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The January transfer window slams shut on Thursday and Arsenal are yet to make a first-team addition to bolster their squad ahead of the second half of the season. Mikel Arteta's side are third in the Premier League and five points behind league leaders Liverpool, as it stands, and could benefit from adding extra quality to their side.

Arsenal's struggles in front of goal

One area in which the Gunners could improve their side is the top end of the pitch, as the four other sides in the top five have all outscored them so far this season. Aston Villa (43), Tottenham Hotspur (44), Liverpool (47), and Manchester City (48) have all scored more than Arsenal (42) in the top-flight after 21 matches.

18 players have scored more goals than the club's top scorer in the division – Bukayo Saka with six – and this suggests that Arteta's squad lacks a reliable and clinical goalscorer, with the previously never-ending links to Ivan Toney fizzling out after his return from suspension.

Victor Osimhen transfer update

Speaking live on RA2 during Domenica Sportiva, as relayed by CalcioNapoli24 (29/01/2024), journalist Ciro Venerato has revealed that the Gunners have a concrete interest in Napoli marksman Victor Osimhen. The reporter stated that the club have made contact and held talks with the Nigeria international's entourage in recent weeks ahead of a potential swoop for the prolific centre-forward.

He also claimed that fellow Premier League side Chelsea have also been in touch with the player's representatives, whilst Real Madrid are also interested in the in-demand attacker, which means that Arsenal would face significant competition to land his signature.

Venerato added that there is a clause in his contract that would allow a team outside of Italy to sign Osimhen for a fee of up to €140m (£119m), which means that there is 'no chance' of him joining another club in the Serie A.

Arsenal could land the lethal scorer that they currently lack by striking a deal to sign the Napoli star, whether that comes this week or in the summer transfer window. He has produced seven goals and two assists in 11 Serie A starts for the Italian side so far this season, and has managed that with an xG (Expected Goals) of 6.67.

This shows that the 25-year-old dynamo has made the most of the chances that his teammates have provided him with, instead of being wasteful in front of goal.

Appearances

32

Sofascore rating

7.20

Expected Goals

21.38

Goals

26

Assists

Four

His current form is far from a flash in the pan as Osimhen, as you can see in the table above, also outperformed his xG throughout the 2022/23 campaign to lead Napoli to the Serie A title. In fact, the Nigeria star ranks within the top 10% of forwards within the Men's Big Five Leagues and European competitions over the last 365 days for non-penalty goals (0.66) per 90, despite only ranking in the top 12% for non-penalty xG (0.58) per 90.

This shows that the "incredibly fast" – as he was once dubbed by scout Jacek Kulig – striker has consistently outperformed his xG for Napoli over a significant period of time.

Therefore, Osimhen has the quality to be a lethal scorer for Arsenal for many years to come and supporters should be excited by the club's active pursuit of his services.

The Arsenal goalkeeper showed poor reflexes as the Three Lions failed to break down the dogged visitors and were haunted by the tiny nation again

Well, this was not the send-off England had in mind for their final game in preparation for Euro 2024… Instead of a rousing win to boost their confidence for the tournament, they slumped to another shock defeat against Iceland, who have become their bete noire in international football.

This was not as humiliating as their 2-1 defeat to the tiny nation which knocked them out of Euro 2016 and proved the end of Roy Hodgson's reign, but it left a lot of questions about England's status as self-appointed favourites for the tournament. They were unable to break down their opponents, carving out few chances over the 90 minutes, although Harry Kane should have done far better with his effort inside the area after a lovely cross from Cole Palmer.

Iceland scored with their first foray forward as Aaron Ramsdale was too slow to get down to Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson's first-half strike, and the striker should have added a second after the break. Not even the arrival of Bukayo Saka or Trent Alexander-Arnold from the bench could breathe life into England, who faced smatterings of boos as they left the pitch.

GOAL rates England's players from Wembley Stadium…

Getty ImagesGoalkeeper & Defence

Aaron Ramsdale (4/10):

Beaten at his near post by Thorsteinsson and his kicking was shaky. A missed opportunity to show he could rival Pickford for the No.1 spot.

Kyle Walker (5/10):

As solid as usual apart from when he played Haraldsson onside in the second half and was let off the hook by Thorsteinsson's mis-kick. Didn't contribute much in attack.

John Stones (5/10):

Brought the ball out well but wasn't tight enough on Thorsteinsson. Taken off with a suspected injury at half-time after trying to shake off an early blow to the ankle.

Marc Guehi (7/10):

Swept away the danger well, showing good awareness. Made a brave block on Traustason's shot.

Kieran Trippier (6/10):

Solid enough but let down by being a right-footed player being forced to play at left-back, which slowed down his ability to cross.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesMidfield

Declan Rice (6/10):

Got on the ball a lot but not ambitious enough with his passing.

Kobbie Mainoo (5/10):

Made a few incisive passes but not involved as much as he would have wanted.

Phil Foden (6/10):

The player who came closest to equalising, just missing the far post with a decent effort. His passing was a bit sloppy.

Getty ImagesAttack

Cole Palmer (6/10):

Showed flashes of brilliance but left frustrated by the flat displays of his fellow attackers.

Harry Kane (5/10):

Missed a big chance after a dream cross from Palmer. Played some good passes from deep areas but not effective enough in and around the area.

Anthony Gordon (6/10):

Demonstrated his pace and had lots of promising moments, but repeatedly let down by his final ball.

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Ezri Konsa (5/10):

Another indifferent display.

Bukayo Saka (5/10):

Given little service apart from long balls to chase out wide. His few forays into the area were quickly blocked off.

Ivan Toney (5/10):

Caused a bit of a nuisance of himself in the area but didn't get on the ball enough.

Trent Alexander-Arnold (6/10):

Looked desperate to make things happen and was not far from equalising.

Joe Gomez (5/10):

Caused little danger down the left.

Eberechi Eze (5/10)

Not nearly as tricky as against Bosnia, doing little of note.

Gareth Southgate (5/10):

Played perhaps his strongest available line up bar Ramsdale, but will be concerned about how toothless his side was.

The fast bowler talks about his reinvention as a middle-overs wicket-taker and the pressure of the World Cup roller-coaster

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jul-20191:29

I always believed Jofra would do the job – Plunkett

Liam Plunkett knows all about the ups and down of life as an international cricketer. Having just become a World Cup winner at the age of 34, Plunkett is hopeful that he still has something to give with England, but he admitted that being left out of a squad to tour South Africa in 2016-17 prompted the reinvention that saw him become a key member of the ODI attack.The circumstances of England’s dramatic World Cup success are just beginning to sink in, as Plunkett considered the pressure the squad had been playing under over the last seven weeks. Speaking at a junior cricket session at Dulwich CC, he described the sense the final was destined to go their way even after James Neesham had struck Jofra Archer for six from the second ball of the Super Over.”The whole World Cup, I was sleeping four hours a night, I couldn’t sleep at all, I was on edge,” he said. “I never felt tired during the games, I was just excited. Wanted to do well, probably the last World Cup you play in 50-over competition, what you’ve built up for the last four years as a group. You’re ranked No. 1, you know you have the potential to win the World Cup, but after a couple of defeats it’s now or never.”Deep down inside, I don’t believe it’s written in the stars and stuff, but I had a feeling we could win it. And I still believed that when Jof got hit for six in the last over, still thought he’d run up and bowl wide yorker, wide yorker and game won. Because he’s a cool cat under pressure. It’s starting to sink in now.”Having come in as the No. 1-ranked side and favourites on home soil, England’s tournament threatened to unravel after they lost back-to-back games against Sri Lanka and Australia. That prompted the team to get together and talk about how they were dealing with the stresses of a World Cup – and in Plunkett’s case, admit his frustration at being on the sidelines.”I think people just opened up about how they felt,” he said. “We were put in groups, and I think it was Jos [Buttler] who said ‘This group of players makes me excited to think we’ve changed white-ball cricket, and changed the route for kids watching in England. And the general public, don’t expect but think England can win series, and we’ve changed that the last few years.'”I wasn’t playing, I was dropped at the time and my opinion was ‘I’m frustrated, inside I’m pissed off a little it because I’m not playing. I feel like I can help win games. I’m not saying I should be playing, but everyone was open saying, I am disappointed, I feel I can help the team.’ Everyone understands that, you’re allowed to be, as long as you don’t show it around the boys, or giving negative energy off, trying to slag people off. It’s just because you want to win. It was good to have that chat. Everyone just said, people are nervous, people are excited, people are disappointed.”Liam Plunkett celebrates after dismissing Henry Nicholls•Getty ImagesPlunkett had only played three of England’s first seven games, but subsequently returned against India for the must-win game at Edgbaston, taking 3 for 55. He kept his place for the rest of the tournament, adding another three-for in the final as England lifted the World Cup for the first time.Plunkett has been used to fighting for recognition, however, and admitted that being overlooked during four ODIs in the UAE and then left out of the squad entirely for South Africa three years ago – although he was in the end added as an injury replacement – had been a turning point in his white-ball career. Eoin Morgan, England’s captain, told him not to give up and he went away to develop his options as a middle-overs wicket-taker.”I think at one point, in a T20 series, I thought I’d never play white-ball again. I said, ‘listen, I’m not sure I’ll play, I may as well just retire’, and Morgs was like, ‘Mate, I’d hold on a bit. Just chill out.’ I actually played a week later, it was a T20 series when we beat Pakistan in Dubai, and it came out really nicely, I bowled 90 clicks and got three-for and all of a sudden I’m back in.”I didn’t get picked for the South Africa series and they said, you need to go and work on some skills. So I went away and worked on my cross-seam deliveries, wobble seam, my cutters and stuff. Even if I felt, I can’t bowl as quick as I used to, I still have the deliveries to take wickets and change games. And with the experience you work batsmen out.”With Jos Buttler having revealed that he had spoken to the England psychologist, David Young, about dealing with the possibility of failure at the World Cup, Plunkett said that he had also recognised the importance of dealing with the mental health side of the game.”I’ve always been big into it. I had a panic attack a long time ago, but I never knew what it was. I got anxiety around it and I struggled being in one-on-one situations, travelling on a plane. I’ve always been conscious of that. Maybe three or four years I’ve been in and out of meditating, tried to a bit of yoga, take a breath – I’ve always been aware of that.”They’ve got Youngy, who’s the sports psychologist and you can get help from your county and outside sources. Everything’s available to anyone that needs anything. As much as you go for a net, that’s also available as well.”Liam Plunkett was promoting All Stars Cricket taster sessions. Kids inspired by the World Cup can sign up via allstarscricket.co.uk.

The left-arm spinner’s fifth such haul skittled West Indies A in both innings, while Saha made his case for Test selection in his first-class comeback

