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The explosive middle-order batsman talks about India’s preparations for the World T20 and her own form this year

Sruthi Ravindranath27-Oct-20182:32

‘Powar has picked the traits of the players very quickly’ – Veda Krishnamurthy

Better communication of decisions and allowing all members of the team to express their grievances and issues openly have been the standout aspects of Ramesh Powar’s short tenure as head coach of India women, according to senior middle-order batsman Veda Krishnamurthy.”The best part about Ramesh is that he is getting everyone to talk,” Krishnamurthy told ESPNcricinfo. “Communication has improved. He has asked us to speak out more. If there’s anything running in our mind, he wants us to openly have a conversation about it, which wasn’t the case earlier. Players are sitting and discussing what their role should be in the team and what they should actually do. There’s a lot of cricket being spoken. That’s the one thing he’s been stressing on ever since he joined us, he wants everyone to come together and work towards it.”Powar was appointed on an interim basis following internal discord that eventually led to Tushar Arothe’s resignation five months ahead of the Women’s World T20 in the Caribbean. Under Powar, India tasted success across formats on their tour of Sri Lanka last month. Since then, the players have had a rigorous camp in Mumbai and have topped off their preparation for the World T20 by combining as an India A outfit that whitewashed Australia A 3-0 in an unofficial T20I series.It was only in June that the same team underwent a torrid time at the Asia Cup, where they were beaten twice by Bangladesh, including in the final. In the aftermath, reports of rifts between the senior players and the then coach Arothe first surfaced. This eventually led to the BCCI calling off a scheduled fitness and skills camp in Bengaluru. Things have improved for the better since, and Powar, who has had previous coaching experience with Mumbai’s Under-23s, has gone out of his way to foster camaraderie and confidence within the group.”It’s a different atmosphere around him. We’ve been used to a similar kind of coaching for a long time, and for him to come in and change the atmosphere completely, it’s a big deal,” Krishnamurthy said. “I think everyone likes it. There ‘s conversation between the players as well as the coaching staff now. You don’t hold back anything and you’re speaking your mind. That’s the biggest change in the dressing room.”India head coach Ramesh Powar and fielding coach Biju George have a chat•Annesha GhoshThings have not been as upbeat as expected for India since their run to the World Cup final last year, and their inadequacies have been exposed, especially in the shortest format. While they won the T20I series against hosts South Africa earlier this year, they couldn’t qualify for the tri-series final against England and Australia at home. The final nail in Arothe’s tenure were the Asia Cup losses to Bangladesh, which Krishnamurthy put down to “over-planning”.”We planned too many things for the Asia Cup. We should have just stuck to our basics instead,” she said. “There were so many things the management was doing and the players were doing but at the end of the day it taught us all something – that we shouldn’t overdo anything. We knew there was a World T20 coming up and our focus should have turned towards that. But now whatever happened during that phase does not hurt us much as we’ve shifted our focus.”Krishnamurthy’s form in recent times has particularly come under scrutiny. She has made just 177 runs in 11 T20I innings this year, her highest score being a match-winning unbeaten 37 in a chase of 165 against South Africa in February. Following her poor run in the format, she was left out for the last two matches against England and Australia in the tri-series. Her only other significant contribution – an unbeaten 29 off 23 balls – came against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup. In the final against Bangladesh in Kuala Lumpur, she walked in amidst a batting collapse, and was out for 11. The recent failures, however, haven’t deterred Krishnamurthy in her quest to be the X-factor in the middle order.”I think I’m the most suitable person to bat in the position in the team,” she said. “Not everybody can do it and I have been doing it for a really long time. I’ve been a middle-order batsman ever since I started playing. I’m experienced enough to handle that position, it’s very tricky. I’m aware that my wicket is like the final nail in the coffin. In a collapse if I get out, it is like I’m nailing my team’s coffin. It’s a very tricky position to bat in but I like that kind of pressure. I would definitely want to keep that spot unless the team thinks someone else should replace me.”While she has earlier spoken about the mental challenges she faced, especially after a spate of poor performances, Krishnamurthy now seems more confident in her abilities and also seems to have grown more understanding of what the team expects from her. And again, she stressed on how communication within the team has enabled everyone to dovetail their roles and responsibilities.”It’s pretty clear what I have to do for the team and that gives me a lot of confidence,” she said. “I don’t have to break my head anymore over what exactly my role is. It’s important for me to go and get those quick runs and make sure I put the team in a commendable position. It makes life easier for a player when that happens. Since the Sri Lanka series we’ve been very clear with our plans and roles, everyone knows what to do. It all now comes down to how we are going to implement that during the World T20.”

Daniel Brettig, an ESPNcricinfo assistant editor, picks his all-time Australia World Cup XI

Picked by Daniel Brettig21-Mar-2019Australia’s quintet of World Cup triumphs offers up all sorts of considerations for an all-time XI. A few of the players unfortunate to be missing include the likes of Dean Jones, Matthew Hayden, Mike Hussey, Damien Fleming, Damien Martyn and Brett Lee. But those to have made the cut all played critical roles in at least one successful campaign.ESPNcricinfo LtdDavid Boon and Craig McDermott in 1987. Steve Waugh was vital to the 1987, 1996 and 1999 campaigns, and Mark Waugh to the latter two. Likewise Shane Warne, who missed 2003 through a drugs ban; Glenn McGrath, the spearhead for 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2007; Ricky Ponting, a batsman and captain of class and quality in that period; Michael Bevan’s consummate finishing between 1996 and 2003; Adam Gilchrist’s top-order explosiveness and sure-footed glovework from 1999 to 2007; Andrew Symonds in 2003 and 2007; and Mitchell Starc, the destroyer at home in 2015.This is a team that bats deep, is chock full of excellent fielders, includes four batsmen who bowl, and is spoiled for leadership choice – the choice of Ponting’s vice-captain alone would take some serious thinking.

Why has KL Rahul started batting so slow initially? Why did Ashwin bowl Mujeeb at the death? We have a look in Talking Points

Srinath Sripath and Vishal Dikshit29-Apr-20193:35

Kartik: Can’t understand what role Rahul has taken

Why does KL Rahul start so slow?Unlike a number of other sides, Kings XI don’t bat deep, nor do they have big hitters like Hardik Pandya or Andre Russell to come in and go all guns blazing in the end overs. And therefore, it looks like they have given KL Rahul a role to play this season – drop the anchor and get the rest of the batting line-up to bat around him. It’s markedly different from how he went last season: rattle off the blocks in the Powerplay and put them in a position of strength early on.This time around, Rahul has started slowly numerous times, and in a steep chase of 213 on Monday, he made only 39 off his first 36 balls, letting the asking rate climb over 15 per over with five wickets falling at the other end. He started going for boundaries after 13 overs, but by then, the equation had got out of hand.ESPNcricinfo LtdIt has been a pattern through their season. Against Chennai Super Kings, Rahul scored 55 off 47 balls and Kings XI fell short by 22 runs in a chase of 161. In their next game, at home, Kings XI just about chased down 151 against Sunrisers on the penultimate ball of the match with Rahul unbeaten on 71 off 53, after being on 26 off 24 at one point.This time in Hyderabad, he started with a flurry of dot balls against Khaleel Ahmed and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, similar to what Shane Watson has done at times before teeing off against the other bowlers, but Rahul couldn’t quite get going against Rashid Khan too. By the end of his innings, he had defended as many as ten balls, for just one run. It was a weird figure in a 200-plus chase, and despite another big score from their opener, Kings XI fell short yet again.Warner v Kings XI: What else was gonna happen?ESPNcricinfo LtdWhenever Sunrisers Hyderabad play, this has turned into a David Warner appreciation page: here, look how he hares those twos, look how he dominates the spinners.Warner has been on such a hot streak – well, ever since he signed for Sunrisers back in 2014 – that he is now gone past 500 runs every single season for them. Against Kings XI Punjab, he extended a streak of consecutive 50-plus scores to eight. All taken, this was his ninth fifty of the season, in 12 innings.If, by now, you are tired of Warner’s excellent numbers, here’s just one last stat (promise). Warner has dominated spin like no other batsman in IPLs: he has wrapped up this year’s tournament averaging 173 against spin. That is just two dismissals in 12 innings, off 218 balls.ESPNcricinfo LtdSunrisers have two more league games to go after this one, and they’ll have a Warner-shaped hole to fill at the top of their order, as he leaves on international duty.Should Ashwin have bowled Mujeeb at the death?Given Kings XI were playing only five bowlers once again (they were forced to turn to part-timers Mandeep Singh and Sarfaraz Khan earlier in the season), captain R Ashwin had no choice but to bowl all of them out on Monday too, by trying to manage them in the best possible manner.One of the issues was when to give Mujeeb Ur Rahman his last over after he had leaked 40 in his first three. Would you give him his fourth in the death? In IPLs so far, Mujeeb has bowled in the middle overs with an economy rate of 6.80 and in the death at 10.80. Ashwin had one over of his own and one of Mujeeb, who had just bowled the 14th over. If one has to go by the numbers and how cleverly Ashwin bowls according to situations, he should have saved himself for the death as he has conceded at 7.80 in that phase in IPLs since 2015.Ashwin, instead, chose to bowl the 16th and made Mujeeb bowl the 18th, by when Sunrisers were marching at nearly 10 an over. It also meant Mujeeb had to bowl to his Afghanistan team-mate Mohammad Nabi, who later said he picked the mystery spinner off the hand without any trouble. Nabi smashed two sixes in the 18th over in which Mujeeb leaked 26, to end with 4-0-66-0, the most expensive figures by a spinner and an overseas player in the IPL’s 12-year history.”I know Mujeeb, we’ve played for three years for Afghanistan so that’s why it’s easy to hit him,” Nabi said in the innings break. “I pick him from the hand – straighter one or googly and I move [into my shots] better.”Earlier in the game too, Ashwin chose to come into the attack right at the end of the Powerplay, after giving Mujeeb two overs even though Ashwin is the third-best Powerplay spinner (minimum 25 overs) in the history of IPL, going by economy rates. Mujeeb also has impressive numbers in the Powerplay, but one wonders why Ashwin held himself back because Sunrisers had already powered to 66 by the time he brought himself on.

Stats highlights from the third day of the Visakhapatnam Test where Jadeja became the fastest left-arm bowler to the milestone

Bharath Seervi04-Oct-20190 – Number of left-arm bowlers to take 200 wickets in fewer Tests than Ravindra Jadeja, who got there in 44 Tests. He beat Rangana Herath, who had taken 47 Tests to complete the same. Among India bowlers, only R Ashwin has taken 200 wickets in fewer matches (37) than Jadeja.ESPNcricinfo Ltd5 – Five-wicket hauls for Ashwin against South Africa, the most among India bowlers. Harbhajan Singh and Javagal Srinath had taken four five-fors each. Since South Africa’s readmission, only two bowlers have picked more five-fors against them – Muttiah Muralitharan (11) and Shane Warne (7).21 – Five-wicket hauls for Ashwin at home. Only Muralitharan (45), Herath (26) and Anil Kumble (25) have more five-fors in their home countries. Ashwin has 21 five-fors in 39 home Tests, which is a rate of 1.86 Tests every five-wicket haul. Among all bowlers with ten or more five-fors at home, only Muralitharan has a better rate – 45 five-fors in 73 Tests, which is 1.62 Tests per five-for.160 – Dean Elgar’s score – the second-highest by a South Africa opener in India. Andrew Hall’s 163 in Kanpur in 2004 is the highest. Elgar’s score is the highest by a visiting opener in India since Alastair Cook’s 190 at Eden Gardens in 2012.8 – Number of overseas wicketkeepers to score centuries in India, including Quinton de Kock. Mushfiqur Rahim (in 2017) is the only other visiting wicketkeeper in this decade to score a Test ton in India. Andy Flower has three hundreds as wicketkeeper in India, the most.214 – South Africa’s highest total during their 2015 tour. Only once they crossed 200 in four Tests on that tour. They have scored almost double of that in their first innings of this tour.64.81 – De Kock’s average across all three international formats in India. He has scored 713 runs in 12 innings including three hundreds and three fifties. He has made 50-plus scores in all three innings of this tour so far – 52 and 79* in the two T20Is and 111 in the first innings of this Test.4 – Instances of three 150-plus scores by openers in a Test, and the first instance in India. The last time it happened was during the Bangladesh-Pakistan Test in Khulna in 2015.

While still as quick as when he first emerged, he has learned the value of dialling back his pace to use only at the times of need, adding greater consistency in the process

Daniel Brettig10-Nov-2019Ahead of the match that may define how quickly Jhye Richardson returns to the Australian Test side after an eye-catching first two matches against Sri Lanka last summer, he will have plenty of fond memories of Perth Stadium to help him when he takes the field for Australia A against the touring Pakistanis.The multipurpose venue on the east bank of the Swan River was the scene of a startling return of 8 for 47 by Richardson for Western Australia against New South Wales in a Sheffield Shield match a little less than a year ago, the display that pushed him to the front of the queue of fast bowlers vying to supplement Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc.But as important as that performance came to be, Richardson will also carry recollections of how he got into the headspace to pluck all those wickets in the first place. It was via a private chat with the Western Australia coach Adam Voges following the first Shield game of that season, against Queensland at Allan Border Field, where Voges sensed that 23-year-old Richardson was straining for effort in a bid to return to Australia’s ODI team. The reward was 18 wickets in his next two matches, and saw him not only resuming ODI duty but adding a Test cap, too.”The first Shield game back I was trying way too hard,” Richardson told ESPNcricinfo. “I was trying to bowl way too fast, I was trying to get a wicket every ball, because I had had a little bit of a taste of ODI cricket for Australia and then went back to Western Australia and was trying everything possible to keep my selection.”It was a lap around the oval with Adam Voges that kicked me in the right direction. He was like ‘mate I can see that you’re really passionate, I can see you really want to play for Australia again, just be assured that I’ve been in the same situation and it’s not going to happen by trying everything you possibly can, it’s going to happen by having fun, it’s going to happen by enjoying playing for WA, being proud to play for WA and doing a job for the team and doing what they need from you at that moment’.

“If you’re getting frustrated and emotionally attached to your bowling, the guys around the field are going to be like ‘what’s he doing here, he’s letting the opposition know they’re on top.'”Jhye Richardson

“It was that conversation that reminded me that there’s bigger things than just trying hard to play for Australia. It reminded me the way I got there in the first place was putting performances on the board for WA and having fun doing that. The next week after that conversation I had the best game I’m going to have in a long time at the Stadium there. So it was definitely a good conversation to have, and that was a moment where I just needed someone to remind me of where I wanted to get to and how I was going to do that.”For a while it seemed as though Richardson would carry that attitude and subsequent performances all the way through England, only for him to suffer another moment’s learning when he dived awkwardly in an ODI against Pakistan in the UAE and dislocated his shoulder badly enough to miss the World Cup and the Ashes. As an interruption to his plans and Australia’s it was decidedly inconvenient, but Richardson consoled himself that he had been struck down in trying to give his all.”I always said to myself that was always the way I wanted to play for Australia, I wanted to be able to put my body on the line and try and be something special in the field,” he said. “Unfortunately I took a bit of a bad dive, but that was the way I wanted to play, I wanted to put my body on the line, wanted to do everything I possibly could for my country. While it is frustrating that it happened, looking back, that was the way I was telling myself I wanted to play.”I made a decision to go for a ball that I probably in hindsight could have let go, but if I had stopped that and potentially got a run-out from it, then we’re having different conversations. But it was just an unfortunate thing that happened, one thing I could have changed would be to dive a little bit better, but the decision definitely wouldn’t have been to not dive at all.”Intelligent and articulate, although not beyond the occasional burst of anger as seen in his September limited-overs duel with Glenn Maxwell in Perth following his return from the shoulder injury, Richardson has shown the capacity to learn quickly. “There’s days when you’re going to have to bowl 25-30 overs in a day, and if you’re thinking about trying to take a wicket every ball rather than staying patient and trying to beat the batsman by skill, you’re going to have a long day and you’re going to be mentally exhausted, because you’re exhausting your capacity to stay patient and calm,” he said.”It is really important for the team as well, if you can stay calm out there for the team, then everyone’s got a better chance of thriving off you. If you’re getting frustrated and emotionally attached to your bowling, the guys around the field are going to be like ‘well what’s he doing here, he’s getting frustrated, he’s letting the opposition know they’re on top’. So the longer you can stay calm for, the better definitely.”While still as quick as when he first emerged, Richardson has learned the value of dialling back his pace to use only at the times of most need by his captain and team, adding greater consistency in the process. His displays against Sri Lanka were reminiscent of a young Pat Cummins in terms of their maturity. “When I was a lot younger I used to think fast bowling was about being fast and that was it,” Richardson said. “It quickly evolved when batsmen got on top of me very easily because I wasn’t doing anything through the air, it was just pace and the better batsmen at the higher levels of cricket I played, the easier it was for them to score runs.”It quickly evolved from just trying to bowl fast to being able to do something else, whether it’s swinging it, get it to nip off the wicket, a few change-ups, slower balls, that sort of thing. And also it was about being comfortable not bowling 145kph every ball. in Shield cricket we’ve had radar guns that are mid 130s and that sort of thing and it’s about me being comfortable bowling at that speed, doing something through the air, rather than trying to run in and bowl as fast as I can.”There’s been a couple of times this year already when the captain has come to me and said ‘mate we need you to run in and bowl fast’ and I’m okay with that, doing what the team needs, and there are times when it changes from swinging the new ball, trying to get the edge of the batsman’s bat to coming around the wicket and bowling bouncers as fast as I can, it definitely does shift. I’ve just got to make sure I’m okay with that, because I know that I’m doing a job for the team.”Mitchell Starc and Jhye Richardson have a laugh•Getty ImagesSimilarly, Richardson will likely join Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood, James Patinson and company in a growing appreciation that they will all enjoy far longer careers if they do not play every available Test match. “We’ve seen already a few guys being rested, it’s definitely a long summer and nowadays we’re playing 12 months of the year, so it is very important to give guys a break where you can, and it’s good for guys like me coming through to hopefully get an opportunity at some point during the summer,” he said.”But the focus is not on relying on other people to get picked, I’m working really hard to try and get in there of my own accord. Having said that, guys can definitely get caught up in trying too hard. I am trying to get back into the squad, but it’s going to be about more having fun, enjoying cricket and then letting the performances come after that as a bonus, because you can definitely get caught up in trying too hard, trying too many things and shifting your focus from playing for who you’re playing at that very moment to trying to get back in the Australian team.”If you’re thinking about that, then you’re probably not going to perform as well.”And when he looks down at his feet before tearing in at the Pakistani tourists this week, Richardson will find another set of simple messages that have aided him almost as much as the calming words of Voges a year ago. At the suggestion of Justin Langer when he was still WA coach, Richardson wrote the words “stand tall” and also “KISS” for “keep it simple, stupid” on his bowling boots. The recent discovery that Mitchell Starc had written “F*** it! Just bowl fast!” on tape on his wrist, has demonstrated that the trend is growing.”I’ve written them on every pair of boots I’ve ever had. It’s just about reiterating the fact we need to keep things simple and not trying too hard,” Richardson said. “In light of keeping things simple, I haven’t changed the messages on my shoes, they’re still very simple.”It’s a good way to remind myself while I’m out there, the way I want to go about it, the way to keep calm, the way to perform at my best. It’s just a reminder, and if you’re getting in the heat of the battle, getting a little bit worked up or emotional, it’s a good reminder to take a deep breath and bring it down to where you need to be.”

No top team has more bilateral T20Is scheduled than New Zealand before next year’s World Cup

Matt Roller10-Nov-2019A 3-2 defeat at home to an England side missing at least seven first-choice squad members, a legspinner completely off the boil, and a batting line-up plagued by inconsistency: there are plenty of factors that might be expected to cause a New Zealand panic regarding the state of their T20 side.Less than a year out from the World Cup in Australia, New Zealand’s results in the three-and-a-half years since the last global T20 tournament suggest a team in transition, without a clear identity: they have won 15 and lost 16, using 33 different players only nine of whom have played as many as half of those games.The series against England was an effective demonstration of their flaws, and more crucially, their lack of a clear identity. New Zealand were a team without an obvious gameplan, whose balance changed game by game. After the first T20I, a batting allrounder (Jimmy Neesham) came in for a bowler who can bat (Scott Kuggeleijn); for the third, a fast bowler and No. 11 (Blair Tickner) replaced a batting allrounder (Daryl Mitchell). After a comeback win in the third game, they settled on that balance of six bowling options, but lost the final two as the weaker links in their bowling attack were taken apart.In , a recent book which chronicles the history of T20 cricket, authors Tim Wigmore and Freddie Wilde explain that while batting is “strong-link dependent”, meaning “a team’s best player [can] single-handedly shape matches”, bowling is “weak-link dependent” – “more like football, where weak players could leave entire teams and systems exposed”. The fourth game of the series provided clear evidence of that, as two of England’s strong links – Dawid Malan and Eoin Morgan – targeted the weak links in New Zealand’s attack: the raw Tickner, the allrounder Mitchell and the out-of-form Ish Sodhi.Ish Sodhi struggled with the ball throughout New Zealand’s series against England•Getty ImagesAs an aside, Sodhi’s form is another reason for concern: he is ranked in the top ten T20I bowlers by the ICC, and had taken 76 wickets in 61 T20 games in the two years before the start of this series, conceding 7.81 runs per over; in these five games, he leaked 11.73 an over. If New Zealand are to compete in next year’s World Cup, they need him to draw a line under this nightmare series.The challenge for New Zealand, then, is to marry their lack of depth – their player pool is not massive, and the drop-off in quality is reasonably fast – with a clear strategy.Against England, New Zealand lined up mainly as a batting team, with a top four packed with attacking players in Colin Munro, Martin Guptill, Tim Seifert and Colin de Grandhomme. That left Ross Taylor in an unclear role, neither anchoring nor finishing, and meant the allrounders were generally left to finish the innings off.Instead, it might be more prudent to pick a bowling-heavy side. One of the top three – most likely Munro, given Seifert will take the gloves – will drop out to accommodate Kane Williamson at No. 3 when he returns to fitness, and switching Ross Taylor and Colin de Grandhomme’s positions should allow Taylor to play in a style that suits him more than power-hitting at the death (he strikes at a relatively conservative 150.83 in the final five overs since January 2017).ALSO READ: New Zealand’s biggest hits, featuring Neesham and MitchellThat would then allow them to pick Neesham, or another specialist finisher, like Corey Anderson in the event he is fully fit. Santner’s late-order hitting is good enough for him to bat at No. 7. That then allows for a five-pronged attack comprising bowlers who can be relied upon for four overs each: Santner, Sodhi, Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson.Boult and Southee’s recent T20 records are mixed, but it is hard to draw too many conclusions from them given they have only rarely focused on the format. If they prove too expensive, then Adam Milne, Tickner, Kuggeleijn and Seth Rance are the alternative seam options.Given the conditions that New Zealand will likely face in Australia, a bowling-heavy team in the mould of Justin Langer’s Perth Scorchers could work well: a batting line-up featuring Powerplay-optimising openers, high-quality middle-over rotators, a spin-hitter in de Grandhomme and some pace specialists for the death overs, plus five quality bowlers with no clear weak link.The good news for New Zealand is that they have more than enough time to rotate and try out different options in each of those roles. Out of the eight teams that have qualified automatically for the Super 12 stage of the World Cup, none is scheduled to play more bilateral T20Is than New Zealand’s 20 before the start of the tournament.So long as they use those fixtures sensibly, trying to find a formula that will work in Australia rather than focusing on the immediate-term goal of winning series which are realistically friendlies, New Zealand have reason to be positive.

Manchester City are still on course for Champions League qualification after one of the most unlikely comebacks you’ll see all season.

On Saturday lunchtime, the Sky Blues found themselves 2-0 down at home to Crystal Palace, with the Eagles having a third ruled out for offside, before squandering another gilt-edged opportunity, cutting Man City apart time after time with ease.

Thus, with 25 minutes on the clock, few would have forecast that the Citizens would run out 5-2 winners, as transpired.

Kevin De Bruyne’s free-kick got the comeback started and then Omar Marmoush lashed home an equaliser soon after, with second-half goals from Mateo Kovačić and then youngsters James McAtee and Nico O’Reilly completing the turnaround.

So, with six games remaining, the Sky Blues remain in the hunt for a top five finish but, if they’re to make it, Pep Guardiola must give more opportunities to his “top talent” who’s showing flashes of a certain Davild Silva.

What made David Silva such a special player

David Silva arrived at Manchester City in the summer of 2010 for a reported £30m, a big fee at the time, as part of their first wave of eye-catching signings, alongside Jérôme Boateng, Yaya Touré, James Milner, Aleksandar Kolarov, Edin Džeko and Mario Balotelli.

Well, considering he now has a statue outside the Etihad, it’s fair to say Silva departed a Man City legend, with the table below outlining exactly why.

During Silva’s first season in Manchester, he was a key figure in the side that won the FA Cup, beating Stoke 1-0 in the final, thereby securing the club’s first piece of major silverware for 35 years.

The following season, quite famously, the Citizens pipped Manchester United to the Premier League title on the final day, and this has really proved to be just the start of their dominance over the last decade or so.

Former teammate Kyle Walker claims that Silva is the best player he’s ever played with, while ex-Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher told the Telegraph that he believes the Spaniard is Man City’s ‘best-ever player’.

Chalkboard

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

However, do the Sky Blues currently have a homegrown youngster breaking into the first team with a skill-set reminiscent of the great midfielder?

Man City's next David Silva

Saturday saw the aforementioned McAtee make his full-Premier League debut for Manchester City, marking the occasion with a goal from one of his 27 touches of the ball, played in behind by Ederson before rounding Dean Henderson and slotting home, before pulling off a spectacular back-flip.

The 22-year-old has been on Man City’s books since the age of 11 and that was his 31st appearance for the first team, although only seven of these have been starts, all in the Community Shield, EFL Cup or FA Cup prior to this weekend.

He did see significantly more game time during a two-season loan spell at Sheffield United, making 75 appearances for the Blades, so let’s assess why he’s being compared to Silva.

The table emphasises that McAtee still has a long way to go to ever reach Silva’s level, but he certainly has the potential to do so.

Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout labels him a “top talent”, impressed by his “electric pace and acceleration” as well as his “high technical” level and “dribbling” ability. Those last few traits, combined with the youngster’s marvelous left foot and low centre of gravity, are certainly reminiscent of Silva in his pomp.

Guardiola, meantime, said on Saturday “I know how good he is…we can rely on him”, so McAtee has certainly proved he deserves more starts during the remainder of this season.

100 touches, 95% passing: Man City star is now as undroppable as Marmoush

Man City’s winter signings made the difference against Crystal Palace.

By
Ross Kilvington

Apr 13, 2025

While the mood following Thursday night’s Europa League win is a jubilant one around Tottenham Hotspur, there is no denying that, domestically at least, this season has been a disaster.

However, it would also be fair to say that there is a real sense of disappointment about that fact, as while injuries have certainly played their part, it feels as if many of the players have not played to their full potential, as while the table might not show it, Spurs have several seriously talented stars in their squad.

For example, Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray already look like top-flight veterans, Dominic Solanke can be near-enough unplayable on his day, and in Djed Spence, the North Londoners could have an incredible all-action full-back on their hands.

However, when it comes to the club’s best player, the one other top teams would love to sign, it has to be Dejan Kulusevski, although since taking charge in 2023, Ange Postecoglou is responsible for the Lilywhites’ best signing since the Swede.

Kulusevski's Spurs career

It was in January 2022, under former manager Antonio Conte, that Kulusevski first made his way to N17 on an 18-month loan deal with an option to buy, which was exercised in June 2023, when he joined the club permanently for around £25m.

While not bad by any means, it would probably be fair to say that in his first couple of years in North London, the Stockholm-born star wasn’t particularly remarkable, racking up just 15 goals and 19 assists in 96 games across his first two-and-a-half-seasons.

However, this year has been completely different, as a positional shift, which has seen him move into the middle of the park for about half of his appearances, has seen his productivity explode.

For example, he’s scored ten goals and provided ten assists in just 44 appearances this term, and of those 20 goal involvements, 12 have come in 23 appearances in attacking and central midfield.

Moreover, even when he’s not scoring or providing an assist, the “world-class” international, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has been far more influential this year, helping spring attacks from deep and even occasionally helping stop opposition ones from starting.

In all, Kulusevski must be considered one of Spurs’ most important players, but there is another crucial first-teamer who’s undoubtedly been the club’s best signing since the Swedish superstar first made his way to North London.

Spurs' best signing since Kulusevski

While you could make the argument that the likes of Solanke, Bergvall or even Gray have been Spurs’ best signings since Kulusevski, we reckon it’s someone else entirely, someone who is undeniably crucial to Postecoglou’s gameplan: Micky van de Ven.

Yes, for our money, the North Londoners’ best signing since the Swedish international has to be the Flying Dutchman, who joined the club for around £43m from VfL Wolfsburg in August 2023, which might have seemed like a lot at the time, but now looks like a bargain.

So, what makes the Wormer-born titan so special then? Well, there are a few things, but his headline quality, and the one that makes him so important to the manager’s long-term plans, is his electric pace.

For example, it was only last season that the 24-year-old set a Premier League record for the fastest sprint when he hit an unbelievable 37.38km/h in a game against Brentford, and it’s this ability to get back at a pace no defender can match that allows the North Londoners to play such a high line when he’s fit.

In fact, we saw this in the team’s 1-0 win against Eintracht Frankfurt last week, when he managed to get back and stop breakaways a couple of times in the first half.

However, on top of his “ridiculous” speed, as analyst Ben Mattinson described it, the former Wolfsburg star has a brilliant sense of when to make a tackle and has the physical strength to take on any attacker he comes up against, leading talent scout Jacek Kulig to brand him “complete & dominant.”

Moreover, his underlying numbers make for some great reading, with FBref placing him in the top 1% of Premier League centre-backs for assists, the top 2% for expected assisted goals, the top 3% for ball recoveries, the top 5% for goals plus assists and carries, the top 10% for goal-creating actions and more, all per 90.

Ultimately, while this season has been something of a disaster, Spurs have several seriously talented players in their squad, and based on how well he’s played when fit, Van de Ven has to be the club’s best signing since Kulusevski.

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By
Dominic Lund

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Often when it comes to Leeds United and promotion races, the Whites let their nerves get the better of them.

However, with only one game remaining of the current Championship season, the West Yorkshire outfit are already Premier League bound away from any worries seeping in.

Daniel Farke’s side looked every bit ready for the challenge ahead when brushing aside playoff-chasing Bristol City effortlessly in a huge 4-0 win on Monday night.

There was a carnival-like atmosphere in the air at Elland Road throughout, with no hangovers in sight from the home side’s perspective after sealing promotion.

Leeds' best performers vs Bristol City

Leeds might have been anticipating a trickier tie in truth, considering Liam Manning’s Robins aren’t mathematically safe inside the top six positions.

But, from the get-go, the clash felt like a walk in the park for the hosts, with Ao Tanaka’s calm and collected finish from a floating Manor Solomon ball opening the scoring in the 21st minute.

Solomon – away from assisting Tanaka to break the deadlock – really stood out himself during the one-sided contest, with the electric Tottenham Hotspur loanee amassing two successful dribbles and four shots of his own to try and catch out the sheepish visitors from Bristol even more.

Both Wilfried Gnonto and Largie Ramazani would shine too as the other goal scorers on the night, with Ramazani only needing nine minutes of action to bag a brace, whilst both Joe Rodon and Ethan Ampadu would accumulate a ridiculous 291 accurate passes between them in the heart of the Leeds defence.

Chalkboard

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

Of course, alongside the aforementioned Welsh pairing, there was also the influential figure of Junior Firpo pulling the strings once more from defence, with his assist for Ramazani’s first of the clash taking his assist haul to the season up to a mighty ten.

Regardless of his standout showings this season, according to reports, it looks unlikely that the ex-Barcelona man will be kept around for the forthcoming challenge of the Premier League.

However, there is another face in Farke’s starting XI who may succumb to the same fate as the left-back over the summer.

7/10 Leeds star needs an upgrade

Tough conversations will have to take place at Leeds this coming off-season involving who is cut out for the intense jump up to the top-flight, with Farke’s neck already allegedly on the line in this regard.

Brenden Aaronson will also be worrying slightly about his long-term future in West Yorkshire, considering the American has previously floundered at the elite level.

Indeed, last time he was plunged into the choppy waters of the Premier League, Aaronson would only manage to pick up one goal and three assists from 36 outings, culminating in the Whites falling back into the reaches of the Championship.

Now, the ex-Red Salzburg attacker will have a point to prove. But, based on his somewhat wasteful approach against the leaky Robins and his topsy-turvy form this season, he might not be Farke’s preferred choice of number 10 in the far tougher division.

It must be said, this was not Aaronson’s worst night of the campaign, far from it. The £45k-per-week attacking midfielder did manage to link up nicely with Solomon and Co at points as another vibrant option up top, but another goal or assist to add to his season collection of 11 from 45-second tier clashes annoyingly evaded him.

Whilst the likes of Solomon and Tanaka wouldn’t look out of place in the top-flight, Aaronson could well find he’s pushed back into the deep-end once more, with Yorkshire Post journalist Tom Coates even labelling his night as “frustrating” despite his 7/10 rating. It was a night of mixed reviews for the American, which rather sums up his time at Leeds, with the Athletic’s Larry Henry suggesting it was a “really positive display”.

Evidently, an upgrade will be required in the Premier League and it might well be that the likes of Firpo, Farke and Aaronson have all just enjoyed their last nights under the Elland Road lights.

Before any more talk centres on whether the inconsistent 24-year-old could be let go of, Leeds still have the chance to clinch the Championship title on the final day of the season, with Plymouth the location for the Whites’ potential triumph.

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By
Dan Emery

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Liverpool owe much to Mohamed Salah, who has devoted the prime years of his illustrious career to Anfield and cemented his status as one of the Premier League’s all-time greats.

Having clinched 28 goals and 18 assists in the top flight this term, Salah has been the driving force behind his side’s historic triumph, equalling Manchester United’s record of 20 English first division titles.

However, Salah is not the only star in Liverpool’s team. Virgil van Dijk has been an all-commanding titan in defence, while Alexis Mac Allister has pulled the strings in the centre.

It’s Ryan Gravenberch, though, who deserves recognition for being Liverpool’s secret weapon in this title triumph, refashioned by Arne Slot into one of Europe’s superlative number sixes.

Midfield isn’t the main priority for the Reds, heading into the summer transfer window, but FSG might have identified a shrewd way to make Gravenberch even better.

Liverpool chasing new midfielder

According to Spanish reports, Liverpool are looking to take advantage of Frenkie De Jong’s situation at Barcelona, out of contract in little over a year, and will test the La Liga giant’s resolve with a €40m (£34m) bid this summer.

The piece outlines that there is believed to be a ‘willingness’ at Camp Nou to potentially listen to offers for the former Ajax man, albeit with the Reds set to be joined by Arsenal and Manchester City in the race for his signature.

De Jong has avoided injuries for most of the campaign but hasn’t always found his name on the starting teamsheet under Hansi Flick, and given Liverpool’s pedigree and strong Dutch contingent, could be enticed by making the move to Merseyside.

Why Liverpool want Frenkie De Jong

De Jong, 27, has played 253 games for Barcelona since leaving Amsterdam as an illustrious prodigy in 2019 for a £65m fee.

Fitness problems have been the bane of his career in Spain, but there’s no question De Jong is an elite-standard player, with his former boss Xavi calling him “one of the best midfielders in the world.”

However, his La Blaugrana journey under Flick’s wing has been stunted despite improvements on the injury front, and a move to Liverpool could prove the fresh start he needs at this stage of his career, joining Gravenberch in Slot’s midfield.

Gravenberch’s rise from prospect to superstar has been an extraordinary thing this year, and while De Jong is older than his 22-year-old compatriot, he will feel that Slot’s fluid ball-playing football could have a similar effect on his game.

Looking at how Slot managed to get a melodic tune out of Gravenberch this season, you’d be confident that he could elevate a fully-fit De Jong back to his best at Liverpool too.

The Dutch international might be somewhat on the margins at Barcelona right now, but he’s still managed to showcase his quality to a good degree, especially important in the Champions League.

As per FBref, he ranks among the top 1% of centre-midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for pass completion, the top 4% for passes attempted and the top 7% for progressive passes per 90.

Such passing quality could play perfectly into Gravenberch’s strengths, striking an exciting connection in Liverpool’s engine room next term as Slot looks to go again, defend his Premier League title and challenge across other fronts.

Gravenberch likes to drive the ball forward and covers a lot of ground in the middle of the park, and having a more rooted deep-lying playmaker beside him could prove a confluence of styles to make this Liverpool side even better, easing the workload that Mac Allister has had to carry.

Liverpool already have enough depth in midfield that this could prove an astute piece of business, and Slot’s coaching success on his countrymen this term suggests it might be worthwhile.

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