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Important to focus and not let change in batting positions affect game, says India batsman

Akshay Gopalakrishnan in Alur09-Nov-2017

Mayank Agarwal’s classy century against Delhi on Thursday may have made him the star on most days. But for the few hundreds that gathered at the KSCA ground in Alur, Manish Pandey was all the rage. The Karnataka batsman was the sole recipient of applause from a clamouring crowd as he walked out to bat. Later, when a few members of the team cooled down with a light football session at the end of day’s play, Pandey was the centre of all attention again. It didn’t seem to matter that a few other heroes, who have also played for India, were in closer vicinity, jogging around by the boundary.This popularity of Pandey isn’t newfound, but it has certainly surged since he’s become a part of India’s limited-overs squad. Coming from the same batch of India Under-19s as Virat Kohli, Pandey hasn’t had the same opportunities or exposure at the senior level. He’s had to bide his time despite consistent scores in domestic cricket. His rise hasn’t been meteoric, but he’s still a popular player.Now, over two years since his international debut, Pandey is still fighting to nail a permanent spot. Constant changes to his batting position haven’t made the process easy. An average of 43 and strike-rate of 95 suggests there’s ability and potential, but it hasn’t always been enough. There’s been competition in the form of Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik and KL Rahul, his good friend and Karnataka team-mate. That is perhaps why every opportunity he gets at any level of competitive cricket is a blessing at this stage of his career.Barely a few hours after turning up for India in a T20 international against New Zealand in Thiruvananthapuram, Pandey hopped onto a flight to Bangalore and drove to Alur, on the outskirts of the city, to join his Karnataka mates ahead of a crucial Ranji Trophy game. The batsmen who preceded him had set it up nicely. The sunshine had eased out whatever moisture there was on the surface, and Delhi’s bowlers were tiring. Pandey walked in and stroked a half-century, the significance of which was magnified by the presence of MSK Prasad, the chairman of selectors. After a punchy 74, Pandey acknowledged it was important to not let the bar drop.”It’s a completely different ball game [playing four-day cricket as compared to the limited-overs formats], you know,” he said. “I had more time to settle down and play my shots as the innings progressed. It’ll be important for me to continue batting like this and have fun.”It was quite easy. The plan was to come at No. 4, but with the jet lag and stuff like that, I came in at No. 5. I have been playing a lot of ODI and T20, which obviously starts in the later part of the day. It was good to come back and play Ranji Trophy cricket for Karnataka. It was amazing to see the boys again. The partnership before definitely helped.”Pandey had a rousing start to his one-day career, with a half-century against Zimbabwe in Harare. Three games later, he blitzed a match-winning century against Australia in Sydney. A middling series against New Zealand cost him his place, and it took nearly a year for him to get a chance again, after a highly successful series with the India A team in South Africa.Pandey announced his return with an unbeaten half-century in a crushing 168-run win over Sri Lanka. Since then, he has floated between Nos. 4 and 6, not remaining in the same position for more than three games in a row. It also hasn’t helped that he returned with two single-digit scores in the three innings that he batted at No. 4. With India still in the hunt for a permanent fix to the No. 4 spot, those were costly lapses.Pandey’s game is well-suited to the position as he has the wherewithal to play the big shots as well as build an innings, like he showed in that Sydney hundred against Australia. However, being denied the luxury of settling into a position has made the bid harder.”I didn’t think about international cricket or the memories from before. I only thought about Karnataka cricket and my batting today,” he said. “I was looking forward to play this game. It is a little difficult to adapt, but I think I have done this for a long time. It’s a part of the game where the team wants you to play No. 4 or 5 or 6, and it’ll be important for me to stay focussed and keep waiting for the call-up.”Pandey last played a first-class match in December last year, when Karnataka conceded the quarterfinal of the previous season’s Ranji Trophy to Tamil Nadu inside two days. Given how heavily involved he has been in limited-overs cricket in that time, the pace at which Pandey struck his runs on Thursday perhaps wasn’t entirely surprising. But he denied any conscious effort in tweaking his game.”You don’t look to score a boundary every ball, but I look to score a single every ball, be a little aggressive. Even if it’s a defence, the intention is to be aggressive. Because of a lot of T20 cricket that is happening, cricket has changed in such a way that batsmen want to score runs and score boundaries. In a way, that’s really good for cricket where it’s looking good from the outside. I think we should just focus on getting runs.”

