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Ashley Nurse and Tion Webster were picked as replacements for Mehidy Hasan and Raymon Reifer respectively

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Aug-2017Trinbago Knight Riders and Barbados Tridents have brought in Ashley Nurse and Tion Webster as replacements to their respective sides for losing out on players who received Test call-ups recently. Knight Riders lost the services of Mehidy Hasan, who was picked for the home series against Australia, while Tridents have been without Raymon Reifer who has been in the UK with the West Indies Test squad.Mehidy will not be available for Knight Riders for the entire CPL this season. Nurse, who earlier represented Tridents, most recently played ODIs for West Indies at home against Afghanistan and India. Nurse will join the squad in St Kitts for the match against St Kitts & Nevis Patroits on August 23. Knight Riders head coach Simon Katich said: “Ashley gives us another spin option. He has been playing some league cricket in England so he comes fresh to us from there.”Dwayne Bravo was very keen to get him into the squad given that we have still got some big games coming up against St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, Jamaica Tallawahs and Barbados Tridents.”Last month, Reifer had earned his maiden call-up to the Test squad and was therefore unavailable for Tridents for this season’s CPL. He played the tour game for West Indies against Kent but was left out of the day-night Test at Edgbaston. Webster, his replacement and so far uncapped in T20s, made his first-class debut for Trinidad & Tobago in April 2017, and scored a century in his second match, which was also the last match he played.

Leeds United will try and reduce the fee required to sign Liverpool central defender Nat Phillips this summer, transfer insider Dean Jones told FootballFanCast.

The 26-year-old played only 232 minutes last campaign for the Merseyside outfit.

Is Nat Phillips signing for Leeds United?

According to a report from the Athletic, Leeds are interested in bringing Phillips to Elland Road ahead of the club's first season back in the Championship after a three-year top-flight spell.

The Whites have recently appointed former Norwich City and Borussia Mönchengladbach manager Daniel Farke, who held an interest in signing the former Bolton Wanderers youth player during his time managing the Canaries.

The report states that Liverpool are hoping to get a fee in the region of £10m for the defender who gained cult hero status among the terraces of Anfield following his performances throughout the side's tumultuous 2020/21 campaign.

The West Yorkshire side are in the market for a defender this summer amidst rumours that both Robin Koch and Diego Llorente are set to depart for Eintracht Frankfurt and Roma respectively following the club's relegation.

Leeds are set to face competition from Dutch Champions Feyenoord for the Englishman's signature however, and the Eredivisie side could have the advantage due to being able to offer Champions League football.

According to Jones, whilst the club are interested in the centre-back, they may try and knock the price down from £10m.

What did Jones say about the potential deal?

Speaking to FootballFanCast, Jones stated that whilst Phillips is a "decent" Championship-level signing, that may be his ceiling.

Jones said: "Nat Phillips is a decent signing for the Championship. That might be the ceiling of it, I'll be honest. I mean, we don't really know what levels he can reach here, there's not much evidence to make a judgment call on that. I think Nat Phillips will be cheap, about around 10 million pounds. I would still expect that Leeds would to try to knock that price down even if they wish to try and do a deal with it, see if there was any interest."

Would Nat Phillips be a smart signing for Leeds United?

Phillips has all the potential to be a really smart pickup by Leeds.

The defender has enjoyed a spell in the Championship before, spending the second half of the 2021/22 season on loan with eventual promotion-getters Bournemouth, making 17 appearances and recording a Whoscored average rating of 7.01, suggesting that the central defender can more than hold his own at this level of football.

The 26-year-old has received plenty of praise throughout his time at Liverpool despite his limited number of appearances, with manager Jurgen Klopp calling the player "unbelievable" and stating that his development as a player has been "absolutely insane".

This might finally be the summer where Phillips gets his move, with the Reds having previously blocked the exit path multiple times due to defensive injuries, curtailing potential moves to the likes of Bournemouth, Southampton, Galatasaray and Benfica.

Should Leeds manage to beat out the competition to sign the Liverpool man, they could have the perfect, ready-made Koch replacement as they try to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

David Warner has said his game plan was to attack KKR, especially their spinners, and it is always important to have game plans against quality attacks

ESPNcricinfo staff01-May-20172:01

Had a game plan to commit to my shots – Warner

When Sunil Narine was introduced in the fifth over of Sunday’s game between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders, David Warner was busy razing the visitors. If anyone thought Narine’s arrival would herald a period of watchfulness from Warner, he dismissed such thoughts first ball, switch-hitting a six over short third man to register a fifty off 20 balls, halfway to what would become the fifth-fastest hundred in IPL cricket. After Sunrisers completed their 48-run thumping of KKR, Warner said his assault was planned.”It was great that I went out there and had a clear game plan,” Warner said at the post-match press conference. “I just said to the guys ‘commit to your shots’.”Speaking to the IPL website later, he elaborated on this plan to apply pressure on KKR, especially their spinners. “When you got a quality spin-bowling unit bowling against you, you always have to have a game plan. I try and take that risk out by backing my strengths. The reverse-sweep is one of my strengths.”I thought, tonight, I had to have that clear plan while playing and I did. I wanted to try and mix it up by coming down the wicket and putting a bit more pressure on them. I tried to make them bowl faster into the wicket. They bowled faster on a few occasions and didn’t at times. But that is the kind of game plan you’ve got to have.”Warner finished with 78 runs off 30 balls against the spinners, and Sunrisers’ opening stand amounted to 139 in 12.4 overs. However, Warner’s partner Shikhar Dhawan accounted for just 29 off those, off 30 balls. Warner said that was the kind of batting required of Dhawan at that stage.”I have to make a special mention of Shikhar Dhawan – the role that he played tonight,” Warner said. “I had to play that role [at the start of] last game when he was going all guns blazing. And Kane Williamson is unbelievable, he just comes and knocks it and gets a 40. It just sums it up for us.”Warner also praised 23-year-old fast bowler Mohammed Siraj, who made the first breakthrough for Sunrisers in their defence of 209, and then claimed a well-set and threatening Robin Uthappa. “Siraj is learning on the go and that is what we expect. It is fantastic. That is the quality of this Sunrisers unit. We are not harsh critics, but we allow the guys to get chances, and the way he has come out and taken his chances is fantastic.”And it is great to have Bhuvneshwar Kumar there always talking to him. An experienced bowler like Bhuvi is of great help.”

Jake Ball could be forced out of England’s Caribbean tour after suffering an injury to his right knee

George Dobell27-Feb-2017Jake Ball could be forced out of England’s Caribbean tour after suffering an injury to his right knee.Ball, who played all three of the ODIs in the recent series in India, limped off the field after the first delivery of his third over in England’s final warm-up game before the three-match ODI series against Wets Indies. He subsequently broke down when attempting to run in the net area as the England support staff tried to assess the extent of the problem. He will play no further part in the match against a WICB President’s XI.The England management hope to arrange a scan on Ball’s knee in St Kitts today, but may be obliged to wait until the tour party reach Antigua tomorrow. They believe the problem is at the back of the right knee.If Ball is forced home, the tour management may well consider calling up a replacement seamer. Chris Jordan, who has recently been playing in the PSL, would be one obvious option, while one of the Curran brothers might be another. Stuart Broad, who performed well in the BBL and has made no secret of his desire to return to the ODI side, is also a possibility.The England squad is already without Mark Wood, David Willey and Reece Topley due to injury, while Jason Roy was left out of the side for the second warm-up game due to a badly bruised right hand sustained as a result of several recent tough sessions of fielding training.They had better news as regards Alex Hales, though. He will fly out to Antigua on Tuesday and continue his rehab with the rest of the squad following a hand injury. He has not, as yet, been officially added to the squad but that could change in the coming days if the medical team deem his recovery complete.The first ODI takes place in Antigua on Friday.George Dobell is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo. He will be covering England’s tour of the Caribbean in association with Smile Group Travel, specialists in hosted supporters’ packages.

Once the jewel of the club's academy, the winger's career at Stamford Bridge has come to a sad end

It's almost unimaginable now that a club of Bayern Munich's stature would be interested in forgotten Chelsea man Callum Hudson-Odoi, but that was the reality in 2019. A two-year pursuit would culminate in a rejected loan offer that included a whopping £70 million ($90m) obligation to buy, with the Blues steadfast in their resolve to hold on to one of the jewels of their academy.

Two-and-a-half years on, and that resolve has disintegrated – to the extent that Chelsea have negotiated the 22-year-old's exit for less than £10m. Their west London neighbours Fulham lodged a £4m ($5.1m) bid some weeks ago, and now the Blues have accepted an offer from Nottingham Forest that will see the England international leave for an initial £3m ($3.8,m), with another £2m ($2.5m) available in add-ons.

But was has provoked such a sharp decline in Hudson-Odoi's value to his boyhood club? GOAL examines the reasons behind the winger's sad fall from grace…

getty ImagesHis Achilles heel

Niggling fitness issues often hampered Hudson-Odoi in the early years of his senior career, but two much more serious injuries effectively derailed him.

The 2018-19 season had been something of a breakthrough campaign for the then-18-year-old, who had shone in a Europa League campaign that would end in the Blues lifting the trophy. It was in that period that Bayern began to circle, with Chelsea rebuffing a £40m ($51.5m) approach in January 2019 despite a transfer request from the player.

However, having earned a regular Premier League place, an Achilles rupture in April 2019 saw his progress cruelly halted as he was sidelined for five months.

Then, after some strong form in 2020-21 and a second rejected approach from Bayern, his season was brought to an abrupt end by a two-month layoff by a hamstring injury, while his Achilles issues returned in 2022 and led to a nerve issue that left Hudson-Odoi barely able to kick a ball.

Speaking after making his recovery, he said: "It was a weird one. It was a neurological thing where I had a tweaked nerve in my back and it stemmed all the way down through my body, so it then became difficult for me to retain muscle. There was no power really in my legs and everything was like ‘woah’. I was trying to pass the ball 10 yards but I had no power and I couldn’t even do it."

AdvertisementGettyNever fully trusted

Hudson-Odoi's case has never been aided by those recurring injury problems, but he has also never truly nailed down a starting place at Stamford Bridge since his breakthrough five years ago.

Although he was initially given minutes when Thomas Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard as Chelsea head coach in early 2021, those became increasingly infrequent as time went on and he was on the fringes by the start of the 2021-22 campaign.

Speaking about that period last year, he said: "There were times and you think, 'what have I done wrong? Or what am I doing wrong not to be playing?' Sometimes it was difficult and frustrating. You are sitting on the bench or might not even be in the squad and then you're like 'what on earth have I done to deserve that?'

"I train well every day, I give my all in every game, but then I don't get picked. Of course, if there are other players doing well in your position, they should get picked as well, but at the same time, you always want to fight for your position and have a fair chance."

Getty ImagesOut of position

Hudson-Odoi was made to suffer under Tuchel in particular. The German tactician's preferred tactical set-up, with three at the back and two inverted attacking midfielders behind a striker, didn't leave much space for a traditional winger who is at his best when hugging the touchline.

Indeed, the academy graduate was often forced to deputise at right wing-back. Although he admitted that playing there helped him improve defensively, he was also open about that not being his preferred role.

Speaking in January 2022, he said: "I’d definitely say I prefer more-attacking positions for myself, as a winger or a No.10 kind of player. Obviously I like to be direct and try to create scoring opportunities for the team, hopefully try to score some myself. Playing in that position I’m more comfortable and I feel more free while playing there as well.

"It’s definitely a different position [wing-back], definitely harder, so I’d say definitely an attacking position is what I prefer."

