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To hang in there or go for broke, they’ll know soon enough

Alan Gardner30-Nov-2022It is 17 years since England last played Test cricket in Pakistan, and more than two decades since they managed to win a game there (one of only two victories in 24 attempts). In 2000-01, Nasser Hussain wanted his team to “stay in the series for as long as possible”, a plan which came together beautifully as they stole the spoils under cover of dusk in Karachi.This time around, Brendon McCullum has made it clear that draws are very much the last refuge of this England side – and even suggested that the tourists would accept being beaten as a result of pushing for the win. Their “Bazball” approach has been well documented, but will it pay off in conditions associated much more closely with grinding out results? And even if their batters can capitalise on what may be docile surfaces, do they have the tools to take 20 wickets, as Australia achieved during their 1-0 series win earlier this year?Batters up
With Test cricket only having returned to Pakistan three years ago, due to the security situation and the reluctance of teams to tour, there is obviously a limited sample size on which to base assumptions about the style of cricket that might succeed. “I’ve told guys to not go in there with too many preconceived notions,” Usman Khawaja said before Australia flew into the country in February. “We’ve toured India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, but I wouldn’t be going over to Pakistan thinking they’re going to be exactly the same wickets.”As Khawaja was to discover, on his way to a series-leading aggregate of 496 runs at 165.33, Pakistan can be very hospitable for batters. In fact, since December 2019, no Test-playing country has a higher average runs per wicket than the 37.28 achieved in Pakistan.!function(){“use strict”;window.addEventListener(“message”,(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var t=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var a in e.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data["datawrapper-height"][a]+"px"}}}))}();

He was in England 10 years ago, didn’t look likely to be back, but here he is, as one of Pakistan’s best

Osman Samiuddin04-Aug-2020Of all the players who debuted – or were still very early in their careers – on that tour of England a decade ago, Azhar Ali looked the least likely to still be around. Umar Akmal was just five Tests old and there were 129 + 75 + 46 + 52 +0 + 77 + 51 + 27 + 49 + 49 + 8 + 15 reasons to love him already. Umar Amin was this left-handed stylist and Mohammad Amir, so Imran Khan told us, was better than Wasim Akram at that age.Yet not only is Azhar still around and back at the scene of his debut, ten years on he’s now at the back-end of a pretty illustrious career. Only six batsmen have scored more Test runs than him since then and three of those are all-timers.If he looked least likely then it wasn’t because he didn’t do well – he was Pakistan’s second-highest run-scorer across those two Test series and his two fifties – 51 and 92* – were in low-scoring wins. It wasn’t that he didn’t look the part though, ok, maybe that a little: ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data reckons he was in control for 85% of the balls he faced but thinking back now, you’d argue there’s a stray extra digit in there. The abiding memory is of Azhar squared up, beaten, little foot movement as if by moving his feet, he may set off a mine or two.No, it was more that he was precisely that kind of strait-laced, honest struggler that Pakistan cricket loses so easily. Not aggressive enough, not gifted enough, not a personality enough, not ambitious enough, not willing to make enough noise about perceived injustices, all attributes often mistaken for cricket ability in Pakistan.Azhar Ali will captain Pakistan•Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesLucky for him that he was about to enter an era in Pakistan cricket unlike any before it, one that valued him for not being any of that. Slowly, incrementally and under watchful guidance, his batting grew so that he became an integral part of the Misbah-ul-Haq years, at the centre of some of its finest triumphs.And looking back now it makes sense that once he did get through that summer, it was the making of him. Because it was a torrid tour, not least on the field where the ball swung like it has rarely since. Off the field doesn’t need recapping here. The average age of the XI that took the field against Australia in the first Test of that summer – Azhar’s debut – was 25. Azhar was 25. He is the only survivor from it and rarely does ‘survivor’ feel as appropriate a word in a sporting context than it does in the context of that summer. That summer should’ve come with a support group, for players and fans alike.”I learnt to take on a challenge, that’s the biggest thing,” he said, on the eve of the Old Trafford Test against England. “If your first tour is challenging, and I was against two top sides, for me, I was thinking I’ve played the toughest cricket there is first, now I can build on that.”I contributed in the two wins and it gave me belief that if I can do well there, in those conditions, then I can overcome most challenges anywhere. Also, I learnt that there will be ups and downs over a career but you can’t give up. Sometimes, as a young player, you give up on yourself and you develop doubts. But I got support and eventually that tour became a guide through my career.”He’s right. What could’ve been tougher after that? Not playing at home. Pfft, done. Career troughs, everyone has them. Playing a Test again after a long gap, as is the case for so many after in this pandemic? Azhar’s a Test-only player from a non-Big Three member – a five-month gap is standard pretty much every year (though in other years he is likelier to get some competitive cricket in between).Azhar Ali gets ready for a hit•Getty ImagesCaptaincy? However suited he is or isn’t, as an experience, it can’t match those of the two who captained him on that tour. Or the future captain who also debuted in his first Test. And remember this is also still, quite literally, the Misbah era, so there is a degree of on and off-field stability, even if it is a trade-off for (Misbah’s) weird selections and (Azhar’s) tepid captaincy.It actually says something about the success of Azhar’s career subsequently, that he returns now with the slightest whiff of unfulfillment about it. The post-MisYou years, as he has often admitted, have not been good ones. It’s been doubly frustrating not because he was expected to fill that gap, but because he had filled that gap. In the two years leading up to their retirement, he had more runs, more hundreds and a better average than both of them. After the Australia tour of 2016-17, his average was up to 47. It is now in a slightly fraught place, not dissimilar to his debut tour. He needs runs and he’s not looking like he can make too many of them.Let’s revisit that earlier table though, of the leading run-scorers, since his debut. The figure to look at there is not the runs, or the hundreds or the average. The sixes hit is fun, because he’s hit more than Hashim Amla and Kane Williamson.But 14,129 is the one to note, the balls faced, the most by any other than Alastair Cook. He’s faced one more ball than Joe Root, who has played 26 more innings. On average, he faces plays 96.12 balls every time he goes to bat, the third-most after Steve Smith and Cheteshwar Pujara (since Azhar’s debut, and with a minimum of 100 innings played).No numbers capture the essence of Azhar quite like these, still around all this time later, a storm weathered only to live through some more.

