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Tamim questions team selection and calls for better batting surfaces to be produced back home

Mohammad Isam22-Jun-20240:54

Tamim: Bangladesh’s approach in the chase was disappointing

Bangladesh’s two most high-profile cricketers, Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal, were left disappointed with the team’s lack of intent against India in their T20 World Cup 2024 Super Eight game in Antigua.Shakib made 11 off seven balls having arrived at the crease in the 12th over with Bangladesh needing 121 runs at 14.23 per over. He rued the team’s lack of fight in the business end of the tournament as they made below-par scores of 140 for 8 and 146 for 8 against Australia and India respectively. The Bangladesh top order’s continued poor form hasn’t improved even on the Antigua pitches where batting is seemingly easier than on most surfaces in this tournament. Shakib said that they couldn’t even show their intent of wanting chasing India’s 196 runs in this game.”We have a 50 percent win rate in this World Cup but if we had fought against India and Australia the way we fought against South Africa, we could have called it a good World Cup campaign,” Shakib said. “We are short of runs as a batting unit. We made 140 in the last game, 146 today. We should have done better today since we had a target in front of us. We couldn’t even show it to people that we were trying [to chase the target] today. I don’t think the confidence was there. We have lacked in this area throughout the World Cup.Related

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“You have to bring your A-game against teams like Australia and India. I think we lacked in skill and strength. We couldn’t do the basics for longer periods to create pressure. Throughout this World Cup, I don’t think we justified ourselves as a batting unit. We are capable of scoring big runs. We were well short of par scores like 175-185 in the last two games, both played on good wickets. Maybe India scored 20 more runs today but we have to show the intent from the start of the innings. I don’t think it was there.”Tamim, in his capacity as an expert for ESPNcricinfo, said after the match that Bangladesh’s lack of intent with the bat surprised him against India. “[Najmul Hossain Shanto, Bangladesh’s captain] said that he should have finished the game but Bangladesh never got close in this contest. I didn’t understand why he would say that. Bangladesh’s batting has disappointed in this whole tournament. The think-tank really needs to think about how they will go from here on.”When your batters are scoring runs, you are confident that your batting line-up can chase down a total like 160 or 170. When you know that your batting is struggling, it surprised me that [Bangladesh] decided to bowl first. Couple of their decisions have surprised me in this game. Fingers will be pointed.”Tamim added that the Bangladesh team management’s decision to leave out Taskin Ahmed against India, bringing in the extra batter in Jaker Ali, left him surprised. Taskin had gone for some runs against Australia, but he is the team’s vice-captain, and someone looked upon as the bowling attack leader.”I was very surprised why Taskin didn’t play. Both the spinners went for plenty of runs. There was a time when India were in a bit of bother losing back-to-back wickets to Tanzim [Hasan Sakib]. If Taskin was there as an extra fast bowler, Bangladesh could have attacked India more. We know about Shivam Dube’s short-ball weakness. Taskin had the pace to use those tactics against him.”Mustafizur Rahman had an off-day with the ball•Associated PressTamim also felt that not giving the new ball to Mustafizur Rahman was a missed opportunity to take on Rohit Sharma’s talked-about weakness against left-arm pace, while he also felt that Tanzim could have been allowed to continue with the new ball because he was handling it well in the previous matches.”Everyone is talking about Rohit Sharma having a little weakness against left-arm fast bowling. It plays on the player’s mind when he is taking on a similar bowler in the game. Bangladesh had an opportunity to start with the left-arm seamer, just to have a look. India might have scored 196, but Rohit’s start was very important for India. That’s how momentum comes.”Tanzim did well with the new ball in the previous matches. He didn’t get the new ball today. Why do you have to change the whole setup for somebody else and even when someone is doing exceptionally well?”Dropping Taskin was mainly to boost the flagging batting line-up. It has been problematic for a long time, but since coming to North America last month, the top-order has caved against most bowling attacks. Shakib said that Bangladesh has a general batting tendency to do better on tricky wickets rather than on good batting pitches.”We don’t really do well when we play on flat wickets that produce 180-200 runs,” Shakib said. “We play better on wickets that produce 130-150 runs. That’s what we are familiar with. Apart from one game in BPL this year, our local batters haven’t really chased big runs. It remains our weakness.”Tamim further explained that the Bangladesh batters aren’t used to good batting wickets for many years. He said that they play on slow and low surfaces back home where they play most of their cricket, so when they encounter good ones in ICC tournaments, they get caught out not knowing what to do.”Bangladesh [usually] play in difficult wicket for batters. They also can’t start scoring runs freely when you put them in a very good wicket. You need to know how to score runs even on a good wicket. You need to know your limitations on which shots to play. I think there should be a long-term plan where Bangladesh should play on good wickets. They don’t get it in Mirpur.”Tamim said that even their marquee T20 tournament, the Bangladesh Premier League, failed to produce exciting cricket due to the nature of the pitches in the country. He said that the win-first (at home) nature of Bangladesh cricket has left the batters in the lurch.He suggested being patient with better pitches so that the batters can improve while the bowlers also pick up how to bowl on good batting surfaces.”BPL is a fantastic tournament but we couldn’t get wickets that excited the crowds. The last two years, scores have been higher. Teams are chasing 170-180, but we are so result-oriented in Bangladesh. If we have a very good wicket in the first game, the moment we lose that game, people are trying to make a spin-friendly track. I think not only players and coaches, the board also has to come out of that mentality. Let us lose for another six months, but let’s prepare wickets where bowlers and batters can learn. I think this is the only way forward for Bangladesh cricket.”

