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Twelve games into the Premier League season and there has not been a single sacking among the managers of any of the 20 top-flight clubs.

Given that Sunderland’s Paolo Di Canio was booted out as early as September last year and the duo of Roberto Di Matteo and Mark Hughes had already been handed their P45s by Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers respectively by November the season before that, it certainly seems as if we’re overdue a managerial casualty this campaign.

Whilst sack race speculation has been rife, with talk of some high-profile departures at the league’s biggest clubs, getting rid of an underperforming manager is ultimately pointless if a replacement hasn’t been identified. Bearing this in mind, here are five gaffers that the Premier League’s strugglers may wish to target should they decide to give their current crop the chop…

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CLICK ON KLOPP TO REVEAL THE FIVE

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Got any questions? Follow me on Twitter @GruffuddOwen

1. Jurgen Klopp (Arsenal)

After the euphoric relief of clinching their first major trophy in nine years last season with their FA Cup triumph, the mood at Arsenal has taken a turn for the worse this campaign. The Gunners have stuttered in the league and have not looked too impressive in Europe either, which has led many Arsenal fans to believe that long-serving manager Arsene Wenger should have gone out on a high by leaving the club at the end of last season.

The North London club have been accused of stagnating under the Frenchman, who may have taken his beloved side as far as he possibly can. A new method and a fresh lease of life is clearly needed, and Jurgen Klopp – currently of Borussia Dortmund – would be the ideal manager to instigate this.

Not only has the German tasted success with Dortmund – having led them to two Bundesliga titles, not to mention a Champions League final in 2013 – but his lively, enthusiastic approach to the game, his preference for slick, attacking football and his reputation for nurturing young, homegrown players make him an ideal fit for the Gunners.

2. Diego Simeone (Liverpool)

Brendan Rodgers is on the brink at Liverpool. His side has been woeful this season, with the defence producing calamitous display after calamitous display and the attack proving to be useless at adapting to life without Luis Suarez. Unless the Reds boss can turn things around very quickly, his time at Anfield will soon be over.

Should the Merseyside club part ways with the Irishman, they could do much worse than to elect Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone as their new man. The Argentinian led Los Indios to La Liga glory last season – a phenomenal achievement given the financial dominance of Real Madrid and Barcelona – and they also came agonisingly close to lifting the Champions League for the first time in their history, losing to city rivals Real in the final. Simeone has gained much praise for how disciplined and organised his Atletico side is, especially in defence.

They conceded just 26 league goals last season – the fewest in La Liga – compared to Liverpool’s 50 in the Premier League. The Reds are crying out for a manager who can bring back a degree of solidity to their backline; they need look no further than Simeone.

3. Marcelo Bielsa (Manchester City)

Sergio Aguero may be single-handedly keeping Manuel Pellegrini in his job at Manchester City for the time being, but if last year’s league champions continue to struggle as they have done so far, City’s notoriously impatient owners will not hesitate to sack the Chilean.

Marcelo Bielsa would be a fascinating choice for the Citizens – known as El Loco for his meticulous attention to detail, his sides are famed for being ultra attacking and highly exciting to watch. Bielsa likes to utilise wing-backs in advanced positions, which would suit City’s forward-thinking duo of Aleksandar Kolarov and Pablo Zabaleta, and the fact that the 59 year-old is Argentinian suggests that he will be able to get the best out of his compatriot Aguero in attack.

Currently managing Marseille in Ligue 1, Bielsa would relish the opportunity to manage a club of City’s size, although his lack of silverware in Europe could count against him. More can be found on the method in Bielsa’s madness here.

4. Frank de Boer (Aston Villa)

Despite a hugely promising start in which they won three and drew one of their opening four games – including an excellent away victory at Liverpool – Paul Lambert’s Aston Villa have since picked up just two points in the league, conforming to their pre-season tag as possible relegation candidates.

Villa fans have not had much to cheer about since Lambert was appointed manager in 2012, and patience is wearing thin; they have scored just six league goals all season – the fewest in the league – and have not recorded a victory since their win at Anfield in early September.

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Ajax’s Frank de Boer may be an ambitious option, but let us not forget that Villa are historically one of England’s biggest football clubs; Villa Park is the sixth-largest stadium in the Premier League, and the Birmingham side also won the European Cup in 1982.

Indeed, there are many similarities to be drawn between Ajax and Villa: both tasted great success in the past but have faded in recent times, both place great emphasis on developing homegrown players, and both have been forced to cope with selling their brightest talents. De Boer has made no secret of his desire to manage in England one day; at Aston Villa, a club that shares much in common with Ajax, the 44 year-old could make the transition from Dutch football a seamless one.

