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Everton had a rather disappointing previous Premier League season last time out, particularly from a defensive point of view.

In addition to conceding 66 goals in total across their 38 games played, only Leeds United (219) and Norwich City (212) faced more shots on target than the Toffees (184).

One figure in Everton’s squad that could partly be blamed for the club’s poor defensive displays last season is Michael Keane.

Despite making more clearances (149) and interceptions (62) than any other Everton player in the league, the Englishman still made two errors that led to an opponent’s shot at goal as well as making fewer blocks than Seamus Coleman and Anthony Gordon, as well as fewer tackles than Coleman, Gordon, Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure.

Last season was not the only time the centre-back has proved to be a rather disappointing figure in defence as his performance in England’s 2-1 defeat against the Czech Republic in 2019 was described as “dreadful” by journalist Graeme Bailey on Twitter.

With some weeks left in the current summer transfer window, this could give Frank Lampard the chance to finally get rid of the 29-year-old and bring in a suitable replacement.

One player that has been mentioned with a move to Goodison Park recently that could force Keane out of the club is Levi Colwill.

As a product of Chelsea’s youth academy, the defender has made 46 appearances for the west London club across their youth sides.

The 19-year-old completed his first loan spell away from his parent club last season by helping Huddersfield Town reach the Championship play-off final.

With 29 Championship appearances to his name, the youngster ended the campaign with more interceptions (44) and the second-highest number of successful tackles (36) under his belt at the Yorkshire club.

This backs up why football talent scout, Jacek Kulig, described Colwill’s season with the Terriers as “outrageous.”

Moving forward, should Lampard feel the need to get rid of Keane this summer, using his connections with Chelsea could give the Toffees the advantage when it comes to potentially securing a deal for the young defender and seeing if he has what it takes to be a regular Premier League figure.

AND in other news: “Trying to..”: Behind-the-scenes transfer claim emerges, it’s bad news for Everton

Tottenham Hotspur are hoping to finally seal the signing of Djed Spence on Thursday.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to talkSPORT, who revealed in a recent post on Twitter that, following the news Richarlison is set to sign a five-year deal with Spurs, coupled with Clement Lenglet looking on course to arrive on a loan deal from Barcelona, Antonio Conte, Fabio Paratici and Daniel Levy are now also hopeful of agreeing a deal for the Middlesbrough right-back imminently.

In their post, talkSPORT said: “Richarlison will sign a 5-year deal at Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs are also hoping to sign Clement Lenglet & Djed Spence imminently – talkSPORT sources understand.”

Supporters will be buzzing

Considering just how arduous Spurs’ negotiations for Spence have been – with reports on Wednesday suggesting that Levy was just £1m away from meeting Middlesbrough’s £20m asking price, a figure which includes add-ons – talkSPORT’s claim that Tottenham’s move for the 21-year-old is now coming to a close is sure to have left supporters buzzing.

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And, it is not difficult to see why Spurs are interested in a move for the England U21 international this summer, as the £7.2m-rated talent demonstrated during a season-long loan spell with Nottingham Forest last season that he is one of the most exciting up-and-coming full-backs in English football.

Indeed, over his 42 Championship appearances for Steve Cooper’s side, the £4.4k-per-week defender scored two goals, registered five assists and created six big chances, as well as making an average of 1.5 tackles and 1.6 interceptions, completing 1.8 dribbles and 1.0 key pass and winning 5.8 duels per game.

These returns saw the former Fulham starlet average a quite extraordinary WhoScored match rating of 7.05, ranking him as the Reds’ sixth-best performer in their play-off winning campaign.

As such, with Emerson Royal being linked with a summer move to Atletico Madrid and Matt Doherty still in recovery from a medial collateral ligament injury, the news that Levy is now close to finalising a deal for the Boro defender is undoubtedly fantastic news for everyone involved with Spurs – not least Conte himself.