Amid the talk of who should make up England’s batting line-up for the Ashes, there has been a growing mood behind Alex Hales after his shift down the order

Jon Culley30-Aug-2017In the days when a strong performance in a one-day final at Lord’s could make up the mind of an indecisive England selector, Alex Hales would surely have had his winter itinerary firmly mapped out by now, with Christmas in Australia at the centre.After all, it is hard to imagine anything much stronger than his record-breaking unbeaten 187 as Nottinghamshire beat Surrey to lift the Royal London Cup.Yet things are different now on two counts. The selectors – apparently – are a bit more scientific in the way they go about their business. And the one-day final takes place not in September but July.Whether something special on Finals Day in the NatWest T20 Blast can make any difference, therefore, is open to debate. Nonetheless, Hales will be doing all in his powers at Edgbaston to put himself in the spotlight again and, perhaps, revive a Test career that has been on hold since the Pakistan home series in 2016.”To go on an Ashes tour would be an unbelievable experience and I will try to keep knocking on the door,” he said. “I know it’s a cliché, but all you can do is score runs.”So the ball is in my court now to score as many as I can across all formats before the end of the season and leave the selectors with a tough decision to make.”In fact, even though there will not be September showcase at Lord’s to take into account, they almost certainly will be looking at Hales’s white-ball form for guidance. They have no choice. With a one-day series against West Indies taking up much of the final month of the season, Nottinghamshire’s Championship fixture against Worcestershire next week will be his last opportunity to face a red ball in a season that has generally not afforded him many.”That has been a bit of a frustration,” he said, speaking during Nottinghamshire’s match against Northamptonshire in the Championship this week.”Before this match, I played three four-day games at the beginning of the season, then a random pink-ball game in June and then a game in the middle of the T20 block at the beginning of August.”I have not really had a run of four or five games in a row of red-ball cricket. It’s been sort of stop-start.”In all of those games, what’s more, he batted only once, which means no one has had much of a chance to assess his form since swapping his place at the top of the order for the No.5 slot, in which he hopes the judgment the Test selectors evidently reached after his 11-match run as an opener can be reversed.

I have a chance to go on an Ashes tour, and there is also the chance to play in South Africa and maybe the Big Bash too and develop my white-ball game, so whatever happens it is going to be exciting

Yet Hales believes 2017 has seen his game rise to another level in every aspect, in every competition. And there is evidence to back it up. Thrown in with all the brilliant moments in one-day cricket, he has a Championship double-hundred against Derbyshire in the early-August round to support the claim.”The highlight of the year has certainly been the Lord’s final,” he said. “To beat a strong Surrey side in that manner when we had our backs against the wall for a lot of the game is probably one of the highlights of my career so far.”I definitely think it was as well as I have ever played, up there if not better than the Pakistan innings at Trent Bridge [when he made England’s highest ODI score of 171 in their world-record total of 444], just because of the occasion it was for the club and how we were up against it against a team that had their tails up.”But I have really enjoyed batting where I have been batting in the Championship side. Across all three formats this year I have felt really on top of my game and felt that I have taken it to that next level.”Working with Peter Moores, he says, has had a lot to do with that, not so much in anything the new Nottinghamshire head coach has done in terms of technical advice but in giving him confidence to play his own game.”He is very good at player management, he understands what players need and what certain players don’t need. He just lets me get on with my stuff.”And he brings this constant positive energy. There is never a day when he is down, never a day when he is frustrated. His general all-round positive energy has been a massive lift for the squad and it is something I have really enjoyed.”It has helped give that squad a chance to mark Moores’ first season in the role with a treble, assuming that the Division Two title is in the bag along with the One-Day Cup.Hales, meanwhile, has found his own way of taking a relaxed view of his Ashes prospects. “The next few months is a win-win situation for me,” he said. “I have a chance to go on an Ashes tour, and there is also the chance to play in South Africa and maybe the Big Bash too and develop my white-ball game, so whatever happens it is going to be exciting.”It has been an approach that has served him well in the NatWest Blast so far. His strike rate of 206.38 is the best in the country, he has a first domestic T20 century to his name and, against Durham, at Trent Bridge in August, he would have equalled Chris Gayle’s 30-ball world record for the fastest T20 hundred had he not been out attempting to hit a 10th six.Anything similarly explosive at Edgbaston on Saturday would only add to a dilemma the selectors are surely facing already.

Nottingham Forest striker Kelechi Iheanacho is a 'hit-and-miss' player that could have a similar lack of impact to Emmanuel Dennis at the City Ground, according to Daily Express journalist Ryan Taylor.

How has Kelechi Iheanacho fared at Leicester City?

As per The Guardian, Iheanacho joined Leicester City back in 2017 for a reported fee of £25 million and has gone on to be a useful player during his time at the King Power Stadium, producing some moments of brilliance for the Foxes.

Overall, Iheanacho has netted 55 goals and laid on a further 33 assists in 206 appearances across all competitions for Leicester City, as per Transfermarkt.

Contractually, Iheanacho is tied to Leicester City until next year on terms worth £80,000 per week and could leave the club on a free transfer if his future is not resolved, as per Capology.

