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Plays of the day from the game between Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders

Rachna Shetty11-May-2014The start
Playing a match when the temperature is hovering around 40 degrees is never easy, but despite the heat Jacques Kallis had a few problems warming up. Coming on to bowl the first over, he offered a gift to Virender Sehwag – a full, slightly wide ball that was duly flayed over cover’s head. Searching for swing, he overcompensated down the leg side and Sehwag took another three fours. The 17-run over turned out to be the second most expensive opening one this season.The effort
He did not have his best day with the ball but Kallis was as good as ever in the field. In the 13th over, fielding on the fine-leg boundary, Kallis sprinted to stop a sweep by David Miller, and in one move, executed a sliding save and tossed the ball to Umesh Yadav.In luck
With three 40-plus scores behind him, Robin Uthappa once again looked in imperious form, smacking Sandeep Sharma for three fours and Mitchell Johnson for 18 runs in successive overs. When spin was introduced in the form of Akshar Patel’s slow left-arm, Uthappa played a reverse-sweep straight to point. Two balls later, he tried another reverse sweep. The ball ballooned off his glove and helmet and fell just out of reach of a diving Wriddhiman Saha.Chawla’s rewind
In the last match between the two sides in the UAE, Piyush Chawla finished with figures of 3 for 19 in four overs, accounting for the wickets of Virender Sehwag, David Miller and George Bailey. He finished with the same figures in this game, too. Virender Sehwag was bowled by the legspinner for a second time, and he dented the Kings XI innings with the wicket of Glenn Maxwell. His third scalp was Rishi Dhawan. Incidentally, Sehwag was the top-scorer in Abu Dhabi, too, where Kings XI recorded their lowest total batting first in the IPL this year.The regulation miss
Bailey is not usually sloppy in the field but he had a forgettable moment during the Knight Riders chase. In the 17th over, with Knight Riders needing 15 off 21, a well-set Gautam Gambhir top edged a pull and it came straight to Bailey at midwicket. The Kings XI captain got his hands under the ball, which promptly popped out and landed on the grass. Bailey, who normally has a smile ready for most occasions on a cricket field, wore a slightly sheepish one this time.

Plays of the day from the fifth day of the second Test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand at P Sara Oval

Andrew Fernando at the P Sara Oval29-Nov-2012The mix-up
Sri Lanka’s overnight pair had negotiated the early overs without much worry, but they concocted trouble of their own to see the downfall of one of their most experienced batsman. Thilan Samaraweera pushed a Doug Bracewell delivery to cover and set off immediately for a quick single. Perhaps not expecting to scamper runs at this stage in the game, Angelo Mathews was slow to respond at the other end, and as he saw Jeetan Patel swooping in on the ball, he decided to send Samaraweera back. By that stage though, his partner was too far down the track, and his cause was not helped by an extremely slow stop-and-turn that resembled the Titanic trying to avoid the iceberg. Samaraweera was run out by a good two metres.The eager cricketers
Knowing conditions were unlikely to allow them to bowl all the scheduled overs in the day, New Zealand’s cricketers were extra eager to resume their hunt for wickets after lunch, and took the field minutes before the scheduled restart. They had even assumed their fielding positions before the umpires arrived. Sri Lanka’s batsmen were predictably last to come to the middle, two minutes late.The delivery
When Mathews was batting alongside Prasanna Jayawardene, it seemed as though only the new ball would be able to part them. New Zealand’s seamers struggled to get much out of the aging ball on a wearing pitch, and the spinners didn’t get much help from the surface either. But almost out of the blue, debutant Todd Astle produced the ball of the day to dismiss Jayawardene, when he drifted one in then got it to leap off the pitch, turning away. Jayawardene presented a firm defence, but as the ball had bounced more than he had anticipated, it took the edge, high up on the bat, and broke the partnership.The double dive
So keyed up were New Zealand to complete the win that when no. 11 Rangana Herath gloved a short ball from Trent Boult into the off side, two fielders came in and leapt forward, despite the fact that neither of them had a hope of getting there. Brendon McCullum ran forward from third slip and Tim Southee from backward point and the pair performed a futile synchronised dive almost side-by-side, before getting up and smiling it off.