AND in other news: Di Marzio: Spurs now have another “done deal” after Richarlison, Conte will be buzzing

According to The Telegraph, former Derby County chairman Andy Appleby has submitted an official offer to buy the club amid the ongoing takeover saga.

The Lowdown: Morgan in negotiations

It was confirmed earlier this week that the initial preferred bidder, Chris Kirchner, had taken the decision to withdraw from the deal as a result of failing to meet a financial deadline set by administrators Quantuma, meaning that the Rams are once again on the hunt to find their new owner.

Since this ordeal, Sky Sports News have revealed that former Wolves owner Steve Morgan has renewed his interest in buying the club and is currently in negotiations with the hierarchy, but it looks as if he’ll now face competition as another suitor arrives.

The Latest: Appleby submits takeover bid

In an article published by The Telegraph in the last 48 hours, it’s claimed that Appleby has ‘tabled a bid’ to buy Derby, which is understood to be ‘highly competitive’ and has been ‘submitted’ to Quantuma.

The source further states that the former chairman’s consortium, General Sports Worldwide, have ‘made a renewed move’ to ‘secure’ a takeover, and are ‘rivalling’ Morgan, alongside another potential buyer in Mike Ashley, in the race to save the Midlands outfit from liquidation.

It’s reported that the bid is ‘focusing on the acquisition of the club’, and is ‘separate’ to any kind of deal for Pride Park, with discussions with Mel Morris over the stadium ‘ongoing’.

The Verdict: Second time lucky

The 2022/23 League One fixtures are set to be released next week, so Derby are in a race against time to finalise a takeover of the club, with Wayne Rooney still uncertain about what the imminent future of his team holds.

It comes as no surprise to see that Appleby has come back for a second bite at the cherry, having already been close to striking a deal with the Rams back in January, before talks strangely broke down.

The fact that he has come back and wants to have another shot shows that he must be serious about wanting to be the new owner, seven years after his departure in 2015, and so hopefully this positive update will be a sign of things to come for County as they prepare to begin life in the third-tier come the start of August.

Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Bruno Lage must brutally sell Morgan Gibbs-White this summer and could get up to £20m for the player.

What’s the story?

talkSPORT reporter Alex Crook spoke to GIVEMESPORT and said: “If he’s a player they can get £20m for they might see that as a good investment and a chance to rebuild.”

The 22-year-old had an exceptional loan spell with Sheffield United this past season, and helped them secure a play-off place before they lost out in the semi-final to eventual winners Nottingham Forest.

Wolves could sign him on a new contract, but with big clubs such as Serie A champions AC Milan interested, now is a good time to cash in.

He won’t make it at Molineux

Gibbs-White has risen through the ranks at Molineux and is one of the latest successes from their academy. He has had two loan spells with his most recent one at Sheffield United impressing the most.

He made 35 Championship appearances for The Blades and was directly involved in 20 goals during that time. Those are impressive numbers, and he’s been described as a “catalyst” in the EFL by journalist Laurie Whitwell. However, you have to put it into perspective.

They were one of the best teams in the division last season and it would be difficult for the Englishman to replicate that standard in a much tougher Premier League.

If he remained at Molinuex it would be hard to see where he would fit in. Wolves usually play a formation of three forward players so he would either have to be moved out wide or be put in a deeper position.

This would risk not getting the best out of him, as has been seen previously, particularly under Nuno Santo.

Gibbs-White isn’t necessarily a bad player, but if Wolves can get a good fee for him, then it makes more sense for them to use that to improve other areas of the team rather than keep a player who will likely be on the bench.

In the 86 appearances he has made for the Old Gold, he’s only scored three and assisted one, which ultimately proves that he isn’t good enough to stay at Molineux.

IN other news: Wolves now already heading for huge summer transfer disaster, Lage will be furious…

West Bromwich Albion will release Romaine Sawyers once his contract expires in July, according to a report from the Express & Star. 

