ESPNcricinfo runs an analytical eye over the key moments of the match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians

Karthik Krishnaswamy06-Apr-20192:05

Failed to capitalise on our good start – Bhuvneshwar Kumar

The Ishan Kishan run-out: explainedIn the 13th over of Mumbai Indians’ innings, Ishan Kishan set off for a non-existent single after pushing Rashid Khan into the off side, and seemed to have no chance of escaping being run out when Vijay Shankar, scrambling to his left from backward point, picked up the ball and flicked it towards the keeper’s end. Jonny Bairstow, however, seemed to give Kishan a lease of life when he accidentally bumped into the stumps while trying to get around them and collect the throw near the popping crease. Both bails fell off at that point, and Kishan threw himself towards the crease.Bairstow collected the ball and disturbed the wicket once more even as Kishan’s dive took him past the crease. Which happened earlier, and how exactly was the third umpire to adjudicate, given both bails had already fallen off?If the bails have come off the wicket, the fielder still has the option of uprooting a stump, “providing that the ball is held in the hand or hands so used, or in the hand of the arm so used,” according to Law 29.1, which concerns when exactly the wicket is “put down”.While collecting the ball and dragging his arm back to disturb the wicket, Bairstow ensured he did so with enough force to pull one of the stumps entirely out of the ground. At the point when this happened, Kishan was still a few inches short of making his crease, leaving the third umpire a fairly straightforward decision to make.3:01

Agarkar: Joseph produced a massive performance when Mumbai needed it

Did Mumbai adapt to Hyderabad’s big boundaries?The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium is one of the larger grounds in the IPL, and six-hitting, as a result, is a trickier prospect here than at most other grounds. Since the start of the 2017 season, a six has been hit once every 22.12 balls here, as against once every 17.35 across the other IPL grounds. Of the eight major IPL venues, Hyderabad has been the second-most difficult ground to hit sixes in, behind the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, where the balls-per-sixes ratio is 27.81.Teams that come to Jaipur or Hyderabad (or Mohali, another unusually large ground), therefore, have to change their game a little. Did Mumbai manage to adapt? On the face of it, no. Both their openers, Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock, fell to catches on the boundary, off shots that weren’t perfectly middled but might have cleared the rope elsewhere. Hardik Pandya also found deep midwicket with a flat slog-sweep. The ball came to Vijay Shankar at a comfortable catching height here, but at one of the smaller grounds he may have had to complete one of those difficult leaping catches on the edge of the boundary.Kieron Pollard hit four sixes in his unbeaten 46 off 26 balls, but one of those sixes was a catching chance that Mohammad Nabi, running to his right from deep square leg, parried over the boundary.Jonny Bairstow knocks the stump out of the ground to dismiss Ishan Kishan•BCCIBairstow vs legspin, chapter fivePiyush Chawla, Shreyas Gopal, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sandeep Lamichhane, and now Rahul Chahar. In every innings he’s played in so far this season, Jonny Bairstow has been out to a legspinner. Mumbai must have known of this trend when they brought on their legspinner in the fourth over of Sunrisers’ chase, and Bairstow promptly fell to the first ball he faced from Chahar.Bairstow vs legspin hasn’t been a one-sided struggle, though. Aside from the dismissals, he’s not fared too badly this season, scoring 93 off 51 balls against that style of bowling, at a strike rate of 182.35.Even his dismissal today was a little unfortunate. Bairstow picked the googly out of Chahar’s hand, and went for the slog-sweep, but the ball didn’t turn. Instead, it went on straight with extra bounce, like a topspinner, and the outside edge ballooned to short third man.ESPNcricinfo LtdSunrisers’ perennial middle-order issues continue”Top-heavy” is a tag that’s followed Sunrisers Hyderabad around pretty much since the team’s inception, and little has changed this season. Warner and Bairstow are by far IPL 2019’s most productive opening pair, and until today that had masked the frailties that remain in the middle order.Today, however, neither opener got to 20, and when both were dismissed in the space of four balls, Sunrisers were 33 for 2, needing 104 off 91 balls. Fairly gettable, you’d think, even on a slightly tricky surface.But no one from Nos. 3 to 7 really got going, and between them they eventually only made 52 off 73 balls. The two middle-order batsmen who spent most time at the crease were Manish Pandey (16 off 21) and Deepak Hooda (20 off 21), and neither was able to get going, and between them they only managed to find the boundary once.The form of those two batsmen is a huge concern for Sunrisers at the moment. Pandey has faced 43 balls so far this season, and Hooda 35. Neither has hit a six yet. The next-worst batsman on that list is Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Prayas Ray Barman, who has faced 24 balls so far without hitting a six.

Dismissals of Moeen Ali and James Vince epitomise a team that can’t help but look for the aggressive option

George Dobell at Headingley21-Jun-2019England were 170 for 5. They required 63 more runs to win and they had five wickets and 70 deliveries in hand. Their remaining batsmen had 12 Test and 54 first-class centuries between them. They had one foot in the semi-finals.But then Moeen Ali took a chance. He must have seen the fielder on the long-off fence, but he backed himself to clear him. Instead his lofted drive was well taken by Isuru Udana and Sri Lanka were thrown a lifeline. It was a dismissal that precipitated a slide in which four wickets fell for the addition of 16 runs. Suddenly something relatively simple was almost impossible.We have to be a bit careful criticising England’s limited-overs batting. You don’t set the records they have – the total of 481, the 17 sixes in an individual innings, the 46-ball hundred – without taking a certain amount of risk. It would be unfair to praise that bold approach one day and decry it the next. It is absolutely inevitable they will fail sometimes.But this was a run-chase. And a relatively small one at that. So there was no need for the high-risk strokes. Simple rotation of strike and calm heads would have sufficed. And, as admirable as England’s bravery and aggression has been, you do wish it was combined with a bit of common sense just a little more often. Adapting to surfaces and situations is key to success across formats and this was Moeen’s 100th ODI. With all that talent and all that experience, it really does seem fair to expect a bit better than this. It was, in its own way, just a little reminiscent of Kevin Pietersen’s dismissal in the second innings of the Perth Test of 2013. And we all remember how that was received. One hopes Moeen did not whistle at any point afterwards.Watch on Hotstar (India only): Highlights of Sri Lanka’s remarkable victory over EnglandMoeen might claim, with some justification, that the wicket was challenging. So he might claim, with some justification, that if he could smash a quick 20 or so more runs, he could have put the game beyond doubt. But that’s the logic of the get-rich-quick scheme; the mentality of the gambler. There was a simple single on offer here and Moeen, who had hit a six the previous delivery, showed a lack of composure in not taking it. It was a key moment in a defeat that puts England’s World Cup progress in jeopardy.To be fair, Jofra Archer’s dismissal – caught at long-on – was every bit as grim as Moeen’s. But he is a 24-year-old playing his ninth ODI. And he is batting at No. 10. Moeen is 32 now and playing in his second World Cup. More is expected of him.Moeen Ali leaves the field after holing out•Getty ImagesWas it relevant that, the previous day, Moeen had spoken of the internal – and good-natured – competition within the England dressing room over who could hit the most and biggest sixes? It seemed a light-hearted chat at the time. And Moeen is no doubt right when he talks of the importance of keeping the environment light and positive. But just because you don’t want them to over-think situations doesn’t mean you don’t want to think at all. And the balance here was more towards reckless than responsible.It would be simplistic to single out one man for England’s defeat, though. Just as it would be wrong not to acknowledge the fine performance of Sri Lanka. Angelo Mathews’ innings raised some eyebrows while it was in progress – he had made 34 from 80 balls at one stage – but in retrospect it appears an intelligent contribution from a man who adapted to the conditions better than most on the home team. He gave his bowlers a chance and, with Lasith Malinga nailing every yorker and his team-mates providing decent support, it was a chance they grasped. This upset was every bit a result of Sri Lanka playing well as it was England playing poorly.READ MORE: The monster they call MaliBut that doesn’t mean England didn’t play poorly. Or bat poorly, at least. It doesn’t mean that Jonny Bairstow didn’t play round a straight one or that Jos Buttler didn’t waste a review having done the same. And if Joe Root – who was batting masterfully well – was a bit unfortunate to be caught down the leg side, the best sides don’t trust to luck. They make sure.And then there’s James Vince. He did receive a decent ball that left him a little while inviting the drive. But it was an invitation he could have declined. Or at least an invitation he could have accepted with his foot to the pitch of the ball. As it was, that foot barely moved. It was a dismissal as soft as it was familiar.What do England do with Vince? He continues to look a million dollars. But increasingly he appears to be the sports-car which spends more time with its bonnet up than its roof down; the beautiful partner who can’t stop straying; the cigarette you’ll regret in the morning. He promises pearls and delivers pewter.He has now batted 10 times in ODI cricket with a top score of 51 (which came the first time he batted, back in July 2016) and 40 times in international cricket without making a century. And while it is true he has rarely enjoyed a run in the side – he has always been looking over his shoulder and never quite able to relax – that is the nature of much of professional sport. Jason Roy, by comparison, has passed 50 five times in his last six ODI innings. Suffice to say, his return cannot come soon enough for England. One wonders, too, if there is any part of the England management pining for a replacement opener with six ODI centuries. They have made their bed with Alex Hales, however, and must lie in it.This defeat does not ruin England’s World Cup hopes. Their fate is still very much in their own hands. Two victories from their final three games should ensure their progression; one might even be enough.But it does make life much more tense than it might have been. And it might well compromise their chances of resting key players – especially the fast bowlers – ahead of the semi-finals. Their opposition in those next three games – Australia, India and New Zealand – are fine sides who will sense blood. England really have made life much more difficult for themselves.Most of all, this result will do nothing to decrease the nerves in the England camp. And judging by the performances against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, those nerves are quite a factor.

The Bangladesh opener, who has hit a major dip in form, has turned to the former national team coach for help

Mohammad Isam30-Jul-2019Tamim Iqbal should focus on being more patient after negotiating the tough initial periods, according to Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh coach between 2007 and 2011 who is credited in Bangladesh cricket circles for having helped the likes of Shakib Al Hasan, Muhsfiqur Rahim and Tamim become quality international batsmen.Tamim, the mainstay at the top of the Bangladesh batting circles, has endured a dip in form in recent times. At the 2019 World Cup, he averaged just 29.37, and has been dismissed for 0 and 19 in the two ODIs in Sri Lanka. Tamim has also been bowled out six times in a row now, making it eight for the year.Tamim had said after Bangladesh’s first three matches in the World Cup that he was feeling the pressure, especially after having a lean run at the 2015 World Cup, where he scored just 154 runs in six innings. Most recently, he has usually started well, but then failed to kick on.Tamim recently got in touch with Siddons, currently head coach at South Australia, for help.”From what I have seen of him in the Sri Lanka series, Tamim looks comfortable until he gets out,” Siddons told ESPNcricinfo. “He got a great yorker in the first game (from Lasith Malinga) and then the shot he got out to in the second game, he just didn’t need to play. He is trying to force balls that he doesn’t need to. He is ticking the score along okay. He probably is getting a bit impatient.

I would probably straighten up his front foot a little, but he looks like the great player that he isJamie Siddons on Tamim Iqbal

“Teams are bowling well to him and limiting his boundaries. He needs to be a little bit more patient to let the game unfold a bit more. He should look to bat 50 overs, not try to score all the runs in the first 20.”Siddons hasn’t spotted a major deficiency in Tamim’s batting, but did say a slight technical tweak might help. “Tamim is technically fine. I would probably straighten up his front foot a little, but he looks like the great player that he is,” Siddons said. “He has made some amazing innings for Bangladesh. He will keep doing the same. I watched nearly every ball from the Sri Lanka series because he sent me the footage to see what I thought…”He needed to get through the first ten overs, and there would have been less movement in the ball. He would have been able to build an innings. He would then be able to play outside his off stump to good-length balls. Most bowlers bowled short to him in the World Cup too.”Siddons feels that Tamim is putting too much pressure on himself, the high expectations from himself weighing him down.”I think the expectations about Tamim, Shakib and Mushfiq is that they are the dominant players in the team. His expectations would have been just as high as the public,” Siddons said. “From my point of view, Tamim is as disappointed as anyone. I just think it is coincidental that he has had couple of bad World Cups.”But opening the batting is a tough position to bat in. The ball is moving around more than it does in the middle order. It is a tough position to hold down, and he has done it so well for a long time for Bangladesh. I just think he has had a bit of bad luck with a few play-ons and couple of good balls. All of a sudden your World Cup is in a bit of a spiral.”Tamim has endured such dips in form in the past, and has successfully bounced back each time. He will need a spot of luck to go his way, but more than that, he needs to be patient. Bangladesh need their premier opener to be back at his best, after all.

A hostile English crowd, a dicey pitch, a batting collapse, a rearguard century and adulation for one of the greatest innings ever

