It will precede Australia’s three-T20I series against Pakistan starting October 24
ESPNcricinfo staff18-Oct-2018UAE will play their first T20I against Australia, by hosting them in Abu Dhabi on October 22. It precedes Australia’s three-T20I series against Pakistan in the UAE that starts from October 24.The game was handed T20I status after both Cricket Australia and the Pakistan Cricket Board sanctioned the move. It will start at 2pm local time at the Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium (Oval 1) ground, with free entry to the ground.”We are delighted to be in a position to announce this fixture and we are extremely grateful to the ICC for their support in accrediting the Abu Dhabi Oval for T20 international cricket at such short notice,” Zayed Abbas, Emirates Cricket Board spokesperson said. “Our thanks also goes out to to Cricket Australia for approaching this opportunity so positively, and especially to the Pakistan Cricket Board for permitting this match during their home tour in the UAE with Australia. It has been an incredible effort from all parties to bring this match to fruition.”Waleed Bukhatir, UAE chief selector, said: “This match will provide an exceptionally good test for our players. We need them to be put under pressure and for them to focus more intently by being challenged by higher ranked, leading teams within our game. To do so it is vitally important for the Full member countries, and the ICC to support and provide the Associates with such opportunities.”UAE have played 26 T20 internationals with nine wins and 17 losses. Their last T20I assignment was against PNG at home in April 2017, when they swept the series 3-0.
Handscomb is set to take Carey’s place behind the stumps, while Renshaw is on track for selection after having missed the first match with a hamstring strain
Varun Shetty06-Sep-2018Australia A vice-captain Alex Carey is set to miss the second unofficial Test against India A starting Saturday as he has returned home for the birth of his child. Peter Handscomb will keep wicket in his place. Meanwhile, opening batsman Matt Renshaw is on track for selection for the second Test, having missed the first with a hamstring strain.Carey had an impressive outing behind the stumps during the first match in Bengaluru, and although his two catches in the game don’t tell that story, Carey was reliable on a low and slow pitch, particularly as it deteriorated on the last day.With Australia likely to rotate the squad around to bring in two spinners – Ashton Agar and Mitchell Swepson – Handscomb’s job as stand-in keeper will be particularly challenging. While Handscomb is no stranger to wicketkeeping, having done the job for Victoria, Melbourne Stars and Yorkshire before, it has largely been restricted to limited-overs cricket.According to ESPNcricinfo’s records, Handscomb last started a first-class match as designated wicketkeeper in December 2015, when he kept for Victoria in Melbourne during the Sheffield Shield.Handscomb has kept in India before, in an ODI in Indore last year, but the rigours of a four-day game will be markedly different.It will also add extra pressure in what will be Handscomb’s final push for a spot in the senior Test squad for their series against Pakistan in the UAE next month. Handscomb’s last first-class century came in February this year, but in the seven innings since – including two in the Johannesburg Test against South Africa – Handscomb has managed to get into double-figures on only one occasion. Handscomb had a poor quadrangular series last month as well, managing only four runs in two innings, and is on something of a remodelling phase, having admitted that bowlers had worked him out.Handscomb still remains a strong contender for Test selection, particularly for his skills against spin. With the additional responsibility of wicketkeeping, he could be pushed down the order, presumably to No. 6 where his said skills will be more prominently on display. It could allow him both time and freedom to get himself in, unlike in Bengaluru where in both innings at No. 4, he was at the centre of middle-order collapses. Should that be the case, Queensland’s Marnus Labuschagne could be pushed up the order. Labuschagne, who had stayed back with the Test squad for the first Test as a reserve for the injured Renshaw, will now remain with the squad for the second game as well.Australia A squad for the second Test: Usman Khawaja, Matthew Renshaw, Kurtis Patterson, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Peter Handscomb (wk), Marnus Labuschagne, Ashton Agar, Brendan Doggett, Jon Holland, Michael Neser, Joel Paris, Mitchell Swepson, Chris Tremain
Sixteen years after he steered India to the historic tri-series final win at Lord’s, the former India batsman called time on his playing career
ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jul-2018Mohammad Kaif, 37, retired from all forms of cricket on Friday, 16 years after he steered India to one of their most memorable victories in ODI history – beating England by chasing down 325 at Lord’s in the NatWest Series final.Kaif ended a two-decade long first-class career that began in 1997-98. He played 13 Tests and 125 ODIs in an international career that spanned six years (2000-2006), his last game for India coming more than 12 years ago, during the tour of South Africa in 2006. He also captained India to their first Under-19 World Cup win, in 2000.”I am retiring today as it’s been 16 years since the historic Natwest Trophy win in which I was glad to play my part, and I’d like to remember that as I bow out,” he wrote in a letter to the BCCI. “I am grateful for the opportunity to have worn the India cap, and to have gone on to play 125 ODIs and 13 Tests for India, and for several other moments.”A domestic stalwart who played for three sides, Kaif’s association with his home state Uttar Pradesh was the most prominent, having led them to a maiden Ranji Trophy title by beating Bengal in 2005-06. Renowned for being a gritty batsman and an excellent fielder, Kaif finished with 10,229 runs in 186 first-class matches at an average of 38.60.Kaif quit Uttar Pradesh in 2014-15 and moved to Andhra as a professional for two seasons. In 2016-17, he led new entrants Chhattisgarh in their maiden Ranji Trophy season. He continued to play a key role as a member of their support staff the following season, even though his appearances as a player were sporadic.Post-retirement, Kaif hoped to be involved in a coaching or mentoring role. He was assistant coach of the now erstwhile Gujarat Lions in the IPL and wants to play a similar role in domestic cricket. Apart from short-term coaching assignments, Kaif is also keen to pursue media interests and hindi cricket commentary.
Leach felt soreness during the Royal London Cup match against Warwickshire last week and subsequent scans revealed the injury
ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jun-2018Worcestershire captain Joe Leach has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after being diagnosed with a stress fracture of the back.Leach felt soreness during the Royal London Cup match against Warwickshire last week and subsequent scans revealed the injury.”Joe felt some soreness during the Warwickshire game and an MRI scan on Friday showed inflammation around the l5 region of the lumbar spine,” Worcestershire head of sports science and medicine, Ben Davies, said”He then had a CT scan on Tuesday which unfortunately showed a stress fracture in that region and he will miss the rest of the season. It will now be a case of resting and then rehab for Joe with the aim of making a complete recovery.”Leach has taken almost 200 Championship wickets between 2015 and 2017 and this season had claimed 23 wickets at 22.08 but Worcestershire will now have to cope without their attack leader. They face a relegation battle in the Championship and the T20 Blast starts next month alongside their quest to reach a Lord’s final in Royal London.Head coach Kevin Sharp said: “It is a big blow and Joe is gutted and quite upset at the minute. He has played such a major part for the club over the last few years.”It is life. Bowling is a very physical job. Joe has had very few injuries but very rarely do bowlers go through their career without some sort of injury.”We now have to regroup a bit. We have lost our captain for the rest of the season and we will have a think about things and sort that out over the next week.”The lads will also be gutted but there is a great spirit in this squad and they will want to do it for Joe on Sunday.”It means there will be an opening for others that might not have had an opportunity. We want the lads to stand up and be counted – and I’m sure they will.”
New Zealand battled their own nerves, and a domineering onslaught from West Indies’ Kyshona Knight, to claim a hard-earned victory in the first ODI in Lincoln
ESPNcricinfo staff04-Mar-2018 Scorecard0:43
Devine ton sets up NZ women’s one-run win
New Zealand battled their own nerves, and a domineering onslaught from West Indies’ Kyshona Knight , to claim a hard-earned, one-run victory in the first ODI in Lincoln.Sophie Devine’s century had given the hosts 278 to defend. But when offspinner Leigh Kasperek stepped up for the final over, there were only 10 runs in the bank. The action began with two nervy singles. Then came Tremayne Smartt’s dismissal which lifted New Zealand’s chances. Kyshona thrust West Indies ahead with a timely boundary. But she couldn’t haul in the remaining five runs that the visitors still needed off the final two deliveries.Until those final few moments, West Indies had been well placed, led by Stafanie Taylor’s 90 off 93 balls. She struck eight fours and a six and played a key role in two fifty-run partnerships that ushered the score to 152 for 3 in the 35th over.New Zealand hit back through 17-year old legspinner Amelia Kerr as she took a spectacular diving catch to dismiss the dangerous Deandra Dottin and bowled Britney Cooper in consecutive overs. When Taylor herself fell, West Indies were 215 for 6 in the 43rd over.Kyshona took charge of the chase subsequently as she plundered three fours and a six in her 44 off 31 balls. West Indies nudged ever closer to their target until Kerr and Kasperek conceded a combined nine runs off the 47th an 48th overs to bring the equation down to 22 off 12. A costly 11-run penultimate over from Sophie Devine, however, tipped the scales back in the visitors’ favour but not quite enough as it turned out.Earlier, West Indies’ decision to field backfired as three solid stands worth 76, 60 and 63 took New Zealand to 199 for 3 inside 35 overs. Devine was the major contributor as her third ODI century – which featured eight fours and two sixes – took New Zealand towards a comfortable position even though she was one of only two batsmen who could manage a score above 27.West Indies’ spinners Taylor (3 for 54), Afy Fletcher (3 for 55) and Hayley Matthews (2 for 68) picked up eight wickets between them. But in a game of small margins, an unbeaten tenth-wicket stand of 27 off 19 between Kasperek and Huddleston ensured New Zealand had just enough on the board.New Zealand now have a 1-0 lead in the three-match series which is part of the second cycle of the Women’s ODI championship.
The Championship-winning Lancashire coach is always upbeat, full of ideas, forever analysing, in love with the nitty gritty of his job
Tanya Aldred09-May-2012It is May Day, and a bitterly cold wind chases through the Old Trafford building site. Peter Moores waits politely – zipped and fleeced from chin to ankle. He smiles, and for a moment looks disarmingly like Dolph Lundgren. He offers tea or coffee, and a choice of toast – white or brown – then disappears off to make them.Moores is entering his fourth season as Lancashire coach. Last year was the golden one – the long-cherished Championship-winning dream. This season has been more morose, after three defeats in four games Lancashire wallow around the bottom of the table: the archetypal difficult second novel.And things could be about to become even more interesting. Lancashire have just announced the signing of Ajmal Shahzad from over the Pennines. Shahzad is a maverick who has resisted Yorkshire’s straitjacket of bowling discipline. He is undeniably talented but believes he is at his best when allowed to become a freer thinker, to act on impulse and to innovate more. That he has chosen to come to Lancashire suggests that Moores has offered him more freedom. And that, in turn, suggests that Moores is not as two-dimensional and inflexible a coach as his detractors have claimed. What an irresistible challenge it must be to get Shahzad bowling back up to international standard.Moores know about challenges. He has filled up a tankard full of pressure in the 14 years since he swapped playing for coaching at Sussex. He coached them to their first Championship in 2003. He was put in charge of the England Academy after Rod Marsh left. And in April 2007, with Duncan Fletcher gone, he was appointed England coach, the pinnacle of his professional life. The results were mixed, and less than two years after being appointed he and captain Kevin Pietersen lost their jobs over an soap-opera of claims and leaks and an “irretrievable breakdown” in their relationship. Five weeks later, he was Lancashire’s new head coach.Coaching is what he loves: the nitty-gritty analysis, the planning, the constant thinking, the scritch scratch scritch of winkling out what makes people tick. You can see the cogs whirring as he gets going. “There are times when I have to get up at night and get something really important down,” he says, “though that doesn’t happen as much now. I’m not some kind of nutty professor with pieces of paper everywhere, but I do write down a lot.”It is often drivel but when I think something is really important, I write that in a journal. If you’re watching a Test and then you see a player who has played brilliantly in practice fail in the middle, you might write down, ‘The most important thing is being able to handle the pressure in the main arena, and the focus has to be to help players do that.’ The fact of writing down helps you remember.”I have always liked talking about the game. I came through during the old-fashioned era, when you went to the pub. Norman Gifford, my coach at Sussex, was great to talk cricket to. I learnt a great deal from Phil Carrick. I went on an MCC tour with him and we did laps of the boundary together. I’m an avid reader… if I’m asking players to grow and develop, it would be pretty hypocritical if I’m not doing it myself.”There must be a terrible temptation to process the family. Do the kids – Natalie and Thomas – object? “All the time. They say, ‘Dad, don’t say anything, I know.'”
“It probably helped that I got this job so soon afterwards. When something happens quick like that, you’re in and then you’re out. You look back and think, ‘Where’s that come from?'”Moores on losing the England coach’s job in 2009
Yet who lies beneath the coaching talk and the tracksuit? Moores is kind and courteous and far too clever to give much away. But every now and then the curtain lifts and there is a glimpse of the private man, the one singing along to U2 songs in his hotel room as he strums his acoustic guitar.Moores is the seventh of eight children, a scrapper fighting his corner with a brother just above and a brother just below, all brought up in a house near the big Catholic church on Chester Road in Macclesfield.”The whole big family thing definitely influenced me a lot, in that you have to learn to share,” he says. “The values that were in our family, I’ve carried through. My mum is absolutely straight and was always saying, ‘Be honest, be fair’, and that was how she operated. Those things help you a lot, because, are sports teams like families? Yeah, they are to a degree. They’re different because in a team you have a collective goal of winning something and in families, sometimes, the collective goal is to get through. But there are definitely times when you have to give a bit for the collective – that could be giving up the front room because your sister has got exams coming, or you want to go this way but the team wants to go the other.”Little Peter was always competitive – at primary school he was frog-marched into the debating society and at senior school he was a good rugby player as well as an outstanding cricketer. He was made of stern stuff – he was the first team wicketkeeper as an Under-14, and to the great amusement of the older boys, used to appeal in a squeaky voice that hadn’t broken yet. By the lower sixth, he was a leader of men.The family lives in a village outside Loughborough. When Moores got the Lancashire job, he and his wife, Karen, decided that they didn’t want to move the kids again, so they bought a place in Knutsford, where he stays when based at Old Trafford.In what little he has of spare time, he is teaching himself the guitar, “inspired by the legend that is Mark Chilton”. He takes it on away trips as a bit of a distraction, but never, ever, plays to the dressing room.”I was originally going to learn the year Natalie was born. I had a bit of a strum. She was born a month later, I put it in the corner and that was that. Last February Karen bought me another one. I sing along badly, quietly, in a dark room. Natalie loves singing, and if she hears me she slaughters me.”There is only one blot on his career – the England thing. But Moores is sanguine about the experience. “It has never consumed me – it probably helped that I got this job so soon afterwards. When something happens quick like that, you’re in and then you’re out. You look back and think, ‘Where’s that come from?'”He has had the satisfaction of seeing the men he brought in, Andy Flower, Mushtaq Ahmed, amongst others, succeed. “To see all that fit together has been nice. The changes we made have come through and have worked. We turned the academy into a performance centre.”You look back and think you’d have done that a bit different, but the intentions were right. Would you have jiggled things to maybe change how you got the message across? A bit, yeah, you probably would. I was trying to drive things on, but like most things, you need time. I’m disappointed, but you crack on. And in many ways I’m a bit of a fatalist. I’ve really loved my coaching here; it has been some of the most enjoyable I’ve had in all my time.”And then he is off, ideas charging wildly around his head. He’s determinedly upbeat, even as Lancashire falter. Never criticising, always analysing, fronting up for the press conferences that no one else wants to do.Moores was one of many men to find the England job a poisoned chalice, but he was the first to coach two different teams to the County Championship. If there is a lesson in that, he’ll have found it.
Transformer of the day
The National Stadium pitch finally answered the call. It could have something to do with the overcast conditions and the breeze today, because till now the bowlers have found that getting any assistance here is akin to milking stones. Today, though, Abdur Rauf and Rao Iftikhar Anjum got consistent sideways movement to go with the genuine bounce they got in the match against India. Even the spinners managed to surprise with the bounce they managed to extract.Shot of the day … followed by ball of the day
Dismissive to the core, Mohammad Ashraful stood still, and deposited a gentle length ball from Rauf to the midwicket fence with a violent slash. It was not the aesthetics, but the condescending attitude towards the ball that made the shot stand out. But the next ball was the Revenge of Rauf, a nasty lifter directed at Ashraful’s body. Ashraful tried to fend it off, but all he could do was edge it to point. Remember the saying – it takes only one good ball.Comeback of the day
After being hit for three boundaries in his first over by Alok Kapali, Anjum made the comeback of our times. His next nine overs featured six maidens, and went for just seven runs. Only Phil Simmons has bowled more maidens in a 10-over spell than Anjum’s six; Simmons’s figures in the legendary spell against Pakistan in Sydney were 10-8-3-4.
تحدث رونالد أراوخو مدافع برشلونة، بعد فوز فريقه على بارباسترو في بطولة كأس ملك إسبانيا لموسم 2024/25.
وحل برشلونة ضيفًا على بارباسترو، ضمن منافسات دور الـ32 من كأس ملك إسبانيا، وقد حقق الفوز برباعية دون رد.
وقال أراوخو: “سعداء بالفوز، وأيضًا على المستوى الشخصي لأنني عدت للعب 90 دقيقة، سعيد لأن الفريق قدم مباراة جيدة، المباريات الأولى دائمًا تكون صعبة، دخلنا المباراة بتركيز عالٍ وتمكنا من حسمها”.
وأضاف في تصريحاته التي نشرتها صحيفة “ماركا” الإسبانية: “المدرب كان يسألني إذا كنت أشعر بحالة جيدة، ومن المهم أن أضيف دقائق لعب”.
اقرأ أيضًا | أراوخو يوضح مستجدات محادثات تجديد عقده مع برشلونة
وواصل أراوخو: “كنا نعلم أن التوقف (أيام العطلة) سيكون مفيدًا لنا، الآن علينا الاستمرار في العمل”.
وعن زميله توني فرنانديز، أفاد: “توني لديه موهبة رائعة، ما تفعله أكاديمية لا ماسيا مذهل، وهو أمر مهم جدًا للنادي”.
وبشأن أزمة تسجيل زميليه داني أولمو وباو فيكتور، بعد رفض رابطة الليجا والاتحاد الإسباني، أتم: “شعور سيء من أجل زملائنا، نأمل أن يتمكن النادي من حل موضوع أولمو وباو فيكتور، نأمل أن يتمكنا من حل الأمر، بينما نحن نفكر الآن في كأس السوبر الإسباني”.
You can imagine the frustration Ruben Amorim has had to endure during his time as Manchester United manager, so far being unable to change the club’s fortunes in the Premier League.
However, there’s only so much the 40-year-old can change, especially given the lack of talent he’s had at his disposal in numerous key areas of the pitch at Old Trafford.
He’s gone from having Viktor Gyokeres as his main talisman to having to rely on Rasmus Hojlund, with the Dane scoring 44 fewer goals across all competitions in 2024/25.
Rasmus Hojlund
Undoubtedly, Amorim must wish he could rekindle such a partnership with the Swede this summer, but the 27-year-old has already expressed his desire to join fellow top-flight side Arsenal this window.
As a result, he’s had to turn his attention to other forwards to try and improve the situation, with numerous names on their radar between now and the end of the summer market.
The latest on United’s hunt for a new striker this summer
Moise Kean is a player who’s firmly been on their radar over the last couple of weeks, but United will have to act quickly to secure a deal with the Italian’s £44m release clause expiring on Tuesday.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is another talent who’s in their sights, after the Englishman was released at the end of his contract with Everton, leading to a pay-as-you-play contract with the Red Devils being mooted.
Everton's DominicCalvert-Lewincelebrates scoring their first goal
However, he’s not the only Premier League talisman on their shortlist this summer, with Aston Villa star Ollie Watkins a player they’re monitoring, according to CaughtOffside.
Their report claims that Amorim has made the 29-year-old his top target for the current window, after he registered 17 goals and 14 assists across all competitions in 2024/25.
It also states that Unai Emery’s side don’t want to part ways with their top goalscorer during the off-season, demanding a fee in the region of £60m if he were to depart the Villans.
Why United’s £60m target would be Amorim’s answer to Haaland
Striker Erling Haaland has been a player who has been a constant nuisance to countless backlines in the Premier League, undoubtedly being one of the most feared talents in the division.
The Norwegian has managed to find the net 85 times in his 97 league appearances in his three years across the city under Pep Guardiola’s guidance.
Such a record has seen him claim the Golden Boot award in two of his three years in England, with United supporters undoubtedly wishing they had their own version of the talisman.
However, talents such as Haaland are extremely hard to come by in the modern game, potentially costing a pretty penny in the process, with the club struggling to convince such talents to join given their recent decline.
That could be about to change this summer with a move for Watkins, with the Villa talent labelled as a similar player to the Manchester City talisman by FBref.
When comparing the pair’s stats from the most recent league campaign, the Villa star has outperformed Haaland in numerous key areas – showcasing the talent he possesses in forward areas.
Watkins, who’s been dubbed “world-class” by journalist John Townley, posted a better goal per shot on target rate, with such a record handing Amorim the clinical edge his side have hugely lacked in recent months.
Games played
38
31
Goals & assists
24
25
Goals per shot on target
0.4
0.3
Progressive passes
1.1
0.5
Pass accuracy
72%
66%
Progressive carries
1.9
0.7
Carries into final third
1.3
0.6
Aerials won
1.9
1.8
Fouls won
1.2
0.4
The England international also completed more passes whilst posting a higher tally of progressive passes per 90, having the skillset to provide the other forwards around him with added chances in front of goal.
His dominance over the Norwegian is further reflected by his tally of aerials won per 90 and carries into the opposition box, subsequently being an all-round threat that can cause problems in multiple different ways for the opposition.
£60m may appear to be a hefty sum for Watkins, but he’s showcased in recent times that he’s a readymade talent who can hand the Red Devils the goal threat they crave this summer.
If he can transfer his talents over with him to Old Trafford, it would be a sensational piece of business, handing the manager his very own version of Haaland in the process.
Amorim's answer to Kane: Man Utd in talks to sign "world-class" striker
Manchester United could finally end their pursuit of a new talisman with a move for one European star.
West Bromwich Albion haven't been blessed with the best luck when it comes to injuries in their squad this season, with significant players for the Baggies spending more time out of the side than in the team owing to various different knocks, scrapes and afflictions.
The likes of Matt Phillips, Daryl Dike and Josh Maja have been major injury casualties for the Championship promotion hopefuls in recent weeks, with Maja now expected to be out for four months with ankle ligament damage.
Carlos Corberan will pray that Jed Wallace isn't out for a similarly lengthy period, the ex-Millwall man leaving the field of play during the 1-0 win over Leeds in some discomfort on the 70th-minute mark after battling valiantly all afternoon.
It would be a major blow for the Baggies if Wallace was ruled out for the game away at Swansea City today, the experienced winger running his socks off against the Whites in another stellar individual display.
Jed Wallace's game vs Leeds United in numbers
The 29-year-old was key throughout West Brom's statement victory over Daniel Farke's flat Leeds side, Wallace causing havoc down the left-hand channel whilst his midfield partner Grady Diangana down the opposite flank was equally as lively.
The Baggies captain was unfortunate not to add another assist to his season tally against the lacklustre visitors from West Yorkshire, managing to make three key passes – as per Sofascore – in the contest.
Wallace also registered four successful crosses in the hard-fought 1-0 victory, wanting to tee up Brandon Thomas-Asante to score again to make the win more convincing and calm any nerves inside the Hawthorns as the game dragged on.
The EFL veteran couldn't quite muster up an audacious strike of his own in the game either akin to his stylish free-kick against Rotherham United, registering just one effort on Karl Darlow's goal that was blocked by a Leeds shirt.
Corberan will just be keeping everything crossed that Wallace can shake off his knock to start again versus the Swans today, the 29-year-old midfielder a key part of the West Brom jigsaw at this moment in time as a cool and composed head.
If Wallace was deemed unfit to start in Wales, the Spanish second-tier manager could resort to giving Adam Reach a start in his place – the ex-Sheffield Wednesday man an adaptable and flexible presence, the perfect utility option to rely upon when injuries begin to pile up.
Adam Reach's game vs Leeds in numbers
Adam Reach did competently fill in for the injury-stricken Wallace as the clock ticked down versus the Whites last match, the 30-year-old coming on with the sole aim of helping his side preserve their clean sheet over creating more openings.
The versatile number 20 won two of his three duels in the game, West Brom holding out in the end for a 1-0 win courtesy of Reach's solid cameo.
The former Owls midfielder also notched up one on-target effort to try and catch out a shaky Darlow late on, Reach certainly impressing off the bench which could see him start versus Swansea.
Birmingham Live journalist Joseph Chapman gave Reach a 7/10 rating for his efforts late on at the Hawthorns in his post-match musings, stating that the substitute was sent on to a 'defensive job' and completed his duties with flying colours.
In the past, Corberan has waxed lyrical about Reach – stating earlier in the season to the Express and Star that the 30-year-old is "perfect" for how he sets his Baggies team up as an expansive wing-back and cursed that he was out with an injury at the time.
Yet, for the clash at the Swansea.com Stadium today, Corberan could utilise his handy number 20 as a left winger with Wallace potentially deemed too vital to the promotion cause to be risked in Wales.