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Arsenal are now said to already be looking into a deal for one of world football's brightest prospects likened to Napoli star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

Edu admission as Arsenal set out transfer policy this summer

Sporting director Edu has already hinted at the Gunners' transfer plans for this summer window, as he suggests that Mikel Arteta's side will be targeting the additions of young, hungry players.

"Very likely" – Agent drops Osimhen clue amid Arsenal and Chelsea interest

The hitman is likely to be on the move this summer, and his destination may have been revealed.

ByBen Browning Apr 3, 2024

In that respect, the likes of AC Milan starlet Franceso Camarda have already been mentioned as Arsenal targets, alongside Brazilian talent Douglas Mendes, with the north Londoners looking to seal deals for some of Europe's brightest talents before their elite rivals.

"We already have our targets,” said the Brazilian (via TNT Sports).

"We have planned a lot ahead and I will be worried if we don’t score a lot of goals and if we’re not creating chances, which is the opposite because we create a lot and score a lot of goals.

Bukayo Saka

7.64

Declan Rice

7.33

Martin Odegaard

7.31

Gabriel Magalhaes

7.04

Gabriel Martinelli

7.01

“The plan is to try to get better every year and I think we are in a good moment. Let's see if we can keep improving. I think if you see the type of the players we have at the moment, it’s players which have a big, big commitment of [to] the club, which is very important. So the way we transmit to the fans, transmit to people our commitment – sometimes you can lose, you can win games, it’s all part of the sport – helps us perform the best way possible and show the passion we have for the club and try to be win as many games as we can.

“Many times in certain conversations to recruit the players you don't see the character of the player or the character of the player does not fit well with what we are trying to do and then you have to move on and try to find what we’re really looking for. If you see all the signings we’ve made since we started together, everyone is almost the same, young, energetic and passionate, and good talents with big, beautiful futures ahead of them.”

Alongside some of the bigger names on their radar, like Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, the addition of wonderkids cannot be ruled out. Now, according to HITC, 16-year-old Georgian starlet Vakhtang Salia is a name firmly on Arsenal's radar.

Arsenal frontrunners and looking into Salia deal

Indeed, it is believed Arsenal are looking into a deal for Salia and are the frontrunners for his signing alongside title rivals Man City.

Interestingly, he is considered "considered one of the best teenage prospects in the world", as per HITC, and there is a lot of hype surrounding the player in his homeland.

He's already drawing comparisons to fellow Georgian starlet Kvaratskhelia, so it will be very intriguing to see if he does end up at Arsenal.

Sri Lanka captain says that the white-ball players who toured Pakistan recently convinced the team to travel for the Tests

Umar Farooq in Rawalpindi10-Dec-2019

Dimuth Karunaratne at a training session in Rawalpindi•Getty Images

Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne, who has a strong side at his disposal in Pakistan, feels it is a “great pleasure to play a part” in the revival of Test cricket in the country.When Sri Lanka toured Pakistan for a white-ball series recently, as many as ten of their premier players had opted out, but the experienced Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal are in the ranks now, and the only major player missing is Suranga Lakmal, who is unwell.For Karunaratne, it will be a first time playing in Pakistan in any format. “It my first experience here, but I am really excited,” Karunaratne said at a press conference after the team had been welcomed in the capital city of Islamabad with around 4000 security personnel looking after their safety. “It’s after ten years that we are playing a Test match in Pakistan and it’s a great pleasure for me to be part of it.”Initially, most of the senior players were reluctant to travel to Pakistan over the security situation, but after the one-day and T20 series, those players recommended us to travel here after which we decided to travel. We are delighted to be here and the arrangements are satisfactory.”While Pakistan have lost all their five Tests in the past year, three in South Africa and two in Australia, Sri Lanka have had it better, drawing a Test in New Zealand in December last year, beating South Africa 2-0 in South Africa earlier this year, and most recently drawing a Test series 1-1 at home against New Zealand.”We played really good cricket against Pakistan in Dubai [in the UAE, in 2017] and that confidence helps me to motivate myself in this series,” Karunaratne said. “Most of the guys are travelling for the first time to Pakistan and playing in Rawalpindi, it’s not easy. It’s a good pacy wicket. We have a few plans for each player, and we try to stick to the basics and do the right things at the right time, and get maximum out of the conditions as well.”Sri Lanka might be away from home, but they have Pakistan’s former coach Mickey Arthur in their dressing room. “It’s a positive thing for us. It’s a big advantage for us,” Karunaratne said. “Mickey was very close to the Pakistan team for the last three years, he knows each and everyone closely, even the batters and bowlers, and how the team is going to get prepared. But whatever we get we have to do the things right.”This is the same side we are playing after Mahela [Jayawardene] and Sanga [Kumar Sangakkara], it’s been four years now. We are an experienced side, Angelo, Chandimal, myself, [Lahiru] Thirimanne… lots of senior players are here, we want to play good cricket here, competitive cricket. Pakistan is a good side, they have done well in their own conditions, so we will try to play good competitive cricket.”

Aston Villa return to Premier League action 13 days following their 1-1 draw against West Ham United prior to the international break.

Unai Emery’s side had to come from behind to secure a share of the spoils, but it was certainly a point gained, especially following their exploits in Europe three days earlier, defeating Ajax 4-0 in the Conference League.

For the West Ham clash, Emery mixed up his starting XI, giving starts to the likes of Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers, yet both players failed to really make an impact during the game.

The Spaniard will likely stick with the 4-4-2 formation for the clash against Wolverhampton Wanderers this evening, as it offers the best chance of securing a win with the players at his disposal.

Villa have failed to beat Wolves in the Premier League since December 2020, drawing three and losing three of their six matches since.

With this in mind, here's a look at the starting XI that Emery could unleash at Villa Park later today in what promises to be an exciting match…

1 GK – Emiliano Martínez

The goalkeeper featured once for Argentina during the international break, keeping a clean sheet against El Salvador, before being rested for the win over Costa Rica.

This should mean he is fresh ahead of the tie against Wolves and the former Arsenal man will be aiming to keep just his 13th clean sheet of the current campaign.

2 RB – Ezri Konsa

Matty Cash will be out injured for the next three weeks having sustained a hamstring injury during Poland’s Euro 2024 playoff victory over Estonia.

This could see him miss a few Premier League matches, plus the upcoming Europa Conference League quarter-final ties. Emery will therefore have to call upon Ezri Konsa to replace the right-back.

The Englishman has played on the right side of the defence on 15 occasions this season, indicating that he will be comfortable in the position against Wolves.

3 CB – Pau Torres

The Spaniard has enjoyed a solid debut campaign for Villa since making the move from Villarreal last summer.

Against Ajax, he was in particular fine form. Not only did he win 100% of his ground duels, but the defender completed 87% of his passes while losing possession just eight times in what was a commanding display.

4 CB – Clement Lenglet

Having barely had a look in prior to the festive season, Lenglet has now started the previous 12 Premier League matches.

He will make it a 13th consecutive start against Wolves, especially since Konsa is being moved to the right side of the defence in order to cover for Cash’s injury.

Villa have conceded 21 goals during Lenglet’s spell in the starting XI, keeping just two clean sheets, which is something that needs work going forward.

5 LB – Alex Moreno

The Spaniard started the clash against West Ham a few weeks ago and delivered a decent performance which will allow him to retain his place today.

He won 50% of his total duels contested, made two clearances while succeeding with one of his two dribble attempts, showcasing his abilities across both defensive and attacking metrics.

6 RM – Leon Bailey

The former Bayer Leverkusen winger is one of the most improved players in this Villa squad under Emery, taking his game to a new level.

Last season, he registered nine goal contributions across all competitions. This season, however, the 26-year-old has registered 23 – 12 goals and 11 assists – with plenty of games remaining to bump this figure up.

He will be deployed on the right side of a four-man midfield against Wolves and could relish coming up against Rayan Ait-Nouri and Toti Gomes in the Wolves side.

7 CM – Douglas Luiz

Bailey is not the only midfielder contributing effectively towards the Villa attack this season, as Luiz has also been in particular fine form in front of goal.

In 42 games across all competitions, the Brazilian gem has scored ten times along with grabbing ten assists, adding something extra from the heart of the midfield.

8 CM – Youri Tielemans

Due to John McGinn’s red card against Tottenham Hotspur a few weeks ago, he will miss the clash against Wolves and this could be a significant blow for Villa.

Thankfully, they have an ideal replacement in Tielemans. The Belgian dynamo has started the previous five league fixtures, grabbing an assist against Fulham.

He will prove to be a more than adequate replacement for the Scot as he will be unleashed alongside Luiz.

9 LM – Nicolo Zaniolo

Morgan Rogers shone for England U21s during the international break, scoring twice against Luxembourg, yet it will be Zaniolo who comes into the starting XI after his goalscoring exploits during the last match.

The Italian scored the equaliser with just over ten minutes remaining against the Irons, securing a precious point, and he will be unleashed from the start against the Old Gold.

10 ST – Moussa Diaby

Jhon Duran failed to take a single shot against West Ham, while completing just six passes, indicating that he will be dropped today.

Diaby – who was dubbed a “wildcard” by a scout during his spell with Bayer Leverkusen – will surely provide a greater attacking threat than the young Colombian.

In all competitions this season, the £130k-per-week winger has scored seven times as well as grabbing eight assists. Will he add to this tally against Wolves?

In the Battle for Los Angeles, LAFC came out on top over the LA Galaxy before raucous crowd at Rose Bowl Stadium

Article continues below

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• LAFC top LA Galaxy 2-1
• Match played in front of 70K+ fans
• Battle for top of Western Conference

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  In front of 70,076 fans at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, LAFC defeated their crosstown rivals LA Galaxy Thursday night in another edition of

  Goals from MLS journeyman Kei Kamara and reigning Golden Boot winner Denis Bouanga secured a 2-1 victory, with the Galaxy's Gabriel Pec netting their lone effort.

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• Getty Images
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The match marked the second-highest attendance at an MLS match this season, and the 14th-highest of all-time in league history. The result broke what was a three-way-tie across the top of the Western Conference, with LAFC leapfrogging the Galaxy and Real Salt Lake into first-place with 43 points, while the former two sit on a close 40-points.

• WHAT KAMARA SAID

  "This is what soccer is about, man, seriously. For me, I grew up in this LA area. I'm not a homegrown player, but I feel like a homegrown player right now," Kamara said after scoring the game-winner just before the cusp of halftime. "To be able to play in this arena with this packed crowd and make history like that – Black and Gold, baby."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR THE LA-BASED MLS TEAMS?

  LAFC are back in action Sunday night against the Houston Dynamo in a Western Conference clash. The Galaxy, meanwhile, take on Minnesota United Sunday.

Aston Villa got back to winning ways at Villa Park on Saturday, as they defeated Nottingham Forest 4-2 in an extremely entertaining game.

Leon Bailey and Douglas Luiz both starred, and they are two examples of players who have significantly improved under the guidance of Unai Emery.

The Spaniard has developed an incredible squad at Villa that has allowed them to challenge for the Champions League just 16 months after his arrival.

In January, the boss strengthened his squad further, but he had a particular focus on bringing in young talent, and there is one player who could break his way into the first team next season.

Why Alex Moreno & Lucas Digne could be replaced

Alex Moreno and Lucas Digne are the only two left-backs at Villa this season, which right now is the strongest, most in-depth position in the backline due to the injuries of Diego Carlos and Ezri Konsa.

The role has been shared between the two this season, with Digne starting the first 18 games of the season before picking up an injury against Manchester United on Boxing Day and Moreno starting every game since.

However, neither of them have been particularly impressive or convincing at both ends of the field this campaign, with the first choice still up in the air.

The duo are far better going forward than they are defensively, and although that clearly has its benefits, their defensive ability does make Villa vulnerable at times.

For example, the Spaniard ranks in the bottom 71% of Premier League full-backs for tackles won, while the former Everton star ranks even worse in the bottom 86%, as per FBref.

Aston Villa's exciting teenage upgrade

In January, Emery wanted to bolster his full-backs with youth, which led to the signings of Kosta Nedelijkovic and Lino Sousa.

The latter is currently on loan in the Championship, gaining vital experience for Plymouth, where he is starring.

Prior to the defender's arrival, Pilgrims manager Ian Forster described Sousa as “really exciting,” and went on to say:

"He's got a lovely left foot; he's athletic; he can handle the ball in tight areas; he can defend in 1v1 situations and he's good in the final phase as well.”

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast's In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

The former Arsenal gem has played five games already, making two starts in a left-wing back role, with the head coach trusting him to perform, and so far he hasn’t disappointed.

Minutes

64

Touches

50

Pass accuracy

88%

Passes into final third

2

Dribble success rate

100%

Tackle succes rate

100%

Clearances

3

Based on his performance against Coventry City, the 6 foot 1 youngster is capable of performing defensively and in the final third, which means he has a lovely balance to his game. The 19-year-old can bring the attacking threat that the current left-back options at Villa supply while also providing slightly more defensive security.

If Sousa continues to perform over the rest of his loan spell, there’s no reason why he cannot be handed an opportunity by Emery next season, and he certainly has the potential to be an upgrade on Moreno and Digne.

Former Birmingham City manager Steve Bruce has had his say on Wayne Rooney’s recent St Andrew’s exit.

Birmingham managers 2023/24

Blues began the current Championship campaign with John Eustace in charge in the Midlands, enjoying a positive first few months.

However, despite sitting in the playoff places, Eustace was sacked following a 3-1 victory over West Brom, something which didn’t go down well, with supporters hitting out at the decision.

Birmingham chiefs decided that Rooney was the man for the job and he was quickly brought in. That call didn’t work out for the Manchester United and England legend or Birmingham, though, with the club losing nine of the 15 games in charge under the 38 year-old.

He was sacked at the beginning of the year after a 3-0 defeat to Leeds United on New Year's Day, with the club going from playoff contenders to a relegation battle. Rooney released a statement following his dismissal which read:

“I would like to thank Tom Wagner, Tom Brady and Garry Cook for the opportunity to manage Birmingham City FC and the support they all gave me during my short period with the club. Football is a results business – and I recognise they have not been at the level I wanted them to be. However, time is the most precious commodity a manager requires and I do not believe 13 weeks was sufficient to oversee the changes that were needed.

“Personally, it will take me some time to get over this setback. I have been involved in professional football, as either a player or manager, since I was 16. Now, I plan to take some time with my family as I prepare for the next opportunity in my journey as a manager. Finally, I wish Birmingham City FC and its owners my best wishes in the pursuit of their ambitions.”

Former Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray was named as Rooney’s successor, and so far, he has won two of his five games with Birmingham just four points above the drop zone.

Steve Bruce discusses Wayne Rooney sacking

Talking to Football Fancast, Bruce, speaking on behalf of BoyleSports, who offer the latest Premier League betting, was asked if Rooney should have been given more time at St Andrew’s.

Rooney remains out of work, whereas Mowbray will be looking to guide Blues away from trouble in the final 17 games of the campaign.

Liverpool are absolutely flying this season and are currently preparing for a trip to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal in the Premier League, top of the table and in a commanding position across cup competitions.

Anfield is brimming with confidence and manager Jurgen Klopp has masterminded a revival after the 2022/23 campaign's struggles but is, by his own admission, "running out of energy" and will step down from his position at the end of the term.

The rumour mill erupted with possible replacements – Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso, instrumental in Liverpool's Champions League triumph in 2005, is the frontrunner – and FSG will make their decision in the coming months.

Liverpool's manager shortlist

Alonso is not the only name on the list, with esteemed transfer insider Fabrizio Romano – speaking to GIVEMESPORT – revealing that Brighton & Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi is the other top target for Liverpool at this stage.

The Italian journalist said: “I still insist on two names confirmed who are Xabi Alonso and Roberto De Zerbi, who for sure are on the list. But I'm sure they will take their time and I'm still sure that Liverpool want to appoint a sporting director before deciding who is going to be the new manager."

Roberto De Zerbi is perfect for Luis Diaz

De Zerbi is an exciting manager and has done a stellar job with Brighton, leading the club into the Europa League and being praised for his "special and unique" approach by Pep Guardiola.

De Zerbi's style does differ from Klopp's – as does Alonso's – and it's important to remember that the best way to replace the German will be to target a manager to can succeed with their ideology, irrespective of how it aligns with the current system.

Implementing a possession-based game centring on intelligent patterns and patience in build-up play, De Zerbi would not bring the heavy metal approach that has worked wonders on Merseyside over the past eight years, but Liverpool's players could certainly adapt and absorb the methods, with the 44-year-old's style perfect for Luis Diaz down the left channel.

The Colombian has ebbed and flowed from form this season but is enjoying a purple patch at present, scoring three goals and providing one assist in January, and ranks among the top 9% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for pass completion and the top 8% for touches in the attacking penalty area per 90, as per FBref.

Luis Diaz: Similar Players

#

Player

Club

1.

Joao Felix

Barcelona

2.

Samuel Chukwueze

AC Milan

3.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

Napoli

4.

Gabriel Martinelli

Arsenal

5.

Eberechi Eze

Crystal Palace

Source: FBref

His ball-playing crispness and electric pace make for a player fit to flourish under De Zerbi's wing, contributing effectively to the passing of the play and driving forward to latch onto defence-splitting through balls from playmaking peers.

He bears similarities to Kauro Mitoma and could emulate the Japanese star. To elucidate this point, Mitoma ranks among the top 20% of positional peers for pass completion, the top 19% for assists, the top 7% for progressive carries and the top 5% for touches in the attacking box per 90.

De Zerbi has never lost to Klopp across four matches – winning two and drawing two – and could spark the fluency to allow Diaz to play his best football, seamless and slick as he floats up the pitch and toward the danger area.

Mitchell Starc said that he believed that the best of Australia’s World Cup cricket is still to come, after making it two wins out of two with a hard-fought 15-run win over West Indies at Trent Bridge.Starc himself delivered the coup de grace, claiming the first five-wicket haul of the tournament to derail West Indies’ pursuit of 289, but deflected the praise for the victory to his team-mate Nathan Coulter-Nile, whose remarkable career-best score of 92 from 60 balls helped rescue the side from 79 for 5.”It’s exciting that we haven’t probably played awesome cricket today,” said Starc. “We’ve probably played some really good cricket in patches, but there’s definitely things we can get a lot better at in all three facets, so that’s exciting for the group.ALSO READ: Mitchell Starc strips away the resistance as Australia revive their fear factor“Finding ways to win and being five for not many and seeing Coults strike them the way he did was fantastic for him and for the group, to get us to a competitive total that we felt pretty confident in defending. Yeah, plenty of positives to take from today.”In sealing the win, Starc became the fastest bowler in ODI history to reach 150 wickets, achieving the mark in his 77th game to surpass the previous record held by Pakistan’s Saqlain Mushtaq. And in nailing his yorkers to unsettle West Indies’ batsmen, it was a timely reprisal of the Player-of-the-Tournament form he showed when Australia won the last World Cup on home soil in 2015.”I’ve been pretty clear and calm in my approach to cricket in the last few months, and hopefully that’s a sign today that even when it’s probably in the balance, I can stay calm,” he said.”Yeah, I guess having that experience of four years ago probably helps play a part, but we’ve got guys that can bowl throughout an innings and bowl at the death, plenty of options for Aaron [Finch] to go to when called upon. It was another positive today for us to be able to defend that total, but obviously we had to get there with Coults first, which was fantastic.””It’s something I enjoy doing, bowling at the death,” he added. “You’re not going to win them all, and there’s going to be times where you go the journey or where you don’t quite get your team over the line. But I think that’s what I enjoy about the challenge of that.Watch on Hotstar (India only) – Mitchell Starc’s five-wicket haul“I guess the yorker, for me, is one [delivery] I’ve probably gone to more often than not in the past. So whilst they’ll know it’s coming, as long as I keep executing it, hopefully it’s going to be better for me than them.”Australia’s next challenge will come at The Oval on Sunday, when they take on another of the tournament’s big guns, India, who are also unbeaten after seeing off South Africa in their opening fixture at Southampton on Wednesday.Starc missed the 3-2 series win in India in March, and claimed not to have watched it on telly while recovering from a pectoral muscle injury. But he said he was looking forward to the challenge of bowling to their aggressive batting line-up.”As a bowling group, for us to continue talking about what we do really well and what we can control. We know they’re a fantastic team. They’ve got depth in their batting, they’re strong throughout.”Virat [Kohli] is obviously one of their key batsmen. Rohit [Sharma] scored a hundred [against South Africa], so we’ll have a chat about them as a bowling group, but at the same time we’ve got to remember what we can control, and that’s our strengths and where we want to bowl to the conditions, as well.”Starc will enter that contest knowing that he has already got the better of one of the most powerful batting line-ups in the competition, even if in the case of Chris Gayle, the delivery with which he finally claimed his wicket ought to have been a free-hit after a previous no-ball went uncalled.”I didn’t until about five minutes ago when someone told me,” said Starc. “I’m normally pretty close [to the front line], and I’ve actually been a fair way back for the last few weeks. I got away with that one, fortunately.”I’ve had some good battles with Chris over the years, and he’s obviously a major weapon for them, and we just saw a little glimpse of it today, how strong he can be when he strikes that ball.”He’s so strong, and I guess he finds the gap hitting over the top, doesn’t he? We knew that going into this contest that they’re going to have a few really big strikers and lots of boundaries, which he’s one of, but we were very fortunate to get him early enough to put them on the back foot again with the new ball.”

Hamish Rutherford made a hundred on his List A debut for Worcestershire and Daryl Mitchell stroked his fourth century in seven innings against Lancashire as the 2018 semi-finalists got this year’s campaign off to a fine start with a convincing 125-run victory at Emirates Old Trafford.The Rapids, who have topped the North Group in this competition in each of the past two seasons, confirmed their status as one of the most powerful white-ball sides in the country by making 367 all out in 49.1 overs. In reply, Lancashire, wearing a new blue strip and rebranded as Lancashire Cricket, made 242 all out in 40.4 overs. At no point in their innings did Dane Vilas’ batsmen seem likely to reach their target.By contrast, Rutherford confidently reached his century off 90 balls with a swept six off Glenn Maxwell and had hit ten fours and three sixes in his 108 by the time he drove Matt Parkinson to Vilas at extra cover. That ended the New Zealander’s 182-run third-wicket stand with Mitchell but he had dominated Lancashire attack from the first few overs of the match, putting on 106 in 12.4 overs with fellow-opener Riki Wessels, who made 72 off 45 balls before lofting legspinner Parkinson to James Anderson at long-off.Parkinson was, beyond serious dispute, the pick of Lancashire’s attack. In addition to the scalps of Wessels and Rutherford, he deceived Mitchell in the flight to have the former Worcestershire skipper stumped by Brooke Guest for 101 and then took two tail-end wickets in his final over to finish with career-best List A figures of 5 for 51. Worcestershire lost their last four wickets for two runs in seven balls.Some of the home side’s bowling figures were a grisly sight. Maxwell finished with 2 for 82 from his ten overs and Saqib Mahmood took 2 for 59 off eight. James Anderson conceded 59 runs in eight wicketless overs but was unlucky to have Mitchell dropped by Guest on 26 when the keeper grassed a straightforward chance standing back.Lancashire’s pursuit of 368 began poorly when Haseeb Hameed was caught at slip by Mitchell off Charlie Morris in the fourth over for only 5 but Keaton Jennings and Guest then stabilised the innings with a stand of 75 in 14 overs.However, Lancashire’s batsmen were never allowed to dominate the bowling as their opponents had done and Jennings’ dismissal, caught by Rutherford at short fine leg off Wayne Parnell for 54, was the first of a steady stream of dismissals, each of which reinforced Worcestershire’s dominance.Maxwell hit three sixes and two fours in a 21-ball 35 but his was the only uninhibited aggression offered by the home batsmen and the innings declined rapidly from 181 for 4 in the 32nd over to 191 for 8 in the 35th. Mitchell took two of those wickets as did Parnell and Josh Tongue, but this was a triumph for a seven-man Worcestershire attack which knew its business facing Lancashire batsmen who could not match the visitors’ craft.

The former cricketer, commentator and coach reached his peak in 1981-82, being named International Cricket of the Year

Daniel Brettig27-Mar-2019

Bruce Yardley bowls during the Third Test match against England•Getty Images

Bruce Yardley, the former Australian spin bowler, coach and commentator, has died in far north Western Australia after a prolonged fight with cancer at the age of 71.Starting his cricketing life as one of many swing and seam bowlers in WA, Yardley found his niche after converting to off-breaks spun idiosyncratically from his right middle and ring fingers, first earning Test selection in the summer of 1977-78 during the World Series Cricket split that spirited away a host of Australian players to Kerry Packer’s breakaway competition.Not immediately successful for Australia, Yardley gradually improved as a bowler generating turn and bounce from a long, angled run-up and high action, while also smiting the intimidating West Indian attack for a memorable, 29-ball half century in a Test at Barbados in 1978 – a tour on which he was also called, once, for throwing in the tour match against Jamaica.The following season he turned out for Graeme Yallop’s “lambs to the slaughter” against England, and notably took the old ball for the start of the second innings of the final Test of the series at the SCG, as Yallop stretched the game’s laws by opting not to take a new ball, much to the indignation of his opposite number, Mike Brearley.Yardley returned to state ranks when Packer and the Australian Cricket Board reached a compromise ahead of the 1979-80 season, having toured India ahead of the home summer.A season later, however, Yardley returned as the nation’s No. 1 spinner, and enjoyed three summers in the national spotlight from 1980 to 1983.The most striking of these was 1981-82, when he plucked no fewer than 38 wickets in six home Tests against Pakistan and the West Indies, winning a cult following for the quality of his bowling and the infectiousness nature of his celebrations, his fielding at gully and his pesky lower order batting. These feats earned him the crown of International Cricketer of the Year, and he also winkled out 13 New Zealand wickets in three Tests across the Tasman.Yardley was to fall out of favour with the national selectors in 1983 despite taking seven wickets against Sri Lanka in his final Test, and retired from the game in 1985, though he returned to represent Western Australia in 1989-90.Following the end of his playing days, Yardley coached both close to home for Midland Guildford in Perth club cricket, and further afield as the national team coach of Sri Lanka from 1996 to 1998, where he was a noted advocate for Muttiah Muralitharan and a defender of his bowling action in contrast to many of his countrymen.He also coached and commentated internationally, before battling cancer back home in Western Australia, where he died at Kununurra District Hospital.”Bruce was a significant figure in Australian cricket, contributing in many ways on and off the field,” Cricket Australia’s chief executive Kevin Roberts said. ​”As a player, it took him more than ten years of persistence playing First-Class and Premier cricket to find the art of off-spin, earning him a Test debut at the age of 30.​”Bruce’s bowling dominates his career highlights with 126 Test wickets, holding the mantle as Australia’s most successful Test off-spinner before being surpassed by Nathan Lyon. He was also an excellent fielder and handy batter, holding the record for the quickest Test fifty for 38 years.​”Off the field, Bruce had an infectious personality and was regarded as one of the best spin-bowing coaches in the world, coaching Sri Lanka and mentoring the greatest Test wicket-taker of all time, Muttiah Muralitharan. On behalf of the Board and staff at Cricket Australia, we acknowledge Bruce’s outstanding contribution to Australian cricket, and our thoughts are with his family, friends and many of those in the cricketing community who knew him.”