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Liverpool are definitely keen on signing Jude Bellingham but a move is likely to have to wait until the summer of 2023, according to journalist David Maddock.

The Lowdown: Bellingham a huge talent

The 19-year-old is one of Europe’s most exciting young players currently, catching the eye hugely with his mature performances for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga and Champions League.

Bellingham has also become more of a fixture in the England setup, winning 15 caps for The Three Lions and pushing to start at this winter’s World Cup.

Liverpool have long been linked with a move for the midfielder – who idolises Steven Gerrard – and another update has now emerged.

The Latest: Liverpol still keen on move

According to The Mirror‘s Maddock, the Reds are still eyeing up Bellingham as a future signing but it is unlikely he will move to Anfield this summer.

That’s because Dortmund don’t want to lose both him and Erling Haaland in the same year, so a 2023 transfer could materialise instead.

Jurgen Klopp is a long-term admirer of the player and is happy to wait to get his man, rather than settle for a stand-in option this time around.

Darwin’s a Red! Get your special edition Darwin Nunez tee here. The Verdict: Perfect next midfield signing

Bellingham looks like a player of incredible potential – Jordan Henderson has called him a ‘fantastic’ footballer – and Liverpool signing him would feel enormous, given his potential.

Midfield is one area that Jurgen Klopp should be looking at adding to in the near future, with plenty of options there but certain figures ageing and others still maturing.

Granted, Bellingham is extremely young, too, but he already plays with such poise and his mix of technical quality and physical prowess make him a special prospect. If Liverpool have to wait a year it will be worth it, although Maddock says something drastic could cause a move this summer, so don’t rule it out completely quite yet.

In other news, Liverpool are eyeing a shock move for one Champions League-winning player. Read more here.

Celtic not only ended their 2021/22 SPFL season with the league title under their belt but they also did it whilst boasting the best-attacking record in the top flight.

Having played 38 games, the Hoops found the net 92 times, which is 12 more than their fierce rivals, Rangers, did.

One player that ended up playing a rather significant role in Celtic’s attack this season was Jota.

Signed on loan from Portuguese club Benfica back in the previous summer transfer window, the winger played in 29 league games for the Bhoys.

In those appearances, the 23-year-old scored ten goals and delivered 11 assists along the way.

Rather unsurprisingly, there have been reports claiming that the Hoops are looking to make the winger’s stay at Parkhead permanent this summer.

Should they be successful in those attempts, the focus can then shift to potentially bringing new players to the club and help strengthen Ange Postecoglou’s squad.

One figure that the Bhoys have been linked with recently that could form a scary attacking partnership with Jota is Ferencvaros striker Ryan Mmaee.

With 141 senior club appearances under his belt across all competitions, the 24-year-old striker has scored 49 goals and delivered 25 assists in the process.

This season saw the Moroccan rack up 19 goals and 11 assists in 37 appearances for his current side, which included two games against Celtic in the Europa League.

This shows just how much of a deadly striker he is who can not only score goals but provide them as well.

It also backs up why he was described as being “prolific” for the Hungarian side by journalist Maher Mezahi on Twitter.

Having racked up the second-highest average for shots and dribbles per game in the Europa League this season for his current side, he clearly has the attacking talent to be a suitable addition to the Parkhead club’s ranks.

With all of this in mind, if Celtic can start their next campaign with both Jota and Mmaee in their side, it would give Postecoglou the chance to form a potentially frightening attacking pair that could give the Hoops a great chance to not only possibly regain the SPFL title but to go as far as they can in Europe as well.

In other news: Celtic can replicate CCV masterclass by signing 25y/o gem who’s “one of the very best”

Italian football expert Conor Clancy has been discussing reported West Ham United transfer target Arthur Theate.

What’s been said?

In a recent interview with Football FanCast, Clancy went into detail about the Bologna defender and his “old school” style of play, amid reports that the Hammers have been offered the chance to sign the promising 21-year-old this summer as David Moyes plots a new centre-back signing.

Asked just what type of player the young centre-back is, the journalist said: “He’s almost like a throwback in how he approaches defending. He’s a little bit in your face, he can be a bit aggressive – if he bit someone I wouldn’t be surprised. He’s just an ugly defender, you’d hate to play against him because he could give you a smack.

