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Nottingham Forest are in talks to sign Real Betis left-back Alex Moreno this summer, according to hugely reliable journalist David Ornstein.

The Lowdown: Moreno an established left-back

The 29-year-old has become an enormously experienced defender over the years, making 131 appearances in La Liga, including 103 for current club Betis.

Last season, Moreno had 30 league appearances to his name, registering five goals and three assists from left-back, and averaging 2.5 tackles per match to show an impressive well-rounded game.

Forest meanwhile have been incredible busy this summer, already landing eight new signings, and it looks like they’re closing in on another.

The Latest: Another Forest move

Taking to Twitter, The Athletic‘s Ornstein said that Forest are looking to bring in Moreno in with an audacious move, although talks are only at an early stage:

“EXCL: Nottingham Forest working on deal to sign Alex Moreno from Real Betis. Negotiations at relatively early stage & 29yo Spaniard believed to be open to possibility but no agreement as yet. #NFFC looking for cover in wing-back positions.”

The Verdict: Sign of Reds’ progress

An update like this is proof of the giant strides made by Forest under Steve Cooper, with their Premier League status allowing them to be linked with such players.

Moreno is someone who has performed at the highest level for some time now and he could be a superb signing, providing an alternative to Harry Toffolo.

At 29, he has both lots of experience and plenty of room left to grow and hit his prime, ensuring that Forest continue going up a gear next season and beyond. Depth is vital for Cooper if his side are to pull away from the threat of relegation and this would be a perfect show of strength and ambition.

Tottenham Hotspur could look to sign Benoit Badiashile amid interest from his club, AS Monaco, in backup centre-back Davinson Sanchez…

What’s the word?

That’s according to ever-reliable football.london reporter Alasdair Gold, who delivered the intriguing claim during a recent Q&A with supporters.

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Speaking about Spurs’ left-sided defensive targets, he said: “I understand Monaco have shown an interest in Davinson Sanchez and I do wonder whether Spurs might look at Benoit Badiashile, their France U21 international left-sided centre-back if any discussions take place.”

The 21-year-old, who stands at a whopping 6 foot 4, has attracted interest from Premier League rivals Chelsea in recent weeks.

Bye-bye Sanchez?

Antonio Conte and his recruitment staff are certainly in the market for a new left-footed central defender, but the likes of Inter Milan’s Alessandro Bastoni and Josko Gvardiol of RB Leipzig are proving to be expensive or out of reach thus far.

That means their attention is likely to soon turn elsewhere, so Gold’s suggestion that they could move for Badiashile is certainly plausible and perhaps something they should be looking at instead.

Valued at £27m by Transfermarkt, the Monaco colossus may well cost half the price of either of the aforementioned names, whilst he is surely a better option to some of the other alternatives named, largely Barcelona flop Clement Lenglet.

The France U21 gem has been lauded as a “great talent” by ASM vice president Oleg Petrov, whilst scout Jacek Kulig has suggested that Badiashile is the “definition of a complete centre-back, adding that the 21-year-old is “known for his ball-playing ability and composure.”

Indeed, this certainly appears to be the case as he ranks amongst the top 7% of centre-backs across Europe’s top five leagues for progressive passes per 90 (4.56), meaning he is consistently playing the ball forward into the opposition’s half rather than sideways or backwards.

The Frenchman also ranks inside the top 8% for interceptions (2.96 per 90) and the top 12% for aerial duels won (3.86 per 90), via FBRef, who also make him most comparable to Dortmund veteran Mats Hummels.

Given the fact that Sanchez, who cost a whopping £42m, has often been slammed as a “liability” around north London, it would be wise to try and swap him for an elite talent with bags of potential in Badiashile.

Sporting director Fabio Paratici must now consider the Monaco sensation heading into next season.

AND in other news, talkSPORT man delivers Youri Tielemans to Spurs verdict…

PSV’s Ibrahim Sangare is a name that is ever-present in every single transfer window, although this time, it looks as though he may finally secure a much-anticipated switch to the Premier League and in particular, Manchester United.

What’s the word?

According to a report from Sky Sports, Man United are interested in signing the Ivory Coast international with the 24-year-old said to “have his heart set” on a move to England and is “convinced he will be a Premier League player” next season.