5. Glen Hoddle (QPR)

A slightly controversial option, this; Hoddle is currently first-team coach at QPR under Harry Redknapp, and has found it difficult to get back into management after his dismissal for making some pretty tastless comments during his time as England manager in the late 1990s.

Nevertheless, Hoddle continues to be regarded as one of England’s most tactically astute and progressive coaches, and if the Rs continue to flounder under Redknapp, he would surely jump at the opportunity to return as the main man in the dugout.

One gets the feeling that Hoddle has something of a point to prove; his hunger to succeed after so many years in the wilderness could be what the Loftus Road outfit need to survive relegation from the Premier League.

It has taken seven years since arriving at Arsenal, but Theo Walcott’s career has finally started. Maybe that’s giving this whole contract situation an unnecessary Hollywood touch, but considering the time it took to get the deal signed and delivered – and Arsenal are certainly not without fault – there is rightly plenty expected from the England international.

Walcott has become the best paid player at Arsenal following this round of negotiations, but he’s far from their best on the pitch. What the contract represents is something more than just extending the stay of one of the club’s most important names; there’s no escaping how devastating Walcott’s departure could have been to the club’s image and the supporters’ mind-set, an impact which stretches far beyond the loss of his realistic value on the pitch.

But I have no reservations about saying that this protracted saga was all about the money, while talk of positions on the field was a cleverly placed, yet not totally convincing smokescreen. Walcott got exactly what he wanted; he was under no pressure to sign a contract at Arsenal and certainly could have been given stronger promises of silverware at other clubs. But becoming the highest paid player at Arsenal signals his arrival at the big time. He can no longer hide behind Cesc Fabregas or Robin van Persie; he can no longer use the excuse that he’s young and still learning his trade. Playing out of position is one thing, but there is a lot of criticism that can justifiably be levelled at his technique and propensity to be wasteful. Walcott is a man, one who is now on a senior squad member’s wages.

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I’m not saying a chorus of boos should rain down on the player if he fails to live up to expectation for a prolonged spell in the coming months. However, I do believe that sport fans have a right to be critical. If that comes in the form of blogs or on Twitter then fine, but it’s also acceptable for fans to voice their opinions in a stadium. Footballers live in a completely different world to everyone else, but there are times when they need to be made aware of their responsibilities to their club. Rewards come in the form of big contracts, and especially Walcott’s with only a few years in length. Yet, there should be no immunity from those who are failing to earn it.

Walcott has delivered a number of performances this season that would suggest he deserves the contract he’s on. And once again, contracts such as these go beyond just what a player can do on the pitch. The spirit around the Emirates following the 7-3 win over Newcastle was incredibly high – arguably the highest it has been for a long time. Yes it’s nice for fans to experience big wins over teams who should be considered a good side in English football, but there was an added sense of hope, one which saw so many look to Walcott as the new star in a team desperately in need of one. After so many frustrating seasons, was he finally delivering on promises?

There might have been similar feelings against Reading in the League Cup, hope and belief in the player that he would do what was needed every time he was put through on goal and racing away from opposition defenders. Arsenal fans are currently more than deserving of something to be a little excited about; it’s not always a dangerous thing to get a little carried away by the potential of what’s to come.

Most will continue to look at Jack Wilshere as the face of this Arsenal team, and that is right. But Walcott has been in the team longer, is older, has experienced more, and thus has higher expectations. He’s far more than just a sprinter, but people want to see regularly that he is capable of so much more.

Walcott wanted a contract that gives an accurate representation of his status at Arsenal and in the England national team. However, that contract certainly doesn’t come without a great deal of expectation.

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Kathryn Bryce spearheads bowling as Freeborn-Wraith stand falls short of rescuing Warwickshire

