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Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy has baffled Alan Hutton by not appointing a new manager yet, and the BBC Radio 5 Live pundit believes somebody needs to be brought in as soon as possible.

What's the latest Tottenham manager news?

It has been nearly two months since Tottenham parted ways with former manager Antonio Conte, and they still do not appear to be any closer to bringing in a replacement, with Ryan Mason set to take charge for the remainder of the campaign.

There are a number of coaches who have been linked with taking over at N17, most recently Julen Lopetegui, with Spurs reportedly interested in bringing in the Woverhampton Wanderers boss, as well as the club's sporting director, Matt Hobbs.

Earlier this month, it emerged that Xabi Alonso was the leading contender for the manager's job, and Hutton has recently indicated he thinks the Bayer Leverkusen boss would be a good fit.

That said, the former Tottenham player also expressed his concern that Levy is yet to appoint a new head coach, telling Football Insider: “He likes to play football, I think he ticks a lot of boxes. It still just baffles me that a team like Tottenham have not got somebody in place yet.

“I just believe that a team that was vying for top four, Champions League football, should have a plan. You do not see it at this moment in time.

“I think it is really important that they get somebody in as soon as possible. They need a direction nailed down for the new season.

“I think that could be a good appointment but you have to go and get it done. Daniel Levy needs to get somebody in place and kick start everything.“

Should Tottenham appoint Xabi Alonso?

Alonso has done a fantastic job during his first season with Leverkusen, averaging 1.83 points per match in the Bundesliga, a huge increase on former manager Gerardo Seoane, with the Bundesliga club now in contention to qualify for Europe.

Jamie Redknapp has praised the Spaniard for the "astronomical" transformation he has overseen at the helm of Leverkusen, which indicates he could be a good fit for Spurs, who will need a serious rebuild this summer, after a disastrous season.

As pointed out by Hutton, it is vital that a new manager is brought in as soon as possible, in order to give the Lilywhites the best possible chance of qualifying for the Champions League in the 2023/24 campaign.

It is still early days in Alonso's career, but he has impressed during his spell with Leverkusen, and it could be worth Levy taking a gamble on the 41-year-old.

أوضح ديكو المدير الرياضي لفريق برشلونة الإسباني، موقف النادي من التوقيع مع لاعب خلال انتقالات الشتاء الجارية قبل غلق نافذة يناير، بعد إصابة أليخاندرو بالدي.

وتعرض بالدي لإصابة في مباراة برشلونة وأتلتيك بلباو، وسيخضع لعملية جراحية حسبما أفاد النادي في بيان رسمي.

وسُئل ديكو عن إمكانية التعاقد مع لاعب في انتقالات يناير، وأجاب في تصريحات نشرتها صحيفة “ماركا” الإسبانية: “أولاً، علينا أن نكون واضحين بشأن بالدي، ما إذا كان سيكون قادرًا على التواجد أم لا”.

وأضاف: “علينا أن نرى ذلك مع اللاعب، الأطباء، المدربين، وإذا كان بإمكاننا التعاقد مع لاعب فسنحاول التوقيع معه”.

وأصيب بالدي في أوتار الركبة في الفخذ الأيمن وسيخضع لعملية جراحية في فنلندا، ومن المتوقع غيابه لنهاية الموسم.

ولا تعد تلك الخسارة الأولى لبرشلونة هذا الموسم، حيث يغيب جافي أيضًا بسبب قطع في الرباط الصليبي.

Glamorgan made it successive victories in the Royal London One-Day Cup with a consummate 84-run victory over Sussex in Cardiff

ECB Reporters Network08-Jun-2016
ScorecardChris Cooke top-scored for Glamorgan•Getty Images

Glamorgan made it successive victories in the Royal London One-Day Cup with a consummate 84-run victory over Sussex in Cardiff.Having scored 302 for 6, the Welsh county bowled and fielded with great accuracy to maintain their 100 per cent winning start to this season’s 50-over competition.Glamorgan, having won the toss, chose to bat on a Sophia Gardens wicket that provided precious little assistance to the visiting bowlers, from start to finish.That said, the host county took an age to establish themselves after Steve Magoffin claimed the wicket of David Lloyd (11) in the fifth over and captain Jacques Rudolph was forced to retire hurt, in the 12th over, after being struck a painful blow on the forearm. The South African was later taken to hospital for X-Rays.Having come to terms with the pace of the wicket, Will Bragg (42) and Colin Ingram (13) added 68 for the third wicket and 19-year-old Aneurin Donald and wicketkeeper batsman Chris Cooke 69 for the fourth. Donald, who came into the game with three fifties in his previous five innings, helped himself to another half century, off 55 balls.However, it was the arrival at the crease of 33-year-old Graham Wagg that changed the game in Glamorgan’s favour. Sussex, who dropped four catches, found themselves chasing the ball to all four corners of a sun-drenched SSE Swalec Stadium.Cooke, who punished anything off line, passed 50 off 54 balls and played his part in a 112-run stand for the fifth wicket.The impressive allrounder Wagg struck seven fours and a six in reaching his half century off just 37 balls, and was eventually fifth man out at 290, bowled by England seamer Chris Jordan. Cooke departed for 80, in the final over, leaving Glamorgan to defend a more than respectable total of 302 for 6.In reply, Sussex lost Chris Nash for 12, run out by Dean Cosker, before Ed Joyce pulled a short delivery from Craig Meschede to Wagg, at deep square leg with the score on 64.With the wicket becoming slower, but providing turn for the likes of Andrew Salter and Cosker, Sussex found runs hard to come by. However, as much as the slow bowlers applied the brakes, it was the medium pace of Meschede who picked up the key wicket of New Zealander Ross Taylor.A short ball appeared to be heading back over the bowler’s head when Meschede stuck out a hand and took an outstanding catch. Cosker weighed in with the wicket of Harry Finch (23), at 90 for 4, and from that juncture, the outcome was just about inevitable.Luke Wright and Ben Brown (31) provided some resistance, with 68 for the fifth wicket, but when the latter pulled a short ball from Wagg to Ingram at mid-on, Glamorgan must have felt they were home and dry.In the end, they were. Wright and Chris Jordan struck one or two lusty blows before the Sussex captain, who helped himself to six fours and two sixes in a 48-ball innings of 65, top edged Michael Hogan to mid on, where Ingram took a magnificent, tumbling, one-handed catch.Donald took an equally spectacular catch to dismiss Jordan (22), before Hogan sent back George Garton, Ajmal Shahzad and Magoffin as Sussex were bowled out for 218 in the 43rd over.

Leeds United have reportedly registered their interest over a possible move for Aberdeen teenager Jamie Mercer.

What’s the latest Leeds transfer news involving Mercer?

The Whites appear to have one eye on the summer transfer window when it comes to bolstering their academy ranks, even though they are unsure if they will be playing Premier League or Championship football next season.

Victor Orta is no longer the man leading the recruitment process at Elland Road, though, with the Spaniard leaving the club earlier this month.

It looks as if Leeds, and therefore Andrea Radrizzani and the 49ers Enterprises, are eyeing up a move for Mercer, with an update emerging in the last 48 hours.

Football Insider reporter Pete O’Rourke said that Leeds are plotting a move for Mercer and have made contact by registering their interest as they look to sign him before the window opens.

The 16-year-old centre-back has caught the eye of a number of Premier League clubs, with the Whites believing he could be a star in the making.

Not only Mercer…

Leeds have dipped into the Scottish market when adding to their Thorp Arch ranks in the past, with Leo Hjelde and Rory Mahady both arriving from Celtic in recent years.

Alongside Mercer, the club are also in for Hamilton teenager Josh McDonald, with the defender already passing a medical in Yorkshire, with Leeds having a six-figure offer accepted.

It appears as if a move for McDonald is all but complete, so the club may look to target Mercer over the coming months. Both 16 years of age, the Whites would be able to offer the starlets scholarships ahead of professional contracts when they are 17, and who knows, we could see a string Scottish contingence emerging at first-team level in years to come, should things go to plan in their development.

فاز منتخب أنجولا على نظيره ناميبيا، بثلاثة أهداف دون رد، في المباراة التي جمعتهما اليوم السبت، ضمن منافسات بطولة كأس أمم إفريقيا 2023.

منتخب أنجولا التقي مع ناميبيا، في إطار منافسات دور الـ16 من عمر مواجهات بطولة كأس أمم إفريقيا المقامة بكوت ديفوار.

وسجل هدف أنجولا الأول “جاسينتو مووندو دالا” في الدقيقة 38 من عمر الشوط الأول بتسديدة من لمسة واحدة من داخل الست ياردات بعد عرضية من القائد فريدي باليندي.

وأضاف الهدف الثاني اللاعب نفسه “جاسينتو مووندو دالا” برأسية من داخل منطقة الجزاء في الدقيقة 42.

طالع.. فيديو | منتخب أنجولا يتقدم بهدفين أمام ناميبيا في 5 دقائق.. وطرد جديد

واختتم ثلاثية منتخب أنجولا، مابولولو المهاجم المحترف في صفوف الاتحاد السكندري، في الدقيقة 66 بتسديدة رائعة R2 من داخل منطقة الجزاء.

وبذلك يكون منتخب أنجولا أول المتأهلين إلى دور ربع النهائي من بطولة كأس أمم إفريقيا 2023، لينتظر الفائز من مباراة الكاميرون ونيجيريا. أهداف مباراة أنجولا وناميبيا في كأس أمم إفريقيا

تفاصيل المباراة

الشوط الأول

انطلاق المباراة

د18: أوووووووووووووووووووووووووووووه، انفراد تام لمهاجم منتخب ناميبيا بيثول موزيو وحارس أنجولا يتصدي للكرة باليد من خارج منطقة الجزاء.

د19: بطاقة حمراء لحارس أنجولا نيبلو بعد أن تصدي للكرة باليد من خارج منطقة الجزاء. طرد حارس أنجولا أمام ناميبيا

التغيير الأول لأنجولا في الدقيقة 20 | دخول الحارس البديل سينيوري أنطونيو وخروج لاعب الوسط إستريلا.

د21: الخطأ ينفذ بطريقة رائعة من خارج منطقة الجزاء ولكن حارس أنجولا يتصدي للكرة تصدي حارس أنجولا لتسديدة لاعب ناميبيا الرائعة من تنفيذ الخطأ من على حدود ركلة الجزاء

د24: رأسية من بيتر شالولايل من داخل منطقة الجزاء ولكن أعلي المرمي.

جووووووووووووووووووووووووووووووووول، هدف أول لمنتخب أنجولا في الدقيقة 38 عن طريق جاسينتو مووندو دالا من تسديدة من لمسة واحدة من داخل الست ياردات بعد عرضية من قائد أنجولا فريدي باليندي. هدف أنجولا الأول أمام ناميبيا

د40: بطاقة صفراء ثانية للاعب منتخب ناميبيا “لوبيني هاوكونجو” ليتلقي بطاقة حمراء وذلك بعد عرقلة لـ مابولولو مهاجم أنجولا. طرد لاعب ناميبيا أمام أنجولا

جوووووووووووووووووووووووووووووووووول، هدف ثاني لمنتخب أنجولا عن طريق نفس اللاعب جاسينتو مووندو دالا برأسية من داخل منطقة الجزاء في الدقيقة 42. هدف أنجولا الثاني أمام ناميبيا

نهاية الشوط الأول بتقدم أنجولا بهدفين دون رد أمام ناميبيا.

الشوط الثاني

انطلاق الشوط الثاني

د48: تسديدة من بيتر شالولايل من داخل منطقة الجزاء ولكن أعلى مرمي حارس أنجولا. تسديدة شالولايل مهاجم منتخب ناميبيا من داخل منطقة الجزاء

د64: أوووووووووووووووه، مابولولو كاد أن يسجل هدف ثالث لمنتخب أنجولا من تسديدة من داخل منطقة الجزاء ولكن تمر بجوار المرمي الناميبي.

جوووووووووووووووووووووووووووووووووول، مابولولو يسجل الثالث في الدقيقة 66 بتسديدة رائعة R2 من داخل منطقة الجزاء. هدف مابولولو في مباراة أنجولا وناميبيا

د74: أووووووووووووووووه، فرصة هدف رابع لأنجولا عن طريق رأسية من مانويل كيليانو ولكن حارس ناميبيا يتصدي للكرة وتخرج إلي ضربة مرمي. تصدي حارس ناميبيا أمام رأسية مانويل كيليانو

د90: العارضة تمنع هدف محقق لمنتخب أنجولا بعد تسديدة من زيتو لوفومبو من خارج منطقة الجزاء. العارضة تمنع هدف محقق من أنجولا أمام ناميبيا

نهاية المباراة.. فوز منتخب أنجولا على ناميبيا 3-0 ويتأهل إلي دور ربع النهائي من كأس أمم إفريقيا ينتظر الفائز من مباراة نيجيريا والكاميرون

A match replete with English records saw Michael Lumb and Riki Wessels share an opening stand of 342, Nottinghamshire rattle up 445 for 8 and Northants’ chase fall only 20 runs short on a day of 35 sixes

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jun-2016

ScorecardMichael Lumb and Riki Wessels took toll of a flagging Northamptonshire attack at Trent Bridge to set a new record stand for a List A game in England on a staggering day of batting domination.Lumb and Wessels logged an opening stand of 342 in 39.2 overs for Nottinghamshire under cloudless blue skies in a Royal London One-Day Cup group match before the partnership was finally broken when Wessels fell to Stephen Crook for 146, lifting him to short third man.Their stand beat the previous record in England – 318 amassed by Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly against Sri Lanka in Taunton in the 1999 World Cup. The India pair left of a slew of records in their wake – at the time the stand was the highest in any limited-overs international.Nottinghamshire went on to make 445 for 8 in their 50 overs. It was the second highest total in List A matches worldwide, beaten only by Surrey’s 496 for 4 against Gloucestershire at The Oval in 2007.At a glance

342 Highest partnership in List A matches in England; 3rd worldwide

445 Second highest List A score worldwide

870 Highest List A aggregate runs in England; two short of world record

Astonishingly, despite being stricken by injuries, Northants got within 20 runs under the Trent Bridge floodlights in a match that included an aggregate of 870 runs – another domestic record and only two runs short of the world record – and a barely credible 35 sixes.Lumb said: “It was an incredible match and hats off to Northants, they came out and pushed us to the wire. What a great game of cricket for everyone who rocked up to Trent Bridge today.”It was one of those days when you walk out there and the stars are all aligned and you have a day out. It was a bit like that for me and Riki and we were able to put on a great partnership. That’s all we were trying to do, get the team off to a good start, and today we kept on going and going.”Lumb and Wessels did not quite manage to overhaul the highest List A stand of all time, finishing third on the all-time worldwide list.The record was set in February last year when Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels took 372 off the Zimbabwe attack at Manuka Oval in the 2015 World Cup.Lumb scored 184, making his runs from 150 deliveries, with 21 fours and six sixes, and Wessels hit 146 from 97 balls, with 14 fours and eight maximums, with both players reaching their highest one-day scores.Lumb’s fifth one-day ton was his first since scoring 106 on his England ODI debut in Antigua in 2014 and his first in domestic cricket since 2009. His 184 is also a county record, bettering the unbeaten 167 made by Paul Johnson in 1993. He also left to a standing ovation after being bowled by Sanderson, trying to deflect the bowler down to fine leg.Neither opener offered a clear chance, although one or two mishits fell harmlessly into the outfield and a couple of run out opportunities went begging. That said, both batsmen deserved any good fortune that was going, due to their cleanness of their ball striking.Nottinghamshire, easily surpassing their previous highest total of 368 for 2 made against Middlesex two years ago, predictably emerged victorious but Northants regained some kudos by amassing 425 in reply to lose by a much smaller margin than most would have assumed would be the case.Northants’ spirited retort was all the more remarkable considering that they were handicapped by a shoulder injury to Richard Levi, which meant he didn’t bat until No 11. Veteran South African Rory Kleinveldt, nursing a calf injury, also batted with a runner and almost helped the visitors pull of a stunning run chase.He hit 128 from only 63 balls, smashing 10 fours and nine sixes to put Notts under real pressure, all after Adam Rossington had made 97 at the top of the order.Kleinveldt’s incredible innings came to an end when he was superbly caught in the deep by sub fielder Anuj Dal, who had spent the day playing for Nottinghamshire’s Second XI at Hinckley, against Leicestershire.Dal also caught Graeme White for 40, leaving 21 required from the final two overs but Harry Gurney kept his nerve to bowl Levi in the penultimate over.David Ripley, Northants’ head coach, said: “I’ve never seen anything like it. Obviously it wasn’t a game for the bowlers – on both sides. It was a great run chase from us, I don’t think I’ve ever come across such a dangerous score that’s been put in front of us and come so close. We’re very disappointed, but we are very proud of the way we chased.”

كشفت تقارير صحفية أن ديفوك أوريجي، لاعب فريق نوتينجهام فورست، قد يضطر إلى مغادرة النادي الإنجليزي خلال موسم الانتقالات الشتوية الحالي.

كان أوريجي، لاعب ليفربول السابق، قد انضم إلى نوتينجهام فورست قادمًا من ميلان على سبيل الإعارة في سبتمبر الماضي، لمدة موسم.

ولكن اللاعب البلجيكي عانى من فترة كارثية مع نوتينجهام فورست حيث لم يسجل في 9 مباريات، مما أدى إلى انتشار الشكوك حول مستقبله.

وحسبما ذكرت صحيفة “ذا صن” الإنجليزية، فإنه من المقرر ان يرحل ديفوك أوريجي عن صفوف نوتينجهام لينتقل إلى الدوري الأمريكي هذا الشهر.

اقرأ أيضًا.. ثنائي الدوري الإنجليزي يواجه شبح خصم 6 نقاط هذا الموسم

وأوضحت أن أوريجي سينتقل إلى صفوف فريق لوس أنجلوس جالاكسي الأمريكي، على سبيل الإعارة كذلك.

وأفادت أن صفقة إعارة أوريجي إلى لوس أنجلوس جالاسيكي ستتضمن خيار الشراء الدائم مقابل 4.25 مليون جنيه إسترليني.

وأشارت الصحيفة إلى أن صفقة انتقال أوريجي إلى نوتينجهام فورست وُصفت على أنها واحدة من أسوأ الصفقات الصيفية، حسب تعبير وكلاء الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

Liverpool have joined the race to sign Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi this summer, according to reports.

Who is Marc Guehi?

Guehi is an Chelsea academy graduate, but arrived at Selhurst Park in 2021 and has gone on to make 81 appearances to date. In the Premier League, the 22-year-old has started 36 out of 37 games this season and his impressive form has seen him not only receive an international call-up for England, but also significant interest from outside of SE25.

Football Transfers has credited Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United with an interest in the centre-back, while Arsenal have also since entered the running. Elsewhere, transfer insider Dean Jones has claimed that he could still remain with Roy Hodgson’s side beyond the summer, though a fourth potential suitor has now emerged in Liverpool.

Are Liverpool signing Guehi?

According to the Daily Mail, Liverpool are the latest Premier League giant to have “joined” the queue to sign Guehi ahead of the 2023/24 term. The Lilywhites, Red Devils and the Gunners are once again name-checked as admirers, with Palace believed to have placed a £50m price tag on the defender’s head.

FSG and Jurgen Klopp, however, might not “have the budget” to cough up that much money as a result of wanting to “prioritise” midfield signings. The Eagles are set to make definitive decisions surrounding the futures of their prized assets once a new long-term manager is appointed.

Liverpool have already been linked with the likes of Eintracht Frankfurt’s Evan Ndicka, RB Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol and Napoli's Kim Min-Jae at centre-back, but with Guehi being a homegrown talent and the fact he already has Premier League experience, this could make him a more suitable alternative, whether that be in a deal this summer or in the near future.

The Palace talisman ranks highly amongst his teammates in a number of defensive areas, as he is currently averaging 3.6 clearances, as well as 1.4 tackles and aerial wins per top-flight game, via WhoScored, suggesting Guehi is an integral rock at the heart of the backline, which has seen him dubbed a “leader” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig.

The Abidjan-born star, who has the flexibility to play at left-back and right-back alongside his natural position, is also capable of contributing to his team‘s efforts at the opposite end of the pitch, with six goal contributions (five goals and one assist) to his name since joining the Eagles, so he there are plenty of signs he could be an all-round ideal signing for Klopp on Merseyside.

Kent replaced Essex at the top of Division Two to set up their meeting at Chelmsford on Sunday in a rain-hit season that still smacks of stalemate

ECB Reporters Network29-Jun-2016
ScorecardSam Northeast, Kent’s captain: top spot, runs but more frustration•Getty Images

A lifeless pitch and two injury-hit bowling attacks provided all the ingredients for a high-scoring draw in Canterbury where promotion-chasing Kent drew with a Derbyshire side still fighting to open their win account in the Specsavers County Championship second tier.Derbyshire banked 12 points for the draw, while Kent claimed 10 to move above Essex to the top of the Division 2 table ahead of their four-day trip to Chelmsford starting on Sunday.Kent skipper Sam Northeast hit 191 and an unbeaten 76 on a surface he believed was too placid for four-day cricket.”Yes we’ve gone top of Division 2 but who knows if this was a good draw or not,” he said. “I’m a little bit disappointed if I’m honest. I felt we should have posted a bigger score to help set the game up, but it was a tough pitch to bowl on and I’m hoping that for our remaining games here we’ll produced a surface with a little bit more pace and carry in it.”After Derbyshire’s mammoth first innings total of 574 for nine declared had helped the visitors to secure a 195-run first innings lead, Kent set out their stall to bat out the final three-and-a-half sessions of the match for their sixth draw of the summer.That they readily achieved the stalemate was mainly due to dogged half-centuries from Tom Latham and Joe Denly and sprightlier 47-ball 50 by Northeast, yet it was tame fare for the handful of purists who remained in the drizzle to witness the umpires’ inspection and abandonment at 4pm.By then Kent had wiped out the Derbyshire lead and, at 238 for three, had edged 74 ahead on a day when Derbyshire had hoped to dismiss Kent cheaply in order to secure their first four-day win in 2016.They were hampered greatly by the loss of rookie pace bowler Will Davis through injury. The 21-year-old pulled up with a sidestrain after trying to stop the ball in his follow through and was unable to bowl throughout Kent’s second innings. He could be sidelined for several weeks.John Sadler, Derbyshire’s coach, said: “Will was our most threatening bowler on day one, having also bowled magnificently last week against Worcestershire. For such a young lad who has not played that much cricket he’s a really exciting prospect, so he’s one we really have to look after.”He’s being assessed by the physio right now, but the early signs are that he’s going to have a spell off, that’s a real shame for him. But he’s young and his body isn’t perhaps totally ready for fast bowling yet. It’s a shame, but we think very highly of him and hope to welcome him back soon.”Sadler also paid tribute to Wayne Madsen, who scored his 22nd century for Derbyshire during the four-day draw. “Wayne is a magnificent player in all formats and I’m wondering what else he has to do to prove he’s good enough to get noticed by England and talked about in terms of international cricket,” said Sadler.”You could plonk him into the middle of a Test or an ODI anywhere in the world and he would succeed – he’s that good a player in my opinion. He’s a great lad with a superb attitude and I look forward to him getting an opportunity to step up.”Derbyshire began their task well enough when Ben Cotton removed Sean Dickson for 22, barely 20 minutes into the final day. Dickson received a belting leg-cutter that lifted and left him as he played in defence. The ball feathered the edge and flew to wicketkeeper Tom Poynton to make it 39 for one – it proved to be the only delivery of the day that misbehaved.Second-wicket partners Latham and Denly combined to add 103 either side of lunch with New Zealand Test opener Latham scoring a 115-ball 50 with five fours. It was his first half-century in all forms of cricket since early May.Three overs into the mid-session and with his score on 74, the Kiwi left-hander lapped leg-side against Wayne Madsen only to pick out Rob Hemmings, the 12th man substituting for Davis, who took a simple catch at square leg.Denly soldiered on to go past 50 for the third time this summer. His watchful half-century coming from 135 balls and with five boundaries, then Northeast pulled a Ben Slater full-toss for four to wipe out the deficit, one of six boundaries in his eye-catching knock.To their credit, Derbyshire tried eight bowlers and set some enterprising fields in a bid to force an error – including a short spell of Tony Palladino leg-theory bowled around the wicket to a 7/2 split field – but Kent were not to be tempted into an indiscretion.With drizzle in the air, Nick Broom enjoyed yorking Denly for 64 for his sixth first-class wicket to break a third-wicket stand worth 93, but rain soon forced the players in for an early tea. The rain and wind strengthened thereafter forcing the abandonment.

Max Holden carried his bat for an unbeaten century on an otherwise poor day for England’s Under-19s against Sri Lanka in Northampton

ECB Reporters Network03-Aug-2016
ScorecardMax Holden carried his bat through a dramatic collapse•Getty Images

Max Holden carried his bat for an unbeaten century on an otherwise poor day for England’s Under-19s against Sri Lanka in Northampton.Holden, a left-handed opener from Cambridge who signed a three-year contract with Middlesex last winter, marked his second game as captain with a fine innings on a lively Wantage Road pitch.He ended with 111 from 229 balls with 13 fours and became the first opener to carry his bat for the Under-19s since Surrey’s Dominic Sibley against South Africa in Paarl in January 2013.But until Surrey spinner Amar Virdi allowed him to reach his century in a last-wicket stand of 48, he did not receive much support. After Holden and Worcestershire’s Olly Westbury had played comfortably to reach 90 without loss at lunch, England lost six wickets for 17 in the hour after lunch. The middle order from three to seven managed one run between them, and bustling Sri Lankan seamer Lahiru Kumara took five for six in one burst, ending with 7 for 82.Reaching 208 represented a slight recovery, with Virdi doing especially well as Holden was 20 short of his century when he came in. Warwickshire seamer George Panayi then took an early wicket when Sri Lanka began their second innings, but captain Charith Asalanka steered the tourists to 48 for 1 by the close.England made a single enforced change to the team who enjoyed the better of the previous four-day match between the teams in Cambridge last week, with Hampshire allrounder Josh McCoy making his debut in place of the injured Durham seamer Josh Coughlin.Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to field on a fresh morning, but Holden and Westbury rarely looked troubled. It was a totally different story after lunch.Westbury, who had scored 196 at Fenner’s, fell for a handy 45 in the first over of the session, lbw to a full delivery from Kumara. Gloucestershire’s George Hankins followed for a duck in Kumara’s next over, hooking his sixth ball to long leg, and Somerset’s George Bartlett went in identical fashion four overs later.When Kumara won another lbw decision against Worcestershire’s Josh Dell, England had lost four for eight in almost nine overs since lunch.And two more wickets tumbled for the addition of only nine more runs, as Surrey wicketkeeper Ollie Pope became Kumara’s fifth consecutive victim, before McCoy was deceived by the first ball from legspinner Wanidu Hasaranga.Holden continued to play confidently and sensibly throughout the procession, and finally found some support from Yorkshire’s Ed Barnes who made 16 in a seventh-wicket stand of 17 before he was bowled by Kumara.Aaron Beard and Panayi also hung around longer than their middle-order colleagues, but it was Virdi who allowed Holden to reach the century he deserved.”That was a high-quality innings in difficult circumstances,” said Tim Boon, the Under-19s long-serving batting coach, who was also involved when Sibley carried his bat.”Obviously I’m delighted to get the runs myself, but it’s been an up-and-down day,” said Holden. “The way we played in the first session we set ourselves up to make a big score. Then we had that nightmare session really, it was a real shame to watch from the other end – their guy bowled well, he got it reversing, but we should have played him better.”Then we fought back well, especially Virds – he knuckled down well, because he’s known for playing a few shots in the nets, and showed a bit of discipline and fight to get us up to that 200.”I’ve not carried my bat since playing for Cambridgeshire back in the day. It’s a nice achievement I guess, and I really enjoyed batting out there. We just need to knuckle down now.”We can still come back tomorrow, get a few early wickets, and I think we’ll be right back in the game.”