da pinnacle： Aston Villa are in talks over selling an “incredible” player as their deadline to raise money approaches, with NSWE having till Monday to balance the books in an effort to avoid potential PSR sanctions.

da dobrowin： As per a recent estimation by The Athletic, Villa can only record a loss of around £15 million and stay in line with PSR for 2024/2025.

Related £120k-a-week Aston Villa outfielder has now opened talks to join elite club

He could leave with Emiliano Martinez.

Posts 1 ByEmilio Galantini Jun 21, 2025

As things stand, Unai Emery’s side are above that mark, and face the possibility of Premier League sanctions if they don’t source cash by the start of the next football financial year – which begins on July 1.

Villa are attempting to sell their women’s team right now in an effort to generate much-needed income, but if that cannot restore their PSR balance, or if they fail to agree a deal in time, then player sales are the next-best option.

Emiliano Martínez, Youri Tielemans, Amadou Onana and Lucas Digne are among the Villa first-teamers linked with high-profile exits before the June 30 deadline, but they’re quickly running out of time.

The club’s president of footballing operations, Monchi, is reportedly working hard to secure a significant sale ahead of the cut-off date (Football Insider), but football finance expert Dan Plumley has reassured supporters there will be a limit in terms of who they’re willing to part company with.

“I still think even with a question mark over Villa and where they’re at with PSR, it’s unlikely that they will be desperate to sell a Watkins or a Rogers as an example,” said Plumley to Football Insider.

“I think if they are going to move players on, it’s probably going to be one or two of the fringe players on the squad. I think Villa would fight hard against that is what I’m saying.

“And I think if a club’s going to look to do that, I could understand it to a degree, but I don’t see Villa trying to sell a Watkins or a Rogers quickly in the next few days for a cut-price fee.

“I think those are two players in particular that they’ll want to keep, and if someone’s going to buy those players, the premium’s going to be high.”

Instead, a far more viable option comes in the form of young right-back Kosta Nedeljkovic.

Aston Villa in talks to sell Kosta Nedeljkovic

The 19-year-old, after being used sparingly by Emery over the first half of last season, was shipped out on loan to RB Leipzig for the second part of 2024/2025, and the Bundesliga side are keen to sign him permanently.

That is according to Sky Germany reporter Philipp Hinze, who also reports that Villa are in talks with Leipzig over selling Nedeljkovic. The club possess an option to buy the Serbian for around £13 million, including add-ons, but Leipzig want to lower this cost by negotiating a new price.

