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Cameron White’s 130-ball 145 helped Victoria amass 343 and thump South Australia by 135 runs in their Matador Cup match in Perth

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2016
ScorecardCameron White’s 10th List A century helped Victoria amass 343•Getty ImagesCameron White’s 130-ball 145 helped Victoria amass 343 and thump South Australia by 135 runs in their Matador Cup match in Perth.South Australia’s chase crumbled to 208, propped up only by a maiden List A century by Cameron Valente and a fifty from Tom Cooper. The rest of the line-up could muster only 44 runs between them.White and Marcus Harris gave Victoria a promising start, adding 70 in a little over 13 overs. White then forged two stands of exactly 100 – with Victoria captain Peter Handscomb for the third wicket, and with Marcus Stoinis for the fifth.White’s knock included 12 fours and four sixes and his partnership with Stoinis helped Victoria plunder 109 runs from the last 10 overs. Stoinis finished unbeaten on 59 off 45 balls with four sixes and two fours.South Australia’s chase had fallen apart by the eighth over as strikes from left-arm spinner Michael Beer and fast bowler Jackson Coleman left them at 5 for 35. Beer took a hat-trick spread across two overs in this period, dismissing Jake Weatherald, Jake Lehmann and Sam Raphael. Valente, who had made his List A debut in the tied match against Western Australia last week, and Cooper averted the possibility of the side being bowled out for less than 100, adding 101 for the sixth wicket, but once Cooper fell, South Australia crumbled again. No. 10 Nick Benton struck 21, and helped Valente push the score past 200 before Victoria wrapped up the match in the 43rd over.

Newcastle United are interested in a deal to bring Athletic Bilbao forward Nico Williams to the Premier League, according to reports.

What's the latest on Williams' future?

The Spanish international is an academy graduate at the San Mames Stadium having worked his way up through the youth ranks to get promoted to the first-team in 2021, where he’s since gone on to make 81 senior appearances.

However, the 20-year-old will be out of contract at the end of next season so the upcoming window will be Ernesto Valverde’s side’s final opportunity to cash in should they not want to extend his stay further, and being their overall top-performing player with a WhoScored match rating of 6.92, he won’t be short potential suitors.

The Athletic reported that the Magpies internally “discussed” a deal for the winger in January but nothing ever came to fruition, though it sounds like PIF and Eddie Howe are now ready to take a second bite of the cherry.

According to the Daily Mail, Newcastle have “added” Williams to their extensive “list” of targets ahead of the 2023/24 term. The Athletic Bilbao attacker is “in the mix” of summer candidates, alongside the likes of Leicester City’s James Maddison and Arsenal’s Kieran Tierney, and he is now the player the northeast outfit are “focusing” on after “bowing out” of the race for Bayer Leverkusen’s Moussa Diaby. The La Liga star has a £50m release clause included in his terms, but whether a cut-price deal would be available given his contract situation remains to be seen.

Would Williams be a good signing for Newcastle?

Newcastle will know that Williams is still relatively raw at a young age, but having already shown bags of potential and what he has to offer at the highest level, PIF would be recruiting a fantastic player should they successfully be able to secure his services in the summer.

The World Cup participant has 15 goal contributions (nine goals and six assists) in 39 appearances across all competitions this season with his high standard of performances having seen him receive three man-of-the-match awards.

The Pamplona native, whose rise to professional football has been lauded “phenomenal” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, is also constantly looking to produce moments of magic even if he’s not always on the scoresheet.

As per FBRef, the winger has recorded 166 crosses and 97 shot-creating actions since the start of the campaign which are both higher than any other member of his squad, so for a forward who possesses this relentless threat in the final third, the hierarchy shouldn’t even have to think twice about completing a deal in the weeks and months ahead.

Sam Allardyce will need to have a few tricks up his sleeve if he is going to keep Leeds United in the Premier League this season.

While one point from two games against Manchester City and Newcastle United might have been viewed as positive at any other point in the season, it seems clear that the Yorkshire outfit need to take three points at some point if they are going to retain their top-flight status.

With tough games against West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur to come in the final two matches of the campaign, and Leeds currently occupying the final relegation spot, Allardyce will need something special, and he could find it in ostracised club-record signing, Georginio Rutter.

Should Rutter be given a chance in the final two games?

The 21-year-old Frenchman joined Leeds from Hoffenheim for an eye-watering £35.5m in the January transfer window but has mustered just one start and nine substitute appearances in the Premier League thus far, with no goal contributions to his name.

Unsurprisingly, reports quickly surfaced about Rutter's morale at Leeds, with some suggesting that he regretted his move to Elland Road, as he never actually wanted to leave Hoffenheim.

The young striker has barely been seen since and has been left on the bench by Allardyce for both of his games in charge, despite Patrick Bamford's misgivings, which saw the English striker miss a golden chance at home to Leicester City and a penalty against Newcastle.

