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Tamim Iqbal creamed the Oman bowlers to score Bangladesh’s maiden T20 international century and secure his team’s berth in the main draw of the tournament

The Report by Mohammad Isam13-Mar-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsTamim Iqbal made history and took Bangladesh into the next round of the World T20 with his hundred•ICC/Getty Images

Tamim Iqbal creamed the Oman bowlers to score Bangladesh’s maiden T20 international century and secure his team’s berth in the main draw of the tournament. His hundred set up a total of 180 for 2, which Shakib Al Hasan defended by razing the middle order on a rainy night in Dharamsala. Oman, who were flying high after a victory against Ireland, were shackled to 65 for 9 in 12 overs.The match was interrupted twice by rain and Oman’s target was revised to 120 in 12 overs. They effectively needed 75 off 22 balls after the second break. Oman then lost a spate of wickets and were never going to get close, bringing to an end a frustrating week in Dharamsala, where bad weather affected four of the first-round matches.Tamim lit up a damp night, though, with five sixes in his 63-ball innings – four on the leg side and one between mid-off and cover. He rotated strike too, scoring nearly a third of his runs in ones and twos. Tamim’s 97-run stand with Sabbir Rahman for the second wicket put Bangladesh in command and he stayed the course to give the innings a flourish at the finish.It would be accurate to state that this hundred is Bangladesh’s best T20I innings to date. The manner in which Tamim began indicated what was to come for Oman: Amir Ali had to pull his hand out of the way of a straight drive that was hit so hard it might have caused injury.At the other end, however, Soumya Sarkar struggled to get the ball out of the 30-yard circle. He struck two fours in his 12 off 22 balls and in the seventh over Ajay Lalcheta put him out of his misery. Tamim had hit the same bowler for fours to square-leg and third-man and for a well-timed six over long-on.Soumya’s dismissal seemed to do Bangladesh a favour because the effervescent Sabbir rotated strike from the first ball he faced. He got his first four with a reverse sweep that Bilal Khan nearly caught at short third-man, though, and he also could have been caught at long-on off Munis Ansari in the ninth over but it was a tough chance for Mehran Khan running to his left.Bangladesh reached 70 for 1 in ten overs and Tamim and Sabbir looked set for a big total. They picked up 14 off the next over bowled by Ansari, Oman’s best bowler. Tamim reached 52 off 35 balls in the 13th over before he and Sabbir struck a six each over long-off and long-on in the next six balls – the blow from Sabbir off Khawar Ali travelled 96 metres and landed in the second tier.Khawar was struck for a 94-metre six by Tamim too in the 16th over, but the bowler had his revenge when he had Sabbir bowled around his legs for 44 off 26 balls. With four overs remaining, Shakib Al Hasan was promoted to No 4 and made 17 off nine balls.Tamim’s hundred came in the 19th over, when after a brief lull he blasted Bilal through cover to score his tenth four – all of them along the ground. Bilal, however, was the only one to have bowled well at the top and towards the end, giving away just 16 runs in four wicketless overs.Oman had pulled off a shock chase against Ireland but it went wrong right from the start against Bangladesh. Their openers Zeeshan Maqsood and Khawar Ali skied catches in the first and fourth overs, top edging to third man and to mid-on respectively. Jatinder Singh and Adnan Ilyas played attractive shots but Ilyas was run out after the first rain break. Aamir Kaleem was caught off his glove in the ninth over, just before the second rain break.Shakib’s 4 for 15 were his best figures in T20Is, and the smile on his face was good news for Bangladesh. As much as the team had enjoyed Tamim’s batting form, they needed their best player to find his all-round form ahead of the main draw.

Paris Saint-Germain are thought to be lining up a shock move for Manchester United defender Harry Maguire, according to The Sun.

The Lowdown: Out of favour

Maguire appears to have slipped down the pecking order this season under Erik ten Hag, starting just five Premier League games so far.