Given the teenager appears out of Emery’s long-term plans, despite being called “incredible”, he’s a very viable candidate to help with Villa’s PSR situation – but Monchi won’t be willing to authorise too much of a cut-price exit.

MatériaMais Notícias

da realsbet： Alex Nascimento, zagueiro titular do Santos nas últimas partidas, sofreu uma fratura no tornozelo direito durante o treino desta quinta-feira (7), no Centro de Treinamento Rei Pelé. O jogador passará por procedimento cirúrgico ainda hoje, no Hospital Albert Einstein.

da casino： Por conta disso, defensor será desfalque para a partida contra o Cruzeiro, no próximo dia 14. Não há estimativa para o tempo de recuperação do camisa 31.

+ Já atualizou sua camisa de 2023? Confira os novos uniformes do Peixe!

Além dele, o Peixe também não poderá utilizar contra a equipe mineira o meia-atacante Soteldo, que foi expulso nos acréscimos do confronto frente ao América-MG, na última rodada do Brasileirão.

Agora, Alex integra uma lista com outros lesionados do Santos. Os afastados por conta de problemas médicos são: o lateral Felipe Jonatan, o zagueiro Leonardo Zabala, e os volantes Alison e Sandry.

MOMENTO NO SANTOS

Após reintegrar o elenco do Alvinegro Praiano depois de ter sido emprestado na temporada passada para o Famalicão, de Portugal, o jogador não teve muitas experiências em campo. Contudo, depois de começar a ser utilizado pelo ex-comandante Paulo Turra, Alex conquistou ainda mais espaço com o treinador Diego Aguirre.

Nos quatro jogos do atual técnico do Santos, o defensor foi titular em três e jogou as partidas de forma integral. Em uma de suas melhores sequências pelo manto alvinegro, o jogador sofre uma lesão e, agora, passará por acompanhamento do Departamento Médico do clube.

Celtic completed their first signing of the summer transfer window last week when they confirmed the arrival of Kieran Tierney from Arsenal on a free transfer.

The Scotland international will officially link up with his new teammates when his deal with the Premier League giants expires at the end of this month.

Tierney is not going to be the last signing to walk through the doors at Parkhead this summer, though, as the Hoops are reportedly closing in on the signing of Sweden international Benjamin Nygren.

Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph claims that the club are close to agreeing a deal worth around £2m with FC Nordsjaelland to sign the right-sided attacker.

This means that the Scottish Premiership champions are set to dip into the Danish market, having raided England, France, Germany, Scotland, Belgium, and Spain.

One country the club have not done much business in since Brendan Rodgers returned to Parkhead is Japan, which is where they snapped Daizen Maeda up from.

Celtic have hit gold with Daizen Maeda

The Hoops swooped to sign the Japanese forward from J1 League outfit Yokohama F. Marinos in January 2022 on an initial loan deal, which was then made permanent that summer.

Maeda had scored 26 goals in 70 matches for Yokohama F. Marinos before his move to Scotland, but he was unproven in European football and it was a gamble by Ange Postecoglou to bring him to Glasgow.

It is one that has paid off big time for Celtic, though, as the Japan international has developed into a star at Parkhead, and could be sold for big money this summer.

The 27-year-old is coming off the back of his best season in the Premiership for the Scottish giants, having previously offered a decent threat in front of goal in the league in his first two-and-a-half years.

Appearances

16

35

28

34

Goals

6

8

6

16

Conversion rate

18%

21%

13%

28%

Big chances created

5

6

5

10

Assists

5

5

3

10

As you can see in the table above, scored more than twice as many goals and produced twice as many assists as he did in the 2023/24 campaign.

This has led to reported interest from Liverpool, Arsenal, and Leeds United, with a £25m price tag placed on his head, which shows that Celtic have hit the jackpot with Maeda, because he is now an incredibly valuable asset and star performer.

The Scottish giants have not made a signing from Japan since they made Tomoki Iwata’s loan permanent in the summer of 2023, but they are now reportedly eyeing up a new addition from the J1 League.

Celtic eyeing deal for Japanese defender

According to Celtic Way writer Stephen McGowan, Celtic are working on a deal to sign Albirex Niigata centre-back Hayato Inamura in the summer transfer window.

The report claims that the Hoops are interested in signing the 23-year-old defender to bolster their options at the back, as he provides versatility with his ability to play as a centre-back or as a left-back.

