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Australia’s selectors have made a host of changes for the Adelaide Test, with five men dropped after the loss to South Africa in Hobart

Daniel Brettig in Adelaide20-Nov-20164:23

We were given charter to revamp side – Hohns

Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb and Nic Maddinson have been thrust into the firing line as debut batsmen for an embattled Australia amid a drastically changed squad for the third Test against South Africa.The interim selection chairman Trevor Hohns also included Chadd Sayers as an Adelaide Oval specialist for the day/night match alongside Jackson Bird, with Matthew Wade to retake the gloves in a Test for the first time since the 2013 tour of India.Six changes from one Test squad to another is a figure not seen in Australian cricket history since 1984, when the same number was made between back-to-back Test series against the fearsome West Indies team that ultimately broke Kim Hughes’ captaincy.Joe Burns, Adam Voges (concussion), Callum Ferguson, Peter Nevill and Joe Mennie are the casualties of the innings defeat in Hobart that handed the series to South Africa and also triggered the resignation of the selection chairman Rod Marsh. Hohns spared a thought in particular for Ferguson, dropped after his debut Test.”We were given the charter to revamp the Test match side,” Hohns said. “Sure it may sound harsh but Callum like all of our players except for our bowlers went back to Sheffield Shield cricket, had their opportunity to press their claims for inclusion in this side. Some have, some haven’t and I would suggest that Callum is not discarded by any means. Doesn’t mean the end of the road and we would love Callum to continue to score a lot of runs and belt the door down and demand selection again.”There may have been another change too if not for a calf injury to the left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe, who had up until Saturday been favoured to oust the incumbent the spin bowler Nathan Lyon, who has struggled notably for wickets or impact so far this summer.”Stephen was in serious contention there’s no doubt,” Hohns said. “Nathan as we all know, has over 200 Test wickets, he’s our best off-spinner that we’ve had ever, so it might not be that he’s not taking wickets at the moment, but there’s no indication that he’s bowling poorly. I’m sure if he continues to bowl well as we say in cricket, the wheel always turns.”Hohns spoke strongly of Renshaw as an occupier of the crease, and of Handscomb and Maddinson as aggressive players in the classic Australian mould. Maddinson’s inclusion was somewhat surprising ahead of his fellow New South Welshman Kurtis Patterson, but he has been highly regarded for some time – even playing for Australia A in England in 2013 on the day Darren Lehmann was appointed coach in place of Mickey Arthur. Maddinson is also close to the captain Steven Smith, who will fancy his chances of extracting the left-hander’s best.”We see him as a player of enormous potential,” Hohns said of Maddinson. “He is definitely a game breaker and if we can get the best out of him at that level as I think we can, he could be a very, very important player for us down the track.”Form on the first two [Renshaw and Maddinson] were very important, there was always an area at the top of the order that was in contention. And Peter Handscomb getting 200, he’s been there and thereabouts for a good couple of years now. He’s always been spoken about in our selection meetings, hasn’t quite made the cut recently but now his form can’t be ignored.”Sometimes you do of course go with your gut, as they say. It’s all very well looking at statistics all the time but sometimes, particularly right now, we were asked to go with some players. And we decided to do that of course, because we obviously need to, go with some players that we thought could play for Australia and hold us in good stead for years to come.”Bird and Sayers were included primarily as support bowlers for Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. Both had been chosen for the tour of New Zealand earlier this year. “Chadd’s a very good performer, and a very good performer in Adelaide and that’s why he’s been chosen for this Test match,” Hohns said. “He bowls very well here as we all know, it was only two Sheffield Shield games ago he took 11 or 12 wickets here. Hopefully, if he plays, he can continue to perform well.”Wade’s inclusion marks a significant change in philosophy for Australia, rewarding his batting ability and fighting demeanour ahead of the neater gloveman in Nevill. Lyon in particular will have to get used to the change. “[Nevill] very unlucky, there’s no doubt about that, but we consider Matthew Wade’s wicketkeeping has improved to the extent that we’ve gone in that direction,” Hohns said. “There’s no secret Matthew Wade’s batting is very, very good, in fact he’s scored hundreds in Test cricket.”He’s obviously seen as a tough competitor and that is what we’re looking for in our players now, and we want them to get out there now and have a fair crack at this and go forward with that. We don’t expect an immediate turnaround, but we’ve got a bit of faith in these guys now.”Squad David Warner, Matt Renshaw, Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, Peter Handscomb, Nic Maddinson, Matthew Wade (wk), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Jackson Bird, Chadd Sayers.

