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Liverpool endured a nightmare spell against Brentford on Saturday which saw both Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones forced off to add to their injury woes.

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Alisson & Alexander-Arnold already sidelinedJones injured after awkward landingSalah returns as Jota stretched offGetty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

Jones lasted just over half an hour before landing awkwardly, with Ryan Gravenberch brought on in his place. Jota then made a vital contribution to set up Darwin Nunez for a fine finish to put Liverpool 1-0 up. But he was crunched minutes later by a combination of team-mate Alexis Mac Allister and Brentford's Christian Norgaard and stayed down after a worrying-looking knee injury. The Liverpool forward had to be stretchered off as Salah made an unexpectedly early introduction at the Gtech Community Stadium.

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The double injury is a hammer blow for Jurgen Klopp. Liverpool are already without Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson, Thiago Alcantara and Dominik Szoboszlai, among others, and would likely have been planning not to re-introduce Salah so early on Saturday. Klopp now faces an anxious wait on Jota's condition – as that knock looked particularly serious – as he enters an injury crisis at the worst possible moment of the campaign.

WHAT DID KLOPP SAY AFTER THE MATCH?

Speaking at full-time of Liverpool's 4-1 win over Brentford, Klopp said on the injuries: "Mixed emotions because we lost players, which we don't know how serious they are. It doesn't look great for either of them (Jota and Jones)."

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Getty ImagesDID YOU KNOW?

Jota has already spent a month out injured this season with a muscle problem – missing eight games for Liverpool – and only returned to action in late December. Camera shots from within the tunnel area of the Gtech Community Stadium later showed the Portuguese worryingly struggling to walk, where a serious injury would be a nightmare blow for the Reds.

Xavi mendadak mengumumkan akan pergi dari Barcelona di akhir musim gara-gara perlakuan yang ia terima selama menjabat.

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Xavi akan tinggalkan Barcelona di akhir musimMerasa tak dihargaiBerharap anak asuhnya versus OsasunaAPA YANG TERJADI?

Xavi secara mengejutkan mengumumkan keputusannya untuk meninggalkan pos kepelatihan Barcelona setelah anak asuhnya dihajar Villarreal 5-3 di La Liga, Minggu (28/1). Pelatih asal Spanyol itu sebelumnya diisyaratkan merasa kesal dan stres atas segala kecaman media yang ia terima semenjak kembali ke Camp Nou pada 2021, dan kini ia mengonfirmasinya.

AdvertisementMENGAPA XAVI TINGGALKAN BARCELONA?

Xavi buka-bukaan soal kesulitan yang ia alami menjelang laga versus Osasuna, yang digelar Kamis (1/2) dini hari WIB: "Ini persoalan mental dan sepakbola. Kegagalan demi kegagalan membuat tim ini makin melemah dan menurunkan level para pemain. Level sepakbola menurun gara-gara level mental. Itulah mengapa saya mengumumkan keputusan saya. Terlebih, saya merasa pekerjaan kami kurang dihargai. Saya sudah memutuskannya sejak lama, sejak awal musim."

GOAL KEKEJAMAN BARCELONA

Ditanya apakah laga Osasuna akan lebih emosional, Xavi menjawab: "Dengan lebih bertanggung jawab, bukan emosional. Masih banyak yang kami perjuangkan, kami masih memiliki kepentingan untuk memberikan yang terbaik di La Liga dan bersaing di Liga Champions. Saya akan terus bekerja dengan sangat antusias, saya baik-baik saja."

"Saya mencoba mengungkapkan apa yang rasakan. Mereka membuat saya merasa tak berharga setiap harinya, dan ini terjadi kepada semua pelatih [Barcelona]. Pep [Guardiola] pernah bilang ke saya, [Ernesto] Valverde juga. Saya melihat [Luis] Enrique menderita. Saya rasa kami punya masalah terkait beban tuntutan yang ditimpakan pada posisi ini. Tidak menyenangkan dan rasanya setiap momen seperti mempertaruhkan nyawa. Di klub lain tidak seperti ini, makanya saya bilang ini kejam."

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APAKAH SITUASI FINANSIAL BARCA TERKAIT DENGAN KEPERGIAN XAVI?

Barcelona dihantam krisis finansial sejak beberapa waktu lalu. Alhasil, mereka tak bisa membeli pemain penting di bursa transfer Januari. Tapi Xavi memastikan bahwa keputusannya mundur tak berhubungan dengan situasi keuangan klub.

