All posts by h716a5.icu

News from around the counties in the 2019 Championship season

David Hopps27-Jun-2019Assumptions that Reece Topley’s cricketing career is over appear to be premature. There is at least a possibility that he will revive his professional career with Sussex in this summer’s Vitality Blast as he tries to pull off a remarkable recovery against the odds.Topley has suffered four stress fractures to his back in recent years (two separate breaks that then reoccurred) and has not bowled a ball in competitive cricket since last July but following brief periods training with the Melbourne Renegades and Middlesex, he has pitched up at Hove.”Reece has had some injury issues over the last 12 months and there was no guarantee that he’d ever play again,” said Sussex’s head coach, Jason Gillespie. “So we came to an arrangement whereby, with no pressure at all, he could come here, do some training and build his bowling back up.”We’ve got the gym and we’ve got medical support and we said that if he was in a position to play some cricket later in the summer then we would explore that possibility. It’s very early days, he’s just building himself up and he’s going to play a little bit of club cricket but if he’s fit and firing, we know what a fine bowler he is.”Topley is a free agent since leaving Hampshire after playing only 21 games in three years. Just to fulfil even a white-ball contract last season he had to inject a hormone in his stomach daily and once a month had an anaesthetic in his spine. But England Lions still took a look at him before he broke down and his 10 ODIs and six T20s for England are a reminder of his potential.Sussex have kept faith with another left-arm quick, Tymal Mills despite a back condition that restricts him to T20 only. Mills’ life was changed with a £1.4m IPL deal with Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2017, but he went unsold in the subsequent seasons and had a disappointing Blast campaign in 2018, taking only seven wickets in nine matches.***Another player once billed as possessing England potential has an uncertain future, at 27. Less than three months ago, Adam Riley was talking optimistically about how the retirement of James Tredwell and flatter Division One surfaces might give his offspin more of an opportunity at Kent. But after taking only two expensive wickets in two Championship matches, he has left the county by mutual consent.Riley was mentioned in despatches in the general panic about English spin-bowling resources when Graeme Swann abruptly retired during the 2012-13 Ashes series. He broke through as Kent’s first-choice spinner in four-day cricket in 2014, taking 48 wickets in 15 County Championship appearances, and made his England Lions debut against South Africa A in Bloemfontein in February 2015.But England spin specialists tried to quicken his pace through the air and he was plagued by attempts to tweak his action.***Surrey’s Tasmanian head coach Michael di Venuto was flummoxed briefly at a members’ forum this week when he was asked whether Jason Roy should open for England in the Ashes. “Do you want the answer from me as Jason’s coach or from an Australian point of view?” he replied.That answer pretty much gave away his thoughts, but di Venuto proceeded to articulate them anyway. “If I was England, and I am certainly not, I think the captain [Joe Root] should put his hand up and bat at No 3 and Jason would be a very good No 4 in Test cricket,” he said.”I get where they are coming from – he is an exceptionally talented cricketer – but opening in Test cricket is extremely different to opening in one-day cricket. People make the comparison with David Warner, when Warner has been opening all his life. Jason is a middle-order player.”Di Venuto thinks England should heed what he described as “the Aaron Finch experiment.” Finch, who will return to Surrey for the Blast this season, underlined his quality as a white-ball opener on Tuesday with his World Cup hundred against England. But he averaged a modest 27.80 in five Tests going in first against Pakistan and India last winter.”The results could be the same,” Di Venuto warned. He would certainly be surprised if both Roy and Finch, whose World Cup form has also encouraged Ashes speculation, won the opportunity to open the innings when August comes around***This should have been the summer that Joe Clarke’s transfer to a big county helped him catch England’s eye ahead of the Ashes. Instead he has three ducks in his last four games and a top score of 29 in that time and Nottinghamshire are adrift at the foot of Division One without a Championship win for a year.The fallout is still evident after a court case in which Alex Hepburn, a former Worcestershire team-mate, was found guilty of oral rape and jailed for five years in April. Clarke was not on trial, and neither was another former Worcestershire batsman, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, but they were both named at Worcester Crown Court as fellow members of a WhatsApp messaging group which boasted about sexual conquests. The judge called the sexual contest “pathetic, sexist and foul”.Now the ECB has charged both Clarke and Kohler-Cadmore with bringing the game into disrepute, and England are in no rush to forgive.There is always a question about when it is appropriate for a sport’s governing body to play the role of moral arbiter. But sports stars are role models whether they want to be or not and the ego-centric environment of professional sport clearly needs an element of intervention. Few will chide the ECB for taking this particular matter further and for the players to understand that would be a further stage towards redemption.***Warwickshire will feel they deserve a good result against Essex next month after long hours spent finding a venue for the Championship fixture between the sides. Ironically, the outcome announced this week of switching home and away meetings was their first-choice solution when a clash of scheduling with the World Cup became apparent last year.Edgbaston will host a World Cup semi-final on July 11 and it is reserve venue for the final three days later, meaning the Essex game from July 13-16 must be staged elsewhere. Warwickshire were told initially that a swap with Essex was not possible and even asked about giving up reserve status for the final on the basis that it almost certainly won’t be needed.Eventually, they chose Worcester as an alternative home, only for the latest heavy flooding of New Road to leave the ground unfit. So, with no other plausible option, what might well be viewed the best solution will prevail after all: July 13-16 at Chelmsford, September 10-13 at Edgbaston. Assuming, that is, Chelmsford avoids fire, plague or pestilence over the next three weeks.Meanwhile, Surrey have reiterated their position to the ECB that The Oval should be used for part of the county’s 50-over competition next season, even though it is a venue for The Hundred in the same calendar block. “We will make sure we are not thrown out for the entire time period,” Richard Gould, the chief executive, said.

