Derbyshire put up a much better fight in their second innings and Durham were grateful to their part-time bowlers for a couple of breakthroughts

ECB Reporters Network30-Aug-2017Luis Reece stood firm for Derbyshire•Getty ImagesLuis Reece’s second Specsavers County Championship century of the season kept Derbyshire afloat on the third day of their match against Durham at Chester-le-Street.The former Lancashire left-hander batted until the 73rd over to make 106 as the visitors reached 305 for 6 after following on 316 behind.Derbyshire found conditions more favourable under clearer skies than when they were dismissed for 164 in two sessions in the first innings, and they were also able to take advantage of the absence of Paul Coughlin.The allrounder went for a scan on a side injury and with 18-year-old Matthew Potts unable to replicate the rich promise of his first four appearances Durham lacked resources.He did, however, take his first wicket of the match six overs from the close when he swung one in to have Alex Hughes lbw for 39.There was a period in early afternoon when Reece began to play with almost casual elegance, often stroking the ball straight to fielders. But any hint of lack of application proved misleading as he accumulated patiently to reach his century off 215 balls.He got there by pulling Potts behind square for his 12th four, having been struck on the helmet when trying the same shot on 69. That was a rare moment of discomfort at a time when Potts appeared to have been told to bowl short, which suggested Durham were running short of ideas.They might have been encouraged when two balls from Graham Onions shot along the deck in early afternoon, but there was no repeat on the placid surface.Reece finally pulled Keaton Jennings straight to midwicket and there was a wicket for another occasional bowler when Cameron Steel’s legspin accounted for Wayne Madsen with his third ball.Madsen contributed 48 to a third-wicket stand of 106 before being caught behind by Michael Richardson when attempting to sweep.Good running was a feature of an opening stand of 99, in which Ben Slater made an attractive 57, his first half-century of the season. He was yorked by a ball from offspinner Ryan Pringle, which drifted in to hit the off stump.Then for the second successive day Derbyshire lost a wicket two balls before lunch as Billy Godleman shuffled across and inside edged Chris Rushworth via his box on to the leg stump.Only one wicket fell in the second session, followed by three in the evening. Reece’s exit left Hughes and Matt Critchley to face 16 overs of the new ball, but in the sixth Critchley played back to a ball from Onions which moved in sharply to have him lbw.Hughes was beaten several times and lost his early fluency before Potts snared him to expose a tail which Durham should knock over on the final morning.

Celtic kicked off their pre-season tour of Japan with a goal-infested 6-4 defeat to Yokohama F. Marinos on Wednesday, as Daizen Maeda scored a hat-trick and David Turnbull chipped in with a goal.

However, none of the club's new signings were able to make an appearance.

Marco Tilio is set to miss the start of the season, Odin Thiago Holm was not involved, and Hyun-jun Yang is yet to be officially confirmed by the Hoops.

Celtic transfer news – Mohamed Elyounoussi

Bhoys boss Brendan Rodgers still has plenty of time left in pre-season to test out the fresh arrivals and there could be more to come before the end of the summer transfer window.

One player who could be on their way to Glasgow prior to September's deadline is Norway international Mohamed Elyounoussi, who is currently a free agent after his departure from Southampton at the end of last month.

Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph recently suggested, in an interview with GIVEMESPORT, that the Hoops could hold talks with the winger over a possible return to Parkhead.

How good is Mohamed Elyounoussi?

The 28-year-old marksman enjoyed an excellent spell on loan with Celtic earlier in his career and his form for Neil Lennon's side during the 2020/21 campaign suggests that he is good enough to be an excellent signing for the club.

Elyounoussi played the majority of his matches as a left-winger in a 4-2-3-1 system for former Hoops coach and caught the eye with ten goals and four assists in 21 Scottish Premiership starts.

With this in mind, he could be Rodgers' next version of Scott Sinclair, who enjoyed a terrific time in that position for the Northern Irish tactician at both Swansea and in Glasgow.

