Amid concerns that Tottenham Hotspur, led by Thomas Frank, could hijack their move to sign Bryan Mbeumo, Manchester United are reportedly prioritising a deal to sign a £65m alternative if they miss out on their top target.

Tottenham meet Mbeumo asking price

Tottenham’s appointment of Frank has truly thrown a spanner in the works for Manchester United. It looked as though the Red Devils were alone in the race to sign Mbeumo with Newcastle United conceding defeat. Frank’s North London arrival has seemingly changed things, however. The former Brentford boss reportedly wants an instant reunion with his star man and the Lilywhites have already matched his hefty £70m price tag.

The ball could be left in Mbeumo’s court to decide, but Man United must first match Spurs’ reported offer for the impressive forward. It would undoubtedly be a major blow if they lost out on the Brentford star at this stage and it would be adding salt to their wounds if he chose the side that defeated United in the Europa League final not so long ago.

Mbeumo isn’t the only name on United’s radar, however. Ruben Amorim will be desperate to revamp a blunt frontline and a move for Viktor Gyokeres could be more realistic than ever now that he’s publically fallen out with Sporting Club.

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Whether he, like Mbeumo could do, decides to reject a move to Old Trafford is the big question, however. Without European football to offer, United may need to accept the prospect of missing out on their top targets and instead focus on alternatives.

Man Utd will turn to Antoine Semenyo

According to GiveMeSport, Manchester United will now prioritise a move to sign Antoine Semenyo if Tottenham successfully hijack their deal to sign Mbeumo this summer. The Bournemouth forward won’t come much cheaper, however, with the Cherries set to demand as much as £65m to sell their star man. Whether it’s Mbeumo or Semenyo in the coming months, INEOS must be prepared to spend big.

Whilst the numbers suggest that Semenyo would be a downgrade on Mbeumo, the Bournemouth forward would still be an improvement on Amorim’s current options at Old Trafford.

Having scored 11 Premier League goals, Semenyo earned plenty of praise from those at Bournemouth throughout the last campaign, including from teammate Lewis Cook.

The midfielder told reporters: “As a team, we knew the quality he has and we saw that last year. He’s got to just keep working hard – being aggressive and being clinical. He’s got a lot better at running back and helping out the team too. He’s a powerful lad and has all the ability in the world. Hopefully he can continue to show that.”

Chelsea suffered a disappointing defeat in their second group match of the Club World Cup, going down 3-1 against Brazilian side Flamengo.

Enzo Maresca had led the Blues to an opening victory against LAFC, but the loss now means he will need to secure all three points against ES Tunis to qualify for the knockout round.

Given how big the prize fund is, going as far as possible is certainly within the club’s best interests.

The Stamford Bridge side have already signed Liam Delap from Ipswich Town for a fee of £30m, while deals for Estevao, Dario Essugo, Mamadou Sarr, and Kendry Paez have also gone through so far this summer.

Maresca won’t be stopping there, that much is certain. With a move for Hugo Ekitike high on the priority list, it is clear the Blues want to sign another centre-forward this summer.

They have also been linked with moves to sign Tyler Dibling, Murillo, and Mohamed Kudus in recent weeks as Maresca prepares to take Chelsea into the Champions League.

With so many potential transfer links, the manager will surely be looking to offload a player or two. Not only to free up space in the first-team squad, but also to balance the books.

Several names have been touted as departing the club, but could Noni Madueke be the most high-profile sale this summer?

What the future holds for Noni Madueke at Chelsea

Last season saw Madueke come of age at Chelsea. Across 43 appearances in all competitions, the English winger scored 11 goals and provided five assists for the Blues.

He helped them win the Conference League in the process, and this campaign surely gave him plenty of confidence heading into the Club World Cup.

According to The Telegraph, Arsenal are seemingly keen on making a move to sign the former PSV Eindhoven starlet this summer in a bid to improve their attacking options.

With Maresca continuing his heavy recruitment drive at Stamford Bridge, Madueke’s space in the starting XI is certainly not guaranteed heading into the 2024/25 campaign.

The report goes on to state that the winger is not up for sale, but should things change in the coming weeks, he could be obtainable in the transfer window.

