Category Uncategorized

After opening day humiliation at the hands of newly-promoted Sunderland, West Ham United have reportedly launched their first approach to sign a Barcelona midfielder.

Potter: West Ham have to "improve" after Sunderland defeat

West Ham know all too well that the Premier League is a slippery slope towards shock relegation when teams get off to a disastrous start and must ensure that their defeat at Sunderland is a turning point in Graham Potter’s reign. Picking up where they left off last season, the Hammers were blunt going forward and vulnerable going the other way in what has been the trend of Potter’s tenure.

Having his say on a disappointing afternoon, Potter told reporters: “In the first half, I thought we were good. I thought we did lots well in terms of quieting the crowd down and creating some opportunities. We could have scored, I thought, but nevertheless, we felt OK.

“We started a bit slow in the second half, and from out of nowhere, a goal goes in and it becomes difficult. It was a game where probably the first goal, especially here with the environment, was going to be challenging for us. But we tried to push.

“But in trying to push, we opened ourselves up. The second goal’s a poor one – a mistake leads to a cheap set-piece, and then we didn’t do the basics well enough in the second phase. We haven’t done the basics well enough – it’s as simple as that, and we have to improve that.”

Sheringham 2.0: West Ham in race to sign Premier League "proven goalscorer"

The vastly experienced goalscorer could be a brilliant signing for West Ham and Graham Potter.

1 ByJack Salveson Holmes Aug 20, 2025

That defeat may have been the wake-up call that those at the London Stadium needed both on the pitch and in the transfer window, however, with reports now indicating that they’ve made their first move for a Barcelona talent.

West Ham launch first Casado enquiry

As reported by Mundo Deportivo and relayed by Sport Witness, West Ham have now launched their first enquiry to sign Marc Casado from Barcelona. The Spanish giants reportedly value their midfielder at just €30m (£26m), which has sparked a race between the Hammers and Wolverhampton Wanderers to secure a bargain deal this month.

Minutes

1,611

2,380

Key Passes

0.50

1.36

Progressive Passes

5.98

5.87

Ball Recoveries

5.03

5.64

When compared to Lucas Paqueta last season, Casado’s quality becomes clear. Whilst he struggled to match the Brazilian when it came to key passes, the 21-year-old progressed play at an excellent standard, whilst also impressing when recovering possession.

Dubbed a “genius” by U23 scout Antonio Mango, the Barcelona ace still has plenty of room for improvement and plenty of years ahead of him to realise an ever-increasing potential.

For just £26m, West Ham would be landing an undeniable bargain and a player who would slot straight in as one of Potter’s most effective players this season.

Tottenham Hotspur’s business in the transfer market over the last couple of years has been seriously impressive, helping the club end the 17-year wait for any form of silverware.

Attention has been turned to investing in younger talents, buying them at bargain prices and allowing them to develop and improve to reach their full potential in North London.

The likes of Pape Sarr and Lucas Bergvall are just two examples, with the pair featuring in a combined tally of 100 outings between them despite their tender ages.

Both have shown the rewards their current recruitment focus could yield if done correctly, with Thomas Frank needing to continue such a trend ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.

However, they’ve also spent big in the past, as seen by Mohammed Kudus’ £55m transfer from West Ham United this window, with other big-money additions also being lined up.

The latest on Spurs’ hunt for Morgan Gibbs-White

Two weeks ago, Spurs triggered the £60m release clause in Morgan Gibbs-White’s contract at Nottingham Forest, with a deal expected to progress after such a move.

However, that switch swiftly ground to a halt after Reds owner Evangelos Marinakis raised an issue with the transfer, claiming that the Lilywhites made an illegal approach for his signature.

No one even knew that the England international had an option in his current deal, entering talks with the player and his agent without the approval of his current employers.

It had subsequently been reported that the 25-year-old remained keen on a move to North London this summer, although the latest developments appear to suggest otherwise.

Having travelled with the Forest squad on their pre-season tour of Portugal, the former Wolverhampton Wanderers man has since quashed any speculation after penning a new deal with the Tricky Trees.

The playmaker has committed his future to City Ground until 2028, with journalist Fabrizio Romano outlining that a move to Spurs is now “off”.

