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The home advantage debate: “You just have to play smarter and score one run more from the opponent,” Samson says

Shashank Kishore04-Apr-20251:23

Does Jaiswal have a two-over problem?

Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Sanju Samson isn’t worried about Yashasvi Jaiswal’s current form – he has 1, 29 and 4 in IPL 2025 so far – and is confident the opener will soon return to his dominant best.”He has been working really hard,” Samson said ahead of RR’s match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Mullanpur. “I think he has been attending all the practice sessions. He does tick each and every box, which he has been ticking from last six years.”Jaiswal’s ten dismissals in the powerplay are the joint-fourth-highest in the IPL since 2024. Against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), he was caught superbly at point by Abhinav Manohar. Then against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), he was dismissed looking to hit Moeen Ali out of the ground, while against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), he chipped one to mid-off.Related

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“You can see he is batting the most hours in the nets,” Samson said. “We’ve had to wait for many hours for him to get out from the nets. So, he is doing everything possible from his side to score those runs, to win those matches. As we all know, IPL is a very challenging format. As an opener, his game is also attacking. He wants to give us a positive start. He is looking for those boundaries. He is looking for those sixes. In that process, you tend to lose the wickets also.”I think I would like to see him perform and come up the ranks at the right moment when the team requires him the most. I think I am happy that he is yet to perform. But I know when he performs, he will be winning the games for us as a team. So, he is doing everything fine.”RR currently have one win in three games. Saturday’s outing will be Samson’s first as captain following a full recovery from a finger injury that limited his participation in the first two weeks of the season as an Impact Player.When asked about the experience of sitting out and seeing someone else – Riyan Parag – captain while only playing as a batter, Samson admitted he had to “hold myself back”.Sanju Samson wants Yashasvi Jaiswal to find his form when the team needs it the most•BCCI

“Missing out in three games, I was just holding myself back and seeing the games from a different perspective,” he said. “So, it was a different experience for me to sit at the dugout and see my friends, my young brothers, playing out there, fighting out there.”To be honest, I am very happy and excited to be back and to be fully fit, to keep wickets, to play as a normal player. I think I have been really looking forward to it and it feels very exciting.”‘No complaints’ – Samson on home-advantage debateOver the past week, a number of players and coaches have touched upon the lack of home advantage this season.Ajinkya Rahane, the KKR captain, spoke of wanting more turn from the pitches at Eden Gardens, while CSK coach Stephen Fleming has been vocal about not getting any advantage for a few years now. On Thursday, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) coach Andy Flower said it wasn’t a “typical Chinnaswamy surface” after they lost to Gujarat Titans (GT).It’s with this background that Samson was asked about the importance of home advantage. RR have played two of their three “home” games in Guwahati, and are yet to play in Jaipur, their designated home venue.”Definitely the home games play a huge role in the conditions we all know, which can be favourable if the toss goes your way,” he said. “The morale and the energy of the stadium will definitely help the home team.”So, yeah, I think Punjab [Kings] is coming back to their home after a long time and they will be also having all their fans supporting them. We really enjoy that challenge and are looking forward to it.”When asked specifically about the comments made by Rahane and others, Samson chose to steer clear of the debate.”To be very honest, before the IPL, like one month of IPL, I have cut out all my social media,” he said. “I have switched off my phone. So I am not aware of things happening in the newspaper or in the media. To be very honest, I think I personally don’t have any comments on that.”Definitely both teams get to play on the same wicket. Both teams get to play in the same conditions. I think it’s a game of cricket. Sometimes you score 280, sometimes you score 150. You just have to play smarter and score one run more from the opponent. So, I think that’s how I would like to look at this. So, as of now, I don’t have any complaints.”

Afghanistan captain exudes confidence ahead of the team’s first game in the Champions Trophy, against South Africa

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Feb-20254:25

Shahidi hopes cricket somehow goes to Afghanistan ‘soon’

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi is confident of beating South Africa on their Champions Trophy debut in Karachi on February 21, especially after having defeated them 2-1 in the ODI series in Sharjah last year. It was also Afghanistan’s first ODI series win against a top-five ranked nation.”Between 2019 and now there’s too much difference and just recently we beat them [South Africa] in Sharjah – 2-1 – so we have that confidence with us and we are not under pressure anyway,” Shahidi said at his press conference on Thursday. “Because right now we are focusing what we can do in this tournament and I believe that our team is more ready for this tournament and we are focusing on our own team. There is no pressure on us.”While Afghanistan will be without teenaged mystery spinner AM Ghazanfar, who has been sidelined from the entire tournament with injury, they have enough spin depth in the form of Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Nabi and Nangeylia Kharote. Afghanistan will also have support from the Karachi crowd.”First of all, about people here – there are a lot of Afghans,” Shahidi said. “They live here in Karachi and in Pakistan and also a lot of Pashtun people, I think, they support us. So yeah, yesterday there was a lot of crowds shouting for us [during training] and it feels good and it give us confidence that we have supporters here and about our performance.”Related

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This will be Afghanistan’s first-ever appearance in the Champions Trophy, but Shahidi made it clear that they are not here to make up the numbers and that their goal is to win the title. Afghanistan can draw confidence from their performances in the recent global tournaments: in the 2024 T20 World Cup, they made the semi-finals while earlier in the 2023 ODI World Cup, they had booked a sixth-place finish and with that a spot in this Champions Trophy.”We are doing very good and, in this tournament, we are here to compete here and our aim is to win the final,” Shahidi said. “We are not here just to participate here in this tournament. We are definitely 100% looking to win this event and at the same time because we played a lot of quality cricket from last two years and it’s a good chance for us because the boys are very experienced and these conditions are also suitable for us. So we have a good chance and let’s start it from tomorrow and hopefully we start with the win and we go with the same momentum throughout the tournament.”Temba Bavuma, the South Africa captain, said his team won’t be underestimating Afghanistan, but having played them in September means South Africa have idea of what to expect.* “Yeah, highly competitive team, Afghanistan. I think they’ve got a lot of experience within their team. Guys who have that international pedigree at least from a skill point of view,” Bavuma said on match eve. “Like you said, we played against them mid to late last year and they were victorious, so they won’t be short of any type of confidence coming into the game tomorrow.”[But] we’ve also had a good look at them – I think probably a similar team that we played against in Sharjah that will be coming again. So, I guess we kind of know what to expect.”Bavuma said the challenge for his bowlers in this tournament would be to keep their discipline on batting-friendly tracks. “I think in terms of the conditions here, we’ve had a nice look at what to expect. Probably batter-friendly wickets and I think quite a nice challenge for the bowlers. Our challenge as a bowling unit is to be one of the more disciplined and precise bowling units. I guess always look for opportunities to take wickets.”From a batting point of view, scoreboard pressure is a big thing. Guys getting in, making sure they go get big so we can challenge for those 330-340-350 type of scores.”Shahidi on playing in Afghanistan: ‘Hopefully that day comes’Afghanistan haven’t had a dedicated home venue and since June 2017, when they were granted Full-Member status, they have played their home internationals in the three major cities of the UAE, in Dehradun, Lucknow and Greater Noida in India (which was also home before they became a Full Member). Shahidi, though, talked up the cricketing facilities and domestic cricket in Afghanistan, hoping to play international cricket in country in the near future.”I have answered this in Pashto but let me say it again because in media I heard a lot from other countries that they [Afghanistan] don’t have facilities, they don’t have stadiums, they don’t have academies. It’s totally wrong,” Shahidi said. “We have good facilities. We have cricket academies. We have High Performance Centre in Kabul and Jalalabad and also, we have stadiums in every zone of Afghanistan. So, we have the facilities to call a team to come to Afghanistan but in our country there were some security issues that’s why other countries are not coming but hopefully soon, as soon as possible, one of the countries will come to Afghanistan and you will see the crowd also.”When we play domestic cricket, it’s fully packed. Even people wait outside the stadium and try to come and watch the domestic game, like more than 50,000, 40,000 or 30,000 people coming for the finals of an event. I know that if any team come to Afghanistan, there will be like thousands of people, fans come and arrive to the stadium because there is a lot of craze for cricket. There are a lot of people who love cricket. So hopefully that day comes and hopefully it comes soon.”

Dele Alli has been warned that, with his form having “fallen off a cliff”, that his next port of call is likely to represent a “last chance” in the professional ranks. The former Tottenham and Everton midfielder finds himself in the free agent pool after being released by Como. There has been talk of EFL clubs, including ambitious Wrexham, showing interest.

One & out at Como: Contract torn up

Ex-England international Dele managed just one appearance for Como – with said substitute outing lasting less than 10 minutes after picking up a red card – before seeing his Italian job brought to an abrupt halt.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesOne sub appearance since February 2023

Dele is alarmingly short on match fitness and sharpness, dating back to a loan spell at Turkish side Besiktas in 2023, with any club considering a contract offer fully aware that they would be taking a calculated risk on his services.

Dele's pedigree: Two-time PFA Young Player of the Year

There is no doubting Dele’s pedigree, as a former Premier League star and two-time winner of the PFA Young Player of the Year award, but his career has veered wildly off track and suitors may prove difficult to find at the very highest level.

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Getty/GOALLast chance? Pulis' take on Dele's options

Experienced coach Tony Pulis, who once faced Dele in the English top-flight, told of the rumours suggesting that a move to North Wales could still be on the cards: “Well, Dele Alli, who was at Tottenham 10 years ago, was exceptional. I can remember managing against Tottenham when Pochettino was manager and I was at West Brom, and he and Harry Kane were a real handful. He's just fallen off a cliff in terms of performances.

“He's really had a bad time. As you say, at 29 years of age, he should be reaching his peak now. But he's had opportunities and he's not taken them. There are question marks over whoever takes him, and I'm sure someone will take a gamble on him.

“This will most probably be his last chance, especially if he comes back to England. So, yeah, he needs a manager who will understand his situation off the field as well as on the field. But if Wrexham can get him going, he certainly was a very, very good player.”

After a summer break that felt far too long, the Premier League is finally back this weekend, and West Ham United travel to Sunderland for their opening game of the campaign.

It’s been a largely positive pre-season for Graham Potter and Co this year, as while they lost 2-1 to Manchester United, they dispatched of Grasshoppers as well as Everton and Bournemouth.

Moreover, while they’ve not pulled up any trees in the market, the Irons have made a few smart additions to a side that’s already strong enough to challenge for a top-half finish this season.

They aren’t done either, as it now looks like West Ham want to sign a midfield talent who has won comparisons to the highly sought-after Carlos Baleba.

West Ham target their own Baleba

While West Ham haven’t been as busy as some of their rivals in the market this summer, they’ve still made some wise additions to the team, while also making a pretty penny on Mohammed Kudus.

Transfer Focus

The likes of Kyle Walker-Peters and Mads Hermansen, for example, should help make the side more difficult to play against, while the young El Hadji Malick Diouf looks like he could be a real handful for opposition defenders.

Interestingly, it seems like the Senegalese international might not be the Hammers’ only midfield signing, as they’re now moving for an up-and-coming gem who’d been compared to Baleba.

At least that’s according to a recent report from Sacha Tavolieri, who has revealed that West Ham are very interested in Ngal’ayel Mukau.

More than that, the journalist has claimed that the Irons have already made contact with LOSC Lille over the incredibly exciting talent.

In more good news, it shouldn’t be a prohibitively expensive deal to pull off, as the report states that the French side will demand a fee in excess of €20m, which is about £xxm.

While that is still a lot of money to spend on a young talent, Mukau looks like he’d be worth the risk, especially as he’s been compared to the sensational Baleba.

How Mukau compares to Baleba

As things stand, it looks like Manchester United are going to go all out for Baleba, who, according to some reports, is valued at more than £100m by Brighton & Hove Albion.

So, while nobody is suggesting that Mukau is at that level at the moment, it’s certainly encouraging that those in the know, such as respected analyst Ben Mattinson, are comparing him to the Seagulls ace.

Mattinson made the bold claim that, due in part to just how “well balanced” the 20-year-old is, he specifically makes him think of the now in-demand Cameroon international.

Interestingly, the opinion that the two players share similar characteristics must be shared by Lille themselves, as just a year after selling the Brighton ace, they signed the Antwerp-born gem to play in the same positions.

Moreover, just as the United target is known for his lung-busting runs from deep and ability to do a bit of everything in the middle of the park, the young Lille gem can excel as a box-to-box midfielder, in part thanks to his “ability in tight spaces and arriving into the box,” per Mattinson.

With that said, while the comparisons to a rising star of the Premier League are encouraging, they are not the only argument for signing the “tenacious” ace, as dubbed by U23 scout Antonio Mango, as he also has some seriously impressive underlying numbers to his name.

For example, FBref ranked him in the top 3% of midfielders in the Champions League last season for goal-creating actions from shots, the top 4% for goals per shot, the top 6% for dribblers tackled, the top 12% for aerial duels won and more, all per 90.

GCA (Shot)

0.16

Top 3%

Goals/Shot

0.40

Top 4%

Pass Completion % (Long)

94.7%

Top 4%

% of Dribblers Tackled

75.0%

Top 6%

Goals – xG

+0.19

Top 7%

Non-Penalty Goals – npxG

+0.19

Top 7%

npxG/Shot

0.17

Top 9%

Non-Penalty Goals

0.32

Top 12%

Goals/Shot on Target

1.00

Top 12%

% of Aerials Won

71.4%

Top 12%

Goals

0.32

Top 13%

Carries into Final Third

2.24

Top 16%

Ultimately, Mukau might not be a particularly well-known name to fans of English football at the moment, but he looks set for a bright future, and the comparisons to Baleba are simply more evidence of that.

Therefore, while it won’t be cheap, West Ham should be doing all they can to sign him this summer.

Their new Lanzini: West Ham in talks to sign "exquisite" star for £0

West Ham United could pick up their next Manuel Lanzini by signing this exciting free agent.

ByKelan Sarson Aug 10, 2025

Melbourne Renegades quick will miss a third straight WBBL season due to injury

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Oct-2024

Luckless Australia and Melbourne Renegades fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck has been ruled out of the WBBL for the third consecutive season following the shoulder dislocation she suffered in the T20 World Cup.Vlaeminck, 25, dislocated her bowling shoulder just moments into Australia’s World Cup match against Pakistan which was her first at a major tournament since 2018.She was subsequently ruled out of the World Cup and Renegades confirmed on Friday that she would play no part in the WBBL that starts next Sunday.Related

Vlaeminck dislocates shoulder on T20 World Cup return

Vlaeminck has not played in the WBBL since November 2021 when she was playing for Hobart Hurricanes. She signed with Renegades ahead of the 2022-23 season but has not managed to play a single game due to an extraordinary run of injuries.Vlaeminck has twice dislocated her left shoulder. The first came playing for Victoria in the 2017-18 season. Then, during the Australia A tour of England which coincided with last year’s Women’s Ashes, she dislocated the same shoulder again while bowling, which led to corrective surgery.Before she made her debut for Australia, in 2018, she had undergone two ACL reconstructions. Stress fractures in her foot also forced her to miss the 2020 home T20 World Cup as well as the 2022 ODI World Cup, the Commonwealth Games later that year and the 2023 T20 World Cup. Her foot injuries led her to spend time training with professional dancers at the Australian Ballet as part of her rehab work.

The Mumbai allrounder has put out an Instagram video alongside his father, reassuring fans that he is on the road to recovery

Nikhil Sharma28-Sep-2024 • Updated on 29-Sep-2024

Musheer Khan is on the road to recovery after suffering “a fracture in the neck region” in a road accident on the outskirts of Lucknow on Friday. On Sunday evening, Musheer and his father-coach Naushad Khan put out a video on Instagram reassuring his fans that he was out of danger and recovering.