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As per Football Insider, Tottenham Hotspur managing director Fabio Paratici has made an exciting transfer plea to club chiefs involving Juventus star Matthijs de Ligt.

The Lowdown: Conte eyes Serie A upgrades…

As widely reported, Conte may turn his attention to Serie A as he seeks to bolster his Tottenham options and transform his new side back into a force.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/spurs-developments-2/” title=”Spurs developments!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

It has been two-and-a-half years since Mauricio Pochettino guided the Lilywhites to a Champions League final against Liverpool, and the new manager is tasked with returning Spurs to those lofty heights.

According to Calciomercato, the Italian top flight could be a fruitful transfer pool for Conte and Tottenham, and one of the stars they’ve been tipped to target is Juventus defender De Ligt.

The Netherlands international is one of many players currently on Conte’s radar (Calciomercato.it), with Football Insider now bringing an exciting update involving Paratici.

The Latest: Paratici makes exciting plea…

As per their sources, Tottenham’s transfer chief has told fellow club officials that a ‘deal can be done’ to sign De Ligt from Juventus.

Indeed, the 22-year-old centre-back is ‘on the radar’ of Paratici as he aims to seriously strengthen Conte’s defensive options. As such, Spurs have now ‘set their sights’ on De Ligt ahead of the January transfer window.

The Verdict: Get it done…

Of Tottenham’s defensive targets, which includes Inter Milan mainstay Stefan de Vrij, it is clear that De Ligt stands out as the most ambitious signing of them all.

Spurs would need to smash their transfer record to sign the player going by his £63m valuation according to Transfermarkt, nearly £10m more than the fee they paid to sign Tanguy Ndombele (BBC).

It would signal a real statement of intent by Paratici and the north London club, as evident by the notion that De Ligt ‘can’t be stopped’, according to the player’s representative Mino Raiola.

Likened to an ‘oil tanker’ by his agent, the £200,000-per-week star averaged an impressive 92.5% passing accuracy out from the back over 25 Serie A starts last season – a higher rate than any Spurs player managed (WhoScored).

This sums up his class and composure at such a young age, but if Paratici really does believe that a deal can be done, he may need to pull out all the stops.

In other news: Tottenham tell rising star he is free to leave as they green light surprise exit from N17, find out more here.

يبحث النادي الأهلي في الوقت الحالي عن المدير الفني المثالي القادر على قيادة الفريق الأول لكرة القدم في الموسم المقبل بعد الإعلان يوم أمس، الأربعاء، عن رحيل ريكاردو سواريش.

وأنهى الأهلي عقد سواريش بالتراضي بعد فترة قصيرة لمدة 69 يومًا داخل القلعة الحمراء، كانت صعبة بسبب خسارة الدوري المصري وكأس مصر بالإضافة إلى إراحة اللاعبين الأساسيين والاعتماد على البدلاء.

وكانت هناك أنباء عن دخول النادي الأهلي في مفاوضات مع مدرب بوروسيا دورتموند السابق، ماركو روزه، من أجل قيادة المارد الأحمر حيث تراه الإدارة بقيادة محمود الخطيب، المدرب المناسب في المستقبل.

اقرأ أيضًا.. فوت ميركاتو: زيزو قد يرحل عن الزمالك خلال ساعات لمزاملة لاعب مصري في أوروبا

وبتواصل “btolat.com” مع مصدر مقرب من المدرب الألماني أوضح التالي أن روزه لا يفكر في العمل خارج قارة أوروبا في الوقت الحالي.

يؤسس ماركو روزه منزلًا جديدًا له ولعائلته الآن في مدينة “لايبزيج” مسقط رأسه أملًا في الحصول على عرض للتدريب مرة أخرى في الدوري الألماني ربما يكون نادي لايبزيج الذي يعاني من النتائج في البطولة رغم فوزه الأخير أمام فولفسبورج، لكنه تعادل مرتين وخسر مباراة أخرى.

الاستقرار في ألمانيا كما أكد المصدر أولوية لدى روزه، أو على أقل تقدير لن يرحل عن أوروبا في الفترة المقبلة.

