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Liverpool are closing in on the Premier League title and expectation is growing that statement signings could be on the way at Anfield this summer, but there is also hesitance over potential departures.

Liverpool's need for statement incomings under Arne Slot

Earlier this week, news that Trent Alexander-Arnold is leaving Liverpool to join Real Madrid came as a bitter blow ahead of next season, albeit there is a feeing this has been on the cards for a while due to his contract impasse.

Arne Slot has shown he doesn’t need reinforcements to turn Liverpool into a winning machine, but you can bet your bottom dollar that he will be active in the market this summer to maintain his side’s place at the Premier League summit for time to come.

Andy Robertson isn’t getting any younger and may need competition for his place over the next couple of years. In light of this, Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez and Juventus star Andrea Cambiaso are on the Reds’ radar as options to strengthen in the left-back department.

Potentially costing £40 million or £50 million apiece, both would be affordable in the modern-day climate, though it remains to be seen if either of their current employers would be willing to budge in the summer.

Related Liverpool's "special" academy star may leave a bigger legacy than Trent

Liverpool’s esteemed right-back is closing in on a free transfer to Real Madrid when his contract expires in June.

Posts ByAngus Sinclair Mar 28, 2025

Defensive reinforcements are indeed on the agenda and may be heightened by Ibrahima Konate’s contract situation at Liverpool, which has drawin interest from the likes of Real Madrid in a £50 million transfer.

Now, Slot could be plunged into a corridor of uncertainty if speculation is to be believed regarding another member of his resolute backline after Alexander-Arnold.

Barcelona prepare two-year contract offer to Virgil Van Dijk

According to reports in Spain, Virgil Van Dijk is being lined up by Barcelona this summer and the Catalan giants are ready to put forward a lucrative two-year contract for the Netherlands international.

Citing his experience and leadership, the La Liga leaders have spotted a major opportunity to land someone with elite pedigree for no cost, even if his £220,000 per week wages throw a spanner in the works given their financial issues.

Virgil Van Dijk’s for Liverpool in 2024/25 – Premier League

Appearances

29

Goals

1

Assists

1

Duels won

134

Interceptions

44

Recoveries

94

Labelled “crucial” by Slot, Van Dijk could be a timely arrival for Barcelona should Andreas Christensen or Eric Garcia move on during the off-season. However, news that he is now in the eyes of a European rival will worry Liverpool supporters.

Mohamed Salah is also at risk of leaving for nothing once his contract expires. Should the trio all depart for nothing, FSG would likely cop a severe amount of criticism.

Financially, failing to recoup sizeable fees could impact the Reds’ scope to recruit adequate replacements on the market. Put simply, it is now or never for Liverpool to avoid another Alexander-Arnold scenario.

Manchester United's Amad Diallo & Alejandro Garnacho appeared to ask for help from Malaysian fans to pay for their electric scooters in Kuala Lumpur.

Article continues below

Article continues below

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• Man Utd currently in Far East
• Amad & Garnacho had trouble hiring scooters
• Malaysian locals lent a helping hand

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Red Devils arrived in Malaysia this week following the conclusion of their Premier League campaign to participate in a friendly against the ASEAN All-Stars. While enjoying their downtime in the capital, Amad & Garnacho attempted to rent scooters to explore the area, but were unable to navigate the process.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The duo appeared unable to access or pay for the service themselves and reportedly asked the fan to cover the payment on their behalf and assist in setting the scooters up. The situation drew an amused crowd, with other players – including Ayden Heaven – facing similar difficulties.

  The scene quickly turned into a fan frenzy, as curious pedestrians and United supporters flocked around the players to get a glimpse of the footballers outside their usual match setting. Once the issue was resolved, the players obliged fans with selfies, much to the delight of the Malaysian public.

• WATCH THE CLIP

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  WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED?

  Despite the enthusiasm of fans abroad, the club’s on-field struggles have been well documented. Under the leadership of head coach Ruben Amorim, they endured one of their poorest seasons in recent memory as they limped to a 15th-place finish in the Premier League, far from the lofty standards traditionally associated with the club.

  Following their 1-0 loss to the ASEAN All-Stars, United’s travelling squad will head to Hong Kong for their final fixture before the summer break, where they are set to take on the Hong Kong national team on May 30.