The Spurs player who’s already worth more than Gibbs-White

With Gibbs-White undoubtedly one of the hierarchy’s main targets this summer, other options will likely be drawn up as a result of his decision to stay put in Nottingham.

However, trust should be placed in the recruitment team to make the right call, something which they’ve done as seen by their recent success rate in the market.

As previously mentioned, with the likes of Bergvall and Sarr, the club have got it right in previous times, just like they have with winger Brennan Johnson, who’s excelled at the club in recent months.

The Welsh international arrived in a £47.5m deal from Forest back in the summer of 2023, with such a price tag appearing a huge chunk given he’d only had one prior year of top-flight experience.

However, a couple of years on from his transfer, it appears to be a shrewd piece of business, racking up a total of 23 goals within his 85 appearances for the club.

18 of which came in the most recent campaign, subsequently proving all of his doubters wrong after he was forced to deactivate his social media accounts following abuse from supporters for his lack of impact.

The 24-year-old is also responsible for one of the biggest moments in the club’s recent history, scoring the winner in the Europa League final – topping off a dream campaign for the youngster.

As a result of his rise in the last few months, Johnson, who’s been labelled “unbelievable” by international teammate Aaron Ramsey, is now valued at a staggering €75m (£66m) by CIES Football Observatory.

His subsequent value is higher than that of Gibbs-White, who’s deemed to be worth £60m due to his release clause, showcasing the phenomenal rise he’s endured during his time at the Lilywhites.

Rank

Player

Fee

Signed from

Year

Dominic Solanke

£65m

Bournemouth

2024

Tanguy Ndombele

£62.8m

Lyon

2019

Richarlison

£60m

Everton

2022

Mohammed Kudus

£55m

West Ham

2025

Brennan Johnson

£47.5m

Nottingham Forest

2023

Micky van de Ven

£43m

Wolfsburg

2023

Cristian Romero

£42.5m

Atalanta

2021

Davinson Sanchez

£42m

Ajax

2017

If he can continue his incredible form into the 2025/26 campaign, he will be a key player in Frank’s quest to lead the side up the Premier League table.

The prospect of Johnson linking up with Gibbs-White once again after their time at the City Ground was certainly an exciting one, although the former teammates will remain foes against next season.

Bigger talent than Gibbs-White: Spurs open first talks to sign £70m CM

Tottenham Hotspur appear to be making a move for another young Premier League talent this summer.

ByEthan Lamb Jul 24, 2025

Nine new faces have already entered the Birmingham City camp this summer, with that number surely set to increase before September’s looming deadline.

It has gone somewhat quiet on the Blues transfer front after signings galore joined the building at breakneck speed, but another striker must surely be on Chris Davies’ shopping list now that Alfie May has officially sealed a move away to Huddersfield Town.

May would go on to fire home a devastating 17 goals for the Blues across 57 appearances, but the leap up to the Championship was presumably judged to be too much for the 32-year-old to adjust to.

Instead, Birmingham have managed to recuperate £1.2m by selling him on, with that money set to be put to good use in chasing after an immediate replacement.

The blow of May moving on has also been softened by Kyogo Furuhashi’s £10m arrival on the scene, which will also undoubtedly improve Birmingham’s firepower heading into the Championship.

Why Kyogo should be a big success at Birmingham

When looking at Kyogo’s well-travelled career to date, he has more hits on his resume than notable blunders.

In Japan, for both Vissel Kobe and FC Gifu – before embarking on a transformative Celtic move – Kyogo would show early signs of his blistering edge in front of goal, with a promising 66 strikes tallied up from 182 clashes.

That sturdy number would be amazingly eclipsed in Glasgow when leading the line for Celtic, with a whopping 85 strikes coming his way from 165 total contests.

He did then fall victim to a zero-goal stint at Rennes, but he will hope he can write that short stay off in France as a fluke on his otherwise sparkling CV.

More strikers entering the Blues camp will hopefully take the pressure off Kyogo’s shoulders to be Birmingham’s sole leading man, with these fresh arrivals to Davies’ side also potentially getting even more out of the Japanese gem.

One potential new purchase, in particular, has shown he is content with being an assist king, as much as he enjoys chipping in with a strike or two of his own.