Their collective tenacity and professionalism has helped the visitors match up to the challenge of playing the world’s No. 1 team

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Nov-2010They were of varying length and in different guises but most of the questions put to Daniel Vettori after the Hyderabad Test was drawn were born from a common sentiment: one of surprise at how a team ranked No. 8, having been humiliated in one-day internationals by Bangladesh, had managed to hold the No. 1 Test side to a 0-0 scoreline after two matches. They sought to determine whether Vettori was relieved at the results, whether New Zealand felt a sense of achievement, and whether they would spend the hour-long bus ride back to their hotel feeling satisfied and contented. The more pertinent question, though, is: how has this come to pass?The bulk of the blame from the Indian camp, and the captain MS Dhoni is the primary finger-pointer, has been slathered on the unresponsive tracks prepared at Motera and in Hyderabad. A fair share of the criticism is justified since the pitches at both venues stayed unreasonably flat on all five days and made bowling as appealing as going to the dentist. A weaker reason is the injury to India’s primary wicket-taker Zaheer Khan on the fourth day of the second Test. He would have been dangerous, but not dangerous.To not credit this New Zealand team as a whole for their collective tenacity, and the individuals comprising it for their strength in overcoming unique challenges, however, would be to ignore the fundamental reasons for their success across time and formats: their whole has always been greater than the sum of the parts.A statistic bandied about in the lead-up to the tour was that the entire New Zealand squad had fewer Test runs than Sachin Tendulkar. At present, seven New Zealand batsmen have more runs in the series than him. And they have been made in adversity.In Ahmedabad, New Zealand were in strife during their response to India’s strong first-innings total when Jesse Ryder and Kane Williamson began their partnership. Ryder was returning to Test cricket after an injury layoff, Williamson was beginning his Test career. Failure at that juncture would have been a disappointment but it would also have been understood and forgiven. In Hyderabad, the heroes were a batsman who had just made a pair, another who had been dropped for the first Test, and a third who was new to the challenges of being a Test opener.Ryder responded by batting with a calmness that had traces of Inzamam-ul-Haq to it. He is unflustered at the crease, and he has all the shots. And speed. Tim McIntosh proved he possessed the temperament to handle a struggle and play aggressively once on the other side of it. Martin Guptill spoke of the preparation he had put in to cope with Indian spin, and though his test wasn’t of the highest standard, his efforts showed. Brendon McCullum used his attacking skills in his new role to wipe out New Zealand’s deficit quicker than most would have expected, and as a result they were under extreme pressure for a shorter duration. And Williamson, whose genial celebration of his maiden century won hearts in this age of aggression, exhibited his forcefulness by striking Sreesanth for three fours in the first over of the final day. Those boundaries effectively signalled the end of India’s victory aspirations, even before Zaheer trudged off the field.”The top order came here under pressure from what had happened in Bangladesh but they’ve responded exceptionally well,” Vettori said. “Particularly the two openers in this game, Brendon in his second Test match as an opener and Tim McIntosh coming off a pair, were outstanding and really set up the platform in both innings to allow us to score some pretty good totals. So the likes of Williamson and Ryder in the first Test, and McIntosh and McCullum in this one, have really allowed us to be at our best.”The batting apart, New Zealand were also expected to struggle to take 20 wickets. They managed it in Ahmedabad, and they’ve also bowled with rigorous discipline that disrupted the pace at which India are accustomed to scoring at home. Vettori didn’t grumble about the pitches either, despite bowling a total of 142.3 overs, the most in the series. He’s toiled manfully, like a captain should, bowling until his arm is sore and has 11 wickets, again the most in the series, to show for his efforts. He granted himself the luxury of a rest when India had a jolly hit during the final session of play in Hyderabad, but has otherwise been the crux of New Zealand’s campaign.

New Zealand haven’t complained about pitches and the lack of UDRS, or made too much about adjusting to Indian conditions. They’ve played the series in wonderful spirit – heartily applauding Harbhajan’s game-changing innings and not responding to Sreesanth’s prickly behaviour

