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England’s new national selector has the challenge of trying to solve long-standing issues with the Test side

Andrew McGlashan20-Apr-2018Stick or twistEngland were thwarted by New Zealand’s lower order in Christchurch, falling two wickets short of ending their barren run away from home. In the aftermath, there was a sense that the signs of improvement – particularly from Mark Stoneman and James Vince, who both scored half-centuries – had brought the men in the spotlight some more time. It will be interesting to see whether Smith feels the same way or whether the start of a new season is the time for a blank sheet of paper.Find the x-factorMark Wood and Jack Leach were brought into the side for Christchurch in an attempt to shake up England’s attack. It nearly worked, but the reality is that England have taken 20 wickets just once in their last 12 away Tests. James Anderson remains the attack leader and Stuart Broad looked rejuvenated in New Zealand, but high on Smith’s agenda will be finding bowlers (pace and spin) who can provide a point of difference. Names suggested early season include Olly Stone and Richard Gleeson in the pace debate, but Smith’s desire to delve into analytics may throw up some interesting new faces.Home and awayEngland’s home record has propped up their Test standing in recent years, but that can’t be taken for granted. There is a balance to strike between winning in the here-and-now and having an eye on the types of players who will be needed to arrest the decline overseas. For example, if a certain pace bowler or spinner is viewed as a likely starter in Sri Lanka or West Indies, then do they need to be playing this summer to find their feet in Test cricket? And, also, Smith will need to decide how far ahead to look. The next away Ashes in 2021-22 is likely to be high on the agenda. Players for that need to be identified now.Horses for coursesWith Smith’s emphasis on analytics and a more Moneyball approach to selection, could we see an evolution of the way Test squads are selected throughout a series – especially at home, where there is no restriction on who is available and limited distances to travel. Even if a certain team produces an impressive victory in one Test, does it mean they are the best XI for the next match? How deep will Smith look at conditions and opposition when selecting squads? This, of course, has to be balanced with the dangers of chopping and changing, and the instability it could bring.If it aint brokeRejuvenating the Test side will be Smith’s biggest selection challenge (although the T20 side has also lost some direction in the last couple of years). But the 50-over side is shaping up very nicely ahead of next year’s World Cup – an event with an importance to the English game that cannot be overstated. An era has been staked on winning that tournament on home soil. Smith is a smart man and will know what is working well, but it will be important that he doesn’t feel the need to tinker for the sake of it. Eoin Morgan and Trevor Bayliss probably already know 13 of their 15-man squad for 2019 – things would have to go badly pear-shaped for those selection meetings to stretch Smith too much.

Manchester United boss Erik Ten Hag is moving closer to being able to add another defender to the ranks this summer before the transfer window closes, according to reports.

Who could Manchester United sign or sell before the window closes?

This window, Manchester United have managed to secure the additions of Mason Mount, Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund at Old Trafford and there could be more arrivals to come in the next week or so.

Despite this, the Red Devils have produced two sub-par displays in their opening Premier League fixtures, recording a fortuitous 1-0 victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers on the opening day of the campaign at home followed by a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in north London, as per Sky Sports.

Next up for Manchester United is a home tie against Nottingham Forest this weekend and they will have to do without £60 million signing Mount, who has suffered a knock and will be out until after the international break, according to The Daily Mail.

In terms of recruitment, Brentford striker Ivan Toney has been mentioned in connection with a surprise move to Old Trafford; however, it is more likely that Manchester United will wait until January to advance for the England international due to his ban from football activity for breaching the FA's betting rules, according to FootballTransfers.

ESPN understand that Ten Hag is looking to add a midfielder and a goalkeeper before the close of play, though player sales will be needed to spark any potential incomings.

Donny van de Beek, Eric Bailly, Brandon Williams and Dean Henderson may all leave the Premier League giants this summer and any funds secured for their services are likely to go towards reinforcements, while shifting Harry Maguire off the books is also a priority.

Manchester United winger Facundo Pellestri is in talks over a loan move to Sheffield United and despite being pleased by his progress, they see a move to Bramall Lane as an opportunity for the youngster to gain regular first-team experience, according to The Manchester Evening News.

Is Jean-Clair Todibo joining Manchester United?