Milos Kerkez could well be on his way to Liverpool this summer, but Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes are said to be eyeing another left-back, too.

Kerkez in talks with Liverpool

A new left-back has been seen as a priority position to strengthen in this summer, with Andy Robertson no longer the force of old, and Kostas Tsimikas arguably not at the level required to be a regular starter for the Reds.

Bournemouth ace Kerkez has emerged as the leading option for Liverpool at left-back, with the Hungarian reportedly set to agree personal terms and holding talks with the Premier League champions over a summer move to Anfield.

The 21-year-old has the potential to be a superb signing for the Reds, having shone for the Cherries all season long, even making it into Gary Neville’s Team of the Season on Monday Night Football.

Meanwhile, Robertson has discussed his future at Liverpool with Jamie Carragher, saying: “I have only got a year left. So I hope all you guys (the fans) can help me with making the same noise around a new contract as you did with Mo and Virgil’s! Maybe you (Carragher) can stop linking the club with other left-backs as well! No look, I’ve had eight wonderful years so far and I have a year left. I am not as young as I once was but I love this club and I have had some great memories here, so let’s see what the future holds.”

Liverpool working on another left-back signing with Kerkez

Now, according to ILovePalermoCalcio [via Sport Witness], Liverpool are working to sign young Palermo left-back Gioacchino Barranca this summer, as Edwards continues to not mess around this summer, as he continues to try and get a deal for Kerkez over the line.

The Reds are believed to be “moving in the background” with regards to the 17-year-old, looking to pounce during the summer transfer window ahead of Atalanta and Torino.

Even the most ardent Liverpool supporter would struggle to claim to be an expert on Barranca, given his age and the fact that he is yet to represent Palermo at senior level.

The left-back has made a combined 50 appearances for their Under-17s and Under-19s, though, and the fact that a club of the Reds’ stature are tracking him speaks volumes about his long-term potential.

Barranca could come in as a future star at Liverpool, initially going into the academy setup or even being sent out on loan to aid his development, being seen as the eventual understudy to Kerkez once Robertson and Tsimikas move on.

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Posts ByAngus Sinclair May 19, 2025

It is always vital for the Reds to plan for the future, ensuring the club continues to be in a good place for many years to come, and the Palermo teenager would be an astute addition in that respect.

Celtic have already wrapped up the Scottish Premiership title for this season and their main focus between now and the end of the campaign will be winning the SFA Cup.

The Hoops, who beat Dundee United 5-0 last time out in the league, can secure the domestic treble by beating Aberdeen in the final at Hampden Park later this month.

It has been a fantastic season for Brendan Rodgers and his men, and Daizen Maeda, in particular, has played a pivotal role in the club’s success on the pitch.

Daizen Maeda's season in numbers

The Japan international, whether he has started out on the left or through the middle as a centre-forward, has enjoyed an incredibly productive campaign in front of goal.