"Babak belurnya menjadi pelatih tak ada hubungannya dengan situasi ekonomi," imbuhnya. "Saya orang klub ini dan akan selalu demikian sampai akhir. Sayangnya situasinya sangat negatif, dan pihak internal telah melakukan pekerjaan dengan sangat baik."

"Saya bangga, dan suara hati saya sangat jelas. Ssaya selalu memprioritaskan klub dan para pemain lebih dari diri saya sendiri. Oleh karena itu, saya mendapatkan afeksi. Saya tak pernah mengeluh dan selalu beradaptasi dengan kondisi yang ada."

Manchester United are still looking for new additions who can make an impact on the squad at Old Trafford this season, and now a new update has emerged on a potential transfer target.

What's the latest Man United transfer news?

According to the Daily Mail, Everton have outlined their expectations to part ways with their star midfielder Amadou Onana this summer.

As per the report, Manchester United are revealed to be strongly interested in signing the Belgian star this summer as a potential alternative to Sofyan Amrabat, however, the Toffees have set out their demands if they were to be willing to sell Onana on.

Read the latest Man United transfer news HERE…

It is claimed that Everton expect to command a fee greater than Southampton have for Romeo Lavia (£60m) as they believe he has more experience than the Saints youth prospect, and are not interested in any swap deals that might be offered in approaches to secure his signature.

What does Amadou Onana offer?

Erik ten Hag has made it no secret that he is still on the look-out for quality reinforcements that can bolster the Man United squad this summer and following a poor performance from his midfield personnel last night against Wolverhampton Wanderers, it would be no surprise if recruitment plans intensify at Old Trafford.

Despite stealing a 1-0 win from Wolves, it was far from an exemplary display from Ten Hag's side on their return to Premier League action and the centre of the pitch was put into the spotlight for criticism as their visitors dominated throughout.

Former Manchester United legend and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville was quick to slam the midfield presence following the game on Monday Night Football:

"Manchester United's midfield was non-existent it emptied. It was a concern that was maybe sort of, if you watched Man United in pre-season, leaving Casemiro on his own when Mason Mount and Bruno Fernandes go forwards, it looks great. But you’ve got to have a balance."

As a result, the signing of Onana could provide the Red Devils with the partner Casemiro is crying out for in midfield and could significantly improve the much-needed ball retention in the middle third.

Despite falling into a relegation battle with Everton last season, the Belgium international was a stand-out performer in the squad throughout both potent in attack and defensively sound – the perfect box-to-box midfielder.

Over 33 Premier League appearances, the £100k-per-week ace scored one goal, registered two assists, tallied up an 84% pass completion rate and won 57% of his defensive ground and aerial duels combined, proving himself to be a bullish but composed asset.

Football talent scout Jacek Kulig profiled the 21-year-old as an "aggressive & tenacious tackler" with a "very high work rate & determination", as well as "great pace & coordination for a player of his size" who is ultimately a "one-man army in midfield".

All of these attributes make him the perfect player to partner Casemiro in midfield, as the 31-year-old is often dragged out of position to cover his lesser positionally disciplined teammates in both defensive and attacking opportunities.

Whereas if he had Onana alongside him in midfield, the Everton gem can cover the box-to-box duties allowing the Brazilian superstar to do what he does best in screening the back four and exercising his strong passing range from the deep-lying role.

With that being said, if Man United do not succeed in their pursuit of Amrabat there is no doubt that Onana would be a worthy alternative and the perfect profile of player to form a dream duo with Casemiro this season and beyond.

The fall of three late Bangladesh wickets lent hope the Chittagong Test may yet produce a result, after Sri Lanka had secured a first-innings lead of 200, amassing 713 for 9

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando03-Feb-2018Dinesh Chandimal tucks the ball past short leg•Associated Press