“But when he has the ball as well he can play. He’s a modern defender crossed with an old school defender in that way – I quite like him.”

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-this-weeks-latest-west-ham-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-and-more” title= “Read the latest West Ham news!”]

Koulibaly 2.0

The old-fashioned, no-nonsense defender has almost become a dying breed in the modern game, although that assessment of the young Belgian would suggest that he is very much a traditional defender first and foremost, with the £2.5k-per-week gem likely to thrive under Moyes’ tutelage.

Despite his youth, the Liege-born starlet has already been called up for senior international duty, making his two Belgium appearances to date against Wales and the Republic of Ireland.

At club level, Theate has shone as part of a youthful and exciting Bologna side, averaging 1.4 interceptions, 1.1 tackles and two clearances per game in Serie A in the 2021/22 campaign, having only joined the club from Oostende last summer on a season-long loan deal.

Having included an obligation to buy in that move, however, it will be the Italian club with whom the Hammers will be dealing in the upcoming window, should they wish to pursue a transfer for the Belgian.

There is seemingly little reason why they wouldn’t want to do so, with the youngster able to combine that hard-nosed defensive approach with quality in possession, as Clancy referenced. He ranks in the top 6% for dribbles completed among those in his position across Europe’s top five leagues, in the top 11% for progressive passes received and in the top 15% for progressive carries.

That ability to play the ball out of the back but also relish his defensive duties has seen him noted by FBRef as a similar player to Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly in terms of his style of play and statistics.

The Senegal international had reportedly been a player on whom Moyes and co were keen just over two years ago, with suggestions that the east Londoners were plotting a £70m bid in January 2020.

Although it is unclear just how much it would take to prise Theate from Bologna, his £9m market value (as per Transfermarkt) would seemingly indicate that he will be a far cheaper option than Koulibaly, with his age also offering him the chance to be a long-term solution at the London Stadium.

IN other news, Cost £1.5m per goal: GSB made a colossal blunder on “strong” £40k-p/w West Ham flop

Injuries to key men in the batting unit won’t help the cause of the visitors, who were blanked in the preceding ODI series

Mohammad Isam in Hamilton26-Feb-2019Whether the Hamilton Test starting later this week is competitive or not will depend to a large extent on Bangladesh’s batsmen: can they handle New Zealand’s swing, delivered at pace, and the bounce? Their 3-0 loss in the ODI series has certainly come as a blow, and injuries could well take away more experience from the batting line-up.Shakib Al Hasan is still recovering from his finger injury and it is likely that Mushfiqur Rahim will also be sidelined because of injuries to his ribcage and finger. A batting side that depends largely on four senior batsmen – Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah the others – having the unit halved isn’t ideal, especially in a country where Bangladesh have mostly struggled.So far on this tour, the new ball, which usually grows in potency when Trent Boult and Tim Southee have it in their hands, has tormented the visitors. Boult took six wickets in three consistently good performances in the ODIs, while Southee took a six-wicket haul in the third game, the only one he played. They will lead the Test attack too, with Neil Wagner and Matt Henry around to help.

We do realise that if we want to play well away from home, we need to cope with the ball that bounces and movesSTEVE RHODES

