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He has less than 100 runs in four Ashes innings – bringing to mind a number of England captains whose batting suffered when in charge

Rob Smyth29-Jul-2013For such a habitual success, Alastair Cook knows a fair bit about failure. Low scores are an inescapable fact of life for English openers and Cook has had plenty of leanish spells on his way to making 7607 Test runs and 25 hundreds. He is in one right now, with 83 runs in four Ashes innings. An average of 20.75 is slightly down on the 225 he was averaging after two Tests of the last Ashes.It would surprise nobody if Cook made a huge score in the next Test at Old Trafford. He had an even worse start to the summit series against India in 2011, with scores of 12, 1, 2 and 5 in the first two Tests. In the next match he hit 294 at Edgbaston.His Ashes mirabilis in 2010-11 followed the toughest summer of his career. However, the slightly absent-minded nature of a couple of his dismissals against Australia have induced the nagging and persuasive thought that Cook might just be starting to follow the pattern of England captains in the last 20 years: a spectacular start containing some of the best batting of their career – Cook was superhuman in India last year – followed by a slow decline as the incessant and varied demands of leadership take their toll.Cook’s overall average as captain is an outstanding 60.60. His average as full-time captain – since Andrew Strauss’ resignation – is 52.60, four above his career average, but in 2013 it is has dropped to 37.69. Perhaps the novelty is wearing off. Or perhaps it is just a common-or-garden lean spell. Cook does things differently to most batsmen, and he will feel a far more relevant precedent is that of his mentor Graham Gooch, the last Englishman to have extended success as a batsman-captain. Gooch’s improvement was extraordinary. When he took over in 1989-90, his Test average was 37.71. Over the next four years he averaged 58.72 before resigning the captaincy.Gooch was an exception, rule-proving or otherwise. For most batsmen, particularly in England in modern times, captaincy has been the grimmest reaper. Its all-consuming nature compromises a batsman’s relationship with his best friend: concentration. In , Graeme Smith – who has generally dealt extremely well with the twin demands – jokes he would like to lobby the ICC to extend the innings break from 10 to 15 minutes, such is the difficulty for captain-openers to leave the wider concerns at the pavilion gate. “You have so much eating away at you, so much still going on in your head.”

For most batsmen, particularly in England in modern times, captaincy has been the grimmest reaper. Its all-consuming nature compromises a batsman’s relationship with his best friend: concentration

Perhaps the best example of how the captaincy can affect a batsman came during the Ashes Test at Headingley in 2009. England’s build-up on the first day was frenzied. They had to stand outside their hotel for almost an hour in the early hours because of a fire alarm; Matt Prior suffered a back spasm during a game of football, which led to the toss being put back ten minutes; there was an ongoing discussion as to whether Andrew Flintoff would be fit; the masseur, Mark Saxby, was smacked on the head during Australia’s cricket practice. All this with the game due to start in less than half an hour. It was chaos, and Andrew Strauss could not focus on the smaller picture when he went out to bat. He should have been out lbw to the first ball of the match, and soon after, edged a loose drive to slip. The seam wasn’t the only thing scrambled that morning.That was an almost absurdly extreme example of how captaincy can impact, but it is always there. In , Steve Waugh wrote that captaincy “seemed to soak my spare time like a sponge”. In that sense it is almost an extreme form of sporting parenthood – extreme as you have effectively given birth to decuplets. A captain must look after his ten team-mates, with their myriad concerns.Then there are the toss, the media demands, the small talk with the mascots, the small talk with the Queen, the politics, the knowledge that your resting face and body language are being scrutinised at every moment, the angle of the man at fine leg. And that’s only about 0.1% of the demands. What starts as exciting and novel eventually becomes mundane and trying; it’s human nature. Changing your first nappy is one of the most memorable experiences of your life; changing the 2001st nappy is not. Then there is the pressure, the seeds of which are planted the day you take over and which grow over time.There is a school of thought the middle should be the safest place for a captain: his equivalent of a parent’s downtime, or a 22-yard sanctuary in which you can just bat, but it doesn’t always work like that. Cook is better at compartmentalising than most, and seems to be a master of clearing extraneous thoughts, but captaincy will challenge that in ways he could not have imagined. In modern sport everything is done to protect the body. It is much more difficult to take care of the mind; to keep it clear and sharp.That has been a recurring theme of England captains in the last 20 years. Most found the captaincy empowering rather than embattling at first. Mike Atherton, Alec Stewart and Strauss all had their most productive series leading the side in their first series as captain; Nasser Hussain’s average of 61.66 in his first full series was the best of his tenure. Even short-lived or stand-in captains such as Kevin Pietersen and Marcus Trescothick scored centuries in their first and second games as captain respectively, while Flintoff batted superbly in India in 2005-06.Most recent England captains, Andrew Strauss among them, have had productive times with the bat soon after taking charge, before the job began to take a toll•Getty ImagesThe exception is Michael Vaughan – but then he had no scope for improvement. When he assumed the captaincy he had scored seven hundreds in his last 12 Tests and had an average of 50.98. Vaughan was never the same player again; in 51 matches as captain he hit nine hundreds and averaged 36.02, a dreadfully unbecoming record for a man with a touch of genius. He resigned in tears, just like Hussain. It is inevitable that most captaincy careers will end in failure, and equally inevitable that most will struggle to maintain their output in the middle.”At the start of my captaincy, not being able to spend time on my own game was a benefit because it prevented me from being too insular,” wrote Atherton in . “Initially, also, the added responsibility and pressure were empowering and resulted in better personal performances. Eventually, however, as pressure increased over time, my ability to cope clearly decreased. Now, I needed extra time to put my game in order and the captaincy was a hindrance. I was not the only captain whose game suffered.”His mate Hussain’s certainly did. In his second year of captaincy Hussain could barely buy a run – he averaged 13.55 in a 12-Test period – and was increasingly obsessed with the idea that he was not worth his place. One night in Sri Lanka, when he could not sleep, he went to the hotel bar on his own at 1am.”The barman was just packing up,” he wrote in , “but I managed to persuade to him to hang on, ordered myself a rum and Coke, lit up a fag [even though I don’t smoke], and sat there, going through everything.” This is what the captaincy came to do a man. A century in the next Test changed Hussain’s life: he came to terms with it and had a second wind. Others were not so fortunate.The problem does seem to afflict England more than most. In the last 20 years, England captains batting in the top six average 39.98 – above only New Zealand, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, and 10 runs behind Australia.”I always said I would be the only England captain not to go bald, but after days like today, it might not help that,” joked Cook after the Trent Bridge Test. England need him to buck the trend of recent history. These are relatively insecure times for a batting line-up that was hitting 500 in its sleep only a couple of years ago. England cannot afford to lose their best batsman.

A month after a horrific accident where a ball smashed into his face, Keegan Meth is back playing first-class cricket

Firdose Moonda02-Oct-2011When Shingi Masakadza bowled a bouncer to Keegan Meth during his comeback match in Mutare last weekend, Meth said he saw his “life flash in front of me, again”. For a split second, he wondered what would happen if the ball hit him, particularly if it found its way to his mouth, still raw after what happened the last time he had played cricket. Luckily it didn’t.Meth ducked underneath and continued batting, and his aggressive 43 off 37 balls took the Matabeleland Tuskers to what turned out to be a match-winning total of 240. On the face of it, there was nothing remarkable about his innings, besides its swiftness, but it was a brave knock and a way for Meth to show that his determination is as strong as over.It’s been just over a month since he had four teeth knocked out when he was struck during his follow-through while bowling to Bangladesh’s Nasir Hossain, in the fifth ODI, in Bulawayo. The match was Meth’s first appearance in the five-match series and the ball that injured him was the last delivery of his spell. Meth said he “just didn’t see the ball” when it came back at him, and he learned the hard way what the consequences of taking one’s eye off the game, even for a moment, could be.The injury caused him to drip so much blood onto the pitch, the umpires had to ask for him to be removed from the field as a matter of urgency. It took 18 stitches to sew him back together that afternoon but Meth was back at the ground in time to bat, and would have, had he not been advised to stay off the park. For five days after that, he could not eat, and he lost nine kilograms as a result. His team-mates did not expect to see him back on the field for at least three months.The thought of spending that much time out of the game was unthinkable for Meth, who was back in training two weeks after the incident. He had to wear a mask over his face, and had gaping holes in the front of his mouth, where his teeth should have been, but he wanted to practise. Having missed out on selection for Zimbabwe’s comeback Test against Bangladesh, and their subsequent match against Pakistan through injury, he did not want to fall further out of favour come the New Zealand visit in October.”I’m not injured to the extent that I can’t play,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “When I played in that limited-overs match, it was just great to be on the field and even better to know that I hadn’t lost form from some time out of the game.” Meth was named Man of the Match in that game, after taking 4 for 21 in addition to his quickfire stint at the crease. It was an achievement worth much more to him than simply the numbers.His tenacity is enough to get him noticed but it is Meth’s form, in fact, that should see him earn a national recall. As one of the country’s premier allrounders, he is competing primarily with Elton Chigumbura but also against the likes of Malcolm Waller for a place in the starting XI. Meth was the second highest wicket-taker in last season’s first-class competition, and he has been identified as one of the players who will help shape Zimbabwe’s cricketing future.He played in a first-class match in Mutare last week, where his unbeaten 41 was the highest second-innings score by a Tuskers batsman. He took 1 for 40 in the first innings and 3 for 19 in the second. Importantly, he has yet to show any fear of being in close contact with a hard ball. “When it comes to fielding, I am a little tentative, especially because it’s quite a bumpy outfield here, but I’m not scared,” he said. He patrolled the boundary edge and did not get too close in – a sign of genuine concern from his captain, Gavin Ewing.But it’s not the consideration Meth appreciates. “Nobody is treating me any differently and I wouldn’t want them to,” he said. “It’s actually been quite nice that some of my Tuskers team-mates have started making some humorous comments.” The most common, and expected, ones have not been in particularly good taste and have included references to Meth considering a move to Cape Town. A popular caricature of Cape Coloureds shows them as having no front teeth.Meth’s healing process is not complete. In about a week, he will have titanium screws put in his mouth, where his teeth once were, and once those have settled, he will go under the knife a third time to have replacement teeth put on. He is not sure how long he will wait before that can happen. “But I am going to be playing as much cricket as I can in between,” he said.

The England selectors named two 16-man squads for the forthcoming ODI and Test series in New Zealand and a 13-man England Lions squad to tour India