The club captain has played less than 1,000 minutes in all competitions, with Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez seemingly first choice at Old Trafford. The England international is under contract until 2025, but a summer exit seems to be a possibility.

The Latest: PSG keen

The Sun shared a story in the last 48 hours, claiming that Maguire is a ‘shock £50m summer target’ for PSG. A move in January ‘was on the table’ but it could not be done in time, however the French giants still seem keen.

The report adds that PSG will have to match Maguire’s £200,000-a-week salary, something that shouldn’t be seen as an issue.

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The Verdict: One to watch?

The Red Devils paid Leicester City £80m for Maguire back in 2019, so a £50m figure mooted in the report could be of interest to United officials.

The defender’s Transfermarkt valuation stands at €30m (£26.5m), so recouping almost double that amount from PSG could be viewed as good business when you consider he hasn’t been in Ten Hag’s first-choice plans.

He has also been the club’s 17th-best performer in the Premier League this season, as per WhoScored, so an exit appears to make sense and this could be one to keep an eye on over the coming months.

It’s already been a very busy summer for Glasgow Rangers at Ibrox, but that trend is showing no sign of slowing down.

So far, Russell Martin has been unveiled as the new manager, while seven new signings have been made, with Djeidi Gassama the latest player to arrive, joining for a reported fee of £2.2m earlier this week.

However, they are far from satisfied just yet, with a more experienced player now being targeted once again.

Rangers' pursuit of a new centre-back

It may still only be mid-July, but Rangers’ season begins in just four nights’ time.

Transfer Focus

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

On Tuesday, the Light Blues will welcome Panathinaikos to Ibrox for the first leg of their Champions League second qualifying round tie, before the duo meet again at the Spyros Louis Olympic Stadium in Athens eight nights later.

As outlined by Martin McMillan of the Glasgow Times, Rangers must have submitted their squad for the tie to UEFA by 11 o’clock on Thursday night, albeit two players can be added up to 24 hours before kick off.

With that last part in particular in mind, the Daily Record is reporting that Rangers are pushing to sign Conor Coady, desperate to have him available for the Panathinaikos tie.

They note that the England international has been denied permission to secure a move to Rangers for now, although ‘cash-strapped’ Leicester are still determined to move on one of their highest earners, having now ‘earmarked’ a replacement.

Thus, the Gers have not given up hope of securing Coady’s signature before the deadline, but face a serious race against time.

Why signing Conor Coady is so important for Rangers

Of course, Rangers want to beat Panathinaikos to keep their Champions League qualification hopes alive, but victory would also guarantee, at worst, a spot in the Europa League.

Meanwhile, defeat to the Greek side could see them end up in the Conference League, or possibly without any league phase football at all, which would be catastrophic.

Should they end up celebrating victory come full time in Athens on 30 July, the Light Blues could then face RB Salzburg, Fenerbahçe, Nice, Club Brugge, Benfica or others in later rounds, so Coady’s top-level experience would prove invaluable.

Martin, a former centre-back himself of course, may not be feeling ultra-confident about his current options in that position.

Of the players in the table above, it is expected that both Clinton Nsiala and Robin Pröpper will depart, while Ben Davies has been tipped to be on the move too.

With youngster Leon King unlikely to be trusted, that leaves John Souttar and new duo Nasser Djiga and Emmanuel Fernandez as Martin’s centre-back options for a season-defining Champions League tie.

Playing Fernandez in particular would surely be a risk, considering he is just 23 years old, having made only 71 senior appearances to date, the vast majority of which have come at EFL League One level.

Coady, on the other hand, has 485 senior club appearances to his name, of which 198 have come in the Premier League and 18 in the Europa League, on top of his ten England caps.

Tim Spiers of the Athletic praised Coady’s outstanding leadership qualities, while Sean Dyche, who was his manager at Everton, heralded his “immaculate” professionalism and lauded him as a “high-quality footballer”.