The lowdown: Surplus to requirements

Having previously been a mainstay under Slaven Bilic, the midfielder – who was a product of the Baggies’ youth system before undergoing multiple transfers – saw a dramatic reduction in game-time in the latter half of last season with Sam Allardyce in The Hawthorns hot seat.

The 30-year-old spent the 2021/22 campaign on loan at Stoke, where he directly contributed to seven goals in 29 outings.

Instead of returning to Albion, though, it appears that the St Kitts & Nevis international will be free to seek pastures new and find a home elsewhere…

The latest: West Brom won’t keep Sawyers

As per the Express & Star, West Brom manager Steve Bruce has chosen not to extend Sawyers’ stay with the Baggies.

It’s claimed that there was an option to add a further 12 months to the 30-cap midfielder’s contract, but the club have decided against triggering the clause.

The report added that The Hawthorns hierarchy would ‘rather spend the money needed’ in order to keep Sawyers at the club on adding fresh faces to the squad, with Reading’s John Swift cited as a potential target.

The verdict: Bruce missing a trick

While the Baggies academy graduate has failed to pull up any trees since returning to The Hawthorns in 2019, scoring just once and providing one assist in 64 appearances, Sawyers still remains an impressive Championship operator and therefore would’ve been of use to Bruce’s ranks without the requirement of a transfer fee.

During the recently completed season, the 30-year-old – who was once hailed as an ‘unbelievable technician’ by former West Brom academy coach Jimmy Shan – earned a 6.72 Sofascore rating whilst completing 32.1 accurate passes and 0.4 successful dribbles and winning 2.3 duels per game, having made 19 Championship starts.

Sawyers may no longer be a surefire starter at a Championship club with aspirations of promotion, but Bruce may yet live to regret not retaining his services for at least another 12 months.

In other news: Sawyers isn’t the only player who looks like he’ll be exiting West Brom this summer

NSWE can save Aston Villa millions by finally unleashing 18-year-old Louie Barry next season as Steven Gerrard is a big fan of the teenage striker.

With the manager looking to stamp his authority on the squad during his first summer transfer window at the club, bringing through youth talents such as Barry would be a welcome move as well as adding in his own signings.

The youngster has had quite the footballing journey so far, starting off at West Bromich Albion before joining the famed La Masia academy at Barcelona, becoming the first Englishman to do so.

After a few months he joined Villa, with academy manager lavishing praise upon the highly regarded striker, dubbing him “outstanding” and he went and scored the winner for Aston Villa U23s in a match against Cardiff.

His development has continued this season with a disastrous loan spell at Ipswich – in which he struggled for much game time in League One – followed by a drop-down to League Two Swindon Town.

His performances for Swindon have been excellent, with an average SofaScore rating of 7.03 and a total of six goals scored in 14 matches, he has adapted to the fourth tier with ease.

Barry’s potential is huge and scoring goals is one way he’ll continue to take acclaim. One such plaudit came from Lee Hendrie who speaking to Football FanCast said he was like a “young Michael Owen.”

The stats above will no doubt please Gerrard, who made the choice to send the striker down to Swindon for him to get more game time.

There looks like a pathway for youngsters at villa Park, especially if they are talented enough. Just look at the likes of Jacob Ramsey, who only two years older than Barry, has made 31 appearances for the side this season in the Premier League.

With Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings being the only centre forwards in Gerrard’s squad, if Barry has a solid pre-season, then there may well be a fantastic opportunity ahead for the youngster.

AND in other news, Source: AVFC’s “difficult” dud could now leave Villa Park, it’s great news for Gerrard…

Kent pair will head into England’s Sri Lanka tour in contrasting circumstances despite similar series averages

George Dobell at the Wanderers24-Jan-2020When Rory Burns was forced home, just as the second Test started, there was trepidation over how England would cope.At that stage, Dom Sibley was averaging 14.20 after three Tests, while Burns’ replacement, Zak Crawley, had scored only one Test run. It was as young, green and unproven an opening pair as England had fielded for many, many years.ALSO READ: Stokes in the dock after sweary response to fan’s Ed Sheeran jibeBut it is amazing what happens when opportunity is offered. And now, just two-and-a-half Tests later, Sibley has a maiden century and Crawley has improved his career-best score for five innings in succession.Perhaps more importantly, the pair have started to do what other aspirants have failed to do for many years. They have taken the shine off the ball, forced bowlers into second and third spells and built foundations on which the middle order can build.The most obvious example of that came on the first day in Johannesburg. By registering a century stand, they not only gave their side a foothold in this game, but made a decent case for their retention – for the tour of Sri Lanka, at least – as England’s opening pair.If a century stand sounds like a relatively modest achievement, it is worth reflecting on the statistics. It has been more than three years since England last enjoyed a century opening stand – it was between Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings in Chennai in December 2016 – and 10-and-a-half years since they enjoyed one in the first innings of a Test. On that occasion, in July 2009, Cook and Andrew Strauss were the opening pair. It is rare, too, to see one on this ground: the last made in the first innings of a Test was 2003; the most recent in any innings was in 2013.So these are significant indicators. And bearing in mind the age of England’s opening pair – Sibley is 24, Crawley is 21 – and the struggles of the many men who have gone before, it may be worth investing in this pair a little longer before making any change.Burns, it should be remembered, will not be available in Sri Lanka. And while there is talk to recalling Jennings, the selectors may also reflect on the rate of improvement in this young pair and conclude that it would be unhelpful to separate them now.ALSO READ: The Jennings recall – has the era of batting specialisation arrived?It was Crawley’s innings that made the biggest impression on Friday. Nicely though Sibley played, he has already made a century and there is no longer any sense of surprise when he establishes himself. He has now scored at least 29 in his last five Test innings. And again, if that sounds modest, remember that South Africa said they would have bowled first had they won the toss and this is, arguably, the fastest surface in the world.Crawley, though, looked calm, confident and classy. It’s not just that he blunts the attack; it’s that he has the weapons to hurt it. He can drive off front and back foot, he can cut, he can pull and he’s murderous off his legs. The wagon wheel of his 10 fours underlines this: four came on the on side; four came on the off; two were straight. All 10 were in front of square. On a quick pitch, that’s remarkable and suggests an unusual amount of time to play the ball. Cook, by comparison, would surely have scored very few of his boundaries in front of square.But most of all, Crawley showed excellent judgement in which balls to leave which is essential on this surface. All four wickets so far have fallen to edges behind the stumps; the ability to leave on length as much as line suggests Crawley has what it takes to succeed at this level. You suspect he is coming to the same conclusion.”I’ve definitely got a lot more confidence in myself,” Crawley said after play. “I wouldn’t quite say settled yet. I’ve a lot more to prove. But I feel if keep improving – and I feel like I’m improving quite a lot each game – it will not be too long before I feel much more comfortable.”I’ve definitely learned a lot mentally about playing the best bowlers in the world and seeing them off. When to attack and when not to. When I got out the way I did to Kagiso Rabada in Cape Town, he only had a couple of overs left in his spell. The people who think the best in this game are the best players. So I’m trying to learn a lot from Ben Stokes and Joe Root who score a lot of runs for England.”The one concern might be that he was hit by a bouncer from the enduringly excellent Anrich Nortje. While Crawley played the incident down, it will have been noted by fast bowlers in Australia, in particular. He is a big man – every bit of six feet, five inches – and tends to take the short ball on. There may be times that combination proves a dangerous one.Zak Crawley was hit on the helmet by Anrich Nortje•AFP/Getty ImagesAs an aside, that incident showed up a potential flaw in the protocols regarding the changing of helmets after such a blow. The England camp took a while to find a suitable replacement helmet – partly because Crawley had a lump on his head – and the umpires threatened to retire him hurt unless he accepted an ill-fitting one. While their eagerness to progress the game is admirable, such impatience could encourage players to wear ill-fitting protective equipment. And that could have dire consequences.”I can understand why,” Crawley said. “It did take quite a while. I had to wear Dom Bess’ helmet until tea. Luckily he has a big head. If I was on the fielding side with that short amount of time before tea, you’d want to have another crack at a batsman who has just been hit. But I can’t bat in a helmet too small for me.”On the face of things, Joe Denly has experienced a similar series to Crawley. His average (33.66) is similar to Crawley’s (34.75) and they have both scored one half-century. But beyond the raw stats, it feels as if they are having very different experiences. As if one career is in the ascendancy and as if the other is fighting to remain afloat. And with Burns to come back at some stage and talk of England using Jonny Bairstow at No. 3 in Sri Lanka – he scored a century from that position in the last Test England played there just over a year ago – it may be that competition for places is becoming much tougher.Denly has, in many ways, performed admirably for England. He has fought, he has occupied the crease and while he has failed to register a century in his 13-and-a-half Tests, he has worn down attacks. But his innings on Friday was not atypical of his Test career: he was dropped twice – the seventh and eighth time in his Test career he has benefited from a reprieve and the sixth time he has benefited before he has reached 20; no-one else in the world has been dropped so often over the same time frame – and he survived two inside edges that whistled past the stumps.In short, while it feels as if Crawley is playing within himself – forcing himself to leave balls, but showing the ability to hit all round the ground – it also feels as if Denly is stretched to the limit to survive and enjoying a disproportionate amount of fortune. Several England No. 3s of a previous era may look at his career average of 30.88 and wish they had benefited from such patience. Crawley, 12 years younger, has further scope to improve and learn. Does Denly, at 33?If Burns were available for the next Test, it is surely Denly who would make way from the top three, not Sibley or Crawley.

The best bits from Mohammad Amir’s exclusive interview with ESPNcricinfo

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Nov-2017

As the CPL’s fourth season gets underway, ESPNcricinfo presents a handy primer on the teams involved and the players to watch out for

Sirish Raghavan29-Jun-2016

Trinbago Knight Riders

How they did last season: Champions. Finished third after the league stage, with five wins, four losses and a no-resultLeadership: Captain – Dwayne Bravo, Coach – Simon HelmotSquad: Dwayne Bravo, Hashim Amla (overseas), Ronsford Beaton, Sulieman Benn, Darren Bravo, Yannic Cariah, Kevon Cooper, Anton Devcich (overseas), Hamza Tariq, Brendon McCullum (overseas), Nikita Miller, Colin Munro (overseas), Sunil Narine, William Perkins, Anderson Phillip, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Javon Searles, Umar Akmal (overseas)Watch out for: Though he may be the least-known of Knight Riders’ three New Zealand imports, Anton Devcich will be one to keep an eye on – and not just for his impressive beard. The Northern Districts allrounder enjoyed a very successful George Pie Super Smash last year, taking nine wickets and scoring 336 runs in his nine matches.

Barbados Tridents

How they did last season: Runners-up. Finished top of the table after the league stage, with six wins and four lossesLeadership: Captain – Kieron Pollard, Coach – Robin SinghSquad: Kieron Pollard, Kyle Corbin, AB de Villiers (overseas), Jason Holder, Kyle Hope, Akeal Hosein, Imran Khan, Ashley Nurse, Wayne Parnell (overseas), Robin Peterson (overseas), Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Rampaul, Raymon Reifer, Shoaib Malik (overseas), Shamar Springer, Navin Stewart, Steven Taylor, David Wiese (overseas)Watch out for: Shamar Springer showed his all-round talent and big-match temperament in West Indies’ Under-19 World Cup triumph in Bangladesh this year. He also showed his Caribbean flair, unveiling the chest-roll celebration that was swiftly dubbed the “Springer-roll”. This will be the world’s first look at the 18-year-old Barbadian since his heroics in Dhaka. It will also be his first competitive cricket since his father passed away this month. “I just want to do well for my Dad,” he said.

Key facts

• Number of teams: 6

• Number of matches: 34

• Number of overseas players per squad: Up to 5 (ICC Americas players not counted as overseas)

• Format: A league stage, in which each team plays each other team twice, followed by a playoff stage. Playoff 1 features the top two teams on the league table, Playoff 2 features the third- and fourth-placed teams, and Playoff 3 features the loser of Playoff 1 and the winner of Playoff 2. The final is contested between the winners of Playoff 1 and Playoff 3.

• Previous winners: Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel (2015), Barbados Tridents (2014), Jamaica Tallawahs (2013)

Guyana Amazon Warriors

How they did last season: Third. Finished second after the league stage, with five wins, four losses and a no-result. Lost semi-final 2Leadership: Captain – Martin Guptill, Coach – Roger HarperSquad: Martin Guptill (overseas), Ali Khan, Chris Barnwell, Devendra Bishoo, Anthony Bramble, Rayad Emrit, Assad Fudadin, Shimron Hetmyer, Steven Jacobs, Steven Katwaroo, Chris Lynn (overseas), Jason Mohammed, Veerasammy Permaul, Orlando Peters, Dwayne Smith, Sohail Tanvir (overseas), Paul Wintz, Adam Zampa (overseas)Watch out for: Another star of West Indies Under-19’s World Cup campaign was their captain, Shimron Hetmyer. “He did things a little differently, he was very positive. In terms of passion and enthusiasm, you can’t fault him,” coach Graeme West said when explaining the decision to make Hetmyer captain. Hetmyer has also shown his talent with the bat, notching up his maiden first-class century for Guyana this March. He will now hope to carry his good form into his maiden CPL season.Shimron Hetmyer led West Indies to their first Under-19 World Cup win in February•International Cricket Council

Jamaica Tallawahs

How they did last season: Finished fourth after the league stage, with four wins, five losses and a no-result. Lost semi-final 1Leadership: Captain – Chris Gayle, Coach – Paul NixonSquad: Chris Gayle, Timroy Allen, Nkrumah Bonner, Jonathan Foo, Imad Wasim (overseas), Jon-Russ Jaggesar, Andre McCarthy, Garey Mathurin, Rovman Powell, Alex Ross (overseas), Andre Russell, Kumar Sangakkara (overseas), Shakib Al Hasan (overseas), Dale Steyn (overseas), Oshane Thomas, Chadwick Walton, Kesrick WilliamsWatch out for: If you have won the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year award – as Alex Ross did this January – you must be doing something right. After an impressive debut season in 2014-15, Ross followed with 642 runs this Sheffield Shield season, second only to Travis Head in South Australia’s run list. He has also done well in the Big Bash League, earning the nickname “Sweepologist” thanks to his fondness for the sweep shot. What can the Sweepologist conjure up in the Caribbean?

St Lucia Zouks

How they did last season: Finished fifth after the league stage, with four wins, five losses and a no-resultLeadership: Captain – Darren Sammy, Coach – Stuart WilliamsSquad: Darren Sammy, Johnson Charles, Miguel Cummins, Derone Davis, Andre Fletcher, Michael Hussey (overseas), Delorn Johnson, Nitish Kumar, Eddie Leie (overseas), Keddy Lesporis, Kyle Mayers, David Miller (overseas), Morne Morkel (overseas), Gidron Pope, Denesh Ramdin, Kristopher Ramsaran, Shane Shillingford, Shane Watson (overseas)Watch out for: One of three Canadians and six associate players from the Americas region participating in this edition of the CPL, Nitish Kumar comes in with a reputation of being his country’s batting mainstay. His nickname – Tendulkar – perhaps provides an insight into the regard with which he is viewed by his peers. Still only 22, Nitish has been around for years – in August 2009, he became the youngest player to represent Canada in a first-class match and a few months later he became the second youngest ODI debutant. Since then, his returns have been middling, though, so he would want to make an impression on this stage.

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots

How they did last season: Brought up the rear, at sixth place in the league table, with four wins and six lossesLeadership: Captain – Faf du Plessis, Coach – Eric SimonsSquad: Faf du Plessis (overseas), Samuel Badree, Tino Best, Carlos Brathwaite, Shamarh Brooks, Jonathan Carter, Nikhil Dutta, Brad Hodge (overseas), Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Jeremiah Louis, Thisara Perera (overseas), Kieran Powell, Krishmar Santokie, Tabraiz Shamsi (overseas), Lendl Simmons, JJ Smuts (overseas), Devon ThomasWatch out for: “Always be watchful of the batters. That’s my main thing.” That simple philosophy, allied with a useful arsenal of slower balls and yorkers, has enabled Krishmar Santokie to emerge as a handy left-arm pacer inT20 leagues around the world. It has also helped him to quietly rise to become the leading wicket-taker across the first three editions of the CPL. If he carries on at this rate, it is the batsmen who will need to be watchful.

Plays of the day from the Group A match between Sri Lanka and Scotland

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Hobart11-Mar-2015The wheelbarrow circle
Kumar Sangakkara had hit the first five legitimate balls of the 36th over for a six and four fours, so when he shaped to scoop Alasdair Evans again off the last delivery, short fine leg Rob Taylor could be forgiven for expecting that one to go to the fence as well. As soon as Sangakkara made contact, Taylor turned and began running to the fine leg fence, almost as if he was expecting to retrieve the ball from beyond the rope. Only, Sangakkara had mishit this one, and instead of hitting the ball over Taylor, he’d sent it to the vicinity of Taylor’s original position. Once the fielder noticed the ball wasn’t going to the fence, he circled back around to collect the ball, his overconfidence in Sangakkara’s abilities having cost his team a single.The unloved 12th man
Being on the cusp of the playing XI is never fun but Sri Lanka took 12th man Upul Tharanga’s misery to new levels when they refused to partake of the drinks he was running on to the field. There was moisture in the air in the first phase of Scotland’s innings and, in their quest to rush through 20 overs and ensure a full game was played, Sri Lanka had spinners operating at either end. When the umpires called for drinks after the 17th over, Tharanga dutifully jogged his tray on to the field. But Sri Lanka didn’t want to slow the game down. None of the fielders moved from their positions. Unneeded twice over in this match, Tharanga was left to wander off dolefully, occasionally glancing back to see if anyone had had a change of heart.The sole separation
Richie Berrington was bowling another handy spell at the death when his own apparel would conspire against him. Berrington landed his front foot on the crease only to find his foot continued to slide forward, instead of gripping the pitch and stopping. The result was a painful tumble and what appeared to be an ankle sprain. The side-on replay, though, showed that his sole had completely torn from the rest of the boot as he landed his foot. The injury meant Berrington was unable to continue the over, with Kyle Coetzer called on to finish it off.The double-strike
When Tillakaratne Dilshan was sweeping Josh Davey’s medium pace for two fours and a six in the 25th over it seemed as if Sri Lanka had planned to go after him. After the batting Powerplay, Davey might reflect that the strategy played into his hands. He picked up the wicket of Dilshan in the 35th over, then in the next over, removed two legends back-to-back. First he had Mahela Jayawardene miscuing one to mid off, then Sangakkara, who had been flaying almost every other bowler, nicked Davey behind next ball.The surprise review
Sri Lanka have been perhaps the worst users of DRS this tournament, often wasting their reviews on hopeless cases but, in this match, conjured a wicket seemingly out of nowhere through the review system. Michael Leask had swiped at a Nuwan Kulasekara bouncer, but though neither the bowler nor the wicketkeeper felt the batsman had hit it, fielder Seekkuge Prasanna was so adamant he had, he convinced his team-mates to ask for a review. Sure enough, Snicko showed Leask had given a feather edge to the ball as it passed over his head, and Sri Lanka’s referral record improved a little.