However, his attitude cannot be questioned as he has been selected by Leeds' U21 side for their recent fixtures and scored on Monday night to help the academy outfit secure a return to Premier League 2 football next season after a 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest.

Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Joe Donohue suggested that the former Hoffenheim man was "looking sharp" ahead of his goal against Forest and that match fitness and the confidence that a goal will bring could mark him out as a potential option for Allardyce ahead of this weekend's trip to the London Stadium.

His lack of game time and relatively unknown status means that opposition sides will perhaps not know what to expect from Rutter, which could make him a secret weapon for the boss in the final two fixtures.

Bamford has shown that he cannot be relied upon to be clinical in front of goal and after catching the eye with the academy side, it is surely time the £70k-per-week forward is given a proper chance to start repaying his hefty fee.

Ruben Neves could end up joining Man United if a potential transfer to Barcelona collapses, as reported by Sport via Sport Witness.

What is the latest on Ruben Neves to Man United?

The Wolves midfielder has been at Molineux since helping take them out of the Championship and into the Premier League back in the 2017/18 campaign. He set the second tier alight with his dominating displays from midfield and his penchant for long-range goals and has been a mainstay in the club's side ever since.

Having gone from strength-to-strength in the top flight and now racked up over 216 league showings for Wolves, he has proven to be a wanted man amongst other top tier sides over the last few seasons. Last summer for example, both Man United and Liverpool expressed an interest in trying to snap up the player.

However, Neves stayed with his current team for the duration of this campaign and has once more proven important with six goals and one assist in 32 league outings. Now though, the midfielder could finally be set to move on with his Wolves deal expiring next summer. His club won't want to let him leave for nothing and that means they could cash in this summer.

A fresh report from Sport via Sport Witness suggests that he will indeed end his time with Wolves but that he has his heart set on a move to Spain and La Liga, with Barcelona the front-runners to snap up the 26-year-old. However, the deal that would send him to the Camp Nou involved a trade for Ansu Fati and with the Barca man unwilling to swap teams, it has stalled negotiations according to this source.

It means that a La Liga switch might not happen for Neves after all – and if that is the case, Man United would step in as the next available club, with the player set on departing Molineux.

Would Ruben Neves be a good Man United signing?

The midfielder has lit up the Premier League ever since he helped drag Wolves back into the top flight and he has shown no signs of slowing down either.

This year, despite his club toiling at the wrong end of the division, he has still regularly put in a shift and emerged as the one bright spot in what has been a lacklustre campaign for the team. This has been showcased by his 6.99 WhoScored rating in the Premier League – a better score than any other player at Molineux this season.

It comes as no surprise though, with even his teammates heaping the praise on Neves. Hugo Bueno labelled the midfielder as an "incredible player" and admitted he is a "key player" to the side.

Neves then could certainly slot into a top-level club considering that he continues to impress and shine above the rest at Wolves. His goal tally from midfield showcases an impressive ability to get things done under pressure – he has six this term, the joint-most at Wolves despite being a midfielder – and that shows a mentality from the player that would work out nicely at Old Trafford.

Since Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took over at Wrexham two years ago, the club has just gone from strength to strength.

Plentiful amounts of money have been pumped into the Welsh side and they are now just one game away from that elusive promotion.

It has been over a decade since they were last in the Football League, but a victory over Boreham Wood on Saturday evening will mean at long last, they are back in the EFL.

At present, the Red Dragons sit on 107 points, a National League record, with Phil Parkinson having worked wonders with one of the finest squads you are ever likely to see at non-league level.

Not only do they possess former England and Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster, but League Two top scorer of 2020/21, Paul Mullin, is also at the club, while they paid the best part of £300k to lure Ollie Palmer from Wimbledon too.

This only feels like the beginning of their investment, however, particularly if they do secure a place in the fourth tier.

It even looks as though another former Premier League star could be on their way to the Racecourse Ground after Foster.

Who could sign for Wrexham this summer?

It's likely that the manager will have a number of targets in mind in order to improve the squad further ahead of next term, but one such player could be someone of Welsh origin, Hal Robson-Kanu.

The 33-year-old hasn't played since leaving West Bromwich Albion behind in 2021, but could be tempted out of retirement in order to join in the fun at Wrexham.

Indeed, taking to Instagram, the attacker commented on a post from co-owner, Reynolds, by saying: "I’ll come out of retirement and come and play for Wrexham next season. I’ll also give my salary to charity of the fans choosing…"

The statement is yet to be met with a response from the movie star, although there must be some element of excitement behind a potential swoop.

After all, this is a player with experience of playing and scoring at a major international tournament for his country, while Robson-Kanu also boasts 14 Premier League goals and 31 Championship strikes.

Mullin, Palmer and indeed Foster were remarkable signings, but this one, in terms of goalscoring ability might just top the lot.

Tottenham Hotspur are a club lacking an identity.

Antonio Conte knew what his philosophy would be, but that differed from the defensive stylings of both Nuno Espirito Santo and Jose Mourinho before him.

Then, preceding all three of them was Mauricio Pochettino, who came the closest to any long-lasting success with his expansive brand of attacking football.

Ever since their rise to the top of the English game, the Lilywhites have seemingly lost all track of what direction they wanted to take the club in, with Daniel Levy one of many responsible for this. He has allowed the standards to drop in north London, and now seeking a new manager once again, they must find someone to pick them back up.

Needing a reset, and a strong-willed coach who would be happy to oversee such a revolution, there is arguably few more renowned for his work rebuilding a sleeping giant than Marcelo Bielsa.

Would Marcelo Bielsa join Spurs?

The Argentine is clearly keen to return to football, with his interest in both the recent vacancies at Everton and AFC Bournemouth enough to suggest he would be open to joining Spurs.

Especially following the suggestion from journalist Mark Carey, who put the great Argentine forward as a possible successor in north London.

Although the systems of Conte and the 67-year-old could not be more varied, given the former's reliance on defensive structure whilst the latter prefers free-flowing attack, the gruelling pre-season camp held last year would at least have the fitness levels up to the required level to replicate some form of the infamous 'murder-ball'.

His role in restoring Leeds United to the top flight was instrumental, and in doing so he reset the culture at Elland Road after a 16-year absence from the Premier League.

His unique brand of football had everyone enamoured, and although it had started to fall apart before his sacking, perhaps with a higher calibre of players it might reach new heights.

After all, many of the game's greatest managers have been quick to praise his exploits. Pep Guardiola lauded his achievement with that promotion and seemed to downplay his own legacy in comparison to his idols. He claimed: "Give him my Barcelona and you will see how he will win titles. Give me Leeds, with all due respect to the Leeds players, but I would still be in the Championship."

A former player from his reign, Jamie Shackleton, suggested that the unorthodox leader was a "world-class" coach before Carey seemed to outline exactly what Spurs need from a manager in Bielsa.

He noted: "Across his career, Bielsa has raised the levels of each squad he manages, he demands the highest standards from his players and he has a clear high-pressing style that could benefit many of Tottenham's current crop."

In an effort to find a new identity, and one which will mark a refreshing switch up from their dull last three appointments, Levy needs to look no further than the former Leeds boss.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is facing somewhat of an injury crisis at the wrong time, with Leandro Trossard, Kieran Tierney and Eddie Nketiah not pictured in training prior to the Europa League clash with Sporting.

It meant all three missed out on the tie and despite striker Gabriel Jesus returning to the squad, the European clash came just too soon for the Brazilian.

This has left Arteta incredibly short of attacking options, with potentially Emile Smith Rowe or Gabriel Martinelli having to play as an unorthodox striker, yet there may just be another option for the Spaniard – unleashing academy star Amario Cozier-Duberry.

When will Amario Cozier-Duberry make his debut for Arsenal?

With Arteta’s current dilemma, there is every chance some academy starlets get a chance to impress and Cozier-Duberry could be one of the lucky players to take to the field.

That said, he may well need to overcome his own injury first having been substituted at half-time in the U21s’ recent defeat to Liverpool.

The hope will be for the Gunners that the issue the teenager is suffering from doesn’t keep him out for too long, with the second leg next week potentially set to be the ideal time to finally unleash him.

The 17-year-old has made the matchday squad on numerous occasions this season yet is still to make his debut. He is amongst one of the highest-rated products in the academy, with talent scout Jacek Kulig previously describing him as “Hale End’s finest” late last year.

In just 22 appearances across the U18 and U21 teams this season, the winger has scored ten goals and grabbed six assists, a wonderful return for someone who predominantly plays on the flanks.

Could Arteta utilise him in a more central role next week potentially? It’s plausible, particularly if attacking injuries continue to plague the squad and Arsenal can wrap the tie-up.

The teen has impressed in the Football League Trophy, averaging an outstanding 7.95/10 rating via Sofascore across two outings, scoring twice, taking two shots per game while also creating a big chance, proving he could certainly operate in a more central role if required.

With Premier League glory Arteta’s main priority, the Europa League gives him a great chance to rotate his squad, although even he wouldn’t have anticipated being without so many key players.

Members of the national press criticised the performance of Ivan Perisic after Tottenham succumbed to a lacklustre 1-0 loss at Wolves.

The Lowdown: Spurs defeated…

Antonio Conte’s side, again lead by assistant coach Cristian Stellini, were humbled at the hands of relegation-threated Wolves at Molineux.

