Glasgow Rangers suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Motherwell at Ibrox on the weekend in what was an uncharacteristic performance under Philippe Clement.

The Light Blues got out of jail, however, as Hearts did the club a massive favour on Sunday, recording a stunning 2-0 win over Celtic which still leaves the Gers two points clear at the summit of the Premiership table.

With nine games to go in the league, every player will need to step up and make sure this does not happen again. Against the Steelmen, there were a few poor performances from players who have looked solid in recent weeks, most notably from John Souttar, who struggled to cope with Theo Blair.

John Souttar’s game against Motherwell in numbers

The Scot had formed an excellent partnership alongside Connor Goldson at the heart of the defence, yet against Motherwell, they struggled to cope with Blair’s physicality and the regular long balls over the top.

The former Jambos defender won one of his two ground duels contested, along with losing possession 18 times, making zero tackles or interceptions, and committing one foul during the rare defeat at Ibrox.

He was at fault for the opener after just ten minutes, and it set the tone for the rest of the match, with the Light Blues never truly looking comfortable.

Following the game, Goldson came out in defence of his playing partner, saying:

“I was disappointed on Saturday, people talking bad on the internet because he had one game where he probably made a few mistakes but we’ve all been there, I’ve been there myself, I’ve been written off plenty of times by Rangers fans.”

With a clash against Benfica coming up, however, Clement could well make a change at the back.

Leon Balogun could replace John Souttar against Benfica

The Nigerian re-signed for the club last summer on a one-year contract, adding some experience to the squad.

The veteran may have only played 14 games thus far, but when he has been on the pitch, Balogun has looked solid.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast's Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

In his 11 league matches this term, the defender has helped his side keep a clean sheet in seven of those, as well as making 1.5 tackles and interceptions per game, along with winning a staggering 8.3 total duels per game – a success rate of 70% – clearly proving how effective he is when utilised.

Benfica will be a tough opponent to crack, but unleashing Balogun in place of Souttar appears to be the most logical move, and it could give Clement some fresh legs at the heart of the defence.

The next Premiership tie is not until next weekend and perhaps this break from league action could be a blessing in disguise, especially following the poor result against Motherwell.

The Belgian will now see just how his side respond to such a disappointment when they travel to Portugal this week and gaining any sort of positive result will be seen as a major success.

There will be a few changes, but Balogun should be brought in to partner Goldson, that’s for sure.

A major Newcastle United shareholder may now be "disqualified" from ownership in the club because of a breach of the Premier League's rules, according to a shock update that has emerged this week.

Newcastle's FFP battle

The Magpies have had a taxing season on the pitch, with Eddie Howe's side failing to replicate last year's brilliance when Champions League qualification was secured, following an excellent fourth-place finish in the league.

While plenty of new signings could arrive at St James' Park during the summer transfer window, Newcastle find themselves under strict financial constraints due to Financial Fair Play (FFP), which will limit the amount of business they can do unless they sell players.

Lewis Hall is set to arrive on a permanent deal from Chelsea in the summer, having joined on loan from Chelsea at the start of the season, which will immediately eat into a big chunk of the available spending.

It is a situation that is clearly not ideal for the PIF and the shareholders at Newcastle, and now a serious update has emerged on one such figure high up at the club.

Newcastle shareholder could be "disqualified"

According to a fresh claim from Football Insider, Newcastle director Amanda Staveley could be "disqualified" for breaching the Premier League's financial rules.

The update states that she is "at risk of losing her job at Newcastle United and shares in the club as well as being ‘disqualified’ as their managing director" due to the latest developments in her legal case.

Staveley is fighting an "ongoing court trial against a Greek shipping magnate" and was ordered on Monday to pay £3.4million by April 22 or face a bankruptcy order – the top flight's rules would then be forced step in to take her off Newcastle's books if she is declared bankrupt.

This is a concerning update from a Newcastle perspective, at a time when finances are very much under the microscope, and it is clearly also a potentially major setback for Staveley herself, having become such a big figure at St James' Park in recent years.

