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Aston Villa will travel to Millwall this weekend for their final league match of the 2017-18 Championship season.

Steve Bruce’s side have already booked their spot in the Championship playoffs, however, as they look to secure a return to the Premier League.

Villa have enjoyed a strong campaign, but have just been unable to match Wolverhampton Wanderers and Cardiff City, who hold the top two positions.

Birkir Bjarnason has not always been in the Villa team this season, but the Iceland international has scored four times and registered three assists in 27 appearances, and has impressed the supporters with his form in 2018.

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The 29-year-old has been struggling with a calf problem, and that issue is expected to rule him out of the Millwall match this weekend.

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The Villa fans are not too concerned about his probable absence against Neil Harris’ side, however, with the majority simply wanting the midfielder to be available for the playoffs.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

One year ago as Manchester United’s David Moyes experiment had come to its end; it seemed that the Ashley Young one was coming to the same depressing conclusion.

Three years on from his move from Aston Villa, it seemed a nigh on certainty that he had played his last game in a red shirt. As the incumbent manager Louis van Gaal prepared to cull his new squad, it seemed pretty likely that the winger would have prime position on the Dutchman’s chopping block.

However, with a rise that Lazarus would be proud of, Ashley Young has not only avoided the chop at Old Trafford, he has made himself a vital cog in the new era at United.

Van Gaal has used Young in a number of roles this term; he was deployed at full back in the early periods of season before he has made the left wing position his own. In the process, the 29 year old has ousted record signing Angel di Maria; through a combination of bad luck with injuries and the Englishman’s startling return to form, the Argentinian has struggled to hold down a place.

In their recent fixture against Crystal Palace, the former Villa man was head and shoulders the best United player, driving his side to a hard earned victory. In the first half his cross resulted in a penalty, before he lay on a late winner for his fellow comeback kid Marouane Fellaini.

In United’s successful quest for a return to Champions League football, he has been one of the standout stars; his improvement has been staggering, from the player who was bereft of confidence and ability 12 months ago, he is now putting in the kind of performances that earned him a consistent run for the national side.

A recall to Roy Hodgson’s side can surely not be too far away, it still seems strange, but there is beginning to be a genuine clamour for his return to the national fold. The fact that it is not only those of a Man United inclination that are demanding his recall show just how far he has come. It seems only yesterday that he was derided by fans and press alike, a figure of laughter, the butt of jokes…..no more.

Memphis Depay’s imminent arrival in Manchester will surely heap even more pressure on the winger, but if this season is an indicator he has plenty of fight left in him yet. He has become a trusted aid for Van Gaal in his journey to return United to the top of English football.

As little as twelve months ago, Young’s career was in turmoil; but he now seems to have appeared out of the other end of the tunnel and he is a player on the up, he is almost a different player to the one that trudged around so ineffectively under his previous manager.

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He has one year left on his deal so once again Young will have to prove his worth to his manager, but if in twelve months’ time he can look back on a season as good as this one; he should have nothing to worry about at all.

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After a delay of nearly two hours from the original unveiling time, the Cardiff City website coughed and spluttered back to life, bringing with it the full horror of the Bluebirds 2013/14 home kit.

It was immediately met with cries of derision by Bluebird fans from all sides of the rebranding – The KKB (Keep Kardiff Blue), The Reluctant Reds, The Cardiff City Traditionalists, The I couldn’t give a frig’s, Bluebirds Unite (who are newly formed and rapidly gaining followers) and The so called majority – The we’d rather be blue of course we would, but we have no say in it! Brigades and with good reason too!

The all red kit which was unveiled managed the truly awesome feat of clashing with itself. The shirt and shorts were two vastly different shades of red. The top, Liverpool red while the shorts are the shade of red of last seasons controversial and much derided home strip – it screamed one thing – it was designed by someone who is colourblind.

