Tottenham Hotspur need a talisman. Mohammed Kudus is a fleet-footed winger, adding a dimension to the attack, but he’s not of a level with Harry Kane, or Heung-min Son.

Likewise, Xavi Simons has the potential to become a leading man down N17, but he’s raw and inexperienced.

Kane hasn’t really been replaced since leaving Spurs for Bayern Munich in 2023, with Dominic Solanke’s injury troubles negating his stature as one of the Premier League’s most dangerous forwards. Richarlison is consistent only in his inconsistency.

Tottenham’s All-time Record Scorers

Player

Apps

Goals

Harry Kane

435

280

Jimmy Greaves

376

266

Bobby Smith

316

211

Heung-min Son

454

173

Martin Chivers

350

167

Data via Transfermarkt

Tottenham need a talisman, and that looks to be high on ENIC Group and Thomas Frank’s agenda going into the January transfer window.

Why Spurs need a Kane-esque signing

Kane’s departure was always going to knock Tottenham out of kilter, but perhaps it’s being more keenly felt now that Son has left too. There simply isn’t enough impetus and bite in the final third, and Frank needs to rectify that swiftly as his side languish in 11th place.

However, Johan Lange and Fabio Paratici have been entrusted with funds this winter, and signings are expected.

None would be more impactful than Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo, who is being chased by a snapping pack of Premier League giants, Liverpool and Manchester City at the front.

However, TEAMtalk have confirmed that the Lilywhites are ready to offer the Ghana international, 25, a wage bill-shattering salary to convince him to head down N17, having attempted to sign him before being rebuffed during the summer.

Why Semenyo could become Spurs' talisman

Kane scored many goals against many different Premier League opponents. Alan Shearer is the only man to have scored more.

Semenyo is not an out-and-out centre-forward on the same prolific level as the England captain, but he does have a unique and devastating skillset that could hit a new level in Frank’s Tottenham team.

This season, the two-sided winger has scored seven goals and supplied three assists in the Premier League, with his consistency leading teammate Justin Kluivert to call him “world-class”.

Semenyo’s brilliance lies not in his prolific success but in his ceaseless work rate. He just runs and runs and runs. As per Sofascore, the £75k-per-week talent has completed 1.6 dribbles and averaged 6.6 successful duels per game. Analyst Ben Mattinson has described him as a “workhorse off the ball”, and that’s exactly what Spurs need to return to form.

He ranks among the top 6% of positional peers in the Premier League this season for goals and the top 12% for ball recoveries per 90 (via FBref), further underscoring his dynamism.

This is not Kudus, zipping this way and that with startling energy, but an economical winger who conserves his energy and unleashes it at an opportune moment.

There is a quiet intelligence to Semenyo that suggests he could step into Kane’s boots and lead this group of players.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

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After all, there’s a reason all the finest teams in the division want the dynamic winger, who is only getting better and better with each passing season in the Premier League.

It’s not going to be an easy deal to pull off, but Tottenham have the financial structures erected to pull off a marquee mid-season deal, and it really would add to Frank’s frontline a Kane-esque star.

Related Palhinha & Bentancur upgrade: Spurs now well-placed to sign £34m “madman"

Tottenham need to fix their midfield in the January transfer window.

Posts 3 ByAngus Sinclair

Liverpool are their own worst enemies in the Premier League this season.

Arne Slot’s side’s revival continues, with Wolverhampton Wanderers beaten at Anfield. But once again, the Reds supporters have been treated some gut-wrenching viewing in the closing stages, under the cosh after conceding another set-piece.

Liverpool are back into the top four, with Ryan Gravenberch opening the scoring before Florian Wirtz connected with the in-form Hugo Ekitike before the break.

How Wirtz needed that one. The German playmaker is beginning to grow into his skin on Merseyside, and he has finally broken his duck.

How Florian Wirtz has come alive at Liverpool

Liverpool paid Bayer Leverkusen £116m for Wirtz’s signature this summer. It was the all-time British record before Alexander Isak moved to the club on deadline day.

Wirtz, 22, has been one of the most criticised Premier League players this season. The spotlight has been blinding at times. But now he has scored, rubber-stamping what has quietly been an impressive run of form for the German international.