تحدث ليونيل ميسي، قائد منتخب فريق إنتر ميامي، عن بطولة كأس العالم للأندية نسخة 2025، قبل بداية مشوارهم فجر يوم الأحد بمباراتهم ضد الأهلي المصري.

وتستضيف أمريكا منافسات النسخة الأولى من بطولة كأس العالم للأندية، بنظامها الجديد، بمشاركة 32 فريقًا.

وتنطلق البطولة في الفترة بين 14 يونيو الجاري و13 يوليو المقبل، حيث يشارك إنتر ميامي بعدما تلقى دعوة خاصة من فيفا.

ويتواجد إنتر ميامي في مجموعة تضم كل من الأهلي المصري، بورتو البرتغالي وبالميراس البرازيلي.

اقرأ أيضًا.. غياب مهم في تدريبات إنتر ميامي قبل مباراة الأهلي في كأس العالم للأندية

وتُفتتح منافسات كأس العالم للأندية، فجر يوم الأحد المقبل، بمباراة مرتقبة بين فريقي إنتر ميامي والأهلي.

وقال ليونيل ميسي، في تصريحات نشرتها شبكة “deportetotalusa” الأمريكية: “إنها بطولة رائعة، متحمس للمشاركة بها، التوقعات مختلفة عما كانت لدي مع فرق أخرى، ولكنني متحمس ومتشوق للغاية من أجل المنافسة مع الأفضل، ومحاولة تقديم أداء جيد”.

وسبق أن توج ميسي بكأس العالم للأندية، في شكلها القديم، 3 مرات مع برشلونة في أعوام 2010، 2012 و2016.

وأضاف: “تأتي فرق كبيرة من جميع أنحاء العالم، تجذب الكثير من المشجعين، وتضم لاعبين مهمين للغاية يتطلع الناس لرؤيتهم”.

وواصل: “إنها بطولة جديدة ومختلفة، تمثل فرصة رائعة لمشاهدة الأفضل، أو بمعنى أدق الكثير منهم، هنا في الولايات المتحدة، إنها فرصة رائعة للاستمتاع بها”.

وأردف:”كما إنها فرصة رائعة لفرق أمريكا الجنوبية وفرق من مختلف أنحاء العالم للتنافس مع الفرق الأوروبية الكبرى، وفرق العالم الكبرى، الفرق التي تمثل مرجعًا والتي تضم الأفضل في العالم”.

واختتم: “إنها فرصة رائعة للتنافس معهم، وتجربة رائعة لكل من اللاعب والجماهير التي ستذهب إلى الملعب للاستمتاع”.

A 3am phone call is seldom a gleeful one.Seam-bowling allrounder Kim Garth, who made her international debut for Ireland in 2010 at the age of 14, received a maiden call-up to Australia’s T20I squad for the tour of India – where they play five T20Is starting December 9 in Mumbai. She wanted to convey the happy news to her parents in Ireland immediately.”I rang mom and dad straightaway. They were pretty worried something had happened obviously when you get a call at 3am,” Garth, 26, said in a virtual press conference on Monday.Related

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• Garth gets Australia call-up; Healy named captain for India T20I tour