New Zealand’s pace attack – led by Chris Martin and Tim Southee – has not attempted to overachieve on these deadest of pitches. They’ve bowled to well-set fields designed to save the single and worn India’s batsmen down. An inspired spell from Martin aside, during which India crumbled to 15 for 5 at Motera, they were unlikely to cut through the most-celebrated batting line-up in the world. Instead, they relied on a relentless accuracy and it has brought them steady results. The key to New Zealand’s bowling success, however, has been their fielding and that is one discipline no one expected them to struggle in. The flying Kiwis have taken sharp catches at slip and prevented countless boundaries with precise anticipation, agile movement and a well-timed dive in the in-field. McCullum provides the energy and is at the heart of the fielding effort. On his watch, few shots get past cover.The underpinning factor that has made all this achievable, however, has been their mindset and the utter professionalism with which they prepare and play. They haven’t complained about pitches and the lack of UDRS, or made too much about adjusting to Indian conditions. They’ve played the series in wonderful spirit – heartily applauding Harbhajan’s game-changing innings and not responding to Sreesanth’s prickly behaviour. Their approach has been one of understated grit.New Zealand have now held India to draws in their last four Tests. In two of them, India had to do the surviving. Vettori’s team will still be expected to lose in Nagpur, though. If they don’t, it will be a surprise again. That is the lot of this hard-working team that has punched above its weight.

If anyone should have a handle on what Glenn McGrath’s absence means to the Australian team, Shaun Pollock should. McGrath is, after all, Australia’s own Pollock

Telford Vice04-Mar-2006

Glenn McGrath: missing from Australia’s attack © Getty Images
If anyone should have a handle on what Glenn McGrath’s absence means to the Australian team, Shaun Pollock should. McGrath is, after all, Australia’s own Pollock. Not as a batsman, in terms of which he used to be Australia’s own Courtney Walsh, since he significantly improved. McGrath also isn’t nearly as versatile as the South African in the field. And, of course, we don’t know what sort of Test captain he might have made. But, purely as a bowler, he’s right up there with Pollock.Apologies to readers who have not spent half the southern summer grinding their teeth through the Channel 9 commentary team’s numbing insistence on comparing everything anyone could ever think of anytime, anywhere, to some lofty Australian ideal: “NASA wants to put a man on Mars? Aw, mate, but the view’s so much better from Ayers Rock.” But there can be no argument about McGrath’s status in Australia’s cricket history. He has grooved a place among the very best of their players.Pollock has an illuminating take on what the outback’s own automaton means to the team that owes him so much of its success. “When you’ve got a class act like ‘Pidge’, who’s been around for many years, he is so difficult to replace,” he said. “You might get guys who come in and they do a sort of a job for a while. They have games where they are good and they have games when it doesn’t go so well. That’s all about gaining experience.”People talk about experience and mention a lot of things about experience, but you don’t understand it until you are really out there and doing your job. When you have built up some experience you have a feel for what conditions are like, what you should be doing on that certain day to make things work. You get a good feel because you’ve been there and done it.”Some of the guys who come in, not to say they don’t have the skills, or aren’t as good bowlers, but sometimes they just don’t realise what’s required on the day. That’s the big plus of experience and that’s what they can miss. Some of those young guys have a lot of talent and their actions are good, but sometimes it’s just that experience you gain from playing 50 or 60 one-day internationals that really does help you on certain days.”McGrath has played a few more than 50 or 60 ODIs – 221, in fact. He has also played 119 Tests. But he is not in South Africa with the Australian team, having done the right thing and withdrawn from the tour after his wife suffered a recurrence of cancer.Batsmen who face McGrath must wonder whether he files his toenail clippings in chronological order or according to size. There is no more organised, precise, bloodlessly efficient bowler in the game. It’s a good thing he blows his top every so often, otherwise we would have to put his heart-rate on the scoreboard just to know he’s alive.The continued pursuit of utter consistency, which the more fallible among us tend to regard as “the last refuge of the unimaginative”, as someone once said, has to be McGrath’s only remaining reason for dragging himself to another net practice. And if you happen to see these words, Glenn, please take them from whence they come – a South African who has to stifle a groan of apprehension every time you mark out your run-up in matches against our lot.McGrath’s absence, and with it the injuries to Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds, have stripped Australia of a fair amount of prickle. Gone, it seems, is the team that rebuffed South Africa almost effortlessly Down Under. In its place is a suddenly vulnerable bunch in which an injury to a fringe player like Stuart Clark is immediately upgraded to a “setback”. An Australian Test team sans McGrath might also put the skids under another venerable denizen of the once omnipotent juggernaut. At least, that’s according to Gary Kirsten.

