest scoring team in IPL 2024. Sunrisers’ big-hitters will be licking their lips at the prospect of playing against RCB at the Chinnaswamy, where the boundaries are short and the ball flies a long way.In contrast, RCB have the third-worst economy rate this season with the ball. With Mohammed Siraj having a below-par season, and a spin attack that has failed to be a threat to opposition batters, RCB know they have a huge challenge on their hands when they go up against Klaasen and co.Du Plessis has already said that the onus is on their batters to do the heavy lifting, and the positives RCB can take is that their skipper and Rajat Patidar found some form in the last game, and Dinesh Karthik continued to be impactful as a finisher.Virat Kohli, who is the leading run-scorer in the IPL, also has an excellent record against Sunrisers, scoring quicker against them than any other team in the competition.

Form guide

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: LLLLW (most recent matches first)
Sunrisers Hyderabad: WWLWL

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Royal Challengers Bengaluru
RCB have chopped and changed, using as many as 19 players this season – only Delhi Capitals have used more (20) – and they have been forced to tweak their combinations due to in-season injuries. RCB had an injury scare when Glenn Maxwell suffered a blow to his thumb and went for scans. But RCB’s director of cricket Mo Bobat said on Sunday Maxwell is “okay at the minute” and “there’s no injury concerns”. Just in case Maxwell is unfit, Cameron Green could return to the XI, having been replaced by Will Jacks in their last game. Saurav Chauhan or Anuj Rawat will likely come in as the Impact Player if RCB are chasing, or go out for a bowler if batting first.Probable XII: 1 Faf du Plessis (capt), 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Will Jacks, 4 Glenn Maxwell/Cameron Green, 5 Rajat Patidar, 6 Mahipal Lomror, 7 Dinesh Karthik, 8 , 9 Akash Deep, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Reece Topley, 12 2:39

Is it time for Sunrisers to unleash Umran Malik?

Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers are unlikely to make any changes to their team as they continue to build momentum around the halfway stage of the tournament. T Natarajan will likely come in as the Impact Player if they have to defend a target, and they can get Rahul Tripathi in as an extra batter if they are chasing.Probable XII: 1 Travis Head, 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Aiden Markram, 4 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 5 , 6 Heinrich Klaasen, 7 Abdul Samad, 8 Shahbaz Ahmed, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Jaydev Unadkat, 12

In the spotlight – Will Jacks and Travis Head

RCB made a big call to bench Green, who they bought in a cash trade for INR 17.5 crore, in the last game and brought on the highly-rated Will Jacks. Jacks showed glimpses of what he can do before chipping a catch for 8, but there are high expectations from him. With a T20 strike rate of 158.60, Jacks can help take the pressure off an under-fire RCB batting line-up.Travis Head is up against the team he made his IPL debut for, and he will be looking for a big score. After a 62 against Mumbai, Head has not really made a significant score and will be looking to make another big impact. He will also be fed plenty of pace, which suits him just fine. The Chinnaswamy may just be the best venue for him to go big again.

Stats that matter

• Sunrisers have won just two of their eight matches at the Chinnaswamy Stadium and have the worst win percentage among all IPL teams at the venue.
• The battle of the finishers: Dinesh Karthik (243.90) and Heinrich Klaasen (263.15) are among the quickest scorers in the death overs this season.
• RCB’s bowling average in the powerplay this year is 91.75 – by far the worst for any team in any season. Kolkata Knight Riders in 2018 had the previous worst powerplay bowling average in a season (68.38)

Pitch and conditions

The Chinnaswamy pitch has not been as batter-friendly as in the previous years. It’s been slightly two-paced, and the average first-innings score has dropped to 180 this season, as compared to 190.8 from IPL 2021 onwards.

Quotes

“So I think you have to keep challenging yourself to try to take wickets because any team can score that 60-70 at the back-end, in the last four or five overs. So I think no score is safe. And you always feel you’re in the game, particularly when you’re chasing. I think most teams will come here and try to chase because they feel it’s easier to navigate the innings when you know what’s in front of you.”