• Kim Garth leaves Irish cricket for future in Australia

“[National selector] Shawn Flegler gave me a call two weeks ago. It was in the middle of the afternoon and I think it was the day after we played Hobart Hurricanes and I had an absolute shocker that day. It was a quick call telling me I was included. I was surprised and very excited.”It’s been a few big years moving across the world through your career. Things like this make it all worthwhile.”Garth quit Irish cricket in June 2020 to move to Victoria with an aim to play cricket for a living. But it was not an easy decision. Having played 34 ODIs and 51 T20Is for Ireland, she perhaps could never have played international cricket again.”[Possibly not playing for Ireland again] was a big factor in how difficult the decision was to make,” Garth said. “I knew what I was giving up but at the same time I knew the strength of the domestic system here, how strong the local players were. The WBBL was a big pull for me to become a local as they attracted top international players.”Having played a few years in grade cricket [in Australia], I have seen some of the lifestyle the girls live and play cricket every day for a living and not have to work other jobs at the side. It’s something I really wanted to do and it was a now-or-never type of thing. I knew it would – I think I was 23 [24] when I made the decision – take me a couple of years to become a local. And if I left it any longer, it wouldn’t be worthwhile.”It was a difficult decision to leave family behind but [I have] no regrets now.”Opportunities to play top draw cricket were few back then in Ireland. During the course of Garth’s nine-year international career as an Irish, Ireland played 64 T20Is and 44 ODIs. Since January 2021, they have played 27 T20Is – joint third-most among all sides – to go with 14 ODIs.”It’s not necessarily a step up but about consistency of the games we are playing,” Garth said about her possible T20I debut for Australia. “When I was playing for Ireland, we played sides like Australia, India, South Africa but didn’t do it regularly enough. Which is now exciting for the Irish now that they are getting more consistent fixtures against those sides, which is cool. It is not about the step up but the consistency.””I feel like I have put in some good consistent performances in the domestic cricket over recent years and I am really excited to take the next step up and get back to international cricket, albeit for a different team.”After moving over to Australia, Garth played the Women’s National Cricket League, the domestic 50-over competition, for Victoria from 2020 and then the Women’s Big Bash League for Perth Scorchers in 2020-21 followed by two years with Melbourne Stars. In the process, she got her permanent residency in Australia and became a local player in the WBBL.Garth is also no stranger to Indian conditions. She was part of the Ireland squad that played the T20 World Cup in 2016. “With the humidity and heat it does swing around a bit,” she said hoping to use it to her advantage if given an opportunity. Garth is used to bowling with the new ball for Victoria as well as Stars.Among her team-mates on the current tour, Garth has dismissed Alyssa Healy, Beth Mooney and Jess Jonassen in internationals. While playing in the WNCL and WBBL has meant she rubs shoulders with the Australian national cricketers more often, it could still make for interesting banter at breakfast.”I have Annabel Sutherland on my team [Stars] in the WBBL and Ellyse Perry with the WNCL [Victoria],” she said. “Just from playing against the girls, you get to know them early. Being part of Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers, I have known the girls which is nice.”Ellyse Perry has been very supportive over the last year. [I] got a very nice message from her and she rang me up after Sydney Sixers’ last group game, which was cool. She’s been a big support of mine and a very good friend.”I have played against them more playing domestic cricket than internationals.”It is not easy to break into the Australian XI given the depth and experience around. But if Garth does make her Australia bow on the India tour, the next call back home to her parents will not be at odd hours.

England’s women will play three ODIs and five T20Is against West Indies in Antigua and Barbados in December.The ODIs in Antigua will form part of the ICC Women’s Championship, in which England are yet to get off the mark following their 3-0 defeat by India in September.The Tour runs from December 4 to 22, which means it will be concurrent to the men’s Test tour of Pakistan, which gets underway in Rawalpindi on December 1, with the third Test in Karachi ending on December 21.England are likely to be able to call upon the services of Nat Sciver, who withdrew from the India series for a mental-health break in the summer, while their captain Heather Knight is also hopeful of being fit after undergoing hip surgery during the summer.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“We’re happy to be able to release the schedule for the tour of the West Indies,” Jonathan Finch, director of England Women’s cricket, said.”It’s always a great place to visit and with a new head coach soon to come on board it’s the beginning of a new cycle for this team.”The West Indies series sees our first overseas round of the ICC Women’s Championship and it’s key we get some points on the board. The tour also plays an important role in preparing for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup early next year.”

Everton are reportedly planning talks with a club over the signing of a creative “revelation”, with a loan move in the January transfer window mooted.

Everton pushing for January signings

The Blues still look horribly short of attacking quality this season, with Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat at home to Aston Villa in the Premier League once again outlining their lack of threat in the final third. For that reason, it is essential that extra firepower is looked at before the end of the month.

It certainly looks like that is the case, with Everton continuing to be linked with new attacking signings, including young Leicester City striker Tom Cannon, who is wanted by a host of clubs this month.

Willian is a player who the Blues have come up against many times down the years, during stints with the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Fulham, and the Brazilian is another rumoured target for them. He is a free agent currently, meaning David Moyes could bring him in on a free transfer in January.

On the flip side, Armando Broja may see his loan deal at Everton terminate this month because of injury, with Moyes admitting as much, saying: “We think he’s going to be out for somewhere between 10-12 weeks. It’s his ankle ligaments. It’ll probably mean there’s a possibility that he will have to go back to Chelsea.”