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The 50-year-old has had a noticeable impact in her role as managing director since gaining a 10% share of the Magpies back in 2021 when the PIF's takeover was completed, which has since reduced to 6%. For example, she is playing a key role in negotiations over a contract extension for influential midfielder Joelinton.

To suddenly see Staveley relieved of her duties due to the ongoing situation with Greek shipping magnate Victor Restis would be a huge shame, considering the relationship she has with those around her at the club.

The hope is that shes pays off her debt and avoids serious punishment from the Premier League, but either way it is bad publicity for Newcastle and a worrying story ahead of a potentially chaotic transfer window of sales and signings.

تفاعلت جماهير فريق ليفربول مع أداء النجم المصري محمد صلاح، بعدما سجل هدف الفوز في مباراة اليوم ضد برايتون في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي.

وتلاقى الفريقان على ملعب “الأنفيلد” في الجولة العاشرة من الدوري الإنجليزي، حيث فاز ليفربول بهدفين لهدف.

وتمكن محمد صلاح من تسجيل هدف فوز ليفربول، في الدقيقة 72. ملخص لمسات محمد صلاح في مباراة ليفربول وبرايتون

وكتب أحد مشجعي ليفربول عبر موقع إكس: “إنه لا يخيب آمالنا أبدًا، محمد صلاح”.

He never disappoint 😍😍😍👌, Mo salah pic.twitter.com/PZ4g6AYBit — Ssaga (@SsagalaBrian) November 2, 2024

وأضاف ثانِ: “الملك المصري له اليد العليا”.

The Egyptian King reigns supreme! — Beet (@babybeetroot) November 2, 2024

وواصل ثالث: “الملك المصري ينقذ ليفربول مرة أخرى”.

Egyptian king saves Liverpool again — Captain Reno (@TheCaptainReno) November 2, 2024

وأردف رابع: “صلاح هو ستيفن جيرارد هذا الجيل”.

Salah is him. This generations Steven Gerrard. — Darian (@tweetsbydarian) November 2, 2024

وكتبت مشجعة: “الساحر، مهارات محمد صلاح مبهرة هذا الموسم”.

MAGICIAN 🎩 MO Salah’s skills are spellbinding this season ⚽️🔥 — Dr Sara Qureshi (@sara_qureshi87) November 2, 2024

وكتبت أخرى: “أحد أعظم اللاعبين على مر العصور.. محمد صلاح يتقدم أكثر في ترتيب هدافي الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز!”.

One of the all-time greats. Mohamed Salah moves further up the Premier League goalscoring charts 🇪🇬👑🤝❤️ pic.twitter.com/RuXkj8WJ8B — Sarah (@JATTSOPRANO316) November 2, 2024

وأصبح محمد صلاح الثامن في جدول هدافي الدوري الإنجليزي على مر التاريخ، برصيد 164 هدفًا، متجاوزًا روبي فاولر.

في حين رأى آخر: “امنحوه الكرة الذهبية”.

Give him the balon dor already 😭😭🙌🙌 — ᗩl wᗩdᑌd_tᕼe sIᗰᑭ (@_MakdShelby) November 2, 2024

بينما تسائل مشجع: “ماذا سنفعل بدون هذا الرجل؟”.

what are we going to do without this guy?? — Captain Reno (@TheCaptainReno) November 2, 2024

وأكد مشجع: “إذا استمر على هذا المستوى، فمن المؤكد أنه سيفوز بالكرة الذهبية”.

واتفق آخر قائلًا: “نعم، امنحوه الكرة الذهبية، إنه يستحقها بكل تأكيد”.

– Give him the Ballon d’Or already! 😭😭🙌🙌
– He deserves it for sure! — Anuj Gupta (@financeanuj) November 2, 2024

وكتب مشجع: “صلاح يقلب المباراة وكأنه يعيد كتابة السيناريو”.

Salah turning the game around like he’s rewriting the script! 👑🔥 — Beet (@babybeetroot) November 2, 2024

Even as Leeds United set their sights on Championship promotion in the final stages of the season, those at Elland Road will still have to keep an eye on potential departures, with bids incoming, believes Paul Robinson.