The north Londoners were made to pay for their lack of cutting edge in the final third, having missed a fair few chances and striking the woodwork on multiple occasions.

Former Spurs transfer target Adama Traore eventually grabbed the game’s only goal just 10 minutes from the full time whistle, a strike which cemented Tottenham’s second consecutive loss in all competitions.

The Latest: Perisic slammed…

Members of the national media particularly criticised Perisic’s display with both Alasdair Gold of football.london and Dan Kilpatrick of the Evening Standard saying he didn’t offer nearly enough quality in terms of delivery.

Kilpatrick believes the 34-year-old needs to do ‘way more’ in terms of providing opportunities with other members of the press being in full agreement.

Elsewhere, reporter Sean Walsh of 90min slammed his ‘4/10’ performance and claimed he looks ‘older and older’ every week.

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The Verdict: Room for improvement…

Perisic signed from Inter Milan on a Bosman deal in the summer and came with plenty of pedigree/experience at the very top level.

However, perfomances such as today’s highlight the fact he very much needs to improve his form – with the Croatia legend losing possession 19 times on a wasteful afternoon.

As per SofaScore, he finished the 90 minutes as one of Tottenham’s lowest-rated players – finding just two out of 10 crosses into the box and one long ball all afternoon.

If Spurs are to make the Premier League top four, big name players like Perisic may need to show a lot more.

Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay could be allowed to leave the club in the summer transfer window, according to a new transfer update.

The Lowdown: McTominay down the pecking order

The Scot was a key player at one point but Erik ten Hag’s arrival has changed that, with the midfielder finding himself pushed down the pecking order.

McTominay has been limited to just seven starts in the Premier League this season, having to accept that Casemiro and Christian Eriksen have come in as more important players.

The 26-year-old is out of contract at United in 2025 but it looks as though he could even depart this year.

The Latest: Summer exit possible

According to Football Insider, the Red Devils are ‘willing to listen to offers’ for McTominay in the summer, with a £25million price tag placed on his shoulders.

Ten Hag needs to sell players in order to free up funds for new signings and the midfielder could be one of a ‘host’ of players put in the shop window.

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The Verdict: Time to move on

McTominay is a good player who has often done a job for United in the middle of the park  – Jose Mourinho once called him ‘special’ – but this summer feels like a good time to move him on.

He is clearly not considered a key starter by Ten Hag and they need to be signing upgrades on him as squad players, too, in order to go up another level next season.

McTominay can still enjoy a strong career elsewhere in the Premier League, joining a lower-ranked club and starting every week for them – somewhere like West Ham could be ideal and he has been linked with them in the past.

Should the 36-time capped Scotland international stay put it certainly wouldn’t be an issue, but this summer does feel like the most sensible moment to cash in on him, in terms of his age and contract situation.

West Bromwich Albion are undoubtedly flying at the moment, with Carlos Corberan having masterminded the most sensational of turnarounds in their Championship season.

Having taken over Steve Bruce’s relegation-threatened outfit, he has since propelled them into the playoff spots and shows no signs of slowing down.

Such is his immense work at the Hawthorns, he has earned reports linking him with a return to Elland Road to take over the vacant Leeds United job.

Baggies fans will be hopeful that the project he continues to build in the Midlands is enough to make him stay, despite the romantic aspect of a return to the club where his mentor Marcelo Bielsa is revered.

The long-term goals held by West Brom will likely rely heavily on the youth setup given their apparent financial troubles, but the wealth of talent they boast could be enough to keep the Spaniard around for a little while longer.

Especially if he looks out on loan at the progress of Caleb Taylor, who is thriving.

The 20-year-old is currently earning vital senior experience out at Cheltenham Town, where he has played 27 games already this season in League One and earned widespread praise for his dominant displays at the back.

There will surely be a belief around the Hawthorns that upon his return he can be the natural heir to the ageing Kyle Bartley, who still remains a solid option but at 31 years old has seen his powers wane.

Meanwhile, Taylor only improves with each passing season, as outlined in his 7.18 average Sofascore rating.

This is underpinned by a remarkable defensive work rate that few could match, as he records 1.7 tackles, 1.5 interceptions and a mammoth 6.1 clearances per game, per Sofascore.

For comparison, Bartley this campaign can only muster 0.7 tackles, 0.9 interceptions and 4.9 clearances, also via Sofascore.

Taylor pairs this solidity with a maturity beyond his years, and his leadership traits could again make up for the absence of his talismanic predecessor should he eventually leave.

His U18s coach Peter Gilbert outlined this when praising the young stalwart:

“The players look to him because Caleb is vocal, focused and leads by example with the way he conducts himself on and off the pitch.”

Although losing a figure as influential as Bartley is always tough, Corberan can rest assured that in Taylor he has a more than capable deputy to have players and fans alike quickly forget what they might lose, instead praising what they have gained.