A round-up of the second day of Group A matches in the third round of the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-2016Mehul Patel took his second five-wicket haul and career-best figures of 5 for 35 to help Gujarat snatch the first-innings lead against Railways in Lahli. Gujarat had been bowled out for 187, after which Railways were brought down to 63 for 7 as 17 wickets fell on the opening day. Railways were shot out for 124, before Gujarat responded strongly in the second innings, ending the day on 295 for 3 for an overall lead of 358.Railways resisted when play resumed, with Karn Sharma and Anureet Singh, the overnight batsmen, adding 52 for the eighth wicket. Mehul then dismissed Anureet for his fifth, before Rush Kalaria wrapped up the innings with two wickets in the 44th over. Karn scored 48 and Anureet made 27, finishing as two of only three batsmen to record double-digit scores.Priyank Panchal scored 101 and shared a second-wicket stand of 141 with Bhargav Merai (70) to sink Railways. Parthiv Patel, the Gujarat captain, and Manpreet Juneja added 98 unbeaten runs for the fourth wicket before stumps were drawn. Parthiv was not out on 39 and Juneja had made 59.Madhya Pradesh snuffed out two Mumbai wickets to end the second day in Raipur in a dominant position. After MP’s first innings ended on 445, Mumbai were reduced to 38 for 2, trailing by 407 runs.MP had ended the opening day on 239 for 2 with Rajat Patidar unbeaten on 83 and Devendra Bundela on 36. Patidar batted on and raised his century before being dismissed for 106, while Bundela scored 60. Patidar, Harpreet Singh and Bundela fell for the addition of 16 runs, before MP were buoyed by Shubham Sharma (83 not out) and Ankit Dane (47), and the duo’s sixth-wicket partnership of 102. Vijay Gohil and Tushar Deshpande took three wickets each.Mumbai lost Kaustubh Pawar and nightwatchman Balwinder Sandhu in their reply. Akhil Herwadkar played out 58 balls and stayed not out on 29.Uttar Pradesh piled on a mammoth 524 before taking a Tamil Nadu wicket late in the day at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala. Tamil Nadu ended the day on 34 for 1, behind by 490 runs.UP began the day on 207 for 1, with Samarth Singh having struck his maiden century in only his second first-class match. Samarth added 72 more to his overnight tally, before being dismissed 13 short of a double ton. Umang Sharma, who resumed on 36, added only 10 more to his overnight score, but UP were lifted by contributions all around, including half-centuries from Eklavya Dwivedi, the captain and wicketkeeper, who struck 60, and Saurabh Kumar (51). T Natarajan, the left-arm medium pacer, inflicted the bulk of the damage, taking 4 for 83.Sandeep Sharma added two wickets to his overnight tally to finish with 4 for 96 as Bengal’s first innings ended on 404 against Punjab at the Lohnu Cricket Ground in Bilaspur. Amit Kulia, Bengal’s new-ball bowler, then struck thrice in 16 overs as Punjab went into stumps on 168 for 4, behind Bengal by 236 runs.Bengal began the day on 332 for 5, with Pankaj Shaw unbeaten on 11 and Pragyan Ojha on 2. While Ojha fell on the same score in the 10th ball of the day, Shaw batted on and raised a half-century. He was the last man dismissed, for 55. Sandeep Sharma was supported by Vinay Choudhary, who took 3 for 75.Punjab lost Manan Vohra and Jinwanjot Singh early, while Yuvraj Singh, the captain, and Gurkeerat Singh got off to starts, but couldn’t convert them. Uday Kaul held up his end and scored an unbeaten 73, and in the company of Taruwar Kohli (26 not out) prevented further damage. Kulia finished with 3 for 44, while his opening partner Ashok Dinda took the other wicket.