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay24-Jul-2025A rain-hit 50-overs match on a club ground might bear little resemblance to a T20 at the Kia Oval but The Blaze will draw some confidence from a 47-run victory over Warwickshire Women in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup as a dress rehearsal of sorts for Sunday’s Vitality Blast semi-final.After Marie Kelly’s List A career-best 66 and opening partner Georgia Boyce’s 46 had laid the foundations for a total of 218 for 6 after opting to bat first in a match reduced to 39 overs-a-side, The Blaze dismissed Warwickshire for 171, despite a determined effort by Abbey Freeborn (56 off 73 balls) and Nat Wraith (75 off 71) to give the visitors a chance after being reduced to 13 for 4.Kathryn Bryce (3-18), Georgia Elwiss (3-26) and Grace Ballinger (3-26) shared the bowling honours for The Blaze, for whom Sarah Bryce had made an unbeaten 32, with two wickets each for Warwickshire’s Georgia Davis and Amu Surenkumar.Winning the toss and electing to bat in a match reduced to 39 overs per side after morning rain at the Lindum Sports Club Ground in Lincoln, The Blaze established a strong foundation as Kelly and Boyce shared an opening stand of 106, Kelly hitting eight fours and a six.Kelly, making her first List A appearance of the season, pulled Surenkumar for her maximum early in the innings, generally driving and pulling strongly. She found the boundary three times in the same over off Davis, completing a 47-ball half-century against her former county when she swept Millie Taylor for her seventh four.Taylor, making her List A debut for Warwickshire and unique in the English county women’s game as a left-arm wrist spinner, broke the stand when she turned one past Kelly’s bat for a stumping. Boyce, back with The Blaze after playing for Yorkshire in the Women’s Vitality Blast, was in sight of a fifty of her own when she miscued to mid-off.Kathryn Bryce – reprieved when given out leg before on 13 on the grounds of being distracted by bowler Hannah Baker’s cap dropping out of her pocket – added another 10 before she was stumped.Elwiss, Heather Graham and Ella Claridge all fell cheaply, but Sarah Bryce (32 off 19) and Sarah Glenn added 37 off the last 18 balls of the innings – 26 at the expense of England seamer Issy Wong.Needing to chase at 5.6 an over, Warwickshire suffered a disastrous start, slumping to 13 for four inside five overs.After Bethan Ellis had been caught at square leg off the next, Ballinger took wickets with the last ball of her second over and the first of her third as Lucy Higham took a fine catch at backward point to remove Davina Perrin and Sarah Bryce an easy one as Sterre Kalis skied a top edge, Kathryn Bryce holding a return catch as Surenkumar departed.An inswinging delivery from Bryce accounted for Katie George, leaving Warwickshire 28 for 5 after 10 overs.Freeborn and Wraith rebuilt well, the former clocking up her third half-century off 60 balls, Wraith her second of the campaign off 50, with three boundaries each and some enterprising running between the stumps, their partnership passing 100 in the 28th over.Yet once the breakthrough came, breaking the stand at 112, the home side made it count. Freeborn, who had survived a sharp caught-and-bowled chance to Kirstie Gordon on 52, fell shortly afterwards, leg before attempting to ramp Elwiss. Wong then came and went quickly, top edging Elwiss into the off side, before catcher Glenn combined with Elwiss again to run out Taylor off the next ball.Ballinger returned to have Davis caught on the legside boundary before Wraith departed as the last wicket to fall, caught at wide mid-off off Elwiss.

Australia also enter Super Six with an all-win record after beating Sri Lanka by six wickets

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jan-2024Arshin Kulkarni’s 108 off 118 balls, Musheer Khan’s 76-ball 73, and Naman Tiwari’s frugal spell of 4 for 20 led India to a big 201-run win over USA in the Under-19 World Cup on Sunday. The win meant they kept their unblemished record intact going into the Super Six of the tournament.India piled up 326 for 5 in their 50 overs with Kulkarni and Musheer doing the bulk of the scoring. In reply, medium pacer Tiwari picked up 4 for 20 in nine overs as USA were kept to 125 for 8 in Bloemfontein.After India were sent in to bat, Adarsh Singh struck three fours in the first over, but the USA bowlers kept both him and Kulkarni in check for a while. India could only manage 40 after ten overs, which led to Adarsh getting a bit desperate and chipping Ateendra Subramanian, the medium pacer, to mid-off when on 25.Kulkarni and Musheer, however, dug in to add 155 runs off 142 balls for the second wicket. Both the batters took their time in settling in before opening up. Kulkarni had a lucky escape when he was dropped on 16 at mid-off and made sure to cash in. He hacked quick bowler Aarin Nadkarni for six over deep midwicket and clobbered Rishi Ramesh, the legspinner, around the same region before reaching his half-century off 70 balls.Naman Tiwari rattled the USA batters with his pace•ICC via Getty Images

Musheer continued from where he had left off against Ireland. He got going with a cover drive off Nadkarni and then hit Utkarsh Srivastava across the line for six. It took him 56 balls to reach his half-century and with both batters now set, they got the boundaries away more frequently.Musheer fell to Ramesh, but Kulkarni reached the three-figure mark with a four past fine leg off 110 balls. Captain Uday Saharan struck a 27-ball 35 to keep the momentum going, but he and Kulkarni fell in the space of six balls as USA looked for a way back. India, however, were 259 for 4 in the 44th over at that stage, and Priyanshu Moliya (27* off 19 balls), Sachin Dhas (20 off 16) and Aravelly Avanish (12* off seven) played important cameos to take India past the 325-run mark.USA were never really in the chase. They lost openers Prannav Chettipalayam and Bhavya Mehta in the first two overs. Tiwari then removed Ramesh for 8 as USA slipped to 12 for 3 after 7.5 overs. Siddarth Kappa and Srivastava stayed firm for a bit, adding 43 runs off 93 balls for the fourth wicket, before offspinner Moliya got into the act, sending back Kappa for 18.Tiwari then added to his wicket tally as he removed Srivastava and Manav Nayak in successive overs to have USA at 79 for 6, which soon became 90 for 7 after 30 overs. Amogh Arepally (27* off 71) and Nadkarni (20 off 44) added 31 off 78 balls for the eighth wicket, which delayed the inevitable and ensured India couldn’t bowl the opposition out.India headed into the Super Sixes topping their group and will face New Zealand on Tuesday.Callum Vidler picked 3 for 28 from his nine overs•ICC/Getty Images

