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As rumours continue to emerge about Alexander Isak’s future, Newcastle United have reportedly reached an advanced stage with their deal to welcome an incoming of their own.

Newcastle remaining stubborn on Isak stance

For the first time this summer, those around St James’ Park have every right to be concerned about Isak’s future. Liverpool have put their cards on the table and are willing to break their club record for a second time this summer to sign the Swede. But Newcastle won’t be swayed that easily. According to Fabrizio Romano, the Magpies’ stance remains that Isak is not for sale this summer.

With Champions League football secured last season and no major PSR concerns to worry about, Newcastle are still in a strong position when it comes to keeping hold of their star man. Whether that changes as the summer goes on remains to be seen, however.

Whilst the line remains that any striker that does arrive this summer will be playing alongside Isak, the names on Newcastle’s shortlist could certainly step up to play the main role if disaster strikes.

On that front, names such as Yoane Wissa particularly stand out. The Brentford forward enjoyed an excellent campaign last time out, scoring 19 Premier League goals, and could yet be on his way to St James’ Park before the end of the summer.

He’s not the only impressive name on Newcastle’s supposed shortlist, though. Reports are now going as far as to suggest that Newcastle have reached an advanced stage in their deal to welcome a Bundesliga star.

Newcastle reach advanced stage in Ekitike deal

According to Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, Newcastle are now expected to submit a second bid to sign Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt, with their deal now at an advanced stage. The Frenchman could reportedly cost as much as €80m (£69m) in what would see those at St James’ Park break their transfer record previously set by Isak when he arrived for £63m in 2022.

Interestingly, Romano recently claimed that if Liverpool miss out on Isak then they will turn their attention towards Ekitike in a lose-lose situation for Newcastle. Whether the Magpies have simply pushed on with their move to sign the forward, nonetheless, or it’s a clue about Isak’s future remains an unanswered question, though.

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What those in Tyneside are well aware of, however, is the talent that Ekitike has. Described as “dynamic” by German football writer Constantin Eckner, Newcastle could be about to form one of the Premier League’s best strike partnerships in Isak and the Frankfurt star.

Pat Cummins is due in the USA. The Australia fast bowler, last seen in action during the T20 World Cup that took place in America and West Indies, will begin his stint with the San Francisco Unicorns midway through the season at the Major League Cricket tournament.Cummins signed a four-year deal with the franchise. The 31-year-old has previously played in only one overseas T20 league, the IPL, and has not featured in Australia’s Big Bash League since the 2018-19 season due to his international commitments.The Unicorns have won only one of their three games so far this year and will enjoy the boost that Cummins will provide. He made history, picking up back-to-back hat-tricks at the T20 World Cup and, prior to that, led Sunrisers Hyderabad to the final in the IPL. He has played 151 T20s overall, picking up 172 wickets at an average of 26.66 and an economy rate of 8.11.Related

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Cummins’ arrival coincides with Sherfane Rutherford’s departure. The hard-hitting West Indies allrounder has not played any of the Unicorns’ matches so far and will miss the rest of the MLC due to a bereavement in the family.There were changes among the other teams as well with Ottneil Baartman replacing Gerald Coetzee (injury) at Texas Super Kings and Lungi Ngidi taking over from Wayne Parnell (player withdrawal) at Seattle Orcas.Baartman, the South Africa fast bowler, was ruled out of the T20 Blast currently taking place in England due to delays in getting his visa which left his schedule open. He has 107 wickets from 76 T20s and is known for his variations and death-bowling ability.Ngidi suffered a back injury during the SA20 at the start of the year and missed the IPL that followed but has since recovered and was part of South Africa’s squad at the T20 World Cup, along with Baartman.

There’s been a lack of activity in the transfer market so far this summer from Newcastle United, but fans shouldn’t worry; Eddie Howe’s side are looking to make several signings.

Having qualified for the Champions League on the final day of the Premier League season, the Magpies faithful will expect the squad to be rewarded for their Herculean efforts, winning the Carabao Cup too.

But sporting director Paul Mitchell stands down at the end of the month, and frustrations are already reaching boiling point for some given transfer targets like Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo appear to be headed elsewhere.

Mbeumo scored 20 goals across 38 top-flight fixtures, earning praise from Thomas Frank for his “unplayable” attacking performances.

However, with Mbeumo seemingly out of reach, Newcastle are turning their attention elsewhere, and might have found an exciting option perhaps not yet discussed by the biggest channels.

Newcastle enter race for Mbeumo alternative

As per Caught Offside, Newcastle are in the running for versatile RB Leipzig forward Antonio Nusa, though they are joined in their interest by a host of clubs, including Premier League rivals Arsenal and Chelsea.

Valued at €45m (£38m), the 20-year-old has only been playing in Germany for a year but has made good progress, showcasing his range of attacking qualities. Thus, he could be snapped up before his stock rises higher still.

While there haven’t been any official proposals from the suitors yet, bids may materialise quickly, so Newcastle might be wise to act now and bring a top talent to St. James’ Park – one who might even outgrow Mbeumo in the future.

What Antonio Nusa would bring to Newcastle

Hailed as a “future icon” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, Nusa has impressed across his maiden campaign in Germany, scoring five goals and supplying seven assists across 36 appearances.

The Norwegian talent has yet to find the kind of goalscoring form that has defined Mbeumo’s time in the Premier League, but there’s more to his skill set than that.

In the Champions League, particularly, he impressed. As per FBref, Nusa ranked among the top 4% of attacking midfielders and wingers in Europe’s elite competition for shot-creating actions, the top 7% for progressive carries and the top 5% for successful take-ons per 90.

There’s a long road ahead for Nusa if he wishes to prove himself as a better signing than Mbeumo in the future, but his underlying data certainly suggests he has what it takes.

League Stats 24/25 – Antonio Nusa vs Bryan Mbeumo

Stats (* per game)

Nusa

Mbeumo

Matches (starts)

25 (16)

38 (38)

Goals

3

20

Assists

3

7

Shots (on target)*

1.0 (0.3)

2.2 (1.1)

Big chances missed

1

9

Pass completion

78%

74%

Key passes*

0.8

1.8

Big chances created

6

17

Dribbles*

1.6

1.4

Ball recoveries*

3.1

4.1

Tackles + interceptions*

1.5

1.7

Duels won*

4.1

4.7

Data via Sofascore

Nusa is still very young – five years Mbeumo’s junior, in fact – but you can already see a combativeness and efficiency in his ball-carrying that suggests he too could sustain complete performances in the Premier League.

Moreover, the Norway international might not have converted that many chances, but he only missed one big chance in the Bundesliga last term, highlighting an underlying clinical edge that Howe could harness over the coming years, using the player’s pace and power to get him into dangerous positions.

Mbeumo will cost a pretty penny to prise from Brentford this summer, and given the strength of Newcastle’s existing frontline, adding an up-and-coming talent who can challenge for places might just be the winning formula for Howe’s side, as they step back onto the continent’s biggest stage.

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Aston Villa have opened direct transfer talks with one player over joining Unai Emery next season, according to reports, as the Premier League top five contenders attempt to build upon another impressive campaign.

Aston Villa seal vital win over Tottenham in Champions League race

Nerves were rife throughout Villa Park in their crunch encounter against Tottenham on Friday night, before their opening goal 30 minutes from full-time, with defender Ezri Konsa breaking the deadlock before Boubacar Kamara doubled their advantage.

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Villa eventually ran out 2-0 victors over Ange Postecoglou’s side and cemented a crucial win in their chase for Champions League qualification.

The result means Emery’s side are still right in the thick of it, as they contend for a top five finish heading into the Premier League final matchday, and it is shaping up to be a dramatic last game with six teams involved in the battle for Europe.

Race for Champions League qualification

Points

2. Arsenal

68

3. Newcastle United

66

4. Chelsea

66

5. Aston Villa

66

6. Man City

65

7. Nottingham Forest

62

Emery, speaking after their victory against struggling Spurs, heaped praise on his players for making their home ground a serious fortress.

“I’m very grateful for the supporters,” Emery said. “Here, we are feeling strong and we’re feeling comfortable. We only lost one match here in the Premier League, the first match against Arsenal. Progressively, we were getting better. Of course, we drew some matches in the way, and now we are missing some points from those moments, but we have to accept it.

“We have to accept the 37 matches we’ve played being consistent, more or less, and getting the moment we are in now, feeling good and in our best moment. We’re achieving the challenges we are facing. We enjoyed in the FA Cup and in Carabao Cup, but mostly our moment in the Champions League.

“The Premier League is the most important competition we are facing because through it we are getting again our main objective, and the objective is to be in Europe.

“We are in Europe next year, but we are in the running for the Champions League positions, and we can have chances in the last match in Manchester to get it.”

Aston Villa open talks with Axel Disasi over joining next season

The result of their Champions League chase will have direct effects on their recruitment plans off the field, but that hasn’t stopped NSWE and Monchi from making moves behind-the-scenes.

Chelsea loanee Axel Disasi could remain beyond 2024/2025, with the Frenchman very highly-rated by Emery, his coaching staff and Villa’s transfer chiefs.

That is according to Foot Mercato, who state that Villa have already opened talks with Disasi over joining them next season.

The 27-year-old cost Chelsea £39 million to sign from Monaco in 2023, and Fabrizio Romano recently claimed that they’re keen to sell him for profit this summer. It is unclear how much Villa would be willing to pay to keep Disasi in the Midlands, but he could be a significant addition.

The defender has been called a “leader” at times, and his experience at the top level could be invaluable for Emery.

Arsenal have reportedly made a pre-summer offer to sign a Barcelona star for Mikel Arteta, with the La Liga title contenders and their president, Joan Laporta, responding to their ambitious approach.

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Kieran Tierney is set to join Celtic in July after agreeing a pre-summer contract in the January transfer window, while it is believed Oleksandr Zinchenko has been put on the transfer list by Arsenal after falling down Arteta’s pecking order.

Arsenal’s final Premier League games

Date

Bournemouth (home)

May 3rd

Liverpool (away)

May 11th

Newcastle United (home)

May 18th

Southampton (away)

May 25th

Jakub Kiwior has started four of Arsenal’s last Premier League matches, as well as both Champions League quarter-final legs against Real Madrid, but this is only due to Gabriel Magalhaes being out for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury.

The Poland international has performed impressively in that time, but that hasn’t stopped Arsenal from looking at new options in that position ahead of the summer.

Arsenal are one of the contenders to sign Bournemouth starlet Dean Huijsen, as per David Ornstein, and have held talks with the Spaniard’s camp already – so it is unclear what the future would hold for Kiwior if he were to come in.

In any case, it is clear that the north Londoners are in the market for another centre-back, and it is also believed Arsenal could move to bring in another full-back as Tierney and Zinchenko head towards the exit door.

One player who could reinforce both positions with serious quality is £223,000-per-week Barcelona star Jules Koundé.

The France international has proved indispensable to Hansi Flick’s title favourites, playing more La Liga minutes than any other player in his Catalans squad, with only Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, Pedri and Dani Olmo averaging more key passes per 90 than him in the final third (WhoScored).

Kounde’s contributed excellently, both in an offensive and defensive sense, leaving little wonder why Arteta is a big admirer of the ex-Sevilla sensation.

Arsenal make pre-summer bid for Barcelona defender Jules Koundé

According to reports in Spain, as cited by Football 365, Arteta has become “obsessed” with Kounde following his excellent 2024/2025 – and Andrea Berta has made an early attempt to back Arsenal’s manager with a swoop for the 26-year-old.

It is believed Arsenal have made a pre-summer offer worth £55 million for Kounde, but Laporta has swiftly responded with a polite no, as the defender is seen as far too important to even consider selling.

It was always a tall order for Arsenal to tempt Barca into selling their star man, who can play both centrally and a full-back, but it is clear to see why they made a bold attempt to do so.

“I played against him in the Champions League,” said France international teammate Dayot Upamecano.

“He’s a confident player and I hope things continue that way. He’s also a leader and he’s beginning to have a lot of experience. I wish him all the best.”

The league has morphed into a mature, austere version that suits it better than the glamour and grandeur it initially aimed for

Danyal Rasool09-Apr-2025A decade is never not a milestone, but it can also be an awkward period of time to draw any conclusions from. It’s probably a bit too late to begin evaluating whether you have made the right career choice, and hopefully too early to determine if you have got enough by way of retirement savings. It’s often best looked at through the softened sepia tint of hindsight, which has its own gentle way of smoothing out the roughest edges of circumstance, superimposing melancholy contentment where raw pain once existed. That might make any objective assessment difficult, but it’s always deeply personal.As Pakistan’s own T20 competition hits that milestone, what to make of it remains elusive, and personal. The Pakistan Super League launched its own official song for the tournament a few days out from its start, predictably drawing strong opinions on ultimately inconsequential promotional filler. The slogan it came up with – X – could perhaps be characterised the same way, though, corny pun aside, it gets something fundamental about this tournament right. This is an X to be interpreted rather than solved, with the PSL choosing to focus on the sense of belonging and connection with Pakistan, not the glamour or any delusions of grandeur that, at present, are hard to seriously keep up in Pakistan cricket.Much as the PSL would like to stand out as an independent entity, its fanbase is primarily Pakistan cricket’s fanbase, and the league starts at a time when Pakistan’s worn-down supporters have flitted from hope to disappointment and heartbreak in six months of non-stop international cricket. It’s impossible to say this is the nadir, but it does feel Pakistan appear to have left no stone unturned in their search. Stop-gap solutions for structural problems, the hounding out of high-profile coaching staff they had spent a fortune chasing, the appointments and sackings of captains on an almost monthly basis all culminated in an embarrassing early exit in a Champions Trophy they hosted before three weeks of humbling defeats in New Zealand rubbed salt into their wounds.Related

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That is the backdrop to the tenth anniversary of a league that deserves better. It has become a financial lifeline for the PCB over the years, one of the few brands associated with Pakistan that has actually appreciated in value. It laid the groundwork for Pakistan’s international isolation to end, and has inculcated a sense of regional identity that was never possible in the domestic first-class structure due to perpetual rejigging. Now, perhaps, it is also an escape if you want to watch Pakistan cricket without the sadness that watching Pakistan cricket evokes in so many.The danger of stagnation, though, is ever-present, and, with all six franchises up for rebidding at the end of its tenth year, potentially existential. The most dominant theme in the build-up week of the tournament, tellingly, has been a constantly escalating attack on the management of the PSL by one of the franchise owners. Multan Sultans’ Ali Tareen accused the PCB of letting the league embrace mediocrity, sparking a contretemps with Karachi Kings owner Salman Iqbal, who accused Tareen of “ridiculing and disrespecting” the league. They would later de-escalate, but it has shone a spotlight on how insecurities and fears about the future of the PSL run right to the top.No cricketer possibly did as much for the PSL – and Pakistan cricket – as Darren Sammy did•AFP via Getty ImagesThe PSL appears to have accepted that days of the league attracting the hottest properties in franchise cricket are behind them. The first pick for the first two seasons of the draft were Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum; this year it was Daryl Mitchell, last year David Willey. The glut of T20 leagues in a window the PSL believed it had to itself saw it constricted from either side when the UAE’s ILT20 and South Africa’s IPL-owners-backed SA20 popped up in the January-February window, drawing talent away. At the other end, the ever-expanding IPL began to spread into March, further reducing the PSL’s breathing space.As a result, the PSL made official what had been a de facto reality for several seasons, accepting its status as a second-tier league and moving directly into the IPL window. This change may not be permanent, and it divided opinion among the franchise owners, but operating in the IPL’s slipstream all but ended any issues around international clashes. While past seasons involved multiple late withdrawals, the replacement draft this time around comprised just two new picks, as just about every player who went unpicked at the IPL was available to the PSL.In its second season at the launch ceremony, the then PCB chairman unveiled the Spirit Trophy for the PSL, which, the official claim went, included 50,000 double-pointed Swarovski crystals. It took, the PCB’s website said, “inspiration from the brilliance of the universe”.Lahore Qalandars winning back-to-back PSL titles buoyed the city•AFP/Getty ImagesThat sort of vapid optimism of the early seasons has dulled, and, as the league bids farewell to its first decade, the pragmatism of middle age has replaced it. The aspiration for the PSL to become a global glamour brand never seemed tenable, but it has carved its way into Pakistan’s cultural identity. No one is pretending it will compete for international eyeballs while games clash directly with the IPL, but there is a recognition Pakistan was never doing this for anyone else, just for Pakistan.And a decade leaves memories Pakistan fans may cling to as a crutch in these unhappy times. Lahore’s overwhelming gratitude when Daren Sammy’s million-dollar smile lit up the Gaddafi Stadium for the first time in 2017 remains one of cricket’s most iconic recent days. So were Kings’ dismantling of arch-nemesis Lahore Qalandars at the National Stadium, Lahore’s emotions overflowing when they went back-to-back after years of propping up the table.It is perhaps the purest and least problematic fun to be had in Pakistan, something cricket fans may want more of, not less, as the international side recedes in relevance at the top end of the global game. Qalandars will take on Islamabad United – two sides as diametrically opposed as you’ll find anywhere in the franchise game – on the opening day. Perhaps, Kings have finally got it right this time under David Warner. Maybe Sultans will stop losing finals. None of it will make a cosmic difference large enough to suggest any inspiration from the brilliance of the universe. It is, after all, everyone’s ” X”. Not a bad way to end a decade.

He took a wicket off a no-ball once again and burned two reviews, before finding his groove to help India salvage something from the first day in Indore

Karthik Krishnaswamy01-Mar-2023Two balls, one after the other, behaving in entirely different ways: a defining feature of day one of the third Border-Gavaskar Test match in Indore, where a series of pitches with variable pace, turn and bounce reached a new level of variable.Ravindra Jadeja had been the recipient of two such balls earlier in the day, from Nathan Lyon. He’d successfully reviewed an lbw decision off the first ball, which had skidded into his back pad before he could bring his bat down, but he’d fallen to the next ball, which stopped on him and turned, causing him to drag an attempted square cut far straighter than intended. Aiming to slap the ball through point, he ended up caught by short extra-cover moving to his left.Now, two sessions later, in the 39th over of Australia’s innings, Jadeja bowled two such balls to Usman Khawaja. The first kept low, and the second spat up towards the batter’s gloves. Khawaja kept out the first, jabbing down hurriedly, and survived the next one, fending it between short leg and leg gully.Related

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At that point, Jadeja had figures of 16.3-4-45-2. Excellent, you’d think, until you viewed them in the context of the match situation. India had been bowled out for 109 in a mere 33.2 overs. Australia were 115 for 2 in 38.3 overs.It could have been different, but it wasn’t, and Jadeja had been in the thick of all the coulda woulda shoulda. He’d got Marnus Labuschagne to play on in just his second over, and Australia could have been 14 for 2, but he’d overstepped. It was the third time in the series that he’d had a wicket struck off for that reason.Not too long after that, Jadeja had played a part in burning two reviews against Khawaja. Ball-tracking suggested that both balls would have gone on to miss leg stump comfortably, and the first one also happened to pitch and strike Khawaja’s front pad outside leg stump.In the over after the second review, R Ashwin didn’t get to review a not-out decision when he struck Labuschagne’s front pad. The ball was a near-replay of Labuschagne’s dismissal in the first innings of the Delhi Test, and Ashwin had got his man only after taking recourse to the DRS. In Indore, however, India were perhaps too wary of asking for a review soon after they’d used up two in quick succession.Australia could have been – couldabeen, even – 38 for 2, but they weren’t.And so it went, as Khawaja and Labuschagne built the day’s biggest partnership, by far. They put on 96 runs, and occupied the crease for 198 balls. The entire India innings had lasted 200 balls.It wasn’t that India didn’t threaten to break this stand at various points. But it was the kind of day when nothing seemed to go their way. When Jadeja finally broke the second-wicket stand, the shooter he bowled Labuschagne with was the 49th ball of Australia’s innings to draw a false shot, according to ESPNcricinfo’s control data.Australia lost two wickets over those 49 not-in-control balls. India lost all 10 over the course of 51 not-in-control balls.Luck, it would seem, was on Australia’s side but they also had other things going for them. Pitches with sharp turn reduce a spinner’s margin for error, and both Ashwin and Jadeja took a while finding their groove. They beat the bat regularly from a traditional good length, and in the effort to bowl fuller and find the edge, they offered up more scoring opportunities than they otherwise might have. India couldn’t afford to attack too much given their low total, and their in-out fields were both a necessity and a source of frustration as Khawaja and Labuschagne picked up a steady stream of singles to deep fielders.It was that kind of day, the kind that’s usually reserved for visiting teams in India. But like they did in Pune six years ago, turning conditions can occasionally backfire on India. They know it, but they feel they play their best cricket on such pitches. Vikram Rathour, India’s batting coach, said as much in his end-of-day press conference.Steven Smith was dismissed late in the day as Ravindra Jadeja helped India claw back some lost ground•Getty Images”Of course you can collapse as a batting unit at times, but the thing is that we do prefer to play on turning tracks because I think that is our strength, that is where we are really good as a team,” he said. “How much that wicket turned, to be fair, the earlier two wickets, I don’t think they were bad wickets by any standard, they were wickets which turned, which we prefer.”Pitch preparation isn’t an exact science, and the same intentions applied to three different strips of turf can produce three very different pitches. Rathour said India were taken by surprise by just how much the ball turned on this Indore pitch, but he sympathised with the groundstaff for having had to prepare it at short notice.”Today it was drier than we expected and we saw that it did more,” Rathour said. “First day of a Test match, it did a lot more than we expected. But to be fair on the curators also, I think they hardly got time to prepare this wicket. They had a Ranji Trophy season here, and then it was pretty late that it was decided that the game was shifted from Dharamshala to this venue, so I don’t think they got enough time to really prepare the wicket.”On this pitch, batting seemed to become slightly easier as the day wore on. It may have been down to early moisture drying out over time, or to Australia batting for longer against an older ball, or to a pair of set batters spending a significant length of time at the crease. Whatever it was, it reflected in the control numbers.Australia’s batters achieved a control percentage of nearly 79 over their innings. India’s figure was just above 74%.But the uncertainty India’s bowlers created through Australia’s innings began reaping rewards after tea. The occasional frustrations of Jadeja had defined India’s bowling performance until then; now it became all about the one quality, above all, that’s made him a great cricketer – his persistence.Sometimes it can feel like a mildly negative quality; it took him until his 18th over to try bowling from over the wicket to the left-hander, by which time Khawaja was on 60. The change of angle caused immediate uncertainty out of the footmarks outside off stump, and brought out Khawaja’s sweep – he missed one, and top-edged his next attempt to the fielder at deep square leg.But it’s also a sign of Jadeja’s trust in his methods that it took him so long to try the new angle. The methods, the trust, and the skill underlying it all brought him, soon after, the wickets of Labuschagne and Steven Smith, and Australia’s false-shots-to-dismissal ratio reverted to the mean. By stumps, they’d lost four wickets while playing 69 false shots, and while they were still ahead of the game at 156 for 4, they were not nearly as far ahead as they may have hoped when they’d bowled India out so quickly.Jadeja had been the meme at the centre of it all: If you don’t love me at my *insert overstepping visual*, you don’t deserve me at my *insert wicket celebration*.

Unique and inimitable, it can be interpreted in multiple ways

Osman Samiuddin20-Jul-2021Forty years, and with each remembrance Headingley stands less as simply a Test match and more as art. A couple of weeks ago in the , Michael Atherton remembered it through the eyes of some of the surviving players and their memories of some of those who have passed, and as a work of recall and storytelling it was beautiful and elegiac, like a late-stage REM song.It only enhances this idea, that Headingley is a work of art, frozen in the era in which it was played and resolutely of its time in a physical sense, but with meanings and implications melting forever forth from it, and alive still as an ideal to aspire to and admire; an epic contest that, though it shows one winner and one loser, cannot really be said to have produced either. It is Headingley and it is merely incidental that England won and Australia didn’t. Works like that, as Headingley 2019 reminded us, don’t come around often.As with any piece of art, Headingley can be interpreted in multiple ways. We celebrate it, of course, and come together over it, but we also break it down. We ask what it means and what it says about its protagonists, and we respond equivocally, as we must; the artist needs an internal dogma – to believe their way and only their way is right – to produce their art, and the athlete something similar in their quest for greatness, but we, in understanding and appreciating it, we need doubt and a mind open enough to know that greatness comes in many shapes and forms; in some ways all great art and sport is the striving to narrow this schism between creator and audience. We recognise also in Headingley the time that produced it, ripe with racial tensions and a ravenous appetite for the personal affairs of the royal family and think, that’s funny, has it really been 40 years?Related

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Predominantly Headingley has been an Anglo-Australian possession, but as with all art, there is no possession. We just come to it differently and take what we want from it. The first I learnt of Headingley was through , by Peter Arnold and Peter Wynne-Thomas, which described in some detail every Test series played from 1877 to 1987 (the book was published in 1988). It was a great gateway read, arranged by combinations of bilateral series in chronological order and dotted with brief biographies of great players.It did not waste words, the hard brief clearly to keep it straight and dry: “The third Test at Headingley was one of the most extraordinary in the series and was a great personal triumph for Ian Botham.” The statement is inarguable. It somewhat captures the magnitude of the event and whets the imagination. How great this Test must have been if even this big, green, official-looking book with a stiff upper lip was saying it.I’ve never seen more than brief highlights of the Test, and that too only of the last couple of days. Is this also not how we art, for which the viewer’s presence at the time of its creation is unnecessary, and so too an experience of it in some original, un-pirated way? That is how powerful Headingley can be – how powerful it is – that it is clear instantly that it is unique and essentially inimitable.Depending on the individual, different vantage points stand out from which to view Headingley. I’d already watched Graham Dilley bowl, for instance, on highlights recorded on video of Pakistan’s 1987 tour of England. He looked a little like Boris Becker, my preferred sportsman of the time. Or maybe it was only the blond eyebrows, because Dilley moved with some rhythm and grace, and Becker moved like the Tin Man of Oz. In my mind all Dilley ever bowled were full outswingers, and he did it off a run-up that was so curved that until he bowled, he looked to be running in for the high jump.In the dressing room after the win•Getty ImagesSome, like Mike Brearley, were not so familiar, and because he had not remained a very public figure, he first formed as a mythical figure, and then as a glitch. How else to grapple with the idea that he was playing international cricket with the record that he had, let alone as captain? Captains captained by deed, like Imran Khan, and Brearley’s batting average was not doing much.It is said often now that such a cricketer cannot exist but how many such cricketers have ever existed (even if we acknowledge that he was in rich enough form to warrant a recall that summer for his batting)? Yet captaincy has rarely sat so lightly on one person as it did on Brearley, perhaps because it seemed to constitute so little of what he was and is as a man. That summer was his last as an international cricketer, an auteur-captain directing beautiful games in real time, without cuts or post-production edits and coming across ever so slightly like Woody Allen, only with more assurance and less nervous energy.Terry Alderman took 42 wickets in that series, and nine at Headingley, which, as feats of lone and losing heroism go, may be low on a scale topped by the man in front of the tank in Tiananmen Square, but probably nearabouts Brian Lara’s 2001 series in Sri Lanka. Alderman was the oddest thing: an English fast bowler trapped in an Australian body. Australian fast bowlers were quick and mean, and the less quick they were, the meaner they got; Alderman’s first name was Terence and he was a primary school teacher.Subcontinental batters in Australia were doomed by the Bill Lawry soundtrack, “Edged and gone!” and then, suddenly for a bit in the ’80s, Alderman was making them shuffle across and trapping them leg-before, like he was carrying a bit of the atmosphere and clouds of Headingley with him all around Australia. He was so unlike any Australian fast bowler that none of the breed’s top 20 wicket-takers comes close to Alderman’s percentage of career leg-before wickets; next best to his 34% (and a staggering 37% in Australia) is Jason Gillespie at 23%. Poor man, the trauma of Headingley was just Alderman’s third Test.Golden boy: Botham, lit by the setting sun on the balcony at Headingley•Adrian Murrell/Getty ImagesAnd there was Botham (if the name is Terence, it’s fine), the smile if this Test were da Vinci’s . Such a thought would’ve been outlandish to most Pakistanis during the mid-to-late ’80s, when Botham was for them the very picture of the English Yob. That had begun with an equal-opportunity offensive quip in 1984 about Pakistan being so horrible a touring destination, one should only send their mother-in-law there, but it quietly escalated through that decade, culminating in a lost libel case against Imran in the mid-’90s. Not helping also was that during the second half of the ’80s, Botham was an unapologetic bearer of the worst of that decade’s style. Everyone had the mullet and the moustache but to bring with it that bellied strut – and the fact he was no longer as good as when he first began – made it grate that much more. This version of Botham, mid-appeal, is on the cover of the .But in 1981 he cut a different figure, softer, less toxic, as in the more iconic photographs from the Test. As he exhales in that dressing room, readying the cigar, light and shadow tussling on his bearded face, the slightest sheen of perspiration and the tousled mop give him the appearance of a sailor decompressing after a long, arduous leg; or a world-wearied adventurer, which, it could be argued, he was. It’s so intimate a photograph, you can smell it. He looks noble, humbler somehow, which makes sense because the summer until then, and the year preceding it, had been a humbling time. Captaincy had become the kryptonite to his game. And perhaps some of the introspection of this photograph was born of the toll of Ken Barrington’s sudden death not four months before, on a tour of the Caribbean. Botham, captain then, and Barrington, a manager, got on well, and the former was understandably shaken up by it.The other is on the balcony after the Test, notable in the way similarly premised royal photographs are. In colour versions, a golden glow emanates from Botham, the centre of this solar system. Over his right shoulder, on the field below, are his people, and as Botham poses for photographs, moments after his greatest triumph, he can’t help but look royal. But only in the way that to look royal is to look awkward around normal people, as if unconvinced that such an arbitrary concept as royalty should merit adulation.In Botham’s career, 1981 is the sun at noon. The next summer, his beard vanished and the mullet was sprouting, a case of the butterfly turning back into a caterpillar. He would battle Imran for the primacy of allrounders and lose. It was a great series that feels now not as old as 1981, perhaps because of the overhead gloom in which its highlights perpetually play out. Visually and stylistically, 1981 was that much beloved decade, the ’70s throwing a tantrum and simply not letting go. Nineteen eighty-one is of a piece with the 1976 visit to England by West Indies, when the sun stayed out all day and up all night. Have any nation’s greatest days so hinged on the sun as that of Britain?

Wednesday was an incredible sports night for the city of Toronto. The Maple Leafs, who enter this year with high hopes of finally breaking through for a Stanley Cup, skated past the Canadiens in the NHL season-opener. Then, more crucially, the Blue Jays completed a four-game series win over the rival Yankees to secure a spot in the American League Championship Series.

Fans who stuck around Scotiabank Arena after the Leafs' win were able to experience both moments as the team did a very smart thing and put the final innings of Blue Jays-Yankees on the scoreboard.

That led to a great payoff as those in the building were treated to an electric air-horn punctuation to the Blue Jays recording the final out of the night.

That's how it's done right there.

There's a chance there will be further opportunity for cross-promotion as the Maple Leafs host the Red Wings on Monday afternoon in advance of ALCS Game 2 in town. There's a decent chance the Blue Jays will be hosting the Tigers, setting up a pretty unique doubleheader.

The wheels are in danger of coming off for Chelsea this season, if they haven’t already.

Enzo Maresca’s side have looked a shadow of the team that demolished Barcelona over the last week or so.

First, they lost to Leeds United, then drew with Bournemouth, and then, to make matters even worse, they threw away a one-nil lead and lost to Atalanta on Tuesday night in the Champions League.

It’s a run of form that should see the board reflect on who is and isn’t good enough to represent Chelsea, and there is one player who has been even worse than the underwhelming Jamie Gittens and therefore shouldn’t play another minute this season.

Chelsea's poor performers vs Atalanta

Unfortunately for Maresca, although he bears a great deal of responsibility for the loss, more than a handful of Chelsea players were seriously poor against Atalanta on Tuesday night.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Gittens, for example, once again put in a performance that should seriously worry fans as he was utterly ineffective against the 12th-placed Serie A side.

Somehow, the former Borussia Dortmund gem remained on the pitch for the full 94 minutes, despite doing nothing of any note on or off the ball.

For example, he registered a combined expected goal and assists figure of just 0.26, lost seven of his ten duels, failed to take a single shot on target and played just a single key pass.

To say it was an underwhelming showing from the Englishman would be an understatement, and therefore the 5/10 match rating he received from the Standard’s Dom Smith was more than justified.

The journalist gave Benoit Badiashile the same rating, and it’s hard to disagree.

Sure, the French centre-back made a few good interceptions and tackles in the first half, but he was partly responsible for Charles De Ketelaere’s winner, as he kept backing off from the Belgian before he shot.

It was also a really disappointing night for Enzo Fernández.

The World Cup winner has been crucial for the Blues at times this season, and a source of goals from the middle of the park.

However, against the Bergamo outfit, he was hugely frustrating, as while he did get into dangerous positions on more than one occasion, he either fluffed his lines or made the wrong decision.

Minutes

67′

Expected Goals

0.01

Goals

0

Expected Assists

0.42

Assists

0

Key Passes

1

Crosses (Accurate)

1 (0)

Passes (Accurate)

24/33 (73%)

Lost Possession

15

Dribbles

0

Duels (Won)

10 (3)

Now, there is an argument that all three of these players should be dropped for this weekend’s game, but there is another player in the squad, someone who’s been worse than Gittens, who should probably never play for the club again.

The Chelsea flop who cannot play another minute for Maresca

While there are a few Chelsea players who need to be sold in the upcoming transfer window, the first one out the door should be Tosin Adarabioyo.

Now, it should be said that he was far from the worst player on the pitch on Tuesday night, but he still managed to disappoint in the 18 minutes he spent on the pitch.

For example, he lost 100% of his ground duels, committed a foul, lost the ball four times and didn’t even make a tackle, despite the hosts pushing more in the closing minutes.

However, the defeat to Atalanta is not the sole reason the 28-year-old should no longer be getting any minutes for the team, as he has cost the side on multiple occasions this season.

The most recent example of this came in the game against Leeds United.

It was at Elland Road that, under very little pressure, he lost the ball in the Blues’ penalty area, which led directly to the hosts scoring, and content creator Tom Overend calling him “utterly embarrassing.”

Moreover, the statistics from his season overall do not make for pleasant reading.

In the four Champions League appearances he’s made this season, the former Fulham star has averaged just one point per game and conceded eight goals.

Games

9

5

1

Starts

5

3

1

Minutes

557′

239′

90′

Goals

0

0

0

Assists

0

0

0

Points per Game

1.78

1.00

3.00

Then, in the Premier League, he has averaged just 1.78 points per game across nine appearances, five of which have been starts.

Finally, FBref have ranked him in just the top 38% of centre-backs in the league for tackles won per 90, but the top 13% for tackles attempted, meaning he simply isn’t winning enough of them.

Ultimately, Gittens has been disappointing this season, but he’s still young and could come good.

However, Tosin is an experienced defender who has directly cost Chelsea points and, given he was signed for free, should be sold as soon as possible.

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