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Tottenham Hotspur have shown no sign of slowing down after completing a deal to sign Premier League star Yves Bissouma, as news emerges on Torino’s Gleison Bremer.

The Lowdown: Spurs eye central defensive upgrade…

Looking to upgrade his options for the 2022/23 campaign, Spurs manager Antonio Conte has set sights on a marquee centre-back signing for his back three, according to reports.

Indeed, The Athletic have named club chief Fabio Paratici’s numerous targets for this role, including Alessandro Bastoni (Inter Milan), Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig) and Villarreal colossus Pau Torres.

Bremer is believed to be another player for whom Spurs could make a move, with the Brazilian openly admitting to media that he wants to leave Torino and play in the Champions League.

The north Londoners’ qualification for Europe’s premier club competition at the end of last season could seemingly play a major role, with SportMediaSet now sharing an update on Spurs’ pursuit of the 25-year-old.

The Latest: Tottenham push for Bremer…

According to their information, Tottenham’s ‘pressure has risen’ in the chase to sign Torino’s mainstay ‘in the last few days’.

However, the report also claimed that Serie A giants Inter Milan are ‘on pole’, with Bremer even green-lighting a potential move to the San Siro.

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The South American is apparently a man in demand and Spurs will have to contend with ‘several suitors’ in this particular transfer race.

The Verdict: Continue the battle?

Tottenham could entice Bremer with the prospect of European football and competing in one of the world’s foremost domestic leagues.

It isn’t unreasonable to believe that they could leap ahead of Inter in the race with a proper proposal, and we believe Paratici’s effort could be well worth it.

Bremer stood out as one of Serie A’s best-performing defenders over 2021/22, even making more interceptions than any other player in the Italian top flight and averaging the joint-fifth most clearances per 90 (WhoScored).

It’s hardly surprising that some members of the media have called the 25-year-old an ’emerging superstar’ (Rajath Kumar, ex-Forza Italian Football writer).

Torino president Urbano Cairo has allegedly set a price tag of around €35m (£30m), and this valuation could come as a real bargain given Bremer’s evident talents.

In other news: Tottenham eyeing ‘big’ 183-goal player move, Harry Redknapp called him ‘priceless’! Find out more here

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has swung his axe as the Lilywhites close in on a summer exit, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Spurs summer reshuffle…

Spurs transfer chief Fabio Paratici met with Conte in Italy last week to discuss recruitment strategy ahead of what will be a very interesting window for the north Londoners.

The Lilywhites head coach secured a Premier League top four finish and Champions League football for the 2022/2023 campaign, prompting the club to green-light a major £150million equity increase.

Conte will benefit from the bulk of these added funds as Spurs look set to back their manager and ensure he has most of what he needs for his first full season in charge.

While new signings have been heavily tipped, so have exits from Hotspur Way, with Football Insider now sharing the latest development involving midfielder Giovani Lo Celso.

The Latest: Tottenham hold Lo Celso talks…

According to their information, a Tottenham ‘agreement is close to being reached’ over Lo Celso’s permanent departure to Villarreal with ‘extensive talks’ held.

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This comes as Conte swings his axe and deems the Argentine ‘surplus to requirements’.

As per this update, Spurs are keen to offload, so much so they’re willing to take a near-£10million loss.

The Verdict: Major update…

Dropping the asking price from £30million to around £20million, according to this report, certainly stands out as a major call.

Perhaps this is an indicator of Tottenham and chairman Daniel Levy’s eagerness to back Conte and seriousness in going the extra mile to display a matched ambition.

Selling Lo Celso for that amount is generous to say the least, especially considering he thrived on loan under Unai Emery and was a key player on their run to the Champions League semi-finals.

In other news: Alasdair Gold says ‘exciting’ Conte target is now eyeing a move to Tottenham! Find out more here.

A major West Ham United transfer update has now come to light involving Sparta Prague striker Adam Hlozek, according to reports out of Italy.

The Lowdown: West Ham eye new forward…

The Irons and manager David Moyes could finally put an end to their long and drawn out search for a new forward this summer, coming over a year and a half after club-record signing Sebastian Haller departed the club for Ajax.

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In the last week, West Ham have been linked with the likes of Emmanuel Dennis (Watford) and Moise Kean (Juventus) as head of recruitment Rob Newman and GSB aim to back Moyes in the summer market.

Another attacker who has been tipped with a possible move to east London is Sparta sensation Hlozek, who has been brilliant yet again for the Czech outfit this season.

West Ham board member Daniel Kretinsky’s connections to Sparta may well hand the Premier League side an advantage, as per recent claims, and now TMW have an update on the situation.

The Latest: Hammers offer ready…

As per their sources, the Hammers, and by extension transfer chief Newman, are ‘ready to present a proposal’ of around £20 million to sign Hlozek this summer.

This comes after his head-turning campaign with the 19-year-old scoring 22 goals, 17 in the league and five in cup competitions.

The Verdict: Bring him in?

The teenager could be a real star going by his form this season and recent acclaims through the media.

Pundit and former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan has called him a potential ‘no-brainer’ signing for West Ham and the ‘stand-out’ at Sparta – impressive tags for such a young player (Football Insider).

Hlozek’s glowing reputation could only grow larger with the only gamble on Moyes’ part being whether he can hack it in England.

£20 million certainly seems like a big price to pay if they’re going to find out, but with summer right around the corner, we expect to see more developments concerning the Czech Republic international and West Ham.

In other news: Talks held: Club chief travels to London as West Ham eye ‘incredible’ player move…find out more here.

Leeds United are surely green with envy over Erling Haaland’s start to life in the Premier League.

Many years ago, the son of ex-Whites midfielder Alf-Inge, was offered to the Yorkshire giants right before he became a household name due to his goalscoring talents.

It really could have been a different story.

“He was at Molde, around about 17 [years old], and he was ripping it up but also fervently following Leeds United,” explained agent Hayden Evans to The Athletic’s ‘The Phil Hay Show.’

“We spoke to Victor [Orta, Leeds’ sporting director] and said, ‘Look, I can bring Erling to Leeds and the rest will be over to you.”

He then added:

“It went quite well, we went back, but the bottom line was that [Molde] wanted around four million pounds.

“Leeds were not in the stable [financial] position they are in now and he was not going to play, even the talent he was, he was not going to play first-team football at that age.”

Since then, the Norwegian talisman signed for RB Salzburg, where he played under current Leeds boss Jesse Marsch, and subsequently delivered 29 goals in 27 games, earning him a move to Borussia Dortmund.

There, he continued his fine form in front of goal, scoring an eye-watering 86 goals in 89 matches, also providing 23 assists, as per Transfermarkt.

The 22-year-old then made the move to Premier League rivals Manchester City for just £51m and has proven all his critics wrong with his electrifying start to his Citizens career.

After just six league games and one appearance in the Champions League, Haaland has found the net a further 12 times. That’s effectively two goals per game, a pretty outstanding record already.

Leeds themselves, as a team, have only scored ten goals from their opening six league games, so Orta will surely be in the stands at Elland Road living with regret.

He could’ve signed the 147-goal marksman, who reporter Alex Truic once dubbed as a “goal-scoring cyborg,” for as little as £4m but now he’s valued in excess of €200m (£175m) by CIES Football Observatory.

Given his record since Leeds’ failure to sign him, his lucrative worth and the bags of potential still at his feet, it’s hard to argue against this being Orta’s biggest-ever mistake at the west Yorkshire giants.

Few, if any, decisions will be worse than that one.

AND in other news, Elland Road favourite: Orta has struck gold at Leeds with “relentless” £25m “machine”…

With wins drying up, Dinesh Karthik’s team should try and catch their opposition by surprise to put their campaign back on track

Sreshth Shah in Kolkata16-Apr-2019It was only last week that Kolkata Knight Riders were perched at the top of the points table, having collected their fourth win in five games after beating Rajasthan Royals.But, in the space of nine days, the have lost three straight games, and have slid towards the bottom half of the league. On each occasion, they have lost the toss, been asked to bat first, and have failed to defend.With Knight Riders needing at least four wins in their last six games to ensure qualification for the playoffs, ESPNcricinfo looks at what they need to do to put their campaign back on track.The Sunil Narine dilemmaSunil Narine hasn’t quite been the same bowler since he had to remodel his action, and his economy rate has ballooned from 6.33 to 7.58 in the last two IPL seasons. Once upon a time, batsmen saw off Narine’s spell out before taking on the other spin bowlers, which brought more wickets to the duo of Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav. That’s changed.Sunil Narine pumps one into the leg side•BCCIThe effect of that has meant that Knight Riders spinners have taken only 14 wickets in eight games this season, and have failed to build the kind of pressure they were known to – over 12 overs – in the past. And their death-over bowlers – Lockie Ferguson, Prasidh Krishna and Harry Gurney – have gone up against well-set batsmen, and have the second-worst bowling average (35.40) and the third-worst economy rate (11.17) in the final four overs while defending.The perception this season has been that Eden Gardens is becoming into a graveyard for spinners, but Imran Tahir showed last week that if your other four bowlers are doing their bit from the other end, then wickets are still available for spin bowlers on the surface.Narine’s batting, too, poses a cause for concern. The occasional smash – like the 25 runs creamed off Varun Chakravarthy’s single over and the 22 runs collected off K Gowtham – aside, Narine has not had the pinch-hitting impact that Knight Riders would have hoped for from him: 47 of his 84 runs have come in one innings, and if you take that out of the equation, Narine averages only 10.50. What seemed like a clever ploy three seasons ago is now beginning to show some weaknesses, and Knight Riders may need to consider switching their top-order batsmen around.Rethinking Shubman Gill’s batting positionThat brings us to Shubman Gill, the hero of the 2017 Under-19 World Cup, who – all things remaining constant – is Knight Riders’ designated No. 7. But Gill is a top-order batsman. It’s a small sample size, but Gill averages 67.50 at a strike rate of 150 in the four IPL games he’s played at No. 4 or higher, and has two half-centuries from that position.Shubman Gill celebrates his fifty•BCCIWhen Gill was shafted up the order due to Narine’s injury against Delhi Capitals in Kolkata, he smacked a sublime 39-ball 65 and batted till the 15th over, despite losing his opening partner Joe Denly for a first-ball duck. While Chris Lynn has looked to go into a shell when Narine has fallen early in the recent past, Gill’s style of batting did not change despite Denly’s fall. While Narine’s pinch-hitting in chases helps bring the required run-rate down, Gill’s proficiency as a proper batsman could stabilise a Knight Riders batting order that has heavily wobbled in two of the four games where they have been asked to bat first.After Knight Riders’ loss to Capitals in Kolkata, Dinesh Karthik said “Gill knows his role at No. 7” and that he was “a calm finisher” of games. But there is a case for a more conventional planning for Knight Riders when batting first. Even if Karthik is not convinced of Gill as an opener, Robin Uthappa could partner Lynn at the top since the Indian has seemingly struggled when the ball gets soft, and has a strike rate of only 128.65 this season.Going horses for coursesOne reason for Knight Riders’ success over the years has been continuity. A small squad has often forced them to play that way, and, barring injury replacements, it has been common for Karthik to say, “we’re playing the same team”. While that helps those in the XI to be assured of a spot in the side and play with the freedom that comes with it, it also gives opponents a solid idea of who to plan for.Prasidh Krishna celebrates a wicket•BCCIPrasidh Krishna did shine in the Super Over against Capitals in Delhi, when he conceded only 11 runs, but wickets have been hard to come by for the youngster. Just two wickets in eight games at an economy of 8.66 is a worry for Knight Riders, and they could tap into their resources to mix things up. Sandeep Warrier, the Kerala fast bowler who took a hat-trick at the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, bowls at around the same speeds as Prasidh, and not many of the IPL batsmen know much about him. And if Knight Riders want another option, there’s 30-year-old right-arm pacer Shrikant Mundhe, who is yet to play an IPL game.Similarly, since Narine is not among the wickets (nor runs), Knight Riders might think about replacing him with mystery spinner KC Cariappa. Cariappa’s bowling style is reminiscent of the Narine of yore, with carrom balls, split-finger deliveries and the arm-ball at his disposal. With an overseas spot thus opening up, Knight Riders could play Denly as the extra batsman, which they need while trying to post imposing totals batting first, or go with two international fast bowlers in Gurney and Ferguson in the XI. If they stick with Prasidh and an overseas quick, Narine’s absence also allows Carlos Brathwaite to slot in lower down the order, and we don’t need a reminder of what he can do at Eden Gardens.With only one home game to go – against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday – before two games on the road, Knight Riders have the opportunity to do something unconventional and surprise their opposition, a trait associated with the men in purple not so long ago.

While there is great cricket in the Women’s Big Bash League, networks and newspapers often have their staff elsewhere

Jarrod Kimber07-Jan-2017I don’t know who Lea Tahuhu is. I can tell you that Meg Lanning is a freak. That I love watching Suzie Bates’ captaincy. That Eshani Kaushalya is a legend in my house. And that I would happily watch Mithali Raj cover drive on an endless gif for three consecutive days.But I haven’t covered women’s cricket in almost five years. I look at the bits that are televised. I went to two full matches of at the 2016 World T20, and half of another after being locked out of the ground. I saw a fair bit of the first weekend of the WBBL that was on TV. And I follow scorecards and series results.So while I should know more, and do know a bit, I don’t know who Tahuhu is. But here she is at the Docklands, and the keeper is a long way back. The boundary may not be long, but the keeper is incredibly close to it. And to the third man and fine leg. One ball in and I get it; Tahuhu is fast; she is as fast as any women’s bowler I have seen live. She’s Katherine Brunt in her heydey fast.The first ball takes an edge, and even with the fine third man, it’s four. Other balls are pining through to the keeper; there is a ripping bouncer – that is called a wide – and the ball hits the bat hard a few times. Tahuhu takes 1 for 19 from four. She bowls them straight up, in control from the start, and then drops the mic, and walks into the outfield where her contributions are occasional rocket throws, including an off-balance one for a last ball run-out.Only hardcore fans might have seen moments like these•Getty ImagesOn the big screen, Tahuhu asks a trivia question, “Which country do I represent, England, South Africa and New Zealand?” Because despite the fact she is probably as quick as bowler in women’s cricket right now, only goes for 4.05 runs an over in ODIs, and averages 18 in T20s, her own team don’t think she is famous enough for people to know where she comes from.The World Cup this year will be Tahuhu’s third major tournament. And most probably, her breakout one. The problem is, so few women cricketers have broken out and are known by fans of the men’s game. But because of this league, and the KSL in England, players like Tahuhu can start to play as professionals. Tahuhu has played in both leagues. She deserves to be a professional cricketer, and if she keeps bowling like this, she will be for a while. However, for women’s cricketers to be better paid, they have to be more well known.And the WBBL is trying. The early weekend, shown live on one of the few cricketless weekends of the year, was a brilliant idea. The problem has been most games since that one haven’t been shown live, or at all. They were on Cricket Australia’s website, which is handy for hardcore fans. But the casual fans aren’t going to be lured there, or, really, even know that it exists. The WBBL has to be in the heat of summer, but during that period, Channel 10 and the newspapers have cricket writers at other grounds.While there are good signs – the queue outside the ground waiting for the stadium to open was very promising, even if the big crowd didn’t follow for the game itself – there was also a missed opportunity.With the Test finishing early today, and Channel 10 cameras already set up for the BBL game tonight, it would have been a perfect time to show some WBBL. Sadly, logistics made it impossible.So only hardcore fans would have seen Kris Britt’s lazy run-out. Not to mention, all the other great things, like Danielle Wyatt slapping the ball straight down the ground, Emma Kearney and her windmill wrong-footed action, Sophie Molineux’s incredible timing, Natalie Sciver’s classy innings, and former World T20 final star, and not to mention the best Australian player – and one of the best in the world – Lanning. By the end of the game, even the Renegades men were down on the boundary sitting down to watch their team nervously win what should have been an easy win.Even if Channel 10 had decided to put the game on once the Test had ended, the TV audience would have still missed out on Tahuhu. And as far as women’s cricket has come, that is still the problem: we just don’t see enough.And Tahuhu is worth seeing. Her ball to Lanning was angled in, straightened, and took the top of off, at pace. It looked great on the jumbotron screens hanging from the roof. It would have looked even better on TV screens around the country.

South Africa are banking on some home advantage in Johannesburg, both in the middle and in the stands

Firdose Moonda at the Wanderers13-Jan-2016Let’s get this out of the way: Johannesburg is not Durban or Cape Town. There is no seaside holiday feel, no mountain as a muse, no accidental tourists. Jo’burg is hard work in every way. It’s where the country’s money is made, where the hussle is, and if you believe the locals, where the energy is electric. It’s the City of Gold.So it’s no surprise that even though the Boxing Day Test, which has swung between Durban and Port Elizabeth in recent years, holds tradition and the New Year’s Test in Cape Town is regarded as the marquee event on the cricketing calendar by even ex-Jo’burger Graeme Smith, Chris Morris still thinks, “everyone wants to play at the Wanderers.”For bowlers, there’s pace and bounce. For batmen, there are runs. For fielders, there is the gorgeous green carpet which has found its colour even in the country’s worst drought in more than two decades. For the home side, there’s the knowledge that if the Wanderers is full, it can feel like the Colosseum. For the opposition, there is that knowledge too. “It’s the Bullring, it’s exciting and when the crowd are around there’s a special buzz,” Morris said.Before the coastal types tell you that there’s as much chance of the Wanderers selling out as there is of snow in the summer, hear this. The organisers are aiming to pull in a bigger crowd than the 85,000 people who packed into Newlands for the second Test and their aim is not that far-fetched. At capacity, the Wanderers holds 33,000 people and with full houses expected for the weekend, that only leaves 20,000 over the remaining three days, which is not an impossible ask. Of course, the possibility of afternoon thunderstorms on every day of the match may turn some people away but Jo’burgers tend to be tough and they will see the value in getting to the ground.On the Highveld, the cricket is rarely dull•Getty ImagesFor one, the chances of a good spectacle are all but guaranteed. Only one in the last 13 Tests have been drawn at this venue and that one was a thriller. New head groundsman Bethuel Buthelezi has promised a pitch that will go five days and a one that will produce a result.For another, South Africa have shown their hand early and will be going all-pace. The sole spinner in the squad, Dane Piedt, was released from the squad late on Wednesday afternoon to play in the first-class competition which means local boy Hardus Viljoen is competing with Kyle Abbott for a place in the side and Viljoen should win. All signs point to fast and furious and that’s the kind of thing Jo’burgers like. At the same time, Morris warned that patience is the key because bowlers can get “a little carried away.”If that is not enough, South Africa’s stand-in Test captain, AB de Villiers, has indicated the team will take the field with new energy after their fightback in Cape Town and the change of leadership. “I honestly believe there was a bit of a momentum shift in the last Test match,” de Villiers said. “I’ve played enough series to know that that doesn’t just happen: it’s a big thing in a big series like this. It’s up to us to make sure we maintain it now. There’s a nice energy in the team, a little bit of a fresh vibe maybe.”For a must-win match, that is exactly what South Africa need. De Villiers himself is a Highveld boy, not from Johannesburg but from about 60 kilometres away in Pretoria. It is the country’s capital but it is not quite as intense as Johannesburg in lifestyle terms; much more intense in sporting terms. The Blue Bulls rugby team and to a lesser extent the Titans cricket team have regularly received louder support than their Lions counterparts down the road, although that has started to change. De Villiers would have been around at the time when sport was what defined Pretorians and there is no doubt it contributed to his outlook.”I am a very competitive person and I truly hate losing,” he said. “I’ll try and lead by example, score the runs and throw my body around in the field and do the hard yards, and I believe the team will follow. Losing is not an option. We are here to win the series.”And to do that, de Villiers wants to remind England they are not in Durban or in Cape Town, but on the Highveld, where the home boys are determined to mark their territory. “I’ve never been the kind to throw a lot of words around or to sledge. I like to have a good body language. So we’ll make them feel uncomfortable and remind them they are away from home and to not enjoy the pound and the rand too much.”

Stats highlights from the Edgbaston T20 where England’s captain Eoin Morgan set up a fine win

Shiva Jayaraman07-Sep-2014 9 Number of times England have successfully defended a total of 180 or more in T20s out of ten occasions including this match. The only time they failed to do so was against West Indies in the 2010 World T20 (when they lost on D/L). 71 Runs hit by Eoin Morgan – the second-highest score and only the fourth fifty by an England captain in a T20. Paul Collingwood has hit the other three fifties, the last of which came against South Africa in Johannesburg in 2009. 229 Morgan’s strike rate in his innings, which was the second highest in an innings of 50 or more runs by an England batsman. Ravi Bopara’s unbeaten 65 against Australia in an unsuccessful chase earlier this year in Hobart had come at a strike rate of 240.7, which is the fastest fifty-plus innings by an England batsman in T20s. 7 Number of sixes hit by Morgan in his innings, which equalled the most hit by an England batsman in a T20. Bopara also hit seven sixes against Australia in the Hobart T20 earlier this year. The 11 sixes hit in their innings is the joint second highest by England. The most they have hit in a T20 is 15, against New Zealand in Auckland last year. 81 Runs hit by England after the 15th over in their innings – equalled the fourth-highest by a team in the last five overs of an T20 innings. The record for the most runs scored in the last-five overs in T20s is also held by England. They hit 87 runs against Afghanistan in the 2012 World T20 in Colombo. There are only six instances of a team scoring 80 or more runs in the final-five overs, three of which have been by England. Including this match, India have been on the receiving end twice. India’s bowlers conceded 80 runs in the last-five overs against England in the 2007 World T20 at Kingsmead, Durban. 4 Fifties Virat Kohli has hit in consecutive chases in T20 internationals. He now has scores of 66, 72*, 57*, 54 while chasing in his last four innings. Kohli has hit six fifties in 12 innings and has 562 runs at an average of 80.28 while chasing. 66 Runs Kohli hit in this match – his highest score in international games on this tour. Kohli managed just 254 runs from 15 innings in England, at an average of 18.1. 17 Runs off the first over bowled by R Ashwin – the most hit off an India bowler in the first over of a T20 innings. The highest they had conceded in the first over of an innings before this match was 13, on three different occasions. 4 Catches held by Ajinkya Rahane in this match, which is the first time an India fielder has held four catches in a T20. Overall, Rahane is only the fifth fielder to achieve this feat. 100 Runs conceded by India’s spinners in this match – the seventh instance when they conceded 100 or more runs in a T20 and the second instance in three games for them. They had conceded 101 runs against South Africa in the semi-finals of the World T20 earlier this year. 4 T20s lost by India while chasing with MS Dhoni remaining unbeaten at the crease. The last time this happened was in a match against New Zealand in Chennai in 2012 when India failed to get 13 runs in the last over with Dhoni stranded at the bowler’s end for the last three balls. 7 Number of consecutive T20s India had won chasing before this match. The last time before this they lost a T20 when batting second was in the Chennai match in 2012.

The Champions League is an exciting tournament, but the only qualms, keep it even, and keep it domestic… in an international sense

Gareth Kidd25-Feb-2013At its core, the Champions League T20 is a brilliant idea; the top T20 sides around the world, congregating for an International-domestic tournament. Two weeks of slap-happy cricket, throwing a spotlight on players of the future, or in some cases, players who may have only ever been renown within their nation’s fan following. It can be a great yardstick as to the depth of the national pool of T20 players, or perhaps just an example of some local sides with strong with a weight talent. However, the 2012 CLT20, more than the previous two seasons, has seemed a little more like IPL 2.0.Team Qualification: In the first two editions of CLT20, three IPL teams played, compared to the two from Australia and South Africa, and a sprinkling of single teams from other nations. In the third year, Kolkata Knight Riders were able to compete for one of the open slots, successfully making four IPL teams in 2011. This year, four of the eight automatic qualification slots have been given to the IPL sides. This now means sides from New Zealand, Sri Lanka, the West Indies, England and Pakistan, make the tournament only if they secure one of the two remaining spots. While the BCCI is the major stakeholder in the CLT20 (along with the Australian and South African cricket boards), having so many teams from the one domestic group takes the sheen off the international appeal.IPL vs Home Conundrum: Easily the most contentious aspect of the CLT20 is player allegiance. In this day, when T20 Leagues represent a good financial opportunity for a player, it is not unusual for someone to be signed to multiple domestic sides. One would think that the player would automatically play for their home province. Unfortunately, players have the luxury of choice, and more often than not, are picking their IPL sides over their home franchises. Who can blame them? With so much prize money up for grabs, the player wants to ensure their best chance of winning the tournament. For the health of cricket, the triumvirate of cricket associations must come together, and alter this rule. The exodus of T&T players, the Morkel brothers and Brett Lee (just to name a few) from their local sides dilutes the intended purpose of the competition.Home-grown players: Here lies an issue with both the IPL and SLPL sides. Within their respective leagues, IPL and SLPL sides are allowed to field a maximum of four and five international stars respectively. However, with most other T20 competitions, this is a maximum of two. The effect here is twofold. It not only gives the IPL and SLPL sides the possible advantage of fielding a side with more quality cricketers, but once again contradicts the concept of the domestic team. It may even trivialise the contest, for if the Sydney or Perth sides played Chennai Super Kings, it may be possible for 14 of the 22 players appearing to be Australian. Whether the other nations are allowed more, or IPL and SLPL sides are restricted to fewer, all sides competing in the CLT20 should have a standardised number of allowed international (that is foreign) players allowed in one side.As stated, the Champions League is an exciting tournament, and one which will no doubt provide a great spectacle from start to finish. The only qualms, keep it even, and keep it domestic… in an international sense.

After arriving from Australia, Brendan Nash didn’t have to wait too long to play for West Indies, but he faced a few hurdles along the way

Sriram Veera25-Jun-2011″Go home white boy, you’re no good. You couldn’t make it there, so why are you here?” It’s 2007 and Brendan Nash is batting at the trials in Jamaica. A few locals came on all four days of the trials and gave him a hard time. Their anger was perhaps understandable. Nash, whose father was a Jamaican Olympic swimmer, had arrived from Australia and perhaps the locals felt he had blocked a young Jamaican from getting an opportunity. How did Nash feel at the time?”It was a little disheartening,” he told ESPNcricinfo, “to actually get it in the country you are trying to play for. I think it taught me a lot about my character and how to build it. My father was actually with me during the first six-eight months. He was here in Jamaica so he was a little concerned too. My father was a well-known sportsman in Jamaica, so that kind of eased the tension.”Nash has been dropped from the West Indies squad for the Barbados Test against India although he was the vice-captain. He had made only 1 and 9 at Sabina Park, and only 54 runs in his previous six innings. The future is now uncertain, as there are a couple of youngsters pushing for places in the middle order. It is the most serious disappointment Nash has faced since his Test career started in a hurry in December 2008.Nash did not think he would play for West Indies, even when he first played for Jamaica. His form was great, he got along with his captain, Chris Gayle, and suddenly the ambition of becoming a Test cricketer grew after six to eight months. “I remember my first conversation with Chris. He said to me, ‘You are one of us, don’t worry about what anyone’s saying to you. If anyone troubles you, I am here for you.’ Obviously, as much as I had played with great cricketers back home [in Australia], to have a Chris Gayle, this was his country, and to have him come and say that to me was a great thing. It was my first or second trial game. So it helped me settle down quicker.”Nash keeps saying “We” when he talks about West Indies. The question had to be asked. How long did it take to say “we”? “It’s funny. It didn’t take too long,” he says. “There are still problems with accent and Jamaicans find it funny when I say that (we). But I have broken lots of barriers and it’s easy now.”He had a connection with the West Indies cricketers as he was growing up. His mother would invite the visiting West Indians home for a meal. Nash remembers Courtney Walsh ducking to avoid the arches at home. He had a poster of Curtly Ambrose plastered on his wall at boarding school.Even after Nash settled into the West Indies team, he faced other every-day cultural challenges. He and his wife like to sit and talk in a bar. They found it wasn’t easy to do. “Here in Jamaica it’s about dancing. To go out to a bar is not to necessarily drink, but it’s more of a nightclub dancing culture. I was a bit of a rum drinker in Australia. So no problems on that count.”There were other quirks, some of which he can’t still get used to. “In the Caribbean, we are always trying to be the most important person in the party,” he says. “I am not comfortable doing it. I like to stay in the background. That’s who I am. I don’t think I am going to change myself at this stage.”West Indies weren’t winning much when Nash made his debut and he says he tried to do his bit to improve the work ethic. “When I came in, Queensland were just coming into a period of winning. Unfortunately I have come to West Indies when they haven’t been winning. That’s the biggest difference – the mindset and the work ethic. When you are winning, hard work becomes easier, when you are not winning it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. That’s what I have been trying to bring here – develop the work ethic.”At the end of the chat, Nash tries to put the West Indian part of his career in perspective. “I am glad that I could come and live this life. As much as I love the things I have achieved, the biggest thing for me is that in some small way I have helped West Indies try and take the steps [to return to] where they were.”