As you can see in the graphic above, Maeda has racked up a staggering return of 44 goals and assists in 47 appearances in all competitions for the Hoops, which shows that he has provided a consistent threat at the top end of the pitch for the Scottish giants.

At the time of writing (03/05/2025), the Japanese forward is valued at £9.3m by Transfermarkt, which makes him one of the most valuable players in the Celtic squad.

However, the Hoops have struck gold with another player who is currently worth even more than the 33-goal sensation, and that is Cameron Carter-Vickers.

Celtic have hit the jackpot with Cameron Carter-Vickers

The Scottish giants swooped to sign the USA international on a permanent deal from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2022 for a fee of £6m, after he had spent the 2021/22 campaign on loan at Parkhead.

Market Movers

Since joining the club on a permanent basis, the English-born colossus has been a key figure at the back for the Hoops and his value has soared well above £6m.

At the time of writing, the 27-year-old titan is valued at a whopping £11.9m by Transfermarkt. This means that his value has soared by millions, £100k short of twice as much as the £6m that the club paid for him, and that he is worth even more than Maeda.

Appearances

28

Pass accuracy

95%

Clean sheets

15

Ground duel success rate

63%

Aerial duel success rate

74%

As you can see in the table above, the American defender – whom club legend Chris Sutton has lauded as “immense” in the past – has been dominant in his physical duels and supremely reliable in his use of the ball, contributing to yet another league title for the club.

Celtic have, therefore, struck gold with the central defender because he is a brilliant performer on the pitch who is now worth millions more than the fee they paid for him, and worth more than a forward who has scored 33 goals this season.

Carter-Vickers, whose passing was dubbed “fantastic” by The Athletic’s Alex Barker, was linked with a move to Bayer Leverkusen in the January transfer window, and the Hoops may have a fight on their hands to keep hold of him in the summer if interest in his services carries over.

Worth more than Tierney: Celtic have hit the jackpot on "brilliant" star

Celtic have hit the jackpot on this star who is now worth more than Kieran Tierney.

ByDan Emery May 1, 2025

In most cases, the Premier League title race feels like it’s done and dusted with weeks left of the campaign, with one team taking on what looks to be an unassailable advantage at the summit.

However, with every big lead at the top comes the prospect of a team completely losing their composure at the crucial moments.

Over the years, even the best sides have suffered from stage fright when the going got tough, found guilty of fluffing their lines with the title in reach.

Here, we’ve looked back at some examples of teams who have squandered huge chances to win the Premier League…

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ByStephan Georgiou Mar 31, 2025 1 Man Utd 1994/95 Failure to beat West Ham hands title to Blackburn

In truth, this could very easily have been a section about Blackburn Rovers bottling the title. Indeed, the Lancashire side had only won one of their previous five matches heading into the season finale, which gave Manchester United the opportunity to seal a third straight title should they slip up again.

Despite Rovers’ poor late-season form, they still led the Premier League ahead of their final-day clash against Liverpool, but knew that even a draw could let United in due to the Red Devils’ superior goal difference.

Blackburn’s worst nightmares then appeared to be coming true as they succumbed to a 2-1 loss at Anfield, meaning a win for United would earn Sir Alex Ferguson’s men another league championship.

But United uncharacteristically fluffed their lines, running into an inspired Ludek Miklosko in the Hammers net as they were continuously denied a winner that would have secured the title, settling for a 1-1 draw at the Boleyn Ground.

2 Newcastle 1995/96 Toon squander huge lead as Keegan's Entertainers implode

If today’s Arsenal squad needed a reminder that 12-point leads can vanish, they’d be wise to look at Newcastle United’s collapse in 1995/96 for inspiration.

The Magpies, led by Kevin Keegan, installed a 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League by mid-January.

But within two months, Newcastle had lost three and drawn once to allow Manchester United to close the gap.

To make matters worse, the Toon then lost to Liverpool and Blackburn in the space of a week to fully hand the initiative to the Red Devils.

Newcastle even had the chance to head into the final day level on points before two successive draws saw Man Utd wrestle the title back at the first time of asking.

3 Man Utd 1997/98 Awful run-in lets Arsenal snatch title glory

In fairness to Manchester United, Arsenal were on a hot streak in the latter months of the 1997/98 campaign, but for seasoned winners, their sudden fall from title certainties to also-rans will have been a bitter pill to swallow.

With 10 games remaining, Fergie’s men led the table by 11 points – 12 clear of Arsenal, who did have three games in hand.

March 1998 saw Arsenal reel off 10 straight victories, but United’s position still meant that all they needed to do to retain the title was see off either Liverpool or Newcastle at home – or even take a point from Arsenal at Old Trafford.

Those draws and Arsenal’s winning run (including a 1-0 success in Manchester) meant the Gunners could afford two defeats at the end of their campaign.

It was an opportunity missed for the Red Devils, though they did make up for it with a treble a year later.

4 Arsenal 1998/99 Defeat in penultimate match gift-wraps title for United

Arsenal were aiming to secure back-to-back titles in 1999, but despite getting themselves in a marvellous position to get the job done, they let themselves down just before the final hurdle.

The Gunners had won just 6 of their first 17 matches, but a competitive field that season meant there was still time for a title charge in the new year.

They won 15 of the next 19 matches to go level on points with two games to play, but a dramatic late defeat at Leeds meant United could afford to drop points at Blackburn Rovers and win the title by a point.

This one is more in hindsight, but one more win would surely have been enough to deny United the title – and their historic treble.

5 Arsenal 2002/03 Champions in control until Bolton comeback derails season

Arsenal were in a similar position in 2002/03 as they looked to successfully defend the title.

And despite having the title in their hands after a crunch clash with Manchester United, a late draw at Bolton Wanderers – in which Martin Keown scored an own goal – handed United the advantage.

The Gunners were then shocked at home by relegation-threatened Leeds United to go from title favourites to confirmed runners-up in a matter of weeks.

6 Arsenal 2007/08 Gunners let commanding lead slip after horror March

Arsene Wenger’s Gunners were not expected to challenge in the 2007/08 season, especially with club legend Thierry Henry leaving in the summer.

But the north Londoners produced an exciting start to the campaign, not losing until December and leading by five points with 12 games left.

The turning point came in a dramatic 2-2 draw at Birmingham City, which saw Eduardo da Silva suffer a double leg break and Gael Clichy concede a contentious last-minute penalty.

Arsenal struggled to restore their momentum, and four straight draws and a defeat to title rivals Chelsea saw their lead wiped out.

Despite winning their last four games, they had to settle for third place, having fallen just short in the big games at the business end of the campaign.

7 Man Utd 2011/12 Red Devils lose 8-point lead in final six games

With six matches remaining in the 2011/12 season, it looked for all the world that Manchester United would defend their title thanks to an eight-point lead at the summit.

Manchester City had threatened to knock them off their perch but defeats to the likes of Swansea City and Arsenal seemed to have killed off their challenge.

City then won five on the spin – including in the Manchester derby – to set up the historic final day that saw them win the title on goal difference.

But United could have avoided all the drama by avoiding defeat to Wigan Athletic or holding onto their lead at home to Everton, in games that will still be leaving a scar today.

8 Liverpool 2013/14 Suarez cries as Reds waste huge chance to win PL title

When Liverpool beat Manchester City in April 2014, it looked as if the Reds would finally end their decades-long wait for a league title.

When title rivals Chelsea lost prior to another Liverpool victory over Norwich City, the Reds had extended their lead to five points with three matches to play, albeit with Man City having games in hand.

Then it all went wrong. Defeat to Chelsea in their following match meant the door was open for City, who only had a slender advantage on goal difference.

But an ignominious draw to Crystal Palace when the Reds had led 3-0 destroyed their realistic chances of winning the league.

Man City then got their job done on the final day with a victory over West Ham, leaving Liverpool’s success over Newcastle academic.

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ByStephan Georgiou May 20, 2024 9 Tottenham 2015/16 Pochettino's Spurs come third in two-horse race

In Spurs’ defence, they were never meant to even challenge for the title in 2015/16. But then again, neither were eventual winners Leicester City.