Daniel Brettig at Edgbaston01-Aug-2019How, over the 12 months in which he was banned from representing Australia, might Steven Smith have imagined making his return to Test cricket?How about this? A raucously hostile English crowd, a dicey pitch, a day one batting collapse, a rearguard century as tough as it was masterful, a cover drive off Ben Stokes to get there, a foothold in the game, and adulation for one of the greatest innings ever played.Amid all the isolation, the ridicule, the lonely batting sessions, the community service and the club games for Sutherland, that would have sounded pretty good. In fact it might have been the stuff of Smith’s dreams, or the script of a movie capturing the disgrace, recovery and redemption of an elite athlete. It is a dream, or a film pitch, no longer.On day one of the 2019 Ashes, Smith played an innings as good as any in his career, possibly better. He played an innings as valuable as any in his career, possibly better. And he played an innings more cathartic to Smith and Australia than any in his career.Wiggling, twitching and light sabre leaving in a fashion that felt even more exaggerated than he did before the ban, Smith blunted everything England, the pitch and the weather could hurl at him. In the course of doing so he also caused a perceptible change in the Edgbaston crowd’s response – booing overshadowed if never completely drowned out by ever more generous applause.A lone hand first innings century, this was a kind of performance only seldom seen in Australian Test history – a couple spring to mind. In 1981, Kim Hughes fashioned an even 100 out of 198 against the West Indies on a difficult MCG pitch, getting to the milestone with nine wickets down. And in 1997, Steve Waugh battled to 108 out of 235 against England at Old Trafford on a surface where seam and swing were available in generous quantities more or less all day. Both knocks set up Australian victories and are still spoken about, decades later, but neither had quite the subtext of this one.For almost three weeks now, Smith has been driving Australia’s assistant coaches to distraction with his ravenous appetite for net sessions and throw downs. He has hit thousands of balls, most of them delivered by the batting coach Graeme Hick, indoors and outdoors, morning and evening, optional sessions and mandatory, from Southampton to Birmingham. Asked whether the coaches effectively drew straws for who would throw to Smith, Justin Langer had laughed.”Yep. Yep pretty much,” he said. “That’s why I was out on my knees before, because he didn’t have that long a net today. It’s almost when he comes out, you’re down on your knees going ‘oh thank you, thank you’ because he loves hitting balls, which means you’ve got to throw a lot of balls. Graeme Hick works very hard…”Steven Smith looks to the skies•Getty ImagesThe obsession and compulsion of Smith’s preparation ran alongside his litany of superstitions and routines, all compiled over the years to ensure he feels as comfortable and normal as possible at the batting crease. These extend from the order in which he puts on pads, gloves and helmet, to the taping of his shoelaces to his socks to ensure he does not see them when he looks down at has bat tapping by his right shoe. They help Smith to feel cocooned at the crease, and he most certainly needed that feeling for the scenario that confronted him at 17 for 2 in the eighth over.In the hands of Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes, the ball was zipping, seaming and bouncing. Too much for David Warner, albeit via an erroneous lbw decision, too much for Cameron Bancroft. There was talk of a Newlands scandal hat-trick of sorts for Broad, but Smith responded with a broad bat and cool judgment of what to play and leave from the very earliest stages of his innings.A few deliveries beat the bat, and Smith soon lost Usman Khawaja’s companionship, but overall the impression was of a batsman who, after all that had taken place, still had the measure of the England attack as he had done in Australia two years ago. This was not in Australia, however, nor with a Kookaburra ball travelling gun barrel straight for most of its journeys. The degree of difficulty was undoubtedly far higher. This was true even when considering how James Anderson withdrew from the attack with a recurrence of calf trouble after only four overs, not delivering a single ball to Smith all day.For a period either side of lunch, Smith was able to play in the slipstream of a fluent Travis Head, playing his first Ashes innings with some panache, until a seamer from Woakes found the left-hander lbw. That signalled another rush of wickets, as Matthew Wade, Tim Paine, James Pattinson and Pat Cummins cobbled just 11 runs between them. Smith came close to being part of the procession, successfully reviewing an lbw appeal when he shouldered arms and saw that the ball had not seamed back quite enough to hit the stumps. But at 122 for 8, it did not appear as though this would matter all that much.Walking to the wicket, though, was Peter Siddle, a cricketer with his own story of second chances to tell. He had been surplus to requirements for most of the journey here in 2015, and his selection for the opening Test demonstrated how far Australian thinking had evolved since then. In England this year, Siddle has been making himself useful to Essex with the bat as well as the ball, averaging 32 in the County Championship. Not having to deal with Anderson, who has dismissed him 11 times in Tests, Siddle was almost as fluent as Smith in adding 88 precious runs.”I was just telling him to watch the ball and to keep watching it really hard and play his natural game,” Smith said of Siddle. “When they over pitched he drove a few balls really nicely, when they bowled short he was getting underneath it the majority of the time. He had a really good, strong defence which is what you need on a wicket which is doing a bit. His defence was magnificent.”He was willing to get beaten every now and again and just play the line of the ball. He did that beautifully. It’s great to see Sidds back. He’s very experienced, he’s played a lot of cricket over here and he’s a bowler that is similar to Woakes who hits the stumps a lot, maybe a little bit shorter and is able to hit the stumps from a shorter length. It’s going to be crucial on this wicket and I think it’s a wicket that will really suit him.”When Siddle exited, Smith was still 14 runs from a century, and he knew from recent experience here in the World Cup semi-final that it was eminently plausible he may be left short of the mark. But Nathan Lyon was able to endure in his company, to a point that Smith was able to go to three figures by following a thumping six off Moeen Ali with a sweet cover drive off Stokes to return to the ranks of Test century makers. He celebrated in something of a daze, the enormity of the occasion and the achievement taking time to soak in. The lower order help was serendipitous in itself, for so many of those extra batting sessions for Smith have taken place alongside similar additional nets for the lower order, the better to eke out every last available run for the cause.Once he had composed himself, Smith launched into a final third of the innings that was often brutal, consigning Joe Root to a task that was less a case of setting fields as ordering his men to disperse as widely as possible – all of them retreating to the boundary by the end. Smith was utterly cocooned in the aforementioned zone, complete with all its many, ever more pronounced fidgets, including one instance of self-reproach when he failed to get a tennis slog past cover. The ticks and twitches eased a little towards the end, but only slightly.When finally Broad found a way through, Smith sprinted off the field, almost as though he was seeking to reach the sanctuary of his teammates before another round of booing could engulf him. But there was rather more applause for a day that, in Smith’s own words, defied his ability to describe them. He is back alright, and Australia could not be more grateful.

Stats highlights of the Australian summer, which was headlined by Marnus Labuschagne and Nathan Lyon

Gaurav Sundararaman06-Jan-2020 896 Runs scored by Marnus Labuschagne in the Australian summer – Only two batsmen have scored more than him in a home season: Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden (twice). Labuschagne finished with an average of 112 with four hundreds and three fifties. While Hayden and Ponting played more than 10 innings, Labuschagne batted only eight times this summer with a lowest score of 19. Labuschagne has now scored 1459 Test runs from 23 innings averaging 63.43.ESPNcricinfo Ltd1 Ross Taylor is the leading run-scorer for New Zealand in Test cricket. He went past the Stephen Fleming’s tally of 7172 on Monday. Taylor reached the landmark in his 99th Test. He finished the innings with 7174 runs at an average of 46.28. Taylor and Fleming are the only cricketers from New Zealand to score more than 7000 Test runs.ESPNcricinfo Ltd 8 Instances in which Australia have won every Test in their home summer (condition of at least five matches played). They had a similar summer in 2004-05 when they won two Tests against New Zealand and three against Pakistan. Since 2013-14 this is the first instance of Australia whitewashing every opposition they faced at home. 1 Test win for New Zealand against Australia from 31 matches since April 1993. New Zealand have lost 22 and drawn seven in this period. They have now lost six in a row against Australia with their last win coming nine years ago at Hobart. 27.97 Difference in batting and bowling average for Australia – fourth-best figures for Australia in a home season with a minimum of three Tests. Australia’s domination was evident against both Pakistan and New Zealand, averaging 50.67 with the bat and 22.7 with the ball.41.8 Strike rate for Australia’s bowlers against New Zealand – their best for a home series with a minimum of three matches and the their best overall since the 2002-03 series against Pakistan. 19.25 Average runs per wicket for New Zealand this series – their worst for against Australia across all 21 tours so far. Their highest score this series was 256 – the lowest top total for an overseas team in a series of three or more matches in Australia. 3 Ten wicket hauls for Nathan Lyon in Tests. This was also the second-best match figures for an Australian against New Zealand, and the best by a spinner. Coming into this Test, Lyon did not have a five-wicket hauls at his home ground Sydney. Now he has taken two in a match taking his wickets tally to 36 – second-most for him at any venue. Lyon finished with 27 wickets at an average of 21.96 in the summer with three five-wicket hauls. 24 Centuries for David Warner in Tests, which places him ninth in the list of most centuries for Australia. In contrast to the Ashes where Warner made only 95 runs, he amassed 786 runs at an average of 131 with three centuries in the home summer. Warner now has 7244 Test runs and is among the top 10 for Australia. Eighteen of the 24 centuries for Warner have come at home. Only Hayden and Ponting beat him on that count. Interestingly, Warner’s lowest score in the series like Marnus is 19.

Bob Willis’ passing was mourned around the cricketing world and beyond, with everyone having a story to share from their time with him

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Dec-2019Legendary England pace bowler Bob Willis’ passing at the age of 70 had the cricketing world in mourning.

Incredibly sad to hear the news about Bob Willis. He was a true great, generous in sharing his knowledge about the game and a lovely man. RIP Bob x pic.twitter.com/HYJbLlQJRZ

— James Anderson (@jimmy9) December 4, 2019

Gutted to hear the news of Bob Willis passing. A lovely person with a great humour who was so proud of England cricket. Legend.pic.twitter.com/g4AQcnRK4n

— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) December 4, 2019

Willis’ magnum opus, his 8 for 43 in the 1981 Headingley Test, was recalled with great fondness.

Such sad news regarding the legend Bob Willis
An icon of the game I love,growing up as an 11 year old watching big Bob running down the hill 8/43 at the home of cricket Headingley
I’ll miss you Bob
A glass of red will be raised tonight

— Darren Gough (@DGoughie) December 4, 2019

Rivals and mates alike joined in in paying tribute.

Such a sad time for cricket fans all around the world. Rest In Peace Bob.

You shall be remembered forever for what you have done on the pitch! #BobWillis pic.twitter.com/kpv5BsCyyL

— Sir Vivian Richards (@ivivianrichards) December 4, 2019

Just saw the news on Bob Willis and very sad indeed. Had the pleasure of working with him for @SkyCricket and off air I just loved listening to his great stories on how they played the game back in the day. RIP Great man#onceabearalwaysabear

— Allan Donald (@AllanDonald33) December 4, 2019

Waking to the sad news of the passing of the great Bob Willis. Red wine and story time Smithy’s will never be forgotten Bob. Wonderful man to work with and one champion of a bowler. RIP #BobWillis Thoughts with Lauren and the family..

— Simon Doull (@Sdoull) December 4, 2019

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Such sad news. Bob was an English legend, inspired a generation of fast bowlers around the world & was a good bloke. RIP mate #bobwillis #RIPBob #englandcricket #FBC

A post shared by Glenn McGrath (@glennmcgrath11) on Dec 4, 2019 at 1:29pm PST

“A remarkable human being.” Bob, you were truly one of the greats of this beautiful game. R.I.P. #BobWillis pic.twitter.com/Or6WE1qxa8

— Brian Lara (@BrianLara) December 5, 2019

One of the great characters of the game with a wicked sense of humour. He was Mr Verdict. God bless his soul #RIPBobWillis pic.twitter.com/p1dkLK0lpR

— Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) December 5, 2019

Had the absolute pleasure of spending time with Bob Willis over the years. A lovely man.
A very sad day. Deepest sympathies to all his family and friends.
RIP.

— Jason Gillespie (@dizzy259) December 4, 2019

Bloody sad day to hear of the passing of Bob Willis! My heart goes out to his family and Team mates! #headingley81 @BeefyBotham

— Dean Jones AM (@ProfDeano) December 4, 2019

And it wasn’t just cricketers, nor just sportspersons. Everyone had a Bob Willis memory to share.

Oh no, not Bob Willis… what joy he gave, and what a marvellous man. That 8 for 43. Used to lunch with him occasionally to talk cricket, Wagner and Bob Dylan, his three great passions.

— Stephen Fry (@stephenfry) December 4, 2019

RIP Bob Willis never imagined when I was growing up watching him destroy the Aussies in 1981 that many years later he’d teach me how to play bridge in a Spanish golf clubhouse after torrential rain had cancelled our round! Absolute gent and thoughts with his family

— Matt Le Tissier (@mattletiss7) December 4, 2019

Arsenal are now ready to pay the £51m release clause for a “world-class” player, who is also of interest to Real Madrid, according to a report.

Gunners title hopes bleak despite Fulham victory

Fulham secured a surprise 3-2 victory against Liverpool yesterday afternoon, which means the Gunners remain 11 points behind the Reds in the Premier League table, but with just seven games left to play, their title hopes are looking very bleak.

Mikel Arteta still has an opportunity to make the 2024-25 campaign a memorable one, however, with his side still fighting in the Champions League, although their route to Munich will not be easy, as they are set to take on Real Madrid in the quarter-final.

The north Londoners will have to take on the reigning champions without an out-and-out striker, with Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus still sidelined, which will make the daunting task even more difficult.

£77m striker now gives Arsenal move green light after talks with Berta

A “lethal” striker has now said yes to signing for the Gunners, with Andrea Berta playing a key role in convincing him.

3 ByDominic Lund Apr 6, 2025

Squad depth has been an issue for Arteta this season, and the manager is keen to bolster his options in the summer transfer window, with a new central midfielder of interest.

According to a report from Caught Offside, Arsenal are now ready to meet the €60m (£51m) release clause in Martin Zubimendi’s Real Sociedad contract, having wanted to sign the midfielder for quite some time.

The Gunners are looking to finalise the deal for Zubimendi, who is Arteta’s primary target in central midfield, but Real Madrid also retain an interest, and the Spanish side could provide competition for his signature, alongside Atlético Madrid and Manchester City.

An agreement has already been reached on personal terms, indicating the Spaniard is keen on a move to the Emirates Stadium, but his head could still be turned by one of the rival suitors.

Gunners must win race for "world-class" Zubimendi

The 26-year-old has been one of Sociedad’s best performers in La Liga this season, averaging a WhoScored match rating of 6.89, the second-highest figure in the squad, and he has received high praise from members of the media.

Ben Mattinson lauded the Spain international for a “top performance” against Real Madrid last week, claiming he could relieve the burden of creating chances that is currently on Martin Odegaard, while he has also proven himself to be solid defensively.

Journalist Alexandra Jonson believes there is “no doubt” the Sociedad star is “world-class”, indicating he could take Arsenal’s midfield to the next level, with Arteta in need of at least one new player, given that Jorginho is in talks over a move elsewhere.

As such, it is promising news that Arsenal are now ready to pay the £51m release clause, and they will be hoping his head isn’t turned by the prospect of remaining in Spain with Real Madrid or Atlético Madrid.

Leeds United is currently the home to various talents who have made their names across Europe before moving to Elland Road over the last couple of seasons.

Brenden Aaronson is just one player who cost big money to secure a move for his signature, costing a fee in the region of £25m during their final season in the Premier League back in 2022/23.

The American has so far failed to demonstrate why the hierarchy forked out such a hefty fee for his signature, struggling to make a real impact under Daniel Farke in recent weeks.

Whilst he scored the opener against Swansea City last weekend, it was only his second goal contribution of the calendar year, struggling to produce any tangible results in their hunt for Championship promotion.

He’s since been unable to match the levels produced by one player who starred in Yorkshire after his own transfer from the Swans multiple years ago.

Pablo Hernandez’s stats for Leeds United

Over the years, Leeds has been the home to countless icons, with Pablo Hernandez undoubtedly cementing himself as a modern-day hero for his heroics at Elland Road.