Significant contributions by opening batsman Rowland Barrington (71)and former Indian player Sunil Joshi (83) enabled Karnataka StateCricket Association to score 322 for seven off 99 overs at stumps onthe first day of their MRF Buchi Babu

Staff Reporter22-Jul-2009Significant contributions by opening batsman Rowland Barrington (71)and former Indian player Sunil Joshi (83) enabled Karnataka StateCricket Association to score 322 for seven off 99 overs at stumps onthe first day of their MRF Buchi Babu invitation cricket tournamentfirst round game against Tamil Nadu Cricket Association XI at the MAChidambaram stadium on Thursday.Winning the toss and electing to bat, KSCA XI lost Mithun Beerala (6)at 14. Shyam Ponappa (12) was second out at 42. Then commenced KSCA’srecovery. First, Barrington and former India player Vijay Bhardwaj(22) added 66 runs for the third wicket off 21.2 overs. Then DeepakChougule joined Barrington and the two shared a fourth wicket stand of32 runs off 10 overs before the opener was out. He faced 169 balls andhit six fours.Chougule and Joshi then added 56 runs for the fifth wicket off 9.3overs before the former was out for a patient 21. The recovery processwas maintained with Joshi and RC Shanbal figuring in a sixth wicketassociation of 73 runs off 22 overs before the former was out. Theleft handed Joshi, batting in his usual aggressive vein, faced just 92balls and hit 12 fours and three sixes.Skipper Anil Kumble joined Shanbal and the two completed KSCA’srecovery by adding 49 runs for the seventh wicket off 14.3 overs.Shortly before close, Kumble was out for 24 off 40 balls with twofours and a six. At stumps, Shanbal was batting on a watchful 43. Hehas so far faced 121 balls and hit four of them to the ropes. Keepinghim company is David Johnson (2). Off spinner Dhandapani was the pickamong the bowlers, picking up three for 97 off 28 overs.* ONGC and CAB involved in a close battleCricket Association of Bengal and Oil and Natural Gas Commissionshared the honours of the first day in the MRF Buchi Babu invitationcricket tournament first round tie played at the Sri RamachandraMedical College Ground in Chennai on Thursday. ONGC were bowled outfor 188 and at close of play, CAB found themselves in trouble losingtheir first five wickets in making 118 runs. The hero of the day’splay was the off spinner from Bengal, Saurasish Lahiri who took fivefor 57.ONGC won the toss and elected to bat. Opening batsman Gagan Khoda (1)failed, falling to Sib Sankar Paul. Sandeep Sharma made a patient 29before being caught behind off the bowling of Paul. InternationalVirender Sehwag struck half a dozen boundaries in scoring 26 runsbefore falling to the off spin of Lahiri. Rizwan Shamsad (30) and AmitSharma (32) were the only batsmen who got amongst the runs as Lahiriran through the batting line up picking up five wickets.The ONGC innings folded up at 188 in the 55th over when the lastbatsman Feroz Gayas (3) was bowled by Lahiri. While Lahiri was clearlythe bowling hero, he was well supported by Paul who had three for 36.ONGC hit back, reducing CAB to 36/3 in the 22nd over. Skipper RohanGavaskar and Ritesh Jaswal (22) put together a rescue act and added 63runs for the fourth wicket. Gavaskar played an attractive knock of 44off 64 balls, which included two sixes and three fours. He was caughtand bowled by off spinner Sarandeep Singh who finished the day with2/35 off nine overs. At close, Saikat Mukherjee (13) and Sanjib Sanyal(3) were at the crease.* Babloo Kumar and Aashish Kapoor spin HCA out for 256The spin duo of Babloo Kumar (6/68) and Aashish Kapoor (4/68) did allthe damage for MRF in their match against Hyderabad CricketAssociation, bowling them out for 256 in the MRF Buchi Babu invitationcricket tournament first round tie at the Southern Railway Stadium inChennai, on Thursday.HCA won the toss and elected to bat. Opening batsmen Aravind Shetty(33) and skipper Nandakishore (44) got their team off to a good startagainst some erratic bowling from T Kumaran and MR Shrinivas. Theexperienced off spin of Kapoor and Babloo Kumar, the young left-armspinner from Punjab, weaved a web around the HCA batsmen.HCA were reduced to 124/5 in the 44th over when Arjun Yadav (6) wascaught by Kapoor in the slips off the bowling of Kumar. MRF struck twomore quick blows to reduce HCA to 140/7 in 46 overs. MRF were on theascendancy as the two spinners kept applying the pressure from bothends.Ibrahim Khaleel and Shivaji Yadav struck brilliant half centuries torescue the HCA innings. The two batsmen put together 102 runs for theeighth wicket off 25 overs. Khaleel made 50 runs off 101 balls withthe help of a six and five boundaries. Yadav scored an explosive 56off 78 balls, which included seven hits past the ropes. The HCAinnings came to a close in the 75th over.MRF in their first innings were 65/2 off 20 overs at close of play.Aashish Kapoor (9) struck two boundaries and was caught by Noel Davidat covers off the bowling of Vishnuvardan. Skipper Sridharan Sriramscored 24 runs off 25 balls with the help of four boundaries beforebeing bowled by Shivaji Yadav. Tanveer Jabbar with a patient 9 off 64balls and Rajat Bhatia (23 off 26 balls) were at the crease whenstumps were drawn.

