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West Ham United are interested in Lille midfielder Amadou Onana, according to French outlet Foot Mercato (via Sport Witness).

The lowdown

Lille only signed Onana from Bundesliga 2 outfit Hamburg last summer in a £6.3million deal.

He made 42 appearances in his first year at the club, but he only started 11 out of 38 Ligue 1 matches and two of eight Champions League games.

The 20-year-old has played the vast majority of his football up to this point as a defensive midfielder.

He still has four years remaining on the contract he signed on his arrival and is now valued at £9million by Transfermarkt.

The latest

The report states that both West Ham and their London rivals Arsenal have been monitoring Onana over the course of the campaign.

Lille need to ‘gather money’ through player sales, and Onana is one of those who has ‘a chance of leaving’.

The Hammers have yet to make a ‘concrete offer’ but they are thought to be considering it.

As well as Arsenal, they face competition from AS Monaco, who view Onana as a potential replacement for exit-bound Aurelien Tchouameni.

The verdict

What kind of a no. 6 is Onana?

Well, it would probably be best to characterise him as a ball-winner given that he ranks in the 94th percentile compared to positional peers when it comes to tackles per 90 minutes, and the 75th percentile for interceptions (via FBRef).

In terms of players already in the Premier League, he’s similar to the likes of Vitaly Janelt, Oriol Romeu and Abdoulaye Doucoure.

Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice would appear locked into the two midfield slots in David Moyes’ 4-2-3-1 but the manager needs depth, particularly with a Europa Conference League campaign potentially on the horizon.

Onana, billed a ‘huge talent’ by talent scout Jacek Kulig, would make the squad stronger and could potentially be a starter in the long-term.

In other news, there’s been a key update on a potential attacking target.

Liam Kennedy has given his instant reaction after Newcastle United youngster Elliot Anderson fired Bristol Rovers to promotion to League One on Saturday. 

The lowdown: Seventh heaven for Bristol Rovers

Needing to better the result of third-placed Northampton Town or win by a seemingly unlikely five goals more than their rivals, Joey Barton’s side pulled off a miracle second-half display against Scunthorpe.

With five minutes remaining, the Gas were chasing the crucial seventh goal when Anderson headed home to spark wild celebrations at the Memorial Ground, their 7-0 victory enabling them to nudge ahead of the Cobblers, who won 3-1 at Barrow, by virtue of goals scored in the table.

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Having joined on January’s transfer deadline day on a six-month loan deal, the young winger has enjoyed a stellar spell, and one invested onlooker believes than an exciting future awaits…

The latest: ‘Special’ Anderson

Taking to Twitter, Shields Gazette journalist Kennedy hailed the 19-year-old in response to a post congratulating the starlet from Newcastle’s official channel.

The reporter succinctly said of Anderson: “He’s rather special… #NUFC”

The 19-year-old is expected to return to St James’ Park ahead of the 2022/23 season following promotion without the need for play-offs.

The latest: Ready for the big time?

Since joining the Pirates in mid-season, Anderson has scored eight times and provided five assists whilst gaining some invaluable first-team match experience in the process.

Prior to leaving the northeast, the Scotland youth international had lit up Premier League 2 with five goals in just seven appearances, impressing Newcastle assistant coach Jason Tindall, who described Anderson as a ‘bright talent’ based on what he had witnessed at Darsley Park.

Named the League Two Player of the Month for April, the attacking midfielder has earned a staggering 7.23 average Sofascore rating including 3.5 shots, two successful dribbles and eight duels won on average per game during his time at Bristol Rovers, and he now appears ready to make an impact for the Magpies.

In other news, NUFC are now eyeing a move for this former Sunderland ace

If India have decided that KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal will be their three openers in Australia, it’s prudent to pick all three in their last Test before the tour. But who sits out?