Poor fielding display condemns holders to third straight loss in round-robin stage

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Mar-2022Lisa Keightley, England’s head coach, says that she shoulders the blame for the collapse in form that has left her team’s defence of the World Cup hanging by a thread, following their third straight loss of the tournament, and their sixth ODI defeat in a row.After opening their campaign with narrow defeats to Australia and West Indies, England batted first in Mount Maunganui and posted 235 for 9 in their 50 overs, with half-centuries from Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones and five wickets for South Africa’s Marizanne Kapp.In reply, however, England missed a number of key opportunities in the field – most notably against Laura Wolvaardt, who anchored South Africa’s chase with 77 from 101 balls. Sune Luus and Kapp backed up their earlier efforts with the ball with a pair of important 30s, before Shabnim Ismail and Trisha Chetty sealed a three-wicket win with four balls to spare.England, who beat South Africa by two wickets in a similarly tense semi-final of the 2017 World Cup, now face four must-win contests in a row, starting with Wednesday’s clash with India in Mount Maunganui. Even that, however, might not now be enough for qualification with Australia, New Zealand and West Indies already better placed to push for a spot for the semi-final berths.”As a coach, I take a huge amount of responsibility,” Keightley said. “It’s up to me to drive the team and get the wins on the board, that’s the job of the coach. And we’re trying really hard, the coaching staff and myself, to get the players up and about and we don’t have to do too much.”The players are pretty gutted,” she added. “They were pretty gutted after the last match and they wanted to bounce back. They were unable to do it, so the responsibility and the buck lies with me and I’m happy to cop that.”Moving forward, do I feel the pressure? I don’t feel any more pressure than what the players feel and I’m no more disappointed than the players. We came into this World Cup wanting to play better than we have and we haven’t, and it’s been frustrating.”After an arduous winter campaign, which featured the disappointment of England’s Ashes defeat in Australia, the weariness of England’s fielding performance will raise inevitable questions about the fitness levels of the squad, with the veteran new-ball pairing of Anya Shrubsole and Katherine Brunt likely to come under particular scrutiny.Keightley, however, hinted that England would once again be relying on their experience of their proven matchwinners in the India game, rather than rotate them out, despite the likes of Freya Davies and Tash Farrant waiting in the wings as new-ball options.”We will have to have a look, see how they pull up, and make those decisions,” Keightley said. “They’ve done a great job for England over a number of years and they’re working really hard to do their job for the team. I think we’re on a new [pitch for the India match]. So it probably makes sense to play some senior bowlers.”Related

• England seek World Cup refresh as Kate Cross reveals difficulties of dealing with restrictions

• Peerless Kapp takes South Africa over the line to leave England winless

• After trumping New Zealand, young Darcie Brown gung-ho about 'awesome challenge' against West Indies

• Fahima Khatun: 'We want to take back some good memories' from our first World Cup

One bowler who did once again emerge with credit was the spinner Sophie Ecclestone, whose ten overs went for just 23 runs, including the key wicket of Mignon du Preez for 8.”Sophie has been amazing,” Keightley said. “She bowled well again today, and in the last games she has been fantastic. If we’d taken our chances in the Powerplay, we would have put pressure through the middle with Charlie [Dean] coming infor her first World Cup game. We tried really hard and created chances, we’re just not taking them.”We haven’t really put our finger on it really, we have fielded pretty well throughout the Ashes and took a lot more chances than we have today,” Keightley added. “The last two days, we’ve trained really well and the girls have been up and about and putting a lot of effort in.
“We just haven’t got the rewards in the games that matter, so it is something that we’ll have to think about when we review after this World Cup.”Despite England’s bleak standing on the World Cup table – only Pakistan, with four defeats out of four, sit below them – Keightley is adamant that the round-robin format can still get them back into the qualification mix.”We’re trying hard to get those wins and once I think we win a close one, we’ll get a bit of momentum and finish strong,” she said. “We’ve just got to dust ourselves off, come back out in two days’ time and play the way we want to play.”

Australia slumped to 45 for 6 with Akeal Hosein taking three quick wickets

Andrew McGlashan22-Jul-2021 • Updated on 25-Jul-2021Nicholas Pooran and Jason Holder rescued West Indies from more top-order troubles to level the ODI series in Barbados in the match that was delayed by 48 hours after the Covid-19 scare in the home side’s camp.In the end it was Australia’s collapse that proved decisive when they crumbled to 45 for 6 as left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein claimed three wickets in six balls. The last four wickets turned the innings around by adding 142, which included a 59-run ninth-wicket stand between Adam Zampa and Wes Agar, then when West Indies slipped to 72 for 5 – with Mitchell Starc again brilliant – there was the chance of a remarkable resurgence.However, Pooran and Holder played with excellent composure knowing that the required rate was never an issue. Pooran was given lives on 26 and 49, the first when Moises Henriques spilled a simple chance at mid-off, and Holder was reprieved by the DRS but it was a well-constructed stand during which Holder brought up his first ODI fifty since the 2019 World Cup while Pooran was unbeaten to finish things off.Even though the toss remained from two days ago, West Indies had given permission for Australia to make a change to their XI with Agar replacing Josh Hazlewood who had been managing a calf niggle and hadn’t been able to get the usual treatment due to two days of isolation while everyone in the bubble was retested.West Indies struck in the opening over when Ben McDermott nicked a wide delivery from Sheldon Cottrell’s second ball and after Josh Philippe had briefly shone he picked out deep square leg with a pull.Cottrell’s first spell had been just two overs as he left the field but his replacement, Holder, made a significant inroad when he produced an excellent delivery to take Mitchell Marsh’s outside edge.Then it was over to Hosein. There was no captain’s innings from Alex Carey this time as he was comprehensively beaten through the gate by a fantastic delivery that spun sharply from quite wide. Henriques’ disappointing tour continued when he edged a drive to slip, a reward for Hosein throwing his line a touch wider to entice the shot.Two balls later, he produced another gem, dropping a delivery on the middle and leg which then ripped past Ashton Turner’s edge to take middle stump. At that point, a very early finish was a possibility.Starc and Matthew Wade started a rebuild with a stand of 51 which was broken by Hayden Walsh Jr who had Starc lbw sweeping, via the DRS, having survived the same mode of dismissal on 7 when the review system overturned the decision. On both occasions, the umpire was Joel Wilson on a day he had four decisions overturned.Wade never found fluency but had little choice but to try and bat through the innings. However, the revival then came from the unlikely pairing of Zampa and Agar in a stand of 59 in seven overs which included Agar twice clearing the rope as West Indies became a little ragged in the closing stages until things ended in consecutive deliveries.It did not take long for a target of 188 to look much more challenging on a challenging surface. Starc was again on-song in his first spell as he pinned Evin Lewis lbw – having seen the opener saved from a caught behind in the opening over – and produced another pearler for his collection to extract Darren Bravo’s off stump.Spin then made an impact as Zampa caused plenty of problems with his googly, firstly removing Jason Mohammed with some help from the pad and then going right through Kieron Pollard. Between those wickets, Turner, a part-time offspinner, struck with his second delivery in ODIs when Shai Hope, who had played superbly against Starc, ran past one that slid on to take off stump.While that was a smart piece of captaincy by Carey, it also highlighted one of Australia’s problems as they lacked the second frontline spinner which West Indies possessed. Alongside the absence of Hazlewood, it left a lot on the shoulders of Starc and Zampa who couldn’t conjure another breakthrough in time – although Zampa should have done when Pooran was shelled with 65 still needed.In the over following that miss, Holder pulled debutant Riley Meredith for six over deep square leg which saw McDermott clatter into the boundary borders as he tried to reach the catch and hobble away.The rest of the chase was not without the occasional nervy moments particularly when Starc had Holder lbw with 23 needed. Pooran, who earlier became the third-fastest West Indies men’s batter to 1000 ODI runs, went to 49 with a six off Turner and brought up fifty when Wade could not hold a top edge at slip which he was moving the wrong way for. There was then a sigh of relief when Starc finished his 10 overs.

Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman find form in intra-squad match

ECB Reporters Network20-Jul-2020Pakistan captain Azhar Ali scored a century that guided his Team Green to a six-wicket victory in the first intra-squad match at the Incora County Ground in Derby.Azhar anchored a fourth-day run chase with a composed 120 from 225 balls after Team White, led by Babar Azam, had set a target of 353 in 89 overs.Fakhar Zaman provided the initial thrust by smashing six sixes in a 128-ball 99 and Azhar paced his innings shrewdly before retiring with the finishing line in sight.ALSO READ: Amir available to join squad in EnglandAsad Shafiq made 67 from 95 balls before he also retired leaving Iftikhar Ahmed and Sarfaraz Ahmed to complete victory in the evening sunshine with five balls to spare.Despite the relaxed conclusion, the first of two warm-up matches has been a worthwhile exercise for a number of key players ahead of the first Test against England in just over two weeks with Azhar’s innings particularly encouraging after his modest County Championship season with Somerset in 2019.Babar, another of the tourists’ key batsmen, also scored runs while Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi bowled with pace and accuracy and Yasir Shah twirled away for 31 overs in the match.It was a memorable game for wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan who followed an unbeaten half-century in the first innings by completing a century before Team White declared to set up a competitive final day.ALSO READ: Khushdil, Abid face injury scaresRizwan looked assured in both innings and two boundaries off Faheem Ashraf eased him through the nineties before a tuck off his hip against Naseem took him to three figures and prompted Babar to declare.Team Green’s chase threatened to stall immediately when Mohammad Hafeez, in for Abid Ali who was struck on the head fielding at forward short leg on day three, was out to the third ball off the innings from Afridi which he edged to Rizwan.But that was the last wicket to fall for nearly 43 overs as Fakhar and Azhar first saw off the new ball and then eased through the gears with Fakhar moving into overdrive against the leg-spin of Shadab Khan.The left-hander plundered six sixes between long-on and long-off, one bouncing off the pavilion roof with another clearing the main stand at the City End of Derbyshire’s headquarters.He also hit 10 fours but Shadab denied him a century by grabbing a head-high catch at third slip from a sliced drive off Mohammad Musa.
Azhar had been a spectator during the onslaught but with the exit of Fakhar, he took the initiative to reach his hundred off 199 balls while Shafiq drove the left-arm spin of Kashif Bhatti for six on his way to an 81-ball 50.Both made way to give Iftikhar and Sarfraz time in the middle. The tourists have one more intra-squad game at Derby starting on Friday before the real business begins at Emirates Old Trafford on August 5.

Unfinished business will ensure England seamer gets back to full fitness, says former captain

Andrew Miller13-Nov-20191:38

‘Silverwood will support Root’ – Cook

James Anderson’s desire to resume his record-breaking England career remains as burning as ever, according to his former captain Sir Alastair Cook, who believes that his old team-mate’s devastation at missing out on this summer’s Ashes campaign will help drive him in his comeback from a long-term calf injury.Anderson, 37, bowled just four overs in this summer’s Tests against Australia, after breaking down early in the first Test at Edgbaston – a game that England went on to lose in his absence.He was subsequently omitted from the current tour of New Zealand, and has spent the off-season working with the medical team at Manchester City in a bid to regain his fitness in time for the South Africa tour that begins next month.Last week, another former England captain, Michael Vaughan, said that the time had come to break up for good the record-breaking alliance between Anderson and Stuart Broad, which began in earnest on the New Zealand tour in 2007-08, and which has since realised a total of 1042 Test wickets.The emergence of Jofra Archer during the summer may encourage England that there is life after Anderson, and Archer will take centre stage for his first overseas international next week, when the first Test against New Zealand begins in Mount Maunganui on November 20.Cook, however, says that we’ve been here before with Anderson, a player who seems determined to defy the ageing process as he seeks to build on his record of 575 wickets in 149 Tests.”You never know with Jimmy,” said Cook. “He’s surprised us all, all the time. I remember going into a press conference as captain a few years ago, and saying there’s no way that we’ll get five Tests out of Jimmy and Stuart [Broad], and they surprised us all with their fitness record.”I know how devastated he was after the Edgbaston Test match. It was a horrendous feeling for him, but his desire and hunger is incredible. He wants to come back and wants to play, and while you’ve got that, why wouldn’t you?”At an age when most sportsmen are beginning to wind down, Anderson’s technical mastery has propelled him to new heights. He finished the 2018 home summer as the top-ranked Test bowler in the world, with his average dipping below 27 for the first time since the formative months of his career in 2003.”His record over the last couple of years is getting better and better. Father Time catches up with everyone, and there will be a time when he moves on, but while he wants to do it and is able to do it, we should appreciate him,” Cook said. “But, speaking to him recently, he wants to keep breaking records for England and keep helping England win games of cricket, and I’m sure he will.”Cook himself bowed out of international cricket with an emotional century in his final Test against India at The Oval in September 2018 – a match which finished with Anderson claiming his 564th wicket to move him ahead of Glenn McGrath as the most prolific seamer in Test history.Alastair Cook and James Anderson pose with the series trophies after England’s 4-1 win over India•Getty Images

Cook then went on this summer to play a key role in Essex’s second County Championship title in three years, and recognises that such uplifting events in his twilight years have helped assuage any sense of regret as his professional career begins to wind down.”It just shows how lucky I was that that happened,” he said of that Oval Test, when his innings of 71 and 147 included a glorious and sustained ovation as he brought up his 33rd and final Test hundred.”To walk off there after winning a game and Jimmy breaking Glenn McGrath’s record. It’s all happy memories, and not many people have that, and that for me made the transition a lot easier.”His experience contrasted markedly with that of so many other sportsmen, not least another former England team-mate, Matt Prior, who last week spoke to the PCA about his own struggles in the wake of his career-ending Achilles injury in 2014.”Matt was an all-time great among English wicketkeepers, he played such a significant role over such a long time in getting England to No.1 in the world, but he didn’t get the chance to have the send-off that I had,” Cook said.”It was taken out of his hands, and it all happened abruptly, so his last memory of playing for England would be the injury, the rehab, and all the bad stuff. My last memory was totally different.”That said, it would have been understandable had Cook felt slightly conflicted during a remarkable English summer which, from a Test perspective at least, was crowned by that extraordinary final day at Headingley, when Ben Stokes’ century snatched a one-wicket win from the jaws of defeat.Cook witnessed the denouement at first hand in his unfamiliar new vantage point as a summariser on Test Match Special, but he insisted he had no regrets at being on the other side of the rope for a change.”It was a strange week,” he said. “But it was one of the great knocks. To be at Headingley, but without the nerves [was a privilege] – at least at the beginning of the day. Towards the end, I was as nervous as I would have been back in the days when I was trying to find a space in the changing room!”I was actually ferrying Glenn McGrath around in the back of my car that week,” he added. “I didn’t quite think when I first played against him in 2006 that I’d be his chauffeur for a week during a Test match. But it was an incredible game to be a part of that, and I was lucky enough to be on air for the final overs.”But there were no mixed emotions. People find that hard to believe, but it’s genuinely true. It was sad to hand the cap back, it was sad to make that decision, and you’re going to miss the identity of being an England cricketer but, for me, it was clear in my mind, and the right decision for my family at that time.”But, at the age of 34, Cook has kept his competitive fires burning by playing a key role in Essex’s triumphant Championship campaign, scoring 913 first-class runs in 14 matches at 45.65, including a pair of vital innings in the title decider against Somerset at Taunton.”2005 was the last season in which I played every game [for Essex],” he said, “and part of the reason for playing on after England was to experience that again, to play with guys like Ryan [Ten Doeschate] and Ravi [Bopara], who signed for Essex at the same time as me in 2003. To go back and play a lot of cricket with those guys meant a lot to me, actually.”I’m not sure I’ll keep playing until I’m 40, but I will very much take each year as it comes,” he added. “And if we have the sort of success that we had this year, then that obviously makes it easier.”Sir Alastair Cook was speaking at an event to mark 25 years of the National Lottery, which has raised £5.7 billion for grassroots sport. #BecauseYouPlay