According to L'Equipe cited via Sport Witness, Manchester United are keen on a younger Maguire replacement in the shape of Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo – and his exit from the Ligue 1 outfit is said to be 'looming'.

Nice actually now expect their star man will leave and are already looking at replacements – they have identified Rennes star Christopher Wooh as an alternative that can strengthen their backline as they prepare for Todibo to head to Manchester United, as per the report.

Labelled as "underrated" by Football Talent Scout Jacek Kulig earlier this year, Todibo has gone on to make 104 appearances across all competitions in his time at Nice, registering two goals in total, as per Transfermarkt.

For a defender, Todibo has excelled in comparison to his positional peers across Europe's top five divisions in the art of successful take-ons, averaging 0.63 per 90 minutes across the last 365 days, putting him in the 96th percentile for this metric, according to FBRef.

It remains to be seen whether Todibo's prospective arrival would further unsettle Maguire and impact his future at Old Trafford; nevertheless, there is no doubt that the former Barcelona man would be an upgrade and hopefully replace the England international.

When most Bangladesh players got away from the game after the BPL in December, Mominul Haque sought technical corrections from his mentor Mohammad Salahuddin. The small change has made a big difference in Mominul’s approach against spinners, as he can now move forward and back more swiftly without being too predictable to the bowlers.The change in technique has so far contributed to three first-class centuries in the last three weeks, including the 176 against Sri Lanka. Salahuddin, who was Bangladesh’s assistant coach under Jamie Siddons, now coaches two top domestic teams but is better known as mentor to many Bangladesh players including Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and Mominul. His connection with Shakib, Mominul, Abdur Razzak and Nasir Hossain goes back to his days as BKSP’s chief cricket coach.Salahuddin said that Mominul’s change in technique was about the initial step he took against spinners which limited his options against the fuller deliveries. Seven of his last 10 dismissals before the ongoing Chittagong Test were to offspinners like R Ashwin, Dilruwan Perera, Nathan Lyon and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj. On many occasions, he was either rooted to the back foot with no room to maneuver or confused whether to go front or back.The dismissal to Rangana Herath on the second morning was more Kusal Mendis’ credit as he took a reflex catch at short leg. Otherwise, Mominul batted at an impressive strike rate of 93.23 against Herath, Dilruwan and Lakshan Sandakan, scoring off more than 50% of their 149 deliveries.”Mominul was always fluent against spin but in recent times, I had seen something wrong with his initial foot movement,” Salahuddin told . “He was taking a step while playing the shot. Spinners usually bowl a fuller length so that step was restricting his options. Spin bowlers understood this problem and trapped him. I worked on his initial movement, which he practiced.”He was happy that it worked in the first BCL match. He kept working at it and got results. You saw him on the first day how he played in front, back, stepped out and used the entire crease. He used his feet to thwart the spinners who couldn’t guess what he was doing.”Salahuddin said that Mominul’s problem against spin should have been eliminated long ago by the Bangladesh coaching staff, instead the problem was identified and used against him by the opposition. “I was surprised when someone said that he was weak against the short ball. I was shocked when I heard that he was weak against spin,” he said. “There aren’t many in Bangladesh who play spin better than Mominul.”Mominul’s issue was technical. It isn’t that he never scored runs. A batsman can have a problem. They sometimes can’t catch it quickly since they are always playing matches. So it is the coach’s responsibility to identify and rectify the problem. It is easy to cast him aside but that’s not the solution.”Salahuddin also felt that being kept away from ODIs also hurt Mominul’s batting rhythm. He has been picked only for Tests since the 2015 World Cup, giving him long breaks when the senior side is playing other formats.”You will notice that Mominul hadn’t made a century after getting dropped from the ODI squad,” Salahuddin explained. “The reality, at least in Bangladesh, is that it is hard to keep form by only playing Tests. We play fewer Tests. It is hard to only work on your own, away from the team. I am sure that given the opportunity, he could play such innings in ODIs too.”This is not an excuse though. It is not just working on your batting but such long breaks also has an effect on a cricketer’s mentality. It is tough to motivate oneself. Mominul has been able to remain strong, but anyone else would have been dropped by now. Bangladesh cricket has many such examples.”Correcting Mominul was yet another example of how Salahuddin has been helpful to a Bangladesh player. From his days as Bangladesh’s assistant coach, he has always been critical to their success. The first time he was in the limelight was by helping Razzak return to international cricket after the ICC suspended him for an illegal bowling action. Even when Salahuddin worked in Malaysia, he would be sought out by many players like Shakib to help in technical matters.In 2011, Shakib returned to Dhaka from the IPL for a few days to work on his batting with Salahuddin. There are numerous such incidents and while some at the BCB recognise to use him in an official capacity again, they turned their backs to him after approving his appointment as a batting consultant last August.

