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Alastair Cook was left ruing missed chances in the field as England succumbed to an innings defeat in Mumbai.While Cook admitted England had erred in selection – picking four seamers on a pitch where India’s spinners claimed 19 wickets – he felt the defining moments of the game came when England failed to take chances to dismiss all three of India’s centurions in the relatively early stages of their innings.Jonny Bairstow missed a stumping opportunity off M Vijay when he had 45, Virat Kohli was put down by Adil Rashid – a difficult caught and bowled chance – on 68, and Joe Root put down Jayant Yadav at slip when he had eight. Vijay went on to score 136, Kohli made 235 and Yadav 104.The frustration for Cook is that these things keep happening. The series against Pakistan was littered with missed opportunities – and Rashid also put down a tough chance off Kohli in Visakhapatnam when he had scored 56. He went on to make 167.”I keep going back to the chances we missed,” Cook told . “That’s why we lost this game.”Yes, we would have liked another spinner. But with the side we had, we had opportunities to bowl India out for 400 and we just didn’t take them.”Obviously Virat played an extraordinary innings, but we had a chance to get rid of him on 60-odd. Yadav got a 100 and we had a couple of chances to get rid of him. And those are the things the game is changing on. This team, at the moment, we’re not taking those chances. It’s those opportunities that have cost us.”Cook also admitted England “didn’t need that extra seamer” in Mumbai. Going into the match with six bowlers – two spinners and four quicks – Cook was obliged to ask Rashid and Moeen Ali to deliver more than 50 overs, while none of the seamers bowled more than 20.”That was a mistake,” he said. “It’s kind of the problem when you don’t have any games between Test Matches. We really wanted to see what four seamers looked like, because they are the bowlers so far on this tour who have given us the most control and our two best spinners have been Mo and Rash.”Maybe if we’d bowled first we’d have more control with the four seamers. But clearly when you bat first, you didn’t need that extra seamer.”Whether it would have changed the game… we were in this game with the balance of that side. We had an opportunity when they were 307 for 6 to restrict India’s lead. Historically, 180 is a good score here in the third innings and it’s very hard to score much in the fourth innings. So we would have been in the game.”But would have, could have isn’t really good enough and that’s the bottom line: we haven’t been good enough to get over the line.”Cook had praise for Kohli, though: “He’s in incredible form. He’s having one of those series you dream of as a player and a captain. You lead from the front and you score a hell of a lot of runs and that’s a huge amount of credit to him. He’s clearly one of the great batsmen of our generation. And certainly in these conditions, he’s very hard to bowl at when he’s in this form.”

R Ashwin’s career-best match haul of 13 for 140 against New Zealand in the Indore Test has propelled him back to the top of the ICC Test rankings for bowlers

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Oct-20163:04

Ashwin’s extraordinary numbers against top batsmen

R Ashwin’s career-best match haul of 13 for 140 against New Zealand in the Indore Test has propelled him back to the top of the ICC Test rankings for bowlers. Ashwin had earlier briefly held the position in July, before being overtaken by Dale Steyn and James Anderson.Ashwin picked up 6 for 81 in the first innings and followed it up with 7 for 59 to achieve a career-best rating of 900 points. He joined an elite club of bowlers to have attained 900 ratings points since 2000; Muttiah Muralitharan, Glenn McGrath, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn and Shaun Pollock being the others.Ashwin is now trailed by Steyn, with 878 points, and Anderson on 870. While Steyn’s next Test will be in Australia starting November 3, Anderson is aiming to be fit for the India tour, as he is missing the Bangladesh Tests. Ashwin has a good chance to retain the top spot until the end of the year, with India in the midst of a lengthy home season. If he does so, it will mark the second year in succession that Ashwin closes out the calendar year as the No. 1-ranked Test bowler. Ashwin also leads the allrounders’ table, while team-mate Ravindra Jadeja surged to a career-best third, joint Moeen Ali.Among batsmen, Ajinkya Rahane’s innings of 188 and 23 not out in Indore helped him rise to a career-best sixth position, making him the only Indian batsman in the top 10.

Leeds United will head to the London Stadium this afternoon to continue their relegation battle in their Premier League clash with West Ham United and Sam Allardyce will be hoping his team can put up a fight in the penultimate game of the season.