Arsenal may be faced with a tough decision this summer as they continue to work on a new contract for William Saliba, journalist Charles Watts has claimed.

What's going on with Saliba and Arsenal?

The France international has performed well for Arsenal this season, but has just one year left on his contract at the club.

This summer is a crucial one for Saliba. Arsenal are in talks to extend his deal, but if they cannot reach an agreement, they may have to think about a sale of one of their most important players.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Watts highlighted Arsenal's potential concern over Saliba this summer.

"The clock is ticking when it comes to William Saliba, because you can't really end this summer without Saliba having signed a new contract. You can't go into the new season surely, with Saliba less than 12 months away from the end of his current deal," he stated.

"It's almost a bit of an elephant in the room type situation with Saliba, no one really wants to talk about it, but if this contract doesn't get sorted in the next six weeks or two months, maybe before everyone comes back for pre-season, then Arsenal are going to have a big decision to make because there's going to be lots of clubs sniffing around and thinking he's got 12 months left on his deal with this blatantly generational-almost quality defender, which he's proven in the Premier League this season, can we get him on the cheap?

"Bids are going to start coming in for William Saliba this summer if he hasn't signed a new deal and that's going to leave Arsenal with a bit of a decision to make."

What should Arsenal do with Saliba?

The 22-year-old has been sensational for Arsenal this season, helping them sustain a title challenge before picking up a long-term injury, and the Gunners capitulated without his presence in the back line.

Mikel Arteta described him as "superb" early on in the campaign, which was his first at the club following at number of loan spells away since he signed in 2019.

Tying him down on a long-term contract should be the priority for Arsenal, and with Bukayo Saka and Aaron Ramsdale reportedly agreeing new deals, there may be hope that the Gunners can hold on to their best talents to remain at the top level for years to come.

If no resolution can be reached in the summer, Arsenal may have to consider sizeable bids for the currently injured centre-back, but they may elect to keep him and attempt to tie him down throughout his final season.

If Saliba is to depart, it would be a huge loss for Arteta, and a top-quality replacement would have to be found.

Potential new Manchester United owner Sheikh Jassim is reportedly already eyeing an incredible move to sign Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar.

What’s the latest Man United transfer news involving Jassim and Neymar?

The deadline for third offers at Old Trafford has now passed, with Jassim making a final take-it-or-leave-it offer to take full control from the Glazers.

Jassim previously wanted a takeover 'done quickly' so he could help Erik ten Hag in the transfer market, and it looks as if the Qatari group are already identifying targets at Old Trafford, with Neymar potentially a huge statement signing.

Should Jassim’s offer prove to be successful, The Sun ‘understands that one of his first actions will be to make an incredible move to sign Neymar’.

They say that the forward ‘would be a marquee signing for the club to signal the new owners' intentions moving forward’, with PSG potentially open to offers due to the player’s struggles with injuries.

Setting the bar high…

Neymar is on a whopping salary of around €1bn-a-week (£950,000) in Paris, so Jassim would need to show his financial power to bring the Brazilian to Manchester. He's also a "huge fan" of Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham, so appears to be hitting the bar high when it comes to possible additions to the squad.

The 31-year-old has scored 293 goals and has provided 188 assists during his 493-game club career for Santos, Barcelona and PSG, while he has also netted 77 times for his country, showing the quality he could bring to England.

Mark Goldbridge wasn't thrilled after hearing Neymar could be a target for the Red Devils, though, but he could be happier if it is Jassim taking over at United instead of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, with The United Stand presenter hitting out at the possibility of Ratcliffe keeping the Glazers involved at Old Trafford.

