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Half-centuries from Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan and Mehedi Hasan buoyed Bangladesh after Umesh Yadav made light work of the top order

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu11-Feb-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details5:02

Kalra: Shakib snatched the momentum away from India

India made light work of the Bangladesh top order before fifties from Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, and Mehedi Hasan Miraz hauled the visitors to 322 for 6 in reply to India’s 687. Bangladesh’s most experienced batsmen, Shakib and Mushfiqur, sparked the resistance with a 107-run partnership off 165 balls. Mushfiqur and the 19-year-old Mehedi, who scored his maiden half-century, then saw off the second new ball and stubbornly played out a wicketless post-tea session.Glaring errors on the first two days had put Mushfiqur’s wicketkeeping and captaincy in the spotlight. On the third afternoon, his running was in the spotlight, and he was frequently caught ball-watching early in his innings, but he overcame it to progress to an unbeaten 81.When Shakib danced out and drilled R Ashwin to mid-off in the 50th over, Mushfiqur was late to respond to his partner’s call for a single. Ravindra Jadeja hunted the ball down and speared it to Wriddhiman Saha, who broke the bails. Mushfiqur had brought out a desperate full-length dive, but his bat had popped up in the air momentarily. The shoulder of the bat was seemingly on the line when the bail came off the groove. Chris Gaffney, the TV umpire, ultimately gave Mushfiqur the benefit of the doubt. He was on 18 at that point.Mushfiqur then accumulated with sweeps while Shakib reached his maiden Test half-century against India off 69 balls. The scorecard will tell you Shakib hit 14 boundaries, but it was a chancy innings throughout. He repeatedly drove away from the body against the seamers and often drove out of the footmarks against the spinners. The century stand ended when Shakib skipped out and heedlessly dragged a catch against the spin to mid-on.It was a repeat of his fateful shot against Mitchell Santner on the fifth day in Wellington in January when the Test was on the line. This time he gave Ashwin his 249th wicket in Tests. He was kept waiting for the 250th.Mushfiqur Rahim brought out a variety of sweeps against the spinners•AFP

A sure-footed Mehedi took over from Shakib and ably complemented Mushfiqur’s patience. Mehedi claimed 51 of the unbroken 87-run stand for the seventh wicket after Jadeja had removed Sabbir Rahman ten minutes before tea.Mehedi dared to club Ashwin over midwicket and even picked a carrom ball and drove it exquisitely through cover. He got to his fifty when he late-cut Ashwin for four in the penultimate over of the day. In the last over, Mushfiqur became the fourth Bangladesh player, after Habibul Bashar, Tamim Iqbal, and Shakib Al Hasan, to reach 3000 runs in Test cricket.Things weren’t as rosy for Bangladesh in the morning session. Tamim fell in the third over of the day, taking on Umesh’s arm from the deep. A mix-up resulted in both Tamim and Mominul Haque stopping near the middle of the pitch while running a second. Umesh swooped in from long leg, attacked the ball, and fired a throw to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the bowler, who collected and under-armed adroitly onto the stumps.In addition to being uncertain while running between the wickets, Mominul was uncertain outside his off stump. Virat Kohli reinforced the slip cordon and even posted a silly mid-on to apply more pressure. Mominul’s tentative stay ended on 12 when Umesh trapped him in front with reverse-swing.Mahmudullah survived a tight lbw call on 6 off Bhuvneshwar with India’s review of Joel Wilson’s on-field not-out decision returning umpire’s call on leg stump. He managed to regroup to put on 45 with Shakib before Ishant Sharma had him lbw with an inswinger for 28. This time Wilson raised his finger, and Mahmudullah coaxed Shakib and reviewed only for ball-tracking to suggest it would have grazed leg stump.