Alagappan Muthu08-Oct-2018Even as the presentation was in full flow, on only the third day in Rajkot, Mayank Agarwal was out in the nets, taking throwdowns. The 27-year-old pushed his weight back in line with a short ball and crunched it in the direction of cover. The sound of bat on ball was astonishing and for a moment you wondered if he wished he could have played it wearing whites instead of training gear.The second and final Test of the series against West Indies starts on Friday and it is quite possible that Agarwal will get what he wants. At this point, India appear to be committed to the openers they’ve chosen in this squad. Only last week the captain Virat Kohli said: “We will give these guys enough space and chances to feel comfortable at that position. We want them to be comfortable about what they are doing.”And while all three are immensely talented, only one has been properly tested at the highest level, which isn’t ideal, especially for a team just about a month out from a tour of Australia.The advantage – if that’s even the right word – is that conditions there shouldn’t be tough to bat in. Statistically, it has been the best place to bat in over the last five years and the average patnership for the first wicket is north of 40. But if India have decided to continue with Agarwal, KL Rahul and Prithvi Shaw as their openers, they need all three to get as much game time as possible. And there is only one Test between now and the first one in Adelaide. That Test is in Hyderabad, where all three could very well make the XI.Agarwal is uncapped but with his weight of runs over the last year or so – he made over 1000 in first-class cricket in November 2017 alone – he deserves a game. India too need to see what they can get out of him at Test-match level.Shaw became the youngest Indian to make a century on debut in Rajkot and his back-foot play suggests he might enjoy batting on pitches with pace and bounce. But one innings does not a player make, so India will need more information on their 18-year old upstart.Rahul, by contrast, fell in the first over, continuing a sequence where he’s been bowled or lbw in eight successive international innings. He’s received some brutish deliveries in this stretch and while Shannon Gabriel’s in Rajkot may not have been on the same level as, say, Sam Curran’s at The Oval, it did seam in off a length, which meant the batsman had less chance of picking it, not least because it was delivered at over 140 kph.Early on in England, Rahul kept falling into this trap possibly because he was preoccupied with the threat of the outswinger. Now it seems as if he’s being caught in the crease, slow to move his feet. All of this usually happens at the start of his innings – a time when most batsmen are vulnerable but Rahul is especially so. He has been dismissed before his 25th delivery in 23 of his 49 Test innings. And if that stat has got into his head, it can do far more damage than any technical issue.It seems worthwhile to note that his best innings in England – 149 at The Oval – came when he simply reacted to the ball, and his best innings in Test cricket so far – 90 against Australia on an up-and-down Bengaluru pitch last year – was the result of simple focus and quick footwork. Back then, he didn’t seem like a batsman who was putting pressure on himself because he believed he was in form, and made he made nine fifties in one 11-innings stretch. He probably lacks that confidence right now, and only time in the middle can bring him that.So who goes out then? Ajinkya Rahane? He’s going through a lull himself and needs to get out of it before India have to travel again. Cheteshwar Pujara? He will no doubt be vital when they travel abroad, but he looked like India’s most competent batsman next to Kohli in England and he reiterated that form in Rajkot, where he made 86 off only 130 balls. India can trust that his form won’t fade.What about Kohli? It won’t be the worst decision; he sleepwalked to his 24th Test century at the SCA stadium and unless he fancies a 25th by the end of the week, he could very well take a break. Or could it be one of the bowlers? Having only four options to turn to in the dry Hyderabad heat doesn’t really sound helpful. The team management has a difficult decision to make and we’ll get to know all about it on the day before the Test, when India have promised to announce their XII.

The 18-year-old Victoria batsman is big on work-life balance. He’s also likely to break into the big leagues soon

Adam Collins26-Dec-2016In her excellent book , Angela Duckworth asserts that natural gifts alone can become a distraction, counting for very little in the long run. “As much as talent counts, effort counts twice,” she concludes from a comprehensive behavioural study.Fortunately for Australian cricket, Will Pucovski appears to have arrived on the scene with both, along with a strong dash of self-awareness. All the prerequisites are present for the 18-year-old ton machine to become a very big deal on the senior stage, and soon.Pucovski spoke to ESPNcricinfo in the week following the most significant fortnight of his sporting life so far. In the national championships he made four centuries on the bounce for Victoria’s Under-19s. Upon arriving home, he clocked his maiden first grade century for the Melbourne Cricket Club. Next stop: the SCG for a Big Bash League curtain raiser, where he will lead a “Gilchrist XII” showcasing Generation Next on December 27.From the relative anonymity of age-group cricket Pucovski now fields questions underpinned by a tone of inevitability that he will go on to earn the highest honours available. National Talent Manager and Australian selector Greg Chappell has hinted as much in his own lavish praise of a player he and his colleagues have had their eye on for a long time.Pucovski is already media-trained to the back teeth, ready with modest responses about the importance of his team winning when he makes runs, or who he had on the wall as a kid (Ricky Ponting, if you were wondering). Chest out, eyes forward, hands behind his back. He may be new to this but he knows the drill.Sitting across the table in a more intimate setting, less than a couple of Ponting pull shots from the MCG pitch that he dreams to dominate for state and country, what’s most striking is Pucovski’s maturity – the kind that most aren’t quite so blessed with in a lifetime.