Foot Mercato journalist Santi Aouna has revealed that Nottingham Forest are keen on the Nigeria international this summer and have opened talks over a deal to sign him, stating on Twitter: "EXCL: Championship. Nottingham Forest have opened talks to sign Kelechi Iheanacho from Leicester. He’s on top of list. Nottingham want to close the deal in the next days."

According to Football Insider, Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper has designs on adding four bodies to his squad over the duration of the window, including a goalkeeper, central defender, left winger and a 'goalscoring forward'.

The outlet also claim that several big names may be on the way out of the City Ground to help reduce the Reds' hefty wage bill, with Jonjo Shelvey, Remo Freuler and Dennis being deemed as 'surplus to requirements' by Nottingham Forest boss Cooper.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Daily Express journalist Taylor has indicated that he isn't convinced that Iheanacho would be a good fit to help Nottingham Forest's goal flow in 2023/24, similar to that of Nigeria counterpart Dennis during his time in the East Midlands.

Taylor stated: “I've tried to do some digging into this one. I do expect Iheanacho to leave the club. I don't know whether that is a legitimate transfer link.

“However, I'm not sure about Iheanacho as a player. I think for Forest, he's a bit of an Emmanuel Dennis. He’s hit-and-miss. Forest probably need a bit more consistency.”

What now for Nottingham Forest?

Nottingham Forest manager Cooper will be keen to get new players in as early as possible to ensure his side are in a strong position to retain their Premier League status for a second successive campaign.

The Reds have been linked with a range of names that could potentially come to the City Ground to help their cause. According to FootballTransfers, Nottingham Forest have made an approach to Atletico Madrid as they explore returning for Renan Lodi on a permanent deal.

Manchester United outcast Donny van de Beek is another man that has cropped up on Nottingham Forest's radar this summer and the Reds are believed to be 'monitoring' his situation alongside a host of clubs in England and further afield, as per 90min.

Chelsea's Callum Hudson-Odoi is available for a cut-price fee of £15 million and Nottingham Forest are said to have registered interest in offering him an escape route from Stamford Bridge; however, they face competition from Fulham, AC Milan and Saudi Arabian clubs, cited by The Guardian.

Hamilton Masakadza, who has played only one of Zimbabwe’s five ODIs this year, has been selected to go to the Netherlands and Scotland in June and Sri Lanka later. Opener Chamu Chibhabha, who last played 50-over cricket for his country in November 2016, and who has only made two fifties in 23 innings, found a way back into the squad as well.Zimbabwe play two games against Scotland on June 15 and 17 and three more against Netherlands on June 20, 22 and 24 before moving on to Sri Lanka for five ODIs and a Test match, the exact schedule for which is not yet fixed. Legspinner Graeme Cremer will lead the team. The former captain Elton Chigumbura was not part of the squad.Masakadza’s only ODI in 2017 came against Afghanistan and he fell for 5 off 17 balls. However, the 33-year old made a hundred for Zimbabwe A against Canada in Harare a week ago to possibly persuade the selectors. Similarly, Sikandar Raza played only one game of the Afghanistan series – his only ODI in 2017 – but he too was backed to perform. Chigumbura, though picked for that series, did not play in any of the matches and his previous appearance in international 50-over cricket dated back to October 2016.While the elder Masakadza was picked, his 23-year old brother and left-arm spinner Wellington was left out of the squad that lost at home to Afghanistan 3-2. Accompanying him on the bench were seamer Carl Mumba and allrounder Nathan Waller.These 10 matches present a significant opportunity for the team for they can help build momentum going into the qualifying tournament in April 2018 for the next World Cup. Only the top-eight teams on the ICC rankings gain automatic qualification into the showpiece event. Zimbabwe, down at No. 11, will have to finish among the top two to have a chance at playing the 2019 World Cup.Zimbabwe squad: Ryan Burl, Sikandar Raza, Tendai Chatara, Chamu Chibhabha, Graeme Cremer (capt), Craig Ervine, Hamilton Masakadza, Solomon Mire, Peter Moor, Christopher Mpofu, Tarisai Musakanda, Richard Ngarava, Donald Tiripano, Malcolm Waller, Sean Williams

The hosts shocked Pakistan with a record chase in the first ODI and are on the brink of a series win – something they haven’t managed against Pakistan since 1991

The Preview by Danyal Rasool08-Apr-2017Match factsApril 9, 2017
Start time 09:30 local (13:30 GMT)
1:06

‘Need to be even stronger on Sunday’ – Ashley Nurse

Big PictureWest Indies will barely have recovered from the high of a record-breaking win in the first ODI against Pakistan when they go at it again in the second game on Sunday. It had looked every inch the average game you would expect against a depleted West Indies side before lesser-known Jason Mohammed dismantled Pakistan’s fabled fast-bowling attack, sealing a chase of 309 with an over to spare. As a result, they prepare for the second game in the knowledge that they have the opportunity to wrap up a long-awaited series win against a top side.Pakistan’s shock at losing the first ODI was written large across each of their faces, none more so than captain Sarfraz Ahmed, who seemed to run out of ideas and composure in equal measure as Mohammed began his brutal onslaught in the last ten overs. His leadership will be tested right away, as he faces the responsibility of lifting his team after a morale-sapping defeat.There was much scrutiny on the pace of Pakistan’s innings during the middle overs, especially the sluggish way Mohammad Hafeez went about his innings, even though he did make up for it in the closing overs. However, Mickey Arthur also made plain his disappointment at the bowlers not being able to execute their plans at the back end. While there may be plenty of soul-searching for the visitors to do, they don’t have much time to do it.Form guide
West Indies WLLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan LLLLW
In the spotlightChadwick Walton was chosen ahead of Kraigg Brathwaite because West Indies coach Stuart Law felt he could take better advantage of the first Powerplay. But Walton’s ODI strike rate of 52.17 and average of 4.80 suggest Law’s faith stems from what he may have seen in practice or domestic cricket. While six ODIs isn’t a large sample size, those numbers are desperately disappointing by any standards, especially for an opener. As such, he may already be feeling the pressure to justify his coach’s faith, particularly if he is to make a case for inclusion in the upcoming Tests, a format where his average reads an even more forlorn 3.25 in four innings.Chadwick Walton is yet to deliver on the expectation of quick runs in the Powerplay for West Indies•AFPNo one splits opinion in Pakistan quite like Wahab Riaz, a true specimen of raw Pakistani fast bowling in all his bouncer-bowling, reverse-swinging, toe-crushing glory. But the other side of the left-armer is becoming impossible to ignore too. He has days – too many to be mentioned in the same breath as true fast bowling greats – when he is wildly inaccurate, struggles to keep his foot the right side of the crease or away from the danger zone down the middle of the pitch. With the criticism growing all the time, Wahab’s career may be at a crossroads and the upcoming months, starting with Sunday, could shape the mercurial cricketer’s future.Team newsThe result on Friday papered over what was a largely insipid performance from West Indies with both bat and ball for much of the contest, but the feel-good factor the win generated might tempt them to stick with the same eleven.West Indies XI (possible): 1 Evin Lewis, 2 Chadwick Walton (wk), 3 Kieran Powell, 4 Shai Hope, 5 Jason Mohammad, 6 Jonathan Carter, 7 Jason Holder (capt), 8 Ashley Nurse, 9 Devendra Bishoo, 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Shannon GabrielPakistan have more pressing selection quandaries than the hosts. Hafeez top-scored, but didn’t seem to convince many, even if his contribution with the ball should see him retain his place. Mohammad Amir and Wahab were both poor at the death, and Junaid Khan could get his chance at the expense of one of them.Pakistan XI (possible): 1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Kamran Akmal, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Mohammad Hafeez, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Sarfraz Ahmed (capt, wk), 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Shadab Khan, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Hasan Ali, 11 Junaid KhanPitch and conditionsThe newly-laid surface at the Providence Stadium played much better than its predecessor had established a reputation for. A mockery was made of the wisdom that a low-scoring series was expected, as the ground record for an ODI innings was broken twice in four hours. Going purely off the first game, fans can expect another run-fest. Some cloud cover is expected, but rain is unlikely.Stats and trivia West Indies have not won an ODI series since August 2014, when they beat Bangladesh 3-0 at home. The last time they beat Pakistan in a bilateral ODI series was back in 1991, when Richie Richardson captained them to a 2-0 win against Imran Khan’s Pakistan In his last seven innings in 50-overs cricket, Jason Mohammed has failed to go past fifty only twiceQuotes”The team morale is really good. The boys believe in sticking together and being a family. We have to come back even stronger on Sunday. We can’t rest on the victory. The important thing is to close out the series.”

The U.S. wants to be one of the world's top teams, and they got a close look at what that looks like on Saturday

The opportunity was there for the taking. The U.S. men's national team were up a goal and moving towards halftime, having largely gone toe-to-toe with a giant in Germany. It was a bright start headlined by a stunning Christian Pulisic finish. The USMNT were, deservedly, ahead.

But that's the thing about teams like Germany: all they need is one moment to turn games. It's what happened on Saturday as the U.S. conceded just before the half and, Germany, to their credit, never looked back.

That's what good teams do: they seize chances and don't look back. It's something the USMNT is still learning, and Saturday will be another harsh lesson in just how far there is to go.

For years, the USMNT have been talking about wanting to be an international power, about wanting to be a team that's respected on a bigger stage. Well, they got a close look at a powerhouse on Saturday, and they were given a reality check that showed them that they still have much to learn.

GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Pratt & Whitney Stadium…

• WINNER: Christian Pulisic

  If Pulisic was brimming with confidence before this match, he'll be feeling even better after it.

  The 25-year-old's goal was a stunner, no doubt. A fantastic run and an even better finish from the USMNT star, who scored a superstar-worthy goal. At the time, the USMNT were going at Germany, and the strike felt like it could be the start of something.

  It wasn't. Germany turned it on from that moment and never really looked back, but that shouldn't diminish the fact that Pulisic, on his own, was pretty damn good in this match.

  For years, the U.S. has waited to see what Pulisic could look like when riding a bit of confidence from the club level. His goal on Saturday gave a glimpse into what that look like, and the U.S. will be hoping that continues for a long, long time.

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  LOSER: Chris Richards

  Chris Richards may very well be the USMNT's centerback of the future, but he was unable to make the most of his opportunity to really solidify his place as the USMNT's centerback of the here and now.

  Richards has been fantastic for the USMNT this year and had earned this chance to prove himself against higher-tier competition. Against Germany, though, he looked like a player struggling to get minutes in the Premier League at the moment.

  Richards was somewhat exposed as he struggled to cope with a different level of attackers, but that's not a knock against him. Germany are, in fact, a very good team, but it was clear that their attackers were too much for the Crystal Palace defender.

  Richards will go back to the drawing board after this one as he still finds himself in a very competitive centerback race. There will be more opportunities for him to lock up a starting spot before the Copa America, but he didn't do anything of the sort on Saturday afternoon.

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  WINNER: Tyler Adams

  It's not often a player's stock rises when he isn't in camp, but this match showed exactly why the USMNT needs Tyler Adams.

  Without that dedicated No.6 in the XI, the USMNT was exposed by Germany, particularly on the first goal. Adams would never have allowed Germany to waltz around on top of the box like that, and he would have been instrumental in organizing the team around him as the game wore on and Germany's pressure continued.

  The USMNT's big issue is that, as things stand, Adams is irreplaceable. They have yet to truly find a Plan B, even if there are a few in this camp that could benefit from a chance to earn a spot as his understudy.

  Playing Gio Reyna as a No. 10 will work in some games, but Germany are too good of a team for that to work against. This match cried out for Adams, and, unfortunately for the USMNT, he wasn't there.

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  LOSER: Sergino Dest and Joe Scally

  It was not a good day for the USMNT fullbacks.

  We'll start with Dest, who had the most highs and lows out of the two in a somewhat typical performance as he started the match inverted at left-back.

  The attacking output was there. The defending? Not so much. Dest was burned by Leroy Sane on the first goal and held Niclas Fullkrug on for the second. For all the good he did getting forward, and there was plenty of good, Dest's defensive issues were once again exposed by a good team.

  "To me, it's not so much about Sergino," Berhalter said. "It's about just not pinning them in well enough and then opening up the field or losing the ball too quickly and now he has to go back. We want him getting forward, we want him being aggressive, but when you lose the ball quickly, there's a lot of distance now to travel backwards."

  Scally, meanwhile, struggled too much on the ball in his big chance at right-back. His passes were nowhere near good enough and he turned the ball way too much, which, ultimately, comes back to kill you against a team like Germany.

The club has built quite a foundation with three massive signings, but those signings will need complementary pieces to let them thrive.

Inter Miami have spent the last few weeks assembling the Barcelona All-Stars. David Beckham's side is collecting Camp Nou icons like Infinity Stones. The club's got three now – Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba – if they can add Luis Suarez and Andres Iniesta, they may just snap the rest of MLS out of existence.

It's an exciting prospect, of course. The players the club has signed and may sign in the weeks to come are players that have played, and won, at the highest level. They're some of the best at their respective positions in a generation. How could they not thrive in MLS?

Building a winning team isn't that simple, though. MLS is no longer a retirement league and, even when it was, the league was tough to those that treated it like it was. Several of the game's greats have struggled once arriving in North America, overwhelmed by the pace of play, travel, weather and more.

That's not to say that Inter Miami's new superheroes will struggle too. They're great players with great mindsets that appear to be arriving in MLS with the best of intentions. However, Miami's path to success may not really be determined by Messi, Busquets and Alba, but rather the pieces they put around them. This club is in last place in the Eastern Conference, after all. There's so much work to be done from top to bottom.

Miami have made the big signings – and boy, have they been big – but how they go about uplifting the rest of their squad will ultimately define this team over the next few years.

GettyA general history lesson

MLS has had a long list of stars arrive since Beckham broke the mold back in 2007. Players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thierry Henry, David Villa and Robbie Keane have dominated the league, showing why they were top stars during their time in Europe.

Others, though, have struggled, particularly in Busquets' position in midfield. Players like Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Andrea Pirlo – all icons of the game – had rough experiences after arriving in MLS at the ends of their careers.

NYCFC, who signed Villa, Lampard and Pirlo for their inaugural season, learned their lessons quickly. With Lampard and Pirlo together in midfield, the club had no legs in the center of the park. Defensively, Lampard and Pirlo simply couldn't keep up, with the former often injured, and NYCFC's midfield unit looked like a glorified traffic cone because of it.

Gerrard, meanwhile, struggled to keep up with the pace of play in the league, admitting the whole experience was tougher than he expected.

“It’s a lot better than I initially thought,” Gerrard told Eurosport International. “A lot of people talk about the MLS, about the level, but for me a lot of them are wrong. Until you come here and sample it yourself, you see how strong it is and how fit and professional the players are.

"Every single game is a different challenge. On the road, you come up against places and teams where it is very hot and very humid. Some teams play on astroturf. So, each game is very tricky and very difficult."

He added: “If people think they can come here just to have a holiday and retire, they are wrong, because they won’t perform well and they won’t do their team justice. I have had to come here and work hard and get fit, to make sure that I keep performing to play well.”

AdvertisementGettyModern times

Much has changed since Gerrard, Lampard and Pirlo left the league. MLS has only gotten younger, better and faster.

The average age of players in MLS is about 26 years old, with La Liga's being about 27. Homegrown players are popping up all over MLS, while the Designated Player rule is now often being used to target young, high-upside rising stars.

Players like Miguel Almiron, Taty Castellanos and Jhon Duran have been signed and solid for late transfer fees. Homegrown stars like Alphonso Davies, Ricardo Pepi, Tyler Adams and Brenden Aaronson are playing at a top level in Europe, too. Jesus Ferreira, Thiago Almada and Riqui Puig, meanwhile, are all young stars dominating in the here and now.

The league has rapidly evolved from a retirement league to a talent developer, with the league finding a new place in the global marketplace thanks to the rise of young stars like those named.

That's not to say there hasn't been a place for veteran stars. This isn't an absolute by any stretch. Familiar faces like Xherdan Shaqiri, Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez, Lorenzo Insigne and Christian Benteke are in the league, after all. At the end of the day, there are different approaches to roster building and team construction, leaving a place for teams to add strong, veteran leadership in the form of older stars.

None of those named, though, are Messi, Busquets or Alba. That trio is as decorated as it comes. Still, all three will face some challenges in Miami.

Getty ImagesA look at Messi

MLS is one of the few leagues in modern soccer that still plays with a good ole' fashioned No. 10. The league is littered with them, many of them Argentinian. Luciano Acosta, Emmanuel Reynoso and Sebastian Driussi are all excellent. Carles Gil and Lucas Zelarayan do unthinkable things from an attacking midfield position.

Messi is undoubtedly better than all of those mentioned above. None of those players are even close to the World Cup winner. Messi is, obviously, a different level of player, one that just won everything in Qatar and could take home the Ballon d'Or.

On the field, Messi should, generally, be just fine. It remains to be seen if Tata Martino plays him as a winger or centrally but, either way, he'll have license to drift. He'll have to deal with some physicality from the lesser-talented players he'll be facing, but it's nothing he hasn't dealt with before while playing for Argentina, PSG and Barcelona.

Still, Miami could run into the problems PSG faces often throughout Messi's run. With Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar leading the attack, the club got zero pressing from its front three. Argentina's team, meanwhile, was built around Messi, famously giving him a "bodyguard" in Rodrigo de Paul who would do the running for him.

That'll be key to getting the most of Messi: surrounding him with players who can run. And that leads us to Busquets…

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Getty ImagesIs Busquets the right fit?

There's no doubting Busquets quality. He's perhaps the most underrated player of his generation. As No.6s go, there are few who can go toe-to-toe with the ex-Barcelona man. There is that famous quote from Vicente del Bosque explaining his magic: "You watch the game, you do not see Busquets. You watch Busquets, you see the whole game."

The big problem, though, is that Busquets' big moments with Del Bosque came at the 2010 World Cup. In the years since, Busquets has been incredible, but time comes for us all.

Busquets is now 35 and very much on the tail end of his career. He was never known as an elite athlete, which makes his decline significantly more manageable. He was known, though, as an elite thinker, which is what has always drawn him to the brightest minds the game has to offer. That footballing intelligence won't abandon him anytime soon.

Still, there are some things you can't think your way out of. Busquets' talents can only go so far, especially with Messi offering so little defensively ahead of him. Miami will need runners if they are to survive against the athletes that tend to populate MLS midfields, and Busquets isn't that.

There are ways to counteract that. The Chicago Fire turned Bastian Schweinsteiger into a centerback in his final years, allowing him to still dictate play while hiding his lack of pace. Could that be the best way to get the most out of Busquets, maybe as the middle player in a back three? Maybe.

As a No.6, though, Busquets will face challenges, although those challenges could be made easier depending on who is played next to him. He'll need a pitbull on his side, for sure.

If Miami can get that right, though, there's no doubt what Busquets can do to impact a game. The good work he does may not be noticeable but, if Miami leave him exposed without the right pieces next to him, his decline over the coming years could be there for all to see.

Glenn Maxwell has been fined by Australia’s team leadership group for his criticism of Matthew Wade

Daniel Brettig03-Dec-2016

Australia’s captain Steven Smith has criticised Glenn Maxwell and the team leadership group have fined him an undisclosed amount for comments deemed disrespectful to the team’s gloveman and Victoria captain Matthew Wade.In what Smith clearly hoped would be the end of an unseemly episode that began when ESPNcricinfo reported Maxwell had tried to leave the Bushrangers for New South Wales outside the approved window to do so, he explained that he had told Maxwell and the team as a whole that more respect had to be shown for each other. Smith also declined to confirm whether Maxwell would be playing on Sunday, stating only that he was “available for selection”.”Everyone was disappointed in his comments, I’ve expressed that to him myself and spoke to the team,” Smith said on Saturday ahead of the first Chappell-Hadlee ODI. “One of our values is respect, having respect for your team-mates, your opposition, your fans, your media.”I thought what he said was very disrespectful to a team-mate and his Victorian captain. The leadership group got together and we decided to fine Glenn, we thought that was sufficient punishment, so we’ve gone down that path. I was disappointed with the comments that he made.”Maxwell had stated that it was “painful” batting behind Wade in the Victorian Shield batting order, among sundry other comments about his uncertain role in the state team and his ambitions to return to the Test team. “Wadey was pretty disappointed as well like all the other players,” Smith said. “I talk about a respect for your team-mates and particularly the captain of your state, and he was disappointed.”[Maxwell] was a little bit shattered with what he said. I don’t think he thought the words came out the way they actually did, but we’ve moved on from that now, we’ve fined him and expressed our disappointment, but moving on and trying to focus on this game tomorrow.”Smith is believed to have been one of the players Maxwell canvassed about moving to NSW during the limited-overs leg of the Sri Lanka tour earlier in the year, but he was not interested in re-opening the discussion on Saturday. “I’m not really concerned with that right now,” Smith said. “It’s about getting through this season, and if things happen like that at the end of the season we’ll deal with that then.”Maxwell’s sanction did not meet with universal approval. Notably he was supported in his words by Mitchell Johnson, who has been a critic of punitive action against players since he was one of the four players suspended from a Test match in India three years ago – something the coach Darren Lehmann also criticised at the time.Turning his attention to New Zealand, Smith said the combination of cagey experience and pace-filled youth in the visitors’ bowling line-up would have to be watched closely. “They’ve got some quality players in their line-up, a lot of the time they bat around Kane Williamson, he’s the glue in their middle order,” he said.”They’ve got some dangerous players up top in Guptill or Latham if he plays up top. They’ve got some experience in their bowling line-up in Southee and Boult and some pace in this young fella I’ve heard about, Ferguson. They’re a quality team and we’re going to have to be at our best.”One figure Smith is eager to command once more is the fast man Pat Cummins, making his latest return to the team amid a string of injuries. “He bowled pretty quick in the nets yesterday, he bowled beautifully in the Matador Cup at the start of the season, and he’s got that x-factor about him,” Smith said. “He bowls with great pace and good aggression and I think he’ll complement the other quicks really well and hopefully have an impact in this series.”

Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada became the first player to scoop six awards at CSA’s annual dinner, including the coveted South African cricketer of the year prize, surpassing AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla, who had previously won five each. Not only is Rabada the only player to notch up that many awards, but he is also the youngest to win the main prize. The only major award Rabada did not win was the T20 cricketer of the year, which went to legspinner Imran Tahir.

Award winners

• Cricketer of the year: Kagiso Rabada

• Test cricketer of the year: Kagiso Rabada

• ODI cricketer of the year: Kagiso Rabada

• T20 Player of the year: Imran Tahir

• Players’ Player of the year: Kagiso Rabada

• Fans Player of the year: Kagiso Rabada

• T20 delivery of the year: Kagiso Rabada

• International newcomer of the year: Stephen Cook

• Women’s cricketer of the year: Dane van Niekerk

• First-class cricketer of the season: Heino Kuhn

• One-day cup cricketer of the season: Alviro Petersen

• Twenty-over player of the season: Albie Morkel

• Domestic players’ player of the season: Heino Kuhn

• Domestic newcomer of the year: Nicky van den Burgh

• Africa T20 Cup player of the year: Lungi Ngidi

• Coach of the year: Rob Walter

• CSA Fair Play award: Cobras

• SACA MVP: Dwaine Pretorius

In his first full international season, the 2015-16 summer, which was a largely underwhelming period for South Africa’s men’s team, Rabada racked up the second-best match figures by a South African in Test and ODI cricket. His 13 for 144 against England at Centurion in January has only been bettered by Makhaya Ntini, who took 13 for 132 in Port of Spain in 2005, while Rabada’s 6 for 16 on ODI debut against Bangladesh in July last year, a performance which also included a hat-trick, was only surpassed by Imran Tahir, who took 7 for 45 against West Indies in June 2015.That Rabada managed all of this in a time when South Africa were also without two of their experienced seamers – Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander were both injured for large parts of the previous summer – only added to Rabada’s achievement. “With injuries to our main fast bowlers during this past year, he has had to step up and lead the attack. How brilliantly has he done that,” Haroon Lorgat, CSA CEO said.Rabada’s performance also earned the players’ and fans choice awards. He shared speckles of the limelight with Tahir, whose 16 T20 wickets this year put him on top of the South African pile in the format, and batsman Stephen Cook. Despite only playing one international in the 2015-16 season, a Test against England, Cook won the international newcomer of the year award for his century on debut in the only Test South Africa won in the season.”This may not have been the best year for the Proteas in a team sense but there have been some great individual performances, especially from newcomers to the side,” Lograt said. “Temba Bavuma and Stephen Cook, who are other award winners this evening plus Quinton de Kock have all recorded their maiden Test centuries.”Bavuma won a sponsor award for his performance but de Kock went empty-handed, despite being the leading run-scorer in the domestic twenty-over competition. Albie Morkel, who led Titans to victory in that competition, was named T20 player of the year. Titans also had two other winners. Heino Kuhn, who became the sixth South African to score more than 1,000 runs in a first-class season, won the first-class award and outgoing coach Rob Walter, who will take over at Otago Volts, from September, was named coach of the year.The only trophy Titans did not win last season was the one-day cup, which Lions claimed. The leading run-scorer in that campaign Alviro Petersen was awarded in that category.

ScorecardDale Steyn collected 3 for 22•Getty Images

A four-wicket haul for Michael Hogan and Dale Steyn’s first three wickets for Glamorgan allowed their team to set up a simple victory against visitors Hampshire.Dismissed for just 141 off 18.3 overs the Hampshire total was chased down by Glamorgan with relative ease. A second successive T20 fifty from Aneurin Donald allowed Glamorgan to reach the victory target with 23 balls remaining as a lively Cardiff crowd cheered their side home.Having bowled just one over in Wednesday’s defeat to Essex, Hogan was the pick of the Glamorgan bowlers as the Hampshire batsmen struggled to get him away. Steyn returned at the end of the Hampshire innings to claim the wickets of Gareth Berg, Gareth Andrew and Tino Best but it was Hogan that ripped the heart of the visitor’s batting. Coming on first change he dismissed both openers, including the dangerous James Vince who looked well set when he was bowled by Hogan for 27.The Hampshire total could have been a lot less if not for the late order hitting of Shahid Afridi. Coming to the crease with his 93 for 5 in the 13th over, Afridi made 32 from 20 balls before he too fell Hogan, well caught at long-off by Colin Ingram.The top-scorer in the Hampshire innings was Adam Wheater who offered some stability after the big names at the top of the order failed. His innings of 39 off 26 balls looked like it was going to be the base around which a competitive total could be built but when he was stumped off the bowling of Dean Cosker it left too much for the lower order to do.Hampshire would have been hopeful of mounting a defence of this total when they reduced Glamorgan to 9 for 2 in 2.1 overs. Despite the loss of both David Lloyd and Jacques Rudolph they did not slow up. Having made his first T20 half-century against Essex on Wednesday, Donald made it two in two with 55 runs from 27 balls. But he was lucky to make it that far; he top-edged a ball from Best that landed between three fielders and then he hit the same bowler straight to Darren Sammy at midwicket when on 34 and the West Indies T20 captain dropped an easy chance.Donald shared an excellent stand with Colin Ingram worth 94 from just 54 balls which finished the game as a content. Ingram departed soon after Donald to leave two new batsmen at the crease, but by then the required rate was down to just over four an over. Even the loss of Graham Wagg for just two runs was not enough for Hampshire to claw their way back into the contest, with Chris Cooke seeing the home side the victory.