Hicks and Vidler ensure Australia enter Super Six with all-win record

Callum Vidler and Ryan Hicks starred with ball and bat respectively to help Australia beat Sri Lanka and go into the Super Six of the Under-19 World Cup undefeated, with a healthy net run-rate of 2.6.Quick bowler Vidler started the match by nicking Pulindu Perera off in the first over. Sineth Jayawardena, who had won the toss and batted, moved Sri Lanka forward with a 47-run stand with Supun Waduge, but Vidler and Tom Campbell, the offspinner, removed them in successive overs to rebuild the pressure.Dinura Kalupahana, top-scoring with 64 with nine fours and three sixes, stitched two 40-plus stands in the middle overs with Ravishan de Silva and Rusanda Gamage. But medium pacer Harjas Singh and offspinner Raf MacMilllan cut short the promising partnerships before Vidler’s return took out Kalupahana and left Sri Lanka stuttering at 166 for 6 as the final powerplay got underway.Campbell and his new-ball partner Mahli Beardman took out the tail as Sri Lanka were all out seven balls short of their 50 overs.Harry Dixon’s flier, comprising three fours and a six off his first 13 balls, allowed Australia to cruise through a 71-run opening stand with Sam Konstas. Left-arm spinner Vishwa Lahiru, the pick of Sri Lanka’s bowlers, dismissed Dixon and Hugh Weibgen in consecutive overs and with legspinner Malsha Tharupathi getting Konstas, Australia were wobbling for a bit.Hicks ensured it was just that by accumulating a slow but steady 49-run stand with Harjas before joining forces with Campbell. The two shared eight boundaries in their partnership and did not allow the asking rate to rise over five at any point. Their unbeaten 82-run stand took Australia home with seven balls to spare.

The home side had their target adjusted due to rain and couldn’t get close

AAP28-Nov-2022Queensland kept their Marsh Cup campaign alive by defeating New South Wales by 31 runs via the DLS method in their rain-affected one-day clash at North Sydney Oval.Queensland had blasted 5 for 298 from 43.2 overs, with Max Bryant making 88 off 53 balls, when lightning and rain brought a premature close to their innings on SundayThe home side’s original DLS target following the first 80-minute delay was 329, before further showers halted play for a further 80 minutes with NSW 2 for 75 after 11.3 overs.The target was revised to 225 off 24 overs and the new asking rate of 150 from the next 75 balls proved well beyond the home side when a third downpour ended proceedings permanently.Kurtis Patterson and Matthew Gilkes both holed out to pull shots prior to the second delay as Queensland asserted their dominance early in the chase.In-form Daniel Hughes, who had amassed three tons from his previous four competition knocks, was scratchy early before finding his best form after play resumed. Hughes looked the Blues’ best hope of pulling off a miracle, top-scoring with 43.But when he was run out in the 16th over via a direct hit from Sam Truloff, just one ball after Moises Henriques skied a catch to Max Bryant, the home side’s hopes went out the door.The first rain delay denied the blazing Bryant the opportunity to notch a maiden ton, but he revelled in the victory nonetheless.”It’s always good to play at North Sydney as a batter,” Bryant said. “It’s pretty small so you have to go 100 percent hard or nothing. You don’t really have those in-between shots where you get caught on the boundary.”I’m not going to go down without a fight – it’s the Queensland way. Getting a win against NSW is always special.”After the early loss of Bryce Street to a contentious lbw decision, fellow opener Sam Heazlett and first-gamer Jack Clayton impressed before Bryant ripped the match away from NSW.He hit five sixes in his swashbuckling knock, dominating a 122-run sixth-wicket stand with captain Jimmy Peirson, which came from just 12.1 overs and put Queensland right on top.The result meant Queensland leapfrogged NSW and Victoria to rise to fourth spot on the points table.

