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Tom Latham was all purpose, BJ Watling was composed as ever, and Colin de Grandhomme played shots as if it was a carefree net, as New Zealand pulled away from Sri Lanka on the fourth day of the second Test.A rain-affected match had, nevertheless, been well balanced after nearly a full day’s play on Saturday, but on Sunday, there were only 48 overs possible. They were enough for New Zealand to clatter 186 runs though, for the loss of only Latham’s wicket, and swell their first-innings total to 382 for 5, and a lead of 138.However, with just a day left in the match, and the forecast not offering great hope of a full day’s play still, the chances of New Zealand getting an outright win to draw the series appear slim. If this Test is drawn, it will also break a sequence of 25 consecutive Tests in Sri Lanka that ended with an outright winner. The last drawn Test in Sri Lanka was when they played South Africa in July 2014.That New Zealand still have a shot at aiming for victory in a game that has had significant time cut due to rain on each day, is down to how well they batted on the day. Play only started well after the scheduled lunch break, with morning rains ensuring the first session was washed out.In another setback for Sri Lanka, Dimuth Karunaratne did not take the field at all out due to a small tear in his quadriceps, picked up while fielding on Saturday. As a result, Karunaratne will also not be able to bat higher than No.7 in the second innings. Angelo Mathews led the team in the field.Latham, batting on an overnight 111, was brisk at the start but mostly risk-free. There was some aggression against Lahiru Kumara in the 69th over which yielded 12 runs, but Latham also had a narrow break in that over. Having just picked off a boundary to fine leg, he slashed hard at the next ball which took the edge and flew over the slips for another boundary. Had Mathews, at second slip, reacted quicker though and risen up in time, the ball would have been at catchable height for him.Overall though, Latham and Watling didn’t play in slam-bang fashion, making it clear that New Zealand weren’t looking for a ‘hit out and declare quickly’ approach. Rather, they seemed to calculate that putting on a big first-innings score and having a crack at Sri Lanka last on the final day was a more viable option.That was to change with de Grandhomme’s entry, his naturally attacking style also suited to the need for quicker runs too. De Grandhomme had walked in with Watling on 55, but at stumps he was batting on 83 off 75, having overtaken Watling who was on 81.Latham and Watling had set the stage while marching forward inexorably until Dilruwan Perera bowled a quicker one that skid on and rapped Latham on the pads. Even a review couldn’t save him, with three reds meaning the on-field decision was upheld and he had to be on his way, ending a stand of 143.De Grandhomme started briskly enough, but picked up the pace significantly after the tea break. In the 99th over, he carted left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya for four, six and six off consecutive balls – the last shot taking him to a half-century off 45 balls. Watling meanwhile, held his end up solid as ever, and New Zealand looked set to breach the 400-mark but the gathering dusk and rain clouds meant another end to the day before the scheduled close.

Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton believes he could step up to solve England's midfield problems as he sends defiant message to Gareth Southgate.

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• Wharton sends message to Southgate
• England midfielders have failed to perform at Euro 2024
• Three Lions face Slovenia on Tuesday

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The England manager has seen his experiment of fielding Trent Alexander-Arnold as a midfielder miserably fail in the first two matches of Euro 2024. The Liverpool star was replaced by Conor Gallagher in both matches in the second half, however, the Chelsea midfielder also failed to live up to the expectations.

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  Southgate admitted after the Denmark clash that his decision to make Alexander-Arnold a makeshift midfielder has flopped while making a bizarre statement that the Three Lions are yet to find a proper replacement for Kalvin Phillips.

• WHAT ADAM WHARTON SAID

  Ahead of their final group game against Slovenia, Wharton sent a strong message to his boss as he claimed he is ready to solve their midfield crisis. When asked if he could take Phillips' role in the team, Wharton replied, "Yeah. And so do the other players in similar positions, who think they could have a positive effect on the team. I have got belief that no matter who, where or when I play football I can affect a game. I think you have to think like that.

  "If I think, 'I can’t handle this', then what am I doing here? That’s the way I look at it now. I believe I can affect any game I play in, so I am just making sure I am ready if I am called upon to help."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR ENGLAND?