And they’ll have to balance those aims with that of winning the series which is tied after two games

The Preview by Arun Venugopal in Mohali22-Oct-20161:10

‘Goal is to win the series’ – Southee

Match facts

Sunday, October 23, 2016
Start time 1330 local (0800 GMT)Landscape-gazing from an airplane window is a fascinating exercise, mostly because the topography of each city tells its own story. While Dharamsala has gorgeously irregular shapes, with its jagged hills and silent valleys, Delhi’s tightly-packed clusters paint a chaotic visual. New Zealand’s performance in the first two ODIs mirrored these patterns.There was one big innings in between several small ones in Dharamsala. Then the bowlers banded together and found redemption in a panicky finish in Delhi. The 1-1 scoreline may offer temporary respite, but for New Zealand to pull ahead their batting needs to go beyond the twin-prongs of Tom Latham and captain Kane Williamson. Should they replicate the consistency of Chandigarh’s neatly carved, symmetric landscape in their performances, they would have done their job.India, on the other hand, won’t worry over the Delhi loss. MS Dhoni’s grouse about the absence of big partnerships may be justified, but the middle and lower-middle orders didn’t look entirely out of depth. Kedar Jadhav was very good before Hardik Pandya’s bravado, in the company of Umesh Yadav, almost took them home. India will want to win the series, but in making allowance for the younger players to make mistakes, learn from them and find their feet in their respective roles, they could also keep the bigger picture of the Champions Trophy in mind.

Form guide

India LWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
New Zealand WLWLW

In the spotlight

Kedar Jadhav has provided excellent value for money in this series. He is very new to the role of part-time bowler but has delivered wickets on order in both the games. Then he smashed a 37-ball 41 on a sluggish Kotla surface where batsmen struggled to score quickly. If Jadhav could be moulded into a finisher alongside Pandya, he would count as among India’s biggest gains from this series.Tom Latham has the most runs for New Zealand on the tour. He also has the most fifties. While he carried his bat in Dharamsala, his dismissal against the run of play in Delhi slowed down his team’s scoring rate. With the middle order not pulling its weight, Latham will be expected to bat deep into the innings again.Kedar Jadhav has been making the most of his run with the team•BCCI

Team news

India’s media manager Nishant Arora confirmed Suresh Raina, who has been recovering from a fever, wasn’t travelling with the squad. This could mean Jadhav getting an extended run in the middle order. Rohit Sharma trained with no apparent discomfort after he seemed to suffer a cramp in his left arm during the second ODI.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Ajinkya Rahane, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Manish Pandey, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Kedar Jadhav, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Amit Mishra, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Jasprit BumrahJames Neesham was seen having a long bowl in the nets. With the Mohali pitch not as dry as Delhi’s, he might come in place of Anton Devcich. Tim Southee ruled out resting Trent Boult or Matt Henry as part of New Zealand’s workload-management strategy for the rest of the series. New Zealand (probable): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Corey Anderson, 6 Luke Ronchi (wk), 7 James Neesham/Anton Devcich, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Matt Henry

Pitch and conditions

Southee said he was pleased to see some grass on the pitch in Mohali, although not much could be read into that considering the venue has traditionally been good for batting in ODIs. In the afternoon, head curator Daljeet Singh and Dhoni were seen having a long chat, following which the light roller was used on the pitch.

Stats and trivia

• India have won three of their last four ODIs in Mohali
• MS Dhoni needs 22 runs to become the third wicketkeeper to 9000 runs in ODIs. Kumar Sangakkara and Adam Gilchrist are the other two.
• Kane Williamson has the highest aggregate (396 runs) for a New Zealand batsman in a five-match ODI series. Ross Taylor is second on the list with 375 runs. Both batsmen achieved this during New Zealand’s tour to England last year.

Quotes

Ross [Taylor] has had a difficult Test series, but he is a class batsman. Every cricketer goes through form slumps. He is obviously disappointed and he wants to leave with runs. We know there is a big score around the corner for him.
Anil [Kumble] doesn’t talk a lot about technique, but mentally he helps a lot. He talks a lot about the mental frame of mind even when you are not playing in the XI. His batting tips to tailenders, especially, have been very crucial as well.