Bangladesh have looked comfortable when the ball has stopped swinging, and reduced Boult’s effectiveness, but the new red ball usually swings for a longer period than the white ball.In any case, Boult has usually made sure that not much of Bangladesh’s batting have stuck around long enough to make a difference. Bangladesh were 42 for four in the ninth over of the first ODI in Napier, and had lost three wickets in the second ODI in Christchurch by the 13th over. It was similar in the third ODI in Dunedin, where they slipped to 40 for four by the tenth over too.Tamim, the top-order mainstay, has had his worst ODI series (minimum three innings) in the last seven years. Within five days of a superb 141 in the Bangladesh Premier League final in Dhaka, Boult had him caught behind with a late away-swinger in Napier before Henry burst one through his forward prod in the second game. His choice of shot in the third game, charging Southee in the second ball of the innings, was a failed, and faulty, approach to disturb the bowler’s length.Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar too didn’t contribute much at the top, and found annoying ways and times to get out. Liton didn’t look out of form but his footwork in the first game wasn’t up to the mark and he didn’t read the situation well in the second game either. Sarkar, meanwhile, was extravagant as he threw away two good starts, especially so in the first game when his continued presence at the crease might have put the home side under some pressure.Mohammad Mithun makes room for a cut•Getty ImagesCoach Steve Rhodes, who at the start of Bangladesh’s home season had stressed on the need for improvement in overseas conditions, pointed to swing as the concern area for the batsmen.”I think in Test cricket, since West Indies [in July 2018], it was obvious some areas in which we need to work on,” Rhodes said. “We have been doing it ever since. We need to play well off both feet – front and back – as well as cope with the ball bouncing. It won’t be different here. There will possibly be a little bit more swing. Those conditions are different to Bangladesh where the wicket is flat, slow and low.”The batsmen have been working on these areas for the last six months, not just for this series, but we do realise that if we want to play well away from home, we need to cope with the ball that bounces and moves.”Bangladesh’s better performers in the ODI series are mostly, unfortunately, absent. Mohammad Mithun, whose half-centuries in the first two games salvaged some pride for the team, is still recovering from a hamstring injury. And Sabbir Rahman, who made his maiden ODI century in the third game, is back home playing domestic cricket.But Mithun and Sabbir, and to some extent Mohammad Saifuddin, showed how runs are there for the taking after the swing goes away. If circumspection is mixed with aggression smartly, it is perhaps possible to bat long periods in these conditions.A great example is Bangladesh’s batting in the Wellington Test in 2017, when Tamim and Mominul Haque did much of the hard work on a blustery opening day. Shakib and Mushfiqur then built on the foundation, hitting 217 and 159 respectively.On a previous occasion in Hamilton, during the 2015 World Cup, Tamim had played out a probing opening spell from Boult and Southee, which laid the platform for Mahmudullah’s century and a big score from Bangladesh.One key difference this time, however, is Bangladesh’s preparedness (or the lack of it). While in 2015 and 2016-17, they adjusted to the unfamiliar conditions in Australia and New Zealand with extended camps in the region before the tours commenced, this time many of the players had not even recovered from the long flight when they played the first ODI.There has not been an official complaint about the scheduling back home, especially about the BPL, which was shifted from November to January, but it is clear that the team wasn’t given the best chance. Lack of runs has eroded confidence too. But memories of good batting days and a healthy respect for the conditions might yet bring Bangladesh some success in Hamilton.

Never let it be said that our Twitter round-up is short on life-changing advice

Alex Bowden06-Jan-2017

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Hmm. What? Don’t know what you’re on about.So it’s 2017 then. Will the new year bring changes? Will Shaun Pollock finally renounce his long-standing habit of tweeting trite sayings all the time?

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Unless he was just trying to get the last of it out of his system, we’ll take that as a no.What about Chris Gayle. Is he likely to tone things down a touch in the coming year?

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Again, that’s probably a no.Will Shane Warne stop pushing his faintly creepy Warnemojis?

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No.Will Michael Clarke develop a decent sense of humour?

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No.Will Ahmad Shahzad stop quoting himself?

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No.Will Umar Akmal stop publishing faintly ridiculous photos of himself pretty much daily?

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No.You start to ask yourself in what sense this year is actually “new”. Seems much the same as the old one.We suppose that all that has really changed is that another year has passed.

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‘s Jonathan Agnew was awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours. And he’d like it acknowledged.

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But apparently theirs isn’t a unique relationship. It seems that all you have to do to earn such a unique gift is be a BBC sports broadcaster.

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If this is a bit lowbrow, you might want to skip the next tweet too.

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Somewhere in the world there is always a cricketer complaining about air travel on someone else’s behalf.

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Elsewhere in the world there is always a cricketer complaining about jet lag – or boasting about their ability to evade it.

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Even if they aren’t doing so in words.

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Although those plane-sleeping skills are perhaps more a result of circumstance, because a few hours earlier…

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We think you’ll agree that’s a pretty strong way to finish. We can’t imagine for a minute that Mark Richardson would deem such an outro “social media crap”.