  Southgate's side will aim for three points to seal their knockout berth as group toppers as they face Slovenia on Tuesday night.

Manchester United are unlikely to meet Everton's huge asking price for English defender Jarrad Branthwaite.

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Man Utd could pull out of Branthwaite transfer raceUnlikely to meet Everton's asking priceRatcliffe won't overpay for transfersWHAT HAPPENED?

United made the 21-year-old England international their primary defensive transfer target in the upcoming summer window, however, reports that the club could now consider pulling out of the move as they consider Everton's asking price for the player extremely high.

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The report claims that the Toffees are demanding a fee in the region of £70m (€83m/$89m) which the Red Devils' new co-owners Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS group are unlikely to match. It is believed that Ratcliffe is against continuing the club's old tradition of overpaying in the transfer market.

DID YOU KNOW?

Other than Branthwaite, the Manchester-based club have also included Nice and France defender Jean-Clair Todibo in their shortlist. They reportedly held talks with Tosin Adarabioyo's representatives before he completed a free transfer to Chelsea.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED?

Erik ten Hag's side will be back in action towards the end of July as the English giants are all set to travel to the US for pre-season. They are scheduled to face teams like Arsenal, Liverpool and Real Betis in America.

An exciting, absorbing third day’s play at Guildford saw 17 wickets tumble and ended with Surrey, the 2018 champions, still believing that a remarkable first victory of the season is possible against Somerset, last year’s runners-up.Needing 267 to win, Surrey will start the final day on 99 for 2, with Scott Borthwick on 35 not out after adding a determined 72 in 27 overs for the second wicket with Rory Burns, who slog-swept left-arm spinner Jack Leach for six and also hit eight fours in an excellent 48.Jack Brooks, who also bowled Mark Stoneman for 12 in his second over with the new ball, struck a potentially crucial blow just before the close, however, when he had Burns, Surrey’s captain, caught at first slip. Scoring the remaining 168 runs Surrey require will not be an easy task.In seam-friendly conditions, under overcast skies, Surrey had earlier resurrected their chances in dramatic fashion, Matt Dunn taking a career-best 5 for 43 as Somerset’s last seven second-innings wickets fell for 39 and they were bowled out for 153.James Hildreth’s silky 64 from 80 balls, including 11 fours and by far the best batting of the day, had threatened to put the game beyond Surrey’s reach after a hostile new-ball spell of 6-2-12-2 from Morne Morkel had removed openers Tom Abell and Marcus Trescothick.Tom Banton then fell to Dunn, leg-before for 12 on the stroke of lunch, to leave Somerset 50 for 3 but Hildreth and first-innings centurion George Bartlett added 64 for the fourth wicket to put the visitors seemingly in complete control.Ryan Patel, however, who was last out for a defiant 63 when Surrey slid from their overnight 188 for 5 to 231 all out, then shaped one into Hildreth’s pads to win a leg-before appeal – the ball appearing to hit pad and then bat – and, suddenly, Somerset were struggling to build the lead of above 300 that would surely have made them overwhelming favourites.Bartlett, on 16, edged Rikki Clarke to be athletically caught to his right by keeper Ben Foakes, and then Morkel and Dunn sparked the Somerset collapse. Still, the victory target is a stiff one on a pitch that makes batting a testing business, especially against the new ball.At the start of the day, Craig Overton’s opening spell of 5-1-12-3 had set the tone for what was to follow, with Surrey losing their last five wickets for 41 runs in 14 overs.But Somerset’s second innings began with Abell and Trescothick, respectively, caught at gully for 9 and behind the wicket for 12, although the latter clearly did not think he had touched the ball. Morkel, however, was extracting fearsome lift and, even with an older ball when he was brought back in mid-afternoon, facing the giant South African was not for the faint-hearted.Morkel, on his return, had Craig Overton caught and bowled for 1 with his first ball – which spat from just short of a length to take the shoulder of the bat and loop so high into the air that the bowler could run forwards and take the catch just beside the batsman.Dunn then finished off the innings in some style, having Jamie Overton caught behind for 2, trapping Steven Davies leg-before for 16 and, after tea, bowling Jack Leach for 5 and also swinging one back into Tim Groenewald’s stumps to dismiss him for 10.Craig Overton’s early morning burst earned him final figures of 5 for 38 in Surrey’s first innings. Will Jacks did not add to his overnight 13 before edging to second slip, Clarke steered to gully after a bright and breezy 20 and Morkel miscued to mid-on without scoring.Jamie Overton ended with 3 for 46, with Patel skying an intended pull to mid on, and Groenewald picked up the other Surrey wicket to fall, that of Gareth Batty for a duck, as the seamers of both sides dominated the day.