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jul-2019
Wriddhiman Saha’s back-to-the-wall 66 in his first first-class game since the Cape Town Test in 2018 and left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem’s ten-wicket haul headlined India A’s six-wicket win over West Indies A in the first four-dayer in North Sound.Nadeem took 5 for 62 in the first innings and followed it up with 5 for 47 in the second, to end with match figures of 10 for 109. It was Nadeem’s fifth haul of ten wickets in a match, and he has now taken five in an innings 18 times in 107 first-class matches.Saha, who had been sidelined from the long format for over a year because of a spate of injuries, walked in to bat when India A were 134 for 4, 94 runs behind West Indies A’s first-innings 228. He rallied the innings with 66 off 167 balls, batting for 207 minutes at a venue where he had contributed handsomely to the senior side’s victory in 2016. Saha had followed his 40 off 88 balls with seven dismissals behind the stumps then.In this game, Saha effected five dismissals to go with his half-century, and made his case to be the first-choice keeper for the senior team ahead of Rishabh Pant, who enjoyed a breakout tour of Australia in 2018-19. After fingerspinners Jomel Warrican and Rahkeem Cornwall made inroads for West Indies A, Saha put on 124 for the sixth wicket with Mumbai allrounder Shivam Dube – the highest partnership in the game. Saha and Dube who polished off India’s chase of 97 before lunch on day four.After opting to bat, West Indies A slid to 97 for 5, but fifties from Jermaine Blackwood and Cornwall propped up the hosts. Blackwood, who usually scores at a brisk clip even in the long format, ground out 53 off 116 balls while Cornwall made 59 off 100 balls. However, Blackwood’s dismissal triggered another collapse as West Indies A went from 195 for 5 to 228 all out. Nadeem wheeled away for 22 overs in the first innings, doing most of the damage.In response, India A had a good start with Priyank Panchal and Abhimanyu Easwaran adding 61 for the first wicket. Warrican and Cornwall then accounted for both the openers and Shubman Gill to bring their team back into the game. KS Bharat, who is also on the radar of the national selectors, was dismissed for a golden duck.Saha and Dube, though, revived the innings and handed India A an 84-run first-innings lead. By the time West Indies A wiped out the deficit, they were two down and middle order, too, folded against Nadeem and Mohammed Siraj. Captain Shamarh Brooks top-scored with 53 off 124 balls, but found little support from the other end as they were bowled out for 180. Barring Brooks, only opener Montcin Hodge passed 25 in West Indies A’s second innings.Warrican and Cornwall once again made early inroads for the hosts, but Easwaran, Vihari and Bharat made small contributions to move India A close to their target before Saha and Dube wrapped up the chase with six wickets to spare.

A member of Ange Postecoglou's squad is already "preparing" to leave Tottenham, with one club said to be very keen on signing him this year and making moves.

Spurs trim Postecoglou's squad of unwanted players

While the January window was a success in terms of bringing in Spurs' desired transfer targets, chairman Daniel Levy and the wider recruitment team also trimmed Postecoglou's squad of players no longer fit for purpose.

Tottenham moving early to sign World Cup "playmaker" for Ange this summer

Plans for later in the year are already underway.

ByEmilio Galantini Feb 8, 2024

Both Eric Dier and Ivan Perisic, whose contracts expire in the summer, were granted loan moves to Bayern Munich and Hajduk Split respectively – as each side are granted the opportunity to sign them permanently on free deals after June 30.

It's a win-win situation, as they seal low-cost moves later in the year while Spurs rid themselves of both Perisic and Dier's wages for the remainder of 2023/2024 – saving the club a considerable amount of money in total.

Alongside Dier and Perisic, Spurs moved to agree loan deals for a plethora of other unwanted players in Postecoglou's squad, not to mention other temporary deals which allow youngsters to accumulate much-needed game time away from N17.

Radu Dragusin

Arrival (permanent)

Lucas Bergvall

Arrival (buy-to-loan-back)

Timo Werner

Arrival (loan)

Djed Spence

Exit (loan)

Ashley Phillips

Exit (loan)

Eric Dier

Exit (loan)

Japhet Tanganga

Exit (loan)

Sergio Reguilon

Exit (loan)

Ivan Perisic

Exit (loan)

Alejo Veliz

Exit (loan)

There has been a major rebuild at Tottenham over the last six months or so, with veteran goalkeeper Hugo Lloris also joining Los Angeles FC and putting an end to 11 years at Spurs just before January.

As Postecoglou, technical director Johan Lange, Chief Football Officer Scott Munn and unofficial advisor Fabio Paratici devise how to reshape the squad further, another player who's been linked with an exit in recent months is midfielder Giovani Lo Celso.

The Argentine, who's started just four Premier League games this season, is a curious case as some of his performances have actually attracted due praise. Lo Celso scored in Tottenham's impressive 3-3 draw away to Man City earlier in the campaign, and has been used fairly often when absences befall Postecoglou's team.

“Gio was very good today, not just with his work rate but you could see his quality on the ball," said Postecoglou after a Lo Celso performance against Bournemouth.

"His passes through and the one through to Sonny was outstanding. We needed him today and we’re going to need him going forward because Sonny goes away now, Biss goes away, Pape goes away. So I thought he was a good contributor.”

However, with both Yves Bissouma and Son Heung-min now back after their international tours of duty, Lo Celso's game time may become very limited again. Indeed, and it is now believed he is excited by the prospect of more game time at a European club.

Lo Celso "preparing to say goodbye" to Tottenham

According to Turkish news outlet Aksam, Lo Celso is "preparing" to leave Tottenham as Super Lig side Galatasaray attempt to strike a deal for him.

The former Real Betis star is said to be "positive" about Galatasaray's advances, and with the Turkish transfer window not closing until tomorrow, they could even take him off Postecoglou's hands fairly quickly.

It will be interesting to see what comes of this, as Lo Celso does provide more strength in depth at Spurs. That being said, he appears to be further behind in the pecking order, so it's little surprise he'd consider a move elsewhere.

Alisha Lehmann has visited the Hollywood Walk of Fame while in LA, with the Swiss stopping by the stars of Marilyn Monroe and Michael Jackson.

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Swiss star enjoying American vacationHas moved from Florida to CaliforniaReady to watch partner in major tournamentInstagramWHAT HAPPENED?

The Aston Villa forward is in California ahead of her boyfriend, Douglas Luiz, forming part of Brazil’s squad at the 2024 Copa America. She has already watched him in friendly action against the USMNT during a stint in Florida that saw time spent in Miami and Orlando.

AdvertisementDID YOU KNOW?

Lehmann has moved from the east coast to the west, with Brazil set to open their Copa quest against Costa Rica at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on June 24. Prior to attending that game, opportunities to soak up more sun and see the sights are being embraced.

THE GOSSIP

Lehmann has headed out into Los Angeles to visit the famous stars on Hollywood Boulevard, with superstar performers from the worlds of film and entertainment being recognised on a 1.3-mile stretch of road. The stars of legendary actress Monroe and pop icon Jackson held special appeal to Lehmann.

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WHAT NEXT?

It remains to be seen what the rest of the summer holds for Lehmann, as she may yet be on the move in the latest transfer window. There has been talk of the 25-year-old joining partner Luiz in trading life at Aston Villa for that at Italian giants Juventus.

Arsenal look to be back on track following their fifth Premier League win on the bounce away to Burnley.

Mikel Arteta has guided his side out of their festive period slump and right back into this season's title race courtesy of a frontline who now seem well and truly back to their best.

The club have found themselves in this position after a few years of generally clever and successful signings, with the likes of Martin Odegaard, Ben White, and Declan Rice having been solid additions.

However, while the North Londoners have been effective in recent transfer windows, there is one player who joined for free in 2020 who really should've been moved on by now.

An underwhelming loan move

In January 2020, Arteta needed cover at right-back following injuries to Hector Bellerin and Calum Chambers, so instead of spending more than the club would've liked on a pricey permanent deal, he opted to sign Cedric Soares on a six-month loan deal.

The Southampton full-back had been a reliable Premier League defender for a few seasons at that point, and with his contract set to expire in the summer, it made perfect sense to bring him in as cover.

However, in a situation reminiscent of the loan move for Swedish international Kim Kallstrom in 2014, Soares arrived at Arsenal with a knee injury and remained out of action for 41 days, missing 11 games in that period.

He ultimately made his debut for the team in the 32nd game of the season, although he would make just four more appearances for the remainder of the campaign and play a grand total of 250 minutes.

Arsenal decided to sign him on a permanent deal upon the expiration of his loan, anyway, and handed him a four-year contract.

So, was it a value-for-money move?

