The batsmen didn’t stand up when needed, the bowling lacked experience and the fielding let them down

Vishal Dikshit in Mumbai19-Feb-2020It’s the second season in a row that domestic heavyweights Mumbai haven’t reached the Ranji Trophy knockouts, and it’s four years since they last won the title, under Aditya Tare in 2015-16. It is not just the lack of that trophy in their cabinet that must be hurting them but also the manner in which they bowed out of the quarter-finals race that must have deepened their wounds. Mumbai won only one game this season, lost by 10 wickets to Railways, and had lost out in the knockouts race even before the last round had begun.They eventually finished 13th on the joint points table of Groups A and B, from which five teams go through out of 18. Last season too, they had finished with the same number of points – 17 from eight games with one win – and in their first match this season it appeared that they had taken steps to make amends, when they thrashed Baroda by 309 runs.From there, though, Mumbai went down a slippery slope. They could not score 200 even once in four innings against Railways and Karnataka in consecutive losses, they got one of the flattest pitches of the tournament against Uttar Pradesh for a draw, and their clash against Himachal Pradesh in Dharamsala didn’t even see a full day’s play because of rain, giving them only one point from the game. Attribute it to luck or not, Mumbai could not step up when they really had to.”Those losses against Railways and Karnataka was a low for us,” coach Vinayak Samant tells ESPNcricinfo. “We took some risk by keeping a green top against Railways and it backfired. Both were seaming wickets and we lost both tosses, [both teams asked us to bat] and we struggled to put on even 170 and 200.”Those two losses at home pushed Mumbai down so much that they weren’t able to recover for the rest of the season. Samant admits that the team failed in all three departments. Their senior batsmen didn’t score in those two losses, their bowling attack lacked experience, and their fielding was not up to the mark for the second reason in a row.”We put down some crucial catches in the slips, there was a stumping or two [missed],” Samant says. “Last year as well our fielding wasn’t up to the mark and this time again. Sometimes it becomes tough to bounce back in the game after dropping a catch. From the bowlers’ perspective also, we didn’t get a few leg-befores, like in the last match (against Madhya Pradesh). Against Karnataka a couple of decisions went against us. But these things happen, it’s part and parcel of the game. The crucial thing was, despite the dropped chances, we didn’t get the breakthroughs which is attributable to lack of bowling experience.”

“Senior players need to realise themselves that they’ve let Mumbai down this year. Had Sarfaraz not struck that form, it would have been a disaster. If you analyse every innings, only two batsmen have scored. The players have to do a lot of soul-searching.”MILIND REGE, CHIEF SELECTOR

Mumbai’s pace attack was being led by Tushar Deshpande this season. Dhawal Kulkarni, who picked up a hamstring injury after the T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and Shardul Thakur, who was representing India in ODIs and T20Is, were both missing. The dent of that inexperience was deepened further when their fielders put down chances. One of them was dropping R Ashwin early in his innings when Mumbai went to Chennai after their loss to Karnataka. They posted 488 and reduced Tamil Nadu to 195 for 7 on the third day but then dropped Ashwin. The No. 8 capitalised with a century stand alongside R Sai Kishore and went on to score 79 to help the team post 324. Tamil Nadu followed-on on the last day, but Ashwin ensured Mumbai didn’t earn a win.Mumbai have endured torrid times like this in the past and even bounced back to win titles. In 2015-16, they started the season with a loss to Jammu & Kashmir, they were skittled for 101 by Railways in the next game, and were deep in the pits at 57 for 6 against UP. There was even an on-field altercation between Suryakumar Yadav and Thakur in one of the games and it all looked gloomy for them. However, Tare struck a century, Shreyas Iyer played counter-attacking knocks, Thakur finished with 41 wickets to be among the top five wicket-takers, and Mumbai lifted their 41st Ranji title.This time, though, not even the senior players were able to pull them out of this dark abyss. Ajinkya Rahane, Aditya Tare, Siddhesh Lad and latest international star Prtihvi Shaw’s scores in those two losses against Railways and Karnataka narrate the story. Rahane made 5, 8, 7 and 1, Tare 4, 14, 0 and 6, Lad 14, 8, 4 and 4 and Shaw managed 12, 23 and 29.Fifteen innings for a total of 139 runs with a combined experience of 300 first-class games behind them. From there, it was no surprise that things got worse. Rahane, Shaw and Yadav all left for New Zealand at different times, whether for A games or international matches, and the depleted Mumbai side crashed out.”It becomes very crucial to control the innings when you lose wickets in a cluster and our batsmen could not do that,” Samant says of the collapses they endured. “We were 81 for 4 in one game and then we suddenly collapsed completely. The biggest surprise was that Lad was going through a rough patch because he hardly scored 200 runs (174) in the season and last season he had scored 600-650 runs. He was out of form. We had backed him since he is a senior player.Sarfaraz Khan extended his rich form with another hundred•PTI “It’s mainly the lack of discipline in our batting that cost us. If someone had done that and taken the responsibility, like Sarfaraz [Khan] did later…It’s just unfortunate because we have such stalwarts but we lost those two crucial matches. This is not a blame-game but just the responsibility they should have taken. Sometimes you’ve to respect the game, stay on the back foot, see some balls through, and we were missing that discipline in all three departments.”If Khan had not scored all those runs, Mumbai’s campaign would have been a “disaster”, chief selector Milind Rege says. Khan did not play Mumbai’s first two games – against Baroda and Railways – and started off with a half-century against Karnataka before an unbeaten 301 against Uttar Pradesh, a 226 not out versus Himachal Pradesh, 78 opposite Saurashtra and another impressive 177 in the last game, against Madhya Pradesh. A tally of 928 runs in only nine innings with an average of 154.66, the best this season so far.”Our batting has failed miserably despite some big names in the first three or four games,” Rege said. “And then many players went away but the plus point is also that those who replaced the senior players, who left, have done better. There are good youngsters coming up: Sarfaraz Khan was absolutely fantastic, the opening batsman [Hardik] Tamore was good, and Aakarshit Goel scored a hundred on debut.”Senior players need to realise themselves that they’ve let Mumbai down this year. Had Sarfaraz not struck that form, it would have been a disaster. If you analyse every innings, only two batsmen have scored. The players have to do a lot of soul-searching.”Rege believes it was also the lack of firepower in the bowling attack that cost Mumbai.”Over the last five years Mumbai hasn’t produced a single bowler, except for Shardul Thakur. So what are the coaches doing? We need fast bowlers. Give us a bowler who bowls 140kmh, nobody bowls that. The bowling strengths have gone down.”As a result, Mumbai squandered some strong positions and suffered, with the Tamil Nadu game not the only instance. They had set Saurashtra a target of 290 on the last day of their must-win game in Rajkot and even reduced them to 83 for 7 with over 40 overs to go, but Mumbai’s bowlers could not strike even once and came back with a draw. Against Madhya Pradesh in the next game at home, they set a target of 408 and had the visitors at 183 for 6, but went wicketless again for over 35 overs.Add to that the off-field issues Mumbai cricket has been grappling with for more than a year now, and the association has several headaches before the next season: the entire selection panel had quit about a year ago, the MCA was haphazardly looking for a coach before the beginning of the current season, and a selection controversy saw them sack two of the new selectors a few months ago.By the time the next season arrives, Mumbai will probably have a new set of selectors and maybe a new coach too. The set of players, however, is likely to remain the same and it is mainly them who can turn Mumbai’s fortunes around.

Sunderland's ambitious summer transfer window is set to continue after striking a loan deal for Chelsea striker Marc Guiu.

• Chelsea's Guiu to join Sunderland on loan
• Follows capture of Swiss star Granit Xhaka
• Black Cats continue ambitious summer

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Fabrizio Romano claims that the Chelsea youngster will head on a season-long loan to the newly-promoted Premier League side, but there is no option to buy the former Barcelona academy player. This comes shortly after the Black Cats signed Swiss veteran Granit Xhaka from Bayer Leverkusen in another statement signing.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  In a time when all three promoted teams have been relegated straight back down to the Championship for the past two years, Sunderland, Leeds, and Burnley, arguably, face a tougher task than ever to survive in the Premier League. The established teams have such a huge advantage financially, thanks to TV deals and merely staying in the Premier League, making the gap between England's two top divisions more and more vast. The Mackems have spent around €130 million (£112m) on signings so far, and while that is an eye-catching amount, realistically, they have to go big if they want to maintain their top-flight status.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Guiu, 19, joined Chelsea from Barcelona last year for a reported fee of €6m and since then, he has scored six goals in 16 appearances for Enzo Maresca's team. But most of his game time came in the Conference League, so this move represents a big opportunity for the teenager to shine.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Spain Under-19 international Guiu, who made just three Premier League appearances last season, could make his Sunderland debut when they begin their 2025/26 top-flight campaign at home to West Ham on August 16.

Kohli conceded India couldn’t get themselves to “more comprehensive or dominating positions” with the bat

Karthik Krishnaswamy14-Jan-20226:04

How did India let their advantage slip against South Africa?

When the final day of a three-Test series begins with the teams locked 1-1, and with one team needing eight wickets for victory and the other 111 runs, on a pitch where both outcomes are equally plausible, you can safely say that the gap between the two teams is a narrow one, no matter what the final outcome is.This was true even after South Africa wrapped up their second successive seven-wicket win to complete a come-from-behind series victory. As in the second Test in Johannesburg, their margin of victory in Cape Town was probably slightly misleading. Both teams were playing five-bowler combinations, and in the first three innings, the last six wickets had fallen for the addition of 56, 51 and 46 runs, respectively.Had India found an opening early on this fourth day, the result, and the series scoreline, could have been very different.Related

Talking points: Spotlight on Kohli the batter, Rahul's slot, and India's bowling combination

The rise of Petersen, the wisdom of Elgar and a great SA victory

Cricket needs to start valuing selectors more highly than coaches

Stats – South Africa first team to win a three-match Test series without scoring 250

Kohli bemoans India's batting collapse: 'There's no running away from it'

India didn’t find that opening, however, and when a team loses back-to-back Test matches in a similar manner, you might wonder if there’s more to those results than coincidence. Here, then, are three factors that possibly contributed to India’s defeat.India gamble on all-out attack
India bowled 13.2 overs before the day’s first drinks break, and conceded 47 runs. That’s just over 3.5 runs an over, a healthy scoring rate in Test cricket, especially for a side in South Africa’s position at the start of play.If you watched how that hour unfolded, however, it was clear this wasn’t the result of loose bowling. On the contrary, it felt like a wicket could fall at any moment, with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami pitching the ball up and swinging it around corners. Of the 80 balls India bowled before the drinks break, 20 drew false shots. That’s one in four balls.There was swing available, and India looked to pitch the ball up and maximise its effect. It worked, if only in the sense of discomfiting South Africa’s batters. There is an element of subjectivity in ESPNcricinfo’s length data, but it’s still instructive. Seven of the 18 balls that India pitched on the full length in this period drew not-in-control responses. But luck was on South Africa’s side, with both Keegan Petersen and Rassie van der Dussen getting beaten on the drive without their edges being found, and slicing and edging the ball through gaps in the cordon.And when bowlers look to bowl full, they also run the risk of overpitching, and Petersen and van der Dussen also found the boundary with smooth drives through the covers in this period.So even as the full length drew the most uncertainty from South Africa’s batters (a control percentage of 61 compared to 79 for good-length balls), it was also the most expensive length, with 18 balls producing 21 runs.7:09

Kohli: ‘We did not apply enough pressure on South Africa’

It’s the natural risk of bowling an all-out-attacking length, even when the ball swings – as this deep dive into Test-match lengths by the former England analyst Nathan Leamon illustrates beautifully – but on another day, the false shots India drew may have led to the early opening they craved.The question does arise, though, whether India may have been better served hammering away on a good length and waiting to create chances while keeping a tighter lid on the scoring. Perhaps India’s best phase of the day came during a 45-minute window either side of the drinks break, when they pulled their length back slightly.Bumrah created a clear-cut chance with extra lift from a good length, only for Cheteshwar Pujara to shell a straightforward chance at first slip. Shami and Shardul Thakur then caused constant problems while conceding just three runs in the space of seven overs, during which Petersen inside-edged a good-length ball onto his stumps.But South Africa were already well on course by then, needing just 55 at that stage with seven wickets in hand, and Temba Bavuma put away a couple of rare loose balls in the first over of a new spell from Bumrah to jam the door shut on India.Bounce is a double-edged sword
There was another reason why India looked to bowl full in the morning. Given how much the ball was bouncing on this surface, it was the only way to bring lbw into play.South Africa took all their 20 wickets through catches – a first in Test cricket. Bumrah took two of his first-innings wickets via bowleds, but none of India’s other wickets had involved the stumps. All their lbw appeals had either been turned down on the field or upheld only to be overturned on review – much to their chagrin on one occasion late on day three.So futile did their quest for lbw become that at one point on this fourth day, Umesh Yadav got one to nip back at the crease-bound van der Dussen and strike his pad within the line of the stumps, only to turn around and begin walking back to his mark without bothering to appeal. It was clearly, clearly going to bounce over the stumps.Why then did India keep trying to attack the stumps and bowl fuller lengths, when South Africa’s quicks had derived so much success from hitting the pitch hard and extracting steep bounce?There were two reasons for this. Bowlers groove their lengths and their modes of attack over years and years, and it’s not straightforward to shift to an entirely different mode of operation in the middle of a tour. And South Africa’s fast bowlers, as in Johannesburg, came into this Test match with a clear advantage in height, as well as the advantage of these being their home conditions.South Africa’s fast bowlers came into this Test match with a clear advantage in height•AFP via Getty Images”We have different strengths,” Virat Kohli said at his post-match press conference. “So to compare their bowlers to ours will not be correct, because the kind of help that we get on all pitches across the world, I don’t think any other bowling attack is able to do that at the current moment, and precisely why we have been so successful everywhere in the world.”Our strengths are different, we probably bowl at different areas and there are many different ways to pick up wickets, so I think it’s important to focus on your strength as a team. Appreciate what the opposition did well, they exploited the conditions with their pace and bounce, which obviously they’ve grown up in these conditions, they know these pitches so well and which areas to bowl at, and consistently hit those areas, so you have to give them credit for that, but at the same time, you have to understand your strengths and keep sticking to it, and understand that that has gotten those results in the past, so that should hold you in good stead even moving forward.”On pitches with plenty of bounce in Australia, India have won two successive Test series while attacking the stumps far more consistently than their opposition.And while South Africa clearly made their home advantage count in this series, with their fast bowlers finishing with a collective average of 20.13 as compared to India’s 24.58, it wasn’t a mismatch, as it had been when India were the home side in 2019-20. Then, India’s quicks had averaged 17.50 and South Africa’s 70.20.Did India have enough to defend?
While there was a small but eventually significant gap between the two attacks, could India have done more with the bat to mitigate it? South Africa’s bowling was unplayable at times, particularly on the third morning when brutal lifters from Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada made short work of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. But on this pitch, the ball had misbehaved less as it became older – an observation that Bumrah made during his press conference at the end of day two – and there was one critical phase during India’s second innings when their batters may have played a part in their own downfall.Kohli had battled his way to 29 off 142 balls while following a similar template to his first-innings 79, avoiding drives unless the ball was pitched right up. While runs were coming at a drip from his end, Rishabh Pant was scoring freely, and they had put on 94 for the fifth wicket.At that point, Kohli drove away from his body and nicked Lungi Ngidi to second slip. R Ashwin and Shardul Thakur, India’s allrounders at Nos. 7 and 8, also fell in similar fashion during the same spell, driving away from their body at Ngidi’s outswingers. Ashwin sliced one to gully soon after he had edged a similar shot and been dropped in the slips.R Ashwin fell to Lungi Ngidi in the second innings at Newlands•AFP via Getty ImagesThese were probably the lapses of concentration that Kohli pointed to as match-changing events during the post-match presentation.”One of the challenges we have faced over the years touring abroad has been to make sure that we capitalise on the momentum when it’s on our side,” he said. “When we do that, we’ve won Test matches quite a bit away from home as well. But when we haven’t – we’ve actually had lapses in concentration which have been quite bad, and those have actually cost us a Test match completely.”Half an hour, 45 minutes of… you could say lack of application at times. Quality bowling from the opposition as well this series. But that’s what we basically boil it down to. We’ve had a few collapses now which have cost us important moments, and eventually Test matches.”Coming into this series, India were without Ravindra Jadeja, whom they now view as a full-fledged batting allrounder in overseas conditions, even batting him ahead of Pant at times. Ashwin has batted at No. 6 for India before, but his batting has fallen away quite a bit in the years since.Ashwin’s batting has gained some of its old sparkle over the last year or so, though, and one of the contributing factors has been the freedom of his attacking game against the fast bowlers. His counterattack in the first innings of the Kanpur Test against New Zealand was full of off-side drives against Tim Southee’s outswinger – at a time when he was running through India’s middle and lower order – and Ashwin may have been attempting the same sort of thing against Ngidi at Newlands.But he can occupy the crease, too – as he showed so memorably at the SCG last year – and with Pant scoring fluently at the other end, he may reflect that this may have been a more prudent approach.As it happened, those three Ngidi wickets transformed the game, and India, who had looked on course to set a target of at least 250, ended up setting one of 212.”When we say batting line-up we obviously add the lower middle order also to it,” Kohli said in his press conference. “It’s not just focusing on four guys or five guys, it’s till No. 7, potentially 8 as well, to make sure that we get the runs required to be put on the board, so that’s a collective responsibility I’m speaking of, and everyone knows it.”Everyone knows that they haven’t quite stepped up and put in the performances that would have driven us into more comprehensive or dominating positions, and that’s basically what I understood as to why we ended up losing the two Test matches, because collectively again, we just lost too many wickets in one session, that we have done a few times in the past as well.”While Ashwin and Thakur both contributed useful scores during this series, India will know they are both essentially No. 8s at this stage of their careers, and the two of them together don’t quite make up for the absence of Jadeja.

As many as six Karnataka players featured in the XI with Kumble and Srinath delivering victory

Sudhindra Prasad10-May-2020That was my brother’s suggestion as we brainstormed through various options to make a banner in our preparations for yet another big-ticket game at the Chinnaswamy stadium.ALSO READ: An experience of a lifetime at the Chinnaswamy stadiumThis game in Bangalore was supposed to be the penultimate game of cricket, before actor Amitabh Bachchan and the ABCL crew would descend upon the Chinnaswamy stadium, as they prepared the arena for pretty damsels from all over the world to compete for the Miss World 1996 competition. For now, cricketers with a wide variety of facets – studious, elegant, stylish, tenacious, ragged, determined, never-say-die etc – other than pretty – held centre-stage at the Chinnaswamy.After the collapse in the World Cup semi-final and disappointing ODI performances through the year, there were doubts about India’s ability to chase down targets. However, with Rahul Dravid doing well in England and with six Karnataka players in the ODI squad, the local interest was at its peak.Planning and strategies were implemented in an almost identical manner to the World Cup quarter-final. Once again, about 30 of us spent the night in the ticket queue on Cubbon Road. The public’s interest for tickets had multiplied as it was the festive season and the Chinnaswamy stadium had upped its stakes in being a formidable 12th man.After Australa elected to bat, captain Sachin Tendulkar backed the two local players – Sujith Somasunder and Sunil Joshi – at their home ground. Although Australia were not known to be too aggressive at the top, runs came only in a trickle in the early exchanges. The four main Indian bowlers were from Karnataka and they exploited the home conditions well.The stands had plenty of Indian support and also lots of Karnataka flags. Some Aussie backpackers had brought in their flags to show support. A big group of local Bangladeshi students, who had brought in their Bangladesh flags, were also chanting slogans in favor of India.After a slow start, Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh revived the innings before Waugh holed out for 41. Michael Bevan came in and tried to deal in hard-run singles and doubles, but Taylor struggled to keep up with him. When Taylor eventually got to his maiden ODI ton, the entire stadium rose in appreciation of one of the most respected captains ever.Just when Australia seemed ready for the late onslaught, they imploded as Taylor, Bevan and Stuart Law all got out trying big shots. As it turned out, the visitors ended with only 215.Since the early 90s, Kiran in our group was crazy about tracking the ‘caught Karnataka bowled Karnataka’ type dismissals. Despite six local players in the team, he did not get a chance to announce that stat until Bevan’s wicket. Caught Kumble bowled Prasad.As the Indian batsmen walked in for the chase, the arena reverberated to rhythmic sounds generated by banging empty water bottles onto seats. Somasunder had a nervy start and Glenn McGrath put him out of his misery with a well-executed yorker. Rahul Dravid didn’t last long either. Soon after, Jason Gillespie trapped Azhar lbw. As the umpire raised his finger, Azhar appeared to be taken aback and visibly showed his disappointment at the decision.Perceiving this as an umpiring error, the crowd went berserk and some spectators threw bottles onto the playing area. I watched on in dismay, as this behaviour was completely out of character for a historically sporting Bangalore crowd. Azhar came out in the direction of the stands and walked along the boundary, gesturing for calm.Once the ground was cleared, play resumed and Sourav Ganguly was run-out. At 47 for 4, the target seemed very distant. Ajay Jadeja joined Tendulkar and there were none of the “Jadeja will thrash you” predictions on display. Both batsmen took their time to weather the storm.Enter again, Steve Waugh. After his lbw appeal was turned down, he argued repeatedly with umpire Shyam Bansal. This added to the tension in the stands as well. Tendulkar then got going and the crowd got behind him. After Jadeja was also run out, it was all down to Tendulkar, as was the case so often in the 90s.Nayan Mongia and Sunil Joshi fell cheaply and then came the killer blow. After having remonstrated all evening, Steve Waugh trapped Tendulkar lbw for 88. Many spectators instinctively headed to the exit. In our vicinity, Natesh and crew had restarted the popular “” (we’ll be successful one day) Hindi song in self-pity.While the crowd’s hopes weren’t too high, Srinath raised those with a brilliant six. This was followed by proper cricketing shots, which left the Aussies stunned . Each run was lustily cheered by the Bangalore crowd.Kumble was constantly in Srinath’s ears. However, Gillespie and McGrath erred and were hit for boundaries. It was a rare lower-order success for an Indian team that regularly botched chases during the 1990s.It was fitting that Srinath hit the winning runs. The jubilation in the crowd held no bounds as firecrackers went off. The post-match street parties that followed were amazing and invoked a sense of deja vu.The popularity of Srinath and Kumble soared further in Bangalore. Few weeks later, Srinath was on a regular visit to a Javagal family home near Shankar Mutt. Word got around and that home was surrounded by students from a neighbouring school, who wanted to get a glimpse of their latest batting hero.Kumble’s family members were regularly shown on TV during this Titan Cup fixture. Just like Sohail-Prasad incident during the World Cup quarter-final, we spectators at the ground had no clue about Kumble’s mother and grandmother being there. Their gleeful expressions after the local boys pulled off the coup was memorable.

After announcing the arrival of Simon Adingra to add yet another impressive talent to their ranks, Sunderland have reportedly turned their attention towards an experienced goalkeeper this summer.

Adingra: Sunderland project is "really exciting"

Ask even the most optimistic Sunderland fan whether they expected the Black Cats to spend big this summer and the answer is almost certain to be a resounding no. Those at the Stadium of Light have entered the Premier League ready to lay down a statement, however, and become the first in six promoted sides to avoid the drop at the first time of asking. And the arrival of Adingra should play a large part in that.

The former Brighton & Hove Albion winger told Sunderland’s official website after sealing a move worth an initial £20.5m with add-ons: “It’s a pleasure to be here, and I cannot wait to get started. The Club and the project are really exciting.

“I spoke with everyone and their interest in me made the decision easy – I wanted to be part of Sunderland’s future. Playing in the Premier League has been a dream of mine since I was a kid, so to continue doing that is incredible. It’s a big challenge ahead – we’ll be facing top players and strong opponents – but I’m ready for it.”

After losing his starting place under Fabian Hurzler at Brighton last season, some may be quick to forget just how talented Adingra is, but he’ll be keen to send some timely reminders next season.

Sunderland set to sign another new star, £18m fee agreed and medical booked

The Black Cats have wasted no time.

2 ByTom Cunningham Jul 10, 2025

As impressive as the winger’s arrival is, though, the Black Cats are still not done in the summer transfer window. Reports are now suggesting that they’ve turned their attention towards a fresh shot-stopper.

Sunderland join race to sign £20m Ramsdale

According to GiveMeSport, Sunderland have now joined the race to sign Aaron Ramsdale, who has asked to leave relegated Southampton this summer. The goalkeeper reportedly has a release clause worth just £20m following the Saints’ relegation, handing those in Wearside the opportunity to swoop in should they please.

Signing an upgrade on current No.1 Anthony Patterson has been on Sunderland’s wishlist all summer. Reports even went as far as to suggest that the Black Cats were closing in on an agreement to sign Djordje Petrovic earlier this month. But with that deal yet to get over the line, the door has swung open for Ramsdale to hand Regis Le Bris a fresh alternative.

Starts

30

31

Clean Sheets

3

10

Saves P90

4

3.55

Save Percentage

67.6%

78.9%

It’s a difficult choice for Sunderland. Whilst Petrovic enjoyed an excellent campaign on loan at Strasbourg, who finished as high as eighth in Ligue 1, Ramsdale was often doing his best to help Southampton avoid major humiliation. And the numbers reflect that in many ways.

Rightly praised as “excellent” by Joe Hart at St Mary’s last season, Ramsdale could finally end his trend of frustrating relegations by swapping Southampton for Sunderland this summer.

Rohit Sharma is set to join the India side in Australia on November 24, and will play the two-day pink-ball tour game from November 30 in Canberra, ahead of the day-night Test in Adelaide. The India Test captain was not available for the first Test in Perth as he stayed back in India for the birth of his second child.In the absence of Rohit, vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah will lead the team at the Optus Stadium. “I spoke with Rohit earlier,” Bumrah said at his press conference on the eve of the first Test in Perth. “But I got a little bit of clarity on leading the side after coming in here.”Rohit’s return is a boost to the India team, who will have to rely on some fringe players for the series opener in Perth. The two-day pink-ball fixture against the Prime Minister’s XI at the Manuka Oval could serve as valuable prep for Rohit and the Indians as the hosts are likely to include some international players and Test hopefuls.Related

• Bumrah and Cummins keen to stand out as fast-bowling captains

• Rohit Sharma to miss first Test in Perth

In the last two seasons the Prime Minister’s XI fixture has a four-day contest featuring West Indies in 2022 (which was also a day-night game) and Pakistan in 2023, having traditionally been a limited-overs match, but the India game has been trimmed to just two days.Rohit will be hoping to find some form, having managed only 91 runs in six innings at an average of 15.16 against New Zealand at home recently.India had last played a day-night Test, against Sri Lanka, in Bengaluru in March 2022, when they won by 238 runs. When India last played a day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval, they folded for 36 in their second innings but they bounced back spectacularly to win the series 2-1.

What was looking like a rather dull summer for Arsenal fans just a week or so ago has since burst into life.

Kepa Arrizabalaga might be the only signing to have been officially announced as things stand, but that doesn’t look likely to remain the case.

The paperwork for Brentford star Christian Norgaard has reportedly been signed, and Martin Zubimendi is expected to be unveiled before the end of the week.

On top of that, Mikel Arteta looks to finally be getting some attacking stars in, with Eberechi Eze looking like a likely addition, and now reports linking the club to someone who’d be the perfect teammate for him.

Arsenal target dream Eze teammate

While the start of the window was dominated by stories linking Arsenal to one of Benjamin Sesko or Viktor Gyokeres, Eze has now taken centre stage.

Transfer Focus

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

Stories touting him for a move to the Emirates started to gain traction midway through last week, but then really gained momentum in recent days, with some claiming that Arteta had been involved in positive talks with him over the weekend.

Then, in yet more good news, some of the most recent reports have stated that the Englishman is now “desperate” to join the Gunners.

That desire to move to N5 might only increase now that the North Londoners have also been linked with someone who’d be the perfect teammate for him: Ollie Watkins.

That is according to insider Team news and ticks, who, on the latest episode of The Inside Foreward podcast, revealed that Arsenal have once again made contact with the Aston Villa player.

They claim that even though the Englishman is not currently the club’s priority striker signing, he is high up on the list, and that, as a boyhood fan, he would personally “love to play” for them.

In terms of the money involved, other stories from this summer indicate that a fee of around £40m could be enough to tempt the Claret and Blue into selling.

At that price, this potential transfer feels like a no-brainer, especially as he’d be an incredible teammate for Eze.

Why Watkins would be perfect for Eze

Unsurprisingly, the first and without a doubt the most significant reason Eze would love playing alongside Watkins at Arsenal, or anywhere for that matter, is his output.

For example, since the start of the 23/24 season, the often unplayable “nightmare,” as dubbed by Conor Coady, has scored a staggering 44 goals and provided 29 assists in 107 appearances in all competitions, totalling 7901 minutes.

In other words, the former Exeter City gem has averaged a goal involvement every 1.46 games, or one every 108.23 minutes, which really has to be considered world-class.

Appearances

53

54

Minutes

4323′

3578′

Goals

27

17

Assists

15

14

Goal Involvements per Match

0.79

0.57

Minutes per Goal Involvement

102.92′

115.41′

Now, just imagine how much better Eze’s already impressive numbers of 25 goal involvements in 43 games last season would be next year if he were playing just behind a striker as effective as the Villa ace.

Moreover, another reason the Palace star could love playing alongside the 29-year-old is that they are both now England internationals.

Therefore, they could have the chance to further develop their partnership at both the domestic and international levels, which in turn could help them secure more game time under Thomas Tuchel.

Ultimately, the best players in world football want to play alongside the best, and based on his performances for Villa in recent years, we expect Eze would be thrilled to start alongside Watkins at Arsenal.

Therefore, Andrea Berta and Co should be doing all they can to sign both of them this summer.

Saka will love him: £68m "superstar" is now "desperate" to sign for Arsenal

Arsenal could sign Bukayo Saka’s dream teammate this summer.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Jul 3, 2025

Jadon Sancho is yet to agree on personal terms with AS Roma, although Manchester United are prepared to let the winger leave for a £20 million ($27m) transfer fee. Sancho is yet to accept the salary that Roma are offering as it represents a massive pay cut from €15m (£13m/$17.5m) per season, that he is currently earning at Old Trafford.

Sancho yet to agree on personal terms with RomaMan Utd prepared to sell SanchoSancho has offers from Juventus, Besiktas and DortmundFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

United have told Sancho that he has no future at the club and if he does indicate a willingness to move to Roma, they will press ahead with a deal. The English winger spent the last season on loan at Chelsea but the Blues paid a penalty fee to send him back to Old Trafford.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Roma are pushing for a loan deal with an option to buy next season for £20m. The Red Devils too are pushing to get the player out of their books, whose current deal expires at the end of the 2025-26 campaign. While the clubs have reached an agreement over a probable move, Sancho has yet to give his green light. Sancho currently earns €15m per season in gross salary, but the Serie A side want the 25-year-old to sign a five-year deal to spread his wages. Sancho will earn €4.5m per season plus bonuses initially and the figure will keep rising as each season progresses, according to .

DID YOU KNOW?

The ex-Three Lions star is keeping Roma waiting as he also has offers from Juventus and Besikstas, while his former club Borussia Dortmund are also keen on a reunion.

Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED?

Right now, the Red Devils are focused on starting the 2025-26 Premier League campaign on a high. They face Arsenal in their season opener at home on Sunday.

Compared to their nearest competitors, this has been a quiet transfer window so far over at the Emirates Stadium for Arsenal.

Did you expect anything less? While Manchester City have spent a shedload on Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Tijjani Reijnders, Manchester United have added Matheus Cunha to their ranks.

Over in Merseyside, Premier League winners Liverpool have already confirmed the arrival of Jeremie Frimpong to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold. Florian Wirtz is also set to arrive from Bayer Leverkusen in a British transfer record £116m fee too.

So, Mikel Arteta and Andrea Berta better whack out the cheque book soon with plenty of new recruits needed, particularly in attack.

The latest on Arsenal's transfer plans this summer

Two of the biggest priorities at the Emirates are bolstering the wide positions and signing a brand new centre forward.

Out wide, we’ve seen notable links to the likes of Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams and Real Madrid’s Rodrygo.

As for the striker position, it’s all about Benjamin Sesko. Arsenal reportedly opened talks regarding a deal for the Slovenian a few weeks ago. Now, according to German reporter Florian Plettenburg, there is a ‘positive’ feeling around the deal, but no agreement is in place yet over a deal that could reach £68m to £85m.

If a deal cannot be done for the RB Leipzig star, then it’s likely Arsenal will aim to conclude a deal for Sporting superstar Viktor Gyokeres.

The Gunners were interested in the Swede’s services last summer and that interest has remained over the last year. What’s the latest on this one? Well, amid interest from Premier League rivals, Manchester United, it appears as though Gyokeres would prefer the Gunners.

Transfer Focus

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

That’s according to Saturday’s edition of Portuguese newspaper, Record. They suggest that north London and Arsenal is now a ‘dream’ destination for the 27-year-old attacker.

As a result, Record reveals that Man United are ‘no longer an option’ for the Sweden international. That’s despite the fact the Red Devils are now coached by Gyokeres’ previous manager at Sporting, Ruben Amorim.

According to previous reports, Arsenal have already lodged an offer worth £55m, of which £10m are bonuses.

What Viktor Gyokeres could bring to Arsenal

The great debate of the 2025 summer transfer window for Arsenal fans is whether Sesko or Gyokeres would be the better signing.

Well, as far as the raw numbers dictate, it would be the latter. There are few better finishers in the game right now than the Sporting sensation with the Swede scoring a ridiculous haul of 54 goals in 52 games throughout all competitions in 2024/25.

In the league alone, Gyokeres trumped Sesko considerably with the former now being described as “the best striker in Europe” by the Athletic, while former Chelsea defender Mario Melchiot even posed the question: “Is he the best striker in the world right now?”

That question is a tricky one considering the level the big Swede has been playing at, but regardless of that, he’d surely be a sensational signing for Arteta’s attack.

They need goals and in the form of the Sporting star, they would find more of them. But, what qualities could be bring just outside of the goals?

Well, there are echoes of a certain Alexis Sanchez here. While the Chilean was certainly better on technique alone and he boasted better close control with the ball, they do have similar builds and running styles.

Indeed, one of the most notable traits Gyokeres can bring to the game is his bulldog-like style. His slightly stockier frame means he is a “human battering ram” in the words of the Athletic’s Mark Carey.

Outlining what makes him so difficult to deal with, Peter Kisfaludy, who was academy director at Gyokeres’s former Swedish club Brommapojkarna, once said: “He is a box player but he can also drive forward with the ball because he is fast and strong.”

What Arsenal have arguably lacked since the days of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Sanchez up front is pace. Gyokeres would bring that, but like Alexis, he’d also bring the physicality to stand up to the test of rugged Premier League defences.

Alexis Sanchez in English football
Season (club)	Games	Goals	Assists
2014/15 (Arsenal)	52	25	12
2015/16 (AFC)	41	17	10
2016/17 (AFC)	51	30	18
2017/18 (AFC & MUFC)	40	11	9
2018/19 (Man Utd)	27	2	4
Stats via Transfermarkt.

The Chile superstar has a similar bulldog-like approach, described by FourFourTwo as someone who “plays like he hates losing”, hassling defenders and never giving them a moment’s peace.

Ultimately diminutive in size, Sanchez has a compact build like the Swede and his muscular frame, particularly in the upper half of his body, meaning he could drive forward and burst past defenders with the same sort of power we see from Gyokeres.

There are obvious differences, we cannot deny that, but by luring the Sweden international away from Lisbon, Arsenal may finally find a ruthless centre forward with the same level of efficiency, one who’s capable of replicating the South American’s incredible impact at Arsenal.

Can you just imagine Alexis in this current Arteta side? We can only dream.

He's a dream for Rice: Arsenal are about to submit bid for £84m "magician"

The outrageously talented international would be game-changing for Arsenal.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Jun 12, 2025

The New South Wales batter continued his impressive season as he dominated the opening day against England Lions

AAP30-Jan-2025Australia A 262 for 3 (Patterson 126*, Goodwin 70, Philippe 54*) vs England LionsFormer Test batter Kurtis Patterson further staked his claim for an international comeback after batting all day to make a superb century for Australia A.Patterson, who played the last of his two Tests in 2019, starred with an unbeaten 126 as Australia A went to stumps on day one of their clash with the England Lions at Cricket Central in Sydney on 262 for 3.Facing Test players Shoaib Bashir and Josh Tongue, Patterson arrived at the crease in the first over on Thursday after opener Tim Ward fell for a duck.Patterson will resume batting on Friday in the four-day match with Josh Philippe (54 not out).Opener Jayden Goodwin combined with Patterson for a 177-run second-wicket stand after Ward’s early dismissal.It has been a remarkable turnaround for 31-year-old Patterson, who began the summer playing grade cricket for St George after a concerning form decline cost him the New South Wales captaincy. Admitting in November he deserved to be dropped, Patterson has responded in the best possible way for NSW, and now Australia A.He has a Test average of 144, after hitting a century against Sri Lanka in Canberra in 2019. But Patterson was a victim of circumstances, not needed on Australia’s Ashes tour that year after Steven Smith and David Warner returned from their Sandpapergate bans.Australia A opted to go for a bowler-heavy XI on Thursday in the absence of Jack Edwards who had been due to captain the side, with Queensland quick Xavier Bartlett due to come in at No. 7 after Victorian allrounder Will Sutherland.