Extraordinary Blues target could be a dream for Kyogo

May will be mainly remembered for his 17-goal heroics last season, but he also provided a healthy nine assists for the attacking bodies around him.

New Blues target Marvin Ducksch should be able to come in and fill this void effectively when looking at his standout Werder Bremen numbers, with Football League World reporting that Davies and Co. are close to landing the well-rounded German as an attacker who could fire them up to the Premier League.

Ducksch’s numbers by season for Bremen

Season

Games

Goals scored

Assists

24/25

36

9

11

23/24

34

13

10

22/23

35

12

9

21/22

29

20

10

Sourced by Transfermarkt

Whilst it’s clear from glancing at the table above that Ducksch shares Kyogo’s clinical nature with an explosive 54 strikes picked up across his last four campaigns for Bremen, he also has the added plus of being a creative machine on his side, with an impressive 40 assists next to his name.

Last season, in particular, saw the Dortmund-born attacker’s goalscoring exploits take a backseat for his unselfish nature to come to the forefront.

He produced 11 assists next to his nine goals, with his FBref numbers over the last year also seeing him come away with a noticeable 3.20 progressive passes on average per clash, enough to rank him in the top 7% of positionally similar players in Europe’s top five leagues.

Being this consistent creative spark for Bremen has even resulted in Ducksch being called up to the Germany national side, on top of the 31-year-old being hailed as “extraordinary” by teammate Mitchell Weiser for what he can provide.

All of this will be music to the ears of a poacher-like presence such as Kyogo, who has been donned as “exceptional” himself in the past for his finishing ability under pressure by ex-Hoops comrade Joe Hart.

The struggle here might well come in getting both the German and the £10m attacker in the same XI, owing to Davies’ regular 4-2-3-1 set-up, but this is a selection headache Davies won’t be dreading, as his attacking personnel is strengthened regardless.

Related Birmingham City could sign dream May replacement in "dynamite" £10m star

Birmingham City will want to replace Alfie May swiftly as this £10m star comes onto their agenda.

Posts ByKelan Sarson Jul 22, 2025

Celtic players are slowly starting to filter back in for pre-season, and they could be joined by yet another new addition sooner rather than later, according to reports.

Celtic's transfer state of play with pre-season already underway

Several Celtic stars were spotted being put through their paces at Lennoxtown earlier this week, and it is anticipated that the bulk of the main group will join before long, but who could accompany them from elsewhere over the coming weeks?

Kieran Tierney, Ross Doohan and Benjamin Nygren have already been announced. Fulham youngster Callum Osmand is set to follow the trio to Celtic and has already been spotted at their training base before being officially confirmed as a new asset.

With Greg Taylor out of contract and set to depart, Djurgarden left-back Keita Kosugi is the latest name on the Bhoys’ radar as they plot a replacement for the Scotland international.

Despite some swift moves to bolster their pool of talent, Chris Sutton believes Celtic should be doing more in the transfer market with the Champions League qualifiers around the corner.

He explained: “Unless Celtic are going to start paying silly money, I’d imagine they may have to wait, perhaps even until the end of the window, for some of the key targets.

Celtic in talks to sell international defender for 7-figure loss

Is it the right time for him to leave?

1 ByHenry Jackson Jun 27, 2025

“But it still feels a little lacking to me at this precise point of proceedings and, at the very least, Rodgers will surely want the majority in his squad for the start of the domestic season.”

Managers will never be content with that they’ve got, there will always be an appetite for as many useful options as possible to offer cover across the pitch.

Either way, Sutton’s wish could now have been granted as Celtic are now on the brink of bringing in a talented central defender.

Celtic set to land Hayato Inamura with medical scheduled

According to Sponichi, Celtic are set to land defender Hayato Inamura from Albirex Niigata, and he will travel to Europe to undergo a medical before signing on the dotted line at Parkhead.

The 23-year-old took on his final fixture in current club colours against Machida Zelvia this weekend, and is set to become the ninth Japanese player to join the Hoops once his move is ratified.

Hayato Inamura’s record at Albirex Niigata

Appearances

35

Goals

1

Assists

2

Predominantly a central defender, Inamura is also capable of featuring at left-back and has two years left on his current deal at the Denka Big Swan Stadium. He is considered an impressive talent back home, evidenced by the fact he shares an agent with two of Japan’s top stars in Europe – £20m Arsenal man Takehiro Tomiyasu and Mainz star Kaishū Sano.