A number of Wolves supporters have reacted negatively to a transfer rumour linking the club with a move for Fenerbahce forward Enner Valencia.

The 32-year-old is known to fans of the Premier League, having had spells at West Ham and Everton in the past, but he was not a prolific player in England, netting just 11 times in 75 top-flight appearances.

Valencia is now plying his trade at Fenerbahce, where he has scored two goals in 10 Turkish Super Lig appearances this season, as well as twice in three Europa League games.

According to CNN Turkey [via Talking Wolves on Twitter], Wolves are keen on completing a move for the Ecuadorian, potentially bringing him to the Midlands in the January transfer window.

However, at 32 Valencia doesn’t represent the future, and he may not be a player who excites Wolves fans too much given his far from stellar Premier League record.

Wolves fans bemoan Valencia rumour

That certainly appears to be the case on Twitter, with these supporters providing their thoughts on the club’s links with a player who one fan dismissed as a ‘West Ham reject’.

“Oh crikey”

Credit: @wwfcscott

“Please no”

Credit: @WolvesNumber37

“West Ham reject”

Credit: @SanghaArjan

“My word “

Credit: @fowls21wwfc

“Why?”

Credit: @SamJGollings

“I am comfortable in the knowledge this won’t happen thankfully”

Credit: @parker_bradley

In other news, Luke Hatfield has provided an update on one Wolves player. Find out who it is here.

Durham spent the third day of this match batting themselves solidly, even stolidly, into a strong position, but some rather puzzling defensive tactics in the final session may prevent them from forcing victory on the final day

John Ward at Old Trafford13-Aug-2009
ScorecardIan Blackwell finished with career-best figures of 7 for 85•Getty Images

Durham spent the third day of this match batting themselves solidly, even stolidly, into a strong position, but some rather puzzling defensive tactics in the final session may prevent them from forcing victory on the final day.  A turning pitch, provided it is not a minefield, is a rare pleasure in modern cricket and if there were more like these, spin bowling in England might flourish again.  Consequently both sides were playing in rather unfamiliar conditions, but Durham handled them more adeptly – particularly Michael Di Venuto, who restrained his natural attacking instincts to guide his team to a position of strength.Lancashire began the day still 18 runs behind Durham’s first-innings total and, the way the last pair of Tom Lungley and Gary Keedy had been batting, were still capable of taking the lead.  For a while they continued with a mixture of some good strokes and a bit of luck, but the latter expired when Keedy was caught at short leg off Ian Blackwell, five runs short.  This gave the Durham spinner figures of 7 for 85, the best of his career.Lancashire made what was to prove serious mistake when Di Venuto, with only a single to his credit, edged a ball from Kyle Hogg low into the slips, where Paul Horton could not hold a difficult chance.  As expected, the seamers did not last long, and Keedy came on the bowl the seventh over, being joined at the other end by Stephen Parry for the 12th.  Sometimes the ball turned and spun awkwardly, and the wicketkeeper Luke Sutton did not have an easy time during the day, conceding a number of byes and failing to take at least one difficult chance, though he did bag two.  The ball was turning square – or so the Lancashire fielders tried to convince the batsmen, as they crowded round their intended victims in a noisy mob.  Mark Stoneman, for once scoring faster than Di Venuto, made 33 out of 60 when he was given out to a fine diving catch behind square leg off Keedy, much to his displeasure.It seemed we were transported to the subcontinent, with two spinners bowling with a marauding pack of fielders making the usual ridiculous farmyard noises of simulated astonishment and disbelief every ball the batsman survived.  VVS Laxman, the chirpiest culprit, was put on to bowl his occasional off-breaks, which did quieten things down a little, until on the stroke of lunch Will Smith (1) turned one of his deliveries into the hands of the mobile wicketkeeper and Durham were 65 for 2.  Immediately on leaving the field, Laxman was awarded his county cap, though presumably this was for more than just his wicket and vocal contributions.After lunch Gordon Muchall decided attack was the best method of defence and took the assault to the spinners, using his feet well to drive and pulling anything short.  Di Venuto, in contrast, was uncharacteristically restrained, playing an innings far different from his usual upstanding, dominant style.  But the vital factor was that he stayed there to anchor the innings, even if it did take him 113 balls to reach his second 50 of the match.  He then pushed on a little more quickly, while Muchall seemed to run out of steam before being given out caught at square leg for 40, and walked off another dissatisfied customer.In these circumstances, and thanks largely once again to Di Venuto, Durham did remarkably well to reached 182 for 3 at tea. In the second over afterwards, however, he pushed a catch to silly point off Keedy and departed for an invaluable 84.Durham’s tactics now became rather puzzling, unless their attitude is now “We have the championship in the bag, so let’s make sure we finish the season undefeated.”  With rain forecast for at least some of the final day, one would have expected them to press on with some urgency towards a declaration; some locals considered they had enough runs to win the match anyway.  But instead two normally aggressive batsmen in Dale Benkenstein and Blackwell pushed and prodded their way along at just over two runs an over, until finally Blackwell (25 off 61 balls) pushed at a ball from Parry outside the off stump and was caught at the wicket.Benkenstein finished the day with a laborious unbeaten 48 off 143 bals.  No doubt Durham will consider themselves vindicated if they do win this match on the final day, but their surprisingly unenterprising approach during the final session has improved Lancashire’s chances of forcing a draw, result wicket and all.

Glenn Turner, New Zealand’s chairman of selectors, has defended the selection of players without central contracts for the upcoming tour to Sri Lanka in August and September

Cricinfo staff19-Jul-2009

Glenn Turner, New Zealand’s chairman of selectors, has defended the selection of players without central contracts for the upcoming tour to Sri Lanka in August and September. Reacting to criticism over the selection of five players not on the list of 20 contracted players over the likes of Brent Arnel and James Franklin – both with retainers – Turner admitted there were flaws in the central contracts system and said he was working on a new arrangement.Included in New Zealand’s 15-man Test squad were Daryl Tuffey, Reece Young and Craig Cumming, who all missed out on central contracts last month. Young, the Auckland wicketkeeper, was picked as cover for Brendon McCullum despite Gareth Hopkins being the spare gloveman in the contract list released a fortnight ago. Hopkins was chosen in the ODI squad while a fourth wicketkeeper, Peter McGlashan, was named for the Twenty20 portion of the trip. The ODI side includes another without a contract, Nathan McCullum. Turner defended these selections, saying there were picked on merit.”You can argue that the system is flawed. It has obviously worked for a period but you have three solid forms of the game now, not two,” Turner told the . “I know people say we’ve got three back-up keepers and shake their heads and say ‘how can only one have a contract’? Ideally, under a different system – where you were giving contracts for each form of the game – all three would have got some money and that would have been a lot fairer.”We have Reece Young doing the Tests because we feel he is the next best gloveman; the next best gloveman after him, who also bats pretty damn well in both forms, is Hopkins; then you have McGlashan who can keep in Twenty20s but is valued more as a batting improviser in that form of the game.”According to Turner, because New Zealand were likely to play two fast bowlers, two spinners and Jacob Oram and Jesse Ryder as support seamers, Tuffey’s experience of Sri Lankan conditions earned him selection ahead of the uncapped Arnel. “Do you want a newcomer to be making his debut under Sri Lankan conditions? The answer is ‘no’, if you can avoid it. So selection is not so cut and dried,” said Turner.Per the existing contracts system, points are allotted to each player on the list. The players with the most points – each receives a highest of 25, a lowest of one – are offered New Zealand Cricket contracts. Turner said he was looking at devising a new system that would allocate points based on each format of the game and rate that against New Zealand’s itinerary for the upcoming year.”What I’ve noticed is that you could, let’s say, be ranked 11th on the Test list which would give you 18.75 points. If you don’t get any points in the ranking for limited-overs cricket, that 18.75 points would put you 29th on the overall list,” he said. “All of a sudden people see somebody who is playing Test cricket who doesn’t have a contract – who is not even close to a contract – and they think how could that possibly be?”The other example is that if you got 16th in both forms of the game, you would end up this year with a contract 15th on the list, which gives you a decent retainer [$90,000] and yet you’re 16th in line when it comes to 15-man squads. So you’re not selected in either form and yet you’ve got a contract.”Heath Mills, the New Zealand Cricket Players Association executive manager, said he could not see “wholesale changes” when the current contract system ends next year. “We have to figure out how to factor Twenty20 into the equation but at the same time it is important we still put our focus on the longer form of the game. That’s the form of the game the players want to see protected.”

Villarreal will ‘put up a fight’ to prevent Unai Emery being lured to Newcastle United, according to The Chronicle’s Lee Ryder.

The lowdown

Newcastle World journalist Liam Kennedy tweeted on Tuesday that the Magpies were hopeful of appointing the Spaniard as Steve Bruce’s replacement before the weekend’s trip to Brighton.

Emery has been in charge of the Yellow Submarine for just over 15 months. Last season, he steered them to their first major trophy with a Europa League final victory over Manchester United. They only finished seventh in La Liga, but their win in Gdansk was enough to qualify for the Champions League.

A total of two wins in their first 11 league games of 2021/22 sees them lingering in 13th place, but they are in the top two in their Champions League group.

The latest

Having only joined Villarreal in 2020, Ryder points out that Emery is still under contract at the Estadio de la Ceramica for another three years.

‘That would be the snag’ for Newcastle, he tweeted, with a £6m buyout apparently needed, and Villarreal will do whatever they can to resist any overtures from the Magpies after Emery’s historic achievement.

The verdict

It’s hard to imagine a seven-figure buyout fee proving a significant stumbling block for Newcastle, who are now one of the richest clubs in the world, but Ryder’s tweet does suggest this appointment isn’t a foregone conclusion just yet.

Villarreal are looking past their lowly league position – they’ve only lost three times, with their six draws holding them back – and recognising that Emery is a top coach, as evidenced by his four Europa League triumphs.

In other news, a potential January signing has emerged

يشهد اليوم الثلاثاء 23-8-2022 إقامة العديد من المباريات في مختلف البطولات على مستوى العالم.

وتُلعب 4 مواجهات في الجولة الثانية والثلاثون من الدوري المصري أبرزها مباراة الزمالك مع نظيره الاتحاد السكندري والتي تعد تحصيل حاصل، بعدما توج الأبيض بالدوري الممتاز، وتُلعب على استاد القاهرة. مواعيد مباريات اليوم الثلاثاء 23-8-2022 والقنوات الناقلةمواعيد مباريات الدوري المصري

المقاولون العرب ضد فاركو وتُذاع على  ON Time Sports 3.

سموحة ضد الجونة وتُذاع على ON Time Sports 2.

وتنطلق المباراتان في تمام 5:30 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، 6:30 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية.

البنك الأهلي ضد المصري وتُذاع على  ON Time Sports 3.

الزمالك ضد الاتحاد السكندري وتُذاع على ON Time Sports 1.

وتنطلق المباراتان في تمام 8 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، 9 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية. مواعيد مباريات دوري أبطال أوروبا

فيكتوريا بلزن التشيكي ضد كارباغ اغدام وتُذاع على beIN Sports 2 HD Premium

بنفيكا البرتغالي ضد دينامو كييف الأوكراني وتُذاع على beIN Sports 1 HD Premium

وتنطلق المباراتان في تمام 9 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، 10 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية. مواعيد مباريات الدوري القطري

الريان ضد الأهلي وتنطلق المباراة في تمام 4:20 عصرًا بتوقيت القاهرة، 5:20 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية.

السد ضد الغرافة وتنطلق المباراة في تمام 6:30 بتوقيت القاهرة، 7:30 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية.

يمكنكم مطالعة مواعيد ونتائج جميع المباريات لحظة بلحظة من مركز المباريات من هنا.

MatériaMais Notícias

A sequência de quatro jogos sem perder fizeram o Avaí chegar próximo de sair da zona de rebaixamento. O Leão, ao bater a Chapecoense, na última rodada, igualou o rival em número de pontos, e chegou à 18ª posição. Além de ter sido um confronto direto, a partida contra a Chape também foi um clássico estadual, o que dá muita confiança à equipe para a continuação do campeonato, segundo o meia Pedro Castro.

– Vencer é sempre bom, ainda mais no momento em que nós vivemos, que estamos buscando sair dessa situação incômoda. Diante da nossa torcida ainda é um gás a mais pra gente ter um bom momento e continuar nessa arrancada – afirmou.

Agora, o Avaí só volta a jogar no dia 10/9, contra o Sport, fora de casa. Para Pedro Castro, esse longo período sem jogos é bom e ruim ao mesmo tempo.

– Tem seu lado bom e ruim. Acredito que o lado bom é ter tempo para trabalhar mais e corrigir os erros que vemos cometendo. O sentido ruim é que a gente ta vivendo em um momento bom, e ter essa parada acaba atrapalhando porque a nossa sequência está sendo muito boa – explicou o meia.

Ainda sobre a boa sequência vivda pelo time, Pedro afirmou que é fruto de uma mudança de postura que ocorreu no segundo turno. O jogador garantiu que contra o Sport, a equipe manterá a mesma pegada dos últimos jogos.

– Acredito que a postura do Avaí será a mesma que a gente vem tendo nesse segundo turno. Conseguimos encaixar bem o jogo nesse segundo turno, estamos conseguindo os resultados positivos e vamos trabalhar para continuar vencendo. É difícil jogar lá (Ilha do Retiro), todo mundo sabe, e o Sport é um adversário muito difícil também, mas não é impossível – ressaltou.

Por fim, o jogador avaliou o posicionamento que tem atuado nas últimas partidas. Mesmo admittindo ainda estar um pouco desconfortável, o meia garantiu que tem o apoio dos companheiros para seguir crescendo.

– É questão de adaptação, tem uma grande diferença do campeonato que eu estava disputando para esse. Com sequência e com a confiança do grupo também, acredito que eu estarei cada vez mais solto, com muito para melhorar ainda. Sei que posso melhorar e o grupo me passa essa confiança necessária – completou o jogador.

Sport e Avaí se enfrentam domingo, 10/9, na Ilha do Retiro. Depois, o Leão recebe o Atlético-MG, dia 17, às 11h, na Ressacada. A equipe de Claudinei Oliveira terminou a 22[ rodada na 18[ posição, com 25 pontos, mesma pontuação da Chapecoense (17ª) e do Vitória (16º).

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Andrew Miller presents England’s marks out of 10 following their 2-0 series defeat of West Indies

Andrew Miller19-May-2009James Anderson’s control of swing is rapidly becoming masterful•Getty Images

James Anderson – 9When the ball moves, no-one moves it better. An exceptional performance to seal the second Test, and two impressive incisions at Lord’s as well, where he bagged Gayle and Sarwan in the follow-on to hasten West Indies to a three-day defeat. Anderson has six years on the clock as an international cricketer, and he knows it’s time he made the most of his prime. Bowled with swing and control without sacrificing his pace, and for some strange reason became the most sought-after wicket in the England line-up when Edwards decided to knock his block off. His skill as a nightwatchman, however, is becoming legendary – 48 innings without a duck is proof of his stickability.Stuart Broad – 9The unsung star of the series. It was evident at Lord’s that Broad had added some meat to his bones and a yard of pace to his action, but it wasn’t until the second Test that we saw the full extent of his development. A thuggish streak runs straight through his veins, as shown by his superb extraction of the centurion Ramnaresh Sarwan, and the manner in which he put Fidel Edwards back in his box during his spat with Jimmy Anderson. He possesses a mean streak reminiscent of Glenn McGrath – he may not be the quickest, but he has height and attitude, and isn’t afraid to show it. His batting looked sparky as well.Ravi Bopara – 8Two innings, two centuries, and hey presto, England’s Ashes No. 3 was born. Ravi Bopara’s selection seemed at first to be a whim, but was soon revealed to be a masterstroke, as he built on his previous hundred in Barbados to emulate the achievement of his mentor, Graham Gooch, 19 years earlier. He needed some luck – particularly at Lord’s when he was badly dropped on 76 – but crucially he took it, and with a serenity that his predecessors, Bell and Shah, would not have been able to emulate. Tougher tests lie ahead, but mentally and technically, he’s got what it takes.Graeme Swann – 8Came under sustained attack for perhaps the first time in his career during the second Test as Denesh Ramdin and Sulieman Benn cut loose in the first innings, but Swann still emerged in credit after his all-round heroics at Lord’s. His batting is a bonus and may not always come off – he has a great eye, but does love to take the aerial route through the covers – but the intelligence and variety of his bowling will have England’s Ashes think-tank salivating. West Indies’ left-handers didn’t know what to do with him as he beat them both sides of the bat at will. Hughes, Hussey et al will have taken note.Graham Onions – 8The statistics brook no argument. Four wickets in seven balls on debut at Lord’s; two in three (and in Gayle and Sarwan it was no ordinary pair either) at a vital moment at Chester-le-Street. Onions has a happy knack for making breakthroughs, and his amalgam of pace, swing, bounce and innate aggression suggest he should be able to replicate such performances on less helpful surfaces later in the year. But until he is tested against more streetwise opponents, there will have to be a small asterisk against his achievements.Alastair Cook – 7His second-Test century was a triumph of the will. Like Shivnarine Chanderpaul, his technique will never attract wolf-whistles, but the determination with which he compiled his runs is incredible. Some would say he’s never been the same since his working-over in Australia in 2006-07, and the way he still flinches outside off stump is Glenn McGrath’s lasting influence. But Cook still emerged from that series with a century at Perth, and he’s now made two more in three Tests. One day he’ll iron out his technical glitches, and then there’ll be no stopping him.Matt Prior’s confidence with the bat has all but sealed England’s No.6 slot•Getty Images

Matt Prior – 7His keeping will never convince everyone, but it was as a No. 6 batsman that Prior was being assessed in this series, and in that regard, he impressed with a pair of attacking performances. His 42 at Lord’s helped rescue England from an awkward 109 for 4; his 63 at Chester-le-Street built speedily on their first-day advantage. Both innings were scored with total confidence, particularly through the off side. Whether Australia will offer him such width is debatable, but he’s passed his audition thus far.Andrew Strauss – 6Both his dismissals were uncharacteristically loose, but for the time he was at the crease, he looked as solid as he had done during his trio of centuries in the Caribbean. It was his captaincy which caught the eye, however, and not just for the ostentatious use of Swann as a new-ball bowler at Lord’s. Tactically astute and sympathetic to his bowlers, he looked like a man in command of all he surveyed.Paul Collingwood – 6He may have scored four centuries and a 96 in his previous eight Tests, but he sat on the bench throughout the IPL, and his wooden dismissal in the first Test at Lord’s provided his detractors with further ammunition – there’s something about Collingwood’s attritional style that doesn’t permit him to fail without calls for his head following close behind. Happily his series finished on a much lighter note in front of his home fans – a handy half-century and a joyous (and unexpectedly accomplished) couple of sessions behind the stumps as Matt Prior’s deputy.Kevin Pietersen – 5An anonymous series by his usual strutting standards. There was nothing KP could do about the exocet that nailed him first-ball at Lord’s – not even his late return from the IPL could be blamed for that – although he looked sure to wreak his vengeance when got off to a flyer at Durham. But not for the first time in his career, a left-arm spinner proved to be his downfall. From Daniel Vettori and Yuvraj Singh, and now to Sulieman Benn, there’s something about that breed that gets right under his skin.Tim Bresnan – 5A late, late showing on the final day of the series, as Strauss saw fit to give him free rein to express himself at last, and he didn’t disappoint with three morale-boosting wickets. Swung the ball prodigiously in perfect conditions, albeit with rather less control than some of his colleagues. Judgment still needs to be deferred on this one.