Transfer Focus

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McGowan’s article adds that Nygren is ‘on the brink’ of signing for the Premiership champions, and that Fulham’s Callum Osmand and Aberdeen’s Ross Doohan are also set to join to bolster Rodgers’ options across the park.

Inamura could be another signing on top of those potential deals, in what Celtic Way journalist Ryan McGinlay described as a “surprise move” for the “versatile stopper”.

If the Hoops can get a transfer for the Japanese centre-back over the line in the coming weeks, then the 23-year-old star could be a Maeda repeat for the club.

Why Inamura could be a Maeda repeat for Celtic

As aforementioned, Celtic hit the jackpot with Maeda as they snapped him up from the J1 League and provided him with a platform to develop into a £25m-rated asset thanks to his performances in recent seasons.

The Hoops could strike gold from the J1 League one again by signing Inamura this summer, because he is an exciting young defensive talent who could come in to improve the manager’s options at the back.

Inamura is a left-footed centre-back, who can also play left-back, and this means that he would arrive at Parkhead to compete with Liam Scales and Auston Trusty for a starting berth in the team next to Cameron Carter-Vickers.

His performances in the J1 League during the 2025 campaign so far suggest that he has the potential to come in as an upgrade on Celtic’s two current options in that position.

Appearances

13

26

22

Tackles + interceptions*

1.7

1.9

2.3

Ball recoveries*

5.4

3.9

3.3

Clearances*

5.1

4.8

4.0

Error led to shot/goal

1

1

5

Penalties committed

0

1

0

As you can see in the table above, Inamura could make more defensive interventions per game for the Hoops, with far more clearances and recoveries than the Hoops duo.

He could also be more reliable as a defender. The Japanese titan has only made one error that has led to a shot, goal, or penalty in 25 J1 League games in his career, whilst Trusty, for example, made five such errors in just 22 league outings in the 2024/25 campaign.

Therefore, Inamura could come in as an upgrade on Scales and Trusty in the left-sided centre-back position by offering more quality defensively, and fewer big errors, which also may be why the club are eyeing up a deal to bring him to Glasgow.

If he can translate his J1 League form over to the Premiership, the 23-year-old enforcer could be a regular starter next to Carter-Vickers and establish himself as a star for the Hoops, which would make him a Maeda repeat as another successful signing from the Japanese market.

He's for sale: Celtic feel they can seal bargain deal to sign PL player

Celtic are looking to improve their options in the middle of the park this summer.

ByDan Emery Jun 15, 2025

After a rollercoaster ride with RCB, the young batsman may have found his niche batting higher up the order at his new franchise

