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Rangana Herath took the last four wickets to seal a big win for Sri Lanka after Bangladesh’s top collapsed in the first hour of the final day

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando in Galle11-Mar-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details5:48

Fernando: Herath a fourth-innings force of nature

Sri Lanka’s slow bowlers imposed their familiar chokehold over another fourth innings of a home Test match, uprooting batsmen as early as the second ball of the day, before sending the Test hurtling to its conclusion by the middle of the afternoon session.Leading the final charge was Rangana Herath. He was unstoppable as ever in defence of a score, and picked up record for most career wickets for a left-arm spinner en route to figures of 6 for 59. This was his 29th five-wicket haul overall, and his 10th in the fourth innings – no one in the history of the game has got more than seven.Batting in the fourth innings in Galle is among the most daunting of Test cricket’s challenges, and although Bangladesh suggested they might approach the task with spunk on the fourth afternoon, fell away quickly on Saturday. This was their third day-five collapse in four matches, having also failed to draw matches in Wellington and Hyderabad. Save for a 19-over stand between Mushfiqur Rahim and Liton Das, there was little in the way of resistance. They were eventually all out for 197 – 259 runs short of Sri Lanka.Their woes had begun immediately on day five. Soumya Sarkar, who had sped to fifty the previous afternoon, almost sent a catch to short leg off Asela Gunaratne first ball, but was out next ball in any case, Gunaratne’s offbreak jiving away from his defence to shave the top of off stump.The top order then quickly succumbed. Dilruwan Perera came to the crease to bowl to Mominul Haque, and trapped the batsman with much the same delivery that had got him out in the first innings. Flighted in to pitch on around middle stump, Perera turned the ball, beat the shot, and rapped a leaden-footed Mominul dead in front of middle stump. So scrambled was the batsman’s mind, that he even ventured a heedless review of that lbw decision though he never really thought he had a chance of surviving it – walking most of the way to the boundary before the third-umpire could even run the simulations.Tamim Iqbal soon sent a catch to slip off Perera, before Herath made his presence known with a double-strike that drew him level with Daniel Vettori’s career wicket tally of 362. Shakib Al Hasan was caught at leg slip off one that turned a little more than the batsman expected, then two balls later, Mahmudullah was lbw to a delivery that spun past his defence as well. At that stage, Bangladesh had lost five wickets in 12.4 overs.Mushfiqur and Liton mounted a brief fight through the back end of the first session, lending hope that Bangladesh might be able to survive until the afternoon rains came. But by now Galle’s pitch – itself often a force of nature – had become unfriendly, and even the bad balls turned far enough to draw mistakes. Lakshan Sandakan turned a ball way down the legside in the over after lunch, and Mushfiqur got himself out chasing it and offering a thin edge to the keeper. Sandakan had dismissed Shakib in similar style in the first innings.Herath then soon had Liton caught off the leading edge at cover to take his 363rd Test wicket – which made him the game’s most successful left-arm spinner – and the tail exposed now, the result seemed inevitable. Taskin Ahmed, Mehedi Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman all fell to Herath. All up, Bangladesh could only last 45.2 of the 98 overs they were due to bat on the day.

A round-up of the Group D games in the 2016-17 Vijay Hazare Trophy, which took place on February 25, 2017