The former BCCI women’s cricket head details the areas that need urgent attention

Shamya Dasgupta29-Jun-2021Women’s cricket in India has been making headlines since India made the finals of the 2017 50-over World Cup and the 2020 T20 World Cup. By the end of 2021, India would have played two Tests after a gap of almost seven years: One just ended, in England, and there’s another lined up, a pink-ball Test – the second for women – in Australia in September. The BCCI has also been tapping talent with the T20 Challenge that is played alongside the IPL playoffs’ week every year.All of that would make it appear that women’s cricket in India is heading in the right direction. However, Saba Karim, who was until December the BCCI’s general manager for cricket operations, feels that the board needs to make the administration of the women’s game more professional and have a plan that is separate from that for men’s cricket. Only then, he says, can women’s cricket grow faster.Related

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“It is a good start, but there needs to be a solid plan, a plan different to that for the boys and men, for things to move forward and for us to build on it,” Karim said in a chat with ESPNcricinfo. “I feel the way to go forward is to make it much more professional, and growth of women’s cricket has to be different from boys’ cricket, and the planning has to be different. One has to have a different plan, a constructive plan, with lots of outreach programmes.”While Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur, Jhulan Goswami Smriti Mandhana and a couple of others are household names in India, Karim said the pathway for young women to move from the lowest rungs to the top are yet to be properly put in place. “In India, we don’t have many girls who come and play, even now. One has to ensure that their passage from entering the system to the time they exit is without obstacles,” he said. “For instance, for a boy to walk two kilometres to play cricket, or to go to school, is easy. But it’s not for a girl. So how do we remove that? How do we make it more accessible?”Also, the BCCI has Under-19 and Under-23 cricket, but 40-50% of the girls end up playing [both] Under-19 and Under-23 for certain teams, because there aren’t too many girls playing. We had to have separate calendars so there was no clash. That isn’t the case with the boys, because there are so many players and there is so much talent. So the plan for women has to be different.”When India played the Bristol Test earlier this month, it wasn’t just the team’s first Test match in seven years. It was also the first long-format game the players had been involved in in years, with the BCCI discontinuing its women’s domestic first-class competition after the 2017-18 season.During Karim’s three-year term in the BCCI, domestic and women’s cricket were among his primary responsibilities, his mandate being to draw up roadmaps and structures for holistic development. There was the occasional chat at the BCCI – run by the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) for the best part of his time there – about women’s cricket, Karim said, but nothing that suggested a revival of the first-class and Test formats so soon.”Only England and Australia had Test matches, and no country was very keen to play, there were lots of constraints: lots of women cricketers are not professionals, getting out for so many days was a problem; not just in India, but elsewhere too,” Karim said. “I think that’s why the BCCI took the decision not to have Test matches, and therefore no first-class tournament.”There were discussions, there were talks, between some of the other nations too. More so after England and Australia introduced the points-system-based multi-format Ashes. This gained momentum in India too; the BCCI wanted to be in that position. I am glad it has happened. But to sustain it, we need multi-day cricket for women in the domestic circuit also. It might start from the Under-23 level, and take it up to the seniors.””The women’s IPL will have the same quality as the men’s IPL if there is a strong foundation”•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

It is, however, easier said than done, and Karim accepted that. “The only way forward is to have a full-fledged three-day competition. But the issue is not conducting the matches; the BCCI hosts an incredible number of matches anyway. The issue is the calendar – it’s packed, and we have limited time to conduct so many tournaments,” he says. “You can’t start before September, even mid-September, to accommodate the increase in the number of matches. It was possible because so many new venues came up, but it was a logistical nightmare for sure.”For a women’s multi-day event, we need to look at some more venues. Plus, don’t forget, this means an increase in the number of match officials, scorers, groundspersons, video analysts, the entire contingent. It’s not only about grounds. All that needs to be considered.”Karim, often in consultation with National Cricket Academy director Rahul Dravid, had chalked out a comprehensive plan to try and take Indian women’s cricket to the next level, and much of it involved a greater focus at the lower levels, and a lot of collaboration with the state associations.”Outreach programmes with Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns, schools, those were in the pipelines. The Women’s IPL [in discussions for a while now but yet to become a reality] is at the highest level, and that we can have. But for it to be successful, we need a stronger domestic circuit, a better structure,” Karim says. “The women’s IPL will have the same quality as the men’s IPL if there is a strong foundation. The way men’s cricket is played in India, we don’t need to do too much, because there is so much talent, so many players in the system. That has to happen for the women.”The onus, Karim said, was not just on the BCCI, but primarily with the states. “Initially, the responsibility of the state associations and the BCCI is to come up with a proper plan. A proper roadmap needs to be in place. That will come from the BCCI. But the BCCI can’t do everything. The states need to play their part to make it happen.”