I suspect it was supposed to represent the fusion of the rebrand – The Welsh red and the Chinese red. However, like the reviled badge that remains from last season – which is also purported to represent the fusion of the two cultures; the kit just didn’t work, it clashed violently and jarred on the senses and the eyes.

Across the Social media platforms there was an explosion of disgust and anger, 99% of supporters concurring they hated the two tone red shirt and shorts, but a closer inspection revelled the kit was made up of at least five shades of red and the design is clumsy and ugly!

Baggy three-quarter length sleeves, and a faux v-neck that harks back to the hay day of Frank Butcher in Eastenders, while the Cardiff City logo and that of kit designers Puma both sat very high on the shoulders of the shirt rather than on the chest area as is traditional, close to the heart where they have always sat to symbolise that the players and supporters who wear the shirt, carry the badge (which is the physical symbol of the club and so the team itself) in their hearts.

The shirt also has two stripes which to quote the club are symbolic “The two Puma King stripes are a reflection of fans’ loyalty to the club!” Many quickly and pithily replied, it was a pity the club showed no loyalty to its history!

Then there are the shorts once you get past the dirty red colour which takes some doing when they are paired with a brighter almost wash faded red of the shirt and socks.

The shorts are cut oddly, old fashioned, over long and shapeless they have a thick and ugly elasticated waistband of the type usually seen on the trousers of old men of a certain girth

They also have the look of cropped jogging bottoms, the kind of shorts that someone’s mum had made and donated to the school, for the dreaded spare kit box, the very pair that lurked at the bottom greeting you if you forgot you sports kit, with their polyester shine, before inducing fits of giggles as you took to the field of play wearing them within sight of everyone else!

The kit taken as a whole looked like it belonged to a pub side clobbered together with the only bargain basement market stall rip-off parts there was enough of for the whole team , certainly not befitting of a side making their return to the top flight of English football for the first time in 51 years.

It’s a bizarre thought that anyone at any point looked at the clashing Cardiff City two toned red home kit in a typically poor design by Puma and thought they likes it, much less that it was perfect for The Blues to run out in, in their first home game – That it was fit to mark The Bluebirds re-entrance into the most successful league in the world after an absence of fifty odd years, in the knowledge that the world will be watching, with a smirk on its its face after the embarrassment of the rebranding which was universally criticised by everyone within the sport of football and beyond.

It is Incomprehensible that someone at a very early stage of the design’s life didn’t say “You’re not serious? That is hideous!” But it would seem if someone did (which is likely) they were shouted down and ignored.

The long suffering wife of One lifelong Bluebird supporter (who has bought every replica Cardiff City shirt for the last 25 years apart from last season’s red and the 2011/12 ‘Swansea home kit’ style away strip) was aghast when she logged into the City shop to view the kit saying – “At least last years shirt even although it was bloody red, it was stylish …. this one looks like it was made in a cheap sweatshop …”

Another fan emotionally said: “I struggled to come to terms with one shade of red, but two clashing shades of red is killing me.”

Supporters of other clubs quickly started to add their opinion into the mix a West Ham fan commented that he was unsure if it was possible to get any more different shades of red In the same kit.

A Newcastle united supporter said “I wouldn’t even wish that on Sunderland!”

Even Cardiff City’s players waded in; defender Andrew Taylor tweeted to one of Cardiff City FC’s media men to ask ” why are the shorts a weird colour??!! Has (the City kit man) designed this strip??

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Supporters outraged by Cardiff City’s attempts to red-dyed themselves for the Premier League started an online petition in the hope of bringing about a complete reversal of the rebrand. Several hours passed before anyone from Cardiff made any comment. Then it was an official, unofficial promise to look into things.

That evening Cardiff city club issued an apology

‘Cardiff City Football Club on Wednesday May 29th launched the first images of the 2013/14 home kit, which featured two shades of red, the darker of which was carried in the shorts. The decision had been made as a means to help visually distinguish the club in the Premier League, while continuing the theme of our successful 2012/13 Championship winning season.’

