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Sadia Iqbal and Kainat Imtiaz, meanwhile, are back after recovering from their respective injuries

Umar Farooq18-May-2022

Pakistan have named two uncapped players – wicketkeeper-batter Gull Feroza and legspinner Tuba Hassan – in their T20I squad for the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka. Feroza is also part of the squad for the ODI series, which also includes uncapped batter Sadaf Shamas. Left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal, meanwhile, has been recalled to both squads after recovering from an injury.Kainat Imtiaz, the pacer who had been ruled out of the Women’s World Cup earlier this year with a thumb injury, is back in the fold for the T20Is after clearing a fitness test in Karachi. Bismah Maroof will lead the side. She returns to the side after participating in the recently concluded FairBreak Invitational T20 event alongside Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig and Fatima Sana. The trio has now joined the team.The 26 probables for the national women’s team have been training since May 8 at the Hanif Mohammad High-Performance Centre at the National Stadium in Karachi. The pre-series camp is set to conclude today with the selectors having narrowed down the squad to 15. Left-arm-spinner Nashra Sandhu, who missed the camp due to a shoulder injury, will have to wait for her return.The series is set to start with a three-match T20I series from May 24 with the final game to be played on May 28. The ODIs that are a part of the ICC Women’s Championship will be played on June 1, 3, and 5. All games will be played at Karachi’s Southend Club.Related

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“I want to wish the two squads the very best for the series, we have provided opportunities to Gull Feroza, Sadaf Shamas and Tuba Hassan on the basis of their future potential and skills,” Chief Selector Asmavia Iqbal said. “The three youngsters took part in the emerging camp last December and made an impression with their talent. I am pleased to see their progress and we all feel it is now the right time to give them exposure in international cricket.”We had sent Tuba as a reserve player in the recently concluded ODI World Cup, she continues to make good progress; and since spin bowling has been a traditional strength of ours, I feel she can make a good contribution in our bowling strategy. Gull Feroza has also made good progress, she has an aggressive style of play and can provide us with brisk starts in both T20Is and ODIs which are now a big requirement at the international stage. Sadaf, besides her batting skills, provides us a bowling option too with her medium-pace skills.”T20I squad:Bismah Maroof (capt), Aiman Anwer, Aliya Riaz, Anam Amin, Ayesha Naseem, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Gull Feroza (wk), Iram Javed, Kainat Imtiaz, Muneeba Ali (wk), Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadia Iqbal and Tuba Hassan.ODI squad:Bismah Maroof (captain), Aiman Anwer, Aliya Riaz, Anam Amin, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Ghulam Fatima, Gull Feroza, Muneeba Ali (wk), Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Ameen, and Sidra Nawaz (wk).

Ben Duckett falls five runs shy of second straight ton as Nottinghamshire’s lead looks fragile

ECB Reporters Network16-Apr-2022

Glamorgan will enter the final day of their LV= Insurance County Championship match against Nottinghamshire feeling that they are in a strong position to complete their first victory in a red-ball match at Trent Bridge since 1998.Building on a lead of 77 on first innings, in which Timm van der Gugten’s 62 helped the last two wickets add 131 runs, they had Nottinghamshire 224 for for 8 at the close, the Netherlands international seam bowler having also starred with the ball by taking four wickets for 51.All four came after tea, starting with that of key man Ben Duckett, who fell five runs short of posting a second century in the match. No other Nottinghamshire batsman has made more than 30 and a lead of 147 looks a fragile one.Nottinghamshire, pre-season favourites to win promotion from Division Two, pulled off an improbable win over Sussex at Hove last week. Another would seem unlikely, although ninth-wicket pair Brett Hutton and Joey Evison – batting with a runner because of a sore toe – added 37 in the last 14 overs and a few more on the final morning could still set up an intriguing finish.Related