The Wanderers has a history of producing result-orientated Test cricket and for England there is the tantalising prospect of being able to secure a series victory

Andrew McGlashan10-Jan-2016After their short break following the second Test in Cape Town, England’s players will return to the day job on Monday as they begin preparations for the third Test at the Wanderers with the chance at a second series victory in South Africa since readmission.They will need to spend the three days ahead of the series resumption adjusting to the new challenges posed by cricket on the Highveld, where the thinner atmosphere allows the ball to travel further and faster, while also pushing the physical endurance of the players – especially the bowlers – in the middle.England, who arrived on Sunday, landed into a region in the midst of a drought. Temperatures had soared to record highs on Friday in Johannesburg (38 degrees) and Pretoria (42.5 degrees). After the bowlers’ toil in Newlands – although from England’s point of view some of that was self-inflicted with fielding errors – they will hope that the hot weather does not mean the Wanderers surface loses the characteristics which make it a result-orientated venue.Although perhaps of limited value, the evidence of the two first-class matches played at the ground in the Sunfoil Series this season – both within the last month – suggests that an even contest between bat and ball should still be on offer. Both games have been victories for the side batting first, the highest team total in eight innings has been 316 for 8 and seamers have taken 61 of the 72 wickets to fall.The Wanderers has not staged a Test for more than two years, when India were the visitors, and although it was a draw it was an epic contest where South Africa finished on 450 for 7 having been set 458. Results are the norm at the ground; before that 2013 match the previous drawn encounter against New Zealand in 2000 with three days ruined by rain. The last draw without significant weather intervention was in 1997.England’s Test matches at the Wanderers have produced some famous moments: Michael Atherton’s unbeaten 185 in 1995 when he and Jack Russell achieved one of the game’s great escapes, being 2 for 4 inside three overs in 1999 against a rampant Allan Donald and in 2005 when Matthew Hoggard and Marcus Trescothick combined to earn England one of their finest overseas victories.The most recent meeting between the teams in Johannesburg was a slightly more prosaic affair as South Africa surged to an innings-and-74-run series-levelling victory in 2010. England arrived following the Christmas-New Year period where, like this time, they had achieved victory in Durban and drawn in Cape Town, although the Newlands encounter on that occasion was an emotionally-fraught nine-wicket down survival.Having also saved the first Test of that 2009-10 series by the skin of their teeth at Centurion, England looked drained during the final encounter and could not cope with Dale Steyn – who is battling to be fit for this Test – and Morne Morkel on the opening day. The pair shared eight wickets in the first innings and 14 across the match as only Paul Collingwood with a second-innings 71 passed fifty. If the series is 1-1 after the Wanderers this time it will set up a terrific conclusion at Centurion, but England will not want to take it that far.

England’s upswing has been pleasing for a number of reasons – but there are still ways in which the system could work better

George Dobell at Old Trafford09-Aug-2014Any victory would have been welcome. After the disappointment of Australia and the drubbing at Lord’s, any sign that England had turned a corner was going to be greeted with relief.But for England to win so convincingly, for England to win consecutive Tests for the first time since July 2013, for England to win within three days after losing the toss and with their younger players contributing so significantly, represented a genuine and heartening step forward in the development of this new-look side.We should be cautious about reaching too many conclusions. That India lost nine wickets in 23 overs after tea on a blameless pitch spoke volumes about a side that was mentally broken. That a captain as experienced as MS Dhoni would charge down the pitch and slog to midwicket when he must have known that poor weather was forecast for days four and five was a dereliction of duty that will prove hard to justify.Moeen Ali’s four wickets were another glowing endorsement of England’s new set-up•Getty ImagesNot since 2005 have India scored fewer runs in a Test and not since 1967 have they been defeated by England in three days. Whatever the rights and the wrongs of the Anderson-Jadeja incident, it appears to have distracted India and they have, arguably at least, won only one of the last 21 sessions of cricket between the sides. Suffice to say, England will face far tougher opposition.But it is not long since England were thrashed by this India team at Lord’s. And it not long since England bemoaned their lack of spin options and their lack of keeping options. It is not long since the doubts over Alastair Cook’s future and the remnants of the Kevin Pietersen debacle dominated coverage of the team. So it now seems safe to conclude, albeit with some caveats, that a few pieces of the jigsaw are coming together for England.The most pleasing aspect of this performance is not that Stuart Broad and James Anderson were close to their best with the ball. And it is not that Ian Bell looked something close to his best with the bat. While the contribution of such senior players was welcome, it should also be expected.No, the most pleasing aspect was the contribution of the younger players who continue to deliver under pressure and continue to offer huge promise for the future.The final day of this Test presented a significant challenge for them. The lead was still small at the start of the day and the experienced batsmen had already been dismissed. But Joe Root and Jos Buttler, two 23-year-olds with bright futures, first saw off the bowlers at their freshest and then accelerated against the second new ball and a seam attack lacking experience.After showing his aggression at Southampton, Buttler showed his ability to defend here. It was not faultless – he was dropped on 34 and should have been run-out on 44 – but he has now contributed exactly the sort of innings required for his team in both his Test innings. It will be worth remembering such achievements when he has the inevitable less bright days.Root, too, may face tougher challenges on quicker pitches and against better attacks. But he is fast developing into England’s middle-order rock: capable of defending or accelerating as required and blessed with the change of gear to render him immensely value. He has already enjoyed a golden summer and there seems no reason it should be an aberration.Then, with Broad unavailable, Anderson unwell – he was off the pitch for more than half an hour – and there being little lateral movement available for the bowlers, there was some pressure on the attack. They knew that the weather forecasts were poor and they knew that they might have only two sessions available in which to win this game. And, largely, they delivered.It was not a perfect performance. While Chris Woakes produced a fine delivery to account for M Vijay – those who suggested he could only bowl the outswinger must have been surprised by the one that nipped back – and Chris Jordan ended the game with a nice bouncer-yorker combination, both young seamers struggled for the requisite consistency. England were blessed that Anderson, despite his illness, was able to take two top-order wickets: he has now bowled 30 balls at Virat Kohli in this series and dismissed him four times for a cost of seven runs.But Moeen Ali continues to improve and impress in equal measure. The pace at which he bowls, the drift he achieves and the turn he can generate should render him an asset on any surface. He remains a work in progress – and continues to work on his doosra – but he has now become, in terms of days, the quickest England offspinner in history to 20 Test wickets: it took him 58 days. For a few minutes in mid-afternoon, his bowling average even dropped below that of his friend and mentor, Saeed Ajmal.It is customary to only look for areas in which to improve in times of defeat. But if England really want to improve, if they want to make success the norm and not the exception, there are several areas in which they need to improve to give it the best chance of success. They are: The Championship needs to be trusted and valued. It has, once again, produced a side that has taken to Test cricket quickly. But if the ECB keeps diluting it with Lions games, young player incentives and the like, the production line could be jeopardised. The Championship schedule needs to be amended so that there are games throughout the season, not just at the start and end. This will provide more opportunities for spinners and test batsmen and bowlers in a variety of conditions. Domestic T20 could still be played on Friday nights; domestic List A cricket could still be played on Sundays. County squads need to be deep enough to play Championship cricket from Monday to Thursday. Groundsmen need to be encouraged and trusted to produce pitches that offer pace, bounce or spin at times. At present, with groundsmen facing judgement from assessors every day, they tend to play safe with slow, low surfaces which provide assistance to modest seamers and bear little comparison to international cricket. Unorthodoxy needs to be encouraged. What England still call “mystery” spin is a mystery no longer in most of the Test-playing world and, while a bowler like Lasith Malinga has proved good enough to win global events for Sri Lanka, such a young bowler emerging in England would probably still have the genius coached out of him. The new ball is currently due after 80 overs in Championship cricket. It may well encourage spinners and make seamers work a little harder, if that was pushed back to 90 or even 100 overs. The schedule of individual players needs to be monitored. While it may well be unrealistic to expect a significant cut in the international schedule – the game is dependent on a certain level of income – the current demands on the top players are unsustainable. Those of the squad required in all three formats are expected to spend around 300 days a years in hotels in 2015. There is no way they can be expected to be at their best for that period. In an attempt to encourage young, English-qualified players, the ECB lobbied for tougher work permit criteria for overseas, Kolpak registrations and the like in county cricket. Combined with the incentives brought in to encourage younger players, this has resulted in a dilution in the depth of quality of county cricket. That risks creating a larger gap between domestic and international cricket and may well need changing. As the example of Saeed Ajmal at Worcestershire shows us, there can be great value for England in the appearance of overseas players in county cricket. In the longer-term, the lack of cricket on free-to-air television represents a serious threat to the development of new talent in England. Already, England are uncomfortably reliant on players from the private school system or those brought up, in part at least, abroad. With so many other sports competing to capture the imagination of young people, it is essential cricket finds a way to appeal more widely. A domestic knockout T20 competition, perhaps incorporating the minor counties, might be one method to appeal to areas currently left untouched.The last couple of weeks have been hugely encouraging for England cricket. But the sense remains that, all too often, victory is in spite of part of the system and not because of it.

From Ramesh Kumar, India
There is a certain dignity to a great cricketer, an icon in his field, relinquishing his chances to be the highest run scorer or wicket taker in history and deciding to quit even when this is distinctly possible if he

Cricinfo25-Feb-2013Ramesh Kumar, India
There is a certain dignity to a great cricketer, an icon in his field, relinquishing his chances to be the highest run scorer or wicket taker in history and deciding to quit even when this is distinctly possible if he carries on for a few more years. Sir Donald Bradman could have played one more test and scored a few runs that would have carried his test average over 100. The fact that he didn’t and quit with his average just under 100, in my opinion, has added to his mystique and greatness.Warne, Lara, Steve Waugh – to name a few – all quit when they could have continued and accumulated enough runs or wickets to cross milestones that could have possibly remained unbroken for a long long time. Indeed we find that the very great sportspersons fall short of perfection. The lack of perfection often only makes them more admirable as they become more human and less robotic.On the other hand, a sportsman who merely accumulates points or runs chasing a statistical target seems to lose some of the lustre although he may achieve his target. This is why I feel – that the ‘fabulous four’, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman – should chose to retire at a time when they are still playing well, before they are forced into it by frequent failures and the emergence of new talent that is bound to expose their decline in sharper contrast.I guess this must be in the minds of most people who love these players, but out of respect for the icons, only the most brashly outspoken media may express this thought in public, as of now. But such reticence may not last long. What is the point in achieving a target in bits and pieces when one is only a shadow of what one was in the peak days? The icons do show flashes of brilliance now and then, but these are too few and far in between these days, showing that the decline in their powers is real and representing the irreversible losses associated with age.If Sachin retires now, people will remember him as the greatest batsman India has produced and also one of the greatest who adorned the game in its history. On the other hand, if he continues to play another 5 tests to get the hundred odd runs that he needs to become the highest run scorer in cricket, it will only be a pain to watch and the target he achieves would even lose some of the gloss it is supposed to have. In any case statistical targets have not much meaning except to the frenzied media with a penchant for the hyperbole and who seek value where there is very little.

After Simon Katich’s axing, Australia must find a long-term opening partner for Shane Watson. ESPNcricinfo runs the rule over the candidates who could be given chances in the next couple of years

Brydon Coverdale10-Jun-2011Phillip Hughes, 22 (NSW)
Certainly the first in line, although he failed to have any impact during the final three Tests against England last summer when he replaced the injured Katich. However, the selectors were impressed by his 138 and 93 in the Sheffield Shield final in March, and he also made a century in the last Shield game before the decider. His technique will always be questioned, but twin hundreds in his second Test, in tough conditions in Durban two years ago, show that he can score at the highest level. One of the most fascinating subplots in Australia’s next two Test tours, to Sri Lanka and South Africa, will be whether Hughes can grab his opportunities. If not, he’ll be under enormous pressure come the home summer.Usman Khawaja, 24 (NSW)
A fine young batsman who the selectors want to embrace, Khawaja’s main issue is that he doesn’t open for New South Wales. But then, Katich wasn’t opening for his state when he was thrust into the role in Test cricket in 2008, and nor was Justin Langer when he suddenly became a champion Test opener in 2001. Khawaja’s poise was on display in the Sydney Ashes Test when he replaced the injured Ricky Ponting, and with Ponting likely to stay at No.3, Khawaja would need to drop down or move up if he is to keep his place in the side in the immediate future. In 33 first-class games he has made seven hundreds and averages 47.30, and one way or another, he should become a permanent part of the Test team over the next few years.Shaun Marsh, 27 (WA)
Like Khawaja, Marsh doesn’t typically open for his state in the longer format. Unlike Khawaja, his record at first-class level is a fraction disappointing. For a batsman of Marsh’s talent, six tons in 60 first-class appearances is below par, although last season he managed one century and three fifties in only four games, his season having been disrupted by injury. In Marsh’s favour, he has proven himself capable of performing at international level, and his ODI record is strong. In 2009, the selectors made Watson a Test opener based in part on the fact that he had shown ability against the new ball in one-day internationals. It’s not out of the question that Marsh might win a similar vote of confidence.Nic Maddinson, 19 (NSW)
He might not be ready just yet, but expect Maddinson to put his hand up for higher honours over the next couple of years. In October, he became the youngest New South Wales player to score a century in his first-class debut, and he had added a second ton by the end of the summer. Importantly, both came when he was opening the batting. A highly-talented left-hander, Maddinson could very well become part of Australia’s plans for the 2013 Ashes, and if he thrives during this winter’s Australia A tour to Zimbabwe, there could even be a call-up sooner rather than later.Ed Cowan, 28 (Tas)
A solid domestic performer over the past couple of seasons, Cowan opened for Australia A in Hobart last year during England’s first warm-up match of the Ashes tour. He made thirties in both innings and finished the Australian summer with a century in Tasmania’s Sheffield Shield final victory, which earned him the Man of the Match award. However, he turns 29 next week and is perhaps not the young up-and-comer the selectors want, although if he can manage a huge domestic season in 2011-12, he won’t be out of contention.David Warner, 24 (NSW)
Along with Maddinson, Hughes and Khawaja, Warner is heading to Zimbabwe later this month as part of Australia A’s four-day squad. It’s a big step forward for a man who had been viewed as a short-format slogger, so much so that he made his Twenty20 international debut before he’d even played a first-class match. He still has only seven first-class appearances to his name, but posted a mature century while opening in the second-last match of the Sheffield Shield season. A year ago, Warner playing Test cricket seemed about as likely as Katich making Australia’s Twenty20 team. How times change.And who won’t get the job?

Mark Cosgrove, 26 (Tas): Has time on his side but is unlikely to win a baggy green unless his fitness improves dramatically. Has opened at domestic level and topped the Sheffield Shield run tally last summer.Michael Klinger, 30 (SA): Realistically, has probably missed his chance. Had two huge summers with South Australia but fell away last season when given the state captaincy.Phil Jaques, 32 (NSW): The forgotten man. Three hundreds in 11 Tests was a fine record but he has not been the same after a severe back injury, and at 32 his ship has sailed.Chris Rogers, 33 (Vic): Like Jaques, he has had a taste of Test cricket. But will be 34 in August, and is therefore too old for a selection panel looking to the future.

Seven fronline left-armers in an ODI, six-less careers, most captains in a side and more

Steven Lynch16-Oct-2007The regular Tuesday column in which Steven Lynch answers your questions
about (almost) any aspect of cricket:

I have been trying to find out the answer to this quiz question for ages: who was the only bowler to dismiss Geoff Boycott for a pair? asked Stephen Robinson from England
It’s not surprising that you had difficulty finding it, as it was a long time ago, towards the start of
Geoff Boycott’s
long career. He was dismissed without scoring 45 times in first-class cricket in all, but only once did he bag a pair of spectacles in the same match – while playing for Yorkshire against Kent at Bradford in 1967. The man who outfoxed him in both innings was the tall Kent fast bowler Norman Graham. The Park Avenue pitch was affected by rain, which washed out the first day and allowed only an hour’s play on the second. Yorkshire were bowled out for 40 in their first innings, and had struggled to 13 for 2 in the second before more rain meant the match ended in a soggy draw.In the recent ODI at Chandigarh India fielded four frontline left-arm bowlers, while Australia had three. Is this a record? asked Rajesh Sanghvi from the United Arab Emirates
Seven frontline left-arm bowlers in a match, as happened at Chandigarh last week, is indeed a record for any ODI (for the purposes of this question we categorised a “frontline” bowler as one who has averaged more than five overs per match over his career). The previous record was six bowlers, which has happened seven times now, all of them since 2000. It was also the 20th occasion that one side had fielded four frontline left-arm bowlers in the same game: 17 of those instances have been by Bangladesh in the last 18 months, while the first two were by Sri Lanka at home to South Africa in August 2004.Glenn McGrath never hit a six during a career of 250 ODIs, in which he had 68 innings. Is this the longest career without a six? asked Shaheer Shikrani from Pakistan
Glenn McGrath’s 250 ODIs without hitting a six is indeed a record – Allan Donald is next with 164 – but India’s Manoj Prabhakar had 98 innings in his 130 ODIs without ever clearing the boundary. (It should be noted that there are still some matches in which precise details of boundaries hit are not available, so the accuracy of these figures is not guaranteed.) Prabhakar (1858 runs), Dion Ebrahim of Zimbabwe (1443 in 76 innings) and Boycott (1082) all made 1000 runs in ODIs without the benefit of any sixes. In Test matches (with the same warning about missing data for some games) England’s Derek Underwood played the most matches (86) and had the most innings (116) without hitting a six, but the leader in terms of runs scored appears to be Vijay Manjrekar of India, with 3208, not far ahead of New Zealand’s Glenn Turner (2991).What is the record for the most captains in any Test or ODI team? asked Vinayak Joshi
There have been 15 occasions on which a Test team has included eight men who have captained their country at some stage, ten of them by Pakistan (three times in 1967, twice more in 1976-77, four times in 1992-93, and most recently against Sri Lanka in February 2000). The first team to achieve the distinction was India, against Pakistan in 1952-53, while England managed it twice against Australia in 1981, and once the following winter in India. The most recent instance is a rather artificial one – the World XI side that lost the unloved Super Series Test to Australia at Sydney in October 2005 included eight men who had captained at Test level. There are numerous occasions in ODIs when a team has included eight former, present and future captains, several of them by composite teams. The most recent instance by a single country was by Pakistan against India in March 2003.

Who was the cricketer known as “Bomber” who played in the 1950s, and did he represent England in Tests? asked Indrajith Karunaratne
This was Bryan Douglas Wells, more usually known as “Bomber”, who was born in Gloucester in 1930. He was solidly built, and bowled slow offspin from a short run-up – but he was good enough to take 998 wickets at an average
of 24.26 in a long first-class career that started in 1951 for his native Gloucestershire and finished at Nottinghamshire in 1965 (he moved to Trent Bridge in 1960). “Bomber” never did play for England, probably because his batting and fielding were not terribly special, but he was a much-loved character who brought a lot of fun to the county game.I keep hearing that if Don Bradman had scored four in his last innings his Test average would have ended up as 100. But wouldn’t that only have happened if he had been not out, or scored 100? asked Rasbihari Mathur from India
No, because Don Bradman started what turned out to be his last Test innings, at The Oval in 1948, with 6996 runs from 69 completed innings, so he was averaging 101.38 before he faced a ball. If he’d managed to score four and then been out, he would have had 7000 runs from 70 completed innings, and averaged a round 100. But the England legspinner Eric Hollies dismissed him second ball for a duck, so The Don was left with 6996 runs from 70 innings, and that famous average of 99.94. If Australia had had a second innings (which was unlikely as they had already shot England out
for 52) Bradman would have needed four not out, or 104 if he was out, to get back to an average of 100.And there’s an afterthought to last week’s question about the record from the first Test of all that still stands, from Charles Davis from Melbourne
“Perhaps the record for the oldest breakable Test record should go to James Southerton, who remains the oldest player on Test debut (49 years, 119 days), set when he took the field on the first day of that first Test in 1876-77, thus pre-dating Charles Bannerman’s record by a day. It is a record that could, in theory anyway, be broken in any Test match. Bannerman also still holds the record for outscoring his best-scoring team-mate (by a ratio of more than nine), and his score remains the highest by an Australian on Test debut.”