The resulting response carried across social media quickly indicated that a large number of supporters were unhappy with the choice of colour concerning the shorts. For that we apologise.

Along with the apology came the news that via email season ticket holders were to be balloted on a choice of replacement shorts.

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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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Trent Rockets now in pole position to finish second, which would grant them a Finals spot if the Eliminator is washed out

ECB Media26-Aug-2025Manchester Originals 140 for 3 (Buttler 70, Ravindra 47*) beat Northern Superchargers 139 for 8 (Patel 42, Aspinwall 3-17) by seven wicketsWith the return of Sir James Anderson to the Manchester Originals’ line-up, there was an extra frisson at Headingley for the local derby as the Northern Superchargers looked to record eight wins from eight for the women and men at their northern fortress. Alas for Harry Brook’s side, although they will still be in the Eliminator at the Kia Oval on Saturday, it was not to be.Starting on the same points total as the Trent Rockets but with a significant deficit in net run rate, the Superchargers were looking for a big win to give themselves a decent chance of finishing second in the group stages.The Originals won the toss and chose to field, with Anderson bowling the first ten, and rapidly picking up his first and second wickets in The Hundred, accompanied by a broad grin. He then had Brook dropped in the deep before seeing England’s white-ball captain try his falling-over scoop, the ball merely dribbling a few feet from the bat, Brook ending up on his bottom and Anderson in stitches.Brook (20 off 20) was then caught off Scott Currie and Zak Crawley (17 off 17) holed out, and at 73 for 5 off 67 balls, the Originals were in the box seat.Enter the 40-year-old Samit Patel, three years younger than Anderson perhaps, but still very much a senior citizen in professional cricketing terms. When he was dismissed off the penultimate delivery, he had pummelled four fours and three sixes in his 19-ball 42 and, along with David Miller (30 off 22), given the Superchargers something to defend despite Tom Aspinwall’s impressive 3 for 17.The Superchargers’ opening pair of Jacob Duffy and Matthew Potts were tidy, Phil Salt (9 off 13) and Ben McKinney (6 off 8) struggling to break free but once they had gone, Jos Buttler and Rachin Ravindra (47* off 23) showed just why they are rated two of the best white-ball batters in the world, a thrilling partnership of 99 off 48 ensuring the Originals finished the competition on a high and consigning the Superchargers to a third-place group finish, barring a catastrophic defeat by the Rockets to the Phoenix tomorrow at Trent Bridge.Buttler was imperious, smiting seven fours and five sixes in his 37-ball 70 before being bowled by Adil Rashid, at which point only 10 were needed off 21 balls. Rashid conceded 39 from his 20, the most he has ever leaked in The Hundred, and successive boundaries from Ravindra sealed the deal with seven wickets and 16 balls to spare.Meerkat Match Hero Jos Buttler said: “The surface was a bit tricky, a bit slow. I thought we bowled exceptionally well apart from three or four balls and that allowed us to chase it down. We showed our best cricket in this last game when we were already out of the tournament, which is frustrating.”Overall, over the course of the tournament, we left a lot out there. In a couple of games, we failed to get over the line and we are where we deserve to be in the end. Tonight we showed what we are truly capable of as a team.”

Player retentions for eight teams confirmed ahead of draft in March

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Feb-2024Jason Roy, Dawid Malan and Amy Jones are among the England players who will on the block in next month’s draft for the 2024 Hundred, after player retentions for the eight teams were confirmed.Roy was one of the most high-profile names among those released, having helped Oval Invincibles to win the men’s competition last year. Roy averaged 17.11 with a strike rate of 128.33 and his expected involvement in Major League Cricket – which will clash with the Hundred in 2024 – is likely to have been a factor. Invincibles also opted not to retain two of their overseas players, Sunil Narine and Heinrich Klaasen, both of whom featured in the first edition of MLC.There will, however, be an overlap of talent at the Hundred and MLC, with Rashid Khan (Trent Rockets), Finn Allen (Southern Brave), Haris Rauf (Welsh Fire), Adam Zampa and Spencer Johnson (both Oval Invincibles) all retained for this summer despite their involvement in the US, and other names likely to appear in the final draft list, which will be confirmed on Monday.Related