Everton planning talks over signing "revelation"

According to a fresh claim from Caught Offside, Everton are “preparing to hold talks” with Chelsea over the signing of Kieran Dewsbury-Hall.

The midfielder has been a peripheral figure for the Blues since moving to Stamford Bridge from Leicester last summer, and the possible exit of Broja means the Merseysiders could be afforded the chance to sign him. Ben Chilwell is also mentioned as a loan target – Broja’s exit would only make room for one of them under the league’s loan rules however.

Dewsbury-Hall is exactly the type of player that Everton have been missing this season – someone who can weave creative magic in midfield and attacking areas. The £80,000-a-week Englishman has had a tough season at Chelsea, not starting a single Premier League game and featuring for only 56 minutes in the competition, highlighting why a move away would surely appeal to him.

While Dewsbury-Hall’s stock has fallen after a brilliant 2023/24 campaign with Leicester in the Championship – he got 12 goals and 14 assists in the league last term – he could still be a brilliant addition for Everton, with Brendan Rodgers hailing him back in 2022.

“He’s been a revelation for us. He is a young man that is very determined. He has great human qualities as well. His humbleness, his vision of where he wants to go is very clear and he knows that is just about work. It is staying calm, staying focused and improving yourself every game.”

Moyes reveals £40k-p/w Everton ace could now leave Goodison Park this month

He may well have already played his last game for the club.

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Ben Browning

Jan 16, 2025

Dewsbury-Hall would provide Everton with guile and a strong work ethic in the middle of the park, and he will be desperate to prove himself in the Premier League. It’s a move that makes sense for everyone involved.

England wicketkeeper admits he is still learning to pace innings batting at No. 7

Vithushan Ehantharajah26-Aug-2022

Ben Foakes admits fitting into this new England men’s Test side can be a struggle but hopes Test century number two is a sign he is going about it the right way.Foakes finished unbeaten on 113 on day two against South Africa at Old Trafford, as the hosts declared on 415 for 9 to establish a first-innings lead of 264. While it was by no means the kind of aggressive innings we have become used to under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, the Surrey wicketkeeper reaching three figures from 206 deliveries, it was a vital contribution when England needed it most.It was an especially helpful knock alongside Stokes, who scored 103, as the pair put on 173 for the sixth wicket. Having come in on 147 for 5, still trailing the Proteas by four, the absorption of pressure and the subsequent accumulation of runs, which sped up when Foakes was batting with the tail, was a nod to a lot of introspection and hard work paying dividends for the 29-year-old.His first century came in his first innings in this format, back in November 2018 in Sri Lanka. Since then, he has established himself as a reliable No. 5 for Surrey: seven of his now 13 first-class hundreds have come for the county – he began his career at Essex, for whom he has three – at an average of 43. While he struggled at first to truly get to grips with batting lower for England, and adopting an altogether different mindset, this was a sizeable step in the right direction.”It’s a different role, at Surrey I just bat five and just play,” Foakes said. “When you get on quite challenging wickets batting at seven, obviously there’s a good chance you lose wickets quickly and you have to play a different way. I think for me it’s learning how to do that as well as I can. Just because it’s not my natural game. Finding a way to be able to, quite early on in my innings, put pressure back on the bowler rather than just batting.Related

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Spin strategy allows game to drift as South Africa lose their grip

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“When I bat at five hundreds are definitely something I think about, but at seven I think more about just trying to contribute because obviously you’re not going to get as many opportunities to get a hundred. If I can get 40 with the tail and dominate that partnership, that’s my job. Getting a big partnership here and getting a century definitely gives me some confidence going forward.”There was palpable relief at getting another significant score on the board 14 Tests and four years later, not just with the celebration of fist pumps to himself before receiving a warm embrace from his partner at the time, Ollie Robinson, and the appreciation of a packed out Emirates Old Trafford.Since his debut, Foakes was either thrust in and out on a whim or missed out through injury, as happened at the start of 2021 when he tore his hamstring. Then, during the Headingley Test against New Zealand earlier this summer, a bout of Covid-19 ruled him out of the second-half of the match and the next Test against India. Twin failures at Lord’s (6 and 0) heaped more misery on him, but he has come out the other side in impressive fashion. An average of 26.91 coming into this match has already improved to 31.82 thanks to the red ink.”I just felt awful in that game [Headingley],” he said. “Getting the opportunity of being number one and then pretty soon after getting something like that is very frustrating, I’ve had a bit of stuff going on since I first played but I’m used to little setbacks like that”To be honest, in my first 10 games I was kind of looking and thinking ‘jeez how hard is Test cricket’. The West Indies tour [in 2019], the wickets out there – and then I came in for those three in India [last year] and it was obviously crazy to bat on and I guess this is a different role as well.”I think it’s just that I’ve been a little bit out of touch,” he said of his performance at Lord’s last week. “I haven’t been lining it up as well as I’d like in the last couple of Championship games and then in the first one at Lord’s. So for me it was just working out how to do that better. That’s what I worked on between these two games. And I felt like I did line it up better and play better.”Because it’s not my natural game, it’s just trying to work out how to play best. And I think sometimes I haven’t got the balance right because I’m not an explosive batter. If I’m trying to get the score up I can start pushing at the ball and things like that and playing at balls I shouldn’t be. It’s been really clear, obviously practising in a different way for that role, but also being really clear when I am just going to bat or when I have to push the button… how I’m going to do it. Don’t just throw my bat outside off stump. I’m happy to get out if I’m doing this or this, but not just giving it away.”

There is growing frustration among the top players in the country, who feel they are missing out on big money

Umar Farooq02-Aug-2022The PCB is refusing to provide no-objection certificates (NOCs) to Pakistani players – contracted or not contracted – who want to participate in the upcoming BBL season. The board has also not clarified whether it will allow players to take part in the ILT20 in the UAE early next year. The reason for the stance, it is believed, is the packed calendar – domestic and international. But it’s unclear why players with no contracts at the national or the domestic levels are being barred.Though there were no Pakistanis in the list of 98 overseas players who nominated themselves for the BBL draft, many were expected to put themselves up within the deadline. And though no names have been announced as having signed up for the ILT20, speculation has been rife about a number of top Pakistan names being offered contracts there.Related

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Asia Cup: India vs Pakistan on August 28

There is history here, including a near-strike in November 2019. The PCB had, for some time, been operating an informal “PSL plus one” policy as a framework for their players’ participation in overseas leagues. But it is not clear if that is still the case under the administration of chairman Ramiz Raja.With the addition of the ILT20 and the CSA’s new league, the demand for Pakistani players is likely to be higher than before. But, currently, even putting one’s name down in a draft requires permission from the PCB, forget getting an NOC to play.As a result, there is a growing sense of frustration among the top players in Pakistan, who feel they are missing out on big monetary gains – they are effectively barred from playing in the IPL. There was a suggestion at one stage that the PCB might compensate players for not playing in other leagues, but the high value of contracts on offer in those leagues – upwards of US$ 400,000 in the ILT20 – has since seen the PCB go silent on their offer.Contributing to the mess is the upcoming issue of player central contracts, though the matters are not directly connected. The PCB announced it was offering 33 contracts split between white- and red-ball players for 2022-23. Players have asked the board for copies of the contracts in order to first run them past a set of legal eyes before they decide on signing.That is standard practice in most countries, but it has not been the case in Pakistan, where players are used to being given their central contracts – usually just ahead of a tour, or during a pre-tour camp – and told to sign and return them almost immediately. Often, these contracts go up to 150 pages.With the current administration, even putting one’s name down in a draft requires permission, forget getting an NOC to play•PCBHistorically, the PCB hasn’t formally negotiated with players on contacts, and players have rarely disputed any clauses, beyond ensuring satisfactory annual pay rises. But the current crop of players, are increasingly aware of their commercial value and how that should be represented in a contract.As one recent example, a player was told he could not sign an individual deal with a company that was in the same industry as one of the PCB’s associate [not title] sponsors. While clauses exist in the contract that bar players from signing deals that clash with Pakistan’s principle sponsorships – for example, an individual deal signed with a company that is in direct competition with Pepsi, PCB’s title sponsors – the policy isn’t clear about smaller sponsorships.Currently, there is no evidence that players may use not signing the contracts as a bargaining chip to force the PCB to step back on the NOCs issue, but the matter has the potential to flare up.As it was in November 2019, the absence of a players’ association in Pakistan is the elephant in the room, in negotiating central contracts and looking after player welfare, as well as putting in place broader policies that might act as a framework for such situations. Generally, player agents have played a role but the PCB refuses to deal with them over contracts. There have been several attempts in the past to form a union, none successful.The PCB has been approached for comment.**