Leeds transfer news

The Whites have already seen interest emerge in Crysencio Summerville, which comes at little surprise given just how clinical he's been in the Championship this season. And if they fail to achieve promotion, it could spell disaster when it comes to keeping hold of their star, with Chelsea reportedly showing interest in Summerville not so long ago.

The same could be said for other key players in Daniel Farke's squad, too. The likes of Georginio Rutter have certainly done enough to earn Premier League interest, and failure to secure promotion could prove costly for the Whites. Even if they reach the Premier League, however, the bids could still come in, according to Robinson.

Leeds making checks on Koni De Winter but deal would have to be fast

The Yorkshire club could try to hijack the move…

ByTom Cunningham Mar 28, 2024

The Sky Sports pundit and former Leeds goalkeeper believes that Wilfried Gnonto is set to attract plenty of interest this summer. The winger, of course, is no stranger to the transfer headlines, having previously requested an exit from Elland Road before finally settling recently. Alas, with his contract yet to be sealed, the Italian's exit is still a possibility.

Robinson told MOT Leeds News: "I think there are going to be bids coming in for him without a doubt because he’s having an excellent season, he’s recreated the form that he had last season.

"When he came into the side in the Premier League, he was excellent, and I think the problem that Leeds have got is they have got some very talented players like Gnonto, like Summerville, like James, like Piroe – you look at where the goals have come from in that team this season, Patrick Bamford has been the leading scorer in that team at times over the years but the goals have spread out all the way through that team."

"Excellent" Gnonto has found form at the perfect time

After struggling to make an impact in the first half of the Championship campaign, Gnonto has rediscovered his best form at the best possible time for Leeds and Farke – so much so, that it could be his flurry of recent goals that go a long way towards promotion at Elland Road.

Now, and amid such form, Leeds should do everything in their power to keep hold of Gnonto. The young winger has finally settled in West Yorkshire, and if they are to take the Premier League by storm, then he will undoubtedly play a large part in that.

With eight cup finals left of the Championship season, Gnonto has the chance to add to his seven goals and two assists to round off a solid campaign in the second tier. Above Leicester City on goal difference and clear of third-placed Ipswich Town by a point, it's certainly going to be a nervy end to the season for Leeds United.

After a run of six games without a Premier League victory, Sean Dyche's Everton are looking over their shoulder with Luton Town closing the gap to the Toffees to just five points with a game in hand.

The defeat against David Moyes' West Ham United side last Saturday was only their second defeat in the last six outings, but the club need to end their winless run as soon as possible with a potential points deduction heading their way.

Goals from former Everton defender Kurt Zouma, Tomas Soucek and Edson Alvarez claimed all three points for the Hammers, with the Toffees disappointed not to take at least a point from the encounter given their chances.

Striker Beto made a rare start at the weekend, with the Portuguese forward scoring but also missing a penalty. Despite the penalty miss, the striker showed glimpses of his quality, with the former Udinese man deserving of another start this weekend.

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ByZak Anderton Feb 25, 2024

However, one Everton player was poor in the West Ham defeat, with Dyche potentially needing to drop him for the clash against Manchester United this afternoon.

Why Doucoure could make way vs Manchester United

Although midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure has been impressive for the Toffees this season – scoring six goals – he was below par against West Ham, with the former Watford man having one of his poorest games so far this campaign.

During his 90-minute performance, Doucoure was dispossessed three times and lost 100% of the 11 duels he contested; that's not ideal from a combative midfielder.

The one-time Mali international also committed three fouls and lost possession 15 times – on average once every six minutes he was on the pitch.

Doucoure, who was given a 6/10 rating by Liverpool Echo journalist Chris Beesley, tried his best to have a positive effect on the encounter but was lacking quality, with the midfielder now without a goal in five league matches.

Given his poor recent run of form, Everton boss Dyche should look to replace him with one player within the squad champing at the bit for more first-team minutes.

The man to replace Doucoure against Manchester United

After returning from his latest injury setback, midfielder Andre Gomes has been solid when called upon for Dyche – with the Portuguese playmaker deserving of a consistent run of minutes in the Premier League.