The English forward made 238 competitive appearances for the manager of both clubs combined and chipped in with 95 goals alongside 50 assists, which works out as a direct contribution every 1.64 matches on average.

During his final season at Paradise with Rodgers, Sinclair racked up nine goals and three assists in 28 Premiership clashes throughout the 2018/19 campaign, which was less impressive than the possible new signing's last campaign in Scotland.

Elyounoussi produced 24 goals and 14 assists in 67 outings for Celtic in all competitions across his 18 months on loan. This is an average of one goal involvement every 1.76 games and shows that the Norwegian dynamo is capable of being a consistent attacking threat.

The former Southampton whiz, who was once described as a "tricky" player by the aforementioned Joseph, is a proven Premiership performer who would not have to adapt to football in Scotland, which could allow him to hit the ground running without needing a period of adjustment.

Therefore, the talented ace, who scored once in 33 Premier League matches last term, could be an excellent addition to the squad this summer to bolster the attacking options at Rodgers' disposal.

Liel Abada (ten) and Jota (11) were the only wingers to hit double figures for league goals during the 2022/23 campaign and the latter has since left to join Al Ittihad.

This suggests that Elyounoussi's proven ability to score consistently at that level, at a similar rate to Sinclair's production under Rodgers for Swansea and Celtic, would come as a welcome boost to the club to replace the goals that they have lost through the Portuguese flyer's departure.

Marcos Alonso ready to leave Barcelona but not before next summer amid interest from Saudi Arabian clubs.

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Alonso could leave Barcelona next summerSaw his game time reduced at BarcelonaAttracting interest from Saudi Pro League clubsWHAT HAPPENED?

Alonso, who has appeared in just seven matches for Barcelona across all competitions this season, could part ways with the club in the future but not before his contract expires in the summer, according to .

The Spaniard reportedly has offers from several Saudi Pro League clubs and it was expected that he would leave once the transfer window opens in January but the player has no intention of moving out until the end of his current deal.

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There is a clause on Alonso's contract that allows Barcelona to extend his stay by one more year provided he plays half of the club's matches this season. With only 299 minutes on the pitch, it is unlikely that the former Chelsea star would regularly feature in Xavi's lineup for the remainder of the season.

The 32-year-old was linked with a move to Manchester United during the summer but they later decided to sign Sergio Reguilon on loan. But the Red Devils could rekindle their interest in the player in January again as Erik ten Hag wants to bolster his backline.

DID YOU KNOW?

Out of the four La Liga appearances Alonso has made this season, he has featured in Xavi's starting lineup only twice which came against Villarreal and Celta Vigo. In the Champions League, the full-back started in the home and away fixtures against Shakhtar Donetsk.

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After edging out Atletico Madrid last weekend, the Catalan club will now hope to get three points against second-placed Girona and close in on the gap with league leaders Real Madrid who sit at the summit with 39 points from 16 matches.

The 22-year old succeeds Henry Davids and will take charge of a side that includes current national captain Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Quinton de Kock and Morne Morkel

