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Leeds United are currently on course to secure automatic promotion straight back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, having been relegated from the top-flight at the end of last season.

The Whites brought in German head coach Daniel Farke last summer in an attempt to lead them to glory and they are second in the table with 13 games left to play.

They are above Ipswich Town on goal difference and two points ahead of Southampton, with all three sides on the same number of matches played, whilst Leicester City are nine points clear at the top.

Farke won the Championship title with Norwich City on two occasions and is now looking for a third promotion to the Premier League, with the help of the exciting squad he has available to him.

One player who has been particularly important to the club's success on the pitch this season has been terrific forward Crysencio Summerville.

The Dutch wizard has been a constant threat on the left wing and one of the top performers in his position in the division this term, alongside former Leeds starlet Jack Clarke.

When Leeds sold Jack Clarke

In the summer of 2019, then-sporting director Victor Orta decided to cash in on the talented young forward as Tottenham Hotspur swooped in to secure his services.

The Premier League side reportedly splashed out an initial fee of £8.5m to sign the teenage winger and sent him back on loan at Elland Road for the 2019/20 campaign.

Clarke had broken through into the first-team under Marcelo Bielsa during the previous season and made 24 appearances in the Championship, including the play-offs, before Spurs decided to move for him.

He produced two goals and two assists from the left flank in those 24 outings, although only four of those matches were as a starter, but his return on loan did not go as well.

The young gem made one Championship appearance for Leeds before Tottenham opted to send him out on loan to Queens Park Rangers for the second half of the campaign, in which time he played six times for the London-based side in the second tier.

Clarke failed to make the grade in the Premier League with Spurs during his time there and was eventually sold to Sunderland, after a six-month loan spell, in the summer of 2022.

Over the last two seasons, the 23-year-old wizard has been a constant threat to opposition defences in the Championship and has been an outstanding performer, which suggests that Orta fumbled Leeds' own homegrown version of Summerville back in 2019.

Crysencio Summerville's season in numbers

The former Feyenoord youngster, who arrived at Elland Road in the summer of 2021, has emerged as the star of Farke's team in the second tier this season for Leeds.

He has been in phenomenal form as both a scorer and a creator of goals as a right-footed winger who predominantly plays on the left side of the attack.

Summerville has racked up 15 goals in 30 appearances in the division – four more than any of his teammates have managed – and only missed nine 'big chances', with an xG of 11.62.

This shows that the 22-year-old whiz has been ruthless in front of goal as he has rarely passed up a good opportunity to find the back of the net for the Whites.

The electric gem has also provided his fellow attackers with eight assists in those 30 Championship games, and only Georginio Rutter (11) has produced more assists within the Leeds squad.

Summerville may, however, argue that he should have more assists to his name. The exceptional dynamo has an xA of 9.33 and has created 16 'big chances', yet has only been rewarded with eight assists for his efforts.

Along with his quality as a scorer and a creator, the Dutch gem also has the ability in possession to get supporters off their seats with his dribbling, as he has completed 2.3 dribbles per game. He can get Elland Road rocking by committing defenders and driving the ball past players to push his team up the pitch.

Clarke is a player who offers similar qualities as another right-footed winger who plays on the left flank in the Championship, which is backed up by his impressive statistics for Sunderland this season.

Jack Clarke's season in numbers

The 23-year-old has been in exceptional form for the Black Cats throughout the 2023/24 campaign, despite their turbulence in the dugout so far.

They are on their third manager of the season in Mike Dodds, who is in interim charge for the second time after Michael Beale – who replaced Tony Mowbray – was sacked earlier this week.

Despite the seemingly constant change in the coaching staff, Clarke, who was once hailed as "unplayable" by journalist Josh Bunting, has fired in an outstanding 15 goals in 33 Championship matches for Sunderland.

He has only missed four 'big chances' and plundered those 15 goals from 10.25 xG, which suggests that the talented whiz has been more clinical than Summerville as they have the same number of goals but the Black Cats gem has managed it with fewer big chances missed and less xG.

23/24 Championship

Jack Clarke

Crysencio Summerville

Appearances

33

30

Goals

15

15

Big chances missed

Four

Nine

Assists

Four

Eight

Big chances created

11

16

xA

7.93

9.33

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, they have both been superb options for their respective sides as scorers and creators on a regular basis from the left wing.

Like the Leeds star, Clarke has been let down by his teammates in the final third as they have only rewarded him with four assists from an xA of 7.93, with 11 'big chances' created in total. This shows that they have not made the most of his creative quality this season.

However, the former Whites academy graduate did register 11 assists from seven 'big chances' created during the 2022/23 campaign, which could even it out somewhat.

What is clear, though, is that Summerville and Clarke are both mercurial stars who have taken the EFL by storm on the left wing with their immense attacking quality.

That is why Leeds, and Orta in particular, may look back on the decision to cash in on him when they did as a mistake as they could have developed their own homegrown version of the current first-team star by working with the former England U21 international to fulfill his potential in Yorkshire.

Leicestershire will resume on 32 for 2, needing a further 392 to win

ECB Reporters Network18-Sep-2019 Leicestershire 263 (Wright 60, Patel 4-58) and 32 for 2 (Carey 2-10) trail Glamorgan 435 and 251 for 5 dec (Brathwaite 103*) by 391 runsAlthough Glamorgan’s hopes of gaining promotion to Division One have diminished following Gloucestershire’s win in three days and Northants’ dominant position against Durham, the Welsh county should win their fourth championship game of the season on the final day.Leicestershire will resume on 32 for 2, needing a further 392 to win, with Hassan Azad on 15 not out and the former Glamorgan batsman Mark Cosgrove, three.Glamorgan have set Leicestershire the improbable target of 424 from a minimum of 113 overs, and although spin was likely to play a decisive part, it was Lukas Carey, getting movement from the pitch, who took the first two wickets in his second and third overs. He had Paul Horton caught by the wicketkeeper, then had Colin Ackermann held by David Lloyd at slip.Glamorgan declared on 251 for 5 in their second innings and would have declared earlier had they not allowed Kraigg Brathwaite to reach his century in only the second of three games he is playing until the end of the season.The West Indies opening batsman was at the crease for the duration, facing 189 balls and striking a six and 12 fours for his unbeaten 103. Not a flamboyant stroke player – he has a moderate strike rate of 40 in his Test career- Brathwaite and is selective in his approach. However, depending on his availability, he would be a useful Championship overseas player for any county, having played 56 Tests with eight centuries and 17 fifties.Brathwaite, schooled at Combermere College in Barbados where past pupils include Chris Jordan and Jofra Archer, shared useful partnerships, notably with Chris Cooke, who scored 44 and put on 80 with Brathwaite for the fifth wicket.Leicestershire’s 10th-wicket pair, Chris Wright and Will Davis, had frustrated Glamorgan’s bowlers in the morning session by adding 92 runs, with Wright scoring 60 and Davis a career-best 39 not out. Had they added another three runs they would have eclipsed the previous record for the final wicket for Leicestershire against Glamorgan – set by Dieter Klein and Gavin Griffiths on this ground last season.

Over the last month or so, Mauricio Pochettino has been able to stop the rot at Chelsea, guiding them to five wins out of seven and into the League Cup Final to boot.

The Pensioners are still only ninth in the Premier League ahead of their clash with Liverpool, and while that is far from ideal for a club of their stature, things are starting to look up.

However, a strike force of Nicolas Jackson and Armando Broja – if he isn't sold – just isn't enough to genuinely challenge the best teams in the division.

However, Todd Boehly and Co could be about to address this significant weakness and sign a forward who could potentially end the club's long-running number nine curse.

Chelsea look north to end their striker woes

Earlier this week, Chelsea writer Simon Phillips revealed in his Substack that the Blues have made a late inquiry about Callum Wilson's availability this month.

He revealed that the west Londoners were interested in loaning the former Bournemouth man but that the Magpies were only interested in selling the 31-year-old if he were to leave this month.

While this development isn't ideal for Pochettino's side, the Toon's valuation of £18m would represent great value in today's hyper-inflated market, and with Phillips revealing Wilson himself is keen on a move to Stamford Bridge, there is every chance this deal could go ahead.

Callum Wilson could end the Blues' number nine curse

Few curses are more well-known in English football than Chelsea's number nine curse. Over the years, there have been some genuinely great players who have been goal machines elsewhere before signing for the Pensioners, pulling on that number and then seemingly growing two left feet.

Some of the most notable include Fernando Torres and Romelu Lukaku. The former went from scoring nine league goals in the first half of the 2010/11 season for Liverpool to managing just one in west London after making the switch midway through the season.

The Belgian had an even worse time with the shirt, as he scored a whopping 24 Serie A goals in the 2020/21 season before managing just eight a year later for Chelsea and then never playing for the club again.

So profound is this supposed curse that in an interview in the summer of 2022, then-manager Thomas Tuchel revealed that nobody wanted the number following Lukaku's disaster, saying: "It's cursed, it's cursed, people tell me it's cursed. There was not a big demand for No 9. Players sometimes want to change numbers but, surprisingly, nobody wants to touch it."

With all of that, the "incredible" Wilson, as he was described by his manager Eddie Howe, would be forgiven for feeling a bit of trepidation in keeping his number were he to sign.

However, based on his record in the Premier League and how well he coped with moving to the Magpies a few years ago, the England international could be just the man to finally break this insane curse.

In total, the "ruthless" forward, as journalist Chris Waugh described him, has made 215 top-flight appearances, scored 86 goals and provided 23 assists, meaning he has averaged 0.50 goal involvements per match throughout his career, which is a brilliant feat, and something the Blues could use if they are to lift silverware this season and fight for European football.

Ultimately, the curse will always weigh on the minds of the Chelsea faithful whenever a new exciting striker turns up at the club, at least it will until someone can break it, and that someone could well be Wilson.

Liverpool-raised batsman thwarts top-topping Lancashire on final day at Aigburth

Paul Edwards06-Jun-2019

As far as playing for Lancashire is concerned Liverpudlians have had to walk alone. Only ten cricketers either born or raised in the city have made over 20 first-class appearances for the county since 1900. It is a figure which compares most unfavourably with the heartlands of Lancastrian cricket such as Westhoughton or Accrington. One of that dectet, though, is Paul Horton, so perhaps it was fitting that his 49 runs played a leading role in deciding the outcome of this game.Less fitting, of course, was that he did so wearing Leicestershire’s colours but Horton is a professional to his fingertips and after being released by Lancashire in 2015, he has given his very best for a county which clearly prizes his services.And yet, as this game drifted towards a draw it was impossible to forget that Horton learned his cricket down the road at St Margaret’s High School; or that he first played recreational cricket at the tearfully beautiful Sefton Park club, which is only two miles from Aigburth; or that in Lancashire’s treasured title-winning summer of 2011 Horton joined his team mates in sprinting from the grand old green-and-white pavilion to acclaim famous victories against Yorkshire and Hampshire. He may be Sydney-born and his accent remains stubbornly antipodean but Merseyside has long been Horton’s .None of which counted for much this afternoon as Horton defied Lancashire and his former colleagues offered their inimitably frank commentary on his technique. Leicestershire’s captain expected nothing less, of course; he has been round most of cricket’s blocks and understands the informal rules of his chosen trade. He will probably have taken the comments as a compliment that he was doing his job in preventing Lancashire taking the wickets they needed to secure their fourth win in five games.But if Horton’s 189-minute vigil was the centrepiece of this gentle and glorious day, Leicestershire’s draw was testament to their collective effort in resisting Lancashire’s attack for 94 overs on a day when the Aigburth pitch offered oodles of turn and variable bounce.Only 146 runs had been scored and Leicestershire had not even cleared their deficit by the time Neil Bainton flicked off the bails just after six o’clock. But that didn’t matter a damn. What counted was that having been 150 for 7 in the middle of the third afternoon Leicestershire had lost only eight more wickets in the next 138.4 overs. Head coach Paul Nixon is building a team in his own image and they will nobody’s patsies over the next four months.Of course the cricket was slow. The ice-cream man gave up the struggle for custom at 2.40 and his van pulled out of the ground in search of a younger clientele. It returned over an hour later in the vain hope there had been a sudden influx of sweet teeth. There had not. The scene moved so gently it could have been painted: by Renoir.There were some exotic statistics. Liam Livingstone’s second-innings figures were 36-17-40-1, his one victim being Horton, who chopped a quicker ball onto his stumps. Livingstone’s match analysis was 63-26-85-3; his labour as his side’s main spinner was prodigious and it was properly praised by Nixon after the game. Livingstone wheeled away for most of this last day from the Pavilion End; partly as a consequence Lancashire’s over-rate was 18 in excess of the minimum requirement, which may well be some sort of record.Four wickets fell in the day. The first was that of nightwatchman Callum Parkinson, who had batted 216 minutes in the match when he edged Richard Gleeson to Livingstone at slip in the early afternoon. The final two, those of Hassan Azad and Neil Dexter, were taken by Steven Croft and Graham Onions in a last hour when Lancastrian hopes were suddenly raised. But Azad had batted for 177 minutes and Dexter for 88. They had done their bit.Before that last act of a great drama Lancashire’s cricketers had still appealed whenever they could, although they did so more to maintain their interest in proceedings than in much hope their requests for leg-before or caught-behind might be granted. Gleeson clapped a long succession of balls from Livingstone, who mixed off-spinners with the odd leggie. Fielders, as fielders will, encouraged their bowlers to go “Bang-bang”. But Lancashire rarely went “Bang” on this last day. Instead they took 13 points for the draw and now lead Division Two by 11 points. They have been easily the best team in the second tier during the early part of the season.At the end of a tough contest Leicestershire’s cricketers sought to get away from Liverpool without great delay. Among them was the 20-year-old debutant, Harry Swindells, who had batted well on Wednesday and may think this game more or less the best thing in the world. And also among them was Paul Horton. He is 36 and he may have played his last county game at Liverpool.

Kent’s openers put on 188 to set up victory after Essex had stuttered to 270 for 9 in their 50 overs

ECB Reporters Network05-May-2019Daniel Bell-Drummond hit an unbeaten 120 to help steer Kent to Royal London One-Day Cup victory over Essex by six wickets in Beckenham. Man-of-the-match Bell-Drummond followed a canny bowling spell of 2 for 36 with his sixth List A hundred from 107 balls and with 12 fours as Kent romped to their second successive South Group success.Having seen Essex make a watchful start to their innings total of 271 for 9, Kent’s openers Bell-Drummond and Zak Crawley set off with intent to post 61 during the batting Powerplay. The main aggressor, Bell-Drummond, reached 50 from 39 balls and with 10 fours as the Spitfires pair reached their century stand in the 16th over.Essex turned to spin at both ends but the Kent openers ploughed on regardless as Crawley’s 50 came up off 57 balls with six fours as the pair overtook 180, Kent’s previous best List A opening stand against Essex, set by Mark Benson and Trevor Ward at Canterbury in 1988.After a stand of 188 Crawley fell six shy of his hundred, leg before when working across one from Ravi Bopara, then Matt Renshaw followed in similar fashion with the home score on 202.Heino Kuhn was bowled by Matt Coles, the former Kent allrounder, who then had Adam Rouse caught at extra cover, leaving Bell-Drummond and Alex Blake to polish the job off with 20 balls to spare.Batting first on a bitterly cold day, Essex were forced to adjust their initial aspirations by a slightly two-paced pitch that assisted both spin and seam bowling early on. Kent made their first breakthrough in the third over when Varun Chopra tossed away his own wicket. Walking outside off to aim a wristy flick through midwicket, he skied a catch off Harry Podmore to cover point.Former England skipper Alastair Cook and Tom Westley regrouped with a watchful second-wicket stand worth 97. Westley sprinted to a 51-ball 50 – his fourth of the tournament, with six fours and a six – while Cook played within himself to contribute only 18 during his first hour at the crease.Cook upped his tempo with a flurry of fours off Fred Klaassen and Renshaw leading to the introduction of Bell-Drummond at the City End, who struck with his third ball by trapping Westley leg before for 58 as the right-hander worked across a straight one.The Eagles reached 125 for 2 by the mid-point as Cook marched to a 60-ball half-century with five fours. But three runs on Cook’s checked drive to a Podmore slower ball sailed to mid-off where Renshaw took an athletic, overhead catch on the run to spark a collapse of four wickets in 41 balls.Dan Lawrence pulled a Matt Milnes bouncer low to Crawley at midwicket. Then, in the next over, Ravi Bopara’s top-edged sweep against Imran Qayyum was easily gathered at short fine-leg. Qayyum removed Rishi Patel to finish with 2 for 37 when Renshaw held another steepler low down at long-on and Robbie White’s miscued pull sailed to backward square-leg to give Bell-Drummond his second scalp.Simon Harmer was caught behind off a top-edged pull but Coles scored a useful 34 before holing out to cow corer to give Milnes somewhat flattering figures of 3 for 60 as Essex successfully batted out their overs.

Aston Villa have made a sensational start to the 2023/24 Premier League campaign, and they are heading into the new year well within the race for a spot in the top four – and potentially even in the title race.

The January transfer window offers clubs an opportunity to bolster their squad for whatever their ambitions may be for the remaining months of the campaign and this is no different for Unai Emery.

Villa's bright start to the term has meant that this January window could be used as an opportunity to strengthen their depth or even add to their starting XI which has fared so well thus far.

Injuries have not been kind to the Midlanders with the likes of Emiliano Bunedia and Tyrone Mings both sidelined through serious injuries that both required surgery.

With this in mind, Emery's options have been stretched in certain positions which may lead the Spaniard with midfield and defence on his mind in the winter market.

And with the winter spending soon to get underway, we at Football FanCast have taken a look at the best 10 pieces of January business Aston Villa have done in their recent history…

10 Tyrone Mings January 2019

Now well established as one of the mainstays in Unai Emery's Aston Villa side, the England international was initially brought in on loan from AFC Bournemouth in January of 2019.

The 30-year-old played a huge role in the 2018/19 campaign which saw Villa promoted back to the Premier League. He would play in 15 of Villa's remaining Championship games as well as all three of their play-off games leading to their promotion (via Transfermarkt).

After the play-off final triumph, Mings was spotted returning to Bournemouth via public transport whilst still wearing his full Villa kit – with medal still hanging around his neck.

Having then signed for Villa permanently for a fee in the region of £26.5m, Mings has not had an easy ride at Villa Park after being stripped of the captaincy during Steven Gerrard's reign on the touchline.

However, the centre-back has come through the question marks surrounding him and has even racked up 18 caps for England under Gareth Southgate.

9 Conor Hourihane January 2017

Villa fans will know the name Conor Hourihane very well with the midfielder playing a huge role at the club after only leaving Villa Park in 2022.

Indeed, Hourihane made the move to Villa Park in 2017 from Barnsley for a fee of around £3m, however, this proved to be an absolute bargain for what they got in return.

By no means was Hourihane a player who proved to be a massive success in the Premier League, but he was able to rack up 31 top flight appearances where he returned four goals and six assists (via Transfermarkt).

It was in the Championship where Hourihane truly shone with an impressive tally of 19 goals and 17 assists in his 101 appearances in the second tier.

In total, Villa got 151 appearances out of the Irishman and at the price of around £3m; that is some seriously good January business if you ask us.

8 Pepe Reina January 2020

The experienced shot-stopper made a loan move to Villa from AC Milan in January 2020 at the age of 39. He became an instant hit at Villa Park with just half the campaign remaining.

Villa survived the drop by just one point that season, and they can certainly thank their Spanish goalkeeper for the part he played in keeping the club afloat.

Naturally, for a side who were among the bottom few sides battling against the drop, Villa's results left a lot to be desired and Reina was only able to keep two clean sheets over his 20 league appearances.

However, his role in the final four games of the campaign cannot be underestimated as Villa took eight points from a possible 12 and Reina only allowed in two goals – including a clean sheet against Arsenal (via Transfermarkt).

7 Ryan Bertrand January 2014

Villa raided Chelsea for – the now Premier League veteran – Ryan Bertrand in January of 2014 and brought the left-back in on loan until the end of the 2014/15 campaign.

Bertrand went on to make 16 appearances for Villa that season as they managed to narrowly survive the drop despite losing 10 of the games which Bertrand played in.

Ironically, one of the four victories Villa managed during Bertrand's loan spell was against his parent club, Chelsea, a game in which Bertrand was unable to feature in given the loan stipulations.

Although this was an extremely rough spell for Villa in the Premier League, Bertrand was one of the better performers and is well deserved of a spot on this list.

6 Darren Bent January 2011

Villa splurged big in the January window of 2011 on Darren Bent when they spent £24m on the England striker from Sunderland – seeing Villa smash their transfer record for a player.

Bent's first season and a half showed real promise for his new side with a solid return of 18 goals over his first 38 league appearances (via Transfermarkt).

However, the 2012/13 campaign proved to be a bit of a disaster for Bent who suffered from multiple injuries which meant he only racked up eight starts in the Premier League – scoring just three.

He was then loaned out to Fulham for the 2013/14 campaign and never really featured again for Villa barring a handful of Premier League cameos in the 2014/15 campaign.

5 Axel Tuanzebe January 2018

During Villa's time in the Championship, they brought in the English defender Axel Tuanzebe on a short-term loan from Manchester United.

And the centre-back played a big role in the club's return to the big time after making an impressive 30 appearances for Villa in the second tier before leading the backline alongside Tyrone Mings in the play-offs.

It has to be said, Tuanzebe would have played a lot more games for Villa during their time in the Championship had it not been for a metatarsal injury which sidelined him for a number of months.

Tuanzebe remained at Villa Park for four years over a number of different loan deals, but he did find difficulties in keeping his spot in the starting XI during their return to the Premier League.

Although it never really worked for the defender in the Premier League, his efforts in helping them return to the top flight should not be forgotten.

4 Lewis Grabban January 2018

As Villa eyed promotion to the Premier League in the 2017/18 campaign, they were able to bolster their attack with the loan signing of Lewis Grabban from Bournemouth.

And Grabban did exactly what Villa will have hoped for during his short stint at the club. Indeed, over his 15 appearances in the Championship, the striker was able to provide an impressive return of eight goals.

But it was not a loan deal which ended as all parties would have envisaged, as Grabban was unable to carry his form shown in the league into the play-offs as he returned a blank over the two games against Middlesbrough and then the final against Fulham.

3 Lucas Digne January 2022

In January 2022, Villa made a huge January signing by bringing in Lucas Digne from Everton for a fee in the region of £30m. The Frenchman was someone who provided Villa an instant upgrade at left-back following an impressive spell at Everton.

There is no doubt there may be some frustration following his arrival at Villa Park given he has suffered from a number of injury issues which have limited his time on the pitch.

However, the Frenchman has still been able to feature 73 times for Villa since arriving and he has been able to provide a return of three goals and nine assists across all competitions (via Transfermarkt).

This season alone, Digne is able to boast 18 appearances in the Premier League after nailing down the left-back spot under Unai Emery.

2 Robbie Keane January 2012

There is potentially some room for debate on this one considering Robbie Keane only featured six times for Villa in the Premier League following his arrival on a short-term loan from MLS side LA Galaxy. However, he showed some real signs of form in that brief time.

Indeed, in those six appearances for Villa in the league, Keane was able to provide a mightily impressive return of three goals. Two of those goals came against his former side and Villa's rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers, with his final goal coming against Newcastle United.

Keane may have only spent a short time at Villa Park, but we are sure there will have been many who would have liked to see the Irishman return on a permanent basis following the end of the loan.

1 Philippe Coutinho January 2022

The Brazilian's time at Villa Park may be viewed on the whole as a bit underwhelming given what Philippe Coutinho had shown in his previous Premier League spell at Liverpool.

However, there were some moments of excellence shown by the midfielder who played a total of 43 times for Villa across all competitions (via Transfermarkt).

In his opening 19 appearances for Villa in the Premier League, Coutinho was able to return five goals and three assists, but in his following 22 league games he only found the back of the net once.

Although this transfer may have ended in disappointment, it was perhaps a sign of things to come for Villa in terms of the calibre of player which they could attract.

Batting coach admits to his side being taken aback by Sri Lanka’s relentless attack with the ball

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Port Elizabeth22-Feb-2019

South Africa were “complacent” heading into this Sri Lanka series. This is not the opinion of reporters, fans, or commentators, but that of the team’s own batting coach Dale Benkenstein, after he watched his team collapse to 128 all out on the second day in Port Elizabeth.Right through the series, South Africa have been modest with the bat, recording a highest-score of 259 across four completed innings. No South Africa batsman has hit a hundred, and only Faf du Plessis, Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock have managed half-centuries.”We came in a little bit complacent,” Benkenstain said. “We addressed that, but it’s still very important to have the right attitude coming into a series. We say all the right things, but when you go in thinking we’ll probably have enough to beat the Sri Lankan side, I think it’s a dangerous place to be. We had two days in between series. It’s a full-on summer so you don’t have time to prepare. You can’t change what is really inside you.”Benkenstein praised the Sri Lanka attack, whom he said had bowled with skill, and whom South Africa have repeatedly said they have been surprised by. But although Benkenstein thought some of South Africa’s dismissals were the result of good opposition bowling, there were plenty that weren’t he said.”We have not been at our best – after a pretty disappointing first game as well – against a side that we did not know a lot about. There wasn’t a lot of footage with which to analyse them. You have to give credit to the Sri Lankan bowlers. They’ve shown good skill, but we’ve given them soft wickets at crucial times. I keep thinking that it will be sorted out in the next innings.”We’ve been pretty strong mentally, we came up against some very good bowling attacks and we scored enough runs to win those series. So I can’t really put my finger on what’s gone wrong now, but it’s been a long, full-on summer and the guys are only human, there may be a slight lack of energy.”On what will almost certainly be the final day of the series, on Saturday, South Africa are now in a position where they must take eight wickets (possibly only seven, if the injured Lasith Embuldeniya does not bat). They haver 137 runs to defend.”The game is still on the line and if we can have a good hour first thing tomorrow morning (Saturday) then we could make it hard for them to get the runs. There’s a little bit still there in the pitch and we have good bowlers. Sri Lanka have fought hard and put us under pressure, but overall the cricket has not been good, especially the batting – from both teams.”

Half-centuries from Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari and Shreyas Iyer carried India A to 303 for 6 and a 2-0 lead over England Lions in Thiruvananthapuram.After being sent in, India A lost Anmolpreet Singh for 7 in the fifth over, but captain Rahane raised his second successive fifty-plus score to lay the base for a tall total. In response, England Lions were dismissed for 165 in 37.4 overs, with spinners Mayank Markande, Axar Patel and Vihari sharing six wickets among them.Vihari played a bigger role with the bat, making 92 off 83 balls in a 181-run stand for the second wicket with Rahane, who ended with 91 off 117 balls. Iyer provided the finishing kick with 65 off 47 balls, including five fours and two sixes, before falling to seamer Lewis Gregory in the final over of the innings. Seamer Zak Chappell and left-arm spinner Danny Briggs were the only England Lions bowlers to concede less than six runs an over.The visitors lost Ben Duckett to seamer Deepak Chahar in the fifth over and although Alex Davies, the other opener, top-scored with 48 off 63 balls, the chase spiralled out of control. Legspinner Markande and left-arm spinner Axar took care of the middle and lower order.Gregory hit 39 off 46 balls – the second-highest score for England Lions – before he was the last man dismissed. Barring Davies and Gregory, no other England Lions batsman scored more than 20.

Sunil Ambris and Jomel Warrican mounted a fightback with a staunch ninth-wicket stand, but the 204-run target eventually proved too much

The Report by Mohammad Isam24-Nov-2018Taijul Islam celebrates with team-mates after a wicket•AFP

Taijul Islam led Bangladesh’s charge with a six-wicket haul, using his arm ball with plenty of success as the hosts beat West Indies by 64 runs in the first Test in Chattogram. Taijul’s performance went with Shakib Al Hasan taking the first two wickets – which also made him the first from his country to 200 Test wickets – and Mehidy Hasan Miraz also picking up two to round out a superb performance by the spinners.In July, the pace of the pitches in Antigua and Jamaica had spooked Bangladesh’s batsmen. On Saturday, Bangladesh’s spinners returned the favour to West Indies.Jomel Warrican and Sunil Ambris put up some staunch resistance with a 63-run ninth-wicket stand. It first prevented West Indies from being bowled out for less than 100 for the first time in an away Test since 2000, and later even raised visions of a come-from-behind win. However, the partnership ended when Mehidy got Warrican to top-edge a drive that was taken by Shakib, running back from midwicket.Taijul finished off the game with Ambris’ wicket, although the batsman was unlucky to be adjudged caught behind, with replays showing no spike on Ultra Edge when the ball went past his bat. Despite the iffy decision that ended Ambris’ innings on 43 after more than two hours at the crease, the result was just reward for a side that picked four spinners heading into this Test. Debutant Nayeem Hasan bagged five in the first innings, while Taijul finished with seven in the game. Shakib took five wickets while Mehidy had three, meaning all 20 wickets for Bangladesh were taken by the spinners.The visiting side was tottering at 11 for 4 at lunch, but began with much vigour in the second session. Shimron Hetmyer picked up from where he had left off in the first innings, going after the spinners. He launched into Shakib with two fours and a six, all of which were hit straight with two driven and one pulled, off consecutive balls in the first full over after lunch. However, Hetmyer’s approach came unstuck in the 11th over and he had to go back for 27 off 19, having holed out to long-off while trying to hit Mehidy beyond the rope.Shane Dowrich, who had made an unbeaten 63 in the first innings, was rushed on to his back foot by Taijul, and trapped plumb in front with the ball turning past his outside edge. Dowrich’s review was, predictably, struck down. The Taijul delivery that got Devendra Bishoo out first drifted away to tempt the drive before turning back sharply to bowl him through the gate.The left-arm spinner completed his seventh Test match five-for when Kemar Roach was lbw to one that pitched on middle and straightened just enough to hit pad instead of bat. Umpire Richard Illingworth had initially ruled it not out, but Bangladesh reviewed successfully.Before the lunch break, Bangladesh had dismissed four West Indies batsmen in just 5.5 overs. Shakib had Kieran Powell running down the pitch and missing a flighted delivery to be stumped for a duck. He then had Shai Hope caught behind, before Taijul removed Kraigg Brathwaite and Roston Chase within his first five deliveries. Brathwaite was trapped lbw when he played back to a flat arm-ball, and Chase made the same mistake, suffering the same fate. Chase reviewed too, but to no avail.The day began with West Indies taking the remaining five Bangladesh wickets for the addition of 70 runs, with Bishoo taking 4 for 26, his best bowling figures of the year. Chase finished with 3 for 18 as the home side was bowled out for 125.Mushfiqur Rahim was beaten by an inswinging delivery from outside the off stump from Shannon Gabriel. Mehidy fell after batting out more than nine overs with Mahmudullah, edging a fine Bishoo delivery to Dowrich. Mahmudullah marshalled the second half of the innings well during his 31, adding valuable runs and taking the lead past 200.

Australia’s pacemen have wasted no time plotting their first target of the Indian summer, after Nathan Coulter-Nile predicted a short-pitched barrage to be directed at the opener Rohit Sharma as a way of testing what the fast bowler called a “compulsive” tendency to play the hook and pull shots.Speaking in Brisbane ahead of the first T20I meeting between the two sides at the Gabba on Wednesday night, Coulter-Nile stated that he and his fellow Western Australian Jason Behrendorff would look to replicate the sort of new ball success they had against Rohit in India a year ago, where he was twice dismissed cheaply.This time around, Coulter-Nile added, the bounce on offer at the Gabba would add to the tricks in the Australians’ fast bowling locker, with the ground’s expansive square boundaries – relative to a far shorter straight hit – providing further impetus for the fast men to drop short against batsmen still adjusting to unfamiliar climes.”[Rohit] is an unbelievable player, he’s got a good record all round the world, so he’s definitely a player to watch but we’ve also had success with the new ball as well,” Coulter-Nile said in Brisbane. “I think Dorff got him out the last time we played him, hit him on the pad, so we’ll look to do that again early. Big square boundaries here, so we might test him a little bit, he’s a good puller of the ball but he is compulsive as well so we’ll try to get him out there.”I think everyone knows [Behrendorff] is a fantastic option up front. He’ll swing it here, beautiful conditions today, so hopefully the same sort of conditions and we can hold our chances, because he’ll certainly create a few.”Rohit Sharma mistimes a pull•Getty Images

For his part, Rohit said that adaptation to Australian conditions was key to the challenge of performing, as India recognise the significance of their opportunity to win a Test series down under for the very first time. Their closest efforts previously were drawn encounters in 1980-81 and 2003-04.”It’s either Perth or Brisbane. India has always played at Perth or Brisbane and this time around we’re at Perth,” Rohit said. “Those two conditions are obviously very challenging. Australia has bowlers who are very tall and extract those conditions, use them to their advantage. Indian batsman generally are not that tall. Obviously it’s not that easy for us but all the guys are quite determined to change things around this time.”Of course, their bowling attack will challenge us no matter the format. But as a batting unit we’re prepared to face that challenge. The reason we came down few days early here is to get used to the bounce. Brisbane has always challenged us, so as a batting unit we are ready to accept it. This time we want to change our fortunes and come out with some exceptional performances. It’s not going to be that easy, we understand that. But we have quality in our unit.”It’s the one place that we want to leave our mark and do well. The last time we played a Test series here, although we lost two games and drew one, I thought there were a few close games being played. We want to make it count this time around. There’s a real good feeling inside the group in all three formats – the motivation of the team is to just try and seize all the moments and win tournaments. When you do well in places like Australia you feel good as a team.”Reflecting on the possibility of verbal provocation from India, given Australia’s relatively recent commitment to play the game with far less of an abrasive edge, Coulter-Nile pointed out that the shortest format did not necessarily grant as much time for players to get steamed up, either by circumstances or in an effort to motivate themselves.”I’ve never been sledged by them. T20 its a little bit hard to sledge, you don’t have that time in the field to really get angry, so I don’t think you’ll see too much of it during the T20s,” he said. “I don’t talk to any of the batters personally, in T20s I don’t think people have too much to say. If they get an opportunity I don’t think that’ll happen, it’ll just be talk with the ball, talk with the bat.”There has been plenty of criticism around Australian cricket of this summer’s schedule to date, particularly how much white-ball players have been required to jump from one format to another. But Coulter-Nile was happy to at least be playing a series of three matches against India, ahead of a Test series of four and then a further three ODIs in the new year.”I think we like a bit of continuity and so even if we don’t win the first game you can learn from your mistakes and try to build on that. If you do win you can try to hold it over them,” Coulter-Nile said. “But a one-off T20, especially a T20 game it can go either way. Three is a good number I think.”Confidence comes from wins so we’ve just got to find a way to win, scrap a win out, find a bit of luck. Once one happens, you get confidence and build it up. We’ve played these guys a lot so hopefully the confidence is there. We’ve all performed well against India and against their players, so hopefully guys can take that confidence into playing for Australia.”