It seems a little unfair to call Tottenham Hotspur out on their failure to take a once-in-a-generation chance of winning the title when so many others underperformed, but when you get to the last 11 games and you’re just two points off Leicester in second, anyone would kick themselves.

Unfortunately for Spurs, they won just four of their remaining matches, and collapsed so dramatically that losing their final two games allowed rivals Arsenal to pip them to second place.

Ironically, the following season was more successful from a points perspective, though they were accused of being ‘bottlejobs’ despite barely even getting to within touching distance of a relentless Chelsea. 2015/16 surely hurts more.

10 Arsenal 2015/16 Underwhelming Gunners lose out to fairytale Leicester side

As was the case with Spurs, Arsenal may have performed far better than their expected title rivals this year – Chelsea finished 10th and Liverpool finished outside the European places – but they also failed to convert a fairly unique position into title glory.

Points-wise, the Gunners didn’t dip too drastically (scoring just four fewer than the previous campaign), but in a season where they only needed 10 more to win the title, it was a huge opportunity wasted.

It was a season of false dawns for the Gunners, who had beaten both Manchester sides and eventual champions Leicester to lead the table at the turn of the year.

But a series of needless draws and a failure to build momentum after their last-gasp win over the Foxes – which had left them two points off the summit – meant the Gunners were the nearly men once more.

The Mumbai Indians quick has almost every skill a fast bowler could hope for, and he’s showing them off in the IPL

Karthik Krishnaswamy26-Apr-20242:07

Moody singles out Bumrah for praise

You’re writing about Jasprit Bumrah’s extraordinary IPL season. You type ‘prithvi shaw jasprit bumrah’ in the search bar, looking for this video from this game, but you end up, instead, at this video from two years ago, from this game.Who else but Bumrah could have dismissed the same batter with two entirely different yet equally unplayable deliveries?You remember the yorker from this season, of course, made memorable by Shaw’s lifted back leg. A nifty bit of footwork out of the Mohammad Azharuddin/Kevin Pietersen playbook, but where those two adopted the flamingo pose to whip the ball through midwicket, Shaw did it purely in self-preservation.The 2022 ball was just as devastating, an offcutter-bouncer that lost none of its pace for being delivered like an offcutter, jagging in wildly off the pitch to follow Shaw’s attempt to… to do what, exactly? Here again, the batter’s actions were almost all reaction, almost entirely geared towards self-preservation, except on this occasion he was protecting his head rather than his foot.Related

