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Liverpool have made contact with AS Monaco regarding the possible transfer of Aurelien Tchouameni, according to a report from 90min. 

The lowdown: Hot property

The 22-year-old midfielder has enjoyed a rapid rise to stardom in France having graduated from the FC Girondins Bordeaux academy before making the switch to Monaco in 2020.

Tchouameni has already made 128 senior outings in France and has recently become a regular for Didier Deschamps’ national side following a debut against Bosnia during World Cup qualification.

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Now, seemingly almost the finished article having honed his skills in Ligue 1, the powerful French youngster could be ready for the step in his promising career, with Paul Joyce of The Times confirming interest from Anfield last week.

The latest: Reds make contact

As per 90min, Liverpool and UEFA Champions League final opponents Real Madrid have both ‘spoken with Monaco’ regarding the eight-cap ace.

The report also claims that Chelsea are ‘keen to agree a deal’ but that move would be hard to foresee given their off-field issues at present.

That leaves the path clear for the European giants who will face off in Paris to battle it out for the midfielder who has been dubbed as an ‘octopus’ for his ability to dictate a game from a holding midfield role.

The verdict: Win this race

Not only will Jurgen Klopp be vying to beat Real to European glory, but also the capture of the £36million valued starlet who is regarded as one of the hottest talents on the continent.

So far this season, Tchouameni has scored three times and provided two assists in 46 appearances across all competitions, earning an impressive 7.27 Sofascore rating whilst making 2.8 interceptions, 2.5 tackles and winning a staggering 7.6 duels on average per game in the French top flight.

Those statistics are born out by the Frenchman’s very strong aerial and tackling ability (WhoScored), as well as a stylistic likeness to Real Madrid ace Casemiro and Anfield’s own Thiago, when using FBref’s player comparison tool.

With calibre and performances such as this despite his tender years, new Reds transfer chief Julian Ward would be instantly heralded should he deliver the Frenchman into Klopp’s squad following the remarkable signing of Luis Diaz in January.

In other news: Liverpool interested in Bundesliga sensation, find out more here.

Supporters from around the world have joined the local community in London to soak in the festivities