How much Soares has cost Arsenal

Well, for the 21 weeks that he spent on loan with Arsenal in the second half of the 2019/20 season, he was reportedly on a wage of £65,000-a-week, which would've been paid by the Gunners at a cost of around £1.3m.

Upon signing for the club officially in July 2020, his pay increased to £75,000-a-week, which, when taking into account the 21 weeks he spent on loan at Fulham last season – who paid his wages – means that the Gunners have paid out an additional £13.8m in wages since Soares became a permanent figure.

Per Week

Number of Weeks

Bonus

Total

£65k

21

N/A

£1.3m

£75k

52

£1.3m

£5.2m

£75k

52

£1.3m

£5.2m

£75k

31

£1.3m

£3.6m

£75k

52

£1.3m

£5.2m

£20.5m

However, that's just his wages and Capology has also reported that the former Portuguese international earns another £1.3m a year in bonuses.

Therefore, if you exclude half of his bonus from last season for the time he spent at Craven Cottage and refrain from adding his final bonus for this year, Arsenal have spent around a whopping £17m on Cedric since he joined.

However, once his contract is completed, with his final bonus and 19 weeks of wages paid, he will have cost the Gunners around £20m, and while he has not been dreadful, it would be hard to argue that he's been anything like value for money either.

Now

By the end of his contract

£270k

£317k

£4144

£4875

£8.5m

£10m

£3.4m

£4m

£2.4m

£2.8m

In total, Soares has made just 63 appearances for Arsenal during his four years at the club, which equates to about £270k a game, and unless he plays again before his deal expires in the summer, he'll leave N5 having cost the club about £317k for each appearance, which, for a defender who "scared the life out of" club legend Tony Adams with his performance against Manchester United in 2022, is hardly a great deal.

Arsenal fumbled their own dream homegrown Rice partner for £0

The 21-year-old has been impressing on the continent in recent years.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Feb 19, 2024

Ultimately, the "forgotten" full-back, as described by journalist Paul Brown, will not make it into the list of the ten worst signings in Arsenal history – he'd have to do something spectacular for that – but for the money the Gunners spent over the four years, it is hard to say he's been anything other than disappointing.

Spain could be fined for playing 16-year-old wonderkid Lamine Yamal against Albania at Euro 2024, with German labour rules at risk of being broken.

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Youngster breaking more recordsStarring on international stageAt risk of breaking labour lawsWHAT HAPPENED?

The Barcelona starlet has started both of La Roja’s games at the tournament so far, with more records being broken in the process. Yamal is not due to turn 17 until July 13 – the day before this summer’s European Championship final is set to take place.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

He will have a key role to play in trying to get Spain to that showpiece, but may end up breaking a few rules along the way. German law dictates that young people under the age of 18 cannot work past 8pm on any given day. That legislation is relaxed slightly when it come to athletes, who can do their job until 11pm.

DID YOU KNOW?

Spain’s clash with Albania is due to get underway at 9pm local time, which will push Yamal close to the 11pm curfew. Labour laws also take into account everything that happens at the end of a working day – press duty, signing autographs etc – so Yamal could end up landing the Spanish FA with a €30,000 fine.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT?

German news outlet reports that Spain are confident of avoiding any sporting punishment for fielding Yamal, but they may be stung financially. Luis de la Fuente does have the option of resting Yamal, with La Roja already safely through to the last 16 of Euro 2024 after taking maximum points from their opening two games.

Allrounder bats through day for unbeaten 150 as Derbyshire wilt in face of Division Two leaders