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Bumrah can make you look helpless from either end of the length spectrum and nearly every point in between.Much of this helplessness stems from how little time Bumrah gives batters to line him up. His release point, as you already probably know, is much further ahead of the crease than it is for most fast bowlers, so he’s effectively bowling on a shortened pitch. But it isn’t just that. When you’re watching his release from front-on, from the batter’s point of view, he gives you far less of a clue than most bowlers as to what length he’s about to bowl.An X (formerly Twitter) analyst, who doesn’t want to be identified here, has dipped into ball-tracking data and created an enlightening graph that plots bowlers’ average release heights for different lengths, and it’s notable how tight Bumrah’s cluster is, especially compared to those of taller bowlers.Unless he’s delivering high-effort bouncers halfway down the pitch, for which his release is notably later and lower, it would take a batter with an incredibly good eye to differentiate just from release height (they have other cues to help them, of course) what length Bumrah is bowling. For pretty much any length from 2m to 8m from the stumps, his release height is virtually the same. That range encompasses everything from yorkers to hard-length balls.Jasprit Bumrah’s action gives you little clue of where he is going to land the ball•BCCIAnd if it isn’t enough that Bumrah’s action gives you precious little clue of where he’s going to land the ball, he can make it confound you in every way imaginable.He can beat you in the air like a spinner, and make you misjudge lengths fatally. You probably already know about the lift Bumrah can generate. He puts so much backspin on his on-pace deliveries that the ball defies gravity for a fraction of a second and comes to earth later, and fuller, than the batter is conditioned to expect.Bumrah’s yorker to Wriddhiman Saha from Mumbai Indians’ first game of the season demonstrated this beautifully. Saha was shaping to drive through the covers, his mind probably registering a half-volley or something near that length when he saw the ball leave Bumrah’s hand, little realising how much of a misjudgment he was making. It was a misjudgment of length, yes, and because of Bumrah’s exaggerated inward angle it was also a misjudgment of line. The ball didn’t just york Saha but beat his inside edge as well.But as exaggerated as that angle is, it doesn’t stop him from beating the other edge when he wants to. Like the Saha yorker, the Rilee Rossouw yorker from Mumbai’s game against Punjab Kings was also delivered with the new ball, and also from over the wicket, but on this occasion Bumrah swung it so much that the ball defied that angle, reversing course late in its path across the left-hand batter to turn the stumps into a gory spatter.And if he generates significant lift while delivering full-tilt, he can do the opposite too, and get the ball to dip alarmingly, thanks to the vicious overspin he puts on his slower offcutter. After yorking Saha in that Gujarat Titans game, Bumrah dismissed David Miller with one such delivery. Like Saha, Miller was shaping to drive a half-volleyish length through the covers; his front-foot stride was short enough to be non-existent. The ball, though, wasn’t just slower but also significantly shorter than the one Miller initially seemed to think he was playing; he ended up checking his shot, hitting underneath the ball, and spooning it to the backtracking mid-off fielder.Rilee Rossouw’s stumps are shattered by Jasprit Bumrah•BCCIThese deliveries represent only a fraction of Bumrah’s full range, but the thing that moves him into genius territory isn’t the range as much as his awareness of when and how to use it. Despite having every toy a bowler could ask for, he’s far from over-eager to show off his collection. If he bowls on a pitch with a bit of seam movement, he’ll bowl good lengths all day and extract all the help he can. If his slower ball is gripping and stopping, he’ll run in and bowl those all day. Why risk the margin for error of the more spectacular option?But then again, the mechanics of Bumrah’s bowling give him wider margins for error than most other bowlers. Since the start of the 2020 season, only T Natarajan (165) and Harshal Patel (133) have bowled more full-tosses than Bumrah (125) in the IPL. If you attempt a lot of yorkers, you’ll inevitably bowl a lot of full-tosses. But where other bowlers pay a heavy price for missing their length by a few inches, Bumrah doesn’t, and perhaps this has something to do with the lift he generates, and how much harder his full-tosses hit the bat as a result. Bumrah’s full-toss economy rate in this period is 7.87, which is nearly two runs an over better than Mohammed Siraj’s 9.62. No other bowler who has sent down at least 40 full tosses in this time has gone at less than 10 an over while bowling this length.Because Bumrah can do so many things with the ball, and because he knows when to do what thing, and against which batter, and because even his errors are hard to punish, he can bowl in any phase of a T20 innings. With a cut-off of 30 balls bowled in that phase, he’s the most economical fast bowler of IPL 2024 in the powerplay (5.16) the death (7.20), and he sits at No. 3 (7.00) in the middle overs, behind Mayank Yadav and Matheesha Pathirana.Those are ridiculous numbers, and he’s achieved them while bowling for a Mumbai Indians team that has made an ordinary start to the season, losing five of their eight games so far. Imagine how much worse off they’d be without Bumrah. Or, and this is a truly scary thought, where they’d be with one more Bumrah.There is and has been, however, only one Bumrah. He does extraordinary things so routinely that they’ve almost lost their ability to blow your mind. Then he runs up and bowls his next highlights-reel ball, making you marvel at him afresh.

As the England quick celebrates a milestone birthday, S Rajesh looks at how incredibly well he’s aged as a bowler

S Rajesh30-Jul-2022It is likely that sometime in the next couple of months, James Anderson will become the first bowler to take 400 Test wickets after turning 30. Already, he is only the second player to play 100-plus Tests after 30 – Alec Stewart was the first, with 107 – but Anderson’s feat is remarkable at several levels.ESPNcricinfo LtdFor starters, he is a fast bowler, and fast bowlers aren’t supposed to go on as if age is just an irrelevant number. Currently, Anderson has 389 wickets from 101 Tests after turning 30; since turning 35, he has taken 177 from 47 matches. Among fast bowlers, only Courtney Walsh, with 180 from 39, has more wickets beyond 35. Only six other fast bowlers have managed even 200 wickets after the age of 30, but Anderson is moving towards 400, and seemingly, quite effortlessly.