The Spaniard originally moved on loan from Swansea back in 2016/17, before joining permanently in the January of that campaign after impressing in the first half of the season.

Such a move would be the springboard for his success with the Whites, with Hernandez going on to register 36 goals and 41 assists from 175 outings, helping the club lift the Championship title at the close of the 2019/20 campaign.

He was a pivotal part of Marcelo Bielsa’s side that season, remaining a key member of the squad the following year as the club ended their long wait for Premier League football.

Whilst he left the club back in 2021, current boss Farke already has his own version of the fan-favourite, playing a vital role in their own ambitions of returning to the top flight.

The player who’s become Farke’s own Hernandez at Leeds

The plethora of attacking talent on the books at Leeds has contributed to their phenomenal attacking record, which has seen them score 78 times in the league this season – by far the highest tally in the division.

Joel Piroe has been central to such a record, netting 15 league goals to date, a tally which is the highest within the current first-team squad – producing key goals at various moments.

The Dutchman arrived in a £10m deal from Swansea back in the summer of 2023, following in Hernandez’s footsteps in joining from the Welsh outfit and having an immediate impact in Yorkshire.

The similarities to Hernandez continue, with the 25-year-old also able to feature in the number ten role, as seen in certain matches this season, with the “superb” star, as dubbed by one analyst, key to the club’s recent success.

During his final Championship campaign in Yorkshire, the Spaniard notched a total of 18 combined goals and assists back in 2019/20 – cementing himself as a key member of Bielsa’s squad.

Piroe has already registered a combined 21 contributions with seven matches remaining this campaign, with any hope of securing promotion potentially down to whether he can continue to produce the goods in the final third.

Combined goals & assists from Leeds attackers in the Championship (2024/25)

Player

Tally

Joel Piroe

21

Daniel James

19

Manor Solomon

14

Brenden Aaronson

11

Wilfried Gnonto

11

Mateo Joseph

6

Largie Ramazani

6

Stats via FotMob

He’s been subject to criticism in recent times, but it’s safe to say the club wouldn’t be in this current position without his goals, certainly playing a key role in their promotion ambitions.

Whilst it’s unclear whether he will be able to cut it in the Premier League, Piroe has a huge job to catapult the side into the top flight between now and the end of the season.

His goals could provide the difference over the next couple of weeks, with the Dutchman able to cement his place in the Whites’ history books should he produce the goods and fire them back to England’s top-division.

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As concerns over Alexander Isak’s future continue to rumble on, Newcastle United are reportedly poised to join the race in pursuit of signing a forward who has matched their star man for goals this season.

Newcastle braced to stand strong in Isak saga

As much as they’ll be desperate to avoid it, the Isak rumours aren’t going away anytime soon. Instead, Newcastle are likely to face a summer-long saga which will end one of two ways. The Swedish star is one of the most wanted strikers in European football and with Liverpool and Arsenal reportedly on his list of suitors, there is no doubt that he’ll have a decision to make in the coming months.

That said, his price tag certainly reflects the amount of interest in his signature. Reportedly pricing their star man at as much as £160m this summer, Newcastle are keen to at least get bang for their buck if Isak departs or preferably simply scare away the suitors.

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When asked about his future and a potential new deal at St James’ Park, Isak told reporters in the build-up to Newcasle’s Carabao Cup final success: “That will probably be a talking point once the season finishes, but we will really see because no talks have been held yet.

“Really, about my future, it is not really something I think about. During a season I just focus on the job and it’s probably the worst time to think about anything else. All of our focus is just on Sunday, doing good and hopefully bringing the trophy back to Newcastle.“

Until he puts pen to paper on a new deal, then the anxiety around Isak’s Newcastle future is likely to remain in Tyneside. It does at least look like the club are preparing for the worst, however, having identified a potential replacement who’s arguably as good as the former Real Sociedad man.

Newcastle poised to battle for Vangelis Pavlidis

According to reports in Portugal, as relayed by Sports Witness, Newcastle are now poised to battle Chelsea to sign Vangelis Pavlidis from Benfica this summer, who has a release clause worth as much as €100m (£87m).

The forward has stepped into Darwin Nunez’s role ever since he left Benfica for Liverpool in 2022 and has exceeded the struggling Anfield star ever since. Now, he may have done enough to earn himself a Premier League move of his own, especially if Isak calls it quits at Newcastle this summer.

Appearances

46

35

Goals

24

24

Assists

10

5

Involved in more goals than the 29 that Isak has managed, Pavlidis has also matched the Swede’s total of strikes in all competitions and looks like a player destined for great things this summer.

Dubbed “decisive” by analyst Data Foot on X, the 26-year-old is at the peak of his powers and could yet become Benfica’s most successful recent export by doing what Nunez has failed to do in the Premier League.

Newcastle, meanwhile, could splash the cash to welcome a potential replacement for Isak should he depart this summer.

Victory in the Merseyside derby appears to have been a false dawn, with Liverpool’s late-season decline very much still here after an error-strewn display saw Fulham claim victory over Arne Slot in the Premier League.

It was actually the first time that Liverpool and Slot had tasted defeat on the road in this term’s top flight, but stepping into the bracing summer air feels a distance away yet, for Fulham benefitted from some elementary defensive mistakes from the away side’s experienced and successful defenders.

Virgil van Dijk’s concerning but perhaps overblown dip in form continued, rarely at ease against the Londoners’ frontline and notably turned inside out by a Bergkamp-esque touch from Rodrigo Muniz, who proved to seal the win by scoring Fulham’s decisive third goal before the break.

However, Van Dijk, 33, is still one of the – if not the – best centre-backs in Europe; tying Liverpool’s captain down to one final contract is crucial.

The same can’t be said for Andrew Robertson, whose unwavering belief in his ability is admirable, but not enough given errors and a startling drop in athleticism and creativity have put his performances under a microscope this year.

Why Andy Robertson needs to be replaced

Robertson joined Liverpool way back when. Hull City’s talented full-back couldn’t save the Tigers from relegation in 2016/17, and so Jurgen Klopp saw an opportunity, swooped in and snapped him up for a cool £8m fee.

Now, he’s entering the twilight stage of his trophy-adorned career. Aged 31, Robertson has spent many years playing expertly in a high-octane, big-expectation outfit, but he’s past his best, with the defeat at Fulham the latest game in which he’s been culpable for a “dreadful error,” as was remarked by The Athletic’s James Pearce.

The Scotland captain also ceded possession on 12 occasions despite failing to complete a single key pass to help Liverpool’s attacking fluency, as per Sofascore.

It would be unfair to rebuke Robertson too harshly. He might be something of a weak link but he’s still been an important part of Liverpool’s campaign and is heading toward his second Premier League title.

But he needs replacing, for sure.

Plans have been mapped out already, it seems like Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez is one of FSG’s most pressing transfer targets ahead of the summer window.

However, Robertson’s not the only player who showed in the capital that they need to be sold, with a ‘world-class’ star potentially having played his last.

Liverpool need to sell "world-class" star

Replacing Robertson would be for the greater good of Slot’s project, but there are one or two more regular starters on Merseyside who might also be cashed in this summer.

Caoimhin Kelleher being one of them. The goalkeeper has been brilliant as Liverpool’s back-up between the sticks, featuring 67 times in total for the first team, but his unconvincing performance against Fulham underscored the reasoning behind FSG’s decision to allow him to move away, to sign a replacement.

Fulham put three past their opponents at the weekend despite only accumulating an xG total of just 0.79, which basically means that Liverpool should really have prevented two, if not all three, of the strikes.

It’s becoming clear that Kelleher needs to be sold, having risen from Liverpool’s academy graduate to achieve a sort of cult status, so instrumental in winning domestic cups over the past few seasons.

Praised as a “world-class” shot-stopper by his skipper, Van Dijk, Kelleher cannot abide another campaign playing second fiddle and fair enough to him. A swarm of clubs were intrigued in signing the £35m-rated star last year, but he ultimately stayed put.

However, the Irishman has pulled no punches in expressing his desire to take the next step in his career and “leave and be a number one.”

However, he’s hardly failed to earn any attention at Anfield. Slot, to whom Alisson is “the best goalkeeper in the world,” has been forced to make do without his number one on many occasions this season. In fact, the 26-year-old’s skills have been called into play regularly over the past couple of years.

24/25

20

9

23/24

26

5

22/23

4

2

21/22

8

4

20/21

5

2

19/20

4

2

With Alisson unable to shake persistent injury problems, Kelleher has featured 46 times since the start of last season. His Brazilian counterpart has featured 60 times over the same period.

The Liverpool Echo certainly weren’t impressed, handing Kelleher a 5/10 match rating. While correspondent Ian Doyle noted that the Ireland international could do little about Ryan Sessegnon’s parity-restoring strike, there’s a case to be made that the following strikes could have been prevented, albeit with Iwobi’s shot taking a nicking deflection off the guilty Robertson.

With Giorgi Mamardashvili set to arrive from Valencia in the summer, it makes perfect sense to bank a fee for Kelleher before his deal expires in 2026.

Especially when the Georgian goalkeeper, still only 24, is putting in performances like that of last weekend, when Real Madrid was foiled in their own backyard.

Football is a fickle game and revisionism must be ignored as Liverpool enter this final stretch of the campaign a little sapped and disjointed.

If anything, such a dip would have told Slot more about his tools than the hitherto strength that allowed him to carve through so many of his club’s opponents for the lion’s share of the season.

Liverpool have suffered a few blots on the copybook of late, but make no mistake, this is an extraordinary feat acheived down Anfield Road. The Reds are heading toward the Premier League title, but change is sure to be afoot in the market this summer.

In west London, Kelleher, like Robertson, may well have shown why he needs to be sold this summer.

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