Peter Della Penna at Lord's29-Jul-20182:02

Playing at Lord’s always dreamlike for Nepal – Lamichhane

– The Everly BrothersNepal players and fans have not had the easiest journey to ODI status. Putting aside the arduous climb from World Cricket League (WCL) Division Five that began on home soil in 2010, the country’s cricket administration has been dogged by governance issues. Heading into WCL Division Two in February, they were under suspension, and the little preparation that was funded by the ICC took place in the UAE. It was unlike every other team who got to prepare in South Africa for the like-to-like conditions expected in Namibia.What followed was one of the most miraculous seven-day stretches in any ICC tournament: four wins, three coming off the last ball, via the last-wicket pair, or both in the case of their last-day round-robin stage triumph over Canada courtesy a 51-run partnership between No. 10 Karan KC and No. 11 Sandeep Lamichhane.A dramatic turn of events at the end of group play at the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe subsequently left the door ajar for a shot at ODI status. They squeezed through the opening, thanks to a win over Papua New Guinea and Netherlands’ victory over Nepal in the loser’s bracket semi-finals. So forgive Nepal’s players for thinking that they have arrived in London still in fantasyland for a T20 tri-series involving Netherlands and an MCC host side.”I think it’s been a dream,” said Nepal vice-captain Gyanendra Malla. “Coming from where we play and then coming to Lord’s, the home of cricket, everyone knows how important it is.”That trance-like euphoria is not reserved exclusively for the players, though. More than 5000 screaming Nepalese fans came to Lord’s on a Tuesday morning in 2016 to see their heroes make their debut at the hallowed venue. Considering that this return visit will be in the T20 format and on a Sunday afternoon, the crowd size may be double if not more, and the energy levels cranked up in commensurate fashion at St. John’s Wood.Deshna Bhattarai (center) and her husband Utsal Sigdel (second from right) made the trek from America to see Nepal at Lord’s•Peter Della Penna”It’s a dream come true to be here,” said Deshna Bhattarai, a 26-year old originally from Nepal but now working as a real-estate agent on the east coast of the United States. “I cannot express it in words.”Bhattarai and her husband, 28-year-old Utsal Sigdel, flew into London on Thursday from their home in Baltimore, Maryland. Like many Nepal fans, Sigdel traveled to the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh to support his countrymen.But how many Nepal fans can say they traveled to Bermuda in 2013 for ICC WCL Division Three, where Sigdel stormed the pitch at the National Stadium in Hamilton to furiously wave the Nepal flag after USA succumbed to Bermuda on the final day of round-robin play? Having been at Somerset Cricket Club hours earlier to see Nepal take just 14 overs to sprint past Italy’s 129, Sigdel hopped on to a taxi and traveled across the island, to Hamilton, to witness the result that allowed Nepal to overtake USA on net run rate for a spot in the World Cup Qualifier.Yet for all of Sigdel’s passion for the Red Sun and Moon, his Facebook profile pic is a typical selfie with his wife Bhattarai. This is where Bhattarai puts him to shame in her unyielding devotion to Nepal cricket. Her Facebook profile pic is a selfie with Nepal captain Paras Khadka. It makes perfect sense when you find out that she moonlights as an admin for the Nepali Cricket Fan Club on Facebook, the largest fan group on the site with more than 333,000 members. While Sigdel is busy having a friendly chat with this ESPNcricinfo correspondent about his globetrotting life following Nepal’s fortunes, his wife is busy with far more important work: doing a Facebook live-stream of Nepal’s training session on the Nursery Ground at Lord’s.”We married because of cricket,” Bhattarai says. “He loves cricket. I love cricket. We thought, ‘Let’s get married!'”They are not the only ones from out of town for this occasion. A friend from Charlotte, North Carolina, Sachin Parajuli, has also flown across the Atlantic for the historic occasion. A fellow fan-turned-friend, Santosh Gaihre, who they came across at the 2015 World T20 Qualifier in Ireland, has traveled from Portrush in the Emerald Isle to meet them. They’re all staying with a Nepalese Londoner named Binodbikash Simkhada, who will be doing a radio broadcast in Nepalese. It will streamed around the world to satisfy the ravenous Nepal faithful.”We are all cricket loonies,” says Simkhada, who casually mentions he is waiting for four more fans-cum-friends to arrive and sleep in his home tonight after a nine-hour drive from Aberdeen, Scotland. “It goes until one o’clock in the morning, we are talking about cricket.”Bhattarai and Sigdel have taken time off work not just for Lord’s but also for the rest of the following week as they travel onward to Amsterdam to take in Nepal’s maiden ODIs, against Netherlands. It leaves Sigdel just two more days of annual leave from work. But like the rabid Nepal fan that he himself is, he’s already got a plan mapped out for using them.”We are just waiting for the sixth of September,” Sigdel says of the final day of the Asia Cup Qualifier in Malaysia where Nepal will take on Hong Kong, Singapore, UAE, Malaysia and Oman for the right to advance to the main draw in the UAE. “If we qualify for the Asia Cup, we are going to Dubai to watch them play India and Pakistan.”Nepal fans are well known for their over-the-top commitment to their national side. What’s arguably more impressive, though, is their commitment to their fellow fans as demonstrated by Simkhada’s no-questions-asked offer to host virtual strangers whose shared bond is cheering on the national team. In a similar sense to Afghanistan, many fans show up without knowing anything about cricket because the team’s success is a cultural point of pride. According to Simkhada, several fan groups make charity a point of emphasis, which is why coach buses from towns like Reading, Farnborough, Kimberley and Aldershot have been paid in order to make it possible for elderly ex-Gurkha soldiers to be driven to Lord’s on Sunday morning.”The community here has rallied,” Simkhada says. “It’s not easy because a big chunk of the Nepali population is elderly population. The tickets are paid for by the community leaders. It’s a cultural event. We can wear the jersey and support the flag.”It’s a big thing for the community as well, this is the biggest sporting event held in the UK for any sport for Nepalese people. Last time it was MCC, people came to see Lord’s rather than the game. But this time, people will come to see the match because it’s a T20 international.”Last year, Lord’s stewards were helpless as Afghanistan fans broke decorum by waving their national flag with unbridled delight during the country’s Lord’s debut against the MCC. Considering how the MCC relaxed dress-code standards earlier this week in light of a British heat wave, few will be surprised if stewards look the other way once more so Nepal’s fanatics can show what dreaming day and night about the Red Sun and Moon is all about.

28-Aug-2016JP Duminy added 21 to his overnight score of 67, before bottom-edging a short ball to the wicketkeeper•AFPNeil Wagner bounced No. 6 Temba Bavuma out for 8. He was the first South Africa batsman to be dismissed without a fifty to his name•AFPBut Faf du Plessis held firm as South Africa added 75 runs in the morning session and went to lunch at 358 for 5•AFPStiaan van Zyl partnered du Plessis for an 84-run sixth-wicket stand that pushed the total past 400•Associated PressDu Plessis, who had been dropped in the last series, pushed on to his fifth Test century•AFPNeil Wagner was the star for New Zealand with 5 for 86 in 39 overs. But South Africa had taken control of the Test with Du Plessis’ unbeaten 112. South Africa declared at 481 for 8.•Associated PressSouth Africa’s bowlers then made early inroads to have New Zealand on the mat at 38 for 3 at stumps, trailing by 443 runs•AFP

His blazing fifty put the seal on a dominating performance, but David Warner had already made his mark on the game with some inspired bits of captaincy

Alagappan Muthu in Bangalore13-Apr-20150:54

‘The boys delivered well’ – Warner

David Warner’s 57 off 27 today was his quickest half-century in the IPL. Yet, the more telling impact he had in orchestrating Sunrisers Hyderabad’s victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore was as captain. It was only his fifth match in charge of a team, more so a team whose resources are alien to the ones he’s used to in the Australian one-day side. Tasked with a medley of 120-kph seamers and Trent Boult to ensure one of the most explosive batting line-ups was limited to a total Sunrisers’ own of much lesser wattage could run down, he trusted his T20 instincts. Often, it seemed like he asked himself the kind of balls he would hate to face and the kind of field he would hate to be up against and just went forward.The gamble
Giving Ashish Reddy the ball in the 16th over looked like a fool’s gambit. A medium-pacer who has bowled 767 deliveries in T20 cricket to trundle in to AB de Villiers and Darren Sammy at the death. Deep end, check. Deep end populated by two ravenous sharks, double check.The expected results came to pass – de Villiers stole a couple of twos, so eager was he to retain strike, and swept the third ball beyond the fine-leg boundary. Ten runs found with minimal risk and three balls still left. Warner didn’t mind. All through the day, he has had a plan, and he has been faithful to it. His bowlers responded with panache.Reddy pulled his length back and got de Villiers away from the strike. Last ball of the over. Big, powerful Sammy on strike. Reddy ambled in again, nailed the yorker and trumped Sammy. Cue the aeroplane celebration, which seemed fitting considering the manner of the wicket, and then that old yell of “Come on!” from Warner. Those two words had rankled the Indian team in Australia, but Sunrisers Hyderabad were only too eager to rally around the war cry from their captain.The big gun gunned down
Warner experimented with his dibbly-dobbly seamers for one reason – to have a Trent Boult-sized ace up his sleeve when de Villiers decided to unleash.Sean Abbott had helped himself to 13 runs off Praveen Kumar in the 18th over and even ensured that de Villiers would be on strike for the next. Boult’s first ball was a tad too full and was express delivered to the boundary. It was a rare moment when a batsman beat Warner’s field – long-on and deep midwicket dove one after the other but the shot bisected them.Warner held his men in check – long-on, deep midwicket, deep square leg – to protect the bowler from slogs and the failsafe – deep point. Boult bowled to the failsafe by shortening his length a touch and pushing the ball wider. De Villiers swung for the fences and skewed the ball to Shikhar Dhawan running in from the off-side boundary.David Warner’s faith with Ashish Reddy was rewarded with the big scalp of Darren Sammy•BCCIThe fishing trip
Virat Kohli had been vibrant in the Powerplay, but with the field spread and without the comfort of his pal Chris Gayle at the other end, his innings began to fade so much that one young fan cried out, “Kohli, you’re boring me.”He was soon bowled for 41 off 37 while trying to manufacture a boundary. Reward for tight, disciplined bowling from another trundler, if perhaps a more household one, in Ravi Bopara.Mandeep Singh strode into the M Chinnaswamy stadium, which was far more interested in the man who greeted him – de Villiers. At 93 for 3 in the 12th over, Royal Challengers needed one end secure so that de Villiers could mimic a revolving door at the other and swat balls to the leg-side boundary.Warner understood that perfectly. In fact, it is easy to imagine him giving the same advice to his new partner if he were batting in that situation. So having read the play, he kept only one man inside the circle on the leg side and Bopara acquiesced with a legcutter.Mandeep’s closed face came down on the ball. It came down too early. The ball looped towards short cover. Warner was the man. He darted to his right. It was still too far from his reach. Time to dive. Then his right hand shot out. The Bangalore crowd held their breath and craned their necks. Warner greeted them, ball in hand and broad smile intact.The quick finish
The front-line batsmen were undone by sticking to a simple game plan. So why change against the tail?Bhuvneshwar Kumar had indulged in a slower ball to Varun Aaron and was smoked over long-off. Warner abandoned his post at extra cover to have a short chat with his bowler, and then occupied long-off just in case there was another biff. The best fielder posted down the ground meant one thing, but Aaron did not see it coming. A perfect yorker. The stumps in disarray again. Straightforward.Harshal Patel copped the other length lower-order batsmen despise. The leg-side boundary was well manned, but mid-off was asked to come up and third man was sent back to control the outside edge. Captaincy 101. Boult banged one into the middle of the pitch. Bowling to tailenders 101. It was too quick for Harshal, whose pull came off the splice and was held at midwicket.Muting the crowds
“Nope. Maybe on the field a little bit.” That was Warner’s reply when asked if marriage and fatherhood would affect his batting style at the start of the IPL. Today, he offered 57 hard-hit additions and no one dared argue. Not even the normally robust Chinnaswamy crowd. The DJ’s attempts to wake those famous “R-C-B, R-C-B, R-C-B” chants were almost ignored. The people were pouting, like children after their favourite cartoon was cancelled.Warner banished the first ball of the chase – a full toss – to the cover boundary, pummeled two fours and a six in the second over and walloped Aaron, the fastest bowler of the match, for a hat-trick of boundaries. Sunrisers’ required rate was only 8.35, he was going at a strike-rate over 200. He had not just bested Royal Challengers, he had found the mute button to one of the most unfailingly raucous crowds in India.

Stats highlights from an incredible one-day international in Bangalore

S Rajesh02-Nov-2013 Rohit Sharma’s 209, off 158 balls with 12 fours and 16 sixes, is the slowest of the three double-centuries in one-day internationals. Virender Sehwag’s 219 came off 149 balls (strike rate 146.97), while Sachin Tendulkar’s unbeaten 200 was off 147 (136.05). Rohit’s strike rate was 132.27. There were 16 sixes in Rohit’s innings, which is the most by a batsman in an ODI innings. The previous record was 15 by Shane Watson during his unbeaten 185 against Bangladesh in Mirpur. Sixteen is also six more than the combined sixes that Sehwag and Tendulkar struck in their double-hundreds: Sehwag struck seven sixes in his 219, and Tendulkar just three in his unbeaten 200. Rohit’s first 50 took him all of 71 balls. During that period, he played out 39 dot balls, took 24 singles, hit three fours and one six. In complete contrast, his last 59 came from a mere 18 balls: it included seven sixes and three fours, and he played out only four dot balls. Rohit brought up his 150 with only 27 balls left in the innings; at that point, it would’ve been unthinkable to imagine that he’d get a double. Yet, he faced two-thirds of the remaining balls from that stage (MS Dhoni scored 32 from 9 balls), and ended up on 209.

RunsBallsDots1s/2s/3s4s6sFirst 50713924/4/031Second 50432213/2/015Third 502697/2/053151 onwards1843/1/037Total (209)1587447/9/01216 Among those who bowled more than five balls to Rohit, the only bowler who ended with respectable stats was Watson: he conceded only three runs off ten balls, though he bowled during a stage when Rohit hadn’t cut loose. Overall, Rohit scored at 6.90 runs per over against Australia’s seamers, but he was unstoppable against spin, scoring 79 off 45 balls, a rate of 10.53 to the over.

BowlerBallsRunsRun rateDots4s/ 6sXavier Doherty345710.05112/ 5Clint McKay284810.28112/ 5James Faulkner42466.57234/ 2Nathan Coulter-Nile28326.85144/ 1Glenn Maxwell112212.0040/ 3Shane Watson1031.8070/ 0Aaron Finch511.2040/ 0 Rohit’s series tally of 491 is the highest by a batsman in a bilateral series. The next-best has also happened in this series: George Bailey’s 478. The 167-run partnership between Rohit and MS Dhoni came at a run rate of 10.65 runs per over, the third-highest among all 150-plus partnerships in ODIs. The second-highest came in this series as well, when Rohit and Virat Kohli added 186 at a run rate of 10.73 in Jaipur. India’s total of 383 is the 63rd instance of a team scoring 350 or more in an ODI, of which India have contributed 19. Three of those have been in this series itself – before this innings they had also scored 362 for 1 in Jaipur, and 351 for 4 in Nagpur. The next-highest number of such scores is 13, by South Africa, while Australia have 11. Nineteen of the 63 such scores have also happened in ODIs in India, which is again easily the highest; the next-best is 12 in South Africa, and then six in the West Indies. In the last six overs, India scored 115 runs, with the following over-wise break-up: 15, 16, 26, 20, 17, 21. It’s the most runs scored in the last six overs of an ODI between two Test-playing sides in the last ten years. The only two instances of more runs were when New Zealand scored 122 against USA at The Oval in the 2004 Champions Trophy, and South Africa scoring 118 against Netherlands at Amstelveen in May 2013. India struck 19 sixes in their innings, the highest by any team. There had been four previous instances of 18. The total number of sixes in the match, 38, is also a record. Australia looked out of the match when they were 211 for 8, but the 115-run ninth wicket stand between James Faulkner and Clint McKay was an incredible fightback. That’s the highest ninth-wicket stand for Australia in ODIs, and the fourth-best among all teams. The match aggregate of 709 is the fifth-highest in an ODI. Of the six instances when more than 700 have been scored in a match, three happened in this series. There were nine scores of 300 or more in this series, easily the highest number in a bilateral series. The five 350-plus scores is also a record in a bilateral series – the previous-best was two. Glenn Maxwell’s half-century came off just 18 balls, the second-fastest in ODI history and the joint-quickest by an Australian. It equalled Simon O’Donnell’s effort against Sri Lanka in Sharjah in 1990. Faulkner’s 116 is the third-highest score by a No. 7 batsman in ODIs, and the best for an Australian. Only MS Dhoni and Shaun Pollock have scored more at that position, and both those scores were made within a span of five days, in the Afro-Asia Cup in 2007. Clint McKay went for 89 in his ten overs, the second-highest number of runs conceded by an Australian bowler: Mick Lewis had disappeared for 113 in Johannesburg ODI in 2006. Nathan Coulter-Nile’s 80 runs is in joint tenth place. Vinay Kumar went for 102 in his nine overs, which is only the fifth instance of a bowler conceding more more than 100 in an ODI. The previous-highest by an Indian was 88, by Zaheer Khan against Sri Lanka in Rajkot in 2009.

In a clash of two powerful bowling teams at a spin-friendly venue, the outcome of the toss could have a bearing on the result

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan03-Oct-2012In a tournament where no team has managed to stay unbeaten, the first semi-final will be contested between two of the most consistent teams in the history of the World Twenty20. Pakistan, who qualified for the semi-finals on the basis of a better net run rate than India, have defied the unpredictable nature of the format by making the last four in each of the four tournaments. Only Michael Hussey’s remarkable 60 ended their hopes of making a third consecutive final in the 2010 World Twenty20. Sri Lanka, who went through the Super Eights undefeated, are the only team to come close to matching Pakistan’s consistency. After a poor run in the first World Twenty20 in 2007, they made the final in 2009 and lost out to England in the semi-final in 2010. On a pitch that is increasingly aiding spin bowlers, the clash between the two sides could be decided by the performance of the slow bowlers.Not only have Pakistan been the most successful team in Twenty20 internationals, they have also had the better of Sri Lanka in the head-to-head clashes. In three matches between the two teams in the World Twenty20, Pakistan have won two including the 2009 final at Lord’s. The dominance has also extended to matches played in neutral venues (4-2) and in Sri Lanka (2-1). Pakistan have been comfortably ahead of Sri Lanka in terms of both the average difference (difference between batting and bowling averages) and run-rate difference (difference between batting run-rate and bowling economy rate). The team batting first has dominated the clashes in Sri Lanka. While the teams have won one game apiece in Hambantota, Pakistan won the only meeting at the Premadasa stadium by 52 runs.

Pakistan have been the best bowling side by far in the tournament. They came through a difficult group in the Super Eights that included India, Australia and South Africa. Against South Africa and Australia, they produced excellent bowling performances, restricting the opposition teams to 133 and 117 respectively. Saeed Ajmal, the highest wicket-taker in Twenty20 internationals, has been in outstanding form picking up eight wickets at an economy rate of just 6.50. Ajantha Mendis has picked up more wickets (9) but six of his wickets came in Sri Lanka’s opening game against Zimbabwe. Against the top teams, Mendis has struggled, picking up only three wickets at an average of 33.33 and economy rate of 8.33. Raza Hasan, who has the lowest boundary-run percentage (37.5%), has been a revelation for Pakistan in the tournament so far. In 11 overs, he has given away just 48 runs (economy rate of 4.36) and picked up three wickets. Pakistan’s captain Mohammad Hafeez too has been among the wickets (four wickets) and conceded less than a run a ball. Shahid Afridi has decent numbers overall but has a high economy rate (7.68) and average (61.50) against top teams.

In the first six-over period of the innings (Powerplay overs), Sri Lanka are well ahead of Pakistan on the batting front. With both Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene in good form, Sri Lanka have maintained an excellent scoring rate (8.60) without losing too many wickets. Pakistan, on the other hand, have been inconsistent at the start in most matches. In their three matches in the Super Eights, Pakistan scored 110 runs in the 18 overs (run-rate 6.11) losing seven wickets. Sri Lanka, who topped their group, were superb in the Powerplay overs in the Super Eights scoring 167 runs in 18 overs (run-rate 9.27) losing just two wickets. Both teams have fairly similar stats in the first six overs on the bowling front though, with Pakistan boasting a slightly better economy rate (6.43).Sri Lanka’s batting order has generally been top heavy and as a result, the average and scoring rate in the middle of the innings have been low. In the same period (overs 7-14), Pakistan have the better average (33.22) and scoring rate (7.47). In the middle overs, Sri Lanka have been slightly more expensive but have picked up more wickets (10). In the last six-over period, there is very little to choose between the two teams on the bowling front. However, Sri Lanka have a much better batting average (25.87) and scoring rate (10.70) in the final six overs.

Jayawardene notched up his sixth fifty-plus score in the World Twenty20 during Sri Lanka’s nine-wicket win against West Indies. Dilshan, one of only five batsmen to score a century in Twenty20 internationals, has also been in fine form in the tournament scoring 144 runs in five innings. In contrast, Pakistan’s openers have failed to get going with Imran Nazir in particular falling to rash shots in the Super Eights stage. Nasir Jamshed, who has two fifty-plus scores in the tournament, has boosted Pakistan’s numbers in the middle order. Pakistan’s middle-order batsmen also have a higher boundary percentage (52.77) as compared to their Sri Lankan counterparts. The Sri Lankan lower middle-order (positions 5-7) batsmen have hardly had much to do so far in the tournament losing only five wickets in the six matches. For Pakistan, Umar Akmal has been the stand-out batsman in the lower middle-order. Akmal, who remained unbeaten in Pakistan’s successful chase against South Africa, has scored 96 runs (average 48.00) while being dismissed only twice.

The Premadasa stadium, once a venue that regularly favoured the side batting first, has provided no particular advantage in this tournament. In 12 matches, six have been won by the team chasing and five by the team batting first. The story with the toss is a completely different one though; the team winning the toss has won one and lost ten matches. The overall average and run-rate are higher in the first innings (24.21 and 7.60 respectively) as compared to the corresponding stats in the second innings (20.96 and 7.26). Pace bowlers have dominated the wickets tally in the first innings picking up 49 wickets at 7.78. Spinners, however, have had a much better economy rate (6.84) in the first innings. In the second innings, spinners have outperformed the pace bowlers on the wickets front too picking up 34 wickets at 6.57 while the fast bowlers have managed 26 wickets at a much higher economy rate of 7.80.

By picking up his first five-wicket haul against Australia, James Anderson has the opportunity to erase his awkward past and stride forward with confidence

Andrew Miller at Edgbaston31-Jul-2009Match by match, session by session, James Anderson is shedding his diffidence and emerging as a serious contender. His shaky start in Cardiff is rapidly fading from memory, and instead keynote contributions in the first innings of consecutive Tests – 4 for 55 at Lord’s, and now 5 for 80 at Edgbaston – have launched him to the top of the series wicket-taking charts, and confirmed the suspicion that he could yet be the man who separates the sides in the final analysis.At Lord’s, Anderson’s first-innings haul was arguably the decisive contribution of the match, more so even than Andrew Flintoff’s stable-door slamming on the final morning, dramatic and emphatic though that effort proved to be. The most remarkable aspect of that match, after all, was not that Australia floundered in pursuit of 522, but that they were so comprehensively outplayed in the first half of the game. The match was won and lost on the second day when they slumped to 156 for 8, having posted a massive 674 for 6 only six days earlier in Cardiff.And the secret of England’s success on both occasions (and the reason for their failure at Cardiff) was lateral movement, or lack thereof. “I think we bowled consistently well with a swinging ball today, and if the ball is swinging and you bowl well, most teams in the world are going to have to bat very well to cope with it,” Anderson said. “I know exactly what I want to do with the ball, and though it doesn’t always go where you want, I’m fairly confident, especially when it’s swinging like today, which way it’s going to go and what I’m trying to do with it, and that’s coming off at the moment.”On Thursday evening, in a brief but ill-directed first foray, England failed to locate a length to trouble Australia’s batsmen, and gifted them a flying start of 126 for 1. Today, the team took their cue from the exemplary Graham Onions, whose two wickets in two balls set the agenda superbly, leaving Anderson to show how irresistible his assets can be when everything clicks. Like the girl with the curl from the nursery rhyme, who veered from very, very good to horrid in the space of two verses, Anderson’s mood swings are unpredictable as his inswing. But he’s maturing with every match, and by claiming his first five-wicket haul against Australia, he confirmed in his own mind just how far his development has progressed.”They are No. 1 in the world,” Anderson said, “so to perform against the best team in the world is a good way to see where you’re at. I know I’ve been bowling well, and a good ball is going to get a good batsman out in any form of cricket, but consistency is a problem I’ve always had. We had that as a unit yesterday as well, but it’s something we corrected today, and getting wickets against this top team is making me think I’m a decent bowler.”If Anderson was being honest with himself, and he deserves to on current form, he has been a decent bowler for a long while now. Year Zero of his Test career deserved to be traced back to March 13, 2008, when – having been familiarly overlooked for the opening match of England’s tour of New Zealand – he was recalled for the second Test in Wellington in one of the team’s most momentous selectorial heists of recent times. The stalwarts, Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard, were jettisoned after a limp display in a humiliating defeat, and Anderson’s response was a first-innings haul of 5 for 73 that looked, at times, unplayable.Admittedly, breaching the defences of Matthew Bell and Mathew Sinclair is not the most taxing prospect for a swing bowler of his calibre, but nevertheless, Anderson’s pre- and post-Wellington statistics confirm the impression that he is finally finding comfort in his own skin. Anderson has played 20 Tests in the 16 months since that recall, which is exactly the same number that he had previously been permitted in the five years since his debut in 2003. His Test figures going into Wellington were an indifferent 62 wickets at 39.20; since then, he’s managed 77 at 29.10, including four of his seven five-wicket hauls.The latest is undoubtedly the most prized. It famously took Graham Gooch a full decade to register his first Ashes century, at The Oval in 1985, having bagged a pair right here at Edgbaston ten years earlier, and with the odd hiatus, he didn’t fare too badly thereafter. Likewise, by picking up his first five-wicket haul against the Old Enemy, six-and-a-half years after his first involvement in Anglo-Australian cricket, Anderson has the opportunity to erase his awkward past and stride forward with confidence into the prime of his athletic lifespan.Nevertheless, even when you’re bending the ball as prodigiously as Anderson managed today, it doesn’t hurt to be reminded to keep things straight and simple. In that respect, Andrew Strauss’s decision to hand the opening over of the day to Onions was not merely a masterstroke in hindsight. Though Anderson’s stunning mid-innings spell of 4 for 4 in 14 balls derailed Australia to dramatic effect, he had already waited a full 15 overs to make that first breakthrough, as he swung the ball first this way, then that, but forgot to concentrate on hitting the right line and length.Onions, on the other hand, bustled in from close to the stumps, pitched it full and let his length ask the questions that had been left hanging in the air the previous evening. “It was a good decision,” said Anderson, who denied he was put out by the perceived snub. “Graham likes to bowl long spells, it’s what he does for Durham because it gets him into a good rhythm, and giving him the first over gave him a good chance to do that. The big thing this morning was setting the tone, and that first over was very special.”In 2005, England’s ability to dominate Australia stemmed once again from the lateral movement they extracted from the conditions, but on that occasion, reverse swing was all the rage. This time, Anderson confirmed, it was nothing but conventional swing on offer, but it was every bit as effective. “I think the amount of rain we’ve had has probably taken reverse swing out of the equation, certainly for this game,” he said. “The fact that we’ve got a dampish outfield is going to keep the ball quite damp and moist, and make it swing more.”By the close, England had capitalised on the efforts of their seamers, with Andrew Strauss leading once again from the front, and only rain seems likely to deny them a chance to push on. “Obviously we’re in a very good position, but we’ve got to kick on with the bat, and bat really well,” said Anderson. “With three days left, we’ve got to look to bat for a good part of two of those. If we can bat well and bat once, we’ve got a great chance in this match.”

He cranked up the speed gun to as much as 155.8kph on IPL debut and took home the player of the match award

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Mar-20242:23

Rapidfire Review: The impact of Pooran the captain

It was a debut to remember for Mayank Yadav who cranked up the pace and tore through the Punjab Kings batting unit, to help Lucknow Super Giants record their first win of the season.Mayank picked up 3 for 27 in his four overs, and the Player-of-the-Match award, but it was his pace that had everyone stand up and take notice. He clocked 147kph on the speed gun with his first ball, and jacked it up to 155.8kph in his second over, the fastest ball in the IPL 2024, so far.Having dealt with some injury issues over the last year, the Delhi lad couldn’t have hoped for a better start to his IPL journey. “I didn’t really think it [my debut] would go that well. I have heard from the others that there can be nervousness on debut. But after the first ball, all my nervousness went away,” Mayank said at the post-match presentation. “Everyone said to not take too much pressure, just bowl on the stumps, and use the pace. That’s what I did.”