The midfielder, who earns £112k-per-week, has made three starts since his return to action in late December, with his best game coming in the FA Cup clash against Crystal Palace at Goodison Park.

The former Barcelona man scored the winning goal, before missing multiple games before returning to the bench against Moyes' Saturday on Saturday.

He was brought on for the final ten minutes, with the 30-year-old completing all ten of the passes he attempted and also threatening further forward by taking two shots – both of which were on target.

After his torrid spell with injury, Gomes has spent the vast majority of his contract on the sidelines with his deal set to expire in the summer.

Dyche should give the experienced midfielder a consistent run of games before the end of the season, in order to allow him to stake his claim for a new contract in the summer.

USMNT and AC Milan winger Christian Pulisic has revealed that as a child he used to dress up as a soccer player 'almost every Halloween'.

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Pulisic speaks on The Tonight ShowReveals he dressed up as footballer for HalloweenBack with AC Milan for pre-seasonWHAT HAPPENED?

Speaking on The Tonight Show hosted by Jimmy Fallon, Pulisic laughed as Fallon held up a photo of the winger dressed in full football kit alongside his sister for Halloween. Pulisic explained how he had always dreamed of becoming a professional but only realised that dream when he moved to England.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesWHAT PULISIC SAID

Speaking about playing football professionally, Pulisic said: "It’s still insane to me, honestly, to this this day. I never thought I’d be in this position doing what I love for a living. It’s incredible."

Responding to Pulisic discussing his childhood dream, Fallon brought up the photo of Pulisic. He said: "We actually got from your mom a photo of you dressing up for Halloween as a soccer player."

The USMNT star laughed: "Almost every year I was a new soccer player. Not very creative!"

DID YOU KNOW?

Fallon asked when Pulisic knew he could become a professional player. The former Chelsea and Dortmund player replied: "I mean it’s tough. My first memories are with a soccer ball but pro? Maybe [aged] six or seven, when I first moved over to England, [was when] I knew." He moved to England with his mother who was on a teacher exchange programme and lived in Oxfordshire before returning to the States.

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR PULISIC?

Pulisic has joined up with his AC Milan team-mates on their pre-season tour in the US after his country's underwhelming Copa America campaign. They take on Manchester City in a friendly on Saturday at Yankee Stadium in New York. After pre-season, Pulisic and his team-mates will return to Italy with the aim of overthrowing rivals Inter to become Serie A champions once again.

Big Picture

Day-night Test matches have been the centre of much discussion in recent days with India hosting their first contest with the pink ball. The second game of this series brings us back to the original home of the day-night Tests as the Adelaide Oval hosts its fourth match under lights. Whether India are playing under lights here next year is currently the topic of much debate.Back in the present and the question is whether the different conditions will help or hinder Pakistan’s chances of levelling the series. Given the struggle of the bowlers in Brisbane, if there is the prospect of their seamers getting more assistance it may narrow the gap, although anything their quicks can do Australia’s big three will be very confident of replicating.After flattering to deceive in the opening session at the Gabba, Pakistan were then so far behind the game after two days that even an improved showing could not prevent an innings defeat. However, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan – plus Asad Shafiq in the first innings – gave a template of how success can be achieved.It was difficult to pick holes in Australia’s performance although Tim Paine said the performance of the pace attack was slightly below the high expectations they set themselves. The top order did an outstanding job, but it will be interesting to see how they respond if challenged with more movement than was on offer in Brisbane.For Australia this is the first of back-to-back day-night Tests with the opening game against New Zealand also under lights in Perth next month. While the format is still trying to find its feet around the world it is clear it is seen as a key part of the future of the game in Australia. After the underwhelming crowd numbers in Brisbane, how many come through turnstiles will be closely watched.

Form guide

Australia WLWLD (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan LLLLL

In the spotlight

The shock. The gasps. The silence. Steven Smith was out for 4. It would become the lowest score in Australia’s mammoth 580. He made himself run back to the hotel the evening of his dismissal to Yasir Shah who reminded him that it was the seventh time he had removed him. Was that a good idea? It will hardly go down as one of the more vicious bowler v batsman baiting stories in the game, but Smith won’t want to go two matches in a row without contributing even if it’s the least his team owes him. Shah will need to be on top of his game.It has largely been accepted – except, perhaps, by Pakistan’s inner circle – that leaving Mohammad Abbas out of the Gabba Test was a mistake. His experience, control and skill – even if marginally diminished – would have surely been an asset. It seems inevitable he will now be recalled, with the pressure of stopping an in-form Australia top order. With the new pink ball likely to offer some assistance and then the element of twilight period, Abbas appears to be the perfect type of bowler.

Team news

Australia have named an unchanged team which means no place for James Pattinson who was ruled out of the first Test following his code of conduct suspension.Australia 1 David Warner, 2 Joe Burns, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Travis Head, 6 Matthew Wade, 7 Tim Paine (capt & wk), 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh HazlewoodAs reported by ESPNcricinfo, Pakistan will make at least two changes. Imam-ul-Haq will return in place of Haris Sohail, meaning captain Azhar Ali drops to No. 3, and Abbas is set to replace Imran Khan. The other decision to make is whether to play Naseem Shah in back-to-back Tests or bring in the uncapped 19-year-old Muhammad Musa. “We’ll announce the side tomorrow…because the way the questions are going, I’m going to end up announcing it now,” Azhar joked at his press conference. “We’ll go with the two openers and I’ll come back to No. 3.”Pakistan (probable) 1 Shan Masood, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Azhar Ali (capt), 4 Babar Azam, 5 Asad Shafiq, 6 Iftikhar Ahmed, 7 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 8 Yasir Shah, 9 Shaheen Afridi, 10 Mohammad Abbas, 11 Naseem Shah/Muhammad Musa

Pitch and conditions

Usually an excellent pitch for Test cricket, the Adelaide Oval surface has produced some exciting cricket when the added dimension of the pink ball and lights are added. The long summer nights mean it doesn’t get fully dark until late, but the twilight period can remain tricky. The less promising news is that there is the chance of showers throughout the match.

Stats and Trivia

• The top four wicket-takers in the brief history of day-night Test cricket will be on show: Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Yasir Shah and Nathan Lyon
• The top three leading run-scorers of day-night Tests – Azhar Ali, Steven Smith and Asad Shafiq – will also be playing
• Pakistan have not played a Test in Adelaide since 1990 when Imran Khan and Wasim Akram hit second-innings hundreds in a sixth-wicket stand of 191
• Steven Smith needs 23 runs to reach 7000 in Test cricket

Quotes

“I think that wicket looks a bit drier than perhaps it was the last pink ball Test we played here against England, but as we know the pink ball always offers enough. Our fast bowlers certainly enjoy bowling with it, particularly under lights. And the games tend to go quite quickly.”
“If you can get ahead of the game early, it makes a huge difference. It’s not a huge adjustment but it’s like if you practice a bit more before playing a pink-ball Test, more practice days or a practice match would be ideal. It’s the same for both teams, and we’ll apply our gameplans and whoever does that better will end up winning.”

The keeper-batsman averages nearly 64 since the start of 2018, but his strike rate in the same period is only 75.97

Deivarayan Muthu17-Dec-20191:41

‘We came here to win the series’ – Hope

There’s an air of serenity around Shai Hope. In a West Indies side filled with six-hitters, the 26-year-old wicketkeeper-opener constructs his innings with singles and doubles, 1990s-style, and lets the batsman at the other end enjoy most of the spotlight. He has been in tremendous form in ODI cricket, averaging nearly 64 in 42 innings since the start of 2018, but this strike rate in this period has been only 75.97.For a large part of his hundred in Chennai in the ODI series opener against India on Sunday, his strike rate was hovering around 50. But, with Shimron Hetmyer rattling along at a strike rate in the 130s at the other end, Hope just had to do his thing: bat through the innings at his own pace.Hope had batted through the chase in the third ODI against Afghanistan in Lucknow last month too, his unbeaten 109 off 145 balls sealing West Indies’ 3-0 sweep.”I’m pacing my innings to my team’s requirement,” Hope said on the eve of the second ODI in Visakhapatnam. “Say when you have to chase only 280, we have to make sure everyone’s on the same page. My role is to stay at one end, knock around the bowlers, and not give them any wickets. And it’s about doing what the team requires. That’s my role in the team. If the chase requires me to step it up, I can do that. So I just hope to play what the team requires.”ALSO READ: Opposites Hope and Hetymyer find the perfect balance for WIIn isolation, 2019 has been a banner year for Hope in limited-overs cricket. He made his World Cup bow for West Indies and then played a crucial hand in their winning their first ODI series in more than five years, against Afghanistan, before playing his part in West Indies going 1-0 up in Chennai. In May, in the lead-up to the World Cup, Hope had cracked a career-best 170 against Ireland, in a 365-run partnership with John Campbell – the biggest first-wicket stand in ODI history.Shai Hope punches on the up•BCCIHope (1225) is currently the third-highest run-getter in ODIs this year, behind the India pair of Virat Kohli (1292) and Rohit Sharma (1268). Does he see himself climbing to the top by the end of this three-match series?”Obviously, you need the bowlers to do some damage as well,” Hope said. “As a batsman, you want to score as many runs as possible and contribute to team wins. That makes it even more satisfying. So, hopefully we can get some early strikes and get the two of them [Kohli and Rohit]. And hopefully, I can get some big runs and go on top of the list.”ALSO READ: Smart and on target, Cottrell is more than just the saluteHope sustained a finger injury during the Test series against India at home and missed a major chunk of CPL 2019. He, however, returned to action at the fag end of the tournament and won the CPL title with Barbados Tridents. Hope also proved his fitness in international cricket, keeping for 50 overs and then seeing off chases against both Afghanistan and India.”It’s a tough job and it takes a lot on the body,” Hope said of his dual role. “And I just need to remind myself that I’m playing for the entire Caribbean and everyone supporting us. So, just finding my motivation and doing whatever I can to get the team over the line. So, if I have to keep 100 overs and then go out and bat, I’m going to do that.”Hope is part of the IPL 2020 auction list, as are several of his team-mates. When asked whether strong performances in the second ODI – scheduled to take place a day before the auction – would boost their chances of getting picked, Hope dead-batted the question. Instead, Hope said West Indies’ immediate focus was on winning the series against India.”I’m sure that [doing well] would [help IPL selection], but that’s secondary,” he said. “We came here to play the series against India, to win a series against India. So, what comes secondary is secondary. I’m sure some of the guys will be looking forward to the auction, but we have the India series to play, and that’s the main thing right now.”

United States icon Ali Krieger is hopeful her country can win Olympic gold in Paris but says "there's something missing" in the squad at present.

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• Hayes left Chelsea for US job in 2024
• Enjoyed unbeaten start in position
• Krieger downplays Olympics expectations

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Since Hayes left Chelsea for the United States women's national team earlier this year, they have won three and drawn one of their matches. Their goalless draw to Costa Rica was the first time in 18 meetings they have failed to beat Las Ticas. USWNT legend Krieger has now come out to give her honest assessment on the job Hayes has done ahead of the Paris Olympics.

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• USA Today Sports
  

  WHAT ALI KRIEGER SAID

  She told reporters: “I think there’s more of an attacking-minded mentality, a more attacking identity in our team. I still believe when I watch the games there’s something missing, I can’t pinpoint it. I think we do have the ability to continue to score more goals. I think people are just kind of getting comfortable and building those relationships on the field, which takes time.”

  Krieger added: "I still think there’s a little bit more that hopefully we will see throughout the tournament, so don’t expect the team to play great from the very beginning."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The USWNT are looking to return to the summit of the women's game after being eliminated from the last-16 of the 2023 World Cup by Sweden. Coach Vlatko Andonovski subsequently resigned as they tried and failed to win their third-successive World Cup. Now, Hayes will be tasked with trying to win Olympic gold in the coming weeks in a big test of her managerial credentials.

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• USA Today
  

  WHAT NEXT?

  Hayes' USA side begin their Olympics campaign on Thursday against Zambia, before facing Germany and Australia in their remaining group stage fixtures. They will look to improve on their third-place finish from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

England’s established opener will walk out alongside a familiar face in Mount Maunganui

George Dobell in Mount Maunganui18-Nov-2019

Rory Burns has only played a dozen Tests but looks set to link-up with his fifth* opening partner later this week in Mount Maunganui. But this time, at least, there will be a familiar face at the other end when he takes strike.While Dominic Sibley may have left Burns’ county, Surrey, a couple of years ago, the pair played a huge amount of cricket together as they were growing up. As well as providing many lifts to training and matches, Burns was also at the other end when Sibley made his Surrey debuts for the first-team and the seconds, as well as his debut in an England shirt last week in Whangarei. (Indeed, it is probably a reflection of England’s reliance upon private schools that three of England’s last four openers – Burns, Sibley and Jason Roy – all attended Whitgift.)ALSO READ: England settle for draw in tour matchAs a result, Burns is well placed to offer a view on Sibley’s capabilities as opener.”I’ve known Sibbo for – we were trying to work it out the other day – since I was 12 or 13,” Burns said. “I don’t really remember him at school because I left Whitgift at 16. But I remember seeing him down at academy stuff, Surrey stuff and he only lives a town down so I gave him a lot of lifts when he was coming through in the second team. I remember driving him to most of those games. I won’t have to drive him to this week: we’ve got the coach”It would be a pretty cool feeling to open with him on his Test debut, too. I’m very proud of him to have got to where he has, particularly having left Surrey and doing what he’s done at Warwickshire. That’s a testament to him as a character.”He showed all his attributes: his determination and his character to bat for days at a time, to put up the weight of runs he did and to bat the number of balls he did in tricky conditions you get in county cricket with a lot of assistance for bowlers a lot of the time. He’s earned his spot.”While Burns is somewhat defensive of Roy’s record – and not just because Roy served as one of his best men only a few weeks ago (Surrey seamer Matt Dunn was the other) – he accepts that Sibley may be more obviously suited to the role of Test opener.”Obviously Jason’s main grounding is white-ball cricket, but his red-ball cricket is very good as well. I don’t think we can judge him on his Test career batting out of position,” Burns said. “But I think him and Sibs’ styles are slightly different. Sibs is more traditional in terms of opening the batting in red-ball cricket because that’s where he’s learned most of his stuff.”His concentration levels and determination to go about that process are his strong points. He likes batting time, he can bat days at a time and he’s willing to grind bowlers down and not necessarily race away at the start of an innings. He’s willing to build an innings and wait for people to come to him and pick them off when he can. Sibbo was the standout batter in the country regardless of position.”Dominic Sibley removes his helmet on reaching three figures•Getty Images

There is little doubt Sibley has earned this opportunity. He not only scored more than 300 more runs than any man in Division One of the Championship in 2019, he faced more than a thousand deliveries more than anyone else in that division. But the New Zealand bowlers will have noted that he was struck on the grille of the helmet by an excellent short ball during the game against the New Zealand A side and flashed at one outside off stump a few minutes later. More short balls are likely.As for Burns, he is probably as established as any England opener since the years of Andrews Strauss and Alastair Cook. He has already achieved something Cook never could – a century in a home Ashes series – while his tally of runs in that series (390) also surpassed anything Cook ever achieved against Australia at home. Bearing in mind how tough opening the batting was in the summer of 2019 – David Warner averaged 9.50, remember – his average of 39.00 was a fine effort.He has also looked an asset in the field, taking some sharp catches in the cordon, and there have been early whispers that he could, one day, emerge as a leadership contender.”You’re never truly settled because there’s always another Test coming,” Burns said. “New Zealand have got a fine bowling attack to try and expose any weaknesses in your game. It’s a summer to build on for me, but at the end of it there were a few scores I left out there. So there’s a lot to keep improving upon.”There sure is. But, in picking two specialist openers to combat the new ball, England are, at last, giving themselves the best opportunity to improve in New Zealand.*Oh, and just in case you are wracking your brain trying to remember Burns’ Test opening partners, they are: Keaton Jennings, Joe Denly, Jack Leach and Roy.