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Manchester United have been through several different front lines throughout 2024/25 to try and solve the ongoing issues and lack of goals among the squad.

The Red Devils have only registered 23 goals in the first 20 Premier League matches of the campaign, with only four teams scoring fewer to date.

Somehow, Marcus Rashford, who looks set for a move away from Old Trafford, remains Ruben Amorim’s top scorer in the league, despite not featuring in any of the last six outings.

Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee cost the hierarchy around £100m in bringing them to the club, but the pair have only mustered five league goals combined in 2024/25.

Given the lack of quality in the final third, United will undoubtedly want to improve the options at Amorim’s disposal, with one new name now thrown into the mix.

Man Utd's search for a striker

According to GIVEMESPORT, United are expected to be offered the chance to sign Lille striker Jonathan David to try and increase the firepower within the first-team squad.

The Canadian international has scored 17 times in his 27 outings across all competitions, with six of his efforts coming in the Champions League – highlighting his ability to perform at the very top level.

It’s unclear whether a deal would be completed during the current window or in the summer, but the 24-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season – potentially leading to a pre-contract agreement, subsequently signing him for nothing.

On the other hand, United could look to agree a minimal transfer fee to bring David in immediately to hand Amorim the added quality that he’s desperately been seeking in recent weeks.

His tally of 82 goals in 162 games for the Ligue 1 outfit is evidence of his goalscoring capabilities, potentially being Amorim’s new version of a player who also thrived under his guidance before his stint at Old Trafford.

Why David could be United’s answer to Gyokeres

Every Red Devils supporter would love the club to try and land a move for Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres this January, with the Swedish international one of the most in-form attackers in European football.

The 26-year-old excelled under the guidance of the United boss during their time together in Portugal, scoring 43 times in all competitions during 2023/24 – helping the club claim the Liga Portugal title.

This campaign has been no different for the former Coventry City man, scoring 31 goals in just 29 outings, including a hat-trick against bitter rivals Manchester City in the Champions League back in November.

However, a deal for the Swede is likely to cost the hierarchy a huge sum of money – amid talk of an £80m fee – with David the perfect alternative. Indeed, he’s even ranked as a similar player to Gyokeres by FBref based on their figures throughout 2024/25.

David has matched or bettered the in-demand forward in various key areas this campaign, highlighting what a phenomenal addition he would be if the hierarchy were able to strike a deal for his services.

Games played

16

17

Goals & assists

12

23

Shot on target accuracy

52%

44%

Progressive passes

1.8

1.6

Pass accuracy

82%

71%

Take-on success

52%

49%

The Canadian, who’s previously been dubbed “one of the best strikers in the world” and a “phenom” by podcaster Tony Marinaro, may have registered fewer combined goals and assists in 2024/25, but has posted a higher shot-on-target accuracy rate, showcasing he’s more accurate with his efforts on goal.

He’s also completed more passes and achieved a higher take-on success rate, offering Amorim the opportunity to play him in a slightly deeper role behind the striker should he need to – a real versatile option within the attacking third.

Given that he could be available for free, United simply must work tirelessly to complete a deal for a player likely to be in huge demand throughout January.

The Canadian may not be the supporters’ first choice to come in and provide the goods, but he certainly would add the goals which have been desperately hard to come by in recent months – potentially transforming their fortunes as a result.

He's like Vinicius Jr: Man Utd chasing exciting £33m Rashford upgrade

Manchester United may have already found the perfect Marcus Rashford replacement.

ByEthan Lamb Jan 10, 2025

عزز فريق ليفربول تقدمه بهدف ثالث أمام توتنهام، خلال مباراة الفريقين ببطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

ويلاقي ليفربول خصمه توتنهام على ملعب “آنفيلد”، في إطار مباريات الجولة الرابعة والثلاثين للدوري الإنجليزي “البريميرليج”.

الهدف الثالث سجله كودي جاكبو في الدقيقة 34 من عمر المباراة، مستفيدًا من ركلة ركنية تحصل عليها ليفربول. 