Sixteen-year-old batsman Jason Sangha has become the youngest player ever contracted by New South Wales after he was handed a rookie deal for the 2016-17 season

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Apr-2016Sixteen-year-old batsman Jason Sangha has become the youngest player ever contracted by New South Wales after he was handed a rookie deal for the 2016-17 season. The Blues have finalised their squad list for next summer and another teenager, the 18-year-old spinner Arjun Nair, who last season made his state debut aged 17, has received a full contract.Wicketkeeper-batsman Jay Lenton and top-order batsman Ryan Gibson have earned full contracts, while offspinner Chris Green and fast bowler Liam Hatcher have been handed rookie deals. Opening batsman Daniel Solway, who held a rookie contract last season, has missed out on this year’s list.The inclusion of Sangha came after he enjoyed a meteoric rise through the junior ranks last summer, starting the season in the New South Wales Under-15 Schoolboys team before also being picked in the Cricket Australia Invitation sides for both the Under-17 and Under-19 National Championships.A batsman from Newcastle, Sangha was also picked in Australia’s Under-19 team in January and scored 102 on Youth ODI debut against Pakistan in Dubai. He will juggle his training with the Blues and his Year 11 high-school commitments throughout the rest of 2016.”New South Wales has a long tradition of backing young talent and we are delighted to be able to bring Jason Sangha, Arjun Nair, Liam Hatcher and Chris Green into the Blues squad this summer,” Andrew Jones, the Cricket New South Wales CEO, said.”Along with Mickey Edwards, Jonte Pattison and Henry Thornton, these rookies have a tremendous amount of potential and we look forward to seeing them develop under the guidance of the Blues coaching staff and senior players.”The Blues had a solid summer in 2015-16, winning the Matador BBQs One-Day Cup and achieving the best win-loss record in the Sheffield Shield. The squad also supplied the majority of the Australian Test team. Our challenge now is to build on this momentum, to defend the Matador Cup and win the Sheffield Shield.”New South Wales squad Sean Abbott, Doug Bollinger, Ryan Carters, Harry Conway, Trent Copeland, Ed Cowan, Pat Cummins (Cricket Australia contract), Ben Dwarshuis, Ryan Gibson, Josh Hazlewood (CA), Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Josh Lalor, Nick Larkin, Jay Lenton, Nathan Lyon, Nic Maddinson, Arjun Nair, Peter Nevill (CA), Steve O’Keefe, Kurtis Patterson, Ben Rohrer, Gurinder Sandhu, Steven Smith (CA), Will Somerville, Mitchell Starc (CA), David Warner (CA).
Rookies Mickey Edwards, Chris Green, Liam Hatcher, Jonte Pattison, Jason Sangha, Henry Thornton.

An unconvincing South Africa survived a spirited Afghanistan chase to defend a 200-plus score and get their World Twenty20 campaign back on track

The Report by Firdose Moonda20-Mar-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details 4:07