Shaun Pollock and Graeme Smith: plotting Australia’s downfall © Getty Images
“Our batsmen can play Shane Warne out,” Kirsten said. “Previously McGrath has been at the other end and he is almost impossible to score off. Naturally batsmen have tried to go after Warne a bit because he is seen as easier to get away than McGrath. Not having him will affect how Australia plays because he and Warne bowl so well together. Batsmen can now try to see out Warne and go after the bowler at the other end.”Australia found out just how valuable McGrath is to their cause in the last Ashes series, when they lost both the matches he missed through injury. Who will dare to step into the space previously occupied by such a giant is not a question to be answered without thorough thought. Do the Australians stick with the men they have on tour, which would mean asking Nathan Bracken to share the new ball with Brett Lee? Or perhaps a recovered Clark? Or do they hark back home and resurrect the career of Jason Gillespie or Michael Kasprowicz?Bracken seems to feel the gravity of the moment, judging by his delicate dance around the subject. “I’d love to take the new ball … I enjoy doing it and it suits my style of bowling, swinging the ball,” he said. “It’s unfortunate for Glenn but it’s a chance for me to keep doing what I’m doing. I’m never going to replace a Glenn McGrath, but if I can come in and give something different to the team then I can do a job.”Over on the other side of the fence, the grass is dazzlingly green. “When we got together [after the tour to Australia] there was a lot of energy,” Pollock said. “We were laughing and joking and there was excitement in the air.” That mood lingers, and it went a long way to earning South Africa victory in the Twenty20 tour opener and the first two ODIs, the second of which was a Makhaya Ntini engineered rout.A month ago many South Africans spoke of their team as if they were discussing a man with a drinking problem. Now they can’t stop toasting their success and talking of winning the one-day series, at least. A major factor in what remains a few wins short of a resurgence is the roaring return to form of Graeme Smith, who smashed 89 not out off 58 balls in the Twenty20 and 119 not out in the first ODI.”I think he’s probably had a good look at his game and had a look at how he got out in Australia, and tried to rectify that,” Ponting said of Smith. “It’s up to us to come back with something different. We’ve spoken about him and we know what we want to do.”A subplot in all this is that, in these times of hysterical crowd behaviour, had McGrath been on this tour he would have been treated with the dignity he deserved. The hype surrounding Australia’s likely hostile reception in South Africa, fuelled by the disgraceful conduct of some of those who blighted Australian grounds this season, has fallen flat. Why? Because South Africa are winning again.Designated baddies like Lee and Adam Gilchrist will always be jeered here, and Ponting should brace himself for a verbal mauling when he returns to fitness, particularly if he dares to ask an umpire a question. But McGrath’s space would have been respected almost as if he were one of our own. He is, after all, Australia’s own Pollock.

Young batters Ashley Chandrasinghe and Campbell Kellaway face a winter of developing their skills

Tristan Lavalette26-Mar-2023On the resumption of the Sheffield Shield season last month, an inexperienced Victoria didn’t set outlandish goals or plot a barnstorming title run.Boasting just one win from their first six matches, Victoria were content with backing youth in a bid to mould together a talented core who could help build a foundation for sustained success.”When we came back after the BBL we spoke about how we’re on a journey. We didn’t talk about playing in the Shield final,” Victoria coach Chris Rogers said.Surprising their own modest expectations, with skipper Peter Handscomb and frontline spinner Todd Murphy on Australia’s Test tour of India, Victoria led by 23-year-old stand-in captain Will Sutherland got on a roll.Related

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Chandrasinghe bats the day for an unbeaten 46 against disciplined WA

