All posts by n8rngtd.top

In a contest that ebbed and flowed, Islamabad United came up short in the end

The Report by Danyal Rasool20-Feb-2020The tournament might have begun with a decidedly underwhelming opening ceremony, but that isn’t a term you’d use for the opening match. The two most successful sides in the PSL showed a packed Karachi crowd exactly why they were on top, with a game that ebbed and flowed, and was finally settled with a Ben Cutting six over long-off to seal a win for the defending champions. Azam Khan had set up the win with a scintillating 33-ball 59, while Mohammad Hasnain put in a Man-of-the-Match performance, his figures of 4-0-25-4 ensuring Islamabad United wouldn’t even bat their full 20 overs.Islamabad were bowled out for 168, a below-par total given how the first half of their innings unfolded, after Colin Munro’s dismissal off the first ball. The template they execute so successfully was working like a dream, with the overseas picks doing their job expertly. Dawid Malan steered the innings with a half-century that propelled Islamabad to the 100-mark in the 11th over, and he was ably assisted by Luke Ronchi, who played the kind of cameo the PSL is so familiar with. But once Ben Cutting came into the attack and began varying the pace intelligently, Islamabad saw the runs dry up and wickets ensued.Cutting would account for Malan, who saw that he needed to take on even more of the scoring burden, and when the batsman holed out, the wheels fully came off. For the rest of the overs, Islamabad flailed in the face of a bowling attack that had their measure by now, and would wind up their innings five balls short.Islamabad still made a game of it when Muhammad Musa, brilliant at the start, removed Jason Roy in the first over, and they nailed the Powerplay with Shane Watson and Ahmed Shehzad also back in the hut. But Azam’s brilliance wrested the game back in favour of the defending champions. A supporting knock from Mohammad Nawaz took them close enough to the target that they could afford a late wobble and Quetta were also helped by some late generosity from Musa.Turning pointFor all that had gone against Islamabad, they looked the likelier team in the final four overs. The Azam hurricane had been withstood, Nawaz was gone, with with four overs to go, Quetta still needed 37 with their last recognised pair of Cutting and Sohail Khan at the crease. But Musa, so brilliant he didn’t concede a run in his first nine balls and dismissed Roy, ended up undoing most of that good work with a horror 18th over. One in the slot to Ben Cutting went the distance, before he found a ball slipping out of his hands, turning into a beamer that the keeper failed to prevent from reaching the boundary. Sohail Khan would punish the free hit with another six. The first four balls of that over yielded 19 runs, and Islamabad’s challenge would end with a whimper.Star of the dayThere was cynicism about his place in the side because he was the head coach’s son. There was ambiguity about whether he was fit due to his rather rotund frame. The Karachi crowd shouted at him when he walked out to bat, an unflattering reference to someone who is perceived not to have earned their place on merit. But Azam Khan was the reason Quetta opened their title defence with a victory. He looked a shade uncertain when he came on, but it would last all of four deliveries. From the moment he pulled the fifth to midwicket, Azam was on his way to an unstoppable half-century.There was no bowler he didn’t spare, but he took a particular liking to the opposition captain Shadab Khan, whom he carted for a six and two fours in the 15th over to bring Quetta in line with an asking rate that had begun to head northward. He combined easy power with surprisingly nifty running between the wickets alongside Sarfaraz Ahmed, and dissipated the pressure he would have felt at the start of his innings, finding a bit of breathing room.The big missIt hasn’t been a happy start for Shadab as captain. Islamabad would have hoped the added responsibility would see him return to the levels of form witnessed from the legspinner in his first two seasons, but that didn’t happen today. Azam was responsible for much of the pounding Shadab took, smashing him for 31 runs in the 13 balls he faced. Even after Azam had been dismissed and Shadab brought himself on for the final over, things wouldn’t turn in his favour, with Cutting’s six the final ignominy on a forgettable day that saw him leak 46 in 3.3 wicketless overs.Where the teams standQuetta go to the top of the table, becoming the first side to register points at this year’s PSL, while Islamabad United will look for their opening points against Multan Sultans on Saturday.

Kochi’s IPL debut will be against a Bangalore outfit that is virtually unrecognisable from last year, barring Virat Kohli

The Preview by Nitin Sundar08-Apr-2011

Match facts

Barring Virat Kohli, the Bangalore side is unrecognisable from last year•AFP

Saturday, April 9
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)

Big picture

Surprise, surprise! After being in the news for all the wrong reasons for the best part of a year, Kochi is finally going to play a game of cricket. It all started off with a seemingly harmless tweet from Lalit Modi. From there, the Kochi controversy morphed into an unstoppable avalanche that knocked Shashi Tharoor out of the Indian cabinet of ministers, and Modi off his pedestal as the IPL commissioner. If the franchise’s off-field giant-slaying abilities are anything to go by, their on-field opponents better watch out.The Kochi consortium might be tangled in an unintelligible ownership mess, much like a batsman who can’t read Muttiah Muralitharan’s doosra, but the team is filled with players known to take ownership of the sides they play for. Captain Mahela Jayawardene and Murali will still be smarting from Sri Lanka’s loss in the World Cup final. Brad Hodge will have a point to prove to the selectors of the Australian team. VVS Laxman will have a point to prove to himself, that he can flourish in Twenty20 with the finesse he brings to the purest form of the game. And then, there is Sreesanth who, when he sets his mind to it, can produce deliveries that force batsmen of Jacques Kallis’ calibre into performing back flips at the crease.Kochi’s IPL debut will be against a Bangalore outfit that is virtually unrecognisable from last year, barring Virat Kohli. Among the new names is Tillakaratne Dilshan, who gave Kohli the most vociferous of send-offs after dismissing him in the World Cup final. The team also brings Daniel Vettori and AB de Villiers together, just over a week after they confronted each other in a charged-up World Cup quarter-final. Dale Steyn has been lost in the auction, but Zaheer Khan and Dirk Nannes have come in. Bangalore have picked a strong bunch of foreign players, but seem a trifle short on quality local batsmen. After two very good seasons that ended in heartbreak, will Bangalore finally find a path to IPL glory?

Team talk

Barring fitness concerns, Bangalore’s overseas picks are automatic selections. Captain Vettori will surely play the in-form Dilshan and de Villiers, while Nannes should relish sharing the new ball with Zaheer. There is a question mark over who Dilshan’s opening partner will be, and the toss-up could be between Mayank Agarwal and Jonathan Vandiar, though the latter’s inclusion would mean having to leave one of the other foreign players on the bench. Abhimanyu Mithun and Mohammad Kaif are likely to get a game.Brendon McCullum and Jayawardene should form an interesting contrast at the top for Kochi. Murali, if fit, should walk into the XI, while Thisara Perera could get a game in the lower-middle order, giving the side a distinct Sri Lankan flavour. RP Singh and Ramesh Powar are expected to complete the bowling line-up.

In the spotlight

Saurabh Tiwary and Cheteshwar Pujara represent two sides of the same coin. Tiwary stands back in the crease and thumps the ball with fierce arms, looking for midwicket with the assiduity of a left-handed MS Dhoni. Pujara, on the other hand, invokes Rahul Dravid in his temperament and technique, keeping his drives down, and finishing with his leading elbow high and showing the full face of the bat. Both met with success in the previous IPL, for different teams, and earned call-ups to the senior team, in different formats. This year, they could form crucial additions to the middle order of the top-heavy Bangalore line-up.Ravindra Jadeja has it all to do, once again. He was branded a ‘superstar’ by Shane Warne at the end of IPL 2008, and went on to earn a permanent spot in the Indian one-day line-up. Things have fallen apart for him since, starting with being banned for the 2010 IPL season after trying to negotiate a contract by himself. He has fallen out of the radar of the India selectors now, and a solid performance here will go a long way in re-establishing his oft-questioned credentials as an allrounder.

Prime numbers

West Indian fans are approaching the Sabina Park Test with optimism because of its reportedly fast pitch

Sriram Veera in Kingston19-Jun-2011There’s hope in the Caribbean air. You can feel it at Sabina Park. You can hear it in the chuckle of Charles Josephs, the curator, and in conversations with ground staff. “This is Jamaica. Not Mumbai. The ball will bounce and get your men,” is its essence. A simple, age-old theory: bounce the Indians and expect them to wilt. Though we’ll have to wait to see how the pitch actually plays, and whether West Indies’ fast bowlers can unsettle India’s batsmen, it can only be a good thing that home fans are approaching the Test with optimism, considering the shenanigans beyond the boundary.There is confidence in the West Indian camp as well. Darren Sammy, the captain, expects the pitch to suit his bowlers, who will be aggressive. Even young Darren Bravo said “a few of the Indians can get intimidated.” Ian Bishop, a former West Indian fast bowler and commentator, isn’t convinced a few Indian players, Suresh Raina for instance, can handle the bounce and pace.”This is the pitch that suits our style,” Sammy said. “We managed to restrict India to 250 and the batters were very comfortable chasing it. The mindset is different, the batsmen are confident that the ball won’t spin like it did in the first three ODIs. Records speak that if you have more firepower, you have a better chance against India.”Darren Sammy says the Sabina Park pitch will suit West Indies better than it will India•Associated Press

Sammy’s presence in the Test side is still a thorny issue, though. Does he upset the balance? Wouldn’t Fidel Edwards or Andre Russell be a better pick? Is Sammy weakening the attack? “My role has been the same since I started playing for West Indies,” Sammy said. “I am a stock bowler. I go out and do it to the best of my ability.” If he can be a consistent performer with the bat, it wouldn’t be so bad. “I am disappointed that my Test batting hasn’t been as consistent as it should be, but I am working hard.”Sammy expects West Indies to restrict India to less than 300. “In the last two games played here, the most recent one was against England, both teams scored around 300 in first innings. The one before was against Australia. We lost by 60 runs. We restricted them to just over 250. If we restrict them [India] to under 300 or so and can get a lead …”West Indies’ batting, though, has been the discipline with the most problems in the recent past. Sammy is confident that Kingston’s conditions will help. “Our batsmen will favour their chances against Indian bowlers knowing the type of wicket we will get,” he said. “Harbhajan is very experienced and Mishra has given us some trouble. You can’t be complacent. This wicket would be suited to our batsmen. I am expecting our batsmen to give a better show.”Adrian Barath, Lendl Simmons and Darren Bravo, who comprise the top order, are light on experience, but Sammy highlighted their quality. “Barath is very promising cricketer. He scored a hundred in his first Test. He is coming back from injury but we all know his mental strength. He has the mental capability to carry on with his starts. Young Darren Bravo came to form in the last ODI and Simmons is in good nick. He knows his game and executes his plans. The top order might be short of experience but they have the game to do it.”

Jimmy Kamande, the Kenya captain, admitted his side was nervous against New Zealand and promised a different approach for the next game

Sriram Veera at the MA Chidambaram Stadium20-Feb-2011It was a sombre press conference. Jimmy Kamande, the Kenya captain, was in the hot seat and a New Zealand journalist couldn’t resist asking the question. “Yesterday, you said you guys will express yourself and play the Kenyan brand of cricket. How does that comment sit now after today’s performance?”To his credit, Kamande didn’t stutter or squirm but responded immediately, “Ya, we didn’t express ourselves. The young boys were nervous. The two young lads who opened were a bit nervous but Collins Obuya was positive and we were gaining momentum but quick wickets in the middle set us back. In the next few games, we will express ourselves. The good thing is that this is done. It’s out of the way. “For what it’s worth, it was out of the way very quickly. There was almost an inner conflict when watching the game and it was visible in the audience, at least in the press box. Some sniggered as the wickets tumbled, some were sympathetically silent and some were condescendingly quiet. A few wondered whether the ICC will get further ammunition to keep the minnows out of the next competition.Kamande didn’t want to get drawn into that debate but said Kenya will try their best to improve and gently suggested that it was the reverse that was in fact the reason for the debacle. “It’s for ICC to decide to play 10 teams or 15 … The disappointing thing is we get to play a Test team once around every two years or so. The more we play against these guys, the better you become. We play Pakistan next. I would be happy as long as we improve each and every game.”Today, perhaps, it was just the nerves. There was also a matter of skill. New Zealand, Hamish Bennett in particular, hurled it fast and full and the Kenya batsmen played around the ball, across the line. There is a huge difference between playing the ball late and being late on the ball. Kenya did the latter and crumbled. “It wasn’t as if the ball was doing much but the lines and lengths were tight and some of our batsmen played too much across the line. We will go back and work on it. Next game, different opposition and it will be a different approach from us.”While Kenya and their fans, and their critics, will wait to see what unfurls in the future, it was time to breathe easy for New Zealand. It was the perfect way to start a tournament for a team that has been stumbling from one disaster to another. “We didn’t expect that the game would get over so quickly,” Vettori said. “It was nice. We are happy with how we performed. We don’t expect all other matches to be this easier. I think bowling full and straight is going to be the key in this part of world. We will keep the same intensity for every game.”Bennett, the wrecker in chief, said he came to know he would be playing after Kyle Mills had an injury problem in the pre-match training session. I just said to myself that I will go straight, try to bowl hard and full to skid off the wicket and catch the pads of batsmen. Coming in as a replacement for the injured Mills in the playing XI, it was a good result for me. Hopefully, I can keep pushing for my selection”.New Zealand will hope the bowlers can hold their nerves against tougher opposition, Kenya that batsmen shed their nervousness quickly. There was evidence, even in this debacle, that they have a couple of batsmen who have the flair to provide some fun moments for their fans. As the tournament tagline says, this is the cup that counts, and it would be a pity if we don’t get to see the Kenyans play with a bit more freedom.

Captain Yannic Cariah stars with 52-ball 34 and returns of 3 for 8 in massive victory

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Dec-2019Impressive spells from spinners Kevin Sinclair and Yannic Cariah took West Indies Emerging Team to their maiden Super 50 Cup title after they bowled Leeward Islands out for 88 for a whopping 205-run win in Port of Spain on Sunday.Young offpsinner Sinclair, playing only his ninth List A game, and lespinner Cariah, also the captain, ran through the Leeward Islands’ line-up, finishing with figures of 4 for 20 and 3 for 8 respectively.Leeward Islands hardly resisted with the bat after the emerging team put up 293 for 7, with six of them dismissed for single-digit scores. The highest individual score was Amir Jangoo’s 43-ball 20.Openers Kieran Powell – the highest run-scorer of the season – and Montcin Hodge contributed just 13 and 1 respectively, while the in-form Devon Thomas fell for a 22-ball 15. A clutch of wickets fell after Cariah removed Keacy Carty in the 18th over, as Leeward Islands lost their last seven wickets for just 24 runs.Earlier, after being put in, the emerging team rode on strong top-order partnerships, with Leonardo Julien top-scoring with 83. Although they lost three quick wickets in the space of 3.5 overs in the middle, handy lower-order contributions from Sinclair (28 in 33 balls) and Dominic Drakes (38 in 25) took them to a competitive total.Cariah was named Man of the Match for his bowling spell as well as 34 off 52 balls batting at No. 3.

Young batsman turns maiden first-class hundred into a daddy as Warwickshire pile up 517

Jon Culley at Edgbaston11-Sep-2019
Essex have not conceded so many runs since Hampshire piled up 525 for 8 in the first innings at Southampton in the opening match of the season, when they lost by an innings and 87 runs. Having gone unbeaten since, chalking up eight victories and eyeing up a second County Championship in three years, this would not be a timely moment to become reacquainted with defeat.Such an eventuality is some way off. Unless Jeetan Patel can coax a greater response from a slow pitch than Simon Harmer achieved in 60 overs of trying, the likeliest result is a draw. Nonetheless, with leaders Somerset building a considerable advantage against Yorkshire at Taunton, this could be a critical moment in the race for the title.For Warwickshire’s part, a draw and a handful of bonus points would do very nicely, almost certainly banishing any lingering anxiety about relegation with Nottinghamshire heading for yet another defeat.At the heart of Warwickshire’s rare prosperity was a magnificent innings from 23-year-old Matthew Lamb, who turned his maiden first-class century into a seven-hour marathon that eventually saw him out for 173, which is, after Dom Sibley’s double-hundred at Canterbury in June, the highest score by a Warwickshire batsman this year.Lamb’s potential has long been waiting to blossom. Warwickshire identified his talent when he was only 11 and he made his Birmingham League debut at 13. His first-class debut for the county came in 2016 but although he made a couple of half-centuries the following year he has not been able yet to nail down a place. Although he made a good impression in T20, his first six first-class innings this year yielded just 29 runs in total and he would not be involved in this match but for four batsmen being injured.There is a fair chance he will be picked for the next one, having batted with a solid technique and considerable maturity in the face of an Essex attack not helped much by a slow pitch but who nonetheless offer one of the bigger tests he will have faced thus far. Jamie Porter and Sam Cook had bowled well without much luck on the opening day and Simon Harmer, as he has demonstrated time after time in taking 200-plus wickets in three seasons with Essex, tests a batsman’s skill in any conditions.Lamb had some moments of fortune, although not before he had recovered from the setback of losing Sam Hain’s company in the seventh over of the day and held his nerve to complete a 211-ball hundred with his 15th boundary. He was caught at slip off a Ravi Bopara no-ball on 104, survived a huge appeal for caught behind off Porter on 106 and was dropped on 110 in an incident that also saw Essex appeal for a run-out, which was upheld and then rescinded.Alastair Cook, moving to his left at first slip, spilled the chance when Porter found the edge. Harmer, standing next to him at second slip, retrieved the ball and threw down the stumps. Lamb was well out of his ground but, after the umpires conferred, was invited to continue his innings, the apparent conclusion being that he had deserted his crease only under the misapprehension that he was out caught, in which circumstances under a recent tweak to the Laws, a batsman can be deemed to be not out.Harmer said later that he had been happy to withdraw the appeal and Lamb confirmed that the Essex fielders had made it clear to him that, as far they were concerned, he should not be out.How he made the most of that let-off, adding a further 10 boundaries and, having helped Hain add 150 in 49 overs for the fourth wicket, enjoying the benefit of another resilient partner in Henry Brookes, with whom he shared a 105-run partnership for the seventh wicket that was the key passage of the day in securing such a strong position for their side.Immediately before they came together, three wickets had fallen for seven runs in the space of 22 balls. Michael Burgess had followed Hain in edging into the slip cordon, Harmer grabbing a superb catch low to his left at second slip, before the debutant Ethan Brookes – Henry’s younger brother – popped a ball from Harmer into the hands of leg slip.Brookes the elder proved to be the perfect partner, although Lamb ultimately repaid him by calling for a risky single to leg and running him out four runs short of what would have been his fourth career half-century. “I owe him an apology for that,” Lamb said after Harmer had gathered and scored a direct hit with his throw. “It was my fault completely.”Patel further turned the screw with a half-century of his own before Harmer, who had only once bowled 50 overs in an innings for Essex and never 60, dismissed Olly Hannon-Dalby and George Garrett to finish with 6 for 143.”It was a pretty frustrating day for us,” Harmer said. “There is not much in the pitch. If we can bat well then you would expect the match to end in a draw but you never know what could happen when we get to day four.”The Essex reply, though, did not get the start they wanted in the 15 overs they had to negotiate before the close, Patel striking an early blow when Cook edged him to second slip.

Australia’s World Cup squad will get on a plane on Wednesday with injuries a concern, but the coach Tim Nielsen hopes the selectors don’t risk sending too many unfit men to defend the title

Brydon Coverdale07-Feb-2011Australia’s World Cup squad will get on a plane on Wednesday with injuries a concern, but the coach Tim Nielsen hopes the selectors don’t risk sending too many unfit men to defend the title. Ricky Ponting (finger), Michael Hussey (hamstring) and Nathan Hauritz (shoulder) have all been racing to prove their fitness for the tournament, while some of their potential replacements are also struggling, including Xavier Doherty (back) and Shaun Marsh (hamstring).The squad heads to India this week and their first practice match is on Sunday against India in Bangalore, eight days before their opening game of the tournament proper, against Zimbabwe. Hussey said on the weekend that he would find it difficult to be fully fit for the first couple of outings, while Hauritz, who dislocated his shoulder during the recent ODIs against England, was bowling in the nets last week and said he had no doubt he would be fit for the World Cup.But while Australia might be able to carry one injured player at the start of the tournament, it’s risky to allow too many men to board the plane at less than 100% fitness. Nielsen said he believed the squad could not take such a chance with the World Cup on the line.”I can’t afford to have two, three or four guys that we’re uncertain about,” Nielsen said. “It means we’ve only got 11 fit ready to go at the start. That’s the quandary we face. What is the role the players who are injured play? Do we have back-up for that position? If we have an injury to somebody in the team at the moment is the injured person the next cab off the rank or the only possible replacement or do we have other options? All those things will be thrown into the mix.”One positive is the progress being made by Ponting, who missed the Sydney Test after aggravating his broken finger during the Boxing Day Test. Ponting had surgery on the little finger on his left hand after the Melbourne game, and by the time the World Cup opener arrives it will have had nearly seven weeks of recovery time. He hasn’t returned to fielding yet, but believes he could play if the Australians had an important match tomorrow.”I’m a lot better now than I was last week,” Ponting said on Monday night at the Allan Border Medal ceremony in Melbourne. “I’ve been back in the nets this week, I’ve had three good hits and a bit of time out there. It’s probably a bit more advanced than I thought it would be.”The spin position shapes up as one of the more serious issues, with Steven Smith also battling a hip muscle injury, along with the problems that are troubling Hauritz and Doherty. Smith’s injury shouldn’t be a major concern, though the more serious situation with Hauritz, added to the likelihood that Hussey won’t be fit for the start of the World Cup, leaves the selectors with some headaches.”We’ve got our fingers crossed for both those guys,” Ponting said. “Their injuries couldn’t have come at a worse time for us, looking forward to the World Cup. They’re both very senior members of our side. We’ve got our fingers crossed for both those guys and I know the physios and doctors have been doing a lot of talking today about those two. Hopefully they come up.”The coach Nielsen said it was a delicate balancing act: “If we’re going to replace them we’re going to have to rule them out of the tournament full stop. That’s the first question we’re going to have to answer. Are they going to take any part in the tournament in a timeframe that’s going to work for us?”Once we make that decision then it’s, okay, if we are going to replace them, is the replacement ready to go straight away or are we better off taking the named player and they might be ready at the same time? All those different things that come into the equation.”Australia have two warm-up games before the World Cup begins in earnest, and they have six pool matches before finding out if they have progressed to the next round. Australia are in a group with Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Canada and Kenya.

Former Tottenham Hotspur star Graham Roberts has told The Transfer Tavern that Eddie Howe has next to no chance of becoming the club’s next manager.

The former Bournemouth boss is currently out of work, having left the Cherries after their relegation to the Championship in 2020.

He has been heavily linked with the Celtic job, and he could well be heading north of the border in the coming months.

Still, he has been touted as a potential appointment for Spurs as they look to replace Mourinho, who was sacked last week.

It remains to be seen if the club would consider Howe a big enough name, given that he has been out of work for some time, and has never managed a so-called big club.

Indeed, throughout his career, he has managed Bournemouth in all but one season as a manager, when he took over at Burnley for the 2011/12 season.

Roberts was asked about the prospect of Howe joining the club and told TT: “No, not for me. I think he had a chance at Burnley and he never took that.

“I think Bournemouth was his team, he got brought up there, he could do what he liked there. Running a top six club is totally different.

“For me I think it’ll be too much because he’s been out of a job now for a year.

“It looks like Celtic are going to take him, but for me I just don’t see Eddie Howe as the big name the club want to take them forward.”

Many Everton fans have been left to fume as Patrick Boyland relayed a fixture update for May from the Goodison Park faithful.

As per a tweet from The Athletic journalist, the Merseyside club will play Aston Villa at home on Saturday 1st May at 8pm and West Ham United away on Sunday 9th at 4:30pm, with a home match against Sheffield United just two days later.

It puts a big strain on travel for Carlo Ancelotti’s team, and this is not to mention that their game in hand away at Villa has still not been rescheduled, meaning that the Toffees are going to be suffering a mass fixture pile-up at the end of the 2020/21 term as they look to chase qualification for European competition for next season.

This could have a huge impact on a squad who are already struggling with injuries, so it’s no surprise to see fans flocking to respond on Twitter.

Everton fans on fixture scheduling

These Blues fumed upon reading the update, with one EFC supporter even going as far as to claim that it was ‘ridiculous’:

“Never knew that, ridiculous. And these 8 o’clock games on a Saturday need sacking off!”

Credit: @AidyDews

“Our last four games have all been Friday and Mondays which is annoying me!!!”

Credit: @SLTjustin

“If we played our last game and our next game on the weekend as it should be then we could’ve had a game today. Scheduling has been pathetic all season.”

Credit: @obs1878

“That’s an absolute joke!”

Credit: @steverhoeven

“I’m sick this Super League failed honestly”

Credit: @donalseancarey

“Our punishment for criticising the sleazy six”
Credit: @blackrodblue

In other news, find out what Paul Joyce update has been lauded by Toffees here!

With Liverpool starting to flounder in the title race, they need something new to light up their momentum. Their current system is being found out by Premier League sides and Jurgen Klopp needs to try new things. With that in mind, introducing wonderkid Rhian Brewster into the fray can be a wise decision.

Brewster has been suffering from persistent injuries since his heroics at the FIFA U-17 World Cup, where he won the Golden Boot, helping the Three Lions lift the trophy. However, he is recovering pretty well and wishes to be a genuine option for Klopp. With not many sides knowing Brewster’s strengths, the German coach can find something different in him.

While the youngster is still a few weeks away from attaining match-fitness, when he does become available, Klopp should utilize him. Be it as only a substitute, Brewster’s pace and a fantastic eye for goal makes him a dangerous player for the Reds. He scored eight goals in the U-17 World Cup and has been prolific in the youth level competition for the Reds.

While not the biggest in frame, Brewster’s unpredictable movement and clinical striking ability make him an assured option for goals. He doesn’t miss much in front of goal and the way Liverpool create chances, he can blend into their system in no time.

The Reds need goals to overtake Manchester City’s superior goal difference. Brewster brings many goals with him and if utilized well, can be Klopp’s trump card into prevailing in this tight championship race. Perhaps this season is too soon, but if Liverpool are going to compete in the years going forward, Brewster can be a wild card.