Andrew Miller at Lord's04-Jan-2008

Matt Prior: unceremoniously axed by England © Getty Images
When England’s last Test squad was announced back in October, Andrew Strauss was the man with the very justifiable grievance. Back then he was dropped without ceremony just 12 months after being overlooked as England’s captain, but today, he was back in the set-up, and absorbed into the starting line-up as if he had never been away. The big talking point was the player headed in the opposite direction, Matt Prior, whose fall from grace has been as swift and dramatic as any England player in living memory.In the summer Prior was a debut centurion against West Indies, but now he has drifted so far off the radar the selectors weren’t even able to locate him ahead of the squad announcement. Instead it was left to David Graveney – in what might be his final act as chairman of England’s selectors – to apologise live on television for the breakdown in communication. It later transpired that Prior has changed his mobile number and has been lying low in America since the end of the Sri Lanka tour, but as a commentary on his fortunes it was strangely apt.After all, Prior entered the England set-up as the golden boy – the protégé of the new coach, Peter Moores, and a beacon of the new post-Fletcher era. Now he’s out on his ear, officially labelled as suspect after missing at least nine regulation catches and two stumpings in his ten-Test career. To add insult to injury, the man who has leapfrogged him is the same man with whom he vied for opportunities under Moores’ supervision at Sussex. Maybe a squad featuring both of Moores’ men, Prior and Tim Ambrose, would have smacked too much of favouritism. Instead the overriding flavour is fudge.Not since the rookie James Foster and Warren Hegg (two Tests) travelled to India in 2001-02 has an England squad featured two such untested keepers, but to have two uncapped players in competition rather takes the biscuit. “Since Alec Stewart finished his career, wicketkeeping has been under the microscope, more so than any other position,” said Graveney. “The player involved does feel the pressure, but with Prior, there are areas of his wicketkeeping he needs to work at, and that’s the reason why we’ve made that decision.”Prior will now retreat to Loughborough for further one-on-one work with Moores, and though Graveney insisted he would have his chance to come again, it’s hard to see when and where it will come. If England’s dramatic rotation policy is taken to its logical extreme, then the older, more mature Foster must surely come into the reckoning sooner rather than later, and then there’s Phil Mustard, who has been given a free rein as a one-day opener and keeper, but – rather perversely – will not be considered for the Test role unless he produces an extraordinary run of form in February’s five-match ODI series.Maybe a squad featuring both of Moores’ men, Prior and Tim Ambrose, would have smacked too much of favouritism. Instead the overriding flavour is fudgeThe situation is all the more bizarre when you consider the weight of wicketkeeping experience in the England coaching set-up. There’s Moores himself of course, Sussex’s stalwart of the 1990s, plus Andy Flower, who would give Adam Gilchrist a run for his money as the greatest batsman-keeper of all time. Even the analyst, Mark Garaway, kept in four first-class matches for Hampshire in the late 1990s. Perhaps Prior has been the victim of too much conflicting advice – that might explain why not even his agent, none other than Alec Stewart, was able to rustle up his mobile number.Either way, one can only wish Ambrose good luck as he takes his first sup from the poisoned chalice. For all that he made a career-best 251 not out in a tough season for Warwickshire last summer, he has managed just four first-class centuries in his seven-year career, which is 11 fewer than Prior, and seven fewer even than the maligned Chris Read. Although Ryan Sidebottom applied some unforeseen rigidity to the tail in Sri Lanka, such tenacity cannot be guaranteed on New Zealand’s zippier wickets. The onus is on England’s No. 7 to provide big runs, and regardless of his errors behind the stumps, Prior’s ten-Test average of 40.14 suggests he was increasingly proficient in front of them.In fact, Prior was third in England’s batting averages in Sri Lanka, behind Alastair Cook and Ian Bell, but that said as much about the failings of the top-order as his relative successes. “The message to all the players, is this is the time to deliver,” said Graveney. “We didn’t score enough hundreds, we didn’t bowl too many people out, and we also dropped too many chances in comparison with the opposition. We go into the New Zealand series having lost two in a row. They are not going to collapse in front of us, so the challenge is there and we have to raise our performance to get back to winning ways.”Back into the side, therefore, comes Strauss, who memorably made a century on debut against New Zealand when the teams last competed in 2004. He is already in Hamilton, preparing for his domestic stint with the state team, Northern Knights, and no doubt refreshed from a rare extended break from international cricket. His recall will bolster England’s slip cordon as well as their batting line-up, although in both cases it’s not yet clear quite where he will slot into the side. Cook and Michael Vaughan were qualified successes as an opening partnership, while in the catching stakes, his safe hands would probably be best employed at first slip rather than third – if nothing else, to act as a reassuring sidekick for a nervous new keeper.In other news, Monty Panesar has been quietly dropped from the one-day squad – rightly so, for the formulae and flatter lines required in that form of the game seemed to dull his impact and impair his attacking instincts in the Tests in Sri Lanka – while Ravi Bopara slips quietly out of the Test squad after four dismissals and no runs in his last ten balls of the series. But no change has been as seismic as the shift away from Prior. There’s not been a lot of sympathy doing the rounds since his form began to fall away in the India series last summer, but no-one predicted his demise would be quite so swift or ruthless. Maybe Moores has more of an edge than he’s been given credit for this year. If this is how he treats his friends, then woe betide his enemies.England Test squad Michael Vaughan (capt), Tim Ambrose (wk), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Phil Mustard, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Andrew Strauss, Graeme Swann.England ODI squad Paul Collingwood (capt), Tim Ambrose (wk), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Phil Mustard, Kevin Pietersen, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Chris Tremlett, Luke Wright.England Lions squad Michael Yardy (capt), Kabir Ali, Michael Carberry, Steven Davies, Joe Denly, James Hildreth, Ed Joyce, Graham Onions, Monty Panesar, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Alan Richardson, Jonathan Trott.

Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min could be set to leave the club this summer after winning the Europa League, with Saudi Arabian clubs hovering.

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Spurs captain may leave this summerLifted first trophy during his time at the clubSaudi clubs keen on South Korea internationalFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Per the Telegraph, Son could be set to leave Spurs this summer as the club aim to reshape their squad following their Europa League triumph. The South Korea international signed a contract extension during the season, taking his deal up until next summer, which means that the club can demand a fee for him in this transfer window.

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Son has been Spurs captain since 2023 and won his first senior trophy with the club last month as he lifted the Europa League. Manager Ange Postecoglou's future is also in doubt, and there may be an exit for Cristian Romero too, with Atletico Madrid interested. Losing their manager, captain, and vice-captain in one summer would potentially leave a rather large leadership void at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

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Son joined the club from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015 for just £22 million ($30m). Since, he has gone on to make 454 appearances for the club, scoring 173 goals and registering 101 assists.

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Spurs must make a decision over Postecoglou's future before addressing the potential of their captain departing.

Pep Guardiola has been told that Manchester City players have grown “bored of him”, with a “new voice” now being sought at the Etihad Stadium.

Catalan coach approaching decade of serviceHas smashed records with trophy triumphsPlayers & management looking flat in 2025-26Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Demanding Catalan coach Guardiola has been calling shots on the blue half of Manchester since 2016. He has committed to a contract that will take him beyond a decade of loyal service with the Premier League giants.

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The record books have been rewritten across a memorable spell in English football, with six top-flight titles being captured alongside Champions League and domestic cup triumphs. City did, however, fail to land major silverware last season.

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A slow start to the current campaign has delivered two defeats and just three points, as City sit 13th in the table, and questions are being asked of whether Guardiola remains the right man to guide the Blues forward – on the back of more elaborate spending in the transfer market.

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GettyWHAT KEYS SAID

Former Sky Sports host and current beIN Sports presenter Richard Keys has said in his blog: “I told you the problems at City run far deeper than just missing Rodri. He was back Sunday of course [against Brighton], yet City still looked miles off. They’re going to. One player wasn’t going to turn them into title challengers. And him missing last season wasn’t the reason they were so poor.

“There’s plenty of time for Guardiola to sort things out, but I’ll say again – I’m not sure he can – or will. I think he looks tired. I think he looks bored. And I think his players might just be bored of him. They perhaps want to hear a new voice around the place.

“Look at Jack Grealish. He spent the last two years of his time at City both frustrated and out of love with football. That’s by his own admission. Why? Ask yourself that question. He looks refreshed, vibrant and a lot like his old self at Everton. Good luck to him. It’s great to see him smiling again.

“Working with someone else, hearing a different voice and being challenged in a fresh way must have all played a part in his resurgence. I think he’ll help Everton land a European place.”

Rajat Patidar (55), Cameron Green (46), and the spin duo of Swapnil Singh (2-28) and Karn Sharma (2-36) played their part in the big win

Andrew Fidel Fernando09-May-20241:22

‘Impressive how often Kohli used the sweep against spinners’

Virat Kohli’s breakneck 92 off 47, plus his spectacular direct hit to run Shashank Singh out, were the basis of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB’s) fourth consecutive win, this time against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Dharamsala. The result kept RCB’s hopes of making the IPL 2024 playoffs alive, if only just, but knocked PBKS out of contention.RCB batted first and blasted their way to 241 for 7, with Rajat Patidar crashing 55 off 23, and Cameron Green hitting 46 off 27. Both had productive partnerships with Kohli, worth 76 off 32 and 92 off 46 respectively.In response, PBKS started strong, but RCB’s spinners – Karn Sharma and Swapnil Singh – were effective through the early middle overs, dismissing Rilee Rossouw in the ninth, Jitesh Sharma in the 11th, and Liam Livingstone in the 12th.With the required rate now high above the run rate, it was curtains for PBKS. They ended 181 all out after 17 overs.

I mean
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— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) May 9, 2024