So, we all know that Coady would bring some vital experience to Rangers’ back line, but let’s assess how his statistics compare to Fernandez?

As the table outlines, Coady and Fernandez’s statistics are very similar across the given timeframes, albeit it’s worth considering that the former was plying his trade in the Championship and then the Premier League, with the latter in EFL League One.

For context, according to Global Football Rankings, England’s top three tiers are the first, 11th and 53rd strongest leagues in the world, representing a huge drop-off between tiers two and three.

Thus, it is clear that signing Coady would represent a major coup for Rangers, and doing so before Monday would exponentially increase their chances of progressing past Panathinaikos.

Better move than Gassama: Ibrox target wants to sign for Rangers this week

Rangers could land a better signing than Djeidi Gassama as a star wants to join them this week.

By
Dan Emery

Jul 16, 2025

Brett Lee is probably the only Australian who has welcomed the retirements of McGrath and Warne and is thriving in an environment where he is the alpha male

Peter English at the Gabba03-Feb-2008
Brett Lee: Basking in the limelight © Getty Images
Brett Lee now bowls like a man with nothing to prove. The shadows of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne have gone and the only clouds on his mind in Brisbane were the leaky ones above the Gabba. A parent of a toddler, Lee is also the head of Australia’s bowling family and is becoming more relaxed about the responsibility with every innings.Australia’s attack included a debutant in Ashley Noffke and Mitchell Johnson, who has played 26 matches, was the only other one backing up from the Test series. Lee was not concerned by his lack of big-name help and against an opponent with similarly fresh faces he showed why he is the big daddy.This is the point Lee has wanted to reach since making his international debut nine years ago. He gets the new ball, comes back mid-innings to mop up or blast out and returns at the finish to create more damage. There is never any question over his end and when Ricky Ponting wants a wicket it is Lee who takes the ball. Throughout the Tests he was there when Ponting needed him and he has started the CB Series in the same way.The only thing Lee could not control was the weather, which prevented him from earning the victory his bowling deserved. In between taking 5 for 27 he ran across to support Noffke during his early expensive overs and tapped a batsman in apology after almost running into him. The downscaling of hostilities since Sydney actually suits Lee and does not result in any loss of bowling venom. Without needing to think about what to say to a batsman, he can concentrate more on how to remove them.There was no generosity shown to the debutant Manoj Tiwary as he was attacked with a series of shorter deliveries. Tiwary did well to avoid a couple of dangerous balls aimed around head height, but he was so sure of getting another that he could not deal with a fuller one and was bowled off his pad. At the end of the over Lee was given a rest, his four-over second spell costing only 11 runs and including two wickets. India had threatened to come back after losing their experienced openers, but when Lee removed Rohit Sharma and Tiwary three wickets had fallen for three runs.Sachin Tendulkar also miscalculated Lee in the final over of his opening collection, pushing back too far and stepping on his stumps. The new and old were taken care of along with a couple of wickets in the last over of the innings and the upshot was Lee’s seventh career five-wicket haul.Lee is probably the only Australian who has welcomed the retirements of McGrath and Warne and is thriving in an environment where he is the alpha maleThe rest of Lee’s fast-bowling family had a mixed day. Nathan Bracken was expensive after his early breakthrough while Noffke recovered well from giving up 27 runs in his opening four overs. Like Noffke, Johnson was playing on his home ground and he would have had something to cheer two overs earlier if Australia’s slips fielders were on message.Michael Hussey and Ricky Ponting both dropped chances off Gautam Gambhir within three balls, but Johnson recovered to trap the batsman in front. He remained a threat and gave up only 33 runs in nine overs, although all the serious danger came from Lee until Ishant Sharma stormed through after another rain break.Given limited opportunities, Sharma was the only bowler to match Lee’s potency in a brief spell where he weaved the ball on a surface freshened by the extra moisture. James Hopes’ off stump was lost and Michael Clarke was welcomed with a hit in the chest. Sitting in the dressing room Lee would have been impressed with the discomfort caused for the batsmen.The conditions were steamy, the ball became slippery and the bowlers had many excuses for things not working. Lee did not need any and excelled despite the heat, the rain interruptions and the new-look India.To reach this level he needed to look around the field and not see any safety nets. Lee is probably the only Australian who has welcomed the retirements of McGrath and Warne and is thriving in an environment where he is the alpha male. Now when he stands at the top of his run he is no longer confused over his position. This is Lee’s team as well as Ponting’s.

