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Andrew Strauss and Owais Shah have said a more positive approach by the batsmen made the difference after landing in South Africa

Dileep Premachandran in Centurion28-Sep-2009In the space of 48 hours, England have beaten two of the pre-tournamentfavourites with an ease that even their most fervent fans could never haveimagined. South Africa have been pushed into the abyss, and Sri Lankacling on by just a fingernail. If New Zealand beat England on Tuesday, thefancied Lankans too can head home. And though England have alreadysealed their semi-final place, Daniel Vettori and his side will expect nofavours from a team that made Graeme Smith’s world leaders look prettyordinary.”I hoped, but obviously we were pretty down in confidence after theAustralia one-day series,” said Andrew Strauss when asked aboutclinching the qualification with a game to spare. “I think one of the thingswe’ve done since coming here is to go out and show people what we can do, andnot die wondering. That’s come out in both the games we’ve played.”That batting performance today was, I think, the best I can ever rememberfrom England. Owais [Shah] took control of the situation, clearing the boundary that many times. It was a gem of an innings, well backed up by Paul Collingwood and then Eoin Morgan impressed again at the end. It wasa fantastic batting performance.”England hit 12 sixes, a record for them in a one-day international. Half ofthem came from Shah’s bat. “The Australia series wasn’t good for any ofour batsmen, really,” Shah said. “Coming out here, we were probably in adangerous place, with our confidence low. We lost pretty badly [6-1] toAustralia, and we needed to go out there, play with freedom and expressourselves. We just backed ourselves to go out and play our shots, as yousaw today with Eoin Morgan and Paul Collingwood in awesome touch. We putsome really good partnerships together.”Strauss reckoned that a change in the mental approach had made all thedifference. “We can play the shots,” he said. “We do skills practice. Theonly thing sometimes is our mindset, whether we loosen the shackles andsay: ‘Let’s go out there and take the game to them’. Fair play to Owais.He came in and whacked a six and just went with the flow after that. Hereally changed the momentum of the game because it looked like we werelosing it. He and Colly played the spinners exceptionally well, which wascrucial.”Shah has been the subject of much criticism in recent times, for softdismissals and shambolic running between the wickets. He insisted though thathe had never viewed the trip to South Africa as an entrance into the LastChance Saloon. “I didn’t think I was playing for my career,” he said. “Ifyou get dropped, you get dropped. That’s life. If that’s the way theselectors want to go, that’s fine. As far as I’m concerned, I try and playevery game as if it’s my last.”Even the other day against Sri Lanka, I felt that the correct thing to dowas to bat through and try to see us home. Today, we had differentconditions, a flatter wicket and I decided to take the attack to thebowler. And it came off.”Given his own problems with cramps over the years, it was predictable thatShah would be asked about it, given what had happened with Graeme Smith atthe end of the game. “As far as cramp was concerned, it was aboutpreparing well and hydrating,” he said. “I’m really happy with the way Ibatted today. It was probably one of my best innings for England. I faceda few balls and didn’t feel like the pitch was doing much laterally. Ibacked myself to play a few shots.”England had suffered a setback in the build-up to the game, with MattPrior being taken ill, but Strauss refused to rule his first-choice wicketkeeper out ofthe competition. “He was pretty sick this morning, but these things canchange very quickly,” Strauss said. “Hopefully, he’ll recover pretty quicklyand be fit for the New Zealand game.” Steve Davies, the Worcestershire wicketkeeper, has been called up as a replacement.In Prior’s absence, Morgan kept wicket, with the highlight being astupendous off-balance throw to run out the dangerous Albie Morkel. “Ithink the fact that none of us really noticed him [Morgan] today speaksvolumes for how good a job he did,” Strauss said. “It was an exceptionalperformance from him behind the sticks.”In front of the wicket though, Morgan did far more than just catch theeye, clattering a stroke-filled and innovative 34-ball 67. “I’ve alwaysfelt that he’s had the attributes to do well at this level,” said Strausswho plays alongside him at Middlesex. “He’s got a huge array of shots.He’s a very calm individual and he seems to be in control of his game.”It always takes a bit of time for guys to get used to playinginternational cricket. He’s shown glimpses before and out here, these lasttwo games, he’s been as impressive as any 23-year-old I’ve seen. We’re notgoing to put a lot of pressure on him. He’s still learning but it’s greatto see him coming through.”There were suggestions that Sunday’s victory was a warning shot across thebows with England scheduled to start a tour of South Africa in November.Strauss though was hesitant to look that far ahead. “It was a big matchfor us today, against the best one-day side in the world,” he said. “So towin it and play in the manner that we did is clearly going to help ourconfidence, come that one-day series in a few weeks’ time.”

