ECB Reporters Network03-Jul-2016
ScorecardKagiso Rabada’s bowling livened up the final session•Getty Images

Alastair Cook fell to the last ball of the day at Chelmsford sun after an intriguing duel in the sun with the South African paceman Kagiso Rabada.The England captain had reached 49 off 93 balls when a yorker by Rabada off the fifth ball of the last over trapped him lbwIt was a disappointing end to a day in which Essex had been in full control of the top of Division Two clash from the start.It had not been plain sailing before that, either. Rabada had Cook nervously dancing around in his crease at the start in the face of some serious pace and the awkward bounce that had helped the Essex bowlers so much earlier in the day.This was Rabada’s first red-ball outing since he took 13 wickets against England at Centurion in the fourth Test. The England captain was not one of his victims then, but he had been out twice to him in the second Test.Cook and Nick Browne saw off Rabada’s fierce opening spell, even if they had only reached 20 off 11 overs. Rabada rested after six overs, which had gone for just nine runs, before returning near the close after a 10-over break.Cook freed up with Rabada out of the attack, caressing the first four of his innings through the covers off Mitch Claydon. He repeated the punishment a couple of overs later as Claydon went for three fours through the off-side, one square, another through 45 degrees and the third through the covers.Browne was the first to go, getting to the ball late and spooning Rabada to Sam Northeast at mid-on for an 84-ball 33.Essex had taken advantage of a contested toss and put Kent in on a green wicket, and one on which there was swing through most of the first two sessions and some erratic bounce.Only Alex Blake, with an unbeaten 89, his highest Championship score of the season, showed much resistance to the Essex seamers. Led by Jamie Porter’s 3 for 51, Essex had reduced Kent to 48 for 4 when Blake arrived at the wicket mid-morning.His stay of 116 balls included 13 fours and he dominated a seventh-wicket stand of 56 with Callum Jackson that helped Kent post a larger total than looked likely at one stage.Kent’s wickets fell evenly between the morning and afternoon sessions with the visitors going to lunch at 88 for 5.Fabian Cowdrey was first to go when Graham Napier sent his leg-stump cartwheeling with an inswinger. Joe Denly and Sean Dickson survived some close calls before they departed within four balls, both to catches behind by James Foster off Ravi Bopara and Porter respectively.Kent captain Northeast became Foster’s third victim soon after when he wafted outside off stump to Matt Quinn and Darren Stevens was trapped lbw by Bopara.Adam Ball went soon after lunch, but not before he had been dropped at third slip by Nick Browne and had a visit by the physio to treat a hand injury. That was clearly on his mind as he tried to fend off a lifter from Porter and the ball spiralled to Jaik Mickleburgh at gully.That brought together Blake and Jackson to steady the innings. Blake reached his half-century off 72 balls with his 10th four.Jackson, making his Championship debut in the absence of Sam Billings, who is on England duty, was happy to play the junior role. He was eventually out for 19 when he tried to push Ryan ten Doeschate through the covers, missed and was trapped lbw.The last three wickets added another 50 runs to take Kent past the 200 mark. James Tredwell lost his middle-stump to become Porter’s third wicket, Rabada was bowled by Dan Lawrence and Claydon dollied one up to Mickleburgh in the gully off Napier.

Tottenham Hotspur suffered a significant setback in their bid for Champions League qualification after slipping to a 3-2 defeat at home to relegation strugglers AFC Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon, with the away side netting a last-gasp winner through Dango Ouattara to stun Cristian Stellini’s men.

After a positive start from the north London outfit as Heung-min Son fired home for his second goal in his last two Premier League games, the Cherries hit back with a quickfire double either side of the break courtesy of Matias Vina and Dominic Solanke.

With the game ebbing into the closing stages, up stepped January arrival Arnaut Danjuma to bag an equaliser that looked to have sealed a point for the Lilywhites, only for a late sucker punch from Gary O’Neil’s men to further heighten the doom and gloom at N17.

On a day of frustration and disappointment for Spurs, the most notable villain for the home crowd was Colombia international Davinson Sanchez, with the centre-back having been hooked just before the hour mark despite only replacing the injured Clement Lenglet after 35 minutes.