Having assisted Ekitike last week, the striker returned the favour against Wolves, who remain at the foot of the table on just two points. He won 11 duels and completed eight dribbles, as per Sofascore, head and shoulders above his peers and opponents.

Wirtz is coming alive, and it’s important to remember Liverpool have been abject and imbalanced this year, far below the expected standard.

He has a future at Liverpool, alright, but the same sadly can’t be said for all of the Reds, with one of Wirtz’s attacking teammates heading in the other direction against doomed Wolves.

FSG must now sell Liverpool flop

Liverpool have a talented crop of forwards, and Federico Chiesa has found regular minutes hard to come by since joining from Juventus for a cut-price £12.5m fee in 2024.

His fortunes have improved since the summer, but he has equally been kept on the fringes, albeit playing more of a part than in last year’s title-winning team.

Injuries and absences opened the door for a rare Premier League start against Wolves, but the £150k-per-week Italian failed to grasp it.

The Liverpool Echo summed it up: while Chiesa played a part in Gravenberch’s opening goal, he was largely ineffective down the right wing, minimally involved and lacking the vim and vigour that was required to catch Slot’s eye. He was branded with a match-low 5/10 score.

Chiesa’s Game in Numbers

Match Stats

#

Minutes played

61′

Goals

0

Assists

0

Touches

23

Shots (on target)

0 (0)

Accurate passes

10/16 (63%)

Chances created

0

Crosses

0/2

Dribbles

0/1

Recoveries

2

Tackles

0/0

Ground duels

0/3

Data via Sofascore

Chiesa has found opportunities few and far between at Liverpool, with this his first Premier League start at Anfield. He lost all three of his ground duels, and he didn’t complete a dribble.

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Perhaps that was a chance he could not allow to pass him by, and yet it has, carrying off into the bracing wind the prospect of regular starting berths over the next several weeks. It is worth remembering Dominik Szoboszlai missed out on Saturday due to suspension.

With rumours of interest surfacing from his homeland in recent months, FSG might conclude that Chiesa should be sold after his season-and-a-half in Liverpool. When Mohamed Salah returns from AFCON, his playing time will be further reduced, especially as Slot has shown a willingness to field Jeremie Frimpong in an advanced berth.

‘Fede’ has shown himself to have a Midas touch in front of goal this season, scoring twice off the bench in the Premier League. But he’s perhaps better off as an impact substitute.

Maybe Slot knows a thing about management after all. If Liverpool act on their interest in a new winger, it could prompt Chiesa’s sale. That might be the best move for all parties, should the Italian want to play regular football throughout the rest of his prime years.

Related Semenyo upgrade: Liverpool looking at signing "one of the best LWs in Europe"

Liverpool won’t feel too disheartened by the latest developments with Antoine Semenyo, if they can secure this statement signing instead.

Posts 1 ByKelan Sarson

Heavy rain poured more misery on Worcestershire, who were clinging to a faint hope that they might still snatch promotion after a dismal first day against Northamptonshire at New Road.No play was possible today as the Midlanders waited to meet their first requirement of scoring a further 61 runs to avoid the follow-on.David Leatherdale, the only specialist batsman to survive a collapse to 50 for 5, had a target of his own, having made 20 of the 74 runs needed to reach 1,000 in a season for the second time in his career.The 32-year-old Yorkshireman is due to resume with fellow-Bradfordian Steve Rhodes in a partnership which is essential to Worcestershire’s hope of recovering for an unlikely victory.Worcestershire need a win to have any chance of securing promotion.

Northern Districts‘ 313 was, astonishingly, not enough to stave off a charge by a rampant Canterbury, who hunted down the total with four balls to spare and five wickets in hand. Canterbury faced the huge total courtesy of Daniel Flynn’s 149 from 141 balls, but were handed a strong platform by Michael Papps’ 90. With eight balls to spare in Christchurch they brought up the 300, and four balls later the job was done. The bowling figures were nothing to write home about, only Shane Bond recording an economy of under five while Andrew Strauss missed out on the runfest with a duck.Centuries for Aaron Redmond and Alex Gidman in Dunedin, helped Otago leapfrog Central Districts into second as their 321 proved insurmountable. Warren McSkimming helped restrict the visitors with two wickets including that of topscorer Greg Hay.Auckland overhauled Wellington‘s 247 in Wellington in the final over to stay top. Lou Vincent set the platform with 72 and Rob Nicol added a fifty while Graham Napier’s four wickets were in vain.