Chelsea are also interested in the PSV midfielder who, in the same report, is said to have a €35m (£29.9m) release clause in his contract.

Matic replacement

Quite simply, the acquisition of Sangare would not only serve as a Nemanja Matic replacement, but an overall upgrade.

The 24-year-old Ivorian has conjured up some stats that would see him rank top of the United squad for defensive actions.

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The departing Matic was undeniably underrated at Manchester United and, despite his age, proved himself as the Red Devils’ strongest defensive asset in the engine room, despite being written off on numerous occasions due to his age and lack of mobility.

This season, he ranked top of the tree for interceptions per 90, achieving 2.0 per game whilst also registering 1.2 successful tackles per 90 in a metric that sees him ranked fifth in the squad.

Sangare, who has been dubbed “dangerous” by former coach Aad de Mos comfortably surpasses both of these figures, achieving 2.8 interceptions per 90, whilst drumming up an average of 2.2 successful tackles per game also.

It’s the same story for accurate passes per 90, with Matic again ranking top with an average of 58.9. The next best in the squad is Fred with a lowly average of 49.9 accurate passes per 90. It will come as no surprise that Sangare yet again tops the ranks with an average of 65.1 accurate passes per 90.

In a way, United can fill the void of both Paul Pogba and Matic in Sangare, who has asserted himself as an outstanding ball-playing defensive midfielder who is ready-made for Erik ten Hag’s system.

In other news: Man United now trying to sign “exceptional” £21.3m “beast”, supporters will be buzzing…

Newcastle United have reportedly now ‘watched’ Brennan Johnson ahead of a potential move this summer.

The Lowdown: Play-off final day

The Toon Army can catch a glimpse of what Johnson can offer at St. James’ Park as he features for Nottingham Forest in the Championship play-off final against Huddersfield Town this afternoon.

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The Wales international has had an outstanding season, scoring 19 goals and making a further nine assists in total over all competitions, and has featured across the whole of the forward line for Steve Cooper’s team (Transfermarkt).

The Latest: Newcastle watch

Taking to Twitter, The Daily Mail journalist Craig Hope has revealed that the North East club are one of a number of sides to have ‘watched’ Johnson, but a lot ‘hinges’ on whether Forest can beat Huddersfield:

“Everton eye move for Nottingham Forest winger Brennan Johnson, but a lot hinges on Forest fate in play-off final. Newcastle, Leicester, Brentford have also watched 21-yr-old.”

Expanding in his article, Hope added that he is likelier to leave if Forest lose the game, with a £20m fee being mooted.

The Verdict: Sign

Eddie Howe will be hoping for more options in attack come the start of the new campaign, and Johnson would certainly be a valuable addition to his squad.

Dubbed a ‘different animal‘ on the pitch by Paul Bodin, who worked with him when in charge of Wales’ U19s and later with the U21s, and a player who makes defenders ‘panic’ by former Premier League manager Alex McLeish, the 21-year-old could provide the same threat on the opposite wing as Allan Saint-Maximin does on the left.

Nonetheless, they could form a deadly duo capable of truly terrorising any top-flight side’s backline.

In other news, find out who PIF are now ‘ready’ to sign for NUFC here!

Frank Lampard could be heading for his first big Everton disaster in the coming months, and we’re not talking about the immediate threat of relegation.

It’s no secret that the Toffees have had a horrendous season, and even remaining in the Premier League for next year surely won’t appease the fans as urgent change is needed on the pitch to get them back to where they belong.

With Lampard looking to strengthen, the onus might be on him to focus more on the players whose contracts are due to expire, with Yerry Mina being the obvious choice to tie down to a long-term deal.

The £18m-rated centre back has only played 12 times in the league this season, but Everton have lost just four of those matches, compared to the other 15 defeats without his presence in the team.

The Colombian has had his injury problems, but whenever he has featured, he has largely been excellent, with former Toffees player Don Hutchison describing him as a “rock” against Chelsea in the 1-0 victory last weekend.

Over his 12 league matches this season, Mina is in the 90th percentile for both blocks (2.20 per 90) and aerials won (3.95) among positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues, showing just how much of an asset he has been during his limited game-time in the current campaign.

His performance against Chelsea gathered further praise from journalist Patrick Boyland, who claimed that Mina was “a joy to behold”, and Lampard should be putting plans in motion to keep the Colombian at the club on a long-term deal.

This could, of course, depend on Everton’s Premier League status next season. Mina should be playing at a higher level, and relegation to the Championship could mean the end for the 27-year-old as an Everton player.

AND in other news, Lampard must brutally axe “clumsy” £120k-p/w Everton dud, he’s bleeding them dry

The BCCI did not seem to think it necessary to let anyone know that India’s first-choice Test wicketkeeper was nursing a potentially career-threatening injury

Sidharth Monga22-Jul-2018Santosh Rangnekar is the CFO of the BCCI. He is also known for alleging to the Supreme Court that BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry had issued him death threats. In March this year, Rangnekar received a “roll of honour” from “CFO 100 Forum”, which recognises top 100 finance professionals . The BCCI’s PR company, Adfactors, sent out a press release on a letter written under the BCCI logo to celebrate the award for Rangnekar. There had once been an unsigned press release to welcome Ravi Shastri as the coach of the team, an “elder buddy” to motivate the captain, the “gladiator” on the ground. Any achievement on the field is commemorated by a BCCI release carrying quotes from the CEO, the president and the secretary.There is a BCCI press release for everything under the sun it seems, except what follows. Over the last six months, India’s first-choice Test wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha has been struggling with a shoulder injury, for which he has been to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for various rehab sessions, has seen three different doctors, has taken three injections, and will now need a surgery after which he won’t even be able to lift a cricket bat for two months. He is likely to lose a year of cricket, if you don’t count the few IPL matches he managed in between. If he doesn’t make it to the Australia tour at the end of this year, Saha will have missed 12 straight Tests, the only format he represents India in. He will be 34 by the end of this year. Who can be sure whether or not somebody younger will make that position his own in 12 Tests?

A timeline of what we know

January 2018
Saha is ruled out of second Test in South Africa with a hamstring injury. Reaches the NCA on January 29, and complains of shoulder pain too.
February 2018
An MRI scan reveals a labral tear. Taken to Dr Narayanaswamy, who advises an ultrasound-guided injection. “Which was duly done,” says the bulletin, but not by whom.
March 2018
Cleared fully fit by the NCA.
May 7
During the IPL, falls on his shoulder twice.
May 8
Reports of pain made to Sunrisers’ physio, who takes him to a doctor in Delhi where he receives a second injection.
May 15
Gets himself reviewed at the NCA, where the state of the shoulder is similar to what it had been in January. Despite two injections.
May 25
Gets back on the field. Injures his thumb. No complaint of shoulder trouble.
May 28
Goes for scans on thumb. No need for surgery. No complains of shoulder discomfort. Rehab suggested.
July 2
Thumb healed.
July 3
Resumes training at the NCA and complains of shoulder trouble.
July 4
MRI scan reveals shoulder in worse state than the last scan
July 6
Sees a surgeon in Mumbai. Given another injection.
July 11
No improvement. Surgery the only solution.
July 18
Team announced for England. No mention of Saha injury.
July 21
Under media pressure, the bulletin is released, three days after the selection meeting.

Yet the BCCI made no mention of the injury in its media release when Saha was not picked for the England tour. Everybody assumed the thumb injury he had picked up during the IPL had not healed in time. Even the chairman of selectors, MSK Prasad, was quoted saying as much by the Kolkata-based . It needed the media to get into action, to hound Tufan Ghosh, the NCA COO, who first agreed to take questions and then said the next day that Adfactors was going to send out a bulletin, for the BCCI to finally acknowledge that Saha had a shoulder injury.This bulletin was not sent through a media release or a tweet, just quietly uploaded on the BCCI’s website. The bulletin is not signed by anybody. It doesn’t say who is making these declarations: the CEO, the Committee of Administrators or the COO of the NCA. If this is information provided by the NCA, the bulletin doesn’t say if the BCCI has verified it. It doesn’t say which injection Saha was given. It doesn’t say which doctor administered the first injection. It doesn’t tell you the grades of the labral tear. It doesn’t try to explain why the injury is so complicated that it is taking a year off a player’s career. It doesn’t say why it took the BCCI so long to even acknowledge the existence of a potentially career-threatening injury.The bulletin brings up an interesting incident, though. “During this period, on 15th of May, Saha requested to visit the NCA head physiotherapist, Ashish Kaushik, so that he could also review his right shoulder,” it says. “Ashish assessed his right shoulder and concluded that its presentation was similar to how it had been in late January/early February. Ashish informed the Sunrisers [Hyderabad] physiotherapist of this, who then continued with his course of rehabilitation. The team India physiotherapist was informed of this sequence of events.”When Saha came back with the resurfacing of the same injury during the IPL, the bulletin doesn’t say why he was not referred to a specialist immediately. At this stage, let it not be forgotten, despite two injections, Saha’s shoulder was as bad as it had originally been four months previously. This should have sent the BCCI into panic. Why did nobody in the BCCI – the NCA claims the due communication was made at that time – act and try to withdraw Saha from the IPL? After all the BCCI had been managing the workload of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who incidentally played for the same franchise.Just as Saha – cleared fit by his IPL franchise physio – went back to playing, he broke his thumb. The BCCI sent an injury update on him immediately. There was no mention of the shoulder injury that first emerged in January and was just as bad despite two injections, the second of them just a week before the inspection. A few days later, the team for the Afghanistan Test was announced. No mention of the shoulder there either.There is no direct mention made in the bulletin that Saha aggravated the injury during the IPL. Even if he did, and even if Patrick Farhart, who is the India physio but is off duty during the IPL, was informed of it, somebody in the BCCI had to take the immediate responsibility of ascertaining the extent of the injury.More than everything, though, it is the hopelessly amateur attempts at hiding Saha’s injury that raise suspicion. Surely the old guard of the BCCI can’t be so Machiavellian that they orchestrate this attempt to hide an injury and then make the whole matter look smaller than it is? One of the biggest motives of the Lodha recommendations was to instil accountability and transparency into an organisation that was run – pretty darn efficiently when it came to protecting its interests – by honorary officials who couldn’t be pinned down when things went wrong.Unfortunately the situation seems not too different in this new professional set-up. In a professional set-up, things shouldn’t come to this stage in the first place. These are some of the central characters of this saga.Wriddhiman Saha
The player himself. Often in such cases, players are blamed for hiding the injury. However, as the bulletin clearly says, Saha followed all the protocols, revealed all the discomfort he had, and even when he was not supposed to report to the NCA, he did so anyway because his team happened to be in Bengaluru. There is a gap in the timeline between May 28 and July 2, when he was allowing his thumb to heal. During this period he didn’t complain to anyone of his shoulder problem, but this is when he had given up all training. As soon as he returned to training on July 3, Saha felt the pain in the shoulder again and reported it.Tufan Ghosh
The COO of the NCA. Told ESPNcricinfo he will get back through Adfactors. Quoted the next morning by as saying, “Why do you bother? It is not a life-threatening injury.” At the time of publishing this article, he hadn’t contested the report. Will not answer any questions.Ashish Kaushik
The head physio at the NCA. Has worked with the India national side before. On paper at least, the bulletin shows Kaushik followed all the protocols. Whenever things were beyond his expertise, he took Saha to a specialist. It is usual to not rush an athlete into surgery. The bulletin says he informed the India physio when the injury resurfaced. It is learnt others in the BCCI were informed too through the official channels.Saba Karim
The GM of operations at the BCCI. Former India wicketkeeper. The man responsible for overseeing the whole issue. Also the man responsible for communicating players’ fitness status to the selectors and team management before a selection meeting. Insists the systems are in place, and due protocols were followed.MSK Prasad
Chairman of selectors. Also former India wicketkeeper. Set the cat among the pigeons by telling the Kolkata-based this, hours after the selection meeting: “Saha’s recovery from a fractured right thumb hasn’t been satisfactory. He hasn’t responded well enough to the rehab at the National Cricket Academy, in Bengaluru… At this moment, therefore, Saha is uncertain for all five Tests, not just the first three.”Firstly he brought the NCA under the scanner. Then he said Saha has not recovered from the thumb injury, which suggests he was not even aware of the existence of a shoulder injury. That is extremely hard to believe. Because even if the communication within the BCCI had broken down to an extent that he wasn’t informed of the shoulder injury, a chief selector as well reputed as Prasad would have, on his own, been in touch with the Test wicketkeeper before a big tour, especially if his injury lay-off was mysteriously getting extended. If he wasn’t, there are more serious issues at hand.

Plays of the day from the tri-series opener between hosts West Indies and South Africa in Providence

Firdose Moonda03-Jun-2016The nearly wicket(s)

Quinton de Kock showed early intent – and some recklessness – when he drove the third ball of the match back to Jerome Taylor without bothering to keep it down. Taylor reacted a fraction late and went for the catch with both hands but only managed a finger-tip, and not enough of a finger-tip to deflect it onto the stumps at the non-striker’s end either. De Kock escaped, Hashim Amla escaped, and South Africa got their first boundary.The drop

When Taylor was brought back in the 27th over, he made the same mistake. This time it was Rilee Rossouw who sent the ball back to Taylor. He hit the ball harder than de Kock had, and Taylor only deflected it towards mid-off, where the fielder fumbled. Rossouw escaped and so did a run.The redemption

Taylor eventually got it right when he hung onto a return catch off AB de Villiers in the 31st over. Just as de Villiers was settling down, he hit one back to Taylor like de Kock and Rossouw had done earlier. Perhaps, de Villiers hit the ball the hardest, but this time Taylor was ready. He put both his hands up and the ball stuck in his left hand. Taylor’s wry smile summed up his day.Guess who’s back…

Sunil Narine had performed well in patches with a reworked action in the IPL, but this was his first international appearance since November 2015. His thrived with a selection of knuckle balls and sliders, but the ball that caught the eye the most was an offbreak. He tossed it up to Aaron Phangiso and induced a booming drive, which lodged into the hands of Jason Holder at short extra cover. This gave Narine his second five-wicket haul in ODIs. Narine’s celebrations were typically subdued – arms aloft, cheek to cheek grin – but the magnitude of the occasion would not have been lost on him.The other drop

While West Indies shelled chances in front of the wicket, South Africa were sloppy behind the wicket. They had their first opportunity off the third ball of West Indies’ reply when Johnson Charles, having survived a brace of outswingers, had a proper go at Kyle Abbott. He only managed a thick outside edge, which would have carried to an orthodox slip. Instead, Hashim Amla was at wide slip and de Kock had to dive to his right. The wicketkeeper could only help it to the third-man boundary. Two balls later, Charles teased Amla again, slashing an outside edge over the fielder for four.The review that wasn’t

Chris Morris wasted a review in the first innings innings and it seemed AB de Villiers did not want to risk doing the same during South Africa’s defence. He turned down the opportunity to review a Kagiso Rabada appeal against Charles at the end of the fourth over. Rabada hurled in a yorker and roared a belated appeal for lbw. De Villiers held a mini-conference with Rossouw and Amla and they decided against challenging the on-field call, which was not out. Replays showed the ball had hit the boot first before Charles got some bat on it. The tracker then showed the ball crashing into the base of the leg stump. Rabada saw that on the big screen and threw his head back in exasperation.

The ECB have found a scapegoat for the World Cup debacle but whether sacking individuals will fix the broken system within English cricket remains doubtful

George Dobell08-Apr-20151:12

‘Vaughan has already held talks with ECB over new role’

Maybe he had spent too long away from international cricket, maybe he was never cut out for leadership but not for a moment did Paul Downton suggest he was the man to drag England cricket into a bright future.Barely a year after his appointment as managing director, Downton shuffles off the stage, replacing his blazer for an anorak and swapping the prospect of several weeks in the Caribbean for a retirement scratching his head and wondering about that odd chapter in his life when, briefly, he managed England cricket.Forget his bravery as a batsman against the West Indies fast bowlers of the 1980s. Forget his reliability as a wicketkeeper. Forget his decision to reappoint Peter Moores, retain Andy Flower and sack Ashley Giles. Downton will be remembered, almost exclusively, for his decision to sack Kevin Pietersen and his clumsy handling of the affair.It was a decision that reeked of agendas and vengeance. While Downton justified it by saying he had never seen such a “disengaged” and “disconnected” performance of that of Pietersen in Sydney, those who watched the Ashes tour rather more closely saw a senior player attempting to help younger players and fit into an environment where he felt increasingly uncomfortable. The sense remains that Downton had decided, or been ordered, to dispense with Pietersen before he even started.The irony is that, just as he made Pietersen the scapegoat for the Ashes debacle, so he has been made the scapegoat for the World Cup failure. Now he is the one “disconnected” and “disengaged”. But whether sacking individuals will fix the broken system within English cricket remains doubtful.To see Downton mingle with the England squad at the airport before this tour was to see the uncle nobody really remembers on the fringes of a family wedding. He has been irrelevant for some time. A decent, well-meaning man, no doubt, but utterly out of his depth in the world of modern, international cricket.The decision to make his position redundant is no surprise; the decision to create a slightly altered one more so. The ECB are keen to cut their administrative costs and could well have done without this role altogether. Instead it seems they could be persuaded to create another extra position below the new Director of England Cricket role with a responsibility to manage the other aspects of Downton’s role – women’s cricket, disability and age-group cricket – that could otherwise be overlooked.Michael Vaughan is the favourite for the new role. ESPNcricinfo understands that he has already met incoming ECB chairman Colin Graves and new chief executive Tom Harrison and, while he is far from popular with several current players and has a role with ISM – the sports management agency – that would have to end, he understands the demands of modern international cricket and has the courage to make a difference. Andrew Strauss and Ashley Giles might be considered other possible contenders – Nasser Hussain has ruled himself out – but Vaughan is in pole-position.The cynical might suggest that is because the role will be public facing and designed to divert attention from the real ECB management. They might suggest, too, that this is another attempt to move on from the Giles Clarke era at the ECB. And while Strauss is seen as being too close to some of those still within the side – not least Alastair Cook, who has lost a pillar of support with Downton’s departure – Vaughan appears to revel in the spotlight.But this new role will tread on the toes of the head coach and blur the lines of responsibility for the new CEO, Tom Harrison. English cricket requires many things: a new middle-manager is not one of the most obvious.Downton may be the first of several redundancies. The position of the chief selector, James Whitaker, appears especially precarious while a reorganisation of the management at Loughborough is imminent. It could be that Andy Flower, in something of a nebulous role at present and apparently heading for the exit only days ago, is given more responsibility under the rebranded Director of England Cricket.Vaughan’s appointment would also leave Moores in an uncomfortable position. Vaughan has been heavily critical of the coach in the media and made no secret of his struggles working with him during the period in which he was England coach. It is hard to see that relationship proving sustainable.The bookies immediately reduced the odd of Pietersen making a return to an England side from 25-1 to 2-1. And it is true that this decision clears one significant hurdle for Pietersen. Peter Moores has, ESPNcricinfo understands, already made it clear to Harrison that he could, if necessary, work with Pietersen again and while Alastair Cook remains resistant, he is no longer involved in the limited-overs sides. Pietersen will have to score some runs in domestic cricket first, but his involvement in the World T20 this time next year is far from impossible. It seems little is in English cricket at present.

Plays of the Day from the Lions v Otago Champions League T20 match in Jaipur

Mohammad Isam29-Sep-2013The fumble
Almost everything that Quinton de Kock did in this game went right, except for the final ball. With Neil Wagner swinging hard at Sohail Tanvir, the Lions wicketkeeper fumbled the ball and gave away the bye that tied the game. Tanvir was left disappointed, and so was de Kock, who knew that it only took one little mistake to undo a lot of good work. And undo it did, as de Kock’s day got worse with the mix-up off the final ball in the Super Over.The stinger
Lions pace bowler Ethan O’Reilly is a bustling character who was in the thick of things for most of the Otago innings. He sent down a stinker in the 17th of the innings, a beamer that hit Ian Butler flush on his elbow. Butler crumbled in pain, with O’Reilly apologising right away. The physio came in and made sure he continued the innings. De Kock too was banged on the elbow in the penultimate over of the Lions’ innings. That time it was Neil Wagner’s beamer that struck him, but he ran the single and didn’t ask for the physio. He was nearing a second Twenty20 century, and probably didn’t want a break in concentration.The misfortune
Nick Beard started the day quite well, picking up two wickets off consecutive balls in his first over. He missed the hat-trick, but bowled a tight second over. It didn’t go too well for him thereafter, though, as he missed a catch of de Kock, helping the young opener to his half-century. Beard over-ran the ball at deep square-leg, had it go through his fingers and on to the boundary. It went further downhill for the left-arm spinner thereafter, as he gave away 16 in his next over and was not asked to finish his quota.The scud
Quinton de Kock’s stinging straight drive off Neil Wagner in the 19th over belied his physique. It was a power-packed shot which rushed past the bowler, the non-striker and the umpire, and struck the boundary board in a blink. He looks physically unthreatening for an opening batsman of this era but, today, several of his pull shots off the fast bowlers and against anything that was full from the spinners were as good as any from well-built batsmen.

Kumar Sangakkara, the tenth batsman to reach 10,000 runs, stands out among Sri Lankan batsmen because of his strong performances in foreign conditions

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan17-Feb-2012Until November 2011, Sanath Jayasuriya was the only Sri Lanka batsman in the elite 10,000-ODI-runs club. Just 11 matches after Mahela Jayawardene reached the mark against Pakistan, Kumar Sangakkara also achieved the feat, during his breezy knock of 30 against Australia in Sydney. Sri Lanka are thus the only team to have two current players with 10,000-plus ODI aggregates, and also the second team after India to have three players who have surpassed the landmark. Sangakkara, who has been the mainstay of Sri Lanka’s batting in Tests and ODIs along with the classy Jayawardene, reached the 10,000-run mark in his 315th ODI. He is the fastest to the mark among Sri Lanka batsmen, both in terms of matches and innings. While most Sri Lanka batsmen have struggled overseas over the years, the compact Sangakkara has dealt with foreign conditions a lot better, and averages close to 40 outside Sri Lanka.Overall, Sangakkara has a highly respectable record in ODIs, averaging 37.80 with 12 centuries and 67 fifties. However, what is surprising is that his away record is much better than his home one. In 106 home ODIs, Sangakkara averages slightly below 35 with just one century. In away matches, not only is his average much higher (39.29) but also his century tally (11). His away stats, however, are slightly skewed towards performances in the subcontinent. In the subcontinent, he averages 38.80 while scoring ten of his 12 centuries. Outside the subcontinent, he has done fairly well (average of 36.52) but has a poorer ratio of centuries to fifties (2:31) as compared to the corresponding number in the subcontinent (10:36). As is the case with most top ODI batsmen, Sangakkara has lifted his game in World Cups. Among Sri Lankan batsmen who have played at least 25 World Cup matches, his average of 45.04 is the second-highest behind Arjuna Ranatunga’s, and his aggregate of 991 runs is behind only those of Jayasuriya and Aravinda de Silva. He has no century in tournament finals but his average of 38.18 is marginally better than his overall ODI average.

Batting stats of Sangakkara in ODIs

MatchesRunsAverageSR100/50Overall3151001937.8075.3312/67Home106302534.7772.471/21Away/neutral209699439.2973.4211/46In subcontinent179578238.8075.7610/36Outside subcontinent136423736.5274.752/31In World Cup3099145.0478.711/7Tournament finals2284038.1872.280/9Sangakkara endured a fairly ordinary start to his career before cementing his place as one of Sri Lanka’s best ODI batsmen. In his first four years (2000-2003), he had an average of just 28.55 and a strike-rate of 69.39 in 96 matches, while scoring only two centuries. Things turned around after that though; in the next five years (2004-2008), his average went up to almost 41 as he scored eight centuries in 139 ODIs. His best year in the period was 2004, when he scored over 1000 runs at an average of 53.15 with one century and ten fifties. In 2008, he averaged 39.25 but scored four centuries in 27 ODIs. In the last three years (2009 onwards), his average and strike-rate have gone up to 42.50 and 78.48, but he has struggled to convert the starts into centuries (two hundreds in 80 matches). Between 2009 and 2011, when Sangakkara was the ODI captain, he scored 1756 runs at a high average of 47.45.

Various phases of Sangakkara’s career

PhaseMatchesRunsAverageSR100/502000-200396217028.5569.392/92004-2008139478940.9376.348/342009-present80306042.5078.482/24Overall3151001937.8075.3312/67Sangakkara and Jayawardene’s stats are, in many ways, strikingly similar. Both batsmen have close to 7000 runs in away matches and over 3000 runs in home ODIs. In away matches, both batsmen have the same number of centuries (11) but while Sangakkara has just one century in home ODIs, Jayawardene has four. Sangakkara has been the more successful player in Australia, averaging 38.72 to Jayawardene’s 32.94. Jayawardene has three hundreds in England but his average of 43.80 is lower than that of Sangakkara, who is yet to score a century there. In ODIs in South Africa and New Zealand, Sangakkara is comfortably ahead of Jayawardene, who averages just 17.45 and 20.42 respectively in each country. However, in the West Indies, Jayawardene has done much better, averaging 47.21 with a century and five fifties, while Sangakkara has struggled, scoring four fifties in 17 games and averaging 28.68.

Sangakkara and Jayawardene outside the subcontinent (excl Zimbabwe)

CountryMatches/Runs (Sangakkara)Average, 100/50 (Sangakkara)Matches/Runs (Jayawardene)Average, 100/50 (Jayawardene)Australia38/139438.72, 1/943/128532.94, 1/11England16/57948.25, 0/623/92043.80, 3/3New Zealand15/42532.69, 0/415/19217.45, 0/0South Africa31/78531.40, 1/430/53120.42, 0/4West Indies17/45928.68, 0/417/66147.21, 1/5Sangakkara, who has batted at No. 3 for the majority of his career, has been immensely successful in that position. He is one of only four players to score over 5000 runs at No. 3. Ricky Ponting leads the fray in terms of runs but Jacques Kallis’ average of 46.94 is the highest among batsmen with 4000-plus runs at No.3, and is followed by Brian Lara’s 45.84. Sangakkara averages a relatively lower 38.53 but has a strike-rate of 75.57, which is bettered only by Lara and Ponting, who have corresponding numbers of 85.98 and 80.82 respectively. However, Sangakkara’s century tally at No. 3 (5) is the second-lowest in the group and is better only when compared to Marvan Atapattu, who managed to score just four centuries batting at that position.

Top run-getters at No. 3 in ODIs

BatsmanMatchesRunsAverageSR100/50Ricky Ponting3341265542.6080.8229/74Jacques Kallis199774646.9473.8213/57Kumar Sangakkara160562638.5375.675/41Dean Jones132510043.5872.077/39Brian Lara109444745.8485.9812/26Marvan Atapattu122414238.3566.334/33Rahul Dravid112400038.8369.607/27Sangakkara’s feat is all the more remarkable considering that for the majority of his career he has also kept wickets. In Tests, his average in matches when he has played as a wicketkeeper is much lower than in those where he has played purely as a batsman. However, in ODIs, the numbers are reversed. Sangakkara has relished the dual role and his run-tally as a wicketkeeper-batsman is second only to Adam Gilchrist’s. Among batsman-wicketkeepers with 4000-plus ODI runs, Sangakkara has an average of 39.50 which is bettered only by MS Dhoni, who has a stunning average of 51.41. By virtue of batting higher in the order, Sangakkara has scored ten centuries, which is behind only Gilchrist’s tally of 16, but his strike rate of 76.72 is well behind those of Gilchrist and Dhoni, who have corresponding numbers of 96.94 and 88.32.

Top batsmen-wicketkeepers in ODIs

PlayerMatchesRunsAverageSR100/50Catches/stumpingsAdam Gilchrist282941035.6496.9416/53417/55Kumar Sangakkara271912639.5076.7210/65289/79MS Dhoni200663251.4188.327/44190/63Andy Flower186584534.5873.714/46133/32Mark Boucher294468028.7184.931/26402/22