Chappell: South Africa have a few bowling concerns

An unconvincing South Africa survived a spirited Afghanistan chase to defend a 200-plus score and get their World Twenty20 campaign back on track. In the absence of Dale Steyn, who was left out for tactical reasons, Chris Morris and Imran Tahir squeezed through the middle period to ensure AB de Villiers’ quickfire 64 was not in vain.Afghanistan’s second loss means their chances of progressing to the knockouts are all but over, but they have showed their promise. They kept up with the required run-rate for the first half of their innings and were ahead of where South Africa were at the same stage in their knock, but lost too many wickets to keep going. Afghanistan also did not have a 17th over like South Africa did; de Villiers took 29 runs off Rashid Khan, which ended up being the major difference between the two sides.In the end, South Africa will be relieved that they were able to defend their total, but disappointed that the margin of victory was not bigger. They tightened up on their discipline in the field but still gave away more extras than their opposition – six wides compared to two from Afghanistan – and did not show the kind of killer instinct that they will need later in the tournament.They also suffered an injury concern. JP Duminy left the field four balls into Afghanistan’s chase with a hamstring strain and was unable to take any further part in the match. Duminy has only just found form again and his availability will be important for the rest of the World T20.As the same venue where they posted 229 batting first on Friday night, South Africa chose to set a target again. Quinton de Kock picked up from where he left off two days ago and dominated the opening passages of play. De Kock faced all but one delivery in the first two overs and found the boundary five times. Hashim Amla may have wanted to catch up but after one four, gifted a catch to Asghar Stanikzai at mid-off.South Africa held de Villiers back and sent in Faf du Plessis at No.3. The strategy worked. Du Plessis took on the spin from Mohammad Nabi while de Kock continued to attack in the Powerplay. South Africa finished it on 66 for 1 and 60 of those runs came in boundaries.When the fielding restrictions were lifted, Rashid put the brakes on with the first boundary-less over of the innings, but du Plessis did not want things to slow down too much. He picked up the pace before being run-out and de Villiers was soon at the crease.Afghanistan were not under threat immediately while de Villiers settled in and de Kock nicked off. After conceding just 19 runs in three overs after the halfway stage of the South African innings, Afghanistan might have been hopeful of pulling South Africa even further back. But Duminy and de Villiers were wise to the need to accelerate and began to push for runs.De Villiers should have been caught for 27 when he offered Samiullah Shenwari a return catch but he could not hold on his follow through and Rashid suffered most. He was torn apart in his final over, when de Villiers went over midwicket and down the ground five times. The result? Six, four, six, six and six. South Africa’s total went meandering to mighty and 200-plus was within sight. It was up to David Miller to take them there after de Villiers was dismissed. Twenty runs off the final over ensured South Africa had a second straight 200-plus score.South Africa would have felt fairly safe with 209 on the board, especially as Afghanistan two previous scores over 210 were only achieved batting first, but Mohammad Shahzad threatened to gun down that total all by himself. He began fearlessly against Kagiso Rabada and Kyle Abbott and plundered 32 runs off the first two overs. His partner Noor Ali Zadran did not face a ball until the third over and then, it was only to return the strike to Shahzad.Morris was brought on in the fourth over and showed improvement from previous performances. He started by holding his length back but then steamed in with a delivery just under 150kph – full and straightening – which splayed Shahzad’s stumps.Asghar Stanikzai and was caught behind in Morris’ next over but Gulbadin Naib kept Afghanistan in it and targeted David Wiese, South Africa’s replacement for Steyn. Afghanistan reached 10 overs on 103 for 2, 11 runs ahead of where South Africa were at the same stage. Then, Gulbadin was caught behind, Noor Ali was stumped, and Afghanistan were wobbling, still needing 100 runs off eight overs. Their chase was over then and South Africa had the chance to drill home an advantage.Instead, they allowed Afghanistan to drag it out. Abbott and Morris got the yorker right more often than they did in previous matches and Rabada managed one at the end, but South Africa will not feel it was a complete performance by any means.

Chelsea are considering dismissing Graham Potter from his managerial duties after appointing the Englishman only earlier this season.

What’s the latest on Chelsea’s managerial position?

The Premier League giants have fallen wayward this season, and despite replacing Thomas Tuchel with Potter in the maiden phase of campaign, Chelsea languish in tenth place after 23 matches.

As such, according to reports stemming from Spain, there have been a number of managers discerned as potential successors to the managerial position in west London, and Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone could be a tailor-made appointment at Stamford Bridge.

Simeone, according to prior reports, is set to depart from his role at the head of the Madrid-based outfit at the end of the campaign, ending an 11-year attachment to the club after arriving from his Argentine homeland in 2011.

Would Simeone be a good fit at Stamford Bridge?

Chelsea are a football club steeped in silverware. Since the turn of the millennia, no club in English football have clinched more major honours than the Blues; in 2020, Chelsea had one more trophy than Manchester United behind them, who have not tasted triumph dinner winning the Europa League in 2017.

And should the “respected” – as dubbed by Ralf Rangnick – Simeone be handed the opportunity to craft his own chapter in west London, he might just combine with owner Todd Boehly’s affluence to steer the club towards the very forefront of the competitive pool of talent in England, and indeed in Europe.