The January transfer window has now been open for over two weeks and Celtic appear set to enjoy a busy couple of weeks as they prepare to make several new signings.

Football Insider recently reported that the Scottish giants would like to end the month with four new players to bolster their current playing squad.

Scottish Premiership top six (via Sofascore)

Team

Position

Matches played

Points

Celtic

1

22

54

Rangers

2

20

46

Hearts

3

21

36

Kilmarnock

4

22

31

St Mirren

5

22

29

Hibernian

6

20

25

They are closing in on a £2.8m deal to sign Rapid Wien forward Nicolas Kuhn as the first of those four additions to improve the depth on the wing.

The Bhoys are also in the market to land a left-back, a centre-forward, and a new goalkeeper to provide Brendan Rodgers with the best chance of having a successful second half of the campaign.

Celtic's search for a new goalkeeper

A new number one is on the agenda for the Northern Irish head coach this month and the Hoops have now been linked with a swoop for a young stopper.

According to the Dr. Football Podcast in Iceland, Celtic are interested in a deal to sign Elfsborg goalkeeper Hákon Valdimarsson before the end of the window.

They state that the Scottish side are one of a number of teams keen on the talented young shot-stopper, who they describe as being 'highly rated'.

Anderlecht and Gent are two of the other clubs looking at a possible deal for the Iceland international but they are not prepared to match the asking price at this time.

Elfsborg are said to want a fee in the region of €2.5m (£2.1m) and have already rejected one offer from Belgian side Gent for an unknown fee.

It remains unclear if the Hoops are able or willing to pay around £2.1m to sign Valdimarsson or if it is a target that may have to wait until the summer transfer window.

Current Celtic number one Joe Hart is out of contract at the end of the season and it remains to be seen whether or not either party are willing to extend his stay at Parkhead.

The club's eagerness to sign another goalkeeper suggests that they are looking to the future, whether that means they want a number one immediately or the future remains to be seen, beyond the former England international.

Hart's Celtic career in numbers

Celtic signed Hart on a permanent deal from Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur ahead of the 2021/22 campaign during Ange Postecoglou's first season in charge.

The former Manchester City star enjoyed a terrific debut campaign in Scottish football as he hit the ground running with a string of fantastic performances in the Scottish Premiership.

He played 35 of the club's 38 top-flight matches in his first season and kept an eye-catching 19 clean sheets to go along with a save success rate of 73%.

This shows that opposition teams found it hard to get past Celtic's defence and the English titan as they romped their way to the league title.

However, his save success rate dropped to 65% throughout the 2022/23 Premiership campaign and is currently at 67% this season under Rodgers, which shows that the veteran shot-stopper's form has declined since his debut year in Scotland.

Hart vs Champions League goalkeepers (via FBref)

23/24 Champions League (per 90)

Percentile rank

Post-shot xG minus goals allowed (-0.28)

Bottom 14%

Goals against (2.5)

Bottom 7%

Crosses stopped (1.2%)

Bottom 20%

Defensive actions outside penalty area (0.17)

Bottom 13%

Average distance of defensive actions (5.9 yards)

Bottom 1%

As you can see in the table above, Hart has been a poor performer in Europe for Celtic with his struggles in several key areas of goalkeeping.

He underperformed as a shot-stopper in comparison to the post-shot xG value of the efforts on his goal, which means that the experienced dud let in far more than the average goalkeeper would be expected to.

Hart also ranked lowly as a sweeper and when it came to collecting crosses, which also meant that he did not take the pressure off his defence very often.