Alex Moir had taken 6 for 155 against England in Christchurch in 1951. Sixty-five years later, Colin de Grandhomme took 6 for 41 to finish with the best figures by a New Zealander on debut; Pakistan were bowled out for 133

The Report by Shashank Kishore17-Nov-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:36

Fernando: Vintage New Zealand medium-pace bowling

It was a tale of two debutants on a fascinating day of Test cricket where ball dominated the bat. Although the final analysis of 13 wickets for 237 runs would suggest a menacing surface, the truth was that a lot of batsmen, especially from Pakistan, were out poking or trying to play expansive drives. New Zealand fared much better with the bat, and held the aces as the first Test moved forward at a breakneck speed despite an entire day being washed out by rain in Christchurch.Colin de Grandhomme, the Harare-born Auckland allrounder who had previously taken just one five-wicket haul in 83 first-class games, had the best figures (6 for 41) by a New Zealand debutant. It meant Pakistan, sent in to bat, were rolled over for 133. Misbah-ul-Haq, captaining his country for the 50th time, top scored with a typically feisty 31 off 108 deliveries during the course of which he proved it was the top order’s impatience and not a menacing Hagley Oval green top that contributed to their downfall; no other batsman crossed 20.In reply, Jeet Raval, the other debutant, replacing Martin Guptill, overcame a testing new-ball burst to finish 55 not out as New Zealand recovered from early losses of Tom Latham, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor to end on 104 for 3, trailing by just 29 runs. Playing late and committing himself wholeheartedly to his strokes, both off the front and back foot, he picked off seven boundaries and looked at ease even as his partners largely struggled; particularly against Mohammad Amir in a probing opening spell that read 6-2-6-1.Things could have been much worse for New Zealand had Henry Nicholls, replacing Luke Ronchi, not substituted flamboyance for grit and patience to finish unbeaten on 29. The fourth-wicket pair added 64, but in blunting out 19.4 overs, they ensured New Zealand had limited the new-ball damage to potentially make run-scoring a lot easier on the morrow.The surface demanded patience which Pakistan clearly lacked, as their top order crumbled after a solid 31-run opening stand that frustrated New Zealand. In trying to bowl full and swing the ball late, their new ball pair of Tim Southee and Trent Boult either slipping the ball down the leg side or bowl it full and wide in the first hour as Sami Aslam and Azhar Ali went into their shell, seemingly happy to blunt the new ball.Ina ddition to a half-century on debut, Raval also took two excellent catches in the slips•AFP

Then Williamson turned to de Grandhomme’s seam-ups over Neil Wagner’s bustling pace, and the move worked immediately. After two poor overs in which he sprayed the ball, de Grandhomme broke through when he scythed through Azhar’s defence with an in-dipper. The old adage of ‘one brings two’ ensured when Southee, brought back form the other end, sent back Aslam, who jabbed hard to get a thick edge to Raval at second slip.Babar Azam was reprieved on 4, but couldn’t curb his instincts of trying to drive on the up as he was also pouched in the slips. When Younis Khan’s flashy cover drive to a delivery he could have left alone off de Grandhomme was pouched by Raval in the cordon, Pakistan had sensationally slipped from 31 without loss to 56 for 4.Pakistan slowly rebuilt through a 32-run stand, but the lunch break came to New Zealand’s rescue as Asad Shafiq, demoted to No. 6 after a fruitless stint at No. 3 in the UAE, poked one to gully. Sarfraz Ahmed tried to unsettle the bowlers by walking outside the crease, giving bowlers the charge and play a typically aggressive game. Not even being hit on the helmet by a steep bouncer altered his approach. Eventually a tame waft resulted in a simple catch at gully to a relieved Todd Astle, who put down a chance earlier in the day.Watching the carnage unfold, Misbah continued to bat on in the hope that he would find some support from the tail. But such was the nature of Pakistan’s collapse that Williamson resisted temptation to give his faster men a break, and go for the kill. Boult and Southee overcame insipid starts to finish with two wickets apiece.For a while it looked like New Zealand’s top order would match Pakistan’s indiscretions. After Tom Latham was lbw to Amir, Williamson, in particular, fell tamely when he pushed away from the body – neither attempting a punch nor a full-blooded cut shot – to be caught at slip. Ross Taylor, all at sea against Sohail Khan’s late away-swing, was snaffled down leg side to extend his lean patch to 10 innings now to open up the game.With over 25 overs left, two more wickets then may have tilted the scales Pakistan’s way. That it didn’t was largely due to Raval’s steadfast determination and Nicholl’s grit that capped off an eventful day.