Enjoying a productive J League campaign, the Tokyo-born man has won 63 duels and 75% of his tackles and would likely arrive in Glasgow for a nominal fee, although the specifics on that front haven’t yet been confirmed.

Either way, Celtic appear primed to venture back into a market that has been a happy hunting ground in recent years, so there is every chance Inamura will become a shrewd addition with plenty of potential to develop.

It feels like the transfer all Liverpool fans are waiting to hear about is the club’s reported move for Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz.

The Premier League champions are yet to officially confirm that they have agreed a deal to sign the Germany international, but they are reportedly close to doing so.

The latest on Florian Wirtz to Liverpool

According to Fabrizio Romano, Wirtz is set to travel to England for his medical tests after he returns from his summer holiday, although it remains unclear as to exactly when that will be.

The reporter claims that Leverkusen and Liverpool have ‘sealed’ all documents for the transfer of the German midfield maestro, and that it is now a case of waiting for him to complete his medical tests before they can announce the deal.

This comes after Romano reported earlier this month that Arne Slot’s side have agreed a mammoth deal worth up to £127m, including add-ons, for the 22-year-old star.

Wirtz, who delivered 16 goals and 14 assists in all competitions for Leverkusen during the 2024/25 campaign, is set to become the club’s most-expensive signing of all time, eclipsing the £85m that they paid Benfica for Darwin Nunez in 2022.

The German midfielder may not be the only Liverpool signing this summer who breaks that record set by the Uruguay international’s arrival at Anfield, though, as the club are eyeing up another expensive attacker after Wirtz.

Liverpool eyeing move for £100m Premier League star

According to reports, as relayed by GOAL, FSG are not stopping with the Leverkusen star as the Premier League champions are considering a swoop to sign Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon before the end of the summer transfer window.

The report claims that Liverpool are weighing up a move for the England international to bolster their options out wide, and that it could take a huge fee of £100m to snap him up from St. James’ Park.

Gordon, who spent time in Liverpool’s academy before eventually making his breakthrough at Everton, is being eyed up by the Reds because of uncertainty over the futures of Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz.

24/25 Premier League	Anthony Gordon	Luis Diaz	Darwin Nunez
Age	24	28	25
Appearances	34	36	30
Goals	6	13	5
Big chances created	6	8	3
Assists	5	5	2
Dribbles completed per game	1.1	1.5	0.3
Stats via Sofascore

The report adds that Nunez is ‘certain’ to move on from Anfield, amid interest from Saudi Arabia, whilst Diaz is willing to explore his options, as Barcelona are interested in signing him.

Liverpool held talks with Newcastle in the summer of 2024 to discuss a deal for Gordon, but failed to get a deal over the line, and it looks as though they could hope that it is second time lucky this summer.

The 24-year-old star, who former teammate Charlie Cresswell claimed has “electric” pace, is a proven Premier League performer, with 150 appearances in the division to date, and could hit the ground running at Anfield as a new signing this summer.

Gordon’s ‘electric’ pace combined with Wirtz’s impressive creativity and passing quality could result in an exciting new-look attack for Slot in the 2025/26 campaign and beyond, if the club can get both of these deals over the line this summer.

Torres 2.0: Liverpool confident they can sign "the new Mbappe" for £84m

Liverpool are hoping to sign a new striker in the transfer market this summer.

2

By
Angus Sinclair

Jun 14, 2025

Chelsea have already made a couple of signings during the 2025 summer transfer window, and have confirmed the addition of midfielder Dario Essugo from Sporting CP. The most recent of those signings was Mamadou Sarr, the young French centre-back who joined from sister club Strasbourg of Ligue 1.

The other addition was Liam Delap, who made the move to Stamford Bridge from now relegated Ipswich Town. He cost the Blues £30m, the price of his relegation release clause at Portman Road, although BBC Sport say he will cost Chelsea £20m up front.

Delap, a European champion with England under-21 back in 2023, might not be the only player from that successful side to join the Blues this summer.

