Richard Johnson, the man pulled out of this Canterbury Cricket Week fixture on Wednesday to answer England’s Trent Bridge SOS, was the Somerset batting hero as the second-placed visitors held out for a draw against third-placed Kent.Having avoided the follow-on by scrambling two leg-byes from the second ball of the fourth and final day, Somerset were finally dismissed for 336 to concede a first innings deficit of 115.Kent batted again for just 36.4 overs in adding a further 205 for three, with in-form opening batsman David Fulton scoring an unbeaten 104 for his seventh first-class century of a prolific summer.The 29-year-old right-hander scored an unbeaten 208 in the first innings, making his the first Kent batsman since Aravinda de Silva in 1995 to score a century in each innings of a match – but the county’s first to be not out in each innings.Matthew Fleming’s declaration left Somerset an unlikely victory target of 321 from 41 overs, but with left-armer Min Patel and off-spinner Andrew Symonds bowling in tandem Kent were able to crowd the bat and apply the pressure.Only captain Jamie Cox and Peter Bowler made it past 20 for Somerset as Patel followed his first innings haul of eight for 119, with four victims second time around to finish with career-best match figures of 12 for 144.Symonds chipped in with three for 28 from the Nackington Road End, but it was Johnson and his ninth wicket partner Steffan Jones who batted out the final six overs of the match to prevent Kent from pulling off their fourth consecutive championship win.Fulton, who now boasts a season’s first-class run tally to 1,465 at an average of 73.25, also claimed seven catches in the match – but Kent were left to rue their six missed chances of day three.
Bayern Munich are now preparing a £44m bid for one of Manchester United’s most important players, having identified him as the perfect target.
Two Man Utd players cause off-field controversy
There has been no shortage of controversy surrounding Man United since the 4-4 draw against AFC Bournemouth on Monday night, with Kobbie Mainoo’s brother, Jordan Mainoo-Hames, coming under fire for his questionable choice of shirt.
Mainoo has received very little game time this season, with the central midfielder still yet to start a Premier League game, but his brother’s stunt sparked an angry reaction from Simon Jordan, who said: “That’s part of the deterioration of the brand and ultimately the club’s culture when you’ve young players that have an expectation that they should be in the Man United team and so if they don’t they get their idiot brother to stand inside the stands wearing a t-shirt.”
Not only that, but Bruno Fernandes has taken aim at the board for their stance on selling him in the summer, saying: “Man United wanted me to leave last summer, I have that in my head.”
“I told the directors this, but I think they didn’t have the courage to make that decision.”
Now, Fernandes could be presented with an opportunity to leave the Red Devils, with a report from Spain revealing Bayern Munich are preparing a €50m (£44m) offer for the attacking midfielder, which could arrive in the summer transfer window.
The Portugal international has been identified as the perfect target for the Bundesliga side, and there is a growing feeling this season could be his last at Old Trafford, with the Man United star now considering leaving.
Having been left extremely hurt by United’s willingness to offload him in the summer, there is a rift between the 31-year-old and the board, meaning the door may now be open for a move to the Allianz Arena, which would be a major blow for Ruben Amorim…
Bruno 2.0: Amorim pushing Man Utd to sign "world's most underrated player"
Ruben Amorim is driving Manchester United’s pursuit of another Bruno Fernandes-style figure.
ByRobbie Walls Man Utd must keep hold of Fernandes
While the £300k-a-week midfielder was left frustrated with the board in the summer, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has waxed lyrical about him in the past, describing the former Sporting CP man as a “fabulous footballer”.
Subscribe for deeper transfer insight on Fernandes Gain deeper analysis on transfer sagas and club dynamics by subscribing to our newsletter. We unpack rumours, board-player relationships, tactical fit and what Bayern’s interest in Fernandes could mean for clubs and careers. Subscribe for deeper transfer insight on Fernandes Gain deeper analysis on transfer sagas and club dynamics by subscribing to our newsletter. We unpack rumours, board-player relationships, tactical fit and what Bayern’s interest in Fernandes could mean for clubs and careers.
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Despite predominantly featuring in a deeper role, the United captain has continued to impress during the first half of the current campaign, picking up five goals and seven assists in 16 Premier League outings, most recently scoring a fantastic free-kick against Bournemouth.
Having set up more goals than any other Premier League player this season, Fernandes is showing no signs of slowing down, and it is vital that Man United resist any approaches from Bayern Munich.
England allrounder Luke Wright has joined the ranks of players who have turned down offers from IPL franchises.Earlier this week Ravi Bopara and Sajid Mahmood revealed that they had also been approached to join IPL, but both opted to put their England ambitions ahead of short-term financial gain.”At the moment my main focus and priority is playing for my country,” Wright said. “Obviously I was very pleased to be considered for the IPL. If the timings were different and it wasn’t going to affect my chances of playing for England then it would be something I would seriously have to consider.”Wright is not centrally contracted to the ECB and so would only have required permission from Sussex to play in the IPL.
Bangladesh, the favourites, sealed their place in the final with a 59-run victory against Hong Kong at Johor Bahru. The result owed much to the guile of little 16-year old left-arm spinner Champa Chakma who took 3 for 16 with a variety of top-spinners, in-cutters and googlies that had all who faced her floundering.Bangladesh’s batting remains, by and large, bright and breezy and there’s always the feeling that a wicket could fall the moment they play an attacking shot. Singles aren’t fancied in case, thus the false economy of a hard hit is chosen. To generate power the players swing the bat hard; inevitably, more shots than not go in the air.Salma Khatun and Panna Ghosh are alone in being able to drive on the off on the front foot along the ground and look a class apart from their team-mates. Their partnership of 37 in a little over 10 overs for the fourth wicket did much to steady Bangladesh after they’d lost two wickets in two balls in the eighth over.When Khatun was out, flat-batting firmly to a terrific diving catch at cover by Samantha McIlwraith, Bangladesh were just about getting their noses in front. Three more wickets fell for 10 however, and Hong Kong were back in the game.Had Panna Ghosh been held at long-on when on 28 (one of three chances she offered) and two run-out chances taken, Bangladesh would have been struggling. Her partnership with the bustling Tithi Rani Sarker at the end of the innings ran Hong Kong ragged. Twenty runs were put on in the last four overs and Bangladesh managed to reach their pre-match target of 100.They thought it would be enough. One obstacle remained however, Hong Kong’s captain Neisha Pratt. Until she was out, Bangladesh couldn’t rest. Pratt came in at 4 so as to better negotiate the perceived spin-treat of Bangladesh and when she took guard with her team at 14 for 2, the innings rested on her shoulders. Ghosh’s pace was negotiated safely and one could sense that Pratt was just playing herself in, looking to build a platform for her side’s victory.Chakma’s second delivery fizzed past the edge, Pratt was out of her crease and the bails were whipped off. Even Bangladesh’s manager screamed with joy.If Chakma was too good for Pratt, she was way too good for the rest. Barely nudging four foot and from a part of Bangladesh (the Chittagong Hills) that didn’t know of cricket until the 21st century, Chakma possesses a repertoire of which Monty Panesar would be proud.The ball that did for Renee Montgomery would have foxed anyone and had even the umpire from her end, S. Chandrasekaran admiring it. He said after the match’s conclusion, “Through the air it looked like it was going to the off, and the batsman shaped to drive, on pitching it just darts in and takes leg-stump. She has one that bounces, one that moves away and one that moves in, there’s one that gets quicker off the pitch…..” Spinners took six of the Hong Kong wickets to fall.Chakma is pretty good and so is Hong Kong’s left-arm prodigy thirteen year-old Chan Sau Har. She gets prodigious bat-beating turn herself and has major star-quality. It wasn’t her or Hong Kong’s day today. Bangladesh were just too good.”It’s a learning curve for both teams,” said Hong Kong’s coach Lal Jayasinghe. “The gap between Bangladesh and the other Test-playing countries of Asia is like the gap between us and them, but take the best young players from both teams and give them every chance to improve, within a few years they’ll be a match for the rest.”Hong Kong captain Neisha Pratt said: “There are many positives we can draw from this tournament. Our young players really got stuck in and showed a lot of character especially in the bowling department.”Clearly our batting has been disappointing and we’ll be working hard on this area. We’ve now seen the level of competition in Asian women’s cricket and, with a lot of hard work from the squad and continuing provision of resources Hong Kong can be confident of competing successfully at this and higher levels moving forward.”Bangladesh will meet Nepal in the final on July 18 after they defeated China in the other semi final.
The subject of the number of overseas players in English cricket has been argued over for years, but the recent influx of players under the Kolpak ruling has taken the debate onto a new level. The number of South Africans playing county and club cricket has never been higher, and most benefit from having British passports through parents or grandparents.But while the issue is a concern to the English, it is also a worry for South Africa. Graham Ford, Kent’s South African director of cricket, has been responsible for an influx of his countrymen to Canterbury, but he is worried by the trend.He told AFP that he is inundated by phone calls and e-mails from South African parents desperate to get their sons into one of the leagues. “Every week, I receive hundreds of queries. I’m extremely concerned that so many quality players are deciding to play elsewhere. If we continue to lose so much talent it’s bound to threaten our depth and it’s going to be terribly difficult in the long run to maintain that same quality.”It was Ford, who coached the South African national side until 2001, who first identified that Kevin Pietersen was a special talent. “A lot of people ask me how we could let someone like that go,” Ford shrugged. “I don’t have an answer. I tried to keep him in South Africa but it didn’t work out. The really worrying thing from a South African perspective is that we have no idea how many other potential matchwinners we are losing.”South Africans have a big problem regarding KP [Kevin Pietersen]. They don’t want to acknowledge that this guy is an exceptional talent. Of course it’s sad seeing Pietersen winning games single-handedly for England when he could be doing it for South Africa,” said Ford.Ford added that the player drain was continuing. Former international wicketkeeper Nic Pothas, 32, will qualify to play for England this season – although his chances of a call-up are almost non existent – while Jonathan Trott, who is only 25, could well be drafted in after strong performances.”The lure of the pound is very strong and you can’t always fight against that,” admitted Ford. “But there are other reasons as well. Disillusionment is just one of them. And then there are a whole lot of guys who simply haven’t made it and are feeling sorry for themselves. It’s a convenient excuse to blame the situation back home.”This winter, Ford, who coached the South African national side until 2001, will return to the republic to take charge of the Dolphins.
Brendon McCullum stroked his way to his maiden Test hundred (143) to give New Zealand a lead of 225 runs, before Bangladesh lost two wickets before the end of the day, and looked set to lose the first match of the series within four days. They reached the close on 41 for 2, with Daniel Vettori doing the damage second-time around.The day had belonged entirely to New Zealand. They first frustrated Bangladesh by repelling the bowling with ease, and then built a comfortable lead for their team before prising out Javed Omar and Hannan Sarkar before the close. When they resumed their innings, unperturbed by the absence of specialist batsmen, McCullum did not attempt to shield the tailenders when the spinners came on. And Vettori (23) and James Franklin (22) held their own, in partnerships of 71 and 57. While McCullum went after the loose balls, Vettori and Franklin tapped it around, applying themselves in a manner missing when the top order batted yesterday. McCullum fed off their comfort, and took the match further away from Bangladesh.McCullum was quick to pounce on anything either too short or too full, and though he was mostly fluent, he did enjoy some luck. Two catches were dropped, but he carried on as if nothing had happened. Cuts flew to the fence. Sweeps beat the fielders. He stayed back and played strokes as late as possible. Some balls stayed low, others jumped, and patience was needed, of which he had plenty. Bangladesh grew more and more dispirited as his score grew. When he eventually fell, it was while attempting to steer Mohammad Rafique to leg – a shot he had played successfully until then (371 for 9). But New Zealand were safe, and had broken away from Bangladesh’s clutches for the first time in three days.Bangladesh were restricted by their limited bowling attack. Apart from Rafique (6 for 122) and Manjural, no-one looked likely to get a wicket, and runs came freely when the fast men bowled. They had opportunities: the new ball swung, but it was pitched on the wrong line, and a shot off McCullum flew airily to third man, where the fielder chose to save four runs, rather than dive for a catch. Apart from the spinners, Bangladesh lacked penetration. Vettori fell to an outstanding catch by Nafis Iqbal, and Franklin attempted an over-ambitious pull (351 for 8).Soon, Bangladesh’s batsmen were in pads, with the task of wiping out the considerable lead. They played steadily at first, barring two edges off Franklin that went through slips to the boundary, but all that changed when Vettori came on. Getting one to turn a bit, he clipped Omar’s outside-edge, before Sarkar tried playing a ball to leg, but edged it back to Vettori (33 for 2). Nafis Iqbal was still there on 24, though, striking the odd defiant shot, but there was no doubt about which team was in complete control of the game.
England, Pakistan and India all have a chance to wrest the third spot in the ICC Test Championship table going into the final match of their series in West Indies and Pakistan. Currently, just two points separate the three teams, with Pakistan on 102, England on 101, and India on 100.A victory at Rawalpindi will push Pakistan’s tally to 105 points and assure them of third spot regardless of the outcome of England’s Test against West Indies in Antigua. If Pakistan only achieve a draw, though, they will stay on 102 points, and England can sneak ahead with a draw and a 3-0 series win – which will improve their rating to 103 points. If England win in Antigua, their tally will go up to 104.For India to leapfrog both teams, they will have to beat Pakistan in the third Test, and then hope that West Indies pull off a surprise win against England. If that happens, India and England will be tied in third place with 102 points, while Pakistan will slip to sixth place with 99.Australia lead the way with 127 points, while South Africa are in second place with 112.
The State Central Hinds team to play State Auckland Hearts at Melville Park at the weekend is:Aimee Mason (captain), Abby Burrows, Sarah Duffill, Cindy Forsyth, Erin McDonald, Sara McGlashan, Zara McWilliams, Elizabeth Perry, Kelly Sutherland, Nicole Thessman, Donna Trow, Kelly Winkley.Kate Pulford is injured and not available for selection.Kelly Winkley will make her debut for the State Central Hinds.
West Ham have been given a boost in pursuit of a ‘top class’ player who’s believed to be keen on a switch to east London in January, according to insider ExWHUemployee.
Nuno in need of top January window as West Ham stare at relegation
The looming January window, set to open in under a fortnight, could be make or break for Nuno Espírito Santo’s side as they stare down the barrel of relegation.
There have been some positive signs since Nuno replaced Graham Potter, with a marked improvement in overall performances.
However, results still haven’t been good enough to lift them out of the Premier League relegation zone.
Only bottom side Wolves have conceded more goals than the Hammers so far, while Niclas Fullkrug’s departure to AC Milan leaves them a striker short.
The German spectacularly flopped at Rush Green, bagging just three goals in 29 appearances with his spell marred by constant injury problems.
Reports suggest that West Ham are entering the market for a new number nine, and they’ve been linked with a few intriguing options already, most notably Wolves’ Jorgen Strand Larsen.
West Ham make first move to sign La Liga's 2024 top goalscorer to replace Fullkrug
He’s got a proven record.
ByEmilio Galantini
Nuno’s side are believed to have made an approach for the Norwegian, who in turn is open to swapping the Midlands for London to give himself a better chance of avoiding the Championship.
While a striker and talks for Wolves winger Adama Traore are taking centre stage, West Ham badly need an alternative to the likes of Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo too, with the former enduring a nightmare against Man City last weekend.
Now, as per ExWHUemployee, that man could be Toulouse centre-back Charlie Cresswell.
Charlie Cresswell keen to join West Ham in January
Writing on his Patreon, via the West Ham Way website, Ex shared an update on Cresswell after claiming last month that West Ham could ‘reignite talks’ for the Englishman.
Cresswell was apparently close to joining West Ham in the summer, and that interest remains heading into January.
What’s more, Ex now reports that the 23-year-old is ‘keen on the move’ to West Ham next month — gifting Nuno’s side a boost as they still ponder a move for the former Leeds United defender.
Cresswell has enjoyed a remarkable 25/26 campaign with Toulouse, establishing himself as an indispensable figure in the heart of their defence.
The England Under-21 international has started all 16 of Toulouse’s Ligue 1 fixtures, playing every single minute of their season to date, demonstrating his importance to manager Carles Martínez.
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Cresswell has even netted three goals and one assist so far, showcasing his threat from set pieces while maintaining defensive solidity at the back.
Toulouse currently sit eighth in the Ligue 1 table with 23 points from 17 matches, having lost just once in their last seven games.
Cresswell’s performances have earned him comparisons to former Chelsea defender Thiago Silva due to his composure on the ball and aerial prowess in both penalty areas.
The centre-back has also earned recent recognition with England’s Under-21 squad, playing a key role in their successful European Championship defence last summer where he was named in the Team of the Tournament.
Daniel Farke was a big fan of his at Leeds too, calling him a ‘top class’ youngster who kept Leeds’ senior defenders on their toes.
"Could happen" – Player admits he may join West Ham as agent works on transfer