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Tottenham Hotspur have Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou on their wanted list to take over as manager this summer, according to a recent report from Football Insider.

What's the latest Tottenham manager news?

Journalist Jack Pitt-Brooke has recently claimed he would like to see Ruben Amorim or Roberto De Zerbi take over at Tottenham, as they would be akin to the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino, however there are other options available for the board.

Spurs are set for talks with Feyenoord boss Arne Slot, according to De Telegraaf journalist Valentijn Driessen, although he clarifies the club will speak with three or four managers, also name-checking Julian Nagelsmann and Pochettino.

Postecoglou has been linked with a move to N17 as far back as March, and there could be a growing possibility he is tempted by a move to the capital, according to a new report.

As per Football Insider, Celtic are now fearful their manager has already to decided to join a Premier League club this summer, having impressed top-flight teams with his transformation of the Glasgow side over the past two seasons.

The Australian's in-depth knowledge of the Japanese and Asian markets has caught the eye of a number of English clubs, with Tottenham placing him on their wanted list, while there could also be competition for his signature from Leeds United.

The report also details the Scottish side are not well-protected from a potential raid, as the Spurs managerial target is still on the 12-month rolling contract he signed when he initially arrived at Celtic Park.

Should Tottenham appoint Ange Postecoglou?

There is no denying the Athens-born tactician has done a fantastic job in Glasgow, leading them to the Scottish Premiership title in his first season in charge, and he has now won another title after his side's victory at Hearts yesterday.

That said, success in Scotland does not automatically translate to the Premier League, considering it is a much weaker league, and there are probably better options available, despite the fact the Aussie has been lauded as "incredible" by members of the media.

De Zerbi would be an exciting appointment for Spurs, having done an incredible job in his first season in the Premier League, leading his Brighton side to the FA Cup semi-final, and they are well in contention to qualify for Europe.

Having been hailed as "sensational" by the media, Amorim could also be the young, progressive coach Tottenham need to rebuild their squad, given his success with Sporting CP, winning a league title and three cup competitions.