“I am looking at it more from an appreciative point of view, where I am just lucky to play a game that I love. If I am good enough, I will make it. If I’m not, I won’t”

This has been directly aided by having plenty of time to sit and think over the last couple of formative years – the result of what Pucovski describes as a “bit of a head injury”, when his skull slammed onto the knee of another player at football training. It was more serious than that; a severe concussion kept him not only out of sport but out of school for six months, restricted to rest on the couch. He was a sick boy.The symptoms lingered when he went back to cricket that summer. As if foretold, it happened again: struck in the head by a bouncer. Next, he ran into a door at home. At this point Cricket Victoria stepped in and said he should take the rest of the season off.But it still wasn’t over. As recently as a couple of months ago he was hit once more in a freak training accident, a flying ball from an adjoining net collecting his now-battered skull. He only just got back to playing before the aforementioned carnival, where finally he did the smashing again: of the run-scorer’s record that had lasted nearly a quarter of a century.”Mentally I got through it pretty well,” Pucovski reflects of the ordeal. Encouragingly from a batting standpoint, he says that the blows haven’t affected him to the extent that he is unduly worried about his safety at the crease. Sports psychologists he worked with in this period doubtless have much to be thanked for there.Of course, he had every right to be angry. Most would. Between times he debuted for Victoria’s 2nd XI a week after his 17th birthday, making 45 in a side captained by David Hussey, and also including James Pattinson and Travis Dean.But when taken to England with the Australian U-19s, severe headaches kept him off the field more than on it. Impatience can breed ill-discipline, but Pucovski was determined not to let an injured head cascade into a loss of nerve.The tour of England last year was a disappointing one for Pucovski, who struggled with concussion-related headaches and made only ten runs in four matches•Getty Images”I was always looking at it from the perspective that there are people worse off than me,” he explains. “I know it could have been a lot worse, and I was always confident that I would get back to full fitness.”It’s this clear-headed thinking that defines Pucovski and informs other facets of his life now that the injury is – touch wood – behind him.For one, he hasn’t let his privileged position as someone who can do what he can with the bat diminish his thirst to learn. The son of two senior teachers, he worked hard at school and won a place at Monash University to study Arts. “It is pretty hard to make it as a professional cricketer,” he says with more of that self-awareness. “So it’s important to have a back-up.”In keeping with the education theme, Pucovski works part-time at a local school mentoring a child with ADHD. “It is pretty rewarding when the kid is improving, and it does give you a bit of a kick because you’ve contributed in a way to making his life better,” he says with a smile.All this is refreshing in a sporting landscape too often dominated by lads behaving badly. Which isn’t to say Pucovski doesn’t go out with his mates for a night out just like any other (he does) and that he doesn’t like a beer (he does that too). But don’t expect to see him on the front page running amok. He’s pledged to never smoke and never do drugs. You believe him.”One thing I have prided myself on is trying to stay level-headed and make sure I am not getting into the wrong things,” he goes on. “I don’t really see myself going down that path where I would be seen as that guy who does go off the rails.”

“He’s got power when he needs it, but he can hit the ball with enough speed to get it through the field, which is something that’s made him stand out”Greg Chappell on Pucovski

Pucovski speaks of balance in life, saying time spent away from cricket is just as important to success as hours logged in the nets: that when cricket isn’t his whole world, he plays better.Coupling two outside interests – journalism and soccer – he has taken to sports opinion website the Roar to pen articles about his beloved Manchester United. From the sample on there, this much is for sure: he’ll never need a ghostwriter. Passion for the world game started with his father, who came to Australia from Serbia as a boy, with roots in the former Czechoslovakia.In Chappell’s assessment, Pucovski is a classical player, equally free in scoring on both sides of the wicket. “He’s got power when he needs it, but he can hit the ball with enough speed to get it through the field, which is something that’s made him stand out,” the former Australian captain said. “It’s a hallmark of his game; he hardly hits the ball in the air.”Assessing his own game, Pucovski freely admits that he doesn’t have the inventive streak of Glenn Maxwell, describing himself as a prodder rather than a plunderer. Graham Manou, previously an Australian Test wicketkeeper and now CA’s Pathways Manager, is a bit more generous, saying that you can already “see elements” of Ponting in Pucovski’s strokeplay.So what if this happens? If he emerges into a household name in the coming years? “How do I describe it? Surreal,” Pucovski replies. He has seen the rapid rise of friend Sam Harper into a senior position for Victoria behind the stumps and understands the opportunity is there for him as well.Exciting as that narrative is, he is equally mindful of the risks that come with name recognition and fame. Of everyone wanting their pound of flesh. But he doesn’t want to let “external things” change who he is: “a good citizen at the same time as trying to make it in cricket”. With a disposition like this, it’s little wonder he keeps getting made captain of sides.It’s unconventional, but this young man knows that his sobering early injuries are a “significant part” of his story. As a cricketer and as a human being. And maybe the true making of him on both counts.”I know that there is a lot more important things to ponder rather than worry about little things,” he says. “I am looking at it more from an appreciative point of view, where I am just lucky to play a game that I love. If I am good enough, I will make it. If I’m not, I won’t.”If only they all arrived like this.