Liverpool managed to make no issue in keeping their winning run in the Champions League group stage going this season with a 2-0 win over Atletico Madrid at Anfield.

Goals from Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane secured the three points against Diego Simeone’s side who saw defender Felipe sent off after just 36 minutes.

One Liverpool player that we think was a massive shining light for the Reds in midweek was right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold.

In the 89 minutes he was on the pitch for, Alexander-Arnold managed to assist both goals, make two interceptions, three tackles, attempt 112 passes with an accuracy rate of 92%, four of them being key passes, complete two accurate crosses and 11 accurate long balls, ultimately earning himself an impressive overall match rating of 8.4, making him Liverpool’s highest-rated player on the day according to SofaScore.

This shows just how vital Alexander-Arnold was for his side on this occasion and that he stole the show over any of his teammates, even the likes of Mane and Jota who were on the scoresheet, thanks to Alexander-Arnold’s assists.

So far this season, the 23-year-old dynamo, who is currently valued at £67.5m according to Transfermarkt, has made 11 appearances for the Reds across all the competitions in which he has managed to provide six assists in the process.

Since making his senior debut for the Reds, Alexander-Arnold, who has been dubbed as “outstanding” by Klopp in the past, has managed to score 10 goals and provide 50 assists in the 190 appearances he’s made across all competitions, highlighting just how much of an attacking threat he is for the team from the right-back position.

Additionally, with Alexander-Arnold being currently listed as Liverpool’s second-highest rated player with an overall season rating of 7.69, according to WhoScored based on his performances in the Premier League. This shows how important he has been for the team in their latest league campaign.

Moving forward, if Alexander-Arnold can keep producing the same sort of performances as he did in midweek throughout the remainder of the season, we feel he will be a massive part of any success Liverpool have this year, whether it be domestically or in the Champions League if he can keep providing assists and maybe even add some goals to his tally this season, as he’s shown in the past that he is capable of.

In other news: Klopp could already own £54m-rated machine’s heir with “excellent” 18 y/o LFC prodigy – opinion

Daniel Vettori, is looking forward to the relative peace and quiet of the UAE following a turbulent week at home, which culminated in the resignation of coach Andy Moles

