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Dimitar Berbatov was a completely unique player during his time at Manchester United, with no player able to emulate such a skillset over the last few years.

He often looked completely uninterested, but would often come alive in and around the 18-yard box, as seen by his tally of 56 goals in his 149 appearances for the Red Devils.

The Bulgarian also had a sensational first touch and close control, as seen by his superb Elastico Spin against West Ham United back in October 2008.

Given the lack of goalscoring threat currently within Ruben Amorim’s side, as seen by their tally of 44 Premier League goals last season, the supporters must wish they had a player of the 44-year-old’s calibre.

However, the board are clearly trying to resolve such an issue this summer, leading to various top-level talents being linked with a move to Old Trafford ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.

The latest on United’s hunt for new attackers this summer

Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha have both already completed their big-money moves to join United, costing the hierarchy a staggering £130m to complete both deals.

The likes of Jean-Philippe Mateta and Dušan Vlahović have also been touted with moves to join Amorim’s side, but it appears they have been sounded out by the hierarchy.

However, the main player currently in their sights for the current window is Aston Villa talisman Ollie Watkins, that’s according to talkSPORT’s latest update.

They claim that Amorim desperately wants a move for the 29-year-old this window, making him his top target for the centre-forward position at the Theatre of Dreams.

Their article also states that Unai Emery’s side are reluctant to lose their main forward, subsequently slapping a £60m price tag to fend off any interest from the Red Devils.

Why United’s latest target would be the next Berbatov

Despite the interest in Watkins’ signature, RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko has also been a player United have been making moves to sign this summer.

The Red Devils hierarchy have already held talks with the Bundesliga outfit over a potential move for the 22-year-old, with a real conflict over who the club should target between the boss and the board.

However, given his tally of 21 goals throughout 2024/25, he would cost a pretty penny, leading to his current employers demanding £78m to part ways with the Slovenian international.

Despite the move for Sesko, it’s clear Amorim prefers a move for Watkins, arguably a better choice, given the Englishman’s similarities to former fan-favourite Berbatov.

In the Premier League last season, the Villa forward produced numerous stats and moments that would see him replicate the Bulgarian if he moved to United.

Watkins, who’s been labelled “phenomenal” by journalist John Townley, registered 16 league goals last year, with his effort against Everton highlighting his poacher instinct – something which Berbatov also possessed at Old Trafford.

His comparison to the former professional is further reflected in his ability to produce beautiful touches, having the talent to lay off other teammates around him.

The 29-year-old’s underlying stats are just as impressive, registering 1.4 shots on target per 90, at an accuracy rate of 44% last season – having the ability to change the side’s fortunes in attacking areas.

Games played

38

Goals & assists

24

Goals per shot on target

0.4

Progressive passes

1.1

Pass accuracy

72%

Progressive carries

1.9

Carries into final third

1.3

Aerials won

1.9

Fouls won

1.2

He also notched 1.9 progressive carries and 1.1 progressive passes per 90, subsequently able to further showcase his similarities to previous players who have worn the red shirt.

Whilst the debate remains about which striker the club should go for, there’s no denying that Watkins would offer an immediate option in the club’s quest for glory next season.

If he can have as much success in Manchester as Berbatov did, it would be an excellent pickup and one that could finally end the side’s hunt for a new talisman.

Bad news for Onana: Man Utd make contact for "incredible" star after Sesko

Manchester United are making huge moves in the transfer market this summer.

ByEthan Lamb Jul 31, 2025

England suffer double blow with Duckett injury and Pope falling cheaply after stepping up to open

Alan Gardner08-Oct-2024Salman Agha became Pakistan’s third centurion to cement their dominant position in Multan, before a chaotic interlude in which England lost Ben Duckett to injury and their captain, Ollie Pope, for a duck left the touring side scrabbling for a foothold in the first match of the series.Duckett suffered a painful-looking blow to his left thumb taking the catch to dismiss Pakistan’s last man Abrar Ahmed – who had already been given two lives – meaning that when England began their innings midway through the evening session, it was with Pope walking out alongside Zak Crawley. Pope only lasted two balls, Aamer Jamal plucking a one-handed screamer at midwicket to further galvanise Pakistan and bring Joe Root, England’s designated No. 4, to the middle in the second over.The riposte, as it often does, came from Crawley, back in the side after missing the Sri Lanka series with a broken finger. He slashed his sixth ball, from Shaheen Afridi, to the boundary and did the same to Naseem in the following over, before taking Afridi for a brace of fours to end the seamer’s opening spell. That led to the early introduction of spin – and another statement of intent from Crawley, as Abrar’s first over went for 11.Crawley brought up England’s 50 in the 11th, hauling Abrar through the leg side, and he continued to go after Pakistan’s legspinner, who claimed 11 wickets as a debutant on the same ground against England two years ago. Two more fours down the ground left Abrar with opening figures of 4-0-31-0, before a ninth boundary, clipped through midwicket off Naseem, took Crawley to a 55-ball half-century.Beyond a trio of speculative lbw appeals, there was little to encourage Pakistan’s attack – as had been the case for England during 149 overs in the field – with Root slipstreaming Crawley to the close in an unbroken partnership worth 92. Although Duckett’s availability to bat later in the innings remained unclear, their position looked a little more secure.It was, nevertheless, a day in which Pakistan put a commanding stamp on proceedings. Saud Shakeel steered the innings during the first forays, quelling England’s mini-fightback from the first evening – with a little help from Naseem’s cameo at nightwatcher. Salman then set about driving home the advantage on the way to a 108-ball hundred, his third in Tests, as Pakistan reached a position from which they could hope to dictate the course of the match, even against Brendon McCullum’s Bazballers.England’s six bowlers all had something to show for their efforts, with Brydon Carse taking his first Test wickets and Jack Leach finishing with 3 for 160. They generally kept at it in the field, although there were signs that five-and-a-half sessions in the baking heat of Multan would take a toll, Jamie Smith missing a simple chance to stump Abrar and Gus Atkinson then dropping the No. 11 after he had skied a chance to midwicket.England chipped away with two wickets in each session, but Shakeel and Salman ensured Pakistan did not squander the firm foundation provided by centuries from Shan Masood and Abdullah Shafique on day one. The innings progressed in fits and starts but Salman’s judicious assault on England’s spinners, in particular, helped maintain the hosts’ momentum.Salman was scoreless at lunch, but stroked the first ball after the break through the covers for four – bringing up the Pakistan 400 and signalling his own intentions. He came down the track in the same over to hit Leach through long-off, and was clearly in the mood to get the scoreboard clicking after Pakistan had added only 69 runs during the morning.His battle with Leach provided a compelling spectacle, as England’s most-experienced spinner was taken for four fours and two sixes in a four-over spell. But it almost went awry for Salman, with the first of his sixes coming perilously close to causing his dismissal: Chris Woakes thought he had done a good job as he backpedalled towards long-off, tossing the ball up as he went out of bounds to then return and complete the catch. But after lengthy deliberation and various replay angles, the third umpire, Chris Gaffaney, ruled that Woakes’ foot was in contact with the ground outside the rope as he claimed the ball a second time.Shakeel had been content to play second fiddle, even during his initial partnership with Naseem. He combined with Salman for another fifty stand but was undone by some sharp turn from Shoaib Bashir – a rare unplayable ball during a tough outing so far for the 20-year-old. Drifting into leg stump from round the wicket, Bashir found grip and then the outside edge, the ball deflecting off Shakeel’s back leg to Root at slip.Jamal fell cheaply to Carse but, with Afridi for company, that was the cue for Salman to emerge on another counter. Having moved to his fifty from 71 balls, he reverse-swept Bashir and then took him down the ground, before adding another brace of fours off Leach, followed by a single to bring up 500. In between, Pope added another burned review to the pile with an lbw appeal that was shown to have pitched outside leg.Pakistan were 515 for 8 at tea, with Salman resuming watchfully before hitting Leach over long-on to move into the 90s. He reached his hundred with a swept single, having scored 59 out of a ninth-wicket stand worth 85, at which point Afridi missed a slog at Leach to be bowled.England were beginning to look a little frazzled, and their problems had begun in the morning against the unlikely batting force of Naseem, who made his highest score in any format of the game – 33 from 81 balls – and held up a persevering attack for more than 90 minutes. His efforts, which included hitting three sixes during a stand of 64 alongside Shakeel, ensured that there would be no quick route back into the game for the tourists.With a ball only five overs old, England were hoping to get into the lower middle-order but found Naseem in resourceful – and impish – mood. He was not cowed after being hit on the helmet by Atkinson and went after Bashir and then Leach, the third of his sixes an audacious inside-to-out hit over extra cover. The stand passed 50 and Naseem was outscoring his senior partner by the time he finally became Carse’s maiden Test wicket, succumbing to a round-the-wicket barrage via an edge to leg slip.

Fast bowler marks return from injury in style to set up four-wicket win

ECB Reporters Network10-Jul-2024

Beth Langston produced a stunning display to uproot Sunrisers•Getty Images

Northern Diamonds 111 for 6 (Burns 35*, Coppack 3-35) beat Sunrisers 109 (Langston 6-24) by four wicketsSix-time England fast bowler Beth Langston made a dream return from her injury nightmare with a stunning six for 24 as Northern Diamonds continued their march towards the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy semi-finals with an enthralling four-wicket win over Sunrisers at York.Langston had – prior to this fixture – only played once for the Diamonds since the end of July 2022 and hadn’t take a 50-over wicket since the previous September following a ruptured ACL (knee) and resulting complications.However, she returned at Clifton Park to put the skids under the Sunrisers, who were bowled out for 109 inside 31 overs to pave the way for a home victory which saw Diamonds slip to 32 for four chasing. Australian overseas Erin Burns sealed the win with an unbeaten 35.Diamonds leap-frogged their fellow contenders into second place in the table with a seventh win in nine to all but seal a semi-final place with five games still to play.Sunrisers lost their third game in nine but remain handily placed inside the top four.Langston, 31, was part of England’s triumphant World Cup-winning squad on home soil in 2017 without actually playing in that campaign.She ruptured her right ACL during the 2022 Hundred (Northern Superchargers) and has struggled for fitness since.She played only one T20 match last season. But this was a seamless return, with her wickets spread across spells of six overs and four overs from the Pavilion End.After Hollie Armitage elected to bowl on a muggy, wicket-ladened Minster City day, Langston made the most of helpful conditions – sideways movement was obvious – to set her team up for their fifth straight 50-over win.After fellow pacer Lizzie Scott bowled visiting captain Grace Scrivens in the second over, Langston came into the attack to bowl the fifth.She was quickly into her stride and had opener Jo Gardner caught behind in the ninth for 21 and Jodi Grewcock lbw in the 11th, leaving Sunrisers at 43 for three.Mady Villiers was run out following a mix-up with Lissy MacLeod as they thought about three out to deep cover before MacLeod was caught behind off Phoebe Turner’s seam.And then Langston really turned the screw en-route to the best figures by any bowler in regional cricket this summer.Late away swing did for Flo Miller caught behind before Amara Carr was bowled next ball offering no shot – 54 for seven in the 15th over, the last of Langston’s first six-over spell, which yielded four for nine.But she wasn’t out of the attack – or the wickets – for long.Armitage brought her back to bowl the 23rd, by which time Sunrisers were 85 for seven.She bowled Eva Gray, offering no stroke, and then Amu Surenkumar, leaving the Sunrisers at 90 for nine in the 25th.Sunrisers limped beyond 100, with only opener Gardner passing 20. Along with seamers Scott and Turner, off-spinning all-rounder Burns also struck once as the Diamonds sparkled.But spirited Sunrisers weren’t done. Like Langston, their seamer Kate Coppack impressed.She claimed three of four wickets as Diamonds fell to 32 for four inside nine overs of their chase, removing openers Lauren Winfield-Hill and Emma Marlow, added to Rebecca Duckworth’s scalp.Armitage and Burns settled the ship by sharing 43, the former making 33 before clubbing Sophie Munro’s seam to mid-on – 75 for five.Langston also fell for eight, but the presence of experienced Burns was telling. She completed victory with 25.2 overs remaining.

Hoping to get one over on Chelsea, Nottingham Forest have now reportedly joined the race to sign an impressive Ligue 1 midfielder in a deal worth £25m this summer.

Nottingham Forest face encouraging Premier League start

It was Nottingham Forest’s stunning start that saw them rise to as high as third in the Premier League last season, before dropping off to finish seventh. And one year on, they could enjoy a similarly fast start with the fixtures officially announced.

The Midlands club will open their campaign against Brentford at the City Ground before travelling to Crystal Palace and playing host to West Ham United to end August. Things don’t get much tougher from there, either. In fact, Arsenal aside, games against Sunderland and Burnley to follow should hand Nuno Espirito Santo’s side at least five very winnable games to get their season off to a flying start.

Those at the City Ground will also have European football to be excited about next season. Just which competition they’ll be in remains an important question, however.

With UEFA still deliberating whether to give Crystal Palace the boot after the Eagles breached multi-club ownership rules, Evangelos Marinakis has reportedly written to the governing body perhaps in the hope of helping to sway a decision which would see Forest move up to the Europa League.

It’s a letter which won’t win the Greek owner many friends in the Premier League, but it could help to ensure that Forest receive an unexpected boost out of the Europa Conference League.

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Whether it’s the Europa Conference League or Europa League, however, Forest will need some much-needed depth if they are to compete on all fronts. The pending arrival of Brazilian trio Igo Jesus, Cuiabano and Jair Cunha should hand them that in part, but a move to sign one particular Ligue 1 star would provide Nuno with his biggest boost this summer.

Nottingham Forest join Habib Diarra race

According to Caught Offside, Nottingham Forest have now joined the race to sign Habib Diarra from Strasbourg this summer. They’re far from the only club interested in the midfielder though. Joining the Tricky Trees, Chelsea, Eintracht Frankfurt, Everton, Aston Villa and Leeds United are all reportedly eyeing the talented 21-year-old.

The amount of interest in Diarra should come as little shock following the season that he and the rest of his Strasbourg teammates enjoyed to take the club into the top-half of Ligue 1. What has likely also helped increase that interest are the reports that the midfielder could be available for as little as €30m (£25m) in the coming months.

League stats 24/25 (via FBref)

Habib Diarra

Elliot Anderson

Minutes

2,352

2,728

Goals

4

2

Progressive Passes

116

143

Assists

5

6

Described as a “complete midfielder” by analyst Ben Mattinson, Diarra kept up with Elliot Anderson’s excellent debut season last time out and would instantly offer Forest the quality in depth they need to navigate European football.

Tottenham Hotspur will now “have money available” to strengthen their squad in the summer, and they hold an interest in a “world-class” Brazilian as a potential replacement for a first-team star, according to a report.

Tottenham's summer transfer plans after Europa League triumph

Having secured qualification for next season’s Champions League via their Europa League triumph, Tottenham should be well-positioned to compete for the signatures of some top players this summer, and their transfer plans are now starting to take shape.

Ange Postecoglou’s side have struggled defensively for much of the 2025-26 campaign, and it looks as though the manager may have to reshape his backline this summer, amid reports suggesting Cristian Romero has expressed his desire to leave at the end of the campaign.

Whether the Europa League victory tempts him to stay remains to be seen, but Pedro Porro has also been linked with a move away this summer, with Manchester City believed to be keen on their former player, and journalist Pete O’Rourke has named a Brazil international as a potential replacement.

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Speaking to Football Insider about Tottenham’s summer transfer plans, O’Rourke named Vanderson as a potential signing for Spurs in the upcoming window, saying: “He’s impressed at Monaco, a Brazil international, and a number of Premier League clubs have been looking at him over the years.

“He’s still got three years left on his contract at Monaco, and Monaco will be demanding a decent fee of probably £25million to let him go.

“Tottenham, now with Champions League football, will be looking to strengthen their squad and will have money available. So I’m sure he is somebody who is still on their list, but I don’t think he’s a priority right now.”

Vanderson could be "world-class" addition for Tottenham

Lauded as “world-class” by one scout, the Brazil international was a key player for Monaco throughout the 2024-25 campaign, making 41 appearances in all competitions and displaying his attacking prowess by picking up seven goal contributions.

Of course, Porro is also known for his attacking intent, but there are signs the Monaco full-back could be an upgrade from a defensive point of view, having outperformed the Spaniard on several key metrics over the course of the past year.

Average per 90

Pedro Porro

Vanderson

Tackles

2.11

3.14

Interceptions

1.24

1.71

Aerials won

0.47

0.92

Not only that, but the 23-year-old is also accustomed to playing in a slightly more advanced role, having done so regularly throughout his career, which could make him a good fit for Postecoglou, given the Australian likes to play an attacking brand of football.

At just £25m, Vanderson could be a bargain signing for Tottenham this summer, but the hope will be that they can retain Porro, considering the 25-year-old is already proven in the Premier League, ranking among their best performers in the competition during the 2024-25 campaign.

Tottenham Hotspur are succession planning ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, with manager Ange Postecoglou expected to potentially leave regardless of the result of their Europa League campaign.

Ange Postecoglou guides Spurs to Europa League final

Following their comfortable 5-1 win over Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt on aggregate in the semi-finals, Postecoglou has a golden opportunity to clinch Spurs’ first piece of major silverware in over 17 years.

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ByEmilio Galantini May 9, 2025

The Lilywhites face Premier League rivals Man United in the Bilbao final on May 21, knowing that a win has the potential to rescue their otherwise dismal campaign.

Domestically, Spurs have equalled their largest number of Premier League defeats in a single campaign (19), and with three games still to play, Postecoglou could yet break the unwanted record for his CV.

Crystal Palace (home)

May 11th

Aston Villa (away)

May 16th

Brighton (home)

May 25th

Their place in the Europa League final represents an unmissable chance to make history amid their tepid 24/25, with a place in next season’s Champions League draw also on the line in a potentially very lucrative 90 minutes for Spurs.

That being said, even victory in the final won’t guarantee a long-term future for Postecoglou in the dugout.

It is believed that Postecoglou could leave Tottenham regardless of their success in the Europa League later this month (The Telegraph), with chairman Daniel Levy and the hierarchy reportedly drawing up a list of candidates to succeed the 59-year-old.

Ex-managing director Fabio Paratici is also heavily linked with a return to Spurs right now, given his worldwide ban from football is due to end on June 30th.

Reports are even claiming that Paratici is giving his managerial recommendations to Tottenham, in the event they part company with Postecoglou, with the Italian thought to be a big admirer of ex-Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi.

Marco Silva top of Tottenham's managerial list to replace Ange Postecoglou

However, according to Sky Sports transfer reporter Gianluca Di Marzio, writing on his website, £4m-per-year Fulham boss Marco Silva is now thought to be the leading contender.

Silva has done an excellent job at Craven Cottage, and they’re on course to break their Premier League points record for a single season. Fulham are on 51 points right now, just two away from their previous best haul of 53, and they briefly contended for Champions League qualification this campaign against all odds.

Following these exploits, Di Marzio states that Silva is the “first name” on Tottenham’s list to replace Postecoglou, with the Portuguese ultimately entering pole position for the job.

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola was rumoured to be the top managerial candidate for Spurs and Levy at one point, but the 42-year-old has now been seemingly overtaken by Silva.

As well as overachieving at Fulham, the tactician has been called a “master” by previous players under his leadership.

“He is a master,” said former Hull City striker Evandro to Premier League Brasil.

“I like to put Marco Silva on the same level as [Jorge] Sampaoli, because he has a management model that I also look up to. Marco Silva has an excellent way of managing the group, and his greatest characteristic is being rational and not emotional.”

There is no escaping it: this season has been something of a disaster for Arsenal.

There is still a chance that Mikel Arteta’s side could do something miraculous in the Champions League, but following the news that Gabriel Magalhaes is the latest starter to need surgery on his hamstring, that feels incredibly unlikely.

Moreover, while the Premier League title race isn’t mathematically over, it is in reality, and while the absurd number of injuries the North Londoners have had to deal with have certainly played their part in that, it would also be fair to say the team have been lacklustre for large parts of the campaign.

One of those who has been far less effective than they were last season has been Leandro Trossard, which might explain why recent reports have linked the club with the perfect upgrade on the Belgian.

Arsenal transfer news

After what has been a pretty demoralising season for Arsenal, this summer looks like it’s going to be a massive one in terms of incomings – Arteta has said as much – with one of the most significant links in recent weeks being to Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres.

Transfer Focus

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

The Swedish goal machine is supposedly available for around £58m, which could prove to be an incredible price considering he’s already scored 43 goals and provided 11 assists in 43 games this season.

Another name which continues to come up in connection with the Gunners is Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo, who’s been having a tremendous season in West London and has already amassed a sensational tally of 16 goals and six assists in just 34 games this year.

However, in even more exciting news, the North Londoners seem to be focussing their energy on another international winger: Nico WIlliams.

According to a recent report from journalist Graeme Bailey, the Athletic Bilbao star has become the Gunners’ number one winger target ahead of the summer, a stance that new Sporting Director Andrea Berta agrees with.

In fact, Bailey has revealed that Arsenal have been in ‘constant communication with Williams for 12-months now’, which led to a meeting between Berta and the player’s representatives earlier this week, a meeting which convinced the Italian that the winger would be keen on the project.

If Arsenal can convince the 22-year-old to join them, they’ll have to spend £48m to activate his release clause, and while that is a lot of money, it would be more than worth it, especially as he’d be an ideal Trossard upgrade.

How Williams compares to Trossard

So, if Williams does make his way to Arsenal this summer, one of his biggest competitors for game time next season – should he stay – will be Trossard, but how do the pair stack up to one another?

Well, when it comes down to their output, which matters most for an attacker, it is a comfortable and conclusive victory for the Spaniard.

For example, in 37 appearances last season, the “relentless” talent, as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, scored eight goals and provided 18 assists, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.42 games.

Appearances

37

46

Minutes

2729′

2263′

Goals

8

17

Assists

18

2

Goal Involvements per Match

0.70

0.41

Goal Involvements per Minute

104.96′

119.10′

Appearances

38

44

Minutes

2689′

2678′

Goals

9

6

Assists

7

8

Goal Involvements per Match

0.42

0.31

Goal Involvements per Minute

168.06′

191.28′

In contrast, the Gunners’ ace, who still had a good season himself, scored 17 goals and provided two assists in 46 appearances, which comes out to a still impressive but less effective average of a goal involvement every 2.42 games.

Unfortunately for the Belgian, he’s taken a step back this year, scoring six goals and providing eight assists in 44 appearances, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 3.14 games.

On the other hand, the Bilbao star has scored nine goals and provided seven assists in just 38 appearances, which translates into an average of a goal involvement every 2.37 games.

Furthermore, on top of the clear difference in their output, the Pamplona-born gem is eight years younger than his potential teammate, and with a European Championship and Copa del Rey medal already in his collection, might bring more of a winning mentality to the team.

Ultimately, Trossard is a talented player and someone useful to have in the squad, but it’s abundantly clear that Williams is the far superior winger, so Arsenal should do all they can to sign him this summer.

Their best CF since Aubameyang: Arsenal in talks to sign £58m "powerhouse"

The unreal goalscorer would be a game-changer for Arsenal.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Apr 3, 2025

The RCB batter speaks about his methods against spin, his outlook towards failure, and why he does not fear getting out

S Sudarshanan17-May-20243:43

Aaron: ‘Patidar has a free-flowing bat swing’

Rajat Patidar has been superb against spin in IPL 2024. Nobody has hit more sixes against spinners (20, level with Abhishek Sharma) than him this season. Only Abhishek has a better strike rate (239.18) than Patidar (224.69) among batters with at least 100 runs against spin this season. He has only been dismissed twide by spin in 11 outings.Patidar breaks into a smile when you bring up his prowess against spin. “I am a top-order batter,” he says. “More than spin, if you ask me, I honestly love playing fast bowlers.”How good do you have to be at what you do if you dominate a less preferred match-up?Related

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Patidar became adept against spin early in his career. Playing on underprepared surfaces in club games when he was in his early 20s helped him become better at picking up and adjusting to unpredictable deviation off the pitch. He got into the habit of picking spin from the hand rather than off the surface. An early glimpse of his quality against spin came in a Ranji Trophy match against Railways in November 2015, when he scored a century on a raging turner on which his Madhya Pradesh team-mate Jalaj Saxena picked up 16 wickets.”I try to read spinners early from their hand and judge lengths early,” Patidar says. “I try and understand what the bowler wants to do or what shot he wants me to play to dismiss me, and I look to avoid that.”You have more time in the top order, where you can rotate strike at the start before targeting someone. But in the middle order, there is a little less cushion, so you have to prepare from the outside, when you are padded up. You have to gauge what the surface is doing, what the bowler is doing, where you can play your shots etc. You don’t have the time to take your time and then hit at the end.”Patidar has hit the joint-most sixes against spin (20) of any batter in IPL 2024•Associated PressOne of Patidar’s best knocks this season came against Sunrisers Hyderabad, in a game that kickstarted Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s run of five successive wins. He walked out at the start of the eighth over on what he terms a “two-paced surface, where the slower balls were gripping a bit.” He raced to a 19-ball half-century – his third in four matches – going 6, 6, 6, 6 against Mayank Markande in a spin-hitting masterclass.”After playing a couple of balls, you get to know how much spin there is on the surface – how much revs a bowler generates, how much turn there will be. It then gives me a clarity of the areas to hit,” he says. “I know Mayank Markande because we [MP] have played Punjab [in the domestic circuit], and he is a very good bowler. He is an attacking bowler, and not one to give away easy singles. He tries to take wickets and that is his strength. I read him from his hand and managed to take him down.”Watching Patidar take spin down, you can’t help but wonder how uncluttered his mind must be. No half-measures, no what-ifs, just unfussy footwork and a pure, unhindered swing of the bat. Does he not have the fear getting out?”I don’t think I have that,” Patidar says, “because if I did, I would not have batted so freely or couldn’t have attacked from the get go. There should be no fear of getting out in T20s because there is less time. If you want to dominate, you have to go in with a free mind. If you want to execute something but are not confident and worried about getting out, then things won’t go right.”As for my free mind, I try to keep ambiguity away when I am batting. If you are confident, and feel, ‘I should go on this ball or take this bowler down’, you should go for it. You cannot think, ‘whether I should go for it or take a single.’ So clarity is important. I also know my areas and what my strengths are, so I stick to that and execute that instead of trying something else.”This clarity is particularly remarkable given that Patidar wasn’t going through his best phase when he came into this IPL. Called up to the Test team for the first time for the home series against England, he only scored 63 runs in six innings at an average of 10.50, and missed the last Test in Dharamsala with an ankle injury. It could have been a disheartening start, particularly for someone coming off a tremendous run in domestic cricket – he had averaged 59.04 in the Ranji Trophy since the post-Covid resumption of domestic first-class cricket at the start of 2022 – but Patidar is not one to fret.’If I am changing my processes just because of a few failures, the down phase will only extend’•Getty Images”[I had] no doubts at all [in my game coming into the IPL]. Both are different formats – the red ball and white ball behave differently, and the way I play them is different,” he says. “I never doubted my abilities even when things were not going my way. I know my game and I also know that things will not always go the way you want them to. A lot of times you may not score runs, you will have to face failures. Not just me, even the legends of this game have faced failures. What you do at that time, what thoughts you have then are important.”I never judge myself based on results. If I focus more on outcomes, I will move away from what has brought me to this stage. But I also know that following a particular set process does not insulate me from failures. If I am changing my processes just because of a few failures, the down phase will only extend. This is what I have learnt from my [MP] coach Chandrakant Pandit – you must know about yourself. Keeping the right frame of mind in failures is important. You should focus on things you are doing right, the rest will take care of itself.”Patidar was the first Indian to hit a century in the IPL playoffs when he smacked an unbeaten 54-ball 112 in the Eliminator of IPL 2022. He is clearly not one to get overawed by the big stage.”I have never, since my first IPL game, been overawed by who’s bowling, who’s not bowling, what the bowler does. I have full faith in my abilities. Even if I am facing a top bowler, he is human after all, and will only bowl the ball. So the more I keep myself normal, the more things go right. I have never seen a bowler and been caught off-guard.”If you want to dominate a bowler, you can never look at the bowler’s face and play. I am the best. (Mentally I should know that I am the best. Nothing else should matter).”RCB’s match against Chennai Super Kings at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium is a must-win, a virtual quarter-final. Rain is forecast in Bengaluru, and a loss or a washout will knock RCB out. Some of the players in their camp might be dwelling on these uncertainties, but you can be assured Patidar won’t be.

A look at some of the key elements of their performance which came together in Galle

Andrew McGlashan02-Jul-2022Get them quickly
There has been some positive batting, to say the least, in Test cricket over recent weeks. Australia knew they would have to adapt from the style that served them well in Pakistan, where they largely ground out big totals on surfaces that started flat and didn’t really break up. Galle was always likely to be a short Test, so it was a case of getting the runs before the unplayable balls got you. David Warner set the tone on the first evening and though that was followed by a stumble, Australia did not waver. “Failure is absolutely okay, as long as you are failing in a way you are happy to be,” Pat Cummins later said. Usman Khawaja mixed restraint with his full variety of sweeps (although actually finished with one of the more modest strike-rates), defended late and wore a smile whenever he was beaten by a delivery he could do nothing about. The defining stand then came between Cameron Green and Alex Carey, sweeping Sri Lanka’s spinners to distraction, and scored at one-day tempo, which took Australia into the lead while Cummins’ long levers were also useful. As an example of how Australia adapted, since April 2014 when ESPNcricinfo has collected shot data, they scored by far their highest amount of runs (111) from the sweep.Related

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Green’s giant strides
Green won’t have seen anything like this in Perth, or anywhere else in his young career. But you wouldn’t have guessed it by the way he compiled his superb 77. “That was the difference in the end,” Cummins said. From his first delivery, Green was using his feet, getting down to Dhananjaya de Silva to make a delivery into a full toss and bunting it away. It set the tone. His reach often allowed him to get to the ball before it performed its mischievous tricks. The sweep, a shot previously rarely seen by Green in his short Test career, brought him 25 runs – before this innings, eight runs was the most it had accrued him in a single knock. “I think if you go out there just defending, you can get yourself in trouble,” he said at the presentation. “If you’re just looking to score it’s probably going to give yourself the best chance. If you’re going to get out at some point you might as well play some shots.”Swepson’s sliding doors
In a match dedicated to the late Shane Warne, there was a symbolism when Mitchell Swepson got the nod for Australia’s XI after his place was in doubt. That he probably wouldn’t have played if Jon Holland’s spinning finger had been right is a fascinating debate. Was too much emphasis put on the numbers of left-arm finger spinners? It would certainly have been rough for him to miss out on such a surface. Whether Swepson’s match will be looked back on in the way Warne’s matchwinning effort in Colombo in 1992 is recalled remains to be seen, but he certainly had a big part to play in Australia’s victory. His pair of legbreaks in the first innings were superb pieces of bowling and he didn’t flinch as the Sri Lankans tried to pressure him. Perhaps his luck, changed, too. After seeing a number of chances go down in Pakistan, the wicket that put him on a hat-trick came from a juggling catch by Warner at gully.Mitchell Swepson took his chance after a late nod for the XI•Getty ImagesCarey’s growth
Carey would have known he was in for an interesting match when he needed a concussion test in the sixth over after Nathan Lyon’s first delivery spat past the edge into his helmet. His Test debut was a reasonably hurried affair after the sudden departure of Tim Paine shortly before the Ashes. After a solid start at the Gabba he was not entirely convincing with glove or bat, although questions over whether he was the right man were premature. Since then he has been excellent in testing conditions, with Galle being the most extreme yet. His sweepathon wrestled the match into Australia’s favour and he twice held bottom edges off the same stroke. The one he took in the second innings, off Dimuth Karunaratne which began Sri Lanka’s slide, was followed by a piece of analysis from Brad Haddin on the host broadcast which noted how the ball before had bounced significantly, but Carey had held his position the next delivery to be able to take the chance. It is often said wicketkeepers are only noticed when they make mistakes, so performances like this should be applauded.Cummins’ captaincy
It was another good game for the skipper, who did not have to be a bowling captain in the second innings. After the match he referenced the planning that had gone on behind the scenes ahead of the series and in the middle he steered the ship impressively. There were little moments, such as having the deep backward square well in from the rope which Kusal Mendis top-edged to in the second innings, and he also did not over-attack with the field settings for Swepson. Then he threw the ball to Travis Head and watched the part-time offspinner rip a delivery through the gate of Dinesh Chandimal on his way to 4 for 10. Given the conditions it was perhaps not the most out-of-the-box move you’ll see, but a captain can enjoy them when they work out so well.

He played in the shadow of Bradman but Stan McCabe had a sparkle few could match

Paul Edwards12-May-2020″I saw him bat, I can still picture that swivel hook…”The phone line is skittish and it is over sixty years since the events being described, but there is no mistaking the wonder in the voice. “It was in a testimonial match at North Sydney Oval round about 1957,” says David Frith. “He was playing against his bosom pal, Bill O’Reilly, who would rock in and still had a high arm even though he would be 52 or 53 at the time.” The man O’Reilly was bowling to in that distant Australian summer was Stan McCabe, who was then 47 years old and had played his final first-class match sixteen seasons previously. But Frith is the emeritus professor of cricket historians, so when his tough recollections are touched with such fondness, it is as well to listen hard. Then again, maybe such admiration is not so surprising: on his day McCabe was reckoned a better batsman that Bradman. Even Don thought so.”Towards the end I could scarcely watch the play,” wrote Bradman of McCabe’s 232 at Trent Bridge in 1938. “My eyes were filled as I drank in the glory of his shots… Such cricket I shall never see again nor shall I ever feel competent adequately to describe this elegant display…When Stan returned to our dressing room at the conclusion of this epic performance I was so moved by the superb majesty of his innings I could scarcely speak. However, I gripped his hand, wet with perspiration. He was trembling like a thoroughbred racehorse. I can recall saying to him after expressing my congratulations, ‘I would give a great deal to be able to play an innings like that.’ No skipper was ever more sincere in his adulation of another’s skill.”ALSO READ: Odd Men In – VVS LaxmanIt would be easy for a cynic to comment tartly that Bradman could afford to be generous with his praise. The double-hundred at Nottingham was the sixth and last of McCabe’s Test career and it was scored in his 36th match. He would play only three more times for his country, although it is instructive to note he had never been dropped since first being picked, also at Trent Bridge, in 1930. Bradman, by contrast, had scored 18 centuries in 33 games for Australia and would add 11 more in 28 innings. At which point it is probably wise to leash the stat-hounds, albeit they are ravening to make further comparisons. No one doubts that Bradman scored more heavily more frequently than any other player in the game’s history. But the oft-voiced problem with such phenomenal batting is that it can overshadow the achievements of world-class cricketers like McCabe, Bill Woodfull and Arthur Morris. How exactly can they compete with a man whose Test batting average (99.94) is over 50 runs per innings greater than each of theirs? How do you rival a man whose average is so abnormal that it became a popular PIN number?Perhaps we might begin by taking Bradman at his word. We could also note that when it came to playing cricket touched by genius, McCabe had form. At Trent Bridge it had been his demolition of the England debutant legspinner Doug Wright that took his skipper’s eye. Over six years earlier his unbeaten 187 in the first Test of the Bodyline tour had offered an early and misleading suggestion that Douglas Jardine’s attack could be successfully defied. Only 18 of those runs were scored in front of the wicket on the off side. Time and oft, McCabe hooked, pulled and glanced Larwood and Voce to the pickets on the leg side. There was a century stand with Vic Richardson and fifty partnerships with both Bert Oldfield and last man Tim Wall. Watched by an 11-year-old Ray Lindwall, who shrewdly kept his admiration for Larwood’s run-up to himself, McCabe had given the spectators on the Hill precisely the essay in resistance they craved. It was not enough to save the match or change the course of the series but the sight of the “rosy-faced, twinkle-eyed, sparse-thatched boy” stayed with Bill O’Reilly long after he had forgotten his own eight-ball innings.”I once asked Bill in the press box at SCG where McCabe had hit the ball during that innings,” Frith recalls. “And he punched a finger at long leg, square leg and even midwicket. Leg side, whack, whack, whack…and all of it wearing only a cap. McCabe told his father to make sure his mum didn’t jump the fence if he got hit.”That happened, of course, but McCabe rode the blows and responded with a few of his own making. It was an innings which became imprinted on the memory of most that saw it and there were over 40,000 at the SCG on each of the two days the century spanned. “He was quick enough now and then to drop back towards the packed on field and unleash a hectoring cover drive at the ball pig-rooting over the leg stump,” recalled Denzil Batchelor, who watched that Test. McCabe “was a cricketer of inspiration and instinctive brilliance,” said Peter Roebuck, one of many modern writers who have tried to reimagine that innings. “No one else had attempted to bat in his buccaneering way because no one thought it could be done.”But perhaps the most revealing comment came from McCabe, himself. Asked a short time later whether he had got a swollen head after reading the papers he replied that he hadn’t seen them. “I thought there might be a lot of exaggerated praise in them that it wouldn’t do me any good to read,” he explained. His 187 had been scored in two minutes over four hours; there had been 25 fours, although it would have been a dull dog, indeed, who had felt any compulsion to count them.

McCabe demolished the English attack with aristocratic politeness, good taste and reserve. His boundaries were jewels and trinkets which he accepted as though dangling them in his handsNeville Cardus

Just over three years later there would be two more runs and four more boundaries in the second of McCabe’s three great innings, although again it couldn’t win the Test for Australia. The visitors had begun the Johannesburg match already one up in the series, their victory at Durban being partly explained by McCabe’s 149 and even more so by O’Reilly and Clarrie Grimmett’s 13 wickets in the match. But Australia had begun the final morning at the Wanderers one down for 85 and still needing another 314 on a dusty pitch offering turn and extravagant variation of bounce. Only around 5000 spectators saw McCabe begin the day on 59 not out but that number had more than doubled as he took the attack to the inexperienced South African spinners. He reached his century in 91 minutes, watched at the other end by his second-wicket partner, Jack Fingleton. “At times Stan’s batting bordered on the miraculous,” Fingleton would write later.As at Sydney and Trent Bridge, McCabe responded to difficulty with an innings which mocked circumstance. Early in the afternoon session, with thunder and lightning threatening and Australia seeming well on course for victory, Herbie Wade, the South African captain, appealed against the light, suggesting that McCabe’s cuts and drives were endangering his fielders in the murk. When a storm finally ended the match, the visitors needed another 125 to win and McCabe had made 189 not out in 197 minutes.So to Trent Bridge in 1938 and the first match in what became a tightly-contested four-Test series. A quartet of England batsmen, including the 20-year-old Denis Compton, made centuries as the home side took advantage of a flat pitch to make 658 for 8 declared. McCabe came in with his side two down for 111 – Bradman c Ames b Sinfield 51 – and Australia had declined to 194 for 6 when he was joined by the wicketkeeper, Ben Barnett. What happened next had Neville Cardus searching for a fitting comparison; he decided that a French highwayman from the Restoration period would do the job very well.”Today McCabe honoured the First Test with a great and noble innings…The dear valiance of his play won our hearts. McCabe demolished the English attack with aristocratic politeness, good taste and reserve. Claude Duval never took possession of a stage coach with more charm of manner than this; his boundaries were jewels and trinkets which he accepted as though dangling them in his hands.”In half an hour after lunch he scored nearly 50, unhurried but trenchant… One of the greatest innings ever seen anywhere in any period of the game’s history. Moving cricket which swelled the heart. He is in the line of Trumper and no other batsman today but McCabe has inherited Trumper’s sword and cloak.”Cardus often thought statistics polluted achievement and debased cricket’s essential aesthetic. But even he might have thought it worth noting, as Steven Lynch has, that McCabe made his second hundred in 84 minutes, the last 50 of it in just 24. He also contributed 72 to the 77-run last-wicket partnership he shared with “Chuck” Fleetwood-Smith. Even Bradman, whose love of figures was somewhat greater than Cardus’, had use for a simile. “Australians who saw that innings [Sydney 1932] rate it as a masterpiece. So it was, and yet compared with his Nottingham effort it was as a sapphire to a diamond.”Stan McCabe plays a cover drive•Getty ImagesIt is, though, another comparison that stays in the mind. The possibility that McCabe’s quick-footed drives could rival those of Victor Trumper beguiles anyone who has found himself pondering George Beldam’s photograph for a moment only to find that an half an hour has passed without him noticing. The stat-hounds are pawing at the door again; they point out that Bradman scored as many Test hundreds (29) as McCabe managed in his first-class career.There are two responses to that valid point. The first is to read some lines from Alan Ross’s poem, “Cricket at Oxford”:All day we would marvel at technique
Exercised, it seemed, for its own sake,
The extending of a tradition, as might
Language be refined: an innings
By McCabe packed with epigrams,
Bradman ruthless as if sacking a cityThe second is to return to Frith’s reminiscences of conservative Sydney in the 1950s, when McCabe, Oldfield and Alan Kippax all owned sports shops in the city.”I went into McCabe’s sports shop in George St, Sydney, up near the Circular Quay, and that did pretty well. Bert Oldfield’s shop was round the corner in Hunter St. and if you went a bit further up there was Alan Kippax’s shop in Martin Place. I got to know Kippax very well and he was a lovely man, a true gentleman. But so was McCabe and so was Oldfield. They were lovely people. Stan didn’t talk too much but he was a quiet, modest man and to win Bill O’Reilly’s affection was something special. But it was nice to get his signature. Oldfield gave me his 1930 blazer and a ball from the Trent Bridge Test that year. He also sold me my first bat; it cost £2 and I got a free tin of bat oil to go with it.”Those three innings of McCabe’s were absolute classics and after a hundred years of Test cricket they were judged to be among the top ten that had ever been played. Don topped all the tables but when it came to sheer beauty, awesome beauty, McCabe was on his own. It was a bit like Archie Jackson or Victor Trumper; it was the way they moved that enchanted people.”Stan McCabe fell to his accidental death from Beauty Point in Mosman in 1968. He was 58 and his death occurred in the middle of the final Ashes Test at The Oval. The Australian commentator, Alan McGilvray, recalled that when the news was announced to the crowd there was a deep silence and some people even took off their hats. Ray Robinson wrote as follows, “In McCabe the cricketer, you saw McCabe the man – urbane, sociable, unpretentious, straightforward, incapable of anything mean-spirited.” Nowhere in any of the obituaries was there a criticism heavily veiled by euphemism. Rather, most of them mentioned three innings which were as good as anything the game has seen. Some 50 years later there is wonder still. Odd Men In