Sarina Wiegman's side fell short at St James' Park on Friday as Elisa De Almeida and Marie-Antoinette Katoto punished poor set piece defending

Perhaps England should've known it wouldn't be their day against France on Friday when Mary Earps suffered what appeared to be a hip injury with less than 45 seconds on the clock. A simple passing motion left the Lionesses' No.1 wincing in pain and though their fortunes briefly improved when Beth Mead put them ahead at St James' Park, an eventual 2-1 defeat to Les Bleues was the result of a disappointing display.

Things just didn't click for Sarina Wiegman's side in this match. There were nice moments, such as Mead's composed finish and a shot of hers later in the first half which forced Pauline Peyraud-Magnin into a sublime stop, but there were too few of these. There were no huge defensive errors that cost them, either, in what was just a flat performance. Instead, it was an inability to defend set pieces that hurt the Lionesses.

There was little they could do about Elisa De Almeida's stunning volley from a first half corner, except perhaps avoid conceding the dead ball situation, but failure to clear their lines from another in the second period was damaging and eventually led to Marie-Antoinette Katoto's skillful, sweeping finish. This was only England's first defeat in seven games, and first in the qualifying for Euro 2025, but after a draw against Sweden at Wembley in their first game in this competition, it leaves them third in a group of four ahead of a very difficult return game with the French on Tuesday.

GOAL rates the Lionesses' players from St James' Park…

GettyGoalkeeper & Defence

Mary Earps (N/A):

Limped off with what looked to be a hip injury after only eight minutes.

Lucy Bronze (6/10):

Got forward plenty and linked up well with Mead down the right to cause France problems. Not troubled much defensively.

Millie Bright (5/10):

Looked rusty here despite ending the season with Chelsea having looked more match fit after so long on the sidelines.

Leah Williamson (6/10):

Superb pass to Toone to start the attack for the first goal.

Jess Carter (6/10):

Solid in her defensive work, especially given she was up against two sublime wingers. Like Bronze, wasn't troubled too much.

AdvertisementGettyMidfield

Keira Walsh (6/10):

Near faultless in possession.

Georgia Stanway (5/10):

Didn't get on the ball as much as usual and lacked incision when she did.

Ella Toone (5/10):

Did well to pick up a nice pocket of space in the build-up to Mead's opener, though was relatively quiet for large spells.

GettyAttack

Beth Mead (7/10):

Great composure with the finish that broke the deadlock and was so close to a second, too, but for an excellent Peyraud-Magnin save.

Alessia Russo (5/10):

Looked lively despite her recent long-haul post-season trip with Arsenal but didn't have her shooting boots on.

Lauren Hemp (7/10):

Always an outlet down the left and was often England's most creative player.

GettySubs & Manager

Hannah Hampton (7/10):

Had to take Earps' place early on and didn't put a foot wrong despite the goals. Made an exceptional save to deny Lakrar in the first half.

Chloe Kelly (N/A):

Had a good chance moments after coming on with 10 minutes to go, but couldn't connect properly from close range.

Fran Kirby (N/A):

Looked lively off the bench, though didn't have a lot of time to make an impact.

Sarina Wiegman (4/10):

Made her substitutions far too late. The game was already crying out for a change when the hour mark came along and yet it wasn't until the 80th minute that Wiegman turned to her bench, after France had taken the lead.

Frustrated fans in Canada have taken to altering Messi shirts to “Lionel Missing” after seeing the Inter Miami superstar sit out a trip to Vancouver.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Argentine sat out trip to CanadaLocals left disappointedWorkload being managed carefullyWHAT HAPPENED?

The Whitecaps shifted over 50,000 tickets for an eagerly-anticipated encounter that was expected to see eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi take to the field. He was, however, to play no part in a 2-1 win for the Herons.

AdvertisementTHE BIGGER PICTURE

That is because he was left back in Florida, alongside fellow former Barcelona stars Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets. Inter Miami are having to manage his workload carefully, as the Argentine prepares to turn 37, but his absence from any fixture hits supporters and promoters hard.

Get the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games nowDID YOU KNOW?

Vancouver natives were clearly disappointed at missing out on the chance to watch the all-time great in action, with a number of Inter Miami jerseys being tweaked to hammer home the fact that Messi was “missing”.

WHAT NEXT FOR MESSI?

It is not the first time that Messi’s absence has caused controversy – as a political storm was sparked in Hong Kong during pre-season – and will not be the last, as he remains tied to a contract through 2025. He is, however, expected to be back in action on Wednesday when Inter Miami play host to Atlanta United.

ESPNcricinfo understands that McDonald has been given the role after eight candidates were shortlisted for the position

George Dobell25-Jun-2019Andrew McDonald is set to be named as the head coach of the Birmingham-based team in The Hundred, Birmingham Phoenix.While earlier reports had suggested that Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, was frontrunner for the job, ESPNcricinfo understands that McDonald has been given the role after eight candidates were shortlisted for the position. Daniel Vettori, the former New Zealand allrounder, will be his assistant.McDonald, a seam-bowling allrounder who was good enough to play four Tests for Australia, is only 38 but has quickly made a name for himself as a coach. As well as leading Victoria to two Sheffield Shield titles, he has coached them to victory in the one-day domestic title and Melbourne Renegades to their first BBL title in the 2018-19 season. He has also held coaching roles in the IPL (he has been bowling coach at Royal Challengers Bangalore) and in county cricket, where he led a revival of Leicestershire from a low base.The appointment of Vettori as his deputy is, perhaps, more of a surprise. He has experienced relatively unsuccessful spells as a T20 coach at Middlesex, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Brisbane Heat, though Birmingham will hope his skills are more suited to the assistant role.Bayliss was linked to the role after Paul Farbrace, his deputy at international level with Sri Lanka and England, was appointed asdirector of cricket at Warwickshire. It is understood that Worcestershire, the other club involved as part of the Birmingham-based team, were keen to ensure a proper process took place before any appointment was made, however, and at the end of thatprocess, McDonald and Vettori will be appointed.

Bayern Munich have reportedly reached a verbal agreement with Burnley manager Vincent Kompany as they look to replace Thomas Tuchel with the Belgian.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Bayern in advanced negotiations with Kompany Looks set to join the Bavarian giants In talks with Burnely for a potential transfer fee WHAT HAPPENED?

The managerial search began in earnest after Bayern Munich announced in February that Thomas Tuchel would be departing the Allianz Arena this summer. The departure of Tuchel, coupled with unsuccessful negotiations with candidates such as Xabi Alonso and Ralf Rangnick, left Bayern in a challenging position and have now been forced to turn their attention to Kompany – who failed to prevent Burnley from going down to the Championship after a horrific Premier League campaign.

AdvertisementTHE BIGGER PICTURE

According to, the verbal agreement between Bayern and Kompany is now in place, and official negotiations with Burnley have commenced. While a formal deal has yet to be finalized, the parties are reportedly optimistic about the potential for Kompany to take on this significant new role. However, any potential transfer would involve a fee as the former Manchester City star is contracted to the Clarets until 2028.

DID YOU KNOW?

Kompany's tenure with the Lancashire club was a mixed bag after managing Anderlecht in Belgium. Despite the setback of Burnley's relegation this season, he demonstrated his managerial acumen by guiding the club to a commanding performance in the Sky Bet Championship in 2022-23, where they amassed 101 points and secured promotion to the top flight.

(C)GettyImagesWHAT NEXT FOR KOMPANY?

The task ahead for Kompany, should he finalize the move to Bayern, is substantial. The Bavarian club, known for its high expectations and competitive standards, will look to the former Premier League legend to instill a winning mentality after a trophyless season. The transition will require Kompany to adapt quickly to the demands and pressures of managing one of Europe’s top clubs, a significant leap from his previous managerial experiences – as Harry Kane and Co will be eager to witness a new leadership that can harness their potential and return the club to its customary position of dominance in both domestic and European competitions.

Only two players – Sana Mir and Nida Dar – feature in the top bracket, with Bismah Maroof and Javeria Khan demoted to the second grade

Umar Farooq25-Jun-2019The PCB has brought down the number of centrally contracted women cricketers from 17 to 10 in a bid to increase remuneration for those in the new retainers, and also, it says, in recognition of a small national pool of players. A condensed list has left Sana Mir and Nida Dar in the ‘A’ category, while Bismah Maroof and Javeria Khan have been demoted to category ‘B’ and the fourth level, ‘D’, has been removed altogether.The trade-off for the reduction, however, is that the compensations are now higher. All three categories – A, B and C – come with higher pay now: a hike of 20%, 18.5% and 18% respectively. In addition, the length of each contract – hitherto always six months – has been increased to a year, starting from July 1. For the first time in 12 years, daily allowances have also increased – in training camps they have been doubled, making it Rs 2000 (approx. $13), as well as on foreign tours, going from $50 to $100. Travel upgrades for tours have also been introduced so that the team will now be traveling business class. All women cricketers will now also earn a match fee for each game of domestic cricket.The contracted players

Category A: Nida Dar and Sana Mir
Category B: Aliya Riaz, Bismah Maroof, Javeria Khan, Nashra Sandhu, Sidra Ameen and Sidra Nawaz
Category C: Diana Baig and Nahida Khan

“The announcement of the new central contracts is a great story for the women’s game in Pakistan and indicates the exciting times that lie ahead for cricketers in the country,” Urooj Mumtaz, chief selector for the women’s team, said. “The women cricketers have shown tremendous improvement recently and this is reflected in the central contracts being offered to them, which are reward-and incentive-based.”With more international cricket scheduled over the coming months, this will motivate the girls to continue to perform strongly. Apart from the enhanced central contracts, we have also introduced incentives for the players in domestic cricket, who will now earn Rs 10,000 [approx. $64] per match. This is a small step in making women’s cricket more professional and inspiring young women cricketers to take up the sport with a realistic opportunity to represent the country.”Meanwhile, PCB managing director Wasim Khan stressed that the changes reflected the respect and importance the board have for women cricketers. “The enhanced new central contracts form a key part of the vision to enhance the profile of women’s cricket and our aim to strive towards a fairer system,” he said in a statement. “As a responsible and professional organisation, we remain committed to investing in the growth and development of women’s cricket. We want to strengthen the women’s and girls’ game at all levels so that our national team can continue to go from strength to strength.”That said, it’s worth noting that Pakistan recently won an ODI series against West Indies for the first time under Bismah’s captaincy – in February 2019 in Dubai – and subsequently drew the series in South Africa. Bismah’s form with the bat hasn’t been great in this period, but Javeria has been one of the stars, scoring 212 runs in nine innings in the past year, second only to Sidra Ameen’s 241. Their demotion, therefore, does strike as odd.Pakistan are currently fifth on the ICC Women’s Championship table, and have a top-four finish, which will help them qualify directly for the 2021 Women’s World Cup 2021 in New Zealand, very much in their sights. Their next assignment is against India.

Feyenoord boss Arne Slot has confirmed that he will take over from Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool coach.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Slot confirms takeover from KloppFeyenoord send emotional tributeKlopp to leave Liverpool after nine yearsWHAT HAPPENED?

Earlier this year, Klopp announced that he would be leaving Liverpool after nine seasons at the helm of the club. The Merseyside club had initially targeted Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso, however, after he decided to remain with Die Werkself for another season, Liverpool shifted their focus towards Slot and have already signed a contract with the Dutchman to take over a coach this summer. Feyenoord also posted an emotional tribute to the departing coach ahead of their final match of the season.

AdvertisementWHAT SLOT SAID

Speaking with the media, Slot said [via ESPN]: "I can confirm that I will become the trainer there next year.

"Until now I was not thinking about this being the build up to my last match, but that starts coming now. At the beginning of the week you are thinking about training and those kind of things. But the feeling gets stronger now. That is why I'm a little bit late now [for the news conference], because I wanted to say goodbye to some people personally and take time for them, more then just shaking hands.

"So yeah, the feeling grows. I understand that good results help, but it is very nice to feel that people really are thinking it's a pity that I'm leaving. You can say that with words, but you can feel it if people truly think that way. That does mean a lot to me."

Getty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Slot has been compared with Klopp in terms of his playing style and bringing the Dutchman over to Anfield will cost Liverpool close to £13m ($16m) to be paid as compensation to Feyenoord as per reports. The 45-year-old won the Eredivisie last season with the club and ended this season in second place behind title winners PSV.

WHAT NEXT FOR SLOT?

The Dutchman will lead Feyenoord at De Kuip on May 19 for the last time as they take on Excelsior before Slot says his goodbyes to the Feyenoord faithful.

Ashantha de Mel was appointed as team manager and selector-on-tour for the World Cup and had clashed earlier with the coach over selection choices

Madushka Balasuriya02-May-2019Sri Lanka Cricket believes that coach Chandika Hathurusingha and Ashantha de Mel will have no issues working together in the Sri Lankan dressing room, after the pair is said to have “thrashed things out” prior to the latter’s appointment as team manager and selector-on-tour for the World Cup starting at the end of this month. Since de Mel took the reins as chief selector ahead of Sri Lanka’s tour to New Zealand, the pair had clashed over several selection choices – most notably the exclusion of Dinesh Chandimal and Lasith Malinga’s captaincy.Other decisions taken by SLC’s executive committee

Chandima Mapatuna appointed as the logistic manager of the team for the World Cup. Mapatuna, who is also the head of international cricket of SLC, will travel with the team for the World Cup

In the wake of recent tragic incidents in the country, SLC will take additional measures to strengthen the security of the team at the World Cup. SLC is working on it in consultation with the Ministry of Sports and the ICC

Roy Dias appointed as coach of the ‘A’ team for the upcoming tour of India, in May, while Chaminda Mendis has been appointed as team manager. Mendis will also continue to function as a national selector

Avishka Gunawardena appointed coach of the emerging team for the tour of South Africa, in June. Hemantha Wickramaratne appointed team manager and will continue to function as a national selector

SLC has decided to donate Rs. 2 million to the Relief Effort Fund set up by His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith The Arch Bishop of Colombo, to support the victims of the affected areas and parishes following multiple attacks on Easter Sunday

“Before the appointment we got the both of them together to talk things through,” SLC secretary Mohan de Silva told ESPNcricinfo. “They eventually thrashed things out and now we’re very confident that they’ll work quite well together.”De Mel’s appointment, which was rubber-stamped by SLC at an executive committee meeting on April 30, had been mooted for some time, but speculation had been rife over whether he and Hathurusingha would be able to get along over the course of the six-week tournament.It was a spat with the new selection committee that culminated in Hathurusingha being removed from the role of selector-on-tour in February. And since then Hathurusingha’s job security has only become more tenuous.In March, he was given “a break” during Sri Lanka’s T20I series against South Africa after rumours surfaced of him having fallen out with certain players and staff. The situation was so dire that SLC CEO Ashley de Silva flew over personally to hold crisis talks, following which Hathurusingha returned to the island for further mediation. During this period, there were also reports of SLC seeking legal advice over possible options with regard to prematurely terminating Hathurusingha’s contract which will only run out in 2020.However, following clear-the-air talks with the board, Hathurusingha is understood to have agreed to rein in his methods as a “total dictator”, much of which de Silva believes had manifested during the course of the nine-month SLC power vacuum, when the governing body was run by a sports ministry-appointed competent authority.”We were in two minds whether to discontinue him or not,” de Silva said. “We needed to know if he was amenable to our way of thinking and whether he would change his attitude. Because to be quite honest, he had become a total dictator after we left, and that’s also one of the reasons that the selectors were gunning for him.”But he has now promised to toe the line with the administrators and the selectors, because to be honest his thinking in terms of the national team has been good, although the results haven’t followed unfortunately.”Sri Lanka will begin their World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Cardiff on June 1.

Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming said that Dhoni took the field only to get clarity since there was confusion about the no-ball decision

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Apr-20191:46

Dhoni was fired up by the way the no-ball decision was handled – Fleming

Rajasthan Royals batsman Jos Buttler believes Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni’s decision to step onto the field to protest an umpiring call was “probably not” the right thing to do in the last over of their match on Thursday night. The incident took place with Super Kings needing eight runs off three balls. Ben Stokes bowled a waist-high full toss to Mitchell Santner, and even though umpire Ulhas Gandhe had signalled a no-ball immediately, square-leg umpire Bruce Oxenford later shook his head to overturn the original decision.That led to lengthy discussions mainly between Santner’s partner Ravindra Jadeja and the umpires before Dhoni, who had been dismissed off the previous ball, walked out to join them. Dhoni was later fined 50% of his match fees for a Code of Conduct breach.”I’m not sure if that’s the right thing to do or not,” Buttler said at the post-match press conference of Dhoni’s decision to walk out on the field. “Obviously the tensions are running high in the IPL and every run counts. Yeah, it was a big moment in the game, but whether stepping onto the pitch is quite right? No, probably not.”Obviously, it’s a bit controversial. The umpires came to a decision but I was at the boundary so I wasn’t quite sure what was going on.”Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming later said that Dhoni took the field only to get clarity since there was confusion about the no-ball decision. He did not say if it was the right thing to do or not.”What wasn’t right was the confusion around the decision. It’s above my paygrade to really get further than that,” Fleming said.”My understanding and discussing it with the captain was we saw a no-ball called, and then there was confusion. Our understanding was that the umpire at the bowler’s end had called the no-ball and then there was confusion around whether it was a no-ball or not. MS was after some clarity and it didn’t seem to be coming. So, he took the opportunity to go out and discuss it with the umpires. That’s how I saw it and that’s how I discussed it with him afterwards.”He only just wanted clarity. The rights and wrongs will be discussed by everybody, including Mahi, I’m sure. But, I think, it’ll be a discussion for the umpires afterwards and I am a watcher as you guys are, for now. But he was certainly fired up about the way the decision was handled and why it was overturned or if it was overturned. So, there was a lack of clarity, obviously, for him and he wanted to get it clarified at a key moment. It’s unusual but he’s usually pretty calculated. It’ll be something he will be questioned about for sure, for a long time.”MS Dhoni is irate at a contentious no-ball call•BCCIRoyals had put on 151 for 7 and had Super Kings in trouble on 24 for 4 in the sixth over before Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu salvaged the chase with a 95-run stand. Both batsmen scored half-centuries and struck two fours and three sixes each to snatch the momentum from Royals.”It is a tough one to take, getting into a winning position and not able to get over the line, the boys will be very disappointed,” Buttler said. “But, I think that’s been the story of our season so far. We have had some games that we should have won and closed out but for a few reasons, we have not been able to do it. We need to get it right, fast.”Royals are now only above winless Royal Challengers Bangalore on the points table with one win from six games.How do they get out of it?”The way out is simple, we have to play better and longer,” Buttler said. “We are just not putting those performances together. We have played well in stages but against quality oppositions and some of the best players in the world, if you can’t do it for the whole 40 overs then it’s tough to win the game.”Fleming, too, admitted the weaknesses in his side, even though they sit on top of the table with six wins from seven games. The two main areas he identified that needed their attention were their fielding and death bowling.”There’s a lot of areas of concern,” Fleming said. “Our top order has been playing on a tough wicket in Chennai so we’ve got to make sure our confidence is high. Being 20-odd for 4, you’re not going to win many games. And [another concern is] just finishing off an innings with our death bowling. It’s hard and most teams are struggling. But if there are two areas we want to get better at, we’re working hard on, is that and we have to work hard on our fielding. We’ve got a number of holes but we know where they are and we’ll try and cover them up as much as we can.”

Pundit and ex-pro Chris Sutton has predicted that Premier League games will be played in the United States in the future, as NBC pushes for a deal.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

NBC pushing for EPL games in U.S.Sutton predicts it will happenSays the potential move 'stinks'Getty Images WHAT HAPPENED?

The American broadcasting giants are reportedly keen for the opening matches of the Premier League season to be played in the U.S., where EPL broadcasting is more lucrative than in any other overseas nation. Former Chelsea and Blackburn star Sutton is one of many pundits that are highly suspicious of the move, but on the latest edition of the It's All Kicking Off podcast, he predicted that it's inevitable "because money dictates everything".

AdvertisementWHAT SUTTON SAID

Sutton said: 'I do I think it will happen eventually, probably because money dictates everything. But just think back to the start of the season. Do you think the U.S. audience would have enjoyed an opening game of Sheffield United against Burnley? It's about just looking after the big boys, isn't it, commercially? Looking after the elite. And that's why it stinks a bit. It will not stink if it's the same across the board. If everybody is involved and every team in the Premier League gets a shot at it."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

The Premier League recently confirmed that it has no plans to stage matches in the U.S. right now, but NBC Sports are continuing to push for games to be played across the pond. An increasing number of friendly matches between English teams are taking place in the U.S., encapsulated by the Premier League Summer Series, but the vast majority of fans in the UK believe that playing EPL matches abroad is a step too far.

Getty/GOALWHAT NEXT FOR THE PREMIER LEAGUE?

While debates about matches in America rumble along in the background, the Premier League is still hurtling towards its end-of-season climax. Most teams only have two matches yet and the league title is still up for grabs, with Arsenal hoping to topple Manchester City in the closest title race for years.