ECB Reporters Network11-Sep-2019
Since marking his Championship debut in 2018 with a half-century at The Oval against a rampant Surrey, Lancashire have struggled to know quite what to do with the prodigious talents of Bolton-born allrounder Josh Bohannon.Well wonder no more. Moved up and down the batting order throughout this season, 22-year-old Bohannon entered the stage late on the first day at the fall of the Red Rose’s first wicket and was still there around the same time 24 hours later, having compiled his debut first-class century and put his county in pole position to beat Derbyshire and claim promotion back to county cricket’s top flight. Three was indeed the magic number.Bohannon’s brilliant knock dominated a day during which Derbyshire’s lacklustre efforts with the ball yielded just a single wicket as they meekly conceded a first-innings lead with none of the fight their skipper Billy Godleman had shown in making a battling century on the first day at Emirates Old Trafford.Early morning rain gave the visitors a helping hand in taking time out of the game, but once play resumed at 1.40pm, Derbyshire needed their bowlers to step up too. That they comprehensively failed to do so was in no small part down to Bohannon, who alongside opener Keaton Jennings, made steady progress throughout the afternoon session.Jennings, who has enjoyed another stuttering season in his quest to return to the England fold, was the only wicket to fall before tea, when he misjudged a sharply spinning delivery from Hamidullah Qadri and watched in horror as his off stump was knocked back. Jennings had made 38 and played his part in a second-wicket partnership of 63 with Bohannon, who reached his fifty from 107 balls with seven fours and one six as the Derbyshire attack was slowly ground down during an increasingly chastening session.Progress had been slow previously, but the introduction of Liam Livingstone provoked a change in pace with both players on the attack as the fifty partnership was reached in 45 balls with Bohannon unbeaten on 69 at tea alongside Livingstone on 22 not out.While Livingstone was typically belligerent after the break, it was Bohannon who became the main aggressor as the pair reached their century partnership from 120 balls before the latter reached his own personal milestone from 173 balls with 15 fours, two sixes and one giant leap of celebration.If Derbyshire had any fight left it was soon distinguished as Bohannon and Livingstone sailed past the 150 partnership for the third wicket with Lancashire’s former captain bringing up his own half-century from 68 balls before the pair posted the county’s highest partnership this season when they reached 153.Barely a half-chance had presented itself all day and considering Derbyshire endured a scruffy afternoon in the field, summed up the unfortunate Ravi Rampaul performing a painful splits at mid-off at one point, it’s doubtful they would have even have taken it.At around 5.30pm, Lancashire moved into the lead, knowing that matching or bettering Glamorgan’s result would mean promotion. With Livingston unbeaten on 70, a lead of 25 with eight wickets in hand and the third-wicket partnership totalling 194, it feels like an inevitability. For Bohannon, who reached his 150 just before the close, it would be an achievement to savour.

Tamim Iqbal was also missing from the squad after he was granted a leave by the BCB earlier this month

Mohammad Isam30-Aug-2019Bangladesh have left out Mustafizur Rahman from the 15-man squad that will take on Afghanistan in the one-off Test in Chattogram starting next Thursday. Apart from Mustafizur, Tamim Iqbal and Khaled Ahmed were also missing from the squad; Tamim was granted leave by the BCB earlier this month for recovery while Khaled recently underwent a knee surgery.Compared to the squad that last played Tests in March this year against New Zealand, Bangladesh brought back captain Shakib Al Hasan, Taskin Ahmed and Mosaddek Hossain. Shakib and Taskin were originally in that squad but had pulled out due to last-minute injuries. Mosaddek returned to the longer version after 18 months, having last played a Test against Sri Lanka in February last year.Mosaddek becomes another spin-bowling option in a squad heavy with four frontline spinners, like their last home Test series against Afghanistan. They also retained pace bowlers Abu Jayed and Ebadot Hossain, who somewhat impressed in New Zealand, along with Taskin, who had been included in the New Zealand tour earlier in the year following a decent BPL campaign.Taskin last played a first-class match in December last year, and his last Test in October 2017, in South Africa. Jayed bowled well in New Zealand without much luck while Ebadot showed signs of good pace too.But there’s some concern in the top order as the selectors didn’t pick an opener in place of Tamim. Soumya Sarkar is likely to open with Shadman Islam, although he batted in the middle order in New Zealand.Squad for one-off Test: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Soumya Sarkar, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, Mahmudullah, Mohammad Mithun, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Abu Jayed, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain