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Footballers these days have a bit of a reputation for being a bit dim.

But that culture is changing now that football clubs hammer home the importance of education to young and aspiring footballers. With that in mind, we’re counting down the top 10 smartest players over the last few years.

We’re so used to hearing stories about the likes of Jermaine Pennant leaving his Porsche at a car park at a Spanish train station after forgetting he owned it, this could be indicative of the money these lads are given at a young age.

There are footballers out there who give us hope, the kind who use their free time to build businesses, study a subject or language or are generally quite sharp chaps.

If you think there’s a bright player who’s been missed off this list please feel free to head to the comments section and let us know who they are and why!

10. Yugo Nagatomo

The Inter Milan full back has made 88 appearances for Japan and has impressed people since making his move from FC Tokyo back in 2011.

But what people may not be aware of his Yugo Nagatomo’s rich education. Nagatomo graduated from Doshisha University in Japan with a degree in Economics, he has since gone on to write 2 books!

One of these is titled ‘The important thing is to feel the rise throughout happiness’. Catchy!

9. Patrick Bamford

The Forest academy graduate has been hot property, scoring goals wherever he’s gone (except Palace!).

However, Bamford has been presented with some interesting opportunities.

He’s from a fairly well off family in Nottingham and was educated at Nottingham High School for Boys, but when he was just 16 he was offered the opportunity to go to Harvard University on a football scholarship deal.

Harvard is one of the most prestigious universities in the world, but Bamford turned down the offer when he realised he could pursue a career as a professional footballer.

8. Didier Drogba

Just being a Premier League footballer hardly seems that impressive when you’re stacked up alongside Didier Drogba. That comparison becomes even more pronounced when you realise that Drogba is also a qualified accountant who is touted as being a future President in his wartorn homeland the Ivory Coast.

In the wake of a bloody civil war, Drogba formed part of the Truth and Reconciliation commission set up to heal the wounds of the country and reunite its peoples.

Although Drogba has said he doesn’t much want to be President of the Ivory Coast, we can think of no one better than Drogba in light of his accomplishments.

7. Simon Mignolet

The Liverpool number 22 has come under criticism in recent seasons for his lack of consistency. However it can never be said that he doesn’t take his education seriously. Simon Mignolet has a degree in law and political science.

Although he plays second fiddle to Thibaut Courtois it doesn’t matter who’s around him on the bench as he is fluent in English, French, Dutch and German.

Simon Mignolet clearly takes his learning very seriously, perhaps he can teach himself how to keep the ball out of the net a bit more next season unless he wants to Karius overtake him as first choice.

6. Duncan Watmore

The ginger Pele has been a revelation since breaking into Sunderland’s first team.

After making the move from non-league Altrincham, Watmore has kept the ethic that has pushed him all the way to the highest division.

He also uses this work ethic in the education he receives. Watmore graduated from Newcastle University with first class honours in a degree in Economics and Business Management. A great achievement considering he’s now in training full time!

5.Matt Smith

The big lumbering striker rose up to Championship side Fulham after pottering about non-league for a while.

After being released from the Cheltenham Town academy at 18-years-old Smith pursued the opportunity to study, and it was then that he went to Manchester Business School where he played football for the University society with famous comedian Jack Whitehall.

He graduated with a degree in business and then after some time in non league his football career took off, and a possible call up to the Scotland squad could be on the cards.

4. Fraser Forster

The big Geordie has been a revelation since signing for Southampton from Celtic. After years of proving himself and gaining experience north of the border Forster made the move to the south coast in 2014.

Since joining Saints he has started studying for a course in business studies at university. Alongside breaking records for the longest period without conceding a goal in a Saints shirt, he’s clearly got something going upstairs.

He may look all brawn but he’s certainly trying to prove that there’s some brain behind that too!

3. Glen Johnson

The Dartford born fullback has played for some big clubs in the Premier League. But it was during his time at Liverpool that he made some steps towards improving his education.

Glen Johnson claimed in an interview with The Telegraph that he was pursuing a degree in Maths.

He spoke about his happiness at doing it and admitted that proving a point to his teachers at school who thought he would amount to nothing was something that spurred him on greatly. More power to you Glen!

2. Juan Mata

The little Spaniard has put many a smile on the faces of Premier League fans since joining Chelsea from Valencia.

His attitude to always give back to the fans made him player of the season more than once at Chelsea before making his move north to Manchester.

Mata also uses his free time away from football very constructively, after gaining a degree in Journalism from the University of Madrid he looks set to carry on in this ethos, by getting degrees in both Marketing and Sports Science from the University of Manchester. Carrying his team one week and carrying his coursework group the next?

1. Frank Lampard

There can only be one man to top this list, and it might surprise some. Don’t let Frank Lampard’s reputation precede him, he’s an extremely intelligent man.

Lampard has an IQ of 150 which places him in the top 0.1% of the population. If you think that’s impressive, well how about this?

That score is only 10 less than Albert Einstein. Perhaps after Lampard is done in New York he can tackle the Hadron Collider in Switzerland!

Wrexham’s Paul Mullin has revealed why the Katy Perry song ‘Firework’ is so inspirational to him, with said track lifting him in some tough times.

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Striker endured a tough time at TranmereWas introduced to uplifting pop trackRediscovered his spark & never looked backWHAT HAPPENED?

The 29-year-old frontman has not always been the prolific presence that he is today, with a spell at Tranmere seeing goals and regular starting berths prove hard to come by. Mullin was ready to throw in the towel at one stage, but an initial loan transfer to Cambridge got his career back on track – with his mum and pop star Perry playing unlikely roles in the rediscovery of a lost spark.

AdvertisementGettyWHAT MULLIN SAID

Mullin has said in his new autobiography ‘My Wrexham Story’: “One morning I actually said to [my wife] Mollie: ‘I don’t want to go [to training with Tranmere]. I’m not going to play anyway. I can’t be arsed any more. I just want to stay at home.’ Mollie talked it over with me, and eventually I did set off. On the way, mum rang. ‘I’ve just been listening to a song,’ she told me, ‘and it’s definitely about you.’ ‘OK,’ I said dubiously. ‘What is it?’ ‘Katy Perry,’ she replied. ‘Firework’. I put it on in the car and for the first time actually listened to the lyrics. What I heard were amazing words about believing in yourself, unleashing your true potential, finding that spark. It made me really emotional as I thought about why mum was telling me to listen. I know everyone in my family loves me, same as I love them, but in that moment it was something really special – ‘Someone actually thinks that about me.’ It was a really big thing for me when I was feeling so low. After the mental drain of Tranmere, I felt I’d had a whole new injection of energy [after joining Cambridge]. I did everything I could to maintain that feeling, including playing ‘Firework’ as I drove to the ground before every game. At the end of the 2020–21 season, when Cambridge got promoted, mum put it on in her garden to celebrate.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Mullin – who was released by Liverpool at the age of 16 and almost signed for Spanish signed Racing Santander before making a senior breakthrough in England – got back into the groove while at Cambridge. He hit 36 goals for them in 56 appearances, with his efforts in 2020-21 earning him the League Two Golden Boot.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR MULLIN?

Mullin is back in the fourth tier of English football in 2023-24, with his 47 efforts last season helping to fire Wrexham to a record-breaking promotion into the Football League. He has scored 88 goals for the Welsh club in 111 appearances – with his latest outing seeing him hit a hat-trick, much to the delight of the Red Dragons’ Hollywood co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

GOAL rates the best new arrivals of the campaign, taking into account performance, expectation and price. Look away now, Chelsea fans…

Premier League clubs spent a record £2.8 billion ($3.5m) on transfers across both windows in 2022-23 and most of the big-money signings (apart from those who joined Chelsea) have had a huge impact on a hugely eventful and entertaining season.

Manchester City's astute transfer business (leaving aside Kalvin Phillips) helped them win the title, but Arsenal were also shrewd in the market and their signings helped them push Pep Guardiola's side all the way.

Brighton's excellent dealings helped catapult them into Europe for the first time while Fulham, Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth made smart signings that helped keep them afloat in their first season back in the top flight.

Manchester United and Newcastle's new recruits also played big roles in their bids to finish in the top four and return to the Champions League.

GOAL rates the best transfers of the season, taking into account performance, expectation and price…

Getty21Neto (Bournemouth, free)

Bournemouth took something of a gamble by bringing in a goalkeeper who had been a back-up for most of his career. But the well-travelled Brazilian, who joined for free from Barcelona, has reignited his passion for football with the Cherries and has proved instrumental in them steering clear of the relegation zone.

Neto began the season in a familiar position – on the bench. But he was made first-choice goalkeeper when Gary O'Neil succeeded Scott Parker as coach after the team had conceded 16 goals in three games, including the 9-0 thrashing by Liverpool. He quickly stopped the rot before a muscle injury in October forced him out until January, but when he returned to fitness, he was straight back in the team ahead of Mark Travers.

His highlights include keeping a clean sheet against Liverpool, being the stand-out player in a crucial win at Wolves and making a double save against Leeds in the game which effectively guaranteed their safety.

AdvertisementBrentford20Ben Mee (Brentford, free)

Mee had been one of Burnley's most influential players in their long stay in the Premier League, and although Brentford had comfortably survived their first season in the top flight, the 33-year-old's experience has helped them kick on and earn their first top-10 finish.

The 33-year-old's knack for winning duels and staying concentrated has helped Brentford keep 10 clean sheets while he has also contributed a lot in attack, scoring three times and providing two assists. Not bad for a free transfer, eh?

Getty Images19Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds, £4m)

The Italian teenager has enormous potential and Leeds snapped him up from FC Zurich for just £4 million on transfer deadline day. He has been in and out of the team, particularly since Jesse Marsch's departure, but he has shown his quality on a number of occasions.

His volley in the FA Cup tie against Cardiff City was reminiscent of Paulo Di Canio, while he zipped his way through the Manchester United defence to score after only 55 seconds at Old Trafford. He has scored four goals and contributed four assists in his first season despite his limited first-team opportunities, and Leeds have a star of the future on their hands – if they can keep hold of him this summer.

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Getty Images18Christian Eriksen (Man Utd, free)

The Dane has given United an extra layer of class in the middle, forming a winning axis with Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes. His pin-point passes have launched many an attack, but overall he has given the team more control and balance.

And he cost United nothing at all, joining as a free agent after rebuilding his career from the shock of his cardiac arrest on the pitch at Euro 2020 at Brentford having being released by Inter. The fact he has managed to return to the elite as an influential player for a club like United is truly remarkable.

The use of video assistant referees (VAR) is being rolled out for the first time at the World Cup and Goal takes a look at some of the incidents

• Getty
  

  France vs Croatia – Perisic handball leads to penalty

  VAR: Yes

  Verdict: Opinion split

  The first-ever use of VAR at the World Cup final occurred during the first half of France vs Croatia.

  With the score tied at 1-1, following an own goal from Mario Mandzukic and a leveller from Ivan Perisic, the Croatia goalscorer soon found himself at the centre of controversy.

  An Antoine Griezmann corner was delivered to the near post towards the head of France's Blaise Matuidi. Perisic knocked the ball behind the goal, with the French team's claims for a handball largely ignored by referee Nestor Pitana.

  The incident was then checked by officials, with Pitana then notified, and the referee proceeded to review the claim on the pitch-side screen.

  Pitana eventually awarded the spot-kick, which Griezmann converted to give Les Bleus a 2-1 lead going into half time.

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• Getty
  

  Colombia vs England – Barrios only shown yellow

  VAR: No

  Verdict: Wrong decision

  With Harry Kane having been brought down just outside of the box, England had a good chance to open the scoring with a free-kick.

  Tensions rose in the wall between Wilmar Barrios and Jordan Henderson, however, with the former first headbutting the Liverpool man in the chest before raising his head, catching the midfielder's chin – though many felt the latter overplayed his reaction to the impact.

  The referee opted not to go to VAR for what could have been construed as a piece of violent conduct, but did present Barrios with a yellow card.

• Getty
  

  Russia vs Spain – Spain denied extra-time penalty

  VAR: Yes

  Verdict: Correct decision

  Russia were desperately clinging on to a 1-1 draw with Spain after taking the 2010 champions to extra-time in Moscow.

  When a late delivery was whipped into the box, Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique felt that they were being held by Ilya Kutepov and Sergei Ignashevich respectively. Their protests were waved away at the time, with further frustration facing La Roja – who would go on to lose in a penalty shoot-out – following a VAR review.

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• Getty
  

  Russia vs Spain – Russia awarded penalty

  VAR: No

  Verdict: Correct decision

  Spain were apparently comfortable at 1-0 up against Russia in their last-16 match when their hosts were awarded a corner.

  Gerard Pique missed his header from the kick, allowing Artem Dzyuba to head the ball goalwards. However, the Barcelona defender blocked it with his hand, despite not facing the man he was supposed to be marking. He had moved his hand upwards in an unnatural motion and, once the kick had been awarded, Dzyuba beat David de Gea from 12 yards.

MatériaMais Notícias

Aflição, susto, frustração. O cenário inicial era de pessimismo. Inclusive, lembrava o início da final da Libertadores. Porém, nesta terça-feira, uma virada histórica estava reservada para os rubro-negros. Em desvantagem, o Flamengo voltou do intervalo mordido, com outra postura e, diante do Al Hilal, venceu por 3 a 1. Marcaram Arrascaeta, Bruno Henrique eAli Albulayhi (contra). Do outro lado, Salem Aldawsari foi quem abriu o placar.

Agora chegou a hora da torcida respirar aliviada, festejar ruas do Rio, Brasil e Doha afora enquanto aguarda o seu adversário na final. Liverpool e Monterrey se enfrentam nesta quarta-feira. A decisão será dia 21, no Estádio Internacional Khalifa, o mesmo palco das semifinais desta noite (na capital qatari).

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UM BAQUE À LA LIMA
O nervosismo dos jogadores do Flamengo ficou evidente antes mesmo de a bola rolar. A expressão era de insegurança. Se é hábito ou não, o fato é que Rodrigo Caio simbolou isto, ao roer unhar no túnel de acesso ao gramado.

O outro lado estava com menos peso. E menos rigidez com a bola. O técnico Razvan Lucescu acionou uma linha de quatro atacantes para explorar a defesa alta do Flamengo e os laterais. Deu certo. Apático e mal posicionado, uma bola à la Lima, como no gol deBorré, do River Plate, sobrou para Salem carimbar, aparecendo onde Willian Arão e Gerson deveriam proteger. Um baque.

NÃO ERA FLAMENGO

Não era Flamengo. O torcedor, em casa, nos bares ou no estádio (que não parava de empurrar), percebeu. Sem encontrar soluções e variações efetivas diante de um marcação mais baixa dos sauditas, o Rubro-Negro penou para criar. Arrascaeta, quando acelerou, encontrou bons passes. Gerson e Bruno Henrique ainda chegaram perto na etapa inicial, mas nada de empate.

E o nervosismo foi tomando conta, tanto que Rafinha e Gabigol discutiram com rivais. Ou seja, a pilha do outro lado estava surtindo efeito.

ISSO É FLAMENGO

O intervalo foi útil. Apareceram quem o time precisava: Gabigol, Bruno Henrique e Arrascaeta triangularam, nesta ordem, e a bola sobrou limpa para o uruguaio, ainda nos primeiros minutos da etapa final.

O cenário passou a ser outro.

Como Jorge Jesus costuma dizer, o time foi dominando as ações e atuando “à Flamengo”. Nas arquibancadas, o volume também elevara e já fazia Maracanã vir à tona na memória. Além disso, o campo defensivo do Al Hilal passou a ser alugado com certa frequência, o que não ocorria no primeiro tempo.

UMA CARTADA À LA LIMA
​
O Al Hilal não tinha mais pernas para reagir. A intensidade vista no primeiro tempo desandou, o que, de certa forma, era natural. E o Rubro-Negro acelerou. Mas, para isso, precisou que Diego viesse a campo.

Por volta camisa 10 saiu do banco e entrou na vaga de Gerson, que não deu dinâmica na construção e deixou espaços na marcação – como no primeiro gol. A alteração foi a mesma feita em Lima (naquela situação, foi aos 20 minutos e, nesta, aos 28 do segundo tempo). Novamente, surtiu efeito. Diego, com personalidade, participou da armação dos dois gols que deram a virada.

VIRADA HISTÓRICA

O Al Hilal levou dois gols no caminho para a reta final, um de Bruno Henrique e um contra, após jogada do mesmo camisa 27, e ainda viu Carrillo perder a cabeça e ser expulso.

Ambas as jogadas com bola na rede foram bem trabalhadas, “à Flamengo” de Jorge Jesus, que foi exaltado pelos torcedores rubro-negros.

Com 3 a 1 no placar, os minutos finais foram de festa. Foi a primeira virada de um sul-americano neste formato de Mundial de Clubes. Além disso, igualoua maior vitória do continente nesta fase – o 3 a 1 do Santos no Kashima Reysol, em 2011, e o 2 a 0 da LDU diante do Pachuca, em 2008.

FICHA TÉCNICA
FLAMENGO 3 x 1 AL HILAL

Estádio: Internacional Khalifa, em Doha (QAT)
Data-Hora: 17/12/2019, às 14h30 (de Brasília)
Árbitro: Ismail Elfath (EUA) – Nota LANCE!: 4,0 – Permissivo com entradas duras e até inverteu a marcação de faltas durante o jogo.
Assistentes: Kyle Atkins (EUA) e Parker Corey (EUA)
VAR: Alan Kelly (IRL)

Gramado: Excelente
Público/Renda: 21.588 torcedores/Renda não divulgada.

Cartão Amarelo: Pablo Marí, Bruno Henrique e Diego (FLA); Ali Albulayhi, Giovinco e Aldawsari (ALH)
Cartão Vermelho: Andre Carrillo (ALH)

GOLS: Salem Aldawsari (0-1, 17’/1ºT), Arrascaeta (1-1, 3’/2ºT), Bruno Henrique (2-1, 32’/2ºT) e Ali AlBulayhi (3-1, contra, 36’/2ºT)

FLAMENGO
Diego Alves; Rafinha, Rodrigo Caio, Pablo Marí e Filipe Luís; Willian Arão, Gerson (Diego, 29’/2ºT), Everton Ribeiro e Arrascaeta (Piris da Motta, 47’/2ºT); Bruno Henrique (Vitinho, 43’/2ºT) e Gabigol. Técnico: Jorge Jesus.

AL HILAL
Abdullah Almuaiouf; Mohammed Alburayk, Jang Hyunsoo, Ali Albulayhi e Yasser Alshahrani; Cuéllar, Carlos Eduardo e Salem Aldawsari (Al Abid, 37’/2ºT); Andre Carrillo, Giovinco (Omar Khrbin, 25’/2ºT) e Gomis (Otayf, 46’/2ºT) – Técnico: Razvan Lucescu.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Superior Tribunal de Justiça Desportiva (STJD) puniu Felipe Melo com cinco jogos de suspensão por conta de atos obscenos ocorridos no clássico contra o Santos. Assim, o meio-campista poderia voltar apenas no jogo contra o Flamengo, dia 1º de dezembro, pela 36ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro. O Palmeiras, contudo, prepara o pedido de efeito suspensivo.

O camisa 30 havia sido denunciado pelo artigo 258 do Código Brasileiro de Justiça Desportiva (CBJD), que fala em “assumir qualquer conduta contrária à disciplina ou à ética desportiva”. Ele mostrou o dedo do meio para torcedores do Santos. A punição prevista variava de um a seis jogos.