ونفذ أليكسيس ماك أليستر الركنية، بعرضية إلى داخل منطقة الجزاء، ووصلت الكرة في النهاية أمام كودي جاكبو الذي أطلق تسديدة سكنت الشباك في الزاوية اليمنى للمرمى. هدف كودي جاكبو في مباراة ليفربول وتوتنهام

العاصفة الليفربولية تضرب بتوتنهام في الأنفيلد ⚡️🔥

خاكبو يضيف الهدف الثالث في شباك السبيرز! 💥⚽️#الدوري_الإنجليزي #ليفربول_توتنهام pic.twitter.com/iQvmAUi2ga — beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) April 27, 2025

وكان توتنهام تقدم أولاً بهدف سولانكي، ثم تعادل ليفربول بهدف للويس دياز، وأضاف ماك أليستر هدفًا ثانيًا.

يذكر أن ليفربول بحاجة لنقطة واحدة من تلك المباراة ليتوج رسميًا بلقب الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

County cricket
The world’s No.1 ranked Test batter Marnus Labuschagne returned to his run-making best for Glamorgan with scores of 130 and 85 in a cracking division two clash against Derbyshire. Labuschagne’s century in the first innings helped edge Glamorgan to a lead but he made a sensational near run-a-ball 85 in the second as Glamorgan fell just 21 runs short of chasing 331 in 55 overs on the final day. They held on for a draw. Michael Neser took 4 for 63 in the first innings at Derby.Matt Renshaw made a statement for Somerset scoring 129 in their innings rout of Warwickshire at Taunton. The left-hander was the only player in the match to pass 71 as he set up Somerset’s match-winning score of 458. It was Renshaw’s 14th first-class century and his first as an opener since his last century for Somerset at Taunton back in 2018. Australia’s chair of selectors George Bailey took notice of his return to form at the top of the order after he was named in the Australia A squad to tour Sri Lanka.Related

• Labuschagne, Northeast drive Glamorgan as thrilling chase proves just out of reach

• Versatile Renshaw rising back up Australia's ranks

• Pat Cummins rested for Sri Lanka T20Is; big guns return for white-ball leg

Not to be outdone, Marcus Harris produced his second century of the English summer in a run-feast against Surrey at Bristol. After Surrey piled up 603, Harris made 124 in reply for Gloucestershire sharing in a 296-run opening stand with Chris Dent. Harris has scores of 136, 67 and 124 in his first three county matches of the season, although his first two performances came on far tougher surfaces, as Gloucestershire and Surrey scored 1046 runs in three days for just 12 wickets in the draw before rain washed out the final day.Mitchell Marsh lofts one over the off side•BCCI

IPL
It wasn’t a great week for the Australians at the IPL with very few outstanding performances. Mitchell Marsh produced his best score of the tournament to-date after an interrupted start due to injury and Covid-19. He looked in superb touch as he smashed 37 off 20 balls on Sunday for Delhi Capitals against Lucknow Super Giants. He feasted on Jason Holder and Dushmantha Chameera with three cracking sixes but fell to the spin of Krishnappa Gowtham as Capitals fell short in the chase. David Warner missed out making just 3 while Marcus Stoinis made 17 not out of 16 deliveries in a far from fluent display. He struck a boundary first ball and a six off his penultimate delivery but scored just seven runs off the bat from the other 14 balls he faced and was dropped at deep midwicket. Stoinis managed just 1 off four balls in his previous outing against Punjab Kings.Warner’s low score was his first in six matches after smashing 42 off 26 balls with eight boundaries in Capitals’ win over Kolkata Knight Riders last week. Marsh made 13 off seven in the same game but Aaron Finch, on return from a shoulder issue, missed out for KKR, clean bowled for 3 off seven trying to launch one across the line.Tim David was finally picked for Mumbai Indians, having been left out of the previous six games, and delivered with a match-winning 20 not out from nine balls to guide Mumbai home to their first win of the tournament over Rajasthan Royals. He struck two fours and a six and was out there with Daniel Sams as he hit the winning six in the final over. Sams took 1 for 32 from his four overs with the ball. Riley Meredith also bowled superbly taking 2 for 24 from his four overs to help restrict Royals to just 158 for 6.Glenn Maxwell produced a special cameo for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Gujurat Titans cruising to 33 from 18 balls. He launched Mohammed Shami over square leg twice for six and then switch-hit Rashid Khan for four over cover, with the ball landing just short of the rope. He then sliced a Lockie Ferguson yorker over backward point for four but fell trying to go again in the 19th over. However, RCB were unable to defend 170 with Josh Hazlewood delivering a rare expensive spell giving up 36 runs in 3.3 overs without a wicket. This came after he took 2 for 19 against Royals last week including the prized scalp of Jos Buttler in a wicket-maiden. But RCB failed to chase 145 with Maxwell falling for a first-ball duck.Did you see?
Pat Cummins has been running the drinks in KKR’s last two matches. He was left out of the loss to Gujarat Titans last week with suggestions he was being rested due a niggle. But he was not selected for KKR’s clash against Delhi with Tim Southee preferred after Cummins had been too expensive with the ball in his first four games of the tournament. He is also going to be rested from Australia’s T20I series on the multi-format tour of Sri Lanka in June.Injuries
Finch did have a shoulder issue that had forced him out of KKR’s line-up last week for one match after making a half-century against Royals. But he recovered quickly to take his place in the side against Capitals and there are no concerns long-term.Matt Renshaw set up the innings with a hundred•Getty Images