The Whites are currently 18th in the top-flight table and two points deep in the relegation zone heading into their final away fixture, so picking up nothing short of all three points from the Hammers this weekend will be crucial to their survival hopes.

A 2-2 draw with Newcastle United last weekend should give the Leeds squad a boost of confidence in their capabilities to retain their Premier League status by next weekend, however, with Everton and Leicester City also battling to beat a drop down to the Championship, there is still work to be done.

As a result, Allardyce will be looking to fill his starting eleven with experienced players he can rely on to provide a positive outlook for the West Yorkshire club ahead of the final day of the season, and an opportunity for Pascal Struijk to start could present itself in east London today.

Will Pascal Struijk start against West Ham?

Leeds have been plagued with injuries throughout the season and will be without Tyler Adams, Luis Sinisterra and Stuart Dallas against the Hammers, whilst Marc Roca and Liam Cooper will be subjected to late fitness tests ahead of the clash.

Not only that, Junior Firpo will be unavailable for selection at left-back due to a one-match suspension after he picked up two yellow cards and a sending off against the Magpies at Elland Road last week, paving the way for Struijk to reprise his role on the left flank.

The versatile £50k-per-week titan – hailed "tremendous" by Tony Dorigo – has played predominantly in the left-back position this season but is also extremely experienced in the centre-back role too, giving Allardyce a player he can utilise across the defensive set-up in the final fixtures.

Over 27 league appearances, Struijk has scored two goals, registered one assist and successfully completed the majority of his dribbles (56%), as well as averaging 2.3 clearances, 2.8 tackles, 1.1 interceptions and 5.6 duels won per game, proving that he is both potent in attack and defensively sound when playing in the back four.

With that being said, it would be an absolute no-brainer for Allardyce to unleash Struijk against West Ham as not only will he replace Firpo, but the full-back could revive Leeds' season if he can provide a moment of magic away from home.

Tottenham Hotspur's latest setback in their manager search is reminiscent of their failure two years ago, presenter Terry Flewers has claimed.

What's going on with Spurs' manager search?

It was reported on Thursday that one of the club's main targets, Feyenoord manager Arne Slot, was to sign an extension with the Dutch side following a breakdown in talks with Tottenham.

Spurs have now ruled out Julian Nagelsmann as well as Slot, and former coach Mauricio Pochettino is heading to rivals Chelsea.

Speaking on The Football Terrace, Flewers questioned the state of the club, claiming that the current mess reminds him of their drawn-out and ultimately disastrous manager search two years ago.

"Looking at Tottenham, Arne Slot, [it was] only a few days ago reported that him and Luis Enrique were the front runners, they moved on to Slot, it was close, it was advancing," he stated.

"It now appears he's going to sign a new deal at Feyenoord very soon. This agreement has been met during a meeting yesterday according to Fabrizio Romano.

"Slots decision won't change he will stay and won't join Tottenham, essentially he's rejected Tottenham Hotspur. So that's Pochettino, Nagelsmann, Slot, Enrique. What is going on at Tottenham?

"They're even being rejected, again, by the way, this reminds me of two summers ago, when they ended up with Nuno [Espirito Santo]. They're being rejected by managers that their fans don't even want."

"What is going on at Tottenham Hotspur? They've got the best stadium in the country, maybe the best stadium in Europe. Revenue now surpassing that of Arsenal.

"Why that's significant, is because the idea of increasing your revenues, growing your stadium, is so that money is invested into the team to make you really compete at the top end of the table, compete not just for Champions League positions, with the ability to win it, with the ability to win trophies, growing towards challenging for Premier League titles.

"That's the point supposedly, yet all this extra money can't attract a manager."

Who could Spurs move for now?

Ange Postecoglou of Celtic is now reportedly being eyed up by Daniel Levy at Spurs, and the 57-year-old would join having won back-to-back titles in Scotland.

Postecoglou has earned rave reviews for his style of play, which has seen Celtic score 109 league goals in 34 games this season, and his eye for talent, with some of his signings scouted from lesser-known leagues.

However, could his recruitment style be replicated at a side who have the ambition of competing regularly in the Champions League?

And given he has no experience of managing inside the top five European leagues or even England itself, would this be a potential appointment that would again fail to excite the Spurs faith?

It remains to be seen whether the Australian could handle the step-up to the Premier League, but whoever Spurs appoint needs to be given time and resources this summer to rebuild the squad.

Watch more of The Football Terrace on YouTube now!

Sandeep Patil, the former India batsman and current chairman of selectors, has applied for the post of national head coach. Patil, who has headed the selection panel since September 2012, confirmed the development to ESPNcricinfo.Patil’s term as chief selector is due to end in September. He previously worked as chairman of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, and coached Kenya and Oman. Patil had earlier coached India as well, back in 1996, but his tenure was a forgettable one; he was replaced within six months. He enjoyed more success with Kenya, though; he was in charge of the team when it made the World Cup semi-final in 2003. According to reports in the Indian media, he was one of four candidates shortlisted by the BCCI for the position of India coach in May 2005, but opted out citing his commitments with Oman.Patil played 29 Tests and 45 ODIs between 1980 and 1986, and was a part of the World Cup-winning squad in 1983. Patil told that he had a lot to offer and cited his previous stints as India coach and head of the National Cricket Academy.”I am passionate about coaching. When I retired from cricket, I coached Madhya Pradesh, India Under-19, India ‘A’ and then India. I also had stints with Kenya and Oman which were very satisfying,” Patil said. “I have something more to offer in terms of coaching. I have always felt my coaching career was half done and what better than to do it for my country.”This is the first time I am applying for a coaching position. In all my previous roles, I was approached. I am doing this only because I have the desire and of course, a 21-year experience which involves being director of the National Cricket Academy and four years as chief selector.”The BCCI had advertised for the coach’s job on June 1, setting the deadline to submit applications as June 10. The applicants will be screened and the list of names submitted to the soon-to-be-formed cricket advisory committee comprising reputed former players. That committee will then submit a shortlist to the BCCI, which will likely discuss the names further, if not unveil the new coach, during its working committee meeting in Dharamsala on June 25.The aim is to have the new support staff in place before India leave for their tour of the West Indies, which begins on July 6. A new addition in the support staff will be a chef to cater for the vegetarians in the squad.The contracts of the previous coaching staff – comprising team director Ravi Shastri, batting coach Sanjay Bangar, bowling coach B Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar – had expired after the World T20 in March. Bangar, the former India allrounder, will coach the team in the interim, overseeing the squad in Zimbabwe in June. Abhay Sharma, who most recently worked with the India Under-19 and A teams, was named fielding coach for that tour.

أعلن الاتحاد الإفريقي لكرة القدم “كاف”، عن أفضل لاعب في مباراة مصر وغانا، التي جمعت بينهما مساء أمس الخميس، ضمن منافسات كأس أمم إفريقيا 2023.

والتقى منتخب مصر مع غانا على ملعب استاد فيليكس “هوفويت بوانيي” في إطار منافسات دور المجموعات لبطولة كأس أمم إفريقيا.

وانتهت المباراة بالتعادل الإيجابي بنتيجة 2-2، وجاء ذلك في إطار مواجهات الجولة الثانية من عمر منافسات بطولة أمم إفريقيا المقامة في كوت ديفوار.

طالع أيضاً.. فيديو | قدوس يسجل هدف غانا الثاني أمام منتخب مصر

ونشر كاف على حسابه عبر موقع التواصل الاجتماعي “إكس” تويتر سابقاً، فوز محمد قدوس لاعب المنتخب الغاني، بجائزة أفضل لاعب في المباراة أمام مصر.

وساهم الغاني محمد قدوس مع منتخب بلاده في التعادل أمام مصر، حيث أحرز الهدف الأول بتسديدة قوية من خارج منطقة الجزاء سكنت شباك الحارس محمد الشناوي.

كما سجل قدوس الهدف الثاني في الدقيقة 71 من خلال تصويبة من داخل منطقة الجزاء باغتت الحارس محمد الشناوي. 

ويتواجد المنتخبان مصر وغانا في المجموعة الثانية لـ كأس أمم إفريقيا 2023 بجانب موزمبيق والرأس الأخضر.

🇬🇭 Mohamed Kudus 🇬🇭

Ghana's starboy is your TotalEnergies Man of the Match with a great brace! 🌟 #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 | #EGYGHA | @Football2Gether pic.twitter.com/v4f21Wndt8

— CAF (@CAF_Online) January 18, 2024

Glasgow Rangers returned to winning ways this afternoon at Ibrox as they clawed back the deficit to nine points in the Premiership title race, albeit on a temporary basis.

The 5-2 victory over St Mirren wasn’t without a scare or two, with the Paisley outfit twice equalising through Mark O’Hara and the scores were tied at 2-2 heading into the final ten minutes of the match.

A flurry of goals followed, with Alfredo Morelos netting twice and late substitute Scott Arfield also getting on the scoresheet. The result means Michael Beale has only been on the wrong end of defeat twice during his spell as manager, both to Celtic.

Todd Cantwell was impressive yet again. The Englishman received a Sofascore rating of 9.5/10 for his display, comfortably the best player on the pitch as he added two assists to his early goal.

The former Norwich City player has been a shrewd signing, and he also chipped in with two key passes, five shots in total and four tackles throughout. However, it was Fashion Sakala who took his opportunity well, enjoying a solid performance against the Buddies.

How did Fashion Sakala perform for Rangers against St Mirren?

The Zambian has enjoyed success under Beale having been frozen out of the starting XI earlier in the season by former boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

Under the Englishman, Sakala has scored six goals and grabbed seven assists, and it’s no wonder he was dubbed a “dangerman” by Rangers Review journalist Joshua Barrie before the recent Old Firm clash.

Against St Mirren, the 26-year-old was deployed in a slightly unfamiliar left-wing role due to an injury to Ryan Kent, although he has starred in this position before, most notably in a crucial win over Hibernian at the start of March.

Sakala scored the Gers’ second goal this afternoon while registering three key passes and five shots in total, clearly demonstrating how much of an attacking threat he posed the opposition defence.

The winger was successful with four of his eight dribble attempts and took 43 touches throughout his stint on the pitch, and despite not starting a match for a few weeks, he showed no sign of sluggishness in his performance.

The showing will have pleased Beale greatly and proves that he has solid strength in depth within his team, which could prove to be crucial heading into next season.

Leicester City are reportedly interested in making Graham Potter their new manager after Brendan Rodgers' exit over the weekend.

Who will replace Rodgers at Leicester?

The Foxes have found themselves in a terrible run of form recently, getting into a relegation scrap and now sitting in 19th place in the Premier League table. Saturday's 2-1 defeat away to Crystal Palace proved to be the end of the road for Rodgers, who left by mutual consent the following day.

The Northern Irishman enjoyed a successful stint at the King Power Stadium overall, famously winning the FA Cup in 2021, but it felt like the right time to make a change after things had grown increasingly stagnant.

The hard work now begins to find a successor to Rodgers, with the appointment needing to be nailed, in order for Leicester to avoid relegation to the Championship. A host of names are likely to be linked with the job in the coming days, but it looks as though the Foxes are potentially lining up one individual already, following a fresh update.

Could Potter head to Leicester?

According to The Daily Mail, Leicester "would be interested to know" Potter's plans after being sacked as Chelsea boss on Sunday night, in what was yet another managerial casualty. It is claimed that the 47-year-old was "admired by the Leicester hierarchy long before he moved to Chelsea" and he looks like a potential front-runner to take charge, with Khun Top on his way to Leicester.

It is "unclear" whether or not the Englishman would want a new job immediately, but if he is intending to wait until the summer, he is "likely be top of their long-term list".

Potter could be a perfect appointment by Leicester – hopefully as soon as possible – with the Chelsea job such a poisoned chalice that it is harsh to be too judgmental of his time there. Instead, it is better to assess how much he worked wonders at Brighton, playing some great football and earning praise for his tactical acumen, with one unnamed player during his Swansea City days hailing him as a "genius".

There is still the talent there at Leicester for a new manager to get the best out of, from Youri Tielemans to James Maddison, and Potter looks like the best available option to fill the Rodgers' shaped void, hopefully coming in straight away and steering them clear of dangers, or joining in the summer if they have avoided relegation.

Everton have been linked this month with a move for Tammy Abraham and now a promising update has emerged ahead of the summer transfer window that could improve their chances of securing the player.