Metric

Premier League

Conference League

Goals

7

3

Assists

3

1

Big chances created

6

0

Successful dribbles per game

1.4

1.6

Key passes per game

1.1

1

He would be a fine signing for any club in the top flight, as evidenced by his statistics when compared to peers across Europe’s top five leagues.

Not only did he rank in the top 1% for progressive carries (6.82) per 90, but the winger also ranked in the top 4% for touches in the opposition penalty area (8.15) per 90 and in the top 7% for total shots per 90 (3.54), proving just how big an impact he had at Chelsea.

Should an offer come in that is too good to turn down, Maresca will surely accept it. This could allow him to make a move for a player who is on his wish list of late.

Chelsea eyeing move for Lyon sensation

According to football.london, Chelsea are interested in signing Lyon starlet Malick Fofana this summer.

As per the report, the club have already initiated contact with the Ligue 1 side regarding a move.

Any deal for the Belgian international will likely cost around £45m, which shouldn’t pose too much of a problem for the Blues, that’s for sure.

Given how many players are set to make the move to Stamford Bridge, however, moving for a first-team star or two looks like the best bet, hence the interest in Madueke.

Swapping the current Chelsea winger for Fofana has the potential to be an excellent deal for all parties involved.

But just what would the 20-year-old bring to Chelsea next season?

Why Chelsea must sign Malick Fofana

Just a couple of months ago, football talent scout Jacek Kulig lavished praise on the young attacking talent, saying: “Malick Fofana – 17 G/A in around 2000 minutes for Lyon this season. 20 years of age.

“Still a bit inconsistent, but already showing flashes of his enormous potential.

“Big future ahead.”

If he continues on this recent upwards trajectory following a stunning breakthrough season with Lyon, then he could become one of the finest attacking talents on the continent.

With the Blues returning to the Champions League for the first time since the 2022/23 campaign, Fofana could be a dangerous weapon in their quest for glory. Especially taking his Europa League displays from last term into account.

Across ten games in the competition for Lyon, the young dynamo scored six goals while providing two assists.

In addition, when compared to his peers in Europe’s secondary competition, Fofana ranked in the top 1% for non-penalty goals (1.05), progressive carries (7.88) and touches in the opposition penalty area (8.23) per 90 last term.

Of course, this wasn’t in the Champions League, but performing as well as this at such a young age, what is stopping him from shining on the biggest stage?

Fofana is a right-footed winger who prefers to operate on the left so he can cut in on a regular basis. Last season, however, Fofana did play a couple of matches on the right flank, scoring twice in the process.

Could he, then, be an ideal replacement for Madueke should the English starlet move on from the club this summer? It would be interesting to see exactly what position Maresca would utilise Fofana in, especially as he does appear rather flexible.

Given Madueke still has a few years left on his contract, the Blues should be able to demand a decent fee for the player, who only joined in January 2023.

If his sale can free up space for Fofana coming in, a player who appears to have a brighter future, then it would be a shrewd piece of business. For now, Maresca will just be looking to see his team defeat ES Tunis in order to seal a place in the last-16 of the Club World Cup.

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Chelsea were beaten 3-1 by Flamengo in their second game of the Club World Cup.

ByMatt Dawson Jun 21, 2025

Ireland also play three ODIs and three T20Is during their full tour of Zimbabwe starting on February 6