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Having let a good position slip on Friday, Nottinghamshire needed another seven overs on the third morning to take the last Glamorgan wicket, van der Gugten’s measured contribution with the bat ending when he miscued Liam Patterson-White’s left-arm spin and was caught at long-off.Michael Hogan, 19 not out, then demonstrated that his prowess with the ball does not wane even in his 41st year by removing both Nottinghamshire openers without scoring.He surprised Haseeb Hameed in his second over with a ball that climbed and looped to gully off the shoulder of the bat and, in his next over, banged another in short that Ben Slater went to pull but could only glove through to the wicketkeeper.Duckett and Joe Clarke were briefly on top as Nottinghamshire recovered from two down for one run to 45 for 2 at lunch. But Hogan and van der Gugten were able to dry up the runs immediately after lunch and Michael Neser returned to have Clarke caught behind, pushing at one that found a thin edge.Having survived a half-chance to midwicket on 32, Duckett went on the attack, going to his half-century with a lovely shot through the offside for four off Neser, following up with three legside boundaries against Andrew Salter’s off-spin.He lost another partner as skipper Steven Mullaney fell to a dab outside off stump that lacked conviction and turned into another catch for Chris Cooke.By tea, Duckett had moved into the 90s, but with Nottinghamshire still only 81 in front, Glamorgan knew that his early removal in the third session could be decisive.In the event, it came only four overs in, as the left-hander, with rare indecisiveness, pushed tentatively at a ball from van der Gugten only for it to leave him just enough to take the edge. David Lloyd took the catch at slip.Van der Gugten, finding some swing with the old ball, claimed his second wicket as Liam Patterson-White was adjudged leg before seeking to work one off his pads, a third as Sam Northeast dived full length to his left to snare Moores at second slip and a fourth as Northeast held one just over the ground to remove James Pattinson.But Hutton and Evison could yet turn the target into a tricky one, although there is a question mark over whether Evison will be able to bowl.

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Fluminense-PI e Santos fizeram um movimentado jogo na chuvosa noite de terça-feira em Teresina, noAlbertão. O time da casa esteve a poucos minutos de uma histórica classificação, após sair na frente com gol de Mario Sérgio, o popular ‘Super Mario’, mas o Peixe conseguiu um gol salvador com Ricardo Goulart, o que fez a disputa ser decidida nos pênaltis. Melhor para o Santos, que fechou em 5 a 4 e cravou sua classificação na terceira fase da competição. Clique no player acima e veja os melhores momentos do jogo.

>>>ATUAÇÕES: Ricardo Goulart chama a responsa em classificação sofrida do Santos na Copa do Brasil

RelacionadasSantosBustos fala em jogo equilibrado, mas vê justiça na classificação do Santos na Copa do BrasilSantos09/03/2022SantosGoulart elogia rival e diz que está se dedicando ao máximo no SantosSantos09/03/2022SantosATUAÇÕES: Ricardo Goulart chama a responsa em classificação sofrida do Santos na Copa do BrasilSantos09/03/2022

Only scoring once in November so far, and tasting defeat three times on the spin, Aston Villa will return from the international break desperate to turn around their recent poor form.

Unai Emery’s men do have a winnable game with Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace up next in the Premier League to start correcting their stumbling form, before a reunion with Douglas Luiz then takes place in the Champions League versus Juventus at Villa Park.

Regardless of any notable fall-off in performances, Morgan Rogers would have entered into the break ecstatic having been called up to the England senior side, with there now being even more news coming out of the Villans camp that will further heighten his good mood.

Rogers' new contract at Villa

Of course, that news is the fact Rogers has penned a new bumper deal to stay put in the West Midlands until 2030, with the 22-year-old quickly becoming a fan’s favourite for those at Villa Park with his entertaining displays from attacking midfield.

This campaign in total, the former Manchester City youth product turned consistent first-teamer at Villa has amassed three goals and three assists from 15 clashes, as the slick number 27 continues to very much justify the £15m forked out to win his services from Middlesbrough.

That deal to bring him into the building from Michael Carrick’s side only took place this January, with clear fears in the air that Rogers could be poached by another club if a new substantial contract wasn’t ironed out.

Gifted brief cameos in the Nations League for the Three Lions too, with Rogers impressively notching up two key passes from just 24 minutes of action versus Greece, he could be sold on for far more than that £15m one day if he continues his impressive rise.

He isn’t the only one who could win the Villans some possible big bucks further down the line, with this attack-minded full-back having the potential to be a superstar at Villa Park.

Ian Maatsen's potential at Villa

Ian Maatsen hasn’t blown away anyone yet since making the move to the West Midlands this summer, which could be a concern considering he cost a hefty £37.5m to get in through the door.

However, patience will be key here, as the expansive ace regularly stunned supporters of Burnley and Borussia Dortmund when he was on loan at both clubs with his aggressive, front-foot approach for a defender.

In total for both the Clarets and the Bundesliga giants, the Dutchman would accumulate seven goals and eight assists from 65 total contests, which are stunning numbers for a left-back to have next to their name.

As a result, Maatsen has even been labelled as “special” by football journalist Tom Overend, with Chelsea no doubt sad to see the promising 22-year-old depart this summer, knowing there’s plenty more in his tank as he develops and grows.

He’s even been compared to Man City star Josko Gvardiol in the way he operates as a gung-ho full-back when looking at their respective statistics, as per FBref.

Amazingly, the Croat already has eight strikes and three assists next to his name playing for Pep Guardiola’s titans, with Maatsen perhaps having the potential to explode into life for Villa in a similar manner.

Stat – per 90 mins

Maatsen

Gvardiol

Shot-creating actions

2.36

2.33

Passes attempted

65.77

80.47

Pass completion %

85.3%

90.4%

Progressive passes

5.17

7.34

Progressive carries

2.59

2.56

Successful take-ons

0.91

0.96

Touches in attacking penalty area

1.86

2.67

Progressive passes received

3.84

4.05

Stats by FBref

He’s not a million miles off his “incredible” counterpart – as he was once described by Guardiola – in certain areas of their respective attacking games, with Maatsen actually bettering Gvardiol in terms of shot-creating actions per 90 minutes on top of progressive carries.

Indeed, much more should come from the Dutchman in a Villa shirt, even though he is yet to pick up a single goal or assist.

Gvardiol didn’t just fall into Man City’s lap by chance either, costing the reigning top-flight champions £77m, with the hope that one day Maatsen can also be worth that same mega amount as he comes into his own for the Villans.

Watch out Rogers: Aston Villa target £50m "prodigy" who's like Bellingham

One signing could provide Aston Villa star Morgan Rogers with competition

1 ByJoe Nuttall Nov 19, 2024

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has responded to pundit Jamie Carragher's comments regarding Erling Haaland not playing against Real Madrid.

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Haaland sat out Real Madrid clashCarragher questioned supposed injuryGuardiola slams commentsFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

On Wednesday evening, Guardiola made the crucial call to leave Haaland on the bench for Manchester City as they tried to come back from a 3-2 deficit against Real Madrid in their Champions League knockout round play-off. The Norwegian had come off injured in the Premier League champions' massive win against Newcastle United days earlier and the Norwegian's availability was in doubt for the trip to Santiago Bernabeu, and former Liverpool star and CBS Sports pundit Carragher had questions over this turn of events.

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Despite losing 6-3 on aggregate, Haaland remained on the bench and Carragher questioned whether Haaland had requested Guardiola to remain on the bench, suggesting he was intimidated by Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger. Carragher probed whether the 24-year-old striker was actually injured or if he had 'Rudiger-itis'. Guardiola has now slammed these comments.

AFPWHAT GUARDIOLA SAID

When questioned about Carragher's comments, Guardiola said: "Oh, God, did he say that? Jamie Carragher said that? Oh God.

"Don't laugh. I don't know why he makes that suspicious, you know that? Did he say that Haaland didn't want to play the game? It's not nice – and it's not true. He (Haaland) was crazy to play the game. He had a problem with his knee and he could not play."

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WHAT NEXT FOR HAALAND?

The Norwegian striker's fitness remains in question as City shift their focus towards their Premier League clash against Liverpool at the Etihad on Sunday.

One pundit has made a fresh claim about another free agent that Leeds United are interested in, according to a new report.

The Whites are enduring an injury nightmare at this moment in time and that has already seen them enter the free agent market to sign Josuha Guilavogui, who penned Elland Road terms last week.

Related 23/24 Player of the Season: Farke may have next Rodon in Leeds academy star

The Leeds academy central defender appears to be a great prospect at Thorp Arch.

Posts ByDan Emery Oct 29, 2024 Leeds United news

The Yorkshire side have seen players such as Max Wober, Ethan Ampadu, Ilia Gruev and Daniel James be sidelined this season, and the list is continuing to grow. Summer signing Largie Ramazani is the latest player to suffer an injury and is now expected to miss several games.

In fact, manager Daniel Farke has revealed that he expects to be without Ramazani for at least a month. The 23-year-old has been in good form in the Championship, scoring three goals in eight games, but he was forced off against Watford last week, and he could now be out until December.

Meanwhile, there has been talk about a possible return to Elland Road for midfielder Kalvin Phillips in recent weeks. The Englishman is currently on loan at Ipswich Town for the season, and manager Kieran McKenna has hit back at those claims that they are looking to end the loan early, as “proper, proper nonsense.”

However, the transfer stories don’t stop there for Leeds, as a pundit is now making a claim that they could sign another free agent.

Pundit makes Leeds claim on another free agent after Guilavogui

Speaking to Football League World, pundit Carlton Palmer has tipped Leeds to make a move for free agent Ryan Kent. The Yorkshire side are said to have an interest in Kent, and given that he is now a free agent after his contract at Fenerbahce was terminated, they could be looking to make a move.

Kent failed to appear in any matchday squad for the Turkish side since Jose Mourinho’s arrival as manager, and it was agreed that he could end his time at the club. Palmer believes Kent being a free agent could be a good pick-up for Leeds and Farke, who are in need of players given the recent injuries they have suffered and they “are apparently interested.”

Palmer said: “It’s been reported that Leyton Orient are weighing up a shock move for Ryan Kent on a free transfer. Listen, it’s one of those. Sometimes a player goes somewhere, and things don’t work out. Kent joined Turkish club Fenerbahçe, but the 27-year-old winger, who was on a four-year contract, had his contract ripped up.

“He can now train and play for any football club in January. It just didn’t work out for him; he struggled for game time there, and it was an unhappy spell for him in Turkey, playing just once this season in a Champions League qualifying game.

Ryan Kent’s Fenerbahce stats

Apps

19

Goals

1

Assists

2

“He joined on a free from Rangers in 2023 and fell out of favour quickly. Apparently, Leeds United are a club looking at Kent. I’ve always said you’ve got to be careful with free transfers and players who are out of contract; they’re out of contract for a reason. But I think with Kent, this may well be a good move for Leeds – certainly an ambitious move for Leyton Orient.

“Apparently there’s some interest from Steven Gerrard’s Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq; he’s out of contract, so that makes him very appealing, and he’s still got some time at 27. Sometimes you go to some places, and it doesn’t work out. It’s an ambitious move for Leyton Orient; apparently Leeds are interested, and I think other clubs will be looking very, very closely.”

The Alabama native impressed for both club and country in 2024, while also earning a big-money move to France

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• Tessmann named U.S. Soccer Young Player of Year
• Helped see Venezia promoted to Serie A
• Earned move to Lyon in France

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  U.S. men's national team midfielder Tanner Tessmann has been named U.S. Soccer's Young Male Player of the Year, the federation announced Wednesday. The Alabama native helped see Italian side Venezia promoted to Serie A at the end of the 2023-24 season, then proceeded to captain the USMNT at the Paris Olympic Games, followed by earning a big-money move to France with Olympique Lyon.

  Of the five finalists, Tessmann earned 70 percent of the total vote, with Gianluca Busio coming in second.

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  Tessmann had a strong performance for the USMNT in France at the Olympics, leading them to the quarterfinals – their best finish since the 2000 games. He also featured in camps under new USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino in both October and November.

  The 23-year-old midfielder started both legs against Jamaica in the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals, helping see the U.S. advance to the semifinals of the competition this March.

  For Venezia, he started 35 of 38 matches, helping the club get promoted to Serie A from Serie B. With Lyon, since his August transfer, he played in 14 games for the club during the first half of the 2024-25 season.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Tessmann was an FC Dallas homegrown prior to his move abroad to Venezia.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR TESSMANN?

  Lyon play in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday, taking on Belgian side Genk. Three points will see them automatically clinch a top-8 spot, while a loss or a draw could see them drop into the knockout round playoffs.

West Bromwich Albion supporters would have been worrying going into this new Championship season that there wasn’t enough firepower in the striker positions at the club, with Brandon Thomas-Asante jumping ship to Coventry City weakening the Baggies up top.

Now, however, those concerns have very much dissipated with the emergence of Josh Maja as the main leading man in attack for Carlos Corberan’s table toppers, after he managed to bounce back from an injury-ravaged first campaign at the Hawthorns.

Corberan will just hope those injury demons don’t come back to haunt the former Sunderland man moving forward, who was on the scoresheet yet again for the West Midlands side last weekend versus Wayne Rooney’s Plymouth Argyle.

Maja's start to the season

Amazingly, the goal-shy 25-year-old who only picked up one Championship goal from 12 games last campaign now has six to his name this season from as many league clashes, as second-tier defences begin to be scared stiff by the clinical nature of the Baggies number nine.

He only needed 26 touches of the ball against the visitors from Devon to tap home the winner, after new summer recruit Uros Racic put it on a plate for the 5 foot 11 forward to win the tight clash deep into the second 45 minutes.

West Brom will just be delighted that their patient approach with Maja’s injury issues has now paid off, with the promotion hopefuls needing to exercise a similar calmness with striker Daryl Dike soon, who is now back training himself after a long time out in the Hawthorns treatment room.

Whilst Corberan’s men have undoubtedly won with Maja in the here and now, there’s a botched deal from four years ago that will still bother those at the Baggies, with the striker in question – that was once very much on West Brom’s radar – now worth an unbelievable £40m.

When West Brom missed out on Ivan Toney

In conversation on talkSPORT earlier this year, Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony and Luke Dowling revealed how West Brom turned down the chance to sign then EFL sharp shooter Ivan Toney in 2020 for just £10m, with Brighton and Hove Albion and Celtic also interested at the time.

Dowling said: “We did have a conversation with them about the great Ivan Toney which in hindsight you look back. You’d look back now and say you’d pay it all day long [£10m fee].

“What we thought at the time, we’d just got promoted to the Premier League and we weren’t brave enough to take a player from League One. Is he going to score us the goals to keep us in the league? It wasn’t the right time.”

He more than showed that he could handle the pressures of the top-flight when moving onto Brentford though, after a goal laden few campaigns in Cambridgeshire, with a mightily impressive 72 strikes notched up in total for the Bees across 141 games.

Whilst Toney managed to improve more and more under Thomas Frank’s guidance – with the Brentford manager even labelling the senior England international as “remarkable” last year when discussing his rise with the club – West Brom struggled in the Premier League to be a threat in attack after missing out on the deadly finisher and were relegated straight back to the second tier at the end of the 2020/21 campaign.

1. Matheus Pereira

10

2. Callum Robinson

5

3. Kyle Bartley

3

4. Mbaye Diange

3

5. Semi Ajayi

2

West Brom would only manage to have one player on their roster hit double digits during that term in the form of Baggies favourite Matheus Pereira, as Toney fired home a ridiculous 33 goals in the division below to further add insult to injury.

One that got away

The transfers that nearly happened but never did. This article is part of Football FanCast's One That Got Away series.

The former Peterborough man would then go on to be a wanted figure by the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea among other Premier League suitors, with his predicted price tag once coming in at an eye-watering £70m according to reports.

He would leave eventually depart West London for a lesser £40m, as Saudi Arabia came calling in the form of Al-Ahli this summer, where Toney continues to show off his clinical prowess in-front of goal with a brace on his debut in the Middle East.

West Brom would have loved to have been one club Toney played for on the way to his path to stardom, but they just weren’t prepared to gamble.

Of course, not every punt does pay off like this, as Corberan’s side now just focus on winning promotion back to the Premier League, to then perhaps be more risky in the transfer market.

West Brom could axe star who earns more than Maja & Johnston combined

Carlos Corberan could look to move on this forgotten West Bromwich Albion man soon.

ByKelan Sarson Sep 23, 2024

Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam has said that he was always confident of taking “bold decisions” as he trusted his bowlers to take all 10 West Indies wickets in the second innings.Pakistan set the hosts 329 in the second Test at Sabina Park, giving themselves a possible 130 overs to bowl West Indies out. Azam said that with Pakistan already trailing in the series, they had few options but to go for an early declaration after taking a lead of 152 in the first innings.”The plan was always to ask them to bat for 20-25 overs on the fourth day, and it eventually worked out well for us,” he said. “Take the lead up to 330-340, and then to make them play in whatever time remains on the fourth day. We had to level the series and so had to take some bold decisions for that – which we did take – and things worked out well for us.”Related

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Azam also credited his bowlers for setting up the win, and singled out left-arm quick Shaheen Afridi, who picked up a career-best match haul of 10 for 94, including his best figures of 6 for 51 in the first innings.”He is really young, and the way he is grooming himself and performing for Pakistan shows he is such a good talent,” Azam said. “He is only improving day-by-day, and learning as well. He is leading the bowling too, and it was fun watching him bowl. He believes in himself, and each time he is given the ball, he bowls with the same pace and aggression. And so this is really helpful for me as captain.”Pakistan also picked left-arm spinner Nauman Ali in the XI, who was the only frontline spinner from either side unlike in the first Test, when Jomel Warrican was in the West Indies XI. Although Ali bowled only one over in the first innings, he was eventually used for 22 overs in the second, on the way getting the big wickets of Jermaine Blackwood, Kraigg Brathwaite and Jason Holder.”Our bowlers were outstanding today, and I should only give them all the credit,” Azam said. “Even Nauman Ali bowled well. It was a fifth-day pitch, and the way he bowled and got some turn, as well as those three of his wickets, proved really crucial for us in the end.”We thought bowlers might some help from the pitch on the final day. We had seen the wicket in the morning, and also observed it after lunch today. Hence, we thought it would turn, and help the spinners. There were patches there as well, so we planned to bowl Nauman, which turned out to be helpful for us.”Azam also highlighted senior batter Fawad Alam for his contributions, with Alam getting to his fifth Test century – and his fourth since his comeback last year – rescuing Pakistan from 2 for 3 in the first innings, and ending unbeaten on 124 in a total of 302.”Like I have always said, he is an experienced player. He has so many runs in first-class [cricket] and has such a brilliant record there,” Azam said. “And so the way he handled the pressure, built his innings and contributed for the team as per the conditions was outstanding. All our batsmen must also learn from him.”Azam’s counterpart Brathwaite, however, was left asking for more from his batters, with West Indies folding for 150 and 219 in the match.”We were behind the eight-ball from the start,” Brathwaite said. “Consistently is obviously what we need. Test cricket is never easy. All the guys technically can bat, it’s just the mindset. The quicker we get to that strong mentality [the better]. First 30 balls is always the toughest period and finding out ways through those periods is key for us.”Brathwaite did draw out some positives from the series, most notable of which was the performance of fast bowler Jayden Seales, who picked up a five-for in the first Test, thus becoming the youngest from his country to that feat in Test cricket.”He is a star in the making, you see him getting over 250 wickets,” Brathwaite said of the 19-year-old. “I know he has a big future ahead. With the experience in our bowling group guiding – Kemar, [and] Jason – he for sure is a future star.”Brathwaite also credited the Pakistan bowlers and Alam for their show, and felt that falling behind by a big margin in the first innings ultimately made the difference.”As a bowling unit they were very consistent,” he said. “Batting wise, their guys who got in in the first innings went big. Obviously, Fawad getting a hundred is something for me and the batters to take – when we do get that start, we make it count.”I still think it’s a positive since we didn’t lose the series. I thought the team did a superb job in the first Test. We let ourselves down in the first innings of this match. Kudos to the bowlers again for leading the way. We made some strides in the series, but in this Test, the first innings really let us down.”

Sri Lanka’s men’s cricketers have agreed to tour England uncontracted, after Sri Lanka Cricket committed to revealing specifics about the player evaluations that form the basis of the board’s new proposed contract scheme.The cricketers have long contended that the methodology by which they had been placed in various payment categories under the proposed scheme were not transparent. Now, SLC appears to have formally promised to make player evaluation marks available to each player when they return from the tour of England.”This is the transparency the players had been requesting from the outset,” the players’ lawyer Nishan Premathiratne told ESPNcricinfo. “They will play this tour without signing any contract. They have signed a voluntary declaration, but there’s nothing there about player remuneration. They have always been committed to playing for Sri Lanka.”However, ESPNcricinfo understands that the technical committee that devised the new contracts scheme had never been opposed to making the players’ individual evaluations available to each player. This is the first time SLC is officially committing to sharing that information with the players, though.Related

• Dinesh Chandimal seeks clarity from Sri Lanka Cricket about international future

• Sri Lanka players agree contracts for India series, Angelo Mathews only one to decline offer

• So what's going on with Sri Lankan cricket?

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• New SLC player contracts: Lower base salaries

The technical committee is also unmoved on another of the players’ requests: that performance and fitness be the only two categories on which they are evaluated for contracts purposes. As per the proposed new scheme, performance and fitness are the two main criteria, together comprising 70% of each player’s overall mark (50% for performance, 20% for fitness). But the proposed scheme also accords 10% each for leadership, professionalism, and future potential/adaptability.In any case, the larger issue around contracts remains unsolved – the players likely to make further requests even after they receive their individual evaluation scores upon returning from England. For now, though, a crisis has been averted, and Sri Lanka will fulfil their tour obligations.Sri Lanka are due to leave for the tour on Tuesday evening. Following quarantine, they will play three T20 internationals and three ODIs against England – the first of those games scheduled for June 23.