Performance of the week
Renshaw’s century for Somerset was the standout performance of the week, in both the context of the game and of his career. He was the only player in the match to pass 71 making 129 in a game where only four other half-centuries were scored across three innings. But it was significant in that it was only his third innings back opening the batting having spent the past two years batting at Nos. 3-5 after he was dropped from Queensland’s Sheffield Shield team back in 2019 and took a break from cricket. With a Test hundred under his belt in 2017 as an opener, and Australia’s current opening pair of Warner and Usman Khawaja both set to turn 36 this year, the 26-year-old is returning to his best at the right time.

Become the first team to defend a total in IPL 2022 with Krishna’s new-ball burst swamping Sunrisers

Sidharth Monga29-Mar-20223:28

Jaffer questions Pooran’s approach

Rajasthan Royals became the first team to successfully defend a total in the 2022 IPL in grand style. Their batters – led by captain Sanju Samson’s 27-ball 55 – scored nearly 150 runs in boundaries, and their fast bowlers ran roughshod on a quick Pune pitch.There was just enough assistance in the surface for good bowling, but equally the margin of error was low because of its true nature. Sunrisers Hyderabad made errors aplenty, bowling four no-balls in the Powerplay – two of which could have got Jos Buttler out – and often allowed the batters to swing their arms.Royals have a batting line-up that doesn’t need second invitations: they didn’t care much about the 52 dots they played out; their 41.2% runs in boundaries were the joint-fourth-highest in 118 totals of 200 or more in the IPL. Samson and Buttler were joined by Devdutt Padikkal and Shimron Hetmyer in the fireworks. Hetmyer plundered 32 off 13 at the death.Trent Boult and Prasidh Krishna then ended the contest with the new ball, consigning Sunrisers to the joint-lowest powerplay in IPL history: 14 for 3, which included the wickets of Kane Williamson, Nicholas Pooran and Rahul Tripathi.Sunrisers overstep the mark
These were tailormade conditions for Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who had Buttler fumbling in the dark in the first over. Three outswingers were followed by a wide inswinger, which set him up for the outswinger fifth ball. Buttler played for inswing, edging it through for a superb slip catch by Abdul Samad but soon sounded the no-ball buzzer. In his first over, pace sensation Umran Malik had Buttler edging to slip, but he, too, overstepped. Even offspinner Washington Sundar bowled a no-ball. There were enough errors made for Royals to race away to 58 in the powerplay.Samson checks in
Samson is well-known for his good starts to IPLs when the pitches are new and fresh and quick. This match was no exception. He used the fast bowlers’ pace, and effortlessly pulled spinners for sixes down the ground. Five of his hits cleared the boundary. With this half-century, Samson now has 327 at 65.4 and a strike rate of 174 in the first matches of the last five IPLs.Without Rashid Khan for the first time since 2017, Surnisers looked light in the middle overs. Their spinners went for 62 in their four overs. Malik, though, came back superbly from his 21-run first over with the wickets of Buttler and Padikkal, both on defence.Hetmyer provides the finishing touch
When Samson got out at 163 in 16.1 overs, Royals were well on their way to a challenging total against a thin batting line-up, but Hetmyer all but put the matter beyond them with some power hitting. Those before him had punished errors from the bowlers, but Hetmyer took toll of perfectly acceptable near-yorkers from T Natarajan. When Bhuvneshwar pitched short to him, he unleashed an incredible baseball-style pull over long-off for a six. If the pitches say true, Royals were sounding a warning to other teams too.Boult, Krishna break Sunrisers’ back
Boult and Krishna then served a reminder of what Sunrisers missed out on this surface. Boult drew swing and seam with the new ball while the ball flew off the surface for Krishan’s more hit-the-deck lengths. Even before the wickets began to fall it was apparent how difficult it was to hit if the bowlers got their lengths right. In the second over, Williamson eventually edged one for a questionable rebound catch at first slip. Tripathi’s dismissal was more straightforward as Krishna got the ball to hold its line outside off. Pooran then missed a full, swinging delivery from Boult. Samson saw the opportunity and bowled all six powerplay overs with them.Chahal joins the party
If the contest had some life yet, Yuzvendra Chahal squeezed it out. So far behind the asking rate, with an accurate R Ashwin offering nothing to hit, the batters went after Chahal, who proved to be too wily for them. Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad and Romario Shepherd all fell to him trying to hit a big shot. Chahal gave them no pace to work with, and did enough in the air to keep defeating them.A 55-run partnership between Washington – 40 off 14 – and Aiden Markram controlled some of the net-run-rate damage but they still lost by 61 runs. To add to their woes, Sunrisers were later fined for maintaining a slow over rate under the IPL’s code of conduct. Since it was the team’s first offense of the season, the captain Williamson was fined INR 12 lakhs.