The fall of three late Bangladesh wickets lent hope the Chittagong Test may yet produce a result, after Sri Lanka had secured a first-innings lead of 200, amassing 713 for 9. Roshen Silva completed an assured hundred, Dinesh Chandimal a measured 87 and Niroshan Dickwella a rapid 62, but it was Sri Lanka’s spinners who truly breathed life into the game. Finding turn with the almost-new ball, Dilruwan Perera, Lakshan Sandakan and Rangana Herath struck once each in the final 12 overs of the day. With both Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim Iqbal among those dismissed, the Bangladesh middle order is now charged with carrying them to safety on day five. They are still 119 runs behind.The late wickets came after the hosts had begun their second innings with such confidence. Tamim Iqbal was not quite as belligerent as he had been in the first innings, but he was nevertheless positive, stroking Herath through midwicket early in his innings, before delectably flicking Suranga Lakmal through square leg in the fourth over. Sri Lanka raised some good lbw shouts, but batting still appeared a relatively uncomplicated exercise. Imrul Kayes was quieter than Tamim, but hardly seemed to be struggling.It was in the over that Imrul was dismissed that the vibe changed. Tamim was beaten twice by turning Dilruwan Perera deliveries before he finally managed to get himself off strike off the fifth ball. Imrul then somehow managed to get the toe-end of his bat to an attempted ramp shot, and the ball looped out towards the square leg fielder, who completed an easy take. The remaining 11.5 overs were tense; only two boundaries were struck before stumps. Tamim was largely to blame for his dismissal – prodding at a Sandakan ball that was not threatening the stumps, only to send a thin edge to the wicketkeeper. Mushfiqur, however, can consider himself very unlucky. He got forward to defend a full delivery from Herath, only for the ball to hit his bat and bounce off his shoe. Kusal Mendis took a good low catch at silly point.Sri Lanka’s march to their gargantuan score was, it must be said, utterly tedious viewing, even if it may turn out to be in service of a Test win. The morning session was another speckled with Sri Lanka milestones – Roshen and Chandimal bringing up the third century stand of the innings, before Roshen completed a proficient maiden Test ton. Later in the session, after Roshen had been caught behind off a Mehidy Hasan delivery, Sri Lanka ploughed on past 600. Bangladesh’s bowlers were by now in various states of fatigue, and their four front-line bowlers had all conceded over 100 runs apiece.Where there had been urgency in the progress of Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis on day three, Chandimal had largely been content to inch along, hitting three boundaries off the 185 deliveries he faced. Had he scored 13 more runs, he would have had a fifth Test century against Bangladesh, but soon after lunch, he allowed a straight Taijul Islam delivery to wriggle between bat and pad. The afternoon was enlivened, if only mildly, by Niroshan Dickwella’s aggression and Mehidy’s bowling.Dickwella’s sweeps and reverse-sweeps kept Sri Lanka’s score rolling – the most impressive of those shots the flat reverse sweep against Taijul that scorched to the boundary in front of square. Mehidy flighted the ball nicely and read the batsmen’s intentions well, often firing it fast and flat if he sensed his opponent would make an advance down the pitch. For his enduring boldness, Mehidy was rewarded with Dickwella’s wicket – the batsman top-edging an ill-advised reverse-sweep against the turn, to a ball that pitched well outside his leg stump. In the previous session, Dickwella had survived an lbw shout against Mehidy that could have fairly been given out, though the not-out decision would not have been overturned on review either.Dilruwan Perera contributed a largely uneventful 32 to the score, but when three quick wickets fell either side of tea, Chandimal decided Sri Lanka had batted long enough. All up, they had kept Bangladesh in the field for 199.3 overs, which was only three balls fewer than the longest stretch in the field a Bangladesh side had ever endured. Taijul’s workload was immense – he had bowled 67.3 overs in the innings.

Crystal Palace fans expected Wilfried Zaha’s departure to be the most detrimental storyline of the window.

But, Chelsea and Manchester City are now circling around the club’s next most influential talent, Michael Olise.

Last season, the Frenchman recorded 11 assists, which was the joint-fourth-highest tally in the Premier League. This fabulous statistic also meant he was the first Palace player to ever claim double-digit assists in a top-flight campaign.

If Olise departs, it will leave the Eagles scrambling for another attacker.

However, instead of rummaging through outside options, the club already possesses Malcolm Ebiowei, who deserves a chance in the first team.

Who is Malcolm Ebiowei?

The 6 foot 1 Englishman enjoyed youth stints at Chelsea, Arsenal, and Rangers, before joining Derby County in 2021.

Ebiowei made his senior debut in February 2022 when the Rams beat Hull City in the Championship. Two months later, the youngster scored his first senior goal in a 2-0 victory away at Blackpool.

Although he only notched 16 senior appearances for Derby, his brimming talent was quickly recognised. After the club’s 1-1 draw with Coventry in March, then-manager Wayne Rooney described his performance as “one of the best I have seen from a young player consistently for 90 minutes in a long time.”

The Manchester United legend added:

“He was excellent all game. He was the best player on the pitch, and he deserves that because he’s worked so hard. His attitude is incredible, and he’s an exciting young player.

“He has got an enormous amount of ability. He’s brave — he’s not afraid to take players on, get tackled, and make mistakes.”

How good is Malcolm Ebiowei?

The 19-year-old gem also netted seven goals in eight games for the U18 side, which alerted the Eagles to his glimmering potential, and he joined on a five-year deal that summer. He was then swiftly given his debut when he came on as a substitute on the opening day of last season against Arsenal.

Since then, he joined Hull on loan, and despite only being used sparingly, has displayed a glistening effervescence. Last term, in just 12 second-tier starts, the former Chelsea academy gem averaged the most dribbles per game (2.3) in the squad.

Ebiowei also excelled across the continent, as he ranked within the best 1% outside Europe’s top five leagues among his positional peers for successful take-ons per 90. His pace, directness, and dynamism could make him a formidable asset for Roy Hodgson.

If fast-tracked to the first team, his journey could bare similarity to that of Tyrick Mitchell.

The left-back made his debut in 2020 and in the last two seasons, has featured in 72 of the club’s last 76 Premier League games.

Although, unlike Ebiowei, Mitchell spent time in the Palace academy, and Hodgson and Patrick Vieira both displayed undeterred faith in the defender, who rewarded them with consistency, reliability, and tenacity.

The full-back’s former U16 coach Anthony Hayes lauded him as an “outstanding talent from day one” and a “silent assassin”, who looks comfortable at the top level.

Palace have never been notoriously big-spenders, so having to possibly source Zaha and Olise replacements is an extremely daunting prospect.

But, half the issue could be solved if more trust is placed in Ebiowei. If the attacker can pinpoint some elusive productivity, then he could forge a promising career at Selhurst Park.

The ICC Americas staff begins a series of town hall forum meetings around the USA with an aim to create a governance structure under a new constitution

Peter Della Penna12-Sep-20173:18

‘Our success will be measured by new federation’ – Eric Parthen

The governance process to rebuild USA cricket in the wake of the USA Cricket Association’s expulsion in June takes another step forward this week as ICC Americas staff begins a series of town hall forum meetings around the country. The overarching aim is to create a governance structure under a new constitution to achieve the ICC’s repeatedly stated goal of “unifying the cricket community” according to the ICC’s USA project manager Eric Parthen.”Leading into the expulsion, obviously we continued to try and work with USACA and get them to reform with the new constitution,” Parthen told ESPNcricinfo in a recent interview ahead of the first town hall meetings to take place this week in New York City and Washington, DC. “That didn’t happen. So at the ICC annual conference we had a unanimous board decision and a unanimous full council decision to expel USACA. In the wake of that, we’ve done exactly what we said we were going to do and continue to focus on developing a national governing body that can unify the cricket community.”We will ultimately use the constitution that was created by the sustainable foundation group, potentially make a few tweaks to incorporate in the state of Colorado instead of the state of New York, but by all intents and purposes it will be the same document that was created by the cricket community and was proposed to USACA. We’ll use that document to ultimately elect a new board of directors that will then assume authority and hopefully by June of 2018 be before the ICC as a national governing body or federation for the United States in the sport of cricket.”Parthen says that despite USACA’s unwillingness to adopt the revised constitution put forward to them by the ICC’s Sustainable Foundation Advisory Group, the final straw preceding USACA’s expulsion as an ICC Associate Member, he is making it clear that current or former members of USACA are more than welcome to throw their hat in the ring to be a part of the new federation. That includes longtime USACA president Gladstone Dainty, a controversial figure whom many current and past administrators blame for the stymying the growth of cricket in the country.”This has never been about one individual,” Parthen said when asked about whether Dainty and other USACA executives would be welcome to run for office given the contentious nature of USACA’s expulsion. “This process has been about unifying the community. So whether it is Gladstone or somebody else from ACF, we’re going to put trust in a unified body to make good decisions for the directors that will ultimately be elected.”When we look at the board makeup, there’s going to be two athletes elected both male and female that will serve as a check and balance, there will be three independent directors that will serve as a check and balance. There will be some individuals elected by clubs and leagues and then there will be individual elected seats by the full membership. So we believe there’s enough checks and balances there to get the right people elected. If anyone is elected, I’d hope that they went through a great process that showed they have the majority of people interested in seeing them lead this organisation.”One of the main areas of focus for Parthen’s office in Colorado Springs is establishing a database to collect information about the wider cricket community. The purpose is to establish better communication channels but also to make sure as many constituents as possible are identified and registered to be able to take part in elections which are anticipated to be held in early 2018.”We want to set up a governing body that’s a governing body for all forms of the sport: softball cricket, hardball cricket, disabled cricket, all forms of cricket we think the national federation should ultimately govern,” Parthen said. “That’s why we’re focused on creating a database that can manage all of those pieces and ultimately communicate with all of those pieces.”Clubs, coaches, athletes, umpires, administrators, fans, we want them all to be a part of this new national federation, have a voice in the new national federation and ultimately be a part of it. So that database needs to be able to support all aspects of it. Once the database is created, we’ll shoot to have membership open in November of 2017 and ultimately elections starting in January 2018 with hopefully a finishing point of April 2018 where we have a new board of directors and a new national federation to govern the sport of cricket in the United States.”One of the ironic aspects of USACA’s suspension and expulsion has been that instead of having their ICC funding stopped – as was the case in previous suspensions and what occurs when most countries are suspended – their ICC funding mushroomed. USACA had been getting approximately $300,000 annually from the ICC prior to suspension but the caretaker administration in the USA has been operating on an annual budget between $2 and $2.5 million, equivalent to Ireland and Afghanistan before their elevation to Full Membership.When the new national governing body is put in place, the funding assistance from the ICC is expected to revert to pre-suspension levels. However, Parthen is optimistic that the new governing body will be able to maintain if not exceed those funding levels independent of help from the ICC.”The $2-2.5 million, we think that’s a drop in the bucket compared to what this country potentially could produce,” Parthen said. “The ICC hasn’t commercialised any aspect of this sport. A typical national federation in any other sport – USA Swimming, USA Basketball, Cricket Australia, you name it – are commercialising parts of the game and we have not done that.”We are very bullish and we hope the new national federation will be very bullish on the opportunities that exist for growing the amount of revenue that we can ultimately support cricket in the United States with. We hope that far dwarfs the $2-2.5 million that the ICC has supported this country with and I’d argue that in the time that I’ve been here, I certainly see those potential opportunities and I’d be disappointed if we only function on a $2.5 million budget in this sport moving forward.”Parthen was also in Florida during CPL weekend last month where staff and volunteers surveyed fans in person and online to seek out opinions on designing a logo for the new national federation. A new logo is something he feels is an important symbolic step in rehabilitating the image of USA cricket as they chart a new path with the formation of a fresh national governing body.”Specifically with the logo, we want it to represent the United States,” Parthen said. “This is a United States federation. So the imagery will be red, white and blue, USA, speak to cricket, hopefully speak to our identity as a sport with over 300 years of history in the United States but also do so in a way that is more progressive, more forward-thinking, looking forward, more exciting, a new future and a new era for cricket.”One thing that came out in our surveys is that we need to be thoughtful of both our past and our present. We’re very optimistic and bullish on what the future of USA cricket can be but we also need to keep in mind what our past is and the history that we have in the United States.”

Fulham and Nottingham Forest are "leading the chase" for exciting young Man City defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis, according to journalist Graeme Bailey.

Who will Fulham sign?

The west Londoners are yet to confirm an official signing this summer despite reports in the media linking them with a host of fresh faces over the last few weeks.

Marco Silva's side are fresh off the back of a positive first full campaign back in the top flight, coming after they secured promotion from the Championship last year.

Fulham contended for a European place and even finished above cross-town rivals Chelsea in the table, so Silva will be looking to build upon the many positives of that campaign.

Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi, USA international Sergino Dest, Valencia midfielder Yunus Musah, Roma defender Roger Ibanez and Man United's Fred have all been linked with moves to Craven Cottage recently.

Meanwhile, star Fulham players like Joao Palhinha won't be prised away by elite English sides so easily, with Silva and co set to demand around £90 million for him according to some reports in the media.

As clubs eye a move for defender Tosin Adarabioyo as well, it is believed Fulham are chasing the signing of a new central defender, leading to their links with the likes of Ibanez.

Another centre-half attracting Fulham's attention is Harwood-Bellis, with the 21-year-old playing a key role as England's Under-21s won their first European Championship in nearly 40 years recently.

The City starlet was a "star" of Burnley's promotion campaign during his loan spell last season, as explained by journalist Bailey in a column for 90min.

Expanding on his links to Fulham, Bailey claims they're "leading the chase" for Harwood-Bellis alongside league rivals Forest, with both sides emerging as front runners for his signature.

He has just one year left on his contract, which is due to expire in 2024, putting a host of clubs on red alert – including other potential suitors like Newcastle, West Ham and Burnley.

How good is Taylor Harwood-Bellis?

The exciting young defender lead England's U-21s to their first European title in decades.

Harwood-Bellis' stock is only rising, especially after his leading role for Burnley last campaign, with Man City legend and Clarets boss Vincent Kompany holding him in high esteem.

The Belgian heaped praise on Harwood-Bellis' "incredible" drive and insisted that he is only going to get better an better as the years go on.

"I've known Taylor [Harwood-Bellis] for a long time," said Kompany.

"So what everyone can see on the ball or what everyone can see when he goes into his challenges, I think his biggest quality, that is perhaps more difficult to see on the eye, is his leadership and his incredible drive and high standards.

"These kinds of players you can almost be certain are going to improve. Usually when a talent goes wrong it's because there's something mentally not right. With him he's got that more than anyone else. Wherever he is now, in two or three years time he will be a lot better."

City are apparently set to demand around £15 million for his services, a price tag which may well be worth considering given the youngster's obvious quality.

Matthew Lamb’s controlled half-century was a positive sign for Warwickshire as they wait impatiently for talented youngsters to feed into an ageing side

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jul-2017
ScorecardMatt Lamb brought some youth to Edgbaston’s green pastures•Getty Images

Warwickshire’s struggles tend to be blamed on the age factor. Theirs has been moving in only one direction for a number of years with the first eleven often consisting almost entirely of players over 30. It is not the only factor in their decline but it is clearly significant.It is not out of sentiment, of course, that so many seniors have kept their places. The fact is that few of the younger players at Edgbaston have been good enough to force them out. Warwickshire’s academy is long established but the last graduate, so to speak, to do enough to earn a county cap was Chris Woakes, who is now 28.Woakes is an all-rounder. The last specialist batsman to emerge from the academy and win a county cap – Ian Westwood – retired last week, less than three weeks short of his 35th birthday.Given the enormous number of people in Warwickshire’s catchment area it is a depressing state of affairs, illustrated only too starkly by the recruitment of all-rounder Will Rhodes, who will join the staff next season. Rhodes, 22, used to captain Yorkshire’s academy but cannot get in their first team.Bringing down the average age of the Warwickshire side is one of many tasks Ashley Giles agreed to take on when he returned to Edgbaston during the winter. He will be encouraged, therefore, that Matt Lamb was good enough to mark his home Championship debut with a half-century.Lamb, a 20-year-old right-handed batsman from Wolverhampton who went to school in Bromsgrove and has been playing club cricket for Barnt Green since he was a junior, was a late choice for this match, called up as a replacement for Ian Bell, who has an elbow injury.There are no bigger boots to fill – figuratively speaking, at least – in this Warwickshire side. Yet Lamb met the challenge impressively, showing patience initially and then, when responsibility fell on him for a while to hold Warwickshire’s innings together, a good measure of composure.Coming in at 86 for 3 when Sam Hain pushed at one from Ryan Higgins to be caught behind. He was off the mark with a single off his first ball but remained in single figures for more than an hour, content to leave Jonathan Trott to keep the scoreboard moving.Things changed when Trott was out, lobbing an easy return catch to Tom Helm when he completely mistimed a pull. Lamb could have panicked but instead had the confidence to take the initiative himself as Tim Ambrose joined him, pulling Helm for his first boundary and following up with a couple more.The pitch was a good deal easier than the raging turner he had encountered on his first-class debut at Taunton last year, yet it was one that Middlesex felt might offer them enough to merit bowling first and while their attack was missing both England call-up Toby Roland-Jones and Steven Finn, who pulled out with back spasms, it was hardly lightweight.Lamb soon lost Ambrose, leg before playing back to Higgins, which left him as the last specialist batsman, yet he was unfazed, going on to complete his half-century off 119 balls with his fifth boundary, before coming unstuck against the off-spinner, Ollie Rayner, who lured him into stretching a little for a ball outside off-stump, which he edged to slip.There are, in fact, three academy products in this eleven, the others being Andy Umeed, who made his second first-class hundred last week against Lancashire, a match in which the right-arm seamer George Panayi took 3 for 41 on debut. Others have flattered to deceive here but there is some cause for optimism, at least.Lamb’s was not the innings of the day. That honour went to Rikki Clarke, who will be 36 in September, whose 83, including nine fours and a six off Rayner, took Warwickshire to a third batting point before he was leg before to a full delivery from James Harris to what became the last ball of the day.As well as losing Finn and Roland-Jones from their bowling, Middlesex made a change at the top of their batting order, where Nick Gubbins, leading run scorer in last season’s title-winning side, is the man to give way to the returning Sam Robson.

Gujarat Lions have signed allrounder Irfan Pathan as a replacement for Dwayne Bravo, who was ruled out of the 2017 IPL with a hamstring injury

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Apr-2017Gujarat Lions have signed allrounder Irfan Pathan as a replacement for Dwayne Bravo, who was ruled out of the 2017 IPL with a hamstring injury. Irfan, who was unsold at the auction in February at a base price of INR 50 lakhs, posted a photograph of himself wearing a Lions jersey on Twitter, and said he was “looking forward to be part of this wonderful unit.”Irfan, 32, has been part of five IPL franchises – Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Daredevils, Kings XI Punjab, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rising Pune Supergiant – in the past. He has 80 wickets from 102 IPL games, apart from 1137 runs at a strike-rate of 120.57. However, he had a poor run with Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016, scoring 11 runs in three innings and going wicketless in the eight overs he bowled.Lions had hoped Bravo, who did not play a match this season, would be available for the second half of the tournament. He was undergoing rehabilitation in Rajkot, but couldn’t recover in time. “While recovery is going well and I have made vast improvement and have participated in team trainings with the Lions, my body is not ready to perform at its fullest potential,” Bravo had said in a statement.Lions also lost left-arm wristspinner Shivil Kaushik for the rest of the season through injury. Kaushik’s replacement was 23-year-old Ankit Soni, an allrounder from Mumbai.After making the playoffs last year, Lions are currently in seventh place, with two wins from seven games.

Juventus winger Federico Chiesa would be an "awesome" signing for Arsenal and stands out as an "exciting" player, says journalist Dean Jones.

Who will join Arsenal this summer?

Mikel Arteta and co are already making serious moves as the domestic transfer window officially opens, with the north Londoners thought to have already lodged a formal £80 million bid for West Ham star Declan Rice.

The offer was outright rejected by the Irons, who are instead hoping for a fee closer to £100m, but Rice isn't the only player Arsenal are looking at.

In central midfield alone, there have been reports that Brighton star Moises Caicedo and Man City captain Ilkay Gundogan are targets, while Arteta's side could also look to make a move for Southampton's Romeo Lavia.

For the forward areas, the most heavily linked recently has been Chelsea star Kai Havertz, with reliable journalist David Ornstein breaking news of an opening "proposal" for the German.

Chiesa, who boasts a Euro 2021 winner's medal with Italy, is apparently an attacking target too as reports in the Italian press claim Arsenal have registered an interest in the £38 million forward.

Indeed, newspaper La Repubblica reported earlier this month that the north Londoners are now in the race for his services, alongside Premier League rivals Chelsea and Newcastle United.

Speaking to GiveMeSport, in reaction to the claim, reporter Jones believes he would be an "awesome" attacking signing for Arsenal.

Jones goes on to call him a very "exciting" player, but it will be a difficult deal to do from Edu's perspective.

"I love Chiesa and I've always hoped he would one day land in the Premier League. It will be interesting to see how this summer window pans out for him.

He's obviously had some injury problems in the not too distant past. He's such an exciting player.

"You can imagine he would be awesome in that Arsenal attack too. I'm not convinced it'll be that easy to sign him though, I'm really not."

How has Federico Chiesa been playing?

The 25-year-old featured over just 21 Serie A matches last season, scoring two goals and assisting five others, though this has largely been down to fitness issues.

Chiesa missed a good chunk of matches through injury but has proved to be a more-than capable attacking asset on his best day.

La Gazzetta dello Sport, via Football Italia, praised his impact against Udinese in January after he came on as a late substitute for the remaining half an hour.

The newspaper wrote:

“A half-hour can be enough if you are in another category. Perfect cutback for Paredes’ invitation, delightful assist for Danilo. Yes, Fede is back.”