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It has been suggested that an in-form Tottenham Hotspur starter actually isn't good enough to take Ange Postecoglou's side forward.

Latest Spurs news

The north Londoners continued their fine form with a controversial 2-1 win over Liverpool on Saturday, with strikes from Son Heung-min and an own goal from Joel Matip doing enough to cancel out Cody Gakpo's brilliantly-taken equaliser. The crucial win also maintains Tottenham's unbeaten start to the Premier League season, where they have tasted victory in five out of their opening seven league games.

Speaking after their latest win over Jurgen Klopp's side, Postecoglou hailed his team's spirit and resilience; going on to say the result will continue to build Spurs' character.

"It wasn’t an easy game for us, we knew it wouldn’t be, and even in the circumstances, we had some unique challenges," explained the Australian.

"For some of these guys, this will be the first time they’ve faced that type of scenario, and for the most part, we handled it okay. Again, getting that late winner helps build the belief and spirit in the group. The thing about Liverpool, even with 10 men, they are equally as dangerous because the game plan is the same, they play on mistakes, they have world-class players up front who can hurt you. I thought the second half was better because we stayed a bit calmer, maintained our pressure in the wide areas and got our reward.”

Next up, Spurs will take on struggling Luton Town on Saturday, and a win there will undoubtedly put them in even better mood heading into another international break before the winter.

Tottenham player ratings

There are many Spurs players to pluck out as star men so far this term, namely Son, Dejan Kulusevski, Yves Bissouma, James Maddison, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven. The likes of Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro have also impressed on either flank as Postecoglou's inverted full-back options; providing both pace and and attacking intensity out wide.

Perhaps the most surprising success story, though, has been young midfielder Pape Matar Sarr – who's started six out of Tottenham's seven league matches so far. The 21-year-old could barely get a look-in under Antonio Conte last term, despite reportedly holding him high esteem, but Sarr has since come into his own for Postecoglou.

According to WhoScored, the Senegalese ranks among Spurs' best-performers per 90; already notching both a goal and assist in the top flight as he forms a brilliant midfield partnership with Bissouma. However, according to pundit Keith Tracey, speaking to Off The Ball this week, Sarr still isn't good enough to help bridge the gap between them and the league's elite sides.

He said: “Pape Sarr, he’s somebody who I don’t think is going to bridge that gap between Spurs and Man City or Spurs and Arsenal, so there are question marks there, but they have gotten an awful lot stronger this year."

Sunderland picked up a massive victory against Hull City at the MKM Stadium on Boxing Day to overtake the Tigers in the final playoff place, while putting the ghosts of last Saturday's humiliating 3-0 defeat at home to Coventry City behind them from Michael Beale's debut in the dugout.

Ever the hero this season, Jack Clarke scored the only goal of the game to clinch all three points for his side, putting him on 11 goals in the Championship this term.

The Black Cats' goalscoring burden has been placed heavily on the 23-year-old's shoulders this season but Beale could alleviate this pressure on Clarke by signing one former player in January.

Sunderland transfer news – Amad Diallo

Over Christmas, Football Insider reported that Manchester United are willing to let Amad Diallo head back out on loan in January, having not played a single minute all season for the Red Devils. Reports have also claimed that Sunderland are keen to acquire the Ivorian attacker once more after such a successful spell in England's second tier last season.

Diallo has spent the majority of the campaign sidelined through a serious knee injury which he sustained on pre-season with the English giants. As a result, the youngster is yet to feature under head coach Erik ten Hag in a competitive game this term, although the £9m-rated forward has recently returned to training.

It was recently revealed that the Atalanta youth product was keen to stay at Old Trafford to fight for his place but now it seems as though the decision may be taken out of his hands and a return to the Stadium of Light could be just what the doctor ordered for all parties.

Amad Diallo's stats – 2022/23

Diallo joined Sunderland at the beginning of the previous campaign on a season-long loan spell and quickly became a hero on Wearside. The Ivory Coast international ended the season as Sunderland's top goalscorer in all competitions with 14 goals as Tony Mowbray's side made an unprecedented finish inside the playoff places, unfortunately losing to Luton Town in the semi-finals. Mowbray even described Diallo as "magic" as the loanee finished joint-eight in the league's scoring charts.