Firdose Moonda18-Sep-2017Aiden Markram, the 2014 Under-19 World Cup winning captain, has been named Titans’ first-class captain for the 2017-18 summer. He succeeds Henry Davids, who stepped down ahead of the competition’s opening round, after five seasons in charge of the four-day side. He will be the vice-captain across limited-overs formats.Markram captained the South African A side in their four-day matches in England this winter and led them at home against India. At 22, he is being touted as a future national captain, which was underlined when he was also named captain of the South African Invitation side, which is scheduled to play Bangladesh in a warm-up match, starting Thursday. Markram, however, has been withdrawn from that fixture in order to allow him to lead the Titans in the opening round of first-class games which begin tomorrow.Markram will take charge of a side that includes current national captain Faf du Plessis and three other members of the Test squad, namely Dean Elgar, Quinton de Kock and Morne Morkel. Heino Kuhn, Elgar’s opening partner in England, has not been named in the squad as he continues to recover from injury.Markram’s appointment as Titans’ captain comes at an important time because a solid performance in the season opener could see him make the Test team – as soon as next week – when South Africa play Bangladesh in Potchefstroom. Markram’s direct competitor, Stephen Cook, meanwhile, will be playing for Lions against Warriors. Should Markram need to leave the franchise for international duty, he will miss the second and third rounds of the first-class competition but the Titans have made contingency plans and should have him at their disposal for the fourth and fifth rounds as well as for all of February, when the tournament will be in its second half.As much as the Titans are grooming Markram for greatness at the next level, they are also hoping to benefit from his youthful yet matured playing style. “He’s got a background of being a leader and I believe Aiden has all the right attributes to take the Titans forward into the new season,” Mark Boucher, Titans coach, said. “Certain cricketers play better when they are leaders and I believe Aiden is one of those players. He is well respected, both as a cricketer and as an individual.”Markram has listed winning the first-class competition as one of his goals. Titans finished as runners up last season but have a formidable record in the format and Markram believes they have plenty more to offer. “The goal will be to win the Sunfoil Series,” he said. “We missed out on it last year and if I look at the cricket we played, I think we have more in the tank and I believe if we play to our potential as a side, we will be challenging for the trophy.”

Manchester United are edging ever closer to getting a deal over the line for Rasmus Hojlund this summer, with The Independent reporting that the side is in "advanced" talks over a move for the striker with just finer details left to finalise.

What is the latest Manchester United transfer news?

The Red Devils have been linked with numerous players already this summer, as they look to build on what was a solid 2022/23 season in the Premier League. They finished in the top four and bagged themselves a place in the Champions League, and whilst there was no silverware to show off, they did go far in the FA Cup and will have an eye on getting their hands on a trophy next time around.

It means that there has been plenty to talk about this summer window in terms of United already. For starters, they now appear to have an interest in signing Federico Chiesa, despite already having a wealth of wingers. Newcastle and Liverpool had been the two frontrunners for his signature, but the Juventus man is now on the radar of the Red Devils too.

They have yet to lodge an official bid, but he could be available for sale with the Turin outfit needing funds. They have also had Leon Goretzka on their wanted list, but that move now looks unlikely. Even though it looked like Bayern would be willing to flog the attacking midfielder, the player himself wants to stay with the German outfit and that has now put the Red Devils off making a move for him.

Is Rasmus Hojlund joining Manchester United?

The big name that looks to be heading to Old Trafford, with things progressing, is Rasmus Hojlund. It was reported that United were preparing to make an official bid for the attacker, with the youngster himself happy to move to England and to the Red Devils this summer. All that was left to do was to sort out the financial side of things with Atalanta, with the Italian outfit wanting money and not a player exchange.

Now, according to a report from The Independent, talks between the two clubs are "advanced" and the smaller details are being ironed out. Hojlund himself appears ready to move to United once a deal has been sorted out and it might even cost the Red Devils less than they anticipated too, with a fee touted in this report at £60m.

There are set to be add-ons though, which is what are still being worked out, but with talks moving forward a deal could be done to soon send him to the Premier League.

It appears as though the sky could be the limit for Hojlund. Everybody has been quick to rave about the striker if they have seen him play, with football talent scout Jacek Kulig labelling the forward as a "monster in the making" for his physical traits – the striker has been likened to Erling Haaland due to his mixture of size and speed.

He's already bagged goals for club and country and the youth football writer added that 2023 is "his year".

It shows that he is highly thought of already and that it looks like there could be more to come from the wonderkid. United will want that to be with them and if he can continue this upward trajectory, then he could not only solve their goalscoring issues now but help lead their line for the forseeable future too.

Hendy Springer will take over from Vasbert Drakes as head coach in an interim capacity, with Gus Logie named his assistant

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Sep-2017Cricket West Indies (CWI) have announced the removal of the women’s management – coach Vasbert Drakes and his assistants Ezra Moseley and Stuart Williams – that oversaw a poor World Cup campaign in England, where they finished sixth among eight teams.CWI hopes to set up a new management support structure ahead of the home series against Sri Lanka starting on October 4. In the interim, former West Indies A coach Hendy Springer will take over the role with former batsman Gus Logie set to assist him.”The process will start with the search for a new head coach and an interim management team will be in place for the short term,” a CWI release stated.West Indies only managed wins against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, sides that finished below them, at the World Cup. West Indies also slumped to their second-lowest total in women’s ODIs, when they were bowled out for 48 against South Africa.An 18-member squad will be selected for a conditioning camp from September 25 to October 4, after which the squad for the home series will be picked.

Lionel Messi is not a big fan of Jamie Carragher and the Liverpool legend’s punditry, but CBS Sports have stepped in to try and end that feud.

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Argentine icon not a fan of ex-Reds defenderHas previously branded him a "donkey"Christmas message sent to famous punditWHAT HAPPENED?

It has been revealed that Inter Miami superstar Messi is refusing to appear on the American television network due to their ties with Carragher. The ex-England international has previously admitted to being called a “donkey” by the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner.

AdvertisementWATCH THE CLIPWHAT MESSI'S LOOKALIKE SAID

While there is no sign of the pair patching up their differences, CBS Sports have lined up a doppelganger to deliver a Christmas message to Carragher. The lookalike said on Wednesday night: “This is a message for Jamie. As it is the season of goodwill, no one should be alone at Christmas. I have decided that you should Never Walk Alone. Here’s my Christmas gift to you…” The video then cuts to an image of a donkey.

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Carragher was able to laugh along with the jokes being aimed in his direction, with the former Liverpool defender seeing the funny side of a long-running feud that he never intended to spark.

Arsenal remain determined to sign Ivan Toney from Brentford in January, but they will have to deal with a number of stumbling blocks to seal the deal.

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• Arsenal hope to sign Toney
• Brentford want £80m for suspended striker
• FFP regulations make transfer complicated

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Arsenal have been after the Bees forward for some time but have been forced to wait until January to sign him due to the eight-month ban he was handed in May for violating betting rules. The Gunners are ready to make a move for Toney, but they would have to pay around £80 million ($102m) to convince Brentford to sell and reports that the Premier League's Financial Fair Play rules make that a difficult transfer to pull off.

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  Arsenal were reportedly already close to their FFP limit in the summer window, which makes any January business rather complicated. Toney, who has scored 32 goals in 66 Premier League matches for Brentford, is not the only attacker they have been looking at. Alternative option Victor Osimhen will be an even more expensive signing than Toney, however, and has just committed to a new contract at Napoli until 2026.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Coach Mikel Arteta wants to bolster his options in a few positions to aid the Gunners' bid to win the Premier League title. The Spaniard is eyeing a new midfielder and two full-backsas well as a forward, but has prioritised the latter due to his team's struggles in front of goal.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?

  The north London team are second in the Premier League – two points behind Liverpool – and Arteta will hope to have new players in soon to prevent further slip-ups like the 2-0 defeat at home against West Ham on Thursday evening.

Holes in England’s batting leave Joe Root facing “the biggest challenge an England captain will ever have” in attempting to win the Ashes in Australia, according to Andrew Strauss.Strauss, the last England captain to lead his country to success in Australia in 2010-11 and currently director of England cricket, believes Root has “a great chance” but accepts that question marks over the top-order batting leave “some vulnerabilities”.As a result, he feels it is essential England start the tour well, and says it is vital that the more inexperienced players are fully aware of the challenges – on and off the pitch – that await them.”It’s the biggest challenge an England captain will ever have,” Strauss said. “That is why, if you are able to win, certainly for me it was my greatest moment as an England captain.

Strauss on:

The England bowling coach: “We have our coaches in place for the Ashes. When we announce the Ashes touring team we will announce the coaching staff that surrounds them.”
A pre-Ashes bonding camp: “In 2010-11 it was really important, but in 2013-14 it didn’t feel like the right thing to do. This team is already in a good place. So there will be no camps in the month off. It’s been an incredibly long summer and we have an incredibly long winter ahead of us, so we want them to get away from cricket for a bit and spend some time with family.”
The next pay deal: “The current deal ends in September 2019. My intention is to ensure English cricketers are well paid, so that people will look up to those big names and say, ‘I want to play cricket as opposed to another sport’. I don’t anticipate it being a hugely antagonistic negotiation.”

“A lot of the challenges are off-field. You are living in this incredible bubble for a long period of time. Everything is directed towards you as England captain in terms of being responsible for what’s happening on the pitch.”The preparation work both before you arrive in Australia and in that first month in Australia is absolutely crucial. We need players arriving there who have done all the hard yards off the pitch, prepared themselves in terms of what is to come with short bowling, in terms of conditions in different parts of Australia and physically they are in a good place. That’s crucial in those hot conditions.”The reality is there are two teams with really strong assets and some vulnerabilities. Our challenge is to start the tour well. If we start well, hit the ground running and some of those guys who have not played a lot of Test cricket get an early score, then I think we are in a great position to win.”Strauss’s reservations over England’s prospects are founded on their failure to establish a settled batting line-up. Not only have England struggled to find a new opening partner for Alastair Cook since Strauss’s own retirement in 2012, but there are two other places unfilled in the top five.”The concerns I have are the concerns most people have, which is we haven’t been able to establish a team where 11 players are fully established,” Strauss said. “There are two or three places up for grabs, which is never ideal, and our consistency hasn’t been what we want.”I’d be lying if I said we were going to Australia with absolute clarity on what our best XI is. We’re just not in that position at the moment.”While Strauss defended the selection of the side over recent months, he accepted that, in several cases, players’ form had declined after a decent start in the England team. Keaton Jennings, Sam Robson and Adam Lyth all made centuries in their first two Tests, for example, while Gary Ballance enjoyed a prolific start to his Test career before running into difficulties.”There has been a bit of a trend with a lot of those players,” he said. “They have proved they are capable of playing at that level and can score runs but the issue for a lot of them is that their form has dropped off after an initial high. We have to ask ourselves why is that the case?”Maybe it is technical, maybe it is mental. So can we do more to prepare them for the off-field stuff around Test cricket, such as the attention, expectation, media and pressure because that plays a part in this as well.Andrew Strauss’s victory in Australia in 2010-11 was his greatest achievement as England captain•PA Photos

“I would resist any narrative that says we have been chopping and changing. Most of these guys had a good length in the team and would hold their hand up and say it wasn’t a bad decision to remove them for a bit. I think the reality is that the secret to a long England career is not how good you are, it is how consistent you are and those guys have not been consistent enough.”Strauss also revealed that, over the next 12 months, England will use international T20 games as an opportunity to take a look at more fringe players.”Part of our long-term planning for the 2019 World is to use the next 12 months as a way of introducing some more people into that team environment,” Strauss said. “We don’t just want the same 14 or 15 to be playing cricket for England over the next two years.”Given that there is no T20 World Cup, we see T20s as a way of introducing more people into that environment. In the South Africa T20s you will have noticed Tom Curran, Mason Crane, Dawid Malan and Liam Livingstone came in. We will probably be doing something similar over the next 12 months.”He also hinted that England players will once again be released to play in the IPL and reiterated his view that, if players such as Jos Buttler decide to pursue a future as white-ball specialists, it was “not an unhealthy thing”.”We have to accept the IPL is a unique case,” Strauss said. “The potential pitfalls of not allowing our players to play in it are big. We have to accept that is going to be a constant moving forward and there is huge benefit in our players going out there and playing as well.”There are advantages to having specialist players for formats. The international schedule makes life difficult for players playing all formats and we overcome that by having more specialist players. So, from our point of view, the separation between the teams is not an unhealthy thing.”From an individual player’s point of view it is 100 percent their own decision what they want to do with their career and the last thing we would ever say to a Jos Buttler or Alex Hales, or anyone, is ‘there’s no chance of you playing Test cricket again’.”That’s a choice they have to make and we will select our teams based on who we think are the best 13, 14 or 15 players for that format. What we are not going to do is select a Jos Buttler on an Ashes tour just to prevent him becoming a one-day specialist. That would be the wrong way to think about that.”Strauss maintained that England “have to be happy” with their progress in white-ball cricket, but admitted that failing to win the Champions Trophy was “a missed opportunity”.”In terms of white-ball cricket we have to be happy with the progress made,” he said. “We’ve moved from an average of losing more white-ball games than we win to winning over 70 percent of our ODIs over the last 12 months.”But I do think the Champions Trophy was a missed opportunity because the confidence that comes from winning a global event is massive. We headed into that semi-final with every reason to expect to win that event. We shouldn’t take anything away from the way Pakistan played that day: they outplayed us, and there are some lessons for us to learn about knock-out cricket.”