Australia can seal the series in Port Elizabeth and extend South Africa’s painful summer

The Preview by Firdose Moonda22-Feb-2020

Big picture

For the first time this summer, South Africa have lost the opening match of a series. Given that they went on to let all three series before this one slip following their early success, the hosts may choose to see their defeat at the Wanderers as a good omen – except that it was not just any defeat. Unlike the T20Is against England, which were competitive, close encounters, the match against Australia was as one-sided as they come. South Africa’s bowling bled, their batting appeared more broken than it has all season, and the depth of their problems is clear for all to see.Unless they win at St George’s Park, South Africa will face the reality of going a full year since their last series triumph (against Sri Lanka in March 2019) and patience in the new regime could start wearing thin. Although Mark Boucher said he knew it would be tough and has asked for time as the team rebuilds, the results suggest they are going backwards. That’s a heavy burden for new captain, Quinton de Kock, to bear, especially since his predecessor is now back in the change-room and was doing a fair amount of mentoring (and also top-scored) on Friday night. De Kock will have to develop a thick skin if he is to keep going in the position.He can’t do it alone, either. He needs his team-mates, especially the seniors to step up. There aren’t too many of them around these days but David Miller and Dale Steyn, in particular, have been involved through the recent white-ball matches and understand how pressing the need is for experienced players to take a lead.Australia have none of those concerns. Bar Glenn Maxwell, they are at full strength and already look like an outfit that has peaked. Steven Smith made a triumphant return to South Africa and punished the hosts for a blunder in the field while Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins showed the advantage of combining pace and control, something South Africa seem to have forgotten. And if South Africa needed more salt rubbed in the wound it came from the opposition spinners. Ashton Agar’s hat-trick and five-for at the Wanderers was a painful reminder of one the hosts’ biggest weaknesses – facing spin – and another sign that Australia are close to the complete package.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)South Africa LLLWW
Australia WWWWW

In the spotlight

Kagiso Rabada was suspended for the final Test against England and given a break for the white-ball series but returned looking out of sorts. He was the most expensive bowler at the Wanderers, where his three overs cost 45 runs. Like most of the attack, he erred on the side of too short and too wide but unlike them, he carries the expectation and the experience to know better. Rabada needs to find his rhythm quickly or risks being overtaken by some of those looking to seal to a spot for the T20 World Cup.After last playing a T20 in 2016, Matthew Wade was recalled to the Australia team on the back of his performances in the BBL. He was one of three centurions and averaged over 50 for the Hobart Hurricanes – where he opened the batting – and continued with an aggressive in his approach after being deployed at No. 4 at the Wanderers. He survived an early chance and was ultimately foxed by a Steyn slower ball but his disgust at his dismissal and his desire to accelerate suggests there’s much more to come.

Team news

Temba Bavuma will undergo a fitness test to determine if he has fully recovered from his hamstring injury to take his place at the top of the order. If he does, Rassie van der Dussen will drop down, with Pite van Biljon and Jon-Jon Smuts vulnerable. Heinrich Klaasen remains a doubt after hurting his hip during warm-ups at the Wanderers, and Reeza Hendricks has joined the squad as cover. South Africa may give an opportunity to Anrich Nortje, in place of either Lungi Ngidi or Rabada.South Africa: (possible) 1 Quinton de Kock (capt, wk), 2 Temba Bavuma, 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 Rassie van der Dussen, 5 Jon-Jon Smuts/Heinrich Klaasen, 6 David Miller, 7 Andile Phehlukwayo, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Tabraiz Shamsi, 11 Lungi Ngidi/Anrich NortjeAfter the dominance of their performance in the opening game, Australia are likely to try to close out the series with the same XI.Australia: (possible) 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch (capt), 3 Steven Smith, 4 Matt Wade, 5 Mitchell Marsh, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Ashton Agar, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Kane Richardson

Pitch and conditions

Although the Port Elizabeth pitch is known as South Africa’s most spin-friendly, it is unlikely to take too much turn in a T20. After a scorcher on the Highveld, temperatures are set to be cooler on the coast, with the forecast suggesting a day in the early 20s Centigrade and low humidity.

Stats and trivia

• There have been only been two previous T20 internationals played at St George’s Park, a rain-affected affair in 2007 that South Africa lost to West Indies and a full match eight years ago in which the hosts beat New Zealand.
• Aaron Finch is 80 runs away from becoming the second Australian after David Warner to reach 2,000 T20I runs.
• Dale Steyn needs one more wicket to take 700 international wickets.

Quotes

“There’s not so much you can do at practice but it’s a mental thing. As long as the boys come back strong and not too disappointed [from the first game], we have to come and fight.”