What's the latest on Everton's interest in Tammy Abraham?

According to Calciomercato, AS Roma have reduced the asking price for their striker from €75m (£66m) to just €40m (35m).

As per the report, Abraham could be heading for an exit from the Italian side this summer after his importance in the team has declined over the current campaign and Aston Villa are named as one of the Premier League clubs who could compete with Everton for his signature.

Should Dyche ditch Dominic Calvert-Lewin for Tammy Abraham?

There is no doubt that Everton need to address the depletion of their attacking threat following Richarlison's exit in the summer and Anthony Gordon's shock move to Newcastle United in January.

Not only that, the Toffees have struggled without their prolific goalscorer, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has been an inconsistent feature in the side due to his non-stop injury issues over the last 18 months which has contributed to the club falling into another relegation battle this season.

As a result, if Sean Dyche can stop Everton from a drop into the Championship over the remaining ten fixtures it could finally be time to move on from the heavy reliance on Calvert-Lewin and instead, sign a fresh perspective in front of goal.

Since joining Jose Mourinho's side in 2021, Abraham has scored 34 goals and registered 11 assists over 93 appearances – offering a goal contribution every 147 minutes, which is a consistent output that would be highly valuable to Everton next season.

Over 26 Serie A appearances this season, the 25-year-old striker – hailed "Drobga-esque" by Rio Ferdinand – has scored six goals, registered three assists and created six big chances, as well as averaging one key pass, 1.9 shots on goal and 4.7 duels won per game, which is more goals than Everton's Neal Maupay, Dwight McNeil and Calvert-Lewin combined so far.

In fact, the former Chelsea dynamo has scored only 25 fewer goals over his two campaigns in Italy than Calvert-Lewin has scored (59) over his entire seven-year tenure at Goodison Park, proving that he could be the perfect player to replace the Toffees striker and improve the output considerably.

With that being said, there is no doubt that Farhad Moshiri must capitalise on a potential opportunity to snap up Abraham this summer as it could put the Everton boss in a great position to boldly ditch Calvert-Lewin next season.

Tottenham Hotspur return to Premier League action today as they host Chelsea in a huge clash for both clubs.

Neither team boasts particularly sparkling form and will see their respective opposition as a huge potential scalp to reignite their stumbling seasons.

With Spurs confirming that Cristian Stellini will remain in charge as Antonio Conte continues his recovery from surgery, the 47-year-old has a huge task on his hands to select the right squad capable of piling on the misery for Graham Potter.

One change in particular that Stellini could employ is to once again drop Richarlison to the bench, especially considering that Heung-min Son – who came on to replace the Brazilian against West Ham United last week – scored in that match.

Will Richarlison get dropped against Chelsea?

It is admittedly a line-up change which is almost expected, with the blind faith shown to the South Korean throughout a tough season likely to continue now he has finally scored.

His goal against the Irons marked his fourth of the campaign, and the first goal in his last six Premier League games. Whilst this is a disappointing return, it is still a huge improvement on the Brazilian, who is yet to score in the top flight since his £60m summer move and netted in only one of his 20 appearances for the club in total (and that was in early September).

Having been brought in from Everton, Richarlison was expected to offer stiff competition for the Spurs forwards, but he has not managed to seize his opportunities, even whilst Son has struggled. As such, the 25-year-old’s dismissal from the starting line-up today would be more than justified.

He has been handed a 6.66 Sofascore rating for the campaign so far, and despite averaging 1.1 shots per game, it is clear that he is lacking the confidence and cutting-edge which will be needed against the Blues.

The talismanic forward looks like a shadow of the player who salvaged the Toffees from relegation with his ten-goal heroics last season.

The £90k-per-week dud has unsurprisingly come under fire for his consistently underwhelming displays, with former Aston Villa forward Gabby Agbonlahor leading the disdain by claiming: “He’s got to buck his ideas up. He’s been poor. Zero Premier League goals and we’re in February, it’s not good enough.”

It is hard to disagree with this claim, but it seems unlikely that Richarlison will be given the chance to prove his critics wrong from the off today. Stellini will surely prefer a somewhat underperforming Son, who last season scored 23 goals and set up another nine in the league, to a majorly underperforming Richarlison.