Tottenham Hotspur have already enjoyed a fine start to the transfer window, but could now blow their rivals out of the water with a shock move for a truly outstanding talent.

How much would Joao Felix cost?

Having been credited with interest in Joao Felix earlier this month, perhaps Ange Postecoglou could seek to make his biggest statement yet by signing the Portuguese maestro, who stood out in a lacklustre Chelsea side.

The 23-year-old is quite clearly surplus to requirements at Atletico Madrid, and with the Spanish giants seeking to reclaim some kind of return on their initial €126m (£113m) investment, they will likely command a hefty fee.

That being said, FootballTransfers only value the Portugal international at €45.3m (£39m), even though reports from Spain have suggested they will instead demand no less than €100m (£87m).

With a specified play style that captures the imagination, perhaps the Lilywhites could seek to emulate their west London rivals' latest big acquisition with this deal.

What is Christopher Nkunku's style of play?

Having agreed to join Stamford Bridge earlier in the season, Christopher Nkunku finally joined up with his new squad earlier this month. The French international moved fresh off the back of his stunning final campaign for RB Leipzig, where he posted 23 goals and a further nine assists across all competitions.

What makes such a feat even more impressive is the fact he did so as more of a shadow striker than a classic number nine, operating in between the lines and ghosting in to provide the lethal finishing touches.

Even though it was only a brief glimpse, Felix showcased himself as perfectly able of occupying that role despite the Blues' failures last campaign. Journalist Nick Emms gave the trickster arguably the best praise that a Chelsea fan can offer on Twitter, writing: "Joao Felix is the first player to excite me like this since Eden Hazard. World class."

The respective heat maps of these stars help emphasise their tendency to occupy similar areas too, as both seek to drift from the left half-spaces into the centre.

To partner the young magician with Harry Kane could be devastating too, to draw the focus off one another, leaving defenders bamboozled as to who they should mark.

After all, during the 2021/22 season, his last full year of stability in Spain, he would maintain a 7.15 average rating as he began to show the promise his price tag had suggested. Such a figure was buoyed by his 12 goal contributions, as he forged a further seven big chances whilst averaging 0.8 key passes per game, via Sofascore.

Perhaps in a fully functional team, all of whom finally seem to be heading in the right direction under Postecoglou, Felix could reignite a career that is threatening to stall despite still being so young.

Nkunku’s agent and former PSG centre-back Jose-Karl Pierre-Fanfan had suggested:

"I was immediately drawn to him, even if he was playing youth football. It was immediately obvious that he had the DNA of a footballer. He was playing through the middle and was clearly a cut above. He wasted little and had perfect vision."

However, the Benfica youth product would earn similar praise from his youth coach Joao Tralhao:

"He can play anywhere, because he always finds the spaces to do what the coach wants. He understands that positioning like few in the world, he's very clever. He just needs to be where he can demonstrate his quality.

"I know him well, and I know his ambition. I know he has the capacity to still become one of the best players in the world."

Perhaps as the spearhead for the new regime, where the pressure of his record-breaking price tag would be alleviated, Felix can finally shine as Postecoglou's very own version of Chelsea's new French wizard.