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jan-2025

Zimbabwe have picked two uncapped players – legspinner Vincent Masekesa and top-order batter Nicholas Welch – in their squad for the one-off Test against Ireland starting on February 6 in Bulawayo.Masekesa, 27, has played 15 first-class matches and taken 49 wickets, while Welch, nearly 27, has played 26 first-class games and scored 1216 runs at an average of 31.Dion Myers and Tadiwanashe Marumani were left out of the Test squad that lost the home series 1-0 to Afghanistan in the first week of January.Allrounder Sikandar Raza was also not selected because he is playing for Dubai Capitals in the ILT20, which ends on February 9. “He had already committed to franchise cricket before the [Ireland] tour schedule was confirmed,” Zimbabwe Cricket said in a release. Raza will return to captain Zimbabwe’s T20I squad for their three matches against Ireland.Sean Williams was passed fit after struggling with a back injury during the Tests against Afghanistan.Zimbabwe made two changes to their ODI squad, replacing Myers and Joylord Gumbie with Wessly Madhevere and Nyasha Mayavo. Myers, however, kept his place in the T20I squad while Faraz Akram and Takudzwanashe Kaitano missed out on selection.Ireland’s tour of Zimbabwe begins with the one-off Test in Bulawayo followed by the white-ball leg in Harare: three ODIs on February 14, 16 and 18 and three T20Is on February 22, 23 and 25.Zimbabwe Test squad vs IrelandCraig Ervine (capt), Brian Bennett, Johnathan Campbell, Ben Curran, Joylord Gumbie, Trevor Gwandu, Takudzwanashe Kaitano, Vincent Masekesa, Nyasha Mayavo, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Newman Nyamhuri, Victor Nyauchi, Nicholas Welch, Sean Williams.Zimbabwe ODI squad vs IrelandCraig Ervine (capt), Brian Bennett, Johnathan Campbell, Ben Curran, Trevor Gwandu, Wessly Madhevere, Tinotenda Maposa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Nyasha Mayavo, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Newman Nyamhuri, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams.Zimbabwe T20I squad vs IrelandSikandar Raza (capt), Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Johnathan Campbell, Trevor Gwandu, Wessly Madhevere, Tinotenda Maposa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Nyasha Mayavo, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Newman Nyamhuri.

أعلن أيمن الرمادي المدير الفنى لفريق الكرة الأول بنادي البنك الأهلي عن تشكيل لاعبيه لمواجهة الزمالك، ضمن مباريات الجولة الثانية عشر من عمر مسابقة الدوري المصري الممتاز موسم 2025/2026.

ويواجه فريق البنك الأهلي نظيره فريق البنك الأهلي، في تمام الساعة الثامنة من مساء اليوم الخميٍس، على ملعب القاهرة الدولي.

طالع.. تشكيل الزمالك أمام البنك الأهلي في الدوري.. الدباغ يقود الهجوم تشكيل البنك الأهلي أمام الزمالك في الدوري

حراسة المرمى: عبد العزيز البلعوطي.

خط الدفاع: عمرو الجزار، مصطفى الزناري، هشام صلاح، إسحاق يعقوبو.

خط الوسط: محمد فتحي، محمد إبراهيم، محمد بن شرقي، مصطفى شلبي.

خط الهجوم: أحمد ياسر ريان، أسامة فيصل.

ويجلس على مقاعد البدلاء: “أحمد صبحي، سعيدو سيمبوري، مصطفى دويدار، أحمد مدبولي، يسري وحيد، أحمد النادري، محمود الجزار، ياو انور، سيد نيمار”.

MatériaMais Notícias

da bet esporte： Sem Calleri, que só deve retornar para a temporada 2024 por conta da cirurgia no tornozelo, Erison terá um desafio pela frente. Nesta temporada, ‘El Toro’ chegou com uma função: ser uma segunda opção no elenco justamente para a posição na qual o argentino ocupa.

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da bet7k： Mas com contrato até o final do ano, a temporada não foi das melhores para Erison. Isso porque o jogador sofreu bastante com lesões, o que causou uma perda de espaço na equipe. Em abril, sofreu um estiramento na coxa esquerda. O tratamento atrasou também por conta de um estiramento na fibrose pouco tempo depois.

Após três meses, retornou aos gramados, em um jogo contra o Bahia. Lá, deixou a partida chorando ainda no primeiro tempo ao sentir dores na mesma coxa que tinha lesionado. Nesta temporada, Erison atuou por oito partidas, mas desde o jogo contra o Bahia em julho, não entra mais em campo.

Mas quais os planos do São Paulo para o jogador? Como dito anteriormente, seu contrato com a equipe termina no final do ano. Com o retorno dos jogos após a Data Fifa e o período de convocações, Erison pode surgir como uma opção para o atleta. E por este motivo, esse período de ‘testes’ deve acontecer.

+ A sua carreira no futebol pode começar hoje. Garanta a sua vaga no curso Gestor de Futebol e capacite-se!

+ Aposte R$100 e ganhe R$375 com o Brasil e Neymar contra a Venezuela nas Eliminatórias

+ Garanta o churrasco do feriado! Aposte R$500 e ganhe R$2000 com o Brasil!

A ideia é buscar um centroavante no mercado. Mas caso Erison mostre que está correspondendo, uma renovação pode ser feita. Tudo depende de como irá se desenrolar nos próximos jogos. O diretor de futebol do São Paulo, Carlos Belmonte, esclareceu a situação do jogador, comparando com o mesmo que deve acontecer com David – que vive um cenário parecido.

– Assim como o Erison, ele teve alguns problemas de contusão ao longo da temporada e ele acabou não tendo grandes sequências. Queremos ver um pouco mais até o final da temporada para decidir se vai fazer a aquisição, se vamos tentar novo empréstimo. O que eu posso dizer tanto do David quanto do Erison é que são excelentes profissionais, comprometidos – explicou sobre os jogadores em entrevista ao ‘Globo Esporte’.

O São Paulo volta a jogar na quarta-feira (18), pelo Campeonato Brasileiro, contra o Goiás. O jogo será às 21h30 (de Brasília), no estádio da Serrinha.

Alex Carey posted his second Shield century in two games while Nathan McSweeney continues to push his Test credentials with 72 as South Australia build a big lead

AAP22-Oct-2024Test wicketkeeper Alex Carey has fired another warning shot to India with an unbeaten century for South Australia in the Sheffield Shield clash with Queensland.Already in blistering form to start the red-ball summer, Carey was again chief agitator on day three scoring 123 not out from 163 deliveries as SA stormed to a 358-run lead at Allan Border Field. Skipper Nathan McSweeney continued his excellent form making 72 to push his case for a Test call-up.A declaration appears likely overnight, with paceman Jordan Buckingham unbeaten at the crease alongside Carey.As at the close of play, Carey is averaging 122 across four knocks this summer in positive signs for an Australian middle order missing Cameron Green for the five-Test series against India that begins next month.Unfazed by the second new ball, Carey notched his second century of the summer by blasting paceman Mark Steketee for three consecutive boundaries in the final hour of play on Tuesday.The 33-year-old bookended a huge six over deep mid-wicket with a pair of fours past extra cover to race through the nervous nineties and into triple figures. He capped a brilliant day at the crease by slogging his favourite victim Steketee for six over deep mid-wicket in the final over.Earlier, Carey brought up his half-century pulling Tom Whitney’s short ball to the boundary in a rare tough over for the impressive debutant paceman.Carey raised his bat from only 67 deliveries, signalling his intentions to pick up where McSweeney had left off before Usman Khawaja caught the South Australian captain at first slip off Mitchell Swepson.Whitney backed up his five-wicket haul from the first innings with three key scalps early on day three before a minor heel injury prevented him from bowling as Carey kicked on in the afternoon.Whitney trapped opener Conor McInerney lbw early on day three, before cleaning up Nathan McAndrew’s middle stump with his first ball following lunch after the nightwatcher stubbornly stuck around through the first session.Whitney’s figures of 8 for 119 across the two innings were the third-best for a Queensland debutant in Sheffield Shield history.In the spotlight since his omission from the Australia A squad, Test hopeful Matt Renshaw grabbed a headline moment late on day three – but not with the bat.The towering Renshaw dived at midwicket for a brilliant catch to dismiss Jake Lehmann from Marnus Labuschagne’s part-time medium pace.Labuschagne joined would-be Test opener Renshaw on the highlight reel with a catch above his head to send Liam Scott packing and help Queensland tear into the bowlers.

Am I crazy to be fading the winningest team in baseball at home?  Maybe. But, by now, you know my style, so stay with me for a bit. Our bankroll has been growing. 

Yes, the Yankees are the best team in baseball right now and the only team with 50 wins. They will also be sending Nestor Cortes to the mound, and he's been stellar at home.   When pitching at home this season, Cortes has a mere 1.77 ERA. That's dominant.  

Juan Soto is back in the lineup, and Aaron Judge is doing Aaron Judge things. He's batting .300 with 26 home runs, which is on pace to match and possibly eclipse his record-setting 62 home run MVP season.   

South Africa played like a team intent on silencing the noise around them but still came up second to England once again

Firdose Moonda27-Nov-2020International cricket is back. In South Africa. And by South Africa. But England are still the masters of the white-ball.As recently as 12 days ago, this series was in danger of not happening and CSA was in danger of having its status as the national body of cricket in this country stripped away. The sports minister was ready to step in and potentially prevent them from fielding a team that could call itself South Africa.As recently as Thursday, South African cricket’s chief medical officer warned that if a significant number of players contracted Covid-19, matches could be called off. Two of the 24-man squad had returned positive tests so his fears were not entirely unfounded.And here we are. For the first time in almost eight months, the South Africa men’s team got on the park and it was clear they had something to prove. Until the 17th over of England’s innings, South Africa played like a team intent on silencing the noise. Like a team that wanted to end the wittering around themselves and their culture, the whispers around the administration and the crisis. And even in that over that cost 28 runs and put England on the path to victory, South Africa still played in a way that amplified the sound of bat on ball. Finally. There was cricket.ALSO READ: Bairstow 86* powers England to five-wicket winIn the lead up to this series, the conversation has been about sportsmen and social justice especially when it comes to racial prejudice. Given the history of Apartheid, colonialism and slavery, South Africa could be one of the countries that could best understands and embodies the antiracist doctrine, but it is still grappling with recent schisms and trying to find solutions.CSA’s attempt was to put up two large banners with the message “We stand in solidarity against racism and gender-based violence” and drape them over stands at opposite ends of the ground. But on the day that New Zealand and West Indies took a knee and Australia and India formed a barefoot circle, the absence of any gesture from South Africa was glaring. They are the only one of the six teams that were in action who have not symbolically shown their support for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, even though they insist they are working on living out a doctrine of equality.On top of that, they also have other causes to be concerned about. The first 16 days of next month are dedicated annually as days of activism against gender-based violence and both teams wore black armbands to mourn those who lose their lives to abuse and those who have died from Covid-19. In South Africa, the latter has risen to more than 21,000 and with infection rates rising, there are fears of many more. Ten minutes before the start of play, flags were frantically lowered to half-mast, where they should have been flying since Wednesday. Among the many things that needed to be done as Newlands got ready for international cricket, it seemed someone remembered that one just in time.As South Africa lined up to sing their national anthem, directly in front of the SuperSport commentary team, they could hear JP Duminy being asked about BLM and supporting the activist sportsman. An aura of awkwardness settled over the opening salvo and when the final chords of “Nkosi Sikelel’i Afrika” rung out, and everyone remained standing, it felt as though something had been left unsaid, or undone. History will judge South Africa’s (in)action and assess how well they have applied the principles of inclusion they have committed to.It may also see this season as one in which South Africa built on the foundation stone’s laid last summer, when a new coaching regime took over. Their tenure showed promise, with a Test victory but it was clear they needed time. The longest off-season since readmission may not have been exactly what they had in mind but it gave them room to reflect and reimagine the kind of team they want to be.We need more than one match to be able to see what their new approach of “aggressive, but smart,” means but we can already make some deductions. Faf du Plessis best demonstrated it with the bat when he twice went close to hitting one of the Egyptian geese that have made the Newlands outfield their home, but twice evaded them. While Harry the Hadeda, the avian superstar from England’s last tour, was nowhere to be found two adult and four teenage geese occupied positions from the covers to long-on, walking in to almost every ball and scurrying away as soon as it was hit.Kagiso Rabada’s catch gave George Linde a wicket•Getty ImagesDu Plessis played around them and in the same vein as he had been doing at the IPL. In the fifth over, he changed the tone of South Africa’s start from unsure, on a pitch where the ball was not coming on as quickly as might have been expected, to in control when he buried a ball in the construction site, smoked the new one down the ground and on to the railway stand, where the absence of fans meant the few in the ground could hear the ping as it hit a flagpole, and then mowed it through midwicket.The way George Linde, the debutant, was used was the other example of how the new style of play may reveal itself. Linde was tasked with opening the bowling and rewarded his captain with a wicket off the second ball and then switched ends to claim another as Rabada took a stunning low catch. South Africa seldom give a spinner or a new player that level of responsibility but Linde plays his franchise cricket here and has the experience of 81 domestic T20s so they trusted him and it paid off.More’s the pity that Linde did not have his home crowd cheering him on but these are the times. Newlands is not ready for visitors anyway as the construction of an office block continues. And who knows what commentary might have provided late in the game when, with England needing 84 runs from 48 balls, Quinton de Kock turned to Heinrich Klaasen to bowl at Ben Stokes. That was South Africa saying they thought they were so far ahead they could do anything. And they were wrong. Not aggressive, and definitely not smart.Klaasen conceded 14 runs, before de Kock went back to his premier spinner Tabraiz Shamsi. In hindsight, he should have let Shamsi bowl his full quota of four overs, although even that may not have stopped what happened later. Beuran Hendricks conceded 28 runs, including eight wides in an over where he lost control.Some will question why Anrich Nortje, who has just come off a fantastic IPL, didn’t play. Perhaps South Africa thought the pitch would better suit those who take pace off the ball – it looked that way when England was bowling. Perhaps there were transformation targets to consider, which could have been solved in other ways.Or perhaps still it’s that England, who are unbeaten in seven T20 series, are a bloody good team, who bat deep and back themselves until the very end. There is no better opposition to return to international action against. Welcome back, England. Welcome back, international cricket.

“I worked on my off-side game before this season because bowlers had started bowling wide with an off-side field”

Hemant Brar30-Apr-2022After Rahul Tewatia helped Gujarat Titans pull off yet another odds-defying chase, this time against Royal Challengers Bangalore, everyone from commentators to Twitteratis started calling him Iceman. His captain Hardik Pandya, too, approved of the moniker. “If you can finish games like this, you have to be super cool,” Pandya said at the post-match presentation.However, if Tewatia is to be believed, he isn’t as cool in the middle as he appears to be.”I cannot say I am cool while batting,” he told Star Sports after being named the Player of the Match for his unbeaten 25-ball 43. “I might look cool but inside my head, many things are going on, like from which over to execute my plans, which bowler to take chances against. I think a lot, and then whatever plan I come with, I follow that.”At the Brabourne Stadium, Titans needed 71 from the last six overs with Tewatia and David Miller at the crease. The two hit nine fours and three sixes between them, adding 79 off 40 balls, and wrapped up the win with three balls to spare.Until recently, Tewatia has predominantly been a leg-side player, and the Royal Challengers seamers tried to take advantage of that. With the long boundary on the off side, they bowled outside off, but Tewatia caught them by surprise.He steered Mohammed Siraj fine of third man four before creaming Josh Hazlewood through covers. On the last ball of the 19th over, now with the shorter boundary on the off side, he skipped down the track and launched Harshal Patel inside out over extra cover for a six.”I worked on my off-side game before this season,” Tewatia said, “because bowlers had started bowling wide with an off-side field. So I was like if I can find the gaps, I can get boundaries on the off side too. So now I can play on both sides of the wicket.”In the death overs, you have to play premeditated shots but I always have an eye on the field. In the end, you have to play according to the ball. I try if it’s an off stump ball, I play it on the off side. And if it’s on the leg stump, which is my area, I make sure not to miss out.”David Miller and Rahul Tewatia were at it again guiding the chase for Titans•BCCIBut is there a number in Tewatia’s mind he feels confident of chasing?”It’s not like how many I can chase down,” he said. “It’s all about the situation and conditions. On some pitches chasing 60 in five overs is a big ask. But these pitches are much easier to bat on. Here 60 in five overs is quite chaseable, and we have been doing that since the start of the season.”You need to have that belief on yourself that till you are at the crease, you can do it. If you have that belief, your confidence to finish the games automatically gets that extra boost.”Earlier in the tournament too, Tewatia has had crucial partnerships with Miller. In six innings, they have added 236 runs at a rate of 10.48 per over. According to Tewatia, the duo’s bonding, both on and off the field, has played a big part in that.”We have been playing together for quite some time now. We were together at Kings XI [Punjab] for one year and at Rajasthan Royals for two years. Off the field also we have good bonding, we spent a lot of time together. In net sessions, we discuss how we can finish a game. Now that we are doing it in the middle, it feels great.”

Notts batter has rediscovered freedom of youth as he prepares for Test return after six-year absence

Vithushan Ehantharajah28-Nov-2022Ahead of an expected first Test engagement in six years, Ben Duckett has openly talked about the fact that as recently as 12 months ago he thought he would never play the format again. Which, all told, is pretty odd.Go back a year and England were hardly setting world cricket alight, in the midst of run of 11 defeats and just four wins in 20 matches between the start of 2021 and the beginning of the 2022 summer. There were question marks over several in the XI, specifically those occupying Duckett’s preferred position up top. And though he was hardly in electric form for Nottinghamshire – three first-class centuries and a healthy average of 42.2 across the 2020 and 2021 seasons combined – you’d think an engaging talent at a big county, with four caps already to his name, was surely never going to drift completely off the radar.”I guess at times you have no idea where you are in the pecking order,” Duckett tells ESPNcricinfo. “I wasn’t really in the mix, I wasn’t really ever spoken about. I went to Trent Bridge [from Northamptonshire, in 2018] and wasn’t scoring buckets of runs. I was feeling good but we were producing green seamers. I wasn’t knocking the door down.”Related

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Pope embraces senior status after taste of England leadership

Stokes puts prep over precedent as England ease towards Pakistan challenge

He didn’t question his ability to get back into the fray. The 2022 season is a testament to that: 1012 runs at an average of 72.28 with three centuries among eight scores above fifty as the dynamo propelling Nottinghamshire to the Division Two title. And most of all, doing so at a strike rate of 76.09.That last figure is perhaps the most important of all when it comes to what his head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes want from anyone who comes into this set-up. Not only is he in the squad for three upcoming Tests against Pakistan, but he is in line to partner Zak Crawley at the top of the order in the opening match in Rawalpindi.As much as Duckett is in step with the new regime, he acknowledges perhaps he was out of step with the old. So much so that while there is a sense of making up for lost time, the delay of this second coming is regarded as a blessing.”I’ll be honest, at times over the last six years, I haven’t wanted to be involved,” Duckett says. “From the outside, it’s looked tough.” Tough not just on the team, as previous results show, but individuals, too.”I certainly think looking at this format, for example, especially with top order batsmen, it was a bit of a conveyor belt at times: how many openers we went through. I think now, the way this group of players is, I think everyone trusts each other. [Alex] Lees played 10 Tests, ‘Creepy’ [Crawley] deserves time. You’re going to have series where you struggle.”You’re not going to come in as an opener and go hundred, hundred. The more that happens with this group, the more backing they get, the better they’re going to get. That’s the important thing. You have to allow them time to believe in themselves because they believe in themselves. There’s no better time to play Test cricket than right now, under Stokesy, under McCullum.”

“The thought of scoring a Test hundred is as top as it gets. A few years ago I was saying I could tell my grandchildren I played Test cricket. I want to be able to tell them I scored a Test hundred”

A first taste of the new order came when Duckett was called up for the final match of the South Africa series at the end of the summer after Jonny Bairstow’s golfing accident. Over the last fortnight, he has been able to bed in a little more with the camp in Abu Dhabi, which was more bonhomie than back-breaking. He can’t get enough of it.”Just batting in the nets, you don’t get a ‘well done’ or a ‘great shot’ when you play a straight drive down the ground now – it’s when you get the reverse sweep out or you slog-sweep the offie over midwicket. It’s that real enjoyment, showing intent, which is how I play red-ball cricket. I want to score quickly, I want to score at a rate where I’m putting bowlers under pressure and putting the team in a good position.”Aged 28, he is perhaps as ready as he’ll ever be. Wiser than when he first got the nod, at 22, under Trevor Bayliss and Joe Root, more mature than the 23-year-old dropped after pouring a drink over James Anderson during the 2017-18 Ashes winter.Of course, there have been technical tweaks along the way, as is usually the case during this period of a cricketer’s life cycle, especially a batter. However, most of those have now been jettisoned because they did not come from a clear state of mind, or body.Heading into the 2018 summer, he underwent an operation in February on the ring finger of his left hand which had taken a blow at the end of the 2017 season. The initial prognosis was of 12 weeks out but Duckett came back early for Northamptonshire, his county at the time, against Middlesex.”I was nowhere near ready,” he says. “I look back and think ‘why did I come back four weeks early from my hand operation?’ I mean, I know why: it was the first game of the summer, I was trying to get back into the England team, it was Lord’s and I just wanted to play.”Duckett looks set to open with Zak Crawley in Pakistan•ECB ImagesThe knock-on effect was quite severe. While playing through the pain – “there are pictures of me that summer where I’m playing a forward defence and my hand is off the bat” – his grip on the handle changed. Not noticeably at first, but enough to impact his red- and white-ball game. The latter was most affected, particularly given how bottom-hand dominant he is with the sweeps, reverses and flays on both sides of the wicket.In first-class cricket, however, he was actually ticking along nicely. He averaged 56.28 in the Bob Willis Trophy during the 2020 Covid summer, and found himself leaving a lot outside off stump and “crabbing” a lot through leg. So much so that Paul Franks, Nottinghamshire’s assistant head coach, kept calling him Graeme Smith. And for a moment, Duckett thought, “maybe this is how I play Test cricket again?”Thankfully, he recognised he was veering from his natural game – and thus, dulling his instincts. With no franchise commitments in the winter of 2020-21, he set about some intense remedial work at Trent Bridge to rediscover the original hold he had on the bat. It worked.”Mate, I wouldn’t even be able to tell you the different ways over the last few years,” he replies when asked to chart the degradation of his grip. “The easiest way to put it was how I held a bat for 20 years – after the operation, because I came back four weeks early, I had to find a way to hold the bat just to cope.”I said to Peter Moores and Ant Botha that I want to play around with my grip. I reckon two weeks just focusing on hitting, I found it again. The next stage was making it feel natural again and I think now it does – I pick up the bat and it feels good and I can play the shots I used to play.”Pakistan’s T20 side got a taste of those shots in the T20 series a month or so ago, when Duckett struck 233 runs across seven matches – at 46.60 and a strike rate of 159.58 – all from No. 4. And the Test side will likely get a sight of most, if not all, of them over the following weeks.There’s a temptation, for chronology’s sake, to regard all this as the evolution of Duckett, when really this is more of a reawakening of the old Duckett. A regression to a cricketing norm that is really no regression at all. Especially in this more-relaxed, encouraging environment.Duckett says he has gone back to “see ball, hit ball” with his batting•Alex Davidson/Getty Images”I felt like you can’t do that in Test cricket – play shots and go after the bowlers like I did,” he says. “That’s the way it seemed for a while. It’s the purest game, you’ve got to go and bat all day. If you’re an opener or number three, you’ve got to leave the ball well.”I think it’s only really this summer where I went, ‘nah’. I was facing – I don’t want to say average spinners – but whoever it was, I was facing spin and I thought, ‘I don’t know why I’m blocking him here, why am I not smacking him into the stands?'”That’s what I did very well as a youngster, I used to just take them on. And almost play like I played in the T20 series [in Pakistan], sweep both ways and say ‘you’re going to have to stop bowling and get the seamer back on’. I went through a period of time where I felt like that wasn’t the way to play in that format. And this year I just went, you know what, I’m just going to go back to see ball, hit ball again.”He says if he goes 0 and 8 in his first two innings, he won’t then clutch at the next chance. McCullum and Stokes already have a track record of backing those in possession, which is perhaps why Duckett is open about a milestone on his mind. Having registered a half-century in Bangladesh back in 2016, he is desperate for a full one.”The thought of scoring a Test hundred, for me, is as top as it gets. There’s nothing better than that for me. A few years ago I was saying I could tell my grandchildren I played Test cricket. I want to be able to tell them I scored a Test hundred. Now I’ve got an opportunity to do that.”