WA's trophy surge continues with back-to-back Sheffield Shield titles

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They won four straight matches to leapfrog into second-place and book a spot in the final against defending champions Western Australia.In a rematch of last year’s decider at the WACA, Victoria had their moments in a see-saw but couldn’t quite get the job done in an eventual nine-wicket defeat.Rather than be battle-scarred, they are hoping to take heed of the adversity experienced amid the cauldron as Victoria aims to chip away at WA’s stranglehold of the domestic competition.”The challenge is to reach the top of the mountain and get past WA. That’s the challenge for everyone,” Rogers said. “With a bit more experience…[we] might have been able to hang in a bit longer. It’s a young group and I think they’ll learn a lot out of it.”As Victoria stared down the barrel heading into day four, Rogers had a frank conversation with 20-year-old batter Campbell Kellaway who had helped spark Victoria’s season turnaround with a half-century against New South Wales in a comeback 69-run victory.His breakout season has him on the radar of the national selectors with Kellaway selected in the Australia A tour of New Zealand next month. But promoted to No.3 in the final, Kellaway was particularly scratchy on a green-tinged surface against WA’s strong attack as he mustered 6 off 23 balls in the first innings before looking somewhat overwhelmed late on day three in a painstaking 7 off 63 balls.”I spent a good 45 minutes with him, talking about these experiences,” Rogers said. “He’s figuring out answers to questions. He tried too hard this game. He was fighting so hard that he wasn’t giving himself a chance to score. He’s going to be a really important player for us for a number of years.”Ashley Chandrasinghe carried his bat for 46 off 280 balls: ‘It’s an extraordinary effort and he’s got attributes to build on’•Getty ImagesIn similar fashion to Kellaway, 21-year-old opener Ashley Chandrasinghe carried his bat in the first innings in a remarkable 280-ball stonewall worth 46 runs.It was a rearguard that polarised the public but made more meritorious with Chandrasinghe, in his Shield debut season, only making the line-up after veteran opener Travis Dean suffered an injury on the day before the match.Chandrasinghe received little support from his more senior players and also copped mocking applause from the typically rowdy WACA faithful. But he remained unruffled to produce an indefatigable batting effort that he can build on in the off-season.”There’s room for improvement in his game,” Rogers said. “He doesn’t want to play that style of cricket, he wants to be scoring runs.”It’s a measure of the man that he can bat a whole day. It’s an extraordinary effort and he’s got attributes to build on. That determination and to never quit is something in-built. I’m so proud of him.”A gallant Victoria remained in the contest largely due to a lionhearted allround performance from Sutherland, who further enhanced his growing reputation with a five-wicket haul and an aggressive 83 in the second innings. But it ultimately wasn’t enough although there is the sense that something is percolating within this emerging team.”It still bloody hurts we lost another final. I don’t want that to be a habit but we’re heading in the right direction,” Rogers said. “To win five games on the bounce is quite exceptional. They’ve played with discipline beyond their years and they had a lot of fun doing it. We are going to get better.”

MatériaMais Notícias

Víctor Cuesta chegou ao Botafogo em abril do ano passado e rapidamente caiu nas graças dos torcedores. Em entrevista concedida no Espaço Lonier na manhã desta quinta-feira, ele celebrou seu atual momento e afirmou que ainda precisa conquistar títulos para ser tornar ídolo do clube.

– Naquele momento, eu falei que não estava passando por um grande momento. Agora tenho que reconhecer que estou passando por um bom momento. Eu recuperei o futebol que eu queria. Agradeço ao Botafogo pela oportunidade, comissão técnica, meus companheiros e torcida pelo apoio.

+Copa do Brasil começou! Saiba as premiações fase a fase até o título

RelacionadasBotafogoCom retornos importantes, Botafogo treina visando aos próximos compromissos da temporadaBotafogo22/02/2023BotafogoRetornos de jogadores lesionados dão força ao Botafogo em sequência decisiva da temporadaBotafogo22/02/2023BotafogoPhilipe Sampaio se reapresenta ao Botafogo após ficar internado no hospitalBotafogo22/02/2023

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– Ídolo eu acho que ainda falta muito. Eu tenho que conquistar títulos primeiro, para se Deus quiser me tornar ídolo. Tento fazer meu melhor, pensando no dia a dia, treino a treino e jogo a jogo. Então, vou continuar treinando para dar meu melhor dentro de campo.

+Botafogo x Flamengo: onde assistir, escalações e desfalques do jogo do Campeonato Carioca

Com Adryelson e Rafael suspensos, Cuesta terá a missão de comandar o sistema defensivo e conter os ataques rubro-negros no fim de semana. O zagueiro afirmou que os jogadores estão preparados para fazer um grande clássico em Brasília.

– Obviamente que um clássico é diferente. Mas nosso grupo encara todo jogo como se fosse uma final. Estamos nos preparando muito bem para fazer um grande jogo. Esperamos conseguir uma vitória para dar sequência ao nosso trabalho.Sabemos que o grupo do Flamengo é muito qualificado, praticamente tem três times de grandes jogadores. É se preparar e pensar em nós.

Botafogo e Flamengo se enfrentam no próximo sábado, às 18h, no Mané Garrincha, em partida válida pelo Campeonato Carioca.

أبدى رافينها، نجم نادي برشلونة، سعادته الكبيرة بفوز فريقه، أمس السبت على نظيره ليفانتي بالدوري الإسباني للدرجة الأولى، موجهًا إشادة خاصة إلى زميله في الفريق الكتالوني.

واستطاع برشلونة قلب تأخره بهدفين أمام ليفانتي إلى فوز مثير بثلاثة أهداف مقابل هدفين، ليحقق البلوجرانا فوزهم الثاني على التوالي.

تابع.. فليك يرفض الانسياق وراء انتقاد التحكيم أمام ليفانتي.. ويتعجب من سؤال بعد ريمونتادا برشلونة

كما استطاع يامال التسبب في هدف برشلونة الثالث والذي جاء بالخطأ عن طريق مدافع ليفانتي في الوقت بدل الضائع من الشوط الثاني.

وقال رافينها في تصريحات إلى قناة برشلونة الرسمية: ”ندرك صعوبة اللعب في مثل هذه الملاعب، لكننا نعلم أيضًا أنه إذا أردنا الفوز بالدوري، فإن تحقيق انتصارات كهذه في ملعب كهذا أمر بالغ الأهمية بالنسبة لنا”.

وأضاف: ”يستمتع الكثيرون بمشاهدة مبارياتنا حيث نعود في النتيجة وما إلى ذلك، لقد قلتها مرارًا وتكرارًا، أحاول أن أكون أفضل مما كنت عليه بالأمس، وعلى مدار المواسم، أسعى جاهدًا لأكون على نفس المستوى أو أفضل مما كنت عليه في الموسم السابق”.

وأوضح الدولي البرازيلي: ”نعم، الفوز مهم، في النهاية كلما حصدنا نقاطًا أكثر، زادت فرصنا في الفوز بالدوري”.

وعن لامين يامال، اختتم رافينها: ”لامين هو ما هو عليه، أنتم جميعًا تعلمون ذلك، لديه القدرة على تغيير مجرى المباراة، وفي النهاية، نثق به وبالفريق، هذا هو المهم”.

تلقى منتخب المغرب الخسارة أمام نظيره كينيا، اليوم الأحد، ضمن منافسات بطولة كأس أمم إفريقيا للمحليين 2025، بهدف نظيف.

والتقى منتخب المغرب مع نظيره الكيني، ضمن منافسات الجولة الثالثة من دور المجموعات في إطار بطولة كأس أمم إفريقيا للمحليين 2025.

طالع أيضًا.. موريتانيا تخطف فوزًا صعبًا من إفريقيا الوسطى في أمم إفريقيا للمحليين

وجاء هدف منتخب كينيا الوحيد في المباراة عن طريق رامبوك ريان في الدقيقة 42 من عمر اللقاء ليقود بلاده لحصد ثلاث نقاط هامة.

ورفع منتخب كينيا رصيده إلى 7 نقاط في المركز الأول في المجموعة من 3 مباريات، بينما تجمد رصيد المغرب عند 3 نقاط من مباراتين فقط.

وتقام بطولة كأس أمم إفريقيا للمحليين، في دول كينيا وأوغندا وتنزانيا، بمشاركة 19 منتخبًا مقسمية على 4 مجموعات، أول 3 مجموعات تتواجد بها 5 منتخبات، والمجموعة الرابعة بها 4.

وبحسب قرعة كأس أمم إفريقيا للمحليين، يلعب منتخب المغرب في المجموعة الأولى التي تضم منتخبات كينيا وأنجولا والكونغو الديمقراطية وزامبيا.

Liverpool are reportedly weighing a move for Real Madrid attacker Rodrygo as they brace themselves for Luis Diaz's possible departure this summer. With increasing speculation surrounding the Colombian's future at Anfield, the Reds could rival Arsenal for the signature of the Brazilian star, who may be edging closer to his own exit from the Santiago Bernabeu.

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Rodrygo's future at Real under the scannerLiverpool & Arsenal have set their sights on the wingerBrazilian remains open to a move to the Premier LeagueFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Although Liverpool are not actively looking to sell Diaz, they are realistic about the market dynamics and have prepared a contingency plan. European giants Barcelona and Bayern Munich have shown interest in acquiring the wide man. According to journalist the Merseysiders are ready to explore the possibility of signing Rodrygo should Diaz make a move away from the club this summer.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

While Rodrygo has publicly shown no desire to leave Real Madrid, there are growing concerns over his diminishing role under new head coach Xabi Alonso. The Brazilian attacker registered 14 goals and 11 assists in 54 appearances across all competitions last season but found himself increasingly used off the bench. His reduced involvement in the Club World Cup has only fuelled speculation, with insiders suggesting the winger may now be reconsidering his future.

