For any wannabe Wenger’s, Mourinho’s or Ferguson’s, Football Manager has been the place to cut their teeth. Over the years millions have sat in front of the computer screens, deciding on their matchday tactics and delving into the transfer market to make their team unbeatable.
Like the managerial greats, we have all made a few bad signings but we have also unearthed a number of gems. Whether we have been fortunate enough to bring them to our club or have seen somebody snatch them from under our noses, their importance has not been missed.
Here are those players that we love, together in a Football Manager XI that would bring guaranteed success in this free-flowing 4-3-3 formation.
Click on Febian Brandy to unveil the Football Manager XI
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If Southampton weren’t struggling enough, some tension within the team has not risen to the surface.
The coastal club are in serious danger of dropping into the Championship as they sit four points from safety with four Premier League games left to play.
This weekend, the Saints have a crucial fixture against Bournemouth at St Mary’s, and there is one man who will definitely not be involved.
Sofiane Boufal has been ordered to stay with the Under-23 squad after having a bust-up on the training ground.
Manager Mark Hughes, who was appointed as Mauricio Pellegrino’s successor in March, has not played the Morocco international since March 31.
While speaking to reporters in a press conference, the Southampton coach revealed that Boufal has “acknowledged” his mistake and will need to rebuild “trust” with his teammates before being reintegrated back into the team.
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Supporters have been giving their verdicts on the situation via Reddit.
Comment from discussion Hughes confirms Sofiane Boufal training with Southampton U23s after bust-up.Comment from discussion Hughes confirms Sofiane Boufal training with Southampton U23s after bust-up.Comment from discussion Hughes confirms Sofiane Boufal training with Southampton U23s after bust-up.Comment from discussion Hughes confirms Sofiane Boufal training with Southampton U23s after bust-up.Comment from discussion Hughes confirms Sofiane Boufal training with Southampton U23s after bust-up.Comment from discussion Hughes confirms Sofiane Boufal training with Southampton U23s after bust-up.Comment from discussion Hughes confirms Sofiane Boufal training with Southampton U23s after bust-up.
Precisely one year and three days ago, Ashley Young’s Manchester United career looked dead in the water, watching helplessly from the bench as a 1-1 draw with Southampton affirmed the Red Devils’ worst campaign of Premier League era.
A third season of little accomplishment for the winger since his £18million move from Aston Villa in summer 2011, few expected him to survive Louis van Gaal’s inaugural cull, which included Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Tom Cleverley, Nani, Shinji Kagawa, Danny Welbeck and Wilfried Zaha amongst its more notable victims.
But fast forward twelve months (and three days) and the 29 year-old is enjoying arguably the most productive form of his Old Trafford career, bagging two goals, four assists and three Man of the Match awards in 21 Premier League starts – despite often featuring as United’s emergency left wing-back – including a scintillating display in April’s Manchester derby.
So with June’s international fixtures looming and habitual absences of crocked regulars widely expected following another tough Premier League campaign, the question must be asked; does Ashley Young deserve his first England call up since 2013?
The England national team is now very much a young man’s game. Roy Hodgson’s last squad, facing Lithuania and Italy in March, featured just two players aged 30 or over, only two with 50 caps or more and 14 under the age of 25. The Three Lions gaffer is picking his squads with Russia 2018 in mind, attempting to mesh together a new crop after the underwhelming decline of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard’s ‘golden generation’.
Young doesn’t particularly fit that image, despite his well-fitting surname. By the World Cup in Russia he’ll be 34 and although he’s played well this season, even Euro 2016 could be a bit of a push. After all, Manchester United have already completed the signing of Eredivisie prodigy Memphis Depay, albeit a winger-forward who tends to prefer the opposite flank, and rumours linking them with a summer bid for Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale have been relentless over the last few months. There may simply be no room for the former Watford man in United’s starting Xi by the time 2015/16 comes around – so why bring an ageing winger back into the England fold who could be lost to the realms of cameo by October or November?
But has there been a home-grown winger in better form than Young over the last few months? Raheem Sterling’s superlative displays of 2014 have tailed off since he became enthralled in an apparently self-imposed contract scandal, Danny Welbeck has scored less goals and made less appearances than his ultimate campaign at Manchester United since joining Arsenal last summer, and team-mate Theo Walcott has managed just half an hour of competitive football since England’s friendly against Italy in March.
Liverpool’s Adam Lallana continues to struggle under the weight of his ridiculous £25million price-tag, whilst James Milner, for all his fantastic qualities, has never been the most dynamic of wide-men. And then there’s Andros Townsend – an apparent law to himself, who features more regularly for the Three Lions than he does Tottenham Hotspur.
Of course, the England national team should never become a by proxy Premier League form guide. There are clearly some footballers made out for international football, and some who unfortunately are not. Likewise, Hodgson has his favourites, those who he sees as long-term fixtures in England’s plans – Welbeck and Sterling being firmly amongst them.
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But in my opinion, Young’s recent displays deserve some recognition, whilst his pedigree at international level is already proven. Seven goals in 30 appearances for the Three Lions is actually a better goals-to-game ratio than any of the aforementioned names, with the exclusion of Welbeck and three-in-seven supersub Townsend. Similarly, he’d offer experience to a squad firmly lacking it, and has spent the last four years playing alongside the first name on the England team-sheet – captain Wayne Rooney.
Perhaps most importantly of all, however, is Young’s more traditional style. Whilst Sterling and Welbeck are of the modern winger-forward mould, he’s a touch-line hugger, a relentless crosser, who uses his pace and skill to add width to the team. One could argue that to be a testament to how he belongs to a different age – but in terms of the squad itself, it’s currently an option Hodgson doesn’t have.
Whether that’s enough to convince the England boss remains to be seen. Since the failure of the 2014 World Cup, the prevailing mantra has been to look forward rather than backwards in the hope of better times ahead. Yet amid an era where the Three Lions are no longer privy to a plethora of talent in every position, in my opinion, any English footballer to prove themselves at the top end of the Premier League is worth Hodgson’s gamble. And upon the end of a real comeback campaign, there’s no question Young will enter June’s fixtures with his confidence at an all time high.
“We’ve always won games when we had too”, those were the words that rattled round by head as I got out the car and took a stroll, the regular two-week stroll to the Molineux. Saunders had a point you know, when we had to win at Millwall, we did, when we had to get something at Watford we did, and when we had to beat Bristol City, we did.
It was beginning to look extremely perilous for the boys in gold, with 5 games to go, the team had amassed 48 points and needed to win in order to push them selves up out of this septic precipice that was Championship relegation. Mind you, a win would only lift Wolves to 18th, which still would not guarantee them safety, in fact every team from about 11th could still be dragged into what is turning into an insanely unpredictable relegation battle.
The hulking figures of Matt Murray and George Elokobi on the touch line, pre kick off, had fans in good spirits before what was certainly going to be a season defining game. An unfortunate broken leg in the game against Birmingham ruled out our 15-goal striker, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake. It forced Dean Saunders to slot in what was, on the face of it, quite a surprising addition in the face of Stephen Ward, a man who, to many Wolves fans, seemed extradited along with Berra and Foley. He fitted in at left midfield behind the ever present and astonishingly consistent Jack Robinson, an odd move, considering Peszko, Hammill and Dicko were available to play. So with the calm head, and rather perfect hair, of Dorus De Vries in goal, the back four was Doherty, Gorkss and Johnson in the middle, who seem to be Saunders’ preferred partnership, and the aforementioned Jack Robinson at left back. The under pressure Jamie O’Hara was paired alongside Karl Henry in the midfield, with two Stephens on the wing in Ward and Hunt. Gorgeous Bjorn and Kevin Doyle were the preferred pair up top for Dean Saunders’ team
Two changes from the last minute draw at home to Peterborough saw Steven Gerrard’s younger cousin, Anthony, come in for Murray Wallace, along with Adam Clayton, who displaced the Scot, Scott Arfield. Huddersfield lined up with a diamond in the midfield, Oliver Norwood, Oscar Gobern, Adam Clayton and Neil Danns were the four cogs in Mark Robins’ midfield. James Vaughan and the influential Sean Scannell made up the front two. The back four consisted of the young, up and coming Alex Smithies between the sticks with Gerrard and Clarke at the back, Paul Dixon and Callum Woods occupied the full back positions.
Fear, nervousness, anxiousness, jitters, call them what you wish, they were all allayed inside 4 minutes when Sigurdarson drove forward through the heart of the Huddersfield midfield, passing the clambering Oliver Norwood to slide an inch perfect pass to Kevin Doyle out onto the left hand side, who took a few touches and whipped a venomous, accurate cross to the overlapping Stephen Ward, who slotted home from 8 yards out, needless to say, Molineux erupted at the sight of this somewhat questionable introduction giving Wolves a deserved lead.
Now, if you are reading this and you are not a regular visitor to the Molineux, then you won’t understand why, at 1-0. The aforementioned jitters seem to seep there way back in through the very bricks of the golden bowl. At the start of play, Wolves dropped 19 points from winning positions at home this season. 19 points that would see them comfortably in the top 6 with 67 points, it is astonishing really. So as Huddersfield picked the ball out their own net, the celebrations were there, they were. But you couldn’t help but feel that there was a tinge of nervousness just brushing the crowd as the ball was placed on the centre spot once more.
We had 86 minutes to try to either defend a one goal lead or continue with our vicious, attack dog like intent and go and get number 2, 3 or, dare we even say it, number 4. Things were looking even better, when it took 20 minutes for The Terriers to create their first real opportunity, when Oliver Norwood floated a high ball in from 30 yards out to James Vaughan who busted the proverbial gut in order to get a toe to it. He did, but it was just a toe and the chance went just wide after some good containing from the chasing Roger Johnson.
Wolves’ opportunities on goal increased when Sigurdarson burst down the right hand side, cut in, Arjen Robben-esque and beat two of the Huddersfield defenders to slide a ball to an open Karl Henry, who fluffed the shot completely. The missed opportunities were piling up for the home side, as we continued to push on. After another 25 yard strike from Kevin Doyle went sailing over Alex Smithies goal. On about the half hour mark Huddersfield found themselves on the right hand side with Sean Scannell he brushed past a committed Matt Doherty who ran in, head first, under the sheer awe of Scannell’s spell-binding step-overs. With Doherty on his arse, Scannell continued forward, parallel to the goal line, the defence, expecting a cross, kept their line and waited for the ball in. The opposite happened, Scannell dropped his shoulder and slotted the ball into the bottom left hand corner from an impossibly acute angle. 30 minutes gone, the score was, predictably, 1-1, see what I mean about those ‘one goal up’ nerves, the worry always comes to fruition.
The pressure from The Terriers increased as Wolves’ shell was well and truly shocked, the impressive Adam Clayton jinked his way through a scrambling Gorkss and a desperate Johnson, it took the goal keeper, Dorus De Vries, probably the only player in the back 5 to be comfortable on the ball to stamp his authority and go right through Clayton and clear the ball away, dispelling some of the tension, for now. In fairness, the pressure from Huddersfield dispelled until Keith Stroud blew his whistle.
As the half time pies, tea and beer were being purchased the usual moans and groans rang around the ground, “Why did we not capitalise on that early goal?”, “Why did we let Huddersfield back into the game?” and “We really are our own worst enemy”.
The second half was under way and Wolves found that hunger and intent that rewarded them with a first half goal. Hunt’s ball in was punched away by a confident Alex Smithies. Bjorn Sigurdarson flick on to his partner Kevin Doyle was seen as a good chance until Peter Clarke forced the ball out. And when Stephen Ward drove at the opposition defenders and played a reverse ball to an impressive Matt Doherty who lofted a good ball in and Kevin Doyle found him self facing away from the goal, he chested it down and set up an oncoming Bjorn Sigurdarson who fired miles over. It seemed that all these wasted chances were piling up, sound familiar?
An hour had passed and Wolves were looking on top, chance after chance after chance had passed yet the score remained at 1-1. Both managers had kept their cards close to their chests, Mark Robins was the first to make a move, he brought on Keith Southern for the impressive Oscar Gobern, his second substitute was to be the game changer, Sean Scannell’s identical and less effective twin, Neil Danns, was brought off for the 29 year old journey man, Jermaine Beckford, the loanee striker from Leicester City.
To say he had an instant impact would be an understatement, once again it began by Sean Scannell running at our defenders, he had already by passed Sigurdarson and Matt Doherty was his next target, the young right back contained Scannell well and forced the ball out for a corner. The resulting corner was swung in, Gorkss and co were far too slow to react to the ball bouncing around the 6 yard box after De Vries had made an impressive point blank save from the head of James Vaughan. Unfortunately, Jermaine Beckford was there, sharp as a razor, to smash the ball into the roof of the net and subsequently dampen every single Wanderers fans sprit.
The defending was brittle and lazy, Beckford was quicker to react than any of our players. Things were about to get worse, O’Hara lost possession incredibly easily and for a third time, Sean Scannell was running at our back four, like a repetitive nightmare that Johnson and Gorkss could not awake from. Scannell saw the run of Beckford behind Johnson, who was completely unaware of the striker. The aforementioned forward received an inch perfect pass from Scannell, Beckford waited for Gorkss to go down and chipped a delicious ball over a flapping Dorus De Vries. Boos rang around Molineux as Beckford wheeled away to celebrate, the sense of disbelief in the ground was palpable. The anger was vitriolic towards everyone, 42 games’ of frustration that could ultimately lead in successive relegations for our beloved club was being aired. Can you blame them?
Wolves had only just picked the ball out the net and put it back on the centre spot when Jamie O’Hara did the foolish thing of raising his arms to an oncoming Keith Southern. Stroud had no choice but to go to his back pocket and dismiss O’Hara who was clearly angry and shaken by what happened. It was 5 seconds of madness, but it was 5 seconds that could define our season. “You’re not fit to wear the shirt” was the chant of choice as our combative midfielder trudged off for an early shower, like a child who had been told to go to his room.
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With 15 minutes to go, Wolves were two goals and a man down. Could it be done? Well no, it could not. Wolves, for the remaining 15 minutes, looked utterly deflated and devoid of any, sort of fight, desire or even Wolves fans favourite buzz word, passion. Huddersfield looked utterly content to let us have the ball. Without Blake, Wolves lacked a spearhead, we lacked our own Jermaine Beckford that was clear for all to see. The introduction of Hammill, Dicko and Doumbia in the space of 5 minutes did nothing to inject much needed zip and flair to the team.
Keith Stroud blew his whistle after a surprising addition of 6 minutes injury time. Wolves offered nothing of merit in the final 15 minutes, it was a limp and rather drab ending to the game. Glorious failure it was not. The jeers, boos and chants were louder than ever, for once they were directed towards the team and not to the men in the boardroom and rightly so. The 10 men of Wolves failed to take hold the initiative and press forward, they didn’t even try. That was the worst part about it.
Wolves’ lack of depth really was exposed, we have one goal scoring striker, just one. And he was sat at his home with his leg in a brace, McAlinden was on the bench but can he really be relied on to push Wolves away from the perilous, sometimes unreal, position we are in? There are 4 games to go, the visit of Hull on Tuesday night will be an extremely tough test, Steve Bruce has them playing some fantastic football, how much would Wolves fans swap Bruce for Saunders right now. He was so close to managing us but turned it down because he was offered Wolves’ remaining 13 Premier Leagues. Mind you, hindsight is a wonderful thing. Charlton are the team next to face Dean Saunders’ men at The Valley, winnable yes, but Chris Powell has got his men playing well and are in brilliant form, coming off the back of a staggering 6-0 win at Barnsley. The last home game is against Sean Dyche’s Burnley and then we travel to the south coast to promotion chasing Brighton on the 4th May. It could be all done and dusted by then, Wolves could be down or we could have performed a minor miracle and managed to avoid successive relegations.
If we are all honest with each other though, Jermaine Beckford introduction and his two instinctive strikes may have just sent Wolves plunging into the abyss.
Opener completes the task of securing draw after rain wrecked day three
ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay01-Aug-2025Kent 445 for 8 (Compton 221, Finch 54*) drew with Leicestershire 471 (Rehan 119, Patel 85) The Rothesay County Championship match between Division Two leaders Leicestershire and Kent at Canterbury ended in a draw, after the hosts reached 445 for eight on day four, trailing by 24 when bad light stopped play.Ben Compton hit a career-best 221 and Harry Finch made 54 not out, while Rehan Ahmed three for 134, but the chances of a positive result were effectively neutered on day three, when a mere 9.5 overs were bowled.Leicestershire remain top of the table, while Kent stay bottom.Conditions were significantly better on Friday morning but as soon as Kent passed the follow-on target of 321 a draw seemed inevitable.The nightwatch, George Garrett, survived 67 balls spread across days two, three and four but he was the first man out when he edged Logan van Beek to Louis Kimber for 10.The first shot of Ben Dawkins’ first-class career was a stylish drive that might have gone for four but for the slope, but he was out for seven, inside-edging Ben Green behind.Compton, 111 not out overnight, reached 150 in the penultimate over of the session when he cut Tom Scriven for four and Kent eased to 307 for four at lunch.Scriven subsequently had Joey Evison caught behind for 38, but an elegant sweep off Rehan saw Compton to 200. He took a single off Patel to pass his previous highest score of 217 and was finally out when he came down the wicket to Rehan and was stumped.Rehan then had Matt Parkinson lbw for two and Kent were 429 for eight at tea, after which Finch cover-drove Rishi Patel to bring up his half-century, but play was suspended at 4.40pm and both sides looked as eager as the umpires to shake hands on the draw.
Each of Namibia’s top eight batters fell for single-digit scores, after Supun Waduge hit an unbeaten 56
ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jan-2024A collective effort by Sri Lanka’s bowlers flattened Namibia for 56 in a chase of 134 in Kimberley. Left-arm spinner Vishwa Lahiru and medium-pacer Ruvishan Perera took three each as all of Namibia’s top eight batters fell for single-digit scores.After being put in, Sri Lanka got off to a slow start, losing Pulindu Perera for 3 in the seventh over. Fast bowler Zacheo Van Vuuren then caused a slide, taking the next four wickets to fall, and reducing Sri Lanka to 71 for 5 within the 20th over. But Sri Lanka’s No. 3 Supun Waduge then led the resistance, scoring an unbeaten 56 off 79, although he did not get much support at the other end. Johannes de Villiers took three lower-order wickets as Sri Lanka crumbled to 133 all out.In return, Namibia’s chase never took off. They could barely make any progress as the Sri Lanka bowlers not only struck regularly but also kept them from scoring runs. Namibia lost eight wickets for 25 runs within the 20th over. A rebuild was attempted by Peter-Daniel Blignaut and Hanro Badenhorst, who put up an 18-run partnership, but Perera ended that in the 26th over. Lahiru took the last wicket, as Namibia’s innings came to an end in 27 overs.A four-wicket haul from Isai Thorne, followed by an unbeaten fifty from Jewel Andrew, powered West Indies to their first win of the tournament, against Scotland in Potchefstroom.Batting first, Scotland began steadily, as the openers Jamie Dunk (57) and Adi Hegde (32) put up an 89-run stand. However, once Hegde fell in the 22nd over, Scotland struggled to put together meaningful partnerships, as Thorne rattled the team’s top and middle order on the way to finishing with 4 for 46. Alec Price at No.3 chipped in with 31, but only two other remaining batters managed double-digit scores, as Scotland were restricted to 205 for 9.West Indies lost wickets at regular intervals during the chase, but handy contributions from the captain Stephan Pascal (26), Jordan Johnson (24) and Mavendra Dindyal (29) kept them on track to overhauling the target. They were precariously placed at 111 for 5, but Andrew and Nathan Edward took the team home with an unbroken partnership of 95 runs. Andrew remained unbeaten on 64 off 60 balls, stroking eight fours, and was named Player of the Match.Ahmed Hassan struck twice early to dent Nepal’s sprightly start•Getty Images
Pakistan maintained their perfect start to the Under-19 World Cup, as Azan Awais’ unbeaten 63 powered the team to a five-wicket win against Nepal.Chasing a paltry 198, Pakistan were given an ideal start courtesy their openers Shamyl Hussain (37) and Shahzaib Khan (37), who added 80 in 21.2 overs. A string of quick wickets from Aakash Chand, including two in the same over, had Pakistan in a spot of bother at 104 for 4, but Awais, coming in at No.4, put together crucial partnerships with Ahmad Hassan and Haroon Arshad to take the team over the line inside 48 overs. Awais struck six fours during his 82-ball knock.Earlier, Nepal, opting to bat, had huffed and puffed their way to 197. Bipin Rawal was the team’s top scorer with 39, but he had little by way of support, as the team lost ground at regular intervals. Six different Pakistan bowlers were in amongst the wickets, and Arafat Minhas was the pick of the lot, ending with 3 for 23, while Umaid Shah and Hassan claimed two each.
There was a wobble in the run chase when Lilly Mills but in the end it was a comfortable win
AAP28-Oct-2022Adelaide Strikers recovered from a mini-innings stumble to beat Perth Scorchers by six wickets and exact some revenge for their loss to the Scorchers in last season’s WBBL final.Strikers were cruising at 0 for 51 at Allan Border Field in Brisbane on Friday. But young Scorchers spinner Lilly Mills struck with three wickets, including the prized scalp of Strikers captain Tahlia McGrath for a duck, in 11 balls to put Scorchers back in the contest.But a nerveless unbeaten 47 from opener Katie Mack guided Adelaide to an important win with nine balls remaining.Strikers’ fourth victory of the tournament lifts them to second on the ladder, overtaking Scorchers.Mack received solid support from Madeline Penna (32 not out), with the pair putting on an unbeaten 52-run stand for the fifth wicket to close out the match.Earlier, Strikers never allowed Scorchers to build their innings with quick Darcie Brown (2-18) and spinner Amanda-Jade Wellington (2-13) on fire with the ball.Australia star Beth Mooney (34) was the pick of Scorchers’ batters, while Amy Edgar hit an unbeaten 27.Strikers are next in action on Wednesday for a clash with Melbourne Stars, while Scorchers face a short turnaround before their match against Brisbane Heat on Saturday evening.
She praised the performances of India’s debutants in Bristol, especially fellow opener Shafali Verma
Annesha Ghosh18-Jun-20211:37
Smriti Mandhana: Verma’s maturity a positive for India
India batter Smriti Mandhana believes that more opportunities to play Tests can help cultivate a better understanding regarding approaching the closing stages of each session in a day’s play.Mandhana’s views came after stumps on the rain-affected third day of India’s one-off Test against England in Bristol, where she fell for 8 in her second innings on the stroke of lunch, with her side following on after being bowled out for 231.In her first innings, Mandhana made 78 before her wicket became part of a collapse that started late in the final session of the second day, as India slipped from 167 for 0 to 183 for 5 – in all they lost all 10 wickets for 64. On the opening day, England, too, had suffered a collapse after tea losing 4 for 21 before the close.”I think that will just be an excuse to give,” Mandhana said when asked about the trend around a flurry of dismissals coming about towards the end of sessions in the match. “But we can consider for sure that we aren’t used to batting beyond 50 overs that much. But I wouldn’t say I got out because of lack of experience in Test matches because I threw my wicket away in the last session of yesterday.”But, definitely, I think a slight pressure of ending the day being not out, that might play a bit of a part [in the loss of wickets in a heap] and that will come with experience. The more we play Test matches, the more we’ll get used to the conditions – one over before lunch or one over before the day’s end and all those sessions, so we can be more mature about [approaching them] and not take pressure.”Related
Shafali Verma's follow-on fifty helps India cling on against England's might
From 167 for 0 to 231 all out: a record collapse for India Women
Sophie Ecclestone aiming to 'win the battle' with Shafali Verma as England push for victory
Mandhana’s half-century in the first innings was pivotal to India putting on their highest opening stand in the format in response to England’s 396 for 9 declared. Ninety-six runs in that record 167-run opening tally came from 17-year-old debutant Shafali Verma. On the penultimate day of the Test – the standard length of women’s Tests is four days – Verma got India off to a brisk start in their second innings, having fallen 15 shy of their follow-on mark.After Mandhana’s dismissal, Verma pressed on to bring up her fifty off just 63 balls. In doing so, she became the first Indian, and the youngest player from any country, to make half-centuries in both innings on Test debut in women’s cricket.”It’s quite impressive to watch her bat from the other end,” Mandhana said of Verma, who is also her designated opener partner in T20Is. “I think we both are very similar [in our approach] to keep things simple, so we don’t really discuss much about batting in the middle. The way she changed her game and the kind of maturity she showed at this stage of her career, it’s very positive for Indian cricket going forward. Her shots, in T20Is I’ve always watched them from the other end. It’s amazing what she does. I hope she keeps going the way she is.”Smriti Mandhana was left frustrated by her dismissal on the third day•Getty Images
Mandhana, who had played only two Tests before, made her debut in the format at age 17, in the Wormsley Test in August 2014. In the India XI for the Bristol Test, she is one of the six players with prior Test experience. On Friday, she praised the performances of India’s five debutants – Taniya Bhatia, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana, and Verma.”All the debutants have really got onto a good start,” Mandhana said. “In general, everyone was excited to play this Test match, and not just the debutants because we all are playing after a very long time, so I think it is a really special match. But all the debutants have really stepped up – Deepti, Shafali, Pooja and even Taniya with the catch [of opener Lauren Winfield-Hill in the first innings] – everyone has done a lot of contribution.”Mandhana got off the mark in her second innings with a cracking punch off fast bowler Katherine Brunt that went for four through backward point. But her 13-ball stay ended in the fifth over when she edged a wide, fullish delivery from the same bowler to be caught by Natalie Sciver at second slip.”Really disappointed,” she said when asked to review how the day had ended for India, on 83 for 1, forced into early stumps due to rain. “But, of course, before the game stopped, before lunch, I got out, so definitely disappointed.”I would have loved to stay there and come back fresh tomorrow to bat again, but that’s what the day’s cricket is, so we’ll take it. But Shafali and Deepti stitched in a good partnership at the end, so I think at the end we were in a good position.””The conditions changed slightly [on day three],” she said. “It was just windy, but it wasn’t swinging that much that it was not playable or something. It was good conditions to bat on still even if conditions were cloudy or overcast.”We just needed to take a few minutes initially. Of course, I lost my wicket, but I wouldn’t say that it was a very good ball. I think I gave away my wicket because it wasn’t that great a ball.”
The team thumped 115 in the last seven overs to score 209, and Quetta Gladiators fell 37 runs short in reply
The Report by Danyal Rasool03-Mar-2020Well, don’t adjust your device or reach for thicker reading glasses, because what you’re about to read actually did happen.Lahore Qalandars beat – no, walloped – defending champions Quetta Gladiators by 37 runs to storm to their first win of the tournament. It came thanks to a blitzkrieg of big hitting from Ben Dunk and Samit Patel, whose 155-run partnership saw Lahore surge to 209 after what appeared another disastrous start from the bottom-placed team.A stunning 115 runs were added in the final seven overs, including 80 off four overs from the start of the 14th over as the wheels came off the Quetta bowling completely. Powerless in the face of the onslaught, they could only watch as Dunk broke the record for most sixes in a PSL innings, with 10 in his 43-ball 93, while Patel’s 41-ball 70 gave him stellar support from the other end.Lahore bank heavily on Chris Lynn and Fakhar Zaman to get them off to a powerful start, but when that didn’t happen in a subdued Powerplay for the openers, things looked bleak for them. They became gloomier still when the two fell in quick succession, the worries compounded when Mohammad Hafeez was felled first ball by a reflex catch at first lip from Shane Watson. Going at barely above a run a ball in the first ten and little batting to follow Patel and Dunk, the English-Aussie duo took responsibility, and carried the innings through to the final over, the 155 they amassed the second highest partnership in the league’s history.It stunned Quetta, who needed equally incongruous contributions from their key men, but when Jason Roy and Shane Watson fell relatively early, there was no coming back. Wickets fell in regular succession as Lahore simply let Quetta give away their wickets in the face of mounting pressure from the asking rate.Sarfaraz Ahmed, Azam Khan, Mohammad Nawaz and Anwar Ali all fell that way as the bowlers cashed in, with Salman Irshad bagging career-best T20 figures of 4 for 29. He found more swing than usual with a remodelled action, and was responsible for putting paid for Azam Khan’s innings before it had really begun, as well as Ben Cutting’s resistance which threatened to bring the flickering game back to life briefly.Cutting had been fighting what looked like an insurmountable battle all on his own. All he could do, however, was bring the margin of defeat down. No matter what damage he inflicted, it simply couldn’t compensate for the carnage that Lahore had wreaked in their final overs, and there was simply no recovering from it for Sarfaraz’s men.Those seven oversThe final seven overs in the first innings cost 19, 27, 14, 17, 10, 11 and 17. That, really, is the story of the match. Quetta had a firm grasp of the game at the 13-over mark, having inserted Lahore in to bat. Lynn, Fakhar and Hafeez were gone, and Lahore were 94 for 3, needing a big finish to remain competitive in the second innings. But the floodgates opened when Dunk smashed Anwar Ali for six off the second ball of the 14th, and were blown right off in the madness that followed.Mohammad Nawaz was launched for four sixes off as many deliveries in the following over, and from thereon, it appeared the bowling side had run out of ideas. Mohammad Hasnain and Naseem Shah were put under pressure, conceding 10 and 12 respectively off the first two balls of their overs, and an unstoppable Dunk appeared able to hit sixes at will. Two more would come in the final over, and by the time Patel and Dunk holed out in the final over, Lahore had coasted past 200, and well past what Quetta would be able to hunt down.The lone handIn any normal game, Cutting lower down the order would have done enough to ensure he had taken his side over the line. But chasing 210 with all the usual suspects back in the pavilion, it was left to the Australian allrounder to help his side get over the line. He had managed it against Islamabad United last week, but an asking rate of 55 off five – the requirement that day – was a piece of pie when compared to the Herculean task that faced him today.Soon after he walked out, Quetta required 94 off 36, and while Dunk had Patel for company, number nine Fawad Ahmed doesn’t quite have the Englishman’s batting prowess. This was an impossible task with two batsmen of your choice, but with Cutting forced to farm the strike and score nearly three a ball, it would inevitably be found wanting. That didn’t mean he didn’t provide entertainment along the way, smashing Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Faizan for 27 in two overs as he brought up a half-century in 25 balls. Given it was Lahore at the other end, the feeling the game might not yet be done lingered for longer than it otherwise would have, but when the Australian holed out to cow corner in the 18th over, it was evident even Lahore couldn’t fluff this up.Where the teams standLahore post their first points on the board, though they’re still bottom of the table with two points in four games. Quetta slip one position to third behind Karachi Kings on net run rate, with three wins from six matches.
Their nine-wicket win in a rain-hit clash all but knocked Sydney Thunder out of contention
The Report by Deivarayan Muthu02-Feb-2019Sydney Sixers 1 of 85 (Vince 43*, Hughes 41*) beat Sydney Thunder 6 for 128 (Green 34*, Abbott 2-23, T Curran 2-32) by nine wickets with nine balls to spare (via DLS method) A cohesive bowling effort, led by seamers Sean Abbott and Tom Curran, secured Sixers’ spot in the semi-finals and all but knocked out the Thunder in the Sydney Smash at a packed SCG. After the bowlers cleverly exploited a two-paced pitch to limit the Thunder to 6 for 128, rain interrupted Sixers’ chase multiple times and the target was ultimately revised to 84 in 12 overs. Sixers’ England recruit James Vince peeled off this third 40-plus score in four innings, in an unbroken 85-run stand with Daniel Hughes, to overcome the rain and steal the Thunder.While the Sixers can enjoy more than a week off before they head to the MCG to face the Melbourne Stars in the last league match this season, the Thunder will have to beat table leaders Hobart Hurricanes in their final league match on next Saturday and hope that the Stars lose their last three games, to sneak into the semi-finals.Hit the deck Left-arm seamer Ben Dwarshuis fed Thunder captain Shane Watson with a brace of full balls on the pads, which were nonchalantly picked away over the square-leg boundary. Abbott also fed Watson with a leg-stump full-toss, and watched it disappear to the square-leg boundary. He then shortened his length in the same over and had 19-year-old Jason Sangha ramping a catch to Steve O’Keefe at third man.Curran also hit similar hard lengths – neither driveable nor pullable – and shackled both Watson and Callum Ferguson, restricting the Thunder to 1 for 38 in the Powerplay. Left-arm spinner O’Keefe then got a full ball to grip, turn, and bounce past the outside edge of Watson in a two-run over. Something had to give, and that something was Watson nicking Curran behind for 28 off 24 balls.Spin to win O’Keefe then combined with teenage legspinner Lloyd Pope and ran rings around the Thunder middle order. Ferguson could have been dismissed on 20, when he weakly slog-swept O’Keefe against the break and skied it into the Sydney sky, but wicketkeeper Josh Phillipe dropped the swirling ball near the square-leg region. Ferguson added only six runs to his tally before O’Keefe dangled one up wide of off stump and had Ferguson holing out to deep midwicket.Sean Abbott celebrates the wicket of D’Arcy Short•Getty Images
New Zealand allrounder Anton Devcich held on, limpet-like, but struggled to find the boundary. Against O’Keefe and Pope, he mustered only 15 off 16 balls. It was Abbott who made the incision when he returned and made Devcich miscue a scoop to short fine leg. At 4 for 90 at the start of the 16th over, Thunder’s innings desperately needed a finishing kick, and Chris Green provided that with a 22-ball 34. No other batsman in the match had a greater strike rate than Green’s 154.54. He struck three fours but it was his six hard-run twos that stood out. Curran later closed out the innings with his crafty variations, including the yorker and the back-of-the-hand slower ball.Vince, Hughes, rain… No Thunder The Sixers got off to the worst possible start in the chase, Josh Phillipe falling to a hare-brained mix-up off the first ball. Green followed it with four successive dots in the second over to give his side hope. However, Vince dashed them with two monster sixes off legspinner Jonathan Cook and seamer Gurinder Sandhu. Rain then appeared and reappeared as Ferguson hoped that it would break the Sixers’ momentum. No way. While Vince continued to tee off against pace, Hughes attacked Thunder’s gun bowler Fawad Ahmed to coolly finish off the game, with nine wickets and nine balls to spare.