England opener says he is in ‘best headspace’ of his international career

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jun-2018Jason Roy believes he is in the “best headspace” of his international career, after helping to propel England to the brink of a 5-0 whitewash against Australia with a haul of two centuries and a fifty in a record-laden run of performances.However Roy insists that the form and confidence currently coursing through England’s white-ball squad is merely a “stepping stone to the bigger picture”, with the World Cup on home soil looming this time next year.”It’s great breaking all the records and stuff but at the end of the day, the aim is to have this confidence come the World Cup so we can get some good wins under our belts,” he said. “The records are fantastic, obviously, and it’s a nice reward for the hard work we have put in.”Chief among those records, of course, was England’s 481 for 6 in the third ODI at Trent Bridge, the highest score ever made in a limited-overs international.And though Roy’s 82 from 61 balls was integral to an opening stand of 159 inside the first 20 overs of that innings, the mainstays of England’s performance that day were his top three colleagues, Jonny Bairstow and Alex Hales. Both made centuries to crank up the competition for places in the most stacked batting line-up in the game.”I guess so,” said Roy, when asked if the selection battle was driving the players to new heights. “You obviously want everyone to do well, each individual in the team. There’s no animosity outside the changing room, nothing’s changed. We are all very good friends, it’s just a case of wanting the best out of your mate. It’s pretty simple.””Jonny strikes the ball incredibly cleanly, especially at this moment in time, and he just seems to be in an amazing purple patch which is great for him and the team.”We’re getting off to such good starts and when you’re chasing totals like 310 it makes it easier for the guys coming in. We kind of spur each other on and say ‘good shot’ and things like that. Random stuff.”We know our games pretty well and we know each other’s games pretty well. If he doesn’t want to take risks against one bowler I might want to take risks against them. We’re working well together as a pair to be honest.”The upshot of Roy’s current form, and Bairstow’s continued excellence, is that Hales remains the most vulnerable of the top three when Ben Stokes returns from injury next month.”It’s a tough call for the management. Nothing to do with me,” said Roy. “Me and Halesy had great chemistry, likewise Jonny and Halesy and myself and Jonny and so forth. The nature of the way we play is beneficial to the team.”Roy dismissed the notion that he had anything still to learn from his dramatic loss of form during last year’s Champions Trophy, when he was dropped in favour of Bairstow for England’s defeat in the semi-finals against the eventual winners, Pakistan.”A year ago. We’re talking about a year ago now,” he said. “It is a relatively simple game, you work hard, you train hard and you get some good results and I’m happy that the results have come my way now.”As a kid I did look up to the Champions Trophy and wanted to play well, but I got dropped and that was heartbreaking for me, so going away and putting in the hard work, I know I’m going to get my rewards.”Let’s hope this time next year I’m at the World Cup and I’m in decent form and can win some games for the team.”At the end of the day I want to be a part of the team in the World Cup. If I’m not I’m not that’s the way it is, it is for the benefit of the team.”

Lancashire put their indifferent short-form season behind them when they defeated Birmingham at Old Trafford and killed their quarter-final hopes in the process

Paul Edwards29-Jul-2016
ScorecardJordan Clark’s stand with Tom Moores was crucial•PA Photos

Precisely eleven months since they danced and sang on the Edgbaston outfield after winning last year’s NatWest T20 Blast, Lancashire’s cricketers went into their final group match with coach Ashley Giles voicing the hope they could “upset the party” of the Birmingham Bears, his former side, who needed a win to be certain of reaching the last eight.By the end of a fine and rather fascinating match, Giles could argue that he had achieved his modest objective with a 30-run victory, albeit that both eliminated teams were left dancing round their handbags in the kitchen while “Agadoo” played on a continuous loop.Lancashire had needed either a washout or a tie at Chester-le-Street if they were to qualify and the joy which inspired their victory song was surely tinged with the knowledge that they had squandered their short-form opportunities earlier in the season.