Why Valdimarsson could be an upgrade on Hart

Celtic could land a big upgrade on the former England international by securing a £2.1m deal to sign Valdimarsson from Elfsborg before the end of the window.

He has caught the eye with his sublime performances in Sweden since the start of the 2022 season and his displays for Elfsborg suggest that the potential is there for him to offer more for the Hoops than Hart currently does.

During the 2023 campaign, Valdimarsson started 29 Allsvenskan matches for his side and enjoyed a superb save success rate of 77% to go along with 13 clean sheets, which suggests that the quality is there for him to keep out far more shots than Celtic's current stopper.

Vs Portugal (19/11/23)

Valdimarsson (via Sofascore)

Goals conceded

Two

Saves

Nine

High claims

Three

Saves inside the box

Seven

Save success rate

82%

Duel success rate

100%

Sofascore rating

8.2

Elfsborg's young titan showcased his quality on the international stage for Iceland earlier this term with an impressive display against the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes in a European Championship qualifier, which suggests that he can step up and perform against top-quality opposition.

The 22-year-old colossus, who was hailed as having "great potential" by manager Jimmy Thelin, also played 14 top-flight games throughout the 2022 season and saved 73% of the shots on his goal to earn himself four clean sheets.

He has also been a proactive goalkeeper who can come off his line to help out his defence with 1.0 successful run-outs per game in 2023 across his 29 league outings.

Meanwhile, Hart has completed 0.3 successful run-outs per match across all three of his Premiership seasons for Celtic to date, which suggests that he does not provide as much relief for his backline when balls are played over the top or down the sides of the centre-backs into the space between them and the goalkeeper.

Therefore, Valdimarrson could arrive at Parkhead as a big upgrade on the current Hoops number one if he can translate his performances in Sweden over to Scottish football, which his exceptional display against Portugal suggests he has the quality to do.

At the age of 22, he could also be a superb signing for the future as the Elfsborg star is a staggering 14 years younger than Hart and has plenty of time left ahead of him to be Rodgers' long-term shot-stopper.

The 2023/24 Premier League season has been another one to forget for Chelsea fans, and it has only just crossed the halfway point.

The massive spending in the summer and the appointment of former Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has done little to improve upon the poor performances of last year and if anything, the side look worse.

Aside from Cole Palmer and potentially Đorđe Petrović, it would be hard to describe any of the summer signings as successes, and with the January window now open and Benfica's Antonio Silva heavily touted for a move to Stamford Bridge, Axel Disasi could be about to lose his place in the starting XI – if not the entire club

Chelsea transfer news – Antonio Silva

According to Portuguese newspaper A Bola (via Sport Witness), Chelsea are incredibly interested in Benfica's promising young centre-back Silva and have even made an offer in the region of €60m, which is about £52m.

However, the Portuguese giants swiftly rejected the proposal, and as such, the Blues have reportedly 'found the door firmly closed on them'.

That said, while the report is clear that the Eagles do not want to sell their star defender midway through the season, there is said to be a €100m – £86m – release clause in his contract, which the club have 'pointed to' as Chelsea and Manchester United have persisted in their interest.

It is going to take a serious effort from Todd Boehly and Co to get this deal over the line this month without paying for the full release clause.

Still, based on Chelsea's actions in the market in past years, they might just be able to get it done – to the detriment of current starter Disasi.

Axel Disasi could lose his place in the team to Antonio Silva

The 25-year-old Frenchman only joined the Blues in the summer from Ligue 1 side AS Monaco, but he has already become one of the first names on the team sheet for Pochettino, starting 90% of Chelsea's Premier League games and 100% of cup games.

Yet, despite his seeming importance to the manager's set-up, he has not been all that impressive. In fact, he has been poor for much of the season, with talkSPORT pundit Andy Jacobs labelling him a "disaster" earlier in the season and former Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand claiming that he wouldn't play him next season on his podcast, FIVE.

Now, players can often struggle in their first season in the Premier League, and so perhaps next year, when he has had time to acclimatise to the league, he'll be far more impressive and be able to justify his place in the XI, although at a team like Chelsea, in the state that they are in, he might not get that chance, especially if Silva comes in.