‘He is the most in-form batsman in Australia at the moment,’ says Western Australia team-mate

Mohammad Isam and Andrew McGlashan20-Nov-2017Cameron Bancroft will be the first Australian opener to debut in an Ashes Test since Michael Slater in 1993, but his Western Australian team-mate Michael Klinger believes he has “the fire in the belly” to make a success of his elevation.Bancroft, who was previously selected for the postponed tour of Bangladesh last year, has ousted Matt Renshaw, the Queensland opener, after he endured a torrid start to his domestic season having shown promise early in his Test career.Bancroft’s numbers, which included an unbeaten 228 against South Australia, became impossible for the selectors to ignore and the main question as the squad approached was whether he would bat at No. 6 or become David Warner’s latest opening partner.Klinger has watched Bancroft’s development at close hand for WA and also recommended him to Gloucestershire as an overseas player in 2016. He has seen the player become more attuned his game and learn what sort of a batsman he wants to be.”I have been lucky enough to have a lot to do with Cameron,” Klinger, who is currently at the BPL, told ESPNcricinfo. “I batted quite a lot with him in the first couple of years in first-class cricket, I have spent a lot of time talking to him about cricket and just feeding off each other. I think he has learned a lot in the last two years.”I think he probably went through a period when he tried to over-score too much. He has gone back to batting long periods of time. He knows he has developed enough shots and skills. He knows if he bats for long periods of time, he can score freely. Mentally he has the fire in the belly to bat long periods.”While his double century in Perth earlier this month is the headline number from his season, it was a pair of half-centuries (76 not out and 86) against a New South Wales side boasting Australia’s Test attack that could well have done just as much to propel him to his first baggy green.”Last year he probably didn’t have as good a year he would have liked,” Klinger said. “He started this year brilliantly in the one-day competition and certainly in the Sheffield Shield to come and score, I think, 70 and 80 against an attack that had Starc, Hazlewood, Cummins and Lyon was a super effort. To finish off with a 200-odd not out sealed the deal. He deserves his spot. He is the most in-form batsman in Australia at the moment.”And Klinger had no doubt that he would be able to handle the pressure that comes with not only a Test debut, but in an opening Ashes Test.”I think he has been waiting for a while now. You won’t find a harder trainer than him, certainly. He is very astute. I am looking forward to seeing him how he will cope with the pressure. There’s no doubt he will cope really well. He will make sure he will have everything in place and ready to go.”

The West Indies captain believes that consistency, in selection and performance, could play an important role in the outcome of the Test series against Zimbabwe

Liam Brickhill in Bulawayo20-Oct-2017West Indies have had a topsy-turvy year. They lost the first and last Tests in both three-match series against Pakistan and England, while winning in Bridgetown and Leeds between times. But that has not lead to chopping and changing in what can sometimes be a revolving selection door for unpredictable teams, and ahead of the first Test against Zimbabwe, consistency – in selection and performance – was the keyword for both captain and coach.”I think we’ve had a pretty reasonable year in terms of improvement,” said captain Jason Holder. “The guys have been getting attuned to Test cricket. We’re still not the finished product but we’re headed in the right direction. With a young and inexperienced side you have to give guys opportunities and be as consistent as you can. We’ve got to stick with a set of players who we believe can take the team forward.””We’re not about trying to pick players and discard after only a couple of games,” agreed West Indies coach Stuart Law, who has now been in the job for 10 months. “That just creates an atmosphere in the dressing room where you’re always looking over your shoulder. We want to get away from that. We want to make sure that we are consistent with our selections. We’re trying to give everyone a fair shake at putting something up on the board, something substantial.”Along with consistency, Holder suggested that reverse swing could play a crucial role in the outcome of the first Test. “With the Kookaburra balls, reverse swing is always a factor. They tend to reverse earlier than most and go a bit softer. I would expect some reverse swing in these dry conditions. The square looks pretty decent but you never know what to expect.”There too, Law was in agreement: “With the characteristics of this ground, it does favour spin bowling more than medium pace bowling. Having said that, we’ve got two or three guys who can crank it up to over 90mph and that pace it doesn’t really matter where you play, it’s hard to bat against. We will be focussing on the dryness of the conditions, the dryness of the pitch, and maybe spin will play a huge part, but also reverse swing.”Law has backed his team when they have been under fire after poor performances, and has also said he wanted a settled unit going into the World Cup qualifiers in March next year. The upcoming matches are obviously of a different format, but building a cohesive, successful team has to start somewhere. So does responsibility for performance, Law is quick to add.”There also comes a time where the players are responsible for their performances in the middle. They’ve got to perform, that’s the number one thing. It’s a game of performances. I’ve been involved in teams and campaigns before in domestic and international cricket, and you can’t focus on the end result,” Law explained. “You’ve got to focus on the little steps you’ve got to take to get through that. We have targets, we have goals.”The boys want to make sure that we’re giving ourselves every opportunity to win every contest we’re going in to. We just had a reasonable result in the UK, where the second Test was outstanding. We lost the other two Tests but we started to show some fight. After that first Test, to come back the way we did was an outstanding effort. What happened, for example at Edgbaston, really toughens you up. We’ve got to be that tough from ball one coming up on Saturday. Hang in the contest for as long as we can and push ourselves.”

Since Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took over at the club, Wrexham have enjoyed the Hollywood treatment, with fireworks on and off the pitch, culminating in promotion back to the Football League.

Now in League Two, manager Phil Parkinson and co will be hoping to earn back-to-back promotions next season in what would be an incredible campaign. With the summer transfer window well underway, too, they could yet welcome reinforcements to stick to the script of potential glory.

So far this summer, the Welsh club have welcomed Will Boyle from Championship outfit Huddersfield Town, representing quite the coup for the League Two side.

What's more, in an exciting new development, a change in the rules regarding players receiving visas could see Wrexham target players in America, according to journalist Ben Jacobs.

What did Ben Jacobs say about Wrexham?

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Jacobs said: "A rule change in terms of getting visas also allows Wrexham to now explore the US market as well.

"So I would keep an eye on that, to see whether Wrexham bring on board any American players. That might be one to watch over the coming weeks."

Of course, the club have been spending part of their pre-season in America, squaring up against the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United, so they would have had plenty of time to potentially take a look at the talent on show around them.

The new rule will allow them to bring in a certain number of players who do not meet the requirements for work permits. Premier League and Championship sides can sign up to four such players, whilst League One and League Two sides can sign up to two.

As of right now, it remains to be seen just who walks through the door at Wrexham this summer, but the rule change at least gives them the chance to really explore the talent in America.

How much are Wrexham worth?

Paying a reported £2m for the club back in 2021, Reynolds and McElhenney have since seen their investment go up in value. The club is now reportedly worth 300% more than the initial price that the Hollywood stars paid in 2021.

It's no wonder that the club has increased to such a level, in truth, following their National League win, with sponsorship deals such as the one with Tiktok also helping financially.

The fact is, Reynolds and McElhenney's continued presence, alongside Wrexham's success on the pitch, has quickly started to awaken a sleeping giant in English football.

Those at the club will hope to take things up another level next season, as they seek consecutive promotions. If they can get to League One, they'd be just two promotions away from the Premier League.

To go from the National League to the third tier of English football in the space of only a handful of seasons would feel like one of the quickest rises in English football history.

They've got the star power in the stands to do it. Now, it remains to be seen whether Parkinson can welcome the right personnel to get the job done on the pitch for the Welsh side on the up.

Lionel Messi has made a stunning impact in America, with MLS commissioner Don Garber admitting that “every game is almost like the Super Bowl”.

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• Argentine icon chasing the American dream
• Made stunning impact on and off the pitch
• Helped to raise profile of game in the States

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has diverted some attention away from NFL, NBA and MLB in the United States, with Inter Miami seeing their stock soar above many established franchises from other sports. All eyes are on Messi every time that he takes to the field, with A-list guests flocking to catch a glimpse of him in action.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  MLS are looking to make the most of their moment in the sun, with tickets and merchandise shifting at record rates and at ever-increasing prices. That is considered to be a good thing for the American game as a whole, with Messi having made elite competition in the U.S. his “league of choice”.

