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Wicketkeeper Polly Inglis has received a maiden call-up to New Zealand’s squad for the three-match ODI series against India starting later this week. Inglis, 28, plays for Otago Sparks in the Women’s Super Smash and earned her first New Zealand Cricket (NZC) central contract earlier this year.Batter Lauren Down has also made been included in the 15-member squad after she made her return from maternity break in July. The pair’s inclusion is the only change to the squad that helped New Zealand win their maiden Women’s T20 World Cup title.From the victorious squad, fast bowler Rosemary Mair has been rested, keeping in mind her workload management following her return from a serious back injury, while offspinner Leigh Kasperek has been left out.Related

• Lauren Down back on NZC's central-contracts list

The core of the T20 World Cup-winning team, including the senior trio of Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates and Lea Tahuhu are part of the touring party. Devine will continue to lead them in the ODIs following her decision to step down as the T20I captain after the World Cup.Inglis’ strong performances in domestic cricket first helped her earn a contract and then a spot in the national squad. She scored 324 runs – the second-most in the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield 2023-24, the 50-over competition – at an average of 54 and a strike rate close to 80, largely batting the middle order. She also scored 103 in the three-match one-day series between New Zealand A and England A that they won 2-1.”We’re really excited to introduce Polly for her first tour,” Ben Sawyer said in a NZC statement. “She put her hand up in last season’s Hallyburton Johnstone Shield one-day competition and throughout the New Zealand A series against England, so it’s a great next step for her.”Touring India is one of the great experiences in world cricket. It’s such a special place to come and I know everyone is looking forward to the challenge ahead.”The three ODIs, to be played in Ahmedabad, are part of the Women’s Championship. New Zealand are currently placed sixth on the table with a three-match series against Australia to follow. The top five teams plus hosts India qualify directly for the Women’s ODI World Cup next year.

New Zealand squad for the women’s ODIs against India

Sophie Devine (capt), Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Lauren Down, Izzy Gaze (wk), Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Polly Inglis (wk), Fran Jonas, Jess Kerr, Amelia Kerr, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu

Wolverhampton Wanderers are showing serious interest in signing a “fantastic” defender who is now a free agent after leaving a top flight club this summer.

The Midlands side have added two new signings, who are both wingers, to their squad so far this summer, as well as the permanent arrival of striker Jorgen Strand Larsen. But given the hole that has been left by Matheus Cunha’s departure to Manchester United, Wolves are still in the market for more attackers.

Wolves join race for £23m winger with "electric pace", he's open to PL move

The Old Gold have set their sights on a new forward.

ByDominic Lund Jul 28, 2025

Last week it was reported that Wolves are in the race alongside Aston Villa to sign striker Mika Biereth from AS Monaco. The 22-year-old only joined the French side in January but scored 13 goals in just 16 league games, form that has placed him on the radar of a few English teams. Biereth is under contract until 2030, but Monaco are said to be open to letting the player leave should they receive a fee of £40 million.

The Premier League side are also looking to add another winger to their mix, and according to a report from ESPN, Wolves are interested in signing Amine Adli from German side Bayer Leverkusen. The Morocco international has attracted interest from West Ham as well, and the player himself is said to be open to the idea of playing in England. Adli played an important role in Leverkusen’s title-winning 2023/24 campaign, but they are open to letting the player leave for around a fee of £23 million.

Wolves showing interest in "fantastic" free agent

While new attackers may be on Vitor Pereira’s mind, the Premier League side are also scouring the market for a new right-back after losing Nélson Semedo. Now, according to talkSPORT reporter Alex Crook, Wolves are interested in signing free agent Vladimir Coufal.

The 32-year-old joined West Ham back in 2020 and spent five years at the club, helping them back into Europe, and he played an important part in their UEFA Conference League success. However, at the end of last season, the Hammers decided against renewing his contract, and now the Czechia international is continuing his search to try and find a new team.

Under David Moyes, Coufal, who has been dubbed “fantastic” by former teammate Ben Johnson, was a regular for the Hammers. But last season, the right-back played just 22 games in the Premier League, with only 11 coming as a starter.

Apps

22

Starts

11

Touches per game

35.0

Interceptions per game

0.4

Tackles per game

1.0

Clearances per game

1.6

Duels won per game (success rate)

3.0 (50%)

The Old Gold do have Matt Doherty, Pedro Lima and Ki-Jana Hoever as their current right-back options, but with a strong possibility that one of them leaves, a free transfer for a player with over 140 games in England’s top flight looks a no brainer.

After sealing a dramatic promotion to the Premier League last season in Regis Le Bris’ first season in charge, Sunderland are now planning for life back in the big time.

The Black Cats are splashing the cash as they look to buck the recent trend and avoid relegation at the first time of asking, with sporting director Kristjaan Speakman already making moves in the transfer market.

Sunderland’s Premier League return will begin on August 16 against West Ham, but who will be in Le Bris’ side? Grok, the AI tool on X, has forecasted Sunderland’s line-up for 25/26.

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1 ByCharlie Smith Jun 7, 2025 AI predicts Sunderland’s 2025/26 line-up 11 GK: Anthony Patterson

After an impressive playoff final display against Sheffield United, Anthony Patterson could get his chance to star in the Premier League with Sunderland.

Although Sunderland have been linked with new ‘keepers, Patterson has been predicted to get the nod under Le Bris.

10 RB: Kyle-Walker Peters

A free agent after leaving Southampton, Kyle-Walker Peters could continue in red and white with Sunderland.

A reported target, Grok says the right-back’s ’versatility and Premier League experience’ could make him ‘a shrewd addition to solidify the right flank.’

9 CB: Chris Mepham

After a successful loan spell at the Stadium of Light, Chris Mepham has been predicted to return to Sunderland on a permanent transfer from Bournemouth.

Games

40

Goals

1

Yellow cards

10

Red cards

1

Minutes played

3,363

The Wales international is still just 27 years of age, and it is claimed a permanent move would be sensible ‘due to his composure and Premier League experience’.

8 CB: Dan Ballard

Sunderland’s playoff semi-final hero Dan Ballard looks set to get his chance in the top flight under Le Bris, something which many Black Cats fans won’t mind at all.

Grok states that Ballard ‘remains a key figure and is contracted long-term, forming a solid partnership’ with Mepham if he signs permanently.

7 LB: Reinildo Mandava

Sunderland are on course to sign left-back Reinildo Mandava following his departure from Atletico Madrid this summer.

A free transfer is on the cards, and the 31-year-old’s ‘experience adds depth and competition to the left-back position’.

6 CM: Habib Diarra

Club record signing Habib Diarra was always going to make the XI after Sunderland spent around £30m on the Senegal international.

Diarra is a straight replacement for Jobe Bellingham who left for Borussia Dortmund, and he should slot into a box-to-box role.

5 CM: Noah Sadiki

Another new addition in midfield is Noah Sadiki, who has joined from Union Saint-Gilloise in a deal worth up to £17.5m.

Capable of also playing as a right-back if needed, Sadiki will offer that tactical versatility for Le Bris but has been predicted to start in his primary midfield role.

4 CM: Chris Rigg

Completing the midfield is Black Cats gem Chris Rigg, who looked like he would be leaving the Stadium of Light if Sunderland weren’t promoted last season.

However, he could now shine in the Premier League for Sunderland and is descried as ‘a mainstay in the squad, with his versatility and goal-scoring ability making him a key player in the No. 10 role’.

3 RW: Gaetan Perrin

Gaetan Perrin has been mentioned as a possible target for the right wing, although nothing concrete has materialised so far.

Games

155

Goals

28

Assists

25

Yellow cards

6

Minutes played

9,623

Grok says the Auxerre star’s ‘pace and directness could complement Le Bris’ attacking system, especially with Patrick Roberts needing competition’.

2 LW: Enzo Le Fee

Making his loan move permanent following promotion for around £20m, Enzo Le Fee was always going to be in Grok’s Sunderland XI.

The Frenchman adds ‘creativity and energy’ to Le Bris’ side and was used on the left on numerous occasions in 24/25.

Crystal Palace now hold strong interest in signing a £30m defender, who’s also a target for Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, according to a report.

Palace looking to strengthen with Europe on the horizon

Not only did Palace win the first major piece of silverware in their history courtesy of the 1-0 FA Cup final victory against Manchester City, but they also secured qualification for the 2025-26 Europa League, which could be quite the adventure for supporters.

This week, however, it was revealed the Eagles may not get to play in the competition, given their multi-club ownership model, although John Textor is willing to sell his shares in the club on the cheap to allow them to compete.

A meeting has been held to discuss the south Londoners’ involvement, but UEFA are yet to make a decision, meaning it is still very much up in the air whether Oliver Glasner’s side will be allowed to play in the prestigious competition.

It is thought that a decision will be made in around a week, which means the hierarchy must continue planning for the summer transfer window in the meantime, and they have now set their sights on a Bayern Munich target.

Indeed, according to a report from L’Equipe (via Get French Football News), Crystal Palace now hold strong interest in signing Burnley defender Maxime Esteve, having identified him as a priority target for the summer.

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Palace have now joined the race for a defender, who is “expected” to leave his current club this summer.

ByDominic Lund Jun 4, 2025

However, there could be competition for Esteve’s signature, with Everton stepping up their interest in recent days, while the Bundesliga champions are also thought to be keen, although not to the same degree as Palace.

Having played a key role in Burnley’s promotion to the Premier League, the Clarets should be in a strong position to command a good fee for the centre-back, and previous reports have suggested they could hold out for around £30m.

"Phenomenon" Esteve could be ideal Guehi replacement

This summer will be the Eagles’ last chance to cash-in on their captain, with his contract set to expire next June, meaning Glasner could be faced with the momentous task of finding a replacement for the Englishman.

Of course, no Palace fan will want to see Guehi leave, but there are indications the Frenchman could be an ideal replacement, given the role he played in Burnley’s promotion last season, featuring in all 46 Championship games as his side shipped just 16 goals.

The 23-year-old is also at a good age to be a long-term success at Selhurst Park, and he has been praised by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, who described the defender as a “true athletic phenomenon with some really good ball skills.”

Should they be allowed to compete in Europe, Crystal Palace will be in a good position to attract some top players this summer, and there are plenty of signs Esteve is in that category.

Arsenal have been blessed with some utterly superb strikers in the past.

From Ian Wright in the early 1990s to the legendary Thierry Henry in the 2000s and even Robin Van Persie in the early 2010s – although the less said about him, the better.

However, while the team are in a far better place than they were five or six years ago, it would probably be fair to say that the last great striker who played for the club left in 2022, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Fortunately, Mikel Arteta and Co finally seem to be addressing the squad’s need for a clinical number nine, as recent reports have touted one of Europe’s most exciting strikers for an imminent move to the Emirates, a striker who’d be Arsenal’s best since Aubameyang.

Arsenal's striker search

Given Arsenal’s lack of goalscoring threat this season, it’s hardly surprising that the last few weeks have seen a number of top strikers linked with the club, such as Evann Guessand and Serhou Guirassy.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

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The former could reportedly be available for just £25m this summer, and while he might not be particularly well known to Premier League fans, his tally of 13 goals and 10 assists in 42 games for OGC Nice suggests he’d be worth picking up.

Guirassy, on the other hand, has a release clause worth £59m in his contract, but that too might prove to be more than fair, as in 45 appearances for Borussia Dortmund this season, he’s racked up a stellar haul of 34 goals and nine assists, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.04 games.

However, to ensure they sign someone who’d be their best striker since Aubameyang, the Gunners might want someone even more prolific than the Guinea international, someone like Viktor Gyokeres.

According to a recent report from Monday’s print edition of Portuguese outlet O Jogo, as relayed by Football Transfers, Arsenal have made massive progress in their pursuit of the Swedish international.

In fact, the report goes a step further, revealing that the North Londoners have struck a €65m – £55m – deal with Sporting ‘to sign the striker’ and that they will ‘officially complete the signing’ next week.

It’s a lot of money to spend on a forward from outside a top-five league, but given Gyokeres’ simply unreal record, it looks like it’ll be money well spent, especially as he could be the club’s best nine since Aubameyang.

Why Gyokeres will be Arsenal's best striker since Auba

While he left in unceremonious fashion and wasn’t exactly lethal towards the end of his time in North London, it cannot be forgotten that for much of his time at Arsenal, Auba was a tour de force in front of goal.

For example, he became the fastest player in club history to hit 50 Premier League goals in July 2020, and then, even with his downturn towards the last 18 months of his time at the Emirates, he left the club with a brilliant record of 92 goals and 21 assists in 163 games.

Since he left, Arteta has used Alexandre Lacazette, Gabriel Jesus, and Kai Havertz as his starting strikers, and while they’ve all done well enough here and there, none of them have been or are particularly prolific.

Gyokeres at Sporting vs Arsenal’s recent CFs

Player

Gyokeres

Lacazette*

Jesus*

Havertz*

Appearances (*at Arsenal)

101

206

96

86

Minutes

8297′

13222′

5461′

6617′

Goals

96

71

26

29

Assists

28

35

20

13

Goal Involvements per Match

1.22

0.51

0.47

0.48

Minutes per Goal Involvement

66.91′

124.73′

118.71′

157.54

All Stats via Transfermarkt

For example, the Frenchman left the club with 71 goals and 35 assists in 206 games, while the Brazilian has amassed 26 goals and 20 assists in 96 games, and the German has 29 goals and 13 assists in 86 games.

In contrast, Gyokeres has been simply unstoppable since moving to Lisbon in the summer of 2023.

In 101 appearances for the Portuguese champions, the goalscoring “monster,” as dubbed by data analyst Ben Mattinson, has put the ball in the back of the net on 96 occasions and provided 28 assists, which equates to a sensational average of 1.22 goal involvements per game for just under two years.

Moreover, the Stockholm-born phenomenon has also been a dangerous outlet for the Swedish national side, as in just 26 appearances, totalling 1568 minutes, he has scored 15 goals and provided six assists, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.23 games, or every 74.66 minutes.

Ultimately, while Arteta has had some talented forwards in his squad since Auba left, Gyokeres looks like he could be the first one to match the Gabonese icon’s ability, making his supposed signing look like a masterstroke.

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Everton and their hierarchy are now pushing to complete the signing of a £12 million attacker who has told his entourage to get the deal done, according to a recent report.

Everton chasing multiple signings to kick off summer business

The Toffees are one of several sides in the Premier League who have nothing to play for in the remaining games of the season, but will want to carry plenty of momentum into the new campaign. Club chiefs at Goodison Park however appear to be turning their attention towards the summer and the business they would like to conclude.

Moyes' biggest star since Rooney: Everton leading race to sign £38m star

Everton appear to be making moves to land a talented youngster ahead of this summer.

ByEthan Lamb Apr 24, 2025

Strengthening the options in defence seems to be a high priority for David Moyes, as they have already been linked with a shock move for Liverpool’s Jarell Quansah, who has now been backed to make the move to Everton by former scout Bryan King. The Toffees are also interested in signing David Hancko from Feyenoord, but it is not a cheap deal, as the Dutch side want to get around £34 million for his services.

It’s also been stated that Moyes is keen to strengthen his forward line, as goals have been somewhat of a problem, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin could leave for nothing come the end of the season. Brighton’s Evan Ferguson has been identified as their top target for a new centre-forward, as his future with the Seagulls is very much up in the air.

Everton are pushing to sign £12m winger Moses Simon

As well as looking at Ferguson, the Toffees are also looking at other attacking additions, and according to Africa Foot, relayed by Sport Witness, Everton have identified Moses Simon as a transfer target heading into the summer.

The report states that the Toffees are pushing to complete a deal for Simon after sending scouts to watch him live in action in Ligue 1 in the last few weeks. The Nantes winger is said to have left them impressed, and now the Premier League side are working on a deal, with Simon telling his agent to do whatever needs to be done to complete a move to Everton in the summer transfer window.

Interestingly, his agency CAA Base also represent one of Everton’s coaching staff, Dan Micciche, who is the Toffees’ Player Development Lead.

The French club do not want to sell Simon, despite his contract ending at the end of next season. However, their stance on selling the 29-year-old will change if they receive a bid worth €15 million, which is roughly £12.8 million. The Toffees meanwhile believe they could take advantage of Simon’s contract and bring him to England for less than the price Nantes want.

Apps

173

Goals

32

Assists

37

The Nigeria international has scored seven goals and recorded nine assists in 28 Ligue 1 games this season, which is his best return in his career. Everton may need to strengthen in the wide areas this summer, as there is uncertainty over the future of Jack Harrison and Jesper Lindstrom, who are both on loan until the end of the campaign.

INEOS and Manchester United have now reportedly sent scouts to watch one defensive target as they begin to plot a summer swoop to secure his signature and ease their Lisandro Martinez injury woes.

Man Utd still targeting defensive additions

After Anthony Elanga ran the length of the pitch before firing home for Nottingham Forest in midweek, it should come as no surprise that Manchester United are still seeking defensive reinforcements. Now in April, the Red Devils are yet to win back-to-back games in the Premier League and their defensive issues in Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 system have played a large part in what has been a disastrous campaign.

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Man Utd

01/04/2025

Leicester City 0-3 Man Utd

16/03/2025

Man Utd 1-1 Arsenal

09/03/2025

Man Utd 3-2 Ipswich Town

26/02/2025

Everton 2-2 Man Utd

22/02/2025

It should not go without saying, however, that defeat at the City Ground was United’s first in five league games and Amorim echoed that positivity in his post-match press conference, telling reporters: “It’s more [of] the same since this season began. So I think if you look at the game we are improving the way we play football. We are creating more chances, we are dominating more games.

“But in the end, when you don’t win, you feel that and that is a good thing. So we know that this season is going to be like that, the momentum. So we continue to go to the next [game].”

The former Sporting Club boss may well look at his side’s recent run as something to build on before welcoming some key additions. Among those already linked with a summer switch to Manchester United includes Oumar Solet. The Udinese centre-back has impressed at times this season and now has a queue beginning to form for his signature, with United in that queue.

Solet isn’t the only defender that has caught the eye of those at Old Trafford, however, with another Serie A star emerging on INEOS’ reported radar.

Man Utd plotting move to sign "superb" Comuzzo

According to Caught Offside, INEOS and Manchester United are now plotting a summer swoop to sign Pietro Comuzzo from Fiorentina this summer and have already sent scouts to watch the 20-year-old in action. Valued at around €45m (£38m) by the Italian club, the deal should be within the Red Devils’ range even as their cost-cutting measures continue around the club.

Dubbed “superb” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, Comuzzo’s arrival would instantly see the injured Martinez replaced next season, before Amorim is handed the ultimate selection headache when the Argentine completes his eventual return.

Hazlewood has been outstanding in the IPL following injury and indications from last season are that the hierarchy remains

Andrew McGlashan01-May-20252:12

What makes Hazlewood a much-improved T20 bowler?

Plenty of Australian cricketers are currently plying their trade overseas, and Josh Hazlewood is going as well as any of them for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the IPL in what has been an encouraging return from injury and shapes as bad news for Scott Boland’s hopes of featuring in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.As of Thursday, Hazlewood was the leading wicket-taker in the IPL – with 18 wickets in ten matches – and while the role and requirements of T20 are considerably different to a Test match, his trademark back-of-a-length mode of attack has been key to a number of his dismissals.Two years ago, Boland was the beneficiary when the selectors opted to preserve Hazlewood for the Ashes that followed the WTC final against India as he returned from a side injury picked up in that season’s IPL. Boland went on to bowl brilliantly at The Oval, claiming five wickets in the match, as Australia won the mace by 209 runs. This time, barring any setbacks for Hazlewood over the next month, it looks like going the other way.Related

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RCB have the (Hazle)wood on their opponents now

For all Boland’s success that sees him sit with a Test record of 56 wickets at 17.66 from 13 matches he has only once been a first-choice selection when the big three quicks have been fit or not rotated: that was the opening Test of the 2023 Ashes when he was selected ahead of Mitchell Starc at Edgbaston. The two matches Boland played in that series have been the only occasion when a team has consistently dominated him – he finished with two wickets at 115.50 and an economy rate of 4.91 – as England’s Bazballers used his metronomic length to their advantage.Last season against India, Boland was the ultimate super sub. He replaced an injured Hazlewood in Adelaide where he zipped the pink ball around but then immediately made way in Brisbane only for Hazlewood to then suffer a calf strain. Boland took 16 wickets in the next two matches at the MCG and SCG, but the pace-bowling hierarchy remained clear. Again, Boland will likely need someone else’s misfortune to make the XI at Lord’s.Josh Hazlewood had an interrupted series against India•Getty ImagesHazlewood cut a distraught and frustrated figure as he walked off the Gabba after a ginger one-over spell on the fourth day after he tested the extent of the calf strain. Having emerged from an injury-hit period between 2021 and 2023, where he played just four Tests, he featured in 12 out of 13 matches after the WTC final, only missing at Headingley in the Ashes when he was rested.As Hazlewood recovered from the calf injury, a hip problem emerged, which ruled him out of the Champions Trophy. Through the various setbacks – both the recent ones and during 2021-2023 period – Hazlewood has remained adamant that it’s largely been bad timing rather than an indication that his body is becoming a genuine concern although Aaron Finch has previously suggested the selectors may need to start cherry-picking the Tests he plays.”I’ve had a little history of sides and calves, they are probably the two things that have kept me out for the majority of the last four years, but I [can] sort of just keep adding another layer to the defence hopefully,” he said late last year. “I’ve ticked a lot of boxes in the last 12 months and it’s just the timing again – they are only little two or three-week injuries, it’s just the timing of it and missing big games so that’s probably the frustrating thing.”Hazlewood has the 300-wicket mark in his sights should he be able to string appearances together this year, currently sitting on 279 at 24.57. There are landmarks approaching for all the big three: Pat Cummins is on 294 Test wickets, while Starc has 382 and is four games away from reaching 100 caps.There will be a couple of training camps in Brisbane during May for the Australian players who are based at home, which includes Boland who opted not to play county cricket after finishing the domestic season with a knee niggle.Initial WTC final squads, which will be 15 players, need to be submitted to the ICC by May 11 but can be amended until the end of the month. After that, the technical committee’s approval will be required for any injury replacements. Australia are expected to have a couple of travelling reserves with them in England, from where they head straight to the West Indies for a three-Test series.

Remarkable spectacle proved a winning tactic, though few at Lord’s will want to see it reenacted

Vithushan Ehantharajah01-Jul-2023Having been undone by a desire to hook anything and everything in their first innings, England had a bright idea. Why not try and tempt Australia to be just as foolish?On the face of it, the reasoning was deeply flawed. Australia arrived on day four with the match situation very much in their favour, resuming their second innings on 130 for 2, with an overnight lead of 221. They had no reason to play (short) ball, no obligation to do as England had in chaotically flailing with cross-batted shots to relinquish their strong position. They had already seen England jam their hands in the toaster – there was no need to burn themselves in similar fashion.And yet, they did. Not straight away, mind. This was more a reluctant, slow-burn set of brain fades. All of their final eight batters succumbed to a nonstop, at times nonsensical, barrage of short-pitch bowling, seemingly out of boredom.Related

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The results were broadly similar, and arguably more impactful from England’s perspective as a usually unflappable Steven Smith swung Josh Tongue to Zak Crawley at backward square leg. A dismissal all the more surprising given Travis Head had been dropped the ball before. Even with the wake-up call to switch back on still ringing in his ears, the most switched-on batter in world cricket was dozy.Australia’s decision of when they might let England bat was taken out of their hands with mistimed pulls, the odd hook and a few pop-ups to close catchers. All for the addition of just 149 runs across 56.1 overs.This was very different to Australia’s more calculated approach with the ball. Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson and Tongue dealt almost exclusively in deliveries pitching on their side of the pitch (James Anderson only bowled two overs after his regulation opening foray). Pretty much every ball after lunch was banged in – 98% according to Sky’s coverage – and it continued even when a lame Nathan Lyon hobbled out to the middle and was clearly going to struggle with anything aimed at his stumps.In total, England bowled 302 “short” balls, including those adjudged no balls and wides. An entire ODI innings (and change) trying to strike oil through the very middle of Lord’s. Absurd, frankly. By stumps, the gloss of that effort had been chipped by a fuller Australian approach which left England four down with 257 still to get.Nevertheless, it was remarkable to see an English attack shedding a lifetime of fuller lengths, nip, swing, wobble for this modern Bodyline remake. The effort put in, particularly by Anderson, Broad and Robinson, suggests three days will not be a long enough turnaround to replenish their energy levels ahead of the third Test at Headingley which begins on Thursday. They will have gone to bed very sore.None more than Ben Stokes. A 12-over spell after lunch was something of a throwback, albeit with the very new proposition of doing it on one knee. The discomfort ramped up with each over, and in turn the worry if such an approach was feasible considering he possesses the best bouncers of the group. But part of his captaincy has been about never asking his players to do something he wouldn’t. So here he was, tearing in and, as a result, tearing himself apart. The wicket he pocketed of Josh Hazlewood was momentary relief.It was sore on the eyes, too. There were large passages of impasse, particularly during a 20-over stand between Alex Carey and Cameron Green which produced just 42 runs. At times, as balls were either collected down the leg side by wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow or missed as they arrived to him on the bounce, you wondered if this was doing the image of Test cricket more harm than good.”I don’t know,” answered an honest Marcus Trescothick, England’s batting coach, when asked if he thought it was good viewing.He observed both sides had taken different approaches to facing the barrage and it was hard to say at this juncture which way was best. Granted, England’s errors were more high profile, with Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root and Harry Brook careless as they contributed to a nosedive from 188 for 1 to 325 all out. Could Australia have committed a bit more and in turn given England a stiffer chase than 371?

“When the ball gets old and the pitch gets so flat, you might see a lot more of it in future times to come. And how that will adapt Test cricket, I have no idea at this point”Marcus Trescothick

“We lost wickets to the short ball, of course we did,” Trescothick said. “But I think over the course of today, let’s put that in context: when Australia were batting, they didn’t take on the short ball as much but they still lost wickets and didn’t score as many runs.”As Australia’s second innings wound down, the conflicting emotions about whether any of this was good, interesting, helpful or even legal – given at times there were more than two shoulder-height balls per over – raged on. But one thing Trescothick was certain on was this was a tactic he expects to see more and more. England were able to control the run rate and make inroads on a surface seemingly conducive to neither, certainly not at the same time.”It might change the way the game is played,” Trescothick said. “When the ball gets old and the pitch gets so flat, you might see a lot more of it in future times to come. And how that will adapt Test cricket, I have no idea at this point. But it was very, very different in comparison to what we see. We could be seeing something that might need to be understood or adapted in the future. Because it was different, and not Test cricket as we generally know it.”It’s worth pointing out that, well, bowling short on quiet decks has been a thing since forever. Neil Wagner has made an entire career out this, and it was only back in February that his pitch-pounding efforts inspired New Zealand to that famous one-run win in Wellington.For those keeping track, add “bouncers” to “outswingers” and “scoring boundaries” as the latest things this England side are taking credit for. In all seriousness, there was something admirable about such back-breaking pragmatism from a group of bowlers who are not getting much help from their batters.Trescothick anticipated Australia will move to the short ball at some point on day five, and he is not wrong about that. But they will do so with a bit more nuance, even if they know England are trigger-happy hookers. Their extra pace, as evidenced by a second bouncing out of Root – Cummins with successive rising bumpers that first shocked England’s best batter before sending him back with one he was powerless to avoid – gives them a far greater edge. And, frankly, it is eminently more watchable.Therein lies the main takeaway. England did what they had to do and did it well. But for all who were there watching the self-proclaimed entertainers hammer the middle of the pitch, the prevailing hope was for better pitches going forward so we never have to sit through this again.Until Sunday, of course, when England will have to face down the short ball again. They will need to exercise more caution and suspicion, and Ben Duckett may consider himself lucky to still be there after his wayward swish to Mitchell Starc at deep third for a controversial end to one of the more surreal days of Test cricket. Otherwise, they will find themselves nursing a 2-0 deficit in an Ashes that may be remembered as a series in which they gave so much and achieved so little.

The ACU general manager Alex Marshall on the extensive efforts being taken to clamp down on corruption in cricket

Peter Della Penna17-Mar-2021How do you distinguish between investigating activities such as illegal betting and pitchsiding [relaying info from inside the ground to beat the delay in live televised broadcast], and investigating specific approaches made to players for spot-fixing or match-fixing?All bookies in India are illegal and unregulated, because betting is illegal and the government has not legalised it. But betting in India is widespread and the volumes are absolutely enormous. You’ve been to matches where there’s 12 to 50 people in the ground and yet we know that the betting volumes on that match can be quite substantial.Related

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The Afghanistan Premier League (APL) has significant sums of money being bet on it. What you need to distinguish though is that while all the bookies are illegal and unregulated, most of them are just bookies. All they’re doing is taking bets on cricket and we’re not interested in them. Let’s say there are 1,000 bookies. Of all those bookies, a very small portion are corrupt and they are the ones we are interested in because what they then do is use their wealth to find intermediaries – people who know the players and might trust them – to make approaches in return for a sum of money to underperform in a phase of the match.Mohammad Naveed and Shaiman Anwar are really good examples. The [corruptors] wanted to control the opening batting, the opening bowling and the captain. So that is the absolute ideal for them. The opening batsmen both score slowly. Those small number of corrupt bookies take unlimited bets on how many runs will be scored in the opening phase of the match or the powerplay, and they’ll also take unlimited bets on the number of runs conceded by those bowlers because if they manage to corrupt the bowlers, they know they’re going to concede more than 12 or 15 runs in an over.They’ve got no connection to pitchsiders who are feeding information. In some countries it is illegal and therefore the police can take action, but it’s not in the anti-corruption code. It happens in every single sport. They are a nuisance and to the legitimate regulated betting industry, they create a loss problem for them because they’re getting an advantage over the normal punter who is sitting at home and is getting the broadcast. So it’s worth separating the pitchsiders, which is a thing in every sport including cricket.The Afghanistan Premier League (APL) has significant sums of money being bet on it•Afghanistan Cricket BoardThe sums mentioned in the Shaiman Anwar and Mohammad Naveed investigation would have been anywhere from seven to ten years of the annual salary in the UAE central contract structure at the time..What makes the top Associates so attractive to the corruptors is the relatively low cricket income of people from Nepal, UAE, Oman, some of the African cricket nations. They are being paid very little if anything at all. If you look at the bottom end of the Full Members, Zimbabwe would be a good example. They are among the poorest of the Full Member nations and we see players there being offered $30,000 to commit corrupt conduct. We see players in the Associates getting offered $10,000. We see players in European club matches getting offered 3,000 Euros. So that’s the sort of scale of the offers. An offer of $10,000 to someone in some of these places is an awful lot of money. An offer of $30,000 in Zimbabwe would probably buy you a house.So taking that into consideration, including the resources available to the ICC to police events such as the ICC regional ones that are now going to be broadcast, what kind of enhanced strategies do you plan to employ to curb some of these activities? The principle is that we all at the ICC, including the integrity unit, want to see the growth and development of cricket. The idea that the Associates are going to get better and more extensive coverage is absolutely brilliant and we celebrate it along with everyone else. We also recognise that the more popular any form of cricket becomes, the more likely it is that corruptors will target it. So we’re doing a whole load of different things. One of the things is we’re working with all the Associates, but particularly the ones who are higher risk, to provide them with material around education and what they should do in the event of anyone receiving an approach or things for them to look out for in the way they run their matches. We will also risk assess which of those matches are most likely to be targeted and then we put anti-corruption resources into that particular match.We’ve done that for example in matches involving UAE, Oman, Nepal and others recently, particularly where they’ve had three and four-team series events, and we then put an anti-corruption person at the event. But the best protection of all is that anyone in that squad who has any suspicious social media approach, comment, a new sponsor who suddenly comes in…. anything that seems too good to be true, as long as they alert us immediately, we can intervene against the corruptors.We generally know who the corruptors are and who is behind the approaches and then we can disrupt them. The playing group are getting better and better and more confident at sharing with us anything that seems a bit odd or dodgy. In the last couple of years, we’ve gone from 200 pieces of intelligence coming in each year to over 1,000 pieces of intelligence. Most of that comes from people within cricket saying, ‘This slightly odd thing happened’ or ‘My agent had an odd approach’ or the classic line, ‘We can probably get you into this tournament, but you’ll have to do some things for the owners.’ That would be the line you hear a lot. It’s absolutely spot on that for the corruptors, if they can corrupt someone in a small franchise tournament who might then go on and play international Associate member cricket, they’ve then got an investment in that player who is completely compromised and they’ll utilize that when it comes to the international matches.”Mohammad Naveed and Shaiman Anwar were late in their careers and about to retire. They were seen as worth approaching”•Peter Della PennaI know there were at least three USA players – according to a USA Cricket official who then forwarded the information on to the ICC ACU – that prior to the Global T20 Canada were approached and told, ‘We will draft you in if you help us fix games. If you don’t want to help us fix games, then we just won’t draft you.’ Those are the classic lines. ‘You come in. We’ll get you a place. Everyone else is doing it.’ They’ll probably throw in a few names that the player has heard of and say, ‘They’re already doing it. All you have to do is do what the owners say in a couple of matches. It won’t affect whether you win or lose and we’ll give you an extra whatever the figure is on top of your tournament fee if you work with us.’ So what you’re describing is absolutely the classic approach by the 10 or 12 corruptors that we know are operating around all these events.Most of the Associate players at the 2019 Global T20 Canada were setting reserve prices for the draft at the $3,000 minimum. A few elite Associate players had reserve prices set at $10,000 or $15,000. Sandeep Lamichhane set his price at $60,000. Shaiman Anwar and Mohammad Naveed had their reserve prices originally set at the minimum and then a few days before the draft, suddenly they were resubmitted into the draft with new reserve prices of $25,000 and $30,000 respectively, and both of them were drafted. When things like that happen, being sold for a much higher value than the market would indicate, does that raise a red flag?Yes. A couple of things raise red flags in those franchise tournaments. One is unusual pricing of the players. The other, which you also mentioned, is late changes just before the draft or someone is brought in who the coach or management weren’t asking about and then suddenly they appear as a player. We’ve covered recent franchise tournaments where you see exactly that type of behavior and in some cases it’s because the owners – who are shown as the official owners – actually are not. They’ve been put forward by corruptors who are behind the scenes. They put forward names of people who when checked won’t cause any problems. But once the activity starts and once the corrupt approaches start, we then normally can work out who these new owners are really connected to, who is behind it, and disrupt it.You also have to remember you get a lot of people prior to tournaments who pretend that they are involved in the tournament for the owners and still try and corrupt the players. So alongside corrupt owners, which does happen sometimes, are people who claim to be connected to the owners but they really are freelance corruptors who are claiming that connection just to get the player who has already been selected to do corrupt activity for them.Payments are offered, compromises are attempted. Even honey traps, which seems like something from the 1970s but very recently we dealt with cases with the use of a prostitute to compromise a player and then the corruptors move in the next day and try to get the person to work for them. I think perhaps reassuringly, the fact that we usually pretty quickly identify who the corruptors are, how they’re operating, which new phone they’ve got, which new name they’re using, means we tend to disrupt them and in recent franchise events we’ve snuffed it out just before the start of the event because we realised what was happening. In the Qualifiers in the UAE, we took that action just before the start of the event and we’re pretty certain we prevented corrupt activity from happening in that tournament.

“It goes back to the basic principle, which is to recognise that something about this doesn’t feel right. Reject it, if it’s a stranger bearing gifts, just start by rejecting it. Talk to your agent, talk to your manager, and then report it to us.”

You said before that when you identify higher risk players in teams, then you put extra resources in place. How do you define “high risk” or “higher risk”? It’s usually a combination of the interest in that team or those teams, the profile of the match or tournament, and then the susceptibility of the people taking part possibly because of low wages or they haven’t been paid recently. So when I talk about growth and development, which is what we all want, if you look at the women’s game for example, there was very little interest at one point in the women’s game. Clearly, interest has risen significantly recently. As you’ve seen its profile rise and more interest in the matches, that’s always then matched across in the betting market and therefore we finally saw the first proper corrupt approaches made to women’s players. Compared to trying to corrupt a top-level men’s game where the squad is really well-protected, they know everyone, they know what to look out for, you can’t just come in as a bat sponsor offering $10,000 because they’ve already got a bat sponsor offering $200,000.That’s just an example but Under-19 cricket, I’d say the same thing. As Under-19 cricket becomes more popular and the tournament gets more prominence, the corruptors will look for the most vulnerable teams taking part. Within the teams, anyone they might spot that they think will be susceptible to going out for a shopping trip and spending $2,000 on trainers and t-shirts, that might be enough with a 17-year-old who is very poor and its their first time away from home at an international event. It’s the same with Associate level cricket. If there is interest in the match, interest in the profiles of the teams, there will be a decent betting market. They then look for which of those players might be susceptible. In the UAE example, Naveed and Shaiman Anwar fit into that very well. They were late in their career. They’re about to retire. They were seen as worth approaching.Alex Marshall – “We currently have got 42 live investigations. In the last couple of years, we usually have between 40 and 50 live investigations”•Getty ImagesWhen you say ‘interest in a team’ or in a T20 franchise league, comparatively speaking the APL was happening at the same time as an Australia vs Pakistan Test match. Traditional metrics would indicate that interest would be more focused on a match between two highly ranked international sides. Yet, the betting volume for the APL was out of proportion dwarfing the Test match…But if you look at where the interest is in India which is the betting market that we’re talking, the APL was being broadcast in India. It was being done in the short form which is most popular and compared to a Test, with its evening short form matches the APL is a much more attractive option to the viewing audience. Therefore, they’re going to bet on it. Therefore, the bookies have got decent liquidity in the market. Therefore, it was worth approaching people in that tournament, and they did and we’ve still got investigations coming to an end from that event.They would seek broadcasts particularly in the subcontinent because of who they were getting to take part. So it already had a particular exposure on television in the subcontinent. But you then also have to look at…. corruptors like weak governance and they like chaos because it allows them in. They love franchise events where all the teams have not been sold with three weeks to go and the people running the event are desperate to secure the next owner or the next two owners at the last minute. So corruptors look for those opportunities and I’m afraid the APL is a very good example of poor governance, an appalling run event, dreadful accreditation and a whole host of other issues that just meant it was very attractive to corruptors.What kind of factor does that make in terms of it being easier to police or track movements at regional ICC T20 World Cup qualifier events?The qualifier events and regional events will all operate to ICC standards. They’re still much lower key events without the resources you would see in a global event. But nevertheless they will all have the Player and Match Official Area, which will be properly set out. There will be a form of security at the ground. There will be monitoring of those matches closely by us because we get alerts in the legitimate betting markets if anything strange is going on. There will be a proper match manager that we can talk to and understand where everyone is and that they’re all complying with the rules. Of course what you don’t have in these events are the franchise owners, which very often is the route in for the corruptors.What percentage of cases are linked to suspicious franchise owners?We currently have got 42 live investigations. In the last couple of years, we usually have between 40 and 50 live investigations. About half of those will be to do with franchise cricket and very often when it’s to do with franchise cricket, then it’s to do with owners – the real owners behind the front people who are put up as the owners – or people pretending to be a part of the ownership group who actually have nothing to do with the owners but they’re claiming an association to influence people. So quite a significant proportion of our live investigations is from that area.Associates are represented quite heavily across those 40 to 50 cases. But in a way we don’t spend too long saying, ‘This is franchise corruption’ or ‘This is Associate corruption’ because it’s the same corruptors. They just look for the opportunity and the ideal for them is to get a player compromised who is playing in franchise cricket and then two weeks later is playing in an international match. So they don’t make any distinction really. It’s about opportunity and risk for them.”As Under-19 cricket becomes more popular and the tournament gets more prominence, the corruptors will look for the most vulnerable teams taking part”•Afghanistan Cricket BoardFor Associate teams, a disproportionately significant number are made up of expatriates in their mid to late 30s with a prior professional career in their native country. Does that raise a red flag?What I would say is that the corruptors will look at what they believe to be the motivation of the people they are approaching. So if the corruptors think that someone’s sole motivation is money, whatever country they’re in is just to earn money and they have no particular allegiance, then certainly the corruptors think that person is more susceptible than someone who is not just playing. Among the Associates, there are plenty of countries where the players are amateurs, it’s costing them money to play for their country but they’re doing it because they’re very proud and they love the sport. If you look at it from the corruptors point of view, and I keep going back to the UAE players because there are some cases still coming through the system, it’s quite clear that the corruptors felt that they were motivated by money, some of them, and they felt it was worth approaching them.There was a recent article in , which mentioned that approaches have been made via Twitter or Instagram DMs. What kinds of things are key to reducing the risks to players at these ICC qualifying events?The way most players receive some form of approach is that it might start as someone pretends to be a fan, someone wants to be a new sponsor, someone wants to offer them a place in a franchise league. It’s very often via one of the social media channels. So part of the education we do is we play very up-to-date videos showing exactly how the corruptors are operating. An education for some of the top Associate members is not just about telling them what the anti-corruption code says.We show them a very professionally made video showing exactly how the corruptors are approaching people in the previous three to six months. We show them the pictures of those corruptors and we give them their names and aliases. Very often at the end of that session, one or two will come forward and say, ‘I had this strange message on Instagram from this guy who said he wanted to be my agent and you’ve just shown him in the slides.’ I can think of someone who says he’s an agent who has come up frequently, probably more than 20 times now, at those education sessions. By just sharing honestly with them the people who are likely to be approached by them – their pictures, names and aliases – very often someone will pick them out.”About half our investigations in franchise cricket have to do with suspicious owners – the real owners behind the front people who are put up as the owners”•Hindustan TimesSome of the players, particularly at the lower level, they haven’t really had much profile. The idea that they have people contacting them on social media is quite attractive. We build that into the education to help them try to protect themselves a bit more. It goes back to the basic principle, which is to recognise that something about this doesn’t feel right. Reject it, if it’s a stranger bearing gifts, just start by rejecting it. Talk to your agent, talk to your manager, and then report it to us.What else do you think is important for people to understand about these ICC events that comes from an anti-corruption perspective?We absolutely want to see a higher profile for Associate cricket. I think it’s coming and I think some of the pathway and qualifier events are going to be excellent cricket. I think new people will come through. Look at what has happened to some of these Afghan players who then got prominence and then are playing around the world. So I think it’s fantastically exciting that all that is happening. We just have to always remember that every bit of growth and development is also attractive to the corruptors. The integrity unit has to keep upping our game to make sure that we disrupt them from those forms of cricket in the way that I think we are actually pretty successful at disrupting and keeping them away from Full Member cricket.