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Pts	Net RR	For	Against
Auckland	6	5	1	0	0	21	+0.612	1619/279.3	1554/300.0
Otago	6	4	2	0	0	16	+0.317	1467/285.3	1371/284.2
Central Dist	6	3	3	0	0	14	+0.270	1380/266.4	1353/275.5
Canterbury	6	2	4	0	0	9	-0.422	1424/285.3	1522/281.2
Wellington	6	2	4	0	0	9	-0.590	1356/288.4	1409/266.3
Northern Dis	6	2	4	0	0	8	-0.162	1571/300.0	1608/297.5

‘IPL will be held with a minimum of eight teams’

The IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla has said the BCCI had accepted the Lodha Committee’s suspension of the owners of the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals franchises and there was “no question of any dilly-dallying”.
“The order is accepted, now we are in the process of implementing it,” he told PTI. “For that we have formed a working group and that group has been given six weeks’ time to submit its recommendations.”
Shukla also said the IPL would have at least eight sides.
“IPL will be held with a minimum of eight teams. There will be no change in that. How we will proceed will be recommended by the working group, which will have discussions with all the stakeholders like the sponsors, broadcasters, franchisees and state associations. The procedures that we adopt will therefore be approved by our legal experts, that is why we need some time to give the recommendations.”
Shukla said the group would explore several options to ensure IPL 2016 wasn’t severely affected by a shortfall of teams.
“There is a group which believes that a BCCI-appointed management team can run CSK and RR for a period of two years. Credible people can be selected for that job so that the question of conflict of interest does not arise. Another option is that we invite new bids for the two teams to ensure that the league is an eight-team affair. After two years when CSK and RR complete their suspension period, we will have 10 teams. We will consider all the options.”

The BCCI has formed a working group to study the Lodha panel’s verdict relating to the IPL 2013 corruption scandal and instructed it to present its findings in six weeks. The group comprises* IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur, BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry and IPL governing council member Sourav Ganguly, and will be assisted by Ushanath Banerjee, the board’s legal counsel.The board’s response came after an IPL governing council meeting in Mumbai on Sunday, following the Lodha committee decision to suspend the owners of the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals franchises earlier this week.The BCCI press release after the meeting stated the working group would “study this verdict, in consultation with all our key advisors and explore all the possible measures to be adopted, with an objective to protect the interests of all the stakeholders involved.”The release further stated: “This group will work within a time bound period of six weeks and report their recommendations to the IPL GC, which will deliberate and share their views with the working committee of the BCCI, for further action.”The general tone of the meeting was to explore the process of inviting bids for two new franchises and the possibility of a 10-team IPL after two years.It is understood that most of the governing council members who spoke during the hour-long meeting were of the opinion that the BCCI should start the procedure of inviting tenders for the new teams for a longer duration to ensure that the IPL’s eight-team format is maintained over the next two years.The committee was also briefed about a suggestion from former BCCI treasurer and joint secretary MP Pandove, over the addition of two teams and the likelihood of a ten-team IPL from 2018. Pandove confirmed to ESPNcricinfo he had “made such a suggestion to the secretary [Thakur] since I think that’s the most viable option for now”.Some members also cited the examples of the 2011 and 2012 IPL seasons – which were played with ten and nine teams respectively – and said if the two teams do return to the fold after serving the two-year suspension, the IPL could be played with ten teams.Sundar Raman, the IPL’s chief operating officer, reportedly said a ten-team IPL could be a logistical nightmare, but a former BCCI office bearer responded by saying Raman should not term the idea unworkable as he was an integral part of IPL’s earlier expansion.It is understood that the issue of the termination of the suspended teams’ franchise agreements was discussed, but no direct demand was made. The council was assured that the five-member working group will consider all options.Shukla’s suggestion of the BCCI independently running the two suspended franchises for two years was presented to the committee and was backed by a current office bearer who proposed that leading financial solutions firms could be involved in running the teams on the board’s behalf.A former cricketer on the governing council – who had urged the BCCI not to leave the players who contributed to the IPL brand in a lurch – reportedly said that individuals like Rahul Dravid [Rajasthan Royals mentor] and MS Dhoni [captain, Chennai Super Kings] are capable of running teams, if required, without an outsider’s assistance.The former office bearer then said Dhoni – whose comments about Gurunath Meiyappan to the Mudgal probe panel came under scrutiny – cannot be entrusted with such a responsibility. Thakur is then understood to have informed the house that the legal experts have advised that the board’s involvement in running two teams is not feasible.Thakur is also believed to have hinted at strict action against all the guilty entities.July 20, 3.00pm *This piece was amended to reflect the BCCI’s announcement of the Working Group’s composition

Heading into this week’s Intercontinental Cup match with Scotland, the Netherlands squad may have been more noteworthy for who was missing instead of who was present. Timm van der Gugten, Michael Swart and Tom Cooper were the most notable absentees.But the arrival of Roelof van der Merwe has helped ease the strain on the rest of the squad to make up the lost runs and wickets needed to compete against Scotland in the Intercontinental Cup. His valuable first innings contribution of 73 took Netherlands out of trouble from 88 for 5 and now has them in a position where they might not just secure first innings points, but are a strong chance of collecting an outright win with two days remaining. The left-arm spinning allrounder is prepared for anything though after a topsy-turvy second day.”There’s always one partnership waiting to happen,” van der Merwe told ESPNcricinfo after day two. “I think we’ve just got to stick to our plans and not try to bowl them out as soon as the tailenders come in. We’ve got to be very disciplined and if we’re disciplined we can have a very good lead.”After playing 13 ODIs and the same amount of T20Is for South Africa from 2009-10, Van der Merwe emerged on the Dutch scene quite suddenly in July, transitioning into the squad just days after securing a Dutch passport to make his T20I debut against Nepal. He made an unbeaten 40 and took two wickets, but had more modest returns through the rest of the World Twenty20 Qualifier. He scored 60 runs in seven innings at an average of 12 but was more effective with the ball, taking 11 wickets.While he has had some experience batting higher up the order in domestic T20 competitions – he batted at No. 3 in the last three matches of the 2009 IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of Rahul Dravid, Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli – most of van der Merwe’s appearances for South Africa in both T20Is and ODIs were at eight or nine.However, over the last three years he has proven himself a capable batting performer in multi-day cricket in South Africa. After recording five half-centuries each in the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons while batting at No. 7 for Titans, van der Merwe had a breakout season in 2014-15, finishing third overall with 774 runs at an average of 55.28.Starting the season batting at No. 6, he produced his maiden first-class century, an unbeaten 205 against Warriors in the second match of the campaign. He was subsequently promoted to No. 5 for the next match and repaid faith in the move with another hundred. Before the season was over, he tagged one more on for good measure.Rather than looking like a slap-bang T20 dasher, van der Merwe’s polished technique vindicated Netherlands management’s decision to send him in at No. 4. Admitting to being more eager than nervous about making his Intercontinental Cup debut for Netherlands, by the end of the day he had produced his first major contribution with the bat for his adopted country.”I think over the last two years in four-day cricket I’ve worked myself from about seven down to about five or four,” van der Merwe said. “It’s something I’ve really enjoyed doing in the last few years is four-day batting. The one-day game is a bit different. You always need somebody to hit at the end also. I think that’s what I’m mostly known for, is just hitting the ball and trying to clear the boundary.”In a bizarre display, six batsmen combined from both sides were out leaving deliveries seaming in from outside off. Van der Merwe played more than his fair share of dot balls – 95 out of the 136 deliveries he faced – but far more frequently opted to blunt the ball with a straight bat rather than risk shouldering arms and suffering the same fate as others.”The ball really did jag today,” van der Merwe said. “Maybe half of them was bad judgment and other ones were good balls nipping back a lot. I think it was a very slow pitch. There’s not a lot of lateral movement but the guys who got out leaving, the ball did jag a bit. There was a bit of seam movement every now and then so it was quite tough picking up the lines.”With Netherlands 187 for 7 at tea and van der Merwe on 68, the only thing that appeared set to deny him a century was running out of partners. However, three overs into the final session he was through a drive slightly early to Josh Davey and sent back a return catch.The disappointment was evident as he kept his helmet on with his head tilted toward the ground throughout his walk back to the pavilion despite generous applause from the scattered group of supporters. The possibility of a first innings score in excess of 250 vanished with his dismissal but after the lively display produced by the Dutch bowling unit in the final session of day two, the Netherlands will be aiming to capitalize on their solid position.”I think we were very disappointed in our first innings,” van der Merwe said. “I think we could have scored a lot more. Some of the guys got out with loose shots but definitely under par first innings. But we’ve moved the game forward now in their first innings getting them six down very quickly so hopefully we can get a lead.”

The moods of the two sides that will clash at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium starting Thursday were reflected in their respective captains’ demeanor when they arrived for the pre-match press conferences. Bengal’s Manoj Tiwary seemed tentative when he walked in, wishing the reporters “good afternoon”, getting no response, and speaking softly even in the absence of a microphone. Karnataka’s Vinay Kumar strutted in confidently, in flip-flops, like the leader of a side that has been winning domestic tournaments one after another. Well, they have been.After a winless 2014-15 season, Bengal start this year’s campaign against the defending champions. With a home record of three wins and two draws last season, Karnataka will be hungry to roar back after a disappointing opening match away from home against recently-promoted Assam. Even though Karnataka conceded the first-innings lead in the drawn match, Vinay said he wasn’t worried, and was looking forward rather than backwards.”Sometimes it happens, we need to come back strongly,” he said. “Many teams may give up after scoring 180 and they concede 250-300, but we fought really well. It happens but I won’t think much about that game. We need to forget about it and move forward. Last year also it happened, we conceded first-innings lead twice.”Bengal have their own battles to fight – they were nearly relegated last season, wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha was injured until recently, there were pre-season controversies during a preparatory tour of Sri Lanka, and some captaincy friction before Tiwary took the mantle. Tiwary will be challenged to get the best out of his individual players as well as make the team click as a unit. Only one Bengal bowler – Ashok Dinda – took more than 15 wickets last season, and no regular bowler averaged under 30. The batsmen will have better numbers to fall back on – three of them accumulated over 400 runs each and four averaged over 40 last time – but Tiwary said bringing out a collective batting performance would be his biggest task.”For us, it’s always the batting unit that is a bigger concern,” Tiwary said. “Our bowling department has done really well over the last couple of years, we have world-class bowlers. It’s just that as a batting unit we have not clicked together which normally leads to our downfall. Having said that, this season has been very different. VVS Laxman, as batting consultant, has helped to work on the basics of our batsmen. He’s been spending a lot of time with them, lots of videos he has done with the players. I’m very sure the difference will be seen here.”Bengal will be relieved they have a fully fit squad now, including Saha, and apart from Laxman’s services, Tiwary said the presence of other former players also gave the side a confidence-booster ahead of the season.”We have worked on our work ethic, we have put in more time than usual,” he said. “With the arrival of Sairaj [Bahutule as head coach], it’s helping a lot. In the fielding department we’ve got Joydeep Mukherjee and in the bowling department we have got Ranadeb Bose so all that experience is coming handy for all of us.”[Bahutule] has also brought in the culture of Mumbai as they have won many trophies so he knows what are the things to be done to cross that hurdle. We, as a team, did great in patches. Last year was not very good for us but before that we reached semi-finals. We were not able to work on our game to cross the line. He knows the areas we need to work on, reach the finals and be the champions.”Karnataka, unlike their opponents, are still carrying an injury. KL Rahul is recovering from his quadriceps injury and is likely to take another week before playing his next match. But Vinay said their batting had enough quality to cope, and in conjunction with a potent bowling attack, the side had enough strengths to focus on without dwelling on Bengal’s weaknesses.”We have a very good bowling side, one of the best in India,” Vinay said. “In batting also we have Karun Nair, Manish Pandey, and some of them have this year played for India. Robin [Uthappa] and KL are there, Samarth got a hundred in the last game.”Apart form those familiar names, Vinay Kumar also spoke highly of their new prospect, the left-arm spinner J Suchith – already known to IPL fans – who made his first-class debut against Bangladesh A last month with figures of 6 for 60 in the second innings.”He bowled really well,” Vinay Kumar said. “He’s a good prospect as he can bat, bowl and he’s a very good fielder. He’s an overall package actually and we can definitely expect performances from him that can help us win the games.”

The MCC has confirmed an update to the Laws that allows a fielder to make a “significant movement” before the striker has played the ball. The ICC, in consultation with the MCC, had already introduced a playing condition to this effect last year, which came to light after Steven Smith took a catch to remove Fawad Alam* in an ODI in Abu Dhabi.Previously, under Laws 41.7 and 41.8, Smith’s movement would have resulted in a dead ball, with “significant movement … before the ball reaches the striker” deemed as “unfair”.They have now been replaced by a single Law 41.7, governing movement by fielders other than the wicketkeeper. The change is designed to promote “intelligent fielding” and allows a player to move if it becomes obvious a batsman will play the ball in a certain direction.The decision of the umpires to allow Smith’s catch during the 2014 match between Pakistan and Australia caused some controversy, until it became known that the ICC had adapted the Law to allow a degree of movement. This has now been taken into account by the MCC’s latest revision of the Laws.John Stephenson, MCC’s head of cricket, said: “As the Guardian of the Laws and Spirit of cricket, it is important that MCC continues to keep pace with the game’s development, and that’s why we have made these changes to the Laws. Steve Smith’s excellent catch in Abu Dhabi last year illustrated that such skilful anticipation by a fielder should be within the Laws of the game, and these changes now make that the case.”October 1, 0430GMT: Corrected to state that Fawad Alam, and not Fawad Ahmed, was the batsman.

Match facts

November 11, 2015
Start time 3pm local (1100 GMT)

Big Picture

You have to zoom out a long way to get the wide angle on this series. England’s newly professed love for one-day internationals is focused on winning more than just hearts when the Champions Trophy and World Cup roll around on home soil in 2017 and 2019. Pakistan narrowly avoided being squeezed out by Bangladesh at the Champions Trophy cut-off six weeks ago (West Indies were the team to miss out) and they are also at the start of a new cycle under the captaincy of Azhar Ali.His tenure began with a first ever bilateral series loss against Bangladesh but Pakistan have since pulled out of their tailspin by beating Zimbabwe at home – amid emotions as heightened as the security – and away, as well as winning in Sri Lanka for the first time since 2006. New faces such as Mohammad Rizwan and Bilal Asif have made good impressions (and the latter has also had his action cleared), while the return of Younis Khan, so impressive against England in the Test series, gives Pakistan a wealth of experience to call upon.Younis has not played since the World Cup but should win his 265th ODI cap, alongside Mohammad Hafeez (169 ODI appearances) and Shoaib Malik (227) in Pakistan’s middle order. The only England player who comes close to those totals is the captain, Eoin Morgan, who has played 151 (of which 23 were for Ireland); Jos Buttler – who made his debut against Pakistan in the UAE three-and-a-half years ago – is next on the list with 61.In some senses, though, this young England team have already gone to places their predecessors never did. England’s first total of more than 400 was achieved during the summer, against New Zealand at Edgbaston, and their highest successful chase a few games later. Although a 3-2 defeat against Australia followed, Morgan will be intent upon consolidating the gains made, even if performances in this series are unlikely to have much of a bearing on the next two global 50-over tournaments (for reference, see England’s 4-0 win in the UAE in 2012).There are, of course, the rankings to bind all this together and, despite their improvements, sixth-placed England are actually being steadily reeled in by Bangladesh, in No. 7. Pakistan, a place below at No. 8, can’t catch either yet but a win would help ease them away from West Indies in the race for an automatic spot at the 2019 World Cup.Jos Buttler has been passed fit after a finger injury suffered in England’s warm-up win over Hong Kong•Getty Images

Form guide

Pakistan: WLWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
England: LWWLL

In the spotlight

He has only scored one ODI hundred since 2008 and admits he is looking for the right moment to retire but that is all the more reason to marvel at Younis Khan‘s latest comeback. Younis criticised the decision to leave him out after the World Cup, though he clearly does not have the ambition of making it to England in 2019, and has said since his recall that he wants to “leave on my own terms and conditions”. The evidence of the Test series, when he became Pakistan’s record run-scorer, suggests that he is in good shape to take control of his destiny.Morgan’s health has been a source of concern since he suffered concussion in his previous appearance but, when it comes to the more prosaic business of playing form, Jos Buttler is the focus of attention. Rested midway through the ODI series against Australia, then dropped for the final Test against Pakistan, Buttler has endured the most difficult spell of his international career to date. It is less than six months since he scored a 66-ball ODI hundred against New Zealand (marginally slower than his England record) and the hope is a return to limited-overs colours will free him up.

Team news

The recall for Younis might force Rizwan out of the XI, despite a solid start to his international career, with Pakistan’s main issue being how best to balance the side. Asif looks the prime candidate to support Yasir Shah in the spin department but Malik, fresh from Test retirement and career-best figures with the ball, filled that role in the warm-up against Nepal, allowing an for an extra batsman in Babar Azam. Azhar missed the final ODI of the tour of Zimbabwe with the toe injury that kept him out of the first two Tests against England but will resume at the top of the order.Pakistan (probable): 1 Azhar Ali (capt), 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Bilal Asif/Mohammad Rizwan/Babar Azam, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Anwar Ali, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Yasir Shah, 11 Mohammad IrfanMorgan is set to play his first competitive match since being hit on the head by Mitchell Starc back in September. Buttler has been passed fit after suffering a finger injury in England’s warm-up win over Hong Kong and will retake the gloves from Jonny Bairstow, while the absence of Ben Stokes – who hurt his collarbone during the third Test but would have sat out this series anyway – means James Taylor should stay in the XI despite Joe Root’s return after he was rested against Australia. Liam Plunkett and Chris Jordan are the other pace-bowling options in the squad.England (probable): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 James Taylor, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 David Willey, 11 Reece Topley

Pitch and conditions

Both sides will be hoping for a livelier surface than that on which the Test took place, and last year New Zealand made scores of 299 for 5 and 275 for 4 batting first in Abu Dhabi – though fielding restrictions have been changed again since then. An afternoon start should mean cooler temperatures and the challenge of chasing under lights.

Stats and trivia

• England have won seven of nine ODIs against Pakistan in the UAE
• Of the 15 players who took part in England’s series whitewash in 2012, only Morgan and Buttler remain (though Steven Finn would have been involved but for injury)
• Shoaib Malik needs 10 runs to become the ninth Pakistani to score 6000 in ODIs

Quotes

“We’ll try to dominate with the bat, especially the spinners who haven’t bowled much in the subcontinent and UAE conditions.”
“White-ball cricket is something he prides himself on. In the last four years, he’s been outstanding and has shown glimpses of world-class ability.”

On the first day of the Logan Cup match between Manicaland andMatabeleland, the interest and excitement tended to outstrip thequality of the cricket. Two fine batting performances dominated,from the former Academy players Dion Ebrahim and Neil Ferreira.Otherwise the rest of the batting was pretty feeble, the bowlingwas sometimes good but basically erratic, the ground fieldingoften poor, but the catching frequently superb. Both teamscompleted an innings, with Matabeleland taking a lead of 59 runs.This match, by mutual agreement, was played at a neutral venue inHarare Sports Club due to the distance between the two centres,although Matabeleland probably had second thoughts after a longairport delay saw them arrive in Harare after 2am on the morningof the match. Their captain for the match was former Academyplayer and Under-19 captain Mark Vermeulen, with Mark Abramsunavailable for family reasons. Also missing were Ross Craig andJohn Rennie for business reasons, while Manicaland had the sametwelve as in their first match. The weather was hot andgenerally sunny, although there was some rain about. The pitchwas inevitably a little slow and giving some movement to seamers,and with a little uneven bounce the batsmen did not find it easyto play their strokes.Matabeleland decided to bat on winning the toss, and pace bowlerLeon Soma soon struck for Manicaland with two quick wickets for19 runs. Charles Coventry, now 17 but in the record books as thecountry’s youngest ever first-class player at 15, fell in thethird over without a run on the board. Perhaps with a touch ofdesperation at failing to get the board moving, he drove unwiselyand skyed a catch to extra cover. Vermeulen came in and playedsome effortless strokes, apparently back to his best form after alean period. The other opener, development player Wisdom Siziba,struggled for runs and eventually flashed at a ball outside offstump, and the resultant thick edge was well caught low down bykeeper Neil Ferreira for 3.Soma had opened the bowling with former national all-rounder MarkBurmester, who bowled well, moving the ball away from theright-hander. First-change Gary Brent had a terrible first twoovers, bowling several wides. The only way he could resolve thisinexplicable problem, he found, was to bowl with his fingersacross the seam. Vermeulen enjoyed an escape when a thick edgejust cleared gully, but then ran himself out unnecessarily. DionEbrahim off-drove a ball and called for a second, but Vermeulen(29) was unprepared and narrowly run out after quick fielding byTerry Denyer.Manicaland completed a good morning’s work with the wicket of theexperienced Neil van Rensburg (14) on the stroke of lunch, as hehelped a full toss from Denyer straight down the throat of longleg Soma. Matabeleland thus finished the morning on 93 for four,with the busy-looking Dion Ebrahim still there on 30.After lunch for a while there was the rare sight of two spinners,Lawson (off) and Denyer (leg) who both toss the ball up and relymuch on flight. They were not quite accurate enough to botherthe patient batsman, although Denyer picked up another scalp whenShaun Commerford (6) was well caught at first slip by DionYatras, the ball coming off the keeper’s gloves. Wicket-keeperWarren Gilmour (8) was bowled by a beauty from Brent that cameback enough to uproot the off stump as the batsman tried to padup, and Matabeleland were reduced to 120 for six.Ian Engelbrecht then gave Ebrahim sound support for a while in auseful partnership of 44 for the seventh wicket. Ebrahim oftenstruggled with his timing on this pitch but hung on and picked uphis runs mainly in ones and twos. He reached his fifty withoutit being recognised for several minutes due to the lack of anadequate scoreboard. He had reached 70 when Engelbrecht (19)finally steered a ball from Brent to Burmester in the gully, andthis was almost the end of the resistance. The last threebatsman never looked like staying long, and Matabeleland were allout eleven minutes short of the official tea-time for 175.Ebrahim, unable to push the score along with the tail, wasunbeaten with 76.Manicaland suffered the same sort of start to their innings asthey had inflicted on Matabeleland. Opener Patrick Gada wasbeaten and in all sorts of trouble several times before beingcaught by Vermeulen in the gully off Commerford without scoring.Mark Burmester (5) was then brilliantly caught at short leg byCoventry, diving full length at short leg to pull down a ballthat was going past him, off Matthew Townshend, and Manicalandwere 18 for two.But there was to be no real relief for Manicaland. For a shortwhile Steve Lawson stayed with Neil Ferreira, but after scoring 5he followed a ball from Hitz outside the off stump and was caughtat the wicket by Gilmour. Brent enjoyed a full toss from thesame bowler, which he hammered through midwicket for four; thenext ball was another full toss, but a well-disguised slower ballwhich beat the bat and bowled him, much to his embarrassment.The 16-year-old Stuart Matsikenyeri played soundly for 13 but,just when a recovery looked possible, he was brilliantly caughtat forward short leg by Mark Vermeulen off a firm hit. Yatrasand Denyer did not last long, and Manicaland were in real troubleat 77 for seven. Ferreira was still there, playing asheet-anchor role but unable to dominate. Soma decided the bestpolicy was to attack, and he played some fine strokes in hisbrisk 24, including a pull for six off Commerford. But then heswung at the off-breaks of Brown and dragged a ball on to his legstump, at 110 for eight.The last two Manicaland players are really only there to make upnumbers: Brian James, dismissed lbw to a ball pitching outsideleg stump, and Jason Sparrow looked quite out of their depth, andFerreira nobly sacrificed his opportunity to carry his batthrough the innings in the interests of the team. Hitting out,he was caught at mid-on by Siziba off Engelbrecht for 31, justfailing to match the effort of top-scorer Extras who made 33.The match may well be over in two days.