Bell rues missed chances

Warwickshire skipper, Ian Bell, rued the finish to Lancashire’s innings which, as it turned out, carried the game in the home side’s favour.
“When it game to the key periods of the game we just didn’t do it well enough. Conceding 41 off the last three was disappointing and in this kind of game that was just a lot of runs.
“But it wasn’t down to this game or tonight. We’ve had two games at least when we had opportunities to win the game and didn’t take them. At this level and in this league, when you have chances you have to take them. This game should have been dead and buried but we only have to look at ourselves.”

For their part, having restricted Lancashire to 59 for 5 in the 14th over Birmingham allowed their hosts to amass 124 for 5 and the Bears then failed by a distance to chase down that score on a slow pitchBoth these teams could echo the impassioned regret of Billy Bigelow in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel: they had both let their golden chances pass them by.None of which should detract from the enjoyment eventually derived by most of the 10,263 spectators, Lancashire second-biggest T20 crowd, from this slow-burner of a short-form game in which the home batsmen had struggled painfully in the opening overs against an accurate Bears attack. Only four boundaries were struck in the opening 13.3 overs, all of them in the powerplay. Like a drunk trying to unlock his front door, each Lancashire batsman searched for the correct opening without ever quite finding it.Josh Poysden took a couple of wickets and was the pick of the Bears attack but he had finished his four-over spell when Tom Moores and Jordan Clark launched a late counter-attack, each batsman hitting two fours and a six in their 65-run stand for the sixth wicket. Having sat rather quietly, at least by T20 standards, the crowd responded warmly to this fine cricket and to the inventive excellence of 19-year-old Moores, who yet again looked like the sort of cricketer you want by your side in a scrap.By the mid-innings break it was clear that Lancashire had posted a defendable total. Who knows, perhaps the enraged supporter who had suggested earlier in the evening that the entire county club should be disbanded was now supporting it be reformed. All the same, no one knew then that Moores’s unbeaten 39 would be the highest score of the match or that Clark’s 31 not out would be the second best.That this was so can be explained partly by the failure of the Bears batsmen to adapt their strokeplay on this sluggish wicket, one perfectly at odds with the sort of wicket generally recommended for T20 cricket. But Lancashire’s victory was also a tribute to the work of their four spinners, none of whom went for many. Indeed, Croft conceded 12 runs from his four overs but he was only the leader of a slow bowling quartet, including Stephen Parry, Arron Lilley and Liam Livingstone, who sent down 16 overs of twisters yet conceded only 64 runs and took four wickets.Given these difficulties Birmingham probably needed Bell to play one of his classier innings but he was undone by a fine ball from Saqib Mahmood which he could only glove to Moores; the visitors could also have done without the run out of William Porterfield, who ran on a misfield but was sent back by Sam Hain and beaten by Parry’s throw. Having made a modest 57 for two after ten overs, Birmingham lost wickets steadily thereafter, including that of Hain, caught behind off Livingstone for 28 and Matthew Wade bowled by Croft for 16. No other batsmen threatened to change the game.Excellent catches at short fine leg and deep midwicket by Tom Smith and Livingstone removed Laurie Evans and Rikki Clark in the 17th over, bowled by Lilley, but by then Birmingham needed a salvo of shots they had never really looked likely to fire. The very promising right-arm seamer Mahmood grabbed a couple more wickets and finished with 3 for 12.So there will be a party at Edgbaston next month but the hosts will not be present. Their lager will taste flat tonight while Lancashire can take the consolation of victory from what has been an annoying season. Immediate pleasure may be replaced by deeper professional irritations and suddenly it must seem more than eleven months since they paid homage to Bacchus at Edgbaston. They were happy in the haze of that hour but they must wait another season for a chance to repeat such frolics.