That brutal withdrawal had come following some “terrible” defending from the former Ajax man in the build-up to Bournemouth’s first two goals of the day, as per 90min’s Sean Walsh, with the 26-year-old having perhaps been somewhat harshly booed by his own supporters amid that albeit erratic, brief cameo.

The 6 foot 2 dud was not alone in having underwhelmed against the survival hopefuls, however, with Sanchez and fellow defender Pedro Porro both “struggling” in the first half, in particular, as per The Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare, with the defender subsequently forced into deleting his social media accounts after the game.

How did Porro perform against Bournemouth?

The Sporting CP loanee was particularly to blame in the lead-up to the aforementioned Vina’s strike late in the opening period, with the former Manchester City asset – whom Spurs could sign permanently on a £39m deal – having been robbed of the ball by the swarming visitors.

That set the tone for what was a grim outing overall for Porro against the south coast side, as the Spain international staggeringly lost possession on 23 occasions throughout the contest, having also completed just one of his five attempted dribbles as an indication of the wing-back’s shortcomings on the ball.

The 23-year-old did register three key passes as a sign that he can provide a creative spark at times, although while the defender was a ‘reliable creator’ in the second half – according to Walsh – ‘the damage had been done’ prior to the break, with Porro having ‘dribbled into trouble way too often’.

Any potential threat in an attacking sense was also overshadowed by the 5 foot 8 man’s defensive struggles as he won just five of his 14 total duels as well as committing two fouls, with his match rating of 6.6, as per Sofascore, among the lowest on the day.

As Walsh also stated, while Porro potentially deserves the “benefit of the doubt” after walking into a “bad situation” in recent months, Tottenham will likely have been hoping to see much more from the full-back, both today, but also in his brief time in England thus far.

Liverpool will host Arsenal in their Premier League clash at Anfield this afternoon and manager Jurgen Klopp will be keen to prove that his team are still capable of competing with the very best in front of the home support.

The Reds have had a tumultuous season, but their impeccable record against the current league leaders speaks for itself as Arsenal have failed to take a victory away from Anfield since 2012, which Klopp will be hoping extends when the final whistle is blown later today.

Indeed, Mikel Arteta's side will be heading to Merseyside with an important mission to keep the gap as wide as possible with their title challengers Manchester City, however, a victory for Liverpool will be absolutely vital to their outside chance of qualifying for the Champions League as they are currently 13 points adrift of the top four.

The Liverpool boss made a number of changes to his team against Chelsea earlier this week, with key players like Mohammed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson all missing from the starting eleven, however, it is incredibly unlikely that Klopp will be so heavy in the rotation as his most experienced players will be his most valuable assets against the Gunners.

As a result, there is no doubt that Robertson must be unleashed in the starting eleven as Kostas Tsimikas proved he was not up to scratch during his display at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.

Will Robertson start vs Arsenal?

The Scotland captain has played an important role in Liverpool's successes over the years and will surely be one of the first names on the teamsheet when it comes to challenging an incredibly on-form Arsenal side.

His positional peer, Tsimikas was dubbed "absolutely useless" for his performance against Chelsea by journalist Carl Kinsella after he lost possession of the ball 17 times, committed three fouls, lost five duels, whilst he was also dribbled past once before being hooked by Klopp in the 66th minute.

Despite the team's troubles this season, the £31m-rated unsung hero – once hailed "unbelievable" by Gary Neville – has delivered six assists and created eight big chances from his left-back position, as well as averaging 69.5 touches, 1.6 key passes and 40.3 accurate passes per game, proving that he is a huge presence in the side's attacking threat.

Not only that, Robertson has a fantastic record when facing today's opponents, with one goal scored and two assists over 16 meetings, taking points from ten of those clashes with six victories and four draws, so it is unfathomable that the Scotsman doesn't start this afternoon.

With that being said, it would be a no-brainer for Klopp to bring back some of his most relied-upon starters when the North London club pay a visit to Anfield later, as there will be no room for error if they are to have any hope of a chance at Champions League qualification at the end of the season.

