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With the January transfer window now upon us, it will be fascinating to see if Manchester United make any additions to their squad. The Red Devils are in poor form once again under Ruben Amorim, having won just three games since the start of November.

Injuries are affecting them, too. The United boss is currently contending with the loss of Bruno Fernandes, who is sidelined with a hamstring injury. Matthijs de Ligt, Kobbie Mainoo, Mason Mount and Harry Maguire are all out injured as well. Amorim will be hoping these injuries are not a theme of the second half of the season.

With that in mind, it would not be a surprise to see the Red Devils make some moves in the January transfer window.

Man United considering move for new attacker

It seems as though United’s attacking stocks this season will be cut somewhat short with a potential outgoing. Striker Joshua Zirkzee is linked with a move to Serie A giants Roma, which would see him return to the Italian top flight 18 months after leaving Bologna.

Well, with space in the squad for a new attacker, the Red Devils could well pursue a move for one of the brightest young wingers in European football, Yan Diomande.

Sky Sports are reporting at the beginning of 2026 that United are one of the clubs ‘monitoring’ the RB Leipzig star.

However, this will certainly be a tough race for the 13-time Premier League champions to win. They are facing tough competition for the Ivorian by Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, in a deal that could be as expensive as £61m.

How Diomande compares to Amad

There is no shortage of exciting young wingers in the world at the moment. The likes of Lamine Yamal will probably spring to mind here, and United have one of their own in Diomande’s international teammate Amad.

Well, the Leipzig star can surely be placed in the same bracket as his countryman. He has shone for the German side this season, with seven goals and four assists in just 16 appearances across all competitions. Nine of those goal involvements have come in the Bundesliga.

One of the great things about Diomande is the fearlessness with which he plays. The 19-year-old is more than confident to drive at a full back one-vs-one and look to beat them. As football scout Antonio Mango said, he is a “defender’s nightmare.”

To further understand just how good he is in those sorts of situations, take a look at his underlying dribbling numbers in the Bundesliga this term.

For example, he averages 4.26 completed take-ons per 90 minutes, which puts him in the top 1% of wingers across Europe, a pedestal he sits on for most key stats.

Diomande key dribbling stats

Stat

Number

Percentile

Take-ons attempeted

7.3

99th

Take-ons completed

4.26

99th

Progressive carries

6.28

99th

Carries into final third

3.95

99th

Carries into penalty area

3.34

96th

Stats from FBref

Signing the 19-year-old could certainly be like the second coming of Amad. His international teammate has shone at Old Trafford under Amorim, becoming a vital member of the side, often from right wing-back but also as a number 10.

Life under the Portuguese manager has not been easy for a few United players, but Amad has played so well in an unfamiliar role. In 44 games with Amorim in charge, he has 11 goals and ten assists, including a 12 minute hat-trick against Southampton last season.

Well, if Diomande can have that sort of impact, he will be an instant success. The similarities between the two are clear to see, with both being talented Ivorian wingers who thrive against a defender in isolated situations.

Subscribe to the newsletter for smart transfer insight Explore why targets like Diomande matter for squad building — from elite dribbling metrics to fit alongside players such as Amad. Subscribe to the newsletter for in-depth transfer analysis, player profiles and scouting context.

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The addition of Diomande would be a huge coup for United. £61m for a top-level young winger with huge potential is a great fee in the current market, and if he is anywhere near as good as Amad, it will be a brilliant addition.

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Posts 1 ByRobbie Walls

Virat Kohli is the highest-paid cricketer in the IPL, according to salary figures released by the league on Friday.While Kohli will cost his franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore Rs 12.5 crore (approximately USD 1.89 million) from their salary purse, they will actually pay him Rs 15 crore (USD 2.26 million). MS Dhoni, for long believed to be the most expensive IPL cricketer, will be paid USD 1.89 million, which is equal to his purse deduction, by the Pune franchise. Pune secured Dhoni in a draft of players who were part of the suspended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals franchises.Apart from Royal Challengers, who are paying Kohli and Chris Gayle more than the purse deduction, Mumbai Indians are paying Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga and Ambati Rayudu more than the purse deduction they result in.However, contrary to the general perception that quite a few players used to get paid much more than the official purse deduction, quite a few have actually taken big cuts. Manan Vohra, retained by Kings XI Punjab, will get less than 10% of his Rs 4 crore (USD 600,000) purse deduction. Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir and David Miller are among those getting paid less than the purse deduction they are responsible for.Each franchise is required to spend a minimum of Rs 40 crore (USD 6 million) but not more than Rs 66 crore (USD 9.96 million) on their squad. However, when the franchise retains players, the purse-deduction slots are what are considered for the purpose of calculation of what it can and should spend.Kings XI are thus keen on saving money; after negotiating the salary with Vohra, they can actually spend far less than USD 600,000 on him. However, they will still lose USD 600,000 from their purse ahead of the auction. Royal Challengers, on the other hand, don’t seem to mind spending extra.In the case of former Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals players, though, the new franchises didn’t have any room to negotiate. The BCCI had assured the players left without teams but drafted by the two new teams they would be paid the same amount as they were earning earlier. So while Ravindra Jadeja might take away Rs 9.5 crore (USD 1.43 million) from Rajkot’s purse, he will actually get only Rs 5.5 crore (USD 0.83 million).