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Los Blancos are not expected to let Rodrygo leave on the cheap. Reports claim the Spanish giants have slapped a €90 million (£78m/$106m) price tag on the Brazil international. Such a fee would restrict the pool of interested clubs to only those with the financial muscle to fund a blockbuster deal. Liverpool and Arsenal are two of the few Premier League outfits with the resources to meet that valuation. Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Nassr can also match the fee, but the player is said to be keen to ply his trade in the English top flight rather than in the Middle East.

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Adding a further twist to the transfer saga, reports from ESPN Brasil indicate that Paris Saint-Germain have also entered the frame. The reigning Champions League winners have supposedly made contact with Rodrygo’s representatives as they begin exploring a move.

When it comes to the modern icons of Tottenham Hotspur, they don’t come much grander than Harry Kane.

The England captain might not have won any trophies during his time in North London, but he made an enormous impact on the club.

For example, in 435 first-team appearances, the club legend amassed a staggering tally of 280 goals and 61 assists, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.27 games.

It’s impossible to imagine Spurs’ modern history without Kane, yet before his breakthrough, there was another promising striker in the academy who was ahead of him, a striker who Mauricio Pochettino eventually sold for a pittance.

Kane's early Spurs career

As everyone knows, Kane’s football journey started in North London, but on the red side, with Spurs’ bitter rivals Arsenal.

However, the Gunners released the future superstar when he was just 12 years old, with then-academy manager Roy Massey later revealing that the club didn’t believe the youngster had what was needed to make it in the game.

After a few years without a professional club, the teenager joined the Lilywhites and, after spending some time in the youth system, went on several loan moves all over the country.

In between his loan moves, the Walthamstow-born ace still made 13 appearances for the U21s between the 12/13 and 13/14 seasons, scoring nine goals and providing nine assists.

Finally, after going out on numerous loan spells, playing in the academy and making the odd first-team appearance here and there, the Englishman was given his first proper chance to establish himself as the club’s starting number nine in the 14/15 season, under new boss Pochettino.

This was an opportunity he grabbed with both hands.

In 51 appearances, he scored 31 goals and provided five assists, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Appearances

51

Minutes

3682′

Goals

31

Assists

5

Goal Involvements per Match

0.70

Minutes per Goal Involvement

102.27

However, a few years before Kane finally made his mark on the team, there was another up-and-coming striker ahead of him in the pecking order, a striker who thrived in the academy and looked promising, but eventually moved on for next to nothing.

The Spurs striker who was ahead of Kane

So, if we were to travel back to the distant year of 2009, we might be talking about a certain Spurs youngster turning heads in the club’s academy by the name of Jonathan Obika.

It was at the end of the 2008/09 season that the fans awarded the teenager the club’s Breakthrough Award, as even though he was just 18 at the time, he made his debut for the club in November 2008, in a UEFA Cup game against NEC Nijmegen.

The next six years or so would see the youngster spend time on loan with various clubs, including Yeovil Town, Peterborough, Millwall, Swindon Town, Brighton & Hove Albion, Charlton Athletic and Crystal Palace.

Swindon

108

28

9

St. Mirren

77

20

6

Yeovil Town

74

18

8

Oxford United

57

8

7

Motherwell

24

4

1

Charlton

22

3

3

Morecambe FC

21

2

0

Millwall

12

2

0

Crystal Palace

8

0

0

Brighton

8

1

0

Tottenham

4

0

1

Peterborough

2

1

0

However, there were also spells in which he returned to play for the Lilywhites U21s, and he looked excellent doing so.

For example, in just 17 appearances in the 12/13 season – when Kane was struggling on loan with Norwich and Leicester City – the Enfield-born poacher racked up a tally of 18 goals and four assists, which comes out to an average of 1.29 goal involvements per game.

Unfortunately, Pochettino did not see a future for the striker, who at one point looked destined to reach the top when he took charge in 2014, and just two years on from his barnstorming performances for the U21s, Obika was sold to Swindon for just £208k.

He might not have reached the heights that people thought he would’ve when he was making his way through Tottenham’s academy, but in the 11 years since his sale, the 34-year-old has carved out an impressive career for himself.

Following his time with Swindon, he played for Oxford United, St Mirren, Morecambe and Motherwell before retiring in July of last year, with a career that might not match up to the likes of Kane but is still something most could only dream of.

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