Caso não haja efeito suspensivo, Felipe Melo ficará fora dos jogos contra: Vasco (fora de casa), Corinthians (em casa), Bahia (fora de casa), Grêmio (em casa) e Fluminense (fora de casa). Ele poderia, portanto, voltar apenas no dia 1º de dezembro, contra o Flamengo, com mando palmeirense.

TABELA
> Veja classificação e simulador do Brasileirão clicando aqui

Willian foi outro palmeirense julgado no início desta tarde, por conta do cartão vermelho recebido também diante do Santos e recebeu uma partida de gancho. Ele havia sido denunciado no artigo 254, por “praticar jogada violenta”, e poderia levar de um a seis jogos de suspensão. Como já cumpriu a suspensão automática, o atacante poderá jogar nesta quarta-feira, contra o Vasco.

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Players are hoping umpires will allow them a little more leeway for on-field banter during the upcoming IPL season, if a unique interaction on Saturday is a sign to go by. The point is believed to have been made by Rohit Sharma, the Mumbai Indians captain, during an interaction with match officials on the first day of the two-day IPL officials’ conclave.It is understood that Rohit urged umpires to not intervene when players are involved in banter that stays within stipulated boundaries. Rohit was all for players behaving well, but urged that they be allowed to express themselves in the heat of the moment as long as they don’t cross the limits.One of the key reasons for the BCCI to invite a captain for the conclave was to make the officials understand players’ perspectives. The BCCI officials also felt the need for such an initiative because of the increased involvement of Indian match officials. For the first time since the IPL’s inception in 2008, Indian officials this season will considerably outnumber their overseas counterparts. Of the 26 match officials recruited for the IPL’s 2015 season, 17 – 13 umpires and four match referees – are Indian.The officials welcomed the initiative and were delighted to have heard the players’ views in an informal situation. According to one of the officials in attendance, the initiative would “definitely be helpful for the umpires as well as players.”Besides Rohit’s interaction, the first day of the workshop saw Simon Taufel, the ICC’s umpire performance and training manager, brief officials about the dos and don’ts of umpiring in high-pressure situations.

كشفت تقارير صحفية أن نادي إنتر ميامي الأمريكي توصل إلى اتفاق مع الأوروجواياني لويس سواريز، للحصول على خدماته.

ومن المعروف أن لويس سواريز يلعب حاليًا في صفوف فريق جيريميو، ولكنه سيرحل في ديسمبر المقبل، قبل عام من الموعد المحدد لنهاية عقده.

اقرأ أيضًا | إنتر ميامي يعلن تكريم ميسي بطريقة خاصة بعد التتويج بالكرة الذهبية الثامنة

وسبق أن ارتبط لويس سواريز بخطوة الانضمام إلى إنتر ميامي، للم الشمل مع زملائه السابقين، ليونيل ميسي، جوردي ألبا وسيرجيو بوسكيتس.

وحسبما ذكرت صحيفة “ديلي ميل” الإنجليزية، نقلًا عن شبكة “إسبن” العالمية، فإن نادي إنتر ميامي توصل إلى اتفاق مع لويس سواريز من أجل ضمه.

وأوضحت أن صاحب الـ36 عامًا سيوقع عقدًا لمدة عام مع إنتر ميامي، مع خيار التمديد لعام آخر.

England Lions failed to force victory in the only warm-up match of their South Africa tour as the Gauteng Invitation XI held on for a draw with two wickets remaining but it was a match the tourists dominated from the start.

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jan-2015
ScorecardJonathan Trott was all smiles after his solid second innings•Getty ImagesJonathan Trott, given the captaincy of England Lions as he attempts to rebuild his England career, struck a heartening half-century as England Lions narrowly failed to force victory in Soweto in the only warm-up match of their South Africa tour.The Gauteng Invitation XI held on for a draw with two wickets remaining thanks to an approaching electrical storm, leaving Trott to contemplate his success in a non first-class practice match about as far away from the heat of international cricket as it was possible to be.Trott failed to make an impact in a first innings – his first for an England side since he left the Ashes tour prematurely with a stress-related illness – as Adam Lyth, Sam Robson and Alex Lees all scored heavily, but he calmly got on with the task with an unbeaten 79.Sam Billings – given a knock despite not being named in the initial XI – also made a half-century before retiring. He shared 115 for the fourth wicket with Trott and pushed the Lions out of sight. They declared setting their hosts 441 to win in little over two sessions.The Lions’ seamers – six in all plus two spinners in this squad practice game – then got to work again but with 14 overs remaining, the players left the field for safety reasons, enabling Bradley Dial’s 35 in 81 balls to secure a draw.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsLahore Lions’ top order was clueless against the new ball•BCCI

The match had begun in overcast conditions. Lahore Lions’ bowlers were not able to enlist their help and conceded 170 and their batsmen became helpless witnesses to what could have happened. Tim Southee and Trent Boult had the ball zipping around to have Lions 19 for 5. The rest was simply a blur of pink as Northern Knights hurtled to a crushing 72-run victory.Daniel Flynn, their captain, knew he had a new-ball attack that could dissect Test sides and his half-century coupled with BJ Watling’s provided what ended up being a giant run-rate boost that primes them to make the main draw.Their only roadblock on the day was Saad Nasim, who willed Lions towards some sense of dignity with a fifty of his own. He was the only Lahore batsman to reach double-figures, while his team was all out for 98, the tenth-lowest total in CLT20.The slide began with a menacing yorker from Southee, one that swung in late, sneaked under Nasir Jamshed’s plod and toppled his stumps. Boult ensured he wasn’t left behind by setting up the other opener Ahmed Shehzad. Doubts were sowed when an inswinger had the batsman playing around his pads. The next ball was angled across, Shehzad’s muddled footwork and feeble prod was safely pouched by the keeper. A contest was brewing, although it was limited to the two quicks.Southee surged ahead by bouncing Mohammad Hafeez and had a little luck in undoing Umar Siddiq’s promotion. Boult hit back with a rousing inswinger that rattled Akmal’s stumps to bring the seamers’ skirmish even. By this time Lions – who were five down – were so far behind the game that Southee and Boult’s game of one-upmanship was the only thing that caught the crowd’s attention.The winner was declared in rather emphatic fashion, if again with a little bit of luck. Asif Raza slogged to deep midwicket, where Southee pulled off a spectacular relay catch to inflict further hurt on an already listless Lions display. A vast majority of their batsmen did not seem aware of the importance of run-rates and their teams’ is languishing at -1.49. Except from Nasim, there was no attempt to weather the Knights’ swing bowlers and lessen the margin of defeat.Lions’ intent was even worse on the field. Flynn was dropped on 26 and Watling got a life on 46 – and both of them were the reason Knights clattered 52 runs in the final five overs. The bowling looked a far cry from what Mumbai Indians had to face on Saturday night. Hafeez had been asked at the toss if the short turnaround from their match with Mumbai Indians might have an adverse effect. He had dead batted it, but judging by the events that transpired, there might have been a knock-on effect.Akmal messed up a stumping in the second over and shelled a regulation catch in the 17th. Nasir Jamshed lost control of a catch, could not rein it in on the rebound and failed to realise a run-out opportunity all off the same ball. Adnan Rasool misjudged a chance at deep square leg and the ball lobbed over his head for a four. And during the slog overs, deep midwicket and long-on stood rooted to their spots while Scott Styris, a new batsman, stole three runs.Meanwhile Knights, who had shelled five catches in six overs yesterday, erased that memory quite ruthlessly. Daniel Harris hunted a big hit from Nasim from long-on, flung himself to the right and almost conjured a catch out of nowhere. And the contrasts continued still. While Flynn employed desperate dives multiple times to safeguard his wicket, Rasool was caught napping by a direct hit from Flynn himself and Nasim too wandered thoughtlessly out of his crease to be run-out by the bowler to give the Lions chase a fitting end.