• WHAT GARBER SAID ABOUT MESSI

  With a Messi frenzy sparked in each passing fixture, Garber has told of having the all-time great leading a sporting revolution: “With Messi, every game is almost like the Super Bowl, with the celebrity presence and the global media presence. Messi joining the league became a global story that raised the profile of our league. The greatest player of all-time made MLS his league of choice — what could that mean to the next group of (international) players who are now watching our games on a global platform, who are following what Leo did with Miami? He expanded and grew our global presence. We’re just beginning to understand what that could mean.”

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  WHAT NEXT FOR MESSI?

  What it means for now is more eyes on the MLS product and more money in the bank. Messi has already delivered Leagues Cup glory at Inter Miami – with the start of his adventure in Florida being captured in the ‘Messi Meets America’ documentary series – and he will be back in the trophy hunt when the 2024 campaign gets underway.

Pakistan huffed and puffed through a chase of 237 but they made it in the end thanks to the composure of their captain

The Report by Danyal Rasool12-Jun-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:35

Agarkar: Sarfraz’s calmness crucial in guiding his side

The Champions Trophy might have been damp and lifeless on the English shores this year, but it was on a Welsh detour that it finally roared to life. In the game which had the most riding on it all tournament, Pakistan and Sri Lanka provided a spectacle befitting the magnitude of the occasion, and Pakistan sneaked across the line with a thrilling three-wicket win. But that’s only half the story. The rest centered around how madly the momentum of this game swung as two obviously flawed teams battled tooth and nail.

Pakistan fined for slow over rate

Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed has been fined 20% of his match fee, while his team-mates were fined 10% of their match fees, for maintaining a slow over-rate during the match against Sri Lanka.
Pakistan were found to be one over short of their target after time allowances were taken into consideration. A second minor over-rate offence in the tournament could result in a one-match suspension for Sarfraz.
Sarfraz pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction; a formal hearing was not required as a result. The charge was laid by on-field umpires Bruce Oxenford and Marais Erasmus, third umpire Chris Gaffaney and fourth umpire Ian Gould.

Qualification to the semis was the prize riding on this game that was a quarter-final in all but name, and it was clear both sides wanted it desperately. Sri Lanka started impressively but a brilliant spell midway from Mohammad Amir and Junaid Khan restricted them to 236. Pakistan made the chase look harder than it was but captain Sarfraz Ahmed and Amir were there at the end to see their side home. Though the prospect of facing England on Wednesday will be daunting, it will be the last thing on their minds right now.From the moment Pakistan’s seventh wicket fell – with 75 still to win – two antsy sides were hoping they could do just about enough to pip the other. Sri Lanka were the favourites at that point, but their fielding let them down badly. Thisara Perera dropped a sitter at mid-on in the 39th over. Substitute fielder Seekkuge Prasanna shelled another chance – albeit a more difficult one – in the 41st. And Sarfraz, the reprieved batsman, the last of the specialists, took the game away.Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka’s great talisman, had created both chances and if this is to be his final ICC tournament, it was a cruel way to go. He watched, helplessly, as his team began to gift overthrows, and little by little, the belief as well to the Pakistan batsmen. By the time a dispirited Malinga was brought back for his final over, the fielding had disintegrated to amateurish level. Eventually, Sarfraz dabbed him over third man for the winning runs, and a shocking last half hour for the Sri Lankans met the end it deserved.Sarfraz Ahmed’s composure helped Pakistan overcome an untimely collapse•Getty Images

Before the nerves got hold of them, Pakistan were cruising. A dropped catch and a run-out opportunity in the first two overs aside, Fakhar Zaman and Azhar Ali set about their task masterfully.Fakhar, comfortable in his role as the designated aggressor up front, hit three boundaries in the third over against Malinga. He didn’t mind riding his luck at times, an outside edge burst through slips for four while a top edge flew for six, and when he was dismissed – caught at long leg – he had scored 50 off 36 and Pakistan were sitting pretty at 74 for 1 in 11.2 overs.But with this being Pakistan, there was the inevitable feeling they would take the Rolling English Road to victory. Two wickets fell quickly as Babar Azam clipped Nuwan Pradeep straight to short midwicket and Hafeez chipped one to mid-on next over. Opener Azhar Ali was done in by the extra bounce of Suranga Lakmal soon after, edging a sharp catch to first slip. Pakistan were at 110 for 4, and the game was anything but a foregone conclusion.Sri Lanka were quietly climbing into a position of ascendancy, but Pakistan almost appeared not to notice the early signs of danger. It certainly couldn’t be ignored when Shoaib Malik gloved a short ball from Malinga to the keeper. When Imad Wasim fell five balls later, Pakistan were 6 down with 100 runs still to win.Debutant Faheem Ashraf’s short-lived stay at the crease was fraught with danger as the bowlers peppered him with short deliveries, several of which caught his top edge but managed to evade the boundary riders. For all the risks he was taking on strike, he was run-out at the other end, a ricochet off the bowler’s hand finding the stumps before his bat hit the ground.There were no such errors from Pakistan with the ball though. In fact they were so good that Sri Lanka, despite dominating large parts of their innings, were bowled out well below the par score.A sensational four-over burst from Amir and Junaid ripped the heart out of the Sri Lankan middle order as they went from 161 for 3 to 167 for 7. It was superb fast bowling, evoking comparisons with some of the greats of Pakistan cricket and that it came soon after the innings’ second drinks break spoke either to some kind of strategy, or an especially rousing team talk from the captain Sarfraz. Either way, it was match-turning.Sri Lanka were setting up effectively for the final flourish, with Niroshan Dickwella and Angelo Mathews locked in a settled partnership, before Amir dismissed Mathews off the second ball of the 32nd over, the batsman dragging onto his stumps. Junaid followed up next over with a length delivery that seamed teasingly away from newcomer Dhananjaya de Silva and took his outside edge. Sarfraz then pulled off a superb reflex catch to get rid of Dickwella for 73 and Thisara was caught at slip next over. Sri Lanka’s position of strength was decimated in mere minutes.If it appeared that passage of play would be the solitary turning point of the match, Pakistan and Sri Lanka showed that when they take on each other, it is never quite that simple.

Quinton de Kock said he wasn’t affected by facing Jeetan Patel despite falling to the spinner in his last four international innings, and just focused on turning the pressure around on the hosts

Firdose Moonda in Wellington17-Mar-2017Quinton de Kock “knew straightaway” that he would come up against Jeetan Patel, but instead of dreading facing the offspinner who had dismissed him in his last four innings, de Kock was “not at all” anxious. Quite the opposite.”I was looking forward to the battle again,” de Kock said.Patel was brought on to bowl the last over before lunch, nine balls after de Kock had arrived at the crease, and de Kock decided he would not be done in. “I have played against so many offspinners in my life. I know Jeetan is a good bowler and he has me four out of four but I knew I could still get on top of him if I just put my head down,” de Kock said. “It happened today, so it was nice to finally get one over him.”Not only did de Kock survive Patel, but he also combined with Temba Bavuma to wrest the advantage in South Africa’s favour.”We knew the pressure was on us. The mindset was to somehow shift the pressure onto them. I didn’t want to get bogged down, so the only way forward that I knew was to play my natural game,” de Kock said. “I was obviously a little bit more aggressive than usual, but it was something that needed to be done.”Bavuma and de Kock scored 114 runs in 28 overs in the second session as the surface eased.”As conditions flattened out, they made the most of it and played well,” New Zealand fast bowler Neil Wagner conceded. “Full credit to de Kock and Bavuma, who showed lot patience and grafted through that period. You expect that from a quality team.”While de Kock already regarded South Africa’s 81-run lead as good enough and anything more “a bonus,” Wagner said New Zealand were “pretty happy with the position they are in.” Southerly winds are set to pick up on Saturday, which will make bowling tough for South Africa, and if New Zealand can make sure they set a decent target, Wagner hopes Patel can still have a say – if not on de Kock, then on the outcome of the match.”If it’s a southerly and quite cold, it’s going be tough work [to bowl]. It’s quite hard to control your length and line at times,” Wagner said. “I think Jeets [Patel] is definitely in the game. It does tend to bounce here and the footmarks deteriorate. It depends on how it deteriorates but Jeets definitely has a big role for us in the second innings.”

Both sides will miss key players as Delhi Daredevils aim to start their IPL campaign with a win while Royal Challengers Bangalore look to avoid losing the plot before the return of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers

The Preview by Sreshth Shah07-Apr-2017Match factsRoyal Challengers Bangalore v Delhi Daredevils
Bengaluru, April 8, 2017
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)
3:11

Agarkar: A big test for Zaheer Khan

Head to headOverall: Royal Challengers Bangalore lead Delhi Daredevils 10-6. Since 2011, Royal Challengers have only lost once to Daredevils in ten games.In the newsNeither side will be able to field their first XI. Daredevils, slightly bowling-heavy and led by Zaheer Khan, are without JP Duminy and Quinton de Kock for the season. Angelo Mathews, who has been sidelined since January with a hamstring injury, remains uncertain after he missed the limited-overs matches against Bangladesh. Shreyas Iyer, meanwhile, will miss the first match and is in doubt for the second after a bout of chickenpox. He will join the team in three-four daysRishabh Pant’s availability for the first game is also in doubt following the demise of his father, although Pant returned to Bengaluru and trained with the team. In the instance that Pant does not play, Aditya Tare could take over wicket-keeping duties. Kagiso Rabada looks set to make his IPL debut while the allrounder’s spot could see a toss-up between Carlos Brathwaite and Corey Anderson. On Friday, Daredevils announced Australian fast bowler Ben Hilfenhaus as a replacement for JP Duminy.AB de Villiers is doubtful for Royal Challengers’ first home game of the season but a call on his selection will be taken by the franchise after their training session on Saturday, leaving Shane Watson to lead the side again. De Villiers has confirmed that he will not keep wicket in the IPL, which means Kedar Jadhav could retain the gloves. Royal Challengers will have another wicket-keeping option in Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman Vishnu Vinod, who will replace the injured KL Rahul. Virat Kohli, who has said he will play only if he feels “120%”, will miss the match, too.The likely XIsRoyal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Mandeep Singh, 3 Travis Head, 4 Kedar Jadhav (wk), 5 Shane Watson (capt), 6 Sachin Baby, 7 Stuart Binny, 8 S Aravind, 9 Tymal Mills, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal , 11 Aniket ChoudharyDelhi Daredevils: 1 Sam Billings, 2 Sanju Samson, 3 Karun Nair, 4 Corey Anderson/Carlos Brathwaite, 5 Rishabh Pant/Aditya Tare (wk), 6 Chris Morris, 7 Shahbaz Nadeem, 8 Mohammed Shami, 9 Amit Mishra, 10 Zaheer Khan (capt), 11 Kagiso RabadaStats that matter The team batting second has won 31 off 58 matches in Bengaluru. Daredevils prefer to chase: 38 of their 56 wins in the IPL have come batting second. Chris Gayle has scored 327 runs off 209 balls against Daredevils. He has never been dismissed by a Daredevils spinner, and has struck 15 boundaries – including nine sixes – off the 56 balls faced against them. Zaheer Khan has taken 26 wickets at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. His economy of 6.67 in the Powerplay last year was the fourth-best in IPL 2016. Royal Challengers have an economy rate of 7.35 runs per over in the Powerplay overall in the IPL. In matches against Daredevils in Bengaluru, Royal Challengers have conceded at a rate of 8.92 runs per over in the Powerplay. A top-heavy Daredevils team scores at 8.88 runs per over in the last five overs. Against Royal Challengers in Bengaluru, the rate jumps to 9.71 and Daredevils have lost only four wickets in seven matches during that period. Amit Mishra has been wicketless in his last four IPL games against Royal Challengers at an economy of 9.69. He has not taken a wicket for Daredevils in his previous three matches. Overall, in the IPL, he has dismissed Royal Challengers opener Mandeep Singh and Watson twice. Ankit Bawne, who may find a spot in the XI, scored 239 runs at an average of 79.66, including three fifties, in the domestic T20 tournament this season. Aditya Tare, too, had scores 79 and 71* in the tournament. Shane Watson has averaged less than 20 with the bat in IPL 2016 and Big Bash League 2016-17. In the recent Pakistan Super League, Watson averaged 21.37 in nine innings. In his last 30 games in the IPL, BBL and PSL, Watson has scored only one fifty. In his last two IPL matches with the ball, Watson has returned figures of 0 for 102 in seven overs.