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England will usurp their rivals at the top of the pile if they can complete 3-0 clean sweep

Andrew Miller07-Sep-2020Big PictureBlink and you miss it in the frantic world of T20. Opportunity has knocked twice for Australia in this series – with a thumping great battering ram in the series opener on Friday, and with a polite rap of enquiry in the closing moments two days later. And twice England have peered over the ramparts and drawn up the drawbridge, to take a 2-0 series lead with one to play, and leave their opponents somewhat non-plussed in their first competitive outing since March.But this third outing, however, is a dead rubber with more riding on it than might ordinarily be the case. Next month’s T20 World Cup may be on the back burner, and so this is not the opportunity for fine-tuning for which it had originally been earmarked, but the ancient annals of Anglo-Australian rivalry love a chance for some bragging rights to be put up for grabs.And so it will prove on Tuesday, where England know they will not be satisfied simply to leave with the series trophy in their grasp. The World No.1 ranking is the true objective for Eoin Morgan’s men, an accolade which passed temporarily to them after their six-wicket win on Sunday, but which will be snatched back by Australia if they can end their series on a high.It may be a broadly meaningless bauble controlled by a mysterious ICC algorithm, but the allure of being top dogs is more than merely cosmetic for the hosts. Just as was the case in their four-year journey to becoming the 50-over World Champions, the No.1 spot was a rite of passage that Morgan, and the then-coach Trevor Bayliss, used almost as a stress test.England, they realised, needed to know the full texture of expectation, for until they had learned what it meant to be a team with a target on their back, they could not be ready for the crunch moments that, sure enough, would await them come the biggest stage of all.So this contest is sure to matter, in the same way that England’s whitewash-sealing win at Old Trafford in 2018 mattered. Right up until the moment that Jos Buttler sealed an excruciating one-wicket win with a brilliant unbeaten 110, Australia had looked set to secure a consolation victory that would have been out of kilter with the fare that had gone before it.Buttler, however, will not be present for this contest. He has been granted leave to visit his family, having excelled in the opening two games, and Morgan too cannot be a complete shoo-in either, having suffered a very awkward-looking finger dislocation in the field on Sunday – not that it prevented him from batting, albeit briefly, in the run-chase.They may be a huge pair of personalities to lose from their starting line-up, but England will not mind too much if they are forced to dig a touch deeper and rely on less prominent members of their line-up to front up with the crucial contributions. For as Australia’s own struggles to find a serviceable middle order have shown, sometimes the hardest part of T20 squad-building is giving meaningful opportunities to the men outside of the prime positions.If, in the circumstances, the No.1 ranking has to be delivered by the likes of Tom Banton, Sam Billings (and of course the ubiquitous Dawid Malan), then England will consider this series a job very well done. Especially as you can be sure, in spite of the errors that have derailed them up to this point, Australia will not be relinquishing their hold without a fight.Dawid Malan reverse-sweeps•AFP

Form guide(last five completed matches)
England WWLWW
Australia LLWLWIn the spotlightThere’s no escaping the furious case for retention that Dawid Malan is currently making. Like Jonny Bairstow’s full-frontal assault on England’s established ODI line-up three years ago, there are only so many times you can ask a player to prove himself before, well, he has proved himself. And right now, with 661 runs at 50.84 in his 15 T20I appearances, including seven fifties and a 48-ball hundred, Malan is producing the sorts of numbers that stop arguments in their tracks. Yes, he does have a habit of pootling along to a run-a-ball 10 before finding his range in any given innings, but on balance, the rewards from that early lack of risk are worth factoring in. No-one complained too loudly when Chris Gayle took the scenic route to destruction, did they?On the face of it, Aaron Finch has done little wrong in his two innings to date. With a total of 86 runs from 65 balls, the skipper is the obvious form man in the Aussie ranks, and the likeliest rock of resistance as they seek the consolation victory that will defend their No.1 status. And yet, while the timing of his strokes gives no cause for complaint, the timing of his dismissals has twice had a discombobulating effect on the rest of Australia’s batting. On each occasion he’s fallen just after the halfway mark of the innings, and such is the frailty in that under-tested middle order, it’s offered England’s bowlers priceless traction. And yet, perhaps Finch’s efforts have merely been paling compared to the onslaughts of his counterpart. Buttler’s efforts so far have been transcendent, but he won’t be here this time around. More of the same may yet be sufficient.Team newsButtler’s absence creates a wave of welcome upheaval in England’s ranks, given how many top-order batsman are competing for so few spots. Malan’s No.3 berth would appear to be locked in for the time being, so Tom Banton is the obvious man to resume his opener’s role alongside Jonny Bairstow. Sam Billings is the first-choice beneficiary from the hole that creates in the middle order. It remains to be seen whether Eoin Morgan bows to the finger that he dislocated in the second match – notwithstanding the chance to go to No.1, it might be prudent. Moeen Ali could yet be captain, Sam Curran and Joe Denly could yet get recalls.England (possible) 1 Tom Banton, 2 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Sam Billings, 5 Moeen Ali (capt), 6 Sam Curran / Joe Denly, 7 Tom Curran, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Mark WoodIf Australia could splice their lower-order batting from the second match to their top-order saunter in the first, they be very handily placed in this series. As it is, they’re 2-0 down and with no obvious areas in which to improve their batting fortunes. Their top four of Warner, Finch, Smith and Maxwell is surely locked in, while Marcus Stoinis’s 35 on Sunday was his highest T20I score, so this would be an odd moment for the selectors to lose faith in what he can offer. Alex Carey, by contrast, has scored three runs from 12 balls in the series so far, but of the men on the bench, Matthew Wade hasn’t kept wicket for three years, while Josh Philippe is perhaps a touch too raw at this stage. The likelier change is a rotation in the fast-bowling department, with Josh Hazlewood perhaps getting an outing before the ODIs.Australia (probable) 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch (capt), 3 Steven Smith, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Ashton Agar, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Kane Richardson / Josh Hazlewood, 11 Adam ZampaPitch and conditionsThe same surface will be used for the third match running, which Malan suggested was partly in anticipation of low, spinning conditions in Asia this winter – the IPL as much as the tour of India, in the cases of players on both sides. The absent Buttler transcended those conditions in both games, but besides him, fluent run-scoring has been hard to come by. The weather is set to be dry, and for a day-night game in September, that’s all you can ask for.Stats and Trivia Chris Jordan needs two wickets to draw level with Broad on 65 T20I wickets, the most for England in the format. Since 2017, Australia have won just one of their last 11 away white-ball fixtures against England, a run that includes eight ODIs and three T20Is. That victory came in the World Cup group match at Lord’s last year.Quotes”We certainly take a lot of pride on being the No.1-ranked team, it’s a great feeling, it’s nice walking out knowing that. That will spur us on but really we just want to win whatever game is in front of us and that’s what contributes to being No. 1.”
“The man that matters is Eoin Morgan, and if he’s happy with the way I’m approaching it, then that’s good enough for me at the moment. That doesn’t mean I’m not trying to improve on that – I always want to improve, so I can keep pushing a case to be in the starting XI.”.”

Head coach Simon Katich impressed with timing the batsmen showed after months of downtime

Shashank Kishore29-Aug-2020Virat Kohli said that his first net session in five months “went much better than expected” after Royal Challengers Bangalore’s first training session on Friday in the UAE. The team trained in batches and Kohli was part of the first set of players who underwent a full session at the ICC Academy.”[It went] much better than expected, to be honest,” Kohli told royalchallengers.com. “I was pretty scared. I hadn’t picked up a bat for five months, but yeah it came out better than I thought, to be honest. I’ve trained quite a bit during lockdown, so I’m feeling quite fit and that helps.”Because the body is light and you react better, I feel like I have more time on the ball. That’s a big plus. Otherwise you come heavier into the season, the body isn’t moving as much, and it starts playing on mind, but yeah, as I said it went much better than I expected.”On Wednesday, head coach Simon Katich had underlined how the conditions could bring spin into the equation quite early in the season. And after a full session, Kohli was particularly pleased with how the spinners fared. While Yuzvendra Chahal remains the only frontline spinner, Royal Challengers have a number of spin bowling all-rounders in Moeen Ali, Pawan Negi, Washington Sundar and Shahbaz Ahmed.”The spinners looked pretty good for day one, they pitched the ball in consistent areas for long enough,” Kohli said. “Shahbaz was good, Washy was very good, I saw Chahal bowl well too. The seamers went through their motions a little bit. All in all, a decent start to our camp.”ALSO READ: RCB will show faith in youngsters and local players, says KatichMeanwhile, Katich seemed pleased with the level the players were at on the opening day of the camp. In particular, he was impressed with the timing the batsmen showed.”Considering the conditions and considering it was their first hit for a while, all of them were outstanding,” Katich said. “A lot of them had nearly an hour in the nets in very hot conditions, credit to them for being able to do that. We’re impressed with what they’re all being able to do. The timing was great to watch.”For Hesson, who is in charge of Royal Challengers for the first time, like Katich, the first outing was an opportunity to have a look at many of the players, and not “necessarily judge” them yet.”To be fair, it was a good chance for us to observe them rather than necessarily giving them too many instructions,” he explained. “So just getting to know what they’re working on and making sure they’re doing with purpose, but also not being too harsh on themselves.”The fact is some of them hadn’t even batted for many months. So not a judging day, just a day for them to go out and get through the first session as Katto said, they did it superbly.”

The outgoing captain says ‘there’s one less thing to worry about’ now

Mohammad Isam07-Mar-2020In his last ODI as captain of Bangladesh, Mashrafe Mortaza wanted to make sure he did not slip up even once, being aware that players are “vulnerable” to mistakes when they are ending a stint. Mortaza signed off as captain in style, leading Bangladesh to their 50th win under him in ODIs with a 3-0 whitewash over Zimbabwe in Sylhet. After Liton Das and Tamim Iqbal amassed big hundreds, Mortaza provided the first breakthrough in Bangladesh’s defence of 322 and remained in control of his emotions throughout the game.At one point he even allowed Mustafizur Rahman to keep a slip in the dying stages of the game, resulting in a catch the next ball. His open faith in his players, young and old, was one of the hallmarks of his captaincy.After the game ended, Iqbal picked him up on his shoulders for a lap of honour. The Bangladesh players wore special jerseys with his name and number at the back, and “thank you captain” written in the front. They presented him with a special edition jersey as well as a commemorative plaque. There are also strong rumours that Mortaza’s jersey may be retired by the BCB soon.After all the formalities, Mortaza cut a relaxed figure in the press conference, particularly candid when speaking about his experience as one of the most important figures in Bangladesh, for more than five years.”Now I am feeling relaxed,” he said. “There’s one less thing to worry about. It was a big responsibility. Usually at this time, some feel good some feel bad. I have mixed feelings too. To be honest, I am happy that I could finish well as a captain. I also ended on a win.”Our main focus was winning the game. We planned and thought about the match. We knew that everything would have been spoiled had we lost. We had a big score but I didn’t want to make a mistake today. When a person announces that something has ended, he is vulnerable to making mistakes. He knows there’s no one to answer to afterwards. I was really focused on not making any mistakes. Everyone assumed that this was a straightforward win, but I wanted to finish well.”Mortaza took four wickets in the three ODIs against Zimbabwe, a stark improvement from his last campaign – the 2019 World Cup – when he took just one wicket in 56 overs across eight matches. He said that wickets have obviously given him some confidence, and he wants to keep performing.Raton Gomes/BCB

“I had a really bad World Cup, and the team struggled too,” he said. “I have turned around a bit. It is about time that I regained the confidence. Bowlers get confidence through wickets, notwithstanding how we bowl.”I have to perform. It will be up to the selectors. A player has to play well, and then he becomes the captain, which itself is a huge pressure. But now as a player, I have a lot of time to think about myself which will help me a lot.”Mortaza downplayed his performance as a captain and said that a Bangladesh captain has to deal with a lot more off-the-field issues with players. “I never evaluated myself, I think I am an average captain,” he said. “I have never given it any thought. For a captain in Bangladesh, though, there’s a lot more work off the field with players. Once you are in the field, there isn’t as much to do.”But players are disturbed in many ways: personal problems, being out of form, not going on well with the coach, fitness problems. Everyone has a different struggle. The captain has to be with the player during those times. The captain has to take responsibility of the whole team, regardless of the team’s result.”Mortaza also reiterated that a senior player should be given the ODI captaincy now, as he would have the prerequisite experience to handle high-pressure situations on and off the field.”Captaincy was a big responsibility but whoever comes in next, he has to be three times more sensible and thoughtful. It will be easy when he wins, but when you lose there is a lot of pressure from the media, board and spectators.”I have done it for six years, so I feel relaxed now. Which is why I said that one of the senior cricketers should take over the captaincy. They can face the media, and have played for a long time. They can better handle pressure.”Mortaza was hopeful that Bangladesh will keep improving beyond his stint as the ODI captain. He repeated what he had said at his last press conference in the 2019 World Cup, that with many of the current young players reaching a peak in four years time, Bangladesh could make it to the last four of the next World Cup.”It is hard to say but I believe Bangladesh will do well in the 2023 World Cup. I think I said it in the last press conference in England, after the Pakistan game, that we will play in the semi-final of the next World Cup. Most of the young players will have the peak of their career during that time, so there’s no reason that we cannot reach that far in Asia.”

Pep Guardiola is keeping his cards close to his chest regarding his future at Manchester City as his cryptic responses raise more questions.

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Guardiola might continue at Man City beyond 2025Had earlier indicated that he was closing in on an exitPost-season break has changed the dynamicsWHAT HAPPENED?

The City manager suggested earlier in May that the upcoming season might be his last, stating he was “closer to leaving than staying.” However, during the pre-season tour in the United States, Guardiola hinted at a potential contract extension, indicating he has not yet made a definitive decision.

AdvertisementGetty WHAT GUARDIOLA SAID

“When I’m leaving, I will say I’m leaving, but I didn’t say that,” Guardiola remarked before a friendly match against Milan at New York’s Yankee Stadium. “We will see what happens. But I will not rule it out absolutely to extend my contract. I would love to stay because I would love to stay.”

Guardiola sought to clarify his previous statements made after securing a fourth consecutive Premier League title for Manchester City. He explained that his comments about being “closer to leaving than staying” were a reflection on his eight-year tenure at the club, not an immediate plan to depart. “[I was] saying that I [had] been eight years in Man City. So I’m not here for eight more years. So that’s why I’m closer to leaving than staying. But I didn’t say I’m leaving!”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Since joining City in 2016, he has secured six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, and the club’s first Champions League trophy. “I want to be sure it’s the right decision. Not just for me, for the club, for the players,” Guardiola emphasised.

Nonetheless, he remains confident in his players' dedication and effort, noting their continued hard work and competitive spirit that makes them one of the favourites for the Premier League and the Champions League in the next season as well.

“Still they run like they ran for eight years, it doesn’t matter the competition, it doesn’t matter the tournament,” he stated.

"It’s good to refresh, for players and managers," he added. "At the same time, we have had success and are still winning Premier Leagues and we are playing competitions like the Champions League. This is my feeling right now.”

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DID YOU KNOW?

Manchester City have already qualified for the revamped 32-team FIFA Club World Cup next summer, which will be hosted in the United States. When he was about the possibility of returning with the squad next season for the global showpiece event, Guardiola affirmed: "I would love to."

“Time is the biggest healer,” says batsman in newspaper interview

ESPNcricinfo staff09-May-2020

Alex Hales has not played for England since his deselection from their World Cup squad•Getty Images

Alex Hales has claimed he has “matured as a player” since his deselection from England’s 2019 World Cup squad after a failed recreational drugs test, and declared that the past six months have been “the best I’ve played in my career” as he presses his case for an international return.Hales has not played for England since it became public in the weeks before the World Cup that he had been serving a 21-day ban due to a second violation of the ECB’s recreational drugs policy, which caused the England limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan to publicly lambast his “lack of regard” for his international team-mates, citing a “complete breakdown of trust” for his omission from the World Cup squad.This week, Morgan said that the “door is still open” for Hales, but reiterated that the crucial element would be rebuilding that trust. “I don’t think you can put a time limit on gaining back that trust, and that’s not just with me; that’s with every member of the squad, the backroom staff, the selectors,” he said.ALSO READ: ‘Door not shut’ on Hales, says Morgan in T20 World Cup build-upIn an interview with the , Hales said that he has matured in the last 12 months, but admitted it would be difficult to address his relationship with the rest of the England squad while outside the squad. Since the start of the 2019/20 Big Bash League, Hales has averaged 42.89 in a combined 22 T20 innings for Sydney Thunder and Karachi Kings, and said that he has never played better across his career.”Like Morgs has said, I guess time is the biggest healer,” Hales said. “I just don’t know how long that is going to go on for, that’s the only thing. I honestly have no idea. Obviously, I’d love to get my place back. Playing international cricket is the highlight of any player’s career and I still think I’ve got a lot to offer, particularly in T20.”I certainly feel I have matured, as a player and away from the game, and hopefully I’ll get the chance to show that in the group environment again. It can be tough to rebuild that trust when you are not in the close-knit circles.”This is the best I’ve played in my career. My England career has been pretty good so far in T20 and that’s not even playing to the best of my ability. I’d love to get that chance again. I’ve moved on and grown from the mistakes I’ve made in my private life and, hopefully, people can forgive and forget. Hopefully, I get that chance again because I feel I’m in a good head space.”ALSO READ: Fines doubled but 21-day ban scrapped as ECB update recreational drugs policyThe fact that the reason behind Hales’ ban was kept confidential last year led to a change in the ECB’s recreational drugs policy ahead of the 2020 season, under which Hales’ fine would have been doubled for his second violation, but he would not have had to miss any games. Hales’ absence was explained by Nottinghamshire as a break for “personal reasons”, but the trail was laid for reporters, and the reasons became public after the broke the story.Under the new regulations, which the ECB said took into account “the important consideration of player welfare”, Hales’ fine would have been doubled but he would not have been banned, suggesting that the second failed test would have remained under wraps.Hales said that his involvement in the Bristol incident and the resulting trial and Cricket Disciplinary Commission hearing “took a lot out of me mentally”, and suggested that he had struggled to cope with the public spotlight surrounding the case.”Stuff like that, you maybe don’t appreciate at the time but it took an awful lot out of me mentally,” he said. “I’m not blaming that on some of the mistakes I made off the field, but it certainly didn’t help with how I felt away from the game. It was mentally exhausting. It put me in a really dark place.”I feel on top of everything and the chapter of Bristol and its aftermath is firmly closed now. I am just looking forward to enjoying the next few years of my career and, more importantly, my life, and just see where it takes me. If you speak to any coach I’ve played under in the last 12 months, I feel I’ve matured as a player.”Hales also said that while he never managed to get tested for Covid-19, he was “pretty sure” he had contracted the virus. Hales had told Pakistan Super League officials that he had developed symptoms upon his return to the UK, which led to the tournament’s semi-finals and final being postponed indefinitely.”There was a point when it was 5am and I was lying in bed, drenched with sweat, feeling sorry for myself. But I knew deep down it wasn’t enough to put me in hospital. I never managed to get a test but speaking to a couple of doctors, they were 99 per cent sure it was Covid.”

Pakistan progressed at a run rate of 3.76 through the 90 overs they faced on Saturday, taking firm control of the Karachi Test

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Karachi21-Dec-2019Sri Lanka’s bowlers didn’t bowl tight enough. Aside from Lahiru Kumara, they also failed to build pressure and bowl in partnerships. This was the verdict of assistant coach Rumesh Ratnayake at stumps on the third day, in which Sri Lanka conceded 338 runs and claimed only two wickets.Pakistan progressed at a run rate of 3.76 through the 90 overs they faced on Saturday. In the morning session their run rate had been as high as 4.54. Ratnayake said that although his team expected the surface to become better for batting, they had hoped to keep the rate of scoring in better check.”Each session we had a target – we wanted to keep them to 70 to 80 runs,” he said. “But we couldn’t do that. Some of the plans were very simple – keeping it tight in line with the stumps. Also, keeping it on the right length. Those were not hard plans to adhere to. Some of the guys did it, but some didn’t. Those partnerships didn’t happen when bowling, which I felt was a big miss.”Lahiru Kumara celebrates a wicket•AFP

Kumara, the 22-year-old quick, was the only one to claim wickets on day three, bowling quicker than 145kph at times. In fact, for large portions of the day, no other bowler appeared capable of breaking through. He had also taken four wickets in the first innings, along with left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya, who went wicketless on Saturday.”Apart from Lahiru Kumara, no one else stuck to a plan well enough. They didn’t create those partnerships with him. Our target tomorrow would be to restrict them as much as possible. It’s up to the bowlers – not only Kumara and Embuldeniya – to come into the game and bowl tightly.”Ratnayake did state that the Karachi surface had become substantially flatter than it had been earlier. Both teams had extracted seam movement through the course of the first innings. But lateral movement was not seen on day three, nor was the bounce and carry that had contributed to the bowlers’ effectiveness on days one and two.”There might have been a little bit of moisture. But as time went by it started drying out and the heavy roller was used by Pakistan, because of which it became a placid wicket. Saying that there was a little bit of turn at the end of the day. The fourth day will be interesting.”

He conceded just the one boundary in 55 deliveries, of which 40 were dot balls, and picked up six wickets as well

Sreshth Shah in Kimberley17-Jan-2020

Shafiqullah Ghafari takes off in celebration•Getty Images

The sign of a menacing spin bowler is how he takes his wickets.In today’s age of white-ball cricket, too often wristspinners are given the leeway of going for runs, just as long as they can get batsmen to eventually miscue an attacking shot. But on the opening day of the Under-19 World Cup, Shafiqullah Ghafari’s spell of 6 for 15 reminded us all what quality legspin is all about, by putting a chokehold on his opposition and forcing them to tap out after a brief struggle.He attacked the stumps and pegged them back four times. On the other two occasions, he trapped one batsman lbw while one edged a soft push to first slip. None of his wickets needed the help of any outfielder and each of his wickets were taken off batsmen who were simply looking to defend. What does that tell us?It tells us how wary teams are of Afghanistan and their spin contingent. And as they continue to produce wristspinners who take the world by storm, the latest to raise his hand is Ghafari, who fell in love with the art of legspin watching videos on the internet.”When I started playing cricket, all the time I was watching Shane Warne videos online,” Ghafari said after the match.” So I was inspired from him how to bowl legspin.”Six wickets in a World Cup first match, it’s a dream. It has given me confidence for future matches as well. I knew if I bowled in the right areas, then everything would work out.”He wasn’t supposed to be the star of the team. For that, there was Noor Ahmed, the left-arm orthodox spinner who recently made heads turn by becoming the youngest person – at 15 – to participate in an IPL auction. But sometimes it helps to lurk in the shadows. There isn’t much footage of Ghafari floating on the internet, so when he was introduced to bowl in the 14th over, South Africa didn’t know what to expect.In his second over, Ghafari got his googly to turn from a length, and bowled Levert Manje for a duck. Next over, he came around the wicket to trap left-handed Jack Lees lbw for 0 too, and when he was given a shot at dismantling the South African tail, you didn’t need to be a soothsayer to know what was to come.A ripping wrong’un from outside off stump went through Khaya Cotani’s defences to hit the timber. Tiaan van Vuuren then looked to defend what he thought was a googly to the on-side, but instead the legbreak turned past him, took the outside edge and found the fielder at slip, and he got reached his five-for in a classical wristspinner’s style, getting the googly to turn so sharply that Achille Cloete was trying to defend outside off stump, but the ball went through him to clip middle.The cherry on the top was Ghafari’s sixth – the wicket of big-hitting Gerald Coetzee, which turned in so sharply to go through him that the batsman was left on his knees wondering what just happened. Between all this, he conceded just the one boundary in 55 deliveries, of which 40 were dot balls, and helped his side bowl South Africa out for only 129. He effectively won the game for Afghanistan even before their batsmen had to pad up.”When I bowl in tandem with Noor, our focus – all the time – is to bowl dot balls,” Ghafari said. “We want the batsman to make mistakes. We never think about who is taking the wicket. Both of us want to bowl dot balls, keep the economy under three, and the wickets just follow.”So in the land where fast bowlers dream to bowl, a spinner ruled Kimberley. Ghafari reminded us that classical legbreak still has a place in the sport. And he also showed while India produce batsmen by the dozen and Pakistan is the breeding ground of pacers, it’s Afghanistan who are well and truly the world’s best exporters of spin bowlers.

Manchester United are planning on keeping Old Trafford and building a brand new stadium next to it, according to a report.

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• Red Devils want to keep current ground
• Plan is to scale it back and keep statues around it
• Smaller stadium would host women's and academy games

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Red Devils have already revealed plans to construct a brand new, 100,000-capacity stadium in the same area as Old Trafford. But they are considering keeping the current stadium and scaling it back, according to the .

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Rather than bulldoze the historic ground, the club are interested in preserving the stadium and reducing its capacity from 73,000 to 30,000. It would host women's and academy matches and also be a monument to the club's home, still housing statues and the memorials to the Munich air disaster.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Building a brand new stadium is thought to cost up to £2 billion ($2.5bn). United's minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe has called for the stadium to be a 'Wembley of the North' and has held discussions with British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer over establishing a private-public partnership, which is controversial as it would involve tax payers' money.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  United, who have set up a task force including former captain Gary Neville, still need to decide whether or not to go ahead with the brand new stadium or to renovate Old Trafford, which would cost around £1bn ($1.3bn). The club have consulted 30,000 fans on the issue and opinion is split over the two options. However, it is thought that maintaining the stadium's heritage could help sway more people to approve the plans to build the brand-new arena next door.

Wellington did the double at Basin Reserve on Sunday, with both the Firebirds (men’s team) and the Blaze (women’s team) securing the 20-over Super Smash titles. The Firebirds are also the reigning 50-over Ford Trophy champions, having defeated Otago in Dunedin in 2018-19.Fast bowler Hamish Bennett, who had starred in that final, was at it in the Super Smash final, his 3 for 34 thwarting Martin Guptill and helping the Firebirds defend 168. Bennett, who now holds both domestic white-ball titles, could well make his T20I debut against the visiting India side next week.Auckland Aces’ New Zealand internationals Guptill and Colin Munro had given their team a sound start in pursuit of 169 by adding 33 for the opening stand in four overs. But one run and three balls later, Bennett had Munro tickling one behind, and TV umpire Ashley Mehrota ruled the opener out although Munro wasn’t pleased with the decision, suggesting that he hadn’t touched the ball.Then, immediately after the powerplay, Jimmy Neesham marked his return from a quadricep injury when he had Glenn Phillips dragging a catch to deep square-leg for a run-a-ball 7. Neesham combined with left-arm fingerspinner Rachin Ravindra and Netherlands international Logan van Beek to pin down the middle order. All three bowlers conceded just one boundary each, sharing five wickets between them.Guptill, though, stood tall even as the Aces sank to 104 for 5 and then 113 for 6. Guptill, who was on 23 off 22 balls by the end of the powerplay, set his focus towards taking the chase deep. He brought up a 45-ball half-century in the 16th over, when he slapped seamer Ollie Newton behind point four.Auckland now needed 59 off 29 balls, with the in-form Bennett still with one over in his bag. Van Beek, too, did some significant damage, getting three wickets, including two in one over. Guptill gave Auckland more hope when he lined up the returning Bennett in the 18th over and thumped him over midwicket for six. However, Bennett responded strongly, getting Guptill to hole out for 60 off 53 balls. Van Beek produced a game-changing moment, pulling off a stunning hokey-pokey catch at the edge of the deep-midwicket boundary. A fierce whip from Guptill seemed destined to fly over the boundary… until van Beek himself took flight and caught the ball at the edge of the rope. He then lost his balance and jumped beyond the rope, but had the presence of mind to toss the ball into play and retrieve it in the end.It was only fitting that Bennett and van Beek closed out the game for the Firebirds. The two men had moved north from Canterbury, playing crucial hands in the Firebirds’ third T20 title victory.Earlier, it was Black Cap-in-waiting Devon Conway who had set up the win, with a 37-ball 49 at the top. Conway lit up the Basin by crunching beanpole quick Kyle Jamieson for three fours in the first over of the game, including a drilled cover-drive. Michael Pollard, the other opener, wasn’t as fluent at the other end, and was dismissed by left-arm quick Mitchell McClenaghan.Conway continued on his merry way and lashed left-arm fingerspinner Mark Chapman for back-to-back boundaries to push the Firebirds to 80 for 2 in ten overs. McClenaghan then returned to the attack and had Conway splicing one to extra cover, where Craig Cachopa pulled off a blinding one-handed catch. Conway capped the season as the top run-getter, with 543 runs in 11 innings at an average of 67.87 and strike rate of 145.18.The South Africa-born top-order batsman will qualify to play for New Zealand soon, just before the T20 World Cup, but coach Gary Stead is already so impressed by him that he called him into New Zealand’s winter camp last year.Jamieson nailed his yorkers and mixed it up his hard lengths at the death while Munro gave little away with his cutters and rollers as the Firebirds’ innings threatened to spiral out of control. However, charming cameos from a fit-again Neesham (22 off 13 balls), captain Michael Bracewell (23 off 17 balls), and van Beek (15* off eight balls) ensured they reached 168. Van Beek, in particular, was the only Firebirds batsman to get the measure of McClenaghan, taking him for 11 off four balls. Bennett and van Beek then made that total look a whole lot bigger with the ball and in the field, thrilling the home crowd.Sophie Devine set up the victory with a quick half-century•Getty Images

Sophie Devine sets up victory in seven-over shootout
Sophie Devine was in complete control after poor weather meant only a seven-overs-a-side contest would be possible in the women’s final.Devine and Rachel Priest dealt in boundaries to start with, the first 20 runs coming in fours, to take Wellington to 20 after two overs. Once Priest fell, Devine switched to smashing sixes, hitting three in the fourth over of the innings, bowled by Anna Peterson, and reached her half-century in just 22 balls. She couldn’t carry on, though, Bella Armstrong sending her back for a 23-ball 54. Though only eight runs came off the final over, Wellington had a strong 81 for 2 on the board thanks to their captain.Devine came back to bowl a fine first over, conceding just five runs, and that set the tone for the Auckland reply, as they struggled to find the boundaries, lost wickets, and could only manage 45 for 5, going down by 36 runs.

The January transfer window is due to slam shut on Thursday night and Leeds United are yet to make an addition to Daniel Farke's playing squad.

They are vying to secure automatic promotion back to the Premier League and may be looking at possible signings to bolster their chances of doing so.

However, they should also be open to long-term projects and one move that could bring future benefits is the signing of Liverpool forward Mateusz Musialowski.

Football Insider reported earlier this month that Leeds have registered an interest in the Polish youngster, who is out of contract at the end of the season.

Farke could unearth his next Todd Cantwell over the years to come if the Whites secure a late swoop to sign the talented gem before the deadline.

Todd Cantwell's Championship form for Farke

The versatile attacker, who played in midfield or out wide, made his first-team breakthrough at Norwich City under the German head coach – as the likes of Ben Godfrey, Jamal Lewis, and Max Aarons did – and thrived.

Cantwell started 18 matches in the Championship during the 2018/19 campaign – his first season as a regular for the Canaries – as the Norfolk-based side romped their way to the league title.

He contributed with one goal, two assists, and six 'big chances' created for his side before enjoying a fantastic season in the top-flight with six goals in 30 Premier League starts.

Norwich were relegated at the end of the 2019/20 campaign and Cantwell – under Farke's management – excelled in the second tier with six goals, six assists, and seven 'big chances' created in 30 Championship starts as the Yellows won another league title.

Why Musialowski could be Cantwell 2.0 for Farke

The Leeds head coach could work his magic once again by helping Musialowski to make a breakthrough in first-team football, as he did with Cantwell – who was also a goalscoring attacking midfielder and winger.

He is yet to make a senior club appearance in his career but his form for Liverpool at youth level suggests that the potential is there for Farke to unearth another gem.

Appearances

Four

Sofascore rating

7.15

Goals

Three

Assists

One

Key passes per game

1.5

As you can see in the table above, the 20-year-old gem has played against senior teams in the EFL Trophy – against Blackpool, Morecambe, Barrow, and Bradford – and caught the eye at the top end of the pitch.

He has also produced three goals and one assist in seven Premier League 2 outings for Liverpool's U23s this season, which means that the Leeds target has racked up six goals and two assists in 11 appearances in all competitions.

The 5 foot 8 whiz, who was hailed as "very special" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, made the step up to the U23s after an incredible return of 18 goals and four assists in 31 U18 games for the top-flight giants.

Musialowski is a goalscoring midfielder, who can play centrally or out wide, like Cantwell, and could develop into a lethal option for Leeds if Farke is given the time to work with him over the coming months and years, which is why he could be an excellent long-term signing for the club.