Sruthi Ravindranath in Jaipur27-Mar-2019 (Fear? I’d left it back at the hotel before coming here).”It sounds like something straight from a Bollywood movie, but that was Sarfaraz Khan’s response when asked about an audacious scoop shot he had played during Kings XI Punjab’s season opener against Rajasthan Royals on Monday.In the 20th over of the Kings XI innings, Sarfaraz got the Sawai Mansingh Stadium roaring with an adventurous scoop off a Ben Stokes short ball that sailed over the third-man boundary. Sarfaraz later dropped that Bollywood-esque remark while speaking with team-mate KL Rahul on after Kings XI’s win.The scoop was just one of the highlights of his stroke-filled 46 not out off 29 balls. There was a sweetly-timed textbook sweep and a wristy cover drive off K Gowtham, and, to top it off, one that was powerfully dispatched over midwicket off the last ball of the innings.Amid the highly-anticipated IPL return of Steven Smith, Chris Gayle’s boisterous 47-ball 79, and R Ashwin mankading Jos Buttler later in the day, Sarfaraz had managed to stand out. Sure, he might have had the limelight taken away from him, but for a 21-year-old batsman who had endured a rough couple of years – mainly due to fitness issues – the knock proved to be an opportunity to shine again.”I’ve done a lot of hard work,” Sarfaraz told ESPNcricinfo. “I don’t think a lot about comebacks and things. I’m here to show my game and will try to do my best. If it is destined to be that way then nobody can stop me.”I hadn’t played any cricket because of my knee injury. I had a surgery and I had to take rest so I lost touch. But this year I’ve worked really hard. I’m focusing on fitness but more than that, I’m focusing on batting because of what happened last year.”Sarfaraz had been a surprising choice as one of three players retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of the 2018 IPL auction. The other two were Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. While Sarfaraz made an impact in his debut season in 2015, that was followed by a dismal campaign in 2016, when he was benched for most parts of the season because of his lack of fitness. In 2017, he missed the entire tournament with injury. So the retention did raise a few eyebrows.In six innings last year, Sarfaraz made just 51 runs, and his strike rate of 124.39 wasn’t very rapid either. In addition, he had fitness woes to deal with. He was eventually released by Royal Challengers ahead of the 2019 auction before finding a second home in Kings XI, who picked him up for just INR 25 lakhs – a fraction of what he had been paid (INR 1.75 crore) when retained by Royal Challengers in 2018.Amid all of this, he had troubles with his domestic side as well. Having switched from Mumbai to Uttar Pradesh in 2015 upon his father’s insistence, Sarfaraz endured an average run of form and was eventually dropped from the side on fitness grounds. After much contemplation, he returned to Mumbai last year, where he was asked to serve the mandatory one-year cooling off period.”I know it was my dad’s decision to shift me from Mumbai to UP… but there I did not get many chances as I expected because of injury issues while I was there. They thought that I was not fully fit so I was dropped from the one-day side. From then it was my decision to go back to Mumbai and play there.”When I returned to Mumbai after being in UP for two years, I had a cooling off period because of which I missed out on top-level cricket,” he said. “But even then I worked hard on my game. I played in the DY Patil tournament and in the Goa Corporate League, a lot of IPL players play there usually. It’s not like if you don’t play domestic cricket, you completely lose out on quality game time.”While the big stars usually manned Royal Challengers’ top order, Sarfaraz mostly batted at No. 5 or lower, bearing the mantle of being the finisher or providing a late flourish. At his new franchise, he is already impressed with the communication within the team and is hopeful he will get to play a new role – mainly to bat higher up the order, like he did against Royals.”I’m very happy here in KXIP. The thing about playing here is the players communicate well. They say ‘this is your problem, this is where you can improve.’ Ashwin also talks a lot and says a lot of positive stuff.”I’m playing to expand my roles. I never used to get to play in the top order for RCB. I only batted at 5 or 6. But this year, I feel if I get to bat at the top, I’ll do well.”The presence of his former Royal Challengers team-mates in the likes of KL Rahul, Gayle, and Mandeep Singh, among others, has further helped Sarfaraz settle down in the new environment.”It feels like I’m 19 again. Feels like I’m still in my old team that we are together. Off the field, we enjoy as well.”

علق حسن ناظر لاعب منتخب المغرب الأسبق، على فرص بلاده ومنتخب مصر في النسخة المقبلة من بطولة كأس أمم إفريقيا، والمقرر انطلاقها في ديسمبر من العام الجاري.

وقال حسن ناظر في تصريحات تلفزيونية عبر قناة أون سبورت: “كأس أمم إفريقيا القادمة ستكون مميزة جدًا من جميع الجوانب، فالملاعب مجهزة على أعلى مستوى، وكل منتخب سيكون لديه ملعب خاص للتدريبات، وهي ميزة لم تكن متوفرة من قبل، المغرب يمتلك كل المقومات لتنظيم مثالي يليق باسم القارة”.

طالع | منتخب مصر في اختبار سهل أمام جيبوتي لحسم بطاقة التأهل إلى كأس العالم 2026

وأضاف: “منتخب المغرب عليه ضغط كبير لأنه يلعب على أرضه وأمام جماهيره، والجميع يريد أن يرى الكأس تبقى هنا في المغرب، خاصة بعد المستوى المميز الذي وصل إليه المنتخب خلال السنوات الأخيرة”.

وواصل: “عندما نتحدث عن تاريخ كأس الأمم الإفريقية، لا يمكن ألا نذكر منتخب مصر، فهو صاحب الرقم القياسي في عدد الألقاب بسبع بطولات، ودائمًا من أبرز المرشحين للفوز، حتى إن لم تكن بدايته قوية في البطولة، إلا أنه غالبًا ما يصل إلى المربع الذهبي أو النهائي، وأحيانًا يخطف اللقب”.

وأتم: “من المنطقي أن يكون منتخب المغرب المرشح الأول بحكم عاملي الأرض والجمهور، لكن منتخب مصر يبقى منافسًا قويًا لا يمكن تجاهله، الضغط موجود على المغرب، لكن لدينا الإمكانيات والطموح لتحقيق اللقب هذه المرة”.