Cricinfo staff29-Oct-2009New Zealand have arrived in Abu Dhabi for the limited-overs series against Pakistan and their captain, Daniel Vettori, is looking forward to the relative peace and quiet of the UAE following a turbulent week at home, which culminated in the resignation of coach Andy Moles.”If anything it’s exciting to get out of New Zealand, get away from the scrutiny for a little bit, and come here and do what we do best,” Vettori was quoted as saying by . “It’s difficult from the perspective of having to front it all, I suppose, as captain and a selector as well. It means the focus has been on me for the explanation, so coming here takes a bit of heat off that.”Having taken up the coaching job less than a year ago, Moles resigned after holding mediation talks with New Zealand Cricket (NZC), following reports that senior players were unhappy with the lack of technical and tactical support being provided by him. It was agreed Moles would step down, after a review of the team’s performance in Sri Lanka and at the Champions Trophy suggested that changes should be made.The sudden developments left NZC with no time to appoint a new coach, or even an interim one, but they were confident Vettori’s leadership would hold the team in good stead against Pakistan. Partly fulfilling the role of coach is the latest addition to Vettori’s roster of responsibilities which includes the duties of captain, selector and key allrounder. Vettori, however, didn’t think it would be much of a burden.”I don’t feel like I have to pick up any slack in terms of coaching the side or anything like that, but it’s about coming over here and getting the job done,” he said. Vettori also has no deputy after NZC relieved Brendon McCullum of the vice-captaincy in order for him to focus on his batting but did not name a replacement. New Zealand, however, still have their assistant coaches, Mark O’Donnell and Shane Jurgensen, and manager Dave Currie, who will have an enhanced role in the team set-up.The Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam, however, said New Zealand “could find the going tough without a coach”. “From where I see it, it is very important for an international cricket team to have a full-time coach,” he told the . “It could be tough for him [Vettori]. I mean, the whole idea of having a coach is to ensure that the captain is spared from any headaches and can focus on leading his players on the field in the best possible manner.”New Zealand and Pakistan clashed in the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa, a contest that New Zealand won by five wickets. Vettori hoped to build on that success during the upcoming three-ODI and two-Twenty20 international series and wanted his team to display more consistency.”I think you could say we’re mercurial sides,” Vettori said. “Inconsistency probably plagues both teams and you look at both teams and say there are some really talented players and guys who can win games but how often are we consistently doing that? We know we’re going to battle hard against Pakistan and we need those key players to step up to either win games or nullify Pakistan’s key players.Several of New Zealand’s key players, though, are out with injuries or are recovering from injuries but Vettori said there was “a little bit of confidence in the side” despite that and they believed they were “good enough to win”.Jesse Ryder, Daryl Tuffey and Grant Elliott did not travel to the UAE while, among those who did, Kyle Mills has a shoulder niggle and Vettori and Jacob Oram are recovering from hamstring problems. “I think New Zealand teams unfortunately have dealt with that on numerous occasions and they understand how to get up for them,” Vettori said. “I think we’ve shown ourselves to be a resilient side and it creates opportunities and also gives the likes of Scott Styris, who is an extremely experienced guy, to come back into the side and prove his worth.”If those guys perform, it means we’ve got a strong squad to pick from. That’s been one of our biggest disadvantages that we don’t have a big pool of players who consistently compete on the world stage and, when injuries take over, we’ve struggled. Hopefully there’s a little bit of silver lining for us.”

Celtic have been tipped to make a move for David Marshall in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

In recent comments made on The Go Radio Football Show, Barry Ferguson stated his belief that Ange Postecoglou should take a closer look at the Derby County goalkeeper this winter, as the crisis-hit Rams would be more than happy to get the 36-year-old off of their books.

After being asked whether he’d fit in at Celtic, Ferguson said: “Must be worrying for big Marshy, obviously out the picture at Derby. I don’t know why – is it a contract situation? I find that strange because he was number one at Derby. Obviously, [he’s been] brilliant for Scotland. It must be financial.

“He’s still a top keeper, big Marsh. I don’t think he’s going to cost anything. Derby would let him go on a free. He’s too good to be sitting about doing nothing. He needs to play and he needs to get back into the Scotland squad.”

Postecoglou must move

With the recent news that Celtic’s current backup shot-stopper Vasilios Barkas looks set to depart Parkhead in the January transfer window, Postecoglou could well be in need of a new option in the position for the second half of the season.

And, while it is true that Marshall appears to be out of the picture at Derby, with Wayne Rooney yet to hand the 36-year-old a single appearance this term, the Scotland international is nevertheless a goalkeeper who still has much to offer in his career.

Indeed, over his 33 Championship appearances for the Rams last season, the £225k-rated man kept nine clean sheets, as well as making an impressive average of 2.3 saves per game.

These returns saw the player who Malky Mackay dubbed an “immense” ‘keeper average a SofaScore match rating of 6.79, ranking the veteran as Derby’s 11th-best performer in the second tier of English football – an extremely impressive feat considering the Rams only secured survival on the final day of the season.

As such, despite being well into the twilight of his footballing career, the £8.4k-per-week Marshall would nevertheless appear to make a fantastic backup to Joe Hart between the Celtic sticks, meaning it would indeed look to be an extremely wise move for Postecoglou to sanction a swoop for the shot-stopper this winter, particularly if he wouldn’t cost the Bhoys a penny.

In other news: Signed for peanuts, sold for £13m: Celtic struck gold on “outstanding” 30 y/o monster

Abul Hasan, in a superb all-round display, guided Bangladesh Under-19 to a thrilling one-wicket win against Zimbabwe Under-19 in Khulna

Cricinfo staff14-Nov-2009
Scorecard
Abul Hasan, in a superb all-round display, guided Bangladesh to a thrilling one-wicket win against Zimbabwe in Khulna, giving the hosts a 2-0 lead in the five-match ODI series. The game was settled in the 47th over, but Bangladesh, it appeared, were out of contention when they lost their ninth wicket for 170, still 24 short of victory. However Abul approached the task at hand with aggression, striking five fours in his unbeaten 22, to ease the pressure off his partner Kamrul Islam, who faced just two deliveries in the 25-run stand. The target of 194 was achieved also due to a lower-order recovery led by Noor Hossain’s 65 and Alauddin Babu’s 34-ball 30.The win undid a fine effort from Zimbabwe’s opening bowler Tendai Chitara, who grabbed 4 for 35, to blow away the Bangladesh top order. Offspinner Simon Mugava supported him with 3 for 31, and left the home team reeling at 47 for 6. But Noor added 76 with Tasamul Haque (26) and a further 31 with Babu. In a see-saw game, Zimbabwe were favourites when the ninth wicket fell but Abul crushed their hopes.Abul was also the chief wrecker in the Zimbabwe innings, grabbing 5 for 26 to bowl out the opposition for a below-par score. Not that Zimbabwe were spineless; each of their top five got to double-digits but were unable their scores into anything substantial. Dean Mazhawidza (42) and Mazvita Zambuko (39) added 67 for the third wicket and helped take their team to a comfortable position at 171 for 4. But the rest of the line-up crumbled; Zimbabwe lost their last six wickets for 22, proving crucial in the outcome.

A summary of the second round of matches in New Zealand’s domestic one-day competition

Cricinfo staff17-Dec-2009Wellington have moved to the top of the points table after a comfortable six-wicket win over Central Districts at Basin Reserve. Left-arm fast bowler Andy McKay bagged four wickets, and was backed up by the rest of the bowling attack, as Wellington restricted Central Districts to 217. The score could have been much worse had it not been for Brendon Diamanti’s 68 at No.9 but his effort was in vain. Wellington faced little difficulty in scaling down the target, as James Franklin stroked an unbeaten 84 with support from Chris Nevin and Steven Rhodes to seal victory with almost six overs to spare.Powered by a strong middle-order performance, Auckland eased to a comfortable 37-run victory against Otago at Colin Maiden Park. After electing to bat, the home team lost the wickets of Richard Jones and Anaru Kitchen cheaply. Reece Young and Ravi Bopara then steadied the ship before Young was dismissed for 40. Gareth Hopkins took over the reins with a free-scoring 70, and in combination with Bopara who made 89, set Auckland on course for a sizeable score. Otago’s innings began in similar fashion with two early wickets preceding a repair job, this time through Shaun Haig and Craig Cumming. Haig top scored with 81 but the rest of middle order could not sustain the effort. Auckland’s bowlers shared the spoils as Otago were bowled out in the 48th over.Canterbury recorded their first win of the competition, overcoming Northern Districts by 42 runs at Seddon Park. Shanan Stewart smashed six fours and six sixes in his 80-ball 97 to take Canterbury to a formidable 296 for 7. Canterbury were boosted by contributions of 85 from Rob Nicol and a quickfire 46 from Kruger van Wyk. In response, ND looked good to trump Canterbury after openers BJ Watling (63) and Michael Parlane (80) added 143 for the opening wicket. But a middle-order slide and a five-wicket haul from Corey Anderson marked Canterbury’s comeback and took them to victory despite a belated lower-order recovery.

Wellington 2 1 1 0 0 5 +0.425 372/65.5 371/71.0 Auckland 2 1 1 0 0 4 +0.326 547/100.0 511/99.2 Canterbury 2 1 1 0 0 4 +0.270 582/100.0 555/100.0 Central Districts 2 1 1 0 0 4 -0.202 518/100.0 505/93.5 Northern Districts 2 1 1 0 0 4 -0.375 519/99.2 560/100.0 Otago 2 1 1 0 0 4 -0.422 400/71.0 436/72.0

Crystal Palace will be aiming to extend their six-game unbeaten run when they take on Burnley in the Premier League over the weekend.