Player

Goals

Expected Goals

Chuba Akpom

28

21.9

Viktor Gyokeres

21

19.5

Carlton Morris

20

15

Joel Piroe

19

18.5

Tom Bradshaw

17

13.9

Nathan Tella

17

10.3

Zian Flemming

15

9.6

Ben Brereton Diaz

14

11.9

Iliman Ndiaye

14

12.8

Jerry Yates

14

11.2

Amad Diallo

13

8.1

Stats via FBref

Nevertheless, the difference between Sunderland over the past two seasons is that the club are far more reliant on one player this term compared to the last campaign. The Black Cats have found the net 33 times this season in the Championship. However, this time around, only 11 teams have scored fewer goals. Additionally, Jack Clarke has bagged 33.3% of the side's league goals this season.

In the 2022/23 campaign, Sunderland had three players reach ten or more goals in all competitions: Diallo, Ross Stewart and Clarke, while Ellis Simms followed closely behind with seven. Now, the side's second-highest goalscorer spot is shared between Dan Neil and Jobe Bellingham on four apiece.

The main issue Beale has to fix is the team's lack of potency up top. Nazariy Rusyn, Hemir Semedo, Mason Burstow, Jewison Bennette, and Eliezer Mayenda have all rotated the number '9' position at different times in the season but none have managed to convert a single opportunity, leaving the manager to get creative up top.

On Boxing Day, Beale threw Bradley Dack up top but the ex-Blackburn Rovers star failed to have any impact at all, recording just one shot which registered a measly xG of 0.07 before he was replaced in the 44th minute with an injury. Chronicle Live handed the 29-year-old a 6/10 match rating for his display.

Nevertheless, with a potential arrival of Diallo, Beale could try Clarke up front given how potent he has been for Sunderland this term. The former Tottenham Hotspur man has only started four times up front and has a decent record when leading the line.

Position

Appearances

Goals

Assists

Left Midfielder

40

13

6

Left-Winger

36

8

10

Centre-Forward

4

2

1

Right-Winger

1

0

0

Attacking Midfielder

1

0

0

Right Midfielder

1

0

0

Stats via Transfermarkt

In addition, the new manager could put Diallo out on the wing in Clarke's position to alleviate the loss of the Englishman on the flanks. While Sunderland may lose some aerial threat, the side will have a much better balance in the forward line and won't be as reliant on Clarke's goals with the addition of Diallo.

Nottingham Forest have made a decent start to life this term with Steve Cooper and Evangelos Marinakis now reportedly eyeing a fresh addition in the January transfer window.

Nottingham Forest's January priorities…

Following their narrow brush with relegation last term, Nottingham Forest have looked every inch the Premier League side in 2023/24 and sit 15th in the table with 13 points from their first 12 matches, seven points above 18th-placed Luton Town, who occupy the first drop zone position.

The Tricky Trees have lost just two of their last six matches in all competitions, but January will be an important month at the City Ground and movement will be expected on both incomings and outgoings as Nottingham Forest try to move further up the league standings.

Fluminense defender Nino is someone who has been linked with a move to the East Midlands-based outfit and it is now claimed by reports in Brazil via Sport Witness that the final details of his proposed move are being ironed out between both parties.

Earlier this month, reports in Spain claimed that Osasuna defender David Garcia is on Nottingham Forest's radar and could crop up as a transfer priority once again in January after previous interest in his services across the summer window.

Scotland international Scott McKenna could make way in that case, with Turkish giants Fenerbache believed to be plotting a surprise swoop for the defender, who would become the first Scottish player to play for the European giants if a deal were to be concluded.

Nottingham Forest's upcoming fixtures – Premier League

Opponent

Venue

Brighton & Hove Albion (H)

City Ground

Everton (H)

City Ground

Fulham (A)

Craven Cottage

Wolverhampton Wanderers (A)

Molineux

Tottenham Hotspur (H)

City Ground

Transfer rumours tend to start generating momentum at this time of year and it now looks as if Nottingham Forest boss Cooper has identified a midfield target who could help to bolster his squad come the New Year.

Habib Diarra wanted by Nottingham Forest

As per Foot Mercato, Nottingham Forest are keen on Strasbourg midfielder Habib Diarra, who has also attracted interest from Ligue 1 outfit RC Lens. Nevertheless, the outlet claim that Diarra moving on in January is an unlikely outcome, citing that the summer of 2024 may be a more feasible timeline for the 19-year-old to take his next career step with Marinakis and company now on the case.

Having already featured in defensive midfield, attacking midfield, on both flanks and as a number eight in the engine room this term, Diarra has made nine appearances in Ligue 1, registering a solitary goal and one assist (Diarra statistics – Transfermarkt).

Diarra, who has been labelled "superb" by Football Talent Scout – Jacek Kulig, has obtained an average Sofascore match rating of 6.83/10 in the French top flight in 2023/24, showing a relatively commendable level of consistency given his youthful exuberance.

Undoubtedly, Diarra would be a signing in the mould of a long-term project, demonstrating that Nottingham Forest are keen to look beyond the rat race of whether or not they can guarantee their place in the Premier League every season.

Newcastle United are reportedly looking to complete the signing of an "extraordinary" renowned midfielder, as they aim to make further reinforcements in the coming transfer windows.

Newcastle transfer news…

Eddie Howe's side drew 2-2 at West Ham on Sunday afternoon, as Mohammed Kudus' late strike deprived them of three valuable Premier League points. While failure to pick up a victory in east London was slightly disappointing, it is still a draw that could be looked back on as a decent result in May, with the Hammers a strong team currently. Newcastle have really turned a corner since a poor start to the season, not least thrashing Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 in the Champions League, and it feels as though they could once again be destined for big things in 2023/24.

One thing that could help the Magpies in their quest for glory is making a number of new signings in the January transfer window, allowing Howe to make his squad stronger, aiding rotation in the process. Should the right players not be available at that point, plenty of summer additions should be expected instead, even though the manager has addressed Newcastle's FFP situation, stating they won't lead to the club spending big, and that appears to have resulted in targeting a potential soon to be free agent.

Newcastle transfer update; Adrien Rabiot

According to a fresh Newcastle transfer update on Adrien Rabiot, the Magpies are interested in signing the Juventus midfielder at the end of this season, with Rabiot's contract expiring at that point. The Magpies aren't alone in expressing a keenness to snap up the Frenchman, however, with Manchester United also believed to be in the mix. Both clubs are "ready to knock on Rabiot's door again" after showing interest in the past, and they look in a better position to offer him a superior deal than Juve, as they look to keep hold of him.

Rabiot could be a really shrewd signing by Newcastle in the summer of 2024, with the free aspect of it making it far less of a gamble, too. Granted, the 28-year-old may demand high wages, but not having to pay a fee for him could make it an excellent deal. The Juve midfielder has been a top-level player for some time now, winning 38 caps for France and making a combined 412 appearances for his current club and Paris Saint-Germain, while former French striker David Trezeguet has described Rabiot as "extraordinary".

A box-to-box player who can provide both defensive nous and an eye for goal, Rabiot has averaged 2.1 aerial duel wins per game in Serie A so far this season, not to mention enjoying an 89% pass completion rate, highlighting the overall quality that he possesses in his game. He could therefore be great foil for the likes of Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali, as well as providing Howe with the extra depth he may well crave.

There were many interested observers of the scenes at The Grange on Sunday and a group of them were in London on a day off before their final preparations for the one-day series against England. Scotland’s victory is being seen by the Australians as a timely boost before their new-look team takes the field at The Oval on Wednesday.England remain considerable favourites for the five-match series against an Australia side missing six first-choice players – David Warner, Steven Smith, Mitchell Marsh, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood – but the visitors are chipper after two warm-up wins. Even in this new era of toned-down sledging from Australia, it would be a surprise if England’s stumble in Edinburgh wasn’t given the occasional mention when the two sides meet.”It was a really interesting game yesterday, good for us that England lost that game, great for Scotland as a country, and as a cricketing nation it’s really exciting for them,” Ashton Agar said.”It’s about momentum and having had a couple of practice games and got a couple of wins, it’s great for us. For us it’s good that England didn’t win because you always want to start with a win.”Agar said that Australia’s squad had a “nice refreshed” feel to it and was particularly excited at the prospect of tall quick bowler Billy Stanlake taking on the powerful England batting line-up. Stanlake impressed against Middlesex in his one run-out before the series, troubling batsmen with his bounce and pace.”You have a couple of really good players who aren’t in the mix at the moment, having said that, we do have a really versatile squad, an injection of youth which is always helpful, so there’s a lot of energy and a lot of players who are really believing in themselves at the moment.”You could say maybe [the squad is weakened] slightly without that 150kph Mitchell Starc coming in, but you have another 150kph in Billy Stanlake … if you take out 100 one-day wickets or whatever Starcy has, it will change things a little bit, but it’s a great chance for Billy to show his stuff, bowl 150ks and hopefully rip through them.”On a personal level, Agar is set for a key position in the Australia line-up having established himself as the main spinner ahead of Nathan Lyon at the start of the tour and being entrusted with the No. 7 slot in both warm-up matches. Coach Justin Langer has given a strong indication that Australia will go with an extra bowling option which makes Agar’s batting ability crucial”I think the rise of Big Bash cricket has really helped my batting in white-ball cricket,” he said. “I come in at the end a lot in Big Bash games and try and finish the job. I work very hard on my batting and try and build on that, so to start off with a couple of 20s was pleasing.”The Oval will be just Agar’s fifth ODI since he made his debut against England at Old Trafford in 2015 – although English audiences are more likely to remember him for his 98 on Test debut batting at No. 11 in the 2013 Ashes – and he now feels a more rounded cricketer.”I’m really confident, feel like I’m bowling quite nicely especially with the white ball,” he said. “I have better understanding of the game and a better self belief.”

Najam Sethi, the PCB chairman, has announced that the matches will be played on April 1, 2 and 3

Umar Farooq in Dubai11-Mar-2018

AFP

West Indies are set to become the latest international team to tour Pakistan. Najam Sethi, the PCB chairman, has announced that they will visit the country for a series of three T20Is, all of them to be played in Karachi. *These matches were originally scheduled for April 1, 2 and 4 but the final one has been pulled forward by a day so as not to clash with the death anniversary of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.These will be the first international matches in Karachi since the 2009 attacks on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore brought international cricket in Pakistan to a virtual halt. Pakistan have played nearly all their “home” matches in the UAE since then. There has been a slow trickle of international teams returning to Pakistan since 2015, with Zimbabwe, a World XI, and most recently Sri Lanka making short visits for limited-overs games, but all of them were confined to the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore. Karachi is also set to host the final of the ongoing Pakistan Super League.”I have been working day and night to conclude an agreement with West Indies which I have just finalised an hour ago,” Sethi said. “Good news is that West Indies will play three games, on [April, 1, 2 and 3], but these matches will be played in Karachi. They will not play in Lahore but in Karachi. That is how we intend to put Karachi back on the cricket map once again. The PSL final, and now three more games for Karachi as per routine. Karachi people should welcome this.”Sethi said Reg Dickason, the ICC’s security consultant, would visit Karachi during the PSL final to look at the security arrangements for the series.”Reg DIckason and his men will be here during the PSL final and we have contracted them to oversee the West Indies games as well,” Sethi said. “Their expert will stay back for seven days and conduct the security for West Indies series. This is part of our agreement with the West Indies board. This will be a one-off series, since, as I told you before, it will be a loss-making enterprise. The idea wasn’t to make money; it was to bring cricket back, so this is a step in that direction.”We have a separate agreement with the West Indies in which we are exploring a tri-lateral series including Pakistan, West Indies and one other country, which will be played in the USA over next five years. The details about the venues, dates, financial model will be discussed later but in principle it has decided that three countries will play in the USA.”Sethi had last year announced a five-year plan that involved the West Indies touring Pakistan every year until 2022, but in January walked back on that claim due to the costs involved.*

Under the guidance of director of cricket operations Mithun Manhas, they are eyeing their maiden semi-final appearance in the Ranji Trophy

Himanshu Agrawal07-Feb-2025Jammu & Kashmir are in the Ranji Trophy knockouts after five years. En route, they have beaten higher-rated teams like Mumbai and Baroda to finish with the second-highest points from the group stage. This is only the third time they have entered the quarter-finals in their 55 years of participation in the tournament.Their campaign has had shades of the 2019-20 season, where they made the knockouts on the back of six outright wins in nine matches. They were within touching distance of the semi-finals then, before nerves got the better of them against Karnataka.That season should have been the springboard for higher honours. Instead, the following four years have been about inconsistency, lack of proper build-ups to seasons, infrastructure issues and administrative apathy.Related

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Accuracy in, pressure off: How J&K took down mighty Mumbai

Haryana vs Mumbai Ranji quarter-final shifted to Kolkata

Things have been slightly different this time. The Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) had emphasised on proper conditioning through match time in the build-up to the season, and that seems to have given the players a better footing. They had a proper pre-season camp, followed by a competitive pre-season tournament – Buchi Babu in Tamil Nadu – prior to the Ranji season. The players haven’t had to hit the ground running.With Srinagar unable to host matches because of the harsh winter conditions, J&K’s only other available ground, the Gandhi Science College ground in Jammu had to be renovated quickly, and that work started late last year. It’s possible even JKCA didn’t factor in the possibility of the team qualifying in the manner they have – they finished as group-toppers and earned the right to host the quarter-final against Kerala, starting February 8.They play in Pune instead. But if it is a red-soil surface, as it is likely to be, J&K won’t complain, having performed exceedingly well and beaten Mumbai and Baroda on such surfaces in their own backyards.

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J&K’s run hasn’t been because of their big-ticket players. Umran Malik hasn’t played a game owing to form and injury issues, Rasikh Salam has mostly been used in T20s, and Abdul Samad, a player with big-match capabilities, hasn’t quite been able to come on the way everyone anticipated him to when he broke through in 2019-20.Samad is still their second-highest run-getter this season with 393 runs, but he’s only been a support player to the likes of batter Shubham Khajuria, allrounder Abid Mushtaq, right-arm quicks Auqib Nabi, Yudhvir Singh and Umar Nazir, and offspinner Sahil Lotra.Nabi has enjoyed a breakthrough run five years after first playing for the state. Now 28, Nabi is this season’s second-highest wicket-taker with 38 wickets, including five five-wicket hauls. In fact, he is one of only two pacers in the top ten in the wicket-takers’ charts.

“Before he came on board, I feel we lacked in off-season camps and preparation. In these three years, we have had a different coach for batting, bowling and fielding. Every year when the season ends, Mithun summons all the players and asks what was lacking during that season. And with everyone’s feedback, that thing [which was lacking] is implemented next year”Shubham Khajuria on the impact of director of cricket operations Mithun Manhas

Nazir, meanwhile, was instrumental in running through Mumbai’s top order on the opening day two weeks ago, taking 4 for 41. This included the wicket of Rohit Sharma, which he didn’t celebrate because he’s a “big fan” of the India captain. Nazir has been the perfect back-up to Nabi in the pace department. And like Nabi, Nazir too has over the years built up solid experience.”For the past two years, we have been playing red-ball tournaments outside of our own state,” Nabi said. “We also played the Buchi Babu tournament in Tamil Nadu. So our practice was very good. The same team that plays Ranji also went there. So it helped us a lot.”One of the sounding boards for this team is Mithun Manhas, the former Delhi captain who now leads their cricket operations as director. Manhas took over after Irfan Pathan and Milap Mewada left as mentor and coach respectively following Covid. Success hasn’t come overnight; it has taken three years for Manhas and the others to get it right. Manhas’ challenge will now be to ensure, unlike earlier, this isn’t a case of taking two steps forward and then three back.This season, Manhas brought in Paras Dogra. At 40, he’s the oldest member of the side, but also the most experienced, having played 142 first-class games at the time of writing. Dogra took over the captaincy, a tough ask for anyone coming in. While he has been short of runs (216 runs in 12 innings), his experience has certainly lent a degree of calmness.Dogra has had the support of Ajay Sharma, the former India batter, who was brought on as head coach three years ago. While the start to his tenure wasn’t great, the JKCA hasn’t been swayed by short-term results.Prior to the season, former Rajasthan batter Dishant Yagnik was brought in as fielding coach. He conducted camps along with Ajay for the batters. Then there were other moves which helped, like the BCCI deciding to split the Ranji Trophy season in two to avoid games getting affected by fog during peak winter in north India, something that cost them last year.Shubham Khajuria is Jammu and Kashmir’s leading run-scorer this season•PTI “All our three home games in 2023-24 were badly hit,” Nabi said. Barely any action could take place over four days in the matches against Himachal Pradesh (65.3 overs), Delhi (42) and Uttarakhand (39) in Jammu. While the first two of those games took place in early January, even the one against Uttarakhand in early February was fogged out. It meant J&K could hardly challenge for a knockouts berth.However, the tweak to the calendar worked in their favour. After a high-scoring draw against Maharashtra and an innings victory against Services in Srinagar, they also beat Tripura in Jammu, before getting on a roll in their away games.

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For the first time, J&K brought on a bowling coach in an official capacity two years ago when Manhas called up former Rajasthan quick Pudiyangum Krishnakumar. Until then, Abdul Qayoom, the former J&K player, had been in an overseeing role. “We never had a bowling coach before him,” Nabi said. “So I’ve practiced a lot with him. I worked with him on my outswing, and I have been getting very good outswing since then.”Khajuria, J&K’s highest run-getter this season, credited Manhas for the resurgence, especially when it came to the planning part.”I feel we lacked in off-season camps and preparation,” Khajuria said. “In these three years, we have had a different coach for batting, bowling and fielding. Every year when the season ends, Mithun summons all the players and asks what was lacking during that season. And with everyone’s feedback, that thing [which was lacking] is even implemented next year.”He also underlined how the preparation was different.”After the [List A] Vijay Hazare Trophy got over, we reached Jammu on January 6. Thereafter, we had our camp from January 9 onwards; we hardly took a two-day break in between,” he said. “We practiced there till January 15, and realising the massive difference between the weather in Jammu and Mumbai, the association sent us to Mumbai on the same day itself. That was eight days before our match, during which we practiced there.”Both Nabi and Khajuria were part of the XI in the 2019-20 quarter-final heartbreak. As experienced players now, they have had a ringside view of the challenges the team has had to endure since.Auqib Nabi, with 38 scalps, finished the league stage as the highest wicket-taker among fast bowlers•PTI “The biggest problem is that we don’t have any infrastructure in J&K; it is coming up a bit, but it’s still not a lot,” Nabi said. “For instance, I come from Baramulla, where we don’t have enough nets to practice. We have to practice on our own.”There are not many turf cricket in Kashmir. Some [players] go out of state to practice. But over the last one or two years, JKCA has helped us play a lot of matches. So there has been a lot of improvement in our performance.”And people with expertise in the domestic circuit – Ajay Sharma is a Ranji Trophy legend – has only helped. Especially people like Khajuria.Over the course of the ongoing domestic season, Khajuria has cracked 255 in a Ranji game against Maharashtra, 159 against Chhattisgarh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, and 85* against Uttar Pradesh in the [T20] Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy – all of them the highest by a J&K batter in the respective tournaments’ history.”Ajay sir has been asking me to play the long innings,” Khajuria said. “Often, I used to get out in the 30s or 40s. That has stopped happening now. So the mindset has changed. Earlier, the environment of J&K’s dressing room was not like this either. [But] now, everyone talks about winning. We have had [three] different Man-of-the-Match winners across our five victories. Everyone has contributed. Now it is the case of trying to win every match.”The next week could take J&K to new frontiers. They have never made a Ranji semi-final previously and there’s nervous excitement bubbling. How they channel it could determine their road ahead.

Matthew Breetzke shows he can get past 30-40 as he scored 150 on ODI debut to break records and signal the start of something special

Danyal Rasool10-Feb-2025South Africa’s travel arrangements to Pakistan were a good reminder of why large groups are such a bother. The SA20 threw a spanner in the works in terms of the player availability pool. Lungi Ngidi and Tabraiz Shamsi weren’t initially part of the squad, and then tacked on as late additions; without them, they wouldn’t have been able to scrape 11 players together today. At one point against New Zealand, when Ngidi went off, they still needed fielding coach Wanele Gwavu to make up the numbers. On Sunday, Corbin Bosch, Tony de Zorzi and Kwena Maphaka were on a plane to Pakistan, but none of them were available today.Fewer than half the players in this squad will be part of South Africa’s Champions Trophy party. It is the selectorial equivalent of looking through a threadbare kitchen cupboard and throwing all available ingredients into the pot in the hope of achieving a serviceable stew. Except, if that metaphor is to be tormented further, no one likes experimental stew early on a Monday morning – this is the only day game of the series, the PCB ostensibly putting it on to put their operational robustness to the test at a different time of day.As if things couldn’t get more challenging, South Africa lost the toss at 9am, when the winter morning haze hadn’t cleared, and were put in to bat at the most challenging time of the day. So unfamiliar is much of the squad that 26-year-old Matthew Breetzke, opening with captain Temba Bavuma, appeared to be one of the senior players in the side, until you realised this was his ODI debut.Related

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For the first half-hour, he looked a debutant, too. New Zealand, more seasoned at this level and with a crushing win under their belt, smelled blood, and like a shiver of sharks pressing a salmon cluster to the surface, began to suffocate Breetzke. Will O’Rourke, in particular, was testing him, pushing Breetzke back using the bounce, rapping him on the gloves as an early shot across the bows. The following over, he cut Breetzke in half, hitting the top of the inside edge of the bat with extra bounce. Had New Zealand been more proactive about bringing a short leg in, this story may have ended right here.In a classic telltale sign of his struggle against the bounce, Breetzke began to lean across to try and whip it behind square on the on side – the equivalent of sweeping against spin when it’s hard to determine which way it’s turning. Not that plenty were connecting; he scored just nine off the first 21 balls, and wasn’t in control of many. As the sun battled to burn off the morning haze, he was also in a battle of his own. He attacked hardly any of the first 30 balls he faced, and was in control of less than 75%.”I definitely think that first hour was the hardest batting conditions all day,” Breetzke said at the press conference afterwards – he was there because he scored 150 by the end of it, and we’ll talk about it in a bit. “The wicket was tacky and overhead conditions were tough with the new ball, with the bit of mist in the air. My mindset was just to get through those first ten with that new ball and kick on.”There’s a reason Breetzke is rated highly within his own team, a List A average of under 30 doesn’t quite do justice to his talent and mentality. At SA20 2024, when he was among the best batters in the early stages of the tournament, his team-mate Keshav Maharaj said Breetzke’s mindset was “similar to Virat Kohli’s” and earmarked him as “leadership material for South Africa”.

“If you wind him up, you will probably see the better side of him. It’s such a blessing to see someone of his age do that. I think he is set for a long career in international cricket”Keshav Maharaj on Matthew Breetzke

“There was a story of someone saying he is only good for 30 and 40, so it was a nice way of motivating him,” Maharaj had told ESPNcricinfo, presciently. “If you wind him up, you will probably see the better side of him. It’s such a blessing to see someone of his age do that. I think he is set for a long career in international cricket.”The sun was beginning to warm the surface up and the crowd, surprisingly strong for a day match on a Monday between two sides neither of which was Pakistan, began to duck for shade. Breetzke, though, was beginning to shine under the spotlight, and for a player often accused of throwing away good starts, only gaining in strength. A six off Mitchell Santner just after drinks signalled a shift in intent in an innings that developed like rungs on a stepladder, hitting various gears as his side’s requirements changed.It allowed him to show his full repertoire, but the onslaught at the very end was reminiscent of Glenn Phillips against Pakistan. O’Rourke, his torturer-in-chief in the morning, went short, but Breetzke’s innings – and perhaps Breetzke the man – had come of age by now. He rocked back and lashed him behind deep point for the boundary that got him to a debut ODI hundred. Like a boy who has bested his childhood bully, he lived like a man liberated.It started scratchily for Matthew Breetzke but he found a way to stay in and make it count•AFP/Getty ImagesIt was high-risk, but in this kind of devastating touch, Breetzke found a way of making it look safe. He attacked 40% of his final 30 deliveries, almost three times up on his first 30, and yet remained in control of a whopping 90%. Little in his List A career, with a strike rate a shade under 79, could have prepared New Zealand for the withering assault to follow.Breetzke, though, is defensive of his record, his late bloom indicative of the value of giving young cricketers time to understand their game before throwing them in the deep end. “I started off my one-day career quite slowly and we played on tough wickets, hence my List A numbers are not the best,” he said. “I take pride in my white-ball cricket, and in one-day cricket, it’s probably the best I’ve batted.”And he was batting like it. He went from 100 to 150 in just 20 deliveries – the hapless Ben Sears singled out for punishment – and made history of his own, becoming the first ODI debutant to score 150. It culminated in a 20-run 45th over that requires little editing to serve as a compilation reel of its own. Sears tried to target his body, but he manufactured room off consecutive balls to muscle it to either side of the wicket for boundaries.When Sears went short, Breetzke reminded him that it no longer worked, scything him over point for four, before, as if to rub it in, crunching the final delivery over deep third for the six that got him to 150. The man who scratched his way to his first few runs on what seemed an inauspicious batting morning may end up looking back on it as the dawn of a very long career.

May’s history of the rebel tours to South Africa does not make for easy reading, but that’s largely because apartheid itself was so appalling