Four players who featured in that 2014 game – SA’s last Test match – are part of the squad that’s currently touring England

Firdose Moonda24-Jun-2022

It’s natural for sports teams to take lessons learnt from one game into another but to take those lessons from a fixture played over eight years ago has to be unprecedented. That’s what South Africa will have to do when they play their first Test since 2014 next week.They’re looking back to when they played against India in Mysore, where they lost by an innings and 34 runs after a lower-order collapse of 6 for 25 in their first innings and middle- and lower-order meltdowns of 4 for 8 and 4 for 12 in the second.”In that Test match, we were well in the game competing and then we lost concentration as a unit after tea and that’s when we lost the Test match,” Hilton Moreeng, who has been South Africa’s coach since 2012, said. “It showed what a lack of concentration can do and what losing a session does – how critical that can be. Those who were part of it understand what happened and it’s now an opportunity to show they can put it right against a team that has been playing consistently in this format.”Four of the current squad – Lizelle Lee, Chloe Tryon, Marizanne Kapp and Trisha Chetty – played in that Test. Of those four, Chetty spent almost three hours at the crease while scoring a first-innings 56, and then spent two hours and 25 minutes in the middle while scoring 35 in the second. Tryon batted for two hours and 27 minutes for an unbeaten 30 in the second innings. Their experience will be crucial to a line-up that is still finding its feet in the longer format.Moreeng said the batters were having a more difficult time adjusting than the bowlers but have progressed well from their training camp last month. “The ones that are battling with it currently are our batters, because we’ve just come from a white-ball tour in Ireland,” he said. “What has helped is the prep we had prior to the Ireland tour. We had a three-day and four-day game where we introduced most of them to red-ball cricket.”File photo – Laura Wolvaardt scored a century during South Africa’s three-day warm-up match against England A•Cricket Ireland/Keniry Photography

And the fruits of that labour showed in the three-day warm-up match against England A. Laura Wolvaardt scored her first red-ball ton, Lara Goodall, batting at No. 3, made 51, and Andrie Steyn, Wolvaardt’s opening partner, hit a second-innings 63.”To see how the batters have set up their innings, taking their time and their application – that’s something that wasn’t there in the preparation matches that we had and we are very happy to see that on the back of white-ball cricket,” Moreeng said. “The application we see from batters shows that the improvement is there. Getting into the Test, we can say that most of our batters have spent time in the middle to be able to understand what’s required.”Moreeng would not give away much about the line-up he intends to play in the Test but on the evidence of the warm-up match, Lee is likely to bat in the middle order, flanked by captain Sune Luus and Kapp, who will headline the pace attack. South Africa are likely to go in seam-heavy, with Shabnim Ismail and Ayabonga Khaka as first-choice (though both were rested from the warm-up match) and Anneke Bosch (3/17) and Tumi Sekhukhune (2/27) enjoying good outings in Arundel. “It’s an experienced [bowling] unit,” Moreeng said. “With the Duke ball, they have to make sure they can manage whatever excessive swing they get on this wicket. And the patience around setting up batters and working towards a plan. There’s enough time to make plans and execute your skills.”While the batters and bowlers have been getting skill-specific in their preparation, the squad as a whole has been preparing for successive days of cricket, which they are also unused to. “Our conditioning has been good. We knew the Test was coming so it was put in their conditioning plans. There’s nothing that beats time in the legs. The two games we had back home gave them an idea of what could happen and after four days we could see who was where,” Moreeng said. “Test cricket is more taxing on the body and the mind and everyone understands that. They’re more excited to see how it goes.”And hopeful that, despite the ICC chair Greg Barclay’s feeling that women’s Tests won’t form a big part of cricket’s future, this is the start of a longer-term plan to play red-ball cricket. “Ideally it’s a format we want to see in women’s cricket because of everything it brings to the game,” Moreeng said. “If your skills are good as far as playing Test cricket is concerned, you can transfer the basics to the other two formats.”

England white-ball captain leaves field and does not bat as Middlesex extend unbeaten start to summer

Cameron Ponsonby29-May-2022Further doubts were cast over the fitness of England white-ball captain Eoin Morgan who left the field of play during Middlesex’s four-wicket win over Glamorgan with a “twinge in his groin” and did not bat.At 35, Morgan’s career is in its twilight period. A reputation built on the basis of being a world-class batter as well as a ruthless and inspirational leader has given him the power to write his own script as to how he wishes his career to end. The problem, however, has been whether he still has the ability to do so as he wishes.Morgan is without a T20 half-century since November 2020, which even by his own feast-or-famine standards of form is a particularly lean run, and Sunday’s game was just his second in four months after tweaking his quad in Barbados in January and going unselected in the IPL auction.For years Morgan was a banker for England on the pitch and an ever-present in the world’s premier T20 tournament. Now, he is neither, with the added salt in the wound being that as Morgan walked off the field at Radlett CC in front of not many more than a thousand people, his likely successor as white-ball captain Jos Buttler was walking out in front of a 100 times that figure in the IPL final in Ahmedabad. Radlett may be the hometown of Hollywood staple Simon Cowell, but the glitz and glamour of this English village does ultimately end there.Earlier this week, in an interview with the , Morgan said that he would not be playing in back-to-back matches in this Blast campaign in the hope of avoiding injury. With England’s ODI series against the Netherlands likely to see him miss a handful of games in mid-June, he has also handed over the Middlesex T20 captaincy to Stephen Eskinazi.But even after missing Middlesex’s match against Hampshire two days ago, he was unable to complete 20 overs in the field with the time he spent off then preventing him from being able to bat any higher than No. 7 during the home side’s successful chase of 168. With the side then almost home when the fifth wicket was lost, Middlesex decided against taking any undue risk though confirmed he would have batted if needed.Morgan also explained in the interview how “there’s nothing specific [injury wise]” that is troubling him, adding: “I’m just old, I think.” While honest, that further highlights the concern for England that their captain might not be fit enough to lead them through the summer and to the T20 World Cup in Australia this winter. Not being able to play back-to-back games is all well and good if the second of the two games is in the group stage of the Blast; less so if it’s the World Cup final.This was a comfortable victory for Middlesex after restricting Glamorgan to a total of 168 that never looked enough. Against Gloucestershire at this ground on Thursday, Middlesex scored 229 and even then there was some feeling that they were a dozen or so short after they had been 122 for 2 after 8.5 overs.To one side, this is a very small ground where boundaries fly; to the other it is a vast expanse where threes are available regularly if the ball hasn’t already crashed into the advertising hoardings. The result is runs aplenty, a fact exemplified by the first ball of both innings being dispatched for six.Labuschagne top scored for Glamorgan with 38 off 24, an innings of two halves where only nine runs came from his first 12 deliveries while 29 came from the second. The problem for Glamorgan was that the moments where their innings was showing the potential of what could be, was in actual fact, what had to be.Much of the credit for Glamorgan’s restriction to 168 was thanks to a fine bowling performance from slow left-armer Thilan Walallawita who recorded career best figures of 3 for 18 off his four overs. Walallawita spoke after the game of playing with a sense of freedom, and how he knew the ground, where Middlesex often play second XI fixtures, like the back of his hand.Comfortable in his surroundings, the young spinner shone. From his fledgling T20 career, he has a career economy rate of 6.33 and has taken six wickets at an average of 12.67. Meanwhile, Toby Roland-Jones’ fine start to the season continued as he picked up 4 for 22, three of which arrived in the final over.In reply, Middlesex flew out of the blocks, the powerplay coming to an end with the side on 62 for no loss – Eskinazi on 25 off 16 and Max Holden racing to 37 off 20.Continuing the recent tradition of English cricket, the opening stand broke the back of the chase and despite a middle-over wobble arriving thanks to the spin of Prem Sisodiya – who bowled with control to return figures of 2 for 26 – Middlesex eased their way home with an over to spare thanks to a Joe Cracknell flourish, the 22-year-old finishing with 47 off 28 balls.A four-wicket win extended Middlesex’s perfect start to the Blast after wins against Gloucestershire and Hampshire, and they are still unbeaten this season; as with England, they are showing that Morgan’s personal fortunes are not the only determining factor in their results.