That said, how do the pair's underlying numbers compare? Is there a significant difference between them, or is this a classic case of the grass always being greener on the other side?

Unfortunately for Disasi, there is a difference and a marked one at that.

The Portuguese "smooth operator", as U23 scout Antonio Mango dubbed him, comes out on top in every critical metric and by quite some way in a few of them.

Stats per 90

Silva

Disasi

Progressive Passes

4.47

4.12

Progressive Carries

1.07

1.02

Passing Accuracy

92.5%

89.7%

Shot-Creating Actions

0.87

0.45

Tackles Won

1.80

0.68

Blocks

2.07

0.79

Interceptions

0.60

0.56

Clearances

3.47

3.28

Aerial Duels Wn

2.37

2.13

All Stats via FBref for the 2023/24 Domestic Season

He wins far more tackles, makes more blocks, interceptions and clearances, wins more aerial duels than Disasi, and he's also more of a goal threat as he produces more shot-creating actions and progressive passes per 90 than the Frenchman.

Ultimately, this would be an expensive deal to complete, and while it could be seen as harsh on the former Monaco man, if Chelsea have the chance to sign a player Mango described as being "born to play football", then they must take it.

Colin Munro, who averages only 22.15 since January 2018, was replaced by Henry Nicholls at the top for the 4th ODI against India and it’s likely to be the same for the 5th game too

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Feb-2019

Henry Nicholls plays a sweep•Getty Images

As New Zealand firm up on their preparations for the World Cup 2019, one of the spots that could see a shift is at the top, with Henry Nicholls replacing Colin Munro. Nicholls was preferred ahead of Munro in the fourth ODI against India and made an unbeaten 30 as New Zealand chased down India’s 92 all out in just 14.4 overs.Munro was dropped after below-par returns at the top of the order. Though he has scored quickly, Munro averages only 22.15 since January 2018, and his career average is 25.31.Nicholls, who averages 35.60 at a strike-rate of 87.42 from 37 ODIs, was pushed up the order with Munro left out of the XI. This was the first time Nicholls had opened in ODIs, though he said an ascendancy in the batting order had been discussed with coach Gary Stead.”The coach has talked me a little bit about it being an option throughout the summer,” Nicholls said. “We knew it was going to happen a couple of days out. For me, it wasn’t too much of a change. I’ve done it for Canterbury quite a bit. It’s just making a bit of a mental adjustment that you’re going to have a bit more time to bat than usual. It’s something I enjoyed doing.”Nicholls said that batting lower down the order had prepared him for reacting to different situations.”When you open you have a lot more certainty around the situation you’re coming into,” he said. “Batting at six has helped me a lot in my game in terms of the situation always being different when you’re coming in. Either you’re trying to rebuild the innings, or you’re trying to finish off an innings. Getting back at the top where I usually bat at Canterbury and coming through the age-groups is something I enjoyed doing. And having Martin’s [Guptill] experience there certainly helped me as well.”Nicholls has opened in nine List A Games for Canterbury, and averages 77.57 in those at quicker than a run a ball. The majority of those games happened in 2014 and 2015, but with Stead as coach of Canterbury.ALSO READ: The Importance of Henry Nicholls”Part of our campaign plan for this Indian series was to look at options at the top of the order, and Henry Nicholls has been a bit of a fix-it man across a number of areas,” Stead told I know from my time when I was coaching Henry at Canterbury that he had opened before … so it wasn’t a real surprise to me that he could do this.”In terms of the future and where we go, who knows at this stage. Colin Munro is certainly in our plans; I think it’s likely that Henry will get another go in the short-term though. After that, who knows, there’s selection [discussions] we still need to go through. Colin Munro, it certainly isn’t the end of him, but we’ve talked about things and we’ve worked out some areas of the game we want to keep seeing Colin improve in.”India had already sealed the five-match ODI series by winning the first three games, but the home side ensured they had something to show with victory in the fourth ODI. The win was built on Trent Boult’s 5 for 21, bowling all ten overs in an unbroken spell at the top.”He’s a world-class bowler,” Nicholls said. “I think the guys at the other end as well supported him really well. Certainly the longest spell I’ve seen him bowl. Bowling ten overs on the trot in the heat as well, as well as he did, was huge. It was pretty inspiring. And with the work at the other end it was a really complete performance with the ball. It was nice for us to get back to playing the cricket that we know we can play. Trent led us with the ball, and really emphatic victory.”The fifth and final ODI will take place in Wellington on February 3.