Alex Morgan and Becky Sauerbrunn head a list of notable absentees from the United States women's roster to play in the upcoming Gold Cup.

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USWNT to play in Gold Cup in FebruaryMorgan, Sauerbrunn and Mewis among absenteesSign of generational change under HayesGetty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

That squad is the first tournament selection from incoming boss Emma Hayes, made alongside interim coach Twila Kilgore, and marks a moment of generational change in the USWNT ranks. Morgan sits fifth in her nation's all-time scoring list with 121 goals in 215 appearance. But she co-captained the side that failed so spectacularly at the World Cup last summer and has scored just twice in 18 international matches. The 34-year-old striker clearly figures in no part of Hayes' future.

AdvertisementTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Morgan is not the only famous name to be omitted. Sauerbrunn missed the 2023 World Cup through a foot injury but is a previous USWNT captain, so her absence is notable. Andi Sullivan also doesn't feature, despite being the team's go-to defensive midfielder in recent years. Other significant absentees include Ashley Sanchez, Kelley O’Hara and Sofia Huerta, to go alongside the recent retirements of legends Megan Rapinoe, Julie Ertz and Sam Mewis.

Getty ImagesWHAT KILGORE SAID

Interim boss Kilgore defended such widespread changes in a statement, explaining: "Not only is there a trophy on the line, but this is a great opportunity to capitalize on meaningful match opportunities and experience the short turnarounds between games, which is a rhythm that closely mirrors the Olympic format. We are going to take our next steps together as we continue to evolve our style of play and provide opportunities for players to grow into possible future roles and partnerships.”

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Some stars from the failed World Cup run do retain their place, though, with defenders Naomi Girma and Emily Fox, midfielders Lindsey Horan and Rose Lavelle, and forwards Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman all included. Recent debutants Jaedyn Shaw, Olivia Moultrie, Korbin Albert, Mia Fishel and Jenna Nighswonger also make the cut in what is a young-looking roster.

ScorecardHong Kong scored their first ever ODI win over a Full Member when they beat Afghanistan by 30 runs on a rainy afternoon at the Bulawayo Athletic Club. The victory was built around Anshuman Rath’s half-century and was sealed by an outstanding spell of offspin bowling from Ehsan Khan, backed up by some inspired fielding.As a result, Afghanistan were left needing a miracle to qualify for the 2019 World Cup. They have lost three out of three matches in this tournament so far and will need several things going their way to stay in contention.Afghanistan were trundling along steadily in pursuit of 242 when Ehsan was brought on from the clubhouse end in the 16th over. With loop and flight, he tempted Rahmat Shah into an expansive drive. With dip and turn, he spun the ball sharply in between bat and pad to disturb the stumps. With that, Afghanistan were 56 for 2, and Hong Kong had their opening. Before his first over was up, Ehsan had also dismissed the set Ihsanullah for 20, a gloved sweep landing in the hands of Rath, tumbling to his left at slip.At 57 for 3, with Mohammad Nabi still to bat, Afghanistan might still have considered themselves in a favourable position. But Hong Kong’s bowling attack never let the pressure drop, with Tanwir Azfal’s medium pace particularly effective. Bowling a wicket-to-wicket line with Scott McKechnie up to the stumps, Afzal didn’t give the batsmen much to work with. Having made the first incision with the wicket of Javed Ahmadi for 22, his figures in his first spell were 6-0-15-1.The pressure built up by the bowlers brought desperate strokes against Ehsan at the other end. With the required rate closing in on six an over, Samiullah Shenwari bent low to sweep but missed the ball entirely to be bowled for 9, as Afghanistan slipped to 73 for 4.Hong Kong gather around wicket-taker Ehsan Khan•ICC

Still, though, Afghanistan were not entirely out of the match. Mohammad Nabi shepherded the middle order, helping to keep a fidgety Najibullah Zadran in accumulation mode. They nudged and pushed their way through a 59-run stand.With the required rate climbing and ominous rain clouds closing in from the north, Najibullah eventually decided to have a go at Nadeem Ahmed’s left-arm spin. He couldn’t get anything on his slog sweep, however, with the ball crashing into his pad and the umpire upholding a vociferous lbw shout. Two overs later, Sharafuddin Ashraf missed a huge slog across the line and was bowled for 1; Afghanistan 134 for 6.Hong Kong’s discipline soon brought results, Ehsan Nawaz sprinting around at short third man to cut off a dab, and firing a flat throw to McKechnie to find Nabi short of his ground and run out for 38.Fifteen minutes later, rain, thunder and lightning arrived to force the players from the field. When they returned, Afghanistan’s total was revised to 226, with three overs left to play. Dawlat threw the bat around, but they were never going to get close. For his career best figures of 4 for 33, Ehsan was named Man of the Match.Earlier in the day, Rath provided the bedrock of Hong Kong’s innings, helping them recover from an early wobble which saw them reduced to 43 for 3. He put together stands of 50 with captain Babar Hayat and 67 with McKechnie to keep Hong Kong ticking over, looking particularly effective when playing off the front foot through the covers.Rath, who was Hong Kong’s leading run-scorer during the World Cricket League Championship with 678 runs at 75.33, started in measured fashion against both pace and spin. His innings eventually gained momentum, and he came out on top during a fascinating duel with Afghanistan’s quicks, cutting and pulling both Dawlat and Shapoor Zadran. With Tanwir Afzal smashing 22 from just 9 deliveries towards the end, Hong Kong reached a total that would prove more than enough.

Spinner says he has lost the “buzz” when it comes to playing Championship cricket, after accepting a white-ball-only contract