Chelsea chasing another English talent

Delap joins his fellow under-21 European Championship winner, Cole Palmer, in the Chelsea squad. It certainly fits the transfer policy we have seen from the Blues under Todd Boehly, to sign young talents who will have an impact now and in the future.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

Expand Collapse

The man who could join his former England teammates at Stamford Bridge is James Trafford. According to a report from The Telegraph, Chelsea could ‘enter the race’ for the Burnley goalkeeper, having kept a close eye on him ‘for more than a year’.

Indeed, the West London club do not go into the race for Trafford as favourites. Rather, they could end up hijacking the move, with fears at Newcastle United, who are ‘negotiating over the asking price’ with Clarets, that Chelsea could poach the goalkeeper.

Burnley have asked for £30m or more for the goalkeeper, a fee Chelsea would need to match to pull off the hijack.

Why Trafford would be a good signing

If Chelsea were to sign Trafford this summer, and poach him right from underneath Newcastle’s nose, he would join the club with a great reputation. It was a sensational 2024/25 campaign for the Burnley shotstopper, with football scout Antonio Mango calling him the “future England No1” based on those efforts.

Indeed, it was a magical season for Trafford, helping his Burnley side to promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking. In 45 Championship games, he conceded just 16 goals and kept 29 clean sheets.

Those numbers are ridiculous. It was a team effort, of course, with a strong defence in front of him, but certainly a large part of the defensive success was down to Trafford between the posts. He conceded an average of 0.36 goals per game across the season, as per FBref.

That is one of the many metrics in which Trafford ranked first amongst Championship goalkeepers last season. Another impressive stat is his save percentage, which was 84.5% last season.

FBref stats show that he stacks up well against Premier League goalkeepers, too. In 2024/25, Trafford conceded the least number of goals compared to top-flight shot stoppers who played at least 50% of games, kept double the amount of clean sheets and had the highest save percentage.

Trafford key stats & rank vs. PL/Championship goalkeepers

Stat

Trafford number

PL rank

Championship rank

Goals conceded

16

1st

1st

Goals conceded per game

0.36

1st

1st

Saves

85

14th

=13th

Save percentage

84.5%

1st

1st

Clean sheets

29

1st

1st

Stats from FBref

Equally too, there are a number of similarities between Trafford and Chelsea’s new number nine, Delap. Not only have they played alongside each other for England under-21s, but the pair also represented Manchester City’s academy alongside each other.

In all, they have played 21 games together, and it is certainly interesting that the pair have had such a similar career. After plenty of loans across the EFL, they each left City – joining Burnley and Ipswich for £19m and £20m, respectively – forged their own paths and made a real name for themselves, before potentially reconvening at Chelsea. It is quite the story.

On top of that, the Blues also pipped Newcastle to the signing of Delap. Back in May, it was reported by TEAMTalk that they had ‘showdown talks’ with the striker. However, Chelsea won the race to sign him, and they could well be set to repeat the feat with Trafford.

Paying £30m for a goalkeeper with the quality of Trafford seems like an easy decision for the West Londoners to make. This could be one of the sagas of the window, and one Chelsea will be hoping they can win.

Related Better than Delap: Chelsea step up move for £85m "monster in the making"

Chelsea are looking to improve their attacking options further

Posts 1 ByRoss Kilvington Jun 9, 2025

Liverpool have “made contact” with a rival Premier League attacker over a move to Anfield in the summer transfer window.

Liverpool in need of Nunez and Jota upgrade

The Reds are expected to have one of their busiest summers in years, with upgrades needed in various positions, despite their Premier League title win.

In attack, a new centre forward is badly needed, with neither Darwin Nunez nor Diogo Jota representing the solution in that area now. The former simply hasn’t kicked on enough in three seasons, while the latter is an injury-prone player who cannot seem to stay fit for a whole season.

Eintracht Frankfurt ace Hugo Ekitike has been linked with a move to Liverpool various times, and could stand out as the most exciting No.9 option this summer, especially considering Newcastle United look highly unlikely to allow Alexander Isak to leave.

Brighton attacker Joao Pedro has also been mentioned as an option for the Merseyside, as has Bayer Leverkusen superstar Florian Wirtz, who could potentially be used in a false nine role, even though it isn’t his most common position. Now, a big claim regarding the Reds signing another attacking player has emerged.