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Getty ImagesHugely underwhelming loan

Those frustrations likely contributed to the wide man's decision to seek an exit from Stamford Bridge last summer. Having witnessed the success of fellow English youngsters Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham in the Bundesliga, he opted for a season-long loan to Bayer Leverkusen. It was a deal that provoked excitement for a potential resurgence in Germany.

However, he was unable to emulate the success of his compatriots. Inconsistent performances saw him lose his place under head coach Xabi Alonso by the turn of the year, and he suffered the ignominy of being hooked at half-time twice in the space of three league appearances.

Speaking in March, Leverkusen's managing director Simon Rolfes called on him to improve: "He has to show consistency, go into dangerous areas and become a goal threat himself. He has to show a lot more presence. He can do a lot more there. He has the technical qualities for it."

However, there was no change in his fortunes as he made just one appearance between March and May.

Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane will sit down with the expected new Spurs boss, Ange Postecoglou, to hold talks over where his future lies in north London.

Who is Ange Postecoglou?

The managerial search in N17 is seemingly coming to a close with Daniel Levy believed to have found his man in the Celtic manager Postecoglou.

Indeed, reports have suggested the Australian has now agreed personal terms with the Premier League club just hours after completing the treble with the Bhoys.

It is now believed that it is only the final details which will need to be ironed out with Celtic to overcome in order to see the 57-year-old become the new manager at Spurs.

However, Postecoglou has a huge task on his hands as the Lilywhites appear to be in need of a major rebuild following a dreadful 2022/23 campaign.

And one of the major issues hanging over the club at the moment is the future of their star player, Harry Kane, who has just one year remaining on his current deal.

With the Australian now looking set to become the new Spurs boss, Fabrizio Romano has told his YouTube channel that Postecoglou will hold behind-the-scenes talks with Kane in an attempt to keep him:

"But what is very clear also is that Daniel Levy is still prepared to fight for Harry Kane. He will try once he will have a new manager, conversations will take place with Postecoglou to convince Harry Kane, to keep Harry Kane at the club. So Tottenham will try again in the next days."

Could Kane leave Spurs?

The England captain's future appears to be at a real crossroads this summer with a number of clubs believed to be interested amid his dwindling contract.

Indeed, it is believed the likes of Manchester United have identified him as a priority signing for the summer window as Erik ten Hag searches for a new striker.

However, interest from abroad has also increased over recent days with reports suggesting Real Madrid will look to Kane as their potential replacement for the departing Karim Benzema.

Two of the world's biggest clubs could, therefore, be on the hunt for Kane's services this summer but it seems Spurs are not willing to potentially lose him without a fight.

But is Postecoglou a big enough name to convince Kane to stay?

The Australian has enjoyed a brilliant spell at Parkhead having won a bag full of trophies over his two years in the job.

However, this potential move to north London would be the 57-year-old's first job in one of Europe's top five leagues which could leave a lot of uncertainty for the England captain.

Kane will turn 30 years old over the coming weeks and whether he is willing to invest his time in this expected rebuild at Spurs under a manager who is not proven at this level is yet to be seen.

The series between India and Pakistan’s women’s teams, which counts towards ICC Women’s Championship points, is in major doubt

Umar Farooq16-Oct-2016The series between India and Pakistan’s women’s teams, which counts towards ICC Women’s Championship points, is in major doubt. The two have till the end of October to play the series, but the BCCI has not responded to the PCB’s queries on the series since May with either a confirmation or rejection. If the series is not played, an ICC spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo that the matter of how the points will be awarded will be referred to the event’s technical committee. The PCB wants India to forfeit the six points available for the series if they do not agree to play.Pakistan is due to host India for this series, which is supposed to consist of three ODIs, and the PCB is open to holding the series in the UAE. Eight teams are part of the ICC Women’s Championship; the top four at the end of the championship, which runs over two and a half years, gain automatic entry into the 2017 Women’s World Cup in England. The bottom four will have to qualify via a ten-team qualification tournament in early 2017.”The two sides have until the end of this month to play the series, which has to be hosted by Pakistan,” the ICC spokesperson said. “If the series doesn’t go ahead, then the matter will be referred to the Event Technical Committee.”A BCCI official said the board has not made a decision on the matter yet, and that it would be binding on the Indian government’s call. “This is for the government to decide. The BCCI doesn’t have a say in this,” the official said. “We still have time to make a decision.”Cricketing ties between India and Pakistan are currently stalled, given the political tensions between the neighbours. The men’s teams have not played a bilateral series against each other since December-January 2012-13, when Pakistan visited India, but had met in various multi-team tournaments since then, including the World Cup, World T20, Champions Trophy and Asia Cup. The latest Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two boards in May 2014 featured six series from 2015 to 2023, but the series which was supposed to be played last December in the UAE was shelved; then, too, the BCCI had said it was up to the government to sanction the series.There have been two major instances of teams refusing to play matches due to non-cricketing reasons in the past, and both times those teams had to forfeit the points. In 1996 Wills World Cup, West Indies and Australia refused to send their teams to Sri Lanka due to security issues arising out of the civil war; points for both the games were awarded to Sri Lanka. In 2003 World Cup, England forfeited their match with Zimbabwe, and New Zealand forfeited their match with Kenya, both due to security concerns due to political unrest.In the ICC Women’s Championship, India currently sit sixth on the table with 13 points five points adrift of the top four. Pakistan are seventh with eight points. If the six points for the series are awarded to Pakistan, neither side will have a chance to directly qualify for the World Cup. Pakistan Women, regardless, are set to tour New Zealand for three ODIs in Nelson from November 13 to 17, counting towards the championship. It is understood the PCB wanted to play the India series ahead of this tour.India and Pakistan’s women’s teams are also scheduled to play the Asia Cup in Thailand between November 25 and December 5.

Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf has warned the PCB to stop hosting its “home” series in the UAE or it will damage Pakistan cricket

PTI03-Aug-2016Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf has warned the PCB to stop hosting its “home” series in the UAE or it will damage Pakistan cricket.”Playing on the flat and low-bounce pitches of Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Dubai has already affected our cricket and our players, and if we don’t stop organising our series there it will eventually damage our cricket,” Yousuf told PTI.He said that playing in the UAE for the last six or seven years had an adverse effect on the skills and technique of Pakistan batsmen. “If it is all about creating records, fine. But it is not helping our cricket in anyway and we will stop producing players capable of playing on any surface in a few years’ time if we continue playing our home series in UAE.”Yousuf said that it was a point of concern that against Australia in two Tests in the UAE in 2014-15, Pakistan batsmen had scored nine centuries while in the first two Tests in England there was only one century.”And let us be straight, so far we have not encountered any typical English pitch in the ongoing series,” he said.He backed any move by the PCB to try to organise its home series at some other neutral venue. “Sri Lanka or Bangladesh are far better options as conditions there are more suited for cricket,” he said.The PCB has been forced to organise its home series at neutral venues since the attack by gunmen on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in March 2009.

As Manchester United continue their push for Champions League qualification and further silverware, a key figure for the Red Devils yet again this season has been Bruno Fernandes, with the Portugal international proving truly influential in the centre of the park.

The 28-year-old – who signed for the Red Devils back in January 2020 – has arguably had his "best" campaign yet since arriving in Manchester, according to journalist Samuel Luckhurst, notably offering the versatility and willingness to feature in a variety of roles for his side, including on the flanks.

Something of an everpresent during his time at Old Trafford – having remarkably missed just one game through injury or illness over the last three years – the former Sporting CP man has again been a mainstay in midfield this term, starting 47 games in all competitions to date.

The playmaking sensation has racked up a stellar haul of 22 goal involvements across all fronts in that time, with it no doubt unsurprising that Erik ten Hag has followed in the footsteps of the likes of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick in making the one-time Udinese ace his main man.

There will, however, be concern with regard to the over-reliance on Fernandes in that playmaking berth, with the only other senior alternative in that position, Donny van de Beek, having failed to score or register an assist this term, prior to his season-curtailing injury.

As such, Ten Hag could have potentially identified a dream heir or competitor to Fernandes in the form of Feyenoord captain, Orkun Kokcu, with The Mirror having reported that United sent scouts to watch the Turkey international – who could be the subject of a £31m offer from Benfica – in action of late.

Would Kokcu be a good signing for Man United?

Much like United's stand-in skipper – who has been "leading the team" according to Ten Hag – Kokcu is also a "true leader" in his current home, as per talent scout Jacek Kulig, with the 22-year-old having taken on the armband despite his relative youth.

The Netherlands-born maestro – who can operate in a central midfield or attacking midfield berth – has also enjoyed a standout campaign for the Eredivisie title hopefuls, providing 12 goals and four assists in 38 games across all fronts.

Clearly a player who can make the difference in the final third, like Fernandes, the 5 foot 9 gem also shares the Portuguese's creative prowess having created nine big chances and averaged 2.8 key passes per game in 26 league games this season, while the United man has created 21 big chances and averaged 3.0 key passes from his 28 top-flight outings.

Kokcu also clearly possesses that knack for sparking attacks for his side from deep as he has averaged 11.85 progressive passes per 90 over the past 365 days, with that actually far better than what even Fernandes has achieved (6.71).

That standout metric is an illustration of just what a coup it could be if Ten Hag is to utilise his Dutch connections to sign the 20-cap ace from Rotterdam, with it looking as if the youngster could be a dream successor to United's number eight.

Titans were crowned South Africa’s first-class champions after a 10-run win over Cobras inside three days. Titans, who topped the points table going into the final weekend, ensured they stayed there despite an early scare in Paarl.Cobras were bowled out for 164 in their first innings after Wayne Parnell, who took 12 for 105 against Dolphins last week, added another five-for this week. Parnell had assistance from right-arm pacer Dane Paterson, who took three wickets, while Vernon Philander bowled a typically strangling eight overs.For a while it looked like Cobras would squander the advantage as they slumped to 51 for 4, but Omphile Ramela, the captain, and Cebo Tshiki put on a fifth-wicket stand of 95, before Parnell added to his accolades with 59 to put Cobras in the lead. They were bowled out for 285, thereby taking a 121-run lead.Enter Heino Kuhn. After becoming only the sixth South African to record 1000 runs in a first-class season, he wiped out the deficit as his team-mates were outspun by Dane Piedt. The offspinner took 7 for 106, with the only other Titans’ batsman to cross 30 being Henry Davids, the captain. That set Cobras a target of 136, which they defended against the odds.Cobras would have fancied their chances even as they stumbled to 74 for 4. But when they lost Dane Vilas, Parnell and Philander in the space of two overs to slip to 87 for 7, the fight fizzled out. They were dismissed for 125, with Rowan Richards, who finished with 7 for 40, the hero of the second innings.Titan’s nearest challengers, Lions , who were in second place, all but bowed out of the race on the first day as they were bowled out for 68, with Sisanda Magala, the pacer, taking 6 for 25. They eventually lost by an innings and 101 runs to Warriors .Hardus Viljoen gave Lions the perfect start with a wicket off the first ball in Warriors’ reply, but their small total was always going to make things difficult. Although Viljoen ended with a five-for, half-centuries from Colin Ackermann, Somila Seyibokwe and Simon Harmer, the captain, ensured they took a 307-run first-innings lead.On the evidence of Lions’ first innings, Warriors would have felt confident of an innings win. With Lions 61 for 4 in reply, that confidence wasn’t misplaced. Nicky van den Bergh resisted with 52, but all they managed was to take the game into the third day. They were bowled out for 206 to give Warriors an innings and 101-run victory and a second successive win to end an otherwise barren summer.