Actual Salary details of retained players

Sr. No	Team	Player	Country	Purse Deduction (INR)	Actual Salary (INR)
1	KXIP	David Miller	South Africa	12,50,00,000	5,00,00,000
2	KXIP	Manan Vohra	India	4,00,00,000	35,00,000
3	KKR	Gautam Gambhir	India	12,50,00,000	10,00,00,000
4	KKR	Sunil Narine	West Indies	9,50,00,000	8,00,00,000
5	MI	Rohit Sharma	India	12,50,00,000	11,50,00,002
6	MI	Kieron Pollard	West Indies	9,50,00,000	9,70,00,000
7	MI	Lasith Malinga	Sri Lanka	7,50,00,000	8,10,00,000
8	MI	Harbhajan Singh	India	5,50,00,000	8,00,00,000
9	MI	Ambati Rayudu	India	4,00,00,000	6,00,00,000
10	RCB	Virat Kohli	India	12,50,00,000	15,00,00,000
11	RCB	AB de Villers	South Africa	9,50,00,000	9,50,00,000
12	RCB	Chris Gayle	West Indies	7,50,00,000	8,40,00,000
13	SRH	Shikhar Dhawan	India	12,50,00,000	12,50,00,000
14	Team Pune	MS Dhoni	India	12,50,00,000	12,50,00,000
15	Team Pune	Ajinkya Rahane	India	9,50,00,000	8,00,00,000
16	Team Pune	R Ashwin	India	7,50,00,000	7,50,00,000
17	Team Pune	Steven  Smith	Australia	5,50,00,000	4,00,00,000
18	Team Pune	Faf du Plessis	South Africa	4,00,00,000	4,75,00,000
19	Team Rajkot	Suresh Raina	India	12,50,00,000	9,50,00,000
20	Team Rajkot	Ravindra Jadeja	India	9,50,00,000	5,50,00,000
21	Team Rajkot	Brendon McCullum	New Zealand	7,50,00,000	3,25,00,000
22	Team Rajkot	James Faulkner	Australia	5,50,00,000	5,10,00,000
22	Team Rajkot	Dwayne Bravo	West Indies	4,00,00,000	4,00,00,000

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

The rapier turns shield: Kevin Pietersen’s defiant century led England’s bid to save the match © Getty Images