The enticing encounter at Turf Moor is set to pit two teams with contrasting styles against each other following the arrival of Patrick Vieira in south London, with the 45-year-old preferring a possession-orientated approach.

As per FBref.com, the Eagles have averaged 51.2% of the ball in their opening 11 top-flight fixtures of the season, compared to Burnley’s 38.7% – the second-lowest total in the division.

Vieira’s charges have also attempted the sixth-highest number of short passes (2020) in the Premier League and the 12th-highest number of long balls (999), clearly illustrating how the Frenchman wants his side to play.

The Clarets, on the other hand, have tried to pull off the fourth-lowest number of short passes (1416) and the third-highest total of long balls (1168).

Therefore, it would perhaps be wise if Vieira didn’t attempt to play Sean Dyche’s men at their own game, instead focussing on the slick interplay that helped them carve open Manchester City and Wolves in recent weeks.

As a result, in-form striker Christian Benteke – who Alan Shearer said was “scared to miss” last season – must be axed from the starting lineup after featuring from the off last time out, changing the game in Palace’s favour.

No side in the top-flight has won a higher percentage of their aerial duels than Burnley (55.2%) this season, and floating crosses into the opposition box for the big Belgian will suit Ben Mee and James Tarkowski down to the ground.

The centre-back pairing have won an average of 3.8 and four aerial duels per league game respectively in 2021/22, as per WhoScored, and although Benteke has bettered those tally’s (4.5), he’s unlikely to receive much support from his teammates.

While the £120k-per-week bully has been dominating defenders with his head, his colleagues haven’t enjoyed anywhere near as much success, with the second-best headers, Marc Guehi and Cheikhou Kouyate, winning just 1.7 duels.

Consequently, Palace’s best opportunity to claim the three points on Saturday would be to avoid pitting Benteke up against the Burnley battering rams and instead opting for the more mobile, elusive and intelligent options at their disposal.

The likes of Odsonne Edouard and Michael Olise have already shown themselves to be genuine threats at this level following their summer arrivals, and attacking prowess could prove pivotal as Vieira aims to secure a third consecutive victory for the first time during his Palace tenure.

And, in other news…“I wouldn’t rule out”: Journo makes bold Palace claim over 21 y/o, fans surely buzzing

The draw at Adelaide Oval, where West Indies had the better of the match, has injected some much-needed spark into Australia’s home summer

Brydon Coverdale in Perth 15-Dec-2009Match factsDecember 16-20, 2009
Start time 10.30am (02.30 GMT)Mitchell Johnson picked up 11 wickets the last time he played a Test at the WACA•Getty ImagesBig PictureAustralia versus West Indies at the WACA. It’s the sort of fixture that once upon a time had fans salivating at the prospect of a fearsome Caribbean pace attack thundering in on arguably the world’s fastest pitch. Sadly, there isn’t as much interest in the contest this year but that shouldn’t hide the fact that this is a vitally important Test for both teams. The draw at Adelaide Oval, where West Indies had the better of the match, has injected some much-needed spark into Australia’s home summer.Australia have already retained the Frank Worrell Trophy but at 1-0 up in the three-match series and heading to a venue where they have won one of their past four Tests, they will need to work hard to ensure the series isn’t drawn. Such has been the dominance of Australian teams and the decline of West Indies cricket over recent years that a 1-1 result at home would unquestionably be seen as a major failure for Ricky Ponting’s men. But they were in the same situation last year in the Caribbean and went on to take the series 2-0.The task for West Indies is to prove that Adelaide wasn’t a one-off. West Indies fans have seen enough up-and-down results to know that a strong performance one week won’t necessarily mean a repeat the following week. At least all the signs are positive. Senior men such as Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo stood up in Adelaide and newer players like Sulieman Benn and Kemar Roach added some zest to the bowling effort.But the bottom line is that the Adelaide Test was a draw, a point that Brad Haddin made tersely on Monday when asked if Australia were viewing West Indies differently following their better showing in the second Test. It means that in order for Gayle’s men to level the series they will need to become the first West Indies side to win a Test in Australia since 1996-97. If that happens, Australia will not only alter their view of West Indies but the cricket world will look at Ponting’s team differently.Form guide (last five Tests, most recent first)Australia – DWLWD
West Indies – DLLLL
Watch out forMitchell Johnson hasn’t played a game for Western Australia since switching from Queensland last year. But he does enjoy any chance he gets to bowl at what is theoretically his home ground, the WACA, where in two Tests he has 16 wickets at 18.93. He was advised by Dennis Lillee that a straighter line was the best option at the venue, to make the batsmen play, and it helped him pick up 11 wickets in a brutal performance against South Africa last season.Kemar Roach’s name has been mentioned plenty of times in the lead-up to the WACA Test. He regularly hit the low 150kph region in Adelaide, so how will he fare if the Perth surface has pace and carry? The Australians feel they played him well last week and are keen to talk him down; the West Indies captain Chris Gayle has spoken of how hard Roach will be to handle at the WACA. Will he fall for the trap of bowling too short, or will the advice of the team manager Joel Garner help him master the surface? The answer could go a long way to determining the outcome of this Test.Team newsAustralia will have a debutant in Clint McKay after Peter Siddle failed to overcome a strain to his left hamstring that troubled him during the Adelaide Test. Siddle had a lengthy bowl in the nets on Monday but sent down only a few deliveries on Tuesday before being ruled out. Brett Geeves is also in the squad and is expected to be 12th man. However, Nathan Hauritz was hit on a finger during training and the team is considering calling for spinning cover, although he did bowl after sustaining the injury.Australia (probable) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Simon Katich, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Hussey, 5 Michael Clarke, 6 Marcus North, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Nathan Hauritz, 10 Clint McKay, 11 Doug Bollinger.Despite a week in between Tests, West Indies also have some severe problems, with the batsmen Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Adrian Barath unlikely starters. Chanderpaul picked up a finger injury in Adelaide and Barath hurt his hamstring, and Gayle said neither of them looked good at training on Tuesday. Travis Dowlin will be the one to step in to open if Barath doesn’t make it, while Narsingh Deonarine is preparing to bat in Chanderpaul’s place.West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Travis Dowlin, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Narsingh Deonarine, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Brendan Nash, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy, 9 Sulieman Benn, 10 Ravi Rampaul, 11 Kemar Roach.Pitch and conditionsEvery year in recent times the WACA pitch has been talked up prior to the Test as being a throwback to the fast and bouncy Perth surfaces of the 1980s. Every year, the pitch fails to live up to the hype. Two seasons ago Australia were sucked in to playing Shaun Tait in a four-man pace attack. It didn’t work. Last summer, Ponting complained that the venue had lost its unique character. Will the WACA live up to its quick reputation this year? Hot weather in the lead-up has at least given the surface a chance to bake, but don’t expect either side to go in without a spinner. The forecast for the next five days in Perth is mostly sunny, with temperatures creeping up to 37 degrees on Saturday.Stats and Trivia Australia and West Indies have met in six Perth Tests for five West Indies wins; the only Australian victory came in the most recent game in 2000-01 Australia have lost their past two Tests at the WACA. The previous time Australia lost two consecutive Tests at a home venue was in 1985-86 and 1986-87, when they went down to New Zealand and England at the GabbaRamnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul are the only members of the West Indies team to have played a Test in Perth; Sarwan scored 2 and 1, and Chanderpaul made 3Quotes”If the WACA ground pitch is anything like the Perth of my younger days, I think they’ll struggle like they struggled in Brisbane during the first Test.”
“I’m fairly confident with the way we’ve been training and practising over the last week or so, coming out of the Test match, it augurs well for us. What we have to do is be positive.”
, the West Indies manager

Everton could secure Rafa Benitez’s next Sergio Ramos after being linked with a move for Barcelona defender Arnau Comas ahead of the January transfer window.

What’s the story?

According to Spanish outlet Sport (as relayed by the Liverpool ECHO), the Toffees are one of two Premier League teams eager to secure the 21-year-old’s signature, with Leicester City also credited with an interest.