Despite living in the shadow of FC Barcelona and Real Madrid at Atletico, Simeone has become a “master of the dark arts” – as dubbed by CBS’ Aaron West – enjoying ample success and bringing silverware to his team, winning two La Liga titles, two Europa League’s, the Copa del Rey and two UEFA Super Cup trophies.

This comes after a period in Los Colchoneros’ history of great strife, achieving promotion to the top-flight roughly ten years prior to Simeone’s arrival and winning just two major honours during this time.

A manager who is “like Mourinho” – in the words of Danny Mills – he possesses such a clear identity and proven track record of sniffing out silverware and heaping success onto his outfit.

That certainly goes in tandem with the demands and expectations of the proud and prestigious Chelsea fanbase, no strangers to roaring in adulation as their crops of players lift trophies into the air.

Organisation and tactical fluidity are the two salient aspects of Simeone’s system at Madrid, and despite not more most aesthetically-pleasing and free-flowing manager in Europe, it is these components that make up an iron-clad resolve that has formed the nucleus of his sustained success in Spain.

The 52-year-old, lauded as “absolutely exceptional” by Jurgen Klopp, could emulate the success of past Chelsea managers Mourinho and Antonio Conte – the most offensive-minded managers, the sturdy defence and steely mentality ensured silverware rained down from multiple corners.

As such, Chelsea would greatly benefit from someone of Simeone’s ilk, reconstructing the core of the club and providing the dynamic that many past Chelsea squads have held in order to steer towards success in abundance.

Stats preview to the first Test between Australia and Sri Lanka in Brisbane

Mathew Varghese07-Nov-2007Sri Lanka head in to the two-Test series against Australia in quest of
their first win in the country, something that they haven’t achieved
on eight previous attempts. Australia have only lost one Test against
Sri Lanka till date, in Kandy in 1999.

Sri Lanka’s task is even more challenging when one considers this fact:
Australia have not lost a Test in the venues for this series – the Gabba
in Brisbane and the Bellerive Oval in Hobart – in nearly 20 years. The last time Australia lost at the
Gabba was in November 1988, while they have never
lost one at the Bellerive Oval. Incidentally, Sri Lanka were
Australia’s opponents in the inaugural Test at the Bellerive Oval, a match the hosts won by 173 runs.

The consolation Sri Lanka can take is that they have managed a draw in
the solitary Test they have played at the Gabba.Sri Lanka do possess a potent bowling attack – Chaminda Vaas,
Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando and Muttiah Muralitharan – that could
trouble Australia. Since 2005, Sri Lanka’s bowling unit has been the
best in terms of average and strike-rate.

However, the figures are slightly misleading, as Sri Lanka have played seven
Tests in that period against Bangladesh, managing 137 wickets at 18.19
apiece. If you exclude figures against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka average
30.65 per wicket and Australia 27.26.The upcoming Test series will also be the first for Australia after the
retirements of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. The impact that McGrath and Warne have made is well reflected in the Australia’s win-loss ratio over the past few years
in matches with and without them.

Of the four series that Australia didn’t manage to win this decade –
against India away in 2001, against New Zealand at home in 2001, against India at home in 2003-04 and the Ashes away in 2005 – Warne and McGrath played in the entire series only twice, in 2001 against India and New Zealand. While both McGrath and Warne missed the home series against India, a freak injury
before the start of the second Ashes Test meant McGrath only played two of the last four Tests.However, if the recent records of the Stuarts – MacGill and Clark, the
two who will take over from Warne and McGrath – are anything to go by,
Ricky Ponting need not panic over the absence of his strike bowlers.

The batsmen have tended to do well at the Gabba, the venue for the first
Test, with both spinners and the pace bowlers not having much success in
Tests of late.

Sri Lanka’s batsmen will need to string together partnerships at the
Gabba, something which the visiting teams have failed to do in recent years.

With the retirement of Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden will have another
left-hander – Phil Jaques – as his partner at the top of the order for
Australia. Hayden has been involved in the two most successful
partnerships in the 2000s – with Langer and Ponting. Sri Lanka’s likely
opening pair – Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya – figure in the top five
while the middle-order pair of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara
are in sixth place.

Journalists Nizaar Kinsella and Michael Bridge have heaped praise on Tottenham Hotspur after some transfer news out of north London.

Who have Tottenham signed?

Ange Postecoglou saw his ranks significantly reinforced over the summer window, as Spurs sealed deals for seven major signings.

Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, young centre-back Ashley Phillips, defender Micky van de Ven, playmaker James Maddison, winger Manor Solomon, striker Alejo Veliz and forward Brennan Johnson all put pen to paper on moves to N17 before September 1; providing more strength in depth.

This comes as former superstar Harry Kane, Sergio Reguilon, Joe Rodon, Djed Spence, Harry Winks, Alfie Devine, Troy Parrott, Dane Scarlett, Davinson Sanchez and Tanguy Ndombele seal moves elswhere is a real overhaul of the squad.

Postecoglou, chairman Daniel Levy and new Chief Football Officer Scott Munn are beginning to reshape the Spurs team in their new manager's image. It's been quite the start for him, too, as Tottenham begin the Premier League campaign with three wins from their opening four matches.

Impressively, they're currently matching last season's treble-winning Man City side for goals scored so far this season (11); highlighting the very promising early stages of Postecoglou're tenure in charge.

The Australian's appointment has also marked the return of open, attacking fooball at Tottenham with players like Dejan Kulusevski saying Postecoglou's ability has taken him by "surprise".

"I've been a little surprised but he’s really good," said Kulusevski on his new boss.

"We had a very tough time at the end of last season but he has come in with really positive energy and it has gone very quickly. We are a young team and everyone wants to play this way… It's clear that all of us players have done our best to listen as much as possible."

What's the latest Spurs transfer news?

Life under Postecoglou has been joyous for both members of the squad and players alike.

Tottenham have also been building an under-the-radar project for their new manager behind-the-scenes, as relayed by Alasdair Gold, who said this week that there is an "unseen" academy revolution happening right now.

The signing of Luka Vuskovic, who is joining Spurs' thriving youth set up when he turns 18 in 2025, is set to add further promise to their already-exciting crop of young talent at Hotspur Way.

Sky journalist Bridge, speaking to the Last Word on Spurs podcast this week (as transcribed by To The Lane and Back), says it's "very, very positive move".

“Now I don’t think Spurs will see him until 2025. But the fact that Spurs are actually thinking that far ahead is very, very positive," said Bridge.

"One person who knows the youth level has said to me that this kid could be ready at 18, which is quite unbelievable. But I suppose that’s backed up by the level he’s playing.”

Another member of the media to heap praise on Spurs after the signing of Vuskovic is The Evening Standard's Kinsella, who writes on X that the club have made a "really exciting signing" for Postecoglou.

Kinsella said: "Really exciting signing from Tottenham."

Time is running out for Jason Holder’s team to identify combinations for the World Cup Qualifiers next year, even as Tom Latham’s men seek to close out 2017 with a 3-0 sweep

The Preview by Akshay Gopalakrishnan25-Dec-2017Big PictureA month after arriving in New Zealand, West Indies are still in search of a win on the tour. They were blanked 2-0 in the Tests and have already conceded the ODIs 2-0 with a game to go. These performances are indicative of what has largely been a forgettable 2017 for the team. West Indies have lost 15 out of the 21 ODIs they’ve played this year, failed to qualify for the Champions Trophy in England – a contest between the eight top ranked teams in the world – and they also lost out on a direct entry into the 2019 World Cup.That leaves West Indies to go through the qualifying tournament in March next year, where they will compete with nine other teams for the last two available spots for the next World Cup in England. Given the highly competitive nature of that tournament, the sooner West Indies can identify and settle into a combination that will take them into the tournament and ahead, the better.Poor shot selection, repetitive errors and recklessness plagued West Indies in the second ODI, which they lost by 204 runs after crumbling to 121 all out in a chase of 326. It urged their coach Stuart Law to impel the batsmen to use better discretion. With the kind of firepower that West Indies boast, some degree of application from the batsmen could help them challenge New Zealand for the first time on the tour.New Zealand continue to be without the rested duo of Tim Southee and Kane Williamson, but have enough strength at the bench to make up for their absence. This hasn’t been New Zealand’s most dominant year, with 10 wins and eight defeats, but they are still a formidable ODI side at home. Barring a 2-3 defeat to South Africa early this year, New Zealand have not lost a home series since 2014.New Zealand’s batting depth came to the fore in the last match when they recovered from 186 for 5 to end up with 325 in 50 overs. And each of their pacers is equipped to exploit the swing on offer, led by Trent Boult, who returned career-best figures of 7 for 34 in the second ODI.Form guideNew Zealand WWLLW (completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies LLLLLIn the spotlightOpener George Worker has had a solid start to his ODI career. He is reaping the benefits of a fruitful 2016-17 domestic season, followed by a strong club season in England. Worker has thrived in the absence of Martin Guptill, who is still overcoming a hamstring strain. With a brace of half-centuries already in this series, another strong show will make things interesting on the selection front once Guptill is fit.Shannon Gabriel has been rendered ineffective in seamer-friendly conditions. He hasn’t done justice to his pace and has gone wicketless this series. Besides, he has gone for 132 runs in the 20 overs he has bowled. Coming from one of the strike bowlers in the team, that is a tad underwhelming. West Indies need Gabriel at his best to stop a powerful New Zealand line-up and avoid a 3-0 sweep.Team newsNew Zealand are unlikely to ring in changes. Mitchell Santner has not played a part in this ODI series yet, and that will likely remain the case, with Todd Astle having scored runs and picked up wickets in the two games so far.New Zealand (probable): 1 George Worker, 2 Colin Munro, 3 Neil Broom, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Tom Latham (capt, wk), 6 Henry Nicholls, 7 Todd Astle, 8 Doug Bracewell, 9 Lockie Ferguson, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Trent BoultLaw sounded optimistic about Chris Gayle’s recovery from a bout of viral infection. Gayle has been in belligerent form lately: he struck a record 18 sixes in a T20 innings, in the final of the recently-concluded Bangladesh Premier League that gave his side Rangpur Riders the title. Should Gayle recover, Kyle Hope will sit out.Ronsford Beaton, who was pulled up for a suspect action after the second ODI, is likely to miss out with a side strain, while Kesrick Williams has hamstring troubles. That leaves West Indies thin on the fast-bowling front and they may be forced to pick the left-arm spinner Nikita Miller.West Indies (probable): 1 Chris Gayle/Kyle Hope, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Shai Hope (wk), 4 Shimron Hetmyer, 5 Jason Mohammed, 6 Jason Holder (capt), 7 Rovman Powell, 8 Ashley Nurse, 9 Nikita Miller, 10 Sheldon Cottrell , 11 Shannon GabrielPitch and conditionsChristchurch is known to be a pacer’s paradise, with the greenness of the surface and the swing it offers. But once the new ball is blunted, it does tend to favour batting, as witnessed in the previous game where New Zealand put up 325 from 186 for 5. All that is only if the weather permits. A cold start is expected on Boxing Day, with isolated showers, especially around midday and evening.Stats and trivia Tom Latham needs 133 runs to complete 2000 runs in One-Day Internationals. West Indies’ 204-run defeat in the second ODI was their heaviest to New Zealand in ODIs.Quotes “It’s a little bit different waking up [on Christmas] morning and saying ‘Merry Christmas’ to everybody. Nice to get out of the house [for training] and earn the Christmas ham.”
“Words are cheap. We’ve got to see actions now. I don’t think what we saw in the first two games is a fair indication of how well these guys can play. We were trying to get 300 in 25 overs, when we had 50 overs to get it. Our guys want to be positive and play an attractive brand, but you can’t be reckless with it. You’ve got to be smart in the way you go about it.”