India won their first series in England since 1986, albeit 1-0, after England held on for a draw on the final day of the last Test at The Oval. It was a fitting denouement to a hard fought and evenly contested series as India’s bowlers seldom slackened in their effort to force a win whereas England’s batsmen displayed remarkable application. Kevin Pietersen helped himself to a workmanlike century and provided the backbone for England’s resistance as they ended on 369 for 6. On a day when wickets fell at regular enough intervals to keep India interested till the very end, England held on, but Michael Vaughan’s unbeaten home record slipped from his grasp.England’s batting in the second innings was in sharp variance to their first. While the first was dotted with cameos and generously sprinkled with batsmen error, the second was one characterised by abstinence and self-denial. England’s batsmen focused purely on eliminating risk, to the exclusion of all else, and that paid off.India, having chosen to bat on as long as they could in their first innings, rattling up 664, not declaring even after Anil Kumble reached his maiden Test hundred, and then having decided not to enforce the follow-on, were clearly thinking not in terms of a match win but the bigger series win. They would settle for a draw if it came to that, and it did.But that’s not to say the bowlers did not try their hardest. Sreesanth bowled better than he has all series, finding the right line, attacking the stumps. Zaheer Khan continued to swing the ball both ways, and probed both from over the stumps and around. Kumble, charged up till the very end, metronomically sent down delivery after delivery, but the pitch had not really broken up as India would have hoped, and batsmen were able to play him on the back foot, reading him off the pitch. Sachin Tendulkar served up his enticing mixture of legbreaks, offbreaks and seam up, and with more luck could easily have picked up a wicket.What England needed to do – and managed quite handily – was break the day’s play down into small chunks and negotiate each one. The first phase was the relatively new ball, which the openers needed to see off, and they did so without serious problems. It wasn’t until the 12th over of the day, when RP Singh was introduced into the attack, that the first breakthrough came. Andrew Strauss played a touch away from his body and nicked a late outswinger into VVS Laxman’s hands at slip. Soon after India tasted second success, the only time in the day where one wicket would be followed closely by another.Alastair Cook’s penchant for glancing uppishly led to him playing the stroke to Kumble, with Laxman at backward short leg, positioned there for just the eventuality. England were then 86 for 2, and still had more than 75 overs to play.Vaughan and Pietersen came together, and barring one moment – when Rahul Dravid, at slip, dropped a straightforward edge from Vaughan off Kumble – were in control of proceedings for more than 25 overs. Pietersen was a perfect example of a high quality batsman changing his natural game to adapt to a challenge, as he put away his natural attacking instincts, instead using his considerable talent to just keep the bowling out.Vaughan, for his part, ensured that he did not play anything that could just as easily be left alone. That is, for 94 balls, before a brief break in play for bad light broke his concentration. Sreesanth had slipped Vaughan the booming inswinger, and followed that up with a well-directed away-swinger, which Vaughan flashed at, off the back foot, and nicked to the keeper. By then almost 61 overs had been consumed.

Late hope: Sreesanth gave India a sniff with the second new ball when he dismissed Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen © Getty Images

Paul Collingwood replaced Vaughan and proved to be a more-than-adequate foil to Pietersen. Collingwood’s naturally dour game was just what the situation demanded, and he stonewalled defiantly, while not losing out on the odd chance to score, putting away the really loose deliveries quite efficiently.Collingwood and Pietersen added more than 100 runs and saw off close to 24 overs, and just when they had appeared to have steered England to safety, Collingwood fell to the first delivery sent down with the second new ball. Sreesanth managed to get on to pitch just outside off and come in a touch, and Collingwood, who was expecting the outswinger, played down the wrong line and was trapped in front of the stumps.There was just the slightest flutter in the England camp, and this became a full-fledged tremor when Pietersen, who had just reached his 10th Test hundred, drove away from his body and edged Sreesanth to Dinesh Karthik at first slip. Pietersen had consumed 159 balls for his 101, and when he went, India were within sniffing distance of the shaky tail, with Ian Bell and Matt Prior at the crease. Bell batted positively, as he has done all game, and brought up a run-a-ball fifty, even taking four consecutive fours off Kumble. Perhaps overexcited by this, Bell played, and missed, an unwise sweep against Kumble, and watched in agony as the lbw decision went India’s way. But Ryan Sidebottom and Matt Prior managed to keep the bowling out, taking England to safety.England had drawn the game, but India were still celebrating, for they’d just managed a series win in England, just the third time ever by India on English soil and something no-one in this team has ever tasted before.

Mushtaq Ahmed is a key player in the closing stages of the title race © Getty Images

The Championship season enters its final round on Wednesday with Sussex and Lancashire chasing the main prize. Sussex hold an eight-point advantage going into their match against Nottinghamshire, while Lancashire face Shane Warne’s Hampshire at the Rose Bowl.If Sussex win the pennant is theirs, anything less and Lancashire could overtake them if they manage a high-value win. If the teams finish level on points the trophy would go to Hove as Sussex will have more victories than Lancashire.Sussex are boosted by the availability of Michael Yardy and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan following their participation on the Natwest Series. Mushtaq Ahmed needs 11 weeks to bag 100 in a season for the second time while Murray Goodwin and Chris Adams form a powerful middle-order.Mark Chilton, the Lancashire captain, is aware Sussex hold the advantage but is just concentrating on Lancashire’s performance. “While they have the better hand, anything can happen, and we have a set of players who just never give up.”Their attitude over the whole season but particularly in the last few weeks when we have suffered from injuries and bad weather has been fantastic. We can’t worry about what is happening at Trent Bridge. We know we have to beat Hampshire and we will give it everything we have got.”It is appearing unlikely that Lancashire will risk James Anderson with the ECB imposing a 12-over per day limit on his workload. They have been served well by Dominic Cork, Glen Chapple and Tom Smith throughout the season and seem set to stick with them along with Gary Keedy and Murali Kartik.Hampshire still have an outside chance of stealing second place (and mathematically the title although Sussex would have to lose without gaining a point) and any side led by Warne – who will have a late fitness test on his cut eye – will not give an inch even at this stage of the season.At the other end of the table of the competition is just as tight with the winner of the Yorkshire-Durham clash at Headingley securing first division status for next season. However, if the match is drawn both have a slim chance of surviving if Nottinghamshire fail to collect three points against Sussex.The race for promotion in the second division is between Essex and Worcestershire who have away matches against Leicestershire and Northamptonshire respectively. Essex currently hold second place by four points.Two divisions was brought in to create meaningful and competitive cricket late into the season. With titles, promotion and relegation at stake you can’t really ask for much more.

Elite Group

Ajit Agarkar’s five-for gave Mumbai the first-innings lead against Railways© AFP

Ajit Agarkar demonstrated that despite his modest success at international level, he is still a force to be reckoned with on the domestic circuit. His 5 for 96 at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi restricted Railways to 284, giving Mumbai a first-innings lead of 77. At close of play on the third day, Mumbai were 3 for 0.Karnataka faced an uphill run-chase on the final day against Bengal. After conceding a lead of 136, Karnataka pulled things back somewhat, dismissing Bengal for just 206 in the second innings – thanks primarily to Sunil Joshi, who was given the new ball and returned figures of 5 for 62, nailing, among others, Sourav Ganguly for 5 – but that still left them with a daunting target of 343. They closed on 41 for 1, requiring 302 more on the last day to pull off an improbable win.At Chennai, Tamil Nadu moved into an invincible position, taking a first-innings lead of 298 against Hyderabad. Sivaramakrishnan Vidyut and Sridharan Sharath led the charge with hundreds, while Subramaniam Badrinath, Sridharan Sriram and Hemang Badani all chipped in with half-centuries. Batting again to stave off a possible innings defeat, Hyderabad began brightly, closing the third day on 63 for 0.Delhi were on their way to a win in their first match of the season. After closing their first innings on 430 for 8 – a lead of 216 – they reduced Gujarat to 205 for 5 in the second innings, with Ashish Nehra and Sarandeep Singh taking a couple of wickets each. Parthiv Patel was one of Sarandeep’s victims – he scored 30 before being snapped up by Gautam Gambhir. Gujarat were still trailing by 11, and with an entire day’s play left at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad, Delhi had an excellent opportunity to wrap up Gujarat’s innings and seal a win.Pankaj Dharmani’s 125 allowed Punjab to wrest a first-innings lead of 39 against Uttar Pradesh at Mohali, but UP made a spirited reply, reaching 206 for 2 at stumps. Jyoti Yadav and R Prakash, their opener, added 114 for the first wicket. UP then lost a couple of quick wickets, including that of Mohammad Kaif for just 12, but Yadav continued the charge with an unbeaten 82.Meanwhile, Venugopal Rao was the star for Andhra Pradesh again, this time with the ball. After scoring 140 in Andhra’s first innings, Rao took 4 for 53 to help dismiss Madhya Pradesh for 287. Batting a second time, Andhra started off impressively, scoring 74 for 0, an overall lead of 148.At Guwahati, Jacob Martin’s 126 was the highlight of the day as Baroda posted 347 in reply to Assam’s 273. Though none of the other Baroda batsmen managed even a half-century, most of them chipped in handily to ensure a lead of 74. Assam wiped off 71 of those runs by close of play on the third day, losing opener Parag Das in the process.

Brijal Patel will replace Maurice Odumbe in Kenya’s squad for next month’s Champions Trophy in England. Patel, who plays for Aga Khan Sports Club, is a legspinner and bats in the middle order.The reason Patel was enlisted in the squad was because Odumbe was banned for five years after being found guilty of receiving money from bookmakers, a charge Odumbe said he was “shocked and surprised” by.He was supported by Steve Tikolo, the captain, who called the decision unfair and said that the Kenya Cricket Association’s action had affected the morale of the team.

Colin Coxon

Colin Coxon (Fordingbridge)First elected to the committee in 1995. Served on the marketing sub-committee and Bournemouth and New Forest area. A qualified coach and former Southern League player.An established businessman in Hampshire for over 20 years in computer services, telecommunications and finance.50 year old Colin has two sons. He was brought up in Essex and played for the counties Cricket Association before moving south.He likes all sports with a particular interest in horse racing.

In a move that is bound to surprise the top brass of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), VVS Laxman is preparing to play two games of grade cricket in Sydney. The Hyderabad middle order batsman has been recuperating in Australia, following knee surgery a while ago. It must be remembered that Laxman suffered a ligament tear while playing a limited overs tri-series in Sri Lanka.Laxman’s affinity for Australian bowling is now well established, following his match winning and record-breaking knock of 281 against the Aussies at Kolkata earlier this year. Add to this the breezy innings of 167 Laxman made in Sydney to end India’s dismal tour Down Under in 1999-2000.Just two days ago, Laxman informed the BCCI that he had not recovered completely from his injury and withdrew from the first leg of the forthcoming Indian tour of South Africa. Laxman is slated to miss the Standard Bank Triangular One-Day series that involves Kenya, apart from the hosts and India. It is widely believed that Laxman would be fully fit in time to play the three-Test series against South Africa that begins in November.Following his arthroscopy five weeks ago, Laxman has been through a course of intense physiotherapy and will attend a fitness test on September 19 according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald.The report goes on to add that Laxman is looking to play two games for the Balmain – University of Technology side. Club secretary Harry Harinath was “optimistic” that Laxman would be fit to play, adds the report. It bears mention that it was rumoured earlier that batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar would turn out for the same club, something that did not happen.If in fact Laxman does turn out for Balmain, it would not be the first time an Indian cricketer has done so. As long ago as the 1981-82 season, off spin great Erappali Prasanna rolled his arm over for the club.Interestingly, if Laxman does play,Balmain is slated to meet Hawkesbury and Mosman, during the two weeks that he would spend in Sydney. The latter of course is the club of the Lee brothers – Brett and Shane. Although the man reputed to be the quickest in the world is unlikely to play, the competition will be stiff.

Netherlands will take on 2015 ICC World T20 Qualifier co-champions Scotland in the headline matchup of round two in the ICC Intercontinental Cup and WCL Championship. Scotland will travel to The Hague for the four-day Intercontinental Cup match scheduled for September 8-11 at Sportpark Westvliet. Netherlands last played there in 2012 when they defeated Bangladesh by one wicket in a Twenty20 international.The two sides will then play a pair of 50-over WCL Championship fixtures at the VRA Ground in Amstelveen. Both sides are currently joint leaders after round one of the WCL Championship after Netherlands swept Papua New Guinea in June and Scotland claimed two rain-affected matches over Nepal in Ayr last month.Ireland will travel to Namibia in a top-of-the-table clash in the I-Cup from October 24 to 27 in Windhoek. Ireland claimed full points with an innings victory over UAE in Malahide in June to kick off round one while Namibia did the same, defeating Hong Kong by 114 runs in May. Namibia then host Kenya in two WCL Championship matches in Windhoek on October 30 and November 1.Hong Kong travel to UAE in the second week of November with both teams seeking their first win of the I-Cup. The four-day game will take place at the ICC Global Cricket Academy in Dubai from November 11-14 and will be followed by WCL Championship matches on November 16 and 18.The second round of the I-Cup will wrap up with Afghanistan hosting PNG in Sharjah from November 21-24. PNG will be looking to bounce back after their dreams of reaching the 2016 World Twenty20 in India were dashed by Afghanistan in Malahide last month.PNG are then scheduled to take on Nepal in a pair of WCL Championship fixtures on November 28 and 30, with both teams seeking their first wins in the competition. However, the venue for those games has not yet been decided. An ICC release stated that the matches are currently slated to be held in Kathmandu, though that is subject to a security and infrastructure assessment and clearance following a series of earthquakes that struck near Kathmandu in April and May.According to a source, the games may be shifted to the UAE. From a logistics standpoint, it would not require additional travel for PNG, who will already be there for the four-day match against Afghanistan, and the ICC GCA would be available to serve as a neutral venue. The ICC recently had to shift the 2015 U-19 World Cup Qualifier out of Nepal due to infrastructure damage from the earthquakes and it was announced earlier this month that the tournament will now be hosted this October in Malaysia.

Match facts

November 30, 2015
Start time 8.00pm local (1600 GMT)

Big Picture

By the time England complete their final match of this series they will have been in the UAE for 61 days. They will leave this trip with two series wins under their belts, both in the white-ball format as was the case on the previous visit in 2012. The one-day and T20 sides continue to play vibrant cricket, both victories in the shortest format coming with different combinations as England opt to give all their players a chance.The results have suggested there is an increasing pool of talent for the selectors to feel confident in: James Vince has slotted in very calmly at No. 3 and Liam Plunkett has responded impressively from his omission for the South Africa Test series. Sam Billings and Stephen Parry have also enhanced their chances of going to the World T20 in India.Pakistan, meanwhile, appear in something of a funk with their white-ball cricket although their performance in the second match in Dubai was an improvement. They do not seem certain whether to trust youth or experience. Their fielding has been poor – Umar Akmal’s boundary-parry catch to removing Billings was an exception – and the batting is hampering by uncertain running between the wickets.For some of the England squad there will be just a week at home before they depart for the Test series in South Africa, others including Vince will remain in the UAE for the England Lions series against Pakistan A. With the series against India remaining in limbo, Pakistan could be set for a longer break before heading to New Zealand early next year for a series of limited-overs matches.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan LLWWW
England WWWWW

In the spotlight

Depending on your point of view the Rafatullah Mohmand story is either a terrific tale of a player who never gave up or an indictment of Pakistan’s selectors who have opted for a 39-year-old instead of a younger player (as often in Pakistan cricket, there does not seem much middle ground in the debate). He has 39 runs in his two innings, nowhere near enough evidence to make a judgement either way – so is anyone really any the wiser on whether he should go to the World T20? He may get the final match of this series, on the other hand he may not.If you sat down a group of people who weren’t the England selectors and asked them to pick a 15-man squad for the World T20 it is unlikely you would have two of the same permutations (and even the selectors may all differ). Plenty of fringe players have thrown their hat into the ring in these two matches, among them Lancashire’s Stephen Parry who has impressed with his nous and confidence to give the ball a rip, and bowl it slowly. There were signs in the second match that Pakistan’s batsmen were setting themselves for the delivery he drags down, but England will probably want three spinners in the final World T20 squad and Parry has a great chance of being there.

Teams news

Pakistan may need an extra spin option in Sharjah which would open the way for Bilal Asif to have an outing. With the series lost they may feel inclined to make more changes: Aamer Yamin and Mohammad Irfan have not played in the first two matches.Pakistan (possible) 1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Rafatullah Mohmand, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Umar Akmal, 6 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 7 Shahid Afridi (capt), 8 Bilal Asif, 9 Anwar Ali, 10 Sohail Tanvir, 11 Wahab RiazEngland have given all their 15 a chance during the opening two contests so the combination for the final outing could be anything. One option is to allow everyone at least two matches which, barring injuries, could mean something like thisEngland (possible) 1 Jason Roy, 2 James Vince, 3 Moeen Ali, 4 Joe Root, 5 Eoin Morgan (capt), 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 David Willey, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Chris Jordan, 10 Stephen Parry, 11 Reece Topley

Pitch and conditions

The Sharjah surface has been the most abrasive seen across the three venues on this tour while the outfield has been on the slow side, which could bring the totals down a notch. With winter approaching it is cooling down a little in the Emirates, but there are no issues over the weather.

Stats and trivia

• England have played five previous three-match T20 series and have never secured a whitewash
• The most wickets for England in a bilateral T20 series is seven by Stuart Broad against New Zealand in 2013. Liam Plunkett currently has six in two matches. The most for any side in a series of up to three matches is nine by David Wiese against West Indies in January 2015.
• Shahid Afridi’s performance in Dubai of 3 for 15 and 24 off eight balls was just the third time in his 86-match career that he had taken at least three wickets and scored at least 20 runs in the same match

Quotes

“I was included in the squad last summer, but didn’t get the chance to play. So it’s nice to come out here and get an opportunity – I’m enjoying every minute of it. It’s been a steady start.”
Before this series, James Vince‘s one England cap was a rain-ruined game against Ireland where he didn’t bat“We were second in the world, but we are maybe lacking in fitness. It’s a fitness game. There are no excuses – we have to raise our game.”
Mushtaq Ahmed suggests Pakistan’s main problem is perhaps not with bat or ball