Liverpool make contact with Premier League attacker

According to Foot Mercato‘s Santi Aouna on X, Liverpool have made contact with Chelsea attacker Christopher Nkunku over a summer move to Anfield.

There would have to be question marks about Liverpool signing the £195,000-a-week Nkunku, considering he hasn’t exactly been a roaring success in a Chelsea shirt since arriving from RB Leipzig in 2023, only making nine starts in the Premier League this season.

Signing the 27-year-old would feel like a gamble by the Reds – one they don’t need to take – even though Thierry Henry has admitted he loves watching him play, and he has been lauded by former Chelsea and England centre-back Gary Cahill, who hailed him as a “very strong” player.

If Richard Hughes and Arne Slot truly feel that Nkunku is the best option to bring in this summer, they need to be trusted, but given his injury record and form at Chelsea, it would be a surprise if that was the case.

A better signing than Wirtz: Liverpool ramp up move for "the next Mbappe"

Liverpool’s primary goal this summer remains signing a new centre-forward.

ByAngus Sinclair May 16, 2025

Liverpool would be far wiser to look to sign Ekitike, who is five years his junior and seemingly on an upwards trajectory, following a great season for Frankfurt that has seen him score 15 goals in 30 Bundesliga starts.

Arsenal have done “more work” than any other suitors on a popular striker target, who new sporting director Andrea Berta is keen to sign, according to a new report.

Berta ready to put his imprint on Arsenal

Edu’s unexpected departure as Arsenal’s sporting director late last year sent shockwaves through the club, with many fans wondering how the club would move forward without the man partly responsible for the club’s resurgence in recent years.

Well, now they have the answer. On Sunday, Andrea Berta was confirmed as Arsenal’s new sporting director, ushering in an exciting new era at the Emirates Stadium.

Berta arrives in North London with a wealth of experience, having worked in technical roles for Italian sides Carpenedolo, Parma and Genoa and, most recently, Atlético Madrid, where he spent almost 12 years and played a major role in building the teams which won La Liga in both 2013/14 and 2020/21.

In his first interview following his appointing, Berta said that he can’t wait to help shape Arsenal’s future.

“I have watched with great interest the way Arsenal has evolved in recent years and I have admired the hard work that has gone into re-establishing the club as a major force in European football with a passionate following around the world,” he said.

“The club has great values and a rich history, and I am looking forward to playing my part in shaping a successful future with a great team. I cannot wait to get started in my new role and I am really looking forward to experiencing my first game at Emirates Stadium together with our supporters.”

Berta wants Cunha as Gunners begin work on signing

Having signed the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Rodri and Jan Oblak for Atleti over the years, Berta is now looking to get to work quickly at Arsenal, and reportedly already has his eye on a summer signing in the form of Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Matheus Cunha.

Described as “absolutely sensational” by former Manchester City star turned pundit Micah Richards, Cunha, who has been Wolves’ standout player this season, scoring 15 goals in all competitions, has been a target for Arsenal for some time, with the Gunners wanting him in January but being put off by Wolves’ £80 million asking price.

Ex-Arsenal star who's watched Cunha for years reveals trait Arteta loves

The Gunners could target the Wolves star…

ByTom Cunningham Mar 28, 2025

According to a new report from TEAMtalk, however, the Brazil international will be available for a much lower price in the summer, and Arsenal have done “more work” on signing Cunha than his other suitors. He is now “under serious consideration” by Berta.

The publication reports that the Gunners will face competition from Liverpool for the £90k per week star, with the Merseyside club having already been in contact to ask about the conditions of a deal for Cunha and whether he would be interested in a switch to Anfield.

Nottingham Forest are also reported to be plotting a bold move for the talented forward, and believe securing a Champions League spot would significantly boost their chances of sealing the deal.

Neither team has had a great year in the format and will look to make amends

Mohammad Isam15-Dec-2024West Indies will look to take the high from the 3-0 ODI series win in St Kitts into St Vincent where they now play three T20Is against Bangladesh. It is the fag end of the tour for the visitors, who would look to end their time in the West Indies with a win under their belt.Tour mood brings context to contestWest Indies crushed Bangladesh 3-0 in the ODIs after the visitors fought back to draw the Test series 1-1 in Jamaica earlier in the tour. The relationship between the two teams seems to have improved after some heated sledging in the Test series, but that wouldn’t stop them from thrashing out another highly-competitive three-match series.Both teams come into the matches with poor performances in T20Is recently. There will be mini-contests in the shortest format too, particularly between Jaker Ali and the West Indies fast bowlers.Related

Litton to lead Bangladesh in West Indies T20I series

Keacy Carty gets maiden T20I call-up for Bangladesh series

Bangladesh’s quicks will also be expected to rise for one last time this year, to make 2024 worth remembering for the group.West Indies bring in more big gunsRovman Powell now takes over the West Indies side as their T20I captain from ODI skipper Shai Hope. The hosts have called up Keacy Carty for the first time in T20Is, while the likes of Brandon King, Johnson Charles and Evin Lewis will make up the top order. Then come Powell, Nicholas Pooran, Roston Chase and Justin Greaves completing the middle order.Akeal Hosein is available only for the first two games, before Jayden Seales, Bangladesh’s scourge all tour, returns to the side for the third T20I. Gudakesh Motie could be key, having also bashed an important knock in the third ODI, to give him confidence with the bat.Bangladesh look to improve ordinary T20 yearBangladesh will be smarting from the series defeat in St Kitts because they fancy themselves in ODIs. The shift to T20Is won’t inspire much confidence for them because they have had a sub-par year in the format, having suffered series defeats against Sri Lanka, USA and India. They have lost their last six matches in the format.Jaker Ali was Bangladesh’s best batter across the Tests and ODIs•Randy BrooksTherefore, appointing Litton Das as captain is a desperate move to freshen up the T20I side. Litton is going through a tough time in ODIs so it is important for him to revive his form.They will, however, hope that Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan and their find of the series – Jaker – continue their ODI form into the T20Is. Shamim Hossain comes with renewed reputation while Mahedi Hasan will battle for a place with Mehidy Hasan Miraz.The spinners, including Nasum Ahmed and Rishad Hossain, have a lot of work to do, especially after failing to take wickets in the middle overs in the one-dayers.They shored up their pace department on the eve of the series, adding fast bowler Nahid Rana to the squad.*What to expect from the St Vincent pitch and conditionsBangladesh have bittersweet memories of the Arnos Vale ground from earlier this year. They beat Netherlands and Nepal but crashed out of the T20 World Cup after the loss against Afghanistan. The pitches produced moderate first-innings totals during the World Cup and the spinners could become a vital cog if used smartly by the two captains. St Vincent may experience some rain, which is particularly in the forecast for the third T20I on December 19.*

And what is the largest difference between a team’s first-innings and second-innings scores in all first-class cricket?