Virat Kohli’s team are in the rare position of leading a series in Australia as the home side’s brittle top order remains in the spotlight

The Preview by Hemant Brar13-Dec-20182:42

‘We want to make Kohli work hard for every run’ – Paine

Big PictureIn cricketing lexicon, Perth has been synonymous with pace and bounce for the last five decades. A fiery surface with cracks so wide you could insert a whole finger, or lose a key, the WACA ground offered visiting batsmen their sternest test even if its liveliest days had been left in the past. On Friday, though, when the city hosts India for the second Test of the four-match series, the venue will not be the same.On the other side of the Swan River, a brand new Perth Stadium will welcome both sides for its debut Test. A drop-in pitch is expected to recreate the pace and bounce akin to the old stadium, with the curator calling it the “the bounciest possible” track.After their victory in Adelaide, India should be the more confident of the two sides. One big reason is they have a pace attack which can match the opposition in all conditions. Another key factor is the Adelaide win came without a significant contribution from Virat Kohli’s bat. There was a crucial 34 in the second innings, but it was Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane who helped India keep their noses ahead. However, injuries to Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin might have dampened their spirits a bit.Australia started 2018 by winning the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney and then beating South Africa comprehensively in Durban, but since then hardly anything has gone right for them. While they earned a hard-fought draw against Pakistan in Dubai, and even in the first Test of this series were never out of the game, those two remain their only Test wins so far this year.Though Mitchell Starc looked below par in Adelaide, he did pick up five wickets in the Test. Australia have their first-choice pace attack and their most-successful offspinner to back them up, but with India’s bowling attack being equally strong, the onus to make a difference lies with their batsmen. There was 72 from Travis Head in the first innings in Adelaide, and 60 from Shaun Marsh in the second, but the expectations would be to go on and convert those into big hundreds.Form guideAustralia LLDLL (last five Tests, most recent first)
India WWWLLIn the spotlightWith just 12 wickets in his last five Tests at an average of 48.66 and a strike rate of 91.42, Mitchell Starc hasn’t been at his penetrative best. Australia understand how important Starc’s form is if they want to pull things back, and that’s why he was the only one from their first-choice pace trio to hit nets on Wednesday. However, the Perth wicket is expected to offer bounce, and given the pace Starc possesses, he should create problems if manages to hit the right line and length.There was a good contest between Pat Cummins and KL Rahul•Getty ImagesBefore coming to Australia, KL Rahul’s last nine dismissals in Test cricket were either bowled or lbw. While he has avoided those modes so far on this tour, his shot selection has been far from admirable. His dismissal in the first innings of India’s only practice game – driving on the up and finding mid-off – forced batting coach Sanjay Bangar to ask him to play responsibly. Although he scored an important 44 in the second innings in Adelaide, he was out playing loose shots outside off in both innings. With Prithvi Shaw making promising progress in his recovery from an ankle injury, Rahul may need a few runs to secure his spot.Team newsDespite Aaron Finch’s twin failure and a 31-run defeat in the first Test, Australia have named an unchanged XI which means Mitchell Marsh again sits out.Australia 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Marcus Harris, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Shaun Marsh, 5 Peter Handscomb, 6 Travis Head, 7 Tim Paine (capt & wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh HazlewoodInjuries to Rohit, who jarred his lower back while fielding during the first Test, and Ashwin, out with an abdominal strain, have forced India to alter their winning combination. While Ravindra Jadeja can bowl tirelessly from one end so that the quicks can be rotated from the other – a role Ashwin played in Adelaide – the prospect an all-pace attack cannot be ruled out.India (probable) 1 M Vijay, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt) 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Hanuma Vihari, 7 Rishabh Pant (wk), 8 Ravindra Jadeja/Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Ishant Sharma, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Jasprit BumrahPitch and conditionsOn the eve of the game, both pitch and outfield were almost the same colour – lush green. But this was before the final shave and while there is a promise of pace and bounce, only time will tell how the wicket actually behaves. There has only been one first-class match at the venue. The first day of the match is expected to be the hottest, with the temperature peaking at 36C. Therefore, it won’t be a surprise if the captain winning the toss opts to bat first, which a) has been a successful ploy recently, and b) will give the bowlers an extra day of rest.Stats and trivia So far in 2018, India’s fast bowlers have a combined strike rate of 47.3 in Test cricket — their best-ever in a calendar year. Mitchell Starc is nine wickets away from becoming the 17th Australia bowler to reach 200 Test wickets. KL Rahul needs 106 runs more to complete 2000 runs in Test cricket. Perth Stadium will become the tenth Australian venue to host a Test.Quotes”There’s only been a few games played here so it’s a bit of an unknown, it looks a little bit green but feels pretty firm underneath and I think it’ll actually play pretty well for the first couple of days. But I’m no expert and I could be completely wrong.”
“We certainly get more excited than nervous looking at lively pitches now. We understand that we do have a bowling attack which can bowl the opposition out as much as they are convinced about their attack.”