The back of Andre Russell’s Nottinghamshire shirt announced him as Dre Rus, the Jamaican rapper, but it was in his cricketing not his musical, guise that he made an impact that could transform Nottinghamshire’s season

David Hopps18-Jun-2016
ScorecardAndre Russell was in uninhibited mood as he returned to Worcester•Getty Images

The back of Andre Russell’s Nottinghamshire shirt announced him as Dre Rus, the Jamaican rapper, but it was in his cricketing, not his musical guise that he made an impact that could transform Nottinghamshire’s season.What hip hop there was against Worcestershire came in the form of a limp because of a mild leg strain, but his destructive hitting remained unaffected as his 41 from 25 balls, in a sixth-wicket stand of 64 with Dan Christian, transformed a tricky Nottinghamshire chase into a four-wicket win with seven balls to spare.At both Sydney Thunder and with the West Indies in World T20 in recent months, Russell has emerged victorious. Nottinghamshire will hope his brief, four-game stay also rubs off, although they will soon have to prosper without him: he has only one more match before heading to the Caribbean Premier League. For the first two, he has just watched it rain, and has spent his time swimming and staying in the warm.Nottinghamshire were desperate for a change of fortune in a season that had brought only one win and two abandonments from their first five games. To overcome an impressive Worcestershire side, and prevent them from returning to the top of North Group in the process, was an indication of better times ahead, second-bottom turned into fourth in the space of a few mighty blows.A grabby pitch after another wet week meant boundary hitting was a challenging task, but Russell has experience of this ground in 2013 and he produced two of the biggest sixes seen at New Road in recent years, one flying close to the hotel at long-on (nearly a collector’s item of a brutal blow clearing a brutalist building) and another when he sprang from an even lower crouch than normal and jack-in-the-boxed Joe Leach over the new pavilion behind square and across the car park towards the adjacent cricket ground.”Strength man, strength,” was how he explained it. When he struck the sixes, they played his songs and, on one occasion, he did a little dance, his sport and his music coming together in satisfying fashion. There was a third six with the battle won, off Moeen Ali, which threatened a burger van. He has come a long way since he first came to Worcestershire’s attention while playing for Barnard Green CC down the road in the Malvern Hills.”I haven’t played any cricket for the past four weeks,” Russell said. “My body is used to ‘keep going, keep going’. Coming here and playing tonight, it was a bit tough but I’m happy to be back on the park.”Christian possesses prodigious strength, too, and he was a redoubtable ally in making an unbeaten 53 from 39 balls. At 95 for 5 from 11.2 overs, requiring 165, Nottinghamshire had just lost two wickets in two balls to the leg-spin of Brett D’Oliveira, both of them bowled, Samit Patel charging and missing a googly by a distance, Greg Smith virtually transfixed.Nottinghamshire’s opening pair, Michael Lumb and Riki Wessels, also carried obvious danger. They have been in potent form in 50-overs cricket – Lumb making back-to-back hundreds in the Royal London Cup as Nottinghamshire passed 400 on each occasion, including a record run glut against Northamptonshire.Joe Clarke’s right-handed catch above his head at extra cover silenced Lumb as he tried to drill Leach overt the off side, was just that. Wessels was down to Moeen, who had him caught at long on for 36.By then, Alex Hales had departed, too. England players rarely appear in county T20 and when they do they are often ill prepared for the task. Hales was an example of that, having had one white-ball net all season in a summer where his emphasis has been to devise a successful batting approach for Test cricket, a task satisfactorily addressed. He mullered Ed Barnard for one boundary, but fell for 4 in 6 balls when he mistimed Barnard to mid on.Trevor Bayliss has received general approval since his appointment as England coach, credited with being a key influence in their more confident approach, but his lack of time watching county cricket has not gone unnoticed. His presence at New Road was therefore welcome, as he looked on in dark glasses, as if in disguise, protected against this infernal June by a heavy coat and England cap.Young fans enjoy T20 at Worcester•Getty Images

Worcestershire prefer chasing, but they settled to well enough to first strike, taking 54 from the powerplay, without loss. Moeen’s presence was a help, as one pull through mid-on against a 90mph Russell short ball testified, and Tom Kohler-Cadmore did not suffer from the comparison.Since he began the T20 season with a fast hundred against Durham, Kohler-Cadmore has carried threat at the top of the order and it was evident again in his 30 from 20 balls before Steven Mullaney’s first ball – the first after the powerplay – struck his off stump as he tried to run a straight ball to third man.On such a surface, Mullaney slow-medium cutters had an immediate effect. When it comes to being effective and unsung in T20 cricket, he ticks both boxes and Moeen perished trying to hit him down the ground. Nobody would have been more relieved about that than Patel, whose first over had just gone for 14 with Moeen giving the impression he could imagine nothing more agreeable.From that point, 75.2 in 8.3 overs, it was a struggle for Worcestershire. Nottinghamshire cranked up the bowling variations in the second half of the innings – Russell deceiving Ross Whiteley’s slog with a slower one – and Worcestershire ground to a halt. It took Clarke’s maiden T20 fifty to rouse them as 43 came off the last four overs.It was a hard-working innings from a talented young batsman learning with every over, his drives stylish, his attempts at invention – notably the scoop shot – not always coming off. On many days, his 69 from 48 balls might have secured victory, only for Russell’s song and dance to win the day.

Sri Lanka fast bowler Shaminda Eranga has been reported for a suspect action following the second Test against England in Chester-le-Street

ESPNcricinfo staff31-May-2016Sri Lanka fast bowler Shaminda Eranga has been reported for a suspect action following the second Test against England in Chester-le-Street.Eranga must have his action tested at an ICC accredited centre within 14 days – Loughborough University in England is his closest option – but can continue bowling until the result of that test is known.The Chester-le-Street Test was umpired by Aleem Dar and S Ravi, with Andy Pycroft as match referee. This is the first time Eranga’s action has been called into question – in his 18th Test. If it is found to be illegal, he will be barred from bowling in international cricket until he remodels his action and has it cleared at an ICC accredited centre.Losing Eranga could be a big blow to an already depleted Sri Lankan attack on a what is shaping up to be a disastrous tour of England. They had already lost first-choice quicks Dhammika Prasad and Dushmantha Chameera to injury, and are 2-0 down in the three-Test series, suffering heavy defeats. Eranga, however, has not been effective in the series so far, picking up just one wicket in 47 overs across three innings.

Tillakaratne Dilshan has informed Sri Lanka Cricket that he will be unavailable for the limited-overs series in England and Ireland, owing to personal issues. The limited-overs squads for England have not yet been named, but Sri Lanka are scheduled to play five ODIs and a T20 international in the country, as well as two ODIs in Dublin soon after the third Test.The news is a significant blow to the team, as Dilshan has been Sri Lanka’s most-consistent limited-overs batsman over the past two years. In 2015 Dilshan hit 1207 ODI runs at an average of 52.47. That aggregate put him on third on the year’s run-scorers’ list.His withdrawal also extends the instability Sri Lanka have experienced at the top of their limited-overs batting order. Kusal Perera is expected to open the batting in the shorter formats after being cleared of doping charges, but Sri Lanka will now have to find a partner for him for the series.Dilshan, now 39, had suggested he was not thinking of limited-overs retirement during the recent World T20. He retired from Tests in late 2013.The ODIs commence on June 16, in Ireland, before Sri Lanka return to play England. The first match of that series is at Nottingham on June 21.

Leeds United forward Wilfried Gnonto has been fully fit for selection in the club’s last two Premier League games, according to a source close to the player.

What’s the latest Leeds news on Gnonto?

Gnonto arrived in the summer from FC Zurich and has made 23 appearances during his first season at Elland Road. The Italy international has scored four times and registered three assists for the Whites but has fallen out of favour under current head coach JavI Gracia.

The forward has played just 53 minutes of action in the club’s last six league games, failing to get on from the bench in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Leicester.

Many inside the stadium and in the media were left surprised that the 19-year-old didn’t feature in the week, which led to Gracia being quizzed on why he didn’t use Gnonto following the game.

LUFCFANZONE posted on Twitter in the last 48 hours after hearing from “a source close to the player”. They said that Gnonto suffered a small injury prior to the 6-1 defeat to Liverpool but has been fully fit for selection against Fulham and Leicester.

“Before the Liverpool game Willy sustained a small injury. He was 80% fit for the Liverpool game but has been 100% and available full strength for every game after.”