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Feb-2018Adil Rashid admits that he has lost the “buzz” when it comes to playing Championship cricket, after speaking out for the first time about his decision to accept a white-ball-only contract with Yorkshire this summer.Rashid, who is an integral part of England’s plans in both 50-over and 20-over cricket, particularly leading into next year’s World Cup on home soil, was overlooked for selection in this winter’s Ashes, in spite of being the team’s leading wicket-taker on the Test tour of Bangladesh and India in 2016-17.However, he insisted that that omission had not been a significant factor in his switch to a white-ball focus. Instead, he said that his “heart would not have been there” had he carried on turning out for Yorkshire in Championship contests, and he feared letting his county down had he done so.”It’s very much my decision,” Rashid said. “It’s something that I’ve thought about and felt I had to do, and has been inside me for a little while.”The enjoyment, the spark, the buzz. All that came into it. I couldn’t go through another season doing this — it could affect my performance, my bowling and that could easily rub off into other competitions and white-ball stuff.”Rashid’s relationship with Championship cricket has been under scrutiny for some time, ever since he controversially made himself unavailable for Yorkshire’s title showdown with Middlesex at Lord’s in 2016, citing “fatigue and family reasons”. Yorkshire went on to lose the match, and their chance to secure a third County Championship title in as many seasons.”Last year playing red-ball cricket for Yorkshire, my thought was that if I wasn’t giving 100 percent then I would be letting the team down and also myself down,” he said. “It was a decision made purely because of how I felt playing red-ball cricket at this time. My mind’s not there, my heart’s not there, I’m letting the team down but also myself down.”Rashid’s stance puts his Test career on indefinite hold, with his 10-match haul of 38 wickets at 42.78 hinting at what might have been. With Alex Hales also choosing a white-ball contract with Nottinghamshire this week, and others – notably Liam Plunkett and David Willey – reported to be considering similar moves, there is a concern in English circles that this trend could mark the beginning of a schism in the domestic game.”Yes, maybe … that’s the way the game’s going,” Rashid said. “Personally, when I made that decision, I didn’t think about that — ‘Oh, people might follow, what if [they do]?’. That’s not my job, what people do or how they feel or ‘you may follow me or not follow me’. I just made the decision purely because of how I felt. If people want to follow — ‘he did that, so we can do it’ — then that’s their decision.”However, Rashid made the important point that his own decision had been influenced to a large degree by the itinerary of the county season, with the majority of red-ball matches being squeezed to the beginning and end of the season. This leaves spinners in particular as bystanders for long periods of seam-dominated games, but Rashid said that he would reconsider his position in 2019 if the fixtures were more favourable.”That was a big part of it,” he said. “Early season, I may not bowl much. A couple of overs here and there. Doing that, I wouldn’t get my rhythm — two overs before lunch, a few overs before tea. That wouldn’t help my confidence. At the stage, I’d just be going through the motions.”It’s not a permanent thing. It’s for this season, to see how it goes, how it unfolds and what happens. See what my mind says and what my heart feels. If it changes I could be going back to red ball cricket next season. That’s a long way away, and a lot can change. At this moment in time I’m very content with what I’m doing.”

Celtic enjoyed a terrific start to their 2023/24 Scottish Premiership term as they beat Ross County 4-2 on the opening day at Parkhead.

Who scored for Celtic against Ross County?

David Turnbull, who scored twice, Kyogo Furuhashi, and Matt O'Riley all got their names on the scoresheet for the Hoops in Brendan Rodgers' first official match of his second spell at the club.

O'Riley has started his campaign with a goal after the Denmark international produced three in 38 appearances throughout the entire 2022/23 season, whilst he also registered an assist on Saturday.

The former Fulham midfielder is an outstanding attacking threat from the middle of the park and Rodgers could find a dream partner for him by completing a swoop for Manchester United's Scott McTominay, who is a reported transfer target for the Bhoys.

How good is Scott McTominay?

Across the 2021/22 campaign, the Scotland international showcased his ability as a defensive midfielder for the Red Devils and could be a fantastic signing for Celtic if he is able to translate that form over to Parkhead.

McTominay only started ten league matches under Erik ten Hag last term, which meant that the United academy graduate did not have many chances to impress, but thrived as a number six across 28 Premier League starts during the previous season.

The £78k-per-week titan averaged an outstanding 3.2 tackles and interceptions combined per game for the English giants and the 6 foot 4 giant displayed his ability in the air as he won 2.3 aerial battles per outing, with a success rate of 67%.

Last season, no Celtic central midfielder with at least one Premiership start managed more than 2.2 tackles and interceptions or 0.7 aerial duels won per clash.

This suggests that McTominay has the quality to be a phenomenal defensive presence at the base of Rodgers' midfield, which could provide O'Riley with even more opportunities to show off his attacking ability at the top end of the pitch.

The ex-MK Dons ace racked up an exceptional 12 assists and created 2.1 chances per game for his teammates in the league last term, which meant that he topped the charts for the club in both statistics.

O'Riley provided 16 'big chances' from midfield and chipped in with three goals as he proved himself to be a consistently impressive performer in possession who can open up the opposition's defence on a regular basis.

McTominay, however, is not an attack-minded midfielder who is likely to bomb forward and leave the defence exposed as he has only scored 19 goals and produced five assists in 209 first-team appearances for United.

The Scottish colossus, who was once lauded as a "monster" by his former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, could sit in midfield and use his defensive instincts to consistently cut out opposition attacks to protect the likes of Maik Nawrocki and Cameron Carter-Vickers.

This could, therefore, free up the likes of Reo Hatate, David Turnbull and O'Riley to go and do what they want to do on the ball without having to worry about the other side of the game as much, as they would have a terrific enforcer there to cover for them if the ball is turned over in midfield.

Burnley have not given up hope of landing Sunderland winger Jack Clarke this summer, with reliable journalist Alan Nixon stating that it "isn't over yet" for the Clarets in their pursuit of the youngster.

How many goals has Jack Clarke scored for Sunderland?

The 22-year-old was on fire last season in the Championship for Sunderland and had, statistically, the best campaign of his career to date. He ran rampant with the Black Cats in the second tier, bagging himself nine goals in 45 games and, even more impressively, notching 11 assists along the way.

It meant that his goal contribution rate stood at 20 in total and gave him an average of 0.48 goals or assists per 90 – almost one or the other every second game he played, as per FBref. Considering he also featured in nearly every single second-tier game throughout the previous campaign, it shows how vital he was to the club's cause.

Prior to this breakout year with Sunderland, Clarke had struggled to hit the back of the net too frequently. In League One, he had managed only one strike with the Black Cats and his two stints with Stoke and QPR had led to no goals whatsoever. The early promise he had shown with Leeds, when he had struck two goals in four league starts, had seemed to dwindle and go off course due to a lack of action. Now a regular again, he is finding his feet once more and topped the Championship leaderboard for assists in 2022/23.

Are Burnley signing Jack Clarke?

These showings have now led to a potential Premier League return this summer. Burnley have been keen to seal a deal for the winger but, with the 22-year-old proving to be so vital to his current club, they have turned down all bids from the Clarets so far.

However, that has seemingly not deterred the top-flight side in their efforts to bring him to Turf Moor. According to reliable journalist Nixon, Burnley remain keen to try and snap up Clarke and Vincent Kompany remains a big fan of the player – so they are not out of the running for his signature yet and there is nothing to say they won't launch yet another offer for his services.

"Burnley have a few targets that they are still haggling over… the fact they are still in suggests that one isn’t over yet… and the manager still wants him."

Having worked with Tony Mowbray last season during Sunderland's run to the play-offs, not many know Clarke like the manager does. Watching the winger in action and working with the youngster has clearly left the former Blackburn boss in awe, as he stated that the forward was a "wonderful" player and added that "nobody can deny" the talent that he possesses.

He's clearly seen in high regard at the Stadium of Light then, and it is no wonder that they don't want to let him leave this summer if they can help it. Burnley, though, look as if they will continue to try and tempt him away from the EFL side – and if they did manage to add him to their own ranks, it would be another shrewd signing for the Clarets.

The opener’s 41st first-class hundred could put him back in contention for the senior side in the home summer

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Aug-2017
Scorecard File photo – Stephen Cook scored his 41st first-class hundred•AFPOpener Stephen Cook, who had been dropped for the four-Test series in England, followed his match-winning 89 for Durham with a hundred for South Africa A in Pretoria. His 41st first-class century – 120 off 252 balls – formed the bedrock of his team’s 274 for 4 on the first day.After being left out from the senior side, Cook, 34, might have been anxious about his international future, but has now made his case for a lifeline in the home summer, which will feature 10 Tests. Aiden Markram, who is also in contention to partner Dean Elgar at the top, managed only 22. Rudi Second (32) also had a start but could not press on.David Miller, however, built his innings and added 138 for the third wicket with Cook. His 78 – including 10 fours and a six – came off only 115 balls at a strike-rate of 67.82 The stand ended when fast bowler Mohammed Siraj had Miller caught and bowled in the 84th over. Two overs later, just before stumps, left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem removed Cook to bring India A somewhat closer to parity.Nadeem and Siraj were the only wicket-takers for India A.