Nottingham Forest fans were left fuming after three penalty appeals were turned down in their 2-0 loss to relegation rivals Everton.

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• Everton beat Forest 2-0 at Goodison Park
• Visitors have three penalty shouts rejected
• Fans fume over decisions on social media

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Everton deepened Forest's relegation worries with a 2-0 win at Goodison Park on Sunday thanks to goals in either half from Idrissa Gueye and Dwight McNeil. While the scoreline would suggest a comfortable victory, the visitors were denied three penalties in this relegation six-pointer. First, Ashley Young appeared to kick Giovanni Reyna's foot in the box, then a cross hit Young's outstretched arm in the area, and then Callum Hudson-Odoi went down under pressure from Young but again, Forest didn't get the call they desired. Unsurprisingly, their supporters were livid that referee Anthony Taylor and the VAR team did not award them any spot kicks.

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  WHAT THE FANS ARE SAYING

  On X, Chris Kearney tweeted: "VAR has made 3 of the quickest penalty checks in Premier League history here. Every single one of them they’ve got wrong. Wp (Well played) Stuart Attwell."

  Tom Garrett commented: "Forest have been robbed of a stone wall penalty there 🤣🤣🤣 what is the point of VAR??"

  Dan Goodall posted: "I honestly think there’s a vendetta against Forest mind. How they haven’t had a penalty today is beyond me," while Viktor Fagerstrom put: "Forest aren't getting a penalty in this game. Ref simply made up his mind before the game. It's the only explanation."

  Finally, Jam added: "OMG, refereeing in England is in the gutter. Nottingham Forest should have had 3 penalties against Everton. All Ashley Young. Pathetic."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The result means Everton are five points clear of the relegation zone, plus they have a game in hand on 18th-placed Luton Town. Forest, meanwhile, are one point clear of the bottom three and missed a big chance to take a giant leap towards safety – although their fans would argue they were let down by the officials.

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  DID YOU KNOW?

  This season, Everton have been docked eight points for two separate profit and sustainability rule breaches, while Forest picked up a four-point deduction in March for a similar offence, too. Both sides are hoping to regain some points on appeal.

Manchester United’s recent form has led them to near crisis point, as the club have only won once in four Champions League ties, while they occupy sixth spot in the Premier League table.

This has led to Erik ten Hag being placed under a lot of pressure and with a run of crucial fixtures coming up, he cant afford to slip up anymore.

The Old Trafford side play Liverpool, Newcastle United, Chelsea and Bayern Munich all in the coming weeks and if they can get through this tough run unscathed, there might just be hope for the Dutchman yet.

Much will depend on how his side performs, however, as they have struggled to control matches this season, while their faltering attack has failed them in the big matches.

Not only that, but their defence has been bordering on shambolic in spells this term also. The Red Devils have conceded 30 goals in just 18 matches, and it isn’t even December yet.