Steven Lynch23-May-2023I read that Brian Booth, who died last week, also played hockey for Australia at the Olympics. Are there any other Test cricketers who have done this? asked Craig Franklin from Australia
Brian Booth, who sadly died last week aged 89, seems to have been one of those rare cricketers who was universally admired. “A truly great human,” said his former team-mate Kerry O’Keeffe. “Strong claims to captain Aust ‘best blokes’ Test eleven.” Booth played the first of his 29 Tests in England in 1961, and led Australia twice during his final series, the 1965-66 Ashes. He scored five Test hundreds (and a 98). Before his international cricket career started, he had been part of the Australian field hockey squad for the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, and played in some of the later matches.Booth is one of six Test cricketers who also competed at the Olympics. The first was the Essex fast bowler Claude Buckenham, who was part of the Great Britain football team that won the gold medal in Paris in 1900; he played four Tests in South Africa in 1909-10, taking seven wickets in the first in Johannesburg.Another Essex player, Johnny Douglas, won the middleweight boxing gold medal at the 1908 Olympics in London. He went on to play 23 Tests for England between 1911-12 and 1924-25, captaining in most of them. At around the same time, the Somerset batter Jack MacBryan played one Test against South Africa in 1924 (famously not batting or bowling at Old Trafford) after being part of the gold-medal-winning British hockey team in Antwerp in 1920. The New Zealander Keith Thomson had a very busy time in 1968: after playing two Tests against India, he was part of the national hockey squad for the Mexico Olympics. Like Booth, he died in 2023.Coming more up to date, Sunette Viljoen played one Test and 17 ODIs for the South African women’s team, before concentrating on athletics: she competed in all four Olympic Games between 2004 and 2016, winning the silver medal in the javelin in the last, in Rio de Janeiro. Suzie Bates was part of the New Zealand basketball team at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and also appeared in 291 white-ball cricket internationals, many as captain – but she never played a Test match.At the weekend Glamorgan made 737 in their second innings, having been skittled for 123 in the first. Is the difference between the innings a record? asked Joe Jervis from England
In a remarkable turnaround, Glamorgan scored 614 more runs in the second innings of their recent County Championship match against Sussex in Hove than in the first. This is indeed a record difference between two completed innings by one side in a first-class match, beating 591 by Karachi Blues (111 and 702 for 7) against United Bank in Karachi in 2016-17.The Test record is 551, by Pakistan (106 and 657 for 8 declared) against West Indies in Bridgetown in 1957-58, in the match in which Hanif Mohammad scored 337 in 970 minutes. There are two other cases of 551 in first-class cricket, by Barbados (175 and 726 for 7 declared) against Trinidad in Bridgetown in 1926-27, and Middlesex (83 and 634 for 7 declared) against Essex in Chelmsford in 1983.Glamorgan’s 737 was their second-highest total, exceeded only by last year’s 795 for 5 declared in Leicester. There have been just four higher second-innings totals in all first-class cricket, the highest being New South Wales’s 770 against South Australia in Adelaide in 1920-21.I was intrigued by last week’s question regarding England players with an X in their surname. How many Pakistan cricketers have names containing a Q? asked Sanjeev Kulkarni from India
There are rather more than the five England Xs when we investigate Pakistan Qs. There are 37 Test players from Pakistan whose names are usually rendered on scorecards with a Q; there are at least four others whose full names also include a Q (for example, the full name of the recent Test batter Yasir Hameed is Yasir Hameed Qureshi).I won’t list all the Q players, but a reasonable Test team can be fielded: for starters, try Sadiq Mohammad, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Mushtaq Mohammad, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Asif Iqbal, Abdul Qadir, Zulqarnain, Saqlain Mushtaq, Waqar Younis and Aqib Javed. Their match would have to be reported by Pakistan’s most durable cricket journalist, Qamar Ahmed. Pride of place, however, should perhaps go to the 1980s seamer Tahir Naqqash, who has two Qs in his name.Chris Martin collected 36 ducks and had a high score of 12 in his Test batting career•William West/AFPChris Martin took 233 wickets and scored 123 runs in his Test career. Is this negative difference of 110 the largest for a Test career? asked Elamaran Perumal from the United States
The New Zealand seamer (and hapless batter) Chris Martin collected 36 ducks in a 71-Test career that brought him just 123 runs to go with those 233 wickets. You’re right in thinking that 110 is the biggest negative difference between runs and wickets in a Test career: next comes the Indian legspin genius Bhagwath Chandrasekhar, with 242 wickets and 167 runs (a difference of -75). Old-time bowlers Jack Saunders of Australia (79 wickets, 39 runs) and England’s Bill Bowes (68 and 28) both had a difference of minus 40.The recent Pakistan seamer Aizaz Cheema had a big negative ratio: 20 wickets, but just one run. The 1930s England legspinner Charles “Father” Marriott and the recent South African seamer Mfuneko “Chewing” Ngam both took 11 Test wickets, but scored no runs at all.Regarding last week’s question about someone spending ten balls on nought in an IPL game, didn’t Dwayne Smith once get off the mark from his 12th ball? asked Rajesh Verma from India
You’re right that the normally attacking West Indian Dwayne Smith spent 11 balls on nought (eight of them, including a first-over maiden, sent down by slow left-armer Shahbaz Nadeem) for Chennai Super Kings against Delhi Daredevils in Raipur in 2015. However, last week’s question specifically asked about IPL chases, so the answers given were correct for teams batting second.Smith’s 11 balls is the most taken to get off the mark in either innings of an IPL match, but someone else has spent even longer on nought: Nayan Doshi faced 13 balls for Rajasthan Royals against Kochi Tuskers in Indore in 2011, being dismissed for a duck by the 13th.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions