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Saqib Mahmood, the young England seamer, would “look forward” to using a Kookaburra ball in County Championship fixtures if a round of games with the ball was introduced.Mahmood, who made his T20I debut on England’s New Zealand tour at the end of last year and was an unused member of the Test squad, said that he had “made good strides” learning how to bowl with a Kookaburra in the nets, and suggested that using the ball instead of a Dukes in domestic cricket would “bring in a different skillset to be successful with”.ALSO READ: Mahmood, Stone, Overton given ECB pace-bowling development contractsWhile there are no plans to introduce a round of games with a Kookaburra ball for the 2020 Championship season, it was discussed as an idea by the ECB’s cricket committee at the end of last year, and Ashley Giles, the managing director of England cricket, has described it as “an issue we should get our head around”.”It helps playing [home games] at Old Trafford,” Mahmood said at an England Lions training camp, “but if it did come across I’d look forward to it. It would bring in a different skillset to be successful with, rather than bowling a few dibbly-dobblies.”If we had that in the Championship for a couple of rounds, how would teams react? What kind of bowlers would they pick? Guys who haven’t had a look-in might start to get a look-in – teams will have to find a way to take 20 wickets.”Mahmood emphasised the difference in how the two balls behave with an example from the nets in New Zealand, when Paul Collingwood, one of England’s assistant coaches, bowled to him with both.”I had Colly bowl to me with a Dukes in New Zealand and I couldn’t hit it,” he said, “then when he had the Kookaburra it was a different ball game.”While he bowls at good pace by English standards, Mahmood has attracted attention in his fledgling career primarily due to his ability to make the ball reverse-swing, shining in last season’s One-Day Cup as one of the few bowlers able to make the white ball move off the straight at the end of an innings.He is set to make his ODI debut in South Africa next week, and was a late addition to the T20I squad as a replacement for the injured Jofra Archer. Following that series, he will travel to Australia to join up with the England Lions squad in time for the final two red-ball games of their tour, games in which he will hope to impress with half an eye on the 2021-22 Ashes series.Although Mahmood did not come close to a Test debut in New Zealand, he is sufficiently highly regarded by the ECB that he has become one of three seamers – along with Olly Stone and Craig Overton – handed a pace-bowling development contract, which will see him work closely with the England set-up in an attempt to help his progress.”I wasn’t involved in [the first Test at] Mount Maunganui,” he said, “so it was a case of watching how the New Zealand guys bowled – I was watching quite closely, seeing the fields they have, the tactics… looking how to bowl outside of England and with a Kookaburra.”I’d watch, then go into the nets, try things, and very quick I was picking up on reverse swing. That’s something which I can use as one of my strengths away from England and with the Kookaburra. It’s also [about] practising new skills for unresponsive pitches.”It was learning how best I can use [the Kookaburra]. I found in the nets if I bowled seam upright, it looked nice and pretty but I didn’t think I was very effective. So it was [a case of] pitching the ball up a bit, bringing both edges into the game. The ball I try to swing is the variation, rather than the stock ball as it is in England.”Saqib Mahmood’s ability to reverse swing the ball has earned him plenty of attention•Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Mahmood also heralded Darren Gough’s work as a short-term bowling consultant in New Zealand, where he spent two weeks with the England squad ahead of the Test series. He had developed a bad habit in his run-up during the T20I series, which had gone unnoticed, but Gough’s “fresh set of eyes” spotted the problem almost immediately.”As soon as I put that back into my training I felt good again and thought ‘God, I wish someone had told me this two weeks ago’,” he said. “Exposure to high-pressure situations can do things: you start to try harder and that can have a backward effect.”It was really good, because I obviously get reverse when I bowl but I wouldn’t know how to go about it as best as I could before I worked with Goughie. He told me how much he practised it, which I was nowhere near.”When you’re trying to reverse swing a ball back into a right-hander, your mind is telling you to push the ball, but you don’t want to do that. As easy as it sounds, it does take a while to get used to it. By the end of the trip I was doing ten balls at the end of every session and I actually got pretty good. I made good strides.”

Exciting La Liga stars Lamine Yamal and Arda Guler clashed on the pitch during Sunday's World Cup qualifier between Spain and Turkey.

• Youngsters face off during Spain vs Turkey
• Guler's frustrations boil over late on
• Yamal gets two assists in impressive win

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Spain thrashed Turkey 6-0 in World Cup qualifying in a match that saw the Barcelona wonderkid come up against rising Real Madrid star Guler. Yamal enjoyed himself on the night, grabbing two assists as La Roja crushed the hosts. It was a tough night for Turkey, and Guler, with the Real Madrid youngster's frustrations boiling over at one point as he clashed with Yamal.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  After Spain had netted their sixth goal, Guler was seen giving Yamal a hefty push. The Barcelona teenager did not appear to take too kindly to the gesture and immediately moved forwards again, only to receive another push from his opponent. 

• WHAT GULER SAID

  Guler had spoken about Yamal before the match and had been full of praise for the Barcelona forward. He told reporters: "I’m not surprised by what Lamine Yamal is doing because he has a lot of talent. He will do everything to make things difficult for us, but we also have a lot of potential and will play with great confidence."

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT?

  The two youngster don't have too long to wait until they meet again on the pitch. The first Clasico of the 2025-26 season is scheduled for October 26th at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Home sides will only lose points if a WTC match is abandoned because of an unfair pitch

Firdose Moonda09-Oct-2019

Playing conditions in the age of the World Test Championship are less likely to be stacked in favour of the home team, according to South Africa captain Faf du Plessis.Watch cricket on ESPN+

India v South Africa is available in the US on Hotstar and ESPN+. Subscribe to ESPN+ and tune in to the Tests.

Currently preparing to play the second Test in a three-match series in India, du Plessis and his team have been pleasantly surprised with the pitches, which are less hostile than they were on South Africa’s last tour in 2015.Back then, South Africa faced a trial by spin and lost two of the three non-rain-affected matches inside three days. The Nagpur surface was rated poor on the evidence of variable bounce, turn and pace, and South Africa’s batsmen were completely undone, which led to them losing a first series on the road in nine years and their No. 1 ranking.In response, South Africa prepared revenge strips – green tops – for India’s visit in 2017 and earned their own premier pitch at Wanderers a fine for excessively steep and unpredictable bounce. The venue remains under warning until 2023 but du Plessis thinks such tactics are unlikely to continue thanks to the new championship.”That’s the big thing the Test championship has changed. In the past, if you had a below-average pitch, you got a warning, whereas now you get deducted points,” du Plessis said in the lead up to the Pune Test.He is only partially correct, because the home side will only lose points if the match is abandoned because of an unfair pitch, but the broader point stands. Home sides are less likely to ask for anything that could result in their line-up being disadvantaged by conditions because they would not want to risk losing any points.South Africa players sing the national anthem on the first morning•Associated Press

“Home games are going to be very important. We knew coming here, India will always be a tough place to play, but you’ve got to make sure you get your points at home,” du Plessis said. “It’s not as obvious as making wickets like that [to suit the home side] anywhere, like what it was in 2015.”That much was evident in Visakhapatnam, where the pitch started off slow, flattened out and then took turn later on. It remained possible to score runs and take wickets throughout and produced a compelling encounter, which India won convincingly. Du Plessis expected Pune to have slightly more in it for the hosts. “The turf is a little bit more red, more spinning conditions, so expecting the ball to spin a little bit more from the straight. I am not a pitch expert but I think it will take a bit more turn than the first Test.”ALSO READ: The mystery of the Pune pitchThat will affect how South Africa select their XI, which came under some scrutiny for including three frontline spinners in Visakhapatnam, two of whom were largely ineffective. Dane Piedt looks most likely to lose his place if South Africa are after an injection of pace with either Lungi Ngidi or Anrich Nortje, which may help with their big-picture goal of bowling India out twice. “We are thinking what’s going to be our most aggressive options to get 20 wickets,” du Plessis said. “We didn’t get 20 wickets the first Test and that’s something I don’t want to do again. We are planning for a pitch that will be a bit drier and that will spin.”Keshav Maharaj wheels away in celebration•Gallo Images/Getty Images

While that means Keshav Maharaj and Senuran Muthusamy, if he plays, will be expected to do most of the wicket-taking, South Africa will also look at the way Mohammed Shami bowled in the first Test to inspire their quicks.”KG [Kagiso Rabada] and Vern [Philander] are masters in their conditions, they have proved that but any cricketer, not just bowlers, tries to learn from players in their own conditions,” du Plessis said. “Shami ran in with a lot of intensity, a bit quicker than in the first innings, and things happened a little quicker off the pitch. Also, learning from the lengths that he bowled. He is a guy that hits the stumps a lot. That’s something we want to make sure we are better at. In the first innings, we were too wide and they scored quite frequently square of the wicket.”South Africa had few answers to Shami’s burst on the fifth morning, which they could not blame on conditions. But as a line-up, they still lasted beyond lunch on the final day and proved to themselves that conditions are not unplayable in the new, Test-championship era.”The difference with us from 2015, where you try and survive in Indian spinning conditions and with that sometimes you can become too defensive and you allow the opposition to be on top of you the whole time, now it needs to be a good combination of positive play, an element of taking risks at some stages of the game to try and counter that pressure from the bowling. The balance between attack and defense is key when you are playing in the subcontinent.”

MatériaMais Notícias

da bwin： O atacante Bruno Rodrigues, ex-Ponte Preta e primeiro reforço do São Paulo para a próxima temporada, comentou sobre sua chegada no clube e a expectativa de estreia no Tricolor.

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da wazamba： – Estou muito ansioso para vestir a camisa do São Paulo. Chegar no Morumbi também vai ser um sonho. Já joguei aqui, mas pelo Tricolor é diferente. Vou dar o meu melhor e a minha vida em todos os jogos – disse o jogador, em entrevista à SPFCTV.

Quem foi o craque do Brasileirão? Redação do LANCE! escolhe os melhores

De origem humilde, Bruno relembrou suas dificuldades no começo da carreira e falou sobre o sonho que é vestir a camisa do São Paulo.

– Sou do interior, passei por muita dificuldade na minha vida, vim da roça, mas sou muito honrado por isso, não tenho vergonha de falar disso para ninguém. Sei o quanto eu batalhei, trabalhei, principalmente com os meus empresários e minha família, minha mãe, que é uma guerreira, e hoje estou realizando um sonho deles, meu também, que era ser jogador de futebol. Sei o quanto foi difícil e hoje, graças a Deus, estou em um grande clube – afirmou.

SIMULE A ÚLTIMA RODADA DO BRASILEIRÃO

O jovem atacante de 23 anos está emprestado até o final de 2021, mas o São Paulo conta com a opção de compra ao final do período.O Tricolor pagou R$ 250 mil por seu empréstimo de um ano, com valor de compra fixado em 1,2 milhão de euros (R$ 7,8 milhões)

Com a contratação do atleta, que pertence à Ponte Preta, o Tricolor espera resolver a falta de atacantes de velocidade no elenco. Na temporada de 2020, Bruno foi um dos principais jogadores da Macaca, somando 11 gols e 12 assistências.

Usman Khawaja’s season of two halves continued as his unbeaten 86 led Queensland to a home Marsh Cup final with a four-wicket victory over Tasmania in Hobart.Khawaja, who has struggled in first-class cricket this season and missed out on the Test squad, is now the second-highest scorer in the one-day competition.He ensured that Queensland recovered a middle-order blip which saw them slip to 5 for 137, chasing 224, when Bryce Street and Jimmy Peirson fell in consecutive balls.Jack Wildermuth helped add a decisive 85 for the sixth wicket and the required rate was never a stretch which meant Khawaja did not need to force the pace.Max Bryant had given the chase early impetus before he edged behind off Jackson Bird with Matt Renshaw and Charlie Hemphrey also falling to catches from the keeper to leave Queensland 3 for 75 in the 16th over.After the match Khawaja said he could not remember a pitch in Australia that provided as much grass as this one, with the seam bowlers in the contest throughout the day.Queensland made excellent use of it after winning the toss as they reduced Tasmania to 4 for 40 – when George Bailey was bowled trying to leave the ball – through excellent early spells from Wildermuth, Mark Steketee and Xavier Bartlett.The middle and lower order did well to recover as Macalister Wright (46) and Simon Milenko (36) added 75 for the fifth wicket before falling in consecutive overs against Steketee.Gurinder Sandhu was an unlikely saviour from No. 8 as he struck a maiden one-day fifty, although the landmark came with significant embarrassment as, on the same ball as reaching his half-century, he was carelessly run out while over the crease line but having not grounded the bat or himself.Queensland will play Western Australia in the final on November 26 at a venue to be confirmed.

Pakistan were given a shock in Lahore and have to figure out what their best combination is

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando06-Oct-2019Big pictureIt was no real surprise that Sri Lanka rode an outstanding fifty from Danushka Gunathilaka to a competitive total in the first match. Were it not for injury and disciplinary issues, the opener would command a place in their first-choice limited-overs XI. He is among the more naturally gifted batsmen in any match.It was also no surprise that Dasun Shanaka helped Sri Lanka maintain their momentum through the later stages of the innings. He is one of the cleanest ball-strikers around.What was surprising was the ease with which Sri Lanka shut Pakistan’s chase down. Even without Lasith Malinga, the fast bowlers had the opposition 22 for 3. Pakistan are the top-ranked T20I side in the world, but this particular top order contained Umar Akmal, who had not contributed to that rise, and Ahmed Shehzad, who had not played a T20I since mid-2018. They made 4 off 9 balls and a first-ball duck respectively. As a result, coach Misbah-ul-Haq, who made these out-of-left-field selections, is facing a little scrutiny after his first T20I in charge.ALSO READ – Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad have my full backing as captain – Sarfaraz AhmedBut one victory does not make Sri Lanka invulnerable. Avishka Fernando appears to have hit some modest form in Pakistan, to follow his breakout World Cup, but the likes of Lakshan Sandakan and Wanindu Hasaranga are also far from reliable wristspin options still. The more senior players in the Sri Lanka XI will need to continue to produce excellent innings and spells, so that the younger cricketers can play in their slipstream.Form guidePakistan LLWLL (completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka WWLLLIn the spotlightVery quietly, Shadab Khan has been having a disappointing 2019. His legspin has averaged 41.11 across 13 ODI innings this year (though his World Cup average of 35.55 was better). In T20Is, his numbers are even bleaker – his economy rate up at 9.42, and his average at 44, albeit from only four appearances. Sri Lanka is a team he had generally done well against, but several batsmen seemed to enjoy his bowling through the course of this tour, and his 1 for 35 on Saturday was modest without being terrible. In recent years, Sri Lanka haven’t loved playing wristspin. If Shadab can turn his form around, Pakistan will go some way to checking the opposition’s batting.Misbah-ul-Haq oversees Pakistan’s training session•AFPPrior to his debut, no uncapped Sri Lanka player had quite produced as much hype in the capital as Bhanuka Rajapaksa. A star at school level for one of the fanciest Colombo institutions – Royal College – Rajapaksa had been tipped by many to become one of the island’s best. But in senior cricket, his record has been modest, particularly in first-class and List A matches. Despite this, he has now got the chance to showcase his wares at the top level, and in his first T20I, he produced an innings that went some way to justifying the ten-year hype. If he can back Saturday’s 32 off 22 balls up with another good performance, the selectors may keep him on even when the first-choice players return to the fray.Team newsGiven Shehzad’s poor innings in the first match, Fakhar Zaman may come back into the XI.Pakistan (possible): 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Babar Azam, 3 Umar Akmal, 4 Sarfaraz Ahmed (capt.) (wk), 5 Iftikhar Ahmed, 6 Asif Ali, 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Shadab Khan, 10 Mohammad Amir, 11 Mohammad HasnainSri Lanka will probably see no reason to change their XI.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Danushka Gunathilaka, 2 Avishka Fernando, 3 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 4 Shehan Jayasuriya, 5 Minod Bhanuka (wk), 6 Dasun Shanaka (capt.), 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Isuru Udana, 9 Lakshan Sandakan, 10 Kasun Rajitha, 11 Nuwan PradeepPitch and conditionsThe dew that both teams had expected did not turn up in force on Saturday. Expect Lahore to produce a similar surface.Stats and trivia Sri Lanka have lost each of their four most-recent T20 series, two of which have been at home, and two away. Their last away series win (outside one-off games) was against Bangladesh in early 2018. Pakistan have never lost a bilateral T20I series to Sri Lanka. Umar Akmal has not made a T20I fifty since February 2016. Shehzad had not made one since September 2017.

Kagiso Rabada takes seven wickets in the match as England slide to innings defeat

Alan Gardner19-Aug-2022South Africa completed a crushing innings win over England at Lord’s, dismantling the home batting line-up for the second time in three days to go 1-0 up in the series. Anrich Nortje ripped the heart out of innings with a three-wicket salvo after lunch, while Kagiso Rabada finished with match figures of 7 for 79, as England were blown away in 37.4 overs.The result handed Ben Stokes his first defeat as England’s full-time Test captain, and confirmed that after a run of four wins in a row, South Africa would present a stern test of the new management’s attacking philosophy.In the build-up, Dean Elgar had bullishly declared he was not concerned with how England might try to play, and his players backed up that stance by asserting themselves from the outside in a concerted collective display. The bowlers, in particular, were ruthless. Rabada and Nortje shared 13 wickets and they had superb back-up from Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi and Keshav Maharaj, the spinner who struck twice before lunch on day three to undermine England’s hopes of batting their way back into the contest.Related

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Although South Africa’s innings only contained one half-century, from the opener Sarel Erwee, nine of the XI reached double-figures as they carved out a decisive 161-run lead on first innings. England could point to having been inserted in helpful conditions but, for the first time this summer, they found themselves deep in a hole and without the carrot of trying to engineer a chase. It did not take long for the wheels to come off.Alex Lees was dropped in the cordon in Rabada’s second over, and Elgar’s decision to turn to spin brought a few raised eyebrows. But Maharaj responded by taking wickets in his first and third overs, Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope both trapped lbw. Crawley fell sweeping at his third ball from the left-armer, extending his trough of form – he averages 15.64 from his last seven Tests – and Pope was pinned on the back foot, via a review, with the last ball before lunch.South Africa had the bit between their teeth, and Lungi Ngidi claimed the prize wicket of Joe Root, tempted into pushing at one that left him down the slope for a low catch at second slip. A three-day finish was suddenly looking increasingly likely, but such was the speed of England’s subsequent capitulation that the result was done and dusted before tea, Nortje ripping out three wickets in 10 balls before the last four were blitzed for the addition of eight runs in 3.3 overs.Anrich Nortje roars in delight after netting Jonny Bairstow for the second time in the Test•PA Photos/Getty ImagesIf South Africa’s success was largely marked by a quiet intensity, in the manner of their captain, Elgar, the passage in which Nortje removed Jonny Bairstow, Lees and Ben Foakes was pure fast-bowling bombast. Although he seemed to be battling with the slope from the Nursery End, he found his range during an over in which every delivery was above 90mph/145kph and at one stage topped 95mph/153kph.Bairstow had twice used the extra pace to cut boundaries but was caught behind by one that left him. Nortje then went round the wicket in his next over, taking the ball up the slope to feather Lees’ outside edge; two balls later, Foakes flinched at a 92mph/148kph delivery in the channel, and Kyle Verreynne again completed the dismissal.The response from Stokes and Stuart Broad was to try and hit their way out of trouble, and their success during a stand worth 55 from 45 balls briefly raised the possibility of South Africa having to bat again. Broad closed his eyes and swung Nortje for six into the Tavern Stand, but was then foxed by Rabada’s slower ball for the second time in the match.A diving catch in the deep from Maharaj presented Rabada the wicket of Stokes, and with Jansen hitting the stumps of Matt Potts and James Anderson either side, the end came swiftly. With England batting for fewer than 90 overs across their two innings, South Africa’s four-man pace attack could look forward to two extra days of rest before the second Test of three begins at Old Trafford next Thursday.The morning began with England claiming a wicket third ball, but that was about as good as it got, as South Africa’s solid batting effort cemented their hold on the Test. The lead was already a handy 124 overnight, and although Rabada was dismissed early, via a spectacular one-handed catch from Broad, England’s attempts to finish the innings quickly by bowling short were frustrated by a 29-run stand between Nortje and Jansen.Nortje dealt with the barrage capably, despite a couple of half-chances that did not go to hand, and began to push the scoreboard on, driving Stokes sweetly through mid-on from one of the rare balls in his half. Jansen was the more watchful, adding just seven runs to his overnight score before edging Broad to slip just shy of a maiden Test fifty, as England finally reverted to a more orthodox approach. Ngidi also fell to a catch in the cordon – Bairstow holding on at the second attempt – but there was to be no Bazballing their way out of this one.

After Glamorgan’s run-fest on the opening day, it was their own bowlers’ turn to toil on the second

ECB Reporters Network12-Apr-2019
After Glamorgan’s run-fest on the opening day, it was their own bowlers’ turn to toil on the second, as the Sophia Gardens pitch continued to offer little, if any, assistance.By the close, Northamptonshire’s openers, Ricardo Vasconcelos (126*) and Rob Newton (85*) had shared an unbroken partnership of 234. They still required a further 187 runs to avoid the follow on, but on the evidence so far, there is little prospect of a positive outcome on such an unresponsive strip.When play resumed, Glamorgan added 137 runs in the morning session, before declaring during the lunch break. They lost Billy Root to the fourth ball of the morning, when the debutant left-hander struck a low catch to backward point. Root and Kiran Carlson had added 172 for the fifth wicket, before Carlson, who added a further 10 runs to his overnight 101, was taken at first slip.Graham Wagg and Marchant De Lange quickly followed, but Chris Cooke then accelerated to strike a rapid undefeated 70 from 87 balls with a six and ten fours before calling a halt to the innings.Needing 421 to avoid the follow-on, Northants’ openers set off confidently. Vasconcelos – a 21-year-old from Johannesburg who has a Portuguese passport – struck two boundaries in Michael Hogan’s second over, and was the dominant partner against the five-man Glamorgan pace attack.After scoring 56 and 79 here last summer, Vasconcelos was dropped at second slip after scoring 21, and was uneasy at times against the legspin of Marnus Labuschagne, but he deserved his fourth first-class century which included 15 boundaries from 189 balls.Newton was no less effective, as the pair went past the 150-run stand, with Glamorgan, like Northants, resorting to seven bowlers. The most effective was Labuschagne, who was treated with respect and ended his opening spell with the commendable figures of 11-1-29-0.With the pitch as true as it was when the first ball was bowled on Thursday morning, Northants could look to bat on to an imposing total, or declare if and when they reach maximum batting points.The latter would be a popular decision with the spectators, especially if they witness a run-chase on the final day, otherwise there will be little to interest them if the game meanders to a draw.

D.C. United superstar Christian Benteke has revealed that his iconic 'silencer' celebration is inspired by Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.

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Benteke has six goals for DCU this seasonReveals how LeBron James inspired his celebrationImpressed by LA Lakers star's work ethicGet the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games nowWHAT HAPPENED?

Speaking as a guest on MLS' ExtraTime radio show, the D.C. United striker was tell-all on the influence that the Los Angeles Lakers star has had on him. The former Premier League striker revealed that the 'work ethic' of James was one of his biggest influences.

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The Belgian has been on fire in 2024, scoring six goals in six appearances for the Eastern Conference club. He even opened his 2024 campaign with a hat-trick against the New England Revolution. Now, nearly two months into the campaign, his iconic 'silencer' celebration now has an origin: Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.

WHAT BENTEKE SAID

“It comes from him,” Benteke said on Extratime Radio on MLSSoccer.Com. “Since I got into the basketball world, I've always been inspired by him. Me, as a footballer, you have players that you look up to. But then I was trying to look to a different sport and basketball was the closest to football. Then LeBron, you can't go wrong by choosing him. “It's work ethic, it's discipline about his work. We all know the great athlete that he is, but for me, it's more everything that he does to be so great.”

USA Today Sports WHAT NEXT FOR BENTEKE AND D.C. UNITED?

Benteke and D.C. are back in action on Saturday when they take on NYCFC in an Eastern Conference clash. Benteke will look to build on his tremendous goalscoring campaign when the aim for their third win of the campaign.

Manchester City boss Gareth Taylor has explained why England star Chloe Kelly was benched for the third game in a row for Saturday's derby triumph.

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Kelly unused sub in Man City's win over UnitedEngland star's third game in a row on benchCity boss Taylor explains why and sends messageWHAT HAPPENED?

Kelly wasn't in City's starting XI for the FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Tottenham earlier this month and is yet to regain her place from Australia star Mary Fowler. She came on as a substitute in the win over Brighton last week and was unused during the victory over rivals Manchester United on Saturday.

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Kelly has essentially been ever-present for City when she has been fit, forming an exceptional front three with fellow England winger Lauren Hemp and striker Khadija Shaw, who became the women's team's all-time top goal-scorer on Saturday. This is the first time she has really fallen out of favour since joining the club, with Fowler being preferred.

WHAT TAYLOR SAID

Asked about her absence, Taylor explained: "It's just basically we have good players. We put Mary [Fowler] into the FA Cup game, she scores. She scores against Brighton last week. Mary's a very good player. She started the first eight or nine games this season for us. Of course, the demands are really high of what we ask for, in kind of goals and assists from those players, without it being all about that. But Mary has taken her opportunity and now what Chloe has to do is work hard every day in training to be ready.

"I think that's the main thing, to be ready, and when she gets the opportunities, and today if we don't concede maybe she gets an opportunity, other times maybe not. But regardless, the levels have to be good and that's the same for all of the players and I think Jess [Park] is probably a case in point with that one, her attitude and her enthusiasm and her level of training performance was very good whether she played or not. I think that's a big plus for her."

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DID YOU KNOW?

The situation also comes at a time when Kelly is about to enter the final year of her contract in Manchester. Reports have suggested talks for a new deal have been put on hold until the end of the season.