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Feb-2017Hyderabad seamer Ravi Kiran and left-arm spinner Mehdi Hasan took three wickets each to help their side bowl out Jammu & Kashmir for 228 and set up a 29-run win. A 70-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Parvez Rasool and Ahmed Bandy, which came at more than eight runs an over, had put J&K’s chase of 258 back on track after quick wickets. However, once both batsmen were out, the lower order slumped quickly – J&K lost their five wickets for 22 runs to fold in the 43rd over.Earlier, fifties from openers Tanmay Agarwal and Akshath Reddy carried Hyderabad to 257. Their 127-run opening partnership gave Hyderabad a platform strong enough to survive a brief slide where they lost four wickets within five overs, before S Badrinath and Hasan nudged the score past 200. Hasan remained unbeaten on 28 off 26 balls, having seen the side through to 257.MS Dhoni’s 50-ball 43 and Saurabh Tiwary’s 68 were not enough to help Jharkhand chase down a target of 267 against Karnataka, who won by five runs with only one ball to spare. The pair came together with Jharkhand at 79 for 4 in the 20th over and added 81 runs to put the chase back on track. After Dhoni fell, Tiwary kept the chase alive with a rapid 39 runs for the seventh wicket with Shabaz Nadeem off 26 deliveries. However, Tiwary’s dismissal in the 42nd over left Jharkhand with another 63 to get and although the lower order strung up partnerships, the side was eventually dismissed off the penultimate ball of the game. Rahul Shukla was the last man to fall, run out for 23 off 20 balls, having driven the lower-order partnerships. K Gowtham had returns of 4 for 58.Shukla had earlier taken 4 for 45 in his nine overs as Karnataka were bowled out for 266. Ravikumar Samarth (71) and Manish Pandey (77) struck fifties and shared a 116-run partnership for the third wicket. Pavan Deshpande, too, chipped in with 36 off 34 balls.Seamer Suraj Yadav and wicketkeeper-batsman Nakul Verma played stellar hands in Services’ 48-run victory over Saurashtra.Yadav struck three times in his first two overs – including two wickets off two balls in the first over – to leave Saurashtra’s chase of 263 in trouble. Their score of 6 for 3 soon became 44 for 5 and they only managed to limp to 215 due to half-centuries from Prerak Mankad (58) and Jaydev Unadkat (57). Yadav returned to pick up one more wicket for figures of 4 for 47.Earlier, Verma’s second List-A century, 124 off 132 balls at the top of the order, set the base for Services’ total of 263 for 9. The remaining Services batsmen got starts but only Soumya Swain made a substantial contribution among them, with 32 off 36 deliveries. Seamer Shaurya Sanandia took 4 for 67 for Saurashtra

Leeds United's transfer policy for this summer window has already been well-documented, with interim sporting director Nick Hammond seeking to hone his focus on domestic markets.

Already the Whites have largely been linked with lower-Premier League or upper-Championship talents, in an effort to escape the latter at the first time of asking.

However, the 49ers must first choose the new manager who will hopefully spearhead this venture before they can truly delve into the market.

That is not to suggest that they will not still gather options, as one report from early June suggests that Sory Kaba is an anomaly within their list of targets.

Despite spending half of last term on loan at Cardiff City, the hulking striker has now returned to his parent club FC Midtjylland, fresh off some blistering form in the English second division.

Should the Yorkshire outfit make a move to bring him back to the league, it could mark the acquisition of a man already well-versed in finding the net at this level as well as the end of the line for Patrick Bamford.

Who is Sory Kaba?

The 29-year-old forward endured arguably his toughest year since moving to Elland Road, having struggled with injuries and then failing to recapture any semblance of form when it mattered.

Many would look to his high-profile misses as a huge factor in their relegation, given the forward failed to score a whopping 13 big chances across the league campaign.

This understandably fed into his 6.60 average Sofascore rating, given the nearest tally within the squad for such a miserable metric sat at just four.

Whilst the England dud was squandering sitters, the 27-year-old Bluebirds ace was finding the back of the net with some regularity. As such, he could well be the striker that finally sends Bamford packing.

Eight goals and one assist in 17 Championship appearances marked an admirable return, and across all competitions including his initial spell in Denmark, he would notch 18 goal contributions.

Blending this lethal nature with a 6 foot 3 frame too, he clearly boasts the physicality to compete within English football, with manager Sabri Lamouchi praising the in-form front man in March:

"This is the challenge for him, to be the best scorer for this team. He can do that. He's scored important goals, he's given us important points and is doing a job. I'm happy for him and happy for the team."

Leeds will be desperate to secure a consistent source of goals for the coming season regardless of who ends up in charge, and this £15k-per-week finisher offers a perfect option to provide just that.

Everything you need to know about German defender Antonio Rudiger's salary at Real Madrid

Germany international Antonio Rudiger has been a stalwart in Real Madrid's defence ever since his arrival at the club from Chelsea in 2021 after winning the Champions League with the Premier League giants.

He repeated the same feat the following season, this time with Los Blancos and Rudiger's reliable presence at the back makes him one of the most integral members of the squad in the Spanish capital.

Thanks to his consistency and intimidating stature at the heart of the defense, he has been rewarded with a hefty salary by Florentino Pérez.

But exactly how much does he earn playing for the Whites?

GOAL delved into the numbers with Capology and found out!

*

Antonio Rudiger's wages at Real Madrid in numbers

Under his current contract, Rudiger earns about £236,449 ($305,568) on a weekly basis.

Meanwhile, his annual salary scales over £12 million ($15m), making him the highest-paid defender at the club after David Alaba.

Player

Nationality

Weekly wages in GBP

Weekly wages in USD

Annual wages in GBP

Annual wages in USD

Antonio Rudiger

German

  £236,449

$305,568

£12,295,366

$18,889,504

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTop earners at Real Madrid

Although Rudiger earns a substantial salary at Real Madrid, he fails to make it into the top five earners at the club.

The highest earner at Real Madrid is former PSG star Kylian Mbappe, followed by David Alaba, who is a somewhat surprising entrant in second place.

Following the Austrian on the list are Jude Bellingham and Vinícius Jr., who earn identical wages, while Fede Valverde rounds off the list at number five.

Player

Nationality

Weekly wages in GBP

Weekly wages in USD

Annual wages in GBP

Annual wages in USD

Kylian Mbappe

French

£498,248

$629,355

£25,908,917

$32,726,459

David Alaba

Austrian

£356,659

455,608

£18,546,242 

$ 23,691,627

Jude Bellingham

English

£330,187

$ 421,792

£17,169,698

$ 21,933,182

Vinicius Jr.

Brazilian

£330,187

$ 421,792

£17,169,698

$ 21,933,182

Fede Valverde

Uruguayan

£264,244

$337,555

£ 13,740,704 

$17,552,863

Top earners in La Liga

When it comes to the top five earners in the league, Barcelona's veteran striker Robert Lewandowski tops the list.

Meanwhile, three Real Madrid players in Mbappe, Alaba, and Bellingham also make the top five.

The only Atlético Madrid player to make the cut is Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak.

Player

Nationality

Weekly wages GBP

Weekly wages USD

Annual  wages GBP

Annual wages USD

Robert Lewandowski

Polish

£528,330

$ 674,908

£27,473,166

$35,095,197

Kylian Mbappe

French

£498,248

$629,355

£25,908,917

$32,726,459

David Alaba

Austrian

£356,659

£455,608

£18,546,242

$23,691,627

Jan Oblak

Slovenian

£330,187

$421,792

£17,169,698

$21,933,182

Jude Bellingham

English

£330,187

$421,792

£17,169,698

$21,933,182

Getty ImagesHighest paid players in the world

Although it may seem like players in La Liga earn incredible wages, their salaries don't even come close when compared to the top earners worldwide.

Currently, all the players in the top five highest earners globally play in the Saudi Pro League.

Ranking first and second on the list are former Real Madrid attackers Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, respectively, while Riyad Mahrez takes the third spot. Finally, rounding off the top five are Senegalese internationals Sadio Mané and Kalidou Koulibaly

Player

Club

Weekly wages GBP

Weekly wages USD

Annual wages GBP

Annual wages USD

Cristiano Ronaldo

Al Nassr

£3,224,935

$4,166,513

£167,696,622

$215,658,680

Karim Benzema

Al Ittihad

£1,612,468

$2,083,257

£83,848,311

$108,329,340

Riyad Mahrez

Al Ahli

£841,708

$1,087,460

£43,768,818

$56,547,915

Sadio Mane

Al Nassr

£644,987

$833,033

£33,539,324

$43,331,736

Kalidou Koulibaly

Al Hilal

£559,526

$722,890

£29,095,364

$37,590,281

It’s been quite the ride for those of a Liverpool persuasion. Over the past decade, the Reds have gone from being a Premier League laughing stock to one of the most imperious outfits on the continent.

Jurgen Klopp conquered English football and handed the Anfield side their sixth Champions League title too. He willed Liverpool into an incredible, attractive unit and left the squad in perfect shape for someone like Arne Slot to come in and take the reins.

Now, with Manchester City in a spin and Arsenal and Chelsea not quite so impressive, Liverpool are the early favourites to win Europe’s top competition in 2024/25 and are four points clear at the Premier League summit having played a game less than second-placed Chelsea.

Life is good, but it could be better yet in the months and years to come. It’s crucial to understand that the Merseysiders are technically in their first iteration, their nascent stage. Slot inherited a wonderfully talented crop, but he’s still pumping his teachings into the club.

Let’s put the brakes on a moment and remember the last time Liverpool were in their early stage as an elite-level outfit. Way back in 2017/18, they had broken free of mediocrity and were back in the Champions League, and oh how fun Klopp’s side were.

When Klopp's Liverpool were pure… fun

It was the year that Liverpool suffered heartbreak at the final stage of Europe’s elite club competition, and perhaps it felt like a once-in-a-generation opportunity missed, but Klopp’s lads rebounded to win the thing one year later.

That 2017/18 season, however, was one of excitement and incredible moments, Klopp having birthed an iconic team but not yet fashioned it into something sustainable. Albeit, he came within a whisker.

Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino were playing their first term as a trio, and though they went on to achieve great things over a number of years, there was a remarkable period with Philippe Coutinho nestled in behind.

The Brazilian playmaker had been at Liverpool since January 2013, when he left Inter Milan in a bargain deal worth £8.5m, and for a while stood as the lonely bright spark in a grey pre-Klopp world.

With 54 goals and 45 assists across 201 outings for the Redmen, he was a real talent, indeed a beacon of hope, but Coutinho saved his finest football for those final few months.

Having handed in a transfer request in August 2017 as Barcelona lurked, seen it rejected by Klopp and his crew, and then played with a feverish intensity that lifted Liverpool into standing as one of the finest attacking teams on the continent.

Matches (starts)

14 (13)

Goals

7

Assists

6

Pass accuracy

79%

Key passes*

2.9

Dribbles*

2.8

Tackles*

1.2

Total duels won*

5.6

When Coutinho left, it felt pretty devastating, but La Blaugrana forked out an English-record-breaking £142m to bring the magician over to Catalonia, where he never hit the same giddy heights.

Liverpool then had the resources to mould Klopp’s project into something capable of not just dazzling in moments, but offering tangible routes toward illustrious prosperity with a consistency that fans could scarcely have dreamt of only months earlier.

Klopp described Coutinho as a “genius of a player” during the early stage of his tenure, but he didn’t prove to be indispensable and was actually the perfect sale for an outfit on the rise.

Why selling Coutinho was an incredible success

You could grind it down to a simple sentence: the stunning financial gain filled Liverpool’s coffers to the brim.

With Michael Edwards and Klopp not yet divorced and fractious toward each other, Liverpool were able to identify and swoop for targets deemed capable of taking the club to the highest level of European football.

Southampton centre-back Virgil van Dijk was signed in a deal worth £75m, a world record for a defender, in January 2018, and Roma goalkeeper Alisson Becker arrived the following summer for £67m, in the wake of the Champions League final defeat against Real Madrid that ended Loris Karius’ Anfield career.

Smart recruitment has been central throughout Liverpool’s successes of the past decade, but it’s clear that without Coutinho’s sale for such a staggering sum, the same heights wouldn’t have been reached, for the Reds would have been forced to settle for lesser parts in one area or another.

Just imagine a world where Van Dijk stands in Chelsea blue, playing for the Londoners after Liverpool were unable to act upon their vested interest.

How about you picture a Champions League landscape with Alisson Becker between the Santiago Bernebeu sticks, for he rejected Real Madrid in favour of Klopp’s Liverpool.

Neither of these dreadful eventualities proved to be anything more than paper talk. Talk about a watershed moment. The very framework of Liverpool’s prosperity over the past eight years is built on Coutinho’s sale, arguably the most important piece of transfer business conducted since Klopp’s arrival way back when.

Liverpool could count on Coutinho, now 32, for a moment of magic, but found something better in the players welcomed with the funds collected from his sale.

And for Coutinho, surely a sense of regret. Despite winning the Champions League with Bayern Munich and two La Liga titles with Barcelona, he’s indeed failed to ever reach the stunning level that he displayed under Klopp’s wing, having now been on Aston Villa’s books for the past several seasons.

That said, the Brazilian has spent the past few years out on loan, with Al Duhail in Dubai and now Vasco de Gama in his homeland, now valued at just £5m, as per Transfermarkt.

It would seem that Liverpool hit the jackpot at the perfect time with this one, not least because his dramatic fall in market value has left him worth less than Slot’s firing player Wataru Endo, who is 31 years old and valued at £11m.

The fact that even an ageing Endo – who looks set to depart in January – is worth more than Liverpool’s record-breaking sale is a testament to his decline, with the playmaker perhaps wondering what might have been had he never left Anfield behind.

Sold for 1823% more: Liverpool struck gold on Klopp's "outstanding talent"

Liverpool made a great profit selling him

ByJoe Nuttall Dec 12, 2024

Keith Barker hits back with four wickets as Hampshire find late new-ball breakthroughs

Cameron Ponsonby21-Apr-2022Daniel Bell-Drummond’s 12th first-class century dominated day one, but a late collapse and a four-wicket haul from Keith Barker would see Hampshire finish the day slightly on top with the score at 271 for 7.It is easy to forget that Bell-Drummond is still only 28. His professional debut in cricket came over a decade ago and he was just a teenager when England’s new managing director Rob Key dubbed him as a player with the potential to play 100 Tests. And even ten years on, he is still England U19’s all-time leading run-scorer.Key’s prediction seemed particularly astute when Bell-Drummond, aged 21, scored a 92-ball century against Australia in 2015 and followed it up in 2016 with a first-class season where he averaged 68.07. Glory awaited.But then the runs dried up. Whereas he scored nine first-class centuries in the first five years of his career, the following six would add just three more (including today), as his red-ball runs were replaced with white. His form with the bat mirrored the wider pattern of the domestic game, where England’s short-format batting stocks are growing deeper than ever, while anyone with a pulse and Ed Smith’s phone number got a go at the Test team’s batting order. It is a recognition of Bell-Drummond’s lack of form in 2017 (avg 24.39) and 2018 (19.00) that even from the highs of the previous years the call never came.Nevertheless, given the clear potential Bell-Drummond had shown in the first half of his career, and the subsequent England selection policy of backing the potential of youth, you could be excused for wondering whether Bell-Drummond ever felt hard done by that the punt on potential that others have since received was never an opportunity afforded to him a few years earlier.”No, not at all”, Bell-Drummond said at the close of play. “I think if I was good enough then, I should be good enough now. I probably haven’t been as consistent as I’d have liked since 2016, so not at all. If anything, I see it as the opposite. Obviously, everyone loves a cap but I want to make sure I’m good enough if I get to that level. I think times are changing as well, Alastair Cook was playing then and a few runs were being scored. It’s been in the media about the wickets – obviously, we’ve had some really good ones here this year, but I think it’s a really different time. I don’t have any regrets.”It would be too much to describe this innings as a redemption for Bell-Drummond but it will hopefully be a new beginning for a player who only last year had found himself out of the Kent side. And lessons too can be taken from the success of Bell-Drummond’s team-mate Ben Compton, who today scored 27 in his first innings in a Kent shirt that hasn’t finished with him reaching three figures.Compton, a late entrant to the first-class game, has been celebrated as an example of where determination and commitment to a goal can take you. His reward would appear to be the potential of a long professional career now ahead of him. And yet the newbie Compton and the veteran Bell-Drummond are, of course, the same age.”I definitely do take admiration from Compton and how he’s started,” Bell-Drummond said. “It’s been unbelievable, to be honest. Maybe he expected it, but I don’t think we thought we’d signed this calibre of player. But he’s an awesome player and he’ll go from strength to strength.Related

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“But it just shows his ambitions and how strong he is mentally. I take a lot from that. That’s the main thing I’ve learnt. In terms of my career, I just try to take each day as it comes. I know how good I can be, but I just really want to be more consistent. I’ve done really well in white-ball cricket, so now it’s just about adding the red-ball side to it.”Both sets of skills were on show today as Bell-Drummond played the seam of Kyle Abbott, Mohammad Abbas and Keith Barker with patience while targeting the short leg-side boundary when facing the leg spin of Mason Crane.And for as long as Bell-Drummond was at the crease, the day looked set to be a dominant occasion for Kent, whose only brief wobbles with the bat were right at the start of the day when Zak Crawley edged behind off the bowling of Abbas and then, 100 runs later, when Compton and Tawanda Muyeye fell in quick succession.The double breakthrough had sparked some life into Hampshire, with captain James Vince bellowing “150 for 5!” across the ground in both hope and expectation as the hosts stood at 113 for 3.But Bell-Drummond and Jordan Cox, who made 51, would take Kent past 200 and beyond, and it was only in the last hour of the day that Hampshire looked like taking any sheen off their efforts, with Kent sitting pretty at that stage on 239 for 3.But when Bell-Drummond was given lbw off the bowling of Abbott for 149, Kent proceeded to collapse. It is the nature of the four-day game that while good things take a long time to arrive with the bat, bad things can happen very quickly. And in the final hour Kent would lose four wickets for just 26 runs as Barker struck twice with the second new ball to add to his earlier wickets of Muyeye and Compton.”They bowled well with the second new ball so the game’s still in the balance,” Bell-Drummond said. “Obviously we’d have liked to have gone in three-, four- or five-down at the end of the day but we’re still pretty content and for the most part it was a good day.”

Mason Greenwood's England future hangs on the balance as the Marseille star has been told that the "ball is in his court" over representing Jamaica.

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Greenwood is likely to switch allegianceJamaican federation yet to receive documentsMcClaren confident of Man Utd reunionFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The Football Association’s (FA) chief executive, Mark Bullingham, recently confirmed that Greenwood had expressed his intention to change allegiance to Jamaica, where he would link up with former England manager Steve McClaren. However, the Jamaican Football Federation (JFF) has yet to receive the necessary paperwork to complete the switch, raising doubts over whether Greenwood will follow through with his decision, reports.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

The JFF had been hopeful that Greenwood’s eligibility would be settled before the nation's 2026 World Cup qualifiers in June and the forward was also seen as a potential key player for their CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign. However, due to delays in documentation, his involvement in these competitions is no longer guaranteed.

WHAT MCCLAREN SAID

Despite the uncertainty, Jamaica manager McClaren remains optimistic that Greenwood is fully committed to representing the Caribbean nation.

"We are in contact all the time, with him and his family,” he said. "I am very confident he only wants to play for Jamaica. It is up to him when he moves forward with that. The ball is in his court."

DID YOU KNOW?

McClaren, who previously worked at Manchester United as an assistant coach, took charge of Jamaica’s national team last year. Under his leadership, the JFF has actively pursued dual-nationality players to strengthen the squad, with Greenwood viewed as a major addition.

Glasgow Rangers are building momentum at precisely the right time following a relatively straightforward 3-0 win over Ross County over the weekend.

With a Europa League tie at Ibrox against Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday, followed by the League Cup final against Celtic days later, Philippe Clement will be pleased with how his side performed in the Highlands.

These two matches could define the season, yet Clement is already looking ahead to January…

Rangers have Championship star high on their list

It is no secret that the Light Blues need to add another player or two to the squad ahead of the second half of the campaign.

According to Glasgow World, the Gers are believed to be on the hunt for an attacking player this winter, with Leeds United youngster Joe Gelhardt reportedly high on the list of transfer targets.

He has failed to impress Daniel Farke this season, slipping down the pecking order and this could see him move away from Elland Road next month.

Further reports from Football Insider suggest he wants to sign for the club with rumours that Rangers are ‘plotting’ their move for the young attacker.

His contract expires in 2027, which suggests Leeds might be looking for a sizeable fee in order to let him depart. Could a loan deal be worked out between the two clubs?

Rangers have enjoyed previous success with regard to signing players from the Championship. Gelhardt could potentially be another Todd Cantwell-type figure at Ibrox.

Todd Cantwell 2.0 for Rangers

Of course, we all know how Cantwell’s spell at the club ended, but for a time, he was an exciting player who looked like he could be a star player for the Ibrox side over the next few years.

The Englishman fell out of favour at Norwich City, leading Michael Beale to sign him in 2023. Six goals and five assists during his first five months indicated that he could turn out to be a fine signing.

Despite registering 15 goal contributions last term, it was clear Clement wasn’t his biggest fan, leading to his sale in the summer to Blackburn Rovers.

Gelhardt could hopefully have a similar sort of impact should he move to Scotland next month. The £14k-per-week starlet burst onto the scene during the 2021/22 season, scoring twice and grabbing two assists in the Premier League for Leeds.

Goals

6

7

Assists

4

5

Big chances created

5

7

Key passes per 90

1.3

1.7

Successful dribbles per 90

1.5

1.2

Jamie Carragher lavished praise on the youngster after a goal against Norwich in 2022, saying: “And he’s a special, special talent. He’ll be remembered now for this big goal, but I can assure you, he is a lad we will be talking about a lot in a few years’ time, he really is.”

Unfortunately, he hasn’t quite lived up to his potential. Since his maiden campaign, Gelhardt has netted just four goals, with three coming in the Championship during a loan spell with Sunderland.

Perhaps a change of scenery could do him the world of good? Cantwell shone after moving to Ibrox and if the club can even secure a short-term deal for the 22-year-old, he could be an ideal signing.

Better than Igamane: Rangers star who didn't even score was the real hero

The Glasgow Rangers titan was a monster in the Premiership clash with Ross County.

2 ByDan Emery Dec 8, 2024

Manchester City cannot be expelled by the Premier League, but they could be voted out of the division if found guilty of multiple FFP breaches.

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Verdict yet to be delivered in long-running casePotential punishments being speculated onCity not expected to be kicked out of the top tierFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The reigning champions of England remain locked in a Financial Fair Play battle that sees as many as 130 charges hanging over the Etihad Stadium. City have maintained their innocence throughout, but are still waiting on a verdict at the end of an independent hearing.

AdvertisementGetty Images THE BIGGER PICTURE

Various punishments have been speculated on, ranging from hefty points deductions to transfer embargoes. Premier League rules dictate that no club can be cast out of the top tier, but an expulsion poll could be conducted if that recommendation were to be put forward to a special meeting of shareholders.

DID YOU KNOW?

If that were to be the case, then 75 per cent of those given a vote would need to back the decision to drop City into the EFL ranks in order for the proposal to be pushed through. Such events remain purely speculative for now.

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GettyWHAT FOOTBALL GOVERNANCE SPECIALIST SAID

Aaryaman Banjeri, head of football governance at Lane Clark & Peacock, has told : "The issue of whether Manchester City might be expelled from the Premier League is a complex one. Rule B6 of the Premier League’s Handbook stipulates that, in order to trigger the expulsion of one of its members, clubs would have to vote as part of a Special Resolution.

"This would require 15 clubs to vote in favour of expulsion. It will be instructive to see whether the Independent Commission is held to this requirement, or whether this might be worked around, so that the Commission can itself impose such a sanction."

Bangladesh’s head coach also wants the batters to put together substantial partnerships

Mohammad Isam05-Mar-2022Bangladesh’s trend of dropping catches continued as they missed three straightforward chances in the second T20I against Afghanistan. Both Hazaratullah Zazai and Usman Ghani were reprieved on their way to a 99-run second-wicket partnership in Afghanistan’s chase of 116. Nasum Ahmed dropped Zazai off his own bowling in the first over when the opener was on 0. Mohammad Naim and Afif Hossain then dropped Usman Ghani at the leg-side boundary when he was on 39 and 41.Bangladesh’s head coach Russell Domingo noted that Bangladesh have been dropping catches for the last 12 months.”Dropping nine catches in five games is unheard of,” Domingo said. “It is unbelievable when you think about it. If we knew what [the problem] was, we probably wouldn’t be doing it. Whether it is concentration, confidence or dealing with pressure, I am not 100% sure. We just have to make sure we try to improve. We make too many mistakes in the field that have cost us. It cost us in the World Cup, here, Test matches. Just too many dropped catches. You can do all the drills in practice but the players have to catch the balls in the games. That is the bottom line.”Domingo bemoaned another tricky pitch at the Shere Bangla National Stadium where he said openers from both sides struggled to hit the spinners in the early exchanges.”I don’t think the pitches were easy to bat on today,” he said. “It wasn’t a 115 pitch, but it wasn’t also a 160 pitch. If we got 135 we were in the game. At 99 for 4 with four overs to go, we were looking at 135. There’s obviously some areas of concern in batting, but it wasn’t an easy wicket to bat on today. Both their openers could have been out in the first two overs. The ball spins, grips, one bounces and one stays low. We know that it is tough to bat in Mirpur.”Bangladesh also struggled to put partnerships together, which Domingo said was another area where they needed improvement.”Even in the first game, every time we get a partnership going, we just lose a wicket,” Domingo said. Partnerships of 20-30 won’t win you games. You need 70-run partnerships. The boys made some poor decisions at crucial times in the games. Riyad (Mahmudullah) gets out after getting a good partnership with Mushfiq (Mushfiqur Rahim). Those are mistakes you can’t make against big teams.Domingo defended their selection of Mohammad Naim, after they dropped Yasir Ali, who had made his debut in the previous game, to make way for Mushfiqur Rahim who was returning from a finger injury. Naim managed only 13 off 19 balls on Saturday, but Domingo said that they still rate him highly.Five games ago everyone was saying Litton should be dropped,” he said. “Now everyone is saying Litton is the best player in the world. Sometimes players go through slumps in form. Coaches and selectors have to support those players. It is an important part of coaching and building a team. Naim was the right guy to play today. He is our highest-rated T20I batsman, if the media don’t know that. He deserves his spot.”