Worrying for all involved…

Phil Hay has described the situation as strange and compared it to Joe Gelhardt last season, but it is a worry that Gnonto has been fully fit and has played just 10 minutes in the last two games.

He has made things happen this season, registering the same number of assists as Brenden Aaronson in half the playing time while also providing moments of brilliance such as the opener at Old Trafford and stunning volley against Cardiff City.

Gnonto was backed by Hay to be key in the club’s battle to avoid the drop just last month, so it is concerning that he simply isn’t fancied by Gracia, with Conor McGilligan even suggesting there may have been a clash between the pair, something which many may feel could be accurate following this update.

It's not as if Leeds have been free-flowing in the final third without Gnonto either, and with Luis SInisterra going off injured against Leicester, it looks like it is between Jack Harrison, Crysencio Summerville and Gnonto for two starting spots on the wing against Bournemouth this weekend, in what appears to be a make or break game for Leeds in their attempts to avoid the drop.

Mitchell Starc has admitted to feeling a little frustrated at having to sit out of matches in the ongoing tri-series in the West Indies, but said he understood that his workload management was important

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jun-2016Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc has admitted to feeling a little frustrated at having to sit out of matches in the ongoing tri-series in the West Indies, but said he understood that his workload management was important with a busy season ahead.Starc, who made his international return in this series after a long injury lay-off, played only two of Australia’s four matches so far, taking five wickets. He is expected to play against South Africa on Sunday.

Khawaja acknowledges team support during Ramadan

Australia batsman Usman Khawaja has acknowledged the support of the team management while he observes the Muslim fasting period of Ramadan. Khawaja told that he had been fasting whenever possible during the series, while managing playing and training.
“It’s been alright. It’s something that I really enjoy doing, but if it’s affecting my cricket or my training in too much of a negative way, then I probably won’t do it,” he said. “It just depends on the situation.
“They don’t force me to do anything. It’s a choice, it’s my personal choice. They know that at the end of the day I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardise the team in any way.
“And what I’m doing now, I’ve said to them before that when I fast, I make sure I do everything as well as I can. And if I’m not doing it as well as I can, I will stop doing it and catch it up later on, which is always an option.”

“It’s part of the plan unfortunately,” Starc told . “Being fit this time around and watching from the side can be a little bit frustrating. But I’ve got to look at the bigger picture and there’s a lot to come in the next six months, so I’ll stick by the plan and stick by what the medicos tell me to do. I don’t have too much say in it. I want to play every game.”The bigger picture (is) we have three Tests against Sri Lanka, a one-day series that follows that, a one-day series in South Africa and then we’ve got the home summer. It’s feeling really good, but I’ve just got to manage that at this point in time. That’s for the medicos to do and me to sit back, unfortunately.”Starc said he was accustomed to having the team’s medical staff determine his playing schedule to keep him fit over the course of a season, particularly after his previous struggles with fitness. Starc battled long-term ankle problems and the injury flared up again during the Ashes Test in Cardiff last year. He then underwent surgery on the ankle in December while recovering from a fractured foot he suffered during the Adelaide Test against New Zealand.Australia also have a packed calendar in 2016-17. After the tri-series, they will tour Sri Lanka and then play an ODI series in South Africa. They will host four teams over the home summer – South Africa, Pakistan, New Zealand and Sri Lanka – before ending their season with a tour of India in February-March 2017.”I’m getting used to being told what to do,” Starc said with a smile. “It’d be really nice to play every single game, but the sheer amount of cricket we play these days, if you play every game, you’re going to break down at some point, so you have to be a little bit smarter about it.”At the moment, I’m feeling really good. I’m feeling strong and ready to go at every point. It’s about me getting right for the next game, and if that involves playing, that’s lovely. But if it means I have to rest or sit out here and there, I’ll have to cop that on the chin as well.”It’s about finding that happy medium, where you’re not bowling yourself into the ground and you’re injured every 12 months. But at the same time, you want to keep that rhythm and be fresh enough to play as much as you can.”Starc, who has played 48 ODIs and taken 95 wickets, is within sight of a record. He needs five wickets to become the fastest bowler to 100 ODI wickets, a record currently held by former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq, who got to the landmark in 53 matches.Incidentally, Australia have lost both matches in which Starc was rested. With two wins in four matches, they are placed second on the points table, behind South Africa, who lead with 10 points after their two bonus-point victories.

Just 17 overs of play were possible on the third day of Middlesex’s Championship match with Hampshire at Merchant Taylor’s School due to a combination of rain and bad light

Will Macpherson at Merchant Taylors' School31-May-2016
ScorecardTim Murtagh picked up a wicket during a curtailed evening session•Getty Images

Just 17 overs of play were possible on the third day of Middlesex’s Championship match with Hampshire at Merchant Taylor’s School due to a combination of rain and bad light. The entire first two sessions were washed out, with play only getting underway at 4pm. Just over an hour later, the players were off again, with the light having worsened.With captain Adam Voges limited in which bowling options he could use due to the murky light, Middlesex managed to take just one of the seven Hampshire wickets they require for victory, Liam Dawson gloving a lifter from Tim Murtagh to gully, where Sam Robson took a fine low catch. Murtagh, as ever, made a habit of beating the outside edge as Voges kept plenty of fielders behind the wicket.Former Hampshire captain Jimmy Adams weathered a testing spell from Murtagh and James Franklin – the only seamers available to Voges with Toby Roland-Jones and James Fuller considered too quick for the light – looking in good touch to move to 47. Adams played some fine drives off the seamers and cuts off spinners Ollie Rayner and Paul Stirling as the light deteriorated, men gathered round the bat and the ball began to spit.He was joined by debutant Joe Weatherley, who battled to reach 4 from 36 deliveries before the players left the field with Hampshire 100 for 4. At 5.55pm, stumps were called.Middlesex return on Wednesday, when more inclement weather is forecast after lunch, requiring six more wickets for their first win of the season after an utterly dominant first two days. Centuries for Dawid Malan, Adam Voges and John Simpson set up a total of 467 for 3 declared, before outstanding bowling from Murtagh and Roland-Jones, who shared eight first-innings wickets, saw Hampshire bowled out for 131 and made to follow on.

Ashley Young will certainly have had his doubters when he returned to Aston Villa at the age of 35 but the veteran full-back has proven himself to be an incredibly important member of Unai Emery's squad.

The former Manchester United man was brought back to Villa Park by Dean Smith in the summer of 2021, having previously made 190 appearances for the Villans between 2007-2011, contributing 37 goals and 58 assists.

He returned as a full-back on a free transfer and has been a regular under Smith, Steven Gerrard and now Emery, and could soon be on the brink of agreeing to a well-deserved contract extension with the Midlands club.

Will Young sign a contract extension at Aston Villa?

Despite the fact that Young will turn 38 in the summer, he has been a consistent force under Emery in the absence of Matty Cash and the Spaniard clearly wants him to sign a new deal, confirming that they will sit down for talks in the coming weeks.

He said: “You can’t tell, how old is he – 25, 30, 33? Maybe. 38?! OK, maybe. But for me, it changes nothing, 22 or 38.

“I know he is finishing his contract. I spoke with him and we are going to decide but I am happy with him. He uses his experiences to help the team and I appreciate it a lot."

In total, the experienced full-back has made 23 Premier League appearances this season and has started the last four games, helping Emery's side to impressive wins over Newcastle United, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Leicester City.

The former England international's 6.64 average rating from WhoScored is hardly awe-inspiring but it does see him ranked as the ninth-best performer so far this term, ahead of usual first-choice Cash, which emphasises just how impressive he has been at the back.

As Villa's oldest player, he also brings a wealth of experience on and off the pitch, and will undoubtedly be one of the leaders in the dressing room for Emery, so it can only be a good thing for the Spanish manager that he could be at the club again next season, especially if they find themselves playing European football.

Gerrard emphasised this in his time at the club, saying:

“I know Ashley extremely well and I must say he has been absolutely outstanding since we’ve walked through the door. Not just on the training pitch – his leadership and the standards he sets.

Young's quality, versatility and leadership make him a superb squad player for Emery to have, so it would be a huge boost if he signs on for another year at Villa Park.