Chris Woakes has spoken of his excitement about being given another chance in an England shirt after fearing he may have been dropped in the wake of their disastrous Ashes series.Woakes is set to share the new ball in the first Test in Antigua, starting on Tuesday, with Somerset’s Craig Overton after Ollie Robinson, who suffered a back spasm in the warm-up match last week and did not train on Sunday, was left out of the 12-man squad.”[Robinson has] had a great start to his Test career so naturally he’ll be a big miss,” Woakes said. “At the same time, it gives people opportunities. This tour is not just solely about opportunities, we’re trying to win games of cricket, but at the same time it does give that chance to someone to potentially make their Test debut or who’s been waiting in the wings for quite a while, and show that they can do it at this level.”

England 12 for first Test

Joe Root (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes (wk), Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Speaking after training at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, where England are due to commence their three-Test series against the West Indies, Woakes insisted that he expected a tough start to Operation Red-Ball Reset as the tourists look to embrace a new mentality.”By no means is this going to be an easy Test series for us,” he said. “We haven’t won a lot of Test matches here in the last 50 or 60 years from what I’ve heard so it’s not by any means going to be a walkover.”I think it’s more of a mindset, really. In Australia, we maybe got into a place where people were thinking more internally, thinking on personal levels rather than thinking fully about the bigger picture and about how to win games of cricket as a team.”We’re trying to focus on that in particular, the last week or so we’ve tried to focus on how we can get better at doing things as a unit rather than individually. Naturally it’s a game that produces individual performances but we still need to be better as a collective, we can’t just rely on certain individuals to always step up and put their hand up. We need to do it as a group and that’s something we’ve tried to focus on in the 10 days we’ve been here.”Woakes was one of many to endure a poor Ashes series, taking just six wickets in three matches at an average of 55.33. His performance furthered concerns about his contrasting home and away records, which has seen him average 22.63 from 25 matches with the ball in England, but 52.38 from 17 matches away. With a mass overhaul planned, Woakes worried that his time may have been up.”Yeah, definitely. Pretty much everyone would have been bar maybe a few. It would have been silly not to. [I’m] delighted to be here, to be backed and have another opportunity to have a crack at it. I’d have liked Australia to go better but obviously it didn’t.”It’s clear my away record isn’t as good as my home record, but I don’t prepare in any different way. I look at conditions and try to figure out how best to perform on any given surface. I’ve never played a Test in the Caribbean so I’m excited about the challenge of that. It is a Dukes ball here so I’m hoping it might suit me a little better.”Related

• Full proves foolish as Chris Woakes feels the new-ball strain

• Robinson 'needs to be fitter' to survive at Test level, says Lewis

• Roach targets England frailties after omission of Anderson, Broad

• Stokes vows to dig deeper after 'letting myself down' in the Ashes

• England learn little as Reifer blunts new-look seam attack

Far from being dropped, Woakes has instead been a main beneficiary of interim managing director Andrew Strauss’s comments ahead of the series that these matches represent a chance for, “some of the bowlers that have been playing in the team to play either a slightly different role or more of a senior leadership role”.For Woakes, his role is both slightly different and more senior. In the absence of James Anderson and Broad, Woakes will take the new ball – something he has only done for England in 13 of his 42 Test matches. He will also be the de facto attack leader, with Overton expected to play his seventh Test in Robinson’s absence and England banking on Mark Wood’s availability after illness for extra pace; the uncapped Saqib Mahmood is the other seam-bowling option in the 12.”It’s something that I’m excited about,” Woakes said, “it’s not like I’m putting any more pressure on myself, I think we’ve spoken a lot over the last ten or so days and something I took away from Australia is making sure you don’t take playing for England for granted.”We worked so incredibly hard to get to this point, to become an England player and to get to this environment. You know it’s easily taken away from you. It’s making sure that every game is really important to you, you’re wearing the Three Lions and you give the best of yourself every time you step out there.”

Afghanistan board says postponement “due to the inability of arranging the required broadcasting services by the host country”

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jan-2022

The Afghanistan Cricket Board said on Saturday that its team’s tour of Zimbabwe, scheduled for early February, has been postponed. The series cannot take place as scheduled “due to the inability of arranging the required broadcasting services by the host country,” the ACB said in a statement.This is the second time the series has been pushed back – it was initially meant to be played in December 2021, but was put off then at the ACB’s request following the Omicron outbreak.”We were in contact with Zimbabwe Cricket [in December] on how to proceed with the series upon the breakout of a new Covid-19 variant in Zimbabwe. Then considering the circumstances in Zimbabwe, both parties agreed to proceed with the series in February,” ACB cricket operations manager, Abdul Wali Amin, was quoted as saying in the board’s statement. “We had then assessed and negotiated the concerns related to Covid-19 and travel restrictions in Zimbabwe. We had also reached an agreement with ZC to proceed with the series as planned in February.”But we were informed by ZC that they are unable to secure the required broadcast services including the Decision Review System, so the tour was postponed for the second time.”The series was scheduled to include three ODIs, which count towards the World Cup Super League, and five T20Is.The ACB is now “working on” firming up Afghanistan’s tour of Bangladesh in February, for three ODIs (World Cup Super League) and two T20Is, as per the ICC’s Future Tours Programme.

Manchester United’s miserable run of form continued on Sunday afternoon with a controversial 2-1 defeat away to struggling West Ham United.

Erik ten Hag’s side might count themselves unlucky not to come away with a result, but they now find themselves 14th in the Premier League with just 11 points on the board.

United dominated the first 45 minutes but did not manage to find the back of the net. They came close on several occasions, with Diogo Dalot missing one of the easiest chances imaginable, firing over the bar when he had an open net to aim for.

In the second half, the momentum completely swung. After a dominant first period from the Red Devils, it was Julen Lopetegui’s Hammers who were on top.

Their pressure paid off, and Crysencio Summerville gave them the lead in the 74th minute. United fought back, and Casemiro equalised just seven minutes later.

However, with moments left on the clock, the home side were awarded a penalty after Danny Ings was deemed to be kicked over by Matthijs de Ligt. It was a controversial call, but meant West Ham got all three points after Jarrod Bowen slotted home the winner from the spot.

On a disappointing day in East London for United, there were some players who particularly struggled, including Alejandro Garnacho.

Garnacho’s stats vs. West Ham

Making his 100th senior appearance for the famous club, Garnacho had a day to forget at the London Stadium. Although he was involved in the game throughout, he missed some crucial chances and lost the ball for the Hammers’ opener.

The first of those misses came a matter of minutes into the game. Bruno Fernandes won the ball for United and squared it to his Argentine teammate in the penalty box, who proceeded to rattle the crossbar. He also fired a shot wide moments later, which he had looked to bend into the far right corner from the left-hand side of the box.

Indeed, the 20-year-old received a rating of just 5/10 for his performance at the London Stadium. Goal journalist Richard Martin described the youngster’s performance as ‘lively but really wasteful’.

His stats after the game confirmed how frustrating an afternoon it was for United’s number 17. Garnacho had 60 touches of the ball, but lost possession 16 times and missed one big chance. Off the ball, he won just one of his three attempted ground duels.

It was certainly a disappointing day for the young winger, and he was not the only one of the attackers who struggled. Rasmus Hojlund also had a tough day at the office.

Hojlund’s stats vs. West Ham

After being slowly eased back into action following injury by United boss Ten Hag, Hojlund hit the ground running with goals against Porto and Brentford. However, it was a different story at the London Stadium.

The young Danish striker barely got a kick against West Ham. Although United managed to create so many chances, his involvement was few and far between, and the one big chance he did get, which he did well to fashion out in the first place, was well saved by Lukasz Fabianski.

It was not an easy afternoon for United’s number nine, as his post-match stats suggest. Hojlund had just 26 touches, fewer than Red Devils goalkeeper Andre Onana, who had 40. Hojlund lost the ball six times and won just three of his five duels.

Touches

26

Pass accuracy

88%

Passes completed

15/17

Duels won

3/5

Number of times possession lost

6

Shots on target

2

Following the game, the striker received a rating of just 4/10 from Martin. He explained that the youngster ‘barely got a sniff’ against a West Ham defence who have had their frailties this season, to say the least.

United will be hoping to get Hojlund more involved in his next outing, with the side in desperate need of goals and wins as they look to pick up the momentum following a poor season so far.

Man Utd wasted £72m on "awful" flop who earned 5x more than Garnacho does

Man Utd were made to regret one costly signing

ByRobbie Walls Oct 26, 2024

Lutho Sipamla was one of three bowlers to pick up a six-for in the match as Lions beat Warriors by an innings and 20 runs to move to the top of the first-class points table.Sipamla took 6 for 34 as Warriors were bowled out for 96 in their first innings, before Marco Jansen took 6 for 38, as Lions were dismissed for 170. Then Sisanda Magala’s 6 for 30 knocked the Warriors over for just 54 on an unusually bowler-friendly St George’s Park strip. There were no individual scores of 40 or more in the match.”We don’t usually get such seamer-friendly conditions at this venue,” Sipamla, who moved from Warriors to Lions two seasons ago, told ESPNcricinfo. “The pitch gave us a lot. It wasn’t drastic movement and we just had to be very consistent with where we put the ball.”The result is that Sipamla is now the top wicket-taker in Division One of the competition with 12 wickets from the two matches he has played so far, at an average of 13.50, and has provided a timely reminder of his red-ball credentials with a Test summer looming. South Africa host India for three Tests, starting in mid-December at Sipamla’s new home ground, the Wanderers, where he last played for the senior side earlier this year. He made his debut last summer, in the series against Sri Lanka, where he took 10 wickets across two Tests but then found himself on the sidelines.”It’s tough with the national set up with KG (Kagiso Rabada), Anna (Anrich Nortje) and Lungi (Ngidi) all fit,” ” Sipamla said. “Last year, I got the opportunity because there was an injury (Rabada was recovering from a groin strain) and I took it with both hands, played well. Then, the senior players came back and just made things tough. I was part of the Test series with Pakistan as well but couldn’t get game time because its’ tough competition. But I am still in the system and am focusing on the Lions.”After traveling with the national side to Pakistan in January-February but was then not included on their winter tour to West Indies. Instead, he went with the South African A team to Zimbabwe where he got game time and finished as their third-highest wicket-taker in the one-day series and second highest in the curtailed unofficial Test series. Now, he is one of the leaders of Lions’ attack, albeit the most inexperienced in age terms, and is relishing the time with former Test player Duanne Olivier, and experienced domestic campaigners, Sisanda Magala and Malusi Siboto.”I am the youngest among the four so I am learning a lot,” Sipamla said. “My move to the Lions was to try and get as much exposure to senior players as I can. I am trying to be a sponge and it’s helping me a lot.”His new-ball partner, Olivier, has instilled in Sipamla an appreciation for the present moment. “He has taught me about mental toughness and also aggression. He focuses on the now and the task at hand. Opening the bowling with him has allowed me to be calmer, and just see what’s necessary at that moment in time,” he said, while Magala helps Sipamla find his fight. “He is also another aggressive type of bowler. He is fit, he is strong and he adds a lot of value in terms of seniority.”Although Sipamla does not have specific boxes to tick to catch the national selectors’ eyes again, he is working on, “trying to keep things a lot tighter and to have more control on where I place the ball,” he said. “And working on the mental side of the game.” He recognises that the “Proteas are on the up,”and is happy to bide his time until he is reconsidered. That may be sooner than he expects, though. South Africa have a heavy Test load over the coming months with the India series, a tour to New Zealand and matches against Bangladesh in the home summer before a tour to England in August.

In other results:

Division One:

• Pite van Biljon scored a second successive century, sits atop the overall run charts and set Knights up for a big win over North West. Knights scored 418 in their first innings, thanks for van Biljon and Patrick Kruger’s 192* and then bowled North West out for 237 and asking them to follow-on. North West were then bowled out for 197, leaving the Knights with a target of 17 runs. Mbulelo Budaza took 6 for 116 in the match.
• Titans and Dolphins played out a high-scoring draw at SuperSport Park. Jordan Hermann scored a century for the Titans, Sarel Erwee matched that with 163 to give the Dolphins a slender lead and the Titans were into their second innings, 117 runs ahead, when a final day washout meant no further play was possible.Pieter Malan gets forward•Getty Images
• In Paarl, Boland drew with neighbours Western Province with former Test opener Pieter Malan the star of the show. Malan followed up a first innings 96 with 117* in the second innings. In between that, Western Province’s Tony de Zorzi also scored a century.

Division Two:

• Offspinner Aubrey Swanepoel’s 6 for 42 bowled Northern Cape to a 130-run win over KwaZulu-Natal Inland in Kimberley. Northern Cape scored big in both their innings, making 333 in the first dig and declared on 301 for 9 in the second, where Ernest Kemm scored 121. Four of Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland’s top five reached first innings half-centuries but they were bowled out for 182 in their second innings in chase of 313.
• Musawenkosi Twala and Thomas Hobson traded hundreds in Benoni, where Easterns and Limpopo drew their match. Easterns racked up 441 in their first innings and bowled Limpopo out for 261 and enforced the follow-on. Easterns only took three second innings wickets and Limpopo finished on 207 for 3.
• No play on the first day and bad light on the last ended what was shaping up to be a thriller between South Western Districts (SWD) and Mpumalanga, which finished with SWD 41 runs away from victory. They were chasing 206 after falling 102 runs behind in their first innings and then bowling Mpumalanga out for 104. SWD were on track for victory on 166 for 2 when no further play was possible.

Liverpool midfielder Stefan Bajcetic has secured a loan move to Spanish side Las Palmas for the remainder of the campaign.

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• Bajcetic was loaned to RB Salzburg in the summer
• Was struggling to get minutes in Austria
• Will stay at Las Palmas until the end of the campaign

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Bajcetic’s loan spell in Austria proved to be challenging, as he struggled to secure a consistent role. His stint at the club was orchestrated by former Liverpool assistant coach Pep Lijnders, but it did not go as planned. Reports emerged of tensions within the Salzburg dressing room, with senior players reportedly unhappy about what they perceived as preferential treatment given to Bajcetic and Bobby Clark – another Liverpool youngster who joined the club permanently in August. With only eight starts during his time at Salzburg, Liverpool ultimately decided to recall him before arranging a new loan move.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Upon his return to Merseyside, several clubs expressed interest in signing Bajcetic on loan for the second half of the season. Real Betis, Porto, and Las Palmas were among the frontrunners, but the Spanish outfit ultimately emerged triumphant.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Liverpool head coach Arne Slot had previously spoken about Bajcetic’s potential and emphasized the need for him to gain regular playing time to develop before making an Anfield return.

  Slot said: "I hope it will be a big year for him because he’s a very talented player and I think he could become a very important player for us, but only if he gets playing time now. If you are that young and you’ve been out for so long, the only thing you need is playing time. He could have playing time over here, but we’ve got six or seven very good midfielders, so his playing time here will always be more limited than we expect him to play at Salzburg."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR BAJCETIC?

  Bajcetic becomes Las Palmas’ second signing of the January transfer window, following the arrival of Andy Pelmard on loan from Clermont Foot. He is expected to integrate into the squad quickly and could make his debut as soon as Monday when Las Palmas face Girona. The loan spell provides a fresh opportunity for the young Spaniard to showcase his abilities and get the game time he needs before returning to Liverpool at the end of the season.

James Anderson strikes twice, but visitors in position of strength after being asked to bat

Varun Shetty12-Aug-20215:12

VVS Laxman: KL Rahul’s gameplan and discipline were most impressive

Having been asked to bat when they wanted to bowl, and having negotiated rainy and overcast conditions, India finished day one at Lord’s looking healthy in all respects – on score, on scoring rate, and on wickets in hand. Much of that was down to their unbeaten centurion KL Rahul, who walked off in bright sunshine, having played a part in two century stands.That wickets-in-hand part was particularly significant after they decided to replace the injured Shardul Thakur with Ishant Sharma, effectively cutting their batting down to six specialists alongside Ravindra Jadeja. It was a bold move on many fronts, especially if they believed the dank conditions in the morning were more suited to their bowlers; it was either a show of faith or calculated pressure heaped on the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, who have struggled for form lately.Whatever it was, it needed the openers to click, and click they did. Rahul and Rohit Sharma put on India’s first century partnership outside Asia for the opening wicket since 2010 – 126, to set the tone on what turned out to be a glorious day for batting.For the duration of that stand, Rohit was the star. As he has been on India’s last few tours, Rohit was happy to leave and defend in the opening hour. When Sam Curran came on in the ninth over, he was briefly troubled by a front-foot plant across off stump to incoming deliveries. But he sorted that out in quick time – in a matter of minutes, really – and then put pressure on Curran with a giant 15th over that went for four boundaries. The best of these was a scrumptious push through point after jumping down the track to counter swing, and there was also a gentle flick to reinforce that the front-foot plant was gone. This helped get his batting flowing freely earlier than it has in recent innings, and contributed to him breaking a streak of scores in the thirties on this tour, World Test Championship final included. With all that out of the way, he brought up fifty, scored at close to four an over, and even showed a classic sign that he was on track for a big one: a hook that cleared fine leg.KL Rahul acknowledges the applause on getting to a hundred•Getty ImagesRahul looked assured at the other end, with his combination of soft hands and patience carrying on from the Nottingham Test. He ground it out while Rohit kept the scoring rate healthy, only opening up once he had lost his opening partner. In trademark style, this acceleration involved jumping down to England’s spin option Moeen Ali and launching him back over his head, before bringing out a variety of punches – front and back foot – square on the off side. The show only got better later in the day, with England’s tiring bowlers seeing a full stride from him as he leant into the kind of picturesque cover drives that he had avoided early on in a bid to play the ball as late as possible.For about an hour to begin the day, England seemed to have hit their straps with James Anderson and Ollie Robinson sharing the new ball. But it soon turned out that Anderson was both their best attacking as well as defensive bowler. With Curran rattled early and Mark Wood – who came in for the injured Stuart Broad – lacking consistency in the early parts of his spell, it was shaping up to be a long day in the field for England.Anderson was a late pick for England, given his quad troubles, and in the time between the end of his second spell and the start of his third – the 18th and 42nd overs respectively – it was easy going for Rohit. When Anderson did come back, Rohit was once again forced to think about his technique and after a brief period of scratching around, he was castled off one that nipped back to take the pad and then off stump. With 83, Rohit had made his highest Test score overseas.Into that Anderson spell walked a nervy Pujara, first surviving an lbw shout, then an edge through the cordon, before eventually poking one to Bairstow in the cordon. Rahul took the bulk of the strike against Anderson in the lead up to tea, with Kohli at the other end. When they came back, Kohli was fiddly too, stepping a long way across his stumps for the first twenty-or-so minutes of his innings, before settling into a more usual rhythm.Once again, after Anderson’s spell, India were comfortable. Kohli started reaching out to play his big cover drives and connected with a few, and Rahul grew more and more assured as he approached his first Test century since The Oval in 2018. He brought that up with a confident cut to the backward-point fence, and the pair added 117 for the third wicket at 3.37.It was Robinson who eventually dismissed Kohli, with the second new ball, with just over five overs left in the day, Root taking the catch at first slip and then trying to drum up some noise from the Lord’s crowd. He might have been wondering, though, if the day would have gone differently had he elected to bat.