Martin Williamson05-Dec-2009As England’s tour of South Africa continues without incident, it is easy to forget that, two decades ago, a side of English players led by Mike Gatting was trudging a similar route across the country. While Andrew Strauss’s team can concentrate on the cricket, that was almost incidental to Gatting’s collection of cricketing mercenaries. Vilified internationally, his team was in the wrong place at the wrong time during the dying days of the despised apartheid regime.It is too easy to forget how the spectre of South Africa haunted international sport through the 1970s and 1980s. Increasingly isolated as the stranglehold of sanctions tightened, the authorities in the republic used money to attract sportsmen who were willing to turn a blind eye to what was going on. The idea was to bring sport to an entertainment-starved (white) public and to give the impression to the world that things weren’t so bad after all. Cricket, a predominantly white sport in the country and one in which the South Africans probably had, for much of that time, a world-class XI, was at the forefront of the PR offensive.Peter May’s book looks at the seven rebel tours between 1982 and 1990, starting and ending with the two by England XIs, with a brace each by West Indies and Australia and a lamentable one by Sri Lanka in between. It does not make easy reading, but that’s largely because apartheid itself was so appalling.Even though at the time the tours were front-page news and briefly threatened to rip the game in two along racial lines, the rebel tours have had almost nothing written about them. They are cricket’s forgotten skeleton, hidden in the attic, which everyone would prefer to pretend didn’t exist. Given the sheer volume of books on cricket, the silence is even more bizarre. One of the reasons soon becomes clear. While some of the South Africans were willing to talk to the author, most of the tourists were much happier to forget.Put simply, those who went did so for the money. Some are honest, others less so. What is truly sad is the fate of those who were perhaps exploited more. While the English and Australian players escaped with fairly light punishments (John Emburey was twice banned for three years and both times returned to play for his country), the West Indians and Sri Lankans had a far more wretched time. Banned for life and socially ostracised, for some it destroyed their lives.There are also surprises. I had always assumed Sir Ian Botham had not gone because, as was often said, had he done so he could not “have looked Viv [Richards] in the eye”. May claims that Botham was all for taking part until his agent explained the financial realities. It also emerges that the South African government indirectly bankrolled the tours, exposing them for the political stunts everyone suspected them to be.The cricket itself is well-described. What is interesting is to read how the South African players and public quickly saw the tours for what they were: decent-standard exhibition cricket, but certainly not the “Tests” the South African board insisted they were. But it’s the machinations surrounding the tours that form the heart and soul of the book.The Rebel Tours: Cricket’s Crisis of Conscience
by Peter May
SportsBooks
£17.99

Arsenal have made a positive start to the Premier League campaign and could now move to bolster a key area in the January window, according to a report.

Arsenal lose out away to Aston Villa

Despite putting in a fairly respectable display away to Aston Villa, Arsenal ended up on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline courtesy of a smart finish from John McGinn as Unai Emery got one over his old side on Saturday evening. The Gunners remain on 36 points from their opening 16 fixtures and have made a bright start to the Premier League campaign; however, they will be fully aware that losing cannot become a habit if they are serious about contending for the title.

In his post-match press conference, Mikel Arteta looked to indicate his disagreement with the decision to rule out Kai Havertz's late strike that was disallowed due to a handball offence from the Germany international, simply stating to Sky Sports: "I prefer not to comment."

When pressed on the decision, he then went on to add: "Clear and obvious. Clear and obvious. That's what I mean. That's my opinion. That's all I can say."

Having already got into trouble with the football authorities this term after his criticism of Anthony Gordon's winner for Newcastle United against Arsenal last month, the Spaniard looks to have taken a more measured approach this time round despite his clear frustration at yet another controversial VAR outcome in the English top-flight.

Casting an eye towards the January window, the Gunners could now be set to add some firepower to compete with Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah at the Emirates Stadium, according to a report.

Arsenal competing to sign Lois Openda

According to reports in Spain, Arsenal are competing to sign RB Leipzig forward Lois Openda, who is on the radar of a clutch of the world's elite clubs due to his exploits in Germany this campaign.

Lois Openda key statistics in the Bundesliga – (Sofascore)

Shots per game

3.9

Shots on target per game

1.8

Big chances created

5

Expected goals

9.31

Big chances missed

11

Manchester United, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Manchester City are all monitoring the 23-year-old as his stock continues to rise, with representatives from Erik ten Hag's side alongside the Gunners recently sending scouts to watch the Belgium international in action.

This campaign, the former Club Brugge man has been in electric form in front of the target, netting 14 goals and laying on three assists in 22 appearances across all competitions for RB Leipzig (Openda statistics – Transfermarkt). Linking the play is also another prominent part of Openda's game, which is evidenced by the fact he has racked up 51 successful shot-creating actions in 2023/24, with nine leading directly to a goal (Openda statistics – FBRef).

Arsenal could do with adding another clinical figure in mid-season and acquiring Openda, who has been described as having "huge developmental potential" by former RB Leipzig sporting director Max Eberl and a "very good player" by current VfL Bochum boss Thomas Letsch, could give Arteta's side a major shot in the arm as they look to seal Premier League glory for the first time since 2004.