With most bases covered, India are expected to turn a bleak home season around, but for that they will have to break down the only side that has bucked the trend of little Test success on tours

Sidharth Monga in Mohali03-Nov-2015This Monday was 12 days short of two years since India last played a Test at home. The last time India did so, Ajinkya Rahane, an indispensable batsman now, was a toddler by the standards of Test cricket, and had been dropped after two nervous innings on debut. Sachin Tendulkar was actually an international player then. Between the last Test at home and this week, India have played 16 away Tests, Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag have officially retired, the new generation of batsmen has established itself, and the team has spent two Christmases away for Boxing Day Tests.This Monday morning in Mohali, where the morning and evening chill and that companion of north Indian winter, smog, have begun to set in, you get a distinct Christmas feeling. In reverse. In South Africa and in Australia, India’s last two Boxing Day Tests, it was India who would be doing all the hard work on the eve of the Test while the host players finished a light optional session and went away to their festivities. Australia have a family day the day before the Boxing Day Test. Players bring their families along to the nets, and then they all change and go to a team lunch. It is surreal. There is an eerie quiet around if you are looking for Test-match anticipation, and it seems the Indian team is the only people working in town.Now in India, Diwali is about a week away. India is officially in festival mode. It is not that quiet this Monday morning – it can never be in India – but it is South Africa who are working hard, looking at the pitch, fretting over its dryness and the need to stay prepared for the worst, while like a boss India saunter into the city only two days and a bit before the Test, having danced in Harbhajan Singh’s wedding and, in the case of Ravindra Jadeja and Stuart Binny, having played Ranji Trophy matches.It’s almost a given that everything will be taken care of. You talk to the South Africans, and they say the groundsmen have taken care the pitch will be to India’s liking come Thursday. These young Indian batsmen cut their teeth in the tough overseas environs, and it is expected they will have an easier time at home against an inexperienced spin attack on pitches that won’t offer much to the seamers. Never mind that India have lost both the Twenty20 and ODI series to South Africa. Or that India have failed to beat South Africa in a Test series in 11 years. Historically this is a side that has beaten South Africa in only two series out of 11.There is renewed expectation and hope from the side because this is a rare time that the Indian Test team is surer of composition and its strength than the ODI side. In the here and now, they might not be sure of who the leading fast bowler is because Ishant Sharma is serving a one-match ban, but they have a world-class spinner bowling in favourable conditions with two competent support acts around him. There is also intense competition for the batting slots, which heats up the moment India decide to play Ravindra Jadeja or Stuart Binny as the fifth bowler. Three openers have presented their cases in recent time, and a spurned No. 3 has scored 145 when opening in the absence of two injured openers. It is a happy headache; there are options, unlike what the limited-overs side will have you believe.Dale Steyn will have to will his way to wickets in conditions that might not aid fast-bowling•Hindustan TimesOn paper India have most bases covered given the conditions they are likely to encounter. R Ashwin and Jadeja demolished Australia the last time India played a home series against a competitive side. When Ishant is back, India will have a decent bowler in that limited role. Their opponents will have to will their way to wickets. Not that Dale Steyn is not capable of it, not that he hasn’t done it before, but in the current environment he is likelier to be able to go surfing in the cities the Tests are being played than get the kind of pitch he got in Ahmedabad in 2008. If he has to carry out demolition, he will have to do it Nagpur 2010-style.Off paper it will not be as easy for India because South Africa are a Test side known to find a way. Since readmission into international cricket, they have never had a world-class spinner capable of being a match-winner in Tests, but they have still held their own in India better than any other side. They have never looked like being outclassed. There has to be a reason they have lost only one Test series out of the last four in India. There has to be some resilience to a side that has not lost an away Test series anywhere in nine years. It includes two trips to India, and one to Sri Lanka, where they went one step further and won the series. South African sides check in in their baggage that intangible something.Ashwin averages 24 at home, Jadeja under 20, but these batsmen will be their biggest challenge yet. Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis are not there, but Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis are better players of spin than any set these Indian spinners have demolished. They cannot afford to let them repeat what Kevin Pietersen and Alastair Cook did in 2011-12. If the Indian spinners and the big three South African batsmen are both at their best, this will be a contest for the ages.The one worry with the Indian batting, one which South Africa will prey on, is that when they look good they look really good, but on a bad day they collapse spectacularly. Each of this young team’s disappointments in recent times has been characterised by the ability to resist once they reach a breaking point. And they tend to reach that breaking point collectively. In England last year they went toe to toe with the hosts for two-and-a-half Tests, and then everybody crumbled at the same time. In Australia they collapsed in Adelaide and Brisbane after matching the hosts blow for blow until the final act of the match. Ravi Shastri, the India team director, has put it down to inexperience and being out of their comfort zones.Now they are at home, and they have had the experience. The ODI series loss is gone but not entirely forgotten. As is Harbhajan’s wedding. A much better show is expected from players who have served their time in away series manfully. It will be a surreal sight to watch India go into a home Test without a single player already established as a great. But there is expectation – and not without reason – that this side will turn a bleak home season around. To do so they will have to break down the only side that has bucked the recent trend of little Test success on tours. They have the tools to do so; it is the temperament and tactics that will be tested more.

The Plays of the day from the game between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Daredevils

George Binoy25-Apr-2014The test
Kevin Pietersen was playing his first game of the season after recovering from a hand injury and his bandaged fingers were tested in the first over. Aaron Finch glanced Shahbaz Nadeem towards fine leg, giving Pietersen a tough chase. He caught up with the ball with a slide but went over the boundary after he pulled it back. The ball trickled on, though, and when Pietersen pushed it back to ensure it wasn’t a boundary, his body was where the dislodged advertising signs had been, and a four was signalled.The wound and the salt
The first three balls of the fifth over, from Wayne Parnell, were short, short and down leg, and short again. Shikhar Dhawan feasted on them, cutting the first to the point boundary, hoisting the second over long leg for six, and lacing the third through point for four more. The fourth was short and wide too, and Dhawan cut hard once again, aiming for a fourth consecutive boundary. His placement was off, though, and the ball flew straight to Manoj Tiwary at point. Parnell grimaced after he saw the ball spilt on the grass.The one-handed six
Finch moved a couple of feet outside leg stump, to create space to hit on the off side. He had moved too early, though, and JP Duminy fired the ball flat and wide outside off stump as a counter measure. Finch lunged and swung. The ball was nearly at the wide-indicator when he made contact. And despite one hand coming off the bat, Finch stuck it so powerfully that the ball flew flat and over the extra-cover boundary. He did it again, off the medium-pacer Jaydev Unadkat, his one-handed slice resulting in a four at point.The freebie
David Warner was dropped before he had scored, and then plodded from 8 off 5 balls to 18 off 27. He was struggling for fluency while Finch steered the Sunrisers innings and desperately needed another lucky break. Parnell provided it – a juicy, high full toss on the pads. Warner smashed it to the square-leg boundary, was dropped again, and went on to make Daredevils pay.The face-off
Quinton de Kock looks worried quite often on the field, even when he has no apparent reason to be. This time, however, his wide eyes could have been because the man staring him down was his countryman Dale Steyn, the fastest bowler in the world. Steyn charged in to bowl his first ball, de Kock prepared for battle, and the next thing everyone knew was that the ball was being retrieved from the boundary. Little de Kock had stood tall and punched the ball past Steyn’s fingertips, and timed it superbly.The back of the bat
In this age of batting innovation, there isn’t much that surprises anymore. The range of reverse-shots, the switch-hit, the scoop … an increasing number of batsmen are attempting to play them. Dinesh Karthik, however, did something unusual against Darren Sammy. He shaped to play the reverse paddle but instead of turning his bat over to make contact with the face, he hit the ball with the back of his bat and sent it to the third-man boundary. It’s a shot Mahela Jayawardene plays.

Shakib Al Hasan is being over-bowled every season, and is going into another with a heavy load staring him down as he leads a group of inconsistent fast bowlers and a very inexperienced spin attack

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur12-Nov-2012Shakib Al Hasan is only four away from 100 Test wickets. The all-rounder will become the second Bangladeshi bowler to reach the milestone after Mohammad Rafique, the former left-arm spinner from whom he took over the mantle of the team’s leading bowler four years ago. But the responsibility also means Shakib is being over-bowled every passing season, and is going into another with a heavy load staring him down as he leads a group of inconsistent and yet to be proven fast bowlers and a very inexperienced spin attack.Shakib’s workload is a matter of concern for the team management, especially because his predominant skill is batting. He has been successful managing both but before the World Twenty20 in September, he complained of knee problems and even skipped the Sri Lanka Premier League due to a niggle. He has a surgery planned for later this year, but given his commitments and the domestic season, it could be rescheduled to next year.Ever since Rafique’s retirement in 2008, Shakib has been given the task of not just bowling economical spells but making breakthroughs, separating partnerships and even cutting out the runs by bowling over the wicket, into the rough. He has racked up impressive figures too, picking up nine five-fors in his short career.Interim coach Shane Jurgensen, who was the team’s bowling coach until Richard Pybus’ resignation last month, has been told by Shakib that he enjoys bowling in Tests but Jurgensen wants the all-rounder to put more of his efforts in his preferred suit.”He is very happy he’ll be bowling in a Test rather than just four overs,” Jurgensen told ESPNcricinfo. “His prime objective in Twenty20s has been to contain the batsman so he’s really excited to be bowling in the longer format.”At the same time, we have to consider his workload. He bats for us at No. 5 and given his talent, we want him to score double-hundreds, for instance. He has the potential to score big runs so we have to keep an eye on how much he bowls.”How much has he bowled since Rafique’s retirement? Shakib has delivered a mind-boggling 513.1 more overs than any Bangladesh bowler in all international formats. He brings in the wickets too, 93 in Tests since Rafique left, far ahead of Bangladesh’s next best effort, 26, from Shahadat Hossain.This season Shakib will be hoping the likes of Elias Sunny and Sohag Gazi reduce some of his load, but just like last season when Shakib did the bulk of the work and let Sunny get acquainted with the pressures of Test cricket, it could still be the same situation. The quicks too are unlikely to be asked to bowl a lot unless they find the Mirpur and Khulna wickets friendly enough.Jurgensen, however, was happy to see some of the pace bowlers hit the straps in the first-class competition though Rubel Hossain is still going to need more time before he could be asked for long spells. “I am happy with how much they’ve bowled so far. Shahadat [Hossain] and [Abul Hasan] Raju have been bowling regularly after Eid while Rubel [Hossain] has not, but he’s fit to be bowling.”I am also pleased with the combination we’ve got, but I am sad for Nazmul [Hossain] missing out. We wanted to make sure we have pace in our attack.”Shakib, though, remains Mushfiqur Rahim’s go-to bowler, not because of their friendship since school days or for the mere fact that they have combined the best off Shakib’s bowling. But mainly because it is only Shakib who can offer economy, wickets and safety in a Test match.

Gibbs’ autobiography tells all – and leaves us with the impression that none of it is to be taken seriously

Telford Vice20-Nov-2010The face of Herschelle Gibbs, the man who infamously claimed he had never read a book, gleams unsettlingly from the cover of the one that bears his name.His bristly lips slither around his teeth, which are gnashed into a foreboding grin. Iridescent white haloes trace spooky circles around the pupils of his eyes. The hard edge of his shaven head lurks fuzzy, out there somewhere. If this man banged on your door at some dark hour, you would give him whatever he wanted and plead with him not to hurt you.Books shouldn’t be judged by their covers, but it seems safe to do so in this case. For too long, people have given Gibbs too much of what he’s wanted: too much to drink, too much sex, too many nudges and winks, too many chances, too many long hops. In return he has given them too much of his dark side and not enough by which to remember him well. For years he would cut sixes over point as casually as if he were twisting the cap off a bottle of beer. But just as easily he would blip catches softly, softly into the hands of mid-off. We giggle at his ongoing – unwitting? – parody of the rock-star lifestyle, and gag at his trashiness. He has won matches that looked lost. He has taken money to be dismissed for less than 20.And now this, , as told to Steve Smith, a respected journalist who has captured Gibbs’ voice authentically. It is the voice of a man who is on his way to being a geriatric delinquent.Those who count themselves among cricket’s more genteel aficionados should start their interaction with this book on page 125. The preceding six chapters will shatter their image of the game they think they know. Then again, perhaps they shouldn’t skip those pages: they need educating.Chapter three – “The good times” – is a litany of vice. Alcohol is abused so wantonly that readers might feel sorry for the demon drink itself. Women are nothing more than conquests awaiting conquest.Chapter six, entitled “The controversies”, ends thus: “Right. I think that’s enough (scandal) for one book. Coming up next is a highlights reel that has more to do with bat and ball than having a ball…”But there is value amid the muck. Gibbs’ redemption may yet come from being unafraid to lay bare the car crash of his life for the rest of us to rubberneck at.Young cricketers, particularly those who achieve beyond their years, sometimes grow into adults trapped in a web of adolescence. However much excess might befall them and however much success they might achieve, their worlds are somehow small and sad. Gibbs made his first-class debut at 16, and in some ways he isn’t a moment older. He doesn’t seem to have learnt much from the tribulations that have befallen him over the years.He describes Hansie Cronje, who in a few grubby deals (that we know of) destroyed his reputation forever, as “a man I will always admire” and “the best captain I ever played under”. Even after spending time in rehab, Gibbs writes that he “didn’t, and still don’t, believe that I am an alcoholic”. He doesn’t regret “calling those particular Pakistani fans a bunch of animals” at Centurion in 2007.Also disturbing is the impression Gibbs gives that nothing he has experienced – neither match-fixing, sexual debauchery, alcoholism, nor that particular flavour of racism in which people are equated with animals – need be taken seriously.But the honesty with which he tackles some of South African cricket’s biggest issues is to be applauded. He dumps the Proteas’ propensity to choke at the door of a conservative, tentative approach. He decides that the South African team is indeed divided by a clique of senior players. There is nothing to be read here that the cricket press hasn’t covered before, but to have it confirmed from within is a refreshing change from the overly defensive pose players usually strike in the face of criticism.It is doubtful whether Gibbs knows anything about subtlety, including how to spell it. But he does know how to be exciting, and he loves to entertain. On that score, then, is undiluted, uncut 100 per cent proof Herschelle. It should come with all sorts of warnings, including: reading this book could impair your ability to be drowsy for nights on end.To the Point: The No-Holds-Barred Autobiography
by Herschelle Gibbs with Steve Smith
Random House Struik
272pp, R200

Osman Samiuddin on the World XI squads to face Australia in the Super Series

Osman Samiuddin23-Aug-2005

Who would want to be a selector? If you’re lucky you please some of the people some of the time. If you’re dreaming you please all the people all the time. If your constituency is slightly larger than that of the average national selector, as was the case for the selectors of the World XI squad then, well, good luck.A glance at both the squads announced by the ICC selectors and the criterion they laid out for selections suggests that, try as they might to convince the world that theirs was an exercise dictated only by on-field endeavour and considerations, it was clearly accompanied by no little commercial nous.It’s not that the squads are weak, far from it in fact. By and large, they are a comprehensive representation of players acknowledged as the best in the world over the last year. But within the squads there are some selections – and some omissions – which only enhance the suspicion that the selectors were swayed at least as much by star value as they were by form and performance.It could explain Inzamam-ul-Haq’s absence from either squad; a Test average of nearly 60 and an ODI average of 45 since the beginning of 2004 is cancelled out by a personality cocooned from hype and celebrity. Undoubtedly it doesn’t help that his record against
Australia is poor and popular misconceptions about his comical running (it has actually improved) and his fielding (inside the circle and at slip, he is still more than competent) persist. But a poor record against Australia hasn’t harmed the prospects of Jacques Kallis.Sachin Tendulkar lacks nothing in star value, but he does lack form, runs and match fitness. In ODIs, he averages 36.80 since the beginning of 2004. And lest the more zealous among us think it is a nationality bias, it isn’t; Tendulkar’s team-mate Rahul Dravid has figures to compare to Inzamam’s, and in fact anyone in the world, yet finds himself only in the Test squad.Dravid’s omission from the ODI squad hints at the selectors’ predilection for the superficial, for following fashion over form; despite his growth as an ODI player, Dravid doesn’t astonish a crowd – or selectors – with his daring and bravado as does a Tendulkar. But currently, he is more likely to score runs and that too against Australia. But it seems a World XI without Tendulkar, in or out of form, is still near-blasphemous.However, if Inzamam and Dravid’s cases are marginal, then the exclusion of Chaminda Vaas from the ODI squad is shocking, and highlights best the central dilemma that plagued the selectors. Vaas is not quick and he doesn’t take the breath away with speed as Shoaib Akhtar does; neither is he an admirable product of a controversial, much-discussed and far-reaching social policy as Makhaya Ntini is. But as an opening and closing bowler with rare intelligence and rarer gifts of control, seam and cut, he is almost unparalleled in ODIs, a successor to the original left-arm of God. To boot, he has a robust record against the Australians.

With Shoaib at least, there is no comparison, statistically, spiritually or in practice – Vaas has taken 40 wickets in 23 ODIs (Shoaib has 37 from 28) at nearly ten runs less per wicket (19.75) and with an economy rate almost a whole run better (3.95 per over) since January 2004. And, an Afro-Asian Cup apart, Shoaib has played no international cricket since January, although that hasn’t precipitated lesser media coverage.Many more debates, borne perhaps from a skewed sense of national identity and pride, are likely to emerge over coming days. Daniel Vettori possesses a decent record against Australia and burgeoning batting skills additionally, but can he really bowl the side out to win a game, as Anil Kumble (in particular) and Harbhajan Singh (to a lesser extent) have done? Does Ntini’s legendary fitness, stamina and increasing incisiveness not deserve a place in the Test side too? Has Steve Harmison developed enough ODI cunning and confidence to warrant a place? And is his captain Michael Vaughan not in possession of a supreme record against the Australians, as well as a fondness for Australian tracks, to manage a place in the top order?The most pertinent of those debates, however, will remain. To ensure the success of the Super Series, the ICC selectors are in need of hype just as they are in need of a competitive contest, and they have picked the personnel best suited to achieve that aim.

This three-match series though seems to have lost top billing to the IPL and the Test Championship final

Deivarayan Muthu16-Mar-2023Big picture: The appetiser to the IPLSandwiched between the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and IPL 2023, the ODI series between India and Australia doesn’t seem to have top billing. Even days out from the opening Test, everyone jumped on the BGT hype train, and minutes after the final one ended in a draw, India’s coach Rahul Dravid was asked how he would manage the IPL players in the lead-up to the World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval in June. A day after that, Australia allrounder Cameron Green, who was bought for INR 17.5 crore (USD 2.1 million) by Mumbai Indians, joined his IPL coach Mark Boucher and team-mate Ishan Kishan on the sidelines of a WPL game.This three-match ODI series isn’t part of the World Cup Super League either, but it’s a chance for both India and Australia to fine-tune their plans for the ODI World Cup, which is also around the corner. Australia haven’t played ODI cricket since they swept England 3-0 at home in November last year, almost immediately after the 2022 T20 World Cup, and are still getting used to life after Aaron Finch’s international retirement. David Warner is working his way back from an elbow injury and a barren run in the first half of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In his first crack at Finch’s opening role, Head rattled off scores of 69, 19, and 152 against England and in his first crack at opening the batting in Test cricket in place of Warner, he enhanced his reputation even further. Glenn Maxwell is also back from injury, but Australia will have to contend with the absence of both Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.Related

'My best can match it with anyone' – Mitchell Marsh

Questions for Australia: how many allrounders are too many in an ODI XI?

Can Suryakumar crack the ODI format? Kishan or Rahul as keeper?

Fast bowler Jhye Richardson has also joined Australia’s absentee list, but they would do well to remind themselves that they are the team to have beaten India in a bilateral ODI series in India since 2016. Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy and Matthew Kuhnemann have returned home, and now it’s over to Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar, the white-ball specialists.India have to navigate through challenges of their own. Shreyas Iyer will miss his second successive ODI series with injury while Rohit Sharma will not be available for the first game in Mumbai because of family commitments. Jasprit Bumrah faces a race against time to be fit for the ODI World Cup, but in his absence, Mohammed Siraj has emerged as the leader of the pace pack. Shardul Thakur, who made a successful comeback during the ODI series against New Zealand earlier this year, lends greater balance to the side along with the returning Ravindra Jadeja. With all of Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal available for this series, India are spoiled for choice on the spin front.Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne at a training session•Associated PressForm GuideIndia: WWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia: WWWWWIn the spotlight: Ishan Kishan and Adam ZampaRohit is out of the first ODI, but India have so much depth that they can replace him with another ODI double-centurion Ishan Kishan. He will partner India’s latest ODI double-centurion Shubman Gill. Since his scorching 210 in Chattogram in December last year, Kishan’s form has cooled off. With Rohit set to return for the second ODI in Visakhapatnam and KL Rahul set to be India’s first-choice keeper in Rishabh Pant’s absence, this might be a big chance for Kishan to shake things up, ahead of the World Cup.Six years ago, Hardik Pandya had said: “I knew that I could hit a six off him [Adam Zampa] anytime I wanted to,” at a press conference. Zampa has now evolved into one of the best white-ball spinners and recent numbers back that claim. Since the end of the 2019 ODI World Cup, Zampa has taken 62 wickets in 37 matches at a strike rate of 24.7 and economy rate of just under five. No other spinner from Full-Member nations has more wickets than Zampa during this period. In the inaugural ILT20 in the UAE, Zampa was Dubai Capitals’ joint-highest wicket-taker with nine strikes at an economy rate of below five once again, despite having played just four matches.1:22

Plenty of allrounders in Shaun Tait’s XI

Team news: Maxwell returns from injurySuryakumar Yadav is likely to get a go in the middle order in place of the injured Iyer. On the bowling front, India have a surfeit of options to choose from.India (probable): 1 Shubman Gill, 2 Ishan Kishan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya (capt), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Axar Patel/Washington Sundar, 9 Shardul Thakur/Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Mohammed Shami/Umran MalikA fit-again Maxwell will directly slot back into Australia’s middle order and could potentially be their second spinner behind Zampa. With neither Cummins or Hazlewood available, there might be an opening for Tasmania and Hobart Hurricanes quick Nathan Ellis. Green, Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis and Sean Abbott and Ashton Agar will likely compete for two spots in the XI. Marsh, though, will not bowl in this series, which could impact how Australia balance their team.Australia (probable): 1 David Warner, 2 Travis Head, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Marnus Labuschagne, 5 Mitchell Marsh/Marcus Stoinis, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Cameron Green, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Nathan EllisPitch and conditions… for a run-festThe Wankhede pitch is usually a flat one, which gets even better for batting, under lights, once the dew sets in. In the most recent ODI played at this venue, in 2020, Australia hunted down 256 in under 38 overs with all ten wickets to spare.Stats and Trivia: Beware of Warner Warner has scored 391 runs in eight ODI innings in India at an average of 55.85 and strike rate of just less than 100. Siraj has a strike rate of 25.3 – the second best, behind Trent Boult, among bowlers from Full-Member nations with at least 20 wickets since the end of the 2019 ODI World Cup. Rahul has lost his Test spot, but his ODI numbers for India at No. 5 are impressive: 658 runs in 16 innings at an average of 50.61 and strike rate of 102.17, with one hundred and six half-centuries.