Comas’ current contract is set to expire next summer, meaning he could be available on a free transfer over the coming months, although Barca have the option to extend his stay by two years.

Benitez’s next Sergio Ramos

Despite the fact that the youngster is yet to make his first-team debut for the Blaugrana, Comas is believed to be highly rated by key officials within his boyhood club, including new manager Xavi Hernandez.

It is also claimed that it’s the player’s desire to stay at the Camp Nou and force his way into the senior setup, yet at 21, time is quickly running out for the 6 foot 2 beast to do just that.

As a result, the possibility of Comas departing Barca in the upcoming winter window appears to be high, and Benitez may be tempted to make a move.

Everton have kept just three clean sheets in all competitions in the opening weeks of the current campaign, and with Yerry Mina continuing to be linked with a Goodison Park exit, a new defender is likely to be on the 61-year-old’s wishlist.

Throughout his 38 appearances for Barcelona B, Comas has illustrated his ability both on the ball and as a natural captain, taking the armband on a permanent basis at the beginning of 2021/22.

His mature displays saw journalist Albert Roge label him a “leader” before stating that he “stands out for his ball output” after lauding his quality on Twitter.

Comas’ arrival on Merseyside would see Benitez working with another talented Spanish centre-back after having Ramos at his disposal during his brief spell in the Real Madrid dugout, and the experienced tactician could be the ideal coach to extract the best out of his compatriot.

Like Ramos, Comas possesses a ball-playing ability and staunch leadership, attributes that outweigh his age. He would be a very intriguing signing for the Goodison outfit.

And, in other news…”I have been quickly informed”: Huge Everton revelation will surely leave fans worried 

Alastair Cook believes England can draw on recent experiences to haul themselves to safety in the third Test at Newlands

Andrew McGlashan in Cape Town06-Jan-2010Alastair Cook believes England can draw on recent experiences to haul themselves to safety in the third Test at Newlands and retain their series lead. The tourists go into the final day on 132 for 3 after three late wickets undid the strong start laid down by Cook and Andrew Strauss who added 101 for the first wicket.On 55, Cook gave his wicket away to Friedel de Wet with a loose pull and Strauss was caught at short leg off Paul Harris three overs later. However, the real hammer blow to England’s hopes came when the out-of-form Kevin Pietersen was trapped lbw by Dale Steyn, having been earlier offered a reprieve via the review system after Daryl Harper missed a huge inside-edge.But already in this series England have battled to a draw after seeing out the final day at Centurion with nine wickets down, despite a late collapse against de Wet, while last year’s Ashes escape at Cardiff is still used as inspiration.”We’re going to have to be realistic about it and would settle for the draw,” Cook said. “We’ve got to take a lot of confidence from the situations we’ve been in – at Cardiff and the first Test here – where we’ve managed to scrape out a draw. We’ve got the fighters to do that, in the right positions – so we hope we can do it one more time.”The manner in which both England’s openers fell continued a pattern for the match where the top order have played a hand in their own demise. “It was pretty disappointing. We’re probably one wicket behind where we’d have liked to have been,” Cook said. “Obviously, you’d like to be nought down but realistically, we’ve just lost a couple more than we’d have liked.”In England’s favour, though, is the fact that the wicket has seemingly become easier to bat on as the match has developed. The new ball continues to be a threat, especially against Morne Morkel and Steyn, but England’s opening partnership showed that it was possible to prosper.”The wicket has held together quite well. The wickets so far have been lost in clumps, and we’ve got to try to avoid that tomorrow,” Cook said. “Yesterday and today have probably been the best two days to bat on it, and I don’t see a drastic change tomorrow.”There’s a little bit more rough for Harris to the left-handers. But apart from that, there’s just a little bit of variable bounce we hope we can get through and fight like we have done in previous times.”AB de Villiers said it had been a surprise the pitch hadn’t broken up more, particularly after the 40-degree heat of the third day, but remained confident there was enough on offer for the South Africa attack.”We all expected the cracks to open up a bit more, but there is still enough for the seamers to gain out of the wicket,” he said. “We are trying to get it to reverse – not by stepping on the ball, but by shining it – and we have Paul Harris looking good as well so hopefully we’ll hit those cracks that open up a bit.”