No wonder they are struggling both domestically and in Europe, as Ten Hag has been let down by players who arguably should have departed the club during the summer transfer window.

Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof are not the defenders that the former Ajax boss requires to take his team to the next level, and they have had to play more than anticipated due to injury problems to others.

Harry Maguire's and Victor Lindelof's numbers this season

The duo earn a combined total of £370k-per-week – 9% of the weekly wage bill – yet their performances on the field simply don’t match up to earning this substantial amount.

The pair currently rank in 15th and 16th spot respectively across the United squad in the league for tackles per game (0.6 and 0.4) along with ranking fourth and 12th for interceptions per game (0.7 and 0.4) and these stats clearly show how little they are influencing the team from a defensive point of view.

Lindelof has won just 41% of his ground duels in the league this term, while Maguire has won just 50% of his, indicating that they are struggling in one-on-one battles with opposition players.

The quicker Ten Hag has a fit Lisandro Martínez back the better. Until then, the Dutchman is going to have to use the aforementioned duo, until the January transfer window at least.

With just a few weeks to go until the window opens, it appears the 53-year-old is eyeing a move for a defender or two, and a Frenchman has emerged as a key target…

Maguire and Lindelof's potential replacement

Jean-Clair Todibo was originally a target for the club during the summer transfer window, yet no move ever materialised, but this hasn’t put Ten Hag going back in for the Nice star.

According to The Mirror, the Old Trafford side are prioritising a move for a defender in the upcoming winter window and this means they could be back in for Todibo.

With Sir Jim Ratcliffe close to securing a 25% share in Utd, he also owns Nice, for whom Todibo plays which could potentially play into the hands of the Red Devils during any potential move.

Having missed out on him during the summer, Ten Hag will be aiming to avoid a repeat of that in the next few weeks, as he is desperate to improve his options at the back.

He may need to ship a few players on for this to become a reality, however, especially as the manager doesn't quite know what sort of budget he will be working with.

Jean-Clair Todibo’s career statistics

The Frenchman started his career with Toulouse before making a switch to Barcelona in 2019, yet this didn’t exactly go to plan as he made just five appearances during his spell in Spain.

The defender has impressed having joined Nice in 2021, and he hasn’t looked back since, making over 100 appearances for the club whilst even earning two caps for France recently, showing how far he has come over the last couple of years.

Accurate passes per game

56.7

78.2

Tackles per game

2.2

2

Interceptions per game

1.2

1.4

Clearances per game

3.1

2.8

Total duels won per game

4.4

4.5

Stats via Sofascore

Talent scout Jacek Kulig lavished praise on him at the start of the year, saying: “One of the most underrated CBs in Europe at the moment. Having a really good season despite Nice underachieving quite a lot. Superb build-up and defensive attributes. Complete package.”

United clearly missed a trick not luring him to Manchester, especially with his statistics for the French club in recent times.

Indeed, the 6 foot 2 titan impressed when compared to his positional peers over the last 12 months. According to FBref, he currently ranks in the top 5% for tackles per 90 (2.47), the top 10% for attempted passes per 90 (76.4) and the top 7% for successful take-ons per 90 (0.62), proving he excelled across a wide range of performance metrics.

Not only that, but he also ranks second across the Nice squad for accurate passes per game (78.2) in Ligue 1, along with ranking second for tackles per game (two) and for interceptions per game (1.4), proving that he is one of the better performers in their squad.

The 23-year-old is certainly a massive talent and the next step for him in his career is to secure a move to the Premier League, especially as he can continue his development across the channel.

The youngster has shown that he is ready to make the step up to a club like United and, with their current defensive woes, he would immediately improve their backline.

Maguire and Lindelof surely don’t have much longer left in Manchester. The Swede is out of contract at the end of the current season and it is unlikely that he will secure a new deal.

The Englishman, on the other hand, has a year longer on his contract, yet considering how close he was to joining West Ham United in the summer, he certainly won't be around by then.

This upcoming window could be Ten Hag’s most important yet, although much will depend on whether he is still actually in charge following a tough run of fixtures.

If he is and United are able to sign one or two top-class defenders, their fortunes might just change during the second half of the season.