A superb unbeaten 126 by Tasamul Haque lifted Kalabagan Krira Chakra out of the relegation zone and into contention for the Super League, guiding the team to a six-wicket win over Mohammedan Sporting Club.Kalabagan climbed to eighth place with ten points, level with three other teams, while Mohammedan went down one place to third after their fourth defeat in the competition.In a high-scoring encounter at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium, Kalabagan lost Jashimuddin off the the second ball of their innings while chasing 291. But Tasamul and opener Hasanuzzaman added 140 for the second wicket in under 18 overs to bring them back into the contest. Hasanuzzaman blazed to 95 off 53 balls with eight sixes and four fours.Paras Dogra, their new Indian recruit, and Mehrab Hossain jnr fell cheaply but Tasamul and Tanveer Haider sped from the 24th over, adding an unbroken 129 for the fourth wicket. Tanveer finished not out on 52 while Tasamul, who struck eight fours and two sixes, ended on 126 off 129 balls. Tasamul struck his second six to take Kalabagan home, the win coming with 6.5 overs to spare.Mohammedan virtually had no reply with the ball, with most of their in-form bowlers like Subashis Roy, Naeem Islam jnr and Habibur Rahman going for plenty.They had a better time with the bat. Bipul Sharma, who played for the IPL-winning Sunrisers Hyderabad side, struck his maiden List A hundred as Mohammedan piled up 290 for 6 in 50 overs. Dewan Sabbir bowled Bipul after he had made exactly 100, with six boundaries and eight sixes.He came to the crease with Mohammedan in trouble at 69 for 3, and went on to add 171 for the fourth wicket with captain Mushfiqur Rahim, who chipped in with a 71-ball 75.Victoria Sporting Club crushed Brothers Union by 112 runs in Mirpur, after Abdul Mazid’s first century of the competition lifted them to a formidable 302 for 9. Mazid dominated the 170-run opening stand with Fazle Mahmud, which lasted 33.3 overs. Mazid cracked eleven boundaries and four sixes in his 118 off 117 balls, his highest List-A score.Though they lost Mazid and Mominul Haque in the space of three balls, and Mahmud – for 71 – in the 39th over, Victoria didn’t lose much momentum, taking 84 runs off the last ten overs with Al-Amin, Chaturanga de Silva and Dhiman Ghosh making rapid contributions. Left-arm spinners Nabil Samad and Asif Hasan took four and two wickets respectively, while offspinner Iftekhar Sajjad bagged two.Brothers Union collapsed in their chase, with only their captain Tushar Imran standing firm, scoring his fifth half-century of the season. The other five members of their top six, however, fell single-figure scores as Brothers Union slipped to 92 for 8 in the 27th over.Tushar and Asif then added 97 for the ninth wicket, but it only delayed the inevitable. Brothers Union were eventually bowled out for 190 in 45.3 overs. Tushar made 93 off 126 balls with eleven fours. Pace bowler Mahbubul Alam took three wickets while there were two each for offspinner Al-Amin and paceman Kamrul Islam Rabbi.Legends of Rupganj trounced Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club by seven wickets at the BKSP-3 ground. It was a fine effort for a side that was without their captain Mosharraf Hossain and their in-form wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Mithun, both serving one-match bans.Nahidul Islam made 92 and Junaid Siddique was unbeaten on 53 as Rupganj completed a chase of 185 with 17.1 overs to spare. Nahidul, who earlier took 2 for 38 with his offspin, struck nine fours and three sixes during his 99-ball innings. He came to the crease after Jahurul Islam was given leg-before off the first ball of the innings.He added 46 for the second wicket with Soumya Sarkar, who was also out leg-before, and another 125 for the third wicket with Junaid. Nahidul’s end also came through a leg-before decision, though by then the win was only 13 runs away.Sent in to bat, Dhanmondi lost wickets regularly. Left-arm spinners Murad Khan and Taijul Islam took three wickets each after seamer Alauddin Babu struck twice in the fourth over to remove the big-hitting Mahbubul Karim and the steady Marshall Ayub. Abdullah Al Mamun (24), Mahmudullah (35) and Nazmus Sadat (41) steadied Dhanmondi’s innings, but they collapsed thereafter, losing their last six wickets for just 28 runs to slump from 156 for four in the 36th over to 184 all out in 45.

Kumar Sangakkara produced a mesmeric sixth Championship hundred – his 56th in all first class cricket – to leave Somerset smarting having conceded 394 in a day’s play

Vithushan Ehantharajah at The Oval24-Apr-2016
ScorecardKumar Sangakkara passed 1000 runs for Surrey during his innings of 171 (file photo)•Getty Images

The first day of the season at The Oval was given a grandstand beginning as one of game’s leading stars gave Surrey the perfect home start. Kumar Sangakkara, still glistening as bright as ever, produced a mesmeric sixth Championship hundred – his 56th in all first class cricket – to leave Somerset smarting having conceded 394 in a day’s play.As it happens, both teams read the pitch well. What green there was only spanned the middle of the track, from good length to good length and those within the Surrey camp hoped Somerset might be lured into bowling first. Chris Rogers did not bite and asked for the coin, but failed to call correctly. That was the starter pistol for a run-fest on a chilly day in south London.The breath of each exposed spectator and player was visible as scenes resembled something out of . The only difference might have been that after a few hours, Somerset’s fielders would have welcomed a bear’s forced embrace. Instead, they were mauled by Sangakkara.The familiar jaunt to three figures took just 94 balls and saw him pass 1000 first class runs for Surrey in this, his 22nd innings. To say he had it his own way would be an understatement.Craig Overton, in his first start of the season, was particularly charitable to the 38-year-old, feeding the cuts and drives. Even the pull shot was given a decent run out as Overton tried to find something in the pitch that wasn’t there. His generosity, and that of the rest of the attack, towards Sangakkara might only have been bettered had they offered to pick up his dry cleaning and wash his car.It is worth noting that Overton did find Sangakkara’s edge, only for the ball to die on its way through to Peter Trego at first slip, who had to dive to gather. Trego himself also missed out on Sangakkara’s wicket when, on 34, he was pulled to Roelof van der Merwe at midwicket. A difficult low chance was not taken.Otherwise, Sangakkara was unfazed. He strolled down the wicket to hit Trego for six over midwicket and lashed Tim Groenewald through cover and cover-point in the opening 50 runs of his first hundred of the season. On 99, he was greeted with a packed ring field and van der Merwe bowling darts. After a couple of plinks into the leg side, he skipped down the track and sent the left-arm spinner into the covers for six.When he holed out to deep midwicket for 171 – his highest first class score in county cricket – Surrey had 313 on the board in the 69th over. For that, they also owed thanks to Rory Burns.While Sangakkara worked with flourishes, Burns dealt in straight lines. Perhaps the most flamboyant aspect of Burns’ game is his set-up: knees bent, backside sitting directly above his heels, wrists cocked sending his bat out towards gully. It is a set-up that has now accrued him more than 4000 first class runs.There was a degree of annoyance at The Oval when Burns was not selected for the winter’s Lions tour, though that can be argued away as it was very much a limited-overs party. Here, he showcased why long-form is his strongest suit.He had 13 from 48 balls before a four from his bat off Lewis Gregory brought up Surrey’s 50. Gregory was perhaps the pick of the seamers on show, but no number of deliveries passing the outside edge could make up for his 18 overs of toil.Burns showed him respect but, eventually, in bringing up his half-century off 88 balls, made hay on the front foot, even hitting van der Merwe over his head for six. Perhaps the biggest compliment that could be paid to Burns’ change of pace in the latter half of his innings was that this shot was met by one unsuspecting punter sat a matter of feet away from where the six landed saying, “Was that Kumar again?” Their partnership of 187 was ended when Burns gave van der Merwe an easy return catch of a leading edge.And so the stage was set for Jason Roy to hammer a weary attack into the ground, getting off the mark with a gorgeous on drive that said he meant business. In the end, 85 at just below a run a ball was his lot – Gregory’s endeavour rewarded by a delivery that might have been a bit high but was adjudged to have trapped him lbw. By then Roy had taken a few casualties, stinging the fingers of fielders with fierce drives, with one of his 11 boundaries going literally through cover.While his wicket buoyed Somerset late in the evening, they also saw Zafar Ansari dropped at gully, off the bowling of Gregory, on 28. Ansari, in his first game back after badly injuring his hand last September on the day of his England call-up, had looked characteristically obdurate during his 57 balls.He and Ben Foakes will have 500 in their sights going into day two. They may need that and then some as the pitch suggested Somerset may still be able to bat their way out of trouble. On this showing with the ball, that may well be their only hope.

Everton put on an incredible defensive performance to take all three points from their Premier League clash with Brentford at Goodison Park this weekend and Sean Dyche will be thrilled with the resilience his team showed.

Following the vital victory, the Toffees managed to go two points clear of the relegation zone climbing into 15th and their increased chance of survival in the Premier League is credited to the newly-appointed manager’s subtle tweaks that have led to ten points being tallied up over his seven games in charge.

The former Burnley boss’ arrival on Merseyside has had a positive impact on many of the players including both Dwight McNeil and Michael Keane who have both seen their game time increase massively, however, it has not been a perfect fit for everyone.

Amadou Onana was signed in the summer when Everton beat West Ham United to secure his services in the centre of the pitch and under Frank Lampard, the midfielder was a stand-out performer in the team despite the struggles overall during the first half of the campaign.

Should Dyche ditch Amadou Onana?

In more recent games, the dominating presence and controlled play that Onana had become renowned for has dwindled and the 21-year-old’s lacklustre performances have not gone unnoticed by journalist Paul Brown who criticised him when speaking to GIVEMESPORT.

“He’s been quite inconsistent since January. At times, he looks like a great player and at times, he looks a little disinterested. I think he’s still a bit raw and inexperienced.”

There is no doubt that the Merseysiders have significantly improved since the arrival of Dyche, however, the experienced manager will be wanting more from his team and some consistency in their results to ensure they secure Premier League survival sooner rather than later.

Indeed, the Everton boss is limited to the players he can deploy in the centre of the pitch with a lack of quality and proven midfielders on the bench, however, it could be worth taking a chance on a young player like James Garner instead following his return from injury.

Over his 80-minute performance against Brentford, the £100k-per-week dud perhaps hit his lowest ebb in a Toffees shirt, ranking s the worst Everton player on the pitch (6.1), per Sofascore.

It was a shoddy performance from the Belgian talent who lost seven duels, committed a whopping four fouls and missed one big chance on a wholly ill-disciplined afternoon.

He was an anonymous presence in the centre of the pitch, completing just 17 accurate passes and was dribbled past once.

As a result, it may be in the best interests of the player and the team for Onana to be rested on the bench in the upcoming challenging fixture against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge next week and instead deploy a fresh perspective in Garner or Tom Davies alongside an otherwise hard-working midfield.

To say that Liverpool have had a turbulent summer would be an understatement. The Reds started off well in the summer transfer window, welcoming both Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai to begin their much-needed midfield rebuild.

Since then, however, things have only gone downhill, as they missed out on key targets. Now, as the window edges closer and closer to closing, Jurgen Klopp and co have reportedly turned their attention to Feyenoord for options.

What's the latest Liverpool transfer news?

Of course, if you cast your mind back, after their strong start to the window, Liverpool said their goodbyes to both Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, as they duo swapped Merseyside for Saudi Arabia. Now, this wouldn't have been an issue if they had replacements instantly lined up.

That was far from the case, though, and with the Premier League season underway, the only incoming since Mac Allister and Szoboszlai has been Wataru Endo, following the rejection of both Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, who chose Chelsea over Liverpool this summer.

On top of their midfield crisis, it could be argued that the Reds need another central defender this summer, given Joel Matip's injury combined with the fact that he has one year remaining on his current contract.

With that said, according to Football Transfers, Liverpool have turned to Feyenoord to solve both of their issues, with the Premier League giants reportedly in contact with both David Hancko and Mats Wieffer over potential summer switches.

Appearing on ESPN's Football Talk, Hans Kraay junior recently spoke about the potential deal for Hancko, in particular, saying, via Football Transfers: "Do all those Premier League clubs send half-blind scouts to the Netherlands? Hancko is worth £35/40 million for almost every team, isn't he?"

As things stand, Feyenoord are yet to set their price, but it certainly seems as though it would cost Liverpool a hefty fee as the transfer window comes to a close.

Should Liverpool sign Hancko and Wieffer?

Given their problems in both central defence and midfield, welcoming both Hancko and Wiffer could be an act of genius from Liverpool.

Hancko, a centre-back, is still only 25-years-old and should, therefore, be in the middle of his prime in the Netherlands. The Slovakian played a key part in Feyenoord's title-winning campaign last time out, even enjoying nine goal involvements from the back.

Meanwhile, Wieffer – a defensive midfielder by trade – is only 23-years-old, and played an equally impressive part in Feyenoord's title win last season, scoring three goals, whilst also assisting a further seven in all competitions.

Compared to recent Liverpool signing Endo last season, as per FBref, Wieffer made more progressive passes, more progressive carries, better pass completion, and made more blocks, interceptions, and tackles per 90. Any way that you look at it, Wieffer would be the option to strengthen Klopp's midfield.

Hancko is just as impressive, too, making more progressive passes, winning more tackles, and making fewer errors per 90 than Joel Matip last season.

If Liverpool do push ahead with deals for the Feyenoord duo, it would represent solid business.

Tottenham Hotspur may have recruited well this summer, but manager Ange Postecoglou could be set to take one huge risk in an effort to gain a huge reward…

Who are Tottenham Hotspur signing this summer?

With the key acquisition of James Maddison underpinning a stellar window thus far, already it seems like their new system is slowly clicking into place.

Offensively they are free-flowing and brilliant to watch at times, and yet defensively they remain staunch.

Read the latest Tottenham transfer news HERE…

However, Cristian Romero remains somewhat unpredictable despite the key assets that underpin this new revolution, with his recklessness and injury record leaving his side short at times.

Therefore, perhaps the north London outfit could be set to secure an alternative for him, and a fine partner for their other new signing Micky Van de Ven, by reigniting their interest in Manchester United’s Harry Maguire.

It is expected that the Red Devils are holding out for a fee of around £40m.

Who is Harry Maguire moving to?

Whilst a host of clubs have been linked with a swoop for the out-of-favour ace, it seems like an opportunity has now opened up for the Lilywhites to take a solo swing to tempt him after West Ham United dropped out of the running.

Unwilling to wait for the 30-year-old to negotiate his payout to depart Old Trafford, they instead opted for the Greek defender Konstantinos Mavropanos.

So, now the England international could be set to move to a different part of the capital, bolstering Postecoglou’s squad with his stellar ball-playing assets.

As a side that seeks to largely dominate the ball, having maintained a 63% possession across their two Premier League games thus far, Maguire could dominate when allowed to stride out from the back and forge chances from the back.

After all, pundit Kenny Cunningham boldly claimed after he completed his £80m move to Manchester:

“Harry #Maguire is the best ball-playing centre-half in football at the moment.”

This was best exemplified during the 2020/21 campaign, where he featured 34 times in the league and kept 13 clean sheets, maintaining an 87% pass accuracy alongside 1.8 interceptions and 3.6 tackles per game, via Sofascore.

With a manager that shows faith in him, he can be both a defensive hero as well as a ball-playing leader too.

The former was best exemplified through Erik ten Hag’s claims back in March, as the Dutchman noted:

“He is more dominant and dictating, taking more initiative on the training pitch and we saw in Seville against Betis where he showed leadership, especially in those aspects of initiative and dictation of the game.”

Pairing the right-footed stalwart with Van de Ven could offer the perfect balance at the back for Postecoglou’s all-action philosophy, with his physical assets also ideal to offer a counter for Maguire’s lack of speed.

Whilst Richard Dunne suggested he was “painfully slow”, Postecoglou's summer signing has instead been lauded for his pace by Wolfsburg’s sporting director Marcel Schäfer. He too outlined those balancing qualities:

“Left foot, extreme speed, plays every second. Micky [has performed] consistently very well throughout the season.

“He’s a player with huge potential and this season in particular has shown incredible development, playing himself into the spotlight with his performances.”

Whilst Romero and Van de Ven have already struck a fine partnership, Maguire could reignite a stuttering career in north London by joining Postecoglou’s revolution.

Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson was left exhausted by the Saudi heat on his Al-Ettifaq debut, according to multiple reports.

How much will Jordan Henderson earn in Saudi?

During the summer, the English midfielder made the controversial decision to leave Anfield and the Premier League and head to the Middle East.

The transfer – worth £12m plus add-ons – drew criticism from the LGBTQ+ community, however, as same-sex sexual activity is illegal in Saudi Arabia and yet the player has publicly claimed to be an ally in the past.

Despite that though, Henderson is now officially an Al-Ettifaq – earning a reported £700k-p/w – and even made his debut for the club this week as his new side beat Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.

Former Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane actually netted for the opposition after just four minutes, but Henderson and co fought back to win 2-1 thanks to goals from Robin Quaison and former Celtic man Moussa Dembele.

According to a report in The Guardian, though, the English debutant was absolutely exhausted after just 30 minutes of action in the 34.6C Saudi heat.

Paul MacInnes wrote: "Henderson was on his haunches. He had given everything. The former Liverpool captain, and new talisman for Al-Ettifaq, had pushed himself to the physical limits in the service of his team. It was the sort of moment that has previously served to build the Henderson legend, except with a small difference: his team were 1-0 down here and there was still an hour to play."

He added: "An important qualification should probably be made here: it was 34.6C in the stadium at this point and with a level of humidity high enough to hydrate a pack of instant noodles. It was surely, by far, the hottest football match Henderson had ever played in, but one recovery sprint, and a not entirely full-throttle one at that, had entirely done him in. And the England man was hardly alone."

This wasn't the only report to note the extreme weather, with Tom Kershaw of The Times also making sure to note the "gruelling humidity" that left Henderson's spirit "sapped to a despondent trudge" during a water break, with "his head bowed in resignation as he gulped for respite in the suffocating heat".

You can watch highlights of his debut via YouTube below.

What age is Jordan Henderson?

Now 33 years of age, perhaps it's not surprising that the former Liverpool star is struggling in such conditions – although it sounds like he would have found it tough going even at the peak of his powers.

After all, in the aforementioned report in The Guardian, Henderson's new manager and former teammate Steven Gerrard explained how "tough" it has been adapting to the heat.

“When I’m sitting in my house, and I have Sky News on, you see the weather in different countries around the world come up, but you don’t really appreciate that type of heat until you actually come and work in these conditions,” Gerrard said after the match.

“The climate has definitely been tough and challenging. So I’m going to have to adapt, and so are some of the signings we’ve made from Europe. We don’t want to leave our energy on the training pitch. There are things we have to change and … I’m facing the challenges, accepting them. I know what I’ve signed up for.”

It will certainly be interesting to see how all these new stars in the Saudi Pro League will get on. By the sounds of it, the biggest obstacle may well simply be the high temperatures.

Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet has agreed to re-join Tottenham Hotspur as the north Londoners remain locked in talks with Spain's champions.

Who will Spurs sign?

The former Sevilla star is one of many defensive candidates to shore up Ange Postecoglou's leaky Spurs backline which conceded 63 league goals last season.

Tottenham have already sealed moves for goalkeeper Gugilelmo Vicario, playmaker James Maddison and winger Manor Solomon this summer – not even counting permanent deals to sign Dejan Kulusevski and Pedro Porro from abroad.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has spent a total of around £117 million on incomings so far, but defence is a glaring achilles heel which needs to be addressed with quality signings.

Postecoglou, speaking to the media recently, admitted that is something Tottenham are attempting to do behind-the-scenes.

"That's definitely our intention, absolutely," said Postecoglou when asked about signing new defenders.

"We've been working on it for a while and we'll definitely try to get it done as quickly as possible.

"I don't think it's any secret about some of the areas we needed to strengthen. Some of it I identified early on. The goalkeeper was one and central defence is another.

"In terms of the other boys, we've got a big squad but my view is I wanted to bring them along and just work with them, get some clarity in my head and give clarity to them."

In terms of which names could join Tottenham, there are a fair few being targeted right now.

Indeed, Spurs' transfer list of possible new defenders includes Wolfsburg's Micky van de Ven, Edmond Tapsoba of Bayer Leverkusen, Fulham's Tosin Adarabioyo, Galatasary's Victor Nelsson, Juventus defender Gleison Bremer and Lenglet – who have all been linked with moves to N17 recently.

Going back to the latter defender, after his 2022/2023 season on loan at Spurs, a return to north London is very much a possibility for the 28-year-old.

According to a report by Spanish news outlet Sport, via Sport Witness, Tottenham and Barcelona "keep talking" over a deal for Lenglet.

The Frenchman has apparently already agreed to re-join the Lilywhites, having reached a compromise on personal terms and a three-year contract.

Barca want €15 million (£12.8m), a figure Spurs are unwilling to pay, meaning the La Liga champions are stalling and waiting for other prospective bidders to come in.

This is described as a "dangerous move" by Sport, and while Marseille are showing a great interest in Lenglet, his ultimate goal is to return to England.

What's been said about Clement Lenglet?

Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris, speaking after his side snapped Lenglet up on a temporary deal last year, claimed the centre-back is a "modern defender" and "high level" player.

"He's a modern defender," said Lloris.

"Comfortable to be able to play from the back. He has a great left foot and can be very strong in one v one and he's strong in the air.

"Even if it's never easy when you arrive in the Premier League and he will have to adapt to the intensity of the games but he is a high level player, with experience."

Karn Sharma finished with a match-haul of 8 for 120•BCCI

New Zealand A failed to learn from their mistakes in the first innings. Indecision in footwork against spin and relying on their pad as their first line of defense – against two quality spinners – resulted in a loss by an innings and 31 runs shortly after lunch on the third day of the first unofficial Test in Vijayawada.Karn Sharma, the legspinner, took four wickets to take his match tally to 8 for 120, thereby continuing his fine recent run that now includes two five-fors and two four-fors in his last three first-class matches. Shahbaz Nadeem also took four wickets with his loopy left-arm spin to finish with an eight-for in the match. Alarmingly for New Zealand A, their second-innings collapse from their overnight 64 for 2 to 142 all out had little to do with the pitch.Openers Jeet Raval and George Worker aside, none of the others topped 20. The only batsman who appeared to pick spin was Tim Seifert, the wicketkeeper, who was largely untroubled for 35 deliveries before perishing to a sharp Karn legbreak that beat his forward push to be lbw. Seifert also showed some spunk in the first innings to top score with 35. He was one of two positives – Ish Sodhi, who took a five-for, being the other – for the visitors.The procession started 15 minutes into play when Worker attempted an expansive sweep from outside off to a delivery that spun back in from the rough to deflect off his body and onto the stumps. Will Young was snuffed out at short leg and Tom Blundell, among those in the fray to replace Luke Ronchi as a frontline wicketkeeper in the national team, was lbw to an indipper from Shardul Thakur.With the cream of the batting line-up gone inside 11 overs to leave New Zealand A on 98 for 5, the lower order came out trying to slog the spinners out of the field. The execution, however, failed only to leave them with plenty of time to ponder and practice ahead of the second four-day game on September 30 at the same venue.

Angelo Mathews is unsure whether he will be Sri Lanka’s captain at the 2019 World Cup, after leading his side to a second loss against Zimbabwe in the ongoing five-match series. The defeat, Mathews conceded, put his captaincy under significant pressure. His comments came after Zimbabwe chased down a revised target of 219 – deduced via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method – in the fourth ODI, after Sri Lanka had made 300.”There’s a lot of pressure on all of us, and as a captain there is a lot of pressure on me as well,” Mathews said after the loss in Hambantota. “In these games, where our batsmen have done well, our bowlers didn’t perform well – both in this match, and in the first one we lost. Our fielding also hasn’t been good at times. Against Zimbabwe, we need to play better than this. If we score 300 and still lose here, there is a big shortcoming.”Mathews’ record as ODI captain since the last World Cup isn’t exactly awful: the team has won 12 matches to the 15 they have lost under his watch. However, during that time, their only series wins under Mathews have been against West Indies at home, and Ireland, away. They have lost one away series apiece to England and New Zealand, and one home series to Australia and Pakistan each. Besides, there is now a risk of losing a home series to 11th-ranked Zimbabwe, who have tied the ongoing series 2-2.”I don’t know if I will be going to the 2019 World Cup as captain,” Mathews said. “Our batsmen are doing well, but sometimes there’s no consistency in our fielding – we don’t do well sometimes. But with the players that we have, we can win these matches. We lost these matches because our bowling wasn’t good. We have to solve this problem quickly.”If Sri Lanka perform poorly in the forthcoming ODIs against India (in August and September), there is also the chance of the team not being able to gain automatic entry for the 2019 World Cup. At present, Sri Lanka are on the eighth position, with 92 rating points. They must stay ahead of West Indies, who are currently on 78 rating points, in order to avoid going through a separate qualification procedure for the next World Cup.Considering this was the second instance in the series when Sri Lanka failed to defend 300 or more, Mathews was forthright in stating his discontent over the lack of sting in the performance of the bowlers.”After scoring 300, how many times can you lose a game?” You know, we had enough runs on the board. [It’s] unfortunate the rain had to intervene, but still, we had the bowling attack to defend it. The first ten overs we gave away a lot of runs, also the rain intervened and the last ten overs we didn’t bowl that well.”We actually didn’t know the rain might come in, but the wicket was extremely dry this morning. So we all thought it’s going to start slowing more and more once the day goes on. We saw in the last game also that the ball started turning after the first 20 overs, in the second half especially. So, I thought if we bat first and bat well, we have the spinners to defend it.”Mathews also made the point that Sri Lanka’s attack was a diminished one. Nuwan Pradeep, who has recently been the best bowler in the side, picked up a niggle in the third ODI, and is being rested in order to ensure he can be fit for the four Test matches over the next eight weeks. Suranga Lakmal was also made unavailable by illness.”In our bowling we are facing problems – Nuwan Pradeep and Suranga Lakmal are injured,” Mathews said. “We have to manage our bowlers’ workloads as well. We’ve got a lot of cricket coming up. We have to balance managing workloads and winning the matches in front of us.”