‘You look back at Tommy’s 264 in Wellington, and for him to come out yesterday in the second innings and basically hit reset and do all that hard work again is pretty cool’

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Christchurch28-Dec-2018Two Christchurch boys putting on a 214-run stand on their home ground, in a Boxing Day Test – one learning off the other. This is roughly how Henry Nicholls summed up his fourth-wicket stand with friend Tom Latham, on a third day in which New Zealand took the second Test against Sri Lanka by the collar.Both batsmen made big hundreds; Latham produced 176 to follow his 264 not out in Wellington, while Nicholls hit a career-best 162 not out, two Tests after his most recent ton in Abu Dhabi, a world away.In this innings, Nicholls, who began cautiously against the second new ball before gaining momentum after lunch, said Latham’s discipline had “inspired” him.”It was pretty special to be out there for so long with Tommy,” Nicholls said. “We’re really great mates, we carpool every morning together to the ground, so to be out there and put on however many we did, a couple of hundred, and obviously the way he batted yesterday and continued that on today like he did at the Basin last week gave me a lot of inspiration to try and do the same and put us a team in a position where we’re now in a chance to win the game with a lot of time left.”ALSO READ – The importance of Henry NichollsNicholls batted 225 balls for his score, only twice having faced more balls in his Test career. Latham faced 370 deliveries for his, which takes his series tally to 889 – the third-most balls faced by anyone in a two-Test series.”You look back at Tommy’s 264 in Wellington, and for him to come out yesterday in the second innings and basically hit reset and do all that hard work again is pretty cool.” Nicholls said. “He’s a very resilient guy and is one of the most hard-working guys I know. To see him have the discipline to do that for another 300 balls in this innings, and to be out there batting with him, was pretty special.”Every New Zealand batsman who came to the crease in the second innings was involved in a 50-plus partnership at the very least, with the lowest individual score being Ross Taylor’s 40. Nicholls said the runs that had been scored prior to his arrival made his job that much easier at No. 5.”Guys at the top like Tom, Jeet Raval and Kane Williamson batted for long periods of time and made their bowlers – especially the seam bowlers – come back for more spells. We saw the fatigue factor with that later on. It was important for me and Tom to keep things really simple and know that when they do come back, you’re going to get scoring opportunities.”Immediately before New Zealand’s declaration, Nicholls put on an unbroken 124 off 87 balls with Colin de Grandhomme, who hit New Zealand’s fastest Test fifty, reaching the milestone off 28 balls.”The wicket here has a bit more pace than the one at Wellington and allows you to score quicker at times,” Nicholls said. “For Colin de Grandhomme to come in and show the class and X-factor he has, to really put that total to a big number was great.”

Legspinner Afy Fletcher’s career-best 5 for 12 helped West Indies clinched the T20I series and kept Sri Lanka winless after five matches on the tour

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Oct-2017
ScorecardCWI Media

Legspinner Afy Fletcher’s career-best 5 for 12 clinched the series for West Indies women, as Sri Lanka women slumped to 107 and suffered a 47-run defeat in the second T20I in Coolidge. Fletcher’s returns were the joint second-best for West Indies in women’s T20Is, and all five wickets came during Sri Lanka’s collapse from 85 for 3 to 107 all out.Before that batting implosion, Sri Lanka’s openers, particularly Yasoda Mendis (22 off 20 balls), had given them a promising start in a chase of 155, adding 33 runs in 4.2 overs. However, that start came undone after a couple of run-outs. Chamari Atapattu tried to steady the innings with 30, but her run-out left the score at 93 for 6 and Sri Lanka folded quickly after that.West Indies’ total of 154 for 6 was led by Stafanie Taylor’s 41-ball 49, with support from Deandra Dottin (27 off 19), Kycia A Knight (23 not out), Britney Cooper (23). Their performances ensured that despite a wicket in the first over, West Indies were able to maintain a scoring rate of around seven for most of their innings.The third match of the series will be played on Sunday. While West Indies will eye another series sweep, Sri Lanka will want to secure their first win of the limited-overs tour.

The second day in Galle brought 21 wickets as Sri Lanka tightened their grip on the series. Rangana Herath claimed a hat-trick and Australia were bowled out for 106, their lowest ever total against Sri Lanka

The Report by Brydon Coverdale05-Aug-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThe second day in Galle finished as it started: with Steven Smith at the crease facing Dilruwan Perera. Australia would take that result if it meant a captain’s innings, a double-century to drag his side back into the series. The reality was a world away from that, for in between Perera had taken five wickets and scored a half-century, Rangana Herath had claimed a hat-trick, 21 wickets had tumbled, and Australia had collapsed to their lowest ever Test total against Sri Lanka.This was the day on which Sri Lanka made certain that they would lift the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy for the first time. It was not yet struck in 1999, the only other occasion on which they beat Australia in a series. Indeed, that was the only other occasion on which they beat Australia in a Test. In the first 33 years of Test cricket between the two countries, Sri Lanka won just a single game. They will now do so twice in a fortnight.Australia were set 413 for victory, which would be the third-highest successful chase in Test history. Gettable, perhaps, for an in-form batting unit on a pitch to their liking, if everything fell their way. But this Australian outfit was demolished in the first innings for 106, on a turning surface against a quality spin attack. Australia have as much chance of winning this Test as they do of winning Olympic gold in baseball. And no, baseball is no longer on the Olympic roster.By stumps, Australia were already 25 for 3 in their chase. Joe Burns had driven a catch to cover off Herath in the first over. Nightwatchman Nathan Lyon had poked a catch to silly point off Perera. And next ball, Usman Khawaja had watched an arm ball from Perera crash into his stumps. Dazed and confused, Khawaja offered no shot. His dismissal was emblematic of the day: Australia had no clue whether each ball from a Sri Lanka spinner would turn or not.And so at the close of play, Smith walked off on 1, with David Warner on 22, and a Sri Lankan victory inside three days appeared all but certain. The afternoon consisted largely of Sri Lanka’s batsmen frustrating Australia, growing their lead and humiliating their visitors further. Herath and Perera, who tormented Australia with the ball at either end of the day, scored nearly as many runs between them as Australia did in the first innings.The story of this day was the first session, in which Australia lost eight wickets for 52 runs. The cricket felt like it was played in fast-forward and at times the action was so comical that the Benny Hill theme would have been appropriate. The pitch was turning, but it was far from a poor surface. But it was as if Australia’s batsmen had never seen spinners before. They simply wondered at this mysterious slow form of bowling.Sri Lanka’s spinners attacked the stumps and built persistent pressure. Herath turned some and skidded others on. So did Perera. Lakshan Sandakan didn’t, but that was only because all the work was done already. Such was the annihilation that he came on only to collect the final wicket, and finished with 1 for 0 from two deliveries.Resuming at 54 for 2, Australia failed to survive even 20 overs of the day’s play. Australia’s 106 was their lowest total ever against Sri Lanka, and their lowest total in Asia for nearly 12 years, since they were skittled on a Mumbai dustbowl for 93 back in 2004. Herath finished with 4 for 35 and Perera with 4 for 29.Khawaja fell in the third over of the day when he missed an arm ball from Perera and was bowled for 11 – at least he played at this one – and Smith departed next over when he played back and tried to cut a slider from Herath. He too was bowled. So much for the “play straight” mantra Australia had tried to instil on this tour.Then came Herath’s hat-trick: Adam Voges drove on the up to cover, Peter Nevill was trapped lbw by another slider, and Mitchell Starc completed the trio when he leaned forward and was hit on the pad first ball. Starc was given not out but Angelo Mathews asked for a review, out of nothing but hope. He was as surprised as anyone that the not-out decision was overturned.Only one other Sri Lankan had ever taken a Test hat-trick: Nuwan Zoysa, who achieved the feat against Zimbabwe in Harare in 1999-2000. Herath’s wickets left Australia at 80 for 7 and in serious danger of failing to reach triple figures. In fact, they still needed two runs to avoid the follow-on, which appeared by no means a certainty.They did scrape past that mark but soon Lyon was caught in close off Perera and Josh Hazlewood edged to slip off the same bowler. Mitchell Marsh, at the other end while so much carnage was unfolding around him, slammed a couple of sixes to push the score past 100, but was caught at long-off when he tried for another off Sandakan’s second ball.Sri Lanka lost three wickets of their own before lunch – 11 wickets fell in the session – but already their lead was healthy. Perhaps their only concern at the moment is the consistent failure of their openers, for again Kaushal Silva and Dimuth Karunaratne failed to reach double figures. Karunaratne was the first of six wickets for Mitchell Starc, who deserves commendation for his hard work, gaining rewards through reverse swing, speed and persistence.Starc finished with match figures of 11 for 94, the finest by any Australian in Sri Lanka, and second only to Mohammad Asif for visiting fast bowlers in the country. Not since Geoff Dymock claimed 12 against India in Kanpur in 1979 had an Australian fast bowler been so successful in a Test match in Asia.But where Sri Lanka’s spinners were important, Australia’s were impotent. Out of desperation, Lyon resorted to bowling legbreaks as Sri Lanka’s innings wore on, and Jon Holland was treated with the disdain Sri Lanka’s batsmen might dish up to a bowler Holland. Eventually Australia bowled the Sri Lankans out for 237. The figure was almost irrelevant, though a complete Sri Lankan capitulation might almost have made a game of it.Instead, Kusal Perera contributed 35, Mathews scored a brisk 47, Dilruwan Perera compiled 64, Herath chipped in with 26, and Dhananjaya de Silva managed 34. It was enough to set Australia 400 plus. It was enough, after Australia’s morning collapse, to decide the series.