Chelsea are reportedly interested in signing Paris Saint-Germain right-back Achraf Hakimi in the summer transfer window, and the Morocco international could be the man to replace the ageing Cesar Azpilicueta at Stamford Bridge.

Could Chelsea sign Hakimi?

According to Football Insider, both Chelsea and Manchester United are prepared to move for the 24-year-old defender ahead of next season after the Ligue 1 champions made it clear that they are open to offers for the former Real Madrid man.

It was suggested by the same outlet late last month that £60m would be enough to prise Hakimi away from the Parc des Princes this summer, with the Blues still said to be keen on signing him after missing out back in 2021.

Christophe Galtier's side are said to be frustrated at their lack of success in the Champions League and are planning a major rebuild, which could see regular starters such as Hakimi leave.

However, the latest report suggests that it is Manchester United who currently lead the race to sign the defender, given that he would prefer a side playing Champions League football next season – while Todd Boehly could be forced to sell before he buys next summer due to Financial Fair Play restrictions.

If he could be tempted into a move to Stamford Bridge, it could allow the Blues to finally get rid of club stalwart Azpilicueta, with the 33-year-old having struggled immensely in recent performances – with an own goal against Brentford and a horrible first half against Arsenal in midweek.

Could Chelsea ditch Azpilicueta for Hakimi?

Although the Spaniard is something of a club icon at Chelsea having made over 500 appearances since arriving from Marseille, it seems clear now that the 33-year-old is way past his best.

While he is contracted for another year until 2024, the potential arrival of Hakimi, as well as Malo Gusto and Reece James, would surely leave little room for the veteran defender at Stamford Bridge.

This season has seen the PSG man, who earns £247k per week, contribute an impressive four goals and three assists in 26 Ligue 1 appearances, averaging a strong 6.91 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

Azpilicueta meanwhile, has averaged a mediocre 6.52 rating for his displays in the Premier League, with no goals or assists to his name.

The Moroccan has also averaged far more tackles (2 vs 1.5), key passes (1.2 vs 0.5) and dribbles (0.9 vs 0.3) per game than the Chelsea man, so could be a big upgrade next season.

With Boehly wanting to oversee a youthful revolution at Stamford Bridge, it makes a lot of sense to swap an ageing has-been such as Azpilicueta for an exciting younger talent such as Hakimi, who was described as an "extraordinary" player by Brazilian legend Ronaldo during his time at Inter.

After hosts West Indies made a statement of intent by beating South Africa in the tri-series opener, they now have to take on the top-ranked ODI side, Australia

The Preview by Firdose Moonda04-Jun-2016Match factsSunday, June 5, 2016
Start time: 1300 local (1700 GMT)Big pictureThere are three teams in this triangular series after all. Hosts West Indies made a statement, showing they are not just there to make up the numbers, with a victory over South Africa in their opener. Now they have to take on the bigger boys.Australia saunter into this series as the top-ranked ODI side laden with superstars, many of whom are returning from injury. Mitchell Starc headlines the list, having recovered from an ankle injury that kept him out of the game for six months. Captain Steven Smith (wrist), Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh (both side strain), all pulled out of the IPL with niggles but traveled to the Caribbean for this event.Australia could have opted to leave some of them out, as South Africa have done with Dale Steyn and West Indies with Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy, but Australians don’t do things in half measures. Even though this series may not be top priority for a team that has a busy few months, they’re taking it seriously and remain the favourites to walk away winners.For West Indies, who already have points on the board, sustaining momentum will be their aim. They had not played ODI cricket since November 2015 before their win over South Africa and are still finding their rhythm in the format. At Providence, that rhythm needs to be slow and calculating, something West Indies are not always known for, but which they will need to keep doing.Form guideWest Indies WLLLL (last five completed games most recent first)
Australia LWLLWIn the spotlightWhile West Indies’ spinners impressed in their opening match, their seamers Carlos Brathwaite, Jerome Taylor and Jason Holder put in strong supporting roles to keep South Africa quiet. Their modus operandi was pace off the ball, cutters and cross-seam deliveries in the middle and latter parts of the innings but they will want to start better to keep Australia’s aggressive top order in check.All eyes will be on Starc, who could become the fastest man to 100 wickets. He needs ten more scalps in, at most, six matches to ensure he gets to the landmark before Saqlain Mushtaq, who achieved it in 53 games. But before he thinks about that, Starc will be anxious to show he is fully fit and game-ready. He has not played cricket since the inaugural day-night Test in November 2015 and will use this series to ease his way back in.Team newsAfter their win over South Africa, West Indies are unlikely to make any changes for the second match, in the same conditions.West Indies: 1 Johnson Charles, 2 Andre Fletcher, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 7 Jason Holder (capt), 8 Carlos Brathwaite, 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Jerome Taylor, 11 Sulieman BennStarc’s expected comeback is the main talking point in Australia’s team selection but there are also a few other names to look out for. Like South Africa and West Indies, Australia are likely to field two specialist spinners with Adam Zampa joining Nathan Lyon in the XI. Smith said Australia would wait for a pitch inspection before the game before deciding whether to field two spinners or three pacers, with Scott Boland likely to be picked in case of the latter.Australia: 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Adam Zampa, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Nathan LyonPitch and conditionsOn the evidence of the first match, the Providence pitch does not allow for free-flowing stokeplay. It is a slow surface which supports spin and batsmen have to work hard for their runs. As has been the case throughout the week, rain is expected in the morning, with the weather drying out later on.Stats and trivia Australia have won four of their last five tri-series, which also included West Indies. Pakistan won the other one. Ramdin needs 66 more to reach 2000 ODI runsQuotes”I like the way the guys held the nerve. They were very composed. On this pitch, you need to spend a little time batting. We made it a little difficult for ourselves. In the next game we need to tighten up, focus on the strike rotation and then we will be much better off.”
“I think for this wicket we’ve got a good mix; guys who can penetrate the wicket quite hard and hit good areas, a couple of spinners and guys who can bowl a lot of cutters, which are going to work well on that wicket. So I think we’ve got the balance right for the first game.”

Arsenal's signing of Ben White was widely criticised back in 2021 after the centre-back struggled in his first few performances, but his displays this season in the Gunners' title challenge have seen him prove everyone wrong.

How much is Ben White worth now?

Mikel Arteta's side announced the signing of White from Brighton in July 2021, with the former Leeds United loanee joining in a deal worth £50m.

He was criticised by Sky Sports pundits, notably Gary Neville, after a difficult debut for the defender in the 2-0 defeat against newly-promoted Brentford in the opening game of the Premier League's 2021/22 campaign, but he is now a hugely important player in this extremely impressive Arsenal side.

Former Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor was another who was less than impressed with White's performances last season, despite the 25-year-old averaging a solid 6.78 rating from WhoScored across his 32 appearances in the top flight.

He told Football Insider: “Arsenal’s defence is nowhere near good enough to get top-four. For me, Ben White is very overrated, I watched him against Newcastle towards the end of the season and he was absolutely dreadful.

“He lacks pace, he lacks aggression. Yes, he’s good on the ball but he’s not a defensive midfielder, he’s a centre-half."

While the pundit was wrong about White's overall ability and Arsenal's defensive capabilities, given they sit top of the Premier League with just 26 goals conceded, he was right to an extent about the England international not being a centre-back, as he has starred at right-back in Arteta's side this season following the emergence of William Saliba alongside Gabriel.

This season has seen White earn an impressive 6.85 rating from WhoScored across his 28 top-flight appearances, with one goal and three assists to his name, with a title win certainly on the cards for the young defender, so early into his Arsenal career.

Unsurprisingly, the 25-year-old's emergence as a key player in a side top of the Premier League has seen his market value shoot up during his one-and-a-half-year spell at the Emirates.

When White joined, he was valued at just €28m (£24.7m) by Transfermarkt, but the same website now values him at €50m (£44.1m), which represents a significant 78% increase.

With Arsenal favourites for the title and certain to be playing in the Champions League next season, White's transfer value is only likely to increase further, as he continues to prove those who doubted him wrong.

Journalist Dean Jones has predicted that Sean Dyche could end up "loving" Everton striker Ellis Simms as he has the potential to keep the club from relegation.

What's the latest on Ellis Simms and Everton?

Back in January, the Toffees looked to be in a really dire situation as they sacked Frank Lampard having not won a Premier League game since October.

However, in recent weeks form has changed somewhat and Dyche will see his team enter the International break 15th on the table, two points above the bottom three.

In their last outing, Simms managed to grab a superb solo goal to rescue a point for Everton against Chelsea way from home with just one minute of the 90 to play.

With that in mind, while speaking on Chasing Green Arrows, Jones explained how the 22-year-old could be a good fit for new manager Dyche.

He said: "He's better than Maupay, isn't he? So he's already shown that. At least he's got some front about him and can charge through. He looks very driven, doesn't he?

"And he's a big lad. I mean, that's the sort of player you can just imagine Dyche absolutely loving. And you want that hunger in someone to prove a point and he looks like he's got that, too.

"So could be a hero at Everton by the end of the season."

Is Simms a better option for Everton than Maupay?

In all competitions, Simms has actually scored a very tidy eight goals from 23 outings, with two assists to his name as well. However, seven of these efforts were on loan with Sunderland in the Championship.

That means his strike against Chelsea was his first in six outings since being recalled from the Black Cats in January. Even so, across that time, he's only been on the pitch for 110 minutes.

Neal Maupay, on the other hand, has been regularly involved for Everton but still only has just one goal in 22 outings, for a total of 1,096 mins of game time across all competitions.

With that in mind, it's not hard to see why Jones has suggested that the 22-year-old has more to offer than the Frenchman. And seeing as Maupay didn't get off the bench against Chelsea while Simms did, it seems quite likely that Dyche agrees.

It will certainly be interesting to see if the young forward can continue to help his team in the midst of their relegation battle or if this was just a one-off – much like Maupay's only goal of the season.

West Brom conceded in the final dying moments at the Hawthorns last match to lose to Leicester City 2-1, exposed on the break after overcommitting numbers with Harry Winks sliding in to convert a crucial winner for Enzo Maresca's Foxes.

Carlos Corberan will hope that his Baggies side won't be too disheartened by the nature of narrow defeat, that loss was only West Brom's second loss from their last five Championship matches with wins coming in the other contests.

Grady Diangana continues to underperform for the West Midlands side which will be a worry for Corberan, the exciting Congolese forward coming away from the Leicester match with a dire overall 6.2 Sofascore rating.

It was a lacklustre 75-minute display from the Baggies number 11 – only mustering up one shot all game which was blocked – with his first team future in jeopardy if he continues to underwhelm.

On the contrary, former West Brom dud Kamil Grosicki – who can usually operate on the opposite flank to where Diangana regularly features for his team – is now outperforming the misfiring 25-year-old with his new employers back in his native Poland.

How much West Brom signed Kamil Grosicki for

West Brom must have thought they'd struck gold when they signed a then in-form Grosicki for a reported fee of £800k with add ons, poaching the winger from Hull City.

Grosicki had been a consistent bright spark for the Tigers amidst turmoil off the field alongside Jarrod Bowen, the popular Polish attacker breaking Hull hearts when he moved on – scoring 26 goals and assisting a further 27 over four seasons at the MKM Stadium.

The move to West Brom just didn't work out for Grosicki however, leaving the Hawthorns on a free transfer after a torrid short stay at the club.

Kamil Grosicki's statistics at West Brom

Grosicki would only manage to score one goal for the Baggies from 19 appearances, the attacking midfielder never acclimatising to his new surroundings in the west Midlands fully.

It led to Grosicki having a frosty relationship with then West Brom boss Sam Allardyce, the one-time Bolton Wanderers boss turned Baggies short-term appointment calling the former Tigers man out for rejecting a move away from the club that could have been a lifeline.

Allardyce was rather blunt when questioned about Grosicki's lack of opportunities at the Hawthorns in the first team: "He could've gone to Nottingham Forest, but he refused."

Instead, Grosicki would have to pick up the pieces of his disintegrating football career back in his native Poland when he was released by the Baggies in 2021 with the 35-year-old now having the last laugh.

Grosicki would rejoin Pogoń Szczecin, the club that started the Polish winger's footballing journey in 2006 that saw him play in the EFL and beyond.

Kamil Grosicki's statistics since leaving West Brom

The 35-year-old, who now wears the captain's armband for his hometown club, has been the standout performer this season for Pogoń Szczecin.

Scoring 13 times in total during his first full season back on home soil, the experienced attacker has eight goals and nine assists in all competitions so far this campaign.

Three of those goal contributions even came in Europa Conference qualifying for Pogoń Szczecin, helping his team beat Northern Irish opposition Linfield 5-2 away at Windsor Park.

In contrast, Diangana for the Baggies only has three goals and three assists in Championship action this season.

Grosicki will continue firing in goals and providing teammates with assists out in Poland to end his career with a bang, whilst Diangana back at the Hawthorns needs to pick up form quickly or face the axe by an impatient Corberan.

James Neesham and Neil Broom were left out of NZC’s list of 20 contracted players for the 2018-19 period

ESPNcricinfo staff15-May-2018Canterbury’s legspinning allrounder Todd Astle has been offered a New Zealand contract for the first time, while James Neesham and Neil Broom were left out of the list of 20 contracted players for the 2018-19 period.List of contracted players

Corey Anderson, Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Henry Nicholls, Jeet Raval, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson, George Worker

“Todd’s progress over the past 12 months has been exciting to see. When fit, he made the most of his opportunities in both Test and ODI cricket,” said New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen said. “We have a big summer ahead; we know Todd performs well in New Zealand conditions, and we also have a spin-friendly tour against Pakistan coming up.”Between Todd, Ish and Mitchell our spin bowling stocks have probably never looked better. Jimmy and Neil didn’t show the consistency required over the past year and we’d like to see them go back and demand our attention again through domestic performance.”The new master agreement between NZC and the New Zealand Cricket Players Association is yet to be finalised, but both parties came to an agreement so that the contracts process was not delayed.The new contracts will come into effect from August 1.

Chelsea are closing in on the signing of Santos striker Deivid Washington and a new update has provided more details on his imminent move to the Premier League.

Who is Deivid Washington?

Washington is an academy graduate at the Urbano Caldeira Stadium having worked his way up through the various youth ranks to get promoted to Paulo Turra’s first team back in April, but despite still having another three years remaining on his contract, he’s been heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge.

At the start of August, Fabrizio Romano reported that the Blues had agreed personal terms with the 18 year-old centre-forward and had submitted a bid which was set to be accepted by his club, with the idea being that he would immediately join Todd Boehly’s Strasbourg on loan where he could be closely monitored as part of the owner’s multi-club project.

The Brazilian, however, is yet to have wrapped up his move to SW6 as a result of the Blues focusing all of their attention on big-money deals for the likes of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, though with those players now successfully through the door, it sounds as if the attacker could be the next to follow in their footsteps.

Are Chelsea signing Deivid Washington?

Taking to X, Romano revealed that Chelsea have everything in place regarding the arrival of Washington, whilst sharing the last stages that need to happen in order for him to be announced as the newest member of Mauricio Pochettino’s squad. He wrote:

“Deivid Washington already completed medical tests at Chelsea — it’s about final documents, formal steps then the Brazilian striker will be unveiled as new #CFC player. Santos to receive €16m fixed fee plus €4m add-ons [£17m total]."

How many goals has Deivid Washington scored?

Since the start of his career, Washington has scored eight goals in 29 appearances, so there’s no doubt that he’s a real star in the making and has a bright long-term future ahead of him. But, right now, Chelsea would be making the correct decision to send the striker out on loan to aid his development and increase his exposure.

The youngster has recorded a total of 17 shots over the course of the current campaign which is the third-highest tally throughout his squad, via FBRef, not to mention that he has the qualities to become a physical presence up top where he's averaging 1.1 aerial wins per league game.

Read The Latest Chelsea Transfer News HERE…

Santos’ “talented” prospect, as lauded by football scout Jacek Kulig, also has the ability to operate out wide on the left wing alongside his usual role through the middle, so should he return to become a member of the first team when he's matured, he would provide the boss with welcomed versatility.

The Blues are believed to be closing in on the signing of New England Revolution goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic, who is set to undergo his medical today, but he’s not the only fresh face likely to be introduced to supporters before September 1st.