• Warner, Williamson, Mandhana among overseas talent in Hundred draft

• Hundred faces MLC clash as 2024 fixtures are announced

• Mark Chapman, Manchester Originals chair: 'The ECB aren't talking to Hundred boards'

Malan and Tom Kohler-Cadmore were among the top earners at Trent Rockets but both will go back into the pool, as will Tom Banton, who was not retained by Northern Superchargers. Ollie Pope, who has an ECB red-ball central contract, was not retained by Welsh Fire.In the women’s competition, where the three highest pay bands have received a significant boost, there will be seven spots to fill in the top £50,000 bracket. Jones, England’s first-choice wicketkeeper, was let go by Birmingham Phoenix, while the retirements of Katherine Sciver-Brunt and Anya Shrubsole have opened up spaces at Rockets and Southern Brave respectively.Ellyse Perry, Sophie Devine (both Phoenix), Marizanne Kapp (Invincibles), Phoebe Litchfield (Superchargers), Hayley Matthews and Shabnim Ismail (both Fire) are among the overseas players who will be coming back.In all, 137 players have been retained – men’s teams could retain up to 10 players, women’s teams eight – with 75 spots to be filled via the draft on the March 20. Northern Superchargers, who finished last in 2023, will have the first pick in the men’s draft, with Birmingham Phoenix starting things off in the women’s.Teams will each have one Right-to-Match card at their disposal, allowing them to re-sign a player who was in their squad last year, as long as they match the salary band of the rival team bidding in the draft.The Hundred will get going on July 23 with a double-header at The Oval and run for four weeks, with the finals to be held at Lord’s on August 18.

Retained players

Birmingham Phoenix Women: Sophie Devine, Ellyse Perry, Issy Wong, Emily Arlott, Hannah Baker, Sterre Kalis, Charis PavelyBirmingham Phoenix Men: Chris Woakes, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Ben Duckett, Benny Howell, Adam Milne, Jamie Smith, Will Smeed, Tom Helm, Jacob BethellLondon Spirit Women: Heather Knight, Grace Harris, Danielle Gibson, Charlie Dean, Sarah Glenn, Georgia Redmayne, Sophie Munro, Tara NorrisLondon Spirit Men: Zak Crawley, Nathan Ellis, Dan Lawrence, Dan Worrall, Liam Dawson, Adam Rossington, Olly Stone, Matt Critchley, Daniel Bell-DrummondManchester Originals Women: Sophie Ecclestone, Laura Wolvaardt, Emma Lamb, Mahika Gaur, Fi Morris, Kathryn Bryce, Ellie Threlkeld, Liberty HeapManchester Originals Men: Jos Buttler, Jamie Overton, Phil Salt, Paul Walter, Tom Hartley, Usama Mir, Wayne Madsen, Josh Tongue, Max Holden, Fred Klaassen, Mitchell StanleyNorthern Superchargers Women: Phoebe Litchfield, Georgia Wareham, Kate Cross, Bess Heath, Linsey Smith, Alice Davidson-Richards, Hollie Armitage, Marie KellyNorthern Superchargers Men: Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid, Harry Brook, Reece Topley, Matthew Short, Brydon Carse, Adam Hose, Matthew Potts, Callum Parkinson, Ollie RobinsonOval Invincibles Women: Marizanne Kapp, Alice Capsey, Lauren Winfield-Hill, Tash Farrant, Mady Villiers, Paige Schofield, Sophia Smale, Ryana MacDonald-GayOval Invincibles Men: Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Will Jacks, Adam Zampa, Jordan Cox, Gus Atkinson, Sam Billings, Saqib Mahmood, Spencer Johnson, Nathan Sowter, Tawanda MuyeyeSouthern Brave Women: Danni Wyatt, Chloe Tryon, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Freya Kemp, Georgia Adams, Rhianna Southby, Mary TaylorSouthern Brave Men: Jofra Archer, James Vince, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, Leus Du Plooy, Rehan Ahmed, Craig Overton, Finn Allen, George Garton, Alex DaviesTrent Rockets Women: Nat Sciver-Brunt, Alana King, Bryony Smith, Kirstie Gordon, Alexa Stonehouse, Grace PottsTrent Rockets Men: Joe Root, Rashid Khan, Alex Hales, Lewis Gregory, Luke Wood, John Turner, Sam Hain, Sam CookWelsh Fire Women: Hayley Matthews, Sophia Dunkley, Shabnim Ismail, Tammy Beaumont, Georgia Elwiss, Sarah Bryce, Freya Davies, Emily WindsorWelsh Fire Men: Jonny Bairstow, David Willey, Joe Clarke, Haris Rauf, Tom Abell, David Payne, Glenn Phillips, Luke Wells, Roelof Van der Merwe, Stephen Eskinazi, Chris Cook

Action shifts to Mount Maunganui with the series now a two-match contest

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2022India’s white-ball tour of New Zealand began with the first T20I in Wellington being washed out without a toss.Both sides were consigned indoors due to continuous rain. Barring a very short dry spell, it was wet throughout.That was disappointing news for the fans in attendance at the Sky Stadium, which was set to host its first men’s T20I match in 20 months.Even while it was drizzling, on-field umpires Chris Brown and Wayne Knights seemed to be inspecting the outfield to gauge the earliest time a match could start once the rain stopped.However, that never happened, with the game called off at 8.52pm local time, roughly 54 minutes before the cut-off time for a five-over shootout.The T20I series now moves to Mount Maunganui for the second match on Sunday, after which the teams will move to Napier for the third T20I on Tuesday.A young India squad is being led by Hardik Pandya for the T20I series with many senior players rested. New Zealand are competing without Martin Guptill and Trent Boult with both sides looking to move on from their respective semi-final defeats at the T20 World Cup in Australia.

Whitewashing by second-string ODI team leaves visitors short of answers

Danyal Rasool15-Jul-2021

Big Picture

English eyeballs might have primarily focused on football heartache over the past week, but those who tuned into the cricket received the fillip they might have craved. An ad-hoc English squad cobbled together from a motley crew of country cricket staples and international reservists overwhelmed a Pakistan side that, despite its recent travails, will have felt fairly star-studded in comparison. The visitors were swept aside 3-0, an England team that will never again play together did what was expected of them, and plenty more.The sight of John Simpson being put out to pasture, only to be replaced by Jos Buttler, and the general return of a near-full strength England side for the T20I leg should send a shudder down Pakistani spines. The tiresome cliché about Pakistani cricket’s unpredictability continues to hold, but the ODI series threw up very few of the highs and far too many lows for a casual observer not to suspect the hangover to bleed into the shorter format. It’s quite all right to succumb to England in an ODI series away, but the embarrassment around the circumstances of the defeats are set to define this tour, no matter what happens in the T20Is that follow.Some English fans – and many, many Pakistani ones, rest assured – might worry England’s full-strength squad threatens to make this even more of a no-contest than the ODI series was. However, Pakistan retain the uncanny ability to drop or raise their level, especially in T20I cricket, in accordance with the quality of opposition they face. The most recent T20I series ended in a narrow 2-1 win for Babar Azam’s side in Zimbabwe, which included a game where they were bowled out for 99. Two series against rather stiffer opposition, South Africa, ended in 2-1 and 3-1 wins for Pakistan earlier this year. And when they last played England in this format? A creditable 1-1 draw last year. Mercifully for England, when cricket throws up that scoreline, there’s no penalty shootout to follow.The return of some of their more renowned power-hitters is timely for England, given the venue of the first T20I. Trent Bridge is among the more conducive venues to run-scoring in T20s around the world, what with its short boundaries and flat wickets. Pakistan will remember England chasing down 340 in an ODI against them at this ground two years ago, with Jason Roy, among the returnees for England, smashing an 89-ball 114. Not to mention the 444 for 3 and all that at the same venue in 2016.However, Pakistan should find some joy in playing T20I cricket at Trent Bridge too, whatever the relative strength of their opposition. For inspiration, they need only rewind to their last meeting on this ground, in the World Cup group stage in 2019. Pakistan’s ODI middle order is notoriously porous, which forces conservatism up top, but that shouldn’t shackle the batsmen when they have only 20 overs to get through. Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali and Shadab Khan might not be around for long, but they continue to be explosive in brief cameos, and if Mohammad Rizwan’s form up top continues, that might just be good enough to give what is still a quality bowling line-up a fighting chance.

Form guide

Pakistan WLWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)

England WWWLL

In the spotlight

Tom Banton might argue that England owe him an outing. He would have been an ideal candidate for their emergency ODI squad last week, except that his non-playing presence on England’s bench during the Sri Lanka series meant Phil Salt claimed the stand-in opener’s role while he served his period of self-isolation. Prior to that call-up, Banton had been setting the Blast alight, as he seems to do year after year, but puzzlingly, that form hasn’t quite translated into white-ball explosiveness for England, either in T20Is or ODIs. The sample size remains small – he has played just nine T20Is, but crossed 20 just twice. The last series he played, against Australia last year, he managed 12 runs in three innings. His showings in the Pakistan Super League haven’t exactly burnished his reputation back in Pakistan, where only 83 runs across nine innings and two seasons saw him left out of his franchise sides. However, Pakistan might do well to remember both innings of consequence he has played in T20I cricket came against them in last year’s series, in the shape of a 42-ball 71 and a 31-ball 46.Related

• James Vince trumps Babar Azam's 158 as England seal stunning 332 chase

• Stats: Babar Azam fastest to 14 ODI tons, hammers career-best 158

• Babar Azam consolidates top spot among ODI batters after career-best 158

• Misbah: Can never defend such poor and disappointing performances

Everyone knows Babar Azam scores runs, but that’s really not enough in T20 cricket. He was the highest scorer at the PSL this season, with seven half-centuries across 11 innings, and two fifties and a hundred in his last six T20Is. However, criticism over his strike rate has mounted, especially over the past year, and many feeling his side was hampered the longer he stayed at the crease, particularly with Karachi Kings. He comes into this series fresh off the memory of a career-best 158 in the final ODI, an innings he took time to settle into, only for England to chase their target down with time to spare. In high-scoring T20s, as the one at Trent Bridge is overwhelmingly likely to be, the role of an anchor is especially reduced, and the Pakistan captain might find he needs to be at his sizzling, stylish best if he is to give his side the best shot.

Team news

England’s primary headache revolves around how many of their ODI heroes deserve to get a go at Trent Bridge, now that the big boys have turned up. Saqib Mahmood might retain his place ahead of Tom Curran, though Matt Parkinson has a struggle on his hands now that Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali have turned up. Skipper Eoin Morgan slots back into the middle order comfortably, with Jason Roy and Jos Buttler likely to open. In Sam Curran’s absence, there’s a potential berth for Lewis Gregory as their all-sorts allrounder.England (possible): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Jonny Bairstow, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Liam Livingstone, 7 Lewis Gregory/Moeen Ali, 8 David Willey, 9 Chris Jordan, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Saqib Mahmood/Tom CurranHasan Ali will miss the first match as a precautionary measure due to a strain in his left leg, which he picked during a training session at Trent Bridge on Thursday. Mohammad Hasnain may get his first outing of the tour. There are more Pakistan batters eyeing a spot in the top order than there are slots to accommodate them, so some will play outside of their preferred positions. Shadab Khan will vie with Usman Qadir for the spinner’s role, though it might not be a surprise to see both line up in the starting eleven.Pakistan (possible): 1 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 2 Babar Azam (capt), 3 Sharjeel Khan, 4 Sohaib Maqsood, 5 Mohammad Hafeez, 6 Faheem Ashraf, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Haris Rauf, 9 Mohammad Hasnain, 10 Usman Qadir, 11 Shaheen Shah Afridi

Pitch and conditions

The weather across the UK has been grim for weeks, but Nottingham is braced for a relative heatwave in the coming days, so the conditions on Friday evening are expected to be balmy. The wicket should be true, despite the rain that’s been around, and the boundaries small. Expect a run-fest.

Stats and trivia

• Only four venues have seen runs come at a greater rate than Trent Bridge’s 8.70 in T20 cricket over the last five years. Three of them are in New Zealand, with Eden Park leading the way (9.01). Taunton (8.92) is the other.
• Should Fakhar Zaman play, he needs just 52 runs to become the 7th Pakistani batter to reach 1,000 T20I runs
• This is the first T20I to take place at Trent Bridge in nearly a decade. The last one, in which England beat West Indies in 2012, included three players from the current English side – Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow
  

  Quotes

  “We’re treating it as if it’s our last chance to look at guys in various positions”
  
  England captain Eoin Morgan suggests there might be an element of rotation to the home side’s line-up this series

Health, family, security behind Paul, Bravo, Hetmyer’s decisions

Nagraj Gollapudi04-Jun-2020Concerns about their families are understood to be the primary reason behind Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer and Keemo Paul declining to be part of the West Indies Test squad for the England tour. Both the prospect of leaving their families for seven weeks and concerns about how quickly they would be able to see them on their return to the Caribbean at the end of July are understood to be key factors in the players’ decisions, with uncertainty around the quarantine requirements that may be imposed by their respective governments.On Wednesday, Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced a 25-man squad including 11 reserves for the three-Test series in England which is scheduled to start in Southampton on July 8 subject to the UK government’s approval. CWI said it “fully accepts and respects” the decision taken by Bravo, Hetmyer and Paul to opt out of the tour and would “certainly not hold it against” them in future selections.Talking to ESPNcricinfo, Johnny Grave, CWI chief executive, said that the board wanted players who were “comfortable” travelling without any “nagging doubts” as otherwise it might impact their performances. Grave said he totally understood the doubts and fears expressed by the three players after speaking with Bravo last Friday and receiving emails from the other two players over the weekend.Grave said Paul, the 22-year-old allrounder, wrote an email to CWI explaining how difficult a decision it was for him to not travel to England. “Keemo Paul is the sole breadwinner in his entire household and wider family,” Grave said. “He was really concerned if something happened to him how his family would cope.WATCH: CPL Life Stories: Keemo Paul on growing up in Saxacalli“He wrote a personal note to us to explain it was with a heavy heart that he had decided not to tour but that he just didn’t feel comfortable going to England. He wrote passionately about how hard a decision it was for him and how much he loves playing for West Indies, but with consultation with his family he doesn’t feel he can leave them and doesn’t want to go on the tour.”According Grave, Hetmyer said that he “didn’t feel comfortable from a safety point of view, leaving his home, leaving his family and heading over to England”. Paul and Hetmyer both come from Guyana, where the number of Covid-19 cases is under 200.As for Bravo, who lives in Trinidad, Grave said he was concerned about the situation in the UK. “Darren Bravo had concerns about his health and any consequences that it may have on his young family. He also mentioned he made his decision with great remorse as it was always a huge honour for him to play for West Indies. So, yes, perfectly valid reasons and the ones that we fully respect. We were never going to force or try to coerce and we didn’t ask them to reconsider.”Bravo, Hetmyer and Paul are centrally-contracted, all-format players. Among the three, only Hetmyer has consistently featured in the Test team since his debut in 2017, but all three have struggled with form in the last year. Last year, Bravo managed just 106 runs at an average of 13.25 which included the two-Test series against India. The selectors dropped him for the one-off Test against Afghanistan with chief selector Roger Harper saying Bravo needed to be “away” from international cricket to find his form back. Hetmyer, too, had a forgettable 2019 in Test cricket, scoring 244 runs at 24.40, while Paul has played three Tests in his career with six wickets to his name.Keemo Paul “wrote passionately” to explain his decision•AFP / Getty Images

In May, Grave had pointed out that he understood why players who come from smaller Caribbean islands would be nervous about going to England, which was seen as “one of the eyes of the storm” with the official death count due to the virus nearing 40,000. Subsequently, the players grew more confident once they heard of the “robust and safe plan” the ECB had put in place to conduct the tour within a bio-secure environment behind closed doors.ALSO READ: Bio-secure venues can withstand second wave – ElworthyOn June 1, both ECB and CWI medical experts had another call before the tour schedule was made public. On the same day, CWI had a call with the wider pool of players from which the final squad would be picked to update them on the final arrangements. “We gave them all the most up-to-date information on the tour,” Grave said. “All I clarified to them on Monday on the call with Professor Nick Pierce (ECB chief medical officer) and our medical practitioners was: were they happy that they had all the information and did they have any further questions.”I then explained that Roger Harper, CWI lead selector, would contact them regarding whether they were selected or not and that they had until the following day, having slept on it, to confirm their position.”Ultimately, we want a group of players that are comfortable to be there so that they are not worried about these things and therefore they have got a chance to perform at their best. If they have got nagging doubts or worries about their families they are not going to be performing at their best.”It is in everyone’s interest if you are not comfortable to say so and not tour and be certain that it is not going to be held against you. Rather than go, be worried, and ultimately don’t perform or want to come home. So it is a good decision all round. We are still taking a strong Test side to England.”CWI is now waiting for the test results for the squad to come back from Miami, which are expected within the next 48 hours. Anyone who tests positive for the virus will almost certainly not take the charter flight that is set to leave on June 8 from Antigua.

The consortium will take over from IMG-Reliance, which pulled out of its deal following the suicide bomb attack in Kashmir that has strained relations between India and Pakistan

Danyal Rasool19-Feb-2019Two days after IMG-Reliance pulled out of its deal to produce television coverage of the fourth season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), a replacement for the remainder of the tournament has been found. The PCB has declared that a consortium of Blitz and Trans Group will produce TV coverage throughout the course of this season’s PSL from now on.”The Pakistan Cricket Board today announced the consortium of Blitz and Trans Group as the new live production partner for the HBL Pakistan Super League 2019,” the PCB said in a press release. “Blitz are the PCB’s broadcast partners in Pakistan, while Trans Group are the event management partners.”Blitz and Trans Group will start their coverage when the matches resume on Wednesday, 20 February, and will continue to provide the same high quality coverage which the followers experienced in the earlier games of the event.”The announcement by IMG-Reliance, an Indian company, that they would not be producing TV coverage of the PSL came on Sunday, three days after a suicide bomb attack in Kashmir killed 44 Indian paramilitary troops, severely straining relations between India and Pakistan. The acrimony spilled over into cricket, not just with IMG-Reliance’s decision, but with TV channel DSports ceasing broadcasting of the PSL in India. Cricketgateway’s website, which has provided online coverage of the PSL for the past two seasons, has also stopped providing its coverage in India.IMG-Reliance’s decision left the PCB scrambling to find a replacement within the two days that the PSL was on a break for before games resume in Sharjah on Wednesday, The deal with Blitz and Trans Group goes some way to assuaging fears that the PSL would be left without a production partner, a major concern given TV revenue was overwhelmingly the largest source of income for the tournament.There was also speculation that the India-Pakistan clash at the World Cup on June 16 in Manchester may be in jeopardy. It led to outgoing ICC CEO David Richardson to say that “no indications” had been sent from either board that the match would not take place but that the ICC was “monitoring” the situation.